The Journal - Edinburgh Issue 015

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EDINBURGH’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER

ISSUE XV

WEDNESDAY 9 DECEMBER 2008

INTERVIEW: ALASTAIR CAMPBELL » 24 The king of spin talks to Simon Mundy about Bush, Blair, Iraq and mental illness – and why reports of New Labour’s death are premature

Arrested Stansted protest leader is Edinburgh student » Lily Kember acts as media liaison as 57 Plane Stupid activists arrested Paris Gourtsoyannis

Edinbugh doffs its cap: Rangers owner awarded honorary degree » 6

paris@journal-online.co.uk AN EDINBURGH STUDENT was at the centre of Monday’s Plane Stupid protest at Stansted Airport in London, which saw 57 people arrested for cutting through the perimiter fence and obstructing the runway.

Lily Kember, 21—a third year antropology student at the University of Edinburgh—was part of the group whose actions resulted in 56 flight cancellations, delaying thousands of passengers.

“Being arrested is a terrifying prospect, but not nearly as terrifying as the threat of climate change,” Ms Kember told The Guardian after being detained.

Climate change activists Plane Stupid claim that in addition to rasing the profile of their campaign, the protest has had a measureable impact in the fight to reduce carbon emissions, stating that each cancelled flight from Stansted would have released on average 41.85 tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere.

Breaching the airport fence at 3.15am, the protesters—wearing high-visibility jackets emblazoned with the slogan “Please DO something”—carried barriers of the kind used to seal construction sites with them onto the runway.

Using metal security fencing brought for the purpose, they erected a barricade around their sit-in, and unfurled a banner reading “Climate Emergency.”

“We’re here because our parents’ generation has failed us and its now down to young people to stop climate change by whatever peaceful means we have left,” Ms Kember said in a statement published on the Greenpeace website.

“We’re afraid of what the police might do to us, we’re afraid of going to jail but nothing scares us as much as the threat of runaway climate change.

“We’ve thought through the consequences of what we’re doing here but we’re determined to stop as many tonnes of CO2 as we can.”

By 9am, police had arrested and removed all the protesters, and flights were able to resume. However, some passengers were forced to wait throughout Monday for replacement flights to carry them onward to their destinations.

Continued on page 2

IN NEWS

Moment of silence

Murder victims’ families march through Edinburgh to demand justice

EDINBURGH NEWS » 5

Common currency

Asian economics expert warns Britain could miss out on monetary security by staying out of the euro

NATIONAL POLITICS » 9

ID or out

Time is up for foreign students as Labour's social experiment tests civil liberties – they must now submit to biometric ID cards

STUDENT NEWS » 7

Spirit of '68

Prague Spring, Freedom Summer... forty years on, has the fall of student activism led to a winter of apathy?

NEWS FEATURE » 16

IN FEATURES David Murray is anointed with the Geneva Bonnet, reputedly made from the breeches of John Knox Tom Bishop

Heriot-Watt professor attacks diaspora centre slavery “whitewash” Paris Gourtsoyannis paris@journal-online.co.uk A LEADING SCOTTISH academic has attacked the newly-opened Centre for Diaspora Studies at the University of Edinburgh for failing to address Scotland’s involvement in the slave trade.

Dr Geoff Palmer, professor emeritus of Heriot-Watt University, told The Guardian: “I have a Jamaican telephone directory, and I would say that about 60 per cent of the names in it are Scottish.

“Most Scots are completely ignorant of this.”

Dr. Palmer, a Jamaican-born

immigrant whose mother—maiden name Lamond—brought him to London as a child, recieved a PhD from the University of Edinburgh in 1967.

The Centre for Diaspora Studies was launched in November by Professor Tom Devine of the University of Edinburgh with a view to examining the wider role of Scots throughout world history.

In February, Dr Palmer marked the announcement of Alan McFarlane’s £1 million donation for the diaspora centre with an essay for the official website of Scotland, run by the British Council Scotland and VisitScotland, which detailed the links between Scotland and the Carribean forged by slavery.

Discussing a St Andrew’s Day gathering at the monument to Henry Dundas in St Andrew Square, Dr Palmer wrote: “Dundas prolonged British slavery in the Caribbean by stopping MPs voting for its abolition.

“He also tried to reverse the independence process in Haiti as he feared similar rebellions damaging the economics of British slavery. He selected governors for the slave islands and, as governor of the Bank of Scotland, loaned money to shore up the slave business of his friends.

“When Wilberforce tried to secure the abolition of the slave trade, Continued on page 2

Mumbai attacks

Rohan Gunaratna: Old rivalries will have to be put aside if a repeat of the Mumbai tragedy is to be avoided

COMMENT » 13

La Traviata

Anna Fenton: A classic opera with a high-budget production that really shines

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT » 18

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Comment 11

The Journal Wednesday 9 December 2008

Comment Discussion&Debate

Russia:

Putin’s cards still hidden It’s easy to write off Dimitri Medvedev as a puppet in the hands of his predecessor as Russian president – but the reality is far more complicated

Joshua Tucker New York University

comment@journal-online.co.uk

A

T THE CONCLUSION of Russia’s recent 2007-2008 electoral cycle, as expected President Vladimir Putin’s hand-chosen successor, Dmitri Medvedev, was overwhelmingly elected president of the Russian Federation. Somewhat more surprisingly, Putin chose to head the Russian government, technically under Medvedev, as the country’s prime minister. Since that time, Russia watchers have been fascinated with trying to understand this arrangement. Under both Putin and his predecessor Boris Yeltsin, the Russian president had clearly been the most powerful figure in Russia. Indeed, the Russian constitution grants a very large degree of formal powers to the Russian president, so much so that political scientists refer to Russia as a “super-presidential” system of government.

With Putin moving into the prime minister’s office, however, the importance of this formal arrangement immediately came into question. We can imagine that this has led to one of three possible scenarios. First—the general consensus of the international media—one could imagine that Medvedev was little more than Putin’s puppet, with ultimate authority still resting firmly on the shoulders of Putin. Proponents of this view note that Medvedev has spent most of his adult life working for Putin and that he had little or no independent power basis of his own, including, crucially, no background in the Russian security services—a marked contrast with Putin’s long service in the KGB. It is important to note, however, that adopting this view requires us to suspend the belief that formal powers matter in Russia – or, at the very least, to assume that informal networks and power are more important than formal ones.

A second argument holds that formal institutions do matter in Russia, and that eventually political power will indeed flow to the holder of the Russian presidency. We can imagine two different variations of this scenario: one in which Putin is aware of the fact that power will flow to Medvedev, and one in which he is not. If it is the latter case, then we can imagine that eventually Russia is going to enter a period of heightened instability, as crucial actors begin to defect from Putin to Medvedev. It is potentially more interesting, however, to consider the former scenario: that Putin might willingly

IAN MUTTOO

have taken on the role of Prime Minister even if he knew this would eventually result in real power flowing to Medvedev.

Why could this possibly be the case?

One explanation might be that Putin himself desired to step down from the presidency—perhaps to enjoy a lifestyle more akin to his former diplomatic partners Gerhard Schroeder and Tony Blair—but found himself unable to do so. We can see some potential evidence of this from the repeated trial balloons that were sent out prior to the recent election cycle about various post-presidency roles for Putin, as well as in the infighting that broke out among various factions of the Russian security service around that time.

Besides, had Putin wished to continue serving as president, it is very likely that he could have done so. While the Russian constitution does contain a clause limiting presidents to no more than two consecutive terms in office, there is little doubt that Putin could have amended the constitution to allow himself additional terms in office had he so desired.

Prior to 5 November, we had no idea which of these three states existed in Russia. All three would have seen a high degree of cooperation between Putin and Medvedev, which is exactly what we witnessed in the first months of the Medvedev presidency. While the tendency has been to interpret this as a sign that Medvedev is little more than Putin’s puppet, it is also consistent with a view of Putin providing a “buffer” for his protégé as Medvedev settled into the role of the president and built up his own sources of support.

On 5 November, however, Medvedev announced that he would pursue a constitutional amendment to extend all future terms of the Russian president to six years. The legislation necessary to enact this amendment is working its way through the political system, but its eventual passage is all but assured. While we can not know for sure why Medvedev chose to introduce this amendment, one possibility that can not be dismissed is that Putin is preparing an imminent return to the Russian presidency, which can be accomplished by an early Medvedev resignation. Russian law prohibits the president from serving more than two consecutive terms, but once the constitutional amendment has gone through, this would mean that Putin could return for 12 more years as president.

Why now? Again, only Medvedev knows definitively, but the most likely culprit is the Russian economy, which is currently being battered by the global economic crisis and the now rapidly declining price of oil. In many ways, the

Putin era has been defined by a tacit trade-off between a Kremlin that has accumulated more and more political power—to the point where Freedom House no longer considers Russia a democracy—in return for delivering economic stability and prosperity. Despite Russia’s vaunted hard currency reserves and impressive stabilization funds, the amount of foreign debt that has been accumulated by Russian corporations— including what are largely state owned or state dominated corporations—has left Russia more susceptible than expected to the international credit

crisis. Additionally, Russian exports and government revenue are both highly dependent on oil prices, which are now plunging to a previously unimaginable $40 a barrel.

If the grand bargain of the Putin era is beginning to unravel, then it would not be all that surprising that the Kremlin authorities would like to avoid another presidential election for the foreseeable future. The fact that the constitutional amendment will extend the presidential term starting with the next term suggests that the only way to take advantage of the new six year term immediately is to

have Medvedev resign, with Putin being his likely successor. Ironically, if this does come to pass, it probably shows that Putin has come to realize that trying to run the country from the position of the prime minister—especially during an economic downturn—is not viable in the long term. If Medvedev does not resign, however, this will remain an open question.

Joshua Tucker is an Associate Professor of Politics at New York University and a National Security Fellow at the Truman National Security Project.

12 Comment

The Journal Wednesday 9 December 2008

Comment 13

The Journal Wednesday 9 December 2008

economic slowdown:

Damien Green:

Getting carried away

a bleak christmas as the economy continues to slide, retailers are set to play a dangerous game this winter

Helen O’Shea helen.o.shea@journal-online.co.uk

EUTIC

sam.karasik@journal-online.co.uk

F

or years We have been hearing about how the commercialisation of christmas has killed its true spirit. Well, fret not, naysayers.

This year might very well see a return to the Dickensian christmases of yore: no money for heating, a christmas goose hunted from a pond in the local park, and an expression of pure delight on a child’s face when she gets a lump of coal in her stocking. This, at least, is the christmas i envision for former lehman Brothers shareholders. For everyone else, though these are hard times, there just might be a few golden opportunities to be had. retailers are entering a precarious game of cat and mouse with consumers. already we have seen marks & spencer hold a one-day whole-store “20 per cent off” sale, with another just around the corner. Debenhams is holding a similar one-off sale and brands like h&m and Gap are slashing prices heavily. John lewis has perhaps very foolishly stated that it will vehemently adhere to enforcing its “never knowingly undersold” policy, which means you can finally get

that nintendo Wii at a high street price with the great service previously available only to russian oligarchs and the Queen. you’re probably thinking, “how can i lose?” a phrase often uttered by those who received sub-prime mortgages and zero per cent interest on their credit cards. Fortunately for you, christmas sales can only mean good things for the consumer, but retailers have a very difficult and dangerous game to play.

With weeks until christmas, we have already seen sale prices that were previously reserved for 26 December in the discount bin at Tesco. it would be foolish to assume that these prices are the lowest we’ll see until christmas, because retailers have given themselves no choice but to keep on cutting.

The timing and discounting of future sales will be the key to whether the retail sector can weather this most difficult of christmases. The worst-case scenario would be a race to the bottom, where competitors are forced to undercut each other to such an extent that there will be little or no profit to be had. in order to prevent this from happening, retailers need to protect an especially valuable commodity – information. retailers need to release sales information with the coyness of the female lead in a Jane austen

novel. if any one of the major retailers is so foolish as to show their cards this early in the game they are likely to see their stock collapse. using a simple game theory model, one can see that there will be some winners and some losers in the retail sector this christmas, and the timing of sales and the patience of consumers will determine which is which. Take two competing firms waiting to announce their christmas sales. Whoever moves first, say with a “20 per cent off” sale, is going to attract a rush of early christmas shoppers. The firm that moves second, perhaps with a “40 per cent off” sale, will have missed out on the early shoppers, but will corner the market on christmas gift procrastinators.

That said, the profit margin would be reduced for the firm that moves second, so what they lose in price they must make up for in volume. Then, obviously, we must consider the patience of consumers and whether enough of them will still be around for the last minute megadiscounts. so maybe this model isn’t that simple – but it captures the complexities of the game retail chains are forced to play this christmas.

The Bank of england is not likely to be too pleased with the extent to which prices will fall in the consumer sector, as they are in the difficult business of

i

preventing economic stagnation and price deflation. already we have seen interest rates drop to a paltry two per cent in the hope that banks will pass on these savings to consumers who will in turn spend that money on the high street. But the liquidity injected into the economy is unlikely to see its way onto wthe balance sheets of the consumer sector, as consumers will depend less on credit this christmas than they have done in decades.

What does it all mean to you? as sure as the sun rises in the east, retail prices will continue falling. if you can

wait, you’ll grab some huge savings. if you can’t, you’re being a champ and supporting the British economy. That is a huge favour to ask and, considering our entire economic system is based on the concept of rational self-interest, one that i doubt many will indulge. it is, whether they can handle it or not, up to retailers to determine what share of the seasonal shopping will be theirs.

Sam Karasik is the editor of Edinburgh University’s Trading and Investment Club

Zimbabwe:

Breaking point looms With the country already in virtual meltdown, Zimbabwe now faces a cholera epidemic – and an effective response will not come cheap Charles Abani charles.abani@journal-online.co.uk

Z

imBaBWe’s PeoPle, alreaDy seriously weakened by lack of food, are in grave danger as a cholera epidemic sweeps the country. To date there have been almost 13,000 cholera cases reported, but with poor communications, particularly in rural areas, we fear the real numbers are much higher.

The epidemic is spreading fast, and although oxfam and other aid agencies are doing all we can to contain the disease, the unfortunate reality is that things are likely to get a lot worse before they get better. We are now at the beginning of the rainy season in southern africa. as cholera is a waterborne disease, rain will aid the spread of cholera much faster, and further. already, we are seeing cases being reported in neighbouring south africa, Botswana, mozambique and Zambia.

With the onset of the rains and the continuing deterioration of water and sanitation infrastructure, there is a real fear that the epidemic could engulf the country. in oxfam’s view it took too long for the Zimbabwean government to acknowledge the scale and extent of the problem, but we welcome their recent admission of a national health

emergency, and calls for assistance. at this point, international donors need to respond much more urgently to humanitarian needs in Zimbabwe. all options to halt the spread of cholera need to be addressed quickly, including the provision of good medical care, raising awareness on cholera prevention, as well as ensuring that at-risk populations have access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene materials such as soap and jerry cans. our staff in Zimbabwe report that many people are eating just one meal every few days, and this has been the case for months. With inflation running rampant, even the small minority who are lucky enough to be employed aren’t able to access food – crops have failed, and shops are empty. They are hungry, weak, and vulnerable to infection. The World Food Programme and its partners were forced to cut the food rations being distributed during november due to the lack of resources being committed by donors. indications are that close to half the population will urgently need food aid by January.

