Global Trends 1900-2013

Svante Arrhenius was the first person to declare that fossil fuel combustion and the widespread release of carbon dioxide would eventually lead to global warming. He suggested that because of the infrared absorption capacity of water vapor and carbon dioxide, the Earth would have a natural greenhouse effect. He figured that human activity added carbon dioxide to the air and would gradually increase the likeliness of global warming.
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In 1910, German scientist Paul Ehrlich and his assistant created Salvarsan, which was used as a treatment of syphilis. The success that he had with chemical synthesis inspired the creation of a new branch of medical science, Chemotherapy. Without this success, the treatment of cancer and other diseases would be extremely different today.

The Universal Film Manufacturing Company, today called Universal Studios, was begun in 1912 as an umbrella company for many smaller studios. Film became very important in both the government as well as communities. Film and television (1946) became a major source of both civilians and soldiers, often being used for propaganda in the 1940's. Today, television and film are still very important as one of the most widely used mediums and as in a booming, multi-billion dollar industry.
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During the first World War, Germany was known for its use of Zeppelin-type air-crafts, but the fixed-wing planes were thought to be too unreliable for military use. Skepticism limited the use of planes, but after officials realized how useful aerial views could be in revealing and attacking enemies, military plans demanded too much from the still new machines.

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Tonny Janus piloted the first flight to carry a paying customer. The Benoist XIV plane only had two seats, so the only passengers were the pilot and paying passenger. They flew between St. Petersburg and Tampa. The flight lasted 23 minutes and the plane maintained an altitude of 15 feet over the bay waters that separate these two cities.

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The extensive use of propaganda by governments during World War I had an important impact on culture and mass media. The propaganda during WWI is especially important because it represents how governments deliberately swayed the audience's opinion, and that these governments disregarded facts in order to do so. This propaganda will forever change how culture is affected by the government and how citizens view the government.
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On July 28, 1914, World War I began, a war that was considered a white man’s war where around the world blacks were excluded from the ranks.
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World War One was the first war to involve most of the developed world. This war industrialized the process and provided new weapons that made the body count soar. This war was the first to have the modern land battle and resulted in many deaths with little advantage.This war also created the perception of America's power.

The telephone was invented in 1876 by Alexander Graham Bell but was very impractical at this time. The range of service was very limited and the calls were expensive; telegrams were much more practical. However, for those who could afford it, the first transcontinental telephone was made available in 1915 by AT&T, though a three minute call cost $20.73. The telephone is still used today and is very popular among all age groups.
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The League of Nations was founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference after World War 1 and was ultimately a failure. The first issue occurred in 1931 when Japan invaded Manchuria. Japan was found guilty of aggression by its allies, causing them to leave the League. In 1935, Mussolini invaded Ethiopia where the emperor made a plea for help to the League of Nations. Britain and France declined to assist either side, causing Italy to leave. They also failed to stop Hitler when he moved troops into the Rhineland and began invading countries. The League of Nations could not live up to its purpose of ensuring peace and lasted only 27 years.
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Women, who had entered the workplace during WWI, retained their autonomy and sense of freedom once their husbands returned (or didn't). As a result they took control of the household and the raising of their children-the men were seen as monetary providers rather than an integral part of the daily household. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fm0jAwe4I6w/TcqWVu22cXI/AAAAAAAAAKI/tnvUr82qIFQ/s320/Women+in+the+1920s+-+Flat+Rock+Org.jpg

1920 marks the year that the first commercial radio station went on the air. The radio marked a time in the world when people all over a nation or large region could hear the same presentation live together. It also meant that a variety of music and ideas could be spread across a nation at the time it was said. This instant entertainment and accessibility to information changed how cultures identified themselves and the ways in which information was presented.
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On June 4, 1920, the Senate approved the 19th Amendment to restrict sex-based voting.
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Under this amendment, women were given the right to vote. This battle which was finally won on this day began in 1848 at the first women’s rights convention in Seneca Halls, New York which was led by Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cody Stanton. Both women played prominent roles in the suffrage movement, the central objective of the women’s rights movement or what would become known as the “first-wave of feminism”. Those opposed to women’s suffrage believed that women were not as competent and definitely not as politically capable as men. However, as the result of the formation/influence of many institutions including the Women’s National Loyal League, National Women’s Suffrage Association and Susan B. Anthony’s proposition for the right-to-vote amendment to the constitution for women in 1978, women met one of the most significant objectives of the rights movement.
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In 1921, an experiment was started on dogs that tested the function of the pancreas. It was discovered that the pancreas helped regulate the blood sugar. The next task of the scientists was to discover a way to produce the hormone produced by the pancreas: insulin. In 1922, this task was completed and a 14 year old boy was the first human to receive insulin injections. Before the discovery of pure insulin which can be used to regulate blood sugar of people with diabetes, the disease was feared and was a one way ticket to death.

