MULTIMEDIA PUBLICATION OF THE YEAR 2012 » Scottish Student Journalism Awards
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EDINBURGH’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER
ISSUE LXII
WEDNESDAY 10 OCTOBER 2012 KNL Photos
“Rape denier” Galloway to mount NUS libel action Iconoclastic MP says he will sue, as controversy over his Julian Assange comments escalates
IN NEWS /
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EXCLUSIVE
Russell on the warpath The Scottish Government education secretary hits back at critics in Journal interview
IN INNEWS COMMENT / 4 / 12 The great race deficit One-horse for deception UoE rector How the government sought Peter McColl will take over from to pretend that there wasn’t an Iain MacWhirter on 1 March, easier wayuncontested out of the recession following election
IN NEWS /
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Picasso’s Britain
The Tate’s exploration of Picasso’s impact on British art lands in Edinburgh
IN ART /
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IN SPORT / 21
IN SPORT / 21
Edinburgh’s high flyers In the sporting spotlight this week, the Edinburgh University Gliding Club
Hamilton’s gamble The Formula 1 golden boy has his work cut out for him if he wants to reclaim title
Hopes high for Edinburgh Uni rugby The Edinburgh University Firsts look to build on highly successful previous campaigns, as the new season kicks off to an exciting start.
IN SPORT /
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2 / NEWS
The Journal Wednesday 10 October 2012
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THIS WEEK INSIDE THE JOURNAL
VIEWFINDER Chris Rubey
HWUSU vs. NUS
Heriot-Watt union will not participate in NUS national demo, amid concerns over timing
5 The last vestiges of summer disspate over North Queensferry, near Edinburgh
BASSMENT
Carousel Presents
Crema reprieved
Embattled EUSA vicepresident returns to work as controverial suspension is lifted
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halloween SPECIAL DOUBLE BILL
ON THE NIGHT OF THE WANING GIBBOUS
The Black Diamond Express DRIVING HELL BOUND 10 PIECE CHICAGO BLUES WINNER OF CELTIC CONNECTIONS 2012 DANNY KYLE AWARD
& Capone and The Bullets LEGENDARY TWO TONE SKA OUTFIT FROM GLASGOW
Plus
WORLDFUNKSEXYDIRTYBREAKSLOOPSBEATS FROM NEM AND TOMKAT ON THE DECKS
Live in the dissection room Caffeine fixtures
The Journal seeks out the best indie coffee shops in the city
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NATIONAL POLITICS / 3
George Galloway to sue ‘defamatory’ NUS Controversial MP George Galloway readies libel action after National Union of Students execs branded him a ‘rape denier’ Callum Leslie & George Melhuish
Respect MP George Galloway is
preparing to take legal action against the National Union of Students, following the passage of a motion branding him a “rape denier” and adding him to the union’s ‘no platform’ list. The NUS National Executive Committee (NEC) passed a motion last month banning Mr Galloway from NUS events, and forbidding NUS officers from sharing a platform with him, in an extension of policy, which had previously been used mainly against the British National Party and other far-right groups. Mr Galloway has since claimed that the “rape denier” comments are defamatory, and announced that he will sue. Despite issuing the threat last Monday, an NUS spokesperson said the union was yet to receive any communication from Mr Galloway or his lawyers, and declined to comment until formal action was taken. Mr Galloway failed to respond to a request for comment. The motion came in response to remarks Galloway made about the two separate allegations of sexual assault levelled against Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks. During a podcast interview, Mr Gal-
loway said: “Even taken at its worst, if the allegations made by these two women were true, 100 per cent true, and even if a camera in the room captured them, they don’t constitute rape. “It might be really sordid and bad sexual etiquette, but whatever else it is, it is not rape or you bankrupt the term rape of all meaning.” He went on to argue that “not everybody needs to be asked prior to each insertion.” His comments, described by charity Rape Crisis as “offensive and deeply concerning”, prompted an immediate backlash from women’s groups and on Twitter where he repeated his claims. Edinburgh University Students’ Association president James McAsh said: “George Galloway should apologise immediately for his comments. It’s outrageous that a supposed left-wing politician is threatening to sue the NUS, and trying to take money from the student movement in the run up to a massive anti-austerity demonstration.” The motion also cited MEPs Roger Helmer and Andrew Brons as having made similar comments on unrelated issues. In addition to suing for defamation, Mr Galloway stated on Twitter that “any damages I recover from the NUS will be
donated to the Defence Fund for Julian Assange and Bradley Manning”. He also later tweeted “A note to the NUS and NUS officers. Every defamatory tweet you sent today or caused to be sent will be included in the impending action.” The controversy resulted in the resignation of Respect party leader Salma Yaqoob, and Kate Hudson, the Respect candidate in the Manchester Central byelection. Both were openly critical of Mr Galloway, currently the socialist party’s only MP. In her resignation statement, Ms Yaqoob said that the controversy had meant that “necessary relations of trust and collaborative working had broken down.” Following this legal threat, an email was sent to all NUS NEC members and NUS staff asking that all motions for debate in the near future be preapproved by NUS headquarters. The email, seen by The Journal, says that any motion which “makes a judgement about or includes a view on an individual... an external company or organisation” should be vetted by NUS staff before being “formally published.”
EDITORIAL » 10
KNL Photos
Galloway prepares to ‘clarify’ his comments once more
EU questions legitimacy of minimum alcohol pricing Europe fears that plans to introduce 50p per unit minimum price could breach free trade regulations, as Westminster moves to back the Scottish Government’s agenda Charlie Rosser Staff writer
The Scottish Government’s much-contested alcohol minimum pricing legislation has been called into question by the European Union over claims that it may infringe free trade rules. The Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act, which finally received
royal assent in June following a long parliamentary battle, paves the way for a minimum price of 50p per unit of alcohol in licensed premises, and is seen as a key part of the Scottish Government’s framework for fighting alcohol abuse. But some have claimed that this policy will hit students and the poor hardest, and that the strategy will do little to combat alcoholism. But drinks industry bodies including the Scotch Whisky Association are challenging the legislation, andFrance, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Bulgaria, have all expressed concern. All five countries are major wine producers. Speaking at the University of Edinburgh on 2 October, the Advocate-General for Scotland, Lord Wallace of Tankerness, pledged UK government support for Holyrood in the face of EU opposition. He said, “the UK government will be standing shoulder to shoulder with the Scottish Government, seeking to support and complement
the arguments that they present, and in particular ensure that the Court has the benefit of the UK government’s experience and expertise in EU law.” The Scottish Government has described the country’s relationship with alcohol as “complex”, estimating that alcohol abuse costs Scots £3.6 billion each year, while deaths directly related to alcohol have doubled since 1980. The Scottish Government expressed no surprise that there had been objections based on EU community law. Health secretary Alex Neil said: “We are confident that we can demonstrate that minimum pricing is justified on the basis of public health and social grounds and I will continue to press the case of minimum pricing in the strongest possible terms.” The Scotch Whisky Association and other trade groups are seeking to force a judicial review of the legislation in the Court of Session later this month.
Stephen McLeod Blythe
Wine producers among those seeking policy review
Postgraduate Open Day
11am-4pm: Friday, 9 November 2012 To register for the event go to: www.glasgow.ac.uk/pgopenday The University of Glasgow, charity number SC004401
For further details about postgraduate study opportunities go to: ww.glasgow.ac.uk/postgraduate
4 / NATIONAL POLITICS
The Journal Wednesday 10 October 2012
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Education secretary goes on the offensive In an interview with The Journal, Scottish Government minister Michael Russell hits out at critics of SNP promises on education Daniel do Rosario, Greg Bianchi & Marcus Kernohan
Scottish Government education secretary Michael Russell has
defended his party’s pledge to continue free higher education if Scotland votes in favour of independence, launching a fresh attack on the UK government’s higher education policies. In an interview with The Journal, the senior SNP minister delivered a damning critique of Westminster’s approach to higher education, claiming that the coalition government “have decided that higher education is no longer a priority of the public purse.” Continuing his party’s efforts ahead of the 2014 referendum to draw a stark contrast between the SNP administration at Holyrood and a Westminster government they have sought to depict as destructively right-wing, Mr Russell argued that the UK government made “an ideological decision” to defund higher education, adding: “They might dress it up as saying ‘oh, we can’t afford it.’ But the reality is that they can afford Trident nuclear missiles.” Drawing a parallel between education policy in Scotland and other European states, he re-stated his party’s commitment to free education, claiming that “access to free education is built into Scotland’s DNA. We are a learning nation.” But challenged to explain how an
SNP administration would seek to fund higher education after independence, he offered few policy specifics. “You fund things by setting priorities,” he said. “You decide that’s a priority for you to fund... we have decided that education and free access to education; education built on the ability to learn, not on the ability to pay, is a national priority that is a good from the whole of society.” Mr Russell deflected further questions, saying: “I’m not going through a budget for an independent Scotland. That would be silly. What I’m saying is it is a national priority set by a government of which I am a member, and that it will continue in my view to be a national priority.” He also hit back at critics of his further education policy, which has come under fire for drastic cuts to college budgets. “I am not in any sense apologising for bringing forward a series of radical reforms in the college sector. You’ve got to understand what the college sector was and what it looked like. This is the last of the Thatcherite reforms... it put together a sector that was almost entirely handed over to business... it hadn’t developed, in my view, the accountability that it needed.” Finance secretary John Swinney’s draft budget announcement last month was roundly condemned by NUS Scotland, which claimed that despite pledg-
ing £17 million of new funds for colleges, the government were attempting to conceal a £34.6 million real-terms cut. But Mr Russell defended his frontbench colleague, disputing the union’s analysis. “I don’t agree with that figure,” he said. “If you look at the figures... what it represents is a continuing substantial investment in the delivery for learners. What we’re trying to do, and I keep saying this, is providing better service which is more relevant for young people and cuts out duplication.” “I’m not refuting that there’s been changes to the college budget. What I’m saying, however, is that we’re trying to make sure the money we’re spending is well spent, and there was a need for radical reform.” Mr Russell sought to calm fears of a demographic shift on Scottish campuses following the government’s decision last year to deregulate tuition fees for Rest-of-UK students. Critics have warned that universities may accept fewer Scottish students now that they can charge students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland up to £9,000 per year, but Mr Russell said he was “absolutely not concerned about that, because there are a number of mechanisms in place that will stop that happening, not least the weakening of the brand. “There will be a different balance in each university between those who come from Scotland; between those
NUS Scotland
Russell defends changes to ‘Thatcherite’ FE sector who come from the rest of the UK [and] those who come from overseas. That is the richness of our system.” Playing up UCAS figures suggesting a 1.2 per cent increase in the number of university places in Scotland this year, Mr Russell said: “I think that’s something we should be proud of; that we’ve got our policy, by and large, right.” Unionists have persistently sought
to cast doubt on the SNP’s pre-referendum promises, arguing that the government have not explained how they intend to finance many of their pledges. In an earlier interview, Better Together campaign chief Blair MacDougall claimed that Scotland could stand to lose as much as £1.25 billion in tuition fees from RUK students if it became independent.
Controversy over Lamont’s Survey: 32% support “new direction” for Labour for independence Leader’s Edinburgh speech heralds major policy shift for Scottish Labour Data suggests support at its highest level since 2005 Scottish Labour
Daniel do Rosario Political editor
Scottish Labour leader Johann
Lamont has signalled the end of the party’s support for many free public services, including university tuition fees, in a move widely seen as an unprecedented volte-face for the centre-left party. In a speech to party members in Edinburgh last week, Ms Lamont criticised the universal free provision of certain services as economically impractical. Days later, in a speech to Labour’s national conference in Manchester, she redoubled her strongly-worded attack, describing the provision of free services as “election bribes” paid for by the poor. Ms Lamont’s announcement centres on the claim that the Scottish Government can ill-afford universal provision in the current economic climate, and that the SNP are hiding funding issues behind the debate about independence. She the creation of a party commission to carry out a ‘costed analysis’ of what Scotland can afford to provide, and while the details of Ms Lamont’s ‘new direction’ have been thin on the ground, it has been widely speculated that the party may back means-testing of many services.
Poor foot the bill for free services, Lamont insists Speaking at First Minister’s Questions last week, Ms Lamont launched a personal attack on deputy first minister Nicola Sturgeon, saying “if spending cuts threaten the care of the elderly, is it fair that Sturgeon on £200,000 a year gets it for free?” But Ms Sturgeon countered with a pledge to deliver a balanced budget saying: “If Labour is going to reverse all these policies [of free provision], don’t set up a commission, just have the guts to say so.” Ms Lamont also pledged to address the funding gap between further and higher education, and appeared to
suggest that free tuition has had a negative effect on universities, saying, “we need to be honest about the sustainability of ‘free’ higher education.” The National Union of Students Scotland issued a statement shortly after Ms Lamont’s speech, calling on Scottish Labour to reaffirm its manifesto commitment, as well as the personal pledge that every Scottish Labour MSP signed up to at the last election to rule out tuition fees.
EDITORIAL » 10
Chloe Duane
Support for Scottish Independence has risen by 9 per cent since 2010, data from the most recent British Social Attitudes survey suggests. The BSA, an annual survey in its 29th year, asked 3,000 people across the UK about a range of topics from immigration to the NHS and this year included a section on Scottish independence in which 1,200 people from Scotland were surveyed. The results stated that: “32 per cent support for independence is up nine points on 2010, when it was at a record low of 23 per cent, but is still lower than in 2005, when it stood at 35 per cent.” The BSA also shows that support for independence still trails behind the 58 per cent support for devolution by a considerable margin. The higher figure emerged in questions where independence was not mentioned but rather another option known as devo-max, in which the Scottish Parliament receive more power, short of independence. When asked about the alternative option of devolution on the upcoming referendum, a Scottish government spokeswoman said: “Devolution has been excellent for Scotland, but we agree more financial levers are needed, and the full economic tools an independent Scotland will have at its dis-
posal will make the country even more successful. Scotland currently produces 9.6 per cent of the UK’s wealth with just 8.4 per cent of the population, meaning an independent country will be more than able to pay its way.” The BSA concluded that the union has never been closer to dissolve than it is now. “There is no doubt the Union between Scotland and the rest of the UK is closer to being dissolved than at any time in its 300-year history. Its future looks set to rest in the hands of the Scottish public, who will make their opinion known via a referendum within the next couple of years.” The survey undoubtedly served to energize the Yes Scotland campaign ahead of the independence rally that took place on Saturday 22 September. This is the first in a series of events planned in the run up to the independence vote. Lothian and Borders Police estimate that 5,000 people took part in the Edinburgh march and rally, which ended in Princes Street Gardens, where crowds gathered to hear speeches from several speakers, including First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond. Mr Salmond, who wants to hold the referendum vote in autumn 2014, said: “We believe that just as the skies around Scotland were lit up by meteors last night, this campaign will light up Scotland over the next two years.”
