Nelson Mandela Has Passed - The World Has Lost A Great Man And Leader...

[Selene]

This is a man that who* I have always admired. To emerge from that time in prison with his attitude is a remarkable statement of his integrity as a man.

Sorry you lost him Tony...

Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first black president and an enduring icon of the struggle against racial oppression, died on Thursday the government announced, leaving the nation without its moral center at a time of growing dissatisfaction with the country’s leaders. Mr. Mandela spent 27 years in prison after being convicted of treason by the white minority government, only to forge a peaceful end to white rule by negotiating with his captors after his release in 1990. He led the African National Congress, long a banned liberation movement, to a resounding electoral victory in 1994, the first fully democratic election in the country’s history.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/06/world/africa/nelson-mandela.html?emc=edit_na_20131205

drop the "f" in the title...

* pursuant to the Gulch Rule that "that" applies to "things" and "who" and "whom" refer to persons...

[Selene]

Bono on Mandela...

As an activist I have pretty much been doing what Nelson Mandela tells me since I was a teenager. He has been a forceful presence in my life going back to 1979, when U2 made its first anti-apartheid effort. And he’s been a big part of the Irish consciousness even longer than that. Irish people related all too easily to the subjugation of ethnic majorities. From our point of view, the question as to how bloody South Africa would have to get on its long road to freedom was not abstract.

Over the years we became friends. I, like everyone else, was mesmerized by his deft maneuvering as leader of South Africa. His cabinet appointments of Trevor Manuel and Kadar Asmal were intuitive and ballsy. His partnership with Sowetan neighbor Desmond Tutu brought me untold joy. This double act—and before long a triple act that included Mandela’s wife, the bold and beautiful Graca Machel—took the success of the anti-apartheid fight in South Africa and widened the scope to include the battle against AIDS and the broader reach for dignity by the poorest peoples on the planet.

http://Bono on Nelson Mandela: The Man Who Could Not Cry | TIME.com http://world.time.com/2013/12/05/bono-the-man-who-could-not-cry/#ixzz2meIarjtS

[Backlighting]

He certainly went thru hell.

Here's a tidbit: While watching a major tennis tourney a few years ago, one of the commentators told a story that Mandella had John McEnroe at his home (this was during the mid 80's) for a visit because McEnroe had turned down $1 mil. to play in an exhibition in S. Africa because of his opposition to apartheid.

[PDS]

Good for Mac.

[GALTGULCH8]

There is a distinction I learned from a teacher in my grammar school as a child between "things" and "persons." When referring to a thing one uses the word "that" and when referring to a person one uses the word "who" or "whom."

Consequently it has always struck me when I encounter a statement such as you used: "This is a man that I have always admired."

it just doesn't sound right. It is as if you are referring to a "man" as an "object" not as a "person."

We have learned from Ayn Rand that the ultimate minority is any one Man. We know that when Thomas Jefferson wrote that all men are created equal in the Declaration of Independence he was referring to everyone regardless of color or gender or creed but that in the reality of that age many did not interpret it that way and it did not include women or men of color.

Please become conscious of this distinction and show your appreciation of the difference between things and people be saying:

"this is a man whom I have always admired."

In commenting on the qualities of Nelson Mandela, one of my most admired people, Charles Krauthammer pointed out how like George Washington Mandela was in stepping down from power.

[Selene]

There is a distinction I learned from a teacher in my grammar school as a child between "things" and "persons." When referring to a thing one uses the word "that" and when referring to a person one uses the word "who" or "whom."

Consequently it has always struck me when I encounter a statement such as you used: "This is a man that I have always admired."

it just doesn't sound right. It is as if you are referring to a "man" as an "object" not as a "person."

We have learned from Ayn Rand that the ultimate minority is any one Man. We know that when Thomas Jefferson wrote that all men are created equal in the Declaration of Independence he was referring to everyone regardless of color or gender or creed but that in the reality of that age many did not interpret it that way and it did not include women or men of color.

Please become conscious of this distinction and show your appreciation of the difference between things and people be saying:

"this is a man whom I have always admired."

In commenting on the qualities of Nelson Mandela, one of my most admired people, Charles Krauthammer pointed out how like George Washington Mandela was in stepping down from power.

Thanks Gulch.

Corrected that error...

[anthony]

Thanks for opening this Adam. I'm sorry for the loss, more for this country than myself.. For me, expecting the news almost any day, the end was almost anti-climactic - and after all he'd retired from public life long back.

There's the pity.

Mandela, as a consciously-functioning man was, I am afraid, lost to us at least a year ago.

There is little doubt (among people who've known and become expert on the disease up close - like my lady) that he has suffered from Alzheimer's Disease for at least that long.

Not a peep from the ANC government about that; I wonder if it will ever emerge. AD carries great superstitious stigma among many people here. So, I believe anything that interferes with the sanctification process of this singular, though not perfect, man will be buried by our politico masters. (Elections next year, you know.)

Looking over mi'lady's shoulder just now, I saw this Facebook entry from our friend (writer and libertarian) Tat Wolfren. He says it better than I can:

"Mandela was a moral giant amongst men.

How sad that Mr. Mandela's legacy has been trodden underfoot by his greedy, immoral, undignified and racist successors. All the good will and moral equity that Mandela had built has come to naught. That is the tragedy of South Africa today."

[Samson Corwell]

Nelson Mandela is the kind of person who will stand in history with the likes of Martin Luther King (Jr.), Mahatma Ghandi, and other examples I'm having a hard time recalling. I, too, am sorry that you lost him Tony.

[anthony]

Thanks, Samson - there is a parallel with other extraordinary men, such as MLK. I think they see further than most and the vision drives them on.

[Selene]

"Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies."

Nelson Mandela...

[Selene]

Some of the White brown shirts put this tweet out on the death of Mandela. Despicable people...

On Thursday, the White House marked the http://On Thursday, the White House marked the death of 95-year-old South African leader Nelson Mandela with a picture of Barack Obama next to a quote attributed to the president on Twitter. "Rest in peace, Nelson Mandela," the tweet said. The picture sent with the message showed Obama in Mandela's prison cell with a quote: "Let us pause and give thanks for the fact that Nelson Mandela lived -- a man who took history in his hands, and bent the arc of the moral universe toward justice." Not everyone was impressed with the narcissistic tweet.

[Backlighting]

A vile bunch indeed.

[jts]

According to Alex Jones, Mandela was a bad guy. Communist and all that. I will spare you the videos.

[Selene]

According to Alex Jones, Mandela was a bad guy. Communist and all that. I will spare you the videos.

Mandela was a small "c" communist with close ties to Khadafi, Castro and the I believe the Soviets. These were the only places that he could get the arms and support required to end the anti-individualistic system of Aparthied.

He was always loyal to those who helped him.

He admired the US Constitution and insisted on the South African Constitution be followed when he was President. He continually came razor close to balancing the budget and he united the races and avoided what would have been a disastrously bloody civil war.

My kind of communist.

A..

[Selene]

This is tangentially a comparison of Mandela and O'bama using Chris "the lush" Mathews. There is a 23:47 audio clip from his ragio show of this week. It is Mark at his most savage best and he weaves in about 100 or so years of history. All improve. Man has a great mind.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/12/06/one-sick-s-o-b-mark-levin-goes-nuclear-on-deranged-moron-chris-matthews/

A...

[Richard Wiig]

Some Mandela quotes:

7. On the U.S. war with Iraq:

“If there is a country that has committed unspeakable atrocities in the world, it is the United States of America. They don’t care for human beings.”

Via cbsnews.com

6. On Israel:

“Israel should withdraw from all the areas which it won from the Arabs in 1967, and in particular Israel should withdraw completely from the Golan Heights, from south Lebanon and from the West Bank.”

Via jweekly.com

5. On the U.S. war with Iraq:

“All that (Mr. Bush) wants is Iraqi oil.”

Via cbsnews.com

4. Mandela on Castro and the Cuban revolution:

“From its earliest days, the Cuban Revolution has also been a source of inspiration to all freedom-loving people. We admire the sacrifices of the Cuban people in maintaining their independence and sovereignty in the face of the vicious imperialist-orquestrated campaign to destroy the impressive gain made in the Cuban Revolution. … Long live the Cuban Revolution. Long live comrade Fidel Castro.”

Via lanic.utexas.edu

3. Mandela on Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, his longtime supporter:

“It is our duty to give support to the brother leader … especially in regards to the sanctions which are not hitting just him, they are hitting the ordinary masses of the people … our African brothers and sisters.”

Via finalcall.com

2. On the U.S. preparing to invade Iraq in a 2002 interview with Newsweek:

“If you look at those matters, you will come to the conclusion that the attitude of the United States of America is a threat to world peace.”

Via newsweek.com

1. On a Palestinian state:

“The UN took a strong stand against apartheid; and over the years, an international consensus was built, which helped to bring an end to this iniquitous system. But we know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.”

Via cbsnews.com