Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Vladimir Lenin

2009-07-11T16:07:03Z

Kingstowngalway:

[[Image:Khvhkgfiy.jpg|right|thumb|Lenin]]
'''Lenin''' (born Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov <ref>"Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" (Russian: Владимир Ильич Улянов, Ленин) was the pseudonym he used after 1900 to disguise his identity.</ref>) (1870-1924) was the leader of Russian Communism. Coming to power in 1917 he became dictator of the [[Soviet Union]].

==Early Life==
Lenin was born into an aristocratic Russian family in 1870. In 1889, he became a [[Marxist]] after his older brother was hanged for the murder of Tsar Aleksandr II. Lenin obtained a law degree shortly afterwards, and by 1895 was a [[subversion (political)|subversive]] who was arrested and sent to [[Siberia]] as punishment. Once he served his time he left for Western Europe, where he developed his plans further and used his writings to divide the Russian Social Democrats into Leninists, or [[Bolsheviks]], and Anti-Leninists, or [[Mensheviks]]. Despite disapproval of the Mensheviks, Lenin's followers continued to raise money through a mixture of [[piracy]], bank robberies, kidnapping, extortion, terrorism, and murder. Unlike the leaders of other Marxist organizations, Lenin did not spent the money on his own lifestyle and carefully strengthened his movement.

He returned to Russia after the [[tsar]] abdicated in March 1917 and arrived and the Finland Station. At the time, most Bolsheviks were more interested in using the ballot box to gain political power. Lenin, however, refused even to consider this and declared, "History will not forgive us if we do not take power now."

==Revolution==
In October 1917, Lenin masterminded a [[coup d'etat]] which overthrew the [[Provisional Government]] which had replaced the [[Russian Empire]]. In what historian [[Simon Sebag Montefiore]] has described as a comedy of errors, the Winter Palace was shelled and the Provisional Cabinet was placed under arrest by a mixture of Red Guards and radical sailors from the Kronstadt Naval Base. In the aftermath, the victorious beseigers engaged in a drunken celebration in the Palace's wine cellars and gang raped the units of female volunteers who had been gaurding the Cabinet.

==Dictator==
(In the night of July 16-17, 1918, a squad of Bolshevik secret police murdered Russia's last emperor, Tsar Nicholas II, along with his wife, Tsaritsa Alexandra, their 14-year-old son, Tsarevich Alexis, and their four daughters.)<ref>[http://www.ihr.org/jhr/v14/v14n1p-4_Weber.html Assessing the Grim Legacy of Soviet Communism]</ref> He then ruled the [[Soviet Union]] under Marxism-Leninism, until 1922, when he retired due to ill health. Lenin's government was notable for placing a woman, Alexandra Kollontai, as Commissar of Social Welfare at a time when positions of authority routinely went to men. She resigned early the following year over a difference of opinion where she was in the minority, but continued to be active in Soviet politics.<ref>[http://www.marxists.org/archive/kollonta/into.htm]</ref>. Lenin's government also denounced anti-Semitism by the old Russian government in a speech in March 1919 <ref>[http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/articleview/718/1/78]</ref>.

Lenin died in 1924 following a series of progressively more serious strokes.

Lenin used [[concentration camp]]s and "reeducation" to impose the atheistic ideology upon the population.

{{Cquote|A wide campaign of "education" was undertaken to show the people why "workers' rule" meant, in practice, [[Nomenklatura|managers]]' rule. Where necessary, the education by the word was supplemented with education by [[firing squad]] or [[concentration camp]] or forced labour battalion. <ref>James Burnham, ''The Managerial Revolution'', Indiana University Press, Bloomingham 1966.</ref> }}

The régime of [[Josef Stalin]], the next [[Premier]] of the USSR, continued the oppression of the masses initiated by Lenin.

== See also ==

*[[Karl Marx]]
*[[Baldomero Ortoneda]]

==References==
<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lenin, Vladimir Ilyich}}
[[Category:Mass Murderers]]
[[Category:Russian History]]
[[Category:Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Dictators]]

Vladimir Lenin

2009-07-11T15:55:34Z

Kingstowngalway: /* Revolution */

[[Image:Khvhkgfiy.jpg|right|thumb|Lenin]]
'''Lenin''' (born Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov <ref>"Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" (Russian: Владимир Ильич Улянов, Ленин) was the pseudonym he used after 1900 to disguise his identity.</ref>) (1870-1924) was the leader of Russian Communism. Coming to power in 1917 he became dictator of the [[Soviet Union]].
==Revolution==

In October 1917, Lenin, the leader of the radical wing of the Russian [[Social Democrat]]s, masterminded a [[coup d'etat]] which overthrew the [[Provisional Government]] that had replaced the [[Russian Empire]]. In what historian [[Simon Sebag Montefiore]] has described as a comedy of errors, the Winter Palace was shelled and the Provisional Cabinet was placed under arrest by a mixture of Red Guards and radical sailors from the Kronstadt Naval Base. In the aftermath, the victorious beseigers engaged in a drunken celebration in the Palace's wine cellars and gang raped the units of female volunteers who had been gaurding the Cabinet.

==Dictator==
Lenin was one of the most devious persons in all of history. He was a revolutionary and mass murderer. In 1889, he became a [[Marxist]] (as previously formulated by [[Karl Marx]]). He obtained a law degree shortly afterwards, and by 1895 was a [[subversion (political)|subversive]] who was arrested and sent to [[Siberia]] as punishment. Once he served his time he left for Western Europe, where he developed his plans further and became a leader of the [[Bolsheviks]]. He returned to Russia after the [[tsar]] abdicated in March 1917, and led the Bolsheviks to power in the "[[October Revolution]]" (November in the Gregorian calendar) by overthrowing the government. (In the night of July 16-17, 1918, a squad of Bolshevik secret police murdered Russia's last emperor, Tsar Nicholas II, along with his wife, Tsaritsa Alexandra, their 14-year-old son, Tsarevich Alexis, and their four daughters.)<ref>[http://www.ihr.org/jhr/v14/v14n1p-4_Weber.html Assessing the Grim Legacy of Soviet Communism]</ref> He then ruled the [[Soviet Union]] under Marxism-Leninism, until 1922, when he retired due to ill health. Lenin's government was notable for placing a woman, Alexandra Kollontai, as Commissar of Social Welfare at a time when positions of authority routinely went to men. She resigned early the following year over a difference of opinion where she was in the minority, but continued to be active in Soviet politics.<ref>[http://www.marxists.org/archive/kollonta/into.htm]</ref>. Lenin's government also denounced anti-Semitism by the old Russian government in a speech in March 1919 <ref>[http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/articleview/718/1/78]</ref>.

Lenin died in 1924 following a series of progressively more serious strokes.

Lenin used [[concentration camp]]s and "reeducation" to impose the atheistic ideology upon the population.

{{Cquote|A wide campaign of "education" was undertaken to show the people why "workers' rule" meant, in practice, [[Nomenklatura|managers]]' rule. Where necessary, the education by the word was supplemented with education by [[firing squad]] or [[concentration camp]] or forced labour battalion. <ref>James Burnham, ''The Managerial Revolution'', Indiana University Press, Bloomingham 1966.</ref> }}

The régime of [[Josef Stalin]], the next [[Premier]] of the USSR, continued the oppression of the masses initiated by Lenin.

== See also ==

*[[Karl Marx]]
*[[Baldomero Ortoneda]]

==References==
<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lenin, Vladimir Ilyich}}
[[Category:Mass Murderers]]
[[Category:Russian History]]
[[Category:Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Dictators]]

Lolita

2009-06-21T00:41:29Z

Kingstowngalway:

'''''Lolita''''' is a novel by [[Vladimir Nabokov]], concerning a middle-aged [[pedophile]]'s affair with a teenaged girl. It was first published in Paris in 1955.

It was made into a film in 1962 by director [[Stanley Kubrick]], and again in 1997 by director Adrian Lyne.

[[category:Novels]]
[[category:Movies]]

Irish Republican Army

2009-06-10T13:28:36Z

Kingstowngalway: /* Further reading */

[[Image:IRA3.jpg|right|thumb|200px]]

The '''Irish Republican Army''' or (IRA) is used to refer to two different, historically linked organisations; the Provisional IRA and the Official IRA. The former were formed in 1969 and have been more active since then with a particularly high profile from their terrorist campaign. The Provisional IRA was formed as a reaction to perceived inactivity of the Official IRA, who were formed in 1919, but whose profile dropped since the end of the [[Irish Civil War]].

The Provisional IRA, also known as the '''The Irish Republican Army''', '''PIRA''', '''Provos''', or '''IRA''' (Óglaigh na hÉireann in Irish Gaelic) is a republican [[terrorist]] organisation that fought against the [[British]] in [[Northern Ireland]], claiming to represent the largely [[Catholic]] nationalist community in Northern Ireland.

