TRADE-IN TO ENJOY INCREDIBLE SOUND AND VIBRANT COLOUR FROM A DIFFERENT ANGLE... YOUR FAVOURITE SEAT.

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Screen

£500 trade-in

Available in 40” and the NEW 46” screen sizes, BeoVision10’s LED backlit screen and high-speed frame rate create an image so real you’d think you were part of it, with distortion free sound from the integrated loudspeakers bringing the action to life. BeoVision 10 is the slimmest television we have ever created, on its wall bracket the 46” version is just a mere 6.9cm deep. A black glass square framed by a slender polished aluminium frame with a concealed wall bracket which lets you position the screen at an angle of 45° – for viewing from a different location. Wall mounted or floor-standing, BeoVision 10 comes with a choice of coloured magnetic loudspeaker grilles for when you change rooms, or in case you change your mind.

For the ultimate entertainment experience... upgrade right now! Bring in* your working television – any age, any size, any brand, and receive £500 off the new full HD BeoVision 10-40 or 46.

For more information about the NEW BeoVision 10-40 and 46, simply go to www.bang-olufsen.com, or visit your local Bang & Olufsen dedicated showroom.

Finance options are available terms and conditions apply, please ask instore for details.

*Trade-in offer available at participating showrooms only during the period of Monday 28th June 2010 - Saturday 14th August 2010. ContentsContentsContentsContents the week Leading article

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Portrait of the Week

Diary Susan Hill

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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.

Subscribe today from £123 a year in the UK (turn to page 32)

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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

www.spectator.co.uk

THE SPECTATOR 31 July 2010 5