Progressive culture since 1954
‘Trump’s foray into politics is a perpetual game, one that the Democrats falsely calculated they could bring to a close on their own terms. By prolonging the endless twists and turns of his narrative, they have served only to make US politics look emptier without him.
The spectre ofIslamogauchisme – or ‘Islamo-leftism’ – was evoked last month as the French government launched an inquiry targeting universities. Frederique Vidal, the Minister for Higher Education and Research, used the phrase when announcing a probe into the ‘influence’ of Islamo-leftism and postcolonialism in higher education, and again when defending it against the salvo of criticism it subsequently received. After a group of 600 university professors called for her resignation, Vidal insisted that – while Islamogauchisme may not have a ‘scientific definition’ – it corresponds to a wider ‘feeling’ in the general public.
A car rushing to the hospital over an eight-lane bridge, the sky cloudy and cobblestoned in the glow of a full yellow moon. The sheen of a body floundering with pain. The eyes of midwives visible behind personal protective equipment – precautionary protocol because the woman is suspected of carrying the virus.
Phylia lifted her surgical face mask up from around her neck to cover her mouth and walked into reception to pay the bill. There were four people sitting in the waiting room spaced out with two seats between them. Theo sat next to a tall plant under spade-shaped leaves, chin down, eyes half-closed. His surgical face mask had slipped below his nose.
Close the windows. Pull down the curtains. Jam wet towels under the doors. Fill the sink and the bath. I’ve done everything Willow instructed me to over the phone but the room’s still foggy with smoke. I ignite my twentieth…