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EDINBURGH'S STUDENT NEWSPAPER
ISSUE LII
WEDNESDAY 16 NOVEMBER 2011
"MY FRIEND IS NOT A RAPIST"
» 12 Met haunted by memory of Millbank as students march As Julian Assange's appeal against extradition order fails, a leading journalist and personal friend of the WikiLeaks honcho speaks out
Officers criticised over aggressive policing at demure student demonstration in London
IN NEWS >> 4
State of the Unions The Journal’s exploration of problems and progress at students' unions continues with QMUSU
EMMA ELLIOTT-WALKER
IN NEWS >> 9
Vice City Student jailed for nine months for allowing his city centre flat to be used as a brothel
IN MUSIC >> 16
Ghostface Killah 'YOU'RE SEXY, YOU'RE CUTE, TAKE OFF THAT RIOT SUIT' Police officers outnumber marchers in London, as major student anti-cuts protest passes largely without incident
»3
After 140 years, Scots researchers help crack the mystery of Dr Livingstone's diaries Edinburgh scholars play vital role in revealing the message of explorer's diaries Katie Richardson Academic News editor THE DIARIES, LONG thought lost, of one of the most famous explorers of the 19th century have finally been transcribed after a transatlantic team working with the National Library of Scotland used spectral imaging to uncover hidden words in the text. Dr David Livingstone’s Nyangewe Field Diary was written in 1871
on what turned out to be his last attempt to find the source of the Nile before his death in 1874. Although he failed in his original mission, Dr Livingstone is today more famously known for his contribution to the abolitionist movement through his eyewitness account of a massacre of slaves in what is now the Republic of Congo, which helped force the British Government to end the East African slave trade. According to his journals, published by Henry Morton Stanley
after Dr Livingstone's death, the explorer witnessed the murder of up to 400 innocent slaves by their white oppressors. Scribbling on pages of the London newspaper The Standard, using ink he made from a local plant, Livingstone described the horrors he witnessed. However, due to the nature of the ink and unfavourable weather conditions, the writing quickly faded. But now, using spectral imaging, a team of researchers have been able to illuminate the manuscript with different
wavelengths of light to reveal his original account. Dr Adrian Wisnicki, assistant professor at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania and director of the project told The Journal: "Dr Livingstone’s life is interesting in that his diaries reveal a moment of crisis in his life when he felt particularly vulnerable. “We get to see the way he responds to the situation. In particular we Continued on page 5
IN SPORT >> 23
The end of the entertainers? This week, Hacker asks whether sport has lost its entertainment value
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New award scheme for student societies
THIS WEEK INSIDE
Almost £100,000 of funding to be made available to enterprising student groups Tom McCallum Staff writer
Societies stripped back
»
Edinburgh University student societies get naked for book charity READ International's calendar
A NEW SCHEME has been launched to reward students with entrepreneurial talent. The Enterprising Students Societies Accreditation (ESSA) sees RBS and Find Invest Grow (FIG) stump up £95,000 of prize funds to reward students who run the most effective student societies. The idea behind the competition is to encourage business skills among students. A spokesperson for the competition said: "To compete in this environment, students will need to differentiate themselves. Employers are going to be looking for them to have gone that step further. They will be looking for certifications and accreditations that will separate the applications. "They are also looking for enterprising streaks in candidates.
Students with a track record of successful planning and management will have a competitive edge. "Starting a business is becoming a rising trend for graduates looking to crystallise business ideas they formed at university, or to address the difficulties of finding employment. This scheme is vital in helping them focus on and develop the skills needed." There are three different categories accredited societies can compete in. The bronze award offers £10,000 pounds to the society with the most viewed video on YouTube, the silver award offers £20,000 to the best fundraising event or £10,000 to the best series of events and the gold award offers £25,000 to the most enterprising society, £20,000 for entrepreneurial use of funds and £10,000 for best events. Students who think their society is worthy of a prize can enter on the ESSA website, the competition is open UK-wide to over 100 universities. DAVE COOKSEY
Qatartoon controversy
»8
Lib Dem leader forced to apologise over cartoon mocking Alex Salmond
Out of this League
Rome to Tripoli
» 11
The Journal looks at the parallels between two countries in political chaos
The ESSA scheme is backed by the Royal Bank of Scotland
» 21
The retirement of a rugby league great might provide some respite for unaspiring Brits
The Journal is published by The Edinburgh Journal Ltd., registered address 37 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh, EH8 8AQ. Registered in Scotland number SC322146. For enquiries call 0131 651 6057 or email info@journal-online.co.uk. The Journal is a free newspaper for and produced by students in the City of Edinburgh. Contact us if you’d like to get involved. Printed by Morton’s Printers, Lincolnshire. Copyright © 2008 The Edinburgh Journal Ltd. Elements of this publication are distributed under a Creative Commons license - contact us for more information. Distributed by Two Heads Media, www.twoheadsmedia.co.uk. Our thanks to PSYBT, Scottish Enterprise, and all who make this publication possible.
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Police criticised as London student march passes without incident
NSA passes new constitution
Edinburgh students travel to join first major student march since 2010's Millbank riot EMMA ELLIOT-WALKER
Emma Elliott-Walker Marcus Kernohan THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS once again flocked to central London last week, in a day of protest which saw the Metropolitan Police criticised for what was widely seen as an excessive policing effort. Around 3,000 students joined the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts (NCAFC) demonstration on Wednesday 9 November, to protest ongoing cuts to higher education funding and the lingering spectre of dramatically raised tuition fees. The march follows the publication of the coalition government's White Paper on higher education which many fear will lead universities to operate more as businesses than institutions of learning. The heavy police presence at the demonstration, which saw students march from the University of London Union in Bloomsbury to London Wall in the East End, has been widely criticised as "disproportionate" by campaigners. Reports that police had sought and received Home Office authorisation to use rubber bullets and water cannon if trouble erupted led organisers to accuse police of attempting to "precriminalise" protest. Around 4,000 officers from across several forces were drafted in to police the march, amid fears of a repeat of last year's Millbank riot, which saw the Conservative Party's headquarters ransacked by protesters at NUS' Demolition protest. In a statement, NCAFC condemned police crowd-control tactics, including the controversial practice of 'kettling'
Staff writer
Over 100 Edinburgh University students, including many EUSA officials, joined the march in London as "brutal and inhumane, barely legal and counterproductive." Reports that police kettled striking electricians attempting to join the march led to a brief stand-off between police and protesters at Fleet Street. But despite tense scenes between police officers and an increasingly agitated crowd, the situation was quickly defused. Officers warned protesters that deviation from the planned route, negotiated with local authorities by NCAFC and NUS, would be treated as a criminal offence, and were quick to enforce an order made under Section 60 of the
Criminal Justice and Public Order Act which effectively outlawed the wearing of masks or face coverings at the march. But despite aggressive policing, student activists have claimed that the march was largely self-regulated, with student marshals directing demonstrators and encouraging adherence to the agreed route. Stephen Donnelly, one of EUSA’s NUS Scotland delegates, said: “The absence of any serious disruption or damage to property helped keep our message credible and resonant with the wider public.” Police reported 24 arrests, mainly for public order offences, while an
attempted occupation which saw protesters pitch tents in Trafalgar Square, was quickly closed down. Around 120 University of Edinburgh students — reportedly the largest student contingent from outside London — travelled through the night on coaches subsidised by Edinburgh University Students Association to take part. EUSA president Matt McPherson told The Journal he was “really proud that Edinburgh students were leading Scotland’s fight against fees." Additional reporting by Dominic Sowa and Lydia Willgress.
HWUSA chief Mike Ross offers a roadmap to 'academic representation utopia'
Managing editor HERIOT-WATT UNIVERSITY STUDENT'S Association president Mike Ross has published his ideas for "academic representation utopia". Writing on the union's website, Mr Ross says he has worked out the formula for optimum student representation. Mr Ross explained that employing an "excellent representative structure" together with encouraging "excellent engagement from students and staff" will ensure the perfect working partnership between students, their student union and their university. Mr Ross told The Journal that the idea was originally meant as a “philosophical approach to the nature of academic representation”. Mr Ross acknowledged that it is an ambitious plan. He said: “Academic representation utopia will never be 100
After two years of planning, Napier students' union unanimously approves new constitution
Richard Morgan
Heriot-Watt student president outlines 'perfect' students' union Marthe Lamp Sandvik
News 3
per cent achievable, but it is something we’ll be working on and striving to achieve. “The initial blog post was to provoke anyone reading it. These are questions everyone involved with academic representation should be asking themselves.” The idea behind the academic representation utopia blog post was to find out what a perfect representation model would look like and create a debate about the logistics of achieving one. According to Mr Ross, student unions are excellent at developing representation structures, as they are very aware of the different issues students engage with. However, they need to become better at communicating their work and ideas efficiently with the students and the university. The success of this relies on the level of engagement from students and staff, and the facilitation of conditions where students are “co-creators of their learning environment”.
