NSA documents released by Edward Snowden have revealed years of false statements by the government, the capture of calls and emails from every citizen, the monitoring of tens of millions of people globally, the surveillance of world leaders including close allies, and the perjury by National Intelligence Director James Clapper. It has caused the Obama Administration — after denials of violations — to admit violations of U.S. laws and abuse of surveillance powers. Now General Keith Alexander, NSA director, says enough. We simply cannot stand any more disclosures of wrongdoing so Alexander wants to see actions taken against the media to prevent further disclosures.
The NSA surveillance has triggered the greatest diplomatic crisis in decades. The Obama Administration is promising reforms and investigations as if these were acts committed by some alien power. Alexander however has returned to the root of the problem in his view — and that of many politicians. It is the media. They are the ones who are continuing to disclose abuses. Stop the media, stop the disclosures. Stop the disclosures, stop the questions. It is so simple and Alexander cannot understand why we cannot come up with a way to shut the media up. He raised the question in an interview with one of the few remaining media sites viewed as friendly, the Defense Department’s own “Armed With Science” blog:
“I think it’s wrong that that newspaper reporters have all these documents, the 50,000 – whatever they have and are selling them and giving them out as if these – you know it just doesn’t make sense . . .We ought to come up with a way of stopping it. I don’t know how to do that. That’s more of the courts and the policy-makers but, from my perspective, it’s wrong to allow this to go on.”
Alexander’s hostility to the free press is so distortive that he actually views the press as “selling” secrets by informing the public of surveillance abuses by his agency. This would of course mean that the Pentagon Papers were “sold” by the press and should have also been stopped.
Just to be clear, the “wrong” can cannot be allowed to go on is the exercise of a free press. Just as other civil liberties have been discarded by the Obama Administration in the name of fighting terrorism, it is now time to curtail the free press — just another demonstration of loyalty demanded from citizens by their government.
gbk,
My response to your last post is stuck in the wp filter … obviously a music critic.
If someone has the time, could you please fish it out. If not, no big deal … gbk and I are just talking shop.
gbk,
“But you don’t. 🙂 ” lol … I know, but I really do try to stay with the instructions that the composer marks down … keeping the circle closed, so to speak.
I once did a vocal arrangement of Amazing Grace. The setting was a Sunday morning service in one of those huge, old, Gothic churches. I was on vocal and was to be accompanied by a harpsichord and an oboe. The pianist got violently ill right before the service began (food poisoning) so it was just me and the woodwind. We quickly discussed using the giant organ but the heaviness of the pipes would ruin the ethical mood we were going for. We made some quick changes and I finished the last verse a cappella with the oboe coming in as I held the last note and repeating the final phrase trailing off into silence.
When we were done you could hear a pin drop … then you could hear quiet sobs … the congregation didn’t know what to do as one is not encouraged to praise others with applause for praising God. You can bet I stuck with that arrangement. 😉
But, as your comment “I’ve blanked it out.” indicates … openness to new experiences in music can be a challenge.
Blouise,
It’s not unknown to me why you want to slow the tempo down.
The quartet started with the cello and then the violin at 120bpm. After this I had to have a rhythmic base and came up with the harpsichord and then rewrote the cello/violin around that after upping the tempo so that my lame harpsichord lines didn’t sound so wooden. The trumpet was an emotional expression that didn’t care about key, or tempo.
So, the cello and violin melody are best at 120, maybe even 118. But until the harpi is done, I gotta stay at 132. But you don’t. 🙂
Blouise,
While I was listening to and commenting on Handel’s Trumpet Concerto in D you threw in some Amadeus! That’s not fair!
You know, two of the biggest mistakes of my life was to turn down an offer to be a head audio engineer for the San Francisco Opera, and then the Opera in Lyons, France. Don’t ask me why as I don’t remember the decision process — I’ve blanked it out. I’m so stupid sometimes!
After decades of working with rock, world, fusion, and jazz musicians (some of very high caliber) the musicianship of classical players continually blows me away.
Blouise,
Oh man. So much to learn! I haven’t heard that in years, and it’s a wonderful performance.
Thank you.
gbk,
And just for fun … a little bit of Amadeus
Handel:
Blouise,
Yeah, some days I prefer 120. The only reason I increased the tempo was to disguise some of the obviousness of the harpsichord lines, which don’t work yet, for me.
Really, it’s a compositional issue that I band-aided by upping the tempo so I could work on the other parts. After I finish writing the contra “left-hand” of the harpsichord, 120 will probably sound perfect again.
I only joking about the French horn and glockenspiel. This is not Tubular Bells.
Thank you for listening (at least on paper) and thinking it’s beautiful, it means a lot. The harpsichord and trumpet go together in a strange way, don’t they?
gbk,
Ha … that’s exactly what I thought when I picked up the oboe hints … I don’t hear a french horn but “wouldn’t it be nice” … had to restrain myself from building a chamber orchestra. 😉 But I didn’t pick up the oboe immediately … only at about the 3rd read so it was probably residual musings from the composer
I heard the clean, clear trumpet immediately and only asked about the muting because I wasn’t sure about mood working as I am from a virtual keyboard.
I take your word for it that it flows better at 132 but, for some unknown reason, I want to slow it down. The matter will resolve itself when I get my bow and actually feel the music.
It’s a beautiful piece of work.
(Gotta run to the Hillary gathering. Wives and significant others are allowed to come after 10pm)
Blouise,
Shit, I love the oboe, and quite honestly chose the trumpet over the oboe for emotional reasons that had little to do with angst of gender, really.
The piece needs to be expanded by sixty bars or so. There’s plenty of room seeing how all those measures are emply right now!!
But then it wouldn’t be a quartet, and then after the oboe I would then feel obligated to add French horn, and then glockenspiel, or at least a viola. 😉
I love it though, let me know what you hear in the first moments, because after that it’s hard to keep track.
Why am I hearing an oboe when I read your piece? What’s up with that?
That trumpet sound fits the harpsichord perfectly!
Forgot to copy the piano and cello tempo
This is the tempo I was hearing (This is piano and a muted cello)
Blouise,
Additionally, what looks like slurs in the harpsichord staff are actually ties where a leading note obscures the tie to the trailing note. It’s a deatil I have to fix.
Blouise,
It was originally written at 120, but it seems to flow better at 132; maybe somewhere in between? I’m bad at tempo.
I hear a bright trumpet, not nickel or silver bright, but punchy to be sure, in a way only a trumpet can be.
Blouise,
The cadence is in the eighth-note rests (sometimes 16th, or quarter) at the end of most measures, excepting the violin and trumpet. At least that’s the plan, but do let me know what you hear.
Okay … pretty close to a classic waltz … I was hearing it at about 120bpm … a bit slower but not by much so I’m in the ballpark with you. I need to feel it on the string. The trumpet is interesting … do you want it muted?
Blouise,
Baroque, at least for now. 😉
Blouise,
132bpm – straight. But let me know what you hear.
gbk,
Got it! Love the melody … using my virtual keyboard and sight reading ear.
Just sent my bow out to be rehaired and a couple other fixes … I should have it back by the end of the month.
There’s no tempo noted … want it standard waltz, Viennese waltz, or jive. I’m hearing it Largo but I don’t know if that’s how you heard it.