From: http://www.examiner.com/x-441-Golden-State-Warriors-Examiner~y2008m7d24-Write-back-at-you-NBA-101-in-session-Josh-Smith-and-the-Warriors-depth
Squall wrote: The Warriors are putting together quite a deep team here. Very interesting. Don Nelson is going to have a lot of chess pieces here to move around to his liking. I still don’t believe this will be Nelson’s last year. Look how many young 20 year olds we have now. How can he walk away from all this potential one year after gelling?
MS: The Warriors do appear to be deep, no doubt. It should allow them to try to play at a faster pace than a year ago, and they won’t have to solely rely on Davis to push it. On the other hand, while depth is nice I’d rather see an impact player on the roster.
I think as the Warriors stand right now, they’re looking at one of those years where they’re hoping to overachieve, stay in the playoff race and maybe get in with 42-45 wins. Is it possible? Yes.
Nelson does love coaching underdog type teams. And this year, he’ll have one. But I agree, it doesn't make sense that this would be his final season. Here's proof.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Hackers Becoming Mafia-esque
From Yahoo Article
Cybercrime is evolving. The lone hacker who steals and resells credit card numbers is being replaced by a well-structured business model. The game is no longer simply about hacking for fame, but rather about creating a business where you have frequent customers who buy your stolen product. The latest research report from web security company Finjan gives a peek at what exactly is going on.
Related Stories
* JavaScript worm from late 2007 happily frolicking in 2008
The company's second quarter 2008 report is based on data from its Malicious Code Research Center (MCRC), which specializes in the detection of dangerous vulnerabilities that could be exploited for malicious attacks. According to Finjan, "cybercrime activities on [the] Internet are booming as never before." The company's employees, masked as potential customers, did some digging while talking to cymbercrime affiliates, and their research showed how the market for pilfered data has evolved over the past couple of years.
In 2006, vulnerabilities were being sold online to the highest bidder. Last year, software packages that provided various ways of attacking websites and stealing valuable data were sold by professional hackers. These toolkits started to contain multiple exploits for new vulnerabilities and became more sophisticated, including update mechanisms for new software flaws and Trojans that adapt to the country of the victim. By the first quarter of this year, criminals began to log into their "data supplier" and could download any information need for their illegal activities.
Now, Finjan claims the situation has gotten even worse. Cybercrime companies that work much like real-world companies are starting to appear and are steadily growing, thanks to the profits they turn. Forget individual hackers or groups of hackers with common goals. Hierarchical cybercrime organizations where each cybercriminal has his or her own role and reward system is what you and your company should be worried about. Targeted attacks against financial institutions, enterprises, and governmental agencies, coupled with excellent management of stolen data, makes these "businesses" highly successful, and makes any organization using the Internet vulnerable.
Bosses, underbosses, and capos
The hierarchy of the digital mob. Image credit: Finjan
Finjan describes the employee structure that these cybercrime companies employ as being similar to the Mafia. In both cases, there is a "boss" who operates as a business entrepreneur and doesn't commit the (cyber)crimes himself, with an "underboss" who manages the operation, sometimes providing the tools needed for attacks. In the Mafia, several "capos" operate beneath the underboss as lieutenants leading their own section of the operation with their own soldiers, and in cybercrime, "campaign managers" lead their own attacks to steal data with their "affiliation networks." The stolen data are sold by "resellers," similar to the Mafia's "associates." Since these individuals did not partake in the actual cybercrime, they know nothing about the original attacks. They do, however, know about "replacement rules" (for example, stolen credit cards that have been reported) and other company-specific policies, just like the sales representatives you talk to in your average store.
Commodities (stolen credit cards and bank accounts) are priced low, while prime articles (stolen healthcare related information, single sign-on login credentials for organizations, e-mail, and FTP accounts) are much more expensive. Not too long ago, credit card numbers and bank accounts with PINs were selling for $100 or more each, but prices have since dropped to $10-20 per item.
