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Churchill in Wartime
After the disasters of his earlier political career I described in my last post, by 1939 Winston Churchill had once again managed to rise to prominence within the Conservative party and had gathered some considerable support behind his cause of opposition to the government's appeasement policy. When Britain was finally dragged into war in September of that year, he found himself once again on the front foot of Westminster politics.
Churchill, as the only person mentally prepared for war, was immediately made First Lord of the Admiralty again, and it was only thanks to Neville Chamberlain's suddenly horrendous reputation attracting blame like a magnet that prevented him getting the blame for a series of naval disasters. After Germany had successfully invaded Norway and Denmark without a hitch*, despite some fantastically idiotic speeches from Chamberlain concerning Germany's lack of military strength, Chamberlain was forced out of power and the process of trying to hash together a coalition government began.
[*For some reason, Britain took this as a cue to invade Iceland. Why is something of a mystery.]
Chamberlain's main ally in pursuing appeasement had been Lord Halifax, and he wanted him to head up the wartime government. The only other major candidate for the job was Churchill, who had built up a sizeable base of support within parliament, and all knew that Halifax's government would only be able to function with Churchill's support. Churchill, Halifax, Chamberlain and David Margesson, the Conservative chief whip, met on 10 May 1940 and Chamberlain asked Churchill the pivotal question: would he be willing to serve in a government under Halifax? This put Churchill in a dilemma: saying yes would put the government in the hands of an ineffective, pro-appeasement leader, whilst saying no would split the government down the middle and wreak mayhem at a time when strength and unity were of critical importance. Unsure of what to do, he said nothing. Time ticked by. For two full minutes the silence endured unbroken, the other men present equally unsure what they were supposed to do. Finally, Lord Halifax spoke up, whether for purely political reasons or simply our of sheer embarassment, to make possibly the most important statement in the last century of British history: he suggested that it would be difficult for a member of the House of Lords*, such as himself, to govern effectively as opposed to a member of the House of Commons, effectively ruling himself out of the job. At Chamberlain's recommendation following that meeting, King George VI asked Churchill to be prime minister, and he duly accepted. That pregnant silence would prove to be among the most important two minutes in history.
[*The practice of an elected Prime Minister always coming from the House of Commons is a modern phenomenon not enshrined in law; since she ostensibly chooses who becomes PM, the Queen could in theory just tell a random member of the House of Lords that he was now head of government. That she doesn't is partly good manners, but mostly because to do so would probably end the British monarchy in under 5 years]
At the time, there were many who thought that, what with Gallipoli and his long history of political failures, the coming of Churchill to power represented the final nail in Britain's coffin. Unpopular among the MPs and Lord's alike, the 65 year-old Churchill looked to have all the cards stacked against him. However, Churchill's drive, energy, superlative public speaking ability and vehement opposition to appeasing the Germans single-handedly changed the face of the war, hardening the opinion of public and parliament alike against the idea of an armistice. In wartime, Churchill was in his element; a natural warmonger whose aggressive tactics were so often disastrous in peacetime, now his pugnacious determination, confidence, and conviction to continue the fight no matter what united the country behind him. It was he who not only organised but inspired the 'miracle of Dunkirk', in which thousands of small civilian vessels mobilised to take part in Operation Dynamo, evacuating trapped British and French soldiers from the port of Dunkirk in the face of heavy German fire and aerial attack, he whose many inspiring wartime speeches have gone down in history, he who inspired Londoners and RAF pilots alike to survive the Battle of Britain and the Blitz, ensuring the country remained safe from the threat of German invasion. OK, so the 'heroic' events of Dunkirk overlooked the fact that it had been a humiliating retreat and the army had left all their weapons behind, but that wasn't the point; the British were inspired and weren't going to stop fighting.
One of the most morally ambiguous yet telling events about the spirit of defiance Churchill inspired within Britain came in July 1940; the French Navy was holed up in Algeria, with the British attempting to negotiate a joining of the two fleets. The negotiations went badly and the French refused to join the British fleet- and in response the British opened fire on their allies in order to prevent their ships falling into enemy hands. 1300 lives were lost. In just about any other situation, this would have been an utterly insane act that would only have caused the Allied war effort to collapse amid bitter argument and infighting, but then, with France all but completely overrun by German forces, it was nothing more or less than a simple statement of British intent. Britain were prepared to do whatever it took to fight off the Germans, and the sheer ruthlessness of this act is said to have convinced the USA that Britain had the stomach to continue fighting no matter what. Is this a moment to be proud of? No; it was a shameless slaughter and a fiasco in more ways than one. Did it make its point? Absolutely.
Some expected Churchill to win a landslide in the first post-war elections, but 'twas not to be; even the massive wave of public goodwill towards him was not enough to overcome the public desire for social change as Clement Attlee became the first ever labour Prime Minister in 1945. To be honest, it's probably a good thing; Attlee's government gave us the NHS and finally started to dismantle the badly-run, expensive remnants of the British Empire, whilst Churchill's second term as PM (1951-55) was largely undistinguished save for some more post-Imperial restlessness. Not that it matters; useless though he may have been in peacetime, in war Churchill was every bit the national hero he is nowadays made out to be. Churchill's great legacy is not just one of not having grown up speaking German, but in many ways he redefined what it meant to be British. Churchill inspired a return to the 'stiff upper lip' British stereotype that we are nowadays all so proud of: a living tribute to the idea to standing up and keeping going in the face of adversity. In many ways, what Winston Churchill stood for can be best summarised by simply reciting possibly the most famous of all his many great speeches:
Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender
Standard | | Tagged 'we shall fight them on the beaches', Battle of Britain, Britain, Clement Attlee, Conservative Party, David Margesson, Gallipoli, George VI, Germany, Lord Halifax, miracle of Dunkirk, national hero, Nazi Germany, Neville Chamberlain, politics, the Blitz, Winston Churchill, WWII | 0 comments
FILM FORTNIGHT: The Counterfeiters
Very few people I know have heard of this film, not that I'm terribly surprised; it takes something pretty special for any foreign language film (the film is Austrian, so spoken in German) to make it big in the somewhat saturated UK film market, and we are hardly short of films about Nazism in any language. Still, that's no reason to malign it straight off the bat, and I managed well enough with just the subtitles.
The film's story covers yet another of the 'hidden tales' of the Second World War; some small aspect of the war plan of either side that was in its own way, big or small, somehow critical to the war's outcome. It is a constant source of amazement to me that we don't run out of these stories at some point, since there were only so many people in Europe at the time to have an Amazing True Story happen to them, but happen they clearly did. This particular story concerns a wing of the concentration camp at Sachsenhausen, where tens of thousands of Jews and political enemies of the Nazi state died during the war, either by being worked to death or systematically exterminated; many others were transferred to Auschwitz to be killed. However, even in Germany at the time there was some dissidence to the state's fanatical Jew-hating; the Jews were a successful sect of German society, with many skilled doctors, engineers, bankers and such among them, and it was a truth that (understandably) went unsaid that by locking up, driving away and killing all these people the Third Reich was hamstringing itself. Apparently, even the high-ups recognised the potential usefulness of some of these people, and here our film takes up the story; our main protagonist is career forger Salomon Sorowitsch (Karl Markovics), arrested for… well… being a career forger, as well as a Jew. However, his talents soon make themselves known and he is moved to Sachsenhausen along with as many other prisoners the Nazis can find with skills related to artwork, printing or forgery. Their task? Come up with a facility for the mass-production of dud British and American banknotes, with the aim to flood the market with them and thus destabilise the Allied economy through hyperinflation. Some might call this a slightly eccentric strategy, but after hyperinflation had totally annihilated the German economy in the early 1930s (paving the way for the Nazis' rise to power in 1933) the Germans knew all too well how devastating this had the potential to be.
However, this complex historical context is all so much background noise, for the real meat of the film concerns our characters. Every one is representative of the complex mess of moral ambiguity and contradiction that the prisoners find themselves in; Sorowitsch is something of a cynical moneymaker, but finds himself in the role of leader and spokesperson for the band of forgers, and whether his priorities lie with his own survival or empathy for them becomes an increasingly grey area as the film progresses. Then there is the question of the act of collaboration; some are quite clearly happy to do whatever the Nazis want if it means they can stay alive, but others are quite plainly disgusted at the idea of working for those who would quite happily have seen them dead. This moral standpoint is personified by the character of Adolf Burger (August Diehl), whose memoirs the film is based upon; not only does he vehemently hate the Nazis and does everything he can to fight back against them, but his every action is indicative of his moral repulsion against their situation. Because of the importance of their work, the forgers live a relatively well-off existence, with decent clothes, good living conditions and sufficient food. By contrast, the life of a less lucky prisoner was horrific; fed on scraps when they were fed at all (there are several accounts of prisoners starving to death as concentration camps and factories argued over whose job it was to feed them), they were subjected to backbreaking labour and near-constant systematic abuse from their guards. The death rate was correspondingly horrific. This gulf in quality of life between them and their fellow prisoners, never seen until the very end of the film to provide a stark, brutal contrast, is of personal significance to Burger (his wife is imprisoned elsewhere), and whilst his comrades dress themselves in the clothes of the dead, he remains clad in prison wear, a constant and undoubtedly effective visual reminder of the moral mess the film finds itself in.
