A new scientific study has found that “average summer temperatures in the Canadian Arctic over the last century are the highest in the last 44,000 years, and perhaps the highest in 120,000 years.” The study suggests that the temperatures are far outside the range of natural variability and can only be explained by human-induced change. The warming began in the 1970s, but has sped up considerably in the last 20 years.
The Guardian has released an NSA memo which indicates that the US spied on 35 world leaders. It got the contact numbers of these leaders by requesting the information for other US agencies. The US has also admitted that it did in fact spy on Angela Merkel, saying only that it “is not monitoring and will not monitor” Merkel’s calls. Germany correctly pointed out that this stated does not deny that the spying did occur in the past. The memo is dated from 2006, and it also concedes that the spying had resulted in “little reportable intelligence”. One wonders how many times it was likely that Angela Merkel would call up Osama bin Laden.
Immigration is a volatile political issue in many countries, but nowhere is it so politically potent as in Europe right now. Der Spiegel has published a very thoughtful article on the immigrant issue in the city of Hamburg, Germany. It raises most of the very difficult moral, political, and legal issues surrounding the status of illegal immigrants. The issue is likely to become even more visible and problematic in the next few months.
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