Last week was a busy one for Colgate University faculty who were asked to comment about everything from the unrest in Morocco to the continued sinking of Venice.
In an article from the BBC reporting about the ongoing violence in Morocco, Jacob Mundy, a Western Sahara expert and assistant professor, suggests why the international community might not intervene in the conflict:
Western Sahara via Wikipediat not intervene in the conflict:
“…there would have to be a significant change in the basic dynamics of the conflict … whether it was the collapse of the Moroccan regime, the collapse of the Algerian regime or the collapse of the Polisario”
Read more about the conflict in the article, or in Mundy’s book Western Sahara: War Nationalism & Conflict Irresolution.
How MOSE(s) will save Venice
Jonathan Hiltz of Canada’s Macleans magazine wrote an article detailing how Venice is sinking (about 25 centimeters or almost 10 inches in the last year). For background, he turned to Albert Ammerman for clarification. Read more about Ammerman’s research into Venice in this New York Times article.
Holiday facts
And finally, Antony Aveni author of The Book of the Year: A Brief History of Our Seasonal Holidays (Oxford University Press, 2002), was quoted with some fascinating facts about the holidays. Did you know:
“The burning Yule log (Yule comes from the Scandinavian jol or jul which means “jolly”) symbolized the time in which bonfires raged to “beckon the reappearance of winter’s holy light.”
Have a safe and happy holiday.