BE CREATIVE. BE CONTROVERSIAL. BE CURIOUS. BUT CRUCIALLY, BE INFORMED
In-Debate May/June 2011
Issue 8
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TH lus E HE FOO W AL D in TH DO BO CT : X! OR
Righteous Kill or Unjust Execution?
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A note from the Editor AFTER two wars, thousands of deaths and billions of dollars spent, May 2nd 2011 will go down in history as the day the United States finally got their man Osama Bin Laden. Wanted “dead or alive” it seems, however, was never an option as the Al Qaeda chief - who had managed to evade capture for almost 10 years - was killed in a raid that took little over 20 minutes. The White House claim the Navy SEALs strike was a successful military op, while others less gung-ho question why was an unarmed man shot at point-blank range rather than made to stand trial for his crimes. The debate rages on, which is why in this month’s In-Debate we aim to explore the real reasons behind his assassination. Another issue I feel is particularly prevalent this month is the media storm surrounding outing public figures who are hiding behind gagging orders. Often these “naughty” celebrities are the victims of their own secrecy as the public curiosity is intensified by the super-injunction. What do Nick Clegg and FIFA have in common? The answer is no a joke, although many would argue they are, both have had a terrible month in which they have been accused of ineptness and duplicity. To reflect this, In-Debate examines the case for change: Should Nick Clegg resign and should football undergo sweeping reforms?
Robert Lyons In-Debate Editor
The debate starts here... www.in-debate.com
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Contents
May/June ‘11
Issue 8
5
9 WIN: The Food Doctor Health Box!
14
19
31
THIS MONTH’S DEBATES
IN- ADDITION
5
12 Fantasic Facts
Shhhhhh... Don’t Tell Anyone
Should We Allow Super-Injunctions?
28 Chessie’s London Treats 29 It’s no Debate
9
The Enemy Hunted
Was It Right To Kill Bin Laden?
30 Crosswords & Sudukos 30 Let’s Talk 31 This month’s competition
14 An Embarassed Liberal Should Nick Clegg Go?
IN-LIST 23 brain Food Listings
19 A Game In Disrepute Is It Time To Clean Up Football?
25 Mind Fuel Listings 26 Inspirational Listings 27 IQ2 Debates
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It’s a little known fact that... There have been roughly 80 injunctions imposed since 2006. 31 of these involved extra marital affairs. 15 have been requested by sports personalities. 12 have been requested by stage and screen stars. Seven have been requested by women and the rest by men. Visits to Twitter increased by 14% on 9th May, when a Tweeter speculated on those who had injunctions. This accounted for 0.49% of total internet visits that day. In one week (16th - 22nd May) there were over 500 unique search term variations which included the word ‘super injunction’ typed into Google, Bing or Yahoo!.
N ews
Should we allow SuperInjunctions? By Nimmi Maghera-Rakhra
H
EADLINES of late have been dominated by news of the rich and famous being granted gagging orders – in most cases to protect their identities from being revealed in so-called “kiss and tells”. The use and ease of obtaining super-injunctions has triggered a flurry of criticism that has led to MPs using parliamentary privileges to name certain participants involved. Most recently, Lib Dem MP John Hemming outed Ryan Giggs over alleged his affair with Imogen Thomas. There are said to be currently between 30 to 40 injunctions in place protecting details about
the private lives of public figures and the media argue that these blanket bans restrict their right to freedom of speech. Twitter has been ablaze with gossip of who did what and even David Cameron has waded into the argument, calling for Parliament to address the issue. But many celebrities, such as actor Hugh Grant, argue in favour of the injunctions, because they give stars some level of privacy. So just how much access should we have to the lives of the rich and famous? And should super-injunctions and their privacy come at the cost of restricting what is in the public’s interest to know? >> I n -D ebate / 5
Should we allow Super-Injunctions?
1
Everyone has the right to privacy
FOR
PUBLIC and private lives should remain separate. Just because someone is famous for the job they do, it does not mean that you should get access to all aspects of their life. Although there is no formal privacy law in the UK, we are subject to Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights which stipulates the right to a private and family life. TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson used his newspaper column to say he was in favour of injunctions. “It is said only the rich and famous can afford a gagging order. But only the rich and famous ever need one,” he wrote. Actor Hugh Grant, also defends the court’s right to grant injunctions. “Men are doing it to protect their privacy,” he said on BBC’s Newsnight. He added: “I have been very pleased with this whole injunction business…it’s fabulous that people can go to a judge and stop these cases being printed.” As Ken Clarke put it on Radio 5 Live: “Just because you’re good at tennis why is your sex life suddenly public property.”
2
It’s the law of the land
IF an injunction has been made, then a British judge has ruled in its favour because they believe it is in the best interest of the star and often their family that the allegation not to be printed. Therefore, we should respect the judge’s decision and the law of the land. There needs to be checks and balances in regards to the freedom of the Press, so they don’t step over the line in terms of respecting someone’s right to privacy - and it is the job of super-injunctions to provide this. The media often cites freedom of speech as the reason that these gagging orders should not be made, but often they hide behind this for the sake of shameless gossip and a desire to increase sales, not for the greater good. As well as this, many stars have paid upwards of £50,000 of their hard earned cash to keep their name under wraps.
3
It protects innocent family and friends
IF details about the rich and famous and their wrongdoings are published it affects more than just them, but also their families, who are
6 / I n - D ebate
often innocent parties, and could suffer as a consequence. For example, following Ryan Giggs’s alleged affair being exposed his wife Stacey has had to fend off the press harassment and their two young children may now have to endure bullying at school as a result. The fallout of the affair has even affected Imogen Thomas’s safety as she has received death threats from the public.
4
They prevent ‘kiss and tell’ stories for money
5
Injunctions protect role model status
IF injunctions were not in force it could further provoke deceitful people to entrap public figures with sex and affection, just so they can sell the story for a fast buck. Matthew Norman states the free speech argument made by tabloids is spurious and selfserving as they have a compelling commercial interest in turning over celebs. Revelations can often spark a bidding war between competing media vying to get the exclusive. This gives young impressionable teenagers the idea that this is the best way to make lots of money fast - in effect being a type of occupation to aspire to - and also earn themselves some form of celebrity status. For example, Rebecca Loos, who claims to have had a relationship with married footballer David Beckham, has gone from a personal assistant to media personality, appearing on various reality TV shows and on the cover of lads’ magazines since she made the allegations.
GAGGING orders help to protect the reputation of the person in question and prevent them from being the subject of blackmail by a former spurned lover. If they were to be named, they could often lose their livelihood due to the negative press and, more importantly, provide a bad role model for those who look up to them. So, in a way, super-injunctions help to protect the young and impressionable. We already live in a highly sexualised culture, with children being exposed to sexual imagery and lyrics in songs and on TV on a daily basis. If sordid details about affairs were to be revealed, then it could have a further negative influence and lead them to believe that this kind of behaviour is both “normal” and acceptable.
News / In-Debate
THE rich and famous often use the media to their own advantage – plugging their latest film, TV show, album, or the brands they endorse. Yet when they do something wrong, they argue that they want privacy. These high profile figures should know they will attract media attention, especially if they have used the Press to mould their image and boost their earning power, if they get found misbehaving. For example, is it not in the public interest to know that in the lead up to the collapse of the Royal Bank Scotland, which led to billions of taxpayers money going to bail them out, that its boss Sir Fred Goodwin was having an affair with a senior colleague?
2
Wealth should not buy anonymity
IT seems that as long as you have plenty of money, you can buy anonymity. But the same often isn’t the case for the other party involved. For example, Big Brother star Imogen Thomas, 28, named in an injunction for having an alleged affair with Ryan Giggs, says she is horrified her name has been revealed, just because she didn’t have £50,000 to get an injunction. “I didn’t want my name to be out there in the public domain like this,” she said on ITV’s This Morning. Helen Wood, whose affair with an actor is currently being gagged by a court order, and who is said to have slept with footballer Wayne Rooney, has slammed the system for failing to protect her privacy. She said: “If you have got the money, you can protect your name, you can do what the hell you like.”
