In-Debate July/August

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July/August 2011

The end of the world

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CONTACT US: Media Enquires Daniel Da Costa daniel@in-debate.com Editor-in-chief Rob Lyons rob.lyons@in-debate.info London Treats Chessie Felber f.felber@in-debate.info Enquires letstalk@in-debate.com www.in-debate.com In Debate (UK) Ltd. W11 3LQ DISCLAIMER: In-Debate’s goal is

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A note from the Editor WHAT a month! The News of the World phone hacking saga has turned into a once in a generation scandal, at times playing out like a soap opera with new twists and revelations emerging every day.

So far we have seen David Cameron under fire for his employment of phone-hacking suspect Andy Coulson, witnessed senior police officers resign over corruption allegations, learnt of pyjama parties held by Gordon Brown’s wife, and watched mouth agape as Rupert Murdoch was confronted with a plate of shaving foam only to see his wife’s ninja reactions slap his attacker away.

Amidst all of this, there has been the closure of the Britain’s best selling newspaper the News of the World. With all this action going on a crucial question, however, remains unasked: Is it in the best interests of democracy that the UK’s top investigative newspaper is closed down?

Other big stories this month include the Eurozone meltdown and its impact on the British economy. In-Debate will look to explore whether the UK is facing a double-dip recession?

Former IMF boss and French presidential contender Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s year could be described as annus horribilis after he was arrested for sexually assaulting a hotel maid in New York. However, it has now emerged that the alleged victim’s credibility is in doubt. This raises an important issue: Do men accused of rape deserve greater protection?

Finally, as NASA retires the space shuttle Atlantis, In-Debate examines what is in store for the future of human space flight?

Robert Lyons In-Debate Editor

The debate starts here... www.in-debate.com

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Contents

July/August ‘11

Issue 10

5

9 WIN: A box of products & gifts for the home from j-me.

14

19

31

THIS MONTH’S DEBATES

IN- ADDITION

5 Will Britain enter a double-dip recession?

12 Fantasic Facts

Troubled times ahead

28 Chessie’s London Treats 29 It’s No Debate

9 Should the News of the World have closed

30 Crosswords & Sudukos

31 This Month’s Competition

down?

Investigative journalism loses a champion

14 Do men accused of rape deserve greater

protection?

Who is the victim

30 Let’s Talk

IN-LIST 23 Brain Food Listings 25 It’s Worth A Ponder 26 IF Conference

19 Is this the end of human space flight?

Has man reached the final frontier

27 IQ2 Debates

Image: Validus. Image is for illustrative purposes and not actual representation

It’s a little known fact that...

THE UK economy is the 6th largest national economy in the world measured by nominal GDP. IN the 18th century the UK was the first country to have an industrial revolution.

IN the last fiscal year UK net debt was £771.5 billion (53.5% of GDP).

AS of 2009 it was estimated that the UK had foreign reserves of $66.72 billion and 310.3 tonnes of gold.

THE poverty line in the UK is commonly defined as being 60% of the median household income. In 2008, 13.5m people, or 22% of the population, lived below this line.

AS of December 2010, the London Stock Exchange had a market capitalisation of $3.6tr – making it the 4th largest stock exchange in the world.

ECONOMICS

Will Britain enter a double-dip recession?

By Jonathan Sebire

E

ven at the height of the phone hacking scandal that has engulfed the media, the police and the House of Commons, the sense of impending economic doom emanating from southern Europe has managed to shine through.

Back bench MPs from all political parties have criticised David Cameron for devoting his entire focus on the phone hacking scandal when it is apparent the country faces perilous economic uncertainty.

The Eurozone crisis, which has so far engulfed Greece and Ireland, is now running rampant through Italy and Portugal and poses a very real threat that even Eurosceptics are wary of: a financial crisis that could lay low the powerhouse German

economy would surely plunge Britain into a double dip recession.

The economic outlook in Britain is grim. Growth forecasts are being downgraded to zero, consumer confidence is low, house prices are falling and worst of all Chancellor George Osborne’s cuts have yet to kick-in.

Yet despite all this there were signs of growth in the last quarter and with growth comes confidence, and far from being disasterous, as Nick Clegg claims, some are suggesting a reformed post-crisis Eurozone could leave Britain in a much stronger economic position.

So how real is the danger of Britian entering into a double dip recession? >> I N -D E BAT E / 5

Will Britain enter a double-dip recession?

1

Britain is not immune from a Eurozone crisis

FOR

CHANCELLOR George Osborne highlights how European finances are all interconnected. In an interview to the The Independent he stated that although our banks were strong many of them have high exposure to French and German banks which in turn have extremely high exposure to the Greek banks that have been engulfed by the debt crisis.

This prevents banks from lending to each other, thereby freezing up the flow of money and harming business across Europe, including in Britain.

During Prime Minister’s Questions David Cameron was quick to point out to Tory backbenchers decrying the Eurozone that like it or not 40 percent of UK exports head to the continent.

Simon Jenkins in the Guardian fears that when the “monetary union reaches breaking point and unravels in an orgy of xenophobia, Britain will not be immune from the chaos. The pocket Napoleons who embarked on this venture may meet their Waterloo. But Britain’s economy is unlikely to escape the carnage.”

2

There is no faith in the boardrooms

THE Telegraph recently reported that a third of financial directors believe the UK economy will enter a double dip recession.

The report which was quoting a Deloitte survey of FTSE 100 and 250 company directors came at the beginning of July when companies were desperately downgrading their growth forecasts.

Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Angela Eagle told The Telegraph: “After the zero growth we have seen over the last six months, we must hope that these forecasts prove to be wrong. We need to see growth of 0.8% in the second quarter simply to get back on track to the Office for Budget Responsibility’s latest downgraded forecast of 1.7% growth this year.”

3

Scotland only narrowly escaped a double dip

DAVID Clegg, the political editor of Scotland’s The Courier called for action after a report indicated that Scotland missed a double dip recession by just 0.1 percent after the economy stagnated in the first quarter of 2011 following a sharp fall at the end of 2010.

6 / I N - D E BAT E

The blame for this is being laid at the feet of the UK government. Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney told Mr Clegg: “Scotland’s recovery needs to be strengthened and the GDP figures underline the urgent need for an economic Plan B, or flexibility from the UK Government.”

4

We are past the point of no return

5

We’re expecting it

IN JULY Investment Week reported that Citigroup and Scotia Capital forecast a 0.2 percent contraction in the UK’s GDP for the second quarter running, thereby indicating that the country was poised to enter a double dip recession.

Speaking to the Sunday Times Alan Clarke, Chief Economist for Scotia Capital, said that the reversal in growth would place pressure on the Bank of England to introduce a further round of quantitative easing.

Mr Clarke stated: “It is going to be a long hard slog and those pinning their hopes on an industrial revolution to drag the wider economy out of a recession are likely to be disappointed.”

The position is echoed by Barclays, The Royal Bank of Scotland and J.P. Morgan, who all predict flatline stagnation for the economy this quarter – ranging from 0.2% to 0%.

To make matters worse Paul Krugman in The International Herald Tribune says even if immediate catastrophe is avoided, the deals being struck on both sides of the Atlantic are almost guaranteed to make the economic slump worse.

