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Tag Archives: History
Ted Kennedy and the Politics of Death
The politics of death serves to reinforce the ‘great person’ theory of history which suggests that historical change is the result of the wise and vigorous and inspired activities of talented individuals, not groups or social movements. By Harry Targ … Continue reading
Swine Flu Redux : We’re Not Out of the Woods Yet
Doctors and nurses treat patients at a tent hospital for influenza victims in Lawrence, Mass., in 1918. Archive photo from Hartford Courant. The outbreak in the Spring of 1918 was not the huge killer. It came back in a second … Continue reading
The Swine Flu Scare, and the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic
Masked Albertan farmworkers during 1918-1919 Spanish flu pandemic. Photo from Wikipedia Commons. When the deaths began to pile up, and most of those affected were young healthy people, just like the Spanish flu, it is easy to see how the … Continue reading
BOOKS / ‘Cruel and Unusual: The Culture of Punishment in America’
What I found striking in this volume is the extent to which advances in behavioral science and pedagogical experience have played almost no role in the evolution of corrections: Sentencing policies and prison conditions stem from basic, often religious and … Continue reading
Posted in RagBlog
Tagged American Society, Books, History, Incarceration, Prison Reform, Prisons
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Alice Embree : Remembering Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero
Mural at the National University of El Salvador depicting the late Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero, assassinated in March 24, 1980. Photo by Alice Embree / The Rag Blog.Liberation theologian and advocate for the poor, El Salvador’s Romero was assassinated 30 … Continue reading
Posted in Rag Bloggers
Tagged El Salvador, History, Latin America, Liberation Movements, Liberation Theology, People
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Patrick Cockburn on Israel : Detachment From Reality is the Norm
Still from Ari Forman’s animated film, Waltz with Bashir.‘Waltz with Bashir and repressed memories of Sabra and Chatila: Has anything changed?’By Patrick Cockburn / January 25, 2009 I was watching the superb animated documentary Waltz with Bashir about the Israeli … Continue reading
Bolivia : The Victory of Leftist Populism
Bolivian peasant passes by campaign posters for President Evo Morales.Remember Latin America? Something’s happening down there. By James Retherford / The Rag Blog / January 24, 2009 See ‘From Rightist Chaos to Leftist Constitutionalism:The Institutionalization of Bolivian Populism’ by Chris … Continue reading
Posted in Rag Bloggers
Tagged Bolivia, Evo Morales, History, Latin America, Revolutionary Movements
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Post-Katrina Vigilante Rampage : The Untold Story
Edna Glover holds a portrait of her son, whose remains were found behind a police station in New Orleans after Katrina. Photo by Chandra McCormick and Keith Calhoun / The Nation. ‘After the storm, White vigilantes roamed Algiers Point shooting … Continue reading
Posted in RagBlog
Tagged History, Katrina, New Orleans, Racism, Social Action, Vigilante Justice
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It’s a Narnia Christmas : A Hodgepodge of History Bound Together by Love
Drawing by Jeffrey Fisher. Copyright 2008 / New York Times.‘Narnia is a mongrel thing, and so is Christmas. As is often the case, this mongrelizing is the source of its strength.’By Laura Miller / December 18, 2008 Every Christmas, I … Continue reading
Massacre at Tlatelolco : Art Can Help Us Remember
Freedom of Speech (1968) by Adolpho Mexiac. Inspired by the student protest in 1968 in Mexico City and the massacre at Tlatelolco. As I started to tell the story behind these sculpted ghosts, I realized how little I remembered of … Continue reading
Posted in Rag Bloggers
Tagged History, Human Rights, Mexico, Mexico City, Police Riots, Sixties, Social Action, Social Movements, Student Movement
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Dude. 2,700-Year-Old Marijuana Stash Found in China.
Marijuana: A Tribute.‘The 789 grams of dried cannabis was buried alongside a light-haired, blue-eyed Caucasian man, likely a shaman of the Gushi culture, near Turpan in northwestern China.’By The Canadian Press / November 27, 2008 OTTAWA – Researchers say they … Continue reading
