The Panamanian Supreme Court’s ruling invalidating CK Hutchison’s port contracts strengthens the U.S.' hand in the region and weakens China’s influence while undermining its investments. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/02/04/world/china-loses-more-than-panama-ports/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #panama #us #donaldtrump #china #chinapanamarelations #panamacanal
India’s violent Maoist insurgency — which at its 2013 peak, held considerable influence in 126 districts — appears to be on its last legs. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/02/04/world/indias-maoist-insurgency/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #india #redcorridor #cpi #maoists #naxalbari #narendramodi #tamiltigers
Autonomies: **Rodrigo Karmy Bolton: The law of fire**
https://autonomies.org/2026/02/rodrigo-karmy-bolton-the-law-of-fire/
From Ficción de la razón (21/01/2026) 1. In a short text dedicated to his daughter Anima entitled Land and Sea, the German jurist Carl Schmitt proposed the term nomos of the land to refer to the “original appropriation of space” … Continue reading →
#Commentary #AndreasMalm #CarlSchmitt #Ecology #JamesCScott #RodrigoKarmyBolton #Stateandterror
Japan’s long experiment with massive government debt and suppressed interest rates is unraveling as inflation returns, bond yields rise and the yen weakens. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/02/04/japan/japan-bond-markets-warning-for-america/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #bonds #markets #fed #boj #inflation #monetarypolicy #japaneseeconomy #useconomy
The FBI’s raid on Fulton County’s election center appears less about law enforcement than a strategic effort by the Trump administration to undermine trust in elections and interfere ahead of pivotal midterm contests. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/02/04/world/fbis-georgia-ballot-raid/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #us #donaldtrump #republicans #joebiden #atlanta #fbi #2020uspresidentialelection #georgiastate
The new opposition centrist force that was supposed to upend Japan’s political calculus isn’t gaining any ground. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/02/04/japan/how-unpredictable-is-the-snap-election/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #ldp #cdp #komeito #cra #dpp #sanseito #jip #china #us #indopacific #eastasia #senkakus #xijinping #sanaetakaichi #2026lowerhouseelection #nipponishinnokai #diet
The Japanese parties that best navigate the shortened campaign period will cement their place in the new political landscape. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/02/04/japan/cheat-sheet-for-japans-snap-election/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #sanaetakaichi #ldp #cra #jip #2026lowerhouseelection #sanseito #dpp #diet
Japan’s Feb. 8 snap election will test whether Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and the LDP can rebuild a Lower House majority by reclaiming conservative and independent voters as it faces a fragmented opposition. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/02/03/japan/conservative-voters-returning-to-ldp/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #japan #sanaetakaichi #ldp #cdpj #komeito #cra #jip #dpp #sanseito #sokagakkai #rengo #shinzoabe
Japan’s Feb. 8 snap election is less about short-term politics than a pivotal choice among competing coalition paths that will determine whether the country can adapt its domestic politics to shifting voter behavior. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/02/03/japan/where-japan-goes-from-here/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #ldp #jip #cdp #komeito #cra #dpp #sanseito #china #unitedstates #indopacific #eastasia #senkakuislands #xijinping #sanaetakaichi #2026lowerhouseelection
The U.S. president is animated less by the prospect of deal-making than by the need for domination, less by the spirit of exchange than by the perverse pleasure of exalting himself. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/02/03/world/appeasing-trump-only-invites-betrayal/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #us #donaldtrump #greenland #europe #nato #denmark #usdenmarkrelations #defense #trade
The expiration of New START ends the last formal limit on U.S. and Russian nuclear arms, ushering in a more dangerous era marked by destabilizing tactical weapons and growing risks of miscalculation. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/02/01/world/hello-nuclear-anarchy/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #nuclearweapons #russia #us #newstarttreaty #china #northkorea #defense #wmds
The killing of two civilians by ICE agents in Minnesota may mark a decisive turning point in the Trump administration’s gradual slide toward authoritarianism. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/02/02/world/bloody-minnesota/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #ice #immigration #donaldtrump #minneapolis #immigration
Japan’s TV makers have lost manufacturing leadership to China as the industry commoditized, while companies like Sony have adapted by shifting toward higher-value content and technology. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/02/02/japan/sony-switches-off-the-tv/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #televisions #sony #tclelectronics #china #bravia #playstation #samsungelectronics #lgelectronics #panasonic #sharp #hitachi #mitsubishielectric #toshiba #honhaiprecisionindustry
Opening a new chapter for Japan-U.S.-Europe cooperation may define the strategic legacy of the Takaichi administration. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/02/02/world/japans-strategic-crossroads/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #sanaetakaichi #usjapanrelations #chinajapanrelations #eujapanrelations #indopacific #defense #donaldtrump
Historians’ rankings of America’s best and worst foreign-policy decisions show the U.S. succeeded when it led cooperatively through multilateral institutions and failed when it turned inward or went rogue. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/02/02/world/best-and-worst-us-foreign-policy-decisions/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #marshallplan #nato #un #brettonwoods #worldbank #imf #gatt #wto #treatyofversailles #parisagreement #monroedoctrine #donroedoctrine #iraqinvasion #donaldtrump
South Korea has enacted a comprehensive national law called the AI Basic Act to build public trust in AI technology. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/02/01/world/koreas-ai-revolution/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #southkorea #ai #artificialintelligence #chatgpt #deepseek
Autonomies: **The anarchic culture of the commons**
https://autonomies.org/2026/02/the-anarchic-culture-of-the-commons/
By Regino Martínez, of the Montevideo based magazine, Anarquía The ground of a subversive collective imagination Let us begin with the obvious: in capitalism, common issues are rarely resolved by the people directly involved. While the hegemonic relationships in our society—those … Continue reading →
#Commentary #Anarchism #TheCommons
Autonomies: **For Frank Fernández (1932–2026)**
https://autonomies.org/2026/02/for-frank-fernandez-1932-2026/
Cuba and the anarchists have a long history of the pursuit of freedom. The early labour struggles, the important contributions to Cuban independence from Spain, their protest against U.S. interventions, their critical attitudes toward social problems during the two republics, … Continue reading →
#Commentary #Interview #Newsblog #Anarchism #Cuba #CubanRevolution
As the Russia's war against Ukraine drags on, relief organizations help displaced people stabilize and rebuild their lives. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/01/30/world/ukrainians-find-way-home/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #ukraine #russia #russiaukrainewar #vladimirputin #volodymyrzelenskyy #elderly #warcrimes #kyiv
Despite Trump’s celebratory claims that TikTok’s U.S. saga is over, the app now faces mounting challenges around growth, competition, governance, user trust and execution that could quickly erode its immense value. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/01/30/japan/us-tiktok-saga-isnt-over/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #tiktok #oracle #donaldtrump #china #bytedance