Tag: History

‘Monument to history’ battle between US and China over future of Mao’s secretary’s diary

Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past: George Orwell, 1984 When you have a monopoly over power, you develop an obsession with secrecy: Frank Dikotter Amy Hawkins Senior China correspondent In the early hours of 4 June 1989, Li Rui, a veteran of the Chinese Communist party (CCP), was… Read More ‘Monument to history’ battle between US and China over future of Mao’s secretary’s diary

Dilip

Sinn Fein should never be able to escape Jean McConville’s ghost (2010) / Say Nothing (2018)

It is almost 38 years since the Belfast mother was abducted and killed by the IRA, yet no one has been found guilty of her murder Amanda Foreman It is almost 38 years ago to the day that a gang of masked IRA men and women in West Belfast burst through Jean McConville’s door. Jean had been… Read More Sinn Fein should never be able to escape Jean McConville’s ghost (2010) / Say Nothing (2018)

Dilip

Amarjit Chandan: Remembering Gehal Singh, who gave his life for communal harmony

First posted September 21, 2014 Gehal Singh: martyr to the supreme cause On the face of it this photograph of a withdrawn gentleman does not tell much except that it night have originated in an old family album. Roland Barthes said that we give captions ‘to sublimate, patheticise or rationalise the image’.  This photograph does demand… Read More Amarjit Chandan: Remembering Gehal Singh, who gave his life for communal harmony

Dilip

Question (1970)

Why do we never get an answerWhen we’re knocking at the doorWith a thousand million questionsAbout hate and death and war? ’cause when we stop and look around usThere is nothing that we need.In a world of persecution that is burning in its greed. Why do we never get an answerWhen we’re knocking at the… Read More Question (1970)

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I myself am a woman: Selected Writings of Ding Ling (1904-1986)

First posted October 15, 2019 In the winter of 1930, the father of Ding Ling’s child and 23 other Communist activists and writers were executed by Chiang Kai-shek. Her response was swift and irrevocable: she joined the revolutionary struggle I MYSELF AM A WOMAN: Selected Writings of Ding Ling.  Reviewed by Susan Brownmiller (1989) (Scroll… Read More I myself am a woman: Selected Writings of Ding Ling (1904-1986)

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Neither Confirm nor Deny: How the Glomar Mission Shielded the CIA from Transparency

Neither Confirm nor Deny: How the Glomar Mission Shielded the CIA from Transparency by M. Todd Bennett; Reviewed by Chuck Steele Despite the centrality of the ocean research vessel Glomar Explorer to this fascinating story, this is not a book intended for an audience of environmental historians. It is, however, a first-rate account of the… Read More Neither Confirm nor Deny: How the Glomar Mission Shielded the CIA from Transparency

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Alicia Vikander: ‘If you’re depicting an abusive relationship, you can’t shy away’

To get into the mindset of her latest character, Henry VIII’s sixth and final wife, Catherine Parr, Alicia Vikander would put in her AirPods between takes, alternating between classical music and “a lot” of techno. “It gave me a bit of physical stress,” she recalls. “Something that never stopped, like a heartbeat that always goes… Read More Alicia Vikander: ‘If you’re depicting an abusive relationship, you can’t shy away’

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A Proclamation regarding the Anniversary of the First Nuclear War Crimes

H. Patricia Hynes Greenfield, Mass. (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – As I write, five of nine governments with arsenals of nuclear weapons – capable of destroying life on our planet many times over – are engaged in war: the United States (in multiple wars and stoking one with China), Israel, Russia, and NATO members… Read More A Proclamation regarding the Anniversary of the First Nuclear War Crimes

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‘We’ve ousted this regime and will do so again’: the students bringing change to Bangladesh

Kaamil Ahmed and Redwan Ahmed in Dhaka Students are out in force on the streets of Dhaka, no longer protesting but working to put a city back together after the dramatic events of the past few days. After Monday’s resignation of Bangladesh’s prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, subsequent looting and pockets of violence meant the initial jubilation quickly turned to… Read More ‘We’ve ousted this regime and will do so again’: the students bringing change to Bangladesh

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