News in a Kawaii Nutshell (Issue 1)
DATE: November 2020
The Theme of the Month: Change, Tension, and Protests
The Theme of the Month: Change, Tension, and Protests
This month has brought a lot of change. I’ll start with the most obvious: Joe Biden winning the presidency. Yes, we recounted in some states at Trump’s request and hardly any changes were made for the most part. Most of us adults are likely alcoholics now (and, yes, that includes me.) My UCLA political science degree never prepared me for intense tension and chaos.
At the start of this month, Europe and the United States have seen new spikes in Covid-19, likely attached to seasonal gatherings and celebrations.
You can find all of the latest updates here.
GLOBAL NEWS
United States: Amy Coney Barrett has been selected as the new supreme court justice after being rushed in by the Trump administration. This solidifies the Conservative majority of 6-3.
As of Nov 21, 2020, there is an earth-shattering count of 91,300 new cases. The U.S. alone has 12.3 Million cases and counting, approaching 257K deaths.
Brazil: Politicians are now beginning to change their racial identities. More of them are opting to identify as “pardo” (Mixed-race) rather than identifying as white.
China: How our diplomatic relations will look under a Biden presidency will be radically different from that of Trump’s. Biden has pre-existing ties to China’s President Xi Jinping. This brings the human rights violations of the Uyghurs into question. Biden has stated he will be tough on China.
India: State and national government ties are being tested, of course, over the main thing most people would argue about: resources such as funding, medical supplies, staff, etc. The government has stopped the delivery of important goods such as fuel and farm supplies for Punjabi power plants.
Iran: The United Nation’s atomic watchdog sector has confirmed the restart of its endeavors into nuclear centrifuges. This flips the 2015 agreement, where a decision was made not to have such a program instituted under the Obama administration.
(Update Nov 27, 2020) In a recent development, top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was killed in an attack. This will make it harder for peaceful negotiations about nuclear security and programs.
Germany: New government coming in Autumn 2021. Merkel will be stepping down; however, her party is running into issues over who is best suited to take on Germany in the midst of a global pandemic.
Nigeria: Approximately 800 people have been arrested for looting and burning down warehouses and shops. This is in connection to ongoing problems with police brutality similar to what is happening in the United States. Covid-19 seems to have exacerbated these issues further.
Peru: Three different presidents served in one week. Demonstrations and civil unrest are now something the government will have to tangle with to regain governmental stability. The removal of the president came when Congress decided that Martin Vizcarra was deemed ‘morally unfit’ to maintain his position. On Nov 9, 2020 the 105 to 19 vote with four in congress abstaining to vote ended Mr.Vizcarra’s presidency. The decision seems to stem from the Odebrecht investigations. - Source
Poland: Late last month, protests against anti-abortion laws began. Women in the nation will have a harder time accessing abortions as they can no longer use early detected birth defects as a reason for the procedure. Protests against these anti-abortion laws began late last month. .Overall, getting an abortion at all will be nearly impossible. (Economist and the Guardian) - Source
The Feel Good Stuff (Better than Alcohol)
Because I totally know most of us have been doom scrolling, haven’t we?
Ander Christensen, 27, pleaded to his city council to rename “boneless chicken wings” because he thinks they’re a lie. He did this “all in good fun”. Buffalo Wild Wings offered him free nuggets if he dropped his insistence of trying to change the name. - Source
Canadian scientists believe they may have cracked the code for possibly curing diabetes. - Source
A mother pays for multiple strangers’ groceries on a whim. - Source
(My faith in humanity just went up a little bit :) )