This moral quagmire is, really, the film's underlying theme, the question of what is right versus what will keep you alive ever-present. Other films have addressed this message, but the setting of this one makes it especially poignant; across the vast expanse of German-controlled Europe, countless of ordinary people really did collaborate with the Nazi occupiers, and the shame associated with this act still lingers today. In some cases, collaborators may have believed in the Nazi ideals, but doubtless most were simply trying to make life a little less hard in whatever way they could. Was what they did right? What is worth sacrificing, worth accepting, in order to stay alive? Far better philosophers than me have pondered that question and failed to come to an answer.
However, for me the crowning moral contradiction of the lot comes in the form of the prisoner's Nazi controller, Herzog (Devid Streisow; in real life the operation was headed by a man named Bernhard Kruger). A softly-spoken family man who is proud to say that he never beats his children, it is Herzog who is responsible for the prisoners' comfortable existence; and an undoubtedly ruthless Nazi who threatens to start shooting prisoners if anyone conspires to sabotage the operation (adding another layer of moral quandary to Burger's sabotage attempts). In more ways than one, Herzog is symbolic of the strange quirks of moral reasoning of the Nazi party as a whole; a political party who, whilst happy to gas millions upon millions of Jews for no good reason, had very strong objections to hunting, cruelty to animals and smoking (they were the first to show that smoking is unhealthy, although nobody took them seriously at the time). Herzog is a metaphor for the system he represents, just as the film is a metaphor for a thousand stories of small-time collaborators across the continent.
The Counterfeiters is most certainly not a perfect film. Whilst it is grim, gritty, realistic and deals with some genuinely meaningful subject matter, director Stefan Ruzowitsky doesn't seem able to differentiate between the gravity of different scenes, making those that should have packed a powerful punch seem rather tired and listless. Whilst not taxing for the brain, it is rather hard to enjoy for this reason, and whilst the moral ambiguity of the characters gives them purpose it is not done in such a way as to make them seem sympathetic and likeable. No, I cannot definitely say that I enjoyed The Counterfeiters, but I respect the hell out of it for telling a story that tries to mean something, and for having the guts to be unconventional.
PS: Reading around some of the source material for this film, I came across the story of Bernhard Kruger, the real-life version of Herzog. His story and the story in the film do not apparently synch up (even Adolf Burger is on record as saying that the film does not portray events as they really happened), and he was apparently just as much of a murderer as the likes of Rudolf Hoess (the commandant of Auschwitz); according to Burger, he murdered six ill prisoners in the final days of the war to prevent them from talking when they went to hospital. However, his story becomes interesting when he was put on trial for war crimes; several former members of his unit apparently gave evidence of his good treatment of them during the war, and he was acquitted; because this film didn't have quite enough moral ambiguity on its own…
Standard | | Tagged Adolf Burger, August Diehl, Auschwitz, Austria, Bernhard Kruger, characters, collaborators, contradiction, Devid Streisow, Film, film review, forgery, Germany, grim, gritty, history, hyperinflation, Jews, Karl Markovics, living conditions, meaningful, moral ambiguity, morality, Nazism, quandary, realistic, respect, Rudolf Hoess, Sachsenhausen, Second World War, Stefan Ruzowitsky, subtitles, survival, talents, The Counterfeiters, Third Reich, unconventional, war crimes trial | 0 comments
Who is most impressive?
As one or two of you may have noticed, the Olympics are almost over, prompting the requisite large party and giving some Brazilians a chance to wear odd clothes, dance about and generally play to stereotypes (probably- I'm feeling a little cynical today). However, in not too long a time that other, perhaps more understated, tetrannual sporting party will get underway: the Olympics' disabled cousin, the Paralympics.
In some ways this will be a spiritual homecoming for the Paralympic Games- founded in 1948 for ex-servicemen with spinal injuries after the Second World War, it was the brainchild of Dr. Ludvig Guttmann of Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Great Britain (the sports centre at Stoke Mandeville is still called the Guttmann centre in his honour, and one of the two mascots for London 2012 is called Mandeville). Guttmann was a Jew, and had emigrated from his native Germany in 1939 to escape persecution from the Nazi government of the time. He founded the National Spinal Injuries Centre at Stoke in 1944, and founded the 'Stoke Mandeville Games' (to coincide with the 1948 London Olympics) in response to his feeling that sport could be use as a form of therapy for the seriously disabled, giving them purpose and self-respect. His vision was a great success, ballooning in size and popularity until, in 1960, it became officially tied to the Olympics proper (it wasn't called the Paralympics until 1984). Guttmann himself was showered in praise for his work, being awarded (among other things) a CBE, OBE, and a knighthood in 1966.
Since then, the Paralympic movement has continued to inspire and amaze. Since 1960 non-war veterans have been eligible to compete, and multiple categories of disability have been entering since 1976. For many, the very existence of the Games has been a beacon of hope for lives torn apart by accident or injury, something to focus their otherwise unspent athletic energies upon, and thus fulfilling Guttmann's vision of sport as a therapy. For a special few, they have been a springboard to their being able to compete amongst able-bodied counterparts, in sports ranging from sprinting to shooting to swimming.
Paralympians, obviously, do not have the physical capacity to match able-bodied competitors in the majority of situations, and as such, on a purely numerical basis, they are 'less impressive'. Human nature dictates that we thus find them less interesting and compelling to watch for an extended period of time, a problem compounded by the sheer number of different classifications, leading to a huge number of medals and competitions and thus a confusing and some might say unfocused set of events that becomes impossible to keep track of (there are, for instance, six different classes of cerebral palsy 100m sprinting, giving the athletes concerned 6 times less attention, 6 times less focus and interest and making their medals seem only a sixth as valuable). All this means that the amount of funding and (especially) media coverage offered to the Paralympics is significantly less than the Olympic equivalents, despite a great advance in recent years, and that they are simply not taken quite as seriously as Usain Bolt & Co.
All of which begs the obvious question: are Olympians really better than their disabled counterparts, or do the mental battles, financial struggles, and management of trying to hold down a paying job before we even consider the crippling physical impairment enough to render Paralympic Athletes even more impressive?
This question ultimately boils down to a question of which is more impressive- being the best in the world, or being merely far, far better than the rest of us mere mortals despite having to overcome. To consider an example, the world record for 100m sprinting in the most severe class of blindness is 11.03 seconds, less than a second and a half slower than Usain Bolt's fastest ever time and far faster than anyone I happen to know- and this is done whilst entirely unable to see where you are going.
OK, you might say, but blindness doesn't actually affect physical capability, so what about something that does. Consider the shot put, which involves throwing a large metal ball weighing 16lb (7.26kg) as far as possible with a rigidly monitored technique. 7kg is a surprisingly ungainly mass at the best of times, but when compacted into a small, dense ball thrown in one hand it becomes even harder to handle. I have thrown a shot in school, much lighter than an Olympic one, and got it about 2 metres. Karmel Kardjena is quadriplegic, as in all limbs severely damaged to the point of muscles not working properly, and can throw it 11.
These are just examples I can find on Wikipedia that make for a good comparison- I'm sure a dedicated student of the Paralympics could quote dozens more. Perhaps the most famous Paralympian of all, South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius (aka Bladerunner) won a silver medal in the 2011 World Championships INSERT BIT ABOUT 2012 WHEN HE'S DONE IT (competitions he entered despite a 2008 ruling, which he later successfully appealed, that the carbon fibre replacements for his amputated forelegs were giving him an unfair advantage). He is competing amongst the very best in the world, regardless of the fact that he has no calves or feet, and he is representative of the sheer quality that is surely present among Paralympians.
However, in order to judge our argument effectively, we must still consider how impressive our able bodied athletes are. I have already dedicated an entire post to just how superhuman these people are, but it's worth taking another look around at the plethora of talent on display over the last fortnight to truly comprehend that. To take a parallel with Kardjena, let us consider the equivalent men's shot put record. We must, of course, bear in mind that able bodied athletes are capable of not only taking a hopping run-up but also twisting the full trunk of their body, but even so, their achievements are staggering- the world record is over 23 metres (interestingly enough still shorter than the shortest discus throw in Olympic history, at 25).
So then, which is better? Well, to be honest it really comes down to a matter of opinion. Some may believe that the sheer quality of Olympic athletes cannot be made up for by the disabilities of Paralympians, whilst others will say that they more than cover for it and that the Paralympics is the home of real sporting greats. But, in many ways, this argument is entirely irrelevant, if only because we could argue until the end of time and not reach an answer. The real fact to acknowledge is simply that these Paralympians are clearly not here 'just to take part'- they are serious athletes going in serious competition and capable of seriously amazing things. Whether Oscar Pistorius is better or worse than Usain Bolt matters not so long as we are all agreed that both of them are so great, so beyond what any of the rest of us can do, that they deserve every ounce of admiration we can muster. As the father of the modern Olympics, Pierre de Coubertin, famously said: "The important thing in life is not the victory but the contest; the essential thing is not to have won but to have fought well"
And sorry for the rather lame cop-out
Standard | | Tagged 100m sprint, better, Bladerunner, Brazilians, calves, classifications, contest, cynical, disability, ex-servicemen, feet, Germany, Guttmann centre, impressive, Jew, Karmel Kardjena, Ludvig Guttmann, Mandeville, Olympics, opinion, Oscar Pistorius, Paralympic Games, Paralympic movement, Paralympics, Pierre de Coubertin, purpose, quadriplegic, quality, run up, self-respect, shot put, South Africa, spinal injuries, Stoke Mandeville, Stoke Mandeville Games, Stoke Mandeville Hospital, taking part, therapy, Usain Bolt, victory, vision, war veterans, Wikipedia, worse | 0 comments


