Problems connected with sports nowdays
• I think that the main problem connected with sports nowdays is that the reason why people did sports a hundred years ago and why they do it now changed
In the past - people did sports for fun, they just wanted to move their bodies, they didn’t care whether they would get on Olympic games - they liked the sport for itself and the sport made them happy
Nowdays - in our present society, when the world is quickly developing and modernising, when everything becomes more difficult and elaborate, the standard for being the best in something moved up > only very few people can stand on the real peak of human race and sportsmen think that they can if they work very, very hard; so the reason is not the fun of the game or sport, but it is to be the best, to beat everybody and to show everybody I’m the best
• and what’s the result of this degeneration of the function of sports ? > people regardlessly try to win at any price, fair play is not important anymore and spotsmen start to take drugs (no matter they destroy their body, but they win and that’s what they want)
• another problem is commercialism of sports and Olympic games - sportsmen need proffesional and expensive equipment, so the companies support them and than everybody can see that the fastest man wears a Nike T-shirt; sometimes I think that the competers didn’t win for themselves but for the company; it’s not surprising anymore when you see a famous sportsman in a commercial or when he has a restaurant (e.g. Michael Jordan’s in Chicago)
Sports and me
• I think that the main and only function of any sport is to bring happiness and fun from moving; of course it is nice to win some competiton but the winner has to say : “OK, maybe I’m so good maybe it was just a luck, but I like this sport and I would be happy the same if I was the last”
• when I was young, I used to play tennis for about 3 years, but I must say I didn’t like it very much; I didn’t like going to trainings because there were too many people and I was the youngest and the worst of them; but what I liked was to play on weekends mornings with my father (I beated him twice)
• I did judo for approximately one year but I gave it up because I didn’t like it at all - I was kind of sensitive
• now I play frisbee and it’s the greatest game in the world; it originated in America in 1960’s and came to Europe in early 90’s, I started to do it 2 years ago and quickly learned the basic - throw the disc, now I’m not the worst; once a week we go running and another day we train in a hall or outdoor during the summer; I’ve been only on four ultimate cups and our team was always on last three positions; but it doesn’t matter, we are relatively young team and we all like it
• I would also mention that I do rollerblade skating, but mainly during the summer
• I don’t watch TV very much but if I had to choose a sport to watch, it would be hockey - it is quick, action and CR is good in it
Sports popular in our country and in the English-speaking world
CR - Czechs are traditionally good in hockey, football and athletics; I think that I don’t have to remind the Olympic games in Nagano, because everybody in Czech country knows our “Golden Team” or at least goalman Hasek or forward Jagr; we were good in football between two world wars and now it is still the traditional sport, but rather domestic; we have always been good in athletics and still are; I could name Zatopek, Fibingerova from 50’s and 60’s and Zelezny, Kasparkova and Dvorak from present days
USA - we could say that Americans created their own, very uncommon sports, which became more popular than anything else - baseball, basketball, American football and golf; 40 000 people visiting one match is not surptising, but many people go there not to see the match, but their heroes or to chat with friends; you can get 10 000$ if you catch the homerun from Mark McGuire
England - traditional sports would be here probably football and tennis; although the English tennis players haven’t been succesful since 1930’s, Wimbledon is the most famous of all lawn tennis centres; it is home of the “Lawn Tennis Championships on Grass”, the oldest and most prestigious of the tournaments; Wimbledon is situated in Church Road, in a residential district of southwest London; there are some 16 grass courts and 10 clay courts, the Centre Court and the No.1 are the two principal courts; the first championships were held by the All-England Club in 1877 at the original site in Worple Road, Wimbledon
Highland Games - series of organized sports events held in Scotland annually since the 19th century and in many places in Canada and the United States; one of the best known of the games is the Braemar Gathering, held in Aberdeenshire in Scotland in August; competition for prizes is held in the standard athletic events and in uniquely Scottish sports such as tossing the caber - a fir tree pole about 5 m long and weighing about 41kg and the weight - a 25-kg sphere; Scottish dancing, Gaelic recitations, and the playing of the bagpipes are also featured
Článek podporuje:
inline hokej, nordic skating, helmy levně
CZECH LIFESTYLE
CZECH LIFESTYLE
The first thing to say is that czech lifestyle itself is not strictly czech. It is influenced by neighbouring countries,mainly by Germany and Austria. But in my opinion the country which influences czech lifestyle most is the USA which also changes lifestyle of the whole Europe. But of course we do have many typical czech habits and ways of doing things in our lives!
