At age 74, Muhammed Ali has died. He was one of my heroes when I was in college even though I was not at all a boxing fan. But Ali was proud of who he was and always spoke his mind. His pride in being a black man was inspiring and his defense of civil rights was rock solid. And he jeopardized his career by refusing to be drafted to fight in the Vietnam War, proving to everyone that nothing was more important to him than to be the person he knew he was. He was a great role model.
Chile is suing Bolivia to assert its rights to the water of the Silala River which originates in Bolivia and enters the Atacama Desert in Chile. Bolivia is using the water from the river as a bargaining chip to restore its rights to access to the Pacific Ocean which it lost in the War of the Pacific (1879-1883) which was fought by Bolivia and Peru against Chile. The issue of fresh water is increasingly an issue of national security.
Boundaries Before the War of the Pacific
Spiegel Online has a very dramatic interactive series of graphics on extreme poverty in the world. It is a little difficult to navigate at the beginning, but once one gets the hang of it, the graphics reveal incredible detail and nuance in the analysis of poverty. It is quite remarkable.
World Politics News 
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