The Southern Hemisphere

 Living in the Antipodes has its quirks and pecularities.

Most of the action is dominated by the Northern Hemisphere.  South of the Equator seems to imply something less, suggestive of secondary.   We have lesser populations, especially across the Indian and Pacific Oceans.   Even our land masses are perceived to have just mountains and forests like in the Andes and in parts of Africa.  The mystery loved by adventurers hangs around thick and alluring in South America and Africa.   Two of the most risky capes to sail past in the age of colonialism were the Cape of Good Hope and the Tierra de Fuego.

Geopolitics, technology advances,
finance, trade, arnaments and medical fields can be dominated by the big players in the European Union, Russia, China and the United States.  All north of the Equator.  

The critical air links and shipping routes all compete more in the Mediterranean, Red Sea, Malacca Straits, South China Sea, Panama Canal, the Carribean, the Baltic and the North Atlantic.   The vastness and large distances of the South Pacific between Chile and New Zealand already prove to be barriers.   And I dare not reflect the  challenges in the wide ocean between Perth and Durban - I can only think of the secret USA military base at Diego Garcia.

South America in the past 100 years gives me the perception and impression of being a hotbed of revolution, dictatorship and violent change of ruling governments. I must not generalise, for each society and its history do have circumstances and conditions that create their own geopolitical path.

South Africa was strongly condemned by the United Nations as an apartheid state before the arrival of Mandela.   Australia has a whites first policy before it was dismantled by Gough Whitlam. 

The vast waters in the Southern Hemisphere  do provide so much for sea creatures, weather patterns and romanticised cruise travel.   On the negative side, the South Pacific attracted French government nuclear testing - as did the Australian mainland, by British and USA interests.

Time differences are not caused by being in the south or north.  These human measurement systems agreed internationally to bring order to the human world do mean that while London is starting a new day, Sydney is going to bed.  Events in the USA happen a day before New Zealand regarding calendar date.   However, Cape Town is the same time zone as Berlin - and Rio is only an hour ahead of New York.

Air routes tend to be more over oceans, rather than land, when you venture below the Equator.   There are more islands as you cross over the Indonesian Archipelago.  There is more emptiness seemingly as you fly over the oceans.   On the other hand, one can be captivated by the dry deserts over Australia, the lush forests or grasslands of Africa and the high peaks of the Andes.

Institutions of higher education below the Equator are generally ranked below the top universities sited above that geographical line.

The Indigenous of Southern lands and waters have had tumultous historical times since the arrival of the sailing ships from Europe.   Almost the whole non- European world was colonised in rapid succession from the 16th to 20th centuries ( exceptions were Japan, huge parts of inland China, Thailand and Ethopia).  The Australian continental island with around 200 Aboriginal nations was declared "terra nullius" by the first British stepping foot at Sydney Cove.

The Maoris in Aotearoa fought back against the colonists in a most vehement manner.   Natives across southern Africa were challenged by the technical superiority, agricultural transformations and better weaponry of the European arrivals.  The allure of gold, a falling Inca Empire and the resources in South America spurred on the Spanish conquerors.

The lands of the Southern Hemisphere all had gold mining rushes, echoing the richness of its topography which can still provide hidden resources.  European dictated agricultural practices were imposed in Australia to the disregard of native traditions.

People from Europe brought infections and diseases to the Southern Hemisphere in the period of colonisation.  

Flora and fauna come foremost to mind in the Southern Hemisphere. A striking example is the variety as studied by Joseph Banks as he sailed on the Cook voyages.

The ways of best managing the environment  in the Antipodes were challenged by the mindset of the colonisers to bring and implement their previous template and practices to their new world.  Australia, New Zealand and Argentina were strongly viewed to serve aa food growing resources.  Foreign plants and animals were introduced with short sighted reasons

The Koala population is strongly decimated in Nww South Wales.  

Quietness, especially at night, can bring forth a rather special charm when one is in the country areas outside cities and towns across the Southern Hemisphere.  I reckon this can be experienced as well in the depths of the Eurasian continent, the Canadian Tundra and in the forests of Europe.

So far, the horror of war conflict, civillian collateral damage and destructive arnaments has not been as much as in the Northern Hemisphere - bar around the South Pacific in the 1940s, where the USA navy gained stature in Australian eyes.  New Guinea was also a scene of intense physically close fighting between the troops of the Japanese Imperial Army and those of the Allies.  South America was spared much of the horrors of the two World Wars in the 20th century - but then became the refuge of Nazi escapees from war torn Europe.

Clearer skies at night are a delight and privilege in the Southern Hemisphere.
Due to less population and fewer of bright cities, it is easier to see a passing comet or let our eyes better appreciate the millions of sparkling stars of the Universe.
The atmosphere can be more refreshingly felt due to less pollution and more natural winds.

When societal disruption broke out in the Northern Hemisphere, due to war, discrimination and displacements of people, South America, Australia and New Zealand became places of refuge and attraction to start a life all over again.
Such migrants brought their unique cultures, philosophies, culinary and systems to their newly adopted countries.

