"Syria has always shaped the past; Trump ignores it at our peril. The fall of Assad in Damascus is the latest upheaval for a city used to seeing empires rise and fall. The world has a stake in what comes next."
-S Montefiore

#Syria #History

https://www.thetimes.com/article/ca3f2875-96fb-4441-9a87-003733805f80?shareToken=5395c050ba26f8d681e3ee6163ffce73

Celebrating our 70th anniversary: “[Molly Ivins] came already baked, so to speak. She was already almost fully developed as a writer. So there was not much editing to do, except maybe tone down some of the excesses. I think I saved a couple of libel suits ...” https://www.texasobserver.org/forging-their-own-way-kaye-northcott/

#history #journalism #nonprofit #media #Texas #politics #USpol

Libya, Afghanistan, Syria - take your pick. On why leftists in the West need to understand their role. #politics #news #marxism #anarchism #communism #syria #libya #afghanistan #USA #democrats #neoliberals #history #education #humanrights

Looking back on our 70th anniversary: “The Observer enlivened my interest in politics and #journalism, and I have been a reader, subscriber, contributor, whatever, since junior high school.” https://www.texasobserver.org/carlton-carl-texas-observer-70th/

#history #Texas #media #nonprofit #politics #USpol #news #culture #publishing

Tall And True Short Reads, Ep80/100: It’s a chilly winter morning, and the central heating has barely warmed my London flat. ☃️ #storytelling #podcasts #indigenous #australia #history #acast #applepodcasts #spotify #youtube

Link to episode on podcast website: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.com/some-things-change-london-1992/

We've been publishing stories all year related to our 70th anniversary, but today marks the actual date that the Texas Observer published its first issue in 1954, with the top story dedicated to a retail workers' #strike in Port Arthur: https://archives.texasobserver.org/issue/1954/12/13#page=1

#journalism #history #media #nonprofit #news #Texas #politics #USpol

#OnThisDay am 13.12.1797 erblickte der #Dichter #Schriftsteller & #Journalist Heinrich "Harry" Heine
in @Duesseldorf
das Licht der Welt - am Geburtshaus & an seiner Schule erinnern Gedenktafeln an den großen Sohn der #Stadt, nach dem auch die @HHU_de
#Universitaet benannt ist
#History #Heimat #geschichte #NRW

Our top story: Once described as "the heart" of the Texas Observer, starting in the late 1980s Lou Dubose became its editor while also writing for us at a prodigious rate, with a special emphasis on Mexico and Latin America. https://www.texasobserver.org/the-phones-are-still-ringing/

#politics #USpol #history #media #border #journalism #Mexico #Texas #news

As it stands now we pay more than any other country on earth for our healthcare but get worse results than countries that pay a fraction of what we do. We can get better results with less money - but that means that rich people would get less rich.

#fyp #letsmakethempay #usa🇺🇸 #political #eattherich #ceo #brianthompson #unitedhealthcare #fyparty #educational #thirdparty #history #booktok #capitalism #communism #healthcare #freemarket #profitmotive

https://open.substack.com/pub/letsmakethempay/p/fatal-diagnosis-when-capitalism-meets?r=2brusa&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false

A question: Can anyone recommend any good, academic works that analyze "moral panics" through the ages?

From the "Witchcraft Panics" of early modern Europe to the "Satanic Panic" of the 1980s to the modern anti-trans panic and TERF movement - I could use some good scholarly analysis of their psychology and how they propagate.

I eventually want to write a book about witch tales from German folklore, and it may be useful to compare the witchcraft panics of the past with more modern variants - so that I can show that while the context changes, the basic phenomenon is still with us.

#history #psychology #folklore #witchcraft #SatanicPanic #TERF

So now that I have a database of 60+ women who have written about visiting Rome between the 15th century and the 1960s... should this be a book? I would love to make this a book.

