French Outsiders Prevail, Angry North Korea, Closing Time for the US Government?

French Voters Want The Outsiders as Macron and Le Pen Face-Off: French voters like centrist and political outsider Emmanuel Macron much as they do their macaroons. Late last night, polls had Macron receiving 23.9% of the votes whereas Marine Le Pen, the far-right candidate, received 21.4%. The French political establishment was dealt a blow given that no candidate from either of the two major parties made it to the run-off on May 7. But the establishment losers, Francois Fillon and Benoit Hamon, have quickly rallied around Macron. An anti-establishment domino theory that starts with Brexit and the election of Trump would then lead to Le Pen winning the French presidency. Le Pen is anti-EU, anti-immigrant, anti-free-trade, and anti-dad.

But not so fast. Macron is an outsider, perhaps not a greaser like Ponyboy (The Outsiders is an incredibly well-done Francis Ford Coppola film and of course, a must read), but people want change and Macron’s outsider coolness is an asset. The takeaway from the French election is that voters on both sides of the Atlantic are incredibly fed-up with the state of their politics. Perhaps some voters “just want to watch the world burn,” but there are also voters who are so unhappy that they are now Bulls on Parade angry. We predict that Macron will win because of his position as an outsider. Speaking of, since when does a senior civil servant and former investment banker get labeled an outsider? That’s about as outsider as Mitt Romney. Another takeaway: If you’ve ever considered running for office, now is the time to do it. Just make sure you run as an outsider.

Taliban Kill 140 People at Afghan Army Base: On Friday, the Taliban raided an army base in northern Afghanistan and killed as many as 140 soldiers, many of them unarmed. The assault began as soldiers were observing Friday prayers at Camp Shaheen near Mazar-e Sharif, one of the nation’s most populated and developed cities. President Ashraf Ghani called for a national day of mourning and visited the base, but grieving families are demanding answers from the government. Friday’s attack was the second major intelligence failure in the last two months, after alleged ISIS gunmen stormed a military hospital in Kabul in March, killing dozens. The location and nature of the two attacks are signs of the war’s continuing brutality and pervasiveness. Urban areas such as Mazar-i-Sharif and Kabul had previously been considered relatively safe.

Surprise! North Korea Still Going Ballistic: Over the weekend, the North Korean government threatened to sink a US aircraft carrier. But someone please remind them that they can only attack carriers that are actually there. President Trump and Press Secretary Sean Spicer unwittingly played a rope-a-dope last week by saying “we have an armada going to the [Korean] peninsula” when in fact the ships were in Indonesia. As the verbal sparring has escalated, US defense officials basically told their North Korean counterparts that it’s getting hot in here, so take off all your warheads from your rocket racks.

Congolese Park Ranger Receives Prestigious Award: Rodrigue Mugaruka Katembo, a former child soldier from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, received the Goldman Environmental Prize for his work protecting Virunga National Park, Africa’s oldest national park. As a park ranger, Katembo went undercover to document and release information about bribery and corruption in the quest to exploit Virunga’s oil, resulting in public outrage that forced UK oil giant SOCO International to end exploratory activities in the park. Katembo appears in the Netflix documentary Virunga, which documents his and his colleagues’ extraordinary efforts to stop exploitation and armed conflict in the park. Following the film and Katembo’s investigations, campaigns by the World Wildlife Fund have thus far shut down oil exploration in Virunga.

A Possible US Government Shutdown and Oh Yeah, That Wall: In order to avert a government shutdown, President Trump is seeking concessions from Democrats to include funding for the wall along the Mexico border. But Democrats are scratching their heads and asking, Wasn’t Mexico suppose to pay for that wall? And a government shutdown when  Republicans control all three branches of the government might secretly bring great delight to many Democrats.

A possible government closing time, which would happen on Friday if Congress can’t get its act together, comes at a pivotal juncture in the Trump administration as it marks its symbolic 100th day on April 29. Trump is doing his best to channel Robert Frost: “Washington DC is not lovely and is dark and deep. But I have promises to keep. And bills I want to sign before I sleep, and many executive orders to sign before I sleep.”

We are world news junkies but also sports fans. And this weekend we saw some spectacular athletic performances. LeBron James broke a few NBA records by winning his 21st straight first-round playoff game (breaking an old Lakers record), swatting the Pacers, and winning his 10th post-season sweep (besting a Tim Duncan record). After struggling before the playoffs, the Cleveland Cavaliers and James look like they are in championship form again and are definitely the team to beat in the east. Meanwhile, as everyone has been saying all year, the championship is all but assured for the Golden Gate Warriors.

Meanwhile, Lionel Messi scored his 500th Barcelona goal on a game winner as his team beat pretty-boy Cristiano Ronaldo’s Real Madrid by 3-2. Messi’s goal came at a time when pundits have started doubting his abilities and wondering whether or not he is on the decline. Messi was playing like Jay-Z when he said “When I come back like Jordan, wearin the 4-5, it ain’t to play games witchu…I came, I saw, I conquered.”

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