From 1776 to the present day, July 4th has been celebrated as the birth of American independence, with festivities ranging from fireworks, parades, and concerts to more casual family gatherings and barbecues. It started with a civil war and a revolution.
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783), gaining independence from the British Crown, and establishing the constitution that created the United States of America, the first modern constitutional liberal democracy.
American colonists objected to being taxed by the British Parliament, a body in which they had no direct representation. Before the 1760s, Britain`s American colonies had enjoyed a high level of autonomy in their internal affairs, which were locally governed by colonial legislatures.
During the 1760s, the British Parliament passed a number of acts that were intended to bring the American colonies under more direct rule from the British metropole and increasingly intertwine the economies of the colonies with those of Britain.
The passage of the Stamp Act of 1765 imposed internal taxes on official documents, newspapers, and most things printed in the colonies, which led to colonial protest and the meeting of representatives from several colonies at the Stamp Act Congress.
Tensions relaxed with the British repeal of the Stamp Act but flared again with the passage of the Townshend Acts in 1767. The British government deployed troops to Boston in 1768 to quell unrest, leading to the Boston Massacre in 1770.
The British government repealed most of the Townshend duties in 1770 but retained the tax on tea in order to symbolically assert Parliament`s right to tax the colonies. The burning of the Gaspee in Rhode Island in 1772, the passage of the Tea Act of 1773, and the resulting Boston Tea Party in December 1773 led to a new escalation in tensions.
Opponents of Britain were known as “Patriots” or “Whigs”, while colonists who retained their allegiance to the Crown were known as “Loyalists” or “Tories”.
The Continental Congress declared British King George III a tyrant who trampled the colonists’ rights as Englishmen, and they pronounced the colonies free and independent states on July 4, 1776. The Continental Army was led by Commander in Chief General George Washington.
The Patriot leadership professed the political philosophies of liberalism and republicanism to reject rule by monarchy and aristocracy. The Declaration of Independence proclaimed that all men are created equal, though it was not until later centuries that constitutional amendments and federal laws would incrementally grant equal rights to African Americans, Native Americans, poor white men, and women.
The British captured New York City and its strategic harbor in the summer of 1776. The Continental Army captured a British army at the Battle of Saratoga in October 1777, and France then entered the war as an ally of the United States, expanding the war into a global conflict.
Finally, a combined American and French force captured Cornwallis’ army at Yorktown in the fall of 1781, effectively ending the war.
The Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3, 1783, formally ending the conflict and confirming the new nation`s complete separation from the British Empire. The United States took possession of nearly all the territory east of the Mississippi River and south of the Great Lakes, with the British retaining control of northern Canada, and French ally Spain taking back Florida.
Among the significant results of the war were American independence and the end of British mercantilism in America, opening up worldwide trade for the United States, including with Britain.
The Americans soon adopted the United States Constitution, replacing the weak wartime Confederation and establishing a comparatively strong national government structured as a federal republic, which included an elected executive, a national judiciary, and an elected bicameral Congress representing states in the Senate and the population in the House of Representatives.
It is the world`s first federal democratic republic founded on the consent of the governed.
Shortly after a Bill of Rights was ratified as the first ten amendments, guaranteeing a number of fundamental rights used as justification for the revolution.
We can see civilization on a brink of war and revolution even today, and there are many similarities. Back then, the American Revolution was shaped by high and low principles, imperial politics, dynamic rivalries, ambition, greed, personal loyalties, patriotism, demographic growth, social and economic changes, cultural developments, British intransigence, and American anxieties.
It was shaped by conflicting interests between Britain and America, between regions within America, between families, and between individuals. It was shaped by religion, ethnicity, and race, as well as by tensions between rich and poor.
It was shaped, perhaps above all else, by the aspirations of ordinary people to make fulfilling lives for themselves and their families, to be secure in their possessions, safe in their homes, free to worship as they wished and to improve their lives by availing themselves of opportunities that seemed to lie within their grasp.
What causes a revolution is five elements that create an unstable social equilibrium: economic or fiscal strain, alienation and opposition among the elites, widespread popular anger at injustice, a persuasive shared narrative of resistance, and favorable international relations.