If we speak about place for living, the important thing to say is that so many people still live in blocks of flats. Here we can still see the influence of comunism. In this period blocks of flats were seen by the government as the best place for living and they were built in every town and also in many villages. These buldings often do not look very good, they are grey and high and usualy many of them are built on one place together. But in the past ten years people started to move to family houses. These are built in parts of the cities, which are far from centre and also in villages. For exaple in Prague have been built whole parts consisting of these houses.
Also the way of our grandmother´s cooking sometimes still remains comunism. Because these days meat was very expensive and the one who cooked it at home more than once or twice a week was seen as someone wealthier. And the others just envyed. It seems funny now. But nowadays there have been great changes. Our cousine has been influenced by the Western European coutries and also by American hamburgers and Coca - cola. People in Czech Republic started eating healthier and I think this is a good way.
In my opinion, the thing which hasn´t changed for past 50 years is number of children in an average family. It´s still one or two. Also almost all birthdays and anniversaries celebrates the whole family together. But these days we can see the influnce of the rest of Europe and USA - many women want to live alone, or want to have child but not man. They want to be more independent. Or both men and women live very often alone till they´re about 30 years old, because they want to make a career and money.
The next thing to be noticed is that the way of spending free time has changed a lot. And I think this is the part of czech lifestyle which has been influenced mostly by USA. Nowadays many people sit in front of the TV and eat there - in USA these people are called couch potatoes. Or eating pop-corn in cinema is, I think, a typical American habit and many czech people influenced by this do the same. Also TV and cinema are influenced America. But in Czech Republic I think you have many possibilities how to spend your free time - especially in bigger towns. There are usually many sport fascilities like swimming pools, tennis courts, sports centres ... and also many fascilities for entertainment like cinemas or music clubs.
Travelling and the way of spending holidays is the thing which has changed completely in past ten years. Now people can travel wherever they want. And they do so. Many families save money all the year to have a holiday abroad because this kind of holiday is still rather expensive.
And finnaly - attitude to work. In the Czech Republic people are still a little bit lazy. But these days I think more and more people realize that it´s not a good way how to earn money, which they want so much. So it´s getting better.
I think that Czech lifestyle is very interesting, because if we compare it with neighbouring countries, there still is a difference and I think we shouldn´t let our lifestyle be influenced by the others too much.
The first thing to say is that czech lifestyle itself is not strictly czech. It is influenced by neighbouring countries,mainly by Germany and Austria. But in my opinion the country which influences czech lifestyle most is the USA which also changes lifestyle of the whole Europe. But of course we do have many typical czech habits and ways of doing things in our lives!
If we speak about place for living, the important thing to say is that so many people still live in blocks of flats. Here we can still see the influence of comunism. In this period blocks of flats were seen by the government as the best place for living and they were built in every town and also in many villages. These buldings often do not look very good, they are grey and high and usualy many of them are built on one place together. But in the past ten years people started to move to family houses. These are built in parts of the cities, which are far from centre and also in villages. For exaple in Prague have been built whole parts consisting of these houses.
Also the way of our grandmother´s cooking sometimes still remains comunism. Because these days meat was very expensive and the one who cooked it at home more than once or twice a week was seen as someone wealthier. And the others just envyed. It seems funny now. But nowadays there have been great changes. Our cousine has been influenced by the Western European coutries and also by American hamburgers and Coca - cola. People in Czech Republic started eating healthier and I think this is a good way.
In my opinion, the thing which hasn´t changed for past 50 years is number of children in an average family. It´s still one or two. Also almost all birthdays and anniversaries celebrates the whole family together. But these days we can see the influnce of the rest of Europe and USA - many women want to live alone, or want to have child but not man. They want to be more independent. Or both men and women live very often alone till they´re about 30 years old, because they want to make a career and money.
