Iraqi Troops Reach Mosul While Morocco Works On Its Listening Skills

PNUT GALLERY

“It’s finally over and the world didn’t blow up.”

Pnut readers are not optimistic about the news we’ll wake up to on November 9. See their other doomsday predictions and find out who they plan to vote for next week.

 IN A NUTSHELL: MUST READ

 Iraqi Forces, Kurdish Fighters And A Shia Militia Walk Into A Bar…

Iraqi forces have entered Mosul City Limits, which sounds like the name of a great Southern dive bar. Yet, it’s even better than that: it’s the final stop on this two-week offensive to take back ISIS militants’ last major urban stronghold in the country. Even entering seems like an all-too-soon victory from the 50,000 Iraqi security forces, Kurdish fighters, Sunni Arab tribesmen and Shia militiamen. The squad entered Mosul for the first time in two years and were greeted by several civilians waving white flags and seeking protection. But it’s not over, yet. The troops are being attacked from all sides, mostly from ISIS machine guns and sniper fire. And while there is reason to celebrate, the reality is that the fighting in Mosul is expected to get worse before it gets better.

Pnut Read: What You Need To Know About Today’s ISIS

 NUTS AND BOLTS: SHOULD READ

 #Pnut4Prez: One Week Until We Start Preparing For 2020

Campaign fervor is reaching record highs as people expect 40% of ballots to be submitted before next Tuesday. Early voting indicators are showing strength for Clinton in Colorado and Nevada with weaker than expected turnout among African Americans in North Carolina and Florida. Democrats are increasingly worried that Trump supporters’ attempts to “monitor the polls” will intimidate voters come election day. The FBI shocked voters again yesterday, releasing documents related to a Presidential pardon of Marc Rich by Bill Clinton back in the day. Meanwhile, Wikileaks dumped batch number 25 of John Podesta’s increasingly inane emails… Seven more days people, seven more days.

No Way! A Government Listened To Protestors

Moroccan officials called the death of Mouhcine Fikri an involuntary homicide, but not without first arresting 11 people who will be brought to court in this criminal investigation. Rarely have we seen a government move that quickly for anything, especially protests. Fikri died when he jumped into the garbage truck compactor trying to recover his swordfish, which police had confiscated earlier because they are a protected species. His death catalyzed nationwide protests that were drawing comparisons to Tunisia’s earliest days of Arab Spring. Though government action may subside demonstrators, the larger issues that Fikri’s death came to symbolize – unemployment, poverty and a marginalized northern region – are becoming difficult for the government to ignore.

Facebook Activists Almost Helped North Dakota

Internet activists get a bad reputation for not doing much besides sharing the political ideals in well-meaning soundbites. But these slacktivists almost put their social media skills to good use this week after it was rumored that the Morton County Sheriff’s Department was using Facebook check-ins to find protestors in North Dakota. People are protesting the proposed oil pipeline because it will cut through Standing Rock, a Sioux reservation, destroying sacred sites and contaminating the water supply. In an effort to throw police off the trail and protect protestors’ privacy, 1.4 million Facebook users remotely checked-in at Standing Rock. The noble and quantifiable gesture may have worked, but nobody is sure if it did since it’s unproven the sheriff’s department ever used Facebook in the first place. According to Snopes, even if police were using geolocation tools based on mobile devices, remote check-ins wouldn’t exactly confuse them. #WeTried

 KEEPING OUR EYE ON

Calais: Riots broke out in the still-not-empty Calais camp. At least 20 riot police vans showed up to use teargas on the crowd of 1,500 refugees still in the abandoned camp. Most of them are believed to be unaccompanied teenagers.

Pope Francis: The Cool Pope upset a few Catholics when he said that women will never be priests in the Roman Catholic Church. Many activists within the Church felt this was uncharacteristically uncool and calls for reform continue.

 PNUTTY VIDEOS

Trevor Noah imagined what a Trump presidency might look like. His vision is apocalyptic.

Stephen Colbert called James Comey “the spookiest October surprise.”

Seth Meyers took a closer look a the hypocrisy in both campaigns’ flip-flopping opinions about the FBI.

 LOOSE NUTS: FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT

 Male Birth Control Nixed Because Men Are A Bunch Of Babies

Researchers discovered that male birth control is 96% effective in preventing pregnancy, but the study on the new contraceptive ended early because the men taking the birth control shot couldn’t handle its side effects. These big babies reported that birth control caused them to have mood swings, acne and even an altered libido. You don’t say. This isn’t exactly news for women. In fact, one biologist told CNN that as many as 30% of women who take oral birth control pills experience depression and have to take medication for it. However, the study of male birth control was quickly terminated once it showed a 3% depression rate for men.