Who was Fidel Castro? – my review of what was essentially his memoir
November 26th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
When I heard of the death of Fidel Castro, I was reminded of when I read a 700 page book summarising a long series of interviews with the revolutionary leader. The book was called “My Life” and it was written by Ignacio Ramonet. You can read my review of the work here.
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The story of William Morgan, the “American comandante” who fought with Fidel Castro
November 26th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
This morning, I heard the news of the death of Fidel Castro and the American friends with whom I am staying outside Washington DC told me about a feature of the Cuban war of independence and its aftermath that was totally new to me. I learned that there was an “American comandante” called William Morgan who fought for the revolution but ultimately died when the revolution was betrayed and he was executed.
I was shown a television programme about Morgan which is really interesting and well done. It is 54 minutes but well worth watching here.
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Thanksgiving in the USA (8)
November 26th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Friday saw a return to downtown Washington DC to visit another museum. The Newseum is a private location that charges visitors unlike the Smithsonian museums which are free, but it is an absolutely fascinating place that anyone with an interest in current affairs simply must visit. It opened at its present location on Pennsylvania Avenue in 2008 and I went there in 2012, but Mike and Laura had never got around to going there, so today the three of us spent most of the day there.
One outside wall carries a carved inscription of the First Amendment: just 45 words that guarantee five freedoms including freedom of the press. It is recommend that visits start in the basement where there is a very short orientation video, a 4D film about investigative journalism, a gallery about the Berlin Wall, and on our visit a temporary exhibition about the FBI’s efforts to combat terrorism and cybercrime. It is suggested that then visitors go to the top floor and work downwards.
Level 6 has an open terrace with a good view of the Capitol plus a display of the front pages of newspapers from each of the 50 states that day and a gallery on news coverage of the Vietnam War. Level 5 recounts the history of news gathering over five centuries and features more than 300 historic front pages from (mostly American) newspapers. This level has five theatres showing short films and I caught works on the origin of the First Amendment, coverage of the civil rights movement, and mistaken and false reporting.
Level 4 includes a moving commemoration of the horror of 9/11 with a timeline of the attacks on the Twin Towers, newspaper front pages on the event from around the world, and the twisted remains of the antenna that stood at the top of the North Tower. Level 3 has a large map of the world colour-coded to show the extent of media freedom in each country, a wall of photographs of reporters, photographers and broadcasters who died in the line of duty, and a gallery covering the impact of radio, television, and the Internet.
Level 2 covers something as light-hearted as First Dogs and something as serious as media ethics plus a (temporary) photographic display of refugees who have found safety in the USA. Level 1 has the most comprehensive collection of Pulitizer Prize-winning photographs ever assembled.
Newseum is a simply wonderful place that underlines so powerfully the need for a free media and the difficulty of reporting accurately and fairly. At any time, a visit would be relevant but, two weeks after the election of Donald Trump who has attacked so harshly so much of the media, it seemed especially vital to be reminded of what is at stake around maintenance of the freedoms enshrined in the First Amendment. In 2012, I spent five hours at the museum; four years later, I was there for another five hours; and I would happily go back for more.
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Thanksgiving in the USA (7)
November 25th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Following the family version of Thanksgiving on Sunday, the real Thanksgiving Day was today (Thursday). Around the nation, almost 49 million Americans travelled by road, rail and air to join their families. Mike and Laura were keen that I should have the full, immersive Thanksgiving experience so, like 50 million viewers all around the country, we watched on television the 90th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in the Manhattan district of New York City. Starting at 9 am, the event runs for some three hours with floats, parades, musicians, dancers and HUGE floating balloons of every kind of animal and character plus a host of performers from Broadway shows recreating key musical sequences.
In the afternoon, Mike and Laura drove me to downtown Washington DC for my second Thanksgiving meal. The venue was the swanky Omni Shoreham Hotel where the Beatles took a whole wing in 1964 and scenes were shot for the films “The Pelican Brief”, “The President’s Analyst” and “No Way Out”.
