Today, over supper in Hong Kong’s Western District, I picked up a copy of HK Magazine, an English-language alternative weekly. As I happily slurped my noodles, I stumbled on a particularly eye-catching piece of news. It was a story about Victoria Habour, the sweep of sea that separates the southern tip of the Kowloon Peninsula from Hong …
Couch Potato Briefing: Covert Ops, Cricket and Learning from Lawrence
Global Spin’s five weekend movie rental recommendations to bring you up to speed on the week’s events, compiled by Tony Karon and Ishaan Tharoor.
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Charlie Wilson’s War
In a week where — thanks to the stubborn refusal of Muammar Gaddafi to disappear in a puff of eyeliner — …
Inside Gaddafi’s Compound
At nine pm the announcement went out over the hotel PA system: “All Journalists, there will be a trip planned to Baab al-Aziziya after dinner. Please gather in the lobby.” We duly trudged to the waiting busses, newcomers such as my self curious to see Gaddaffi’s compound, and veterans hoping against expectations that the man …
Global Briefing, April 1, 2011: This Is No Joke
Tank vs. Kalashnikov — For Libya’s rebels, the difference between victory and defeat may come down to weaponry, writes Abigail Hauslohner from Benghazi.
Taking Control — As Japan’s nuclear crisis enters its fourth week, the government is considering taking over TEPCO, says Lucy Birmingham in a dispatch from Tokyo. But will the …
Is Gaddafi’s Regime Seeking an Exit Strategy?
If the end game is afoot in the Libya conflict, it has little to do with the provision of armaments, CIA mentoring or air cover to the rebel forces. The counteroffensive by loyalist troops that has driven the rebels all the way back to Ajdabiya, the last town before their Benghazi stronghold, has put paid to hopes of the rebels storming …
Through the Looking Glass to Gaddafi’s Tripoli
Had I been dropped into my Tripoli hotel by airplane, there would be little to indicate that this was the capital of a country at war. Well-dressed women in headscarves and heels click along the marble halls. Waiters in waistcoats take my latte orders with a slight bow. The streets outside are quiet, and for the moment at least, no air …
Should France’s Moderate Conservatives Dump Sarkozy Before It’s Too Late?
The U.S. Republican party isn’t the only big conservative force in Western politics experiencing divisions between its traditionally moderate majority and a defiantly rightward-leaning wing. France’s ruling Union for a Popular Majority (UMP) is similarly witnessing public clashes between internal factions generated by efforts to …
China’s National Defense White Paper: How to Look Tough, but Not Too Tough
For Beijing, managing perceptions of the country’s military modernization program is no easy task. On one hand, it is important for China’s leaders to show, both to citizens at home and potential rivals abroad, that they are cultivating a capable and powerful fighting force. At the same time, too enthusiastic a display of armed …
Al Qaeda Goes Glossy
And you thought print was dead. The latest contender in the current-affairs magazine market carries the innocuous title Inspire, and the cover art of its fifth edition, Spring 1431 (or 2011 if you follow the infidel calendar) would not look out of place on the New Age self-help shelves of your news agent. But its publisher, al-Malahim …
Global Briefing, Mar. 31, 2011: Turncoats and Tough Choices
Switching Sides — Libya’s Foreign Minister Moussa Kusa defected to London on Wednesday night. Vivienne Walt considers how he could help the coalition.
Tough Choices — Obama’s options in Libya look grim, according to the Atlantic: “If he escalates, the U.S. could risk another Afghanistan,” they say. “If he doesn’t, we could be …
What’s in Store for Japan’s Embattled Nuclear Workers?
As more details emerge from inside the evacuation zone in Fukushima, it’s becoming more and more evident that workers at the Daiichi power plant, feted as heroes since the early days of Japan’s nuclear crisis, will be bearing their burden for years to come.
Tepco gave its workers the option not to go to Fukushima days after …
Carter in Cuba: The Long Road to Freeing a U.S. Prisoner – and Thawing U.S.-Cuba Relations
Question: If former U.S. President Jimmy Carter didn’t go to Cuba this week to win the freedom of jailed U.S. contractor Alan Gross, what was he there for? Answer: To win the freedom of jailed U.S. contractor Alan Gross – but down the road. And that road could be a long one.
Gross, 61, a Maryland lawyer, was arrested in Cuba in …
Using Google to Understand the Middle East’s Revolutions
Given the rapid pace of change in the Middle East these days, it is becoming increasingly difficult to get a bead on what, exactly, the people behind the revolutions are thinking. We can look at new reports and interviews by journalists on the ground, but such endeavors are by default individualistic. Even if I interview 100 Egyptians …