Netherhall News July 2008

Netherhall News a bi-monthly magazine

London, July 2008 Issue 23

Bloody hands or washing our hands: when should we intervene in another nation’s problems?

Somaliland: a nation not on the map The Good Life: time for a re-run? re

Netherhall News a bi-monthly magazine

London, July 2008 Issue 23

... IN THIS ISSUE special features 7 Why are only some atrocities atrocious? z the politics of intervention 9 Somaliland z a case for international recognition 12 UNIverse or MULTIverse z the bio-friendliness question remains open 13 The medieval world z unearthing modern roots 15 I say tomato z You say tomato

regular features 3 editorial 6 director’s notes 11 mind boggler 16 alumni news 17 life at the hall

Netherhall News CONTENT EDITOR Zubin Mistry MANAGING EDITOR, DESIGN & SETTING Kevin Gouder CONTRIBUTIONS AND ADVICE Peter Brown, Fr Joe Evans, Prakarsh Singh, Luke Wilkinson, Dominic Burbidge and Chima Okezue.

CIRCULATION Netherhall News is sent by e-mail to current and past residents of Netherhall House. It is also available at http://www.nh.netherhall.org.uk/Newsletters/Newsletters.htm CONTACT US Would you like to be included in our mailing list, contribute to or express your opinion on Netherhall News? Write to: KEVIN GOUDER C/O NETHERHALL NEWS, NETHERHALL HOUSE, NUTLEY TERRACE, LONDON, NW3 5SA, U.K. or E-MAIL: alumni@nh.netherhall.org.uk DISCLAIMER: All opinions expressed in this magazine are those of the authors concerned and do not necessarily represent the views of the editors of Netherhall News, of Netherhall House or of Opus Dei.

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from the

Editor’s Desk Editor ZUBIN MISTRYY strokes hiss beard and wonders whether there’s more to the world of of competitions than this summer’s European Europe ean Championships.

Championships

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t next month’s Football Writers Manqués Anonymous meeting, I already know exactly what I’ll say. “I’d been clean for a long time, maybe even a year, but last month I lapsed.” With a major football tournament on, any temperance recovering football addicts have built up disintegrates more pathetically than England’s risible attempts at qualifying for this year’s European Championship Finals. In short, I feel compelled to write about football.

England are not there, of course, after various factors on, off and including the pitch conspired to culminate in an ignominious third placed group nish, behind the Russians and the Croatians. But it is not all doom and gloom. For a start, it means we will not see images of hooligan hordes draped in In-ger-land ags as they ransack quaint continental town squares. More importantly, it has opened up the possibility of enjoying a football tournament without the in ated hype (and absurd headlines) which accompany the English round the world. ish team rou And this England-free tournament has not dissappointed. There have been several sumptuous us us performances (the Dutch against everyone early rlly on, the Spanish against the Russians, and then the he Russians against the Dutch). There has been a plethora of dramatic denouements, with more absurd twists and turns ns than a David Lynch movie (think of almost all the Turkish sh h matches). Even the couple of dull games have raised ed the bar. France’s opening game against Romania and nd the Spanish victory over the Italians on penalties, es, were not mediocre, run-of-the-mill dull affairs. rs.

They were paragons of consummate, almost ost epic dullness, well worth watching for the he plaintive laments of the tv studio pundits. ts.

It has been an excellent tournament nt and I look forward to its climax, x, even if my personal favourites have ve now been knocked out. I have no o af liation to Turkey, though only ly someone whose taste buds were re forcibly removed can refrain in from gorging on kisir, borek ek and kulbasti whenever the he opportunity presents itself. lf.

But the combination of a never-say-die attitude, e, which has seen them m score dramatic laststminute goals in their last three ee matches, toogether with th the fact ct

Servet Ç

etin

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from the Editor’s Desk, cont... rates or no pirates. Mindful of these people, I thought that they seem to lose seven players to injury each it would be an appropriate time to mention some altergame, has tempted me. And their cult-hero-in-the-maknative competitions and tournaments one might obsess ing and half-pirate centre-back, Servet Çetin, won me over. over to the Turkish cause with his heroics against the Czechs, struggling on despite sustaining blows which Of course, my well-informed readers are well aware would have attened even Netherhall’s very own bruiser, of the World’s Ugliest Dog Fr. Joseph Evans (who has England are not there, of course, after Con never been seen in the same Contest, held annually at the Sonoma-Marin country the room as Swiss captain, Luvarious factors on, off and including fai in California for the past fair dovic Magnin). I will ruefully the pitch conspired to culminate in an tw twenty years. Last week miss the man whose fans call ignominious third placed group finish, him Ayibogen (“a man who saw Gus, a cancer-af icted, on three-legged Chicould choke a bear”) and the behind the Russians and the Croatians. one-eyed, nes Crested dog claim the nese three remaining Turks who covv co coveted prize. Lest this all aren’t undergoing life-saving surgery after they inevitably lost to the well-oiled Gerseems a little too much like a freak-show, it is worth pointing out that most of the animals who take part are man juggernaut, the most recent game as I write. rescued dogs, hence their often grotesque appearance.

The owner of this year’s winner revealed that she would But, of course, I am too sensitive to be totally negligent of those who do not want a Euro 2008 themed editorial. spend the prize money on treatment for Gus’ skin cancer. The competition has its own bits of famous history.

