PinnedMember-onlyThe killing fields of Bakhmut — what would Vasily Grossman say?As only he could, famed Soviet war correspondent Vasily Grossman, himself a son of Ukraine, evoked the brutal and bloody reality of war in his tireless work while following the fortunes of the Red Army on the Eastern Front during WWII. Grossman: The head of the driver of a heavy…War5 min readWar5 min read
PinnedMember-onlyThe rise of the superrich reveals that greed is winning and humanity losingThe one thing upon which the world’s major religions and most schools of philosophy are agreed are the perils and evil of human greed. Unfortunately, there are some people who didn’t get this particular memo. Take the Waltons, for example, the family behind the Walmart retail empire. According to the…Economics5 min readEconomics5 min read
PinnedMember-onlyRichard Wright, Joe Louis, and America’s racist soulFew writers understood America’s racist soul as keenly as Richard Wright (pictured above), and few used their pen as mercilessly as he did as a weapon to excoriate and expose it. In black heavyweight champion and ring legend, Joe Louis, Wright found the perfect symbol of black resistance to the…Sports5 min readSports5 min read
PinnedMember-onlyWhy when it comes to the Nazi Holocaust, forgetting is not an optionIn his epic and comprehensive work, The Second World War, Anthony Beevor writes with customary economy: On 27 January in the middle of the afternoon, a reconnaissance patrol from the 107th Rifle Division (attached to the Red Army’s 60th Army of the 1st Belorussian Front) emerged from a snowbound forest…History5 min readHistory5 min read
3 days agoMember-onlyThe remarkable life of Harry Haft — forced to fight for survival at Auschwitz, before going on to challenge the great Rocky MarcianoHARRY HAFT is not a name many boxing fans will recognise — which is a shame because this is a man who endured more than anyone who’s ever laced up the gloves, a young man who was quite literally forced to fight for his own survival. Born Herschel Haft in…History6 min readHistory6 min read
4 days agoMember-onlyThe story of boxing in PalestineIn November 2022 the foundation stone of Gaza’s first ever boxing centre for girls was laid in a ceremony that was attended by, among others, proprietor and head coach Osama Ayoub and International Boxing Association President Umar Kremlev. At the ceremony, Kremlev announced: “This centre will become an international boxing…Palestine6 min readPalestine6 min read
Nov 21Member-onlyDiego Maradona was a man with the spirit of a rebel and the mind of an outlawThe history of soccer is a sad voyage from beauty to duty. ― Eduardo Galeano, Soccer in Sun and Shadow Diego Maradona’s death on November 25 2019 ended the man and gave birth to the legend. It is a legend that has only grown more pronounced as time has passed…Sports6 min readSports6 min read
Nov 15Member-onlyIsrael is a failed experiment in settler colonialism and ethno-nationalismIt is time to imagine a world without Israel. States come and states go in a neverending cycle that has marked human history since time immemorial. Many states that once believed themselves to be permanent and perpetual have collapsed due to the contradictions sown by their very existence. In modern…Israel6 min readIsrael6 min read
Nov 10Member-onlyRemembrance Day and the truths that dare not speak their nameThe ritual of tribute to fallen soldiers is a tradition that stretches back to antiquity. …United Kingdom5 min readUnited Kingdom5 min read
Nov 8Member-onlyThe abandonment of the Palestinians of Gaza to their fate shames the worldHe who is confident of his own men, but is ignorant that the enemy should not be attacked, has no certainty of victory. Sun Tzu — The Art of War Who can tell what the calculus was behind the decision of the leadership of Hamas to stage the October 7…Israel4 min readIsrael4 min read