Politics Archives

July 10, 2023 wezg

Dance for Ukraine: Marika Rossa – Female Techno DJ Ambassador from Kyiv

This is not a story of a random Ukrainian musician that I have plucked out of the ether. I’ve been following the progress of the female DJ superstar, Marika Rossa, since 2012, before the crisis in Ukraine started. The internet

June 24, 2023 wezg

Sluggish Schizophrenia

I got (mis)diagnosed with Schizophrenia on 02.04.1997 and I’ve had 26 years of hell in the mental health system here in South Wales ever since. Initially the psychiatrist said it was ‘mild schizophrenia’ whatever that is. I have had over

June 18, 2023 wezg

Guerrilla Heroico

The Cuban Revolution was an earth-shattering event with huge consequences internationally, not just in Latin America, but further afield. I felt the impact myself whilst travelling across Scandinavia in 2005. I’d run out of clean underwear and, while scanning the

June 12, 2023 wezg

Riposa In Pace Silvio Berlusconi

Silvio Berlusconi has died today at the age of 86. It has been said that not a day has gone by in Italian news media over the past 50 years without him making headlines of some sort. He certainly was

June 4, 2023 wezg

The Nuremburg Code 1947

At the end of World War 2, after, in particular, the disaster of the Holocaust becoming apparent, many leading Nazis were hunted down and brought to trial to face justice for war crimes. One of the main international trials, indeed

June 4, 2023 wezg

Erdoğan’s Third Term as President of Turkey and What It Means

On May 28th 2023, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was giving a victory speech to the excited Turkish masses, who had democratically elected him to a third term as President of Turkey. He achieved 52.2% of the vote in the second round

May 27, 2023 wezg

Happy 100th Birthday Henry Kissinger

Henry Kissinger is a political heavyweight. Of that there can be no doubt. Even the harshest of this US politician-come-guru, Henry Kissinger’s critics will have to admit that he is just that – a veteran in the ring of international

May 26, 2023 wezg

La Santa Muerte en el Reino Unido #centuryofgaga

(English Translation of article below Spanish version here) La muerte es la única garantía que tenemos. Incluso el nacimiento no está garantizado. La muerte llega a todo: a cada roca, a cada árbol, a cada mono, a cada vaca, a

January 12, 2023 wezg

Review: The Motorcycle Diaries – by Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara

I’ve read three of Che Guevara’s other books, the theory on guerrilla warfare and the diaries of his campaigning in the revolutions of Cuba and Bolivia. The Motorcycle Diaries precede these other critical works and document Che’s travels across Latin

May 30, 2022 wezg

Le Clan du Néon

Le Clan du Néon combat le gaspillage en éteignant publicités et enseignes lumineuses Baptisés Le Clan du Néon, Pêcheurs d’énergie ou Zéro Watt, des militants écologistes, actifs dans plus de vingt villes en France, mènent des expéditions nocturnes pour éteindre

September 19, 2019 wezg

Review: Viva La Revolución by Eric Hobsbawm

This is my first venture into respected leftist author, Eric Hobsbawm’s work. The book was compiled after the author’s death in 2012 and is a collection of his writings on Latin America after he spent over forty years passionately exploring

November 23, 2018 wezg

Visit from Hungarian Ambassador, His Excellency Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky & TALK: In the Spirit of Rubik’s Cube – Hungary’s Smart Transition to a Knowledge Based Economy, Cardiff University School of Business, 23.11.18

His Excellency, Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky, is the ambassador to the court of St James. His background is in finance, industry, publishing, armed forces and politics. His hobbies include polo, showjumping, shooting and sailing. Kristóf was pleased with the attendance of his

November 14, 2018 wezg

‘A Tribute To Venezuela’ at Kapu, Cardiff, 14.11.18

Once the richest country in Latin America, Venezuela is now broke thanks to the collapse of the oil industry and general mismanagement of the economy. For the last 6 years people has been starving, Caracas has been the most violent

November 3, 2018 wezg

Review: Gangster Warlords – Drug Dollars, Killing Fields and the New Politics of Latin America – by Ioan Grillo

This is the second of Ioan Grillo’s books that I have read and I found this volume equally as good as my first encounter with this talented British journalist. Gangster Warlords focuses on 4 separate crime gangs across the Americas.

