Wildfires, Plane Crashes, Just A Casual Day In 2016

PNUT GALLERY

 IN A NUTSHELL: MUST READ

 Plane Crash In Colombia Kills 71 And Destroys A Team

Investigators are still trying to understand what caused a plane crash outside of Medellin, Colombia, which killed 71 people, including the majority of a Brazilian soccer team. Chapecoense, a modest soccer team from the small city of Chapeco, were living a fairy tale up until the crash. Though they were a small team, they managed to reach the finals of a continent-wide tournament. Footage of the team celebrating their new found success and even cheering on the plane before take-off have now surfaced, adding another painful sting to this tragic ending. Players, coaches and journalists were all among the people lost, but six did survive the crash.

Wildfire Is Spreading Across Tennessee Like Wildfire

Enabled by high winds and a drought, wildfire hit a resort area of Tennessee, damaging hundreds of buildings overnight. At least three people have died and several others are injured, but evacuations are underway. Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said more that 14,000 people have already left Gatlinburg, but families from other parts of Sevier County will be following suit as authorities struggle to contain the fire. The agency estimates that 100 houses and 30 businesses have already been destroyed, but that figure is likely to increase. 

 NUTS AND BOLTS: SHOULD READ

 South Korean President Tries To Delay Impeachment As Approval Ratings Hit Rock Bottom

South Korean President Park Geun-hye announced on Tuesday that she would leave her floundering political future in the hands of parliament. While that sounds very democratic, critics claim it is actually a stalling tactic and attempt to avoid impeachment. Park has been on the hot seat for weeks after corruption charges were leveled against her in connection to a close friend who was accused of coercion. Park’s 4 percent approval rating is so low that it could just be her relatives who still approve of her presidency.

Trump’s Transition Twitters On

Following a hippie protest at Hampshire University, Trump tweeted that those that burn the US flag should be punished and have their citizenship revoked. Previous attempts at banning flag-burning (Hillary Clinton co-sponsored a bill to ban it in 2005) have been ruled unconstitutional and attempts at introducing a constitutional amendment have gone nowhere. So, instead of focusing on the distraction that is Trump’s twitter handle we will move on to his new cabinet picks:

• Trump picked former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao as Transportation Secretary. While usually a fairly mundane pick Chao will be responsible for Trump’s expansive infrastructure bill, a key campaign promise, as well as figuring out how to deal with new technologies like self-driving cars and drones. Democrats welcomed the pick.
• Trump’s pick for Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) was greeted with less enthusiasm. Republican Congressmen and orthopedic surgeon Tom Price has been one of Obamacare’s fiercest critics and will be at the forefront of the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. Price is one of the few Republicans that actually has a plan to replace Obamacare that goes beyond throwing a tantrum and threatening to repeal it. He has also proposed legislation to weaken Medicare and Medicaid and proposed defunding Planned Parenthood.
• After running a campaign where he promised to “drain the swamp” and end the revolving door between politicians and the private sector Trump decided, meh, psych! and appointed Steve Mnuchin, an ex-Goldman Sachs guy and hedge fund CEO as Treasury Secretary. This is the second Goldman Alum Trump puts in his cabinet which is ironic when you consider that Trump targets Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein in this campaign ad.
• Trump still hasn’t picked a Secretary of State yet with his team protesting a possible Romney pick. Trump met with former general David Petraeus and said he was impressed with the man. The irony could not be greater however, considering that Petraeus was fired as head of CIA for leaking confidential information to his mistress and Trump ran his entire campaign attacking Clinton’s supposed inability to handle confidential information. Maybe it’s fine because Petraeus is a dude?

Germany Preemptively Worrying About Election Hacks

Not wanting to wait until a marginal candidate calls for a recount – cough Jill Stein cough – German foreign intelligence chief Bruno Kahl is preemptively warning of a Russian hack during their elections. Kahl says his agency is already aware of plots to attack European elections, with a particular focus on Germany, where Angela Merkel is widely considered the last bastion of liberal democracy. Merkel is threatened by the far-right, anti-immigrant AfD which, along with all extreme parties in Europe, has expressed pro-Russia leanings. But Russia doesn’t have to directly hack election machines to hack an election. In the US they hacked Hillary Clinton’s campaign chief’s private emails and in Italy, Buzzfeed reports how supposedly independent “media” companies just recycle Russian propaganda to promote Beppe Grillo’s far-left party. Meanwhile, Germany’s spy agency arrested one its employees who was accused of making Islamist statements and sharing agency information on chat rooms.

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 KEEPING OUR EYE ON

North Dakota: Following Governor Jack Dalrymple’s “emergency evacuation” order against the oil pipeline protestors, officials are now blocking critical supplies such as food and building materials from reaching the Sioux protestors and their allies. They also began threatening to use hefty fines against anyone who brought such items into the main protest camp.

Poland: At least one miner is dead and 10 others are missing after a 4.4-magnitude earthquake struck the Rudna mine in south-western Poland. The mine belongs to KGHM, one of the world’s largest copper producers.  

 LOOSE NUTS: FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT

 Who Needs Journalism When We Can Have A 24-Hour Taylor Swift Channel?

With President-elect Donald Trump taking swings at journalists, subscriptions to New York Times dwindling and CNN viewership dropping, it seems like we are on the verge of a new era in media. And beyond, it’s here: Taylor Swift NOW!

We’re not kidding. That’s the name of the new channel that AT&T wants to broadcast on its recently acquired DirecTV streaming service. Taylor Swift NOW! will be Taylor Swift all the time, a channel “devoted to the videos, concert performances, behind-the-scenes footage, and more from Swift’s archives” replayed on an infinite loop 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Finally, television with integrity. Why bother trying to figure out if that news article on your Facebook feed is real news or not? Just watch Taylor Swift NOW! where everything is awesome and 100% authentic.