The American Revolution committed the new nation to ideals of liberty, equality, natural and civil rights, and responsible citizenship and made them the basis of a new political order.
None of these ideals was new or originated with Americans.
They were all rooted in the philosophy of ancient Greece and Rome and had been discussed, debated, and enlarged by creative political thinkers beginning with the Renaissance.
The political writers and philosophers of the eighteenth-century Enlightenment disagreed about many things, but all of them imagined that a just political order would be based on these ideals.
What those writers and philosophers imagined, the American Revolution created, a nation in which ideals of liberty, equality, natural and civil rights, and responsible citizenship are the basis of law and the foundation of a free society.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Shinybull.com. The author has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information provided; however, neither Shinybull.com nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in precious metal products, commodities, securities, or other financial instruments. Shinybull.com and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.
Afghanistan is a beautiful country, and only a few decades ago, people in Kabul were singing and dancing to live music and had fun. Kabul was probably much better than European countries. So, what in the world went wrong in Afghanistan?
Afghanistan had cinemas, restaurants and hotels, and people who lived in Kabul four decades ago describes it as romantic and better than Europe. They have high mountains and the weather is often sunny. It`s one of the best countries in Asia.
But something happened. Someone took the country.
In the 1960`s the King and the Queen opened up the country to the world after centuries of isolation. They also enabled women to partisipate in public life. They became feminists without even knowing what it was all about.
In 1964, according to the constitution, women also got the right to wote. Everything was fine and there was no segregation between men and women. Kabul was a modern city. People were dressed like Western people. They were listening to Western music and thought the Western style was the right thing for them.
People were poor but very happy, but then a lot of tourists came in to Kabul. And suddenly, it was time for a «hippy» era. Just like the West. Hippy music. Hippy fitness. A hippy style society. Tourists went to historical places to see Buddah.
But then, something happened.
A Western-style protest movement started in Afghanistan. Students began talking about Revolution. They talked about Communism and women`s rights. They said it should be more equality between men and women. Nor should it be discrimination.
Kabul became more and more like the Western world, but some people didn`t like that. And that was people in Pedesaan were 80 percent of the population live. Afghanistan had a conflict going on.
Pedesaan was way ahead of the modern city Kabul, and people didn`t like the changes. People in Pedesaan was more conservative and people were following tribal traditions and the teachings of Islam.
Women were isolated and could be forced to mirrage with someone they didn`t love. The Muslims were worried about the progress in Kabul. The problem at that time is that people were sleeping. They didn`t see the real problem. And the problem was their own «class difference.»
In the early 70`s, the first Islamic organisation was founded. Their goal was to protect their traditional lifestyle. It was the birth of the political Islamism in Afghanistan. This is the era were people in Afghanistan became divided in two groups.
Left and Right.
Communists on the left side, and Islamists on the right side.
The Islamist movement were blaming Communists, and Communists were blaming Islamists and the problems escalated. No one were able to guide the people and a blamegame started istead of keeping the great value of national unity among the people.
To everybody`s surprise; the communists managed to take power. First in 1973. It was a coup and they overthrow the monarchy. And now, the country became a republic with its first ever president.
Mohammed Daoud Khan became a President of Afghanistan from 1973 to 1978. Mohammed was a cusine of the former King, but in 1978, the communists desided that their time has come and seized power for themselves.
In just one night, they killed Daoud Khan and 23 members of his family. The communists called the bloody take over «april revolution.» (this is the same mindset as the Leninist communist in Soviet when they killed the Romanov family in their communist revolution).
The communist party coup took place in Kabul on April 28, 1978.
The new government tried to form the country into a new communist country thru radical reforms. People in Kabul had red flags and the communists took all oppositions. The communists first target were Muslims. (this is similar to the CCP today).
The communists arrested you if you were praying. You would also go to jail. This time was the most brutal time of the history of the country. Thousands of people was taken and all of the disappeared.