The global average cholera case Fatality rate is 1 per cent – 1 per cent of people infected with cholera die. however, in Zimbabwe we are now seeing fatality rates of between eight and ten per cent. The tragedy of this situation is that cholera is ordinarily easily treated. all it takes are rehydration

salts and some clean water. But for people who don’t have food, who in many cases are living with hiV and aids, and who don’t have access to medical care, contracting cholera can be a deadly blow. oxfam’s cholera response is focusing on three worst hit areas: Beitbridge on the south african border; Budiriro, a suburb of harare; and mudzi, an area bordering mozambique. We also plan to start moving into areas where cholera has not hit, to proactively prevent the spread of the disease. in addition, working with the WFP, we are distributing 12,000 metric tones of maize meal, vegetable oil and pulses. oxfam is targeting 500,000 people in our cholera response, and reaching 250,000 vulnerable people through our food aid programme. We are working with Zimbabwean partners and coordinating our response with other aid agencies. however, unless the international community steps up to provide money for not only the cholera crisis, but the food crisis, the already dire situation will get much worse. no-one should wait for a political solution in Zimbabwe before pledging to help – let’s not leave it too late for the millions of vulnerable Zimbabweans.

Charles Abani is the regional director for Oxfam in southern Africa

Erin Choa

Sam Karasik

mumbai attacks:

intelligence test

,,

old rivalries will have to be put aside if a repeat of the mumbai tragedy is to be avoided Rohan Gunaratna

rohan.gunaratna@journal-online. co.uk

T

he coorDinaTeD simulTaneous attack in mumbai on 27 november was a classic al-Qaeda-style assault. although it was not perpetrated by osama bin laden’s group, the attackers and their masterminds were influenced by al-Qaeda’s methodology and ideology. The terrorists selected high-profile, symbolic and strategic targets. it was a mass-fatality attack that targeted the West, its allies and friends.

The subcontinental terrorists who staged the assault on mumbai could attack again. although the terrorists have been neutralised, the masterminds that planned and the infrastructure that was used to prepare the attack in india’s financial capital remain intact. The ideology that motivated the attackers still needs to be dismantled. asian terrorism is on the rise. The

epicentre of international terrorism has now shifted to the afghanistanPakistan border, a region straddling parts of india and china. Today, Pakistan and india rank alongside iraq and afghanistan among the four countries that suffer most from terrorism. unless india and Pakistan work together to combat the problem, both will suffer still more heavily from terrorism in the coming years.

The terrorist attacks in mumbai should serve as a reminder to governments that terrorism is a global threat. unless governments understand that terrorism is a transnational threat and they must work together to counter it, they will struggle to eliminate it. although india has a long history of fighting terrorism and insurgency, mumbai took the country by surprise. every successful terrorist attack represents an intelligence failure. india will need to restructure its security and intelligence apparatus as well as its quick reaction forces. Their performance fell behind the scale of threat india faced on 27-29 november.

The spearhead of effective and efficient counter-terrorism is intelligence. The key to fighting the current and the emerging wave of terrorism will rest on india’s future ability to develop sound and timely intelligence and developing liaison partnerships for intelligence sharing. The indian security and intelligence services failed on both counts. india should strengthen its coverage of threat groups at home by investing in high-grade intelligence collection, and overseas by building intelligence-sharing partnerships with its neighbours. instead of accusing Pakistan for every attack on indian soil, indian leaders must understand that both india and Pakistan face a common threat. Without building a robust relationship with Pakistan, india has been strengthening its cooperation with israel and the u.s. as the regional power, india must take the lead and reach out to Pakistan, Bangladesh, nepal and sri lanka and share counter-terrorism intelligence. it will require a visionary indian leader

,,

to understand the change in paradigm after september 11, 2001, and build the structures to protect india from within and overseas. mumbai is a wake-up call for countries and people who have not taken the threat of terrorism seriously.

Terrorism is the most serious national security challenge confronting the world today. To win, building skill and will at all levels of government is paramount. There is no better investment than educating leaders, including leaders at the highest level of government. india should call for a summit of asian leaders to better understand the emerging threat in asia and develop a plan of action aimed at reducing and managing the threat.

Rohan Gunaratna is head of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research and professor of security studies at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

He is the author of Inside Al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror (Columbia University Press, 2003)

GeT more commenT & PosT your resPonse on The Journal’s WeBsiTe WWW.Journal-online.co.uk

T seems Fair to believe Gordon Brown and Jacqui smith’s insistence that they were not forewarned of the arrest of Damien Green. But the widespread scepticism over their claims is a telling indictment of this government’s battered reputation. The commons authorities allowed the search to go ahead after police reportedly informed Jill Pay, the serjeant at arms, that the director of public prosecutions had sanctioned the arrest of the Tory mP – a claim denied by the crown Prosecution office, which suggests that the authorities were misled. michael martin’s position as speaker remains precarious after he revealed, somewhat incredibly, that he did not even ask if they had a warrant – surely the most rudimentary of questions.

That Gordon Brown obstinately refuses to be drawn into the row about the arrest is understandable – he made his reputation by effectively exploiting government leaks when he was in opposition. But it does not make it any more acceptable. The leaks received

by Green were not to do with national security. The public are unlikely to have any empathy with efforts to cover up the fact that 5,000 illegal workers were cleared to work in the uk - one of Damian Green’s previous leaks.

The authorities may have wanted to frighten mr Green. They may have wanted to frighten all civil servants given the increasing regularity of leaks from Whitehall. if so, it has probably worked. mPs of all political hues have been alarmed by the manner of Green’s arrest. counter-terrorism police seized his phone and his computer, giving them access to text messages and emails going back for months and years respectively. in doing so, they have also alarmed constituents everywhere. yet the most dispiriting thing about all of this, in what is already a very lengthy list, is the language of the responses it has drawn. David cameron, who should have seized some political capital out of this, condemned the arrest as “stalinesque.” he is either taking the electorate for a bunch of hysterical fools or he has, along with the met, completely lost the plot. Green was arrested, questioned and then released without charge – hardly comparable to the death of 30 million people. another Tory, David Davis, the former shadow home secretary, has likened Green’s arrest to a scene from robert mugabe’s Zimbabwe. With ludicrous statements like these, the Tories are more than capable of creating their own downfall. if the Green affair tells us anything its how utterly devoid of integrity British political rhetoric now is. We have seen it shamelessly reduced to vacuous spin of the worst possible taste, all for the sake of a few salacious sound bites for a seemingly stillgullible public. at best it shows a lack of respect for the public’s intelligence; at worst, utter contempt. These statements risk not only trivialising real evil, but trivialising the Green affair itself.

Helen O’Shea is the comment editor of The Journal

14 Editorial

The Journal Wednesday 9 December 2008

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

EUSA teaching awards:

A positive first step WITH THE INTRODUCTION of their new awards for exceptional undergraduate teaching and feedback, the Edinburgh University Students’ Association (EUSA) is to be congratulated for the ingenuity it has shown in its quest to raise course standards.

Traditionally, undergraduate teaching has been regarded by too many lecturers as an unwelcome disruption to a hard day of research. Clearly, universities in Edinburgh can no longer afford for this to be the norm. In today’s global market of higher education, the volume and quality of contact time enjoyed by Ivy League and Oxbridge students is expected by all undergraduates paying

through the nose for their education.

Indeed, the introduction of tuition fees has been rightly viewed by many as an opportunity for students to demand more from their courses, and the students’ unions of Edinburgh should be implored to attach themselves firmly to this bandwagon. Successive National Students’ Surveys have revealed deep dissatisfaction with essay and exam feedback, and the support that Edinburgh students’ unions have shown for the NUS feedback amnesty campaign— which aims to rectify this state of affairs—must be welcomed as a positive first step.

Whilst the steady decline towards

spoon-feeding that has plagued the high school curricula of this country must be avoided in our higher education institutions, all must agree that learning from mistakes is impossible without having a definite understanding of what those mistakes are.

Good quality teaching and detailed feedback are essential for a degree to be worth its salt in a globalised graduate employment market that is more overcrowded and competitive than ever before.Whilst EUSA have done well so far, measurable change is expected quickly by an impatient student body. With the addition of fees into the mix, every man is keen to get his money’s worth.

What’s our problem? provoked the ire of ageing hippies by questioning the value and effectiveness of their actions—managed to get the last word, despite sharing the stage with Tariq Ali. “When I showed the Savio clip to my students, they didn’t get it – their response was, ‘well, what’s his problem?’”

For the most part, his problem was arbitrary arrest and the suppression of free speech. Berkeley officials had banned all forms of political activity and fundraising, thereby denying Savio’s group, the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee, from operating on campus.

The group was an organisation of students who played an active role in the civil rights movement; when a member of a sister organisation, the Congress of Racial Equality, was arrested for manning an information table on campus, Savio led a 32-hour sit-in to prevent the squad car taking his classmate to prison.

This level of oppression is simply inconceivable today. That the editors of this newspaper are free to distribute it to Edinburgh’s students without fear of arbitrary arrest and imprisonment—without being pursued and investigated in secret by the intelligence services, as Savio was by the FBI for over ten years—illustrates why modern students fail to relate to with their ‘60s antecedents: their experience is too alien for us to understand their fervour.

Those who don’t understand the

passion or significance of Savio’s rhetoric are asking the wrong question. Instead of wondering what his problem was, we should ask: what’s ours?

This generation may lack the injustice of the Vietnam War and the unquestionable justice of the civil rights movement to rally around, but our society is far from perfect, and one need not look far to find ample cause to speak out. The United States continues to hold hundreds of innocent people hostage at Guantanamo Bay, including civilians and minors; this government has just introduced legislation forcing foreigners to surrender their privacy and submit to state surveillance; the independence of the UK’s parliamentarians has been undermined by a police investigation; we have discovered that seven unelected and unaccountable individuals have the power to implement arbitrary censorship of the internet; and all the while, the bodies returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan are overwhelmingly those of young men and women, different from us only in their choice of career.

It seems that apathy is assumed of people our age. The evidence, however, indicates the contrary – on the streets of the United States during the recent election, on the runway at Stansted airport before dawn, and over the past fews days on the streets of Athens and other Greek cities. The spirit of ’68 only sleeps; but deeply.

The Wednesday Poem:

EveryGirl and I If Everyman could only understand The pulse and rhythm of beating hearts true love; This undulating feeling where nothing is impossible and every new day bears new promise.

Her body. My breath.

My body. Her breath.

Same difference.

We shed ourselves like writhing snakes Peeling one another off, annually,

only to grow back stronger.

If Everyman could only understand he would place us back upon our pedestal, for We are Everywoman.

Kind and cruel, claws and talons painted like petals, poised ready to fight to the death for one another.

DEAR SIR,

Re. 'Obama & science: blowing away the smoke'

Re. 'Breaking the silence, rewriting history'

You say "stem cell research currently requires the destruction of a human embryo."

This is quite misleading. Stem cells are also available without using human embryos.

Indeed, all the stem cell therapies currently available, including that used for Claudio Castillo, do not use human embryos. The Vatican is, in fact, an enthusiastic supporter of such research.

Pauline Gatley (via www.journal-online.co.uk) DEAR SIR, Re. 'Euthanasia debate reignited by "right to die" girl' This article in incorrect in saying that Switzerland legalized euthanasia. It did not. In l940 Switzerland legalized assisted suicide (by doctors or lay persons) provided it was done for good and noble reasons. Euthanasia (direct injection) was and is banned.

The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg permit both voluntary euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide for the dying. The American states of Oregon and Washington permit physician-assisted suicide only, under strict conditions.

Laura Robertson writes an excellent article on difficult subject. Historical platitudes and proverbs spring to mind when considering the merits or otherwise of revisting history.

"Live in the past, lose one eye. Forget the past lose two eyes;" "Those who forget history are condemned to relive it" and so on. Historical memory is particualrly troubled when it involves civil war and the Spanish civil war is still a massive scar on the Iberian landscape and psyche.

Congratulations Laura on writing such a well-balanced and informative article introducing us too Spain's brave attempts to address such an emotive issue.

Two questions for you to consider, though: why do we not usually refer to the wars between Scotland and England that attempted to gain or reinforce Scottish Independence as civil wars? Why is it that works of art and historical artifacts are being repartiated from Germany to France (looted during the Nazi period) and tribal treasures from the UK to Australia and New Zealand, relics to Greece, Egypt and so on yet the thought of returning Scottish treasures is anathema?

Best wishes.

Derek Humphry (via www.journal-online.com)

Student activism: FOR MANY OF today’s young people, the student activism of the 1960s is a nebulous concept. Knowledge of that era has dwindled to a collection of disconnected images and soundbytes, mostly relating to popular culture and drug-taking; our understanding of the politics of the 1960s has atrophied to the extent that when Prime Minister Tony Blair issued his bizzare edict linking modern binge drinking to the counter-culture movement, many actually agreed with him.

There is an antidote, readily available on the internet: Mario Savio’s address from the steps of Sproul Hall, on 2 December 1964. The power of his words is their undoing, because they need no context to captivate the listener.

“There’s a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart that you can’t take part, you can’t even passively take part; and you’ve got to put your bodies upon the gears, and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you’ve got to make it stop, and you’ve got to indiciate to the people who run it—the people who own it—that unless you’re free, the machine will be prevented from running at all.”

In an event at this year’s Edinburgh International Book Festival on the ‘60s protest movement, St Andrew’s history professor Gerard de Groot—whose latest book, The Sixties Unplugged, has

DEAR SIR,

Silken skin and bruised thighs dirty dresses, torn stockings, silent screams...

And everything that ever was the embodiment of youth and passion and hope is alive and dies within us and in the end, Everything will be okay.

Because if it ís not okay Then it ís not The end.

Christine Craig, Read This Magazine

Ron Scrimgeour (via www.journal-online.co.uk)

Crossword #7 - Doddery I am not!

ACROSS DOWN 2 American novelty dance, popular 1 Volcanic secretion (4) in the 60s (7) 2 Spy (4) 7 ___ doble, fast-paced dance 3 Pious (6) inspired by Spanish bullfight (4) 8 Test (4) 4 Commuter belt (6) 9 Endearing (7) 5 Requirement (4) 10 Sorcerer (4) 6 Speed of sound (4) 12 Roald ___, Matilda author (4) 10 Lively Polish folk dance (7) 15 Calls seductively (like a cat) (5) 17 Fundamentalist (6) 11 Syntax (7) 18 The Nutcracker, for example (6) 13 Minor illness (7) 19 The Day the Earth Stood Still, for 14 Disappoint – untie (3,4) example (6) 15 Czech dance featuring short half21 Spanish triple time dance – woman’s jacket (6) steps (5) 22 Assuage – dispel (5) 16 Cabbage – London hotel (5) 23 Atmosphere – life force (4) 20 Alchemist’s grail (6) 26 Daze – impress (4) 21 Measure of oil (6) 28 Slow-slow-quick-quick ballroom dance (7) 24 Measure (of one?) (4) 29 109 (4) 25 At a distance (4) 30 (Political) assistant (4) 26 Visit (4) 31 Just like they do in the 27 Ctrl-Z (4) countryside (7) GET lAST iSSuE’S SOluTiONS ONliNE AT WWW.JOuRNAl-ONliNE.CO.uk

Profile 15

The Journal Wednesday 9 December 2008

Spinning round the block Bully boy, Labour attack dog, the second most powerful man in Britain – those days are behind him, Alastair Campbell tells Simon Mundy, along with the mental pressures of a career in the corridors of power. But he’s still keeping a close eye on Westminster

Simon Mundy simon.mundy@journal-online.co.uk

“I

heAr thAt’S a good read.”

Leafing through Alastair Campbell’s debut novel in a Glasgow cafe, it’s only when he taps me on the shoulder that I realise the man at the adjacent table is the author himself.

But then, tony Blair’s former director of communications has always liked to blend into the background.