3
Names are often revealed abroad anyway
OFTEN within minutes of a gagging order being revealed, internet forums are red hot with people guessing who the celebrity is. And, as many of the gagging orders are only subject to UK law, media outlets based abroad, such as Twitter, can reveal their identities without fear of reprisal. This is exactly what happened when Piers Morgan and Boy Geoge among others revealed on Twitter that Ryan Giggs was the footballer at the
centre of the super injunction storm. “This makes a mockery of the court rulings,” said MP Jeremy Hunt. Lib Dem MP John Hemming, has called the gagging orders “absurd” and that they “ignore the way modern communication works”. And Conservative MP Louise Bagshawe, censored on BBC’s Have I Got News For You after speaking about an injunction, called the social networking messages a “grassroots protest”.
4
It restricts press freedoms and accountabilty
5
Guessing games can hurt the wrong people
GAGGING orders restrict the Press and their right to free speech - which directly contradicts Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights; freedom of expression. Super injunctions, in particular, forbid the media from even reporting of their existence. High profile figures act as role models for young, impressionable children and if they are not held to account for their actions, then it just promotes the notion that their wrongful behaviour is OK. It is not just press freedoms that injunctions breach, but also the constitutional requirement of open justice claims Geoffrey Robertson QC.
AGAINST
1
Public figures should expect interest
JUST a few weeks ago, Jemima Khan took to Twitter and spoke of her “bloody nightmare” after allegations were published on the site of her intimate relationship with Jeremy Clarkson. She wrote: “I hope the people who made this up realise that my sons will be bullied at school because of it. Plus I’m getting vile hate Tweets.” Similarly, TV presenter Gabby Logan has blamed super injunctions for tarnishing the reputation of innocent people. The mother-oftwo, who was falsely linked to former footballer Alan Shearer, is in fact happily married to former Scottish rugby international Kenny Logan. She said: “My name was brought into this mess with someone else accusing me of something which is clearly not true, but it is happening because super injunctions are in place and people are trying to guess who is involved.” David Aaronovitch highlights this problem in The Times, he says gagging orders don’t stop gossipmongers they make them more curious.
I n -D ebate / 7
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It’s a little known fact that... Osama bin Laden was born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on March 10th, 1957. Osama bin Laden was born into a rich family. His father had 50 children and Osama was the 17th son. In 2002 bin Laden had married four women and fathered roughly 25 children. The word ‘bin’ in Osama’s name means ‘son of’. His father was however called Mohammed, but he chose to be ‘son of Laden’. Navy SEAL stands for Sea, Air and Land because they’re trained to handle themselves equally well in all these situations. Budweiser is the nickname for the SEAL Trident because of the resemblance of the Eagle on the badge to that on the can of Budweiser beer.
NEWS
Was it right to assassinate bin Laden? By Jules Norton Selzer
I
N THE aftermath of the September 11th, 2001, attacks, President George W. Bush famously declared his mission to find the world’s most wanted terrorist, Osama bin Laden, “dead or alive”. Well after 10 years, two wars and immeasurable amounts of money spent, the U.S. finally got their man via a Navy SEALs strike on his secret compound in Pakistan. However, while the news of the Al Qaeda leader’s death may have sparked celebrations on the street of New York and approval from leaders around the world, many observers are questioning the moral and legal justification for what has been described as an extra-judicial killing.
Should President Obama not be applauded for an effective military operation that has eliminated the world’s worst tyrant and dealt a hammer blow to his followers? Some claim there was no other option, from the strike we gained valuable intelligence on terrorist operations and spared a trial that would have gone on forever and posed a serious security risk. Irregardless, though, there are clear doubts about the legality of the assassination. Surely the rule of law and a right to a fair trial applies to all, no matter who the defendant is. Can an assassination ever be seen as morally justifiable or should this be regarded as a “special case”? >> I N -D E BAT E / 9
Was it right to assassinate bin Laden?
1
We had to act quickly
SURELY all decent, democratic people should rejoice that the leader of a terrorist organisation whose sole purpose is to destroy our way of living has been eliminated. As Daily Mail columnist Melanie Phillips argues, it took a huge amount of bravery from an unpopular President to authorize what was an extremely risky operation. Killing Osama bin Laden is not an unethical murder – it is the price terrorists who declare war and maim thousands of innocent civilians must expect to pay. Daniel Hannah says in his Telegraph blog that it might have taken 10 years, but “we have achieved what we set out to do when troops entered Afghanistan – to capture or kill Osama bin Laden”. For the families who’ve had loved ones killed over the last 10 ten years in terror attacks, pontificating about the rights and wrongs fall on deaf ears.
2
It is legal under international law
FOR
AS highlighted by the former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, legally speaking the United States had every right to conduct the unilateral mission to kill bin Laden. International law allows for the murder of an enemy combatant in times of war. Allowing for the assumptions that bin Laden was neither attempting to surrender nor in military custody, the rules of war apply. This legal justification was validated by Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, a country not exactly enthusiastic about incursions into other country’s sovereignty.“The position is very simple. After September 11, the Security Council adopted a resolution recognising the U.S. right to self-defence. That right does not presume any limits.”
3
A trial would have been practically impossible
WHILE his assassination does raise some pertinent moral questions, it is instructive to think about the alternative options. In his Daily Telegraph column, Boris Johnson emphasises that considering the apparent complicity of the Pakistani secret service in hiding him, he could hardly be put on trial in Pakistan. The U.S. does not recognise the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, so they couldn’t hold a trial in The Hague. A secret trial would have
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rightly been deemed suspicious, while an open trial in New York would be counter-productive. The precedent set by the Slobadan Milosevic trial is revealing. It was a five-year drawn out spectacle that was characterised by confusion and delays. This scenario for bin Laden would have become a farcical drama. It would give him a platform for his progaganda and a focal point of international attention that would be lengthy, expensive and unlikely to provide justice.
4
Abnormal circumstances dictate
5
The least risky option
THE question of what is “right” entails a practical as well as an ethical consideration. It is difficult to apply “normal” principles to situations like this which are so far removed from the usual. Osama bin Laden was one of a few individuals who was hated by everyone outside his sphere of influence. In practice, given a choice, how many nations would say that having him alive was an option? Apart from Pakistan’s relatively muted misgivings about U.S. infringement on its (already heavily violated) sovereignty, no countries have spoken out against the assassination. While some question the demonstrable effect that bin Laden’s death will actually have on the fight against terrorism, the “motherload” of intelligence that U.S. Navy Seals secured from his compound testifies to the crucial role the raid will play in stopping future terrorist attacks.
THE arguments for keeping bin Laden alive rest on the naïve presupposition that we live in some kind of ideal, utopian world. Christof Heyns, the UN’s independent investigator on extra-judicial killings, said as much: “While capturing suspects is always preferable if possible, it has to be accepted that in some cases, this is not a realistic option”. Having chased him for 10 years across Afghanistan, it would have been political suicide if it became public knowledge that President Barack Obama had allowed bin Laden to escape when he had the chance to kill him. While to bomb the compound from afar would have been seen as a more aggressive act, resulting in collateral damage to innocent people. Crucially, such an attack would also not offer conclusive proof of his death. A surgical attack by special forces, was the only viable military option available.
News / In-Debate
TARGETED killings are a violation of international law. Article 23b of The Hague regulations prohibits “assassination, proscription or outlawry of an enemy”, as well as offering a reward for an enemy “dead or alive”. As the President of Pakistan made it clear that he did not authorize the action, the killing was carried out by the use of force against the territorial integrity of a foreign state. Extra-judicial executions violate the right to life and it is hard to believe that the U.S. had “no other option” but to kill Osama bin Laden especially as he was unarmed. While families of 9/11 victims may rejoice at his death, in a democratic legal system it is for the courts to decide punishment.
