To bring to a close another momentous day in our ever-turning world, a bit of that old progressive rock for the kiddies.
Genesis – The Musical Box
Yes – Roundabout
Archive for December 10th, 2013
10
Dec
13
Chat On, Night Owls
A man holds the official programme ahead of the memorial service for Nelson Mandela at the FNB Stadium in Soweto
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Just want to thank UT again for her completely wonderful posts on the Nelson Mandela Memorial Service this morning, utterly unrivaled anywhere. By 10:0 EST there were 30,000 hits on the blog, all to see UT’s work. That’s amazing. Thank you legend, even if you’re a Blue 🙄
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So proud of President Obama today, what a wonderful ambassador for United States of America. Thank you @BarackObama. pic.twitter.com/4IoXnUllSy
— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) December 11, 2013
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A post to soothe the nerves as another momentous day passes into the rearview mirror.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo – Rain
Miriam Makeba – Soweto Blues
10
Dec
13
Chat Away
‏@petesouza: Pres Obama in tunnel of soccer stadium before taking stage at Nelson Mandela memorial service in South Africa
@petesouza: President Obama greets Graca Machel, Nelson Mandela’s widow, after his speech at the memorial service.
10
Dec
13
On This Day
President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama dance during the 2009 Nobel Banquet in the Hall of Mirrors at the Grand Hotel in Oslo, Norway, Dec. 10, 2009 (Photo by Pete Souza)
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President Obama looks at the Nobel Peace Prize medal for the first time at the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo, Norway, Dec. 10, 2009 (Photo by Pete Souza)
….. holding the Nobel Prize medal and diploma following the ceremony at the Oslo City Hall (Photo by Pete Souza)
President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama depart Oslo City Hall following the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony (Photo by Pete Souza)
First Lady Michelle Obama looks at pictures of past Nobel Prize recipients at the Norwegian Nobel Institute (Photo by Pete Souza)
President Obama looks out a window at Slottet Royal Palace of Norway following his meeting with King Harald V and Queen Sonja in Oslo (Photo by Pete Souza)
President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama wave from a balcony at the Grand Hotel as they greet the Torch Parade in Oslo (Photo by Pete Souza)
President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama arrive at the 2009 Nobel Banquet in the Hall of Mirrors at the Grand Hotel in Oslo (Photo by Samantha Appleton)
10
Dec
13
Chat Away
A boy with “Rest In Peace Nelson Mandela” painted on his face looks up to the skies during the memorial service for former South African president Nelson Mandela at the FNB Stadium in Soweto, near Johannesburg, South Africa, Tuesday Dec. 10
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Endless thanks to UT for all of today’s wonderful posts
President Barack Obama addresses the crowd during a memorial service for Nelson Mandela at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa
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Official Memorial Programme for Nelson Mandela #madiba #memorial slideshare.net/sabcnews/offic… via @SlideShare
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Alycee (@jazziz2) December 10, 2013****
Remembering Nelson Mandela
To Graça Machel and the Mandela family; to President Zuma and members of the government; to heads of state and government, past and present; distinguished guests – it is a singular honor to be with you today, to celebrate a life unlike any other. To the people of South Africa – people of every race and walk of life – the world thanks you for sharing Nelson Mandela with us. His struggle was your struggle. His triumph was your triumph. Your dignity and hope found expression in his life, and your freedom, your democracy is his cherished legacy.
It is hard to eulogize any man – to capture in words not just the facts and the dates that make a life, but the essential truth of a person – their private joys and sorrows; the quiet moments and unique qualities that illuminate someone’s soul. How much harder to do so for a giant of history, who moved a nation toward justice, and in the process moved billions around the world. Born during World War I, far from the corridors of power, a boy raised herding cattle and tutored by elders of his Thembu tribe – Madiba would emerge as the last great liberator of the 20th century. Like Gandhi, he would lead a resistance movement – a movement that at its start held little prospect of success. Like King, he would give potent voice to the claims of the oppressed, and the moral necessity of racial justice. He would endure a brutal imprisonment that began in the time of Kennedy and Khrushchev, and reached the final days of the Cold War. Emerging from prison, without force of arms, he would – like Lincoln – hold his country together when it threatened to break apart. Like America’s founding fathers, he would erect a constitutional order to preserve freedom for future generations – a commitment to democracy and rule of law ratified not only by his election, but by his willingness to step down from power.
Given the sweep of his life, and the adoration that he so rightly earned, it is tempting then to remember Nelson Mandela as an icon, smiling and serene, detached from the tawdry affairs of lesser men. But Madiba himself strongly resisted such a lifeless portrait. Instead, he insisted on sharing with us his doubts and fears; his miscalculations along with his victories. “I’m not a saint,” he said, “unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.”
It was precisely because he could admit to imperfection – because he could be so full of good humor, even mischief, despite the heavy burdens he carried – that we loved him so. He was not a bust made of marble; he was a man of flesh and blood – a son and husband, a father and a friend. That is why we learned so much from him; that is why we can learn from him still. For nothing he achieved was inevitable. In the arc of his life, we see a man who earned his place in history through struggle and shrewdness; persistence and faith. He tells us what’s possible not just in the pages of dusty history books, but in our own lives as well.
Mandela showed us the power of action; of taking risks on behalf of our ideals. Perhaps Madiba was right that he inherited, “a proud rebelliousness, a stubborn sense of fairness” from his father. Certainly he shared with millions of black and colored South Africans the anger born of, “a thousand slights, a thousand indignities, a thousand unremembered moments…a desire to fight the system that imprisoned my people.”
But like other early giants of the ANC – the Sisulus and Tambos – Madiba disciplined his anger; and channeled his desire to fight into organization, and platforms, and strategies for action, so men and women could stand-up for their dignity. Moreover, he accepted the consequences of his actions, knowing that standing up to powerful interests and injustice carries a price. “I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination,” he said at his 1964 trial. “I’ve cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
Mandela taught us the power of action, but also ideas; the importance of reason and arguments; the need to study not only those you agree with, but those who you don’t. He understood that ideas cannot be contained by prison walls, or extinguished by a sniper’s bullet. He turned his trial into an indictment of apartheid because of his eloquence and passion, but also his training as an advocate. He used decades in prison to sharpen his arguments, but also to spread his thirst for knowledge to others in the movement. And he learned the language and customs of his oppressor so that one day he might better convey to them how their own freedom depended upon his.
Mandela demonstrated that action and ideas are not enough; no matter how right, they must be chiseled into laws and institutions. He was practical, testing his beliefs against the hard surface of circumstance and history. On core principles he was unyielding, which is why he could rebuff offers of conditional release, reminding the Apartheid regime that, “prisoners cannot enter into contracts.” But as he showed in painstaking negotiations to transfer power and draft new laws, he was not afraid to compromise for the sake of a larger goal. And because he was not only a leader of a movement, but a skillful politician, the Constitution that emerged was worthy of this multiracial democracy; true to his vision of laws that protect minority as well as majority rights, and the precious freedoms of every South African.
Continue reading ‘Rise and Shine: Tribute To Nelson Mandela’
President Barack Obama delivers a speech during the memorial service for late South African President Nelson Mandela at Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg
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President Barack Obama pays his respect to former South African President Nelson Mandela’s widow Graca Machel
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Live streaming has started from the stadium
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The Nelson Mandela Memorial Service has begun
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More live streaming here:
And here:
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Crowd at #MandelaMemorial sees President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama and erupts into huge cheers. http://t.co/YhaXxYkIlH
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Nerdy Wonka (@NerdyWonka) December 10, 2013****
Live streaming has started from the stadium
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The Nelson Mandela Memorial Service begins at 11:0 local time, 4:0 AM US EST
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More live streaming here:
And here:
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The Obama Diary 
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