2011 Highlights - Recap of Past Year
No one could have foreseen the unpredictability 2011 had to offer as the world experienced new fads, extreme weather, protests, and Charlie Sheen.
Yahoo compiled a “year in review list” of some of the biggest things to happen this year.
One of the biggest topics of the year was the terrible recession the U.S. is mired in. Unemployment is higher than it has been in years, as the country's budget and economy is slowly withering away.
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The beginning of the year saw Obama failing to remove the troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, as both wars helped in the depletion of the nation's money.
Reminding the U.S. of why the war began, was the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on Manhattan’s Twin Towers and the reign of militant terrorist Osama bin Laden.
Now just a few months later, bin Laden has been killed and the troops are slowly coming home.
However, the economy is still plummeting and some American's wanted to see a change.
Starting in New York City and then spreading to cities all over America, Occupy Wall Street is the culmination of a struggling nation's population becoming so desperate for change that they try to create it themselves.
The 99 percent represents the average American who makes an average salary, while the 1 percent is the wealthy and for the most part political. The fight is not over for these protestors although their battlefield has gotten increasingly difficult.
At the same time, the corruption of political leaders has continued. The two most prominent were the Anthony Weiner Facebook and nude pictures scandal, and the now on going Herman Cain sexual harassment allegations.
This year also saw crazy weather and natural disasters. Japan had a devastating earthquake that ripped through their country followed by an even more destructive tsunami that caused a potential nuclear fall out. Not to mention other earthquakes in Turkey, Peru, and even from New York to Washington DC.
America suffered a huge hurricane that tore everything in it's path and even made it to the northeast where hurricane's are not a problem. At other times during the summer the heat was abnormally high, while in October the East Coast was hit with a brutal snowstorm –almost two months before winter even began.
According to the Mayans, 2012 is supposedly the year the world will end due to catastrophic natural disasters. However, 2011 saw its fair share of doomsday predictions as Christian radio broadcaster Harold Camping foresaw the world’s end – twice. But nothing was more publicized than the first one, which was supposed to occur on May 21.
Some other huge 2011 headlines included the Michael Jackson manslaughter trial and the death of Steve Jobs.
With the death of Apple's mastermind came the much talked about release of the iPhone 5, which was actually the iPhone 4S – to much disappointment.
The year is not quite over and there is still plenty of time for more things to trend and dominate the spotlight. Currently the big stories are Justin Bieber's alleged kid, Kim Kardashian's quick divorce, the NBA lockout, and the Sandusky child rape charges.
What will the next month bring? Most importantly, how can 2012 top this year?