Australia seems to still be a land where her migrants of various religions and background come from over 200 separate foreign nations.  Her Indigenous are also the world's oldest continuing civilisation.

#yongkevthoughts

The Achilles Heel of Nations

States are formed in the political scheme of power as envisaged by human beings.   Previously there were kingdoms, fiefdoms, empires and more.   Whatever the label, political entities are strong statements of unity and control under a declared culture, way of society, a dynamic personality of aruler or dynastic rulers, religion, trading hub or federation of smaller states.

Singapore, now a modern city state of a Republic, was part of the British Empire for many years.  Eighty years ago, on 15 February, colonial troops surrendered to the Japanese Imperial Army, which had quickly conquered the Malayan peninsular after the attack on Pearl Harbour in Hawaii.  ( On 19 February that same year, 1942, the Japanese air force bombed Darwin).  The British had concentrated their defences in Singapore facing south towards the sea, instead of also providing for defences along the island's north.  This was a lesson of Achilles Heel that was learnt at much cost in human casualty, military strategy and economic damage.

The animal kingdom marks out territories for food, reproduction, survival and climate adjustment.   Human beings, with all their philosophy, religious orders and assumed brainy higher order of development, still exhibit inherent and obvious behaviours of aggression, geographical control and reshaping Earth.

Maybe in certain locations, we did not have the contemporary extent of greed in the prior history of human kind, as opposed to what is demonstrated by commercialised and militarised powers in today's world.   Most indigenous tribes, which still survive today, still emphasise not harming the Earth in its landscape, water systems, biospheres and fauna management - they only take what is enough for them and not to supply an over consumerist society.  These long standing human groups knew the Achilles Heel is to over exploit Earth and her bounty - and not make Nature's gifts unsustainable.

The multi-national corporates which confront these older cultures, when carving out huge dams, deforesting wide tracts of long growing forests or scarring Earth for its valued minerals underneath, can operate outside some confines of individual state power.

Looking at the stage of world order today, in the beginning of the 21st century, what soft belly and vulnerable portions of societies stand out? 

One feature of Achilles heel for nations is their geographical location or shape.

It is often said, when looking at a map, that the Korean Peninsular can be viewed as hanging out and hovering over the southern Japanese islands.  Sicily is like being at the foot of the Italian boot. The two main islands of New Zealand are seen by the Maoris as two large boats in an wide open ocean.  Borneo either looks like a roosting hen or a comfortably seated bear.   The bottom half of South America reminds one of the tail of a mermaid.

If your nation is controlling a vital trading route, especially a narrow one like a canal or strait, it can be a two edged sword of a geographical feature - harvest prosperity,  or be a target for takeover by foreigners.  The colonials from the 16th to the 20th centuries fought for control of the Straits of Malacca, which still has a stranglehold of passage for ships from the Indian Ocean to transverse into the South China Sea.   Gilbratar, a tiny figment of space at Spain's southern tip, is a significant cross roads between Africa and Europe, between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.    The Straits of Bosphorus divides not only the ancient and still important city of Istanbul, but also marks the line between southern Europe and the Middle East.   Again, it is a sea of water that separates Siberia from Alaska  - why ever did Russia sell Alaska to the Americans?   Russia's main access to shipping in Europe is the Baltic Sea  - apart from the Black Sea which has waters lapping at the Crimean Peninsular.

So in the 21st century, huge funded powers can control the weak points in internet, cyberspace and wifi delivery.

When you are a landlocked country, that can be your significant disadvantage and you require more options.   When your nation has huge ambitions - and the resources to realise further -  you want to expand your territorial control to another ocean.  Great Britain, in her days of Empire, demonstrated that, followed by the USA spreading out from its Atlantic coast origins.   

Switzerland, at the centre of inland Europe, however is an exception - she chose to be minimally involved with the complexity of European politics, wars and power staging - and cleverly nurtured her neutrality to be a beacon of relative peace, eventually offering her devices to host being a broker and focus on a better quality of life for her peoples.

When you have significant resources of minerals, bio materials and fossil fuels which Earth's commerce still wants in copious amounts, it can be your strength or weak point.   Financial powers linked with politics scramble to your door step to unearth your resources at the cheapest price - and make fortunes processing them before they arrive at the lap of the ultimate consumer.    

Western Australia's riches, Brazil's exploited resources, South east Asian forests and petroleum in unstable nations have been targets.  Countries that do not apply more technology, to add value to their natural resources being dug up, do usually and eventually lose out in the high stakes of economics, trade and finance.

There is always money and trade hidden behind the outbreaks of war.

We are told to get involved in war outbreaks around the world to fight for freedoms and democracy, but a more intelligent populace knows that the viability for such talk is getting thin.  

The Achilles heal for militarily mighty nations is that the ability to wage effective warfare is now spread across more nations.  There is more effective competition and decreasing ability to lord over the rest.

Warfare is sadly engaged by commoners at the ground level, directed by commanders in safe and comfortable hideouts calling the shots.    Are such commanders thinking more of a better life for their subjects, after waging a war, or are they more interested in protecting their privileges in controlling the financial currency of trade, their monopoly of vital assets like petroleum and in maintaining the world order where they still can be kings?   The world stage concurrently faces more political tensions as  emerging super powers possess increased abilities to face the incumbents.   The soft belly for powerful militaristic nations is the loss of control of what funds them.