The next thing to be noticed is that the way of spending free time has changed a lot. And I think this is the part of czech lifestyle which has been influenced mostly by USA. Nowadays many people sit in front of the TV and eat there - in USA these people are called couch potatoes. Or eating pop-corn in cinema is, I think, a typical American habit and many czech people influenced by this do the same. Also TV and cinema are influenced America. But in Czech Republic I think you have many possibilities how to spend your free time - especially in bigger towns. There are usually many sport fascilities like swimming pools, tennis courts, sports centres ... and also many fascilities for entertainment like cinemas or music clubs.
Travelling and the way of spending holidays is the thing which has changed completely in past ten years. Now people can travel wherever they want. And they do so. Many families save money all the year to have a holiday abroad because this kind of holiday is still rather expensive.
And finnaly - attitude to work. In the Czech Republic people are still a little bit lazy. But these days I think more and more people realize that it´s not a good way how to earn money, which they want so much. So it´s getting better.
I think that Czech lifestyle is very interesting, because if we compare it with neighbouring countries, there still is a difference and I think we shouldn´t let our lifestyle be influenced by the others too much.
The Czech Republic
The Czech Republic
Vocabulary
equal - rovný
interior - vnitřní
defence - obrana
labour - práce
supreme - najvyšší
contemporary - dnešní, soudobý
engineering - strojírenský
varied - rozmanitý
dean - děkan
in favour - ve prospěch
fertile - úrodný
clay - jíl, kaolín
establish - vytvořit
Over the map, industry, politics
Where is the Czech Republic situated?
What is its area and number of inhabitants?
What are the most important mountain ranges in our country?
What rivers can be found in our territory?
What are our natural resources and where are their deposits?
What kind of industry is developed here? Which are typical products for our country?
Which are the main agricultural areas in CR? What is grown there?
Name some famous castles, chateaux and ruins in Czech Republic.
Do you know any czech spas?
Which spots of natural beauty do you know?
What do you know about our system of govrnment?
What cultural heritage do we have?
History
What was the name of the first state on our territory and when was it founded?
What did the reign of Charles IV. bring to Czech lands?
What do you know about John Huss and the Hussite Movement?
How did the Hapsburg dynasty rule over our country? And what about the reign of Rudolf II.?
When was the independent Czechoslovak Republic established?
Who took over power in our republic in 1948 and how long were they in power?
When and how was the Czech Republic established?
Vocabulary
equal - rovný
interior - vnitřní
defence - obrana
labour - práce
supreme - najvyšší
contemporary - dnešní, soudobý
engineering - strojírenský
varied - rozmanitý
dean - děkan
in favour - ve prospěch
fertile - úrodný
clay - jíl, kaolín
establish - vytvořit
Over the map, industry, politics
Where is the Czech Republic situated?
What is its area and number of inhabitants?
What are the most important mountain ranges in our country?
What rivers can be found in our territory?
What are our natural resources and where are their deposits?
What kind of industry is developed here? Which are typical products for our country?
Which are the main agricultural areas in CR? What is grown there?
Name some famous castles, chateaux and ruins in Czech Republic.
Do you know any czech spas?
Which spots of natural beauty do you know?
What do you know about our system of govrnment?
What cultural heritage do we have?
History
What was the name of the first state on our territory and when was it founded?
What did the reign of Charles IV. bring to Czech lands?
What do you know about John Huss and the Hussite Movement?
How did the Hapsburg dynasty rule over our country? And what about the reign of Rudolf II.?
When was the independent Czechoslovak Republic established?
Who took over power in our republic in 1948 and how long were they in power?
When and how was the Czech Republic established?
Food and Meals, How to Keep Healthy
Food and Meals, How to Keep Healthy
In our country daily meals usually start with breakfast, which consists of something to drink such as tea with sugar and lemon, cold or warm milk or a cocoa. Most people breakfast on several slices of bread, rolls or buns and butter, processed or natural cheese, eggs, ham, salami, jam and so on. We can also have something sweet. Quite a lot of people eat cereal or cornflakes with ingredients like yoghurt, chocolate, stewed fruit, walnuts, hazelnuts and so on. We must always remember that breakfast must be healthy, light and easily digestible.
