Will Putin’s actions in Crimea pay off? Eric Wimer and Ben Rimland debate.

The SNP’s platform is nothing if not simple: Scotland should leave the United Kingdom. And with a referendum asking “Should Scotland be an independent country?” scheduled for September 18, the party leading the so-called “Yes campaign” may get its wish. Most Americans may not give much thought to British politics, but they have a huge stake in the debate over Scottish independence—and not just because James Bond’s national identity hangs in the balance.

A technique to prevent a form of inheritable late-onset blindness is only the most recent development to come out of the burgeoning field of genetic engineering. But the idea of a human with three genetic parents (that is, compared to the two genetic parents of fetuses carried by surrogate mothers) demands a serious conversation about the future legality and ethics of human genetic manipulation.

American technology companies are already acting towards the same ends of free speech, participating in what Alec Ross, a member of then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s inner circle, called “twenty-first century statecraft.”

In early March, eight men and women attacked the central train station of Kunming, the capital of the southwestern province Yunnan. Armed with knives, these people slaughtered 28 civilians and left 130 injured in what the Chinese media have dubbed “China’s 9/11.” As pressure mounts on Beijing to react swiftly, Islamabad must do all it can to ensure that Beijing, its most powerful ally, does not lose faith but remains, in the words of former President Pervez Musharraf, a “time-tested and all-weather friend.”

The revenues from Debswana provide 50 percent of all government revenues in Botswana. The case study of the relationship between De Beers and Botswana represents the intermingling of a firm and the state, the combination of economic and political interests, and serves as a modern study of political economy. It also provides an intriguing glimpse into modern imperialism.

As a nation and as a world, we must start thinking about the long-term impacts of our actions, rather than the short-term economic and energy benefits. Sustainable growth today will be more profitable in the future. Rejecting Keystone XL this spring is the right choice both for the nation and for the planet.

While most Palestinians yearn for the birth of a new Palestinian state, and regardless of the fact that they do not enjoy the same privileges as their Jordanian counterparts, many Palestinians do not have any intention of migrating to a future “Palestine.”

Despite these gloomy numbers, the American West's 49'er mentality of continual and aggressive resource consumption still persists. While the particular resource in this case is largely abundant (at least when compared to other natural resources) it is in no way infinite, much less renewable in the short-term. If it continues down this path, the West could be in serious trouble.

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While Putin certainly felt that he was, “returning [Crimea] to their home harbor,” his actions were aggressive and unwarranted. However, in condemning Putin's brazen defiance of international law, it is critical that the West’s foreign policy towards Russia and Ukraine evolves from “Big Bad Vlad Stealing”, which is little more than a return to Cold War-politics, to a response that reflects the nuances and complexities of the Crimean situation.

If Sharif can clearly and effectively articulate to his people the brutality entailed by a Taliban regime, he can reduce the terrorist group's popular support. Only then will he able to subdue the military and to take on the Taliban at the negotiating table.

For now, Moscow has made no moves toward expanding its gains, and this hesitation likely indicates that the costs and risks of an air war against the Ukrainian military—as part of larger land operation or not—outweigh the benefits.

Here's our list of all the events you can't go to this week because of midterms.