2
The right to a fair trial is paramount
THE argument against the killing of bin Laden is simple: everyone deserves a fair trial in a court of law – no matter how distasteful the individual. This is a cornerstone principle in Western societies that should never be compromised. A statement from the family of Osama Bin Laden in the New York Times argued: “The USA has set a very different example whereby the right to a fair trial, and presumption of innocence until proven guilty, by a court of law has been sacrificed.” An arbitrary killing of an unarmed man is not a solution. Alex Reinhart, an esteemed U.S. academic, asks how can it “serve justice” to espouse these double standards, where we hunt down our enemies and slay them rather than capture them and put them on trial? Since when do our values permit retribution for crimes without worrying about due process?
3
This could be the start of a slippery slope
NEW and disturbing standards have been set by America’s actions in Pakistan. Firstly, its violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty shows scant regard for other countries’ borders. And, perhaps, more significant is the precedent it sets on extra-judicial killings. Israel has faced much contempt over its willingness to conduct targeted assassinations. America’s actions appear
to legitimize what The Independent columnist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown termed “cowboy shootings”. Some commentators call this a “special case”, but that is a subjective term ripe for manipulation. Once the precedent for extra-judicial killing is entrenched, what is to stop Western allies targeting other undesirable figures around the world? Attempts to justify it as self-defense or in the interest of national security are fanciful illusions that lead to a slippery slope in international law.
4
His killing increases the threat of terrorism
5
Botched operation leaves conspiracy theories open
WHILE putting bin Laden on trial was never going to appease his supporters, the clumsy operation has ensured his status as a martyr. This has exacerbated rather than diminished the threat of Islamic terrorism. A Taliban spokesman triumphantly proclaimed that the two suicide bombers who targeted a military training centre in north-west Pakistan, killing 80 civilians, was “the first of many” revenge attacks. As President Barack Obama declared the world was now a “safer and better place”, London was on high alert with Scotland Yard warning the UK was at “significant risk of attack”. Ronald Noble, the Secretary General of Interpol, warned of a “heightened terror risk” and called on the authorities in its 188 member countries to show “extra vigilance”. Clearly, these are not the signs of a safer world.
AGAINST
1
International law has been blatantly violated
IF the decision to kill Osama bin Laden was misguided, then the ensuing explanation was a disaster. The refusal to release pictures or the body meant the U.S. destroyed the proof that they had successfully killed him. The nature and circumstances of the death remain murky – the initial account, that he was armed with one of his wives acting as a human shield, was quickly recanted. By bringing him to trial in a court of law, in one stroke the U.S. would invalidate all the conspiracy theories that have been expounded. Instead, only 26% accept that the Al Qaeda chief was really killed on the night in question, and now conspiracy theories will continue to thrive.
I n -D ebate / 11
F a N t a s t i c F A C T S
Coca-Cola in China first used characters that would sound like “Coca-Cola” when spoken. Unfortunately, what they turned out to mean was “Bite the wax tadpole”.
The most common name for a goldfish is
JAWS
Your foot is the same length as your forearm.
The first word spoken on the moon.
The correct response to the Irish greeting, “Top of the morning to you,” is... “and the rest of the day to yourself.”
7-UP was created in 1929. The ‘7’ was selected because the original containers were seven ounces. ‘UP’ indicated the direction of the bubbles.
The earth is about 6,588,000,000,000,000,000 tons in weight.
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12 / In-Debate
3,000mph When glass breaks, the cracks move at speeds of up to 3,000 miles per hour.
ThIRD Charlie Chaplin once won third prize in a Charlie Chaplin look-alike contest.
The Ramses brand condom is named after the great pharaoh Ramses II who fathered over 160 children.
The bulls-eye on a dartboard must be 5 feet 8 inches off the ground.
Allodoxaphobia is the fear of opinions The word Neanderthal comes from the Neander Valley in Germany. ‘Thal’ means ‘valley’ in German.
In the 40’s, the Bich pen changed its name to Bic for fear that Americans would pronounce it ‘Bitch.’
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It’s a little known fact that... Nick Clegg is the first ever openly agnostic leader. Although his wife Miriam brings the children up as Catholic. In 2000 Clegg married Miriam González Durántez. They have three sons: Antonio, Alberto and Miguel. Clegg used to work as a trainee journalist under Christopher Hitchens in New York. Clegg was brought up bilingual, speaking fluent Dutch and English, as well as French, German and Spanish. He once starred with Helena Bonham Carter in a play about AIDS. In June 2011 Clegg became the first leader in modern political history to call for the resignation of the Speaker.
POLITICS
Should Nick Clegg go? By Jonathan Sebire
N
ICK Clegg has become one of the most toxic figures in British politics. The bile which some quarters of the electorate direct towards the hapless Deputy Prime Minister is matched only by the derision he receives from the rest. In little over a year, we have seen a shift from the Cleggmania that followed the UK’s first televised leaders debates to the birth of a genuine hate figure who was openly mocked by his own coalition cabinet colleagues when launching his new proposals for Lords reform. It’s easy to forget that Clegg once polled a 43% audience approval, a double figure lead over Cameron, but it did happen. As did the crash that
followed; the loss of David Laws, the spiked coalition agreement, the rose garden, tuition fees, AV, NHS reforms, wayward Cable and shady Huhne. All these factors combined have led to Clegg becoming anathema to the electorate and, following May’s local elections where the Lib Dems were decimated and left polling as low as 4% in a YouGov poll, now regarded as poison by many members of his own party. But should Clegg go? And should the Lib Dems force him if he won’t? Is it now time to discard the only man to bring them to power since the parties inception or is the only hope to play out the long game and hope for a 2015 resurrection? >> I n -D ebate / 15
Should Nick Clegg go?
1
Clegg is overseeing the destruction of the Lib Dems
FOR
CLEGG himself knows that the party is in trouble. His call for a new “muscular Liberalism” concedes the Liberal Democrats have become the keenest losers of the coalition. Clegg told The Independent that recent local election losses, where the party lost control of 6 councils and over 690 council seats, were a “real knock”. He said: “What we need to do is to redouble our efforts to not only explain, but show precisely the reasons the Liberal Democrats are in government so that we don’t go backwards as a country, but go forwards.” However, many Lib Dems feel they are being used as a human shield within the coalition against public anger about cuts, which will not bite fully until 2012/13. In Nottingham the Lib Dems suffered a total wipeout on the city council. Ex-council leader Gary Long said: “I’m in favour of the coalition but I think he’s run it very badly and in my view he should resign immediately.”
2
Clegg is loathed by the electorate
CLEGGMANIA has seceded into outright hatred. In the Observer, Toby Helm notes that Clegg has become unshakably tarnish by the coalition. He said: “Cartoonists depict him day in day out as ‘Clegg minor’, Cameron’s public school fag, always doing his master’s bidding.” The Lib Dems lost Sheffield council to Labour with many declaring Clegg would never be voted back into power in Sheffield. One voter told the FT: “They say he’s a Sheffielder, well he’s not.” One councillor, David Becket, told the Staffordshire Sentinel: “I found on the doorstep that most people didn’t have a problem with the Lib Dems, their main problem was with Nick Clegg.”
3
The party needs a leader ideologically disparate from the Tories
IT’S sometimes hard to spot the difference between Clegg and Cameron, even for them, as Clegg noted when his microphone was left on after a Q&A with Cameron in Nottingham last month. He quiped: [In 2015] if we keep doing this we won’t have anything to bloody disagree on in the bloody TV debates.”