Around noon it is lunchtime. Most people take their meals at the school canteen, or local canteen, but some people prefer going to a restaurant or having fast food in a McDonalds. But I assume that these meals are neither healthy nor substantial. Soups may be either vegetable (potato, tomato, pea, bean, carrot, parsley, celery, mushrooms) or meat teas (beef tea, tripe, chicken, hen). The main dish can be either sweet such as fruit dumplings or pancakes with jam and cream. Or we can have some meat (beef, pork, veal, mutton, lamb) with some vegetables such as potatoes, chips, rice, Czech dumpling, pasta or bread. More healthy fish and poultry are slowly replacing beef and pork. It’s healthy to drink at least one glass of mineral water, juice, tea or beer, after each meal. Scientists recommend drinking at least two litres of water per a day.
At six or seven in the evening comes time for dinner. At this time the entire family is usually together. We often prepare warm dishes. On some occasions we even go out to restaurants. There we can choose from a menu of various dishes. Roast pork with sauerkraut and dumplings, chicken with rice, fried pork chops with mashed potatoes, filet of fish with potato salad, roasted sirloin beef in sour cream sauce and Czech dumplings. For variety we can order a vegetable salad prepared from tomatoes or cucumbers, stewed fruits or a dessert.
While cooking we may add various spices such as garlic, marjoram, pepper, ketchup, vinegar, mustard, onions, and so on.
Inappropriate food is the cause of quite a few diseases. More frequent now are disorders of the digestive track, stomach and small and large intestine. It is noteworthy but not surprising, that young people are now suffering from these diseases. It is because of fast food. So we should always keep in mind also our health and not just listen to our stomach and the fact that we are hungry.
When you want to be slimmer you can try to go on a diet, but I don’t believe in them, because when you eat something with more calories, then all the weight you lost will be back again. It is better to eat more vegetables and fruits, cereal, and other low caloric and healthy food. And it is also better to eat your last meal before seven PM. Finally, when you sit and do nothing, then all the calories are turned into fat, so I can recommend that you should be more active.
In our country daily meals usually start with breakfast, which consists of something to drink such as tea with sugar and lemon, cold or warm milk or a cocoa. Most people breakfast on several slices of bread, rolls or buns and butter, processed or natural cheese, eggs, ham, salami, jam and so on. We can also have something sweet. Quite a lot of people eat cereal or cornflakes with ingredients like yoghurt, chocolate, stewed fruit, walnuts, hazelnuts and so on. We must always remember that breakfast must be healthy, light and easily digestible.
Around noon it is lunchtime. Most people take their meals at the school canteen, or local canteen, but some people prefer going to a restaurant or having fast food in a McDonalds. But I assume that these meals are neither healthy nor substantial. Soups may be either vegetable (potato, tomato, pea, bean, carrot, parsley, celery, mushrooms) or meat teas (beef tea, tripe, chicken, hen). The main dish can be either sweet such as fruit dumplings or pancakes with jam and cream. Or we can have some meat (beef, pork, veal, mutton, lamb) with some vegetables such as potatoes, chips, rice, Czech dumpling, pasta or bread. More healthy fish and poultry are slowly replacing beef and pork. It’s healthy to drink at least one glass of mineral water, juice, tea or beer, after each meal. Scientists recommend drinking at least two litres of water per a day.
At six or seven in the evening comes time for dinner. At this time the entire family is usually together. We often prepare warm dishes. On some occasions we even go out to restaurants. There we can choose from a menu of various dishes. Roast pork with sauerkraut and dumplings, chicken with rice, fried pork chops with mashed potatoes, filet of fish with potato salad, roasted sirloin beef in sour cream sauce and Czech dumplings. For variety we can order a vegetable salad prepared from tomatoes or cucumbers, stewed fruits or a dessert.
While cooking we may add various spices such as garlic, marjoram, pepper, ketchup, vinegar, mustard, onions, and so on.
Inappropriate food is the cause of quite a few diseases. More frequent now are disorders of the digestive track, stomach and small and large intestine. It is noteworthy but not surprising, that young people are now suffering from these diseases. It is because of fast food. So we should always keep in mind also our health and not just listen to our stomach and the fact that we are hungry.
