Section: The Atlantic (USA)
How the World Changed in 2014
This year shattered records from the number of billionaires to the number of refugees. It also happened to be the warmest year recorded and featured the highest-ever levels of wheat production and sales of industrial robots. The statistics below show how the world changed this year, in ways both big and small. 100-2oo percent: Increase in the...
America’s $28-Billion Failure in Pakistan
Since 2001, the United States has tried virtually every strategy available to persuade Pakistan’s army to take the threat of militancy more seriously, but 12 years and $28 billion in aid later, all the American approaches are widely viewed as having failed. First, the Bush administration heaped praise on former Pakistani President Pervez...
Putin’s Popularity Is Stronger Than the Ruble
There’s an old Russian proverb that goes, “The economy is a good servant, but a bad master.” Apparently, the saying doesn’t apply to Vladimir Putin. The Russian ruble is currently in the midst of an historic landslide; Russia’s central bank jacked interest rates up nearly seven points on Tuesday to counter the...
The Global Conflicts to Watch in 2015
Foreign policy often involves making difficult and debatable choices about which parts of the world matter more to a given country—and which, by extension, matter less. It’s about defining national interests and determining where those interests are most evident and endangered. This is why the United States has done far more to stop ISIS in...
The Year in Drone Videos
Drone photography came into its own this year. Quadcopters with cameras got better and cheaper, turning more people into drone hobbyists and professional aerial videographers. Drones were used for cityscapes, nature walks, concerts, real-estate listings, disaster surveys, Olympic sports—even self-portraiture, as selfies taken from the air became...
ISIS, Ebola, and Putin: Old News?
The Ebola epidemic, ISIS’s ascent, and Vladimir Putin’s belligerence may be three of the most disruptive developments of 2014, but in 2015 they could all lose their potency. It’s hard to imagine such an outcome at the moment, of course, but then again most big news stories are devilishly difficult to predict. It is always...
The AK-47 Softens Its Image
One of the most recognizable instruments of war is getting a makeover. Kalashnikov Concern, the company behind the ubiquitous AK-47 assault rife, unveiled a new corporate identity at a high-profile event in Moscow yesterday. A more stylized logo for the parent company was revealed, along with a somewhat Orwellian new marketing...
The Skype Psychologist
As I prepare for my first session of the day, I settle down at my computer, log onto my Skype account, and review the completed questionnaire emailed to me by a prospective client. The hour ahead will be an initial consultation. It’s early morning in my time zone, late in the evening for him: Because of the time difference between Sydney,...
The Pursuit of Deeper Learning
On a recent Wednesday morning, 11th-grader Sophia Wellington took to the undersized stage at the front of her high school gym and, with seamless poise, demonstrated what a smarter method of assessing students could look like. She began by introducing herself to a group of education reporters visiting her school—Impact Academy of Arts and...
Duel Personality: The Ukraine Crisis Devolves to Pistols at Dawn
Duels fell out of favor in the 19th century. Evidently, nobody told Igor Plotnitzky. The newly elected head of the Luhansk People’s Republic challenged Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko on Wednesday in an effort to resolve differences between the two countries. Poroshenko has yet to respond. Generously, Plotnitzky will allow his...
