East Asia

Japan, Taiwan ships clash with water cannon

Japanese and Taiwanese patrol ships blasted each other with water cannon as a fishing fleet from Taiwan mobilized a protest flotilla to the contested East China Sea islands.

Greater Middle East

Jihad against the phantom menace hits Sinai

The jihad against a non-existent “film” produced by non-existent “Jews” continues to claim lives, with the latest attack launched by militants in Egypt’s Sinai on Israeli border troops.

New York City

WHY WE FIGHT

An 80-year-old man is dead after being struck by a car that spiraled onto the sidewalk on Park Ave. Police say “no criminality is suspected,” apparently without irony.
Oceania

US, New Zealand restore military cooperation

Leon Panetta in Auckland announced that US naval cooperation with New Zealand will be resumed—cut off in 1985, when the Pacific nation declared itself a nuclear-free zone.

New York City

Occupy Wall Street: one year later

The one-year anniversary of Occupy Wall Street may herald a revival of the movement—but continued hedging on an anti-capitalist analysis bottlenecks its potential.

Iran

Unprecedented maneuvers in Strait of Hormuz

With two US warships headed for Libya, 25 nations led by the US are converging on the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz for naval maneuvers on an unprecedented scale.

Afghanistan

From Afghanistan to Tunisia: back to GWOT?

Both imperialism and political Islam see in the current crisis the opportunity to revive the dystopian dialectic of jihad-versus-GWOT—and reverse the gains of the Arab Spring.

The Andes

Assange and Ecuador: no monopoly on hypocrisy

Julian Assange’s supporters accuse the media of hypocrisy in pointing to Ecuador’s sketchy record on press freedom—but come dangerously close to apologizing for repression.

Greater Middle East

Will provocateur film derail Arab Spring?

In the wave of protest over a provocateur-produced "film" dissing the Prophet Mohammed, jihadists could be seizing back the initiative from secular revolutionaries in the Arab world.