As it's Christmas we thought we'd give an honourable mention to #GeorgeMichael who died on Christmas Day in 2016 ❤️🎄
In his youth George was a member of the Young Communist League of Britain @yclbritain under his original name, Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou.
While not...
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much is known of his activities & involvement in the League, his father Jack Panos is believed to have been a Greek Cypriot Communist whose influence may have guided his sons early politics.
To label George a Communist throughout his life is likely incorrect, however...
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politics & social activism did play a large part throughout his career. As part of Wham! he performed a benefit concert for the National Union of Mineworkers in September 1984 at London's Royal Festival Hall during the miners strikes. In 1985, Wham! became the first...
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Western pop act to visit China, embarking on a historic 10 day tour, acting as a cultural shift & development of position by the Communist Party of China. During the trip they played 2 concerts, visited the Great Wall, played football, and met Communist Party officials.
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People attending the concerts in China were each given a free cassette tape, with Wham’s original material on one side, and a Chinese singer, Cheng Fangyuan, version on the other, with lyrics changed to add some "Communist flair”, such as “Wake me up before you go go”...
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being changed to “Women are on the same journey and will not fall behind”.
While it was evidently a difficult change of pace for the band who were used the screaming and adoring fans of Britain, it's safe to say that the group's ideas about Communism in China were altered.
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As was that of the Chinese people's in relation to popular Western music, and the development of its own less traditional, more contemporary music moving forward.
As a solo artist, George played a big part in supporting the struggles for Gay & Lesbians rights, even...
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before coming out as Gay himself, such as performing at a concert for World AIDS Day at London's Wembley Arena in 1993.
In 2002 he wrote the song "Shoot The Dog" with lyrics blatantly in opposition to the Iraq invasion, berating the warmongers George W Bush...
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and his “poodle” Tony Blair. In relation to the song, George said that it was: “intended as a piece of political satire, no more no less, and I hope that it will make people laugh and dance, and then think a little, that’s all”.
In 2006, he performed... (9/12)
a free concert for NHS nurses in London to thank those who had cared for his late mother who had died of cancer in 1997. He told the audience: "Thank you for everything you do — some people appreciate it. Now if we can only get the government to do the same thing.”
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After his death, it came to light how he had secretly given away millions to charity & progressive causes over the years, such as to the charity Childline, and volunteered at homeless shelters, while not wanting any public recognition for these acts while alive.
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So today let's all think of George, and let's work together through our various struggles around the world, to progress and better the future for us all.
Today, we honour the legacy of Fidel Castro – leader of the Cuban Revolution and first communist President of Cuba. 🇨🇺🕊️
At the age of 26, Fidel led the notorious assault on Moncada barracks, a failed attempt to overthrow the US-backed dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista.
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During his trial, Fidel made the widely popular speech, "History will absolve me," which brought about his release from prison after only 2 years.
After being exiled to Mexico, Fidel began organising a guerrilla force to topple Batista’s regime.
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In 1956, Fidel and 82 volunteers returned to Cuba by yacht. After landing, they were ambushed by helicopter gunfire; and only 12 made it out alive.
Against all odds, these 12 revolutionaries, armed with the support of the Cuban people, grew into an unstoppable force.
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Both Stalin with 'Socialism in One Country' and Trotsky with 'Permanent Revolution' claimed to carry forward Lenin’s legacy, but for whom was this claim true?
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Today marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the world’s largest and most influential socialist nation. 🇨🇳
Prior to the founding of the PRC, China had suffered through the ‘Century of National Humiliation.’
Foreign powers seized...
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vast amounts of Chinese territory and drove the Qing government into immense debt; Britain forcibly peddled opium into the nation, causing widespread addiction; and during the Second World War, Japan massacred millions and destroyed huge amounts of infrastructure.
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The founding of the PRC ended this period and marked the beginning of China’s road towards modernisation and prosperity.
Under the leadership of Mao Zedong from 1949 until his death in 1976, caloric intake doubled; GDP and literacy rates quintupled, gross industrial...
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The Korean War ended by armistice on this day in 1953. Today, the narrative persists that the war began with an “unprovoked” invasion of the south by the north. But is this entirely accurate? 🇰🇵🇰🇷
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The Soviet Union is often portrayed as having had no democracy, where citizens lived under the ‘iron fist’ of the Communist Party. But is this portrayal fact or fiction? 🗳️🚩
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