THE Evening Standard reported in July that fears of Britain entering a Double-Dip recession are “resurfacing with venom.”

In an article discussing the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee’s concerns over the fragile economy The Standard quotes Howard Archer from IHS Global Insight as saying: “As far as the growth outlook is concerned... the committee appears to have become more worried. This reflects the disappointing data that has appeared in recent months. Household confidence has slipped to lows last seen at the height of the recession in early-2009 and economic growth appears to have slowed in the second quarter.”

Nida Ali, from the Ernst & Young ITEM Club, further added: “The economic recovery remains very fragile and wages are showing no signs of taking off.”

Economics / In-Debate

BOTH Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne have declared their desire to retract Britain from a tightly grouped inner circle of European nations that they see as vital to the survival of the single currency.

Many in the conservative party believe that the restructuring of the Eurozone, which is vital for it’s survival and the implementation of a more integrated fiscal policy, will allow the UK to reclaim it’s independence and power outside of Europe.

Speaking to the Spectator magazine David Cameron said: “There will be opportunities for Britain to maximise what we want in terms of our engagement with Europe . . . I got us out of the [euro] bailout mechanism which has been used repeatedly and from 2013 cannot be used again.”

2

The Eurozone crisis can be contained

THE Eurozone emergency summit in Brussels saw German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicholas Sarkozy produce a pact that is designed to deal with the horrendous crisis and save the single currency.

Initial responses to the proposal, which has been dubbed a “Marshall Plan for Europe” have been positive. Writing in the Guardian Ian Traynor highlighted the fact that the proposals, which saw a $157 billion bail out plan approved for Greece, marked the formation of an infant European Monetary Fund.

The deal also proves that Euro ministers are committed to the project. Dutch PM Mark Rutte said: “We have sent a clear signal to the markets by showing our determination to stem the crisis and turn the tide in Greece, thereby securing the future of the savings, pensions and jobs of our citizens all over Europe.”

3

Scotland came close but it didn’t double dip

THE whole point about the figures for Scotland in the first quarter of 2011 was that they saw the economy returning to growth, even if it was only by 0.1 percent.

Despite gloom mongers this is a positive sign. The economy is fragile yes, but a double dip recession is far from certain and there are

significant steps that can be taken to avoid it.

Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney told the BBC: “The Scottish economy returned to growth in the first quarter of this year, and since then Scotland’s labour market has outperformed the UK as a whole – with higher employment and lower economic inactivity north of the border – but both the GDP and jobs figures show that there can be absolutely no grounds for complacency.”

4

There are options left

5

We can learn from 1980s

THE Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) has stated that the Government must do more to support recovery as the economy has nearly stagnated.

Luckily there is still time to implement changes that can ensure the economy does not backslide into a double dip recession. Pier Carlo Padoan, Chief Economist at the think tank, claims the Government’s £81bn of cuts was “appropriate” but they could still be doing more to stimulate the economy.

Mr Padoan suggests the Government should stimulate growth by ending VAT exemptions on items and services such as food, transport and domestic fuel. They should offer extra financial support to poorer households and tackle high unemployment through better access to training.

Mr Padoan also advocated further rises in the retirement age and said council tax and stamp duty should be abolished in favour of a tax better tied to property values.

AGAINST

1

Britain can benefit from European consolidation

THE phrase double dip recession is enough to strike fear into most people, but it may in fact be the answer to our economies woes.

Writing for Bloomberg, Amity Shlaes, an analyst for the Council on Foreign Relations, explored the lessons that economists should take from the 1980s and posited that a period of monetary recession may be exactly what the doctor ordered.

Shlaes looked at the last double dip recession in the U.S. in 1980 and 1981-2 and noted key lessons that should be heeded this time round. Firstly, interest rates need to be raised sooner rather than later and that postponing the decision will only lead to rocketing interest rates later. The final lesson is that for a true recovery we need a recessionary period to avoid the prolonged stagflation that haunted world economies in the 1970s.

I N -D E BAT E / 7

Image: AP

It’s a little known fact that...

THE News of the World first launched in the UK in 1843.

OVER the years the NOTW gained nicknames such as News of the Screws and Screws of the World.

WHEN the NOTW was first launched it was priced at just three pence (equal to £1.04 today), it was the cheapest newspaper of its time.

NEWS Int. was the first UK national newspaper group to go carbon neutral at the beginning of 2008.

THE Times was first published in 1785 with the title The Daily Universal Register. It is Britain’s oldest surviving daily newspaper.

NEWS Int. accounts for 34% of total national newspaper advertising revenue in UK.

NEWS

Should the News of the World have closed down?

By Neil Clangmure

W

HAT began with the imprisonment of “rogue reporter” Clive Goodman in 2007 has in recent weeks snowballed into the most shocking media scandal of modern times.

We have seen the Prime Minister under fire, resignations from News International boss Rebekah Brooks and senior police officers, as well as the surreal experience of media mogul Rupert Murdoch brought before a parliamentary committee with his tail between his legs.

In the midst of this, the News of the World went from the UK’s best-selling newspaper to extinction in days. Many people, particularly victims of phone hacking, celebrated the closure of the tabloid that has

been described as “complicit with the criminal underworld”.

Its reputation had become irreparably damaged, while advertisers were pulling out in droves. At the time, it also looked like a logical way to save News Corp’s proposed acquisition of BSkyB. But how fair was it to enforce redundancy on hundreds of innocent journalists who had nothing to do with the phone hacking scandal?

Is it not bad for democracy that the UK’s most effective investigative newspaper disappeared overnight?

The abrupt closure of NOTW raises difficult questions about where responsibility should lie and to what extent these practices were prevalent across the media industry. >> I N -D E BAT E / 9

Should the News of the World have closed down?

1

Targeting victims’ families changed everything

FOR

THE moment The Guardian revealed that journalists had hacked into the phone of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, there was a cataclysmic shift in perception of News of the World (NOTW) and its parent company News International.

Chris Bryant, a Labour MP and key campaigner on the phone hacking issue, admitted that the public “didn’t really care” about politicians or celebrities getting their phones hacked, but it is “reprehensible” when journalists are intruding into the private conversations of grieving families.

Graham Foulkes, whose son died in the 7/7 terrorist attacks, said: “I find it hard to believe someone could be so wicked and so evil and that they could work for an organization that is trying to defend what they see as normal practices.”

In this climate, it was unfathomable that the paper could continue.

2

Its reputation was irreparably damaged

AS JAMES Murdoch admitted to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee hearing last week, the NOTW scandal has “broken our trust with our readers”.

The disgraceful revelations that the NOTW was hacking into phones, allegedly paying police bribes and obfuscating police investigations completely stigmatised its reputation.

Closing the newspaper was necessary to demonstrate that News International had understood and reacted to public anger. It is barely relevant that these illegal activities took place some years ago, with Rupert Murdoch calling the decision to draw a close on the newspaper’s 168year history “a matter of principle”.

Former No.10 Director of Communications Alastair Campbell argues that the closure of NOTW offers an opportunity to establish a new settlement between politics, the media and the public.