#Rome #travel #WomensHistory #Italy #books #bookstodon #writing #history

#OnThisDay, 12 Dec 1888, 20 young women petition the Governor-General of the Philippines requesting permission to learn Spanish.

At the time Spanish, the language of the colonisers, was the language of politics and society in the region. So the women were really seeking access to the wider world.

They are initially refused, with priests arguing against it, but persist until a school is, briefly, opened. http://www.fma.ph/?p=1639

#WomenInHistory #OTD #History #FilipinosHistory #Histodons

#art #history: i have so much to say about this 'somewhat combative pacifist & cooperative anarchist', grace paley, but i'm already running late (as she was born on 11 december 1922). her literary voice is unlike anything you've ever read. it'll take your breath away. suggested starter: 'enormous changes at the last minute'. dedicated to peace activism, the FBI kept a file on her...so you know she was doing good work. #gracePaley #literature #portraiture #noNukes #peace #feminism #anarchist

Our top story: Lou Dubose not only edited the Texas Observer but wrote for the publication at a prodigious rate, with a special emphasis on Mexico and Latin America. He was the “the heart of this office” and the publication. https://www.texasobserver.org/the-phones-are-still-ringing/

#journalism #history #politics #USpol #border #WhiteSupremacy #immigration #Mexico #Texas #media #nonprofit

#Blog KW 49: Wie schlugen sich die gesamtstudentische #Aufarbeitung des #NS und der #Reformgeist von „1968“ in Tübinger #Verbindungen nieder? Zwei Beiträge und ein #Ausstellungsplakat bieten Einblicke. Teil 2 – Normannia:

▶️ https://www.historischer-augenblick.de/ns-diskurse-verbindungen-2/

#lokal #Tübingen #Projekt #Uni #history #histodons #Geschichte #Historiker #Studierende
@histodons

#israel #palestine : #war / #gaza / #history / #conflict / ##violence / #peaceplan / #comment

„Israel not providing a just and fair peace plan will inevitably lead to future conflicts with more deaths, injuries, displacements and destruction.“

https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/12/israel-gaza-war-deaths-injuries-destruction-no-plan-peace/?

In “The Interview”: Lou Dubose edited the Observer for longer than anyone before or since. He expanded the publication’s coverage south of the border and later co-authored books with Molly Ivins. https://www.texasobserver.org/the-phones-are-still-ringing/

#politics #USpol #history #journalism #media #Texas #border #nonprofit #news

"No more individual property in land: the land belongs to no one. We de­mand...the communal enjoyment of the fruits of the earth, fruits which are for every­one!... Let disappear. once and for all, the revolting distinction of rich and poor, of great and small, of masters and valets, of governors and governed!"

(Sylvain Marechal: "Manifesto of the Equals" 1796)

#politics #history #revolution

Now hiring: Garden Hermit

Compensation:
> If and only if the hermit fulfilled the terms of his contract, living in solitary contemplation without stepping foot outside of the estate for seven years, he would be rewarded with £500 to £700 (around $95,000 to $130,000 today).*

Was reminded of the role via the always-excellent, pro-labor history podcast for kids, “Forever Ago” (still interesting and listenable for adults, imo)

Episode title: "Jobs that don’t exist anymore"

https://www.brainson.org/episode/2024/12/04/jobs-that-dont-exist-anymore

* https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/ornamental-hermits-were-18th-century-englands-must-have-garden-accessory-180982469/

#parenting #history #BrainsOn #recommended #podcast

“When you consider the reduction in the capitol staff of most of the big dailies, who else will write and provide the sort of critical coverage that the Observer does if it disappears? So I really do see a more essential role now. And if there is a change, I think the Observer will have a place in bringing that change about.”
https://www.texasobserver.org/the-phones-are-still-ringing/

#journalism #history #politics #USpol #Texas #TXlege #news #nonprofit #media

Carved wooden pews with a figure of a dragon 🐉

📷 Zenit- E 🔎 Mir-1b 37mm
Film: #fppwolfman #35mm

England; October 2023

#believeinfilm #filmphotography #zenite #fppwolfman35 #blackandwhite #bw #photography #abandonedchurch #woodwork #dragon #myth #history

