Monday Information on Late April of 2020.

As 1953 came about, more Cold War crisis existed. By January 20, 1953, Dwight D. Eisenhower was President with John Foster Dulles as the Secretary of State. Stalin died on March 5, 1953. The Soviet Union had a power struggle for a time. Soviet troops crushed the uprising of 1953 in East Germany. The Cuban Revolution started on July 26, 1953 when Fidel Castro tried to overthrow the dictatorship of the government of Fulgencio Batista. July 27, 1953 was the date when the Korean War ended after Eisenhower threatened the use of nuclear weapons. August 19, 1953 was when the CIA and the British MI6 worked together to assist a royalist coup of Prime Minister Mohammed Mosaddeq via Operation Ajax. This was done to restore the Shah of Iran or Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The coup came about after Iran nationalized its oil industry, and the West was afraid of Iran joining the Soviet camp. By September 7, 1953, Nikita Khrushchev was the leader of the Soviet Communist Party. His main rival or Lavrentiy Beria was executed on December of 1953. December 4-8 was when Eisenhower met with Churchill and Joseph Laniel of France in Bermuda. January 21, 1954 was when America launched the world’s first nuclear submarine called the USS Nautilus. This nuclear submarine would become the ultimate nuclear deterrent. The KGB was created as a successor agency of the NKVD on March 13, 1954. May 7, 1954 was an important date of the Cold War. That was the time when the Viet Minh defeated the French at Dien Bien Phu. France withdrew from the Indochina peninsula. Four independent states are formed. They are Cambodia, Laos, and North Vietnam including South Vietnam. The Geneva Accords call for free elections to unite Vietnam. Yet, none of the major Western powers wished this to occur in the likely case that the Viet Minh (nationalist Communists) would win. The Hukalahap revolt was defeated in the Philippines on May of 1954. On June 18, 1954, the elected leftist Guatemalan government was overthrown in a CIA-backed coup. An unstable rightist regime installs itself. Opposition leads to a guerrilla war with Marxist rebels in which major human rights abuses are committed on all sides in Guatemala. Nevertheless, the regime survives until the end of the Cold War. By July 8, 1954, Col. Carlos Castillo Armas is elected president of the junta that overthrew the administration of Guatemalan President Jacobo Arbenz Guzman. On July 22, India annexed the Portuguese territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. On August 11, 1954, the Taiwan Strait Crisis started with the Chinese Communist shelling of Taiwanese islands. The US backs Taiwan, and the crisis resolves itself as both sides decline to take action. The date of September 8, 1954, there was the foundation of the South East Asian Treaty Organization (SEATO) by Australia, France, New Zealand, Pakistan, Thailand, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Like NATO, it is founded to resist Communist expansion, this time in the Philippines and Indochina. Suriname was a Dutch constituent state on December 15, 1954. The Baghdad Pact (on February 24, 1955) was founded by Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. It was committed to resisting Communist expansion in the Middle East. The Soviets gave aid to Syria on March 1955, and the Syrians were allies of the Soviets until the end of the Cold War. There was the Bandung Conference was first held in Bandung, Indonesia via the Asia-Africa Conference. This was on April 1955. On April of that year, the Non-Aligned Movement is pioneered by Jawaharlal Nehru of India, Sukarno of Indonesia, Tito of Yugoslavia, Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt and Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana. This movement was designed to be a bulwark against the 'dangerous polarization' of the world at that time and to restore balance of power with smaller nations. It was an international organization of states considering themselves not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. The Allies end military occupation of West Germany by May 5, 1955. On the next day, America started formal diplomatic relations with West Germany also followed by the United Kingdom and France. West Germany joined NATO and started rearmament on May 9. By May 14, the Warsaw Pact is founded in Eastern Europe and includes East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Albania, Bulgaria, and the Soviet Union. It acts as the Communist military counterpart to NATO. Austria was neutralized and Allied occupation ends of Austria on May 15. President Dwight D. Eisenhower of the United States, Prime Minister Anthony Eden of the United Kingdom, Premier Nikolai A. Bulganin of the Soviet Union, and Prime Minister Edgar Faure of France, known as the 'Big Four', attended the Geneva Summit. Also in attendance was Nikita Khrushchev of the Soviet Union. This was on July 18. On November 1, 1955, the Vietnam War as we know it started. On February 25, 1956, Nikita Khrushchev delivers the speech "On the Personality Cult and its Consequences" at the closed session of the Twentieth Party Congress of the CPSU. The speech marks the beginning of the De-Stalinization.

