Category: Until This Day–Historical Perspectives on the News

Patrick Lawrence: Unsweet Dreams

The Ukraine question hung over the recent G20 summit even though  members have repeatedly signaled their wish to avoid the new cold war that Biden and his foreign-policy people are building.

CHILE 50 YRS: Allende Lives in Santiago Vigil

Zoe Alexandra reports on the commemorations in Chile of the 1973 coup, including a centerpiece candle light vigil at the National Stadium in Santiago, one of the largest centers of torture and detention during the Pinochet dictatorship.

Oppenheimer, Berkeley & the Bomb

Contrary to its public reputation, Tony Platt says the campus where he became an anti-war activist in the 1960s has always been one of academia’s premier beneficiaries of militarism.

US LABOR DAY: The Minimum Wage at Age 85

Without any mechanisms to adjust for rising prices, the real value of the federal minimum wage hit a 66-year low in 2023, say the authors. It’s now worth 42 percent less than its highest point in 1968.  

The Bongo Family’s 56-Year Rule Over Gabon

Elections in the country during the dynasty’s decades in power were  followed by protests, then security force crackdowns and ultimately silence, writes Douglas Yates. Until Wednesday, when the Bongo regime was finally overthrown.