The communists took teachers that talked about religion. Many of them were dropped by a plane. Isamic activists started to build activist groups in 1979 and one of them was a group called Mujahideen (fighters of the holy was).
This revolution is an Islamic revolution, Islamist Party Leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar said. Their goal was to establish a pure Islamic system in Afghanistan. Freedom and liberation of Afghanistan.
In Moscow, former Second Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Leonid Brezhnev was worried. Afghanistan was a nabouring communist state, and a successful Islamic revolution could send a dangerous message to the 50 million Muslims in the USSR.
Brezhnev dicided to send in troops in December 27, 1979. and that was the beginning of a long and expensive war that led to bankruptsy.
10,000 prisoners were released in one day. For some it was hard to find back to their own family members. Afghanistan was under forign occupation.
Afghanistan changed like never before. People were leaving because it was not their country anymore. Others were chanting «allahu akbar» at night, and thousands were protesting on the streets.
The Communists in Soviet Union supported the brutal communist regime in Afghanistan and that wasn`t music for the people. The resistance among the people were growing and they distrubuted papers at night and wrote on the walls; Long live Islam.
In the United States, they were quick to react to the Soviet offensive.
Afghanistan became the new epicenter of the Cold War.
US President Jimmy Carter said in a speech that the Soviet invation was an extremely threat to peace. Carter also said that Soviet now can control much of the world`s oil supply.
Washington started to support Mujahideen with money and weapons.
US National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brezezinski appeared to Afghanistan`s religion pride in 1980 when he visited Pakistan. One day, he said, you will take your country back because God is on your side.
The communists had big problems to fight back against the Mujahideen guerillas. The only place the communist had control was in Kabul. The communist government said no to women education. No freedom for women. So, women was used as a political tool. But people didn`t like it at all.
The Mujahdin used terrorist attacks in Kabul to destabilise the society. It was too dangerous to be there, so 3 million went to Pakistan or Iran to join their Muslim brothers. Peshawar near Islamabad in Pakistan became a hotspot of resistance.
They got the weapons they needed in Pakistan. And a Sudi also set up a camp there. His name was Osama Bin Laden. He recruited and supported all foriegn fighters from all over the Arab world to join the Afghan jihad. Radical Islam spread in the refugee camp. They started to brainwash the children and they are the one who became Taliban.
The countries that were involved trained conservative people and made monsters to get rid of the USSR. But the biggest problems was to know who the civilians and who the enemies was.
The war in Afghanistan was very expensive for the USSR, and in 1986, Mikhail Gorbachev desiced to withraw his troops. He said; «Counterrevolution and imperialism have turned Afghanistan into a bleeding wound.
We should like, in the nearest future, to withdraw the Soviet troops stationed in Afghanistan.» They took the troops out of Afghanistan in 1989.
People in Afghanistan were so happy. Finally, the USSR are going back home. And the people was feeling free. They won the war.
But, a lot of things happened. It wasn`t over.
The communist government still had control over Kabul, and was the final obstacle to become an Islamic republic. In other words; the war was not yet over. On April 24, 1992, The Mujahideen took control over Kabul.
It was a critical moment were the Mujahideen took over the presidential palace. The dream to become an independent Isamist state was on the way to be fulfilled. But instead, other groups of people started to fight against each other to take back the control. A new civil war started. Everybody was fighting against everybody.
Instead of confronting each other, they used civil women and child as tools in a brutal war. The fighters could have killed each other but they killed civilans instead.
Now, Kabul was stigmatized. Isolated from the rest of the world. Deserted by Westerners. The British embassy was closed. The US embassy was closed. The French embassy was also closed.
«My feeling is that the UN and the Western powers were interested in Afghanistan as long as we fought against the USSR. Against communism. It was a common enemy. Then their interest completely disappeared. They abandoned us,» Mujahideen Commander Ahmad Shah Massoud said back then.
Many different groups of people were fighting against each other but nobody knew why they were fighting. It`s between commanders they said. They attacked civilians and especially woman. They raped them and cut of their breasts.
