Fall of the USSR: Why?

J. André Faust May 07, 2023

The Soviet Union, officially known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), collapsed in 1991 for a variety of complex reasons, both internal and external. Some key factors include:

1. Economic problems: The centralized, command economy of the USSR was inefficient and inflexible, leading to stagnation and a decline in living standards. As a result, the Soviet Union fell behind technologically and economically compared to Western countries.

2. Political structure: The USSR was a one-party state with a rigid, top-down political system. This led to widespread corruption, bureaucracy, and a lack of incentive for innovation and improvement. Political repression and censorship limited the free flow of ideas and information, further stifling progress.

3. Nationalism and ethnic tensions: The Soviet Union was a diverse country, made up of numerous ethnic groups with their own unique cultures and languages. Forced assimilation and repression of local cultures fueled resentment and separatist movements across the USSR.

4. The arms race and military spending: The Cold War competition with the United States and its allies led the USSR to allocate a significant portion of its resources to military spending. This further strained the economy and diverted resources from social and economic development.

5. Gorbachev's reforms: In the late 1980s, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev introduced a series of reforms aimed at addressing the USSR's economic and political problems. Perestroika (restructuring) attempted to decentralize the economy, while Glasnost (openness) allowed for greater freedom of expression and information. These reforms, however, led to increased public dissatisfaction and demands for more change, ultimately contributing to the collapse of the system.

6. External pressures: The United States and its allies, under President Ronald Reagan, pursued policies aimed at weakening the Soviet Union economically, militarily, and diplomatically. These efforts, combined with other global developments such as the rise of democracy in Eastern Europe, put significant pressure on the USSR.

The combination of these factors, along with others, led to a rapid unraveling of the Soviet Union, which officially dissolved on December 26, 1991

 

Russia and Ukraine Crises in less than 7 Minutes

Convoy organizer lawyer Keith Wilson reacts to the Emergencies Act inqui...

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Civil liberties group reacts to the Emergencies Act inquiry’s report

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Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre did not address the commisioners report

 

 

The title of the YouTube video is  very misleading, only about thirty seconds he talked about the freedom convoy. During question period he talked a bit more about demonstration. The first half is in French, and the second is in English. This is a pre-election rhetoric. He forgets to mention that if the carbon tax were eliminated, the financial elites would not pass it on to the consumer. He failed to mention that the minister has no say on inflation,, and that is the bank that Canada that makes that decision.

 

CBC question him about the freedom convoy, and he attacked the CBC the straw man fallacy.

For my anglophone friends the second half is in English.

 

To conclude the title click bate for political rhetoric, because the content and the question period did not really address the issue.

We forget that prime ministers are not gods, but mortals, who do make bad decisions as we all do.

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Rouleau: Public Order Emergency Commission POEC makes 56 Recommendations

Transcript:

Today, I am very pleased to announce that the report of the Public Order Emergency Commission has been submitted to Parliament. It will soon be available on the Commission’s website.

I would like to firstly acknowledge that I am making this statement from the traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishnaabeg People, at the National Archives of Canada, just steps away from where many of the events that led to this inquiry took place.

The Public Order Emergency Commission was established on April 25, 2022 as a result of the Government of Canada’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act in response to protests in Ottawa and elsewhere in Canada in January and February of 2022.

The Commission was directed to examine and report on the circumstances that led to the declaration of a public order emergency, and the measures taken by the government for dealing with the emergency.

The Commission was also tasked with examining, to the extent relevant to the circumstances of the declaration of emergency and the measures taken, the following questions:

• The evolution and goals of the convoy and blockades, their leadership, organization and participants;

• The impact of domestic and foreign funding, including crowdsourcing platforms;

• The impact, role and sources of misinformation and disinformation, including the use of social media;

• The impact of the blockades, including their economic impact; and

• The efforts of police and other responders prior to and after the declaration.

Compromised Computer And Social Media Accounts

 

Transcription

 

Hi, I am André Faust: On December 26th, my main computer was compromised by what I suspect was malware that decrypted my access codes to different social media accounts. I first became aware of a problem when Facebook suspended my account because they thought I was under 14 years old. Once I provided proof of my age, my account was reinstated. However, moments later, I received another email from Facebook telling me my account had been suspended for violating their community standards. I disagreed with the decision but was not given an opportunity to explain that my account had been hijacked.

I have been receiving notices that I only have 12 days to disagree before my account will be deleted, even though I had already filed a disagreement. The problem with Facebook is that they do not allow users to make a written submission to dispute their decisions regarding account termination. They act as judge, jury, and executioner, and users have no means of contesting or appealing their decisions.

I have created a new account, J André Faust. Additionally, after receiving notices from Google and Twitter of suspicious attempts to access my accounts, I checked my credit cards and discovered that around $10,000 had been charged to one of them. I immediately contacted my bank and was reimbursed the full amount for the unauthorized purchases.

To summarize:

Malware got into my computer, allowing the cracker to access Facebook and place content that violated facebooks community standards. The crackers did not only access Facebook but attempted to access my google and Twitter accounts. They successfully defrauded my credit card, for which the bank reimbursed me.

Hackers and Crackers are becoming very sophisticated and often work in teams, each member specializing in security aspects. Virus checkers are limited because they have to have identified the signature of malware before they can provide protection. In my case, I believe that it was a novel malware that had not yet been identified, and that is how it got past me.

While it is important to keep your virus/malware checker and browser security up to date, one may rarely experience an intrusion as I have. The point is that there are never any guarantees that your online activities are safe; even online shopping has the potential to reveal information that nefarious criminals can exploit. There are no absolutes in life, only probabilities that exist.

Thank you, and until next time take care and always hold that winning card.

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