Successful attacks can cause long-term damage to the company's victim: loss of valuable data, loss of IP, loss of productivity, impact on profits or stock price, brand damage, law suits, and class actions. Finjan suggests deploying innovative security solutions (such as real-time content inspection) designed to detect and handle recent threats. These solutions analyze and understand what the code intends to do before it does it, without relying on signature updates or databases of classified URLs, therefore assuring that malicious content will not enter the network, even if its origin is a highly trusted site. It's not a surprising suggestion, given that Finjan offers such products, but that said, the company's 21-page report is an informative read, although you'll have to fill out a survey to gain access to it.
Cybercrime is evolving. The lone hacker who steals and resells credit card numbers is being replaced by a well-structured business model. The game is no longer simply about hacking for fame, but rather about creating a business where you have frequent customers who buy your stolen product. The latest research report from web security company Finjan gives a peek at what exactly is going on.
Related Stories
* JavaScript worm from late 2007 happily frolicking in 2008
The company's second quarter 2008 report is based on data from its Malicious Code Research Center (MCRC), which specializes in the detection of dangerous vulnerabilities that could be exploited for malicious attacks. According to Finjan, "cybercrime activities on [the] Internet are booming as never before." The company's employees, masked as potential customers, did some digging while talking to cymbercrime affiliates, and their research showed how the market for pilfered data has evolved over the past couple of years.
In 2006, vulnerabilities were being sold online to the highest bidder. Last year, software packages that provided various ways of attacking websites and stealing valuable data were sold by professional hackers. These toolkits started to contain multiple exploits for new vulnerabilities and became more sophisticated, including update mechanisms for new software flaws and Trojans that adapt to the country of the victim. By the first quarter of this year, criminals began to log into their "data supplier" and could download any information need for their illegal activities.
Now, Finjan claims the situation has gotten even worse. Cybercrime companies that work much like real-world companies are starting to appear and are steadily growing, thanks to the profits they turn. Forget individual hackers or groups of hackers with common goals. Hierarchical cybercrime organizations where each cybercriminal has his or her own role and reward system is what you and your company should be worried about. Targeted attacks against financial institutions, enterprises, and governmental agencies, coupled with excellent management of stolen data, makes these "businesses" highly successful, and makes any organization using the Internet vulnerable.
Bosses, underbosses, and capos
The hierarchy of the digital mob. Image credit: Finjan
Finjan describes the employee structure that these cybercrime companies employ as being similar to the Mafia. In both cases, there is a "boss" who operates as a business entrepreneur and doesn't commit the (cyber)crimes himself, with an "underboss" who manages the operation, sometimes providing the tools needed for attacks. In the Mafia, several "capos" operate beneath the underboss as lieutenants leading their own section of the operation with their own soldiers, and in cybercrime, "campaign managers" lead their own attacks to steal data with their "affiliation networks." The stolen data are sold by "resellers," similar to the Mafia's "associates." Since these individuals did not partake in the actual cybercrime, they know nothing about the original attacks. They do, however, know about "replacement rules" (for example, stolen credit cards that have been reported) and other company-specific policies, just like the sales representatives you talk to in your average store.
Commodities (stolen credit cards and bank accounts) are priced low, while prime articles (stolen healthcare related information, single sign-on login credentials for organizations, e-mail, and FTP accounts) are much more expensive. Not too long ago, credit card numbers and bank accounts with PINs were selling for $100 or more each, but prices have since dropped to $10-20 per item.
Successful attacks can cause long-term damage to the company's victim: loss of valuable data, loss of IP, loss of productivity, impact on profits or stock price, brand damage, law suits, and class actions. Finjan suggests deploying innovative security solutions (such as real-time content inspection) designed to detect and handle recent threats. These solutions analyze and understand what the code intends to do before it does it, without relying on signature updates or databases of classified URLs, therefore assuring that malicious content will not enter the network, even if its origin is a highly trusted site. It's not a surprising suggestion, given that Finjan offers such products, but that said, the company's 21-page report is an informative read, although you'll have to fill out a survey to gain access to it.
Moms Turn Teen Sleepover Into Orgy
Police said two Bucks County moms have been charged after a sleepover involving six teenage boys took an alleged illegal sexual turn.
Angela Honeycutt, 38, and Lynne Long, 45, are facing numerous charges after a series of alleged incidents on April 14.
