The Foreign Service Journal, June 2019

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JUNE 2019 15 N ational Geographic has long been a treasure trove of images and stories about nature, faraway places and maps. “All Over the Map” is National Geograph- ic’s blog, with maps of all kinds and their surprisingly intriguing histories. Since their debut post in May 2016 (“If You Love Maps, This Blog is for You”), coauthors Betsy Mason and Greg Miller have created nearly 100 more posts covering topics as varied as pirate maps and the history of the word “gerrymander.” As they write in the first post: “Maps are time machines, too. They can take you into the past to see the world as people saw it centuries ago. Or they can show you a place you know intimately as it existed before you came along, or as it might look in the future. Always, they reveal some- thing about the mind of the mapmaker. Every map has a story to tell.” Each post includes a selection of maps tied together by an overarching theme, with in-depth explanations of the artistic, historical or cultural significance. Cultural implications of how maps are drawn, era- specific assumptions of various peoples, now socially SITE OF THE MONTH: ALL OVER THE MAP unacceptable and politi- cally incorrect stereotypes, certain powers’ influence over maps and the future of mapmaking are all addressed on the blog. Some maps fit the tradi- tional textbook profile: politi- cal, physical, climatic and economic. Others, however, have a more sociohistoric framing, such as the history of charting NewYork City or the discovery of the Americas. Map sources include the Library of Congress, public libraries, university and National Geographic archives, books of maps and personal map collections. The blog is updated with a new post several times a month, and at the end of each post there are links to more National Geographic webpages on maps and car- tography. The blog’s coauthors have also published an illustrated book on the topic, All Over the Map (National Geographic, October 2018). and staff, including barring the officials from travel to the United States and freezing any U.S. assets. The move came after the plight of Metin Topuz, a longtime employee of the U.S. consulate in Istanbul and one of three consulate employees arrested by Turkish authorities, made the news once again on March 28, when a Turkish court ordered his continued detention and delayed his trial until May. Turkey is also detaining NASA sci- entist Serkan Gölge, a dual U.S.-Turkish national, on charges of terrorism. In a press release announcing the new legislation, Sen. Wicker said: “More than two and a half years have passed since Serkan Gölge, an Ameri- can citizen, was detained in Turkey. Since then, we have witnessed the sham convictions of two Americans, includ- ing Pastor Andrew Brunson, and one local employee of the U.S. government on baseless terrorism charges. At least two other local staff of our consulate in Istanbul continue to face similar politi- cally motivated convictions without credible evidence of wrongdoing. “Turkish authorities should imme- diately cease this harassment of our citizens and personnel,” Wicker con- tinued. “The bipartisan measure we are introducing today puts Turkey on notice that it can either quickly resolve these cases and free our citizens and local staff or face real consequences. Turkey is a valuable NATO ally—I expect it to start acting like one.” n This edition of Talking Points was compiled by Donna Gorman, Shawn Dorman, Dmitry Filipoff, Steven Alan Honley and Jacob Borst.