At Poznań, Poland, anti-communist protests lead to violence on June 28, 1956. The United States and the United Kingdom canceled offers of aid on the construction of the Aswan Dam in Egypt due to its arms purchases from the Eastern Bloc. Nasser retaliates by nationalizing the Suez Canal. That was in July. By October 23, 1956, there was the Hungarian Revolution of 1956: Hungarians revolt against the Soviet dominated government. They are crushed by the Soviet military, which reinstates a Communist government. The leaders of the Hungarian Revolution were socialists and progressives. On October 29, 1956, there was the Suez Crisis. This was when France, Israel, and the United Kingdom attacked Egypt with the goal of removing Nasser from power. International diplomatic pressures forced the attackers to withdraw. Canadian Lester B. Pearson encouraged the United Nations to send a Peacekeeping force, the first of its kind, to the disputed territory. Lester B. Pearson wins a Nobel Peace Prize for his actions, and soon after becomes Canadian Prime Minister. There was the Viet Cong insurgency growing in South Vietnam. This was sponsored by North Vietnam on December of 1956. 1956 saw the Sino-Soviet split of the Cold War. This was one of the most important events of the Cold War. It was about Khrushchev criticizing Stalin after he died because of Stalin’s authoritarianism, gulags, etc. Mao didn’t like this, because Mao was a lifelong Stalin advocate. Mao didn’t respect Khrushchev and accused him of losing his revolutionary edge. Khrushchev said that Mao was an extremist because of his glib attitude about nuclear war. Khrushchev made many desperate attempts to reconstitute the Sino-Soviet Alliance, but Mao refused any compromise. This caused an intra-communist debate. The Soviets and the nation of China competed for the leadership of the global communist movement. In retrospect, that split contributed to the victory of the West in the Cold War along with other factors (like the decline of the Soviet Union, revolutions in Europe during the 1980’s, etc.).


For centuries, many Western imperialists oppressed people all across the world. One positive outcome of World War II was that new nations started to form in opposition to colonialism in Africa, Asia, the Americas, etc. Decolonization after 1945 radically expanded. Also, many of these countries with nationalist movements wanted independence. Some had links to Communists and others didn’t. In the eyes of the Western imperialists, they wanted new nations to be satellites of the West. That is why the United States and the Soviet Union competed against each other for influenced in the Third World. This decolonization movement in the Third World lasted in the 1950’s, the 1960’s, and beyond. Both sides sold armaments to gain influence. The Soviets believed that imperial powers losing their influence were the victory of their ideology. It is also important to note that many new nations from colonialism wanted no influence from the Communists or the Capitalists. The United States via the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) were active in coups. The CIA fought “non-cooperative” Third World government to their interests while praising pro-CIA governments. The CIA even funded anti-communist rebels to try to overthrow the Sukarno government in Indonesia. The rebels failed by 1961. In the Republic of the Congo, it was independent from Belgium by June of 1960. The CIA cultivated President Joseph Kasa-Vubu ordered the dismissal of the democratically elected Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba and the Lumumba cabinet in September of 1960. Lumumba called for Kasa-Vuvbu’s dismissal. During this Congo Crisis, the CIA-backed Colonel Mobutu Sese Seko quickly mobilized his forces to seize power via a military coup d’état. The CIA supported the assassination of the great leader Patrice Lumumba. The leftist People’s Progressive Party candidate Cheddi Jaganwon was forced to resign from the British Guiana after the British suspension of the still dependent nations’ constitution. Between 1954 to 1961, Eisenhower sent economic aid and military advisors to strengthen South Vietnam’s pro-Western regime against communist efforts to destabilize it. Vietnam was divided by North and South at the 17th parallel. South Vietnam’s leader of Diem was a known dictator. Many nations in Asia, Africa, and Latin America didn’t want to choose sides in the Cold War. The Non-Aligned Movement of 1961 wanted neutrality. Khrushchev wanted to deal with neutral states. Independence movements caused the Third World to be more pluralistic and cause the rise of nationalism in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America.


Life in America from 1945 to 1956 was massively different than America today in 2020. America was a superpower along with the Soviet Union. American society was in the midst of change and challenges. During this time, more people lived in the suburbs because of less expensive homes and other economic resources like the GI bill given people more opportunities. Highways expanded especially under Eisenhower. There was a growth of a conservative culture where nuclear families were overtly promoted. Many adults didn’t even wear beards. Women wore conservative dresses and other clothes. TV shows were middle of road without many controversies. Also, there were other things going on in America. America still had massive poverty, racial discrimination, sexism, and other evils. These evils are wrong and have no justification period. That is why social movements like the Civil Rights Movement grew into the next level. After the unjust murder of a child named Emmett Till, you saw more protests in the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the fight for more civil rights laws, and more people speaking out for racial equality. Before that time, there was the Brown v. Board of Education decision of 1954 that made the segregation of public schools illegal. The problem was that many places refused to desegregate their schools until years or even decades later. Governor Orval Eugene Faubus (Democrat) of Arkansas used the Arkansas National Guard to prevent school integration at Little Rock Central High School in 1957. President Eisenhower (Republican) nationalized state forces and sent in the US Army to enforce federal court orders. Jim Crow back then was always brutal. People were lynched and murdered. Black women were raped by racist cowards. Black men were called the n word by racists regularly. You can’t drink where you want or you did things in segregated locations not only in the South, but Jim Crow existed in parts of the Midwest. Economic growth grew, but poverty massively existed in many parts of the African American, Native American, Latino American, and other communities nationwide. McCarthyism ruined a lot of people lives. Yet, many groups fought back from civil rights groups, the Beat movement, and other people. The culture of the 1950’s also had an expansion of music and art. Rock and roll, R&B, jazz, gospel, country, and other genres were promoted thoroughly in American society.


