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Buddhism

2007-05-11T04:58:19Z

Zaheerabbas: no they do not. stop the wetdreams

Buddhism is the fifth largest [[list of religions based on followers|religion in the world]]. It is a belief system which teaches that desire causes suffering and if desire is eliminated, [[Buddhist enlightenment|enlightenment]] and [[Nirvana]] are attained. Buddhism is a [[Dharmic religion]]. The term buddha means "the enlightened one."

Buddhism's foundations lie with an Indian prince, [[Siddhartha Gautama]], who after observing the suffering of his people, worked to discover the reason for suffering and pain. He studied a number of the disciplines of the day, seeking ultimate truth. After finding other approaches to understanding lacking, he went into meditation for 49 days, vowing not to move until he had attained enlightenment. After great personal struggle he achieved enlightenment, and began to teach the principles that are now associated with Buddhism.

The philosophy has its roots in Hinduism and Vedic religion, to which Gautama belonged until the foundation of Buddhism.

Buddhism acknowledges that gods exist, but does not necessarily consider them crucial to an individual's practice of Buddhist teachings. Certain denominations, such as the Mahayana tradition, believe in [[Bodhisattvas]], or quasi-divine cosmic beings that seek to benefit others by remaining in a state of [[Samsara]], or eternal rebirth. These are prayed to, for advice and spiritual guidance, and often venerated.

The highest ideal for a Buddhist is the state of Nirvana, or release from eternal rebirth, a state beyond conceptual thought described by the Buddha as follows:
''
"There is O monks, an Unborn, Unoriginated, Uncreated, Unformed. Were there not, o monks, this Unborn, Unoriginated, Uncreated, Unformed, there would be no escape from the world of the born, originated, created, formed. ~ Udana, 80-81"''

The Buddha taught that we should not speculate about what we cannot know, and that speculation about God is pointless. Buddhism is a very practical philosophy, which teaches us to focus our attention on personal experience, to determine what is the cause of our discontents ([[dukkha]]) and to find a way to liberate ourselves from these, all the while expressing [[metta]], which is universal, unconditional love, and [[karuna]], which roughly translates to 'compassion', towards others. These teachings are encapsulated in the [[Four Noble Truths.]][http://www.parami.org/buddhistanswers/what_about_god.htm]

[[Category:Buddhism]]

Ngo Dinh Diem

2007-05-02T05:40:18Z

Zaheerabbas:

{{Vietnamese name|Ngô|Ngo|Diệm}}
{{Infobox President
|name=Ngo Dinh Diem ''First President of the Republic of Vietnam''
|image=Ngo Dinh Diem - Thumbnail - ARC 542189.gif
|imagesize= 125px
|term_start=[[26 October]] [[1955]]
|term_end=[[2 November]] [[1963]]
|predecessor=None
|successor=[[Duong Van Minh]]
|spouse=none
|birth_date=[[3 January]] [[1901]]
|birth_place=[[Huế]]
|death_date=[[2 November]] [[1963]]
|death_place=[[Saigon]]
|religion= [[Roman Catholic]]}}


{{Audio|NgoDinhDiem.ogg| '''Ngô Đình Diệm Jean Baptiste'''}} ''«ngoh dihn zih-ehm»'' ([[January 3]], [[1901]] – [[November 2]], [[1963]]) was the first President of [[South Vietnam]] (1955–1963).

==Family and childhood==

Ngô Đình Diệm was born in [[Hue (city)|Huế]], the original capital of the [[Nguyen Dynasty|Nguyễn Dynasty]] of [[Vietnam]]. His Ngô family was [[Roman Catholic]] and [[aristocratic]],<ref>[http://us.history.wisc.edu/hist102/bios/html/diem.html Ngo Dinh Diem] - University of Wisconsin</ref> dating back to the seventeenth Century, when Portuguese missionaries had converted his family .<ref>Anthony Trawick Bouscaren, 'The Last of the Mandarins: Diem of Vietnam,' Duquesene University Press, Pittsburgh, Penna, 1965. P13.</ref> Diem's family originated from the village of Phu Cam in central Vietnam. His family had served as mandarins in the imperial court in Hue, and his father [[Ngo Dinh Kha]] was a counsellor to Emperor [[Thanh Thai]] during the French colonisation. When the French deposed the emperor on the pretext of insanity, Kha retired in protest and became a farmer. The third of six sons, Diem was christened Jean-Baptiste in the cathedral in Hue. He laboured in the family’s rice fields while studying at a French Catholic school, and later entered a private school started by his father. He was offered a scholarship to [[France]] but declined to contemplate becoming a priest. He dropped the idea, believing it to be too rigorous. Diem studied law and administration at a French school that trained Vietnamese bureaucrats.<ref name="early k">Karnow (1997) p.229-233</ref>

== Early career ==

Diem followed in the footsteps of his eldest brother [[Ngo Dinh Khoi]], joining the civil service. Diem rose to be a provincial governor at the age of 25, and first encountered communists distributing propaganda while riding horseback through the region. Diem involved himself in anti-communist activities from the first, time printing his own pamphlets. In 1933, with the return of [[Bao Dai]] to ascend the throne, Diem was appointed by the French to be his interior minister. After calling for the French to introduce a Vietnamese legislature, he resigned after three months when this was rejected. He was stripped of his decorations and titles and threatened with arrest.<ref name="early k"/>

For the next decade, Diem lived as a private citizen with his family, although he was kept under surveillance. His attempts to persuade the invading [[Japan]]ese forces to declare independence for Vietnam in 1942 were ignored, and in 1945, the Japanese overlooked him for an administration under Bao Dai which they organised upon leaving the country. In September 1945 when [[Ho Chi Minh]] proclaimed the [[Democratic Republic of Vietnam]] and his [[Vietminh]] began fighting the French, Diem attempted to travel to Hue to dissuade Bao Dai from joining Ho, but was arrested by the Vietminh along the way and exiled to a highland village near the border. He might have died of malaria had the local tribesmen not nursed him back to health. Six months later, he was taken to meet Ho in Hanoi, but refused to join the Vietminh, assailing Ho for the death of his brother Khoi. Diem continued to gather support for himself in the late 1940s, without success. The Vietminh sentenced him to death in absentia, and tried to kill him while he was travelling to visit his elder brother [[Ngo Dinh Thuc]] in the [[Mekong Delta]], where he was the bishop of the Vinh Long diocese. Diem then left Vietnam in 1950.<ref name="early k"/>

He spent the years from 1951-53 in the Maryknoll Junior Seminary in Lakewood, N.J.. He spent this period lobbying the U.S. government to not support the French, noting that the French were "fighting the people"<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,866120-5,00.html The Beleaguered Man] TIME - Apr. 04, 1955</ref>. He returned to be appointed Prime Minister of South Vietnam by former Emperor and then-current Chief of State Bảo Đại in 1954, on the condition that he be given total control over all civilian and military matters.<ref>Moyar (2006) p. 33.</ref>

== Rise to power ==
{{main|1955 South Vietnamese election}}
Diệm's appointment came after the French had been defeated at the [[Battle of Dien Bien Phu]] and were ready to withdraw from [[Indochina]]. At the start of 1955, [[French Indochina]] was dissolved, leaving Diem in temporary control of the south.<ref>Maclear (1981) pp.65-68</ref> A referendum was scheduled for October 23, 1955 to determine the future direction of the south. It was contested by [[Bao Dai]], the Emperor, advocating the restoration of the monarchy, while Diem ran on a republican platform. The elections were held, with Diem's brother and confidant [[Ngo Dinh Nhu]], the leader of the family's [[Can Lao]] Party, which supplied Diem's electoral base, organising and supervising the elections.<ref name="karnow55"/><ref>Langguth (2000) p.99</ref> Campaigning for Bao Dai was prohibited, and the result was rigged, with Bao Dai supporters attacked by Nhu's workers. Diem recorded 98.2% of the vote, including 605,025 votes in Saigon, where only 450 thousand voters were registered. Diem's tally also exceeded the registration numbers in other districts.<ref name="jacobs">Jacobs (2006) p95</ref><ref name="karnow55">Karnow (1997) p239</ref> Three days later, Diem proclaimed the formation of the [[Republic of Vietnam]], naming himself President.

Under the [[Geneva Conference (1954)|1954 Geneva Accords]], Vietnam was to undergo elections in 1956 to reunify the country. Diem, noting that South Vietnam was not a party to the convention, canceled these. Criticising the Communists he gave the justification for cancelling the elections as being "meaningful only on the condition that they are absolutely free", despite his numerically impossible tally in the 1955 poll.<ref>Gettleman (1966) p.203</ref>

After coming under pressure from within the country and the [[United States]], Diem agreed to hold elections in August 1959 to form a national legislature. Newspapers were not allowed to publish names of independent candidates or their policies, and political meetings exceeding five people were prohibited. Candidates were disqualified for reasons such as their posters having been vandalised. In the rural areas, candidates who ran were threatened with being charged with conspiracy with the Vietcong, which carried the death penalty. [[Phan Dan Quang]], the government's most prominent critic was allowed to run. Despite sending 8000 [[Army of the Republic of Vietnam|ARVN]] plainclothes troops into his district to vote, Dan still won with a 6-1 ratio. The bussing of soldiers occurred across the country, and when the new assembly convened, Dan was arrested.<ref>Langguth p.108</ref><ref>Jacobs (2006) p.112-115</ref>

==Rule==
Diệm's rule was [[authoritarian]] and [[nepotism|nepotistic]]. His most trusted official was his brother, [[Ngo Dinh Nhu|Ngô Đình Nhu]], leader of the primary pro-Diệm political party. [[Ngo Dinh Can|Ngô Đình Cẩn]], his younger brother, was put in charge of the former Imperial City of Huế. Although neither Cẩn or Nhu held any official role in the government, they ruled their regions of South Vietnam, commanding private armies and secret police. Another brother, [[Ngo Dinh Luyen|Ngô Đình Luyện]], was appointed Ambassador to the United Kingdom and also put in charge of the [[Cham people]] minorities in the Central Plains of Vietnam. His elder brother, [[Ngo Dinh Thuc Pierre Martin|Ngô Đình Thục]], was the [[archbishop]] of Huế. Despite this, Thuc lived in the Presidential Palace, along with Nhu, Nhu's wife and Diem. Diem was [[Nationalism|nationalistic]], devout Catholic, [[anti-Communist]], and preferred the philosophies of [[personalism]] and [[Confucianism]].<ref>Karnow (1997) p. 326; Moyar (2006) p. 36.</ref>

Diệm's rule was also pervaded by family corruption. Can was widely believed to be involved in illegal smuggling of [[rice]] to [[North Vietnam]] on the black market and [[opium]] throughout [[Asia]] via [[Laos]], as well as monopolising the [[cinnamon]] trade, amassing a fortune stored in foreign banks.<ref>Buttinger pp. 954-955</ref><ref>Langguth pp. 258</ref> With Nhu, Can competed for US contracts and rice trade.<ref>Karnow p.246</ref> Thuc, the most powerful religious leader in the country, was allowed to solicit "voluntary contributions to the Church" from Saigon businessmen, which was likened to a "tax notices".<ref> Jacobs (2006) p.89</ref>

[[Madame Ngo Dinh Nhu|Madame Nhu]], the wife of his brother Nhu, was South Vietnam's [[First Lady]] and she led the way in Diệm's programs to reform Saigon society in accordance with their [[Catholic]] values. [[Brothel]]s and [[opium]] dens were closed, [[divorce]] and [[abortion]] made illegal, and adultery laws were strengthened. Diệm also won a street war with the private army of the [[Binh Xuyen]] organised crime syndicate of the Cholon brothels and gambling houses who had enjoyed special favors under the French and Bảo Đại. he further dismantled the private armies of the [[Cao Dai]] and [[Hoa Hao]] religious sects, which controlled parts of the [[Mekong Delta]]. Diệm was also passionately anti-Communist. Tortures and killings of "communist suspects" were committed on a daily basis. The death toll was put at around 50,000 and 75,000 imprisonments, and extended beyond communists to anti-communist dissidents and anti-corruption whistleblowers.<ref>Maclear (1981) p.70-90</ref>

As opposition to Diem's rule in South Vietnam grew, a low-level insurgency began to take shape there in 1957. Finally, in January 1959, under pressure from southern cadres who were being successfully targeted by Diem's secret police, Hanoi's Central Committee issued a secret resolution authorizing the use of armed struggle in the South. On [[20 December]] [[1960]], under instruction from Hanoi, southern communists established the [[National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam]] in order to overthrow the government of the south. The NLF was made up of two distinct groups: South Vietnamese intellectuals who opposed the government and were nationalists; and communists who had remained in the south after the partition and regrouping of 1954 as well as those who had since come from the north, together with local peasants. While there were many non-communist members of the NLF, they were subject to the control of the party cadres and increasingly side-lined as the conflict continued; they did, however, enable the NLF to portray itself as a primarily nationalist, rather than communist, movement.

The cornerstone of Diem's counterinsurgency effort was the [[Strategic Hamlet Program]], which called for the consolidation of 14,000 villages of South Vietnam into 11,000 secure hamlets, each with its own houses, schools, wells, and watchtowers. The hamlets were intended to isolate the [[National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam|NLF]] from the villages, their source of recruiting soldiers, supplies and information.

== Attempted coups ==
{{main|1960 South Vietnamese coup attempt|1962 South Vietnamese Presidential Palace bombing}}

Diem was the subject of two failed coups. The first occurred in 1960, and the second occurred in 1962 after two air force officers revolted and bombed his palace.

== Land policy ==
During the 1946-54 war against the French colonial forces, the [[Vietminh]], having gained control of parts of southern Vietnam, embarked on land reform. During the period of war, rent collection, which hovered at around 50-70% was impossible in some parts of the country or the Vietminh had compelled landlords to seek safety in the city, and confiscated their lands, distributing it to the peasants. When Diem came to powere, he reversed these, with upper class landowners being his ideological support base. In the [[Mekong Delta]], 0.025% of landowners owned 40% of the land. Most of the land was owned by absentee landlords and worked by tenant farmers. This generated resentment among the populace, as land ownership was highly valued in the society. Diem declared that landlords could collect no more than 25%, but this was not enforced and in some cases the rent levels were higher than those under French colonisation. Under US pressure, in 1956, he limited individual land holdings to 115 hectares, and reimbursed the landlords for the excess, which he sold to peasants. Many landlords evaded the redistribution by transferring the property to the name of family members. In addition, the ceiling limit was more than 30 times that allowed in [[South Korea]] and [[Taiwan]], and the 370,000 acres of Catholic Church land was exempted. As a result, only 13% of the South Vietnam's land was redistributed, and by the end of his regime, only 10% of the tenants had received any land, at a high cost. It generated anger, and in turn sympathy to the Vietminh who had given them free land. At the end of his rule, 10% of the poulation owned 55% of the land.<ref>Jacobs (2006) pp93-96</ref>

Believing that the central highlands may be of strategic importance to the [[Vietcong]] or in a potential invasion by [[North Vietnam]], Diem decided to construct a [[Maginot Line]] of settlements. The area, being inhabited by [[Montagnard]] indigenous people, had been largely allowed local autonomy in previous times, and distrusted ethnic Vietnamese. Diem initiated a program of internal migration where 210,000 Vietnamese, mainly Catholics, were moved to Montagnard land in fortified settlements.<ref> Jacobs (2006) p.90-92</ref> When the Montagnards protested, Diem's forces confiscated their spears and bows, which they used to hunt for their daily sustenance.<ref>Langguth (2000) p.184-18592</ref> Since then, and to the present day, Vietnam has been faced with a Montagnard insurgent separatist movement.

== Government policy towards Buddhists ==

In a country where estimates of the religious composition overwhelming estimated the Buddhist majority to be between 70 and 90%,<ref>[http://www.historynet.com/wars_conflicts/vietnam_war/3033916.html The 1966 Buddhist Crisis in South Vietnam] HistoryNet</ref><ref>Gettleman (1966) pp. 275-276, 366.</ref><ref>Moyar (2006) p. 215-216.</ref><ref>http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,874816-2,00.html</ref><ref>Tucker pp. 49,291,293</ref><ref>Maclear (1981) p.63</ref><ref>http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/pentagon2/doc125.htm</ref> Diem's policies generated claims of a religious bias. As a member of the [[Roman Catholicism in Vietnam|Catholic Vietnamese]] minority, he is widely regarded by historians as having pursued pro-Catholic policies that antagonized many Buddhists. Specifically, the government was regarded as being biased towards Catholics in public servant and military promotions, as well as allocation of land, business favours and tax concessions.<ref>Tucker (2000) p. 291.</ref> Diem also once told a high-ranking officer, forgetting that he was a Buddhist "Put your Catholic officers in sensitive places. They can be trusted." Many officers in the [[Army of the Republic of Vietnam]] converted to Catholicism in the belief that their military prospects depended on it.<ref>Gettleman (1966) pp. 280-282.</ref> The Catholic church was the largest landowner in the country, and the "private" status that was imposed on Buddhism by the French, which required official permission to conduct public Buddhist activities, were not repealed by Diem.<ref>Karnow (1997) p. 294.</ref> The land owned by the Catholic church was exempt from land reform.<ref>Buttinger p. 933.</ref> Catholics were also de facto exempt from the [[corvee]] labor that the government obliged all citizens to perform and distributed US aid disproportionately to Catholic majority villages. Under Diem, the Catholic church enjoyed special exemptions in property acquisition, and in 1959, Diem dedicated his country to the [[Virgin Mary]].<ref>Jacobs p. 91</ref>

== Buddhist crisis ==
The regime's relations with the U.S. worsened during [[1963]], as well as heightening discontent among South Vietnam's Buddhist majority.

In May, in the central city of [[Huế]], where Diệm's elder brother was the archbishop, Buddhists were prohibited from displaying Buddhist flags during [[Vesak]] celebrations commemorating the birth of [[Gautama Buddha]] when the government cited a regulation prohibiting the display of non-government flags. A few days, Catholics were allowed to fly religious flags at another celebration where the regulation was not enforced. This led to a protest lead by Thich Tri Quang against the government, which was suppressed by Diệm's forces, killing nine unarmed civilians. Diem and his supporters blamed the [[Vietcong]] for the deaths and blamed the protestors for the violence.<ref>Karnow (1997) p. 295; Moyar (2006) pp. 212-213.</ref> Although the province chief expressed sorrow for the killings and offered to compensate the victims' families, they resolutely denied that government forces were responsible for the killings and blamed the Vietcong.<ref>Gettleman (1966) pp. 64-283.</ref>

A turning point came in June when a Buddhist monk, [[Thích Quảng Đức]], set himself on fire in the middle of a busy Saigon intersection in protest at Diem's policies, photos of which were transmitted around the world and for many people came to represent the failure of Diem's government.<ref>Gettleman (1966) pp. 264-283.</ref> A further number of monks publicly [[self-immolation|self-immolated]] themselves, and the U.S. grew increasingly frustrated with the unpopular leader's public image in both Vietnam and the United States. Diệm used his conventional argument, equating dissenters to communists.

As demonstrations against his government continued throughout the summer, the special forces loyal to Diem's brother Nhu raided the [[Xa Loi Pagoda]] in Saigon in August. The Pagodas were vandalised, monks beaten, the cremated remains of Thích Quảng Đức, which included a heart which did not disintegrate, were confiscated.<ref>http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,940704-1,00.html</ref> Simultaneous raids were carried out across the country, with the [[Tu Dam Pagoda]] in Hue being looted, the statue of [[Gautama Buddha]] demolished and a body of a deceased monk confiscated.<ref>http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,940704-2,00.html</ref> When the populace came to the defence of the monks, the resulting clashes saw 30 civilians killed and 200 wounded.<ref>http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,940704-2,00.html</ref> In all 1400 monks were arrested, and some thirty were injured across the country. The US indicated their disapproval of Diem's administration when their ambassador [[Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.|Henry Cabot Lodge]] visited the Pagoda in the aftermath.<ref>Gettleman (1966) pp. 278-283.</ref> No further mass Buddhist protests occurred during the remainder of his rule.<ref>Moyar (2006) pp. 212-216, 231-234.</ref>

During this time, Madame Nhu, who was a defacto first lady due to Diem's bachelor life, inflamed the situation by mockingly applauding the suicides, referring to them as "barbeques" while Nhu stated "if the Buddhists want to have another barbeque, I will be glad to supply the gasoline".<ref>Tucker (2000) pp. 292-293.</ref>

== Coup and Assassination ==

On orders from [[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[John F. Kennedy]], [[Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.|Henry Cabot Lodge]], the American [[ambassador]] to South Vietnam, refused to meet with Diệm. Upon hearing that a [[coup d'etat]] was being designed by [[Army of the Republic of Vietnam|ARVN]] Generals led by General [[Duong Van Minh|Dương Văn Minh]], the United States gave secret assurances to the generals that the U.S. would not interfere. Dương Văn Minh and his fellow plotters overthrew the government on [[November 2]], [[1963]].

The coup was very swift. On [[November 1]], [[1963]], with only the palace guard remaining to defend President Diệm and his younger brother, [[Ngô Đình Nhu]], the generals called the palace offering Diệm safe exile out of the country if they surrendered. But that evening, they snuck out of the palace through an underground passage to [[Cholon]], where they were captured the following morning, [[November 2]]. The brothers were executed in the back of an armored personnel carrier that was taking them to Vietnamese Joint General Staff headquarters.<ref>[http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/pentagon2/pent6.htm The Pentagon Papers, Vol. 2 Ch. 4] "The Overthrow of Ngo Dinh Diem, May-November, 1963," pp. 201-276,</ref> Diem was buried in an unmarked grave in a cemetery next to the house of the US ambassador, Lodge.<ref>G. Herring, ''America's Longest War'', 1996, pp116.</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book| title=Vietnam:A Dragon Embattled| first=Joseph |last=Buttinger |year=1967 |publisher=[[Praeger publishers]]}}
* {{cite book| first=Frances |last=Fitzgerald |authorlink=Frances Fitzgerald| year=1972 |title=Fire in the Lake: The Vietnamese and Americans in Vietnam |publisher=[[Little, Brown and Company]] |location=[[Boston]] |isbn= 0-316-15919-0}}
*{{cite book|title=Vietnam:History, documents and opinions on a major world crisis| first= Marvin E. |last=Gettleman |year=1966 |publisher=[[Penguin Books]]}}
* {{cite book| first=David | last=Halberstam |authorlink=David Halberstam| year=1969 |title=The Best and the Brightest |isbn=0-449-90870-4}}
* {{cite book| first=Hilaire |last=du Berrier |year=1965 |title=Background to Betrayal}}
* {{cite book| first=Seth |last=Jacobs| year=2006| title=Cold War Mandarin : Ngo Dinh Diem and the Origins of America's War in Vietnam, 1950-1963| publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield Publishers]]| isbn=0742544478}}
*{{cite book| title=Vietnam:A history| first=Stanley |last=Karnow |authorlink=Stanley Karnow| year=1997 |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] | isbn=0-670-84218-4}}
*{{cite book| title=Our Vietnam| first=A. J. |last=Langguth |year=2000 |publisher=[[Simon and Schuster]] | pages =99| isbn=0-684-81202-9}}
* {{cite book| last=Le Xuan Nhuan| year=1996 |url=http://LeXuanNhuan.tripod.com/MaiThem.html |title=Về Vùng Chiến-Tuyến |location=[[Westminster]]| publisher=Van Nghe| isbn=1-886566-15-1}}
* {{cite book| last=Le Xuan Nhuan| year=2002 |url=http://LeXuanNhuan.tripod.com/DaoDuc.html| title=Cảnh-Sát-Hóa: Quốc-Sách Yểu-Tử của Việt-Nam Cộng-Hòa |isbn=0-9665293-8-3}}
*{{cite book| title=Vietnam:The ten thousand day war| first=Michael |last=Maclear |year=1981 |publisher=[[Methuen]] | pages =65-68| isbn=0-423-00580-4}}
* {{cite book| first=Robert |last=Mann| year=2001| title=A Grand Delusion: America's Descent into Vietnam| location=[[New York]] |publisher=[[Perseus]]| isbn=0-465-04370-4}}
* {{cite book| first=Mark |last=Moyar | year=2006 |title= Triumph Forsaken: The Vietnam War, 1954-1965| publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]| isbn=0-521-86911-0}}
* {{cite book| first=Richard |last=Reeves |year=1994 | title=President Kennedy: Profile of Power| location=New York |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |isbn=0-671-89289-4}}
* {{cite book| first=Neil |last=Sheehan| year=1989 |title=[[A Bright Shining Lie]] |publisher=[[Vintage Books]] |isbn=978-0679724148}}
*{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War| first= Spencer C. |last=Tucker |year=2000 |publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]]| pages =288-289| isbn=1-57607-040-0}}

Sikhs

2007-05-02T05:34:19Z

Zaheerabbas: rm gratuitous comment

A Sikh is a follower of [[Sikhism]], which is a monotheistic religion. The way of this religion is two fold. First, its followers attempt to gain salvation through meditation on their god and his teachings. Second, Sikhs follow the teachings of the Ten Gurus and their holy scriptures. The largest Sikh population lives in the Punjab region, which is on the borders of India and Pakistan, but there are also various other, smaller, Sikh communities around the world.
Sikhs wear turbans, have long unkempt beards and carry daggers.

[[Category:Religion]]

Buddhism

2007-05-02T05:32:03Z

Zaheerabbas: rm rubbish

User talk:JoshuaZ

2007-03-16T04:48:58Z

Zaheerabbas: /* "woefully inaccurate" */ c

I find that it's fun working on a Wiki-based encyclopedia that's at such an early stage that it's still easy to make changes and additions, confident that they are actually improvements. [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith]] 19:38, 4 February 2007 (EST)

Any Idea why you can't see the references at the bottom of the examples of bias page? --[[User:TimSvendsen|TimSvendsen]] 00:20, 12 February 2007 (EST)

Good job on the [[Creationism]] page. [[User:PhilipB|PhilipB]] 11:06, 14 February 2007 (EST)

Why do you and Dpbsmith keep refering to "Middle Schoolers"? and what does that have to do with any debate? --[[User:TimSvendsen|TimSvendsen]] 11:22, 14 February 2007 (EST)

A: Actually conservapedia was not started to "have a wiki that Christian homeschooled students could edit without them being exposed to anything their parents didn't want them exposed to." It was started to have an encyclopedic website (it actually didn't start as a wiki) that did not have the liberal bias of wikipedia. B: The Users of Conservapedia are not limited to the students of A Schlafly, and most of the students are highschoolers. --[[User:TimSvendsen|TimSvendsen]] 11:33, 14 February 2007 (EST)

: There may been some miscommunication here then. For example, [[Conservapedia:About]] mentions it starting as "as the class project for a World History class of 58 advanced homeschooled and college-bound students" and my impression was that part of the reason for the third Conservapedia commandment was due to the presence of such students. It is possible that I have been misinformed about their general age. [[User:JoshuaZ|JoshuaZ]] 11:47, 14 February 2007 (EST)

::It was my mistake. The original article in Wikipedia used the word "teenagers." I'm not sure how I got the notion that it was middle-school age, rather than high school. [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith]] 12:21, 14 February 2007 (EST)

== "woefully inaccurate" ==

If you think certain articles are "woefully inaccurate on Conservapedia" by all means improve them. We do not want to scare people from editing this site as Wikipedia does. Please just try to keep your edits neutral... if you want to debate or discuss something then post it in the pages "Talk" page or make a debate topic. thanks - [[User:PhilipB|PhilipB]] 09:37, 20 February 2007 (EST)

:Oh dear, to see you here. What about [[Second Law of Thermodynamics]]? [[User:Zaheerabbas|Zaheerabbas]] 00:48, 16 March 2007 (EDT)

==[[Real numbers]]==
Despite my snarky edit comment, I'd welcome your giving this a look. I'm trying to make it more understandable to an audience of non-college-math-majors without I hope saying anything terribly inaccurate.

Is there any name for the logical and historical ''progression'' by which you start with positive integers, add zero out of a desire to solve the equation n + x = n, add the negative numbers out of desire to close the um, set, field, whazzit under subtraction, add the fractions out of a desire to close it with respect to division, add the irrationals and transcendentals out of a desire to close it with respect to (what?) (to duplicate the cube?) (to get a one-to-one correspondence with the points on a line?), add the imaginaries and complex numbers out of a desire to have solutions for all polynomials?

And where, exactly, do the infinities fit in _in mathematics?_ I love how IEEE-784 floating-point arithmetic handles them; it has +INF and -INF which do what I expect, and NaN (Not a Number) which also up where I expect it... 1/0 = +INF, but 0/0 = NaN, not INF. INF and -INF participate happily in further operations. INF + 42 yields INF, and so forth. INF + INF yields INF. However, INF - INF, or INF + (-INF) yield NaN. There must be something like this in mathematics, but they weren't teaching it when I was learning it. [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith]] 19:10, 24 February 2007 (EST)

==[[Talk:Homosexuality]]==
See my own remarks on the sentence containing the phrase "extremely clear." (As you can see, I personally would have settled for dropping the word "extremely.") [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith]] 20:05, 24 February 2007 (EST)

== CreationWiki and quotes and Theory of Evolution article ==

Thanks for your concern, however, I did not first read the quotes from CreationWiki. So there are no copyright issues. However, I did find the extensive list of CreationWiki quotes on the fossil record useful to Conservapedians so I did include a appropriate link to that material. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 22:44, 25 February 2007 (EST)conservative

::I put sources. Two of my original sources were not easily availiable (lots of websites with the same quote and a defunct website) so I used the CreationWiki as a source since the publication info was extensive so readers can easily find the quotes original sources. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 23:32, 25 February 2007 (EST)conservative

== Re: Additional commentary on the Theory of Evolution talk page ==

Two commnents:

1. I believe I did respond adequately previously.

2. I have some time sensitive matters I have to attend so further commentary may not becoming soon should I change my mind regarding this matter.