During almost a decade as the Labour party’s spin doctor-inchief, Campbell cultivated an intimidating reputation as an “attack dog,” a bullying, Machiavellian figure who provided the “bad cop” routine to counterbalance Blair’s freshfaced charm. It’s a surprise, then, to see him cut so mellow a figure as he happily chews the fat with this student hack over the ensuing half-hour. Five years after his departure from a job that saw him dubbed “the real deputy prime minister,” Campbell has the air of a man enjoying a new lease of life.

“I just don’t want to do a full-time job at the moment,” he says, as he recounts the formidable workload he endured on the political front line.

“I mean, I didn’t really do anything else; work, taxi, home – that’s all I did.

I didn’t have a social life outside of that.” the pressures of a life in politics are conspicuously present in Campbell’s novel, All in the Mind, which features an alcoholic cabinet minister alongside a troubled psychiatrist and a Kosovan rape victim in a thoroughly readable treatment of mental illness.

As a former alcoholic who has battled depression for over 20 years, this is familiar territory for Campbell. While he has readily discussed his troubles, I suggest, there must be many more politicians who live in fear of similar problems becoming public knowledge.

“It’s inevitable,” he agrees. “It’s difficult to admit vulnerability in those jobs where you’re expected to understand everything, have all the answers.

Maybe we put people in an absurd position because they’re expected to be too good at what they do.”

Given Campbell’s tempestuous relationship with journalists—a profession he once accused of following a “mission to discredit politicians”—I can guess what’s coming. “I think it’s the media, to be honest – there’s no give at all. they really have got into a mindset where the only story they can do has got to be a bad story about a politician. Our negativity is so gross.”

“It’s difficult to admit vulnerability in those jobs where you’re expected to understand everything, have all the answers. Maybe we put people in an absurd position because they’re expected to be too good at what they do.”

Campbell knows all about negative press, of course. In May 2003, he was accused by the BBC of “sexing up” reports on Saddam hussein’s nonexistent weapons of mass destruction, in order to strengthen the case for an invasion of Iraq. Campbell was cleared of misconduct – but before the year was out, his full-time political career was at an end. In any case, the invasion happened. Was it worth it?

Campbell’s eyes drop as he kneads the back of his neck – the first occasion on which he betrays any sign of discomfort. “Well, it was certainly very, very difficult. And it’s taken longer than people hoped or expected. two things I’d

say: the first is that politics is not done in hindsight; it’s done here and now, and the decision to be taken had to be taken then.

“And the second thing: I think, long-term, I could see a situation where historians do look back and say, that was the beginning of a more peaceful, stable Middle east. Now there’s a long way to go on that...” he pauses. “It was never black and white. It’s never, ever been black and white.”

It was Iraq that spelled the end of Blair’s honeymoon with the British public, as voters fumed at his perceived pandering to an American agenda.

Campbell’s eyes blaze briefly at my mention of the familiar “poodle” jibe,

but he quickly suppresses the pugnacious instinct. “Look, the idea that the British prime minister would send troops to war because a foreign leader wanted him to – it doesn’t work like that. he knew it was unpopular, he knew that there was a lot of opposition, he knew that the “Bush’s poodle” line was around. But however difficult the politics, he thought it was the right thing to do.”

And Bush? “On a personal level, he’s so not like the caricature. Well...he is and he isn’t. there’s a warmth and a humanity about him that really doesn’t come across in his public perception. he’s very funny, he’s very self-deprecating; a lot more likeable than people would ever imagine.” these generous words for old friends come as no surprise – even Campbell’s bitterest critics are forced to admit his unflinching loyalty. his devotion to Labour this autumn saw him take up an unpaid role assisting Gordon Brown – a move that raised eyebrows, given the pair’s famously tense relationship. “If you read my diaries, sometimes it’s tricky, it’s tough,” admits Campbell, who continues to deny having labelled Brown “psychologically flawed.”

“But the bottom line becomes: who do you want to be prime minister, Gordon Brown or David Cameron? I think Cameron has been just incredibly flaky.

When we were in opposition, when we had these big international events happening, we had to have answers.”

(Campbell is back in full, snarling attack dog mode now.) “But he won’t do any of that. he just sort of wafts around. All the tories have got really is, ‘time for a change.’ they’ve got no positive platform to put forward.”

While Brown’s handling of the financial crisis has won him international acclaim, most opinion polls still give Cameron’s tories an impressive lead – but Campbell is cautiously optimistic.

“It’s still winnable for Labour. I think the most important thing is that the Labour party from top to bottom really engages in it now. I don’t find it difficult to persuade people that the Labour party is not divided.”

But Campbell’s confident, cohesive New Labour of a decade ago—perhaps the slickest political machine in British history—is now a distant memory.

“Farewell, New Labour,” cries The Economist, as the government tears up its economic agenda in a bid to alleviate the looming recession. Campbell brushes away such obituaries like a proud father defending his child.

“I do think it’s still New Labour. the basic objective of New Labour was to marry a rigorous approach to the economy with the belief that that could deliver social justice. that’s all it is really. that’s what we tried to do.” history will judge whether Campbell succeeded. And for all his insistence that his front-line days are over, one feels there are a few chapters still to be written.

All in the Mind is published by Hutchinson at £17.99

16 Feature

The Journal Wednesday 9 December 2008

The spirit of ‘68

Guy Robertson digs into the archives to discover how students and their representatives responded to the 1968 riots across Europe

E

VEN LONDON WAS considered a sideshow to Paris’ cobblestone throwing conduct of 1968. Mick Jagger summed it up lyrically in a song the same year: “In sleepy London town there’s just no place for a street fighting man.”

Edinburgh, then, was even more politically provincial. And yet the students made their actions felt in ways still seen today. Some matters were addressed through well-run campaigns and demonstrations. Others employed shock tactics to elicit a response from what one student journalist at the time labelled a “notoriously apathetic university.”

George Foulkes, Senior President of the Student Representative Council (SRC) in 1964 and currently Labour MSP for the Lothians, told The Journal: “The 1960s were the decade of change. I have a picture of myself and a number of others standing outside Holland House at Pollock Halls and we’re all there in blazers and shirts and ties in serried ranks, a bit like a public school photograph.

But by the mid-1960s everyone was in

jeans and sweatshirts and things had changed dramatically.”

Campaigning for student representation in university governing bodies was a central issue. For the first time the paternalism of the 1950s was being overturned by a generation who wanted to have a say in the way universities ran courses and examined students. “Students are not machines to be produced to order on a University assembly line,” protested the Radical Student Alliance (RSA), an organisation who produced pamphlets and arranged meetings and demonstrations.

David Adelstein, the president of London School of Economics (LSE) student union the year before Tariq Ali took over in 1968, outlined student ideals in a book he wrote aged 21. He encouraged the establishment of student-run courses in which the student decides what is taught, how it is taught and how it is examined, if at all. Students would be able to make their own staff appointments and, “finally there would be the fusion of staff and students so that all would be considered students.”

ABOVE: George Foulkes, now MSP for the Lothians, chairs the Students’ Representative Council in Edinburgh’s Old College, 1963 LEFT: Edinburgh University’s Student print a protest against the institution’s Sponsio

Academica

Militarism

Join The Journal while you still can www. journalonline. co.uk

IN OCTOBER 1968 the Scottish Union of Students (SUS) sent an ultimatum to the vice-chancellors of the Scottish universities demanding direct student representation in the university courts. Mike Shaw, Aberdeen University’s SRC president hinted that militant action would be taken, including a takeover of university buildings, if there was no positive reaction from the vice-chancellors. Such action was not required, however, and the vicechancellors took the hint.

The struggle for student representation, which gathered pace in the late 1960s, reached its climax when in the early 1970s two successive student rectors were installed – the second being the current prime minister, Gordon Brown. Mr Brown was responsible for merging the SRC with various Unions to create the Edinburgh University Student Association (EUSA), a representative body which survives today. Current rector Mark Ballard told The Journal: “This didn’t happen in Glasgow, and to this day the unions and the SRC remain fiercely independent of each other. But I think the strong EUSA we now have means we don’t need another student

rector.”

The students didn’t constrict themselves to local issues either. They were particularly active in organising demonstrations and protests against apartheid in South Africa and war in Vietnam.

In May 1968 Tariq Ali, organiser of the Vietnam Solidarity Campaign, was supposed to give a lecture at Heriot-Watt University on the war in Vietnam. However, the principal had been absent when the booking was made and, owing to Mr Ali’s radical reputation, the lecture was cancelled on the pretext that the debating hall was needed for students revising for exams. Mr Ali was eventually given permission to speak in lecture hall C of the David Hume Tower, Edinburgh University.

Student activism reached its height in 1968 when students at Nantarre University in Paris took over their campus and faced the infamous CRS riot police. Across the channel, Tariq Ali was speaking in Grovesnor Square at a bloody anti-Vietnam demonstration. Further north still, Edinburgh University students forced the resignation of their rector for opposing the contraceptive pill.

Sex

ONE OF THE first demands of the students at Nantarre was the right to have sex with each other in their rooms. Sociology students, led by David Cohn-Bendit, used sexual oppression as a symbol for political and spiritual oppression. Edinburgh students followed suit when their conservative minded rector, Mr Malcolm Muggeridge, refused to endorse the introduction of the contraceptive pill at the university medical centre.

Edinburgh student paper, Student printed a picture of Mr. Muggeridge’s face turning into a worm-ridden skull— around the same time, Gerald Scarfe’s infamously grotesque cartoons were first being printed in Private Eye—with a message encouraging him to agree with the students or resign.

Nick Chalmers, president of the SRC in 1968 told The Journal: “A good run round Arthur’s seat was the sort of thing you needed to do in those days to burn off energy, then you didn’t need your girlfriend to have the contraceptive pill. The national press took it that we wanted it for free. The point was that it would be ‘freely available.’”

Mr Muggeridge resigned in a speech in St Giles cathedral. Several more

Feature 17

The Journal Wednesday 9 December 2008

attempt to come to grips with his own potential.” He suggested Aldous Huxley’s Doors of Perception as background reading and encouraged students to get their tabs from a reliable dealer.

The following edition of Student was entirely devoted to the fallout from Griffiths’ article. The front page featured a message from the principal condoning the use of drugs whilst the rest of the paper comprised of letters either condoning drugs or supporting freedom of speech. At that time, Student was published by the SRC – it was the SRC executive who had suspended Griffiths. Issues regarding freedom of speech at the University raced to the fore, and the team at the newspaper supported Griffiths arguing that his article had not endorsed drugs but had encouraged discourse on a cultural issue.

The Edinburgh Police Department, however, had been deeply concerned by the article and passed it on to the home office. The principal, Baron Michael Swann—future chairman of the BBC— reassured the police that the SRC would act responsibly on the matter.

For the foreseeable future, then, SRC president Nick Chalmers was tasked with reading Student before it was published, checking for inappropriate material. Accordingly, the newspaper was printed with “Censored” written under its by-line. Mr Chalmers recalls getting into trouble with Swann for allowing an article about students urinating on the war memorial to be published.

However, Mr Griffiths was eventually reinstated as editor of Student and soon after, the paper became independent of the SRC. Recalling the furore over Griffiths and the drug article, Mr Chalmers says: “I wasn’t in the drug scene. I think Hugh did law and I stood as his proposer to be the president of the student law society, which went down like a lead balloon.”

Polarisation

» EXTRACTS FROM EDINBURGH’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER STUDENT, APRIL 1968 SPONSIO ACADEMICA

I, student of the University of Edinburgh, do give my sincere and sacred promise and wish this my signature to testify thereto forever, that I will be dutiful and industrious in my studies: and by this promise I acknowledge that in all material relating to the teaching and discipline of the university I have willingly placed myself under the jurisdiction of the Senatus Academicus, and I recognise that if, in the opinion of the Senatus, my studies or my conduct are unsatisfactory, it has authority to forbid my continuance upon courses qualifying me for a degree; and I engage that as a deserving alumnus of my university I will pay my debt of gratitude and good will on every occasion to the best of my powers, so long as I live.

Student protest: Sponsio Academica

(Pledge of allegiance to the University Flag) THE SPONSIO REPRODUCED above is printed on the card you sign on matriculation.

To call it the “SPONSIO ACADEMICA” is highly misleading. If you sign it, you allow the university authorities, and ultimately a few men, to define

the terms in which you conduct not only your academic but your personal affairs.

If you sign, you allow these men total control over you. You have none over them.

If you sign, you cannot protest any rights vis-a-vis the university authorities. You are here at their discretion.

This SPONSIO is their Catch-22 that permits them to punish you for doing wrong. It also allows them to decide what is wrong after you have done it.

Society preaches that free access to education is a right. By signing this SPONSIO, you are admitting that it is a privilege.

Members of the Law Faculty have their doubts as to the validity of the SPONSIO. Do you?

The SPONSIO is the cornerstone of the brave old world. Ring in the new.

Refuse to sign. *** The following short extracts are taken from work in progress from David Adelstein’s first book, to be published

by Penguin in September. Adelstein is 21 and a sociology student and the London School of Economics. He was President of the Union during the demonstrations in 1967.

“THE RAPID EXPANSION of higher

education automatically brings about a change in the students’ view of the process. Whereas higher education was previously seen as a privilege, it is now taken as a right. This follows both from the Government’s justification of the expansion and from the justification of the various student policies on higher eduction.

Both rest upon the social value of expansion. This transformation of student attitudes takes place even as students are still, despite the vast expansion in numbers, a relative elite.

For previously, as only a tiny element of the national elite, graduates were assured of automatic status and self enhancement through the possession of a degree, no matter what its quality. “

“THERE CAN BE little doubt as to the authoritarianism of our education. All staff appointments are made through authoritarian procedures. The same holds true to a certain extent for student selection. And of equal, if not greater, importance, all syllabuses are determined by the staff. There is no inalienable difference between academic staff and students but the authority structure makes it appear so.”

“Anyone is completely justified in borrowing from the advances of pharmacology in an attempt to come to grips with his own potential” SRC members followed suit, catapulting Barry Sesnan into the Honorary Secretary role. He told The Journal: “We had a dinner with Muggeridge in the George Hotel to try to mitigate the damage. All I remember was that we paid for an expensive buffet and he just had a fried egg, which offended my half-Scottish ancestry.

“Then it hit the media and we had everyone phoning us up to try to discover the details of the sinful life of Edinburgh students. TV people asked me to find two students who could be interviewed who would obviously be sleeping together. It made Newsweek.”

Drugs

IN ANOTHER SCANDAL of the same year, then editor of Student, Hugh Griffiths, was temporarily suspended for writing an article endorsing LSD. The back page was reserved for the radical article, offering advice on how and where to take drugs.

Griffiths wrote: “Anyone is completely justified in borrowing from the advances of pharmacology in an

STUDENT POLITICS UNDOUBTEDLY had its wider political connections in the 1960s: “There were two blocks of students: the one behind the Iron Curtain who met as the International Union of Students (IUS) based in Prague, and then there was the Western block, International Student Conferenece (ISC) based in Leiden, Holland. The student world certainly reflected what was happening at the national political level,” says George Foulkes.

In his book on the history of the MI6, Stephen Dorril suggests that the anticommunist ISC was funded by the CIA and MI6. At that time, Mr Foulkes was the organiser of the Fund for International Student Co-Operation (FISC) – a group that the Radical Students’ Alliance denounced as a CIA front. The allegations were denied by FISC: “It was a lot of nonsense,” Foulkes says, “typical RSA sort of attacks that were thrown around at the time.”

That said, when Baroness Margaret Ramsay—then a Glasgow University student, secretary of the ISC and a worker at FISC—joined MI6 in 1969, conspiracy theorists were far from placated. And indeed, the CIA and MI6 were certainly using student informers with communist sympathies—many from the National Union of Students (NUS)—to keep in touch with international student activities.

