Today is the anniversary of the Japanese Empire’s attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. It was a surprise attack although it seemed very clear at the time that an attack was going to occur at some point at some place. The US had decrypted telegrams between the Japanese Embassy in Washington, DC and Tokyo and knew that an attack was being planned. But the attack on Pearl Harbor was a complete surprise and destroyed the US Pacific Fleet. The attack completely changed the opinions of much of the American population about what we now call World War II. The US responded to the attack by declaring war against the Japanese Empire the next day, and there was little opposition to that declaration at the time. It was a long time, however, before the US was able to conduct effective naval operations in the Pacific Theater.
The Main Targets at Pearl Harbor were the Battleships USS Arizona
Researchers have taken the numerous climate models being used to predict climate change and compared their predictions over time with current observations. Unfortunately, they have found that the models with the most dire predictions are the ones that track most closely with real data. The findings need more careful analysis, but the implication is that the models we use may be underestimating the effects of human-induced climate change.
The Pew Research Center has published some interesting results on how Indians perceive their relationship to Pakistan 70 years after the partition. Perhaps not surprisingly, the views seem to be growing more negative, but I was struck by how central the issue of Kashmir is to those views. Kashmir has long been a serious issue of disagreement, but its significance has not lessened with time. The most likely explanation is that the issue is a useful political tool for various politicians. If true, then there is little hope for possible reconciliation based upon the interests of the people who live in the contested region.
World Politics News 
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