For a whole host of reasons, there are many for whom Sam, the winner of back to back titles from 2003-2005, this tournament simply is not worth obsessing over, pi-

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CARTOON BY: The Netherhall Artist

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from the Editor’s Desk, cont... died only a few days after receiving his third crown. And who can forget the scandal that erupted in 2006, when internet votes were sabotaged by an unidenti ed hacker?

But if animals are not your thing, then there is always the World Beard and Moustache Championships, which took Brighton by storm last year. Featuring seventeen different categories, the competition consistently delivers an array of moustachioed and bearded talent for both newcomer and purist in equal measure. It is also succour for the facially hirsute, among whom I count myself.

In recent times, there’s been more British success in the beard hall than on the football pitch. Last year’s championships saw three British winners, in the Natural Moustache, Partial Beard Chinese and Partial Beard Musketeer categories.

And the good news for those who have a bit of time on their hands and hair on their lips is that the next championship, which will take place in Alaska, is less than a year away.

Having a beard, though, is no good if you are a competitive eater. Stalwarts of the competitive eating circuit like Takeru Kobayashi must sacri ce beards in the name of sporting prowess. Kobayashi holds various competitive eating records not least for eating 53.75 hot dogs in 12 minutes. He is ranked third in the world according to the rigorous standards of the International Federation of Competitive Eating.

Kobayashi won the prestigious Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, held annually in New York, for six years in a row from 2001-2006, making him the Pete Sampras of this 93 year old competition. Sadly, Kobayashi’s dominance came to an end at last year’s competition, in which Joey “Jaws” Chestnut won the tournament and shattered Kobayashi’s record in the process, managing a staggering 59.5 hot dogs. Rumours of his retirement (from eating in general) have spread since then, though we will only know whether or not he has really traded hot dogs for cold

turkey when Nathan’s Hot Dog Contest gets underway on 4th July. Incidentally, these competitions are not for the simply gluttonous. Competitive eaters must train their bodies to perfect their metabolism (and look after their health). Most importantly, competitive eating also offers some solace to English sports fans whose national pride has been hurting of late. Englishman Peter Dowdeswell, a man who can down a yard of ale in ve seconds, is among the most successful competitive eaters in recorded history and he has managed to raise over £4 million for charity over the years.

If, however, like me, you are wondering what to do between the end of the European Championships and the start of next year’s World Beard and Moustache Championships, then look no further than the Viva World Cup. Unlike the other competitions mentioned, there is something more weighty about this one.

It is a football tournament organised by the New Federation Board, an association for nations which are not recognised as sovereign states. Members include Chechnya, Tibet, Easter Island and Somaliland (on which I highly recommend Chima Okezue’s article in this issue of the magazine). The second ever Viva World Cup will kick off on 7 July (just in time to get back from Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest) in Gallivare, Sweden, and will feature Padania, Provence, Iraqi Kurdistan, Bethnahrin and the defending champions and hosts, Sápmi.

After that, however, I am not going to be of much help. If you need me, you will nd me in my room, with an untouched hot dog on my plate, impatiently waiting for my bristles to grow while I wistfully imagine triumphantly basking in the Alaskan sun, the proud winner of the Full Beard Freestyle, and dream of becoming the man who restored In-ger-lish pride after the shortcoming of those designer goatee footballers.

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y the time this edition of the magazine hits your computer screens I hope to be in Boston, Massachusetts. From 15th June I shall be doing my annual course in a place called Arnold Hall just outside Boston. (It’s a bit like Wickenden Manor, for those of you who have been on a retreat whilst at Netherhall). As many of you will know, members of Opus Dei spend some time each year on courses of formation and this is what I am doing. I shall be studying the Pentateuch (i.e. the rst ve books of the Bible).

One of the hardest things about the annual course at this time of the year is actually getting away without leaving so many things for Alvaro to complete that he has a nervous breakdown! Already the summer courses have started. A group of 10 from Ecuador arrived on 9th June and they will be followed by the Swiss group at the end of the month and the Seville group at the start of July. In addition to that, Alvaro is leaving to go to Thailand on the workcamp on 11th July. All in all he won’t be playing much tennis in my absence!

The start of the summer does however mean the end of yet another fantastic academic year. As always it is a time of sadness in that we lose some tremendous residents. I want to mention two in particular because they have been with us three years. Tim Yu is leaving to take up a post in the Hong Kong civil service. He has been a tremendous asset to the hall. Always cheerful and always willing to help, I only wish we could have his twin arrive next year. We will also miss his shouting on the football pitch. What a voice!

Shouting is the main attribute of the other departing resident I would like to mention, Khurram Asad, from Pakistan. Although not as loud as his older brother Amir, Khurram is by far the loudest resident we have had this year. Again, Khurram has been a great asset to the house with his special blend of cheerfulness and optimism! The get-togethers won’t be quite the same without him.

We have had a memorable term and in particular the last two weeks of May have been action-packed. On the 16th of the month the staff produced a fantastic meal to mark the end of the academic year.

After the dinner we nally managed to get a group photo of the residents.

On 24th , 34 residents in seven cars made a pilgrimage to Walsingham, an ancient shrine of Mary in Norfolk, on England’s East coast (I missed John Henry for this because for many years he was one of the drivers). Then on 30th may Anthony Lazarus, Luke Wilkinson and Robert Devlin produced a hilarious evening of comedy. Half lmed and half performed live, I was amazed at the quality of the material and the acting (with Philipp Wirtz, Simon White and Joshua Kassanis starring alongside the producers). Finally on 31st we jointly hosted, together with the Cavatina Chamber Music Trust, a recital for string quartet by the “Greenwich Trio and friends”, a magni cent evening of chamber music. If 2008-9 is anything like 2007-8 it will be a great year!

