The Journal - Edinburgh Issue 050

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ISSUE L

EDINBURGH'S STUDENT NEWSPAPER

WEDNESDAY 16 OCTOBER 2011

BOOKS AND BATTLEFIELDS

» 14 Wall Street to Princes Street A former British diplomat explores the challenges of trying to bring education back to conflict-torn countries like Libya

Passive protest movement inspired by Occupy Wall Street reaches Edinburgh on day of action which saw 950 demonstrations in 80 countries STANLEY LIEW

Marcus Kernohan Editor-in-chief THE 'OCCUPY' PROTEST movement reached Edinburgh last weekend, as up to 300 occupiers set up camp in St Andrew Square Gardens, close to the headquarters of banking giant RBS. The demonstration, inspired by the ongoing Occupy Wall Street protest, saw protesters rail against the influence wielded by "the one per cent" of super-wealthy individuals and companies over "the 99 per cent" of normal citizens, as dozens of students joined trades unionists and other campaigning groups in a call for social equality and corporate responsbility.

Ross Jesmont (pictured, right) a 20-year-old student at the University of Edinburgh, told The Journal that the protest was "part of a global initiative" against corporate greed, and that it was important for people to make their voices heard.

"It's better to do something rather than staying in your flat," he said.

The city-centre demonstration which began on 15 October was timed to coincide with a wave of similar occupations around the world in "an international day of action" in solidarity with the Wall Street occupiers. The Guardian has reported that 950 demonstrations took place across 80 countries on Saturday.

'Veteran' occupier Tam Burke said that although he was close to retirement, he attended the demonstration "to give a future for young people.

Continued on page 7

Sighs of relief at EUSA after constitution passes referendum 'Yes' campaign win out with 90 per cent of referendum votes — but victory is tarnished by 6 per cent turnout Greg Bianchi Student Politics editor

EDINBURGH, OCCUPIED: University student Ross Jesmont, 20, pictured at the Occupy Edinburgh demonstration in St Andrew Square Gardens last weekend.

IN NEWS >> 6

IN NEWS >> 4

State of the unions In the first of a fourpart series, The Journal explores engagement and entertainment problems at NSA

All oiled up Oil company Chevron donates thousands of pounds to HeriotWatt University to fund scholarships

IN ARTS >> 19

Novak’s 3D Disco A novel idea, but can they pull it off?

»7

YEARS OF DEBATE and political wrangling finally came to fruition at Edinburgh University Students' Association last week, as students voted resoundingly in favour of a new constitution for the union.

A campus-wide referendum held from 12 to 14 October attracted a total of 1,884 votes, with 1,695 votes in favour. But while 90 per cent of voters approved the constitution, the result also indicates that less than 7 per cent of the 29,000-strong student body actually voted in the referendum.

The result marks the culmination of years of work to reform the students' association in a move that EUSA president Matt McPherson claims will “empower” the students of Edinburgh University.

When asked about how the referendum will help students, Mr Continued on page 2

IN SPORT >> 23

The Denis Irwin complex Hacker looks at one of the more unique conditions to beset the world of sport

2 News

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Sighs of relief at EUSA as constitution passes referendum vote

THIS WEEK IN

Continued from page1

» Online

Three years or four?

The debate over the length of Scottish degrees continues at Holyrood

» Online

It's all in the DNA Edinburgh and Cambridge scientists join forces on new genetics

McPherson said: "the key to democracy is about empowering students, full stop.”

A win for the 'yes' vote was far from certain on Friday night: senior EUSA sources expressed fears that the referendum might not achieve quorum or attract the decisive two-thirds majority needed to pass, despite their earlier confidence in its passage.

The result of the constitution referendum was described as “not being the be all and end all” by Hugh Murdoch, spokesman for the ‘Yes’ campaign, but he also said that the “constitution will work for students”.

However, concerns linger with some over the lack of a ‘No’ campaign.

Students voting online through MyEd were not provided with an election statement opposing the constitution, and video footage of a debate held the previous week was only posted online after voting began. Asked about the absence of an opposition campaign, Mr Murdoch claimed that, while for democratic reasons it was disappointing that there was not a more vigorous debate, there were obviously only “minor qualms” with the constitution.

Mr McPherson supported this view by claiming that it was "the strength

of the constitution” that won support from the student body.

The reform means a number of important changes to the EUSA constitution.

Students will now be able to vote on union policy in online referenda, which will largely replace General Meetings— meaning students who are busy when voting takes place will find it easier to take part.

Another important change is that the EUSA campaigns will become more accessible. There will be three separate councils addressing External, Academic and Welfare issues so students will know which council to speak to about relevant concerns.

EUSA also hopes that the new constitution will force stronger representation for students especially those from under-represented groups.

However, questions have arisen over the role of external trustees.

These external trustees will play a role in decision making but will always be outnumbered by trustees that are directly affiliated with the University.

In addition to this the influence of a Re-Open Nominations (RON) vote will be constrained in future elections.

» 15 Colin Macfarlane

The director of Stonewall Scotland talks to The Journal about his fight for LGBT equality

Emma Meehan, Vice President (Societies & Activites) at EUSA DAVID SELBY

Correction: Due to a production error, an infographic in issue 49 (p5) of The Journal incorrectly stated the cost of a pint of lager in EUSA's bars. £3.40 is the most expensive pint, but prices start at £2.30. We apologise for the error.

A shot at redemption

» Online

The Journal explores the doping debate in athletics now that the “Osaka Rule” has been repealed

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Outcry at Edinburgh University over fee-hikes for international students Overseas students criticise university for failing to warn them of rising tuition fees, as some find themselves paying almost £500 more than last year HANNAH KILLOH

Emma Elliott-Walker Comment editor

International students are concerned that inflationary rises in their fees mean that costs will continue to spiral to cover this year's tuition bill, and are now faced with either a large overdraft or a potentially lengthy bureaucratic struggle.

Even more worrying is the situation of American students who had to apply at the start of their degrees for loans to cover the entire four-year cost of their education. Again, a lack of information from the university regarding the impact of inflation on tuition fees means that some fear they will now have to take out a second loan or face severe financial hardship. Even students whose parents pay for their education have found the situation stressful: many parents are angry that they were not given enough warning, meaning that some have had to dip into savings they may not be able to

spare.

Responding to these criticisms, a spokesman for the University of Edinburgh said that fee levels for international students are published up to a year before the start of a new academic session. He added that the university's finance department sends out invoices via MyEd and that "no funds will be taken out of students' bank accounts without prior notification". However, only one student who spoke to The Journal had been aware that fees were published in advance, and several felt that although they had indeed received the promised fee invoice, it came too late.

The university has now been accused of showing a lack of respect and understanding in dealing with international students. Edward Carroll, a second-year history and English literature student said: "Overseas students form the fiscal backbone of this university. I cannot believe how little courtesy we are shown."

The controversy coincides with the introduction of a new policy requiring overseas students at Edinburgh to rematriculate at the start of each semester — a requirement which has met with consternation among the international student community here. Students now feel that they are being further penalised in a system already biased against them.

On a national level, consensus is now starting to build around a desire to see

tuition fees fixed for the entire duration of a degree programme, and for a shift in university attitudes towards international students. A recent report by Universities UK indicates that the number of students from outside the EU at British universities has more than doubled since 2000.

Aurora Adams, convener of EUSA's International Students Action Group, told The Journal that international students are tired of being treated as potential threats by the Scottish Government and universities. Emphasising the economic and academic contributions of international students to Scotland, she warned that many may start to reconsider studying here if institutional attitudes do not change.

While the SNP have expressed pride in the recent surge in immigration to Scotland, many observers feel that government policy places unreasonable obstacles in the way of students who study in the UK and who may later wish to settle here. Currently, overseas students are only permitted to work 20 hours per week, and cannot register as self-employed. They are charged every time they apply for a visa and some even have to register with the police when they enter the country. They are only allowed to remain in the country after completing their degree if they secure employment with a multinational company with a base here.

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INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS AT the University of Edinburgh have expressed outrage over increases to their tuition fees, amid claims that the university failed to properly warn them of the rise.

Some overseas students have reported increases of up to £450 in their tuition fees this year, a jump which roughly correlates with the average UK inflation rate. But there is no legal requirement that fees increase in line with inflation, and many students are now concerned that fees will only continue to rise.

"If they keep raising the tuition fees every year, where will it end?" said Mari Woien, a second-year international relations student from Norway. With no cap on international fee levels, many international students are now seriously questioning their financial futures.

The outcry is another blow for the university, already on the defensive after the announcement in early September of Rest-of-UK tuition fees which stand to make Edinburgh one of the most expensive institutions in Britain. Concerns have been raised about the spiralling cost of education and the university's attitude towards its students.

In a statement issued to overseas applicants before starting first year, the university states that tuition fees will be "subject to annual review" and may increase "in line with university costs".

The university further states that it "will do all it reasonably can to keep the fees increase for students in their second or subsequent years of study broadly in line with inflationary increases in the university's costs."

But many students say they have faced immediate financial issues as a result of the university's failure to clearly notify them of impending fees increases. Of the students interviewed

by The Journal, only one said they had received any kind of notification prior to being charged, receiving an email the previous week. Others said they only became aware of the increased fees by word-of-mouth, or after being formally invoiced by the university.

Communication breakdowns like these have caused problems with funding systems in some students' home nations. Among the worst-hit are students from Norway whose government pay for their tuition. Without proper notification of an increase in fees, many students have received too little funding

EUSA & UoE join to condemn UK government

Student body and University Court issue joint statement attacking Westminster education policies

Scottish universities rank highly worldwide University of Edinburgh moves up four places to 36th in new Times Higher Ed rankings

4 News

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The Journal Wednesday 19 October 2011

State of the Unions

Napier union "feels homeless now" In the first of a series scrutinising the students' unions at Edinburgh's four universities, The Journal explores problems of engagement and entertainment at Napier Students' Association DAVID SELBY

Paul Foy & Leighton Craig

WHILE STUDENTS' UNIONS almost invariably fight an uphill battle for student engagement, Napier Students' Association has suffered especially badly in recent years from a general lack of interest in the union among its members. Although the association's off-campus building remains open as a point of contact between students and their representatives, the closure of the union bar earlier this year came as a blow to many Napierites: despite many feeling that the bar had been substandard before its closure, one student nonetheless commented that "the union feels homeless now."

NSA's problems with student engagement were thrown into stark relief at last year's elections, with a number of key positions on the union executive left vacant as students made their voices heard — or rather, not heard. There is currently no postgraduate students officer; nor is there a mature students officer. Phil Kearns, a fourth-year civil engineering student at Napier, told The Journal that he did not participate in last year's elections.

"I've never had any urge to engage with the union, so why would I vote? It doesn’t interest me, as I can’t see that they have any major relevance. I’m certain a lot of my classmates would echo that sentiment.”

Mr Kearns' comments seem to be indicative of a certain suspicion of the union's efforts among Napier students. He went on to express concern about the deal between NSA and George Street nightclub Opal Lounge, which agreed to host a weekly night specifically for Napier students as a substitute for a union-run venue. He suggested that there might be a financial windfall for union president Tom Zanelli, given his professional background as a PR and club promoter.

Responding to these allegations, however, Mr Zanelli stated that he does not make any money from the arrangement with Opal Lounge — aware that doing so would be illegal given NSA's charitable status. He also explained that prior to starting his bid for the presidency he liquidated his profitable

Napier Students' Association president Tom Zanelli says he will continue to fight for a new union bar after NSA's previous venue closed PR company, Taboo Promotions, to avoid a conflict of interest. Montpellier, the nightlife consortium that owns Opal Lounge and several other Edinburgh venues, has confirmed that Mr Zanelli makes no monetary gain from the deal. The proceeds from the Napier night at Opal Lounge are split, with the money from the door going to NSA and the venue keeping the drinks proceeds.

The club is now also the main sponsor of all Napier societies and sports

teams. "For the first time ever the union is making a substantial profit from a Napier society night," said Mr Zanelli. "The money helps support societies' campaigns and bigger events and initiatives."

Asked about the absence of a dedicated union bar, Mr Zanelli said that he understood students' frustration with the lack of social space on Napier's campuses. He told The Journal that he is currently was also working on

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a petition of around 5,000 names of students past and present “to show that they would use a new modern union bar within the new accommodation being built at Fountainbridge.”

But he's facing resistance from senior university officials, he says: "It seems I have to prove to everyone at Napier that a union bar is needed. If it's done right, it can be successful."

But problems at the union are not confined to the lack of a bar or other social spaces. Some members of smaller sports clubs — essentially, all except football and rugby — have butted heads with NSA's management in recent months. Eoin Greensmyth, for example, was president of the jujitsu club last year. He told The Journal that he received little or no support from NSA during his tenure, and ended up in a funding dispute with NSA managers that left him heavily out of pocket.

"We had an amount of funding promised to us last year, which is used for the rent of our dojo [training space]," Mr Greensmyth said. "The NSA paid for the first half, and refused to pay the rest due to paid-up NSA member cards being short. After trying to resolve the issue before the deadline set by NSA, I was told by the manager that I wasn't allowed to resolve it and they wouldn't pay the other half of the rent previously promised — which was already due. I, a Napier student, had to pay

over £700 to cover the club shortfall caused by this decision."

According to Mr Zanelli, however, this year has already seen a significant turnaround in the moods of societies and clubs. There have been record numbers of students participating in clubs and societies at the union — close to 1,000, he says — and the Freshers' week programme is widely considered to have been a success.

“This year was the most successful Fresher’s week in terms of money, numbers and feedback," he said. "We made a record profit which all went back into the union, and can sustain a variety of things over the year.

"When I was a fresher, I never thought there was any pride or spirit among the students. I want to get Napier feeling proud again. This year is the first time I’ve seen a Team Napier spirit among freshers.”

But the task facing the president and his executive is a difficult one, especially given frequent and unhelpful comparisons with Edinburgh University Students' Association, generally considered one of the most active and successful unions in the UK. But Mr Zanelli is both proud and optimistic about his presidency and the future for the union. “Napier students have different interests to students at other universities. We are not Edinburgh, we are not Heriot-Watt, we are Napier."

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STUDENT POLITICS

www.journal-online.co.uk HANNAH KILLOH

News 5

Turnout up in hardfought EUSA by-election Slight increase in participation sees 105 candidates and an increase in average turnout to around 4 per cent Lydia Wilgress

Teaching staff at Edinburgh University and Heriot-Watt are on "work to contract" action

University staff in fresh round of industrial action Following a change to their pension schemes, staff from two Edinburgh universities refuse to take on extra work Leighton Craig Student News editor STUDENTS FROM THE University of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt University could be affected after lecturers and academic staff from 67 universities across the UK began industrial action in a dispute against changes to their pension schemes.

The staff from universities that are members of the University and College Union (UCU), are initiating a “work to contract” which will see them fulfilling their contracted hours and working no overtime. They will also refuse to cover for colleagues and attend meetings.

The decision to take action was made following a disagreement over

the universities’ superannuation scheme (USS), which is one of the largest private pension schemes in the UK. The UCU are unhappy after changes they opposed were introduced regardless on 1 October.

Sally Hunt, general secretary of the UCU, inferred that employers were unwilling to continue negotiations.