[[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 23:49, 25 February 2007 (EST)conservative

::I read the additional commentary to the talk page and I believe I can respond to your comments quickly. 23:53, 25 February 2007 (EST)conservative

:::I was hoping to respond to your criticism quickly but unfortunately I have to go. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 00:00, 26 February 2007 (EST)conservative

== Thanks for the support ==

I was about to send a message myself, but saw that you had beaten me to it.
--[[User:Twoflower|Twoflower]] 09:24, 28 February 2007 (EST)

:Somehow however, I have the feeling that we will not accomplish much here...--[[User:Twoflower|Twoflower]] 03:33, 1 March 2007 (EST)

== YEC article ==

I saw your [[Young Earth Creationism]] (YEC) article. You created a section in the article for scientists criticisms of the YEC position but you failed to create material in the article which gave scientists arguments for a young earth. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 09:37, 1 March 2007 (EST)conservative

==Blocked==
It seems [[User:Conservative]] unilaterallty blocked you for 3 months(!), and without even the courtesy of a warning or an opportunity to address whatever he found objectionable. His doing so strikes me as a conflict of interest since you two were apparently debating that article's direction. Also, there is absolutely no infraction worthy of a block, not to mention one for 3 months, on your part that I can find. Since it's so clearly an abuse of his admin privileges I'm confident the management here, particularly [[User:Aschlafly]], won't stand for this sort of abuse of power. I hope this incident isn't indicative of how simple content disputes will be handled here and I look forward to soon seeing your sensible contributions and comments here again. [[User:Harpie snark|Harpie snark]] 13:02, 1 March 2007 (EST)

== RE: citation ==

You wrote: In regard to [http://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=The_Theory_of_Evolution&curid=3327&diff=17398&oldid=17394], that amounts to changing the citation which is problematic in the extreme, especially if you have not read the original. [[User:JoshuaZ|JoshuaZ]] 18:08, 1 March 2007 (EST)

:REPLY: Reread the CreationWiki citation. Plus I have read another internet source which cites the same quote.
[[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 18:16, 1 March 2007 (EST)conservative

== My CreationWiki material where CreationWiki provides quotes ==

The [[CreationWiki]] quotes I used do cite their sources which can be checked by clicking their respective CreationWiki links to their associated sources. I see no real issue here. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 18:56, 1 March 2007 (EST)conservative

== Creationism ==

Sorry I have failed to address this issue so far. I am opting to retreat with my tail between my legs. I may return later. --[[User:Horace|Horace]] 04:59, 5 March 2007 (EST)

== Bonobos ==

Thanks for helping out with the Bonobos article. I didn't realize that some of the words mignt be too explicit. I had hoped that I used them in a clinical sense. The same words are used at the National Review and NARTH sites.

== Albert Einstein ==

Oh I didn't realize that. Thank you. The person replaced information you removed without providing references. [[User:Geo.plrd|Geo.]] 16:07, 6 March 2007 (EST)
:How do you unblock users? [[User:Geo.plrd|Geo.]] 00:42, 7 March 2007 (EST)
:Thanks. [[User:Geo.plrd|Geo.]] 00:51, 7 March 2007 (EST)

== Conservative ==

If you're not conservative "by most definitions of the word", then you're not conservative at all. There are no other definitions. Oh, and why don't you tell us ''why'' you think that those articles that you listed on your page are "woefully inaccurate"? Are they inaccurate because they don't agree with your worldview? Get over it! [[User:Scorpionman|Scorpionman]] 23:03, 6 March 2007 (EST)

:BTW, labelling creationists and Christians in general as "fascists" and accusing them of "the destruction of core values of the open society—the ability to think for oneself, to draw independent conclusions ... to challenge authority ... to accept that there are other views, different ways of being, taht are morally and socially acceptable." (Chris Hedges, ''American Fascists—The Christian Right and the War on America'') doesn't do your side any credit, JoshuaZ. It's quite obvious just from reading their site and books by them or just by talking to them that this is NOT their goal. It's not as if evolutionists are training kids to think for themselves and draw independent conclusions by indoctrinating them with evolution and saying that creation is absolutely for-sure wrong! Not to mention the part about challenging authority; the Bible ''encourages'' submission to authority. This is an embarrassment to you and the rest of the liberal community (although there are millions of others). [[User:Scorpionman|Scorpionman]] 10:47, 7 March 2007 (EST)

: Responding on S's page. [[User:JoshuaZ|JoshuaZ]] 11:20, 7 March 2007 (EST)

:Ann Coulter certainly is not an embarrassment to us. As for Michael Savage, I really don't know where he stands. He seems to be anti-liberal sometimes, but then later he praises theistic evolution, so really I think he's like John Kerry: wishy-washy. [[User:Scorpionman|Scorpionman]] 18:23, 9 March 2007 (EST)

== Block times ==
This user may come back in year changed for the better, if not he will be infinitely blocked. This was for a pattern not just vandalism. [[User:Geo.plrd|Geo.]] 01:15, 7 March 2007 (EST)

== Re: Theistic evolution article ==

I made some comments on the theistic evolution article which I hope you found were reasonable. And no, I did not take the creationist side in this matter. I think I made both sides of the creo/evo issue unhappy but I did what I thought was necessary to insure a quality article was created. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 19:40, 8 March 2007 (EST)conservative

== Help ==

You look like someone who knows what he is doing. I seek your advice on uploading a picture file. I do not seem able to do it. Do you know what might be the problem? --[[User:Horace|Horace]] 19:56, 8 March 2007 (EST)

: Not really. I suggest you talk to Dpbsmith. [[User:JoshuaZ|JoshuaZ]] 19:57, 8 March 2007 (EST)

:: I've gotten a few errors uploading pics on this wiki. Sometimes it works sometimes you get an error. The last time I got an error I tried it again this time checking the box that says ignore all warnings. It worked after that but it could be a coincidence. [[User:Sulgran|Sulgran]] 19:59, 8 March 2007 (EST)

== re: your TE draft ==

Please see: http://www.conservapedia.com/Talk:Theistic_Evolution/draft [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 20:11, 8 March 2007 (EST)conservative

== TO: Josh, re: theistic evolution article ==

I don't have the time to read a lot of articles on the topic of "Theistic Evolution". However, I did briefly scan some articles and they did appear to be written by credible sources (for example, one article PHD after the authors name).

Please don't think I think these articles are necessarily good. I just want to create a starting point.

Please take a look at these articles:

Multiple source article with many quotes w/ sources: [http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/1990]

Footnoted article: [http://www.christiananswers.net/q-aig/aig-c015.html]

ASA article Written by a PHD: [http://www.asa3.org/ASA/education/origins/te-cr.htm]

5 footnotes in article: [http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v17/i4/theistic_evolution.asp]

I hope this helps. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 20:47, 8 March 2007 (EST)conservative

== Put the Pope material back in. Andy can take it out of the draft if he wants ==

Put the Pope material back in. Andy can take it out of the draft if he wants. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 22:25, 8 March 2007 (EST)conservative

== question ==

I know that you are a Admin at Wikipedia and much more knowledgeable about where everything is at Wikipedia. Where does Wikipedia state that they want material written in a non-argumentative encyclopedic tone? [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 16:08, 9 March 2007 (EST)conservative
: You will likely find what you are looking for at the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Neutral_point_of_view#Fairness_of_tone Fariness of tone subjection of Neutral point of view] --[[User:Mtur|Mtur]] 16:11, 9 March 2007 (EST)
:: Mtur pointed you to the right place I think although other sections of the neutrality policy other than the Fairness of Tone section may be relevant. [[User:JoshuaZ|JoshuaZ]] 20:36, 9 March 2007 (EST)

== Howdy! ==
Hehe thanks, I actually knew that but it was far away in my mind at the time :). I'm at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:GofG] by the way. [[User:GofG|GofG]] 22:14, 9 March 2007 (EST)

== Homosexual Agenda article ==

JoshuaZ, you need to take a look at the article on the [[homosexual agenda]]. I tried to make it unbiased, but it got reverted back & protected. Will you back me up in saying that where it's not outright offensive, it's at least biased?--[[User:AmesG|AmesG]] 02:16, 12 March 2007 (EDT)

== Roman Catholic Church ==
''whether you like it or not, the vast majority of catholics accept V2 and the current pope''
: Such people are not Catholic, no matter how much they claim to be. Fact is, V2 is heretical, and B16 is a heretic. Both are condemned by the Catholic Church. --[[User:Luke-Jr|Luke-Jr]] 11:41, 12 March 2007 (EDT)
:::No ''true'' Scotsman dislikes haggis... [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith]] 11:47, 12 March 2007 (EDT)
::No, it isn't. Since the people who abide by V2 are the current residents of Vatican City. As I asked before, who then is the temporal head of the Catholic Church?--[[User:Dave3172|Dave3172]] 11:43, 12 March 2007 (EDT)

----

===Creationism definition===

Instead of going back and forth, why don't we let Administration decide?

[[User:Ray Martinez|Ray Martinez]] 13:50, 12 March 2007 (EDT)

:Because Aschafly doesn't "scale." As Conservapedia grows it will be less and less feasible to ask him to decide everything, so we might as well get used to working things out for ourselves. As a starting point, I'd suggest:

::cre·a·tion·ism, PRONUNCIATION: kr-sh-nzm, NOUN: Belief in the literal interpretation of the account of the creation of the universe and of all living things related in the Bible.[http://www.bartleby.com/61/41/C0734100.html American Heritage dictionary]

::cre·a·tion·ism Pronunciation: \-shə-ˌni-zəm\ Function: noun Date: 1880, a doctrine or theory holding that matter, the various forms of life, and the world were created by God out of nothing and usually in the way described in Genesis — compare evolution 4b [http://209.161.33.50/dictionary/creationism Merriam-Webster online]

:Dictionaries aren't perfect, and Aschlafly believes they're loaded with liberal bias, too, but dictionaries try to document how words are actually used, and if somebody wants to depart from a dictionary definition I think the burden is on them to justify it. And usually such a departure wouldn't be absolute. It would be something more along the lines of: state something like the dictionary definition, ''then'' state something like "However, within the creationist community, a more technical definition is preferred. The American Association of Creation Theorists, in its 1997 ''Handbook of Creationism,'' gives this definition," etc. etc.

:It's not fair to present a definition that goes beyond what is commonly understood by adding points that you personally believe ''ought'' to be understood.

:An analogy would be the word "carnivore," whose dictionary definition is meat-eating animal, but which has a technical definition in Zoology as members of the order ''Carnivora''" which include dogs, cats, and seals, but excludes many meat-eating mammals such as bats, humans, an marsupials... and excludes anything that is not a mammal. [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith]] 14:05, 12 March 2007 (EDT)

:Actually, I see that American Heritage gives what I call the technical definition as its second definition. Dictionaries are really very good. [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith]] 14:07, 12 March 2007 (EDT)

== Consider blocking [[User:CWilson|CWilson]] temporarily ==

For strange, repeated edits & reverts of the [[Earth]] article. Have a look yourself if curious.--[[User:AmesG|AmesG]] 14:51, 13 March 2007 (EDT)

== Evolution ==

I am lobbying to have the evolution page openned up. Would you lend your voice to the cause? I started a topic ("Rallying point") on the Talk Theory of evolution page. --[[User:Horace|Horace]] 00:43, 16 March 2007 (EDT)

Pope John Paul II

2007-03-15T07:02:10Z

Zaheerabbas: rv

[[Image:John_Paul_II.jpg|thumb|300px]]Pope John Paul II (May 18, 1920, Wadowice, Poland - April 2, 2005 Vatican City) was the second longest reigning pope in modern times. His given name was Karol Jozef Wojtyla. John Paul II attended the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. In 1942, he entered the seminary, despite Nazi occupation. Then in year of 1946, on November 1, All Saints Day, Karol was ordained a priest. John Paul II finished his doctorate in theology in 1948, and later he became a professor on the subject.

The Conclave of Cardinals elected him Pope on October 1,1978. As Pope, John Paul II traveled to more places, visited more countries, and traveled more miles than any other previus Pope. He also conducted more public meetings with the faithful, as the total attendance of his Wednesday audiences alone eclipsed 17,600,000 people.

Another one of his accomplishments is the establishment of [[World Youth Day]]. Also, he wrote 14 Encyclicals, 5 books, and inumerous letters.

On May 9, 2005 John Paul II's successor, Pope Benedict XVI, waived the five year waiting period for beatification.

[[Category:Biographies]]
[[Category:Religion]]

World History Lecture Thirteen

2007-03-15T06:18:01Z

Zaheerabbas: ahoy. Geo really feels super duper with this POWER!

World History – Cold War and Independence
 Thirteenth Lecture
 Instructor, Andy Schlafly

'''Outline of Lecture:'''

 I. Introduction
 II. Regional Conflicts in the Cold War
 A. Vietnam
 B. Latin America
 C. Middle East (Southwest Asia)
 D. Eastern Europe
 E. Détente
 F. SDI
 III. Independence Movements in the 20th Century
 A. South Asia
 B. Southeast Asia
 C. Africa
 D. Israel
 E. Russia
 F. Eastern Europe
 G. Controversy of the United Nations Troops
 H. China
 I. Latin America
 
'''I. Introduction'''

The middle of the 20th century, after World War II, saw many regional conflicts resulting from the Cold War between freedom in the United States and communism and the Soviet Union. Eventually freedom prevailed, but there is much history to be learned about how it prevailed. Also, there were many independence movements in the 20th century, some of which had nothing to do with the global struggle between freedom and communism.

But the news is not all good. America triumphed in many ways in the world, but she has many enemies outside of her borders, and quite a few within. Ask yourself in which direction you think the world is headed: towards a better place, or a worse one?

'''II. Regional Conflicts in the Cold War'''

'''A. Vietnam'''

Americans feared a “domino effect” of communism. Imagine a row of dominos, and what happens when one falls into another, and then into another, and so one. Each falling domino can knock over the one next to it. Americans starting with President Dwight Eisenhower feared that effect when communism took over a nation: all nearby nations could next fall to the same communism.

Southeast Asia has a large population, and after World War II the region was vulnerable to a spread of communism from the Soviet Union and China. An independence movement beginning in the 1930s caused the French to leave, and Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh was a nationalist who received aid from the communists. The French imposed a death sentence on Ho Chi Minh, but he fled to avoid it. When he returned in 1941, he founded “Vietminh”, with the name reflecting that he intended to rule as a dictator. Japan interrupted his plan by taking control of the region during World War II, but in 1945 the Vietminh defeated the Japanese. That demonstrated how tough the Vietnamese fighters were, as not even China could beat the Japanese. Ho Chi Minh then declared the independence of a new Democratic Republic of Vietnam, huge communist country that has 84 million people today.

The French tried unsuccessfully to regain control of Vietnam after World War II. In 1954 the communist Vietnamese nationalists defeated the French at Dien Bien Phu, and the French surrendered to Ho Chi Minh. The French then agreed to divide Vietnam at the 17th parallel as part of the Geneva Conference. North Vietnam would be communist under Ho Chi Minh, while South Vietnam would be free under Ngo Dinh Diem.

Ho Chi Minh was popular in both North and South Vietnam, and gave away land to people to boost his popularity. Ngo Dinh Diem was unpopular, and the United States feared that an election in the South might choose Ho Chi Minh’s communists. So elections were postponed, but the conditions worsened. The Vietcong, who were communist guerrillas in the South, formed and began causing problems in the early 1960s. In 1963, South Vietnamese generals who enjoyed United States support took over South Vietnam and assassinated Ngo Dinh Diem.

The United States began sending military advisers and weapons to prevent a takeover of the South by the Vietcong. In August 1964, when President Lyndon Johnson faced reelection, there were mysterious gunshots fired at an American ship in the Gulf of Tonkin near North Vietnam. It was later disputed whether this was an actual attack on Americans. Johnson, wanting a war to boost his reelection chances, pushed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution through Congress to authorize sending troops. A formal declaration of war never occurred, but this Resolution served as a substitute. Within a year, thousands of American 19-year-olds were sent to fight the communists in Vietnam.

The Soviet Union, China and North Vietnam responded by sending their own troops and weapons to help the Vietcong. The United States bombed North Vietnam, and also bombed targets in South Vietnam to target Vietcong hideouts. But the Vietcong were hard to find, and knew the jungle much better than the Americans did. The Vietcong planted land mines throughout the country, causing thousands of American soldiers to die or lose their limbs simply by taking a wrong step.

The conflict in Vietnam helped President Johnson win reelection in 1964, but by 1968 Americans had tired of the tens of thousands of American deaths and President Johnson had to withdraw from the race for reelection. As with many wars, including the war in Iraq from 2003 to the present, public support tends to decline over time.

When President Nixon arrived at the White House after the 1968 elections, he embraced “Vietnamization” as a policy for slowly withdrawing American troops from South Vietnam, hoping that the South Vietnamese would do more themselves in fighting communism. Nixon also increased bombing of North Vietnam and Vietcong strongholds in Cambodia and Laos.

Nixon was heavily influenced by his advisor Henry Kissinger. Kissinger’s approach towards Vietnam was to launch bombing attacks and then look like a hero in declaring cease-fires. He did this repeatedly and received much praise by newspapers for it. But the communists would simply re-supply their guerilla fighters during the cease-fires, and so the cease-fires actually helped the communists continue the war. By 1973, the United States gave up and pulled the last American soldiers out. A million Vietnamese then fled South Vietnam to escape the communists, who took over by 1975. The United States imposed a trade embargo on the newly unified Vietnam that lasted until 1994. President Bush visited Vietnam in 2006.

Things worsened further in next-door Cambodia after the Americans left Vietnam. Pol Pot took over Cambodia in 1975, and he abolished private property, money and religion and converted everything back to an agricultural society. He emptied the cities. His ruthless policies supposedly resulted in the death of 1-2 million Cambodians in the late 1970s. The Hollywood movie about his dictatorship, The Killing Fields, exposed his atrocities and perhaps exaggerated them as a way of blaming the United States, which once supported him to counter Vietnam. Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge government fell in 1979 when Vietnam invaded Cambodia after a series of violent border confrontations, and Pol Pot fled to the northern jungle with his forces. He died from illness in 1998. Today there are United Nations peacekeeping forces in Cambodia.

'''B. Latin America'''

In connection with the “Third World” of Latin America, Africa and many parts of Asia, the Cold War became a battle for influence over the system of government adopted by any and every small country. It seemed like there were only two choices: communist or free (capitalist). Both the United States and Soviet Union would compete with each other to provide to developing nations aid, military advisors, social workers (e.g., the Peace Corps from the United States), educational programs and technology.

This drama has been playing out in Latin America ever since World War II, and remains an issue even now. In the 1950s, the United States supported Fulgencio Batista as dictator of Cuba, but Fidel Castro overthrew him in 1959. Liberals in the United States promoted Castro as a hero, and he was welcomed to talk at American colleges. But just as conservatives predicted, Castro became a ruthless communist dictator who brutally suppressed all opposition and ended free speech and free enterprise on the island of Cuba. Castro seized private industries, such as the thriving sugar refineries, and predictably the economy collapsed. Cuba fell from being one of the most prosperous nations to one of the poorest. Today most Cubans cannot even afford to own an automobile.

The United States imposed a trade embargo on Cuba and the Soviet Union provided it with aid, which was a typical pattern in this Cold War between the two superpowers. Cubans who had fled to Florida from the island arranged for an invasion of Cuba in April 1961 to overthrow Castro. President John F. Kennedy withheld support at the last minute and someone in his Administration probably leaked the plans to Castro, who was then waiting for it and slaughtered the invaders at the Bay of Pigs. President Kennedy allowed the United States to be humiliated by this.

Strengthened, Castro became more aggressive and in 1962 began to install Soviet missiles to point them directly at the United States. President Kennedy ordered a blockade of Cuba to prevent installation of additional missiles, and a top American general put his bombers into combat mode. This demonstrated a readiness to go to war (“brinkmanship”) and the Soviet leader Khruschev then backed down. Khruschev agreed to remove the missiles when the United States agreed not to invade Cuba.

But Cuba continued to grow closer to the Soviet Union, which funded its failing economy. In the 1970s Cuba sent 50,000 soldiers to help communism in Angola, and Cuba remained there until 1988. When communism itself fell in the Soviet Union in 1991 and it broke up, Cuba lost its funding. It became even poorer then.

Communism in Latin America was not limited to Cuba. In Nicaragua, communist rebels named the Sandinistas overthrew an American-backed ruler named Anastasio Somoza. The United States then supported the anti-communist Contras in the 1980s. In 1990, the Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega finally agreed to hold free elections in order to end the civil war, and he was defeated by the pro-American Violeta Chamorro. But in 1997 Jose Lacayo was elected as the Nicaraguan leader, and near the end of 2006 Daniel Ortega completed a successful comeback by being elected as president based on his claim that he is not a communist anymore. He won with only about 38% of the vote, benefiting from a change in rules that no longer requires at least 45% of the vote to win.

The poverty in many countries in Latin America may help explain why communism is more popular there. In Nicaragua, one of the poorest nations in Latin America, 46% of the population lived on less than $386 in income for the entire year of 2001. Not only is a job hard to find, but electricity and drinking water are not always available either.

Poverty alone cannot explain the popularity of communism. In oil-rich Venezuela, the people reelected the communist Hugo Chavez in December 2006, and he is exporting communism to other nations there. Young and intimidating, Chavez is described as a Castro with money.

'''C. Middle East (Southwest Asia)'''

The Cold War did not explain every conflict in the 20th century. For example, the Cold War did not explain the conflicts in the Middle East (Southwest Asia), where Islam is the dominant force. The United States helped build oil wells in Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries, but the Shiite Muslims disapprove of the American presence.

In 1952, Gamal Abdel Nasser overthrew King Farouk of Egypt. Nasser modernized Egypt’s economy and military, seeking to build a nation that could assert its power in the Middle East.

In 1956, Nasser seized the Suez Canal from the French and British companies that controlled it. His plan was to nationalize the canal to raise money to build the Aswan Dam, and needed cash after the Americans and British withdrew a pledge to help fund it. But Nasser’s seizure of the Suez Canal created the “Suez Crisis” for a week because many nations, including Israel, relied on the Canal for shipping. The British and French provided air support for an invasion by Israeli troops, which easily overcame Egyptian resistance. But then the Soviet Union threatened to intervene on behalf of Egypt, creating a risk of a world war. Nasser was then allowed to keep the canal, and international pressure by the United States caused Britain, France and Israel to back off.

In Iran, the United States supported the pro-West Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi (“Shah of Iran”) against a revolt in 1953. For 25 years the Shiite Muslim leaders in Iran, also known as “ayatollahs”, opposed the Shah. In 1978, the Shiites revolted and caused the Shah to flee, and in 1979 he sought admission to the United States for medical treatment. Then [[Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini]] took control of Iran.

Henry Kissinger, whose friends and business clients probably included supporters of the Shah, persuaded President Jimmy Carter to admit the Shah to the United States to treat his illness. Carter granted the Shah admission, and student Shiites in Iran angrily responded by taking 69 hostages at the U.S. embassy in Tehran. They demanded that the Shah be returned to Iran, but Carter refused. The Shiites held 55 of the hostages until Carter was replaced by Ronald Reagan as president on Jan. 20, 1981.

In 1980, the Sunni Iraq leader Saddam Hussein sought to conquer Iran. Iraq and Iran fought a fierce battle for nearly a decade without a victory by either side.

In 1979, Muslims in Afghanistan (in South Asia) revolted against the Soviet-friendly communist government there. The Soviets responded by invading Afghanistan and attempting to suppress the revolution. The United States reacted to this Soviet invasion by boycotting the summer Olympic Games in Moscow and providing arms to the Afghan rebels. The Soviets struggled for a decade in Afghanistan, much as the United States had struggled in Vietnam, and the Soviets eventually withdrew from the country. In many ways Islam is a more powerful ideology than communism, and Islam defeated communism in Afghanistan.

'''D. Eastern Europe'''

Stalin died in 1953, and Nikita Khruschev replaced him as the dictator over the Soviet Union. Khruschev was an aggressive leader who had brutally carried out Stalin’s policies while Stalin was alive, but then denounced Stalin as soon as he died and tried to purge all memory of Stalin (“destalinization”). However, Khruschev was nearly as bad as Stalin was. Khruschev viciously repressed a freedom movement in Hungary in October 1956. He ordered an invasion with Soviet tanks and arranged for the execution of the Hungarian leader Imre Nagy, who sought to hold free elections. Khruschev replaced him with a pro-Soviet puppet. Thousands of Hungarian “freedom fighters” were slaughtered by the Soviets, and the Hungarian religious leader Joseph Cardinal Mindszenty had to flee to the United States embassy to survive. The communist dictatorship installed by the Soviets prevented him from stepping foot outside of the embassy for the next 15 years. Imagine never once leaving your home for 15 years!

Khruschev also ordered the building of the Berlin Wall and the placement of missiles in Cuba, which led to the Cuban Missile Crisis. But Khruschev’s confrontational personality was too much even for his fellow communists, as he would often interrupt speeches by others and act in other unpredictable ways. Khruschev could not get along with China, even though both were communist countries. In 1960 Khruschev stopped sharing atomic bomb secrets with China, and later there was even a little violence along their long border.

While Khruschev was on vacation in 1964 a group led by Leonid Brezhnev arranged to strip him of power. The group persuaded the Politburo, which governed the Communist Party, to replace Khruschev with Brezhnev. Khruschev then lived out the remainder of life under the watch of the Soviet KGB, but he did manage to smuggle out his memoirs for publication in the West.

Brezhnev ruled as brutally as Khruschev had, though with less personal confrontation. When Czechoslovakian leader Alexander Dubcek allowed greater freedom of speech in his country in 1968, the Soviets responded by invading with tanks just as they had in Hungary over a decade earlier.

'''E. Détente'''

President Nixon sought to take advantage of the icy relationship between the Soviet Union and China, and also to open up China to American businessmen. Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai began to end China’s isolation from the rest of the world by inviting a U.S. table tennis team to tour China in 1971. President Nixon then stunned the world and his conservative supporters by supporting membership in the United Nations for Communist China (the “People’s Republic of China”).

In 1972, President Nixon became the first American president to travel to Communist China. By 1979 there were diplomatic relations between the United States and China.

Also in 1972, Nixon traveled to the Soviet Union and signed an arms agreement with the Soviet Union to reduce the numbers of nuclear weapons. This agreement was “SALT I,” representing the “Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty.” These apparently friendly dealings between the arch-enemies United States and the Soviet Union were described with the French word of “détente” (relaxation in tension between nations). For centuries French was the language of diplomacy in Europe and its vocabulary offered the best terms.

SALT I limited the United States and Soviet Union to their 1972 levels of intercontinental ballistic missiles. In 1975, the two nations signed another arms reduction agreement known as the Helsinki Accords, and this was joined by 35 other nations. The American presidency had changed from Nixon to Ford by 1975, but in practice the Administration was being run by Henry Kissinger and his view of world government and relations. Conservatives criticized both treaties as merely hurting the United States, noting that there was no way to enforce the treaty against the Soviet Union.

President Jimmy Carter continued the trend by signing SALT II in 1979, which would have provided for further reductions. In a victory for conservatives, the U.S. Senate refused to ratify that treaty. At one point, President Carter told the American people that his young daughter was upset about the growing problem of nuclear proliferation, by which many other nations such as India and Pakistan acquired atomic bombs. This comment by Carter, like much of his presidency, was ridiculed by the public.

'''F. SDI'''

In November 1980, the first modern conservative was elected president of the United States: Ronald Reagan. For the next 25 years the influence of him and those who supported him is still being felt. President Reagan cut taxes and defeated communism. He also had the most original and influential idea of any president in American history: the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), known by its critics as “Star Wars.”

Reagan’s life included many failures. He was a struggling Hollywood actor who spent some time running the union of actors, or Actors Guild. When he was in charge of that union the communists attempted, with some success, to infiltrate Hollywood. Reagan resisted this infiltration, and the communists threatened and attempted to intimidate him. He would receive frightening phone calls in the middle of the night. For the rest of his life Reagan devoted his time to defending freedom and opposing communism. As governor of California he surprised scientists by personally visiting the Lawrence Livermore Lab, which was and is a premier military research center. When Reagan became president, he gave a speech on national television in 1983 to announce his plan for America to build a new missile defense system to shoot down any nuclear attack.

His critics, including most scientists, ridiculed SDI as impossible and dangerous. But those criticisms contradicted each other, and it was precisely because SDI might be possible that it was so influential. The Soviet Union, then led by Mikhail Gorbachev, panicked. Gorbachev met with Reagan at a summit in Reykjavik, Iceland in 1986 in which Gorbachev promised almost anything if Reagan would agree to drop SDI. The media pressure was intense for Reagan to agree. But Reagan stood up for America, and he said “no deal.” The next year Reagan made a trip to the Berlin Wall, against the recommendation of his advisors, and declared to the world, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” Two years later the Germans did exactly that, and tore down the Berlin Wall built by the communists. Although Reagan and Gorbachev did sign the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in 1987, which banned missiles with ranges of 300 to 3,400 miles, the historic decision was Reagan’s refusal to sign a treaty at Reykjavik giving up SDI. Communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union would soon be vanquished.

'''III. Independence Movements in the 20th Century'''

For most of the population in the world, the history of the 20th century can be summed up in one word: independence. That is true for India (about 1 billion people), Indonesia (215 million), much of Africa (890 million), Israel, Eastern Europe. China (1 billion) and Latin America (523 million) already had independence before the 20th century, but still had nationalistic movements during the 20th century.

'''A. South Asia'''

Both Hindus and Muslims sought independence in South Asia, which now consists of India and the surrounding countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Afghanistan. Many of those countries did not exist at the time of World War II. The “Indian subcontinent” consists primarily of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh today.

The Hindu group pushing for independence was the Congress Party, while the Muslim League was the pro-independence Islamic group led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah. In 1946 the Great Calcutta Killing occurred, which was a riot between Hindus and Muslims resulting in the deaths of 6,000 people.

On both sides of India were regions dominated by Islam. In 1947, they achieved independence as East and West Pakistan based on a partition by the British House of Commons. Religious conflict continued. Ghandi went to Delhi in January 1948 to urge fair treatment for Muslims, and was then assassinated by a Hindu.

India received its independence from Great Britain on August 15, 1947, and instantly became the world’s most populous democracy. Jawaharial Nehru was its first prime minister. He began the long process of modernization and sought to deemphasize the caste system. Two years later, in 1949, a war broke out between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, and this dispute continues today even though China seized part of Kashmir in 1962. Both India and Pakistan joined the British Commonwealth as Dominion members and adopted English as their official languages. India sought assistance from the Soviet Union, while Pakistan became more closely aligned with the United States.