Mike Ross, president of HWUSA
NAPIER STUDENT ASSOCIATION (NSA) unanimously passed a new constitution last week, following two years of painstaking planning. 148 students were present to vote on the plans at a recent meeting of the Student Senate. The proposal passed without a single opposing vote. The reivew of the constitution was launched in 2009 former president Kasia Bylinska, after mounting criticisms that the existing governance structure was outdated and ineffective. It has been 12 years since the NSA last reviewed their constiution. In the face of changing student demographics, it was widely thought that the constitution now blocked activism, rather than facilitating it. Under the new constitution the student executive will continue to consist of three sabbatical officers and six faculty officers. However, two new positions have been created: an Equality and Diversity Officer and an Activities Officer. All positions will have have a council to which they are accountable. Justyna Paslawska, Vice-President for Reps & Volunteers, told The Journal that the Student Senate is also to be replaced by a council which “can be called in an emergency and will still deal with over-arching student issues affecting the majority of students collectively”. However, this council will not meet as regularly as the senate did. Ms Paslawska added that the new Constitution contains “a degree of flexibility to allow the NSA to respond to the changing needs of its membership over time”. The review process was steered by the the Constitution Review Group, comprising NSA Sabbatical Officers, a member of the Edinburgh Napier University Court, the university principal’s senior policy adviser and NSA’s general manager. Consultations were carried out, including student questionnaires, presentations to the Senate and discussions with management. The new constitution seeks to promote transparency, equality and inclusion for the student body and the union.
Justyna Paslawska HWUSA
NSA
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The Journal Wednesday 16 November 2011
State of the Unions
QMUSU: Life after the power-struggle Continuing its series on Edinburgh's student unions, The Journal takes a look at QMUSU QMUSU
Paul Foy
"What I would really like to see is even more student activism across campus. Historically we haven't had a political student body, but I can sense a slight shift in this."
Staff writer ALTHOUGH IT IS Edinburgh’s smallest higher education institution, goings-on at Queen Margaret University should not be overlooked: these are interesting times for the Musselburgh-based institution — and for its students' union, which earlier this year saw a very public power-struggle between its two top sabbatical officers end in the unceremonious exit of QMUSU president Blain Murphy. Mr Murphy's presidency was a political saga which could not have occurred outside a student-run organisation: after first running for the position as a joke candidate in 2009, he ran again and won the following year. Mark Kent, at the time a student at QMU, tells of a curiosity and bemusement surrounding Mr Murphy’s rise to president: “Obviously there was a feeling that it was him trying to make the same joke twice, and a lot of eyes were rolled. But credit where it’s due, he talked a good talk over the campaign, and in my eyes he won the election on merit, not novelty.” Mr Murphy may have talked a good talk, but opinions were split on whether or not he had the walk to match. “I know a few people who thought that he was doing a good job, and to be honest, as someone who didn’t really keep a close eye on it, I presumed the same," says Mr Kent. "Then all the no confidence stuff emerged, and suddenly there was all these whispers saying he was rubbish, and that was it for some people - red or blue. Although most of us kept it in perspective, seeing it as petty squabbles.” At a meeting of QMUSU's Student Parliament in February, a vote of noconfidence in Mr Murphy (for "non-fulfillment of responsibilities") was unexpectedly tabled by his vice-president, Christie McMonagle. It passed, and Mr Murphy was summarily removed from office, telling The Journal on his way out the door that he'd "had enough of QMU for three life times." The debacle scarred both the union and university management, with both drawing criticism from students for their handling of the affair. But Mr Murphy's successor, current president Michael Breckenridge, argues that preexisting student apathy meant that Mr Murphy's sacking passed largely below the radar. “The Students’ Union as a whole had fewer active members and student engagement was low from the beginning of last year," he told The Journal. "So most of the membership was actually unaware and unaffected by Blain’s removal from office as everything continued much as it had done and none of the services the union offered changed.” But while Mr Breckenridge agrees that the last year has been stormy sailing for QMUSU, the future seems to be looking up. “As far as this year goes, engagement is up across the board, we have more participants in our sports teams, more active societies and the largest number of Student Representatives – Class Reps and Members of Student Parliament – in our history," he says.
QMUSU president Michael Breckenridge, who says he is overseeing an activist resurrection at the Musselburgh union “I’d like to say that this is all just down to Melvin (the VP) and me, but I think we’ve been really lucky that this year’s intake of freshers are wanting to engage with us, along with our efforts to reconnect with disenfranchised older students.” The most obvious mark of a shift in union operations comes in an unprecedented locking of horns between QMUSU and university principal Professor Petra Wend. A newly-activist QMUSU took senior management to task ahead of the university's decision to raise RUK tuition fees to £6,750 per year. “We managed to force an extraordinary Court meeting over the RUK fees issue, actively lobbying our principal for the first time in her time at QMU," says Mr Breckenridge. "The relationship with the
University has changed as a consequence and we are now actively sought out to offer the students’ perspective and be involved in more debate across all University committees." “What I would really like to see is even more student activism across campus. Historically we haven’t had a political student body, but I can sense a slight shift in this, with more members engaging in campaigns and debate. We’ve organised for student rep networking meetings with guest speakers from NUS to try and harness this and encourage further students to get involved.” But alongside its new political fervour, the union seems to have found new energy in other areas of its work. As is often the way with students' unions, the bar is all important, and
Mr Breckenridge and his colleagues are following through on their promise to transform Maggie’s Bar. “As well as developing a corporate identity over the summer, we got rid of the dark paint and the graffiti that made it look slightly Byker Grove circa 1995 and replaced it with a fresh, bright colour scheme... we’re still making changes, but we’re wanting it to be more of an organic process, letting the bar evolve along with how people are using it. "The next big purchase on the list is new furniture, but we’re trying to be wise and plan it a little better, putting money aside during this year so that there’s a fund to do it properly at the end of this year for whoever is in charge next summer. Part of this is through a loyalty card that
we introduced over the summer: the Wild Card gets members discounts on a variety of products from Maggie’s while also getting them access to our Wednesday night sponsors. Most of the profit from these £10 cards goes into the revamp fund.” The simplicity of the last initiative bears all the hallmarks of the current administration and how it has conducted its business so far. Promoting a healthy symbiotic relationship between the student body and the union, it is instilling a trust, and genuine relevancy in the day to day life of a student. This sentiment is not lost on Mr Breckenridge: “All I will say is that we’re in our strongest year in living memory and that’s as much down to our fantastic members as it is to our engagement strategy.”
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HWU academic in sonic Message of baking breakthrough Livingstone's diaries revealed Heriot-Watt professor wins £500k prize for ultrasound research
FLICKR: SHANDCHEM
Caroline Nguyen
Continued from page 1 A HERIOT-WATT PROFESSOR who pioneered the use of sound waves to produce baked goods has been granted £500,000 to commercialise the project as part of the UK Government’s ‘Nutrition for Life’ initiative. The project, entitled 'Baking with Sound', uses ultrasound to manipulate cell structure during baking. Dr Carmen Sanchez-Torres, of Heriot-Watt’s Mechanical Engineering Department developed the technology, originally intended for use in medical implants. She told The Journal: “[This allows us to] control and tailor the physical processing, texture and organoleptic (i.e. natural taste, feel-at-bite, etc) properties of bakery products." The project’s focus is to improve gluten-free and salt-reduced products. Currently, consumers who prefer these options or have no other choice due to being glucose intolerant, need to compromise on qualities such as taste, volume, and texture. Heriot-Watt will collaborate with food ingredient manufacturer Macphie to develop the technology to industry-applicable standards. If successful, Macphie claims that it will “revolutionise the baking industry”, also stating that: “Demand for reduced salt and gluten-free bakery products is large and rapidly growing. “[Due to the technology], glutenfree products now have better volume and texture …. Baking with Sound
Dr Sanchez-Torres is an engineering professor at Heriot-Watt will deliver a step-change improvement in the quality of breads and cakes and exemplifies the benefits of industry-academic collaboration.” The technology will also reduce waste from industry production, in particular chemical waste, and improve sustainability. Dr Torres said: “We are aiming to tackle the waste issue and reduce it, as well as create processes that are less energy demanding in comparison with traditional processes”.
The technology is likely to stimulate greater consumer demand in the gluten-free and other ‘free-from’ sectors, and possibly the opportunity for Scotland to develop and manufacture a new world-first equipment. The gluten-free sector is predicted to grow by 10 per cent between 2011 and 2015, reaching a worth of 95.5m GBP a year, according to Euromonitor forecasts. Bread and baked products account for 78 per cent of the glutenfree sector.
Near death experiences all in the head, say scientists Edinburgh lecturer helps explain truth of near-death experiences
can see that through his transcribed diary, readers might believe that his men were in some way responsible for the massacre. So we made an attempt to revive historical records to eliminate this implication. “The diary is remarkable because it makes his achievements all the more remarkable because he achieved what he did despite various human flaws." Dr Livingstone’s diaries were compiled into journals by Henry Morton Stanley who returned Livingstone’s body to Britain after his death, but the published versions omitted particular facts relating to Dr Livingstone’s feelings. Justin Livingstone, a PhD student and teaching assistant within the University of Edinburgh's English Literature department was invited to join the project by Dr Wisnicki. He told The Journal: “My PhD looks at how Livingstone was constructed for various political purposes in numerous biographies as well as the way in which he is reworked in postcolonial fiction. “The most interesting part of the project is the fact that it enables some of Livingstone's original writings to be read, some of which have been illegible since shortly after they were written in the early 1870s. Spectral imaging can recover the faded text and filter through the newspaper print, in order to be able to read what he actually wrote." Edinburgh Napier University’s School of Arts and Creative Industries were also part of the project. Research assistant Kate Simpson said: “For the School of Arts and Creative Industries at Edinburgh Napier University to be involved in this project has been an excellent opportunity for one of our research students to learn invaluable research and computing skills that
directly apply to her research field and future employment. “Nineteenth century studies are obliged in the current economic climate to not only validate themselves as a valuable area to study but to show how they can work successfully in this digital age. “This project has achieved both. The hand in glove working between the scientists and academics will provide a framework for future university projects, as will the ease with which the team has worked across countries and time zones, utilising many different kinds of technologies and communication methods.” It is also thought that the diaries offer a new historical insight into the mind of Dr Livingstone and what his life was like as a doctor, missionary and explorer in 19th century Africa. Ms Simpson added: “The publication of his field diary will allow a more nuanced reading of David Livingstone as a person and will allow us to fully comprehend what he achieved as a feat in its own right. “He travelled in terrible conditions and was very unwell, yet he still kept a journal logging everything he did and saw. It is a direct insight into the character of one of the most mythologised men of Victorian Britain. “Reading Livingstone's reflection upon the massacre shows how awful slavery and the trade around it was. It is hard for a twenty-first century British person to understand how completely isolated and alone Livingstone was, and the massacre and his subsequent ruminating upon it show how distraught Livingstone was about his inability to do anything or the possibility that his men might have been involved.” The study was published on Tuesday 1 November and is available to view through Livingstone Online, a project funded by The Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine. DAVID LIVINGSTONE SPECTRAL IMAGING PROJECT
Eilidh Dobson
SCIENTISTS AT THE Universities of Edinburgh and Cambridge have pinpointed biological explanations for near-death experiences. The researchers conducted a review of the experiences, bringing together the fields of neuroscience and psychology to help understand the phenomenon. According to a 1982 poll by Gallup and Proctor, up to 15 per cent of people in the US claim to have had a near-death experience. Episodes often include outof-body experiences, visions of tunnels of light or encounters with dead relatives. While sufferers have often attributed these symptoms to the paranormal, this new collaborative study has shown that such experiences are attributable to changes in brain function, stemming from the brain’s attempt to make sense of a traumatic situation. One of the collaborators, Dr Caroline Watt, is the Senior Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh's School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language
Sciences. She told The Journal: “As psychologists and scientists it’s good to know what lies behind near death experiences; the research tells us a lot about normal brain function and what happens when we go through traumatic experiences.” The study has shown how oxygen deprivation may affect the brain’s visual system, leading to the appearance of tunnels and bright lights. Similarly, if trauma causes the brain’s multi-sensory processes to be affected this could lead to what appears to be an out-of-body experience.
The researchers’ work has also identified noradrenaline, a hormone released be the mid-brain, as a factor which may lead to a near-death experience. If triggered at the time of a traumatic event, it may cause positive emotions and hallucinations which could explain the feeling of unconditional love often reported following a near death experience. The trauma which causes the experience need not be life threatening, yet in most cases the subject believed they were going to die, which seemed to trigger biological responses.
Scientists believe many near-death experiences are imaginary DAVID SELBY
The diary as seen by the naked eye, and under spectral imaging
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NUS Scotland lash out at government's RUK fee plans Scottish Government under fire over decision to move forward with fee rise
Scottish students will be allowed an extra year to decide which university to apply for
HECSU research shows marginal decrease in graduate unemployment
Leighton Craig Student News editor GRADUATE EMPLOYMENT IN the UK is gradually increasing, according to a new report from the Higher Education Careers Services Unit. The research, published on 7 November, also found that university leaver’s in graduate level jobs has reached a record high. The findings are part of HECSU’s annual ‘What do Graduates do?’ report and will be seen as encouraging by many prospective university leavers. Charlie Ball, deputy research director at HECSU said: “While graduate unemployment has fallen, it remains high in comparison to levels reported at the beginning of the recession and graduates still face stiff competition not just from their peers but also from more recent graduates. Slow but sustained economic recovery should be mirrored in the graduate labour market but developments over the next few months will need to be closely monitored.” HECSU is a UK organisation which
conducts research in order to assist graduates in searching for employment as well as providing news and information for development in career-related learning and career guidance. ‘What do Graduates do?’ has compiled and reported the employment situation of both full and part time first degree graduates six months after graduating in 2010. It was found that 284,160 students graduated with a first degree with 69.7 per cent of those in employment; a 7.9 per cent increase on the previous year. In addition, the report found that graduate unemployment has marginally decreased to 8.5 per cent from 8.9 per cent in 2009. However, the most positive statistic for those in their final year of university will be that a record 63.4 per cent (100,265) of graduates have achieved graduate level jobs, which is a 9.2 per cent increase on 2009. Nevertheless, students are being reminded to treat the findings with caution as, although graduate unemployment has dropped for the first time since the recession, recovery is still slow and jobs sparse.
UCAS HAS REVEALED plans to change the way students in the UK apply to higher education in what is the biggest overhaul of the system for 50 years. The admissions service intends to make progression routes to higher education "more varied and flexible" and less confusing for prospective students to apply. Currently, applicants from Scottish schools apply in their 6th year after obtaining qualifications in 5th year. A number of these students are made conditional offers from university courses and admission relies on achieving certain grades in their 6th year exams. The new system would allow these students to wait until they have received all of their higher grades before applying. The change would require exams and marking periods to be brought forward. In Scotland the marking period would be halved from 8 weeks to 4 weeks and university courses would begin in mid-October. A spokesperson for UCAS told The Journal the benefits of the proposal: "The applicant experience would be improved as information would be ‘pushed’ to
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NUS SCOTLAND HAVE hit out at the Scottish Government’s recent announcement that they will make no fundamental changes to the current system that will have students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland paying up to £36,000 for a four year degree. In addition, it was announced that there will be no safeguards put in place to help RUK students from low-income families come to Scotland to study, meaning that those from a disadvantaged background may be discouraged from attending Scottish universities. In preparation for the impending viewing of the proposals by the Scottish Parliament’s Education and Culture Committee, NUS Scotland has asked members of the committee to carefully consider their decision and to bear in mind the exclusivity of Scottish universities that such a move would promote. The President for NUS Scotland, Robin Parker, also intimated that the decision is unacceptable and not in
keeping with the Scottish government’s views on free education. However, on the Scottish Government has stated that the intention of the move is to “allow Scottish universities the flexibility to compete for RUK domiciled students on an equal footing with universities in other parts of the UK and provides new flexibility to determine how many such students to recruit”. The Scottish Government are worried that without the fee hikes Scottish Universities will become havens for RUK students who wish to escape the hiked fees that have been implemented south of the border and English univerities will pull ahead of them in funding. Mr Parker said: “There have been no meaningful changes to these proposals since they were published in June and you must wonder what’s been the point of the consultation process. The average degree cost paid in Scotland by students from the rest of the UK will still be higher than even the maximum allowed in England. This is clearly unfair and simply allows university principals to cash in.”
