Note
Pieces
OP-ED/NOTE: field notes on Yaroslavl and Saratov
The Yaroslavl refinery was struck directly in late March 2026, followed by a fire, according to CNN on March 28, 2026. The regional governor…
OP-ED/NOTE: Fire Point and Luch, a strategic read on Ukraine's industry
Two names keep coming up in coverage of Ukraine's defense industry in 2026: Fire Point and Luch. The first keeps making spectacular announcements about…
OP-ED/NOTE: Yaroslavl and Saratov, the map of refineries under fire
Two Russian refineries, separated by several hundred kilometers, hit within days of each other. At Yaroslavl, a direct hit sparked a fire in late…
OPINION: JNIM expands its grip on Mali despite military setbacks
On July 4, 2026, fighters from JNIM — the Sahelian branch of al-Qaeda — and their Tuareg allies from the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA)…
OPINION: North Korea Tests "Strike Packages" to Jam Detection
On June 25, 2026, the anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, North Korea conducted a series of weapons tests under…
OPINION: Iran was already targeting tankers before the July 8 strikes
Before the United States struck more than 80 Iranian targets on July 8, 2026, something else happened. A fact too often relegated to a…
OPINION: Trump Buries the Iran Ceasefire and Reopens Pandora's Box
On July 8, 2026, on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Donald Trump delivered a line that instantly redrew the map of…
Basketball was invented in one hour using two peach baskets
In December 1891, in Springfield, Massachusetts, Canadian physical education teacher James Naismith faced a very concrete problem: keeping a class of restless
The youngest Olympic champion in history was just 10 years old
In April 1896, the very first edition of the modern Olympic Games took place in Athens, Greece, in an atmosphere that was