Nehru ruled India for nearly two decades, and his daughter Indira Gandhi became prime minister upon his death. Her rule saw an increase in agricultural production known as the “green revolution,” but she attempted to limit population growth with strict birth control. She also suspended parts of the democratic process. The people responded by defeating her in 1977, and she left office. In 1980 she regained power, but violence was breaking out with Sikhs who wanted an independent state. She ordered an attack on a Sikh temple, and two of her bodyguards retaliated by assassinating her in June 1984. The news reached America in the middle of the night, but President Reagan’s advisors chose not awaken him to tell him. Critics ridiculed allowing President Reagan to sleep through this news, and one liberal wrote a book about his Administration entitled, “While Reagan Slept.”

Rajiv Gandhi succeeded his mother. He lost power in 1989 based on accusations of corruption. A group of Tamil terrorists from Sri Lanka killed him with a bomb in 1991. Sri Lanka is the pear-shaped island off of the southern coast of India, which obtained its independence in 1948. Sri Lanka has a Buddhist majority, and the Tamils are in a Hindu minority and have been fighting for their own independence. Rajiv Gandhi had sent troops into Sri Lanka under a 1983 agreement to disarm the rebellious Hindus, which was unsuccessful.

In the early 1970s, the eastern section of Pakistan ceased to exist. Though they shared the same religion of Islam, the eastern and western parts of Pakistan had different ethnicities and languages and were separated by over a thousand miles. In 1971, Indian-backed forces overthrew the government of East Pakistan and established the new country of Bangladesh.

West Pakistan then became Pakistan. In 1999, General Pervez Musharraf seized power by overthrowing Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Before him, Benazir Bhutto was the woman prime minister who ran the country, even though it is Muslim. Pakistan is one of the few Islamic nation’s possessing the atomic bomb, which it developed in the 21st century, much to the consternation of the rest of the world.

'''B. Southeast Asia'''

When India and Pakistan sought and obtained independence from the British, other British and Dutch colonies in Asia expected similar independence. In Southeast Asia, Burma gained independence in 1948 and chose not to be a member of the British Commonwealth. It then suffered from some internal conflicts between communists and military dictators. In 1989, Burma renamed itself Myanmar.

Ethnic conflict hurt British efforts to create a single nation of Malaysia after World War II. Large Chinese and Malay peoples fought each other in Southeast Asia. In 1957, a Federation of Malaya brought together Singapore, Malaya, Sarawak and Sabah. But in 1965, Singapore slipped from the federation to become a separate nation composed of only one successful city. Today Singapore is one of the few city-states in the world, and is very prosperous. After Singapore split off, the other three regions (Malaya, Sarawak and Sabah) formed the Federation of Malaysia.

Indonesia had been a Dutch colony until the Japanese conquered it early in World War II. After the war, Sukarno led a successful rebellion against the Dutch and established the independence of Indonesia in 1949. But Sukarno was unable to establish a democracy, perhaps because Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world.

In 1965 there was a coup (rebellion) attempt in Indonesia, and General Suharto brutally suppressed it, killing perhaps a million people including many communists. In this striking battle between Islam and communism, Islam won. In 1967, Suharto appointed himself president and created a police state. He persecuted the Chinese and Christians, and in 1976 he seized East Timor and annexed it to Indonesia.

In addition to the British and Dutch, the United States also granted independence to its Asian colony: the Philippines (on July 4, 1946). The United States kept military bases on the Philippines under 99-year leases, but later gave up those leases under criticism for imperialism and left its bases there in 1991.

The Philippines has a history of communist insurgency, and President Ferdinand Marcos suppressed the communists during his rule from 1966 to 1986. For ten years during that period he even imposed martial law. But when Benigno Aquino, a political opponent of Marcos, was immediately assassinated upon his return to the country from the United States, American newspapers blamed Marcos for the killing and demanded his resignation. He would not resign, but Aquino’s widow Corazon Aquino defeated Marcos in the election of 1986. Time magazine named her Woman of the Year, and Marcos fled to Hawaii, where he eventually died. Marcos’ wife, Imelda Marcos, was tried in New York City for allegedly stealing from the Philippines people. She was acquitted.

Corazon Aquino was succeeded in the Philippines by Fidel Ramos in 1992, but term limits of one term prevented him from serving beyond a single six-year term.

'''C. Africa'''

Five European powers – Great Britain, Belgium, France, Portugal, and the Netherlands – had divided Africa into colonies during the Imperialism Era. Their divisions showed no regard for ethnic groups and local culture. Europeans created huge farms that could be more profitable for the mother country, such as cash-crop plantations. When it came time for the Europeans to leave, the African economy lacked self-sufficiency.

There was a middle class in Africa. Many Africans were educated in the Western world, and they led a pro-African or pan-African movement called “Negritude”. This built pride in African culture and accomplishments.

'''British Colonies – Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana'''

Great Britain had three large African colonies: Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana. Nigeria was most populous colony in Africa and one of the most prosperous, and it won its independence in 1960. But its ethnic diversity led to civil war between the Muslim Hausa-Fulani and the Christian (and animist) Igbo and Yoruba. There was tension even within the Christian groups, as Igbo preferred a democratic society while the Yoruba preferred a monarchy.

Millions of Igbo died during a war over an attempt by non-Yoruba minorities to secede. Secession occurred in 1967 to establish a new country of Biafra, but reunification occurred in 1970.

Oil was discovered in Nigeria and it joined OPEC. But the Muslim Hausa-Fulani seized power in 1983 and ruled for 16 years, discriminating against the Christians. In 1999, a civilian government was reestablished pursuant to a new constitution.

A Kenyan nationalist Jomo Kenyatta, who had been educated in Britain, combined with a secret organization known as Mau Mau to drive the British out and establish independence in 1963. The United States, fearing infiltration by communists, sided with Britain in opposing this. Kenyatta established Nairobi as a business center in East Africa. Daniel arap Moi succeeded Kenyatta upon his death in 1978. Ethnic strife and protests for greater democracy plagued Kenya at the end of the 20th century.

The British Colony of the Gold Coast (Ghana) was the first of all these to achieve independence. Kwame Nkrumah was helped by the communists and by his education in the United States. He spent money on improving roads and education and health care, but the economy failed as a result. He was also a leader establishing the Pan-African Congress in 1945 with the help of Jamaican-born Marcus Garvey. The goal of this organization, along with the Organization of African Unity (OAU) (founded in 1963), was to establish an Africa ruled by Africans. But in 1966 the Ghana military revolted against Nkrumah while he was away in China, presumably on a mission to obtain more communist aid. Power has frequently changed hands in Ghana ever since, and at two points (1979 and 1981) a Ghana Air Force pilot named Jerry Rawlings served as president.

'''French colony – Algeria'''

France had many small colonies in Africa, including Morocco and Tunisia, to which France granted independence in 1956. But France’s primary colony was Algeria, a Muslim country in North Africa. Instead of granting it independence, France offered citizenship to all the Algerians, which partly explains why the Muslim population in France is so large today.

The Algerians wanted independence despite the presence of thousands of French citizens in Algeria. In 1945 there was a bloody demonstration for independence, and in 1954 the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN) demanded full independence. The French responded by sending troops to suppress the FLN.

In 1958, Charles de Gaulle successfully returned to power in France, after having led France during World War II. He feared an Algerian rebellion, and favored granting independence to it and others. France officially granted Algeria independence in 1962, and Ahmed Ben Bella became its first prime minister. In 1965, Ben Bella was deposed (overthrown). A fully Islamic government took control in 1985 due in part to a drop in the price of oil, which caused a crisis in the Algerian economy.

'''Belgium colony - Congo'''

Belgium held the Congo as an African colony for mining copper and producing rubber. When Belgium granted Congo its independence in 1960 and Patrice Lumumba was sworn in its its first prime minister, the young nation was unprepared. Moise Tshombe, a leader of southeast region that had the copper mines, announced its separate independence. Tshombe was backed by Belgians interested in the copper, while Lumumba was supported by the communist Soviet Union. Joseph Mobutu, with sympathy by the West, then overthrew Lumumba, who was then murdered. Tshombe ruled for a short period until he, too, was overthrown by Mobutu.

Mobutu renamed the nation Zaire, and ruled it for 32 years. He personally accumulated enormous wealth from the nation, until he was deposed (overthrown) by Laurent Kabila in 1997. Kabila then changed the nation's name to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The neighboring countries of Rwanda and Uganda supported an insurrection in 1998, and a civil war resulted between the pro-Kabila Hutu tribe and the anti-Kabila Tutsi tribe. As more African nations became involved in this conflict in Central Africa, it began to look like the first all-African war. The United Nations sent peacekeeping troops in February 2000 and a cease-fire was declared later that year.

'''Portuguese colony - Angola'''

Portugal suppressed independence movements in its colony of Angola until 1975, when opposition to the continuing expenses caused an overthrow of the government in the mother country of Portugal itself. Once free, three different revolutionary groups fought each other for control of Angola: (1) the communist Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), which grabbed the Angolan capital city of Luanda, (2) the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA), which was supported by Zaire and the United States, and (3) the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) which was aided by South Africa and the United States. Peace was not achieved until 1988 and only then did the communist Cuban troops leave. All three groups continue to seek representation in the Angolan government.

'''Dutch and British colony – South Africa'''

South Africa was the most complex, and the most prosperous, of the African colonies. As early as the 1600s the Dutch established Cape Town as a city at the southern tip of Africa. But during the Napoleonic Wars the British captured Cape Town (in 1815) and drove the Dutch (the “Boers”) inland. The Dutch favored continuation of slavery; the British abolished slavery in its empire in 1833.

The Boers fought the native Africans (Bantu tribes such as the Zulus) during the Great Trek of the Boers. The Boers founded two inland republics, the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. But the British were more powerful, and controlled wealthy diamond mines. The Brit Cecil Rhodes acquired great wealth through his monopoly of the diamond production in 1889, and he served as prime minister of the British Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896.

A Boer War ensued from 1899 to 1902, and afterwards it was the Boers (the Dutch) who established “apartheid”. Apartheid segregated the majority blacks from the minority whites in South Africa, with the white minority controlling the country.

The British granted South Africa independence in 1910, and it became a member of the British Commonwealth in 1931 with its constitution allowing white rule over the blacks. But the country was prosperous, and all enjoyed a higher standard of living than the remainder of Africa.

The Dutch South Africans (Afrikaner) gained control in 1948 when their National Party rose to power and enforced apartheid throughout South Africa. Homelands (segregated areas) were even established for the rival African tribes, and the whites reserved the best property for themselves. Ever since 1912 the all-black African National Congress (ANC) objected, but it was suppressed. Demonstrations, such as the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre, occasionally broke out but were violently put down. An ANC leader named Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for his role in that demonstration. Riots over school segregation occurred in Soweto in 1976, and in 1977 the government beat an outspoken critic, Steve Biko, to death.

There was increasing pressure worldwide for South Africa to end its racism. Its athletes were banned from the Olympics since the 1960s, and trade restrictions were imposed by other nations. A black South African bishop, Desmond Tutu, called for boycotts of his own nation.

Finally, in 1989, a new South African president named F.W. de Klerk was elected who would change the country. With international approval, de Klerk legalized the ANC, released Nelson Mandela from jail, and obtained repeal of apartheid laws, and agreed to fully democratic elections in 1994. Nelson Mandela then won those elections and the ANC won a majority in the National Assembly, the bigger house in the South African Parliament. A new constitution containing a bill of rights like that in the United States was adopted in 1996, though it also included entitlement and social rights. The world fully accepts South Africa now, and it will host the World Cup (soccer) in 2010.

'''British, French and Italian colony - Somalia'''

Somalia is a Muslim country that is a combination of former colonies known as British Somaliland, French Somaliland and Italian Somaliland. Somalia has been Muslim since A.D. 900 and today is considered one of the bases for the terrorist group al-Qaida. Roughly the size of New Jersey in area and population, Somalia is located on the coast of East Africa (the Indian Ocean) and borders both Ethiopia and Kenya. Somalia obtained its independence in 1960. The violence is such in Somalia today that it has no central government at all. In 1993, 18 American soldiers were killed in Somalia, and on Jan. 9, 2007 the United States bombed parts of the country where al-Qaida terrorists were believed to be hiding.

'''D. Israel'''

“Zionism” began in the late 1800s to reestablish a Jewish state in Palestine in and around Jerusalem, which the ancient Hebrews had built. Theodor Herzl led the movement in the 1890s to establish a modern state of Israel. Jewish people were motivated partly by the religious faith that Jerusalem and Palestine were the Promised Land, and partly motivated by a desire to live together again after many centuries of dispersion in other lands, where they endured persecution. The Russian pogroms of violence against Jewish settlements reinforced the desire for a new Jewish homeland. The “Dreyfus Affair” in France in 1894, whereby a French captain was persecuted based on a false accusation of selling military secrets to Germany, added to the desire for a Jewish nation that could defend against persecution.

The Turks controlled Palestine for centuries leading up to World War I, but the defeat of the Ottoman Turks in that war allowed Great Britain to assume control of the territory. Its Balfour Declaration (1917) favored a Jewish homeland while protecting rights of Arabs living there. Between the world wars many Jewish settlers from Europe migrated to Palestine and set up communal agricultural settlements known as kibbutzim, in anticipation of a new Jewish state. The Jewish population in Palestine increased from about 84,000 in 1922 to 554,000 in 1945, but the Muslim population also increased by almost an identical amount from 589,000 to about 1,036,000. Today there are about 5 million people of Jewish origin living in Israel. Relatively few Jewish citizens of the United States have moved to Palestine, but they have generously lent financial and political support for the Zionist cause.

The Balfour Declaration called for the creation of Palestinian state in addition to Israel. Lawrence of Arabia then helped create Jordan (originally Transjordan) as a semi-autonomous Palestinian state in 1921. Jordan attained its full independence in 1946. But later there were demands for another Palestinian state. Lawrence of Arabia favored promotion of the British Empire in the Middle East, and resisted creation of a Jewish state as a threat to British influence in the region. Others opposed the creation of a Jewish state based on the argument that it would be imperialistic, with migrating Russian Jews being accused of imperialism.

World War II changed many things, and after the war Great Britain asked the United Nations to partition Palestine. The United Nations carved out a small parcel of property, slightly smaller than the state of New Jersey, for a new Jewish state to be named “Israel” (see attached map). This new nation was born on May 14, 1948, with David Ben-Gurion as its first prime minister and renowned scientist Chaim Weizmann as its first president.

The Muslim Arabs refused to accept the existence of Israel. The surrounding Arab states invaded Israel the next day, and started additional wars in 1956, 1967 and 1973. The conflicts prevented the United Nations plan for a separate Palestinian state from happening.

The 1967 “Six-Day War” resulted when the Egyptian ruler Gamal Abdel Nasser closed off the Gulf of Aqaba, which was the only access Israel had to the Red Sea. Israel responded with massive air strikes against several Arab nations, including Egypt, killing many Arabs and destroying their militaries. Israel conquered Jerusalem, the West Bank, the Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights. Palestinians in Jerusalem were offered the opportunity to become Israeli citizens, but many declined, leaving them without a country.

Anwar Sadat succeeded Nasser as ruler of Egypt, and in October 1973, Sadat launched a surprise attack on Israel on its holy day, Yom Kippur. After suffering massive initial losses, the Israeli prime minister, Golda Meir, regained much of the lost territory. Golda Meir was the third women in history to run a nation, and David Ben-Gurion once described her as “the only man in the Cabinet” of Israel. However, she was forced to resign the following year based on criticism of how she handled the war. Winston Churchill also lost power as soon as World War II was over. Maybe voters simply wanted to replace someone who reminded them of the bad memories of war.

In 1979 President Jimmy Carter brokered a peace agreement between Egypt and Israel, then led by Menachem Begin, and this deal is known as the Camp David Accords. Egypt agreed to recognize Israel in exchange for receiving return of the Sinai Peninsula. The United States promised both countries a massive amount of foreign aid, about $10 billion each year in gifts to each nation, to complete the deal. Though Sadat was assassinated by Muslims in 1981, his successor (Hosni Mubarak) promised to continue to honor the deal.

Yasir Arafat, a former construction engineer, founded the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1964, and it demanded a Palestinian state in the area of Jerusalem and rejected the right of Israel to exist. In the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany, PLO terrorists kidnapped and murdered Israeli athletes in front of the entire world watching those games. In 1987, the PLO instituted a campaign of persistent violence called “intifada”, where common citizens and even children would throw stones at Israelis and commit other forms of violence. Meanwhile, Arab nations boycotted Israeli goods and even attempted to boycott any company that did business with Israel.

Secret talks between Israeli leaders and the PLO in Oslo, Norway culminated with the Declaration of Principles in 1993, whereby Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin agreed to allow Palestinian self-rule over two strips of land known as the Gaza Strip and West Bank, and Arafat and Rabin signed the agreement in front of President Clinton at the White House in 1993. This angered orthodox Jewish Israelis who had been building settlements in both regions, and one assassinated Rabin in 1995. A more conservative leader emerged in Israel named Benjamin Netanyahu, who negotiated a partial withdrawal by Israeli settlers from Hebron, which is on the West Bank, in 1997. In 2005, Israel removed its settlements from the Gaza Strip, and there is a quasi-Palestinian state called the Palestinian National Authority that functions under Arafat’s successor, Mahmoud Abbas.

In the early 21st century, Israel endured a series of horrific suicide bombings, often targeting Jewish weddings, buses, caregivers and even children. Weekly and sometimes daily there would be new reports of a half-dozen Jews murdered by a Muslim suicide bomber, and sometimes a second bomb would detonate to murder those who came to the aid of the initial victims. Israel finally stopped the bombings by building a wall to end the flow of weapons and terrorists from hostile neighbors.

'''E. Russia'''

Russia and other nations in the Soviet Union regained their independence when the Union broke up.

Mikhail Gorbachev rose to power in the Soviet Union and in 1985 he promoted a new policy called “glasnost” or openness. This ended decades of censorship by the communist dictators, and free speech began to work wonders. Books could be published and churches could preach the Gospel. He released some political prisoners. Faced with a failing economy, Gorbachev adopted “perestroika”, which was a restructuring of the Soviet economy. He permitted some ownership of private property, such as small businesses, farms and factories.

In 1987, Gorbachev introduced democratization that allowed fairer, more competitive elections. Gorbachev remained a dedicated communist, but he wanted voters to be able to choose between rival candidates rather than simply electing those candidates presented only by the Communist Party. He also encouraged Eastern European countries adopt reforms.

As explained in more detail below, Eastern Europe took advantage of Gorbachev’s reforms to the point where they broke away from strict communism. This led Lithuania, which had been annexed to the Soviet Union in 1940, to declare its independence in March 1990. Gorbachev responded as his communist predecessors would have: he blockaded the rebellious country and, when that did not work, in January 1991 he ordered the Soviet troops to attack the capital of Lithuania. Civilians were slaughtered.

But perhaps Providence intervened this time. Boris Yeltsin, a charismatic Russian, emerged to challenge Gorbachev’s leadership. Yeltsin had been a popular mayor of Moscow and was a powerful member of the parliament. In June 1991 the voters elected Yeltsin as president of a new Russian Republic.

Communists were angry and determined to stop Yeltsin’s challenge. In August 1991, they ordered the soldiers to kill Yeltsin. Providence must have intervened, because the troops refused the order. Rarely, if ever, do troops refuse orders like this. In a communist country such refusal was unheard of. Gorbachev promptly resigned as head of the Communist Party, and then Latvia, Estonia and other Soviet republics declared their independence as Lithuania had. On Christmas Day, 1991, Gorbachev resigned as president of the Soviet Union.

By then Russia and the other newly independent republics had formed a federation to replace the Soviet Union, known as the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). All joined except for the Baltic republics and Georgia, a large former Soviet state not to be confused with the American state of Georgia.

After Gorbachev resigned, Yeltsin brought free enterprise to Russia. He ended price controls, cut taxes, stopped subsidizing government-controlled industries and reduced trade barriers. Churches opened and flourished. The people of Leningrad changed the name of their city back to St. Petersburg. Critics of Yeltsin complained about inflation and the loss of jobs, and organized crime became a problem without the KGB controlling everything. But the people were certainly not going to return to communism. Today Russia has lower taxes than the United States.

Muslim-dominated Chechnya in southwest Russia became a difficult issue for Yeltsin. In 1991, it declared its independence from Russia, but Yeltsin suppressed that by sending troops to Grozny, its capital city. Resistance by the Chechens was intense, and the troops were initially withdrawn. But a bloody civil war has ensued for over a decade, including hostage-takings and, in 2004, the Chechen rebels seized a large school near Chechnya and killed over 300 of the children and teachers. In 2006, Russia claimed to have killed the leader in charge of the seizure of the school. The trouble continues.

'''F. Eastern Europe'''

The defeat of communism in the Soviet Union really began in the Eastern European “satellite” countries of communism, initially in Poland and Hungary. In 1978, the Roman Catholic Church elected the first non-Italian pope in many centuries, elevating a Polish cardinal who had been active in the anticommunist movement in his homeland of Poland. Pope John Paul II then became a leader and hero to his countrymen in Poland, which is nearly 100% Catholic. Another Polish leader, Lech Walesa, led a strike against a shipyard in Gdansk in 1980, demanding government recognition for his labor union called Solidarity. The Polish communist government was weak at this time and vacillated in its response, but in 1981 it cracked down on Solidarity and imposed marital law throughout the country. A popular anticommunist priest was then murdered. An assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II, also thought to have been organized by communists, injured but did not kill him.

As conflict worsened in Poland, Pope John Paul II visited the country and attracted literally millions of supporters. At one point he stood on the podium with the communist-installed leader and lectured him about respecting the dignity and freedom of the Polish people. The communist leader trembled in front of the huge crowd. When the Soviet Union threatened to crack down on the Polish people, the Pope declared that he would respond by returning to Poland to fight on the front lines against the communists.

In April 1989 the Polish government allowed free elections for the first time World War II, and the people elected Lech Walesa as president and his group Solidarity swept into office. Communism was defeated. Walesa remained in power until 1995 and may have been a bit overwhelmed by all the political issues. He was then replaced by a former communist, Aleksandr Kwasniewski, who favored some free enterprise. The fall of communism in Poland enabled passage of laws prohibiting abortion. Abortion rates in the communist Soviet Union had been several times higher than the rest of the world.

Hungary, the same country that attempted to overthrow communism in 1956, immediately followed Poland’s lead. In October 1989, opponents of the Communist Party took it over and dissolved it. A new constitution allowed for national elections in 1990, and the people defeated the communists in power. Hungary embraced some free enterprise and started a stock market. But like much of Eastern Europe, socialists remained powerful and in 1994 they crept back into power and raised taxes. Today Hungary is a mixture of socialism and free enterprise.

Hungary helped end communism in East Germany, which was the most brutal of the communist regimes. Hungary opened its border to allow East Germans to emigrate into Austria, from where they could escape entire. As East Germans began to leave in droves, the communist leader Erich Honecker closed the border. But demonstrations broke out in October 1989, which not even the ruthless Honecker could control. He resigned and his successor, Egon Krenz, reacted by opening the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989. East Germans then poured into West Berlin and tore down the wall entirely. By the end of the year communist was defeated in East Germany, and within a year it was reunited with West Germany to form one nation of Germany under West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. Germans expect that it will take an entire generation (30-40 years) to bring the formerly communist section up to the level of the free West Germany.

Other Eastern European countries then wanted the same freedom from communism. In Czechoslovakia, demonstrations forced the Communist Party leader Milos Jakes to resign in November 1989, and he was replaced by Vaclav Havel. In 1993, the country split along ethnic lines to form Slovakia and the Czech Republic, caused in part by economic difficulties in the conversion from communism to free enterprise.

Next came Romania, which had been ruled for decades by the communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. Massive demonstrations against his rule in December 1989 caused the army to join the people and they captured Ceausescu as he attempted to flee with his wife. They were executed on Christmas Day. Free elections were beginning in 1990.

Not all the changes in these countries were for the better. Ceausescu, for example, prohibited abortion for decades in Romania. As a result, Romanians had the lowest incidence of breast cancer in the Western world, far lower than the United States. But after he was overthrown, Romania began promoting abortion and breast cancer subsequently skyrocketed. In 1990, American families rushed to Romania to adopt babies while they were still available.

The collapse of the communist dictatorship exposed underlying ethnic and religious conflict, particularly in Yugoslavia. Its dictator Marshall Tito (real name Josip Broz) ruled with an iron fist from 1945 to 1980, and the different ethnic groups could not fight each other as he suppressed all conflict. He also insisted on some independence from the Soviet Union, and Stalin expelled him from the Soviet bloc in 1948. Tito was succeeded in power by the Serb Slobodan Milosevic, which caused Slovenia and Croatia to seek independence due to their different ethnicity. In June 1991 the Yugoslavian army attempted to suppress these independence movements. It succeeded with Croatia, which has a large Serbian minority, but the Slovenians ousted the Serbs and achieved independence.

Bloodshed continued in Croatia as the Serbs battled the Croats. Eventually the United States and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) intervened in 1999 in what is known as the Kosovo War or Kosovo Conflict, driving Milosevic from power and forcing his trial by an international tribunal. He died of natural causes during a lengthy war crimes trial.

Ethnic conflict was even worse in Bosnia-Herzegovina, which consists of Muslims, Croats and Serbs, who are Christian. Bosnia-Herzegovina first declared its independence from Serbia, but the Christian Bosnian Serbs did not want to live under Muslim rule and a civil war began in March 1992 over whether Bosnia would split from Serbia. Anti-Christian press accused the Serbs of “ethnic cleansing,” or racially motivated mass murders, as the Serbs were allegedly killing off Bosnian Muslims. A peacekeeping army was sent by the United Nations, and in December 1995 the Muslims, Croats and Serbs signed a peace treaty. In 1996 a three-person presidency including a leader from each group was elected.

'''G. Controversy of the United Nations Troops'''

The conflict in Bosnia caused the United Nations (U.N.) to send troops, including American soldiers, into the region in 1995. Michael G. New was an American soldier who objected to wearing United Nations insignia as part of his military uniform during a deployment to the nearby Republic of Macedonia as part of the United Nations Preventive Deployment Force. Michael New objected to changing his allegiance from the United States to the U.N. When Michael New enlisted in the U.S. Army in February 1993, he took an oath to defend the U.S. Constitution and no recruiter or officer mentioned serving under U.N. command.

But on May 3, 1994, President Bill Clinton signed Presidential Decision Directive 25 (PDD-25). This ordered submission of American troops to multilateral peace operations. In July, Michael New was assigned to Germany, 3rd Infantry Division, and his company was told it would be sent to Macedonia as part of a "peacekeeping" mission. In August 1995 Michael New was informed that his unit must wear part of the U.N. uniform.

This new uniform included a blue U.N. cap and a U.N. armband or patch sewn on one shoulder and a blue U.N. beret, in addition to an ordinary United States army outfit. New reported for his formation without these U.N. uniform features, and he was removed by his superiors and eventually court-martialed for disobedience under 10 U.S.C. § 892(2) (any person who, “having knowledge of any ... lawful order issued by a member of the armed forces, which it is his duty to obey, fails to obey the order ... shall be punished as a court-martial may direct”). Soldier New argued in his defense that the order was unlawful and unconstitutional. Specifically, U.S. Constitution Article I, Section 9 prohibits any person’s acceptance of any emolument from a foreign state without congressional consent. New also argued that the entire deployment as part of a United Nations force was unlawful.

The military judge and American courts all rejected New’s arguments and held that the legality of the deployment was a nonjusticiable political question that could not be handled by a judge. Soldier New received a bad-conduct discharge. New has continued to challenge this in the court system.

'''H. China'''

In 1978, Deng Xiaoping succeeded Mao and Zhou as dictator in China. He was more friendly to capitalism and the West, and began a program called the Four Modernizations. He abolished communes and began leasing land to farmers who could work the land for personal profit. He permitted private businesses and some foreign investment in special economic zones (SEZs). He promoted tourism and sent many Chinese teenagers to the West to be educated in Western colleges. But when Chinese students sought greater freedoms and democracy, Deng brutally suppressed them by sending tanks to Tiananmen Square to massacre hundreds of demonstrators on June 4, 1989.

Jiang Zemin succeeded Deng when he died in 1997. He refused to improve China’s record on human rights, and Christianity and democracy remain suppressed there. Moreover, China has armed itself in preparation for a war with the United States, pointing many nuclear missiles at California.

On July 1, 1997, Great Britain’s lease on Hong Kong expired and it returned its former colony to China, which promised to allow Hong Kong to remain capitalistic for another 50 years.

'''I. Latin America'''

"Latin America" is Spanish America and Brazil, where Portuguese is spoken. Put another way, Latin America is all of America south of the United States. Latin America is thus Mexico, Central and South America. It has 523 million people, far more than the U.S. population of about 300 million.

The nations of Latin America had won their political independence from European powers long before the 20th century. But they have struggled in becoming economically independent. It was not until the middle of the 20th century that Latin American nations began to export manufactured goods in addition to minerals and food. In the 1970s and 1980s, huge debts to foreign powers combined with a depression caused severe economic problems. Some blame lending policies of developed nations and their organizations, such as the World Bank, for causing this debt crisis. After much loan forgiveness and an improved worldwide economy, Latin American nations had stronger economies and less dependence on foreign powers by the end of the 20th century.

In one of the largest Latin American countries, Mexico, the rule by President Lazaro Cardenas from 1934 to 1940 ended the land monopoly enjoyed by a small number of wealthy Mexicans by redistributing the land to peasants. He also forced foreign investors to give up control over Mexican oil wells.

The Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI for its Spanish initials) controlled Mexico from 1929 to 2000, when Vicente Fox of PAN (Partido Accion Nacional) was elected president. The PRI was known for corruption and acting on behalf of wealthy Mexicans.

In another large Latin American nation, Argentina, the military has long controlled the government. The most popular military ruler was Colonel Juan Peron, who was elected in 1946. He became known for his “popular dictatorship.” His wife, Eva Peron, was even more popular for her tremendous charisma. Peron ruled for over a decade, and brought industrialization and working class values to the nation. He limited foreign ownership. But critics felt Peron infringed too much on civil liberties. He was deposed in 1955 but came back briefly in the 1970s. In 1982, the military rulers of Argentina attempted to take the Falkland Islands, which are located off its shores in the Atlantic Ocean, from the British. The British fought back with the help of American intelligence and regained control of the islands.

