In honour of Svetlana Alexievich’s awarding of the Nobel Prize in Literature 2015, I unearthed my first-impression review written four years ago of Zinky Boys, a masterpiece of non-fiction writing. I just finished reading Zinky Boys and I don’t feel very well. The stories Alexievich reports are like a fist in the stomach, every single …
The future of payments is not only cashless, but also pinless, as contactless and mobile payments gain popularity. While the credit and debit card business proved profitable for banks thus far, new regulations and the rise of start-ups offering mobile payment methods threaten those gains.
A year after the Lampedusa tragedy in which more than 400 migrants lost their life at Sea, the EU still fails to coordinate actions to prevent more deaths in the Mediterranean. THE SINKING OF a migrant boat off the coast of Lampedusa in October 2013 was the most deadly shipwreck, but wasn’t the first nor the last …
We need to re-contextualise feminism in order to stop spreading nasty rumours about it.
Leiden University wants to lay off the only person who’s been teaching Russian in the International Studies and Liberal Arts and Science BAs in the past three years to avoid offering her a permanent contract. Continue reading
Today is International Workers’ Day. If I were in Italy now I’d probably be coming home from the May 1st demonstration. I started going when I was a child, with my grandpa. It was usually a clear Spring day, the red flags of the parties and the unions shining against the blue sky. Then I … Continue reading
Words are crucial elements in the process of remembrance. Primo Levi’s words resonates through time and space to keep memory alive. He was liberated from Auschwitz 70 years ago today. Continue reading
This year’s Peace Prize has to be understood as a union of both Malala and Mr. Satyarthi. Focusing on Malala only not only diminishes the impressive work that Mr. Satyarthi has carried out, but also is missing the point of the award. Continue reading
Given the audience and the attention receive, Watson actually missed an opportunity to properly discuss the issue at the heart of the fight for gender equality worldwide: the idea of privilege, both in terms of gender, and also in terms of social class. Continue reading
Sanctions on energy trade with Russia present an opportunity for Western companies to trade with another country with poor human rights record and authoritarian rule: Azerbaijan. Their envoy is democracy’s champion Tony Blair. Continue reading
A Supreme Court ruling that brings women and workers’ rights back to Feudalism. Continue reading
Editorial and collation work for Pandeia. The topic is Europe, Europe and its May Day traditions, Europe and its politics, Europe and its euroscepticism. Continue reading
A few extracts of the work done and published in the week I spent thinking, listening and writing about journalism at the International Journalism Festival in Perugia, May 2014.
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The body of a naked woman was found in the outskirts of Florence this morning. She was naked, only wearing shoes, and tied against a horizontal pole. A similar episode happened in the same spot last year. Back then, the woman was found still alive, and reported being raped, beaten, and mugged by a client … Continue reading
Just Words 