Geography Education

A neo-malthusian explanation for the current situation in the Middle East

After watching this video it makes it really hard to believe any of this is possible at all to anyone in the world watching it, other than making the people of North Korea believe it to keep up moral in the contry itself.

Very interesting insight.

Very topical here in Asia and an awesome example of using current events to develop student understanding of the world around them. It also demonstrates practical uses for geographic knowledge/understanding.

This is a great example of geopolitics and territorial disputes over small pieces of land that seem insignificant yet could result in armed conflict over who controls them and their surrounding waters.  In one case, you will see that apparently WWII isn't even over!

There is a big lesson to be learned from this map and what it means. No territory on this earth is completely not valuable. Specifically ones with long coast lines and natural resources. This shows how Geography comes into play with economic profit. Now, if this division is not working for the East Pacific then the ideal thing would be to divide it equally. But, that never works does it..

La crisi propera no es deixa fer prou atenció als canvis geopolítics a l' Africa.

Amazing how this image can have such an impact.  Seeing pics like this add the element of realness.  Reading about history in books, gives the reader an understanding, but a map such as this is more telling.  During the 8 months of bombing, London lost over 40,000 people, this map has a way of getting the message across     Elizabeth Allen

This map is unreal! From the right distant the red dots representing the bomb sites block out the entire map, however it is interesting that all of the bombs fell in a very concentrated area, most assuredly where the populations are located.

great article in my openion i think the we should just bomb them and end all of this. and i found it wired that they are breaking the armisist from south korea .

The Golan Heights is a major source of the Jordan River.  Its mountains border along Lebanon and Syria and provide rain and snowmelt to feed the river to provide a vital water source (strategic area and vital water source).  Israel took it in 1967 - and the DMZ was entered by war torn Syria in November 2012 .

The DMZ was entered by Syria and Israel reported this to the UN ....so, as civil war in Syria threatens its neighbors , there is a fear of retaliation that may occur in the Gaza Strip as well.

This map can be used to illustrate not only the political and cultural significance of the Golan Heights, but also its environmental significance as a source of water for the Jordan-Yarmuk River Valley

Heres some info on how poeple have been living in regards to a troubled area of the world.

drug wars gone quieter. drag less attention to military. gore in open areas bad for business. lets move to less attentive areas. death rates are the same. this will probably change as the US changes politically. US has much influence on Mexican drug wars.

So basically the fighting down in Mexico between the various cartels continues, they just mutually and unspokenly agreed to be sneakier about it? The government is also taking steps to ensure that Mexico *Looks* safer than it actually. Most likely due to the huge amount of tourism that the country takes in each year.

Factoren die meespelen zijn hieronder genoemd.

The algorithm for successful coups uses just four risk factors, one of which is really just an adjustment to the intercept.

The algorithm for any coup attempts, successful or failed, uses the following ten risk factors, including all four of the ones used to forecast successful coups.

 I notice that most of the countries in red are those right on the cultural divide between North and Sub-Saharan Africa. This is something to follow along closely.

How to handle it?

Since the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the Kurds have been caught in other people's plans for what the states of the Middle East should look like and are the largest 'stateless nation' in the world.  Divided between Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey, the Kurds have not been able to politically mobilize support for Kurdistan as they have been violently oppressed in these countries.  The Kurds in Iraq have been able to gain political autonomy with the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, and the Syrian Kurds are hoping to do the same if and when the Assad regime crumbles at the end of the civil war.  This make Turkey concerned that the Kurds in the southeastern part of Turkey will make renewed efforts to push for sovereignty. 

UPDATE: This PBS feature explains the historic timeline of the important political events for the Kurds in Iraq.This article from the Economist focuses on the key reason that outside forces won't leave the Kurds alone: oil.

Tags: Syria, ethnic, conflict, political, Turkey, culture, devolution.

This video from the Jewish Voice for Peace has a more politically motivated angle than most of the resources that I post on this site, but I feel that they do justice to both sides as well as the truth.  In a simple way it lays out the roots of many of the problems in the region with historic and geographic perspectives.   

Tags: Israel, Palestine, conflict, political, borders.