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PORTRAIT OF THE WEEK
The SpectatorVive la Tony! Al-r1.ER a meeting of European Union ministers in York, M. Dominique Strauss- Kahn, the French finance minister, said on British television that Britain could not...
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SPECTATOR
The SpectatorThe Spectator, 56 Doughty Street, London WC1N 2LL Telephone: 0171-405 1706; Fax 0171-242 0603 TITANIC ERROR P almerston would have sent a gunboat to shell the Hollywood Hills....
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POLITICS
The SpectatorMr Blair seeks la troisieme voie, but there are only two directions BRUCE ANDERSON T ony Blair's Francophilia does not extend to politics. Last 2 May, a French politician...
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DIARY
The SpectatorCHARLES WHELAN 0 ne week to go to the budget and the three years of policy discussions in opposi- tion and the thousands of hours of work put in by the Treasury have come...
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ANOTHER VOICE
The SpectatorEasyJet and designer labels make Marxists of us all MATTHEW PARRIS F rom each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs. That is the injunction in the...
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ONCE RED, BUT SHOULD THEY STILL BE READ?
The SpectatorDean Godson says destroying MI5's Cold War files pleases the likes of Mr Mandelson, but has some surprising opponents MI5 IS CAUGHT in a crossfire. That is not because of what...
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LIFE AFTER MI5
The SpectatorDavid Shayler on what has happened to him since he got into the newspapers David Shayler, aged 32, graduated from Dundee University in 1989. He worked as a journalist before...
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THE FIRST VICTIM
The SpectatorNoemie .Emery says that the President is not the only Clinton to have been diminished by scandal Washington, DC WHATEVER becomes of the Clinton presidency — survival, removal,...
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Second opinion
The SpectatorWHO HATH woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath bab- bling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? No prizes for guessing the answer: they that...
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THE THREAT FROM EDUCATED ISLAM
The SpectatorJohn Casey explains how Netanyahu can destroy secular democracy in Egypt BENJAMIN Netanyahu's suspension of courtesy towards the British Foreign Sec- retary last week was in...
SPECIAT 111 OR
The SpectatorSUBSCRIBE TODAY- RATES 12 Months 6 Months UK U £93.00 ❑ £47.00 Europe (airmail) U £104.00 U £52.00 USA Airspeed U US$151 ❑ US$76 Rest of) Airmail ❑ £115.00 U £58.00 World...
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BLOWING IN THE WIND
The SpectatorChris Smith, Secretary of State and cultural Dylan is as good a writer as Keats CHRIS Smith thinks that Bob Dylan is as good as Keats and that there is no distinc- tion between...
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Mind your language
The SpectatorHOW YOU do suffer, some of you. Mr Jack Speight of Welwyn Garden City has written, in a fine pitch of rage, about a programme that cost him £4 for the splendid performance of...
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A PROPER, PRANCING POM
The Spectator. . . is how Australians tend to see Mr Blair, which is why they now tend to prefer Mr Hague, writes David Rennie Sydney AUSTRALIANS, at least those who stop to think about...
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AND ANOTHER THING
The SpectatorThe Aitken case: who is holding the scales of justice tilted? PAUL JOHNSON T hree aspects of the latest phase in the Guardian-Aitken saga require comment. First, now the...
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Viva Negroni
The SpectatorONE of the more curious entries in this race is the Lira, which has just set a new record: all hail to the 3,000-lire negroni! I shall raise a glass to it in the Bar Giacosa, in...
I'll have the Grill
The SpectatorFOR half a century Fortress Savoy has fought off all corners, from Harold Samuel through to Charles Forte. Now, though, I sense some of the garrison are ready to run up the...
CITY AND SUBURBAN
The SpectatorAlice comes to Euro-land, where everybody wins, and she has to dish out the prizes CHRISTOPHER FILDES W hen Alice fell down the rabbit-hole and into Wonderland, she found...
No job for Jonathan
The SpectatorSCARLET faces at the General Electric Company, where Jonathan Aitken's new job has lasted a fortnight. To nobody's surprise but GEC's, he received an approach from Felt Collars...
Hold that Tiger
The SpectatorANOTHER weird entry is the Punt, better known to its followers as the Celtic Tiger. This one has been fairly whizzing round, tuned up on a diet of Guinness and eggs, and now...
Seasonal adjustment
The SpectatorTHIS must be a sign of the times, and all that we have to do now is to work out which way it is pointing. First of all, at Christmas, the Bank of England's shop — until now the...
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Sir: I was disturbed to read my old friend Peter
The SpectatorOborne, normally so sound on these matters, describe horseracing as a sub- sidised industry 'permanently on the scrounge'. It suits governments for people to think this, but it...
