State Dinner for Africa ... Elections: Europe, South Africa, Mexico, India redux ... Ukraine down & Up ... American film captures Cannes ... Iran: continuing horrors for cartoonist Atena
This weekly feature for Andelman Unleashed, continues on its mission to explore how the media of other nations are reporting and commenting on the United States, and how they are viewing the rest of the world.
How others see America
Thursday night, President Biden delivered a magnificent [ majestic ] State Dinner on the South Lawn of the White House for Kenya's president William Ruto, the penultimate act of a state visit that was the first in 16 years by an African head of state and the first since Ghana was honored by George W. Bush.
And in return, the Biden administration had all its wises fulfilled. Kenya will be sending 1,000 officers, leading a security force to the chaotic, strife-torn island of Haiti—the United States underwriting with $300 million in support, while as both presidents pointed out in a joint news conference, not a single American soldier will be placed in harms way. Kenya will be designated as the first non-NATO US ally in sub-Saharan Africa—as close an embrace by NATO as possible for any country outside the North Atlantic umbrella. And that comes without, of course, the critical Article 5 for full members (an attack on one treated as an attack on all).
It was celebrated just as the White House clearly felt the moment and the guest of honor deserved. But back home in Kenya, that was a somewhat different story—skepticism, even hostility from some substantial swaths of the Kenyan media that is, especially by African standards, allowed to express their views very much freely and openly. As it happens, Biden will likely go down as the first American president since Lyndon Johnson never to have set foot in Africa during his first term in office.
So, it may not be too surprising to read what Peter Kimani wrote in The Standard, the Nairobi daily that dates back to 1902:
I am not interested either in how you made your way to the US and back. I am aware some killjoys have politicised just about everything, it’s as though they don’t understand the historicity of your US tour: No African leader has received such an honour for 16 years.
That is, assuming the US is a heaven of sorts; it’s been a nightmare for many of our people. Even that White House where a banquet was hosted for you was built by slaves—men and women who were shipped out of our land in chains—and forced to till the land under the crack of a whip for 400 years.
I’m sorry, I didn’t intend to ruin your appetite for heirloom tomato soup, butter-poached lobster, fruitwood-smoked short ribs and a white chocolate basket! Since you treat history with disdain, I won’t remind that if America is an empire built on slave labour, then its military dominance—with a turning-point in the Second World War—was steadied with the uranium mined from the DRC [Democratic Republic of Congo].
Put simply, this is a system that has succeeded by taking resources, both natural and human, from our land, as they are doing right now. I understand Kenya will be designated a major non-Nato ally, whatever that means, in exchange for the 1,000 of our compatriots being dispatched to fight goons in Haiti. Nato means North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, a big boys’ club of warmongers….
I understand you opted for a luxury jet leased from somewhere in Dubai, and its hourly cost was enough to restore all the bridges washed away in recent floods. I think it’s time Kenyans gave you a break. I mean, if I ran a country where nearly half the population cannot afford more than a meal a day, but they pay tax to near point of death, I think it’s only fair that one of us actually enjoys the fruits of our labour, and that one person is you.
Elections 2024: Europe…South Africa…Mexico…India
More than 700 seats are at stake in elections for the European Parliament debuting in two-plus weeks. But the stakes go even beyond how many may be snagged by Europe's resurgent right. And perhaps no group of chroniclers across the continent is more sensitive to the stakes if voters do engage in a sharp turn to the political right, as this sampling suggests:
[ Courtesy Cartooning for Peace ]
Beyond composition of the Parliament, there's also the high-stakes contest over who may be the next leader of Europe itself and how might he, or especially she, copes with these new faces and forces in Brussels. Incumbent Ursula van der Leyen wants a second term quite desperately. As Andelman Unleashed SubStack colleagues David Carretta and Christian Spillmann, in their indispensable La Matinale Européenne, observed:
Von der Leyen wants an 'Ursula plus Giorgia majority,' confirming that if she is chosen European Commission president for a second term, she intends to open her majority to [Italy's right-wing prime minister] Giorgia Meloni and her party Fratelli d’Italia. During a debate between the Spitzenkandidat (the candidates for the presidency of the Commission nominated by the European parties), Ms von der Leyen was questioned several times about her openness to Ms Meloni and the sovereigntist group of European Conservatives and Reformists.