“Despite our best efforts to resolve this dispute, we cannot negotiate with an empty chair. Our action will start today [10 October] and will see thousands of UCU members at universities across the country stop going the extra mile.”

There are fears that the current industrial action could escalate into strikes, including the refusal to mark students’ work, if the situation is not

resolved quickly, something which would impair the education of millions of students.

Euan Bain, a fourth year student at the University of Edinburgh, said he was concerned that any potential strike may affect his degree. He told The Journal: "I support my lecturers as I appreciate that they are overworked, however the additional work that they are proposing to stop could make a real difference in the degree classification that I leave with.”

The University and College Union was founded in 2006 following a merger between the Association of University Teachers (AUT) and the National Association of Teachers in Higher and Further Education (NATFHE).

EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY STUDENTS' Association's October by-election this year saw a marked increase in participation, with an average of 4 per cent of the student population voting in each race and 105 candidates standing in an election which has traditionally suffered in the face of student apathy.

In his opening speech at the election count, held in Teviot Debating Hall on 14 October, EUSA Vice President (Academic Affairs) Mike Williamson spoke of a "big improvement" in the number of candidates standing for election.

Mr Williamson was later elected as a delegate to both the UK and Scotland conferences of the National Union of Students, winning the highest number of votes in both races.

He is joined there by former Defend Edinburgh presidential candidate James McAsh, likely 2011/12 presidential candidate Hugh Murdoch and incumbent Vice President (Societies & Activities) Emma Meehan, who all won seats on both delegations.

Two other Scottish seats were won

by Mike Shaw, currently EUSA SRC Editor and a key figure in Defend Edinburgh, and Labour activist Stephen Donnelly.

The by-election was the second outing for anti-cuts coalition Defend

Edinburgh, who succeeded in dramatically increasing their representation on the Student Council. But political moderates at EUSA, which has recently been dominated by Labour supporters, have criticised what they claim is move towards organised faction politics which may serve to alienate ordinary students and independents looking to run for election in the future.

The democratic impact of a ReOpen Nominations (RON) vote was less marked than in last year's election, but took a harsh toll in the election for first-year undergraduate representatives, where only eight of 20 seats were filled.

The same problem did not occur in the race for undergraduate school reps, where bloc-voting for RON in the last election left nine out of ten seats unfilled. Sophie Marshall won the ballot outstandingly, with other seats taken by Defend Edinburgh's Max Crema and Stephen Donnelly.

NUS Scotland president Robin Parker, who was present at the count, told The Journal: “The turnout can always be improved, but it’s the same across the country.”

He stressed that the elections are not the “be-all and end-all” as the most important thing is to get students involved, as the association generates achievement through involvement.

Mr Murdoch also pointed out that the "turnout [is] higher [in EUSA] than other student unions".

Sparse crowd at the by-election count in Teviot Debating Hall DAVID SELBY

HWUSA by-election hit by low turnout Mike Ross wins presidency in uncontested race after resignation of president-elect in summer Rachel Watson

THE HERIOT WATT University Student Association (HWUSA) by-election drew to a close this week with the election of Mike Ross as the new president of the union.

Mr Ross, who had been interim president since July following the

resignation of Michael Bottom earlier this year, faced little opposition in securing the position. He won the elections with 438 votes to the 125 gained

by Re-Open Nominations (RON).

A lack of competition from opponents and support from HWUSA insiders meant that Ross, who had previously acted as senior vice-president was favourite for the job.

Mr Ross told The Journal that his

election will help the union to move forward and help create new initiatives for Heriot-Watt University and its students. “As president I will continue to lead and drive forward all areas of work within our union," he said.

He added: “My election as president will help to solidify our strengths as a union and ensure that we develop as a strong campaigning organisation that is fighting and winning for its students.”

Initial tasks for the newly elected president and the association will be the continuation of priority campaigns on the environment and the controversial issue of Rest-of-UK fees for non-Scots students. Both are major issues that HWUSA will now attempt to address on behalf of the student body.

Another task will be to fill the position of senior vice-president, which is still unoccupied. This will be discussed

at the next executive committee meeting.

However, there are concerns with regard to the lack of student involvement, and this most recent round of elections will do little to allay fears of student apathy towards their unions and representatives.

For more on Edinburgh's student unions, read The Journal's series State of the Union, where next week we will take a look at HWUSA.

6 News

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Napier Edinburgh University scientists find launches potential key to plant immunity new Institute Research could help treat disorders of the human immune system for Creative Industries

YELLOWCLOUD

Sean Gibson

New centre hopes to boost Scotland's £5 billion creative industries sector

Katie Richardson Academic News editor NAPIER'S INSTITUTE FOR Creative Industries was launched on 13 October, adding to the University's eight other industry institutes, all aimed at different key sectors of the Scottish economy.

Students will be able to take advantage of streamlined business access to support creative degrees in photography, film and television, music, design, journalism and communications.

Professor Robin MacPherson, the Institute’s Director, said: “We want the Institute for Creative Industries to be the first port of call for those in the cultural and creative industries when they need practical help with innovation, embracing new technologies or reaching new audiences. Our aim is to work in partnership with local, national and international public bodies to enhance creative industries policy and business support.”

Students will also benefit from the Institute’s mission to extend continuous professional development opportunities and enhance existing short courses provided by Screen Academy Scotland.

Creative Scotland has backed the launch of the Institute with Andrew Dixon, chief executive of Creative Scotland, commenting to The Journal: “Scotland’s creative industries make an essential contribution to Scotland’s economy and our international profile as a creative nation."

“Creative Scotland’s role in the creative industries is to provide research, intelligence, advocacy and to contribute to policy development, and this new centre will be a valuable asset for the whole country. Our strong links with Edinburgh Napier University and the wider higher education sector will help us attract, develop and retain creative talent, as well as supporting individuals and companies reach their full economic potential.”

Hopes are that that the institute will help bridge the gap between students and employment opportunities within the more exclusive graduate industries such as television and radio.

Professor John Duffield, vice-principal of Edinburgh Napier University, said: “We have a strong reputation for working closely with industry and our Institutes are absolutely fundamental to our new approach for engaging with business.”

“Each one is aligned to the government’s growth areas with the aim of making it as easy as possible for those industries to access the wide range of expertise within the University.”

SCIENTISTS AT EDINBURGH University have made a discovery which could help secure future global food supplies with the growth of disease-resistant crops.

The isolation of a specific process in the defence mechanisms of plants could also potentially aid the study of immune-related disorders in humans.

Professor Gary Loake led the team of scientists in their research and the findings have been published in the journal Nature.

Plants are regularly attacked by disease-causing organisms, and in one method of defence the plant kills all of the threatened cells in an attempt to starve-out the invader. Professor Loake and his team now understand the mechanics of this method and as a result have brought to light a particular enzyme, NADPH oxidase.

NADPH oxidase is critical in the creation of a class of molecules known as ‘reactive oxygen intermediates’ (ROIs), which a plant can release along with the chemical nitric oxide to attack the invading organism and encourage its own cells to shut down. ROIs include the likes of hydrogen peroxide and "free radicals".

The key to controlling the process lies in a feedback loop which causes ROIs to deplete and cell death to tail-off.

Prof Loake told The Journal: “We’ve been able to show how [NADPH oxidase] is regulated in a normal immune response. We hope that plant breeders will be able to use this information to develop disease-resistant varieties”.

Prof Loake's research could secure global food supplies and treat immune disorders Professor Douglas Kell, chief executive of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, contributed towards the research's funding. He said: “If available nutrition cannot meet the rise in global population we will face a crisis."

“We must find out as much as

possible through studies such as this one, about how plants deal with invading pathogens so that we can develop new strategies to reduce the impact of disease on yields”.

On the potential benefit to humans of these findings, Prof Loake said: “We know that if a human being makes

NADPH oxidase that doesn’t work properly then they can suffer from an immune deficiency called chronic granulomatous disease or CGD.” Prof Loake confirmed that the discovery "might also open new opportunities to treat [such] human immune disorders.”

Chevron invest £180k in Heriot-Watt University Oil industry giant look to the Edinburgh industry for energy sector's future workforce

Caroline Nguyen

THE WORLD’S SIXTH largest oil company has invested £182,000 into Heriot-Watt University, as part of a new initiative to sponsor growth in the energy-sector workforce.

The investment is part of Chevron's University Partnership Program (UPP), set up between the company and HeriotWatt three years ago. The funds that are to go toward scholarships, course books and classroom refurbishment.

Eric Sirgo, general manager of operations at Chevron Upstream Europe, presented the funds at the Heriot-Watt Edinburgh Campus on 28 September.

Mr Sirgo said: “Chevron operates in 130 countries, employing over 60,000 people and approaching $200 billion turnover.

What a business like ours needs is top quality people. The Chevron University Partnership Program is part of our drive for people, partnership and performance.”

The UPP is designed to create longterm, strategic relationships between

Chevron and chosen universities. The majority of institutions involved in the partnership are American, making Heriot-Watt one of only two universities in Europe taking part.

The aim is to create a world-class, globally mobile workforce to benefit the future energy and oil industry. Providing improved research facilities and materials in the areas of mechanical, chemical and petroleum engineering support students through their related degrees.

Professor Julian Jones, vice-principal of Heriot-Watt University, told The Journal: “Partnerships work where each member has a good knowledge of the others' needs and shared values in fulfilling them. "We welcome Chevron's support in helping us to produce top level graduates who in their turn will support the company and its industry."

Heriot-Watt is regarded as one of the world’s leading universities for creating graduates specialized in practical aspects of business, industry and society.

This year sees the first round of students to graduate from Heriot-Watt under the UPP program, with Chevron

employing two of these graduates as drilling engineers. Other Chevron projects have included the development of a system that utilises solar power to increase oil recovery from reservoirs.

However, the company has also been criticized for its involvement in controversies such as an $8 billion pollution lawsuit following oil recovery in Ecuador, a $6 million fine for violation of the Clean Air Act USA, and wiki-leaked

negotiations between Chevron and Tehran to develop a cross border Iraq-Iran oilfield.

In 2010, the world consumed a total of 87 million barrels of oil per day. If the level of carbon dioxide emissions continue at their current rate, scientists estimate the loss of ice from the Antarctic ice sheet to be from 47 to 148 cubic kilometers per year.

Heriot-Watt is one of Chevron's two European partners ELLEN CHONG

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Edinburgh occupied UGNE PIKUTYTE

LOCAL NEWS

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News 7

Edinburgh City Council investigated over property repairs corruption allegations Police investigation underway over possible wrongdoings and fraudulent repairs overseen by Edinburgh City Council Hannah Raine Local News editor

Police present but largely unoccupied at St Andrew Square Continued from page 1

occupiers have taken up residence outside St Paul's Cathedral. The cathedral's "There is so much wealth in the canon, Reverend Giles Fraser, has said wrong hands. There is no need for povthat he is happy for the protesters to erty," Mr Burke said. remain, and has asked the Metropolitan 38-year-old Sheila Masson, who has Police to recall officers assigned to 'produal nationality in the UK and United tect' the cathedral. Police had initially States, said that she attended Occupy seemed poised to attempt to break up Edinburgh to show support for the Wall the demonstration, but now appear to Street occupiers. "I'm here representing have relented. my friends back in the States," she told Occupy Wall Street has now entered The Journal. its second month entrenched in the As The Journal went to press on heart of New York. Several hundred Monday, occupiers were still camped campaigners are still camped out in the out at St Andrew Square, having spent city's financial district. two nights there. The group have Lothian and Borders Police conannounced that they intend to hold livefirmed on Sunday that the Edinburgh streamed daily 'general assemblies' to occupation has so far progressed "decide how to take this movement peacefully, with no reports of trouble. forward".

By comparison, the New York Police Elsewhere, a small number of Department have sparked controversy protesters set up camp in Glasgow's following skirmishes with Wall Street George Square. Despite fears that occupiers, amid allegations that police Glasgow City Council would attempt officers were indiscriminate in their use evictDay the advert_Layout group, on Monday afterof batons and1pepper spray.

PGtoOpen 2 13/10/2011 11:09 Page noon the council agreed to allow them to stay for the time being. In London, Additional reporting by Stanley Liew

A POLICE INVESTIGATION is currently underway after a BBC programme uncovered serious wrongdoings and possible fraudulent repairs overseen

by Edinburgh City Council.

The programme, which was part of the Scotland Investigates series, found many complaints concerning overcharging and poor craftsmanship of contractors suggested by the council.

In an exclusive interview with The Journal, Councillor Ewan Aitken, former leader of Edinburgh City Council, said that he suspects that many involved were lining their own pockets from as far back as 2005.

Since appearing on 'Scotland’s Property Scandal' last month, Mr Aitken described how he has received a "huge response" from Edinburgh residents, receiving 40 complaints from his constituency alone.

A common complaint amongst Edinburgh residents was that costs significantly increased as a result of work continuing longer than was initially agreed.

BBC programme found numerous repairs across the city were unnecessary, with many buildings even made worse.

A private investigation is currently being carried out by consultancy firm Deloitte, and the council’s statutory

repair system is now under tight scrutiny.

The current statutory notice system allows the council to intervene and organise repair work when the owners of private properties are unable to reach an agreement.

Speaking to The Journal, Cllr Aitken described the old statutory repair system where statutory notices were only issued for building repair work which was considered an emergency.

Following the death of waitress Christine Foster due to falling masonry at Ryan’s Bar 11 years ago, the system was revised to allow councillors to step in to ensure work was carried out.

Edinburgh is also the only city to have enforced this measure which Mr Aitken stressed is "a good system", however he believes "a small number of individuals have seen this as an opportunity to abuse."

Last week, angry Edinburgh residents met to discuss their experiences and demand what the council should do to resolve the issue. The council have since refused to comment on the issue while the investigation is taking place.

Tenants from Piershill described how their initial repair work estimate of £130,000 ballooned to a total of £500,000 after completion.

Under the statutory notice system, engineer James McClean and his neighbours were told chimney repairs to their Comely Bank residence would

amount to £10,400 per flat. The final bill had increased to over £19,400.

"The initial bill was 10,000 per flat and I thought that was fair enough.

But when the workmen arrived they seemed to have knowledge that all the chimneys were coming down. That set alarm bells ringing and I asked the other owners if they were prepared to bring in independent engineers.

Because I live there I knew the council wouldn't take my word for it."

Mr McLean said that he feared others would also face unnecessary work being scheduled without the ability to challenge it.

Lothian and Borders Police are currently investigating allegations that a council official even went on holidays paid for by contractors.

In March this year five members of the city council were suspended as a precaution following the result of a similar suspected housing fraud investigation. Last week, this figure had risen to a total of eighteen people since the claims were made almost a year ago.

The workers from the Property Conservation Department were responsible for overseeing projects and hiring out contractors.

It also emerged earlier this month that £1.3 million pounds was missing from the department’s books.

The investigation continues and a progress report is set to be issued to the council by the end of this month.

Postgraduate Open Day Friday 18 November 2011, 11am To register online and find out more, please visit:

www.ed.ac.uk/postgraduate-open-day The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, with registration number SC005336.

