Expanding the Legacy
Expanding the Legacy
Whilst you were not looking, a new regional superpower has emerged in Europe. Poland is determined to build the third-largest NATO army, eclipsing France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom by a wide margin. Earlier this week, foreign minister Radoslaw Sikoski announced that Poland will immediately boost its defence expenditure, already amongst the highest in NATO, to a full five percent of its GDP. Mr Sikorski justified the increase by noting that the ‘Cold War peace’ has ended. Army chief of staff General Wieslaw Kukula echoed the sentiment: “We need to prepare, and be ready to fight, an all-out conflict.”
Luddites thrive on nostalgia and a fear of technological progress. However, before dismissing them as sentimental fools, it would be wise to consider a few of their more reasoned arguments, especially in light of the advent of artificial intelligence. To some, AI is but the latest iteration of the much touted ‘paperless office’, the big promise of the 1980s which never quite materialised. In fact, the world’s offices are inhabited by more paper shufflers than ever before.
The consensus amongst Putin whisperers in the United States and Europe is that the small man at the big table may be eventually be pacified once he sees and feels the folly of his misventure in Ukraine. In this reading of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin is but an opportunist, seizing the day and the moment (and land) whenever and wherever he can. By denying Mr Putin opportunity, so the narrative continues, he will eventually cease and desist since the price of war will have become too high or even unaffordable.
Smile. You’re on camera. On Tuesday, the Dutch Data Protection Authority issued a €30.5 million fine to Clearview AI, a US corporation that scrapes the internet to gather photos and data of people. The company is not just interested in miscreants but casts a wide net and essentially wants to include everybody, preferably all earthlings.
On Monday, the federal supreme court of Brazil voted unanimously to uphold the ban on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. Last week, Alexandre de Moraes, one of the court’s justices, ordered the shutdown of X for its failure to comply with Brazilian law and its refusal to appoint a legal representative in the country. The platform went blank over the weekend as service providers scrambled to block access. Justice De Moraes also decreed that anyone using ‘technological subterfuge’ such as a virtual private network (VPN) to evade his ban would risk a fine of €8,000 per day.
Political life in Germany was thrown into disarray after the ruling coalition of Chancellor Olaf Scholz was dealt a crushing defeat by voters in Thuringia and Saxony. In the former, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) cruised to victory and in the latter it’s down to a toss-up between the nationalist party and the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Officially designated an extremist party, the AfD will find it difficult to monetise its stunning victory. Securing 32.8%of the vote in Thuringia, the party needs a coalition party to in order to form a government. However, no other party is willing to engage or cooperate with the AfD. Local observers point out that, based on yesterday’s vote, assembling a majority in the state legislature seems impossible without breaching the cordon sanitaire that seeks to deny the AfD a path to power.
A self-described creative Marxist, Samir Amin (84) is a French-Egyptian economist who lives in Senegal and firmly believes that world capitalism – defined as the rule of oligopolies based in rich countries – maintains its power through five monopolies: technology, natural resources, finance, global media, and red buttons.
The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann (Vintage Classics – 752pp – £11.25 – ISBN: 978-0-7493-8642-9) For all its potential as a canvas for the display of human suffering, sick-lit never quite made it as a genre. In her 1926 essay On Being Ill, Virginia Woolf expressed dismay at the near-universal...
Private Island: Why Britain Now Belongs to Someone Else by James Meek (Verso Books – 238pp – £8.55 – ISBN 978-1-7847-8206-1) It remains somewhat of a mystery how Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne manages the UK government’s financial affairs. Presiding over a buoyant economy, planning the biggest privatisation exercise...
In western countries, the genetic modification of crops is often seen as a threat to the environment. Professor Calestous Juma takes a contrarian view: he is a keen advocate of biotechnology and its potential to transform African economies.
Home to the second largest economy of the East African Community, Tanzania struggles to find its way ahead notwithstanding a robustly expanding economy and a much-improved business climate. A nation of two minds, Tanzania has experimented with different development models. The darling of progressive donor nations such as The Netherlands,...
Tango may be timeless, it is also on the move with its fringes drifting away from melancholy to embrace modernity. Connecting with a younger crowd inhabiting the club scene rather than the ballroom, Electrotango is now approaching the mainstream.
Dutch MEP (Member of European Parliament) Sophie in ‘t Veld believes that the freedom of every person to hold their own thoughts and opinions is a cornerstone of any democratic society - and, as such, sacrosanct. Her vision for Europe is based on the values of the Age of Enlightenment: she speaks up for democracy, transparency, and equality in the European Union. In these troubled times, a principled politician is to be admired and valued, especially one who works to hold the European Union and its institutions to account.
TD had long been committed to the environment – the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation is celebrating its 25thanniversary this year – but the bank's leaders believed it needed to do more. The environment was a key issue that would shape the future and there existed a need for greater understanding of the links between the environment and the economy. Also, the environment was, and is, important to customers and employees, which meant it was important to the bank.
With his mane of ringlets and lean, tall physique and laid back manner, Brian May is every inch the (aging) rock star. However, there is much more to this guitarist than meets the eye. Brian May, CBE, PhD, FRAS (Fellow of Royal Astronomical Society), guitarist, songwriter, producer, performer, and founding member of legendary rock band Queen is also a doctor of Astrophysics, an authority on 3D stereoscopic photography, and a passionate campaigner for animal rights.
Assupol was founded over a century ago in 1913 when a group of South African policemen began collecting contributions to assist the bereaved families of colleagues that had passed away. This initiative led to the establishment of the South African Police Provident Fund which later became known as Assupol.