19 December 2005
Become a subscriber and save £££
Subscribe to the New Statesman for just £87 and receive a free gift.
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
Features
Torture's tipping point
Eighteen months after Stephen Grey first described "extraordinary rendition" in these pages, he reflects on why the world finally woke to the story and adds a warning
Asylum betrayed
The Home Office asylum system is corrupt, with applications prejudged and lawyers prevented from properly representing their clients. By Peter Tatchell
When is a wedding not a wedding?
Patrick Gale explains why he is looking forward to calling his partner "my husband"
The 2005 Hindsight Quiz
An unbelievable year - and what have we learned? Be wise after the event with our fun festive quiz. Readers who send us the correct answers have the chance to win a magnum of champagne
Exit from the Holy Land
NS Christmas - Many in Bethlehem hoped that as the intifada eased, the collapse in their economy would end. That optimism has vanished with the tourists, and locals are once more leaving in droves
If your tree could talk . . . What would it say about you? Joe Moran on the great annual fir-versus-fake needle match
NS Christmas - If your tree could talk . . . What would it say about you? Joe Moran on the great annual fir-versus-fake needle match
The homeless deserve new books, too
You wouldn't give a friend a second-hand gift, so why a stranger in need?
Panto is cool like King Lear is comedy
NS Christmas - Simon Callow and Sir Ian McKellen may be having fun, but Viv Groskop still reckons it's all pants
Oh no! It's Christmas!
NS Christmas - Santa Claus, the Queen's Speech - what's so great about it all, anyway? The Is It Just Me Or Is Everything Shit? authors Steve Lowe and Alan McArthur offer their guide to everything rubbish about the festive season
'Tis the season to be cosy
NS Christmas - And at Christmas, no one does cosy better than the Brits. Andrew Martin pulls up a fireside chair
Who's ripe for eviction?
When Charles Saatchi was turfed out of County Hall in October, his notorious collection was left homeless. We asked leading arts figures to show others the door. . .
Essay
NS Essay - 'It's noticeable how little historical perspective and sweep many MPs have, particularly when discussing something big such as Iraq'
History may be fashionable on television and in the bookshops, but our politicians understand it less and less, and are making grave mistakes as a result. By Greg Neale
NS Christmas Essay - 'Scholars are only now beginning to realise the extent to which the Mughal emperors adopted what most would assume to be outrightly Christian devotions'
In the year that Islamist terrorism finally reached London, it is important to emphasise that Christianity and Islam are not nearly so far apart as both Bin Laden and the neo-cons would like us to believe
Regulars
The politics review of the year - Martin Bright
Only dedicated conspiracy theorists believed the threat was invented by the intelligence services, but many in Whitehall were convinced this was the liberal consensus
Ziauddin Sardar justifies his radical haircut
"These awful dreadlocks are a sure give-away," the girl said. That was it. The next morning I went to the barber
Mark Thomas says f**k c*ns*rsh*p
When it comes to freedom of speech we are prepared to defend only those threatened ideas that we agree with
Lindsey Hilsum speaks up for the faithless
The God-free are becoming an oppressed minority. With the abolition of our own circle of hell, we have nowhere to go
Darcus Howe predicts the rise of an Islamic party
There will be more suicide bombers, and I won't be surprised if an Islamic political party emerges
Commons Confidential
Kevin Maguire's village feast
A year of name-calling, backstabbing and plots: business as usual in the den of iniquity
In the line of duty
Theatre 2005 - Michael Portillofinds a few gems among the endless brown-bread productions
Shane Watson has some tips on party faux pas
NS Christmas - Shane Watson on crucial dos and don'ts for Christmas parties
Roger Scruton creates a perfect fish soup
NS Christmas - Roger Scruton reveals his recipe for fish soup
Competition
Win vouchers to spend at any Tesco store
Culture
Life through the lens
Films have never just been about entertainment - they have also been a powerful force for social change. So what a pity that the gulf between cinema and politics has never been greater
Independence day
Film 2005 - David Thomson reports from America on a year when quality cinema finally became mainstream
A taste of Patagonia
NS Christmas - Stephen Brasher, the NS's resident baker, cooks up a Patagonian treat
Television
Pearls and swine
Television 2005 - Andrew Billen wonders why none of the best stuff gets shown on the main channels
Radio
The new wave
Radio 2005 - Rachel Cooke explains why, when it comes to rolling news, it's better to listen than watch
The Fan
This time, maybe this time
2006 - world cup : Hunter Davies was there in '66. Now, eagerly if warily, he's plumping up the sofa for another great World Cup
Books
The Art of Cooking and Serving
A short story
Mushrooms of freedom
An exclusive short story by Andrey Kurkov
The word on the street. The English language is continually evolving, as two new slang dictionaries prove. But the best place to learn the meaning of words such as "sketty", "yatty" and "baphead" is on any London bus at 8.30 in the morning
The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English Edited by Tom Dalzell and Terry Victor Routledge, 2189pp, £99 (to March 2006) ISBN 0415212588 Cassell's Dictionary of Slang Edited by Jonathon Green Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1565pp, £30 2005 Blogged: despatches from the blogosphere Edited by Tim Worstall The Friday Project, 272pp, £8.99
Book of the year. Matthew Engel gives a wary welcome to the newest member of the almanack club
Schott's Almanac 2006 Ben Schott Bloomsbury, 352pp, £15 ISBN 0747583072
Comic relief
Wendy Holden is made to laugh and cry by the pick of 2005's bog reads
A year in politics
As Blair's revolution limps into its final stage, writers are asking where it all went wrong
