The Week in Overkill

Winner: Ahmet Altan—Turkish writer Ahmet Altan, already jailed for life for involvement in the failed coup against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the summer of 2016, got another six-year prison sentence (along with a publicity boost) this week for contributing to an op-ed entitled “I will never see the world again.” That takes courage. #WhenTheFallsAllThatsLeft

Loser: Chinese Censors—following President Xi Jinping’s decision to abolish term limits this week, Chinese censors cracked down on social media, scrubbing any reference to Winnie the Pooh (a commonly used euphemism for Xi) and even the letter “n.” A tad much. #JustSayO

The Week in Made Up Stuff

Winner: Norway—Norway’s police are investigating two fake Nobel Peace Prize nominations for one Donald J. Trump. Because this is what Norway’s police department spends its time on. Let me give them a hint: it’s probably someone who really loves Norway, and is really envious of Barack Obama… #TwoGuessesButOnlyNeedOne

Loser: Pakistan—Fake news duped a Pakistani TV station into reporting that Chinese had been declared an official language of the country, which was then picked up by Indian outlets who pointed to it as proof that its arch-nemesis was cozying up to Beijing. #DoubleSecretFakeNews

The Week in Better Late Than Never

Winner: Kosovo—Kosovo just recently received its first country code (383)… ten years after becoming a country. #DialOForOverdue

Loser: Exxon—Exxon abandons some projects with Russian state-oil giant Rosneft… citing 2014 sanctions. And to think, all it took was a Donald Trump election victory, a Russia hacking scandal, a Mueller investigation… #ThouDostProtestNotEnough 

The Week in Cabinet Reshuffles

Winner: South Africa—Newly-installed president Cyril Ramaphosa hit the ground running, appointing a competent cabinet filled with familiar faces that is sure to boost domestic and investor confidence. The bar may have been set low, but Ramaphosa cleared it with room to spare. #TheyNeededThis 

Loser: The Trump administration: Hope Hicks quits. McMaster might get pushed out. Sessions might have to go. Kelly wants to be rid of Jared Kushner. In TrumpWorld, the cards are continually shuffled, and not always in the most coordinated way. 

Originally published on Linkedin Pulse

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