September 28, 2016

Far-Right Woes In Germany And Debate Fallout

PNUT GALLERY “There was no favorite moment. However, I do know who lost the debate. America. America lost,” wrote one reader. Find out what else Pnut readers had to say about Monday night’s debate. IN A NUTSHELL: MUST READ Germany’s Fears About The Far-Right Worsen The German government was already worried about the growing influence of far-right political parties such as AfD and anti-Islam protest movements such as Pegida. Now, they have to worry about acts of terror and violent crime stemming from these ideologies as well. Police are suspecting a far-right motive behind the two bombings that took place in Dresden on Monday. Using improvised explosive devices, a mosque and the city’s International Congress Center were both attacked. The explosions come just one week before Dresden was to host Day of German Unity celebrations to commemorate the 26th anniversary of German reunification. Dresden authorities hoped that hosting the festivities – which Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Joachim Gauck are expected to attend – would raise a sense of “unity” for new communities and help the city’s reputation after Dresden grabbed headlines for its large-scale anti-refugee protests. No one was injured during the attacks, but police stepped up security for government venues and Dresden’s three mosques. Unfortunately, this isn’t the only example of potential far-right violence in the headlines this week. Police in Houston, Texas are saying Nathan DeSai, the alleged shooter who injured nine people on Monday, was wearing military clothes and Nazi emblems during the attack. In addition to the xenophobic garb, he was carrying nearly 2,600 rounds of ammunition. #pnut4prez: Debate Fallout And A Possible Government Shutdown Debate Fallout: With insiders and the stock market both indicating that Hillary won the debate, Trump spent Tuesday blaming everything but his lack of preparation. Trump first blamed a defective microphone, then blamed Lester Holt for being an unfair commentator despite praising him the day before. Trump also found himself in another diversion, fighting Alicia Macado, a former Miss America contestant whom Trump shamed for gaining weight and later accused of seeking revenge. Not one to apologize, Trump just doubled down on his comments saying that her weight was a “real problem.” Government Shutdown: The Senate voted 55-45 against a bill to keep the government open past Friday, with Ted Cruz and 12 other Republicans voting with the Democrats to block the bill. The last thing either party wants in the middle of an election is the government to shutdown but Democrats feel like they have the upper hand and want to push for funding to fix the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. Sign Up For Our Weekly Email On The Campaign Trail NUTS AND BOLTS: SHOULD READ DNA Threesome Produces Healthy Three-Parent Baby Surprise! It has been possible for a child to have three biological parents since the 1990s! According to a report in New Scientist, there is now a new method that proved successful earlier this year. A baby was born in Mexico in May with two biological mothers and one biological father. The method, which uses a small amount of mitochondrial DNA from a third parent, is banned in the United States. It was used in this case to prevent the child from inheriting a disease from its mother. Critics say there may be numerous unknown failed cases and ethical questions that still need to be answered. The whole thing really gives a new meaning to the term “ménage à trois.” ICC Is Now Throwing Militants In The Slammer Remember Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi? Islamist militant, orchestrator of the destruction of a number of sacred Malian mausoleums in 2012? As of today, he can also be remembered as the first person to be convicted of destruction of cultural heritage as a war crime and as the first suspected Islamist militant to be tried at the ICC. Mahdi pleaded guilty, confessing that he felt “remorse” for his actions and urged “all Muslims in the world, not to get involved in the same acts.” Due to his confession, co-operative behavior and five mitigating circumstances – one of which was that he prevented one of the shrines from being destroyed by bulldozer – his sentence was on the lower end of the proposed range at 9 years. Malian residents, however, seem less willing to accept his apology stating that, “forgiveness means coming here in Mali and asking for forgiveness to Malians.” Others citing additional war crimes of rape, abuse and sexual slavery remain critical that these crimes still go unanswered. Saudi Arabia And Iran Play Deal Or No Deal Iran’s rivalry with Saudi Arabia roiled Syrian battlefields and oil markets yesterday. Iran rejected Saudi Arabia’s offer to cut oil production in a bid to boost the price of oil. Saudi Arabia has repeatedly said that it wouldn’t be part of any agreement unless if it’s regional rival, Iran, also agreed to freeze or cut production. Iran, which has been cut out of oil markets for the past five years due to sanctions related to its nuclear program, wants to pump out as much oil as possible to make up for lost time now that those sanctions are lifted. Despite their ongoing disagreement there was some optimism in the room as Saudi Arabia’s oil minister indicated that he could be open to a compromise. KEEPING OUR EYE ON Syria: The Assad regime and his allies attacked the opposition-held sector of Aleppo on several fronts yesterday, marking the biggest ground assault since last week’s ceasefire dissolved. The US is citing this attack as proof that Russia, the Syrian government and their allies have abandoned the peace process. It’s believed that 250,000 civilians are still trapped in Aleppo, with an estimated 30 doctors left. MH17: Today, the Dutch-lead Joint Investigation Team (JIT) is expected to present their interim findings on the mysterious 2014 crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. The JIT is likely to conclude that the plane was shot down by a Buk missile fired from a separatist-controlled region in eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board. Spain: Barcelona officials are reviewing a proposal to take down the statue of Christopher Columbus that has stood for more than a century. The proposal was developed by a group of anti-capitalist councillors who believe the city should no longer celebrate the explorer’s colonial past. If approved, the statue could be replaced with memorial reflecting “American resistance to imperialism, oppression and indigenous and African-American segregation.” PNUTTY VIDEOS Elon Musk wants us to colonize Mars. Gusts of wind over 140 miles per hour struck Taiwan on Tuesday as Typhoon Megi reached the country’s northeast coast. Late night comedians Trevor Noah, Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers and Jimmy Kimmel each had his own take on Monday night’s debate. Watch Nebraska football player Michael Rose-Ivey’s emotional statement on the racism he’s endured in recent weeks. LOOSE NUTS: FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT People Were So Upset At Last Night’s Debate, They Called 911 Sure, politics can raise a person’s blood pressure, but unless politics are causing a literal heart attack, there is no reason to call 911. Unfortunately for the Lawrence Police Department in Kansas, some citizens needed that reminder. The police tweeted a PSA saying, “We realize politics can make emotions run high, but being mad at a presidential candidate in a debate is NOT a reason to call 911.” It’s not clear how many residents called 911 because they felt the candidates on their TV were intruding, but for the police department to feel compelled to post public service announcements, it must have been a problem. In an effort to avoid other emergency calls later, Lawrence PD also issued a warning against drinking games, saying, “Drinking games where you drink every time someone says ‘yuge’ leads to binge drinking, and we discourage that strongly.” Good thing they didn’t play our drinking game.

Yes, I want to sound marginally more intelligent: