As many of you know the rumor around my family is that before my Great great great grandparent came to America they had the name Von Baldowski. Well this postingI made to ancestry.com 10 years ago was finally answered last month. I totally forgot I had posted anything. A distant cousin did the research and found out my family was a Von before arriving. Christian Von Baldowski was the father of the seven brothers that came over.
As the following points out, I am of noble birth.
In Germany, ‘von’ means noble, and all persons belonging to the nobility have ‘von’ before their family names, without any exception. Persons who do not belong to the nobility cannot put ‘von’ before their names, as they have no right to do so, and would be found out directly if they assumed it, and make themselves ridiculous. But in case of a man being knighted for some reason or other, he has the right to put ‘von’ before his family name.
This quote comes from
Last Names website. Unfortunately this is as far as I have gotten in research. I don’t have the time or money to go places so the best I can do is Internet searches. These usually take me to websites in German or Polish which I can’t read.
So I guess I am a nobleman.
Also the story about Baldowski Bottling was written about in the paper in Augusta Ga. It is an article about a bottling exhibit at the Augusta Museum. It is the second article on the page.
One bottle in the exhibit was produced by Baldowski Bottling Works, whose owner turned down an offer for Augusta’s Coca-Cola franchise in the early 1900s because he believed his drink was better.
Ah the twists of fate.
I don’t know what the deal is, I have been reading a lot of books lately about the destruction of mankind. I Am Legend and The Stand is about diseases that destroy civilization. A Canticle for Leibowitz is about nuclear destruction. Judgement of Nuremberg was about men who wished to destroy civilization as we knew it. It seems a little morbid. I also just bought another copy of I Am Adolf Hitler, since my first copy was stolen by my friend Tony. I plan to read it when I finish Canticle. I think I need some lighter reading material.
Published on April 29, 2008
in politics.
I watched the speech Rev. Jeremiah Wright gave to the Detroit chapter of the NAACP and the Q&A session he had at the national press club. I have to say I don’t understand what is so controversial about the NAACP speech. It poked fun at people and he seemed to be in good humor. I agreed with most of what he said about seeing people as different not deficient. I think some of what is being shown about him is being overblown. Do I agree with everything he had to say? No. There needs to come a day when people place their hope in the future not chain themselves to the past. It takes everyone changing their hearts and minds though. I hope that part of his message is not overlooked. Of course, I also hope he heeds his own words.
Published on April 26, 2008
in history.
The most interesting part of the book I am reading is the viewpoints of the different groups. Generally, religious leaders, the newsmen, and the military favored the trials. Some even said the trials didn’t go far enough. Many felt that if Germany was to be tried for waging an aggressive war against Poland, so should Russia, since they invaded from the east as Germany came in from the west. Russia, though, sent a judge and lawyers to help at the trials. Where were the consequences of their actions.
Many lawyers, legal scholars and even politicians opposed the trials for various reasons. Many felt the German leaders should be summarily executed, not given trials. Others though pointed out, rightly, that there was no international legal precedent for the trials. The charges were for crimes that did not become illegal until the London Conference that set up the tribunal. German leaders therefore couldn’t be held liable because they did nothing illegal, under international law.
Another point that was well made is the fact that German leaders were prepared to die. They knew the ultimate outcome of the war was either victory or death. The trials were a bit of a reprieve for them then.
Also the point was made that the Russians, being on the victorious side, obviously would not be tried, even if they should have been. No one was going to try to hold them accountable for their actions.
So the point is, the trials were ex post facto prosecutions that did not extend to all the parties responsible for the beginning of the war. Nice summary.
Published on April 24, 2008
in politics.
The other day I noticed that the ban on new garbage disposals and the maintenance of old ones has been lifted by the city. I guess the true winner here are the terrorists…
Published on April 22, 2008
in society.
