Trump Can Remain On Primary Ballots, Supreme Court Rules

Some attorneys interpret the Supreme Court ruling in favor of Donald Trump remaining on the primary ballot to leave open the possibility that Trump could still be barred from a ballot or barred from serving as president if he is convicted of insurrection in a case now pending. If the high court rules by June …

History of Nationalism in France, Greece, the Balkans, and Ottoman Empire, and How It Contributed to WWI

Crash Course Study Hall examines the history of nationalism in several European countries and how it emerged as an international phenomenon in the 1700s. This lecture is not quite 14 minutes. https://youtu.be/U8b-45P0V6k?si=Xqa9MAnikbH940aj

Turkey Offers Cautionary Tale for the U.S.

Both Turkey and the U.S. are in danger of losing their democracies. I explained how and why in a Substack post. Readers offer their observations, and we engage in discussion. Read it here: https://jimbuie.substack.com/p/turkish-republic-100-years-later

Turkish Republic’s 100th Anniversary, 2023

The nation of Turkey in 2023 celebrates its 100th anniversary as a republic, after the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the country's war for independence against Greece and European powers. "Today's nation is a long way from 1923's secular state," Zara Kahn reported for CNN. On Oct. 29, there were celebrations in Istanbul, Ankara, …

Atatürk – The father of modern Turkey | DW Documentary

There are a lot of Turks in Germany. To help native Germans understand these relatively recent immigrants since the 1980s, the German broadcasting service DW produced this documentary in 2020. https://www.dw.com/en/atat%C3%BCrk-the-father-of-modern-turkey/video-67235196 The founder of modern Turkey Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was a revolutionary who was driven by idealism. His "War of Independence" created modern Turkey where …

Why Slender Threads?

A 10-minute podcast in which I explain the rationale behind this blog and accompanying Substack on the Slender Threads of history -- global, national and personal. Click to listen: https://jimbuie.substack.com/p/podcast-6-why-slender-threads

Turkish President Erdogan, After Two Decades in Power, Wins Another Five-Year Term

Turkey has long been considered a crossroads between East and West, Europe and Asia, democracy and authoritarianism, once a largely secular but now overtly religious society. It just had a critically important election that may essentially mean the end of democracy, if it did not end years ago. PBS News Hour: "Turkish President Recep Tayyip …

Celts of Anatolia

Know History: "The Celts are a group of people that are usually linked with Western Europe. However, how and why did the Celts end up in Anatolia?" Galatia was a term used by the Greeks to describe the three Celtic peoples of Anatolia: the Tectosages, the Trocmii, and the Tolistobogii. More. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43v28TU0hiM&t=46s

Istanbul or Constantinople: City of World’s Most Important Walls

TED-Ed: Lars Brownworth in 2012 that "the world owes much of its cultural legacy to Constantinople's walls. When Constantinople was under seige by neighboring enemies, the Roman city's elaborate system of moats, outer walls, and inner walls stood tall. Surviving numerous fire attacks, the walls were eventually brought down by more modern tools of warfare, …

It’s A Church, A Mosque, It’s Hagia Sophia in Istanbul

TED-Ed: "If walls could talk, Turkey's Hagia Sophia would have an abundance of stories to tell. Once a church, then a mosque, and now a museum, this world marvel has stood the test of time and war, surviving centuries of conquest by some of history's greatest empires. Kelly Wall takes us through the history of …