3

It was a sinking ship

RUPERT Murdoch’s assertion that it was a moral rather than commercial decision to shut NOTW sidesteps an important reality – once the Dowler revelations became public, it was a goner.

A string of MPs had urged the public to boycott the newspaper. The self-proclaimed champion of our armed forces faced the embarrassment of

10 / I N - D E BAT E

seeing the Royal British Legion sever its ties over claims that a private investigator working for the tabloid illegally intercepted voice mails of relatives of troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

High-profile businesses such as Ford, Halifax, Vauxhall, Mumsnet, Co-Operative and Mitsubishi all stated publicly that they would withdraw advertising contracts immediately. Whether or not it was a “matter of principle”, NOTW was stuck in a never-ending spiral of destructive publicity.

4

A logical decision to try to save the BSkyB merger

5

The tone of the final issue showed why it had to go

CLOSING a profitable business with 2.6m regular readers and an annual turnover of £175m might seem like drastic action to take. However, if we look at the bigger picture, it makes complete business sense. NOTW represented less than one percent of the News Corp empire.

It was small fry compared to the financial impact the scandal was beginning to have on the $50 billion global network. While the bid has since been withdrawn – a YouGov poll showed 70 percent of the public were opposed – and many thought NOTW was closed to save the acquisition of BSkyB. The initial strategy was to hope that NOTW absorbed the heat so that News International could refocus its energies on the merger. The Independent’s Steve Richards summed up the situation: “The dramatic and yet inevitable withdrawal of Rupert Murdoch’s bid for BSkyB serves as a vivid symbol of giddy decline, a collapse from swaggering omnipotence to breathless fragility in less than a fortnight.”

THE last ever issue of NOTW missed an opportunity for genuine remorse. Declaring itself “the world’s greatest newspaper”, the centre pages consisted of a collage of its best front pages.

These include the privacy-invading images of celebrities being caught making indiscretions, often captured by cameras hidden in their homes.

As Charlie Brooker of the Guardian points out, it offers a rose-tinted view of the newspaper’s history which disregards low points like the 1988 story about the actor David Scarboro, in which it printed images of the psychiatric unit where he was receiving treatment. He later killed himself.

Most egregiously, the newspaper fails to fully address the actions which forced it to close down.

News / In-Debate

VIRTUALLY none of the 200 plus employees who were sacked on Friday 8th July were guilty of illegal activity – in fact the NOTW editor Colin Myler was hired in 2007 to steady the ship.

One employee commented: “I have never worked on such a clean newspaper and it is extraordinary the amount of stories we reject on privacy or PCC [Press Complaints Commission] grounds… News International chiefs never tried to distinguish between the News of the World now and the lawless newspaper it became under [Andy] Coulson and [Rebekah] Brooks.”

It is no surprise to learn that many NOTW staff are set to sue Rupert Murdoch for unfair dismissal, with each likely to win £70k that’s a bill of £14m.

Even journalists at other News Corp businesses expressed their disgust at the decision, with Sky News chief political correspondent Jon Craig reported many felt the sackings were wrong.

2

Executives should take responsibility

THE failure of News International executives to take full responsibility for the actions that took place at NOTW has been cowardly.

The National Union of Journalists’ called the closure “an act of political opportunism”, and phone-hacking victim Lord John Prescott said NOTW journalists were made scapegoats.

While Rebekah Brooks has since resigned, she went unwillingly and her resignation statement demonstrated little personal culpability for the lawlessness that existed at NOTW on her watch.

This was underlined by Colin Myler’s refusal to address staff until Brooks had left the newsroom.

The Murdochs’ refusal to accept any blame for the scandal in the parliamentary evidence session further emphasises the vacuum of responsibility at the top of News International. As Labour Party leader Ed Miliband poignantly said, “no-one should exercise power without responsibility”.

3

The closure is bad for democracy

DESPITE the illegal invasions of privacy, NOTW was the UK’s best investigative newspaper. In recent years it forced politicians to push through Sarah’s Law, won the campaign for the military covenant and exposed cricket corruption.

Its rigorous journalism kept the powerful accountable and in check and its fall from grace will undoubtedly leave a gap. Ultimately, NOTW’s closure is to the detriment of our democracy and sets a worrying precedent.

Will other newspapers be forced to close if some of its journalists are revealed to have used unlawful methods? Surely it is in society’s interests that we have as diverse and vibrant media as possible?

4

This is much bigger than the NOTW

5

It will just re-launch

THE focus on NOTW risks ignoring a wider point.

Liberal Democrat MP Simon Hughes says we must not forget that other newspapers are guilty of bad practice and that going forward the focal point of the debate and investigation should be wider.

Questions must be asked about the conduct of the police and the failure of the Press Complaints Commission to regulate media practices.

The Information Commissioner’s Report in 2006 highlighted that illicit information was obtained by the Mail on Sunday and the Sunday Mirror through the use of private investigators.

As Trevor Kavanagh in The Sun points out we should examine closely the motives of those who brought NOTW to its knees. It was just the sacrificial lamb to the slaughter whose closure suits rival newspapers who are implicated themselves, as well as politicians afraid of its exacting scrutiny.

AGAINST

1

It was unfair to sack innocent employees

CLOSING the NOTW was simply a PR strategy – let it take the blame and then launch the “Sun on Sunday” once public anger has subsided.

Yes, James Murdoch said that News Corp are not “currently” planning to launch a replacement, but the clever use of the word “currently” leaves ample room to manoeuvre on timing.

Daniel Finklestein may be right when he argues that the power of newspapers to influence opinion is exaggerated, but the pull of profits should not be.

NOTW was News International’s only British newspaper that consistently made money and it would seem strange for such a ruthless business to forego its previous market-leading position.

The BBC is speculating it could even be timed with the start of the new football season in August for maximum exposure. Closing the NOTW was pointless. It is only a matter of time before it reforms – the same beast but with a different name.

I N -D E BAT E / 11

F A N T A S T I C F A C T S ‘X’ became symbolic for a kiss because in the middle ages when alot of people were illiterate and they used to sign documents with an X and then kiss it for sincerity.

TUG OF WAR was an Olympic event between 1900 and 1920.

THE NAME JOSHUA IS HEBREW FOR ‘JESUS’.

THE HUMAN EYE BLINKS AN AVERAGE OF 4,200,000 TIMES A YEAR.

The SHORTEST WAR on record was fought between ZANZIBAR AND ENGLAND in 1896.

Zanzibar surrendered after 38 MINUTES.

PORTUGAL IS ENGLAND’S OLDEST ALLY. THE ANGLO PORTUGUESE TREATY SIGNED IN 1373 IS STILL IN FORCE.

Fortune cookies were actually invented in USA, in 1918, by Charles Jung.

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THERE ARE MORE THAN 10 MILLION BRICKS IN THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING.

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Because Britain lived by the Julian calendar, until 1752 New Year’s Day fell on 25th March.

The word

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The weight of a carat (200 milligrams),the standard unit of measurement for gemstones, is based on the weight of the carob seed.

comes from the Greek word

‘GYMNAZEIN’ which means ‘to exercise naked.’

Crocodile dung was the first known contraceptive, used by Egyptians in the year 2000 B.C.

