18 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
Superpower swoop
What Russia and America are really doing in Georgia and who set the trap? Vladimir Putin and his thuggish FSB pals or Dick Cheney and his equally unflappable neocon friends?
Features
The fight for the soul of the party
The battle lines are now drawn between the two factions fighting for the Labour succession
'Youth violence is not about race'
We are failing miserably to provide Britain's teenage boys with meaningful occupations, worthy role models or hope for the future. David Lammy, minister for skills, on the crisis we must resolve
In east London – a model which could transform society
Alyssa McDonald visits a project where school leavers get a second chance
London underground
Nearly forty years ago, an explosion of surreally subversive magazines brought sex, drugs, gay liberation and feminism into the public eye - and the courtroom. What survived?
The plot against liberal America
In its pursuit of a free-market utopia, the US right tried to crush unions, the legal profession and all the pillars of the left. It will not stop there, warns Thomas Frank
Big-shed nation
They sit by the road, windowless and vast. But what are they for? Joe Moran on the warehouses, logistics and invisible networks that control our daily lives
Regulars
New Statesman Leader
A united Europe is the most effective way to deal with Russia
Europe has considerable “soft power”. Using it intelligently is the best way to defend Russia’s bullied former satellites
The Politics Column
The factions square up
There is, as ever within Labour, a third way, and this one seeks a return to the party's true values under its present leader
No fear of . . . death No 4040
According to the Guardian, Ed Stafford, a former army captain from Leicester, has advertised for a companion "for a 3,000-mile Amazon trek - must have own iPod". Other must-haves include "a GSOH" and "no fear of snakes or gun-toting guerrillas". We wanted adverts for companions involving activities that might need judicious wording in order to get some brave soul to sign up Set by John O'Byrne
Culture
Show of strength
The British Museum's summer exhibition demonstrates how the legacy of Hadrian's powerful empire permeates our everyday lives
A question of character
The deaths of four soldiers at Deepcut army barracks have inspired a compelling play in this year's Fringe. Brian Cathcart, who investigated the real-life cases, is intrigued to see himself brought to life on stage
Performance
Of love and hunger
Two inventive new productions showcase the best of Glyndebourne Hänsel und Gretel Love and Other Demons Glyndebourne
Film
Hancock's two and a half hours
A talented Russian creates suspense, but doesn't know what to do with it The Banishment (12A) dir: Andrey Zvyagintsev
Television
The feel of what's real
A drum'n'bass star saves this baton camp from being a dead loss Maestro BBC2
Radio
Gabfest special
Boycott et al were far from stumped for things to say during the rained-off cricket
Books
From war zones to the perils of Old Street
It's a shame that we never get to read headlines such as: "Essentially decent sort does his best, means no harm to anyone" - which is to say, stories about most people, in most places
Democracy versus the people
A new account of Haiti's recent history shows how the genuinely radical politics of Lavalas and its leader, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, proved too threatening to the country's wealthy elite and their foreign backers.
Rebranding Britain
The Kit-Cat Club: Friends Who Imagined a Nation Ophelia Field HarperPress, 544pp, £25
Game for a laugh
We Need To Talk About Kevin Keegan: a Bumper Book of Football Writing Giles Smith Penguin, 432pp, £7.99
Bulldozing Beijing
City of Heavenly Tranquillity: Beijing in the History of China Jasper Becker Allen Lane, 384pp, £22 The Last Days of Old Beijing Michael Meyer Walker & Company, 368pp, £20
Observations
Unearthing the past
The most recent wave of death threats came via email, after the publications of an article about a Spanish judge hearing testimonies in a genocide case
