New Humanist Update

May issue coming together

We're putting the finishing touches to the next issue of New Humanist (aka running around in a panic) and I know I always say this but its going to be great. We've got exclusives from people who really know: Brian Whitaker, author of the new book 'Unspeakable Love' on homosexuality and the Muslim world, Meera Nanda on the dangers of being soft on mysticism, Laurie Taylor's account of millenarian cults (he's just made a TV programme about them), Carol Lee on the anniversary of the Soweto uprising, and a very special debate about memes (Darwinian's attempt to explain culture), featuring Sue Blackmore and Adam Kuper. All this and Louis Armstrong, The New York Dolls and the world's second ever book review of a graphic novel in cartoon form. Unmissable. It'll be out first week of May.

Ignatieff and us

Two Sunday's ago the Toronto Star ran an essay by Michael Ignatieff (re)stating his case on whether torture is ever justified (he comes up with a massively qualified, and unconvincing, 'no'). This is the same essay Prospect published in the UK with the title 'If Torture works...' The Star asked us for a comment, because they reprinted an article we published last year on the falling out between the right hon Ignatieff and the Index on Censorship on this very issue (something Prospect neglected to mention). This is what we said. Here is the orginal article. And here is the piece we ran about Ignatieff last year.

Meanwhile, Padraig Reidy has happily found himself classed as an Islamophobe, all because of this little rant about lefties.

Speaking of the Left

Over in a pub in Euston Nick Cohen, Norman Geras and others on the 'decent' left have drawn up a manifesto, backed up by someof our good friends- Francis Wheen, Sami Zubaida, Ophelia Benson, Jonathan Derbyshire - which aims to reform the secular left, and distinguish it from the antics of George Galloway and the stop the war coalition. Nick and Norman's introduction here and here for the manifesto.

Eve Garrard, one of the signatories, will be explaining why it matters in our next issue of NH. She, and we, are keen to hear what you think. Reply to this e-mail with your thoughts once you've had a look.

Quote of the week

Rowan Williams:"We treat [biblical texts] as if they were unconvincing press releases from some official source, whose intention is to conceal the real story." Well, exactly. Read more here

Halliday on terror

Professor Fred Halliday from LSE, is one of the most reliable and experienced voices on the Middle East, Terrorism and security. Read his report on 2005 in terrorism (it might suprise you) and his call for 'terrorism experts' to include the idea of state violence in their calculations. Always good value Halliday has a regular column over at openDemocracy, which, speaking of good value, is free.

Book review

The Bloody Sunday Inquiry: The Families Speak Out
Edited by Eamonn McCann
Pluto Press
192pp
£10.99

The findings of the Saville Inquiry into the Bloody Sunday massacre are expected to be released later this year. The Inquiry, the second into the events of 30 January 1972, where members of the British Army’s Parachute Regiment fatally wounded 14 civil rights marchers and injured 14 more, was an exhaustive trawl through the minutae of that day.

In this book, veteran campaigner Eamonn McCann, who was on the march himself that day, speaks to survivors and family members who took part in the Inquiry. It was the families of victims who had pushed for the Inquiry for over 10 years, demanding truth after the whitewash of the Widgery Inquiry in 1974 had practically absolved the British Army of all guilt.

The interesting thread in the book is the families need not just for the truth to be known, but for the truth to be acknowledged by the perpetrators. Some actually show sympathy for some of the soldiers who testify, who may have shot their brothers or fathers, but still ache for them to acknowledge the wrongdoing.

The drama of the Inquiry is inherent in everyone’s description. While most of the witnesses are suspicious of the British establishment, they tend to admire Lord Saville, the law lord who headed the Inquiry, who is characterised as a decent man with his hands tied by the civil service. Michael Mansfield QC, who represented the families, is singled out for particular praise, and some witnesses even acknowledge the work done by the lawyers who represented the former soldiers and the army.

Essentially, this book is a testimony to the resilience of the Derry families who have fought long and hard for the truth of that terrible day to be known. Whether there resilience will be rewarded in the Inquiry’s report remains to be seen.

P á draig Reidy