Posted on 02/08/2008 2:12:19 PM PST by MaestroLC
On the eve of the New York Philharmonic's departure on an Asian tour that will include a visit to Pyongyang, its music director, Lorin Maazel, suggested that Americans are not in a position to criticize the North Korean regime, because America's own record on human rights is flawed.
"People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw bricks, should they?" Mr. Maazel told the Associated Press. "Is our standing as a country — the United States — is our reputation all that clean when it comes to prisoners and the way they are treated? Have we set an example that should be emulated all over the world? If we can answer that question honestly, I think we can then stop being judgmental about the errors made by others."
Experts on North Korea responded to Mr. Maazel's comment with shock and dismay.
A senior fellow at the Peter G. Peterson Institute for International Economics and the author of "Korea after Kim Jong-il," Marcus Noland, called Mr. Maazel's statement "outrageous."
*snip*
The orchestra is leaving today for a three-week Asian tour, which will include a concert in Pyongyang on February 26. A spokesman for the State Department, which encouraged the Philharmonic to make the visit, declined to respond to Mr. Maazel's comment, noting that he is a private citizen and not a government employee. The spokesman for the Philharmonic, Eric Latzky, did not return a phone call.
(Excerpt) Read more at nysun.com ...
Classical Music PING
If its so much better thaqn he should stay there.
Stay in Pyong Yang, fool.
Whatever you say this guy is definitely to right of former NY Philharmoic director, Leonard Berstein.
I suppose we could all call NPR and ask them to stop playing classical music by Maazel, but....
Too bad Mr. Maazel wasn’t around 65-years earlier. They would have loved him at Berchesgarten.
Maazel recently composed an opera on Orwell’s ‘1984’...they should try to get it performed in NK. Not.
Most NPR ststions hardly play Classical music at all anymore. It’s all talk shows about this or that.
People who live in ivory towers shouldn’t throw bricks either. Stick to music, please, sir.
Musicians are very skilled in their area of expertise. Most often, other than that, they don’t know from what direction the sun comes up.
Typical liberal comment. Dumbass probably thinks North Korea is a suburb of Beijing.
Have we set an example that should be emulated all over the world?..... Uhhhh, Yeah. Waterboarding isn’t quite as bad as starving your people or running them over with tanks or etc. etc. etc.
“Stick to music”
Stick...conductor’s baton... yuck, yuck, yuck.
we are lucky in denver to have an npr classical music station KVOD that is on a different station then National People’s Radio propaganda broadcasts. the only talk is music talk, and very little of that, and they might run a 5 minute hourly news at 1800.
In Chicago we have probably the best classical music station in North America (WFMT) but the Public Radio station is all other things considered.
One of my favorite stations (not an NPR or commercial free) is WCLV in Cleveland.
Enjoy your stay in North Korea idiot.
Still he’s an idiot at foreign policy and moral philosophy to equate NK and the US. Doesn’t he know the government has a policy of starving its citizens?
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