Director’s Notes Director PETER BROWN reflects on the end of another wonderful year at Netherhall - and the departure of two of Netherhall’s loudest voices.

As said above, on July 11th Alvaro leads an eleven-strong Netherhall group to Thailand for a voluntary service project in Mae Sot, in the North of the country, building a nursery classroom block in a school for Burmese refugees. They will be there for the whole month and the next edition of Netherhall News will give a full report of the project. Little did they know when they rst decided on this location that the subsequent cyclone in Burma would make their efforts even more pressing and necessary.

Please join me in praying for them and the success of the initiative.

Looking beyond the summer we hope nally to start work on the oratory in September so if you have not already done so please think about how you can help us nancially with this project.

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OPINION

Bloody hands or washing our hands?

When should governments intervene across national boundaries?

Intervention is a strange cocktail of noble causes, fuzzy concepts and mixed motives. Former resident DOMINIC BURBIDGE investigates.

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itting in The Thatcher Room of the House of Commons, I watched The Greatest Silence, a documentary produced by a lady from New York on sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo).

Full of interviews with both victims and perpetrators, the lm was wellmade and did its best to give viewers a sense of what life is like in a region with no government control, an overburdened United Nations task-force and daily ethnic con ict. Questions followed along the usual lines: “How bad is the problem?” and “What can be done?”

But, then, a Congolese lady spoke up, her voice thickening as she spaced out her words, “I think this is the last time I come to one of these meetings. These lms, they are so… humiliating.”

Behind the emotive photography and impassioned words of our media, NGOs ght daily to reach higher rungs on the slippery ladder of public attention. People die, reporters are deployed and the different organisations hope to attract enough support for something to be done. The great danger is that the anguish of those suffering becomes boring to report. Is it right that the help of western nations rises or falls according to the whims of media popularity? This is one of the great problems in working out what should be done for the developing world.

In the twenty- rst century, the question of media popularity does not just affect the amount of aid given but also the use of force. The most controversial way of helping another nation is invading, and western governments are increasingly justifying invasions as an unfortunate but necessary means to build peace. But what are the moral criteria governing such breaches of sovereignty?

Tony Blair famously answered this question in an oft-quoted phrase. In the run up to the Iraq war he said, “What amazes me is how many people are happy for Saddam to stay. They ask why we don’t get rid of Mugabe, why not the Burmese lot. Yes, let’s get rid of them all. I don’t because I can’t, but when you can, you should.”

Image: The Greatest Silence

Humanitarian intervention is the last resort to counter a failing government, and is being considered for the current case of Zimbabwe. It is de ned by political scientist Hedley Bull as “dictatorial or coercive interference, by an outside party or parties, in the sphere of jurisdiction of a sovereign state”. Given the extent to which it ies in the face of a country’s right to self-determination, it requires situations of genocide or “crimes against humanity” before an argument can be made in its favour. The stark difference between aid or sanctions and military intervention is not just in “what is done” but also in the nature of the promise made.

A case in point is Iraq. Regardless of the faulty justi cation for war, politicians such as Gordon Brown and John McCain recognise a need to hold fast as much as possible to the original promise of peace, politically unattractive though this may be. Intervention commits the outside party to a long-term vision for the country, something that providing aid or enforcing sanctions does not do. In Iraq, intervention was deemed necessary because of the alleged existence of weapons of mass destruction. Subsequently, people have pointed to the humanitarian situation of the people of Iraq before the fall of Saddam. The genocide of Iraqi Kurds is cited as evidence for the need to have intervened, irrespective of the fact that this occurred in 1988 and was not considered a suf cient reason at the time.

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Why are only some atrocities atrocious?, cont...

There has been a marked shift in the nature of intervention over the past fty years. During the Cold War, a great deal of intervention occurred on the basis of either emancipation from capitalism or halting the spread of the “evil empire”.

Interventions into Afghanistan, Korea, Germany, Vietnam and Cuba are just a few of the examples from this period (to mention nothing of experiences in South America and Africa).

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This pendulum temperament towards the use of the military can be insulting towards those who have to deal with the long-term effects. As one Nigerian political activist who was visiting Kenya during the recent election crisis said to me, “I’m not sure about Westerners’ attempts to come and solve African problems. It’s like someone coming into your home without asking and turning it all around to how they think it should look.”

Image: The Greatest Silence

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, however, the style of play changed dramatically. The Crim against humanity’ are enough to ‘Crimes US gained economic and political heensu ensure a breach of international peace The great danger is that the and security, and so genocide has come gemony, which gave it less reason to listen to the woes of other nations. But anguish of those suffering be- to be b considered a problem worth actthis insulation was torn open on 9/11. ing u upon. But those who suffer the daycomes boring to report Intervention into Afghanistan and Iraq to-da to-day horror of civil war or ethnic consoon followed, with authors such as ict and, yet, whose problems do not t with Samuel Huntington describing the tenwithin the legal de nition of genocide, sion between the Arab and Anglo-Saxon worlds in terms of a have little hope of military intervention. Darfur is receiving a “clash of civilisations” akin to the Cold War. huge amount of attention and help because it is considered genocide, but the crisis consists of the death of ‘only’ hunThe acknowledgement of a case for “just intervention” hinges dreds of thousands. In the DR Congo, the count approaches around four main criteria: 1) the aggressor is causing lasting, 5½ million. The term ‘genocide’ requires the elimination of grave and certain damage; 2) all other means of putting an a particular group of persons, rather than just general vioend to the damage have been exhausted (or shown to be lence. impractical or ineffective); 3) there must be real prospects of success; 4) the use of arms must not cause disorders graver The inconsistency of interventions is due to two factors. First, than what it aims to eliminate. Under current UN rules, a fth there is a lack of means. The UN is cash-strapped, low on criterion exists before forceful intervention can be made and troops and low on those willing to provide help promote civthe principle of sovereignty broken: the aggression must conil society in the developing world. Second, the workings of sist of a breach in “international peace and security”.