Authorities said the teens, ages 14 to 16, were attending a sleepover at Long's Lower Makefield home when Honeycutt, a mother of two young children, allegedly had sex with a 14-year-old and performed sex acts with a 15-year-old. Long allegedly watched, listened and instructed the teens not to say anything.
In addition to the alleged sexual assault, detectives said Honeycutt exposed her breasts to the teens; open-mouth kissed some of the minors, entered a shower with a juvenile and engaged conversation of a sexual nature.
"What is so particularly outrageous about this is the violation of trust," said Lower Makefield Twp. Police Chief Ken Coluzzi.
Authorities learned of the alleged sexual sleepover when one of the boys involved told his parents, who then went police.
"You think you've seen everything and then all of a sudden, another report of an outrageous crime comes in," said Chief Coluzzi.
As word of their arrest spread through the suburban community, neighbors reacted in disbelief. "It's shocking and it is a shame."
Honeycutt is facing charges of statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor and other related charges. Long is facing charges of endangering the welfare of children and corruption of minors.
Both women surrendered to authorities Wednesday and were released after being permitted to sign their own bail.
Angela Honeycutt, 38, and Lynne Long, 45, are facing numerous charges after a series of alleged incidents on April 14.
Authorities said the teens, ages 14 to 16, were attending a sleepover at Long's Lower Makefield home when Honeycutt, a mother of two young children, allegedly had sex with a 14-year-old and performed sex acts with a 15-year-old. Long allegedly watched, listened and instructed the teens not to say anything.
In addition to the alleged sexual assault, detectives said Honeycutt exposed her breasts to the teens; open-mouth kissed some of the minors, entered a shower with a juvenile and engaged conversation of a sexual nature.
"What is so particularly outrageous about this is the violation of trust," said Lower Makefield Twp. Police Chief Ken Coluzzi.
Authorities learned of the alleged sexual sleepover when one of the boys involved told his parents, who then went police.
"You think you've seen everything and then all of a sudden, another report of an outrageous crime comes in," said Chief Coluzzi.
As word of their arrest spread through the suburban community, neighbors reacted in disbelief. "It's shocking and it is a shame."
Honeycutt is facing charges of statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor and other related charges. Long is facing charges of endangering the welfare of children and corruption of minors.
Both women surrendered to authorities Wednesday and were released after being permitted to sign their own bail.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Monday, July 7, 2008
Elton Brand Selling His LA Home...Golden State Warriors Excited?
http://www.bergproperties.com/blog/basketball-star-elton-brand-places-his-5471-square-foot-house-in-los-angeles-hollywood-hills-back-on-the-market-for-49985m/4213/celebrities
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
A Complete Analysis of Game 6 2002 LA/Sac: The Donaghy Rigged Game
Roland Beech of 82games.com has spent serious time detailing every single call of the notorious Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals.
That's the game convicted former referee Tim Donaghy has said was essentially rigged, by the NBA, to be a Laker victory.
Beech found all kinds of stuff.
He found that the questionable, or to his eyes, flat out incorrect, calls favored the Lakers not in huge numbers (nine total calls), but a very lopsided (7-2) rate.
Beech did some very intelligent guesswork as to how many points the referees' dubious calls may have unfairly cost the Kings six points.
The Lakers won by four.
So, Sacramento, permission granted to freak out.
But ...
Beech also looked for any and all evidence to support Donaghy's claim that two of the referees were "company men" who did the NBA's bidding. It was hard to see that in how each referees calls broke down. Referee Bob Delaney, Beech found, called the game quite evenly. Ted Bernhardt's calls slightly favored the Lakers, and Dick Bavetta's calls, especially late in the game, were more in favor of the Lakers than anyone.
Through it all, however, Beech finds it very tough to support the notion that the game was rigged. He just does not see it. I recommend you read his entire, very sober explanation. (And remember, Beech is no company man. He created what is, to me, one of the most damning referee critiques on record, which prompted lots of follow-up.)
Here is just some of Beech's rationale for concluding that the game was not likely rigged.
Yes, at a glance you can see the Lakers got some advantage from the calls down the stretch, but if Bavetta was really trying to rig the game, would he have called a tie up jump ball at the 3:26 mark (and subsequently had a bad toss that gave the ball to the Kings) with the Kings ahead by two when he could have called a foul on Divac? Would he have called the foul on Fisher at 1:27 that helped bring the Kings back within a point with plenty of time left? Would he have called the blocking foul on Fox with 0:20 when an offensive foul would have basically sealed the game? Doubtful.
