Geographical Misconceptions: Part Three

On December 8, 2025 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn GeographyLeave a comment

I seem to be on a roll of adding to the diverse range of my previous blog posts. In 2021, I published the first Geographical Misconceptions blog post, and two years later, I published the second. Since it appears it takes me two years to create one of these, which is the same rate at which a Sonic the Hedgehog movie is released, I thought I would continue that tradition.

To recap what I’m talking about when I mention misconceptions, I’m referring to a piece of information that people believe to be true, that in reality is false. But before I continue, why should I care about misconceptions that are geographical in nature?

To be honest, some misconceptions are innocent and localised, but others are widespread. When I hear misconceptions, they grind my gears, so the Vulcan part of me is compelled to insert logic into the conversation and to push back against the misconception. ¹

The biggest talking point is that I don’t want adults continuing to spread the incorrect information to other adults, but mainly I don’t want children being taught these misconceptions, because they will grow up believing them to be true, have children of their own and continue to spread the misconceptions. That and eating Sour Cream and Chives. Kids need to be aware of the dangers of that flavour, since “Fair is foul, and foul is fair”. ²

So, let’s pull up our socks, step into our gumboots and traverse into the unknown that is a Some Geek Told Me blog post, and discuss some geographical misconceptions that get my undies in a twist. Lead on!

The Amazon is the longest river in the world

Anybody repeating this misconception could be forgiven, because it’s a close call. The Amazon River is one of the longest rivers in the world, spanning a whopping 6,400 km across seven countries in South America. However, this would be a strange misconception if the Amazon were, in fact, the longest river in the world.

The Amazon River is the second-longest river in the world. The gold medal goes to the Nile River, which stretches across 11 African countries, roughly 6,650 km.

Nile River basin and its drainage network. Credit: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

I need to add two points to this misconception: Firstly, it’s worth noting that rivers are constantly changing because of different environmental factors, and it can be problematic to decide and identify where a river starts, especially its source.

The second point is that there seems to be a campaign to crown the Amazon as the longest river, because the lengths are disputed, along with the fact that the Amazon has a higher discharge volume. Until the title has officially been stripped from the Nile, it’s still safe to say the Nile is the longest river on the planet.

Aerial view of the Baḥr Al-Jabal (Mountain Nile) and Juba, South Sudan. Credit: Frontpage/Shutterstock.com

New Zealand is an island/New Zealand only has two islands

I’m obviously biased here, but having lived in other countries, the subject of New Zealand consisting of only one or two islands is not a new misconception to me. Occasionally, the question would come up, and I would have to politely and tactfully explain the truth.

To set the record straight, New Zealand, like many other nations around the globe, is made up of several islands. Granted, the two main islands are the North Island (Te Ika-a-Māui) and the South Island (Te Waipounamu). The South Island is larger, while the North Island holds about 75% of the population.

During the last ice age, about 18,000 years ago, the two islands were connected by a land bridge when sea levels were lower. When the ice age ended, the land bridge was submerged when the sea levels rose, which resulted in the formation of the Cook Strait, the body of water that separates the two islands.

Located off the southern coast of the South Island is Stewart Island (Te Punga o Te Waka-a-Māui), which is the third largest island in the country. New Zealand consists of over 600 islands, including the Subantarctic Islands. Approximately 16 of these islands are inhabited. Therefore, it’s wrong to say that New Zealand has only one or two islands.

Map of offshore New Zealand islands. Credit: Department of Conservation

Istanbul is the capital city of Türkiye

Can you name any city in Türkiyeother than Istanbul? Istanbul is the most well-known Turkish city the world knows, so it has to be the capital city, right? The computer says no. ³

Like many cities on Earth, Istanbul is the most famous city in its country, or even the largest, but these two factors do not automatically mean it’s the capital.

Istanbul has a population of about 15 million, which works out to be roughly 18% of Türkiye’s population, so it is large, but it’s not the capital city; although it was the capital of the Ottoman Empire until 1922. That honour goes to Ankara, with a population of 5.2 million, and it’s been the capital of many empires over the years.

After the Turkish War of Independence and the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the Republic of Turkey was formed. Ankara was officially made the capital on 29th October 1923, since the administration of the country was moved from Istanbul to Ankara.

Ankara, the capital city of Türkiye. Credit: Türkiye Visa

The Himalayas are the longest mountain range on the planet

This is an easy misconception to believe, because it makes sense that they would be. Firstly, the Himalayas are the world’s highest mountain range, averaging 6,000 to 6,100 m. It’s rather obvious when nine of the ten highest mountains above sea level are found in the Himalayas, especially with Mount Everest, the highest mountain on the planet above sea level, measuring 8,848.86 m.

But, we were asking about the longest mountain range on the planet, were we not? Correct, because it’s not the Himalayas; it’s the Andes. Stretching along South America’s spine, it covers 8,900 km through Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela, and is 200 to 700 km at its widest. The Andes are the longest mountain range above sea level on the planet.

Now, if you were paying attention, I mentioned something odd. Similar to Mount Everest being the highest mountain in the world above sea level, the same can be applied here. The Andes are the longest mountain range in the world, but only above sea level.

The longest mountain range on Earth is actually underwater: the Mid-Ocean Ridge. The Mid-Ocean Ridge is found around the world, as it is interconnected by plate tectonic boundaries. These underwater ridges are part of a global Ocean Ridge system, which covers every ocean.

The mountain range is continuous, and it spans over 65,000 km, making it several times longer than the Andes. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge alone stretches 16,000 km. So to clarify, the Andes are the longest mountain range above sea level on the planet, but the Mid-Ocean Ridge is the longest in total.

The Andes mountain range as seen from a plane, between Santiago de Chile and Mendoza, Argentina, in summer. Credit: Jorge Morales Piderit.

The United States of America only borders two countries

This is yet another misconception, which, in my humble opinion, is quite understandable, why people would think this is true. Yes, the United States of America does indeed border two countries, notably two land borders.

The infamous Southern border, where apparently the world’s supply of drug dealers, criminals, rapists, and murderers enters the United States, which borders along the southern end of the continental United States and Mexico.

The Northern border, which you don’t need to be a brain surgeon to understand, shares two borders with Canada. The first and most obvious border is on the northern side of the continental United States. The second border with Canada is shared through Alaska, because, as we all know, “Alaska is part of the United States.”

So, to recap, the United States shares borders with Mexico and Canada, though they are land borders. And this is where the misconception comes into effect, because the United States also has maritime borders, or water borders.

It shares a maritime border with Russia, yes, I said Russia. It’s a de facto boundary between the two countries across the Bering Strait, because of Alaska’s location and position relative to Russia’s easternmost islands.

The United States also have many dependencies, territories and islands in the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea. This results in the United States having maritime borders with The Bahamas, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Japan, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, and Federated States of Micronesia, as well as collective and/or disputed borders with Jamaica, Haiti, Colombia, Honduras, Nicaragua, Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau, Sint Maarten, the British Virgin Islands, and Anguilla.

Because some of these countries are dependencies and territories of other countries, the United States, by extension, also shares maritime borders with Venezuela, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands.

A map to the 1990 USA-USSR maritime boundary agreement. Credit: Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs.

How did I do with explaining these geographical misconceptions? Do you have any of your own? As always, please let me know.

And that is another blog post for another week. Just to give everybody a heads up, my Christmas break is coming up soon, where I will take the second of my two annual holidays away from New Zealand’s 5th least favourite website. The dates have to be confirmed with the staff, but I’ll let you know soon.

Also, if you can’t back yourself, nobody else will, so in that vein, I would like to remind everybody that my Twitter and Mastodon accounts still exist, so please drop by. I’m aiming to one day get 50 followers on Twitter and 200 followers on Mastodon. I seem to be more popular on Mastodon than Twitter, though the reasons are probably, like Destruction, Desire and Dream, endless.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2027 Rugby World Cup schedules have been recently drawn, so I’m still processing New Zealand’s games in both of these tournaments. I may have to post a reaction to them. Maybe. Are you happy with either draw or Netflix’s monopoly purchase?

