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+20 +1
China's mass indoctrination camps evoke Cultural Revolution
Hour upon hour, day upon day, Omir Bekali and other detainees in far western China’s new indoctrination camps had to disavow their Islamic beliefs, criticize themselves and their loved ones and give thanks to the ruling Communist Party. By Gerry Shih.
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Episode 4: What Dictators Don't Know
The Deadly Isms
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+11 +1
Forty-Five Things I Learned in the Gulag
Varlam Shalamov claimed not to have learned anything from the Gulag except how to wheel a loaded barrow. But one of his fragmentary writings, dated 1961, tells us more.
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+12 +1
Taiwan’s Communist Party Dissolved Six Months After New Political Party Law Went Into Effect
The Taiwanese government officially dissolved the Communist Party of the Republic of China on June 4. More commonly known as Taiwan, the self-ruled island passed the Political Party Law in November 2017, which prohibits political parties from investing in businesses, or possessing party names and logos that have a hidden discriminatory or hateful meaning. Additionally, …
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+6 +1
Mourning Joe
In many ways, Stalin is key to understanding Georgia’s political climate. By Jessica Loudis.
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+9 +1
“Every Day I Wake Up in a Strange Land”: Remembering the Russian Poet Naum Korzhavin
Some of the most searing poems by Korzhavin, who has died, at the age of ninety-two, focus on his decision to go into exile, to America, in the seventies. By Masha Gessen.
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+3 +1
Caracas Chronicles: Culture and Art Resist the Dictatorship
Art is all about freedom. Culture and the pursuit of knowledge are dangerous for chavismo. That’s why tyrants try so hard to subdue, suppress and annihilate both. How do artists and scholars manage in Venezuela nowadays? By Mile Castro. (July 2, 2018)
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+14 +1
How I Survived Socialism: A Self-Help Guide for Worried Americans
The regime was harsh, the system absurd but rules made up in Moscow were no match for the individualistic Poles. Magda Romanska’s delightful piece shows us how it was done. Elegantly, of course. (Apr. 22, 2012)
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+11 +1
This Czech Feminist Fought Nazis, Communists, and the Patriarchy
“If the Western media had a more plausible scale of values, Milada Horáková’s name would be well known, rather than virtually unknown in the West,” writes the Czech Jewish historian Wilma Abeles Iggers. By Briggs Burton.
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How Kathleen Cleaver Went From A Diplomat's Daughter To A Communist Black Panther
With her insatiable fighting spirit, Kathleen Cleaver went from being a bookish child to a front-lines protester with the Black Panthers. By Gina Dimuro.
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+34 +1
For 11 Years, the Soviet Union Had No Weekends
The experiment of a 'continuous week' was shift work, on a colossal scale. And it failed.
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+9 +1
The Sharashka Phenomenon
As many older Russians undoubtedly remember, by the early 1970s, the culture of underground or samizdat literature in the Soviet Union had evolved into a highly risky but established system for disseminating information among the dissident community… By Asif Siddiqi. (Mar. 10, 2011)
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+3 +1
The Black Disk of the Sun
Boris Dralyuk appreciates a “riveting political biography” of Mikhail Sholokhov, “Stalin’s Scribe” by Brian J. Boeck.
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Writing is still an essential skill for aspiring leaders
With the increasing role of Whatsapp, Twitter, and Instagram as our primary communication tools, one might wonder if good writing is still necessary for a leader. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words, and a lengthy message is too much to afford. Elon Musk, one of the most iconic business visionaries, often tweets out of compulsion, resulting in regrettable events like legal tangles with the SEC. And the most powerful man on earth, Mr. Donald Trump, constantly tweets incoherent sentences with grammar mistakes.
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+4 +1
Book Review: “A Traitor’s Guide to North Korea”
Andrei Rogatchevski reviews Forræderens Guide til Nord-Korea by Morten Traavik.
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+8 +1
The Voice of Beijing: China's Expanding Media Dominance in Africa
Chinese state television is gaining influence in Africa. But while the media outlets involved officially claim their journalism is independent, those who work for the companies tell a different story. By Bartholomäus Grill.
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+16 +1
Red Army Blues
The Waterboys
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+18 +1
Strangers save autistic girl's birthday party
The father of an autistic girl said he was "blown away" when strangers responded to a desperate plea to help his daughter celebrate her birthday. Remi was so upset when only two children turned up for her fifth birthday party that she asked her mother "where are all my friends?"
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+16 +1
More Than 9 Million People Are Freecycling Instead of Buying New
Freecycle plans to add a lending and borrowing tool to encourage people to share with friends and neighbors.
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+18 +1
Real experts know what they don’t know and we should value it – Andrew Little & Matthew Backus
Does imposing the death penalty lower rates of violent crime? What economic policies will lead to broad prosperity? Which medical treatments should we allow and encourage to treat novel diseases? These questions have a few things in common. They bear important consequences for us all, and so policymakers and the public would like to know the answers – if good answers even exist.
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