Category: History & Culture
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Stalin in the 1930s Part I: Collectivization
By the end of the nineteen thirties, Joseph Stalin was a master magician who had weaved a spell of terror upon the Soviet whole population – a spell in which truth would be suppressed and utterly unneeded. A spell in which people would extol the marvelous leader Stalin only to find that the person extolling…
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What’s Going On in Hong Kong?
One country, two systems. In 1997, Hong Kong was transferred back to China after Britain’s 100 year lease expired. The British-Chinese transfer agreement stated that, while Hong Kong would from that point on be under the sovereignty of the Beijing government, it would remain “untouched” in that certain civil liberties and democratic ideals which were…
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Viet Minh and USA Relations in 1945
Part of my Master’s Thesis that I wrote a couple years back dealt with the Viet Minh, the Vietnamese nationalistic rebels who warred with the Japanese and French during and after WWII. The Americans had some very interesting interactions with them in the summer of 1945. Some have called these interactions nothing less than a…
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Happy Merdeka! Malaysian Independence Day
September 1 marks the 57th anniversary of Malaysian independence. In 1957 Malaysia (which also included Singapore but not East Malaysia at that point) became an independent nation as they broke free from Great Britain’s colonial rule. I’ve currently working on my ninth year of living in Malaysia. I’ve come to really appreciate this interesting and…
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The Spratlys, China, and an Exclusive Book Excerpt
The Spratly Islands are an archipelago of atolls, reefs, and quaint little islands in the South China Sea off the coast of Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Who owns the islands? Depends who you are asking. All three of the above countries claims that they are theirs. What has really become irksome to those three…
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Advertisements from Harper’s Weekly 1865
I came across this page (click link below) from Harper’s Weekly from November 1865. It’s absolutely fascinating to see how life has changed. The political cartoon is amazingly candid about race attitudes after the war, which, of course, is not surprising. The rest of the page is mainly advertisements which are a real hoot! Here…
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America the Paradox
I truly believe that America is a great place. I’ve lived overseas for much of the last twenty years, but when I go back home to visit, I’m always reminded of just how amazing America is. From its development to its beauty to its generous and kind people. Americans of every color, age, and belief…
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The French Revolution: The Estates General
A little over a year ago, I posted what has become one of my most popular posts on this blog. It was a post about the peasantry in the French Revolution. Riveting stuff, right! Well, I suppose it’s all the students taking a course on the French Revolution that google “peasants, French Revolution” that brings…
Author Mark W Sasse 