7 Other Bits of News Worth Paying Attention to This Week

It is super easy to hop on whatever social media platform you are favoring this week and get a taste of what the f*ck is going on in this big, bad world at any given moment. But what if you miss a single moment in that never-ending media vortex? Will you be forever “not woke”? Or potentially even worse—what if your social media gander throws you down a rabbit hole and you end up stalking your 6th grade crush’s ex-girlfriend’s dog’s Insta account? We have all been there and can hopefully all agree it’s a total waste of screen time. (Well maybe you don’t think so—but it may be time to reevaluate.)  

We all have been (hopefully) keeping up with COVID-19 and the current social justice movement, but a million other things are also going down around the globe that probably didn’t pop up on your feed. Did you know that Egypt and Libya might go to war? Probably not, but you probably heard something about how TikTok-ers and K-Pop Stans took down Trump’s Tulsa Rally.

We aren’t trying to make you feel bad. The whole world pretty much agrees that the news is overwhelming and a whole lot of bad at the moment. Unless you are going to spend a few hours a day mining through the newspaper rubbles, it is basically impossible to get any grasp on the reality of what’s really going on out there. Lucky for you, if you need some interesting and semi-sophisticated talking points, or are just super fricking bored like the rest of us, we put together some highlights of everything else going on in the world right now. All in one place.

1. A Disappearing Pussy Rioter

So over in Russia, there’s a group apparently known as Pussy Riot who have been protesting Human Rights abuses committed by the state since 2011. This week, however, one member, Pyotr Verzilov, was kind of just taken from his apartment by a guy who broke down his door. This guy is apparently part of the Russian “anti-extremism” police. We aren’t entirely sure where Pyotr is now, what this unidentified detainer wanted, or if Pyotr got his door fixed, but we are sure it happened—and that’s about all Russia will say on the matter. 

2. Zimbabwe’s Own Personal Shit Storm 

If you thought 2020 couldn’t get any worse for the world, then it’s time you narrowed your focus on Zimbabwe. Trust us, it will make you feel a lot more optimistic about your current situation. They’ve got everything from severe drought to a corrupt health official scamming money for COVID-19 tests. Oh, and that corrupt official is now out on bail. The lack of water in the area has caused food shortages, economic decline, and most recently the destruction of wetlands as urban areas expand outward. Humanitarian organizations, such as the World Food Program USA, are collecting donations for relief efforts.  

3. The Diary of American National Security

A whole lot of presidential gossip came out of the leaked copies of former National Security Advisor, John Bolton’s tell-all book “The Room Where It Happened”. Some highlights include President Trump telling Xi Jinping that Muslim internment camps were a great idea, a suggestion that it could be “cool” to invade Venezuela, and not being able to distinguish not only what major countries are nuclear powers, but even just where the hell Finland is. Those are just a few of our favorites. 

4. 70 Years of Anger and Indecisiveness 

There’s a whole long history in the Kashmir region of basically no one being able to decide if they belong to India or Pakistan. Some of Kashmir is run by India, some by Pakistan, they were supposed to decide back in 1947 where to call home, but no one could make up their minds. Just the other day, the Indian army killed a few more rebel fighters, something that has been going on since tensions began heating up for real again last August thanks to India’s Prime Minister

5. North American Has Some Rainforest Left, and It’s About to Be Gone

The last little bit of rainforest in North America will probably be gone soon. Even though almost all of it has already been chopped down, cattle ranchers are still clearing the Lacandon region in Mexico. The mere 10% of the rainforest that is still left is still home to about 20% of all of Mexico’s wildlife. 89 institutions ranging from Universities to NGOs, including the World Wildlife Fund, have stepped up to support conservation efforts.  

6. The Platypuses Are Back 

Remember when wildfires were raging across Australia? Yeah, that was just the beginning of this year. The fires destroyed a ton of land across the country and a ton of its wildlife as well. Thanks to some serious conservation efforts, however, a small fleet of wild platypuses have been released back into their natural habitat. These tiny and adorable refugees got to vacation at Taronga Zoo while they waited for things to cool off, but are now back in their ponds and ready to rebuild. 

7. PG&E Wiped Out Paradise 

Paradise, California that is. The small northern town was obliterated by wildfires back in 2018. Pacific Gas & Electric pleaded guilty, confessing the fires all started because of their old crummy equipment. Their CEO stood in front of the judge and 84 times over entered guilty pleas, accounting for each life lost in the fire.