Extra European sanctions are likely to arrive faster, and they may even be more robust. But beyond that, there are real hard limits to how far the West will go in the aftermath of the Malaysia Air disaster.

What has happened today is certainly a tragedy in human terms, but we need not, and should not, allow emotions to misguide us into making it into a political tragedy as well.

Putin cannot be happy about this latest, tragic turn of events. After all, things were going more or less according to plan up to now.

It’s Thursday, which means its time for a few quick links to odd and amazing tales. Here are our favorites from the week.

Liberal wonks may think the British NHS is a better health care system than we have here, but we’re all facing the same long-term budget crisis. Innovation, not price controls, is the ultimate answer.

Patent trolls, companies that manufacture nothing but exist simply to sue productive corporations, now account for two-thirds of all patent lawsuits filed in the US. A major drag on innovation is getting worse.

Moderate Syrian rebels are under assault by both Assad’s forces and ISIS. They cannot be expected to hold out much longer.

China is considering developing technology to liquefy natural gas at sea, so that it does not have to build costly and difficult-to-defend undersea pipelines. In completely unrelated news, there is lots of natural gas in the disputed waters of the South China Sea.

OECD data shows that health care spending is slowing down worldwide. While we still don’t know all the reasons why its happening, new medical technologies are playing a key role.

President Goodluck Jonathan is calling for greater funding to combat Boko Haram. Even if he is successful, however, money may not be enough.