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Clegg dismissed the remark as “banter” on BBC Radio Sheffield, but this off the cuff remark cuts to the nub of why he cannot lead the Lib Dems into the 2015 election. The electorate has removed all divisions between the two public-school boys much to the consternation of Lib Dem Chairman Tim Farron who told the BBC: “The party is in danger of losing its identity in the coalition with the Conservatives.”
4
Clegg is squandering what should be the making of the Lib Dems NICK Clegg’s eagerness to provide steady government and show the Lib Dems as a party capable of rule has led to him acquiescing to Tory policy too easily. With key Treasury, Energy and Business appointments the Lib Dems should have influenced policy far more in the early stages. Clegg simply doesn’t have the time now to govern and win the PR battle he needs to by 2015. And Clegg’s troubles aren’t only confined to domestic affairs. On President Obama’s recent state visit to the UK, the Deputy PM’s request for a oneon-one meeting with the President was reportedly snubbed, with sources telling The Independent that the Whitehouse felt it would “not be appropriate”. The snub will be felt extra keenly as previous Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy received an audience with President George W. Bush when he visited the UK in 2003. Clegg has become a lightweight at home and abroad.
5
Clegg has abandoned the manifesto
RETRACTION of election promises on VAT, university tuition fees, electoral reform and Trident have been laid solely at the feet of Nick Clegg. Kathleen Black, who voted Lib Dems, told the Financial Times: “Clegg’s broken his promises.” Clegg has repeatedly defended the parties stance saying manifesto pledges can only be held to account if a party is given a mandate to govern, which no party in this coalition was. In November 2010, Clegg - who pledged preelection to scrap tuition fees - defended his position on introducing £9,000 tuition fees, stating: “This is a difficult issue and I have been entirely open about the fact that we have not been able to deliver the policy that we held in opposition.”
Politics / In-Debate
LOVE him or hate him, Clegg’s achievement is undeniable, he is the only leader in Lib Dem history to bring the party into power. Ousting him now would destabalise the party at the very moment they most need a united strong leadership. Writing in The Telegraph, Conservative activist, Tim Montgomerie advised the Lib Dems to display caution when implementing a new muscular liberalism following their May defeat. One display of this new policy was Nick Clegg telling Andrew Marr that he would block NHS reform in it’s current form. Montgomerie says: “The best thing they can do for the next two or three years is disappear from our screens, bury themselves in their red boxes and try to make this Government work – including its most radical and important reforms.”
2
Huhne, Hughes, Cable? There is no alternative
THERE are those who see themselves as obvious successors to Nick Clegg, such as the ever ambitious Chris Huhne or Vince Cable, and those who are waiting quietly in the background such as Tim Farron or Simon Hughes. But none are well placed to take over from Clegg now. Huhne, the most vocal choice, has already taken on Clegg for the party leadership and lost. Huhne was on the attack recently telling Radio 5 Live that Clegg was like “a headless chicken” over Fukushima and launched a series of vociferous attacks at the Tories’ over their AV campaign. Many saw Huhne gearing up for a leadership challenge, but he has been undone in recent weeks following the driving points scandal he is engulfed in and the vow by his ex-wife’s to ruin any attempt he makes to run for the leadership. Writing in the Evening Standard, Matthew d’Ancona notes: “Like Heseltine planning his leadership challenge to Margret Thatcher, Huhne has only one bullet in his revolver - and he decided not to fire it after the Lib-Dem’s truly dreadful performance on May 5.”
3
Clegg is playing the long game
THIS is a five year term. Clegg has led the Lib Dems into a coalition government and backed the planned cuts outlined by George Osborne. The
political fates of the coalition and Nick Clegg are now interwoven with the success of the cuts. The BBC reported Nick Clegg this month urging business leaders that there must be “no blinking”, adding that the coalition “has a plan to restore stability and we will stick to it”. Clegg is best placed among the Lib Dems to ensure that the coalition remains united behind the cuts for the full 5 year term. With Huhne or Cable as leader the coalition may be forced to fracture sooner rather than later. If the cuts have begun to work by 2015 Cleggmania may well return anew.
4
The Lib Dems are implementing the vast majority of their manifesto TIM Farron, recently wrote in the Guardian: “Website ConservativeHome reminded us only this week – slightly reluctantly – that 75% of the Lib Dem manifesto is in the coalition agreement, as opposed to only 60% of the Tory manifesto. Our job is to convince voters – especially those who have left us – that the fear they had of the Thatcher years returning is unwarranted.” The Lib Dems have had successes in the coalition, such as removing lowest wage bracket earners from income tax completely, but this has been blown out of the water by the tuition fees and AV. Farron went on to say: “We clearly are not communicating this effectively enough to voters.”
AGAINST
1
Panicing now would kill the party
5
Lib Dems are paying the price of government
THE Liberal Democrats nationally and Plaid Cymru in Wales – both junior partners in coalitions – both fared badly in May’s elections. The poor result is the price of power and not the fault of Nick Clegg as the party could not have been better navigated under different leadership. Clegg is the unifying influence that can control Cable and Huhne for the benefit of the party. As Andrew Grice noted in the Independent: “The Liberal Democrat leader has no option but to bow to the likes of Vince Cable and Chris Huhne, who have been straining at the leash to assert the party’s separate identity from the Tories.” This unifying ability as well as the development of muscular liberalism can provide Clegg the freedom to truly lead the Lib Dems in power.
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It’s a little known fact that... FIFA stands for Fédération Internationale de Football Association. FIFA was founded in Paris on 21st May 1904, and the first president of was Robert Guérin. FIFA has 208 member associations, three more than the International Olympic Committee. FIFA is not only the international governing body of football, but also futsal and beach football. FIFA have pledged £17m to Interpol over the next 10 years to create its own football anti-corruption training HQ in Singapore. The red and yellow card system was not introduced by FIFA until the 1970 World Cup. The first player to receive a red card was Chile’s Carlos Caszely in 1974 in a match against West Germany in the 67th minute.
SPORT
Is it time to clean up Football? By Sam Mendelson
I
T has been a terrible month for the reputaion of football. There have been revelations of World Cup bribery, allegations of Spanish doping and claims of extra-marital sleaze by a premiership footballer who hid behind a super injunction. Football is under scrutiny from all sides. Parents do not wish their children to learn the cheating, whining and philandering habits of their idols. Fans do not expect that when a referee makes a call, he has been paid to come to that decision. The Football Association do not expect that the winner of a World Cup bid is chosen by the exchange of surrepititious cash
in envelopes. And the rest of us expect that the “beautiful game” is played in a positive spirit of fairness, competitiveness and a measure of decorum, however this doesn’t seem to be the case. But are the charges fair? Are footballers drug-taking adulterers - or have they all been tarnished by just a few bad apples? Is FIFA’s World Cup selection process as corrupt as it seems or are we just bitter at not winning the 2018 bid? And shouldn’t some other sports (yes we’re looking at you, cricket) be investigated more aggressively first before we turn our attention to the world’s favourite sport? >> I n -D ebate / 19
Is it time to clean up Football?
1
FIFA appears to be riddled with corruption
FOR
LORD Triesman may have been castigated for torpedoing England’s 2018 World Cup bid with his outspoken bribery claims, but he would probably argue it made no difference: the decision was made months earlier and was not based on merit. In October 2010, FIFA began an investigation after it was alleged two members of its Executive Committee offered to sell their votes for the 2018 World Cup. In November, FIFA banned Nigerian Amos Adamu for three years and Reynald Temaraii of Tahiti for one year. Triesman also claimed Paraguay’s Nicolas Leoz asked for an honorary knighthood, Thailand’s Worawi Makudi wanted the TV rights to a friendly between England and Thailand, and Brazil’s Ricardo Teixeira said: “Come and tell me what you have got for me.” Investigative reporter Andrew Jennings is scathing: “It’s almost as if the sport has become so big and so popular that it is off-limits to law enforcement and regulators.”