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Image: AP

It’s a little known fact that...

BETWEEN 2010/2011 police recorded rapes of a female increased by five per cent to 14,624 offences.

A STUDY

by Lady Stern highlighted that potentially nine in ten rapes go unreported.

IT wasn’t until 1991 in England and Wales that a husband could be prosecuted for raping his wife.

DOMINIC Strauss-Kahn was born in Neuillysur-Seine, France, on April 25, 1949.

AFTER taking over the IMF in 2007, DSK was praised for putting the IMF at the centre of worldwide efforts to deal with the financial problems.

IN 2008, Strauss-Kahn was investigated over an affair with a senior IMF economist.

NEWS

Do men accused of rape deserve greater protection?

By Dr Nicola Davies

T

HIS time last year, the Coalition Government’s plan to grant pre- and post-charge anonymity to men accused of rape was dropped. This was after Labour and female Tory MPs argued it would send a negative messages to women who accuse men of rape.

However, recent events in America have reopened this debate.

On July 1st, 2011, Dominique Strauss-Kahn (DSK), former International Monetary Fund Chief (and candidate for the 2012 French Presidency), had his house arrest lifted after concerns were raised over the credibility of the hotel maid who accused him of rape in May. Despite great efforts to reveal the identity of the maid she has

remained anonymous, while DSK has been subjected to what the French press refer to as “barbaric” media coverage.

The DSK case, accusations of rape made towards Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen last month, and recent controversy surrounding Justice Secretary Ken Clarke’s comments regarding “serious rape” has led to a media frenzy surrounding alleged rape victims and perpetrators.

Do men accused of rape deserve greater protection? Would anonymity send a negative message to victims or would greater protection of the accused balance the rights of genuine rape victims and falsely accused men? >> I N -D E BAT E / 15

Do men accused of rape deserve greater protection?

1

False allegations destroy lives

FOR

THERE are countless examples of false allegations destroying lives. One well-known example is that of John Leslie, presenter of Blue Peter, This Morning and Wheel of Fortune.

In October 2002, Ulrika Jonsson revealed in her autobiography that a TV presenter had raped her. Amid speculation, Matthew Wright, British journalist and presenter, disclosed that Leslie was the alleged rapist. Despite never being charged with the offences, Leslie’s career never recovered and he told the media on the day of his acquittal that he had “been to hell and back”.

At the extreme, false allegations can lead to suicide as was the case of 21-year-old Dennis Proudfoot. Dennis found himself the centre of gang rape allegations, only for his accuser to later state: “I’m very sorry, I’ll do whatever I can to clear his name of rape because he never did it”.

2

The female accusers receive anonymity

IN ENGLAND and Wales, individuals claiming to have been raped have been provided with anonymity under the Sexual Offences Act for more than 35 years.

While the anonymity of DSK has been broken, the French media have been unsuccessful in attempts to reveal the identity of the accuser.

The same was the case when Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen was accused of rape despite the charges later being dropped.

Throughout the entire accusation Mr Bridgen’s name was slung through the press while his accuser remained nameless. It could be argued that if the law protects the potential victim, then it should also protect the accused as they too, if allegations prove false, are a victim.

Home Office research has shown that between three and nine percent of reported rapes are false and yet, as Alan Dershowitz of World News says: “I believe that being falsely accused of rape is as traumatic as being raped.” It could be argued that both deserve the protection of anonymity.

3

Innocent until proven guilty

THE Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms states: “Everyone charged with a criminal offence shall be presumed innocent until

16 / I N - D E BAT E

proved guilty according to law.” In a U.S. News & World Report, Susan Milligan points out that DSK was denied this element of the U.S. criminal system. She reveals he was “hauled away in handcuffs” and that he was “humiliated in a Law and Order: SVU style ‘perp walk,’ a theatrical production that is in complete defiance of the right to the presumption of innocence.”

In instances such as this, the media becomes the judge, jury and executioner, and as expressed

by Milligan: “It would be a terrible transgression of justice if Strauss-Kahn (or anyone) was wrongly convicted based on media frenzy.”

4

The defendant has a right to trial by jury

IN WORLD News, Alan Dershowitz warns of the DSK case. “Don’t assume anything until all the evidence is in. The story is almost never what it appears to be on first impression,” he said.

With rape allegations making headline news, it becomes of concern whether a defendant can receive a fair trial that takes into consideration all of the evidence. Dershowitz goes on to state: “By withholding the name of the alleged victim while publishing perp photos of the alleged assailant, the press conveys a presumption of guilt.”

The author Mark Twain once commented on the very issue of the media removing the right to trial by jury. He said: “We have a criminal jury system which is superior to any in the world; and its efficiency is only marred by the difficulty of finding 12 men who don’t know anything and can’t read.”

5

Super-injunctions are granted for lesser accusations RECENT news has demonstrated how people in the public eye, such as famous footballers, can be afforded anonymity for extramarital affairs.

It could be argued that if a super-injunction can protect the identity of an individual who is guilty of a behaviour that does not amount to a criminal act, then surely it is only fair to afford the same protection to individuals who have not yet been found guilty of a crime.

Mr Justice Tugendhat informed that his reasons for recently granting a super-injunction was that the footballer concerned might be “booed during games.” This is in stark contrast to the public reaction that is experienced by a man accused of rape, who is not protected in the same way.

News / In-Debate

BARONESS Stern’s Independent Review into how rape complaints are handled by public authorities in England and Wales reports a conviction rate of 58 percent.

If this 58 percent of accused men were to remain anonymous before conviction, it would likely prevent other victims being aware that a suspect has been brought to trial. If the accused then goes on to be found not guilty, the accusation will forever remain out of the public domain.

An example of where the identity of the accused has resulted in a surge of victims coming forward is the case of John Worboys, the London taxi driver and serial rapist. Over 100 additional women came forward due the publicity surrounding the case. In the case of John Leslie, a number of women came forward and Leslie was arrested and charged for two assaults on one of these women.

2

There’s little evidence to change laws on anonymity

DEFENDANT anonymity was previously afforded within the 1976 Sexual Offences Act, only to be discarded by a Conservative government in 1988 at the advice of the police and the Criminal Law Revision Committee.

To this day, Justice Minister Crispin Blunt says there is insufficient evidence to justify a change in law, which is why plans in 2010 to give anonymity to men accused of rape were abandoned.

Mr Blunt supported this with his statement that there was not enough evidence to overcome concerns that “the inability to publicise a person’s identity will prevent further witnesses to a known offence from coming forward, or further unknown offences by the same person from coming to light.”

3

It sends a message that potential victims of rape should not be believed RESEARCH suggests that between 75-95 percent of rapes are never reported to the police. This supports the concerns of the Shadow Minister for women and equality, Yvette Cooper, that affording anonymity to the accused would send “a message to juries and to victims that uniquely in rape cases the victim should not be believed.”

Since anonymity is not granted for other crimes,

allowing it for rape cases could create a feeling among victims that anonymity is being put in place to protect the defendant rather than them.

A feeling experienced by many rape victims is that of self-blame, which would likely be exacerbated if the perpetrator was protected.

