Stories about History from August, 2011
Russia: Why We Are Leaving Our Country Behind
Recent months have seen a new spin on the topic of emigration that seems to be ever-present in the Russian online space. Several powerful blog posts written by people from different social groups have become a platform for expressing one's take on the present and future of the country and people's place in it.
Jamaica: Collaborative Documentary for Independence
“Next year both Jamaica and I turn 50″: Labrish blogs about “a fabulous idea to celebrate Jamaica's independence.”
Vietnam War Photos
Flickr user manhhai uploads a collection of Vietnam War photos from 1963-1975.
Vietnam Puppetry Theatre
Ma, Water, and Puppets is a blog that celebrates Vietnam Puppetry Theatre
Trinidad & Tobago: Eating for Independence
“August 31st is Trinidad’s Independence Day”: TriniGourmet.com posts her menu for this year's celebrations, which she calls “a trifecta of the new, the old, and a new twist on an old favourite.”
Cuba: Legendary Sculptor Dies
Michael Pancier pays tribute to “an icon in the history of Cuban artists, Tony Lopez”, who passed away yesterday at the age of 92.
Moldova: Twenty Years of Independence Marked with Parade and Disillusion
Moldova's bloggers have marked the country's 20th anniversary of independence with criticism and disillusionment rather than with enthusiasm, Diana Lungu reports.
Jamaica: Disrespecting Garvey
President Barack Obama may have lost at least one vote in his re-election bid based on “the White House[‘s] disrespect [for] Marcus Garvey, a national hero of Jamaica”. Geoffrey Philp explains, here and here.
Uruguay Celebrates Independence Day
Today, August 25, Uruguay is celebrating 186 years of its declaration of independence. Federico Lorenzo shares [es] today's Google doodle on the search engine's Uruguayan version, and comments on the history behind the country's independence.
Ukraine: Yulia Tymoshenko's Case
At OpenDemocracy.net, Valery Kalnysh explains in detail the case against Ukraine's former PM Yulia Tymoshenko.
Croatia, Serbia: A Flag of Friendship
Two young adults from Croatia and Serbia have created a mixed Serbo-Croatian flag, as a gesture of reconciliation between the two countries. Some netizens have condemned the initiative, others seem to approve of it.
China: Chinese porn culture
James Griffiths from DAWEI looks into the history of Chinese porn and interviews Katrien Jacobs, a professor in the Chinese University of Hong Kong, whose new book People’s Pornography: Sex and Surveillance on the Chinese Internet will be published in October 2011.
Sri Lanka: Grease Devils Targetting Women In The North And The East
D.B.S Jeyaraj shares a report of the The Womens Action Network (WAN) on the attacks on women by assailants posing as the mythical character “Grease Devil”. The attacks have occurred mostly in the Northern and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka and the victims are generally Tamil speaking Tamil and Muslim...
Trinidad & Tobago: Honouring Pat Bishop
“Bishop would have wanted the government and corporate Trinidad and Tobago to act on their words, making real investments in sustainable, sensible projects that would educate our intellectual potential, promote our best cultural works and engage so many lost minds in their creative legacy”: Mark Lyndersay thinks that the most...
Jamaica: Obama Rejects Plea for Garvey Pardon
Geoffrey Philp is surprised by the Obama administration's rejection of the request for a presidential pardon for Marcus Garvey on the grounds that “it would be ‘a waste of time and resources’ since Garvey had been ‘dead for ages‘”, saying: “Marcus Garvey has joined the ancestors. So this plea for…exoneration...
Russia: Memories of 1991
Kim Green of The Greenery shares her memories of living in Russia in 1991 as a student, right after the August Coup 20 years ago.
Trinidad & Tobago: Dr. Pat Bishop Passes On
Netizens of Trinidad and Tobago are coming to terms with the loss of one of its patriots: artist and musicologist Dr. Pat Bishop, who collapsed during “a meeting with a cabinet appointed committee of high level experts on culture and the arts” this past Saturday. Online tributes soon started to pour in.
Cuba: Oh, the Horrors!
Rebeca Monzo blogs about what she calls Cuba's architectural and monumental horrors.
U.S.V.I.: The Power of Film
“Is there any artistic medium that raises more ugly questions of representation and power than film?” In the context of this, A Nation or Nobody blogs about film and neo-colonialism.
India: Yet Another Name Change
The West Bengal state government has decided to change the name of the state to Paschimbanga (in Bangla). Anirban explains why he doesn't support the name change.
Bangladesh, India: Comparison Of The Two Bengals
Jyoti Rahman attempts to compare the performance of erstwhile East and West Bengal and opines that the physical division of Bengal is not necessarily a bad thing.