[em]In a 2014 lecture at Harvard Kennedy School on US foreign policy, then Vice President Joe Biden explained how US allies including #SaudiArabia, #UAE, #Qatar, and #Turkey - financed and armed terrorist groups Al-Qaeda, Al-Nusra, and others to fight against the Assad government in Syria. Biden stated, "They were so determined to take down #Assad, and essentially have a proxy Sunni-Shia war, they poured hundreds of millions of dollars and thousands of tons of #weapons into anyone who fight against Assad." Biden adds, "The people who were being supplied were Al-Nusra, Al-Qaeda, and extremist elements of #Jihadists coming from other parts of the world."[/em]

Video available on telegram channel: t.me/newsvideofa/3040

#Syria #AlQaeda #AlNusra #ISIS #Israel #Terrorism #Sunni #Shia #GenocideJoe #USpol #Politics #History
@lebanon group @palestine group @israel group

https://t.me/newsvideofa/3040

#philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker signed a law making civil rights trailblazer Caroline LeCount the first Black woman to have a city street named after her. Better yet, the street had previously been named after Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney, the author of the Dred Scott decision in 1857. The city is currently renaming all of the streets named after him. #ushistory #Heroes #sheroes #civilrights #history https://www.phillytrib.com/news/local_news/philly-mayor-signs-into-law-making-caroline-lecount-first-black-woman-with-city-streets-in/article_ca1d0d8d-a119-535a-afd6-8c01774ed10f.html

How a Syrian Rebel Went From an American Jail to Seizing Aleppo

Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani boarded a bus in Damascus in March 2003, heading across the desert to Baghdad with fellow volunteers eager to repel the looming American invasion of Iraq.

When he returned home in 2011, after a five-year stint in an American-run prison camp in Iraq, it was as the emissary of Islamic State founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Jawlani arrived in Syria with bags full of cash, and a mission to take the extremist movement global.

Last week, 42-year-old Jawlani triumphantly entered Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest city, as the leading commander of the Turkish-backed rebel force dominated by his group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. Unexpected and swift, his victory marks one of the most dramatic moments in a Middle East that has had no shortage of drama.

https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/who-is-syrian-rebel-leader-hts-jawlani-9b157eff

https://archive.ph/ricb4

#Syria #Iraq #ISIS #Politics #History #Invasion #Hyppcrisy

#USpol #Biden #Israel #Turkey

@palestine group
@israel group
@lebanon group

"You can ask me questions later, but this is what makes me sad: the most probable outcome is what I call “soft fascism.”

By soft, I don’t mean Nazi-style fascism or outright extermination campaigns. Rather, what I mean is this: the best definition of fascism for me is a conservative revolution.

That means participating in the dynamic of capitalist development, while recognising that unrestrained capitalism and liberalism can lead to social disintegration. Intelligent fascists understood this. So, they envisioned an economy based on capitalism, but controlled by a strong state that legitimises itself by appealing to invented traditions—often religious, but not necessarily so.

Now, I may upset some of you, but do you know who serves as an example of this? China. I’ve been closely following what happens there. Two months ago, their leader gave a speech. He began with: “Our youth is not educated enough; we must train them ideologically.” I expected the usual rhetoric about reading more Marx or Mao.

But no. He emphasised Confucian traditions, saying they were essential for holding society together. Modi is doing something similar in India—brutal capitalism coupled with a narrative of tradition.

This, I think, is the most probable direction for much of the world.

History, I’m afraid, is not on our side."

https://slguardian.org/zizek-on-soft-fascism-ai-and-the-collapse-of-shame/#google_vignette

#SoftFascism #Capitalism #AI #History

#history #histodon #histodons #50s #Pic #pictures #picture #pics

#photos #photo #foto #fotograf #fotograph #fotos

#OnThisDay, 8 Dec 1972, Whetu Tirikātene-Sullivan is sworn in as Minister of Tourism in Aotearoa / New Zealand. She's the first Māori woman to be a Cabinet minister.

