The Journal - Edinburgh Issue 010

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EDINBURGH’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER

ISSUE X

WEDNESDAY 1 OCTOBER 2008

SOUTH AFRICA: THE ANC AFTER MBEKI

As incoming president Jacob Zuma wriggles out of corruption charges, opposition leader Helen Zille explains why her Democratic Alliance must be poised to reshape the nation

The rise of the majority » Feature p24

IN NEWS »

Sectarianism row Former first minister Jack McConnell slams Alex Salmond's "disgraceful" lack of action on sectarian division

NATIONAL POLITICS » 15

QMU job cuts Forced wage rises and inadequate budget blamed for sweeping redundancies

STUDENT NEWS » 12

Heroin bust

Heriot-Watt mourns two student deaths

Ross McRoss

Students killed in two tragic accidents over the same weekend, leaving staff and students shocked Evan Beswick evan.beswick@journal-online.co.uk A HERIOT-WATT STUDENT died last week in an accidental 50ft fall from Arthur’s seat.

John Muir, a maths and accountancy student, lost his footing while walking home from a night out on Friday 19 September. According to police, Mr Muir, 19, was negotiating a particularly tricky trail beneath Salisbury Crags when he slipped. There is no suspicion of any wrongdoing over the incident.

Mr Muir’s body was discovered by a hiker more than 24-hours later, lying in the gorse on Queens drive – the road which runs around the circumference of the hill.

A spokesperson for the Lothian and Borders Police issued the following statement: “It would appear that the young man had been enjoying a night out with friends when he became

separated from them at around 01:45 in the early hours of Friday 19 September.

“Police were contacted by a member of the public at around 10:30 on Saturday 20 September. The events which occurred during the intervening period are still being investigated.”

The spokesperson added: “There are no suspicious circumstances. A report has been sent to the procurator fiscal.”

An dedicated scout, Mr Muir frequently returned from Edinburgh to his home in Inverkip, Renfrewshire where he was a youth leader with 85th First Inverkip Scouts.

Scout commissioner David McCallum paid tribute to the teenager. He said: “Mark was a smashing lad and one of scouting’s nicest sons.

“Mark was great fun and he loved the outdoors. He was a real achiever and received his Chief Scout Gold Award and Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award.

He was one of the few scouts to achieve the Double Everest Award where he

climbed the equivalent of 60,000ft “The whole scouting community was extremely proud of him and he will be sorely missed.”

The incident is the first such tragedy since 2006 when a Taiwanese schoolboy on a school trip fell to his death on Salisbury crags. Yi-Chi Chen, 12, lost his footing after taking a difficult and steep route down from the Piper’s Walk pathway while exploring with friends. As with last week’s accident, there were thought to be no suspicious circumstances.

The area comprising Holyrood Park, the Crags and Arthur’s seat are administered by Historic Scotland, who issued a warning last week about the dangers of the park and its surroundings.

A spokesperson said: “The terrain of Holyrood Park is diverse, open and, in places, extremely challenging and exposed.

“We advise people to keep to the paths and not attempt to stray into

territory that could be potentially dangerous to them.

“It is important that people using the park are well equipped and prepared for any activity they wish to undertake.

“If a user of the park has any doubt about what the landscape in the park may encompass available paths and walking routes, our Holyrood Park Ranger service can provide information.”

Staff and students at Heriot-Watt University were dealt a further blow by the death of another of their undergraduates, design student Laura Leghorn, over the same weekend.

Ms Leghorn, 18, from Carluke, South Lanarkshire, had been travelling to meet a friend when her Peugeot 106 collided with a Mitsubishi Lancer being driven in the opposite direction by 25 year-old Stephen Jardine, also from Carluke.

Continued on page 2

Two-year investigation

by Lothian and Borders Police culminates in arrest of 30 suspects

EDINBURGH NEWS » 8

ID card “guinea pigs” Foreign students among the first to be targeted under new government scheme

STUDENT NEWS » 12

IN FEATURES »

Art consumers Recommended eats around the capital’s galleries

EATING & DRINKING » 29

Charles Kennedy The Liberal Democrat leader turned university rector discusses the challenges facing Scottish higher education

COMMENT » 21

10 Student News

The Journal Wednesday 1 October 2008

Scottish Government challenges cash-strapped universities Guy Robertson guy.robertson@journal-online.co.uk A GOVERNMENT-LED FUNDING initiative for higher education in Scotland has challenged universities to demonstrate how their use of public funds supports the economy.

The Joint Future Thinking Taskforce, which had its final meeting last week, will re-direct funding to align university activity with the government aim of higher levels of sustainable economic growth.

It charges universities with attracting young people to Scotland, developing higher skill levels essential to a knowledge-based economy and creating an engaging environment between universities and Scottish business.

A spokesperson for the Scottish government said: “By demonstrating that they are delivering outcomes relevant to our aims of higher levels of sustainable economic growth for all, universities will strengthen their future case for increasing levels of public investment.”

The spokesperson added that Holyrood is investing a higher proportion of its spending in Scotland’s universities than the previous administration—a 2.9 percent real-term increase—and investment in the sector is now more than £1 billion.

In the last decade the pattern of change in the Scottish labour market has been characterised by an increase in high-level skills. The proportion of jobs requiring a tertiary education qualification has roughly doubled to more than one third.

Critics of the Taskforce have accused the report of concealing the real need for additional funding. The rectors of Scottish universities, speaking jointly for the first time in 600 years of Scottish higher education, said that the Scottish government needed to invest more in universities in order to compete with the increasing revenue procured by fee-charging

institutions in England and Wales.

Evidence given to Parliament’s education committee last week by Professor Anton Muscatelli, convener of Universities Scotland and principal of HeriotWatt, showed that there has been a realterm drop of 0.2 per cent in the last year in university funding.

He warned that competing with rival countries would be increasingly difficult.

Adam Ramsay, president of Edinburgh University Student Association, described the university sector as the engine of the Scottish economy. He said: “Our society and economy depend on well taught graduates. It’s crucial that funding for teaching is increased.

“Scotland used to lead the world in education. Today, our investment in universities is substantially less than the average for a developed country.”

Students won’t get the teaching we deserve because universities aren’t getting the money they need.”

Currently only 1 per cent of Scottish GDP goes towards universities compared with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development average of 1.2 per cent.

Last year university principals said an extra £168 million was needed to remain competitive with fee-charging universities south of the border. However they were given just £30 million for the following year.

The director of Universities Scotland, David Caldwell, told The Journal they would continue to push for additional investment: “Funding is a tremendously important issue for universities and we are certain that additional investment will provide a positive return for Scottish society, culture and for economic growth.” In a response to the Taskforce report, the National Union of Students Scotland argued that there were already many sources of evidence illustrative of universities’ contribution to the Scottish economy. They cited graduate employment and student satisfaction as key factors.

News Shorts :: wear them HUNDREDS MARCH FOR DARREN Crowds gathered on 21 September to march through Inverclyde in memory of Darren Pyper, the 14 year-old who was stabbed to death a year ago. The event called for action on the growing trend of knife violence amongst youths in Britain, which has seen dozens of teenagers and young people killed with knives in the past two years. The action was organised to take place on the same day as thousands marched in London to call for an end to gang violence and knife crime.

ECA AWARDED £500,000 RESTORATION GRANT The Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) has been awarded nearly half a million pounds by the Heritage Lottery Fund to restore its 200

year-old Cast Collection. The group of works includes original Renaissance and Medieval statues and reliefs, as well as a complete set of casts of the Parthenon frieze, and is used as an education tool by the ECA in conjuction with University of Edinburgh’s School of History and Classics.

The Heritage Lottery Fund in Scotland’s Colin McLean, said: “We are extremely privileged in Scotland to have this rare and exquisite collection of casts of some of the most admired pieces of Antique, Classical and Renaissance sculpture in the world.

“The Heritage Lottery Fund is delighted not only to be able to help conserve these very rare pieces but also to raise the profile of this unique collection so that many more people may enjoy their beauty.”

IN BRIEF

THE STUDENT RESPONSE

Students’ associations across Scotland have demanded representation in a governmentled funding initiative for higher education, which places strong emphasis on funding for economically advantageous research.

The Joint Future Thinking Taskforce, chaired by the Scottish Secretary for Education, Fiona Hyslop and Universities Scotland convener, Sir Muir Russell, aims to unite government ambitions with universities’ to build for higher sustainable economic growth for Scotland.

A new working relationship between the Scottish Government, the university sector, and the Scottish Funding Council will oversee the dispensation of a ‘general fund’ for operational costs, as well as a competitively awarded ‘Horizon Fund’ for initiatives with individual institutions.

There is concern that the creation of a Horizon Fund, which will be taken from the existent funding pool, will result in less money being invested in undergraduate teaching and on the student experience.

In response to the Taskforce’s interim report, the National Union of Students Scotland said: “For universities to be successful at achieving their goals, funding streams that protect student welfare and ensure quality of learning for students should be maintained and protected within the general funding stream.”

In a letter to Ms Hyslop, Ruth Bush, President of Heriot-Watt Students’ Association (pictured) petitioned for student representation in the Taskforce.

She said: “Student involvement is instrumental in implementing successful change within individual institutions.

“It seems strange to exclude us, as the single largest stakeholder in higher education, from work that will directly affect the quality of our education nationally.”

Overseas universities battle for funding in 'global marketplace' Michael Fern michael.fern@journal-online.co.uk UNIVERSITIES IN BRITAIN and across the world are facing fresh concerns over funding due to globalisation, a survey has revealed this month.

A study by the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) found that traditional financial problems have been compounded by increased competition for students caused by globalisation, with International league tables influencing students’ decisions.

An Australian vice-chancellor said: “[International] ranking is here to stay but it remains very problematic.

“Global comparisons should be possible but it is important that we develop relevant and robust methodologies for providing comparisons across the

Commonwealth and more widely.”

According to the study, the financial problems caused by this increased competition are most keenly felt in developing countries.

A vice-chancellor from a Caribbean university said: “Inadequate funding has resulted in a physical facility that requires rehabilitation, an inability to attract and retain highly qualified staff and inadequate learning resources [for] distance education programmes, laboratory and research equipment.”

A respondent from Zambia said: “We have trebled the number of students, but infrastructure has not changed since the 1980s.

“Funding is not available from government for infrastructure and public universities cannot charge economic rates of fees because it will create strikes by students and the government

will not allow increases in fees.”

Many of those polled highlighted the belief that universities will have to adapt radically to compete in the global marketplace.

A British interviewee said: “The potential increase in [UK] student fees after 2009, accompanied by students increasingly perceiving themselves as customers, presents a key challenge to all UK higher education institutions in terms of improving their market articulation and the responsiveness of academic process and services.”

Another British university staff member said: “Higher education [must] shift from an 18-25 intake sitting in classrooms and labs to learning that adapts to individual and targeted circumstances. [We must] demand new approaches to learning and knowledge generation and dissemination.”

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12 Student News

The Journal Wednesday 1 October 2008

Wage rise blamed for wave of university redundancies

Students to be “guinea pigs” for ID scheme

Adam Bergin, Robyn Keystone

Chris Williams

adam.bergin@journal-online.co.uk COST INCREASES AND budget insufficiencies are to result in staff redundancies at Queen Margaret University according to an announcement last week. Escalating pensions and skyrocketing energy expenditure have been blamed for the estimated 35 job cuts, dubbed by University Principal and Vice Chancellor, Professor Anthony P. Cohen as, “a regrettable situation.”

As a signatory to a 2005 national pay settlement for university staff, QMU has been obliged to increase lecturers’ salaries either by 2.5 per cent or in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI) for September 2008, whichever is higher. With a steadily rising inflation rate, and June’s five per cent RPI figure, it has become apparent that QMU will not be able to meet its financial obligations once the pay increase is implemented.

Cohen said: “Over the last two years, we have achieved the great assets of the university title and of our innovative new campus, both of which give us tremendous bases for growth and development. We must now strengthen our financial position to ensure that we can take full advantage of this opportunity.”

In an attempt to mitigate the job losses, QMU has offered staff the opportunity to apply for voluntary severance or to express an interest in early retirement where appropriate.

It is still uncertain whether further cuts will need to be made to such areas as the arts and extra-curricular activities. When asked if these monetary cutbacks would affect the standard of education offered by QMU, the university’s student officers said: “It is very hard to predict the outcome of the cuts. However the Students’ Union is confident that the new campus can facilitate the absorption of these cuts due to its compact design, which requires less administrative and teaching staff than the old campus.”

Further south, more than 200 staff are set to lose their jobs at the University of Plymouth after years of financial uncertainty. Staff numbers are to be reduced by 223 – a cut of approximately 6.5 per cent from the current number of around 3,400. An internal strategy review revealed that a £10 million cut in costs was needed after the university admitted to “a historic overspend.”

A spokeswoman has said that the review will necessitate a “reshaping” of Plymouth’s “academic offering” but that this will “ensure that the institution

Westminster to tackle "studentification" of university towns UK government looks at introducing more HMO quotas Ben Judge ben@journal-online.co.uk THE UK GOVERNMENT is proposing a change in planning law that will aim to limit the number of students living in the centres of so-called “university towns”.

According to a report published last week by housing minister Caroline Flint, the government will publish a green paper later in the year that will seek to disperse student residents and prevent them from “clustering” together.

The new legislation will seek to limit the number of Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMO) licenses granted in a particular area. The cities most likely to be affected include Leeds, Nottingham and Southampton.

Westminster sees “studentification” as a significant problem, especially during the summer months when communities are left dormant in the students’ absence.

Ms Flint said: “It is not acceptable that current rental practices allow unplanned student enclaves to evolve to such an extent that local communities are left living as ghost towns following the summer student exodus. “[The] report has identified a series of proven steps councils and

universities can take to reduce the dramatic effects of ‘studentification’, where houses of multiple occupation cluster too closely together.”

The proposals are very similar to a failed bill debated in the Scottish Parliament in early 2007. Because housing and planning are not reserved matters, the UK government’s proposals would not have a direct impact in Scotland.

However, over the last two years, Edinburgh City Council has been operating HMO restrictions in the capital.

So called “sensitive” areas such as Marchmont, Southside and Tollcross are subject to a 30 per cent cap on HMO densities.

Such plans were subject to largescale protest from Edinburgh students under the Right to Rent campaign organised by former Edinburgh University Students’ Association (EUSA) president, Josh MacAlister.

Speaking in April last year, Mr MacAlister said: “HMOs are a vital source of housing given that there are so many problems with the availability of places to live in Edinburgh.

“If HMO properties are limited then it will increase demand – forcing up rents and driving down standards in the private rented sector. If quotas were proposed for where any other group of people could or couldn’t live it would be totally unacceptable.”

remains robust and goes from strength to strength.”

The proposal has been criticised by representatives of the university’s unions who say the institution’s reputation had been “built upon the expertise and commitment of the staff over many years.”

The president of Plymouth’s University and College Union (UCU) branch, Mike Sheaff, added: “As the union representing academic staff, we do not accept the proposal for over 200 academic staff redundancies.”

Mr Sheaff further criticised on the timing of the announcement: “Great distress and anxiety has been caused by this announcement, particularly at a time when staff are working hard to welcome 30,000 new and returning students.

“We oppose any redundancies that are used to fund new investment.”

The financial crisis is thought to have commenced with the sudden death last January of Professor Roland Levinsky, the University’s Vice Chancellor, who had put in place ambitious expansion plans.

The UCU’s general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: “We believe the new building programme, put in place by the previous vice chancellor, and the policy

of centralising to Plymouth have been major factors in the build up of the huge deficit.

“We reject outright any suggestions that the current crisis is merely attributable to rising costs and current economic difficulties. The deficit was built up during a period when inflation was at historically low levels.

“It is not UCU members in Plymouth who should have to pay the price for the university’s financial mismanagement.”

Throughout the period of review, confidential advice and counseling will be made available to those staff affected.

The university’s Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive, Professor Wendy Purcell, has defended the plans. She said: “There will be the need for a small number of redundancies. However, we hope to achieve the majority of these through voluntary means and will do all that we can to minimise compulsory redundancies.

“We are taking great care in the way we do this to protect our academic standing as an institution that enjoys high esteem across our teaching and research.

“We are an excellent university, and are now shaping ourselves to sustain a great future.”

News Shorts :: wear them COUNCIL PENSIONS GO DOWN WITH BANK The global repercussions of the collapse of US financial giant Lehman Brothers became apparent in Edinburgh in the immediate aftermath of the investment bank’s application for bankruptcy, as the Lothian Pension Fund (LPF) announced that it had lost almost £2 million as a result of the fall in share prices of the former banking giant.

LPF, which has 67,000 members from councils in Edinburgh, Midlothian, West Lothian and East Lothian, now intends to lead a lawsuit against bosses of the Lehman group after claiming that they failed to tell investors of the severity of the bank’s situation.

It is believed that the lawsuit will focus on the company’s key directors, including its chairman and other executives. If successful, it is believed that these individuals would be personally responsible for reimbursing shareholders.

LPF invested £6.4 million in Lehman Brothers shares over a period of six months from November 2007.

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY FINDS A HOME A section of coastline on the Isle of Arran, in western Scotland, has become the UK’s first communitydecreed fishing exclusion zone, following years of wrangling between locals, environmentalists and the fishing industry. With approval from the Scottish Government, Lamlash Bay will be legally protected from

all fishing, in an attempt to allow local stocks of cod, haddock, hake, dab, plaice and turbot to regenerate. Catches for the Clyde fishing fleet continue to decline, and many local communities are suffering as an entire way of life slowly dies out.

“We are obviously very pleased,” said Howard Wood, a local resident and diver.

“It has taken a very long time. We do realise we still have a few months of official consultation to go through, but it’s moving in the right direction and it is what we have wanted.

“Something had to be done. Our proposal is not going to solve the Clyde’s problems, but it’s a start.”

DYDY DDIGON AT DDOD ‘CH ODDI AR MEDDAL ‘CH DAFAD! Campaigners fighting to keep Warrender Park Road post office open were fuming like a dragon wolfing down some steamed leeks as they discovered the true extent of the Royal Mail’s committment to personalised customer service.

Having written to the relevant officials to complain about the closure, Marchmont residents received in reply a leaflet explaining the Royal Mail’s policy – entirely in Welsh.

Linda Smith, 66, of Warrender Park Terrace told the Edinburgh Evening News: “I was very annoyed, and I find it really insulting. Did they even look at my letter of objection? They obviously just flung in a standard letter and chucked in the leaflet.”

chris.williams@journal-online.co.uk HOME SECRETARY JACQUI Smith has revealed that students are to be the first group targeted by the government’s identity card scheme.

The first compulsory ID cards issued in the UK for 60 years are to be distributed to all foreign nationals originating from outside the European Economic Area from 25 November.

The government aims to roll out the baby blue and pale pink cards initially to foreign students and married people renewing their residence visas, with Home Office officials expecting more than 90 percent of foreign nationals to be in possession of a card by 2015.

The design of the £30 cards will feature a rose, thistle, shamrock and daffodil—flowers representing the four countries of the UK—as well as a rampaging bull, a symbol of the European Union.

Data held on the card will include the person’s picture, date of birth, town and country of birth and details about their rights to work and claim benefits in the UK. Biometric data will also be held on the cards in the form of the person’s fingerprints.

Ms Smith has stated that ID cards will replace as many as 50 separate paper documents that foreign nationals must currently hold in order to study or work in the UK. At the unveiling of the card design last Thursday, Ms Smith said: “We all want to see our borders more secure and human trafficking, organised immigration crime, illegal working and benefit fraud tackled.

“ID cards will make it easier for employers and sponsors to check entitlement to work and study and for the UK Border Agency to verify someone’s identity.”

However, many foreign students remain unconvinced by the scheme.

Amanda Green, an American 4th year English Literature and Language student at the University of Edinburgh, told The Journal: “The government is using a group of people who can’t say no to ID cards as a way of intoroducing a new program that is widely disputed and disagreed with already. It’s reminiscent of Big Brother and I think it is unfair that they’re giving us the ultimatum, ‘Get it or get out.’”

The cards, dubbed by the Conservatives as an “expensive white elephant”, will become compulsory for all airside airport workers and employees in other “sensitive” areas of the UK economy from 2009. Ultimately, ID cards will be available to all UK citizens from 2010.

The Liberal Democrats have also been scathing about the cards with home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne saying: “The government has gone wobbly-kneed about rolling this out to anyone with a vote. This is the thin end of the wedge. It does not matter how fancy the design of ID cards is, they remain a grotesque intrusion on the liberty of the British people.

“The government is using vulnerable members of our society, like foreign nationals who do not have the vote, as guinea pigs for a deeply unpopular and unworkable policy.”

Student News 13

The Journal Wednesday 1 October 2008

Planned post-graduate complex draws criticism Guy Robertson guy.robertson@journal-online.co.uk PROPOSALS FOR A postgraduate campus the size of Pollock Halls have been put forward in a bid by the University of Edinburgh to attract more international students. The Journal has learned that discussions at the meeting of the University of Edinburgh Court—the highest decision-making body in the university—centred around the proposals, which have yet to be formally acknowledged by accommodation services.

