colonialism

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How Colonialism Helped Start the HIV Epidemic

Researchers pinpoint historical ground zero for the virus

(Newser) - The origins of HIV are something of a historical puzzle, but recent discoveries make that puzzle a lot easier to solve—and it looks a lot like European colonialism is a big piece of it. That's the thesis of a new book by Craig Timberg and Daniel Halperin called...

Time for US to Let the World Grow Up

Ian Buruma criticizes hawks for over-relying on military, hurting US interests

(Newser) - Sure, the United States has the world's most powerful military. But President Obama's reluctance to use it is hardly a sign of pessimism or weakness, it's "realistic wisdom," writes Ian Buruma at al-Jazeera . "Old-fashioned military dominance is no longer adequate to promote US interests....

Obama's Dad Was No 'Radical'
 Obama's Dad Was No 'Radical' 
OPINION
Oct 15, 2010 11:04 AM CDT

Obama's Dad Was No 'Radical'

'Anti-colonialist' accusations misunderstand father and son

(Newser) - Those who suggest Barack Obama is a “rabid anti-colonialist” based on impressions of his father are way off the mark about both father and son, writes Bruce L.R. Smith in the Washington Post . Dinesh D’Souza recently argued that “the president inherited political radicalism from his father....

Hugo Chavez: US 'Tectonic Weapon' Caused Haiti Quake
Hugo Chavez: US 'Tectonic Weapon' Caused Haiti Quake
HAITI QUAKE: PARALLEL UNIVERSE
Jan 22, 2010 8:00 PM CST

Hugo Chavez: US 'Tectonic Weapon' Caused Haiti Quake

... so America could then occupy the island

(Newser) - Indulging its neo-colonial ambitions, the US used a “tectonic weapon” to set off the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that rocked Haiti—which American troops have since occupied. That’s the contention of noted fly-in-America’s-ointment Hugo Chavez. After urging the US to “stop playing God,” but not revealing...

New York, Age 400, Looks Back to Holland

Exhibition features letter signaling founding of Manhattan

(Newser) - Today is an unhappy date in New York, but tomorrow is a much more joyous anniversary—on Sept. 12, 1609, Henry Hudson sailed up the river that now bears his name, leading to the founding of New Amsterdam. The Dutch royal family will visit for the anniversary, and two historical...

Founding Fathers That Time Forgot
 Founding Fathers 
 That Time Forgot 
INDEPENDENCE DAY
Jul 4, 2009 4:59 PM CDT

Founding Fathers That Time Forgot

And 4 others history has forgotten

(Newser) - Fifty-six men signed the Declaration of Independence, but we only remember a few of the Founding Fathers. Mental Floss shines a light on a few of the lesser-knowns:
  • George Read: the only statesman to oppose the Declaration of Independence. Admitted to the Philadelphia Bar at age 19, Read thought Americans
...

Parthenon Gets the Museum It Deserves
 Parthenon Gets the 
 Museum It Deserves 
MUSEUM REVIEW
Jun 17, 2009 1:52 PM CDT

Parthenon Gets the Museum It Deserves

(Newser) - The Parthenon has been called the one “absolutely right” building on the planet, and it now has a fitting memorial, Christopher Hitchens writes in Vanity Fair. Hitchens is among the first to visit the new Acropolis Museum in Athens, and it does not disappoint. Artifacts, expert reproductions, and a...

Sarko Jeered at African Leader's Funeral

French president booed, taunted in Gabon

(Newser) - Crowds in the African nation of Gabon booed Nicolas Sarkozy at the funeral of the country's long-serving strongman president, Omar Bongo. Dozens of onlookers shouted "We don't want you, leave!" at the French leader and his predecessor, Jacques Chirac. France ruled Gabon in the colonial era and...

Amid Thaw, Gadhafi Visits Italy for 1st Time

Libyan leader will meet Berlusconi, 700 most powerful women

(Newser) - Today marks the start of Moammar Gadhafi’s first visit to Italy since he took over Libya in 1969—and the trip “promises to be as colorful as it is historic,” notes Richard Owen in the Times of London. That’s thanks in part to his 300-member entourage...

Hugo's Gift Keeps on Selling

Volume on colonial oppression becomes overnight best-seller

(Newser) - Hugo Chavez has done for a book on the exploitation of Latin America what Bo did for Portuguese water dogs, the BBC reports. Eduardo Galeano’s Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent has gone from 54,295th to second on Amazon’s sales...

Chavez Gives Obama Book —on Colonial Oppression

(Newser) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez gave President Obama a Spanish-language book today about the historical ravages visited on Latin America by colonial powers, Politico reports. The English title of the 1971 book by Eduardo Galeano is The Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent. The...

Tibet's Long History of Isolation

Since 1800s, governments have secluded region from world

(Newser) - Isolation has long defined Tibet and fueled the region's exotic history, Edward Wong writes in the New York Times. While China's recent clampdown is purely political—this is the 50th anniversary of an attempted uprising—natural remoteness and anti-imperialist struggles have also sealed its borders. “A large element of...

Brits Tortured Obama Patriarch in Kenya Revolt

Granddad was jailed, beaten for 2 years in '50s Mau Mau uprising

(Newser) - British jailers tortured Barack Obama's grandfather during the struggle for Kenyan independence, his family tells the Times of London. Hussein Onyango Obama, who worked as a cook for a British army officer, was arrested in 1949, aged 56, and imprisoned for two years. There he was subjected to daily whippings...

Biofuel Firms' African Land Grab Has Colonial Echoes

Western companies shower nations with promises met with some suspicion

(Newser) - Africa is being seeded for a coming boom in biofuels, as Western companies buy thousands of acres to cultivate vegetable-oil-rich plants like the Jatropha curcas, Der Spiegel reports. In countries like Tanzania, Ghana and Ethiopia, firms are often securing century-long farming rights for nothing but a promise to invest in...

Rhodesian PM Ian Smith Dies at 88
Rhodesian
PM Ian Smith
Dies at 88
Nov 20, 2007 9:47 PM CST

Rhodesian PM Ian Smith Dies at 88

Broke from Britain and defended white minority rule for 15 years

(Newser) - Ian Smith, the Rhodesian leader who unilaterally declared independence from Britain in 1965 and defended white rule for 15 tumultuous years, died today at 88. Seen as a symbol of  African colonial-era racism, Smith was unrepentant during his lifetime, arguing that what is now Zimbabwe suffered more under the tenure...

Secretive French Office Wields Power in Africa

New regime may sever link to colonial past

(Newser) - The election of Nicolas Sarkozy could end the influence of the "African Cell," a tiny French government office that exerts great power in Africa. Since 1958, the Cell has used the French military to install and protect African leaders it considers friendly, opening it to charges that it...

Miners Dig for Gold in Belgian Museum
Miners Dig for Gold in Belgian Museum
Mar 20, 2007 11:33 AM CDT

Miners Dig for Gold in Belgian Museum

A collection of colonial-era maps of the Congo draws mining firms to musty stacks

(Newser) - A Belgian museum filled with stacks of faded geological maps of the Congo—a former colony—has become an unlikely mecca for mining companies searching for new deposits. With prices soaring and on-site exploration impeded by armed militias, drillers are eager to shell out hefty research fees to the Royal...

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