Western democracies severely undermine attempts to intervene. Soldiers have become politically more expensive and But the criteria for the deployment of US troops is very difthe media much quicker in criticising. Government action in ferent. In Somalia, intervention became an attractive policy the ‘information age’ has become more of a knee-jerk reacafter news of the widespread starvation ravaging the country tion, with fewer people willing to put things in the context came to light. 300,000 people were estimated to have died of a wider world vision. A politician is supposedly given four from hunger with 700,000 Somalis seeking refuge in Kenya, years to act, but the reality of modern opinion polling is that Ethiopia and Europe. The US-led intervention aimed to prohe is given one or two days. In this vein, leaders of NGOs vide food support in the midst of a collapsed state. Forty Pakifeel humiliated that their issues – which are of such personal stani blue helmets were slaughtered by a vicious warlord but and public importance – have to compete in a day-to-day it was only when two US helicopters were felled (as portrayed cock ght for a space on the public agenda. The modern westin the lm Black Hawk Down) that the US backtracked on ern state is an interested-in-helping-but-not-sure-about-thetheir promise and pulled their troops out. The lives of Somalis implications Samaritan, but not a real Samaritan. remain in turmoil, but US popular opinion demanded a withdrawal.

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OPINION

Republic of Somaliland A case for international recognition Her people thirst for sovereignty. sovereignty Her neighbours are caught in turmoil. turmoil Somaliland deserves to be more than just a political football for national heavyweights to kick around. CHIMA OKEZUE explains.

http://businessafrica.net/africabiz/countries/somalia.php

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midst the chaos in the horn of Africa, as typi ed by the movie Black Hawk Down’s depiction of the Somalia crisis, is an oasis of calm, the still unrecognized Republic of Somaliland. Despite notable progress made in building peace, security and constitutional democracy within its de facto borders, Somaliland has failed to gain international recognition following its 1991 declaration of independence from the failed state, Somalia. The unrecognized state, which is a bi-cameral parliamentary democracy, has it own airline, currency, security forces and functional public institutions. Though Somaliland has been praised by several nations across the globe for building a democracy from scratch and avoiding the civil strife that has engulfed its southern neighbour, Somalia, no country has been brave enough to cast the rst stone by recognizing the state. By default, African nations tend to be hostile to secessionist states for fear of encouraging other separatists to unravel those other national borders which were xed arbitrarily by former colonial powers, arbitrary boundaries that often divided people of the same ethnicity into separate countries while trapping people of completely different ethnicities within them, with disastrous consequences.

But Somaliland is more than just another breakaway region of an African nation. Its unique history – it was a UN-recognized country for a few days back in 1960 – was enough to cause division within the ranks of African countries that are usually unanimous on the issue of separatism.

In 1960, two separate Somali colonies were granted independence by different colonial powers within ve days of one another. British Somaliland was the rst to gain independence from the UK as the Republic of Somaliland with Hargesia as its capital city. Five days later, Italian Somaliland was granted independence by Italy as the Somalia Republic with Mogadishu as its capital.

Both won international recognition. In an act which it

now regrets, Somaliland merged with Somalia Republic to form the Federal Republic of Somalia. Somaliland and Somalia Republic automatically became the merged country’s northwestern and southern regions. The union of the two ethnic Somali states was fraught with problems ranging from misunderstandings of the terms of the merger to the incompatible administrative, legal and economic systems which they had inherited from their different colonial masters. The former Somaliland Republic was disadvantaged from the start: the numerically superior South (i.e. Somalia Republic) not only retained the capital city of Mogadishu, it also dominated both the legislature and the cabinet of the unitary government of the merged entity. In a 1961 referendum, northwesterners (i.e. Somalilanders) called unsuccessfully for the Federal system of government as agreed upon at the 1960 merger talks.

The sharp disagreements between the two regions continued until the 1969 military coup that brought the Southern General Said Barre to power. His socialist regime was initially popular until the late 1970s when government policies started favouring members of his southern Darood clan. Student protests in the Northwest were brutally crushed and a few years later, the rebel SNM guerilla force emerged there to resist the repression. The government declared an all out war and unleashed a wave of mass killings, incarcerations, torture and the aerial and land bombardment of the rebellious region. Other rebel groups sprang up in the South to oppose the government. In 1991, the ghting on several fronts overstretched the central government and caused its implosion. Southern rebels entered Mogadishu and turned on each other over the question of who should control state power. SNM guerillas in the northwest bowed to popular demand and declared the re-establishment of the independent Republic of Somaliland as the rest of Somalia fell into anarchy.