It's a Stand up Cat craft to halloween! Kids love it!
This downloadable printable is a great resource for elementary school students and kindergartners and nursery school students at Beginner (pre-A1) and Elementary (A1) level. It is about the topic and words of Halloween.


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Q&A: Why Representation Is Crucial for Trans Rights
This page is also available in: English Magyar
Adél Ónodi in Budapest, Hungary, on October 1, 2018. © Reviczky Zsolt
Recently, Open Society Foundations Community Youth Fellow Adél Ónodi became the first trans woman to be featured as the cover model for Elle Hungary. Open Society Program Officer Katarzyna Pabijanek spoke with Ónodi about the experience, as well as her plans for the future.
What do you think is the significance of your appearing on the cover of a major women's fashion magazine?
The opportunity to be featured on the cover of Elle Hungary means more and more people are open to the fact that trans women are women. It is a milestone, particularly in Hungary, where the current mood is anti-LGBTI, in both politics and culture.
You recently wrote and performed in your own one-woman theater show, Dear Future Me. What's it about, and what inspired you to do it?
When I received a death threat after my transition in August 2017, I decided to go public with my being a trans woman. I always wanted to be an actress and a singer, but I felt that it was also a way I could help my community.
I want to be seen for who I am, and I want other people to know what we as trans people are all going through. Dear Future Me is a kind of fairy tale—the fairy tale genre has frequently helped me to process traumatic experiences—and it's drawn from my imagination and memories. The show is told through a symbolic character named Iris, and it follows my journey from childhood to my life today.
You have achieved so much at a young age, but you have faced many challenges too. What do you hope will change, so that the next generation of trans people can have an easier time than you have?
I would like to see trans issues included in public education. I would also like to see more actions taken to reduce discrimination. For example, although discrimination based on gender identity is forbidden in Hungary, the police do not properly deal with hate crimes.
Sadly, Hungary's current government has recently gone in the other direction by making it even harder for trans people to change their name and gender on official identity documents. Fortunately, though, there are organizations that deal with these issues—Transvanilla, to name one, has done a lot to support the trans community and to ensure that we're involved at the decision-making level, too.
What new projects are on your horizon?
I would like to perform my one-woman show in front of as many audiences as possible in Hungary, and eventually abroad. And I would like to pursue my career as a singer and work on my own songwriting. I also have plans for a film and book. At the end of the day, though, I will always be an artist and activist who focuses on working with my community.
Right now, I am working on a magazine, created by myself and some other trans women, which is intended to provide a platform so that women from lots of different backgrounds—Roma, sex workers, activists, and people from rural communities—can tell their stories.
LGBTI, Discrimination
An Essential Legal Right for Trans People
The vast majority of trans people around the world cannot obtain official documents that match their gender identity or chosen name because there is no clear legal process for them to do so in their countries.
Creating Community
Open Arms in Eastern Kentucky
Through filmmaking and community building, Open Society Youth Fellow Oakley Fugate is creating space for young LGBTI people in Appalachia.
April 16, 2019 | Zachary Turk & Emily Grubb
Inclusive Entertainment
Q&A: A Media Haven for Europe's LGBTI Roma
Open Society Youth Fellow Laszlo Farkas is building a media company where his community can feel recognized—and welcome.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Blood, Sweat & Tears – UltraDisc One-Step
SKU: UD1S2-016
185.00	£185.00
Genre: Rock And Pop
Label: Mobile Fidelity
Released Date: 31st December 2021
Buying Format:
180g 2LP 45rpm Box Set
Mastered from the Original Master Tapes with Mobile Fidelity's One-Step Process: Blood, Sweat & Tears UD1S 180g 45RPM 2LP Box Set Is Ultimate Version of 1968 Album
Superb Packaging Includes Opulent Box, Foil-Stamped Jackets, and SuperVinyl LPs: Deluxe Audiophile Pressing Strictly Limited to 6,000 Numbered Copies (Limit Two Per Customer)
James William Guercio-Produced Record Established New Precedents for Musical Fusion: Jazz-Rock Effort Includes "You've Made Me So Very Happy" and "Spinning Wheel"
Don't call it a comeback. Not only did Blood, Sweat & Tears' eponymous album establish new precedents for musical fusion and record production upon release in late 1968, the quadruple-platinum set marked a new commercial beginning for a cross-cultural group nearly decimated months earlier when its prominent co-founder, Al Kooper, departed along with two other members. The resultant sophomore effort simply went on to top the charts for seven straight weeks, earn the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, spawn three successive Top 5 singles, and land the group a headlining slot at Woodstock. No wonder its reputation remains golden among listeners, particularly audiophiles, which have never experienced the hybrid fare in more vibrant fashion than on this collectible reissue.
Strictly limited to 6,000 numbered copies and pressed on MoFi SuperVinyl at RTI, Mobile Fidelity's ultra-hi-fi UltraDisc One-Step 180g 45RPM 2LP edition presents Blood, Sweat & Tears with exacting sonics and unsurpassed visuals. Prized for decades for its rainbow of textures, colours, and openness – as well as the tonalities, extension, and subtleties associated with the horn section – Blood, Sweat & Tears now comes across with multi-dimensional scope and tremendous frequency responsiveness. The collective's genre-bending brass and woodwind instrumentation possess pointillistic details as rich, deep, and complex as a succulent Turkish espresso. Similarly, the originality, sophistication, and melodicism of the songs – anchored by Jim Fielder's can-do-anything bass playing – emerges with a newfound warmth, realism, and presence that surpass those even on the out-of-print ORG 45RPM reissue. Such is the allure of UD1S and MoFi SuperVinyl.
In addition, the lavish packaging and gorgeous presentation of the UD1S Blood, Sweat & Tears pressing also befit its extremely select status. Housed in a deluxe box, it features special foil-stamped jackets and faithful-to-the-original graphics that illuminate the splendour of the recording. No expense has been spared. Aurally and visually, this UD1S reissue exists as a curatorial artefact meant to be preserved, pored over, touched, and examined. It is made for discerning listeners who prize sound quality and production, and who desire to fully immerse themselves in the art – and everything involved with the album, from the images to the finishes.
Speaking of these critical aspects, it remains obvious producer James William Guercio valued them above all else when he manned the boards for the sessions. Working with engineer Roy Halee and the band's sensitive arrangements – including that for the Number Two smash "You've Made Me So Very Happy," co-arranged by Kooper – he helped spin the nonet's melange of classical, jazz, rock, folk, and blues into pop gold. Ignoring any stylistic boundaries, and preceding Chicago's similarly jazz-rock-centric debut by almost four months, the album interrupted formal convention and went against the grain of the era's dominant psychedelia. Along with creative interpretations of tunes by Traffic, Laura Nyro, and more, and fearless interplay of horns and keyboards, a key to the effort's mega-success and sterling reputation remains the vocals of David Clayton-Thomas.
Reportedly discovered by Judy Collins, Clayton-Thomas brings a soulfulness and drama to the palette absent from the first album. His baritone emerges front and centre on the country-leaning "And When I Die," baroque-inspired "Sometimes in Winter," and syncopated "Smiling Phases." The singer's multifaceted ability complements his colleagues deft approaches to tempo, transition, and tension, with solos dovetailing with jazz-derived segues to produce music that's at once elaborate, eclectic, and accessible – never better represented than on the thrice Grammy-nominated "Spinning Wheel," a sly takedown of the LSD-addled era that ends with an Austrian tune from 1815 added at the last minute by Guercio to correct a mistake – a one-off error on a set that seemingly has none other.
Indeed, the most enduring appeal of Blood, Sweat & Tears pertains to the cohesive performances of a group that blazed its own trail. To focus on the playing of trumpeters/flugelhornists Lew Soloff and Chuck Winfield, drummer Bobby Colomby, organist Dick Halligan, guitarist Steve Katz, alto saxophonist Fred Lipsius, trombonist Jerry Hyman, and the aforementioned Clayton-Thomas and Fielder (many of whom also played auxiliary instruments) is to experience one of pop music's remarkable adventures.
More About Mobile Fidelity UltraDisc One-Step and Why It Is Superior
Instead of utilizing the industry-standard three-step lacquer process, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's new UltraDisc One-Step (UD1S) uses only one step, bypassing two processes of generational loss. While three-step processing is designed for optimum yield and efficiency, UD1S is created for the ultimate in sound quality. Just as Mobile Fidelity pioneered the UHQR (Ultra High-Quality Record) with JVC in the 1980s, UD1S again represents another state-of-the-art advance in the record-manufacturing process. MFSL engineers begin with the original master tapes and meticulously cut a set of lacquers. These lacquers are used to create a very fragile, pristine UD1S stamper called a "convert." Delicate "converts" are then formed into the actual record stampers, producing a final product that literally and figuratively brings you closer to the music. By skipping the additional steps of pulling another positive and an additional negative, as done in the three-step process used in standard pressings, UD1S produces a final LP with the lowest noise floor possible today. The removal of the additional two steps of generational loss in the plating process reveals tremendous amounts of extra musical detail and dynamics, which are otherwise lost due to the standard copying process. The exclusive nature of these very limited pressings guarantees that every UD1S pressing serves as an immaculate replica of the lacquer sourced directly from the original master tape. Every conceivable aspect of vinyl production is optimized to produce the most perfect record album available today.
180g	, 2LP	, 45rpm	, Box Set
Track Listings
Variations On A Theme By Erik Satie
Smiling Phases
Sometimes in Winter
You've Made Me So Very Happy
Blues - Part II
Variations On A Theme By Erik State
On Facebook On Twitter Via Email
More from Blood Sweat & Tears
Blood Sweat & Tears 4
Rock And Pop | Music On Vinyl | 180g, 1LP
Released 22nd February 2019


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Činžovní dům Josefa Jihlavce I je dům postavený v roce 1914 podle návrhu architekta Bohumila Waiganta na objednávku královéhradeckého stavitele Josefa Jihlavce. Dům je situován na třídě Československé armády (čp. 556) v Hradci Králové, na rozhraní městské památkové rezervace a městské památkové zóny.

Historie
Stavitel Josef Jihlavec byl majitelem dvou sousedících parcel na ulici Československé armády: čp. 543 a čp. 556. Po dokončení objektu čp. 543, který nejen zainvestoval, ale jako stavitel také realizoval (tzv. Rejchlův dům), se soustředil na parcelu čp. 556. Oslovil téhož tvůrce jako v případě sousední parcely – pražského architekta Bohumila Waiganta – a chtěl v tomto místě vytvořit stylově ucelený komplex. Waigant se nicméně u domu čp 556 rozhodl pro kompozici zcela odlišnou: na rozdíl od sousedního domu s romantizující fasádou se v případě tohoto objektu uplatnila moderna s neoklasicistními prvky.