LETTERS Racing certs
The SpectatorSir: Peter Oborne was right about one thing in his article, 'A racing uncertainty' (21 March) — Cheltenham was once again a marvellous advertisement for British rac- ing. But as...
Tory terrain
The SpectatorSir: The Conservative party does not have to choose between being reactionary or progressive in constitutional affairs, as your leader (21 March) contends. It simply needs to be...
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Freedom of speech
The SpectatorSir: Much as I admire Jonathan Mirsky, I must challenge several things that he reported in his piece, 'China, the Times, and me' (21 March). Jonathan continues to assert that he...
Pompous
The SpectatorSir: While I wholeheartedly agree with David Wright on the vital importance of discussing the whingeing Pom issue (Let- ters, 14 March), surely Harold Evans's let- ter is proof...
LETTERS Off the rails
The SpectatorSir: I enjoy and profit from Christopher Fildes's column. Indeed, it alone justifies the cost of the subscription. Just lately, however, the time that I should be spending on...
Air smiles
The SpectatorSir: Joan collins (Diary, 21 March) does well to comment on the taste and expense of BA design. A further point might be made about their grossly mis-named Cus- tomer Service....
Vendetta
The SpectatorSir: We are the authors of the book The Liar, about Jonathan Aitken, which your columnist Stephen Glover attacks (Media studies, 21 March). He conducts quite a vendetta. Glover...
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BOOKS
The SpectatorWhat lack of splendour! Philip Hensher THE SELECTED LEI'lERS OF MARIANNE MOORE edited by Bonnie Costello, Celeste Goodridge and Cristanne Miller Faber, £30, pp. 624 B ook...
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The importance of being parsley
The SpectatorByron Rogers OTHER PEOPLE'S CHILDREN by Joanna Trollope Bloomsbury, £16.99, pp. 279 B ehind this book is a Good Idea. Noth- ing wrong with that: other novels have been...
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The company she keeps
The SpectatorAnita Brookner THE TRAVELLING HORN PLAYER by Barbara Trapido Hamish Hamilton, £15.99, pp. 245 B arbara Trapido deserves to be cherished for a remark in Juggling, in which a...
THE SPECTATOR BOOKSHOP
The SpectatorLORD BERNERS The Last Eccentric by Mark Amory Mark Amory, literary editor of The Spectator, has written the first biography of Lord Berners, the composer, novelist, painter,...
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Clinical but compassionate
The SpectatorAnne Chisholm ME AND THE FAT MAN by Julie Myerson Fourth Estate, £14.99, pp. 217 I n an English provincial town modelled on Bath a composed 27-year-old called Amy works as a...
The perspective of the losers
The SpectatorPaul Bew CRISIS AND DECLINE by R. B. McDowell The Lilliput Press, Dublin, £16.99, pp. 227 R B. McDowell, who was born in Belfast in 1913, is the last survivor of a remarkable...
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Down there with the best
The SpectatorNicholas Harman THREE MILES DOWN by James Hamilton-Paterson Cape, £16.99, pp. 296 A fter love and detection, a treasure- hunt is the best kind of narrative to hang a story on;...
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The Singer not the song
The SpectatorNorman Lebrecht ISAAC BASHEVIS SINGER: A LIFE by Janet Hadda OUP, £22.50, pp. 244 I once spent a night and a day on a bare mountain talking to Isaac Bashevis Singer. Having...
The uncaring market
The SpectatorWilliam Rees-Mogg FALSE DAWN: THE DELUSIONS OF GLOBAL CAPITALISM by John Gray Granta, £17.99, pp. 234 J ohn Gray is Professor of European Thought at the London School of Eco-...
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A race to the altar
The SpectatorKate Grimond WIVES OF THE FISHERMEN by Angela Huth Little, Brown, L15.99, pp. 307 T h e fishermen in question set off in their boats for days or weeks at a time from a little...
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ARTS
The SpectatorHollywood versus history Mark Steyn on the `shaping' of historical facts for films E ighty-six years after his death, a young man from Southampton is suddenly the hottest...
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Exhibitions
The SpectatorThe Art of Holy Russia (Royal Academy, till 14 June) Spiritual grace Martin Gayford T here is a case, of course, for saying that Byzantium didn't fall, with Con- stantinople,...
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Music
The SpectatorCalibre count Robin Holloway E ven as government grants for young composers to undertake post-graduate study are brutally axed, they have in other ways never had it so good....
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Only the best
The SpectatorMichael Church looks back at 75 years of the Gramophone magazine I have only recently discovered the gramophone. Until lately I supposed it to be nothing but a detestable...
