Stories about History from January, 2007
Singapore: The First Fast Food Restaurant
Lam Chun See and his friend Peter Tan remember the first fast food restaurant in Singapore.”I doubt many young people know that Singapore’s first fast food restaurant was not from MacDonald’s or KFC …”
South Korea: more on textbook
Jacky's post about Chinese BBS's discussion of Korean textbook has some follow up discussion at Marmot's Hole by R. Elgin. There is a long comment thread with some more background about the issue.
Malawi/USA: legacies of peace and justice
afrika-aphukira reflects on the legacies of peace and justice through the works of John Chilembwe and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., ” In Malawi, January 15th is celebrated as Chilembwe Day, in honor of the Reverend John Chilembwe who in 1915 led the first ever uprising against white racism and...
Turkey is Typing…the Death of Hrant Dink
While normally this column focuses on what only Turkish bloggers are saying, sometimes events happen that warrant the voices of not only Turkish points-of-views but others as well. The Death of Hrant Dink is one of those moments. As a bit of background- Hrant Dink was a Turkish-Armenian journalist and...
Nepal: Racism and India as a bully
Looking beyond the Indian blogs, Wagle Street Journal from Nepal comments on the racism and Shilpa Shetty in the Big Brother show issue with the insight of living next door to a country that maybe seen as a bully – India. “When an Indian goes to an English television channel...
Peru: Video of Lima in the 50's
PosPost has posted some black and white videos of Lima from the 1950's which were found on Archive.org.
Latvia: Monuments
Marginalia posts a very interesting entry on Latvia's monuments – and its “almost antiseptically politics-free” currency.
Latvia: “Eastern or Western?”
Some Latvians are “tired of being lumped in with, and referred to, as Eastern European,” writes All About Latvia.
Hungary: Political Joke
A Hungarian political joke from Pestcentric: “Q: If communism had not fallen in 1990, who would be prime minister today? A: [Socialist Ferenc Gyurcsany, who's the prime minister anyway].” More on the country's politics here and here.
Hungary: Punishment for War Criminal
Further Ramblings of a N.Irish Magyar suggests a better way to punish an elderly war criminal about to stand trial in Hungary: “Much better, that the media, schools and various NGOs give as much publicity as possible about Kepiro and his ilk and how horrendously they treated their fellow Hungarians....
Croatia, Serbia: Vets vs Bora Dordevic
Croatian war veterans group protests an upcoming talk show appearance by a Serbian rock singer Bora Dordevic, reports Illyrian Gazette.
Russia: What Was Litvinenko?
Russia in the Media argues that “referring to Litvinenko as an “ex-spy” basically misrepresents the work that he did in the Russian special services.”
Russia, Estonia: The Monument
Estonia‘s parliament voted last week to relocate from the center of the capital Tallinn the Soviet-era monument to the Red Army soldiers who died in World War II. The bronze statue of a soldier was erected in 1947 and is considered by many as a symbol of Soviet occupation. The...
China and South Korea: textbook
Jacky finds some discussions at Chinese BBS forum concerning South Korean textbook. Chinese's netizens were outraging about the distortion in the territorial map. However, are those books really Korean textbook?
Bangladesh: On the swastika
An ancient symbol appears to forever lose its meaning because of the Nazi connection. Inspirations and Creative Thoughts on the Swastika. “European Union is planning to ban the symbol of Swastika, infamously used by the Nazi. But hindus are opposing the move because despite its being adopted as symbol of...
Russia: Pioneer Camp Murals
White Sun of the Desert posts pictures of the Soviet-time murals that have survived at one of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk children's summer camps.
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Markale Massacre
YakimaGulagLiteraryGazett marks the “sad anniversary” of the Sarajevo Markale Massacre: “I had forgotten the date, but I remember well about the event, seeing it on the news made me angry. I began lobbying actively for intervention in BiH somewhat before that time. I remember being really angry with people who...
Slovakia: Spis Region
Four Bees writes about Slovakia's Spis region, which “has always been a melting pot of cultures and religions in a positive way.”
The Balkans: Karadzic's Whereabouts
Finding Karadzic comments on the thoughts of US Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes about the Balkan tribunals: “Williamson's most astonishing comment, buried in the west but on front pages in Belgrade and Podgorica, was that Karadzic was probably in Serbia.”
Lebanon: A Bouquet of Topics
A variety of subjects were brought up in the Lebanese blogosphere this week. Following are some of the topics with links to selected posts about each. Hope you enjoy reading them. On the Environment: The oil spill that covered the Mediterranean coast last July as a result of Israeli bombardment...
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Markale Massacre
Bosnia Vault writes: “Over a decade later, the Markale Massacre; and the allegation that the shell was fired upon by the ABiH forces in a ruse to gain public sympathy; has become the lynchpin argument of those in the Balkans and in the West who have unapologetically thrown their support...