The Journal Wednesday 10 October 2012
STUDENT POLITICS / 5
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Heriot-Watt pull out of NUS demo
David Selby
HWUSU withdraw from NUS November demo in London after doubts over timing and resources Callum Leslie Student Politics editor
Heriot-Watt University Students’ Union executives have voted
against supporting the National Union of Students’ demonstration in London next month, following concerns over timing and limited union resources. In a meeting of the Union executive last week, the five members present voted against supporting the demo, with two votes for, one against and two abstentions. HWUSA president Mike Ross said he was concerned about the timing of the demo, as well as the way it had changed from what was voted for at the NUS conference. The NUS national conference earlier this year voted for a demo against ‘fees, cuts and privatisation’, but NUS national president Liam Burns described this approach as “unambitious and tired” and instead the demo has taken on a wider message, which HWUSA say is part
of their concern with supporting the demo. By contrast, Edinburgh University Students’ Association has authorised spending of up to £3,500 on promotion of the demo and buses to take students to London on the day. Commenting, Ross said: “We are supportive of the message and overall ideas that have come about because of the demo. We don’t believe the demo, in its current form, has come about in the right way to support these ideas. “The date for the demo clashes with a large number of hand-in dates for our students at the end of the semester along with our examination period before the festive holidays. Given a realistic time commitment of two to three days we felt that we had an important responsibility when it came to representing our students with this decision. “In addition to this, the resources involved in supporting the national demo would mean that our priority campaigns, particularly around wid-
HWUSU president Mike Ross is concerned at changes to the demo’s direction ening access and retention, would struggle to have the impact they are intended to have. The executive committee spent a considerable amount of time over this decision and it was a difficult one to come to.” Conor Murray-Gauld, the only exec member to vote for supporting the demo, said on Facebook that he was sad the decision had passed, and that it had been “one of the hardest days in exec I have ever had over the
last two years”. Robin Parker, president of NUS Scotland, said that he believed it was not unexpected for unions which had a higher proportion of Scottish students to feel disconnected from the demo. Mr Ross also expressed concern over the demo when the date was announced in July, saying: “Whatever day you choose there will always be issues, [but] having it on a Wednes-
day will cause great difficulties for non-traditional students, especially those with part-time work and families. It does however avoid a big clash with academic studies for those in universities. “My biggest concern for Scottish unions at this point in time is how colleges will be able to engage with this date, and taking this a step further, how we will engage and involve the public with this date.”
EUSA referendum underway Sabb back to work Motions include Sun boycott and call for Tony Blair to be tried for war crimes Callum Leslie Student Politics editor
With the Edinburgh University Stu-
dents’ Association (EUSA) referendum and by-elections fast approaching, proposers and opponents of the six questions gathered to debate the issues. The event, held jointly by The Student and FreshAir, was held in the Pleasance Theatre with a sparse audience, although trended on Twitter for a period of time after a deluge of tweets about the debate. The debate suffered from a lack of people willing to sit on stage and oppose the questions, with only two out of the six having a two-sided debate — the debates on leaving the NUS, and on whether or not Tony Blair should be tried for war crimes. EUSA Equal Opportunities officer Beti Scott spoke for a Yes vote on the Tony Blair question, with Labour Students member George Melhuish calling for a No. The motion calls for EUSA to support Independent MSP Margo MacDonald’s motion to the Scottish Parliament calling for Tony Blair to put on trial for war crimes. Scott argued that the Iraq war had “no legal basis” and that Blair had waged “an aggressive war”, which is a war crime under the Nuremberg principles. Speaking against, Melhuish described the question as “outdated, misplaced and irrelevant,” and repeatedly stated his belief that the war in Iraq was “morally justified.” EUSA president James McAsh was also on stage giving a EUSA perspective, and stated that, should this motion pass, he would not only support the motion, but advocate the view that Blair be tried beyond the realms of the specific parlia-
mentary motion. In the other contested debate of the evening, McAsh was back on stage — this time as spokesperson for the No campaign — in the debate on whether or not EUSA should disaffiliate from the National Union of Students. The question was put forward by EUSA vice-president Andrew Burnie, who insisted that he does not support disaffiliation, but instead simply wanted the question to be debated. The Yes side was instead represented by former Economics Society president and SNP member George Lerner. Lerner claimed that the NUS was simply a breeding ground for Labour party politicians, a claim refuted by McAsh — though four of the presidents from the last 40 years have gone on to be Labour party cabinet ministers. McAsh insisted that without the NUS, EUSA would be “irrelevant”, and stressed
the achievements of the NUS in securing a tenancy deposit scheme, increased student support, and opposing cuts to college funding. He also insisted that while the organisation was “not perfect”, it was important that Edinburgh students remain members and engage with the organisation in order to affect change, and that EUSA would lose a six-figure sum of money every year by leaving the NUS buying consortium NUSSL. Other debates proved much less contentious, with questions on the banning of the Sun newspaper over Page 3, ethical electronics procurement, the university’s ethical investment policy and boycotting security firm G4S attracting much less opposition. The voting takes place this week, with the results to be announced on Thursday. For full coverage of the election and referendum, head to journal-online.co.uk Charlotte Klein
Straightforward debate at Pleasance Theatre
EUSA officer’s controversial suspension is lifted David Selby
EUSA and VPS Max Crema embrace once more Callum Leslie Student Politics editor
After months of uncertainty, Edin-
burgh University Students’ Association vice-president services Max Crema returned to work last week following the lifting of his suspension from office. Despite reports that his future may not be decided for a number of months, it was confirmed by Crema himself that he would be returning to his post. Crema’s suspension, which was first reported four weeks ago by The Journal, had reached a difficult impasse, with significant debate over what authority EUSA as an organisation has to discipline its sabbatical officers, who are ex officio trustees of the charity. After months of wrangling and confusion, legal advice finally confirmed the association’s inability to discipline Crema, leading to the end of his protracted suspension. The issue had also been brought to the attention of Crema’s union representative, and EUSA last week moved to clarify the situation in a formal state-
ment. The union are understood to be putting in place a disciplinary procedure for sabbatical officers, though a previous attempt by professional staff to do so had been rebuffed by the board of trustees. Crema was allowed to spend the previous week working in the Chaplaincy at Potterrow, catching up on work he had missed while suspended. During his suspension Crema was forbidden from accessing his EUSA email account. He also chaired meetings of the campaigns and accountability forum and the trading committee. The sabb’s initial suspension in July came in response to complaints regarding remarks he made on Twitter, and was buoyed by further controversy over an anonymous guest post on his blog about sexual harassment at Edinburgh Festival venues. EUSA staff had mixed reactions to the controversy, though a substantial group vehemently opposed the blog post, with many of those signing a formal grievance against the sabbatical officer, whose remit includes all bars and venues operated by the union.
6 / LOCAL NEWS
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3,000 jobs could be lost in police restructuring Critics claim cuts to support staff will undermine front-line services, as formation of the new Police Service of Scotland starts to take shape Charlie Rosser Staff writer
The first chief constable of the new Police Service of Scotland has announced that up to 3,000 police support staff could be cut as part of wider restructuring to reduce the costs of policing in Scotland. Mr House’s comments come after plans were announced to merge eight of Scotland’s police forces into a single national service. Speaking from the new headquarters of the single police force at the Scottish Police College in Fife, Mr House said the number of police staff that would have to be cut would be “many, many hundreds”. Mr House cited the large overlap of identical support service roles
that will be created as a result of the amalgamation of eight local constabularies and claimed that maintaining the number of police staff in the current financial climate “would be futile.” His comments come after the Sunday Herald received a leaked document showing the extent of the cuts that Scotland’s police force is facing. The Police Reform Board are expecting up to £300 million worth of reductions over the next threeand-a-half years, with 550 civilian jobs set to be cut immediately. The cuts have drawn sharp criticism from Scottish Labour MSP Lewis Macdonald who claimed the plans would put “thousands of police officers behind desks, man-
Rowling thanks city residents for privacy Bestselling author praises “innate respect for privacy” for allowing her to lead a normal life Charlie Rosser Staff writer
Bloomsbury
aging cells or staffing phones, when they should be out on the streets, tackling crime.” Responding to the claims, Mr House accepted that there would be some frontline officers who would have to temporarily fill in for the vacated supporting staff. However, he then claimed that this would “not affect the number of officers the public sees on the street”. The proposed reductions in the police force have prompted the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents (ASPS) to call an urgent meeting with Mr House. It is expected that he will be asked to justify his new police model. Mr House will unveil the new single police force in April next year.
Want to volunteer abroad this summer? Find out about this year’s EGP projects at our information evening 10th October @ 7:30pm Teviot Debating Hall, Bristo Square, EH8 9AJ Community-initiated international development projects
JK Rowling has commended the
Edinburgh residents who have left her free to “mooch around” and given her the privacy to live a normal life. Ms Rowling said: “I do get recognised, but I must say Edinburgh is a fantastic city to live if you’re wellknown. There is an innate respect for privacy in Edinburgh people, and I also think they’re used to seeing me walking around, so I don’t think I’m a very big deal.” Edinburgh has always been close to the author’s heart, being the city in which she famously frequented the capital’s cafes as she began writing the Harry Potter series. Her latest elegy comes with the launch of her new book, The Casual Vacancy, which was released on Friday. The novel has been deemed ‘absolutely for adults’ by Rowling and its plot – which, according to The Telegraph, is ‘X-rated by definition’ – is filled with more snobbery, swearing and sex than potions lessons and three headed dogs. A ‘comic tragedy’ set in a fictional small town in the West Country; it tells the ‘grim’ tale of warring factions of neighbours competing to fill the position of the recently deceased town councillor. Rowling has defended her intention behind setting her new work far from the wizarding world she wrote within before, explaining that the Harry Potter books were ‘fun’ but ultimately limiting: “There are certain things you just don’t do
Reduction plans leave police staff out in the cold
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The bandwagon keeps Rowling in fantasy. You don’t have sex near unicorns. It’s an ironclad rule. It’s tacky”. Rowling has admitted that her new book is perhaps not for everyone, but claims that she likes it nonetheless – “it is what it’s meant to be.” Rowling’s intention for the book’s launch was for it to be released as a ‘normal book publication’ in contrast to the ‘sheer insanity’ that came with the release of the Harry Potter series. But according to local Edinburgh bookshops, sales were extremely good from the first day – The Casual Vacancy being the second fastest selling book of all time, according to Waterstones’ Cameron Toll branch.
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Uni sells off valuable painting — on eBay Kazuhisa Otsubo
Artwork expected to fetch £5,000, which will go toward student bursaries Charlie Rosser Staff writer
The University of Edinburgh has launched an innovative way of raising funds to help combat student debt — selling valuable artefacts on eBay. A painting of Edinburgh by awardwinning Scottish artist Gordon McDowell is to be sold on the site, where it is expected to sell for £5,000. This will be the first time that the university has used eBay to raise capital. The proceeds of the sale are to be put toward student bursaries. In a statement on their website the university stated: “A painting of Edinburgh by an award-winning artist is to be auctioned on eBay, with the money raised going to fund access bursaries. The painting is expected to reach £5,000. Limited edition prints will also be available to purchase for £120. This is the first time a charity internet
auction has been used to raise funds for the University.” Each bursary is worth up to £2,500 and more than 700 are awarded every year. However, in recent years, it has become increasingly difficult financially to award the number of bursaries that are needed. In 2011, bursaries were handed out to fewer than half of the candidates who applied for them. With 549 applications to 212 awards, the university’s development manager for Humanities and Social Sciences, Emma Lacroix, says “there’s obviously a great need there.” The painting to be auctioned is a piece by watercolourist Gordon McDowell, who was twice winner of the Sunday Times ‘Watercolour of the Year’ competition. It depicts the Edinburgh landscape towards the castle from Blackford Hill, and was commissioned by Mark Astaire, an Edinburgh alumnus. Although Mr Astaire left the
university thirty years ago, he said he’s doing this for the university because he “had a wonderful time as a student” and likes “supporting the institution”. Of the piece itself, the artist, Gordon McDowell, says “a lot of hard work and detail went into it. However, my efforts would be more than rewarded if a student was to gain financial support to help attend Edinburgh University. “I feel hugely privileged to be asked to be involved in fundraising for the university, and I very much enjoyed the challenge of producing such a large scale watercolour painting.” Commenting on the unusual nature of the situation, Ms Lacroix stated that the painting is “the largest, highest value item that we’ve received that we’ve auctioned in this sense”. She adds “This is a test of how well this auction will go and if eBay turns out to be a good route for us, it’s something we’ll look at for [the] future.”
University of Edinburgh’s first dip into new market
Scots-Italian musical star Heriot-Watt hail launches new scholarship rankings hat-trick Nicola Benedetti launches scholarship programme at the University of Edinburgh, seeking to lure Italian postgraduates to study in Scotland
University crowned UK and Scottish University of the Year, and tops National Student Survey
G. Cowan
The new fund provides for postgraduate study of Italian arts, history and philosophy Jonathan Langley Staff writer
A scholarship backed by classi-
cal music star Nicola Benedetti and a research grant for studies into Italian migration to Scotland has been launched. Susanna Grazzini, from Siena in Italy, has become the fourth student to receive the Nicola Benedetti Scholarship Fund, a University of Edinburgh scheme backed by the ScottishItalian violinist. Ms Benedetti said: “This project showcases what’s strongest about education. It mobilises people to achieve their best.” Ms Grazzini has come to Edinburgh to study the work of the celebrated Italian writer Carlo Emilio Gadda. Eight leading literature students were invited to submit a piece of work about an aspect of Gadda’s writing. Susanna’s was judged to be
the best amongst the entrants. The award was collected by Ms Grazzini, who this year graduated from the University of Siena, at a ceremony in Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre on 22 September. The scholarship, launched in 2011, is designed to generate opportunities for postgraduate students in Italian Studies. It funds fellowships, masters and PhD programmes in diverse research areas including Italian visual arts, music, literature, history and philosophy. The results of the Gadda Prize essay competition - open to Scottish secondary pupils studying Italian were also announced at the Traverse Theatre ceremony. The writers of the three essays judged to be the best have received invitations to attend a two-day Gadda conference next summer at Monte Cassino, south of Rome, at which Ms Benedetti will play.
As part of the initiative, the university’s Italian department brought the British premiere of Fabrizio Gifuni’s award-winning Italian play ‘Gadda Goes to War’ to the Traverse on Friday 21 and Saturday 22 September. The show, performed in Italian with English subtitles, is based on Gadda’s World War One diaries and anti-Mussolini writings. The ceremony also featured the awarding of a £40,000 grant from the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland to help set up a research centre into Italian migration to Scotland. This research centre is to be the first of its kind. Professor Federica Pedriali, director of the project and head of Italian at the University of Edinburgh, said about the show and ceremony: “The show is simply unmissable, and the other events, including the Awards Ceremony, all in turn exploit and generate a stage.”
