tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725260.post111195105458087509..comments2023-09-11T02:50:31.187-07:00Comments on Sauntering: Half-assed Mnemonic Acronyms for All Those -stan Countries: TTUPAKK or KKAPUTTAndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09118411953738472017noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725260.post-1128445486491391752005-10-04T10:04:00.000-07:002005-10-04T10:04:00.000-07:00I just received a discount on a haircut for correc...I just received a discount on a haircut for correctly guessing that the stylist was from Kazakstan.Andyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09118411953738472017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725260.post-1111973285995719372005-03-27T17:28:00.000-08:002005-03-27T17:28:00.000-08:00A few people have asked me, What about Kurdistan?W...A few people have asked me, <I>What about Kurdistan?</I><BR/><BR/>Well, <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurdistan" REL="nofollow">Kurdistan</A> isn't a country, but an area of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, & Syria where the Kurdish ethnicity constitutes a majority or significant minority.<BR/><BR/><B>For what it's worth, I wish Kurdistan were a country.</B> If the dice had rolled differently after World War I, it would be a country.<BR/><BR/>Even though most Americans have a post-9/11 fascination with the Middle East, it bothers me that a great number of well-educated folks here are nonetheless unaware of how the boundaries of Middle Eastern countries were drawn rather abitrarily by the French and the English in the Treaties of <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Sevres" REL="nofollow">Sèvres</A> and <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Lausanne" REL="nofollow">Lausanne</A>.<BR/><BR/>These are ancient cultures, but recent countries.Andyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09118411953738472017noreply@blogger.com