Innholdsfortegnelse for 6-6-2016 i The Big Issue

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Elon Musk, the billionaire tech guru, says we’re not really in control. There’s a good chance, a very good chance, he reckons, that we’re in a massive experiment being conducted by some form of highly evolved artificial intelligence. Technology has galloped so much, he reasons, over the last 40 years that it can only mean we’re part of a computer simulation. It explains a lot. Andy Murray’s inability to win matches without confounding mini-collapses; the English football fans’ belief that the national team can triumph at a major championships; Donald Trump. Also, the Brexit debate does feel increasingly as though it’s been manoeuvred by some mischievous interventionist overlords, like a version of the Greek gods in Harryhausen’s Jason and the Argonauts. Except more stoned. Of course, it could be that…

A simple switch to a Climatarian’ diet – one that takes into account which food has the least impact on the environment – can save a tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2) a year, and you don’t have to give up meat. Simply replacing beef and lamb with pork or chicken in everyday meals can make a big difference. Beef and lamb have about five times the climate impact of pork and poultry. Our food causes 20 to 30 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions, so this simple change can have a big impact – and cutting down on red meat is good for your health too. Going Climatarian is a really easy way to cut your carbon footprint, saving the equivalent emissions of driving 3,500 miles a year. Climates…

“Until we move forward from representational democracy to participatory democracy we are left in the lurch” The rather vile, moralising, rude, abrasive, childish and sick struggle between the inners and the outers, and the outers and the inners has very little to do with politics. It is a bunch of highly privileged politicians fighting for their political lives. There may among them be some honest Joes or Josephines trying to have a serious political debate about the carbuncle thrown up ad hoc and called the European Union, but the flatulence of most of the fights is paramount. That Eton rules both houses, and boys will be boys, is not for me the most troubling factor. It is more the naked need to win the high ground of office, and the…

“If I was a benevolent dictator I’d cure humanity’s ills, but in a very violent way” I’m an only child, so all my life I’ve been delusional. When I first came to America with my mother [from his native Israel] I heard about Superman flying through the air and having super strength. I remember being on a beach when I was eight, putting a towel round my neck and standing there with my hands on my hips, and as the wind blew my cape fluttered behind me. In my mind I had an image of millions of people grovelling at my feet and paying homage to me, Superman. I wouldn’t say I was a good looking guy, but I could walk up to the best looking guy’s girl and…

1. MATILDA, WIFE OF THE CONQUEROR Tracy Borman The extraordinary story of William the Conqueror’s wife, set in a dangerous, brutal world of conquest and rebellion, fragile alliances and bitter family rivalries. 2. INTO THE FIRE Manda Scott This time-slip novel about Joan of Arc, with its immaculate weaving together of past and present, will please those who enjoy a race-against-time thriller as well as an intriguing historical narrative. 3. BLOOD SISTERS: THE WOMEN BEHIND THE WARS OF THE ROSES Sarah Gristwood This opens a new vista on the years of battle and political struggle within 15th-century England. As this book shows, these unheralded women proved to be more than a match for their menfolk. 4. BESS OF HARDWICK, FIRST LADY OF CHATSWORTH Mary S Lovell Bess was one of…

You can’t accuse Jeremy Irons of toeing the party line. In a recent interview, he was asked about the negative reviews that his last film, Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice received. His answer? “Deservedly so.” Irons argues that his next appearance as Bruce Wayne/ Batman’s loyal butler Alfred “will be simpler”. Stop press! Dwayne Johnson’s only committed to two new films since we were last here, bringing the total of future The Rock projects to 17. This time, he’s set to star in a film of superhero Doc Savage. And he’s attached to a film billed as ‘Die Hard in China’. Oh, he’s back in Fast & Furious 8, too. Rumours that the man sometimes sleeps have not been confirmed at press time. Maze Runner 3, AKA…