Bernhardt made no foul call on Christie's block of Kobe with the game tied at 3:56, gave Bibby a bailout call with the shot clock winding down at 2:34 with the game tied, and didn't call Webber for a foul on Shaq's basket at 0:52 which could have fouled out C-Webb and given the Lakers a look at a four point lead.
Delaney wasn't very active in the waning minutes, with one no call where Bibby looked for a foul at the 0:43 mark. The other notable non-call which I rated an "all refs" situation was on the inbounds at 0:12 where Kobe knocked Bibby to the floor with an elbow to the face, but Bibby was also grabbing Kobe at the time it happened so both were really guilty of infractions to some extent. Still an offensive foul on Kobe there could have changed the outcome!
As a whole, these plays suggest to me the refs were calling the game honestly, if perhaps not well.
Now Bernhardt did have the arguable turning point call of the game as it turns out at the 3:06 mark when Webber moved into the paint and made a basket only to have the shot wiped out with an offensive foul call. At first I was in agreement with Bill Walton that this was a "terrible call" but having watched the play over ten times in slow motion I changed it from 'dubious' to 'maybe' in my grading since it's one of those plays where I believe a case could be made for a defensive foul, an offensive foul, or even a dual fault let them play no call. If pressed I'd still rate it a Horry foul which would have given a basket and the and one shot to Webber and the Kings a possible four or five point lead. Yet there is a fair amount of left arm push off from Webber and Bernhardt was right on top of the play with a good angle.
This gets to the heart of the matter to me: despite the NBA's official claim that 95% of calls are correct over a season, there are just too many plays that are far from being clear cut wrong/right and many that fall into a gray area where even watching a play many times in slow motion you can make a case for different verdicts. The block/charge/no call situation is also about the worst of these in that it's such a snap judgement with significant effect.
Before you decide what you think about Beech's critique, please do read the whole thing. He has not only logged every single call, and anticipated just about every objection you might have, and has addressed them. You might as well get his take before weighing in on the quality of his work.
That's the game convicted former referee Tim Donaghy has said was essentially rigged, by the NBA, to be a Laker victory.
Beech found all kinds of stuff.
He found that the questionable, or to his eyes, flat out incorrect, calls favored the Lakers not in huge numbers (nine total calls), but a very lopsided (7-2) rate.
Beech did some very intelligent guesswork as to how many points the referees' dubious calls may have unfairly cost the Kings six points.
The Lakers won by four.
So, Sacramento, permission granted to freak out.
But ...
Beech also looked for any and all evidence to support Donaghy's claim that two of the referees were "company men" who did the NBA's bidding. It was hard to see that in how each referees calls broke down. Referee Bob Delaney, Beech found, called the game quite evenly. Ted Bernhardt's calls slightly favored the Lakers, and Dick Bavetta's calls, especially late in the game, were more in favor of the Lakers than anyone.
Through it all, however, Beech finds it very tough to support the notion that the game was rigged. He just does not see it. I recommend you read his entire, very sober explanation. (And remember, Beech is no company man. He created what is, to me, one of the most damning referee critiques on record, which prompted lots of follow-up.)
Here is just some of Beech's rationale for concluding that the game was not likely rigged.
Yes, at a glance you can see the Lakers got some advantage from the calls down the stretch, but if Bavetta was really trying to rig the game, would he have called a tie up jump ball at the 3:26 mark (and subsequently had a bad toss that gave the ball to the Kings) with the Kings ahead by two when he could have called a foul on Divac? Would he have called the foul on Fisher at 1:27 that helped bring the Kings back within a point with plenty of time left? Would he have called the blocking foul on Fox with 0:20 when an offensive foul would have basically sealed the game? Doubtful.
Bernhardt made no foul call on Christie's block of Kobe with the game tied at 3:56, gave Bibby a bailout call with the shot clock winding down at 2:34 with the game tied, and didn't call Webber for a foul on Shaq's basket at 0:52 which could have fouled out C-Webb and given the Lakers a look at a four point lead.
