08 March 2004

From the Editor…

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

Jason Cowley, Editor, New Statesman

Cover story

Bush or Kerry? No difference

The man who, after Super Tuesday, is all but certain to become the Democrats' candidate for president is as dedicated as any Republican to the American empire

By John Pilger

Features

War and the law: the inside story

By John Kampfner

The Attorney General's legal case for invading Iraq last year looks ever more flimsy. Our political editor, John Kampfner, uncovers the truth about an issue that just won't go away

The sweet scent of carbon monoxide

By Charlie Lee-Potter

Tony Blair once admitted to Charlie Lee-Potter that he longed to move to the countryside, but Cherie wouldn't have it. Which makes them a typical couple. It's men who long for meadows; women prefer tarmac

A cat fight at breakfast

By Sarah Montague

Sarah Montague's position as successor to Sue MacGregor on Radio 4's Today programme seemed assured - until she went on maternity leave. David Cox reports

Turn to the lawyers for justice

By Stephen Grey

Stephen Grey argues that when governments are so feeble, unions so weak and corporations so powerful, we should welcome the "compensation culture"

Untagged, unhoused - for want of a National Insurance number

By Peter Wayne

Peter Wayne, a classic recidivist, finds even the Data Protection Act against him as he struggles to persuade bureaucracy to help him start a life outside prison

Essay

NS Essay - 'The Tories will briefly return to power in 2010, but after that it will be Labour's century'

By Richard Reeves

The Blair-Brown style, with its notorious control-freakery, is the result of too long in opposition. If the next generation opts for liberal socialism, the party can expect years in office

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New Statesman Leader

The truth about Haiti

Darcus Howe recalls his first visit to Haiti

By Darcus Howe

In Haiti, the other Caribbean governments see a reflection of where they are all headed

Competition

Win vouchers to spend at any Tesco store

Culture

Give the girl a break

By Amy Jenkins

The white-collar revolution gave genteel, educated women the chance to work. But far from leading to glorious emancipation, the typewriter, predatory bosses and prejudice produced boredom and exploitation

Switched on

By Peter York

Design - Peter York is dazzled by a show of modern lighting that you can't buy in Bhs

Comic appeal

By Richard Cork

Art - Richard Cork finds much to admire in Lichtenstein's brazenly trashy aesthetic

Theatre

Michael Portillo - Centre stage

By Michael Portillo

Theatre - New Labour's ex-spin-doctor pulls his punches - for once, writes Michael Portillo An Audience with Alastair Campbell Royal Festival Hall, London SE1

Film

Mark Kermode - Hits and misses

By Mark Kermode

Film - A bold metaphysical thriller, a charmless British comedy and a lousy "feel-good" movie 21 Grams (18), Suzie Gold (15), Uptown Girls (12A)

Television

Andrew Billen - The French connection

By Andrew Billen

Television - A first-class documentary about immigration finally gets an airing by Andrew Billen Calais: the last border (BBC2)

The Fan

The fan - Hunter Davies

By Hunter Davies

If fans can be breathalysed at matches, what about those of us at home? Asks Hunter Davies

Books

The flower of New Amsterdam. What made New York the vibrant, liberal place it is today - and the epitome of western arrogance and greed? It wasn't the English influence but the city's brief, often overlooked period as a Dutch colony that gave Manhattan its eclectic soul

By Jan Morris

The Island at the Centre of the World: the untold story of Dutch Manhattan and the founding of New York Russell Shorto Doubleday, 432pp, £18.99 ISBN 038560324X