Author Archive for Reid Palmer

Last Canadian Spanish Civil War Volunteer Dies at 96 (Edit)

September 12, 2013
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Last Canadian Spanish Civil War Volunteer Dies at 96 (Edit)

Jules Paivio, the last Canadian veteran of the Spanish Civil War, died last week at the age of 97.  He volunteered to fight for the Spanish Republic at the age of 17.  His family had taught him to "believe in justice, liberty and fair play for all." Yet, when asked why he volunteered...
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Amy Goodman Interviews Víctor Jara’s Widow, Marks 40th Anniversary of Coup

September 11, 2013
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Amy Goodman Interviews Víctor Jara’s Widow, Marks 40th Anniversary of Coup

Today marks the 40th anniversary of Augusto Pinochet's CIA-backed coup, overthrowing the democratically elected presidency of Salvador Allende.  In the weeks that followed, thousands of  leftists were arrested, beaten, and murdered, including the famous folk singer Víctor Jara.  After tracking down Jara's murderer to the United States, Jara's widow Joan filed a lawsuit against...
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Víctor Jara’s Murderer Found, to Face US Court

September 6, 2013
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Víctor Jara’s Murderer Found, to Face US Court

In the first days of Augusto Pinochet’s 1973 coup, Chilean Army officer Pedro Pablo Barrientos tortured and killed popular folk singer Víctor Jara.  Jara, a respected artist who had joined the Communist Party, was arrested the day after the coup with hundreds of other students and professors at Santiago Technical University.  Although Jara’s widow and...
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75 Years Later, the Spanish Civil War still Haunts Spain

September 1, 2013
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75 Years Later, the Spanish Civil War still Haunts Spain

As reporters draw parallels between the Spanish Civil War and the Syrian Civil War, two recent events in Spain serve as a reminder that the war has yet to be fully resolved.  A Russian tourist recently found an unexploded howitzer shell dating from the Spanish Civil War off the coast of Mallorca....
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Franco Statue Stirs Controversy

August 31, 2013
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Franco Statue Stirs Controversy

Eugenio Moreno's recent statue of Francisco Franco, meant to draw attention to Franco's continuing legacy in Spain decades after his death  has drawn criticism from the Spanish far right, which claims that the 37-year-old Madrid artist 'insulted Franco's honor.'
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Jarama Valley, International Brigades Remembered in SCW Tours

July 10, 2013
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Jarama Valley, International Brigades Remembered in SCW Tours

"Now we're far from that valley of sorrow/But its mem'ry we'll never forget/In the midst of the struggles around us/Let's remember our glorious dead."  The lyrics of the International Brigade ballad "Jarama Valley" immortalized by Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger continue to ring true 75 years after the survivors of the Abraham Lincoln...
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Madrid’s Dangerous Attempt to Rewrite SCW History

June 16, 2013
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Madrid’s Dangerous Attempt to Rewrite SCW History

As veterans, family, and friends of the International Brigades protest the Supreme Court of Madrid's decision to remove the IB Memorial at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM), The Guardian's David Mathieson reports on the dangers of rewriting history.
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Spanish Court Orders Removal of IB Monument in Madrid

June 5, 2013
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Spanish Court Orders Removal of IB Monument in Madrid

The Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Madrid (TSJM) has ordered the removal of la Cuidad Universitaria's monument to the International Brigades. A private attorney, Miguel Garcia Jimenez, had filed an appeal to the Administrative Court attempting to block the monument two days before it was unveiled on 22 October 2011 for the...
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Canadian War Museum Features Exhibit on Mac Paps

June 2, 2013
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Canadian War Museum Features Exhibit on Mac Paps

The Canadian War Museum has just opened a new exhibit featuring the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion, a group of Canadians volunteers who fought in the Spanish Civil War.
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IB Information Board Becomes Focus of Political Debate

June 2, 2013
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IB Information Board Becomes Focus of Political Debate

Nottinghamshire, UK. Fierce local debate over an information board honoring the 19 Nottinghamshire International Brigade volunteers has spurred growing resentment in recent years, especially after the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby in Woolwich last week.
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