Marcus Kernohan
Heriot-Watt stoically stoney-faced despite success Ben Lebus
The principal of Heriot-Watt University has hailed his institution’s remarkable ‘hat-trick’ of commendations, after the university was named university of the year in both Scotland and the UK, and outpaced both Edinburgh and St Andrews to secure the number-one spot in Scotland in the National Student Survey. Professor Steve Chapman expressed his delight at recent events, saying: “Being Scottish University of the Year, Number 1 in UK for student experience and voted Number 1 in Scotland by students is a fantastic hat-trick.” He went on to add that the university “strive[s] to consistently deliver excellent facilities, teaching and support services” in order to maintain such an outstanding standard. The results follow a month of innovation, with marine renewable energy workshops being launched at the
Orkney campus and recent advances made by researchers in their efforts to improve our understanding of black holes. Heriot-Watt, established in 1821, specialises predominantly in the sciences, along with technology and design, and has now taken this prestigious title for the second year running - an achievement made yet more impressive by the university’s 28-place year-on-year rise in the National Student Survey’s league table of UK universities. Mike Ross, president of Heriot-Watt University Student Union remarked: “These results represent the excellent work that has been done by students and staff working together to enhance the student experience”. Higher education has been under severe scrutiny of late due to a rise in controversial tuition fees with students demanding more for their money, especially with Scottish universities offering some of the highest fees in Europe.
8 / STUDENT NEWS
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The Journal Wednesday 10 October 2012
FreshAir represent UK in global radio relay FreshAir win coveted slot in International Student Radio Day broadcast, alongside student radio stations from around the world Greg Bianchi News editor
Edinburgh University student
radio station FreshAir has represented the United Kingdom in the 2012 International Student Radio Day. The event, which took place on Tuesday 2 October, was organised by the Student Radio Association as part of the 24-hour student radio marathon which included participants from a number of nations including the USA, Colombia, Spain, France and the UK. They were joined by Cambridge’s Cam FM, which includes students from the University of Cambridge and Anglia Ruskin University. FreshAir have quoted that their previous listener record was beaten, with around 500,000 listeners tuning in to hear a show being broadcast in front of a live studio audience with a range of music and games. In a statement to The Journal, FreshAir head of on-air Eve Livingston explained that whilst the station were surprised to be granted the opportu-
nity to represent the UK, the team were ecstatic and saw this as the culmination of a number of years’ hard work in raising the profile of FreshAir. Speaking about the event Ms Livingstone said: “As is the way with live radio, very little went to plan and were left swapping things around and changing plans during songs. “However, the show was a great success with audience members commending us on an entertaining and lively show that was representative of UK student radio and UK radio more widely”. Ms Livingstone also commented that the international nature of the event really hit home when listeners from as far away as the US and Sweden sent in comments during their broadcast. The event itself attracted an estimated 40 million listeners and received an endorsement from Time magazine in the process. International Student Radio Day began life as a national student radio day in the US, but went global for the first time this year.
Fresh Air
FreshAir helped international peers in record-breaking 24-hour radio marathon
Students and staff rally against college cuts
Chris Rubey
Hundreds attend ‘Save FE’ march in Glasgow Gary Paterson Student Politics editor, Glasgow
Students and lecturers have staged a protest against continued cuts to Scottish colleges. Hundreds of people marched through Glasgow city centre on Saturday in an event organised by the Educational Institute of Scotland Further Education Lecturers Association (EIS-FELA) in response to ongoing cuts to the college sector. Education campaign groups and trade unions have criticised the Scottish Government’s funding proposals warning that standards, jobs and opportunities will be affected. The march assembled at Holland Street at 10.30am and progressed along Sauchiehall Street to a rally in the Strathclyde Suite at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. The procession towards the venue saw a heavy block of EIS branch members from across Scotland supported by National Union of Students representatives and university and college students. Addressing the audience, EIS general secretary, Larry Flanagan, said: “The deep cuts to Scottish FE colleges are a disgrace - the produce of a programme of austerity that isn’t working. “By removing these vital opportunities, the government is raising a spectre of mass youth unemployment that has not been seen since the age of 1980s Thatcherism.” Speaking to The Journal, Angela McCormick, a Coatbridge College lecturer, said: “This budget attacks the very heart of what colleges are all about: high quality teaching and learning. “All ready we have had 1,300 job losses across the sector and we have also lost
43,000 students who won’t get access to courses to improve their education, give them better chances for employment, for job satisfaction, for themselves, their families and communities.” Calum Petrie, a computer games development student at Reid Kerr College, added: “I am out here to support EIS and show that we are behind our lecturers.” Explaining why protecting college education is important to him, Petrie said: “I was out of education for quite a number of years before I went to college and I felt that I wasn’t going to get anywhere in the job that I was in. “I needed to find something that I was passionate about. Reid Kerr College provided that, now I am so much more appreciative of what I can do.” The rally saw a number of union speakers attacking Scottish government actions in light of the recent draft budget, including NUS Scotland president Robin Parker. Speaking to The Journal Graeme Kirkpatrick, NUS Scotland vice president (education) explained why NUS Scotland supported the demonstration. He said: “We came to show the SNP that cutting colleges and people’s futures is not acceptable. We came to show solidarity with our lecturers and support staff. “We came to show this government that college students are not second class citizen. We came to fight and we came to win.” The demonstration has been described as the first part of a wider ‘three-legged winter of discontent’ which will build a Scotland wide campaign against cuts, continuing with the Scottish Trade Union Conference’s 20 October, ‘A Future That Works’ demonstration and culminating in a St Andrew’s Day rally.
The hundreds-strong contingent protest college cuts in Glasgow city centre
Marco Biagi MSP Constituency Office: 77 Buccleuch Street EH8 9LS Tel: 0131 668 3642 MSP for the Edinburgh Central constituency
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STUDENT NEWS / 9
Student leaders condemn ‘unacceptable’ Home Office treatment of non-EU students In latest escalation of row over visa restrictions, thousands of students forced to queue through the night to register with police Gareth Llewellyn Deputy managing editor
Thousands of non-EU students
in London have been forced to queue overnight to register with police. Overseas students are required to register with the police within seven days of arrival in the UK. With 30,000 students waiting to collect a police registration certificate (PRC) leaving administrative staff unable to cope with some students waiting for more than 12 hours outside stations, the Overseas Visitors Record Office (OVRO) have issued alternative registration points. On 8 October, students were then told they could report to the OVRO to hand in or complete their form, with some universities also offering the service, but students will still have to return to the OVRO before December 2012 to finalise their registration. The bureaucratic process, which costs students £34 has been reported to last between five to ten minutes in most cases.
The National Union of Students (NUS) branded the treatment of international students as “absolutely unacceptable” and questioned why they need to register with the police when their personal data is already held by the UK Border Agency. NUS international students’ officer, Daniel Stevens, said: “There are numerous other ways to avoid the distress being faced by these students including increasing staff numbers, adjusting the amount of time given to students to register, or creating a ticketing system so that students have defined times to register. “It is absolutely unacceptable that students be asked to be queue for hours, often in terrible weather, and be expected to arrive before 6.30am to have any chance of being seen.” NUS has revealed that some students are even putting their place on a course in jeopardy as they try for days to get registered, often missing classes in the process. Brazilian student Mariella Nihabi has missed the first few days of her
course at London College of Fashion because of the delays. “I cannot attend class before I have registered but this is the third time I have tried queuing,” she said. “Today I have been here since 6am. There are people who got here earlier. “It’s horrible – we have to wait here for hours and pay for the travel each time. If they want us to register, they could at least ask us to do it at a police station nearer to where we live.” Police registration is the latest problem for international students in London just weeks after London Metropolitan University had its license to sponsor non-EU students revoked. A High Court judge granted the beleaguered university permission to seek a judicial review, and an agreement for international students to return to classes was approved on 5 October with students who have received offers to transfer to other universities also able to return to London Met. Stevens attended Borough police station and obtained photographic and video evidence showing that some stu-
dents had been queuing from 10pm with most arriving between 2am and 5am. He said: “During this time we learned that minors were being forced to stand in line as well. We’ve met students as young as 16 attending English boarding schools who were forced to register. “There is no excuse for this. This has potentially been occurring for upwards of two weeks and it is disgraceful that international students have been treated this way. “It is unacceptable that even at peak times this simple procedure which international students are charged for has forced international students to queue in the night due to mismanagement.” As news of the alternative arrangements broke on 8 October, Stevens said: “We hope that in the long-term the process of police registration is scrapped as it is still unclear why is necessary for students to visit police offices when their information is already held by the UK Border Agency.”
Peter Alfred Hess
Dark future for non-EU students
Teaching union issues Democracy 2015 campaign launches strike threat over pay Campaign seeks to ‘revolutionise’ politics by encouraging one-term candidates Margaret Ferguson Burns
Jay Peg
The EIS members hope to go from flags to riches Atalandi Meleagrou-Dixon
Edinburgh students could have
their education disrupted if lecturers go on strike later this month due to a dispute over pay. The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) has called its members to vote in favour of strike action in response to what it sees as an unsatisfactory salary offer for lecturers of 1 per cent this year. The EIS is calling for strike action because this would be the fourth year running that wage increases are below inflation. The ballot closes on 10 October. The EIS is the largest education union in Scotland and the oldest worldwide. It represents roughly 80 per cent of Scotland’s teachers, at various levels of education. It has a particularly strong membership in universities. With inflation standing at 2.6 per cent, the EIS says that it is no longer acceptable for its teaching staff to be taking real term wage cuts. Over the last four years, 2012 included, lecturers will have lost around £5,000 in real terms, it says.
Universities started giving salary increases that were below inflation after the 2008 recession. This was mainly due to their budgets being decreased and they argue that they cannot afford higher offers. If the EIS’s 60,000 members, along with other education unions, vote in favour of strike action there could be damaging repercussions to student education in Scotland. If lecturers were to go on hiatus mid-semester it would place students, especially those with end of year exams, in an undesirable position. The Scottish Government has stressed this point and advised that the relevant institutions and unions should come to a mutually beneficial decision. This is the third time in recent months that the EIS has called for strike action. Over the last year it has also balloted members over pensions and working conditions. However, both were resolved fairly amicably and strikes were avoided. In the pension case, 76 per cent voted in favour of strike action. If this is anything to go by, Scotland could be seeing a widespread teaching strike commencing on 23 October.
New attempt to revolutionise politics when voters take to the polling stations in 2015 Molly Hunt Staff writer
The founder of The Independent has
launched a new campaign which hopes to revolutionise British politics in time for the next general election by encouraging candidates to commit to serve for only a single term if elected. Andreas Whittam Smith’s Democracy 2015 campaign puts an emphasis on Britain’s strong democratic traditions and people’s disillusionment with the current state of politics. The initial aim of the movement is to encourage debate over policy issues and persuade ordinary people to stand as parliamentary candidates for one term only in the 2015 general election, in the hope of forming a reformist government
independent of parliamentary parties and composed of non-politicians. Mr Whittam Smith told The Independent: “Respect for our democratic arrangements is in sharp decline. We no longer vote at general elections in the numbers that we used to do. We trust members of Parliament and the governments they form less and less.” The campaign argues that many politicians in Westminster today have little real world experience because of a professionalisation of the political class, where politicians have followed a very set political career path and therefore have little experience outside of the political sphere. Democracy 2015 is calling for experienced professionals to run for a one term election campaign in order to alter the
state of British politics and government. Mr Whittam Smith added: “When non-politicians who have run things whether for profit or not reach the top, they will have become competent in a range of solid activities, things you have to be able to do whether you are running a business or a charity – creating new services and products, financial planning, harnessing of technology and managing substantial numbers of employees. “As a result, they are much better equipped for the tasks of government than the average politician.” If this campaign was successful those elected in 2015 would stand for one term only, which the scheme claims would allow them to focus on their policies without the worry politicians have of reelection and party politics.
10 / EDITORIAL
The Journal Wednesday 10 October 2012
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SU DOKU
EDINBURGH’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER
Puzzle 1 (Very hard, difficulty rating 0.88)
9
George Galloway
Not libel, just ‘bad social etiquette’ George Galloway’s legal pursuit of the National Union of Students over the National Executive Council’s condemnation of his remarks on the Julian Assange case is the sorry perpetuation of a distasteful affair. This is not a muted exercise in damage control for the Bradford West MP; the combative Mr Galloway is clearly unable to resist the urge to come roaring back onto the front foot. The remarks central to this row, regarding accusations of rape levelled against the Wikileaks founder, were grotesque: Mr Galloway argued in a video posted online that Mr Assange’s alleged crime — that he had sex with a sleeping woman — was not rape at all, but merely “bad sexual etiquette”. That position is utterly indefensible. There should be no reasonable doubt that consent cannot be given while asleep, and that having sex with someone who is asleep is rape. Mr Galloway’s bumbling attempt to argue that if you are “already in the sex game”
with someone you are released from the moral and legal obligation to seek consent is morally repugnant and an intellectual dead end. The imbroglio was only compounded by Mr Galloway’s painful attempt to “clarify” his position later. The former Labour MP is, ostensibly, “clear that no means no,” but the insinuation of his original comments was that not asking the question removes that dilemma. If Mr Galloway feels personally slighted by being branded a “rape denier” — and it is easy to see why he might take offence — it is unclear what he expects to gain from a defamation suit. Even a swift and decisive legal victory is unlikely to change anyone’s perspective on either this case or Mr Galloway generally. In essence this latest outburst feels like nothing more than another public tantrum from a notoriously tempestuous man — and given his recent return to Parliament,
surely he could find his time more gainfully spent representing the people of Bradford, rather than himself? The prospective extension of NUS’ ‘no platform’ policy beyond its normal usage as an anti-fascist tool does raise a philosophical question: though the exclusion of British politics’ court jester from NUS events might be an attractive proposition, there is a debate raging over whether the extension of ‘no platform’ represents mission creep for the policy, and whether it risks diluting the symbolic severity of the sanction. But that is not the crucial point here: Mr Galloway’s remarks, whether malice or mis-speech, were deeply offensive and he should apologise. His legal challenge is a petulant waste of everyone’s time: he should abandon it immediately, accept (as he should have by now, given his storied and controversial career) that people will often disagree with him, and get back to focusing on his role as a public servant.
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Generated by http://www.opensky.ca/~jdhildeb/software/sudokugen/ on Sun Oct 7 14:52:48 2012 GMT. Enjoy!
Scottish Labour
Lamont’s folly We find ourselves in an unscheduled
political silly season. Recent weeks have seen a cascade of bizarre public missteps by British politicians: from chief whip Andrew Mitchell’s classist rant at a police officer, to deputy prime minister Nick Clegg’s widely ridiculed non-apology for his broken pledge on tuition fees, to discredited left-wing firebrand George Galloway’s obstreperous decision to sue the National Union of Students for libel (see previous leader). And now Scotland’s political class are getting in on the act, for this was the fortnight in which Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont chose to announce in a keynote speech in Edinburgh that her party would end its support for universal free public services, including medical prescriptions and tuition fees. “The idea that Scotland is a land where everything is free,”
she said, “is a lie.” The decision by Ms Lamont to launch a noisy tirade against much of what the Labour party in Scotland and across the UK has long considered its most sacred ideals is baffling; indeed, as her first substantive policy announcement after nine months at the helm, it is politically incomprehensible. But it is more than that: it is moral cowardice which is likely to backfire in spectacular fashion. She is, admittedly, in an unenviable position: she is the leader of the opposition to a popular government led by probably the most skilled political operator of his generation. But first minister Alex Salmond and his SNP administration have long staked out their ideological turf on the left, and it has helped them to Scotland’s firstever majority government; for Ms Lamont to run to the right makes little sense.