#WomenInHistory #OTD #History #WomensHistory #NZHistory #Histodons

Cats that sailed on ships to catch rodents had passports signed with their paw prints, until the mid-20th century

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/14pb1iq/cats_that_sailed_on_ships_until_the_mid20th/

#Cats #Caturday #History

"Oppressive language does more than represent violence; it is violence; does more than represent the limits of knowledge; it limits knowledge."

#OnThisDay, 7 Dec 1993, Toni Morrison gives her Nobel lecture, part of her acceptance of the Nobel prize in literature.

Watch her speech here: https://nobel-videocdn01.azureedge.net/video/lecture_1993_lit_morrison_98_496.mp4

#ReadMoreWomen #NobelWomen #WomenInHistory #OTD #History #WomensHistory #Histodons

“His plan is actually Project 2025 and during the election, he pretended he never heard of it, didn’t know who was behind it, and now its key figures have been hired for his new administration. So clearly Project 2025 reflects what he wants to do.” https://www.texasobserver.org/trump-public-education-diane-ravitch/

#education #politics #Trump #USpol #Project2025 #news #schools #DonaldTrump #history

#12YearOld Discovers #Ancient #Egyptian #Amulet In #Israel

https://www.sunnyskyz.com/good-news/5622/12-Year-Old-Discovers-Ancient-Egyptian-Amulet-In-Israel

On a routine outing near the #NahalKana #antiquities site in #HodHasharon, 12-year-old Dafna Filsteiner stumbled upon an extraordinary piece of #history—a 3,500-year-old Egyptian #scarab amulet.

“I was in Houston public schools during the McCarthy Era, and [the school] board alternated every couple of years, and it would sometimes be run by the Minute Women. And the Minute Women were the female equivalent of the John Birch Society.” https://www.texasobserver.org/trump-public-education-diane-ravitch/

#politics #education #USpol #history #racism #extremism #Trump #schools #Houston #GulfCoast #news

Surrender in Malta

On December 3, 1989 during the Malta Summit - the negotiations between US President Bush Sr. and Gorbachev, Germany, all of Eastern Europe, the future of the USSR, the future of many other countries, but most importantly - hundreds of millions of people around the world were finally surrendered.

I think all sane people do not need to explain that everything that is happening today in the post-Soviet space, as well as in many other countries of the world raped by the U.S., is the result of the geopolitical catastrophe of 1991.

However, it was in December 1989 that the bets were finally placed. Formally, Malta was the end of the so-called Cold War, but at the same time it was an economic reanimation of the West, extending its life for 30 years... Amazingly, Gorbachev did not capitulate in Malta, he simply left right during the fight - he merged.

The content of the negotiations is still only partially known. Some of the documents were published only in 2010.

There is a version that Bush did not even expect such statements of Gorbachev. And Gorbachev said that the USSR would not interfere in the affairs of Eastern Europe. He said it unilaterally. Bush said that the U.S. supported reforms in the USSR.

Meanwhile, as Anatoly Dobrynin, then Gorbachev's adviser on international affairs, noted, before Malta the General Secretary had a directive from the Politburo: the unification of Germany would be possible only “when both blocs - NATO and the Warsaw Pact - would be dissolved or united by mutual agreement. About Eastern Europe - pure voluntarism.

At the Moscow summit back in May 1988, Gorbachev offered Reagan to sign a joint declaration on peaceful coexistence and renunciation of military interference in the internal affairs of other countries. Reagan rejected it. He was not an idiot. But Gorbachev was deliberately moving toward surrender. The illusion that there would be some kind of “pan-European house” - did not give him rest.

