Author Archives: Robert

JFKRA Release 6: Different versions

Posted on January 28, 2018 by Robert

[This article was revised on 1/30/2018 to correct several major points.] As I noted in an earlier post, there are a number of records listed twice in NARA’s spreadsheet of the JFKRA documents which it has posted on line. These … Continue reading →

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JFKRA Confusion at NARA

Posted on January 24, 2018 by Robert

[Revised on 2018/1/26 to fix a goof. I was even more confused than I thought.] Most of my posts about the JFK records act releases at NARA are on very trivial subjects, but the problems I discuss are, nonetheless, quite … Continue reading →

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Review of China Nurse, 1932-1939

Posted on January 22, 2018 by Robert

On the front lines Ewen, Jean. China nurse, 1932-1939. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1981. Jean Ewen was a Canadian nurse who spent 6 years in China, working first with Catholic missionaries, then with the Chinese Communists’ 8th and New 4th … Continue reading →

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Review of Decadence Mandchoue

Posted on January 16, 2018 by Robert

Indefatigable reiteration Backhouse, Edmund Trelawny. Decadence Mandchoue: The China Memoirs of Sir Edmund Trelawny Backhouse. Ed. Derek Sandhaus. Hong Kong: Earnshaw, 2011. Make no mistake about it: Decadence Mandchoue is a work of pure fantasy, for the most part a … Continue reading →

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New FLLD list on line

Posted on January 15, 2018 by Robert

My old list of foreign language and literature programs in Taiwan and Hong Kong linked on the right side of this blog ceased to be useful about 15 years ago. I didn’t realize quite how out of date it was … Continue reading →

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JFKRA Release 6: The two missing files

Posted on January 12, 2018 by Robert

NARA’s announcement of JFKRA release 6 stated that 3,539 files were posted on NARA’s website. As I noted in an earlier post (here), I was only able to find 3537, leaving two unaccounted for. This is the kind of thing … Continue reading →

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JFKRA Release 6: Replacing files at NARA

Posted on January 9, 2018 by Robert

This post continues a discussion of the sixth release of JFKRA records from NARA. This time I will look at a quirk of release 6 that I call replacement files. As I noted a while ago (here and here), in … Continue reading →

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JFK Records Act Releases: Errata

Posted on January 5, 2018 by Robert

I had hoped to have another post on JFKRA release 6 from NARA, but there are some problems with the release metadata. For one thing, there are some typos in the RIF numbers that have made it hard to figure … Continue reading →

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Wisconsin by air

Posted on December 31, 2017 by Robert

A video from number one son Nick, who got his drone pilot license earlier this year. Credit for his hand and eye coordination, and sense of picture composition, goes to his mom, not me.

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JFK Records Act Releases: 12-15 update

Posted on December 16, 2017 by Robert

The National Archives and Record Administration (NARA) has released a sixth set of records under the JFK Records Act. The release, which took place on December 15, was announced here. According to the announcement, At this point, with the exception … Continue reading →

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