What in the World Wednesdays #3: Wildlife Woes

By: burgundy bug

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A brown alpaca in Oregon

Source: Brown Alpaca 02| Penelope Peru Photography P³

The political climate grows more turbulent in the U.S. while President Donald Trump dodges allegations of his connection with the Russian President Vladimir Putin. Across the waters, the UK is just 3 months away from their separation with the European Union.

Meanwhile, an egg has taken Instagram by storm, the host of this year’s Grammy Awards has been announced, and wildlife officials in Oregon have begun killing Sea Lions.

What in the World of Politics

On Friday Jan. 11, The New York Times reported the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had officially opened investigation on whether President Trump had worked with Russia in May 2017.

While this shouldn’t serve as too much of a surprise, the report further outlined major details of the investigation. According to the Times, the FBI’s suspicions bubbled to the surface in July 2016.

The following day, the Washington Post released an article covering the lengths at which President Trump went to conceal his conversations with Vladimir Putin.

“There is no detailed record, even in classified files, of Trump’s face-to-face interactions with the Russian leader at five locations over the past two years,” Greg Miller wrote in the article.

According to Miller, President Trump has met with Putin in private on multiple occasions. President Trump also gone as far as taking his translator’s notes and asking him not to repeat what had been discussed with other officials following a meeting in Hamburg, Germany in July 2017.

On Saturday evening, President Trump spoke with Jeanine Pirro over the phone on her Fox News series Justice with Judge Jeanine.

Jeanine Pirro’s interview with President Donald Trump

Source: Justice With Judge Jeanine Fox News 1/12/19 Fox News January 12 2019 | Jason Hancover

“I think it’s the most insulting thing I’ve ever been asked,” Trump said after Pirro asked if the president had ever worked for Russia. “I think it’s the most insulting article I’ve ever had written. And if you read the article, you’d see that they found absolutely nothing.”

Trump goes on to refer to the New York Times as “the failing New York Times” and a “disaster as a paper” before claiming this whole situation is a hoax.

“It’s a hoax,” Trump said. “It’s called the Russia hoax or witch, you know, it’s a witch hunt. And it’s a shame.”

Meanwhile, the United States government has been shutdown for nearly one month with no end in sight.

Stay tuned for a one month recap of the partial government shutdown on The Burgundy Zine!

Across the waters, the Brexit is officially taking place at 11pm on Friday, March 29, according to BBC.

The Brexit began with a referendum held on June 23, 2016 in which voting-aged citizens of the United Kingdom decided whether the UK should split from the European Union. 51.9% of the 30 million voted in favor of the Brexit. A detailed look at the results are also available on the BBC website.

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The results of the referendum

Source: UK Votes to Leave the EU | BBC

British Prime Minister Theresa May proposed a deal that would have served as a sort of compromise between those in favor of and opposed to the Brexit.

However, neither side seems too keen on compromising, as the deal was rejected with a vote of 202-432, according to Vox.

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What in the World of Art and Entertainment?

Over the weekend, a photograph of an egg cracked the record for most liked post on Instagram, according to Tech Crunch.

View this post on Instagram

Let’s set a world record together and get the most liked post on Instagram. Beating the current world record held by Kylie Jenner (18 million)! We got this ? #LikeTheEgg #EggSoldiers #EggGang

A post shared by EGG GANG ? (@world_record_egg) on Jan 4, 2019 at 9:05am PST

Talk about eggcellence.

world_record_egg‘s eggstraordinary rise to popularity has quickly inspired an entire subgenre of memes, as it managed to surpass a photograph of Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott’s daughter Stormi Webster that was posted in February 2018.

On Monday, Kim Kardashian-West confirmed her and husband Kanye West were expecting their fourth child via surrogate on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.

It’s a boy – Kim Kardashian-West

Source: Kim Kardashian And Kanye West Are Having Another Boy! | WWHL | Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen

This Host is on Fire

On Tuesday, 15-time Grammy Winner Alicia Keys released a video announcing she will host the 61st annual Grammy Awards.