Delaney wasn't very active in the waning minutes, with one no call where Bibby looked for a foul at the 0:43 mark. The other notable non-call which I rated an "all refs" situation was on the inbounds at 0:12 where Kobe knocked Bibby to the floor with an elbow to the face, but Bibby was also grabbing Kobe at the time it happened so both were really guilty of infractions to some extent. Still an offensive foul on Kobe there could have changed the outcome!
As a whole, these plays suggest to me the refs were calling the game honestly, if perhaps not well.
Now Bernhardt did have the arguable turning point call of the game as it turns out at the 3:06 mark when Webber moved into the paint and made a basket only to have the shot wiped out with an offensive foul call. At first I was in agreement with Bill Walton that this was a "terrible call" but having watched the play over ten times in slow motion I changed it from 'dubious' to 'maybe' in my grading since it's one of those plays where I believe a case could be made for a defensive foul, an offensive foul, or even a dual fault let them play no call. If pressed I'd still rate it a Horry foul which would have given a basket and the and one shot to Webber and the Kings a possible four or five point lead. Yet there is a fair amount of left arm push off from Webber and Bernhardt was right on top of the play with a good angle.
This gets to the heart of the matter to me: despite the NBA's official claim that 95% of calls are correct over a season, there are just too many plays that are far from being clear cut wrong/right and many that fall into a gray area where even watching a play many times in slow motion you can make a case for different verdicts. The block/charge/no call situation is also about the worst of these in that it's such a snap judgement with significant effect.
Before you decide what you think about Beech's critique, please do read the whole thing. He has not only logged every single call, and anticipated just about every objection you might have, and has addressed them. You might as well get his take before weighing in on the quality of his work.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Oceans Warming Faster Then Realized
June 18, 2008 -- The world's oceans have warmed 50 percent faster over the last 40 years than previously thought due to climate change, Australian and U.S. climate researchers reported Wednesday.
Higher ocean temperatures expand the volume of water, contributing to a rise in sea levels that is submerging small island nations and threatening to wreak havoc in low-lying, densely-populated delta regions around the globe.
The study, published in the British journal Nature, adds to a growing scientific chorus of warnings about the pace and consequences rising oceans.
It also serves as a corrective to a massive report issued last year by the Nobel-winning http://www.ipcc.ch/UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), according to the authors.
Rising sea levels are driven by two things: the thermal expansion of sea water, and additional water from melting sources of ice. Both processes are caused by global warming.
The ice sheet that sits atop Greenland, for example, contains enough water to raise world ocean levels by seven meters (23 feet), which would bury sea-level cities from Dhaka to Shanghai.
Trying to figure out how much each of these factors contributes to rising sea levels is critically important to understanding climate change, and forecasting future temperature rises, scientists say.
But up to now, there has been a perplexing gap between the projections of computer-based climate models, and the observations of scientists gathering data from the oceans.
"The numbers didn't add up," said Peter Geckler, a co-author of the study and a researcher at the Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and Intercomparison at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory in California.
"When previous investigators tried to add up all the estimated contributions to sea level rise" -- thermal expansion, melting glaciers, ice caps and ice sheets, along with changes in terrestrial storage -- "they did not match with the independently estimated total sea level rise," he said.
The new study, led by Catia Domingues of the Center for Australian Weather and Climate Research, is the first to reconcile the models with observed data.
Using new techniques to assess ocean temperatures to a depth of 700 meters (2,300 feet) from 1961 to 2003, it shows that thermal warming contributed to a 0.53 millimeter-per-year rise in sea levels rather than the 0.32 mm rise reported by the IPCC.
"Our results are important for the climate modelling community because they boost confidence in the climate models used for projections of global sea-level rise resulting for the accumulation of heat in the oceans," Domingues said in a statement.
"The projections will in turn assist in planning to minimize impacts, and in developing adaptation strategies," she added.
The IPCC report was criticized for including only the impact of thermal expansion in its projections of sea level rises over the next century, despite recent studies showing that melting ice is a significant -- and growing -- factor.
The planet's oceans store more than 90 percent of the heat in the Earth's climate system and act as a temporary buffer against the effects of climate change.