2
Influencing matches exists and is worse than we think
ITALY’S 2006 World Cup win was tarnished by the news that Juventus and AC Milan - for who 10 members of the World Cup winning squad played for - were involved in bribing referees. The involvement of organised crime in Italian football as well as in several former Soviet countries is widely known. “We reckon around 300 games a year are fixed in Europe,” said Darren Small, director of integrity at Sportradar, a company that monitors more than 30,000 games across Europe for signs of patterns that may indicate a game is fixed. Last year, four people were accused in Germany of conspiring to fix 30 football matches. While in 2009, Brazilian team Viana needed an 11 goal win over Chapadinha to secure promotion. 0-0 at halftime, 2-0 to Viana with nine minutes to go, and then suddenly they scored nine goals in nine minutes. Money in football is like water on pavement, it finds every crack and crevice.
3
No sex please - we’re British
SCARCELY a week goes by without fresh stories of sexual misconduct, infidelity or cringeworthy behaviour from a top-tier footballer. Ryan Giggs allegedly had an affair with reality TV
2 0 / I n - D ebate
star Imogen Thomas, but after hidding behind a super injunction, he was officially named by Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming. And this dalliance is not even the worst of it, there’s Wayne Rooney and his penchant for elderly prostitutes, serial offender Ashley Cole texting lewd pictures of himself to women while married and John Terry sleeping with teammate Wayne Bridge’s girlfriend. Add to this Peter Crouch and Steven Gerrard who are both reported to have cheated on their spouses and it’s easy to see how at one point the England team were effectively a Cheater’s XI. And if you thought this behaviour was bad, consider the French. Franck Ribery, Karim Benzema and Sidney Govou were all indicted on the charge of “solicitation of a minor prostitute” after admitting they paid for sex with a 17-year-old.
4
Drugs are killing the game
5
What about the children?
IT’S hard to know to what extent performance-enhancing drugs are used in football. In what has been a bad-tempered La Liga season, Real Madrid accused Barcelona and Valencia, on COPE radio station, of involvement in doping. COPE eventually backed down (the journalist who made the allegation said: “Maybe I have been naive about this. If I have to apologize and go down on my knees then I will do so.”) - but by then the damage was done. Closer to home, Manchester City’s Kolo Toure was suspended for testing positive to a “specified substance”. BBC’s Dan Roan observed at the time: “There seems little doubt Toure’s season is over, it’s now whether or not his entire career at Manchester City is in jeopardy”. Rio Ferdinand was banned for eight months for missing a drugs test in 2003, even the great Diego Maradona left the 1994 World Cup in disgrace after testing positive for Ephedrine. Football is the world’s game, it needs to be above reproach.
EVERY year, it seems, football sets an even worse example to children - from the endemic diving and referee-abusing to racist crowd noises. Mario Balotelli left Italy after being racially abused by fans of his own national team. On-field behaviour is even worse, and it is trickling down to children’s leagues forcing referees to quit. The Cumberland FA chief explained: “We lose around 20 refs a year and many say it’s because they’re fed up of the abuse. If youngsters see Rooney running up and abusing a referee, it’s not a good example.”
Sport / In-Debate
FOOTBALL is scarcely recognisable to 20 years ago – and overwhelmingly for the better. Hooliganism is effectively gone; stadia are safe; racism is rarely heard and the last case of known match-fixing in the UK was the 1994 Grobbelaar affair. The Premier League brings in billions in overseas revenue, players are frequently drug tested with many professional footballers teetotal family men, and referees – though often accused of incompetence by losing managers – never have their integrity under question. It is in the British psyche to look back with nostalgia and moan the country is “going to the dogs”. Football a generation ago was dangerous, racist, sectarian and thuggish. Now it is a sport for everyone. It has already been “cleaned up”.
2
Show me the money?
DESPITE the tabloid press’s appetite for salacious scandal and a few unsavoury characters associated with football (Carlos Tevez’s agent Kia Joorabchian, West Ham owner and porn magnate David Sullivan), there’s scarcely a morsel of evidence of any actual corruption. There is no doping scandal. There is no smoking gun that FIFA members take bribes, England’s obsession with World Cup selection process merely smacks of sour grapes. For years, FIFA has talked about bringing the World Cup to new regions and new markets. England is the oldest region and oldest market of all.
3
Boys will be boys
THERE have been a few high profile cases of sexual indiscretion by footballers, but more often than not they are preyed on in Britain by an aggressive tabloid press which has international notoriety for its disregard for privacy. People everywhere have marital difficulties. In only the last few weeks, we have seen public figures Dominique Strauss-Khan arrested for sexual assault on a stranger, Arnold Schwarzenegger revealing he impregnated his housekeeper and kept it a secret from his wife and MP David Laws punished for having claimed expenses on a flat he had rented out to his secret gay lover. And these stories are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to celebrities abusing their fame. Footballers arent angels, but neither is anyone else.
4
Other sports are far worse
5
Attention should be on technology and referees
LAST year Rugby Union had its “bloodgate” scandal. American baseball continues to be rocked with revelations of steroid use (including by some of the all-time record holders such as Mark McGuire and Barry Bonds). Tour de France winner Alberto Contador is fighting allegations of doping (as did previous champ Lance Armstrong). The McLaren F1 team was fined $100m in 2007 after the ‘Spygate’ affair. The Spanish Paralympian Basketball team in 2000 turned out not to be mentally disabled at all. And, perhaps, most sad of all was the revelation that at least three Pakistani cricketers (one of whom, Mohammad Amir, had the potential to be one of the all-time greats) were underperforming for money. This follows the Mark Waugh and Shane Warne betting scandal in the 1990s, the Hansie Cronje fixing affair, and the various ball-tampering controversies. In short, football may not be perfect, and nor are its policing systems, but it’s a damn sight better than other, corruption-riddled sports.
AGAINST
1
It’s in our nature to be overly critical
FOOTBALL does need a global effort, but it doesn’t relate to stamping out occasional, isolated cases of doping, sex scandals or bribery - it concerns eradicating human decision-making errors. The sport has so far been unwilling to embrace goal-line technology, video replays as well as other advanced mechanisms that other sports have adopted to instil fairness into their game and take criticism and pressure off officials. Most referees are semi-professionals in their 40s and, although they do their best, the game has changed greatly in the past couple of decades – in England especially. Players today are super-fit athletes, who can sprint almost at national competition level speeds, and the game has moved more towards a rapid counter-attacking style. This requires linesmen and referees to be able to sprint at extreme speeds just to keep pace - something most clearly cannot do. Expecting them to spot every infraction, offside, or almost-goal, is unrealistic. It is time for a change that will make the game better in a way that matters. Introducing video replay technology will stamp out diving, referee harassment and play-acting, leading to a cleaner sport all round.
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Listings / Brain Food li v e talks , e v e n ts , debates & i n s p irati o n al listi n g s
Our listings section has been sourced from some of the leading institutions in London. We have fine combed next months upcoming events and brought them all together here. Every one is guaranteed to get your blood pumping and your brain ticking. Feed your mind and get stuck in! For information on any event please visit the event providers website.
Business
Analytic Approaches to Studying Prime Ministers, Cabinets and the Core Executive
Preventing Financial Meltdowns
LSE - 3rd June, 10am - 4.30pm, FREE
LSE – 7th June, 6.30-8pm, FREE
Are Prime Ministers in Westminster Parliamentary systems changing the way they govern? There is a plethora of confirmed speakers and panels will include: Prime Ministers, appointments and the PM’s control Maintaining a cabinet: Reshuffles, resignations and shocks Core executive structures: Committees, budgeting and processes Power in Executive Settings.
In this lecture, Tim Harford, the author, radio presenter and newspaper columnist looks at the lessons we can learn from the financial crisis and how the collapse of Lehman Brothers has close parallels in disasters such as Three Mile Island and Deepwater Horizon. Tim Harford is a member of the Financial Times editorial board.
