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2011 in review - captivating events by Newscast Media
by Joseph Earnest December 30, 2011
Newscast Media HOUSTON, Texas — 2011 has been an incredible year and a very busy one for media practitioners. Newscast Media has compiled some of the most profound stories and events that we covered during the past year. There are some events that did not make the list, but that doesn't mean we did not cover them. As we ring in the new year that is expected to be even much busier than the previous one, since it is an election year, we would like to wish all our readers a prosperous 2012.
2011 in review as compiled by Newscast Media
10. Anonymous, the group of hackers that became notorious for their denial-of-service attacks and data breaches on a host of targets, like Amazon, Sony, the CIA, bankers, police officers, and Fox News, are now becoming a force to be reckoned with as they undertake the role of political hacktivists. The hacker group claims to also have hacked into NATO servers, and has in its possession one gigabyte of data. The Anons are a loosely organized group of hackers sympathetic to WikiLeaks.
9. Revelations of extramarital affairs forced GOP frontrunner Herman Cain to abandon his quest for the presidency. Cain had initially risen above the barrage of accusations, yet a single accusation by his mistress of 13 years, Ginger White, delivered a knockout punch, that sent Cain reeling to the sidelines, as the heartbeat of his campaign was silenced. On December 3, 2011, Cain announced he was suspending his campaign for president.
8. NASA scientists confirmed the discovery of a new habitable planet in the "habitable zone," the region where liquid water could exist on a planet's surface. The newly confirmed planet, Kepler-22b, is the smallest yet found to orbit in the middle of the habitable zone of a star similar to our sun. The planet is about 2.4 times the radius of Earth.
7. After a devastating 8.9 earthquake rocked Japan on March 11, 2011, it is believed that over 6,000 people were killed, leaving millions without water, electricity and food. The earthquake sent a 20-foot high tsunami crashing into the north-eastern coast of Japan, sweeping everything within its path including houses.
6. Somalia topped the list of 2011 failed states due to the absence of a permanent national government in the country for almost twenty years, the ongoing civil violence, economic hardship, poor social conditions, and the displacement of several million Somali citizens. Complete list of 2011 failed states is here. (pop-up)
5. Search giant Google may be late when it comes to the social network scene but its new site, Google+, is growing much more rapidly than Facebook, Myspace and Twitter did in their early days. Tracking firm comScore, said Google+, which was launched by the Internet search and advertising giant on June 28, had 25 million unique visitors as of July 24, making it the fastest growing social network ever.
4. In a move that reversed a pledge to Saudi, European and Egyptian officials to hold off on asking the United Nations to recognize as a new state Israel's occupied Palestinian territories, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas decided to go through with his application to the U.N. Security Council on Sept. 23 for the admission of a Palestinian state to the world body. On October 31, UNESCO's General Conference voted to admit Palestine as a member of the organization. The vote was carried by 107 votes in favor of admission and 14 votes against, with 52 abstentions. Washington reacted by suspending its funding for UNESCO, which accounted for a fifth of its annual budget.
3. The world lost Steve Jobs who will be remembered as one of the greatest inventors of the information age. Jobs, the architect behind the iMac, iTunes, iPod and iPad, is known for his famous speech in which he said, "You've got to find what you love, and that is as true for work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work, and the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking, and don't settle. Stay hungry, stay foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. I wish that for you. Stay hungry, stay foolish."
2. Iran's electronic warfare unit hacked into a US satellite and intercepted a drone illegally patrolling the Islamic Republic. The RQ-170 Sentinel drone also known as the "Beast of Kandahar" was safely landed on Iranian soil, and Iranian officials declared it their property as they displayed it for the whole world to see. An Iranian official told Tehran Times that another exhibition is scheduled that will be open to national reporters and foreign ambassadors based in Tehran.
The exhibition will display four Israeli drones that have violated the Iranian airspace along the eastern borders, and three remote controlled US aircrafts that have entered the country along either its eastern or southern borders. The "Beast" is the world's most sophisticated aircraft that uses the same kind of stealth technology as the B-2 stealth bomber.
1. Egyptian youth forced longtime US-Israeli ally Hosni Mubarak out of office after ruling the country for 29 years, making him the longest serving President of Egypt. The youth movement used public demonstrations that caught the attention of Washington, prompting Obama to demand Mubarak's resignation that effectively took place on February 11, 2011. Add Comments>>
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