Another year has passed, and another year, here we sit. What a crazy year 2011 has been. So that we don’t forget the events that shaped the year, our minds, and this Earth, let us not forget these major events that we saw unfold in 2011:

• Floods in Brazil that took almost 1,000 lives
• The Arab Spring uprising that started in Egypt forcing the then president, Hosni Mubarak to step down. Which gave power to neighboring countries to rise-up as well, and those protests continue to spread like wildfire around the Earth.
• A 9.1 magnitude earthquake and later tsunami hit the east coast of Japan, killing almost 16,000 people and leaving another 4,000 people missing. Tsunami warnings were issued in 50 countries and territories. Emergencies were declared at four nuclear power plants affected by the quake.
• In Libya, tensions between government aggression and civilian-protests leads the UN Security Council to vote 10-0 to create a no-fly-zone over Libya in response to allegations of government aggression against civilians. Libya in all out civil-war.
• An estimated 2 billion people watch the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in London.
• May 1st, President Barrack Obama announces that Osama bin Laden had been killed during an American military operation in Pakistan.
• Chile’s Puyehue volcano erupts, causing air traffic cancellations across South America, New Zealand, Australia, and forcing over 3,000 people to evacuate.
• May 22nd a catastrophic EF5 multiple-vortex tornado struck Joplin, Missouri in the late afternoon. It was part of a larger late-May tornado outbreak sequence and reached the greatest width of in excess of 1 mile (1.6 km) during its path through the southern part of the city. Damages estimated to be around $3 billion.
• Arab Spring moves to Yemen, where in June, President Ali Abdullah Saleh travels to Saudi Arabia for treatment of an injury sustained during an attack on the presidential palace. Protestors celebrate his transfer of power to his Vice-President Abd al-Rab Mansur al-Hadi.
• Arab Spring continues to Syria, where Syrians flee to Turkey as Syrian troops lay siege to Jisr ash-Shugur
• In July, the world’s first artificial organ transplant is achieved using an artificial windpipe coated with stem cells.
• South Sudan secedes from Sudan, per the result of the independence referendum held in January.
• The UN declares a famine in southern Somalia, the first in over thirty years.
• on July 21st, Space Shuttle Atlantis lands successfully at Kennedy Space Center after completing STS-135, concluding NASA’s space shuttle program.
• 76 people were killed in twin terrorist attacks in Norway, after a bombing in a government center and a shooting at a political youth camp on the island of Utoya.
• on July 31, in Thailand, over 12.8 million people are affected by severe flooding. The World Bank estimated damages at $45 billion. As of today where water levels still stand over six feet tall, 790 people have died, and 58 of the country’s 77 provinces were/are affected.
• Arab Spring: Because of the uncertainties associated with a clamp-down of the free press, there is believed to be at least 121 people killed in a Syrian Army tank raid on the town of Hama and over 150 people are reportedly killed across the country.The total dead throughout Syria may never be known, but an estimate as of September 24 is 3,000.
• In August, NASA announces that it’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured photographic evidence of possible liquid water on Mars during warm season.
• Juno, the first solar-powered spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter, was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in August.
• Also in August, rioting across England after protests over the fatal shooting of Mark Duggan by police, leads to widespread looting, arson and murder. Some blame the influence to the Arab Spring.
• On August 20-28th – Arab Spring and the Libyan civil war: In the Battle of Tripoli, Libyan rebels took control of the nation’s capital effectively overthrowing the government under Muammar Gaddafi.
• on September 5th, India and Bangladesh sign a pact to end their 40-year border demarcation dispute.
• October 20th – Arab Spring and the Libyan civil war: Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is killed in Sirte, with National Transitional Council forces taking control of the city, and ending the war.
• On October 23 a 7.2 magnitude earthquake jolted eastern Turkey near the city of Van, killing 604 people and damaging about 2,200 buildings.
• October 31, 2011 – Marked the date selected by the UN as the symbolic date when global population reaches 7 billion.
• UNESCO admitted Palestine as a member, following a vote in which 107 member states supported and 14 opposed.
• On November 26th the Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity, the most elaborate Martian exploration vehicle to date, is launched from the Kennedy Space Center. Slated to land on Mars on August 5th, 2012.
• NASA announces a major discovery – NASA’s Kepler mission confirmed its first planet in the “habitable zone,” the region where liquid water could exist on a planet’s surface. Kepler also discovered more than 1,000 new planet candidates, nearly doubling its previously known count. Ten of these candidates are near-Earth-size and orbit in the habitable zone of their host star.
• December 15th marked the end of the Iraq War.
• Supreme Leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Kim Jong-il dies on December 17th.
• It was also the year of the online hacktivist group Anonymous, whose goal is initiating active civil disobedience while attempting to maintain anonymity.
• It was also the year that the American Bill of Rights is threatened by 4 very scary bills introduced. Most notably, The NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act), and SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act).

To death, we lost a lot of great people. Some that stand out are Nate Dogg, Elizabeth Taylor, Randy Savage, Betty Ford, Amy Winehouse,  Steve Jobs, and many more.

Protests in Egypt

Protests in New York (Nov. 17th 32,000 people march across New York)

I think overall, 2011 was a year the planet and the governments of the world tested mankind, realizing that the human spirit is not something that should be reckoned with. When the Arab Spring made its way to America, and on November 17th, 32,000 people marching together in the streets of New York, it was that moment that the World felt united. As one planet, we are all the same people. We all have our struggles, we all have our hopes, dreams, and fears.

2011 should go down as the year that the world collectively took down greed, fear, and hate. It’s the year that the people of the world decided to not let oppression run, or ruin their lives. There were a lot of horrible disasters and events that happened in 2011, but I think we can all look back, and see that as human beings, as a country, as a continent, as a world, there has been progress. While the world might not be on the same track physically, I think we are all coming a lot closer mentally. From the Arab Spring, to the Occupy movement. From the discovery of other ‘habitable’ planets, to the breakthroughs in science and medicine, we are in for a very interesting future.

2012 marks the end of the Mayan calender. In Mexico City, they have already began their year-long celebration to the re-birth. A lot of people have profited from insisting that all havoc is going to break loose in December 21, 2012. I don’t believe this. I do think that there are going to be many changes in 2012, I think the biggest changes will be mentally and spiritually. I think the human brain is evolving, and at the end of 2012, we will have a refreshed outlook on ourselves as a planet, rather than ourselves as individuals.

So as with anything in the past, let us look back at 2011 as a year that all of us completed for one, and two, as a bridge to tomorrow. It may not have been the best year on count, no matter what horrible event hits home for you, we all made it through. We held on strong. Let us do the same for 2012. Let’s work to make 2012 better than 2011. Not by waiting to see what the government has planned, or wait to see what inspiring movies or commercials are released. Let it start today with you and I. If you see somebody in need, help them out. When you are in need, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Let’s evolve our consciousness to match the times.

Live free, keep an open mind, an open heart, and you will find your way.

GOODBYE 2011 – HELLO 2012

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