I wish I knew how objectionable Muslims and Arabs found "The Kingdom" after viewing the movie. An interesting discussion took place on Rasheed's World blog, between Rasheed and Fedo the Space Cowboy that I recommend reading.
The movie really revolves around Saudi culture, and the obstacles the FBI faces when trying to discover the perpetrators behind an attack and subsequent suicide bombing of an oil company employees compound, near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The relationship between Al-Ghazi, the Saudi police officer and the FBI crew was interesting to watch. The character of Al-Ghazi was portrayed by Ashraf Barhoum, who is a Christian Arab-Israeli. He, unto himself, is a geographic conundrum.
It is my perception that many American believe that there are two cultures that inhabit Israel. The first culture, the Jews, are perceived as Europeans that were given a part of Palestine in 1947. The second culture, the Palestinians, are perceived as Muslim Arabs, who are also percieved as having part of Palestine taken away from them, as it didn't really belong to them anyway.
The truth is more complicated, and the truth is somewhat evident in Ashraf Barhoum, an Israeli, and an Arab, and a Christian. That is how complicated Israel is. According to this article from the Jerusalem Post, Mr. Barhoum immersed himself in Saudi culture, in order to convey the Saudi culture to the movie viewer. I imagine that he found this somewhat interesting, in light of the feelings of Saudi Arabia, and those carried by most other Arab World neighbors, about Israel.
The other FBI agents have rather shallow characters, Jennifer Garners character didn't even really need to exist. I found the actions of the FBI crew to be somewhat irrational (read: Jason Bateman's character), particularly since this was supposed to be a specially-trained unit. The mealy-mouthed Embassy representative, played by Jeremy Piven, is sufficiently irritating, and if anyone has a right to be upset, it is American Embassy employees, whose characters are almost always portrayed as being spineless lapdogs of the U.S. Administration.
All-in-all, this movie was interesting, portrayed Saudi culture in an interesting light, though I hesitate to label it as "accurate." After all, this is Hollywood and facts can get in the way of entertainment. There are other, better movies, such as Paradise Now, that are more interesting and potentially more accurate in characterizing culture.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Thursday, February 14, 2008
EarthPulse - National Geographic
EarthPulse - National Geographic
I recently had the opportunity to review some new educational materials published by Wiley & Sons, in cooperation with National Geographic. Earthpulse represents a collection of maps, stories, images, and statistics collected and bound for student's use, to augment instruction.
Earthpulse is now a branch off of the National Geographic website. I have just started to examine this website, but I can already see me using this in my World Geography courses. Imagery really helps convey a sense of place; graphics help convey information. The "Globalization" page under "Our Connected World" seems to indicate that much of the money we spend on goods tends to stay in our own country, despite all the noise we hear that all of our dollars are headed to China.
This site will take much exploration.
I recently had the opportunity to review some new educational materials published by Wiley & Sons, in cooperation with National Geographic. Earthpulse represents a collection of maps, stories, images, and statistics collected and bound for student's use, to augment instruction.
Earthpulse is now a branch off of the National Geographic website. I have just started to examine this website, but I can already see me using this in my World Geography courses. Imagery really helps convey a sense of place; graphics help convey information. The "Globalization" page under "Our Connected World" seems to indicate that much of the money we spend on goods tends to stay in our own country, despite all the noise we hear that all of our dollars are headed to China.
This site will take much exploration.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Michael Yon: Embedded Blogger in Iraq
Michael Yon was featured on NPR yesterday. At his own personal expense, he has embedded himself in the U.S. Army as an independent correspondent, photographer, etc. He is working on a book of his experience, and has several pictures posted on his blog.
I have skimmed his postings and they ready very well, in my opinion, despite being published "RUB."
Keeping ourselves apprised of situations around the world is important for us to do as American citizens. It is our money and our lives that travel abroad, in the service of our government, and therefore it is our responsibility to hold those we elect accountable and responsible. This seems to be Michael Yon's mission, to clarify and verify news that issues from Iraq and the immediate region.
According to one comment, Michael's site cannot be viewed by servicepeople abroad, as his site has been blocked by the DoD. Maybe because he called the violence in Iraq a "civil war" a year before our news media identified it as such.
Independent voices are important. Otherwise, we all end up drinking our own Kool-Aid.
I have skimmed his postings and they ready very well, in my opinion, despite being published "RUB."
Keeping ourselves apprised of situations around the world is important for us to do as American citizens. It is our money and our lives that travel abroad, in the service of our government, and therefore it is our responsibility to hold those we elect accountable and responsible. This seems to be Michael Yon's mission, to clarify and verify news that issues from Iraq and the immediate region.
According to one comment, Michael's site cannot be viewed by servicepeople abroad, as his site has been blocked by the DoD. Maybe because he called the violence in Iraq a "civil war" a year before our news media identified it as such.