Thanks again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Please remember to walk your dog, read a banned book, don’t commit war crimes, and I’ll see you next week.

^1.It’s always nice to sneak in a Star Trek reference.

^2.Like wise for Shakespeare references as well.

³In 2022, the government of Turkey officially changed its name to Türkiye, which was adopted by the United Nations.

Can a country have Dissociative identity disorder?

On December 1, 2025 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Flags, Geography, History

Flags, flags, flags, I love a good flag. I live in an area where there are four houses within walking distance of my home that have a flagpole. A few weeks ago, I was walking along when I noticed a flag slightly flying on one of them. I could make out that the flag had orange and black on it.

I suddenly realised I had no idea whose country it belonged to, let alone the continent. Orange and black, orange and black. I was going to memorise the flag, then search for it later on. What country just had orange and black on their flag?!

As I walked closer and closer, I searched the bottom of the flag knowledge file in my mind for any possible answers. Because of the angle I was facing, the majority of the flag wasn’t revealed until I was three houses away.

It was then that I made the discovery that delighted and frustrated me; it was a Halloween flag featuring a witch. This mundane incident obviously triggered my Geek-sense, and the idea grew into the amazing blog post you are now reading.

Just over three years ago, I published my first and only blog post about flags, which can be discovered here. In that literary masterpiece, I discussed four countries’ flags that are no longer in use, for various reasons.

In some circles, three years is the perfect length of time for a sequel, so where is The Batman: Part II? To extend upon this, I have decided to create a sequel to that blog post, but this time, to simply discuss one country, whose history of name changing and flag swapping would make a swinger’s head swivel.

So, sit back, relax, and put your tray table away, because we’re going to look at one country’s many failed flags.

DR Congo’s location in Central Africa, marked by a pin of its national flag. Credit: Mappr

Democratic Republic of the Congo (Formerly known as the Congo Free State/Belgian Congo/Republic of the Congo/Democratic Republic of the Congo/Zaire)

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is odd because it doesn’t just have a few national flags, but several, although it’s the same country; but at the same time, it’s six countries. I told you it was odd.

We have to venture to Central Africa, and to explain the Democratic Republic of the Congo, I need to explain Zaire. In order to explain Zaire, I need to explain the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and to explain the Democratic Republic of the Congo, I need to explain the Republic of the Congo. But to explain the Republic of the Congo, I need to explain the Belgian Congo. However, to explain the Belgian Congo, I need to explain the Congo Free State. It’s like Russian nesting dolls filled with flags and countries.

The Congo Free State

Flag of Congo Free State (1885–1908).
Credit: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Starting with the Congo Free State is arguably the best country to begin with. The flag has a blue background with a yellow star in the centre. It was first introduced when the Congo Free State was a de facto African colony of Belgium, but more importantly, it was controlled by King Leopold II of Belgium.

Also, in a totally random and unrelated coincidence, the Congo Free State shared its flag with the International Association of the Congo or the International Congo Society, which was set up by King Leopold II of Belgium, to further his interests in the region. What are the odds of that happening?!

Belgian Congo

Flag of Belgian (1908-1960).
Credit: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

In 1908, the Congo Free State was officially annexed by the Belgian government, so the country was renamed the Belgian Congo, but they decided to retain the flag. That was nice of them, considering the atrocities the Belgians committed upon the Congolese, in the pursuit of rubber, ivory and minerals.

Republic of the Congo or Congo-Léopoldville (Not to be confused with its neighbour, the Republic of the Congo)

Flag of the Republic of the Congo (1960–1963). Credit: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

In 1960, the Belgian Congo declared independence from Belgium. Among civil unrest and wars that plagued the newly (re)minted country, the nation’s name changed for a second time to the Republic of the Congo, along with a tweaked version of the original flag, namely, the vertical column of six five-pointed stars on the left-hand side.¹

Flag of the Republic of the Congo (1963-1966). Credit: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Three years later, in 1963, the flag was changed yet again to another similar, but different version. This new flag still had the original yellow star, but it was smaller and had been moved to the top corner of the left-hand side. It also had a red and yellow-lined band that ran diagonally across the centre. The star represented unity, the yellow symbolised prosperity, the blue stood for hope, and the red reflected the people’s blood.

In 1964, the call was made to change the official name of the Republic of the Congo to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, because why the hell not?

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Just like how a classic comic book character like Daredevil is relaunched with a new #1, and then three years later, he has yet another relaunch with another #1, the same applies here. In 1966, because three years in an eternity in politics, the government decided the national flag needed an update, because if the country has a new name…it needs a new flag.

This flag was identical to the previous one, but for two small changes. The red band has widened, and the yellow star has decreased in size.

Zaire

To offer a recap, the Congo Free State rebranded itself to become the Belgian Congo, then changed into the Republic of the Congo; along with several flag alternations, and another name change to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. By 1971, you would think that the days of the country’s name and flag changing were over. However, to quote John Rambo, “Nothing is over! Nothing!”

The Democratic Republic of the Congo was renamed Zaire to shake off its colonial past and embrace its African heritage and culture. The new name came with a new flag, which included the Pan-African colours of red, yellow, and green.

The green background represented hope and the country’s fertile land; the yellow symbolised the country’s prosperity and bountiful natural resources, and the red stood for the blood shed for independence and the nation’s martyrs.

The circle with the flaming torch represented the unity of the Zairean people, as well as being a symbol of the ruling party, the Popular Movement of the Revolution (MPR).

Democratic Republic of the Congo (Again)

Flag of Democratic Republic of the Congo (1997-2003). Credit: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The government was overthrown in 1997, which, you guessed it, brought about a new name and flag. The name Zaire was dissolved, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo was reintroduced, along with updating the flag. Instead of looking to contemporary times for inspiration to redesign the flag, it was decided to dive back into the past, 1960, to be correct, to find the next flag.

The new, but old flag was a variation of the first Republic of the Congo’s flag, which was adopted in 1960. The number of stars and their yellow colour didn’t change, but the central star is slightly smaller, along with a lighter blue background.

Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2003–2006). Credit: Moyogo.

When the Democratic Republic of the Congo was just six years old, a decision was made that the national flag needed to be updated. As a result, the flag underwent a makeover. Perhaps someone was allergic to the original blue or felt that it wasn’t light enough, but whatever the reason, the blue on the flag was changed to a lighter shade, and the size of the central star was also adjusted.

In my personal opinion, I think some ministers’ OCD was out of control.

Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (since 2006). Credit: Nightstallion.

By now, you would have guessed what happened in 2006, three years after the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s third flag was revealed. Yes, we have another flag change. 10 points to Hufflepuff!

You can’t make this stuff up, but in 2006, the wheel turned again, and another flag was introduced. It’s a hybrid of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s first and third flags, combining the design of the 1966 flag, but using the blue from 2003’s flag.

If I understand it properly, the star represents the future for the country, red is for “the blood of the country’s martyrs”, the country’s wealth is yellow, and the blue stands for peace.

Next year will mark the 20th anniversary of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s current flag, and long may it last. However, like a married man having a midlife crisis, who starts dating a woman old enough to be his daughter, will the Democratic Republic of the Congo have another makeover, via a name and flag change? Who knows?

I hope this blog post was coherent enough to understand, because as I was writing it, I kept saying to myself, “This makes no sense, but it’s true.” As always, please let me know your thoughts on the subject.

Writing about the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s flags and name changes has given me a small headache, so I’m done. Thanks again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me.

Please remember to walk your dog, read a banned book, the world is a vampire, and I’ll see you next week.

