France Flounders, A Grounded Private Jet, & Mystery Space Sounds
September 3, 2024
Hello, readers – happy Tuesday! Today, we’ll be talking about the French stalemate, what’s going on in Gaza, Maduro’s private jet, Germany’s far-right, the Eagles staying out of politics, Disney vs. DirecTV, and the Starliner mystery sound.
Here’s some good news: food scientists in Switzerland have come up with a way to make chocolate using the entire cocoa fruit rather than just the beans (and without using sugar). Also, Paralympians now have access to the U.S. delegation’s High Performance Center, the top-notch training compound located north of Paris.
“Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.” – Mother Teresa
The Moderate Who Couldn’t Moderate
France’s government remains in limbo as President Emmanuel Macron continues to essentially hold the country hostage, having refused to appoint a new prime minister for almost two months since the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) won snap elections called by Macron’s own government in July. Despite taking first place in the polls ahead of the far-right National Rally (RN) party and Macron’s centrist Ensemble coalition, the NFP was unable to secure a full majority in parliament. That means French politicians need to hammer out a deal to appoint a new prime minister, but it’s unclear if the government – split between the left, the right, and (somehow) the center – can work out its differences.
Macron was actually supposed to come to a compromise and appoint a prime minister over the weekend, but the “centrist” president has refused to find a middle ground yet again. Instead, he’s expected to hold discussions this week in hopes of selecting a new prime minister. Bernard Cazeneuve is the current leading candidate, representing the most centrist-leaning part of France’s left wing.
If today’s negotiations don’t result in Cazeneuve being appointed prime minister, France has some serious problems on its hands. The government needs to submit a draft 2025 budget to parliament by October 1, meaning a new prime minister will have to get their ducks in a row very quickly once appointed. France Unbowed, a leftist party, has already presented a proposal to remove Macron from office due to his refusal to select a new prime minister, though it’s unlikely they will give him the boot … yet.
Not A Good Weekend For Netanyahu
The walls seem to be closing in on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu too. On Monday, U.S. President Joe Biden said Netanyahu is not working hard enough to secure a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. The divide between the U.S. and Israel comes as the need for a hostage exchange becomes clearer than ever. Over the weekend, the bodies of six hostages were found in tunnels beneath Gaza, including the remains of one Israeli-American citizen. The discovery sparked mass anti-Netanyahu demonstrations across Israel, with citizens even staging a nationwide strike on Monday.
Meanwhile, the U.K. has suspended a large amount of arms sales to Israel after Britain’s government found that the weapons would likely be used in violation of international humanitarian law. U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the enclave faces an “appalling humanitarian situation.” Though the suspension marks just a drop in the bucket of weapons being sent to Israel by Western powers, the Netanyahu regime is expected to respond to the move with venom.
In the only version of a bright spot that we could find this week, healthcare workers have begun to distribute the polio vaccine, which will help protect Gaza’s population. The vaccination drive will involve 2,100 health workers attempting to vaccinate as many Palestinian babies as possible, with IDF troops allowing them into the area via a humanitarian corridor. “The turnout for the first day of the campaign was positive and thousands of children and families were seen lining up ready to receive their vaccine,” said UNRWA on Sunday.
No Private Jets For This President
- Fall has just begun, and things are already falling out of the sky in Venezuela. Over the weekend, U.S. officials seized a jet being used by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, claiming that the private plane was illegally brought into Venezuela via a ring of shell companies and international smugglers looking to circumvent U.S. sanctions on the South American leader. The Dassauly Falcon 900EX was seized by a joint force of American law enforcement agencies in the Dominican Republic before it was transferred into the custody of American officials in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
- “Let this seizure send a clear message: aircraft illegally acquired from the United States for the benefit of sanctioned Venezuelan officials cannot just fly off into the sunset,” said one U.S. official. Venezuela has been the target of a steadily increasing wave of U.S. sanctions, especially after a recent controversial presidential election which Western officials believe was unfairly stolen by the Maduro government.
Hey, Germany, What’s That Phrase About Repeating History?
- While planes were being brought down in Venezuela, politics were being shifted in another direction – very, very far to the right – in Germany. In regional parliamentary elections held in the eastern German state of Thuringia, the far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party became the first far-right party to win a German state election since the Nazis.