I have been reading a book called Judgement on Nuremberg. It was written by a UNC professor William J. Bosch. His focus is not on the trials themselves but on American reaction to the trials. He draws from material in the public record and other works written about the trials. Some of the people he talks about raise some interesting questions. So far I have read through his Presidential and international law sections. The international law part really raised some questions. Mainly, I was wondering how the precedents set at Nuremberg would translate today and how many people would support trials of current leaders. One of the best points is that before Nuremberg war was considered a morally neutral event. It was considered a tool in a nations arsenal if they felt they could not achieve their ends any other way. The idea of trying leaders of the warring nations was unthinkable. But Nuremberg criminalized acts of aggression and placed the responsibility on the shoulders of the leaders of the nations who started wars.
How would it be viewed in today’s light. Should Bush and his allies be tried for starting a war, no matter the justification? What is the liability of the leaders of nations that start wars? Where does Osama Bin Laden fit into the scheme? Should he face a similar tribunal or should he only face judgement in the nations where attacks occurred? Who else should face judgement? It is pointed out that Julius Streicher, the head of an anti-semitic newspaper was sentenced and hanged though he never actually ordered anyone to do anything. He was the head of the leading propaganda machine that fueled the anti-semitic fire. Who else should face trial? CNN, FoxNews, MSNBC, Rush Limbaugh, etc, all of these and more can be accused of fueling the war against Afghanistan and Iraq in some way. If there were trials, should they and the people who head their organizations face execution? It is interesting questions to ponder.
Ultimately I believe that the victor sets the story line. None of these will happen because we have basically won the war, it’s the rebuilding that has been the issue. Also, no nation on Earth would dare set a finger on Americans because they fear the American military and the allies we have on our side. so Nuremberg could not happen today, but it is interesting to debate “what-ifs.”
Published on April 14, 2008
in news.
A lot has happened since I went on vacation. Apparently Charlton Heston died, a secret sex tape of Marilyn Monroe surfaced, the pope is visiting the US, and a myriad of other things has happened. Let me know if there is anything newsworthy I missed while I was gone. Unfortunately I was unable to follow my favorite pastime, the fights between the Wake County commissioners and school board. Also, I don’t know if Raleigh City Council has passed any more gems of regulations, see garbage disposal ban. Oh well. I hope to catch up and stay connected from now on.
Published on April 11, 2008
in personal.
I have been on vacation for the past week. It has been fun. I went with my family to Key West and Nassau, a Carnival Cruise. My wife was in eastern Europe though. I wish she had been with me. There was so much I would have enjoyed more if she had been beside me.
I did learn a lot. My Uncle Jerry taught me the strategies to playing Blackjack. I haven’t put them to use yet but I hope to soon. I probably would have tried if I had more than ten dollars the last day of the trip. My Uncles Donald and Billy and Aunts Becky, Terri, and Tricia were along too, as well as my cousin Anna and one of her friends. It was a great trip. I enjoyed catching up with my uncles and aunts. It is a little different now. I was only 15 when we moved to NC and had not seen many of them for a while. It was fun having an adult conversation with them.
As I type I still feel like I am on the ship swaying to the rhythm of the waves. It was not the smoothest of voyages and I was told we were not on the largest of ships.
I have no clue what has been happening the past week. The world could be in World War III and I wouldn’t know it. I will probably post more about my trip soon. Right now I may lay down and stop the swaying.
Published on April 1, 2008
in movies.
A new Star Trek movie is in the works. I don’t know what it will be like but they are introducing the old characters of Kirk, Spock and the rest, with new actors. They also have Christopher Pike as a character. This suggests to me they will probably be reinterpreting the first few episodes of the original TV series as a movie. For more info go here to learn about the cast and find the teaser trailer.
The teaser does have Leonard Nimoy voicing the famous opening lines of the TV series.
I wrote an earlier post making the point that Raleigh was thinking about easing up water restrictions since Falls Lake has begun to fill. Well I actually think they implemented a sensible plan (I know shocking to think I think Raleigh is being sensible.) The council has place increments for water restrictions to be eased. If the Lake is 90% full or higher then Stage 1.5 restrictions will be eased. If the lake falls between 75%-90% then stage 1.5 restrictions will be reimplemented. If it falls below 75% then Stage restrictions will be reimplemented. They haven’t gone past that yet but they are working on Stage 2.5 and Stage 3 restrictions if need be.
