The murder of Alexander Litvinenko, allegedly at the hand of Russian spies; the detention of the "Arctic 30" Greenpeace activists; and demands that artists and sportspeople boycott Russia over its repression of gay rights have all contributed.
Jonathan Freedland In one day these two Greenpeace activists did more than millions of tweets, petition signatures and celebrity endorsements to raise awareness of the threat oil drilling poses to the Arctic, one of the planet's few remaining wildernesses.
In a letter handed out by activists to managers at each Shell station, John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace UK, wrote: "28 activists and two journalists remain in detention after the seizure of our ship Arctic Sunrise by armed Russian Federal Security Bureau agents.
Sports and fashion brand Adidas also made the 2020 pledge after Greenpeace published a report on toxic chemicals in Fifa World Cup merchandise, along with 18 leading brands such as H&M and Zara.
As a result Greenpeace suspended action against APP indefinitely.
Some readers felt that the actions of the Greenpeace activists were as brave, if not braver, than Snowden's.
Wikileaks' Global Intelligence Files revealed that groups such as Greenpeace, Amnesty International and animal rights organisation Peta were all monitored by global intelligence company Stratfor, once described as a "shadow CIA".
Greenpeace Reef Campaigner Louise Matthiesson said the decision was "one more body blow for the reef which further threatens marine life, its World Heritage status and Australia's tourism and fishing industries".
Greenpeace Australia Pacific called on Hunt to release the full report.
Greenpeace UK warned Japan against ignoring or circumventing the decision: "We welcome this verdict which will hopefully mark the end of whaling in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica.
Oh year, and well done Greenpeace for collecting lots and lots of money.