Low precipitation in the northern hemisphere caused a period of severe dust storms, known as the the Dust Bowl, in the US and Canadian plains. The lack of precipitation also affected the production of grain in the Soviet Union, and lead to a major loss of a food source and the death of millions in the USSR. The famine is known as Holodomor, or “hungry mass-death.” https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSoQ2R1V7QBYi_xVk1gqvMI3ENcDnJyvXuKbmz1RstPjnAAgoEc

In 1933, the household radio changed entertainment. Along with the broadcasting of several different programing, including news and stories (BBC in 1936), came advertising and censorship. Radio has come a long way from the large boxes which were extremely impractical to carry. We have them at home in a compacted form, as well as in our cars, and on our phones. http://www.oldmiddlesex.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/old-radio.jpg

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On March 15, 1937, the first blood bank opened at Cook County Hospital. While it was discovered in the early 1930's how to store blood by using anticoagulants which is a substance that prevents blood from clotting once outside of the body. The Mayo Clinic had successfully employed a blood bank in 1935, but the Bank at Cook County Hospital was the first real model for how Blood Banks should be run in large hospitals. Afterwards, many hospitals across the country began following their example and opened their own Blood Banks to supply blood to injured or ill patients.

The world had learned from the first World War how useful airplanes and manned flight could be in war. Each country raced to produce the best aircraft that would give them the best advantage on the battlefield. Planes were used to carry and drop bombs, carry military personnel, transport supplies, provide quick medical aid, and were used as weapons when guns were attached. The importance of airplanes was finally realized and new technology was constantly being produced for these machines due to the need to be competitive in the war. The planes created a whole new idea of war for the entire world.

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Female percentage of the workforce increases by 10% (27%-37%) on account of the number of men fighting in World War 2. Gender role changes from almost all married women being a stay at home mom, wife, or single woman to a more independent persona. Necessity dictated that women take on the new role of a provider: providing care, attention, food, and now money to their families. Advances their value in the home and therefore an advance in gender roles. Nowhere near the equality to the expectations of men, but a major advancement nonetheless.

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During World War II Germany launched the first vehicle into outer space. The V-2 rocket was launched while being tested and later used by the United States for both military and civilian research. The rocket reached outer space by crossing the Kármán line, which is 100km above the Earth’s surface.

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In 1945 Selman Waksman was credited to creating the first antibiotic, Streptomycin, which effectively treated tuberculosis, the bubonic plague, urinary tract infections, cholera, and others. The drug worked by successfully killing the bacteria that caused these illnesses. Without antibiotics, many people would have died from diseases that could have been treated.

The United Nations was founded in 1945 after World War II when the League of Nations failed. Its purpose was to bring countries together and work towards peace and progress, keeping justice and human well-being in mind. It allows for global interdependence while addressing international issues. The UN originally had 51 member states that has now grown to 193. The UN has participated in keeping peace in multiple countries including El Salvador, Guatemala, Cambodia, Namibia, and many more. It protects human rights, economic and political matters, and has several agencies such as WHO, UNICEF, and UNESCO. Since 1945, the United Nations has negotiated 172 peaceful settlements that have ended regional issues.
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Animals were used to test the survivability of space before manned space missions were attempted. The first animals sent into space were fruit flies aboard a United States V-2 rocket. The experiment was meant to test the effect of radiation exposure at high altitudes. The fruit flies were recovered alive.