When you want to be slimmer you can try to go on a diet, but I don’t believe in them, because when you eat something with more calories, then all the weight you lost will be back again. It is better to eat more vegetables and fruits, cereal, and other low caloric and healthy food. And it is also better to eat your last meal before seven PM. Finally, when you sit and do nothing, then all the calories are turned into fat, so I can recommend that you should be more active.
History of USA
Cuban crisis
• major Cold War confrontation between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) over Soviet-supplied missile installations in Cuba, regarded by many as the world's closest approach to nuclear war
• after Castro’s revolution on Cuba, Eisenhower’s administrative anulled diplomatic relations with Cuba in 1960, because Cuba abused American soldiers on ambassys, took over American property and supported guerrilas in Latin America
• on April 17, 1962, a group of Cuban refugees, trained and equiped in USA, landed on the Cuban coast, in the Bay of Pigs; Castro’s soldiers were waiting for them and 2,000 Cuban refugees were captured or killed by 20,000 Castro’s army
• in October USA had leaerned that Soviet Union had begun missile shipment and spy planes overflying Cuba had photographed Soviet-managed construction work by August 29; and the first ballistic missile was spotted on October 14.
• after a week of secret consultation with his advisers, during which options of invasion, air strikes, blockade, or diplomacy were discussed, on October 22 US President John F. Kennedy announced his intention of placing a naval blockade around Cuba to prevent the arrival of more missiles.
• Kennedy demanded that the Soviet Union dismantle and remove the weapons, declaring that US naval forces would intercept and inspect ships bound for Cuba to determine whether they were carrying missiles.
• Soviet vessels en route for Cuba turned away to avoid the quarantined zone, while communication between Khrushchev and Kennedy was opened through diplomatic channels. After several days of negotiations during which nuclear war was feared by many to be a possibility, Khrushchev agreed, on October 28, to dismantle the missile sites and return the weapons to the Soviet Union, offering the United States on-site inspection in return for a guarantee not to invade Cuba
• Kennedy halted the blockade and also secretly promised to withdraw US missiles recently stationed in its NATO partner Turkey
JFK
• J.F. Kennedy comes from a 9-children family, his father was a politician and multimillionaire; he studied the best-known universities and during WWII was a soldier in US NAVY (he rescued his crew from Jappanneese); he begun his political career in congress as a strict anticommunist and supporter of working class; he was elected in the presidential office in November 1960
• he introduced some important social-political changes, e.g. Food stamp program (distribute food to poor people from state supplies), Area development act (unemployed people had an opportunity to build needed buildings and new industrial buildings) and Alliance for progress (USA would support the industrial growth in Latin America)
• JFK was assasinated on November 22 in 1963 in Dallas, Texas, by Lee Harvey Oswald
Vietnam war
• Vietnam war was actually the war between USA and Soviet Union - Soviet Union wanted to spread its communist power and USA was afraid of a “domino theory” (if Vietnam became communist, surrounding countries would become communist too)
• in 1949 South Vietnam was formed by French and a guerrila war between North and South begun; USA started to supply French, but only with non-military arsenal; in 1954 Vietcong under a leadership of communist Ho Chi Minh surrounded French in the South with a president N. D. Diem > negotiations in Geneva continued; in 60’s USA sent advisers in South Vietnam (Johnson and JFK were both fond of the war); the struggles begun in 1964 and continued until 1975
• the ground fights were unsuccesful for American soldiers because of the difficult landscape and that’s why USA decided to begin the night bomb raids with huge B-52s
• there were many demonstrations held in USA against the war (mainly in years 67-68) because it costed 25 billion $ a year and several lives
• finally Vietnam was divided by Geneva on 17th paralel
Watergate affair
• a major United States political scandal that began with the burglary and wiretapping of the Democratic party's campaign headquarters and that culminated in the first resignation of a US president
• the burglary was committed on June 17, 1972, by five men who were caught in the offices of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate apartment and office complex in Washington, D.C.; their arrest uncovered a White House-sponsored plan of espionage against political opponents and a trail of complicity that led to many of the highest officials in the land
