Anyone who has seen “Casablanca” knows the connection between Portugal and World War II refugees. But few know the story of the Portuguese diplomat Aristides de Sousa Mendes, who in 1940 saved tens of thousands of lives only to be punished for this heroism by his own government. As we mark Holocaust Remembrance Day on Sunday, we should honor this man who engaged in what one historian called “perhaps the largest rescue action by a single individual during the Holocaust.”
Jack the Ripper, the infamous serial killer who terrorized the streets of London greater than a century in the past, might have lastly been recognized by forensic scientists in Nice, Britain. Genetic assessments revealed final week within the Journal of Forensic Sciences level to Aaron Kosminski, a 23-year-old Polish barber and a major police suspect on the time. Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer generally believed to have been active in the largely impoverished areas in and around the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. In both the criminal case files and contemporary journalistic accounts, the killer was called the Whitechapel Murderer and Leather Apron.
Dia de los Muertos is a traditional Mexican and Latin American holiday in which the living commemorate the memories of their dead ancestors. Although occurring at the same time of year as Halloween and sharing a common imagery of death – Dia de los Muertos decorations and foods prominently feature skull and skeleton motifs.This holiday does not consider the dead to be morbid or frightening; rather, they are objects of affection and even humor. Families visit the graves of loved ones, share meals, and build altars in their homes to their memory.
Death can be a morbid and solemn subject in many cultures, but in Mexico, it's a cause for celebration -- at least for two nights a year. From November 1-2, people throughout the country deck their homes, streets and relatives' graves with flowers, candles, confetti and colorful skulls for the Day of the Dead. The traditional festival honoring the deceased centers around the belief that the living and the dead can commune during the brief period. With faces painted as skulls and bodies made up like skeletons, throngs of performers marched through the streets of Mexico City in a Day of the Dead parade. Thousands of onlookers cheered and applauded as a giant raised fist constructed out of hard hats and pickaxes led the procession, signifying the defiant spirit of a country hit with one of its worst calamities in decades.
