November 25, 2015

Thankful This Week Is Almost Over…

PNUT GALLERY

Happy Thanksgiving! We are off until Monday barring any major news events (we will probably be back). In other news, if you have a startup and would like to be featured in our Cyber Monday roundup drop us a line!

IN A NUTSHELL: MUST READ

Russia And Turkey: Clash Of The Egos

Tensions escalated throughout the day as it became clear that a Russian fighter jet had been shot down on the Syrian-Turkish border yesterday. Here is what we know so far:

Turkey claims that the Russian fighter jet violated Turkish airspace and that they warned the pilot 10 times. NATO corroborated that the plane entered Turkish airspace, but the US couldn’t determine where the plane was when it was shot down.
Russia says the plane was in Syrian airspace when it was shot down, and Vladimir Putin called the attack a “stab in the back by the accomplices of terrorists [Turkey].”
One Russian pilot was killed by Turkmen rebels upon landing, and another pilot was killed during an attempted rescue operation by a Russian helicopter.
French President Francois Hollande appealed for calm and asked everyone to focus on ISIS. He travels to Moscow on Thursday.

Turkey is a NATO member, which limits what Russia can do in retaliation. However, both Putin and Turkish President Erdogan are not known for backing down. Russia can still respond to Turkey with an economic and diplomatic boycott (Russia provides 57% of Turkey’s natural gas and is the second biggest source of tourists), a cyberattack or by funding/ arming proxies in Turkey (think: the Kurds).

Meanwhile, we’ve created a guide for dummies to help everyone involved in the proxy war in Syria. Suffice it to say, they could use the help.

Nutshell: The Syrian Civil War

NUTS AND BOLTS: SHOULD READ

Vatican Seeks To Jail Vati-Leakers… Except It Doesn’t Have A Jail

Two journalists and a Spanish priest (this isnâ€™t the beginning of a joke) and two others went on trial in the Vatican (five total). The five are accused of leaking secret documents on the Vaticanâ€™s financial mismanagement and waste. The Vatican only has four holding cells and no real prisonâ€¦ and also they’d need to be extradited from Italy to make this all work out, so this is a little bizarre. The five could face eight years in jail (somewhere) if convicted.

Shooting At Black Protest Against Shooting

Police arrested two people for the shooting of five people during a #blacklivesmatter protest in Minneapolis. The victims were protesting the shooting of Jamar Clark by a policeman earlier this month. A number of men showed up to the protests “acting shady” over the past few days. Police promised to improve security after the shooting, only problem is: they maced the protesters who were, understandably, angry at being shot at.

Tunisia Terrorist Attack, Middle Eastern Mayhem Continues

Just as the Middle East was about to call it a day, an attack in Tunisia hit the Presidential Guard in the capital, killing at least 11 people. Authorities have yet to determine who was behind the attack but are pretty sure it is ISIS (who else). This is the third major attack ISIS has carried out in the country, with the first two hitting a museum and a tourist resort.

Keeping Our Eye On…

Clock Kid: Ahmed, the Texan boy arrested after taking a DIY clock to school (big on Obama’s Twitter feed), embraced an American tradition yesterday — the frivolous lawsuit. He is seeking $15 million in compensation and written apologies from the local Mayor and police chief.
US GDP Growth: The US economy grew faster than previously estimated in the third quarter, at 2.1% annual rate up from 1.5%. Bad news is corporate profits were down 1.1%.
Bezos Goes to Space: Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, two pioneers of the billionaire space race, traded Twitter blows after Bezos’ Blue Origin program put a rocket into space only for it to return to earth ready for re-use. Here’s incredible video footage (designed to annoy Musk).

LOOSE NUTS: FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT

Zimbabwe’s Ugliest Man Competition Winner Deemed ‘Too Handsome’

Zimbabwe’s annual “Mr. Ugly” contest has descended into controversy after participants pointed out that this year’s winner was “too handsome” to win. Runner-up William Masvinu (who has won all previous competitions) and his supporters complained the Mison Sere’s (the winner) looks weren’t naturally ugly. This is the just the beginning, as Mr. Sere plans global domination by competing in the 2017 Mr. Ugly World Competition.

Thanksgiving Reads:

A few reads that will help you tune out the family arguments tomorrow. If that doesn’t work there is always Adele:

It’s been 100 years since the theory of relativity was published. We give you a rundown here.
Why choosing to be grateful will make you happier.
Magical thinking about ISIS and the mystery of ISIS.
A secular utopia in the Middle East?
How Donald Trump gets the politics of fear right.
Take a look inside the Clinton donor network.
Lunch with John Oliver (via Financial Times).

Sarah Palin and Seth Meyers engage in a rational (we swear) discussion about Syrian refugees.

Today’s Pnut is sponsored by MONK Collection.

WINTER. IS. COMING. This time, there’s more than just the Night Watch to protect you. Welcome to MONK Collection: an e-commerce fashion company dedicated to infusing modern designs with century old artisanship in a socially responsible way. Our first line honors the Fabric of Emperors, with five sweater and scarf styles all made with 100% Grade-A Cashmere. The artisans behind MONK’s hand-crafted packaging, custom buttons and knitted garments all hail from Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. With each purchase, our customers help rebuild a community wracked by a devastating earthquake that ripped through Nepal on April 25, 2015. So, armour up, this year’s beloved Indian Summer has sadly come to an end.

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