If no wars break out , the huge ornaments industry will be significantly affected financially and in production of inventories.

So there can be prominent nations always seeking out issues, carrying out covert work and stirring up groups to create conditions leading to confrontation and military fights.

An obvious Achilles heel of nations is the inability or not having capacity to secure sufficient control of vital operations.   It may be the easier thing for governments to outsource more and more operations, leaving control to multi-national corporations, commercial providers other countries and entities outside their political control.   Have you come across a nation's government  keeping reserves of vital supplies in a foreign nation, located thousands of kilometres away?  Some nations do it probably because they do not have enough physical capacity to store those vital supplies, being a small island state does come to mind.  Others, even with lots of land, still amazingly keep their back up reserves physically in an allied nation far away.

In the still intense stage of international politics, a soft belly of usually weaker nations is to be used as a pawn in the high stakes chess game of proxy war.  Such a stage will mean this specific nation is targeted to cause a diplomatic or military incident, which then sparks off a larger argument, point of difference and the commencement of long simmering hostilities.   The sad state of such a soft belly being utilised is that usually the main opposing powers do not wage a physical or virtual battle in their own precious territories, but only on the land of the used smaller state.  They say to be careful to choose your friends, for having alliances with unsavoury powers that make use of you for spying facilities, battle waging and buffering against the sworn enemy can be expensive for smaller states.

Finally, but not exclusively, is the manner of how ruling governments treat and manage voters in a so called democracies.  It is getting obvious that electoral processes can be manipulated by hidden and overt powers in such political systems.   The game of playing dirty seems to be more blatant across the world in the beginning of this 21st century - ponder how significant corruption has broken out without much accountability and shame in more nations.   The manner in which Covid has been handled by ruling powers has brought out their deficiencies, intentions and power play in such pronounced ways.    Going forward, let the people judge.

Talking About Nations

Around the world, the concept and practice of having nation states are still thriving. Remember how every country wanted to have an official airline? National pride drives rivalry, competition and passion on many fronts such as sports, trade, use of technology, economic power and standard of living. There can be misuse of nationalism, as evidenced in wars fought, political hostility, tribal differences and selfish handling of epidemics. Nations arose in history for self preservation, cultural conquests, religious consolidation, economic expansion and financial viability. Nations expanded in size usually due to subjugation of weaker forces, whether in terms of technical, military or strategic might. Once the age of colonisation whittled away, there was a boom in the rise of the so many entities that are now members of the United Nations. How nations create and agree on boundaries can be based on geography. You can observe the flow of major rivers, insurmountable ranges, ocean divides and differing climate zones as serving natural divides. On the other hand, the construction of a huge canal created Panama. The meeting of waterfalls can often be where three nations meet. The world's great rivers often have separate countries located in their mountain source, fertile plains and when it fans out to a delta near the sea. Europe is often quoted to be a historical hinterland of often changing borders, as armies march over, philosophies run amok and diverse cultures interact. Relatively new nations arise when there is an overlay placed on various indigenious lands. An example is Canada, but that name is related to a Huron-Iroquois phrase meaning a village, "Kanata". The names of contemporary nations can be intriguing. There are patterns - some are named based on obvious distinct cultures like India, China, Japan, Russia, Ireland, Thailand and Vietnam. Other name patterns can have religious or tribal roots - I refer to Israel, Saudi, Ethopia, Egypt and Iran. Most of these nations are in the so called cradle of civillisation. In Central Asia, there are several nations that utilise the suffix "tan". Yet there are other nations which have names that seem neutral to racial or religious connotations. I think of Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Micronesia and Indonesia. And then there are those which highlight a specific race, even if the nation in reality is multi-cultural. Malaysia, Myanmar, France and Germany come to mind. There are countries which still bear the names of its colonial past. The Phillippines still honour a past Spanish King in its name. New Zealand refers to its "discovery" by Dutch adventurer-sailors. Greece is proud of its longer term links to the forebearers of Western civilisation. South and Central America have nation states named in the language of their European conquerors, with seeming no trace of the previous Inca, Atzec and Maya predecessors. Island states are best to retain their long used place names. Fiji, Singapore, Samoa, Mauritius and Malta come to mind. There are nations in which their socio-political structures were formed under colonial rulers. The seeds of their current problems have long been embedded in this manner. I refer to Malaysia, India, South Africa and Brazil - to name a few. There are a few political entities that have problems from unresolved wars - North and South Korea is an example. Relatively tiny states exist in Europe - Andorra, Luxembourg and the Vatican illustrate this. There are countries that have territories separated by sea. Denmark has Greenland, the USA has Hawaii , the Federation of Malaysia is split into two and the UK has Northern Ireland. Greece, Indonesia and the Phillippines are based on a collection of many isles. Nations that are landlocked may seem to need access to sea routes, but some like Switzerland do well without. Russia has access to wamer water ports in the Crimea, but Canada and the Scandinavian countries have only cold ocean ports. #yongkevthoughts