Feature

The ethnic transformation of European football: Comparing 1990 with 2026

Among ten teams at the 1990 World Cup—Czechoslovakia, England, Ireland, Romania, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, the USA, West Germany and Yugoslavia—at least seven of 220 players were Black: England’s John Barnes, Paul Parker and Des Walker; Ireland’s Paul McGrath and Chris Hughton; and the USA’s Desmond Armstrong and Jimmy Banks—just over 3 per cent.

Støre “steels himself” ahead of meeting with Trump

Trump can make Ibsen’s words his own: «Whether I hammer or am hammered, there shall nevertheless be wailing.» No matter what Trump achieves, it shall be dragged down. He is accused of bowing to Iran, and of having lost the war. When he wants to put Iran in its place, they call him unpredictable and risky. The media are playing a cynical game; the politicians follow up.

UK Treasury drops maths tests for new recruits, prioritises ‘diversity’

When the UK Treasury recruits new candidates, diversity is the overriding priority. Whether applicants have any aptitude for numbers is no longer a priority, nor is a reasonable command of the English language.

Karl Popper, Joseph Goebbels, Islam and the paradox of tolerance

Democracy is not only about winning elections. It is also about which rules survive when the winner enters the corridors of power. Anti-democratic movements exploit democracy in order to abolish it from within.

Bjørnar Moxnes and Rødt celebrate ramadan before Easter

Bjørnar Moxnes and Rødt have become religious, and it is of course not Christianity that tempts, but Islam. An unknown lady with an afro hairstyle opens a ramadan video that Rødt posted on his Facebook pages before Easter: – Dear all Muslims in Norway, right now we are marking the opening of Ramadan in Norway, […]

Inspired by rap, the Koran and Mortensrud

According to NRK, Hamza Hirsi (26) is part of a new wave of Norwegian literature. Hirsi is described by the media as a minority author from Mortensrud in Oslo. The truth is that Hirsi came to Norway from Somalia as a 6-year-old boy, and first lived in Grimstad, before the family moved to Oslo, as […]

Eddie Van Halen and Johann Sebastian Bach, is there a connection?

At first glance, it may seem strange to look for a kinship between the rock guitarist Eddie Van Halen and the baroque master Johann Sebastian Bach. But an unknown piece by Bach made me think of the recently deceased guitar genius.