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Monday, November 12, 2007
This Gender Thing is History
But let me tell you, this gender thing is history. You're looking at a guy who sat down with Margaret Thatcher across the table and talked about serious issues.
--George H. W. Bush
I don't know whether to be appalled or incredulous about the World Gender Equality rankings. Didn't we solve this question a number of years ago? I mean, there's only four areas of assessment: differences between men and women's salaries, access to education, political representation and health including life expectancy. Shouldn't we be doing better? It makes me wonder if there still people in the U.S. that would agree that it's permissible to pay women less for doing the same job.
Salaries, access to education, health? I'm willing to hear arguments about political representation and potentially consider that a person doesn't necessarily have to look like me to represent my beliefs, but the other standards are undoubtedly factors we talk about in the U.S. as points of pride, right? Maybe I've got this all wrong, but I'm pretty sure I learned in school, "America is better, cuz we're free and equal." Damn teachers, lied to me.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
A Novel Take
I have have spent some number of pixels on the Turk-American-Kurd issue. While the Kurds can carryout hit-and-run attacks against Turkish troops, I have been curious about the end game. How do the conflicting interests resolve? As usual, John Robb presents a plausible scenario, applying his global guerilla heuristic to the question.
Please click through for the full text.
Current tightness in the oil markets (peak oil?) has presented the PKK, the Kurdish guerrilla group fighting the Turkish government, with an amazing opportunity. It can become responsible for sending oil prices over $100 a barrel and sowing panic in global markets.
How? This objective can be accomplished through a series of attacks on the BTC pipeline that runs from Azerbaijan to the Turkish port of Ceyhan (in a fashion similar to earlier attacks that PKK has made on less substantial pipelines). With over 750,000 barrels of oil flow a day (1 m a day next year) over 1,092 miles of pipeline, ongoing disruption would result in [several consequential outcomes].
Please click through for the full text.
Pharrell Williams, etc
It can't just be me. Pharrell is getting better. That's quite an achievement given the critic's judgement in 2006. From that spot, Mr Williams' "Blue Magic" is sincerely sinister. It plays like inevitability -- the drums sound like fate itself knocking from the speaker. A preliminary video is below. (Aside: "Blue Magic"'s drums require playback with deep bass. And volume. And a chip on your shoulder.)
Williams' versatility matches his excellence for expressing specific moods -- such as the vanity, fun, and exceptionalism, for which he's most famous. Timberlake party track? The Jam. He's got range. See 'despondent' under 'd' in his alphabetically sorted discography. Pharrell's lyrics amplify the sentiment: "I'm out of my mind, I'm running from guilt, but there's no one around". Despondent is cross referenced with 'saudade' in the 'S' section.
PS: My co-editor's claims to London compel me to keep the pulse of British hip hop: "acting immaturely in a hurry to be old" is an unforgettable irony. I follow New Orleans' best MC out of habit. Minnesota's Minne-appleseed continues to release hit records -- herewith Brother Ali (myspace):
"I just don't believe in quitin' time"
Brother Ali is label mates with Slug. Who is a label mate to Eyedea. Slug and Eyedea rap together. MTV's Sway was easily won over.
In conclusion, a link festival for Slug and Atmosphere: most accessible and pop-like, a good live performance("the patience is short and, of course, the pride is way too tall"), the song that originally turned me on in 1999 (the linked video was produced by a fan). With a live band, Slug slayed a Jimmy Kimmel Show performance in 2006:
"peace, make steps, on the run with BDP in tape deck"
Slug's rapped with lots of folks. In addition to Eyedea, he's recently hooked up with Los Angeles' Murs to create an entity named Felt. They worked well together -- the evidence is posted here for your review:
"but in the middle of the night, reached for a second helpin', got a handful of sheets, I was all by myself, and"
The second song in this couplet is a personal favorite. It's about gratitude.
Portraits
The New York Times gives character portraits of the presidential candidates holding JDs; NPR has been running a sometimes interesting series about the candidates' first campaign. One listens to these stories seeking a nugget of information that will inform performance in 2008.
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