Casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq

Source: www.edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/war.casualties/index.html (Click on image to enlarge)

The above interactive map depicts soldier casualties in both Afghanistan and Iraq. More specifically, it gives details regarding which state (and country) the deceased soldiers were from, their age demographic, and it allows users to compare the number of casualties during the 2001 to 2010 time period. What I found particularly interesting about the data was that it showed that the highest number of casualties were by soldiers who were the same age as me. Additionally, I learned that the second highest number of casualties were soldiers from California and that the highest number of casualties in Afghanistan took place in June 2010.

Murder Map of London

Source: http://www.murdermap.co.uk/murder-map.asp (Click on image to enlarge)

The purpose of the Murder Map project is to present a comprehensive picture of homicide in the city of London. What I found particularly interesting about this map is that it outlines a variety of different methods that are responsible for homicide. More specifically, it shows us that murder using knives, guns, and blunt objects are particularly prevalent. What I found more surprising is that many of the deaths that were accounted for were by no particular method- without weapons, vehicles, drugs, or poison. These were denoted by "none." Additionally, the map provides insight about which districts are heavy in crime, vehicular accidents, and terrorist activity.

Products of Slavery

Source: http://www.productsofslavery.org (Click on the image to enlarge)

The above depiction comes from the Anti-Slavery International Foundation, which was founded in 1839. To this day, it serves as the world's oldest international human rights organization. Its mission is to educate people worldwide about modern day products that are produced using child labor. The map depicts the top 25 countries in which forced labor from both children and adults is used to produce goods that we consume worldwide. Each of the listed countries is assigned a number that corresponds to the number of products that are produced using these harsh measures. Hovering over each country displays the actual products that are produced in that country. What I particularly like about this map is that it forces us to ask questions about where products come from (especially those that we use regularly). Asking such questions is vital in changing economic and trading policies; if people refuse to purchase goods that are produced by means of human exploitation, then that may cause the demand for these goods to shift to other countries or regions, where they are produced more ethically. Additionally, I gained an interest in this map because it draws insight onto a modern form of slavery that is often overlooking.