Enlightened Enterprise RSA - 9th June, 6-7pm, FREE
RSA chief executive Matthew Taylor will build on last year’s theme of 21st century enlightenment, to explore the role that business can and should play in shaping people’s behaviour, and how it is that business can combine a strategy for competitive success with a commitment to social good. Hear Ian Cheshire, CEO Kingfisher Plc. and Diane Coyle, vice-chair, BBC Trust and MD at Enlightenment Economics.
The Economics of Good and Evil RSA - 16th June, 1-2pm, FREE
What is the meaning and the point of economics? Can we do ethically all that we can do technically? Former economic advisor to President Vaclav Havel, and one of the ‘5 Hot Minds in Economics’, Tomas Sedlacek ask – does it pay to be good? Economics is touted as a science, but Sedlacek will argue that it is actually a cultural phenomenon, a product of our civilization and concludes that society must return to a time when economics was accountable to moral principles.
Global Imbalances and Social Challenges LSE - 22nd June, 6.30-8pm, FREE
Two of the world’s top commentators on economics, development and finance discuss some of the most pressing global imbalances and the social challenges. Jean-Michel Severino is the, French Ministry of Finance, and Martin Wolf is associate editor and chief economics commentator at the Financial Times.
The Euro, its Central Bank and economic governance LSE - 13th June, 2-3.15pm, FREE The recent financial crisis has been a turbulent period for policymakers and forced central banks to take unprecedented steps to contain the situation. Overall, this has been achieved, and JeanClaude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank (ECB), explains how his institution reacted swiftly to the challenges through non-standard measures, while remaining faithful to its mandate of maintaining price stability in the euro area.
On the media: celebrities, superinjunctions and phone hacking
Front Line Club - 15th June, 7pm, £12.50/£8 With more details about the News of the World phone hacking scandal and the use of super-injunctions (or ‘gagging orders’) by celebrities to stop the press revealing details about scandals, the issue of celebrity privacy has resurged. Join the Frontline Club where we they will be focusing on issues of privacy, justice and journalistic ethics and asking if the current system of law and regulation is – or is not – in need of reform.
Focus on Israel - How will it respond to the Arab spring?
Front Line Club - 22nd June, 7pm, £20/£15
Politics + Society The Big Society and the Good Society LSE - 14th June, 6.30-8pm, FREE
David Cameron has championed the ‘big society’ as his big idea for government; Ed Miliband has countered with the ‘good society’. Two of the thinkers behind these concepts debate what is at stake in rethinking the role of the state in contemporary Britain. Maurice Glasman was raised to Baron Glasman of Stoke Newington and of Stamford Hill in 2011. Jesse Norman is the MP for Hereford and South Herefordshire and author of The Big Society.
With leaders toppled in Tunisia and Egypt, uprisings in Syria, Yemen and Bahrain, the Arab world has seen tumultuous change in recent months. Where does all this upheaval leave Israel? With a panel of Israeli experts and journalists we will explore how Arab sping directly effects Israel.
Is there an Arab Summer? The UN’s Response to the Arab Spring Chatham House - 27th June, 1.30-2.30pm
Ambassador Mark Lyall-Grant, UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations will discuss the Arab Spring in realtion to the UN that has thrust the UN back into the headlines. Will the UN take similarly bold steps on other countries in the region, or will it face a backlash which will paralyse future international action?
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LISTINgS / Mind Fuel L I v E TA L K S , E v E n T S , D E B AT E S & I n S p I R AT I o n A L L I S T I n g S
Art + Literature Taryn Simon in Conversation
Tate Modern - 6th June, 6.30pm, £9/£5 Artist Taryn Simon will lead a tour of her Tate Modern exhibition: A Living Man Declared Dead and Other Chapters, in conversation with Simon Baker, Curator of Photography and International Art, Tate. Taryn Simon’s major new work, which is currently on display at Tate Modern, chronicles generational histories through an elaborate assembly of image and text.
Robert Coover: A Literary Secret Kings place - 13th June, 7pm, £9.50
Robert Coover is a phenomenal literary talent. Funny, brilliant, perverse and influential. For those lucky enough already to know his work, he is considered a literary secret. But in England, he is relatively unknown. This event gives two remarkable novelists, John Banville and Tom McCarthy, an opportunity to discuss Robert Coover’s work in conversation with the writer himself.
Yohji Yamamoto and Frances Corner v&A - 26th June, 2pm
Hear renowned avant-garde fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto in conversation with Frances Corner, Principal of the London College of Fashion. Yamamoto became an influential fashion designer after making his Paris debut in 1981. His commercially successful main lines, Yohji Yamamoto and Y’s, are especially popular in Tokyo. Yamamoto’s work has also become familiar to consumers through his collaborations with other fashion brands, including Adidas (Y-3), Hermès and Mikimoto and with artists of different genres, such as Sir Elton John, Placebo, Takeshi Kitano, Pina Bausch and Heiner Müller.
Nicholas Hytner: Talking Theatre v&A - 3rd June, 7pm, £9/£6
Hear Nicholas Hytner, Director of the National Theatre, discuss his extraordinary and varied career with critic Al Senter. BSL interpreted. Nicholas Hytner’s celebrated films include The Madness of King George and The Crucible and his production of plays such as The History Boys, Hamlet and London Assurance have revitalised the stage in recent years.
Philip Pullman
Thinking Allowed
Launching this year’s London Literature Festival, best-selling author Philip Pullman discusses and reads from a selection of his work, including his new novel The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ. This fictional biography of Jesus continues his exploration of religion, a theme prevalent in much of his writing. Pullman has won many awards and his acclaimed trilogy, His Dark Materials, has been published in 39 languages and sold tens of millions of copies. An unmissable evening with one of the nation’s greatest storytellers.
BBC Radio Four’s social science programme comes to Wellcome Collection to explore the social meaning of dirt, filth, rubbish and hygiene. Join presenter Laurie Taylor and a panel of special guests to examine Mary Douglas’s famous claim that dirt is “matter out of place”. The speakers include: Adam Kuper, anthropologist, Martin Rowson, writer and cartoonist, Amanda Vickery, historian. The event is presented by Laurie Taylor and produced by Charlie Taylor.
South Bank Centre - 30th June, 7.30pm £14/£10
Wellcome Collection - 2nd June, 7.308.30pm, FREE
Niall Ferguson: Civilisation and Virtual History British Library - 29th June, 6.30pm, £7.50/£5
What if the Spanish Armada had been victorious? What if Germany had won the Second World War as imagined in Philip K. Dick’s The Man In The High Castle? Imaginative writers have often used ‘counterfactualism’ as a device but rarely historians. Niall Ferguson, writer of many acclaimed books and presenter of Civilization: The West and the Rest, outlines some of the intriguing scenarios that could have resulted in a completely different world from the one we know, and explores how this speculation helps us understand history.
Science + Tech Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less From Each Other
LSE - 2nd June, 6.30-8pm, FREE Facebook. Twitter. Second Life. “Smart” phones. Robot pets. Robot lovers. Thirty years ago we asked what we would use computers for now the question is what we don’t use them for. In this lecture, MIT technology and society specialist Sherry Turkle issues a wake-up call based on her fifteen year exploration of our lives in the digital realm. Sherry Turkle is the Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology at MIT, and the founder and director of the MIT Initiative on Technology and Self.
Nurturing ideas that matter Royal Institution of great Britain - 8th June, 7-8.30pm, £10/£7 From the Spitfire to the “knockout mouse”, important technologies often begin by looking like crazy long-shots. Yet today’s long shots are more expensive and more complex than ever before. Tim Harford, a member of the Financial Times editorial board, and writer of the ‘The Undercover Economist’, examines the evidence that technological progress may actually be slowing down, and using both the latest economic research and some unforgettable tales of creativity against the odds, he asks: What can we do to create and protect ideas that matter?
