EU: Heated argument between Germany and France on the way votes are weighted in the EU.

“The Hour of the Outsiders”

Global climate: The Kyoto Protocol for halting the greenhouse effect threatens to fall through on account of national egotism. Scientists are calling for new strategies in international climate protection diplomacy. The idea of encouraging OPEC or coal-exporting countries to reduce their fuel extraction step by step may sound fantastic – but it does have one advantage: unlike the Kyoto approach, its efficacy has already been demonstrated impressively. The “new deal in climate protection politics” also includes a fund for climate protection to be financed via oil profits and taxes on oil.

DaimlerChrylser: Report on the fear among the staff in America of being assimilated by the Germans.

“Like a Chain Letter”

Interview with US economist Robert Shiller on the bubble at the stock exchange, irrational investors and the overrated role of the Internet:

“I believe that in the long run the market will settle down at a substantially lower level, and for many years too. That’s been the case with every speculative bubble so far. … The Internet is only one of a whole range of major changes – though it’s one with which it’s fairly difficult to make a profit. Prices can be compared at the click of a mouse, and good business ideas are imitated all round the world. … I think legislation should be passed to prevent the crazy overvaluation of the markets. After all, we also have mechanisms in politics to stop megalomaniac madmen from taking over government. … Particularly Germany’s New Market operates just as irrationally, the relationship between share prices and profits has got completely out of hand. As with us, the bubble is bulging. … At the moment people believe more in America and are supporting our currency. I expect that in due course the dollar will drop and the euro will rise.”

“A Disturbed Nation”

SPIEGEL interview with historian Paul Kennedy on the vote-counting debacle in Florida, the international disgrace of the last superpower and the weakened position of the next president:

“It will take a considerable degree of political maturity and strength of leadership to prevent a general slip into widespread dissatisfaction and bitter cynicism. … The First Man of this disturbed nation will be aware of the fact that a large section of the population did not want him. And when he attends a summit meeting in Europe or Asia, he will go there reformed and less full of himself in view of the shaky balance of power in Congress.”

“Europe’s Help is Crucial”

SPIEGEL interview with Colombian President Andrés Pastrana on the difficult peace talks with the guerrilla groups, the fight against the drug Mafia and the international support for his reconstruction plan:

“After 40 years of war, the peace process is the only alternative. If we don’t make peace, we will return to the situation that we have suffered through for four decades. That’s why we need a political solution. … Three quarters of the funds for the Colombian Plan are earmarked for social projects. The Americans have never before offered this kind of help towards improving living conditions in Columbia.

“Donors from the Pub”

Legal proceedings: In Austria over 200 blood donors have become infected with hepatitis C and are claiming 140 million marks in compensation. Recently the accusations have been focusing increasingly on the Frankfurt-based Hoechst group. For many years the company Seroplas belonged to the chemicals giant which now trades under the name of Aventis. Lawyers representing the hepatitis victims accuse Hoechst/Aventis of having “effectively used the company as a front” in order to prevent legal action against the parent company. Hoechst/Aventis strictly denies any liability, explaining that prior to 1976, when the blood donors were infected, it was not yet a shareholder in Seroplas.

“This Is Our Country”

SPIEGEL in-depth interview with television presenter Minh-Khai Phan-Thi, writer Feridun Zaimoglu and film-maker John A. Kantara on German culture, German nature and the integration of foreigners:

“I’ve never had an identity crisis. However, I do know that there’s not just a German reality, but many different realities. … I’d like this country to show some regard for me, too, I’d like it to stand by its minorities in a positive sense. For instance, there ought to be an anti-discrimination law. … To me, a society in which the ethnic boundaries became blurred would in fact be a wonderful German Utopia. … Whenever I am abroad I notice how German I am. This is my country. I’m not going away, I’m staying here. My children are going to be born here and they’ll stay here too. We are going to change Germany, we are already doing so.”

“Treasures with Minor Blemishes”

Espionage: The lists of the Stasi spies which are being returned bit by bit by the USA contain many new names. But they do not, as hoped, finally settle all those cases that were still doubtful. The political parties, in particular, will have to be prepared for new debates about the spies in their own camps.

“Insults Make You Tougher”

SPIEGEL in-depth interview with Spice Girls Victoria Beckham and Melanie Chisholm, on the world-wide success of the British girl band, malicious headlines about their private lives, and the new Spice Girls album “Forever”:

“When we first started out, we were bubbling with energy. We were young, euphoric and naive. And because we didn’t really understand what all the fuss about the Spice Girls meant, we just went completely wild. Now we’re a bit older and have been through things that would do us for several lives. … You know, the British media hate success, and I really think that’s disgraceful. The Spice Girls did quite a bit to support Britain’s economic boom. But if the people from the press want to pick a fight with us, fine: we enjoy arguing! … What can we still achieve as the Spice Girls ? … As much as we love the Spice Girls fans at some point the time comes for egoism.”

“Minuet in the Middle Kingdom”

Music: China is striving to become a major power in the field of serious music too. The upswing is marked by new opera houses, expensive galas, avant-garde festivals and systematic musical training. Major corporations are assuming a role as sponsors, a German computer Croesus is even playing the patron and the piano.

“Pipeline from the Stables”

Energy: Over 1000 plants around Germany produce electricity from biogas. Now farmers want to pipe the emanations from dung and manure straight into the natural gas network as well. The technology’s breakthrough has been hampered for a long time, among other things by the very low price of oil and natural gas. The latest shock in the price of energy is now kindling an interest in piping biogas into the supply network.