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IN A NUTSHELL: MUST READ

Syria Peace Talks Cancelled   The UN called off peace talks aimed at ending the Syrian Civil War in Geneva yesterday due to a “lack of progress” in the first two days. Opposition forces blamed the government for using the talks as a diversion while they pushed forward around the northern city of Aleppo. The government responded by calling the opposition Turkish and Saudi stooges.  
What now? It’s unclear. Both sides (and particularly civilians) stood to gain a lot from these talks as it becomes clear that there is a limit to what can be gained on the battlefield. Civilians need a break from five years of constant fighting while humanitarian agencies deliver food and much needed medicine. Hopefully, it won’t be long before we are back at the negotiating table. 

PNUT READ: Our Summary On The Syrian Civil War
#pnut4prez: Trump Wants An Iowa Redo… Because, Trump
Nobel Peace Prize nominee (no, really) Donald Trump isn’t known for being a good sport. Two days after conceding that he lost Iowa to rival Ted Cruz, Trump lashed back, saying Cruz “stole” the election by telling voters that Dr. Ben Carson had dropped out (to get his voters) and that they would be committing a violation by not showing up. Cruz responded by making fun of him on twitter.

Meanwhile, Kentucky Senator (and libertarian leaning) Rand Paul dropped out of the race yesterday. There are a few others that should probably do the same soon. 

NUTS AND BOLTS: SHOULD READ

Venezuela Is So Broke It Is Importing Venezuelan Currency Oil rich Venezuela continues careening towards economic collapse. The country’s currency has plummeted in value while the government imports more banknotes to pump money into the country (which only makes the currency worth less). The country faces more than 200% inflation, a GDP contraction of more than 10% and the FT warns of economic collapse (paywall).

Florida Declares State Of Emergency Before Mosquitos Get ThereFlorida isn’t taking any chances. Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency in four counties where people have been diagnosed with Zika virus. While nine cases of the virus have been reported in Florida, the governor’s decision to declare an emergency seemed premature to some, since all nine cases were contracted abroad. The only two ways to get Zika are through mosquitoes and sex, and there are no carrier mosquitoes in Florida. So… 

PNUT READ: We Summarize What You Need To Know About Zika


EU Tries Throwing Money At Refugee Problem So It Goes AwayEurope is set to spend a lot of money to alleviate conditions for refugees and bribe Syria’s neighbors into keeping as many refugees as possible. The EU announced a 3 billion euro fund for Turkey (and to overlook Turkish “democracy”) to convince Turkey to clamp down on human traffickers. Meanwhile, a London conference aimed at boosting aid to refugees is just getting underway. 

Keeping Our Eye On…

• Serial: Adnan Syed is on track for a retrial after the Serial podcast cast doubt on whether the court had all the evidence to justify his conviction. Score one for solid investigative journalism. 
• TPP: Auckland, New Zealand, saw anti-globalization protestors and free-market celebrations as the Pacific Rim countries (but not China) signed the free trade TPP bill yesterday. 
• GoPro: Adventure photography company, GoPro, fell 10% after announcing a loss in the fourth quarter of 2015 and lower sales. Hopefully this means fewer of your friends pretending they are action sports junkies… 

LOOSE NUTS: FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT

Children Of Angolan Rebel Don’t Like How Dad Is Represented The children of anti-communist Angolan rebel leader Jonas Savimbi are suing the makers of Call of Duty, Activision, for how their dad is represented in the video game. The US-backed Savimbi is known to have carried out a brutal civil war against the Soviet backed Angolan government at the time and to have “pioneered” the use of blood diamonds. The children said that “seeing him kill people […] that isn’t dad.”

Parting Thoughts: Profiting From Another’s MisfortuneDuring a conference in NYC, consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton’s CFO Kevin Cook told attendees that the “Saudis are at war with Yemen and they are worried about sanctions being lifted on Iran, so there is opportunity for us to support them in their initiatives, so I feel good about that.” The comments implied that Booz Allen stood to profit from the Middle East quagmire and raised the uncomfortable question of when/where firms can benefit from others’ hardship. Have a thought? Write about it on Slant (just let them know you are a Pnut reader).
 

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