Expanding the Legacy
Expanding the Legacy
He lapped up life daringly, mastered the art of rebellion, and looked far beyond the horizon to find adventure and clam his restless soul. Just before the implacable woke crowd could ‘cancel’ him, biographer Sue Prideaux snatched Paul Gauguin from its claws. The French postimpressionist painter seemed ripe for the picking: the perfect candidate to be knocked off his pedestal, thrown from his perch, and relegated to the scrapheap of art history. It was not for a lack of trying that the über politically correct posse failed in its pursuit.
To placate its critics, the German government has temporarily reasserted control over the country’s borders. The measure is meant to stem the flow of immigrants entering the country to submit unfounded asylum claims. As of tomorrow, checks will take place on incoming traffic by roving border patrols.
The Republican campaign for the presidency is being shredded by an epic catfight between Trump groupies vying for the love and attention of their idol. Get the popcorn! Also: Kamala Harris Takes Advice from Chinese Sage and American Cheapskates Fail to Pay Up for Defence of Ukraine.
Whichever way US voters decide on election day, it’s the day after that causes most concern. A win by Donald Trump is unlikely to be contested by his opponents but promises to usher in a man who vowed to don the mantle of a dictator on his first day in office. Conversely, it is a foregone conclusion that a loss will be bitterly contested by Mr Trump.
It has all the trappings of a country - a government and parliament, army, courts, elections, passports, and a currency - but it doesn’t feature on any map other than as a terra incognita marked by a speculative broken line. However, this geographic entity has been in existence since 1991, yet the wider world stoically denies its existence. Somaliland seceded from greater Somalia in 1991 after that country’s dictator Mohamed Siad Barre, a major general who seized power in a 1969 coup, responded to local unrest by unleashing his army on the region and dismantling the economic and political power base of the Isaaq clan which had dominated the area since Medieval times.
The showdown between the two contenders for the US presidency produced only winners. Campaign staffers on both sides declared their candidate victorious. To gauge who actually came out ahead, it is telling that mere minutes after both debaters had finished their closing arguments, Democratic campaign leader Jen O’Malley Dillon released a statement saying that Kamala Harris is ready for a second debate next month and asking, rhetorically, if Donald Trump would be up for that. He is believed to mull the question.
It wasn’t meant to be this way. The domain of a mere handful of tech giants, today’s internet is a far cry from the almost anarchic virtual space – a chaotic online universe that encouraged diversity, innovation, and – yes – revolution, or at the very least, the good-humoured subversion...
Visions of the autobahn – the surrounding countryside reduced to a fast forward flash, propelled along by the drone-like beat of Kraftwerk (‘Weiser Streifen, Grüner Rand’) – whilst marvelling at the absence of speed limits. Germany, land of free drivers and petrolheads on steroids, is of course also home to...
Tech-savvy governments are few and far between as civil services – usually large molochs that move at a glacial pace – struggle to adapt to the digital environment and display a reluctance to think outside the proverbial box. Addicted to paper forms, rubber stamps, seals, and protocols, civil servants almost...
Home to half of the world’s fastest-growing economies, most of Africa is already now living its long-promised bright future. After a few lean years brought about by the end of the commodities super cycle, most of the continent’s top performers have pushed through the structural reforms needed to ensure the...
Home to some of the world’s largest and most iconic companies, Switzerland is a source of corporate excellence – and has been so for well over a century. Thanks to the country’s much-cherished and long-standing neutrality – which made the Swiss reluctant to join any multi- or supranational organisation, Switzerland...
It had to happen and it just did. The untold joys of expansive monetary policy as the engine of growth in lean times are, of course, always of a temporary nature. As the global economy emerges with a vengeance from years of lacklustre growth, the need to keep interest rates...
He spoke only three times publicly in his new job, and three times the markets tanked. More disconcertingly, he also flip-flopped during two key speeches on Capitol Hill, seamlessly moving from monetary hawk to dove within the space of a few days. The new chairman of the US Federal Reserve,...
At the 2018 Geneva Motor Show, Porsche caused more than a ripple of excitement, not with its revamped 911s - a company staple since its debut in 1963 - but with the brand-new and voluptuous Mission E - a fully electric powered sports car that has now left the concept stage and is being readied for prime time. Production of the highly-anticipated vehicle - invariably described in the trade press as Tesla’s worst nightmare - is expected to start next year. With over 600HP, the Mission E barrels from 0-100 km/hr in under 3.5 seconds, approaching to within a whisker the industry benchmark set by the Porsche 911 GT2 RS.
He earned his nickname – The Bulldozer – as minister of Roads; today the handle applies equally well to his new job as president of Tanzania. John Magufuli is all about flair. He enjoys playing his audience on national television and has a keen sense for opportunity. Perhaps taking a...
A prolific writer, publishing some sixty books over a career spanning four decades, German philosopher Peter Sloterdijk recently celebrated his seventieth birthday. Europe’s leading intellectuals and academics flocked to Mr Sloterdijk’s native Karlsruhe to pay tribute. Chancellor Angela Merkel chipped in with a congratulatory letter praising Germany’s most controversial thinker for his contributions to culture.