Stories about History from September, 2009
Kazakhstan: Lenin. More Alive Than the Living
Two similar messages have entered the Kazakh blogosphere from opposite ends of the country. They both talk about the revival of one symbol of a bygone era: head-and-shoulders statues of Lenin.
Grenada: Bishops Killers Scheduled for Release
Repeating Islands reports that the last of the “Grenada 17″, convicted for the murders of then-Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and ten others, “were scheduled to be freed as early as this past Saturday after serving nearly three decades in prison.”
China: Tanks roll in Beijing
Imagethief noticed the symbolic shift on tanks roll in Beijing city through the military parade celebrating the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China.
Syria: The Crisis of Islamic Civilization
Syrian Qunfuz reflects on former Iraqi minister Ali A Allawi's book entitled: “The Crisis of Islamic Civilization.”
France: Secularity, Required for Democracy and Human Rights
The French concept of the secular seems so distinctive that even the English-language Wikipedia's entry on the issue uses the French term, laïcité, worded in French, to describe it. Suzanne Lehn explains the very different ways bloggers in the US and France view the separation of church and state.
Cuba, U.S.A.: Obama's Order
Writing for Havana Times, Circles Robinson reports that U.S. President Obama has finally signed the order allowing Cuban-Americans to travel to Cuba and send money more easily to family members – but adds: “Nonetheless, the Obama administration maintains the nearly 50-year economic blockade on Cuba that has greatly hurt the...
Cuba: Filtering Connections
Yoani Sanchez ruminates on the many changes September brings, including this surprise: “Since last Friday it is impossible to [connect] to Voces Cubanas from the Island. They have applied to it the same slow filter they use to block the connection to desdecuba.com for users in Cuba with very slow...
Cuba, U.S.A.: Sanctions & Human Rights
Along the Malecon and Repeating Islands both refer to an Amnesty International report which calls for the lifting of US sanctions against Cuba.
East Timor: The land was freed, but who owns it?
A decade since Indonesia left East Timor with one of the most devastating scorched earth campaigns of modern times, there is strong debate about the draft Land Law, and among other things, its implications for community lands.
Jamaica: The Beauty Battle
Although Long Bench is not a fan of beauty pageants, she finds “some of the criticisms about this year’s selection rather disingenuous and void of basic historical perspective. To suggest that a light-skinned woman is not authentically Jamaican – ie. is a foreigner – and therefore should not even be...
Kyrgyzstan: Celebrating Independence Day
Sergey publishes a photo-post about the celebration of 18 years of independence in Kyrgyzstan, often dubbed as the «island of democracy» in Central Asia.