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Listings / Inspirational li v e talks , e v e n ts , debates & i n s p irati o n al listi n g s
Inspirational
5x15
Terry Jones and Michael Palin in Converstaion
Five speakers, fifteen minutes each True stories of passion, obsession and adventure recounted live with just two rules: no scripts and only fifteen minutes each. This month: • Lisa Appignanesi tells us all about love • Sarah Bakewell on Montaigne • Mark Haddon on swimming and flying • Jon Ronson the psychopath test • Anthony Sattin on Florence Nightingale and Flaubert
South Bank Centre - 13th June, 7.30pm, £17.50/£15
Monty Python legends Terry Jones and Michael Palin are about as iconic as entertainers get. Yet, as well as being part of one of the greatest comedy teams ever, they have also been screenwriters, authors, documentary presenters, actors, directors and now they are in conversation about their careers, Python and more.
Aliens and The Imagination British Library - 28th June, 6.30pm, £7.50 Are we alone in the universe? While we wait for an answer that may never come, we seem compelled to imagine alien encounters and devise extraordinary alien worlds. Enjoy discussion from film director Gareth Edwards (Monsters), Gwyneth Jones, Mark Pilkington (Strange Attractor); scientists and writers Jack Cohen and Ian Stewart, and David Clarke, consultant to the National Archives UFO project.
Editorial Intelligence
Opinion Former Panel Ei: - 26th June (pm) Contact: events@ editorialintelligence.com ‘What does the Facebook generation need to learn?’ Panel to include: Professor Niall Ferguson, Harvard University, LSE, Author; Harvey Goldsmith, Chairman, Ignite, Ben Hammersley, Editor-at-Large, Wired; Jenni Russell, Commentator, The Sunday Times, The Guardian and London Evening Standard.
Simon Schama
South Bank Centre - 24th June, 7.30,£12 Simon Schama delivers a special lecture on the Festival of Britain to mark our 60th anniversary celebrations. Schama is one of the world’s leading historians, whose writing considers landscape, memory and ideas of nationhood, which he explores in relation to Britain now and in the future. He is the author of over 15 books, which have won awards including the Wolfson Award for History and the WH Smith Prize for Literature.
26 / In-Debate
5x15 - 20th June, The Tabernacle, 6:45pm, £20/£15
John Hegarty: Talking Advertising V&A - 14th June, 7pm, £9/£6
Get an insider’s view of the world of international advertising and hear more about John Hegarty’s highprofile career as co-founder of global advertising firm Bartle Bogle Hegarty. John Hegarty, of leading international advertising firm Bartle Bogle Hegarty, has worked with high-profile clients including Levi’s, Audi and Unilever. Their Lynx Effect and Vorsprung Durch Technik campaigns are among the most successful of the last thirty years.
Editors Pick Rock ‘N’ Roll Politics - John Bercow Kings Place - 6th June, 7pm, £9.50
A behind-the-scenes tour of British politics. The celebrated journalist Steve Richards talks to his special guest, the Speaker of the Commons, John Bercow about the personalities, the tears and tantrums, the moments of high drama, the hopes and ideals, the role of the mighty media. Sure to be quite an eye opener.
An innocent approach to business - Richard Reed Cofounder Innocent Drinks Imperial College - 9th June, 7-8pm
Richard Reed is the co-founder of innocent, the No.1 smoothie brand in Europe. The business was started in May 1999 by Richard and two friends and has grown in just over 10 years to a turnover of over £100m. Innocent now has over 75% market share in the UK.
Bill Neely - Northern Ireland’s Troubles to uprising in Libya Front Line Club - 29th June, 7pm
In the latest of our Reflections series, Bill Neely ITV News’ international editor, will be joining us in conversation with former BBC executive Vin Ray. Looking back at a career that includes covering major stories around the world since 2002 and posts in Europe and Washington Bill Neely will discuss the stories that he has covered and the work and people that have inspired him.
Michael Eavis: Glastonbury Life South Bank Centre - 13th June, 7.45pm, £10 Glastonbury’s founder and a living legend in his own right, Michael Eavis discusses life in charge of one of the most iconic festivals in history. This is your chance to hear him discuss what life is like behind the scenes, setting up and running the counrty’s favourite festival. things to do in London. In 2007, over 700 acts played on over 80 stages[2] and the capacity expanded by 20,000 to 177,000. In 2011 UK Music published a report stating that Glastonbury Festival contributes over £100 million annually to the UK economy.
11 o n 20 s g a n Se ri te Sp ba e D
Listings / IQ2 Events li v e talks , e v e n ts , debates & i n s p irati o n al listi n g s
This season IQ2 will be bringing you superpowers, nuclear powers and possibly the power to remove unwanted politicians from office. Standard tickets are £25 and £12.50 for students. Tickets are available from www.intelligencesquared.com/events. Western parents don’t know how to bring up their children June 8th, Cadogan Hall
Why are there so many Chinese maths and music prodigies? Because Chinese mothers believe schoolwork and music practice come first, that an A-minus is a bad grade.These methods certainly get results, so perhaps Western parents should get pushy. But is it defensible to cajole and bully one’s offspring to success? Come and hear ‘Tiger mother’ Amy Chua, battle it out with Justine Roberts, co-founder of Mumsnet, the successful parenting website.
#iq2parents
Ideas to Change the World June 2nd, Royal Geographical Society
Maz Jobrani: Brown, Friendly and Funny June 13th, Cadogan Hall
Meet Maz Jobrani: an Iranian-born American comedian and actor who tackles political, cultural, and racial barriers between East and West, and who doesn’t know the meaning of the word ‘taboo’. Jobrani achieved popular and critical acclaim when he starred in the 2007 ‘Axis of Evil’ comedy tour, which entertained audiences America and the Middle East, from San Francisco to Cairo. He’s also appeared in Curb Your Enthusiasm, The West Wing, and 24.
#iq2maz
If You Want Fidelity, Get a Dog June 14th, Royal Geographical Society
Is having a monogamous life-long marriage an achievable goal? Is there anything wrong with an extra-marital affair? Is it possible to love your wife on Sunday, if you’re having it away with your mistress on Monday? Come along to hear these moral conundrums debated by Kathy Lette, Jane Bussman, and the owner of a dating agency...for married people.
The pioneering work done by the scientists at the Oxford Martin School promises to transform our world – to prolong our life-spans, conquer food scarcity and combat climate change. Speaking for Intelligence², these scientists will address two themes: ‘Transforming Humans’ and ‘Transforming the Environment.’ How do they propose to take us to this Brave New World and what nasty surprises might they unleash as they prise open Pandora’s box?
#iq2ideas
Museums are Bad at Telling Us Why Art Matters June 21st, Saatchi Gallery
Public spaces of beauty and inspiration to decorate our otherwise all too ordinary lives, or dusty walls and halls where great art goes to die? Visitor numbers to museums might be ever-rising, but couldn’t our museums do a much better job at displaying art to more fully engage us and our emotions? Tim Marlow chairs our debate, featuring Alain de Botton, Matthew Taylor and other leading figures from the art world.
#iq2museum
Great Minds: Slavoj Žižek July 1st, Cadogan Hall
Meet Slavoj Žižek: Slovenian, philosopher, author, cult hero, film buff, TV presenter, actor, the world’s 25th most important public intellectual, and a whole lot more besides. He’s written over 30 books on subjects ranging from Hegel to Hitchcock, utopia to opera, and multiculturalism to totalitarianism. In this special lecture for Intelligence², the intellectual icon will argue that Capitalism is fast approaching its terminal crisis. Strap yourselves in for a Žižekian tour de force.
