Prisoners of Geography

  The name may say it all; the book makes and supports a claim that seems common in geopolitical thought. However, the subtitle's claim is a bit of a stretch: can ten maps (even with insightful explanations) really explain all you need to know about global politics? Maybe a better subtitle might have been "Ten maps that will give you a firm foundation in global political realities," but obviously this more tempered claim would be less marketable. Actually, the subtitle for the Turkish edition would do as well for the English edition, "10 Maps that change the world's fate."

  Regardless of all that, Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall (2019) is an instructive and enjoyable read, so far. I've read the Introduction and the first map's explanation, Russia. A few quotes from this first 15% of the book seem worthwhile.

"So it is with all nations, big and small. The landscape imprisons their leaders, giving them fewer choices and less room to manoeuvre than you might think." (pg vii. British edition explains British spellings.) 

"Overall there is no one geographical factor that is more important than any other. Mountains are no more important than deserts, nor rivers than jungles. In different parts of the planet, different geographical features are among the dominant factors in determining what people can and cannot do." (pg viii)

 "By 2004, just fifteen years from 1989, every single former Warsaw Pact state bar Russia was in NATO or the European Union." (pg 7)

"Here was a man [Tsar Ivan the Terrible] to give support to the theory that individuals can change history." (pg 8)

"... Rule A, Lesson One, in 'Diplomacy for Beginners': when faced with what is considered an existential threat, a great power will use force." (pg 17-18)

    Hopefully this gives you a taste of the book; I may post more quotes along the way, but this seems like a book that could inform and enhance lots of conversations. I should mention that it's not 'a heavy read'; if you read the news regularly, you should have a sufficient basis of knowledge to read this book.

Understanding, Attacks, and Faith

 Often I wish that I could improve understanding between the cultures that I have lived in and love. My life has been spent mostly among three vastly different cultures, with a number of smaller variations or visits. Cultures do not easily or naturally understand each other. More accurately, people do not desire to listen to those whom it will be difficult to understand or who are easier to 'wonder about.' Here is an article from a Turkish newspaper that expresses commonly-held thoughts from the media here; at the center it says, "Attacks on Muslims at 2,800 separate points." It then goes on to list attacks in Canada, the USA, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Norway, Sweden, Austria, and Greece.

 Do you feel threatened by those of a different religion or culture than you? Maybe they are just as scared of you. Have you met them or talked to them? Have you prayed for them or welcomed them to your neighborhood? Have you made sure they know you are a safe person for them? Are you a safe person for them?

"A Balance Sheet of Islamophobic Attacks in the West"
"(2016 - Jan. 2017 Data)"

 A day after that article came out, this article was published in a Turkish English-language daily, concerning the difficulties faced by Christians (particularly Turkish nationals) in this country. This is the other side of the same coin, and none of this is new. Or, in an unrelated country and demographic, here is another article: this one is about anti-Semitism in Britain.

 This is the world we live in: fear is easier; violence is real; our impact feels impossibly small. But, in whatever country or culture we live in, at least for Christians, we are to supersede politics - whether we agree or disagree; we are to overcome fear with love - whether it is safe or not; we are to enter the realities of others' fear and darkness (and hopes and dreams and joys!) - whether we find it comfortable or not. Whenever I hear someone fearing and judging someone from a different culture or background, I always want to know if they have at least one friend whom they love from that background. It makes a difference! A few years ago, I had two friends who are atheists tell me that they would come be with me (as a Christian) if I ever felt threatened. That meant a lot, a whole lot.

'A world of languages' - VISUALIZED

  As a student of language, I'm not sure which statistics in the graphic below are the most amazing... (See all 4 charts.)

1.  Chinese as a larger language group than the next three largest ones combined.
2.  English having nearly 20 times the number of language LEARNERS as any other language.
3. India for having 5.5 of the most widely spoken languages in the world.
4.  America for having the fourth highest number of living languages in the world - still a nation whose strength is her immigrants.

Source: https://cdn3.scmp.com/sites/default/files/2015/05/27/languages.png (click to enlarge)

  I also didn't realize that Spanish was the second largest natively spoken languge in the world.

Cynicism concerning victories and light bulbs

  It is a statement on the disfunction of the Republican Party and its tactics that in the $1+ trillion spending bill, issues that they claim to have won are as follows:

1.  Incandescent light bulbs can still be manufactured. [This seems to be both a symbolic and a pyrrhic victory given that there replacements would save everybody money (except, possibly, electricity producers), and this is a rather innocent and insignificant case of government meddling. I agree that none of us like meddling, but...] [I suppose that all "natural market-weeding-out" is good, as when Bernie Madoff's clients were weeded out of the market for being inefficient? Truly regulations are inherently evil.]

"The light bulb issue has been an ongoing battle for Republicans, who argued that if incandescent bulbs are inefficient, the market will weed them out naturally without government pressure.

2. A ban on DC using local tax money to fund abortions. [I agree with the principle, but will it actually change anyone's life? Truly, I'm asking a question.]

3. Limit on federal agencies' spending on conferences. [Good! Glad someone did this finally.]

4. Halting new funding for the IMF and UNESCO. [Two more empty 'victories' that neither advance America's interests abroad, nor help the human race.  However, for the anti-World club, they are definitely a win, since it will allow other nations to be influential in areas where America will no longer be as involved... like global education, science, and culture!]

Other battles Republicans said they won include continuing a ban on the District of Columbia using its local taxpayers’ money to fund abortions; limits on federal agencies’ spending on conferences; and halting new funding for the International Monetary Fund and the U.N. Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization." (Source: Washington Times)

 Where'd the Republicans lose any real bargaining power? Probably in the government shutdown that made them even more deeply unpopular than Congress generally, or in the 5 years of saying that all compromise was bad [Isn't this a republic representing everyone's interests theoretically?], or...

