Signing Off

     We live in an age of information. Scientific advancements and technological developments are occurring at an unprecedented rate. Never before has a generation experienced the level of rapid progression that defines our society. The term 'global village' has also never been as literal a translation as it is today. Through the Internet, the world has become a much smaller place. We are connected to everyone. Everyone is connected to us. No longer are people defined by region or ethnicity, but rather are categorized by shared interests. This is not a naive statement claiming that prejudices are a sin of the past, but rather it is an observation of categorical trends still in development. The Internet has also given us information. More information than we know what to do with. The potential of self-improvement and global awareness is limitless. As is the possibility of descension.

     With all of this knowledge available it's easy to get lost in the volumes of garbage that surrounds it. Don't get overly distracted by the stories of celebrities and entertainment. They're enjoyable in the same way that junk food is enjoyable, in small doses. Overindulgence is a sin everyone is guilty of, but awareness of it is key to moderation. Avoid websites dedicated to ideals which perpetuate a cynical world view. Things aren't perfect but they are markedly better than they are reported as being. Devote yourself to learning about the world. Understand what people are going through in times of struggle and strife. Identify with the suffering and unite with the repressed. Dedicate yourself to an ideal and transcend the individual.

     I believe that anything worth doing is work. But the moment that something transitions from work to a chore is the moment it's no longer worthy of your time. Under the Fold has become a chore. The amount of time devoted to this platform is not beneficial to my self-improvement and not the best use of my time. I'll no longer be updating the site but will keep it active in order to keep the information I have provided available. After spending so much time writing and editing Under the Fold I felt a final message was appropriate. I didn't want the last entry to simply portray a regular update and leave things without closure. Currently, I'm in the process of researching new ideas for a revamped blog and will post the link to it once it's finalized.

     'Wisdom is found only in truth.' - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

War on Drugs Driving HIV Transmission

     While preparing for today's entry I conducted preliminary research regarding the correlation between the war against drugs and the rise of HIV transmission. While I initially believed that the topic may provide enough information to fill half of a regular post, thus allowing a discussion detailing the conference to a greater degree than I have been able to thus far, I now realize that I need to devote the entirety of today's story to the topic. I'm doing this because the amount of information has exploded in the last week and I'd be doing a disservice to the topic by cutting it short. 

Drug-resistant AIDS Virus 'On the Rise'

      A study published in The Lancet medical journal reveals that the new drug-resistant mutations of the AIDS virus is increasing in parts of Africa; a development which should be a clear warning to health watchdogs across the world. This rise in documented cases has researchers, doctors and patients urging the world's governments not to cut funding against the epidemic, reports Aljazeera. The study couldn't be coming at a more appropriate time as the 19th International AIDS Conference is being held in Washington D.C. this week and brings together the international community to discuss what's been accomplished in the fight against the virus and what still needs to be done to create an AIDS-free generation.

Delay

     Today's post has been pushed back to tomorrow due to the amount of research I need to do to be able to properly discuss the topic. Sorry for any inconvenience.

US Military Allows Uniforms in Gay Pride Parade

     Active duty members in all branches of the military were allowed to don their uniforms while marching in the San Diego Pride Parade yesterday. This is the first time that the military has granted such permissions since the September repeal of the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' (DADT) policy, under which gay individuals could only serve in the military if they did not divulge their sexual orientation. The move came after San Diego Pride Parade organizers announced this year's parade theme, America's Pride: Equality is an American Value. According to an article posted on Aljazeera more than 400 military members signed up to march in the parade prior to the military's announcement. While an official report is not yet available, organizers believed that this number would increase after the allowance was made public.

News in Photos: July 21, 2012

     Today is the final entry in this week's "News in Photos" template. While I enjoy covering a variety of topics, it isn't the reason that I started Under the Fold. By talking about the news of the day I'm missing the stories that were under reported. It's also difficult to really research and explain the details behind a story when I'm covering three in one post. The "News in Photos" design may be something I tweak for future posts but for right now I'm going to shelf it. Today's post will conclude this template by listing the top news headlines and provide an accompanying image and link. My reason for the short post is so that I can begin research into tomorrow's story.

