Check This Out: Worldmapper

Worldmapper will allow you to see "the world as you've never seen it before."  The site offers hundreds of cartograms.  Cartograms are maps that change shape based on statistical information.  The most famous are population cartograms, which distort the shapes of countries based on their population.

Worldmapper's World Population Cartogram

Myanmar's Oppressed Minorities (Part 1)

Intensified violence against Rohingya Muslims has once again directed headlines towards Myanmar's oppression.  Each passing decade delivers new rounds of horror and international pleadings for peace.  The pleadings have fallen not on deaf ears, but rather on ears that seemingly delight in the victims' despairing cries.  And it is not just the Rohingya, but also a cascading list of Myanmar's ethnicities facing tyranny.  In this series, we glimpse at the persecutions of just a few.

Myanmar

Part 1: Karen Christians and Rohingya Muslims

Karen

Immigration policies and the refugee crisis spurred by the Arab Spring and Syrian Civil War have dominated headlines and further fractured the West's political divisions.*  Despite the U.S. public's recent attention on Muslim migrants, currently, the largest number of refugees in America are Karen Christians.  Converted by Baptist missionaries in the mid-1800s, Karen Christians live in Myanmar as both ethnic and religious minorities.  Over 90% of Myanmar's citizens are Buddhist.**  Now forced from their homelands and into refugee camps along the Thai border, the majority have settled in the Mae La refugee camp; operational for a gut-wrenching 25 years.

Myanmar's Oppressed Minorities (Preview and Thoughts)

Hard to Swallow

Rohingya Refugees

Whether researching information for my website articles or to creating presentations for classroom lessons, I tend to throw myself into the research.  Hours turn to days, days to hours, and hours to weeks.... 

When the subject of the research is people, emotions come into play. I have heavily researched famous atrocities like the Holocaust, the Armenian Massacre, the Rape of Nanjing, modern slavery and so on.  I have also researched less popular persecutions - such as those against ethnic groups in Brazil and the people of Western Sahara.  Every time it mentally leads me to a depressing commentary on mankind.   It also leads to anger that has no outlet and sympathy towards victims out of my reach.  It leads to feelings of powerlessness.  Of course, this is a common feeling and one of the reasons superheroes are so popular - that burning desire to punish evil and assist the less fortunate. 

Check This Out: What Are the 7 Continents

What Are the 7 Continents offers a plethora of geographic information; including articles, videos, and graphics.  The whole site is great!  I am particularly fond of this desert graphic.  Do yourself a favor and check out  http://www.whatarethe7continents.com/

Trivia: African Colonies

Do you know which European nations colonized which African nations?  Test your knowledge with these five colonized nations:

1. Which European nation colonized Libya?

A) Britain

B) France

C) Italy

D) Belgium

E) Portugal

2. Which European nation colonized Egypt?

A) Britain

B) France

C) Italy

D) Belgium

E) Portugal

3. Which European nation colonized Angola?

A) Britain

B) France

C) Italy

D) Belgium

E) Portugal

4. Which European nation colonized Algeria?

A) Britain

B) France

C) Italy

D) Belgium

E) Portugal

5. Which European nation colonized Madagascar?

A) Britain

B) France

C) Italy

D) Belgium

E) Portugal

Continue for Answers

What Are Lusophones?

Hooked on Lusophonics

275 Million - that is the approximate number of Earth's Lusophones (people that speak Portuguese). While the people are sometimes referred to as Portuguese-speaking people, it is just as likely (if not more) to hear them referred to as lusophonic.  

Check This Out: Map Fight

Fight! Fight! Fight!  In this week's addition of Check This Out!, the website Map Fight lets you compare the size of two different places.  You can compare countries, states, provinces, and even major features; such as the Amazon Rainforest and the Sahara.