· October, 2008

Stories about History from October, 2008

Ukraine: Rally Against UPA

  14 October 2008

At Ukrainiana, lots of photos and video from a rally against the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, which took place in Kyiv today: “As expected, I found myself in the Jurassic Park of communism, progressive socialism, pan-Slavism, Russian monarchism, imperialism, Eurasianism and whatnot.”

Cuba: Imprisoned

  14 October 2008

Diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense calls Cuba the “concentration camp of the Caribbean”, while Havana-based Generation Y blogs about the rise of prices on the informal food market, saying: “These days, chanting ‘Eeee-eeeggs’ may be more dangerous than chanting anti-government slogans. OK, let’s not exaggerate, opinion has always been punished more.”

Barbados: Finanical Fallout?

  14 October 2008

Living in Barbados suggests that “once all the financial dust has started to settle there will be a very different world of international finance, with most of the world's major banks owned or largely controlled by the State.”

Grenada: Artefact

  14 October 2008

“It is not unusual, during the course of a morning, as we weed or mole or fork the land, for us to unearth some pottery shard or rusted garden implement from long ago”: Grenada's Free Spirit finds an unexpected treasure from the 1800s.

Cuba: War Reflections

  13 October 2008

“Today, we are informed about every loss suffered by the American army in Iraq but I remember the secrecy about the number of Cuban soldiers who fell during the Angolan War”: Generation Y reflects on the loss of life as a film about the Cuban war in Angola is released...

Jamaica: Changing Attitudes?

  13 October 2008

As The Jamaica Gleaner runs an article on the changing attitudes towards homosexuality (along with an interesting choice of stock photography), My View of JamDown from Up So wonders “what/if any backlash there will be among readers regarding this picture of two women, especially considering this is published on a...

Lusosphere: The origins of the American Banjo in Africa

  12 October 2008

Emerson Santiago [pt] writes at Patafurdia Magazine about akonting, the musical instrument found in Senegal, Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau in West Africa. “The Portuguese colonizers and the North American slaves owners began to call the instrument “Banjo”, coming from the Quimbundo word “m'banza” (language of the second largest ethnic group in...

Brazil: The country pays homage to the Samba master

  12 October 2008

If he was alive today, Cartola, one of the key figures in samba music, would be celebrating 100 years this October 11. Cartola composed over 500 songs, deeply loved by Brazilians, who today published their favorite song or poem, videos, photos and bits and pieces of the history of this legend.

Brunei: Railway line, 1952

  11 October 2008

The Daily Brunei Resources writes about a 1952 Brunei Darussalam Annual Report which mentioned an old railway line in Brunei.

Palestine: The Jews and Israel

Palestinian Pundit links to a story about a historian who claims that the idea of a Jewish people was “invented” and that “most of today's Jews have no historical connection to the land called Israel.”

Bhutan: A kings dream

  9 October 2008

Expressions blog pays tribute to the King of Bhutan, His Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck recognizing that the nation’s dreams are shared fully by the new King.