This Week's Magazine
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From the Editor…
6 July 2009
Welcome to the New Statesman website. Whether you are a new reader or an existing one - online or via the magazine - I hope you'll enjoy the great writing, fresh ideas and provocative debate that make the New Statesman Britain's award-winning current affairs weekly
From this week, here is a selection of my favourites…
- What a shambles By Ken Livingstone
- ‘‘I’m not Nelson Mandela’’ By Sophie Elmhirst
- An embarrassment of Etonians By Gideon Donald
Features
What lies beneath
If Sarkozy banned the burqa, he himself would be oppressing the women who wear it. Making something invisible does not make it go away
The cutting edge
The endless reports of cabinet infighting ignore the close “inner circle” of Mandelson, Balls and Brown – and how busy all three are, sharpening their swords for the final battle.
The empire strikes back
On the eve of an eagerly awaited Ashes series, Peter Wilby reveals how the forces of globalisation are killing off the old game of cricket and predicts that the future belongs to India
Crying out for justice
As the latest inquiry into Israel’s war on Gaza hears the harrowing testimonies of Palestinian survivors, Edward Platt exposes the obstacles in the way of truth and a fair trial
Seeking salvation
Through the sins of arrogance and greed, the banks nearly destroyed the world economic system, argues Stephen Green, chairman of HSBC and an ordained priest. What the market needs now is more morals
Blame it on the good times
Michael Jackson’s genius lay in transmuting black pop music into a global form. His tragedy was that he forgot what made him great.
‘‘If you got elected to Westminster, what would your husband do for sex during the week?’’
With Caroline Flint feeling like window dressing, and few women left in cabinet, Labour stands accused of discrimination. Alyssa McDonald investigates
Pin the blame on them
An exhibition of medals designed to dishonour their recipients shows that our current climate of indignation is part of a rich tradition of scorn and shame.
Mama said knock you out
In 1979, Margaret Thatcher became prime minister – and a rap record was a hit for the first time. Mark Fisher reflects on how for three decades hip-hop has provided the perfect soundtrack to the brutality of the neoliberal world-view
In touch with the elements
Primal patterns of a seemingly chaotic world come to the surface in sculpture
Essay
Put a little spice in your box
Viagra can now be bought over the counter at Boots. But hold on – look east and you will find far better, natural remedies for “exhausted passion”. Ziauddin Sardar offers a user’s guide
Regulars
New Statesman Leader
We hate to say it, but there is a third way
The left should show that it too, can be thrifty in straitened times. But that doesn't mean timidly accepting the smaller-state proposals of the Tories
First Thoughts
I need a cashpoint coach
. . . on how the media and EastEnders went local and loco over Jacko.
Politics
A fresh approach?
Could a mixture of tax rises and spending cuts, public service reform and constituonal change be a winning strategy?
Commons Confidential
The latest whispers from Westminster
World Citizen
A sense of an ending
Washington must cut the umbilical cords that ties it to Tel Aviv. If it doesn’t, the conflict in the Middle East will hasten American decline
Film
Public Enemies (15)
Dazzling visuals can’t disguise a lack of character in this 1930s crime flick
Television
Revelations: How to Find God
Jon Ronson rather breezed through his sojourn among the spiritually eager
Radio
He’s just not that into you, Miss Eyre
How would the great romances of literature have fared in the self-help era?
Travels
Nothing is as it seems
The new Magritte Museum gives William Cook a fresh perspective on Brussels, the capital of surrealism
Books
My Father's Tears and Other Stories
Leo Robson, our lead fiction reviewer, argues that a posthumous collection of short stories is proof that John Updike’s best years were long behind him by the time he died