Cinema
The SpectatorThe Oscar effect Mark Steyn F or a kid from Kapuskasing (in north- ern Ontario), James Cameron has the mea- sure of Hollywood. On Monday night, accepting the Oscar for Best...
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Dance
The SpectatorWe Set Out Early ... Visibility Was Poor (Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, Peacock Theatre) Love and loss Giannandrea Poesio T he uncontrollable passion for classifi-...
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Theatre
The SpectatorThe Judas Kiss (Playhouse) Wilde times Sheridan Morley L et England,' wrote Lord Alfred Douglas in 1937, 'bear all responsibility for what she did to Oscar', and it can at...
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Opera
The SpectatorAriadne auf Naxos (Scottish Opera, Glasgow) Saturation treatment Michael Tanner S cottish Opera's production of the 1912 version of Richard Strauss's and Hugo von...
Television
The SpectatorGet a life, Chris James Delingpole T his week I'm going to tell you about a programme even better than Our Mutual Friend. It is a work of such awesome genius that every time I...
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Radio
The SpectatorWolfe wit Michael Vestey T m Wolfe is back, excoriatingly, after a long absence since Bonfire of the Vanities. Although he has a massive new novel com- ing out soon, his audio...
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Not motoring
The SpectatorWhen will they ever learn? Gavin Stamp I am sorry it has to be the so-called Great Western Railway whose directors are making a financial killing by selling on a company they...
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High life
The SpectatorSomething should be done Taki A bout five years ago I was dragged to a low-life Washington DC party by some hacks. They didn't need to do too much dragging. The presence of...
The turf
The SpectatorEpsom acorns Robin Oakley F rom little acorns, mighty oaks can grow. Sketching Derrick Morris, the new boy on the block in Epsom, leading his first lot out at 7.15 on Friday,...
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Country life
The SpectatorGreens and my kitchen Leanda de Lisle I don't suppose you'd be interested in hearing about the nursery kitchenette? The red-head designer from the BBC's Home Front programme...
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BRIDGE
The SpectatorLooking ahead Andrew Robson IN the modern game it is rare to let oppo- nents play undisturbed at a low level. Aggressive competing for part scores is, quite simply, winning...
SPECTATOR
The SpectatorGift Subscription Offer Give a gift subscription to The Spectator and we will send you a bottle of magnificent Laphroaig 10 year old single Islay malt whisky. Laphroaig is...
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SPECTATOR WINE CLUB
The SpectatorStock up and drink up Auberon Waugh The Ardeche, I should explain, is in cen- tral France, somewhere west of the Rhone. Jurancon, by contrast, is in south-western France....
ORDER FORM SPECTATOR WINE CLUB
The Spectatorcio Yapp Brothers plc, Wine Merchants Mere, Wiltshire BA12 6DY Tel: (01747) 860423 Fax: (01747) 860929 White Price No. Value 71 I, Coteau' de l'Ardeche, Les Terrasses,...
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David Fingleton
The SpectatorTHERE is no question that London's most famed chef is Marco Pierre White; he is also the busiest, controlling a large number of London restaurants. But even he can only cook in...
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COMPETITION
The SpectatorPet: a version Jaspistos IN COMPETITION NO. 2026 you were invited to provide a poetic account of keep- ing a pet at an educational establishment. A Trinity man myself, I have...
CHESS
The SpectatorComing up Tromps Raymond Keene lER LOSING his world championship match to Alekhine in 1927 the Cuban virtu- oso Jose Capablanca predicted that chess would soon perish of an...
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No. 2029: Madly miscast
The SpectatorVanity Fair with Anna Neagle as Becky and Laurence Olivier playing Dobbin . . . A Hamlet in which Peter Lorre features as Horatio . . . You are invited to supply an extract...
Solution to 1352: Storytime
The SpectatorH R 3 U1 4 1:24 3 7 OE L 7 0 0'K 9k i t: I10 . L1131 U M u Rl E N D E 1.1,1,YK i 0 I L N OILWMt3 LIIS TER IN T K GI 0 '1 1 1 E G I A1L I'S T E R't Reit'I REONENNI EL...
CROSSWORD
The SpectatorA first prize of £30 and a bottle of Graham's Six Grapes Port for the first correct solution opened on 14 April, with two runners-up prizes of £20 (or, for UK solvers, the...
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SPECTATOR SPORT
The SpectatorLove bites Simon Barnes AT the weekend, for a supplement of a few pounds, second-class ticket-holders can travel in the second first-class coach on InterCity trains (or...
YOUR PROBLEMS SOLVED
The SpectatorDear Mary.. . Q. My wife and I live on the third floor of a small block of flats. On the first floor lives a German bachelor who has recently arrived in Singapore and has very...