The 2000s Portal

From top left, clockwise: The World Trade Center on fire and the Statue of Liberty during the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001; the euro enters into European currency in 2002; a statue of Saddam Hussein being toppled during the Iraq War in 2003, and in 2006, Hussein would be executed for crimes against humanity; U.S. troops heading toward an army helicopter in Afghanistan during the war on terror; social media through the Internet spreads across the world; a Chinese soldier gazes at the 2008 Summer Olympics commencing in Beijing; the largest economic crisis since the Great Depression hits the world in 2008; a tsunami from the Indian Ocean earthquake kills over 230,000 in 2004, and becomes the strongest earthquake since the 1964 Alaska earthquake

The 2000s (pronounced "two-thousands") was a decade that began on January 1, 2000, and ended on December 31, 2009.

The early part of the decade saw the long predicted breakthrough of economic giants in Asia, like India and China, which had double-digit growth during nearly the whole decade. It is also benefited from an economic boom, which saw the two most populous countries becoming an increasingly dominant economic force. The rapid catching-up of emerging economies with developed countries sparked some protectionist tensions during the period and was partly responsible for an increase in energy and food prices at the end of the decade. The economic developments in the latter third of the decade were dominated by a worldwide economic downturn, which started with the crisis in housing and credit in the United States in late 2007 and led to the bankruptcy of major banks and other financial institutions. The outbreak of this global financial crisis sparked a global recession, beginning in the United States and affecting most of the industrialized world.

The decade saw the rise of the Internet, which grew from covering 6.7% to 25.7% of the world population. This contributed to globalization during the decade, which allowed faster communication among people around the world;[1][2][3][4][5]

The war on terror and War in Afghanistan began after the September 11 attacks in 2001. The International Criminal Court was formed in 2002. In 2003, a United States-led coalition invaded Iraq, and the Iraq War led to the end of Saddam Hussein's rule as Iraqi President and the Ba'ath Party in Iraq. Al-Qaeda and affiliated Islamist militant groups performed terrorist acts throughout the decade. The Second Congo War, the deadliest conflict since World War II, ended in July 2003. Further wars that ended included the Algerian Civil War, the Angolan Civil War, the Sierra Leone Civil War, the Second Liberian Civil War, the Nepalese Civil War, and the Sri Lankan Civil War. Wars that began included the conflict in the Niger Delta, the Houthi insurgency in Yemen, and the Mexican drug war.

The 2008 United States presidential election was the 56th quadrennial presidential election, held on November 4, 2008. The Democratic ticket of Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, and Joe Biden, the senior senator from Delaware, defeated the Republican ticket of John McCain, the senior senator from Arizona, and Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska. Obama became the first African American to be elected to the presidency, as well as being only the third sitting United States senator elected president, joining Warren G. Harding and John F. Kennedy. Meanwhile, this was only the second successful all-senator ticket since the 1960 election and is the only election where both major party nominees were sitting senators. This was the first election since 1952 in which neither the incumbent president nor vice president was on the ballot, as well as the first election since 1928 in which neither ran for the nomination.

Incumbent Republican President George W. Bush was ineligible to pursue a third term due to the term limits established by the Twenty-second Amendment. McCain secured the Republican nomination by March 2008, defeating former governors Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, and other challengers. The Democratic primaries were marked by a sharp contest between Obama and the initial front-runner, former First Lady and Senator Hillary Clinton, as well as other challengers that dropped out before most of the primaries were held, including Senators John Edwards and Obama's future running mate, Joe Biden. Clinton's victory in the New Hampshire primary made her the first woman to win a major party's presidential primary. After a long primary season, Obama secured the Democratic nomination in June 2008. (Full article...)
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  • ... that if you went to an anime convention in the 2000s, you might have been hit by a yaoi paddle?
  • ... that critics objected to Dangers of the Mail in the 1930s for government support of lewdness and in the 2000s for creating a hostile work environment?
  • ... that Kevin Feige first envisioned a shared universe featuring the Avengers in the mid-2000s?
  • ... that in the 2000s, New York City's Benjamin Hotel offered a pillow menu and hired a sleep concierge?

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Martin in 2011

Paul Edgar Philippe Martin PC CC KC (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006.

The son of former secretary of state for external affairs Paul Martin Sr., Martin was a lawyer from Ontario before he became president and the chief executive officer of Canada Steamship Lines in 1973. He held that position until his election as a member of Parliament for the Montreal riding of LaSalle—Émard in 1988. Martin ran for leader of the Liberal Party in 1990, losing to Jean Chrétien. Martin would become Chrétien's longtime rival for the leadership of the party, though was appointed his minister of finance after the Liberal victory in the 1993 federal election. Martin oversaw many changes in the financial structure of the Canadian government, and his policies had a direct effect on eliminating the country's chronic fiscal deficit by drastically cutting spending and reforming various programs including social services. (Full article...)
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Sources

  1. ^ Ludden D (1998). The newness of globalization: A schematic view of the historical zones of territoriality University of Pennsylvania. Unfinished draft. Retrieved December 30, 2009. Archived March 31, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Gordon PH; Meunier S (2001). The French challenge: Adapting to globalization. Washington, D.C.: Brookings.
  3. ^ Heizo T; Ryokichi C (1998). "Japan". Domestic Adjustments to Globalization (CE Morrison & H Soesastro, Eds.). Tokyo: Japan Center for International Exchange, pp. 76–102. Retrieved December 30, 2009.
  4. ^ Fry EH (2003). Local governments adapting to globalization. National League of Cities. Retrieved December 30, 2009. Archived January 5, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Haarstad, Håvard; Fløysand, Arnt (March 2007). "Globalization and the power of rescaled narratives: A case of opposition to mining in Tambogrande, Peru". Political Geography. 26 (3): 289–308. doi:10.1016/j.polgeo.2006.10.014.
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