The Journal Wednesday 19 October 2011

twitter: @EdJournal

NATIONAL POLITICS

www.journal-online.co.uk

News 9

SNP blast Labour as "out of touch" after damning poll

Scotland not subsidised by rest of UK, says Goldie

YouGov survey suggests half of Scots feel that Labour fails to properly represent or understand them

Scottish Conservative leader uses conference speech to call for referendum on independence

CHRIS RUBEY

Johnney Rhodes

A LEADING SNP campaigner has told The Journal that Labour is "out of touch" with Scots after a recent YouGov poll found that 50 per cent of people think Labour represents Scotland badly.

Asked "how well or badly do you think the Labour party represents and understands voters in Scotland?”, half of Scottish respondents answered 'badly'. Only 28 per cent said they felt well-represented by Labour.

Moray MP and SNP campaign manager Angus Robertson told The Journal: “These polling figures show how out of touch Labour has become with Scotland. Following the ICM poll showing Ed Miliband was more unpopular in Scotland than anywhere else in the UK. They confirm a developing trend in Scottish politics."

Mr Robertson argued that voters are aware it is his party, the SNP, who has “a clear vision for Scotland”, saying people are looking for more jobs and a boosted economy, and that it is only Alex Salmond who can provide that alternative.

He continued: “Labour look increasingly chaotic.

They are out of power, out of ideas and Scots voters have no confidence in Labour’s current leader”. In response to this a spokesman for the Labour party

Dominique Cottee Staff writer

Only 29 per cent of Scots feel well represented by Labour drew on the result in the last Westminster election, which gave them 42 per cent of the vote and created a “doubledigit lead over the SNP”, adding: “The reality is that there is an economic crisis swirling Scotland with

unemployment at record levels, growth stalling and an emerging jobs crisis.

Instead of slapping themselves on the back and proclaiming how wonderful they are, the SNP should get on and help the 204,000 Scots out of work."

Plan for new Scottish Conservative party gathers pace

DEPARTING SCOTTISH CONSERVATIVE leader Annabel Goldie has rejected claims by English Conservatives that Scotland is being subsidised by the rest if the UK and has called for an immediate referendum on Scottish independence.

Addressing the party’s national conference last week, she argued the United Kingdom would be worse off without Scotland. “If one bit of our United Kingdom house gets demolished, instability sets in, the rest is at risk,” said Ms Goldie.

She also called for an immediate referendum on Scottish independence, so that “we could put this constitutional turmoil to bed.”

Commenting on Ms Goldie’s statement, Gordon MacDonald, SNP MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands told The Journal the admission was “a long time coming”, saying: “The Tories have continually trotted the usual disproved myths and scaremongering for decades, it should be welcomed that they have now finally accepted that Scotland can more than pay her own way financially."

He added that he thought it unfortunate Ms Goldie spoke out only as she was preparing to step down as leader for the Scottish

Conservatives, but hoped that this could be a possible turning point for the “Unionist camp” and leave space for proper debate on the party’s constitutional future, even though he was “not holding his breath.”

Mr MacDonald continued: “The Tories along with Labour have stood in constant opposition to the people of Scotland having their say on the future of the nation, perpetrating incorrect information about our finances, but the reality is that it is Scotland who is bankrolling the London treasury, not the other way about.”

In response to this, a spokesperson for the Scottish Conservatives told The Journal: “For the SNP, every issue, no matter how important, is manipulated into a constitutional row.“ Every opportunity is seized to stroke up English, Welsh or Northern Irish resentment to generate envy – but it’s time to face some facts. For example, both London and Northern Ireland have more spent per capita on public services than in Scotland - with the North West and North East of England receiving similar amounts.

“When Alex Salmond speaks he is not speaking for Scotland but for himself –the fact is he needs to concentrate more on what Scotland needs, and less on his independence agenda.”

WS DOUGLAS

A new name and a new direction is in the cards for the Scottish Conservatives Daniel do Rosario Staff writer THE SCOTTISH CONSERVATIVE and Unionist Party could be disbanded, if leadership hopeful Murdo Fraser MSP fulfills his pledge to create a new “distinctly Scottish” centre-right party.

A leaked document seen by Scotland on Sunday earlier this month proposed several potential names for the new party, including the Scottish Reform Party, Scotland First and The Caledonians.

In a statement to The Journal, Mr Fraser claimed that a new party would “revitalize the centre-right in Scotland.”

He also outlined his plans for greater involvement of young people and students in policy debates, and the creation of “national policy groups” where students and young professionals could provide input.

The Journal spoke to Jamie Halcro Johnston, a three-time Scottish Conservative candidate and experienced campaigner now working for Scottish political magazine, Holyrood, who said: "Since 2003, as a candidate and as an activist, I've seen a steady decline in support for the Scottish Conservative Party. We've been left with what is effectively the rump of our vote, with traditional Conservative voters giving their votes to other parties or simply

staying at home on polling day."

“We're by far Scotland's largest centre right party but we consistently fail to attract Scotland's large centre right vote. That's why I'm backing Murdo Fraser in this election. Murdo is the only candidate to come forward with serious suggestions on how to take the Party forward. The other candidates have spent most of their time attacking his ideas and not coming up with their own.”

Other members are less convinced.

Gordon Tollund, Scottish Conservative Party member for 15 years, told The Journal: "I'm afraid that people won't

buy this name-change, it's like Opal Fruits becoming Starbursts. Furthermore, you can't say that you’re against splitting the union and then go ahead and do just that within your own party– this will be seen as hypocrisy.”

Mr. Fraser’s campaign speech acknowledged that the proposals would cause division in the party, but addressing his critics he said “there is no future for the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party in its current form.”

Postal ballots for the leadership election were sent out on 13 October, and the result will be declared on 4 November.

Murdo Fraser is front-runner for the Conservative leadership THE FREEDOM ASSOCIATION

Annabel Goldie is to stand down as leader next month

10 Editorial

twitter: @EdJournal

www.journal-online.co.uk

The Journal Wednesday 19 October 2011

Four years on...

EDINBURGH’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER

ISSUE L

Occupied world

Now make your demands IN RECENT WEEKS, we have watched with fascination as what started life as a domestic American protest against Big Business and government inaction has transformed into an international cry for social equality. The Occupy Wall Street protest has captured headlines and sparked fierce debate around the world, but now there is serious work to be done.

It is true that last weekend's "international day of action" saw the ideals and anger of 'the 99 per cent' turn from a trickle along Wall Street into a cascade which flooded the world's cities, with almost a thousand demonstrations in eighty countries. But if that tidal wave was also the movement's high-water mark, then it will likely have achieved very little.

What is important now is that the movement find its collective voice.

Their basic principle — that in our society a tiny group of incredibly

wealthy individuals and companies are able to exert an unreasonable level of influence over government and ordinary citizens — is unquestionably valid.

Similarly, it is clearly true to question the fairness of austerity measures which disproportionately hurt the poorest members of society, but have relatively little effect on the tax bills of companies which reap enormous profits — and which, lest we forget, continued to gamble when any first-year economics student could have told them that the whole house of cards was close to collapse.

But to constrain the discourse to only those principles is to make this a conversation in the abstract. The Occupy movement around the world, if it is to be anything more than a flash in the pan quickly confined to the archives of television news, needs to come up with a decisive manifesto:

a set of demands which can actually be achieved. Stricter regulation of the financial system is clearly a good place to start, as is tax reform to place more of the burden on high-earners.

This is not a question of ideology: the greatest strength of the Occupy movement as it currently stands is that it is a politically diverse movement which appeals to a substantial majority of people. The movement has brought many thousands of people around the world out of their homes and onto the streets in acts of peaceful civil disobedience. The beast is awake.

Now is the time to set out your stall and to issue your demands. Government is listening, because protesters camped on the steps of St Paul's Cathedral are a nuisance them. But this is also a challenge for clarity of thought: protesting is easier than negotiation.

The former is ongoing; the latter is now crucial.

The Journal

Fifty issues, and some to address TODAY'S IS THE fiftieth issue of The Journal, and in two weeks it will be our fourth birthday. We hope, then, that you will spare us these few column inches for what we hope is a rare instance of self-indulgence in these pages.

We are proud of what we have achieved in the four years since our inception in late 2007. In that short time, we have worked hard to make a positive contribution to the student community in Edinburgh; to report carefully, fairly and incisively the issues that matter to students across this city, and to provide a forum for debate.

We are proud to be a part of the city's student community; to serve our readers — even if only by providing a few minutes of distraction in the library or outside lecture theatre

PUBLISHER Devon Walshe EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Marcus Kernohan DEPUTY EDITOR Megan Taylor MANAGING EDITOR Marthe Lamp Sandvik DEPUTY EDITOR (NEWS) Amanda Svensson Falk ACADEMIC NEWS Katie Richardson STUDENT NEWS Leighton Craig LOCAL NEWS Hannah Raine

— and to compete for your attention with the city's many other great student publications.

We hope that we have been and can continue to be a useful, informative and entertaining resource for you as a student here — and if we have failed in that goal, then we hope you will take a moment to let us know how we can improve, because newspapers, and least of all student newspapers, cannot exist in a vacuum, and they cannot afford to exist for their own sake.

This note is not solely intended as a self-congratulatory 'happy birthday!' to our masthead — though it is of course that. But it is also a modest call to arms: we can only be useful and relevant as long as we are an amplifier for the student voice, and we need your help.

We want ours to be a more open

STUDENT POLITICS Greg Bianchi NATIONAL POLITICS Andrew Barr DEPUTY EDITOR (COMMENT & FEATURES) Jonathan Baldie COMMENT Emma ElliottWalker & Dominic Sowa INTERVIEW/PROFILE John Foley FEATURES Daniel Keller DEPUTY EDITOR (ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT) João Abbott-Gribben

platform for students to write and debate one the issues that affect us.

This missive stands, then, as an open invitation to take that platform and contribute to the discourse — whether it is over class sizes, tuition fees or union representation.

Or you could take the leap and join us: after all, The Journal exists only by the sweat and toil of our writers, editors, photographers, designers, illustrators and salespeople. We are, as a publication, not dissimilar to many students: young, bold, ambitious and independent.Our founding purpose, alongside our goal of being the best student newspaper we can be, has always been to provide an exciting environment in which students can learn and practise the craft of journalism.

FILM Matthew Macaulay THEATRE Amy Taylor ART Emily Burke FOOD & DRINK Caroline Bottger CLUBS James Corlett FASHION Jessica Heggie DEPUTY EDITORS (SPORT) Jamie Timson & Sean Gibson PICTURE EDITOR David Selby LEAD DESIGNER Alina Mika DESIGN Joni Langdale, James McNaught, Katja Trolle Taksholt CHIEF SUBEDITOR Jen Owen

The Journal is currently recruiting: visit www.journal-online.co.uk/get_involved or email us to find out more.

The first three editors of The Journal reflect on the newspaper then and now Ben Judge, 2007/08 PERHAPS I’VE LET sentiment cloud my judgement because I now look back almost fondly on the early days of The Journal. But in truth, the first year of the paper's life was absolutely horrible.

The Journal was conceived in the dark corner of a student bar just off Edinburgh’s George Square, the product of youthful arrogance and a healthy dose of alcohol. What followed was a year of struggle, made all the more difficult by EUSA, who refused us permission to distribute on campus for our first six months. And then there was the battle against good, old-fashioned poverty.

Indeed, The Journal reaching the fiftieth-edition mark was inconceivable in January 2008 as we struggled to put the money together to pay for issue number 4 to be printed. Were it not for an incredible act of bravery on the part of Miles Johnson (now of the FT) in lending us the cash, The Journal probably wouldn’t exist today!

Evan Beswick, 2008/09 AN OPPORTUNITY TO reminisce really ought to be taken as lightly as possible. As any aspiring young hack learns quickly, it's easier—not to mention much more fun—to focus on the low points. Like the time we spent a full evening making an electoral map of the UK, but didn't take five minutes to check that the figures we printed on it weren't utter nonsense; or the time I insisted our designer photoshop "justice" in mirror image onto the bonnet of a police car, only afterwards admitting what a terrible idea it had been; or writing an editorial about Jeremy Kyle between sleeps at 5am before a 9am print deadline – or, indeed, thinking my opinion on Jeremy Kyle was of any relevance at all. I could go on.

But, allowing for a slightly dull—and, I hope, rare—moment of self absorption, I'll mostly remember the pride I still feel at having worked with a team of people trying to produce together a publication which was useful and interesting for those who read it, rather than an indulgence for those who produced it. There were even times when I think we succeeded.

Paris Gourtsoyannis, 2009/10 WITH THE MEDIA roiled internally by its own lack of ethics and standards, and externally by the rapid changes in the way people interact with information using technology, the goals of The Journal always seemed natural and timely to me. Firstly, to look around at our peers in the student press nationally and the Scottish press locally, and say, “We can do some of this differently, and better”; secondly, to assert our rights as citizens to responsibly implicate ourselves in, and occasionally shape, the media narratives of our community.

We shipped a lot of grief for those goals; sometimes we met their lofty aspirations, and sometimes we barely got off the ground. But those goals have endured, even though the faces at The Journal have changed – I was one of the last of the original team to leave, after three years. That, to me, says a lot about the impact The Journal’s ethos has had, both on its staff, its readership, and the wider community.

What have I taken from The Journal personally? For starters, I met some of the most capable, hardworking people I know during those long, long production marathons. My greatest pleasure was seeing people come into the organisation with differing levels of aspiration, seeing them tested by the work and the commitment, and on occasion come out more confident and better equipped for their next step in life. Some of those people are still at The Journal; I hope they don’t find that observation patronising, because it also applies to myself.

I wouldn’t find myself where I am were it not for the Journal – nor would my former colleagues now at Channel 4 News, CNN, the Financial Times or the Scotsman, to name but a few.

I hope it continues to retain those values I mentioned, as it expands and changes. They have served it well. I also hope the growing group of people who have played a part in it can continue to spread those values into what’s left of the media industry. Goodness knows it needs it.

The Journal Wednesday 19 October 2011

twitter: @EdJournal

Comment 11

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Comment Discussion&Debate

Women in Saudi Arabia

Saudi women driving towards equality Feminist campaigner Susan Edwards calls for solidarity with Saudi women at this time of change

Susan Edwards Professor of Law, Buckingham University

W

OMEN IN SAUDI Arabia are simply not allowed!

And this includes not being allowed to drive.

Driving their way to equality began in the 1990s, and this form of protest has developed momentum in recent months. And as hundreds of undeterred women were prepared to go to prison or face fines, the authorities decided that they would try another form of punishment.

Ten lashes were ordered for Shaima Jastaina. There is nothing like a bit of physical violence to frighten.

It has been reported that Shaima was spared this punishment. This is the country where Rania Al Baz, the television news presenter, very publicly and very bravely, came out after her husband beat her up, totally disfiguring her face. Al Baz’s bruised face became the iconic symbol of women’s courage in the face of male brutality and the brutality of state complicity. This is the country which in 2006 sent a rape victim to prison for being

raped.