News 7
UCAS propose university application shake-up Tom McCallum
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applicants at key points in the process and the application process itself would be more straightforward to navigate. “The current system has 9.3 million transactions … all these transactions are needed to place 410,000 applicants. The proposed model would significantly reduce the number of transactions that would take place, with the ability to make the process less confusing for applicants." Due to the scale of change the new system will not be implemented until at least four years from now: "We believe it would be neither possible nor desirable to move to a process of application post results before the 2016 year of admission at the earliest… Any changes to the system would have to take place over time and would need to be carefully managed." However, plans are still in the proposal stage and require the backing of the other bodies involved if the system is to go ahead. A spokesperson for Heriot-Watt University said: "The current UCAS suggestions come in a consultation paper, and are likely to see changes and revisions before any potential implementation. "We would certainly welcome the review's stated aim of making the application system as simple, transparent and
UCAS
UCAS chief executive Mary Curnock Cook fair as possible. The system needs to be one that meets the needs of a wide range of applicants, including mature students, international students, part-time students as well as school leavers applying for full-time degrees, and any moves towards making the system as accessible as possible would be welcome. "While supportive of UCAS’ aims, we will be working with Universities Scotland to examine the details of the proposals very carefully over the coming months." In the short term, UCAS intends to enhance efficiency in the current system before bringing about drastic changes.
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Warnings issued over two-question referendum
Lib Dem leader apologises for Alex Salmond cartoon
Lib Dem peer claims that a two-question referendum on independence is likely to muddle the debate Megan Wells
A LIBERAL DEMOCRAT peer has warned that a two-question independence referendum could cause confusion and have serious consequences for Scotland and its future. Lord Steel, the former Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament has expressed concerns that the referendum risks a future of “bitterness and frustration” in Scotland if misunderstandings over the planned referendum were not resolved. During their recent party conference the SNP proposed that the referendum contained two questions: the first being a Yes-No to Scottish independence and the second being a question on ‘devolution max’, or full fiscal autonomy. Lord Steel referred to the first devolution referendum in 1979, where the proposal for a devolved Scottish Parliament was vetoed by Westminster despite receiving a small majority in favour. He said: "It is astonishing to see, more than 30 years later, proposals that could make the result of the next referendum unclear. "The bitterness and frustration will be seen again in Scotland if a landslide of voters choose further devolution but they get defeated by a less popular option of independence."
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A spokesman for the First Minister responded: "A majority voting Yes to 'devo max' and Yes to independence - as outlined in the draft Referendum Bill in February 2010 - would be a clear vote for independence. "It is the exact opposite of the rigged 1979 referendum, in which a narrow but unambiguous majority for devolution was overturned. "The precedent of the 1997 referendum is very clear - people voted Yes to a parliament and Yes to tax-varying powers, and therefore a parliament with tax-varying powers was delivered." The First Minister has also been warned by Tom Harris MP, a contender for the Scottish Labour leadership, that he has “no mandate” to hold a twoquestion referendum. He claims voters at the Scottish elections in May have only given the SNP consent for a singlequestion independence referendum. Speaking at the recent party conference, outgoing Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray said: “Alex Salmond knows he can't get his first question past the Scottish people. And he knows he can't get the second one past the SNP.” On the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, Alex Salmond explained he was “not for limiting choices of the Scottish people,” adding “I'll leave that to Westminster politicians.”
Satirical cartoon hailed 'remarkable differences' between SNP government and oppressive Qatari regime ALEX FOLKES
Andrew Barr National Politics editor SCOTTISH LIBERAL DEMOCRAT leader, Willie Rennie, has apologised after a cartoon was published on official Scottish Liberal Democrat Facebook and Twitter accounts portraying the Fist Minister in Arab dress. The controversy came after Alex Salmond hailed the “remarkable similarities” between Scotland and Qatar on a visit to the Gulf states. Mr Salmond was promoting educational links and Scottish business in Qatar when he compared the oil wealth of the two nations and the shared ambitions for greener technologies. The Lib Dem cartoon intended to expand on national “similarities” between Scotland and Qatar, alleging that in an independent Scotland, the First Minister would be an “absolute monarch”, that gay rights would be “suppressed” and that the death penalty would be issued for “crimes against the state.” Many Liberal Democrat supporters condemned the image, saying it had been published in bad taste. Mr Rennie issued an apology, claiming he was “embarrassed”, and insisted the cartoon had been published by the Scottish Liberal Democrats without his approval. He said: “It was a mistake, it wasn’t approved by me and it shouldn’t have been
Willie Rennie forced to issue mea culpa over Qatar cartoon published because it’s not actually right to compare countries like that in the way we did.“We regard ourselves as having very high standards. It’s very important in political campaigning these days to make sure that we keep to the highest standards, which is why I’ve taken action to put it right.” A spokesman for the SNP told The
Journal: “We note that Mr Rennie has withdrawn the image and consider the matter closed.” Mr Rennie added that he was frustrated the controversy had overshadowed the announcement of the Liberal Democrat “home rule” commission aimed at furthering devolution whilst retaining Scotland’s place in the United Kingdom.
Alcohol Bill finally to be passed by Scottish Parliament A minimum price for alcohol is likely to be set in Scotland Dominique Cottee Staff writer A BILL PROPOSING a minimum price per unit of alcohol has once again been submitted by the SNP to battle the misuse of alcohol in Scotland. The party hopes to “tackle problem drinkers” who purchase “cheap supermarket white ciders, larger and value spirits.” The SNP had previously tried to introduce the bill as a minority government before the May elections, but it was rejected by opposition parties. SNP MSP and vice-convenor of the
Lord Steel claims that two-question format may risk confusion CHRIS RUBEY
Health Committee, Bob Doris, told The Journal: “The introduction of a minimum price is backed by organisations across the health and justice professions, by academics, by the licensed trade and increasing numbers of alcohol producers. "The SNP Government has already put a ban on bulk discounts and promotions in off-sales have been restricted, minimum pricing is a key addition to that legislation.” The three candidates vying for Scottish Labour leadership have all pledged to oppose the bill. Eastwood MSP Ken Macintosh claimed the proposals did
SNP claim bill will prevent 50 deaths in the next year STEPHEN MCLEOD BLYTHE
not adequately address problems of education and culture that lead to heavy drinking. However, all three candidates concede that given the SNP’s outright majority, there is little they can do to stop the bill passing. The SNP expects the bill to result in 50 fewer alcohol-related deaths by next year, and to save £721 million over ten years in “harm reduction”. Current government estimates believe alcohol problems cost the country £3.56bn per year. Greene King brewery chief executive, Rooney Anand, said “a minimum price for alcohol would go to the very heart of the problem” without penalising the majority of responsible drinkers. A report published by Alcohol Focus Scotland recently showed that a unit of alcohol could cost as little as 14p, and in many cases, cheaper than a can of cola. Dr Evelyn Gillan, Chief Executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland, says that minimum pricing is needed “now more than ever” as supermarkets lower prices of individual cans or bottles to undermine the ban on bulk buying alcohol. She said: “This only serves to reinforce the case for government intervention through measures like minimum pricing if we want to reduce record levels of alcohol harm in Scotland.”
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www.journal-online.co.uk ALLAN MACDONALD
News 9
Light show on Arthur's Seat part of London 2012 Scotland's artistic contribution to the Olympics begin with running light show Caroline Nguyen
Tanasak Sopatai, 27, was jailed for allowing his city centre flat to be used as a brothel
Student sentenced for brothel in West End flat Nine-month sentence for Thai student over prostitution charges William Culver
A THAI STUDENT allowing his flat in the West End of Edinburgh to be used as a brothel was sentenced to nine months in prison on 31 October. Tanasak Sopatai, 27, who was staying in the UK on a student visa, let Thai prostitutes operate a brothel from his flat on Castle Terrace. A police surveillance sting led to a raid which uncovered sex toys, cash, multiple mobile phones and almost 700 condoms. Graeme Runcie, Mr Sopatai’s defence agent, told Edinburgh Sheriff Court that: “There were girls working there, they were Thai, their English was limited. Mr. Sopatai met them in London, his English was better but by no means perfect.” “His purpose was to meet up with a landlord and to sign a lease. There was no financial input for Mr. Sopatai. The money for the rent was paid by the girls. They were using his mastery of the English language.” Sopatai pleaded guilty to charges of
letting the flat be used for the purposes of habitual prostitution. According to fiscal depute Melanie Ward “directed surveillance” was performed on the flat in June. Police officers watching the flat observed an exchange between a man trying to gain access to the premises, and a woman who had recently left the building. “The female then described that she was wearing very little and told him she wanted £140 for one hour of sex,” said Ms Ward. The police later saw the same woman opening the door of the building for the man when he left the premises, and proceeded to identify themselves, stating that they had a warrant to search the premises, said Ward. Searching the flat, the police found Mr Sopatai, two other women, and the assorted mobile phones, cash, sex toys, and condoms. Mr. Sopatai’s arrest and sentencing recalls Edinburgh’s uneasy relationship with the sex industry and the legal grey area in which it operates. While the sale of sex services is not
illegal in Scotland, it remains illegal to solicit on the streets, operate a brothel or act as a pimp. However, following the Civic Government Act (Scotland) of 1982, which authorised saunas as “places of entertainment”, brothels became effectively decriminalised due to the interpretable nature of the phrase “for entertainment” which allowed saunas to sell sex without overstepping their terms of authorisation. Since then, Edinburgh’s authorities have tolerated “saunas” in the city, which unofficially serve as brothels. The saunas account for the safety of the prostitutes, and keep them off the streets. Attempts in the past to contain and ensure the safety of those soliciting sex on the streets included establishing a narrow tolerance-zone on Salamander Street in Leith, but these were abandoned when the area became less derelict and the practice led to complaints. It is estimated that around 75 per cent of Edinburgh prostitutes work from saunas and that in the UK 85 per cent of prostitutes are from overseas.