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While the radio introduced new sounds to homes, the television provided, and still does, live or recorded footage with information or as entertainment straight into homes. With TV, families across nations could view the same event live with information provided in real time. The instant access to informational knowledge in combination with visual representation was an important step in culture. The TV allowed cultural ideas to be explained and also represented through footage or images, and this caused serious belief in what media was saying via the TV because of the "evidence" provided.
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In 1952 Dr. Paul Zoll and his team were able to successfully use electric charges to resuscitate the hearts of two patients whose hearts had stopped. This then led him to develop a pacemaker that would keep alive a patient with irregularly beating hearts. These pacemakers were external, making them extremely painful and dangerous (they were plugged into wall outlets and could electrocute patients). Despite their imperfections, they paved the way for the internal pacemakers many people rely on today.

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The Vietnam War is a Cold War-era conflict that occurred as a result of the USA's quest against communism. The Vietnam War displayed the power of guerrilla warfare when the Vietcong were able to defeat both the French and American military. The war also exhibited the power of napalm and agent orange, a painful herbicide that caused burns and was developed by America's chemical warfare program.

The European Union, founded after the Second World War, was an attempt to unite Europe under a single banner, the purpose being to discourage the violence that had ravaged the continent during the previous decades. The idea was much the same as Wilson’s League of Nations, the key difference being its success. The EU, through its close binding of an ever-increasing number of European Nations, keeps regional tensions to a minimum and works with its collective political might to solve conflicts and promote peace around the world.
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The first artificial space satellite was Sputnik 1. The Soviet Union launched the satellite on October 4th marking the beginning of the Soviet Sputnik program. This lead to the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union.

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There was a huge feminism movement in the 60's for equal job opportunities and lack of discrimination, which led to males also wanting equality in the household.

The first human spaceflight occurred when Yuri Gagarin made one orbit around the Earth on the Vostok 1. The spacecraft was launched by the Soviet space program. Gagarin was awarded many honors, including Hero of the Soviet Union.

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“The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom” or “The Great March on Washington” was one of the largest political rallies for human rights in American history, it called for equal civil and economic rights in America. Led by Martin Luther King Jr. on a Wednesday in 1963.
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The publishing of this novel helped to fuel the “second-wave of feminism” or what was also known as the women’s liberation movement. This novel examined women’s roles in society post-WW2 which were defined as staying at home to tend to the children and appease the husband. The author of this novel as well as countless other women activists during this time were fed up with their predicament and became influential during this movement. Moreover, in 1963, the federal government passed the Equal Rights Act which prohibited sex-based wage discrimination. The act, combined with the Civil Rights Act passed in 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson aimed to erase the disparities between men and women in the workforce. Although fairly unsuccessful, these acts motivated Betty Friedan and twenty eight other women to create an organization called the National Organization for Women in 1967. This organization played a critical role during this period and helped to petition, rally and protest and fought for the enforcement of the Equal Rights Act.
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The rise of the 1960’s and 70’s American counterculture was driven by widespread discontent regarding the U.S.’s involvement in the Vietnam war. This generally anti-establishment, peace-oriented, leftist movement quickly spread across America and the rest of the world, impacting culture and policy heavily in the West and to a lesser extent in East and South Asia and Africa.
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This landing was a part of the Soviet Union’s Luna program. It was an unmanned space mission and took place on the Luna 9 spacecraft. This was the first spacecraft to achieve a soft landing on any planetary body that was not Earth. It also successfully transmitted photographic data to Earth.
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Christiaan Barnard and 30 surgical team members perform the first human-to-human heart transplant on a 53-year-old man from Cape Town, South Africa. To prepare, Barnard performed numerous experimental trials on dogs. One of the keys to the man's survival was the immunosuppressive drugs he was given. In the end, this was the same thing that led to him contracting double pneumonia and dying, but the transplant itself was considered a success. Soon after a pediatric transplant was performed and the next year another, more successful, transplant was performed in the United States. Following these first operations interest in transplants decreased because the patients did not typically survive for very long and the operations were a great amount of work. In the 80's interest spiked again and more research went into making the surgery better.

Created in 1969, the internet was not an immediate sensation. Before the age of the personal computer, the internet could transmit very little data, limited to merely codes or text. Today, the internet is the most utilized line of communication in the world, connecting nations almost instantly. The internet has grown to incorporate millions of different pages,
featuring anything from text, photos, videos, and even games.
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The first human to step on the moon was the American Neil Armstrong, followed after by Buzz Aldrin. They were both aboard the Apollo 11 who was piloted by Michael Collins. Armstrong and Aldrin collected lunar material for study back on Earth.