In 1994, a new force emerged; The Taliban. An Arabic name for «students.» many of them came from Quran-schools. The Taliban promised to restore peace, order and morality. They had massive support from Pakistan. Many of them were grown up in refugee camps in Pakistan.
When Taliban came, they were welcomed by the people in Afghanistan. Finally, someone who wants to restore peace, order and morality. People thought that Taliban will take over the country and everything will be fine again. People supported them.
The Taliban took Kabul on September 27, 1996.
The Taliban changed Afghanistan repidly. The banned alcohol, films and all forms for entertainment. They smashed all Televisions on the streets. The Taliban ended the civil war and made peace.
But, they also took people`s freedom. What is peace without freedom?
Women suffered the most. They were fobidden to study or work. Girls were banned from school. They closed all the schools after the Islamic revolution. It was very sad for the kids, because the couldn`t learn to read and write.
The Taliban send people to the mosque and ban people from going out because these all are Islamic laws. They hunted all the women in Afghanistan. Why are you doing this? Why are you doing that? And so on. If someone say it is extremist, so be it, Taliban said.
Afghanistan became a hotpad for Islamic fundamentalism and it was under the Taliban protection that Osama Bin Laden returned to the country after a long war against the USSR. Osama Bin Laden founded the terrorist network Al-Qaeda to carry out a global jihad.
One of the attacks is said to be September 11. President Bush started a new war in Afghanistan. A few weeks after the attack on twin towers, the British and US soldiers attacked Al Quada leaders and their training camps.
The end of the Taliban regime ended on November 13, 2001.
People in Afghanistan was happy. Now, they are free. Taliban is gone and the United States will bring peace and freedom to Kabul and Afghanistan. Finally. People could go back to school again. Women could start to work again. They were free.
On a NATO command, 52 countries were placed in Afghanistan and in 2003, people voted for a new government. They tried to establish a new democracy. They were working hard to develop a new constitution.
December 17, 2003 – Constitutional Convention.
Millions of dollars were sent to Afghanistan to rebuild the country and establish a new democracy. But the money came into the pockets of the war lords who had, once again, returned to power. Rich people built supermarkets and houses like the one in Europe. Poor people remained poor.
Corruption started to emerge and new conflicts was rising. Corruption to access education, health care, jobs and justice. That alone has huge impact on the election and the politics.
Taliban recruited new members and prepared a new comeback. Despite the escalating violence, 2014 saw the withdrawal of most international coalition troops. Many aid organizations likewise left the country.
In February 2020, the US signed a peace agreement with the Taliban and announced the complete withdrawl of its troops within 14 months. But the Taliban have subsequently taken advantage of the resulting vacuum and the fragility of Afghan democracy to overrun the country.
The future and security of Afghanistan and its women is once again in jeoparady.
In August 2021, the Taliban overruns nearly all major Afghan cities in just 10 days. On 15 August, they enter Kabul. The Afghan government hands over power to the Taliban.
Afghanistan is the land of endless wars. They fought against Alexander the Great, Djengis Khan and Britain. Now, they are fighting against Taliban. 80 percent of the population is depressed. They have lost their hope and dreams. Does it stop here, and what is the next chapter?
To contact the author: post@shinybull.com
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Shinybull.com. The author has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information provided; however, neither Shinybull.com nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in precious metal products, commodities, securities, or other financial instruments. Shinybull.com and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.
Communist governments collapsed across Europe 30 years ago. In mid December (16 – 25 December, 1989), The Romanian Revolution was a period of violent civil unrest in Romania during December 1989 as a part of the Revolution on 1989 that occurred in several countries.
I wrote about the massacre in Tiananmen Square earlier this year. I wrote about the fall of the Berlin Wall. But there were more; Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia and the fall of Europe`s most brutal dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu, and that didn`t come peacefully.
Last speech of Nicolae Ceausescu, 21. December 1989
Ceausescu had built an empire on his own. The internal Stalinist dynamic did not depend upon Soviet might. The Secret Police were an ever-presented glue that kept Romanian society in place. It was a totalitarian police state with no free speech.