VIEWFINDER
Yes, there are tough economic questions facing the public sector in both Scotland and the UK as a whole. But this is not about the economics of recovery; these are not short-term recessionary fixes. Rather, what Ms Lamont proposes is a conservative redrawing of public services, and a massive alteration to the relationship between the individual and the state. The whole situation reminds us of what has been abundantly clear for years: that Labour is increasingly a party adrift; unsure of what it stands for and what its place in our political ecosystem is. Their policy platform has become plagued by knee-jerking and short-termism, and their messaging is blind to the bigger picture. We were promised ‘root and branch’ reform after the resignation of Gordon Brown, and again after Iain Gray’s — yet time and again, the party seems unable to see the wood for the trees. Chris Rubey
Andy Murray’s grand slam Wonderful article. Andy has always had my support and has proved that he is one of the best players we have ever had. Also pleased that he is helping sport in Scotland. Hopefully some of our other sportsmen/women might like to follow his example south of the border. Saw Andy with Laura at the Olympics and they were a joy to see and a credit to the game. - Dorothy Smith, via web I was one such fan who always believed in his talent - and was up
He has done Britain proud and he should be lauded for his grit and determination to prove the doubters wrong! Well done Andy, so proud of you... - Terri Hills, via web
Ian McEwan - Sweet Tooth Ian, you seem to have a ‘sweet tooth’ for political/MI5 thrillers, as do I. Looks a great read, I hope to pick up a copy soon. - Clive Drake, via web
Incensed, interested or confused? Write to us at letters@journal-online.co.uk
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COMMENT// 11
DISCUSSION&DEBATE
COMMENT Following his latest PR nightmare, George Galloway seeks professional help...
by Jen Owen
Lamonting Scottish Labour’s loss of direction John Hewitt Jones questions the potential electoral consequences of Johann Lamont’s policy reversal for Labour John Hewitt Jones Literary editor
On a bleak, rainy morning at the end
of last month, Johann Lamont used her policy announcement on the Royal Mile to outline a major shift in thinking for the Scottish Labour party. At the heart of the speech was an attempt to re-open the debate over public spending in Scotland. In a forty-five minute conference, the leader of Scottish Labour challenged the fiscal priorities set out in the recent budget report by the SNPmajority Holyrood government. Whilst attempting to avoid mention of specific spending items that Labour would advocate being cut, battle lines have been drawn over three key issues: free education, free healthcare and concessionary bus travel for the elderly. The Labour leader seemed uncomfortable, with a faltering performance exacerbated by a forty-minute delay to the start of the event. Much of the speech used language that wouldn’t have sounded out of place in a Tory
cuts speech, attacking recent budget proposals put forward by the SNP-led Holyrood government. But how will this lie with the electorate? Such a sudden change in policy direction risks alienating many within the party, particularly over the question of tuition fees. Many feel strongly that this has long been an issue of crossparty consensus with the SNP, and that free tertiary education is a social right, central to the fabric of self-determining Scottish society. Challenging it brings Labour further towards the centre ground, leaving question marks over what will differentiate their voice from the cuts mantra being propagated by the Westminster government. Labour’s main problem – as vociferously pointed out by Alex Salmond during First Minister’s Questions last week – will be one of credibility. Just a year ago, the party reinforced their commitment to free education and free healthcare in an election pledge made under the leadership of Iain Gray. There’s a risk that the sudden change in direction will look suspiciously like
political flip-flopping, at a time when unity is key in the face of the Scottish independence vote in 2014. For many, this move will appear to play directly into the hands of the SNP. As part of the Scottish government’s budget announcement last week, spending pledges made to the electorate were reinforced; protecting, among other things, free prescriptions, student tuition fees and support for concessionary bus travel. While their commitment not to cut public finance and simultaneously increased spending programmes may prove unrealistic, many will still accuse Labour’s political manoeuvre as lacking in backbone. A party that has defined itself by protecting social principles such as the right to free education, is now reneging on its promises. Labour will have a hard task persuading those who feel strongly over these emotive issues that they, not the SNP, are the party to vote for, particularly when it comes to the question of Scottish independence. And it’s not just the charge of hypocrisy that the Scottish Labour party will have to answer to. There’s no two ways
about it, but Johann Lamont has an image problem. With the demeanour of a surly headmistress, she lacks the charisma necessary to stick the boot into Alex Salmond, consistently receiving a bruising from the First Minister in the chamber. Labour face a hard task taking the fight to one of the UK’s most canny political operators. In attempting to provoke a wider discussion about spending policy, Johann Lamont has touched on issues that cut not just to the core of Scottish Labour’s ideology, but to the core of the Scottish political landscape. In bringing into question public spending on defining issues such as healthcare and student fees, the party is challenging policies that have for many years defined Scotland’s political identity. Whilst some will regard this as a move that attempts to re-open a long overdue debate over public spending, the voices of dissent are already making themselves heard loud and clear. For many this policy reversal will smack of policy-making on the hoof, and how this will affect Labour in the polls remains to be seen.
Scottish Labour
12 / COMMENT
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Debt, deficit and deception: did it have to be this way? The recession is officially over, but the inquiry into this new-found economic growth spurt is just beginning Lhongchou
Jamie Timson Deputy editor
You might have missed it. What with Ed Miliband’s resurgence and Mitt Romney’s attack on Sesame Street, this week has been rather eventful. However there is one piece of news which may astound even more than Ed’s memory skills. The UK’s recession is over. That’s right, we can stop worrying about unemployment and the deficit, budget cuts and the NHS, and we can rejoice in the bountiful treasures of recession-free living. So that means the austerity measures worked, George Osbourne and David Cameron were right all along, and we did need to near enough cripple our economy to get ourselves back on the straight and narrow.
Well, not quite. The Office for National Statistics showed in their most recent release 1.1 per cent growth in the services sector, and expected further growth in the third quarter will signal a slow end to the doubledip recession which has blighted Britain’s economy. This growth has come about through, it appears, a stealth move by Osbourne to a plan B. A plan B that would never be necessary according to the Chancellor, who had argued that the economy would only pick up when confidence returns, which could only happen when the government has shown it can successfully implement policies to cut the public sector deficit. However, these new statistics show that the Treasury loosened the purse strings in the services sector and provided one of the biggest boosts to the expansion of
services output in July culminating, it would appear, in a return to economic growth. It’s odd then, that Osbourne and the Treasury refuse to acknowledge this change of plan, and that this projected two-quarter growth has come as a result of actions the government have spent two years condemning. Politicians being wrong isn’t new, and it certainly isn’t surprising, but it is damning to see quite how wrong they were. While the lengths to which the Conservatives have gone in pushing through their ideologically-led assault on the economy are simply incredible, it is somewhat understandable when viewed in conjunction with a few simple historical facts. The Conservatives have only presided over one short period of deficit-free government since the Second World War - astonishing if you consider how imperative deficit-reduction is today. The party has never worried about the deficit before, even when it reached its most dizzying heights during their tenure. So it’s puzzling that it suddenly bothers them so acutely. Or it would be puzzling, if it hadn’t been followed by Thatcherite attacks on the public sector, which the deficit fear had allowed, and perhaps even fostered. When the coalition government formed in 2010, their plan of action included an emergency budget full of huge cuts meant to eradicate the deficit completely. Time has proven
this to be the wrong route. The recession has shown that private individuals respond to the economic climate by saving more and cutting back on spending. This caused a huge fall in economic activity and coupled with the huge cuts meant that overall demand collapsed and the recession double-dipped. This wasn’t unexpected, in the same way that this recent growth after putting more money into the services sector wasn’t unexpected. But it didn’t fit the Conservative model: cut hard and cut fast. Because it didn’t fit with their ideological agenda, it was ignored and the cuts kept coming, whilst the references to the awful mess left by the previous Labour government continued unabated. One analysis of Cameron’s performances at Prime Minister’s Questions found that in the space of a single month he had used the phrases “inherited”, “left to us” and “bequeathed” an absurd 112 times. This was buck-passing to surpass all previous buck-passing, and as the recession continued the Plan A didn’t change - until now. Far be it from a student newspaper to suggest answers to an economic question that has confounded many since the crisis began, but there could be another way. This recent announcement from ONS has shown that loosening the purse strings could promote further growth, and it would be wrong to criticise without suggesting another path to take; a path that is so far from the Conservative ideo-
logical agenda, and so estranged from Thatcherite policy that it’s unlikely it will ever see the light of day. But it could be an answer nonetheless. There is only one group of people who continue to spend during a recession, and it is those that have no reason or no means to save. It is widely recognised that those on welfare benefits spend their money on the local high street; they use local businesses and spend money within the local economy. If there was a rise in welfare benefits and more money went to the poorest people, more money would be spent in the local economy giving it the much needed boost at ground level that would affect all of us positively. A rise in welfare benefits would undoubtedly incur the wrath of those whose sole purpose in life is to hound out benefit thieves, but as those on benefits do little saving, more disposable income to those who spend the most is surely beneficial. Of course, this will likely be brushed over anyway, with the cover of ‘one-nation conservatism’ - and the rise of Ed Milliband’s ‘One Nation Labour’. This recession could have been a lot worse but it also could have been a lot better - but this isn’t the end, of course; growth could and probably will stagnate again. The Treasury won’t learn from their sneaky switch to Plan B, and indeed they will ignore any inkling that the change caused the miniscule growth. The coalition being proved wrong has never felt so unsatisfying.
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Cuban Missile Crisis: 50 years on Half a century after superpower hubris almost boiled over into nuclear war, the stage on which the crisis played out is very different
Richard Martyn-Hemphill Comment & Features editor
This month Cuba celebrates the fif-
tieth anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis — one of the defining moments of the Cold War, and described by President Kennedy’s advisor Arthur Schlesinger Jr as the “most dangerous moment in human history.” Most nations would prefer to forget an incident that is widely regarded as the closest mankind has ever come to a nuclear holocaust; but for the Cuban government, it is a part of the Cuban collective memory worth fostering. The memories the missile crisis evoke for Cubans are as important for the nation’s revolutionary resolve as the images, slogans and songs of Ernesto “Che” Guevara, or Jose Martí’s poetic visions of ‘Cuba Libre’. The Missile crisis conveys in romantic terms to Cubans a bold, heroic, and patriotic tale of a Cuban David standing up to an American Goliath; and if it were to recede from the public imagination, it would have a detrimental effect on public commitment to the Cuban revolutionary cause in general. But popular fondness for the Revolution has been fading in recent years, as the events themselves are receding into ever more distant history; and as many, if not most, of the key figures of the early revolutionary government are no longer alive, it is increasingly hard to keep the events alive in the minds of the Cuban people. Rekindling enthusiasm for a bygone era — as any history teacher would freely point out — is quite a tricky prospect. The Cuban government, even with its monopoly of the press, is finding it difficult to do so. Not to mention the struggle to maintain a reverence for the Cuban revolutionary ideals as a whole. A constant stream of features on the topic of the missile crisis in La Granma (the state newspaper) for much of this year, and impassioned commemorations and celebrations of the key revolutionary dates, is part of a concerted effort to keep the revolutionary spirit present in the minds of the Cuban people.
‘Popular fondness for the Revolution has been fading in recent years, as the events recede into ever more distant history... it is increasingly hard to keep the events alive in the minds of the Cuban people.’ But it is not sufficient; the country’s resolve is beginning to waver. The reason for this is all too clear to Cuban leadership: today the ideals of the Cuban Revolution themselves seem quite senile — perhaps even as frail as the cancer-stricken former president Fidel Castro, who made his most recent public appearance last February amid speculation over whether he was still alive. This is mostly down to the fact that Cuban communism, over the last twenty years, has been far harder to sustain in a world without the economic and geopolitical comfort Cuba once had under the wing of the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc. Trade with the Soviet sphere had constituted approximately eighty per cent of Cuban exports and eighty per cent of its imports, and the Soviet Union’s dissolution consequently led to Cuban GDP shrinking dramatically by 34 per cent during a period of economic slump in the 1990’s known disingenuously as ‘the Special Period’. To make the situation still worse for the health of Cuban communism, the ongoing U.S. embargo, which has been going on for the last fifty years and is known more
disparagingly in many Latin American countries as ‘El Bloqueo’ (the blockade), has restricted the chances of a Cuban recovery. It seems that the will, the energy, and the ability to stick with communism all appear to be lacking among the Cuban political elite, even among its Stalinist stalwarts; instead, the current president Raul Castro (Fidel’s younger brother) is embarking on a path “without haste but without pause” towards economic liberalism. However, it would be premature to speculate that just because Cuba becomes more capitalist, it will by default embrace democracy. The two do not always come hand-in-hand. Much more likely is that Cuba will continue as a one party state, adapting its structure to one similar to the Chinese model of state capitalism with a continuance of suppressive, authoritarian rule to boot. Neither does it seem close to a rapprochement with the United States. Instead Cuba is looking for foreign investments from emerging economies like China. In 2010 trade between the two countries amounted to almost two billion dollars and that is set to rise as Raul Castro has legalised foreign ownership of property. Further, last week’s re-election of Hugo Chavez will ensure that Cuba remains closely aligned with Venezuela, obtaining favorable rates on Venezuelan oil because of the Venezuelan president’s ideological sympathies with the island, and because of his predilection for importing well-trained Cuban doctors. The Cuban government will thus not remain a communist country for much longer; it will rather pursue a course of state capitalism akin to China, if it does not emulate an outright western democracy. Its challenge and priorities are to engage with the global economy, on its own terms, without becoming too dependent on other nations, and without losing its one party rule in the process. When the sixtieth anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis comes around, there will be a very different Cuba commemorating.
FEATURE// 13
14 / COMMENT
The Journal Wednesday 10 October 2012
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Miliband a remedy to ‘Thatcherite disease’ In his speech at conference, Ed Miliband showed Britain he can lead us to better days Toby Powell
by Tony Blair before the 1997 general election. The rather predictable outcome is that tories are claiming Ed has stolen their precious idea and the media think he is Blair reincarnated, albeit with a slightly dodgy set of teeth and a funky nose. Both are miles wide of the mark. The Conservatives have stamped all over one nation conservatism time and time again. The moment Margaret Thatcher walked through the door at 10 Downing street in 1979 it was dead, since then the ideology of the Conservative Party
has remained her’s, now stronger than it has ever been under the leadership of David Cameron and his Hayekian sidekick George Osborne. Altogether more Genghis Khan than Benjamin Disraeli methinks. As for Blair, the use of ‘one nation’ was a classic case of style over substance, during his time in Downing Street the cracks that split the country continued to grow. Ed’s one-nation Labour promises to change all that. It is anchored in the belief that a country can come together and pull in the same direction, a belief that was vindicated by
the Olympic and Parlaympic Games this summer. But more than that, one-nation Labour offers a remedy to the Thacherite disease that has been pulling us apart for the last thirty years. It has the power to mend the north-south divide, to help Scotland feel part of the Union again, to close the gulf of growing inequality, to overcome the differences between public and private and make us truly proud to be British once more. It is the conviction in powerful ideas like these that will create the launchpad for Ed’s successful election.
