We are often asked how Africa, with so many bright and intelligent people, can be so badly governed. This note is a brief essay on thinking carefully about this issue. Our first port of call is to understand that the damage done by an institution is not directly related to itself but to the context. An institution may do more harm than ever intended, particularly if by accident, the ability to reform escapes the community. Our first post-war generation…
![[:en]cynthgia miller-idriss[:]](https://i0.wp.com/african-century.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/cynthia-miller-idriss.jpg?fit=300%2C199&ssl=1)
Cynthia Miller-Idriss has recently addressed in Foreign Affairs (8 July 2022) the issue of mass shootings. Rather than focusing on the availability of arms she has indicted extremism as an immediate influence but identified mental health as the long time underlying context: ‘The alleged Buffalo shooter was referred for a psychiatric evaluation after telling his high school classmates he wanted to carry out mass violence, but he was released. When he graduated from high school two weeks later, investigators…
![[:en]kate shaw - law professor[:]](https://i0.wp.com/african-century.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/kate-shaw-1.jpg?fit=300%2C300&ssl=1)
https://cardozo.yu.edu/sites/default/files/styles/scale_850x850/public/2020-04/KATE_SHAW_480-ret-flat-crop-8×8-HI-RES.jpg?itok=WgRhWvvd There was a popular phrase in the UK from 1980’s – ‘the loony left’. This was directed at the far left, such as members of the Trotskyite movement. However, the strange behaviour of what passes for a left in USA can be described as fairly ‘loony’, and, ironically, these persons and views are part of the Democratic mainstream. GUN CONTROL Somehow the American left have bought the idea that the availability of guns causes school massacres. This is…
‘ ‘… it is not a matter of belittling Ancient Egyptians, it is known of course they did not have any mathematics… ‘ Alicia Maravelia 17 June 2022 Maravelia made a presentation on ‘Of Eternity, Everlastingness and Stars’1. Among her primary claims were that: All mathematical astronomy began with the Greeks. She reads back into Ancient Egypt from the views of modern physics and views from the religion of Christianity and Judaism, seeing Ancient Egypt as a precursor; With…
![[:en]Kissinger[:]](https://i0.wp.com/african-century.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/kissinger-yale-.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1)
In an FT interview on 9 May 2022 with Henry Kissinger ( Note1 ) Kissinger let the cat out of the bag. Eighty per cent of the Russian population lives in the European part and much of the Asian part of Russia was acquired recently he said. Here Kissinger is taking 1600’s as ‘recent history’. This suggests that he is seeking to get the Russians to see themselves as ‘European’ not Asian. On the basis that Russia is mostly…
Western views of sex There is an important misunderstanding when there is a discussion about sexuality. Given the weight and power of western media western views of certain matters become dominant and understood as primary. How does this affect people from other cultures? What happens is that people from other cultures try hard to make sense of western views of sexuality and re-interpret them and so begins a trail of misunderstanding. https://imgix.ranker.com/user_node_img/22/425448/original/alessandra-ambrosio-photo-u179?auto=format&q=60&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&dpr=2&w=375 Image from Ranker.com of Alessandra Ambrosio It…
Sergey Karaganov was interviewed by Bruno Macaes for The New Statesman ( 2 April 2022) see Note 1. Karaganov speaks with the fluency and calm assurance of someone closely connected to power. His tone is factual and if anything a little weary of his audience as if to say ‘I have told you this before but you won’t listen.’ He outlined Russia’s concerns and objectives in simple language with exquisite brevity. Unlike so many commentators in the West he…
![[:en]US Victoria Nuland [:]](https://i0.wp.com/african-century.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/victoria-nuland.jpg?fit=300%2C300&ssl=1)
27 March 2022 US foreign policy has been expressed in terms of spreading democracy around the world. There is silence around the matter of sovereignty. Is democracy compatible with sovereignty? Democratic Party in the US has acknowledged that democracy can be corrupted in such a way as to undermine sovereignty. It is not relevant what position one takes on Russiagate. The allegation is that Russia took steps as an external power to subvert the election in the US. This…
![[:en]Anso Thom - editor Daily Mavericks[:]](https://i0.wp.com/african-century.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/anso-thom.jpeg?fit=300%2C300&ssl=1)
On 8 Feb 2022 they published an article entitled: What the hard data reveals about the true state of the nation (spoiler alert: not good at all) This article goes over many features and data sets in the apparent attempt to appear detailed and objective. However, it assumes that most Africans are data ignorant and statistically uninformed. It exhibits a deliberate misuse of data. When painting a data picture of a country, the selective omission is a form of outrageous…
![[:en]Andrew Garfield plays Jonathan Larson in Tick Tick ..BOOM![:]](https://i0.wp.com/african-century.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/ticktickBoom.jpg?fit=200%2C300&ssl=1)
Went on 17 feb 22 to see a private screening of ‘Tick Tick…Boom!’ the new film by Lin-Manuel Miranda and the star of the film,Andrew Garfield, attended a Q&A. Garfield gave another great performance at the Q&A. Full of life and fire. However there is a dark side to all this. This film presents the romantic image of the starving artistic genius who struggles to achieve fame and dies young. I have never had any attachment to the image…
