28 February 2005
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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
Cover story
Can free trade be fair trade?
Fair trade special - It's unfair when poor countries can't sell their goods here. It's also unfair that, when they do, low prices depend on sweated labour. Martin Vander Weyer tackles the confusing moral issues
Features
Hard times on the bench
With one in four magistrates' courts shut down, justice is rotting at the foundations, reports Edward Howker
Regulars
The Politics Column
Politics - Richard Reeves denounces Ruth Kelly's sell-out
The end of A-levels was a flagship policy for Labour's young modernisers. But Ruth Kelly has caved in to Blair, and the new kids on the block have failed their first real test
Darcus Howe explains why blacks won't vote
Right-wing attacks used to panic blacks into voting Labour. Now we just don't vote at all
Mark Thomas scoffs at a meaningless apology
Blair finally said "sorry" to some of the innocent prisoners released after years of being locked up, but if he meant it, he'd have offered money to look after their mental health
Michael Portillo - Happy ending
Opera - A revived production of Mozart that came close to perfection. By Michael Portillo Le Nozze di Figaro Metropolitan Opera, New York
Mark Kermode - Bacon and egg
A meaty treat satisfies much more than a scrambled satire. By Mark Kermode The Woodsman (15) Spanglish (12A)
Competition
Win vouchers to spend at any Tesco store
Culture
Meet Dave 'n' Sue
A once-vital source of news and personality, BBC Local Radio has turned into a blandly uniform comedy of joke e-mails and chit-chat. David Self wonders what went wrong
Unkind reviews
Encounter - Corin Redgrave takes no notice of the critics. Unless he's playing one. Aleks Sierz meets him
Relay race
Visual art - A stunning triple bill at Tate Britain has Richard Cork marvelling at the mastery of Claude Monet
Television
Andrew Billen - Common problem
Television - Julie Burchill stumbles on an age-old working-class dispute. By Andrew Billen Chavs (Sky 1)
The Fan
The fan - Hunter Davies gives away a £50 Arsenal ticket
It's your lucky day, I told him. I've got a spare ticket, only 50 quid
Books
Watch your tongue. Will English still be the lingua franca of business and the internet in 50 years? Helena Drysdale explains why even successful languages can quickly wither away
Empires of the Word: a language history of the world Nicholas Ostler HarperCollins, 615pp, £30 ISBN 0007118708
American beauty
The Whole Equation: a history of Hollywood David Thomson Little, Brown, 433pp, £22.50 ISBN 0316848603
State of the union
Why Europe Will Run the 21st Century Mark Leonard Fourth Estate, 170pp, £8.99 ISBN 0007195311 The Missing Heart of Europe Thomas Kremer The June Press, 254pp, £11.99
The power of love
Date Expectations: one man's voyage through the lonely hearts Paul Reizin Bantam Press, 302pp, £10.99 ISBN 0593052714
Back to basics
One Out of Ten Peter Hyman Vintage, 392pp, £7.99 ISBN 0099477475
Fiction - Deadly currents
Rapids Tim Parks Secker & Warburg, 240pp, £12.99 ISBN 0436205858
