rain.dancer's New Writeupshttp://everything2.com/?node=New%20Writeups%20Atom%20Feed&foruser=rain.dancer2010-07-15T23:30:27ZHe has redefined me, again and again (person)http://everything2.com/user/rain.dancer/writeups/He+has+redefined+me%252C+again+and+againrain.dancerhttp://everything2.com/user/rain.dancer2010-07-15T23:30:27Z2010-07-15T23:30:27Z<p>It's not exactly that I was uninspired to write this, but rather that I could not fathom how I would condense so many thoughts and <a href="/title/moment">moments</a> into <a href="/title/Words+to+help+you+remember+how+it+feels">written words</a> across a computer screen.</p>
<p>And yet, now, <a href="/title/A+molecule+of+moment">the moment</a> seems to have come. I told myself a while ago that I would write him a text, write something that would be immortalised on the internet and that would be a bit like a friendly hug and smile, or a wink from across a computer screen.</p>
<p>Him and his <a href="/title/Shakespeare">Shakespeare</a>, who he dislikes tremendously yet somehow manages to tolerate enough to throw little snippets of <a href="/title/Elizabethan+English">Elizabethan English</a> at me, making me smile and occasionally melt into a puddle of literary enthusiasm.</p>
<p>He was the one who bullied me into installing <a href="/title/MSN">MSN</a> and going through the hassle of setting up an account, and I've only ever regretted that decision when it's been late, late at night, and I desperately need to work yet find myself distracted by a<!-- close unclosed tag --></p>…Guess what? I'm NOT talking to myself. (person)http://everything2.com/user/rain.dancer/writeups/Guess+what%253F+I%2527m+NOT+talking+to+myself.rain.dancerhttp://everything2.com/user/rain.dancer2010-05-09T17:00:13Z2010-05-09T17:00:13Z<p>Of course I'm not talking to myself. That would be, you know, what crazy people do. And I'm not crazy. No sirree, I'm completely sane, quite <a href="/title/normal">normal</a>.</p>
<p>Of course I'm not <a href="/title/I%2527m+always+breathless+when+you+call">talking into an empty phone</a>, pretending that there's someone on the other end answering me, talking to me, caring and listening. Because seriously, who the hell is that needy? Who is so insecure that they need <a href="/title/Because+I+needed+to+hear+you+over+the+noise">someone to listen to them talk</a>, even if it's actually just an imaginary person?</p>
<p>Oh, I was just moving my lips to some lyrics I was thinking about. It's an awesome song, of course I'd sing along to it. Puh-leeease, have you never reviewed your chemistry notes under your breath, thinking about the structure of <a href="/title/aldehydes">aldehydes</a>, <a href="/title/ketones%2520">ketones </a>and <a href="/title/carboxylic+acids">carboxylic acids</a>? It's one of the best ways to study, you know?</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>
<br>Oh good. No one's looking. No one's listening. I can finally continue the conversation I was having. With myself.<!-- close unclosed tag --></p>…1947 Polish free elections (event)http://everything2.com/user/rain.dancer/writeups/1947+Polish+free+electionsrain.dancerhttp://everything2.com/user/rain.dancer2010-04-29T14:19:06Z2010-04-29T14:19:06Z<p>The 1947 "<a href="/title/Free+and+fair+elections">free elections</a>" in Poland:
<br>- These elections were promised by <a href="/title/Stalin">Stalin</a>at <a href="/title/Yalta+Conference">Yalta</a> in 1945
<br>- They only ended up taking place on January 19th 1947
<br>- People were killed/intimidated/deported beforehand
<br>- ~50,000+ people were sent to Siberia before the elections - this contributed to an atmosphere of fear and anxiety
<br>- Large number of censored participants – about 1M voters overall were taken off the vote register
<br>- Quoting Desmond Donnelly in <em>Struggle for the World</em>, "In these appalling circumstances of <a href="/title/intimidation">intimidation</a>, it was not surprising that Beirut's Communists secured complete control in Poland." (Note that Beirut was the <a href="/title/Baggage+Train+leaders">Baggage Train leader</a> for Poland.)
<br>- The West considered the elections a complete breach of the conclusions reached at Yalta while the Soviets thought that they were a <a href="/title/victory">victory</a> against Western influence</p>
<p>These elections led to a pattern that continued throughout Eastern<!-- close unclosed tag --></p>…Baggage Train leaders (person)http://everything2.com/user/rain.dancer/writeups/Baggage+Train+leadersrain.dancerhttp://everything2.com/user/rain.dancer2010-04-29T14:06:00Z2010-04-29T14:06:00Z<p>Baggage Train leaders
<br>- Spent most of <a href="/title/World+War+II">WWII</a> in <a href="/title/Moscow">Moscow</a>
<br>- Were adept Communists that were trusted by the Soviet government and followed <a href="/title/Stalinism">Stalinist communism</a>
<br>- Were reinstated during Stalin's use of <a href="/title/Salami+Tactics">salami tactics</a>
<br>- Placed in <a href="/title/Poland">Poland</a> (Beirut), <a href="/title/Bulgaria">Bulgaria</a> (Kolarov), <a href="/title/Romania">Romania</a> (Pauker) and <a href="/title/Hungary">Hungary</a> (Rakosi)
<br>- Ensured a Moscow-style Communist government in the Eastern European states that they returned to</p>Salami Tactics (thing)http://everything2.com/user/rain.dancer/writeups/Salami+Tacticsrain.dancerhttp://everything2.com/user/rain.dancer2010-04-29T14:04:10Z2010-04-29T14:04:10Z<p>“Salami Tactics” are generally used by Cold War historians to name a USSR technique for gaining further control of <a href="/title/Eastern+Europe">Eastern Europe</a> post-WWII and more specifically describes a steady gain of parts of Europe through political control:
<br><ul>
<li> Soviets help organise “anti-fascist” governments throughout Eastern Europe to seem benevolent </li>
<li> They slowly shut down/get rid of the political parties one at a time </li>
<li> Eventually, the Communist-style parties are left in place – they can be restaffed by convenient Moscow-trained people (such as the <a href="/title/Baggage+Train+leaders">Baggage Train leaders</a>) if necessary </li></ul></p>
<p>The name "salami tactics" is reputed to come from the Moscow-sponsored Communist leader of Hungary, Rakosi, who commented that the USSR was gaining control of Eastern Europe "like slicing off salami, piece by piece". Historians liked his description of the way in which the Soviet Union narrowed in their focus and cut off competitive parties until there was only an "end piece" or the final<!-- close unclosed tag --></p>…London Poles (person)http://everything2.com/user/rain.dancer/writeups/London+Polesrain.dancerhttp://everything2.com/user/rain.dancer2010-04-29T13:50:12Z2010-04-29T13:50:12Z<p>London Poles:</p>
<p>- A group of Poles who left Poland between 1939-1940 while it was being assaulted by <a href="/title/German">German</a> and Soviet forces
<br>- They were mainly composed of members of armed forces and government
<br>- Most fled to England though some decided to go to France where they helped with the war effort
<br>- Supported by <a href="/title/Churchill">Churchill</a> who favoured their being reinstated into the Polish government at <a href="/title/Yalta+Conference">Yalta</a></p>