THOUSANDS OF RUNNERS are being asked to train for a series of fivekilometre night-time runs along Arthur’s Seat in preparation for Scotland’s official artistic contributions to the London Olympic Games – an art installation project entitled Speed of Light. NVA, a Glasgow-based art charity, is funding the event, which will see hundreds of runners wearing specially designed suits adorned with LED lights perform a choreographed routine of walking, running, and stopping along the iconic hill. Viewed from above, the runners will create a two-hour light show on Arthur’s seat, fusing elements of sport, history and culture. Angus Farquhar, creative director of NVA and the Speed of Light project, said: “Speed of Light dwells in the realms of visual phenomena … the sheer beauty of seeing hundreds of runners on a mountain like small dots of light within a field of moving energy. “The beautiful exteriority of Speed of Light seen from afar, versus the sweaty reality of the runner, gives the work a tension.” Event co-ordinators hope to bring together thousands of volunteer runners from across the UK, with the
only requirement that they stay awake for 2.5 hours each night and can run approximately 10km. A special wheelchair-accessible route has been designed for potential wheelchair participants. The work is to “investigate the physical and emotional aspects to endurance running and the extent to which the power of the mind can override physical pain”, according to the Speed of Light website. The public are able to buy tickets to view the light installation event, and an audience of 800 per night “will generate their own light through the movement of bespoke walking staffs”. Charlotte O’Brien, a 19-year-old University of Edinburgh student, encountered a group of twenty runners testing a prototype version when she went running last week, and told The Journal: “I could tell it was a group of people with lights on them, but it wasn’t consistent with anything I’d ever seen. It was really surreal and almost scary. I wanted to say something to them, but I was paralysed.” The installation will run in conjunction with the Edinburgh International Festival, and will take place over three weeks, between 9 August and 1 September 2012. Interested runners are asked to register at http://speedoflight2012.org.uk/
Installation will bring light to Arthur's Seat TODD STADLER
All-Gaelic primary school to open in Edinburgh The school will open in 2013 in Leith following campaign by Bòrd na Gàidhlig Dominique Cottee Staff writer A NEW GAELIC primary school is set to open in Edinburgh by 2013, the City of Edinburgh Council has announced. It will be Edinburgh’s first primary school dedicated to teaching Gaelic, and will open at the site of the former Bonnington Primary School in Leith.
City Education Leader, Councillor Marilyn MacLaren said: “The Council’s decision to go ahead with a dedicated primary Gaelic school, has demonstrated our commitment to investing in young people and communities, during this restrictive economic situation. “Assuming that consent is granted by the Scottish Government, we will be able to move on with quickly progressing work on site to be ready for the first pupils in 2013.”
Pupils currently in the Gaelic medium stream of Tollcross Primary school will be offered a place in August 2013 at either the new school or in the English stream of Tollcross Primary. The announcement comes after a 23-year campaign by Gaelic parents in Edinburgh, especially following the success of Gaelic schools in Inverness and Glasgow. Chair of the Bòrd na Gàidhlig, Arthur Cormack, has applauded the decision of
the Council, and congratulated parents on “a tremendous amount of hard work.” He added: "Bòrd na Gàidhlig has consistently supported the parents of Gaelic medium pupils in their campaign for a standalone Gaelic school. “Bòrd na Gàidhlig believes Gaelic schools are essential to growing the numbers of pupils in Gaelic education, offering additional opportunities to use the language in the whole school enhancing their fluency in Gaelic.”
Supporters of the school hope it will double the number of Gaelic speakers in Edinburgh over five years, whilst freeing up more places at Tollcross Primary, which, with 221 primary and secondary pupils, has reached its capacity. $1.8 million of capital funding provided by the Scottish Government allowed the City of Edinburgh Council to provide through “prudential borrowing” the remainder of the £3.53 million needed to establish the school.
10 Editorial
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EDINBURGH’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER
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ISSUE LII
RUK fees
Holyrood's wasted chance THEY HAD THEIR chance — and once again, they blew it. Offered the opportunity to undo much of the political damage done to this SNP government by the conservative approach they have adopted on the issue of Rest-of-UK tuition fees, the Nationalists' formidable education secretary Mike Russell chose instead to announce that the Scottish Government would plough ahead with their plans to make a Scottish degree among the most expensive in the UK. The lifeline was there: students' groups and anti-cuts campaigners were clamouring for the government to step in and lower the cap on tuition fees. Granted such an eleventh-hour intervention, no doubt the student movement could have forgiven their tardiness. But, alas, Mr Russell and his political masters have chosen to stick with it. It was perhaps naive to expect
anything different — after all, no government wants to be seen flip-flopping — but we had hoped that Salmond's administration would take the view that losing a little political face was worth the moral victory of keeping Scottish higher education as accessible as possible. The SNP's chorus throughout this whole debacle has been that it was necessary to raise tuition fees for RUK students so that Scottish students could continue to study for free. In other words, they are politicking the futures of thousands of young people in order to shore up their nationalist credentials with their base. No-one wants to see free education taken away from Scottish students. That kind of all-in-the-sameboat mentality would be spiteful and counterproductive. But the cost which the government propose to exact from RUK students is excessive. As this
newspaper has consistently argued, pinning a £9,000 per year price-tag on a Scottish degree is liable to price thousands of students out of the market. It will alter both the demographic face of Scottish campuses and the spirit in which universities operate. The much-trumpeted fear of higher education institutions becoming more commercial than academic is not entirely hyperbole: by encouraging a marketised view of higher education, in a landscape where government subsidies are slashed and institutions are left in a free-trade free-for-all, we risk students becoming commodities. These are well-trodden rhetorical paths, but the point stands. The Scottish Government went too far in their deregulation of fees, and their unwillingness to accept the mild political embarrassment of a U-turn is unbecoming a party who pride themselves on their social-democratic credentials.
#Nov9 protest
No panic on the streets of London A YEAR AGO, when rioters vented their frustration on the fixtures and fittings at Tory HQ in Millbank Tower during the unfortunately-named Demolition protest, The Journal was quick to condemn acts of violence in the name of protest. We opined from these pages that a minority protesters had gone too far, and had undermined their own cause by acting like thugs. How the tables have turned. What we witnessed in London last week, as the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts rallied a fresh march against the coalition government's cuts agenda, was student protesters being almost excruciatingly calm and ordered — spirited, certainly, but well within the confines of the law. This time, it was the police that went too far. The Metropolitan Police, terrified of a repeat of Demolition's
demolition, assigned 4,000 officers to police the NCAFC march on 9 November — a figure 25 per cent greater than their own estimate of how many students marched. They asked the Home Office for permission to deploy baton rounds and water cannon if riots broke out. They sought Section 60 orders which allow them to enforce what amounts to a dress code at the protest, and they repeatedly cautioned marchers that stepping even a few feet outside the agreed demonstration route would be treated as a criminal offence under public order legislation. All of this exhaustive preparation speaks to one simple conclusion about the Met's performance last week: paranoia, born in the rubble of Millbank, of being seen as an ineffective law enforcement presence, which leads to an overly-aggressive
approach to policing peaceful and democratic protests. Being ready for trouble is all very well, but what the police did last week was seek to apply every possible constraint and bureaucratic restriction to the ability of the marchers to exercise a fundamental civil liberty. And to what end? They created fear, and that is not the role of the police in a free society. Moreover, it should be noted that very little actually happened: there were no serious instances of vandalism, there were very few arrests — 24, out of several thousand — and absolutely no need for rubber bullets or other harsh crowd-control measures to be deployed. But the impression we have got from talking to protesters and to our reporters on the ground has been that this peaceable nature was despite the police presence, not because of it.