4

Rape allegations may be brought for ulterior motives

5

Other crimes are not afforded anonymity

WITH high profile figures being exposed in the media to rape allegations, there is the potential to expose allegations of rape for ulterior motives.

Indeed, there is speculation that a number of recent high profile cases may have been motivated by ulterior motives. It has been speculated that the case of DSK, who is a contender for the next French presidential election, could have been set up.

Colleen Long of the Associated Press writes that: “If the case against DSK collapses, it could again shake up the race for the French presidency.

Before the scandal, Strauss-Kahn, a prominent Socialist, had been seen as a leading challenger to conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy.”

There is also the case of Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks. Assange appeared in court on July 12th, 2011, to appeal his extradition to Sweden to face accusations of rape. As reported in The Guardian, his defence team claim that the allegations are “politically motivated” and that if Assange was extradited to Sweden it would “make it easier for the U.S. authorities to extradite him to face charges relating to his release last year of classified documents”.

AGAINST

1

Anonymity prevents further witnesses coming forward

INDIVIDUALS accused of other crimes that can have serious repercussions, such as murder, are not afforded anonymity.

Shadow Minister Yvette Cooper states: “The Government has failed to give any reason why rape should be treated differently to any other crime...”

It could be argued that to protect the anonymity of men accused of rape underplays the equally life-changing impact of being falsely named as a murderer or other criminal.

It could also be argued that men accused of rape should not be singled out from other false accusations. By singling them out and providing them with special privileges, issues of inequality across crimes are raised, posing wider legal and social implications.

I N -D E BAT E / 17

T ?

NO I B E HY CR W BS SU

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In-Debate THE FREE INTELLIGENT READ

Image: NASA Images

It’s a little known fact that...

NASA was set up on July 29th, 1958 and stands for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

THE term “aeronautics” is derived from the Greek words for “air” and “to sail”.

THE Space Shuttles main engine weighs one seventh as much as a train engine but delivers as much horsepower as 39 locomotives.

IN 1966, Eugene Cernan space walked for 2hrs 7mins. When he got back in the craft, he emptied almost 1 litre of sweat from his boots.

IN April 2001, Dennis Tito became the first ever space tourist.

He paid $22m to stay aboard the ISS for 8 days.

THE record for the longest single stay in space was broken by cosmonaut Valeri Poliakov after he stayed in space for 438 days, 17hrs, 58mins, and 16 seconds.

SCIENCE

Is this the end of human space flight?

By Rob Coppingher

O

N JULY 21st, 2011, NASA’s space shuttle Atlantis landed, completing its final mission and in the process ending America’s 42-year dominance of the space race.

The days of Neil Armstrong’s pioneering first steps on the moon and the Apollo missions appear a distant memory now as NASA’s billion-dollar budget has been cut after pressure it was too expensive in the current global recession.

And now following President Obama’s decision to cancel George W. Bush’s return to the moon mission, which was intended to find an alternative to the space shuttle, there is no replacement for the world’s only reusable spaceplane.

The decision to end NASA’s 30-

year use of spaceplanes had been on the cards since the 2003 Shuttle Columbia disaster. That was the second time a crew had died on lift off. The first crew of the Shuttle Challenger were killed in 1986.

The landing of Atlantis marks the end of an era of U.S. human space exploration, leaving Russia as currently the sole taxi to the International Space Station (ISS).

So what does this mean for the future of space flight? Is it the end or is it simply a transition to private firms operating as cargo carriers to space? Can NASA bounce back with a mission to Mars or will emerging space powers like China and India fill the void and assert their dominance over the “final frontier”? >> I N -D E BAT E / 19

Is this the end of human space flight?

1

Astronauts are too expensive

ACCORDING to NASA’s budget the space shuttle programme cost around $6 billion a year and they only flew five times a year on average.

Meanwhile, the now complete International Space Station (ISS) has cost NASA billions since work began in the 1980s. These costs will continue to mount as Barack Obama’s space plan involves keeping the ISS operational till 2025, but the President had to draw the line at his predecessor’s return to the Moon mission.

In August 2009, the United States Government Accountability Office reported that NASA expected the Moon programme’s total cost to be over $97 billion by 2020 – and that’s not even counting building a moonbase.

Robin McKie, in The New Statesman, comments that such projects have become a challenge that will stretch NASA to its limits as it struggles to find a way to free itself from the shackles of its past.

2

Space travel is deadly

FOR

IN JUNE it was widely reported that the crew of the ISS had to get into their Soyuz spacecraft because orbital debris was to pass by the station. Space agencies were concerned the debris could damage the outpost.

Space travel is dangerous, the space shuttle fleet has been retired because it killed 14 people on shuttles Challenger and Columbia.

In The Washington Post, Gail Williams explains that “it’s unclear whether the American people and its leaders will accept the risk of failure, even the loss of life, inherent in deep space travel”.

Other people have died too, the Russians have lost four cosmonauts with two Soyuz spacecraft disasters. The first Soyuz crashed to Earth in 1967 killing its pilot and in 1971 the three-man crew of Soyuz 11 died when the capsule depressurised.

Space is a harsh environment with debris, asteroids, cosmic radiation and spacecraft malfunctions all threatening human beings.

3

People don’t need to go into space

SATELLITES and robotic space probes are all we need. This is the view of Lord Martin Rees, the astronomer royal and Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics at the University of Cambridge.

According to Rees, human spaceflight is wasteful spending. For Rees the robotic space probes that have travelled to every planet in the

2 0 / I N - D E BAT E

solar system are much better value for money.

Rees points to successes such as the Hubble space telescope, which has provided stunning images of the Cosmos. The planet hunting spacecraft Kepler from NASA and France’s Corot have detected planets almost the same size as Earth. One day they may find a planet like Earth with liquid water and an oxygen atmosphere.

Unmanned spacecraft also help society. Satellites provide television, phone signals, weather forecasts and other services that enhance our lives and no one has to risk going into space to do it.

4

Earth’s problems should come first

5

Public opinion is against it

ROBIN Hanson, researcher at the University of Oxford’s Future of Humanity Institute, told the U.S. publication The Examiner in July this year that human spaceflight was “mostly like the pyramids — national prestige and being part of history”.

Instead of spending billions for national prestige the money could be spent on education, social housing and healthcare.

The money spent on NASA would increase the U.S. housing budget by a fifth. NASA’s budget for this year was around $18 billion and the annual U.S. military space budget is double that again.

The U.S. spending on space is more than the rest of the world’s put together, and while much of this is spent on GPS, weather systems and other Earth monitoring satellites many believe that human spaceflight spending serves no purpose.

POLITICIANS think space exploration is a way to bolster their support.

John F. Kennedy had his Apollo programme, Richard Nixon started Space Shuttles, Ronald Reagan announced Space Station Freedom and the two Bush presidents wanted America to return to the Moon. But polling history shows that the U.S. public, even during the Apollo programme, has been opposed to it all.

Roger Launius, Curator at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum’s human spaceflight collection, said: “The only point at which the opinion surveys demonstrate that more than 50 percent of the public believed Apollo was worth its expense came in 1969 at the time of the Apollo 11 lunar landing.

And even then only a measly 53 percent agreed that the result justified the expense”.

