Global Incident Map

I was searching for a really cool map website that allows you to create your own maps and input your own reports for various locations on it. I found one http://www.up2maps.net, but before I get to that, I found another mapsite that is equally interesting. It's called the Global Incident Map. This global map displays all acts of terrorism and other suspicious events. The map displays different symbols for different types of events such as kidnappings, bombings, chemical/biological, atomic, and pretty much any other type of terrorist attack that exists. When you click on an incident symbol it will give you the information/press report on that event. You can view this map for free, but unfortunately in order to be able to click on the symbols and get the information on the attack you have to pay for it. Not only that but the free version is only updated every 24-48 hours. For instant real-time updates you have to pay $10/month or $99/year. Still the free map has its uses because once you see which country an event has occurred in, you can easily search the web yourself for the story on it. This site not only has terrorism maps, but it also has other maps, which include a Presidential Threat Map, Gang Activity Map, Forest Fires Map, HAZMAT Situations Map, and an Amber-Alert Map. These maps are all updated in real-time and they are free. These maps are all pretty interesting to look at and I hope the website will expand its map selection even more in the future.

The Terrorism Map is useful because you can easily see the areas of the globe that are currently experiencing the most turmoil. The acts of terrorism indicate political unrest that can boil over into full-blown war if it is not present already. The map can remind us that along with the benefits of globalization (finance, trade, communication etc...) come the hazards (global terrorism, disease, pollution etc...). Terrorists can now operate on a global scale and project their message into the global community via technology. The media can now instantly report on an act of terrorism in Iraq and it influences the opinions and actions of people in the U.S.. This serves as a reminder that we are now living in a time that has never existed before for mankind. There are new challenges that must be faced and the international community must work together towards managing the effects of globalization.

The other website I found http://www.up2maps.net, has some really cool features on it. First of all, it is a public website which you can join for free. I began my exploration by checking out maps that other users made. Let me just say that there are a host of maps which all contain various reports on a large variety of topics. I am going to list a few here that I found to be interesting. The first one is a map of World Internet Users for 2009. The next, is a List of Countries by Number of Total Troops for 2006. Finally, the Population Growth Rate for 2008. All of these maps contain links to the websites where their data is taken from or information on their sources. All of the maps are very good quality and fun to look at because it's very easy to color code the different countries and measure their attributes on different scales. For example, take a look at the World Internet Users map. It is so easy to see what is known in IR as the centre-periphery formation, just look at the green developed countries and the red underdeveloped countries. Once again these maps highlight the challenges that this new era of globalization brings. Just how are countries supposed to work together when many of them are poor and lacking modern technologies? Just how are the poor states going to follow the policies of international organizations that are clearly biased in favor of the rich states? Well, I don't know. But, if you wanted to learn more about the world, this map website would be an excellent research tool to have. If there is a pressing topic that you would like to make a report on such as differences in public education spending by country you could easily use this website to do so.