‘Lazy’ students don’t care for students’ unions, no matter how hard the hacks try
From time to time, you’ll notice them. Occasionally they might employ you, but on the whole your students’ union won’t affect you very much. Therein lies the problem. People don’t care about what the students’ unions claim their student body cares about. This is clearly shown by the appalling turnout figures in the elections, the referenda and the general meetings about how the unions should be run. The reason is twofold. A large percentage of students are lazy and why shouldn’t they be? This is probably the only time in each student’s life when they can fulfil a cliché and it all turn out alright in the end. The UK’s population see students as lazy. They give them carte blanche to be lazy. So why not stay in all day watching rubbish TV and eating takeaways? The world is our oyster, yes, so let’s sit in it and fester. The other reason is more specific to the problems of the students’ union itself, and for this, let’s take the University of
by Johanna Smit
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
TV and takeaways before student politics Edinburgh Anonymous
PERSPECTIVE The Journal’s new international student columnist begins with beginnings...
Tuesday 2 October 2012 will go
down in history as the day Ed Miliband cast off the labels of the rightwing media and showed Britain who he really is. It was the day the geeky teenager transformed into a man of real substance, the day the clouds of doubt dispersed and the clarity of belief emerged, the day that Ed showed why he is the man to lead the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and David Cameron is not. After two years of being written off as unelectable, unconvincing and lightweight, it is no wonder that many people think Ed Miliband is a waste of space. But anyone who has followed his leadership closely enough will tell you he is intelligent, honest, down to earth and firmly grounded in what he believes. Yesterday he finally managed to translate these qualities that he has so often displayed at his famous Q&A sessions and brought them to centre stage. What is even more promising (or worrying) is that he has also found the direction in which he will lead the Labour party over the coming years and into the general election. As Ed’s speech finished there were two words on everyone’s lips, ‘one nation’. An idea conceived by the Conservative icon Benjamin Disraeli and most commonly associated with not such notable contemporaries such as Iain Duncan Smith. But as we were reminded, this was an idea that was also employed
FRESH
Edinburgh’s students’ union EUSA as a prime example. As you will undoubtedly have missed, the online referenda questions determining the path that EUSA should take have been posted and there are six questions that have received more than 100 signatures from a student body of 30,000. That’s right, these questions have all been supported by 0.33 per cent of the students at the university. So then they must be representative, right? They must wholeheartedly represent the pressing issues of the student body. You know, the ones who really go to the heart of what it is like to be a student at Edinburgh. I think you can probably guess that they don’t. Referendum question one is ‘should EUSA support Margo MacDonald’s motion to the Scottish parliament calling for Tony Blair to be tried for war crimes?’ Now don’t get me wrong, the injustices of the Blair years are important, far too important for a layabout anonymous student journalist, but are they the focus of a student body? Are they as important as, oh, I don’t know, the fact that Edinburgh University regularly places in the bottom half of league tables for student feedback? You know, that issue that actually
Charlotte Klein
affects students at the university, the very same people who EUSA are claiming to represent. The rest of the six don’t fair much better. There’s a question on whether EUSA should boycott The Sun until page three is removed, because apparently the guy who owns the tabloid is really receptive to the views of others. There are a couple of decent questions, and they do tackle issues that students should be bothered about. The ethical investment policy of the university and the idea that EUSA should be a responsible organisation with regards to workers’ rights in other countries. But they’re just common sense. The EUSA response is that the
questions weren’t vetted and that it’s a completely democratic process, but how can it be, when the threshold is 0.33 per cent? Maybe they should be vetted, maybe that’s what those elected should be voted in to do, vet the ideas of others.These questions will be passed because if there are 100 students at the university who will sign for them, they will vote for them. No one is going to bother running against them because they don’t actually affect the student body, and after all, there’s that laziness thing that was mentioned earlier. But it’s a shame, because they’ll keep claiming they represent you and you’ll keep failing to notice.
Social groups are crucial for youth existence: they assure company, support and loyalty in all walks of life. So how do social groups form at a new accommodation in a new university in a new country some 15,590 kilometres away from ‘home’? First impressions are key. The basis of first impressions is personal introductions, and during the first few weeks of university there is a multitude of opportunities for one to introduce themselves. The standard “Hello my name is…” to roommates, hall-mates and classmates is a start, but once sports teams and societies are underway one’s exposure to new people increases exponentially. As a result, names fade out of memory and instead — initially — you associate ‘that blond girl’ as the girl who has the pantry cupboard next to yours, and ‘that tall guy over there’ as an avid basketball player. It is exactly this extra background information that becomes the identifier between all the Hannahs and the Harrys. One of the most important questions to distinguish one from the other, especially to the international mind, is “where are you from?” In the patriotic department there is a wide range of answers available, which can be generalised into three categories of nationality: • single nationality — the introduction from the student who is from one country or city and has lived there their whole life; • dual nationality — the student who has two passports from separate countries and most likely lives in one of them, or the student who lives in a country they call home separate to their one passport nationality; • finally, ‘Third Culture’ nationality — the individual who holds two passports but lives in a third country and whose longerthan-expected answer to the simple question tends to bewilder the questioner. Not only does this give the international student comic relief but it creates an international camaraderie and a first impression that could bond you together for much longer than you assumed such an innocuous question could . Johanna Smit is a first-year student at the University of Edinburgh.
The Journal Wednesday 10 October 2012
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STUDENT TICKETS
KING’S
theatre
EDINBURGH
Kapuscinski and journalism as art The Journal meets biographer Artur Domoslawski to discuss the life and legacy of intrepid Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuscinski Katharina Dziacko Art editor, Glasgow
Ryszard Kapuscinski was an eye-
“AS EXCITING AS THE WOMAN IN BLACK” The Guardian
JOE MCFADDEN, DUNCAN PRESTON & RICHARD O’CALLAGHAN
Tue 9 to Sat 13 October BEVERLEY CALLARD, JOE McGANN, RAY QUINN & JESS ROBINSON
Mon 15 to Sat 20 October
From the novel by ROBIN JENKINS Adapted by PETER ARNOTT Directed by KENNY IRELAND
Tue 23 to Sat 27 October FIRST EVER UK TOUR
Mon 29 October to Sat 3 November
N FOLEY N, Directed by SEA By GRAHAM LINEHA
Mon 5 to Sat 10 November
£10 student standby tickets on the day of the show* *Only available in person with valid ID after 12pm on the day of the performance. Subject to availability. Ask at Box Office for full details.
BOX OFFICE 0131 529 6000
edtheatres.com KING’S THEATRE, 2 LEVEN ST EH3 9LQ Booking fees. Registered charity SC018605.
FEATURE / 15
witness to many important historical events around the world. To a great number of people he was known as the “witness of the 20th century”. Kapuscinski was a great journalist and a world-famous writer. His biographer Artur Domoslawski, a journalist and writer himself, was one of those journalists who had the honour to know Kapuscinski as their mentor. “Kapuscinski was a legend for me – and for many journalists of my generation,” said Domoslawski. “When I was meeting him over the last 9 years of his life I talked to him a lot. I can say that I absorbed a lot of his way of thinking about the world.” Some years after Kapuscinski passed away in January 2007, Domoslawski decided to write the biography of his mentor. The English-language edition ‘Ryszard Kapuscinski: A Life’, translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones, has been published in the UK only recently. According to Domoslawski there are four main reasons why he decided to write this particular biography. The first reason is that Kapuscinski lived through very important events of the 20th century. “As a child he survived the second world war, then as a young man he was [a] militant and activist of the communist movement in Poland in the 1950s. As a reporter he became witness to the collapse of colonial powers in many African countries, like Congo, Kenya and Uganda. Then he witnessed some revolutionary guerrilla movements, coup d’états and dictatorships in Latin America. “After that he also covered the Iranian Revolution in 1979 which led to some changes but still continues until today. Just after returning from Iran, he witnessed the Solidarity Movement in Poland at the Gdansk shipyard in the 1980s and after that, and again just to summarise, he also witnessed the collapse of the Soviet Union and wrote a book, called Imperium, about it. “So when you really look at his life, you will notice that even without his work it is fascinating in itself. You have to go through all those events yourself to understand the circumstances and context of his life,” explained Domoslawski. “The second reason is that Kapuscinski was one of a few journalists who were able to make art out of journalism. He was not only a journalist who wrote reports about events. He reported as a journalist in a usual way, but when he began to write his books he wrote in a very lyrical, almost poetical and also subjective way. “The third reason is that Kapuscinski is one of those writers who detected in a wonderful way the universal mechanisms of authoritarian and absolute powers as well as mechanisms of revolutions. Great examples are the two books The Emperor and Sha of Shahs.
“The last reason is that Kapuscinski is one of those few journalistic voices or writers who tried to give voice to the voiceless people. And finally there is also a personal reason: I knew him as a person. He was my mentor. He was my friend, although I am cautious with pronouncing this word as there was a great distance in age between us and when I met him for the first time I was a journalist in my 30s and he was already an internationally recognized writer.” To find out more about Kapuscinski’s life and work, Domoslawski decided to follow in his mentor’s footsteps and to travel to different countries to meet people who had known him in person. Very early in his research, Domoslawski discovered that “Kapuscinski was a very enigmatic person”. According to Domoslawski many people thought that they really knew Kapuscinski very well. Some people would introduce themselves as his friends. Although they remembered long wonderful conversations with him, they soon realised that they were not able to repeat any true phrases, anecdotes or situations. “In the beginning I thought that it might not be possible to write this biography because Kapuscinski really was so enigmatic and was protecting or hiding himself from the world,” discovered Domoslawski. The decision to dedicate two full chapters of the biography to Kapuscinski’s great passion for poetry was defended by Domoslawski, explaining that it is significant “to know how important poetry was for him, that it was his great dream – only partly fulfilled and partly realized. And in the end poetry influenced a lot of his prose. “As a reporter and writer he used to write in a quite poetic way, which I consider one more impact of poetry on his life and work.” In his biography Domoslawski describes some of Kapuscinski’s stories as rather “different from reality” and presents particular examples, which involve Kapuscinski’s fictional meetings with Che Guevara and Patrice Lumumba. Consequently, he tries to move some of Kapuscinski’s work “from the journalistic shelf into the literature shelf”. According to Domoslawski “you really cannot call this kind of writing journalism. It is rather literature. I think when you add fiction to the story, even if there are very few details it becomes rather fiction, based on real facts, based on real events, but it is better not to call it journalism, because if we allowed ourselves to do such things there would be no limit anymore.” Kapuscinski was a journalist who worked for the Polish Press Agency, a governmental institution, which was at that time under dictatorship and censorship. “It was not a secret that Kapuscinskiwas a member of the communist
party for almost three decades.” According to Domoslawski, Kapuscinski used to write literary reportages and it is important to know that “in Poland literary reportages were born under very particular circumstances”. Under dictatorship, when it was not possible to express any criticism of the power through opinion articles, literary reportages became a form of social political critique. When something horrible happened reporters used to travel to such places to collect information, but when writing the story they would make up one fictional character out of three or four real characters to protect the source and avoid compromising people. “I personally understand that it is absolutely forbidden in the free world journalism. You are not allowed to make up things, but under dictatorship literary reportage was a tool of the people of the generation to criticize the power and to describe reality in a different way than propaganda.” Domoslawski remembered an interview from the 70s in which, according to him, “Kapuscinski explained that it is allowed for a reporter, in order to get better drawings of facts and to read the higher truth or the essence of matters, or the truth truer than reality it is permitted, not to invent tales of facts but to amplify some details, to change the position.” “So, again this is the reason and to some extent I understand why other journalists are furious when they learn about it today,” Domoslawski concluded. The author of the biography described his work as fairly spoken, and with no intention to express that Kapuscinski’s work is not worth reading or that he is not a wonderful writer. “Some of his books I still consider as great works of journalism, others as great works of literature. And at this point I want to mention that in the last years of his life Kapuscinski was mentioned as a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature.”
16 / A&E
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The Journal Wednesday 10 October 2012
CULTURE&LIFESTYLE
ARTS&ENTS ARTS Picasso and Britain: one hundred years of solitude New exhibition chronicling critical reception to the modernist master shows he still has the power to galvanise opinion, 100 years on Laurie Goodman Arts & Entertainment editor
“Madame, please don’t stand too
close to that painting. It is on sale for £50 million,” curator Patrick Elliot laughs, nervously. He is surrounded by a small collection of members of the general public for an intimate evening viewing of Picasso and Modern British Art at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. He continues, “I don’t normally tell the public about such matters, but recently a private, international buyer nearly bought ‘Girl with a Dove’. We’ve got four months to raise the 50 million, which isn’t going to happen. But we will do a whip round.” The 1901 work is one of a 60-strong accumulation that has been received as one of the decade’s greatest national efforts at drawing together a body of the artist’s work. Arriving at the modern art gallery in August for the Edinburgh Art Festival, Picasso and Modern British Art takes its place as the ‘highlight’ of the art festival after its debut at the Tate Modern. This development is of enormous significance: not only does it result in the exhibition’s absence in the capital Chris Rubey
during the Olympic period, but it is the first collaboration in history between the national galleries in Scotland and the Tate in London. Picasso and Modern British Art intertwines two main strands: the aesthetic impact of his work upon British artists and his evolving critical reception after 1930. Its lineup spans a broad spectrum of 20th century art, featuring artists such as Wyndham Lewis, Henry Moore, Francis Bacon, David Hockney and Scots Robert Macbryde and Robert Colquhoun. Little summarises neatly, “what we have is a retrospective of Picasso, seen through the eyes of British artists.” He quickly interrupts his discussion again as visitors veer dangerously close to the prized portrait - “Please do be careful!” But how do these names appear in the shadow of their modernist master? It was the exhibition’s siting of artists such as Duncan Grant in such close proximity to Picasso that prompted a mixed critical reception in the south. The Guardian, for example, described it as a ‘cruel comparison’, arguing that the exhibition belittles British art and presents British artists as incapable of producing originality. The Telegraph similarly labelled
these comparisons as “confused” and having caused Picasso to ‘stand head and shoulders above the British artists he’s said to have influenced’: clearly this is not an exhibition for the patriotic. What is undeniably enlightening, however, is the exhibition’s tale of Picasso’s critical reception in Britain. It emerges that interest in Picasso was slow to hit the mark. For example, the first work acquired by the Tate was his still life ‘Flowers’, from 1901. The work was purchased over 30 years after its creation in 1933, for £700 - quite the sum for the period. Despite being masterfully executed, the piece is an incredibly conservative work within the artist’s oeuvre. Curator Little comments: “some of you may feel this doesn’t look anything like a Picasso, and I would have to agree. The only thing Picasso about it is the signature!” Whilst today the Tate Modern is instrumental in introducing upcoming, international contemporary artists to the general public, it remained a comparatively backward and traditional institution for many years after its creation in 1932. Artists looking towards Picasso for inspiration found him not in national institutions, but rather in the realm of the private collectors such as Roland Penrose, who is featured heavily in the exhibition as both a celebrated collector and artist. “Top of the list of shame, however, are the National Galleries of Scotland. The first picture we acquired by Picasso was his ‘Mother and Child’ in 1960. Picasso was 79 years old by the time we caught up with him.” Their excuse is acceptable, however, as the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art was only established in 1959. Prior to this, the National Galleries of Scotland originally upheld the rule that an artist must have been deceased for at least a decade before their work could be displayed by the institution. Such a delayed recognition of the artist means that it is not surprising that Picasso only ever visited Britain twice - once in 1919, and again in 1950.
