· May, 2012

Stories about History from May, 2012

Ethiopia: EPRDF’s Anniversary: What is There to Celebrate?

  30 May 2012

The Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Front (EPRDF) celebrated its 21st anniversary on 28 May. Some Ethiopians consider the day a ‘National Day’ while others see it as a day when one oppressive regime replaced another one. Netizens have taken to blogs and Facebook to reflect on EPRDF anniversary.

Palestine: Remembering the Nakba

May 15 is Nakba Day, when Palestinians commemorate the displacement and dispossession that took place at the time of Israel's establishment in 1948. In this post we look at how the day was marked by Palestinians on blogs and Twitter this year.

Africa: Celebrating Africa Liberation Day on Twitter

  25 May 2012

Africa Liberation Day is the annual commemoration on May 25 of the 1963 founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). In 2002 the OAU established its own successor, the African Union (AU). Africans and friends of Africa celebrate African unity and freedom on Twitter.

Brazil: “The Dilemma of the Brazilian Revolutionaries”

  22 May 2012

The author of Lost Sambista Blog shares a photo of Che Guevara being awarded the Gra-cruz of honor by Janio Quadros, the Brazilian President for only seven months in 1961, and writes about foreign affairs and revolutionary political figures from the 1960's in Brazil, who are nowadays still present in...

Philippines, China: Scarborough Shoal Dispute Goes Online

  22 May 2012

Tension rose in the past month between the Philippines and China when the governments of the two nations accused each other of illegally occupying the territorial waters near the disputed Scarborough Shoal. It sparked nationalist sentiments in both countries and the ‘word war’ has gone online.

Haiti: Haitian Flag Day

  21 May 2012

Haitians all over the world recently celebrated the 209th Haitian Flag Day along with the country's educational system. Martinican blogger at Bel Balawou publishes a stream of pictures [Fr], taken during the event in Haiti, while Haitian Alterpresse explains and comments [Fr] on the main speeches of the day.

Dominican Republic: Juan Bosch and the Elections

  21 May 2012

Journalist Nelson del Castillo analyzes the political significance of Juan Bosch [es] -the Dominican politician, writer, essayist, historian and educator- on occasion of the national presidential elections held yesterday, May 20, 2012.

Science Blogging in Sub-Saharan Africa

  20 May 2012

Blogging has become an integral part of popular culture in Sub-Saharan Africa but blogging about science is still lagging behind. Many initiatives have been launched to increase the culture of sharing in the African scientific world, yet African science blogs, particularly about research, are still few and far between.

Russia: The RuNet's Enduring Tomatoes & Tusovki

To a casual observer, the RuNet and the Russian protest movement seem current and contemporary. It is easy to forget, however, that the core of the RuNet and the protests it's inspired has now existed for almost a decade. Burning questions asked seven years ago about the true nature of major figures are still prominent today, such as questions about a certain Andrei Morozov.

Latin America: Art from the Colonial Period in 2.0

  15 May 2012

We present a sample of the numerous blogs, videos and internet sites dedicated to promoting knowledge about colonial period art, a common artistic denominator for the majority of the American continent, the individual indigenous cultures of which first adopted and then adapted as their own.

Singapore: Remembering the 1987 ‘Marxist Conspiracy’

  13 May 2012

Several Singaporean groups will commemorate the 25th anniversary of a government crackdown of suspected destabilizers in Singapore. They are accused of being part of a ‘Marxist Conspiracy.’ Human rights groups claim that more than 2,500 people have suffered detention without trial since the ruling party came to power in 1959.

Cuba: Remembering the Dissidents

  11 May 2012

This week, members of the Cuban diaspora have been blogging about two main things: the one-year anniversary of the death of dissident Juan Wilfredo Soto, and the re-arrest of human rights activist Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia.

Bahamas: Power of the People

  10 May 2012

“It no longer feels like hatred for me when the PLP wins, it no longer feels like time to panic”: A reflection on the country's recent elections, from Womanish Words.