[[Category:History]]

World History Lecture Thirteen

2007-03-15T06:14:13Z

Zaheerabbas: rv factual errors by wannabe wikidictator

World History Lecture Three

2007-03-15T06:13:50Z

Zaheerabbas: rv factual errors by wannabe wikidictator

{{sources}}
[[World History Lecture One|1]]-[[World History Lecture Two|2]]-[[World History Lecture Three|3]]-[[World History Lecture Four|4]]-[[World History Lecture Five|5]]-[[World History Lecture Six|6]]-[[World History Lecture Seven|7]]-[[World History Lecture Eight|8]]-[[World History Lecture Nine|9]]-[[World History Lecture Ten|10]]-[[World History Lecture Eleven|11]]-[[World History Lecture Twelve|12]]-[[World History Lecture Thirteen|13]]-[[World History Lecture Fourteen|14]]

World History

Third Lecture – Ancient History

Instructor, Andy Schlafly

== Introduction ==

This week we cover the great ancient empires in the East: India and China. This requires learning about many new religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism. Then we conclude by discussing the rise of Christianity.

Ask yourself at the outset: why learn about any religion other than Christianity? That is a good question to ask. Many Christians could conclude that, having found their faith, they see no reason to study non-Christian religions.

There are some valid reasons to studying other religions, however. Christian missionaries, for example, need to understand the religions of the peoples they are attempting to convert. World leaders and travelers should understand the different religious views of peoples they encounter, even if they are not trying to convert them. In business it is important to know the values and beliefs of people with whom you deal.

It is possible that learning about other religions, and how they differ from Christianity, can strengthen one’s appreciation of Christianity. It is also fascinating to see how distant peoples struggled with religious issues without the benefit of Christianity and came to certain conclusions about life, morals, and unseen truth.

So let us proceed:

== India ==

The history of ancient India is sketchy, but we do know that there was a massive immigration into the country around 3000 B.C. by people who called themselves “Aryans” or “nobles”. They spoke an Indo-European language which formed the basis for Sanskrit, which is the standard ancient language of India just as Latin is the standard ancient language of Europe. Yet while Latin is a dead language today, Sanskrit is still an official language in India and the scriptures of Hinduism (the most sacred are the Vedas) were written in Sanskrit.

=== Ancient India ===

The roots of ancient India were settlements in the fertile Indus River Valley in what is now Pakistan and northwest India. This was one of the most fertile region in the world at the time, with plentiful farm products and animals. The region was surrounded in the north by the Himalaya mountains, protected to the west by the Indu Kush mountains, and insulated from the east by the Great Indian Desert. Like Egypt, this region had unique geographic protections against invasion by foreign enemies. Two cities have been discovered there: Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa (huh-ROP-uh). Other small towns have also been unearthed. This ancient civilization existed from about 3000 B.C. to 1300 B.C., and its peak was 2600 to 1900 B.C. It is known as the Indus Valley Civilization or Harappan Civilization, named after its big city. These early settlements were long before classical Indian civilization, which was from 300 B.C. to A.D. 500.

Writings have been found from ancient India, but no one has been able to decipher them yet. These ancient peoples did have advanced use of water: pipes, drains and indoor bathrooms. The people survived on agriculture and traded with Mesopotamia.

The Sarasvati River was the largest in ancient India, flowing west of Delhi and providing water to a fertile region as described in the Rig Veda, which is the most fundamental of the sacred Vedic Hindu texts. (The river has since completely dried up, but was proven to have existed by looking at satellite photographs of India.) Food and commerce was based on barley (yava), copper (ayas) and cattle. By 2600 B.C., the Indus-Sarasvati civilization became the largest civilization in the ancient world, spreading from Pakistan to many areas of India today. It had links to Mesopotamia, Afghanistan, Central Asia and elsewhere. Its population is estimated to have been 100,000.

By 2000 B.C., the world’s population was 27 million, 22% of which lived in India. Today India has 16% or so of the world’s population. Three of the world’s ten most populated cities today are in India: Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi.

Around 1500 B.C., nomads known as “Aryans” invaded through the Bolan and Khyber passes in the Hindu Kush mountain range. The Aryans spoke Sanskrit, an Indo-European language. They conquered the Dravidians and others fled south into India. Religious literature describes these struggles in the “Rig Veda” and two long poems known as the “Mahabharata” and the “Ramayana”. By 900 B.C. iron smelting was discovered and became useful in making weapons and tools to clear fields and the jungle for agriculture. The Aryans produced much agriculture in the Ganges River Valley, aided by winds known as monsoons that brought rain from the Indian Ocean. Rice was the most popular crop, and remains the world’s leading crop today.

By 975 B.C., the King Hiram of Phoenicia encouraged trade between India and King Solomon of Israel. In 950 B.C., Jewish people arrived in India in King Solomon’s merchant fleet, and later established colonies there. Around the same time, perhaps due to increased trade, Sanskrit began to decline as the spoken language of India. Priestly Sanskrit was later refined between 750 and 250 B.C.

Perhaps the people migrated southeast to what is India today. The Vedic (pronounced VAYD-ik) civilization existed from about 1500 to 500 B.C., and is credited with developing the religion and culture of Hinduism (explained further below). But the “classical” civilization of India came later, after this foundation had been laid. Classical India consisted of two major empires: the Mauryan Empire (322-185 B.C.) and the Gupta Empire (A.D. 320-467). India is best understood by studying its major religion, Hinduism. This is one of the oldest and most durable religions in the history of the world, thriving to this day. India is also the origin of two other major religions, Buddhism and Jainism. One of Jesus’ Apostles (Thomas) went to India and established a Christian community there that thrives to this day.

=== Classical Indian Civilization ===

The beginning of classical India was when the Achaemenid Persians invaded the Indus Valley region in 572 B.C. Aryans led by Magadha joined together to repel the Persians, but internal religious conflict prevented unity. Later Alexander the Great invaded in 327 B.C., spreading Greek influence in the region, but he was unable to completely conquer India and did not stay long. Afterwards, in 322 B.C., Chandragupta Mauryan defeated the Greek general Seleucus and became king, creating the largest Indian empire in its history. He built an elaborate capital city at Pataliputra, surpassing even the splendor of the great Persian cities. He built a massive army of 500,000 soldiers and his advisor, Kautilya, wrote a book how to maintain political power called the Arthashastra, in which he wrote that punishment was the key to government. In other words, Chandragupta was a tough dictator. But his name is revered, as many Indians to this day bear the last name of “Chandra” or “Gupta”.

His grandson, Ashoka, underwent a religious conversion from Hinduism to Buddhism while he held power (268-232 B.C.). Buddhism emphasizes non-violence and Ashoka’s conversion caused him to rule as a benevolent dictator, stressing compassion and apologizing for his role in killing 150,000 Indians! He displayed tolerance towards all religions and helped erect shrines to Hinduism and Jainism, another religion of India. He elevated the status of women, who were already highly respected under the Hindu culture. In Buddhism women could become monks. He also promoted trade with the expanding Roman empire to his West, and the growing Han dynasty in China to his East. After Ashoka died, the empire fell into civil war, and became vulnerable to outside invaders, such as the Bactrian Greeks in the second century B.C. and the Buddhist Kushan in 100 B.C. A council of Buddhist monks was convened under Kanishka to regulate Buddhism, and the result was Mahayana Buddhism.

The other major Indian empire was the Gupta empire, from A.D. 320 to 467. In A.D. 320 Chandra Gupta I, who had no connection to the prior ruling Chandragupta Mauryan, rose to power and conquered the Ganges Valley, and established a new Hindu dynasty. Trade flourished under his regime with the rest of the world. He had a policy of religious tolerance. Intellectual and economic achievement was high. One famous poet and playwriter was Kalidasa, who wrote plays that were more upbeat and happy than the dreary Greek tragedies. The Indian number system, known as “Arabic numerals,” were developed and are now used worldwide. A Buddhist monastery at Nalanda established a university that attracted thousands of students. A great Indian doctor named Caraka developed a code of medical ethics, and the practice of medicine flourished. The Indians also developed a form of iron that could withstand rust, and it was used in buildings.

=== Hinduism ===

The key to understanding India is its ancient religion of Hinduism, an initially polytheistic religion using multiple gods who were ultimately understood to be part of one god: Brahma, the supreme god of life. The name “Hindu” comes from the word Hindustan, the word for riverland, and the birth of Hinduism was the merger of the Upanishadic and Vedic religious traditions in ancient India. Moslem invaders of the A.D. 11th and 13th centuries started using the term to describe Indians who were not Buddhists and refused to convert to Islam. In the A.D. 16th century European merchants and missionaries started using the term also. But while Hinduism is not limited to one set of clear beliefs, it does represent a common belief system and today there are 1.05 billion adherents to Hinduism in the world, nearly all of whom live in India. (There is also a significant Christian population in India today, and Mother Theresa won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1980 for her Christian charity work there.)

Hinduism focuses on “The Eternal Way,” which means that certain spiritual principles are true for eternity, transcending what is man-made. This is like a science of consciousness. The advancement of knowledge is emphasized by Hinduism, and today many Indians can be found obtaining PhDs or medical degrees. Hindus in the United States are predominantly Republican.

The practice of Hinduism is through meditation using yoga. Historically, Hindus believe in reincarnation, a belief that spread even to the Greek philosopher Pythagoras in 560 B.C. Visitors to India are impressed seeing by cows wandering about, disrupting traffic and commerce. The expression “sacred cow” comes from the belief in reincarnation, and the view that a cow may be the reincarnation of one of your distant ancestors.

The basic belief of Hinduism is in a cycle of life often represented by a dancing woman in a ring of fire, who is the god “Shiva” representing creation and destruction. Other symbols are the god Brahma representing creation and the god Vishnu representing preservation or continuance of life. In Hindu statutes a flat palm facing the onlooker represents peace, while a drum symbolizes creation.

In 1966, the Supreme Court of India defined what Hinduism is for legal purposes:

1. Belief in the authority of the Vedas (an ancient hymns to the gods, written in Sanskrit). The oldest collection of hymns in the Vedas is the Rig Veda, which was written between 1800 and 1300 B.C. The greatest Veda hymn is the “Bhagavad Gita,” a section in the Mahabharata concerning life’s never-ending spiritual journey towards perfection, to be attained by adhering to a code of conduct. The Bhagavad Gita is a spiritual guide to life’s problems, like the parable in Christianity.

2. Spirit of tolerance and willingness to understand and respect an opponent’s view.

3. Belief in world rhythms: long periods of creation, maintenance and dissolution follow each other in endless succession.

4. Belief in reincarnation (rebirth) and pre-existence.

5. Belief that there are many ways to salvation.

6. Belief that the number of gods to be worshiped may be large, although some Hindus reject the worship of idols.

7. Unlike most other religions, Hinduism is not defined by a specific set of philosophical concepts.

Hidden from this modern legal definition is the caste system set forth in the Code of Manu, whereby the accumulation of a person’s good deeds (or evil acts) in his prior lives (his “karma”) determine whether he is born into a family at a higher or lower caste level, or even lower as an animal or plant. Upon full compliance with the Hindu moral code, the person is released from the “wheel of life” and attains unity with Brahma (universal all). This belief is known as “Moksha”.

The highest caste is the “Brahmans” (priests and scholars), a term used today in English to describe wealthy, aloof New England families, like John Kerry’s. (The English non-religious term is spelled “Brahmins”.) The traditional goal of Hindus is to reach Brahma, or spiritual perfection, by observing dharma (DER-muh) (moral or religious duties of your caste). Below the Brahmans in the Hindu case system are the Kshatriya (rulers), the Vaishya (peasants), and then the serfs (Shudra). Below the lowest caste level are the “untouchables” or Harijans, who are slaves and outcasts.

A woman was generally treated like a dependent, to be taken care of and supervised by her father, husband or brother. Government was by a local prince or “raja”, also spelled as rajah. The English word “raj” means reign.

The omission of the traditional caste system from the Indian Supreme Court’s modern definition illustrates how Hinduism adapts to changing times, which has helped it survive for thousands of years. For example, Hinduism survived the threat posed by the rival religion Buddhism simply by treating the founder of Buddhism like a god. Today India is 82% Hindu.

Hinduism holds a special reverence for all living creatures, and violence against life is prohibited. Abortion has historically been very rare in India. The attitude towards women in Hinduism is of special respect in the family structure. Women obeyed their husbands under Hinduism. A much-criticized and rare practice in India was for a wife, after her husband’s death, to throw herself on her husband’s funeral pyre to die as a way of honoring him. This is known as “sati” or “suttee” (suh-TEE).

If you go to a doctor in this country of Indian descent you may find the “Oath of the Hindu Physician” hanging on his wall: “... Speak the truth; Not eat met; Care for the good of all living beings; ... Be simply clothed and drink no intoxicant; ... Consider time and place; Always seek to grow in knowledge; ... Never take a present from a woman without her husband’s consent; ... What happens in the house [of the patient] must not be mentioned outside ....”

Hinduism has been the backbone of Indian culture for thousands of years. The religion enabled Indians to survive countless invasions, such as by Alexander the Great in 327 B.C. when he conquered most of the Indus valley. But he could not change the Indian culture much. Hinduism has also withstood both Islam and communism. The Hindu faith is extremely resilient to foreign beliefs, and the survival of Hinduism protected the Indian culture and way of life.

=== Jainism ===

Jainism is a branch of Hinduism that emphasizes the principle of non-violence towards all life. Jainism requires strict vegetarianism, for example. Jainism was founded by Mahavira (540-468 B.C.), who taught self-denial and non-violence against any form of life. Jainism’s strict requirements of self-denial caused it to lose popularity, but the religion remained strong and today has over 4 million adherents worldwide (including 7000 in the U.S.). It influenced Gandhi later in India, and Ralph Waldo Emerson in the United States. Jainism strictly prohibits abortion.

Jainism rejects the authority of the Vedas, the sacred scriptures of Hinduism.

=== Buddhism ===

Siddhartha Gautama was a royal Hindu prince who lived from 563 to 483 B.C. As a young prince he was disturbed by seeing suffering in old people, sick people and, on one occasion, he saw a dead body (corpse). As a Hindu, Prince Siddhartha believed in reincarnation and the possibility of repeated suffering in many lives disturbed him further. He meditated for a long time under a tree and emerged from it as the “Enlightened One” who founded a new religion of Buddhism. Once he became the Buddha, his followers referred to him as “Buddha Shakyamuni” (“Shakya” is the name of his royal family and “Muni” means “Able One.”), or “the Buddha” for short. The term “Buddha” today can also apply to any “Awakened One” in the religion of Buddhism.

Siddhartha declared that happiness is found not by improving one’s “karma” under Hinduism, but by embracing Four Noble Truths: (1) suffering is universal, (2) craving or desire causes it, (3) the cure is to eliminate the craving or desire, and (4) following the Eightfold Path helps eliminate this desire and attain “nirvana”. Nirvana is a release from suffering to attain inner peace and complete contentment. The Eightfold Path is a multifaceted guide to nirvana that relies on wisdom (right view and intention); ethics (right speech, action & livelihood); and mind (right effort, mindfulness & concentration). In other words, the Eightfold Path is a system of meditation that can be followed by anyone at any social or caste level.

Forty-nine (49) days after the Buddha’s enlightenment, he began teaching. He taught the first Wheel of “Dharma” (one’s duty or nature) to achieve protection from suffering. The Buddha also taught the Hinayana, or Lesser Vehicle, of Buddhism. Later, the Buddha taught the second and third Wheels of Dharma. Together these teachings became the source of the Mahayana, or Great Vehicle, of Buddhism. The Hinayana teaching describes how to attain freedom from suffering for oneself alone. The Mahayana teaching describes how to attain full enlightenment (“Buddhahood”) for the sake of others. The Buddha encouraged everyone to practice Dharma to improve inner peace and happiness, and improve the quality of life. Inner peace is considered under Buddhism to be the key to outward peace.

What is the practice of Buddhism like? Buddhists seek a moral life that emphasizes meditation. The goal of the meditation is to end cravings and desires and attain a release from suffering, or “nirvana”. Buddhism encourages increased wisdom and understanding. Buddhists tend not to proselytize aggressively, but fully accept converts. There are Buddhists in most countries today.

Founded in India, Buddhism has grown to become the fourth largest world religion (behind Christianity, Islam and Hinduism, in that order). A strict version of Buddhism spread in Southeast Asia (e.g., Cambodia and Vietnam). A more liberal (less strict) version spread into China, Japan and Korea. Buddhism has a larger following in the U.S. today than Hinduism, but Hinduism is much stronger in India.

There are many statutes of the Buddha, and they vary from country to county to show the Buddha as an inhabitant of the local country. The hand position (mudras) in the statute shows whether the Buddha is teaching, giving a blessing, or meditating.

=== Comparison of Hinduism with Buddhism ===

The biggest difference between Hinduism and Buddhism is that Buddhism is less moral, and welcomes all. Hinduism is highly moral but based on castes and reincarnation.

But there are many similarities between the two religions. Buddha himself was a Hindu. Here is a list of what Hinduism and Buddhism have in common:

1. Both religions promote meditation or other forms of spiritual practice.

2. Both religions preach non-violence towards all forms of life.

3. Both religions believe in karma in binding people to this world, and believe in a cycle of births and deaths (reincarnation).

4. Both religions believe in multiple hells and heavens.

5. Both religions emphasize detachment and renunciation of materialism, and treat desire as the major cause of suffering.

There are also many important differences between the two religions:

1. Buddhism does not believe in the existence of souls or “first cause” (God). For this reason many do not consider Buddhism to be a true religion, but merely a belief system. Hinduism believes that Brahman is the Supreme Creator and that the soul (Atman) does exist.

2. Buddhism views the world as filled with sorrow, and the highest goal of human life is to end sorrow. Hinduism has four major goals for everyone to pursue: religious duty (dharma), wealth (artha), desires (kama) and salvation (moksha).

3. Hinduism believes in four stages in life (ashramas), while Buddhism rejects this.

4. Hinduism is a religion of the individual and thus has no monks. Buddhism has many monks.

5. Hinduism does not have any prophets, while the Buddha founded Buddhism.

6. Buddhism rejects the sacred scriptures of Hinduism, the Vedas.

The Hindu response to the competition presented by Buddhism was to treat the Buddha as another god of Hinduism (the incarnation of Mahavishnu, one of the gods of the Hindu trinity). This enabled Hinduism to remain far more popular than Buddhism in India, but not outside India.

=== India’s Contributions ===

What can we thank ancient India for? Our Arabic numerals, which are derived from Hindu numbers. Also, the game of chess was apparently invented in India, but maybe not until A.D. 500. The original game lacked the powerful “queen”, and Muslim versions of the game lack the queen to this day. Vedic mathematics, which is an ancient math system found in the Hindu scriptures the Vedas, is taught to this day. It enables solving complex math problems orally. India first discovered the concept of “zero” around the sixth century, which remarkably was not part of mathematics before then and has been essential ever since.

Indian religion adds a transcendental quality that has found popularity worldwide in the form of meditation, and in the mid-1800s American writers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson began citing Indian practices after abandoning Christianity. Emerson wrote, “I owed a magnificent day to the Bhagavat-Gita. It was the first of books; it was as if an empire spake to us, nothing small or unworthy, but large, serene, consistent, the voice of an old intelligence which in another age and climate had pondered and thus disposed of the same questions that exercise us.”

Today, the popularity of the English language in India, its low cost of living, and its intelligent workforce make it an attractive place for large American companies to relocate their jobs.

Today India is more than a country. It is a subcontinent. It is vast in size: two-fifths the area of all of Europe. 150 different languages are spoken there today. In this century India will surpass China as the most populous country in the world. Even though it has traditionally been a poor country, for decades it has produced more food than it can consume. The highly religious people of India are advancing the frontiers of medicine, mathematics and many other fields today.

== China ==

China, like India, is significant because it has so many people. But there the similarities end. There is no Hinduism in China. There is very little ethnic diversity in China, in contrast to India and many Western countries today. Christianity has struggled to convert the country, and only about 1 out of 9 Chinese are Christian. That number is due to courageous efforts in the face of much governmental persecution of religion.

China has always been isolated by geographic protections. The highest mountains in the world separate it from India; vast amounts of semi-desert land separated it from Mesopotamia. In the south flowed the Yangtze river for 3000 miles, navigable from the sea for half of its course. In the north was the Yellow river, known for its disastrous tendency to flood.

=== Ancient China ===

The earliest archaeological evidence in China is of the Shang dynasty, 1766-1122 B.C. By folklore it began when the virtuous and wise man named T’ang overthrew the decadent emperor Chieh of the Hsia dynasty. The Shang dynasty was ultimately overthrown and replaced by the Chou dynasty.

The Shang dynasty built cities in northern China, along the eastern banks of the Yellow River. It did not control all of what is China today. Sometimes called the Yellow River civilization, the Shang dynasty benefited from bronze that had been introduced to China around 2000 B.C. from Mesopotamia. (It had been invented in Mesopotamia around 3000 B.C.)

The Shang dynasty had writing in the form of oracle bones: questions and answers inscribed on actual bone. The empire consisted of city-states, with much war between the various cities but particularly against the non-urbanized populations in the rural areas. The capital cities would shift as the power did. The Shang dynasty perfected the wheel and used chariots in warfare.

China used a pictographic form of writing that remains to this day. Often the word looked like its meaning, though today the characters are more complex.

The Zhou or Chou dynasty replaced the Shang dynasty in 1027 B.C., and benefited from the Iron Age. The Iron Age is the period of human history characterized the smelting of iron and its use in industry in western Asia and Egypt. The Zhou dynasty lasted longer than any other one in Chinese history, ruling until 221 B.C. (ruling only in the east for the last few hundred years). The multiplication tables developed during this dynasty.

Early Chinese religion consisted of worshiping a supreme god called “Shang Ti,” or “Lord on High.” It ruled over the lesser gods of the sun, moon, wind, rain and other aspects of nature. Sacrifices were made of humans to these gods. When a king died, for example, hundreds of slaves and prisoners would be sacrificed in his honor. There would also be sacrifices on a smaller scale when a temple or palace was constructed.

=== Confucius ===

The great figure in ancient China was Confucius, who lived from 551 to 478 B.C. He lived around the same time as the early Greek philosophers, and taught social ethics to the people. His real name was Kung Fu-tze, or Master Kung; it was Latin that converted his name to Confucius. His disciples wrote down his teachings in a book called the Analects, which focused on man’s duties to obey a universal natural law. Moderation in conduct, or “li”, was emphasized, and filial piety (respecting the older members of one’s family) was the goal. Age itself is greatly honored in Chinese culture, unlike Christianity: the older a person was, the wiser he must be. Confucius taught rulers to be just, and said those being ruled should be loyal to their rulers.

Confucius wrote little himself, but his disciples recorded his teachings in the Analects, a classic having enormous influence over Chinese history. He emphasized rational analysis with a tough of flexibility. He disavowed any original insight or knowledge, and opposed anything egotistical. He once said, “I for my part am not one of those who have innate knowledge. I am simply one who loves the past and who is diligent in investigating it.”

After Confucius died there was an era of the Warring States, from 481-221 B.C. During that time several teachers emerged with their own interpretations of Confucian thought. The two leading ones were Mencius (371-289 B.C.) and Hsun-tzu (298-230 B.C.). Mencius felt that mankind was essential good and that philosophers like himself should run the country. Hsun Tzu, in contrast, fell that man was intrinsically evil and that a wise and powerful ruler was necessary to maintain order. This laid the intellectual groundwork for the brutal Chinese dictatorships that followed: the Chi’in or Qin state (221-206 B.C.).

Ch’in was the first unified Chinese empire, and its king was Shih huang-ti. It lasted until the Han dynasty rose to power in 206 B.C. The Han dynasty then lasted 400 years until A.D. 220, and its name is still used to describe the ethnicity of 93% of Chinese today.

=== Taoism ===

Taoism (also known as Daoism) eventually caught on in China and Southeast Asia (e.g., Vietnam) more than other religions, probably due to its greater compatibility with the Confucian foundation. Taoism is more philosophical than the world’s largest religions of Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. The symbol for Taoism, for example, is the Taijitu or “Yin and Yang,” in which a curved half of a circle divides a shaded from a clear region to represent a constant interaction in nature between two forces having opposite qualities:

The Yin (darker side) is passive or negative or feminine; the Yang (lighter side) is active or positive or masculine. While western philosophy views this dualism as a struggle, in China the goal is to harmonize these complementary forces. Taoism and Confucianism strive to obtain harmony, though in Taoism is the focus is on nature while in Confucianism the focus is on men.

The basic differences between Confucianism, Taoism and a third philosophy in China called “Legalism” were the following. Confucianism emphasized education, tradition, reference for elders and ancestors, and a strong government. Taiosm emphasized harmony with nature, and preferred the least amount of government. Legalism, the forerunner to modern communist China, held that a strong government was essential to control the people.

Buddhism emphasizes personal salvation more than Taoism. It makes little difference today in China, where the communist dictators impose atheism as the official religion (lack of religion). But in ancient China, before communism, these religions competed with each other for followers. Taoism advanced at the expense of Confucianism, which lost ground until northern rulers reestablished the Mandate of Heaven, the theory that heaven blessed good rulers but overthrew bad ones, which was first used by the Zhou Dynasty to justify overthrowing the Shang Dynasty. These northern rulers obtained control in A.D. 589 under the Sui and Tang Dynasties.

=== Imperial China ===

The first imperial or national Chinese dynasty was the Qin or Ch’in dynasty (221-206 B.C.), which was founded by the ruler of the Zhou vassal state Qin, Prince Zheng. The Qin dynasty was superb in battle, using chariots and iron weaponry, and that enabled Prince Zheng to conquer all the Chinese states and unify the country. The Qin dynasty built many internal improvements, such as roads, canals and irrigation, using iron and bronze tools. It was the Qin dynasty that began to construct the Great Wall, which stretches today for 1,400 miles. China has always feared and been threatened by foreign invaders, and the wall was a way to defend itself. It is from “Qin” that the name “China” is derived. But the Qin dynasty’s highly legal approach led to rebellion.

The Han empire or dynasty (206 B.C. to A.D 220, with only a brief interruption from A.D. 6-23) built on the foundation of the Qin dynasty, extending the walls and roads. Liu Bang was the first Han ruler, and imposed a centralized government that was stable for many years. Empress Lu was a woman who seized power from 195-180 B.C. and then installed her sons as emperors while they were still infants. Han Wudi (141-87 B.C.) was the longest serving Han ruler. He was known for appointing efficient provincial administrators.

The Han dynasty expanded the territory of China into Vietnam and Korea, and administered the country from a centralized and organized civil service. This was the most significant of all Chinese dynasties, and is compared by historians to the Pax Romana period in the Roman empire. The Han dynasty valued education highly, and even created a scholar class of people known as “shi”. Historians criticize the Han dynasty, however, for treating women in an inferior manner.

The Han dynasty developed the famous Silk Road: 5,000 miles of interconnected roads linking China to the Mediterranean region, which enabled trade in silk and fine goods to greatly increase. Buddhism spread widely along the Silk Road, promoted both by traders and Buddhist monks, and reached China in A.D. 100. A new religion designed to appeal to merchants, Manichaeism (named after its founder Mani (A.D. 216-272)), also spread to Turkish nomads by teaching self-denial and acceptance of both Buddha and Jesus as prophets.

Trade flourished on the Silk Road, which China used to transport silk, spices gems, wine, cosmetics and even grain to the Mediterranean. By land the traders carrying the goods included all groups in the Middle East; by sea the Malay sailors mastered the tricky monsoon wind patterns. The Silk Road was influential from 150 B.C. to A.D. 900. Perhaps one might compare its enormous influence to the internet today!

The state philosophy of the Han dynasty was Confucianism. Technology advanced during this time, as did the arts. Paper, porcelain, the compass, the rudder, the seismograph and possibly acupuncture were all invented under the Han dynasty. Detailed historical records were maintained. Most Chinese were farmers, but China’s discovery of iron enabled it to do some highly profitable manufacturing.

The Han dynasty declined similar to the decline and fall of the Roman empire, though a bit earlier. Historians cite the same reasons for the decline of both empires: too vast an empire to administer and keep together, invasions by barbarians, hardship caused by the spread of disease and poor harvests, and overall economic failure. In both cases, leaders of the armies gained power as the empires declined, but the generals could not save the empires.

But historians credit both the Han dynasty and the Roman empire with lasting contributions to the world: roads and, for a while, peace and prosperity. The Han dynasty left us with paper, a greater emphasis on education, and the marvelous Silk Road. The Roman empire left us with a system of laws, a powerful language (Latin), and the spread of Christianity.

But just as the West fell into disorganization once Rome fell, so did China when the Han dynasty collapsed. China was ruled by regional governments known as the Three Kingdoms (A.D. 220-280). Many legends arose during this period, as described in a Chinese literature classic entitled, “The Romance of the Three Kingdoms.”

It was not until A.D. 589 that the Sui Dynasty arose to reestablish centralized government. Subsequently the longer Tang and Song Dynasties ruled China also.

=== China’s Contributions ===

What inventions do we owe to ancient China? A great deal: gunpowder (not until A.D. 850), paper, fireworks, the compass, the umbrella, the fan, spaghetti, acupuncture, bamboo, harvesting silk, and perhaps the first planetarium. English philosopher Francis Bacon said this about three Chinese inventions: “Printing, gunpowder and the compass: These three have changed the whole face and state of things throughout the world; the first in literature, the second in warfare, the third in navigation; whence have followed innumerable changes, in so much that no empire, no sect, no star seems to have exerted greater power and influence in human affairs than these mechanical discoveries.”

== The Rise of Christianity ==

The ancient world had several founders of great religions, but only one performed miracles: Jesus of Nazareth. Do we know when it occurred?

It is easy to calculate the date of His crucifixion because we know it was during the reign of Pontius Pilate, who served from A.D. 26 to 36, thereby encompassing the entire period of ministry of John the Baptist and Jesus himself. A Roman historian named Philo described Pilate as inflexible, obstinate and merciless, and Pilate was hated by the Jewish people under his rule. The Gospels describe the savage retaliation by Pilate against Galileans as follows: “Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.” Luke 13:1 (NAS). Eventually the Romans removed Pilate from power for being too cruel.

A detailed analysis of the Gospel and historical sources places the date of the Crucifixion at Friday, April 3, A.D. 33, although some historians think it occurred in A.D. 29. You can review the evidence yourself at:
http://www.themoorings.org/apologetics/69weeks/weeks4.html

From these dates come the traditional view that Jesus was 33 years old when He rose from the dead. However, the Gospels do not specify His age and it is not clear exactly when Jesus was born. We do know from the Gospels that He was less than 50. Many historians place his birth between 6 and 4 B.C. The description of Jesus’ birth in the Gospel of Luke refers to King Herod, whose brutal reign was from 37 to 4 B.C.