^1.)When the Republic of the Congo was named, its neighbour was also called the Republic of the Congo. To sort through the confusion and help the international community differentiate between the two Congos, the flags were different.

In addition to this, the Republic of the Congo was referred to as Congo-Léopoldville, acknowledging its Belgian past. And not to be outdone, the Republic of the Congo was known as Congo-Brazzaville, acknowledging its French heritage. Not confusing at all.

Who wants a trade war with penguins?

On April 7, 2025April 9, 2025 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Geography, People, Politics

I’m going to start with an apology. Today’s blog post was supposed to be about We Didn’t Start the Fire’s 1957 historical references; as I spoke about this last week. Now, I’m very sorry to let the fans of this project down, because as I was writing the blog, something extraordinary happened, and I simply couldn’t ignore it.

So in my infinite wisdom, I decided to put a pin in the 1957’s historical references, and actually discuss a trade war. Due to our interconnected world, trade serves as a vital link among us. Surprisingly, it seems that the President of the United States is beginning a trade war with penguins, elephant seals, and seabirds.

Let’s analyse this carefully to determine its truthfulness, or if it is simply the mainstream media attempting to humiliate a 78-year-old convicted felon.

On 2nd April 2025 (local time), President Trump unveiled his hotly anticipated new tariff scheme, which was dubbed Liberation Day. Again, as you know, he declared a trade war against various countries and territories around the world, including my own.

I don’t have enough time to discuss how unusual it is that Russia, Belarus, and North Korea were omitted from the tariff list. My time is too valuable for that, as well as addressing the fact that these tariffs aren’t truly tariffs. Instead, they are based on a flawed formula meant to reflect the trade deficit between the United States and countries or territories.

No, I won’t mention those two things at all. I won’t even talk about how global markets are melting down, with at the time of writing, US$6.6 trillion was been wiped away. I would never stoop that low to discuss and mock those important matters.

And you can forget about me ever mentioning that the White House is now reframing the tariffs as sanctions. Nope, not by me, or on my account. There’s no way I would ever discuss that.

However, there is one tiny thing I would like to discuss. When the former McDonald’s employee and casino bankrupter revealed his list of countries and territories that he wanted to punish for not buying enough US-made items and goods, he included a rather strange entry: The Heard and McDonald Islands.

The Heard and McDonald Islands are some of the most isolated places on the planet. They lie in the Southern Indian Ocean, about 3,850 km from Australia, where the islands are an Australian external territory. It’s roughly the same latitude as Madagascar, about two-thirds of the way from Antarctica and Madagascar.

The islands’ total land area is only 372 km2, with a coastline stretching 101.9 km. The Heard and McDonald Islands are home to two volcanoes and hundreds of thousands of fauna, such as penguins, elephant seals and seabirds.

But one of the strangest things about the Heard and McDonald Islands is the human population, which is zero. Yes, that’s correct, not a single person lives there. They are uninhabited by humans.

According to the data revealed by the White House, the Heard and McDonald Islands have a trade deficit of 10%, which has resulted in the world’s most famous 78-year-old convicted felon, slapping a 10% tariff on the islands.

Putting aside the suicidal nature of the financial and economic illiteracy of the tariffs, we have a problem. If we are to believe the White House’s data and figures, and why would we not, it means the Heard and McDonald Islands have a trade deficit with the United States.

From the United States perspective, the Heard and McDonald Islands are exporting more goods and services to the United States than they are importing from the United States, hence the trade deficit. But here’s the problem: if the Heard and McDonald Islands are uninhabited by humans, then who or what the fuck is trading with the Americans?

I hope you’re sitting down because the answer is penguins, elephants seals, and seabirds. I like to stay informed about world events, but I’ll be honest, I had no idea that a collection of penguins, elephants seals, and seabirds, living on islands near Antarctica, had not only mastered the ability to understand human language, finance, and commerce, but also have the means to conduct trade with humans. I feel really stupid and ignorant for not knowing this.

I have so many questions about this:

Do the different species of animals trade separately or collectively?
What do they trade? Is it eggs, feathers, shit, or something else?
If it’s shit, is penguin shit more valuable the elephant seal shit?
Do the penguins, elephant seals, and seabirds get along with each other, or are there different factions working against each other, whether it’s politically or financially?
How likely is a civil war to break out on the Heard and McDonald Islands, over the tariffs?
How do they communicate with the humans?
What do the penguins, elephant seals, and seabirds import from the United States?
Who are the American importers, and how are they surviving with the 10% tariff slapped on by the Heard and McDonald Islands?
What is the currency of the Heard and McDonald Islands?
Are Australian penguins, elephant seals, and seabirds, really taking jobs away from American humans, or American fauna?
Is this not the greatest example of evolutionary biology ever discovered?
How is this not the biggest news story in the history of the world; animals trading with humans?
Has anybody spoken to Sir David Attenborough about this? What are his thoughts?
Do the Heard and McDonald Islands only trade with the United States?
By starting a trade war with the Heard and McDonald Islands, does the White House hope to bring back more American jobs?
Does Elon Musk wish to export Teslas to the Heard and McDonald Islands?

The questions are endless because I’m just stunned at this revelation. This startling information is hard to understand and comprehend since it must be true and accurate. Otherwise, the US government would look like a group of people who wouldn’t be able to organise a party at a brewery. This would be one of the biggest displays of incompetence the US government have committed since Signalgate.

I mean, Trump, armed with his stable intellect, and his posse of loyal henchmen, could never make a mistake, right? Because that would be bigly. Nah, I bet every single penguin, elephant seal, and seabird on the Heard and McDonald Islands is woke.

And this ladies and gentlemen, is the world we live in. Welcome.

That’s another blog post for another week. Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me.

That’s three political blog posts in a row, so that’s enough for now. I’m going to finish We Didn’t Start the Fire: 1957, so we can discuss history, music, people, and politics…damn.

Please don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, tell Sir David Attenborough about tariffs on the Heard and McDonald Islands, and I’ll see you next week to continue We Didn’t Start the Fire.

Seriously, can someone please talk to Sir David Attenborough? His response would be amazing.

A 78-year-old convicted felon gets his facts wrong

On January 13, 2025 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Geography, History, People, Politics

Welcome back to New Zealand’s 5th least favourite website! I’ve had my break, so Some Geek Told Me is ready for 2025, with more incoherent rants and poorly written topics. I was going to start with something a lot more positive, but my OCD got the better of me.

You see, a certain 78-year-old convicted felon held a press conference the other day and made some fascinating and entertaining statements that were, in the nicest way possible, incorrect.

Before I stumble my way through this blog post, I need to go over something with you. A few weeks ago, I posted a blog about TIME’S Person of the Year. When talking about a certain 78-year-old convicted felon, I said,

“Any attention that man gets is good attention, because it means people are talking about him, and that’s what he wants. And we have all given it to him, which is why he has dominated the news cycle.

By ignoring his crazy rants and lies, along with his illegal dealings, we are condoning his behaviour; therefore, we are enabling him. By calling out his crazy rants and lies, along with his illegal dealings, he can play the “I’m a billionaire victim because the false news and the deep state are out to get me” card; therefore, we are enabling him.

He’s like a male succubus, but instead of feeding and living off sexual energy and activity, he thrives on communication. The more people discuss him, the stronger he becomes. His ego feeds off the attention.”

Moving forward into 2025 and beyond, I’m going to talk about him, without talking about him. I’m going to do this by doing two things:

If his behaviour is truly that terrible, I will name him. Otherwise, I will do my best to avoid naming him. Words have power, so I won’t give him any more attention than he needs or deserves, starting with his name.
If I discuss his antics, I won’t repeat the lies or absurdities; instead, I will provide a counterpoint or the truth to his unfounded claims. For instance, if he were to say, “We’re going to cure people of being gay because it’s a disease,” or “Vaccines are immoral and illegal,” or “Sour Cream and Chives is the greatest flavour in the world,” I will not echo the falsehoods.
Instead, I will explain that homosexuality is not a disease, vaccines are legal and one of humanity’s greatest inventions, and as for the last claim, I’ll make an emphatic argument in favour of Salt and Vinegar.

