Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crash: world demands answers from Russia
The Guardian
The US has pointedly criticised Russian arming of rebels in Ukraine as the world demanded answers over the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 by a suspected Russian-made missile, resulting in the death of all 298 people on board the civilian airliner.
VOA in 2020
David Ensor / Voice of America
Imagine the VOA newsroom of the year 2020: a multi-ethnic, multi-skilled global hub connected with hundreds of reporters and stringers worldwide. By then, the VOA News Center will gather and distribute trustworthy information to perhaps 250 million people a week in many languages. Most of it will be video news and analysis. much of it watched on phones and tablets

You’ll never guess what partisan politics are damaging now
Claudia Kennedy and Stephen A. Cheney / The Los Angeles Times
Next month the United States will host dozens of African leaders in Washington. But unless something changes before then, we will still be without confirmed ambassadors in 14 countries on the African continent, including such strategically important nations as Niger, Cameroon and Sierra Leone

Germany is most energy efficient major economy, study finds
The Guardian
Germany is the world’s most energy efficient country with strong codes on buildings while China is quickly stepping up its own efforts, an environmental group said Thursday 

Typhoon Glenda (Rammasun): Storm heads to China after it kills 38 and displaces half a million in the Philippines
The Independent 
A massive typhoon that ripped through the northern Philippines on Tuesday and Wednesday has left at least 38 dead and forced more than half a million to flee their homes
 

ASP Recent Reports 

Fusion White Paper 2014 – 10 Year Plan for American Energy Security
American Security Project
ASP’s White Paper, “Fusion Power – A 10 Year Plan for American Energy Security” provides a detailed plan on how to accelerate the development of fusion power.

On Our Flashpoint Blog 

Time to Close the Tax Inversion Loophole
Dan Day
The debate over corporate tax reform intensified this week as U.S. drug maker AbbVie closed a deal to acquire Shire PLC, a Dublin-based company and reincorporate overseas.  
 
Event Review – Iraq in Crisis: Recent Developments and Risk Management Strategy
John Bugnacki
On Wednesday July 16th, the American Security Project hosted Daniel Wagner, MGen Robert Scales, Missy Ryan, and Smita Malik, with moderator Dante Disparte in a talk titled, “Iraq in Crisis: Recent Developments and Risk Management Strategy.”
 
Generals Kennedy and Cheney Talk Ambassadors in the LA Times
Maggie Feldman-Pitch
An op-ed in today’s LA Times by LTGen Claudia Kennedy USA (Ret.) and BGen Stephen Cheney USMC (Ret.), both of the American Security Project, call on the Senate to prioritize the confirmation of the more than 40 nominees for vacant ambassadorial positions.

Upcoming Events

What’s Next? Fostering the Next Generation of Energy Security Conference
September 30 @ 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM
The next steps in building a cleaner, more resilient energy system and economy will not be easy. The American Security Project intends to build on its years of research into energy security and climate policy by initiating a study into the next generation of energy policy. Join ASP and our panelists as we discuss the next generation of energy technology and climate policy.

The post What We Are Reading…July 18, 2014 appeared first on American Security Project.