The outgoing President of the Commission and candidate of the European People's Party confirmed the three criteria for cooperation: pro-Europe, pro-Ukraine and pro-rule of law. Asked about Meloni, which the Party of European Socialists and the Renew liberals consider a red line, Ms von der Leyen gave the clearest speech possible: “I worked very well with Giorgia Meloni at the European Council, as with all heads of state and government. She is clearly pro-European. Against Putin: she was very clear on this. For the rule of law: we will see. We will then propose to work together," von der Leyen said.
Ursula von der Leyen does not want a "Giorgia majority"—a coalition of all right-wing parties (from moderate to extreme)—that Meloni says she wants to create after June 9 to send the socialists into opposition. Ursula von der Leyen has ruled out working with far-right parties. Le Pen's National Rally in France, the German AfD, the Dutch Wagenknecht Alliance, the Confederation in Poland may have different names and principles. But they have one thing in common: they are friends of Putin, and they want to destroy our Europe.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron, while not on any ballot, is willing to throw himself into the melee as he told the French daily Le Parisien:
“I am ready to debate now with Ms. [Marine] Le Pen,” Emmanuel Macron announced to our newspaper, on the plane bringing him back from Nouméa. The president of the National Rally (RN) said she was willing to debate with him after the election. Then, agreed to enter the ring before, if the head of state undertakes to resign or dissolve the [French National] Assembly in the event of defeat knowing well that he would never accept such conditions. They are obviously swept away at the Élysée.
But Emmanuel Macron in turn throws down the gauntlet: “If we think that this is an election where part of the destiny of France is at stake, which I believe, we must debate. I am at her disposal. The ball is in her court.» The challenge is valid for the next two weeks. “After the election, this debate will no longer be of interest: I am President of the Republic,” he says. In the middle of his return trip from New Caledonia, he saw nothing of the televised duel which pitted his Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, against the head of the RN list, Jordan Bardella. But he got “rather positive” feedback. Above all, he clearly wants to fight it out…while his Renaissance candidate, Valérie Hayer, is in serious difficulty in the polls.
South Africa, which goes to the polls on Wednesday, has its own set of challenges—none of which will help the African National Congress (ANC) party founded by Nelson Mandela. As the BBCpointed out, the challenges of incumbency relate directly to the nation's vast economic problems and none more than the vast and growing disparities between a tiny rich class and the vast underclass:
Income and wealth are not evenly distributed across the population.
Using a measure known as the Gini coefficient, which looks at the proportion of income different groups of households receive, South Africa is the most unequal country in the world. The richest 20% of the population hold nearly 70% of the income. By contrast, the poorest 40% of South Africans hold just 7% of the nation’s income.
The Economist, for its part, believes this year's contest is its "most important since 1994" when Mandela became its first black president. As the magazine's editor-in-chief Zanny Minton Beddoes observed, the election….
"….comes at a terrible time for the country. The African National Congress has presided over economic stagnation, rampant crime, failing public services and epic corruption. The next five years will test whether South Africa’s young institutions can withstand yet another assault from its predatory politicians. Most South Africans say they would do away with democracy if an unelected government could provide safety, jobs and housing….
When Cyril Ramaphosa became president in 2018, after almost a decade of grotesque graft, he pledged a “new dawn”. Mr Ramaphosa deserves some credit for reform and for defending the justice system, but he has been a disappointment ….Alas for South Africa, he is a symbol of drift and decay rather than renewal.
Which path will voters choose?
Andelman Unleashed will follow the results closely next week.
Ten days later, we'll also be following Mexico's election. And in the end, it may all come down to the violence…as the BBC reports:
In what is the most violent election campaign in Mexico’s history, the western state of Guerrero is the most dangerous place in the country to look for votes. Few appreciate that better than Cinthia Juarez. One of the first to be killed on the campaign trail was her childhood friend, Moises "Moy" Juarez Abarca. A nationally renowned gay rights activist, Mr Abarca was a local government candidate for the opposition PRD party before he was abducted by armed men. His body was later found dumped in a mass grave with 16 others.
