30 July 2007
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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
Brown v Cameron. Game over?
The new Prime Minister has survived his first floods and his first terrorist threat while his Conservative adversary has floundered - all in a month.
Features
The lost tribe
Over at Tory HQ the mood is dire. After the Ealing fiasco, party members are asking if any of the Cameron strategy is working.
Schools need to be fair, not free
Gordon Brown may have handled the transition to No 10 with extraordinary success but trouble may lie ahead for the PM as he faces unfamiliar challenges.
A shaky start: more prudence required
Within two weeks the new cabinet has managed to antagonise both Washington and Moscow
What’s really going on here
This is not "a poor summer". Britain has been experiencing its worst ever climate change event. We must recognise this and our own responsibility for the emerging crisis.
Time out with Nick Cohen
Why Kate Barker, the bogey woman, who wants to build over the green belt might just create a country worth living in
"It never happened..."
Concealed during the Alan Johnston kidnap crisis was the fate of a Palestinian cameraman shot by the Israelis. The BBC, desperate to deny charges of "bias", refused to follow the story.
The end of risk
Swaths of regulation and an industry of "fear entrepreneurs" have fuelled a climate of timidity about the dangers of everyday life.
Regulars
Londongrad - a problem of Britain's making
The relationship between the Kremlin and London is perhaps the most complex of all, as the new hyper-capitalist Russia seeks to assert itself on the world stage
I think, therefore I am No 3988
Set by Corvus Maximus Paddy Ashdown quoted Wittgenstein when being asked to explain why he wouldn't be working for Gordon Brown ("Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent"). We asked you to come up with philosophy used by other celebrities or politicians
Culture
Rocking the world
Heavy metal was born in the West Midlands, and has developed a global following matched only in hip-hop. It's time to stop sneering and celebrate this proud cultural heritage.
Comeback kids
The Bolshoi Ballet has risen again, leaving behind dark days of corruption and intrigue.
The way I see it
The way I see it: Htein Lin
Htein Lin is a Burmese artist. He was accused by the Myanmar military government of planning opposition protests and imprisoned from 1998-2004. A show of the work he produced in prison, “Burma Inside Out”, is at Asia House, London W1, until 13 October. www.hteinlin.com
Theatre
Far from heavenly
Top fringe venue hits a wrong note with this simplistic mystery play The Great Theatre of the World Arcola, London E8
Film
Taking on the big screen? Doh!
The classic cartoon is transformed into a disappointingly mediocre film The Simpsons Movie (PG)dir: David Silverman
Television
A dose of reality
Stories of inequality in London prove that the BBC can still do documentaries The Tower BBC1
Radio
Cops and robbers
Mark Easton's gripping story of how crime has shot up since the 1950s The Crime of Our Lives Radio 4
Books
The wizard of us.
Harry's story has ended. But the last burst of Pottermania has revealed some uncomfortable truths about his adult readers.
Mind, body and spirit
Madrasah Life Mohammed Akram an-Nadwi Turath Publishing, 104pp, £7.95
Let's get medieval
All Shall Be Well; And All Shall Be Well; And All Manner of Things Shall Be Well Tod Wodicka Jonathan Cape, 266pp, £11.99
Immigrant stories
Andrew Hussey on Holland's struggles with multiculturalism
The stuff of dreams
Filming: a Love Story Tabish Khair Picador, 399pp, £16.99 ISBN 0330419226
Observations
Message to the military
The election results in Turkey are good news for that country, for Europe, even Nato, and particularly for devout, liberal Muslims everywhere, reports Ziauddin Sardar