I am hosting the Grammy’s!

Source: I’M HOSTING THE 2019 GRAMMYS (ALICIA KEYS) | Alicia Keys

“What if I don’t want to,” Keys laughs before a compilation of her sharing the news with her loved ones ensues. The singer-songwriter’s enthusiasm is nothing short of heartwarming.

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What Else is Going on in the World?

Sears, formally known as the largest retailer in America according to CNN, went to auction on Monday.

According to Bloomberg, the chairman of Sears Holdings Eddie Lampert won the auction with a bid of $5 billion. However, the transaction will not be finalized until it is approved by the judge who is overseeing Sears’ bankruptcy.

Head on over to The Downfall of Department Stores on The Burgundy Zine for more on the decline of the department store industry.

Snapchat is facing a few business issues of their own, with CFO Tim Stone departing from the company after working as the CFO for less than a year. As a result, their stock took an 8.5% hit.

According to Business Insider, Stone is leaving to “pursue other opportunities”

Wildlife Woes

Following a federal permit Oregon’s Department of Fish and Wildlife had obtained in November, the state’s wildlife officials have begun killing sea lions in an attempt to protect the trout in the Willamette River.

This decision was made following record-low numbers of steelhead trout making their journey beyond Willamette Falls, according to The Weather Channel.

Last winter, only 512 steelhead trout were accounted for. Less than 30 years ago, there were well over 15,000 steelhead trout.

However, we should stay weary of interfering too much. Afterall, human interference is at the heart of elephants beginning to evolve without tusks.

According to earth.com, 90% of elephants in Gorongosa National Park were slaughtered for their ivory tusks, which would fund the weapons used in the Mozambican Civil War of the late 20th century.

Generally, less than four percent of elephants are born without their tusks. We are now seeing a wave of elephants born without tusks, as the tuskless elephants dismissed by poachers began mating with each other, passing the gene on to their offspring.

Is the Pegan Diet the Next Big Thing?

In other news, a new diet known as “Pegan” (not to be confused with pagan, a religious belief outside of what is classified as “main world religion”) may just be the next big thing.

The pegan diet is a blend of both the vegan and paleo diets.

It’s sort of ironic, considering vegan and paleo diets are practical polar opposites – with one advocating for dietary habits mimicking our ancestors meat and seafood rich eating habits, and the other calling for complete abstinence from animal products.

So… How Does the Pegan Diet Work?

Although the paleo diet often calls for eating animal products, it is much more than that. At its core, paleo encourages us to strictly eat whole foods, cutting out anything that is processed.

Similarly, being a vegan entails primarily consuming whole foods.

Indulging in fresh, organic, whole foods is the entire aim of the pegan diet.

According to USA Today, 75% of the pegan diet is comprised of plant-based food. Those who are pegan should use nuts and avocados as their main source of healthy fats, eating meat sparingly.

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In Conclusion

• Although it’s the dead of winter, the political climate of the United States stays heated as President Trump denies working with Vladimir Putin.
• The UK is facing a political revolution of their own, with the Brexit just a few months away.
• Shortly after a photograph of an egg surpassed Kylie Jenner’s daughter Stormi Webster in terms of likes on Instagram, Kim Kardashian-West confirmed her and Kanye West were expecting a fourth child, a boy, via surrogate.
• Alicia Keys confirmed she will host the 61st annual Grammy Awards
• Sears Holdings chairman Eddie Lamberg won the Sears auction with a bid of $5 billion.
• Snapchat stock takes an 8.5% hit after CFO Tim Stone announces he will be leaving to “pursue other opportunities”
• Oregon wildlife officials have begun killing sea lions in an attempt to protect steelhead trout
• Elephants are evolving without tusks due to ivory poaching during the Mozambican Civil War.
• The Pegan diet, a blend of Vegan and Paleo diets, may just be the next big thing.

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