India to Teach Geospatial Technology in Secondary Schools

According to All Points Blog, India has begun a pilot program to teach students how to use geospatial technology. The instruction will give students the ability to use tools like GIS to become geospatial analysts.

Two important notes on this development:

1) India's emphasis on geospatial technology further divides what geography is between the East and West. Western geography is currently split sedevacantist-style between British-style social thought human geographers, hard core physical geographers, and GIS users who are making geographic information science its own separate field. Meanwhile, the Eastern geography powers of India and the People's Republic of China (PRC) focus solely on technical geography. There is no room in Eastern geography for "soft" human geography while physical geography is done by geology-based engineers. Much of the geographic work done today in the East is applied in construction, engineering, and urban planning.

2) The second note is one of worry. An overemphasis on geospatial technology would favor how to use technology over spatial thought. I have feared in the past that geospatial technology like GIS would be tech schoolized as the spatial reasoning and geography in general are abandoned. This has happened in the PRC and I worry that India may head down the same path.

New Georgian Parliament Site Meant to Erase Russia from the Landscape

The Georgian way to extend Georgianess while erasing the Soviet/Russian legacy from the landscape/mindscape. Photo from Ria Novosti via Radio Free Europe.

A few years ago Estonia caused great controversy by removing a memorial to the World War II actions of the Soviet Union's Red Army. The moment gave a message of liberation while most Estonians feel the Red Army replaced one occupier with another. A cyberwar broke out as Russia claimed Estonia was altering history merely because of current geopolitical tension. This and other moves by former Soviets states to reevaluate the Soviet Union's role in World War II has greatly angered Russia. In fact, Russia is so angry that it has proposed that denying the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic's role as a "liberator" should be an international crime.

The latest battlefield over the Soviet World War II landscape is in Georgia. The pro-West, anti-Russian President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, and the parliament of Georgia decided the country needed two capitals, one presidential and one parliamentary, to demonstrate the separation of powers in Georgia. The city chosen was the second largest city, Kutaisi. The exact spot though was occupied by a massive Soviet World War II memorial dedicated to veterans and victims of the war. The memorial depicted a St. George-like figure slaying a German solider.

The fact that the memorial was built by the Soviets (who are mentally associated as Russians in the peoples' minds) trumped it's dedication to victims (of Hitler, not Stalin) of World War II. When the orders for demolition where given Russia and the anti-Saakashvili opposition protested the decision as pro-fascist and anti-Russian. Though Georgia fought a war against Russia in 2008 the opposition believes anti-Russian actions will only make matters worse. The pro-fascist claim was joined to a conspiracy theory that held Saakashvili did not morn the Soviet Georgian war dead (half of the 700,000 Soviet Georgians soldiers died during World War II) but instead supported the smaller pro-Nazi Georgian Legion. To add an even greater anti-Soviet/anti-Russian/pro-Georgian feeling the date picked for the demolition is Stalin and Saakashvili's birthday. There was no cyberwar but a mother and daughter died because the demolition was mishandled.

Russia is not taking the loss of their footprint on the cultural landscape in Georgia lying down. President Putin approved construction of a memorial for the memorial, named We Fought Together Against Fascism, on the highest point in Moscow, Poklonnaya Hill. To my knowledge this is the only case of a monument being built to remember another monument. However, I suspect that the true message of the monument is not one of unity in a common fight but instead will serve as a reminder of those who turned their back of Russia's sphere of influence and perspective of history. The new monument location will send the clear message on Russia's feelings towards history and those states that now wish to leave its orbit.

Side note: In part the destruction seems personal. The monument's sculptor Merab Berdzenishvili is a critic of Saakashvili who had another monument moved from downtown Tbilisi to the outskirts of the capital. An alternative, non-exclusive theory is that Saakashvili demolished the monument to erase the artist's artistic immortality.

Israel's Point-of-View of Vulnerable Geography

A first in a long running, intermediate series

Americans who were alive during the 1960s probably remember the famous map showing the Soviet nuclear threat during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The map showed the vulnerable geography the United States felt and helped explain the actions which were undertaken to pressure the Soviets to remove the missiles.

Vulnerable geography maps can be based on real threats or pure propaganda. They can be factual, misleading, false, or only capture part of the picture. None the less vulnerable geography gives insight into how a country feels and helps explains geopolitical actions.

Israel currently is feeling and expressing its vulnerable geography. Current threats from the terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah along with threats from Iran and Syria have Israel analyzing its vulnerabilities.

The first example of Israel's vulnerable geography is a map from the Israeli Home Front Command. The map shows the time one has to take cover before the impact of launched missiles. Interestingly enough, the map has a sense of humor. Maps like this provide necessary information with a comic relief that is necessary from letting the stress from vulnerable geography from destroying one's enjoyment of life. (A non-humorous map is on the command's website)


The rest of the examples of vulnerable geography in this post comes from the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs' website Defensible Borders. The think tank published a report that highlights threats and the need for territory to defend Israeli cities and freedom of movement.

The maps below show how thin Israel would be without the West Bank and how easy it would be to cut off the capital, Jerusalem.



One map shows the value of the West Bank in defending against an attack from the West. This is interesting as the possibility of invasion from Jordon is as low as it has ever been.


The think tank produced a video and report (PDF) which sumed up their report on Israel's vulnerable geography.

