France And Germany Try To Avoid American Mistakes, While Russia Tries Rat As A National Dish

PNUT GALLERY

Looking for a free vacation? Want a baby? Well, aren’t you in luck. In an attempt to boost tourism and the Italian population, a bunch of hotels in the Italian city of Assisi will comp your stay if you show them a birth certificate showing that you gave birth nine months later. Fantastico! (This offer only applies to Italian citizens.)

 IN A NUTSHELL: MUST READ

 Trump Transition Trudges Along

Donald Trump inched forward with his transition team over the weekend appointing a number of polarizing figures to key roles. He appointed Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions, known for hardline anti-immigration stances to the role of Attorney General indicating that immigration reform and “law and order” would be the administration’s top priority. Sessions was one of Trump’s earliest and most vocal backers during his run for the Presidency. Sessions is one of the most conservative members of the Senate.

Trump also appointed retired General Michael Flynn to serve as his National Security Advisor. Flynn is considered a competent military commander having served in Grenada (yup, we invaded them), Haiti (invaded them too), Iraq and Afghanistan. He is a registered Democrat and was appointed Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency under President Obama then was “retired” (aka fired) due to his “chaotic management style” and attachment to “Flynn-facts” also known as things that are not actual facts. Flynn is known for his hardline anti-Islamist stance and suffers from conflicts of interests stemming from his consulting firm the “Flynn Intel Group” that has previously lobbied on behalf of the Turkish government.

Finally, Trump’s third major appointee was Congressman Mike Pompeo of Kansas to CIA Director. Pompeo rode the Tea Party wave into Congress in 2010 and served on the Benghazi Committee. He’s a known critic of the Iran Deal and was “looking forward to rolling back this disastrous deal.” He might find, in his new role, that rolling back such a complicated multi-party deal is much easier said than done. Meanwhile, Republican Senator John McCain took the weekend as an opportunity to remind Trump and his team that he would take them to court if they even thought about bringing back torture, a stance Trump has repeatedly favored on the campaign trail.

Despite a busy weekend of meetings Trump found time to spar with the cast of Hamilton and Saturday Night Live on Twitter because apparently that’s what Presidents do now-a-days. During a brief attempt at a reprieve over the weekend Mike Pence tried to go watch the musical Hamilton but found that his job would be following him everywhere when they called him out at the end of the show, saying they were the diverse America that was afraid of his administration. Pence said that he “wasn’t offended” by their remarks despite Trump’s tweets against the show.

PNUT READ: Is There A Silver Lining To Trump’s Presidency?

 NUTS AND BOLTS: SHOULD READ

 There Are No More Hospitals Left In Rebel-Held Aleppo

It is with a heavy heart that we must report this news. Our coverage of Syria has rarely been optimistic, but this weekend plunged Syrians into a new level of despair with even fewer options for improvement. Four separate hospitals were hit during Russian-led airstrikes on Friday, kicking off a weekend of targeted attacks on rebel-held east Aleppo and the deadliest weekend for Syria’s medical teams. After the Omar bin Abdul Aziz facility was struck, reports confirmed that the last operating hospital in east Aleppo was destroyed. This means that about 250,000 people are without access to medicine or medical care, and it looks like rebel-held districts are on the brink of collapse. Doctors Without Borders, who are usually the “never give up” type, said east Aleppo’s hospitals had been hit by bombs in more than 30 separate attacks since July and at this point, there is just no possibility of sending help or more supplies.

DONATE: A helpful index of charities still on the ground in Syria

France And Germany Don’t Want To Follow In America’s Footsteps

With Donald Trump’s victory secured, all eyes are on France to see if they, too, will shake things up and add another conservative populist on the Security Council. More than 2.5 million people voted in the first primary round on Sunday and the battle is on between the rightwing and the ultra-rightwing. The rightwing candidate will most likely face the extreme far-right Marine Le Pen in the Spring 2017 Presidential Election. The leading contenders are all familiar faces among France’s political establishment, like former Prime Ministers Alain Juppé and François Fillon. And it’s not a race without former President Nicolas Sarkozy’s hat in the ring, though he was knocked out pretty early in yesterday’s primary. It’s unclear if any of them will unite French voters against the far-right.

Meanwhile, Germany’s national election isn’t until September 2017 but it’s already too crucial to ignore. Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that she will run for a fourth term, insisting that it was not an easy decision. It probably had something to do with President Obama’s visit, where he all-but-begged her to take a world leadership role after he leaves and do her best to babysit Trump. Merkel has led Germany since 2005 and is considered one of the most experienced leaders of the western world, but that won’t guarantee a win. As we’ve seen this year, voters don’t always like experienced, over-qualified women candidates.

GOOD READ: How Germany’s Millennials Are Giving The Far-Right A Chance.

South Korean President Aims For Worst Leader Of 2016 Award

South Korea became the latest nation plagued by terrible politicians over the weekend when prosecutors accused the sitting President Park Guen-hye with giving her friend, Ms. Choi, classified documents and helping her extort companies for some cash. Casual. Choi has been a friend of President Park for over 40 years and Park has so far apologized twice on national television for that friendship. Prosecutors allege that Choi, along with two of Park’s aides were pressuring corporations to make donations to specific foundations controlled by Choi, which sorta feels like plot of a movie involving Dilma Roussef, the Clinton Foundation and Trump University all rolled into one. The scandal has brought the country to a standstill as hundreds of thousands of people call for Park’s resignation.

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 KEEPING OUR EYE ON

India: A train crash near Kanpur killed at least 120 people and injured at least 150 more. Authorities aren’t sure what caused the train to derail. India’s deadliest train accident occurred in 1981 with estimates of up to 800 people dead.

Trump University: US President-Elect Donald Trump paid $25 million to settle an outstanding fraud claim concerning “Trump University.” Students allege that they had been duped into shelling out their life savings and enrolling in a fake university. The settlement removes the potentially awkward possibility of a sitting President having to go to court for a fraud trial.

Rio: Brazilian police are searching for clues into what brought down a police chopper in Rio and killed four policemen. Earlier reports that gangs had shot it down have been ruled out when they didn’t find bullet holes in the chopper, but they still don’t know what did it.

 PNUTTY VIDEO

Alec Baldwin reprised his role as Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live and the real Trump didn’t like it.

 LOOSE NUTS: FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT

 Rat: It’s What’s For Dinner In Russia

The latest food craze sweeping Russia is not exactly avocado toast. Moscow is now offering a hot new delicacy that is both affordable and nutritious: river rat. Otherwise known as nutria, this giant orange-toothed rodent is becoming a sought-after meat in several Moscow restaurants. Even 35-year-old chef and restaurateur Takhir Kholikberdiev serves up nutria burgers and an eclectic menu of rodent-based dishes in his sleekly designed eatery in city center. Normally, we’d say don’t knock it until you try it, but if the rats you’re used to seeing are found in subways and city garbage dumps, please don’t try this at home.