At a conference hosted by Amnesty International on ‘Saudi Arabia: A State of Secrecy’ held in London on 3 June 2000, in a session entitled “Women’s Rights”, one male Saudi professor of sociology proclaimed that in his latest empirical study 75 per cent of women in Saudi Arabia said they did not want to drive cars. I asked what happened to the other 25 per cent. The professor replied "How would you know about women? You haven’t been to Saudi Arabia."

I told him: "If you choose to bluff you must be prepared to have your bluff called. I have visited Saudi Arabia!" My visit in the early eighties was a shocking revelation of the forced invisibility of women from public places. When I was hungry I could buy no food from the street cafes. When I needed shelter from the sun there was no refuge, so I sat on the pavement in the heat. When I needed the bathroom there was none open for me and when I wanted to sit in the shopping centre a sign reminded me that women were not allowed to sit on seats in public places. Food and bathroom facilities were finally offered to me behind a curtain in the ‘family area’ of a hotel.

And yes I was dressed in Saudi dress head to toe. This was Saudi Arabia.

I am told that now, men and women can sit in cafes in public places so

there must have been a sliver of progress. King Abdullah said this month that Saudi women would be allowed to become full members of the government consultative council (Shura), and permitted to participate in the next municipal elections.

He said: “We refuse to marginalise the role of women in every aspect of Saudi society. ”If women are not allowed to drive to parliament they will need to be very rich to employ a male chauffeur, they will also need to be accompanied by a male guardian" - a father, brother, or son as the law dictates. Women commentators are obsequiously fawning and grovelling to the king.

Perhaps this is the only way to get a little further ahead. Huda Al-Ameel, president of Princess Nora bint Abdulrahman University in Riyadh, is reported by Arabnews.com to have said that she was “not surprised by this decision as King Abdullah, ever since he ascended the throne, has been giving his full support and care for women.” Deputy education minister, Noura Al-Fayez, also reported in Arabnews.com said: “The new assignments are an honour for Saudi women.” Do not be deceived, ladies: these promises are platitudes in their political window dressing.

And this is the country that in February sent their troops and tanks into Bahrain, turning on pro-democracy

supporters, both men and women, and shooting them down. Women get into your cars in solidarity.

LUIS CEREZO

Susan Edwards is professor of Law and former Dean of Law at Buckingham University, and a feminist campaigner

A slow march towards suffrage A University of Edinburgh professor argues that there is a future for Saudi women participating in politics

Marilyn Booth University of Edinburgh

W CARLINHOS

ITH THE SAUDI government's announcement that Saudi women will be able to vote and run in municipal elections from 2015, I think they have seen the writing on the wall. For many years Saudi women have been articulate and effective in various sectors of society at making their views known and proposing an agenda for change.

At the same time, words match actions: women are active participants in the Saudi economy at most

levels - ironically, Saudi gender segregation practices give women opportunities to be CEOs and to assume high positions in various sectors!

The economy is driving political change, too: families need more flexibility in terms of gender practices to meet their economic needs, and this also means that many Saudi men are in favour of changes (not, indeed, only for economic reasons but because many believe that a shift in gender practices allowing more flexibility to women is just and is in line with broader shifts across the region). A good example is the issue of women being able to drive: women are driving, despite formal and informal sanctions.

However, we must put these changes in context: the move to

allow women to vote is a very cautious and limited one. These are local elections for advisory councils; this by no means signals a vast improvement in women's political power (or men's, for that matter). The Saudi system remains strongly hierarchised and power is strongly centralised. But, given the political restiveness (to put it mildly) throughout the region, surely the Saudi authorities are thinking in terms of incremental steps that allow a margin of political voice. It is inevitable, I believe, that Saudi women will gain more political rights, as well as more opportunity, in future, and so this is a welcome sign of things to come.

Marilyn Booth is Iraq Chair of Arabic and Islamic Studies at Edinburgh University

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Dalry Gorgie Road, 1375, 5, 5D, 0844 635 3700 Murieston Crescent, 1010, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Murieston Crescent, 1000, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Murieston Crescent, 975, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Caledonian Place, 675, 2, 2D 1B G Z, 0844 635 9560 Springwell Place, 675, 2, 2D G Z, 0844 635 3337 Caledonian Crescent, 650, 2, 0844 635 9338 Dalry Road, 625, 2, 2D E CG, 0844 635 9488 Orwell Terrace, 580, 2, 2D W CG Z, 0844 635 9688 Caledonian Place, 575, 2, 1S 1D G CG Z, 0844 635 2418 Caledonian Crescent, 525, 1, 1D W CG Z, 0844 635 9312 Springwell Place, 520, 1, 1D G CG Z, 0844 635 2418 Caledonian Crescent, 495, 1, 1D E CG Z, 0844 635 2418 Downfield Place, 495, 1, 1D G CG Z, 0844 635 2418 Caledonian Place, 465, 1, 1D G CG O, 0844 635 9434

Duddingston Cavalry Park Drive, 1000, 3, 3D G P, 0844 635 4820 Bailie Terrace, 595, 2, 2D G, 0844 635 9424 Duddingston Park South, 585, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 9384

Easter Road Easter Road, 1150, 4, 4D G CG O, 0844 635 9679 Easter Road, 1150, 4, -1S 4D -1B -1T O, 0844 635 9314 Easter Road, 1100, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Easter Road, 1100, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Brunswick Place, 1000, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Easter Road, 1000, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Easter Road, 1000, 4, -1S 4D -1B -1T O, 0844 635 9314 Easter Road, 900, 3, 3D G CG O, 0844 635 9679 Easter Road, 895, 3, 3D G CG O, 0844 635 9679 Easter Road, 895, 3, -1S 3D -1B -1T O, 0844 635 9314 St. Clair Place, 795, 3, 1S 2D G CG P, 0844 635 6450 Hawkhill Close, 775, 3, 1S 2D G, 0844 635 4820 Easter Road, 750, 3, 2S 1D, 0844 635 3700 Hawkhill Close, 725, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 9300 Hawkhill Close, 675, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 4820 Rossie Place, 625, 2, 2D, 0844 635 3700 Albion Road, 620, 2, 2D 2T G CG, 0844 635 2418 Cambusnethan Street, 600, 2, 2D, 0844 635 3700 Bothwell Street, 570, 1, 1D 1B G CG O, 0844 635 9679 Bothwell Street, 525, 1, 1D 1B G CG O, 0844 635 9448 Albert Street, 495, 1, 1D -1B -1T G, 0844 635 9332 Maryfield, 485, 1, 1D, 0844 635 3700 Rossie Place, 475, 1, 1D G, 0844 635 9468

Gorgie Gorgie Road, 1550, 5, 5D G CG O, 0844 635 9679 Gorgie Road, 1500, 5, -1S 5D -1B -1T CG O, 0844 635 9314 Gorgie Road, 900, 3, 3D G CG O, 0844 635 9679 Gorgie Road, 900, 3, -1S 3D -1B -1T O, 0844 635 9314 Robertson Gait, 700, 2, 0844 635 9308 Cathcart Place, 675, 2, 1D 1B CG, 0844 635 1312 Westburn Grove, 600, 3, 1S 2D G CG O, 0844 635 1312 Sinclair Place, 595, 2, 0844 635 9338 Gorgie Road, 550, 1, 1D, 0844 635 4820 Wardlaw Place, 550, 1, 1D G Z, 0844 635 4820 Stewart Terrace, 525, 1, 1D E CG O, 0844 635 9558 Wardlaw Place, 525, 1, 1D G CG O, 0844 635 6458 Smithfield Street, 500, 1, 1D W Z, 0844 635 4820 Stewart Terrace, 500, 1, 1D O, 0844 635 4820 Wardlaw Place, 500, 1, 1D E, 0844 635 9560 Ashley Terrace, 495, 1, 1D G, 0844 635 2418 Wardlaw Terrace, 475, 1, 1D G O, 0844 635 9320 Wardlaw Place, 450, 1, 0844 635 9338 Wardlaw Place, 450, 1, 1D G, 0844 635 2287 Wardlaw Terrace, 430, 1, 1D O, 0844 635 3780 Wardlaw Place, 425, 1, 1D G O, 0844 635 6604

Haymarket Haymarket Terrace, 1550, 5, 5D G, 0844 635 3780 Coates Gardens, 950, 3, 3D G PG Z, 0844 635 9688 West Maitland Street, 875, 2, 0844 635 9338 Easter Dalry Place, 775, 2, 2D, 0844 635 4820 Royston Terrace, 700, 2, 2D, 0844 635 3700 Cobden Terrace, 650, 1, 0844 635 9338 Easter Dalry Drive, 645, 2, P, 0844 635 9352 Haymarket Terrace, 625, 2, 2D G CG, 0844 635 9245 Rosemount Buildings, 595, 1, 0844 635 9338 Holyrood Road, 1900, 3, 3D G P, 0844 635 4820 Waverly Park, 700, 2, 2D G, 0844 635 4820 Viewcraig Gardens, 650, 2, 2D G Z, 0844 635 9679

Leith Kirk Street, 1300, 5, 2S 3D, 0844 635 3700 Leith Walk, 1300, 5, 1S 4D, 0844 635 3700 Bonnington Road, 1250, 5, 5D, 0844 635 3700 Easter Road, 1200, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Easter Road, 1150, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Albert Place, 1100, 5, 2S 3D, 0844 635 3700 Easter Road, 1000, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Portland Street, 990, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Ferry Road, 900, 3, 3D G CG O, 0844 635 9446 Crighton Place, 875, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Portland Terrace, 875, 3, 3D G CG O, 0844 635 9322 Drum Terrace, 850, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Great Junction Street, 850, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Madeira Street, 850, 3, 3D, 0844 635 2267 Portland Place, 850, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Western Harbour Brkwater, 850, 2, CG P, 0844 635 9308 Great Junction Street, 825, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Western Harbour Brkwater, 825, 2, -1S -1D -1B -1T G CG P, 0844 635 4475 Leith Walk, 800, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Sandport Way, 800, 2, 2D G PG P, 0844 635 6872 Orchard Brae Avenue, 780, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Admirality Street, 750, 3, -1S 3D -1B -1T O, 0844 635 9314 Great Junction Street, 750, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Lindsay Road, 725, 2, P, 0844 635 9308 Lindsay Road, 725, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 9558 Admiralty Street, 700, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 East Cromwell Street, 700, 2, P, 0844 635 9308 Mill Lane, 700, 2, 2D G, 0844 635 3330 Balfour Place, 695, 2, 1S 1D 1B G CG O, 0844 635 9422 Pattison Street, 695, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 2414 Albion Gardens, 675, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 2418 Salamander Court, 675, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 9679

A USERS GUIDE TO CITYLETS LISTINGS Meadows

Area Agent phone number

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

Bedrooms Monthly Rent Location

Great Junction Street, 675, 2, 2D G O, 0844 635 2152 Albert Place, 650, 2, 2D, 0844 635 3700 Balfour Street, 650, 2, 2D G CG O, 0844 635 2152 Coburg Street, 650, 2, 0844 635 9338 Constitution Street, 650, 2, 2D G O, 0844 635 4820 Great Junction Street, 650, 2, 2D G, 0844 635 9384 Lindsay Road, 650, 2, -1S 2D -1B -1T P, 0844 635 9314 Springfield Street, 650, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 4820 Stead’s Place, 650, 2, 2D G, 0844 635 9300 Great Junction Street, 630, 2, 2D, 0844 635 3700 Great Junction Street, 625, 2, 2D G, 0844 635 3330 Leeward Court, 625, 2, 2D 2T G CG P, 0844 635 2418 Henderson Street, 610, 3, 3D G O, 0844 635 9326 Dryden Street, 600, 2, 2D G, 0844 635 2287 Easter Road, 600, 2, 2D W CG O, 0844 635 9245 Harrismith Place, 600, 2, 1S 1D G P, 0844 635 9245 Ferry Road, 595, 2, 2D G CG O, 0844 635 9328

Leith Walk Leith Walk, 1500, 5, 5D, 0844 635 3700 Leith Walk, 1200, 5, 5D, 0844 635 3700 Leith Walk, 1100, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Croall Place, 1000, 4, 1S 3D, 0844 635 3700 Dalmeny Street, 945, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Allanfield, 895, 3, 1S 2D E, 0844 635 3330 Leith Walk, 795, 3, 3S -1D -1B -1T O, 0844 635 9314 Leith Walk, 775, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Leith Walk, 750, 3, 3S, 0844 635 3700 Huntingdon Place, 725, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 4820 Dicksonfield, 675, 2, 2D G, 0844 635 4820 Dickson Street, 650, 2, 2D W CG O, 0844 635 9312 Hopetoun Street, 650, 2, 0844 635 9338 Brunswick Street, 650, 2, 2D G CG Z, 0844 635 2627 Smith’s Place, 645, 2, 2D, 0844 635 9316 Albert Street, 625, 2, 2D G CG O, 0844 635 9679 Leith Walk, 615, 2, O, 0844 635 9308 Smith’s Place, 610, 2, 1S 1D P, 0844 635 9316 Iona Street, 595, 2, 1S 1D G CG O, 0844 635 9422 Balfour Street, 595, 1, 1D 1B G O, 0844 635 9679 Leith Walk, 550, 2, 2D W O, 0844 635 9326 Mcdonald Road, 550, 1, 1D G Z, 0844 635 9679 Madeira Street, 280, 1, 1D G, 0844 635 2267

Liberton Clackmae Road, 1100, 3, 1S 2D G, 0844 635 3330 Ravenswood Avenue, 695, 3, 3D G PG O, 0844 635 9424 Gilmerton Road, 650, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 6872 Southhouse Crossway, 625, 2, 2D G O, 0844 635 9390 Southhouse Broadway, 625, 2, 2D G PG P, 0844 635 9424 Captains Row, 600, 2, 2D G CG O, 0844 635 9424 Gracemount Avenue, 595, 2, 2D G CG O, 0844 635 9679 Howdenhall Drive, 595, 2, 1S 1D G PG P, 0844 635 9424 Hazelwood Grove, 550, 2, 2D E PG O, 0844 635 9456 Howden Hall Drive, 495, 1, 1D E, 0844 635 9424

Marchmont Warrender Park Terrace, 2250, 5, 2S 3D G, 0844 635 4820 Lauriston Park, 1900, 5, 5D G Z, 0844 635 4820 Spottiswoode Street, 1450, 4, CG Z, 0844 635 9352 Warrender Park Road, 1300, 4, Z, 0844 635 9308 Marchmont Road, 1250, 4, 4D G CG O, 0844 635 9322 Marchmont Road, 1200, 4, 4D G Z, 0844 635 9324 Warrender Park Road, 1200, 4, 4D G CG Z, 0844 635 9592 Strathfillan Road, 1095, 3, 3D G O, 0844 635 9362 Marchmont Street, 900, 2, 2D G Z, 0844 635 9478

