My good friend and fellow personal publisher Raymond had a post earlier this month on the topic of Norway that caught my attention.? In it he spoke about the melting of the arctic ice, a topic I’ve followed for the past few years, and the strange prospects for Scandinavia when this new northern trade route opens up.? Focusing on the city of Troms? as a potential crossroads for these new routes, Raymond asks:
Could Troms? or another harbour in Northern Norway be the new Rotterdam? Could we see a development in Northern Norway that defies gravity and is as exciting and news-worthy as the development in the capital of Norway? What will happen once ships can safely travel from Europe to Asia through the arctic region?
He also mentions existing and planned sea, rail, and air links between Scandinavia,? Europe, Asia.? As well as the importance of the world’s largest iron ore mine located in Sweden.
While the melting of the arctic is alarming and indeed, steps should be taken to reduce carbon emissions to hopefully slow global warming, it is also interesting to imagine what the future could bring for regions of the world like Northern Norway.? Places that in this day and age are seen as remote or isolated, suddenly becoming connected and significant in so many ways.
Getting adjusted and taking care of a long list of errands for my 2 weeks in Portugal that have just begun.? Will return to posting AND podcasting, this weekend. Here’s a photo from today.
Last week Indonesians voted in only the second presidential election in their nation’s history. A race between three major coalition parties, it was the Democratic Party Coalition of current President Yudhoyono that cruised to victory with 60% of the vote. A former military man who was known to many as a “thinking General”, his first term seems to have earned a good amount of support among Indonesian voters.
But what of his policies in regards to West Papua?? In the last few weeks the reports have been rolling in about the Indonesian military activities in that region; burning down of homes, attacks and arrests of accused opposition members.? Though I can’t sit here and say for sure these activities were ordered by the president himself, they have still occurred under his leadership.? A leadership that since 2004, could have sought peaceful and open dialogue with the independent West Papua movement as well as human rights workers on the ground who have been trying for decades to raise awareness for the plight of the region.
Does the re-election of Yudhoyono mean that Indonesians approve of the government’s actions in West Papua? Do the reports coming from the region ever see the light of day in Indonesia? And is there any chance that in this second term, the president might shift his approach away from diplomacy by the barrel of a gun? These are only a few of the questions that need answering following last week’s elections.? Questions I’d like to pose in an upcoming podcast to someone closely following the vote in Indonesia.
Even if you’ve never been to Minnesota (I haven’t) you’ve likely heard of the Mayo Clinic.? To me the name is synonymous with some of the best healthcare a person can get.
However up until today I never knew the details of how the Mayo Clinic works, how it was founded, and what truly makes it unique in the world.?? As I listened to Armand Dimele’s recent program which focused not only on how the Clinic works but also on what lessons any of us can learn from how healthcare could be delivered, I found it to be very inspiring.? Even if I live in Europe, where people often sing the praises of the health system compared to the US, I find the details of how the Mayo Clinic is run to be well worthy of emulating.
Highly recommended listening, because you don’t have to live in Minnesota to have a vision of how quality healthcare should be delivered.
The struggle of West Papua is many decades old, going all the way back to the colonial era. Recently the Indonesian Military police began another in a long running tradition of terror campaigns, as they burn down homes, round up or kill anyone suspected of being part of the independence movement or opposition groups. As the reports came over the past week I decided to get in touch with those in the know about what is happening in West Papua and equally as important WHY this is happening.
My guests include Benny Wenda, West Papuan Independence Activist in exile in the UK
Octo Mote, Journalist and Researcher exiled to the United States
Joe Collins, of the Australia West Papuan Association, Sydney.
All music in this episode is by Laurent Rochelle, who’s permission I did not ask but who’s work I respect and recommend. You can find him on archive.org
The last week I’ve seen the small articles appearing in different corners of the internet.? A few emails from friends who work on the issue.? Word was that the Indonesian military was going into West Papua and rounding up the opposition, burning down homes, and generally terrorizing the population. It isn’t the first time that they’ve done this, but the reports were enough to convince me its time to try and shed more light on what is going on.
So slowly I’ve been collecting these articles. Looking into West Papuans who have gone into exile in different corners of the world, getting in touch with them to hear what information they’ve been receiving.? I’ve also been looking into the history of the region, going back to its days as a Dutch colonyContinue reading “West Papua Research”