Visualization of the European refugee crisis

refugees

The flow towards Europe project provides a vivid visualization of the refugee migration.  It is an interactive map with breakdowns by country, and with a timeline covering the years 2012-2015.

Europe is experiencing the biggest refugee crisis since World War II. Based on data from the United Nations, we clarify the scale of the crisis.

Waves brought by typhoon Nesat

Big Picture covers the typhoon Nesat that caused havoc in several Asian countries – India, Pakistan, China, Thailand, Philippines.  While most of the pictures there attempt to show the scale of the destruction and suffering, I was mesmerized by this one, which displays the powers of nature.

Qatar – small country with a huge problem

Qatar is a country I know nothing about. And whenever I hear the name of a country that I know nothing about, the first thing I want to know is if they have Internet connectivity over there. It appears, that I should have be more careful with my Internet criteria evaluation – via via TechCrunch:

Qatar has a single ISP, Qtel, with a single IP address shared by the entire country.

So, the fact that there is Internet connectivity today does not necessarily imply that there will be Internet connectivity tomorrow…

Diging into cultures

Lame title, I know, but I couldn’t think of a better one and now it’s too late.

One of the things I like about living in Cyprus is that I can meet with people of different cultures. Cypriots, Greeks, British, Russians, Eastern Europeans, Indians, Phillipinos, Pakistanis, Chinese, Lebanese – these are just a subset of people living in Cyprus. Additionally, there are a couple of millions of tourists travelling in and out of country every year.

Meeting these people and talking to them, even if briefly, greatly expands the horizons of cultural understanding. Even just watching them – how they behave on their own or in the group of their countrymen or mixed with others – triggers a lot of thinking.

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