Higher ocean temperatures expand the volume of water, contributing to a rise in sea levels that is submerging small island nations and threatening to wreak havoc in low-lying, densely-populated delta regions around the globe.
The study, published in the British journal Nature, adds to a growing scientific chorus of warnings about the pace and consequences rising oceans.
It also serves as a corrective to a massive report issued last year by the Nobel-winning http://www.ipcc.ch/UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), according to the authors.
Rising sea levels are driven by two things: the thermal expansion of sea water, and additional water from melting sources of ice. Both processes are caused by global warming.
The ice sheet that sits atop Greenland, for example, contains enough water to raise world ocean levels by seven meters (23 feet), which would bury sea-level cities from Dhaka to Shanghai.
Trying to figure out how much each of these factors contributes to rising sea levels is critically important to understanding climate change, and forecasting future temperature rises, scientists say.
But up to now, there has been a perplexing gap between the projections of computer-based climate models, and the observations of scientists gathering data from the oceans.
"The numbers didn't add up," said Peter Geckler, a co-author of the study and a researcher at the Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and Intercomparison at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory in California.
"When previous investigators tried to add up all the estimated contributions to sea level rise" -- thermal expansion, melting glaciers, ice caps and ice sheets, along with changes in terrestrial storage -- "they did not match with the independently estimated total sea level rise," he said.
The new study, led by Catia Domingues of the Center for Australian Weather and Climate Research, is the first to reconcile the models with observed data.
Using new techniques to assess ocean temperatures to a depth of 700 meters (2,300 feet) from 1961 to 2003, it shows that thermal warming contributed to a 0.53 millimeter-per-year rise in sea levels rather than the 0.32 mm rise reported by the IPCC.
"Our results are important for the climate modelling community because they boost confidence in the climate models used for projections of global sea-level rise resulting for the accumulation of heat in the oceans," Domingues said in a statement.
"The projections will in turn assist in planning to minimize impacts, and in developing adaptation strategies," she added.
The IPCC report was criticized for including only the impact of thermal expansion in its projections of sea level rises over the next century, despite recent studies showing that melting ice is a significant -- and growing -- factor.
The planet's oceans store more than 90 percent of the heat in the Earth's climate system and act as a temporary buffer against the effects of climate change.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Blacks savor Obama win, fear disappointment
ATLANTA (Reuters) - Black Americans savored Barack Obama's unprecedented victory in the Democratic race for U.S. president, but said on Wednesday the higher stakes raised the prospect of deep disappointment in November.
The knowledge that Obama will be the first black American to lead a major party in a U.S. presidential election as he faces Republican John McCain in November provoked a flood of reflection from black voters at Atlanta's "K&K Soul Food" restaurant.
"It's great. We finally have a 'brother' nominated to be president. It's the best thing I've ever seen," said Alan Stephens, 46, who had parked the truck he uses for his welding business directly outside the big side window.
"But it will be even better when he is president," he said, adding that Obama's victory should be put in the context of other milestones in African American history, a popular view among a U.S. minority with a keen sense that discrimination and the struggle to overcome it has defined its identity.
In winning the nomination, Obama has left many African Americans elated but at the same time fearful that their own preoccupations might derail the candidate in a general election, said William Jelani Cobb, author of books about contemporary black culture.
"Black Americans are treading on thin ice, moving very delicately. This (Obama's) opportunity is frail and fragile (and many say) let's make sure that nothing happens to ruin it," said Cobb, a professor of history at Atlanta's Spelman College.
Obama is set to deliver his nomination speech to the party convention in Denver on August 28, 45 years to the day after civil rights leader Martin Luther King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington.
Civil rights ended legalized racial segregation in the U.S. South by building a coalition of blacks and whites and Obama's achievement was also that he built a multi-ethnic coalition, Cobb said.
"He has smashed the old simplistic model of being closely aligned with black folk or popular with white folk," he said.
Politicians such as David Dinkins, who became New York's first black mayor in 1990 and Douglas Wilder, who became the first black governor of a U.S. state when he won in Virginia in 1990, did that, but no black politician had previously pulled off the feat on a national scale, Cobb said.
