Tag: political geography

The Andes

Bolivia’s African king speaks for coca growers

The "King of the Afro-Bolivians," Julio I, is said to be South America's last reigning monarch, although he lives as a peasant cocalero in the Yungas region on the Andean slopes north of La Paz. The descendants of slaves brought in by the Spanish to work haciendas and silver mines, the Afro-Bolivians today have constitutionally protected autonomy. They have joined with their indigenous Aymara neighbors to demand greater rights for the coca-producing high jungle zone. Julio, of Kikongo royal blood, was crowned in a ceremony recognized by the Bolivian state in 2007. Last month marked 10 years of his official reign. (Photo: Casa Real Afroboliviana)

Palestine

Trump, Jerusalem, escalation and eschatology

If Trump is seeking to appease the Christian fundamentalist element of his base with his pledge to move the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, this should hardly be comforting to Jews. The evangelical fundis see Jewish control of Jerusalem only as fulfillment of Bible prophecies portending the End Times. What makes this wackiness dangerous is that with nuclear weapons, the human race now has the capacity to bring about the foreseen rain of fire and brimstone.

Africa

Ruling for Ghana in Ivory Coast boundary dispute

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea ruled in favor of Ghana in a lengthy maritime dispute with Ivory Coast. The case, which was brought to the international body by Ghana in 2014, was an attempt to clarify the boundary between the two countries, as both countries were vying for control of offshore oil leases in the contested area.

The Andes

Maduro invokes ‘Gran Colombia’ nostalgia

Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro jacked up tensions with Colombia, telling counterpart President Santos, "Bow down to me, I am your father"—an invocation of Simón Bolívar's rule over both lands. 

Central Asia

Anti-terror ‘security state’ in Xinjiang

The Uighur people of China's Xinjiang province are coming under unprecedented surveillance and militarization amid official fears of terrorism in the far-western region.

Palestine

UNESCO nomenclature wars in Jerusalem

The UNESCO resolution against Israel's political archaeology at the Temple Mount counter-productively refered to the site only by its Islamic name, the Ḥaram al-Sharif.

Europe

Great Game for Arctic in Ukraine struggle?

At the NATO summit called in response to the Ukraine escalation, a particularly hard line is being taken by Canada—now in a race with Russia to claim Arctic oil resources.

Palestine

Ukraine and Palestine: geography denial

Zionist settlers in Hebron raise a banner reading “Palestine never existed!” This perverse denialism is alas mirrored in much that the “left” is saying about Ukraine.

The Caucasus

Circassians call for boycott of Sochi Olympics

Circassians are calling for a boycott of the Sochi Winter Olympics, demanding that Russia's 19th-century military campaign against their people be recognized as a genocide.