Science / In-Debate

ON APRIL 15th, 2010, President Barack Obama spoke at Kennedy Space Centre about his space vision. He outlined how private companies would service the International Space Station (ISS), and said: “By 2025 we expect new spacecraft designed for long journeys to allow us to begin the first-ever crewed missions…to an asteroid”.

Obama’s asteroid mission uses a new rocket called Space Launch System and a spaceship called the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV). These two will not be developed from scratch. The SLS has been developing since 2008 and the MPCV since 2005 when President George W. Bush announced a return to the Moon.

One of Obama’s two ISS servicing companies, Space Exploration Technologies, expects to deliver cargo this November. The other, Orbital Sciences, plans to go to ISS in 2012.

2

The International Space Station lives on

IN FEBRUARY 2010, the space agencies that operate the ISS announced their support for the U.S. Government’s intention to operate the ISS beyond 2020.

After ten years of building the outpost the focus for its crew of six is science. That crew includes Americans, Russians, Japanese, Canadians and Europeans. With the ISS we can discover how elements, chemicals and compounds react differently without gravity. But the biggest experiment is the station itself. It is the largest man made structure in space.

If humanity is to travel to the stars we need to understand how machines in space can work for many years. The station is also enabling a new commercial approach to spaceflight. From this November the ISS will be serviced by American companies Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and Orbital Sciences.

3

Communists and capitalists aim for space

CHINA launched its first man into space in 2003.

India plans to launch its first astronaut in this decade. Indian Space Research Organisation chief K. Radhakrishnan told The Hindu newspaper in July that manned spaceflight was needed for technology spin offs. Also in July, Yang Liwei –

China ’s first man in space – told the state-run Xinhua news agency the country would have a space station by 2020. By 2020 American company Bigelow Aerospace hopes to have a private space station. Bigelow is working with Boeing, which is developing a crew capsule.

Meanwhile, Boeing’s competitor for crew transport is SpaceX, a company whose Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule have already flown.

4

Human space flight has many spin off benefits

5

Why does humanity explore?

DEVELOPING technologies for spaceflight creates many spin off benefits for society. NASA has a website dedicated to spin off technology and the agency produces an annual report.

The NASA chief technologist oversees this work and examples range from air conditioning systems to buildings powered by portable fuel cells that were originally designed for space shuttles.

The European Space Agency also has a department dedicated to spin offs. The Technology transfer programme office claims over 200 successes. One example is a new way to kill antibiotic resistant bacteria that plague hospitals. Physics experiments on the ISS in 2001 led to a device that uses electrically charged gas, known as plasma, to kill bacteria on any surface including skin.

AGAINST

1

Obama’s new rocket and manned spacecraft

EXPLORING space is not just about scientific understanding. Past U.S. presidents have said human spaceflight is part of humanity’s journey – just like the trek out of Africa and across the world.

For President John F. Kennedy in 1961 the Moon programme was about a “new frontier”.

Over forty years later, both presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush also evoked similar themes. In January 2004, Bush said:“Mankind is drawn to the heavens for the same reason we were once drawn into unknown lands.” While Obama in 2010, said:“As President I believe that space exploration is not a luxury, it’s not an afterthought in America’s quest for a brighter future – it is an essential part of that quest.”

Roger Highfield editor of the New Scientist sums up the situation rather nicely. “[The] current economic situation is going to hold back space exploration for a while. But is the dream over? Far from it. Be prepared for the next giant leap.”

I N -D E BAT E / 21

THE EVOLUTION OF PERFECTION

FINLANDIA VODKA REDESIGN YOUR IMAGINATION finlandia.com Keep your judgement pure. Drink responsibly.

©2011 Finlandia Vodka Worldwide Ltd., Helsinki, Finland. Finlandia Flavoured Vodka 40% Alc./Vol. B3P13400019

INTRODUCING THE NEW BOTTLE FOR OUR WORLD CLASS PREMIUM VODKA.

LISTINGS / Brain Food 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

August is a very quiet month, so we have mustered up some of the few events going on around London.

However it is all about quality, not quantity and for that reason we think we have found some pretty good events this month to keep your mind working, and if you have nothing to do then go to all of them!

For information on any event please visit the event providers website.

Business

Class, Control and Clones

British Library – 1st Aug, 6.30pm, £7.50/£5

Kevin Macdonald in Conversation

What do ‘social science fiction’ works such as Brave New World and The Handmaid’s Tale say about our preoccupations with gender relations, fertility and class? Is it simply a question of science, sex and stereotypes, or do more fundamental ethical, sociological and political issues underpin the fictional worlds created?

Join a host of speakers to discuss.

Front Line Club – 11th Aug, 7pm

Academy Award winning Director Kevin Macdonald will be discussing his most recent film Life in a Day, a project using entirely crowd-sourced footage chronicling the world’s experience over the course of twenty-four hours.

We will also take a look at his career to date, from his Oscar-winning documentary One Day in September, about the murder of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics to Touching the Void, one of the most successful documentaries in British history.

Preview Screening - You’ve Been Trumped Front Line Club – 12th Aug, 7pm

A daring and provacative film, You’ve Been Trumped takes an investigate look into the effects of Donald Trump’s proposed luxury golf resort being built on what conservationists call the “crown jewels” of Scotland’s natural wildlife. In the face of political pressure from the Scottish Government, filmmaker Anthony Baxter examines the devastating ecological impact of the course on the coastal landscape north of Aberdeen.

We see residents who have had their water shut off, land ruined, and voices silenced in their attempts to reverse the decision to develop the property.

Counterinsurgency and the “war on terror”: Doomed to fail?

Front Line Club – 23rd Aug, 7pm

As we approach the 10-year anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks we will be bringing together a panel of experts to discuss the “War on Terror”.

What has been achieved in Afghanistan and Iraq and, ten years on, what could be learnt from the Arab Spring about change in the region?

5 months into a new campaign in Libya, is it time that we reassess our involvement in the Arab world? Join Frank Ledwidge, who served in the Balkan wars and Iraq as a military intelligence officer and in Afghanistan as a civilian advisor.

Guardian review Book Club: Alan Hollinghurst The Reel Presents…

Café 1001, Brick Lane – 1st Aug, 7pm, FREE ‘The Reel Presents…’ is a monthly celebration of the best short-form moving-image work from around the globe. Showcasing shorts, animation, pop promos, ‘content’ and experimental, art and fashion films, the event features the very best current work from commercial and bedroom filmmakers. For this screening The Reel have teamed up with Rushes Soho Shorts to present the festival’s prestigious Audience Award and screen the three finalists. RSVP to thereelpresents@ thereel.net.

Where now for the people of Syria?

Front Line Club – 3rd Aug, 7pm

Since mid - March when the Arab Spring reached Syria there have been continuous crack downs on protestors

by Syrian forces. Activists claim more than 1,300 civilians have been killed.

We will be bringing together a panel of experts to examine the situation on the ground in Syria. Could the international community be doing more to intervene?Join us with Paddy O’Connell of BBC Radio, BBC Newsnight’s Sue Lloyd-Roberts, Malik Al-Abdeh, chief editor of Barada and Christopher Phillips, Syria analyst in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Middle East team.