Here is where a slight mistake in the dating of our calendar from Christ’s birth may have been introduced. In the sixth century A.D., the Roman monk Dionysis the Little changed the calendar to recognize the birth of Christ. He calculated that Jesus was born the year that King Herod died, and modern historians agree. However, the monk thought that Herod died 753 years after the founding of Rome, instead of the correct 749 years after the founding of Rome. (King Herod is the ruler who ordered all babies in Bethlehem younger than 2 to be killed in his unsuccessful attempt to murder Jesus, whose family fled to Egypt to escape this.) Thus the monk estimated that Jesus was born four years later than He probably was. What was intended to be A.D. 1 was actually 4 B.C. Note that there is no year “0”, as the concept of “0” was unknown to the Greeks and not even discovered until the seventh century by mathematicians in India. The year that follows 1 B.C. is A.D. 1.

The teachings of Jesus are well-known to all of us, and were recorded in the Gospels (Greek for “good news”) by two of His apostles (Matthew and John) and two disciples (Mark and Luke). The Gospels were originally written in Greek, the common lingua franca (common or commercial language among diverse peoples) of the Roman Orient. No original Gospels have been found in Aramaic; the only discovered Aramaic Gospels are translations from Greek versions. The general consensus is that the Gospel according to Matthew was written particularly for Jews; the Gospel according to Mark was written particularly for Romans; the Gospel according to Luke was written particularly for Greeks; and the Gospel according to John was written for everyone. Jesus had emphasized that scribes were part of those He sent forth to proselytize the world. “I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes ….” (Matt 23:34 (NAS)).

Luke was a Greek physician (see Col 4:14) who accompanied Paul and also wrote the Acts of the Apostles describing the arrival of the Holy Spirit. Unlike the firsthand Gospels of Matthew and John, the Gospel of Luke records eyewitness accounts of others, much as a doctor asks a patient for his medical history and then writes it down in the medical file. Due to Luke’s professional nature, his Gospel is very comprehensive about Jesus’ life and resurrection, and it also conveys the great sense of joy that Jesus’ family, friends and followers felt. In the Battle of the Bulge in World War II (the surprise Nazi counterattack in Dec. 1944), which was one of the worst military defeats in American history, a minister’s son who had memorized Luke’s description of the Nativity recited it for his fellow soldiers on Christmas Eve while together in the trenches. Many of them died soon afterwards in battle.

The greatest writing in the history of the world is the Gospel of John, the Apostle whom Jesus loved the most. John likely revised and perfected this Gospel for decades before releasing it to others. As was typical for many of the greatest authors in history, such as Copernicus, John’s work was probably not released to the public until he passed away. Isaac Newton, to take another example, delayed publication of his great mathematical discoveries for decades. As long as something can be improved and developed further, there may not be any reason to publish it prematurely.

American soldiers in World Wars I and II would carry copies of the Gospel of John with them as they journeyed to faraway battles. This single book has done more to shape human thought and behavior than any other work. Our uniquely American First Amendment right of free speech is based on ministers preaching of the “Word” of God as described in the first few verses of the Gospel of John.

Archaeological discoveries in Jerusalem confirm, to the dismay of skeptics, many references in the Gospels about Jesus’ work. The Pool of Bethesda has been discovered (John 5:1f). The Pavement has been found (John 19:13). The setting of Jacob’s well has been discovered (John 4). Because Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70 (see discussion below), it would have been impossible for a writer after A.D. 70 to make up any of these details.

Paul of Taurus (now southern Turkey) was Jewish and converted to Christianity within a year or two of the Crucifixion while on the road to Damascus (now located in Syria), and afterwards spread the Good News far and wide within the Roman empire. He was both a prolific writer and scholar, and a prodigious missionary who traveled on three great missions throughout the Roman empire before being executed by a beheading in Rome in A.D. 62 (as a Roman citizen, Paul could not be scourged or crucified). Several of Paul’s letters are included in the New Testament, and often quoted to this day. (For example, in Paul’s letter to the Romans, he condemns homosexuality. Romans 1:27.) Peter, who was not a Roman citizen, likewise spread the faith before being crucified in Rome, by his choice upside down out of the utmost respect to Jesus’ own Crucifixion.

Many misconceptions about early Christians persist to this day. Americans are often taught that all the disciples were ignorant fishermen who could not read or write. This is plainly false, as several communicated by letter while held in jail by Roman authorities. Many of the insights and truths revealed in the Gospels by the Apostles could only have been understood and taught by people of tremendous intelligence and faith.

Christianity was taken by the early Christians as far and wide as possible. The religious celebrations consisted of a communal meal, called “communion” today but given the Greek name for “love feat” then: “agape”. This reenacted the Last Supper of Christ as described in the Gospels. The concept of Christian love had a profound effect on the world and forever changed it for the better.

Mark founded a church in Egypt under the reign of the Roman emperor Nero, first converting Alexandrian Jews such as Theophilus and also converting many native Egyptians who were neither Greek nor Jewish. It was for Theophilus and the Egyptian community that Luke wrote his Gospel and Acts of the Apostles, addressing Theophilus in the beginning of each. Luke 1:3 and Acts 1:1. The local language in Egypt was Coptic, and translations of the Gospels into that language have been discovered which date from the first half of the second century. Coptic Christianity remains in Egypt to this day, although Islam has become the most popular religion there. Some cite the acceptance of Arabic as a liturgical language by the Pope of Alexandria as aiding the rise to dominance of Islam there. Coptic Christians celebrate Christmas each year on January 7th, which is a national holiday in Egypt.

The Apostle Thomas, known as the “Doubting Thomas” traveled as far as India and established a Christian community that remains there to this day, although the country is still majority Hindu.

Christianity differs from other major religions in its peaceful evangelism, spreading its truths through freedom of speech. Christianity is unlike religions that lack an evangelical component, such as Judaism and Hinduism, and Christianity also differs from Islam in the manner in which force is used.

[[Category:History]]

Talk:Second Law of Thermodynamics

2007-03-15T06:12:35Z

Zaheerabbas: /* Time to unprotect */ ahahaha

== Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!==

I am getting a little tired of the (pardon the immoderate language) stupid edits in relation to the second law of thermodynamics. As has been stated by a number of people on the Talk:Theory of Evolution page, the second law of thermodynamics does not disprove the theory of evolution. You are just making this site look stupid by stating that it does. I see that the person who committed the muddleheaded reversion has now protected the page. Might I respectfully suggest that the protection be removed and some scholarship prevail. --[[User:Horace|Horace]] 22:01, 3 March 2007 (EST)

== Protection and other issues ==

The trend towards protecting articles by users in edit conflicts is worrisome. Furthermore, the protected version is simply wrong. One of the Conservapedia Commandments is that everything should be sourced. I therefore would very much like to know if there is any source for the claim that "he Second Law of Thermodynamics states that the entropy of the universe tends towards a maximum" This statement is wrong at multiple levels- the 2nd Law is about closed systems (or can be stated about open systems with a some tweaking of the consequent), it says nothing about the universe. Furthermore, tending towards a maximum doesn't even mean that the entropy levels can't decrease. For example, the sequence, 1,3,2,5,4,7,6,9,8... tends towards infinity but is not an increasing sequence. [[User:JoshuaZ|JoshuaZ]] 04:05, 4 March 2007 (EST)

:Second law also says nothing about an upper bound to the entropy of a system; the entropy of the Universe could increase without limit, in principle, making the 'maximum' part wrong too.

:To be fair to Philip, the increase of the Universe's entropy ''is'' a tendency, not an absolute. The total entropy of an isolated system can decrease; it's just hugely improbable on the scales we're used to dealing with. Quantum effects can lead to a decrease in entropy; one has to deal with a very small system over short periods of time to actually notice this, however. Arbitrarily large decreases in entropy are also possible, given sufficient time. This is true whether one is discussing the fluctuation theorems of QM, or good old-fashioned classical systems.

:But these are not, strictly speaking, parts of the second law. Second law doesn't say anything about tendency. The rest of physics just says that second law is not absolute. So I don't think using the word 'tends' in the definition is very useful.

:The main problem with the article is, of course, the part about evolution, which as Horace says is just wrong, and painfully so. It's a seductive argument to the layman; after all, entropy is all about order and disorder, and evolution clearly requires the production of order. Right?

:Wrong, of course. The second law of '''thermo'''dynamics is a statement about '''thermodynamic''' quantities; 'order' is not one. One can choose to ''define'' the term 'order' in thermodynamic terms, in which case the statement that the Universe must become, on net, more disordered over time is true, for certain definitions. But the price for that is rejecting one's intuitive understanding of what constitutes 'order' and 'disorder,' and going with the maths. By a thermodynamic definition of order, my hot chocolate is self-organizing as we speak. Therein lies the danger of describing esoteric physics in terms which carry the baggage of their lay definition. Better to stick with entropy, and check one's prejudices at the door.

:Perhaps the simplest way to illustrate this is with a different statement of the second law; the Clausius statement, which reads:

::It is impossible to construct a heat engine which, operating in a cycle, produces no effect other than the transfer of a quantity of heat from a colder to a hotter body.

:Now, precisely which part of evolution violates ''that''? This version of the second law makes it abundantly clear that we're talking about a specific, mathematically rigorous statement about heat flow, not some general philosophical statement about order and chaos. [[User:Tsumetai|Tsumetai]] 07:51, 4 March 2007 (EST)

:Oh, yes, I forgot to weigh in on the page protection issue. Tonya Harding strategy, right?

:A while ago, I [http://www.conservapedia.com/User_talk:Aschlafly#Page_protection_policy suggested to ASchlafly] that a written policy on when page protection should be used, and for how long it should last would be helpful. Anyone else agree? [[User:Tsumetai|Tsumetai]] 07:58, 4 March 2007 (EST)

== The following is incorrect ==

From the article:

"It is impossible for the total entropy of an isolated system to decrease, therefore the universe is becoming more and more disordered. In this way the Second Law of Thermodynamics disproves evolution."

The first sentence is true, but the second is false. Evolution does not cause the total entropy in the universe to decrease, only local variations. By analogy, a fridge does not cool the universe, only a small part of it at the expense of the rest. Please correct this clear error to avoid the increasing levels of criticisms being levelled at this wiki. [[User:Nematocyte|Nematocyte]] 07:45, 5 March 2007 (EST)

:To add my thoughts on this: there are two errors in this article. First, the second law ''only'' applies to ''isolated'' systems, not to systems that are merely closed, let alone open. Then it becomes clear that the "disproving" of evolution by referring to the second law is severely flawed. There is nothing against a local decrease in entropy, as long as it is balanced by at least as large an increase elsewhere. Moreover, the assumption that evolution is directly linked to a decrease in thermodynamic entropy is not immediately obvious. I agree with Nematocyte that in its present state, this article will just serve to invite more criticism. [[User:PaulB|PaulB]] 09:16, 13 March 2007 (EDT)

::Strictly speaking, second law applies to all systems; for instance, consider the Clausius statement, which I posted up the page. No mention of an isolated system there. [[User:Tsumetai|Tsumetai]] 12:01, 13 March 2007 (EDT)

:::That not what my stat.mech. text says ;-). Let's put it this way: the ''entropy'' formulation only applies to isolated systems. In fact, I think that the heat engine in the Clausius formulation should itself be taken as isolated. If we allow it to be (thermally or otherwise) coupled to anything else than a hot and a cold "temperature bath", I think we could make the heat flow up the temperature gradient, at the expense of course of something happening outside the engine. Of course, these thermal reservoirs are abstractions, etc. etc. Anyway, here as well, either we should take the system (engine) as isolated, or we should take it as the entire universe. Both cases are not going to help disprove evolution at any rate. [[User:PaulB|PaulB]] 12:24, 13 March 2007 (EDT)

::::I think even the entropy formulation will work with open systems, so long as one takes care to quantify the entropy flow through the boundary. The requirement then becomes that entropy decrease within the boundary is no greater than the net entropy flow out of the system through the boundary. [[User:Tsumetai|Tsumetai]] 12:37, 13 March 2007 (EDT)

:::::I think it's effectively the same as looking at an isolated system made out of two parts, inside and outside, and applying the second law to the total system. But what you propose should indeed work. I hadn't thought of doing it that way. [[User:PaulB|PaulB]] 13:04, 13 March 2007 (EDT)

::::::Absolutely; you can always expand the boundary of an open system to obtain an isolated one, in principle. But it's very useful to be able to work with open systems, if the boundary terms can be computed, since it allows one to ignore entropy generation in the environment. [[User:Tsumetai|Tsumetai]] 13:08, 13 March 2007 (EDT)

== Time to unprotect ==

OK, it's been over a week now, and no one has attempted to defend the inclusion of such rubbish. Might we have the article unprotected so that those of us who actually understand elementary thermodynamics can fix it? [[User:Tsumetai|Tsumetai]] 07:50, 12 March 2007 (EDT)
:Nothing doing sir, the numbskulls are the experts. Who said Sri Lanka became independent in the 1970s, none other than the owner of this site! [[User:Zaheerabbas|Zaheerabbas]] 02:12, 15 March 2007 (EDT)

== Ressurection a violation? ==

I think we should add a section about the resurrection of Jesus and that it "technically" violates the second law of thermodynamics, but that since it was a miracle, it does not need to adhere to the second law. Thoughts?
:...*blinks* Are there sources that are actually saying that? *honestly curious* --[[User:Sid 3050|Sid 3050]]

:I think the latter part is pretty obvious, and negates the need for the former. [[User:Tsumetai|Tsumetai]] 11:58, 13 March 2007 (EDT)

:: Gonna back Tsumetai up on this one. Also, it's shocking and appalling that this article is protected while containing such tripe in the content of it.--[[User:AmesG|AmesG]] 12:00, 13 March 2007 (EDT)

:::Not to mention the fact that in the ten days since criticisms were first raised, no one who supports the article in its current state has bothered to defend it.[[User:Tsumetai|Tsumetai]] 12:03, 13 March 2007 (EDT)

::::Agreed. I'll leave a message on the protecting admin's Talk page, maybe it'll help. Talking on here doesn't seem to have any impact. =/ --[[User:Sid 3050|Sid 3050]] 12:05, 13 March 2007 (EDT)

Oh, of course. Many intellectuals here! Long live the stone age numbskull army!!! [[User:Zaheerabbas|Zaheerabbas]] 02:11, 15 March 2007 (EDT)

Talk:Second Law of Thermodynamics

2007-03-15T06:11:58Z

Zaheerabbas: /* Ressurection a violation? */ c

== Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!==

I am getting a little tired of the (pardon the immoderate language) stupid edits in relation to the second law of thermodynamics. As has been stated by a number of people on the Talk:Theory of Evolution page, the second law of thermodynamics does not disprove the theory of evolution. You are just making this site look stupid by stating that it does. I see that the person who committed the muddleheaded reversion has now protected the page. Might I respectfully suggest that the protection be removed and some scholarship prevail. --[[User:Horace|Horace]] 22:01, 3 March 2007 (EST)

== Protection and other issues ==

The trend towards protecting articles by users in edit conflicts is worrisome. Furthermore, the protected version is simply wrong. One of the Conservapedia Commandments is that everything should be sourced. I therefore would very much like to know if there is any source for the claim that "he Second Law of Thermodynamics states that the entropy of the universe tends towards a maximum" This statement is wrong at multiple levels- the 2nd Law is about closed systems (or can be stated about open systems with a some tweaking of the consequent), it says nothing about the universe. Furthermore, tending towards a maximum doesn't even mean that the entropy levels can't decrease. For example, the sequence, 1,3,2,5,4,7,6,9,8... tends towards infinity but is not an increasing sequence. [[User:JoshuaZ|JoshuaZ]] 04:05, 4 March 2007 (EST)

:Second law also says nothing about an upper bound to the entropy of a system; the entropy of the Universe could increase without limit, in principle, making the 'maximum' part wrong too.

:To be fair to Philip, the increase of the Universe's entropy ''is'' a tendency, not an absolute. The total entropy of an isolated system can decrease; it's just hugely improbable on the scales we're used to dealing with. Quantum effects can lead to a decrease in entropy; one has to deal with a very small system over short periods of time to actually notice this, however. Arbitrarily large decreases in entropy are also possible, given sufficient time. This is true whether one is discussing the fluctuation theorems of QM, or good old-fashioned classical systems.

:But these are not, strictly speaking, parts of the second law. Second law doesn't say anything about tendency. The rest of physics just says that second law is not absolute. So I don't think using the word 'tends' in the definition is very useful.

:The main problem with the article is, of course, the part about evolution, which as Horace says is just wrong, and painfully so. It's a seductive argument to the layman; after all, entropy is all about order and disorder, and evolution clearly requires the production of order. Right?

:Wrong, of course. The second law of '''thermo'''dynamics is a statement about '''thermodynamic''' quantities; 'order' is not one. One can choose to ''define'' the term 'order' in thermodynamic terms, in which case the statement that the Universe must become, on net, more disordered over time is true, for certain definitions. But the price for that is rejecting one's intuitive understanding of what constitutes 'order' and 'disorder,' and going with the maths. By a thermodynamic definition of order, my hot chocolate is self-organizing as we speak. Therein lies the danger of describing esoteric physics in terms which carry the baggage of their lay definition. Better to stick with entropy, and check one's prejudices at the door.

:Perhaps the simplest way to illustrate this is with a different statement of the second law; the Clausius statement, which reads:

::It is impossible to construct a heat engine which, operating in a cycle, produces no effect other than the transfer of a quantity of heat from a colder to a hotter body.

:Now, precisely which part of evolution violates ''that''? This version of the second law makes it abundantly clear that we're talking about a specific, mathematically rigorous statement about heat flow, not some general philosophical statement about order and chaos. [[User:Tsumetai|Tsumetai]] 07:51, 4 March 2007 (EST)

:Oh, yes, I forgot to weigh in on the page protection issue. Tonya Harding strategy, right?

:A while ago, I [http://www.conservapedia.com/User_talk:Aschlafly#Page_protection_policy suggested to ASchlafly] that a written policy on when page protection should be used, and for how long it should last would be helpful. Anyone else agree? [[User:Tsumetai|Tsumetai]] 07:58, 4 March 2007 (EST)

== The following is incorrect ==

From the article:

"It is impossible for the total entropy of an isolated system to decrease, therefore the universe is becoming more and more disordered. In this way the Second Law of Thermodynamics disproves evolution."

The first sentence is true, but the second is false. Evolution does not cause the total entropy in the universe to decrease, only local variations. By analogy, a fridge does not cool the universe, only a small part of it at the expense of the rest. Please correct this clear error to avoid the increasing levels of criticisms being levelled at this wiki. [[User:Nematocyte|Nematocyte]] 07:45, 5 March 2007 (EST)

:To add my thoughts on this: there are two errors in this article. First, the second law ''only'' applies to ''isolated'' systems, not to systems that are merely closed, let alone open. Then it becomes clear that the "disproving" of evolution by referring to the second law is severely flawed. There is nothing against a local decrease in entropy, as long as it is balanced by at least as large an increase elsewhere. Moreover, the assumption that evolution is directly linked to a decrease in thermodynamic entropy is not immediately obvious. I agree with Nematocyte that in its present state, this article will just serve to invite more criticism. [[User:PaulB|PaulB]] 09:16, 13 March 2007 (EDT)

::Strictly speaking, second law applies to all systems; for instance, consider the Clausius statement, which I posted up the page. No mention of an isolated system there. [[User:Tsumetai|Tsumetai]] 12:01, 13 March 2007 (EDT)

:::That not what my stat.mech. text says ;-). Let's put it this way: the ''entropy'' formulation only applies to isolated systems. In fact, I think that the heat engine in the Clausius formulation should itself be taken as isolated. If we allow it to be (thermally or otherwise) coupled to anything else than a hot and a cold "temperature bath", I think we could make the heat flow up the temperature gradient, at the expense of course of something happening outside the engine. Of course, these thermal reservoirs are abstractions, etc. etc. Anyway, here as well, either we should take the system (engine) as isolated, or we should take it as the entire universe. Both cases are not going to help disprove evolution at any rate. [[User:PaulB|PaulB]] 12:24, 13 March 2007 (EDT)

::::I think even the entropy formulation will work with open systems, so long as one takes care to quantify the entropy flow through the boundary. The requirement then becomes that entropy decrease within the boundary is no greater than the net entropy flow out of the system through the boundary. [[User:Tsumetai|Tsumetai]] 12:37, 13 March 2007 (EDT)

:::::I think it's effectively the same as looking at an isolated system made out of two parts, inside and outside, and applying the second law to the total system. But what you propose should indeed work. I hadn't thought of doing it that way. [[User:PaulB|PaulB]] 13:04, 13 March 2007 (EDT)

::::::Absolutely; you can always expand the boundary of an open system to obtain an isolated one, in principle. But it's very useful to be able to work with open systems, if the boundary terms can be computed, since it allows one to ignore entropy generation in the environment. [[User:Tsumetai|Tsumetai]] 13:08, 13 March 2007 (EDT)

== Time to unprotect ==

OK, it's been over a week now, and no one has attempted to defend the inclusion of such rubbish. Might we have the article unprotected so that those of us who actually understand elementary thermodynamics can fix it? [[User:Tsumetai|Tsumetai]] 07:50, 12 March 2007 (EDT)

== Ressurection a violation? ==

I think we should add a section about the resurrection of Jesus and that it "technically" violates the second law of thermodynamics, but that since it was a miracle, it does not need to adhere to the second law. Thoughts?
:...*blinks* Are there sources that are actually saying that? *honestly curious* --[[User:Sid 3050|Sid 3050]]

:I think the latter part is pretty obvious, and negates the need for the former. [[User:Tsumetai|Tsumetai]] 11:58, 13 March 2007 (EDT)

:: Gonna back Tsumetai up on this one. Also, it's shocking and appalling that this article is protected while containing such tripe in the content of it.--[[User:AmesG|AmesG]] 12:00, 13 March 2007 (EDT)

:::Not to mention the fact that in the ten days since criticisms were first raised, no one who supports the article in its current state has bothered to defend it.[[User:Tsumetai|Tsumetai]] 12:03, 13 March 2007 (EDT)

::::Agreed. I'll leave a message on the protecting admin's Talk page, maybe it'll help. Talking on here doesn't seem to have any impact. =/ --[[User:Sid 3050|Sid 3050]] 12:05, 13 March 2007 (EDT)

Oh, of course. Many intellectuals here! Long live the stone age numbskull army!!! [[User:Zaheerabbas|Zaheerabbas]] 02:11, 15 March 2007 (EDT)

User talk:Geo.plrd

2007-03-15T06:06:55Z

Zaheerabbas: /* Enjoy */ c

Nice revision to the Eisenhower entry!--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 22:02, 4 March 2007 (EST)

We don't have a "U.S. President" entry yet. Please create one! (You can do that by entering the term in the "Find" box and, when it is not found, click the link to create one.) --[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 22:30, 4 March 2007 (EST)

You just made a good, subtle edit with respect to "Al Qaeda" and the 9/11 attacks. Well done.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 01:06, 5 March 2007 (EST)

Good move of Bill Clinton to his real name.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 01:26, 5 March 2007 (EST)

:Actually, Mr. Schlafly, I think the move was done by Dpbsmith. But, Geo, your edits and template-making-skills have been more than helpful. --[[User:David R|<<-David R->>]] 21:39, 5 March 2007 (EST)
:I am pretty sure I moved it. [[User:Geo.plrd|Geo.]] 23:42, 5 March 2007 (EST)
Tremendous edits! Very well done.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 21:28, 5 March 2007 (EST)

Welcome to the SYSOP group! Please help block vandals when we reopen registration.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 12:36, 6 March 2007 (EST)

Thank you. Will I go to hell for braking them? [[User:Sane|Sane]]

== Einstein and rollback ==

A word- on most Wikiprojects the use of the admin roll back toll can be considered rude when not dealing directly with vandalism or disruption. [[User:JoshuaZ|JoshuaZ]] 16:05, 6 March 2007 (EST)

Okay. [[User:Sane|Sane]]

== Mexico ==

Try clicking on the link you gave me, it redirects to a page called "404.shtml". --[[User:Hojimachong|Hojimachong]] 00:31, 7 March 2007 (EST)

== Geo ==

I see that you mentioned you were going to unblock Oedipus Rex. I don't know what he posted but certainly his user id. is suspect, and the person who blocked rarely blocks anyone. Are you sure you were able to review deleted pages that might not show up any longer on "Revised Changes"? I'd recommend being cautious about unblocking someone blocked for obscenity.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 00:46, 7 March 2007 (EST)

== Unblocking ==

Click on the page where you would normally block the user, there should be a link there to an "unblock" form. Click on that and fill it out. [[User:JoshuaZ|JoshuaZ]] 00:49, 7 March 2007 (EST)

Is your unblocking of Koronus temporary or permanent? He vandalized many pages a week ago, including the placement of an obscene image on my User Page. [[User:MountainDew|MountainDew]] 01:03, 7 March 2007 (EST)

Never mind, I see what you've done. Cool. [[User:MountainDew|MountainDew]] 01:03, 7 March 2007 (EST)

== Block times ==

If an editor's behavior is so bad that you don't want them to edit ever again, there's no need to do something like a year block, just do an indefinite block. Meanwhile, on most Wikis I'm a member of, deliberately temporary blocks for first offenders are generally much shorter, ranging from about 8 hours to 1 week depending on the project and severity of the offense. [[User:JoshuaZ|JoshuaZ]] 01:12, 7 March 2007 (EST)

I'd say an infinite ban after parole is broken. I'm for being lenient and giving second chances, but we'll need to have a lot of people watching for vandals. My hope is that most people will just forget if they aren't serious about helping.
I think if we do institute a parole policy there should be some way to mark people on parole so that if they commit a violation (say, something they write needs rollback) the sysop doing this can see and ban them. --[[User:John|John]] 23:34, 9 March 2007 (EST)

== Sorry ==
One of my students misused the account. It won't happen again. Please see my discussion page. --[[User:WOVcenter|WOVcenter]] 01:06, 9 March 2007 (EST)

==Template for AFD==

Do we have a template to stick on top of articles that are under AFD? Thanks. [[User:Tmtoulouse|Tmtoulouse]] 14:49, 9 March 2007 (EST)

:The article is [[Quote mining]] see my AFD [[AFD Quote mining]]. Good luck with this project, enjoyed working with most of you. [[User:Tmtoulouse|Tmtoulouse]] 21:16, 9 March 2007 (EST)

== Change to ACLU ==

Hey Geo,
A while ago you suggested that I write to you with my proposed addition to the ACLU article, about what good the ACLU has done. Sorry it's taken so long, but it's included below

----

The ACLU & the Fight Against Racism (make this a section heading, please?)

Along with the [[NAACP]], led at the time by [[Thursgood Marshall]], the ACLU briefed and argued many influential Supreme Court opinions that led to the eradication of legal segregation.<ref>Examples: [[Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483]]</ref> They have continued to defend racial equality since.<ref>http://www.aclu.org/racialjustice</ref> Even recently, the ACLU fought to overturn prohibitions against renting buildings to immigrants<ref>http://civilliberty.about.com/od/historyprofiles/ss/news082206_3.htm</ref>

----

Additionally, you really need to edit out the language indicating that the author of the Dover case, Judge Jones, relied on a court opinion that was reversed (the ''Cobb'' case). First, I'm a Georgian so I know firsthand about the case. The appeal was actually dropped, leaving the pro-evolution lower court holding intact.[http://www.nebscience.org/cobb.html]

Second, I'm a law student, so I know that "vacated and remanded" means "come back with more info, we can't decide this," while "reversed" means "Lower Court, you were wrong." Equating the two sends the message that the higher court indicated that the lower court's pro-evolution Cobb opinion was wrongly decided; despite your personal feelings, no high court has said so, and the case was dropped.

--[[User:AmesG|AmesG]] 23:15, 11 March 2007 (EDT)

: Thanks for adding the Racism section!!

: On the "vacate" thing, two points.

: First of all, note that the appeal was dropped, discontinuing appellate review. I cited to it above, you can see the website for yourself. So that renders moot the distinction between "reverse" and "vacate."

: Second, the difference between is plain from any Black's Law Dictionary. Vacate & Remand means to nullify the judgment pending renewed appellate review, and this action, importantly, '''passes no judgment "on the merits" of the lower court's opinion.''' Reversal explicitly passes judgment on the merits. The line in the ACLU article as it stands suggests that the higher court reviewed the lower court's opinion "on the merits" and disagreed, which it did not. It simply barred enforcement of the judgment until the appeal was completed, based on an incomplete list of trial docs.

: The "on the merits" distinction is critical. While you can no longer enforce a judgment that's been vacated, that does not necessarily imply that the lower court opinion is no longer ''good law.'' Depending on the procedural posture, it may still be good law. Check the case, and you'll see that the higher court intended it to still be good law.

