Word: openable
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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After a two-day session, the 21 members of the ruling Politburo issued a statement that for the first time expressed official concern about the recent exodus of 50,000 East Germans to the West. Then, in an unprecedented gesture of conciliation, the leadership acknowledged, "We are open to discussion." Hinting that press and travel restrictions might be eased, the statement continued, "Together, we want to discuss all basic questions of our society...
Some local party officials have shown sympathy for the dissidents' cause. In Leipzig, where New Forum brought up to 70,000 people into the streets last Monday, three party secretaries signed a declaration promoting a more open dialogue. In Dresden party functionaries met with 20 opposition representatives. Encouraging as these moves may be, there is always the possibility of a reversal. If the state decides to clamp down, it is hard to predict whether the opposition forces will turn out to be marathoners, like the Poles, or easily winded sprinters, like the Panamanians...
...patrons find themselves knocking knees with their dinner companions. No matter. They have come from around the world -- Japan, Italy, France, Scandinavia, South America -- to savor this moment. The random babel of a hundred conversations suddenly turns into an excited murmur as a sandy-haired man in an open-necked white shirt and corduroy trousers saunters in and heads for an empty table. He nonchalantly opens a tattered case and removes, then hooks together, the sections of an antique clarinet. Peering through his familiar black-rimmed glasses, he hops up onto the bandstand and takes his usual seat next...
Much of the impetus for reform flowed from the fact that early next year Hungary is to have the most open balloting in the East bloc in four decades. At least a dozen parties will be competing with the Hungarian Socialist Party for the 374 seats in Parliament. Reformers within the Communist ranks contended that without a fresh image, they stand no chance at the polls. In four recent by-elections, the Democratic Forum, which has only 20,000 registered members, in contrast to the 700,000 claimed by the Communist Party, has easily defeated candidates...
Woody goes after that sound in two ways. First, by using a wide open mouthpiece and a very hard reed -- a Rico Royale No. 5 -- which provides a lot of volume but requires cast-iron lips to play. (Benny Goodman once borrowed Woody's clarinet for a sit-in and had to shave the reed down with a kitchen knife before he could get a toot out of it.) Second, by playing an Albert System clarinet -- an antiquated, wide-bore instrument based on a virtually obsolete fingering method. Why the Albert System? "Because all the guys I liked played...