The organisation is associated with the political party [[Sinn Féin]] (also known as Provisional Sinn Fein), although a direct association is officially denied. In 1981 an IRA prisoner serving a life sentence, Bobby Sands, was elected to the UK parliament while on Hunger Strike in the infamous [[Maze Prison]]. He died shortly after the election, but this was the beginning of a new strategy of Armalite and Ballot Box, combining politics with the "armed struggle" ([[terrorist]] campaign). The policy of violence was gradually undermined by increased faith in politics together with a number of peace initiatives and a loss of support for a violent program - the conciliatory handling of the situation first by [[John Major]] and later by [[Tony Blair]] is often held up as an example of an effective approach to counter-terrorism.

IRA terrorists have since been caught helping [[FARC]] terrorists in [[Colombia]]<ref>http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1563119.stm</ref>.

Two small factions within the IRA broke away from the main organisation to protest its participation in the peace process: these are known as the Real IRA (RIRA), which carried out the Omagh bombing in 1998, the bloodiest single incident in the Troubles (29 people were killed), and the Continuity IRA (CIRA).

== History ==
===Origins===
The IRA was first formed in 1919 from members of the [[Irish Volunteers]], an armed group formed in 1913 to promote self government in Ireland, which was then part of the [[United Kingdom]], and in response to the formation of the armed [[Ulster Volunteers]], which sought to force exclusion of Ulster from any [[Home Rule]] agreement. While the British parliament passed the Government of Ireland Act in 1914, providing limited powers of self government to the Irish, its implementation was postponed by the outbreak of [[World War I]]. The majority of the approximately 100,000 Irish Volunteers accepted British promises that the act would go into force following the war, and many joined the British Army to fight. However, approximately 12,000 did not accept the delay. This group retained the name Irish Volunteers. They were largely controlled by the secretive [[Irish Republican Brotherhood]], or IRB, which had been seeking to instigate rebellion against British rule since the mid-19th century.

On April 24, 1916, the [[Easter Rising]] broke out when a significant portion of Volunteers seized Dublin's General Post Office (where their leader Padraig Pearse read a proclamation of Irish independence) and other points in Dublin. The limited nature of the rising is accounted for by splits in the leadership of the Volunteers and the issuing of orders countermanding the rising. The rebels managed to hold out for a week, but were defeated by British forces, who surrounded and isolated the rebel outposts and reduced them using artillery in many cases. The Rising had initially been unpopular among the Irish people, but this changed when the British executed 16 of its leaders following courts-martial in Dublin.

===Anglo-Irish War===
In 1917, those who had participated in the Rising, as well as many who had been converted to their cause, organised the Irish Republican Army, dedicated to using force to attain independence. The [[Irish War of Independence|Anglo-Irish War]] began with the killing of two Royal Irish Constabulary men in January 1919. The IRA was organised into "flying columns" of 20-30 men who attacked British bases and ambushed military and police forces, as well as smaller units carrying out killings of police, army and government personnel. In July 1921, the IRA and the British agreed to a truce, which was followed by the negotiations for what became the [[Anglo-Irish Treaty]]. By the treaty provisions, Ireland was to become a dominion of the [[United Kingdom]], and the British were to retain possession of several ports on the Irish coastline. Additionally, members of the Irish Parliament (or Dáil Eireann) were required to swear an oath of loyalty to the British Crown. The treaty also led to the partition of the island, as six northern counties (Armagh, Antrim, Tyrone, Fermanagh, Down, Derry) opted to remain part of the UK and became the new state entity of [[Northern Ireland]].

===[[Irish Civil War]]===
The IRA leadership as well as its rank and file were deeply divided by the treaty. Pro-treaty members believed that it was a stepping stone to the independence they had sought, while anti-treaty members felt the treaty was a betrayal of the ideals that had motivated them to fight. These divisions ultimately led to a split in the IRA and civil war. The pro-treaty faction was reorganised as the Irish National Army, while the Anti-Treaty group retained the IRA label. The schism ultimately led to a bloody civil war in which brutal atrocities were comited by both sides. Although The war ended in 1923 with the victory of the National Army, the divisions it caused continue to polarize Irish politics to this day.

===Between the Wars===
During the period between the Irish Civil War and [[World War II]], the IRA was largely engaged in social issues, which they approached from an increasingly left-wing perspective. While a number of IRA men joined the Marxist [[International Brigades]] during the [[Spanish Civil War]], they also engaged in violent attacks against the authorities in both North and South. This approach was unpopular, largely due to the oposition of the [[Roman Catholic Church]] in Ireland. As time passed, IRA membership dwindled and many experienced veterans dropped out of the movement.

===World War II===
In 1938, however, the IRA began preparing plans to return to war with a bombing campaign in England. The IRA also sought the assistance of [[Nazi Germany]], but in the end the Abwehr provided little assistance.<ref>Tim Pat Coogan, "The IRA: A History," Chapter 9, "The IRA and the Nazis," pages 151-162.</ref> The IRA campaign had little effect, largely due to repressive measures taken by the British and Irish governments.

At the time of the Second World War, the [[Irish Free State]] was under the governance of [[Eamon de Valera]] and the Fianna Fail Party. Faced with an upsurge of terrorist violence, de Valera began interning IRA members without trial in the [[Curragh Camp]] in County Kildare. IRA men accused of capital crimes were tried by military tribunals and in some cases received the [[death penalty]].<ref> Tim Pat Coogan, "The IRA: A History," Chapter 8, "The Years of the Curragh," pages 143-150.</ref>

The most famous such incident of this era involved IRA Chief of Staff [[Charles Kerins]], who was hanged at [[Dublin]]'s Mountjoy Prison on December 1, 1944. He had been convicted by court-martial of the machine gun slaying of a Detective Sergeant [[Denis O'Brien]] of the [[Garda Siochana]]. Kerins is revered as a martyr by many militant Irish nationalists to this day.

===Border Campaign===
In the early 1950s the IRA began planning for a new campaign, which was intended to reunite [[Northern Ireland]] with the remainder of the island. The Border Campaign began in 1956 and lasted until 1962. IRA groups attacked military installations and attempted to disrupt the workings of the Northern Ireland state by damaging its infrastructure. The governments once again responded by introducing internment, which severely inhibited IRA operations. Ultimately the Border Campaign ended with an IRA admission that it did not have sufficient popular support to maintain its activities.

===The Troubles===
During the early 1960s, the IRA again came under socialist and Marxist influences. This led to a lack of emphasis on military aspects of the organisation. When violent rioting broke out in Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, in 1969, the IRA was ill-prepared to assist the Catholic/Nationalist community, to the extent that mocking jokes held that the abbreviation 'IRA' stood for "I Ran Away". The lack of focus on defence led to divisions within the IRA between those who favoured a movement focused on class issues and those who were motivated to defend their community by armed force, and by extension, use armed struggle to bring about a united Ireland. The organisation split along these lines in 1969, and the group focused on defence and armed struggle against the British became known as the Provisional IRA (PIRA). The remaining group was referred to as the Official IRA (OIRA).

OIRA engaged in some military activity during the early years of the Troubles before calling a ceasefire in 1972. They have since transformed into a political party, currently known as The Workers’ Party, contesting elections largely in the [[Republic of Ireland]]. PIRA, on the other hand, launched a 30-year campaign of violence against British control of Northern Ireland. PIRA violence was responsible for approximately 1,800 of the 3,000 deaths during the Troubles. The PIRA campaign came to an end with a ceasefire in 1997 as a result of the [[Irish Peace Process]], which culminated in the [[Belfast Agreement]], sometimes known as the [[Good Friday Agreement]], in 1998. In 2005, the IRA officially announced an end to its campaign and decommissioned much of its arms under international supervision.

The PIRA's terror campaign was largely funded from overseas. Two significant sources were the Libyan government and sympathisers in the United States. <ref>http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1563119.stm</ref><ref>http://members.lycos.co.uk/inac/myth.html</ref>

[[Noraid]] is an American fund-raising organisation claiming to support the peaceful campaign for a united Ireland. Set up at the beginning of the Troubles, it was often accused by the British, Irish and US governments of being a front for the supply of military hardware to the PIRA. Coupled with vocal support for Irish republicanism by certain US elected representatives and the refusal to extradite IRA suspects by members of the US judiciary, this caused many in the UK to suspect that Americans were anti-British and caused resentment of United States policy by many Britons.

[[Category:Terrorists]]
[[Category:Northern Ireland]]
[[Category:Irish History]]

==References==
<references/>

==Further reading==
* Tim Pat Coogan, ''The IRA: A History,'' Roberts Rhinehart Publishers, 1994.
* T. Ryle Dwyer, ''The Squad and the Intelligence Operations of [[Michael Collins]],'' Mercier Press, 2006.
* James Gleeson, ''Bloody Sunday: How Michael Collins' Agents Assassinated Britain's Secret Service in Dublin on November 21, 1920,'' London, 1962.
* Tom Mahon & James J. Gillogly, ''Decoding the IRA'', [[Mercier Press]], 2008.