: Oh, and aside from that, I think the unbiased nature of the article remains highly in doubt. First off, there is no "gay agenda" anymore than there is a "black agenda" or a "female agenda" - none of those groups are unified political entities, and suggesting otherwise is ridiculous. I think "agenda" should be stricken from the topic heading, to avoid sounding too pejorative.--[[User:AmesG|AmesG]] 01:05, 12 March 2007 (EDT)

== Kitzmiller Discussion wrong ==
(I'm adding this here as it was mentioned I should over in the ACLU/talk page.) The opinion did not prevent appeal. What probably prevents appeal is that it would be a losing case and there is a new board there. Furthermore, this was not a free excercise case, but an establishment clause case. You should also mention that the order for costs is according to federal law on constitutional rights. Further, you should link to the opinion so people can read it for themselves. It is hosted here:
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/dover/kitzmiller_v_dover_decision.html [[User:Lawrah|Lawrah]] 08:21, 12 March 2007 (EDT)

: Adding a link to the opinion, which '''does''' disprove the part of the ACLU article that I've consistently told you is wrong, does not excuse the continued presence of false and misleading statements in the body of the article. I still recommend you strike the statements, or modify them. I'll help you draft them if you want.--[[User:AmesG|AmesG]] 00:17, 13 March 2007 (EDT)

== Mainpage, "Articles to be improved" ==

Why don't you just link directly to the category from the main page via [[:Category:Articles needing major improvement|Articles to be improved]]? Would make more sense than pointing at a placeholder article that is in the category for no reason... --[[User:Sid 3050|Sid 3050]] 11:01, 12 March 2007 (EDT)

== My proposed ACLU Establishment Clause revision, as asked ==

A example of ACLU litigation regarding the Establishment Clause was ''Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School Dist.'', 400 F.Supp.2d 707 (M.D. Pa. 2005)<ref>http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/dover/kitzmiller_v_dover_decision.html</ref> , also known as the [[Intelligent design]] case. The ACLU prevailed in prohibiting teachers from teaching [[Intelligent Design]] to students, and forbade the school board from issuing a warning that evolution was "theory, not fact."<ref>''Kitzmiller v. Dover Area Sch. Dist.,'' 400 F.Supp.2d 707.</ref>

In his opinion, Judge [[John E. Jones III]] noted the case ''Selman v. Cobb County Sch. Dist.'', which had previously invalidated "warning labels" placed on Cobb County textbooks, stating that evolution is "theory, not fact." Jones came to this same conclusion himself, relying on the [[Establishment test]], the [[Lemon test]], and applying the [[reasonable student standard]] that he applied in his analysis of the Dover case itself.<ref>''Kitzmiller,'' 400 F. Supp. 2d at 725 (coming to the conclusion reached in ''Selman'' by the Court's own reasoning), ''compare'' Selman v. Cobb County Sch. Dist, 2006 U.S. App. LEXIS 13005 (11th Cir. May 25, 2006) at *pincite needed*.</ref> The Judge uses this reasoning as one step towards his conclusion, and cites ''Selman'' and other Supreme Court cases as backing up his own affirmation of the ''Selman'' holding.<ref>''See Kitzmiller'', 400 F. Supp. 2d at 723-24.</ref>

[[Judge John E. Jones]] has been accused of copying heavily from the ALCU's briefs by the [[Discovery Institute]], an institution that filed ''amicus curiae'' briefs in the case.<ref>http://www.discovery.org/scripts/viewDB/index.php?command=view&id=3829&program=CSC%20-%20Views%20and%20News</ref> The allegation is a partial truth.<ref>This is true with regards to Judge Jones' statements in the early parts of the opinion manifesting his agreement with the ACLU's briefs, but the legal reasoning of the case - constituting the bulk of the opinion - is all original. ''See generally Kitzmiller'', 400 F.Supp.2d at 707.</ref>The judge also ordered costs for the plaintiff, in accord with [[civil procedure]] protocol, totalling over $2 million.<ref>''See'' 42 U.S.C. s 1988 (describing relief afforded victorious plaintiff of a 1983 action as including attorney fees).</ref>

== References ==
<references/>

----

I've come to these conclusions based on close reading of the case. I deleted the line about preventing appeal - it's not in the opinion - and I removed the line about ''Selman'' being vacated, since it seems to me unnecessary since it's only one of a few cites. Note that none of this is opinion. It's all fact. For example, if you doubt my change to the wording of the Discovery Institute's "90% plagiarized" comment, I suggest you read the whole opinion.

If you have a problem with any of this, feel free to discuss it with me over e-mail (ames@nyu.edu) or on this page, or on my page. I'd rather you edit this as you see fit than toss it all out :-) !--[[User:AmesG|AmesG]] 00:49, 13 March 2007 (EDT)

: So...?--[[User:AmesG|AmesG]] 13:00, 13 March 2007 (EDT)

== Request ==

I'm having image upload troubles; If it's not a hassle, could you please upload the image [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Choco_chip_cookie.jpg here] and let me know where you put it? I want to use it in the welcome template. Thanks! --[[User:Hojimachong|'''Hojimachong''']][[User_Talk:Hojimachong|talk]] 01:34, 15 March 2007 (EDT)

== Fire in the Reichstag ==
This page is protected so you will have to edit it yourself. The circumstances of the fire in the Reichstag are still contested. Its not clear if the Nazis put it on fire themself or if Maarten van der Lubbe actually did it as the Nazis claimed. However the fire gave Hitler the opportunity to obtain dictatorial powers by an emergency law. You might want to say that this ended the Weimar Republic. But Hitler was already Chancellor at that point, and he wasn't president, yet. The statement that he put the Reichstag on fire to end the republic is too simplistic. You either remove it, or give more background. Namely, that Hitler was already appointed chancellor, that the fire led to emergency laws which effectively made an end to parliamentary democracy, and that he later, when president Hindenburg died, also assumed the powers of the president. But as the statement as it is now is simplistic can can better be removed. --[[User:Order|Order]] 16:50, 15 March 2007 (AEST)

== Enjoy ==
Enjoy yourself here since everybody on Wikipedia knows you are a vain useless non contributor. [[User:Zaheerabbas|Zaheerabbas]] 01:57, 15 March 2007 (EDT)
:Hows teh arb cabal? [[User:Zaheerabbas|Zaheerabbas]] 02:06, 15 March 2007 (EDT)

World History Lecture Three

2007-03-15T05:58:03Z

Zaheerabbas: what is Bombay?

User talk:Geo.plrd

2007-03-15T05:57:29Z

Zaheerabbas: /* Fire in the Reichstag */ c

World History Lecture Thirteen

2007-03-15T05:54:15Z

Zaheerabbas: fixed nonsense info

World History Lecture Thirteen

2007-03-15T05:50:14Z

Zaheerabbas: remove pov

World History – Cold War and Independence
 Thirteenth Lecture
 Instructor, Andy Schlafly

'''Outline of Lecture:'''

 I. Introduction
 II. Regional Conflicts in the Cold War
 A. Vietnam
 B. Latin America
 C. Middle East (Southwest Asia)
 D. Eastern Europe
 E. Détente
 F. SDI
 III. Independence Movements in the 20th Century
 A. South Asia
 B. Southeast Asia
 C. Africa
 D. Israel
 E. Russia
 F. Eastern Europe
 G. Controversy of the United Nations Troops
 H. China
 I. Latin America
 
'''I. Introduction'''

The middle of the 20th century, after World War II, saw many regional conflicts resulting from the Cold War between freedom in the United States and communism and the Soviet Union. Eventually freedom prevailed, but there is much history to be learned about how it prevailed. Also, there were many independence movements in the 20th century, some of which had nothing to do with the global struggle between freedom and communism.

But the news is not all good. America triumphed in many ways in the world, but she has many enemies outside of her borders, and quite a few within. Ask yourself in which direction you think the world is headed: towards a better place, or a worse one?

'''II. Regional Conflicts in the Cold War'''

'''A. Vietnam'''

Americans feared a “domino effect” of communism. Imagine a row of dominos, and what happens when one falls into another, and then into another, and so one. Each falling domino can knock over the one next to it. Americans starting with President Dwight Eisenhower feared that effect when communism took over a nation: all nearby nations could next fall to the same communism.

Southeast Asia has a large population, and after World War II the region was vulnerable to a spread of communism from the Soviet Union and China. An independence movement beginning in the 1930s caused the French to leave, and Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh was a nationalist who received aid from the communists. The French imposed a death sentence on Ho Chi Minh, but he fled to avoid it. When he returned in 1941, he founded “Vietminh”, with the name reflecting that he intended to rule as a dictator. Japan interrupted his plan by taking control of the region during World War II, but in 1945 the Vietminh defeated the Japanese. That demonstrated how tough the Vietnamese fighters were, as not even China could beat the Japanese. Ho Chi Minh then declared the independence of a new Democratic Republic of Vietnam, huge communist country that has 84 million people today.

The French tried unsuccessfully to regain control of Vietnam after World War II. In 1954 the communist Vietnamese nationalists defeated the French at Dien Bien Phu, and the French surrendered to Ho Chi Minh. The French then agreed to divide Vietnam at the 17th parallel as part of the Geneva Conference. North Vietnam would be communist under Ho Chi Minh, while South Vietnam would be free under Ngo Dinh Diem.

Ho Chi Minh was popular in both North and South Vietnam, and gave away land to people to boost his popularity. Ngo Dinh Diem was unpopular, and the United States feared that an election in the South might choose Ho Chi Minh’s communists. So elections were postponed, but the conditions worsened. The Vietcong, who were communist guerrillas in the South, formed and began causing problems in the early 1960s. In 1963, South Vietnamese generals who enjoyed United States support took over South Vietnam and assassinated Ngo Dinh Diem.

The United States began sending military advisers and weapons to prevent a takeover of the South by the Vietcong. In August 1964, when President Lyndon Johnson faced reelection, there were mysterious gunshots fired at an American ship in the Gulf of Tonkin near North Vietnam. It was later disputed whether this was an actual attack on Americans. Johnson, wanting a war to boost his reelection chances, pushed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution through Congress to authorize sending troops. A formal declaration of war never occurred, but this Resolution served as a substitute. Within a year, thousands of American 19-year-olds were sent to fight the communists in Vietnam.

The Soviet Union, China and North Vietnam responded by sending their own troops and weapons to help the Vietcong. The United States bombed North Vietnam, and also bombed targets in South Vietnam to target Vietcong hideouts. But the Vietcong were hard to find, and knew the jungle much better than the Americans did. The Vietcong planted land mines throughout the country, causing thousands of American soldiers to die or lose their limbs simply by taking a wrong step.

The conflict in Vietnam helped President Johnson win reelection in 1964, but by 1968 Americans had tired of the tens of thousands of American deaths and President Johnson had to withdraw from the race for reelection. As with many wars, including the war in Iraq from 2003 to the present, public support tends to decline over time.

When President Nixon arrived at the White House after the 1968 elections, he embraced “Vietnamization” as a policy for slowly withdrawing American troops from South Vietnam, hoping that the South Vietnamese would do more themselves in fighting communism. Nixon also increased bombing of North Vietnam and Vietcong strongholds in Cambodia and Laos.

Nixon was heavily influenced by his advisor Henry Kissinger. Kissinger’s approach towards Vietnam was to launch bombing attacks and then look like a hero in declaring cease-fires. He did this repeatedly and received much praise by newspapers for it. But the communists would simply re-supply their guerilla fighters during the cease-fires, and so the cease-fires actually helped the communists continue the war. By 1973, the United States gave up and pulled the last American soldiers out. A million Vietnamese then fled South Vietnam to escape the communists, who took over by 1975. The United States imposed a trade embargo on the newly unified Vietnam that lasted until 1994. President Bush visited Vietnam in 2006.

Things worsened further in next-door Cambodia after the Americans left Vietnam. Pol Pot took over Cambodia in 1975, and he abolished private property, money and religion and converted everything back to an agricultural society. He emptied the cities. His ruthless policies supposedly resulted in the death of 1-2 million Cambodians in the late 1970s. The Hollywood movie about his dictatorship, The Killing Fields, exposed his atrocities and perhaps exaggerated them as a way of blaming the United States, which once supported him to counter Vietnam. Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge government fell in 1979 when Vietnam invaded Cambodia after a series of violent border confrontations, and Pol Pot fled to the northern jungle with his forces. He died from illness in 1998. Today there are United Nations peacekeeping forces in Cambodia.

'''B. Latin America'''

In connection with the “Third World” of Latin America, Africa and many parts of Asia, the Cold War became a battle for influence over the system of government adopted by any and every small country. It seemed like there were only two choices: communist or free (capitalist). Both the United States and Soviet Union would compete with each other to provide to developing nations aid, military advisors, social workers (e.g., the Peace Corps from the United States), educational programs and technology.

This drama has been playing out in Latin America ever since World War II, and remains an issue even now. In the 1950s, the United States supported Fulgencio Batista as dictator of Cuba, but Fidel Castro overthrew him in 1959. Liberals in the United States promoted Castro as a hero, and he was welcomed to talk at American colleges. But just as conservatives predicted, Castro became a ruthless communist dictator who brutally suppressed all opposition and ended free speech and free enterprise on the island of Cuba. Castro seized private industries, such as the thriving sugar refineries, and predictably the economy collapsed. Cuba fell from being one of the most prosperous nations to one of the poorest. Today most Cubans cannot even afford to own an automobile.

The United States imposed a trade embargo on Cuba and the Soviet Union provided it with aid, which was a typical pattern in this Cold War between the two superpowers. Cubans who had fled to Florida from the island arranged for an invasion of Cuba in April 1961 to overthrow Castro. President John F. Kennedy withheld support at the last minute and someone in his Administration probably leaked the plans to Castro, who was then waiting for it and slaughtered the invaders at the Bay of Pigs. President Kennedy allowed the United States to be humiliated by this.

Strengthened, Castro became more aggressive and in 1962 began to install Soviet missiles to point them directly at the United States. President Kennedy ordered a blockade of Cuba to prevent installation of additional missiles, and a top American general put his bombers into combat mode. This demonstrated a readiness to go to war (“brinkmanship”) and the Soviet leader Khruschev then backed down. Khruschev agreed to remove the missiles when the United States agreed not to invade Cuba.

But Cuba continued to grow closer to the Soviet Union, which funded its failing economy. In the 1970s Cuba sent 50,000 soldiers to help communism in Angola, and Cuba remained there until 1988. When communism itself fell in the Soviet Union in 1991 and it broke up, Cuba lost its funding. It became even poorer then.

Communism in Latin America was not limited to Cuba. In Nicaragua, communist rebels named the Sandinistas overthrew an American-backed ruler named Anastasio Somoza. The United States then supported the anti-communist Contras in the 1980s. In 1990, the Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega finally agreed to hold free elections in order to end the civil war, and he was defeated by the pro-American Violeta Chamorro. But in 1997 Jose Lacayo was elected as the Nicaraguan leader, and near the end of 2006 Daniel Ortega completed a successful comeback by being elected as president based on his claim that he is not a communist anymore. He won with only about 38% of the vote, benefiting from a change in rules that no longer requires at least 45% of the vote to win.

The poverty in many countries in Latin America may help explain why communism is more popular there. In Nicaragua, one of the poorest nations in Latin America, 46% of the population lived on less than $386 in income for the entire year of 2001. Not only is a job hard to find, but electricity and drinking water are not always available either.

Poverty alone cannot explain the popularity of communism. In oil-rich Venezuela, the people reelected the communist Hugo Chavez in December 2006, and he is exporting communism to other nations there. Young and intimidating, Chavez is described as a Castro with money.

'''C. Middle East (Southwest Asia)'''

The Cold War did not explain every conflict in the 20th century. For example, the Cold War did not explain the conflicts in the Middle East (Southwest Asia), where Islam is the dominant force. The United States helped build oil wells in Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries, but the Shiite Muslims disapprove of the American presence.

In 1952, Gamal Abdel Nasser overthrew King Farouk of Egypt. Nasser modernized Egypt’s economy and military, seeking to build a nation that could assert its power in the Middle East.

In 1956, Nasser seized the Suez Canal from the French and British companies that controlled it. His plan was to nationalize the canal to raise money to build the Aswan Dam, and needed cash after the Americans and British withdrew a pledge to help fund it. But Nasser’s seizure of the Suez Canal created the “Suez Crisis” for a week because many nations, including Israel, relied on the Canal for shipping. The British and French provided air support for an invasion by Israeli troops, which easily overcame Egyptian resistance. But then the Soviet Union threatened to intervene on behalf of Egypt, creating a risk of a world war. Nasser was then allowed to keep the canal, and international pressure by the United States caused Britain, France and Israel to back off.

In Iran, the United States supported the pro-West Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi (“Shah of Iran”) against a revolt in 1953. For 25 years the Shiite Muslim leaders in Iran, also known as “ayatollahs”, opposed the Shah. In 1978, the Shiites revolted and caused the Shah to flee, and in 1979 he sought admission to the United States for medical treatment. Then [[Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini]] took control of Iran.

Henry Kissinger, whose friends and business clients probably included supporters of the Shah, persuaded President Jimmy Carter to admit the Shah to the United States to treat his illness. Carter granted the Shah admission, and student Shiites in Iran angrily responded by taking 69 hostages at the U.S. embassy in Tehran. They demanded that the Shah be returned to Iran, but Carter refused. The Shiites held 55 of the hostages until Carter was replaced by Ronald Reagan as president on Jan. 20, 1981.

In 1980, the Sunni Iraq leader Saddam Hussein sought to conquer Iran. Iraq and Iran fought a fierce battle for nearly a decade without a victory by either side.

In 1979, Muslims in Afghanistan (in South Asia) revolted against the Soviet-friendly communist government there. The Soviets responded by invading Afghanistan and attempting to suppress the revolution. The United States reacted to this Soviet invasion by boycotting the summer Olympic Games in Moscow and providing arms to the Afghan rebels. The Soviets struggled for a decade in Afghanistan, much as the United States had struggled in Vietnam, and the Soviets eventually withdrew from the country. In many ways Islam is a more powerful ideology than communism, and Islam defeated communism in Afghanistan.

'''D. Eastern Europe'''

Stalin died in 1953, and Nikita Khruschev replaced him as the dictator over the Soviet Union. Khruschev was an aggressive leader who had brutally carried out Stalin’s policies while Stalin was alive, but then denounced Stalin as soon as he died and tried to purge all memory of Stalin (“destalinization”). However, Khruschev was nearly as bad as Stalin was. Khruschev viciously repressed a freedom movement in Hungary in October 1956. He ordered an invasion with Soviet tanks and arranged for the execution of the Hungarian leader Imre Nagy, who sought to hold free elections. Khruschev replaced him with a pro-Soviet puppet. Thousands of Hungarian “freedom fighters” were slaughtered by the Soviets, and the Hungarian religious leader Joseph Cardinal Mindszenty had to flee to the United States embassy to survive. The communist dictatorship installed by the Soviets prevented him from stepping foot outside of the embassy for the next 15 years. Imagine never once leaving your home for 15 years!

Khruschev also ordered the building of the Berlin Wall and the placement of missiles in Cuba, which led to the Cuban Missile Crisis. But Khruschev’s confrontational personality was too much even for his fellow communists, as he would often interrupt speeches by others and act in other unpredictable ways. Khruschev could not get along with China, even though both were communist countries. In 1960 Khruschev stopped sharing atomic bomb secrets with China, and later there was even a little violence along their long border.

While Khruschev was on vacation in 1964 a group led by Leonid Brezhnev arranged to strip him of power. The group persuaded the Politburo, which governed the Communist Party, to replace Khruschev with Brezhnev. Khruschev then lived out the remainder of life under the watch of the Soviet KGB, but he did manage to smuggle out his memoirs for publication in the West.

Brezhnev ruled as brutally as Khruschev had, though with less personal confrontation. When Czechoslovakian leader Alexander Dubcek allowed greater freedom of speech in his country in 1968, the Soviets responded by invading with tanks just as they had in Hungary over a decade earlier.

'''E. Détente'''

President Nixon sought to take advantage of the icy relationship between the Soviet Union and China, and also to open up China to American businessmen. Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai began to end China’s isolation from the rest of the world by inviting a U.S. table tennis team to tour China in 1971. President Nixon then stunned the world and his conservative supporters by supporting membership in the United Nations for Communist China (the “People’s Republic of China”).

In 1972, President Nixon became the first American president to travel to Communist China. By 1979 there were diplomatic relations between the United States and China.

Also in 1972, Nixon traveled to the Soviet Union and signed an arms agreement with the Soviet Union to reduce the numbers of nuclear weapons. This agreement was “SALT I,” representing the “Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty.” These apparently friendly dealings between the arch-enemies United States and the Soviet Union were described with the French word of “détente” (relaxation in tension between nations). For centuries French was the language of diplomacy in Europe and its vocabulary offered the best terms.

SALT I limited the United States and Soviet Union to their 1972 levels of intercontinental ballistic missiles. In 1975, the two nations signed another arms reduction agreement known as the Helsinki Accords, and this was joined by 35 other nations. The American presidency had changed from Nixon to Ford by 1975, but in practice the Administration was being run by Henry Kissinger and his view of world government and relations. Conservatives criticized both treaties as merely hurting the United States, noting that there was no way to enforce the treaty against the Soviet Union.

President Jimmy Carter continued the trend by signing SALT II in 1979, which would have provided for further reductions. In a victory for conservatives, the U.S. Senate refused to ratify that treaty. At one point, President Carter told the American people that his young daughter was upset about the growing problem of nuclear proliferation, by which many other nations such as India and Pakistan acquired atomic bombs. This comment by Carter, like much of his presidency, was ridiculed by the public.

'''F. SDI'''

In November 1980, the first modern conservative was elected president of the United States: Ronald Reagan. For the next 25 years the influence of him and those who supported him is still being felt. President Reagan cut taxes and defeated communism. He also had the most original and influential idea of any president in American history: the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), known by its critics as “Star Wars.”

Reagan’s life included many failures. He was a struggling Hollywood actor who spent some time running the union of actors, or Actors Guild. When he was in charge of that union the communists attempted, with some success, to infiltrate Hollywood. Reagan resisted this infiltration, and the communists threatened and attempted to intimidate him. He would receive frightening phone calls in the middle of the night. For the rest of his life Reagan devoted his time to defending freedom and opposing communism. As governor of California he surprised scientists by personally visiting the Lawrence Livermore Lab, which was and is a premier military research center. When Reagan became president, he gave a speech on national television in 1983 to announce his plan for America to build a new missile defense system to shoot down any nuclear attack.

His critics, including most scientists, ridiculed SDI as impossible and dangerous. But those criticisms contradicted each other, and it was precisely because SDI might be possible that it was so influential. The Soviet Union, then led by Mikhail Gorbachev, panicked. Gorbachev met with Reagan at a summit in Reykjavik, Iceland in 1986 in which Gorbachev promised almost anything if Reagan would agree to drop SDI. The media pressure was intense for Reagan to agree. But Reagan stood up for America, and he said “no deal.” The next year Reagan made a trip to the Berlin Wall, against the recommendation of his advisors, and declared to the world, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” Two years later the Germans did exactly that, and tore down the Berlin Wall built by the communists. Although Reagan and Gorbachev did sign the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in 1987, which banned missiles with ranges of 300 to 3,400 miles, the historic decision was Reagan’s refusal to sign a treaty at Reykjavik giving up SDI. Communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union would soon be vanquished.

'''III. Independence Movements in the 20th Century'''

For most of the population in the world, the history of the 20th century can be summed up in one word: independence. That is true for India (about 1 billion people), Indonesia (215 million), much of Africa (890 million), Israel, Eastern Europe. China (1 billion) and Latin America (523 million) already had independence before the 20th century, but still had nationalistic movements during the 20th century.

'''A. South Asia'''

Both Hindus and Muslims sought independence in South Asia, which now consists of India and the surrounding countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Afghanistan. Many of those countries did not exist at the time of World War II. The “Indian subcontinent” consists primarily of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh today.

The Hindu group pushing for independence was the Congress Party, while the Muslim League was the pro-independence Islamic group led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah. In 1946 the Great Calcutta Killing occurred, which was a riot between Hindus and Muslims resulting in the deaths of 6,000 people.

On both sides of India were regions dominated by Islam. In 1947, they achieved independence as East and West Pakistan based on a partition by the British House of Commons. Religious conflict continued. Ghandi went to Delhi in January 1948 to urge fair treatment for Muslims, and was then assassinated by a Hindu.

India received its independence from Great Britain on August 15, 1947, and instantly became the world’s most populous democracy. Jawaharial Nehru was its first prime minister. He began the long process of modernization and sought to deemphasize the caste system. Two years later, in 1949, a war broke out between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, and this dispute continues today even though China seized part of Kashmir in 1962. Both India and Pakistan joined the British Commonwealth as Dominion members and adopted English as their official languages. India sought assistance from the Soviet Union, while Pakistan became more closely aligned with the United States.

Nehru ruled India for nearly two decades, and his daughter Indira Gandhi became prime minister upon his death. Her rule saw an increase in agricultural production known as the “green revolution,” but she attempted to limit population growth with strict birth control. She also suspended parts of the democratic process. The people responded by defeating her in 1977, and she left office. In 1980 she regained power, but violence was breaking out with Sikhs who wanted an independent state. She ordered an attack on a Sikh temple, and two of her bodyguards retaliated by assassinating her in June 1984. The news reached America in the middle of the night, but President Reagan’s advisors chose not awaken him to tell him. Critics ridiculed allowing President Reagan to sleep through this news, and one liberal wrote a book about his Administration entitled, “While Reagan Slept.”

Rajiv Gandhi succeeded his mother. He lost power in 1989 based on accusations of corruption. A group of Tamil terrorists from Sri Lanka killed him with a bomb in 1991. Sri Lanka is the pear-shaped island off of the southern coast of India, which obtained its independence in the 1970s. Sri Lanka has a Buddhist majority, and the Tamils are in a Hindu minority and have been fighting for their own independence. Rajiv Gandhi had sent troops into Sri Lanka under a 1983 agreement to disarm the rebellious Hindus, which was unsuccessful.

In the early 1970s, the eastern section of Pakistan ceased to exist. Though they shared the same religion of Islam, the eastern and western parts of Pakistan had different ethnicities and languages and were separated by over a thousand miles. In 1971, Indian-backed forces overthrew the government of East Pakistan and established the new country of Bangladesh.

West Pakistan then became Pakistan. In 1999, General Pervez Musharraf seized power by overthrowing Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Before him, Benazir Bhutto was the woman prime minister who ran the country, even though it is Muslim. Pakistan is one of the few Islamic nation’s possessing the atomic bomb, which it developed in the 21st century, much to the consternation of the rest of the world.

'''B. Southeast Asia'''

When India and Pakistan sought and obtained independence from the British, other British and Dutch colonies in Asia expected similar independence. In Southeast Asia, Burma gained independence in 1948 and chose not to be a member of the British Commonwealth. It then suffered from some internal conflicts between communists and military dictators. In 1989, Burma renamed itself Myanmar.

Ethnic conflict hurt British efforts to create a single nation of Malaysia after World War II. Large Chinese and Malay peoples fought each other in Southeast Asia. In 1957, a Federation of Malaya brought together Singapore, Malaya, Sarawak and Sabah. But in 1965, Singapore slipped from the federation to become a separate nation composed of only one successful city. Today Singapore is one of the few city-states in the world, and is very prosperous. After Singapore split off, the other three regions (Malaya, Sarawak and Sabah) formed the Federation of Malaysia.

Indonesia had been a Dutch colony until the Japanese conquered it early in World War II. After the war, Sukarno led a successful rebellion against the Dutch and established the independence of Indonesia in 1949. But Sukarno was unable to establish a democracy, perhaps because Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world.

In 1965 there was a coup (rebellion) attempt in Indonesia, and General Suharto brutally suppressed it, killing perhaps a million people including many communists. In this striking battle between Islam and communism, Islam won. In 1967, Suharto appointed himself president and created a police state. He persecuted the Chinese and Christians, and in 1976 he seized East Timor and annexed it to Indonesia.

In addition to the British and Dutch, the United States also granted independence to its Asian colony: the Philippines (on July 4, 1946). The United States kept military bases on the Philippines under 99-year leases, but later gave up those leases under criticism for imperialism and left its bases there in 1991.

The Philippines has a history of communist insurgency, and President Ferdinand Marcos suppressed the communists during his rule from 1966 to 1986. For ten years during that period he even imposed martial law. But when Benigno Aquino, a political opponent of Marcos, was immediately assassinated upon his return to the country from the United States, American newspapers blamed Marcos for the killing and demanded his resignation. He would not resign, but Aquino’s widow Corazon Aquino defeated Marcos in the election of 1986. Time magazine named her Woman of the Year, and Marcos fled to Hawaii, where he eventually died. Marcos’ wife, Imelda Marcos, was tried in New York City for allegedly stealing from the Philippines people. She was acquitted.

Corazon Aquino was succeeded in the Philippines by Fidel Ramos in 1992, but term limits of one term prevented him from serving beyond a single six-year term.

'''C. Africa'''

Five European powers – Great Britain, Belgium, France, Portugal, and the Netherlands – had divided Africa into colonies during the Imperialism Era. Their divisions showed no regard for ethnic groups and local culture. Europeans created huge farms that could be more profitable for the mother country, such as cash-crop plantations. When it came time for the Europeans to leave, the African economy lacked self-sufficiency.

There was a middle class in Africa. Many Africans were educated in the Western world, and they led a pro-African or pan-African movement called “Negritude”. This built pride in African culture and accomplishments.

'''British Colonies – Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana'''

Great Britain had three large African colonies: Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana. Nigeria was most populous colony in Africa and one of the most prosperous, and it won its independence in 1960. But its ethnic diversity led to civil war between the Muslim Hausa-Fulani and the Christian (and animist) Igbo and Yoruba. There was tension even within the Christian groups, as Igbo preferred a democratic society while the Yoruba preferred a monarchy.

Millions of Igbo died during a war over an attempt by non-Yoruba minorities to secede. Secession occurred in 1967 to establish a new country of Biafra, but reunification occurred in 1970.

Oil was discovered in Nigeria and it joined OPEC. But the Muslim Hausa-Fulani seized power in 1983 and ruled for 16 years, discriminating against the Christians. In 1999, a civilian government was reestablished pursuant to a new constitution.

A Kenyan nationalist Jomo Kenyatta, who had been educated in Britain, combined with a secret organization known as Mau Mau to drive the British out and establish independence in 1963. The United States, fearing infiltration by communists, sided with Britain in opposing this. Kenyatta established Nairobi as a business center in East Africa. Daniel arap Moi succeeded Kenyatta upon his death in 1978. Ethnic strife and protests for greater democracy plagued Kenya at the end of the 20th century.

The British Colony of the Gold Coast (Ghana) was the first of all these to achieve independence. Kwame Nkrumah was helped by the communists and by his education in the United States. He spent money on improving roads and education and health care, but the economy failed as a result. He was also a leader establishing the Pan-African Congress in 1945 with the help of Jamaican-born Marcus Garvey. The goal of this organization, along with the Organization of African Unity (OAU) (founded in 1963), was to establish an Africa ruled by Africans. But in 1966 the Ghana military revolted against Nkrumah while he was away in China, presumably on a mission to obtain more communist aid. Power has frequently changed hands in Ghana ever since, and at two points (1979 and 1981) a Ghana Air Force pilot named Jerry Rawlings served as president.

'''French colony – Algeria'''

France had many small colonies in Africa, including Morocco and Tunisia, to which France granted independence in 1956. But France’s primary colony was Algeria, a Muslim country in North Africa. Instead of granting it independence, France offered citizenship to all the Algerians, which partly explains why the Muslim population in France is so large today.

The Algerians wanted independence despite the presence of thousands of French citizens in Algeria. In 1945 there was a bloody demonstration for independence, and in 1954 the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN) demanded full independence. The French responded by sending troops to suppress the FLN.

In 1958, Charles de Gaulle successfully returned to power in France, after having led France during World War II. He feared an Algerian rebellion, and favored granting independence to it and others. France officially granted Algeria independence in 1962, and Ahmed Ben Bella became its first prime minister. In 1965, Ben Bella was deposed (overthrown). A fully Islamic government took control in 1985 due in part to a drop in the price of oil, which caused a crisis in the Algerian economy.