‘The Tate was for many years a comparatively backward institution... artists looking towards Picasso for inspiration found him not in national institutions, but in the realm of private collectors.’ So whilst Picasso’s impact on British art was phenomenal, our impact upon him was minimal. However, Picasso enjoyed a long relationship with prolific British collector Penrose. Following the German bombing of Guernica in 1937, Picasso began a vehemently political work on a 25 foot-wide canvas that would become one of the most iconic in his oeuvre. One year later, Penrose persuaded Picasso to lend ‘Guernica’ to the New Burlington Galleries in London, where it went on to tour England before - interestingly - settling in a car showroom in Manchester under the direction of a student group. Like many of Picasso’s circle, Penrose was deeply involved in the Republican cause. Profits from the British tour were donated to the Spanish Republican government, as were mountains of hiking boots: while visitors were required to pay a shilling and threepence for entry,an alternative donation option was a pair of shoes for troops fighting against Franco on the Spanish front. One of the most poignant documents in the exhi-
bition is a photograph of the donated boots, assuming an almost votive role as they accumulate in their hundreds before Picasso’s mural. 27 years after their first acquisition of the artist’s work, the Tate put on the greatest retrospective of Picasso of the 20th century. The show was the first ‘blockbuster’ exhibition in Britain, attracting 400,000 visitors and selling over 100,000 catalogues. Elliot describes the impact of this upon the artist’s position in British art: “Picasso was transformed from an outsider - and a communist - to the undisputed leader of modern art. He was almost too popular, and there was a negative reaction within the artistic community, to a certain extent. It became old fashioned to like Picasso.” Picasso reportedly said before his death in 1973: “What will painting do when I die? It shall have to walk over my body. There’s no way round.” Interestingly, public reaction to Picasso and Modern British Art shows the artist still has the potential to galvanise the general public. The chosen piece for the poster image for the exhibition was his 1932 ‘Nude on a Red Armchair’ - an abstracted nude depicting one of Picasso’s many secret lovers. Edinburgh Airport reportedly received several complaints from appalled visitors about the exhibition poster in the international arrivals lounge. As a result, the poster was covered with a white vinyl for a several days during the Edinburgh festivals, in order to prevent further offence. Director-general John Leighton of NGS commented “It is obviously bizarre that all kinds of images of women in various states of dress and undress can be used in contemporary advertising without comment, but somehow a painted nude by one of the world’s most famous artists is found to be disturbing and has to be removed.” Ironically, global press coverage of the ‘confusion’ proved to be greater advertising for Picasso and Modern British Art than any conventional campaign could have wished for.
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A&E / 17
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Film
Barbara
Tension and subtlety makes Barbara’s take on east Germany profound and humane
John Cale
music
Life doesn’t stop at seventy: is John Cale at a new peak? Jelle Goossens
Alexandre Johnston Film editor
Life in the pre-1990 socialist East Germany has inspired some of the best recent German films, including Good Bye Lenin! and The Lives of Others. Christian Petzold’s latest film Barbara also makes use of this setting. It may not be as immediately attractive as its forebearers, yet is far more subtle, eliciting considerable tension. Barbara (Nina Hoss), a doctor who is suspected of wanting to escape to the West, has been sent away from Berlin to work in the clinic of a small town. Under constant surveillance by the Stasi (State Security), she struggles to live and work in an oppressive atmosphere and secretly plots her escape. But as she gets closer to her patients and develops a relationship with her colleague André Reiser (Ronald Zehrfeld), she begins to question her decision. The film masterfully recreates the ubiquitous paranoia of 1980s East
Germany: the Stasi are not always physically present, but fear and mistrust have crept so deeply into peoples’ minds that basic notions of honesty, good and evil are blurred even to the viewer. A lack of soundtrack also adds greatly to the viewer’s trepidation. Every sound is heard with terrifying clarity; the wind in the trees, the
The Guid Sisters
clicking of the turn signal in Reiser’s car, the clanging of Barbara’s bicycle. However, the little music there is and the vibrant humanity of the characters provide a warm pendant to this harsh environment. As well as being a tense, spellbinding film, Barbara is a profound reflection on the failure of totalitarianism to encroach on individual humanity.
theatre
Charming Scottish adaptation explores the bonds of sisterhood Celia Dugua Theatre editor
Michel Tremblay’s charming
Scots adaptation of the Québécois play Les Belles-Soeurs transforms the auditorium of the Lyceum theatre into a cramped and dingy space, with walls widening between scenes to accommodate the large cast. A family of 15 ladies ‘help’ their sister glue thousands of stamps into booklets so that she will be able to upgrade and redecorate her small home. The production’s genre is as intrigu-
ing as the mysteries of the family itself. We discover how the family has fallen apart, following the naturalist structure with which we are initially presented. The sisters are each granted the opportunity to break away from the collective collating task that has brought them together to share another side of the story with us, and the family secrets pour out. In their surrealist asides, the women reveal their truest feelings in ways they can’t in the stressful environment of the kitchen. The cast capture what family life is; what is socially okay outside the confines of a kitchen has nothing to do
Centotre Ben Kendall Food & Drink editor
Few do opulence quite so baroquely
as the Italians. Centotre on George Street – occupying an old bank at 103 – is Edinburgh’s modernist incarnate. Endeavouring to offer up the simply prepared, sustainably produced and leisurely shared dishes that embody their concept of ‘happy food’, the execution is leagues from disappointing. The décor – all crisply white furniture and Grecian columns interrupted here and there by swathes of fuchsia and rose-pink – just teeters on the safe side of kitsch. Elegantly modern with echoes of the 19th century; very Milanese. The food, unlike many reiterative renditions endured at other joints, is emphatically Italian. Pumpkin soup (£4.95) came in deconstructed form occupying the globular centre of an otherwise flat and wide-rimmed bowl, glowing like the sun in miniature. Diced little cubes of the squash nestled in their saffron-hued broth and inked the palate
with what family members will tolerate entre-elles. Limits of political correctness are erased, which leads to comic exchanges that have real vitality. Despite the girls’ graphic physical abuse of their handicapped grandmother, the production avoids the shock-value comedy aimed at by much contemporary theatre, instead using the characters’ physicality to genuinely hilarious effect. VENUE: LYCEUM THEATRE DATES: UNTIL 13 OCTOBER PRICE: £11.50 - £29
food with a deep creamy nuttiness. A dash of chilli and shower of toasted seeds lent lift and excitement to the otherwise mollifying dish. To follow came ravioli of smoked pork cheek (£13.95) softened with Scotland’s own Loch Arthur ricotta and spiked with Italian fennel. Sitting in a tomato sauce studded with sultanas and pine nuts, at the bite these little gems bled a blanket of headily smoky flavour, at once comforting and sharply accented. From one unconventional carnal choice to another: main course brought lamb’s liver (£13.95) gently chargrilled alla brace (literally, ‘on embers’) to an almost caramelised sweetness and lain on a bed of white bean purée and festooned with pancetta cubes. Pudding proffered the only disappointment. The pistachio ice-cream bore a flat unimpressive flavour, though perhaps it is folly to tender high expectations of ice-cream outside Italy. Coffee, however, was a tongue-smarting success, darkly bitter and ox-strong. Centotre constitutes a much-
appreciated elegant setting for a wellresearched and authentically executed supper.
Rebecca O’Malley Staff writer
It’s hard to know what to expect
when a musician enters their seventh decade. John Cale took to the stage of Edinburgh’s HMV Picture House only four days after the release of his much anticipated album, Shifty Adventures in Nookie Wood, his first full-length in seven years. Nookie Wood is something quite fresh; it offers a rich, electronic twist on his well-established sound, albeit instantly recognisable as his own. When asked how this would translate to the stage, Cale promised “straight rock and roll”… and that’s exactly what was delivered. Our first glimpse of Cale is the unmistakable scruff of white hair, set against an obscure visual show, and his band of well groomed musicians. Cale got off to a slow start, cowering behind his keyboard and incessantly turning back to check on his backing band. He made little eye contact with
his audience, preferring to look down at his instrument and awkwardly fumble with what looked to be a booklet of lyrics. Jittering aside, his voice is instantly recognisable as the sombre yet powerful voice we have come to know. After a few technical hitches, Cale seemed to ease into his performance and started to engage with his audience, pointing fingers and cracking jokes at the expense of the techies (“I didn’t know I was playing Edinburgh Cathedral”). When performed live, his newer material was notably haunting, with echoing vocals, heavy guitar riffs and awkward drum beats – an unexpected shift from the measured and heavily produced sound of the recording. His desire to experiment is a testament to his creative abilities – Cale is on top musical form. VENUE: HMV PICTURE HOUSE DATES: 5 OCTOBER PRICE: £20
• Hand pulled cask ale • Food served from noon until 9.30pm (Sundays 12.30pm - 8pm)
• 15% off all food every Monday from 5pm • 10% student discount on food at all times largest Probably the dinburgh! nachos in E
• Metal, punk & goth jukebox 23-25 St. Leonard’s Street, Edinburgh EH8 9QN •
www.theauldhoose.co.uk
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The Journal Wednesday 10 October 2012
FASHION » DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT
Rosie Sugden Cashmere gets revamped in the A/W 2012 collection from knitwear designer Rosie Sugden
Laurie Goodman Arts & Entertainment editor
Cashmere
doesn’t
exactly
ring the most liberal of bells: Think tourists mulling over musty scarves on the Royal Mile at Edinburgh Woollen Mill. Think Monarch of the Glen. Think money - and lots of it. Now, a small but mighty line of accessories arrives from knitwear designer Rosie Sugden that subverts conceptions about the role of luxury materials: perhaps they aren’t always merely hedonistic. Perhaps they are not only ‘sustainable investments’, but also relevant to a younger audience. Longevity is on the agenda here, Sugden explains: “I don’t believe in the ‘throw away’ clothing mentality. I think investing in a well designed, good quality piece that lasts much longer is a much better investment, and if you look after cashmere prop-
erly it will last you a lifetime.” Sugden launched her own label in 2011, and despite being based in the small town of Melrose her line is making waves outside the borders. As well as being featured in ’s October issue last month, Vogue’s Sugden’s collection is now being sold in Matches and Liberty’s of London, as well as Henri Bendel in New York. Consisting of plush kneehighs, Norwegian mittens and bobble hats, Sugden gives the material a refreshing face in a sorbet of fluoro orange and pink. The tactile nature of the collection is remarkable, and you can’t help but want to touch these products: put a Rosie Sugden mitten to your face and you will be transported to a world of marshmallows and duck down. The autumn/winter 2012 collection is not only innovative in its use of colour, but also in form. One of the line’s consistent best sellers is the knitted turban, available in a selection of colours each season. Sugden commented on their popularity: “Last Christmas we sold out and this year they have really taken off - I can’t make enough of them!” Sugden is broad when discussing her inspiration sources, however
ON JOURNAL-ONLINE.CO.UK »
she does cite painters Denis Bowen and Cy Twombly as integral to developing her aesthetic. Interest in Twombly is particularly revealing: not only did he have an enduring concern with the surrounding landscape, but also with use of natural materials. With that said Sugden is somewhat of a cashmere connoisseur. Whilst all products are made from 2-ply woolen spun Scottish yarn, the original fibre is sourced from the upper grasslands of Alashan in Inner Mongolia. This comes from
Books agenda
a lifetime of exposure to the semantics of the textile industry. “My Father in particular has always worked in textiles and when I was little he used to pick me up from school and take me round the factory with him. I loved the smell of the dye house, the noise in the weaving shed
and seeing all the raw fibre going through the processes and coming out the end as a beautiful woven rug, or knitted jumper.” Heritage is clearly of great concern to the designer - one of her other best sellers being the tartan intarsia beanie and scarf. Prices are potentially disturbing to the standard student client: £95 for a bobble hat, £50 for mittens, and so on. However, these are quality, classic products that will outlast the high-end price tag and Sugden’s line brings something fresh to the formerly fusty market of cashmere.
by John Hewitt Jones
This week, two of the best recent texts focusing on our turbulent economy MICHAEL SANDEL WHAT MONEY CAN’T BUY
National Poetry Day 2012 Gaelic poet Angus Campbell reveals his creative process in National Poetry Day event at the Scottish Poetry Library
on to illustrate that there are very few things money can’t buy. A prison cell (Allen Lane, £20) ‘upgrade’ in California? $82. The services of an Indian surrogate mother to Every year hundreds of thousands carry a pregnancy? $6,250. The right of babies are born to drug-addicted to immigrate to the United States? mothers, and a charity in North Caro- $500,000. lina has found what it thinks is a soluRather than setting out to cast tion: offer drug-addicted women $300 overt judgement on the market reasoncash if they undergo sterilisation. Since ing that governs our lives, the author the instigation of the programme in leads the reader to the conclusion that 1997, more than three thousand women we have drifted from having a market have taken up this offer. economy to being a market society. This is just one example Sandel The central tenet of Sandel’s argugives of a social problem that has been ment is that moral debate should be solved by market economics, going central to the way we evaluate the eco-
JOHN LANCHESTER WHOOPS!
Fear and Loathing in Edinburgh i AM bring the spirit of Las Vegas to Scotland in a night of psychedelic decadence and disorder at Cabaret Voltaire
collapse. He illustrates the implosion of Iceland’s banks with the tale of Rakel Ste(Penguin, £9.99) fánsdóttir; a young Icelandic student studying in the UK, who suddenly finds herself What’s a credit derivative? How do unable to withdraw money from an ATM you tell the difference between an option because the bank has collapsed. and a future? More importantly, why Lanchester examines the structure should you care? Aside from explain- of the financial industry in a zippy style, ing the financial crisis in layman’s terms, sending the reader reeling at every turn Whoops! achieves something even more with uncompromising figures that are momentous; Lanchester makes the reader intended to shock (who would have imagfeel that understanding the heady world ined that the GDP of the earth nearly of finance is well within the grasp of even doubled between 2000 and 2006?) As a the most economically illiterate reader. novelist-turned-financial journalist, his Never has a tale of financial ruin and eye for character and intrigue makes for moral bankruptcy been so compellingly eye-watering examples of fiscal irrespontold. The author’s skill as a novelist tan- sibility leaving the reader squirming at gibly influences the book; Lanchester the moral lassitude within some financial relates the human story behind financial institutions at the heart of the crash.
nomic structure of society. What do we think of the NHS’s ‘pounds for pounds’ scheme, in which participants were paid up to £425 for losing weight and keeping it off for two years? Is it right that society uses such direct financial incentives to achieve such social goals? There are segments of the book that are slightly ‘bitty’, and there are moments of moral ambiguity that leave the reader screaming for Sandel to stop sitting on the fence. But at a moment when world economies sit on the brink, and market morality continues to come under scrutiny, this is a very timely book.
