Where now for South Africa?
May 18th, 2019 by Roger Darlington
South Africa has just had its sixth democratic general election and once more the African National Congress (ANC) won – but with a reduced share of the vote and a lower number of seats in the National Assembly.
Cyril Ramaphosa became president a year ago and faces formidable problems in reforming the ANC and reviving the country’s economy.
South Africa’s economy grew just 0.8% in 2018 and official unemployment hovers around 27% – and is over 50% among young people. Many voters were angry at failing services, high crime levels and a failure to act against corrupt officials.
You can read my updated guide to the South African political system here.
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Ever heard of the Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowships?
May 17th, 2019 by Roger Darlington
I was awarded one in 1980 to make a five-week study of the American telecommunications system.
Each year the categories of Fellowship change but every year they are no formal requirements for applicants.
If you’re interested, check out this year’s categories here.
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What is it like to visit the famous Peruvian site of Machu Picchu?
May 15th, 2019 by Roger Darlington
I really enjoy visiting new countries and have now managed to see a total of 73. Foreign travel is an opportunity to experience different cultures and visit wonderful locations. But I am aware that some popular tourist locations are now becoming overwhelmed.
Today there is a story in the “Guardian” about opposition the building of an airport near the site of Machu Picchu in Peru to enable more tourists to more easily visit this fabulous location.
I can understand why people what to see Machu Picchu but I am concerned at the impact of an airport at the suggested location. What is it like to visit this site? I was fortunate enough to go there 18 years ago and you can read my account here.
Posted in My life & thoughts, World current affairs | Comments (0)
A review of the sci-fi classic “2001: A Space Odyssey”
May 14th, 2019 by Roger Darlington
Directed, produced and co-written by the auteur Stanley Kubrick and five years in the making, this is a true film classic. The brilliant Kubrick created a number of classics in different genres and this science fiction work is among the very best in the genre. I have seen it four times now: the first on its original release at the cinema and the last as part of the current Kubrick season at the British Film Institute half a century after its initial release.
“2001” is a long work: two and a half hours. And it is a slow production with long stretches – starting with the first half hour at the Dawn of Man – featuring no dialogue. There are a limited number of characters, most of whom are somewhat robotic, and one of the ironies of the film is that the computer HAL 9000 in some respects comes over as the most human character in the story.
Yet the film is never less than mesmerising. Visually it is one of the most stunning cinematic works ever made with scene after scene beautifully composed like a painting or photograph with tremendous use of colour. Aurally it is one of the most memorable movies ever released with dramatic use of classical music from Richard Strauss and Johann Strauss plus modern sound from Aram Khachaturyan and Görgy Ligeti. Philosphically it is one of the most challenging – and opague – films in mainstream cinema: what are those four black monoliths and who is that star-child at the end?
The work started as a novella called “The Sentinel” by Arthur C Clarke who co-wrote the script for the film with Kubrick. Clarke subsequently wrote a series of four linked novels: “2001”, “2010”, “2061” and “3001”, all of which I have read amd which provide an more intelligible interpretation of Kubbrick’s film.
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Have you ever heard of the city of Potosi?
May 13th, 2019 by Roger Darlington
I am currently reading “A Little History Of The United States” by James West Davidson. In one of the very early chapters, he makes a mention of a place called Potosi located in what is now Bolivia.
When the Spanish conquered Latin America, they discovered a huge deposit of silver at Potosi which inconveniently is located at a breathless 13,420 feet above sea level. By 1600, more than 150,000 people worked there, making the city the largest settlement in North or South America, bigger than any city in Spain itself, and on a par with London of those days.
Yet most people have never of Potosi. I confess that neither had I until I went on a holiday in South America 18 years ago. We passed through the place on a road journey from Sucre to La Paz which was the toughest journey of my life.
As I recorded at the time: “When we had originally entered our bus, Jill [our guide] had warned us that the drivers – we had two – said the journey would last some 12 hours, but she indicated that she thought they were being cautious and it was more likely to be 10 hours. In fact, as we rolled up to our hotel in La Paz, it was 4.20 am and we had been on the road for an incredible head-splitting, teeth-chattering, bone-rattling, bladder-bursting, feet-freezing 13 and half hours. We almost had to be chipped out of our seats and fell straight into our beds.”
You can read about my journey here and you can learn more about Potosi here.
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What’s going on in Spanish politics with three general elections in just four years?