“This has been the most violent campaign we’ve ever seen in the state of Guerrero and in Acapulco,” says Cinthia, who has replaced him on the ticket. With her colleague murdered and the investigation into his case essentially shelved, Cinthia is well aware of the risk she’s taking by running for office in his place.
As the election nears, the violence has only worsened. At least 12 people were found murdered in Acapulco on Tuesday, including six bodies discovered dumped near a market….
And a recent survey by a Mexican political consultancy firm, Integralia, paints a grim picture of political violence across the nation. Around 200 public servants, politicians and candidates have been murdered or threatened in the lead up to June’s election with more than 50 victims in Guerrero alone.
The violence has spanned the entire political spectrum, though candidates from the ruling Morena party have statistically been the most affected.
Political violence perpetrated by the drug cartels is nothing new in Mexico.
But the extent of the problem in this campaign has shocked even seasoned politicians here…. Names are being removed from the ballot via the bullet— meaning some voters will be forced to choose candidates who best serve the interests of organised crime rather than the needs of their communities.
We'll be monitoring the outcome this week. Stay tuned … and in two weeks for India:
Long among the most cherished, certainly the largest democracy, the nation is also being torn by partisan and increasingly sectarian splits. Less than a fortnight remains until India closes the door on the world's largest elections, with the final (seventh) round of voting June 1 and results due June 4. And the campaign is reaching a truly fever pitch as London's Financial Timesreports:
The dramatic release of one of India’s top opposition leaders has shaken up the final stretch of the country’s election campaign, giving a much-needed boost to Narendra Modi’s rivals in their quest to unseat the prime minister next month.
Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi and head of the Aam Aadmi party, was released on bail this month, seven weeks after he was arrested by India’s economic crime agency on allegations he masterminded a scheme to siphon money from liquor licence grants in the capital. Kejriwal, who has denied the allegations, immediately returned to the campaign trail, holding back-to-back rallies in poll-bound states such as Haryana, Punjab and Delhi, which voted Saturday.
At the same time, there have been scattered reports of violence on the campaign and around voting stations. < click here >
How others see the World
Ukraine…who's up, who's down?
These days that is a central question. The Russians surging, Ukraine on retreat? But wait. Perhaps not. This just in from Germany's DW (Deutsche Welle):
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terehov said that 11 people were injured in a separate strike on the city in northeastern Ukraine. He said that the strike hit a "dense residential area" in a central part of the city.
It comes just hours after Ukrainian authorities reported a Russian strike on a hardware store in Kharkiv that killed two and injured dozens. 33 people were wounded in a Russian strike that killed at least two people at a hardware store in Kharkiv….
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said "over 200" people may have been in the hardware store at the time [ click here for video ]
But then, the good news from DW:
Ukraine said it has regained "combat control" of areas of the Kharkiv region.
If NATO had anything to say, the alliance would be doing a whole lot more to help Ukraine restore its momentum. At least that's what outgoing Secretary General had to say, joining a chorus of other voices the Kyiv Independent rounds up:
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was the latest high-profile Western leader to call for an end to the ban on Ukraine's use of Western-supplied weapons to strike targets in Russia. German lawmaker Anton Hofreiter echoed the sentiment the following day in an interview with Spiegel.
U.S. officials have repeatedly said that they do not support or encourage Kyiv's strikes with American weapons deep inside Russia. The tide nonetheless appears to be shifting amid arguments that Washington's ban meant Ukraine was unable to attack Russian forces as they were building up before crossing the border into Kharkiv Oblastin the renewed Russian offensive that began earlier in May.
Imagine if these could be used against Russian forces massed just beyond the frontier?
"The time has come for allies to consider whether they should lift some of the restrictions they have put on the use of weapons they have donated to Ukraine," said Stoltenberg. "Especially now, when a lot of the fighting is going on in Kharkiv, close to the border, to deny Ukraine the possibility of using these weapons against legitimate military targets on Russian territory makes it very hard for them to defend themselves."
A Suggestion….