According to those present at the meeting last week, the centre will have 1300 rooms, half catered and half self-catered, and include shops, cafes and study space. Two buildings in the Moray House complex will be demolished to make way for the new postgraduate block.

Concerns have been voiced over the affordability of the proposed accommodation. Although promises have been made to offer bed-sits from a mixed price range, no quota has been set.

An international students’ barometer survey conducted by the University

of Edinburgh’s internationalisation strategy team revealed that foreign students were least satisfied with the cost of accommodation. The cost of living came in third, showing that financial concerns are, important to international students.

Richard Kington, director of accommodation services at the University of Edinburgh was unable to confirm the proposals. He said: “Unfortunately I can’t make any comment as any discussions at the court are confidential.

“The only thing of any substance we are working on is John Burnett House [a 118-room catered residence, due 2009] and we’ve already started building that.

“We are always looking at opportunities and discussing possibilities with builders and contractors but, to be honest, many of them don’t see the light of day. Things may have been discussed in principal. But as-and-when we have any substantial plans I’ll be happy to share that with you.”

Scotland’s universities are already amongst the most international in the world with 20 per cent of students coming from outside Scotland.

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Students taxed at university outlets

The Moray House complex is the proposed site for the rumoured accommodation block Silvia Foteva

Guy Robertson guy.robertson@journal-online.co.uk MORAY HOUSE STUDENTS at the University of Edinburgh have been the victims of a price hike in catering services due to the addition of VAT in the Chapters Restaurant.

While students should have VAT waived on catering, Accommodation Services have added VAT to prices “due to a change in their business mix.”

To avoid administrative issues with Revenue and Customs, students are being treated the same as the general public by the University of Edinburgh’s commercial arm, Edinburgh First.

As a result, students across Edinburgh pay prices comparable to Prêt À Manger, Costa and Starbucks at campus catering outlets.

Ross MacRae, a Moray House student, told The Journal he was outraged at the situation: “This is just the latest in a long list of incidents where students are being treated with no respect. There was no consultation and no warning.

“Moray House students don’t have

enough space in the campus as it is and we are prohibited from sitting in the Chapters Restaurant unless we buy something.

“This is a University campus and the people who run the services here would do well to remember that.”

The Edinburgh University Students’ Association have said that Accommodation Services are “turning their back” on students, telling The Journal: “The government has specifically exempted students from paying VAT on food bought on campus. It’s a shame Accommodation Services aren’t letting us take advantage of this exemption.”

EUSA added that it was fine for Accommodation Services to make money from outside customers but that VAT could still be deducted from sales to students: “This does require matriculation cards to be checked, but it would save students 17.5%. Over a year this is a significant amount of money.”

David Montgomery, assistant director of finance for Edinburgh First declined to comment, while the management at Chapters Restaurant refused to discuss the matter with The Journal.

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National Politics 15

The Journal Wednesday 1 October 2008

McConnell attacks First Minister over sectarianism policy Matthew Moore matthew.moore@journal-online.co.uk First Minister Alex salmond has been accused of letting “his foot off the pedal” in the fight against sectarianism by his scottish labour predecessor Jack McConnell.

McConnell´s attack, which came in an unusually outspoken interview with the Scottish Catholic Observer, focused on what he calls salmond’s “lack of action” on tackling scotland’s sectarianism problem.

McConnell said: “sectarianism is like a cancer, if you don´t keep on the attack it starts to grow back. that’s what has happened; the treatment has stopped and the cancer is coming back.” the MsP for Wishaw made eradicating sectarianism a key focus of his premiership, and warned that salmond would be considered a “political coward” if he didn´t carry on the work.

“His reluctance to do so and his refusal to provide an adequate explanation are disgraceful and i think he has let scotland down,” he added.

Alex salmond is due to give a personal reaction in a rebuttal interview with the Scottish Catholic Observer.

Dr Paul Cairney, a politics lecturer at the University of Aberdeen and a member of the scottish Devolution Monitoring team, believes that salmond may go on the offensive.

“He is going to say two things: firstly that he hasn’t given up on the agenda; he just has a different idea of what works and what doesn’t,” said Dr Cairney. “the other thing he will no doubt say is that this is linked to labour’s problems in the polls.”

Despite political etiquette preventing elected officials from criticising their successors, Dr Cairney suggests that this kind of political backstabbing is not unheard of: “there’s only been devolution for nine years and all the first ministers have been from the same party so this is really the first chance for it to happen.

“You certainly used to get it in UK Parliament – ted Heath critical of thatcher and then thatcher critical of Major. so there is precedence in that sense.”

Mr McConnell has previously stated that having grown up as a Catholic in predominantly Protestant Motherwell, he was himself a victim of sectarian abuse, in part motivating his strong opinions on the matter, and its prominence in his policy agenda.

Darling rules out energy windfall tax Magnus Huntly-Grant magnus@journal-online.co.uk A CAMPAign bY labour unions and other political activists at the labour Party conference in Manchester has failed to instigate any change in government tax policy towards energy companies.

Proposed changes, including nationalisation of and/or the levying of a windfall tax on large energy companies and punitive taxes for city speculators, were added to the discussion agenda by the labour national Policy Forum.

Despite this, Alistair Darling made it clear that a windfall tax will not become government policy while he is chancellor. speaking to radio 4’s Today programme, the Chancellor said: “You need to

remain level headed. You need to do what is right and avoid knee-jerk reactions. “i don’t want to destabilise the tax system.” in response to Mr Darling’s comments, Dave Prentis, head of UnisOn—the UK’s second largest union—told The Independent: “the Chancellor is making the right noises, but he has not gone far enough. “the right thing to do is levy a windfall tax now, and curb boardroom pay.”

Mr Darling did highlight the issue of executive bonuses and severance packages, promising increased regulation in an attempt to calm the current financial crisis and prevent a reoccurrence.

He said: “it’s essential that bonuses don’t result in people being encouraged to take on more and more risk without understanding the damage that might be

done, not just to their bank, but to the rest of us in the wider economy.”

Professor Jonathan Crook, Professor of business economics at the University of edinburgh, explained how a windfall tax works: “it is a tax which is applied as a lump sum or proportionate amount of profits where a company’s profits exceed an ‘acceptable level,’ usually only applied in exceptional or unforeseen circumstances. “there is no current regulator for oil prices and while oil companies will not intentionally delude regulators you have to prevent companies from passing on the costs of a windfall tax to the consumer.

“On one hand this could enable the government to give a rebate to certain households but you have to weigh this against the potential for price increases.”

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16 National Politics

The Journal Wednesday 1 October 2008

Polls predict a Labour wipeout

Surprise, shock & anticipation Students react to their political inheritance Selma Sopić

paris@journal-online.co.uk The largesT ever poll of UK marginal constituencies has suggested that the next general election will bring an overwhelming defeat for the government, sweeping the Conservatives to power with a large majority and almost wiping the electoral map of labour in southern england.

The Politicshome.com electoral index, an influential online tracker of British political developments, adds further weight to the consensus that whenever the next national vote is, it will bring David Cameron’s Tories to power.

The index, edited by political journalist and commentator andrew rawnsley, predicts that “if a general election were held now, labour would suffer a catastrophic defeat on a par with that of the Conservatives in 1997.” a projected Conservative tally of 398 Westminster seats against 160 for labour and 44 for the liberal Democrats would leave Mr Cameron’s party with a majority of 146.

The poll shows labour retreating into its pre-1997 heartlands in the northeast and the Welsh valleys. apart from a few pockets in london and other major regional cities, the Politicshome political map for the south of england is devoid of labour support. eight Cabinet ministers, including the Justice secretary Jack straw and home secretary Jacqui smith, would lose their seats if the projections, which surveyed over 34,000 voters in 238 marginal seats, prove to be accurate.

Predicting a swing from labour to the Conservatives as high as 16 per cent in some regional break-downs, the study presents a dramatically altered political map in the wake of the next general election, which must be held by May 2010.

Data collected indicates that labour would lose every single marginal constituency it currently holds except two seats in Cumbria, with a total loss of 124 MPs. however, extrapolating the trend of the swing towards the Conservatives suggests an even greater collapse, with labour losing 183 seats nationally.

The poll also suggests major gains for the scottish National Party, which is projected to benefit from labour’s unpopularity in scotland.

In what may turn out to be the biggest shift in scottish political history since devolution, the sNP would become the largest Westminster party

north of the border, increasing their UK representation by 17 seats, mostly at the expense of labour.

While predicting disaster for the labour Party, the poll suggests that the Conservative electoral juggernaut would be nearly as damaging for the liberal Democrats, whose Westminster representation could drop by as much as a third. a swing towards the Tories, predominantly in the West Country, as well as pressure from the sNP in scotland, is predicted to cut lib Dem seats in Parliament to just 44. high profile casualties for Britain’s third party would include home affairs spokesman and former leadership contender Chris huhne, MP for eastleigh.

The poll does offer a crumb of comfort for lib Dem leader Nick Clegg, who has publicly declared his party’s aim to increase its representation to 100 MPs at the next election – liberal Democrat MPs are judged to be comprehensively the most popular with their constituents.

When asked if they felt their local Member of Parliament was experienced, approachable, independent and influential, respondents in liberal Democrat constituences were most likely to respond in the positive in all categories. however, the party has major shortcomings to overcome in its national popularity, with only eight per cent of all respondents stating that Nick Clegg would make the best Prime Minister – a figure which only increases to 28 per cent when considering just lib Dem voters, marginally ahead of David Cameron on 24 per cent.

Welsh nationalists Plaid Cymru are also set to capitalise on disatisfaction with the current leadership, quadrupling their Westminster representation from one seat to four. given the electoral cataclysm which the poll’s data makes extremely probable, labour officials will likely take little heart from the news that in the london riding of Bethnal green & Bow, respect founder and Celebrity Big Brother contestant george galloway MP is predicted to lose his seat back to the party from which he claimed it amidst a flurry of press coverage in 2005.

The Politicshome study appears a few weeks after a similar poll of marginal Westminster constituencies conducted by Channel 4 News, which also predicted a crushing defeat for labour, with the added detail that most voters would not be swayed to vote for the government by a change of party leader.

Orla Murray

4th year Economics & Politics

“If the majority of people are dissatisfied then surely change is necessary, that’s how democracy works”

Politicshome indicates Conservative landslide across southern england, with lib Dems also set to lose out as sNP prepares for Westminster gains

Paris Gourtsoyannis & Ross Melton

National Politics 17

The Journal Wednesday 1 October 2008

SNP

1st year Sociology & Politics:

“[On first seeing the map] a bit scary. I don’t think [a Conservative victory] would change that much I think there are more pressing issues in the world today than party politics”

Costas Kaskarelis

24 Predicted seats +17 Change since 2005

3rd year Mechanical Engineer

Alexandra Grant

“Not much is going to change given the way policies have moved under New labour, but it’s surprising how willing people are to throw their support behind David Cameron”

4th year English Literature

“I think there would be more tactical voting to keep the sNP out of holyrood or the Conservatives out of Westminster”

Anonymous

Anthony Laidlaw 4th year History

“given gordon Brown’s bottling of the election date last year, it’s not surprising that people are fed up with him and labour”

Conservatives

Labour

160 Predicted seats -183 Change since 2005

398 Predicted seats +184 Change since 2005

4th year Anthropology & Development “[On first seeing the map] Oh shit, that’s worrying. I think people are over-estimating the opportunity this would create for scottish Independence”

Ville Lethinen 1st year Biology

“Unsurprisingly the Conservatives are doing well. I think the map is quite representative”

Conservative majority of

146 This compares to: 179 - Labour, 1997 144 - Cons., 1983 146 - Labour, 1945

local MPs: asset or liability?

Lib Dems

Individual candidates have an important part to play in the electoral process. however, voters’ opinions of their MPs vary widely with party affiliation; on attributes such as independence or influence in Westminster, labour candidates fare the worst, while lib Dem candidates are consistently rated well amongst voters.

44 -19 Change since 2005 Predicted seats

Looking to the future Based on the predictions made by the PoliticsHome study of UK marginal constituencies, Labour will be driven back into pre-1997 heartlands, with the Conservatives dominant across England and the SNP becoming the largest party in Scotland

% 60 50

Plaid Cymru

6

Predicted seats

+3 Since 2005

40 30 20 10 0 -10 -20

Map shows the predicted results were an election held at the time of polling estimates have been made to take into account boundary changes since 2005

Localness

Experience

Ordinary

Approachable Independent

Influential

Updates

Comment 19

The Journal Wednesday 1 October 2008

Comment Discussion&Debate

Banking Chaos:

Escape from the City City high-flier Biraj Parmar walked out on his top investment banking job this spring, convinced that trouble was on its way. As the financial sector reels from one of its most chaotic fortnights in living memory, he gives an insider's view of the incessant risk-taking that preceded the crisis – and the changes that will be needed to get finance back on its feet

Biraj Parmar Former Banker

biraj@journal-online.co.uk

W

HEN SCOTLAND’S OLDEST bank fell to pieces last month, Alex Salmond had no hesitation in casting the blame. As shares in HBOS plummeted, Salmond launched a scathing attack on the “bunch of short selling spivs and speculators” that supposedly lay behind the slump. It was typically crowd-pleasing stuff, and won the former Royal Bank of Scotland economist a rousing reception at Holyrood. Unfortunately for Salmond, his explanation of HBOS’s downfall was nonsense.

Short selling has long been an accepted part of the financial landscape. It involves a hedge fund or other investment vehicle borrowing shares for a set fee, in the belief that they will fall in value. Having sold the shares on the market, the fund manager hopes to buy them back later at a lower price, return them to the original owner, and pocket the difference.

When HBOS collapsed, the press immediately pointed the finger at short sellers, who were accused of spreading false rumours in a bid to depress prices for their own ends. Yet it soon transpired that the traders were right to be selling HBOS shares: there were serious weaknesses in the bank’s balance sheet, and it was always going to be a target for the likes of Lloyds TSB. The wave of short selling that sparked such a furious reaction was a symptom of HBOS’s malaise – not the cause.

The hysterical reaction to the HBOS fiasco is a perfect example of the populist tendency among journalists and politicians to make scapegoats of wealthy bankers at every opportunity. Yet there’s a grain of truth behind the hyperbole.

Wholesale banking is a fundamental product of a capitalist, free

market-oriented economy, and there’s usually a reason for the mammoth pay cheques enjoyed by the most successful bankers. By and large, the highest earners at banks are incentivised in a way that’s directly linked to shareholder return. If the system works as it should, then high bonuses for bankers will be accompanied by higher dividends for shareholders and a rise in value for the bank – leaving everyone a winner.

Yet it’s now clear that the system has malfunctioned. The problem started with the arrival of a new generation of managers at the top investment banks, many of whom brought an unprecedentedly aggressive approach and a huge appetite for risk. There’s a vast amount of capital circulating in the global financial system. But it’s a finite amount, and the competition among banks for investors’ cash is fierce.

With management desperately looking to boost returns on a riskreward basis, any salesman who was deemed to be getting less than an optimal number of sales out of a customer was liable to be replaced by someone who could extract more value from the account. This sort of approach can breed enormous internal competition - at times to an unhealthy degree. Salespeople concerned only for their own survival can end up selling their customers products that are entirely unsuitable. This sort of risk-taking can contribute to a weakening of the entire financial system.

After twelve years of working with leading investment banks, earlier this year I made the decision to leave the financial services industry. With such fierce competition for a limited amount of investors’ cash, traders were taking ever greater risks as they strove to make a profit. I could see that things were going the wrong way – it was clear to me that a significant correction of the market was about to take place.

I got out just in time. We are

now faced with the worst financial crisis in decades, and the prospect of a downturn in economic fortunes that could be even worse than the Great Depression of the 1930s. We can expect significant layoffs in the banking sector, and those considering a career in the City would do well to think in the long term. Anyone hoping to go in to make a quick buck will be sorely disappointed.

The situation will improve only if financial authorities wake up to the scale of the challenge they face. Throughout modern history, the engine that drives the world’s markets has periodically needed a cog change – now the whole system needs to be replaced. The crises of the last 18 months have shown that the market has massive flaws in its current form. The current compensation model works to reward those that take the highest

risk - arguably those who weaken the system the most. We need to work to restructure the financial sector so that it’s those who contribute towards the stability of the system who receive the most generous pay cheques.

But the world’s business and political leaders must be desperately careful to keep their heads, and not to give knee-jerk responses to the growing media clamour. There’s no way of punishing an entire sector of the economy that wouldn’t be disastrous for the country as a whole.

Reactionary proposals such as outlawing short-selling or capping executive pay would be inappropriate and counter-productive. This is not the public sector.

Provided our politicians put their concerns about re-election to one side, and genuinely take on board the views of long-term thinkers from across the fields of finance and theoretical economics, there’s light at the end of the tunnel. But there has been a huge explosion of overly aggressive tactics in the City in recent years.

It could be a long time before this cultural shift is fully reversed.

Biraj Parmar is a former director at Barclays Capital and Deutsche Bank.

Now a freelance businessman, he most recently became the landlord of the Valiant Trooper freehouse and restaurant in Aldbury, Hertfordshire

2 News

The Journal Wednesday 1 October 2008

Heriot-Watt mourns two Bras for Breast Cancer student deaths Continued from page 1

Simon Keane attempts to break a Guinness World Record by unsnapping over 69 bras in one minute to raise money for Breast Cancer Care ™

October 31, 2008, 17:30

9 Victoria St.

Donate Now www.justgiving.com/unsnap Get Involved: brasforbreastcancer@gmail.com

EDINBURGH’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER

Editor Evan Beswick Deputy Editor Chris Williams Art Director Matthew MacLeod Deputy Editor (News) Paris Gourtsoyannis Deputy Editor (Comment/Features) Simon Mundy Deputy Editor (Sport) Graham Mackay

The accident, which occurred at around 2pm on Sunday 21 September, killed both drivers instantly.

While Ms Leghorn’s family—including her three brothers and two sisters— are, understandably, too distressed to comment, neighbours were forthcoming in their condolences for the “bubbly” second-year student.

One neighbour said: “Laura was a talented girl who loved being creative.

She came into her own after going to university.”

A pupil of Carluke High School until 2007, Ms Leghorn was remembered fondly by her former teachers. Head

.

teacher Jim Yuille said: “Losing Laura has brought enormous sadness on the whole school community, our deepest sympathies and thoughts go out to her family.

“Laura left Carluke High School in 2007. She was a House Vice-Captain and one of the most pleasant, sunny-natured and hard- working pupils we have ever had the pleasure to teach. Her particular passion was in art and design.

“In her final year, she won a Clydesdale Community Award for her design skills which was an example of her ability to put her heart and soul into everything she did.”

While the A721 Kilncadzow-Carluke road on which the accident occurred is

not known as a dangerous stretch, Police and roads officials have expressed concern about the five fatalities to have occurred so far this year and ordered an inspection of the road surface. It is understood that the road is to be closed as part of a resurfacing scheme next month, one aspect of which is the inclusion of anti-skid surfacing.

Responding to the week’s unhappy events, a spokesperson for Heriot-Watt University said: “Our thoughts are with the family and friends of both Laura and Mark at this sad time. The university’s Student Welfare Department has been in contact with the families and are offering support to them and both Mark and Laura’s friends.”

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CORRECTIONS The contribution of Dr Carel le Roux to the article "Surgically Slim" in Issue IX was not acknowledged. Our apologies.

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20 Comment

The Journal Wednesday 1 October 2008

South Africa:

No time for hesitation At the most critical moment in South African politics since the end of apartheid, a new consensus might yet arise from the tumult

Helen Zille

Democratic Alliance h.zille@journal-online.co.uk

F

OURTEEN YEARS AFTER the advent of democracy, there has been a bloodless coup in South Africa with the transfer of presidential power from Thabo Mbeki to Kgalema Motlanthe. Like all coups, it served the narrow self-interest of a group of power-hungry politicians; it took place against the backdrop of vicious political infighting; and it has left the country in a state of political flux. But the dramatic events of the past few weeks offer hope, too, for they have accelerated a process of a political realignment which, in the long term, will bolster constitutional democracy.

The African National Congress (ANC) justified its decision to “recall” Mbeki from the presidency, just seven months before a general election, on the grounds of national “stability” and “the unity and cohesion of the ANC”. But the truth is at once more ordinary and sordid: Mbeki’s ouster was motivated by political revenge. And it forms part of a strategy to ensure that his nemesis, ANC President Jacob Zuma, becomes state president without facing his day in court on fraud

and corruption charges.

Mbeki’s recall and subsequent resignation were sparked by a court judgment: last month, the Pietermaritzburg High Court ruled, on the basis of a technicality, that the prosecution of Zuma by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) was invalid. Zuma’s supporters enthusiastically welcomed the judgment, as they interpreted it to mean that their leader was off the hook.