The large numbers of Securitate informers made organized dissent nearly impossible. The regime deliberately played on this sense that everyone was being watched to make it easier to bend the people to the Party`s will. Even by Soviet Bloc standards, the Securitate was exceptionally brutal.
Ceausescu created a cult of personality. During the Cold War, he presided over the most pervasive cult of personality within the Eastern Bloc. Inspired by the personality cult surrounding Kim II-sung in North Korea.
It started with the 1971 July Theses which reversed the liberalization of the 1960`s, imposed a strict nationalist ideology, established Stalinist totalitarianism and a return to socialist realism.
The real beginning of the cult of personality, however, came after Ceausescu visited China and North Korea in 1971. He was particularly impressed by the highly personal way that China`s Mao Zedong and North Korea`s Kim II-sung ruled their countries, as well as the personality cults surrounding them.
A few year later (1986), a propaganda poster on the streets of Bucharest reads «65 years since the creation of the Romanian Communist Party», while in the background it reads «Ceausescu Era» and «The Party. Ceausescu. Romania».
But the Western countries’ support for Ceausescu ended with the rise of Mikhail Gorbachev in March 1985, when Ceausescu ceased to be relevant on the world scene and Western countries criticised him for his unwilllingness to implement his own version of perestroika and glasnost.
Ceausescu was a National Communist and his total control over Romania was close to an old-style Stalinist regime. He ended liberalisation and openness and started a trend that accentuated totalitarianism and isolated Romania from the rest of the world.
The Romanian newspapers were silent and also the Berlin state paper didn`t even mention the fall of the Berlin Wall in the first days following November 9, 1989. Reading the Romanian newspapers of November 11, 1989 one would think that nothing earth-shattering had happened.
Instead, Socialism is praised as the «way of the free, independent development of the peoples.» But students knew better. They started the revolution with playcards saying; «We want reforms against Ceausescu government.»
The Romanian Revolution started in the city of Timisoara and soon spread throughout the country, ultimately culminating in the show trial and execution of longtime Communist Party General Secretary Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife Elena.
30 years ago, finally, it was the end of a 42 year rule of the Communist Party in Romania. It was also the last removal of a Marxist-Leninist government in a Warsaw Pact country during the events of 1989, and the only one that violently overthrow a country`s government and executed its leader.
Early protests occurred in the city of Timisoara in mid-December on the part of the Hungarian minority in response to an attempt by the government to evict Hungarian Reformed church pastor Laszlo Tokes.
In July 1989, Tokes had critcised ther regime`s Systematisation policy in an interview with Hungarian television, and complained that Romanians did not even know their human rights.
As Tokes described it later, the interview, which had been seen in the border areas and was then spread all over Romania, had a «shock effect upon the Romanians, the Securitate as well, on the people of Romaina.
It had an unexpected effect upon the public atmosphere in Romaina.
There were no freedom of speech in Romania at that time and the Godless Communists didn`t like Tokes speech, so the government then alleged that Tokes was inciting ethnic hatred. At the behest of the government, his bishop removed him from his post, thereby depriving him of the right to use the apartment to which he was entitled as a pastor, and assigned him to be a pastor in the countryside.
For some time his parishioners gathered around his home to protect him from harassment and eviction. Many passersby spontaneously joined in. As it became clear that the crowd not desperse, the mayor, Petre Mot, made remarks suggesting that he had overturned the decision to evict Tokes.
Meanwhile, the crowd had grown impatient and, when Mot declined to confirm his statement against the planned eviction in writing, the corwd started to chant anti-communist slogans.
Some of the protesters attempted to burn down the building that housed the district committee of the Romaian Communist Party (PCR). The Securitate responded with tear gas and water jets, while police beat up rioters and arrested many of them.
The army failed to establich order, and chaos ensured including gunfire, fights, caualties and burned cars. Transporter Amfibiu Blindate (TAB) armoured personnel carriers and tanks were called in.
The rioters withdrew, but they regrouped eventually around the Romanian Orthodox Cathedral and started a protest march around the city, but again they were contronted by the security forces. As you can see, this is very similar to Hong Kong today.
