Man United players say the exit of poisonous Ronaldo restored feel-good mood at Old Trafford
Manchester United’s future may lie in their forward line’s past. They have long thought as much. It is just that they had picked the wrong part of their past. However, a feel-good mood is returning and the Red Devils are getting ready to pounce. There was the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer...
Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter underlines an undeniable fact: Tale evil maid attack on ideas
Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter is particularly hard to swallow because every report of internal chaos reminds us that we may have sacrificed the most promising mode of online communication invented in decades by failing to identify it for what it was back when we had the chance. Musk’s purchase...
Making fascism great again: In Trump’s America, democracy rested and kakistocracy became a pursuit
Scholars have long debated the distinction between fascism and authoritarianism. Fascist states create an all-engulfing power that rules over every facet of political and social life. Elections are abolished; mass arrests occur without habeas corpus; all opposition media are shut down; freedoms of speech and assembly are curtailed; courts, if...
Fascism: While voters did not stop pro-Trump true believers from office, democracy remains on trial in US
Just in case you didn’t notice, authoritarianism was on the ballot in the 2022 midterm elections. An unprecedented majority of candidates from one of the nation’s two major political parties were committed to undemocratic policies and outcomes. You would have to go back to the Democratic Party-dominated segregationist South of...
World Cup break did not help Spurs recharge, they’re still the imponderables they’ve been in past six years
Spurs at home, you say? On Boxing Day? A lunchtime kick-off? And eight days after the end of the World Cup? With Hugo Lloris and Cristian Romero rested and Fraser Forster making his first appearance in goal for them and Richarlison injured? You can only imagine the extent to which...
New table based on expected goals predicts Man City will retain Premier League title
An alternative Premier League table based on expected goals has been revealed – and it’s not good news for Chelsea or Arsenal. The English top-flight is back with a bang after Christmas with all 20 sides in action between Boxing Day and December 28. It’s not going well for Chelsea...
Social media: Tools for spreading fantastical theories have never been more powerful than they are today
That frictionless glide on social media from one post to the next, video after video, tweet upon tweet, plays tricks on the mind. Spend enough time in that realm and even the most absurd theories and narratives start to acquire the patina of logic, the ring of reason. How else...
Messi and Mbappe gave us World Cup to cherish in a bland soulless, faceless state in the desert
At the end of it all, the Emir of Qatar dressed Lionel Messi in a flimsy black robe, which seemed to be the ultimate emblem of how a host nation whose own side were so abysmal have claimed him as one of their own. The man in question, crowned player...
World Cup: Africa teems with talent but local leagues should pay players competitive salaries to retain them
In Africa itself, professional football doesn’t do so well, certainly not the club leagues. I’m afraid that, for all the solemn promises and grandiose schemes from Fifa, this will continue. It shouts to the powerhouse football countries that elite-level coaching in the lesser developed world is first-class. And the skills...
Decolonising science: How to confront racism in Black maternal healthcare in the US
Science is steeped in injustice and exploitation. Scientific insights from marginalised people have been erased, natural-history specimens have been taken without consent and genetics data have been manipulated to back eugenics movements. Without acknowledgement and redress of this legacy, many people from minority ethnic groups have little trust in science...
