http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeK6spOIVro&NR=1 Death of a Nation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xK30k2WTxY0http://youtube.com/watch?v=nCGNB47jJ0s&feature=related Wall Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lmj_o1hjIbQhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jl3E-cwA6y8 Billy gets mad at the Soviets
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhRu9yzlTRI Red Square http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jR-A4QFHZBA Watch this one
http://www.school-for-champions.com/history/start_fire_lyrics.htm - Lyric's http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2786786059639293312 - Joel's Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbwEsu7z6Jw Explain this Cartoon http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1982reagan1.html Evil Empire http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=do0x-Egc6oA&feature=relatedhttp://youtube.com/watch?v=GEmlQJzw_w0&feature=relatedhttp://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/wellbeing/story/0,,2274010,00.html Ping Pong Diplomacy
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/krushchev-secret.html Krushchev http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKexf166TKk Cold War Videos made by AP Kids http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ND4kDezFUk8&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fB-0e7xEOSs&feature=relatedhttp://www.infoplease.com/spot/yugotimeline1.html Yugoslavia Time Line
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRzr1QU6K1o Nixon takes us off the Gold Standard
28 comments:
I watched the video on Ronald Reagan's "Tear Down This Wall" speech and I felt it was very inspiring. He was obviously stating his opinion on where America stood about the Berlin Wall. Although not only did he state his opinion but he also said it in a very confident way making the speech even that much more inspiring.
I also watched the slide show video about what the Berlin Wall looked like. Although I knew that it was a wall, obviously, what I didn't know was that it went practically through everything. It was placed in the most inconvenient spots. Not only did this wall symbolize close-mindedness but it also created a physical barrier that separated people from the outside world.
Ok I just saw that its actually 3 posts not 2, my badddd
I also watched Ronald Reagan's speech on the "Evil Empire" and found it very powerful. Obviously at this time the U.S. and the USSR were in a very high tension dispute and neither one wanted to flinch. And Reagan described America's stance as nothing less than strong-willed. He referred to the USSR as the "focus of modern evil...". Personally I find this amusing and motivating but at the same time I also now see how America felt about the Soviets and how much hatred was directed towards them.
The first thing I read was the timeline of Yugoslavia. What I gathered from it was that Yugoslavia was a pretty stable government up until the point Tito died in 1980 and then tension emerged between the different ethnic groups. After that there was a lot of fighting between the ethnic groups in the area and the government was never really stable and it ultimately fell apart.
The second thing I read was teh article on ping pong diplomacy. It was interesting how to foriegn countries, China and the U.S. opened talks with eachother by sending the US ping pong team to Beijing. The significance of this was that 10 months later Nixon visited china and normalized relations between the two countries.
I watched the video clip of Paul McCartney performing Back in the USSR in Red Square. This is one of my favorite McCartney written Beatles songs. I view the song as a way of relieving the tension and division of nations during the Cold War. The Beatles werent necessarily supporting the USSR over the US, they may have just been commenting about how ridiculous the whole war/competition was. It was also interesting to see Paul perform this song back in Russia years after the Cold War ended, and how many Russian fans he had.
I also read the article about ping pong. It was a very interesting article about how ping pong, historically, has brought people together. At a time where communist countries were enemies to America, and we refused to work with China for that reason, the peace maker became ping pong. Sometimes little common interests between people can help resolve conflicts. I also thought that the writer of the article Micael White was funny when he said that all world conquering games, including ping pong, were developed in England.
Rebecca Travis
I really liked the article that I read about Ping Pong Diplomacy. It was interesting that China and Japan are bringing back this sort of tradition. It was interesting how they addressed that the Ping Pong was really just a means to express underlying tensions, and that the games meant more than simple table tennis games. I thought it was cool too look at this Ping Pong Diplomacy idea again from an AP Euro standpoint, as opposed to a Far Eastern standpoint.
I also read Ronald Reagan's Evil Empire speech. It helped me to understand why the United State's people had the ideas that they did about communism and totalitarianism. The impressive use of rhetoric, as well as tools like parallel structure helps to emphasize his points, as well as sway the audience to his side. Again, it was cool to look at political speakers speeches from a Euro standpoint, and also from a literary rhetorical standpoint.