What I’m trying to say is that if he or anyone from the League of Losers makes a false statement or says something that’s utterly outrageous, I won’t repeat it here. Instead, I’ll counter with his kryptonite: facts and logic. Even if Mark Zuckerberg no longer agrees with it, I believe that #FactsMatter.

So, without further delay, let’s establish the facts over six things the famous 78-year-old convicted felon boasted about at his recent press conference concerning the Western Hemisphere. Someone is in big trouble for showing him either a globe or an atlas.

1.) There is no scientific evidence of any type to suggest that wind turbines hurt or kill whales, let alone drive them crazy.

2.) There is no criminal evidence of any type to suggest that Hezbollah were involved in the United States Capitol attacks and riots on 6th January 2021.

Rioters storm the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Credit: Ricky Carioti / The Washington Post via Getty Images file

3.) The Gulf of Mexico shares a border with Mexico, Cuba, and the United States. The gulf’s name first appeared on maps used by Spanish explorers from the 16th century. Apparently, there is a map that displays the name, Gulf of Mexico, from 1607.

No single individual can change the name of a body of water. Such a decision would need to be made by a recognised authority, like the International Hydrographic Organization. Even if the United States were to change the name from the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, countries like Mexico, Cuba, and others around the world would not be obligated to adopt the new name.

Millions, if not billions of dollars would be wasted in changing maps, websites, and books to alter the name, which only one country on the planet would use. And there’s no guarantee it would last because the next administration could just change it back.

Map of the Gulf of Mexico. Credit: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

4.) The Panama Canal, to everybody’s surprise, is located in Panama. It’s a shortcut that allows ships access to the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, through the use of locks. Construction started in 1904 and was only finished in 1914, at a cost of roughly, at the time, US$500 million.

The waterway stretches 82 km, and it is vital to shipping and trade around the world. Yes, it is true that the United States did build the canal in Panama, through negotiations for economic, geopolitical, and strategic reasons, among others.

It’s also true that the United States owned and administered the Panama Canal, which was a very lucrative operation for them. That changed in the 1970s when President Jimmy Carter transferred the administration to a joint agency of the United States and Panama. Panama gained full control of the canal in 1999.

It’s been recently criticised that Carter was wrong and stupid for giving up control of the Panama Canal for nothing, but there were valid reasons for this.

Carter wanted to show the countries of Central and South America, that the United States was their friend and ally, not a bully. Basically, it was because of peaceful diplomacy.

The 1956 Suez Canal crisis, reinforced the notion that the world’s waterways should be neutral and for everybody; even communist countries like the Soviet Union and China, to prevent them from constructing their own canals.

The cost of keeping and maintaining the Panama Canal, especially since the introduction of nuclear silos, instead of deploying warships with nuclear weapons, meant that administering the canal outweighed the benefits.

The Panama Canal is owned by the Government of Panama, and operated by the Panama Canal Authority, not the Chinese Government. The United States has no legal right to annex the Panama Canal.

Map of the Panama Canal Credit: Thomas Römer

5.) Canada is the United States’ northern neighbour and shares the world’s longest international land border with them. Canada is made up of 10 provinces and 3 territories and has a population of about 40 million people. The country’s head of government is the Prime Minister, currently Justin Trudeau, but not for long; while the Governor General is Mary Simon, and the Monarch is King Charles III.

Although Canada and the United States are distinct independent sovereign countries, they share significant cultural and historical ties, as well as being crucial trading partners, allies, and friends. Both countries must address the harm done to Indigenous and First Nations peoples, but their relationships with the United Kingdom have varied. This has led the two countries into conflict with each other.

Having said that, the Dominion of Canada is not the United States of America, and the United States of America is not the Dominion of Canada. The United States has no legal right to annex Canada.

Canada is also a member of NATO, which means if the United States, a member of NATO itself, invades or attacks Canada, Canada could invoke Article 5 of the NATO charter, so all of the other charter NATO members will come to the defence of Canada, against the United States.

6.) Greenland is the world’s largest island at 2,166,086 km2 and has a population of 55,000 people. Greenland is physically and geographically closer to North America, but it is economically and politically tied to Europe, Denmark in particular.

Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark, but it has an interesting history because people have lived in Greenland for at least 4,500 years. However, in the context of the Greenland/Denmark debate, the following history is this:

In 1721, the first Danish settlement was established in Greenland.
In 1814, the Treaty of Kiel (Unification with Denmark) brought Greenland formally under Danish control.
In 1940, Nazi Germany invaded and occupied Denmark, cutting links to Greenland. The United States steps in and administers the island.
In 1945, after Nazi Germany’s surrender, Denmark is given control back over Greenland, but the United States kept a base of operations there.
In 1949, Denmark joined NATO.
In 1953, having integrated with Denmark and representation in the Danish parliament, the citizens of Greenland were also citizens of Denmark.
From 1979-2008, Greenland attains home rule and greater autonomy.

Simply put, Greenland has autonomy, but it has limits and restrictions, as it’s still formally under Danish control. There has been a push for greater autonomy for Greenland, in the form of independence, over the last decade.

Having said that, the United States has no legal right to annex Greenland, and just like Canada, if it did, Denmark could invoke Article 5 of the NATO charter, so all other charter NATO members would come to the defence of Denmark, against the United States.

Now why this 78-year-old convicted felon said those inaccurate statements, could be boiled down to five things:

a.) He made up some of those things on the spot to sound powerful and important, forgot what he said, read about what he said, and then talked about what great ideas they were, so he’ll take the advice and follow them through.

b.) He knows how to gaslight and scare people and the media, so he has no intention to follow through with any of them. He’s saying it because he can, just for shits and giggles since there is no such thing as bad attention for him. He loves and craves the drama.

c.) He’s serious about some of them, and less so about the others, but it’s the media’s job to figure out which ones are which.

d.) He’s honestly going to invade Canada, annex Greenland and the Panama Canal, and rename the Gulf of Mexico.

e.) The whole thing is a distraction, to stop people from realising that his campaign promises will go unfulfilled, like ending the war in Palestine and Ukraine quickly, decreasing the cost of groceries and fuel, and increasing employment.

As for the correct answer, take your pick, because maybe he doesn’t even know. Anyway, buckle up because the next four years will be chaos.

That’s another rant for another week. Thanks again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Please be generous and donate to the aid and refugee funds for the conflicts in Sudan, Palestine, and Ukraine, as well as for the emergency responses in Tibet and California.

Look after yourself and I’ll see you next week, because nobody’s favourite Tour of the Solar System is back!

Geographical Misconceptions: Part Two

On November 13, 2023November 20, 2023 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Geography

I had a meeting a few weeks ago with Some Geek Told Me’s Social Media Consultant and Creative Director. I’ll admit that the discussion was fairly one-sided, however, a decision was made that another Geographical Misconceptions blog needed to be created. The first list of geographical misconceptions can be found here, but it’s nearly two years old. That seems like a long time, though I feel that’s the same length of time it takes a Greenland Shark to blink.

To clarify what a geographical misconception means; at least to me, is a piece of information that people believe to be true, but actually is false.

Just like Superman has various weaknesses, my weaknesses are disinformation, misinformation, and misconceptions.¹ Whenever I hear one of those three types of garbage, my left eye twitches, and my right foot starts tapping. This is me fighting the urge to say something, until I fail, as always, to shut my big fat mouth.

The first list had seven geographical misconceptions, but for the sequel, I’m only going for five. So without wasting any more time, I’ll quote the creator of New Zealand’s fifth least favourite website:

Here are some geographical misconceptions that, to my eternal shame, upset me.