We were joined by our dear friends Morty and Florence Bahr. Morty was President of the Communications Workers of America – the sister union to the Communication Workers Union (with which I worked for 24 years) – from 1985-2005 I first met him in 1990 so our friendship now goes back 26 years. He and Florence are a fantastic couple who have been married for an amazing 71 years and, now in their 90s, they have two children, four grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. Morty regaled me with story after story from his brilliant career with a cast of characters including President Bill Clinton.
The meal was a buffet with a wonderful breadth of options for each course. I had clam chowder soup, a full salad, turkey with ALL the trimmings, and a collection of mini desserts plus champagne and coffee. We took our time and had three hours of food and conversation. Mind you, this sort of experience does not come cheap: $79 plus tax per head.
Back in Brinklow, this evening’s movie was a quirky offering from the Coen brothers: “Hail, Caesar!”
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Thanksgiving in the USA (6)
November 24th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
I have long been fascinated by the American political system (if you Google those three words, my website guide will be referenced in the first page of results) and intrigued by American politics (which is why a visit to the USA within a couple of weeks of Donald Trump’s election as president is so interesting). Long ago when it was possible, I visited the White House (the executive arm of government) for the official tour and today (Wednesday) I visited or revisited the other two arms of government – the legislature and the judiciary – with Mike and Laura.
On the metro journey into town, the train stopped because a train ahead had broken down and our driver announced constantly that we would be moving “momentarily”. What on earth does that word mean?
Downtown first stop was the Capitol which looked magnificent, gleaming white in the autumn sunshine. The official tour is around an hour, beginning with a film (“Out Of Many, One”) and then looking at just three locations in this working building: the Crypt, the Rotunda, and the National Statutory Hall. Since 2008, there has been a new underground Visitors Center and this includes an Exhibition Hall which is almost a mini museum. There are slide shows explaining the roles of the House of Representatives and the Senate and there are a significant number of information panels and cases of artefacts.
After three hours in the Capitol, next stop was the Library of Congress which can be reached by an underground tunnel from the Congress itself. Opened in 1897, this is said to be the world’s largest repository of knowledge with more than 162 million items in more than 470 languages. Highlights here are the imposing Reading Room and the 6,500 books making up the Jefferson Library but, if you have time, there are other informative displays.
Our third and final visit on the Hill was next door at the Supreme Court. This was opened in 1935 when the Chief Justice was the former President William Howard Taft. We were able to view the Court Room where the nine Justices (only eight at the moment) conduct their public deliberations. Again there is a very helpful film and again there is an interesting set of exhibits.
It was quite late in the afternoon when we had lunch but it was a rather special meal because we used a gift card given to Mike to visit an upmarket steak house restaurant called “Mortons” located close to Faragut North metro station. I had roasted tomato brisque, followed by prime sirloin chopped steak with caramelised onion, cheddar cheese and mashed potatoes, finishing with a dessert of double chocolate mouse. Another great day in DC.
Back in Brinklow for the evening, we watched a mediocre comedy/drama movie from 2003: “Hollywood Homicide” starring Harrison Ford and Josh Harnett.
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Thanksgiving in the USA (5)
November 23rd, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Everyone knows that the American Civil War was a key period of US history that arguably still has resonances today and many Americans – including Mike – are fascinated by the personalities and engagements that made up that titantic struggle. Most non-Americans though would struggle to identify more than one of the civil war battles and that one would probably be Gettysburg. The last time I stayed with Mike & Laura we spent a fascinating and informative day visiting the site of the battle of Gettysburg. Yet most Americans are as familiar with the battle of Antietam as they are with Gettysburg and today (Tuesday) Mike & Laura took me to the site of this famous battle.
First though, on the way to Antietam, we stopped for a couple of hours at a place called Harpers Ferry in East Virginia which is located at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers and the junction of the states of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. The location is important in Civil War terms in two respects. First, on 16 October 1859, the fervent abolitionist John Brown launched an attack on the government armoury in the town. It failed miserably, he was hanged (remember the song “John Brown’s body”), and the event was subsequently seen as a key turning point in the build up to the war. Second, in the war itself, the strategically-located town was bitterly fought over by Union and Confederate troops and changed hands no less than eight times.
We had lunch at Harpers Ferry at a place called “Potomac Grille”. I decided to be American and to eat something new, so I had Reuben sandwich which is hot corned beef served on rye bread with Russian dressing, sauerkraut and Swiss cheese accompanied by pickle and crisps. It was good but too huge for me to finish.
From Harpers Ferry, we drove the short distance to the site of the battle of Antietam.
Antietam (named aft a local creek) – otherwise known as the Battle of Sharpsburg – took place around the town of that name in Maryland between 16-18 September 1862. It was a conflict between the Union Army of the Potomac of 87,000, led by General George McClellan, and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia of 45,000, led by General Robert E Lee. It is best known as being the bloodiest day in American military history with almost 23,000 men killed, wounded, missing or captured. The Union side suffered some 12,400 casualties, while the Confederates took around 10,300 casualties.
Despite being outnumbered two to one, Lee committed his entire force to the battle, while McClelland sent in only three-quarters of his force. While President Abraham Lincoln claimed victory and followed this up with the Emancipation Proclamation which changed the course of the war, military historians see the conflict as essentially a draw – but a brutally bloody one. During our time at the site, we viewed an explanatory film at the Visitors Center and drove around the battlefield whee we saw the locations of the three conflicts that inflicted the most casualties: the Cornfield, Bloody Lane and Burnside Bridge.
Before leaving the area, in the town of Sharpsburg we found an amazing ice cream parlour with the wonderful name “Nutters”. I ordered a brownie sundae with butter pecan ice cream and found that it came with whipped cream, chocolate sauce and nuts and it was HUGE. Even I could not finish it. The American portions are just too much.
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Thanksgiving in the USA (4)
November 22nd, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Today (Monday), Mike and Laura had things to do, so I headed off to downtown Washington DC on my own to visit a couple of favourite museums. Laura drove me the 20 minute ride to Glenmont metro station, which is at the end of the red line, and an hour later I was at my first destination: the National Air & Space Museum. This is my favourite museum in all the world because of my strong interest in aviation and the magnificent collection of famous aircraft. I must have been there around a dozen times but never tire of revisiting it.
Once again, I marvelled at the historic aircraft hanging from the ceiling in the entrance hall, my favourites being the Ryan monoplane the “Spirit of St Louis” in which Charles Lindbergh made the record-breaking solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927 and the Bell X-1A “Glamorous Glennis” in which Chuck Yeager became the first person to break the sound barrier in 1947. In a section of its own is the Wright brothers’ “Flyer” in which the first ever heavier than air flight was made in 1903. As always, I checked out the sections on the First World War and the Second World War and touched the piece of moon rock from the Apollo 17 mission. For the first time, since I am interested in civilian as well as. military aviation, I studied a presentation on the Next Generation Transportation System involving radically different aircraft, airports and navigation.
On my first visit to the museum in 1980, I saw my first IMAX film and was blown away. So, on each visit, I like to see an IMAX production and this time I caught a 3D movie called “A Beautiful Planet” with stunning film from the International Space Station.
In the afternoon, I went to the National Museum of American History. Here I revisited two favourite sections: one political and one military. “The American Presidency” looks at every aspect of the role of the various occupants of the White House. GIven the very recent election of the outsider Donald Trump, I found this quote from Lyndon Johnson particularly apposite: “The presidency has made every man who occupied it, no matter how small, bigger than he was; and no matter how big, not bigger enough for its demands”. The section entitled “Price Of Freedom: America At War” is a reminder that the United States was born in conflict (the War of Independence) and, one way and another, has almost always been a war somewhere in the globe.
When planning this trip to the USA, I had hoped to visit the newly-opened National Museum of African-American History and Culture but essentially all the visitor slots are pre-allocated for months. However, I was able to see an introductory section to the new museum in the American History Museum and to see the distinctive design of the new museum next door to the American History Museum.
