The Egyptian press is reporting that the new constitution was indeed approved by 64% of the electorate–if true, a stunning victory for President Morsi. The opposition, however, is claiming that the election was fraudulent and is pressing for an investigation. It is difficult to assess the legitimacy of the election from so far away. The numbers suggest that the election was indeed valid since it is hard to imagine fraud on such a scale. But everything rests on what the Egyptian people perceive to be true.
The rebels in Mali are enforcing a rigid interpretation of Sharia law and are destroying all the holy shrines in Timbuktu that they regard as inconsistent with their interpretation of Islam. From a cultural and historical perspective, these losses are truly tragic since Timbuktu has been an extraordinary crossroads for numberless peoples over the years. The African Union has attempted a feeble response to the rebellion, but there is virtually no hope that the rebels can be contained without outside support. This change in Malian politics is directly attributable to the downfall of Gaddafi in Libya–an unanticipated consequence of his downfall.
The most recent studies of the temperature in Antarctica are especially troubling, indicating that temperatures have risen much faster there than any climate models have yet predicted. The studies have found that “since 1958 average temperatures at the American Byrd research station in the middle of the vast reaches of western Antarctica have risen by 2.4 degrees Celsius (4.3 Fahrenheit)” and that these changes are “one of the fastest gains ever recorded on the planet and three times the global average.” We don’t have very good data for Antarctica, so one must be cautious about interpreting these studies. But one should be very concerned by the suggestiveness of the study.
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