October 4, 2018 wezg

The Invisible Line of Migration – A Conversation with Multi-Award Winning Photo-Journalist Danilo Balducci, Cardiff University 04.10.18

La Linea Invisibile is a discussion by guest speaker Danilo Balducci which brings together the Translation, Adaptation and Performance, Picturing Others, and Conflict, Development and Disaster research themes at the School of Modern Languages. This lecture was broken up into 3

January 23, 2018 wezg

Review: Narrating Narcos: Culiacán and Medellín – by Gabriela Polit Dueñas

The author is exploring the impact of local culture on the artistic output of Narcoculture in the form of literature and art in two specific par excellence Narco cities in Latin America. We are introduced to the Culichis of Culiacán

January 22, 2018 wezg

Review: Narcocorrido: A Journey into the Music of Drugs, Guns, and Guerrillas – by Elijah Wald

Whilst planning to do a university translation dissertation on some aspect of narcoculture I was drawn to this work (in English – also simultaneously released bilingually with a Spanish version) by American author and folk musician, Elijah Wald. Having been

December 15, 2017 wezg

Nineteenth Century Revolutions and the French Working Classes

Q] What was the impact of the revolutions and political uprisings of 1830, 1848 and 1870 on the French working classes? The French Revolution was a critical event in global history. The effects of this revolution continued to reverberate across

December 12, 2017 wezg

Review: Catalonia Since The Spanish Civil War – Reconstructing the Nation – by Andrew Dowling

This book focuses on the study of the important Spanish region of Catalonia in the modern age. Catalonia has a strong claim to being an independent state, dating back to its time as the Kingdom of Aragon. There is a

November 30, 2017 wezg

Review: French Industrial Relations in the New World Economy – by Nick Parsons

This book focuses on the different components that comprise French Industrial relations, neatly divided up into 8 distinct chapters with a thorough introduction and conclusion. Each chapter goes into detailing a particular aspect of the French Labour movement. It looks

November 20, 2017 wezg

Gwent Police and Senior Mental Health Managers Meeting

On 26/07/17 I wrote to Gwent Police and senior Aneurin Bevan University Health Board Trust Mental Health Nursing Manager, Perry Attwell. Hi Perry and Gwent Police, I have been wanting to write to you, with regard to the current status

October 29, 2017 wezg

Review: Marxism and the French Left – by Tony Judt

This is an in depth study of socialism in France. The book is broken up into a series of long chapters, each covering a critical period of the political left in France. The emergence of working class political culture in

October 29, 2017 wezg

Review: Marxism and the French Left – by Tony Judt

October 25, 2017 wezg

World Talk Series – Cardiff University MLANG – Oh Lord, Emmanuel – Macron’s Fall From Grace? By Dr Nick Parsons – 25/10/2017

Delivered by experts from Cardiff University’s School of Modern Languages, the World Talk Lecture Series is a new series of talks on topics of current interest in various countries around the world. Dr Nick Parsons – Biography Nick Parsons completed

October 25, 2017 wezg

World Talk Series – Cardiff University MLANG – Oh Lord, Emmanuel – Macron’s Fall From Grace? By Dr Nick Parsons – 25/10/2017

October 18, 2017 wezg

Spain’s Catalan Crisis / Catalonia’s Spanish Crisis – Lecture by Dr Andrew Dowling at Cardiff University, 18.10.17

In light of recent developments in Catalonia that have grabbed international attentions, this lecture was convened by Cardiff University’s Catalan specialist, Dr Andrew Dowling, in order to enlighten us on the subject. It was recognized that the audience was comprised