- When votes were fully counted on Sunday, the AfD was confirmed to have won 32.8% of the vote in Thuringia (enough to snag a first-place finish) and a close second place in Saxony with 30.6% of the vote. The results are a concerning sign for Germany’s ruling center-left SPD coalition as federal elections are just one year away. The far-left Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance also gained seats in both Thuringia and Saxony, coming in third in both states, signaling even more problems for Germany’s centrists.
- The AfD has gained ground with voters thanks to growing anti-immigrant sentiments among rural and younger Germans. Its platform calls for “the immediate expulsion of all illegal immigrants from our country,” and its most popular chants include “Ausländer Raus” (“foreigners out”) and “Deutschland den Deutschen” (“Germany for Germans”). Not exactly the kind of slogans you want to hear from a quickly-growing political party in Germany.
More Mixed Nuts
- “Russian spy” beluga whale found dead in water off Norway (CBS)
- South African beauty queen crowned Miss Nigeria after nationality row (Guardian)
- Russian officials recover the bodies of all 22 people killed in a helicopter crash in the Far East (AP)
- Pope embarks on longest, farthest and most challenging trip to Asia (NBC)
- Brazil Supreme Court panel upholds judge’s decision to block X nationwide (AP)
The Eagles Do Not Fly For Kamala
- The Philadelphia Eagles took to social media yesterday to assure fans that it is not only aware of fake advertisements posted on the team’s behalf endorsing VP Kamala Harris, but that it is working to get them removed. At least one of these ads could be found at a Philadelphia-area bus stop.
- The advertisement depicts a caricature of Harris wearing an Eagles football helmet and clutching a football with the text “Official candidate of the Philadelphia Eagles.” It also includes an actual link that goes to the official website of the Philadelphia Eagles that encourages voter registration.
Disney Ditches DirecTV
- Yesterday, Disney pulled its ABC, ESPN, and other cable networks from DirecTV. The agreement between the two companies expired at the beginning of this month, leaving DirecTV’s 11 million customers unable to access the House of Mouse offerings.
- Disney offered DirecTV a sports-centric package. They claim the rates they’ve offered are in line with those of other providers, and accused DirecTV of asking for discounts – DirecTV, on the other hand, says Disney demanded that to reach a deal, the carrier must waive all future legal claims that its behavior is anti-competitive.
- “Instead of allowing distributors like DirecTV to also develop smaller, more tailored packages at prices that reflect the value they get from the content, programmers have continued to impose and enforce strict bundling requirements,” said Rob Thun, chief content officer at DirecTV.
More Nuts In America
- A Kenyan man wanted in Massachusetts for allegedly killing his girlfriend has been extradited (AP)
- Protester who interrupted Trump rally to face charges, police say (NBC)
- Trump leans into culture wars with Moms for Liberty at DC summit (USA Today)
- California slavery reparations bills unraveled over Gavin Newsom amendments (Politico)
- Trump says maybe God saved him from assassination attempt to fix ‘broken country’ (Guardian)
- Several Gold Star families defend Trump’s Arlington Cemetery visit, criticize Harris for her response (CBS)
A Strange Sound From Starliner
- Over the weekend, the pair of NASA astronauts left stranded aboard the International Space Station thanks to the failure of Boeing’s Starliner space capsule started hearing a “strange noise” coming from their abandoned spacecraft. “I’ve got a question about Starliner,” Butch Wilmore asked mission control in Houston. “There’s a strange noise coming through the speaker … I don’t know what’s making it.”
- The astronauts’ discovery kicked off a whirlwind of speculation and searching for the source of the beeping sound. Was the sonar-like noise some sort of message from an alien species? Was Starliner begging the astronauts for one last chance? Or was it just another equipment malfunction on yet another Boeing product?
- Unfortunately, it seems the last option was closest to the truth. After Wilmore held his microphone up to a speaker inside Starliner, mission control confirmed it could finally hear the sound. “Alright Butch, that one came through,” Mission Control told the astronaut. “It was kind of like a pulsing noise, almost like a sonar ping.” NASA believes that the beeping is the product of a speaker feedback loop between the ISS and Starliner. Boring, but also reassuring that the astronauts were not being stalked by aliens.
More Loose Nuts
- Officials identify ‘Pinnacle Man’ after a nearly five-decade long investigation (CNN)
- Tiger bites handler at Australian amusement park (ABC)
- Railings on Titanic’s iconic bow have broken off and fallen to sea floor (NBC)
- Zheng Qinwen and Donna Vekić break record for latest finish in women’s match at US Open (CNN)
- Scientists find seismic role in formation of large gold nuggets (Guardian)
