Donald Trump’s victorious campaign for the US presidency shocked the world, the seemingly sudden national prominence of white supremacists, xenophobes, militia leaders, and mysterious “alt-right” figures mystifies many. But the American extreme right has been growing steadily in number and influence since the 1990s with the rise of patriot militias. Following 9/11, conspiracy theorists found fresh life; and in virulent
Read moreHow do you say, aluminum? Go on, say it out loud. If you happen to be an American in Great Britain and say əˈlo͞omənəm you will have managed to cause any Brit in hearing range to contort their face into a disdainful grimace. And, more than likely, you’ll hear a WTF-style sigh. You may even receive a comment
Read moreReflective. Angry. Opinionated. Unpretentious. Confident. These are just some of the words I jotted down as I listened to, Construction Time & Demolition, Wreckless Eric’s new album. Eric Goulden has been making music since the 70’s when he first emerged on Stiff Records in 1977 with the brilliant, Whole Wide World. On his latest release, Eric makes it clear that these are
Read more“When the founders wrote, ‘We the People’ they really meant ‘We the White, Wealthy Men.’ Despite much lofty rhetoric, all men were not created equal and women didn’t count at all” You are just four pages in and Elaine Weiss makes clear her superb new book The Woman’s Hour has an unabashed bias, and, deservedly so. Weiss deftly traces The
Read moreYes, we’re approaching that day again, when restaurants giddily cram reservations into an already overbooked list and throw in a long-stemmed rose for the lady as a compensation for the inevitable wait for a table. Florists do more business in an hour than a regular month. Mountains of garishly adorned boxes of chocolates magically appear at supermarket checkouts. Sparkling wine
Read more