2009-04-28T13:19:12Z

Kingstowngalway: /* Possible Quotes to be Added */

"forced women to work in factories just like men" - Is the intent of this to say that women should not be working in factories and/or holding jobs that men hold? I would think that idea is somewhat ''passe'' now. The fragment should be removed from the article.--[[User:Dave3172|Dave3172]] 23:22, 7 March 2007 (EST)

: The statement is factual and I see no reason to delete. The reader can decide for himself whether forcing women to work in factories just like men is a good thing. --[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 23:24, 7 March 2007 (EST)

:: I would think that anyone would agree that coercing anyone to work isn't a good thing. But the "just like men" part is opinion, not fact. That is what should be removed.--[[User:Dave3172|Dave3172]] 23:48, 7 March 2007 (EST)

==Stalin's death==
''Following a stroke on 1 March 1953, Stalin died ''

Stalin may have actually been assassinated by other members of the Politburo who feared another 1938 style-purge growing out of the Doctor's Plot. [[User:RobS|RobS]] 17:49, 9 April 2007 (EDT)

==Odd conclusion==
The article says,

:''Most of this, however, was pure propaganda ... Soviet growth was impressive. Between 1929 and 1937, 8,000 factories were constructed, average GDP growth was around 10%''

Which of those two statements is true? Was it "pure propaganda," or a successful campaign of industrial development? -[[User:Harmil|Harmil]] 12:25, 2 May 2007 (EDT)

== Purges ==

I removed someone's addition of the subplot of Stalin's Okhranka file because it was tangential to the overview of the purges and too specific for this article. It should form its own entry if valid.

:I would suggest, if you think it is important, not to remove accurate additional information added by RobS, a sysop, and instead perhaps give it a sub-head, instead of just dumping enlightening information, that goes to their state of mind. Do you have some suggestions for this, other than making an entirely new article on this deal? --[[User:TK|₮K]][[User_Talk:TK|/Talk]] 22:45, 28 March 2008 (EDT)

==Motives==

Xgood, please work with me to develop your ideas on Stalin's motives. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] [[User talk:Ed Poor|Talk]] 16:31, 15 May 2008 (EDT)

==Tsaritsyn spelled wrong in the introduction==
It currently says ''Tsaritsen'', while correctly the town is spelled ''Tsaritsyn'' or ''Tsaritsin'' (''Царицин'' in Russian).[[User:SimonW|SimonW]] 11:53, 22 May 2008 (EDT)

== Lead ==

There should be an end parenthesis after his name in Cyrillic, and the Cyrillic name shouldn't be italicized (though I'm not entirely sure on the latter point). --[[User:SamY|sam(m)y]] 13:27, 14 December 2008 (EST)
:<s>Also, although it's more common to transliterate the Cyrillic letters de and zhe as two distinct letters, the name "Джугашвили" is more often rendered with a J in English (i.e., Jugashvili). --[[User:SamY|sam(m)y]] 13:56, 14 December 2008 (EST)</s>

== Additional Information ==

I'm studying the period in history at the moment-- most notably, the differences between Lenin and Stalin. Could I add, for example, that Stalin was a hardline believer in family values, as he altered the soviet school system to reflect this? Or could I add that he re-initiated the persecution of homosexuals?

I'm not trying to be contrary or anything, I'm honestly not sure whether to add these things-- they're facts, but they're elements of conservative ideology that you might not want associated with Stalin. -- Dollfuss.

*I would say you need to study at greater length, rather than post something so absurd. This is the danger of all students, reading something that might be factual, and accepting it as "truth" when in reading more, understanding more, one would realize that is isn't really the truth at all. Many things, in one context can be truthful, however taken in the greater, historical context, have entirely a different meaning or truth. "Persecution" of Homosexuals, given the times and overwhelming world view of the time, wasn't persecution as we know it today. You cannot judge historical events in today's accepted context. That is called revisionist history. --[[User:TK|'''₮K''']]/Admin[[User_Talk:TK|/Talk]] 20:56, 4 April 2009 (EDT)

==[[Simon Sebag Montefiore]]==
I am really rather surprised that no one has used Simon Sebag Montefiore's recent bestseller "Young Stalin" as a source for this article. There are a large number of urban legends about Stalin's life prior to 1917. For more than a decade, Mr. Montefiore has been examining thousands of pages of formerly classified documents and memoirs from the former Soviet Union. He has also tracked down and interviewed the descendants of the many illegitimate children who Stalin fathered prior to the Revolution. It is all there in black and white, including how and why Stalin lost his faith in the Christian God, the Atheistic subculture which he encouraged in the seminary in Tbilisi, and the many criminal activities which he used to finance Lenin's Bolsheviks. It is a vital source which should be used extensively by conservative historians, as it reveals just how and why the Bolsheviks defeated both the Tsar's Secret Police and the Provisional Government of Aleksandr Kerensky. If we are to compete successfully with Wikipedia, we must not deal in urban legends. Unfortunately, the Stalin article here seems to have been doing exactly that. [[User:Kingstowngalway|Kingstowngalway]] 17:59, 15 April 2009 (EDT)

*Well, you are an editor here, no? Propose what you would like added, post it here, and if no objection, move on to adding the bits to the article, with citation, of course. --[[User:TK|'''₮K''']]/Admin[[User_Talk:TK|/Talk]] 18:57, 15 April 2009 (EDT)

**Well, for one thing, the section describing Stalin as an Okhrana informant definitely needs a complete overhaul. Mr. Sebag Montefiore deals at length with this in his book. He cites both the evidence for and against the rumors of Stalin's Okhrana ties. At the time of his alleged "treason," Stalin was actually one of the Bolshevik movement's top intelligence men and was charged with trying to ''recruit Okhrana men'' as informants. According to Montefiore, the Okhrana ordered the agents Stalin approached to feed him false information in hopes of creating an internal war within the Bolshevik Movement. This, and the subsequent exposal of Okhrana spy Roman Malinovsky, made Stalin so unspeakably paranoid that decades after the Revolution he was still certain that he was surrounded by traitors. This was the ''real'' reason for the Purge of 1937. [[User:Kingstowngalway|Kingstowngalway]] 22:14, 15 April 2009 (EDT)

==Possible Quotes to be Added==
* "Before your eyes, rises the hero of [[Gogol]]'s story who, in a fit of abberation, imagined that he was the King of [[Spain]]. Such is the fate of all megalomaniacs."
--Joseph Stalin, ''Proletariatis Brdzola'', August 1905. Quoted by Simon Sebag Montefiore, ''Young Stalin'', page 376.[[User:Kingstowngalway|Kingstowngalway]] 19:14, 16 April 2009 (EDT)

* "God's not unjust, he doesn't actually exist. We've been deceived. If God existed, he'd have made the world more just... I'll lend you a book and you'll see."
--A teenaged Stalin after reading ''The Origin of Species'' by [[Charles Darwin]]. Quoted by Simon Sebag Montefiore, ''Young Stalin'', page 49.[[User:Kingstowngalway|Kingstowngalway]] 19:30, 16 April 2009 (EDT)

* "Comrade Koba told you that we were against you and demanded your sacking from the Committee, but I promise you nothing of the sort happened and everything Koba told you was a malicious lie! Yes: a calumny to discredit us! I just wonder at the man's impudence. I know how worthless he is, but I didn't expect such 'courage.' But it turns out that he'll use any means if he thinks the ends justify them. The end in this case - the ambition - is to present himself as a great man before the nation. But... God didn't grant him the right gifts, so he has to resort to intrigues, lies and other 'bagatelles.' Such a filthy person wanted to pollute our sacred mission with sewage!"
--Georgian [[Menshevik]] Noe Khomeriki in a 1904 letter to a member of the Social Democratic Central Committee for the Caucausus region. Simon Sebag Montefiore, ''Young Stalin'', page 125.[[User:Kingstowngalway|Kingstowngalway]] 19:30, 16 April 2009 (EDT)

*"Does Djilas, who is himself a writer, not know what human suffering and the human heart are? Can't he understand it if a soldier who has crossed thousands of kilometers through blood and fire and death has fun with a woman or takes some trifle?"
--In response to complaints about the rapes and looting commited by the [[Red Army]] during the [[Second World War]]. [[Milovan Djilas]], ''Conversations with Stalin'', page 95.[[User:Kingstowngalway|Kingstowngalway]] 09:03, 21 April 2009 (EDT)

Talk:Kaiser Wilhelm II

2009-04-28T13:09:13Z

Kingstowngalway:

Talk:Kaiser Wilhelm II

2009-04-28T02:55:48Z

Kingstowngalway: /* Namibia */

Talk:Kaiser Wilhelm II

2009-04-28T02:55:07Z

Kingstowngalway: /* Namibia */

Hanseatic League

2009-04-27T23:54:53Z

Kingstowngalway:

The '''Hanseatic League''' was an alliance of North German and Baltic cities during the Middle Ages. The Hanseatic League was founded for the purpose of joining forces for promoting mercantile interests, defensive strength and political influence.