Robert Kaplan's "Actually, It's Mountains"

Robert Kaplan, journalist/author who has written some excellent pieces on geopolitics, has a new geography-related article on how isolation due to natural geography has harmed national development. The article is titled "Actually, It's Mountains" with the subtitle "Sometimes the toughest obstacles are the naturally occurring ones."

I have been hard on Kaplan's geography work in the past because of his support of geographical determinism (geography predestines groups) instead of cultural determinism (culture defines a groups limits). However, Kaplan now introduces his article with

Precisely because geography is so overpowering and unchanging a factor in a state's destiny, there is a danger of taking it too far. So rather than believing that geography inevitably dooms states to failure, think of it as yet another complexifying factor for the weakest of countries. Their difficult geographies should spur us to action, rather than lead us to despair.

The article does a reasonable job explaining its thesis. However, the Africa bit ignores Ethiopia's involvement with the ancient and medieval worlds. The trade city of Timbuktu managed to bridge north and south Africa which did not need any major water system. Also, some cultures have managed to adopt to mountainous terrain while having governance without dictatorship. New Zealand and Switzerland are two prime examples mountainous freelands.

Weddings Around the World: Eastern European Jewish

From reader GeneK. In this post he examines Jewish weddings in Eastern Europe. In this post she writes about weddings in Hong Kong. If you are interested in writing a guest post about weddings in your country, culture, or subculture just contact us via e-mail at catholicgauze [at] gmail [dot] com or just comment below.

I do not know much about Polish Roman-Catholic weddings, however Jewish ( secular, not religious portion of the ceremony (the part of the wedding outside the temple)) weddings of Polish neighbors to the East ( Former Soviet Union ( Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania , Moldova and est.)) done slightly differently. Partying ‘til the dawn and tons of food and drinks as well as non-stop music and dancing (literally non-stop dancing, it is not a figure of speech) similar to the polish celebration. However speeches is really important part of the wedding, and ‘til every guest will not contribute to this portion of the ceremony the wedding will not be over. This tradition actually moved to the new countries and heavily practiced among Russian Jews in America, Canada, Israel, Australia or Germany.

Weddings Around the World: Poland

From reader IW

Greetings from Poland and congratulations on your upcoming wedding. I got married in Poland last year, and the difference between a typical American wedding and a classic Polish Catholic wedding can be summed up as follows: in Poland there is less speechifying ("I first met the bride while bowling with Rob..") and much more drinking and dancing, and the weddings last until dawn where as in the US they tended to die down after about 2:00am, if that.

Also, there is a cute custom in some parts of Poland where the wedding party is stopped by local lads who form a blockade in the road, until the best man gets out of the car and "pays the toll" in the form of a bottle of vodka. Hilarity ensues.

Good luck and enjoy!

Weddings of the World: Hong Kong

The first guest post about weddings around the world comes from the wonderful wife of long time reader Eddie. In this post she writes about weddings in Hong Kong. If you are interested in writing a guest post about weddings in your country, culture, or subculture just contact us via e-mail at catholicgauze [at] gmail [dot] com.

Hong Kong wedding traditions can vary at points (especially pertaining to the ceremonies themselves) due to families having different customs relating to their origins from particular provinces in China. One exceedingly common tradition is for parents to consult a fortune teller in order to divine the best date (i.e. the luckiest date... a wedding on this day would be long-lasting and graced with good fortune). The fortune teller uses the birthdays of both parents and the couple to arrive at this “best day” .For at least more than a hundred years in Hong Kong, almanacs have been published that are utilized by the fortune tellers in designating this date.

Often, both parents' homes are visited on the wedding day with the groom first visiting the bride's parents (and assorted family) and presenting a gift of tea to them to show respect to them and join their family as he calls upon the residence to pick up his soon to be wife. Responding to him, the bride's family will give money or accessories (i.e. gold jewelry) to the couple. The bride repeats this in a visit to the groom's parents' residence. During this time where the bride is outside in transit, an open red umbrella is held over the bride at all times in order to ensure her good fortune in the marriage.

Unique impositions on the wedding plans of couples in Hong Kong include the problem of near-future high expenses (especially concerns about housing costs) to worry over in addition to the not-insignificant financial burden of holding a traditionally elaborate wedding reception/banquet. All of this cost is covered by the groom and his family as the centerpiece gift given to the bride's family, though delicate negotiations can unfold over the groom's efforts to restrain extravagant guest lists proposed by the bride's family. The banquet enjoys a prominent role in today's weddings because it is the longstanding tradition most likely to be maintained over others that may have been dropped or simplified and reduced in recent years because of cost or a perception they have become archaic.

A few random notes about Hong Kong weddings to share include the experience of the bride, who has to change into anywhere from 3-5 dresses for different events during the wedding day. The night before the festivities, the bride’s mother will invite a woman who enjoys a happy marriage with many children to brush her daughter’s hair while bestowing blessings of good fortune and joy upon the bride. Also, during the night ceremony/banquet, it is not uncommon for all gifts (normally cash with a minimum of $500 HKD (more than $50US) given by invited guests to the couple to be handed by the bride to her mother.

Lastly, for the prospective cultural and social geographers, an interesting trend worth studying in greater detail is how in recent years, the trendy popularity of some Christian symbols for use in weddings, most notably the church as the backdrop (seen as romantic and charming), has led to a further diversification of Hong Kong's already considerable array of wedding traits.