The Journal Wednesday 10 October 2012
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FOOD & DRINK
Is a coffee war brewing in Edinburgh? Edinburgh has a growing number of independent coffee shops, but where’s the capital’s caffeinated Camelot? The Journal went exploring — starting with an audience with Dave Freeman, owner of Freeman’s and pioneer of Edinburgh’s manual brewing scene Amy Newsome Staff writer
Across the pond, where farm-toplate is the norm and every business man requires a pint of punch-in-theface espresso to start their morning, coffee is a big deal. But back on the homefront? Things look skeptical. In walks Dave Freeman, owner of Freeman’s in Marchmont: a ninemonth-old coffee hotspot that’s grinding up any pretentious expectations with a sign on the wall that jeers ‘Hey babe, take a walk on the wild side.’ Ten years in the army have given Dave his go-getting and thorough attitude to producing some of the best quality coffee Edinburgh has ever
seen, whether you’re bothered by the intimacies of manual brewing methods (yes, trending) or you’re just another hungover student needing that steaming cup o’ Joe. Scattered with every angle-poise ever produced, white- washed walls and mean lookin’ cakes on bread boards, Freeman’s is City Lights Bookshop for foodies. Most famous for its caramel brownies, it’s buzzing at brunch and a revamped menu brings lunch through ‘til 5. Scrubbed floors and cracked Chesterfields deliver a suave yet honest double hit of good quality food and drink to a diverse audience. You might think this is nothing special; we are spoilt for a good cup of anything in Edinburgh right? Dave
is quick to insist that the coffee industry is still fledgling in Scotland. To produce the best cup of coffee you have to control as many variables as possible. The big two? The brewing method and the roaster of your beans. Freeman’s have had 40-50 roasters through their door since December in order to source the perfect blend. Only four places in town do manual brewing, and perhaps what makes Freeman’s a cut above the rest is that Dave emphasises quality first and source second. If you’re constantly on the lookout for the best from a welcoming joint, this is your place.
Ella Bavalia
Freeman’s 2-6 Spottiswoode Road www.freemanscoffee.co.uk
Brew Lab
Katarina Svobodova
A promising startup, with a potent mix of ambience, good food and even better coffee Amanda Bottomley Staff writer
With an increasing interest in the Edinburgh coffee market, competition is getting fierce... but what really takes the biscuit is Brew Lab. Having opened only two weeks ago, fledgling to the coffee scene Brew Lab has established itself in record time as a local favourite for students, yummy mummys and professionals alike. The lovely Dave and Tom (ex-students from Napier and Edinburgh Universities respectively) have established their own elegant niche: massive windows line
an entire wall, with a great use of interior spacing and a quirky floorboard design. It’s Shoreditch. But unintentionally so, so don’t let that put you off. A variety of baking treats flirt unabashedly from their stands, placed alongside sandwiches made onsite with locally sourced, high-grade ingredients (veggie and meaty equally respected). A buzzy soundtrack allows for a range of activity, from strenuous reading to lunchtime exuberance. Brew Lab’s infamous coffee options are incredibly dynamic and bursting with unusual flavours. Thankfully, nothing is overlooked at Brew Lab, even the decaf, which is stellar.
Sandwiches are rustic, ginormous, fresh and tasty. The carrot cake is what carrot cake should be, with buttercream icing generously yet judiciously applied. There’s no shame in a long lunch here. With free WiFi and water available (and frequently replenished), as well as good selection of newspapers, reasonable pricing and plenty of table space, it is most certainly student friendly and a vibrant new addition to Edinburgh’s roasting scene. Brew Lab 6-8 South College Street www.brewlabcoffee.co.uk
Edinburgh chef takes up the Kilimanjaro Comic Relief gourmet gauntlet
Student favourite is the very embodiment of autonomy
The Journal previews Mark Greenaway’s preparation for Great British Menu challenge Tabitha Standish-Hayes Staff writer
It’s that time again. The tension is
building. The population’s pulse is quickening. Any time now, there will be an invasion of comic, maniacal red noses up and down the country. Comic Relief is back. And this time, it’s got culinary. This year, Great British Menu and Comic Relief have combined forces to create some original and fun new dishes. Last week, Scotland’s representative Mark Greenaway (Rising Star Chef of the Year 2011) held an event for a sneak preview of what his comic dessert might be. Being Comic Relief, the brief for Great British Menu dishes was fun, but with a serious side, to reflect the nature of the charity. Rather ingeniously, Mark Greenaway achieved this by combining rich and dark adult flavours with popular kids’ sweets. With
a light garnish of candy floss and a ring of traffic-light coloured blobs surrounding the dessert (which turned out to be pistachio paste, orange sauce and caramel), the dish looked both decadent and jolly. Best, though, was the popping candy. Hidden within a square of ganache was a little bunch of fireworks just waiting to be let off in the mouth. And beneath the rich clotted cream icecream (our best guest; the exact recipe is jealously guarded by BBC2) was a bed of chocolate rice crispies. Not quite as expected, but a surprisingly good combination nonetheless. Greenaway is thrilled to be participating in the event for a second time: “It’s great… whereas most chefs are representing their regions, I get to represent my country”. It is an honour, he claims, and very humbling. The final product Mark has in mind for his dessert is being kept well under wraps, but from the flavours and cheeky surprises Mark has woven into
his preview, it looks like Scotland’s contestant will be a great match for anyone. Mark Greenaway runs his own signature restaurant at boutique hotel and venue No.12 Picardy Place.
Thom Louis
Plonked serendipitously in the middle of Nicolson Street, which at times feels like a jungle of independence, Kilimanjaro hardly stands out on the outside; in fact, if you were running late for a lecture, you might mistake it for part of the British Heart Foundation shop next door. The interior is similarly low-key, with framed pictures punctuating the mostly blank walls, and a selection of seats that are so mismatched they feel like they were picked out of a car boot sale. However, this is merely a disguise; the simplicity on the surface gives away no clues to the genius going on behind the counter. The coffee here, made using mellow Square Mile Coffee, is out of this world; every cup is served up swiftly and perfectly. Even the latte art is approached with the kind of professionalism that you’re only likely to see a barista wield in few other places. If you come for the coffee, you’ll stay for the food. A strong and simple menu makes it an excellent brunch
spot – serving up everything from a Scottish breakfast up to Eggs Benedict – and a laidback soup and sandwich joint. Relaxed and brilliantly run, this is autonomy at its best. Kilimanjaro 104 Nicolson Street 0131 662 0135
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RUGBY UNION
Edinburgh rugby drive for promotion
Chris Rubey
Uni club sets the bar high as new season kicks off Ruth Jeffery & Jak Purkiss
Promotion into the top league
is well established in the sights of the EURFC this season, with a massive influx of first year students adding bulk to the club’s squad and inspiring an exciting impetus among current players. This positive outlook has developed from the decision to change certain fixtures this season. Calum Williams, club secretary and centre player, told The Journal: “We did [play in the non-BUCS Saturday league] up until last year but we pulled out of the Saturday leagues, just because we wanted to focus more on the Wednesday BUCS rugby.” The rugby club at Edinburgh places firm emphasis on each teams’ composition of players, highlighted by their ‘Freshers’ Team’. This team will be one of the two sides that will remain playing on a Saturday, as well as a Wednesday, inviting the opportunity for competition amongst squad
members. Williams said: “They’re all new players this year, we just set up a stall at the Freshers’ fair. I think we’ve got around 140 potential players who chose to sign up. Usually we have about 60-80 people joining.” Besides the potential for promising players among the freshers, last year’s campaign saw enough from particular individuals to create an air of excitement for the forthcoming campaign. “There’s a guy called Dave Bates, and he was a fresher last year. He’s quite a big guy and I think he could be very impressive this year. We’ve got another guy called Rob Cuthbertson who used to play for England at Under-16s. He’s a kicker and therefore got the most points last year, so he’s one to watch,” said Williams. In terms of fixtures to watch down at Peffermill, there would be none better than big rivalry clashes. Williams said: “Durham would be our geographical rivals as they’re the
closest, but it’s always good to beat Loughborough, just because of the reputation of the university as being a sports university so they would be the team to beat. Their 1st team is known as being the best in the country, so we play against their 2nds. They recruit boys and have hundreds of their players going on to play professional rugby so to beat their 2nds would be a very good achievement.”
Williams captured the club’s ambitions for the season, claiming that: “Our aim is definitely to gain promotion out of this league and advance into the top leagues. We’ve had investment from the university and as well as having gym sessions at the performance gym, we’ve had physio support too, so without a doubt, our ambition is to gain promotion. We had a new coach three years
ago, which came from the university because they’re employed by the university, so there’s a drive from them, but even throughout the club we’ve invested money to help bring in these new coaches and sponsorship.” The vision, drive and ambition of club secretary Calum Williams is plain to see and this enthusiasm will have to be matched on the field by fellow club members in order to achieve success.
SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALL
Cabbage and Ribs in dire need of a lift
Eddie Lennon
6 October 2012, Easter Road
Hibs’ strong start to the season is in danger of slipping away unless they revitalise — and quickly Josh Greatorex
Last season ended on a sour note for Hibernian. While they survived a relegation battle with Dunfermline and reached the Scottish Cup final, they found themselves on the wrong side of a 5-1 score to local rivals Heart of Midlothian. So what does this season hold for the Cabbage and Ribs? It didn’t look too bright at the start of this season, but a total refurbishment of the team by manager Pat Fenlon has seen 11 new players arrive at Easter Road and many leave. This, in an effort to change the team’s form, has welcomed team captain James McPake and goalscoring Leither Leigh Griffiths back to the club in order to get the Hibs side gaining some points again. So what has become of Pat Fenlon’s attempts to create a new winning Hibs side? The first game of the season was against Dundee United, a team who had recently found good form. This was a worrying fixture for fans; Dundee United were massive favourites and quite rightly so, as a 3-0 disaster was inflicted on the Edinburgh side that saw to Hibernian starting off at the foot of the table. One week later and Hibs were
hosting the first derby of the season and more importantly the first meeting between the Edinburgh rivals since the defeat by Hearts in the final. This was a touchy fixture for the club, with Hearts coming along in full voice and expecting a result that matched the last, but they were shut out by a solid Hibernian defence and held to a 1-1 draw. This was a relief and a morale-boosting result for the Hibernian side. The next two fixtures were against St Mirren and St Johnston; two sides that were operating at the same level as Hibernian and two fixtures that would make being a Hibs fan a lot easier. Both fixtures were won by the green side. Up next were a dubious Celtic side who hadn’t found their feet in the league yet, but were still expected to have won the game. However, the Glaswegians were held to a draw and the points were adding up for the Leith side, who were sitting high in the league and stringing together some nice results. Next they faced a Kilmarnock side that had a spark about them, but this was smouldered out by a Leigh Griffiths (August’s player of the month) double and finished 2-1. An Inver-
HIBS GO TOP... IF ONLY FOR A DAY HIBERNIAN
3
DUNDEE
0
Sean Gibson Editor-in-chief
ness side awaited the on-form team, who were fighting for a top placing in the league, but a lacklustre defence and an 81st minute goal from Inverness left the Highland side departing Easter Road with a point. A win in the next match, against Aberdeen, would guarantee top spot in the SPL. However, this was a stale game from Hibernian, with another late goal undoing the team and bringing them to their first loss of the season since the defeat to Dundee
United nearly two months ago. With two poor performances on the back of the team it will take a lift from a so far brilliant manager ‘Paddy’ Fenlon and a step up from certain key players to lift the heads of the younger boys and get back to the surprising winning ways of the club. This will see the fans back in force. Things are certainly looking up for Hibernian and if they revitalize after the Aberdeen defeat they could head for the top, rather than stay at the bottom.
Last Saturday’s 3-0 home win over Dundee put the Hibees top of the SPL, at least until Celtic beat Hearts in Glasgow less than 24 hours later. There was no sign of the jitters that saw a two-goal lead surrendered to Inverness in their last outing at Easter Road two weeks previous. The four-pronged attack was sharp and effective, with a goal each for Griffiths, Doyle and Wotherspoon and an assist for Cairney. Post-match, Fenlon said: “We get confidence out of winning football matches and we make this place here very difficult for teams to come and play, that’s what we set out to do.” Doyle, 29’ Griffiths, 51’ (pen.) Wotherspoon, 74’ For the full match report, head to www.journal-online.co.uk.
The Journal Wednesday 10 October 2012
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FORMULA 1
SPORT// 21
SPORTING SPOTLIGHT
Hamilton takes a Gliding club are flying high gamble with the Silver Arrows
seethewhitespace
Ruth Jeffery Sport editor
The
LAT Photographic/Mercedes GP
Mercedes’ new signing faces challenges as he looks to reclaim his championship title Ali Wollaston
The sporting gods love a gambler
and few more so than those who watch over the realm of Formula One. In the moments after genesis the pioneers, Stirling Moss and Juan Manuel Fangio to name but two, gambled with their lives as they pushed the limits of cars with no safety features and no protective equipment. They were rewarded with greatness. In 1996, Michael Schumacher gambled a flourishing career on a move to the stagnating Ferrari team. He was rewarded with greatness. When Jenson Button patiently held his nerve through the dismal Honda years, come 2009 he was rewarded with greatness. In 2013, another champion will be taking a punt, because the pantheon of Formula One greats is littered with risktakers and it is one which Lewis Hamilton is desperate to join. When Hamilton’s move from McLaren to Mercedes – worth a reported £61 million – was announced, the lotteryloving deities of motorsport gazed down that little bit more attentively. It is now clear that in order to reclaim his title, the 2008 champion is willing to risk it all. Hamilton’s 14-year marriage to McLaren will end with the conclusion of this season and from 2013 he will begin a new world championship quest with the Silver Arrows of Mercedes. Ending such a long and seemingly fruitful relationship with one of Formula One’s greatest teams is undoubtedly a risk and one which raises a question: why Mercedes? Hamilton himself denies that the move is a risk, but the evidence may not entirely support his claim. For Hamilton fans, the initial statistics make for sobering reading. In almost three years competing in the sport, the Silver Arrows have managed just one race win and are some distance from challenging for a world championship. Mercedes themselves would surely concede that this has to improve if they are to satisfy Hamilton. However, despite accumulating 16 wins during the same period McLaren
achieved the same number of championships – zero. Over two seasons marred by balance and downforce issues Hamilton has watched Sebastian Vettel stack up back-to-back titles. Yet there are reasons for optimism. Floating under the radar prior to Hamilton’s move was a raft of new car and engine changes, set for 2014, which could play well into Lewis’ hands. Already pouring huge resources into the preparations is a Mercedes technical staff bubbling over with development talents such as Bob Bell and Aldo Costa, both former technical directors at Renault and Ferrari respectively. Above all there is the man who rebuilt Ferrari alongside Michael Schumacher in the 1990s – Ross Brawn. The repeated success Brawn has achieved throughout his career will have appealed to Hamilton’s winning instincts and with plenty of financial backing it would seem only a matter of time until the pairing achieve a winning equation. Thus the argument is laid out that Hamilton’s big gamble does in fact contain a large element of calculation. However, it is not difficult to understand the cynical viewpoint, with doomsayers suggesting that the vaunting and impatient ambition of Mercedes’ new star may have irretrievably harmed his career. Despite Formula One’s tendency to reward a gambler, the fact remains that Lewis has departed one of the great institutions of the sport. McLaren have proven over the decades that they have championship pedigree. With the McLaren car retaining its own Mercedes engine it is unclear whether the Silver Arrows will have any real performance advantage. Nevertheless, one suspects McLaren fans will not be too heartbroken, given that Hamilton’s replacement has already been signed in the form of Mexican Sergio Perez – possibly the most exciting and dynamic young driver in the sport. McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh perhaps summed up his outfit’s defiant stance most aptly, stating: “I would say to any driver who wanted to win in this sport ‘come and join McLaren and aspire to join McLaren’.”