Morningside Morningside Road, 1625, 5, 2S 3D G Z, 0844 635 9679 Morningside Road, 1625, 5, 2S 3D -1B -1T Z, 0844 635 9314 Morningside Road, 1600, 5, -1S 5D -1B -1T Z, 0844 635 9314 Morningside Road, 1600, 5, 5D G Z, 0844 635 9679 Hermitage Terrace, 1575, 3, 1S 2D G Z, 0844 635 4820 Comiston Road, 1500, 5, 5D -1B -1T CG O, 0844 635 9314 Morningside Road, 1450, 5, 2S 3D, 0844 635 3700 Morningside Road, 1450, 5, 2S 3D, 0844 635 3700 Morningside Road, 1450, 5, -1S 5D -1B -1T Z, 0844 635 9314 Morningside Road, 1400, 5, 3S 2D, 0844 635 3700 Morningside Road, 1400, 5, 5D, 0844 635 3700 Belhaven Terrace, 1300, 4, 1S 3D -1B -1T CG O, 0844 635 9314 Morningside Road, 1300, 4, 4D G Z, 0844 635 9679 Morningside Road, 1300, 4, -1S 4D -1B -1T Z, 0844 635 9314 Belhaven Terrace, 1200, 4, 2S 2D, 0844 635 3700 Morningside Road, 1200, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Morningside Road, 1200, 4, 2S 2D, 0844 635 3700 Comiston Gardens, 1000, 4, 1S 3D, 0844 635 3700 Morningside Road, 1000, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Steels Place, 990, 3, 1S 2D, 0844 635 3700 Morningside Road, 980, 3, 3D G CG Z, 0844 635 9592 Balcarres Street, 970, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Balcarres Street, 900, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Comiston Road, 895, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Comiston Gardens, 800, 2, 2D G Z, 0844 635 9560 Millar Crescent, 795, 2, 2D E, 0844 635 3780 Balcarres Street, 775, 3, 3D G CG O, 0844 635 9688 Morningside Road, 760, 2, 2D G CG O, 0844 635 3780 Falcon Road, 750, 2, 2D G Z, 0844 635 6872 Falcon Court, 725, 2, 2D G CG P, 0844 635 4478 Morningside Road, 700, 2, 2D G, 0844 635 2287 Comiston Road, 675, 2, G CG, 0844 635 9362 Craighouse Gardens, 650, 2, 1S 1D W CG P, 0844 635 3780 Craighouse Gardens, 595, 1, 1D W CG Z, 0844 635 9679 Balcarres Street, 575, 1, 1D E CG O, 0844 635 0085 Springvalley Terrace, 575, 1, G Z, 0844 635 2418 Springvalley Terrace, 550, 1, 1D G CG Z, 0844 635 2418

Bedrooms: Heating: Garden: Parking: Furniture:

Bruce Street, Edinburgh, 525, 1, 1D G CG O, 0844 635 9238 Millar Crescent, 525, 1, 1D G, 0844 635 9318 Craighouse Gardens, 480, 1, 1D CG P, 0844 635 0085

New Town Windsor Street, 2750, 5, 5D G CG P, 0844 635 4489 Windsor Street, 2200, 4, 4D G P, 0844 635 4489 Ainslie Place, 2000, 6, 6D G, 0844 635 4820 Annandale Street, 1795, 4, CG Z, 0844 635 9352 Eyre Place, 1600, 5, -1S 5D -1B -1T Z, 0844 635 9314 Great King Street, 1600, 3, Z, 0844 635 9308 Henderson Row, 1550, 5, 5D G CG Z, 0844 635 9334 Eyre Place, 1500, 5, 5D, 0844 635 3700 Dundas Street, 1450, 3, 3D G PG Z, 0844 635 4820 Barony Street, 1400, 4, 1S 3D G Z, 0844 635 9688 East London Street, 1400, 4, 4D G Z, 0844 635 9320 Scotland Street, 1400, 4, 4D G CG Z, 0844 635 9460 Eyre Place, 1395, 3, PG Z, 0844 635 9308 Windsor Street, 1320, 2, 2D P, 0844 635 4489 Dundas Street, 1295, 3, 3D G Z, 0844 635 6450 East Claremont Street, 1250, 5, 2S 3D -1B -1T G, 0844 635 9332 Scotland Street, 1200, 2, 1S 2D G Z, 0844 635 4820 Great King Street, 1100, 1, 1D G, 0844 635 4820 Huntingdon Place, 1000, 2, 2D G CG P, 0844 635 6872 Brunswick Street, 950, 3, 3D, 0844 635 9316 St Stephen Street, 950, 3, 1S 2D, 0844 635 3700 Northumberland Street N W Lane, 950, 2, 2D 1B G PG P, 0844 635 4820 Northumberland Street, 900, 1, 1D G Z, 0844 635 4820 Dundas Street, 850, 2, Z, 0844 635 9308 Huntingdon Place, 825, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 4820 Melgund Terrace, 825, 2, 2D 1B G CG Z, 0844 635 4820 Northumberland Street, 825, 1, 1D G Z, 0844 635 4820 Bellevue Street, 760, 2, CG O, 0844 635 9352 Barony Street, 750, 2, 2D G CG Z, 0844 635 9688 Fettes Row, 695, 2, 1S 1D G PG, 0844 635 9318 Dublin Street, 650, 1, 1D E Z, 0844 635 9300 Cornwallis Place, 595, 2, 2D, 0844 635 3700 East London Street, 550, 1, E CG Z, 0844 635 6872 Barony Street, 450, 1, 1D W CG Z, 0844 635 9688

Newington East Crosscauseway, 3600, 8, 8D G Z, 0844 635 9679 South Clerk Street, 1875, 5, -1S 5D -1B -1T Z, 0844 635 9314 Clerk Street, 1800, 5, 5D G CG Z, 0844 635 2287 East Preston Street, 1750, 5, -1S 5D -1B -1T Z, 0844 635 9314 South Clerk Street, 1750, 5, 5D G CG O, 0844 635 9679 East Preston Street, 1650, 5, 5D G CG O, 0844 635 9679 South Clerk Street, 1600, 5, 5D, 0844 635 3700 East Preston Street, 1575, 5, 5D, 0844 635 3700 East Suffolk Park, 1550, 3, 1S 2D G CG P, 0844 635 4820

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

East Preston Street, 1500, 5, -1S 5D -1B -1T Z, 0844 635 9314 Dryden Place, 1500, 4, 1S 3D, 0844 635 9316 Mayfield Terrace, 1375, 3, 1S 2D G PG P, 0844 635 6872 Viewcraig Gardens, 1350, 5, 5D G P, 0844 635 9302 East Preston Street, 1350, 4, CG Z, 0844 635 9352 Montague Street, 1350, 4, -1S 4D -1B -1T Z, 0844 635 9314 Viewcraig Gardens, 1350, 4, 4D E P, 0844 635 9302 Blackwood Crescent, 1300, 4, 4D G O, 0844 635 9679 Newington Road, 1300, 4, 2S 2D G CG P, 0844 635 9302 Causewayside, 1250, 4, 4D G PG P, 0844 635 9464 Montague Street, 1250, 4, 4D G CG Z, 0844 635 9679 Montague Street, 1200, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 South Oxford Street, 1200, 4, 1S 3D G, 0844 635 9245 St Patricks Square, 1200, 4, Z, 0844 635 9352 Dalkeith Road, 1175, 4, 4D G O, 0844 635 9446 Mayfield Road, 1150, 4, 4D E Z, 0844 635 4820 Clerk Street, 1100, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Dalkeith Road, 1100, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Dalkeith Road, 1100, 4, 4D G O, 0844 635 9679 Clerk Street, 1050, 3, 3D G Z, 0844 635 9316 Newington Road, 990, 3, 3D G, 0844 635 9424 Polwarth Gardens, 1995, 5, 5D G CG Z, 0844 635 9320 Hermand Terrace, 1700, 5, 5D G CG, 0844 635 9679 Hermand Terrace, 1400, 5, 5D, 0844 635 3700 Polwarth Gardens, 1300, 5, 5D, 0844 635 3700 Harrison Road, 1200, 4, 2S 2D, 0844 635 2418 Polwarth Gardens, 1000, 4, CG O, 0844 635 9308 Slateford Road, 875, 3, 3D G CG O, 0844 635 9679 Watson Crescent, 795, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 2418 Bryson Road, 650, 2, 2D G CG Z, 0844 635 4820 Watson Crescent, 600, 1, 1D G P, 0844 635 2418 Watson Crescent, 550, 1, 1D G CG Z, 0844 635 9326 Watson Crescent, 495, 1, 1D G CG, 0844 635 2418 Watson Crescent, 450, 1, 1D G, 0844 635 9318

Portobello Mount Lodge Place, 850, 3, 3D G CG O, 0844 635 9679 Arthur View Crescent, 700, 3, G CG O, 0844 635 1876 Portobello High Street, 675, 3, 0844 635 9338 Bellfield Lane, 600, 2, 2D G, 0844 635 9326 Kings Road, 575, 2, 2D G CG O, 0844 635 3872 Lee Crescent, 550, 2, 1S 1D E PG O, 0844 635 9320 Ramsay Place, 550, 2, 2D G Z, 0844 635 9560 Ramsay Place, 440, 1, 1D W Z, 0844 635 9560 Ramsay Place, 440, 1, 1D W O, 0844 635 9560

Stockbridge Saxe Coburg Street, 1400, 3, 3D G Z, 0844 635 9424 India Street, 1250, 2, Z, 0844 635 9308 St. Stephen Street, 1000, 3, 3D G CG O, 0844 635 9238 Dean Terrace, 875, 2, Z, 0844 635 9308

Comely Bank, 775, 2, 2D G CG P, 0844 635 4820 Comely Bank Road, 775, 2, 2D G CG Z, 0844 635 4820 Comely Bank Road, 750, 2, 2D G CG Z, 0844 635 9446 Leslie Place, 700, 2, 2D G CG Z, 0844 635 9464 Silvermills, 700, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 4820 Avondale Place, 680, 1, 1D G PG Z, 0844 635 9362 Clarence Street, 625, 1, -1S -1D -1B -1T, 0844 635 4475 Glenogle Road, 580, 1, 1D G CG P, 0844 635 3780 Dean Park Street, 575, 2, 1S 1D G CG O, 0844 635 6450 Jamaica Mews, 560, 1, 0844 635 9308 Patriothall, 530, 1, 0844 635 9308 St Stephen Street, 475, 1, 0844 635 9338

The Shore Rennie’s Isle, 950, 3, 3D G Z, 0844 635 9679 Sandport Way, 799, 2, 2D G Z, 0844 635 1127 Ocean Drive, 795, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 9679 Tower Place, 795, 2, 2D G CG P, 0844 635 2154 Hopefield Terrace, 725, 3, 3D G CG O, 0844 635 9558 Sheriff Bank, 650, 2, 2D W PG P, 0844 635 4489 Tolbooth Wynd, 595, 2, 2D G CG O, 0844 635 9488 Quayside Mills, 425, 1, G P, 0844 635 9320

Tollcross Gilmore Place, 1300, 3, 1S 2D G, 0844 635 9318 Lothian Road, 1100, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Lauriston Place, 740, 2, 2D G Z, 0844 635 9560 Spittal Street, 695, 2, Z, 0844 635 9308 Tarvit Street, 660, 2, 2D G CG Z, 0844 635 9302 Lochrin Buildings, 595, 1, 1D 1B G, 0844 635 9318 Brougham Street, 575, 2, 2D, 0844 635 3700 Lochrin Terrace, 540, 1, 1D 1B W O, 0844 635 9362 Gilmore Place, 525, 1, 1D G PG Z, 0844 635 9424

Trinity Darnell Road, 795, 2, 0844 635 9338 Darnell Road, 675, 2, 2D G CG O, 0844 635 9234 Rosebank Grove, 650, 1, 2D G CG O, 0844 635 9320 Boswall Drive, 625, 2, PG O, 0844 635 9352 Craighall Crescent, 600, 1, 1D G CG O, 0844 635 9464

West End West End, 2500, 3, Z, 0844 635 9308 Alva Street, 1950, 5, 1S 4D G Z, 0844 635 9326 Bells Mills, 1500, 3, P, 0844 635 9308 Cambridge Street, 1500, 3, 3D G Z, 0844 635 4820 Dean Park Crescent, 1375, 4, 1S 3D G Z, 0844 635 9422 Rothesay Terrace, 1350, 2, CG Z, 0844 635 9308 West Maitland Street, 1300, 4, 1S 3D, 0844 635 3700 Hampton Terrace, 1250, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Haymarket Terrace, 1200, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Clarendon Crescent, 1200, 2, 2D G, 0844 635 9245 Belford Terrace, 1100, 1, Z, 0844 635 9308 Clarendon Crescent, 1000, 2, 2D G Z, 0844 635 9300

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Comment 13

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The arguments for Lords reform are overwhelming Lib Dem MP and hereditary peer John Thurso argues that there is an urgent need for a reformed House of Lords

UK PARLIAMENT

John Thurso Third Viscount Thurso, Lib Dem MP

I

N 1995 MY father died unexpectedly, and I found myself able to take a hereditary seat in the Lords.

Never having thought much about active politics I broadly subscribed to the view that the Lords seemed to work OK and that the best maxim was: “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it!” – after all no one was protesting in the streets for Lords reform!

By 1997 I had seen enough to know that an unreformed House of Lords is the single biggest barrier to a proper functioning parliament and that reform is not only vital but urgent. In 1999, together with most of the other hereditary peers I left the house. In 2001 I was elected to the commons making me the first peer to sit in the lower house without renouncing their title.

The Lords has no legitimacy. It is composed of a motley selection of the so-called great and good, many of whom - quite coincidentally – have made substantial contributions to their party’s finances; retired MPs; retired civil servants for whom a peerage comes with the rations; and a rump of self-electing hereditaries.

They are all there as a result of

The House of Lords is steeped in history, but in modern Britain it lacks legitimacy, says John Thurso patronage. But they all work away diligently discussing changes to legislation, some of which are passed.

Then the legislation comes back to the Commons where we throw it out because we are elected and they

are not. The Commons is controlled by the Government through its payroll patronage. A lords without perceived legitimacy is unable to counter that power, and parliament as a whole is inefficient as a check

and balance on the executive.

The only cure is an elected Lords, with sufficient legitimacy to be a proper check. A legitimate Lords strengthens Parliament and the Commons. So why on earth are the

current peers fighting reform tooth and nail? First, and above all else, self interest. Given the effort most have made to get there they are not about to surrender the ermine existence without a fight.

The arguments are more subtle.

They are “experts” – much more so than MPs. Why then have hundreds of ex MPs been ennobled?

What in the process of donning ermine turns the plodding commons backbencher into an elder statesman and expert?

They are independently-minded.

Why then do they almost always vote with their party whip?

They do not challenge the supremacy of the elected house. Well why not! What is the point of a second chamber that cannot function?

The arguments for reform are overwhelming. There is much good in the way the Lords works, all of which can be captured in the manner of election and standing orders, but it all comes to nothing without legitimacy.

The current joint committee is an attempt to get the Lords to agree. It will of course fail as their Lordships fight to the last. Ultimately government will have to have the courage to use the Parliament Act and force reform onto them whether they like it or not.

John Thurso, 3rd Viscount Thurso, is the Liberal Democrat MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross and a member of the Joint Committee on the draft House of Lords Reform Bill.

