1989 - Tiananmen Revisited

This CNN report was prepared for the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square demonstrations which took place in 1989.  The report contains many perspectives and links to other news items, first about the event as it occurred in 1989 and second about the consequences of these demonstrations for democracy.  (The CNN link also contains a movie of the event that you see on the right.)

THIS LINK contains a message by the Dalai Lama on the Tiananmen Square Anniversary.

Something to Think About: Of the students' demonstrations for democracy in the summer of 1989, and of image you see here, the obvious questions that come to mind are these: "Can the actions of one person make a difference?" This student stopped a tank in 1989, but what difference did he make, after all? To answer these questions, I believe it is necessary to interview someone who witnessed these events (or participated in them) when they occurred. Perhaps the actions of one person can make a difference!  See short story.

2001 - Timothy McVeigh Executed

On June 11, 2001, Timothy McVeigh was executed for the April 19, 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City Murrah Building in which 168 victims lost their lives.

Tim McVeigh was the first person executed by the federal government in 38 years, and of Tim McVeigh's execution, President George W. Bush had this to say: "The victims of the Oklahoma City bombings have been given not vengeance, but justice."

Of Timothy McVeigh and his background, there are the exceptional in depth reports, An Ordinary Boy's Extraordinary Rage from the Washington Post, and A Life of Solitude and Obsessions, the report winning a Pulitzer Prize.  Of Timothy McVeigh's execution, McVeigh Executed by PBS News offers extensive coverage, both text and RealAudio reports by prosecutors and President Bush, Tim McVeigh's parents, his lawyers, as well as Oklahoma City residents, friends and relatives of victims, those both for and against the death penalty among many others.

Finally, the Constitution Society website contains the banned and out of print book, The Oklahoma City Bombing and the Politics of Terror, by David Hoffman whose premise is that a truck bomb alone could not have caused the structural damage that the Murrah Building sustained.  Furthermore, when the building was demolished just 34 days later, the evidence that could have exonerated Tim McVeigh as the lone bomber was destroyed as well.  Although this book is out of print and banned, it is still possible to read it in libraries or buy used copies through Amazon.com whose reviewers rate the book a 4.5 of 5 calling it an "important work" and "stunning."

March 5, 2006 - Update - A recent article by Andrew Gumbel entitled The Unsolved Mystery of the Oklahoma City Bombing (original link posted HERE February 28, 2006) alleges that "the FBI's own paperwork is beginning to seriously contradict the official version of the attack...."  Too many questions remain unanswered about the Oklahoma City Bombing.

1967 - Muhammad Ali - Convicted for Evading the Draft

A man the stature of Muhammad Ali comes along once in a lifetime if one is lucky. 

Born Cassius Clay, he won the Olympic Gold Medal for boxing in 1960 but threw it away in frustration because of a racially-charged incident in his hometown of Louisville KY, converted to Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali in 1961, won the heavyweight boxing championship of the world in 1964, was drafted, refused to be inducted and convicted by a Texas court for evading the draft in 1967, and was completely exonerated by a unanimous (8-0) Supreme Court decision in 1971 that declared he was "improperly drafted in the first place." 

Muhammad Ali is a man with the courage of his conviction who serves as an inspiration for all individuals who are guided by truth and goodness and justice.  (See text below photo: "This is the day and age when such evil injustice must come to an end," Ali said in 1967.) 

There are many websites dedicated to Muhammad Ali.  For example, Show Stopper:  For Talent, Popularity, Controversy, and Style, Ali Stands Alone is a short, nostalgic and personal site that makes you wish you had known Muhammad Ali personally.  A BBC News site, Ali: Star of the Century, praises Ali for "his dazzling fighting skills and astonishing self-belief" claiming that "Ali's fame simply transcended sport."

Finally, a university site from Oshkosh WI contains Quicktime audio excerpts of Ali's view of "The First Step on the Path to Wisdom."  And who better than Muhammad Ali could offer advice on the path to wisdom?  Listen HERE.  This serious reflection is followed by Muhammad Ali reading his own poem, "We Came in Chains" which is a slow "rap" style poem, serious and true, but ending humorously.  The text to "We Came in Chains" is entered below."

We Came In Chains
by
Muhammad Ali
Audio HERE

he said we came in chains we came in misery
now all our suffering and pains are part of history
we came in chains we must remember that
for that and that alone explains exactly where I'm at
we came in chains we came as live and loot
so you can boast slave gotten gains we've roamed beneath your boot
we came in chains and how our blood was spilled
together with our sweat sustains this nation we helped build
we came in chains we didn't volunteer
and yet today the fact remains we're still held captive here
we came in chains now you can cut us loose
though that may go against your grain, still there's no excuse
we came in chains now who on earth gonna bear the cost
'til every one of us regains the freedom we have lost
we came in chains and now your charge must be
to either blow out all my brains or else just set me free
da da da da da da da da da da (Ali's machine gun imitation)

Muhammad Ali is a living hero!