tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post7836736247472910720..comments2024-03-28T12:59:05.739-07:00Comments on Iron Tongue of Midnight: N. Y. Philharmonic to North KoreaLisa Hirschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014924958428072675noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-35478565843162061092007-12-19T09:21:00.000-08:002007-12-19T09:21:00.000-08:00Nope. I'm curious what public opinion was at the t...Nope. I'm curious what public opinion was at the time, if you know.<BR/><BR/>Patrick, yes. We have no legs to stand on.Lisa Hirschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14014924958428072675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-47043946736195239042007-12-18T21:00:00.000-08:002007-12-18T21:00:00.000-08:00Leonard Bernstein famously took the NYP to the USS...Leonard Bernstein famously took the NYP to the USSR, which was a fairly well-known totalitarian country. Was that a Bad Thing?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-57054484346695411542007-12-17T22:36:00.000-08:002007-12-17T22:36:00.000-08:00Rootlesscosmo made the point I wanted to make. It'...Rootlesscosmo made the point I wanted to make. It's a complex issue, but I'd feel a little better if our own government were a positive force in the world in at least one or two areas. I was a little suspicious when all this came up during the tour of the Venezuelan orchestra. I don't want to defend Hugo Chavez -- it's probably not a good idea to defend anyone who's power-hungry -- but he's also very vocal about opposing Bush, and he's used oil industry revenues for social spending -- and all of a sudden the government that defends torture has moral qualms about letting Venezuela's youth orchestra play here? Maybe there was a time America could get away with a superior moral attitude, but not now.Patrick J. Vazhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09279528648512493917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-57974384038663214072007-12-15T16:34:00.000-08:002007-12-15T16:34:00.000-08:00Bwahaha, very good points.Bwahaha, very good points.Lisa Hirschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14014924958428072675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-83427423837823896952007-12-15T15:17:00.000-08:002007-12-15T15:17:00.000-08:00Some of the people who disapprove of a tour to Nor...Some of the people who disapprove of a tour to North Korea also disapproved of the US tour by the Venezuelan Youth Orchestra; I say if the young Venezuelans were broadminded enough to make music in the country that's currently making unprovoked war on Iraq and almost certainly sponsored an unsuccessful coup attempt against their elected President, the NYPO ought to be broadminded enough to go play for an audience of North Koreans.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com