News in Photos: July 20, 2012

     Police are reporting that 12 people have been killed in a shooting at a midnight screening of the new Batman movie in Denver. The suspect, James Holmes, 24, walked into the theatre dressed in body armour while carrying three weapons, including an assault rifle. Witnesses say that Holmes entered a side door of the theatre wearing a gas mask and set off two smoke devices before opening fire. In addition to the 12 people who died in the attack, another 59 were injured. The death toll may rise because some of the wounds are being reported as being "serious". Authorities believe that Holmes was acting alone but are puzzled by the shooting because he was apparently "not on anybody's radar screen - nothing." At first, those attending the midnight screening believed that Holmes was part of the show. A number of details are still unknown because the investigation is still in its early stages. (The New York Times)

News in Photos: July 19, 2012

     Reports have confirmed that Mehdi Ghezali, an ex-Guantanamo Bay detainee, was responsible for the bus blast in Bulgaria yesterday. Video surveillance in front of the airport showed that the suspect could not be identified amoung other traveling Israeli tourists because he looked like everyone else. Authorities have also confirmed that the bomber was carrying a fake drivers license from the state of Michigan. The airport has been closed all day so that police could conduct their investigation, a situation that has around 100 travelers waiting for their planes. They have been told that they would need to wait until midnight before they could use the airport again. Officials have set up tents and portable toilets for the stranded travelers and Bulgaria's parliament opened today with a moment of silence for those who lost their lives. (Huffington Post)

News in Photos: July 18, 2012

     Events in Damascus have escalated since yesterday's post due to an attack at the national security headquarters in Rawda district in the city. Three people in President Bashar Al Assad's inner circle were killed when a bomb was detonated in the building. President Bashar Assad's >deputy Gen. Assef Shawkat, who was also his brother-in-law, was one of the men killed in the explosion. Syria's rebel commander takes responsibility for the attack, which he denies was a suicide bombing and says that those who carried out the operation are "unharmed". This is easily the top reported story of the day. (Huffington Post)

News in Photos: July 17, 2012

     This week I'm going to do things a little differently by presenting a number of news stories from around the world through the use of images. I'll briefly describe the details of the story and provide a link to the original article for further information. The reason I'm changing my format is twofold; first, I need a breather after the amount of research and writing that went into the youth unemployment series, and second, I feel that by providing a brief summary of some of the events happening around the world you may be more enticed to research the events on your own. Independent research is a vital step to developing your awareness of the world around you and understanding the importance of the news. 

Fighting the Youth Unemployment Crisis

     Today is an extension of the final entry in the five-part series discussing the youth unemployment crisis that has gripped the developed world. I refer to the developed world specifically because my research hasn't involved any statistics or articles reflecting the job levels in developing nations. This is an area that interests me and may be something that I look at in another post. I have also avoided talking about gender or minority differences when discussing the youth unemployment crisis, as this would likely require additional posts as well, something that may also come at a later date.

Youth Unemployment Crisis and the Labour Market

     Today is the final entry of the five-part series discussing the youth unemployment crisis but before I conclude I want to briefly touch on the previous four entries. I began this series by talking about a warning that was given by the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) that if the crisis was allowed to continue uninterrupted it would result in the creation of a "lost generation" of youth. The OECD warning was directed at policy-makers in the developed world in order to generate an appropriate change of course. I used this warning as a segue to discussing the crisis around the world and examine the reported statistics as provided by the OECD.
   

Youth Unemployment Crisis and Neets

     The number of unemployed youth has grown by four million since 2007. More alarming is that millions more disconnected youth are giving up searching for a job entirely. The global youth jobless rate is stuck at critical levels and is expected to remain there until at least 2016, according to the International Labour Organization. Of primary concern are young people who are neither in employment, nor in education or training - referred to in many countries as Neet. An article posted on the theglobeandmail.com discusses this segment of the population as one that has been growing in recent years, especially in the developed world, reflecting a detachment from the labour market.