Nicolae Ceausescu ordered to shoot the demonstrators. He declared a state of emergency throughout the country on national television and radio. The Army and Milita forces refused to shoot at people and took the side of the revolutionaries.
In response, Romanians sought revolution and a change in government in light of similar recent events in neighbouring nations. The country`s ubiquitous secret police force, the Securitate, which was both one of the largest in the Eastern Bloc and for decades had been the main suppressor of popular dissension, frequently and violently quashing political disagreement, ultimately proved incapable of stopping the looming, and then highly fatal and successful revolt.
Social and economic malaise had been in socialist Romania for quite som time, especially during the austerity years of the 1980`s. The austerity measures were designed in part by Ceausescu to repay foreign debts.
Shortly after a botched public speech by eausescu in Bucharest (Romania`s capita city) that was broadcast to millions of Romanians on state television, rank-and-file members of the military switched, almost unanimousy, from supporting the dictator to backing the protesting population.
Riots, street violence and murder in several Romanian cities over the course of roughly a week led the Romanian leader to flee the capital city on 22 December with his wife, Deputy Prime Minister Elena Ceausescu.
Evading capture by hastily departing via helicopter effectively portrayed the couple as both fugitives and also acutely guilty of accused crimes.
Captured in Targoviste, they were tried by a drumhead military tribunal on charges of Genocide (64,000 deatch during their regime), damage to the national economy and abuse of power to execute military actions against the Romanian people.
The were convicted on all charges, sentenced to death, and immediately executed on Christmas Day 1989.
The National Salvation Front quickly took power after Ceausescu was toppled, promising free and fair elections within five months.
Elected in a landslide the following May, the National Salvation Front, reconstituted as a political party, installed a series of economic and democratic reforms, with further social policy changes being implemented by later governments.
Since that point Romania has become far more integrated with the West than its former, albeit tepid, relations with Moscow. Romania became a member of NATO in 2004. They also became a member of the European Union in 2007, but Democratic reforms have proven to me moderately successful.
Ther are still corruption in Romania, and economic reforms continue. Romania also have one of the highest child poverty rates in the developed world. The problem after the revolution in 1989 is that Romaina`s elite remained in power after the communist dictator was executed.
Many argue that the execution of the Ceausescus was a false dawn. The show trial was organised by fellow communists, who twisted a popular uprising into little more than a palace coup and held on firmly to the levers of power.
We know that former communists ran the government for years after the revolution and still sit in the parliament. Former members of the security forces and their families have got rich from privatisation and there has been no justice for the regime`s former victims.
Romania was one of Europe`s few former Soviet blo countries that did not pss a «lustration» law t oban senior communists from holding office in the new government.
There were two groups of people in the revolution. Those shouting «Down with communism», and those only shouting «Down with Ceausescu». It was the second group who created the new poitical order after the revolution in 1989.
No Romanian other than the Ceauseescus has been found guilty of even the smallest role in the communist party`s half-century reign of terror and misery. Until now. In December 2018, Romania`s prosecutor general charged former president Ion Iliescu and two other prominent figures from the National Salvation Front (NSF), the political organization that assumed power after the Ceausescu`s flight from Bucharest, for crimes against humanity.
They are accused of having orchestrated a deliberate misinformation campaign between 22 and 30 December 1989 about the existence of armed supporters of Ceausescu (the so-called «terrorists») and of having allowed dangerous military manoevres in a bid to forment political chaos and ensure control over state institutions.
The Revolution in Romania in 1989 is most famous for Ceausescu`s speech. On the morning of 21 December, Ceausescu addressed an assembly of approximately 100,000 people to condemn the uprising in Timisoara.
Party officials took great pains to make it appear that Ceausescu was still immensely popular. The speech was typical of most Ceausescu`s speeches over the years. Making liberal use of Marxist-Leninist rhetoric, he delivered a litany of the achievements of the «socialist revolution» and Romanian «multi-laterally developed socialist society».
He blamed the Timisoara uprising on «fascist agitators».
