June 4, 1989

Today is the 20th anniversary of the Chinese government crushing the student led pro democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square.

Student demonstrators calling for government reform and an end to corruption occupied Tiananmen Square in the heart of Beijing for five weeks in the spring of 1989.

Those demonstrations captured the world's attention, but unfortunately between the late evening of June 3 and the early morning hours of June 4, the plug was pulled on the foreign networks such as CNN broadcasting the event and soldiers backed by tanks opened fire on civilians in and around the square. Casualties were estimated between 200-1000 dead.

It also produced the iconic photo in this post of a lone citizen stopping an armored column. The fate of that brave citizen is unknown to this day.

The Chinese government can try to censor it all they want, but no one will forget what happened 20 years ago and the remarkable five weeks preceding it. Keep those that died on June 4, 1989 in your thoughts and prayers.

It's a reminder to those of us who live in democracies that as much as we gripe about the imperfect nature of the governments we live under, these freedoms are hard won and require eternal vigilance to keep.

It is also a reminder that there are people who put their lives on the line in other parts of the world to obtain the freedoms that too many of us take for granted.

Calgary Protestors Give Bush Warm Welcome

When President Obama made his first trip abroad to Canada last month, he was warmly greeted by the people of Ottawa and government leaders from Governor General Michaelle Jean to Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

No such luck for Bushie boy as a shoe throwing crowd emulating Iraqi reporter Muntazer al-Zaidi (sentenced last week to three years in prison for hurling his shoes at Bush in December) of 100 people welcomed him to Calgary and his first speech since slithering out of office in January. Calgary is the center of Canada's oil industry and is known as one of the country's most conservative cities, so Bush felt comfortable enough to leave Dallas.

While 1,500 business people waited outside the convention center for an hour to pass through tight security and enter the C$400 a plate ($315) luncheon to hear Bush speak, the crowd outside chanted 'war criminal'.

By the turnout among its business community for the speech, it is clear that Bush can still draw a crowd, city councilor Joe Ceci said.

"But it's this crowd that gratifies me even more," Ceci said of the demonstrators. "Just to see Calgarians interested, aware, and just kind of speaking up, and speaking up for things anti-war."