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Encouraged courts to consider the child's "best interest" when deciding child custody cases, instead of granting the mother custody in most cases. This did away with the notion of mothers being the primary caregivers for children.
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Nearly 20 million American citizens demonstrate activism for such causes as air and water cleanup and overall preservation of nature on the first Earth Day, which ironically took place during the presidency of Richard M. Nixon, a devout Republican and thus presumably “right-wing” individual. The celebrations initially begin in San Francisco, California, and are organized by John McConnell. Later, they are spread outwards on a national scale by Senator Gaylord Nelson and Dennis Hayes. Supporters are drawn from the counter culture movement of the mid-to-late 1960s, which continued to thrive despite the more conservative attitudes present in the US government.
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The first Lunar Rover was named Lunokhod 1. It was carried to the moon by Luna 17 of the Soviet Union and was the first roving remote-controlled robot to land on any celestial body.

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Before this momentous law was passed in 1972, girls and women had little to no participation in sports at the high school or collegiate level. Only one out of twenty seven girls played sports in high school, and only two percent of the athletic budget at most colleges was a result of women athletes. Surprisingly, Title IX didn’t have women athletics on the forefront but rather prohibited all discrimination between men and women in “schools that receive federal funding”. Nonetheless, as a result of this law, some of the most prominent women athletes in history arose including tennis star, Billie Jean King who even formed the women’s professional tennis league, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), in 1973. The passing of this law, although it created more female sports/the rise of female athletes, it did lead to more “male governance” of many female sports, particularly the NCAA.
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Katherine Graham becomes the first female CEO of a Fortune 500 company: the Washington Post. To reach an executive position for a company of that standard is an amazing accomplishment, even if she was married to one of its owners. It marks a change in how women can be viewed in the workplace: as the the highest point of authority. No longer are men the sole gender in control of companies

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The Endangered Species Act is passed, which certifies government awareness and involvement in the protection of wildlife and plants, as well as the habitats they depend upon for survival. Eighty nations sign the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and consider it to be a “magna carta for wildlife.” Due to this increase in shared participation and concern, the Endangered Species Act is signed into law for the United States.
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Patrick Steptoe and Robert Edwards developed the process of in vitro fertilization and in 1978 oversaw the birth of Louise Brown, the first test tube baby. In vitro fertilization occurs when eggs from the mother are removed from her body and placed in a Petri dish. The father's sperm are then injected into the fluid medium and allowed to fertilize the eggs. Successfully fertilized eggs are allowed to undergo several cell divisions and are then usually replaced in the mother's uterus. This procedure has now resulted in more than 5 million successive births worldwide.

A partial core meltdown due to a loss in coolant occurs at Three Mile Island, a nuclear power plant located in Pennsylvania, US, causing 100,000 people to flee from the surrounding area. The event ultimately serves as a notable blow for the nuclear power industry, which was already being subjected to criticism for safety problems on several other power plants, construction cost overruns, and lack of planning for the disposal of radioactive waste. On a brighter note, this leads momentum further into the anti-nuclear movement.
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Cable TV provided more channels to a greater audience. The effect of cable TV on culture and mass media can be quickly explained by the fact that shows like MTV were possible due to cable. The shows on cable had more variety, for instance you could watch MTV or a sermon from a televangelist, and this allowed for even more changes to culture and the way in which mass media affected lives.
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Not only were planes used in war, but the invention of stealth technology gave the military the ability to sneak into enemy airspace. This allowed them to conduct a surprise attack and minimize their own casualties while defeating the enemy quickly and effectively. Stealth planes first were created to be quiet and hard to spot with the human eye, and the technology continues to improve today so that aircraft can avoid being detected by enemy radar devices.

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AIDS was first observed in 1981. In the beginning, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) did not know what caused this disease. In 1983, two groups, led by Robert Gallo and Luc Montagnier, separately determined that a retrovirus was causing the infections. Gallo's group called their virus HTLV-III and Montagnier's group called theirs LAV. Once they submitted their discoveries to the same journal, it was discovered that the virus was the same in each research project and it was renamed HIV. HIV is thought to have originated in primates West-central Africa and has two types: HIV-1 and HIV-2 (close to the SIV disease). The first documented case of HIV is shown to be around 1959 in the Congo. Identifying HIV was an important step in developing a treatment for AIDS.

