Ghosts of the Osfront – an audio-chronicle of Germany/Russia during WWII

Here is a promo from my favorite historian, Dan Carlin. He does a show called Hardcore History and the name fits. So be warned that this is real, no punches are pulled. The topic for this show, called “Ghosts of the Osfront”, is the battle between Germany and Russia in World War II. He starts with …

Forget the BRICs it’s the CIVETS now – the new developing world

The past decade was all about the BRICs, the massive economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China, which kicked off at the beginning of the new century, boomed and are now slowing like the rest of the developed world. Taking their place is a new group of fast-rising economies promising businesses outsized returns. The next …

World map of social networks

The most dominant social network for each country:     Facebook clearly dominates, but a few countries have other favorites: – VKontakte and Odnoklassniki remain strong in Russian-speaking countries – Tencent’s QZone is still king of the hill in China – Vietnam’s most popular social network is Zing – People in Iran seemingly prefer Cloob over Facebook – Drauglem is the top dog in Latvia   …

Inside the forbidden land – environmental photos of Russia from National Geographic

For an American, these photos are truly breathtaking. For most of our lives Russia has been an impenetrable vast region, indeed the largest country in the world, with millions of acres of natural wonders. My own heritage brings me back to Belarus (the first photo below). Enjoy these photos from National Geographic Russia and their Google+ …

21st century modern art – graffiti – 26 beloved pieces

I particularly like the paintings on the ground that give depth, like you’re falling into a mouth or a bowl of soup.

The Army’s secret Arctic underground nuclear base in Greenland

No, this picture doesn’t show a black and white image of the rebel base on the ice planet Hoth. It’s part of a semi-secret, nuclear-powered U.S. Army base that was built under the Greenland ice cap only 800 miles from the North Pole. The base was officially built to conduct scientific research but the real …

Around the world social network usage is rising, especially in Egypt and Russia

From the Pew Global Attitudes Project: In 15 of 21 countries, at least 25% of those polled use social networking sites. Israel (53%) and the U.S. (50%) top the list. About four-in-ten of all adults in Britain (43%), Russia (43%), Spain (42%), Lithuania (39%) and Poland (39%). Among this group, Russia is the only country …

The Oil Industry – the most developed world industry, twice the size of the food industry

In 1950, the United States was the only country with a well developed oil industry. Today, the energy sector as a whole is the largest industry in the world and accounts for over $3 trillion dollars in annual sales. The second largest global industry, food, accounts for $1.7 trillion. Between 1950 and 1973 the world …

11 awesome achievements by the Department of Energy in 2011

Energy Secretary, Steven Chu January 10, 2012 Re: Year in Review   Dear Colleagues, As we enter the New Year and move forward with our efforts…(it’s) important to take a moment to reflect on the progress we have made. Across the complex, our workforce is reducing nuclear dangers, expanding the boundaries of science and innovation, …