Issue 111
June 2005
Contents
Cold war chess
19th June 2005 — Issue 111
The rise and fall of chess in the 20th century was intimately linked with the cold war and the Soviet Union's giant investment in the game. But deprived of the atmosphere of menace that characterised that era, chess has dissipated much of the capital it built up over more than a century
Catastrophe watch
19th June 2005 — Issue 111
Super-eruptions, asteroid impacts and cosmic winters—such cataclysmic events, known as gee-gees, are no longer science fiction. The tsunami has helped focus minds on the potential dangers. We must act now
Prejudice & evolution
19th June 2005 — Issue 111
If the forward march of women has slowed, it is partly because of new scientific claims that remaining sex inequality is grounded in human nature. Most of the theories do not bear close examination
Can we still believe in iconic buildings?
19th June 2005 — Issue 111
Norman Foster's "gherkin" in London, Frank Gehry's Bilbao Guggenheim - is this the age of the iconic building? Or are they just expressions of political and architectural vanity? Two leading critics debate.
Iraq's rebel democrats
19th June 2005 — Issue 111
Muqtada al-Sadr's populist Shia rebels, who last year battled with US forces in Najaf, are now deeply involved in politics. They provide a case study of a rebel movement tentatively embracing democracy
Dilemma in the dock
19th June 2005 — Issue 111
It is my first case. I am defending two young men accused of assault. Suddenly their interests diverge. What do I do?
Democracy of believers
19th June 2005 — Issue 111
Iraq should look to Israel for a model that combines democracy and religious belief
No more uranium
19th June 2005 — Issue 111
There is not enough uranium on the planet for a large-scale global nuclear industry
Locusts out
19th June 2005 — Issue 111
Germany is rightly worried that its model is being undermined by foreign investors
The blind voter
19th June 2005 — Issue 111
The case for electoral reform is stronger than ever. But it's still hard to see it happening
A bitter consensus
19th June 2005 — Issue 111
Because the violence is over, Northern Irish voters feel free to back the hardliners
The clank of Irish bones
19th June 2005 — Issue 111
John Banville ignores the skeleton cupboard of Irish literature, preferring art and style to the nightmare of history. And that also makes him Irish
A mortal nation too
19th June 2005 — Issue 111
An inability to listen to others is common to the nationalism of small countries with troubled histories—like Israel. So why is it also true of the US?
Evolutionary economics
19th June 2005 — Issue 111
By viewing economics as a cousin of biology, it is easier to see how small causes can have big effects and to grasp the limits of human knowledge
Blair's slaggy prolespeak
19th June 2005 — Issue 111
Piers Morgan, former editor of the main popular paper of the left, regards politics and life as showbiz. And the politicians let him get away with it
Private view
19th June 2005 — Issue 111
The Belgian artist Wim Delvoye has created a machine that turns shit into art. He also tattoos pigs on a farm in China and sells the hides. Now he has tattooed me
Musical notes
19th June 2005 — Issue 111
If you think that secularism is the only antidote to Islamic fundamentalism, you should hear the Sufi music of Abida Parveen, Pakistan's Nina Simone
Festival forecast
19th June 2005 — Issue 111
Peter Maxwell Davies launched the St Magnus festival on a shoestring 28 years ago. How did the Orkneys shape one of Europe's most remarkable musical events?
Smallscreen
19th June 2005 — Issue 111
Marr and Neil were exemplary; Paxman, Wark and Snow were insufferable. Overall, the TV election was won by purveyors of self-important obfuscation
Cake
19th June 2005 — Issue 111
In a parallel Westminster, my ex-lover Connie Male is grooming herself for power…
Out of mind
19th June 2005 — Issue 111
Music is not mere "auditory cheesecake"—it tunes the engines of self-awareness. That's why I ration my intake of Arvo Pärt and drive to the Small Faces
Comment (2)Washington watch
19th June 2005 — Issue 111
There is anguish in Washington over Blair's battered majority, and a creeping fear that America's most reliable ally will not be so steadfast in the future
France profonde
19th June 2005 — Issue 111
Labour's victory bred further confusion in France, where the word "blairisme" is an insult. The perception of British failure and decay is slowly being unpicked
Brussels diary
19th June 2005 — Issue 111
At last Britain comes up with a truly radical idea for the EU: scrap more meetings. Plus the latest thinking on what happens if the French vote "no"
These islands
19th June 2005 — Issue 111
Football hooliganism in Britain never really went away—it just got demoted to the lower divisions. I should know; I'm a Brentford fan
Mini interview
19th June 2005 — Issue 111
Nick Clegg, MP for Sheffield Hallam and leading Liberal Democrat strategist