March 23, 2016

Brussels: What We Know So Far

THE WORLD IN A NUTSHELL

MARCH 23, 2016  /  SUBSCRIBE

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RIP Andy Grove. Read the New York Times Obituary of the man who created Silicon Valley.  

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IN A NUTSHELL: MUST READ

Brussels: What We Know So FarISIS claimed responsibility for yesterday’s multiple bombing attack in Brussels, Belgium. The attack at the heart of the European Union came a few days after Belgian police arrested Salah Abdesalam, one of the key figures behind November’s Paris Attacks. Abdesalam had managed to evade capture for four months, hiding in the Molenbeek neighborhood in Brussels. Authorities said he was planning more attacks while he was in hiding.  So, is it over? Probably not. The police are actively searching for one attacker who got cold feet and didn’t detonate his bomb at the last minute. Then there is the uncomfortable question of how exactly the most wanted man in the world was able to spend four months chilling in the capital of the European Union undetected? The flood gates have only opened wider with a series of leads for more ISIS cells, thousands of foreign fighters with EU passports currently fighting in Syria and calls for racial profiling (‘sup Cruz) and increased surveillance. Brace yourselves. Former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Dies At 46Canada mourns the loss of former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford after he lost his battle to cancer yesterday. Ford was a divisive figure in Canadian politics who gained international notoriety after admitting to smoking crack while in office. His controversies didn’t stop there. He was frequently enmeshed in scandals of public intoxication, racist and sexist remarks, among other negative headlines. Still, his supporters will remember his efforts to expand subway systems and be a “cost-cutting crusader” despite his highly publicized personal distractions. GOOD READ: An Obituary For Rob Ford

NUTS AND BOLTS: SHOULD READ

#pnut4prez: US Election Enters The ‘Boring’ PhaseTrump and Clinton both widened their delegate leads in a not-so-super Tuesday. Trump won Arizona, a border state with a lot of “wall-loving” Republicans. John Kasich (the establishment darling) did so bad there he got fewer votes than Marco Rubio, who dropped out last week. Cruz swept the Mormon stronghold of Utah. Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders staged a minor comeback, winning Idaho and Utah but losing to Hillary in Arizona.

Russian Court Doesn’t Need Evidence To Think A Ukrainian Is GuiltyUnsurprisingly, a Russian court has found the Ukranian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko guilty after months of a controversial trial. Savchenko has been sentenced to 22 years in prison for the deaths of two journalists. However, it’s worth pointing out that the court refused to admit a lot of evidence, including her phone calls that the defense team claimed would have proved she was not in the area during the time of the attack. Savchenko has been vilified in the Russian press, yet lionized in Ukrainian media as a national hero… especially during her 83-day hunger strike. Syrians Rescue Far-Right German Candidate From Car CrashWell this is awkward. The German far-right party NPD took an unusual turn and praised Syrian refugees for “their humanity” after a group of asylum seekers administered first aid to the leading NPD candidate. According to reports, Stefan Jagsch had lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a tree. A bus of Syrians pulled over to help and were able to remove the seriously injured Jagsch from the wreckage and administer first aid before an ambulance arrived at the scene. Hopefully this will force Jagsch to rethink that time he attended a neo-Nazi march in January, which referred to refugees as “invaders” and “lawless primates.”  Keeping Our Eye On…
  • Cuba: Taking heed to President Castro’s advice, Obama has called on Congress to lift the decades-old trade embargo. Cuba claims the embargo has cost their country $1.1 trillion since it was put in place.
  • Armani: Responding to pressure from animal rights groups, 81-year-old designer Giorgio Armani has agreed to take fur off the cat walk and will no longer use animal fur in his fashion collections or products.
  • The Mighty Rhino: A Sumatran rhino was spotted in Indonesia for the first time in over 40 years. It’s believed that there are less than 100 of this rhino species alive today, but the sighting has conservationists hopeful for a comeback. 

LOOSE NUTS: FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT

‘RSS Boaty McBoatface’ May Never Be SeaworthyAyy, the captain of the Natural Environment Research Council learned a valuable lesson this week: not everything should be put to a vote. When NERC asked people to pick a name for their next research vessel, they hoped a few scientists would weigh in. But internet pirates hijacked the poll and now over 27,000 people have raised their voice in favor of naming it Boaty McBoatface. NERC must decide between giving the people what they want or proving democracy doesn’t always work.   

 

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