By the 14th century, the Hanseatic League held a near-monopoly on trade in the Baltic, especially with [[Novgorod]] and [[Scandinavia]].

[[Image:Hansa.jpg|thumb|300px]]

==Further reading==
* Cornelius Walford, "An Outline History of the Hanseatic League, More Particularly in Its Bearings upon English Commerce," ''Transactions of the Royal Historical Society,'' Vol. 9, (1881), pp. 82-136 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/3677937 in JSTOR]
* Clive Day. ''A history of commerce‎'' (1914) pp 252+ [http://books.google.com/books?id=AQpDAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA252&dq=%22Hanseatic+League%22&lr=&num=30&as_brr=1&as_pt=ALLTYPES full text online]
* William Clarence Webster. ''A General History of Commerce‎'' (1918) ch 10 pp 71+ [http://books.google.com/books?id=XeFAAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA71&dq=%22Hanseatic+League%22&lr=&num=30&as_brr=1&as_pt=ALLTYPES full text online]

[[Category:Medieval History]]
[[Category:Economic history]]
[[Category:German History]]

Holy Roman Empire

2009-04-27T23:53:05Z

Kingstowngalway:

{{Middle Ages}}[[Image:Western_Empire_887.gif|thumbnail|right|300px|The Empire in 887]]

The '''Holy Roman Empire''' (sometimes called the First Reich), from 900 to 1806 AD was the territory in Europe, loosely under the authority of the Holy Roman Emperor. In practice the constituent states ruled themselves.

==Origins==

The origins of the Holy Roman Empire lie with the [[Carolingian]] empire founded by the Frankish Emperor [[Charlemagne]]. After the death in 840 of Charlemagne's son and successor, [[Louis the Pious]], the Frankish Empire fell into civil war among the three sons of Louis, [[Lothair]], [[Charles the Bald]] and [[Louis the German]]. At the [[Treaty of Verdun]] in 843, the three sons agreed to split the Empire in three parts and divide them among themselves.

Louis the German gained the eastern part of the Empire, and was made King of East Francia. In 962, his descendant [[Otto I]] inherited the Imperial crown as the last surviving heir of the Carolingian dynasty. At this point, the Kingdom of East Francia became the Holy Roman Empire, although this name was not common until later centuries.

==Nomenclature==

The name "Holy Roman Empire", which became common in the 12th century, reflects the self-perception of its emperors as descendants of the [[Roman Empire]]. Through a process called [[translatio imperii]], the old Roman Empire continued in the shape of the Holy Roman Empire.

In the 16th century, the full description ''The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation'' was usually used in formal references.

In 1756, [[Voltaire]] famously described the Empire as "neither [[Holy]], nor [[Rome|Roman]], nor an [[Empire]]", in his ''Essay on the Manner and Spirit of Nations and on the Principal Occurrences in History''.

==Political==

Throughout its history, the Holy Roman Empire was an unstable political structure. Power in the Empire was very decentralized, and mostly held by strong noble families and ecclesiastical princes. The power of the Emperor was often dependent on both his personal lands and resources, and on his ability to negotiate or coerce the other powerful nobles of the realm.

The Emperor was chosen through election by the so-called Prince-Electors, or ''Kurfürsten''. For the greater part of the Empire's history, there were seven Electors: The three Archbishops of Mainz, Trier and Cologne, the King of Bohemia, the Count Palatine of the Rhine, the Duke of Saxony, and the Margrave of Brandenburg.

==Religion==

During the Middle Ages, the Holy Roman Empire, like the rest of Europe, followed the Catholic faith. Throughout its history, however, the Empire was plagued by religious conflicts, especially between the Emperor and the Pope. The most important of these conflicts was the so-called [[Investiture Conflict]] between c. 1076 and 1122 AD. The Investiture conflict

These conflicts were mostly political in nature, however, and as a rule, the position of the Catholic Church was unchallenged in the Empire until the end of the Middle Ages. The emergence of first the [[Hussite movement]] in [[Bohemia]] the beginning of the 15th century and especially the [[Protestantism|Protestant]] reformers a century later, however, challenged the religious unity of the Empire and gave rise to serious conflicts.

{{stub}}
[[Category:European History]]
[[Category:Medieval History]]
[[Category:German History]]

Talk:Kaiser Wilhelm II

2009-04-27T23:50:18Z

Kingstowngalway: /* Namibia */

Talk:Joseph Stalin

2009-04-27T19:10:53Z

Kingstowngalway: /* Possible Quotes to be Added */

"forced women to work in factories just like men" - Is the intent of this to say that women should not be working in factories and/or holding jobs that men hold? I would think that idea is somewhat ''passe'' now. The fragment should be removed from the article.--[[User:Dave3172|Dave3172]] 23:22, 7 March 2007 (EST)

: The statement is factual and I see no reason to delete. The reader can decide for himself whether forcing women to work in factories just like men is a good thing. --[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 23:24, 7 March 2007 (EST)

:: I would think that anyone would agree that coercing anyone to work isn't a good thing. But the "just like men" part is opinion, not fact. That is what should be removed.--[[User:Dave3172|Dave3172]] 23:48, 7 March 2007 (EST)

==Stalin's death==
''Following a stroke on 1 March 1953, Stalin died ''

Stalin may have actually been assassinated by other members of the Politburo who feared another 1938 style-purge growing out of the Doctor's Plot. [[User:RobS|RobS]] 17:49, 9 April 2007 (EDT)

==Odd conclusion==
The article says,

:''Most of this, however, was pure propaganda ... Soviet growth was impressive. Between 1929 and 1937, 8,000 factories were constructed, average GDP growth was around 10%''

Which of those two statements is true? Was it "pure propaganda," or a successful campaign of industrial development? -[[User:Harmil|Harmil]] 12:25, 2 May 2007 (EDT)

== Purges ==

I removed someone's addition of the subplot of Stalin's Okhranka file because it was tangential to the overview of the purges and too specific for this article. It should form its own entry if valid.

:I would suggest, if you think it is important, not to remove accurate additional information added by RobS, a sysop, and instead perhaps give it a sub-head, instead of just dumping enlightening information, that goes to their state of mind. Do you have some suggestions for this, other than making an entirely new article on this deal? --[[User:TK|₮K]][[User_Talk:TK|/Talk]] 22:45, 28 March 2008 (EDT)

==Motives==

Xgood, please work with me to develop your ideas on Stalin's motives. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] [[User talk:Ed Poor|Talk]] 16:31, 15 May 2008 (EDT)

==Tsaritsyn spelled wrong in the introduction==
It currently says ''Tsaritsen'', while correctly the town is spelled ''Tsaritsyn'' or ''Tsaritsin'' (''Царицин'' in Russian).[[User:SimonW|SimonW]] 11:53, 22 May 2008 (EDT)

== Lead ==

There should be an end parenthesis after his name in Cyrillic, and the Cyrillic name shouldn't be italicized (though I'm not entirely sure on the latter point). --[[User:SamY|sam(m)y]] 13:27, 14 December 2008 (EST)
:<s>Also, although it's more common to transliterate the Cyrillic letters de and zhe as two distinct letters, the name "Джугашвили" is more often rendered with a J in English (i.e., Jugashvili). --[[User:SamY|sam(m)y]] 13:56, 14 December 2008 (EST)</s>

== Additional Information ==

I'm studying the period in history at the moment-- most notably, the differences between Lenin and Stalin. Could I add, for example, that Stalin was a hardline believer in family values, as he altered the soviet school system to reflect this? Or could I add that he re-initiated the persecution of homosexuals?

I'm not trying to be contrary or anything, I'm honestly not sure whether to add these things-- they're facts, but they're elements of conservative ideology that you might not want associated with Stalin. -- Dollfuss.