1.) Europe is a country

Very much like the misconception of Africa being a country, this falsehood is very convincing to some people. Their argument would be that Europe has its own currency (Euro €), and its own flag, so it must be a country. Oh, alias, the supermarket is open, but nobody is shopping.

The Euro (€) is a form of currency that’s used in 20 of the 27 countries in the European Union (EU). This means a €20 note you received in Germany, could be spent in Spain or Italy; it has the same value.

There are some countries, microstates, and territories in and outside of Europe that use the Euro as well. However some countries like the United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Sweden are located in Europe, but they still use their own currency.

As for the flag, they would be referring to the EU flag, and it represents the union of the 27 countries of the EU. As the United Kingdom is a great example, not every country in Europe is in the EU.²

Europe is not a country, simply because it is a continent.

2.) Mount Kilimanjaro is in Kenya

I can understand why this misconception exists, I really do, but it’s still wrong. Everybody knows that Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa and that it is located in Kenya, right? Not quite. Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa, but it’s not in Kenya; it’s actually in Tanzania.

Kenya shares a border with Tanzania to the south, and Mount Kilimanjaro is extremely close to the border. However, 100% of the mountain is on the Tanzanian side of the border. A lot of famous photos advertising Mount Kilimanjaro have been taken in Kenya, but make no mistake, Mount Kilimanjaro is not in Kenya, it’s in Tanzania.

3.) The Giza necropolis is in the middle of a desert

Let’s clear something up first. The Giza necropolis refers to the Giza Plateau, which includes; along with other ancient structures, the Pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx of Giza.

We’ve all seen amazing photos of the Pyramids and the Sphinx, like these for example:

The photos give the impression that the Giza necropolis is in the middle of a desert, well away from human civilisation, but the truth is always stranger than fiction. The Giza necropolis is extremely close to the city of Giza, which is also known as Greater Cairo, so it’s actually a short bus ride from the city.

So there you go, these ancient structures are over 4,000 years old, but they’re actually close to roads, apartment blocks, hotels, and a Pizza Hut.

4.) Mount Everest is the tallest mountain on Earth

This misconception is a technicality, but like any good Vulcan, we should embrace it. Mount Everest is located in the Himalayas, along the China–Nepal border. From the base to the summit, Mount Everest measures 8,848.86 m (29,031.7 ft). It’s the roof of the world, there is no other point on Earth that is higher. So naturally this would mean that Mount Everest would be the tallest mountain on Earth, correct?

That’s not entirely correct. This is confusing, but on the island of Hawaii, which makes up one of the several islands of the US state of Hawaii, there is a volcano named Mauna Kea. Above sea level, Mauna Kea measures 4,205 m (13,796 ft).

But here’s the technicality; over 50% of Mauna Kea is actually underwater. From the underwater base to the summit, Mauna Kea is actually 10,211 m (33,500 ft), which is more than 1.3 km higher than Mount Everest. This makes Mauna Kea the tallest mountain in the world because it is taller than Mount Everest; measured from the base to the summit.

There is nothing wrong with saying Mount Everest is the tallest mountain in the world; provided you say: Mount Everest is the tallest mountain in the world, above sea level. By saying it’s above sea level, it makes the statement more accurate. However as I previously said, this misconception is a technicality, because Mauna Kea is actually taller.

5.) Great Britain and the United Kingdom are the same country

This one really rips my undies. It’s simple, but to explain this better, I’ll use some maps.

The countries we are discussing involve England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland.

Great Britain (territorial and legal term) is a coalition made up of England, Wales, and Scotland.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (territorial and legal term) is made up of surprise, surprise, England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

The British Isles (geographical term only) consists of England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland.

Great Britain and the United Kingdom are not the same country.

There are so many more geographical misconceptions, that I’ll have to badly write another list. I’ll even attempt to tackle some historical misconceptions one day. Alright, that’s it for another week. Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. I’m also on Twitter and Mastodon, so drop by and make fun of me for not getting paid for this.

Please don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, donate to the Gaza Humanitarian crisis, watch the Cricket World Cup semi-finals and final, and I’ll see you next week.

¹I know I didn’t list Sour Cream and Chives. I can and will never forget my original nemesis.

²Give us a B, give us a R, give us an E, give us a X, give us an I, and give us a T. What does it spell? DISASTER!

How do we help Türkiye and Syria?

On February 13, 2023February 20, 2023 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Geography, Politics

I’m sorry, but I had another post lined up for the blog. Because of what’s happened, I’ve posted a different one for obvious reasons and it has serious tones. Again, I’m very sorry.

I want to talk about Türkiye and Syria. Why? Well you don’t have to be a torpedo technician, to figure this out. On 6th February, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the neighbouring countries of Türkiye and Syria, across various regions. At the time of writing, the earthquake had killed 34,870 people, with 94,770 injuries and over 1.3 million people have been displaced.

You’ve probably seen the photos and read about the devastation across the countries, and it’s heartbreaking. Families are broken, lives have been lost and homes destroyed. There’s also the historic and cultural impacts to consider, like the 2,000 year old Gaziantep Castle, the Yeni Mosque and the Latin Catholic Church in Türkiye, as well as Syria’s Aleppo citadel being damaged and ruined.

People are scared and fearful. Their loved ones are dead, missing or trapped; their homes and schools are gone; while food, shelter and water are in short supply. Aftershocks, hunger, disease, and the cold, will be stalking the survivors; but also the thousands of people working to help. Another heartbreaking thing to think of, are the thousands of pets like cats and dogs, that are now homeless and ownerless.

I’ve said this before, but watching and reading about a disaster such as this, can give people the impression that there’s nothing they can do to help. That’s a lie. Even witnessing this catastrophe from different places around the world, you can still actually help and make a difference. I promise you that you can.

Right now, the fastest way to help the people of Türkiye and Syria is to donate. Yes, I know times are tough with the economy and inflation. We’re an one income family, so I get it. But please consider what money can do in the modern world: you can buy a PS5, the latest phone, season tickets to your favourite team or maybe Twitter Blue. Money is great and we all would like some, but it can also save lives.

A donation of any amount, can go towards buying blankets, first aid kits, torches, food, water, clothes, medicine, shelter, books or even toys. Whatever the amount of money you can spare, it will make a huge difference to the people of Türkiye and Syria. Case in point, and although we’re a small country, the New Zealand government has donated $1.5 million in humanitarian aid.

If you would like to donate, here are some international NGOs and charities that are working on earthquake relief in Türkiye and Syria:

ActionAid

Disaster Emergency Committee

Doctors Without Borders

International Committee of the Red Cross

International Rescue Committee

Oxfam International

Save the Children

UNICEF

UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)

World Vision

I really don’t know what else to say about this, except the regions are decimated; but just like everything, there is always hope. Hope that people can be found and rescued, houses and schools can be rebuilt, and families will be reunited. If you think you can donate, any amount would be amazing. And speaking of amazing, let’s give it up for the thousands of rescue and first aid workers from Türkiye and Syria; but also from around the world, working to help the people Türkiye and Syria.

And with that, I’m done. I’m back next week with the first stop on our Tour of the Solar System, which will be The Sun. It should be blazing. Look after yourselves and I’ll see you next week.

U.S. Elections: Exporting ideas to the World

On November 28, 2022December 5, 2022 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Geography, Politics2 Comments

I want to talk about the U.S. elections. Why? That’s a very interesting question, considering I’m not a U.S. citizen and not able to vote in their elections. So that being the case, why would I have an opinion or have anything at all to say about another nation’s democratic elections?

That is another great question. Wow, I’m full of them today, aren’t I?

The dust is still settling after the U.S. midterm elections, with the Democrats retaining the Senate and the Republicans taking the House, while Herschel Walker and Raphael Warnock will be involved in a run off on 6th December, for the Georgia Senate race. Though if Walker does lose, it appears he has a back up job as a vampire-hunting werewolf.