• on July 16, 1973, it was told the committee, on nationwide television, that Nixon had ordered a taping system to be installed in the White House to automatically record all conversations; Nixon refused to release the tapes, claiming they were vital to the national security, but US District Court Judge ruled that Nixon must give the tapes
• Nixon gave the tapes to the court, but some subpoenaed conversations were missing, and one tape had a mysterious gap of 18,5 minutes; experts determined that the gap was the result of five separate erasures; Nixon also released written transcripts of 42 more tapes; the conversations revealed an overwhelming concern with punishing political opponents
• rather than face almost certain impeachment, Nixon resigned on August 9, the first US president to do so
Korean war
• a military struggle fought on the Korean Peninsula from June 1950 to July 1953; it begun as a war between South Korea and North Korea but the conflict swiftly developed into a limited international war involving the United States and 19 other nations; from a general viewpoint, the Korean War was one of the by-products of the cold war
• North Korea apparently attacked South Korea without the knowledge of either the Soviet Union or the People's Republic of China; the war began on June 25 when the North Korean leader, Kim Il Sung, invaded the south of the 38th parallel, supported by the growing opposition to South Korea's president and thinking of reuniting the two Koreas; the United States immediately responded by sending supplies to Korea
• US President Harry S. Truman ordered combat forces stationed in Japan deployed to Korea; American forces, those of South Korea, and other nationalities forces were placed under a unified UN command headed by the US commander in chief in the Far East, General Douglas MacArthur
• at the beginning the American and other UN troops were pushed back to a small area in the south-east of South Korea, but McArthur made an excellent offensive and his troops soon reached the south borders of China; after some time they again had to retreat against well-supplied and fresh Chinnese army and McArthur changed his agressive plans only to prevent south Korea from invasion from the north
• the discussions for a ceasefire begun in July in 1951, between representatives of the UN and Communist commands; the truce negotiations continued intermittently for two years
McCarthyism
• the early 50’s in USA are often known as McCarthyism, a by-product of the cold war, when the people feared being attacked by nuclear weapons, spreading communism and this was also period of spies and secret agents
• General Joseph McCarthy commanded troops in the Korean war and was well-known for his strong hate of communists; because of his agressive military strategy he was relieved from the command
• he continued his career as a politician and was a chief of the US House of Representatives Committee of Un-American Activities; he became famous with his list of 200 communist in state department and he continued to blame hundreds of people of being member of the Communist party; he was accusing like he was mad and lost all of his popularity
• this persecution of former communists culminated when the Hollywood Ten (American writers who refused to answer whether they had been members of a communist party) were prisoning and later couldn’t be employed anywhere; between years 1947-1954 214 Hollywood workers were accused of membership in the C. party and they had to squeal on others
Civil rights movement
• until WWII there was a strong segregation of blacks, they couldn’t eat in the same restaurants, sit in the same places in buses and trains, go to swimming pools, vote and drink the same water; during the WWII, according to Truman’s orders, the blacks were given the same positions in the army as the white and in 1948 the army was desegregated
• in 1954 the segregation in schools was outlawed and the black children could attend the same schools as white pupils; in 1957 9 black students tried to enroll at a previously all-white high school, but were stopped by national guard; two days later, according to Eisenhower’s order, they were admitted under a protection of federal troops
• the landmark came in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, when a black woman refused to give up her seat to a white passanger and was arrested; this encouraged thousands of blacks , led by Martin Luther King, to Montgomery bus boycott and other willing, but non-violent protests (such as sit-in, civil disobedience); the Supreme court declared segregation in public buses unconstitutional
• in 1963 the black marchers were attacked by dogs and cattles and 4 months later MLK led an assembly on Lincoln Memorial where he delivered “I have a dream ...” speech; when Lyndon B. Johnson overtook the presidential office, he aimed mainly on racial discriminations; the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed which had a powerful impact on equality in accomodation, employment and voting rights ...
