1943 – AN EPIC YEAR: Turning the Nazi-fascist tide (part one)
On 25 July 1943 – as Primo Levi recalled – came the internal collapse of Fascism, the piazzas jammed with happy, fraternal crowds, the spontaneous and precarious joy of a […]
AIM Extra
Putin’s Football Gambit: How the World Cup Paid Off
Even before the single ball was kicked at the FIFA World Cup in Russia, there were threats, promises and suggestions from various governments about how […]
The Woes of Luka Modrić: Croatia, Nationalism and Football
Juraj Vrdoljak of Telesport was convinced. “I think half the population didn’t show up to work on the morning after the win against England.” The […]
Rescues, Caves and Celebrity Salvation
It all risks becoming pornographic, looped and re-run with an obsessive eye for updates and detail about despair and hope. The twenty-four hour news cycle […]
“We don’t feel for one minute we are free”
Samad is a writer from Pakistan and an administrator of Writing Through Fences. Obeida is an auto-mechanic from Syria. Samad speaks with Obeida about life […]
Defeat in Sochi: Australia’s World Cup Campaign Ends
“Disappointing is the word. Empty is the other word.” (Mile Jedenak, Jun 26, 2018). Australia was always the outsider in the tournament, and a loitering […]
Embers and Death at the Victoria Park Hotel: The Anguish for Lost Buildings
We came across a skeleton of a building bristling with warnings: Asbestos, Stay Out; Danger, Do Not Enter. The sense was that entering this site […]
The Food of Movement: Anthony Bourdain’s Universal Eater
Bruce Chatwin considered movement the indispensable feature of the human species. Sedentary natures killed through asphyxiation; a refusal to move suggested an acceptance of death. […]
Dazzled by Tech: Universities, Googlification and Microsoft
The mechanical, robotic striving of university politburos and their jack boot managers have always been interesting when it comes to one particular topic: the role […]
A Literary Vice: Me Too Enthusiasm and Junot Díaz
It all happened at breakneck speed. Before the dust settled, Junot Díaz was on a plane from Sydney back to the United States. The Sydney […]
Universities, Branding and Saudi Arabia
The modern university is a tertiary colonising institution. Like the old mercantilist bodies – the Dutch East India Company and its equivalents – the educational […]
Christian MPs want ‘cultural war’ over religious freedom
The PM is holding 20 Ruddock Review recommendations to advance religious freedom while giving Christian lobbyists private briefings ahead of their public release in June. Malcolm […]
Donald Trump, Summits and Cancellations
It was the sort of party you would be reluctant to turn up to, and its cancellation would have caused a sigh of relief. But […]
States of Cruelty: The Dead Refugees of Manus
In those seemingly interminable refugee debates being held in various countries, cruelty is pure theatre. It is directed, stage managed, the victims treated as mere […]
Eternal Disappearance: MH370 and the Hangar Gossipers
It has fuelled enough speculation to fill libraries and populate databases at catchy speed. The disappearance of MH370 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing […]