11 August 2008
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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 new spies
When the Cold War ended, it didn't spell curtains for the secret agent. Private espionage is a booming industry and environmental protest groups are its prime target
Features
The fight for a living wage
Campaigns for fair pay are fast gaining strength, attracting the kind of supporters Labour should be wooing
Danger to the nation?
Two years ago, the FBI added a religious eccentric to its list of America's top criminals. The hypocritical frenzy unleashed against his community recalls the dark excesses of the 1950s
Brand me!
From Michelle Obama and David Miliband to top athletes and business people, successful 21st-century figures appear to have the knack of branding themselves. Should we be following their lead?
Regulars
The Politics Column
Why Prudence needs Justice
Labour could again become the party of justice, but not while inequality is on the increase and social mobility stalled
Too soon to celebrate Alzheimer's drug
There is no standard procedure for helping those with dementia; it is largely a case of families fighting the corner for their loved one
You talk s***, Mervyn
Gordon Brown is a self-confessed fan of Ian Rankin and Raymond Chandler. So we asked you to send in excerpts from these authors, with Gordon as a hardbitten Rebus- or Marlowe-type figure dealing with the vicissitudes of being Prime Minister Set by Gavin Ross
Culture
Lucky man
Clint Eastwood is acclaimed for his work as both an actor and a director, but the Hollywood star owes everything to the genius of his mentor Sergio Leone
Performance
Behind the staffroom door
Themes of platonic and unrequited love keep a flawed revival relevant Under the Blue Sky Duke of York's, London WC2
Film
Shallow, botched, insidious
Brazil's new hit has a reactionary message, leavened only by its incompetence Elite Squad (18) dir: José Padilha
Television
A very public act of charity
There's something suspect about this reality show that promotes giving The Secret Millionaire Channel 4
Books
Capitalism's woes
The neoliberal world economy is in crisis: inflation rising, banks collapsing, the financial system in turmoil. What was the cause? And is there a cure?
Wearisome familiarity
The Sixties Unplugged: a Kaleidoscopic History of a Disorderly Decade Gerard DeGroot Macmillan, 528pp, £20
PR scum are human, too
The Fame Formula: How Hollywood's Fixers, Fakers and Star Makers Created the Celebrity Industry Mark Borkowski Sidgwick & Jackson, 391pp, £16.99
Frailty in Sarajevo
The Lazarus Project Aleksandar Hemon Picador, 292pp, £14.99 The Cellist of Sarajevo Steven Galloway Atlantic Books, 278pp, £12.99
