Stories about History from November, 2008
Jamaica: Punishable by Death
As a country struggling with spiraling rates of violent crime, Jamaica has voted to re-introduce the death penalty, despite appeals from Amnesty International and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The atmosphere on the island nation is tense, with the prevailing attitude appearing to be, in the words of blogger Kadene Porter, "Blood fi blood and fyah fi fyah."
Haiti, Trinidad & Tobago: Letter to Zoellick
HaitiAnalysis.com republishes a letter from the former Trinidad and Tobago Ambassasdor to the US (and special advisor to the UN on Haiti) to the President of the World Bank.
Ukraine: Maidan Four Years On
Ukrainiana posts photos from the empty Maidan on the fourth anniversary of the Orange Revolution.
Ukraine: 75th Anniversary of Holodomor
Taras of Ukrainiana posts photos and video from the commemoration of the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of Holodomor – here, here, and here. Tetyana Vysotska of What's Up, Ukraine? explains why she chose not to take part in any of the official commemoration events: “We, Ukrainians, have respect for...
Venezuela: Jose Ignacio Cabrujas and His Mark on Society
One of the great Venezuelan critics provided thoughts on daily life. However, since his passing, many are left wondering what he would have said about the events of today. Jose Ignacio Cabrujas, was a well-known playwright, director, and even transformed Venezuelan soap operas into social commentary that used many well-known literary works.
Haiti: Non-Violence
Haitian blogger Wadner Pierre strongly advocates the path of non-violence.
Korea: An Actress, Her Good Deed, and Her Family History.
A popular young actress who is called the ‘national sister’ due to her naivete, humble attitude, and good acting, Moon Geun-young is famous for making donations to society. She usually hides her good deeds from public view. This month a welfare organization, exposed that she donated 850 million won (1...
Bahrain: Blast from the Past
Bint Batutta in Bahrain links to photographs from Bahrain in the 50s from LIFE magazine's photo archive.
Russia-Ukraine: Denying the Great Famine
Finrosforum accounts for President Medvedev's view of Holodomor – the great famine in Ukraine 1932-33 – accusing those who speak about the “so-called Holodomor” of creating a rift between the two Slavic nations.
Trinidad & Tobago, U.K.: McDonald Signs Off
Discover TnT Blog pays tribute to Trinidad-born journalism icon Sir Trevor McDonald, who “has stepped down from ITN's main nightly news programme.”
Latvia: Images of an abandoned past
Arnis Balcus’ Photo Blog posts pictures of the abandoned Soviet secret town of Skrunda with the military radar station once scanning space against presumed western missiles.
Trinidad & Tobago: Belt-Tightening
About seven months after the global food crisis was showing up on people's radar and two months after the global financial crisis made headlines, Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister decided that the time was right to address the nation regarding the state of the economy. The money quote of the speech was "Tighten your belts" - and bloggers have had a lot to say about the subject.
Haiti, U.S.A.: Changing Times
jmc strategies, on learning that Haitian-American Patrick Gaspard is pegged to become Obama's White House Political Director, says: “Congratulations are in order for a young man who has achieved much and deserves much. Times have indeed changed in America.”
Cuba: Brother to be Beatified
Uncommon Sense reports that a 19th century Cuban Brother is being beatified by the Catholic Church: “Br. Ollalo’s beatification will take place at 8 a.m. on November 29 in the Plaza de la Caridad of Camaguey, Cuba. It will be the first beatification to ever take place on Cuban soil.”
Japan: Bloggers debate prohibition of cannabis
Starting with the case of two sumo wrestlers who tested positive for marijuana at the beginning of September and continuing with the announcement last week by Waseda University that three students were arrested over suspicions of growing cannabis, scandals related to the use of cannabis have topped the headlines in the media over the last few weeks in Japan.
Chile: Returning Historical Documents to Peru
The Chilean government recently returned some historical documents that had belonged to Peru. The act was facilitated by the Chilean Office of Libraries, Archives and Museums of which Enzo Abbagliati of Cadaunadas [es] is a part and of which he is proud to be associated.
Jordan: List of controversial figures
From Lebanese singer Haifaa Wahbi to Libyan president Moammar Qaddafi to Hizbulla commander Hasan Nasrallah to Egyptian leader Jamal Abdil Nasser, Jordanian Hareega shares his list of the 10 most controversial figures in the Arab world.
Japan: Proud to be Okinawan
Superyuko at Nachikasanu Koiuta describes the first time she became aware of her Okinawan identity. 10 years ago, in Tokyo, where she came to live and to attend university, she was asked: “Are you Japanese? Because you don't look very Japanese”, and innocently answered: “I think I am Japanese”. She...
Cuba: “Black Spring” Prisoners
Cuban diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense focuses the spotlight on two of the “Black Spring” political prisoners, here and here.
Trinidad & Tobago: Up on the Mount
Simply Trini Cooking makes a trip to Mount St. Benedict – “a terrific place for a retreat or just to get away from it all.”
Barbados, Cuba, U.S.A.: Obama's AG
Diaspora bloggers Keltruth Corp. (Barbados) and Babalu (Cuba) discuss Barack Obama's choice of Eric Holder for the post of Attorney General.
