Freedom Archives

Hugo Chavez Lets Not Forget The Struggle of Venezuelan StudentsAlthough Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez has managed to make himself eligible for re-elections indefinitely, he does of course claim to be a “democratically elected” both the chief of state and head of government.

It appears that he has gotten the majority of votes largely thanks to the unwashed electoral majority, but the fact remains that the better educated Venezuelans are largely in opposition to his de facto dictatorship.

Chavez has closed pretty much every media outlet, that was not going along with his policies and which have refused to broadcast his frequent, multi-hour speeches. Doesn’t that remind you of his hero Fidel?

In any case, one of the strongest, bravest and most determined members of the Venezuelan opposition are the students.

Here’s a little video, portraying their brave struggle.

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Berlin wall dominoes Fall of Berlin Wall Anniversary More Than Just Media OverkillConsidering the amount of coverage that the arbitrarily chosen 20th anniversary celebration of the fall of the Berlin Wall received, one would think that it was purely, or at least mostly a media event.

As it turned out, despite the cold rain falling on November 9, 2009, it was more of a celebration of the human spirit, of the beginning of the end of communism in Europe and a call for action against continuing violations of human rights throughout the world.

There have been many discussions as to who actually contributed the most to the disintegration of communism.

Most knowledgeable experts underscore the huge contribution of Pope John Paul II, who has given the Polish people the encouragement needed to start the strike at the Gdansk shipyard and to found the Solidarity trade union in 1980.

The communist government has cracked down on Solidarnosc on December 13, 1981. Many activists were imprisoned, but the opposition remained very active, finally reaching the point in February of 1989 of forcing the Polish government to initiate talks with the opposition to defuse social unrest.

solidarnosc Fall of Berlin Wall Anniversary More Than Just Media OverkillHere’s the rest of the timeline of events, leading up to the demise of communism in Europe:

1989

April 5: The Roundtable Agreement is signed in Poland, legalizing independent trade unions and calling the first partially democratic elections in June.

May 2: Dismantling of the Iron Curtain – the boundary between Warsaw Pact and NATO countries – begins as Hungary disables the electric alarm system and cuts through barbed wire on its border with Austria.

Aug. 19: The ‘Pan-European Picnic’ – a peace demonstration at the Hungarian town of Sopron on the Austrian border – turns into an exodus when Hungarian border guards hold their fire as 600 East German citizens flee to the West.

Aug. 24: Tadeusz Mazowiecki is appointed Polish prime minister, becoming the first noncommunist head of state in Eastern Europe in more than 40 years.

Sept. 10: Hungary reopens its border with East Germany, allowing 13,000 East Germans passage to escape through Austria.

Oct. 18: East German leader Erich Honecker is forced to resign.

Nov. 4: One million people rally in East Berlin during weeks of mounting demonstrations.

Nov. 9: The Berlin Wall falls.

Nov. 17: The ‘Velvet Revolution’ in Czechoslovakia erupts in reaction to a police crackdown on peaceful student protests in Prague. Days of mass demonstrations ensue.

Nov. 24: Communists in Prague step down.

Dec. 3: Soviet spokesman Gennady Gerasimov, speaking after a press conference between George H.W. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev, who were concluding a shipboard summit at Malta, declared: “From Yalta to Malta, the cold war ended at 12.45 p.m. today.”

Dec. 22: Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaucescu is overthrown. He and his wife, Elena, are executed three days later after a summary trial.

1990

April 8: Hungary elects a non-communist government.

Oct. 3: Germany unifies.

Dec. 9: Poland elects Lech Walesa president.

July 1: Baltic states gain independence from the Soviet Union.

Dec. 25: The Soviet Union dissolves.

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Conservatives Try Last Ditch Effort

Capitol protest 5nov09 Conservatives Try Last Ditch EffortRepublican Representative Michelle Bachmann from Minnesota has called upon Americans to once again converge on Washington in a last minute protest to stop the House from passing the health care reform bill. Bachmann asked tea party protesters and all concerned citizens to not just protest outside the Capitol, but actually go to congressional offices and visit their representatives.

I had the misfortune of riding the Metro train into Washington Thursday, along with a sizable group of these protesters, where I was able to look at a goodly number of them up close and to listen to some of the conversations.

That experience seemed to perfectly mesh with a story I was at that moment reading in the Washington Post, which said that about 75 percent of the country’s 17 to 24-year-olds are ineligible for military service, largely because they are poorly educated, overweight and have physical ailments that make them unfit for the armed forces.

Glancing from the paper up to the people surrounding me on the train, it was quite obvious that the story was basically correct. Listening to the conversations only confirmed that feeling.

Will this be the caliber of citizenry, which might be influencing how you or I will live in the next few years, or the way, in which our children and grandchildren will be forced to live?

President Obama’s Wednesday trip to Wisconsin, to emphasize the need for an improved education seemed more necessary than ever before…

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Puritanism Alive and Well in US

naked ape1 Puritanism Alive and Well in USThe claims and counterclaims in this case vary widely, but as it stands, Eric Williamson, of Springfield, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, DC is being accused of indecent exposure.