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This is where politicians are getting above their place in the World. Have authority to rewriting the Bible? Gay people, like me, have always existed - even when the Bible was being written. If the Holy being had wished same sex people to marry it would have been in the Bible. What we are seeing is a ‘progressive’ element who thinks that being 'gay' was a recent invention and should be encompassed in all parts of our society. No wonder society is degenerating - a modern politician has a whim and centuries of Holy doctrine are rewritten. Will we be expected to pray to them next, instead of the almighty? — Grant Buckley, via web Scottish independence I think articles like this (Comment:
'Teetering into Limbo', 2 October 2011) just shows how the UK media has turned Scotophobic. If scotland is happy with the UK then the SNP would not take a majority. Scotland has better unemployment than England, and they will have the referendum after the worst of the Tory cuts in Scotland. You don't even respect the Scottish Government's information — disgraceful, but I bet you don't even respect one of the Scottish media views, only the BBC - [which] had a report on it showing it's biased towards England and against Scotland. — Jamie, via web Controversial competitor for Scottish Labour deputy leadership Gray>Lamont, Lamont>Davidson - Alex Salmond will be shaking in his shoes (with laughter). — Bob Leslie, via web
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Comment
Libya and Italy: countries in crisis
In 1911, Italy’s imperialistic ambitions led it to invade and colonise Libya. A hundred years on, both countries have let go of poor leadership and are stepping into a new era
With Gaddafi gone, where is Libya going? OPEN DEMOCRACY
Marthe Lamp Sandvik Managing editor
A
LTHOUGH GADDAFI’S DEPARTURE was swift and violent when it finally came, the dictator’s demise was long coming. What remains is a Libya in turmoil, as rebels in some part of the country have turned on each other to settle personal scores. The National Transition Council, in many ways the country’s de-facto leadership since the start of a revolution, has set an eight month target for elections - meaning the if all goes well it will be the first democratic election the nation has seen since 1972. This will be no easy task however, demanding courage and patience from leaders like Mahmoud Jibril. The country has only begun to rebuild and restart after a devastating year, and important income as that from oil is slow in recovery due to massive damage to infrastructure. Insistence that the elections would give fair trial to the government loyalists the rebels fought to topple, is an important maneuver that will help deflate grudges and retaliation from this group. Some would-be Libyan politicians are positive to this, although the matter is far from
settled. To ban any political parties from standing, would make the next election another flawed story. Fears of regime loyalists returning to old ways
should be abated by introducing laws which limit power of the executive and the implementation of a sufficient check and balance system which will not allow ultimate power to any
one institution, party or individual. New leaders will also have to struggle with the volatile society they wish to lead, which includes getting young rebels back to school, and
organizing a system to control and collect the plethora of firearms that are now in the hands of countless former revolutionary forces spread around the country. Ian Martin, UN envoy to Libya said that the country “is coming from nowhere in terms of useful electoral experience,” and he is right. The country has no electoral lists, no electoral districts and few people in the country – which has been undemocratic for the better part of the past 40 years - even understand the concept of a political party or running for office. There is no doubt that much is still to be done, and in order to succeed the interim leadership will need great support from its citizens. This however, should hopefully be the smallest issue, as scenes from other newly democratic Arab states such as Tunisia tells us that the Arab Spring have dealt people newfound confidence in elected governments and the power of their own voice. Such celebratory voting will in part aid the process of an election, but the challenges to Libya’s electoral infrastructure is by far the greatest amongst the Arab Spring siblings. Marthe Lamp Sandvik is managing editor of The Journal
Berlusconi and I: a twenty-year duel A London academic recalls twenty years spent watching the Italian president's rise and fall Dr John Foot
I
FIRST CAME across Silvio Berlusconi in the late 1980s, when I was living in Milan and working on the history of that city. Then, he was ‘simply’ a larger than life football president (of AC Milan) and TV entrepreneur. I dedicated a whole chapter to him in my subsequent book about Milan. Then, in 1994, he ‘took the field’ and became a politician. Incredibly, he won the elections just months later. It was one of the most audacious political acts of the 20th century. Soon, I was writing about Berlusconi as a politician, his dodgy financial connections, his attacks on the judiciary, his private life, the conflict of interests between his huge
business empire and his political activities. In 1994 Silvio won a big vote in Parliament just as AC Milan crushed Barcelona 4-0 in the champions league final, with Fabio Capello as manager. It was a perfect example of the way he connected his media power to his political power. The 1994 government lasted just 9 months, but soon Silvio was back, winning another election in 2001 and yet another in 2008. He seemed indestructible, despite all the scandals, the girls, the mafia, the laws he tried to pass in his favour, the corruption allegations and the hostility of the rest of the world (with the notable exception of Tony Blair and Vladimir Putin, who seemed to adore him). I even helped to organise a demonstration against Silvio in London, outside the Italian embassy, which ended
with us all signing the anti-fascist song, Bella Ciao, in Italian. By then, I had written a history of Italian football. Guess who got the biggest entry in the index? Now, finally, Silvio seems to be on the way out. Of course, this is a good thing for Italy, for the world, for democracy and for feminism. But I won’t believe his is gone until I see it and, in a strange way, I think I will miss him a little. After all, he has dominated my life for years, and provided me with the opportunity to be angry, exasperated and indignant on so many occasions. Bye-bye Berlusconi. Now it is time to write about the ‘Berlusconi era’. Lets hope that era is over, but don’t bet on it. Dr John Foot is a professor of Modern Italian History at University College London.
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My friend is not a rapist A leading journalist and close friend of Julian Assange argues that the WikiLeaks mogul has been the victim of an agenda
Gavin MacFadyen Director, Centre for Investigative Journalism
M
Y TAKE ON Julian Assange's recent extradition ruling in the UK is that the judges failed to sufficiently analyse the evidence. They only looked at the demands of the law, and the way it was structured, which meant the European arrest warrant was a box-ticking exercise for both sides of the case. The only thing they raised questions about were a number of legal procedures. On many grounds, the judges said themselves, they weren't able to look at evidence, all they were concerned about was whether what they did met obligations under the UK-Sweden treaty, that allows for extradition without consent from the UK or minimum tests. What about the evidence, though? We can look at, for example, the voracity of the claims made against Julian - some of the 'facts' of the case were quite arcane, some even amusing. I'm sure that in any
court, in most other countries, the claim to have Julian arrested and deported would beg the question of sufficient justification. Remember that each day in courth, he's accruing significant legal costs, and as he doesn't have a pot it's a very awkward situation. Money's being withheld from him by Visa and others - and that's left him without any resources. In addition, he was ill-advised by his original lawyers who said it was not practical for him to claim defence purchased by the state, probably ill-conceived advice. It meant they could earn in the region of £600,000 pounds, despite a commitment by them to do it pro bono. That's not been widely reported but it's true. It had been suggested to WikiLeaks that they should employ a high-powered lawyer. However, the difficulty was they promised to do it pro bono, they then turned around and said they'd charge. By that point you don't change your case - you have to carry on. Then they were hit with this enormous bill, four times legitimate costs, because they knew he was desperate to have a proper defence. The client must know what the estimated bills will be, but this information was never provided. The first bills came through in the hundreds of
thousands, and people's mouths fell open and hit the floor. It was really shocking and disturbing – as a client you want to feel comfortable, you don't want feel like you're being used by what is an extremely wealthy law firm. That was a significant problem for Julian. One thing that Julian told me in the early days of these court appearances was that everybody would want a piece of him, and that was very accurate advice. I've chaired major public meetings and press conferences where there were hundreds (in one case six hundred) of reporters from all around the world, there were only three questions – all about the controversies. They all wanted pictures, to say they'd seen him like some sort of movie star. He got up to a board with a pointer and began explaining to the conference about how the site was constructed - no-one was interested. Julian's publicity has often been very bad, most importantly by the press itself, who were interested in his personality, not WikiLeaks' journalism. Suddenly he became the story - being called an egomaniac - I don't think he asked for any of the publicity he's had. That's mostly a tabloid idea. Here they can call him names, denounce
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him and much worse, reporting events selectively which makes him look bad or unpleasant. Only three weeks ago there were stories about his financial problems implying, ironically, that he was opaque. Suddenly you can understand why, for example, journalists were suspicious of the rape allegations - they came a week after the major disclosure of certain documents by WikiLeaks. I thought to myself how convenient these charges were, suddenly emerging in this cluttered landscape. Knowing the man as I do, I see these charges as almost inconceivable. I regard him as a friend, and I don't have any friends who are rapists. I find the idea repulsive,
and he's certainly not that type of guy. All of us who get to know him know that. He's been transparent with the legal allegations, offering to make a full testimony on Skype, which was turned down by the other side of the case. There are many who despise WikiLeaks, people who are finding ways to shut it down. If that means putting someone in jail, then I'm sure they'd be glad to do it. He may now be forced to go a country where he doesn't have any real protection. Gavin MacFadyen is director of the Centre for Investigative Journalism and a personal friend of Julian Assange, editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks
A new era Palestine's entry into UNESCO represents growing international support for their cause and right to statehood Sarah Colborne
UNESCO’S DECISION IN September to accept Palestine’s membership reflected not only the international support that has built for the Palestinian struggle for freedom and justice, but also exposed yet again the role of the US in trying to block that progressive tide. UNESCO – the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation – has relevance for Palestine. The Palestinian right to education is severely impacted by Israeli occupation, with Palestinian students in the Occupied West Bank having to cross through checkpoints to get to their schools and universities. Despite relentless arm-twisting by the US in the run-up to the vote, Palestine was voted into membership by a two-thirds majority, with 107 countries in favour, 14 opposed, 52 abstentions, and 21 absent. Shamefully, Britain was one of the countries that abstained. Israel's response to the UNESCO decision, too, was sadly only too predictable – it announced its intention to compound its illegal actions by increasing settlement building – illegal under international law. The British government have also repeatedly stated that Israel’s settlement building is illegal.