But with many radical socialists of yesteryear now heading up a free marketeering government in Westminster, it can be easy to think of their youthful campaigns as overly romanticised.

One thing is for certain, though: the freedoms won by the students of that era are still benefiting universities forty years on.

18 Arts & Entertainment Music

Flamboyant Bella  Flamboyant? not quite

29 noveMBer Rebecca Monks

rebecca.monks@journal-online.co.uk

RichaRd dyson

CaBaret voLtaire

to Hear tHe news that Flamboyant Bella are playing at Cabaret voltaire, you could be forgiven for falling victim to the power of semantics. images of flashing lights, eccentric showmanship and the general incline towards the carnivalesque should be conjured.

‘Flamboyant’ should hoodwink your mind into submission; you should expect a theatrical spectacle of extreme proportions. Sadly, semantics have failed us.

Following an impressive set from Manchester boys ten Bears, the indie electro four piece somewhat tentatively took to the stage. an army of young fans stare expectantly, proudly bearing the profane title piece of the band’s set emblazoned across their chests: “absolutely wankered.” it suddenly all became clear; it is not flamboyancy that they seek, it is controversy, and controversial it was. i fear that the set suffered the blows of their flamboyantly controversial ways throughout. More than once lyrics were forgotten, and the potentially charming faults of a live set were somewhat removed by an overwhelming desire to see them succeed. the playful interaction between band members made for a relatively charming attribute to their stage presence, it seems however doubtful that charming was their intention. vocally, the set was impressive throughout. the vocals of singer/ guitarist Flo Kirton were perhaps one of the high points of the evening. as individuals in fact, the band had incredible talent. notes never faltered, rhythm was never lost, and keys were never off. i felt myself slightly disappointed, however: i came for a show, and i felt like i was in a sound check.

The Journal Wednesday 9 December 2008

as the set droned through to its inevitable conclusion, i began to question whether Flamboyant Bella was something in the way of a sarcastic remark. Little to no energy punctuated a distinctly average set, whilst the already small crowd tried hard to muster an atmosphere, but never fully succeeded. the words of lead singer Johnny McBreen perhaps sum up the aim of their show: “Sorry it was a bit odd, but i hope you enjoyed it.” Here’s hoping, Johnny.

Zong Wang

Music

art

The Islanders: An Introduction

 a stunning multimedia show that is just the beginning

Feeder  an electrifying set pushes the senses

tHe PiCture HouSe 26 noveMBer Rebecca Monks

rebecca.monks@journal-online.co.uk

Having reaD tHat Feeder’s bassist, taka Hirose, once threw an orange in Keanu reeves’ face, it seemed virtually impossible for Feeder to rise in my already high estimation. Despite eight albums, twenty four singles and a bassist with terrific aim, i stand corrected. their live show tops them all. in the midst of a somewhat misplaced sombre lighting scheme, the band opened their virtually faultless set with ‘We are the People,’ which seemed to provide their musical motto: ‘step it up,’ grant nicholas sings, and step it up they did. it would appear in fact that they are living up to many of their own lyrical proclamations. “Pushing the senses” is indeed a very accurate way to describe the show, with its copious amounts of lighting, projection and imagery. there were times when you’d be forgiven for thinking that gary numan had been let loose on a lighting deck, but on the whole it only served to add power to an already tremendous performance by the band.

Seven songs in, ‘We Can’t rewind’ saw nicholas’ outstanding vocals stun the crowd. at long last, the special

effects ceased, and with not even a glow stick to squint your eyes at, it became clear what immensely talented musicians they truly are. Drummer Mark richardson kept both time and spirit, whilst Hirose remained distinctly casual, seemingly oblivious to the crowd he was electrifying.

While nicholas stopped to admire the venue, his architectural praise was classically silenced by the persistent requests of the crowd. the familiar riff of ‘Just a Day’ was roared at the band, until nicholas eventually sat, bemused and flattered. When hundreds of strangers share a single serendipitous thought, to sing a guitar riff as though it was their national anthem, you know they must be good. the highlight eventually came in the band’s encore, nicholas emerging in a kilt to the delight of the masses.

Drenched in patriotism for the Scots, a three song encore eventually gave into the will of the crowd, ‘Just a Day’ saw the Picture House roar with the joy of hundreds of satisfied fans. But indeed, what is storming the stage for Feeder? i imagine…just a day.

SCottiSH nationaL gaLLery oF MoDern art 2 noveMBer – 15 FeBruary Colleen Patterson

colleen.patterson@journal-online.co.uk

The IslandeRs iS a difficult exhibition to describe, but an amazing one to experience. Scottish artist Charles avery has brought together a multimedia show incorporating text, sculpture, drawing and painting, all centred around a fictional island and its customs, inhabitants and wildlife. no descriptive material about avery or the exhibition appears within the exhibition’s rooms. instead, each theme of the exhibition is introduced and supplemented by an explanatory fictional text panel written by avery. Some are descriptive, providing a detailed account of various flora and fauna. others are more narrative, telling tales of the unnamed explorer’s arrival on the island and subsequent adventures in almost old-fashioned language. the bulk of The Islanders is made up of avery’s drawings, which are brilliantly detailed and beautiful, despite their black-and-white, journalistic style. accompanying them, and the text, are sculptures of fictional creatures and objects, which display avery’s creativity and sense of humour. the most impressive of these is the eternity Chamber, a tall kiosk panelled with relief sculpture into which one can peer and see colourful glass and mirrors, creating the effect of infinite space. give yourself plenty of time to see The Islanders, as you’ll want to take in every piece of this fantastic and fascinating exhibition. every drawing, sculpture and text introduces new details to take in and the overall effect of immersing yourself in this extraordinary project is stunning. the subtitle “an introduction” would suggest that more is coming from avery’s island, and i look forward to the next chapter.

Arts & Entertainment 19

The Journal Wednesday 9 December 2008

Music Edinburgh University Music Society Chorus  st CUtHBeRt’s CHURCH 28 noveMBeR Sarah Mitchell

sarah.mitchell@journal-online.co.uk

It Isn’t easy to conjure up a programme everyone will appreciate, especially as a student society. tonight however, as always, the edinburgh University Music society revel in presenting a programme which is friendly to student and professional audience members alike. Under new chorus master Mark evans, tonight’s performance demonstrates the chorus’ full range, presenting a sort of “brief guide to choral music.”

While the programme is a little heavy on the second half, their choice of opening—Lauridsen’s Lux Aeterna—is adequate to the setting. Interspersed accompanying passages on the organ carry well throughout the substantial

space, while the chorus continue confidently through unaccompanied passages.

It is in the fourth movement however that they come into their own, portraying soft and colourful melodies throughout. the second half is opened by this evening’s organist simon Walker, with Cesar Franck’s emotionally contrasting Third Choral in A minor. the performance is a demonstration of subtle French harmonies in amongst the presentation of essentially simple melodies. It is in the second half also that the chorus demonstrate their versatility with a programme of primarily contemporary works. the simon and Garfunkel medley, with all its good intentions, doesn’t lend itself particularly well to a choral setting;

Gerhard Richter

the choral passages are however executed with expert assurance.

Ken Johnston’s Now is well marketed as one of those works for a time of meaningful reflection, an intent which is once again well portrayed by the chorus in their delicate treatment of its relaxing harmonies. the works of the second half are offset with two contrasting settings of the Bogoróditse Djévo text by both arvo Pärt and sergei Rachmaninov which are demonstrated with a certain agility.

Howard Goodall’s Love Divine stands out from the others, in particular towards its end, as a confidence which was lacking previously presents itself, demonstrating a noticeable and welcome connection with the audience.

eca ksu

 eCa show off the bits and bobs they picked up in Japan

eCa tent GaLLeRy 2 DeC – 12 DeC Nika Kupyrova

nika.kupyrova@journal-online.co.uk

National Gallery Complex The Mound, Edinburgh 8 Nov 2008 to 4 Jan 2009

For tickets and information visit www.nationalgalleries.org £6/£4 Under 22s free Media partner: The Scotsman

One of the most important artists of our time

Gerhard Richter, Kerze, 1982 © Gerhard Richter Photo: Frieder Burda Collection, Baden-Baden

art

National Galleries of Scotland is a charity registered in Scotland (No. SC003728)

eDInBURGH CoLLeGe oF art returns from Japan refreshed and inspired with this inventive, intricate and lovingly detail-obsessed exhibition. a result of the two weeks spent in Kyoto seika University by the third year Intermedia students, eca ksu offers a series of space-conscious interventions and three-dimensional sketches scattered in and around the tent Gallery of eca’s evolution House. the best way to approach the exhibition is as a travel journal; eca ksu leaves the provocative and monumental qualities of art temporarily aside and focuses on sharing experiences and the traveller’s fascinations. evelyn Morrison invites you to pick up one by one the small, neat, almost edible-looking machines from a box, push the button and listen to the sounds she recorded in Kyoto. Hannah Pearson’s sleek flyers invite you to her studio for an improvised gift pack containing bits of her travelling trophies. Rebecca Whitfield’s typewritten index cards are concise, observant and poetic in their singularity. she accepts a role of a tourist, but collects her artifacts with artist’s attentiveness to the mundane, delicately subjectifying it with her own experiences.

In fact, quite a few of the works show a passion for collecting and almost all of the pieces are careful and controlled, as if trying to organize the immensity of Japanese experience into bite-size statements, sounds and images. Collaboration is another idea essential for eca ksu. I found myself engaged by the possibility to work together on something that can become a very individualistic activity in a competitive, hungry for ideas atmosphere of the art college. apparent in several pieces inspired by the Japanese tradition of working with paper is the understanding of making as a shared experience, a way of communication and creative bonding. the exhibition may not read as a finished piece, but there is a definite sense of union, of a shared experience between the individual artworks. on the contrary, it would be a misunderstanding of eca ksu’s intentions to expect finished and polished pieces while one of the most interesting aspects of the show is a process of working within the unusual cultural climate and a sense of many visual, cultural and conceptual collaborations. eca ksu may not be not be immediately striking, but it has many hidden surprises and most of all, it is definitely a group show.

2 News

The Journal Wednesday 9 December 2008

THIS WEEk AT JouRNAl-oNlINE.Co.uk

1 IN 4 SCoTTISH HoMES IN FuEl PovERTY

Findings of the Scottish House Condition Survey that claim that half of Scottish homes are in disrepair as homeowners struggle with bills

STuDENT loAN FRAuD

£200m shortfall prompts inquiry into means-testing loopholes

AFGHANISTAN DEATHS: More Edinburgh casualties in Afghanistan as the latest victims are named, bringing the British military death toll to 128, with over 1000 total deaths across coalition forces

vAT RoW

Edinburgh university outlets to hand down vAT reduction

ECA ExHIBIT SHoWCASES TIES WITH JAPAN

Event at the Edinburgh College of Art marks culmination of cultural exchange programme with a Kyoto university REvIEW » 19

WWW.JouRNAl-oNlINE.Co.uk

Arrested Stansted protest leader is Edinburgh student

Heriot-Watt professor attacks diaspora slavery “whitewash”

Continued from page 1

Continued from page 1

The short-haul carrier Ryanair, which relies on Stansted as a connecting airport for its budget European operations, was the worst affected by the protest, with all cancellations affecting the carrier; other airlines were forced to institute delays.

The low-cost airline has called for an inquiry to investigate “why the BAA Stansted security has once again failed to keep Stansted secure and open to the travelling public.”

Plane Stupid has a relatively high profile amongst the numerous anti-climate change activist groups lobbying against airport expansion and low-cost air travel; earlier this year, protesters from the organisation caused a security alert by climbing onto the roof of the Houses of Parliament. The group also

participated in last summer’s Camp for Climate Action at London Heathrow Airport.

Speaking during the protest, Ms Kember told ITN News journalists that “it’s a bit cold, but everyone is in good spirits.”

Plane Stupid have since alleged that BAA, the operators of Stansted, used a snowplow to ram the protesters, and have published footage on their website to support the claim.

The Plane Stupid protest was applauded by Hacan, the group opposing expansion at Heathrow. Chairman John Stewart said: “The occupation of Stansted is a clear sign of things to come if the government doesn’t back down over its proposals to expand airports.

“There is a great deal of anger at the impact these plans will have on the global climate and on local people’s

quality of life.”

Matthew Knowles, spokesman for the Society of British Aerospace Companies, said: “These protesters are ignoring the reality around aviation and climate change.

“Flight numbers have increased at Stansted but noise nuisance around the airport has actually decreased and aircraft are 70 per cent more fuel efficient than they were 50 years ago.

“The industry has also set itself targets for a further 50 per cent cut in noise and CO2 emissions from 2000 levels in new aircraft by 2050. It is time these illinformed protests stopped.”

It is not known whether the university of Edinburgh will seek disciplinary action against Ms Kember; under university rules, any student can be removed for “bringing the university into disrepute.”

EDINBuRGH’S STuDENT NEWSPAPER

Editor Evan Beswick Deputy Editor Chris Williams Art Director Matthew MacLeod Board of Directors Ben Judge Devon Walshe Matthew MacLeod

General News Sarah Clark Edinburgh News Nick Eardley Academic News Rob Church-Taylor Student News Matthew Moore Student Politics Guy Robertson National Politics Ross Melton

Deputy Editor (News) Paris Gourtsoyannis Deputy Editor (Comment/Features) Simon Mundy Deputy Editor (Sport) Graham Mackay

Comment Helen O’Shea Music Jacqui Kavanagh Theatre Lucy Jackson Art Colleen Patterson

Design Assistant Luke Miller

Crossword Junta Sekimori Chief Illustrator Lewis Killin Photo Editors Giulia Frontini & Silvia Pavlova Foteva Web Editor Marthe Sandvik Editorial Assistant Abi Buglass

Copy Editors Helen Broadfoot, Esme Ford, Laura McCaffrey, Alex Reynolds, Lizzy Wilkinson, Lotti Fyfe

Football Elvira Kemp Rugby John Geddie Hockey Emily Glass

Dundas frustrated the process and forced him to add two notorious words to his Bill – “gradually abolished.” These two words ensured that slavery lasted 31 more years.”

In a letter to the editors of The Herald, Dr Palmer also questioned the failure to mention the role of slavery in the life of Robert Burns, the 250th anniversary of whose birth is being marked next year by the landmark Homecoming Scotland 2009 events.

“In 1786, Burns bought his ticket to sail to Jamaica to be, in his own words, a ‘slave driver,’” wrote Dr Palmer.

“In addition, he wrote ‘Will ye go to the Indies, my Mary’ to Highland Mary and ‘Ae fond kiss’ to cheer up his other lady friend, Clarinda, as she sailed to visit her

slave-master husband in Jamaica.”

Regarding Homecoming Scotland, Dr Palmer said: “This event is being marketed in Canada, New Zealand, Australia.

Why are they not inviting people from Jamaica with Scottish names?”

Nonetheless, Dr Palmer remains positive about the ability of accurate education regarding Scottish involvement in slavery to bring the two communities together.

“I think a lot of West Indians want to know about their Scottish heritage. Perhaps they can even take some pride in it.

“For a while there was a movement towards dropping these names, but I think that would be to lose something real, a real record of our history in favour of a made-up African name.

“Personally, I would rather have an honest truth than some false pride.”

GET INvolvED Want to get involved with Edinburgh’s award-winning student newspaper? visit recruitment.journal-online.co.uk to find out more The Journal is published by The Edinburgh Journal Ltd., registered address 52 Clerk Street, Edinburgh EH8 9JB. Registered in Scotland number SC322146. For enquiries call 0131 662 6766 or email info@journalonline.co.uk. The Journal is a free newspaper for and written by students and graduates in the City of Edinburgh. Contact us if you’d like to get involved. Printed by Morton’s Printers, Licolnshire. Copyright © 2008 The Edinburgh Journal Ltd. Elements of this publication are distributed under a Creative Commons license - contact us for more information. Distributed by Two Heads Media, www.twoheadsmedia.co.uk.

