In The News

US General Warns Over Iranian Cyber-Soldiers

January 24, 2013
Iran’s industries and infrastructure are under repeated cyber-attacks, and that in turn is prompting the country to step up its own computer security and offensive capabilities, warns General William Shelton, in charge of US cyber-operations. Iran’s enemies can anticipate becoming targets of cyber-attacks in years ahead, explains the article in BBC News. The US has about 6000 so-called cyber-...

Real Criminal Element: Lead

Kevin Drum January 10, 2013
The US had a noticeable decrease in crime during the 1990s. City mayors took credit, and economists also pointed to correlations with the aging population, reproductive rights, reduced illicit drug use and an improving economy. But these correlations were imperfect. Another possibility is that lead in gasoline contributes to low intelligence, hyperactivity, juvenile delinquency and violence, a...

Delhi Gang Rape Spurs China Debate, Censorship

Ananth Krishnan January 1, 2013
A horrific crime in one country can spur reflection and debate about social mores in another. A gang rape in Delhi, and the victim's subsequent death, went from being widely reported in China to subject of censorship. Many official news outlets and commentators used the incident to criticize the unruliness of democracy, but other commenters marveled at massive protests throughout India. “...

No Lone Wolves in Cyberspace

Gabriel Weimann December 21, 2012
Two Florida brothers, naturalized US citizens, were arrested in November for trying to obtain explosives and carry out an attack in New York City. Prosecutors allege the men had read Inspire, a magazine in English said to be published by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula for encouraging terrorism and random attacks in Europe and the US. Lone wolf terrorism – typically young adult men who plan a...

Will China Delay Reform – Again?

Mary Kay Magistad October 29, 2012
Every decade, China’s Communist Party undergoes a leadership transition. The Brookings Institution estimates that about 70 percent of the members of three leading institutions - the Politburo Standing Committee, the State Council and the Central Military Commission – will be replaced, marking the largest shift in power in three decades. Party power in recent years is increasingly linked with...

Sudan Blames Israel for Khartoum Arms Factory Blast

October 26, 2012
Factions in the Middle East may be waging shadow wars in neighboring countries. The BBC News reports that Sudan officials are blaming Israel for blasting an arms factory in Khartoum and notes that “a bitter secret war has been going on for a number of years between Israel and Hamas, with Sudan apparently very much one of the battlegrounds.” Sudan officials said the factory made traditional arms....

Assange Asylum Raises South America’s Ire

Alistair Burnett October 12, 2012
By fleeing to the Ecuadoran embassy in London, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, an Australian, escaped extradition to Sweden for charges of sexual assault and potentially being deported to the United States for spying. Intentionally or not, he also unleashed South American resentment over two centuries of domination, first by Europe and more recently by the US. Ecuador’s embassy in London, which...