Since then it has managed to establish a functional multi-

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Republic of Somaliland, cont... party democracy, with successive competitive elections described as free and fair by UN observers, and lobbied hard for international recognition. Fearing accusations of imperialism, sympathetic western countries like Britain, Norway, Denmark and USA with unof cial ties to Somaliland, have stated that they will leave the issue of recognition for the African Union to resolve. This, of course, is dif cult because of the aforementioned divisions in ranks of AU. Neigbouring Ethiopia, the regional power, is sympathetic resolving and also has unof cial economic and political ties with the Somaliland isSomaliland, but has withheld recognition in order not sue after a commission, set up to to upset the ineffective Transitional Federal Government look into the persistent requests for recognition, (TFG) of Somalia which it helped set up along with other declared that Somaliland’s case for independence was East African nations. The TFG, which mainly consists of unique and urged the AU to approach the issue “with ex-south Somali warlords, was set up in 2004 to govern an open mind.” But opposing countries, led by Egypt, lawless Somalia and does not recognize Somaliland’s insucceeded in getting the AU suc dependence. Djibouti, SenFearing accusations of imperialism, symto shelve the matter for the egal, Rwanda and South Afpathetic western countries with unofficial time tim being. Somaliland’s efrica are also sympathetic to forts for to get the AU to discuss Somaliland’s cause, but are ties to Somaliland, have stated that they its request have been conunwilling to break ranks with will leave the issue of recognition for the sistently frustrated. Recent sis other African countries such African Union to resolve. events in Somalia have now eve as Egypt, Kenya and Sudan, placed the case for Somalipla who are strongly opposed to land’s recognition at the botlan its recognition. The of cial tom of the AU’s list of priorities.

AU position is that “Somaliland must seek the consent of Somalia rst.”

The International Crisis Group, the reBut Somalia is in no spected con ict resoposition to respond lution NGO, which has to any such request: advised on con icts in From 1991 to 2003, it Afghanistan, Chechnhad no central governya, Kosovo, D.R. Conment. The TFG which go, etc, has warned came into existence that the unresolved in 2004 was unable issue of Somaliland’s to extend its power status could generate beyond a small town yet another crisis for outside Mogadishu the continent, if Sountil the Islamists that malia, currently batran the capital city tling Islamist rebels and most of Somalia within the borders it were routed by Amercontrols, decides to ican backed Ethiopian move northwest to forces in December 2006. Though the TFG This Somalia air force MIG-fighter shot down during the war was placed in the force a reunion with centre of Hargeisa city as constant reminder of the atrocities committed by Somaliland. It has is now in control of Somalia’s military forces in Somaliland. advised the AU to apMogadishu and most proach the issue in a mature manner in order to prevent of Somalia, its battle against Islamist insurgency and a future con ict. The question is whether African leaders the AU’s focus on nding lasting peace for the war-torn are listening. country has put Somaliland’s case on the backburner of African affairs. Three years ago, the AU came close to

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Below are interesting external sources of news on Somaliland: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/country_pro les/3794847.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7365002.stm

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MLnd BRggOHr

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Incorrigible corruptibility

PRAKARSH SINGH, a PhD student at the London School of Economics, analyses the correlation between oil, lack of press freedom and corruption

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How many politicians in your country are corrupt a. A lot c. Few If you answered “a”, you are more likely to come from a fuelexporting developing country with low press freedom. Press freedom can be measured by the extent of state ownership of the press and the number of independent media outlets. Most developed countries have high levels of press freedom and this is correlated with low levels of corruption.

Besley & Prat (2006) show that governments respond more ef ciently to disasters where there is a ourishing media. It is hard to say which of the two is causing the other, but there are de nitely institutional factors that govern both levels of corruption and freedom of press. Treisman illustrates that open and well-developed democracies with a high share of women in government are less liable to be corrupt. On the other hand, higher corruption is correlated with more intrusive business regulations and high in ation. As the Roman historian Cornelius Tacitus once remarked, “In a state where corruption abounds, laws must be very numerous.”

b. Many d. None

ment and second, because of cultural reasons. It is very dif cult to separate out the two effects, but a ground-breaking economic study has been able to do just that. Fisman and Miguel disentangle these effects by analysing cases of parking violations by diplomats in New York City. As all diplomats have immunity from legal enforcement for parking violaFisman and Miguel (2006) tions, they can tease out the effect of cultural norms on corruption.

Their main nding is that diplomats from high corruption countries have more parking violations. This implies that factors other than legal enforcement seem to be major determinants of corruption. See Table 1 for a list of the top ten.

How can we detect corruption?

Hsieh and Moretti estimate the bribes generated in the UN Oil for food programme in Iraq.

The UN gave food aid to Saddam Hussein in exchange for the revenue from oil sold. The authors conjecture that if there is corruption involved, they should There are several measures of see oil being sold at a low price. corruption that range from askThe of cials and oil buyers would ing people about any bribes pocket the rents generated as a given or received in the past 12 result. They measure the differmonths to providing answers ence between the market price to subjective questions such as of close substitutes of Iraqi oil the one above. Often, these two and the of cial selling price of measures are not in line with Fig. 1: Difference between the market price of Close Substitutes the oil and nd an estimate of one another raising questions and the Official Selling Price of Iraqi Oils, Hsieh and Moretti rents between $3-5 billion. Look about the validity of measure- (2005). at gure 1 and see how price ment of corruption. difference is close to 0 before 1997. The programme started in 1997, the price and sellers beCorruption is de ned as misuse of entrusted power for personal ing decided by the Iraqi of cials. This went on until 2001, when bene t. There are generally two accepted theories about why pricing was changed to re ect the market conditions. powerful people are corrupt. First, due to lack of legal enforce-

How do you think the price of Iraqi oil varied: a. during periods of high volatility of global oil prices?

b. when the buyers were small?