Josef Jihlavec podal žádost o stavební povolení v roce 1913 a žádal o umožnění výstavby třípatrového domu. Tato žádost byla ale zamítnuta a investorovi bylo doporučeno nechat projekt přepracovat tak, aby nepřesahoval hřebeny střech ostatních domů. Přepracovaný projekt byl pak schválen až o rok později a lišil se nejen ve výšce domu (ten byl o jedno patro snížen), ale také v některých dekorativních prvcích (zmizely například kamenné vázy na atice domu a chybí také kruhové otvory na podezdívce tomu – ty v novém návrhu zůstaly pouze na balkónech). Dům byl pak po schválení projektu v roce 1914 také postaven.

V roce 1927 dům odkoupila od Josefa Jihlavce Banka pro obchod a průmysl, která zadala jeho stavební firmě úpravy stavby nutné pro fungování kanceláří. V 90. letech 20. století pak proběhla adaptace pro provoz Komerční banky.

Do seznamu kulturních památek byl objekt zapsán v roce 1981.

Architektura

Dvoupatrový dům stojí na obdélníkovém půdorysu a jeho hlavní průčelí, orientované do ulice Československé armády, je pětiosé. Nejnápadnějším prvkem fasády je šestice sloupových kanelovaných pilířů, které se táhnou přes celou výšku budovy. Vchod je v přízemí umístěn asymetricky zcela vlevo a nad ním a nad posledním oknem přízemí vpravo jsou předsazeny ploché markýzy, které nesou jedinou sochařskou výzdobu domu: sochy lvic na hřbetě s dítětem nesoucím kytici květů a plodů. Sochy lze nejpravděpodobněji připsat bratrovi architekta, sochaři Antonínu Waigantovi. V prvním patře uprostřed fasády vystupuje arkýř s šestidílným oknem, nad ním je pak ve druhém patře umístěn balkón. Vertikálně fasádu člení zděná zábradlí balkónů se zamřížovanými kulatými otvory.

Reference

Externí odkazy

Domy v Hradci Králové
Kulturní památky v Hradci Králové

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


TIP! Have you ever spilled wine on your clothes? If so, find a bottle of Windex. Because of the special formulation of window cleaner, it is better at getting out wine stains than water and soap.
What is your knowledge level when it comes to wine? Whether wine is something you know a lot about already, or is something you wish to learn more about, this article can help. There is a lot to learn about wine and wine could even become your new hobby. Go over this article to learn more about wine, how to choose it, taste it and serve it.
TIP! One good thing to do when you're getting wine is to give a single a bottle a try first. With such a great variety, how can you know which you'll prefer? Always try a bottle before opting to purchase a case.
Know the store where you purchase your wine. Every liquor store is different. Every place will have different prices, overall focus and selections. If you don't know much about wine, going to a store packed with pricey labels might not be good. This will help you to pick a shop that is right for you.
TIP! You can make a great sauce for beef dishes with wine. To do this, just mix a red wine with a little butter on a saucepan.
You can listen to your "gut" when you are experimenting with wine. For instance, if you have a friend who is into a specific type of wine, but you hate it with a passion, don't just blindly accept your friend's recommendation. The result will be that you spend money on an item you were aware you might dislike to begin with.
TIP! If you are serious about maintaining your wine, consider investing in a cellar. This is essential if you buy expensive wines that you don't have room for in your kitchen.
Consider joining a wine lover's discussion forum. You can find some great ones online, and learn more about wine. Read posts to see if you want to socialize with the group before you join.
Never allow a sulfite warning to alarm you. This is common in every wine. America requires winemakers to add this warning to labels. Sulfites can be a problem for some, but allergic reactions are not very common. So, don't be afraid of sulfites unless you have had problems with them in the past.
Get a screw top bottle if buying wine for tailgating. Caps that just need to be twisted are easier to open and eliminate the need to drag a corkscrew around with you. The best part is that there is less risk that your bottle will spill when you are transporting it back home.
Try new things when buying wine! Trying a new wine is an excellent way to learn about new countries and wines. Take your time to check out the differences in the wines available. You might just stumble on a new gem.
In order to reuse a bottle, or for easier recycling, be sure you know how to remover the label from an empty bottle. A simple way to do this is to heat the bottle in an oven for a few minutes, then use an oven mitt to remove the label.
TIP! If you are a wine lover, plan a trip to wine country. When you see where the wine is made, it gives you new appreciation.
The vintage of a wine is the year the grapes were harvested, not the year the wine was produced. Thus, a 2010 vintage contains grapes harvested in that year. They're aged and fermented in barrels until they've been bottled and sold. This wine wouldn't have made it to store shelves until at least 2011!
TIP! Color does not reflect the lightness of a wine. Both red and white wines contain the same alcohol amount.
You can find out a lot about wine online, such as the different types and flavors. Therefore, if you discover a website with pages and pages of wine knowledge, print them out and take them with you while wine shopping so that you can make the best decision. Compare your own notes, ask employees for input, and don't let lack of knowledge make you buy a bad bottle.
You're all set, now that you've read the above article about wine. Apply the ideas discussed here to get started on your adventure in the discovery of wine. No matter if you are whipping up a new dish or playing host to friends, get ready to impress.


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Netflix Blows Past 60 Million Subscribers
by Felix Richter, Statista.com
Thanks to strong domestic and international growth, Netflix added nearly 5 million subscribers in the first quarter of 2015.
The popular streaming platform now boasts a total of 62.3 million subscribers, 41.4 million of which are based in the United States. Netflix expects to reach 64.8 million subscribers by the end of June, as its international expansion continues. Over the course of the past three months, Netflix subscribers racked up 10 billion hours of video streaming, amounting to almost 2 hours of streaming per subscriber each day.
Netflix generated $1.57 billion in revenue between January and March, a 24-percent increase over last year's March quarter. Meanwhile net profit declined by almost $30 million mainly due to investments related to the company's international expansion. Netflix shareholders were content with the latest results, as a 15-percent spike in the company's stock price clearly indicates.
This chart shows Netflix's wordwide subscriber growth.
You will find more statistics at Statista
Japan Is Now the Top Foreign Holder of Treasuries
March 2015 CFNAI Super Index Continues to Show USA Economic Slowing
Gasoline Prices for Week Ending 20 April 2015 Rose Almost 8 Cents.


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Sawyer scores first interview with Jaycee Dugard
SAN FRANCISCO – California kidnapping victim Jaycee Dugard has agreed to give her first interview to veteran broadcast journalist Diane Sawyer.
ABC News reported Wednesday that the World News Tonight anchor plans to tape a conversation with Dugard that will air next month, just before publication of Dugard's memoir, "A Stolen Life." An exact date wasn't provided, but the book is to be released July 12.
Dugard was kidnapped from South Lake Tahoe in 1991, then sexually abused and held captive for 18 years by Phillip and Nancy Garrido. She gave birth to two daughters by Phillip Garrido. The couple pleaded guilty and received lengthy prison sentences last week: 431 years to life for Phillip Garrido and 36 years to life for his wife.
ABC says Sawyer will ask Dugard about her years in captivity, her reunion with her family and her book.


Points count towards 5k, 10k, Endurance & Back of the Pack Series. Find more info about the series here.
In partnership with Fallen Patriots - MSG George A Bannar Jr Scholarship. The Fallen Patriots - MSG George A Bannar Jr Scholarship was started in the loving memory of George A Bannar Jr by fellow classmates from high school and family members when George was taken from us. Fallen Patriots strives to keep not just George's memory alive, but also the memories of every service member that payed it in full. Every year since 2013, Fallen Patriots has awarded a $1000 scholarship to a graduating JROTC cadet at the Orange County (VA) High School Montpelier Rifles.
Come enjoy the fast and flat courses on the Roanoke Greenway Trail at the River's Edge Sports Complex. They are perfect for PRs!
T-shirts guaranteed to runners registered before August 21. We will order extra t-shirts for those who register after that date, but it is on a first-come first-served basis.


TRAP Oil, the North Sea-focussed explorer which last year bought Aberdeenshire-based Reach Oil & Gas, has seen interim losses fall.
Chief executive Mark Groves-Gidney said the company continues to be well-placed with drilling just starting at the first of two wells which he said could prove "transformational".
Losses before tax narrowed to £1.55 million in the six months to 30 June from £1.8m.
The company is in the process of acquiring a 15 per cent interest in the Athena Oil Field and along with its interest in the Lybster field it is now benefitting from production flows.
Results are also shortly expected from the eight applications put forward in the 27th licensing round.
"These activities have all been progressed against the backdrop of one of the more-challenging periods for North Sea exploration and production businesses," said Groves-Gidney.
"As importantly, the company is in a financially healthy position with the capacity to fund its near term commercial objectives."


