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One year since his passing: The Day Prince’s Guitar Wept the Loudest

April 22, 2017 by Michael Boyle

Look, I’m not sure if “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” is one of the greatest terrible songs ever written, or perhaps one of the worst great songs, but one night in 2004 something magical happened as an all-star group was joined by one of the great guitarists in history. As George Harrison was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Prince joined the band – and completely demolished Harrison’s signature Beatles song. Love the song or hate it – this performance is truly magical.

It’s now a year since Prince died, and amongst the hosannas is this amazing oral history of the event from The New York Times.

His three-minute guitar solo is a Prince milestone, a chance to see him outside of the purple-tinted (for once, he is dressed in red) context of his own meticulous studio craft. This was Prince the Lead Guitarist — those chops apparent on songs like “Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?,” “Electric Chair” and “When Doves Cry” were given free range to roam. And when he tossed his instrument into the air at the very end of the song, it never appeared to land; it was almost as if Mr. Harrison had grabbed it himself

Source: The Day Prince’s Guitar Wept the Loudest – The New York Times

It’s true – the guitar never does come down. Watch:

Tags: George Harrison, NYTimes, Prince

California Farmers Backed Trump, but Now Fear Losing Field Workers

February 9, 2017 by Michael Boyle

This article clearly demonstrates the absurdity of the current political situation. People have always voted against their own interests, but this takes the cake.

People in a Republican stronghold in the Central Valley thought a promise to crack down on illegal immigrants was just talk. Now they’re alarmed that it isn’t.

Source: California Farmers Backed Trump, but Now Fear Losing Field Workers – The New York Times

Tags: immigration, NYTimes, Trump

Charles Blow: Are You Not Alarmed?

January 24, 2017 by Michael Boyle

In the New York Times, columnist Charles Blow goes a little deeper into the foreign relations issues I wrote about the other day.

Toss ideology out of the window. This is about democracy and fascism, war and peace, life and death. I wish that I could write those words with the callous commercialism with which some will no doubt read them, as overheated rhetoric simply designed to stir agitation, provoke controversy and garner clicks. But alas, they are not. These words are the sincere dispatches of an observer, writer and citizen who continues to see worrisome signs of a slide toward the exceedingly unimaginable by a man who is utterl

Source: Are You Not Alarmed? – The New York Times

Tags: NYTimes, Trump, US Politics, War

Why people are afraid of Trump: foreign relations

January 22, 2017 by Michael Boyle

Many supporters of President Trump have been getting very upset at the rhetoric from the anti-Trump people, and a common refrain is that they suffer from “Trump Derangement Syndrome” and are engaging in dangerous hyperbole when they say Trump is “dangerous” and insist that they are literally afraid.

Here’s the case for what it is about Trump’s foreign relations that makes people afraid. It’s quite simple – on two (and it could grow to 3) of the 4/5 major foreign relations issues facing the US, Trump has – by just Day 2 – completely blown up 20 or more years of established US policy – policies that have endured through both Democratic and Republican administrations and had achieved practical consensus status in the US.

First – the entire basis for any political or trade relationship with China is the One China policy. The Telegraph published a great “explainer” piece on this issue in December – basically the idea is that formally, China including Taiwan is regarded as an integral state, while at the same time Taiwan’s independence and new democracy is allowed to exist and grow and even thrive.

Is it a good policy? Maybe, or maybe not – on the one hand, it’s absurd on its face. On the other, though, it’s the only policy that we’ve had – it literally undergirds the entire relationship between China and the rest of the world not just the US.

Why are people afraid? We’re afraid because there is almost no evidence at all that blowing up the One China policy was deliberate, that it was considered in advance and that some better policy that will serve the US or the rest of the world well has been anticipated. As far as anyone can tell, the world is being thrown into a void on this issue simply because Trump doesn’t know better. That’s scary.

Second – proposing to move the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is a monumental blunder – but he’s moving forward with the plan, an idea that threatens the stability of the entire region. The NYTimes published a debate feature about this issue at the end of December.

It’s not a question of whether the current situation is ideal – it’s far from ideal, it’s not even marginally good. But it’s like a climber on a cliff rising out of the ocean – the climber may only be resting on a tiny foothold 1/3 of the way up the cliff – but the water below is infested with sharks. This ledge might not be great, and the path to get further up the cliff may not be known – but the only thing that IS certain is that the shark-infested seas below are deadly. And that’s where Trump may be insisting that we go.

And again, the scary thing is that there’s no evidence whatsoever that Trump had any idea of the significance of such a move. So we could be thrust into a period of even more instability in the Middle East – and it very well might be by accident (at least as far as Trump is concerned – members of his entourage certainly know the dangers).

In both of these cases, the worst-case scenario is obvious: war. But the best-case scenarios are much less clear – and it’s not clear that in either situation, there’s a likelihood of a better outcome than we have today at the end of this road.

And don’t even get me started on NATO and the threat to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. Both of these issues pale in comparison to what would likely happen if Trump blows that up as well…

Tags: Analysis, China, Israel, Middle East, NATO, NYTimes, Telegraph, Trump, War

Pictures From Women’s Marches Around the World

January 21, 2017 by Michael Boyle

Crowds in hundreds of cities around the world gathered Saturday in conjunction with the Women’s March on Washington.

Source: Pictures From Women’s Marches Around the World – The New York Times

Including photos from Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver among many other cities both in North America and abroad.

From Montreal:

A woman holds up a sign during a demonstration to protest the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump in Montreal, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. Protests are being held across Canada today in support of the Women’s March on Washington. Organizers say 30 events in all have been organized across Canada, including Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)
NYTCREDIT: Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press, via Associated Press

Here’s an article with some great photos from a large march in Ottawa today as well.

Tags: NYTimes, Ottawa Citizen, Protest, Trump, US Politics

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