The issue of freedom of speech is one issue that divides liberal societies from many other societies in the world. Liberal societies tend to protect speech attacking religion because the separation of church and state is one of the bedrock principles of liberalism. Abdulaziz H. Al-Fahad has written a nuanced critiqued of this position, linking the recent anti-American protests in Muslim countries to the process of globalization.
The British newspaper, The Guardian, has apparently seen a private memo from a US official to various European governments warning of negative consequences if those governments support the Palestinian bid for observer status in the UN. Private memos are generally used when the government involved does not wish to take a public position on a matter, and prefers to be able to (truthfully) deny the policy in question. But the memo suggests that the US is taking the status of the Palestinians as a very serious matter, and will push hard to prevent Palestinian standing in the UN.
One of the most serious issues facing the world right now is the likely loss of biodiversity due to human activities. No where is this trend more apparent, or more tragic, than the loss of the African great apes because of the growing human encroachment into their habitats. Human populations are increasingly running out of space due to the limited amount of arable land. How to protect the great apes and to accommodate the human population is a seemingly intractable question, but one that will have a default answer soon unless strong action is taken quickly.
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