The Alcohol Bill does nothing to help addicts A Scottish social worker argues the new Alcohol Bill does not tackle the worst effects of alcohol abuse PETE BIRKINSHAW

Tracy Cook

I

AM A social worker for a local authority, and have direct experience of working with people who are alcoholdependent. In Scotland, alcohol is considered to be an important factor in criminal offences - and the Alcohol Bill has been passed with a view to trying to tackle this, as well as the wider social problems caused by excessive drinking. However, with supermarkets still able to sell alcohol at exactly the same price (and advertise that they are doing so), and non-Scotland-based retailers completely unaffected by the legislation, what does the government feel they have really achieved?

Now that the Bill has passed, it is widely anticipated that the issue of minimum pricing will be back on the table. The SNP have long campaigned in favour of imposing

a minimum price per unit of alcohol, as part of their pledge to tackle Scotland’s ongoing alcohol problems - and they now hold the majority needed to pass legislation.

I do not feel that the SNP’s current proposals will in any way prevent people from buying alcohol, or drinking excessively. In 2010, the minimum price of a unit of alcohol was proposed to be 45p, making a bottle of wine approximately £4.05, a 70cl bottle of vodka £4.50 and a can of standard lager £1.13.

Even to those of my clients who are often strapped for cash, these prices would make little difference.

I am not convinced that there is much merit to the idea of minimum pricing - raising the prices of substances which people abuse, rarely prevents them from abusing them - a good example being cigarettes.

Raising the prices of a packet has only meant that people choose to sacrifice other things in their lives to afford the £7 per packet, rather than give up on their addiction.

To an addict, the substance they crave takes precedence over all else. People who once took pride in their appearance will let this slip, the children who need to be fed might go without breakfast or tea, routines are broken, jobs are lost, lives are destroyed. Many of the people I work with have hit rock bottom; they can go no lower. We work to address this substance use and to re-introduce some stability and security in these lives whilst helping them realise the massive impact their addictions have had not just on themselves, but also the people around them.

This legislation not only does nothing to tackle the issues it is designed to, it also punishes responsible drinkers who for the most part are people able to control it, who drink in a social setting, and do it to let their hair down after a long day.

Tracy Cook is writing under a pseudonym.

Alcohol Bill only punishes responsible drinkers, says Tracy Cook

14 Feature

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The Journal Wednesday 19 October 2011

The reconstruction of education Education in post-conflict zones needs to focus on local initiatives, while keeping global measures close to hand, says a former British diplomat

Mark Gee

“MAY GOD LET the right side win,” she said, adding, “We don’t even know what the right side is.”

The above quotation comes from an article published in the New York Times on Libya and the problems its teachers, students and officials face in a post-revolution Libya. The author has highlighted a number of problems the Libyan education system faces. In places like Abu Salim, many students are still loyal to Gaddafi and so are failing to turn up for their classes, or if they do, are being divisive. Other students are just returning from the frontline. Teachers are divided in their political sympathies, with some school principals having volunteered for pro-Gaddafi forces.

The previous school curriculum is being re-designed, books will have to be re-written, schools will have to be renamed (many are synonymous with the Gaddafi revolution), and in school, a new flag flies, and a new national anthem is being sung. These issues are both real and symbolic, and represent a fissure that may yet destabilise Libya.

What is also evident is that there are a number of tensions. People are struggling to come to terms with the past versus the present, deciphering fact from fiction, and knowing right from wrong.

In his article in The Guardian, Rory Stewart proposes that Libya resolve its reconstruction issues mainly by itself, with less foreign intervention. He prioritises the local over the global. Comparing what went wrong and right in terms of the reconstruction of Afghanistan and Bosnia, he rightly notes how local officials are better placed to lead change, as they have a far better understanding of the political, economic, social and cultural climate.

However, comparing the supposed success of Bosnia and the supposed failure of Afghanistan and transporting that to Libya misses that same point; the local.

Libya is significantly different; geographically, politically and historically. Whilst the revolution has been led from within, it was only through massive financial assistance from the West and the Libyan “contact group” that rebel forces finally usurped Gadaffi. Historically, from

1911-1951 Libya was occupied by the Italians and following World War II, the allies. Before that, there was the Ottoman regency that lasted for some 350 years. One cannot ignore the global issue when searching for a solution, as it is interwoven in the local fabric of Libya.

Will Libya even be a post-conflict country? Unlike other countries that have been torn asunder along tribal and ethnic lines, the removal of an unwanted despot appears to have unified the majority of Libya.

Whilst Gaddafi tried to propagate regional and tribal divisions, there is little evidence to suggest that he succeeded. This has been described as a revolution locally and globally rather than a civil war. Furthermore, the students referred to as returning from the frontline have not been described as child soldiers, although they may be over 18. Once the fighting ceases, will any western notion of nation-building suffice for its reconstruction?

Ever since Graca Machel’s landmark 1996 UN report “The impact of armed conflict on children,” education has been seen as a panacea for promoting reconstruction in post-conflict situations. Not just in terms of the economic security it can bring to individuals, families, communities and nations, but also as a means of sustaining peace. The UN’s Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) programme for former child soldiers has relied on education. In post-conflict countries like Sierra Leone (my last posting with the FCO), the DDR programme has not always proved a success.

From what I was told by parents of students there, these findings are consistent with their concerns. Issues of poverty and corruption need to be addressed and allied to a stable economy for a top-down, information-processing educational system to work.

UNESCO now aims to provide leadership in the global delivery of education, and to guide local policymakers in the transformation of education. Interestingly, their focus on building education for sustainable development has put ideas of “learning” and “learners” at the heart of its agenda. They appear to be looking at alternative means of education delivery to that which is described above.

Two experts in the fields of education, Thomas Mark Turay and Leona

ABD RABBO AMMAR

Many young Libyans aren't in school: instead, they are on the frontlines of that country's civil war English propose a transformative model of peace education (TMPE) for adult learning. The former was born in Sierra Leone and worked there for a number of years in education.

Transformative learning sets out to promote change and social growth.

Peace education allows people to analyse the root causes of conflict so that they can form their own alternatives. Without going into great detail, the TMPE relies on celebrating diversity, participatory learning, and maintaining a globalised perspective. However, it is a call for recognition of learners’ life experiences and the meanings that they find within dimensions of indigenous knowledge, and indigenous religious and spiritual beliefs and values that are most important. Whilst this model prefaces the local, it still embraces the global. It seeks to include all and exclude nobody, thereby bridging any

division.

So what might this mean in terms of education and Libya? It is possible that students may come to understand how fact and fiction, and right and wrong, come to exist if a constructivist approach were adopted. It would also help explain a past and a present, to the end that people learn that there is little difference between these poles as they are intertwined.

In order to build a sustainable peace, learning has to include all those involved in the educational system.

Yes, it needs to be locally informed, but it needs a global outlook that appreciates the world in which we live.

Returning to the New York Times article, I am not confident that Libya will adopt an alternative approach to education and build a sustainable future, at least in the short-term. The National Transitional Council has

only provided teachers with basic instructions towards implementing a new curriculum. There appears to be little input from the likes of UNESCO. Although a local school official indicates that teachers would reach out to children of pro-Gaddafi families, he adds that these children would need to be reformed. One principal remarked: "We need to plant in them the love of the country, the spirit of reconciliation and forgetting the past.”

This suggests a top-down approach to education. This will exclude and divide. People need to learn how to do these things for themselves so that they can move forward and build new lives.

Mark Gee was vice-consul at the British High Commission in Freetown, Sierra Leone from 2005-2008.

The Journal Wednesday 19 October 2011

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"The majority of Scots do not have a problem with gay people" The Journal meets Colin Macfarlane, the Stonewall Scotland chief fighting for LGBT equality with dignity, clarity and respect

John Foley Features editor

STONEWALL SCOTLAND

are some religious organisations that don’t want to do this, nobody is forcing anyone to do anything they don’t want to do. Stonewall's role is to present themselves with dignity, credibility and to participate in mature debate with organisations. But at the same time, we are about ensuring that LGBT people are treated equally in society and Stonewall will continue to fight for that.” Macfarlane is carefully trying to strike a balance between respect for the views of the people who may disagree with him and respect for the minority group he is fighting for.

Macfarlane is symbolic of the gay movement for equality: he is intelligent, dignified and measured in his views. He does not want or expect LGBT people to be treated specially, he just wants them to be treated equally. However like many within the gay community, you get a sense that he is disillusioned with the individuals and organisations trying stop him and all members of the gay community from living equal lives, free from hate, abuse and inequality. Luckily for Macfarlane, change is inevitable.

Colin MacFarlane is the director of Stonewall Scotland.

Colin Macfarlane wants real equality, not special treatment

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COLIN MACFARLANE IS as relaxed and casual as the café I meet him in. MacFarlane, the new director of Stonewall Scotland – Scotland’s primary LGBT equality lobbying organisation – is a sharp guy, even if slightly embittered by those who keep him from living an equal life. Macfarlane clearly feels passionate about the cause he is fighting for, which can generally be summedup as equality. The right for any gay, lesbian or transgender person to have an equal stake in society is a battle increasingly gaining ground in terms of turning public opinion around. Macfarlane, however, convinces me that there is still much to be done.

“It was always a desire to make sure that people are treated fairly, equally and with dignity,” he says.

“I wanted to make sure that I was in a role which had a direct impact on people’s lives and made things better.” It is easy to see how this desire is reflected in MacFarlane’s work. Still only 35, he has worked for the Scottish Parliament, as well as the Disability Rights Commission (later Equality and Human Rights Commission Scotland), where he rose through the ranks to become Head of Communications.

Although Macfarlane has only been the director of Stonewall for a few weeks, something he keeps pointing out, his appointment came at a critical time. Since the beginning of 2011, change has happened fast in the LGBT community: the consultation by the Scottish Government on equal marriage, the change on blood donation legislation for gay men, and the potential Scottish Conservatives leadership bid by Ruth Davidson, a lesbian.

The scrapping of the lifetime ban on blood donation for gay men is an important issue for Macfarlane. New legislation ensures that gay men can give blood, but only if they haven’t been sexually active within the last 12 months. Although Stonewall as a lobbying organisation has little involvement with the issue, Macfarlane has a strong personal opinion on the matter, stating that: “I think the 12 month rule should be welcomed, but I also think it is restrictive. There are still lots of gay men who want to give blood."

Macfarlane, uncomfortable discussing an issue that falls outside of the remit of the organisation he heads, contacted me later on to clarify his comments. “Safety must remain paramount. However at a time of national shortages in blood, everyone who can give blood at no risk to recipients should be able to donate.

To retain a blanket ban on any man who has had sex with another man in the last year, even if he has only had oral sex, remains disproportionate on the basis of available evidence.”

He continues: “However under the new rules, a gay man in a monogamous relationship who has only had oral sex will still automatically be unable to give blood but a heterosexual man who has had multiple

partners and not worn a condom will not be questioned about his behaviour, or even then, excluded.

Stonewall will continue to push for a donation system based on the real risks a potential donor poses. People wanting to donate blood should be asked similar questions – in order to accurately assess their level of risk of infection. Sadly, the proposed new system, which is a step in the right direction, will still fail to do this.”

Macfarlane then discusses the Scottish Social Attitudes Survey; a survey in social, political and health issues in Scotland, last published in 2009. “If you look at the Scottish Social Attitudes Survey, the majority of Scots do not have a problem with gay people.” MacFarlane also discusses how the declining number of people with homophobic viewpoints could be caused by a change in social attitude. “If you look at the introduction of social partnerships for example, the sky didn’t fall in...

People’s views have changed as a younger group have started to come up. Young peoples’ views toward sexuality are different than people of my age or over, as that permeates throughout society you will see change.” Macfarlane is adamant about there still being change to see, stating that two-thirds of the LGBT community say they experienced bullying in school due to their sexuality, and that many people are still scared to come out in their work places.

The argument is a persistent one; why should people from the LGBT community be treated any differently because of their sexual orientation?

This question is no better represented than in the battle for marriage equality. Before the Scottish elections in May, Alex Salmond expressed his support for equal marriage. But earlier this month, John Mason and leaders of the Catholic Church in Scotland expressed their opposition to equal marriage - some even calling for a referendum on the issue.

“It is quite simple for me. If you’re making comments, get your facts right. John Mason was wrong, nobody is going to be forced into doing anything. No religious group is going to be forced into carrying out same-sex marriage ceremonies if they don’t want to.” I then asked Macfarlane, if he felt it was right that churches should not be allied to conduct same-sex marriages. “Yes I do think people should have the choice.” He continues: “You are not talking about millions and millions of people, you’re talking about a few thousand people overall who probably want to do this.”

The debate over equal marriage has became increasingly polarised, and Macfarlane is concerned about a misrepresentation of what the LGBT community want. “The element that I'm worried about is this idea that some church groups, in particular one church group has; that it is going to be a stampede of gay people smashing down the doors of churches demanding to be married.

"But it needs to be a mature debate, I think it is about taking in that sense, which is that there

16 Arts & Entertainment Art

"It's exceeded my wildest dreams" The Journal meets the director of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery as the refurbishment nears completion Emily Burke Art editor HAVING BEEN CLOSED for refurbishments since 2009, the Scottish National Portrait Gallery may be a distant memory for some, maybe even never experienced by others. However, it is a definite must-see for all once it re-opens on 30 November.

‘Portrait of the Nation’, the project that has taken over the gallery, aims to “restore and reveal much more of the building than ever before; to show many more works of art by introducing a new, regularly changing display

programme; and to create first-class education and visitor services”. This project has completely transformed the space and aims of the gallery, catapulting it to an entirely new level.

However, it has been an uphill struggle to get to this stage. Having been threatened 16 years ago with closure and the removal of its Scottish collection, it’s no wonder that James Holloway, director of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, is proud of their achievements. “It’s what I dreamt of, but I really never thought it would happen. To be honest, it’s exceeded my wildest dreams, and we’re just completely thrilled with how the building looks and how the collection looks in it.” And why wouldn’t he be proud? For 120 years, the original Robert Rowan Anderson building has only been used to half its original intention, with only three galleries in operation and the rest of the space taken over by offices.

Through this extensive renovation, the Portrait Gallery has now acquired an additional seven gallery spaces, along with a digital media area, a sumptuous Victorian library– now open to the public– and a spectacular glass lift that provides a view onto every level. “It’s going to be very unlike the old gallery” stated Holloway as we walked around the new gallery spaces. Though this is evidently true, it is pleasing to see that the integrity of the original building remains firmly intact.

With this new expanse of space, the Scottish National Portrait Gallery now has the great opportunity to display more of its extensive collection than was ever previously possible.

Portraits that have never been exhibited in the gallery before will now hang proudly, including a portrait of the Earl of Wharton and his family from the 1740s, and an Allan Ramsay portrait of the King and Queen.

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However, the focus of the gallery will not specifically be on Scottish art, instead being threaded through the exhibitions as a sort of narrative.

“To be honest, so much of Scottish painting until about 1820 was portraiture, and still was actually until the end of the 19th century, so a gallery like this does tell the first chapters of the history of Scottish art.” This will allow more room for photography and landscape, genres that were touched on in previous exhibitions, but will come to the fore in the new exhibition spaces.