'''Belgium colony - Congo'''

Belgium held the Congo as an African colony for mining copper and producing rubber. When Belgium granted Congo its independence in 1960 and Patrice Lumumba was sworn in its its first prime minister, the young nation was unprepared. Moise Tshombe, a leader of southeast region that had the copper mines, announced its separate independence. Tshombe was backed by Belgians interested in the copper, while Lumumba was supported by the communist Soviet Union. Joseph Mobutu, with sympathy by the West, then overthrew Lumumba, who was then murdered. Tshombe ruled for a short period until he, too, was overthrown by Mobutu.

Mobutu renamed the nation Zaire, and ruled it for 32 years. He personally accumulated enormous wealth from the nation, until he was deposed (overthrown) by Laurent Kabila in 1997. Kabila then changed the nation's name to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The neighboring countries of Rwanda and Uganda supported an insurrection in 1998, and a civil war resulted between the pro-Kabila Hutu tribe and the anti-Kabila Tutsi tribe. As more African nations became involved in this conflict in Central Africa, it began to look like the first all-African war. The United Nations sent peacekeeping troops in February 2000 and a cease-fire was declared later that year.

'''Portuguese colony - Angola'''

Portugal suppressed independence movements in its colony of Angola until 1975, when opposition to the continuing expenses caused an overthrow of the government in the mother country of Portugal itself. Once free, three different revolutionary groups fought each other for control of Angola: (1) the communist Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), which grabbed the Angolan capital city of Luanda, (2) the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA), which was supported by Zaire and the United States, and (3) the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) which was aided by South Africa and the United States. Peace was not achieved until 1988 and only then did the communist Cuban troops leave. All three groups continue to seek representation in the Angolan government.

'''Dutch and British colony – South Africa'''

South Africa was the most complex, and the most prosperous, of the African colonies. As early as the 1600s the Dutch established Cape Town as a city at the southern tip of Africa. But during the Napoleonic Wars the British captured Cape Town (in 1815) and drove the Dutch (the “Boers”) inland. The Dutch favored continuation of slavery; the British abolished slavery in its empire in 1833.

The Boers fought the native Africans (Bantu tribes such as the Zulus) during the Great Trek of the Boers. The Boers founded two inland republics, the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. But the British were more powerful, and controlled wealthy diamond mines. The Brit Cecil Rhodes acquired great wealth through his monopoly of the diamond production in 1889, and he served as prime minister of the British Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896.

A Boer War ensued from 1899 to 1902, and afterwards it was the Boers (the Dutch) who established “apartheid”. Apartheid segregated the majority blacks from the minority whites in South Africa, with the white minority controlling the country.

The British granted South Africa independence in 1910, and it became a member of the British Commonwealth in 1931 with its constitution allowing white rule over the blacks. But the country was prosperous, and all enjoyed a higher standard of living than the remainder of Africa.

The Dutch South Africans (Afrikaner) gained control in 1948 when their National Party rose to power and enforced apartheid throughout South Africa. Homelands (segregated areas) were even established for the rival African tribes, and the whites reserved the best property for themselves. Ever since 1912 the all-black African National Congress (ANC) objected, but it was suppressed. Demonstrations, such as the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre, occasionally broke out but were violently put down. An ANC leader named Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for his role in that demonstration. Riots over school segregation occurred in Soweto in 1976, and in 1977 the government beat an outspoken critic, Steve Biko, to death.

There was increasing pressure worldwide for South Africa to end its racism. Its athletes were banned from the Olympics since the 1960s, and trade restrictions were imposed by other nations. A black South African bishop, Desmond Tutu, called for boycotts of his own nation.

Finally, in 1989, a new South African president named F.W. de Klerk was elected who would change the country. With international approval, de Klerk legalized the ANC, released Nelson Mandela from jail, and obtained repeal of apartheid laws, and agreed to fully democratic elections in 1994. Nelson Mandela then won those elections and the ANC won a majority in the National Assembly, the bigger house in the South African Parliament. A new constitution containing a bill of rights like that in the United States was adopted in 1996, though it also included entitlement and social rights. The world fully accepts South Africa now, and it will host the World Cup (soccer) in 2010.

'''British, French and Italian colony - Somalia'''

Somalia is a Muslim country that is a combination of former colonies known as British Somaliland, French Somaliland and Italian Somaliland. Somalia has been Muslim since A.D. 900 and today is considered one of the bases for the terrorist group al-Qaida. Roughly the size of New Jersey in area and population, Somalia is located on the coast of East Africa (the Indian Ocean) and borders both Ethiopia and Kenya. Somalia obtained its independence in 1960. The violence is such in Somalia today that it has no central government at all. In 1993, 18 American soldiers were killed in Somalia, and on Jan. 9, 2007 the United States bombed parts of the country where al-Qaida terrorists were believed to be hiding.

'''D. Israel'''

“Zionism” began in the late 1800s to reestablish a Jewish state in Palestine in and around Jerusalem, which the ancient Hebrews had built. Theodor Herzl led the movement in the 1890s to establish a modern state of Israel. Jewish people were motivated partly by the religious faith that Jerusalem and Palestine were the Promised Land, and partly motivated by a desire to live together again after many centuries of dispersion in other lands, where they endured persecution. The Russian pogroms of violence against Jewish settlements reinforced the desire for a new Jewish homeland. The “Dreyfus Affair” in France in 1894, whereby a French captain was persecuted based on a false accusation of selling military secrets to Germany, added to the desire for a Jewish nation that could defend against persecution.

The Turks controlled Palestine for centuries leading up to World War I, but the defeat of the Ottoman Turks in that war allowed Great Britain to assume control of the territory. Its Balfour Declaration (1917) favored a Jewish homeland while protecting rights of Arabs living there. Between the world wars many Jewish settlers from Europe migrated to Palestine and set up communal agricultural settlements known as kibbutzim, in anticipation of a new Jewish state. The Jewish population in Palestine increased from about 84,000 in 1922 to 554,000 in 1945, but the Muslim population also increased by almost an identical amount from 589,000 to about 1,036,000. Today there are about 5 million people of Jewish origin living in Israel. Relatively few Jewish citizens of the United States have moved to Palestine, but they have generously lent financial and political support for the Zionist cause.

The Balfour Declaration called for the creation of Palestinian state in addition to Israel. Lawrence of Arabia then helped create Jordan (originally Transjordan) as a semi-autonomous Palestinian state in 1921. Jordan attained its full independence in 1946. But later there were demands for another Palestinian state. Lawrence of Arabia favored promotion of the British Empire in the Middle East, and resisted creation of a Jewish state as a threat to British influence in the region. Others opposed the creation of a Jewish state based on the argument that it would be imperialistic, with migrating Russian Jews being accused of imperialism.

World War II changed many things, and after the war Great Britain asked the United Nations to partition Palestine. The United Nations carved out a small parcel of property, slightly smaller than the state of New Jersey, for a new Jewish state to be named “Israel” (see attached map). This new nation was born on May 14, 1948, with David Ben-Gurion as its first prime minister and renowned scientist Chaim Weizmann as its first president.

The Muslim Arabs refused to accept the existence of Israel. The surrounding Arab states invaded Israel the next day, and started additional wars in 1956, 1967 and 1973. The conflicts prevented the United Nations plan for a separate Palestinian state from happening.

The 1967 “Six-Day War” resulted when the Egyptian ruler Gamal Abdel Nasser closed off the Gulf of Aqaba, which was the only access Israel had to the Red Sea. Israel responded with massive air strikes against several Arab nations, including Egypt, killing many Arabs and destroying their militaries. Israel conquered Jerusalem, the West Bank, the Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights. Palestinians in Jerusalem were offered the opportunity to become Israeli citizens, but many declined, leaving them without a country.

Anwar Sadat succeeded Nasser as ruler of Egypt, and in October 1973, Sadat launched a surprise attack on Israel on its holy day, Yom Kippur. After suffering massive initial losses, the Israeli prime minister, Golda Meir, regained much of the lost territory. Golda Meir was the third women in history to run a nation, and David Ben-Gurion once described her as “the only man in the Cabinet” of Israel. However, she was forced to resign the following year based on criticism of how she handled the war. Winston Churchill also lost power as soon as World War II was over. Maybe voters simply wanted to replace someone who reminded them of the bad memories of war.

In 1979 President Jimmy Carter brokered a peace agreement between Egypt and Israel, then led by Menachem Begin, and this deal is known as the Camp David Accords. Egypt agreed to recognize Israel in exchange for receiving return of the Sinai Peninsula. The United States promised both countries a massive amount of foreign aid, about $10 billion each year in gifts to each nation, to complete the deal. Though Sadat was assassinated by Muslims in 1981, his successor (Hosni Mubarak) promised to continue to honor the deal.

Yasir Arafat, a former construction engineer, founded the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1964, and it demanded a Palestinian state in the area of Jerusalem and rejected the right of Israel to exist. In the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany, PLO terrorists kidnapped and murdered Israeli athletes in front of the entire world watching those games. In 1987, the PLO instituted a campaign of persistent violence called “intifada”, where common citizens and even children would throw stones at Israelis and commit other forms of violence. Meanwhile, Arab nations boycotted Israeli goods and even attempted to boycott any company that did business with Israel.

Secret talks between Israeli leaders and the PLO in Oslo, Norway culminated with the Declaration of Principles in 1993, whereby Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin agreed to allow Palestinian self-rule over two strips of land known as the Gaza Strip and West Bank, and Arafat and Rabin signed the agreement in front of President Clinton at the White House in 1993. This angered orthodox Jewish Israelis who had been building settlements in both regions, and one assassinated Rabin in 1995. A more conservative leader emerged in Israel named Benjamin Netanyahu, who negotiated a partial withdrawal by Israeli settlers from Hebron, which is on the West Bank, in 1997. In 2005, Israel removed its settlements from the Gaza Strip, and there is a quasi-Palestinian state called the Palestinian National Authority that functions under Arafat’s successor, Mahmoud Abbas.

In the early 21st century, Israel endured a series of horrific suicide bombings, often targeting Jewish weddings, buses, caregivers and even children. Weekly and sometimes daily there would be new reports of a half-dozen Jews murdered by a Muslim suicide bomber, and sometimes a second bomb would detonate to murder those who came to the aid of the initial victims. Israel finally stopped the bombings by building a wall to end the flow of weapons and terrorists from hostile neighbors.

'''E. Russia'''

Russia and other nations in the Soviet Union regained their independence when the Union broke up.

Mikhail Gorbachev rose to power in the Soviet Union and in 1985 he promoted a new policy called “glasnost” or openness. This ended decades of censorship by the communist dictators, and free speech began to work wonders. Books could be published and churches could preach the Gospel. He released some political prisoners. Faced with a failing economy, Gorbachev adopted “perestroika”, which was a restructuring of the Soviet economy. He permitted some ownership of private property, such as small businesses, farms and factories.

In 1987, Gorbachev introduced democratization that allowed fairer, more competitive elections. Gorbachev remained a dedicated communist, but he wanted voters to be able to choose between rival candidates rather than simply electing those candidates presented only by the Communist Party. He also encouraged Eastern European countries adopt reforms.

As explained in more detail below, Eastern Europe took advantage of Gorbachev’s reforms to the point where they broke away from strict communism. This led Lithuania, which had been annexed to the Soviet Union in 1940, to declare its independence in March 1990. Gorbachev responded as his communist predecessors would have: he blockaded the rebellious country and, when that did not work, in January 1991 he ordered the Soviet troops to attack the capital of Lithuania. Civilians were slaughtered.

But perhaps Providence intervened this time. Boris Yeltsin, a charismatic Russian, emerged to challenge Gorbachev’s leadership. Yeltsin had been a popular mayor of Moscow and was a powerful member of the parliament. In June 1991 the voters elected Yeltsin as president of a new Russian Republic.

Communists were angry and determined to stop Yeltsin’s challenge. In August 1991, they ordered the soldiers to kill Yeltsin. Providence must have intervened, because the troops refused the order. Rarely, if ever, do troops refuse orders like this. In a communist country such refusal was unheard of. Gorbachev promptly resigned as head of the Communist Party, and then Latvia, Estonia and other Soviet republics declared their independence as Lithuania had. On Christmas Day, 1991, Gorbachev resigned as president of the Soviet Union.

By then Russia and the other newly independent republics had formed a federation to replace the Soviet Union, known as the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). All joined except for the Baltic republics and Georgia, a large former Soviet state not to be confused with the American state of Georgia.

After Gorbachev resigned, Yeltsin brought free enterprise to Russia. He ended price controls, cut taxes, stopped subsidizing government-controlled industries and reduced trade barriers. Churches opened and flourished. The people of Leningrad changed the name of their city back to St. Petersburg. Critics of Yeltsin complained about inflation and the loss of jobs, and organized crime became a problem without the KGB controlling everything. But the people were certainly not going to return to communism. Today Russia has lower taxes than the United States.

Muslim-dominated Chechnya in southwest Russia became a difficult issue for Yeltsin. In 1991, it declared its independence from Russia, but Yeltsin suppressed that by sending troops to Grozny, its capital city. Resistance by the Chechens was intense, and the troops were initially withdrawn. But a bloody civil war has ensued for over a decade, including hostage-takings and, in 2004, the Chechen rebels seized a large school near Chechnya and killed over 300 of the children and teachers. In 2006, Russia claimed to have killed the leader in charge of the seizure of the school. The trouble continues.

'''F. Eastern Europe'''

The defeat of communism in the Soviet Union really began in the Eastern European “satellite” countries of communism, initially in Poland and Hungary. In 1978, the Roman Catholic Church elected the first non-Italian pope in many centuries, elevating a Polish cardinal who had been active in the anticommunist movement in his homeland of Poland. Pope John Paul II then became a leader and hero to his countrymen in Poland, which is nearly 100% Catholic. Another Polish leader, Lech Walesa, led a strike against a shipyard in Gdansk in 1980, demanding government recognition for his labor union called Solidarity. The Polish communist government was weak at this time and vacillated in its response, but in 1981 it cracked down on Solidarity and imposed marital law throughout the country. A popular anticommunist priest was then murdered. An assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II, also thought to have been organized by communists, injured but did not kill him.

As conflict worsened in Poland, Pope John Paul II visited the country and attracted literally millions of supporters. At one point he stood on the podium with the communist-installed leader and lectured him about respecting the dignity and freedom of the Polish people. The communist leader trembled in front of the huge crowd. When the Soviet Union threatened to crack down on the Polish people, the Pope declared that he would respond by returning to Poland to fight on the front lines against the communists.

In April 1989 the Polish government allowed free elections for the first time World War II, and the people elected Lech Walesa as president and his group Solidarity swept into office. Communism was defeated. Walesa remained in power until 1995 and may have been a bit overwhelmed by all the political issues. He was then replaced by a former communist, Aleksandr Kwasniewski, who favored some free enterprise. The fall of communism in Poland enabled passage of laws prohibiting abortion. Abortion rates in the communist Soviet Union had been several times higher than the rest of the world.

Hungary, the same country that attempted to overthrow communism in 1956, immediately followed Poland’s lead. In October 1989, opponents of the Communist Party took it over and dissolved it. A new constitution allowed for national elections in 1990, and the people defeated the communists in power. Hungary embraced some free enterprise and started a stock market. But like much of Eastern Europe, socialists remained powerful and in 1994 they crept back into power and raised taxes. Today Hungary is a mixture of socialism and free enterprise.

Hungary helped end communism in East Germany, which was the most brutal of the communist regimes. Hungary opened its border to allow East Germans to emigrate into Austria, from where they could escape entire. As East Germans began to leave in droves, the communist leader Erich Honecker closed the border. But demonstrations broke out in October 1989, which not even the ruthless Honecker could control. He resigned and his successor, Egon Krenz, reacted by opening the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989. East Germans then poured into West Berlin and tore down the wall entirely. By the end of the year communist was defeated in East Germany, and within a year it was reunited with West Germany to form one nation of Germany under West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. Germans expect that it will take an entire generation (30-40 years) to bring the formerly communist section up to the level of the free West Germany.

Other Eastern European countries then wanted the same freedom from communism. In Czechoslovakia, demonstrations forced the Communist Party leader Milos Jakes to resign in November 1989, and he was replaced by Vaclav Havel. In 1993, the country split along ethnic lines to form Slovakia and the Czech Republic, caused in part by economic difficulties in the conversion from communism to free enterprise.

Next came Romania, which had been ruled for decades by the communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. Massive demonstrations against his rule in December 1989 caused the army to join the people and they captured Ceausescu as he attempted to flee with his wife. They were executed on Christmas Day. Free elections were beginning in 1990.

Not all the changes in these countries were for the better. Ceausescu, for example, prohibited abortion for decades in Romania. As a result, Romanians had the lowest incidence of breast cancer in the Western world, far lower than the United States. But after he was overthrown, Romania began promoting abortion and breast cancer subsequently skyrocketed. In 1990, American families rushed to Romania to adopt babies while they were still available.

The collapse of the communist dictatorship exposed underlying ethnic and religious conflict, particularly in Yugoslavia. Its dictator Marshall Tito (real name Josip Broz) ruled with an iron fist from 1945 to 1980, and the different ethnic groups could not fight each other as he suppressed all conflict. He also insisted on some independence from the Soviet Union, and Stalin expelled him from the Soviet bloc in 1948. Tito was succeeded in power by the Serb Slobodan Milosevic, which caused Slovenia and Croatia to seek independence due to their different ethnicity. In June 1991 the Yugoslavian army attempted to suppress these independence movements. It succeeded with Croatia, which has a large Serbian minority, but the Slovenians ousted the Serbs and achieved independence.

Bloodshed continued in Croatia as the Serbs battled the Croats. Eventually the United States and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) intervened in 1999 in what is known as the Kosovo War or Kosovo Conflict, driving Milosevic from power and forcing his trial by an international tribunal. He died of natural causes during a lengthy war crimes trial.

Ethnic conflict was even worse in Bosnia-Herzegovina, which consists of Muslims, Croats and Serbs, who are Christian. Bosnia-Herzegovina first declared its independence from Serbia, but the Christian Bosnian Serbs did not want to live under Muslim rule and a civil war began in March 1992 over whether Bosnia would split from Serbia. Anti-Christian press accused the Serbs of “ethnic cleansing,” or racially motivated mass murders, as the Serbs were allegedly killing off Bosnian Muslims. A peacekeeping army was sent by the United Nations, and in December 1995 the Muslims, Croats and Serbs signed a peace treaty. In 1996 a three-person presidency including a leader from each group was elected.

'''G. Controversy of the United Nations Troops'''

The conflict in Bosnia caused the United Nations (U.N.) to send troops, including American soldiers, into the region in 1995. Michael G. New was an American soldier who objected to wearing United Nations insignia as part of his military uniform during a deployment to the nearby Republic of Macedonia as part of the United Nations Preventive Deployment Force. Michael New objected to changing his allegiance from the United States to the U.N. When Michael New enlisted in the U.S. Army in February 1993, he took an oath to defend the U.S. Constitution and no recruiter or officer mentioned serving under U.N. command.

But on May 3, 1994, President Bill Clinton signed Presidential Decision Directive 25 (PDD-25). This ordered submission of American troops to multilateral peace operations. In July, Michael New was assigned to Germany, 3rd Infantry Division, and his company was told it would be sent to Macedonia as part of a "peacekeeping" mission. In August 1995 Michael New was informed that his unit must wear part of the U.N. uniform.

This new uniform included a blue U.N. cap and a U.N. armband or patch sewn on one shoulder and a blue U.N. beret, in addition to an ordinary United States army outfit. New reported for his formation without these U.N. uniform features, and he was removed by his superiors and eventually court-martialed for disobedience under 10 U.S.C. § 892(2) (any person who, “having knowledge of any ... lawful order issued by a member of the armed forces, which it is his duty to obey, fails to obey the order ... shall be punished as a court-martial may direct”). Soldier New argued in his defense that the order was unlawful and unconstitutional. Specifically, U.S. Constitution Article I, Section 9 prohibits any person’s acceptance of any emolument from a foreign state without congressional consent. New also argued that the entire deployment as part of a United Nations force was unlawful.

The military judge and American courts all rejected New’s arguments and held that the legality of the deployment was a nonjusticiable political question that could not be handled by a judge. Soldier New received a bad-conduct discharge. New has continued to challenge this in the court system.

'''H. China'''

In 1978, Deng Xiaoping succeeded Mao and Zhou as dictator in China. He was more friendly to capitalism and the West, and began a program called the Four Modernizations. He abolished communes and began leasing land to farmers who could work the land for personal profit. He permitted private businesses and some foreign investment in special economic zones (SEZs). He promoted tourism and sent many Chinese teenagers to the West to be educated in Western colleges. But when Chinese students sought greater freedoms and democracy, Deng brutally suppressed them by sending tanks to Tiananmen Square to massacre hundreds of demonstrators on June 4, 1989.

Jiang Zemin succeeded Deng when he died in 1997. He refused to improve China’s record on human rights, and Christianity and democracy remain suppressed there. Moreover, China has armed itself in preparation for a war with the United States, pointing many nuclear missiles at California.

On July 1, 1997, Great Britain’s lease on Hong Kong expired and it returned its former colony to China, which promised to allow Hong Kong to remain capitalistic for another 50 years.

'''I. Latin America'''

"Latin America" is Spanish America and Brazil, where Portuguese is spoken. Put another way, Latin America is all of America south of the United States. Latin America is thus Mexico, Central and South America. It has 523 million people, far more than the U.S. population of about 300 million.

The nations of Latin America had won their political independence from European powers long before the 20th century. But they have struggled in becoming economically independent. It was not until the middle of the 20th century that Latin American nations began to export manufactured goods in addition to minerals and food. In the 1970s and 1980s, huge debts to foreign powers combined with a depression caused severe economic problems. Some blame lending policies of developed nations and their organizations, such as the World Bank, for causing this debt crisis. After much loan forgiveness and an improved worldwide economy, Latin American nations had stronger economies and less dependence on foreign powers by the end of the 20th century.

In one of the largest Latin American countries, Mexico, the rule by President Lazaro Cardenas from 1934 to 1940 ended the land monopoly enjoyed by a small number of wealthy Mexicans by redistributing the land to peasants. He also forced foreign investors to give up control over Mexican oil wells.

The Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI for its Spanish initials) controlled Mexico from 1929 to 2000, when Vicente Fox of PAN (Partido Accion Nacional) was elected president. The PRI was known for corruption and acting on behalf of wealthy Mexicans.

In another large Latin American nation, Argentina, the military has long controlled the government. The most popular military ruler was Colonel Juan Peron, who was elected in 1946. He became known for his “popular dictatorship.” His wife, Eva Peron, was even more popular for her tremendous charisma. Peron ruled for over a decade, and brought industrialization and working class values to the nation. He limited foreign ownership. But critics felt Peron infringed too much on civil liberties. He was deposed in 1955 but came back briefly in the 1970s. In 1982, the military rulers of Argentina attempted to take the Falkland Islands, which are located off its shores in the Atlantic Ocean, from the British. The British fought back with the help of American intelligence and regained control of the islands.

[[Category:History]]

World History Lecture Three

2007-03-15T05:48:09Z

Zaheerabbas: /* The Rise of Christianity */ removed subjective statement

World History Lecture Three

2007-03-15T05:35:14Z

Zaheerabbas: /* Ancient India */ rm nonsense

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[[World History Lecture One|1]]-[[World History Lecture Two|2]]-[[World History Lecture Three|3]]-[[World History Lecture Four|4]]-[[World History Lecture Five|5]]-[[World History Lecture Six|6]]-[[World History Lecture Seven|7]]-[[World History Lecture Eight|8]]-[[World History Lecture Nine|9]]-[[World History Lecture Ten|10]]-[[World History Lecture Eleven|11]]-[[World History Lecture Twelve|12]]-[[World History Lecture Thirteen|13]]-[[World History Lecture Fourteen|14]]

World History

Third Lecture – Ancient History

Instructor, Andy Schlafly

== Introduction ==

This week we cover the great ancient empires in the East: India and China. This requires learning about many new religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism. Then we conclude by discussing the rise of Christianity.

Ask yourself at the outset: why learn about any religion other than Christianity? That is a good question to ask. Many Christians could conclude that, having found their faith, they see no reason to study non-Christian religions.

There are some valid reasons to studying other religions, however. Christian missionaries, for example, need to understand the religions of the peoples they are attempting to convert. World leaders and travelers should understand the different religious views of peoples they encounter, even if they are not trying to convert them. In business it is important to know the values and beliefs of people with whom you deal.

It is possible that learning about other religions, and how they differ from Christianity, can strengthen one’s appreciation of Christianity. It is also fascinating to see how distant peoples struggled with religious issues without the benefit of Christianity and came to certain conclusions about life, morals, and unseen truth.

So let us proceed:

== India ==

The history of ancient India is sketchy, but we do know that there was a massive immigration into the country around 3000 B.C. by people who called themselves “Aryans” or “nobles”. They spoke an Indo-European language which formed the basis for Sanskrit, which is the standard ancient language of India just as Latin is the standard ancient language of Europe. Yet while Latin is a dead language today, Sanskrit is still an official language in India and the scriptures of Hinduism (the most sacred are the Vedas) were written in Sanskrit.

=== Ancient India ===

The roots of ancient India were settlements in the fertile Indus River Valley in what is now Pakistan and northwest India. This was one of the most fertile region in the world at the time, with plentiful farm products and animals. The region was surrounded in the north by the Himalaya mountains, protected to the west by the Indu Kush mountains, and insulated from the east by the Great Indian Desert. Like Egypt, this region had unique geographic protections against invasion by foreign enemies. Two cities have been discovered there: Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa (huh-ROP-uh). Other small towns have also been unearthed. This ancient civilization existed from about 3000 B.C. to 1300 B.C., and its peak was 2600 to 1900 B.C. It is known as the Indus Valley Civilization or Harappan Civilization, named after its big city. These early settlements were long before classical Indian civilization, which was from 300 B.C. to A.D. 500.

Writings have been found from ancient India, but no one has been able to decipher them yet. These ancient peoples did have advanced use of water: pipes, drains and indoor bathrooms. The people survived on agriculture and traded with Mesopotamia.

The Sarasvati River was the largest in ancient India, flowing west of Delhi and providing water to a fertile region as described in the Rig Veda, which is the most fundamental of the sacred Vedic Hindu texts. (The river has since completely dried up, but was proven to have existed by looking at satellite photographs of India.) Food and commerce was based on barley (yava), copper (ayas) and cattle. By 2600 B.C., the Indus-Sarasvati civilization became the largest civilization in the ancient world, spreading from Pakistan to many areas of India today. It had links to Mesopotamia, Afghanistan, Central Asia and elsewhere. Its population is estimated to have been 100,000.

By 2000 B.C., the world’s population was 27 million, 22% of which lived in India. Today India has 16% or so of the world’s population. Three of the world’s ten most populated cities today are in India: Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi.

Around 1500 B.C., nomads known as “Aryans” invaded through the Bolan and Khyber passes in the Hindu Kush mountain range. The Aryans spoke Sanskrit, an Indo-European language. They conquered the Dravidians and others fled south into India. Religious literature describes these struggles in the “Rig Veda” and two long poems known as the “Mahabharata” and the “Ramayana”. By 900 B.C. iron smelting was discovered and became useful in making weapons and tools to clear fields and the jungle for agriculture. The Aryans produced much agriculture in the Ganges River Valley, aided by winds known as monsoons that brought rain from the Indian Ocean. Rice was the most popular crop, and remains the world’s leading crop today.

By 975 B.C., the King Hiram of Phoenicia encouraged trade between India and King Solomon of Israel. In 950 B.C., Jewish people arrived in India in King Solomon’s merchant fleet, and later established colonies there. Around the same time, perhaps due to increased trade, Sanskrit began to decline as the spoken language of India. Priestly Sanskrit was later refined between 750 and 250 B.C.

Perhaps the people migrated southeast to what is India today. The Vedic (pronounced VAYD-ik) civilization existed from about 1500 to 500 B.C., and is credited with developing the religion and culture of Hinduism (explained further below). But the “classical” civilization of India came later, after this foundation had been laid. Classical India consisted of two major empires: the Mauryan Empire (322-185 B.C.) and the Gupta Empire (A.D. 320-467). India is best understood by studying its major religion, Hinduism. This is one of the oldest and most durable religions in the history of the world, thriving to this day. India is also the origin of two other major religions, Buddhism and Jainism. One of Jesus’ Apostles (Thomas) went to India and established a Christian community there that thrives to this day.

=== Classical Indian Civilization ===

The beginning of classical India was when the Achaemenid Persians invaded the Indus Valley region in 572 B.C. Aryans led by Magadha joined together to repel the Persians, but internal religious conflict prevented unity. Later Alexander the Great invaded in 327 B.C., spreading Greek influence in the region, but he was unable to completely conquer India and did not stay long. Afterwards, in 322 B.C., Chandragupta Mauryan defeated the Greek general Seleucus and became king, creating the largest Indian empire in its history. He built an elaborate capital city at Pataliputra, surpassing even the splendor of the great Persian cities. He built a massive army of 500,000 soldiers and his advisor, Kautilya, wrote a book how to maintain political power called the Arthashastra, in which he wrote that punishment was the key to government. In other words, Chandragupta was a tough dictator. But his name is revered, as many Indians to this day bear the last name of “Chandra” or “Gupta”.

His grandson, Ashoka, underwent a religious conversion from Hinduism to Buddhism while he held power (268-232 B.C.). Buddhism emphasizes non-violence and Ashoka’s conversion caused him to rule as a benevolent dictator, stressing compassion and apologizing for his role in killing 150,000 Indians! He displayed tolerance towards all religions and helped erect shrines to Hinduism and Jainism, another religion of India. He elevated the status of women, who were already highly respected under the Hindu culture. In Buddhism women could become monks. He also promoted trade with the expanding Roman empire to his West, and the growing Han dynasty in China to his East. After Ashoka died, the empire fell into civil war, and became vulnerable to outside invaders, such as the Bactrian Greeks in the second century B.C. and the Buddhist Kushan in 100 B.C. A council of Buddhist monks was convened under Kanishka to regulate Buddhism, and the result was Mahayana Buddhism.

