The Evening: Energy Dominance, Rogue Helicoper Venezuela, Ventura Highway and More

Good Evening,

It's Wednesday, June 28th.

North Korea’s Assassination Decree

North Korea issued standing orders today for the “miserable dog’s death” execution of South Korea’s imprisoned former president and her spy chief, and improbably demanded that its southern adversary extradite them, as the New York Times’ Choe Sang-Hun reports.

Energy Dominance

U.S. presidents have for decades sought to make America energy independent. Now, President Donald Trump has a different goal, as CNBC’s Tom DiChristopher reports: energy dominance.

Dive Deeper: See CSIS’s Kevin Book’s new commentary, “An Energy Policy of Dominance.”

And, see CSIS’s new interactive report, “Impacts of Onshore Oil and Gas Development: Managing Societal and Environmental Risks.”

Rogue Helicopter in Venezuela

A rogue helicopter that buzzed Venezuela’s Supreme Court building and possibly dropped grenades became a strange centerpiece today in the country’s meltdown — with some suspecting it was a ruse by President Nicolás Maduro to further clamp down on the opposition, as the Washington Post’s Joshua Partlow and Rachelle Krygier report.

Dive Deeper: See CFR’s Matthew Taylor on “South America's Turn to Deadlock.”

In That Number

4

DC’s drivers are ranked as the fourth-worst in the nation according to a new report. No kidding. Source: Washington Post.

Critical Quote

“We think China’s credit strength will provide time for reform. It’s just a matter of how fast the reform takes place.”

—Elena Duggar, chair of the Macroeconomic Board at Moody’s Investors Ratings, said today at CSIS. Source: MarketWatch.

iDeas Lab

The CSIS Energy and National Security Program published a new interactive report, Impacts of Onshore Oil and Gas Development, to determine how industry, local, and state regulators and the federal government are managing the rise of these resources.

The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and video.

Optics

(Photo Credit: Taha Jawashi/AFP/Getty Images.)
A Libyan coast guardsman stands on a boat during the rescue of 147 migrants attempting to reach Europe off the coastal town of Zawiyah, 45 kilometers west of Tripoli, yesterday.

Recommended Reading

“Open Letter to President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin,” via Nuclear Threat Initiative.

This Town Tomorrow

Join CSIS’s Energy and National Security Program at 10:00 a.m. for “Energy Efficiency: The Prosperity Fuel.”

Join CSIS’s Scholl Chair in International Business at 2:00 p.m. for the 2017 rollout of the Investment Climate Statements, a report detailing country-level information issues facing U.S. businesses.

Join CSIS’s Project on Nuclear Issues at 4:30 p.m. for a debate with a focus on: “Does the United States need new types of nuclear weapons to meet current or future deterrence needs?”

And, on July 21, CSIS is hosting “Examining the Geopolitical Impact of the 4th Estate,” a conversation about how traditional and new media outlets are influencing the narrative on world affairs.

On Demand

CSIS’s International Security Program recently hosted the launch of a new report, Meeting Security Challenges in a Disordered World . You can watch it on demand here or download the report here.

Sounds

Russian Roulette’s latest episode “Of Religion and the Russian State” analyzes the current state of religious life in Russia and the relationship of the state to religions and faith communities.

You can listen on iTunes or SoundCloud.

Smiles

Another band The Byrds influenced was a trio of guys that met as sons of U.S. Air Force personnel stationed in London. Dewey Bunnell, Dan Peek, and Gerry Beckley formed as America in 1970.

America’s classic song, “Ventura Highway” actually refers to California’s Pacific Coast Highway. What a great, great, lasting smile. This is dedicated to an Evening reader who tells me she is teaching herself how to play guitar. “Ventura Highway” is a good one to learn.

I invite you to email me at aschwartz@csis.org and follow me on Twitter @handrewschwartz