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The Thin Man
Laid-back detective Nick Charles (William Powell) displays his skills for his wife Nora (Myrna Loy).
1934, 1936–1947
Soft-boiled romp
The Thin Man (1934): Director W.S. Van Dyke; writers Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich; featuring William Powell, Myrna Loy
I think someone should try to make another film of Dashiell Hammett's The Thin Man. Though I can understand why they don't. The existing black-and-white movie of The Thin Man is wonderful. Chances are Hollywood would screw up any remake. The chemistry that occurred in 1934 with a great mystery novel for the story, a witty script and, most importantly, the interplay of William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles—it could never be replicated.
So why do I think there's room for a new adaptation? Because a harder story is available in the novel. The film knocks off the book's roughest edges and plays up the comedy. Admittedly it is based on Hammett's most light-hearted novel, and the film is about as adult and sophisticated as a popular film could be in the 1930s, given the morality code imposed on Hollywood then.
But I'd like to see a grittier effort in which I could believe Nick Charles mixed it up with real underworld characters, who aren't all good-hearted under their gruff veneers. His high-class wife could still love him despite—be drawn to him because of—his unsavoury connections, but there would be more of a pathological feel to it. And it could still be a comedy, perhaps in the vein of Get Shorty or some other screwball crime film of the type popular in the 1990s.
Okay, maybe it's a bad idea. The Powell-Loy flick is a delight I can easily live with as the only Nick-and-Nora screen presentation, and for realistic stories I'll stick to adaptations of Elmore Leonard.
Despite being a throwback to a more innocent age, The Thin Man still holds up as great entertainment. It's fast-paced, almost breathtakingly so for the first half as characters are quickly introduced, killed off and suspected. The Charles's life is dissolutely madcap as they race from gin-joints to alcoholic parties to murder scenes, cracking jokes all the way. Some of the jokes are corny now, as when Nick does a spit take over Nora complaining about a cop looking "in my drawers", but most of the repartee is as quick and clever as you'll ever hear on screen.
Nick Charles talks to himself in charming trailer for 1936's The Thin Man.
Powell seems to be having a ball, slurring and tottering his way through the script with martini in one hand and highball in the other, and then immediately turning razor-sharp whenever his detecting skills are needed. Loy rolls with the punches (sometimes literally), her tart wit putting him down lovingly. One incredible scene sums it up: she walks into a room to find her hubby with his arms around a beautiful young woman. In any other Hollywood film, she'd be shocked and walk out, slamming the door, as part of a humourous misunderstanding. But Nora sticks her tongue out at Nick as he makes a face back at her over the young woman's shoulder. She knew he was just getting information. It's never referred to again. This is a couple supremely sure of each other despite their continual barbs.
Incredibly the film is said to have been made in fourteen days. MGM gave it a tiny budget and direction in the person of W.S. "One-Take-Woody" Van Dyke, a veteran from the silent-movie days known for his speed. (Maybe that's why the scenes move so quickly.)
But the thrown-together film garnered four Academy Awards nominations: for actor Powell, director Van Dyke, writers Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, and best picture.


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Lamelo Ball Named NBL Rookie of The Year!
This season for Illawarra, Ball averaged 17.0 points, 7.6 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game for the Illawarra Hawks. Ball had plenty of memorable on-court and off-court accomplishments in his time in the league, helping set viewership and attendance records while becoming the youngest player to record a triple-double then becoming the first player in the modern era of the league with back-to-back triple-doubles.
Bryce Cotton earned the Most Valuable Player honors on the season, averaging a league-best 22.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists a game. Cotton also earned a spot on the All-NBL First Team along with Jae'Sean Tate, Nick Kay, Scott Machado and Lamar Patterson.
Auburn freshman PG Sharife Cooper awaits NCAA eligibility decision, overseas is an option
NFL Great, Deion Sanders Announced as HBCU JSU New Head Coach.
Stanford Lands Harrison Ingram, 5-Star 2021 F


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Home » Environment » WHO Expected To Declare Ebola Outbreak "International Emergency" As It Jumps Borders
WHO Expected To Declare Ebola Outbreak "International Emergency" As It Jumps Borders
By olduvai in Environment on June 15, 2019 .
In April, we pointed out that over the prior months, many public health experts had claimed the deadly Ebola virus outbreak that has been ravaging the Congo will not become a global health threat, despite recent events painting a much less optimistic picture. We also warned that despite people in the West often thinking of Ebola as a disease that only strikes "superstitious locals" in the deepest jungles of the Democratic Republic of Congo, there are now pressing warning signs and it's time to start paying attention.
According to Reuters, the World Health Organization (WHO) is now preparing to declare an "international emergency" over the latest Ebola epidemic fast spreading through central Africa.
The deadly disease, which can take just days to kill an infected person, has now jumped from the Democratic Republic of Congo where the newest outbreak was first documented, to neighboring Uganda.
The number of total confirmed cases is reported as follows:
Congo's epidemic is the second worst worldwide since West Africa's Ebola outbreak in 2014-16, with 2,084 cases and 1,405 deaths since being declared in August. The WHO said on Thursday that two people had died in Uganda having arrived with the disease from Congo.
Despite hopefulness that the virus can be contained in Uganda, given so far there's been no known human-to-human cases of its spreading inside Uganda, health officials are still urging the WHO to quickly move forward with a global emergency declaration.
The WHO's Emergency Committee (EC) reportedly met Friday to evaluate whether the epidemic constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) amid growing pressure to immediately make the declaration.
Reuters reports further of the outbreak:
Tags: Congo, democratic republic of congo, ebola, international emergency, uganda, who, world health organisation
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Repls currently run in one of two modes: Eval Mode and Project Mode. Each has different behaviors and limitations. Read on to learn more about each.
A fresh repl (with the exception of repls that begin with multiple files) begin in Eval Mode. In eval mode, you can evaluate code from the console (including values declared in your program).
For example, in the following repl, try running the repl, then using the console to evaluate expressions that use the defined values.
Repls in eval mode, however, cannot support additional files of the same filetype (e.g. only one .py or .js file, depending on the language). If your program programmatically creates those files, your repl will be forced into project mode. You can always return to eval mode by ensuring you only have one file with the extension of your language. This means that you can have media files (like png, gif files) and still remain in eval mode.
In any language where we support multiple files, you can enter Project Mode by creating a file - either by clicking on the icon. Or upload one from your computer by clicking and give it the same extension as the main file. Once a file has been uploaded or added, it can be dragged into any existing folder.
In project mode, you no longer have access to globally defined variables in the console. You also cannot import replit to clear the console in python/python3. However, you do have access to multiple files and folders. The first file (typically named main) will always be the program's entry point. You can create files both manually and programmatically.
We support uploading any file type including images, video, and audio files, which will be displayed correctly in the browser. These files can also be programmatically generated.
This will put you in project mode which behaves slightly differently than the normal repl. Keep in mind The first file is always the entry point (typically named main), you won't be able to evaluate code in the console (it can only be used for STDIN), and any changes your program makes to files will be updated live.
You can edit a file's name or delete it if you wish by clicking on the icon beside it. If you're renaming your file, make sure you have the right extension for it.
They can be of any type/extension and you can use them in your code however you'd like.
Files will be placed in the current working directory, generally you'd access it through the relative path './filename.ext'.


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Canadian Greenhouse Growers' Directory. … The Ontario Greenhouse Alliance works for the common interest of vegetable and flower greenhouse farm production in Ontario.
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package org.jboss.netty.channel.local;

import java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentMap;

import org.jboss.netty.channel.Channel;
import org.jboss.netty.util.internal.ConcurrentHashMap;

/**
 * @author The Netty Project
 * @author Trustin Lee
 * @version $Rev: 2080 $, $Date: 2010-01-26 18:04:19 +0900 (Tue, 26 Jan 2010) $
 */
final class LocalChannelRegistry {

    private static final ConcurrentMap<LocalAddress, Channel> map =
        new ConcurrentHashMap<LocalAddress, Channel>();

    static boolean isRegistered(LocalAddress address) {
        return map.containsKey(address);
    }

    static Channel getChannel(LocalAddress address) {
        return map.get(address);
    }

    static boolean register(LocalAddress address, Channel channel) {
        return map.putIfAbsent(address, channel) == null;
    }

    static boolean unregister(LocalAddress address) {
        return map.remove(address) != null;
    }

    private LocalChannelRegistry() {
        // Unused
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Seed Swap and Sale: Gardeners are encouraged to bring their locally grown seeds to share for swapping. Gardeners without seeds to share may take seeds home for a small cash donation.
Wildrose Heritage Seed Company from Lethbridge & A'Bunadh Seeds from Cherhill AB – Both seed producers will have their own excellent seeds to sell and be on hand to talk about their farms and growing for seed harvest.
Earthly Matters from Coaldale AB will be selling Worm Factory composters, composting worms, worm castings, Azonite, and their super soil blend.
Fernie Heritage Library will display a selection of gardening books, which can be checked out onsite by Library members.Valley Vitals will have a display of their composting and food reclamation projects.
Gaetane of Naturaleza Ag will be demonstrating how to produce microgreens for a bumper crop in your own home.
Our Cold Climate Seed Library Project will be inviting new members (lifetime membership fee $10) and offering seeds to members who are ready to grow out, save and contribute seeds back to our new library.
Event co-hosted by the Fernie Community EcoGarden and the Fernie Family Garden. Proceeds go to Our Cold Climate Seed Library Project in Fernie. Supported by Wildsight Elk Valley and Seeds of Diversity Canada.


Is a Finish Carpenter Considered to be a Cabinet Maker?
Home > Cabinet Making	> Is a Finish Carpenter Considered to be a Cabinet Maker?
Custom Bar Built by JL Woodworking in Sarasota Fl.
My good friend Michael owns JL Woodworking and is a third generation finish carpenter. He does outstanding work and on several occasions I've hired him to install custom cabinet moldings. Although I have been a cabinet maker for many years, custom crown molding, natural wood baseboards and fancy trim get installed much faster and nicer when I let Michael handle the project. He is truly a master craftsman and I recommend his services without hesitation.
One day I began to wonder, is a finish carpenter considered to be an expert at cabinet fabrication? As I pondered the point, several things came to mind. I think you will agree that the two professions are distinctly different.
Now, please do not confuse a cabinet installer with the title of a cabinet "maker." Finish carpenters make excellent cabinet installers and have amazing skills for building custom built-ins, but when it comes to being a cabinet maker there are tools and machines that a finish carpenter would not be familiar with.
For instance, in many dedicated cabinet manufacturing shops there are sliding table saws, gigantic computerized panel saws, huge drum sanders, edge banders, hinge drilling machines, in-line boring machines, shapers, planners, conveyor lines and the list goes on. Some cupboard fabricators have tens of thousands of square feet where they turn out fine woodworking projects with amazing speed.
Many years ago, when all cabinets were actually built on the job site, then finish carpenters were the cabinet makers as well. Somewhere as technology began to grow two separate professions began to form.
Today, large cabinet companies use precisely accurate machines to mill all of a custom home's kitchen, bathroom vanity or office cupboard components in the shop. Very little if any cupboard manufacturing is done on the job.
High-tech facilities are set up on the 32 millimeter cabinet making system. I highly doubt that most carpenters would know what that term means.
Finish carpenters work on baseboards, crown molding, customize ceilings with decorative trim, install cabinets that have been manufactured elsewhere, attach door casings, hang doors and install chair rail. You will find them scaling tall, faulted, cathedral, tiered and layered ceilings with scaffolding. They work from ladders often and have to set up a portable shop somewhere in the home or office they are working on. Although they are precisely accurate in everything that they do, in my opinion they are not considered to be "cabinet makers." However, they have the capabilities of building nice looking cabinets. It just might take them a little longer because they will have to think things through as the go.
I have seen beautiful sets of cupboards in high-end home kitchens, bathroom vanities, offices and even garages that finish-carpenters have installed. This however, does not classify them as cupboard makers but only installers.
A true cabinet maker spends a life time dedicated to mastering the fine art of building beautiful cupboards and learning how to use machines designed for cupboard fabrication.
A finish carpenter dedicates a lifetime to working on the job-site most of the time and occasionally works in a cabinet makers shop or periodically fabricates a wall-unit.
The two professions/occupations are entirely different yet somehow they cross each other's paths. They seem to have a great working friendship and compliment each other well like my friend from JL Woodworking and me.
Thanks for posting a photo of our cabinetry work. Finish carpenters are skilled in many differt areas of cabinetry as well as special moldings.