A gas leak from a pesticide power plant owned and operated by Union Carbide in Bhopal, India, killed at least 10,000 people and in addition damages the health of at least 500,000 others.
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A nuclear reactor at the Chernobyl Power Plant in Ukraine explodes, sending radioactive pollution across eastern Europe and eventually around the entire globe. Considered the worst nuclear power plant accident in history.
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650,000 gay rights advocates march on Washington in order to obtain gay equality in the law and end discrimination in the workplace. This march shows a changing male gender role towards one more accepting of their own homosexuality (if they are gay) and not afraid to fight for it. http://www.frontiersla.com/Pics/Timeline/1987%202nd%20natl%20march%20on%20wash.jpg

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The Human Genome Project set out to determine the sequence of chemical base pairs that make up human DNA and to identify and map the total genes of the human genome. In 2000 the first draft was released and the final map of the human genome was released in 2003. After this, about 8% of the entire genome had not been mapped. More research is constantly being conducted. This development is open to all of the public and is expected to allow researchers to target genes that are specific to certain diseases.

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is an economic Union between the Three North American Powers, Canada, Mexico and the United States. The trilateral trade-bloc was fashioned after its predecessor, the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement, extending tariff-free trade to Mexico as well as the original two countries. NAFTA, though controversial in America due to fears of outsourcing and unfair advantages to Mexico, has strengthened economic and political ties between the three nations and is a major step towards a more international and unified world.
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Social networking sites were already available before all of the restrictions of the internet had been lifted. The 1994 social networking site was GeoCities. The social networking sites that succeeded and exist today all incorporate the idea of sharing interests and connecting with people and friends around the world to share information, ideas, and media instantly. Culture reflected this new technology by incorporating it into everyday life and activity.
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1995 was the year that the Internet was commercialized. The Internet provided email, instant messaging, and especially important, the World Wide Web. These innovations provided instant contact with individuals around the world and information on a multitude of topics within seconds. Culture changed to reflect the changing times of a more global perspective, but mass media also changed to reflect the new availability of information and speed at which users could interact with a variety of media sources.
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Social Media is the one of the biggest and most iconic features of today’s pop culture.Media, purely for entertainment, can be shared instantly and to anyone in the world. Social media began with simple blogs (1997), and were continued by websites like Myspace (2003), which featured fully customizable pages with features such as graphics and music players. This was followed by the internet giant Facebook, which is a online yearbook-like website with billions of users and pages. Next came Twitter (2006) with the dawn of widespread smartphone use, with apps such as Foursquare and Instagram coming soon after.
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Leading nations of the world come together and join forces at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to adopt a protocol for such issues in Kyoto, Japan. At said meeting, one tier of industrialized countries commit themselves to reducing emissions of four greenhouse gases. As of late, most industrialized countries are supposed to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by at least 5% (percent) in the year 2012, relative to their levels in 1990.
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The first smartphone that allowed for web browsing was introduced in 2001. The introduction of the World Wide Web in mobile form has now introduced that age of instant access and sharing of media, ideas and information globally and within seconds from a lot of places (not everywhere). Culture is now reflective of a life in which sharing is an everyday task and sometimes a job.
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This is an ongoing mission by NASA and involves two rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. The job of the rovers is to explore the surface of mars. The rovers are to search for rocks and soils that may hold clues to the past of water on Mars.
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The documentary film concerning global warming (a budding concept of the time), “An Inconvenient Truth,” is released, written by and starring former US Vice President Al Gore. The film soon gains national and international recognition as it later wins the Oscar award for “Best Documentary,” and helps immensely to name Gore as a Nobel Peace Laureate (jointly with the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change) for this cause and related efforts.
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Pentagon allows women to be permanently attached to a battalion as “as radio operators, medics, tank mechanics and other critical jobs” in 2012. In 2013, there have been further talks of allowing women to officially become part of the infantry. Usually men have been viewed as the defenders/protectors/soldiers, but women’s gender role is slowly evolving into these military roles as well.

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the Matrix begins...