Kanthan's Blog

Truth, lies, and sellotape

Tuesday, 29 March 2022

A few thoughts around what has been happening in the world recently. You decide which is which.

Tears of laughter are the best...

Monday, 28 March 2022

One of the things that my mother and I have in common (apart from the fact that 50 percent of my genes come from her) is our love of certain writers.

Peter O'Donnell,  creator of  Modesty Blaise, is probably at the top of the list. Less well known is that O'Donnell also wrote gothic historical romance novel under the female pseudonym  Madeleine Brent.

Extraordinary renditions go mainstream

Sunday, 27 March 2022

In July 2021, Nigerians woke up to the news that Nnamdi Kanu, leader of a banned separatist movement known as Indigenous People of Biafra, had been arrested and brought to the capital Abuja.

Kanu , who also holds UK citizenship, fled Nigeria in 2017 while out on bail facing charges of terrorism and incitement. He had reportedly been living in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, since his escape.

How did he end up paraded in handcuffs in Abuja? According to his family, Kanu was a victim of extraordinary rendition — they say he was kidnapped in Nairobi by Nigerian authorities.

Is this a dagger I see before me?

Tuesday, 22 March 2022

It's exactly a month today since I wrote these words about Russia's hypersonic missile capability:

"Russia's 3M22 Zircon hypersonic missiles are known to be able to take out targets up to a 1 000 km away traveling at Mach 8. A US warship launching Tomahawks against Russian targets would be on the receiving end of missiles traveling at almost 160km per minute.

Lessons learned north of the Limpopo

Sunday, 20 March 2022

I had a rare opportunity to spend three weeks in Harare, Zimbabwe between February and March. Here are some things I learned.

Seasonal rainfall is huge concern for most Zimbabweans because almost every person I encountered is into farming.

Relatively small patches of land are used for planting maize and sugar beans, which means that late or failing rains have consequences.

Poultry farming is ubiquitous.

One can order egg incubators and have them delivered to your home.