Bill Gates’ recent comments supporting ‘death panels’  have drawn public outcry.
“But that’s called a ‘Death Panel’ and we’re not supposed to have that discussion,” Gates was quoted as saying.
What is a death panel?
A death panel is a hypothetical tribunal which would decide the fate of sick patients and the relative benefits versus financial cost to sustaining one’s life.

It happens to us on a daily basis – we flip the channel, pick up the paper, or click onto a website about a fatal car accident.

But what constitutes this as news? Most often it’s not.

A viral Prophet Mohammad cartoon contest has enraged Pakistani officials who have temporarily blocked social media giants Facebook and Youtube throughout the Asian country.

Molly Norris was blamed for starting the controversy after she drew a parodized version of the religious figure to complement a recent South Park episode which was condemned and censored for its depiction of the muslim Prophet.

Norris was also accused of creating the Facebook fan page ‘Let’s All Draw Mohammad Day May 20’. The page quickly gained 98,700 fans before being pulled.

Social media resources to communicate through cross-embedding and linking have evolved the Internet and society forever. We have experienced the applications and social networks of Web 2.0 such as YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.

Now the next step is Web 3.0, but what will change?

The media claims Generation Y suffers from apathy and lacks socio-political participation.

Yet, it is my fellow millenials who are paving the way and defining the viral economy. Those in charge of traditional media are missing the boat.

I do understand that there are many more distractions facing my peers but should this undermine our ability to thrive? And who is to blame if the Western world goes 3rd world in a decade?

As economies continue to spiral out of control, a reaction is arriving which may benefit the integrity of journalism in Canada.
Canadian media empire Canwest is reaching its demise and bids are coming in from media giants like Quebecor and Transcontinental to take over. However, CRTC laws preventing media companies from acquiring certain publications or channels from competitors may bring an ‘independent voice’ to Canadian media and a return to regionally operated news.
Now, I am not necessarily saying that Canwest and their divisions have done a poor job. However, with any …

The documentary Collapse explores Michael Ruppert’s vision that the world is on the path to turmoil.
Ruppert claims the world has reached the peak oil output possible and that we are on a rapid decline of resources to sustain humanity.
What’s worse, he claims, is that governments and corporations have known about this for decades but have continued to keep the public in the dark.
Oil is the lifeblood of the industrial revolution. Everything we use from plastics to electricity requires oil energy. Since we have reached the peak of oil production, the …

The word niche is frequently thrown around to denote how concentrated communities have networked via the internet during the 00s.
Yet, the damaging effects of submersing oneself into these communities is finally drawing attention and we are witnessing the risk that technology can have on sustaining a balanced life.
How has this affected society?

Is the male species at risk of extinction? According to the CBC documentary The Disappearing Male, this evolution has been underway for the last 60 years.
Common chemicals found in everyday products like shampoo, plastics, meat, dairy products, carpet, etc. “are called “hormone mimicking” or “endocrine disrupting” chemicals and they may be starting to damage the most basic building blocks of human development.”
According to the documentary, the last 30 years has seen a drop in male births by 3 million. The average sperm count of young men has dropped by 50% …

For most of this decade Muslims have been under the spotlight.
The beliefs, customs and rituals of Islam have been put on display since 9/11. From hijabs in soccer matches to depictions of the Prophet Muhammad in mainstream news outlets, the effort to compromise and live day-to-day in many multicultural countries has been difficult; or has it?
According to a survey conducted by Gallup and the Coexist Foundation, “European Muslims have much more loyalty to the countries they live in than is generally believed.”

BBC reported the findings of the survey conducted in …

The 1997 film Face/Off saw rival characters played by Nicholas Cage and John Travolta exchange faces through a futuristic surgical procedure. In 2005, France completed the first face transplant, and now, only four years later, the technology is evolving.
Yesterday, the Associated Press released footage from the Cleveland Clinic showing the truly amazing evolution of plastic surgery. Recipient of the first US performed face transplant, Connie Culp, was ecstatic at a news conference revealing her new visage.
“I would like to thank the family for this Christmas present,” said Culp, whose identity …

BBC is reporting the development of a new technology in London designed to compile private communication contact between citizens “including e-mails, telephone and internet use including visits to social network sites, but not their content”.
The aim for Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), according to the report, is not to create a centralized location for all information as had previously been presented but to trace “acts when it is necessary” and “not spy at will”. The main focus in this article presents the bold step taken by GCHQ to deny it will …

Once again public attention has been taken off of real news by the media’s excessive coverage of “Swine Flu”.
This new strain of influenza is only being heavily publicized as Western nations have had confirmed cases. Influenza related death is more normal than the public is led to believe and quite higher than this most recent outbreak.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO),“annual epidemics result in about three to five million cases of severe illness, and about 250,000 to 500,000 deaths.” These numbers are starkly different from the 935 confirmed cases …

Mainstream media outlets have done a poor job of reporting the Sri Lanka-Tamil conflict around the world.
Although the war has been an ongoing conflict since 1983, it is the protests that have received attention while the civil war itself continues to ravage in Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan natives are furious over the mass exodus of civilians being forced to leave their homes.
The UN has interjected requesting the safe evacuation of civilians from within the war zone. Sri Lanka’s unstable politics has turned civilians into pawns to fuel the conflict further. …

“Oh no, the economic crisis is upon us!” But who really knows what that even means? Why should we care? How will it really affect anyone?
A depression occurs when the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of a nation falls by over 10%. But what is GDP? Gross Domestic Product, in simplest terms, is all the money that is brought in by a country through the creation of goods, sale of goods, import/export of goods, any tax money MINUS all the losses seen from import/export, expenses in the country: infrastructure, health care, …

Alex Jones has attempted to uncover the great plan behind Barack Obama’s presidential victory and beyond.
According to the documentary, Obama is a Wall Street crony who, like his predecessors, has the interest of the Bilderberg group and one world government.
Jones does present some convincing arguments by suggesting that Obama appointed a Bush-like cabinet despite Obama’s claims that his aim was to create a unified cabinet. Jones stifles Obama by presenting a reflection of his agenda pre- and post-election.
Obama says that he will pull the troops out of Iraq 16 months …

I truly wonder why Western hypo-crats boycotted the UN Anti-Racism Conference?
Obama, what happened to, “if we disagree, I will listen.”? Ahmadinejad was articulate and used similar rhetoric to Obama expressing shared mutual respect and dignity for a global community.
Ahmadinejad addressed the UN audience with an account of the last 500 years of history. He spoke about the ignorance of past generations who turned to colonization, slavery and other mechanisms to gain power; this itself, he said, is racism.
Diplomats from the US and 30 other countries staged a walk-out from the …