As a woman, who was walking her 7-year-old son to school tells the story; Williamson has shown himself butt-naked twice through the windows of the house he was living in.

Williamson, in turn says that he just got up and was preparing breakfast in his own house, totally unaware that anyone could see him.

It is also interesting to note that the accusing woman is a wife of a Fairfax County policeman.

Police showed up very quickly. One of the five cops who went into his house reportedly called Williamson a pervert and others looked through his belongings. They left but returned a short time later to take him to the magistrate.

A police spokeswoman would not comment on Williamson’s claim that officers entered his room without a warrant, but she did say “We don’t arrest people for being nude in their house.”

Williamson in turn, says Fairfax County police treated him “like an animal” at his home.

Considering the huge brouhaha about a sex-related show in Saudi Arabia and the sentences of lashes and prison for those involved (apparently now pardoned by King Abdullah), or the stoning and other punishment in Afghanistan and Pakistan, our domestic morals might not seem to be that strict. On the other hand, how does walking naked around one’s own house compare to miles and miles of nude people on many European beaches? Who could be considered more advanced from the cultural and moral point of view, we wonder…

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We are re-posting this story – along with a few edits – after our friends at BadGalsRadio.

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Has America finally turned into the Land of the Evil and the Home of the Bullies?

Whatever happened to the hearts and mind approach?

b22cd66be2214812edf8c5ad2e4ecf11 Why Are We There and Why do We Think We Can Do Anything We Want?

America needs to rebuild the country instead of spending money hand and fist to allow baby killers and rapists to run roughshod over people in foreign lands; in the name of the American people.

I am not thinking that President Obama is incorrect in his assessment that there needs to be some sort of troop involvement in Afghanistan; just not American forces. Let the UN handle it’s business.  Do we remember when the Russians left? They said clearly that Afghanistan as a war is unwinnable for any outside force. And before them were the British and all kinds of other invaders, including Alexander of Macedonia. None of these people, or countries has ever managed to win a war in Afghanistan. Why?  The reasons are many, but probably the main one is that this is a holy war.

In addition, why is it that about the only thing that the conservatives seem to agree with the president on is the continued troop presence in Afghanistan?

Since it was clearly the British who have messed up entire regions of the world, by drawing arbitrary maps  and borders in the Middle East, Africa and Asia – including of course the borders between India and Pakistan and Pakistan and Afghanistan, shouldn’t they be forced to fix the mess that they have made? But of course Britain is a mere shadow of itself nowadays… Is that how America become the Keeper of The Worlds’ Rights ? If that’s the case – America should start at home first.

Immediately Approve the Health Care Bill, fix our crumbling infrastructure and send the ones who so strongly believe in “winning” the war in Afghanistan over there, as mercenaries, but not in my name, or yours, but strictly in their own. Let’s see how these “patriots” fare over there.  Getting rid of some of those people might help America once again become the worlds’ leader in Democracy and Civil Rights, while at the same time providing some jollies to the ones who are willing to so freely waste the blood of our troops and of anyone else, who they don’t agree with.

Is That Too Much To Ask For ?

America Fix Your Own House First before you start trying to clean up anybody else’s yard.  until Americans stop avoiding the depth of social ills in America; America will continue to be handicapped – and dissolute.

Many believe that America is on the road to recovery – yet we still see unprecedented disrespect for the highest office in the land; as well as a continuous climate of hatred, from sea to bloody sea.

America – Why so much anger in no particular direction ?

Has America finally turned into the Land of the Evil and the Home of the Bullies?

Charity Group: U.S. Troops Stormed Afghan Hospital

(bet.com)

A Swedish charity accused American troops Monday of storming through a hospital in central Afghanistan, breaking down doors and tying up staff in a search for militants, The Associated Press reports.

The U.S. military said it was investigating the allegation. The Swedish Committee for Afghanistan accused the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division of entering the hospital without permission to look for insurgents in Wardak province, southwest of Kabul, according to the charity’s country director, Anders Fange.

Fange said Monday that the troops’ actions were a violation of the sanctity of medical facilities in combat zones. “This is simply not acceptable,” he told AP. The U.S. troops entered the hospital looking for Taliban insurgents late at night last Wednesday, Fange said. He said they kicked in doors, tied up four hospital employees and two family members of patients, and forced patients out of beds during their search.

When they left two hours later, the unit ordered hospital staff to inform coalition forces if any wounded militants were admitted, and the military would decide if they could be treated, Fange said. Navy public affairs officer Lt. Cmdr. Christine Sidenstricker confirmed that the hospital was searched last week but had no other details. She said the military is looking into the incident. “We are investigating and we take allegations like this seriously,” she told AP. “Complaints like this are rare.”

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The bottom line is:  Can we really expect to achieve anything even close to “success”, or “victory” in Afghanistan? Probably not. As a matter of fact despite additional U.S. troops and a new commander things appear to be deteriorating all around.

Maybe it is time to dust off the presidential crystal ball and see what the future holds, before sending any more troops to Afghanistan?

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