38 definitions by Ben E. Hama
a middle eastern nation, it's been a kingdom for a long time. it was once a british mandate for a few decades, but this never worked well. the sultan has had absolute power in the country for centuries. oman was able to become extremely wealthy with its nationalized oil company. although it's not something that people generally think of in the middle east, this nation has a pretty high standard of living and doesn't have crazy strict relgious laws.
by Ben E. Hama February 2, 2007
mauritania is a former french colony in africa that has turned into a pretty disasterous country. it's history is summed up in the bloody battle between the moorish islamic minority and the black christian/amenist minority. ruled for years as a one party state, it had a decade long experiment with democracy, before a 2005 coup turned this into a military junta.
by Ben E. Hama February 2, 2007
tunisia is a nation that actually has a pretty grand history, as a powerful outpost during the reigns of the greek, roman, and ottoman empires. the french eventually took over, the place is most famous for the wwii battles fought here. currently, its a single party state that actually has some wealth in the coastal cities, espcially due to oil. in the interior, the famous nomadic berbers still live.
by Ben E. Hama February 2, 2007
it's another caribbean tourist trap! these islands are longtime british posessions that used to be agricultural powerhouses. now they earn their money through vacationers. the islands have a history of natural disasters including volcanoes, earthquakes, and hurricanes.
saint vincent and the grenadines are in the caribbean.
by Ben E. Hama January 31, 2007
a country that is not named burma, regardless of what some nations say. myanmar was originally burma, a once proud kingdom that fell to the british and was a colony til the wwii era. it experimented with democracy, but american actions in vietnam drove this country toward communism in the 1970s, which evolved in the 1990s into a corporatist military junta. myanmar is a very efficient military state that has fended off countless coups. however, it is one of the world's 2 'secret societies,' along with north korea. foreigners are rarely admitted and no one really knows the power structure of the gov't.
myanmar is the focus of u2's famous song 'walk on,' which references political prisoner aung san suu kyi, a democracy activist.
by Ben E. Hama February 2, 2007
a group of islands in the pacific that are a battered nation. surprisingly, the world's colonizing powers left them alone until about 110 years ago, when the british took over. the nation is significant, though forgotten, as being the home of guadalcanal and other brutal wwii battles. since independence, the nation has been involved in periodic civil wars. as a result, the militaries of austrialia and new zealand are the only thing keeping this country afloat right now.
the solomon islands are in the pacific.
by Ben E. Hama February 1, 2007
a little rectangle of land in africa plus an island off the coast. a former spanish colony, it is currently known for an extremely unstable faux democracy. it has perhaps the most unfree press in the world, with newspapers banded.
by Ben E. Hama January 27, 2007