Highlights of future exhibitions will include Imagining Power: The Visual Culture of the Jacobite Cause, Out of the Shadow: Women of 19th Century Scotland, Migration Stories: Pakistan and War at Sea. As a national institution, the Scottish National Portrait Gallery is ‘the people’s gallery’, which has been emphasised through the ‘Portrait of the Nation’ fundraising scheme, allowing us to feel engaged and part of the gallery’s journey. Although their visitor profile has always been more Scottish based, Holloway hopes that more tourists will now enter through its doors, and so increase its attendance ratings by 50 per cent.

However, with a £17 million investment in the gallery, it seems in no doubt that they will achieve this conservative goal.

Just walking through the gallery space, still a month and half away from completion, the buzz around it is electrifying. With a collection that spans from the mid-16th Century to the present day, it’s a daunting task for any director, but Holloway seems to be taking it in his stride, envisaging the gallery as “a big party, where you meet lots of different people and different characters - a great party is the variety of people that you meet.” And that truly is what the new

Scottish National Portrait Gallery is – a celebration of an artistic nation, with many new faces to encounter.

The Journal Wednesday 19 October 2011

The Scottish National Portrait Gallery re-opens on 30 November 2011.

caption SIMON MURPHY MARC MARNIE

Theatre

Apocalypse The end of the world - apparently a laughing matter Anna Haftsteinsson

TWO ECCENTRIC, TURBANWEARING, fat bottomed dames present to you, their captive audience, THE END OF THE WORLD. Yes, 'Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Apocalypse and the last hour and seven minutes of your life. We hope you enjoy the show'.

This daring little performance, brought to you by The Occasional Cabaret and directed by Peter Clerke, is creative, thoughtful, and wickedly dark at times. All in all, an hour and seven minutes thoroughly well spent. This show, however, was much more than your typical Cabaret performance, boasting a real depth and intelligence in John Clancy’s nimbly crafted script and in performances from Catherine Gillard and Nancy Walsh that bring it to life with

such vigor and panache. Apocalypse boldly confronts our terrifying modern world, in all its brazen glory.

After this performance it might feel as though you’ve been bombarded with few textbooks worth of existential philosophy to process. This, though, is not necessarily a bad thing. It is brilliantly audacious theatre that asks us to question ourselves and our assumptions, that attempts to uncover the real heart of the human condition, that endeavors to wake us from our ‘21st century sleep'.

There are points in the production where it seems like this dynamic duo might just have crossed the line of what is morally acceptable, even for progressive theatre, but those wildly inappropriate moments (for example, an awards show sketch honouring the greatest mass murderers of all time) are somehow transformed into a device used to flip our perceptions and prompt our brains out of their dozy stupors.

Apocalypse is creative, thoughtful and wickedly dark The musical direction, from Tim Brinkhurst, flawlessly combines biting satirical numbers with country inspired ditties that would not seem out of place at a Dolly Parton show.

The accompanying singer/guitarist – a

silver fox of a gentleman with a voice like butter and very cool shoes – must also have a mention. Even in our seemingly bleak world of overpopulation, famine, floods, hurricanes and terrorist attacks, one leaves the depths of the

Traverse feeling hopeful, even excited, and very glad that it wasn't the end of the world.

VENUE: TRAVERSE THEATRE

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Arts & Entertainment 17 DAVID MONTEITH-HODGE

Theatre

Elephant Man EUTC on top form with John Rushtondirected new production Kate Adams

IN THE CAPABLE hands of director John Rushton (fresh from critical success with Peeling PVA) Edinburgh University Theatre Company’s production of The Elephant Man

by American playwright Bernard Pomerance, follows the true story of Victorian Freak Show attraction Joseph Merrick (referred to in the play as John) as he strives to become a 'normal' person.

The play opens with doctor Frederick Treves (Chris Craig Harvey) happening upon a sideshow and discovering Merrick (Jonathan Blaydon) after taking up a position at the London Hospital. Curious about Merrick's condition he bribes his cruel manager Ross (Connor Jones) to let him examine him at the hospital.

After being driven out of the country and suffering a terrible misadventure in Belgium, Merrick eventually returns. He ends up being cared for at the hospital until his death, making many friends and touching the lives of those around him along the

way.

Strong performances all round meant the characters and relationships were believable, creating an incredibly moving production. The development of the friendship shown between Merrick and Mrs Kendall (Sarah McGuinness) throughout the play was a highlight. The genuine affection shown between the two was touching, making it even more distressing to watch Treves sending her away in the end.

Special credit must be given to Blaydon for his portrayal of Merrick. A difficult task for any actor, he tackles the role brilliantly and his performance is at times genuinely heartbreaking. As we see him treated so cruelly by those who do not understand him, or crying the first time a woman shakes his hand, a great deal of the audience are moved to tears.

The only thing bringing the production down is that there are clarity issues at times and it is difficult to understand what some of the actors are saying. Overall though, this production is a definite must see as everyone should know the tragic true story of the The Elephant Man. VENUE: BEDLAM THEATRE

Edinburgh University Theatre Company pull off an incredibly moving production

Film

Breaking down boundaries The Journal speaks to the editor of Line magazine about a new series of international film screenings at ECA

Matthew Macaulay Film editor IN THE 1996 film A Time to Kill, Matthew McConaughey plays a young lawyer defending a black man, played by Samuel L. Jackson, accused of murdering two Klu Klux Klan members after they sexually assaulted and viciously brutalised his ten year old daughter. In his closing argument McConaughey addresses the white Mississippian jury and requests that they close their eyes before launching into a graphic retelling of the torture that was inflicted on the defendant’s daughter. At the end of this emotive and deeply disturbing account of the hell the young black girl endured, McConaughey exclaims, "Now imagine she is white."

McConaughey’s statement is emblematic of the divided society that still exists in some parts of America but it also taps into a wider issue of how we perceive those different to ourselves. This

loaded subject is the focus of a series of film screenings to be organised by Rachael Cloughton, the editor of Line magazine. Cloughton has selected a number of short films, all under half an hour in length, to be shown at Edinburgh College of Art. In her own words these films "demonstrate a solidarity that is not defined by nationality". They reflect the globalised age in which we live where social media is helping to break down geographic and social boundaries. Cloughton says, "at the birth of the photographic image a new political community was formed. This community has a sense of responsibility to one another".

Illustrative of this "borderless imagebased citizenship" were the methods employed by the online community during the Arab Spring to achieve concrete political change. The catalyst for the Arab uprisings may have been the pursuit of democracy but it was YouTube, Facebook and Twitter that made it possible to garner international support and mobilise the masses. The films Cloughton is

screening, which have been disseminated via online channels, exist in a relatively free realm. She says, "I have chosen to screen films primarily from Israel and Palestine, as this conflict, in microcosm, articulates how solidarity can be derived between citizens and non-citizens". The films range from testimonials by Israeli soldiers working for the International Development Association to emotive appeals by victims of sexual abuse working in Palestinian factories producing goods for the USA. 24-hour news subjects us to a continuous bombardment of human suffering in the form of fragmented reports about people we do not know and often cannot relate to. We hear on the television that 100 Palestinians have died at the hands of Israeli security forces and on an intellectual level condemn it but we experience no gut reaction. Sitting in the comfort of our armchairs we feel nothing; we have become anaesthetised to the pain experienced by those featured.

The films Cloughton is screening have been selected specifically because of their personal content in an attempt to address the emotional apathy news reports induce in us.

It might appear that the advent of social media has brought the international community closer together but racial division as exemplified in A Time to Kill is omnipresent. In the Omer Fast film, 5000 Feet Is Best the artist creates a scenario in which an innocent family are killed in a Predator drone attack. But this time the family is white and American. We see them pack up their car and embark on a road trip. Leaving suburbia they begin to drive through what appears

to be Middle Eastern terrain. A few moments later the family is caught in the fire from 5000 feet, and as the smoke clears, we see that its occupants are motionless and bloody.

Omer Fast’s use of a white western family is truly shocking and forces us to question whether subconsciously we consider their lives to be of more

value than a Middle Eastern family’s.

Like the films Cloughton is screening, it questions the many privileges we expect as part of our Western citizenship and draws attention to our common humanity which transcends national boundaries.

Transcending national boundaries through film FILM STILL FROM ANOWARA'S TESTIMONY

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FOOD&DRINK

The Hangover, Part III

CLUBS

How to recover from the night before for less than the price of a packet of painkillers Harriet White

WHO IS GENUINELY a morning person? No one. This fact is augmented when you wake up with a killer hangover – or worse, still drunk. Instead of staying in bed and weeping, force yourself out of bed to enjoy a cheap cultural tour of the city’s best places to relax and repent.

First stop is Beetlejuice on West Nicolson Street. This little juice bar also offers tempting, stodgy breakfasts like buttery bacon bagels (a steal at £1.50) but it’s the ‘Crack O’ Dawn’ smoothie that you require.

Blueberries, bananas, yoghurt and muesli goodness are whizzed up with milk, and the concoction is strong enough to neutralize all the Jägerbombs and late-night pakora. Filled with students at lunchtime, in the morning Beetlejuice is a chilled-out affair where you can sip your liquid

painkiller perched in the window and indulge in a spot of people-watching.

But if the idea of blended apple, celery and spinach is enough to have you running for your bed – resist!

Another morning-after favourite is Snax on Buccleuch Street, where slightly less virtuous medicine can be found: a good old cheese toastie.

For just a little over a pound, Snax offers deep-fried comfort, a decent CD on the sound system and free copies of the Saturday Guardian to help you replenish some lost brain cells. By 11am it’s packed with other students staggering in to seek solace in a cuppa.

It's difficult not to spend all day in Snax, but in order to enjoy the full effect of the Hangover Crawl, go to Jazz Bar on Chambers Street.

Famous for its late-night, often highenergy gigs, this live venue should be given just as much credit for its brilliantly soothing Saturday afternoon chill-out sessions. With the

A&E 19

time approaching 3, the energy from the toastie diminishes rapidly, so replenish yourself with the walking basslines of the Mellotones. Jimmy Taylor’s brilliant, grandfatherly voice, alongside piano and hypnotic drums, provide one of the best cultural hangover cures available in Edinburgh – no talking, just easy listening, comfy sofas and strong coffee. Within seconds of entering your mood will rise, and everyone looks a damn sight better thanks to Jazz Bar’s dim, red lighting. This is the place if you are searching for a hideaway to curl up in, and for free entry you can’t get better.

Will you learn your lesson and not drink again? No. Will you feel better after a day of good food, good drinks and good music? Yes. Beetlejuice (33 West Nicolson Street); Snax (118 Buccleuch Street); Jazz Bar (1a Chambers Street)

Novak 3D Disco 3D Disco fails to capture the imagination 3D DISCO

A novel concept, but little more

Fred Fergus

FIRST IT WAS only Arctic animals in the IMAX, then it was the blue people living inside James Cameron’s head and now even the Lion King is 3D. Finally we no longer have to go to clubs, like medieval peasants, in a mere two dimensions. 3D, ladies and gentlemen, is a hungry hungry hippo.

But what does this mean? Well in all honesty not very much. The company who run the night, Novak, are trying to provide something fresh and exciting, and while their name translates from the Serbian as ‘new’, it should really be ‘gimmick’. The issue essentially lies with the fact that it just is not practical to wear 3D glasses (the red and blue flimsy paper ones) whilst dancing - they just fall off.

The visuals too were left

somewhat lacking: the four screens and their heavily looped sequences, often emblazoned with a giant ‘NOVAK!!!’ (which eventually began to sound like a bad guy from Star Wars) were actually just pimped up screensavers - it transpired that very few people were actually wearing the glasses because of this. Not ideal at a 3D night.

However, this is not to say that 3D Disco is a bad concept - it wouldn’t have the reputation it does otherwise.

While it is gimmicky it is also oddly futuristic and is carefully done with a savvy music choice; the fact that it is a touring night also prolongs the shelf life of its novelty. With slightly more investment in the glasses we could be looking at a decent party.

VENUE: HMV PICTURE HOUSE DATES: 14 OCTOBER PRICE: £3

FOOD & DRINK

Frankfurter Eck Kaylyn Hawkes

caption UGNE PIKUTYTE

If any place can satisfy a craving for a hearty home-cooked meal, it's the German diner Frankfurter Eck on Elm Row. The atmosphere of the cosy, fivetable restaurant is definitely more suited to enjoying a casual Sunday dinner than a romantic first date, but the food is worthy of both and transcends any expectations derived from the first impression.

The charmingly translated menu is small and the prices are reasonable. The BYOB policy also adds an extra bit of affordability.

The friendly service is informal yet attentive and the chef comes around to each table, chef's whites and all, making sure everyone is satisfied.

Start out with a dish of German sausage with white cabbage and gravy accompanied by potato dumplings, which has half the fat and twice the flavor than you would expect. House-pickled cabbage, accompanied by perfectly

doughy potato dumplings, added just the right acidity. The vegetarian option, Schwabische Bauernpfanne, is homemade schupfnudeln, or potato noodles.

Accompanying this are vegetables bathed in a creamy yet not overly rich cheese sauce and a suite of lightly sautéed vegetables topped with a small dollop of sour cream.

For dessert, indulge in a nest of caramelized sugar atop a sweet, filled pancake which looks sexy enough to be in a Victoria's Secret catalogue.

All of the dishes are well thought out, visually appealing and entertaining to the pallet with flavor as well as texture. The skillfully prepared comfort food speaks for itself and the casual atmosphere presented by the homey decor is perpetuated by the welcoming staff. After only a few weeks, Frankfurter Eck already shows promise to be one of the gems of the Edinburgh food scene.

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The Journal Wednesday 19 October 2011

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RUGBY

Nottingham steamrollered on Edinburgh’s BUCS Premier North debut

League Table FOOTBALL BUCS Scottish Conference Men’s 1A

53-6 victory over English side is a dream start to the university’s BUCS campaign

P W D L F A GD Pts ALICE NETHERTON

Alex Matthews

IT’S NOT OFTEN that a team captain thinks his squad should let the other team have the ball more often. But Edinburgh University’s 53-6 rout of Nottingham University on October 12 left captain James Morrison considering how Edinburgh might do well to give opponents a little space when contending for the ball.

“We know that no one can get through our defense, so we need to just let them have the ball, let them come at us, and let them make mistakes,” he said. “As soon as we can cut down our penalties the scores should get even bigger.”

Morrison wasn’t exaggerating about Edinburgh’s defense; they were effective in stifling the few offensive efforts their opponents made, and Nottingham struggled to find space in Edinburgh’s defensive wall. In the second half, Nottingham had managed to start connecting passes, but they still were not quick enough to slip through for a try at any time in the game.

Conversely, Edinburgh created holes in the Nottingham defense from start to finish. Edinburgh scored three tries early before Nottingham even saw the scoreboard, only managing to do so with a penalty midway through the first half.

Nottingham continued to slowly press into Edinburgh’s defensive end and earned another before Edinburgh reclaimed their dominant momentum and held onto it for the rest of the game. Those two first half penalties

1 1 0 0 3 1

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0 0 0 0 0 0

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Edinburgh 2nd

2 0 0 2 1 6 -5

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RUGBY BUCS Men's Premier North B P WDL F

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HOCKEY BUCS Scottish Conference Women’s 1A P W D L F A GD Pts

A punishing defeat for Nottingham as Edinburgh come out on bruising form marked the only 6 points Nottingham earned in the entire match.

