The Looking Glass

  Remembering the Holocaust: Why History Must Never Be Forgotten LOUIS OCQUIDANT L6 "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." This famous quote from Spanish philosopher George Santayana is one we have heard so many times that we ironically wish we could forget it. And yet we don’t in many academic circles: philosophy, theology, sociology, psychology, and history; we simply repeat it, fulfilling its prophecy. The event that is synonymous with this statement is the Holocaust, the mass industrialized eradication of 6 million Jewish men, women, and children at the hands of Nazi Germany and their collaborators. Pried from their homes. Kept as animals. Dying as people.  In March I had the privilege of participating in the Lessons From Auschwitz project, an educational experience organized by the Holocaust Educational Trust (HET). As the name suggests, this project centred around the extermination and labour camps of Auschwitz-Birkenau, modern-day Oświęcim, Po...

  What is going on in IRAQ …IRAN? In the early hours of Sunday morning (BST), US President Donald Trump announced to the world on social media that a series of US bomber strikes (namely B-2 bombers with the capacity to drop ‘bunker buster’ bombs that are capable of penetrating the underground Uranium enrichment site of Fordow) had taken place on three ‘key’ sites in Iran.  This is perhaps the defining moment of Trump's turbulent yet still youthful premiership.  Iran is  currently under the regime commanded by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (aged 86). The regime that operates in Iran is unquestionably unpopular with the Iranian populus as indicated in polls which suggest that up to 80% of people would support the overthrow of the regime though these are hard to verify given the strictly regulated nature of journalism in Iran. The Revolutionary Guard (founded in the aftermath of the Iranian revolution of 1978) operate the oppressive regime that is notorious for its lack of rig...

Hello and welcome to The Looking Glass, WBGS' very own Academic Blog.  This year we are planning to breathe new life into this amazing blog as the Academic Head Boy team for 2025- 2026! However, at the Looking Glass we need your help to catapult this blog into it's GOLDEN AGE.  We need your articles, your essays, your opinions and your finest work to MAKE THE LOOKING GLASS GREAT AGAIN! If you have read something interesting or watched something that sparked a thought on social media -  WRITE ABOUT IT! If you entered a competition, however big or small - WRITE ABOUT IT! If you are interested in a specific field, issue or period - WRITE ABOUT IT! If you have produced artwork, a piece of music or creative writing - WE WILL PUBLISH IT! Your creative skills have been called to action - now we must muster to create, discover and explore.  You are the creative minds of the future. The Plato's, the Newtons, the Angelo's, the Nietzsche's. This is your calling.  This is Y...

  Netflix:   A pandemic vogue or here to linger?  Over the past few years, most evidently during the pandemic when many of us bought subscriptions while at home, the streaming company Netflix has seen dramatic shifts in the nature of it's subscription services. However, after all these years of stratospheric increase, there are signs of a plateau in Netflix’s growth, as less people remain at home. A History of Netflix Although now a mega-streaming service, Netflix used to work with a different process in it's early days. Prior to their shift to streaming, the founders, Marc Randolph and Reed Hastings, ran the business by mailing up-and-coming DVDs of shows to their subscribers. It had the benefit over rival companies such as Blockbuster, as there were neither due dates, nor huge late fees, which made the prospect a more attractive one for people looking for a subscription. It came in at a cost of $19.95 a month, a hefty price, but one in which you could get access to unl...