I find the whole American election process quite fascinating, however this blog is looking at how the United States of America and their elections, actually exports ideas.

For context, I live in the South Island of New Zealand. If you don’t know where we are, find a world map and look down in the South Pacific Ocean. Though to be fair, we are getting missed off maps recently, so that doesn’t help. Anyway, with just a hop, skip and a jump to the North East and across the Pacific Ocean, is the United States.

Living in New Zealand is quite odd, because of how much American culture has been actually being incorporated into our own culture.

We have an abundance of American culture here. Some easy food examples of these would be McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Dominos, Pizza Hut, KFC, Subway, and recently Taco Bell; which I have to be perfectly honest, I really want to try. Not that I’m expecting too much of the food, but it’s just the fact that we have Taco Bell now, so I just want to tick that box off my list.

We also have a steady diet of American literature in the form of magazines, comics, newspapers and of course, books. A whole lot of books.

There’s also television and streaming services, where the majority of content on our limited amount of channels is American, with a dash of British, Australian, and New Zealand shows. It would also be pretty remissive of me, not to also mention the massive impact American cinema and social media has had on this country.

The uncountable information about U.S. movies that are locked in my head, serve absolutely no purpose to humanity other than, “Oh cool, that’s a nice fact. Thanks for sharing, Scott!” is quite astounding.

Another way American culture has influenced us is fashion; which let’s be honest, I’ve only had two blogs about that, so I need to up the ante on social media fashion trends. Though I feel old every time I have to ask my wife about the new trend.

Of course all of this babbling, is steering towards politics. America is a superpower in the world. It’s a global leader, whether you like that or not, it just is. America influences the world with it’s choices and ideas, but also food, literature, cinema, fashion, and the list goes on and on.

America export ideas. Now you can debate about which ideas are positive or negative, but that’s up to the individual or each nation’s government. It doesn’t matter, but what does matter is that America is a trendsetter; the world looks to America.

If America started a campaign to ban Sour Cream and Chives crackers for some good reason, you only have to start looking at other countries to see whether they would follow suit or not. I’m not a big fan of that flavour; as you all know, so if there was a campaign to ban them, I would probably be alright with that.

Even though America is not the world, the choices and policy decisions their local and federal governments make, ripple across the world; they really do. Whether these ripples are social reforms, book banning, tax cuts, abortion, military spending; it doesn’t matter, America is the world’s leader and the world takes notice of what they’re doing.

Because they export ideas, you would have to talk to every country to determine whether they like those ideas as well or if they will reject them. Some of these ideas are not exclusive to America, just like the fight against climate change.

You’ll probably thinking, “That’s all well and good, Scott, but what’s your point?”

Another amazing question asked, thanks for that. After the U.S. 2020 general election, sometime in late December, I saw something that, I’ll be honest with you, completely stunned me. As I was driving to my local discount supermarket, I looked over and I saw a Trump 2020 flag flying in someone’s front yard. I’d never seen that before. The Trump flag didn’t offend me, it was more the fact that it’s a campaign flag from another country over 10,000 km away. It’s around the same distance from New Zealand to China for comparison.

For me, I’m a little bit nervous. Next year is our general election which we hold every three years. I’m worried because there’s a possibility that next year, whether it’s a political party or an individual candidate that has lost fairly, will now have a back up plan. They just need to start saying that the election was rigged, or it was stolen. I find it hilarious and horrifying that’s a real possibility now, but I think the general public would call them out.

I care about America and their elections, because America is a global leader. Whatever positive or negative policies that are introduced and supported through their law makers, the repercussions of those policies vertebrate through each country in the world. They look at them and decide whether they are going to implement similar policies or if they are going to reject them. This includes us, through discussions at work, home, gyms, parliament, schools, and social media; especially social media.

If I was a better writer, I would have done a far greater job at conveying my point, so I’m sorry about that. I’d love to visit the United States of America one day, because I have a mental list of the things I would love to do. However, I do need to check their policies on Sour Cream and Chives and save a whole lot of money.

This is my 101st blog post, which over two years is quite pathetic; however this ridiculous project does keep me off the streets and away from sports bars, just so my wife can watch me. She’s doing it right now, sitting in the same room as me, pretending to read one of the Outlander books, but I know the truth.

With Christmas less than a month away, take it easy on yourself. Thanks for following, walk your dog, read a banned book, and I’ll see you next Monday.

Four Former Failed Fluttering Flags

On October 17, 2022October 24, 2022 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Flags, Geography, History

I want to talk about flags, in particular flags that are no longer used. Why? This pains me to admit, but Sheldon Cooper and I have many things in common; and one of them is vexillology. If you’re not familiar with the term, you will be familiar with what it actually means: the study or love of flags.

When talking about myself, I don’t have an elephant in the room; I have a herd of them. However one of those elephants is all about flags. It’s not really the source of conversation for a first date, is it? Or the second, or the third, or the fourth.

I remember eventually explaining my love of flags to my future wife, like I was confessing that I had a window licking habit. Her response was something along the lines of, “I didn’t know that about you, though it does make sense. I knew there would be more stuff. I knew it.”

I’m not an expert on flags, far from it. Though I do like learning about them and trying to identify them as much possible. Please remember I am a geek, and I have been very upfront about that from Day One. That fact that the title of my blog is called, Some Geek Told Me, is a huge red flag.¹

Because of this, I thought I’d talk about some countries that have changed their national flag. There could be many different reasons for the change, from social, political, or cultural issues, or maybe someone smeared tomato sauce on it, so they needed to redesign it.

The point is a country changing their national flag, happens a lot more than you realise. I’m going to list some of the most famous national flag changes in the world, but as usual, there are some exemptions. I am not going to discuss a country’s flag change, where it has gone back to using the original version like Russia-USSR-Russia. What I’m talking about is a completely new design for a country’s flag, that is still being flown today.

Canada

Canadian Red Ensign (1957–1965): Image by Denelson83

The Canadian Red Ensign served as the unofficial national flag and symbol for Canada throughout the years, from as early as 1868. Canada had gone through several versions of this flag, with small differences with each one.

However there had been a call for an official flag of Canada to actually exist for decades, so during 1963-1964, the Great Canada Flag Debate was born. During this time, a new design for the flag was sought and after 3,541 entries, a winner was eventually found. On 15th February, 1965, the “Maple Leaf” flag was inaugurated as the official of flag of Canada. This flag could never be mistaken for belonging to another country, other than Canada.

The National Flag of Canada (1965-present): Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

South Africa

Just like the different flags throughout Canada’s history, South Africa has gone through many versions. This changed in 1928, when the country adopted the Union of South Africa flag. The problem with this flag is that it’s tied to the Apartheid system that the South African government used, which was based on racial segregation.

With the end of Apartheid, a new flag was purposed for the country to move past the injustices, and look towards a brighter tomorrow. Over 7,000 entries were received and on the day of the 1994 South African general election; the first general election open to citizens of all races, the famous Rainbow Flag was first flown.

The National Flag of South Africa (1994-present): Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

Zimbabwe (Formerly known as Southern Rhodesia)

Flag of Southern Rhodesia (1968-1979): Image by Actarux

The next two entries are rather unique, because these countries didn’t just change their flag, but also their name. From 1895 to 1990, Southern Rhodesia was the name of this Southern African country. It had been a British colony ²and over the years it was known as Southern Rhodesia, the Republic of Rhodesia, Rhodesia, and finally Zimbabwe Rhodesia; with a white minority government.

This changed when the country gained its independence from the United Kingdom in 1980, but also with a black majority government. Because of this, the country changed it’s name to Zimbabwe and the flag; to greater reflect and honour their African heritage.