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20 Arts & Entertainment

On the horizon ThEATrE Aladdin

Festival Theatre 29 Nov–18 Jan, £14.50-£19 pantomime favourites Allan stewart and Grant stott star in a spectacular production of Aladdin, including an array of 3D visual effects and the first ever 3D Genie.

Desire Lines

Talbot Rice Gallery 14 Feb - 20 June 2009, free talbot rice Gallery has invited six artists to create works around the University of edinburgh campus while their facilities are being refurbished. the Gallery will produce a guide to orient visitors around the different works.

It's a Wonderful Life

Rosslyn Chapel 5-22 December, £10/£9 midlothian-based theatre company Nonsenseroom revive their stage version of the classic Jimmy stewart film. Adapted by simon beattie the show is based on the screenplay of the frank Capra classic.

ArT Queen and Country:

A Project by Steve McQueen

Gallery of Modern Art 3 Dec 2008 - 15 Feb 2009, free turner prize award-winning artist steve mcQueen has collaborated with families of deceased servicemen and women who were killed in Iraq to create a commemorative set of portraits on postage stamps. Jointly commissioned by the Imperial War museum and manchester International festival.

MUSIC Joan as Policewoman The Liquid Room 13 December, £12.50 Incredibly versatile American singersongwriter who has collaborated with Antony and the Johnsons and rufus Wainwright. According to her myspace page, "it's music that shimmers, torch-song-like, between categories. It feels adjacent to jazz while being deeply soulful."

Biffy Clyro

SECC, Glasgow 20 December, £18.50 beg, borrow and steal to witness the biff’s complex guitar riffs, gorgeous melodies and scottish brand of heavy rock and roll.

The Journal Wednesday 9 December 2008

Opera

La Traviata 

sCOttIsH OperA’s prODUCtION of verdi’s La Traviata is a veritable feast for the eyes and ears, providing feats of operatic superiority, a lavish set and affecting, emotional performances. this timeless tale concerns the forbidden love between beautiful courtesan violetta (Carmen Giannattasio) and the nobleman Alberto, (federico Lepre) as social class, and eventually mortal sickness impede their union. the chemistry between them, though awkward to begin with, crescendoes to an epic climax, illuminating the eternal nature of their passion. Giannattasio is undoubtedly the stronger performer of the two; her pure voice is powerful and affecting, and well conveys violetta’s joyous attitude to life, yet on her deathbed she is able to portray her frailty with soft, haunting tones. However, while her voice is graceful and majestic, her movements are not, and at times she appears clumsy and awkward – not quite befitting of an elegant courtesan. the set is particularly well conceived. the opening scene skillfully combines themes of death and loss with opulence and festivity: black curtains frame the stage and the floor, engraved

Impressive sets and superb musicality convince in another absorbing production from scottish Opera

festIvAL tHeAtre 18-29 NOvember Anna Fenton

anna.fenton@journal-online.co.uk

theatre

theatre

Normal

Nobody Will Ever Forgive Us

 We say Love. We say murder.

 Jay Sheldon

beDLAm tHeAtre 18-22 NOvember Eoin McGreevy

eoin.mcgreevy@journal-online.co.uk

“teLL me, After my head has been chopped off, will I still be able to hear, at least for a moment, the sound of my own blood gushing from the stump of my neck?...that would be the pleasure to end all pleasures.” these were the last words of serial killer, arsonist and rapist peter Kurten as he mounted the steps to the guillotine on 2 July 1931 and they form the dénouement of Anthony Neilson’s claustrophobic and unsettling drama, Normal.

A tall order for any director, this complex and engaging piece directed

by James bruce sinclair for bedlam theatre is not without its merits but unfortunately does not live up to its promises.

Normal is narrated by young lawyer Justus Wehner (Nick Kay) who is defending Kurten (paddy Loughman). As Wehner tries to argue for the insanity of the ‘Düsseldorf ripper’ he becomes morbidly fascinated with the killer, who seems to defy any psychological analysis as he projects back onto Wehner—and the audience— questions of morality, decency and what it means to be “normal” in the twentieth century. the set fills the auditorium, enveloping the audience in what seems to

be angular distortions of human flesh.

At once claustrophobic and spacious, this serves to place spectators literally inside Kurten’s head and become unwilling voyeurs to the action. the constant feeling of unease is maintained wonderfully throughout with deranged fairground music drifting in and out, and interludes of manic choreography complementing Neilson’s sometimes rhyming, frenzied script. In one particularly noteworthy scene, the audience is plunged into total darkness and Loughman’s brilliantly eerie and disturbing Kurten descends into the stalls to whisper and haunt every corner of the room. regrettably, it is after this point that the gleaming stage presence of the players seems to dull. Kay’s unconvincing depiction of the naïve lawyer in emotional and psychological turmoil undercuts the play’s otherwise engrossing nature and the next attempt at shocking the audience falls embarrassingly short of expectations in a long, drawn out murder scene. In trying, but unfortunately failing to maintain the high level of tension needed for this piece, bedlam’s production is commendable but unremarkable.

Impressive debut let down by predictable characters

trAverse tHeAtre 20-29 NOvember Matt Wieteska

matt.wieteska@journal-online.co.uk

with violetta’s epitaph, provides the subtle background upon which the decadence of the courtesan’s life is played out. the light and airy boudoir scene well expresses the couple’s joy and freedom together, a stark contrast between the bleak and drab set of violetta’s dying moments. Despite the constant presence of death in this tale, there are some wonderfully uplifting moments, particularly the later party scene involving a flirtatious romp between highly sexualised gypsy maidens and virile, dancing matadors.

A true gem in this performance appears in the form of Alberto’s father, Giorgio (richard Zeller), whose impressive stage presence and strong, stirring tones move the audience to at once feel pity for his predicament, whilst condemning him for keeping the lovers apart. His remorse at the close was one of the most affecting aspects of this emotionally fraught scene. the combination of conductor emmanuel Joel-Hornak’s spirited presence in the pit, and David mcvicar’s talented direction enabled this high budget production to shine, truly fulfiling the potential for this opera.

As pArt Of the traverse’s Debuts season, paul Higgins’ Nobody Will Ever Forgive Us paints an engaging, if predictable portrait of a working class family in crisis. prodigal son patrick, returning from the seminary, exposes the difficult realities being faced by the family he left behind and the strained bonds between them. It’s a familiar set-up, and there are few surprises as the play continues. the strength of Higgins’ script, however, makes what could otherwise have been dull and derivative into winning theatre.

Higgins’ debut is characterised by its fast-paced, well-observed dialogue, which creates a believable sense of the familiarity and tension between his characters. the script is at its strongest when it is given room to breathe by the plot, allowing Higgins’ ear for comedy, and his affectionate dialogue, to shine. Indeed, one of the play’s main strengths is that there are no villains or heroes here, rather a cast of damaged misfits, struggling to cope with their past mistakes, which lead to the regular crises that drive the plot.

Unfortunately, it is in these moments that the play is betrayed by its own strengths. the simplicity of the writing, which shines during its quieter or more comedic scenes, struggles not to seem unoriginal at moments of confrontation; the high energy of the cast, so suited to Higgins’ rhythms and quick pace, creates a tendency to oversell these crises.

Despite this drawback, the cast is highly praiseworthy. As an ensemble, they display a remarkable chemistry, their comic timing and pace highlighting Higgins’ well-pitched script. particular mention should be made of John Wark’s measured, identifiable patrick and Gary Lewis’ temperamental father, performances which draw the audience fully into the tenement flat created by Naomi Wilkinson’s larger-than-life design.

Nobody Will Ever Forgive Us is an admirable debut, honoured by the strength of its production. It pushes no boundaries and offers few surprises, suffering from difficulties in the gear-change from black comedy to dramatic crises, but these issues do little to detract from its strengths. forgive these minor faults, and there is much to admire.

Sport 23

The Journal Wednesday 9 December 2008

SPORT “If money talks then right now it's got some pretty bad chat”

The crunch hits sports fans where it hurts Graham Mackay

Deputy Editor

graham@journal-online.co.uk

W

HAT DO SHUNSUKE Nakamura, Jenson Button and the British Olympic table tennis squad have in common? The answer is that their sporting futures are very much in the balance at present, and all for precisely the same reason: the global financial crisis has begun to sink its teeth into the world of sport.

That’s right, the credit crunch just got interesting – though, without question, deeply more concerning.

Traditionally, Scottish gentlemen’s public-house banter has centred on a single dominant theme of mutual fascination: the beautiful game of football.

Yet, in recent months, the rise in the price of your average pint of ale has brought with it a new subject of discussion as old friends gather down the local to discuss the critical state of the global economy.

However, this week has seen a captivating new dimension brought to the table; an opportunity to combine the two favourite conversation pieces of honest pub-dwelling Scotsmen. The news to which I refer is that of Celtic’s 2007 player of the year, Shunsuke Nakamura, remaining at Parkhead until at least the

summer, as his perspective new club simply cannot afford to buy him.

Earlier this season, a reported £3 million deal was struck between Scottish champions Celtic and J League side Yokohama F Marinos to take the Japanese international back to his homeland. However, the move, originally planned to take place during the January transfer window, has been put on hold as Marinos’s parent company, car manufacturing giant Nissan, has pulled the plug on big-name transfers due to the credit crunch.

Outside of football, the global financial squeeze has impacted other areas of sport, including one of the most lucrative sporting franchises in existence, Formula One. Last week, established F1 driving team Honda pulled out of the world’s richest sporting series, blaming the global economic crisis for the decision to sell its racing team. The move leaves British racing non-entity Jenson Button and team-mate Rubens Barrichello without teams to drive for, with only a limited number of middle-ranking seats available before the start of the new season.

In an attempt to bring the sport’s soaring costs under control, F1’s governing body has considered introducing a standardised engine and gearbox that would be fitted to every car, regardless of its team or the technological agenda of its parent company. Although implementing such a move would

undoubtably increase Button’s chances of putting some long-overdue points on the board, as things stand, there is no secure indication that he will even be competing in the championship next year.

What’s more, the future of two-time world champion and renowned miseryguts Fernando Alonso was also brought into question last week, when the sulky Spaniard announced that he would consider retirement if the rules for engine standardisation came into effect. There you go, Jensen, keep your fingers crossed and there might just be an empty seat at Renault for you come 2009. Or not.

However, the multi-millionaires’ playgrounds that are Formula One and top-flight football are not the only sporting industries to have suffered as a result of the worldwide recession.

Last Wednesday saw the announcement of UK Sport’s Olympic 2012 funding programme, and while lesser sports such as basketball, synchronised swimming and archery were among those to benefit from the budget, others were not so lucky.

Having not yet received any conformation of individual funding allocations, a total of eight Olympic sports and four Paralympic sports are to share, as things stand, a paltry £12.5 million between them in the run-up to the London games. Beyond this clearly insubstantial offering, the unfortunate athletes involved have absolutely no assurance of financial security beyond UK Sport’s

rather flimsy and ambivalent promise to “help identify further funding, both from private investment and from other potential sources of income.”

One such ill-fated squad is the British table tennis side, who have had high hopes for 2012 since previous government funding allowed them to move to the state-of-the-art facilities at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.

However, since UK sport’s budget was announced, British table tennis representatives have voiced major concerns over the allocation of funds from UK Sport’s £550 million budget.

Indeed, the table tennis association’s outcry is hardly surprising given a number of seemingly bizarre budgetary decisions made by British sport’s governing body, including a 136.9 per cent increase in the amount allocated to basketball—now £8.75 million—and a 109 per cent hike in investment towards synchronised swimming, amounting to £3.46 million.

Nonetheless, it’s always reassuring to see that no matter what dire straits certain global sporting organisations find themselves in, there will always be the likes of Manchester “Middle Eastlands” City, who slapped the credit crunch in the face last week by tabling a recordbattering £129 million for Real Madrid ‘keeper, Iker Casillas, to remind us that not everybody is a loser in the fiasco that is the world economy.

“Damn the Man!” I hear you cry?

“Damn the Man City” more like it.

Sport Results FOOTBALL

MEN’S HOCKEY

Scottish Conference Men’s 1A Stirling 1 Edinburgh 1 Glasgow 1 Heriot-Watt 1 Rob. Gord. 1

P W D L F A Df Pt 7 0 1 27 13 14 21

8 6 6 6 6

4 2 1 0

1 1 1 1

1 3 4 5

18 9 9 13 9 15 -6 7 12 14 -2 4 3 18 -15 1

RESULTS

Scottish Conference Men’s 1A Edinburgh 1 Stirling1 Heriot-Watt 1 Aberdeen 1 Glasgow 1

P W D L F A Df Pt 5 0 2 24 16 8 15

7 8 7 4 7

4 4 3 1

1 0 0 1

3 3 4 5

27 21 6 19 18 1 19 27 -8 17 24 -7

13 12 9 4

Aberdeen 1 26/11/08 Aberdeen 1

vs

Edinburgh 1

8 6 7 5 6

6 2 2 1 1

2 2 2 1 1

0 2 3 3 4

P W D L F A Df Pt

37 8 29 20

Aberdeen 1

6 5 0 1

160

11 15 -4 12 19 -7 6 13 -7 7 18 -11

Stirling 1

6 4 0 2

184 103

8 8 4 4

96 64 15 6

9

Edinburgh 1 5 3 0 2 109 Dundee 1 5 1 0 4 66

103

6

9

151

-65 3

St Andews 1 4 0 0 4 33

115

-82 0

FIXTURES 2 - 4 Heriot-Watt 1 3-2

Edinburgh 1

Scottish Conference Men’s 2A

Scottish Conference Men’s 2A P W D L F A Df Pt

3 2 3 2 4

1 1 1 1 0

2 1 1 0 2

0 0 1 1 2

4 3 6 4 4

2 2 7 4 6

RESULTS 26/11/08 Edinburgh 2

Scottish Conference Men’s 1A

P W D L F A Df Pt

Edinburgh 1 Glasgow 1 Glasgow Cal1 Strathclyde 1 Edinburgh 2

19/11/08

4 – 3 Edinburgh 1 2 - 2 Heriot-Watt 1

14/01/08

Edinburgh 2 Strathclyde 1 Aberdeen 1 Dundee 1 Edinburgh 3

Scottish Conference Women’s 1A

RESULTS

FIXTURES Heriot-Watt 1

RUGBY

RESULTS

26/11/08 Glasgow 1 Rob. Gordon 1

WOMEN’S HOCKEY

1 – 1 Aberdeen 1

2 1 -1 0 -2

5 4 4 3 2

26/11/08 Strathclyde 1 04/12/08 Edinburgh 1

2 2 0 0 3 2 0 1 3 2 0 1 3 1 0 2 3 0 0 3

7 12 10 8 1

1 7 7 5 17

6 5 3 3 -16

6 6 6 3 0

GET THE LATEST RESULTS ONLINE JOURNAL-ONLINE.CO.UK

Edinburgh 1

3-3

Glasgow Cal 1

28/11/09 Dundee 1

Scottish Conference Women’s 2A

P W D L F A Df Pt

Edinburgh 2 Dundee 1 Strathclyde1 St Andrews 1 Abertay 1

1-4

3 3 3 2 3 1 4 1 3 0

0 0 1 0 1

0 1 1 3 2

11 9 7 5 2

5 4 6 13 6

6 5 1 -8 -4

P W D L F A Df Pt

Glasgow 1 Rob Gordon1 St Andrews 2 Strathclyde 1 Heriot-Watt1

3 4 3 3 3

3 3 2 0 0

0 0 0 0 0

0 1 1 3 3

47 29 84 51 70 33 34 87 36 71

RESULTS

RESULTS 26/11/08 Rob Gordon 1

9 6 4 3 1

Edinburgh 1

Scottish Conference Men’s 2A

P W D L F A Df Pt

Aberdeen 1 Dundee 1 Heriot-Watt1 Abertay 1 Rob Gordon 1

vs

0-0

Heriot-Watt 1

26/11/08 Heriot-Watt 1

10 - 17 Glasgow

18 9 33 9 27 6 -53 0 -35 0

SHORTS SNIPPETS OF SPORTS NEWS AND EVENTS FROM THE LAST FORTNIGHT HASTINGS AND CALLAM JOIN TOGETHER TO COACH YOUNGSTERS Former Lions captain, Gaving Hastings, and current Scotland squad member Dave Callam, have joined forces to launch an ambitious youth coaching initiative at Murrayfield.

