Saturday, January 24, 2009
Soekarno's Family
Sukarno officially married eight wives, namely Oetari, Inggit Garnasih, Fatmawati, Hartini, Ratna Sari Dewi Soekarno, Haryati, Yurike Sanger, and Kartini Manoppo. Megawati Sukarnoputri, who served as the fifth president of Indonesia, is his daughter by his wife Fatmawati. Her younger brother Guruh Soekarnoputra (born 1953) has inherited Sukarno's artistic bent and is a gifted choreographer and songwriter, who made a movie Untukmu, Indonesiaku (For You, My Indonesia) about Indonesian culture. He is also a member of the Indonesian Parliament for Megawati's PDI-P party. His siblings Guntur Soekarnoputra, Rachmawati Soekarnoputri and Sukmawati Soekarnoputri have all been active in politics. Sukarno had a daughter named Kartika by Dewi Sukarno. In 2006 Kartika Sukarno married Frits Seegers, the Netherlands-born chief executive officer of the Barclays Global Retail and Commercial Bank. Other offspring include Taufan and Bayu by his wife Hartini, and a son named Toto Suryawan Soekarnoputra (born 1967, in Germany), by his wife Kartini Manoppo. Popular ladies' magazines such as Femina and Kartini regularly run features about newly discovered lookalike sons and daughters throughout the archipelago, who often miraculously disappear when pressed to take a DNA test by the official Sukarno children.
Soekarno
Sukarno, born Kusno Sosrodihardjo (June 6, 1901 – June 21, 1970) was the first President of Indonesia. He helped the country win its independence from the Netherlands and was President from 1945 to 1967, presiding with mixed success over the country's turbulent transition to independence. Sukarno was forced out of power by one of his generals, Suharto, who formally became President in March 1967.
The spelling "Sukarno" has been official in Indonesia since 1947 but the older spelling Soekarno is still frequently used, mainly because he signed his name in the old spelling. Official Indonesian presidential decrees from the period 1947-1968, however, printed his name using the 1947 spelling.
Indonesians also remember him as Bung Karno or Pak Karno. Like many Javanese people, he had only one name; in religious contexts, he was occasionally referred to as 'Achmad Sukarno'.
The spelling "Sukarno" has been official in Indonesia since 1947 but the older spelling Soekarno is still frequently used, mainly because he signed his name in the old spelling. Official Indonesian presidential decrees from the period 1947-1968, however, printed his name using the 1947 spelling.
Indonesians also remember him as Bung Karno or Pak Karno. Like many Javanese people, he had only one name; in religious contexts, he was occasionally referred to as 'Achmad Sukarno'.
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party (German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, abbreviated NSDAP), also called the Nazi Party. He was the ruler of Germany from 1933 to 1945, serving as Chancellor from 1933 to 1945 and as head of state (Führer und Reichskanzler) from 1934 to 1945.
A decorated veteran of World War I, Hitler joined the Nazi Party in 1920 and became its leader in 1921. Following his imprisonment after a 1923 failed coup, he gained support by promoting nationalism, antisemitism and anti-communism with charismatic oratory and propaganda. He was appointed chancellor in 1933, and quickly established a totalitarian and fascist dictatorship. Hitler pursued a foreign policy with the declared goal of seizing Lebensraum ("living space"), and directed the resources of the state, including the economy, toward this goal. His rebuilt Wehrmacht invaded Poland in 1939, leading to the outbreak of World War II in Europe.
Within three years, Germany and the Axis powers occupied most of Europe and large parts of Africa, East and Southeast Asia and the Pacific Ocean. However, the Allies gained the upper hand from 1942 onward and in 1945 Allied armies occupied Germany from all sides. His forces committed numerous atrocities during the war, including the systematic genocide of an estimated six million Jews, known as the Holocaust, as well as various other groups of people.
During the final days of the war in 1945, Hitler married his long-time mistress Eva Braun. Less than 40 hours later, the two committed suicide.
A decorated veteran of World War I, Hitler joined the Nazi Party in 1920 and became its leader in 1921. Following his imprisonment after a 1923 failed coup, he gained support by promoting nationalism, antisemitism and anti-communism with charismatic oratory and propaganda. He was appointed chancellor in 1933, and quickly established a totalitarian and fascist dictatorship. Hitler pursued a foreign policy with the declared goal of seizing Lebensraum ("living space"), and directed the resources of the state, including the economy, toward this goal. His rebuilt Wehrmacht invaded Poland in 1939, leading to the outbreak of World War II in Europe.
Within three years, Germany and the Axis powers occupied most of Europe and large parts of Africa, East and Southeast Asia and the Pacific Ocean. However, the Allies gained the upper hand from 1942 onward and in 1945 Allied armies occupied Germany from all sides. His forces committed numerous atrocities during the war, including the systematic genocide of an estimated six million Jews, known as the Holocaust, as well as various other groups of people.
During the final days of the war in 1945, Hitler married his long-time mistress Eva Braun. Less than 40 hours later, the two committed suicide.
Qin Dynasty
Historians often refer to the period from Qin Dynasty to the end of Qing Dynasty as Imperial China. Though the unified reign of the Qin (秦) Emperor lasted only 12 years, he managed to subdue great parts of what constitutes the core of the Han Chinese homeland and to unite them under a tightly centralized Legalist government seated at Xianyang (咸陽/咸阳) (close to modern Xi'an). The doctrine of legalism that guided the Qin emphasized strict adherence to a legal code and the absolute power of the emperor. This philosophy of Legalism, while effective for expanding the empire in a military fashion, proved unworkable for governing it in peace time. The Qin presided over the brutal silencing of political opposition, including the event known as the burning and burying of scholars. This would be the impetus behind the later Han Synthesis incorporating the more moderate schools of political governance.
The Qin Dynasty is well known for beginning the Great Wall of China, which was later augmented and enhanced during the Ming Dynasty (明朝). The other major contributions of the Qin include the concept of a centralized government, the unification of the legal code, written language, measurement, and currency of China after the tribulations of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods. Even something as basic as the length of axles for carts had to be made uniform to ensure a viable trading system throughout the empire.
The Qin Dynasty is well known for beginning the Great Wall of China, which was later augmented and enhanced during the Ming Dynasty (明朝). The other major contributions of the Qin include the concept of a centralized government, the unification of the legal code, written language, measurement, and currency of China after the tribulations of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods. Even something as basic as the length of axles for carts had to be made uniform to ensure a viable trading system throughout the empire.
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