Please send in your answers to prakarsh@yahoo.com References: 1. Besley, Timothy and Prat, Andrea, “Handcuffs for the grabbing hand?: media capture and government accountability,” American Economic Review 96, no. 3 (2006), pp. 720-736.

2. Fisman and Miguel (2006). Reference: Fisman, Raymond J. and Miguel, Edward, “Cultures of Corruption: Evidence from Diplomatic Parking Tickets” (June 2006). NBER Working Paper No. W12312 Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=910844 3. Hsieh and Moretti (2005). Reference: Hsieh, Chang-Tai and Moretti, Enrico, “Did Iraq Cheat the United Nations? Underpricing, Bribes, and the Oil for Food Program” (March 2005).

NBER Working Paper No. W11202. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=689383

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UNIverse or MULTIverse?

“A novel theory called the M-Theory has recently hit the scenes...”, explained Professor Michael Duff, “it could be the Theory of Everyting”. Resident DANIEL VALDERAS reports .

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t the end of this year, after two decades of work, a team of 7,000 physicists from more than 80 nations are going to perform what is quite possibly the most eagerly anticipated experiment in the world: The CERN’s (European Organization for Nuclear Research) Large Hadron Collider is set to become the very rst time machine in history.

Measuring 27km in circumference and located 175m underground, within a tunnel big enough to run a train through it, a head-on collision of protons, travelling very near the speed of light, will replicate the conditions which rst produced the Big Bang – but hopefully on a much smaller scale! The temperatures generated will be over a million times hotter than the sun’s core and the superconducting magnets will be cooled to a temperature colder than in deep space.

This is only the most recent example of human eagerness to ask the fundamental questions about nature. How did the universe begin? What are its fundamental constituents? What are the laws of nature that govern these constituents?

Michael Duff, Professor of Physics and Principal of the Faculty of Physical Sciences at Imperial College, London, came to Netherhall on Monday, April Professor Michael Duff 28th to try to answer these questions.

He began his talk by giving an historical over-view. Over the past two hundred years, work by scientists ranging from Michael Faraday in the 19th century to the likes of Sheldon Glashow in more recent times, has established that the three out of the four main forces of nature (which are electromagnetic, weak nuclear, strong nuclear and gravitational) actually make up one “grand uni ed force” . This gradual discovery over the centuries leads to a very tantalizing question: is there really an overall force and theory that provides a complete explanation of nature?

scale, are incompatible. That is to say, Einstein’s famous theory fails to comply with the quantum rules that govern subatomic particles whilst black holes are threatening the very foundations of quantum mechanics at a macroscopic level.

Thus, any new theory must be capable of comprehensive generalisation. And if current ideas are correct, this generalisation will require three radical ingredients: extra dimensions, supersymmetry and extended objects (strings, branes etc). Thus, string interactions do not occur at one point but are spread out in a way that leads to more sensible quantum behaviour: gravity and quantum theory are reconciled!. From this point of view, each particle corresponds to a different “vibration mode” of the string.

Recently, a novel theory has hit the scene: the M-Theory. It offers an ambitious attempt to answer all the big questions: it purports to be a Theory of Everything. In the words of string theorist, Edward Witten: “Understanding what M- theory really is would transform our understanding of nature at least as radically as occurred in any of the major scienti c upheavals in the past.”

Theorists are divided on this approach as far as the universe is concerned. One group thinks that there is one universe with a unique set of fundamental laws. The other group thinks that there are many universes, each with different laws, and we just happen to be living in one of them! This latter idea thus posits the existence of the “multiverse”.

Within both of these theories, the biofriendliness question remains open. Professor Duff outlined the theory of the anthropomorphic principle (as another Netherhall guest speaker, Professor Mark Fox, did back in January). To put it at its simplest, we live in a perfectly tuned universe. If any of the physical constants had exhibited anything other their current value (e.g. = 3.14159, e = 2.71828 etc) we would certainly not exist! As the cosmologist Lord Martin Rees has put it,

But what is a force? Surprisingly, a force can be described in terms of the interchange of particles (namely, bosons). In fact, the particle approach to nature works exceedingly well at describing the rst three of the four observed forces of nature. But, what about “The universe in which we‘ve emerged bethat black sheep of forces, gravitational longs to the unusual subset that permits The theory of parallel universes force, which is more dif cult to accommocomplexity and consciousness to develop. date within this “elegant” model? For graviOnce we accept this, various apparently tational force at astronomical distances, the geometric approach special features of our universe - those that some theologians to nature works very well. But, quantum mechanics, in the realm once adduced as evidence for Providence or design - occasion of subatomic particles, and relativity theory, at a cosmological no surprise.”

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Netherhall News z July 2008

The medieval roots of the modern world Was there more to life in the Middle Ages than burning heretics, assuming, of course, you had not already died of plague? ZUBIN MISTRY reports.

P

eople who use the word “medieval” in a pejorative way show how unaware they are of the modern world’s roots in the past.

So argued Professor David d’Avray, Professor of Medieval History at University College, London, in a talk at Netherhall on 27th May which sought to break down any prejudices we might have about the Middle Ages.