The other major Indian empire was the Gupta empire, from A.D. 320 to 467. In A.D. 320 Chandra Gupta I, who had no connection to the prior ruling Chandragupta Mauryan, rose to power and conquered the Ganges Valley, and established a new Hindu dynasty. Trade flourished under his regime with the rest of the world. He had a policy of religious tolerance. Intellectual and economic achievement was high. One famous poet and playwriter was Kalidasa, who wrote plays that were more upbeat and happy than the dreary Greek tragedies. The Indian number system, known as “Arabic numerals,” were developed and are now used worldwide. A Buddhist monastery at Nalanda established a university that attracted thousands of students. A great Indian doctor named Caraka developed a code of medical ethics, and the practice of medicine flourished. The Indians also developed a form of iron that could withstand rust, and it was used in buildings.

=== Hinduism ===

The key to understanding India is its ancient religion of Hinduism, an initially polytheistic religion using multiple gods who were ultimately understood to be part of one god: Brahma, the supreme god of life. The name “Hindu” comes from the word Hindustan, the word for riverland, and the birth of Hinduism was the merger of the Upanishadic and Vedic religious traditions in ancient India. Moslem invaders of the A.D. 11th and 13th centuries started using the term to describe Indians who were not Buddhists and refused to convert to Islam. In the A.D. 16th century European merchants and missionaries started using the term also. But while Hinduism is not limited to one set of clear beliefs, it does represent a common belief system and today there are 1.05 billion adherents to Hinduism in the world, nearly all of whom live in India. (There is also a significant Christian population in India today, and Mother Theresa won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1980 for her Christian charity work there.)

Hinduism focuses on “The Eternal Way,” which means that certain spiritual principles are true for eternity, transcending what is man-made. This is like a science of consciousness. The advancement of knowledge is emphasized by Hinduism, and today many Indians can be found obtaining PhDs or medical degrees. Hindus in the United States are predominantly Republican.

The practice of Hinduism is through meditation using yoga. Historically, Hindus believe in reincarnation, a belief that spread even to the Greek philosopher Pythagoras in 560 B.C. Visitors to India are impressed seeing by cows wandering about, disrupting traffic and commerce. The expression “sacred cow” comes from the belief in reincarnation, and the view that a cow may be the reincarnation of one of your distant ancestors.

The basic belief of Hinduism is in a cycle of life often represented by a dancing woman in a ring of fire, who is the god “Shiva” representing creation and destruction. Other symbols are the god Brahma representing creation and the god Vishnu representing preservation or continuance of life. In Hindu statutes a flat palm facing the onlooker represents peace, while a drum symbolizes creation.

In 1966, the Supreme Court of India defined what Hinduism is for legal purposes:

1. Belief in the authority of the Vedas (an ancient hymns to the gods, written in Sanskrit). The oldest collection of hymns in the Vedas is the Rig Veda, which was written between 1800 and 1300 B.C. The greatest Veda hymn is the “Bhagavad Gita,” a section in the Mahabharata concerning life’s never-ending spiritual journey towards perfection, to be attained by adhering to a code of conduct. The Bhagavad Gita is a spiritual guide to life’s problems, like the parable in Christianity.

2. Spirit of tolerance and willingness to understand and respect an opponent’s view.

3. Belief in world rhythms: long periods of creation, maintenance and dissolution follow each other in endless succession.

4. Belief in reincarnation (rebirth) and pre-existence.

5. Belief that there are many ways to salvation.

6. Belief that the number of gods to be worshiped may be large, although some Hindus reject the worship of idols.

7. Unlike most other religions, Hinduism is not defined by a specific set of philosophical concepts.

Hidden from this modern legal definition is the caste system set forth in the Code of Manu, whereby the accumulation of a person’s good deeds (or evil acts) in his prior lives (his “karma”) determine whether he is born into a family at a higher or lower caste level, or even lower as an animal or plant. Upon full compliance with the Hindu moral code, the person is released from the “wheel of life” and attains unity with Brahma (universal all). This belief is known as “Moksha”.

The highest caste is the “Brahmans” (priests and scholars), a term used today in English to describe wealthy, aloof New England families, like John Kerry’s. (The English non-religious term is spelled “Brahmins”.) The traditional goal of Hindus is to reach Brahma, or spiritual perfection, by observing dharma (DER-muh) (moral or religious duties of your caste). Below the Brahmans in the Hindu case system are the Kshatriya (rulers), the Vaishya (peasants), and then the serfs (Shudra). Below the lowest caste level are the “untouchables” or Harijans, who are slaves and outcasts.

A woman was generally treated like a dependent, to be taken care of and supervised by her father, husband or brother. Government was by a local prince or “raja”, also spelled as rajah. The English word “raj” means reign.

The omission of the traditional caste system from the Indian Supreme Court’s modern definition illustrates how Hinduism adapts to changing times, which has helped it survive for thousands of years. For example, Hinduism survived the threat posed by the rival religion Buddhism simply by treating the founder of Buddhism like a god. Today India is 82% Hindu.

Hinduism holds a special reverence for all living creatures, and violence against life is prohibited. Abortion has historically been very rare in India. The attitude towards women in Hinduism is of special respect in the family structure. Women obeyed their husbands under Hinduism. A much-criticized and rare practice in India was for a wife, after her husband’s death, to throw herself on her husband’s funeral pyre to die as a way of honoring him. This is known as “sati” or “suttee” (suh-TEE).

If you go to a doctor in this country of Indian descent you may find the “Oath of the Hindu Physician” hanging on his wall: “... Speak the truth; Not eat met; Care for the good of all living beings; ... Be simply clothed and drink no intoxicant; ... Consider time and place; Always seek to grow in knowledge; ... Never take a present from a woman without her husband’s consent; ... What happens in the house [of the patient] must not be mentioned outside ....”

Hinduism has been the backbone of Indian culture for thousands of years. The religion enabled Indians to survive countless invasions, such as by Alexander the Great in 327 B.C. when he conquered most of the Indus valley. But he could not change the Indian culture much. Hinduism has also withstood both Islam and communism. The Hindu faith is extremely resilient to foreign beliefs, and the survival of Hinduism protected the Indian culture and way of life.

=== Jainism ===

Jainism is a branch of Hinduism that emphasizes the principle of non-violence towards all life. Jainism requires strict vegetarianism, for example. Jainism was founded by Mahavira (540-468 B.C.), who taught self-denial and non-violence against any form of life. Jainism’s strict requirements of self-denial caused it to lose popularity, but the religion remained strong and today has over 4 million adherents worldwide (including 7000 in the U.S.). It influenced Gandhi later in India, and Ralph Waldo Emerson in the United States. Jainism strictly prohibits abortion.

Jainism rejects the authority of the Vedas, the sacred scriptures of Hinduism.

=== Buddhism ===

Siddhartha Gautama was a royal Hindu prince who lived from 563 to 483 B.C. As a young prince he was disturbed by seeing suffering in old people, sick people and, on one occasion, he saw a dead body (corpse). As a Hindu, Prince Siddhartha believed in reincarnation and the possibility of repeated suffering in many lives disturbed him further. He meditated for a long time under a tree and emerged from it as the “Enlightened One” who founded a new religion of Buddhism. Once he became the Buddha, his followers referred to him as “Buddha Shakyamuni” (“Shakya” is the name of his royal family and “Muni” means “Able One.”), or “the Buddha” for short. The term “Buddha” today can also apply to any “Awakened One” in the religion of Buddhism.

Siddhartha declared that happiness is found not by improving one’s “karma” under Hinduism, but by embracing Four Noble Truths: (1) suffering is universal, (2) craving or desire causes it, (3) the cure is to eliminate the craving or desire, and (4) following the Eightfold Path helps eliminate this desire and attain “nirvana”. Nirvana is a release from suffering to attain inner peace and complete contentment. The Eightfold Path is a multifaceted guide to nirvana that relies on wisdom (right view and intention); ethics (right speech, action & livelihood); and mind (right effort, mindfulness & concentration). In other words, the Eightfold Path is a system of meditation that can be followed by anyone at any social or caste level.

Forty-nine (49) days after the Buddha’s enlightenment, he began teaching. He taught the first Wheel of “Dharma” (one’s duty or nature) to achieve protection from suffering. The Buddha also taught the Hinayana, or Lesser Vehicle, of Buddhism. Later, the Buddha taught the second and third Wheels of Dharma. Together these teachings became the source of the Mahayana, or Great Vehicle, of Buddhism. The Hinayana teaching describes how to attain freedom from suffering for oneself alone. The Mahayana teaching describes how to attain full enlightenment (“Buddhahood”) for the sake of others. The Buddha encouraged everyone to practice Dharma to improve inner peace and happiness, and improve the quality of life. Inner peace is considered under Buddhism to be the key to outward peace.

What is the practice of Buddhism like? Buddhists seek a moral life that emphasizes meditation. The goal of the meditation is to end cravings and desires and attain a release from suffering, or “nirvana”. Buddhism encourages increased wisdom and understanding. Buddhists tend not to proselytize aggressively, but fully accept converts. There are Buddhists in most countries today.

Founded in India, Buddhism has grown to become the fourth largest world religion (behind Christianity, Islam and Hinduism, in that order). A strict version of Buddhism spread in Southeast Asia (e.g., Cambodia and Vietnam). A more liberal (less strict) version spread into China, Japan and Korea. Buddhism has a larger following in the U.S. today than Hinduism, but Hinduism is much stronger in India.

There are many statutes of the Buddha, and they vary from country to county to show the Buddha as an inhabitant of the local country. The hand position (mudras) in the statute shows whether the Buddha is teaching, giving a blessing, or meditating.

=== Comparison of Hinduism with Buddhism ===

The biggest difference between Hinduism and Buddhism is that Buddhism is less moral, and welcomes all. Hinduism is highly moral but based on castes and reincarnation.

But there are many similarities between the two religions. Buddha himself was a Hindu. Here is a list of what Hinduism and Buddhism have in common:

1. Both religions promote meditation or other forms of spiritual practice.

2. Both religions preach non-violence towards all forms of life.

3. Both religions believe in karma in binding people to this world, and believe in a cycle of births and deaths (reincarnation).

4. Both religions believe in multiple hells and heavens.

5. Both religions emphasize detachment and renunciation of materialism, and treat desire as the major cause of suffering.

There are also many important differences between the two religions:

1. Buddhism does not believe in the existence of souls or “first cause” (God). For this reason many do not consider Buddhism to be a true religion, but merely a belief system. Hinduism believes that Brahman is the Supreme Creator and that the soul (Atman) does exist.

2. Buddhism views the world as filled with sorrow, and the highest goal of human life is to end sorrow. Hinduism has four major goals for everyone to pursue: religious duty (dharma), wealth (artha), desires (kama) and salvation (moksha).

3. Hinduism believes in four stages in life (ashramas), while Buddhism rejects this.

4. Hinduism is a religion of the individual and thus has no monks. Buddhism has many monks.

5. Hinduism does not have any prophets, while the Buddha founded Buddhism.

6. Buddhism rejects the sacred scriptures of Hinduism, the Vedas.

The Hindu response to the competition presented by Buddhism was to treat the Buddha as another god of Hinduism (the incarnation of Mahavishnu, one of the gods of the Hindu trinity). This enabled Hinduism to remain far more popular than Buddhism in India, but not outside India.

=== India’s Contributions ===

What can we thank ancient India for? Our Arabic numerals, which are derived from Hindu numbers. Also, the game of chess was apparently invented in India, but maybe not until A.D. 500. The original game lacked the powerful “queen”, and Muslim versions of the game lack the queen to this day. Vedic mathematics, which is an ancient math system found in the Hindu scriptures the Vedas, is taught to this day. It enables solving complex math problems orally. India first discovered the concept of “zero” around the sixth century, which remarkably was not part of mathematics before then and has been essential ever since.

Indian religion adds a transcendental quality that has found popularity worldwide in the form of meditation, and in the mid-1800s American writers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson began citing Indian practices after abandoning Christianity. Emerson wrote, “I owed a magnificent day to the Bhagavat-Gita. It was the first of books; it was as if an empire spake to us, nothing small or unworthy, but large, serene, consistent, the voice of an old intelligence which in another age and climate had pondered and thus disposed of the same questions that exercise us.”

Today, the popularity of the English language in India, its low cost of living, and its intelligent workforce make it an attractive place for large American companies to relocate their jobs.

Today India is more than a country. It is a subcontinent. It is vast in size: two-fifths the area of all of Europe. 150 different languages are spoken there today. In this century India will surpass China as the most populous country in the world. Even though it has traditionally been a poor country, for decades it has produced more food than it can consume. The highly religious people of India are advancing the frontiers of medicine, mathematics and many other fields today.

== China ==

China, like India, is significant because it has so many people. But there the similarities end. There is no Hinduism in China. There is very little ethnic diversity in China, in contrast to India and many Western countries today. Christianity has struggled to convert the country, and only about 1 out of 9 Chinese are Christian. That number is due to courageous efforts in the face of much governmental persecution of religion.

China has always been isolated by geographic protections. The highest mountains in the world separate it from India; vast amounts of semi-desert land separated it from Mesopotamia. In the south flowed the Yangtze river for 3000 miles, navigable from the sea for half of its course. In the north was the Yellow river, known for its disastrous tendency to flood.

=== Ancient China ===

The earliest archaeological evidence in China is of the Shang dynasty, 1766-1122 B.C. By folklore it began when the virtuous and wise man named T’ang overthrew the decadent emperor Chieh of the Hsia dynasty. The Shang dynasty was ultimately overthrown and replaced by the Chou dynasty.

The Shang dynasty built cities in northern China, along the eastern banks of the Yellow River. It did not control all of what is China today. Sometimes called the Yellow River civilization, the Shang dynasty benefited from bronze that had been introduced to China around 2000 B.C. from Mesopotamia. (It had been invented in Mesopotamia around 3000 B.C.)

The Shang dynasty had writing in the form of oracle bones: questions and answers inscribed on actual bone. The empire consisted of city-states, with much war between the various cities but particularly against the non-urbanized populations in the rural areas. The capital cities would shift as the power did. The Shang dynasty perfected the wheel and used chariots in warfare.

China used a pictographic form of writing that remains to this day. Often the word looked like its meaning, though today the characters are more complex.

The Zhou or Chou dynasty replaced the Shang dynasty in 1027 B.C., and benefited from the Iron Age. The Iron Age is the period of human history characterized the smelting of iron and its use in industry in western Asia and Egypt. The Zhou dynasty lasted longer than any other one in Chinese history, ruling until 221 B.C. (ruling only in the east for the last few hundred years). The multiplication tables developed during this dynasty.

Early Chinese religion consisted of worshiping a supreme god called “Shang Ti,” or “Lord on High.” It ruled over the lesser gods of the sun, moon, wind, rain and other aspects of nature. Sacrifices were made of humans to these gods. When a king died, for example, hundreds of slaves and prisoners would be sacrificed in his honor. There would also be sacrifices on a smaller scale when a temple or palace was constructed.

=== Confucius ===

The great figure in ancient China was Confucius, who lived from 551 to 478 B.C. He lived around the same time as the early Greek philosophers, and taught social ethics to the people. His real name was Kung Fu-tze, or Master Kung; it was Latin that converted his name to Confucius. His disciples wrote down his teachings in a book called the Analects, which focused on man’s duties to obey a universal natural law. Moderation in conduct, or “li”, was emphasized, and filial piety (respecting the older members of one’s family) was the goal. Age itself is greatly honored in Chinese culture, unlike Christianity: the older a person was, the wiser he must be. Confucius taught rulers to be just, and said those being ruled should be loyal to their rulers.

Confucius wrote little himself, but his disciples recorded his teachings in the Analects, a classic having enormous influence over Chinese history. He emphasized rational analysis with a tough of flexibility. He disavowed any original insight or knowledge, and opposed anything egotistical. He once said, “I for my part am not one of those who have innate knowledge. I am simply one who loves the past and who is diligent in investigating it.”

After Confucius died there was an era of the Warring States, from 481-221 B.C. During that time several teachers emerged with their own interpretations of Confucian thought. The two leading ones were Mencius (371-289 B.C.) and Hsun-tzu (298-230 B.C.). Mencius felt that mankind was essential good and that philosophers like himself should run the country. Hsun Tzu, in contrast, fell that man was intrinsically evil and that a wise and powerful ruler was necessary to maintain order. This laid the intellectual groundwork for the brutal Chinese dictatorships that followed: the Chi’in or Qin state (221-206 B.C.).

Ch’in was the first unified Chinese empire, and its king was Shih huang-ti. It lasted until the Han dynasty rose to power in 206 B.C. The Han dynasty then lasted 400 years until A.D. 220, and its name is still used to describe the ethnicity of 93% of Chinese today.

=== Taoism ===

Taoism (also known as Daoism) eventually caught on in China and Southeast Asia (e.g., Vietnam) more than other religions, probably due to its greater compatibility with the Confucian foundation. Taoism is more philosophical than the world’s largest religions of Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. The symbol for Taoism, for example, is the Taijitu or “Yin and Yang,” in which a curved half of a circle divides a shaded from a clear region to represent a constant interaction in nature between two forces having opposite qualities:

The Yin (darker side) is passive or negative or feminine; the Yang (lighter side) is active or positive or masculine. While western philosophy views this dualism as a struggle, in China the goal is to harmonize these complementary forces. Taoism and Confucianism strive to obtain harmony, though in Taoism is the focus is on nature while in Confucianism the focus is on men.

The basic differences between Confucianism, Taoism and a third philosophy in China called “Legalism” were the following. Confucianism emphasized education, tradition, reference for elders and ancestors, and a strong government. Taiosm emphasized harmony with nature, and preferred the least amount of government. Legalism, the forerunner to modern communist China, held that a strong government was essential to control the people.

Buddhism emphasizes personal salvation more than Taoism. It makes little difference today in China, where the communist dictators impose atheism as the official religion (lack of religion). But in ancient China, before communism, these religions competed with each other for followers. Taoism advanced at the expense of Confucianism, which lost ground until northern rulers reestablished the Mandate of Heaven, the theory that heaven blessed good rulers but overthrew bad ones, which was first used by the Zhou Dynasty to justify overthrowing the Shang Dynasty. These northern rulers obtained control in A.D. 589 under the Sui and Tang Dynasties.

=== Imperial China ===

The first imperial or national Chinese dynasty was the Qin or Ch’in dynasty (221-206 B.C.), which was founded by the ruler of the Zhou vassal state Qin, Prince Zheng. The Qin dynasty was superb in battle, using chariots and iron weaponry, and that enabled Prince Zheng to conquer all the Chinese states and unify the country. The Qin dynasty built many internal improvements, such as roads, canals and irrigation, using iron and bronze tools. It was the Qin dynasty that began to construct the Great Wall, which stretches today for 1,400 miles. China has always feared and been threatened by foreign invaders, and the wall was a way to defend itself. It is from “Qin” that the name “China” is derived. But the Qin dynasty’s highly legal approach led to rebellion.

The Han empire or dynasty (206 B.C. to A.D 220, with only a brief interruption from A.D. 6-23) built on the foundation of the Qin dynasty, extending the walls and roads. Liu Bang was the first Han ruler, and imposed a centralized government that was stable for many years. Empress Lu was a woman who seized power from 195-180 B.C. and then installed her sons as emperors while they were still infants. Han Wudi (141-87 B.C.) was the longest serving Han ruler. He was known for appointing efficient provincial administrators.

The Han dynasty expanded the territory of China into Vietnam and Korea, and administered the country from a centralized and organized civil service. This was the most significant of all Chinese dynasties, and is compared by historians to the Pax Romana period in the Roman empire. The Han dynasty valued education highly, and even created a scholar class of people known as “shi”. Historians criticize the Han dynasty, however, for treating women in an inferior manner.

The Han dynasty developed the famous Silk Road: 5,000 miles of interconnected roads linking China to the Mediterranean region, which enabled trade in silk and fine goods to greatly increase. Buddhism spread widely along the Silk Road, promoted both by traders and Buddhist monks, and reached China in A.D. 100. A new religion designed to appeal to merchants, Manichaeism (named after its founder Mani (A.D. 216-272)), also spread to Turkish nomads by teaching self-denial and acceptance of both Buddha and Jesus as prophets.

Trade flourished on the Silk Road, which China used to transport silk, spices gems, wine, cosmetics and even grain to the Mediterranean. By land the traders carrying the goods included all groups in the Middle East; by sea the Malay sailors mastered the tricky monsoon wind patterns. The Silk Road was influential from 150 B.C. to A.D. 900. Perhaps one might compare its enormous influence to the internet today!

The state philosophy of the Han dynasty was Confucianism. Technology advanced during this time, as did the arts. Paper, porcelain, the compass, the rudder, the seismograph and possibly acupuncture were all invented under the Han dynasty. Detailed historical records were maintained. Most Chinese were farmers, but China’s discovery of iron enabled it to do some highly profitable manufacturing.

The Han dynasty declined similar to the decline and fall of the Roman empire, though a bit earlier. Historians cite the same reasons for the decline of both empires: too vast an empire to administer and keep together, invasions by barbarians, hardship caused by the spread of disease and poor harvests, and overall economic failure. In both cases, leaders of the armies gained power as the empires declined, but the generals could not save the empires.

But historians credit both the Han dynasty and the Roman empire with lasting contributions to the world: roads and, for a while, peace and prosperity. The Han dynasty left us with paper, a greater emphasis on education, and the marvelous Silk Road. The Roman empire left us with a system of laws, a powerful language (Latin), and the spread of Christianity.

But just as the West fell into disorganization once Rome fell, so did China when the Han dynasty collapsed. China was ruled by regional governments known as the Three Kingdoms (A.D. 220-280). Many legends arose during this period, as described in a Chinese literature classic entitled, “The Romance of the Three Kingdoms.”

It was not until A.D. 589 that the Sui Dynasty arose to reestablish centralized government. Subsequently the longer Tang and Song Dynasties ruled China also.

=== China’s Contributions ===

What inventions do we owe to ancient China? A great deal: gunpowder (not until A.D. 850), paper, fireworks, the compass, the umbrella, the fan, spaghetti, acupuncture, bamboo, harvesting silk, and perhaps the first planetarium. English philosopher Francis Bacon said this about three Chinese inventions: “Printing, gunpowder and the compass: These three have changed the whole face and state of things throughout the world; the first in literature, the second in warfare, the third in navigation; whence have followed innumerable changes, in so much that no empire, no sect, no star seems to have exerted greater power and influence in human affairs than these mechanical discoveries.”

== The Rise of Christianity ==

The ancient world had several founders of great religions, but only one performed miracles: Jesus of Nazareth. His resurrection is the single greatest event in the history of the world. Do we know when it occurred?

It is easy to calculate the date of His crucifixion because we know it was during the reign of Pontius Pilate, who served from A.D. 26 to 36, thereby encompassing the entire period of ministry of John the Baptist and Jesus himself. A Roman historian named Philo described Pilate as inflexible, obstinate and merciless, and Pilate was hated by the Jewish people under his rule. The Gospels describe the savage retaliation by Pilate against Galileans as follows: “Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.” Luke 13:1 (NAS). Eventually the Romans removed Pilate from power for being too cruel.

A detailed analysis of the Gospel and historical sources places the date of the Crucifixion at Friday, April 3, A.D. 33, although some historians think it occurred in A.D. 29. You can review the evidence yourself at:
http://www.themoorings.org/apologetics/69weeks/weeks4.html

From these dates come the traditional view that Jesus was 33 years old when He rose from the dead. However, the Gospels do not specify His age and it is not clear exactly when Jesus was born. We do know from the Gospels that He was less than 50. Many historians place his birth between 6 and 4 B.C. The description of Jesus’ birth in the Gospel of Luke refers to King Herod, whose brutal reign was from 37 to 4 B.C.

Here is where a slight mistake in the dating of our calendar from Christ’s birth may have been introduced. In the sixth century A.D., the Roman monk Dionysis the Little changed the calendar to recognize the birth of Christ. He calculated that Jesus was born the year that King Herod died, and modern historians agree. However, the monk thought that Herod died 753 years after the founding of Rome, instead of the correct 749 years after the founding of Rome. (King Herod is the ruler who ordered all babies in Bethlehem younger than 2 to be killed in his unsuccessful attempt to murder Jesus, whose family fled to Egypt to escape this.) Thus the monk estimated that Jesus was born four years later than He probably was. What was intended to be A.D. 1 was actually 4 B.C. Note that there is no year “0”, as the concept of “0” was unknown to the Greeks and not even discovered until the seventh century by mathematicians in India. The year that follows 1 B.C. is A.D. 1.

The teachings of Jesus are well-known to all of us, and were recorded in the Gospels (Greek for “good news”) by two of His apostles (Matthew and John) and two disciples (Mark and Luke). The Gospels were originally written in Greek, the common lingua franca (common or commercial language among diverse peoples) of the Roman Orient. No original Gospels have been found in Aramaic; the only discovered Aramaic Gospels are translations from Greek versions. The general consensus is that the Gospel according to Matthew was written particularly for Jews; the Gospel according to Mark was written particularly for Romans; the Gospel according to Luke was written particularly for Greeks; and the Gospel according to John was written for everyone. Jesus had emphasized that scribes were part of those He sent forth to proselytize the world. “I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes ….” (Matt 23:34 (NAS)).

Luke was a Greek physician (see Col 4:14) who accompanied Paul and also wrote the Acts of the Apostles describing the arrival of the Holy Spirit. Unlike the firsthand Gospels of Matthew and John, the Gospel of Luke records eyewitness accounts of others, much as a doctor asks a patient for his medical history and then writes it down in the medical file. Due to Luke’s professional nature, his Gospel is very comprehensive about Jesus’ life and resurrection, and it also conveys the great sense of joy that Jesus’ family, friends and followers felt. In the Battle of the Bulge in World War II (the surprise Nazi counterattack in Dec. 1944), which was one of the worst military defeats in American history, a minister’s son who had memorized Luke’s description of the Nativity recited it for his fellow soldiers on Christmas Eve while together in the trenches. Many of them died soon afterwards in battle.

The greatest writing in the history of the world is the Gospel of John, the Apostle whom Jesus loved the most. John likely revised and perfected this Gospel for decades before releasing it to others. As was typical for many of the greatest authors in history, such as Copernicus, John’s work was probably not released to the public until he passed away. Isaac Newton, to take another example, delayed publication of his great mathematical discoveries for decades. As long as something can be improved and developed further, there may not be any reason to publish it prematurely.

American soldiers in World Wars I and II would carry copies of the Gospel of John with them as they journeyed to faraway battles. This single book has done more to shape human thought and behavior than any other work. Our uniquely American First Amendment right of free speech is based on ministers preaching of the “Word” of God as described in the first few verses of the Gospel of John.

Archaeological discoveries in Jerusalem confirm, to the dismay of skeptics, many references in the Gospels about Jesus’ work. The Pool of Bethesda has been discovered (John 5:1f). The Pavement has been found (John 19:13). The setting of Jacob’s well has been discovered (John 4). Because Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70 (see discussion below), it would have been impossible for a writer after A.D. 70 to make up any of these details.

Paul of Taurus (now southern Turkey) was Jewish and converted to Christianity within a year or two of the Crucifixion while on the road to Damascus (now located in Syria), and afterwards spread the Good News far and wide within the Roman empire. He was both a prolific writer and scholar, and a prodigious missionary who traveled on three great missions throughout the Roman empire before being executed by a beheading in Rome in A.D. 62 (as a Roman citizen, Paul could not be scourged or crucified). Several of Paul’s letters are included in the New Testament, and often quoted to this day. (For example, in Paul’s letter to the Romans, he condemns homosexuality. Romans 1:27.) Peter, who was not a Roman citizen, likewise spread the faith before being crucified in Rome, by his choice upside down out of the utmost respect to Jesus’ own Crucifixion.

Many misconceptions about early Christians persist to this day. Americans are often taught that all the disciples were ignorant fishermen who could not read or write. This is plainly false, as several communicated by letter while held in jail by Roman authorities. Many of the insights and truths revealed in the Gospels by the Apostles could only have been understood and taught by people of tremendous intelligence and faith.

Christianity was taken by the early Christians as far and wide as possible. The religious celebrations consisted of a communal meal, called “communion” today but given the Greek name for “love feat” then: “agape”. This reenacted the Last Supper of Christ as described in the Gospels. The concept of Christian love had a profound effect on the world and forever changed it for the better.

Mark founded a church in Egypt under the reign of the Roman emperor Nero, first converting Alexandrian Jews such as Theophilus and also converting many native Egyptians who were neither Greek nor Jewish. It was for Theophilus and the Egyptian community that Luke wrote his Gospel and Acts of the Apostles, addressing Theophilus in the beginning of each. Luke 1:3 and Acts 1:1. The local language in Egypt was Coptic, and translations of the Gospels into that language have been discovered which date from the first half of the second century. Coptic Christianity remains in Egypt to this day, although Islam has become the most popular religion there. Some cite the acceptance of Arabic as a liturgical language by the Pope of Alexandria as aiding the rise to dominance of Islam there. Coptic Christians celebrate Christmas each year on January 7th, which is a national holiday in Egypt.

The Apostle Thomas, known as the “Doubting Thomas” traveled as far as India and established a Christian community that remains there to this day, although the country is still majority Hindu.

Christianity differs from other major religions in its peaceful evangelism, spreading its truths through freedom of speech. Christianity is unlike religions that lack an evangelical component, such as Judaism and Hinduism, and Christianity also differs from Islam in the manner in which force is used.

[[Category:History]]

Sikhs

2007-03-15T05:32:39Z

Zaheerabbas: rm rubbish

A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism, which is a monotheistic religion. The way of this religion is two fold. First, its followers attempt to gain salvation through meditation on their god and his teachings. Second, Sikhs follow the teachings of the Ten Gurus and their holy scriptures. The largest Sikh population lives in the Punjab region, which is on the borders of India and Pakistan, but there are also various other, smaller, Sikh communities around the world.
Sikhs wear turbans, have long unkempt beards.
[[Category:Religion]]

Karma

2007-03-15T05:32:04Z

Zaheerabbas: fix

In [[Hinduism]], the sum of all one has done; determines individual's status in this and the next life.

[[Category:Religion]]

Mahayana Buddhism

2007-03-15T05:31:36Z

Zaheerabbas: not started in China

{{stub}}
Mahayana Buddhism is a form of [[Buddhism]], which is popular in East Asia, eg [[China]], [[Korea]], [[Japan]] and [[Vietnam]]. It focuses on a philosophical approach to life.

[[Category:Religion]]

Pope John Paul II

2007-03-15T05:29:59Z

Zaheerabbas: removed pov