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Blacksnob Archive
Colin Powell's Got A Case of the "Obamaitis"
by daniellebelton
All this week, and all the next, The Black Snob is taking a look at the views of black conservatives on Barack Obama. We're examining who likes him, who doesn't. Who will vote for him and who won't. So far we've looked at the views of Amy Holmes, Condoleezza Rice, Ward Connerly, Shelby Steele, Alan Keyes and JC Watts.
Colin Powell is the American dream. A man who comes from the hardscrabble Bronx, overcomes adversity, fought for his country in Vietnam and worked hard to as an example to himself and others of the possibility that lies in all our hearts. He was the first black National Security Adviser, leader of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Secretary of State. He is probably the most liked and widely respected of all black Republicans.
He is the pinnacle, the prototype, the ideal. Thoughtful, but inoffensive. Loyal, but not blind. He's admired on both sides of the aisle as a clear-eyed, practical-minded Centrist.
Powell is seen as an intelligent, unspoiled man of perseverance and vision. Many have wanted him to run from president. He risked being tarnished by the debacle in Iraq after his credibility was used by the Bush Administration to sell the invasion to the world. He cited fraudulent documents, misinformation and spoke of roving mobile labs with weapons of mass destruction that did not exist.
In 2004, Slate.com addressed how this incident and others by the Bush Administration tarnished Powell. The story recalls that after a reporter told Powell Bush was sleeping like a baby on the eve of war with Iraq, Powell said, "I'm sleeping like a baby, too. Every two hours, I wake up, screaming."
On the high-profile issues of the day, (Powell) seems to have almost no influence within the administration. And his fateful briefing one year ago before the U.N. Security Council—where he attached his personal credibility to claims of Iraqi WMD—has destroyed his once-considerable standing with the Democrats, not to mention our European allies, most of the United Nations, and the media …
From the start of this presidency … Powell has found himself almost consistently muzzled, outflanked, and humiliated by the true powers—Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld … Powell has suffered the additional—and nearly unprecedented—indignity of swatting off continuous rear-guard assaults from his own undersecretary of state, John Bolton, an aggressive hard-liner who was installed at State by Cheney for the purpose of diverting and exhausting the multilateralists.
One of Powell's first acts as secretary of state was to tell a reporter that the Bush administration would pick up where Bill Clinton left off in negotiations with North Korea—only to be told by Cheney that it would do no such thing. He had to retract his statement.
In spite of this stain on his otherwise stellar record, Powell regained much of his respect after he became a critic of the war and more candid in regard to his experiences in the Administration.
Powell is one of those individuals who when I look at him it frustrates me about the limitations placed on people of color in our society. If he were white there would have been little question about his running for president. But his wife talked him out of it for fear of the death threats which were preemptively trickling in and the seedier side of politics willing to exploit Powell's wife's mental illness to shutter his bid.
I realize that all candidates have to deal with push back, but when you're black you deal with an entirely different kind. Barack Obama was given secret service protection early last year. The Obamas don't talk about it, but it's obvious they too deal with some of the things Powell and his family deemed too much to take. It's still a risky venture to be black and going for the most powerful office in the world.
Powell, like JC Watts, Condoleezza Rice and other black Republicans have tried to push the national party to be more competitive for black votes. During the 2000 Republican National Convention, Powell addressed the audience, speaking of both America's abundance of national wealth and pride, but also addressed the issues of the poor, the imprisoned and brown.
I've met so many young people who believe in the dream. They're on a road to success. They're being raised in strong families, going to good schools, filling the finest universities, graduating and then going on to find their place and fortune in this blessed land of ours. Even the youngest of them, still in elementary school, are getting ready for the future, using computers, logging onto the Internet, while still enjoying the magic of childhood by curling up with a Harry Potter book.
There is so much that is so good and right in America tonight, my friends, that we ought to be very, very proud of this wonderful country of ours.
And yet, I cannot ignore and we cannot ignore other things I've seen in my travels. I've seen poverty. I've seen failing communities. I've seen people who've lost hope. Tragically, I've seen too many young Americans who were overwhelmed by the daily struggle just to survive. I've seen kids destroying themselves with drugs, kids who see violence and crime as the answer to their hopelessness, kids who no longer believe in themselves and who don't see a reason to believe in America. I've seen kids in utter despair. I've visited kids in jail doing adult time for the crimes they've committed.
They are part of a growing population of over 2 million Americans behind bars — 2 million convicts, not consumers; 2 million Americans who while paying for their crimes are not paying taxes, are not there for their children and are not raising families. Most of them are men and the majority of those men are minorities.
The issue of race still casts a shadow over our society. Despite the impressi
ve progress we have made over the last 40 years to overcome this legacy of our troubled past, it is still with us.
So with all the success we have enjoyed and with all the wealth we have created, we have much more work to do and a long way to go to bring the promise of America to every single American.
I remember how thunderous applause went to slightly uncomfortable applause back to thunderous. Speaking publicly about the inequities in our society will always rankle the few who don't want to be concerned with it. Who blame the poor and downtrodden for being poor and downtrodden. I can only image Powell's frustration with members of his party who seemed more interested in personal gain that the good of the whole. That's a problem in politics in both parties. Race is just a lesser examined issue in wide Republican discourse.
Like a lot of black people, Liberal, moderate, conservative or centrist, I like Colin Powell. In a just world he easily could have run for office and become president. I even think he would have been a great president. And Powell seems to get a glimmer in his eye over Barack Obama's campaign. He has not attempted to put a mute button on his pride.
Last year summer he told Powell told NBC's "Meet the Press" he was giving Obama foreign policy advice. He said it was "too early" in the 2008 race for him to endorse a candidate, and he said he would be backing whomever was best to lead the country in 2009. He also admitted that the Obama camp reached out for his assistance.
Powell said he has met twice with Obama, the Illinois senator. "I've been around this town a long time and I know everybody who is running for office. And I make myself available to talk about foreign policy matters and military matters with whoever wishes to chat with me," Powell said.
There is a grassroots, "Draft Colin Powell" movement within Barack Obama supporters who wants Powell to join the Obama team as a full-fledged partner, even vice president.
This year, before the New Hampshire primaries, Powell went on Tavis Smiley's PBS show and said he was "taking joy" in Obama's candidacy.
(Powell) encouraged Americans to "enjoy this moment where a person like Barack Obama can knock down all of these old barriers that people thought existed with respect to the opportunities that are available to African Americans."
… Powell offered this advice to the Democratic presidential candidate who may be accomplishing yet another first: "This argument about him not being black enough, that's just absolute nonsense. He is putting himself forward not as a black man but as an American man who wants to be president of the United States of America. We should see Barack as a candidate for president who happens to be black, and not a black candidate for president."
By far, out of all the Republicans I've looked at, Powell seems to be the most ebullient about an Obama presidency. Perhaps it's out of solidarity for being a fellow barrier breaker, or an admiration for Obama doing what he felt he could not do, or if it was purely about the symbolism of Obama's campaign, or because Powell likes Obama, likes some of his platform and honestly thinks he would be a good president.
Powell's reaction to Obama's win in Iowa in some ways was the thing that got me off the fence. I'm a die hard pragmatist, like Powell. I deal with logic and facts, not with flights of whimsy. I was resisting the revelry of a Barack Obama candidacy because I was so pessimistic about his prospects of him winning in the general. But when Powell's advice was to just enjoy it, just to relax and let it wash over you and not be afraid or worried, just to accept it and submit to that joy, I said, "What the hell? If he can do it, I can to."
And I've been struggling to enjoy it ever since, being dragged by the Obama bandwagon, half-relaxed, half-clenched up all the time. It's really rough for me. I don't feel the magic as much as I'd like. But, I don't have any romanticism over Hillary Clinton's campaign at all. She's like the Borg from Star Trek. I admire her fortitude, but, I don't know. It's complicated with me. Like everything.
But to answer our two questions, here's my best guess.
Chances of endorsing Obama: Powell likes John McCain. They share similar backgrounds. But I think Powell might have the fever. There's a good chance he might come out for Obama depending on how he fairs come August. I don't think he's just going to punch the Republican Party in the throat on a whim. Powell has to feel like his views are being represented and that he is part of the dream.
Chances of voting for Obama: He totally is. Like that question really needed to be asked.
Check back to The Black Snob all this week and next, the series concluding on April 14th.
Sunday: Amy Holmes
Monday: Condoleezza Rice
Tuesday: Ward Connerly
Wednesday: Shelby Steele
Thursday: Alan Keyes
Friday: JC Watts
Saturday: Colin Powell
Sunday: Armstrong Williams
Monday: Michael Steele
Tuesday: John McWhorter
Wednesday: LaShawn Barber and Herman Cain
Thursday: Star Parker and Eric Wallace
Friday: Larry Elder and Thomas Sowell
Saturday: Juan Williams
Sunday: A final analysis, "Who Would Clarence Thomas Vote For?"
The Death of Dr. King
Stans of the World Rejoice! Jay and B forever!
9 thoughts on "Colin Powell's Got A Case of the "Obamaitis""
Constructive Feedback says:
