'The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides with the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who in the name of charity and good will shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon those with great vengeance and with furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know that my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.' – Samuel L (Pulp fiction, not actually Ezekiel 25:17)

But anyway that’s kinda how I felt on Saturday morning when that CFA stuff thought me a lesson, but feel nothing for me dear friends for it was of my own doing, and full responsibility lays squarely on these shoulders…I joke not, these last few months from Feb till now have been quite enriching/self enhancing, many a lesson have been learnt:
if your heart is really not in it don’t do it cos its juts going to be an unnecessary pain;
neva put off till the last week what you have 4 months to accomplish;
STUDY NO MORE!!! If you need to study there is a university of life just an eyesight or hearing distance away!

happy thoughts happy thoughts, another glorious evening in Cape Town, many find it miserable but I quite enjoy the rain especially if I don’t have to leave my home and I can just park easi and hear it beating on my rooftop, and then Barry White blazing in the background uttering the words (which seem to be stuck in my head the whole darn day), turn down the lights…u see the last part was so unnecessary, but that’s one of the joys/perils of an active imagination…

Greetings all, hope that where ever you are you are feeling fully actualised J just a term I heard again last week and I have been dying to insert it.

How fast is this year blazing? June already. June, known in SA as youth month with the 16 June Soweto uprising in which many youth lost their lives, but I have already covered this day in SA’s history, but this month also marks the remembrance of another day, on the other side of the world, where youths decided that they need to stand up and be heard.

On 4th June 1989, in the little country of China, which houses most probably half of the world’s population, oh wait is that India, or maybe Nigeria, I digress, ADHD is a biatch…the world witnessed the use of military action to disperse and silence protestors, protestors who were speaking out for their rights which it looks like they are offered in abundance at the moment.

The 15th April 1989 witnessed the beginning of the student led pro democracy protests against the socialist regime in the Peoples republic of China. A socialist regime built on social and economic reforms invoked by Deng Xiaoping in 1978. These reforms enhanced communism and socialism and as a result it was greatly supported by peasants, rural dwellers, whom were spread out all over the countryside, as well as urban workers as well as people organised into schools and work units who saw their substantial increases in their wealth during the period of the 80’s, but unfortunately for government, these groups were largely unorganised and widespread and as a result their ability to give widespread support was weak if at all existent.
At the same time the ‘opposition’ voice was growing louder. The longing for democracy amongst the students was burning inside like the fire from the burning bush that lead Moses to the 10 commandments. But the issue remained how? How do we as students protest against these injustices and perceived corruption by our existing government without being marginalised by the communist government? How do we address the fact that the reforms and loosening of economic controls is starting to cause inflation and unemployment which was a threat to many-a-livelihood? And then an ‘opportunity’ reared its head. The death, due to illness of Hu Yaobang, the former General Secretary of the Communist party, who was ousted in Feb 1987. He was a man whom many saw as a liberal in his communist ways…hmm?!! Scratching head look…I guess that’s what lead to his ousting in ’87. Anyway the students saw this as an opportune moment to begin their ‘protests’ which started off as marches in honour of the man, I mean how could the government forbid them to march in honour of one of their own without any awkwardness?

This march was relatively short-lived and it was followed by protests of an anti-foreigner nature. This was sparked by the beliefs of the students and some other intellectuals and urban industrial workers who were of the belief that foreigners had been given more rights than native Chinese. The students shunned communist student parties to form their own democratic movements, they started to see themselves as patriots, as the ‘heirs of the May Fourth Movement for Science and democracy. The protests also had the flavour of the Tiananmen Square protests of ’76 which lead to the ousting of the gang of four (four former leaders currently reduced to one, who directed Chinas destructive cultural revolution in the last years of Mao Zedong).

And so it began…at the height of the protests, there were over a million people involved in the protest and I don’t doubt that for a second in a country like China. It started in Beijing and the protests spread to other cities. The marches to Tiananmen Square were well organised with protestors from all areas descending onto the square in solidarity for the students. Some attempts were made to negotiate an end to the protests with the Chinese rulers, but these efforts were only partially successful. These protests escalated. It lead to a the formation of a standing committee and they together with the Party Elders, made up of retired politicians met to decide what to do with the Tiananmen Square protests. By this stage, a statue of the Goddess of democracy had already been erected on the square.

It was the intention of the committee and the elders to avoid violence, perhaps the fact that all the news agencies in the world were present in China at that time because of the then USSR’s Mikhail Gorbachev’s visit to the mainland, which would result some serious bad press for China, or maybe they actually didn’t want to hurt anyone… And so on their way they set, in an attempt to persuade the students to abandon their protests, but all to no avail. The protestors were large in number and their agendas diverse, the government showed empathy regarding the corruption claims, but all claims they could not attend to, and after much deliberation, the Party elders, tuned nooit (no for those not of the understanding of Afrikaans) now enough is enough, they already declared a state of Martial Law on the 20th of May and their hand had been forced…4th June…enter the 27th Army, roll on the tanks and the heavily armed soldiers, I remember, and I am sure many of you do, the photo of a man, I think in a white t-shirt, standing in front of the tanks momentarily halting the progress of these tanks. Brave soul that one, but no one ever knew who he was…with certainty. The heavy roadblocks constructed by Beijing’s citizens were not enough to halt the progress of the army. Many casualties resulted some say a couple of hundred dead thousands injured, others say a couple of thousand dead, thousands more injured, many lives were lost and by nightfall on the 4th July, Tiananmen Square was cleared of its protestors. To this day, every 4th June, the square is heavily guarded to prevent any commemoration of this day in any way.

The world turned its back on China. The US and the EU placed an arms embargo on China that is in place to this day. The Government defends its actions to this day. They deemed it a necessary action to reinstate political stability in China before it escalated.

Look at China now, a hive of activity, doors for trading with the outside world have been opened, the worlds textile market is all in China, pick up anything and I am sure at least 7 out of 10 times its made in China with an American company’s brand sign on it. They make the real thing and they make the knock offs….even cars they can replicate. Watch that country. Communism/the relaxation of their communist ways, what is it that is the catalyst in China’s booming economy, is it because they started off a relatively low base, and as a result can undercut everyone in terms of resource costs?

All over CNN a few weeks ago it was all about inside China and its hugely impressive what has happened there, if one country can do it, I see no reason why this continent cant achieve the same, oh wait they WORKED TOGETHER!! Eish Africa, my Africa, will we ever come right?

Birthdays this week
6th Helen
9th Ivan
12th Mark, Carl and Samantha
13th Ed H

My quote to you guys…
“everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therin to be content… Helen Keller

Its late, its wet, its cold, I’m tired so to all of thee I bid fond adieu, till next we chat, much respect

Y

p.s. credit for the above goes to the much acclaimed www for being a source of my research data (requirements of a CFA candidate right there people I learnt something at least ;-))