United Kingdom to Pay Reparations to Victims of Colonialism
Posted on Friday, June 7, 2013 by WorldAffairs
In what some hailed as a precedent setting action, the United Kingdom has agreed to pay reparations, amounting to about £3000 per person, to victims of torture and other abuses during the Mau Mau rebellion against British colonial rule in Kenya in the 1950's. British Foreign Secretary William Hague stated: "The British government recognizes that Kenyans were subject to torture and other forms of ill-treatment . . . more »
The Los Altos Library Endowment is sponsoring an essay contest now through April 12. Essays are to be themed on the Virginia Whipple Collection of Teaching Company Great Courses, a gift of the Endowment. First place winner will receive $200, second place is $100! The contest rules include: You must have a Santa Clara County Library card. One entry per person, based on one or . . . 
Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of England from 1979-1990, died Monday, April 8, 2013 from a stroke. Her remarkable life and accomplishments are detailed in a number of biographies - and in her own words in three books she authored - available in SCCLD's collection. . . . 
Few people know anything about the Lisbon earthquake of 1755, even though it marked a turning point for Western philosophy, religion and science. The quake, estimated to have been between 8.0 and 9.0 on the Richter scale, devastated the city of Lisbon, destroying 85% of its buildings outright. To escape the debris falling in aftershocks, many of the survivors congregated at the docks only to . . . 
February is Black History Month. It was begun in 1926 as Negro History Week by Carter G. Woodson, who is considered the Father of Black History and who founded The Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). Today the Association “continues his legacy of speaking a fundamental truth to the world--that Africans and peoples of African descent are makers of history.” . . . 
Just in time for Presidents' Day, here is a list of recent biographies of American presidents. The popular interest in the lives of our presidents can be seen in the almost instantaneous bestselling status of such books as Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot and by the enduring popularity of Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. Our Presidents' Day list of titles . . . 
"If you give me a week, I might think of one." - President Eisenhower's response to a reporter's question when asked to give an example of a major idea of Vice President Nixon's that his administration adopted. What was the true nature of the relationship between President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Vice President Richard Nixon? Jeffrey Frank's new book, Ike and Dick: Portrait of a . . . 
Not satisfied with what passes for news these days on the television? Would you like to know what is going on in the rest of the world? All of these foreign news sources provide coverage in English.....expand your world and see what the rest of the world sees. Europe: RT (Russian Today): Russian State International Broadcaster. RT covers the major news of the day from . . . 
Ideas. Events. People. Join the discussion...... . . . 
What would life be like if you had to change your name as protection from a death sentence? In 1989, a fatwa (religious edict) was issued against Salman Rushdie by the Ayatollah Khomeini because of his book The Satanic Verses, which was felt to contain blasphemy against the Prophet Mohammad. Rushdie went into hiding for almost 12 years. His protectors asked him to change his . . .