God delusion I don’t know what Ben Niblett’s on [Letters, May 23-29] but how on earth can saying “Oh my God” be offensive to religious people when it’s an expression used by anybody when they’re shocked or surprised? More importantly, why should free speech be censored just because of someone’s “faith”? This attitude is all too prevalent and feeds into the idea that everyone is a victim and aren’t capable of shrugging their shoulders and getting on with their lives. Steve Lustig, London Sales pitch Around my local high street in Balham, there is Chris who asked me about my background as he greeted me in Mandarin. But I can speak only my native Cantonese. He was interested in learning it. It was important for him that greeting passers-by in…

WAVE GOODBYE TO BOURNEMOUTH? As Bournemouth opens its arms to the summer tourist influx, the council has hit upon a questionable means of dealing with its homeless problem – by running rough sleepers out of town. The £200,000 clearance scheme, offering one-way rail tickets from the popular south coast destination, will target homeless people who are not originally from the town. Housing chief, Councillor Robert Lawton, said: “Obviously if someone is starving we will help, or if they need accommodation for the night, but certainly the next day we would encourage them to get the train and pay for their fare. We can’t strong-arm people, we have to encourage them to move.” POLITICAL DING-DONG OVER BIG ISSUE’S TINA A Big Issue vendor at our sister paper in Western Australia was…

“1977 was the year of Charlie’s Angels and Wonder Woman. How come women are being airbrushed out of it?” According to a recent BBC World Service programme about Malawi, the nation’s population hit 17.6 million this year and is expected to more than double by 2040, which the country’s finance minister described as “scary”. “A ticking time bomb of poverty and starvation,” said the reporter. “Malawi desperately needs economic growth.” Malawi has one of the highest incidences of child marriages in the world and last year introduced a new law raising the marriage age to 18. Changing the law doesn’t by itself change cultural norms fast. But plenty of evidence shows that when women get educated and when countries get richer, birth rates drop very fast.…

Godzilla (1954) The mutant reptile rampaging through Tokyo was conceived to represent the threat of nuclear weapons in the aftermath of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) The tale of Californian folk replaced by emotionless clones was read as an allegory warning about either McCarthyism or Communism, depending which side you were on. Star Trek (1966-) Gene Roddenberry made political statements on human rights, racism, religion, sexism and the Vietnam War via his epic sci-fi series. Battlestar Galactica (2004) The television reboot made sense of the post-9/11 global political landscape by transporting us into deep space – with season three openly critiquing the US occupation of Iraq.…

The ever-changing looks of Paul Weller, from his earliest days with The Jam through The Style Council to his illustrious solo years, have inspired generations of pop fans. Ex-Melody Maker chief photographer Tom Sheehan has photographed the Modfather over five decades and, encouraged by Weller, has now published a 240-page book of selected photographs, with a foreword penned by the man himself. Deluxe and Super Deluxe limited editions are available now from The Flood Gallery’s publishing arm.…

James Sallis is surely one of the most diverse and skilled writers around. Most famous for his crime novels, particularly Drive which was adapted into a film, the American author has also written umpteen short-story collections, books of essays and poems, musicology and translations, biographies and journalism. In amongst the crime novels there have been exemplary detective series and superb standalone noir tales, all imbued with a tremendous humanity and a skilful economy of language. And his latest is no different. Willnot is set in small-town rural America, and begins like a conventional murder mystery, with the discovery of some bodies in the local woods. But what follows is a sly and subtle look at every aspect of small-town life through the eyes of Lamar Hale, the local GP and…

It’d be overstating things to call Minor Victories a supergroup as such. Probably, it would be fair to suggest that Mogwai guitarist Stuart Braithwaite and Slowdive singer/guitarist Rachel Goswell aren’t mobbed by celeb selfie seekers every time they step out of the house, much less Justin Lockey from Editors and his brother James. But to fans of guitar music of a certain alternative cachet, this represents a mouth-watering alliance. Unusually, the four members spent hardly any time physically together in the writing and recording of their self-titled debut album, the key enabler of which was broadband internet connections. Never a man overcome by hyperbole, Braithwaite spoke of the record thusly: “It has a lot of the good elements from everyone’s bands.” Even if he could sound a little more excited…