• civil rights had been focused mainly in the south, in the north the blacks had worse opportunities in everything; in 1964 many towns in north were struck by riots; the black nationalist movement in the 60’s was very strong, some of the black leaders called for total segregation rather than integration; among them were the Black muslims led by Malcolm X
• in 1970’s the blacks decided that voting was the most effective way to gain equal rights and by 1985 10% of all American officials were blacks
• major Cold War confrontation between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) over Soviet-supplied missile installations in Cuba, regarded by many as the world's closest approach to nuclear war
• after Castro’s revolution on Cuba, Eisenhower’s administrative anulled diplomatic relations with Cuba in 1960, because Cuba abused American soldiers on ambassys, took over American property and supported guerrilas in Latin America
• on April 17, 1962, a group of Cuban refugees, trained and equiped in USA, landed on the Cuban coast, in the Bay of Pigs; Castro’s soldiers were waiting for them and 2,000 Cuban refugees were captured or killed by 20,000 Castro’s army
• in October USA had leaerned that Soviet Union had begun missile shipment and spy planes overflying Cuba had photographed Soviet-managed construction work by August 29; and the first ballistic missile was spotted on October 14.
• after a week of secret consultation with his advisers, during which options of invasion, air strikes, blockade, or diplomacy were discussed, on October 22 US President John F. Kennedy announced his intention of placing a naval blockade around Cuba to prevent the arrival of more missiles.
• Kennedy demanded that the Soviet Union dismantle and remove the weapons, declaring that US naval forces would intercept and inspect ships bound for Cuba to determine whether they were carrying missiles.
• Soviet vessels en route for Cuba turned away to avoid the quarantined zone, while communication between Khrushchev and Kennedy was opened through diplomatic channels. After several days of negotiations during which nuclear war was feared by many to be a possibility, Khrushchev agreed, on October 28, to dismantle the missile sites and return the weapons to the Soviet Union, offering the United States on-site inspection in return for a guarantee not to invade Cuba
• Kennedy halted the blockade and also secretly promised to withdraw US missiles recently stationed in its NATO partner Turkey
JFK
• J.F. Kennedy comes from a 9-children family, his father was a politician and multimillionaire; he studied the best-known universities and during WWII was a soldier in US NAVY (he rescued his crew from Jappanneese); he begun his political career in congress as a strict anticommunist and supporter of working class; he was elected in the presidential office in November 1960
• he introduced some important social-political changes, e.g. Food stamp program (distribute food to poor people from state supplies), Area development act (unemployed people had an opportunity to build needed buildings and new industrial buildings) and Alliance for progress (USA would support the industrial growth in Latin America)
• JFK was assasinated on November 22 in 1963 in Dallas, Texas, by Lee Harvey Oswald
Vietnam war
• Vietnam war was actually the war between USA and Soviet Union - Soviet Union wanted to spread its communist power and USA was afraid of a “domino theory” (if Vietnam became communist, surrounding countries would become communist too)
• in 1949 South Vietnam was formed by French and a guerrila war between North and South begun; USA started to supply French, but only with non-military arsenal; in 1954 Vietcong under a leadership of communist Ho Chi Minh surrounded French in the South with a president N. D. Diem > negotiations in Geneva continued; in 60’s USA sent advisers in South Vietnam (Johnson and JFK were both fond of the war); the struggles begun in 1964 and continued until 1975
• the ground fights were unsuccesful for American soldiers because of the difficult landscape and that’s why USA decided to begin the night bomb raids with huge B-52s
• there were many demonstrations held in USA against the war (mainly in years 67-68) because it costed 25 billion $ a year and several lives
• finally Vietnam was divided by Geneva on 17th paralel
Watergate affair
• a major United States political scandal that began with the burglary and wiretapping of the Democratic party's campaign headquarters and that culminated in the first resignation of a US president
• the burglary was committed on June 17, 1972, by five men who were caught in the offices of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate apartment and office complex in Washington, D.C.; their arrest uncovered a White House-sponsored plan of espionage against political opponents and a trail of complicity that led to many of the highest officials in the land
• on July 16, 1973, it was told the committee, on nationwide television, that Nixon had ordered a taping system to be installed in the White House to automatically record all conversations; Nixon refused to release the tapes, claiming they were vital to the national security, but US District Court Judge ruled that Nixon must give the tapes