October 8, 2017 wezg

Review: Revolutionary Syndicalism and French Labor: A Cause Without Rebels – by Peter N. Stearns

This short book, written in 1971, is a study of syndicalism and its effects on the French Labour movement in the twenty years preceding World War 1. French workers had learned the effectiveness of striking to improve their wages and

October 8, 2017 wezg

Review: Revolutionary Syndicalism and French Labor: A Cause Without Rebels – by Peter N. Stearns

September 30, 2017 wezg

Review: Liberté, Égalité and Fraternité at Work – by Steve Jefferys

This is a relatively concise look at Employment relations in France. Taken from a contrastive Anglo-Saxon point of view, the author explores the intricacies of the French economic system and how industrial relations are different in France than other Western

March 15, 2017 wezg

The Repeating Island – Representations of the Francophone Caribbean

With close reference to Benitez-Rojo’s notion of the ‘repeating island’, discuss how the Francophone Caribbean has been represented by writers, travellers and artists. This essay shall focus on how various writers, travellers and artists have represented the Francophone Caribbean.

March 4, 2017 wezg

End Of Terror Meeting with Politician, Jessica Morden MP

This morning I met with my local MP Jessica Morden. Jessica represents Labour and is the parliamentary representative for the Newport East constituency. Over the past few years that I have known Jessica we have had two face-to-face meetings scheduled that

January 6, 2017 wezg

Report on Mental Health in Southeast Wales for John Griffiths AM and Jessica Morden MP

I have been a non-consenting patient of southeast Wales’ mental health services since 2nd April 1997. I have almost amassed twenty years of living within this closed mental health system. I write this report with a view to enacting real change

January 6, 2017 wezg

End Of Terror Meeting with Politician, Welsh Senedd Member, John Griffiths MS

Today, after four years of campaigning, I finally met with Welsh Assembly Member, John Griffiths AM. John is my local political representative in the Welsh Assembly. In Wales, health is a devolved matter and is dealt with in the Cardiff

December 5, 2016 wezg

Account For The Nationalist Victory In The Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil War lasted for three years from 1936 to 1939 and was ultimately won by the Nationalists. This victory was far from certain at various points of the conflict and this essay shall explore the many factors that

July 18, 2016 wezg

Brexit and Mental Health

Brexit, like it or not is a reality. 54% of the public voted in a referendum for us to leave the EU. I watched with despair as events unfolded and was almost praying for us to stay in as I

June 16, 2015 wezg

Review: Santa Muerte – Mexico’s Mysterious Saint Of Death – by Tony Kail

This book documents the rapidly growing Mexican folk faith that is ‘Santa Muerte’ or ‘Saint Death’. The iconic image of the skulled woman with a scythe gives hope to many discomforted souls on the fringes of Mexican and indeed global

January 15, 2015 wezg

Thatcher Thatcher, Freedom Snatcher

This article is inspired by a bad dream that has just woken me up at 0740am. ‘Without a doubt, princes become great when they overcome difficulties and obstacles that are imposed upon them; and therefore fortune, especially when she wishes

January 15, 2015 wezg

Immigrant Doctors on the NHS: A Good Thing or Bad Thing?

Not wanting to sound the horn or anything, but: PEOPLE, THERE IS A GENERAL ELECTION COMING UP! Come May unless you adhere to Russell Brand’s non-voting strategy, then you could well be heading to the polling booth. We heard of

January 15, 2015 wezg

Thatcher Thatcher, Freedom Snatcher

January 12, 2015 wezg

Guerrilla Heroico

Discuss how textual and visual representations of the Rebel Army during and after the Cuban Revolution contributed to the myth of the heroic guerrilla in Latin America. The original iconic 1968 stylized ‘Guerrilla Heroico’ Che Guevara imagecreated by Jim Fitzpatrick,

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