31 MAY 2003

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m r Peter Hain, the Secretary of State for Wales, who

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is the government's representative to the convention that has published a draft constitution for the European Union, said, 'If people don't like what they get, they can vote...

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When rights are wron

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Nv hen the European Union drafted its Charter of Fundamental Rights at Nice three years ago, it wasn't immediately obvious that among the first beneficiaries would be...

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T o Paris to attend a convivium on the Continuing Revolution,

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presided over by Dr Thomas Fleming. Dr Who? Tom Fleming is editor of the monthly magazine Chronicles, based in Rockford, Illinois, and big chief of the palaeoconservative...

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Don't assume that Conrad Black is about to meet his Waterloo

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B efore I start this piece. which is about the future of the Dailj. , Telegraph, I should make clear that it is written by me. When I last wrote at length about the Telegraph...

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Tflie Questin g Vole Nv hen Malcolm Rifkincl becomes, as is being predicted,

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Tory candidate for Windsor and, in short order, a member of the shadow Cabinet, his involvement in frontline Scottish politics — and his love affair with the magnificent...

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My part in lain Duncan Smith's sullen, sarcastic and ill-tempered outburst

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am Duncan Smith and his party have thrown two big wobblies about BBC coverage in recent weeks. One episode occurred in the small hours of Friday 2 May when David Dimbleby...

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How television creates terrorists

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Potential suicide bombers among British Muslims are getting most of their news from Asian satellite TV, says Patrick Sookhdeo. The West is in danger of losing a crucial...

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They love to hate us

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According to international polls, Britain is regarded with contempt but, says Rod Liddle, we attract more refugees than any other Western country Iv e are going through one of...

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Mind your language

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'Of course Gladstone was 20 times cleverer than you,' said my husband. 'Much more, most likely. Why should anyone think different?' ' "Differently", darling. Anyway, they don't...

A question of loyalty

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The old lefty Neil Kinnock backs Britain, says Ambrose Evans - Pritchard. But Chris Patten is batting for France. Brussels hen push comes to shove, I think I know which side...

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Land of the free

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Paul Robinson says we can learn a lot about decency and independence from plucky Canada y ou've probably heard that story about the Inuit having 50 words for snow? Well, the...

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The taste of freedom

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Michael Wigan says that British farmers and consumers would be better off — and better fed — if we left the CAP .... 1 t is becoming interesting to speculate when the...

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Ancient & modern

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As the forces returning from duty in Iraq know best of all, important though amazing technology is, the camaraderie and morale of the unit make the crucial difference. The...

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A victory for drug-pushers

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Opium production in Afghanistan is booming: Peter Oborne and Lucy Morgan Edwards on how the government has failed to wipe out the trade T his week Tony Blair was warned to...

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THEODORE DALRYMPLE

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There is no accounting for taste, of course — or should I say thank God? A theory of human taste would be almost as horrible as the taste it sets out to explain, and quite as...

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Home thoughts of the average mullah on the Clapham omnibus

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here is nothing more luxurious than taking a London taxi. To emerge from a splendid West End establishment, hold up an imperious hand, see a silent cab instantly slink towards...

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How Major blew it

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From Mr Frederick Forsyth Sir: For John Major ('Why we must veto this alien constitution', 24 May) to urge a referendum now on the destiny of this country with regard to the EU...

Children first

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From Mary Marsh Sir: Your leading article (17 May) asks why the principle of respect for the rights of the child — 'whatever they may be' — should be enshrined in the European...

'Fascist' IQ tests

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From Fiona Pitt-Kethley Sir: Sean Thomas's article ('Are whites cleverer than blacks?', 24 May) accepts somewhat blindly The Bell Curve's claims about race and IQ. Most of the...

From Mr Christopher James Sir: It is not only over

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race and IQ that there may be obfuscation. Men's brains are significantly larger than women's. In fact, research at the University of Ulster some years ago found twice as many...

Fear, and pity, the bulls

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From Mr Nicholas Luard Sir: In his engaging description of a visitor's view of the corrida, Daniel Hannan (Bullfighting, 17 May) makes a couple of common mistakes: that the...

From Si,' Anthony Montague Browne Sir: I thought that the

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issue of 'bullfighting' was happily dead. It appears, on the contrary, to be very much alive, with your 'taurine correspondents' happily writing away and, of course, not failing...

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Praise for stroppy Poles

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From Paul McNamara Sir: Andrew Gimson (Tole position', 17 May) is absolutely right to suggest a Polish–British alliance within the EU. French hubris, and Jacques Chirac's rant...

Two-way persecution

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From Dr E.G. Klepfish Sir: It may perhaps come as a disappointment to your correspondent Emma Williams (The reek of injustice', 17 May), but I shall not dwell on her...

From Mr Musical Kasmani

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Sir: Emma Williams's article was a fair and balanced account of the situation in Palestine. Her piece brings home the plight of the Palestinians: the appalling hardships they...

Page 32

In the great race to stage the Olympics, what matters is to come second

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I am throwing my hat into the five rings. The search is on for a leader of London's campaign for the 2012 Olympic Games, next week a short list of candidates come up for...

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Leading us all a dance

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Jane Gardam THE LAST ENGLISHMAN by Byron Rogers Af1111171, £14.99, pp. 274, ISBN 1854108387 A sk someone what they think of the works of J. L. Carr and you are met with either...

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A strong case for revival

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Margaret Forster ROSE MACAULAY by Sarah LeFanu Virago, £20, pp. 388, ISBN 1860499457 T here are plenty of reasons for being interested in Dame Rose Macaulay, a woman who...