• Nixon gave the tapes to the court, but some subpoenaed conversations were missing, and one tape had a mysterious gap of 18,5 minutes; experts determined that the gap was the result of five separate erasures; Nixon also released written transcripts of 42 more tapes; the conversations revealed an overwhelming concern with punishing political opponents
• rather than face almost certain impeachment, Nixon resigned on August 9, the first US president to do so
Korean war
• a military struggle fought on the Korean Peninsula from June 1950 to July 1953; it begun as a war between South Korea and North Korea but the conflict swiftly developed into a limited international war involving the United States and 19 other nations; from a general viewpoint, the Korean War was one of the by-products of the cold war
• North Korea apparently attacked South Korea without the knowledge of either the Soviet Union or the People's Republic of China; the war began on June 25 when the North Korean leader, Kim Il Sung, invaded the south of the 38th parallel, supported by the growing opposition to South Korea's president and thinking of reuniting the two Koreas; the United States immediately responded by sending supplies to Korea
• US President Harry S. Truman ordered combat forces stationed in Japan deployed to Korea; American forces, those of South Korea, and other nationalities forces were placed under a unified UN command headed by the US commander in chief in the Far East, General Douglas MacArthur
• at the beginning the American and other UN troops were pushed back to a small area in the south-east of South Korea, but McArthur made an excellent offensive and his troops soon reached the south borders of China; after some time they again had to retreat against well-supplied and fresh Chinnese army and McArthur changed his agressive plans only to prevent south Korea from invasion from the north
• the discussions for a ceasefire begun in July in 1951, between representatives of the UN and Communist commands; the truce negotiations continued intermittently for two years
McCarthyism
• the early 50’s in USA are often known as McCarthyism, a by-product of the cold war, when the people feared being attacked by nuclear weapons, spreading communism and this was also period of spies and secret agents
• General Joseph McCarthy commanded troops in the Korean war and was well-known for his strong hate of communists; because of his agressive military strategy he was relieved from the command
• he continued his career as a politician and was a chief of the US House of Representatives Committee of Un-American Activities; he became famous with his list of 200 communist in state department and he continued to blame hundreds of people of being member of the Communist party; he was accusing like he was mad and lost all of his popularity
• this persecution of former communists culminated when the Hollywood Ten (American writers who refused to answer whether they had been members of a communist party) were prisoning and later couldn’t be employed anywhere; between years 1947-1954 214 Hollywood workers were accused of membership in the C. party and they had to squeal on others
Civil rights movement
• until WWII there was a strong segregation of blacks, they couldn’t eat in the same restaurants, sit in the same places in buses and trains, go to swimming pools, vote and drink the same water; during the WWII, according to Truman’s orders, the blacks were given the same positions in the army as the white and in 1948 the army was desegregated
• in 1954 the segregation in schools was outlawed and the black children could attend the same schools as white pupils; in 1957 9 black students tried to enroll at a previously all-white high school, but were stopped by national guard; two days later, according to Eisenhower’s order, they were admitted under a protection of federal troops
• the landmark came in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, when a black woman refused to give up her seat to a white passanger and was arrested; this encouraged thousands of blacks , led by Martin Luther King, to Montgomery bus boycott and other willing, but non-violent protests (such as sit-in, civil disobedience); the Supreme court declared segregation in public buses unconstitutional
• in 1963 the black marchers were attacked by dogs and cattles and 4 months later MLK led an assembly on Lincoln Memorial where he delivered “I have a dream ...” speech; when Lyndon B. Johnson overtook the presidential office, he aimed mainly on racial discriminations; the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed which had a powerful impact on equality in accomodation, employment and voting rights ...
• civil rights had been focused mainly in the south, in the north the blacks had worse opportunities in everything; in 1964 many towns in north were struck by riots; the black nationalist movement in the 60’s was very strong, some of the black leaders called for total segregation rather than integration; among them were the Black muslims led by Malcolm X
• in 1970’s the blacks decided that voting was the most effective way to gain equal rights and by 1985 10% of all American officials were blacks
Přihlásit se k odběru:
Příspěvky (Atom)