Peter Rhodes on a democracy, a gangster state and the fusion of two comedy legends
On June 29 I suggested that, no matter how we spelt or pronounced the name of the Wagner group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, we'd soon be preceding it with “the late.” Not a difficult prediction, was it?
Meanwhile, no surprises in India beating Russia to the moon. India is a functioning democracy, using science for the benefit of all. Russia is a gangster state whose lunar ambitions are an extension of a military programme which has perfected the lobbing of missiles into theatres, shopping centres and nurseries.
Yet while we applaud India's quest to find water on the moon, nearly a tenth of India's population – 160 million people – have no clean water. While these villagers are probably proud of their nation's space successes, I bet a few of them would appreciate something cheaper and lower-tech. Like a well.