Independent voices are important. Otherwise, we all end up drinking our own Kool-Aid.
Adobe Illustrator + ArcMap
I am branching out in my map-making skills. Finally, I have found a resource that has helped me hurdle the Adobe Illustrator-to-ArcMap transition. If I actually had put my mind to this issue I might have solved this conundrum independent of Google. Google is like the calculator of the '80s; everyone would rather use it than their own brain. *Guilty*
I can't post the PDF but I discovered an ESRI UC paper presented by Ralph Wagnitz. In the paper, he outlines how one can export an ArcMap layout to .AI format, then import to Adobe Illustrator. Very simple, should not have required a Google search, but I fell into that trap.
I have found that in some cases, particularly with raster data, the PDF format works better, as the transparency comes along. I have experienced issues maintaining transparency with raster files with the .AI format.
Now, I can add vignetting to a map to simulate water depth without having to create a buffer. Representing shapes in 3D is also a plus. I disdain creating a 3D surface in 3D analyst and then being restricted cartographically when I want to develop a 3D map or cartographic representation. Ugh.
I originally hit upon this by following a very good blog, CartoTalk. Some good cartography/map-making discussion, there is.
My map-making, i.e. cartography has already improved!
I can't post the PDF but I discovered an ESRI UC paper presented by Ralph Wagnitz. In the paper, he outlines how one can export an ArcMap layout to .AI format, then import to Adobe Illustrator. Very simple, should not have required a Google search, but I fell into that trap.
I have found that in some cases, particularly with raster data, the PDF format works better, as the transparency comes along. I have experienced issues maintaining transparency with raster files with the .AI format.
Now, I can add vignetting to a map to simulate water depth without having to create a buffer. Representing shapes in 3D is also a plus. I disdain creating a 3D surface in 3D analyst and then being restricted cartographically when I want to develop a 3D map or cartographic representation. Ugh.
I originally hit upon this by following a very good blog, CartoTalk. Some good cartography/map-making discussion, there is.
My map-making, i.e. cartography has already improved!
Yahoo NewsGlobe
Is this the twilight of Geographic Illiteracy?
Eventually, perhaps not with my generation; some of them still go kicking and screaming to the fountain of knowledge and refuse to drink.
Perhaps the day is coming, though, when the omnipresence of technology will be so great that one must actually live in a cave not to be aware of the world around them.
What if we could view television not by selecting a channel but by selecting choices based on geography? Select on North America and view possible feeds, and if we are bored with that, we tap into Europe, or South Asia, or East Asia.
Eventually, perhaps not with my generation; some of them still go kicking and screaming to the fountain of knowledge and refuse to drink.
Perhaps the day is coming, though, when the omnipresence of technology will be so great that one must actually live in a cave not to be aware of the world around them.
What if we could view television not by selecting a channel but by selecting choices based on geography? Select on North America and view possible feeds, and if we are bored with that, we tap into Europe, or South Asia, or East Asia.
Google + YouTube = GoogleTube
GoogleTube - that is my word for what happens when you allow people to geotag their videos. I have been ranting about this for about a month, since classes began. Which is funny, as I had no idea this was in the works at YouTube, as my site visits to YouTube can be counted on one hand.
The idea of geotagging videos came to me in my sleep one night. Prior to teaching my geography class for that night, I checked my mailbox and found a brochure for geography videos. The costs of these videos was outrageous; $200 for a 20-yr old video. Forget it! Neither I nor my department(s) have money to shell out for a 15-minute that is two decades old.
Anyway, it dawned on me that when university faculty travel to some place, they ought to take a DV recorder with them, video something that could be educational, and post it to YouTube. No more than 5-10 minutes, keeping it short, and focusing on one theme or topic.
Now, that is possible through Google Earth and YouTube. Excellent!
Now, get busy everyone! DV the earth!
The idea of geotagging videos came to me in my sleep one night. Prior to teaching my geography class for that night, I checked my mailbox and found a brochure for geography videos. The costs of these videos was outrageous; $200 for a 20-yr old video. Forget it! Neither I nor my department(s) have money to shell out for a 15-minute that is two decades old.
Anyway, it dawned on me that when university faculty travel to some place, they ought to take a DV recorder with them, video something that could be educational, and post it to YouTube. No more than 5-10 minutes, keeping it short, and focusing on one theme or topic.
Now, that is possible through Google Earth and YouTube. Excellent!
Now, get busy everyone! DV the earth!
Friday, February 8, 2008
Child Labor - Forbes.com
Child Labor - Forbes.com
Geographers have a difficult road ahead of them. The irresistable force of Globalization extends its tendrils into all facets of our lives. We are not even safe from the malevolent aspect of globalization when we purchase a soccer ball. That soccer ball may have been sewn together by a child, according to this story by Megha Bahree.