 Now that I'm probably in trouble with all my friends, I shall step aside, realizing that this post will be obsolete in every way in the immediate future. 

Visual Map of World Population

The World's Population Displayed Proportionally by Nation

(thanks to 22 words)

Good News, as reported in the Media

No, really it is good, positive news:

 The Woman who found Mr. Right at age 70 and was walked down the Aisle by her Dad!

 We are living in one of the most peaceful times in history, or maybe the MOST peaceful time in history!

The Future of America and the Globe

  "The myth of America's decline" on cnn.com today brought to mind various readings I have done in the last year.  The article expresses well the basic reasons why America will continue to be in a commanding central position as a global leader for the foreseeable future, barring a disruptive act of God.  George Friedman's excellent book The Next 100 Years is a more detailed argument for the same basic thought.

In my opinion (though some would disagree), there is little contradiction between those who see a dominant America and those who would argue that globalism will soon overpower the unilateralism of the present.  Fareed Zakaria's The Post-American World (now in its second edition) makes compelling arguments for why the world will become less dominated by America, but he does not make a strong case for another nation becoming more dominant.  In other words, as we look to the future, I see no reason that the USA will not be the world's primary shaker-and-mover indefinitely: only America will have the power to move the world to action and lead such action.  However, Zakaria's basic point that America will no longer be able simply to do as it likes also carries weight.  The balance may well be that a tandem will be created by which America must dance with (much of) the rest of the world while also being the only force large enough to chose the tune for dancing.

The view from abroad

An article that summarizes one aspect of what I think is to be gained through an Obama presidency, no matter that he would not be my President of choice. I expect this to be used to the advancement of eternal interests, whether we perceive it right away or not.

*(And for those who might think "who cares" about what the article is saying, about 6 billion people would care...)

Rare positive thoughts about America from the international media

Here is an article which I found to be extremely insightful and helpful. It is not often that one can read non-Americans writing positive things about America in the international media. Beyond that, it seems that in the last several years America's typical optimistic view of herself has taken a drubbing. Thus, while I have my fair share of "cynicism" about many aspects of American life and culture, I appreciated the article a lot.

Political Islam

An interesting article on the nature of Islam and its system of thought. This article speaks of Islam as an essentially political system of thought with religious trappings involved for the individual Muslim. The author argues that religion is a minor factor for the non-Muslim to consider. However, it seems to me that he is really arguing that Islam is a completely different worldview (cosmology) from others, particularly Western thought.
The article speaks of the dualistic logic of Islam which allows two opposites to exist. Thus, while we might argue that the Koran contradicts itself, a Muslim would merely point to the fact that these opposites are both true. This dualism which the author argues is inherent in Islam makes much of the dialogue between East and West pointless, because there is no law of morality for the Muslim dealing with the "unbeliever." I wonder if this is why Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world? Postmodernism swallowing dualistic thought?
The final point of interest is the discussion of jihad. In this, the author speaks of 270 million "unbelievers" whom Islam has killed in jihad over the last 1400 years. Then, he speaks of the reasons that this has been kept quiet. Why are these facts not taught in the West? He argues convincingly that essentially Western scholarship has an abuse victim mentality of fear.
In any case, the article was quite interesting to read and has some profitable thoughts, although it will also need some thinking through to see if it is all true.

The Shifting Power Base in the World

Hey, this is an interesting article on the changes that are happening in the world's power structure. This earth's major powers used to be seen in nations or international bodies like the US or Russia, the UN and WTO, and so forth. Now, you have countries like India and Brazil, organizations like Microsoft and Walmart. Our old organization and nations are not meeting the challenges for various reasons, and the new ones don't have enough leadership clout.
The article is interesting reading in any case. TTFN

Where'd al-Qaida come from?

The Jerusalem Post today had an interesting article on Pakistan's potential future recognition of the Jewish state. But what really caught my attention was the information about the origins of al-Quaida. It is very easy for the West to forget that we were the ones funding "al-Quaida" (actually its idealogical roots) to fight the Soviet Empire. And then when we were done using them, we abandoned them to their poverty again. Not a very nice way to put it, but it explains a few things. Read the article to see the Pakistani President's take on it.


"[Musharraf] also touched on the anti-terror fight, saying that Pakistan was largely abandoned by the West in 1989, after playing a key role in ending the Soviet occupation of neighboring Pakistan [sic.; actually, Afghanistan].
"Everyone left us high and dry" to deal with 20,000-30,000 mujahedeen fighters holed up in Afghanistan and 4 million refugees who crossed the border into Pakistan," Musharraf said.
"The mujahedeen coalesced into al-Qaida," he added.
Then came the Sept. 11 attacks, and Pakistan found itself thrust back into the spotlight as a key supporter of the U.S. invasion in Afghanistan and the war on terrorism."
(For the complete article, go here.)

Who's happy?

Here's some interesting stats I found at Turkish Daily News.
Turkey is the third most unhappy country in the world; the USA is the second happiest country in the world. Have fun, amusing yourself with pondering why different countries are happy or unhappy. (Why is France unhappy, but the UK and US are happy?)...

Top 10 'happy' countries: Country percentage claiming to be 'very happy':

Australia -- 46

U.S. -- 40

Egypt -- 36

India -- 34

UK -- 32

Canada -- 32

Mexico -- 31

Sweden -- 30

Brazil -- 29

Saudi Arabia -- 28


Top 10 'unhappy' countries: Country percentage claiming to be 'very unhappy' or 'disappointed':

Hungary -- 35

Russia -- 30

Turkey -- 28

South Africa -- 25

Poland -- 24

Philippines -- 23

Japan -- 21

Taiwan -- 19

France -- 18

Hong Kong -- 17