· February, 2009

Stories about History from February, 2009

Jamaica: The Power of Words

“Everybody who has felt the need to prove their Jamaican-ness has said it: gays and lesbians ought to be expelled from the national body…”: Long Bench has had enough of...

20 February 2009

China: Riding on Chairman Mao's head

On Feb19,a set of pictures that shows a girl riding on the head of Chairman Mao was circulated around the internet. Of course, what she rides is just a statue...

20 February 2009

Guatemala: President Colom Apologizes for the Bay of Pigs

In preparation for the Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961, the government of Guatemala allowed the CIA to train Cuban exiles on their soil for the operation. Even though the invasion failed, the memory still remains. Nearly 50 years later, the current president Álvaro Colom visited Cuba and took the opportunity to “officially ask Cuba for forgiveness." He also presented former Cuban leader Fidel Castro with the Order of the Quetzal, which is the highest honor given by Guatemala.

19 February 2009

Egypt: Bloggers Take on the “Sons of Zion”

The bombs on Gaza may have stopped falling, but a fierce cyber battle continues, with bloggers on both sides of the fence mobilising their troops to 'obliterate' the presence of the other - at least online. Marwa Rakha taps into the Egyptian blogosphere to present to us another facet of this war.

18 February 2009

Yemen: A Visit to Tarim

Yemeni blogger Omar Bawsawad takes us on a visit to Tarim, once the cultural and academic centre of Hadhramout and the Arab peninsula but which is neglected today.

17 February 2009

Armenia: Obama and the Genocide

Onnik Krikorian in Armenia wonders whether U.S. President Barack Obama will fulfill his campaign promise to recognize the 1915 massacre and deportation of Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire as...

17 February 2009

USA: Native Americans, “Yes we can”

Kept invisible for centuries, Native Americans in the United States are increasingly using blogs and online citizen media to promote and preserve their rights and traditional ways of life. With the election of President Awe Kooda Bilaxpak Kuuxshish (Barack Obama’s adopted Crow Tribe name) indigenous peoples see new reasons to be optimistic.

17 February 2009

Iran: Bloggers Remember 30th Anniversary of the Revolution

Thousands of Iranians celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution on February 10, by rallying in Tehran and other major cities in Iran. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, delivered a speech. Several Iranian bloggers, both citizens and politicians, blogged on this topic.

16 February 2009