When I returned to Brinklow, I had been out – in chilly but bright weather – almost nine hours and had a wonderful time.
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Thanksgiving in the USA (3)
November 21st, 2016 by Roger Darlington
My base for this trip to the USA is the beautiful home of my American friends Mike & Laura Grace. Mike bought three acres of woodland with tulip poplar trees and had the house built in 1979 and then in 2004 they had the place extended. It now occupies over 4,000 square feet with everything from a fantastic high porch for dinner to a television room with a hugh drop down screen and seven speakers. Once they had three children here, but now it is just them in a place with five bedrooms, three full bathrooms, and a fourth toilet. So I have a suite to myself.
Although Thanksgiving is not until Thursday, the Graces have a tradition of holding an extra and early Thanksgiving dinner the previous Sunday attended by Laura’s sisters. She has four sisters and this year three came along with one husband and one ex husband, so eight of us sat down for dinner. The meal began with each person being asked for what he or she was feeling thankful. The traditional turkey in this case was an exceptionally tasty 21 lb (9.5 kilo) bird. Accompanying the turkey was something called corn pudding plus green beans and mashed potatoes. Dessert was a choice of pumpkin pie, pecan pie and apple pie with vanilla ice cream. For me, it was my first taste of corn pudding and pumpkin pie. By the end of the meal, I was truly stuffed.
After the dinner, the women stayed in the dining room and chatted, while the men retired to the sitting room and screamed at the 60″ television screen. The cause of the shouting was a live broadcast of a football match between the Washington Redskins and the Green Bay Packers. As a young man, Mike won a football scholarship to college and his injuries included a badly broken arm, so he had lots of advice for the players on the screen. I had absolutely no idea what was going on. I don’t even know why it’s called football – the ball is hardly kicked.
Oh, the Redskins won – much to the pleasure of my male companions.
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How many executive orders has Barack Obama issued?
November 20th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
On my flight from London to Washington DC to spend Thanksgiving with American friends, I met an intelligent and articulate Anerican who voted for Donald Trump, who hated Hillary Clinton, and who told me that Barack Obama had issued more executive orders than the previous seven presidents combined.
I told him that he was absolutely wrong about Obama and that in fact Obama’s use of exectuve orders was in no way out of the ordinary compared to other post-war presidents. But I could not give him the figures because I could not access the web during the flight. Now I can.
Obama has issued a total of 235 executive orders. His predecessor George W Bush issued 291. Before Bush Jr, Clinton issued 364. Before Clinton, George H W Bush issued 166. I think you get the point. My American conversant was totally wrong and he illustrated for me just how biased even many educated Americans are against Obama.
Truly we live in a post-truth world.
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Thanksgiving in the USA (2)
November 20th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
On Saturday, I flew to the United States in a British Airways Airbus A380. The aircraft was absolutely packed and I had to content myself with a window seat instead of my usual preferred aisle seat, but the two passengers to my side were fascinating. One was an American cyber security expert who voted for Donald Trump in Virginia; the other was an Anglo-American parliamentary assistant to a UK Government Minister who voted for Hillary Clinton in Ohio. So my debates about American (and British) politics began before we even took off just after noon.
When not engaged in discussion with them, I started to read a book entitled “Happiness By Design, written by Paul Dolan, Professor of Behavioural Science at the London School of Economics. After a flight of 8 hours 10 minutes, we landed at Dulles International Airport in Washington DC at – since there is a five hour time difference from the UK – 3.15 pm. The arrangements at Dulles – especially around the availability of our luggage – was chaotic, so it took me an hour and a half to clear all the formalities.
My hosts for my stay in the USA are Mike Grace, a retired official with the Communication Workers of America (the sister union to the Communication Workers Union with which I used to work) and his wife Laura, a retired high school teacher. I was met at the airport by Mike and driven the one and a half hour journey north of DC to their home in the small community of Brinklow, near the town in Olney in Montgomery county in the state of Maryland. In the car, we listened to a radio interview with Senator Bernie Sanders who failed to win the Democratic nomination for the presidential race and argued the need for a transformation of the Democratic Party.
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