At the same time, Obama would likely help to usher out a generation of black politicians including civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, for whom the redress of discrimination was an over-riding concern.
ICED TEA
It was business as usual at the restaurant in a working-class neighborhood in southwest Atlanta.
As on any other day, the mostly black clientele lined up with brown trays to select from a menu that included oxtail, fried fish, collard greens and iced tea, paid the cashier in her glass booth and sat down to eat using plastic knives and forks.
Some customers said Obama's win was evidence of wider changes that included a softening of barriers between blacks and whites and a broader acceptance that many groups compete in U.S. society.
"It's a victory for multiculturalism," said Vedia Jackson, 36, a telecommunications project manager who had driven across town to eat at the restaurant. "This country has changed quite a lot color-wise and it's time for people of color to be in influential situations."
"I am not looking at him (Obama) in terms of color. Maybe my parents would have done that. I am looking at him as the best candidate," she said between mouthfuls of fried fish.
Jackson said she traveled to eat at "K&K" because the restaurant seasoned its food in a way that reminded her of how food was cooked when she was growing up in Mississippi.
Jackson's dining companion Wayne McKenzie, 41, rejected any notion that race was a prime reason for Obama's triumph.
"The fact that he is African American is secondary. He's the best candidate whether he's green, pink or yellow," he said.
The knowledge that Obama will be the first black American to lead a major party in a U.S. presidential election as he faces Republican John McCain in November provoked a flood of reflection from black voters at Atlanta's "K&K Soul Food" restaurant.
"It's great. We finally have a 'brother' nominated to be president. It's the best thing I've ever seen," said Alan Stephens, 46, who had parked the truck he uses for his welding business directly outside the big side window.
"But it will be even better when he is president," he said, adding that Obama's victory should be put in the context of other milestones in African American history, a popular view among a U.S. minority with a keen sense that discrimination and the struggle to overcome it has defined its identity.
In winning the nomination, Obama has left many African Americans elated but at the same time fearful that their own preoccupations might derail the candidate in a general election, said William Jelani Cobb, author of books about contemporary black culture.
"Black Americans are treading on thin ice, moving very delicately. This (Obama's) opportunity is frail and fragile (and many say) let's make sure that nothing happens to ruin it," said Cobb, a professor of history at Atlanta's Spelman College.
Obama is set to deliver his nomination speech to the party convention in Denver on August 28, 45 years to the day after civil rights leader Martin Luther King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington.
Civil rights ended legalized racial segregation in the U.S. South by building a coalition of blacks and whites and Obama's achievement was also that he built a multi-ethnic coalition, Cobb said.
"He has smashed the old simplistic model of being closely aligned with black folk or popular with white folk," he said.
Politicians such as David Dinkins, who became New York's first black mayor in 1990 and Douglas Wilder, who became the first black governor of a U.S. state when he won in Virginia in 1990, did that, but no black politician had previously pulled off the feat on a national scale, Cobb said.
At the same time, Obama would likely help to usher out a generation of black politicians including civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, for whom the redress of discrimination was an over-riding concern.
ICED TEA
It was business as usual at the restaurant in a working-class neighborhood in southwest Atlanta.
As on any other day, the mostly black clientele lined up with brown trays to select from a menu that included oxtail, fried fish, collard greens and iced tea, paid the cashier in her glass booth and sat down to eat using plastic knives and forks.
Some customers said Obama's win was evidence of wider changes that included a softening of barriers between blacks and whites and a broader acceptance that many groups compete in U.S. society.
"It's a victory for multiculturalism," said Vedia Jackson, 36, a telecommunications project manager who had driven across town to eat at the restaurant. "This country has changed quite a lot color-wise and it's time for people of color to be in influential situations."
"I am not looking at him (Obama) in terms of color. Maybe my parents would have done that. I am looking at him as the best candidate," she said between mouthfuls of fried fish.
Jackson said she traveled to eat at "K&K" because the restaurant seasoned its food in a way that reminded her of how food was cooked when she was growing up in Mississippi.
Jackson's dining companion Wayne McKenzie, 41, rejected any notion that race was a prime reason for Obama's triumph.
"The fact that he is African American is secondary. He's the best candidate whether he's green, pink or yellow," he said.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
