In Los Angeles, unfortunately, most high schools are powder kegs and Jefferson is really a pretty typical example.

NPR: Big Urban Schools Grapple with Multiple Problems

In the years ahead, forget about much-discussed artificial groupings like the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and the so-called "Next 11" (N11), a roster of potential powerhouses that includes Turkey and South Korea but also political powder kegs like Pakistan, Nigeria and Iran.

WSJ: Ian Bremmer on Pivot States

Until now, apart from North Korea, most of the would-be little powder-kegs have for good reason a mixture of oil politics, the Muslim revival and the quarrel about Israel been located in the Middle East.

ECONOMIST: Weathering the storm