Mario Vargas Llosa on RTE (PK) - On Roger Casement

[C. Flower]

Nobel Prize Winner Mario Vargas Llosa is talking now on RTE (from the Dublin Writers' Festival) about Roger Casement, who inspired his recent novel, and about the conflict between his ideas of Imperialism as a progressive force for the undeveloped world, and the human rights atrocities and genocides he found were happening in the Congo and in Putamayo, Peru.

http://www.google.ie/url?sa=t&rct=j&...ULAeoOS4SQUg0Q

We discussed him and his plan to write about Casement at the time of the Nobel Prize award -

http://www.politicalworld.org/showth...light=Casement

He talked about the complexity of real 'heroes' and how it was sad that Casement's countrymen and women couldn't accept him as he was, gayness included.

He talked about Casement as someone naive, who thought he could stop the Rising, which he feared would be a fruitless bloodbath.

Finally, he mentioned coming across "Roger Casement Street" in a small town in Peru.

I've been re-reading his diaries in the last few days. I originally bought them to take my own view on the controversy over whether or not the British tampered with them to represent him as homosexual, in order to discredit him when sentencing him to death as a traitor. The diaries read seamlessly, and I don't see any reason to believe aren't authentic. Nor is there anything horrific in them. I'll post again when I've finished re-reading the book.

[Ogiol]

I recently read a book about Casement. I suppose I was curious about his very peripheral role in our 'heroic national patheon''. Then when I read the book It clicked. Sure he was one of them Its very clear that Irish leaders didnt trust him, probs cause he worked so many years 4 the crown and also cause they wouldve been extremely paranoid about informers (what better candidate).
His subsequent shunning from our collective memory is certainly a mix between continuing suspicion about his sexuality and the fact that our nationaly heroic mythology was formed under the auspices of the theocratic regime of our early statehood. And he was one of them (at some stage anyway)

Vargas Llosa on the otherhand is very much one of them. A brilliant writer but a pityful snivelling cultural imperialist. The guy is a neoliberal xxxxjob, only yesterday did he bombastically state that 'Madrid is a citadel of democracy and freedom' thanks to his much loved friend (des)Esperanza Aguirre, whom he called the modern day liberal Joan of Arc. If you dont know her, I'd recomend that you dont get to know her. She is possibly the most right wing element of the PP in Spain (a very distinguished honour), with varying shades of fascism and authoratarianism.

http://www.publico.es/437643/vargas-...cias-a-aguirre

[C. Flower]

I recently read a book about Casement. I suppose I was curious about his very peripheral role in our 'heroic national patheon''. Then when I read the book It clicked. Sure he was one of them Its very clear that Irish leaders didnt trust him, probs cause he worked so many years 4 the crown and also cause they wouldve been extremely paranoid about informers (what better candidate).
His subsequent shunning from our collective memory is certainly a mix between continuing suspicion about his sexuality and the fact that our nationaly heroic mythology was formed under the auspices of the theocratic regime of our early statehood. And he was one of them (at some stage anyway)

Vargas Llosa on the otherhand is very much one of them. A brilliant writer but a pityful snivelling cultural imperialist. The guy is a neoliberal xxxxjob, only yesterday did he bombastically state that 'Madrid is a citadel of democracy and freedom' thanks to his much loved friend (des)Esperanza Aguirre, whom he called the modern day liberal Joan of Arc. If you dont know her, I'd recomend that you dont get to know her. She is possibly the most right wing element of the PP in Spain (a very distinguished honour), with varying shades of fascism and authoratarianism.

http://www.publico.es/437643/vargas-...cias-a-aguirre

Yes, and precisely because he was 'one of them' was it an imperative for the British to hang him.

Very good, detailed Wikipage. You certainly couldn't make it up, as a life.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Casement

[Hapax]

Coincidentally:

Yesterday, a team of marine archeologists and divers recovered the two anchors of the much-storied Aud.

The German ship was scuttled in Cork Harbour in 1916 with 20,000 Russian rifles, 10 machine guns and five million rounds of ammunition that were bound for the Irish Volunteers still on board.

The second anchor was recovered just before 1pm, off the coast of Cobh in Co Cork.

It was the culmination of over two years work by the team that will now begin a three-year conservation of the anchors ahead of the centenary celebrations of the 1916 Rising.

http://www.independent.ie/national-n...p-3144790.html

[fluffybiscuits]

Yes, and precisely because he was 'one of them' was it an imperative for the British to hang him.

Very good, detailed Wikipage. You certainly couldn't make it up, as a life.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Casement

Just on a side note Casement was into burly lads apparently, what we would term these days to be bears (hairy stocky chunky lads ). I wrote what I regret now as a horrible post on one well known political site basically hammering Casement for his involvement in Republicanism and I later learnt of his humanitarian work so I am glad to say I am wrong .

[Sam Lord]

I've been re-reading his diaries in the last few days. I originally bought them to take my own view on the controversy over whether or not the British tampered with them to represent him as homosexual, in order to discredit him when sentencing him to death as a traitor. The diaries read seamlessly, and I don't see any reason to believe aren't authentic. Nor is there anything horrific in them. I'll post again when I've finished re-reading the book.

I believe that the current accepted position in the field of history is that they are genuine.

I think that Vargas Llosa, however, while accepting that they are genuine views them as more imaginative than literal.