Buoyed by inferences in the verdict that Mbeki had meddled with the NPA to secure Zuma’s prosecution, pressure mounted within the ruling party to recall Mbeki. A subsequent announcement by the NPA that it would appeal the judgment was ascribed to “Mbekivellian” machination, and the pressure reached boiling point. Mbeki was prevailed upon to resign.

This was the ultimate revenge that the hardliners in the Zuma camp had been seeking since Zuma defeated Mbeki in the race for the presidency of the ANC in December last year. But Mbeki’s removal from office was also motivated by the ANC’s desire to find a “political solution” to Zuma’s legal problems. One such solution would be to appoint a pliable head of the NPA (in terms of the constitution, it is a presidential appointment) willing to drop the charges against Zuma. Another solution, down the line, would be to

amend the constitution to grant a sitting president immunity from prosecution.

Circumventing the legal process to get Zuma off the hook is in the ANC’s interest, but not the country’s. Conversely, the speedy and successful resolution of Zuma’s case may prove fatal to Zuma’s presidential ambitions, but it is necessary if we are to close the chapter on this sorry affair.

There is prima facie evidence that Zuma accepted 783 bribes totalling R4.2 million (£280,000) over a period of ten years. Zuma cannot credibly occupy any office of state until a court of law has had a chance to weigh the evidence and establish his innocence. Yet he has exploited every legal avenue to avoid answering the case against him in court, and now he and his clique in the ruling party have their sights on a special political deal outside the framework of the law.

That is why Motlanthe, the most senior parliamentarian in Zuma’s cabal, was elected to serve as the interim “caretaker” president: the ANC hopes Motlanthe will quash Zuma’s prosecution, and make way for him as head of state next year.

But it is unlikely that Motlanthe will be satisfied with a brief spell of seatwarming. Moreover, his public statements about defending the constitutional order suggest that he might be unwilling to countenance any special dispensation

Ecstasy Classification:

for Zuma that falls foul of the law or the constitution.

There is another good reason to believe that he may refuse to accede to the hardliners’ demands and reject a political solution to Zuma’s legal problems: it is rumoured that Motlanthe harbours long-term presidential ambitions himself.

If Motlanthe proves intractable on the matter, and if he is disinclined to pass the presidential baton to Zuma after the next election, the Zuma faction will itself be factionalised.

The ANC is already irredeemably divided – between supporters of Mbeki and supporters of Zuma, and between those who uphold the constitution as the supreme law of the Republic and those who believe, in Zuma’s words, that “the ANC is more important than even the constitution of the country”.

Zuma’s backers are willing to subvert the constitution for their leader’s benefit. There is nothing unique about this. Almost every liberation movement has done the same thing after attaining power. Liberation movements make very bad democratic governments for one key reason: liberation struggles are about attaining power. Constitutional democracy is about limiting power. And no liberation movement seems willing to accept that.

A tough pill to swallow Simon Mundy Deputy Editor

simon@journal-online.co.uk

A

QUARTER OF a million Britons risked seven-year jail terms last month to buy ecstasy from dealers who could face life in prison.

That’s what the law says, anyway. Since 1977, the Home Office has categorised MDMA as a class A illegal drug, reflecting an official line that says ecstasy is among the most dangerous substances on the street. From crown court judges to loved-up ravers, almost no-one believes this to be the case; in practice, the justice system has long since ceased to approach ecstasy in the same way as heroin or crack cocaine. But as home secretary Jacqui Smith resists fresh calls for the drug’s declassification, it’s clear that the present government has no intention of allowing mere facts and practicalities to get in the way of its ostentatiously tough stance on drugs.

Britain’s tripartite drug classification system was intended to be a guide for legal authorities and potential users as to the relative danger presented by street drugs. For all the paranoid suspicions that Westminster’s chief goal is to stop the nation’s youth having a good time, illegal drugs are criminalised on the basis of harm – both to users and to those around them.

The UK model is based on an

enticingly simple principle: the greater the potential for harm, the higher the class. And there’s the rub - ecstasy simply isn’t that harmful. People can die from MDMA use, whatever aficionados might tell you: 30 in Britain each year, according to one estimate. But the overall impact of ecstasy pales in comparison with other drugs. This was made shatteringly clear by a Lancet study last year by a team from the Academy of Medical Sciences, which examined various social and biological factors to establish the relative dangers of the most popular drugs.

Ecstasy was the least harmful of all the illegal substances studied, well behind class C-graded cannabis and ketamine, as well as alcohol and tobacco. Class A stablemates heroin and cocaine were out of sight. The drug classification system, concluded the experts, is “not fit for purpose.”

Try telling that to the Home Office spokesman who last month dismissed renewed calls for a rethink on ecstasy with the sensational assertion that “ecstasy can and does kill unpredictably.” All sorts of things kill unpredictably, as anyone who has died putting on their trousers would love to come back and tell you. It’s the predictable killers that should be the chief object of the government’s attentions–the drugs, like heroin, that have been shown to leave a trail of shattered lives wherever they gain a foothold. The classification model offers a means of ranking more than 500 controlled substances according to the

damage they cause. For a prominent drug to be so manifestly out of place renders the entire system all but unusable.

How are we to explain the government’s intransigence? The endlessly antagonistic tabloid press must take its share of the blame, having set up the parasitic junkie as a kind of pantomime villain, a menace to be resisted at all costs.

“To give low-lifes a daily fix of an illegal substance seems like a bad taste joke,” howled the Daily Star last year, after a

There is talk of disgruntled former members of Mbeki’s cabinet, a third of whom resigned after Mbeki was recalled—although some of them were subsequently reappointed by Motlanthe—breaking away from the ANC to form a new party with the constitution as its lodestar.

The realignment of South African politics is underway, and if the cracks which have begun to emerge in the Zuma camp widen, the process will be accelerated.

The role of the party that I lead, the Democratic Alliance, is to facilitate the reconfiguration of political parties, drawing a clear line between those who believe in constitutionalism and those who do not. This realignment will not hinge on opposition parties alone, since it is not just opposition parties that care about the constitution. There are many in the ANC who want to defend the constitution and who are appalled by the growing trend of anti-constitutionalism in their own party.

If, in the long-term, the bloodless coup brings together constitutionalists under one political umbrella, its shortterm pain will have been worth suffering.

Helen Zille is the Mayor of Cape Town and leader of South Africa’s opposition Democratic Alliance

Reclassifying ecstasy might be a political risk, but the current system is crippling efforts to inform about the dangers of drugs

police chief suggested that NHS provision of heroin could slash crime rates. No matter what the common sense content, all drug legislation will be portrayed as being either hard or soft on drugs; and the latter simply is not a vote-winner.

All recent discourse on this subject must be seen through this lens. When David Cameron last week dropped his support for ecstasy declassification, it served slightly to relieve the suspicions raised by his refusal to say whether he

has used cocaine. A similar populist logic lies behind Gordon Brown’s insistence that cannabis should be re-established as a class B substance, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. But this is a bullet that has to be bitten. A functioning classification system is a vital weapon in the fight against harmful street drugs – not a political football.

Simon Mundy is Deputy Editor (Comment/Features) of The Journal

Comment 21

The Journal Wednesday 1 October 2008

Going, Going...?

The National Gallery's Titians should stay in scotland – even with the £50 million price tag

John Leighton National Galleries Scotland

j.leighton@journal-online.co.uk

‘‘ ,,

Lewis Killin

university rectors:

Democratic principals At this pivotal moment in the history of scotland’s universities, it’s time for the rectors to have their say

Charles Kennedy

Glasgow Rector

c.kennedy@journal-online.co.uk

A

curiOus Alchemy is bringing the cutting edge of modern scottish educational thinking into contact with one of its most distinctive and historic features.

The scottish government’s higher education Task Force—a gathering of the educational clans, presided over jointly by education secretary Fiona hyslop and Glasgow university’s sir muir russell, current chair of the scottish Principals—has been engaged in some “blue skies thinking” as to the future of our tertiary sector.

The Task Force has been spurred into action by the impending lifting of tuition fee caps at universities south of the Border – and the impact which such a development could have on those of us operating within the scottish model. it is wide-ranging and potentially controversial. And, as such, it has galvanised those of us who comprise the five-strong club of the ancient universities’ rectors into collective action. more of which in a moment. What has surprised myself and my opposite rectorial numbers is the level of initial interest which our initiative has so far generated – and the potential which this opens up with a view to the future. At our recent press conference in edinburgh there was a genuine journalistic curiosity as to the genesis of the move and what it might presage for the future.

And that has set us thinking as well.

under the auspices of the various student representative council and student Association campus executives an informal committee of the rectorships has been meeting and considering areas of mutual interest. One such—obviously—is the position and role of the office of rector itself which, despite its longevity, has to withstand occasional efforts by individual university courts to constrain or downplay its overall clout. The current crop of incumbents are not sympathetic to such freelance establishment activities—enough said—and trust that the ultimate authority, the Privy council itself, would take a similar view if ever presented with a plea for change from an individual institution.

This comparing of notes has now broadened out into that wider rectorial role, not least against the backdrop of the Task Force initiative. The student executives feel that they have not had sufficient input to the process and, given it is the student electorate who provide us with our democratic, representative legitimacy, it seemed timely and necessary for us to enter into the debate.

Prime amongst our concerns is the fact that the Task Force is not in a position to pronounce specifically on funding issues. This creates a sense of hamlet without the prince where its deliberations are concerned, a view shared by chess (the coalition of higher education scottish students) and Nus scotland. in drawing attention to this anxiety we now propose to take matters further by collective lobbying of the various party political groupings

at holyrood, particularly in the context of ongoing budgetary debates already underway. indeed, when you consider the democratic base represented, individually and collectively, by the five rectorships it does constitute a valid voice which has a right to be heard. We anticipate that our holyrood parliamentarians will take a similar view: after all, their constituents also happen to be our constituents. (We are not minded to start arguing for a reintroduction of the parliamentary university seats, tempting though that might be!)

We agree that blue skies thinking should be part of the raison d’être of any university environment. But we do see part of our role as being to maintain a feet on the ground approach at the same time, lest we lose touch with our educational foundations. There are indications, given the financial pressures, of a sense of common cause emerging across the educational community. Perhaps the rectors can act as something of a catalyst within the ongoing process.

We need to be mindful of the fact that our current model of student funding has only operated in a period of economic growth; how will new aspirations sit alongside the inevitable financial downturn which is now an apparent global inevitability? Perhaps one of our longest-living scottish educational offices can at least help articulate the concerns to be heard in such far-reaching future considerations.

Charles Kennedy is the rector of the University of Glasgow. He was leader of the Liberal Democrats 1999-2006

DeBATe WiTh The exPerTs ON The jOurNAl’s WeB FOrums VisiT WWW. jOurNAlONliNe. cO.uk

F

Or OVer sixTy years the National Galleries of scotland has had the privilege of housing the Bridgewater loan, arguably the finest private collection of Old master paintings on loan to any museum or gallery in the world. But the honour of showing some of the greatest masterpieces from the story of western art has also had a more worrying aspect: for many decades we have known that, at some point, the galleries would face the prospect of trying to find a way to bring these superlative works of art into permanent public ownership.

Working closely with the owner of the collection, the Duke of sutherland, who is committed to the idea of the paintings remaining on public view, we have constructed a deal which would not only bring two incomparable masterpieces into the national collection for ever, but also secure the future of the Bridgewater loan for another generation. For the first time, the national galleries in edinburgh and london would work together in partnership; the sums involved are formidable but, seen in the context of the international art market and the overall value of this collection, then they are extremely generous. We will not have a better chance to address an issue which has been a major concern since this collection first went on view in london at the beginning of the 19th century.

There may be some who will question the need to spend significant sums of public and private money on great works of art. There may be others who will question why, in this global age, we must make every effort to keep these treasures in Great Britain. The answer to these questions can best be answered by the countless number of artists, students, art-lovers and ordinary members of the public who have come to admire and love these works which lie at the very heart of the National Galleries of scotland.

And a decisive intervention now will be paid off many times over in the inspiration, education and imagination of future generations.

John Leighton is the director of the National Galleries of Scotland

22 Editorial

The Journal Wednesday 1 October 2008

Letters letters@journal-online.co.uk Edinburgh’s studEnt nEwspapEr | issuE X

Degree values:

A middle way AfICIONADOS Of SIR Walter Scott’s novels will recall, in Waverley, the eponymous hero’s fraught journey up into the North of Scotland. Seduced by an impossibly romanticised view of the highlanders, and a frustration with a seemingly intractable situation back home in England, he somehow manages to involve himself in the Jacobite cause, and the extremes entailed therein. Violence, lust, intrigue and ambition rush upon the young dreamer, and it is only several hundred pages later that Edward settles into a more measured vein – fully aware of a gentleman’s loyalties but with not infrequent glances to the revelations and excitement of his highland adventure.

Contained, rather unexpectedly, within Scott’s pages one might well discern a lesson for today’s policy-makers and educators. those in higher education could be forgiven for feeling somewhat under fire this week: the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has, amongst many things, complained that students can’t get out of bed of a morning and, moreover, that universities aren’t teaching them to do so. With great fanfare, then, the CBI have launched a taskforce in an attempt to encourage UK universities to teach skills more relevant to the “world of work”. the Scottish Government, it seems, have come over a little dewy-eyed here, summarily informing universities that by “delivering outcomes relevant to our aims of higher levels of sustainable

economic growth for all, universities will strengthen their future case for increasing levels of public investment.” Put simply, the government will decide which universities deserve money based on the size of the smiles they put on business owners’ faces. there’s certainly a case for preparing students for employment. Undoubtedly, those in higher education ought to be made very aware early on that there are 10.1 million of them competing for nine million jobs. those with desires to enter, say, retail management can be fruitfully advised that, over the course of four years, they might like to opt for courses which improve their communication and leadership skills.

But that’s a little different to the aims expressed by businessmen like Melfort Campbell, CEO of Imes Group, who said this week: "I want the hE sector to provide more graduates with degrees which are relevant to our business. Industry needs to be clear on which degree subjects are considered valuable.”

It’s hardly surprising that employers might like to transfer some of the cost of training employees onto universities. Good quality training is, after all, an expensive precondition for any company to remain competitive in the global economy. But for industry to dictate which subjects have value in our society—and for the government to agree—is a little extreme.

Like Edward Waverley in his slide into

one-sidedness, the government seem to have been drawn in completely, emphasising the economic value of higher education to the absolute exclusion of its other contributions. It’s a hard case to make when a degree, in some cases, fails to economically advantage even the degree-holder: a report by Universities UK reveals that, on average, male arts students would have stood to earn more if they had skipped university altogether. fortunately, the British Academy have stepped in to suggest a middle way, noting that to measure the value of higher education by simplistic measures will inevitably lead to distortions in the allocations of funding and the quality of research.

“No single measure,” their report says, “will capture the rich and varied contributions that humanities and social sciences research makes.”

It would be foolish to brush over the economic benefits of a degree – an initiative by the Scottish funding Council, ScotChEM, and Chemical Sciences Scotland this week to sponsor 31 new PhD studentships in chemistry will undoubtedly benefit those 31 students and the Scottish economy as a whole. But amid the current—and necessary—panic over university funding, the Scottish government shouldn't make this their only priority. If there’s anything to be taken from Scott, it’s this sort of considered moderation which points at least in the direction of happily ever after.

RE. 'REfLECtIONS ON the Union'. Prof Devine writes: "It may be yet another manifestation of the Union's historic capacity not only for flexibility but for giving full and easy scope for the Welsh, English and Scots to express their cultural and ethnic identities within a UK framework." So far as the English are concerned, this suggestion is not true. to preserve the Union, the government believes that Engishness must be supplanted by Britishness, although it is having difficulty in defining what it means and how to celebrate it. As a small example, compare the spending by the Scottish Parliament on St Andrew's Day (£300K) with spending by the UK Department of Culture, Media & Sport (in which there is no "minister for England") on promoting St George's Day (£200 – yes, two hundred pounds: twice what was spent the year before). the government prefers to promote "regional identities" in England rather than any English cultural or ethnic identity, on the principle of "divide and rule". With the exception of Yorkshire, the English regions have no cultural, historical or ethnic identity – they are recent, artificial bureaucratic creations for which no-one in England has voted. the English do not object to Gordon Brown as a Scot, but it is not democratic that he as an MP for a Scottish constituency should, in effect, act as "first minister for England" – while claiming that all the MPs at Westminster are "UK MPs". No-one in the government speaks for England. thus while the Union now provides for the expression of Scottish—and Welsh & Northern Irish—cultural and ethnic identity through devolution, the English

are specifically excluded. It is hard to find any reasons, other than inertia, why the English should support the Union. When the time comes, the Unionists will not be able to make a convincing case.

Ian Campbell (from www.journal-online.co.uk)

DEAR EDItOR, I hAVE YEt to hear my local MP, Mark Lazarowicz, show his usual brave political leadership by stridently defending his government's policy on Post Office closures.

Mr Lazarowicz should not be ashamed to remind us that he is putting the interests of the nation before those of his few mainly elderly constituents who seem to use these small and uneconomic Post Offices as some sort of social centre instead of travelling a short distance and supporting larger branches that can provide a much wider range of services. his opportunist opponents from other parties have killed a not inconsiderable number of trees in the production of protest leaflets when, if they were in power, they'd have done exactly the same in the face of the inevitable removal of the Post Office from the Public Sector. Even in these times of economic difficulty, complete privatisation (as we have seen with telecommunications and public transport) can only lead to improved standards of service as well as considerable profits for potential investors such as myself.

John Eoin Douglas, Edinburgh

Crossword #2 set by Junta Sekimori

ID cards:

Sneaking through the back door fROM 25 NOVEMBER 2008, identity cards will become a compulsory part of life for UK residents for the first time since the Second World War. While this is only the first step in the incremental introduction of this biometric identity system, it is—as the Liberal Democrats argued this week—a particularly insidious one. the government, it appears, is to force minority group by minority group into carrying its expensive, untested and ultimately illiberal identity card until no more remain without one. We start, next month, with the UK’s perennial black sheep: the foreign national.

Nick Clegg, the otherwise ignorable leader of the Lib Dems, makes the point succinctly. We target the foreigners, whose disenfranchisement leaves them voiceless; then move on to the airline workers and then involve other sectors that can be deemed “sensitive” until the

tipping point is reached when they can be rolled out across the populace with the argument effectively won before Joe Public has even noticed what’s happened.

Clegg, naively, hopes that Britain will not stand for this attack on the liberty of foreigners. however, if any group were to be targeted with impunity it would be this one. Public support for the legal registration of foreign nationals is high, consistently around the 60 per cent mark, and one needs but look at the experience of asylum seekers in recent years to see how intolerant attitudes towards immigrants have been reflected in their shoddy treatment.

Whatever the merits and failures of the ID card system, and they are—on both sides—numerous and complex, one cannot help but feel that the moral argument has not been won. Were that the case, ID cards would not be introduced

through the back door, as it now appears to be the case, but across the board and in the full gaze of public scrutiny. Rather, the sinister and secretive methods of its introduction imply that there is serious cause for concern.

In the words of Mr Clegg: “It is shameful for ministers to exploit powerless groups to impose the new cards by stealth, and to stoke public fear by tainting foreigners with suspicion. the liberal commitment to freedom is universal, it shouldn't be determined by the colour of your skin.”

While the proposed ID card system might have been devised with the goal of combatting illegal immigration and terrorism, it is an experiment that remains manifestly unjustified. Its architects would do well to heed the words of Benjamin franklin: “he who would trade liberty for some temporary security, deserves neither security nor liberty.”

the Wednesday Poem

Pedagogy I've got I've

I've got I

I've got

I

feel sick.

feel tired.

a paracetamol. some throat lozenges.

You should take You should buy

a plaster on it.

You should go

a broken leg.

cut my finger. burned myself on a saucepan.

Across

Down

1 5 8 9

1 2 3 4

10 11

to hospital. a headache. a sore throat.

TrAvEllEr-THEMED QUIcK crossworD

20 21

lots of cold water on it.

You should put

You should put

Your should take

You should get

13 15 16 19

some anti-sickness tablets. more sleep.

22

Whet (7) Near, almost (4) Elite (3) (Of water) Clean and mild enough to enter (9) Obama, for example (8) Sir David ___, directed A Passage to India (4) Beat Scott to the South Pole (5,8) Roman garment (4) Broken up rhythm (8) Venetian b. 1254, travelled extensively across Asia (5,4) Binary digit (3) Captain ___ Sparrow, Disney pirate (4) Slums or isolated areas (7)

5 6 7

12 14 17 18

am/pm (8,4) Group of elites (1-4) Last line of address (8) Made a giant leap for mankind (4,9) Captain ___, travelled 20,000 leagues under the Sea (4) Chalices (7) Spanish conquistador, overthrew the Aztec empire (6,6) Story, incident (8) African republic (7) Asian country, capital Lhasa (5) Captain James ___, explored Oceania (4)

Profile 23

The Journal Wednesday 1 October 2008

Dawkins' Delusion

il l

T

HE ORDINARy MAN on the street might be forgiven for thinking that he is somewhat of a rarity in modern society. He doesn’t hold extreme views on religion or politics; the foreign worlds of Al-Qaeda, Creationism and militant atheism are presented to him as an all engulfing threat, poised to destroy his dreams of an easy life.

