News Analysis
A New Middle East?
Energy Reform A Reality in Mexico

Far reaching reforms like those passed last night in Mexico make it likely that our neighbor will see a huge job-creating bonanza in oil and gas production. The United States stands to benefit in several ways.

Planting Cabbages in the Caribbean
China "Takes Over" Island of Dominica

Representatives from China and Dominica put pen to paper on a multi-million dollar investment deal last month in what observers are calling a virtual takeover of the Caribbean island. Call it the Caribbean arm of China’s “cabbage” strategy.

Water Wars
Another Kick to Malthus

We may soon be looking to our oceans for our freshwater. Or, more accurately, we’ll be looking underneath our oceans, where scientists have found vast reserves of fresh and near-fresh water. A new study estimates that there are roughly 120,000 cubic miles—more than 100 times the amount of freshwater we’ve drilled from the ground since 1900—of low-salinity water trapped underneath seabeds. Chicken Littles—wrong again.

Love for Sale
Ukraine Goes To The Highest Bidder

Ukranian President Viktor Yanukovich announced that he does, in fact, plan on signing an agreement with the EU despite rejecting it last week. However, he wants something in return—about €20 billion. He appears to be holding an auction, but will power slip from his hands before all the bids are in?

The Costs of Inaction
European Jihad Finds Home in Syria

Syria is serving as a petri dish for European jihad, EU officials have found. There are now entire training camps in Syria composed of European fighters, sending EU interior ministers into a panic over the prospect of their return. The costs of inaction in Syria continue to mount.

Code For Tots
A Nation of Programmers?

Obama and Code.org have taken some flak for suggesting that every child needs to learn to code. But while it’s true that not every child is a programmer-in-training, Americans could still deal with a good deal more computer literacy than they have now. Schools need to start thinking seriously about how to integrate computer eduction into their curricula. It’s becoming a more important skill than ever before.

The Promise of Technology
The World Wants Radically Different Health Care

A new global survey of attitudes about the future of health care shows a big pent-up demand for a vastly different type of system than we currently have: one that is more DIY, less hospital and doctor-centric, more personalized, and characterized by smarter use of technology and better service delivery. The closer we can come to realizing that vision, the cheaper, more efficient, and more open to reform our health care system will be.

The Syria Nightmare
Rebel Commander Flees Islamists

The top Western-supported rebel commander in Syria has been run out of town by Islamist fighters in the latest setback to US policy in the Syrian civil war. General Salam Idris, the commander of the Free Syrian Army, was forced to flee to Turkey after fighters belonging to the Islamic Front overran his offices and took control of warehouses that stored gear sent by the US to help Idris and his men fight the Assad regime.

Polar Shares
Canada's Arctic Moves

Canada last week expanded its claims in the Arctic, enticed by the region’s oil and gas riches. Russia isn’t taking that laying down—Putin ordered his military to beef up bases in the region, and sharpen its focus on Arctic goings-on.

ACA Agonistes
Obamacare Up, Obamacare Down

Where does public opinion stand on the Affordable Care Act now that the front-end of the website is functioning better? It depends on which poll you use. Five new polls have come out in the past few days, and they paint different pictures of how the law is being received. But one lesson can safely be drawn from them taken as a whole: Americans are skeptical of parts of Obamacare but determined not to return to the pre-ACA situation.

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