Black Snob:Do you notice that your commentaries seem to be "Obama-centric" in that there appears to be the foregone conclusion that "Obama is right" and all of these "Conservative's" views must be judged with this reference? Kinda like the National Urban League's anual report on the state of Black America – White folks are judged to be the "1.0" and thus "the complete package" and Black folks are judged with this reference.You mention Iraq and how Colin Powell was "used". I think a more indept and effective review for you to do would be to evaluate Colin Powell's position that despite his reservations and noted missteps he STILL was in support of the mission.You play upon Powell's "tarnished image". In truth you should make note that Colin Powell, unlike for example Cynthia McKinney or John Conyers is in an EXECUTIVE POSITION. While he may not be in total agreement with the policy he is also an EXECUTIVE and is charged to carry out what the concensus has agreed to do.Compare this to the rock throwers above. They are 'always right' in that they are able to stand back and judge but are never in the seat in which they must execute a certain policy and then be held accountable for the RESULTS. It is far easier to be a critic who uses hindsight. If anyone who has an executive position and vies to be totally loved after being in the spot and having to make tough decisions then he is not ready to be an executive. Could it be that Powell's "blimishes" is that he was not able to vote "PRESENT"?In my view a more interesting saga is to inspect the Iraq War views of Mr. Obama. He was for the Afghan war because "they attacked us" and he is for a justified response to an attack. He also supports the invasion of Pakistan with the goal of rooting out Osama Bin Laden and the Al Queda elements who ATTACKED US. Of course Al Queda was not in Iraq – PRIOR to George Bush launching a preemtive invasion – if you follow Mr. Obama's reasoning.But wait!!! If foreign fighters crossed into Iraq where they were not before in order to fight the INFIDEL (that's the United States by the way) then isn't it a bit intellectually dishonest to presuppose that they would not have crossed into Afghanistan and the portions of Pakistan that the Infidel has his troops?Mr Obama said that his main focus would be to find – kill or capture Osama Bin Laden. In the standard play to his base we are to believe that this ONE MAN's demise equals success and the end to the war on terror. I have a blog entry in which the words of #2 in Al Queda – Al Zhawiri are posted. He says that "We will fight the Infidel (again that means us) in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Somolia". Thus if a President Obama living in a parallel universe were to kill or capture Osama the #2 would be in charge and would carry out his fight as detailed. How then do we logically conclude that the SPILL OVER EFFECT seen in Iraq would NOT happen in Afghanistan and Pakistan with President Obama's policies?Mr. Obama benefits from the fact that he is able to DECONSTRUCT Mr. Bush's policies without having his own policy THEORIES being inspected for the wishful thinking that they are. About 6 weeks ago he and John McCain got into a dustup about no Al Queda being in Iraq prior to the U.S. invasion. Mr Obama's position then is that even though he supports FIGHTING OUR ENEMIES he ONLY supports fighting our enemies in certain THEATERS OF WAR – Afghanistan or Pakistan. Unfortunately THEY DON'T RESPECT GEOGRAPHY as Mr. Obama and the Anti-War contingent does!! Where as in the movies made in Hollywood and shown in the THEATER end up in a nice clean, good guy wins, bad guy gets killed ending…..the world is not so neat. Mr. Obama's war strategy is only viable in the context of the domestic American campaign trail as he plays to his leftwing, anti-war base. In the real world the fight against the "Infidel" (that is us) does not go according to this plan.
The Black Snob says:
constructive feedback: Do you notice that your commentaries seem to be "Obama-centric"Um … yeah. The series is about black conservative thought on Obama. It says that in the first sentence. Once again, while Obama is a focus of the piece it is more about the psychology of black conservatives who are attracted by what Obama represents, but are conflicted by his values.In my view a more interesting saga is to inspect the Iraq War views of Mr. Obama. He was for the Afghan war because "they attacked us" and he is for a justified response to an attack. He also supports the invasion of Pakistan with the goal of rooting out Osama Bin Laden and the Al Queda elements who ATTACKED US. Of course Al Queda was not in Iraq – PRIOR to George Bush launching a preemtive invasion – if you follow Mr. Obama's reasoning.OK. So write about that on your blog. Why do you seem so bent in insisting that I address things you want to address?That column was not about the panacea of Colin's virtues and demons. It's purpose was to discuss his views on Obama and how the shaped with Powell's own background. This article was NOT about rehashing Colin's mistakes and reluctance to confront the immoralities of the war while in his role of power.Since he left the Bush Administration he has been critical of the administration and voiced his own culpability in choosing wrongly. But I didn't want to write about that. I wanted to write about his views on Obama, which is the whole purpose of the series.This goes back to you being obsessed with the series having an agenda. It is what it is. Nothing more. That out of the way, I think much of everyone's foreign policy "what ifs" are simple posturing. The actual execution of any of it, including Obama's words on Pakistan. Many times candidates are just saying things to better position themselves in the general election. I tend to judge politicians by their voting records and their works rather than their words. So basically, I don't believe Barack when he talks about strategic strikes in Pakistan. All three candidates running know how complex the dual wars are, the constraints of our military and the limitations of what we can and cannot do militarily. The next president will be hampered with a broken military and limited resources.It's all talk. They'll be way too busy trying to chose between Iraq and Afghanistan due to the exhaustion of personnel and funds.If Obama is the next president he will be forced to deal with a military collapsing under stress. No one is going to be happy hearing the truth about the time, lives and money wasted in our misadventure in the Middle East. Pakistan will be in the background as well as other troublesome enemies and allies.I believe the reality will force everyone to kill any lofty military ideas, from the continued search for Osama bin Laden, to dealing with Iran's growing influence in the Middle East.Mr Obama's position then is that even though he supports FIGHTING OUR ENEMIES he ONLY supports fighting our enemies in certain THEATERS OF WAR – Afghanistan or Pakistan. Unfortunately THEY DON'T RESPECT GEOGRAPHY as Mr. Obama and the Anti-War contingent does!!This ties back to me not believing Obama's foreign policy statements because everyone's trying to get elected. That said — I've always thought our reaction to the violence of Sept. 11th was illogical. Terrorism is more of a police action than an invasion/occupation action due to the fluidity of the enemy. Under the present administration's logic we should have occupied a plurality of Europe, especially Germany, Spain, Denmark and Great Britain due to the number of extremists there.It would have made more sense to beef up Interpol, work in conjuction with other intelligence agencies and treat terroism like a police action, not a military action. We should be infiltrating and busting up cells, not dropping bombs and occupying countries.Also it doesn't make sense to practice collective punishment (re: Palestine and Israel) as it only makes the extremists bind closer to the community out of shared sacrifice. We should develop alliances and encourage human rights rather than charge in, guns blazing, screaming "shock and awe" and producing nothing but anarchy.I'm pretty sure my view of "everyone's lying about what they would do" is an unflattering view. I know it's also cynical and pessimistic, but I'm going into this thing with my eyes wide open. I can tell what is likely sincere and what is not. You have to remember that Obama has to exaggerate is foreign policies ideas because he doesn't want to be labeled as a light-weight. It's the same reason why Hillary is hawkish and McCain talks about "victory" all the time. No one wants to be Gerald Ford and have to officially declare the war lost.Side note: I get that you want to foster a dialog, your presentation though was so initally abrasive that it was really oft putting to me because I felt you were making rash judgments of me based on me just doing what I like. I don't mind dialoging on anything, I obviously like to write and talk. But I'd appreciate if you didn't make assumptions about me and would just ask what my opinion is rather than label me as some sort of blind Obamaniac, Obamatron merely spouting superlatives and talking points. It's sort of like asking a defendant "So when did you stop beating your wife."So dude, really stop assuming things. Just ask me what my opinion is, don't tell me what my opinion is then demand that I defend it. Half the time I agree with you, but you label me so resolutely that I have an overwhelming negative reaction to you. I wonder, why bother to respond? He's got it all figured out anyway. He doesn't really want to hear my opinion.I focus on this rather than your views, which don't bother me at all. It's simply the presentation and tone you take with them.So I think after airing that, I can move on from this and we can have a regular back and forth like I have with all the sites readers.
Fantastically Misunderstood Me says:
wow… the comments were almost as interesting as the post… i just wanted to say that the possibility of an obama-powell ticket is interesting… not highly likely, but interesting, nonetheless. the "white guilt" chatter would never cease.also, am i the only one who sees the "war on terror" as a bad idea? is there anything wrong w/only wanting to attack those who attack us or actually mean us harm? is it really possible to quell everysingle terrorist group/sect on earth? and who defines what a terrorist is? just a thought…
fantastically misunderstood me: Colin is interesting to be because he's been at the center of so many controversies since his time in Vietnam. He's like the smart Forest Gump of Republican military/foreign policy based maladies.But at the same time he's done other things that if our present occupant of the White House had adhered to perhaps there wouldn't have been this gallop towards an ill planned and irresponsible war.As per the War on Terror, I think the phrase has been so overused to some extent it's lost it's intended meaning. It's more buzz slogan than reality. How can you declare a war on something as ethereal as terrorism? When I hear it, it makes me think of the War on Crime and the War on Drugs, never ending sagas that have no resolute end.There are rarely any specifics on our "War on Terror." Anyone can be labeled as a terrorist at any time without rhyme or reason. It's just incoherent and impractical.
