Month: February 2022

Of Conquerors and Conquered

This new book by a senior lecturer at the University of St. Andrews is a bracing, short but expansive, study of poetic expressions of the fall of two fabled civilizations.

EU Border Agency Introduces New Surveillance System

Frontex says its new system will “centralize and store information on external borders crossings, including the non-EU traveller’s name, travel document, biometric data . . . and the date, time and place of entry or exit, in full respect of fundamental rights and data protection.”

Homer and Heroic Freedom

Protesting to assert our rights might give us a solution Achilles didn’t have when he contested Agamemnon’s authority. But we also lack something Achilles had—heroism—and so we find ourselves powerless.

Activism as Satire

Political satire is at its best when it transcends the limitations of partisan thinking. “Don’t Look Up” fails to do this.

Homer and Heroic Freedom

Homer and Heroic Freedom

Protesting to assert our rights might give us a solution Achilles didn’t have when he contested Agamemnon’s authority. But we also lack something Achilles had—heroism—and so we find ourselves powerless.

February 21, 2022
Activism as Satire

Activism as Satire

Political satire is at its best when it transcends the limitations of partisan thinking. “Don’t Look Up” fails to do this.

February 20, 2022
Swiss Reject Government Plans to Financially Support Media

Swiss Reject Government Plans to Financially Support Media

Swiss media companies had seen their revenue streams dry up over the past 20 years, pushing many publishers to the brink of extinction. Even so, a proposed law to subsidize private media companies with public money was rejected by Swiss voters.

February 20, 2022
Germany Woefully Unprepared for Potential Blackout

Germany Woefully Unprepared for Potential Blackout

While the German government continues its move towards renewable energies, a recent report shows that the danger of a large-scale blackout is not only greater than ever, but that the German public is completely unprepared to deal with such a scenario.

February 20, 2022
Ericsson Uncovers Potential Corruption; Employee Bribing of ISIL in Iraq

Ericsson Uncovers Potential Corruption; Employee Bribing of ISIL in Iraq

An internal investigation by the Swedish telecom company has uncovered evidence of potential ethical and legal violations, including the bribing of ISIL members in return for road-use in Iraq.

February 20, 2022
William Cobbett: A Human Bulldog

William Cobbett: A Human Bulldog

For all his faults, we need Cobbett today, or at least something of his fighting spirit, because he really did love the little guy.

February 20, 2022
“Let’s go through the present as through the desert”

“Let’s go through the present as through the desert”

From the desert of modernity, there is a path, and that is the path of tradition and return—as in the soul’s return to God.

February 19, 2022
Church of Sweden Archbishop Accused of Cozying Up to Radical Islamists

Church of Sweden Archbishop Accused of Cozying Up to Radical Islamists

The Protestant prelate, accused of using her high-ranking position within the Church of Sweden to promote mass migration from the Islamic world, is now facing criticism for inviting so-called ‘aid organizations’ with links to radical Islamist groups to participate in an interfaith meeting.

February 19, 2022
Italy Enforces “Super Green Pass,” Keeping 1.5 Million of Unvaccinated People from Work

Italy Enforces “Super Green Pass,” Keeping 1.5 Million of Unvaccinated People from Work

With a vaccination rate of 88% over the age of 12, Italy has deemed it necessary to enforce a new mandate barring unvaccinated citizens over the age of 50 from going to work. The new mandate is scheduled to last until June 15th, while at the same time other COVID measures are being relaxed.

February 19, 2022
Chinese President Draws Attention to the Role of ‘Lawfare’

Chinese President Draws Attention to the Role of ‘Lawfare’

Understanding international law as a field of competition between great powers, China is moving to “upgrade its legal toolkit” in order to oppose foreign sanctions and interface, and strengthen its global position.

February 19, 2022
EU Border Agency: Illegal Arrivals Climbed by 80% in January

EU Border Agency: Illegal Arrivals Climbed by 80% in January

The month of January saw the number of illegal border crossings into the European Union jump by nearly 80% compared to those witnessed last year, Frontex, the bloc’s border agency has revealed.

February 19, 2022
Not Everything is for Sale: A Critique of Neoliberalism

Not Everything is for Sale: A Critique of Neoliberalism

The concept of a neoliberal ‘free market’ is fundamentally nihilistic.

February 19, 2022