Word: concerts
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...thanks to the historic concert by the New York Phil, coming amid a slow-motion diplomatic thaw already underway between Pyongyang and Washington, I would finally get to see a little of the place for myself. The North Koreans, to say the least, are control freaks, and hordes of minders immediately surrounded us on the tarmac as we waited for the orchestra leader, Lorin Maazel, and his musicians to follow us down and take a "class photo" in front of a beaming mosaic of the Great Leader. The deputy minister of culture, Song Sok Hwan, stepped forward to greet Maazel...
...ability to implement effective social programming is its budget. Our hipster friends at Brown University will be treated to a fine lineup this spring, including Lupe Fiasco, Girl Talk, Vampire Weekend, and M.I.A., while pseudo-star Gavin DeGraw is expected to headline at Harvard. While a series of concerts by more offbeat artists would be ideal, it is simply not possible because of the restrictions the CEB currently faces. Harvard’s budget for student life is significantly lower than those of its peer institutions, and the CEB is dealing with a smaller cash wad than its comparable organizations...
...will the journey be as momentous for the North Korean and American diplomats who will meet on the sidelines of this week's concert? Unlikely. Though the U.S. State Department has been resolutely (critics would say bizarrely) upbeat about the nuclear agreement Pyongyang signed in the so-called six-party talks last year, even Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice tried to temper the optimism surrounding the orchestra's visit. "The North Korean regime is the North Korean regime," she told reporters before attending the inauguration of South Korea's new President Lee Myung Bak in Seoul on Monday...
...outside world, the concert might appear to be aimed, as Maazel put it, at bringing "peoples and their cultures together on common ground, where the roots of peaceful interchange can imperceptibly take hold." Skeptics, like Bolton, believe Kim will simply use that perception to stall for more time, and ultimately not live up to what he has agreed to do: give the outside world chapter and verse about his nuclear weapons programs, past and present...
...reputed music buff himself, Kim can then also enjoy a world-class concert, even if he does not, as most diplomats expect, attend in person. He can watch it on a nationwide television broadcast, secure in the knowledge that he, at least, will have enough electricity wherever he is to turn on the tube...