[quote]The series is about black conservative thought on Obama. It says that in the first sentence. Once again, while Obama is a focus of the piece it is more about the psychology of black conservatives who are attracted by what Obama represents, but are conflicted by his values.[/quote]Ms Black Snob – you know that this is not what I said with respect to "Obama-centric". Of course this entire series is about the so called "Black Conservative" outlook on Mr. Obama.I also stated that you APPEAR to take the position that Obama is the "1.0" and thus "CORRECT" and these commentators are the ones who must prove their worth.I ask you and other (seeming) Obama supporter to view "Obama – Machine member" and point out where in reference to this machine that already dominates Black America do we see the great promises that they have made over time being expressed in the various cities where Black people are most concentrated that this machine also has a lock on the political activities that take place within.I have previously made the analogy that the Black Political Machine that currently dominates us has marketed the notion of UNITY to us. They asked as as Black people to stay together as we scale this mountain. While this was justifiable during the Civil Rights Movement as petty differences might have fractured our very freedom and attainment of our rights under the law – it is the POST civil rights era in which these operatives began to fuse their actions with respect to ONE party and ONE IDEOLOGY – both of which that they still defend today. It is UNITY behind both of these elements that has seemingly trumped any "Black Best interests" that can be objectively measured. Having successfully obtained control over various cities (please check out the documentary "Eyes On The Prise II" which featured Cleveland in 1968 with the election of Carl Stokes) this same machine asked us to stay POLITICALLY and IDEOLOGICALLY unified behind this Black leadership because to fracture into different parties would also mean a dissolution of the Black vote. They focused on unity and punishing those who strayed than on delivery of what could be called OUR INTERESTS. Today as we reside on the plateau on the side of the mountain, having taken control of the operations of these various cities – having mayors, city councils, state reps/senators and US Representatives of our own choosing – the response to the CONTINUED GRIEVANCES within our community is CONTINUED EXPANSION rather than EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT of that which they already control. In the smoke of our simmering frustrations there is a CALL ANEW – let us stay together and climb behind us to this new plateau!! "Think of the positive effects that the young Black males on the street upon knowing that the PRESIDENT IS A BLACK MAN!!!!". Onward CHARGE up the side of the hill! Let us rise to this next plateau!For me – I am of those who are ASKING QUESTIONS and thus are seen as a BASIC THREAT to the agenda. "What have we gotten out of your previous conquests via our support? How is this future conquest going to be any different past the two parties that we will go to – The Election Eve victory party and the Inauguration Party?We may indeed get a "Black President". I am looking for measurable benefits WITHIN THE BLACK COMMUNITY that did not occur previously once a "barrier" was surpassed before. You know the old saying "Fool me once….."?
[quote]also, am i the only one who sees the "war on terror" as a bad idea? is there anything wrong w/only wanting to attack those who attack us or actually mean us harm? is it really possible to quell every single terrorist group/sect on earth? and who defines what a terrorist is? just a thought…[/quote]Misunderstood Me:The concept of "Only wanting to attack those who attacked us" IS NOT POSSIBLE. This is a SUBJECTIVE measure at best. If you want to be technical "the people who attacked US are DEAD" – 19 of them having been killed on their respective aircraft. (That is UNLESS you believe that Bush orchestrated it all in the first 8 months of his presidency – the Loose Change/Rosy O'Donnel crowd)Let us walk through your theory of "only attacking those who attacked us". Just as the CLAIM is that the American presence in Iraq has CREATED TERRORIST – the same is the case with a war exclusive to Afghanistan. As soon as the first Afghanis who were not Al Queda members pick up a rifle to repel those "infidels" (that is the USA) who has invaded their country – you have EXPANDED beyond "those who have attacked us".Secondly I notice that people who have your theories do best with people who "GIVE A DAMN about YOU, What You THINK about them and their alignment with INTERNATIONAL LAW". The problem comes in in dealing with those WHO DON'T GIVE A DAMN about what you think and who are NOT attempting to live according to any particular law. (Sadly for some of you – I JUST DESCRIBED GEORGE BUSH). I am frustrated as I listen to various Anti-War operatives seek to manage the war EXCLUSIVELY via their pressure upon the United States and the evil George Bush. No amount of killing of innocents via the other side – will cause them to go to that respective nation and age a protest in front of the offending power. You and I both know that their protests won't register. Thus we have the asymmetric anti-war response that we see today.I can't help but to notice a bit of assumed inferiority and assumed savagery of those who the United States is fighting. There is no assumption that they are to be held accountable for their killings as the United States is, no standards for torture, or detainment. Hell – they don't have detainees. All the people they capture are found floating in the Tigris River.The best way to fight "the war on terror" in my estimation is to show those who are our potential adversaries the COSTS of their actions. Surely these costs are recorded every day on OUR SIDE via our open press. (4,000 dead and $650 billion spent) It seems that the people of the Middle East need to have the costs that they bear being posted for their awareness more. THEN maybe they will choose to stand up and prevent those who seek to suppress their free and open government via terror tactics – ESPECIALLY if they are their family, friends and neighbors plotting a terrorist attack.The "Blame America First" crowd – of which Mr. Obama seems to be a member of as is his pastor will quickly look to what AMERICA did to provoke an attack on OUR shores.I simply cannot imagine that they would dare tell the people of Afghanistan or Iraq what THEY did to provoke an attack on THEIR shores……it was BUSH who did it in their estimation.
constructive feedback:I also stated that you APPEAR to take the position that Obama is the "1.0" and thus "CORRECT" and these commentators are the ones who must prove their worth.Well, I don't. I've never said as such. And I didn't think that needed to be present for that particular series.I don't hold any false allusions about a Barack Obama presidency. And as I said before, if there is disconent with a member of the present power structure elections were created specifically for the removal of those deemed not helpful to their constituancies.I do not believe that the individuals that reside in the districts of these black lawmakers are so blind as to follow someone who they feel have done nothing for their districts. As with white politicians, this discontent often surrounds a "get the bums out" that really translate into "get someone else's bum out. I like mine."That's why so many of them backpedaled to Obama under threat from their voters.I don't see the politicians as being the leaders. I see them as a reflection of the interests they hold and the larger black population that is insular, that does reject alternative views and is socially conservative. Al Sharpton is not an independent actor, without people willing to support him he would fall to earth and crash. This is why black conservative influence is limited. This is why alternative candidates who don't come from specific civil rights backgrounds struggle to gain traction. We have imprisoned ourselves. Our politicians are a mere reflection of our society. They are there because we want them to be there.That's why I'm largely uninterested in them. This is a Democracy. They only have their power because we gave it to them. If they stray from the line they will be rejected as the great black mass has rejected people who got out of line before. They can forgive infidelity, most crimes and corruption, but if you are perceived as a race traitor all the good works you've ever done will be tarnished and you will be rebuked.The closed-minded movement surrounding some segments of Barack Obama supporters come from that same place. These are the people who push for the monolith. Most black people WANT the monolith. Why else would people take every alternative view as a personal insult to blackness? No leader told us to do that. No leader told me to be anti-intellectual and to celebrate ignorance. But there was plenty of pressure from classmates and friends, relatives and neighbors. Maxine Waters is not personally walking into every black home in America and turning on BET.When it comes to an alternative view, we are the minority within our minority. In their mind the masses believe machine works for them, they blame other things for their suffering. They do this because their appointed leaders represent their views. It does not matter if these views are flawed or counterproductive. I think fighting about interracial dating is a pointless exercise, yet Jet, Ebony and Essence still dedicate pounds of ink to the subject.The news media often makes the mistake thinking that Rush Limbaugh created the right wing riot when it was that riot, that always existed, that created him and annointed him their speaker. If he goes against their view they will turn on him and rip him to pieces.I don't see the closed-in nature of African American society being any different.
Oh, goodness gracious.A great addition to this series, Black Snob! Gen. Powell has certainly been very positive about Sen. Obama so far, and you're capturing the sentiments of Obama's less likely supporters perfectly.Transcribed from <A HREF="
REL="nofollow">this video of Gen. Powell at around 2 min 10 sec: "…Mr. Obama has done an incredible job in coming to where he is now on the Democratic side, and I think he's been an exciting person on the political stage. He's energized a lot of people in America, and he's energized a lot of people around the world. So I think he's worth listening to, and seeing what he stands for. There are positions he has that I wouldn't support, but that's the case with every candidate out there."I think every American has an obligation right now, at this moment in our history, to look at all the candidates. To make a judgment not simply on the basis of ideology, not simply on the basis of political affiliation, but on the basis of who is the best person for all of America[…] Which candidate is ready to take America in a positive direction."
[quote]They can forgive infidelity, most crimes and corruption, but if you are perceived as a race traitor all the good works you've ever done will be tarnished and you will be rebuked.[/quote]BlackSnob:I had quoted other portions of your words. This is the key portion of your post, however.The notion of the "Race Tratior" is based on some notion that A GIVEN BODY OF BLACK PEOPLE 'controls the race' and has special dispensation regarding WHAT IS BEST FOR THE RACE.I have no problem in YIELDING to this force……all that I ask is that they PROVE IT!!!! Show me WHERE in our community, with them as the dominant force that they are able to indeed express the BLACK BEST INTEREST in an organic fashion. This does not mean throwing up a good fight against WHITE FOLKS. This means in communties where they are all alone by themselves – being able to express law and order, quality education and economic prosperity.One of the key themes in my platform is "Popularity does NOT equal EFFECTIVENESS". You say later on in your post that some Blacks seek and enforce uniformity of thought. In truth this is nothing more than evidence of the ABSENCE OF DEMOCRACY within the Black community. Those who knwo that they don't have to answer to anyone DON'T!!! They fight the perpetual fight for dEMOCRACY in the space they share with White folks in this country yet they prove that they have LEARNED WELL FROM THEIR ENEMY and use the vary same tactics of supression of thoughts and questions from other Blacks who dare to do so.I am proud to say that BLACK PEOPLE ARE HUMAN!!! Just as "absolute power corrupts absolutely" when it comes to WHITE GOVERNANCE that is allowed to do so – we suffer from this same fate as a people. The same enforcement of national unity that the Dixie Chicks faced is what goes on in Black America.