Profoundly Deaf and Composing Classical Western Music in Japan

Back in the dark days of 2001, just a few short days after the World Trade Centre attack, Time Magazine published a touching story about a Japanese composer who had lost his hearing just at the time he was beginning to be recognized. Momoru Samuragochi was born in Hiroshima in 1963 to parents who where both hibakusha or atomic bomb survivors. Hibakusha and their children have suffered terrible discrimination in Japan and there is little doubt that Samuragochi would have also suffered because of this. Among other things, he had no classical music training at all despite being a prodigious talent from an early age and possessing 'perfect pitch' - the ability to determine a note without reference.

The Perils of Speaking Unpopular Truth

Several months ago, I wrote a post about Virtuous Authoritarians that mentioned Islam in passing, then last December I wrote a post highlighting the overrepresentation of Islamic groups in the Global Terrorism Database and finally, about two weeks ago I wrote a longish post on the difficulty of even suggesting that there is a problem with Islam. This is the sum total of my writings on Islam but nonetheless punishment is being meted out for my recklessness.

Letter to an Anti Trump Campaigner

Dear Anti-Trump Campaigner

I’d like you to calm down for a minute or two. Take a deep breath, put down the placard and think about what you are doing. I’d like you to read this little epistle. I’ll make it as short as I can, but I want to make sure that I get three key points across to you. Three things I’d like you to think about.