*I would say you need to study at greater length, rather than post something so absurd. This is the danger of all students, reading something that might be factual, and accepting it as "truth" when in reading more, understanding more, one would realize that is isn't really the truth at all. Many things, in one context can be truthful, however taken in the greater, historical context, have entirely a different meaning or truth. "Persecution" of Homosexuals, given the times and overwhelming world view of the time, wasn't persecution as we know it today. You cannot judge historical events in today's accepted context. That is called revisionist history. --[[User:TK|'''₮K''']]/Admin[[User_Talk:TK|/Talk]] 20:56, 4 April 2009 (EDT)

==[[Simon Sebag Montefiore]]==
I am really rather surprised that no one has used Simon Sebag Montefiore's recent bestseller "Young Stalin" as a source for this article. There are a large number of urban legends about Stalin's life prior to 1917. For more than a decade, Mr. Montefiore has been examining thousands of pages of formerly classified documents and memoirs from the former Soviet Union. He has also tracked down and interviewed the descendants of the many illegitimate children who Stalin fathered prior to the Revolution. It is all there in black and white, including how and why Stalin lost his faith in the Christian God, the Atheistic subculture which he encouraged in the seminary in Tbilisi, and the many criminal activities which he used to finance Lenin's Bolsheviks. It is a vital source which should be used extensively by conservative historians, as it reveals just how and why the Bolsheviks defeated both the Tsar's Secret Police and the Provisional Government of Aleksandr Kerensky. If we are to compete successfully with Wikipedia, we must not deal in urban legends. Unfortunately, the Stalin article here seems to have been doing exactly that. [[User:Kingstowngalway|Kingstowngalway]] 17:59, 15 April 2009 (EDT)

*Well, you are an editor here, no? Propose what you would like added, post it here, and if no objection, move on to adding the bits to the article, with citation, of course. --[[User:TK|'''₮K''']]/Admin[[User_Talk:TK|/Talk]] 18:57, 15 April 2009 (EDT)

**Well, for one thing, the section describing Stalin as an Okhrana informant definitely needs a complete overhaul. Mr. Sebag Montefiore deals at length with this in his book. He cites both the evidence for and against the rumors of Stalin's Okhrana ties. At the time of his alleged "treason," Stalin was actually one of the Bolshevik movement's top intelligence men and was charged with trying to ''recruit Okhrana men'' as informants. According to Montefiore, the Okhrana ordered the agents Stalin approached to feed him false information in hopes of creating an internal war within the Bolshevik Movement. This, and the subsequent exposal of Okhrana spy Roman Malinovsky, made Stalin so unspeakably paranoid that decades after the Revolution he was still certain that he was surrounded by traitors. This was the ''real'' reason for the Purge of 1937. [[User:Kingstowngalway|Kingstowngalway]] 22:14, 15 April 2009 (EDT)

==Possible Quotes to be Added==
* "Before your eyes, rises the hero of Gogol's story who, in a fit of abberation, imagined that he was the King of [[Spain]]. Such is the fate of all megalomaniacs."
--Joseph Stalin, ''Proletariatis Brdzola'', August 1905. Quoted by Simon Sebag Montefiore, ''Young Stalin'', page 376.[[User:Kingstowngalway|Kingstowngalway]] 19:14, 16 April 2009 (EDT)

* "God's not unjust, he doesn't actually exist. We've been deceived. If God existed, he'd have made the world more just... I'll lend you a book and you'll see."
--A teenaged Stalin after reading ''The Origin of Species'' by [[Charles Darwin]]. Quoted by Simon Sebag Montefiore, ''Young Stalin'', page 49.[[User:Kingstowngalway|Kingstowngalway]] 19:30, 16 April 2009 (EDT)

* "Comrade Koba told you that we were against you and demanded your sacking from the Committee, but I promise you nothing of the sort happened and everything Koba told you was a malicious lie! Yes: a calumny to discredit us! I just wonder at the man's impudence. I know how worthless he is, but I didn't expect such 'courage.' But it turns out that he'll use any means if he thinks the ends justify them. The end in this case - the ambition - is to present himself as a great man before the nation. But... God didn't grant him the right gift, so he has to resort to intrigues, lies and other 'bagatelles.' Such a filthy person wanted to pollute our sacred mission with sewage!"
--Georgian [[Menshevik]] Noe Khomeriki in a 1904 letter to a member of the Social Democratic Central Committee for the Caucausus region. Simon Sebag Montefiore, ''Young Stalin'', page 125.[[User:Kingstowngalway|Kingstowngalway]] 19:30, 16 April 2009 (EDT)

*"Does Djilas, who is himself a writer, not know what human suffering and the human heart are? Can't he understand it if a soldier who has crossed thousands of kilometers through blood and fire and death has fun with a woman or takes some trifle?"
--In response to complaints about the rapes and looting commited by the [[Red Army]] during the [[Second World War]]. [[Milovan Djilas]], ''Conversations with Stalin'', page 95.[[User:Kingstowngalway|Kingstowngalway]] 09:03, 21 April 2009 (EDT)

Talk:Joseph Stalin

2009-04-27T19:08:30Z

2009-04-18T02:31:37Z

Kingstowngalway:

[[Pope]]s and [[Antipope]]s of the [[Roman Catholic Church]].

[[Category:Catholic Church]]
[[Category:Catholic Leaders]]
[[Category:Roman Catholics]]

J.R.R. Tolkien

2009-04-18T02:30:21Z

Kingstowngalway: /* See also */

[[Image:Jrrt 1972 pipe.jpg|right|thumb|J. R. R. Tolkien in 1972, in his study at Merton Street.]]

'''John Ronald Reuel Tolkien''' (3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer, [[philology|philologist]] and university professor, best known as the author of several influential [[fantasy]] books such as ''[[The Hobbit]]'' and ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''.

He had a lifelong interest in and love of language, and also created [[Tolkien's languages|several constructed languages]]. Tolkien also created the [[Middle-earth]] legendarium, a fantasy world with a detailed geography, history, and inhabited by Men, [[Elf (Middle-earth)|Elves]], [[Dwarves (Middle-earth)|Dwarves]], and [[Hobbit]]s.<ref>''The Hobbit'', first published by George Allen & Unwin Ltd. of London, on 21 September 1937. </ref>

== Biography ==
Tolkien was born in [[Bloemfontein]], [[South Africa]], to English parents, Arthur Reuel Tolkien and Mabel, née Suffield. At the age of three he returned to England with his mother and younger brother, Hilary Arthur Reuel. His father died in Africa before he could rejoin them. Tolkien spent his early childhood in Sarehole, a [[Worcestershire]] village, which later influenced him in the creation of the [[Shire (Middle-earth)|Shire]]. Now living in [[Birmingham]], Mabel Tolkien and her children, converted to the [[Roman Catholic Church]] in 1900, which estranged her from her family. She died in 1904 of [[diabetes]], leaving her sons in the care of Father Francis Morgan. Tolkien grew up in the industrial Edgbaston area of Birmingham and attended King Edward's School. The urban sprawl of the industrial city of Birmingham which he witnessed is thought to have influenced his creation of Mordor. In 1916 Tolkien married Edith Mary Bratt, with whom he had four children: John, Michael, Christopher, and Priscilla. During that year he also fought at the Battle of the Somme but was eventually sent home due to illness. He became professor of [[Old English language|Anglo-Saxon]] and English language and literature at the [[University of Oxford]] in 1925 and remained in the post until 1959. After his death, the masses of his literary work he left behind were left in the care of his son Christopher Tolkien, who continued to organize and publish his father's writings.

He and several others (among them [[C. S. Lewis]]) were members of a literary club called the [[Inklings]]. Tolkien and Lewis were good friends, and Tolkien had a large role in Lewis's eventual embracing of [[Christianity]]<ref>''Heroes of the Faith, C.S.Lewis'' by Sam Wellman, Barbour Publishing, Inc., 1997. </ref>

== Bibliography ==
*''[[The Hobbit]]'' (1937)
*''Leaf by Niggle'' (1945)
*''Farmer Giles of Ham'' (1949, a medieval fable)
*''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', in three volumes:
**''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]]'' (1954)
**''[[The Two Towers]]'' (1955)
**''[[The Return of the King]]'' (1955)
*''Smith of Wootton Major'' (1967)
*''The Father Christmas Letters'' (1976)
*''[[The Silmarillion]]'' (1977)
*''Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth'' (1980)
*''The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien'' (1981)
*''Mr. Bliss'' (1982)
*''The Monsters and the Critics'' (1983, a collection of essays)
*''The History of Middle-earth'' (1983–1996 in twelve volumes)
*''Roverandom'' (1998)
*''The Children of Húrin'' (2007)
*''The History of The Hobbit'' (2007, in two volumes)

==References==
{{reflist|spaltenzahl}}

== See also ==
*[[Tolkien's languages and scripts]]
*[[:Category:Middle-earth]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tolkien, John Ronald Reuel}}

[[Category:Authors]]
[[Category:Religious People]]
[[Category:Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:World War I]]

J.R.R. Tolkien

2009-04-18T02:29:05Z

Kingstowngalway: /* See also */

Scottish Gaelic

2009-04-18T02:09:35Z

Kingstowngalway:

'''Scottish Gaelic''', or '''Gaelic''', is a Celtic language spoken in parts of north-western [[Scotland]] including the [[Inner Hebrides]] and [[Western Isles]] or Outer Hebrides. It is similar in form to [[Irish]] or [[Irish Gaelic]], these languages, with [[Manx]], being known as Q-Celtic or Goidelic, while [[Welsh]], [[Cornish]] and [[Breton]] belong to the P-Celtic group of languages.
==See Also==
* [[Dòmhnall Ruadh Chorùna]]

[[Category:Celtic languages]]
[[Category:Scotland]]

Citizen Kane

2009-04-17T15:13:59Z

Kingstowngalway: /* Plot */

{{Infobox Film
| name=Citizen Kane
| image=CitizenKanePoster.jpg
| caption=
| director=Orson Welles
| producer=George Schaefer Orson Welles
| writer=Orson Welles Herman J. Mankiewicz
| narrator=
| starring=Orson Welles Joseph Cotten Dorothy Comingore
| music=Bernard Herrmann
| cinematography=Gregg Toland
| editing=Robert Wise
| distributor=RKO
| released=May 1, 1941
| runtime=119 min
| country=USA
| language=English
| budget=
| gross=
| preceded_by=
| followed_by=
| website=
| amg_id=
| imdb_id=
}}
'''Citizen Kane''' is a 1941 movie produced and directed by [[Orson Welles]], who also played the title character. Many critics have named it as the greatest movie of all time. It was also voted #1 on the American Film Institute's list of the hundred best American movies ever made.<ref>http://www.afi.com/tvevents/100years/movies.aspx</ref>

==Plot==
Charles Foster Kane, multi-millionaire newspaper baron, is not dead for long as reporters inbvestigate the rags-to-riches life he had in a search for the meaning of the last word he ever said: "Rosebud".

Kane was born to an impoverished boarding house keeper during th 1870s. After a defaulting boarder left them a deed to a successful gold mine, Mrs. Kane sent her son to live with Wall Street tycoon Lawrence Thatcher in [[New York City]]. Mrs. Kane did so to get her son away from his abusive father, there would be a devastating price involved.

Upon reaching adulthood, Kane informs his former guardian that he is not interested in any of his investments except for ''The New York Enquirer'', a newspaper which has been taken as collateral for a bad loan. By running the ''Enquirer'' as a sensationalistic scandal sheet, Kane succeeds in building it into the City's most successful newspaper. In the process, he attacks Thatcher's business interests, forces the United States into the [[Spanish-American War]], and increasingly alienates his best friend, Jedediah Leland.

Despite the success of his media empire, Kane remains unsatisfied. He marries the President's niece and sets his sights on political office. Although Mrs. Kane originally marries him for love, she soon realizes that her husband does not really care for her. Instead of leaving him, however, she continues to keep up appearances for the sake of their son. As for Kane, he begins a discreet affair with a young woman named Susan Alexander.

Meanwhile, Kane runs for Governor of New York and vows both in his campaign speeches and in the ''Enquirer'' to crush [[political boss]] Jim Gettys. On the eve of the 1916 election, however, Jim Getty's lures the Kanes to Susan Alexander's apartment and serves them an ultimatem: either Kane drops out of the election or his affair with Susan will be leaked to the press. ALthough Mrs. Kane pleads with him to protect their family from the scandal, her husband refuses to listen. He insists that he will win the election anyway and send Gettys to Sing-Sing Prison. Disgusted, Mrs. Kane divorces her husband, who marries Susan Alexander immediately. Due to the scandal, Kane is slaughtered at the voting booths.

In the aftermath, Jedediah arrives at the ''Enquirer'' offices drunk. With great insight, he deconstructs Kane and accuses him of wanting the public's love as a gift for services rendered. He declares that, with the rise of labor unions, the "poor and underprivileged" don't need Kane anymore. To Kane's shock, Leland climaxes by asking to be transferred to the new [[Chicago]] newspaper.

Later, Kane pays for singing lessons for Susan and builds her a massive opera house in [[Chicago]]. Although no one else actually likes Susan Kane's voice, Kane insists that she continue performing. Only when she attempts suicide does he finally relent.

In later years, he builds Xanadu, a massive estate in [[Florida]] filled with statues, pleasure grounds, and "the largest zoo since [[Noah]]." Despite Susan's hatred of Xanadu, he isists that it is their home and refuses to take her back to New York.

At last, Susan Kane reaches the end of her tether. She packs her bags and prepares to leave her husband. Devastated by the thought of losing her, Kane pleads with her to stay and tells her, "You can't do this to me." Viewing this as proof that her husband loves no one but himself, Susan storms out of the estate in a rage.

Soon after, Kane dies, wealthy, powerful, and completely alone in a hell of his own making. Meanwhile, the reporters finally give up all hope of uncovering the meaning of his last words. Then, however, a sled with the title "Rosebud" is cast into the furnace. It is a relic from Kane's childhood at his mother's boarding house, the only time when he was both penniless and completely happy.

==Media Backlash==
Kane was modeled after [[Progressive]] media mogul [[William Randolph Hearst]], who was enraged by the negative portrayal of his mistress, Marion Davies. As a result, he used his influence in order to force RKO Pictures to not release the film in theaters. The career of Orson Welles never recovered from Hearst's campaign.

==References==
<references />

[[Category:Movies]]
[[Category:Historical Dramas]]

Citizen Kane

2009-04-17T15:13:24Z

Kingstowngalway: /* Plot */

{{Infobox Film
| name=Citizen Kane
| image=CitizenKanePoster.jpg
| caption=
| director=Orson Welles
| producer=George Schaefer Orson Welles
| writer=Orson Welles Herman J. Mankiewicz
| narrator=
| starring=Orson Welles Joseph Cotten Dorothy Comingore
| music=Bernard Herrmann
| cinematography=Gregg Toland
| editing=Robert Wise
| distributor=RKO
| released=May 1, 1941
| runtime=119 min
| country=USA
| language=English
| budget=
| gross=
| preceded_by=
| followed_by=
| website=
| amg_id=
| imdb_id=
}}
'''Citizen Kane''' is a 1941 movie produced and directed by [[Orson Welles]], who also played the title character. Many critics have named it as the greatest movie of all time. It was also voted #1 on the American Film Institute's list of the hundred best American movies ever made.<ref>http://www.afi.com/tvevents/100years/movies.aspx</ref>

==Plot==
Charles Foster Kane, multi-millionaire newspaper baron, is not dead for long as reporters inbvestigate the rags-to-riches life he had in a search for the meaning of the last word he ever said: "Rosebud".

Kane was born to an impoverished boarding house keeper during th 1870s. After a defaulting boarder left them a deed to a successful gold mine, Mrs. Kane sent her son to live with Wall Street tycoon Lawrence Thatcher in [[New York City]]. Mrs. Kane did so to get her son away from his abusive father, there would be a devastating price involved.

Upon reaching adulthood, Kane informs his former guardian that he is not interested in any of his investments except for ''The New York Enquirer'', a newspaper which has been taken as collateral for a bad loan. By running the ''Enquirer'' as a sensationalistic scandal sheet, Kane succeeds in building it into the City's most successful newspaper. In the process, he attacks Thatcher's business interests, forces the United States into the [[Spanish-American War]], and increasingly alienates his best friend, Jedediah Leland.

Despite the success of his media empire, Kane remains unsatisfied. He marries the President's niece and sets his sights on political office. Although Mrs. Kane originally marries him for love, she soon realizes that her husband does not really care for her. Instead of leaving him, however, she continues to keep up appearances for the sake of their son. As for Kane, he begins a discreet affair with a young woman named Susan Alexander.

Meanwhile, Kane runs for Governor of New York and vows both in his campaign speeches and in the ''Enquirer'' to crush [[political boss]] Jim Gettys. On the eve of the 1916 election, however, Jim Getty's lures the Kanes to Susan Alexander's apartment and serves them an ultimatem: either Kane drops out of the election or his affair with Susan will be leaked to the press. ALthough Mrs. Kane pleads with him to protect their family from the scandal, her husband refuses to listen. He insists that he will win the election anyway and send Gettys to Sing-Sing Prison. Disgusted, Mrs. Kane divorces her husband, who marries Susan Alexander immediately. Due to the scandal, Kane is slaughtered at the voting booths.

In the aftermath, Jedediah arrives at the ''Enquirer'' offices drunk. With great insight, he deconstructs Kane and accuses him of wanting the public's love as a gift for services rendered. He declares that, with the rise of labor unions, the "poor and underprivileged" don't need Kane anymore. To Kane's shock, Leland climaxes by asking to be transferred to the new [[Chicago] newspaper.

Later, Kane pays for singing lessons for Susan and builds her a massive opera house in [[Chicago]]. Although no one else actually likes Susan Kane's voice, Kane insists that she continue performing. Only when she attempts suicide does he finally relent.

