The Virtual Union

Kabul, Afghanistan – Eight years on it’s fair to say that the war in Afghanistan isn’t going exactly as planned. With over 100,000 foreign soldiers already in the country or on the way, the battle between western entities and the Taliban is showing no signs of abating. As forces continue to clash, trading victories and failures back and forth as they go, there seems to be little hope that the conflict will end anytime soon, at least not in a way that will satisfy either side. Scrape TV

Washington, D.C. – It is perhaps fitting that 2009 was such an eventful and dramatic year. As the capper for the first decade of the 21st century, the events of 2009 continued the chaos that defined the years preceding it, making it undoubtedly the only way the decade could have ended. With wars, economic chaos, terrorism, cultural upheaval, and endless controversies in every corner of the public realm, the 00’s will likely be examined and shunned in equal measure for many years to come. Scrape TV

New York, NY – Whether fairly or unfairly New York City has long been considered a hive of crime and other malevolent forces. Much of that reputation in the modern days is based on the problems that occurred through the 1960’s and 70’s in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Harlem but the violent energy that helped forge the city is much older than that with immigrants from Italy, Ireland, and the Netherlands comong to New York with the hope of establishing a new life but often met with violence and prejudice instead. It was from that violence that the city was born and, ultimately, beholden to. Scrape TV

Sana’a, Yemen – For as long as humanity has gathered as a species, the Middle East has been a focal point for conflict and triumph. The first cities in the world were founded in that area, so too were the basic concepts of the alphabet, astronomy, and mathematics. Major religions such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam were all founded in the region. The Crusades were fought there and one of the major fronts of World War I was also waged in the region. In the modern age, the region has been the home to oil, one of the most sought after natural resources ever discovered. Scrape TV

Moscow, Russia – Since our move from proto-humans just trying to survive to self-aware beings capable of organizing complex societies and expressions of our inner souls, the concept of time has both haunted and compelled us. Our relationship with time is a complex one; when at work we want it to hurry up, when spending time with a loved one we want it to slow; when we are young we can’t wait to grow up, when our knees begin to ache we wonder where all that time went. For all of us too the clock is ticking, something that has helped define our very existence. Scrape TV

Detroit, MI – In 1775 Benjamin Franklin offered a musing on the ongoing battle for safety when he said “Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety”. Franklin’s quote could have been just as relevant if spoken today, so universal is the battle between those two forces. In today’s world, the battle between security and freedom remains as vital as it has ever been with fear winning out more often than not. Scrape TV

Washington, D.C. – For at least 2500 years the mail has been delivered through rain, sleet, snow, warfare, civil unrest, and all other sorts of challenges. While today, most mail consists of coupons and bills that has hardly been the case for most of its life. Seen as a fundamental part of the organization of a society, the mail system has been fought over and protected for centuries with both the people and the government using it and abusing it for gain and for control. Scrape TV

Palm Beach, FL – There was a time when Ivana Trump was one of the biggest names in popular culture. Her high profile divorce from mega-billionaire Donald Trump grabbed headlines the world over, becoming one of the biggest celebrity splits ever. Part of the reason for that high profile was the record-setting divorce settlement in 1991 which, though meagre by today’s standards, became a pop-culture touchstone for an entire generation, launching bother her and Donald into the mainstream. Scrape TV

Aspen, CO – Vietnam has long been a major scar on the psyche of the American mind. The misery of that conflict and those who fought and died in it has only been matched by the recriminations over the war. Often cited as the greatest example of gross abuse of military over a sovereign nation, almost forty years after the end of the war it is still a source of embarrassment and shame for many in the country. Perhaps it was the humiliating defeat the greatest military force ever assembled endured; perhaps it is the horror of innocent civilians being butchered. Whatever the reason the war in Vietnam is a source of shame for many in the country. Scrape TV

Detroit, MI – Almost a decade removed from the worst terrorist attack in history tensions remain high in the United States and throughout the world as the promise of future attacks continue to present themselves. While no incidents on the scale of the World Trade Center attacks has ever been perpetrated again, smaller attacks and failed attempts routinely remind us that the threat remains true and in order to prevent other tragedies such as what happened on that day we must remain vigilant. Scrape TV