There are, of course, various ways of looking at the medieval past. One legitimate approach stresses “distance” between modern life and institutions from those of the middle ages. Professor D’Avray mentioned the papacy as an example of this. The modern papacy, underpinned by extensive bureaucratic structures, is “pro-active” and consistently “takes the initiative” as demonstrated by papal visits and encyclicals. But most medieval popes, he argued, were much more “reactive”, responding to both crises and requests as they arose.

Another approach, however, might explore how all sorts of institutional and conceptual features of the modern world are rooted in medieval precedents.

In fact, some of these are rather obvious. Take the notion of Europe, for example. The ancient GrecoRoman world was structured around a great lake, the Mediterranean. It was only in the eighth and ninth centuries that the post-Roman successor state became increasingly cut off from the Mediterranean and gravitated around what is now France and Germany. By the tenth century, the horizons of this emergent world encompassed what we would now think of as Europe.

Currently, Professor d’Avray noted, there is unease over admitting Turkey into the EU, premised, in part, upon the idea that Turkey has never been part of Europe. The great Belgian historian, Henri Pirenne, famously argued that the Islamic conquest of modern-day Turkey, Syria, North Africa and Spain from the seventh century onward, was vital to the formation of Europe partly because it ruptured long distance trade links. By the time of Charlemagne in the late eighth century, this emerging Europe became wholly agrarian once again. As Pirenne fa-

Netherhall News z July 2008

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The medieval roots of the modern world, cont... mously put it, “Without Islam, the Frankish Empire would have probably never existed, and Charlemagne, without Muhammad, would be inconceivable”. Historians have grappled with his thesis ever since. Whatever the rights and wrongs of contemporary debates over Turkey, there may still be some mileage in Pirenne’s thesis, suggested Professor d’Avray.

basis necessary for an emerging system of nancial prudence and calculation. He also noted that this common law system, which characterises British and American law, grew out of these thirteenth century English legal developments. (Continental legal systems are rooted in the perception and transmission – through the Middle Ages – of Roman law).

Nationalism too, he continued, has some roots in the Professor d’Avray also invited us to think about some Middle Ages. There is a prevalent notion among acamedieval roots which are “trickier” to discern. One of demics, he pointed out, that nationalism is a distinctively these is the university. In its essential features, the unimodern phenomenon. (Your reporter has written essays versity as we know it – an intellectual institution which, unlik which took this sort of view for unlike ancient schools of rhetogranted). This, Professor d’Avray Thinking at the cutting edge and drawing ric, combines both teaching and rese cautioned, is a “great and eleresearch – is the product of the upon intellectual research for teaching, twe mentary error”. Nationalism can twelfth and thirteenth centuries two essential features of modern universi- (to which Oxford and Cambridge appear in different times and ties, have clear medieval precedents. places. De ning nationalism, of both date). A more dif cult question he noted, is to ascertain course, is important and he oftion, precisely what these universities univer fered the following: a sense of community community, larger than were engaging in from the family or city, which is not con ned to one particular a modern perspective. For instance, twentieth century slice of life, xes upon a territory, draws upon common analytical philosophers have found it fruitful to engage memories and perhaps even bears aspirations to statewith a great deal of fascinating and complex medieval hood. thought. What is more jarring from some modern perspectives is that highly original medieval philosophy of This ts ancient Israel or tenth century England quite mind arose in the context of discussing the Trinity. Nonewell, although it does not t the post-Roman, early meditheless, thinking at the cutting edge and drawing upon eval period. But, in a stronger form, nationalism emerged intellectual research for teaching, two essential features in the fourteenth century. In England, the Hundred Years’ of modern universities, have clear medieval precedents.

War had to be “sold as a national war” in order to get An even “trickier” example of a momentous medieval people to pay for it, while French identity, Professor idea is the divide between the sacred and the secular. It d’Avray suggested, developed in the “crucible” of antagooften surprises people to hear nism with English. Modern nathat the practical and even tionalism later drew upon the conceptual separation of the models offered by England and world into religious things and France, to whom nineteenth secular things was a medieval century Italian and German informulation. In the twelfth centellectuals pointed. tury, con ict over the control of Interestingly, Professor d’Avray bishops (the dispute was over also sees capitalism as a prodwho had the right to ordain them) resulted in a famous foruct of the Middle Ages, though, once again, he cautioned us mula: the ceremony for ordaining bishops split into two parts, to be careful with de nitions.

History is full of examples of a ‘secular’ one and a ‘religious’ one. (Before then there was what he calls “gambler capitalism”, the kind of capitalism on also a distinction, for instance, between the ‘religious’, such as display in the dot com boom. monks and nuns, and ‘secular’ The rise of mercantilism, with its high risks and huge scope clergy, that is priests who were ‘in the world’). The modern world owes this distinction to for wealth accumulation, is another example. But, a different kind of capitalism, he proposed, tied to “ ne tuned the Middle Ages. Such a distinction is not, theoretically, a feature of Islam, he compared, though it often operates calculations of pro t and loss”, developed out of the English legal system, which increasingly protected foreign de facto in Islamic societies. Nonetheless, there is one crucial difference with modern notions of the secular. In merchants from the second half of the thirteenth century the medieval context, ‘secular’ came to include aspects of onwards. There were also laws in place to collect debts. the divine and the ethical, while the ‘religious’ broached Together with specialised legal training, this allowed peopopes, the institutional church and so on. At some point, ple to draw upon the help of experts in narrow elds – Professor d’Avray concluded, God was moved onto the and, through them, “legal certainty” – provided one had ‘religious’ side of this distinction. the money, of course. Thus, the law provided a secure

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Netherhall News z July 2008

L

iving in London, one of the largest continuous urban areas of the world, it is easy to forget about the world outside our man-made walls. Yet more and more of the news headlines are covering stories of man’s place in nature: freak weather events, global warming and food shortages are the pressing issues facing mankind today. Is it time to return to basics and get back in tune with the world we watch over?

and look set to deliver a crop of cherry tomatoes in time for a warm summer of barbeques. It may be just a token effort for now, but the seed has been sown for greater harvests in the future. There is now talk of planting some other salad plants which will grow during the summer, as well as root vegetables which will feed hungry students throughout the winter.

