Stories about History from May, 2014
Censors On, China Still Doesn't Want Anyone Talking About Tiananmen Square
Estimates of the death toll from June 4, 1989 range from a few hundred to the thousands. The Chinese government has prohibited all forms of discussion online or offline since.
When Maya Angelou Lived in Egypt and Ghana
Sean Jacobs writes about American author and poet Maya Angelou, who died at age 86 yesterday May 28, 2014: In 1961, Maya Angelou, already a civil rights worker, and her then partner Vusumzi Make, an exiled activist from South Africa (he was a leading Pan Africanist Congress member), moved to...
China's Censors Become Busier Before Tiananmen Anniversary
Index on censorship magazine details China's yearly Tiananmen anniversary crackdown: slower internet, blocked search terms, more military personnel in public and the arrest of high profile individuals. Author Francine Stone from Index thinks “this year’s crackdown appears particularly thorough, either a reaction to dissent being higher than usual or a perception...
Podcast: History of the Internet in China
Sinaca Podcast discusses how the Internet has grown and changed China with three guests who have experienced the worst and the best of the Chinese Internet: Duncan Clark from BDA China, Gady Epstein from The Economist, and Bill Bishop, the author of the Sinocism newsletter.
“An Island Luminous” Makes Haiti Open Access
There's an exciting new free-access website on Haiti, which pairs rare books, manuscripts, newspapers and archival photos with intelligent commentary.
Brazilian Colonel Found Dead A Month After Confessing to Torture
Paulo Malhães, a 76 year-old retired officer, was killed at his home in April. In March, he admitted torturing and murdering people during the country’s dark dictatorship period.
Students Discover a Mummy During an Expedition in Coastal Chile
Students from the Archaeology Academy of the America School discovered skeletal remains that surfaced as a result of an earlier April earthquake in northern Chile.
Pakistan’s Nawaz Sharif Will Attend Narendra Modi’s Swearing-In
India's new Prime Minister Modi invited all member nations of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in a strategic move some speculated lets him dive head-first into diplomacy.
Political Cartoon – Tombs in Beijing Tiananmen Square
Political cartoonist @badiucao's latest work is to commemorate the 25 anniversary of June 4 Incident – “If we are to set up tombs for victims of June 4, let the tomb stones cover the whole square”, the cartoonist explained his work in Twitter. #巴丢草 六四漫画【墓碑】#六四25周年 如果为六四的死难者立碑，就让她们铺满整个广场。 pic.twitter.com/bSDLUXXEZz — 巴丢草 (@badiucao)...
Haiti: “Excalibur of the Caribbean”
Machetes are ubiquitous and versatile…in the case of Haiti, machetes were common weapons in the struggle for independence. Haiti Innovation blogs about a short film profiling a Haitian machete-fighting instructor.
#Conservaeloso: The Campaign to Save the “Alcatraz of the Caribbean”
The space will be used to open a center for cancer treatment.
VIDEOS: Vintage Southeast Asia in the British Pathe Archive
Many of the films in the British Pathe collection are valuable resource that could teach us a lot about Southeast Asia's recent past and even the present.
Macedonian Blogger Warns About Resurgent Neo-Nazi Iconography
Commemorating Victory in Europe Day, Macedonian blog Anfas (“en face“) recently documenting images used by Facebook users to warn about resurgent fascism in a post titled “Images of shame – Current Macedonian Neo-Nazi Iconography”. The blogger also explained the importance of raising awareness of resurgent neo-Nazi iconography in Macedonia: Овој...
Tiananmen Square Protest in Review
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Tiananmen Square protest in China. To commemorate the protest, CHINA DIGITAL TIMES is posting a series of original news articles from 1989 from NY times and Time Magazine.
Two People Are Driving Around Europe to Find What It Means to Be European
On the eve of European elections, two French artists will tour Europe to meet with as many types of Europeans as possible.
Crowd Boos Ukrainian Governor During Victory Day Speech
On a holiday that honors the millions who battled and sacrificed ostensibly to preserve the Soviet Union, lo and behold, Kherson's Governor offended people with his anti-Soviet remarks.
50th Anniversary of Dictatorship in Brazil: A French Torturer in South America
Documents obtained by a researcher in France shed light on the activities of Paul Aussaresses, the executioner of Algiers, military attaché in Brazil in the 1970s.
Russia's War of the Roses
After the deadly fire in Odessa, and months of tensions between Moscow and Kiev, it's no surprise that a WWII memorial has become an important stage in Russian politics.
Cuba: Throwing Sticks at Language
Havana Times explores the origin of a controversial idiom that brings into focus “the sexual idiosyncrasies of people in the Caribbean and those of Cubans in particular.”
Silence Will Not Solve Trinidad & Tobago's Crime Problem
Trinidad and Tobago is still reeling from news of prominent attorney Dana Seetahal's death, but one blogger thinks the time for impotent outrage has long gone.
The Rise and Fall of Bengal’s Textile Empire
Bengal was once known as the richest province of the Indian subcontinent mainly due to its famous and varied agricultural and textiles products including the Muslin, world renowned finely-woven breathable fabric. M Ahmedullah posts in Alochonaa.com a two part series (Part 1, Part 2) discussing the history of the Bengal's...
