In this week's magazine Syria: The west humiliated

• Columns

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    Laurie Penny on bigotry: Extremists chased through London by women dressed as badgers – that makes me proud

    But that feeling faded when I saw a drunk woman draped in a St George’s flag dragging an angry pitbull through the police line to scream, “I’m not racist!” in the faces of some bewildered Asian students

    By Laurie Penny

• Critics

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    If Shakespeare were alive today, he’d be writing TV dramas for HBO

    I remember my parents’ friends telling me that if Shakespeare had been alive in the 1960s, he’d have been a pop star. Now, it’s more likely he would be writing television dramas for HBO.

    By Ed Smith

• Backpages

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    Cosying up to the Five Guys of the apocalypse is bad for your health – just ask Obama

    Will Self's "Real Meals" column.

    By Will Self