The Aug. 6 massacre of six worshippers at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wis. is revealing in its reactions from across the spectrum, but let's start with Mitt Romney. The media have noted his embarrassing blooper of confusing the words "Sikh" and "sheikh," but failed to note that the very quote in which he made the gaffe was not merely ignorant but insidiously sinister. Here it is: "We had a moment of silence in honor of the people who lost their lives at that sheik temple. I noted that it was a tragedy for many, many reasons. Among them are the fact that people, the sheik people, are among the most peaceable and loving individuals you can imagine, as is their faith." (AP, Aug. 7) Right, as opposed to those dirty you-know-whos. Numerous commentators (mostly on the left, natch) have pointed out that the emphasis on the fact that Sikhs aren't Muslims sometimes comes close to implying that violent attacks on Muslims would be OK. Romney's subtext is clearly that the Sikhs are good, domesticated wogs that white America can tolerate, while those bad Muslims have got it coming, because their faith is not "peaceable and loving."

Well, we did it. Just in time for our 11th anniversary next month, World War 4 Report is finally ready to unveil its long-awaited new design. We said when we first launched in the immediate aftermath of 9-11, that we would publish until peace. The world has changed a lot since then—especially in the past year and a half of revolutionary upsurge—but we feel that our mission is as vital as ever. Even if the end of the Bush era represented at least a slight retreat from dystopia, the US remains at war not only in Afghanistan, but in Iraq (yes, still), in Pakistan, in Yemen. The Libya intervention represented a turning point in the Arab Spring, when Great Power politics began to overshadow the initiative of the Arab masses. Syria looks like it could be next. And while the world is paying little attention, Western intervention is looking increasingly inevitable in war-torn Mali. World War 4 Report is virtually alone in doing the hard work of hashing out an analysis that opposes imperial agendas while loaning no comfort to dictators or jihadis.

From the Queens Times-Ledger, July 27:

Bronx family had just left Nigerian gathering at Richmond Hill hall before crash

Oby Okoro, the woman the NYPD identified as the driver in a gruesome accident Sunday morning in Jamaica that left five passengers dead, told police she lost control of her Mercedes-Benz because the brakes failed, according to a report.

The government of President Evo Morales announced July 17 that it will invite heads of state and indigenous leaders from around the world to Bolivia on Dec. 21, South America's summer solstice, believing that this day will mark "the end" of capitalism and Coca-Cola, and the beginning of a time "of love" and a "culture of life." Exterior Minister David Choquehuanca, who made the announcement, said the date was chosen because it marks the "end of the Maya calendar," and a ceremony will be held, to be presided over by Morales, on the Island of the Sun in Lake Titicaca. Choquehuanca elaborated: "December 21 of 2012 marks the end of egoism, of division. December 21 will be the end of Coca-Cola, and the beginning of mocochinchi." He added that on this day, "the planets will line up after 26,000 years," but rather than meaning the end of the world it will mean "the end of hatred and the beginning of love." (MinutoUno, Buenos Aires, July 17)

...is that it happened before he was repudiated by the American left. Here is this icon of principled journalism (please note sarcasm, irony-challenged readers) cheering the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the Village Voice, Jan. 21, 1980:

We all have to go one day, but pray God let it not be over Afghanistan. An unspeakable country filled with unspeakable people, sheepshaggers and smugglers... [I]f ever a country deserved rape it's Afghanistan. Nothing but mountains filled with barbarous ethnics with views as medieval as their muskets, and unspeakably cruel too... [Preserved for posterity in the book The Left at War by Michael Bérubé]

No surprises here. A bomb goes off in a tour bus in the Black Sea resort city of Burgas, Bulgaria, killing five Israelis and wounding some 30. Netanyahu wastes not a minute: "All signs point to Iran. In just the past few months we've seen Iran try to target Israelis in Thailand, India, Georgia, Cyprus and more. The murderous Iranian terror continues to target innocent people. This is a global Iranian terror onslaught and Israel will react forcefully to it." Probably not coincidence that the attack comes on the 18th anniversary of the AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires, the world's most deadly attack on Jews since World War II, which has been linked to Hezbollah. More Netanyahu (apparently trying to set a record for number of uses of the word "terror" in a single press release): "Eighteen years exactly after the blast at the Jewish community center in Argentina, murderous Iranian terror continues to hit innocent people. This is an Iranian terror attack that is spreading throughout the entire world. Israel will react powerfully against Iranian terror."

Some 30,000 people gathered July 11 to remember the massacre of an estimated 8,000 captive Muslims, mostly men and boys, on that day in 1995 at the eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica, when it was overrun by besieging Serb rebel forces. The remains of 520 newly identified victims of the massacre, in rows of green-draped coffins, were buried during a commemoration ceremony at the Potocari memorial cemetery outside the town. Among the remains were those of six children and four women, the eldest aged 94. With them, the total laid to rest in Srebrenica comes to 5,657. After years on the run, Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic and political leader Radovan Karadzic face genocide charges at The Hague for the massacre (Europe's worst since World War II) and other crimes committed during the 1992-95 Bosnian war that left some 100,000 dead. Both deny all charges.

Right-wing and Islamist political leaders and activists united under the Difa-i-Pakistan Council (Pakistan Defense Council, DPC) launched a cross-country march from Lahore to Islamabad on July 8 to oppose the resumption of NATO supply lines to Afghanistan through Pakistan. A convoy of some 200 vehicles is accompanying the march of some 8,000. The DPC is made up of several Islamist parties, including the Jamatud Dawa, Ahle Sunnat Waljamat (formerly known as Sipah-e-Sahaba), Jamiat Ulema Islam (JUI), and Jamat-e-Islami. (Pakistan Observer, July 9; Pakistan Tribune, The Nation, Pakistan, July 8)