Stories about History from September, 2014
Exit Hamid Karzai, Afghan Legend
After thirteen years as President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai has said goodbye to the Arg he inhabited for so long. Even Afghans that hated him now find themselves feeling sentimental.
Telling Puerto Rican Stories on the Web
Esta Vida Boricua [This Boricua Life] is a digital storytelling project which explores the past and present of Puerto Rico through the collection of experiences of people from all walks of life and all ages. At its most basic level, it is “a place to share stories,” as explained in...
8 Things You Wanted to Know About Madagascar but Were Afraid to Ask
If you ever wonder about visiting Madagascar or simply want to know more about the island, here are a few facts to consider.
The Curious Case Of Marrying Out Of Caste in India
Karthik Shashidhar, a freelance management consultant and data scientist, shares interesting statistics from the National Family Health Survey. Shashidhar discusses the percentage of women in India who are married to someone of their own caste. The caste system in India is based on an order of (predominantly) endogamous groups rendering marriage...
Singapore Bans Film Featuring Political Exiles Saying it ‘Undermines National Security’
The Singapore government considers the interview with exiled activists and aging communists as a threat to national security
Digital Library of Traditional Philippine Healing Practices
Initiated by several government agencies, the Philippine Traditional Knowledge Digital Library on Health (TKDL-Health) seeks to document and digitize indigenous health practices in the country. The communities, characteristically living in the mountains or their fringes, have depended mostly on plants and other natural products from the forest to prevent or...
How a Vote for Scottish Independence Could Affect the Caribbean
How could something as seemingly remote as the issue of Scottish independence have an effect on Caribbean states? The long arm of colonial history connects more than you might think.
Search and Destroy Mission for the 80 Million “Bombies” in Laos
Al Jazeera's 101 East episode tackles the efforts of women workers in Laos to find and destroy unexploded cluster bombs dropped by the United States during the Vietnam War era. The U.S. dropped 260 million bombs in Laos but about 80 million bomblets did not detonate which posed a continuing...
Russian Nationalists Grasp at Straws with ‘Scottish Solidarity’ Campaign
Russians' connections between the Scottish and Eastern Ukrainian independence movements are, for the most part, thoroughly imagined, but the fantasy has produced several funny pictures.
Blogger Puts a Naturally Formed Face of Buddha in Bhutan on the Map
Blogger Passang Tshering, a high school teacher from Wangdue, Bhutan, wrote in his blog on 31 August, 2014, about an image of Lord Buddha's face formed out of natural rock located on the elephant shaped hill on which the famous Wangdue Dzong is built. He posted photos of the site...
The National Gallery of Jamaica Celebrates 40 Years of Home-Grown Art
The National Gallery of Jamaica is in the midst of celebrating its 40th anniversary and the gallery's blog has been sharing information about its history and accomplishments: When the National Gallery of Jamaica (NGJ) opened its doors on November 14, 1974 it was the English-speaking Caribbean’s first national gallery, and...
Is Venezuelan Film ‘The Liberator’ a Historical Biopic or Propaganda Blockbuster?
The premier of the biopic about the life and times of Venezuelan freedom fighter Simon Bolívar, "The Liberator," sparked debate on where historical truth ends and political propaganda begins.
