Science & Technology

Will protests at home hurt French President Macron's efforts to be seen as a leader of the West? Former U.S. ambassador to NATO Nicholas Burns digs in.

Ambassador Burns says it was "unwise" for Trump to question Russian meddling during a joint news conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Poland on Thursday. Burns states that in doing so, Trump was "out of step with his own political party" and failed to defend the United States.

Nicholas Burns provided video commentary on CNN Newsroom on January 8, 2017 on the subject of the alleged Russian hacking of the U.S. presidential election. 

"In a bold move, the UK Government has announced the creation of a £1 million prize for a new 'grand innovation challenge.'  According to Prime Minister David Cameron, the award would go to the next 'penicillin' or a plane that could fly carbon-neutral across the Atlantic....The prize will not only recognize those who come up with outstanding ideas, but it will also serve as source of inspiration for young people. Getting the youth to focus their creative energies on solving the world's pressing challenges needs to start early, especially in high schools."

"The training of future engineers will need to integrate diverse disciplines so they can mold economies that promise prosperity for all."

"...[A]s the Arab Spring continues past a single season, Al Jazeera's very success is revealing some of its vulnerabilities. Its power has others wanting in on the action. As the movement towards democratic reform becomes more pervasive, the network's ownership by a conservative monarchy has become its Achilles' heel. The emir of Qatar recently placed a member of the royal family as director-general of news on Al Jazeera, a reminder to its staff of who pays the bills. In a region where conspiracy theories are rampant, the network's ownership makes it a target for reformers who feel it's mainly catering to the existing power structure."

"We seem bent on providing the technological equivalent of the Olympic sport of dressage — high-speed Internet access only for rich people. We're prancing around a core market failure that is undermining the future of our economy. The Internet was supposed to be for everyone."