July 19, 2016

RNC Day One Wrap Up And A Russian Doping Scandal

PNUT GALLERY

Please bear with us the next two weeks as we cover the Republican and Democratic National Conventions. If yesterday was any indication, it promises to be quite entertaining.

IN A NUTSHELL: MUST READ

Republican National Convention: Day One Wrap Up

The first day of the RNC in Cleveland turned out to be as eventful as advertised. The week’s shenanigans kicked off with an unwelcome, yet hilarous, appearance by Steven Colbert in full on Hunger Games regalia announcing the start of the “Hungry for Power Games.” The actual events featured a series of speeches around the theme “Make America Safe Again.” Speakers included a very emotional Patricia Smith who blamed Hillary Clinton personally for her son’s death in Benghazi and a very animated Rudy Giuliani.

What about the man himself?

Breaking with party tradition Donald Trump made a quick appearance (accompanied by “We are the Champions”) in the first day to introduce his wife Melania Trump in her first major speech of the campaign. She spoke about Trump the family man and about her own life growing up. Notably absent from the festivities were every living Republican President or presidential nominee except for Bob Dole. Governor of the swing state of Ohio John Kasich was also absent, prompting a denouncement from the Trump campaign which will surely endear him to Ohio’s voters.

Pnut Read: A Quick Look At Trump’s Unconventional Campaign Strategy

Russian Doping Scandal Aka ‘Where Did You Hide My Urine Sample Vladimir?’

An independent inquiry into Russian athletics accused Russia of “an unprecedented attack on the integrity of sport and the Olympic Games.” The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) asked the International Olympics Committee (IOC) to ban Russia from the upcoming Rio Games. The report accused Russia’s Ministry of Sport and the FSB (modern KGB) of being complicit in a plot to dope athletes and then cover it up by manipulating or swapping out samples during testing. It is unclear if the IOC will take a step as dramatic as banning all Russian athletes but it does cast an even bigger shadow over the chaotic Rio Olympics.

Watch: John Oliver On Doping In Sports

NUTS AND BOLTS: SHOULD READ

French People Growing Weary Of Their Government

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls was booed during a ceremony commemorating the victims of a recent terror attack in Nice, France. Many people accuse the government of routinely failing to protect the lives of French citizens who have suffered three major attacks in 18 months. The tone has shifted from one of “national unity” that existed after the previous attacks to a growing sense of frustration. A recent inquiry into intelligence failures that lead to the Paris Attacks of last November did little to boost confidence in the government. Meanwhile, an axe attack by an Afghan refugee that left four injured in Germany is bound to stoke the flames of Germany’s far-right.

Third Officer In Freddie Gray Death Acquitted

A police officer standing trial in the death of Freddie Gray, a young black male who died as a result of injuries sustained while in police custody, was acquitted in Baltimore yesterday. Prosecutors are now zero for four in their attempts to bring some justice to the Gray family with three acquittals and one retrial. Gray’s death last year sparked riots in the city and marked a turning point for the #blacklivesmatter movement and for the city of Baltimore. For the first time since the Gray case began almost no one came out to protest the verdict indicating a growing sense of frustration and exhaustion.

Turkey Continues Purging People At A Blistering Pace

The Turkish Government continued with its purge of alleged coup sympathizers yesterday, suspending almost 8,000 policemen and members of the Ministry of Interior. The police forces are largely seen to be loyal to Erdogan and his government and a counter-force to the secular Military establishment so it is strange that so many of them were suspended. During an interview with CNN Erdogan mulled bringing back the death penalty to punish the plotters because he didn’t want to keep feeding them in prison. The move would risk Turkish membership to the EU… not like that was about to happen anyway.

KEEPING OUR EYE ON…

Kazakhstan: That country you only think of when your friend makes a terrible “Borat” accent was the latest victim of a terror attack yesterday. A lone gunman shot three policemen and a civilian. Kazakhstan has seen a number of its citizens join ISIS, including a
famous footballer.

Semiconductors: Japanese firm Softbank agreed to buy UK microprocessor designer ARM for a whopping $32 billion.The move is seen as Softbank’s big bet on the “internet-of-things” which will one day make all your appliances as functional, if not as funny, as the characters in Beauty and the Beast.

Fox: New York Magazine reported that the Murdoch family decided to “remove,” aka fire, Roger Ailes, the head of Fox News after allegations that he sexually harassed former anchor Gretchen Carlson. Fox says it is still looking into the matter.

LOOSE NUTS: FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT

Benefits Hotline Leads To ‘Friends With Benefits’

Residents in Maine are reporting that some of their Electronics Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards might be leading cardholders to other sorts of benefits. It’s emerged that the helpline number on the back of some of the cards belonged to a phone sex hotline. Turns out, it is a quite common practice for sex hotlines to obtain numbers similar to commonly dialed US government numbers and hope for a misdial or, in this case, a misprint. The Maine Department of Health and Human Services apologized and promised to “review the process” thoroughly… whatever that means.