USA and Canada – Page 34 – IDN-InDepthNews

USA and Canada2016-03-172023-07-10

18 Elephants Jetted Out of Swaziland to U.S. Zoos Despite Protest

NEW YORK (INPS | GIN) – If moving one elephant and escaping notice sounds like a challenge, imagine moving 18. Yet three American zoos quietly moved 18 elephants out of Swaziland and into U.S. zoos.

Animal rights activists, who had a court date to block the action, condemned the transfer. Removing elephants from the wild for display in zoos is cruel and outdated, they said.

The operation involved sedating three males and 15 females, crating and hoisting them aboard a cargo plane in Swaziland. They range in age from 6 to 25 years.

USA and Canada2016-02-292023-07-10

Police Shooting of Kenyan Teen in Salt Lake City Triggers Protests

SALT LAKE CITY (INPS | GIN) – A near-fatal encounter between a Kenyan-born youth and police in Salt Lake City, Utah, prompted an angry reaction from bystanders who challenged the official version of the incident given by police.

Seventeen-year-old Abdi Mohammed reportedly was in an altercation with other youths on Saturday night, February 27, and had picked up a broomstick as police arrived. In seconds, according to witnesses, police started firing shots at the teen without giving him a chance to surrender.

USA and Canada2016-02-102023-07-10

Remaking the Future of America

NEW YORK (IDN) – In the richest and strongest country on earth – the Land of Opportunity – only a few wealthy persons can aspire to be the President of the United States of America, the most powerful and envious job in today’s menacing world.

The Presidential candidates – with lofty words and unrealistic promises – are clamouring to get into the White House. Among the catchy slogans are: “Repeal Obamacare”, “Tear up the Iranian Nuclear Deal”, “Carpet bomb ISIS” and “Punch the Russians in the nose”. Americans love this brash talk but ignore reality.

USA and Canada2014-09-222023-07-12

U. S. Military Three Years After ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

By Chas Henry* | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

WASHINGTON DC (IDN) – On a recent summer morning in Northern Virginia, about 100 very fit 20-somethings in camouflaged uniforms marched onto a large asphalt parade field in Quantico, Virginia – elated after ten weeks of tough physical and mental screening to have been selected as officers in the U. S. Marine Corps.

Among their ranks: Joseph Rocha, who many would have imagined the last person who would want to be part of that formation.

USA and Canada2014-04-042023-07-12

Shale Oil Gas Pitches US Against Saudi Arabia

By Joergen Oerstroem Moeller*

SINGAPORE (IDN | YaleGlobal) – Shale oil and gas has been labeled a game changer. Statistics would suggest that, yes, the new technologies and discoveries associated with hydraulic fracking change the energy picture and economic outlook, in particular for the United States, but less so than predictions would have it a year or two go.

The greater impact won’t be on the US economy, but rather US-Saudi relations and stability for the Middle East. President Barack Obama met King Abdullah March 28, and both leaders recognize that the geopolitical ground shaped by their common interest in stable oil prices has shifted, creating a new imbalance that could spill over into Mideast security policy.

USA and Canada2014-04-022023-07-12

And Now The Obama Doctrine

An Analysis by Gary Sick*

WASHINGTON D.C. (IDN | POMEPS) – Over the past quarter century, the most accurate single factor to explain security developments in the Gulf, as well as the best predictor of the future, has been and is U.S. policy in the region. Since it began to be a significant force, U.S. policy has undergone at least five major shifts. The current policy, which I will call the Obama Doctrine, represents the latest, and possibly one of the most important, iterations.

The United States has become the dominant military, diplomatic, and economic presence in the Gulf. It is, in effect, a leading Gulf power. This has become such an accepted condition that it is easy to forget just how recent and exceptional it is.

USA and Canada2014-03-202023-07-12

Jobs Fails To Keep Pace As US Economy Grows

By Ashok Bardhan* | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

BERKELEY (IDN | Yale Global) – The US economy seems to suffer from a bout of schizophrenia, as it cannot decide whether it’s doing well or not. There has been stable, albeit not spectacular, growth in the post-crisis phase, but analysts point to many headwinds. The bubble word is back, this time in the stock markets, and above all else increasing employment seems stubbornly resilient to macro-management.

USA and Canada2014-03-122023-07-12

China Striving For New Economic Balance With US

By Stephen S. Roach* | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

NEW HAVEN (IDN | YaleGlobal) – Once again, all eyes are on China. Emerging markets are being battered in early 2014, as perceptions of resilience have given way to fears of vulnerability. And handwringing over China is one of the major reasons.

Of course, Federal Reserve tapering – reductions of the US central bank’s unprecedented liquidity injections – has also been a trigger. That makes it much tougher for emerging economies overly dependent on global capital flows – namely, India, Indonesia, Brazil, South Africa, and Turkey – to finance economic growth. But the China factor looms equally large. Longstanding concerns about the dreaded hard landing in the Chinese economy have once again intensified. If China falls, goes the argument, reverberations to other emerging markets and the rest of the global economy will be quick to follow.

USA and Canada2014-03-072023-07-12

USA Practicing ‘Non-Aligned Strategy’ in Asia

By Chintamani Mahapatra* | IDN-InDepth NewsViewpoint

NEW DELHI (IDN) – As territorial and maritime disputes in Asia have sparked regional cold wars, the United States appears to have adopted a non-aligned strategy to navigate in troubled political space of the continent.

Non-alignment as a diplomatic instrument of state craft has been known to American Administrations for centuries. Although the term “non-alignment” was not used, the need of such a strategy was first articulated by first President of the United States – George Washington. In his farewell address, Washington warned against the folly of getting involved in the European entanglements.

USA and Canada2013-12-302023-07-12

Middle East: Obama Between Rapprochement and Resignation

By Anthony Rusonik* | IDN-InDepth NewsEssay

TORONTO (IDN | Geopolitical Monior) – US President Barack Obama’s foreign policy driver, at times fuzzy, appears in sharper focus as the president confronts the challenges of his second term.

What began in 2009 as global rapprochement and retrenchment grounded in realpolitik, in stark contrast to President George Bush’s over-extended messianic interventionism, now seems to have mutated into resignation, or at least hesitation and indecision. If the United States is not resigned under Obama, friends and foes alike can be forgiven for thinking otherwise.