a cool map (globalization)
 

this is probably a violation of the rules that define a thread.
but it has certain thread-like characteristics and besides this map is really cool:

http://forum.maplecroft.com/loadmap?...map&issueID=17

lots of information

stuff i like:
the comparative military expeditures
land mine risk
political risk
perceptions of corruption (my favorite)

the digital access map is a good index of the global distribution of the particular mode of power that we employ here.

I like it. It would be great for research projects.

to comprehend globalizing capitalism you have to beghind switching your perspective.
the organization of information is an important element in this.
something kind of goofy-seeming like reversing the relation of nation-state to global units would help--very few socio-economic processes can be confined to nation-states at this point.

more when i have time.

I'm going to have a look..

For stats and stuff... I've found the following interesting (for casual checks), although I'd personally want to check the sources if I was using it academically. They don't seem to have any equivalent of "purchase power parity" though. Also... I'm sure that many of the underlying stats are defined/gathered slightly differently in various countries - making comparison slightly risky.

http://www.nationmaster.com/

Having said that... it's fun to look at : >