Somewhat bafflingly, California Governor Jerry Brown’s continued his unwavering support for beleaguered High Speed Rail (HSR) plans in his State of the State speech last week. The HSR line would link Los Angeles and San Francisco with trains going 200 mph. The HSR line was initially budgeted at $33 billion with current estimates now at almost $100 billion.

As the next presidential primary contest approaches one week from today, Florida’s former governor and younger brother of President George W. Bush has a word of wisdom for the remaining four Republican presidential candidates. Without singling out anyone for harsh criticism or even endorsing a nominee ahead of the state’s critical contest, Jeb Bush says that the the Republicans should adjust their campaign tone if they want to win Independents.

Has Kazakhstan, the oil- and uranium-rich former Soviet bloc nation that borders both the Caspian and Aral Seas, emerged from the shadows of satiric infamy to become one of the great growth engines of the world? Does this ninth-largest nation on the planet have what it takes to move into first-world status and exceed the United States in terms of economic expansion?

On January 17, the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) approved the final versions of its Congressional and legislative maps, which have now been sent to the Department of Justice for pre-clearance to ensure that they do not run afoul of the Voting Rights Act.

This week several major websites and services opted to go dark in response to an upcoming vote on the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA). The bill would allow intellectual property rights holders to petition the Department of Justice to shut down a site until potentially infringing material is removed.