floccinaucinihilipilificate

Here are two maps. The top one reflects military spending, based on 2002 numbers. The US far outweighs the other countries of the world, taking up 45% of the land mass to account for its $353B war chest. By contrast, the second map shows deaths related to war in 2002. The dark bloody blot on the map represents the Congo and 26% of the 172,000 deaths from war worldwide. Africa continues to be brutalized by conflict, and the world's $789B military budget represents such potential for peace on the continent. All it takes is the will to make a difference. These maps were sourced from Worldmapper , via the Daily Mail .

"Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld were both on television last night, answering questions," said Jon Stewart on Wednesday's Daily Show, comparing the rarity of the event to "a giant squid having sex with Bigfoot as the ghost of Jim Morrison claps giddily." The Raw Story has Jon Stewart at his best, as he takes apart a couple of the puppeteers of the Bush Administration. Click the image to read more and watch the video.

What happens when you mashup Linden Labs' Second Life with Google Earth? No one knows for sure, because that hasn't happened yet -- but, the speculation is already happening. Users of Second Life explore reality using the 2D simulated world that Linden Labs built online. Already, Second Life is serving as a platform for business and academic experimentation. But what if Second Life wasn't just a made-up world, but instead, simulated geo-spatially, the Earth? MIT's Technology Review explores that possibility in their latest issue . Watch out folks, the future Metaverse is on its way, whether you like it or not.