In later years, he builds Xanadu, a massive estate in [[Florida]] filled with statues, pleasure grounds, and "the largest zoo since [[Noah]]." Despite Susan's hatred of Xanadu, he isists that it is their home and refuses to take her back to New York.

At last, Susan Kane reaches the end of her tether. She packs her bags and prepares to leave her husband. Devastated by the thought of losing her, Kane pleads with her to stay and tells her, "You can't do this to me." Viewing this as proof that her husband loves no one but himself, Susan storms out of the estate in a rage.

Soon after, Kane dies, wealthy, powerful, and completely alone in a hell of his own making. Meanwhile, the reporters finally give up all hope of uncovering the meaning of his last words. Then, however, a sled with the title "Rosebud" is cast into the furnace. It is a relic from Kane's childhood at his mother's boarding house, the only time when he was both penniless and completely happy.

==Media Backlash==
Kane was modeled after [[Progressive]] media mogul [[William Randolph Hearst]], who was enraged by the negative portrayal of his mistress, Marion Davies. As a result, he used his influence in order to force RKO Pictures to not release the film in theaters. The career of Orson Welles never recovered from Hearst's campaign.

==References==
<references />

[[Category:Movies]]
[[Category:Historical Dramas]]

Blessed Duns Scotis

2009-04-17T02:24:45Z

Kingstowngalway:

'''Blessed Duns Scotis''' is one of the famous "Doctors" of the [[medieval]] scholastic. He is called the "Subtle Doctor," St. Thomas is called the "Angelic Doctor," and Bonaventure the "Seraphic Doctor." The [[philosophy]] he developed is slightly different and sometimes opposed to that of St. Thomas, yet both are considered important elements in the Catholic Philosophical and Theological Traditions. Scotis is probably most famous for his finding a way to reconcile the doctrines of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary and the redemption wrought by her Son, something that Bonaventure and Thomas, could not find. He said that Mary was was conceived without sin by a special grace "in anticipation" of the Redemption to be wrought by Christ, this theological explanation, which resolved the tension that had been present in earlier discussions, was eventually what gained the acceptance of the doctrine as a dogma of the Catholic Church.
[[Category:Catholic Church]]
[[Category:Irish People]]

The Passion of the Christ

2009-04-17T02:15:17Z

Kingstowngalway: /* References */

[[Image:The-passion-of-the-christ.jpg|right|thumb|200px|The Passion of the Christ theatrical poster.]]
'''''The Passion of the Christ''''' was a movie produced by [[Mel Gibson]] and bankrolled with his own [[money]]. The film is based on the last 12 hours of the life of [[Jesus]], as read in the [[Gospels]]. Gibson felt that God wished him to make this movie as a "repayment" for the forgiveness of God.

==Plot==
The film opens with Jesus in the midst of an agonising struggle between his human and divine wills on the Mount of Olives. He temporarily leaves his prayers, and finds St. Peter, St. John, and another disciple sleeping against a tree. Waking them up, He demands to know why they could not watch one hour with him. They respond back with concern, asking whether they should summon the other Apostles. Jesus responds that he doesn't want them to see him in such a horrid condition and orders them to keep watching and to pray.

Meanwhile, [[Judas Iscariot]] stands before Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin. Caiaphas casts him thirty silver pieces to reveal where Jesus is.

Meanwhile, Jesus continues to be endlessly tempted by Satan to abandon the idea that one man can redeem the sins of the world. Jesus agonises over His coming death, but resists all temptation by calling on his Heavenly Father. Then, however, the Temple guards arrive with Judas. Jesus tells the guards, straight up, who he is. Judas then steps up and kisses Him on the cheek to identify Him further. Jesus berates Judas for betraying the Son of Man with a kiss. As Jesus is being shackled up, St. Peter attacks Malchus, one of the High Priest's servants, with his sword. The attack slices off Malchus' ear. Jesus goes to it, picks it up, and holds it against the guard's head, while ordering Peter to drop his sword. Peter does so, and we see the guard's side of his face, as though nothing happened to it. Malchus is stunned. The Apostles flee in terror. Jesus is then dragged away by the guards, leaving Malchus kneeling there, amazed and deeply touched by what has just happened.

We then see the Blessed Virgin waking up from what seems to be a nightmare. Mary Magdelene is concerned and asks whether she is alright. Mary responds by quoting from the prayers of Passover, "Why is this night different than other nights?" Mary Magdalene responds, "Because once we were slaves and we are slaves no longer." Suddenly St. John bursts in, telling them both that Jesus has been arrested.

As Jesus is being taken to the palace of Caiaphas, he is beaten with his chains and is repeatedly punched in the face, leaving one eye swollen shut. Judas is sitting under a bridge, when Jesus is thrown over it by the Temple guards. Judas looks on with agony and shame.

At the temple, Jesus sees Mary, Magdelene, and John. Jesus then recalls a tender memory of building a table for a rich man and joking about it with his mother. We then cut back to Jesus standing before the Sanhedrin, including Caiaphas. The Virgin Mary, Mary Magdelene, St. Peter, St. John, and Judas watch from afar as the temple priests denounce every doctrine that Jesus has taught, including that he is the King of the Jews, and the events of the Last Supper. Jesus is asked if these accusations are true. He responds by speaking the ineffable Name of God and declaring further that they will see him sitting at the right hand of the Father. Horrified by Jesus's "blasphemy," Caiaphas rends his garments and screams. The infuriated priests beat Jesus and spit in His face. He is then condemned to death.

A horrified St. Peter attempts to flee, but is seized by several people who point out that he is a disciple of Jesus. St. Peter denies it each of the three times it is pointed out. As Jesus turns around and bores into him with His one open eye, Peter is overwhelmed with guilt and shame. When the Blessed Virgin attempts to comfort him, Peter flees, crying that he is unworthy and bewailing what he has done. Judas goes to Caiaphas and pleads with him to release Jesus and to take back the money. However, Caiaphas refuses to accept it back, declaring that if Judas thinks he has betrayed innocent blood, it is his problem. Judas angrily throws the money on the Temple floor and runs off griefstricken. As he sits by a fire, two children approach him and ask him what's wrong. When Judas curses them, they turn into demons. They chase Judas, tormenting him as he flees outside the city walls. The next morning, Judas finds the donkey from Palm Sunday lying dead and being devoured by maggots. Unable to live with his shame, Judas hangs himself.

Meanwhile, the Temple priests bring Jesus to the court of [[Pontius Pilate]], so that he may be crucified under [[Roman Law]]. Pilate angrily demands to know whether they always punish their prisoners before they are tried. But after Caiaphas declares that Jesus has declared Himself the Messiah, Pontius privately examines Him. He offers Jesus a goblet of wine, but Jesus, having vowed to no longer drink the fruit of the vine at the Last Supper, politely declines. Pilate asks whether He is the King of the Jews. Jesus responds that His kingdom is not of this world and that if it were, His servants would never let Him be handed over to His enemies. He further declares that all who hear the truth hear His voice. Pilate cynically retorts, "What is truth?"

Pilate returns to the crowd and orders the priests to bring Jesus before King Herod Antipas, because Jesus is a Nazarene, and thus one of Herod's subjects. Caiaphas angrily protests but grudgingly obeys. Herod is an effeminate bisexual, deeply impressed by reports of Jesus's miracles. But when Jesus remains silent and will not respond to his pleas to work "a little miracle for me," Herod mocks Him, laughing that Jesus is just "crazy." When the priests return him to Pilate, he is not pleased. He asks them what they feel a fair punishment would be, and the crowd, bribed by the Temple priests, scream out "Crucify him!" Pilate refuses, fearing that Jesus's follwers will revolt and that the ensuing bloodshed will turn the Emperor against him. Instead, he orders Jesus to be flogged, hoping that the sight will make Caiaphas and his cronies reconsider their desire for the [[death penalty]].

At a broken pillar, two Roman soldiers are to carry out the flagellation. They each pick up wooden rods and commence brtually striking Jesus on the back with them. He is bruised, bloodied, and beaten, and sinks to his knees. The Blessed Virgin, Mary Magdelene, and St. John all watch, utterly shattered. To everyone's astonishment, Jesus wills himself back to his feet, even after the beating has exhausted the guards. They angrily put down the rods and each pick up a cat-o-nine tails, and continue. This tears up Jesus' skin and flesh to the point where his left rib cage is visible. He seems on the point of death before Abenader, the centurion who will later become St. Ctesiphon, angrily orders the flogging to cease, saying that they were not authorized to scourge him to death. The soldiers grudgingly put down their whips and release Jesus, but they have to drag him away because he is in so much physical agony.