The Flag of the Republic of Zimbabwe (1980-present): Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

Myanmar (Formerly known as Burma)

The Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma Flag (1988-2010):
Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

Just like Zimbabwe, Myanmar has a troubled past. It has been part of the Pagan Empire, a British colony ³, been ruled by the military, and littered with civil wars. Having won its independence from the United Kingdom in 1948, the country was known as the Union of Burma. Fast forward to 1988, where the country received an updated version of their old flag.

After some voting, social, and economic reforms from the military junta, the country stepped into a new era. It was given a new name for three reasons:

1.) Myanma is the official name of the country in the native Burmese language.

2.) It was thought that the name Myanma was more inclusive of minorities than the name Bama.

3.) The military junta had long been suspicious of the casual Burmese language, which it had perceived as inferior; the English name “Burma” mirrors the Burmese name Bama.

Because of these reasons and others, a new flag was adopted in 2010.

The Republic of the Union of Myanmar Flag (2010-present):
Image by Adam Lapuník from Pixabay

And that’s a wrap from me. I realise I missed many other flags, but are there some I should have listed? Please let me know your thoughts.

Thanks for letting me share my love of vexillology, because there is no known cure. Anyway, I’m off to persuade my dog to sleep somewhere else, other than my pillow. Read some banned books, eat some ice cream, and I’ll see you next Monday.

¹Pun very much intended.

² To nobody’s surprise.

³Oh no, not again!

The Ever Growing List of Russian Sanctions

On March 7, 2022March 14, 2022 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Geography, Politics

Last year I wrote a blog about the Ukraine-Russia conflict, where I did my best to try and explain what was going on. After going back and looking at it again nearly one year later, there are things I realise I could have explained better, expanded more, or even things I just forgot to mention.

When I wrote it, I was concerned about the future of the region, because I thought it was a geo-political hot spot. That fear is a reality for millions of people across Ukraine, but also Russia, the neighbouring countries, and the entire world.

I try and fail, to make my blogs to be funny, entertaining, or interesting; so it could make someone smile, laugh, or at least to give them something to think about. This blog will be about the latter, because I find nothing funny or entertaining about the invasion of Ukraine. Nothing.

Before I level up and go into rant mode, please read the hundreds of articles and updates about the invasion, from various news sites around the world. Thousands of journalists and reporters are providing us with information and photos, that are changing minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day; detailing the horror and carnage of this utter madness.

So, am I angry about this insanity? Yes. Am I shocked and stunned by it? Yes. Am I afraid for Ukraine? Yes. Even though, I’m about 17,000 km away, I still give a damn. So, in my totally bias view, whom has the power to stop the war? Only the Russian government.

This brings us to the start of my rant for this Monday; I want to talk about sanctions and responses the world has given Russia, over the invasion of Ukraine. As the days have passed, I am amazed, truly amazed, about how united the world has been.

Except for Belarus, Cuba, Syria, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Russia of course.

For all of the things wrong in our world, they are some things that are right. These things have crossed genders, races, politics, religion, social economic backgrounds, languages, cultures, countries, and even sports.

Also can I just point something out? How badly do you need to have stuffed up, to have the Pope turn up on your door step, and ask you to explain your actions? Pretty badly, I think.

Anyway, I am in awe of the sanctions and responses, the international community have given the Russian government, over the Ukrainian invasion. Now I realise these sanctions and responses may change over time, and new ones will be added; however at the time of writing this blog, these are correct.

Another thing I want to add, is that I am very aware of other conflicts on the planet; such as Palestine, Yemen, Chad, Syria and many others. These conflicts are no less important, and still deserve the world’s attention and support.

With that in mind, may I present, a small list of Russian sanctions and responses by the international community, over the invasion of Ukraine. By the way, some of these sanctions and responses include Belarus, but not all of them.

Image by Miguel Á. Padriñán from Pixabay

Sports

Basketball

The EuroLeague have moved all games that were to be played in Russia, to other countries outside of Russia.

Football

UEFA has stripped St. Petersburg of hosting the 2022 UEFA final, scheduled for 28th May.
FIFA has suspended Russia; both men’s and women’s teams from international competitions. This means, the men’s team will not eligible to play at the World Cup in Qatar later this year.
Manchester United have terminated their sponsorship deal with Aeroflot, a Russian airline.
Schalke 04 have terminated their sponsorship deal with Gazprom, a Russian gas supplier.
After 19 years, the Russian oligarch, Roman Abramovich, is selling Chelsea FC. This is because of the mounting pressure of his association to President Putin.

Formula One

The Russian Grand Prix at Sochi, which was the 17th round of the Formula One championship was suspended.
Formula One now has terminated it’s contract with the Formula One promoter of the Russian Grand Prix.

Gymnastics

The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) has banned Russian and Belarusian national flags at events, and their national anthems will not be played at any FIG event.
There will no FIG events to be held in Russia or Belarus, until further notice.

Ice Hockey

Two teams from the Russian owned, Kontinental Hockey League, have withdrawn from the competition.

Martial Arts

The International Judo Federation suspended President Putin as it’s honorary president.
The European Judo Union withdrew President Putin’s status as Honorary President.
World Taekwondo has stripped President Putin of his honorary 9th dan black belt.
World Taekwondo said that no Russian or Belarusian national flags or anthems would be displayed or played at their events.
No taekwondo events would be organised in Russia or Belarus.

Paralympics

The International Paralympic Committe has banned Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing at the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing.

Rugby Union

The full and immediate suspension of Russia and Belarus from all international rugby and cross-border club rugby activities, until further notice.
The full and immediate suspension of the Rugby Union of Russia from World Rugby membership, until further notice.

Skiing

The International Ski Federation (FIS) said there will no events in Russia, for the rest of the 2022 season.

Swimming

The World Junior Championship event in Russia, has now been allocated to another country.
The International Swimming Federation (FINA) withdrew the FINA Order previously given to President Putin.

Entertainment

Movies

Film studios like Disney, Sony, and Warner Bros, have stopped the release of their films in Russian cinemas. These include major films like Turning Red, Morbius, and The Batman, respectfully.

Music

The New York Metropolitan Opera is cutting ties with musicians connected with President Putin.
Russia has been banned from the 2022 Eurovision competition.
Green Day, Eric Clapton, Imagine Dragons, Iggy Pop, Louis Tomlinson, the Killers, and Franz Ferdinand; along with others, have cancelled upcoming shows in Russia.
Spotify has removed content from Kremlin backed outlets; RT and Sputnik, but also has closed their office in Russia.

Finance

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and the Bank of China, are limiting finances to purchase Russian raw materials, which limits Russian access to foreign money.
Russia has been cut off from SWIFT, the global messaging network for international payments.
Western countries have placed sanctions on the Russian Central Bank. This is to stop it from liquidating assets to counter balance the impact of sanctions.
The World Bank has stopped all activities in Russia and Belarus.
Singapore became the first Southeast Asian nation to impose sanctions on Russia. This was done by restricting banks and transactions linked to Russia.
Switzerland has frozen a number of Russian assets and joined EU sanctions; which has been described as unprecedented. (You know it’s bad, when the Swiss are pissed off!)
American Express, Visa, and Mastercard have blocked international credit card transactions made in Russia.
Samsung Pay, Google Pay, and Apple Pay have announced that their systems will no longer work in Russia.
Trafigura, a commodities trading company has frozen all of its Russian investments, which includes its share in Rosneft led project, Vostok Oil.
Personal sanctions on President Putin and Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov. This means the men’s collective assets in United States of America, European Union, United Kingdom and Canada, have been frozen.

Sanctions in other areas

Education
Research
Science
Energy
Electronic games
Food
Beverages
Furniture
Cars
Clothes
Technology
Services
Tourism
Aviation

There are many comprehensive lists of Russian sanctions out there, if you are curious. Over the coming weeks and months, this list will continue to grow, forcing the Russian government to the negotiating table. Sadly, only time will tell about how long this will be.