Edinburgh responded with a try from Callum Williams and a conversion from Robert Cuthbertson. Cuthbertson chased his conversion with a try that exemplified the type of play Nottingham had been struggling to create throughout. Under pressure in the centre, Edinburgh switched the play with a kick to the left side; Cuthbertson and Rory Jones turned up the pressure and created a rapid Edinburgh try out of nothing.

Though those two tries came late in

the half, Edinburgh weren’t quite finished and made one more try to end the half ahead 34-6. Edinburgh’s easy lead allowed them to sit back and pressure slightly less in the second half. Meanwhile, Nottingham were turning up the heat to try and avoid a try-less match.

Yet Edinburgh’s defense never faltered.

“You just make sure you have a solid wall,” Morrison said of his team’s ability to avoid second-half complacency.

“You know when you’re working as a team, no one can get through that one.”

By the final whistle, Nottingham were still struggling to redeem themselves

on the scoreboard with a final offensive effort, while Edinburgh had earned three more tries and two more conversions.

According to Morrison, the 53-6 blowout was an important accomplishment for his team, with Edinburgh having only been promoted to the BUCS Premier North league this year. “We had no real idea what the opposition was going to look like,” he said. “We couldn’t have dreamed of a score like this.”

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WATER POLO

Mixed fortunes for Edinburgh Uni’s men and women in Scottish Student Sport season opener EUSWPC get their water polo season underway Sally Abernethy

EUSWPC’S WOMEN’S FIRSTS made history on 3 October, as the first University of Edinburgh Water Polo team to claim the Scottish National League title. Keen to build on this success, the club’s first-team men and women kicked off the Scottish Student Sport (SSS) season with a much anticipated match against St Andrews.

The girls were hungry for revenge after suffering defeat to St Andrews in the Scottish Cup last year. However, they had only played a couple of practice games and the St Andrews team was much improved on that of last year.

Winning the first period 3-1, Edinburgh went into the second with confidence and Kat McIntosh scored three back-to-back goals taking Edinburgh further ahead. The tides began to turn with Edinburgh conceding three poor man-down goals without

reply. Going into the third period St Andrews were on Edinburgh’s tail at 6-5, with the lack of games and fitness Edinburgh starting to struggle against St Andrew’s full press.

The fourth period saw no action for the first three minutes before St Andrew scored two breakaway goals and took a 9-7 lead. Edinburgh pulled one back with two minutes left on the clock and there was the prospect of an equaliser, but St Andrews were not finished. Scoring another breakaway goal they ensured the game finished in a 10-8 defeat for Edinburgh.

Despite the close finish, Coach Derek Docherty highlighted three telling factors explaining the Edinburgh defeat. “Firstly, with lack of games we did not have enough time for our new players to gel; secondly, with a head injury to Kat making her sick meant she was on the bench for one and half periods; thirdly, St. Andrews have improved, and with the addition of a very good American player they are a strong and well-drilled team’. The girls were

frustrated by the close result, but the hunger is still very much there and they look forward to the return game on 16 November.

The men’s game provided a much more positive result for Edinburgh.

Despite St Andrews’ early lead and a slow start for Edinburgh, the guys came back in force. Goals from Nuno Oliveira, Christos Anastasiades and captain Ed Grundy overwhelmed the scoreboard, while goalkeeper Bojan Donevski made an astounding nineteen saves.

Credit is due to Edinburgh’s defensive tactics; by playing a drop they forced St Andrews to shoot from far out and Donevski had no trouble handling these attempts. Robert Tate was top scorer with five goals, including some formidable pit shots.

Overall, the team were in control of the game and, according to captain Grundy, Edinburgh could have won by more. Nevertheless, the final score of 16-10 puts the boys in a strong position at the start of their SSS campaign.

A mixed start for the Edinburgh sides HANNAH KILLOH

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The Journal Wednesday 19 October 2011

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Hearts rate still erratic

Class Act

The Journal assesses a period of turbulence at Tynecastle COWRIN

Sean Gibson Sport editor THE MAJORITY OF Formula 1 discussion last week quite legitimately centred around Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel and his growing list of achievements. Japan delivered another pole position, another podium finish and another world title for the man who loves to rackup statistics. 2011 has been dominated by the formidable German, but he has shone so brightly as to distract us from an increasingly intriguing sub-plot – the evolution of McLaren’s Jenson Button.

In Japan, with an improved car, the Brit qualified second alongside champion-elect Vettel. It is said that Button can only drive a good car, that he falters badly when conditions aren’t perfect – but he rarely wastes an opportunity when it comes his way. Part of the reason why team-mate Lewis Hamilton’s season has seemed so rotten is that he is being compared to, arguably, the most consistent driver on the grid in Button.

Not for Jenson the ‘plan-A-orbust’ scenarios, avoiding a rude chop from Vettel in the first corner of the Japanese race with composure enough to focus on longerterm strategy. Finally getting credit these days for his clinical overtaking and ability to mix it in the dry as well as the wet, Button calmly closed out the race under pressure from Alonso’s Ferrari, in the same manner for which Vettel has received such high praise.

Forget Hamilton’s ‘misfortune’ in qualifying; there is a reason that those incidents always happen to him. Forget, too, the caution of the Red Bull driver simply doing enough to win the title. Button went and made things work for him.

Having arrived at the team in 2010 as reigning champion he was nonetheless put swiftly into the role of support driver by critics and experts alike, second to the mighty Lewis Hamilton and his three whole years of experience; no longer. This year’s championship may be over, but if McLaren deliver a competitive package for 2012 we’ll see just how much higher Button’s star can rise.

Jensen Button GIZMO 10

WHILE RIVALS HIBERNIAN haven't had their troubles to seek this season, things have been just as tumultuous at Hearts. Jim Jeffries brought in a host of players over the summer, to add depth to the side that finished third last season. Many suggested that lack of strength in depth was the difference between Hearts and the Old Firm; could this year’s transfer-market dealing turn things around?

An opening-day draw at Ibrox had fans buzzing and a draw away to Paks of Hungary in the Europa League set things up for an exciting return leg at Tynecastle. However, a loss to Dundee United was too much for Romanov. He elected to sack Jeffries, blaming the near-collapse at the end of last season and a slow start to this campaign.

Many Hearts fans were furious, others just confused as they conceded to the erratic decision-making that has become synonymous with the club.

Incoming Paulo Sergio looked good on paper and backed this up with a comfortable win over Paks in his first game. This set up a glamour tie with Tottenham Hotspur, but quickly turned to disaster; Spurs put five past them without even getting out of first gear and the tie was dead before the second leg. A reality check for the Edinburgh side and indeed Scottish football as we were once again forced to accept the gulf in class (and wealth) between English and Scottish football.

Sergio lost his first league game at Motherwell and Hearts looked flat as they struggled to play under the new boss' tactics. His philosophy of passing football was quite removed from that of his predecessor who set the side out as a strong, battling team. While trying to impose a brand of football more akin to his native Portugal than the jam-tarts, Sergio needed points on the board. Home wins against Aberdeen, St Mirren and Hibernian propelled them to 4th

Tynecastle, home of the ever-unpredictable Hearts but things were not as rosy as they seemed.

Many claim the players are not capable of the passing game Sergio wants. Indeed, poor passing gifted St Johnstone a 2-0 win as the Hearts midfield was posted missing for most of this match. This, paired with a shock league cup exit to Ayr United, infuriated fans with some already

calling for Sergio’s head.

Celtic then returned to Tynecastle for the first time since their manager Neil Lennon was attacked in the dugout by a Hearts fan. Hearts have made an impressive habit of making things hard for the Old Firm, and a hardfought 2-0 win continued this form.

The win kept Hearts in fourth place, just three points behind Celtic.

FOOTBALL

Hunter on target to grasp victory Edinburgh reserves go 1-0 up over Aberdeen after late goal Jak Purkiss

ABERDEEN SAW TROPICAL October weather as Edinburgh set out to claim their first victory on the road for this season. When both teams looked to settle for the share of the spoils, it was Edinburgh’s Charlie Hunter who capped off an excellent performance to slot home a neat finish and return home with all three points.

The first half gave evidence to the fact that this is early in the season and fragilities in communication were apparent. Edinburgh kept the ball well in patches but lacked cutting edge.

This half if anything was confirmation in Edinburgh’s sturdy back four as they kept Aberdeen’s attack to a bare

minimum. There was just one minor blip to the otherwise faultless defence as they let what seemed a harmless long ball make its way deep into their final third, Aberdeen were unable to capitalise. The whistle came to end a rather uneventful half of football.

It was a different story in the second half, and this was partly due to the introduction of Edinburgh’s Ben Bowen. Bowen injected pace and supplied the quality of delivery that was lacking from a rather unexciting first half.

Despite this, it was the home team who had the first meaningful attempt on goal which drew Edinburgh’s Costas to save superbly on the hour. From then on Edinburgh never looked back.

Hunter came close with a fizzing shot that looked to all to be going in,

however gravity didn’t play its part and the striker clasped his head in quizzical hands. Pressure was building and legs were tiring which seemed to the neutral eye a great recipe for a tense climax. It certainly didn’t disappoint. Edinburgh thought they had clinched the win only to see the referee disallow the goal for offside.

In the dying moments, Edinburgh caught Aberdeen on the counter and advanced with pace. It was left to the impressive Bowen to deliver a sweet cross and for Hunter to apply the finishing touch it so deserved. Aberdeen hearts were broken, but with no response to the set back and no real threat all game it was difficult to sympathise. Edinburgh came away from this game with three well deserved points.

League position and wins against the poorer teams in the league perhaps initially masked the inadequacies in this side as Sergio struggled to find his feet. Defeating Celtic has brought optimism but time is needed to settle this ship and climb to where the club 'deserves' to be. However, time isn't always guaranteed at Tynecastle, and Sergio will do well to remember this.

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The Journal Wednesday 19 October 2011

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The Denis Irwin Complex As a new breed of pundits are born, Hacker evaluates the curious case of the 'underrated'

THIS GENERATION HAS brought unprecedented 24-hour coverage of worldwide sport. However, it has riddled the world of sporting analysis with a syndrome that is yet to be eradicated. The term underrated is widely ascribed in the sporting world; rarely is it attributed correctly. This malaise in sporting jargon is perhaps epitomised by what The Journal would term the ‘Denis Irwin Complex’. The Irish full-back who played in a number of trophy winning sides for Manchester United in the 1990s, became synonymous with the word underrated, almost to the same degree as England and the term ‘penalty heartbreak’. The truth is, when at least 40 per cent of

Jamie Timson & Sean Gibson Casey races to MotoGP title Honda’s Australian rider Casey Stoner secured the 2011 MotoGP world title last Sunday with a win at his home race. The title is Stoner’s second, having won the 2007 title with Ducati, and Honda’s first since since Valentino Rossi’s triumph in 2003. On his 26th birthday Stoner coasted to a comfortable fifth victory in as many years at the Phillip Island circuit.

Despite changeable weather Stoner’s task was relatively easy, with the absence of Yamaha rival Jorge Lorenzo who crashed during the warm-up. Said Stoner, "Jorge has been so fast and consistent all season but he had a crash with quite a serious injury so my thoughts are with him.”

Warburton banned for 3 weeks as Wales go without in Auckland Wales’ Rugby World Cup dream came to end on Saturday night as they lost to a French team lacking their joie de vivre. Sam Warburton Wales’ inspirational captain was sent off after only 19 minutes, for a tackle that by the letter of

the law did deserve a red. Surely ruing the inconsistency of the refereeing Wales coach Warren Gatland declared himself “Gutted” with the dismissal and its consequences on what was a pretty dismal semi-final. France’s 9-8 win takes them to a third World Cup Final against an All Black team who looked ominous in their dispatching of Australia.

Murray maintains end of season form to overtake Federer Andy Murray moved up to number three in the world rankings, overtaking Roger Federer, after winning the Shanghai Masters final against David Ferrer. Defending champion Murray won 7-5 6-4 to take his fifth title of the year. Murray adds the Shanghai title to his two other Asian tournament wins this month in Japan and Thailand.

Having risen to third, Murray will be hoping to end the year there, provided he outscores Federer in the rankings.

experts fall over themselves to describe Park as criminally underappreciated. The irony appears to be lost that the column inches he accumulates each season detailing his thankless tasks only serve to unravel the notion that he is underrated.

The complex is not confined however just to the footballing sphere; Rugby and Cricket have both fell foul of the dreaded syndrome. Conrad Smith, the New Zealand centre, if the rugby media is to be believed, has lived a life constantly overlooked when Joe Public reels off his list of outstanding All Blacks. Except, speak to any avid rugby follower and the comparisons between Smith and world cup winning Kiwi Joe Stanley are endless. Its true Smith may not court headlines the way a certain Sonny Bill Williams does, but he’s certainly not the unacknowledged

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the sporting public describe you as 'underrated' as they did with Irwin, the case must be made that you are at least ‘rated’ or perhaps even ‘justly recognised’.

This complex didn’t disappear when the Irishman did; the case of a certain winger also coincidentally plying his trade at Old Trafford comes to mind. Park Ji-Sung has taken on the Irwin mantle, almost effortlessly. Each time a camera is pointed at the Korean international warming up, it seems the commentator is contractually obliged to say something along the lines of - “although not the flashiest of players, the underrated Park is an integral part of this United side”. It’s as if there’s an element of having to prove their worth for the nation’s media, be it television pundits or national journalists, footballing

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Jamie Timson

shrinking violet that pundits would have you believe. Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid perhaps exemplifies the curse more than any other.

Supposedly living in the shadow of the little master - Sachin Tendulkar – Dravid, it was proclaimed, never heralded the kind of attention he so rightly deserved. One look around the Oval in the final test this summer would confound those who believed he really was undervalued; a large banner hung, which simply read ‘England vs The Wall’.

One player springs to mind who broke through the complex, cured the condition so to speak. Claude Makelele spent an entire career receiving the ball in midfield for Real Madrid to the murmurings of Clive Tyldsley’s dulcet tones “Makelele the anti-galactico”. Here was a player, it was asserted; so heinously

underrated by the ignorant footballing public that it appeared necessary to ram down our throats his worth to the galacticos at every given opportunity. Makelele moved to England and finally towards the twilight years of his career, he shed the underrated tag. It became passé to describe his abilities as unsung; indeed this was so much so that his position - otherwise known as a holding midfielder – became termed the Makelele role. The diminutive Frenchman took the Irwin complex and turned it on its head, creating a new piece of footballing jargon to offset the overuse of another.

So next time you hear a so-called ‘expert’ describe a sportsman as underrated, The Journal suggests you remember little Denis and ask just how valued they really are.

’t ‘Young people don n: io fail in educat education fails them and that’s not acceptable’ Kafilat Agboola, taught Science. now Faculty Head of Science

cHANgE THEIR LIVES AND cHANgE yOURS Just 16% of kids eligible for free school meals make it to university, compared to 96% from independent schools.* Take up the challenge, Teach First.

MILKROUND PRESENTATION Date: 27 October 2011 Venue: Teviot Dining Hall Time: 18.30

www.teachfirst.org.uk Teach First is a registered charity, no:1098294

* Sutton Trust, 2010