ContentsContentsContentsContents the week Leading article
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Portrait of the Week
Diary Susan Hill
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9
Politics Irwin Stelzer 10 The Spectator’s Notes 11 Mind your language 18 Dave Michael Heath 22 Letters 25 Another voice Matthew Parris 26 Any other business Martin Vander Weyer 29 Ancient & modern 54
Cameron calls it quits Con Coughlin He has no stomach for the war in Afghanistan
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Karzai’s double game Ahmed Rashid
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The cruel killing of Ekram Haque Rod Liddle Why can’t we admit that his murderers were racist? 14
Burkas infringe my liberty Carol Sarler Talking face-to-face is a basic human right
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Because she’s worth it Patrick Marnham The scandalous squabble over the L’Oréal heiress’s fortune 18
Dressing down Harry Mount Why are Englishmen such slobs in summertime?
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Take the thumbscrews off the banks John Redwood People and companies must be able to borrow again 22
Arts
Freddy Gray talks to the ventriloquist Nina Conti 38 Exhibitions: Summer round-up Andrew Lambirth 39 Theatre: Spur of the Moment; The Beauty Queen of Leenane; Henry IV Part 2 Lloyd Evans 40 Opera: La traviata; Jette Parker Young Artists Summer Performance Michael Tanner 41 Cinema: Beautiful Kate Deborah Ross 42 Television Simon Hoggart 43 Radio Kate Chisholm 44
Books Philip Hensher: The Collected Stories, by Lydia Davis 31 Lydia Davis: ‘My neighbors in a foreign place’: a short story 32 Chris Patten: The General, by Jonathan Fenby 33 Patrick Skene Catling: Matterhorn, by Karl Malantes 35 Anne Chisholm: In Office Hours, by Lucy Kellaway; I Think I Love You, by Allison Pearson 35 Philip Ziegler: Attlee, by Nicklaus Thomas-Symonds 36 Benji Moorehead: A Last English Summer, by Duncan Hamilton 37 Rebecca K. Morrison: ‘But the World’: a poem 37
‘Drunk? I’ll tell you how drunk you were — you added
Channel Five to your media empire!’
Cover by Simon Farr. Drawings by Michael Heath, Castro, Rob Murray, Cookson, Nick Downes, Tim Bales, Z, Grizelda, RGJ, Adam Singleton and Bernie.
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Vol 313; no 9492 © The Spectator (1828) Ltd. ISSN 0038-6952
The Spectator is published weekly by The Spectator (1828) Ltd at: 22 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9HP Editor: Fraser Nelson
Life
High life
Taki
Low life Jeremy Clarke
Wild life Aidan Hartley
Real life Melissa Kite
Bridge Janet de Botton
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And finALLy . . .
Chess Raymond Keene
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Competition; Crossword 50, 51 Status anxiety Toby Young 54 The Wiki Man Rory Sutherland 55 Your problems solved Mary Killen 55
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THE SPECTATOR 31 July 2010 5