Moldovan and Greenland Election Updates

Following my recent Moldovan presidential election standoff: The opposition held again and the presidential vote for moderate Communist Zinaida Greceanii failed by two votes, 59 to 0. New parliamentary elections will be held sometime between July and September. The opposition has momentum going in but the Communist have media control and their leader, President/Speaker Vladimir Voronin has huge sway with the older pensioner crowd. The election will probably result in a Communist plurality but strong opposition. A comprise candidate, probably a due nothing like Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, will be picked to be the next President of Moldova.

Meanwhile in Greenland the Inuit Eskimos, descendants of the successful conquerors the Thule, swept the Greenland parliamentary election. The ex-Communist, pro-Independence and native party Community of the People earned nearly half of all seats and gain the right to name the prime minister. The center-right and center-left ethnic Danish parties lost half their seats. Expect the government of Greenland to increase its drive for resource rights.

BBC's Bloody Omaha: The History and Geography of Omaha Beach

Dedicated to all those in the Allied Forces who fought for the liberation of France.

Bloody Omaha 1
by oddball71

Bloody Omaha 2
by oddball71

Bloody Omaha 3
by oddball71

Bloody Omaha 4
by oddball71

Exploring Extrasolar Planet with Star Trek

Many of those who love astronomy also have a strong tie to Star Trek. The voyages of the various USS Enterprises and other ships filled our imagination with a rich universe filled with stars, worlds, and strange beings. The cultural impact of Star Trek is so strong that many astronomers will use Trekkie vocabulary when trying to explain things to normal people.

The USS Voyager Astrometrics Exoplanetary Data Console maps out the extrasolar planets and provides basic data about each one while displaying everything on a console based on Star Trek Voyager. All the bells and whistles are from Star Trek and have the coolness factor associated with it. While one probably will not learn anything new with the tool it certainly is a neat educational toy to play with. (Hat tip: Google Earth Blog)

The Overlooked: Minority Nations of the former Soviet Union

In the cliché-ridden propaganda of the Soviet era tsarist Russia was frequently dubbed the “prison of nations”. When the Soviets came into power this “prison”, by virtue of new national policies, transformed into a family of friendly and brotherly nations in whose bosom all the national cultures flourished. To boast of the achievements under the Communist Party leadership, grandiose cultural festivals were arranged in the Soviet republics, folkloristic dance, song and instrumental groups were established and the revival of old peasant culture was encouraged. The slogan “socialist in content, nationalist in form” came to be applied to the new Soviet culture. Behind this deceptive facade of ethnographic originality, the tsarist prison of nations never ceased to exist: russification was carried out on a large scale, nationalist intellectuals were persecuted, a policy of extensive exploitation of land was pursued and nations were continuously resettled and mingled. The desired result was the birth of a new, Russian-speaking “Soviet nation.”

-Excerpt from the introduction of The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire

When the Soviet Union collapsed the various ethnic groups divided up the carcass of the old Tsar/Soviet empire. Or so most think. In reality many minorities were left in another nation's homeland. Their cultures vary between European, Eurasian, Asian, and some even share cultural traits with North American Eskimos.

The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire is an excellent encyclopedia made in 1993 Estonia. The book has numerous entries on the wide range of nations that were added to the Russian/Soviet Empire. Each entry has information on population, history, and lifestyle as well as a map.

Some groups are doing well while others are fading away. Each entry gives a taste of a rich history of an overlooked people. Enjoy sections about arctic dwelling Nganasans, Turkic Tats, Moutain Jews, and many more.

Moldovan Standoff Over the Presidency

Back in April the fractured pro-European Union, pro-Romanian Moldovan opposition parties rioted against the pro-European Union, pro-Russia Communist Party's heavy-handed victory in the parliamentary election.

The Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin announced he would follow in Putin's footsteps and become the head of the parliament since term limits ended his presidency. It seemed like a cake walk then. The Communists had sixty out of the one hundred-one seats and only needed one extra vote to elect their candidate as president. In the past it was easy to persuade/bribe an opposition member to vote along with the Communists.

That was in the past. The first ballot for president ended up failing sixty to nothing since all opposition members boycotted the election. A second, repeat election has been delayed officially because of an Orthodox holiday but more probably because of fears the opposition will boycott again. If the second vote fails then another popular election for parliament must be held. That scenario is something the Communists fear because of opposition momentum. Added on top of all this is a fracture forming in the Communist Party as democrats begin to leave.

Moldova is a pawn in the European-flank game that is NATO-realm versus the Eurasian Front. Career geostrategists in Moscow, Brussels, and Washington eagerly await word of the June 3rd election... if it is held.

First Law of Geography and Distance Decay

Waldo Tobler is a man who knows how the academic game is played. Dr. Tobler summed up the idea of geographic distance decay in such a way it became known as the first law of geography. The law is worded as "Everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant things."

Think of a drop of water impacting a larger body of water. The impact site has the most intense energy. One then can see the energy disperse and get weaker as the energy moves away from the impact site. This thought of a water impact can be transferred into the realm of geographic thought. Viruses, political protests, fires, ideas, etc all can be effected by distance decay on both a macro and micro scale.

Not all space is equal so distance decay is not equal. Roads, mountains, water ways, and many more natural and man made obstacles slow and speed up distance decay. Other things can compete for space against the decaying phenomena and become stuck or even reversed.

Catholicgauze has even noticed some things act stronger in the ends rather than distance decay from some center point. Nationalism in particular becomes stronger when threatened by some foreign/counter force. Look at diaspora groups (Irish-Americans have greater militant republican tendencies than do most Irish) or near aboard groups (ethnic Russians fought and defeated Moldova in a war as the Soviet Union was falling apart).

Bolivia's Name Change

Catholicgauzette has notified me about Bolivia's name change. The new constitution of Bolivia has turned the Republic of Bolivia into the Plurinational State of Bolivia.

The new constitution is the latest battle between Mestizo/Indian La Paz versus Amero-Spanish Sucre. Bolivian President Evo Morales' has succeeded in promoting American Indian culture and issues throughout his presidency. The new constitution makes Bolivia one state made out of many nations where the various Indian nations are on part with the Spanish legacy. Now Spanish and thirty-six(!) Indian languages are recognized as official languages.

The self-declared autonomous zones meanwhile will continue their efforts to preserve the pro-business, pro-West policies that have made eastern Bolivia relatively well off.

Bolivia is continuing to slowly tear itself apart between east and west.