I read the transcript of Reagan's "Evil Empire" speech. I thought it was interesting how he kept pointing out that democracies were successful and that the Soviet's totalitarian regime had decades to suceed but were failing. Also, he continually stated that historians of the future would notice how Western democracies were peaceful and didn't use force without just cause.
I also read the article on ping pong diplomacy. I found it interesting that, just as the Olympics temporarily bring together nations in friendly competition, so too does ping pong. The article basically briefly outlined the history of so-called ping pong diplomacy and used a more recent example with the leaders of China and Japan. It also pointed out how ping pong allowed Americans into Beijing and the like during a time when communism was at its strongest in China.
The first video I watched was the clip of pres Reagan's "TEAR DOWN THIS WALL". It's interesting that, although I had heard the few lines quoted and referenced in TV and movies, I had never thought to look for the actual clip of him speaking. I now realize that he was a great speaker, which undoubtedbly contributed to his political success. It was great to listen to how the crowd reacted to the two main points of his speech and "open this gate" and "tear down this wall"; i don't know the Russians could keep up the wall for much longer after hearing the opposition to its maintanance.
The second thing I watched wat the Tearing Down the Wall video collage of photos. It's interesting to see the wall's fprogression from it's first building (nice and clean, respected, well maintained) to it's demise (dirty, covered with graffiti, climed over by many). Having been to germany and heard stories from family friends' experiences with the divide of Germany, I come to think of the wall less as a physical barrier dividing the two sections of the country, and more an an emotional wall that the germans had to overcome.
I looked at the Yugoslavia timeline, which helped to put everything in order. It went all the way from 1918, effects of WWI, to pretty much modern day, in 2006, Montenegro gaining its independence. It was a good supplement to the chart we got last class.
I also read the article about Krushchev and the secret speech he made in 1956. He was saying that the USSR must learn from the mistakes made by Stalin. He was explaining how Stalin carried out his political ideas without the consent or permission of the people, and how he made unnecessary enemies of the people. He advocates from Lenin in a way, because Lenin only carried out severe methods when he had to, where Stalin would use severe methods even when he had accomplished what he set out to accomplish.
I just watched the video on Nixon's decision to end the Bretton Woods International Moinetary System, and I'd like to recognize that this surprised me. Nixon may have been the least popular US president of all time, but at least he did this correctly. Because of this decision, exchange rates changed, and more flexible rates were achieved. I guess many people overlook smaller economic recoveries.
I also just looked at the ping pong article. It has the same effect on the world as the olympics does. The cool thing about ping pong is that it allowed America to set foot in Beijing ever since they were lost to communism. It definitely helps communist and non-communist nations communicate better. It highly improved our relationship with China.
The first thing I read was Krushchev's secret speech in 1956. During the speech he criticizes Stalin's rule as one of "intolerence, brutality, and abuse of power." He discredits Stalin's concept of "enemy of the people" as a violation of rights and the people of Russia. He compares Stalin's rule to Lenin's, saying that Lenin's was more just because he only used severe methods when necessary.
I also read the lyrics for "we didn't start the fire" and watched the video. It was neat to finally recognize most of the events after listening to it so many times previously. The site with the lyrics was very informative, because not only is the song set up in chronological order, it also provides explanation on each of the events. It put a lot of things in order for me, plus it's such a good song.
I watched We Didn't Start the Fire... Obviously... Billy Joel is awesome. I have heard this tune many times and since the only part I know is the chorus I had never paid attention to the rest of the song. I thought it was a mistake blog for a second! But turns out it is a very historically informative jingle! Two thumbs up!
After listening to We Didn't Start the Fire I was in a Billy Joel mood... So I watched the video of him singing in the USSR. HILARIOUS! That just made my night. Thank you Mr. Lamb!
At first I was going to call Ky an over achiever for doing three blogs... But then I felt guilty because mine felt too easy! So I also did the Billy Joel video with pictures of the events that were happening. Much cooler. Weird seeing the changes that occur over a span of 40 years!
The first video I watched was the one made by the ap euro students I really enjoyed how the video showed clips from this time. The students did a nice job of giving a basic overview of the cold war. It was interesting to see the way communist propaganda was spread.
