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.
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.
In the last days of his presidency, José Mujica visited the Casmu Hospital in Montevideo to pay his respects to Uruguay’s foremost historian and poet. On April 13, Eduardo Hughes Galeano succumbed to lung cancer. A giant of progressive journalism, poet-laureate of the anti-globalisation movement, and – as is to be expected of any self-respecting South American intellectual – a former exile twice over, Mr Galeano was not only beloved in his native Uruguay but throughout the world.