Even on a pleasant day, a commuter walking to the tube station may glance upon nothing more of the natural world than the weeds in the cracks of the pavement as he dodges other harassed people rushing to work and the strategically-placed vendors thrusting various free newspapers in his face. But on a rainy day the same walk causes our commuter to curse the sky and quicken his step as he rushes to reach the shelter of the of ce. Rain, a life-giving blessing to a farmer or gardener, has become no more than a grey backdrop to stressed city life.

The notion of growing one’s own food is something that appeals to many people who have spent all their lives living in a city, and whose experience of food production is limited to wheeling a trolley around a supermarket.

The ongoing popularity of the 1970s BBC comedy The Good Life, which chronicles the fortunes of Mr and Mrs Good (Richard Briers and Felicity Kendal), is testimony to the fact that people crave a deeper connection with the natural world that sustains them. The idea of leaving a nine-to- ve job in order to live off the produce of a suburban back garden is a romantic one, but need

The Good Life

We should remember that we are lucky to live in a capital city with signi cant amounts of green space. London’s royal parks have been protected by law as public spaces since 1851, and continue to provide open recreation spaces in some of the most expensive parts of town. To a property developer, these huge swathes of prime real estate may represent a lucrative business venture going to waste, but the social value of the parks far outweighs any economic bene ts to be had. People use green spaces all year round for exercise, lunch-breaks and contemplation. The trees and plants provide a natural recycling point for carbon dioxide and generate fresh oxygen, literally helping the city breathe.

But could they be doing more? A group of green-minded Netherhall residents think that the only sensible response to rising food prices and increasing student debts is to tap into the greatest student discount of all: free food.

Time for a re-run? LUKE WILKINSON explains.

Following persistent begging letters to the management, permission was nally granted in May to begin a pilotscheme, and sixteen young tomato plants (kindly donated

by Mr Brown Snr.) were planted in a few of the rooftop ower beds. Six weeks later, the plants are ourishing

not necessarily be unrealistic. Many people hold allotments and grow signi cant amounts of vegetables and fruit for their own consumption. Even in crowded inner cities, eager would-be farmers have taken over unused public spaces to plant owers and vegetables.

And it may not just be good for the wallet. There is something very satisfying about cooking and eating food that one has watched grow from a seed. Having to water and weed fragile plants provides a chance to stop and be still, and to nurture something other than a career ambition or a hangover. Monasteries traditionally have vegetable gardens, in part to enable the monks’ search for connection with God through His revelation in nature. The idea of a Netherhall kibbutz may be a little far-fetched, but if the cooperation and interest displayed by residents towards the tomato project is anything to go by, small-scale cultivation has the potential to enhance the hall’s community life.

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Netherhall News z July 2008

Alumni News Alumni re-visiting Netherhall House; se news about former residentss - it’s it s all here... here....

born th new- la i w a v i l brie Jaume O baby Ga

Nicholas Kongoasa

Jaume with his wife, son an nd ne neww bo born rn ba bab byy Gabriela

and Agatha.

Nicholas Kong oasa (2005-20 06) married Ag May. He is now atha in working in Min nesota, USA.

We were recently visited by Ignacio Van der Vaeron (2000-2001 ) and his sister Mai te.

nd right) seen (2 from Ignacio is here at the hall during his time

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Netherhall News z July 2008

Alumni News, cont...

03)

2-20 -1997, 200 .

6 9 9 (1 , te s e Olivier Co end of 6th-8th Jun k e e w e th for

Shane Latchman (2004-2007) w as recently co Church at Cam nfirmed in the bridge Universi Catholic ty where he is Here he is seen doing an M.Sc. in front of King in Maths. ’s College Cam bridge’s chapel sponsor Kevin w ith his Gouder (2004).

therhall visited Ne

d Mexico for -1997, 2002-2003) visite Olivier Coste (front) (1996 m left is Neil fro nd co 04) wedding. Se -20 03 (20 ’ zes ne Me o Alfred Pickering.

Christopher Ainabe (1991-1994) visited Netherhall with his wife Esther and children Joshua and Arielle. They are seen here with Neil Pickering.

Olivier Coste (front) and Alfredo Men ezes’ (2003-2004) (seated, second from left)

From right: Trevor Boodoosingh (199 3-2002), Jose Contreras (1997-1998) & (1993-1994), Christophe r Ainabe (1991-1994) , Neil Pickering and Nick Thomas (1984-19 97).

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Netherhall News z July 2008

Life at the hall Going out...

Many of the term-time residents have now headed home for their Summer holidays. The residents are here seen just after the end-of-term dinner in May.

&...coming in Meanwhile, the rst of the Summer students coming to Netherhall to learn English have started arriving. This is the group from Ecuador who spent the month of June at the hall.