Many would assume that stories of war criminals end when the war is over, for some, that is far from the case. The man we’ll discover in this segment of War Criminals found a new violent career as his former employer burned in the ashes of Berlin. His name was Klaus Barbie, also known as…
Africa didn’t earn its nickname of the heart of darkness without reason. The last few decades have seen gruesome civil wars erupt across the continent with mass murder, modern slavery and genocide being defining features. However, few were as dark as the Liberian Civil War. Known for cannibalism and brutal urban warfare, this was a…
War and bizarre subcultures are some of my biggest fascinations in life, and Turbofolk is a prime mixture of the two. On my first trip to Belgrade, Serbia, I became fascinated with this scene, which was seemingly hidden from foreigners. Most Serbs I spoke to told me they were embarrassed by the Turbofolk scene and…
Cambodian New Year gets cancelled in a move even the grinch would flinch at. Cambodian New Year, or as the locals call it Khmer New Year, which takes place from April 14th – 16th, has mostly been cancelled due to the giant elephant in the room that is coronavirus! During Khmer New Year, migrant workers…
Dictator Swagger:On This Day Tirana, Albania – April 11, 1985: Albania’s communist leader Enver Hoxha dies of complications brought on by a ventricular fibrillation. Hoxha had been in increasingly fragile health since a 1973 heart attack and, in his final weeks, had been confined to a wheelchair. Hoxha’s handpicked successor Ramiz Alia assumed control of…
While you may have been in your home these last few weeks watching Narcos from the beginning again, internet warriors from Thailand and China were engaged in a war, possibly a prelude of Asian geopolitics in the future. Last week the Thai actor, Vachirawit Chivaaree aka Bright, retweeted something which made reference to Hong Kong…
Dictator Swagger:On This Day Baghdad, Iraq, April 9, 2003: With the help of U.S. troops, Iraqi civilians tear down a statue of Saddam Hussein in central Baghdad. In a display of insensitivity, a U.S. marine draped a U.S. flag over the head of the statue, which reportedly stunned the crowd and drew ire from Arab…
Dictator Swagger:On This Day April 7, 2020 – Hissène Habré, the former dictator of Chad from 1982-1990, has been granted 60 days of house arrest due to the increased risk of his contracting COVID-19 in prison. The decision to move Habré from Cap Manuel Prison was made by the Senegal Ministry of Justice, the body…