For an enormously inciteful deep look at where we stand and especially where Russia stands in this conflict and where we might be going, do not miss Mikhail Zygar's chronicles on his SubStack page:
Another view from the Holy Land
Yes, there are some divergent views in Israel. After Prime Minister Netanyahu and his flock went into meltdown following the last ruling from an international tribunal suggesting that all-out war in Gaza is not in anyone's best interests, the daily Haaretz weighed in:
The International Court of Justice in The Hague has proved yet again, in contrast to the massive campaign orchestrated by the Netanyahu government against it, that it is an institution trying to fulfill its historical role under unprecedented restrictions and pressure, including explicit political threats.
For the second time on the topic of the war in the Gaza Strip, the court demonstrated that it does not deny Israel's citizens the right to defense and security but is demanding that combat in Gaza be carried out while observing most of the principles of international law.
In other words, Israel's right to defend itself, and in this case to fight Hamas, cannot serve as a green light for killing and destruction, with an indiscriminate killing of thousands of innocent people, mass expulsions, starvation, occupation and annexation, as is frequently threatened here, including by publicly elected officials.
And from Cannes ….
On the concluding night of the Cannes Film Festival, with 22 films in contention for the world's most prestigious film honor, the winner of the Palme d'Ornwas Anora, from American director Sean Baker….as Le Mondefilm critic Mathieu Macheret described it:
A formidable odyssey of the degenerate offspring of neocapitalism.Sean Baker, scoundrel explorer of marginalized America, orchestrates the meeting between a prostitute and the son of a Russian oligarch. A trivial fairy tale that turns into an action comedy….Baker is interested in sex workers because they offer the ultimate embodiment of the working class in the 21st century: characters who maintain a transactional relationship with their bodies and never hesitate to spend money to advance the fiction.
But the real winner was Neon, the indie distributor that has now won five consecutive Palme d'Or awards. And especially covered with glory? The first American woman director to serve as president of the Cannes prize jury—Greta Gerwig, 40, outrageously spurned at this year's Oscar's for Barbie and twice before, but clearly recognized for her genius by the poohbahs at Cannes.
The jury also marked its space, awarding special jury prize to the courageous Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof … as the French magazine Le Point reported:
"I left my house with my backpack, without my cell phone. From my window, I saw the mountain and the walls of the prison where I risked returning,” says Mohammad Rasoulof, during a press conference in Cannes, surrounded by actresses Mahsa Rostami and Setareh Maleki. A forced exile that he sums up nicely: “I left geographical Iran to join another Iran beyond the borders.”
With drawn features, speaking in Farsi, he recounts how he found political asylum in Germany. And how he urgently created his new film The Seeds of the Wild Fig Tree, with the help of a small team. His work tells the story of a family whose father becomes an investigating judge at the revolutionary court in Tehran, at a time when a huge protest movement is shaking the country.
The metaphor of a society and a youth under the yoke of religious dictatorship, but always ready to rise up. The Seeds of the Wild Fig Tree illustrates, according to him, “a movement that will no longer stop”.
Don't forget the Olympics….
Simply, this is how the Paris Olympic Committee now envisions the Opening Ceremony unspooling at dusk on the Seine, two months from now:
Finally, there’s …. a Cartoonist Alert
Forty days now that the mullahs have held in prison Iran's brilliant cartoonist Atena Farghadan … whose ordeal we first chronicled April 21 … or as her confederate, Iran's Hassan Bleibel portrayed the horror she is still going through … followed by four extraordinary cartoonists-in-protest…
So, in solidarity with the preeminent collective Cartooning For Peace, instead of a solitary cartoonist as our coda, today we are featuring appeals from four of her colleagues: Ukraine's Alexander Dubrovsky, France's Kap, Colombia's Elena María Ospina, and Nigeria's Kenny Tosh….
May their voices and their images resonate.
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Love that....yes, would love to be reincarnated as a cartoon !!
Shy of that, I can at least celebrate the most brilliant each week ... and advocate for the most oppressed or maligned !!
I can't tell you how much this means to me, especially coming from as accomplised hack (and world traveler!) as you !!