Events | 2009.04.16
Duncan Campbell's diary
Now is not the time to be closing a Cuba study institute, especially as a Castro intends to visit
An apparently revived Fidel Castro met members of the US Congressional Black Caucus in Cuba this week. Now his niece, Mariela Castro, daughter of president Raul, is due in London. Mariela, the director of Cuba\'s centre for sex education and an activist for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights, has been planning, supposedly, to visit the International Institute for the Study of Cuba (IISC) at London Metropolitan University. But it turns out that the cash-strapped university, which had its tuition budget cut by £18m for allegedly claiming to have more students than it actually had, is looking to cut costs, and one research body likely to get the chop appears to be the IISC. A strange move, given that President Obama is now hinting at a thaw in relations between the US and the island. Hurry, Mariela, while the institute you wanted to visit is still there.
• A bit of harmless April fun for anyone with access to a computer. Click on www.grahambright.com - the website of Sir Graham Bright, the former MP who is standing as chairman of the Conservative party\'s national convention. "Having been active in the party since the age of 15," Sir Graham explains about himself, "he brings a wealth of talent and experience with which to represent the voluntary side of the Conservative party at the very highest levels." The YouTube frame shown on his homepage shows he still has a nose for a good story. But play the video too, and see if any ornithologists can help the Diary. Is that a peacock wandering nonchalantly behind him in the garden as he explains his vision for a Conservative future? Is a peacock the sort of bird with which the Conservatives want to associate themselves? And, if so, did the peacock sign a release form?
• That venerable US institution, Time magazine, has come up with an original idea. In its latest edition, columnist Joe Klein suggests that the US government allow everyone over 80 to have any drugs, legal or illegal, that they want. In return, all octogenarians will hand over their driving licence. "We\'ll let you proceed with your lives - much of which will be spent paying for our retirement in any case - without having to hear us complain about our every ache and reflux," Klein promises younger generations. "We\'ll be too busy exploring altered states of consciousness." He even offers a slogan for his novel campaign: "Turn on, tune in, drop dead."
• Last month the Diary reported on the case of Paul Saville, a student from the University of the West of England, who was arrested in Bristol for supposedly writing in chalk on the pavement: "Liberty. The right to question it. The right to ask: \'Are we free?\' The right to speak to and ask your neighbours: \'Are we free?\'" He was ferried to the police station, fingerprinted, and had his DNA taken. Good news for Saville. He has now been told that he will not, after all, be prosecuted. Chalk one up for liberty.
• Never mind the growing popularity of cage fighting. Next month sees a potentially much more crunching clash. The Royal Institute of British Architects (Riba) has invited Prince Charles to speak on 12 May. It is billed as a "historic moment", as it was almost exactly a quarter of a century ago that Prince Charles used a Riba event to launch his famous attack on modern architecture and the "monstrous carbuncle" of the National Gallery extension. But in advance of the talk, Prince C has waded into battle again, calling for the scrapping of the modernist designs of Lord Rogers for the former Chelsea Barracks development in west London. Riba president Sunand Prasad has hit back, saying that "any intervention that compromises the democratic process has the potential to diminish the ability of the clients, the designers, local community and local authorities to arrive at fully considered solutions without undue influence". Ringside seats available. Two falls, two submissions or a knockout to decide.
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/[...]study-institute-guardian-diary
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