On 8 Feb we went to a private screening of ROMA. This was a visually enchanting film which was quite magnetic and held one’s attention. At the private screening the director, producer, cine-photographer, and the main stars came on stage for a Q&A after the film. For once the Q&A was utterly rivetting. Alfonso Cuaron, the director/producer described his unusual way of producing/filming in that everything was shot in sequence. He also confessed that the final scene in the…
Front page news: The Pope dismisses a US cardinal from the priesthood! WSJ reports that after a report documented decades of clerical abuse the Catholic hierarchy has chosen to act. (https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-former-cardinal-is-defrocked-after-sex-abuse-conviction-11550311326 ) A more interesting question for Africans is the almost total absence of convictions or public allegations in Africa. Given the long history of the Catholic church in Africa and the role of European priests it beggars the imagination that the same priests who misbehaved in US or…
There is currently great hysteria about IP theft by China. Even reasonably sensible Americans loose all sense of reality on this topic. For example WIRED wrote 11 October 2018″From US companies, Chinese hackers and spies have purloined everything from details of wind turbines and solar panels to computer chips and even DuPont’s patented formula for the color white. “ You cannot steal a patented formula !! You can only infringe it. The purpose of patents was to spread knowledge around the…
Spent this evening listening to Bill Bryson at the London Library. The London Library is an august institution founded in St James’ Square London and has associations with many great British writers whose ghosts are seen happily strolling along its arcane alleyways, browsing along the shelves, brimming with delight when their books are NOT on the shelves because they have been taken out to be read! Bill gave an enchanting talk about how he came to England (note specifically England…
One often hears the call for Black Unity and underlying many platforms is a belief that together we are strong. People will recall days of civil rights struggle and the apartheid struggle as evidence. This is an example of selective memory and dangerous pseudo politics in so far as it substitutes ‘feel good ‘ factors for real political analysis. Our first step is to understand that Black and African political struggles are NO DIFFERENT from any other. Western academia’s…
Carnival in the summer in Notting Hill is an annual fixture. It has been an event attracting visitors from all over Europe. It is a joyous celebration of Caribbean spirit. Quite fabulous costumes (Fig 1 -2 ) are on display as are sounds systems blaring calypso, reggae and other Caribbean music. There is an important political issue here – the amount of foreign earnings arising from the music produced by those of Caribbean descent in UK and the failure…
With this new issue we welcome Dr Wesley Morris to our editorial board. A proper introduction will be presented later. It is a clear core focus of this issue how Western academic and literary establishments deal with data, factual data, about Africa. Many Western authors appear to openly invite criticism on the basis of prejudice. Their strident offensiveness appears to seek such a response so clearly they are prepared for this. What they appear not to expect…
An interesting evening at Royal Photographic Society International Photography Exhibition 160 awards 1 March. Because of the weather we are fewer people than normal but it was fun. These photographs were enticing and captured the imagination. Each series spoke to some emotional story and conveyed the extra-odinary power of simple photographs. Nothing fancy nothing photoshopped, just demonstrating the power of seeing. Many of those who attended lived nearby and were unlike myself and a few others not members of…
Went to a Prospect Book Club Event (Monday 19 Feb 18) – Shami Chakrabarti was speaking about her views on feminism et al as part of her book launch of her book ‘On Women’. I have always found Chakrabarti to be a earnest and well meaning lady. She runs on her judgement and sense of fairness rather than any deep analytic thought. In many ways she arrives at admirable positions: that the rights of women should not be seen…
Off to Ferrari Exhibition with my son at the Design Museum (3 Feb 18) … This is a rather stunning exhibition which traces the history of Enzo Ferrari’s life and works with exhibits from many different periods. Its a pity that the history provided is so strongly ‘purified’ as the omitted incidents (Note 1) would have added flesh to the legend. For example, not a word is mention about how Mussolini forced the company to produce machine parts during…
