12 April 2004

From the Editor…

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Cover story

Is fascism behind the terror?

Islamist extremists believe in a worldwide conspiracy not just of Jews, but also of Freemasons. They thus echo the rantings of Europe's extreme right in the 19th and 20th centuries

Features

When men have lost their reason

Is the war on terrorism working? A scientific analysis suggests that it is not and that it has succeeded only in keeping us scared and compliant

Grade expectations at the BBC

Auntie's new chairman may be very popular, but he won't be able to choose the next director general

This man has been called Zimbabwe's Che Guevara. Did Mugabe have him murdered?

In a divided land, Josiah Tongogara is a hero claimed by both sides. Mark Olden traces an inspirational life and mysterious death

Panic on the beaches

Fears that the Maori own New Zealand's seashore by law have rocked the Labour government

Essay

NS Essay - Babies have now to be trained in the Protestant work ethic

As parents claim the credit if their child succeeds and professionals say there's something wrong with the family if the kids do badly, Suzanne Moore explores the implications of not trusting children to exercise free will

Regulars

Iraq: how to move on

Diary - Marcelle d'Argy Smith

I love the way the English who are anti-Europe say, "I've nothing against the French. I'm off there on holiday." They're like men who visit brothels insisting they really like women. By Marcelle d'Argy Smith

Politics - John Kampfner learns of Tony Blair's nightmare

Terrorism, race and asylum have combined to become the most potent mix in modern politics. But Blair cannot, even if he wanted to, pull up the drawbridge

Mark Thomas starts his own think-tank

My new think-tank will cure voter apathy: we will offer prizes and air miles and allow you to swap your vote here for one in America, so you can have a say in British foreign policy

Darcus Howe thinks multiculturalism is a white term

Multiculturalism? The term was foisted on us by bureaucrats of the British state

Competition

Win vouchers to spend at any Tesco store

Arts & Culture

Back to the future

The 1960s architectural collective Archigram had a vision of transforming Britain's drab postwar landscape into a technological wonderland, but it never actually built anything. Thanks to retro-chic, its ideas are now enjoying a revival

The eternal woman

Opera - Peter Conrad marvels at the many incarnations of the divine Renee Fleming

Surveillance culture

Art - Richard Cork is unsettled by the bleak reflection of our times at "Beck's Futures"

Michael Portillo - Secrets and lies

Theatre - A superb domestic drama takes us to the depths of depravity

Festen
Almeida Theatre, London N1

Mark Kermode - Video nasty

Film - A documentary of a family so dysfunctional you wouldn't believe it if it weren't true

Capturing the Friedmans (15)

Andrew Billen - The failed fascist

Television - An unexpectedly fascinating portrait of a far-right bully

England Expects (BBC1)

Drink - Roger Scruton finds wines worthy of Horace

When the Italian red appeared, even my students started quoting Horace

The fan - Hunter Davies thinks he may stay at home

If you support an unsuccessful team, at least the parking's easier

Books

Back in the USA

The Beatles Come to America
Martin Goldsmith John Wiley, 196pp, £13.50
ISBN 0471469645

Mind tricks

Opening Skinner's Box: great psychological experiments of the 20th century
Lauren Slater Bloomsbury, 276pp, £16.99
ISBN 0747563179

Letter from a lost world

Scouting for Boys
Robert Baden-Powell Oxford University Press, 382pp, £12.99
ISBN 0192805479

Fiction - A golden age

The Line of Beauty
Alan Hollinghurst Picador, 616pp, £16.99
ISBN 033048320X

Fiction - Boy trouble

Bad Influence
William Sutcliffe Hamish Hamilton, 163pp, £10
ISBN 0241141400

Observations

Back on the road to Aldermaston

Observations on CND

Exposed by his sandwich

Observations on Blair and food

They bark but never bite

Observations on Labour rebellions

A fabric fit for a Chancellor?

Observations on fashion

How we cruelly lobotomise cats

Observations on animal rights (viewpoint 1)

Goodbye to the fun of the circus

Observations on animal rights (viewpoint 2)

Tiananmen Square

20 years on

Desperately seeking democracy

Nina Power

Newspeak's legacy

Bamboozle, baffle and blindside

Television

Simon Schama

Simplistic Simon says: “Look at me, everyone!”

Theatre

Liberal guilt

Watch out for the bleeding-heart liberal

Vernon Bogdanor

Worse than Profumo

End of the party

Nicky Wire

The way I see it

Nicky Wire: The way I see it

Vote!

Will China rule the world?

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