Two Swedish advertising agency employees piloted a light plane over Belarus's heavily guarded airspace and dropped 879 bears, each bearing a message supporting human rights.

The greatest producer of causalities on the battlefield in the 20th century was artillery, and my assessment is the IED is the artillery of the 21st century.
- Lt. Gen. Michael Barbero, director of the Joint IED Defeat Organization

Over the course of 15 years, award-winning photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand has crafted a beautiful view of the Earth: Home is an exquisite vision of our world, full of pure bliss—and terrifying scenes.

Produced by Luc Besson, the movie's one hour and 33 minutes will give you goose bumps, taking you to 120 locations over 54 countries, showing the majestic nature of our planet in stark contrast with the effect of human industries and technology.

Watch the entire film online here.

Most (and least) corrupt countries.

Of the two nations described jointly as "AfPak", one has nuclear weapons and the other doesn't. One has a population of 175 million and a GDP of $166 billion; the other has only 28 million citizens, a literacy rate under 30 percent, and an economy, if you don't count the opium trade, worth no more than $13 billion. One is a haven for Osama bin Laden and the remnants of the terror network that launched the 9/11 attacks. The 100,000 U.S. troops sent to root out Al Qaeda are in the other one.

According to Newsweek magazine, the Best Country in the World is…

1. Finland
2. Switzerland
3. Sweden
4. Australia
5. Luxembourg
6. Norway
7. Canada
8. Netherlands
9. Japan
10. Denmark

And we're number
11. United States

"Why do cold, dark, small, and depressive nations top the rankings?"
--author Andrei Codrescu

... when you read about America in European newspapers, what you are likely to find is a tone bordering on pity. The U.S. is depicted as a fraying empire of obesity, ignorance, debt, gridlock, stagnation, and mindless war. Sure, the iPad is cool, but it is evidence of what America was, not what it will be again. The stories are not angry, accusatory, or even ideological. It’s worse: they are condescendingly elegiac.

Newsweek: Europeans can't be bothered to hate America

Infographic: Tallest Mountain to Deepest Ocean Trench

1000+ Haitians live on an 8' wide highway median, having no place else to go.

The international observance of World Water Day is an initiative that grew out of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro. The United Nations General Assembly designated 22 March of each year as the World Day for Water by adopting a resolution.This world day for water was to be observed starting in 1993, in conformity with the recommendations of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development contained in chapter 18 (Fresh Water Resources) of Agenda 21.

Today is World Water Day. More at the Big Picture.

The world marks International Women's Day [today], an annual celebration that highlights their economic, political and social achievements.

"International Women's Day is the story of ordinary women as makers of history; it is rooted in the centuries-old struggle of women to participate in society on an equal footing with men," the United Nations says.

Text of President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize speech.

"Unfriend" is the New Oxford Dictionary's Word of the Year for 2009.

October 24th is United Nations Day

It's Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday!

Breathing Earth is a map of the earth that shows, in realtime, births, deaths, and carbon dioxide consumption of the world's countries. Requires flash
Let it run for awhile - it's fascin

The Denver Post reports that 80 children die EVERY DAY in Darfur, Western Africa. Can anything be done to save Darfur? Here is a link to Doctors Without Borders so you can see what that organization