The List: February 16, 2026

Northwestern students enjoyed their first snow day in over 30 years following this month’s Snowpocalypse, but the world’s heads of state reacted to the blizzard differently. These kinds of crises require a response from political leaders. Politics & Policy has compiled a list of these responses:

  1. Egypt: Hosni Mubarak declared another 30-year state of emergency
  2. Russia: Vladmir Putin banished snow to Siberia
  3. U.S.A.: Barack Obama invited blizzard to negotiating table
  4. Venezuela: Hugo Chavez called on blizzard to deposit snow equally
  5. Iran: Mahmoud Ahmadenijad blamed blizzard on Israel, promises to “wipe it off the map”
  6. North Korea: Kim Jong Il- denied snow in North Korea, citizens unanimously agree
  7. Cuba: Fidel Castro mastered double black diamond slopes without falling once
  8. Italy: Silvo Berlusconi played “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” on repeat
  9. Mexico: Felipe Calderon mistook blizzard for raining cocaine, immediately surrenders drug war
  10. Zimbabwe: Robert Mugabe declared snowflakes national currency; inflation rate declines
  11. Afghanistan: Hamid Karzai lamented 84% drop in GDP as opium crop freezes
  12. Germany: Angela Merkel sent German snow plow drivers to Greece after Greek drivers go on strike
  13. China: Hu Jintao enacts one snowman policy
  14. Israel: Benjamin Netanyahu “froze” settlements.
  15. Libya: Muammar Qaddafi stayed warm with the company of all-female bodyguard unit.