12 June 2006

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

America's robot army

Already there are killing machines operating by remote control. Soon the machines will be able to kill on their own initiative. A new warfare is on its way

By Stephen Graham

Features

Where were you?

Five things you might have missed last week

China's love market

By Xiao Jia Gu

Traditions of arranged marriage and the old faith in communism are merging with consumer choice. This has brought romantic freedom - which comes with its own problems

Special report: Who cares about carers?

By Kira Cochrane

Rose Fernandez looks after her autistic daughter 24 hours a day. She and six million others save the NHS £57bn a year. Yet the carer's allowance is just £46.95 a week. Kira Cochrane on a national scandal

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Interview

Equality, croquet, Billy Bragg and me

By Martin Bright

There is no policy he is not willing to shed in order to win back voters. But is David Cameron's proclaimed shift to the centre ground genuine? Martin Bright and John Kampfner put the Conservative leader to the test

Regulars

New Statesman Leader

Leader - A new-look politics

The Politics Column

Morality and the business of power

By Martin Bright

At least one person involved in raising money for Labour may have made inappropriate approaches to potential lenders. Charges may be laid

Commons Confidential

The stamping of little feet

By Kevin Maguire

Back to the nursery No 3932

Set by Didier d’Argent: What happened to characters such as Jack and Jill or Georgie Porgie, once the nursery or nonsense rhymes finished? We asked you for those “missing verses”

Culture

A very modern icon

By George Galloway

Che Guevara represents what today's politicians conspicuously lack: idealism, self-sacrifice and a deep connection with young people. That's why his image is an enduring inspiration, writes George Galloway

Caribbean shaman

By Vivien Goldman

Vivien Goldman detects method in the madness of the legendary reggae artist Lee "Scratch" Perry

LA confidential

By Richard Cork

Richard Cork finds the seamy underbelly of Hollywood on display at the Pompidou Centre

Theatre

A night of severed limbs

By Rosie Millard

A dark and thrilling new production is Shakespeare for the Post-Tarantino age. By Rosie Millard Titus Andronicus Shakespeare's Globe, London SE1

Film

Ugly face of the beautiful game

By Ryan Gilbey

A quiet, profound Iranian comedy shows the World Cup in a new light. By Ryan Gilbey Offside (PG) dir: Jafar Panahi

Television

For youth, for Christ and for liberty

By Andrew Billen

America's bonkers Christian soldiers save a borderline-dull documentary, writes Andrew Billen God's Next Army Monday 5 June, 9pm, Channel 4

Radio

People . . . keep it fun-key

By Rachel Cooke

Bobby Gillespie's anti-Coldplay rant made brilliant radio

Books

Losing the plot

By Brendan O'Neill

Londonistan: how Britain is creating a terror state within Melanie Phillips Gibson Square Books, 304pp, £14.99 ISBN 1903933765 From Rushdie to 7/7: the radicalisation of Islam in Britain Anthony McRoy Social Affairs Unit, 255pp, £20 ISBN 1904863094 Claims that our civilisation is threatened by extremists are exaggerated. Atrocities such as 7/7 reflect the demise of political Islam, not its re-emergence. By Brendan O'Neill