The Blessed Virgin and Mary Magdelene are presented with linen towels by Claudia Procles, Pilate's wife, who is just as crushed as they over what has just happened. They both go down to the courtyard and begin mopping the blood with the linen. Magdelene weeps as she remembers how Jesus saved her once from being stoned to death for her sins.

Jesus is seen in a barn-like room, sitting against a wooden post. The two Roman soldiers who flogged him drive a crown of thorns into his scalp and spit on him. He is given a red soldier's cloak and mockingly treated with royal homage. "Hail, King of the Worms," laughs one of the guards. Jesus is then brought back to Pontius Pilate. He is disgusted by how badly beaten Jesus is. He asks the rioting crowds if they are satisfied, but Caiaphas demands more. He still demands that Jesus be crucified. In a last ditch effort to make the whole crisis go away, Pilate forces Caiaphas to choose between the release of a "notorious murderer" named Barabbas and clemency for Jesus. Caiaphas is so filled with hatred for Jesus that he cries "Release Barabbas!" Pilate disgustedly washes his hands of the whole affair and declares, "I am innocent of this man's blood." He orders Abenader to do as Caiaphas demands.

We then see Jesus walking between two other thieves being crucified. The two beside him are tied to just a part of their cross--Jesus has to carry his own huge cross. Jesus embraces His cross, prompting mockery from one of the thieves. As he walks with it, he is endlessly beaten and yelled at by the crowds and the Roman soldiers alike. The Blessed Virgin, Mary Magdelene, and St. John follow him.

Down a small alleyway, Jesus trips and falls with the cross. The cross crushes him, Mary runs up to her son, flashing back to a time when he fell as a small child. As she reaches him she tries to comfort him, saying, "I'm here." Jesus looks at her, and wills himself up to carry his cross, and, quoting the Book of Isaiah declares "Behold, Mother, I make all things new." He stands up and continues on his way.

As Jesus keeps walking, he continues to fall under the weight of the heavy cross. The guards mock him and whip him each time. Abenader approaches again and, noting how weak Jesus has become, orders the soldiers to help Jesus carry the cross. Instead of doing it themselves, they find a man in the crowds, Simon of Cyrene, to help Him carry it. He grudgingly agrees to help.

As the two keep going, Jesus falls without the cross. Simon isn't able to hold it by himself. A riot breaks out, with groups of people fighting to get a chance at beating Jesus. Guards fight them off, and as that happens, St. Veronica approaches Jesus with a cloth and a pitcher of water. Jesus uses the cloth to wipe his bloodied face with. However, as he goes to take a gulp of water, a soldier walks over and kicks the cup over, and drives Veronica away. As the procession continues the viewer sees that Veronica's veil has been imprinted with the image of His face.

While the soldiers continue to beat Jesus with whips, Simon angrily threatens to not help with the cross if they don't stop what they're doing. They scornfully call him "Jew," but they grudgingly oblige. The procession continues, headed for Golgotha, or "The Place of the Skull."

Once there, Simon is ordered to leave. As he is driven away, he looks into Jesus's one eye with love and pity. We see Mary, Mary Magdelene and John again. They all watch as Jesus is stretched onto the cross. They nail both of his hands, tearing his right arm out of the socket in the process in order to make it fit the pre-drilled hole for the nail. In the midst of His agony, Jesus prays for mercy for all the sinners of the world, crying "Forgive them, Father. They do not know..." They then bind and nail his feet. They flip the cross over on Jesus' frontside. However, Jesus is elevated off the ground. The guards then flip the cross back over and raise it. As the cross is raised, we are taken to a flashback of the Last Supper, considered by [[Roman Catholic]]s to be the first Mass. We watch as Jesus Elevates the Host.

On the cross, he is mocked by Caiaphas and the Temple priests, and by the thief to his left, who tells Him to save them all if he is truly the Son of God. Jesus prays, "Father forgive them, they known not what they do." The thief on his right tells Caiaphas, "Listen, He prays for you." The Good Thief then tells Jesus his punishment is just, and that Jesus would be justified in condemning him, but he says, "Lord, remember me when you come into your Kingdom." Jesus tells the thief "On this day, you will be with me in paradise." As the other thief cackles with laughter over this, a crow comes from the sky and plucks his left eye out.

Jesus is getting weaker, and it is getting darker and darker out. Mary and John approach Jesus on his cross. Jesus declares, "I thirst!" A sympathetic Roman soldier named Cassius, later to become St. Longinus puts a sponge on a spear and soaks it in vinegar. Jesus tastes it and then turns his head aside. The Blessed Virgin pleads with Jesus to let her die with him. Jesus then tells Mary that John will now take care of her, and tells John that Mary is now his mother. Jesus then cries out in Hebrew "Father! Father! Why have you forsaken me?" Jesus then looks down upon them, saying, "It is finished." Mary Magdelene weeps. Jesus then looks upward and gasps "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." The pupil of His one eye dilates, and He exhales his last breath.

Suddenly there is a very violent earthquake. All the people run away, and the soldiers are ordered to break the criminals' legs. The Roman soldier Cassius breaks the legs of the thieves to Jesus' sides, but when he comes to break Jesus' legs, there's another tremble from the Earth. He tells Abenader that Jesus is already dead. Abenader orders him to, "Make sure." Cassius then drives a lance into Jesus's side. Blood and water pours from the wound as Cassius falls to his knees. It is at this moment that everyone, Romans and Jews alike, realize they have indeed killed the Son of God.

In the depths of Hell, Satan screams in impotent rage, knowing that his power has been broken forever.

That night, Jesus is removed from the cross. Mary embraces the body of her son in a manner reminiscent of [[Michelangelo]]'s [[Pieta]]. She stares blankly ahead, her eyes a mirror of her broken heart.

Three days later, the morning light of Easter Sunday streams into the garden tomb. As the rock rolls away, we see Jesus in healthy form. He stands up, and we see the hole in his hand from the nail. He walks out of his tomb to triumphant music, and the credits roll.

==Reaction==
Gibson was not even able to find a major distributor for his film. For a year before the movie was even released, and well before it was first previewed or seen, attacks on the movie began starting with a ''New York Times'' story attacking Gibson's father in March 2003. This turned out to be coupled with personal attacks on Mel Gibson with such titles as "Krazy Mel" and more attacks on his father and on Gibson's choice of church to worship. Calls to Gibson to denounce his father for his views, most famously in the Diane Sawyer television interview, were ignored by him. The ''New York Times'' continued with an ongoing campaign against Mel Gibson and his family.<ref>http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E00E4D61F3CF93AA35750C0A9659C8B63</ref><ref> http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/9/20/215906.shtml</ref><ref>http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A06E6D8133EF931A3575BC0A9659C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2</ref>

Nevertheless, the movie went on to be a blockbuster grossing over $370 million in the U.S. and over $600 million worldwide<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=passionofthechrist.htm</ref>, an especially unheard of showing for the time of the year it was released. Cries of [[anti-Semitism]] were largely silenced as people saw the movie. With so many critics denouncing the movie without having seen it, Mel did an end around and went directly to church pastors, who were almost unanimously supportive and told their congregations.<ref>http://www.sharethepassionofthechrist.com/links/Endorsements.pdf</ref>. The movie had more pre-ticket sales than any film in history.<ref>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0335345/trivia</ref> Monetarily, it was the most successful Christian film ever.<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=passionofthechrist.htm</ref>

For Mel Gibson it was a personal affair. Thick-skinned by the nature of the business, he still did not expect the virulent attacks. For the star, [[Jim Caviezel]], it meant being blackballed. While blockbusters usually make people's careers, for Caviezel it has been hard to find anything more than minor roles.

==References==

<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT: Passion of the Christ, The}}
[[Category:Movies]]
[[Category:Historical Dramas]]

The Passion of the Christ

2009-04-17T02:14:14Z

Kingstowngalway:

Citizen Kane

2009-04-17T01:52:45Z

Kingstowngalway:

'''Citizen Kane''' is a 1941 movie directed by [[Orson Welles]]. Many critics have named it as the greatest movie of all time. It was also voted #1 on the American Film Institute's list of the hundred best American movies ever made.<ref>http://www.afi.com/tvevents/100years/movies.aspx</ref>

==Plot==
The protagonist, Charles Foster Kane, is depicted as a power hungry sociopath who ends the film alone in a hell of his own making.

==Media Backlash==
Kane was modeled after [[Progressive]] media mogul [[William Randolph Hearst]], who was enraged by the negative portrayal of his mistress, Marion Davies. As a result, he used his influence in order to force RKO Pictures to not release the film in theaters. The career of Orson Welles never recovered from Hearst's campaign.

==References==
<references />

[[Category:Movies]]
[[Category:Historical Dramas]]

Category:Historical Dramas

2009-04-17T01:52:03Z

Kingstowngalway:

[[category:movies]]
[[Category:Drama]]