Edinburgh
University
Gliding Club has won the Inter-University competition by coming first in two events and second in another. The tournament was hosted by Loughborough at Pocklington Airfields and saw 15 universities compete - all of the other teams being from England. Three events made up the competition. Edinburgh came first in the soaring category, first in cross-country and second in progression. Publicity Officer for the club Calum Scheff told The Journal why the progression category is so important in allowing everyone to compete: “You can compete really at any level. Our main competitions happen in the summer, so depending on when you join, you could compete really quickly. A category in our main competition the Inter-Universities Competition, the one we won this year - you get points for progression. So if you go away and get your solo licence and come back you’ll get some points towards your team, so you’re helping your team just by being there. If you fly higher than you’ve done before, or something like that, and achieve new goals. So you can compete at any level.”
Edinburgh’s gliding club, whilst being mainly under the radar, is very successful. Last year they won the cross-country category and came second in soaring, showing a consistency in topping the table. Most of their action happens in the summer, but they train all year round at Portmoak airfield just outside of Edinburgh. The club owns two gliders, one of them a carbon-fibre AFK-21. One of the focuses of the club is individual improvement. Scheff said: “A lot of the other things we do are based more on going and training somewhere, for your own personal benefit. We do the Junior Nationals. It’s just anyone there, you don’t even have to be university stu-
dents to come to this week. So it’s thousands of people, and we get a chance to fly with the best coaches in the world, and just spend the week surrounded by hundreds of like-minded people.” Edinburgh will host the next InterUniversities Competition, but because all the other clubs are so far away, will use York as their base. Scheff says that the dream of skimming the clouds need not be unreachable: “A lot of people don’t think of flying as an accessible thing, whereas we’re a uni and we get discounted rates. And the fact that it’s so, so much cheaper to do it than it is outside of uni — you know it’s cheaper than driving lessons.”
22 / SPORT
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TENNIS
The Journal Wednesday 10 October 2012
GOLF
Robson’s top 50 Europe late show hope stutters putts US in shade Japan Open beckons for British rising star Poulter and team turn defeat into victory mirsasha
Ollie Bunting
Europe made the impossible possible. Not only did Europe retain the Ryder Cup last week from an improbable position, they actually went on to win it. In doing so they have mirrored the result that the Americans gained back in 1999 when they too came back from 6-10 down on the final day to win 14.5 to 13.5. It was quite an unbelievable turnaround by any stretch of the imagination. The history of this biennial competition is a peculiar one. Since the tournament began in 1927 the United States have won a clear majority of the meetings with 25 wins to Europe’s comparatively small nine. However, since the change in format of the competition in 1979 Europe have won nine to the US’ seven. Even more fascinating is that the US has only won twice since 1995 and hasn’t won away from home since 1993. Alex Neal
Following a successful summer in which the 18-year-old tennis star won a silver medal in the Olympics, the autumn has not started in such a positive light for Laura Robson. After crashing out of the China Open, her hopes of making the list of the top 50 players in the world have suffered a major setback. The young Brit had been on a big push to break into the top 50, with victories against Kim Clijsters (former world number one) and Li Na (eighth in the world) at the US Open last month, and Robson had been hoping to go from strength to strength. Robson’s push to join the elite 50 has stumbled though, but the youngster is still quite inexperienced compared to those surrounding her in the rankings tables. Much of her competition has been playing tennis for at least two years longer, so there is no need to get disheartened just yet. At the same point in her career, former
British number one Elena Baltacha was ranked 248th in the world and achieved a career high of 49th. Robson will be hoping to bounce straight back from her early exit in the China Open at one of the upcoming events, such as the HP Open in Japan or the tournament in Linz, which both commence on Monday 8 October. Beyond that there are a maximum of three tournaments left for Laura to earn her top 50 spot. In the China open Robson lost in straight sets (7-5, 6-3) to Lourdes Domínguez Lino, who was ranked 67th in the world prior to the Robson match. This dropped Robson down to 60th in the world from her previous position of 57th. The fourth round finish she achieved in the 2012 US Open was the furthest any British female had gone in a major tournament since Sam Smith at Wimbledon ’98. A developing young star, her career will undoubtedly be on the rise as she gains experience.
Croke Park finds its heroes Orla O’Muiri
Two counties per year get to boast
winning the ultimate title in Irish sport. They secure that privilege for one year only, then they must start from the bottom once again, everyone an equal. Neighbouring counties pitted against neighbouring counties. All must take to Croke Park to fight it out on the playing field for that revered crowning of All Ireland Champions. Last week, Galway stepped forward to attempt to tame the Cats in a glorious All Ireland Hurling Final. In front of 82,274 supporters, it was Kilkenny who returned home with the McCarthy Cup to place once again upon their mantelpiece where it has sat seven times since 2000. Incredibly, this is their 34th All
FOOTBALL
BUCS Mars Men’s Scottish 1A
100 Bruntsfield Place juices, smoothies, wheatgrass and more
BUCS Mars Women’s Scottish 1A
P W D L F
A GD Pts
P W D L F
A GD Pts
Aberdeen 1st
2 2 0 0 3
1
2
6
Abertay 1st
1
1
0 0 6
2
4
3
Stirling 2nd
1
0
2
3
Edinburgh 1st
1
1
0 0 4
2
2
3
0 0 2
Heriot Watt 1st
2 1
0 1 3
3
0
3
Glasgow 1st
1
1
0 0 2
1
3
3
Edinburgh 1st
1
0 0 1 1
2
-1
0
Robert Gordon 1st
1
0 0 1 1
2
-1
0
Glasgow 1st
2 0 0 2 2
5
-3
0
Aberdeen 1st
2 0 0 2 4
10 -6
0
HOCKEY
HOCKEY
BUCS Hockey Women’s Scottish 1A
BUCS Hockey Men’s Scottish 1A P W D L F
A GD Pts
P W D L F
A GD Pts
Edinburgh 1st
1
0 0 3
2
1
3
Edinburgh 2nd
1
1
0 0 4
1
3
3
Edinburgh 2nd
2 1
0 1
7
6
1
3
Edinburgh 1st
1
1
0 0 4
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2
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Glasgow 1st
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Glasgow 1st
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Heriot Watt 1st
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1
5
8
-2
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Aberdeen 1st
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0 0 1 2
4
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Dundee 1st
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St Andrews 1st
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7
-4
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Ireland title. The final score read Kilkenny 3-22 to Galway’s 3-11. Galway had their head in the game from the early stages, leading 2-2 to 0-5 at one stage. But the ever capable Kilkenny machine retaliated quickly. Donnellan got a straight red card for a dirty pull in the 49th minute and the tragedy for the Galway supporters transpired from there. A nice nine points from the legendary Henry Shefflin as well as a goal and three points from Walter Walsh in his championship debut meant that with 20 minutes left, Galway were goners. In the All Ireland Senior Championship Football final, Donegal finally laid their hands on the Sam Maguire Cup after a twenty year fast, defeating James Horan’s Mayo squad. Donegal obtained three scores in the opening John B. Glynn
FOOTBALL
Poulter has always been renowned for his brazenness and confidence. But this weekend’s performance certainly did justice to that attitude, and what is more brought to mind a comment made by Ian a few years ago when asked how good he would be if he played to his potential. The short and sharp reply?: “Just me and Tiger!” The Ryder Cup time and time again throws up shocks and surprises and never fails to disappoint the ever expectant public. The fact that none of the final four players that remained out on the course on Sunday evening (Kaymer, Stricker, Woods and Molinari) had won a point between them during the competition did justice to this view and made for an extremely entertaining contest. As German Martin Kaymer sank a five-foot putt on the 18th to retain the Ryder Cup he epitomised the phrase ‘form is temporary, class is permanent’.
GAELIC GAMES
LEAGUE TABLES
1
The name that still remains on the lips of golf fanatics all around Europe is Ian Poulter, who was undoubtedly Europe’s saviour at Medinah. What Chris Gayle brings to T20 cricket, Ian Poulter brings to match play golf. His overall Ryder Cup record speaks for itself; 12 wins and only three losses which gives him an 80 per cent point percentage. That incredibly places him seventh on the all-time list of highest points-won-to-games-played ratio. Of course, it goes without saying that Poulter was the only European to go unbeaten during the three days in the US, winning all four of the matches he played in. “Match play, I love the fight of it,” Poulter has said. “You get to stare your opponent straight in the face and sometimes that’s what you need to do.” It is this sort of bullish attitude, combined with a stubborn refusal to lie down and be beaten, that got Europe over the finishing line on Sunday evening.
Keith Allison
Full standings available at: www.bucs.org.uk
eleven minutes with a goal-a-piece by Michael Murphy and Colm McFadden. Donegal played a superbly smart game with wing-back Anthony Johnson at the core of it. Donegal’s manager McGuiness is praised for creating a new style of play that critics are saying will be difficult for other teams to replicate. As for the ladies, Wexford triumphed over Cork in the All Ireland Senior Camogie Championship. They made it three in a row, with the score card reading Wexford 3-13, Cork 3-6. In typical Irish fashion, with the season barely over it is straight back to the grind and time to plan for the 2013 season. Thirty-three teams will compete for the Sam Maguire Cup, while fifteen line up in the race for the Liam McCarthy.
The Journal Wednesday 10 October 2012
SPORT// 23
@EdJournalSport / journal-online.co.uk
Video games remain a pale imitation Not even your 2017 Champions League-winning Montrose side can compete with reality Ruth Jeffery Sport editor
Fancy following in the footsteps of
Fergie or Mourinho? The new FIFA 13 game has every fan trying their hand at steering a team towards league success, but the real world of managers is having a most turbulent week. Not that the lives of coaches are always plain sailing; these past few days have seen some ups and downs hit Europe’s top managers. However realistic the computer game is, it is unlikely that you would find yourself giving away national secrets on a Tube train or having your touchline ban for match-fixing significantly reduced. Some virtual parallels with the real world might however relate to Neil Lennon’s victorious week in the Champions League or Mancini’s despair on the same platform. The bubble of Italian football has long
been an odd mix of corruption, fantastic football and great stories. This week all three were combined in the fortunes of Juventus manager Antonio Conte when his ten-month touchline ban was reduced to four. He will be back in the dugout and dressing room by early December, although fans will have to concede that the team has been performing brilliantly without him. Now completely unbeaten in Serie A for 45 matches - a run which includes the entire 2011/12 season - the Bianconeri have proved that their energy and hunger for victory didn’t end with their title win last season. Conte, a long standing Juventus hero, was found guilty of failing to report match fixing in the 2010/2011 season, leading him to be confined to the stands. The Italian Olympic Committee Tribunal has this week reduced his ban, putting him firmly back in the Juve driving seat. Joint top of the table and going well in Europe, the story of Italy’s most successful club is
ON JOURNAL-ONLINE.CO.UK »
The Rocket returns? After a difficult summer, The Journal asks if Ronnie O’Sullivan can reaffirm his commitment to snooker
still in the ascent. Another European manager with a week to smile about is the feared-for coach of Barcelona, Tito Vilanova. Stepping into the shoes of the adored Pep Guardiola was never going to be an easy task, but the former second in command has proven that he is worthy of the mantle. He subscribes to the same philosophy as Pep and consistency has been the key to a smooth transition between managers, with Barca winning all of their matches to date this season. Vilanova has kept the 4-3-3 formation based on possession and passing, but has introduced a directness to play which has seen Fabregas, amongst others, increase his mark on the scoresheet. Barcelona’s comprehensive win against Benfica in midweek was a display of confidence and seemed to prove that Vilanova has the backing of fans and players alike. In two weeks’ time Vilanova will have the chance to shake hands with another manager whose week in Europe has been a resoundingly successful one. Neil Lennon and Tito both have the chance to walk away from the Celtic - Barcelona clash victorious, though one would admit that the odds are in favour of the latter. Despite upcoming challenges against one of the greatest clubs in the world, Lennon can be satisfied this week that he has proven himself at Europe’s top table. Claiming their first ever away win in the Champions League group stages against Spartak Moscow, Celtic have shown that their manager does indeed have the bottle to face up to the big European teams. Playing ‘Football Manager’, one can only hope to reach heights such as these. Possibly starting by coaching Accrington Stanley and dreaming of meeting Barcelona or Real Madrid in a cup final, one’s virtual ambitions of glory get more fan-
tastically ridiculous the more the game rewards hard work. But pitfalls do befall those who reach said heights and the course of managing at the top level did never run smooth. The urge to talk about your team’s glories or shortcomings is evident in managers of every calibre and England’s cream of the crop was found apologising this week after speaking out of turn on a tube. Roy Hodgson, prolific owl lookalike and all round amiable guy reportedly told fellow train passengers that it is the “end of the line” for Rio Ferdinand’s international career. Having left Rio out of the squad for the foreseeable future, Hodgson held a press conference on Thursday to say that he will be travelling in silence from now on. Another manager with a less than enviable situation is one who would formerly have been a sort of icon. Mancini, coach of the defending Premier League champions and with one of the most talented squads in Europe, looked unsettled this week. Manchester City could have a case for the canonisation of goalkeeper Joe Hart as he single-handedly kept their Champions League dreams alive. A dreary and disorganised City looked shambolic next to energised Borussia Dortmund. Barely scraping a draw with a 90th minute penalty, the Mancunians are third in Group D and must win all of their remaining games. While computer games are becoming more realistic and closer to real life, the turbulent world of the football manager has enough twists and turns to foil any attempt at virtual replication. And the more tempestuous the week in football, the more entertaining it is for the fans. Maybe it’s for the best if the fortunes of Europe’s coaches remain as unpredictably amusing as ever.
Pietersen in England comeback Kevin Pietersen has been con-
firmed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to have agreed a new contract. Pietersen has been out of international cricket since being caught texting provocative comments about his teammates to South African players. The ECB has confirmed that he will have to undergo a ‘reintegration programme’ which will be overseen by team director Andy Flower. When Pietersen is deemed ready to rejoin the team, he will sign a contract running until September 2013. The cricketer is said to be hopeful but not certain as to whether he will be travelling to India with the rest of the England players at the end of this month.
Khan brother signed Amir Khan has announced that his
new promotion company, called Super Fight Promotions, has his younger brother as its first signing. Haroon Khan has had a successful amateur career to date, one which was capped at the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games with a bronze medal in the flyweight division. Promoter Dennis Hobson will be Amir’s partner in the new company and an announcement at the same time confirmed that Virgil Hunter will be his new trainer. The former IBF and WBA light-welterweight champion will fight Carlos Molina in December.
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