Calmly, David Robertson has rebutted a steady flow of strikes at the intellectual foundations of his religion from secularist, Alistair McBay in the George Square Theatre tonight. White hot lights, camera flashes and a hard backed chair mean Robertson won’t be relaxing just yet. But, leaning in to impose his kindly yet impressive presence on a debating table that has just witnessed a battle significant only for its lack of fireworks, the Dundee Free Church minister is ready and able to deny any charges of fanaticism: “Crusader is the wrong term. I wouldn’t like that at all. I don’t consider myself to be a liberal Christian.

I am a Biblical Christian and I do believe in the Bible, but I don’t fit the fundamentalist stereotype that people want to pigeonhole you into.”

The easy-going family man and author of The Dawkins Letters—epistles addressing each chapter of Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion from a Christian perspective—is no nutter. A self-styled “intelligent Christian”, his responses are always measured, never rash: “I’ve quite often said that I hate religion, and I do mean that. There are lots of negative aspects to religion but my problem is that Dawkins takes the negative aspects and extrapolates back to absolutely all religion, which seems to be a particularly ad hominem attack that is not really worthy of him.”

As a new minister in town, Robertson’s modern sensibilities shocked four members of his seven strong congregation into upping and leaving altogether. But in a PR coup that might have stunned Max Clifford into silence, debates in Borders bookshops and discussions held all over town soon resurrected a congregation 150 Dundonians strong. Of his new members, Robertson enthuses: “A lot of them were from a non-church background and I realised that there are many people out there who have no concept of what Christianity is at all. But rather than go out and just ask them to come to the church, I would discuss things and do debates to stimulate people’s intellects.”

As a history student at Edinburgh University and a keen participant in student politics, debating came naturally to Robertson. He recalls vividly his failed attempts to avoid arriving at Christianity as the logical conclusion to his academic researches into faith. Ultimately, the belief system he came upon would not only prevent him from following the hedonistic dreams he had nurtured before attending University, but also lead to his disappointment in the EUSA Presidential elections, an over-zealous Student editor managing to convince the voting public that Robertson was just

is K

chris.williams@journal-online.co.uk

another religious crackpot.

With his background in an academic approach to Christianity, it may seem reasonable that Robertson’s response to reading the international bestselling God Delusion was a considered deconstruction of Dawkins’ assumptions rather than a fire and brimstone rant: “The Dawkins Letters came very simply: I didn’t intend to write a book, I just wrote an open letter to Dawkins that appeared on his website and got a phenomenal response – most of it incredibly abusive.” Speaking of criticism from Dawkins that he is merely trying to make a living off the Oxford don’s back, Robertson is philosophical: “It’s quite hilarious considering he has sold 2 million books off the back of a God he says doesn’t exist.”

There is no line of argument or process of thought that can stump Robertson tonight; his Christian faith stands as firm at the end as it was in the beginning. Equally, there are no revelations for committed atheists here and the unanswered whys and wherefores of the universe are met only with the catchall of Faith. Of course, it is Faith that drives Robertson’s belief in his message and the way he goes about delivering it, and it is this that is perhaps most disappointing for the floating voter. The well trodden “commonsense” arguments of atheists are countered with talk of evidence, even “valid” evidence, but little substance is in reality forthcoming.

Dawkins’ most famous and oft quoted argument against the loving God of Christianity, the partisan God of the Old Testament, is so often regurgitated for Robertson that it now appears to bore him. But despite having clearly heard this all before, his retaliation can seem garbled: “I think it’s a question that is based upon presuppositions that are wrong. It’s a cheap shot…but the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament are one and the same.

There are aspects of that Revelation of him that appear to be particularly horrendous, and those are very, very difficult questions to answer. My argument would be that we need to look at those questions in context, not rush to immediate judgments.” One would have thought that 4,000 years of history would be enough time to avoid rushing to immediate judgments but Robertson seems reluctant to weigh into this debate with any more substance.

Although refusing the title of Liberal Christian, it would be difficult to describe Robertson’s interpretation of the Bible as anything else. It is clear that his determination to have Faith in God is met with an equal amount of reluctance to commit to any concrete set of beliefs about scripture. On creation and Creationism he comments: “Every Christian is a creationist in the sense that we believe that God created us. My argument is that the Church in this country has largely been creationist in the sense of Old Earth Creationist or Theistic Evolutionist—and there are a significant number of young Earth Creationists as well—but I don’t care personally. I can live with all three. I think that the Bible will allow for all three positions; the

Le w

Chris Williams

in

Free Church Minister and best-selling author David Robertson talks to Chris Williams about his quest for tolerance

“Religion is like sex or money: it can be abused and used but no one is going to turn around and say, ‘No sex! No money!’”

Bible says nothing about the age of the Earth.”

It is perhaps this aspect of Robertson’s argument that is most refreshing.

His attempts to reconcile diverging opinions on Christian dogma identify the man as a tolerant face of positive Christianity and explain why his letters have been met with so much interest from Christians, agnostics and atheists alike. Robertson’s point of contention with Dawkins is not the latter’s atheism but rather the vitriol that permeates and characterises his lines of argument.

That there are those who exploit humanity under the banner of religion is not a state of affairs lost on Robertson.

However, as he sees it, so obsessed is contemporary media by the idea of extremism that moderation is something many fear no longer exists except in themselves.

“Religion is like sex or money: it can be used and abused but no one is going to turn around and say, ‘No sex!

No money!’ I’m saying exactly the same.

It is part of our human nature to seek after God; we have a God consciousness within and it is that very desire that allows people to exploit religion. And religion can be very exploitative and oppressive. What Dawkins is saying is truth but it’s not the whole truth.”

Many will never be able to join the invisible dots that allow Robertson to have Faith in an implausible God. But so refreshing is this minister’s quest for tolerance that none can leave his presence without reassessing their own preconceptions of the faithful.

24 Feature

The Journal Wednesday 1 October 2008

the Rise of the Majority Multiculturalism has failed, but its critics have pushed a reappraisal of majority rights—in opposition to minority ones—to the fore

Pathik Pathak

Writer

p.pathak@journal-online.co.uk

J

ust When it feels as though the last nail had been hammered into multiculturalism’s coffin, another public figure appears with an anvil. the latest celebrity critic of everyone’s pet ideological hate is Anglican Bishop Michael nasirAli. nasir-Ali not only complains about the imposition of an “islamic character” to some parts of Britain, which verge on being no-go areas for those of other faiths, but that our multifaith “mishmash” has jeopardised Christianity’s status as the “public faith” in Britain. it’s a sentiment echoed by the shadow home secretary, Dominic Grieve, only last week. the trouble is that while its cynics become more diverse, and their criticisms more daring, multiculturalism’s advocates have dwindled to a predictable few (tariq Modood and Ken Livingstone among them). this is a worrying state of affairs, since such figures are unlikely to win the hearts and minds of those who cherish cultural diversity, want it valued publicly, but have misgivings about how it’s been managed in the past. it also leaves the second and third generation of immigrant descent—”multiculturalism’s children,” one might say—unsure of their political footing. should they embrace colour- and culture-blind platforms, or innovate new forms of political expression that resonate with their own particular experiences and concerns? secondly, how do we ward off the creeping spectre of majoritarian anxieties, apparent throughout Western europe, without a coherent ideology of minority protection? should we allow Britishness to be distilled to Morris dancing and binge drinking, or should we rail against such simplifying rituals in the name of our multicultural traditions?

What, indeed, are these aforementioned majoritarian anxieties? By majoritarianism i mean a popular backlash against the indulgence of national minorities and doctrines of minority rights, as per multiculturalism. But unlike multiculturalism, majoritarianism is incoherent and inchoate. in Britain it’s more apparent as a trend than a movement (unlike the BJP’s ideology of Hindutva in india). it’s a trend that connects populist tirades against eastern european immigrants in the tabloid press, essays that indict immigration for withering social bonds, and government green papers that propose making citizenship earned and exclusive.

Majoritarianism makes neo-Powellite anxieties about the dilution of national character respectable again, and it acts as a licence for organisations such as Migration Watch and the Centre for

"in the name of trying to prepare people for some new multicultural society we've told people, particularly long-term inhabitants, 'well your cultural background isn't really very important, or it's flawed, or you shouldn't be worrying about it'. And then we've been shocked that far from producing the new model citizen who easily adapts to multiculturalism, people are very resistant, very fearful and very lacking in self-confidence. And we have the same problem with some secondand third-generation immigrant communities who say they don't know what British values are and that they're alienated."

Dominic Grieve, shadow home secretary, Sep 2008

social Cohesion. it manifests itself, overall, as a weakened commitment to the principles of multiculturalism and the practice of minority rights. essayist and journalist David Goodhart’s conservative liberalism coherently maps shifting social attitudes to diversity, mirrored in government policy: his proposals for “second-tier” or “earned” citizenship concretise ideas that have been floating around Whitehall in recent years. Goodhart’s position is encapsulated by his belief that there is “nothing politically dishonourable” about policy designs that respond to “popular anxieties” and his insistence that security and immigration have to be framed as “issues of community.” he is the poster-boy for what has to come to be known as conservative or new liberalism – the prevailing strain of liberal thought which has taken on explicitly communitarian features since the watershed of 2001 (after the riots in Bradford, Burnley and Oldham). new liberalism is also distinguished from previous liberal discourses by its casual attitude to liberal rights, and its conservative leanings on issues of immigration and ethnic relations.

Goodhart’s conservative liberal answer to the crisis of multiculturalism is to reinvigorate British identity through a highly conditional communitariansm – newcomers have to do more to get into the club. such a conditional and conformist regime of British community is likely to worsen the forms of exclusion that inspire popular majoritarianism in the first place. the conditions of progressive nationalism’s two-tier citizenship would do little to promote any reciprocal sense of belonging among groups most vulnerable to discrimination. Put simply, by privileging the sensibilities of national majorities, Goodhart’s new liberal imagination of national community therefore articulates a profoundly inequitable concept of citizenship. it only entrenches—and worse, legitimates—the deprivation of some of Britain’s most vulnerable groups by insisting that government should reserve its focus on the “anxious and the liberal.” it relegates rampant islamaphobia, the institutional failing of Afro-Caribbean schoolboys, and chronic discrimination in mental health services to the wastebin of government priorities. its strongly conformist bent would equally make the civil-political exclusion of national Others, such as Muslims, refugees and eastern european immigrants, that much starker.

Goodhart’s progressive nationalism alerts us to the dangers of an unmeasured response to popular anxieties, particularly when it sets a new baseline for political discourse. the conservative liberal disavowal of multiculturalism has effectively opened a vitalising intellectual—and

90%

of the Muslims polled believed that immigrants should be made to learn English – compared to

82%

of the general public.

Similarly,

76%

said immigrants should be made to pledge their primary loyalty to Britain, slightly higher than the

73% 65% of Muslims thought that imams

overall figure. Most revealingly,

should be made to preach in English, almost double the proportion of the general public.

Feature 25

The Journal Wednesday 1 October 2008 ultimately political—space where majoritarianism can expand with licence. Goodhart’s major achievement, despite the overblown condemnation of some commentators, was to make it credible to dispute the intrinsic merits of cultural diversity. That he did so through by invoking economic reason and identity loss made it both controversial and appealing. But it is not only the conditionality and the conformism of Goodhart’s Britain that panders to majoritarian thinking. It is also deeply conservative, and this is most evident in its defence and naturalisation of xenophobia. As Goodhart has vehemently protested, ‘preferring our own kind’ doesn’t make us racist.

Casting multiculturalism as a diabolic villain is clearly a popular intellectual fetish. It’s a lame duck, after all. Besides, it now has so few champions that such critiques largely go unopposed. Single-handedly it has supposedly balkanised Britain, brought about an epidemic of domestic violence, killed the welfare state and made every Muslim man a potential terrorist. These complaints are clearly overblown. But, by the same token, that doesn’t mean that we have to exonerate multiculturalism’s contribution to social problems where there’s reasonable evidence against it.

It also means that we shouldn’t excuse it from the political disenfranchisement wrought under successive policy regimes in its name.

A report conducted for a 2006 report by the conservative leaning think-tank Policy Exchange was accompanied by a poll whose headline figures garnered far more column inches. The poll revealed, among other things, that 37 per cent of 16-24 year-old Muslims would prefer to live under sharia law, compared to 17 per cent of those surveyed over 55. Another often repeated figure was the third of 16 to 24 year-olds who believed that those converting to another religion deserved execution (under a fifth of those under 55 shared that view).

Unsurprisingly, 86 per cent of young Muslims said that religion was the most important thing in their lives.

These figures were seized upon as evidence that British-born Muslims are more sympathetic to political Islam than their parents and grandparents, and reinforced the perception that British Muslims are Muslims first and British second.

Taken in isolation from the report such polls vindicate the government’s persistence with multiculturalist policies that respond to the existential dependency of second and third generations on race and faith. Headline figures such as these make it easier for the government to engage with young Muslims through their religious identity, rather than as ordinary, diverse citizens. But it is not only Muslims that are being marginalised by multiculturalism. Many will recall when Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti’s play Bezhti was cancelled amid protests by some Sikhs, who claimed offence by the theme and setting of the play, and one scene in particular, which takes place in the recreation of a Sikh temple. On the opening night the theatre was encircled by hundreds of protesters, three of whom were arrested for criminal damage. The decision to cancel was taken with the blessing of the Commission for Racial Equality.

Following the play’s closure Fiona Mactaggart, a minister in the Home Office, blithely implied that death threats against the playwright would probably increase sales – although Bhatti’s retreat into hiding and the withdrawal of the play in Britain altogether doesn’t exactly bear that out.

She also happily endorsed the protests since if “people feel this passionately

about theatres [it] is a good sign for our cultural life.” Her shamelessly opportunistic remarks spoke eloquently about the fickle nature of British multiculturalism, veering between sensitivity towards offence and dismissiveness towards shared values, dependent on the needs of the political moment. It panders to minorities and placates majorities equally well, free of a commitment to upholding the sanctity of civil rights.

It is extremists and conservatives who have become the unexpected poster-boys of multiculturalism, a legacy of government patronage and a callous, uninformed tabloid media who trade in the hard currency of shock and controversy. Multiculturalism has abetted this monopoly by systematically disenfranchising a silent majority in favour of token representation that is seldom representative.

We would also do well to remember that, as a grand framework for affirmative action, multiculturalism is also dependent on the goodwill of national majorities to be workable. Put differently, it is parasitic on white guilt. The trouble is that white guilt has largely exhausted itself in Britain – whether it should have or not is another question. The latent hostility of new liberalism to cultural diversity, in all its shades, has made that abundantly clear. They’re more concerned with the neglect of poor whites than the discrimination that keeps black and Muslim Britain poor. So multiculturalist policies are increasingly starved of mainstream intellectual sympathy, and, equally, of popular support.

This might well be a good thing.

Despite the best intentions of its champions, multiculturalism has lost all its promise in translation. As a policy regime, multiculturalism has been a disaster, if not for the reasons that new liberals suggest.

It is no surprise that multiculturalism has skewed national debates on race and faith. The dogmatic and polarising voices of so-called community leaders suppress and conceal widespread desires for public democratisation and diversification among “multiculturalism’s children.”

For example, a MORI poll conducted in August 2005 told a rather different story about British Muslims than is usually presented, comparing their social attitudes against those of the public overall.

90 per cent of the Muslims polled believed that immigrants should be made to learn English – compared to 82 per cent of the general public.

Similarly, 76 per cent said immigrants should be made to pledge their primary loyalty to Britain (slightly higher than the 73 per cent overall figure). Most revealingly, 65 per cent of Muslims thought that imams should be made to preach in English, almost double the proportion of the general public. Unfortunately these kinds of statistics rarely feature in the media’s depiction of minority attitudes toward Britain, which tends to favour alarmist revelations of pervasive radicalisation.

It therefore makes it that much easier for the government—and increasingly David Cameron’s New Conservatism—to blame disaffection and alienation among minority youth on “cultural malaise” rather than exclusionary causes, such as low educational achievement and disproportionately high unemployment – a problem that extends even to highly educated Muslim women. Once again, multiculturalism serves as an excuse for state failure, while simultaneously obscuring persistent levels of discrimination.

Yet these find no place in the new liberal complaint against multiculturalism. As a position it is less interested in redressing the policy regime’s bona

BNP in Westminster on Remembrance Sunday 2006 flickr.com/jtlondon

We would also do well to remember that, as a grand framework for affirmative action, multiculturalism is also dependent on the goodwill of national majorities to be workable. Put differently, it is parasitic on white guilt. The trouble is that white guilt has largely exhausted itself in Britain – whether it should have or not is another question.

fide casualties and more concerned with exaggerating its culpability for any number of institutional shortcomings. Multiculturalism has become the fall guy so that conservatives, now joined by liberals, can absolve public institutions and practices of the imperative to address their failings.

It serves to explain why, for example, there has been no government inquiry into the role of local housing authorities in separating communities into ethnic and racial blocks. It explains why, despite the unprecedented media coverage of Banaz Mahmoud’s death, not a single front-bench politician called for a public inquiry or even proposed a parliamentary debate.

It explains why, despite intermittent tabloid hysteria, there hasn’t been a concerted government attempt to itemise the gains and costs of immigration, particularly on public services. It explains why the official response to flagging patriotism, as set out in a recent white paper, nationalises a belief that it is exclusivity that makes citizenship valuable – rather than meaningful, substantive inclusion. It explains why the government is fixated on the symptoms of Islamic radicalism—like asking Muslim parents to rat out radicalised children—and negligent of its causes, such as educational underachievement, unemployment, and political disenfranchisement.

We know that multiculturalism no longer holds policy currency. We also

know that it has fewer friends than at any time in its intellectual history.

But while we can retire the concept, we still live in times characterised by unheralded cultural diversity; we still live in a society adjusting to the consequences of that diversity. We might not need multiculturalism any longer, but we do need some kind of ideological bulwark that can frame our inescapable differences in less neurotic ways than new liberalism does, and which doesn’t sap political energy from the reform, and renewal programmes necessary to begin addressing the underlying reasons for Britain’s current social diseases.

This demands that the British Left negotiate its discomfort with culture, and particularly the culture of settled and new immigrants. It has to confront the truth that principled aversion will not make the elephant in the room disappear: it only allows the Right to claim cultural identities as their domain, their property. Once that becomes too entrenched, the opportunity to steer them in progressive directions may be lost.

Pathik Pathak is a writer and consultant on development and democratic engagement, based at the Crucible centre for education in human rights, social justice & citizenship at Roehampton University. His latest book is The Future of Multicultural Britain (Edinburgh University Press, 2008, £18.99)

26 Arts & Entertainment art National Gallery summer exhibition: Impressionism & Scotland

 19th Century trade in the impressionist masters produced a flowering of impressionism in Scotland – and a fascinating exhibition

tHe natiOnaL GaLLery’S summer exhibition is always a large-scale blockbuster, and this year is no exception. the entirety of the upper galleries has been filled with impressionist works and the sheer number of paintings on display is enough to occupy a good portion of time for even the most brisk gallery-goer.

Work from all of the famous names in french impressionism is presented, along with paintings from contemporaneous and impressionist-influenced Scottish artists. the Scottish Colourists and Glasgow Boys—probably the two most influential groups in modern Scottish art—are well-represented and the exhibition attempts to elucidate the ways in which they took cues and ideas from continental impressionism and applied it to Scotland.

More than this, however, the viewer is presented with information on the commercial origins and trade histories

The Journal Wednesday 1 October 2008 of the paintings from degas, Manet, Pisarro and others which influenced the Scots. art in the north and economics are, it seems, inextricably linked: as Scotland, especially Glasgow, rose in mercantile importance at the end of the 19th century, a group of wealthy industrialists and businessmen began to collect impressionist works at a rapid rate. the number of famous and artistically significant works which were originally purchased by these collectors is surprising, a fact which pushes the viewer towards perhaps the most salient point of the exhibition – the fact that impressionism and Scotland are more closely tied than most realise. although the large scale and broad scope of the exhibition leaves it seeming, at times, unfocused or disjointed, the works on display are well worth the ticket price, laying down intriguing and meaningful claims about both impressionism and Scotland.

Music Preview

Cansei de Ser Sexy

natiOnaL GaLLery COMPLex

Liquid rOOM

untiL 12 OCt

12 OCt

Colleen Patterson

Chris Hammond

colleen.patterson@journal-online.co.uk

art

Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller: This House of Books Has No Windows

 Canadian installation artists provide a window into their rich and nuanced works

fruitMarket GaLLery 31 JuL-28 SeP Colleen Patterson

colleen.patterson@journal-online.co.uk

chris.hammond@journal-online.co.uk

Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller are a pair of Canadian installation artists who have been collaborating for over ten years. in this, their first exhibition in Scotland, several of their most interesting and impressive works are on display, along with a custombuilt installation for the fruitmarket – the titular ‘House of Books’. these installations are incredibly rich and nuanced, incorporating detailed soundscapes and music with machinery, text, found objects and video to create unique and beautiful environments which the visitor can view and explore. each piece tells a clear and distinctive story while hinting at countless other tales hidden beneath the surface. By using ordinary or found objects, Cardiff and Miller infuse their work with familiarity while still giving voice to a sense of magic or peculiarity. ranging from eerie to joyful, nostalgic to melancholy, every installation is thoughtful and precise in its composition.