Kings Place – 8th Aug, 7pm, £9.50

Alan Hollinghurst will talk to John Mullan about his Booker-winning novel, The Line of Beauty. Summer 1983. In the heady boom years of the early 80s, the novel examines the wider political context of a greedy, ruthless decade – there is even a cameo for Margaret Thatcher herself.

How Much Does Style Matter?

The Wheatsheaf - 30th Aug, 8pm

Samuel Wheeler in his book Deconstruction as Analytic Philosophy tells an anecdote about meeting the philosopher Jacques Derrida and presenting him with a copy of the book Naming and Necessity, often extolled as a model of clarity in philosophical writing. Derrida, it turned out, had looked at the book but not been able to understand it. Does it matter how a philosopher writes? Can we “translate” a thinker whose style is difficult into clearer terms, as we could with a scientist? The discussion will be led by Dr Mark Rowe, a Senior Lecturer in Philosophy.

Between the Sheets: how poetry magazines get made South Bank Centre – 3rd Aug, 8pm, Free

What’s involved in putting together a poetry magazine? What do magazine editors look for? How do current magazines differ? Join us for this discussion with three different editors from three distinct magazines - South Bank Poetry, Fuselit and Modern Poetry in Translation.

I N -D E BAT E / 2 3

BATTLE OF IDEAS In a period in which we are seeing important cultural shifts and many longstanding institutions are being called into question, never has the need for rational debate been more important. This year In-Debate is partnering with the Battle of Ideas festival to hold two days of the kind of high-level, thoughtprovoking, public debate that is currently much needed.

Taking place on 29 & 30 October, it is organised by the Institute of Ideas and hosted by the Royal College of Art in London. Over 2,250 people will attend 75 debates over the weekend, with 350 speakers from all over the world participating in discussions. Free speech allowed!

Issues to be scrutinised will include the role of business in the Big Society, whether tolerance has gone too far, what remains of loyalty in the age of whistle-blowing and Wikileaks and whether the dependency culture is making us ill. Strands of debates this year include morality, food, sport and the brain.

Confirmed speakers include: Simon Baron-Cohen, Daniel Ben-Ami, Melvin Burgess, Claire Fox, Frank Furedi, Tom Holland, Phillipe Legrain, Paul Mason, Ruth Padel, Brendan O’Neill, William Saletan, John Sutherland, Tariq Ramadan, George Szirtes, Ray Tallis, Gáspár Tamás, Tom Watt and Martin Wolf.

The full programme is now available online and early bird tickets are available.

Visit www.battleofideas.org.uk or call 020 7269 9220 for more information.

Hopefully In-Debate readers will join the thousands of individuals coming together to take this opportunity to explore and interrogate many of the burning contemporary issues of our time.

WHY DO PEOPLE SAY THEY “SLEPT LIKE A BABY”, WHEN BABIES NORMALLY WAKE UP EVERY TWO HOURS?

WHOSE IDEA WAS IT TO PUT AN “S” IN THE WORD “LISP”?

It’s Worth a Ponder!

Seeing as the good old institutions that provide the events and talks have decided to close down and take a little break over August, we thought that we didn’t want to let your brain sit idle twiddling it’s imaginary thumbs. So we have put together a list of things we don’t have an answer for and think they are definitely worth pondering and some quite amusing!

HOW IMPORTANT DOES SOMEONE HAS TO BE BEFORE THEY CAN BE ‘ASSASSINATED’ RATHER THAN JUST PLAIN ‘MURDERED’?

WHY DO DOCTORS CALL WHAT THEY DO “PRACTICE”?

Send us your suggestions of what baffles you to letstalk@in-debate.com and we may just feature them next month.

WHY DOES GOOFY STAND ERECT WHILE PLUTO REMAINS ON ALL FOURS?

WHY IS THERE A LIGHT IN THE FRIDGE BUT NOT IN THE FREEZER?

WHY IS LEMON JUICE MADE WITH ARTIFICIAL FLAVOUR, WHILE DISHWASHING LIQUID IS MADE WITH REAL LEMONS?

WHY DOESN’T GLUE STICK TO THE BOTTLE?

WHY ISN’T THERE MOUSE FLAVOURED CAT FOOD?

WHY IS “ABBREVIATED” SUCH A LONG WORD?

I N -D E BAT E / 2 5

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11 N 20 SO N A M SE TU TE AU BA E D

LISTINGS / IQ2 Events 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

The 2011 autumn season is our starriest yet with big name speakers including Umberto Eco, Jimmy Carter, Steven Pinker, Pervez Musharraf, Bernard Henri-Lévy and many more. Standard tickets are £25 and £12.50 for students. Tickets available from www.intelligencesquared.com.

The War on Terror was the right response to 9/11 6th September, Cadogan Hall

Have the efforts of the West to eradicate Al-Qaeda worldwide simply been fuelling the flames of hatred and violence? Or is the US right to be pursuing its hard line against militants in countries such as Pakistan and Yemen? Former President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, is proposing this highly provocative motion.

#iq2war

Cycling Festival

Legends Live - Jimmy Carter in conversation with Jon Snow

5th October, Royal Festival Hall

8th September, Royal Geographical Society The bicycle. It’s a passion, an obsession, a career, an instrument of self-torture. The most articulate amateur and professional cyclists will be celebrating this extraordinary partnership between man and machine. Will Self, Geoff Dyer, Graeme Obree, Bella Bathurst and Patrick Field saddle up for this fantastic evening.

Jimmy Carter is a Nobel Prize winner, author, humanitarian, professor, farmer, naval officer and carpenter. In this special Intelligence² interview with Jon Snow from Channel 4 News, President Carter will talk about his career as president, and the past three decades as a senior statesman and ambassador for the Carter Center. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear President Carter relate some of his remarkable stories and share his views of global politics today.

#iq2carter

#iq2bike

Democracy is India’s Achilles heel 27 September, Royal Geographical Society We assume democracy to be a good thing, but some say that in India the competition for votes only fosters corruption, reinforces the caste system and hampers what could be even greater economic growth.

Democracy in India: something to be cherished or despised? Bridget Kendall chairs our debate with speakers William Dalrymple, Mani Shankar Aiyar and Suhel Seth.

#iq2india

Legends Live - Umberto Eco 19th November, Kensington Town Hall The writer and semiotician’s new novel The Prague Cemetery is published in the UK this autumn and is Eco’s biggest seller in Europe since The Name of the Rose. The book is an historical pseudo-reconstruction set in a 19th-century Europe, covering everything from the unification of Italy, the Paris Commune, the Dreyfus Affair to The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Eco will be discussing this and other works and inspirations with Paul Holdengräber, Director of LIVE at the New York Public Library.

Great Minds - Steven Pinker

1st November, Royal Geographical Society Can violence really have declined?

The images of global conflict we see daily on our screens suggest this is an almost obscene claim to be making. Extraordinarily, however, in this riveting talk to accompany his new book The Better Angels of Our Nature US cognitive scientist Steven Pinker shows violence within and between societies – both murder and warfare – has actually declined from prehistory to today.

