The 2000s (pronounced "two-thousands") was a decade that began on January 1, 2000, and ended on December 31, 2009.
The early part of the decade saw the long predicted breakthrough of economic giants in Asia, like India and China, which had double-digit growth during nearly the whole decade. It is also benefited from an economic boom, which saw the two most populous countries becoming an increasingly dominant economic force. The rapid catching-up of emerging economies with developed countries sparked some protectionist tensions during the period and was partly responsible for an increase in energy and food prices at the end of the decade. The economic developments in the latter third of the decade were dominated by a worldwide economic downturn, which started with the crisis in housing and credit in the United States in late 2007 and led to the bankruptcy of major banks and other financial institutions. The outbreak of this global financial crisis sparked a global recession, beginning in the United States and affecting most of the industrialized world.
The decade saw the rise of the Internet, which grew from covering 6.7% to 25.7% of the world population. This contributed to globalization during the decade, which allowed faster communication among people around the world;[1][2][3][4][5]
On December 7, 2006, the George W. Bush administration's Department of Justice ordered the midterm dismissal of seven United States attorneys. Congressional investigations focused on whether the Department of Justice and the White House were using the U.S. attorney positions for political advantage. The allegations were that some of the attorneys were targeted for dismissal to impede investigations of Republican politicians or that some were targeted for their failure to initiate investigations that would damage Democratic politicians or hamper Democratic-leaning voters. The U.S. attorneys were replaced with interim appointees under provisions in the 2005 USA PATRIOT Act reauthorization.
A subsequent report by the Justice Department Inspector General in October 2008 found that the process used to fire the first seven attorneys and two others dismissed around the same time was "arbitrary", "fundamentally flawed", and "raised doubts about the integrity of Department prosecution decisions". In July 2010, the Department of Justice prosecutors closed the two-year investigation without filing charges after determining the firing was inappropriately political but not criminal, observing that "evidence did not demonstrate that any prosecutable criminal offense was committed with regard to the removal of David Iglesias. The investigative team also determined that the evidence did not warrant expanding the scope of the investigation beyond the removal of Iglesias." (Full article...)
... that in the 2000s, New York City's Benjamin Hotel offered a pillow menu and hired a sleep concierge?
... that critics objected to Dangers of the Mail in the 1930s for government support of lewdness and in the 2000s for creating a hostile work environment?
Image 5Navel piercings were popular from 1995 all the way to 2007/2008. (from 2000s in fashion)
Image 6American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson is the most successful winner of American Idol and a key artist in the power pop and pop rock movement of the 2000s.
Image 19On September 23, 2004, the RIAA certified Up! at 11× Platinum, giving Shania Twain the distinction of being the only female artist to have three consecutive diamond albums released in the United States. (from 2000s in music)
Image 31My Chemical Romance is considered one of the most influential rock groups of the 2000s and a major act in the pop-punk and emo genres, despite the band rejecting the latter label. (from 2000s in music)
Image 32Chunky sneakers of the early 2000s. (from 2000s in fashion)
Image 44Canadian Avril Lavigne was the biggest breakthrough of the 2000s worldwide with 40 million albums sold.
Image 45Haifa Wehbe released her second studio album Baddi Aech (Arabic: بدي عيش, English: "I Want to Live") in early 2005, following the success of lead single "Ya Hayat Albi." Released after the assassination of Lebanese politician Rafik Hariri, the title single of the album is about "freedom, considered to be among the most basic of human rights". (from 2000s in music)
Image 51Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters performing in 2005. Foo Fighters are widely regarded as one of the most culturally significant rock bands of the 2000s. The decade saw Foo Fighters win the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album a record-breaking three times; in 2001, 2004, and 2008. (from 2000s in music)
Image 54O-Zone's "Dragostea Din Tei" topped charts in France, Germany, and Austria for over three months, reached number 3 in the United Kingdom and number 72 on the US Pop 100. (from 2000s in music)
Image 56BoA's No. 1 was the fourth-best-selling record of 2002 in South Korea. (from 2000s in music)
Image 57During the decade, Flavour N'abania was able to find success by embracing older genres, such as highlife, and remixing them into something more modern. (from 2000s in music)
Image 89Britney Spears was the best-selling women artist of the decade.
Image 90Delta Goodrem released her debut album Innocent Eyes in 2003 which became a monster smash hit – it went to No. 1 and stayed for 29 non-consecutive weeks, being certified 14× Platinum for selling over 1 million copies, the second most of all time in Australia. (from 2000s in music)
Image 106In 2004, Daddy Yankee released his international hit single "Gasolina", which is credited with introducing reggaeton to audiences worldwide, and making the music genre a global phenomenon. (from 2000s in music)
Image 115Mariah Carey's 2008 album E=MC² spawned her 18th chart-topper, "Touch My Body", with which she surpassed Elvis Presley to become the solo artist with the most Hot 100 No. 1 songs in history. (from 2000s in music)
Image 116Sean Paul's third album The Trinity debuted at number 5 on the Billboard 200, breaking records with its first-week sales for a reggae/dancehall artist, and eventually going Platinum in the United States. (from 2000s in music)
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^Gordon PH; Meunier S (2001). The French challenge: Adapting to globalization. Washington, D.C.: Brookings.
^Heizo T; Ryokichi C (1998). "Japan". Domestic Adjustments to Globalization (CE Morrison & H Soesastro, Eds.). Tokyo: Japan Center for International Exchange, pp. 76–102. Retrieved December 30, 2009.
^Haarstad, Håvard; Fløysand, Arnt (March 2007). "Globalization and the power of rescaled narratives: A case of opposition to mining in Tambogrande, Peru". Political Geography. 26 (3): 289–308. doi:10.1016/j.polgeo.2006.10.014.