As lawmakers consider how to prevent future violence in the vein of January’s attack on the US Capitol, the debate has largely turned on one point: whether the US should create a new criminal law penalizing acts of domestic terrorism. There are existing federal laws that criminalize domestic terrorism. The Patriot Act, which was enacted…
Read moreDon’t expect the US and China to be friendly anytime soon
If the first meeting between the Biden administration and Chinese officials last week underscored anything, it’s that the US and China are unlikely to be friendly in the years to come. The two sides’ views of how the world should run are diametrically opposed — and competition more than cooperation will guide how Washington and…
Read moreNorth Korea tested missiles again. It’s not as scary as it sounds.
North Korea tested its first missiles since President Joe Biden took office, launching two short-range projectiles last weekend off the country’s west coast and into the adjoining Yellow Sea. But you won’t find the Biden administration threatening “fire and fury” any time soon. In fact, two senior US officials waved off suggestions that the test…
Read moreA massive ship is stuck in the Suez Canal, disrupting trade and inspiring hilarious memes
A massive container ship stuck sideways in Egypt’s Suez Canal has been blocking one of the world’s busiest waterways for over 24 hours, disrupting global trade and launching a tidal wave of memes on social media. On Tuesday morning local time, the Ever Given, a 1,312-foot-long container ship capable of carrying more than 220,000 tons,…
Read moreThe Indigenous-led fight to stop the Line 3 oil pipeline expansion in Minnesota, explained
Tania Aubid began her hunger strike on Valentine’s Day. “Valentine’s Day is about love and having that love for your partner — but for me to have the love, I need to start from the ground up, which is Mother Earth,” Aubid told me. Her hunger strike is in protest of the Line 3 oil…
Read moreWhy North Korea is ramping up missile tests again
North Korea’s second missile test in a week is increasing the pressure on President Joe Biden to respond, inching the nuclear-armed state further up the administration’s long list of global challenges to address. Officials in the US, South Korea, and Japan announced that North Korea had launched two short-range ballistic missiles at around 7 am…
Read moreThe generational grief of colonization
“In Guam, even the dead are dying,” Chamorro author and activist Julian Aguon writes in his new book The Properties of Perpetual Light. Aguon, a human rights lawyer and founder of Blue Ocean Law, has watched with anguish as his home island, along with the rest of the Marianas archipelago, has been environmentally degraded due…
Read moreJapan’s Olympic hopes rest on a successful Covid-19 vaccine drive
Officials in Japan say a successful coronavirus vaccination drive is vital to the country’s ability to host the delayed 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer. Yet the country has been far slower than many of its peers to begin rolling out vaccines, only approving its first one this past weekend. Now, with just five…
Read moreWhy Biden’s pledge of $4 billion to help vaccinate the world isn’t enough
The Biden administration has officially committed to Covax, the global effort to fund and deliver Covid-19 vaccines around the world, including to lower-income countries. The administration will commit $4 billion to Covax, releasing the first $2 billion immediately to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which is one of the partners in this effort along with the…
Read moreFacebook’s news ban in Australia is draconian. But it might not be wrong.
Facebook’s sudden move on Wednesday to cut Australians off from the news (and the rest of the world from Australian news) was as surprising as it was draconian. It blocked Australians from sharing any news links, Australian news publications from hosting their content on the platform, and the rest of us from sharing links to…
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