Category: Geography


Jared Diamond..you are my hero ( except for explanation on Religion…read mine instead )

Geography explains more than politics ..history.Deterministic history.Now heres some evidence on the Chinese side….( a study of the gene map)

http://www.nature.com/news/1998/981015/full/news981015-9.html

In general, China is divided culturally into distinct northern and southern regions, with the dividing line falling, roughly, between the valleys of China’s two great rivers, the Huang Ho and the Yangtze. These cultural differences run deep. The northern region is ethnically and linguistically more homogeneous than the diverse south – differences that may be rooted in the more varied ecology and geography of southern China

Zakaria on India

Just parking my thoughts submitted  on TB’s weblog.It was about a Fareed Zakaria of Newsweek fame asking for India to be taken more seriously .I think…..seriously?

 

Zakaria: ” India is the hegemon of South Asia, with enormous influence throughout the subcontinent.”

 = big fish with small ideas in a small pond. If you think China is perpetually shirking its ‘Big Power ‘ duties ,you will find India is even more of the same mould. Jared Diamonds idea of the broken topography of Europe causing a dynamic imbalance that led to perpetual warfare/development is missing in the Chinese-Indian land masses. Imagine Mexico reaching creating an effective nuclear buffer against the US while actively / openly trying to liberate Texas and trying to get a friendly regime in Canada …thats how good this hegemon is at the power game in its own pond.

http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasen/spages/1120206.html

 Turkey announced on Sunday the cancellation of an international air force drill one of the country’s air force bases, which was to include Israeli jets.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been under pressure recently to remove Israel from the drill, on the grounds that Israel should not be allowed to participate while its planes are bombing the Gaza Strip

Strange how …after I post about an increasing inclination to see Arab and Israeli Geo-strategic needs converging….another dominant geo-strategic strand is unravelling.( the decline complimenting the  other perfectly)

Arabs hate the Turks and the Turks hate the Arabs.Arabs fight for a Caliphate..but they are derided by the Turks for helping the West to dismantle the last one.So now…Israels greatest ally in the region ..Israel is being pushed out slowly by the Turks.

After the French pushed the Turks off the plank as regards EEC membership , we begin to see Turkey begin to forge towards its geo-strategic heart rather than ( that historic deal with Armenia recently) trying to piss with the Europeans and US on every issue ( to gain membership).

Just like there is an EEC..there should an Iranian , Pakistani , Afghan and Turkic bloc of countries that should forge their own identity.We need to leave the Arabs and Israelis to themselves.They have a date with History and so do we…..we need to go our separate ways.Pakistan being a paddling stick for Gulf Arabs is second place and second rate.

Even the Afghans ( the Taliban ) are acutely aware of the destruction that the ‘camels’ have brought to their country ( Camels=Arabs).Twice round…I don’t think AQ is getting a free hand in a Taliban led country.Heres a quick meander through the possible mind states of the Taliban vs AQ  debate …http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE5981YW20091009

Egypt’s loss of revenue?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/11/science/earth/11passage.html?_r=1&hp

 

As a northern route through the Artic is carved from the ice floes , I wonder how much Eygpt will suffer from the lack of revenue and how that might ultimately affect the Government.Global trade can only go  upwards , so maybe everyone wins .Maybe not though.

Europe..continent?

You sure ? ….looks mighty small to be a continent.

And it looks suspiciously like Asia .Maybe europeans don’t quite like the moniker of West Asians..because thats quite an accurate or more sensible way of looking at it.Maybe they could get an upgrade to a ‘subcontinent’….but continent…sorry …thats a stretch that geography/geology does’nt live up to.

Or shall I put it like this…we have South East asians..OK….we have East Asians….we have the Central asians

Well I wonder….where on earth could those  North or  West Asians possibly be hiding????????

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