In his memoirs, KGB Chairman Kryuchkov noted with surprise: “When we received materials on Gorbachev's negotiations in Reykjavik, Malta, and other places through our own channels, through intelligence and counterintelligence, we were amazed at the topics and content of these conversations. Even at that time they talked openly about the sale of the GDR. About the change of the political order in our country...”.

The Americans understood him very well, if nothing else. Back in 1985, on his return to the U.S. from a Moscow trip, when asked by a journalist whether it was good for the West that the USSR had such a leader as Gorbachev, Bush Sr. (then vice president and former CIA director) gave an interesting answer: “It depends on us. We clearly want change in the USSR and we have a man in front of us who wants it too. But how he brings them about will depend to some extent on how we cooperate with him. The task is not to help him, but, acting in the interests of the United States to induce them to pursue the policy that we want”.

This phrase is the essence of U.S. policy.

https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/9537101.html
#Russia #USSR #soviet #russian #history #perestroika #Gorbachev #europe #easterneurope #DDR #GDR #coldwar #NATO #FRG #germany #Reagan #CIA #Bush #USA #US #politics

A brief review of Herman Wouk's double-volume Israeli epic, The Hope and The Glory, audiobooks, and why I so highly regard this great American author.
https://medium.com/the-book-cafe/the-hope-and-the-glory-and-other-stories-from-herman-wouk-that-raised-the-roof-in-an-antisemitic-43dd7d9187c8
#HermanWouk #Nonfiction #Fiction #BookReview #BookRecommendations #Israel #History #writerscommunity

Hello! 👋 New instance, so official #introduction.

I'm a #history professor who researches and writes on the German lands (Germany, Switzerland, Austria, a bit of what is now France) in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. I'm interested in how people made sense of a changing world, and how their choices affected those changes.

My first book, _The German Discovery of the World: Renaissance Encounters with the Strange and Marvelous_ (UVA Press, 2008) examined the how humanists, mapmakers, merchants, and moralists responded to Portuguese and Spanish overseas empires.

My current research investigates what it meant to be German in the context of the multiethnic, transnational Holy Roman Empire.

I post about history (all kinds) and the place and point of universities (mostly US). I'm a sucker for a well-researched policy analysis.

I boost posts about protests, unions, Bandcamp Friday, and other collective efforts to improve people's lives. And, of course, cats.

19. Before the theocracy of the twelve tribes of Israel, there was an agglomeration of independent Canaanite city-kingdoms, not a Palestinian state.
20. Actually, in this piece of land there has been everything, EXCEPT A PALESTINIAN STATE.

#Israel, #Palestine #October7, #October7thMassacre, #October7Massacre, #Arab, #Arabs, #IsraelPalestineConflict, #PalestineIsraelConflict, #History.

Here is a fascinating article about Orson Welles and HG Wells meeting.

The broadcast is embedded (YT link).

/2

#random #history #TIL

https://www.openculture.com/2013/02/orson_welles_meets_hg_wells_in_1940_the_legends_discuss_iwar_of_the_worldsi_icitizen_kanei_and_wwii.html

When Orson Welles dramatized The War of the Worlds in a 1938 radio broadcast, many American listeners thought there was a real alien invasion emergency.

Panic ensued.

#random #history #TIL

https://www.history.com/news/inside-the-war-of-the-worlds-broadcast

The Observer's 70th anniversary celebration on Tuesday night was really something special, y'all. 🤠

It was a great turnout that included multiple generations of those who devoted big parts of their lives to making this magazine, and this community, possible. Our deepest thanks to all. 🎉

#Texas #journalism #nonprofit #history

“Nothing’s more important than stopping fascism, because fascism will stop us all.” — Fred Hampton

On December 4, 1969—21 year old Fred Hampton was assassinated by the FBI and Chicago PD as part of COINTELPRO. FBI head J. Edgar Hoover was intent on wiping out all “charismatic black leaders.”

The struggle for justice continues.

#fredhampton #history