Thursday, June 19, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

Colosseum-inspired stadium could become reality in Bath, England

Published 15 August 2023
– By Editorial Staff
Draft proposal for the new stadium in Bath.
3 minute read

In the ancient English city of Bath, Apollodorus Architecture has submitted an unusual proposal for the city’s planned rugby stadium. The striking concept is reminiscent of Rome and the Colosseum. The proposal is notable for breaking with the modernism that has otherwise characterized the country’s stadium buildings.

The site of the proposed stadium is called the Recreation Ground Stadium and is located in the central part of the city. It is also the home of the city’s rugby team, Bath Rugby.

The new stadium will primarily replace the team’s current Recreation Ground, which was built in 1894.

Several architectural firms have submitted proposals and Apollodorus Architecture is one of them. Their concept is, to say the least, very different from the other designs and is mainly influenced by the classical architecture of antiquity.

“Apollodorus Architecture specialises in classical and traditional design. Our work is rooted in research, scholarship and the experience of historic architecture, particularly that of the ancient Greek and Roman periods and the Italian renaissance”, it can be found on the architectural firm’s website.

Praised by Swedish architect association

The concept began with Bath Rugby submitting its own proposal to the city’s governing and decision-making body for the project – a proposal that Apollodorus Architecture felt could be improved in its own design and submitted a counter-proposal.

The studio is confident that its proposal would integrate more organically with the surrounding city than the proposed stadium.

Architecturally, there is actually very little to speak of, says director Wilson Jones of the official ‘Stadium for Bath’ proposal.

The new design put forward by Bath Rugby is clearly an expedient budget solution. In some respects, this actually makes it more successful and more likely to secure planning than the club’s previous proposals for the site, he told industry publication Dezeen.

The proposal is also welcomed by the Swedish association Arkitektupproret, an initiative that describes itself as “an ideologically independent non-profit movement working for more beautiful architecture, more pleasant cities and more humane living environments”.

Positive response

The general response to the proposal has been “overwhelmingly enthusiastic”, says Wilson Jones. However, he admits that a “very small number of architects” have reacted less positively.

– In a world that is rightfully becoming more broad-minded and tolerant of differences, the modernists’ puritanism when it comes to architecture often feels hypocritical and bigoted, he adds.

What many refer to as ‘uglification of urban environments’ has become increasingly common in architecture.

It remains to be seen whether the innovative concept of Apollodorus Architecture will be the stage for Bath Rubgy and its future victories.

Bath

is a city in the county of Somerset in the southwest of England. It is located in the Bath and North East Somerset district on the River Avon, 156 kilometers west of London. As an English city, it was granted a charter by Queen Elizabeth I in 1590 and gained administrative independence from the county of Somerset in 1889. Bath was founded in the valleys of the River Avon around natural hot springs where the Romans built baths and a temple, giving the city the name Aquae Sulis.

The city was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1987. The city has many theaters, museums and other cultural sites that have helped it become a major tourist destination with over one million overnight visitors and 3.8 million day visitors each year. The city has two universities and a number of schools and colleges.

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Islam set to become world’s largest religion

Published yesterday 7:19
– By Editorial Staff
Today, there are approximately two billion Muslims, compared to 2.3 billion Christians.
2 minute read

Islam grew about three times faster than Christianity between 2010 and 2020. This is according to new data from the Pew Research Center, which points to higher birth rates and lower rates of conversion as the main explanations.

The global Muslim population increased by almost 21 percent over the past decade. Christianity grew significantly slower, at around 6 percent over the same period. Islam thus grew twice as fast as the world’s population as a whole, which increased by 10 percent.

According to the study, Islam also gained more new followers than all non-Muslim religions combined during the period.

Among the reasons for this development, the higher fertility rate among Muslim women and the lower average age of the Muslim population are particularly mentioned. Between 2015 and 2020, a Muslim woman had an average of 2.9 children, compared with 2.2 children for women who did not belong to Islam.

The net effect of people joining or leaving Islam was small – both groups accounted for about 1 percent in the 2010s.

Distribution based on region. Photo: Pew Research Center

Expanding rapidly

Christianity remains the world’s largest religion, with 2.3 billion followers in 2020. Islam is the second largest, with 2 billion. But while the number of Christians increased, the religion’s share of the world’s population declined by almost 2 percent during the period.

According to the study, the growth of Christianity has been slowed by a large number of people leaving the religion to become non-religious. For every 100 adults who grew up as Christians, the religion lost an average of 11.6 people.

– Islam is set to grow to become the world’s largest religion in years ahead, unless trend lines shift, said Conrad Hackett, senior researcher at the Pew Research Center and one of the report’s authors, according to The Washington Post.

He describes the development as “striking” and notes that Muslims and Christians are now much closer in number because Islam is expanding faster than any other major religion.

The survey is based on thousands of census data and surveys in 201 countries. It covers seven groups: Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, other religions, and people with no specific religious affiliation.

Iran used “undetectable” missile in attack on Israeli intelligence facility

The escalation in the Middle East

Published 17 June 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Images of what is believed to be the missile strike on Mossad headquarters in the capital Tel Aviv.
1 minute read

Iran’s Defense Ministry says it used a new, untraceable missile in the attack on the headquarters of the infamous Israeli intelligence agency Mossad in Tel Aviv and claims that the attack penetrated several layers of air defenses.