For the second blog I read the ping pong diplomacy article, it was really interesting how they related an old tradition and used it as an example in today’s politics in Far East. It seems odd that something as simple as table tennis could bring communist and non-communist parties together, but it works and it makes for better overseas relationships.
I watched the Billy Joel video, We didn't start the fire. I had always known this song but never actually listened to it I guess. There was so much information I couldn't even believe it. What this shows me is that our foreign relations with other countries had spread throughout our country and reached our pop-culture who wanted a say aswell. Which I agree with totally.
The slide show on the Berlin was was quite interesting. The placement of the wall was rather obserd and strange. The wall devided the people whom once livd together, and showed the ignorance of the people who put it up.
Ping pong diplomacy I think wasa great idea, but could have ended up with bad consequences for either side. This was the first time the U.S was allowed into China and it signified not directly, but the hope for eased tensions between the two super powers.
I watched the cartoon on Stalin, Krushchev, Brezhnev, and Gorbachev. When the train stops, Stalin exclaims "shoot the driver!" a metaphor for his extremely harsh/ineffectual methods and purges. Krushchev suggests rehabilitating the driver, a reference to his plans to reform the USSR and "de-Stalinize" it. Brezhnev's desire to "pretend their moving" his overlooking of USSR's serious economic problems that would eventually lead to its fall. Gorbachev, with the last idea, decides they need to "get out and push the train." This idea, which will have the country moving figuratively and literally in the "right direction" is too little to late. The problems of the USSR have become to heavy to fix.
I just watched the cartoon about the way the Russian leaders ran the country. The cartoon is basically putting their philosophies in the simplest and most barbaric sounding forms to show how rediculous their ideals were. I thought the best and funniest idea was when Gorbachev? (I dont really know which one he was) said they should pretend to be moving. It is funny how they show the way he ran the country haha.
I also looked at the Yugoslavian timeline which basically summed up major events for the country dating back to 1918, World War I. I think that this timeline would be extremely useful on doing anything on the country. I found it interesting how much they fought with Serbia.
I also read the article on ping-pong diplomacy. I think it's interesting how ping-pong can be such an influential game. As history shows, China agreeing to a match means the possibility of relaxed tensions. Perhaps the match between China and Japan will have the same success it did for America during the 70s.
I also read Reagan's Evil Empire Speech and I found it pretty interesting. I think I can say that the speech was pretty persuasive, which was his goal. I can understand why people were under a certain impression about communists because Reagan clearly states it in his speech. I'm pretty into persuasive speeches and this was a good one, it was very interesting.
Secondly, I watched the clip on Reagan's "Tear Down This Wall" speech. This was also persuasive. He really got his point across, I think he was a really great speaker. The Wall was invasive and he made it clear that it was inappropriate to keep it.
I first watched the 2 videos of the berlin wall. the images were awesome and the song accompanied well. one of my favorite images was in the beggining it showed a road with a small wall on it, i'm assuming this was the beggining.
Secondly, I read the article on ping pong diplomacy. it is interesting that it is coming back. It is cool that the chinese and Japanese Leaders are playing this game. I thought that the gifts exchanged were a let it be t-shirt and a silk screen mountain scene.
I watched Reagans Speech where he tells Gorbachev to tear the berlin wall down. I thought it was wuite moving, but all i could think of was a family guy joke where ronald reagan is punching at a mcdonalds wall. Anyway, ive never actually heard the speech, so it puts everything into context for me.
I Watched the video for Joels Start the Fire. First off, this is a great song. Second off, i never realized that this was so politcal and had so many different situations about the history of america and the world in general. Very Enjoyable and its now stuck in my head.
The first clip that I watched was “Billy’s Red Rage.” I didn’t understand it at first, and had to read this article http://30daysout.wordpress.com/2008/05/01/rock-moment-billy-joels-red-rage-1987/ in order to comprehend the context of this clip. I find the whole thing to be ridiculous, because I don’t know what he was expecting. He was in a different country that had been feuding with America for several decades, and they spoke different languages. Between these two factors, I never would have expected the tour to be a hit in the first place, so his frustration was inevitable.
The second clip was where Nixon took America off of the gold standard. I have mixed feelings about this decision still because I feel like this move encouraged inflation, but I also do not understand why gold is so valuable in the first place. Therefore, I don’t find Nixon’s announcement to be too huge of a deal.
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