In the meantime, if you would like to donate money to support and protect Ukraine, there are many different agencies you can go through. The following list was complied by Vox.

Children

Medical Supplies

Journalists on the frontlines

Other ways to help

Seriously, any amount of money you can give, will help with the crisis.

With that, I will leave you, because my children are still talking in bed. Stay safe and I’ll see you next week. Glory to Ukraine!

Seven of the World’s Longest Ongoing wars

On January 17, 2022January 24, 2022 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Geography, History, People, Politics

I want to talk about war, in particular, some of the ongoing conflicts that are raging across this planet. Why? The Temptations and Edwin Starr had similar feelings towards it, as I do.

The thing is, I’ve been rattling this blog around in my antique head for awhile now, trying to decide whether I should write it or not. It’s not like I’m trying to glorify war, or celebrate it. It’s quite the opposite.

Because of this, I feel it’s important to highlight seven of the longest ongoing wars, currently being fought. Maybe you have never heard of them, or maybe you have. However, I think it’s extremely relevant to know about these things, because to quote Scarlet Johansson’s character in Lucy, “Ignorance brings chaos, not knowledge.” Being informed about something, equips you to make better choices.

This can certainly relate to nations or factions waging war against each other, whether you’re directly or indirectly supporting them. I’ve chosen one war from each continent, just to demonstrate that war is not trade marked; because as Billy Joel said, “It was always burning, since the world’s been turning.”

I’d like to point out, there are many wars currently being fought across the world, that have become humanitarian disasters, like the Yemeni crisis; the Tigray war; Chad; Syria; and Ethiopia. The only reason these conflicts are not on the list, is because they are quite recent, compared to the others. Sadly, these conflicts will be on a future blog.

Asia: Myanmar Civil War (73 years: 1948-Present)

The former nation known as Burma, Myanmar has been at war with itself since 1948. The whole situation is quite difficult to unravel, but there have been many different players and events in this debacle, ranging from the Empire of Japan; the British Empire; the Communist Party of Burma; Karen National Union; the Panglong Agreement; Aung San; the Chin, Kachin and Sha people; Military juntas; Burma Socialist Programme Party; Aung San Suu Kyi; the Rohingya people; the Tatmadaw; the People’s Defence Force; genocide; and one or two Coup d’états; among others.

The brutality of this conflict, has cost an estimated 150,000 lives from 1948-2011, with millions of people being dispossessed. This does not even include the Rohingya genocide, or the current military junta’s killings. Myanmar has a rich and proud history, but in the eyes of the world, the civil war is a problem that nobody quite knows how to solve or permanently end.

Europe: The Georgian conflicts with Abkhazia and South Ossetia (33 years: 1989-Present)

Since 10th November 1989, Georgia was been fighting on two fronts: to the west against Abkhazia; and the other to the centre, against South Ossetia. Abkhazia and South Ossetia, are both former autonomous regions of Georgia.

Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the region has been rocked with various ethnic conflicts. This has led to various factions to declare independence, which has divided not just countries, by also ethnic boundaries; the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Georgia in 2014 and 2008, are perfect examples of this.

Over the years, Georgia’s conflicts with Abkhazia and South Ossetia, have killed over 30,000 people, with tensions still running high between the neighbouring nations.

Africa: Lord’s Resistance Army Insugency (35 years: 1987-Present)

This is a brutal one to discuss. The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) is a terrorist army that mainly operates in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, and Northern Uganda.

Some of their crimes include abduction, murder, war crimes, child-sex slavery, mutilation, and recruitment of child soldiers. Their fight against the Ugandan government has spilled over to neighbouring countries, which in turn has brought in the United States military, the United Nations, and other international watchdog organisations.

Because of the actions of the LRA, over 100,000 people have been killed, over 20,000 children had been abducted, and over 1.5 million people have been displaced. The LRA have been reduced in size over the years, however their leader Joseph Kony, is still evading capture.

North America: Mexican Drug War (15 years: 2006-Present)

This entry is not a traditional war between two nations, over religious, political or ethnic issues. It’s about the flow of drugs; namely cocaine, through Mexico, via the drug cartels.

On one side, you have the Mexican drug cartels, which covers all of Mexico. They control a huge amount of illegal drugs for drug trafficking, and they are heavily resourced and organised.

And on the other side of the conflict, you can find the Mexican government; which consists of the Mexican Armed Forces, The National Guard, and Federal Police, and other police forces. They also an ally/ enemy in the Popular Revolutionary Army, whom hate the government, just as much as the drug cartels.

The United States government, and the Australian and Colombian Police, also provide training and support against the drug cartels. All of these groups are trying to stop the flow of the illegal drugs.

Since 2006, this unorthodox war has claimed between 40,000-400,000 lives, depending if you are counting homicides from organised crime or not. In 2018, the Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, stated that the war was over, but boots on the ground tell a different story.

South America: Colombian conflict (57 years: 1964-Present)

Just like the Myanmar Civil War, the Colombian conflict is complicated, because there have been several factions and groups involved over the years. The major players are the Colombian government, army and police, right-wing paramilitary groups, drug cartels, crime syndicates, and left-wing guerrilla groups.

These groups have changed and evolved over the years, but the constant theme is that they are still fighting each other. Each group has their own reason for fighting, with each one believing they are justified in waging war.

The problem is that Colombia is still suffering because of this. 220,000 men, women and children have been killed during the conflict, with 7 million people have been displaced, because of the fighting. An estimated 16.9% of the Colombian population has been identified as a victim of the war.

When will it stop? You tell me.

Oceania: Papua conflict (59 years: 1962-Present)

Even my beautiful continent of Oceania,¹ has not been spared. The Papua conflict is about the island, Western New Guinea, also known as Papua; which belongs to Indonesia, and shares a border with the nation of Papua New Guinea. The disputed region is a province called Papua, because the Free Papua Movement, which is a group, trying to gain independence from Indonesia.

Indonesia has branded the Free Papua Movement, a terrorist organisation; because of its use of guerrilla warfare, against Indonesian civilians, police, and military. However the Free Papua Movement has accused the Indonesian government of conducting a campaign of genocide, against the people of Papua.

Overall, an estimated death toll is between 100,000-500,000 victims. And just like many of the entries on this list, there seems no end in sight for the violence.

Antarctica: Aquatic Mammal War (Orcas vs Leopard Seals)

The origins of this conflict has been lost to the mists of time. This is because either nobody knows how or when it started, or all human evidence has been removed or destroyed by special agents.

The Antarctica Aquatic Mammal War, or as I call it, AAMW; has been waged between two of the top predators in Antarctica; orcas and leopard seals. To my understanding, the Cold War between the USA and the USSR, was modelled and named after this conflict.

From what humans can understand, orcas and leopard seals have been known to engage in some minor fighting, but it’s really a war of attrition. Hunting in each other’s territories, tagging logos on ice sheets, and recruiting proxy allies, like dolphins and seals; have made this conflict very dangerous.

Each side is not above insulting each other. The orcas call the leopard seals, “otters,” while the leopard seals, insult the orcas, by calling them “sharks.” All it takes, is one drunk orca, or a cocky young leopard seal, to start insulting the other group at a sit down, and all hell breaks loose.

The orca’s current leader is called Dolores P. Switchblade, and the leopard seals are led by ‘Arry “the Janitor” McClane, because he always takes out the trash. Not even the world’s greatest natural science communicator, Sir David Attenborough, knows how to solve this problem.

Well that’s it. Hopefully there’s something in this rambles of a blog, that you might have discovered. Thanks again for reading, it’s appreciated as much as quarks appreciate the strong nuclear force.²

¹Oceania has always been at war with Eurasia; except that time it had always been at war with Eastasia.

²That means a lot.

SOME GEEK TOLD ME

Category: Geography