Until international law is actually enforced, the Israeli state will continue to act with impunity. At the root of UNESCO’s decision is the increased pressure, from millions across the world – the moral majority – to end the siege on Gaza, to end Israeli occupation, and to support Palestinian rights. In a narrow strip of land, over 1.5 million Palestinians live under siege in Gaza – with enough food allowed in by Israel to put them ‘on a diet’ as Israeli advisor Dov Weinglass cruelly described. Under this policy, officials decided what goods should be allowed into Gaza - cinnamon was allowed into Gaza, but coriander jam and pasta have all been blocked. The growth of international support for Palestinian rights is driven by a desire to end Palestinian suffering. It is driven by a principle that everyone is entitled to human rights, and that occupation and blockades are wrong. The world is crying out for action to end Israel’s violations of international law. UNESCO’s vote to accept Palestine reflects that cry for humanity. Solidarity with Palestine has become a key international struggle – symbolising the struggle against injustice, racism and occupation. Sarah Colborne is a leading activist with the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
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In the 21st century, whither China? A corporate strategist and former British government official explores China's place in a globalising world, and whether western fears of the PRC's rising economic and political power are justified DAVID SELBY
Peter Wood
S
OMETIMES I LIKE to suggest to people that of course China does not exist. It is no more than a blank screen onto which non-Chinese and Chinese alike project desires and anxieties. For non-Chinese these include some form of the Yellow Peril, counterposed with the cliché of hard working orientals. For Chinese they include the myth of 5000 years of civilisation, stronger family values than in other societies, and a China that has always been somehow intrinsically and in essence peaceful and not expansionist. When we add to this the almost universal expectation that it is, or ought to be, possible to make vast sums of money through doing business with or in China and the difficulty in getting hold of data that has not been corrupted by one interest group or another, the scene is set for confusion. And yet ‘whither China?’ is a question that matters because if there is one thing that is not in doubt it is that global capitalism is in crisis, a crisis that is structural and fundamental, not contingent. Rapidly increasing inequality and shifts of power both to and between financial elites raise questions about both the sustainability and, more important, the justice, of the current economic system. How the Chinese elite will seek to steer China through these profound changes, and how different interest groups in China will respond, are crucial questions in this shift. The response to the ‘whither China?’ question splits opinion between those who argue that China is doomed and those who claim that as China becomes more fully integrated into the global capitalist system and as living standards rise the political system will have little option but to modernise in a western liberal democratic direction. A growing middle class will demand the protection of property rights, and the requirement to deliver ever rising living standards will demand free markets. Come 2020 or thereabouts we will be seeing the signs of a democratic transition. There is a sad irony in this as we see the mythical beast of ‘the markets’ prowling European corridors of power imposing unelected technocratic leaders on Greece and Italy. Those who predict that by 2020 China will have become something more closely resembling France in its combination of state and market might do well to ponder first what fate might have befallen democratic institutions in Europe and America by then. We can look at this from another perspective by asking how China fits into globalisation. From 1978 to the early 1990s policy about turns showed just how ambivalent the leadership were about incorporation into the global economy, even as they pursued the Open Door policy. Accession to the WTO at the end of
degradation and particularly water; demography; and urbanisation. All three are, as with everything else, deeply political isssues at base, not the purely economic or natural phenomena they are often portrayed to be. China suffers acute water shortages, shortages compounded by pollution on an almost unimagineable scale. Anyone who has driven across north China has seen a landscape ravaged by over cultivation and massive agricultural and industrial pollution. Almost 30 per cent of the country’s population exist on less than 6 per cent of the global per capita water average. Shanghai, Beijing and other cities dig ever deeper into a depleted water table,
"How the leadership manages future growth will both depend upon and influence the global economy."
the 1990s marked a decisive turning point both for China itself and for the rest of the world. China’s foreign trade increased dramatically, as did foreign investment in China. The premier at the time, Zhu Rongji, pushed for WTO accession partly to force rationalisation and modernisation among the state owned enterprises (SOE) that dominated the domestic economy and now lead the way in forays overseas. China was a key element – and major beneficiary - in the global boom of the first eight years of the twenty first century. Despite the impression created by anxieties about China’s ‘rise’ the country is not a fully autonomous and independent actor in globalisation. This has been true from the very inception of the Open Door when investment and technological input from east Asian economies as well as from Overseas Chinese made a major contribution to Chinese growth. Latterly economists and businesses have been engaged in a debate about ‘decoupling’, the question as to whether or to what extent the economic fortunes of China, and Asia more broadly, have become decoupled from those of developed economies and are therefore in a position to grow irrespective of growth prospects in the latter. The answer is that for the time being we are all still in the same boat. Trade and investment flows are still affected by, and even dependent
on, the health of developed economies. But if Asia in general, and China in particular, does continue to grow as it has, the importance of domestic demand will increase, and with it economic multipolarity in a globalised world. How that multipolarity will play out is impossible to predict. There has been much confused talk of a China model, a model of economic development forged in China and now ready to be applied elsewhere in the world. The mere mention of such a model is enough to send western national security advisors scurrying to their maps to draw circles around notional spheres of influence. One of the ironies in this is that after the 1949 Revolution Mao and the other leaders were clear that rather than creating a universalist model for others to follow they were the first to apply universalist principles to local conditions. If there was an example in this for others to follow it was precisely that each must find their own path, based on local conditions. That rumbling we can hear is Mao turning over in his mausoleum at the thought that others should do exactly as he and other Chinese leaders did. China of course is becoming more implicated in the global economy and its haphazard management. But the surprise is that for all the hype Chinese activism is relatively limited, given the size of China’s economy. Chinese outward investment, excluding US Treasury purchases, are tiny
as a percentage of global investment flows. China’s membership of the WTO and other multilateral organisations has been no more difficult than that of other nations. The entanglement of Party, state and enterprises causes all sorts of difficulties not just for the overseas recipients of Chinese aid and investment but even Chinese entities themselves. SOEs are prone to hide aspects of their activities from their owner, the state, on occasion causing onfusion. But will China continue to grow as it has? For all that the question appears to be economic the issues are deeply political and the debate about them infused by underlying, and often unexplored, ideas of both what causes economic growth and what it is for. The question is political inside China because the most important fact about the country is the Chinese Communist Party. Without an understanding of what the Party is trying to achieve and why it is impossible to get to grips with the future of China’s economy. It is political in the debates about China’s prospects because so much of what is written is formulated within a broad neoliberal framework. What is striking about Chinese economic debates is their almost total absorption of that neo-liberal framework. The result is a dominant market rhetoric combined with institutions dedicated to the continued rule of the Party. Three factors to this continued growth are relevant: environmental
while industrial processes, and the energy used to power them, all suck up increasing quantities of this fast diminishing resource. Unless the government can find solutions to this issue which are policy driven, not technological, China’s growth is going to be severely constrained. Water is fundamental to another long term economic process: urbanisation. Between 1978 and 2007 422 million people moved from the countryside into cities, old and new. It is forecast that between now and 2025 a further 350 million people will make the same move. Urbanisation on such a scale is unparalleled and will give China’s economic growth a major boost – provided, of course, necessary resources, in particular water, are available to support it. People are on the move. One odd feature of China today is that it is on the verge of having an ageing population, a consequence of the one child policy in force since the late 1970s. The percentage of the population aged over 60 is forecast to rise from 8 per cent in 1985 to 17 per cent in 2020 and 31 per cent in 2050. An ageing population has dramatic implications for the labour force, consumption and savings. The Chinese leadership has great achievements to its credit in raising several hundred million people out of poverty. The easy part has been done. The hard part lies ahead. How the leadership manages future growth will both depend upon and influence not just the development of the global economy but also how we think about that economy and its political structures. These are interesting times.
