05 June 2006
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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
The secret state
Authoritarian and anti-western, Syria stands alongside Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas in defying US ambitions for the Middle East. But a UN report on the assassination of Rafiq Hariri, due out this month, could bring the regime to its knees. Patrick Seale on the linchpin to the battle for a region in turmoil
Features
Strange stuff happens
The New Statesman's event was one of the highlights of this year's Hay literary festival: Britain's leading political playwright, David Hare, took the stage with the NS editor, John Kampfner, for a conversation about Iraq and covert censorship
False dawn for democracy
Syria - It was hoped that a new, young leader would end a paranoid reliance on the secret service. The evidence, however, suggests it's as active as ever. Nicholas Blanford reports
What lies beneath
Syria - A conservative culture has produced some of the world's most explicit - and bizarre - lingerie, as Malu Halasa discovers
Big brother no more
Syria - As repressive abroad as it is at home, its bullying tactics have done little to endear it to neighbouring countries. But its aggression stems from a troubling sense of its own weakness
Imaginary friends
The Syrians agree with the Israelis on one thing - there is no such place as Palestine
Who's who
Syria's top ten political power-brokers. Research
Building castles in the air
The oil is running out and corruption is rife, but Syria's new financial wizard is confident he can liberalise the country's creaking socialist economy
The many and the happy few
Syria - Politically repressive, the minority Alawite rulers have encouraged a surprising religious tolerance
Interview
NS interview - Anne Owers
The prisons inspector warned ministers long ago about the deportation crisis and now fears an explosion in our jails
Regulars
New Statesman Leader
Pity the men in uniform
British soldiers have been reduced to force protection, defending their own and making sorties on to the streets to collect their comrades' bodies
Ziauddin Sardar marvels at the brown sahibs
Brown sahibs love nothing better than to indulge their fancy for tearing each other apart with finger-licking glee
Lindsey Hilsum won't shoot the messenger
We do not shoot the messenger, but nor do we welcome those who risk their lives for the values we say we espouse
Mark Thomas does his strangest gig ever
Speaking for 50 minutes in front of a hundred arms dealers, on a boat in the Thames, has to be among my strangest gigs
Commons Confidential
Village life - Kevin Maguire eats chips with the Chancellor
Brownites ready to celebrate, Gordie eats chips, while shadowy Tory thwarts spooks
Competition
Win vouchers to spend in any Tesco store
Culture
Through the looking glass
The oriental roots of Mickey Mouse and Brer Rabbit are a well-kept secret. But for centuries animal fables have bridged the divide between east and west, finds Marina Warner
Good vibrations
New Music - A former Pogue is defying his critics to show the way forward for contemporary composers
Sea change
Visual art - Heather Ackroyd and Dan Harvey witnessed the Arctic's destruction . . . and found a new artistic direction
Radio
Radio - Rachel Cooke
No one with a brain would find Russell Brand funny. He is dumb and hateful, and must be stopped
Theatre
Theatre - Shock and awe
A lavish Danish Ring is often silly, occasionally sublime, writes Michael Portillo The Ring Cycle Copenhagen Opera House
Film
Into the darkness
Film - A meticulous 9/11 recreation is full of everyday horrors, writes Victoria Moore United 93 (15)
Television
Detective chic
Television - A French thriller brings style to a US series' gritty substance Spiral (BBC4)
Books
Tricks of the trade
The Thinking Fan's Guide to the World Cup Edited by Matt Weiland and Sean Wilsey Abacus, 399pp, £9.99 ISBN 0349119864 Calcio: a history of Italian football John Foot Fourth Estate, 565pp, £15 ISBN 0007175744 Football publishing is booming, but to write well about soccer it is not enough simply to love the game. You also have to appreciate its essential absurdity
Perfect storm
Under the Weather: us and the elements Tom Fort Century, 320pp, £14.99 ISBN 0099461242
The giant boy
Orson Welles: hello Americans Simon Callow Jonathan Cape, 507pp, £25 ISBN 0224038532
Hunger pangs
Bad Food Britain: how a nation ruined its appetite Joanna Blythman Fourth Estate, 318pp, £7.99 ISBN 0007219946
About a boy
Ollie: the true story of a brief and courageous life Stephen Venables Hutchinson, 390pp, £14.99 ISBN 0091800250 Daniel Isn't Talking Marti Leimbach Fourth Estate, 288pp, £10.99 ISBN 0007217005
Psychic scream
The Story of You Julie Myerson Jonathan Cape, 320pp, £14.99 ISBN 0224078011
Home alone
This Book Will Save Your Life A M Homes Granta Books, 352pp, £14.99 ISBN 1862078483
