January 9, 2012 | Vol. 179, No. 1

COVER2012: User's Guide
In our first annual guide to the year ahead, we offer a road map for the next
12 months of news

The GOP Free-for-All (2012 Politics: The Election)
With no limits on spending 窶� or offending 窶� in the primaries, Republicans risk
harming their presidential candidate

A Map of Trouble (2012 Politics: Middle East)
What will the Middle East look like in a year? Private intelligence firm Stratfor
plots the possibilities

The Son Also Rises (2012 Politics: Asia)
Kim Jong Il's death set strategists in motion across the globe. Here's what they
have to think about

Weather Beaten (2012 Science: Meteorology)
The past year was truly disastrous; 2012 figures to be less so, assuming we stop
behaving stupidly

China's Buy List (2012 Business: Global Economics)
It's scooping up more commodities, continents � and soccer stars

The End Of Cash (2012 Business: Consumer Spending)
Mobile wallets � and more ways to use them � are making money less useful

10 Questions (2012 Culture: News Quiz)
This time they're for you. Practice your punditry and forecast the coming
year's international
COMMENTARYA Post-American World in Progress (Worldview)
Why emerging powers didn't lead in 2011 and won't in the coming year

How Much Government Is Enough? (In the Arena)
Give the goofy GOP credit: it has raised key questions about the U.S.'s future

LETTERS
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