PNUT GALLERY
Pnutters, it’s finally Friday. See your friends, hit the beach, use our weekend reads to sound marginally more intelligent and learn how to be a Shaolin Warrior (see below). See you Monday.
IN A NUTSHELL: MUST READ
Republican Debate Highlights
“[God] has blessed the Republican Party with some very good candidates”
Sen. Marco Rubio stating a not universally held belief.
In case you missed the most highly-anticipated event of the 2016 presidential campaign thus far (the Republican debate, where wrestling meets politics), here it is in a nutshell:
- Sadly for the Republican establishment, Trump failed to disappoint.
- Jeb Bush looked like a deer in the headlights 90 percent of the time.
- Scott Walker needs a toupee for the next debate.
In all seriousness… there are too many good moments to recount, but some of the best include Chris Christie and Rand Paul going at it over the NSA and Paul’s opposition to the Patriot Act — what one political commentator called “testosterone with a little bit of Tabasco” (watch here); Trump not ruling out a third-party candidacy while on the GOP debate stage and also being completely unapologetic about his past disparaging remarks about women (see below); John Kasich on attending a gay friend’s wedding in response to his feelings about same-sex marriage (watch here). Nevertheless Trump was “very proud of [his] great performance.”
There seemed to be no clear winner, according to conservative pundits, but we feel that it was a strong showing by Kasich, Trump (who received the bulk of the air time and applause) and Christie… and not so much for Walker, Bush and Carson.
NUTS AND BOLTS: SHOULD READ
Bibi Feels The Heat From Israeli President
To put it lightly, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doesn’t like the Iran deal… so much so that he even has Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin on edge. Since Secretary of State John Kerry signed the deal, Netanyahu has been its most outspoken opponent (“this deal will bring war“) and President Rivlin fears he’s taken it too far now, advising Netanyahu to “mend the fences with Obama.” After all, he noted, “There are three principles to Israel’s foreign policy. First, relations with the US; second, relations with the US; and the third principle — relations with the US.”
 Iran Deal in a Nutshell
UnHappy 50th B-day For Voting Rights Act
Yesterday marked the half-o’-century birthday for the Voting Rights Act. The law promised every American citizen the right to vote (go democracy). Yet in 2013, the Supreme Court ruled that the Federal Government did not need to provide oversight for certain parts of the country to amend its voting laws because “things have changed dramatically” since 1965. Texas proved just the opposite with the ruling that its voter identification law crosses the line into racial discrimination against blacks and Hispanics. To that end, President Obama rang in its 50th by calling for the Act’s resurrection.
Fireworks, fighter jet shows, blimps, “surprise trains” and “Game of Thrones” music were all part of the opening ceremony for Egypt’s new Suez Canal connecting the Red Sea to the Mediterranean. The ceremony, while certainly overblown for an infrastructure project less complex than one completed 140 years ago, is meant to signal that Egypt’s economic turmoil is behind it and instill optimism in the business community. It might be working as Egypt’s GDP growth rate is expected to hit 4.7 percent.
Keeping Our Eye On…
- Shaolin’s ‘CEO’ Monk: The man who turned Shaolin (the act of fighting Buddhists in orange robes) into a global phenomenon is subject of international scandal after reports that he fathered two children secretly… despite being celibate. Learn how to be a Shaolin warrior here.
- Legionnaires’ Outbreak: Two more reported deaths Thursday in NYC (total of 10 deaths and many others infected) prompted Mayor Bill de Blasio to order statewide testing of water-cooling towers reported to be the source of the outbreak.
- Nicolas Sarkozy: Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy is planning to run for president again on a “man of the people” platform. Unfortunately, he spent $35,000 on a week-long “agritourism” retreat in Corsica with his model/actress/wife Carla Bruni…
LOOSE NUTS: FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT
Drugs, Ludacris And Real-World Implications Of Game Theory
Some $15 billion was spent last year in the war on drugs — that’s Iceland’s whole GDP. A Kentucky sheriff got creative and posted a Facebook flyer advertising “a free service to help you eliminate your drug competition.” Drug dealers were asked to post their competitors’ details, including their most active hours, vehicle numbers and contact information (i.e., he’s not good on email so please SMS). This sounded like the dumbest idea ever… until it actually started working. It went viral after rapper Ludacris (known for songs such as “Blueberry Yum Yum”) posted it on his Instagram and from there it has been shared thousands of times. This is the epitome of Prisoner’s Dilemma (explanation for non-academics here) for drug dealers and is probably coming to a neighborhood near you.
Weekend Reads:
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