The setup aims to foster rugby at grassroots level and is supported by HSBC, who will be principal sponsors of the Lions tour to South Africa next year.

Pupils from Tynecastle High were the first to be put through their paces at Murrayfield as injured number eight, Callam, oversaw the his first training session.

Hastings, who was also present to launch the festival said: "To spend time with the children today and hear how much enjoyment they get from playing the game is fantastic.

"The festivals aim to encourage children who don't necessarily have many opportunities to play rugby to get involved."

SFA LAUNCHES PILOT SCHEME TO COMBAT ABUSE The problem of abusive language and behaviour at children's football matches has reached fever pitch in Scotland. Accordingly, the SFA's South East Region Committee has launched a scheme that aims to eradiate the problem beginning in the new year.

Issues such as shouting, swearing and threatening behaviour will be tackeled head-on, according to SFA regional manager Mark Munro, who said: "We could ask clubs to supply someone to patrol the touchlines and possibly speak to any parents who get involved in this type of behaviour."

The example set by a number of bad-tempered players and crowdmembers during televised matches is believed to be a leading cause of unnacceptable behaviour at smallscale youth events.

RELIEF AT HEARTS AS PLAYERS ARE FINALLY PAID Hearts FC were able to avoid another wage crisis last week by paying players on time. However, no first team regulars have been paid their overdue bonus money as yet.

Although salaries of the six players whose payment was deferred have now been brought up to date, the club is still clearly plagued by financial concerns.

Midfielder Michael Stewart has announced that talks are underway between playing staff and owner, Vladimir Romano, over the win bonusses players are owed, after having won their last five games in a row.

However, Stewart maintains that relations between the players and the board are still perfeclty healthy and that he and his fellow stars are sure that the situation will be resolved shortly.

24 Sport

The Journal Wednesday 9 December 2008

Sport

Lack of composure sees Edinburgh’s Heineken Cup hopes vanish

hibs bring celtic’s winning streak to an end Football hibernian 2 celtic 0

Lewis Mallen lewis.mallen@journal-online.co.uk

Rugby

Edinburgh 16 london Wasps 25 Lewis Mallen lewis.mallen@journal-online.co.uk EDinburgh’s lack of composure and ill discipline saw them gift a clinical london Wasps side victory at Murrayfield.

Twenty points from Danny cipriani and a late Tom rees try secured the win for the visitors despite Edinburgh holding a one-point lead going into the final 15 minutes.

With both teams tied on four points in pool two of the heineken cup, a win for either side would make their progression to the knock-out stages more-or-less a formality. With so much at stake, Edinburgh named 12 scottish internationals in their starting line-up, while Wasps welcomed back nine players back from the England autumn test series. after his disappointing run of form for England, cipriani had a point to prove, and Edinburgh gifted the England star four first half penalties as a result of constant infringements at the breakdown.

The home side enjoyed the majority of first half possession, yet failed to convert this into points as Wasps’ blitz defense dealt comfortably with Edinburgh’s forays into their half. chris Paterson scored

the home side’s only points of the first half when Wasps were penalised for not rolling away.

Paterson’s successful kick was a well deserved reward for a period of sustained pressure on the visitors’ try line. The error-strewn first half ended at 3-12 with neither team having asserted any kind of dominance. but after the break, Paterson brought Edinburgh to within three points of the visitors with two penalties in quick succession.

The home pack had a golden opportunity to give Edinburgh the lead when a series of pick-and-drives brought them to within two metres of the try line. unfortunately the home side appeared to be suffering from white line fever which plagued them all night resulting in a knock-on only a metre from the line. coming into the final quarter, cipriani landed another easy penalty that the Edinburgh side could ill afford to concede.

To the delight of the record breaking crowd of 7,711, Edinburgh finally managed to break through the impressive Wasp defence to touch down when Mark robertson outpaced Josh lewsey to pounce on Phil godman’s cross field kick and bring his side to within a point of the visitors. Paterson added the extras giving Edinburgh the lead for the first time in the match. however, with ten minutes left, ross rennie was sin-binned for a dangerous

tackle on Paul sackey. The controversial decision made by referee christophe berdos handed the visitors the lead as the penalty was successfully converted by cipriani. godman had two chances to cancel out cipriani’s penalty, but he sent a snap drop goal well wide and failed to find the target again with a penalty attempt. The decision to give godman his first kick at goal with so much at stake will surely be scrutinised, with Paterson having a 100 per cent record in the game.

Wasps secured the hard-fought victory with a Tom rees try three minutes from time when nick De luca was caught in possession in his own 22 and consequently turned over. after several phases, rees powered over, though more than a hint of double movement was missed by the referee and his assistants. cipriani converted to complete his perfect kicking record intact giving him a personal tally of 20 points and Wasps a 16-25 victory.

Edinburgh head coach, andy robinson felt that Edinburgh deserved more from a game they controlled for long periods of time: “The reason i am frustrated is that i thought we played well in that second half and we got ourselves back into the game. i thought tactically we were smart in the way we played and the forward pack had control over the Wasp forward pack and we were playing in the right areas.”

Despite Edinburgh’s ill-discipline and

failure to capitalise on extended periods of possession, robinson was pleased with the fighting spirit the home side demonstrated in the latter stages of the game. “i’m pleased with the players. i’m pleased with the second half performance having been naïve in the first half.”

Edinburgh’s inability to remain focused and play for a full 80 minutes is becoming a recurring problem this season and was reiterated by a visibly frustrated robinson. “at 16-15 with 15 minutes to go we were the dominant side. We had to push on and win the game,” he said.

Mark robertson echoed robinson’s belief that the home side deserved the win and they believed they would seal the victory after going 16-15 up with only 15 minutes left.

“We are really gutted with the outcome, obviously. With the way we came back and controlled the game we thought we were definitely going to take it.”

Wasps’ director of rugby, ian Mcgeechan, acknowledged that the game had not been as entertaining as the fans may have hoped, however stressed that his side had done what was necessary to keep their heineken cup hopes alive. “it’s not pretty,” he said, “it’s nowhere near the quality of rugby that was being played last year, but there was a lot at stake today. We’ve just got to keep winning. We couldn’t afford to lose tonight.”

a caTasTroPhic Error by celtic keeper, artur boruc, saw John rankin’s speculative 45-yard effort give hibs the lead at Easter road after 54 minutes. colin nish doubled the hibees’ lead 15 minutes later to ensure the victory and condemn celtic to their first league defeat in 13 games. celtic, who arrived in Edinburgh without injured barry robson, left shunsuke nakamura and georgio samaras on the bench, opting to give glen loovens and cillian sheridan places in the starting line-up, while hibs welcomed alan o’brien and steven Thicot back from injury and excelt Derek riordan made way for nish. in a dull first half, celtic enjoyed a huge amount of possession and created several clear-cut chances to take the lead. however, the partnership of scott McDonald and sheridan failed to capitalise on a number of scoring opportunities.

The only clear cut chance for the home side fell to steven fletcher, who failed to find the target after rounding boruc.

Man-of-the-match, John rankin, provided the opportunity after skipping past two static celtic players and sending a longrange defence-splitting pass to the feet of fletcher.

The game and the crowd burst into action on 54 minutes when the ever-impressive rankin fired the home side into the lead from 45 yards. boruc was solely to blame when he appeared to dive out of the way, despite having plenty of time to deal with the opportunistic shot. celtic immediately sensed the urgency for a goal and brought on samaras for the completely anonymous sheridan. unfortunately for celtic, samaras continued where sheridan left off and proved to be completely ineffectual, posing no goal threat whatsoever. andreas hinkel and shaun Maloney both came close to equalising for the visitors as they continued to put the hibs backline to the test. however, hibs’ defensive tactics paid off against the run of play when nish poked home their second goal from two yards, effectively killing the game off. slick link-up play from the Easter road side saw o’brien round boruc and cut back to rankin who volleyed his shot towards nish, leaving the striker with the simple task of guiding in it into the back of the net.

The visibly dejected visitors failed to find the net in the remaining 20 minutes, resulting in their lead at the top of the sPl being cut to four points after rangers thumped hamilton 7-1 at ibrox on saturday.

The Journal Wednesday 9 December 2008

» QUOTES FROM THE BLOG GUESS WHO...XIV

Which stunning 2nd year woke up this morning with a collection of impressive hickeys covering her neck? Unfortunately for our fair friend, she’s seeing her estranged parents tomorrow. Claiming to have a skin condition just isn’t going to cut it... Good Luck!

SPOTTED

EUSA president, Adam Ramsay, putting up flyers all by himself.

What’s the matter, A? Campaign team deserted you now you’ve made it to the top? They do say it’s lonely up there, but this display of hands-on politics has got us a little worried. Let’s hope he can call the AGM to order tonight...

He was certainly having trouble getting the English Lit 2 lecture theatre to listen...

HUMP-TY DUMPTY

Clumsy Barney Lewis was seen dropping poor Marina Thompson on her head during some overambitious dancing. Marina suffered concussion, luckily new beau Eddie Wrigley was on hand to rush to her rescue. It’s been suggested that Wriggles is whipped... We think it’s an admirable act of chivalry.

NO NAOMI

ECFS model castings were subject to surprisingly low standards considering the involvement of a few semi-professions. Come on girls, it’s not a trick, it really IS left foot, right foot, left foot... If you’re clever enough to be at Edinburgh, you must be able to master this one!

RAH-RAH-RAVE

Which two New Town rude bois are throwing a ‘dinner party and rave’ tonight? Rave? Seriously?

Probably the most outrageous thing going down tonight is someone admitting they’d vote Labour...

CHECK OUT HIS GUNS!

The long anticipated moment is finally upon us. Ian Braithwaite is, even as we speak, wielding a firearm in the unprepared fields of Shropshire. We’re glad there are four large counties separating us from this fateful sport. Good luck to any nearby livestock.

GUESS WHO...VI

Which morally repugnant fresher was overheard at Peter’s Yard exclaiming “Yeah, you lull them in to a sense of security with the Gay Card and then BANG (fist meets table) they’re pregnant.” Code Red, girls!

APOLOGIES

Our apologies go out to one Mr Braithwaite who, we hear, shot like a fiend on Saturday. Beginners luck?

Commiserations to J. Cawley who had a successful first drive, but who spoke too soon when he dubbed himself ‘The Terminator’... This Londoner, it seems, has trouble with all kinds of birds... http://ggedinburgh.blogspot.com http://hrhgeorgethethird.blogspot.com http://gossipgeek.blogspot.com

Lives of the not-so-famous

News 3

In a true case of life imitating art the hit American TV Series, Gossip Girl, has spawned the latest student internet trend

Helen Walker helen.walker@journal-online.co.uk IN THESE DAYS of scandal, sex and celebrity divorce, A-listers have found near impossible to keep their showbiz antics a secret, thanks to the intrepid reporting of Perez Hilton and his ilk.

Well, now Edinburgh University students have been finding it harder than ever to keep their own indiscretions under raps, after the emergence of an anonymous blogger. In a true case of life imitating art, ggedinburgh.blogspot.com mimics the fictional gossip blog from hit TV show Gossip Girl.

As anyone familiar with the show will know, the American series takes its name from the anonymous blogger who narrates its episodes. The show follows the lives of a group of wealthy New York teenagers, who are addicted to the latest revelations from the mystery person know only as Gossip Girl.

Such has been the success of the show, that it has consistently been the most downloaded show on iTunes and has even been attributed with influencing high street fashion. Now, in what appears to be the latest student internet trend, the show has inspired students from universities such as Harvard, George Town and Edinburgh to set up copy cats of the Gossip Girl style blog.

Just as on the show, Gossip GirlEdinburgh Edition asks people to email in gossip and photos of people’s embarrassing, funny or compromising moments. The site follows the format and witty sarcastic writing style of the fictional version to the letter.

The site even entitles itself “Your one and only source into the scandalous lives of Edinburgh’s elite,” transposing Edinburgh for Manhattan in the shows famous tagline.

Since its creation in November the site has received nearly 4000 hits.

Speaking exclusively to The Journal, the site’s creator, who wished to retain her anonymity, said: “Originally the site began as a joke when a usually wellbehaved friend was caught on camera phone running across Drummond Place in his boxers.”

From there on the site began to grow as people started emailing in with photos and information.

Wishing to remain anonymous, the blogger said: “There have been quite a few problems with people not taking it well,” adding “I regret very much that it upset people, it was not intended to be malicious.” In efforts to address this issue, the site has removed a number of sensitive posts which have received

complaints.

Second year divinity student Liz Black was surprised when she found herself featured in the blog. Miss Black said that she found the site “entertaining and well written” and thought that “the social microcosm created by university and Pollock Halls was perfect for this sort of thing.“ However Miss Black called the site “morally

questionable,” adding, “I imagine if it hasn’t already seriously offended then it can’t be a long way off.”

This is not the first time that an unknown blogger has caused a controversy on campus. Last year, the anonymous blog EUSA-less caused debate when it attacked elected officials in Edinburgh’s Student Union Association. When those behind the site were

discovered to be part involved in Harry Cole’s EUSA presidency campaign, the revelation caused serious embarrassment for the candidate and the site was shut down.

With the recent discovery of the identity of Edinburgh’s Gossip Girl among some students, the site’s founder has stated that the blog’s future is now being reviewed.

4 News

The Journal Wednesday 9 December 2008

British architects to redesign Mecca Foster and Hadid enlisted to redesign pilgrimage facilities in Islam’s holiest city Sarah Clark sarah.clark@journal-online.co.uk TWO OF BRITAIN’S most successful architects have been approached to redesign the holiest city in Islam, Mecca.

Norman Foster and Zaha Hadid are two of 18 architects in line to take on the high profile, multi-billion pound redevelopment project for the 356,800m square mosque complex at the centre of the Hajj.

The scheme backed by King Abdullah ben Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia, is intended to increase the 900,000 capacity of the al Haram mosque centre to three million, making it the highest occupancy building in the world.

However, a source close to the project told the Architects’ Journal: “This study is not meant to be a competition.

“The main objective of the design studies is to enrich our discourse on how we should address the future architecture of the Haram and its growth.”

Every year more than three million people make the pilgrimage to Mecca to perform Hajj – a journey all Muslims are obliged to carry out at least once in their lifetime.

Each year Mecca suffers from severe overcrowding which has previously had fatal consequences. In 2006, more than 300 pilgrims died after a stampede.

The source added: “These design exercises, in addition to other investigations, will be subject to an exhibition to his Majesty.”

The Architects’ Journal article suggests that the proposals have been split along two tracks: London-based firm Foster & Partners has been asked to look at possibilities for the northern expansion of the Haram mosque, while Ms Hadid is one of six world-renowned architects to have been given the task of “revisiting the whole area of the central district” and reenvisioning the al-Haram mosque itself.

