EDITORs Michael Calderbank, James O’Nions, Hilary Wainwright copywrangler Steve PlattPRODUCTION EDITOR Tom WalkerDESIGN & PRODUCTION Tom Lynton www.tomlynton.com POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT Alex Nunns commissioning EDITOR Lena de CasparisEnvironment EDITOR Oscar Reyeseurope corespondent Leigh PhillipsLATIN AMERICA EDITOR Pablo NavarreteSPORTS CORRESPONDENTS Anne Coddington, Mark Perryman Activision editor Andy BowmanWEBSITE EDITOR Fiona Osler website@redpepper.org.ukWRITERS Naima Bouteldja, Nick Buxton, Matthew Carr, Katie Coyne, Mihail Dafydd Evans, Nick Dearden, Andrea D’Cruz, Kate Ferguson, Gemma Galdon Clavell, Jan Goodey, Ben Hayes, Keith Hayman, Stuart Hodkinson, Solomon Hughes, Zoe Jewell, Mathew Little, Vittorio Longhi, Enzo Mangini, Siobhan McGuirk, Roz Paterson, Laurie Penny, Jon Robins, Angela Saini, David Sambrook, Chris Sands, Sally Tallant, Graham Usher, Derek Wall, Jonathon Wright TRANSLATORS Una Hamilton, Pablo Navarrete, Ilaria PerliniPICTURE RESEARCH Dan TierneyVISUALS Andrzej Krauze, Martin Rowson, Tim Saunders PUBLISHER Fiona Osler fiona@redpepper.org.ukpress officer Clare WoodfordOffice MANAGER Ian Gollanaccounts Bob TydemanSUBSCRIPTION SALES Red Pepper office: 020 7281 7024, office@redpepper.org.ukADVISERS Anthony Arblaster, David Beetham, Huw Benyon, Roy Bhaskar, Victoria Brittain, Sue Bowen, Tony Bunyan, Louise Christian, Tony Cook, Jeremy Corbyn MP, James Curran, Larry Elliot, Diane Elson, Max Farrar, Nigel Fountain, Trevor Griffiths, Barbara Gunnell, Nigel Harris, Billy Hayes, Pete Jenner, Penny Kemp, Bruce Kent, Hugh Kerr, Richard Kuper, Michael Kustow, Colin Leys, Su Maddock, Michael Mansfield QC, Martin McIvor, Simon Mohun, Sheila Rowbotham, Denise Searle, Amanda Sebestyen, Jane Shallice, Aleks Sierz, Kate Soper, Jonathan Steele, Dave Timms, Guy Vincent, Gary Younge, Stuart Weir THANKS TO Arafat Khalil, Tom Jeffery, Kate Ferguson

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Red Pepper is published by Socialist Newspaper (Publications) Ltd (Reg. No. 02644973, VAT No. 507 5026 20) and printed by Cambrian Printers Ltd, Aberystwyth. Distribution: COMAG Specialist Division, Central Way, Feltham, Middx TW14 0RX (020 8844 1000) and Central Books, 99 Wallis Road, London E9 5LN (020 8986 4854). Red Pepper accepts no responsibility for unsolicited material. Only ­submissions with SAEs will be returned. © Socialist Newspaper (Publications) Ltd 2009. All rights reserved ISSN 1353-7024.

Red Pepper’s cover is FSC certified stock and paper stock comes from sustainable forestry. All inks are soya oil based and print cartridges recycled

04 red pepper dec | jan 2010

03 EditorialJames O’Nions

06 LetersNoticeboard

08 PlatitudesThe world according to Steve Platt

29 Natural born rebelBreaking rank

39 Asylum watchEnforced destitution

42 Democracy nowBest left unsaid

43 Know your enemyPR for the rich

49 Under the radarOpening the gates

66 BoktopiaTrevor Griffiths

52 Beating Burma’s blackoutThe new film Burma VJ is sparking

new solidarity efforts with the Burmese people’s struggle for freedom. Siobhan McGuirk investigates

54 Did you kiss the dead body?Rajkamal Kahlon looks at how

autopsy reports from US military bases and prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan can become art

56 Epic dramaWith a new adaptation of Mother

Courage and Her Children at the National Theatre, Steve Platt assesses Bertolt Brecht’s legacy 58 Everyone does everything

James O’Nions meets two members of Italian novel-writing collective Wu Ming

61 The inner OtherMichael Calderbank reviews

Angels of Anarchy, a major exhibition of women surrealists at Manchester City Art Gallery

62 Bok reviewsFour pages of reviews

Red Pepper is on Twitter as ‘RedPeppermag’

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