Новости за 02.06.2019

А также вполне правдивых вещей.

Neo-Confederate apologists have long claimed, with spurious reasoning, that the American Civil War was simply about “states’ rights,” and in one ironic sense they were arguably right. The war was precipitated by a violation of regional sovereignty – of northern states rights. Case in point: the afternoon of June 2nd 1854, Bostonians gathered along the harbor’s embankments to watch a ship bound southward. Onboard was a man named Anthony Burns, but for the captains of that ship and for those who... Читать дальше...

Born in Pittsburgh in 1963 (four days after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy), Mark Weisenmiller graduated from the Pennsylvania State University in 1985. He is an author-historian-reporter. Previous employers include United Press International (UPI); Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA); Agence France Presse (AFP); Inter Press Service (IPS); the international news wire service, based in Beijing, China, known as the Xinhua News Agency (XNA), and The Economist.

In the latest issue of The Atlantic (May 14, 2019), it should come as no shock that Benny Morris, an Israeli historian turned propagandist, attacks Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), the first Palestinian-American in Congress and a Muslim. Morris’s implacable hostility to Arabs—as Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg once put it--“sometimes leads him to inflammatory conclusions,” including Morris’s lament that Israel’s founder David Ben-Gurion failed to carry out a “full expulsion—rather than a partial... Читать дальше...

The unitary theory of the presidency may be reaching its logical conclusion under President Donald J. Trump. That theory, which is referred to as the unitary executive, holds that presidents have broad, close to unlimited, powers over the executive branch. At its extreme, the theory holds that the president cannot be checked “by Congress or the Courts, especially in critical realms of authority,” as John P. MacKenzie wrote in his book Absolute Power. 

A Bundist demonstration, 1917

From 25-27 September 1897, thirteen activists from various Jewish radical organizations in the Russian Empire met in Vilna (now Vilnius, Lithuania). The date was no accident, it coincided with the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, a day when many Jews were traveling to be with family, a day when these activists could travel without arousing the authorities’ suspicion. The need for secrecy overrode all other concerns. 

At no point were all of the activists in the room at the same time... Читать дальше...

The main reading room of the Library of Congress

During April 2019 several pieces appeared on the HNN website dealing with the decreasing interest in the humanities, including history. One of them was entitled  “US declining interest in history presents risk to democracy.” Commenting on President Trump’s poor knowledge of history, it observed that he “is a fitting leader for such times.” Another article, abridged from The New York Times, was “Is the U.S. a Democracy? A Social Studies... Читать дальше...

When I decided to write Poison in the Colony, a historical novel about the Jamestown colony, I was up against a problem. It was 2014 and young readers had made their desires clear: if a book didn’t contain a fantasy world, vampires, or at least a few wizards, they did not want to read it. I pondered how I might incorporate the other-worldly aspects that young readers wanted in a novel about real people and real historical events. I decided to blend in a believable and historically accurate bit... Читать дальше...

In 1925, a bellicose Adolf Hitler understood that he needed the power of mass persuasion to push his political ideology on the German people. Citing propaganda as an essential component of statecraft in Mein Kampf, he wrote that propaganda must “awaken the imagination of the public through an appeal to their feelings, in finding the appropriate psychological form that will arrest the attention and appeal to the hearts of the national masses.” In its early phases, the Nazi party largely depended... Читать дальше...

Celebrations as Rome is liberated

Amid the justifiable hoopla this week surrounding the launch of the D-Day invasion, it is important to note, too, the anniversary of an event that unfolded just two days earlier, on June 4, 1944--the Allied liberation of Rome. 

Despite Churchill's promises of quick victory in the 'soft underbelly” of Hitler's Fortress Europe, the prize was hard-won, indeed—Italy proved a “tough, old gut,” in the words of the GI's master chronicler Ernie Pyle. Читать дальше...

D-Day planning map, used at Southwick House

My father Vincent was wounded clearing the mines on Omaha Beach following the D-Day invasion 75 years ago.  At the hospital next to him was one of the D-Day paratroopers who got dropped into France to fight the Nazi Germans.  When my father told the paratrooper about removing mines, his reply was "gee, that's dangerous." My father could not believe that a daring paratrooper would consider that a risky job! Both my father and the paratrooper... Читать дальше...

I knew Murray Polner, HNN’s book editor until May 2017, long before I began submitting reviews.  This was his second stint as my editor, the first being in the 1990s, when I became a contributing writer for PS: The Intelligent Guide to Jewish Affairs.  

The NBA is often a popular topic of debate in Baltimores locker room, and that has ramped up this week with the start of the NBA Finals.

James Davenport from Salford is producing a film about his life called 'The Making of an Addict'

Children in colorful outfits sing in a creole of Portuguese and Malay during a class in the historic Malaysian city of Malacca, part of efforts ...

Aamir Khan's Eldest Son Junaid turns 26 and this is how daddy wishes him.

(CNN) — The State Department has begun requesting “most” US visa applicants provide information on their social media accounts, a department official said in a statement. The move was expected following an announcement in March of last year that outlined plans to require nearly all US visa applicants to submit their social media handles and other information. The State Department statement over the weekend said the forms for both immigrant and nonimmigrant visa applicants had been updated “to request additional information... Читать дальше...

The result was never in doubt, so why did Kerry’s victory feel like a let-down?

Chinese telecoms giant Huawei said many parcels intended for it were diverted by FedEx from Japan and Vietnam to USA all on the same day. When question by Huawei, FedEx at first denied the diversion, then it immediately excused itself by claiming it handles 15 million packages a day and something like this is not a surprise. Huawei suspect FedEx was acting for US spy agencies in trying to deliver Huawei equipment to USA for installing spying backdoors.

Lakshminarayanan stays away from CLP meeting; Opposition to boycott session

“The Handmaid’s Tale” executive producer Warren Littlefield thinks America is turning into Gilead, the show’s fictional totalitarian and oppressive republic.

By CCN: The second half of the 2019 blockchain calendar is filled with prominent development landmarks for several crypto market heavyweights Either because of bullish cryptocurrency investor speculation or timely manipulation, these events often coincide with robust price pumps for the coins involved. A review of projects with imminent Q2 landmarks on the horizon can be found here. In the meantime, here are five popular altcoins with tantalizing pump-worthy prospects scheduled for Q3. 1. Zcash (ZEC) ... Читать дальше...

At least a dozen people were killed and four injured after a gunman opened fire in a municipal building.