Leave it to Twitter to spread levity even with fugitive terrorists on the loose and a major European city on lockdown.
When the Belgian police shut down Brussels to hunt for terrorists after the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris, they didn't want a million eyes broadcasting their movements to the suspects. So they urged the tweeting public not to post about police activity and thousands of bored Belgians responded by tweeting cat pictures instead.
Meanwhile in retail sales, it seems Cyber Monday has finally eclipsed Black Friday as Americans' annual pre-holiday consumerism orgy of choice. More shoppers said they shopped online than in stores over Thanksgiving weekend, according to the National Retail Federation — which changed its holiday weekend sales survey methodology this year to account for the ongoing secular shift. Seeking to capitalize on the backlash against Black Friday's creep into Thanksgiving, stores like Ikea, Nordstrom and Apple stayed closed on Thursday, and at least one chain, outdoor goods retailer REI, opted out of Black Friday entirely.
Elsewhere, drug behemoth Pfizer announced it would buy drug behemoth Allergan for more than $150 billion, the trivial outrage machine raged against Starbucks' minimalist holiday cup design and Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush ran an ill-considered hashtag campaign.
Did your brother fail to win Florida's electoral votes? #JebCanFixIt pic.twitter.com/pJopnjQhYW
— Memeographs (@memeographs) November 2, 2015
BREAKING! @JebBush quits #GOP race, signs deal with @hgtv for new reality show: #JebCanFixIt! pic.twitter.com/c91OSv8C7m
— Memeographs (@memeographs) November 2, 2015
Old Man Yells at Cup by @BackoftheHead & @danagould pic.twitter.com/2THGC3xEGn
— Matt Selman (@mattselman) November 11, 2015
We may end up with a single drug company before we get single-payer health insurance.
— Ivan the K™ (@IvanTheK) November 23, 2015
How can the "P" in Pfizer sit there and remain silent through all this M&A activity?
— Ivan the K™ (@IvanTheK) November 23, 2015
This seems like a really good value! https://t.co/kVfjefAKGf pic.twitter.com/Cj9HRkhp4r
— Joseph Weisenthal (@TheStalwart) November 20, 2015
