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Japanese Americans celebrate New Year's Eve at Central Utah (Topaz) Relocation Center (internment camp),
Joseph Aoki portrays Father Time and his son Tommy, Baby New Year 1945.
See:
https://kayhanlife.com/culture/heritage/shab-e-yalda-special-kayhan-life-celebrates-ancient-persian-festival-holds-zoom-event/
Other links:
https://www.cais-soas.com/CAIS/Celebrations/yalda.htm
https://iranicaonline.org/articles/cella-term-referring-to-any-forty-day-period
https://www.iranchamber.com/culture/articles/festival_of_yalda.php
Many of the fruits served are red, as the colour represents dawn and new light.
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Today is the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. Known as Midwinter, Yule, Jól and several other names, it is important in pagan beliefs. Image: Winter by Ignace-Gaston Pardies, 1674.
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ETA members had planted explosives under the road via a nearby cellar.
The enormous explosion left a crater in the ground and propelled Blanco's car so high in the air it went over a nearby building, earning him the title amongst anti-fascist Spaniards of Spain's first astronaut.
It is possible that ETA were more interested in creating civil disorder within Spain than anything else, but the crisis caused by Blanco's death probably made Spain's transition to democracy after Franco's own death easier.
Australian Prime Minister vanished whilst swimming on the 17th of December 1967. His body was never found despite extensive search efforts, leading to many conspiracy theories.
However, he almost certainly drowned, possibly as a result of a heart attack. His doctor had advised him to swim less, a comment that was on the front page of the newspaper the day he vanished.
He had commented earlier to an aide; "what are the odds of a prime minister being drowned or taken by a shark?"
Tom Lehrer, noted American satirist, claimed that he gave up writing satire because "Political satire became obsolete when Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel peace prize."
Interesting obituaries:
https://thecritic.co.uk/the-man-who-loved-power/
Henry Kissinger (1923-2023) was notable for his position as a prominent American Secretary of State, advisor, theorist. and diplomat, as well as a war criminal.
Kissinger fled persecution in Germany and became a renowned academic of foreign relations. He was also a skilled self-publicist, creating the myth of a "Great Man" that, whilst serving his public image whilst in power, in later years would see him become reviled as a symbol of American-backed atrocities worldwide.
Kissinger was a "realist" towards international relations, that is, a utilitarian, pragmatic school of thought that focuses on the state as the main international actor. In practice, this meant continual attempts by the US to maintain hegemony over communism.
Kissinger's positive achievements include détente with the Soviet Union, improved relations with China, negotiations to limit nuclear weapons, and the Paris Peace Accords (albeit, ones that he had tried to sabotage earlier).
The People's Republic of China (1949-) has now outstripped its one-time ally and later rival Russia/USSR (1917-1991) in how long it has existed as a self-declared communist state. However, the oldest communist state is currently Vietnam, which was proclaimed in 1945.
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Vacillating and sleep-deprived, Ludendorff declares "we march!" and the plotters set off to the city centre. They meet soldiers of the German army there. Someone fires first, and in the chaos 16 Kampfbund, 4 soldiers, and a civilian are killed. Notably, Hermann Göring narrowly escapes death. Hitler flees to the countryside.
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8 November 1923: Imitating Mussolini's March on Rome, an alliance of nationalist groups called the Kampfbund surround the Bürgerbräukeller beer hall in Munich, Germany. Marching in, leader Adolf Hitler is unable to make himself heard and fires a pistol in the air, declaring that the revolution has begun. The intention is to seize control of the Bavarian government and march on the national Weimar government.
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Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
- excerpt from Christmas Bells (1863) by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, on observing Christmas during the American Civil War.
"Peace on earth, good-will to men" is an excerpt from Luke 2:14 where a choir of angels proclaim the coming of Jesus and exhortations for peace.
In ancient times many of the rituals were seen as ways of keeping evil spirits at bay, which were especially prevalent at that time of year.
In modern times people continue such activities as divining one's fortune from the Dīvān of Hafez, but only up to three times, as otherwise Hafez may become angry.
(Image: Ibrahim Jabbar-Beik (1923-2002))
Another Winter solstice celebration is the Persian Yalda.
Yalda is a celebration of the re-birth of the sun. Traditionally Persians gather with friends and family for the night, feast, sing, and read poetry.
Image: Reza Shah and Mohammad Reza Shah during celebrations (1319/1901-2 AD)
Source
Person wearing a Koledari costume (used for Christmas caroling) (Straža, Vršac, Serbia, 1969)
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20 December 1973: Spanish Prime Minister, Admiral-General Luis Carrero Blanco, is assassinated in Madrid by the Basque separatist group ETA.
Dictator Franco, in ailing health, favoured Blanco, who was a skilled manoeuvrer within the regime and was a possible successor.
Aarhus University have launched a free online course covering Danish history from the Viking age to the modern era.
https://danmarkshistorien.dk/en/open-online-course
www.nytimes.com/2023/12/01/opinion/henry-kissinger-foreign-policy-democracy.html
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Far overshadowed, however, is his legacy of violence, including but not limited to: merciless bombing of Indochina, especially Cambodia (top); support for Pakistan against Bangladesh (left), leading to hundreds of thousands of deaths; support for apartheid South Africa; support for the state terrorism in South America known as Operation Condor (right); and support for the events that led to the East Timor genocide. Kissinger often lied about his involvement and knowledge of these events even years after, and at the time supressed media reports. He often acted illegally.
Nonetheless, Kissinger's position as an 'Evil Great Man' is misguided. His role as a lightening rod for criticism of US foreign policy existed mainly because of his continual public appearances and the death of many of the others involved. Whilst influential, he was not the sole mastermind.
Armistice Day in Liverpool, UK, 1921. 1921 saw the introduction of the poppy as a symbol of the commemorations.
But globally, away from the pomp and decorum, there was considerable unrest in some places. In Liverpool itself, veterans disrupted the Silence because they were unhappy with how they had been treated by the government. In London, the same happened at the Cenotaph, and other demonstrations were reported across Europe. 'The dead are remembered but we are forgotten' was one phrase held on placards. It was clear the 1920s was not going to be an easy decade.
Source
9 November 1923: the coup falters even as SA men stand seem to have taken over parts of Munich. Three crucial government hostages are released in the night by Ludendorff.
Despite taking over key government buildings, there is a lack of direction in what the plotters are trying to do. It is clear by morning that the police and army remain loyal to the state.
(Yes this photo was later used, mistakenly unattributed, on the cover of a Beirut album)
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Alatyr, Samara, Arino, and Tuva (Sergey Chilikov, 1990s). Chilikov sought to capture the brief feeling of liberation after the end of Soviet social repression in the former USSR, which was quickly giving way to economic collapse and corruption.
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