Stories about History from July, 2014
Why July 25 Is a Tragic Date in Puerto Rican History
Constitution Day is celebrated on July 25, but it is also the date of the U.S. invasion in 1898 and the murder of two young pro-independence activists.
The Angriest Man in Odessa is on the Front Lines of Ukraine's Information War
Odessa's vigorously anti-Moscow LiveJournal star, Zloy_Odessit, has his work cut out for him. Indeed, open dialogue with pro-Russian bloggers is still a long way off.
These ‘Poets With a Cause’ Are Defending Social Justice in Crisis-Hit Puerto Rico
"Poetas en Marcha is Felipe the janitor, Sofia the overworked and underpaid secretary, the young adults laughing while having a beer after their final exams, the noble lady selling fruit."
Why Some Caribbean Authors Are Accusing a Trinidad-Born Novelist of Being a ‘Latter Day Columbus’
After a U.K.-based writer wrote a blog post exploring modern Caribbean writers, some authors accused her of ignorance about the region's literary history.
Video: ISIS Destroys Prophet Jonah's Mosque in Mosul, Iraq
The Sunni extremist organisation considers the veneration of saints apostasy and Shia Muslims as heretics
The Hypocrisy of Outrage Against LGBT Rights in Jamaica
An off-colour comment by a Jamaican sports commentator who “dampened the moment of post World Cup celebrations with his shouts of ‘Heil Hitler’ on national television” leads author and blogger Kei Miller to pen a letter to the editor illustrating why his countrymen are living a double standard – outraged...
The Art Nouveau Windows to Belgrade's Soul
Aleksandar Lambros, a Serbian-born photographer currently living and working in Monaco, has been snapping photos of tell-tale details of Belgrade's architectural history and collecting them on his blog. While the city still retains snippets of Roman and Ottoman architecture, as parts of the city were under both Roman and Ottoman...
Archaic Laws Continue Jamaica's History of Injustice
The anti-sodomy law is not the only archaic statute up for repeal in Jamaica. Author Kei Miller is astounded that a proposal to rescind the country's “blatantly racist Obeah Laws” has met with resistance: We seem to like throwing fits whenever it is suggested that we review and correct our...
“Racism is Not an Issue in Latin America” — Seriously?
In an opinion piece for the New York Times titled “Latin America's Talent for Tolerance,” Enrique Krauze proposes the notion that Latin America is less prone to racism: […] European-style racism — which not only mistreats and discriminates but also persecutes and, in the very worst cases, tries to exterminate others...
Indians Say Goodbye To Orkut, Reluctantly
Indian users are reacting to the impending demise of Google's Orkut social networking platform. Orkut is the oldest citizen media site Indians used and around 20% of Orkut’s users today are from India. Vinaya Naidu at Lighthouse Insights compiles some of the users’ comments on the end of Orkut: Priya...
The More Things Change The More They Stay The Same In The Bahamas
After 41 years of independence, says Weblog Bahamas, it is “more than a bit ironic that…so many people are discussing the same issues…it's as if very little has changed.”
Welcome to Che Guevara Home Museum
Alta Gracia [es] is located in the department Santa María, province of Córdoba, Argentina. It's listed as World Heritage Site and among its attactions we find the Che Guevara Home Museum [es]. From there, Argentinian blogger Laura Schneider [es] provides us a photo gallery of the museum. On her blog,...
Are Serbia's Dark Days of Media Censorship and Intimidation Making a Comeback?
Serbian Prime Minister Vučić claims to have learned from his past "political mistakes", but he seems to be reverting back to his old censorship habits.