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Bossyboots, busybody and bread board designer

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Charles Saumarez Smith THE GREAT EXHIBITOR: THE LIFE AND WORK OF HENRY COLE by Elizabeth Bonython and Anthony Burton V& A Publications, £35, pp. 328. ISBN 1851773266 W hen I...

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Second thoughts by the pundits

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Rupert Christiansen LIFE. AFTER.THEORY. edited by Michael Payne and John Schad Continuum, £16.99, pp. 196, ISBN 982646464X W liatever happened to English Literature? A...

A guided tour round virtue

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Harry Mount WHAT IS GOOD? THE SEARCH FOR THE BEST WAY TO LIVE by A. C. Grayling Weidenfeld, £18.99, pp, 241, ISBN 0297841327 I 've long applied my own little test to work out...

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Not as bad as it looks

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Michael Vestey THE SHADOW OF A NATION by Nick Clarke Weidenfeld & Nicolson. £20. pp. 258, ISBN 0297607707 H ave we as a nation lost our sense of belonging anywhere, as Nick...

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Post

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surgery blues Zenga Longmore TIME OUT OF MIND by Jane Lapotaire Virago, £16.99. pp. 303, ISBN 1860499775 T he prospect of reviewing this book made me very nervous indeed. I...

The romance of the Roxy

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Marcus Berkmann ARE YOU TALKING TO ME? by John Walsh HatperCollins, £16.99, pp. 311, ISBN 0007139306 r rather, is he talking to us? Anyone who has ever met John Walsh or read...

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Win, draw or worse?

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Alan Judd THE MAIN ENEMY: THE CIA's BATTLE WITH THE SOVIET UNION by Milton Bearden and James Risen Century, ,f20, pp. 560, ISBN 0712681515 T his book takes its title from the...

Page 40

Figuration fights back

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Among privately sponsored painting prizes figurative art is dominant. Laura Gascoigne reports Am s art prizes go, the Jerwood Painting Prize is scrupulously even-handed: over...

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City of contrasts

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Andrew Lambirth London, 1753 British Museum until 23 November T wo hundred and fifty years ago, the 1 British Museum was founded by an Act of Parliament, the first national...

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Patriotic glory

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John Martin Robinson traces the history of the coronation ceremony T he coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953 was an amazing achievement. It is possible to speculate...

Creaky bauble

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Lloyd Evans Absolutely! (Perhaps) Wyndhams Theatre Something Cloudy, Something Clear Finborough Theatre. I f Absolutely! (Perhaps) had been written today and not in 1917 it...

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Minimal effect

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Michael Tanner Tristan und isolde Gomdebourne W agner's Tristan und Isolde is his most audacious work because it challenges us, in the most intense and direct way, to admit...

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Colourful hops

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Giannandrea Poesio Les Saisons Royal Ballet Living Costs DV8 Physical Theatre, Tate Modem As exancler Glazunov's 1900 ballet Les aisons was the last in a long line of...

Do they hate us?

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Simon Hoggart T he disaster of our no points in the Eurovision Song Contest (BBC1) was, of course, hilarious, though there seemed to me a darker edge in the coverage too. Do...

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Historic advice

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Michael Vestey rr he rise of management consultants and experts seems to be reaching new heights if In Business: Past Masters on Radio Four last week is anything to go by...

French finesse

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Robin Oakley O ne useful function of war is that it updates some of the old jokes, even those about chickens crossing the road. Post Iraq we have the George Bush version: 'We...

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In decline

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Taki O ne more week in the Bagel and then on to good old London for two balls, a wedding and a cricket match. The latter will be a rout, as Zac Goldsmith's Eleven are bound to...

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Gnasher obsession

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PetroneIla Wyatt I was interested to read in one of the newspapers that my old friend Robert Hardman had had his teeth surgically whitened for an article. Frankly, in all the...

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S o, off to town to buy something classy (hopefully) to

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wear to both my sister's wedding in a few weeks' time and my father's 80th birthday party. I am very much of the view that you should never, ever accept invites that require new...

Page 54

Selling your house? Then get rid of all those books they destroy the feng shui

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H ow many books do you have in your house? Dozens? Hundreds? Thousands? Too many to count? And are they all neatly stored on tidy, regimented shelves or, even better, out of...

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Bribery and construction

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Graham Norwood I t was when I was offered my second bribe in six months that I realised there was a dark side to my new line of work. After meeting a sidekick in a London bar,...

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HOLIDAYS & TRAVEL

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A Classified View BARCELONA Tim Hitchcock writes: C pain is my addiction. I get antsy if too long ',passes without an Iberian hit. It can be art. food, drink, nightlife. The...

Page 63

M an of the week was that brilliant ha-ha merchant, Craig

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Brown, who declared on television that the BBC's ludicrous attempt to discover the nation's 'favourite' 100 books was a complete sham. A hit, a palpable hit! The week's buffoon...

Q. A friend of mine has a maddening habit. She

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rings me from her mobile saying urgently, 'Can you ring me straight back?' then hangs up. Clearly she believes that it is much cheaper for me to ring her mobile from my landline...

Q. Having attended a funeral and wake last Monday, I

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found out after I had gone home that an old friend, on whom I have not clapped eyes for 22 years, was also present. I would love to have talked to her, but had no idea she was...

Q. Some months ago I discovered that my husband was

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having an affair. Since that moment various friends and au pairs have come forward with evidence of other affairs, which have been going on during the 20-year course of our...