John Lee Anderson reminds us in the New Yorker of the dangers of the proxy war. Vladimir Putin is learning that lesson all too well in Ukraine. As Anderson writes, proxy wars offer the great power deniability, but the problem comes when you can’t control those doing the fighting for you. It’s an old story, played out many times in the Cold War. The shooting down of the Malaysian Airlines jet, killing 298 people, has left Russia watching (or helping) as separatists block access to the wreckage and to the bodies — in what looks like an attempt to hide Russia’s ties to the tragedy.
In the court of public opinion, Vladimir Putin has already been found guilty. Via the Washington Post.
Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne asks a serious question that is unlikely to get a serious answer: Will the Malaysian Flight 17 tragedy finally sober us up?
How John Kerry’s proposed peace plan between the Israelis and Palestinians was built and how it crumbled. Via the New Republic.
Politics is often called the new sports, and with the explosion of news sites on the Internet, there has been an explosion of coverage out of Washington. But who’s watching your statehouse? The sad truth: Hardly anyone. Via the Daily Beast.
Dan Balz explains why Wendy Davis’s campaign for Texas governor seems to be gaining so little traction. Via the Washington Post.
The narrative on Hillary Clinton is that her pre-campaign roll-out is struggling and that liberals are ready to desert her for, say, Elizabeth Warren, who keeps saying she isn’t running. Vox explains why the narrative is all (or, at least, mostly) wrong.
Rory McIlroy wins the British Open in what would become a great family celebration. His dad also won — $171,000 for a 2004 bet (all legal in Britain) that Rory would win the Open within 10 years. Rory won $1.66 million himself. Via ESPN.
In Colorado news, CNN will air “Eye for an Eye,” a documentary July 27 on the Chuck E. Cheese murders in 1993 and their aftermath. The Denver Post calls the program “emotionally charged for anyone who lived through the ordeal even remotely.”