Lord Foster and Ms Hadid are both former winners of the Pritzker prize, considered the highest honour in the architecture world.

Lord Foster designed the iconic ‘Gherkin’ building in central London, as well as Beijing’s new airport, while Ms Hadid is currently involved in designing the Aquatic Centre for the London 2012 Olympics.

British-based engineers Adams Kara Taylor and Faber Maunsell are also purportedly under consideration for the project.

The redesigning of the Hajj facilities is part of a wider project to redevelop the infrastructure in Mecca by 2012. A report by the Saudi British Bank, one of the Kingdom’s biggest lenders, estimated earlier this year that foreign and Saudi companies are likely to invest £15 million in the scheme.

Alongside the two-phase redesign of the mosque, it is planned that residential districts and hills dotted around the city will be replaced by about 130 skyscrapers including Abraj Aj Bait Towers which, when built, is expected to be one of the world’s biggest buildings.

Pope speaks out Italy seeks justice for against technology Captain Correlli massacre German officer charged in connection with massacre of Italian unit featured in Louis de Bernières’ best-seller

Emma Blinkhorn emma.blinkhorn@journal-online.co.uk FATHER FEDERICO LOMBARDI, the director of the Vatican press office has revealed the Pope’s belief that modern technology is distracting us from our spirituality.

This is not the first time that the Vatican has spoken out about the excesses of modern technology in today’s society.

Last month, the Pope commented on how the “credit crunch” is a clear example of the frivolity of material possessions and the insignificance of wealth.

Instead, Pope Benedict XVI suggests that the public regain focus on spiritual contemplation, which he feels is currently over-shadowed by such things as mobiles and the internet. He fears that otherwise, spiritual faith in the modern world will become extinct, said Father Lombardi.

“In the age of the cell phone and the internet it is probably more difficult than before to protect silence and to nourish the interior dimension of life,” Father Lombardi told the Vatican television show Octavia Dies. “It is difficult but necessary.

“There is an interior and spiritual dimension of life that must be guarded and nourished. If it is not, it can become barren to the point of drying up and, indeed, dying,” he added.

“Today, this is a very grave threat, and it is the most irreparable misfortune.”

Nicholas Gholkar nicholas.gholkar@journal-online. co.uk

Although the Pope claims to view the modern age as threatening, the Vatican has been known to utilise the benefits of technology in an attempt to attract the younger generation of computerliterates to Catholicism.

The Vatican has made some texts from the Apostolic Vatican Library available for online viewing while, at World Youth Day celebrations in Sydney, the Pope texted prayer messages to the crowd and digital prayer walls were constructed on site.

IN A CASE of life firmly rejecting art, the German officer depicted sympathetically in Louis de Bernières’s bestselling novel Captain Correlli’s Mandolin is facing extradition for the 1943 massacre of Italian soldiers.

Italian authorities have decided that 88-year-old Otmar Muhlhauser should answer to murder charges in an Italian court. Mr Muhlhauser was the junior officer commanding the firing squad who shot General Gandin, the head of the Italian Acqui division stationed on the Greek island of Kefalonia in 1943.

The division voted to fight the Germans after Italy switched allegiance to the Allied forces following Mussolini’s resignation.

The Italians surrendered after a week of fighting. Violating the terms of the surrender, German troops opened fire upon them. In 2001 the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported that 9,436 Italians out of the 11,700 soldiers based on the island had been shot dead.

The details of the atrocity came to light following the publication of the diary of Corporal Alfred Richter of the

German Alpine Regiment. An extract from the diary reads: “In groups they are taken into nearby quarries and walled gardens just outside the village and mown down by machine guns.”

Mr Muhlhauser has previously been investigated by a German court in 1967 and 2001. Both hearings found that he was just in his actions as the Italians were considered traitors.

Mr Muhlhauser who currently lives near Munich, said in 2004: “The Italian

division was only spoken of by [German] officers as traitors. To betrayal there was only one reply: execution.”

This will not be the first time that an Italian court has had the opportunity to trial individuals involved in the Kefalonia massacre. In the 1950s, 30 soldiers were accused of taking part in the massacre; they were acquitted of all charges

by Italian ministers who did not then wish to cause frictions with the German government.

Edinburgh News 5

The Journal Wednesday 9 December 2008

Silent march for “miscarriages of justice” Lidija Liegis lidija.liegis@journal-online.co.uk in a silEnt walk for justice, around 70 people marched together down the royal Mile last week as part of a bid to attract attention for what they believe to be miscarriages of justice involving family members and friends. present were individuals are involved in some of scotland’s highest profile cases, including the family of abdelbaset ali al-Megrahi, convicted for the lockerbie bombing which killed 270 people, and corinne Mitchell, the mother of luke Mitchell who received a 20-year sentence 2005 for the murder of 14-year-old Dalkeith teenager Jodi Jones.

Ms Mitchell told the Edinburgh Evening News: “i don’t think i would have been asked to take part in the event if the organisers felt my case would overshadow the point of the walk. “i am there like everyone else to represent people who have suffered a miscarriage of justice.” the march was led and organised by swede guje borgesson, mother of annie borgesson who was found dead on a prestwick beach in 2005. police deemed her death a suicide so no criminal investigation was launched. however, unexplained bruises and unidentified Dna found on the body led Mrs borgesson to believe that her daughter was murdered. in 2007 she requested a fatal accident inquiry into the death of her daughter

Family of Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi (left) and Luke Mitchell (right) were among the protestors who marched to the Scottish Parliament

city bus fares set to rise in 2009 lothian buses confirms that journey prices will rise in the new year – the second increase in 12 months Nick Eardley nick.eardley@journal-online.co.uk EDinburgh’s largEst public transport provider, lothian buses, looks set to introduce further fare increases early next year in an attempt to beat the credit crunch.

Despite increases in april this year, with the cost of an adult single rising from £1 to £1.10, the current financial instability means that more increases are likely when changes to services come into effect on January 18th. although no revised prices have been confirmed, reports have indicated that a single adult journey may cost as much as £1.30 when the changes are introduced. iain craig, lothian buses’ managing director confirmed that the council-owned firm was taking measures to deal with current financial difficulties. he said: “i can confirm that bus fares will be going up early in the new Year – the same time we will be making changes to our services. any kind of fare increase is regrettable however the current economic and operational climate we find ourselves in means we must look at generating sufficient revenue to balance our books. the expected fare hike comes at the same time that the firm is reducing certain services in Edinburgh in a bid

to cut costs. Eleven routes were cut in October, and it is expected that there will be serious cutbacks on five more routes in January, with frequency reduced on a further nine services. at the same time, diversions caused by the laying of the tram infrastructure have caused a number of problems with city centre transport. it remains to be seen whether further developments in the tram project will cause more disruption to passengers in the city centre. it was reported in april that lothian buses was facing a £4.5 million funding shortfall as a result of rising fuel prices. however, the company has assured customers that they will attempt to keep price rises to a minimum. Mr. craig added: “the fares increase will be across all ticketing types but we are confident they will still remain as some of the lowest bus fares in the uK.”

Join The Journal while you still can www. journalonline. co.uk

but action has yet to be taken.

Mrs. borgesson told The Herald: “i feel great that there are all these people here who share the same goal to show our concern about the justice system.”

Other protestors included hugh Macleod, father of Kevin Macleod, whose body was found at Wick harbour in 1997. contrary to the police verdict of accidental death, Mr and Mrs Macleod maintain their son died due to foul play after having been beaten up on a night out. a fatal accident inquiry reached an open verdict and the family has challenged police conduct in the case ever since.

Mr Mcleod said: “the justice system needs to be changed. We hope that a lot of people here will get some form of justice. For us, that would be convicting Kevin’s perpetrators.” the family of champion cyclist Jason Mcintyre, who died after being hit by a van while training near his home in Fort William in January, were also present at the protest. Jason’s mother voiced her views on the driver of the van, who was banned from driving for 6 months and fined £500. she told the Evening News: “he should have been charged with death by dangerous driving and punished accordingly.” upon reaching the scottish parliament, protestors had hoped Justice secretary Kenny Macaskill would meet the group to accept a book of letters outlining their stories, but their hopes were not realised.

6 Academic News Celebrated neuroscientist to set the record straight

Rangers owner honoured with degree TOM BISHOP

Cameron Robinson cameron.robinson@journal-online.co.uk

Tom Evans tom.evans@journal-online.co.uk

SCOTTISH BUSINESSMAN AND entrepreneur David Murray is among noted figures to receive an honorary degree from the University of Edinburgh this year. Sir David, who received a knighthood in 2007, received his honorary degree of Doctor Honoris Causa at the McEwen Hall.

Educated in Edinburgh first at Fettes College, and later Broughton High School, Murray made his fortune in the steel industry as well as through ventures in mining and property.

His success as a businessman enabled him to purchase Rangers FC in 1989 for £6 million – the venture for which he is best known. However Murray International Holding also sponsors Scottish rugby and has previously supported

hockey, basketball and volleyball.

Alongside his various corporate ventures Murray is also the founder of The Murray Foundation, a charity to support those affected by limb loss or absence.

The charity supports both those who have suffered and their families by providing emotional support through counselling, whilst trying to help and encourage people to move forward in their new life.

Murray himself lost both legs in 1974 in a car crash and after going through the trials and trauma of coming to terms with his situation decided to set up the charity in 1996.

Awards were also presented to legal philosopher and politician Professor Sir Neil MacCormick, Matthew Macleod MacIver, Chief Executive/Registrar of the General Teaching Council for Scotland, and Steve Morrison, Chief Executive of All3Media.

Top award for ECA architecture journal

TOM BISHOP

APPARENTLY, LISTENING TO Mozart won’t make you smarter. Kicking off the University of Edinburgh Christmas lectures, award-winning Professor Sergio Della Sala looks set give these neurological myths a thorough going over.

His lecture on 10 December, entitled ‘Tall Tales about the Mind and Brain,’ will discuss popular myths about the brain – the kind which have convinced most of us that we use only ten percent of our brain.

Prof. Della Sala is the first winner of the Tom Dalyell Prize for Excellence in Engaging the Public with Science, a new award open to all University of Edinburgh staff. The lecture will coincide with the presentation of his award for having brought science to the wider public and achieving international recognition in his field.

Della Sala is Professor of Human Cognitive Neuroscience at the University, a fellow of the Royal society of Ediburgh and the editor in chief of Cortex – a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behaviour.

He has also contributed significantly to the Scottish Government’s initiative, Learning and Teaching Scotland. On the website [www.ltscotland.org.uk] a series of videos—Learning about Learning— offer insights from leading thinkers on a range of educational topics.

What Della Sala makes clear in these clips—and he is sure to do the same in his lecture—is that many of our common notions about the brain, particularly those which have been exploited for profit, are either misrepresentations or entirely unfounded. For instance, most of us know that the brain is composed of two distinct hemispheres, and, importantly, these two sides do not perform identical functions (equally well known today but in 1981 this breakthrough won Roger Sperry a Nobel prize). According to Della Sala, this discovery is the cause of one of the most widely held and exploited myths about the brain: “It’s not true that we can stimulate the right hemisphere to become better at drawing or at doing things or be more compassionate or amicable if we use the right hemisphere. This is another good example of how decades of neuroscience have been translated into a simplistic recipe sold by people who made a fortune with these recipes which are, to my astonishment, used very widely.”

Della Sala warns that such misappropriation of his science can “produce disasters in education.”

“Teachers should not use neuroscience as a theoretical basis to justify what they do. In the early ‘90s three scientists published a paper in Nature ... claiming that playing Mozart sonata improved a tiny bit, the performance on a particular task... They only observed an interesting phenomenon which has been debunked later on. This not withstanding, less scrupulous scientists created snappy labels: the ‘Mozart Effect.’

“And the message passed that if we listen to Mozart music, then we become more intelligent!”

Deconstruncting such misconceptions has, it seems, become a necessary task for the neuroscientist and has involved deploying real scientific insight to address a wider public. Della Sala’s lecture (6pm at the George Square Lecture Theatre) will take to task the so-called neuromyths that abound in modern thinking.

The Journal Wednesday 9 December 2008

ECA’s reknowned architecture journal Open Space takes Landscape Institute gong

Philip Close philip.close@journal-online.co.uk THEY DESIGN, THEY modify and they manage the world around us. Our cities, our waterways, our space. Two weeks ago the crème de la crème of landscape architects were recognized in the Landscape Institute’s biennial awards.

The Landscape Institute is the UK’s chartered body for landscape architects, planners and scientists, a prestigious organisation founded in 1929.The awards seek to identify “outstanding

examples of work” in both improving and protecting the British landscape.

ECA publication Open Space: People Space, from the Open Space research centre was handed the prestigious research award for its unusual investigation into social interaction with the environment, particularly the ways in which our environment can provide for our health and wellbeing in the modern age. The groundbreaking book, edited by Catharine Ward Thompson and Penny Travlou—both part of the Open Space research team—covers a range of topics from design to policy in

its 220 pages. The conclusions reached in the book recommend innovation and creativity in meeting future challenges, such as access for all to our great outdoors.

Subjects broached include exploration of “identity, space and social exclusion,” healing gardens for those with Alzheimer’s, and effects on children the outdoors may have. Open Space, then, is certainly not your typical eco-group.

Anna Orme of Open Space research centre said: “Open Space are pleased that the importance of our research has been recognized, and given a wider

audience.” A wider audience indeed: the group is currently working on projects for a host of clients including the Scottish Government and the Forestry Commission. Seven years after its creation, Open Space is helping shape our world.

Also recognized at the award ceremony was John Stuart Murray, Head of ECA’s Landscape Architecture School.

John was made a Fellow of the Institute, a highly coveted position and one which will help ECA cement its worldclass position in teaching, training and research.

Student News 7

The Journal Wednesday 9 December 2008

Compulsory ID cards almost a reality International students must report to government centre to surrender details Matthew Moore matthew.moore@journal-online.co.uk The governmenT has rolled out phase one of its identity cards initiative, further tightening the visa rules for international students coming to study in the UK. The measures mean that students arriving from outside the eU will be required to have their biometric details recorded before being issued an identity card, for a fee of £30. according to the UK Borders agency the scheme will “help keep our borders strong, and will provide additional protection against illegal immigration and against illegal employment.” however, the new rules have been criticised by a host of bodies, including the national Union of students (nUs).

President Wes streeting warned that foreign students could be alienated by the measures.

“By singling out international students from their peers with biometric

identity cards, a group already at risk of stigmatisation will be indelibly marked as different,” he said. streeting added: “The attractiveness of UK higher education to students from other countries should not be put at risk by these onerous and costly procedures that implicitly treat them with suspicion.” as of 25 november, new students and students renewing an existing visa will have to have their finger print and photographs taken at one of the seven centres throughout the UK – in glasgow, Croydon, solihull, Liverpool, sheffield, Cardiff or armagh.

Universities UK (UUK) has expressed apprehension over access issues for students. Chief executive Diana Warwick said: “Universities UK has raised concerns with the UK Borders agency and the Identity and Passport service about the locations of these seven centres, as students in some parts of the UK will have to travel considerable distances to provide their details.

“We have also asked whether students will be able to book appointment times to provide their details or whether they will be issued with dates and times.

“Despite repeated requests for information on whether there will be a booking process we have not so far received this information,” mrs Warwick added.

UUK is advocating that the procedure be simplified for students in the future.

By working with the relevant agencies, they hope to make guidelines clearer and eradicate problems with long-distance travelling. “Universities UK also wants to discuss the possibility of mobile biometric collection units visiting different towns and cities to provide opportunities for relevant nationals to give their biometric details in more convenient locations,” said ms Warwick.