Your reader Clive Hopper [Rant, May 23-29] extolls a change I agree with. If the government were to pay every adult a basic income every month we can sweep away the whole benefits system, including job seeker’s allowance, student grants, housing benefit and old age pensions. Maybe children under 18 get a half share. It can be paid for by abolishing the income tax and national insurance allowances so that everybody pays tax on everything they earn. Of course they keep the balance which means that any work is worthwhile. Not only does such a system provide a floor for the disadvantaged, it puts the onus on the individual who can improve their personal situation or not as they choose. It would, of course, lead to a large loss of…

I had a rough time a few years ago. I split up with an ex-girlfriend (I’m married now, it’s all good) and in my hour of need, I found Hairspray with Ricki Lake. I watched it, hungover, and was completely moved by the story of Tracy Turnblad and her ability to take on the world. I’m from, I suppose, a masculine, working-class background. I was a scaffolder. And in the past, I might have turned it over. But you get to an age where you don’t care what people think. Soon, I’d be on the back of a scaffold wagon singing songs from Blood Brothers or Les Miserables. I went to Hairspray with Denise van Outen; Shrek and The Lion King were great. And when I did The Morgana Show,…

EXHIBITION A project in London that harnesses the power of art to support homeless, vulnerable and socially excluded people is hosting an exhibition celebrating the work of its members. Supported by the RR Gallery, 240 Artworks will display a series of artists’ work – lots of which have featured in Street Art – between June 17-19 at St Peter’s Church, Kensington Park Road, in Notting Hill. Many pieces will be on sale to the public, including Growth by Mary Vallely (right), It’s Alive by Assad (below) and Fishtank by Caruso (bottom). More at 240project.org.uk BUY STREET ART! You can buy prints of some artworks featured in Street Art through The Big Issue Shop. At least half of the profit from each sale goes to the artist. Order at…

An Australian entrepreneur is trying to solve the homelessness problem in his country by converting old buses into shelters. Simon Rowe, who has experienced homelessness himself, hopes his ‘Sleepbuses’ could help people get a good night’s rest. “Sleep changes everything,” is Rowes mantra. “The more I developed and researched a solution, the more I discovered what a good night’s sleep can do for a person’s physical and mental health,” he says. “Just being able to sleep through the night, warm and safe, can give a person a whole new outlook on life. The least we can do is provide safe overnight accommodation to people sleeping rough in Australia, until they get back on their feet.” Each vehicle will have 22 sleep pods, toilet facilities, lockers, chargers and even kennels for…

“Bristol’s street names, such as Whiteladies Road and Blackboy Hill, resonate with the importance of the trade” When I am asked how I came to write about the Atlantic slave trade, I say that my interest was aroused when, on holiday, I visited Fort George in the Gambia. This former bastion of British influence, built in the 18th century on an island in the river, had no obvious military purpose nor was one ever intended. It served as a trading post, where cloth, pots, pans, axes, knives, muskets and shot could be exchanged with local chieftains for captive Africans. These poor creatures were to be kept ready for sale to the slave ships bound for the New World. As a trading post it was valued greatly by its owners, who…

Clémence Poésy (In Bruges) and Stephen Dillane (Game of Thrones) return as Commander Elise Wasserman and DCI Karl Roebuck in The Tunnel: Sabotage. A French couple are abducted from the Eurotunnel but when a plane crashes in the Channel killing everyone on board, there are bigger questions to answer. Apart from the thrilling storyline, Poésy believes the characters make the second series of the show so gripping. “I think what makes it special is the relationship between Elise and Karl – it certainly is my favourite thing about it,” she says. “Things have reversed a little – suddenly it is Elise making the irrational choices and Karl who is trying to protect her from herself.” The eight-part drama is available on DVD (£24.99) with special features. We have five copies…