Journey to the center of...Europe?

Apparently, for years, geographers have been trying to decide where the exact center of Europe is so that a monument could be established in the central town. I find this humorous because it seems like there could be better things to do with the time spent on finding the center of Europe- not to mention the heavy debate over the topic. The country still has not come to a conclusion of where the exact center is.

This map shows 7 towns and cities that have at one point been thought of as the center of Europe. Monuments have been established in each of them and the citizens of each province believe that they are the most central town in Europe. The only trouble is that Europe has acquired different countries over the years and some of their "current countries" are not sure if they want to be a part of Europe. Do you count Turkey...or not? Armenia?

If I had a vote, I would vote for the center to be in Dilove, Ukraine because I have always found Ukrainians friendly and hilarious. I think that they deserve to have a monument in their country. I mean, can you think of the amount of tourism that would bring in!?

African Aid: On the Way to Self-sufficiency or Foreign Dependency?

Have you ever been to a national park where there was a sign against feeding the animals? What is the purpose for those signs? No, they aren't there to be a buzz kill, but they are there to keep the animals from being fed by humans and becoming dependent on humans for food. If that were to happen, the animals would no longer be self-sufficient and they wouldn't work for their food. That might be the case for animals, but is it the same for humans? Let me ask you, if you were getting paid to sit at home and watch TV or crochet would you give that up to go and find a job? Probably not because you are already getting paid to do nothing!

This is what is happening in Africa. Countries like the U.S. are giving financial aid to help break the bond of poverty and, while the intentions are good, this is creating a dependency in Africa. In 2001, the U.S. increased their giving to African Aid to $4.3 billion. This money is given to various African countries and is meant to help the nation become more independent. Besides the dependency issue, political corruption has had a huge impact on what the money is spent on. Some examples of what corrupt politicians spend the money on are: defense ministry, buying luxury vehicles for ministers and meeting the salaries of resident district commissioners. Are these all bad things? No, but there are more important things that this money should go towards such as agricultural research to make Africa more efficient at farming?

The key to this problem is to stop throwing money at Africa expecting things to change. There are only three countries (Uganda, Lesotho and Nigeria) that are ON THE WAY to meeting the goals set up by the U.N. for African countries to become more self-reliant. Out of 53 countries, I would not call this a success story. We need to stop treating them as a charity case and help them become more independent and self-sufficient. We should stop giving money to their governments because that has proven to be ineffective in reaching the people who really need the aid and instead, we should find ways to fund their private sector (temporarily). If Africa could develop a free-market system this would be their best option at breaking the bondage of foreign dependency and they would become more and more independent.

Lastly, we do need to realize that Africa is different than the U.S. just as France is different from the U.S. They have different customs, traditions and lifestyles than us and that is okay. We must not seek to make them more like the U.S. but rather support the things that are, in fact, working in their nation(s). Also, we need to realize that money can only do so much. As Christians, we need to pray for Africa and send our people to be the hands and feet of Jesus to spread the Gospel and fight injustices there. This is where we, as the church, come in. God's people can and will be the most effective difference-maker in Africa. 

Price Protests in Algeria

In early February riots broke out in Algeria, one of Africa's largest and most oil-rich countries. The riots were spurred by the rise in prices of sugar and cooking oil. Pro-democratic civilians went up against Algerian police with riot shields and 5 people were killed while at least 800 people were wounded.

The protesters main goal was to remove President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. He has been in power for 12 years and has kept his country under a strict authoritarian rule. The protesters did not get their wish and Bouteflika still remains in power.

Since the riots in February, Bouteflika has promised to use the country's oil and gas wealth to lower the cost of key foods such as sugar and cooking oil. This has brought about a proverbial "calm" within the country. Whether it's a calm before the storm, I am uncertain. I do know that all of the other unrest in the middle east will not help Algeria remain peaceful within its borders.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/11/algeria-prepares-day-of-protests

Northern Flights

It was really weird for me to look at a map from this point of view. So much of the time I see a map of the world and I gloss over the Antarctic region. It seems like there should be another world when you flip the map over and that would be the Antarctic. Looking at it from this angle, this region doesn't look very big at all. It is funny to see how close North America actually is to Asia. In fact, it's only about 80 miles from Alaska's west peninsula to Russia's eastern-most point. If you wanted to travel from Alaska to Sweden it is only 2,700 miles which might be a 9 or 10 hour plane ride instead of traveling all the way across the U.S. to Western Europe and then to Sweden which would be about 9,000 miles and a 1-2 day flight. Looking at the world from a different perspective really helps you get a better handle on how small it actually is and how globalization is becoming more and more easier.

Death Valley

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1890243,00.html

http://restrepothemovie.com/story/

It's a 6-mile wide, isolated mountainous region of caves and canyons with lushly forested areas of trees and little agricultural land. No, I am not talking about Death Valley in California but, rather, the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan. In the documentary, "Restrepo," Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger, take us inside the battle of the Korengal Valley by spending an entire year with a platoon of American Soldiers there.

Nicknamed the "Valley of Death" by American Soldiers, the Korengal Valley has been a key battleground in the War in Afghanistan. It's rugged terrain makes for the perfect insurgent hideout. 

The U.S. went into Afghanistan in 2001, however we did not enter the Korengal Valley until 2006. From the time we went into the Korengal, until the time we pulled our troops out in 2009, we lost Forty-two American service men, many Afghan soldiers and hundreds were also wounded there. 

It's hard to look at the war in Afghanistan from a non-partisan view. Everyone has their own opinions about whether we should be there or not and each party, Republican and Democrat, have their pros and cons about whether we should stay. But, when it all comes down to it- these are American soldiers over there at the end of the day and they are fighting for our freedoms here in the states. That is why I like Restrepo so much. Because they capture what is truly going on in Afghanistan; in the Korengal in particular, and they aren't worried about stressing either side of the argument of whether we should be there or not. 

Regardless of what your opinion is about the war going on, remember to thank our troops for serving us and keep them in your prayers!