Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies’ latest plunge further underscores the highly volatile nature of this pseudo-asset class; one only hopes that policymakers will wake up to the risks before it’s too late. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/02/10/world/coming-crypto-apocalypse/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #cryptocurrencies #donaldtrump #bitcoin #stablecoins #banking #blockchains #monetarypolicy
American politicians claim the next election is the most important of our lifetime, fueling "The-End-Is-Near-ism" and "Armageddon politics." https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/02/09/world/every-election-not-an-existential-threat/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #donaldtrump #democrats #republicans #democracy #voting
A fast-moving measles outbreak in South Carolina highlights how declining vaccination rates, permissive state laws and weakened federal vaccine oversight are creating larger, harder-to-control outbreaks across the U.S. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/02/09/world/us-measles-milestone-is-everyones-problem/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #robertfkennedyjr #donaldtrump #medicine #vaccinations #health #measles #covid19 #cdc #us #southcarolina #donaldtrump
Trump’s record of reversals, hostility to institutional constraints and indifference to sacrifice convinces adversaries and allies alike that U.S. commitments will not hold. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/02/09/world/trump-kills-american-deterrence/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #donaldtrump #usdefense #tariffs #ukraine #china #indopacific #taiwan #elbridgecolby #cia #xijinping #nato #afghanistan #denmark #greenland #vladimirputin #russia
For traditional opposition parties, the results of Sunday's election were a doomsday signal. For Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, it was an invitation to lead Japan as she sees fit. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/02/09/japan/takaichi-victory-takeaways/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #sanaetakaichi #ldp #2026lowerhouseelection
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s landslide election victory holds a foreign-policy lesson for American observers. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/02/09/japan/takaichi-us-foreign-policy/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #sanaetakaichi #2026lowerhouseelection #usjapanrelations
U.K. police investigating the disgraced former ambassador to the U.S., Peter Mandelson, said they’re searching two addresses as part of their probe into misconduct in public office. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/02/08/uk-police-search-mandelson-addresses/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #petermandelson #keirstarmer #jeffreyepstein #gordonbrown #uk
Autonomies: **Basic Banalities Concerning the January 31 Demonstration in Turin**
https://autonomies.org/2026/02/basic-banalities-concerning-the-january-31-demonstration-in-turin/
From the CrimethInc. collective (07/02/2026) Reflections on Conflict Following a Night of Street Fighting in Italy On December 18, 2025, police evicted the historic Askatasuna social center in Turin, which had been squatted since 1996. After an initial demonstration called … Continue reading →
#Commentary
The answer for a new world order is not to defend institutions that have lost their effectiveness and legitimacy; it is to create something better, starting with AI, where we can build from the ground up. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/02/08/world/a-new-world-order/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #artificialintelligence #unitednations #donaldtrump
Starmer faces a political crisis over his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as U.S. ambassador despite knowing his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, undermining public trust and leaving him vulnerable within his Labour Party. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/02/06/world/starmer-facing-final-curtain/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #keirstarmer #petermandelson #jeffreyepstein #labourparty #edmiliband #wesstreeting #tories
The central question for Japan is no longer whether its past support was justified, but whether it can be sustained. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/02/06/japan/japans-support-for-ukraine/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #russiaukrainewar #ukraine #russia #ukrainejapanrelations #aid #sanctions #g7 #nato #defense
If the Trump administration has a clear outcome in mind for Iran, it has to be thinking about how even an extended bombing campaign can split the regime from its security forces and so topple Khamenei. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/02/06/world/us-needs-more-less-hubris-on-iran/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #ayatollahalikhamenei #iran #donaldtrump #defense #shahofiran #jimmycarter #us
America remains an indispensable partner as Beijing actively reshapes the international order to suit its one-party priorities. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/02/06/world/middle-powers-reality-check/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #canada #japan #australia #southkorea #europe #us #china #russia #markcarney #donaldtrump #india #chinesecommunistparty #defense
The option being talked about — whispered, actually — is the nuclear option. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/02/05/japan/the-list-of-japanese-security-options/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #markcarney #us #indopacific #shigeruishiba #defense #nato #sdf #usjapanrelations #donaldtrump #china #taiwan #sanaetakaichi #nuclearweapons
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