Not only do soccer balls represent a negative aspect of globalization, but so do embroidered jeans, beaded purses, or those little decorative boxes available at many department stores. These products could also, potentially, have been constructed by children.
Child labor is nothing new. Even our society in the United States has involved a fair amount of its own child labor. Talk to anyone who grew up on a farm. Ask them what it was like for them to grow up. They will probably say, "chores!" I know I worked each summer on my grandparent's farm in Nebraska; and I know that my mother and her brothers worked throughout their childhood on their parent's farm. Child labor in the U.S. is nothing new.
For some children in the U.S. things are somewhat different. Children, and I should say that the definition of a "child" depends. For some, those people under 13 are consider children. For others, the age might be 14. From other viewpoints, those 18 and under are children. But as I was saying, things for some U.S. children are different. They get paid.
Many farmers pay their labor fairly well. According to Ms. Bahree's article, some teenagers may make as much as $7/hr. The other difference is where the money is spent. U.S. teenagers are probably not going to use their income to pay for food for their family, or to help pay off family debt. Children in other countries may make $0.20/hr, or perhaps $1-$2/day. This money is then used to help pay for family expenses-food or debt, not for shopping at the mall, buying Miley Cyrus' new CD.
But is Globalization really that bad?
I argue that Globalization is an amoral force - it doesn't care, really, one way or the other if children are employed or not. The people behind the force have the responsibility of these decisions, however. Guns don't kill people, bullets do not kill people - it is the person wielding the tool that decides how the tool is used.
It can be argued that Globalization may be a potential savior for some of these children. The outsourcing of jobs overseas, not only from the U.S. but also from Europe, Mexico (yes, even Mexico outsources), and Japan, can push technology and new jobs and higher wages into new regions. As wages increase, children may be less likely to have to work outside the home. Families won't feel compelled to "sell" their children's services to others to help the family survive. The children would then be able to educate themselves, further increasing their income potential.
But all of this occurs slowly, and the distribution of these activities is spotty. However, this is the way of Diffusion. Just like disease outbreaks begin slowly, sometimes in isolated areas, pretty soon, under the correct conditions, the disease begins to thrive.
Globalization may act this way, becoming spatially diffuse, and, unlike an infection, may gradually improve the standards of living of millions of people abroad.
Geographers have a difficult road ahead of them. The irresistable force of Globalization extends its tendrils into all facets of our lives. We are not even safe from the malevolent aspect of globalization when we purchase a soccer ball. That soccer ball may have been sewn together by a child, according to this story by Megha Bahree.
Not only do soccer balls represent a negative aspect of globalization, but so do embroidered jeans, beaded purses, or those little decorative boxes available at many department stores. These products could also, potentially, have been constructed by children.
Child labor is nothing new. Even our society in the United States has involved a fair amount of its own child labor. Talk to anyone who grew up on a farm. Ask them what it was like for them to grow up. They will probably say, "chores!" I know I worked each summer on my grandparent's farm in Nebraska; and I know that my mother and her brothers worked throughout their childhood on their parent's farm. Child labor in the U.S. is nothing new.
For some children in the U.S. things are somewhat different. Children, and I should say that the definition of a "child" depends. For some, those people under 13 are consider children. For others, the age might be 14. From other viewpoints, those 18 and under are children. But as I was saying, things for some U.S. children are different. They get paid.
Many farmers pay their labor fairly well. According to Ms. Bahree's article, some teenagers may make as much as $7/hr. The other difference is where the money is spent. U.S. teenagers are probably not going to use their income to pay for food for their family, or to help pay off family debt. Children in other countries may make $0.20/hr, or perhaps $1-$2/day. This money is then used to help pay for family expenses-food or debt, not for shopping at the mall, buying Miley Cyrus' new CD.
But is Globalization really that bad?
I argue that Globalization is an amoral force - it doesn't care, really, one way or the other if children are employed or not. The people behind the force have the responsibility of these decisions, however. Guns don't kill people, bullets do not kill people - it is the person wielding the tool that decides how the tool is used.
It can be argued that Globalization may be a potential savior for some of these children. The outsourcing of jobs overseas, not only from the U.S. but also from Europe, Mexico (yes, even Mexico outsources), and Japan, can push technology and new jobs and higher wages into new regions. As wages increase, children may be less likely to have to work outside the home. Families won't feel compelled to "sell" their children's services to others to help the family survive. The children would then be able to educate themselves, further increasing their income potential.
But all of this occurs slowly, and the distribution of these activities is spotty. However, this is the way of Diffusion. Just like disease outbreaks begin slowly, sometimes in isolated areas, pretty soon, under the correct conditions, the disease begins to thrive.
Globalization may act this way, becoming spatially diffuse, and, unlike an infection, may gradually improve the standards of living of millions of people abroad.
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