New Zealanders finally completed voting in their flag referendum, but the results may be disappointing. PRI’s vexillology expert looks at what’s right — and mostly what’s wrong — about this proposal.
Source: www.pri.org
Vexillogist: someone nerdy enough about flags to know that vexillogy is the study of flags. As national symbols, they matter and changing a national icon is no small matter.
Tags: Flags, New Zealand.
“Sometimes when a conflict involves Muslims, Islam may not be the best category for understanding it. Omid Safi with a reflection on the current crisis between Iran and Saudi Arabia, and why framing it as religion is not the most helpful framework.”
In the last few days, virtually every news outlet has featured a series of stories on the rising tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The conflict by now is well-known: Saudi Arabia executed 47 people, including Shi‘i cleric Nimr al-Nimr. While both Iran and Saudi Arabia are among the worst global executioners of dissidents, the sheer size of these executions was rare even by their gruesome standards. Iran retaliated through bombastic rhetoric, stating, “God’s hand of retaliation will grip the neck of Saudi politicians.” The two countries have broken off diplomatic relations, a tension that has rippled across the region.
Tags: Saudi Arabia, political, conflict, Iran, Middle East.
Source: www.onbeing.org
This is a good reminder that the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran is not just a Persian/Arab, Sunni/Shiite issue. This isn’t just some resurgence of an ancient battle but there are many modern geopolitical issues including oil and regional rivalries.
Residents can’t feel most of them, but there have been a lot of earthquakes in Puget Sound lately.
Tags: disasters, physical, tectonics.
Source: www.weather.com
Look Here! is a site-specific, outdoor, public history exhibition on the streets of Over-the-Rhine.
Source: www.cincinnati.com
This article is to announce (and explain) the new public art project in Cincinnati’s gentrifying neighborhood, Over the Rhine. The exhibition will “include historic photographs of Over-the-Rhine ranging in time from the late nineteenth century through the 1940s. The exhibit will turn Over-the-Rhine into a museum of the streets that will provide an historic and cultural experience for all comers, any time, day or night. The exhibition will run from November 2015 to March 2016.”
Tags: neighborhood, landscape, gentrification, urban, place, APHG, Cincinnati.
With Saudi Arabia’s execution of a Shiite cleric inflaming tensions in the Middle East, here is a primer on the differences between the two branches of Islam.
Source: www.nytimes.com
Knowing the geography of the Sunni-Shiite division is incredibly important for a good understanding of world regional geography as well as modern geopolitics (see a detailed map of the spatial distribution here). This 5 minute video (as well as this NPR podcast) examine the historical and religious aspects of this split to then analyze the political and cultural implications in the Middle East today. Additionally this Pew Research article highlights the 5 countries where the the majority of Muslims are Shiite, with some good demographic data to add to the analysis. Take this quiz to test your knowledge on the differences between the two major branches of Islam.
Tags: MiddleEast, Islam, religion, historical, culture.
Mandatory helmet laws and glow-in-the-dark spray paint just show who really owns the roads.
Source: www.washingtonpost.com
This op-ed is good discussion fodder to discuss the urban planning preferences embedded within our transportation choices.
Tags: op-ed, urban, transportation, planning.
Tags: borders, political, territoriality, sovereignty, CGP Grey.
Discuss this episode: https://www.reddit.com/r/cgpgrey
Source: www.youtube.com
If there is one thing that the modern political order can’t stand it is letting unclaimed land remain unclaimed…even if it covered in frozen ice.
Tags: borders, Antarctica, political, territoriality, CGP Grey.
For decades to come, Antarctica is supposed to be protected as a scientific preserve. But an array of countries are eager to assert greater influence.
Tags: Antarctica, climate change, political, resources, sovereignty.
Source: www.nytimes.com
Well, this is kind of crazy. Only 5 per cent of the world’s population lives in the regions of this map shaded blue. Another 5 per cent lives in the area shaded red. Yoinks.
Tags: population, density, South Asia.
Source: www.citymetric.com
GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION 