THE AUDACITY OF WIND


What is the point of Barrack Obama? Certainly respecting the international scene[1] never can a president have been elected carrying so many hopes, carrying so much expectation, delivered so little. When he was elected I remember saying that the hopes placed in him where wholly unrealistic; never did I imagine that he would fall so far short of even my limited expectation. On Guantanamo alone he has failed absymally. True the problem of the camp at Guantanamo Bay is more complex than many on the left would allow; still he stated that he would close the camp prior to election, he is now into his second term and it still shows no sign of being shut down. It remains a scar on America's reputation around the world. Whilst his craven surrender to the ‘security’ establishment and flagerent disregard for legal constraints respecting the use of drone strikes have thus far  been the only aspect of his Presidency to deserve the adjective, audacious.

On Syria he draws lines in the sand that might just as well be Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics for all the good they do. He has proved to be a man of many words and little action.
He is the most erudite President since Kennedy[2] and the finest orator to hold the office since the Second World War. People who combine erudition, oratory and a command of the written word with action are however rare indeed, in recent history I can only think of Trotsky and Churchill,[3] so perhaps I am judging him too harshly. However at a time when America needs to stand up to Russia and support those struggling for greater freedom and democracy in the Middle East we have a right to demand more backbone.

A way with words, the effective use of oratory is no small gift, but of an American President more is required. Obama risks being remembered not for what he did, not even for what he said, but for the way in which he said it.


[1] I am not qualified to talk about American domestic politics, though his cavalier attitude toward civil liberties and the constitution should be a cause for concern.
[2] A vastly over-rated President in my opinion; to get a new perspective on ‘Camelot’ I recommend reading Gore Vidal.
[3] Though respecting erudition this might be stretching it with Churchill.






Having visited this page I would be grateful for your feedback, either tick one of the boxes below or make a comment via the comments button.

Popular posts from this blog

NESRINE MALIK AND THE UNSUNG VIRTUES OF HYPOCRISY

Image
As I write this a 27 year old woman, Mariam Ibrahim, has just had a baby in a Sudanese prison, ‘the condition of the mother and baby is not known as Ibrahim's lawyer and her husband, a US citizen, had been denied access to her. Omdurman women's prison has a basic clinic, where the child is thought to have been born. Ibrahim has been shackled since being imprisoned.’ [1]   Mariam also has an 18 month old child who is also being held in prison with her. The ‘crime’ for which she is imprisoned is apostasy, for which she has received the death sentence. She has also been sentenced to 100 lashes, for the additional crime of having sex with her Christian husband. Although she has been a lifelong Christian her father was a Muslim, Sudanese sharia law forbids women to marry outside the Muslim faith, men needless to say can do as they please in these matters. Mariam Ibrahim and her husband.  Nineteen countries punish their citizens for apostasy, and in 12 of those countries...
Read more

INTERVIEW WITH TOM VAGUE

Image
Tom Vague At the top end of All Saints Road there is a refuge, an enclave in which a local Bohemian culture retains a foothold, this is the Book & kitchen , a café/bookshop with adjoining terrace. Here the bustle of the nearby market gives way to conversation, conversation in the presence of images of the recent, and not so recent, past. The past of an area that has contributed so much to the life and culture of the city. I was there to meet local historian Mr Tom Vague a man intimately familiar with so much of this history. What Tom doesn’t know about the recent history of the area probably is not worth knowing. With Tom’s energy and effort Colville Community Forum, supported by City Living Local Life, recently held a gathering at The Book and Kitchen to celebrate this rich history. February 16 6-9 Pm, with Film Screening and Readings Exhibition February 16-26 2016. Featuring 30 Classic Westway Photographs and Posters. This represents one of a number of initiatives of t...
Read more

VOLINE AND TROTSKY

Волин и Троцкого A Footnote in Russian History In April 1917 the Russian anarchist revolutionary Voline* and Leon Trotsky were both stranded in New York as the Russian revolution broke out in Petrograd , inevitably coming into contact with one another. Voline stated that he felt that the Bolsheviks, given their ruthlessness and single minded determination, would ultimately come to power. They would then begin eliminating their opponents, amongst whom of course were the anarchists; this persecution would end with the Bolsheviks shooting the anarchists “like partridges.” Trotsky was dismissive, they might have their differences but they were comrades in arms, they had different interpretations of the revolutionary process but shared the same goals. It was nonsense to speak of Bolsheviks shooting revolutionary comrades, “we are socialists, comrade Voline! So we are not your enemies….” [1] In December of 1919, whilst gravely wounded Voline was captured by the Bolshe...
Read more