Roundup

The 25th Anniversary of the Forgotten Invasion of Panama

by Greg Grandin

As we end another year of endless war in Washington, it might be the perfect time to reflect on the War That Started All Wars -- or at least the war that started all of Washington’s post-Cold War wars: the invasion of Panama.

Did historical Jesus really exist? The evidence just doesn’t add up.

by Raphael Lataster

The first problem we encounter when trying to discover more about the Historical Jesus is the lack of early sources.

Obama and the Beginning of the End of the Cuban Embargo

by Amy Goodman

The failed United States policy against Cuba, which has for more than half a century stifled relations between these neighboring countries and inflicted generations of harm upon the Cuban people, may finally be collapsing.

Roundup Top 10!

This week's broad sampling of opinion pieces found on the Internet, as selected by the editors of HNN.

How Ping Pong Changed the World

by Victor Fic

An interview with Nick Griffin about his new book, "Ping Pong Diplomacy."

Putin and the Art of Political Fantasy

by Walter Laqueur

For some considerable time the element of fantasy in Russian political discourse has been strong (and growing stronger), not only at the popular level but in official statements.

When J.F.K. Secretly Reached Out to Castro

by Michael Beschloss

There was a meeting just a few days before the president’s assassination to discuss overtures to Castro.

The Forgotten Futility of Torture - An Analysis

by Lawrence Davidson

It has long been known that torture does not work. One can go back to the Enlightenment.

The Senate Drone Report of 2019

by Tom Engelhardt

Looking Back on Washington’s War on Terror

A history of torture (video)

The long nightmarish history of man’s inhumanity to man.

How did American higher education evolve?

by Scott Jaschik

An interview with Roger L. Geiger, author of The History of American Higher Education: Learning and Culture From the Founding to World War II (Princeton University Press).

They Said ‘No’ to Torture: The Real Heroes of the Bush Years

by Jon Wiener

Hidden in the Senate torture report are stories of some heroes—people inside the CIA who from the beginning said torture was wrong, who tried to stop it, who refused to participate.

The other story of Hanukkah

by Jonathan Zimmerman

How the Jewish holiday became distinctly, wonderfully, American

Dec. 14, 1799: The excruciating final hours of President George Washington

by Dr. Howard Markel

It was a house call no physician would relish.

The Rocky Road to Tara

by Chris Nashawaty

It took three years, cost a princely sum and threatened to go off the rails more times than David O. Selznick cared to count. But against all odds, Gone With The Wind stayed the course–and turned out to be an epic for the ages.

Does Texas Care About the Truth in the Textbooks It Approves?

by Christopher Rose

Texas is Adopting New History Textbooks: Maybe They Should Be Historically Accurate.

Why 1940s America wasn’t as religious as you think — the rise and fall of American religion

by Tobin Grant

It’s common for people to believe that religion was always more vibrant in the past.

An Arab Prince Denounces Islamism

by Daniel Pipes

The crown prince of Bahrain (an island kingdom in the Persian Gulf and home to the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet), candidly analyzed the Islamist enemy and suggested important ways to fight it.

Netflix ‘Chinese Game of Thrones’ charts the life of Marco Polo – so who was he?

by George Lane

It is a name that most will have heard of, but few, perhaps, actually know much about.

Lift the sanctions on North Korea

by Christine Ahn and Suzy Kim

"Instead of relying on the failed Washington policy of 'strategic patience' it is time for a bold move that will truly bring North Korea into the community of nations, leaving no excuse to delay addressing human rights – sign a peace treaty to end the state of war."