#iq2zizek
#iq2fidelity
All events start at 6.45pm with doors opening at 6pm. For more information and to book tickets please visit www.inteligencesquared.com/events or call 0207 792 4830. I n -D ebate / 27
Chessie Felber’s London Treats E AT
DRINK
DO
No.92
Butterfly Pavilion
PIX A cosmopolitan take on the pintxo bars of Barcelona, Pix is an excellent addition to the Westbourne Grove neighbourhood and is destined to be a big hit with the locals. Inspired by the informal way of eating commonly found in Spain the restaurant is every bit true to its vision; handsome waiters run around without a hint of a uniform other than the odd pencil behind an ear, bills are calculated by the number of toothpicks you have collected from your tapas and I don’t think I spotted any two matching chairs.
THE iconic Notting Hill Brasserie has extended its interior and opened another set of doors, welcoming you into No 92. the new stylish bar in town. With this addition Notting Hill is all class and with the extensive champagne list you can drink it just so.
FOR once the Natural History Museum have got their facts wrong. They thought the Butterfly Pavillion would be a perfect treat for children, a day out for the family, a little education along side some fun, but actually we think it’s the ideal destination for a little date.
The space is breath taking, small and above all effective, as soon as you walk into the room you are transported to a world of comfort, soft jazz, high ceilings and glorious cocktails.
The Butterfly house is filled with 100s of live butterflies and moths that swoop and flutter around you. Every leaf and flower has a delicate, colorful creature attached to it and they aren’t fazed by human interaction. Wondering along the path through the butterflies and flowers you forget about the great stone building just outside and you happily get lost amongst the stunning stream of pigments and patterns. For a colorful weekend stop by the Natural History Museum and experience nature at its finest.
I dined on a mixed mushroom and truffle paella which came perfectly sizzling in the pan it had cooked in and roughly garnished with rocket which was outstanding! I will definitely be back.
The menu, like the interior is designed to be timeless, guests can enjoy Georgian creations such as the Spiced Whiskey Flip, travel through the Victorian era and land safely in amongst modern blends such as King Billy’s Punch. No 92. is delicious, the perfect place to bring a date to impress.
Tel: 0207 727 6500 175 Westbourne Grove, W11 2SB www.pix-bar.com
Tel: 0207 229 4481 92 Kensington Park Road, W11 2PN www.nottinghillbrasserie.com
2 8 / In-Debate
East lawn 12 April - 11 September 2011 www.nhm.ac.uk
It’s No Debate. Goodies and gadgets you can’t argue with!
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50% off Ralph Lauren sweaters + an extra 10% for In-Debate readers
LondonPlatinum.com
Bubbleology
THERE’S a new clothes distributor in town (well on-line actually). We signed oursleves up to LondonPlatinum.com, as we have to say we are impressed. This seems to be one of the first comapnies that targets the City of London, Canary Wharf & Mayfair, and it offers City executives the best brands at unbeatable prices.
THIS Summer sees the launch of Bubbleology, an authentic bubble tea café located in the heart of trendy Soho.
There are limited-time private sales, over a 48 hour period, with brands including Ralph Lauren, Tom Ford & Diesel. And what’s more there is free same day delivery. Through London Platinum, professionals can combine their purchasing power to realise exclusive value from the very best luxury, fashion and travel brands. To take advantage of these great deals all you need to do is sign up with your email address at www. LondonPlatinum.com. Membership is free of charge and you will receive an email once or twice a week with relevant offers – always at exclusive prices. Companies (yes we’re one of them) can also sign up to the VIP scheme – which grants executives further discounts, advance notice and exclusive VIP sales.
www.londonplatinum.com info@londonplatinum.com
Originally from Taiwan, bubble tea is set to be the newest tea craze to hit our shores with a huge following worldwide already. Served hot or cold these drinks have a red, white or green tea base which are infused with fruit flavours and have an addictive addition of tapioca pearls that are almost “gummy bear” like in texture. They also delve into the depths of serving Milk Teas with a selection of 7, including Taro Pearl, Almond Pearl, and Vanilla Pearl. Walking into the Bubbleology store, thirsty guests will feel like they have been transported to a mad scientist’s lab. Black and neon décor, exposed brickwork and scientific diagrams explaining the bubble tea creation process, that give only a hint of the extent of perfection behind these sweet and fruity drinks. Oh and to add the Bubbleology team have all been trained under Taiwanese tea masters.
49 Rupert St, W1D 7PF 0207 494 4231 www.bubbleology.co.uk I n -D ebate / 2 9
Let’s Talk
These are a selection of extracts from reader’s comments from last month’s issue. Join the debate on Facebook, Twitter or Email us at letstalk@in-debate.com and get your views featured. “The Monarchy makes us british. They have no power so who cares? Let’s just enjoy them being there, and celebrate being british!� Charlotte nou, Highbury “I am sick of all this media attention on the Royal Family. Let’s get real, they are normal people, we are all normally people, so why should I pay for them?� paul Tootes, London
News Crossword no.8
“This made me laugh more than anything. I truly cannot believe it is coming back. I am so ashemed I don’t think I can watch Channel 5 again!� Stephanie Rous, Wimbledon
“It’s time for change, FpTp clearly doesn’t work. We need fairer voting and although aV isn’t the best alternative it is a step forward.� Roya Zveck, Essex
“although it is total rubbish, it is quite entertaining, so I say let it come back and consume my summer�. ErikaW, Twitter
“It is never ever ok. These people are criminals. We can offer them reduced sentances but not amnesty. We don’t do this with our criminals who snitch, so why should do it to foreign ones?� aMash, Twitter
“no no no! I don’t fancy having the bnp in a coalition government. I implore eveyone to vote no!� pDaits, Twitter
“Very interesting debate, thank you. I think it completely depends on the scenario and in this case I think we should. We need as much information as we can to stop gadafďŹ .â€? annabelle Swead, notting Hill
Across
Down
7 Jacques d’Azur’s favourite drink (6) 8 Logic problem in Apprentice (6) 9 Crude group? (4) 10 Foot soldiers (8) 11 ___ of Love, Musical (7) 13 Diplomat on a mission (5) 15 Forces leaving Iraq (5) 16 Desert (7) 18 Spanish American (8) 19 After-bath wear (4) 21 Crop may be in short supply (6) 22 Bug (6)
1 Period (4) 2 Fergie’s group (5,4,4) 3 Mixed bag (7) 4 Science Fiction (3-2) 5 Cameron’s address (7,6) 6 BAFTA winning series 12 Robinson Crusoe (8) 14 Icelander letting off steam (7) 17 Kind of jack (5) 20 Late Australian Actor ___ Hunter (4)
NOTES
Follow us on: For solutions to this month’s crossword just email us at letstalk@indebate.com
3 0 / IN-DE BATE
Sudoku
For solutions to this month’s sudoku just email us at letstalk@indebate.com
No.15 EASY
No.16 Hard
WIN The Food Doctor
Health Box!
Celebrating the launch of their newly designed range of healthy products, The Food Doctor are offering one lucky reader the chance to win a delicious box of treats that are certainly going to help get you into shape for the Summer sun (if we get any!). The Food Doctor have been puting together healthy products based on their 10 guiding principles since 1999 and are established as the place that provides sensible advice for achieving a healthier plan for life. For more information on nutritional support, visit www.thefooddoctor.com
THE PERFECT WAY TO START OR FUEL YOUR DAY!
We thought that there was no better way to get ready for the summer and beaches ahead than to keep your body in check. The prize will contain a selection of their products that are perfect for breakfast, lunch, or even their Principle No.4: To fuel up regularly, along with a signed book all worth in excess of ÂŁ50.
To get your hands on healthy, yummy food simply e-mail letstalk@in-debate.com with your name, email address and number for a chance to win. *Terms and Conditions: One winner will be chosen at random and the draw will take place on the 30th June. Closing date for entries is the 29th June. The winner will be notified via email on the day or close to the day of the draw. Not all the products seen in the pictures will be available in the prize.
I n -D ebate / 31
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