One of the most moving pieces is ‘Opera for a Small room’, which takes place in a small wooden cabin built in the middle of the gallery space. the cabin is jam-packed with LPs, record players, speakers and other accoutrements of a recording studio or eccentric music collection. Over twenty minutes, we are treated to a fantastic, theatrical performance from an unseen narrator. as music plays, lights flicker and phonographs turn on and off, it is easy to get lost in the unfolding story – a tale of loneliness and music which culminates in a booming guitar-driven piece and the sound of an audience cheering and clapping. if you weren’t lucky enough to see This House of Books Has No Windows, look for a chance to see Cardiff and Miller in action as soon as you can.

eCLeCtiC BraziLianS, CanSei de Ser Sexy, or CSS if you will, hit edinburgh on 12 October. and for one week only it looks like the hottest Latin performers in the uk won’t be Manchester City footballers.

Billed as the biggest act ever to emerge from South america, CSS’s brand of electronic pop funk is undeniably impressive and has catapulted them into music’s premier league. everyone from apple to the nMe seems to have experienced veritable aural orgasms over songs as wonderfully titled as ‘Music is My Hot Hot Sex’. even two years after their debut uk release, the critical and commercial infatuation with the sextet doesn’t show any signs of abating. their latest album, Donkey, was released in July and the band is utterly convinced it’s a far superior work to its previous effort. in a recent interview, CSS guitarist, ana de rezende, said: “Our first one was recorded in a backyard. it was very homemade, which was very cool, but this time we wanted to take it one step further than that.”

So with a new album to support, and live performances so energetic you’d struggle not to break into a sweat just watching them, CSS have a lot to live up to when they hit Scotland’s capital. not that de rezende thinks audiences will be left in any way disappointed: “it’s very hard for us to go on stage and look bored. this is our job and that is how we like to do it. it’s cool that people view us as a party band, because people come expecting to have fun, jump and scream.” if the idea of six livewire South americans performing catchy, electronic pop numbers on subject-matter as diverse as sex, yoga and Jagermeister sounds like your bag then get yourself down to the Liquid room this October.

Music

Xplicit: Scratch Perverts  Sweaty, raucous - yet oddly pedestrian

POtterOW 19 SeP Simon Mundy

simon.mundy@journal-online.co.uk

it’S Hard nOt to feel that the Scratch Perverts’ huge success is due in part to one of the most seductive stage names since the birth of the rolling Stones. frankly, it’s a misnomer. anyone expecting a turntablism masterclass tonight will be disappointed: there’s only the most perfunctory demonstration of the Perverts’ much hyped vinyl gymnastics. and, in truth, there’s really nothing very perverted about these guys. Whether in London superclubs or Scottish student unions, the Scratch Perverts serve up good, solid sets, competently mixing house, hip hop and drum ‘n’ bass, and always—but always—remembering to include House of Pain’s functional crowd pleaser ‘Jump around’. eye-popping it ain’t.

Local MC Bz’s vocal dexterity has made him a fixture on edinburgh’s jungle scene; but he looks lost here without the hulking frame of partner tonn Piper beside him, his sporadic outbursts adding little to the Perverts’ workmanlike opening hour of electro.

Still, the reversion to drum ‘n’ bass

with an hour to go sends a ripple of excitement through the crowd, and for half that time all hell breaks loose. thereafter, the evening conspicuously winds down, the Perverts doing little to maintain the musical momentum as they trawl through their jungle collection. By the time Bz starts handing out posters during the final tune, the pace is slow enough for every recipient to roll their present up neatly for safe keeping. for all the lack of inspiration, it’s a more-than-enjoyable performance from a team of undeniably accomplished dJs, and fantastic value at £6. the xplicit boys have excelled themselves in finding a loyal market for drum ‘n’ bass far from its southern heartland and, for all the upturned noses, have found in Potterrow a venue whose strong sound system and sizable dance floor make it a decent choice for this breed of event. the arrival this friday of goblin-faced turntablist dJ Hype should more fully satisfy those in search of a dirty dose of scratch perversion.

Arts & Entertainment 27

The Journal Wednesday 1 October 2008

Music

On the folk wagon gone is the old folk stereotype of a warm cider and a pastoral ditty. the new folk persuasion is the anti-indie, unselfconscious reaction to a world where scouting for girls play glastonbury and Kate Nash is NMe’s covergirl

Jacqui Kavanagh

jacqui.kavanagh@journal-online.co.uk

theatre

Scottish Ballet: Autumn Season 2008  scottish Ballet looks to the future with this collection of new, experimental pieces

stePheN PetrONiO’s ‘ riDe the BeAst’; trishA BrOWN’s ‘FOr Mg: the MOVie’; Ashley PAge ‘PeNNies FrOM heAVeN’ the FestiVAl theAtre 25 seP (rUN eNDeD) Ella Hickson

ella.hickson@journal-online.co.uk

iN 2001, the jarring opening chords of the strokes’ ‘last Night’ finally seduced the music industry away from nineties grunge and into the passionate affair with angular indie pop that it had been toying with for quite some time. it would seem that this very public infatuation, which has moved from the Vines to the the hives, from the libertines to the Fratellis, is now going through empty motions of a long expired lusting. Prior to the 2000’s, there was an intriguingly refreshing overlap between “mainstream” and “indie” music genres pioneered by bands like the smiths and the cure.

Now, it would seem that the two have fused: indie rock has become the synonym for over produced, over advertised, oversexed monotony.

While indie music has been busy pulling on its skinny jeans and adjusting its trilby hat to a jaunty angle, something more organic has been developing away from the jangly electrics. the bright young nouveau folkies took their cue as the indie clique began to stumble a couple years ago. Acts like Band of horses and the Arcade Fire began to experiment with music of a folky, albeit electrified, persuasion. there has been a distilling and deconstruction towards what is now the new alternative: folk music played by talented musicians in its most intimidatingly authentic form. in a world of such openly accepted superficiality, this music represents Ashley PAge, Artistic director of the scottish National Ballet, opens his Autumn season via the public address system. he’s asking for assistance in raising £400,000 to help re-locate the ballet to its new home at glasgow’s tramway. in return, he promises change, development and innovation.

As the show opens, Page seems true to his word. stephen Petronio has choreographed twenty-six minutes of the impossible. radiohead, having claimed their music could never be danced to, are thoroughly contradicted by this intermittently breathtaking work. the opening track features a computerised voice that barely holds a rhythm and yet Petronio masters it, creating a dance which is at once elastic and bionic. One is reminded of how the inside of a computer might look; simultaneously magical and mechanical. Much of Petronio’s work benefits from jaw-dropping energy and exacting precision, all underpinned by beautiful design.

When the crowd-pleaser, ‘creep’ begins to play, however, the fight between popular appeal and artistic integrity begins. Unsurprisingly, given the familiarity of the track, ‘creep’ is immediately involving. But teenage nostalgia aside, the music appears to be badly stitched to the movement. similarly, in the 30s-style ‘Pennies from heaven’, one begins to smile at gyrating cowboys and spinning umbrellas, but once the feel-good goes, the cowboys seem poorly synchronised and the umbrella shenanigans become scrappy. trisha Brown’s ‘For Mg: the Movie’, however, cannot be criticised for commercialism. Featuring no narrative and little movement, save a girl running on the spot, here is where the kids lured in by radiohead are immediately alienated. Page goes as far as to apologise for it, warning us to ‘hang in there’.

Page had aimed to deliver a show to represent where the scottish Ballet is going, and why it is time for expansion – and therefore donations. this pressure has resulted in a programme which couples crowd-pulling commercialism with innovative yet impenetrable abstraction. in trying to keep everyone happy, the scottish Ballet leaves few totally satisfied. there are elements you love and others you will hate; but there’s plenty to talk about, which is surely one of the best reasons to go and see a show.

a return to a certain spontaneity in live music. Folk music is still characterised by its fundamental principle: so long as the instruments and talent are present, the potential flexibility of performance is boundless. it does not require a dressing room, an extravagant sound system or a rakish bass player named Antoine. edinburgh has embraced this movement and become a positive hub of underground folky happenings.

On 4 september, edinburgh’s liquid

MORE REVIEWS ONLINE

journal online www. journal-online .co.uk

rooms hosted back-porch Americana folk band the Old crow Medicine show. the American band, with banjo, fiddle and harmonica aplenty, played to a sell-out audience of mostly under-25s. A few weeks and another sell-out show later came the staggeringly brilliant Wisconsin Quartet, Bon iver, touring their debut album For Emma, Forever Ago offering glorious folk harmony and refreshingly intense lyrics. One glance at upcoming shows in edinburgh and glasgow

for the coming months and the young folkster dominance is clear, from King creosote and seth lakeman to songbird laura Marling and VenezuelanAmerican Devendra Banhart. While these acts are merely passing through, traditional pubs like the royal Oak and sandy Bells offer some of the most consistently raucous nights out in edinburgh, with a fusion of old world and nouveau folk. it is right here that the young, talented and bearded plot their eventual domination.

28 Arts & Entertainment

The Journal Wednesday 1 October 2008

theatre

On the horizon

Cherry Blossom

For our full guide to the month’s entertainment visit www.journal-online.co.uk



Theatre Sunset Song by Lewis Grassic Gibbon

the traverse theatre Company and teatr Polski Bydgoszcz explore the dreams and realities of immigration

Alan McCredie GrazYna antkieWiCz eMiGrates to scotland to make enough money to send her daughter ewa to college. her and her family’s subsequent struggles are interspersed with the tale of the death of robert dziekanski, who died at toronto airport attempting to visit his mother. Featuring two traverse theatre Company actors and two actors from the teatr Polski Bydgoszcz, Cherry Blossom is an incredibly inventive piece that combines written, devised and verbatim accounts of the distance between the dreams and realities of those who choose to leave their own country and put down roots in another. it is also a play that wittily deals with the importance of language: the dialogue is split between english and Polish, often in the same conversation, although the script has been printed entirely in english to allow for post-performance gap-filling.

Grazyna arrives in edinburgh, unable to communicate with employment officers, co-workers and her landlord.

Gradually and painstakingly throughout the drama she learns enough to be able to satisfy her needs and wants.

Meanwhile, in Poland, her husband struggles with housekeeping, and her son Jasiek, stranded without

the traVerse theatre untiL 11 OCt Lucy Jackson

lucy.jackson@journal-online.co.uk

his mother, becomes more and more resentful, introverted and withdrawn. the cast swap between characters, producing some funny and touching scenes in which the two men play female characters and vice versa. the overall impression is fluid and transitory, reflecting the rootless nature of the characters. But, while the extent to which a two-sided conversation may be understood when experienced from one side only is surprising indeed, it remains rather easy for non-bilingual audience members to become distracted during all-Polish passages, which proves detrimental to the action as a whole. the set consists of movable boards onto which the outlines and photographic images of scene locations, as well as some translated text, are projected. While impressive and often beautiful, their use appears, at times, random. Featured in some scenes and not others, with outlines of the insides of houses or flats proving irrelevant to the movement of the actors, they do however compliment the episodic nature of the performance. Cherry Blossom is by no means perfect, but it succeeds in being thought-provoking and captivating, which is just as good.

King's Theatre 30 Sep- 4 Oct

in a revised stage adaptation by award-winning scottish playwright alistair Cording, the first of Gibbon's a scots Quair trilogy deals with the affects of war, national identity and the impact of modern ways on rural life.

The Brothers Size by Tarell Alvin McCraney Traverse Theatre 1-4 Oct this acclaimed production from atC and the Young Vic tells the story of the two brothers size: Ogun who has worked hard for his own auto-repair shop and Oshoosi, who is fresh out of prison and always takes the wrong track. an Olivier award nominated play from a young american playwright.

Music LadyHawke Cabaret Voltaire 3 Oct if Blondie did electro beats and Cyndi Lauper played electric guitar

in a tube top. Grimy 80's-esque beats from the new princess of technopunk pop.

Departure Lounge feat. Bonobo

The Caves 3 Oct killer tunes which have graced Glastonbury and electric Picnic encompassing everything from jazz to drum'n'bass and electronica. Bonobo guest dJ's at departure Lounge for one night, a freestyle set of high quality which will no doubt draw an energetic crowd.

Art Peter Pretsell: the beautiful the absurd the outlandish the contradictory

Edinburgh College of Art 18 Sep - 25 Oct a retrospective of work by painter/ printmaker Peter Pretsell, an alumni of edinburgh College of art whose wit and skill are on show in his prolific output.

Footlights: Capturing the Essence of Performance

National Gallery of Scotland 9 Aug - 16 Nov display of work from the national Galleries' collections about theatre, featuring costume and stage design as well as images of performers.

Comment

Everyday villains

Guards! Taking Liberties

EUTC works Pratchett’s Discworld magic 20

David Blunkett talks about life on the back benches 15

New stem cell research advances cancer treatments

a new phenomenon is underway in theatre, elevating ordinary bystanders to tragic heroes

SNP breaks student debt promise

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facing the world issues and challenges the modern international reform if it is to tackle creation, the UN needs that, 62 years after its George Grant argues

happy Keeping the US

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George Grant argues that, 62 years after its creation, the UN needs reform if it is to tackle the modern international issues and challenges facing the world

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SNP breaks student debt promise

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Lucy Jackson

lucy.jackson@journal-online.co.uk

Pornography at the Traverse Vanished are the theatrical herovillains. instead, our stage villains must be taken from real experience; more and more, theatre is becoming a commentary on the threats and terrors that affect daily life. From edinburgh graduate ella hickson’s award-winning Eight to the traverse’s 7/7 contemplation Pornography, our villains are the altogether real people who become bombers, or inflict cultural repression – from religious leaders and parental figures to the dictators of modern fashionable life. the Lyceum’s Macbeth, for instance, is a troubled leader rather than a born sociopath. elsewhere, more and more theatre is based upon verbatim reports of catastrophe. We have lost our kings and princes, replacing them with the saga of the common man, the immigrant, the mother. symptomatic of this is the focus on the individual and with it the ascendancy of the monologue as the ultimate means of personal expression. alongside racks of the new genre dubbed “misery-lit”—available in all good bookstores—dramatic writing has always explored harassed lives and the broken dreams of a generation, but perhaps never more so than now.

Cherry Blossom, an exploration of

immigration currently playing at the traverse, uses monologue to communicate its darkest story. at other times, the actors play out verbatim accounts of the tragic event based on phone camera evidence. this technique works very well, and is presumably in place to produce the element of “truth” that, it is assumed, the audience need in order to feel sympathy or even empathy towards the characters. Yet is this the case? it is certainly true that audience members emerged visibly shaken from Fringe success Charlie Victor Romeo, a series of re-enacted verbatim black-box recordings from aeroplane crashes; if they had not been told that these specific events had happened in real life, would the reaction have been more nonchalant? theatre like this is pushing the bar on discussing real-life terror and destruction in the theatre without once producing a razor-blade, while simultaneously elevating the ordinary bystander to the level of tragic hero. this idea has been progressing within drama for a while, and perhaps this is its apotheosis. Perhaps, also, playwrights should beware that they do not entirely relinquish the role of creator for that of researcher.

Eating & Drinking 29

The Journal Wednesday 1 October 2008

a gallery on the side Rebecca Penneck rebecca.penneck@journal-online.co.uk

T

here’s a famOus saatchi & saatchi sequence of adverts which, during the ‘80s, sold London’s V&a museum as “an ace caff with quite a nice museum attached.” fortunately, edinburgh, too, has a few “quite nice” museums and galleries. Better still, some of them even have caffs attached. edinburgh’s art galleries provide a chance to recover and recuperate, and to discover the city’s culture beyond the offerings of Why Not? and Lava&Ignite. Whether it’s the startling peculiarity of Janet Cardiff and George Bures miller’s installation art, on display now at the fruitmarket (see arts & entertainment, p.26) or the familiarity of sir henry raeburn’s famous “skating minister,” hanging permanently in the National, there’s plenty to be said for indulgent moments of reflection and contemplation. Plus, for the most part, they are free; and, since one of the National Galleries’ major collections is under threat of sale, there has, it seems, never been a better time to go.

But there’s the rub: while edinburgh’s galleries are—with the exception of ticketed exhibitions—free, a post-exhibition lunch, unsurprisingly, isn’t. and what’s more, saatchi & saatchi’s aforementioned “caff” was never really a “caff” at all. expect not to stumble across a greasy spoon between the reynolds and the rembrandts. expect not to pay caff prices, either. That said, with paintings worth millions of pounds elsewhere in the building, one might be forgiven for expecting food a little above the ordinary in these artistic eateries. That, surely, is worth a few pennies. Isn’t it?

The Gallery Café

National Gallery of Scotland The Mound 0131 624 6200 ThOse feeLING INCLINed to donate towards the £50 million pound target to retain, amongst others, the majestic Titians, will be glad to know that profits from the aptly named Gallery restaurant contribute to the galleries’ revenue. serving lunch from 11:45-4:00 and afternoon tea between 2:30-4:30, head chef John rutter has stayed true to the galleries’ self-consciously scottish profile, producing a menu which proudly announces the scottish provenance of all the food – as well as “Impressionist cocktails” to match the royal scottish academy’s Impressionism & Scotland exhibition (see arts & entertainment, p.27).

I ordered arbroath smokie, followed by guinea fowl with pearl barley. sensibly for this very pale fish, the other ingredients combined for a wonderfully colourful dish, and the sweet, concentrated flavour of roasted plum tomatoes went nicely with the smoky fish. That fishy flavour, however, was compromised a little by the massive mound of chilled lettuce.

There were no such problems with the guinea fowl, which arrived in the form of wonderfully juicy breast. The pearl barley provided a not-too-heavy starchiness which sat well alongside wilted rocked and a light lemon and thyme sauce. The dish was perfect for the advance of autumn, both anticipating the crispness of game season while retaining the sunny clean flavours of summer. If only we’d had one. my dining companion plumped for chicken liver parfait and oatcakes, followed by the eyemouth crab. accompanied by a very cute tower of homemade oatcakes, the smooth, light parfait delivered some punchy flavours indeed, including a solid hit of garlic nicely kept in check by the sweetness of sherry. It was complemented well by a citrussy dressed carrot and sultana salad.

The eyemouth crabmeat was prettily accompanied by an avocado salsa, providing a nice textural contrast. But,

because of the lack of brown crabmeat, the dish wanted for a seashorey slap to tip it towards a main course – it could have adorned an upmarket sandwich very well. Indeed, the mixed cress topping did little to help shift this impression. That said, crab, avocado and cress clearly do make a cracking combination.

With starters from £3.95-£5.95, and mains from £8.95-£16.50, this needn’t be an overly expensive treat and, as a result, the light, airy restaurant space is remarkably busy for a weekday afternoon. sure the customers aren’t the youngest around, but the numerous shocks of white hair suggest that these are ladies who’ve lunched – frequently.

If anyone knows where to find a delicious meal with views of Princes st Gardens—and, bizarrely enough, of an excitable collie pulling its wheelchairbound owner—these are they.

Left: The Gallery Café (Oliver Proctor) Above, below: Café Newton at the dean Gallery (robert Veal)

Café Newton The Dean Gallery 73 Belford Road 0131 624 6273

a LITTLe OuTsIde of edinburgh’s busy centre—though still connected by the free gallery bus—the dean Gallery and the dean Gallery of modern art offer views of wonderfully spacious, audaciously sculpted gardens. Inside Café Newton, however, the setting is a little more restrained, with suitably contemporary furnishings and black & white photos of pre-war golfers.

In fact, there’s a great deal which makes this feel a little like a cosy caff. for starters, there is an excellent tea selection, which excited even our antioxidant infused, loose leaved palates.

We went for the Belfast brew and apple and mint, which came in their own cute and covetable little pots.

The food, however, is far from cosy: old meets new as traditional ingredients are used in a contemporary way, fulfilling the café’s stated aim to serve “unpretentious, tasty and stylish food”. all ingredients are organic, fair trade and as local and seasonal as possible. This makes the pricing even more reasonable and—as at The

National Gallery—there is an emphasis on scottish produce, like my companion’s salad of grilled stornoway black pudding, egg and spinach, which was pronounced “pleasingly breakfast-like”, the earthy stodge of the black pudding lifted by the tomato and beetroot. at a very reasonable £5.75, the salad was generous and came with some good crusty bread.

The daily special, roast butternut squash and thyme risotto, was well cooked, well portioned and well priced at £6.25. The rice retained its desirably chalky bite, and the assertive salt and earth flavours of the parmesan and thyme played well against the sweetness of the roasted squash – a lovely, warming lunch which was perfect for the onset of autumn.