In today’s attack, we used missiles that could not be tracked or shot down, said Iranian Brigadier General Reza Talaei-Nik, according to the Iranian state news agency IRNA.

He described the operation as a surprise for the Israelis and warned that they would see more.

Earlier today, Iran said its missile strikes hit a military intelligence center and an operations planning center for Mossad located in the capital Tel Aviv. Images show a column of smoke at what is believed to be the site.

Talaei-Nik added that Israel is not prepared for a prolonged conflict.

– The Zionist regime cannot withstand a long war, he said, adding that Iran’s military has been equipped with advanced systems, some of which “have not even been put into use yet.”

At the same time, the Israeli military has introduced new strict censorship guidelines that severely restrict local media from reporting on missile and drone attacks on Israeli territory, which is believed to be a way of concealing Iran’s actual capacity to strike back and give the appearance of military superiority.

Russia: Kiev and London planning false flag attacks

The war in Ukraine

Published 17 June 2025
– By Editorial Staff
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer with Volodymyr Zelensky.
2 minute read

The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) accuses Ukraine and the UK of jointly planning sabotage operations and false flag attacks with the aim of escalating the Ukraine conflict and making continued dialogue between Moscow and Washington impossible.

In a statement on Monday, the SVR claimed that Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) and Military Intelligence (GUR) are increasingly coordinating their efforts with British intelligence, as a result of what the SVR describes as Kiev’s “mounting battlefield setbacks and deepening moral exhaustion”.

According to the SVR, these sabotage operations and false flag attacks follow a recurring pattern, with the UK responsible for planning and coordination while Ukrainian agents carry out the attacks. The agency pointed to the railway sabotage in Russia’s Bryansk and Kursk regions, which Moscow describes as Ukrainian terrorist attacks, as well as drone attacks on Russian air bases on June 1, as examples of this tactic.

The intelligence service is now warning that the “Anglo-Ukrainian terrorist tandem” is preparing more false flag attacks. The aim is said to be to escalate the conflict, sabotage the dialogue between Moscow and Washington, and influence the US to continue its military support for Kiev.

Planted sea mines and torpedoes

One scenario described is an attack in which a Russian torpedo attack on a US Navy ship in the Baltic Sea is staged. According to the SVR, Ukraine has already delivered Soviet-made torpedoes to the UK. Some of these are intended to detonate at a safe distance, while one is to be left undetonated “as evidence of Moscow’s malicious activity”.

The SVR also points to a possible scenario in which British, Ukrainian, and Northern European actors plan to “accidentally” find Russian sea mines in the Baltic Sea in order to claim that Russia is trying to sabotage international shipping – another type of false flag attack.

“Kiev has become the perfect executor of vile provocations and terrorist acts for perfidious Albion (England)”, the SVR concluded.

The head of intelligence, Sergei Naryshkin, has previously warned of similar British attacks and says that Russian intelligence is well aware of London’s covert hostile activities against Russia.

Israel tightens media censorship after Iranian attacks

The escalation in the Middle East

Published 17 June 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Military censorship has tightened under Netanyahu's leadership.
2 minute read

The Israeli military has introduced new strict censorship guidelines that severely restrict local media from reporting on missile and drone attacks on Israeli territory.

In a circular titled “Rising Lion – IDF Censor Guidelines for Media Coverage of Attack on the Israeli Home Front”, Israel’s chief censor, Brigadier General Kobi Mandelblit, orders editors to take “strict measures” when reporting on missile and drone attacks.

The document warns that details about attack positions, air defense operations, or damage assessments could “assist the enemy” and constitute “a tangible threat to state security”.

According to the directive, media outlets are now prohibited from:

• filming or broadcasting images from impact sites, particularly near military installations

• use drones or wide-angle cameras in impact areas

• reveal the exact addresses of affected areas near security installations

• broadcast images of defense missiles being launched or missiles being shot down.

The directive also prohibits the sharing of videos from social media without prior censorship, with warnings that some images may be “enemy-generated fake news”.

Risk of exposing weaknesses

The new censorship rules are being introduced after a wave of real-time reporting on Israeli attacks inside Iran. In recent days, Iranian and international channels – including Al Jazeera and several social media profiles – have broadcast live images of attacks on Israeli targets, particularly the missile attack on the port of Haifa.

There is now concern within the Israeli military that similar live broadcasts at home could reveal weaknesses in Israel’s defenses.

The tightened media controls follow Iran’s missile attack on Sunday against Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science, a research center linked to advanced military technology, including artificial intelligence, drone warfare, and nuclear research. Iran considers the attack retaliation for Israeli strikes against its nuclear and military infrastructure.

Israel’s censorship measures have drawn criticism from several quarters, with analysts warning that the new rules could severely limit public access to information and make it more difficult to follow the conflict. This could make it much harder to assess the damage, defense measures, and the extent of the attacks.

At the same time, Israel’s military censorship has long been known to be very strict. Media outlets often have to have their material reviewed by the army’s censorship unit before it is allowed to be published, which has made it difficult to report on Israeli abuses in Gaza, among other things.

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