However, Ceausescu was out of touch with his people and completely misread the crowd`s mood. The people remained unresponsive, and only the front rows supported Ceausescu with cheers and applause. About two minutes into the speech, some in the crowd actually began to jeer, boo, whistle and yell insults at him, a reaction unthinkable for most of his rule.
Workers from a Bucharest power plant started chanting «Ti-mi-soa-ra! Ti-mi-soa-ra!, which was soon picked up by others in the crowd. In response, Ceausescu raised his right hand in hopes of silencing the crowd; his stunned expression remains one of he defining moments of the end of Communism in Eastern Europe.
He then tried to placate the crowd by offering to raise worker`s salaries by 200 lei per month (about 9 U.S dollars at the time, yet a 5%-10% raise for a modest salary) and student scholarships from 100 to 110 lei while continuing to praise the achievements of the Socialist Revolution.
However, a revolution was brewing right in front of his eyes.
The entire speech was being broadcast live nationwide. Censors attempted to cut the live video feed and replace it with Communist propaganda songs and video praising the Ceausescu regime, but parts of the riots had already been broadcast and most of the Romanian people realised that something unusual was in progress.
Ceausescu and his wife, as well as other officials and CPEx members, panicked; Ceausescu`s bodyguard hustled him back inside the building.
The jeers and whistles soon erupted into a riot; the crowd took to the streets, placing the capital, like Timisoara, in turmoi. Members of the crowd spontaneously began shouting anti-Ceausescu slogans, which spread and became chants; «Jos dictatorul!» (Down with the dictator»), «Moarte criminalului!» (Death to the criminal»), «Noi suntem poporul, jos cu dictatorul!» (We are the People, down with the dictator»).
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Shiny bull. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Shiny bull nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in precious metal products, commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Shiny bull and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.
Tiananmen Square Massacre on June 4th, 1989 remain as one of the most sensitive and most widely censored topics in China ever. Its memory is also widely associated with questioning the legitimacy of the Communist Party rule.
The Tiananmen Square protests were a student-led demonstration in Beijing in mid-1989, and it refers to the popular national movement inspired by the Beijing protests during that period, sometimes called the `89 Democracy Movement. Many of us can clearly remember the man in front of the tank.
A lot of students and many business people protested against the Communist Party because they wanted Democracy, and not a Communist, totalitarian and authoritarian Party. But the political elite didn`t listen to the people.
The protesters were forcibly suppressed after the government declared martial law and sent in the military to occupy central parts of Beijing in what became known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
Troops with assault rifles and tanks fired at the demonstrators trying to block the military`s advance towards Tiananmen Square. Estimates of the death toll ary from several hundres to over thousands.
Article 35 of the Constitution of the People`s Republic of China states: “Citizens of the People`s Republic of China enjoy freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of assossiation, of procession and of demonstration.”
Peaceful demonstrators were being labeled counter revolutionaries and terrorists who can be arrested, beaten and even killed by authorities. Dong had declared war and he expected the Chinese people to obey him. To fear him and to attack the students.
On April 26, 1989, Dongs opposition to the Democracy Movement was reprinted as an editorial in the Peoples Daily, and it was titlled; «The necessity for clear stand against turmoil.»
This is not an ordinary student movement, Dong complained. This is a well-planned plot whose real aim is to reject the Chinese Communist Party. The purpose of the students is to poison people`s minds. The whole nation must resolutely stop and oppose the students.
The protesters were not counter revolutionaries. They just wanted a reform. Not a revolution. They wanted to be allowed to exercise experience basic human rights including freedom of speech and freedom of assembly.
For all this the protesters were accused of commiting crimes.
The political elite in the Communist Party were shocked, frightened and confused. Dong expected the people to fear him and to obey him. Instead, they humiliated him. On April 27, 150, 000 protesters and 500,000 Beijing citizens took to the streets in protest against the government.
The government was shocked and ordered the students to return to their classes at once, but the students responded by demanding Democracy. Freedom of Speech. The end of corruption, and asking; “Why cant the peoples Prime Minister come out to meet with the people?”
The Movement escaleted and millions of people joined the students and supported them. The government`s efforts to stop the demonstrators have failed miserably. Ordinarly people had sided with the students.
«The Press must tell the truth» some of the posters said. «Full of lies» and.«Lying to the people,» «freedom of speech», «freedom of the press» is another one. Tens of thousands of students were crowding the streets, singing, chanting and cheering. They were singing;
Today we are blossoming
Tomorrow we are pillars of society
The Communist Party started Martial Law and crushed the Democracy Movement by military forces. China`s paramount leader Deng Xiaoping mobilized as many as 300,000 troops to Beijing.
They used the People`s Liberation Army to attack the unarmed peaceful Chinese people. It ended in a carnage and hundreds to thousands were killed and thousands wounded.
Protest leaders and pro-democracy activists was later exiled or imprisoned. Rioters was charged with violent crimes and some were executed in the following months. Some protesters were tortured. Western economic sanctions and arms embargoes on the People`s Republic of China followed.
The suppression on June 4 marked the end of a period of relative press freedom in China and media workers. Both foreign and domestic, faced hightened restrictions and punishment in the aftermath of the crackdown.
State media reports in the immediate aftermath were sympathetic to the students. As a result, those respnsible were all later removed from their posts. Some reporters were fired because they displayed sad emotions.
Editors and other staff at People`s Daily, including director Qian Liren and Editor-in-Chief Tan Wenrui, were also sacked because of reports in the paper which were sympathetic towards protesters. Several editors were arrested.
The Communist Party of China forbids discussion of the Tiananmen Square protests, and has taken measures to block or censor related information. Textbooks have little, if any, information about the protests. Film and books are banned and many newspapers shut down.
Access to media and internet resources on the subject are restricted or blocked by censors.
The people lost and the Communist Party won. Political reform halted, market reform delayed, freedom of speech restricted and media control tightened. Now, China is a totalitarian and authoritarian police state.
The state`s job of putting down dissent is made easier and more complete due to the increasingly widespread surveillance ranging from use of facial recognition technologgy, to cameras, to real ID registration, monitoring social media use, and sanctions for behaviour not acceptable to the liberal Communist regime in China.
Many countries in Europe use China as a role model.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Shiny bull. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Shiny bull nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in precious metal products, commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Shiny bull and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.
The 2019 International CES show started today in Las Vegas, and it will end on Friday, 11 January. CES is the world`s gathering place for those who thrive on the business of consumer technologies. It has served as the proving ground for innovators and breakthrough technologies for 50 years.
This is the global stage where next generation innovations are introduced to the marketplace, and its owned by Consumer Technology Association (CTA). This gathering attracts the worlds business leaders and pioneering thinkers.
I have been following Apple for decades and I expect them to be in Las Vegas this week. We all know that AI is the future, but how is Apple`s innovation when it comes to Smart home tech? It seems like they are falling behind in the Smart home race.
Both, Google and Amazon are now integrating Alexa and Google assistant into Smart home devices. Voice assistants are cropping up in all kinds of places at CES 2019 and what I think is a cool thing to have is both voice and touchscreen in the bathroom mirror.
This Smart Mirror allows you to access Google Assistant were you can check the weather and traffic, or stream some YouTube videos while you are fixing your hear before you are going out for your next date.
Its brilliant because you have only two hands and none of them are free. Youre fixing your hair right. So, while you`re fixing your hair, you just have to ask the mirror what time it is, what the weather is or when your next bus is coming. All this without using your hands.
Everything is connected and to do so you need 5G, which is enabling the Internet of Things (IoT). Cars, heating systems and even trash cans are becoming involved in the net. 5G is super fast and makes the IoT possible. 5G is 100x faster than 4G and 10x faster than the best home-subscriber broadband service.
You need 5G to run your new driverless car and it`s all based on a computer with GPS built-in it. 5G is nothing less than a revolution. It is in such capacities that it becomes clear why the technologies from 2G to 4G differ so radically from the fifth generation, and that is awaiting us is partly a new beginning and partly a turning point, but certainly nothing less than a revolution.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Shiny bull. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Shiny bull nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in precious metal products, commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Shiny bull and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.
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