May 11th, 2019 by Roger Darlington
For four decades, the political institutions of Spain have been fought over by two major parties that reflected the Centre-Right/Centre-Left divisions in so much of European politics – a system known in Spain as “bipartidismo”. But chronic corruption in the political system and the economic crisis of recent years following the global downturn, which saw a double dip recesssion and unemployment peaking at 26%, has led to the perceived failure of the two establishment parties and given rise to tumultuous electoral change that is still working its way through the system.
Spain is a country deeply divided along several political clevages: Right-wing vs Left-wing, old parties vs new parties, centralist vs federalist. Consequently, the Spanish political landscape is in a state of profound flux and the general elections of December 2015, June 2016 and April 2019 – three polls in just four years – represented a major upset to the political establishment of the nation.
After six months with a caretaker government between the first two of these elections, following the second election, there was a further period of 10 months with another caretaker government, before the People’s Party was allowed to form a minority administration which fell in June 2018. Now the most recent election has failed to return a party with an overall majority and coalition talks are in progress.
For an explanation of how the Spanish political system works and the result of the recent general election, check out my guide here.
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A review of the new rom-com “Long Shot”
May 10th, 2019 by Roger Darlington
In this politically-themed romantic comedy, Charlize Theron – a talented actress who is also gorgeous and here gets to wear to some great outfits – plays American politician and environmental campaigner Charlotte Field, a female Secretary of State who plans to run for President.
This is not such a long shot. After all, in real life, Hillary Clinton did that and, in the world of television, Elizabeth McCord is doing just that in the series “Madam Secretary” (the creator of this series was an excutive producer on the film).
What is too long a shot is the idea that such a capable and beautiful woman with the highest of political aspirations could fall for a character like Fred Farsky, an overweight, bearded and crude journalist portrayed by Seth Rogan who has represented this typle of character so many times now.
And constant four-letter utterances plus dick jokes and an unforgiveable casual treatment of drug use may make the movie more appealling to a young audience but undermine what is less of a rom-com and more of a political satire.
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What was the population of America before it was ‘discovered’ by Europeans?
May 9th, 2019 by Roger Darlington
I am currently reading “A Little History Of The United States” by James West Davidson. At my age, I prefer to read short books so that there is a reasonable chance that I’ll finish them.
Davidson explains that, when in 1492, Christopher Columbus ‘discovered’ America, around 8 million Indians lived in North America. At the time, there were 2-3 million living in the British Isles. Today 8 million is around the population of New York.
Until the arrival of the Pilgrims in 1620, North America was left largely unexplored by Europeans and so at first the local population was relatively unaffected but, in Central and South America, European diseases such as measles, typhoid fever, influenza diphtheria and mumps, together with the wars of the Spanish conquistadors, killed somewhere between 50-90 million.
Davidson writes: “Never in history have so many died of disease in a single century”.
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Should the Labour Party support the idea of a universal basic income?
May 8th, 2019 by Roger Darlington
“A Labour-backed report has called for the launch of universal basic income trials across the UK.
Universal basic income (UBI), which takes the form of regular cash payments from the government to all adult citizens, has emerged as a popular concept in recent years because it could top up low pay and reduce inequality. A feasibility study commissioned by the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, said a pilot scheme would work in the UK.
Although the report does not represent Labour policy, its publication is likely to be viewed as moving the party closer towards testing a form of UBI should it be voted into power.”
More information here.
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The night that the United States bombed a Chinese embassy
May 7th, 2019 by Roger Darlington
Twenty years ago today, on 7 May 1999, during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia (Operation Allied Force), five US Joint Direct Attack Munition guided bombs hit the People’s Republic of China embassy in the Belgrade district of New Belgrade, killing three Chinese reporters and outraging the Chinese public.
According to the U.S. government, the intention had been to bomb the nearby Yugoslav Federal Directorate for Supply and Procurement. President Bill Clinton later apologised for the bombing, stating it was accidental. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director George Tenet testified before a congressional committee that the bombing was the only one in the campaign organized and directed by his agency, and that the CIA had identified the wrong coordinates for a Yugoslav military target on the same street.] The Chinese government issued a statement on the day of the bombing stating that it was a “barbarian act”.
When I was on holiday in China the following year, every person with whom I discussed this incident was absolutely clear that the bombing was intentional. However, I have always found the American explanation convincing: the political fall-out from bombing such an incidental target would have ruled out a deliberate act and, in my experience, cock-ups are more common than conspiracies.
But, if you have a bit of time, there is an informative and thoughtful analysis on the incident on this BBC web page.
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