If the café’s array of home-made scones—including the now seldomseen cheese scone—is not sufficient temptation to indulge, then the self-titled “best chocolate brownie in edinburgh” should be: it may well live up to its billing, achieving lightness of texture yet remaining wickedly

unctuous and fudgy. The deep chocolatey hit rounded off an overall impression of good food, cooked simply and generously.

The Fruitmarket Gallery 45 Market Street 0131 226 1843

ThIs OLd TOWN gallery has, until very recently, been home to This house of books has no windows, the most recent exhibition by Canadian installation artists Janet Cardiff and George Bures miller. By most accounts, theirs has been an eclectic piece, combining exciting materials, sounds and textures. But, by any account, the food on offer here isn’t quite as exciting.

There is a good selection of drinks, including organic soft drinks, and wine at £12.25 per bottle. There’s also a fairly imaginative sandwich selection – a good choice for lunch, if a little pricey.

The New Yorker—pastrami, sweet mustard dressing and dill pickle in a wholemeal roll—came with a good salad, plus extra pickles and mixed

seeds which added crunch and made for a relatively virtuous lunch. But the sandwich lacked the quantity of filling to be a real New Yorker. my companion chose the day’s special of chorizo, pepper and potato stew. a hungry chap, he noted in particular the healthy proportion of chorizo to potato, and the hearty ladle-full of liquid to be mopped up with the crusty bread that accompanied. The flavours weren’t as impressive as one might have expected, though, and the chorizo had a woolly texture having been overcooked somewhat. It was certainly filling, but a little disappointing at £8.50.

The food at the fruitmarket café is undoubtedly pretty: both plates were nicely dusted with paprika and parsley.

It’s a little odd, though, given that the gallery tends to steer clear of “pretty” when selecting works for display, and one can’t help but feel there’s a little style over substance here. Nonetheless, the fruitmarket offers an interesting, contemporary menu as befits its artwork. But you might find tastier and more keenly priced food elsewhere.

News 3

The Journal Wednesday 1 October 2008

JK Rowling donates £1 million to labour Megan Taylor

Labour’s Funding gap

megan.taylor@journal-online.co.uk

the Conservatives have accused labour of relying on union funding as donations have plummeted.

£17.9m

OuTsTaNDiNg DebTs & DONaTiONs iN Q1 2008

£1.1m £1.6m

£4m

£7m

5m

Funding

Debt

10m

£12.1m

15m

Lib Dem.

Lab.

0m

Cons.

JK ROWling, bestselling author of the Harry Potter novels, has donated £1 million to the labour Party. in a statement, the author described her experiences as a struggling single parent in the 1990s as her motivation for the gift. she said: “David Cameron’s promise of tax perks for the married is reminiscent of the Conservative government i experienced as a lone parent. “it sends the message that the Conservatives still believe a childless, dualincome but married couple is more deserving of a financial pat on the head than those struggling, as i once was, to keep their families afloat in difficult times. “the labour government has reversed the long-term trend in child poverty, and britain is now one of the leading eU countries in combating child poverty.”

Ms Rowling is well known for her charitable giving, and co-founded the Children’s High level group, which works to ensure that United nations’ minimum standards for the care of children are implemented across europe and beyond.

JK Rowling is known to have a close personal relationship with britain’s first

lady, sarah brown, and her loyalty to the Prime Minster has also been implied. “gordon brown has consistently prioritised and introduced measures that will save as many children as possible from a life lacking in opportunity or choice,” she said. the popular children’s author, who according to the Sunday Times’ ‘Rich list’ holds an estimated wealth of £560 million, wrote the majority of her breakthrough success Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in edinburgh’s elephant House, on george iV bridge. the announcement came as the embattled labour Party embarked on its annual conference in Manchester.

With the polls indicating a crushing defeat at the next general election, and a growing and increasingly vocal body of MPs questioning the leadership of Prime Minister gordon brown, the donation was welcomed by labour officials.

Mr brown personally thanked the author: “i am delighted that JK Rowling, who is one of the world’s greatest ever authors, has made such a generous donation. “i thank her for supporting the labour Party and our values of social justice and opportunity for all.” the labour Party have amassed debts totalling £17.8 million, mostly incurred during campaigning for the 2005 general election.

big bang experiment shuts down until 2009 ben Judge ben@journal-online.co.uk One Of tHe world’s most expensive ever scientific experiments has been brought to a temporary halt after significant damage was caused to the large Hadron Collider (lHC) in geneva last week. the £3.6 billion “atom-smasher” is to undergo repairs following an electrical failure which caused over a tonne of liquid helium to spill into the machine’s 17 miles of underground tunnelling at the european Organisation for nuclear Research (CeRn) base. it will take approximately two months before the lHC will be operational, meaning that it will not be ready until after its obligatory winter maintenance period.

CeRn Director general Robert Aymar said: “Coming immediately after the very successful start of lHC operation on 10 september, this is

Joy at CeRN has turned to disappointment as LHC breaks down © CeRN

undoubtedly a psychological blow. “nevertheless, the success of the lHC’s first operation with beam is testimony to years of painstaking preparation and the skill of the teams involved in building and running CeRn’s accelerator complex. i have no doubt that we will overcome this setback with the same degree of rigour and application.” investigators at CeRn believe that a faulty connection between two superconducting magnets was responsible for the damage. However, scientists are unable to physically assess and repair the damage until the temperature in the tunnel is brought up from nearly absolute zero (-273.15ºC) to room temperature. it is believed this will take between three and four weeks. Once repairs are completed, another four weeks or so will be required to lower the temperature back down again.

CeRn do not run the lHC over the winter period because of the huge electricity consumption required to run

the experiment – when operational, the super-collider draws approximately the same amount of power as the entire city of geneva. As a result, the experiment will be powered down until spring 2009.

Peter limon, who helped commission the world’s first large-scale superconducting accelerator said: “the lHC is a very complex instrument, huge in scale and pushing technological limits in many areas. events occur from time to time that temporarily stop operations, for shorter or longer periods, especially during the early phases.” the lHC super-collider is the largest such project ever to be undertaken and scientists hope it will help shed light on the most fundamental questions in the world of particle physics. it is believed that the conditions created inside the lHC will be comparable to those which occurred immediately after the big bang at the start of the universe approximately 13.7bn years ago.

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Comely Bank Comely Bank Road, 780, 2, 1D 1B 1T G CG O, 0870 062 2414

Corstorphine Gylemuir Road, 850, 3, 1S 2D G P, 0870 062 9460 Corstorphine High Street, 565, 2, 1S 1D G CG O, 0870 062 9430

Crewe Toll Boswall Parkway, 650, 2, G PG O, 0870 062 9384

Dalry Caledonian Crescent, 930, 3, 3D W P, 0870 062 9424 Cathcart Place, 675, 2, 2D G CG Z, 0870 062 9594 Dalry Road, 625, 2, 2D G Z, 0870 062 9326 Murieston Place, 625, 2, 2D E P, 0870 062 9558 Caledonian Place, 620, 2, 2D G O, 0870 062 9322

Dean Village Lennox Street Lane, 750, 2, 2D G Z, 0870 062 9578Drylaw Easter Drylaw Avenue, 625, 2, 2D G O, 0870 062 9384

Duddingston Duddingston Park South, 575, 2, G O, 0870 062 9384

Northfield Drive, 575, 2, 2D G CG O, 0870 062 9424

Easter Road Easter Road, 960, 4, 4D G O, 0870 062 9302 Easter Road, 695, 2, 2D G O, 0870 062 9488 Albion Road, 565, 2, 2D G, 0870 062 9456 Thorntree Street, 525, 1, 1D G O, 0870 062 9424 Bothwell Street, 495, 1, 1D CG O, 0870 062 9422

Edinburgh Buchanan Street, 850, 2, 2D, 0870 062 3700 Dalmeny Street, 675, 2, 2D, 0870 062 3700 Bridge End, 675, 2, 2D G PG O UF, 0870 062 9478 Clovenstone Gardens, 600, 2, 1S 1D G P, 0870 062 9456

Ferry Road East Pilton Farm Crescent, 700, 2, 2D G CG P, 0870 062 9320

Fettes East Pilton Farm Crescent, 700, 2, 2D G P, 0870 062 2018 East Pilton Farm Crescent, 675, 2, 2D, 0870 062 2018

Fountainbridge Gibson Terrace, 500, 1, 1D G O, 0870 062 9446

Gilmerton Hawthorn Place, 440, 1, 1D G, 0870 062 9456

Gorgie Gorgie Road, 620, 2, 2D CG O, 0870 062 9522 Stewart Terrace, 500, 1, 1D G CG O, 0870 062 9592 Robertson Avenue, 500, 2, 1S 1D G Z, 0870 062 9434 Downfield Place, 495, 1, G, 0870 062 9456 Wardlaw Place, 475, 1, 1D 1B E CG, 0870 062 9468 Ardmillan Terrace, 460, 1, 1D W CG Z, 0870 062 9334

Granton Royston Mains Street, 650, 3, 1S 2D G PG O UF, 0870 062 9460 Lower Granton Road, 545, 1, 1D G CG O, 0870 062 3768

Grassmarket Portsburgh Square, 650, 1, 1D G CG Z, 0870 062 3782

Haymarket Morrison Street, 1550, 5, 5D, 0870 062 3700 Morrison Street, 1550, 5, 5D, 0870 062 3700

Hillside West Montgomery Place, 525, 1, 1D G CG Z, 0870 062 9558 Brunswick Street, 1250, 4, 4D, 0870 062 3700

HOW TO USE THE LISTINGS Meadows

Area Agent phone number

Buccleuch Street, 750, 2, 2D W CG Z, 0870 062 9434

Bedrooms Monthly Rent Location Inverleith Eildon Street, 699, 2, 2D 1B G CG O, 0870 062 9456 West Winnelstrae, 525, 1, 1D E P, 0870 062 9320

Leith Easter Road, 930, 3, 3D, 0870 062 3700 Easter Road, 800, 3, 3D G, 0870 062 9326 Sloan Street, 725, 3, G CG O, 0870 062 6604 Maritime Lane, 725, 2, 2D 1B G O, 0870 062 1108 Water Street, 700, 2, 2D, 0870 062 3700 Constitution Place, 695, 2, 2D G P, 0870 062 9456 Easter Road, 695, 2, 2D E CG P, 0870 062 9384 Constitution Place, 675, 2, 2D G P, 0870 062 9456 Albert Street, 650, 2, 2D G CG O, 0870 062 9236 Elbe Street, 600, 2, 2D W P, 0870 062 9424 Ferry Road, 600, 2, 1S 1D G CG O, 0870 062 1312 Couper Street, 575, 2, 2D W O, 0870 062 9424 Giles Street, 575, 1, 1D W P, 0870 062 9324 Constitution Street, 505, 1, 1D W P, 0870 062 9456 North Junction Street, 500, 1, 1D G O, 0870 062 9340 Bonnington Road, 475, 1, 1D E O, 0870 062 9578 Crighton Place, 1625, 5, 5D, 0870 062 3700 Leith Walk, 1370, 5, 5D, 0870 062 3700 Easter Road, 1200, 4, 4D, 0870 062 3700

Leith Links Easter Road, 525, 1, 1D W O, 0870 062 9424 Wellington Place, 1320, 5, 5D G CG O, 0870 062 9478

Leith Walk Leith Walk, 980, 3, 3D, 0870 062 3700 Crighton Place, 650, 2, G CG O, 0870 062 9522 Iona Street, 525, 1, G CG O, 0870 062 9460 Lorne Street, 490, 1, 1D CG O, 0870 062 9434 Iona Street, 480, 1, 1D 1B G CG O, 0870 062 9434 Thorntree Street, 450, 1, 1D E CG Z, 0870 062 1108 Dalmeny Street, 1020, 4, 4D, 0870 062 3700

Liberton Moredunvale Place, 750, 2, 2D G PG P, 0870 062 9558

Dinmont Drive, 725, 3, 3D G PG O, 0870 062 9424 Old Burdiehouse Road, 720, 3, 1S 2D G P, 0870 062 9460 Captains Drive, 680, 3, 3D G CG O, 0870 062 9522 Old Burdiehouse Road, 650, 2, 2D G P, 0870 062 9460 Old Burdiehouse Road, 650, 2, 2D G P, 0870 062 9460 Old Burdiehouse Road, 525, 1, 1D G P, 0870 062 9460 Old Burdiehouse Road, 525, 1, 1D G P, 0870 062 9460 Alnwickhill Road, 2300, 7, 2S 1D 1B 4T G PG P UF, 0870 062 9522

Lochend Loganlea Drive, 640, 2, 2D G CG O, 0870 062 9522 Lochend Road, 625, 2, 2D G P, 0870 062 9456 Lochend Avenue, 620, 2, 2D G CG O, 0870 062 9522 Loaning Mills, 595, 1, G, 0870 062 9456 Craigentinny Road, 575, 2, 2D G CG O, 0870 062 9558

Marchmont Thirlestane Road, 2000, 4, 2S 2D, 0870 062 3700 Marchmont Road, 1500, 4, 4D G PG, 0870 062 9326 Roseneath Street, 1340, 4, 4D G CG Z, 0870 062 9424 Sciennes Road, 1250, 4, 1S 3D G CG O, 0870 062 9558 Sciennes Road, 1250, 4, 4D G CG Z, 0870 062 9424 Marchmont Road, 1200, 4, 4D G, 0870 062 9594

Meadowbank Meadowbank Crescent, 650, 2, 2D G CG O, 0870 062 9468 Moray Park Terrace, 625, 2, 2D G P, 0870 062 9314 Loaning Mills, 525, 1, 1D G P, 0870 062 9488 Taylor Place, 525, 1, 1D G O, 0870 062 9312 Parsons Green Terrace, 1080, 4, 2S 2D, 0870 062 3700

Meadows Buccleuch Street, 550, 1, 1D, 0870 062 9324

Morningside Balcarres Street, 520, 1, 1D O, 0870 062 9324 Leamington Terrace, 1700, 5, 5D, 0870 062 3700 Maxwell Street, 1700, 5, 5D, 0870 062 3700

Bedrooms: Heating: Garden: Parking: Furniture:

Morningside Road, 1650, 5, 5D, 0870 062 3700 Morningside Road, 1380, 4, 4D, 0870 062 3700

New Town St. Vincent Street, 900, 3, 3D G Z, 0870 062 9320 Dundonald Street, 550, 1, 1D E Z, 0870 062 9320 Jamaica Mews, 525, 1, 1D E Z, 0870 062 1108 Randolph Crescent, 1995, 4, 1S 3D G PG Z, 0870 062 9320 Dundas Street, 1500, 3, 3D G CG Z, 0870 062 9478 Dundas Street, 1200, 4, 4D G Z, 0870 062 9314 Regent Terrace, 1200, 2, 2D G, 0870 062 9434

Newhaven North Fort Street, 580, 2, 2D G CG, 0870 062 9522

Newington Buccleuch Terrace, 925, 3, 1S 2D G CG O, 0870 062 1108 Nicolson Sqaure, 750, 3, G, 0870 062 9478 Nicolson Square, 750, 3, G, 0870 062 9478 Nicolson Square, 750, 3, G, 0870 062 9478 Nicolson Square, 750, 3, G, 0870 062 9478 Nicolson Street, 750, 3, G, 0870 062 9478 Nicolson Street, 750, 3, G, 0870 062 9478 St. Leonards Hill, 700, 2, 2D G P, 0870 062 9320 Mayfield Gardens, 665, 2, 2D G CG, 0870 062 9456 Chapel Street, 650, 2, 2D W Z, 0870 062 9326 Duncan Street, 650, 2, 1S 1D G P, 0870 062 9424 Rankeillor Street, 1775, 5, 5D, 0870 062 3700 East Preston Street, 1550, 5, 5D G Z, 0870 062 9326 Nicolson Street, 1500, 6, G, 0870 062 9478 Lutton Place, 1440, 4, 4D 1B G CG Z, 0870 062 9422 Rankeillor Street, 1330, 3, 3D, 0870 062 3700 Nicolson Square, 1250, 5, G, 0870 062 9478 Nicolson Square, 1250, 5, G, 0870 062 9478 Nicolson Street, 1250, 5, G, 0870 062 9478 West Nicolson Street, 1200, 3, 3D, 0870 062 3700 Nicolson Street, 1000, 4, G, 0870 062 9478 Nicolson Street, 1000, 4, G, 0870 062 9478

PROPERTY LISTINGS PROVIDED BY WWW.CITYLETS.CO.UK

S Single D Double T Twin B Box G Gas Central W White Meter E Electric PG Private CG Communal Z Zone O On-Street P Private UF Unfurnished

Old Town Johnston Terrace, 750, 2, 2D G Z, 0870 062 9334

Pilrig Pilrig Heights, 635, 2, P, 0870 062 2414

Pilton West Pilton Drive, 650, 2, 2D 1B G, 0870 062 9302 Pilton Drive, 625, 2, 2D G PG P, 0870 062 9302 West Pilton Street, 625, 2, 2D E PG P UF, 0870 062 9302 Crewe Crescent, 625, 2, G PG P UF, 0870 062 9488 Pilton Avenue, 600, 2, 2D G PG P UF, 0870 062 9522 Crewe Road Gardens, 500, 2, 2D G, 0870 062 9384

Polwarth Watson Crescent, 500, 1, 1D G CG Z, 0870 062 9592 Polwarth Terrace, 480, 1, 1D W P, 0870 062 9434 Polwarth Gardens, 1700, 5, 5D, 0870 062 3700 Polwarth Gardens, 1700, 5, 5D, 0870 062 3700 Merchiston Avenue, 1400, 5, 5D G CG Z, 0870 062 9334

Portobello Adelphi Place, 675, 2, 2D G PG O UF, 0870 062 3768

Roseburn Balbirnie Place, 575, 1, 1D W O, 0870 062 9592

Saughton Stevenson Drive, 650, 2, 2D G CG O, 0870 062 7736 Stenhouse Drive, 550, 2, 2D 1B G O, 0870 062 8312

Sciennes Sciennes Road, 1500, 4, 4D G CG Z, 0870 062 9334

Shandon Ogilvie Terrace, 550, 1, 1D G CG O, 0870 062 9592

Sighthill Broomhouse Street South, 950, 4, G PG UF, 0870 062 1312 Sighthill Road, 865, 3, 3D G PG P, 0870 062 1876 Longstone Road, 575, 2, 2D G O, 0870 062 9312 Larbourfield, 425, 1, 1D E CG, 0870 062 6458

Silverknowes Ferry Gait Place, 575, 2, 2D W CG P, 0870 062 9384

Slateford Appin Place, 900, 3, 3D G P, 0870 062 9592 New Mart Place, 700, 2, 2D G P, 0870 062 9592 Moat Street, 500, 1, 1D G CG O, 0870 062 9326 Appin Terrace, 495, 1, 1D G CG O, 0870 062 9324 Angle Park Terrace, 1625, 5, 3S 2D, 0870 062 3700

Stenhouse Stenhouse Gardens, 775, 2, 2D G CG P, 0870 062 7736 Stenhouse Gardens, 775, 2, 2D G P, 0870 062 7736 Stenhouse Gardens, 650, 2, 2D G CG O, 0870 062 9522

Stockbridge Dean Park Street, 660, 2, 2D G, 0870 062 9234 Eyre Place, 635, 1, 1D G CG Z, 0870 062 9424 Dean Street, 560, 2, 1S 1D G CG Z, 0870 062 9456 Dean Park Street, 495, 1, G Z, 0870 062 9456 Saxe Coburg Street, 1250, 2, 2D G Z, 0870 062 9424

The Shore Timber Bush, 750, 2, 2D G CG P, 0870 062 9468 Sandport, 700, 2, 2D E CG P, 0870 062 9578 Tower Place, 675, 2, 2D G CG P, 0870 062 9558 Salamander Street, 625, 2, 2D G O, 0870 062 9594 Giles Street, 495, 1, 1D E P, 0870 062 9320

Tollcross Tarvit Street, 900, 3, 3D, 0870 062 3700 Bread Street, 550, 2, 2D G Z, 0870 062 9334 Lochrin Place, 495, 1, 1D, 0870 062 9334 Lauriston Park, 1050, 3, 3D G, 0870 062 9578

Warriston Easter Warriston, 700, 3, 3D G CG P, 0870 062 9592

West End Coates Crescent, 750, 2, 2D G Z, 0870 062 9424

Willowbrae Northfield Farm Road, 600, 2, 2D G CG O, 0870 062 9592

The Journal Wednesday 1 October 2008

A MALIGN LOOK AT THE WORLD OF SPORT : R E K C A H

At the end of the day, it’s the way you tell ‘em When your back’s against the wall, a dignified silence beats digging a hole

Graham Mackay

Deputy Editor

Sport 31

SPORT

SHORTS SNIPPETS OF SPORTS NEWS AND EVENTS FROM THE LAST FORTNIGHT RELIEF AT HEARTS AS STAFF ARE FINALLY PAID The financial status of Hearts FC has been brought into question, following a week-long saga in which playing and non-playing staff have gone without their hardearned cash.

