Category: Jackrabbit News Brief

Short synopses of global news.

  • Jackrabbit News Brief

    Obama Vetoes Keystone Pipeline This Tuesday President Obama vetoed a bill that would have permitted construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Supporters of the bill believed it would spur economic growth and job creation. Its opponents claimed it would contribute to global warming. Estimates of the quantity of jobs and carbon emissions produced by the pipeline vary radically. Because of this, the fight over the Keystone XL Pipeline has become largely symbolic. The bill passed the Republican-controlled Congress with some support from Midwestern Democrats. However, it is unlikely that Republicans in Congress will find the two-thirds majority necessary to override Obama’s veto. Republican attention now shifts to including the Keystone Pipeline legislation in a larger bill, making a Presidential veto less likely. Greece and Eurozone Strike Short-Term Deal Finance ministers from the Eurozone have agreed to the reform measures proposed by Greece in exchange for a four-month extension on its bailout. Greece has been considered to be on the verge of economic collapse for the better part of a decade now, suffering greatly from the 2008 worldwide financial crisis. Largely because of this, the left-wing Syriza party was elected, and became the dominant political force in Greece. Previous negotiations came close to a full Greek exit from the Eurozone, as neither party could resolve their differences. In that event Greece would no longer circulate the Euro and instead revert to a national currency. Both Greece and the Eurozone see this short-term deal as a step towards a larger agreement that could prevent a Greek exit, but both sides insist there is more negotiation to be done. It remains to be seen how Greece and the Eurozone will resolve the economic crises.

  • Jackrabbit News Brief: September 2014

    The Islamic State

    Following senatorial approval, The United States began offensive airstrikes this week against the Islamic extremist organization known as ISIS, ISIL, IS, and The Islamic State. Previous airstrikes have prevented The Islamic State from expanding. Nevertheless, IS’s numbers continue to expand rapidly.

    Ceasefire in Ukraine

    A ceasefire in Ukraine came into effect this month, but news agencies report trouble enforcing the peace agreement. Many rebel groups in Ukraine’s east are still fighting the government for independence. Most of them are Russian. Some of them were armed and funded by Russia, according to western nations.

    Scottish Independence

    Last Thursday, Scotland narrowly voted to remain part of the United Kingdom. In exchange, Scotland will be granted more legislative authority from the British parliament. Many see this as the preservation of the union that conquered and maintained the largest colonial empire in the world. Others see the intense English campaign for unity as a continuation a thousand years of English dominance over Scotland.

    Ebola Virus Worsens

    Cases of Ebola continue to rise in West Africa, where nearly 2,500 people have died of the infection in the past year. The United Nations now believes it will take $1,000,000,000 to successfully halt the outbreak. The United States deployed 3,000 troops to West Africa to assist countries in managing the outbreak. Experts say the world community is still not ahead of the disease.

    Continued Decline in Worldwide Death Rate

    Four years ago, Steven Pinker published an 800-page report that surprised many by claiming that the worldwide death rate had declined dramatically in the past hundred years. In a conversation with NPR, Pinker was asked whether the worldwide unrest in places like Gaza and Iraq in 2014 has caused a rise in the death rate. While in the past four years death by war has risen, overall death continues to decline. While the world may seem like a scarier and scarier place, the numbers say otherwise.

  • Jackrabbit News Brief: Summer 2014

    Jackrabbit News Brief: Summer 2014

    Ferguson protests

    Protesters flooded the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, demanding justice for the death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown and the police officer who fatally shot him. Following the shooting, members of the Ferguson peacefully protested for over two weeks, but unrest escalated when police forces began using tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse crowds. The shooting has spurred national debates about racial profiling and police brutality. The FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice have committed to conduct an investigation related to the shooting.


    California drought

    According to government officials, California has lost 63 trillion gallons of water in the past 18 months. Water levels in lakes and reservoirs have reached historic lows. The dire water situation has been compounded to unusual heat and record-low rainfalls. With thousands losing their jobs in the agricultural sector and food prices skyrocketing, California’s agricultural business remains to be the biggest victim of the drought. California lawmakers recently sent a package of bills to Governor Jerry Brown; if approved, these bills will allow the state to begin regulating the groundwater supply for the first time.


    Ebola outbreak

    An epidemic of the Ebola virus has affected five countries in West Africa. With 1,552 deaths confirmed by the World Health Organization, the 2014 outbreak has been marked as one of the largest Ebola outbreaks in history. Odds of survival stand at about 50-50; however, two American aid workers were the first patients to be successfully treated for the Ebola virus in the United States. Although there isn’t a cure or vaccine for Ebola, a number of experimental drugs are currently under study such as ZMapp and TKM-Ebola.


    Iraq crisis

    The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is an offshoot of Al-Qaeda, and it has been labeled as a foreign terrorist organization by the United Nations. ISIS’s mission is to create an Islamic state governed by a hard-line interpretation of Islamic law; however, ISIS bears no mercy to those who stand in its way. ISIS has ransacked towns and villages in Iraq, making sweeping territorial gains. They also brutally massacred religious minorities. In response to this, the U.S. deployed air strikes against ISIS; tens of thousands of Iraqi Yazidis were successfully evacuated after seeking refuge in the Sinjar Mountains.

  • Jackrabbit News Brief: December 2013

    Mandela Buried

    Nelson Mandela was laid to rest on Sunday, December 15 in his ancestral village (part of Eastern Cape Province, South Africa). Mandela, the first black South African president and the most influential anti-apartheild leader in South Africa, died on December 5. He spent the majority of his life fighting for the rights of South Africans and for a South African democracy. Mandela did not back down at any point during his fight for his dream South Africa; instead, he practiced civil disobedience several times in his life and wound up in jail for years. Among those who spoke at his burial, many claimed that the fight for South African equality and democracy would not die with Mandela.

    Arapohoe Shooting

    Eighteen year old Karl Pierson walked into Arapohoe High School in Colorado on December 15 and shot both seventeen year old Claire Esther Davis and himself. Pierson also fired many shots into the school hallways. According to news reports, Pierson was looking for revenge on a faculty librarian but could not locate him/her before a school officer had found him. In order to escape the situation, Pierson took his own life. It is unknown whether or not the girl he shot will survive, though her injuries are severe.

    Stronger Ties in Philippines

    Secretary of State John Kerry flew to Manila on December 17 in order to strengthen previous ties with the Philippines, a long-standing ally of the United States. There has been an increase in territorial disputes between the Philippines and China with regards to several small islands located in the Eastern China Sea. China has placed an air defense zone in Beijing. However, Kerry has made it clear that the United States plans to back its allies (Philippines and neighboring Vietnam) in the matter. Kerry claims that the United States plans to support its friends in order to come to a peaceful resolution. He also went on record claiming that the tensions aren’t as serious as they sound and that he believes everything will work out peacefully. Kerry also visited the typhoon devastated city of Tacloban on Wednesday, December 17. By doing this, he hoped to show support for the Filipino people who had lost so much from the typhoon.