Showing posts tagged history

New photos of Tiananmen Square after the massacre

It amazes me to think that Chinese youth have never heard what happened at Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989. But, because of government censorship, that’s the truth.

A Chinese activist and blogger saw a woman’s family photo album that contained photos taken in Tiananmen Square on June 5, 1989, by her husband who was a soldier. The blogger took pictures of the pictures and posted them online in 2007, but the Chinese government deleted them. They were re-posted successfully in 2009 on Twitter on the 20th anniversary. This year the blogger posted them on Facebook and Flicker, but attempts to post on Chinese sites have been unsuccessful.  

France 24 reports:

Zuola is a blogger and activist from mainland China who currently lives in Taipei, Taiwan.
 
In 2007, I met a woman on a train, and we started talking about Tiananmen. She showed me her family’s photo album. Her husband, a soldier, was sent to Tiananmen in 1989. He took these photos on June 5, 1989, the day after the massacre. She didn’t tell me much more than that. I think she didn’t realise that what were just a few snapshots in a family album to her was is proof for many others of the violence that took place on that fateful day. I realized how important this was, so I asked her if she would give me her photos. She refused, so instead I took pictures of them.
 
She told me that many soldiers who had participated in the massacre were never given public sector jobs, as was generally the tradition in this communist system. I imagine the authorities were very worried that after what they had seen and done, these soldiers might actually end up defending democracy.


“Thirty minutes after I posted the photos on Weibo, the site deleted them”

To this day, the exact number of people killed that night remains unknown. According to the Chinese government, several hundred people died, including soldiers.
 
The Chinese authorities censor all information relating to this incident. Typing “Tiananmen” on Chinese search engines only turns up a slideshow of postcard-like photos of the square. In addition, the authorities do not allow any commemorations of this event. Each year, as June 4 approaches, they ramp up security on the ground and online (key words like “four six” and “candle” are currently censored on microblogging site Sina Weibo).
  

200 years of global energy use


“If you want to tell the story of worldwide energy consumption over the past 200 years, you need three chapters. Chapter 1: The Coal Age. Chapter 2: The Oil Age. Chapter 3: The China Age. “

(Source: The Atlantic)

  
Archaeologists in Bulgaria discovered what they believe is the oldest Christian monastery in Europe.  “According to latest archaeological research, the St. Athanasiusmonastery, still functioning near the village, has been founded in 344 by St. Athanasius himself, reports the BGNES agency. St. Athanasius of Alexandria (296/8-373) was for a long time Bishop of Alexandria, and is revered as one of the greatest Christian saints.”

Archaeologists in Bulgaria discovered what they believe is the oldest Christian monastery in Europe. 

“According to latest archaeological research, the St. Athanasiusmonastery, still functioning near the village, has been founded in 344 by St. Athanasius himself, reports the BGNES agency.

St. Athanasius of Alexandria (296/8-373) was for a long time Bishop of Alexandria, and is revered as one of the greatest Christian saints.”


  
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The first alarm clock could only ring at 4 a.m.
@InsaneFacts 

  

Would you give up a pro baseball career to become a renowned artist?

Romare Bearden did. Before he became famous “for his colorful collages, he was offered a chance to play in the major leagues. Here’s why he turned it down.”

“Like many other gifted black baseball players of fair skin, Bearden became a product of the times. His pitching for the Tigers soon caught the eyes of recruiters from the Philadelphia Athletics and the owner offered him a position on the team. For most, this would have been a dream long realized: a prized spot in the major leagues. But the offer came at a price—and for Bearden, one too high. The Athletics would grant Bearden access into the majors with one stipulation. He would have to pass for white. Bearden proudly declined. Soon after he would leave Boston, only after two years at BU, and return home to New York. He never played professional baseball again.

The end of Bearden’s short semi-pro career was perhaps the singular turning point for Bearden as an artist. Bearden’s one chance to make it in the big leagues, to actually cross over and make a career out of playing baseball (and a successful one at that), came at a price. He would have had to pass for white and turn his back on his family and his race. If Bearden hadn’t rejected the offer from the Philadelphia Athletics, it is uncertain if he would have ever become the visionary painter and collagist he did.”