the choice thing is pretty key. but, here's another key point: iraqi jews were in exile. they'd been there once before; maybe it was starting to feel like home. but, the culture maintained the fact that it was not home. palestinians are the hebrews that weren't exiled - the hebrews that converted to islam when the region was conquered. they didn't come from egypt or jordan or syria or the arabian peninsula - or even iraq. they're the indigenous, hebrew population of the region; they don't have a home to go to, because israel is their home.

modern genetics is an amazing thing, and the data is in and has been for a while. the arabization of this area was cultural. the lebanese are not arabs, but lebanese. and likewise with syrians and iraqis - and israelis. the population did not disperse, or otherwise evaporate. some jews fled, no doubt. but the broad base of the population is hebrew. this has been their home for many centuries, they just changed religions along the way. why? for good reasons - economic, cultural, social. and, it's not like there's really that big of a difference in the first place.

the romans changed the name of the province to palestine, with the intent of erasing jewish identity. but they didn't carry out a full genocide, like they did in carthage. and the dna makes it apparent that the dominant population group in the region did remain jewish right up until the british mandate and beyond, regardless of (what is now clear is) great exaggeration in the exile stories.

if the role of media is as important as he claims, it stands to reason that the death of the tv generation (and replacement by the internet generation) should have some serious implications.

it's easy to agree with him that investment in jobs is important. but it's more important to create them than it is to invest in them. let's be careful not to fall into the trap of supply-side economics, here.

barring some extreme change in turkish policy, the precondition for an independent kurdish state is for turkey to leave nato. so long as turkey is in nato, this cannot happen. but, here's the thing: this is less unlikely today than it ever has been, and not at all outside the boundaries of possibility.

however, there is essentially no situation where a turkish invasion is avoidable. it's stated that the turkish kurds might get ideas. rather, the more likely outcome is that the north of iraq becomes a turkish province.

the key arbiter here is of course the americans, and there are several reasons why they do not want kurdish independence. to begin with, it keeps the kurds as an ally. blowback is likely at some point, but so long as it works these perpetual promises are likely to continue, with no end point. second, it gives the west indirect control in iraq. third, it continues the kind of instability that the americans desire to maintain divisions in the region. this constant "kurdish problem" in turkey is actually useful for american policy, in restricting their ambitions to the south and maintaining a buffer zone between the turks and the saudis. the americans do not want a hot war there - it's why they're bombing isis.

it's almost impossible. they'd need the turkish-american alliance to collapse, and then need to win a war against turkey. it would be a kink in american foreign policy for them to have to pick a side (and they'd probably fund both with the intent to create stalemate, requiring one (likely the kurds) to seek outside help), enough that the kurds will continue to be successively talked out of it.

of course, it's stuff like this that is the underlying reason for the west's vilification of putin. he's not buying into the existing order, and not willing to do what he's told.

however, i think it's naive to look too deeply into this as much of a real game changer, for two reasons:

1) western capital will inevitably buy into what it can. and, you give them a foot in the door, they run the room.
2) these countries do not have interests that are fundamentally different. if they float lower interest rates, it's to be competitive in the short term.

is a market for development banks good for "consumers"? in the short run, maybe. but all markets eventually collude, and i wouldn't expect this to be different.

it may give the russians and chinese a more powerful bargaining position on certain issues. that's about the extent of it, i'd guess.

finalizing j’s adventures in guitarland (inri045)

inri026 has been finalized without being updated.

https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/js-adventures-in-guitarland

republishing the time machine (inri044)

i've added six more mixes to inri025: two techno mixes, three for solo instruments and an arrangement for string orchestra. this was initially a classical guitar piece, but it is unplayable on a standard 19-fret classical and i do not currently have access to an extended board. there is a placeholder for a final performance on a suitably constructed instrument. but, for now, it is otherwise closed.

inri025 has been updated and semi-permanently finalized.

==

regarding this piece, my memory is blurry; yet, i have a vivid recollection of playing parts of it for my guitar teacher on a sunny day, where there was still snow on the ground. it's funny how we remember seemingly irrelevant details, but i guess the atmosphere of the performance is important because the performance is. that would date it to roughly march, 2001.

i switched the piece from classical guitar to piano halfway through writing it, and vaguely remember thinking that an impossible interval had something to do with it (a specific c# cannot be hit on a standard classical). yet, that doesn't change the fact that it's guitar music. the counterpoint is very guitar.

to further complicate things, i've long wanted to turn the piece into a jazzy idm romp. it has a kind of a jingly feel to it that belongs in the warp records sphere.

so, what is this? a classical guitar piece? a jazzy piano piece? a techno tune? all of the above! as with other pieces from this period, this is presented here in multiple formats: several rendered midi tracks, live guitar versions, a vst version and a "full band" version - as well as multiple remixes.

i have included the original midi file (and sheet music in pdf) as a bonus item in the download, if you want to play with it on your own.

conceptually, the time machine aspect referred simply to the slowed down guitar chords at the beginning of the song. if you play it a certain way, it sounds like time is collapsing in on itself. or, so i thought, anyways. the various versions i have created here have made an attempt to take that idea to it's logical conclusion. it's a mix of the vision i had at the time and a bit of hindsight.

six further mixes were added at the end of may, 2015. two of these are "techno" mixes of the song, three are interpretations of the piece on a solo instrument and one is a rearrangement for a full string orchestra. i've decided to present the material in a way that is really two eps combined together, with the first being arrangements for multiple instruments and the second being arrangements for solo instruments. note that there is a placeholder for the track as it was initially written for a 21-fret classical guitar.

written early 2001. drastically rearranged in june, 2014. rendered, arranged and performed over june and july, 2014. released on july 21, 2014. six new mixes were added in late may, 2015. re-released & put on indefinite hold as to status on may 28, 2015 as always, please use headphones.

credits
j - electric guitar, programming, digital effects & treatments, digital wave editing, loops, production, composition

the various rendered electronic orchestras include acoustic bass, synth bass, electric bass, upright bass, brass section, orchestra hit, drum machine, electronic drum kit, nylon guitar, electric guitar, violin, viola, cello, contrabass, french horn, trumpet, tuba, trombone, synthesizers, synthesizer effects, harp, music box, detuned piano, piano, bells, flute, hammered percussion, vibraphone, marimba and mellotron. it also includes choir.

released march 21, 2001

https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/the-time-machine