Most adults already know the responsibilities of any owner of a vehicle or a driver. Yet, we should always be reminded of these things, because every day many innocent people are killed by a drunk driver. Traffic accidents are common nationwide and worldwide.  You are always going to find a minority of cruel, evil people who openly disrespect the law. That is why we drive not only to protect our own lives, but the lives of people around us in the road. Carrying out vehicle maintenance checks, paying bills, going to work, and doing other things are part of a driver’s responsibility. Many cars have navigation apps that help drivers find the most optimal route. Also, business drivers or truck drivers transport clients from airports to hotel plus vice versa. These drivers pick up office purchases or other administrative needs.  All drivers deal with repairs on cars, and car insurance can help people afford necessary repairs. Another very important part of a driver’s life is to understand the rules of the road. Laws evolve and change all of the time. That is why it is very important to be legally wise not only about the rules of the road but state, local, and federal laws. Laws will not be the same all of the time.


Highways are public or private roads worldwide that help people travel across America plus across the world. In America, there is the interstate highway. In Europe, there is the autobahn. Major roads include various highways. Governments readily name highways. Australia’s Highway 1 is the longest national highway in the world with over 9,000 miles of road that goes across the continent. China and America have the largest networks of highways on Earth. Modern highways connect cities together. Some exist around counties too. Highways help trucks and other vehicles to transport supplies globally more efficiently. Traffic demand is always involved in the reality of interstate highways. Sometimes, highways can reduce community cohesion and make local access difficult. The reason is that back in the day, highways were developed in many communities that caused some communities to be displaced. It has increased gentrification and urban renewal was a real event that eliminated a lot of cohesion in many poor and black communities. Property values have decreased in many cutoff neighborhoods, which led to a decreased housing quality over time. That is why researchers monitor the pollution, noise issues, and congestion. Noise, light, and air pollution are negative environmental effectives of many highways. That is why highways have large trees next to them to reduce noise pollution and pollution in general. High occupancy vehicle lanes or HOV are used in North American highways in order to encourage carpooling and mass transit. These lanes help to reduce the number of cars on the highway and can reduce pollution including traffic congestion. Carpooling on these lanes are vitally important. Wildlife crossings allow animals to safely cross human made barriers like highways. Safety signs exist. A 2004 World Health Organization report said that about 1.2 million people were killed and 50 million people were injured on the roads around the world reach year. Some nations have bus lanes on highways. Whether people are on expressways, highways, freeways, or any type of roads, safety is key in having an enjoyable trip.


There is a lot of information about the future of cars. In many cities, we see vehicles show smog (which also relates to carbon dioxide or CO2). Rush hour can be as early as 5 am. and as late as 7 pm. That is why engineers, carmakers, and automotive tech companies will show future, more green-friendly cars. We know that concept cars are how manufacturers work out ideas for the future. That is why future cars will be smarter, nimbler, and safer. Some cars will communicate with one another to prevent collisions. Many concept cars, which some planned to be released by 2025, will have new devices in them. The Chevrolet NE-V. 2.0 now are operating in a ride share program in Shanghai, China. This is an electric networked vehicle. It can go around cities in 25 mph. with a lithium ion battery used for energy. It has a standard steering wheel, accelerator, and brake pedal. It has cameras, lidar sensors, and vehicle to vehicle (V2X) technology to make many driving decision while the driver drives hands free. It has climate control and personal storage space. The Mercedes-Benz F-125 is very special. It has a hydrogen fuel cell system with a lithium sulfur battery for a zero emissions driving range of 621 miles. It is an F-Cell plug in hybrid. The car has the electric power for the four motors, one in each wheel (and it is generated on board by the F-Cell fuel cell). It has a 10 kilowatt hour lithium sulfur battery that can be inductively charged. It can produce 231 horsepower and deliver all-wheel drive traction. It can travel up to 31 miles on battery power alone. It can travel an additional 590 miles with the fuel cell via hydrogen power. Refueling is needed. The Maserati Alfieri is a MC20 or a mid-engine sports car. The Cadillac Celestiq is all electric. It has GM's Ultium lithium ion batteries. Infinti Qs Inspiration is part of the new generation of an all-electric sedan. The Mazda sports car RX-9 is very much filled with a new design and a turbocharged inline six engine.

By Timothy