#iq2pinker

#iq2eco

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 E BAT E / 27

Chessie Felber’s London Treats E AT

DRINK

DO

Spinning Baranis Sartoria THE beautiful area of Mayfair with its tree-lined streets and grand squares is no longer solely the heart of ‘old school’ British tradition.

Instead, visitors to London are coming to see Mayfair as the heart of cutting edge food and fashion.

One of Mayfair’s most famous streets is Saville row and conventiently on the corner is Sartoria. This elegant Milanese-style venue is where the fashionistas head for a quick espresso, a light lunch of San Daniele ham or creamy Burrata.

Despite Italian spirit, Sartoria is very much a London restaurant. The team there know exactly how its audience of local residents, shoppers, foodies and visitors like to eat.

Sartoria is always in step with the changing international and local tastes. I highly recommend!

Tel: 0207 534 7000 20 Savile Row, W1S 3PR www.sartoria-restaurant.co.uk 2 8 / IN-DE BATE

IF your budget doesn’t allow for you to take a trip to the South of France have no fear. We have Baranis, a chic London bar that transports you in an instant to sun-kissed Provence.

NOT enough free time to train for Tour de France? Then spinning is for you. It’s the new fad, and A-lister to Z-listers are using spinning as the method to get in shape and keep fit.

Located in the stunning site that was once Hodgson’s Auction House, Baranis is made up of a dramatic but discreet single room. Booths built into the arches surround the incredibly eye catching indoor petanque court- in fact, the UKs only indoor peanque court.

Spinning accommodates all levels of riders on stationary bikes in group classes, lasting around an hour.

In any class there is a mix from newcomers and experienced riders.

The class will deliver the ride you want and the instructor is there to facilitate and train you on it. Some choose mountain climbs, others core strength while others may just focus on technique.

Baranis’ wine list is exclusively French but what is incredibly intriguing are the cocktails. The thyme daiquiri, rose mojito and gentiane champagne cocktail all draw their inspiration from the fragrances and flavours of the region.

At Baranis, with a glass of rose in hand and a game of petanque, city life seems a million miles away.

Tel: 0207 738 8645 115 Chancery Lane, WC2A 1PP bookings@baranis.co.uk

Spinning is something everyone can do, not just women as so often perceived. If you want to burn 400600 calories in an hour then head to your local gym or spinning centre.

With summer in full swing it’s time to get the perfect body.

Heres a recommendation: Pedal Studio 4 Token Yard, Putney High Street, SW15 1SR

It’s No Debate.

Goodies and gadgets you can’t argue with!

Is it a pad or a computer?

It’s both!

Simple products with a twist.

ASUS Transformer

j-me

I’M CHESSIE and I’m a PC. And I am hugely excited about the highly anticipated Eee Pad Transformer tablet which is available now.

CONTINUING our little habit of showing you cool little things to buy, we stumbled upon j-me while having a breezy (yes this summer is so far rubbish) walk through the Oxo Tower. j-me is the vision of brothers Mark and Jamie Antoniades who share a common desire to consistently create products that encompass original design, quality and attention to detail. The awardwinning j-me design range is available at the Oxo Tower studios and stockists across the UK.

The Eee Pad Transformer does exactly what it says on the box – it transforms. Thanks to a unique docking keyboard, this modernistic device can be used either as an independent tablet for a lightweight option for browsing or travelling, or with a simple clip- in-place action it transforms into a traditional netbook perfect for longer typing demands and work.

Boasting a unique design and up to 16 hours battery life, the 10.1in device is fun sized, lightweight and is a perfect fit for bags or large pockets. It will be your best commuter buddy, and it’s not too expensive either at £379 for the Pad only and £429 with the keyboard.

The Eee Pad has a scratch proof screen, Android 3.0 operating system (that’s Google’s new boast), access to thousands of applications via Android Market and front and rear facing cameras for your Skyping needs. Finally, iPad users can stop looking so smug.

Sold at most electronic stores and online

Their products really are cool and we decided to buy a few little “goodies” for the In-Debate office. We got a snazzy little sellotape dispenser, a funky key holder and a subtle but sleek magazine holder so we can put In-Debate on show. I think we can safely say the j-me range is crafted with a balance of eye-catching design and functionality with a twist of humour.

Because we liked them so much we went back and pleaded with them to provide for our competition. So on page 31 we are giving you the chance to win a box of their goodies.

www.j-me.co.uk 1.20 - 1.21, Oxo Tower Wharf, SE1 9PH I N -D E BAT E / 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 only other option available is military presence, and we are so stretched at the moment especially with Libya that sanctions are the only viable option surely?�

Sam Rudnik, Chelmsford “No they are a waste of space and time. They have done nothing with Iran, they continue to get arms from Russia, and Syria continue to attack civilians. What a waste!�

Chris Zwan, Wimbledon “As a devout catholic I am happy to admit that religion and politics should stay apart. They should follow our guiding principles but we should let an elected government do what they need to do.�

R.Quirasi “Civilisation was build on the principles of religion, and therefore it has a place in all aspects of society.�

Lyla Martins, HMPS “It is disgusting the amount of smut that litters our TV screens.�

Ali6768, Twitter “Let children be children. We have always grown up with a bit of debauchery. It’s healthy.�

Sue Dawns, Leeds “I don’t think Murray is capable but I am pretty sure that one day a Brit will win the most coveted prize of Wimbledon. We have some really good new talent coming through the ranks.�

Robin Silvestre, Southhampton “Well I read this and Andy Murray had already crashed out. So the simple answer is no!�

Martytrom, Twitter

News Crossword No.10

Across 7 Oxygen carriers (3,5,5) 8 Was Constantinople (8) 9 Units of electrical resistance (4) 10/17 Former newspaper editor (7,6)

Down

1 Intelligence (4) 2 Afire (6) 3 Tug (7) 4 Chart topping female singer(5) 5 Aerobic organism (6)

12 Jean fabric (5)

6 London 2012 (8)

14 Imitative (5)

11 Outspoken (8)

16 City in Kenya (7)

13 Actor Dustin (7)

19 Clinton (4)

15 Drip in the news (6)

20 Space shuttle launches (4,4)

17 See 10 Across

22 DJs but not a bit Pete Tong (6,7)

18 Appall (5) 21 Summer school bash (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.19 EASY

No.20 HARD

WIN - A box of gifts from j-me!

Get your hands on a box of goodies and products from j-me. As we have already said in our It’s No Debate section, these guys really do have some cool trinkets, many of which we have brought ourselves.

So this month j-me are offering one reader the chance to win ÂŁ50 worth of their products for your home or office. These little inventive goods will make your life that little bit more organised and bring a sense of humour to your every day products.

PERFECT GOODIES FOR THE HOME

To enter into the competition and get your hands on j-me products it couldn’t be simpler *. All you have to do is e-mail your Full Name, Address and Age to: letstalk@in-debate.com If you don’t win this time round, you will still be offered 10% off the j-me range online or in-store as a thank you for entering into the competition. *Terms and Conditions: One winner will be chosen at random and the draw will take place on the 30th August. Closing date for entries is the 29th August. The winner will be notified via email on the day or close to the day of the draw. The images displayed are not guaranteed to be part of the prize.

I N -D E BAT E / 31

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