Last week, players at the Tynecastle club did not received their regular paycheques, whilst other employees were not paid their monthy wages, normally deposited on the 24th of every month. The issue has since been resolved, with a “technical glitch” being blamed for the delay. According to Hearts, the club’s parent company, Ukio Bankas Investment Group failed to deposit funds into the account from which staff are regularly paid. Players have received double wages this week and monthly payments have also been updated.

graham@journal-online.co.uk

MULTI-SKILLED PLAYERS ARRIVE IN LEITH FOR UNIQUE TOURNAMENT Competitors from around the world flocked to Leith over the weekend for the seventh Scottish Racketlon Championships. The contest tested competitors’ on their combined abilities in tennis, badminton, table tennis and squash. Matches were played using a table-tennis scoring system, with the serve changing after every five points.

I

“The world’s elite sportsmen feel the need to lie to the hungry media, when, as we all know, the truth is already out there”

N RECENT WEEKS, the world of sport has reminded us that it is not only politicians who resort to the age-old, think-on-your-feet art of bare-faced lying. But, lacking the rhetorical finesse of a Tony Blair or Bill Clinton, the sports personalities of today seem to be having more than a little trouble talking their way out of sticky situations.

Just over a week ago, the European Ryder cup team suffered the humiliation of a convincing 16 ½ to 11 ½ loss to their counterparts from across the pond – a team even their own countrymen referred to as “rookies” and “underdogs.” However, the embarrassment for the Europeans was not restricted to their performance on the golf course.

With three days of high-stakes, winner-takes-all golf still to play, team Captain Nick Faldo let slip one of the most cringe-worthy porky-pies I’ve heard for a while.

Having been photographed holding a list on which were hand-written the names of various European players, Faldo eventually responded to repeated questioning by petulantly announcing that he had been holding “a lunch list” detailing the preferred sandwich choices of his team mates.

However, rather than revealing the fact that Henrik Stenson is a Meatball Marinara man, whilst Ian Poulter favours the traditional English BLT, it was all too clear that the muchpublicised list in fact denoted Team Europe’s parings for the crucial and highly-anticipated first group. Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia would

be sent out first, followed by Padraig Harrington and Robert Karlsson, with Poulter, Rose, Stenson, McDowell and Casey bringing up the rear.

Having held out as long as he could, Faldo eventually cracked, confessing the true purpose of the list. The game was up, the truth was out and the Captain was left with enough egg on his face to scoop off and make sandwiches for the whole of the Professional Golfers Association.

But it hasn’t just been Faldo who has had to exercise his limited ability to come up with a quick-witted response to the mass-media in recent weeks. Less than 24 hours after boldly pledging his undying allegience to his prospective new club, Chelsea, Señor Robinho completed a record-breaking £32.5 million move to recentlybankrolled Premiership nobodies Manchester City, who just happened to offer him a contract worth £160,000 per week. Now how was he going to explain that one? Like Faldo, the Brazilian was going to have to think on his feet.

As sports fans the world over waited with bated breath to hear how English football’s most expensive player would attempt to justify snubbing the Champions’ League runners-up in favour of the mid-table, newly-crowned richest club in the world, the money-grabbing superstar did not fail to deliver.

Citing two principal reasons for his move to Eastlands, Robinho began by stating that the fact that his fellow Brazilian internals, Jo and Elano were already at the club was a

major factor in his decision. Yet, if the company of his fellow countrymen was such a major priority, surely Chelsea, managed by Brazilian legend Louiz Felipe Scolari, and boasting a wealth of samba stars, including Alex and Juliano Belletti, would have sufficed.

In a desperate attempt to further the belief that he is little more than a soulless penny-snatcher, Robinho then went on to utter the immortal line: “I knew that City are a very big club, there’s a great team there and this is an exciting project.” Well at least the last few words ring true, I mean, who wouldn’t be excited at the prospect of becoming the highest-paid player in the world’s richest league? But to speak God’s honest truth, City are an average team at best, and to refer to their squad as “great” is more than a polite overstatement.

In this rising culture of the world’s elite sportsmen feeling the need to lie to the hungry media, when, as we all know, the truth is already out there, perhaps the likes of Faldo and Robinho would benefit from taking a leaf out of AC Milan goalkeeper, Christan Abbiatti’s book. Amidst the ongoing debate over Italy’s Fascist past, and right-wing present, under the leadership of President and Milan chairman Silvio Berlusconi, Abbiati unashamedly revealed the truth about his politics. “I am not ashamed to proclaim my political beliefs,” announced the opinionated keeper, continuing: “I share the ideals of Fascism, such as the fatherland and the values of the Catholic religion.”

Actually, on second thoughts, maybe that’s not such a good idea.

The winner of the Men’s A division was England’s Jermain Manners, who beat Belgian Gert Peersman in the final, whilst Nat Lawrence, also of England, came up trumps after defeating Scotland’s Jenna Cockburn.

Racketlon was developed in Finland in the 1980s, with the Scottish Open being the first tournament to be held outside of Scandanavia.

The competition’s touring circuit now extends to ten countries, including Canada, Czech Republic, Switzerland and Germany.

CAPITALS’ BOSS THREATENS TO WIELD AXE IF LOSING STREAK CONTINUES Edinburgh Capitals’ director of hockey, Doug Christiansen has challenged every member of his squad to prove they are worthy of remining on the club’s roster, following a woeful run of six straight defeats in ice hockey’s Elite League.

With upcoming fi xtures against Belfast Giants and Newcastle Vipers, Christiansen is desperate to reverse his club’s depressing run of form, which has seen them net only 19 goals all season, the lowest number in the ten-team league.

However, the forthcoming games will present a tough challenge for the Capitals, who were beaten 4-1

by Belfast in the Challenge Cup.

32 Sport

The Journal Wednesday 1 October 2008

Sport

hearts sink as united turn on the style

miller brace helps rangers to victory at hibs Football hibs 0 rangers 3

Elvira Kemp

Photo courtesy of Dave Martin

elvira.kemp@journal-online.co.uk

Football

Dundee utd. 3 hearts 0 Elvira Kemp elvira.kemp@journal-online.co.uk A thrilling 90-minute display by Dundee united marked a continued revival for the home side as hearts suffered yet another drawback in the wake of financial difficulties at the club. hearts manager, Csaba laszlo, suffered the heaviest defeat of his tynecastle career on a rain-ridden Saturday afternoon at tannadice Park. in the popposite dug-out, however, Craig levein came into the match with an encouraging record against his former club. hearts goalkeeper marian Kello did well to end the game having let in just three goals as Jon Daly sent a header against the post and Kello denied Sean Dillon and Scott roberton’s clean attempts at goal.

Bruno Aguiar, who was placed on the hearts bench due to injury, was not

called upon by his manager as the terrors continued to pressurise the hearts’ back four. united had the better of the opening exchanges, highlighted by a confident in-swinging corner by Craig Conway which was met by Jon Daly who struck cleanly only to be denied by the woodwork.

Conway continued to show his class, and was rewarded for his efforts in the 39th minute when he curled a 30-yard free-kick past Kello and into the top corner of the hearts net to the delight of tayside. in-form morgaro gomis also thundered an effort off the bar to keep the united fans singing.

Shortly after the re-start, the Jambos found themselves two goals behind as the home-side continued to dominate in possession and on the counter attack. A long ball from Willo Flood drifted over the heads of the hearts defence and was chested down by Jon Daily and volleyed in off the post on 50 minutes. united’s lead was then extended to three eleven minutes later when Scott robertson rose to Conway’s free-kick and headed past the stranded Kello.

hearts’ tempers frayed for the away team and as a result of the third goal, and referee Dougie mcDonald was forced to show a second yellow to defensive midfielder eggert Jonsson after 74 minutes. laszlo, who opted to name an unchanged team from the side that confidently beat inverness at tynecastle last week, was unable to provide his players with inspiration. the hearts forwards lacked impetus in the final third and failed to stamp any authority on the match.

A handful of tidy passes resulted in glimmers of hope for hearts in the second half; Saulius mikoliunas came close to giving the ten-man side a consolation late on with an impressive drive, but it was the woodwork which denied his effort. the disjointed display hammered the spirit and discipline of the away fans who had all but headed for the exits by the 80th minute. the edinburgh outfit should find themselves lucky to be sat in third spot in the SPl table as Kilmarnock relish the challenge of facing an out-ofsorts hearts side next week.

get mOre On the WeB

ViSit

JOurnAl-Online.CO.uK FOr All the lAteSt SPOrtS reSultS

FOrmer hiBerniAn FOrWArD Kenny miller scored twice to move rangers back into top spot and ignite the away fans at easter road. rangers goalkeeper neil Alexander’s superb save had denied a powerful shot from Dean Shiels, with Sol Bamba’s header cleared off the line before the visitors took the lead. A Kirk Broadfoot cross was met by a diving header from miller after 31 minutes, with hibs midfielder ian murray striking the post before miller curled in his second and madjid Bougherra bundled home the third. hibernian manager, mixu Paatelainen, pushed ivory Coast ball-winner Bamba and defensively-minded murray alongside Joe Keenan in front of the back four. nevertheless, the inclusion of the impressive centre-back did little to settle the nerves of the home team, with constant drops in possession leading to near misses for miller and Charlie Adam to add to rangers’ attempts tally. their efforts were met by boos from the crowd as hibernian’s defence struggled to hold its shape. however, hibs almost took the lead against the run of play when Shiels was played in behind the rangers defence and the midfielder’s powerful effort was superbly turned over the crossbar by Alexander. the edinburgh side notably missed the influence of injured striker Colin nish, whose replacement, Derek riordan, failed to make an impact on the game. rangers’ immediate break allowed a curling cross from Broadfoot to find miller, who dived in, unmarked, from 12 yards to head the ball in off the far post. nine minutes later, Broadfoot cleverly back-heeled the ball into miller’s path and the Scotland striker curled a leftfooted shot into the far corner. in the second half, hibs enjoyed much of the possession which culminated in a 20-yard drive by Joe Keenan which was superbly turned round the post by the inform Alexander at full stretch. hibs continued to put rangers under pressure but it was a case of “too little to late”, with Bougherra securing the win in the 73rd minute by diverting a Kevin thomson free-kick into the back of the net from six yards.

Although the home side were unlucky not to go level in the first half, hibernian faced their toughest test of the season so far as a hungry rangers side silenced critics with an impressive display, reasserting themselves as worthy contenders for the SPl title.

4 News

The Journal Wednesday 1 October 2008

Ten dead in Finnish school shooting Corinne Redfern corinne.redfern@journal-online.co.uk NiNe studeNts aNd a lecturer are dead following a multiple shooting at a vocational college in Finland which has reopened the debate on the widespread ownership of firearms in the country.

Just before 11am local time on tuesday 23 september, second year culinary arts student Matti Juhani saari entered the Kauhajoki school of Hospitality wearing a ski mask and carrying a large bag holding a .22 calibre handgun and several petrol bombs. after opening fire on a group of students sitting an exam, killing nine and one teacher, saari set fire to the school building. the gunman also shot at emergency services and police as they attended the scene. twenty-two year old saari later died in hospital due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. speaking on the sidelines of the uN General assembly in New York, Finnish President tarja Halonen said: “We have to have very serious discussions and studies on what to do.”

the identification of the victims is ongoing, which is reported to be heavily reliant upon dNa testing and dental records following the blaze at the school. in an echo of a previous school shooting in Finland last November, which claimed eight lives and that of the gunman, saari had uploaded three videos onto Youtube a week before, each showing him firing a gun and quoting from German metal band Wumpscut’s lyrics.

His account on the site, which has now been closed, revealed links to videos inspired by the 1999 Columbine shootings. it has since been revealed that saari and Pekka-eric auvinen, the perpetrator of the 2007 murders at Jokela, may have been in contact online, and perhaps even in person. saari travelled almost 250 kilometres to purchase his murder weapon at the same shop in Jokela where auvinen acquired his gun. the firearms were of the same make and model.

Police interviewed saari in person about the videos on Monday 22 september, but a lack of evidence meant officers were unable to confiscate his

us schools sign up to “active shooter” training Paris Gourtsoyannis paris@journal-online.co.uk HuNdreds OF u.s. colleges and universities have purchased an instructional aid for their staff which offers advice on how to react in the event of a school shooting. the guide, produced by a commercial organisation called the Centre for Personal Protection and safety, suggests that, in an “active shooter” scenario, lecturers should make use of the “inherent strength in numbers” on the side of shooting victims. the training programme includes footage of a gunman opening fire in a classroom full of students amongst its teaching materials. advice issued to school staff includes using a laptop or book as an “improvised weapon” against an assailant armed with a gun. domenick Brouillette, a course instructor, tells his clients to “look at your environment through the lens of survival. “survivors prepare themselves both mentally and emotionally to do what it takes. it might involve life-threatening risk. You may do something you never thought you were capable of doing.” as the programme’s publicity material states, “the odds of being involved in an ‘active shooter’ situation are similar to being struck by lightning. But lightning does strike, and active shooter situations happen, and when they do the results are catastrophic.

“While organizations and law enforcement agencies have revamped their prevention and response strategies to address this

critical issue, history shows that the immediate action of people on the scene is the most effective way to minimize or stop the violence.” self-defence classes of various kinds, particularly targeted at women, have played a role in campus security at us institutions for decades; however, this is thought to be one of the first initiatives specifically dealing with school shootings. in august of this year, us President George W. Bush signed into law amendments to the Jeanne Clery act, tightening the legislation which forced universities to inform students of potentially dangerous situations as soon as possible. the 2007 Virginia tech shooting, in which seung-Hui Cho killed 33 people in two separate incidents several hours apart, led to criticism of university security and the manner in which authorities dispense information. in the aftermath of the massacre—the united states’ deadliest—officials experienced a leap in applications for concealed firearms licences from students, who expressed the desire to protect themselves with hidden weapons on campus and in classes. the first documented school shooting in the united states took place in 1966, when Charles Joseph Whitman murdered 17 people at the university of texas at austin from the observation deck of a 32-storey building. since the 1999 Columbine High school massacre, in which 15 people died, school shootings have become a yearly occurence in the usa, with multiple fatalities in every subsequent year.

gun license or bring any charges. searches of his computer and accommodation have since revealed that saari had been planning his attack since 2002, five years before he began studying at the vocational college 180 miles north of the capital Helsinki. an investigation is now underway to ensure that no mistakes were made earlier in the week which could have prevented tuesday’s incident from occurring. according to a 2007 report carried out by the Graduate institute for international studies, private possession of firearms in Finland is amongst the highest in the world, surpassed only by the united states and Yemen. traditional hunting activities are the prevailing reason behind the high statistics; however, at present Finns can apply for permission to own a gun from the age of 15, and though Finland enjoys a low crime rate, questions are again being asked regarding the leniency of gun laws. in the weeks following the 2007 shooting, an immediate government review of firearms legislation was instituted, yet little action has yet been taken.

Saari posted pictures and videos to the Internet prior to the shooting

edinburgh army recruit sues Ministry of defence Alice Stanes alice.stanes@journal-online.co.uk a FOrMer arMY recruit who was badly beaten at Catterick Barracks training Centre,Yorkshire, has launched legal action against the Mod, claiming that the abuse has left him physically and emotionally damaged.

23-year-old ian stodart from danderhall spent six months at the garisson during the summer of 2004 and claims he was the victim of a campaign of abuse and bullying from his instructors and fellow recruits.

Mr stodart had to undergo reconstructive surgery after a fellow recruit kicked him in the face and head.

Following an undercover investigation by the BBC, the ex-soldier has spoken out about the level of abuse received. speaking to the Daily Mail, he said that a fellow recruit “kicked me in the head and smashed my eye socket. i had to have a metal plate put into the side of my face, which still causes blurred vision to this day.”

He continued: “i was in my bunk and all of a sudden there were all these guys around me. there was a lot of pushing and shoving, and then one of them set upon me.” stodart also spoke of one incident concerning a Pt instructor, who reportedly grabbed him by the throat and threw him to the ground.

He reveals he witnessed fellow recruits carrying live rounds into their billets despite the fact that live rounds are banned in the barracks. “they would hide them in the roof spaces,” Mr stodart said. “they said it was for a bit of ‘extra fun’ on the shooting range.” an undercover investigation for BBC television resulted in the suspension of

three army training instructors at Catterick, which has been the subject of abuse allegations in the past. in 2003, allegations of bullying and harassment towards young recruits were reported, and an investigation in 2006 showed that humiliation of recruits was also a significant problem. the current investigation at Catterick follows extensive coverage of incidents at deepcut Barracks, surrey, where four recruits died as a result of bullet wounds between 1995 and 2002. the army introduced a new twoweek training course for all instructors following the controversy surrounding deepcut, but has proved unable fully to eradicate bullying and abuse from its programmes.

48 year-old andrew stodart told the Edinburgh Evening News that complaints of bullying regarding his son were largely ignored. “[ian] told us about the rough treatment by the Pt instructor, but when we phoned they told us it was none of our concern,” he said.

“When we went to see him after his assault, he was a mess.”

On completion of his training ian stodart was declared unfit for duty and discharged from the army. Left suffering from depression and mood swings, Mr stodart claims he is unable to maintain a job or even a home.

Being unable to control the emotional effects of his trauma has placed stodart at odds with his neighbours, and forced disruptive relocations between homeless shelters and B&Bs. it has been confirmed that Midlothian council are actively involved in finding him a permanent residence.

Mr stodart’s lawyer, Patrick McGuire of Glasgow-based thomson’s solicitors, was unavailable for comment, but has confirmed to The Journal that court action has been raised to claim

The MoD at Whitehall Matt Brown compensation. a spokesman for the Ministry of defence was unable to disclose specific information regarding the case, but has confirmed that all allegations are now under full investigation. the Mod released the following statement: “Bullying is absolutely unacceptable and fundamentally at odds with the army’s core values.

“We take all allegations of inappropriate behaviour extremely seriously and investigate them thoroughly. We were already in the process of investigating several cases highlighted by the BBC and where allegations were new, we immediately launched further investigations.”

Edinburgh News 5

The Journal Wednesday 1 October 2008

News Shorts

Salmond seeks to protect HBOS jobs

wear them Francesco Cirillo & Nick Eardley

E, BY GUM!

nick.eardley@journal-online.co.uk

Ecstasy overdoses are on the rise, doctors have warned. Increasing demands for the drug in powdered form – a preparation believed by many drug users to be purer than the tablet form – have led many to confuse the stimulant with cocaine, a drug that can be tolerated in far higher doses.

FIRST MINISTER ALEX Salmond has held meetings with business leaders in Scotland in a bid to minimise Scottish job losses in the wake of Lloyds TSB’s proposed takeover of the Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS).

The £12.2 billion takeover package has left the future of HBOS branches and staff in Scotland uncertain. Mr Salmond, who has blamed HBOS’s poor fortune on the short-selling activities of financial “spivs,” met with members of the Scottish Council for Development and Industry in an attempt to establish grounds for “the best possible deal for Scotland.” He then held a private meeting with bosses of the London-based Lloyds.

Hosting the summit in Edinburgh, the First Minister said: “We have a full opportunity to represent a Scottish view, a united Scottish view, in terms of seeking to defend jobs and decision making and headquarters’ functions.”

He continued: “The loss of our oldest institution and independent bank is a serious matter that touches every corner of business and the fabric of the country.

Therefore it’s only right that the broad ranges of opinion in the country, the trade unions, business organisations and chambers of commerce get the chance to have a canvas of opinion before we meet Lloyds TSB.” The meeting saw the First Minister join with newly elected Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray in calling for a Scottishfriendly solution to the current discussions over the best way forward for HBOS. Mr Gray returned early from the

Professor David Nutt, professor of psychopharmacology at the University of Bristol told The Times: "If you are buying a white powder from someone, how do you know if you are getting MDMA [the main ingredient of Ecstasy], methamphetamine or cocaine?

"If you are not sure what you are taking, it is potentially very dangerous."

The news comes as the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs is reviewing the current classification of Ecstasy as a Class A drug with their recommendation due to be presented to the government early in the new year.

This week the council was told that the MDMA content of Ecstasy tablets has fallen in recent years from an average of 100mg per tablet to 40mg, prompting the move by many users to the powder form.

Alex Salmond has joined with business leaders in talks aimed at keeping HBOS jobs in Scotland Silvia Foteva Labour Party conference in Manchester in order to attend the summit The HBOS group currently employs around 17,000 staff in Scotland; a further 7,000 Lloyds TSB staff also work north of the border. There had been fears that there would be up to 40,000 forced redundancies as a result of the takeover, but this has been dismissed by Lloyds TSB Scotland Chief Executive Susan Rice.

Lloyds will begin to publish details of how it intends to integrate the two banks this week as well as establish a timetable for the acquisition, which is expected to take three months to complete.

