Stories about History from January, 2008
Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago: Lusignan Massacre
“I've never felt so utterly hopeless about Guyana as I do today, and it weighs all the heavier in this prolonged season of hopelessness about my own country, my own society”: As news spreads about the horrific massacre in the town of Lusignan, Nicholas Laughlin‘s heart bleeds for Guyana.
UK: Armenian Genocide Memorial Vandalized
Blogian and Unzipped report on the desecration of a monument erected to honor the victims of the 1915 Armenian Genocide in the Welsh city of Cardiff. The vandalism occurred on the eve of an event to remember slain Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink. Seta's Armenian blog posts a press release stating...
Afghanistan: Balkhi Returns To Balkh
Mohammad Fahim reports on the ceremony of 800th Anniversary of Maulana Jalaluddin Mohammad Balkhi, the Afghanistan's philosopher and mystical poet known as Rumi in west.
Trinidad & Tobago: Fancy Sailors
“Every year it seems, the few individuals who have kept the traditions of Old Mas alive are becoming less visible”: Thebookmann features Trinidad and Tobago Carnival's Fancy Sailors.
Trinidad & Tobago: The Bottom Line
“Trinidad is no longer the Land of the Hummingbird but the Land of the Cash Cow…in the new Trinidad Carnival, the only thing that need be considered is not the bottom in the road but the bottom line in the road”: Nicholas Laughlin quotes Trinidad and Tobago journalist B.C. Pires.
Russia: Vladimir Vysotsky
Sean's Russia Blog writes on what would have been Vladimir Vysotsky's 70th birthday. Windows to Russia! provides links to translations of Vysotsky's songs. YouTube user filatovv posts a special anniversary tribute playlist of videos of Vysotsky performing in Montenegro in 1974. A 1981 video of people lining up at Vagankovskoye...
Brazil: How the USA backed the dictatorship
Luiz Carlos Azenha [pt] has started a series of posts in which he intends to translate all the official documents about the American support to the 1964 coup in Brazil, currently kept by George Washington University's National Security Archives. In this second post, he deciphers a “message from the then...
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Srebrenica Child Victims
Srebrenica Genocide Blog republishes a list of child victims of the Srebrenica massacre issued by Bosnia & Herzegovina's Federal Commission for Missing Persons.
Russia: Ukok Princess
De Rebus Antiquis Et Novis writes about plans to re-bury the mummy of a Scythian princess in the capital of Russia's Altai Republic.
Trinidad & Tobago: Dame Lorraine
Thebookmann attends a traditional “Old ‘Mas” performance in Trinidad and Tobago and posts video of the well-loved Carnival character of the Dame Lorraine.
Jamaica, St. Lucia: Hardwick's Eulogy
“Derek Walcott's prodigious gifts, even in the face of tragedy, continue to amaze me”: Jamaican Geoffrey Philp links to the Caribbean writer's eulogy of Elizabeth Hardwick.
Cuba: The Church and Change?
The Cuban Triangle blogs about the Catholic Church's role in Cuba.
China: What are landlords like?
Joel from DANWEI translated local blogger 10 years chopping of timber's post on “What are landlords like?” The post touches upon the labeling of “Landlord” for political and ideological control.
Thailand: Steam Train Engines in Bangkok
Richard Barrow points steam train enthusiasts to a train shed in Bangkok that houses some old steam engines.
Lithuania: Vytautas Sriubikis; the Hill of Crosses
Viola in Vilnius writes about Lithuanian flautist Vytautas Sriubikis – and briefly mentions the Hill of Crosses, quite an extraordinary place near the town of Siauliai, which “not surprisingly is a hill covered in crosses, and a bit of a place of pilgrimage.”
Serbia, UK: Fascism and the Left
Greater Surbiton writes on leftist interpretations of fascism – and of Serbian politics.
Serbia: Support for Vladimir Vukčević
Alan Jakšić of Balkan Anarchist declares his support for Serbia's war crimes prosecutor Vladimir Vukčević, who has recently “received a death threat from fellow Serbs in the diaspora.”
Russia: Decossackization
De Rebus Antiquis Et Novis writes about the history of Decossackization in Russia and recommends a book on the subject, written by Gregory Tschebotarioff, a former Cossack officer, now a professor at Princeton University.
Sri Lanka: Indian Labour
Transcurrents.com reacts to a historian's claim that the Indian labour, shipped to Sri Lanka to work on the estates are now a burden in Sri Lanka.
Cameroon: Documentary on the Bakweri-German Wars
A new documentary on the history of the Bakweri people of Cameroon has been released: “…“Kuva Likenye” is a 30 minute documentary that profiles the heroic exploits of a mountain King called Kuva Likenye who mobilised an ill-trained ragtag army to stand up in arms against German exploitation of the...
Cuba: Yes or No?
Post-Cuban elections, Child of the Revolution wonders whether or not Fidel Castro will remain as head of the Council of State.