The plans could affect up to 300,000 students when they move to phase two, next year, at which point students from within the eU will also need an identity card.

The new bill has also served to cause

scottish universities could fall behind, report warns

» TesTImOny frOm an

InTernaTIOnal sTuDenT

“I am increasingly having to keep my identity on the ‘downlow’. my visa status is being put at risk because of my refusal to submit retinal and biometric data to the national Identity register. and if I want to stay on to finish out my degree, I will have to remain out of the spotlight.

Because many students who will be overstaying their visas – rather than submitting to the nIr database – have to be fairly discreet about their residence in the UK, it is very difficult for ID-card boycotters to find each other. also, the International office is not giving straight answers on whether or not they will withhold my information, student status, and address from the immigration authorities.”

Comment from an international student who wishes to remain anonymous

friction between Westminster and holyrood, where the snP government has always opposed identity cards. speaking to The Journal, a scottish government spokesperson said: “The scheme won’t achieve its primary stated objective of making people safer or reducing the terrorist threat.

“We believe that it poses an unacceptable threat to citizens’ privacy and civil liberties.”

The scottish government also expressed “extreme concerns” about the cost of the plan, citing the recession as a reason for more careful spending of public money.

“In the current financial climate the, UK government should have better use for the vast sums of money being spent on the scheme,” said the spokesperson.

The government can impose immigration sanctions on individuals who do not comply with the application requirements and serve a maximum penalty fine of £250. The home office declined to comment for this article.

Poorer students more likely to stay near home nUs poll finds only half of students from low-income families can afford to study away from home

Gareth SaunderS

Matthew MacLeod

Megan Taylor

matt@journal-online.co.uk

megan.taylor@journal-online.co.uk

engLIsh UnIversITIes CoULD become larger and better-funded than those in the rest of the UK, a report has warned.

The study, released by the vice-chancellors’ group Universities UK (UUK), has found that since devolution english institutions have grown faster than those in scotland, Wales and northern Ireland.

While the higher education sector has continued to grow across the UK, the report found that english universities have pulled ahead in key areas, including income from research funding, student numbers and proportion of international students. since the devolution of higher education policy, fee structures across the UK have diverged. The report warns that the forthcoming introduction of deferred variable fees in england is likely to increase the gap in funding, especially when compared with scottish universities.

The complexity of different fee structures has caused the number of students selecting higher education in their home countries to increase, it concluded. however, institutions in northern Ireland, Wales and scotland all remain better than england at securing greater participation by students from lower socio-economic groups, and scotland still enjoys significantly more than its population share of UK research funding, although on a proportional basis this share is now declining while england’s rises.

The report concludes that in order to maintain consistent degree

53 Per CenT of students from poorer families are forced to choose universities closer to home, according to a study by the national Union of students (nUs).

Those from families who have manual jobs in socio-economic classes D and e were found most likely to study at home due to financial hardship.

The findings come as part of a poll conducted by the nUs in association with hsBC. 3,135 undergraduates at 146 universities and colleges across the UK were surveyed.

Backing the findings of the study, nUs president Wes streeting said: “Fees and spiralling living costs are forcing those from poorer backgrounds to choose a university close to home.” out of the students whose families have professional jobs in socio-economic class a, only 22 per cent made the decision to live at home.

The survey, which has been named the “first major study into the student experience” focussed on all aspects of student life, from choosing a course and university in the first place, to accommodation, student employment and general welfare issues.

With a government-led review on the third year of tuition fees expected

Scottish universities like St Andrews (above) are at risk of falling behind standards across the UK, it is necessary for authorities to give greater consideration to all parts of the UK when policy decisions relating to higher education are made.

The report has also called for continued efforts to increase collaboration between higher education authorities to develop a fairer, UK-wide system for obtaining research funding.

UUK president Professor rick Trainor said: “Devolution has had an impact on public policy in almost every sector, and higher education is no exception. “although there have not been extreme variations in higher education policy across the devolved administrations, devolution has still led to a range of anomalies, discrepancies and complexities for the sector.

“For students, such complexities have made decisions about where to study much harder than formerly.”

The report’s author, alan Trench of the University of edinburgh’s school of Law, said: “It has been easy to overestimate the extent to which devolution has meant the best of both worlds up to now – both autonomy and a shared higher education system.

“That probably benefits all parties, but if it’s to continue then it’s important for the bodies responsible for england to remember to take account of the concerns of the devolved governments and funding agencies. “my work found that they had been overlooked on several occasions, and making sure that governments work effectively together is essential if the present situation is to continue.”

later in 2009 there are fears that the current cap of £3145 could be lifted.

This, claims the nUs, would mean many students barely hovering above the poverty line would be forced into even greater financial difficulties and prospective students would be deterred from applying at all. speaking to The Journal, mr streeting explained how the study might convince ministers that lifting the cap is the wrong decision. he said: “This report gives us an unprecedented insight into the experiences and concerns of students.

“We look forward to working with tutors, institutions and the government to address the issues raised by students through this survey.

“This has to be taken into account in the forthcoming review of higher education funding. We cannot allow fees to continue to exacerbate this problem.”

The survey also found that students underestimated the cost of living by £450 on average each year. government grants and bursaries added to the confusion as 42 per cent of students initially thought they were entitled to these benefits when in fact only 28 per cent were eligible.

Despite the largely negative feedback from the survey, 85 per cent of students claimed not to regret their decision to go to University.

On the web...

The JourNAL Archive get back issues of The Journal with our new archive reader

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8 Student Politics

The Journal Wednesday 9 December 2008

EUSA launches student teaching award

ESCA initiatives net six figures for charity

Rebecca Sibbett

Adam Carrington

rebecca.sibbett@journal-online.co.uk EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ Association (EUSA) officially launched their Teaching Awards Scheme last week.

The new initiative aims to recognise and reward good teaching within the university and by doing so hopes to address the imbalance of incentives between research and teaching.

Coming soon after the poor results in the 2008 National Students Survey (NSS) the scheme hopes to address the discontent expressed by Edinburgh students by giving them the opportunity to show just how important good quality teaching is to students.

Robert Jenkin, EUSA Teaching and Learning Convener told The Journal, BIG?BUBBLES?A PDF

“One aim is to show the university, and the Scottish Government, that students do appreciate the hard work and diligence of teachers. “Although there are currently some small-scale projects ongoing we think that there needs to be a systematic change so that teaching is given equal parity to research in terms of recognition and reward for staff. “We don’t believe teaching and research are mutually exclusive activities; we do feel that they can work well together to the benefit of Edinburgh’s students so that when they leave here they have the most up-to-date knowledge and information from their subjects.�

Voting using an online system, students can nominate lecturers, tutors and dissertation supervisors for awards covering a range of teaching

areas. There are ten categories which range from those that apply to individual lecturers, such as overall high performer, and detailed useful feedback, to whole schools.

The voting process will close at the end of semester two, allowing all staff who have taught during the academic year to be eligible for nomination.

The nominees will be judged by a panel of students which will include the EUSA vice president (academic affairs), the teaching and learning convener and one school representative from each of the three Colleges: Humanities and Social Science, Science and Engineering, and Medicine and Veterinary Medicine.

The scheme has been welcomed by academics at the university, a number of whom attended the launch to show their support.

FRIDAY 19th December

The Big Cheese Christmas Bubble Party

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9

adam.carrington@journal-online.co.uk EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY HAS raised almost ÂŁ100,000 for charity over the past year, it has emerged.

Figures seen by The Journal show that Edinburgh Student Charities Appeal (ESCA) at the University of Edinburgh received donations totalling £97,734 from September 2007 to August 2008, matching the previous year’s high figure.

ESCA’s vice-chairman, Mark Ballard said: “In all, ESCA has had an extremely successful year and has continued the charity’s growth from 2003. Over ÂŁ97,000 has been raised through ESCA in support of a wide range of Charities locally, nationally and internationally. “We have seen the number of student committee members increase and the introduction of a variety of new events as well as the continuation of other annual events.â€?

The University of Edinburgh is, in fact, Scotland’s highest earning charity, with an income of £438 million per year.

ESCA receives funding from the university but runs events independently throughout the year to raise money for greater causes such as breast cancer and meningitis.

The Meadows Marathon in March was ESCA’s biggest success: attracting 800 participants to run for charity in the city’s famous park. This event alone raised ÂŁ40,000 for other charities, almost half of the ESCA’s total donations for the year. Mr Ballard described the Meadows Marathon as an “incredible success.â€?

In addition, ESCA also ran activities such as club nights and parachute jumps. The sponsored hitchhike to Paris was another big success raising almost ÂŁ20,000.

ESCA were also behind the Red Cross Appeal in May 2008 in which they raised ÂŁ14,000 in one week to help the victims of the Chinese earthquake.

Mr Ballard commented: “The Chinese Earthquake in May 2008 had an impact worldwide and ESCA helped a large group of Chinese students at Edinburgh university and beyond stage a week of street collecting for the Red Cross Chinese Earthquake Appeal. The response from the Edinburgh public was incredible.�

Iris Chang, a 2nd year engineering student said: “It’s really good they’ve managed to raise that amount of money.

It must take a lot of effort and work!�

Others were less supportive. Adam Bergin, a student at Napier University was one of many students who chose not to participate in any of ESCA’s events. “I’m not sure who to trust in this day and age,� he explained. “How do I know that the money will actually get to where I want it to go?�

Despite this criticism from some corners, ESCA are happy to have matched the previous year’s total as the credit crunch has hit charities hardest. On average, donations to major charities have fallen by 25 per cent.

However, ESCA remain optimistic about the future: “All those involved can be very proud of the year we’ve had and we look forward to ESCA’s continued advancement and success.�

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THE BIG CHEESE IS MOVING TO THE FRIDAY FOR END OF TERM AND TO CELEBRATE WE ARE BRING THE BUBBLY.......WELL THE BUBBLE MACHINE!!!

+

COME IN A SANTA COSTUME BEFORE 11PM AND GET IN FREE!

SARAH SALEH

eusa.ed.ac.uk

Edinburgh University Students’ Association is a Registered Scottish Charity (No.SCO15800)

ÂŁ3 BEFORE MIDNIGHT/ ÂŁ4 AFTER 9PM - 3AM

National Politics 9

The Journal Wednesday 9 December 2008

Scotland take control of costal waters JoAnA GAfeirA

one in five mSPs keep it in the family accusations of nepotism in holyrood as report reveals 25 mSPs employ family members Ross Melton ross.melton@journal-online.co.uk

Ross Melton ross.melton@journal-online.co.uk In a month which saw the prime minister, Gordon Brown attempt to drag strategic planning control on land back to Westminster, it has emerged that holyrood is to be granted control over Scotland’s seas. the joint ministerial committee—a liaison between the two parliaments— has outlined plans for two marine bills to extend Scotland’s nautical control from the current 12 nautical miles to 200 nautical miles – the limit of the international

border. holyrood will gain full responsibility over planning and conservation in Scottish seas, including the right to designate marine conservation sites and several oilfields, but will continue to form a coherent national policy with Westminster. the change has been praised across party lines with Richard Lochead, the SnP Enviroment Secretary highlighting the sustainable energy potential of our seas: “this is excellent news for Scotland and for Scotland’s economy. “our seas offer us vast amounts of wave, tidal and offshore wind power potential and many communities on the

coast depend on fishing and fish farming, which together account for 60 per cent of all our food exports, valued at £422m.

“We will now have the ability to manage these activities as a whole in all the waters around Scotland, not just the in-shore.” he added: “the Scottish Government will bring forward a marine bill in the spring that will provide a sustainable future for our waters, that will also represent the various sectors that depend on them.”

Welcoming the announcement, Scottish Fishermen’s Federation chief executive, Bertie armstrong, said: “For

Scotland, this aligns the responsibility for specific practical matters of marine nature conservation with that for fisheries management - which was always out to 200 miles.”

Liberal Democrat fisheries spokesperson Liam mcarthur said: “this is a sensible arrangement that paves the way for marine nature conservation and fisheries management to be properly aligned.”

In november, the UK government raised the prospect of reclaiming planning authority over decisions regarding nuclear power development in Scotland, prompting a furious response in nationalist circles.

UK must join the Euro, says hong Kong chief AdAm BAker

Kevin Guyan kevin.guyan@journal-online.co.uk honG KonG’S chIEF executive has warned the United Kingdom over the dangers of not adopting the European single currency.

Donald tsang, an expert in asian finance with strong ties to Beijing, revealed his concerns during an interview with The Daily Telegraph. During the interview, mr tsang identified the need for states to adapt to the realities of the current economic situation and expressed a lack of faith in the future sustainability of small currencies. mr tsang identified the importance of the euro and its place within the European Union, saying: “the euro is a good move. People have to abide by the maastricht criteria, so it imposes discipline. “other options are less palatable if you really want to become a big strong economic union. We have to mark our time. “one thing is clear, this is not something you can impose. You have to work for it, with the market, and back it up with a solid banking system,” he added. mr tsang’s comments suggest deeper worries over the future economic relationship between china and the UK. any reluctance by asian economies to buy UK treasury debt may stifle

the potential for future growth. the British government opted not to switch to the single European currency in 2000, and plans to evaluate the situation have largely been forgotten, with the current economic crisis usurping the issue from the treasury’s agenda. this side of the border, the Scottish national Party have also revealed little on their stance towards the euro. the party’s 2004 European Parliament manifesto outlined their preference for the euro over the sterling should Scotland achieve independendence and providing the public support the move in a referendum. this policy goes against the recent paper released by cross-party businessorientated think tank Reform Scotland.

In the paper, Professor Lawrence White, of the University of missouri-St Louis, explains that Scotland would be wiser to remain with sterling rather than adopting the euro.

Professor White, who specialises in the Scottish banking system, argues that an independent Scotland would have a far weaker relationship with the European central Bank than with the Bank of England. the high level of exports between Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom—four times the amount between Scotland and the Eurozone—is also reason for an independent Scotland to remain with the pound sterling.

nEaRLY onE In five mSPs are employing family members on their personal staff, according to a new accountability register published last week. the register, instigated by calls for greater accountability, publishes details of mSP staff hirings and the expenditure of their £56,650 employment allowance. the revelation that 25 mSPs, including nicola Sturgeon, employ family members as either secretaries or researchers has prompted concerns over nepotism within holyrood. the deputy first minister is not alone, with 11 mSPs each from the SnP and Labour parties, two conservatives and one Liberal democrat employing a family member. only one mSP, Labour’s michael mcmahon, employs two members of his family. mr mcmahon, defended himself from accusations of nepotism, noting that mSPs required people they could trust to work for them. on employing both his wife and daughter he said: “It was all open and above board, and nothing has ever been hidden on this subject. Frankly one of the reasons why family are employed is because few other people would work so hard for so little money.”

Patrick harvie, Green mSP for Glasgow, criticised his fellow members who employ spouses and family, while noting that his party has never employed family members. he said that his party “wouldn’t support an outright ban, but it’s hardly something that builds confidence in the Scottish parliament.” as a response to January’s controversy surrounding conservative mP Derek conway’s employment of his son Freddie, mSPs have been required to register the family members they employ since august. mr conway paid his son nearly £40,000 over three years in public money for “research.” the Westminster committee on standards and privileges investigated mr conway’s employment records, finding “no record” of any work performed by his son. It highlighted the fact that Freddie was a full time student at newcastle University and rarely travelled to Westminster. mr conway was stripped of his Whip and intends to stand down from his seat at the next election. alex Salmond, while defending his party members, has highlighted the fact that mPs are not subject to a similar register of family employees, noting that “yet again, the Scottish parliament leads the way in openness and accountability.”