Early indications from Lloyds that the focus will be to “keep jobs in Scotland” is said to have pleased Scottish ministers. However, English commentators this week have criticised the decision; Linda Riordan, Labour MP for the Yorkshire town of Halifax—home to 6,000 HBOS jobs—stated that the decision was “totally unacceptable”. In an interview with the BBC, Riordan said she was shocked when she heard about Scottish job protection plans and wants a similar guarantee for Halifax.

Resentment in southern HBOS bases has been fuelled further by chancellor

Alistair Darling’s statement that he has “spoken to the bank, not just about jobs, but the need to maintain a very significant presence in Edinburgh, in Scotland.”

Suspicion abounds that such moves are aimed mainly at preventing any further slides in Labour support in Scotland in the run up to the Glenrothes by-election in Fife, due to be held in October or November.

However, Rice has, as yet, made no firm commitments about job numbers or locations, which will only become clear over the coming months.

Scots troops to spearhead Afghan offensive John Geddie john.geddie@journal-online.co.uk

Guards! Taking Liberties

EUTC works Pratchett’s Discworld magic 20

David Blunkett talks about life on the back benches 15

New stem cell research advances cancer treatments

SNP breaks student debt promise

Also in The Journal this week...

page 24

SPORT

SERUTAEF

facing the world issues and challenges the modern international reform if it is to tackle creation, the UN needs that, 62 years after its George Grant argues

happy Keeping the US

TROPS

“shock-jock” families most outspoken right-wing owned by one of America’s sell a new energy drink Barr, has signed a deal to drink manufacturer, AG Scotland’s largest soft

brewing...

There’s trouble

42 egap

page 16

FEATURES

George Grant argues that, 62 years after its creation, the UN needs reform if it is to tackle the modern international issues and challenges facing the world

61 egap

page 3

Keeping the US happy

Scotland’s largest soft drink manufacturer, AG Barr, has signed a deal to sell a new energy drink owned by one of America’s most outspoken right-wing “shock-jock” families

SWEN

There’s trouble brewing...

NEWS

Also in The Journal this week...

3 egap

REPORTS OF AN impending redeployment of Scottish troops to Afghanistan next April have raised concerns over reduced leave causing fatigue amongst Britain’s hardest working soldiers.

According to the sources, 1,500 soldiers from the Royal Scots Borderers (1st Scots), the Royal Artillery (Lowland Gunners), the Black Watch (3rd Scots) and 40 Regiment will support the 19th Light Brigade campaign in Afghanistan next year.

Controversy has arisen over the inclusion of the Royal Scots Borderers, despite their having returned from a tour of service in Iraq only one year ago.

According to Ministry of Defence (MoD) regulations, troops are entitled to two years between active service deployments, and should not be available for active duty for a further 12 months.

Whilst the MoD has not officially confirmed the reports, they come at a time when guidelines are being consistently overlooked to combat the growing problem of personnel shortages in the military.

With Britain’s extensive committments in Iraq, Afghanistan and Sierra Leone, as well as to other peace-

Soldiers from the Royal Scots Borderers will be deployed to Afghanistan keeping missions across the globe, almost one in ten soldiers are being forced to breach these rules.

By next spring the number of troops in the Middle East is set to reach record levels.

Earlier last week, defence secretary Des Browne reiterated prime minister Gordon Brown’s assertion that while tactical reorientation may see troops withdraw from Iraq next year, the Afghanistan problem will continue into the foreseeable future.

Afghanistan’s Helmand province has seen the death of four Scots soldiers since April 2008, and fatalities in the country have now outstripped

those in Iraq.

In April this year, soldiers of the 52 Brigade returned to Edinburgh in the wake of an SNP announcement that downplayed Scottish troops’ support for the war on terrorism.

However, the brigade spun a positive angle on the work taking place in Afghanistan: soldiers reported that they made a significant contribution through training Afghan police and restoring a level of normality and security to many divided communities.

The brigade was also at the forefront of NATO operations which succeeded in neutralising the Taleban stronghold of Musa Qala.

SNP breaks student debt promise

REACH OVER 70,000 STUDENTS EVERY FORTNIGHT treatments cancer advances cell research New stem

Discworld magic 20 EUTC works Pratchett’s

15 on the back benches David Blunkett talks about life

Guards! Taking Liberties

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6 Edinburgh News

The Journal Wednesday 1 October 2008

Tram works cause more delays for motorists Mound Junction and a section of Princes Street closed for the next six months as council announces trams will close Shandwick Place to traffic permanently Nick Eardley nick.eardley@journal-online.co.uk TRAM BOSSES HAVE played down the likelihood of significant delays in the centre of Edinburgh as the latest phase of the Edinburgh Tram network preparation gets underway.

Many motorists have expressed fear of lengthy tailbacks as work begins on the busy Mound junction which provides an important road link to Princes Street and the rest of the city centre.

The construction work means that Princes Street will be closed to traffic between Frederick Street and Hanover Street, whilst the entire junction at the Mound will be closed to all traffic for up to six months.

Traffic will be diverted onto George Street or to Market Street and Waverly Bridge for the duration of the work.

Willie Gallagher, executive chairman of Transport Initiatives Edinburgh (TIE), the group responsible for building the infrastructure of the tram network, has claimed that all appropriate steps have been taken to minimise the disruption that those travelling through the city centre will suffer.

He said: “We don’t underestimate the need to mitigate the impact of these works. In the case of Princes Street we are acutely aware of its status to the city centre from a retailer, shopper and tourist perspective.

“Throughout all of this we will continue to work closely with our partners at City of Edinburgh Council, Lothian Buses and the emergency services to ensure that work is carried out as efficiently and safely as possible, with disruption kept to a minimum.”

The Mound is part of the route that connects many students from Leith and the north of Edinburgh to the central campuses of Edinburgh and Napier universities.

Though Lothian Buses have not offered specific timetable advice, experts are advising students who normally travel through Hanover Street and surrounding streets to leave at least ten minutes extra for travelling, with one operator predicting the diversion becoming “a shambles.”

Development of the trams’ infrastructure has already seen major roadworks and diversions on Leith Walk and Shandwick Place.

Princes Street is due to be cut off to all traffic within the next two months, again for up to six months.

Local taxi drivers have warned that the latest work could cause a heavy build up of traffic on the diverted routes, having a profound effect on journey times in the city centre.

Speaking to the Edinburgh Evening News, secretary of the Edinburgh Taxi Association, Raymond Davidson said: “The roads where the diversions are going are already nose-to-tail at rush hour so it will only get worse when you add all those buses and taxis.

“Passengers will be facing big delays if it doesn’t work well because it is a major junction and there is so much traffic that goes through it.”

Princes Street will be closed to traffic between Fredrick Street and Hanover Street Images: Silvia Foteva

News Shorts :: wear them CENTRE FOR THE RETENTION OF MARBLES

However, the argument advanced

by TIE has been backed by both Lothian Buses and Edinburgh City Council.

Bill Campbell, operations director of Lothian Buses has assured those using public transport that everything possible will be done to minimise disruption, but has conceded that there will be some delays.

He said: “This is a major diversion.

Some disruption to passengers travelling into the city centre is inevitable.

However, we are working closely with TIE to ensure as best we can that disruption is kept to a minimum.”

A spokesperson for TIE also dismissed Mr Davidson’s claims that there is a potential for significant tailbacks as a result of the work. He told The Journal: “TIE has put a huge amount of effort into mitigating this impact as much as possible. It has developed a sophisticated traffic management process which allows the work to be done

efficiently and safely, whilst ensuring traffic flow.

“This approach is best evidenced by the work done on Shandwick Place and the current work site at Haymarket – both major works, with extensive traffic management in place. The chaos predated has not materialised, mainly down to rigorous planning and consultation.

“Each diversion is also put to consultation with local businesses and residents. It is very much a team approach.”

Edinburgh City Council has also announced that there will be a number of other changes to the Edinburgh road system in order to accommodate a tram connection to Edinburgh Airport.

This will result in the loss of numerous parking spaces on St Andrew’s Square, as well as the closure of Shandwick Place to general traffic and the banning of cars on Princes Street at night.

The Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, a centre of excellence for brain research, has been opened at the University of Edinburgh. The centre, which will research into how ageing affects mental capabilities, aims to discover how genes and hormones impact lifelong mental health and wellbeing.

Professor Ian Deary, director of the new research base said: “The creation of this new multidisciplinary centre is a major encouragement for our research into the affects of cognition on ageing, and vice versa. It will go a long way towards bringing together our exciting current work, and create opportunities for new collaborations within and beyond the University.”

A £3.4 million grant drawn from four major funders of medical research and bioengineering has made the building of the centre possible, which was unveiled 11 September.

NOW THE MILKMAN CAN HAVE A REST Damhead Organic Farm and Shop is to join forces with Edinburgh University Students’ Association (EUSA) in providing an organic

vegetable box scheme, delivering locally grown veg direct to students’ doors. Midlothian based Damhead are offering students free registration and delivery and a 10 percent discount on their already established scheme so that a box for three people will cost as little as £9 a week.

EUSA President, Adam Ramsay, said: “I am delighted that Damhead Organics have agreed to this deal.

Most students live in the city centre and don’t have a car, which means they pay over the odds for veg. The average student signing up to this scheme will save around £350 a year.”

Damhead was established by James and Sue Gerard in 1989, when organic food production was in its infancy. All 7 acres of the Damhead site is now given over to growing 40 varieties of produce.

Green MSP Robin Harper said: “There will be hundreds of students at the university who have come to Edinburgh with green lifestyles.

This vegetable box scheme must be hugely welcome for students who are looking for affordable locally grown and organic fruit and vegetables.”

Ramsey added that, although the scheme is undoubtably green, it also represents good value for money.

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8 Edinburgh News

The Journal Wednesday 1 October 2008

drugs crackdown nets major heroin stash Francesco Cirillo francesco.cirillo@journal-online.co.uk LOthian and BOrders Police claim to have broken a major drug dealing ring in a high-profile sting operation. the sting, which went on for 48 hours and took place in the areas of dalkeith, Bonnyrigg, Pathhead, Gorebridge and Loanhead saw officers arrest 21 men and 9 women, seizing £8,000 and a large quantity of heroin, £700 worth of cocaine, 26 wraps of a substance believed to be cocaine, a hydroponics system with six cannabis plants and a quantity of cannabis, as well as other drug paraphernalia. additionally, two air rifles, airgun pellets and a BB pistol were also seized.

More than 100 policeman took part in Operation evolve, which was planned with the cooperation of GPs who are now preparing for a wave

of visits by addicts no longer able to source their drugs locally.

With the aim of driving out streetlevel dealers, the operation was the culmination of more than 20 months of investigation by local police officials.

Following the raids, Lothian and Borders Police confirmed that 100 per cent of the intended targets had been arrested, with one suspect believed to be a significant player in the local heroin and cocaine trade.

Chief superintendent terry Powell, who led the operation, said he believed the actions would have a significant impact on the supply of drugs across Midlothian. “it’s one of the largest and most complex operations that the force has ever undertaken and it’s the first time that an operation of this kind has ever been done outside of the city,” said Cs Powell. “i am sure that as a result of this two-day operation, the residents of a

number of areas of Midlothian will see a big difference in their quality of life.

“We co-ordinated with health services to ensure they were ready for an increase in people seeking methadone prescriptions. they could be either those who take methadone on top of heroin, or heroin addicts seeking to replace the illegal drugs. “some of the dealers themselves were addicts who lived very chaotic lifestyles.”

Police chiefs anticipate that the sting will inflict an “enormous dent” in the supply of Class a drugs in the region.

Officials from Lothian and Borders Police also reiterated that they are working alongside local partners to provide support and alternatives to reduce drug dependency in the area. all the arrested suspects are now expected to appear on petition at edinburgh sheriff Court charged with supplying of illegal drugs.

scottish services frozen by further strike action

reports reveals poor house sales could lead to property glut

150,000 public sector workers go on strike in dispute over pay, with further disruption threatened

Nick Eardley

Lyndsey Cameron

nick.eardley@journal-online.co.uk

lyndsey.cameron@journal-online.co.uk

the tiMe taken for houses in edinburgh to sell has risen to an average of 100 days, according the edinburgh solicitors’ Property Centre (esPC). the Centre’s report on the state of the housing market in edinburgh shows that only 400 sales were completed in august 2008, compared to 985 in the same month the previous year. the report also shows that there has been a 6.5 per cent fall in the average house price, which now sits at £201,517. speaking to the scottish Parliament’s economy, energy and tourism Committee, ron smith, chief executive of the esPC, told MsPs that this was a marked increase from the 70 day average for august 2007, adding that the fall in house prices could grow to 8 per cent in september. in his presentation to the committee, Mr smith said: “the greater decline in sales year-on-year is around 60 per cent in greater edinburgh in august.

“Because of that falling sales number it is now taking on average up to 100 days to sell a property; we’re sitting on a stock of around 6500 properties for sale, which is 60 percent higher than we would normally expect at this time of the year.” this is likely to affect students at edinburgh’s universities, coming in the same week as reports that many homeowners finding it difficult to sell their properties are turning to the rental market.

Many experts predict that lower rental prices could follow a flood of properties to the edinburgh letting market. steven Currie, joint head of Murray and Currie estate and letting agents told the Edinburgh Evening News: “in november and december there will be a saturation of flats [to rent] as people can’t sell. “the market is great just now but there are hard times ahead and people need to prepare for that.

“People will be seeing what’s going on in the property market and thinking of a plan B. that plan B is to rent.”

edinBurGh’s PuBLiC serviCes were brought to a standstill on 24 september for the second time in as many months, as 150,000 public sectors workers went on strike after unions and local authorities failed to reach agreement on a new pay deal. twenty-five primary schools, three nurseries and six special needs schools in edinburgh were forced to close due to the action while, in schools which remained open, concerns were raised over safety as staff normally responsible for cleaning and maintenance were involved in industrial action. several city centre roads were closed to make way for a protest march, attended by hundreds of public service workers from across scotland.

Matt smith, the unisOn scotland secretary said that the unions undertook the action with the “greatest of reluctance.” he said: “attitudes have hardened on behalf of the unions since last month’s day of action because our members feel really let down by the employers. there is not a penny more on the table, despite their public recognition of the need to reconsider the offer. “they told us five weeks ago that they would make an offer in terms of the increases in inflation, but they have refused to put another penny on the table. until CosLa [the Convention of scottish Local authorities] makes a better offer, strike action will continue.”

CosLa is offering a 2.5 percent per year increase; however, unions are demanding a 5 per cent increase which, they say, would be in line with inflation.

CosLa spokesperson, Cllr Michael Cook has claimed that the deal offered by employers is fair given current financial instability. he said: “We have been in talks over pay for months. We have made an offer in good faith which was in line with inflation when we made it

Oliver Proctor

esPC: Property slowdown set to benefit tenants

and which was at the top of what councils could afford. “the trade unions rejected it and balloted their members for strike action.

We told them we could still talk but they went ahead anyway.

“We are extremely disappointed given the effect this strike will have on the services councils deliver to our local communities.”

Matt Smith

UNISON Scottish Secretary “We are seeking to break the impasse reported in the press, despite CosLa’s claim that the unions refuse to negotiate.”

Cllr Cook also confirmed that CosLa would look to reinvigorate the stalled negotiations with unisOn quickly, adding: “the issues are difficult and complex and need to be carefully thought through. however, as soon as possible we will arrange talks with the trade unions in a bid to reach a settlement which takes account of the soaring cost of living that affects Councils just as much as our workers.” unisOn estimated around 150,000 public employees took part in the action, which resulted in the closure or partial closure of more than 1,000 schools across the country, in addition to disruption to social services and other vital local resources. residents whose rubbish was not collected have also been advised by edinburgh City Council that they will have to retain their rubbish until the following collection, more than a week later. the action has been supported by the scottish socialist Party, who warn that unisOn have unveiled plans to organise week-long strikes, involving various sections of the council, beginning on 6 October. it is thought that strike action will continue into 2009 if no resolution is found. unisOn have confirmed that they will stage another one-day strike on 6 October if a deal has still not been agreed.

Academic News 9

The Journal Wednesday 1 October 2008

scottish researchers get £4m windfall

No expense spared for knowledge Fiona Hyslop:

In between promoting the snP’s research agenda, scotland’s education secretary meets Chinese schoolchildren.

Simon Mundy

Heriot-Watt professors scoop awards Leading academics in water management and actuarial sciences win international awards

simon.mundy@journal-online.co.uk GRants WORtH a total of £3.87 million have been awarded to researchers by the Royal society of Edinburgh (RsE) as part of a drive to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship in scotland. at a ceremony in the Great Hall of Edinburgh Castle, education secretary Fiona Hyslop handed out 48 awards to academics whose research will offer public benefits in areas including healthcare, communications and the environment. among the recipients was Professor Ronald McQuaid of napier University’s Employment Research Institute, who will be funded to run research on the employability of older people. alongside international experts including David bloom of Harvard University, Professor McQuaid will investigate the vulnerability of over-50s to unwanted unemployment and early retirement. arfan ali, of Heriot-Watt’s Institute of Petroleum Engineering, secured funding to pursue research that will yield environmentally-friendly, magnetic analysis techniques to be used by the oil and gas industries in the hunt for future reserves. Mr ali was one of eight beneficiaries of the RsE’s Enterprise Fellowship programme, funded by investment agency scottish Enterprise.

Other funding partners include bP, Lloyds tsb and the scottish government, which doubled the number of awards it supported this year. speaking before the event, Ms Hyslop said: “I am delighted that we are bringing together the best talent of the newADINBURGH’S generation of scotland’s scientists, to celebrate their progress so far and encourage them to achieve even more in the future. “through this support we are helping RsE award-winners develop their research findings and transfer ideas and technology developments into real commercial success.”

Evan Beswick evan.beswick@journal-online.co.uk

Universities announce 31 new industry PhD studentships in chemistry Guy Robertson guy.robertson@journal-online.co.uk sCOttIsH UnIVERsItIEs HaVE invested in 31 new PhD studentships to help boost the chemicals industry. the scottish Funding Council, scotCHEM, and Chemical sciences scotland announced the initiative in mid-september. It will give students at Heriot-Watt University, the University of Edinburgh and five other scottish universities the chance to work on challenges identified by

scotland’s £3.5 billion chemical industry. the sFC and the seven universities involved will invest £1.8 million over three years in the project.

Dr sandy Dobbie, Chairman of Chemical sciences scotland, said: “today’s announcement marks a step-change in developing deeper collaboration between our universities and the chemicals industry. “by encouraging our research base to focus on industry issues and opportunities, we can improve our global competitiveness and develop new technologies

that can be exploited by companies operating from scotland.” the scottish Government also welcomed the initiative. Fiona Hyslop, the scottish secretary for Education, said: “Ensuring universities are responsive to the needs of industry is central to our purpose of increasing sustained economic growth which will benefit everyone in scotland.” she added that the programme will help small businesses prosper and will give students developing their expertise a real insight into the needs of the chemical industry.

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In a bOOst to Heriot-Watt University’s rankings as a research centre, two professors at the institution have been awarded prizes for papers written in their respective fields.

Professor Paul Jowitt, executive director of sIstech and professor of Civil Engineering systems in HeriotWatt’s school of the built Environment, was awarded the 2008 International Water association (IWa) biennial prize for a paper he co-wrote with a team from the sustainable Water Industry asset Resource Decisions project – rather more snappily named sWaRD. Judges at the World Water Congress and Exhibition in Vienna praised the paper, entitled Making Asset Investment Decisions for Wastewater Systems that Include Sustainability, for its incisive research into the tricky area of water resource management in urban environments. speaking after the announcement, Prof. Jowitt said: “It is becoming increasingly clear that sustainable development needs to be fully embedded in the economy, society and in the underpinning physical infrastructure which support them.”

He added: “It is not so long ago that sustainability was regarded with scepticism by many practitioners and academics alike. there may well be a few diehard sceptics left, but the direction for the future has now been set.” narrowly beating Prof. Jowitt in the academic stakes, however, Professor andrew Cairns scooped up two awards, this time in the field of actuarial science. the academic, who is based in the university’s school of Mathematical and Computer science, picked up the David Garrick Halmstad prize, awarded annually by the actuarial Foundation.

Rumoured to be the most prestigious award in actuarial science, Prof.

Cairns was rewarded for his 2006 paper, Pricing Death: Frameworks for the Valuation and Securitization of Mortality Risk.

Prof. Cairns was further honoured by the International actuarial association (Iaa)—more accurately their arm for research into actuarial approaches for Financial Risks (aaFR)—who bestowed the bob alting von Geusau Prize for the same paper. the paper, which sets out methods for calculating the risk implications of changing longevity for mortality-linked financial contracts such as pensions and insurance, has cemented Prof. Cairns’s position as a leading authority in the field, serving as an advisor to investment bank J.P. Morgan.

Indeed, Prof. Cairns’s paper has emerged as one of the most frequently cited papers in actuarial work over the past two years. budding actuaries are advised to keep an eye out for Prof. Cairns’s 2004 publication, Interest Rate Models: An Introduction.