Youth Unemployment Crisis and Germany

     To what degree did the recession create the youth unemployment crisis? Clearly, the recession has a negative impact on the number of jobs that are available due to layoffs and closures. Also the individuals applying to those jobs are both new graduates with limited experience and established professionals reentering the workforce, further limiting availability. Another correlation between the recession and the unemployment crisis is the longer period of time that potential retirees are staying at their positions. Yet, these are issues that countries around the world are dealing with but not every country is failing as completely as Greece or Spain. Even the U.S. and Canada, while doing considerably better than the aforementioned countries, have nothing to brag about. Germany, however, has managed to outperform every other country in youth employment. So what is the variable that allows for some countries to successfully employ their youth while others can not?

Youth Unemployment Crisis Ramifications

     Yesterday was the start of a five-part series discussing the youth unemployment crisis. I spent a great deal of time explaining the background of the crisis and offered readers number of important links and statistics to better understand the situation. This discussion tied into a warning given by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The OECD is cautioning policy-makers that youth are at risk of becoming a "lost generation" if the current crisis is not dealt with appropriately. If you missed part one click here to be redirected. Today's installment will examine the ramifications of the youth unemployment crisis on the individual as well as society.

Youth Unemployment Creating A Lost Generation

     Today is the first in a five-part series looking at the youth unemployment crisis that's impacting young adults around the world. I'm not an economist or an expert in job trends and will not be discussing the cause of the crisis itself. Instead I'll spend the next five days talking about the climate which has been created because of the high levels of unemployment and underemployment as a result of the crisis. I'll begin this discussion by looking at the impact of the crisis on young adults and the creation of a "Lost Generation", an argument which was presented by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Bomber Command Finally Receives Recognition

     Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, unveiled the Bomber Command Memorial on Thursday in a ceremony remembering 55,573 airmen who lost their lives during the Second World War. Over 6,000 people attended the dedication in order to honour the men who sacrificed everything to serve their country. Veterans and families of the deceased gathered together at the ceremony to see Bomber Command finally receive the recognition it deserves after the decades of controversy the unit has dealt with.

Redesigning Canada for the 21st Century

     The Canadian brand has received a makeover thanks to a cross-border effort by Public Radio International and CBC Radio Q. The creative challenge was based on this question: how would you go about redesigning Canada and the United States? CBC Radio Q was in charge of redesigning the U.S. and did so by examining different aspects of the country each week, such as; their international image, their political rhetoric, the character of the country, and the American Dream. For the full results of this exercise in branding the U.S. click here. According to Susan Delacourt from the Toronto Star, NPR enlisted the help of internationally renown firm, Bruce Mau Design (BMD), for its part in the exercise. 

Over 250,000 Computers Infected with DNS Malware

     This Monday will find Internet users across the globe left without a connection. The computers impacted will be those that are still infected with the now five-year-old DNS malware. According to Samantha Murphy from Mashable.com, the FBI is planning to shut down the DNS servers it used last November to keep infected computers connected to the internet. The use of these friendly servers was originally planned to last only four months but it was extended until this Monday because estimates of infected computers around the world is over still 250,000. Luckily there are a number of warnings for those who have the DNS malware on their computers, as well as easy ways to check to see if your system is infected.

Introducing the Nexus 7

     The Nexus 7 was announced by Google at their I/O conference back in June and is the company's first Nexus-branded Android tablet. Reviews from technology sites such as CNET, TechSpot, Wired, and TechRadar have been positive. Those who have tested the tablet praise Jelly Bean, which is the latest Android software and currently only available on the Nexus 7, as well as the value of the tablet when compared to other 7-inch models in the $199 price range. While the Nexus 7 may not be an iPad killer, it does offer a lot of features and power for its cost. Read on to discover what Google and ACER have included in the Nexus 7 to discover if the tablet is right for you.