More Turkish Purges And The Loss Of A Great Journalist

PNUT GALLERY

Ivan the Terrible, the brutal Russian tsar known for massacres and allegedly killing his own son, is getting a statue in his honor near a children’s theater. Needless to say, locals aren’t pleased.

IN A NUTSHELL: MUST READ

Turkey: Defending Freedom By Briefly Suspending It

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan announced a three-month State of Emergency yesterday as his government widened its “crackdown of exceptional proportions.” In an interview with Al Jazeera English, Erdogan defended his actions, comparing them to how France enacted a State of Emergency after the Paris Attacks. By way of comparison, France conducted ~3,300 raids and 303 arrests after the Paris Attacks. Turkey’s counter coup has so far affected 60,000 people, roughly the population of Bermuda.

So, is the counter coup over?

Doesn’t look like it. Yesterday, 99 senior military members were formally charged and Erdogan alluded that he believes foreign countries were involved in planning it. He’s barred academics from flying, closed down schools and revoked licenses for media outlets, all of which feels unrelated to the coup. The State of Emergency gives him power to continue and deepen his purge, particularly of the military. Meanwhile, he’s becoming quite insistent about the fact that the US should handover his arch-nemesis Gülen, a cleric/quasi-cult leader living in Pennsylvania.

Journalism Lost Another Great: Pavel Sheremet

Many are mourning the loss of popular Belarusian journalist Pavel Sheremet, who was killed by a car bomb explosion in Kiev. Sheremet hosted a morning news show on Radio Vesti and reported for the website Ukrayinska. He had a reputation as being a heroic underdog for journalists: in 1997, he was jailed in Belarus for covering the government’s political oppression. He went on to work as an anchor for Russia’s ORT television but later resigned from Russian TV in protest of their stance towards the crisis in Ukraine. He had fled to Kiev due to alleged pressure from the Kremlin, before dying in this week’s flair up of violence in Eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko ordered an immediate inquiry into Sheremet’s death.

“The World Can Be Better: A Tribute To Pavel Sheremet“

NUTS AND BOLTS: SHOULD READ

Fight Against ISIS: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

There were major setbacks in the fight against ISIS this week. Just one day after a US air strike mistook Syrian civilians for Islamic State fighters – a mistake that cost nearly 60 lives – France reported that they lost three soldiers in a helicopter accident in Libya. Working with the US and UK, France has been advising Libyan forces that are loyal to Commander Khalifa Haftar, and have thus had to battle ISIS and various offshoots in Benghazi for the last two years. The Benghazi Defense Brigades, who are considered new kids on the block as far as Islamist groups go, are claiming responsibility for shooting the helicopter down, but French and Libyan officials have yet to confirm. Although France believes the victims were exclusively French, Libya is also claiming 4 lost lives in the crash as well.

Nutshell: The Origins Of ISIS

US Wants $1 Billion From World’s Most Complicated Corruption Scheme

The US Department of Justice filed civil forfeiture claims on ~$1 billion in assets bought by money allegedly funneled from Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund, 1MDB. The lawsuits allege that individuals close to the Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, like his stepson, illegally used government money to buy luxury real estate, Monet paintings and the rights to the movie “The Wolf of Wall Street.” They’ve called it an “international conspiracy to launder money.” Last year Mr. Najib was casually accused of transferring $631 million from the fund to his personal accounts. How one can make such a large transfer without a few red flags is beyond us. Najib claims the money was merely a “gift” from some Saudi friends… 

RNC Part III: The Party Becomes A Rager

While still not that unified, the Grand Old Party finally earned the right to call themselves a party, and just like a typical holiday party, the night began with polite conversation, started to get rowdy, nearly ended with an argument and wrapped up with too many emotions. After a few lackluster speeches, things really kicked off when Laura Ingraham got a massive standing ovation for calling Senator Ted Cruz out on failing to “honor his pledge” and endorse Donald Trump.

But the high quickly fell to a low one when Cruz stepped up to the podium. Maybe he was that drunken party guest who forgot this wasn’t his acceptance speech for the nomination, or maybe he didn’t trust his speechwriter not to plagiarize and decided to just speak from the heart. Either way, Ted Cruz would not endorse Donald Trump, and it was met with boos.

KEEPING OUR EYE ON…

France: To the dismay of many smokers, France is considering a ban on certain cigarette brands for being, well, too damn cool. Lucky Strike, Marlboro Gold, Vogue and other brands made popular by models, beatniks and existentialist writers could be facing doom.

LOOSE NUTS: FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT

German Partygoers Mistake Real Cops For Strippers

In their defense, many strippers put a lot of work into their police costumes. A 50th birthday party in Mainz, Germany got extra festive when two male police officers arrived because of complaints. According to the police report, the cops made several attempts to explain to the “10 tipsy women” that they were real cops but “were completely unsuccessful.” To make matters worse, the police needed contact information to file their report, and the drunken ladies were even more delighted when the cop asked the birthday girl for her number.