P R O P E R T Y L I S T I N G S P R O V I D E D B Y W W W. C I T Y L E T S . CO. U K
Property
Abbeyhill Abbey Lane, 1100, 3, E CG P, 0844 635 4475 Meadowbank Terrace, 750, 3, 2S 1D, 0844 635 3700 Spring Gardens, 750, 2, 2D G CG O, 0844 635 9245 Lower London Road, 650, 2, 1S 1D P, 0844 635 4820 Milton Street, 625, 2, 2D G CG O, 0844 635 6872 East Norton Place, 575, 1, 1D E Z, 0844 635 4820 Waverley Park, 550, 1, 1D 1B G CG O, 0844 635 6872 Abbey Street, 525, 1, 1D G Z, 0844 635 4820 Abbey Lane, 500, 1, 1D E CG O, 0844 635 9679 Milton Street, 495, 1, 1D O, 0844 635 8694
Broughton Annandale Street, 1800, 5, 5D G Z, 0844 635 4820 East London Street, 850, 3, 1S 2D P, 0844 635 2418 Mcdonald Road, 695, 3, 1S 2D CG P, 0844 635 9314 Broughton Road, 800, 2, 2D G, 0844 635 4830 Blandfield, 715, 2, G P, 0844 635 6450 Powderhall Rigg, 695, 2, 2D CG P, 0844 635 9314 Huntingdon Place, 675, 2, 2D G, 0844 635 9332 North Pilrig Heights, 650, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 8696 Bellevue Road, 635, 2, 1S 1D G Z, 0844 635 3768 Broughton Road, 600, 2, 1S 1D, 0844 635 3364 Murano Place, 575, 2, 1S 1D E P, 0844 635 9488 Broughton Road, 600, 1, 1D 1B G CG Z, 0844 635 4820 East Claremont Street, 600, 1, 1D G, 0844 635 4820 Broughton Road, 525, 1, 1D G, 0844 635 4820 Mcdonald Road, 525, 1, 1D E CG Z, 0844 635 9578 Beaverbank Place, 500, 1, 1D G Z, 0844 635 4820 Redbraes Grove, 495, 1, 0844 635 9338
Bruntsfield Bruntsfield Place, 1600, 5, 5D G CG Z, 0844 635 9679 Bruntsfield Place, 1600, 5, 5D Z, 0844 635 9314 Bruntsfield Place, 1600, 5, 5D, 0844 635 3700 Merchiston Place, 1400, 5, 5D G CG Z, 0844 635 9558 Bruntsfield Place, 1200, 5, 3S 2D, 0844 635 3700 Bruntsfield Gardens, 1460, 4, 4D G PG Z, 0844 635 9324 Mardale Crescent, 1300, 4, 4S G CG Z, 0844 635 9322 Bruntsfield Place, 1200, 4, 3S 1D G CG Z, 0844 635 9679 Bruntsfield Place, 1100, 4, 3S 1D Z, 0844 635 9314 Viewforth, 1100, 4, 4D Z, 0844 635 9314 Viewforth, 1100, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Viewforth, 1100, 4, G CG Z, 0844 635 9679 Bruntsfield Place, 1000, 4, 4D G, 0844 635 9318 Colinton Road, 1095, 3, 1S 2D 1B E CG, 0844 635 3780 Gillespie Place, 1095, 3, 3D G O, 0844 635 9324 Bruntsfield Place, 995, 3, 3D 1B G CG Z, 0844 635 9324 Westhall Gardens, 850, 2, 2D G, 0844 635 9322 Montpelier Park, 800, 2, 2D G CG Z, 0844 635 9334 Mardale Crescent, 750, 2, 2D G CG Z, 0844 635 9592 Forbes Road, 695, 2, 2D E CG Z, 0844 635 2418 Viewforth, 650, 2, 2D G CG Z, 0844 635 2418 Bruntsfield Place, 695, 1, 1D 1B G CG Z, 0844 635 9324 Montpelier Park, 500, 1, 1D E Z, 0844 635 9320
Canonmills Eyre Place, 1500, 5, 5D G CG Z, 0844 635 9679 East Claremont Street, 1200, 5, 1S 4D G CG O, 0844 635 9679 Rodney Street, 900, 3, 3D Z, 0844 635 9314 Rodney Street, 900, 3, 3D G CG O, 0844 635 9679 Rodney Street, 900, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Warriston Road, 850, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 4820 Powderhall Brae, 750, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 4820 Canonmills Gate, 675, 2, 2D W P, 0844 635 4820 Rodney Place, 595, 2, 2D E CG P, 0844 635 9679 Broughton Road, 425, 1, 1D, 0844 635 3700
City Centre Blenheim Place, 1600, 4, G Z, 0844 635 6872 Montgomery Street, 1295, 3, 3D G P, 0844 635 9679 Hopetoun Street, 1100, 3, 1S 2D G PG P, 0844 635 6872 Leamington Terrace, 995, 3, 3D G Z, 0844 635 9300 Canongate, 1250, 2, Z, 0844 635 9352 Broughton Market, 950, 2, G, 0844 635 9300 Sunbury Place, 800, 2, CG, 0844 635 9352 Hopetoun Street, 795, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 9390 Blair Street, 695, 2, 1S 1D W Z, 0844 635 2418 Lauriston Place, 675, 2, 2D G Z, 0844 635 9234 Marshalls Court, 625, 2, 2D G Z, 0844 635 2627 Dumbiedykes Road, 595, 2, 2D G, 0844 635 2418 Great King Street, 850, 1, 1D G Z, 0844 635 9390 Lawnmarket, 700, 1, 1D E, 0844 635 4480 Grove Street, 595, 1, 1D G Z, 0844 635 9322 St Stephen Street, 525, 1, 1D G CG Z, 0844 635 9390 Torphichen Place, 520, 1, 1D CG Z, 0844 635 9334 Morrison Street, 490, 1, 1D CG Z, 0844 635 9334
Dalry Gorgie Road, 1375, 5, 5D, 0844 635 3700 Murieston Crescent, 900, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Murieston Crescent, 1010, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Murieston Crescent, 975, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Murieston Road, 675, 2, 2D G Z, 0844 635 9594 Caledonian Crescent, 650, 2, 0844 635 9338 Springwell Place, 645, 2, 2D G Z, 0844 635 3337 Dalry Road, 625, 2, 2D E CG, 0844 635 9488 Dalry Road, 625, 2, 2D G CG, 0844 635 9488 Cathcart Place, 595, 2, 2D 2B W CG Z, 0844 635 9312 Caledonian Place, 575, 2, 1S 1D G CG Z, 0844 635 2418 Caledonian Crescent, 550, 1, 1D E CG Z, 0844 635 9362 Caledonian Crescent, 550, 1, 1D CG O, 0844 635 1312 Springwell Place, 525, 1, 1D G CG Z, 0844 635 3337 Caledonian Crescent, 510, 1, 1D G Z, 0844 635 9362 Caledonian Crescent, 495, 1, 1D CG Z, 0844 635 2418 Downfield Place, 495, 1, 1D G CG Z, 0844 635 2418 Murieston Road, 495, 1, 1D E Z, 0844 635 8696 Caledonian Place, 465, 1, 1D G CG O, 0844 635 9434 Orwell Place, 450, 1, 1D W CG Z, 0844 635 9688 Springwell Place, 450, 1, 1D G CG Z, 0844 635 3780 Caledonian Place, 400, 1, 1D CG Z, 0844 635 9320
Easter Road Easter Road, 1100, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Brunswick Place, 1000, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Easter Road, 1000, 4, 4D O, 0844 635 9314 Easter Road, 1000, 4, 4D G CG O, 0844 635 9679 Easter Road, 1000, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Easter Road, 900, 4, 4D O, 0844 635 9314 Easter Road, 900, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Hawkhill Close, 900, 3, 3D, 0844 635 4820 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 Easter Road, 700, 3, 3D O, 0844 635 9314 Hawkhill Close, 700, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 9300 Brunswick Road, 695, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 9679 Easter Road, 675, 2, 2D G, 0844 635 4820 Hawkhill Close, 675, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 4820 Albion Road, 620, 2, 2D 2T G CG, 0844 635 2418 Rossie Place, 590, 2, 2D, 0844 635 3700 Easter Road, 625, 1, 1B G CG O, 0844 635 6450 Easter Road, 550, 1, 1D O, 0844 635 9314 London Road, 525, 1, G CG, 0844 635 4475 Montrose Terrace, 525, 1, 1D G, 0844 635 4820
Easter Road, 520, 1, 1S 1D G O, 0844 635 9424 Edina Place, 495, 1, 1D G CG O, 0844 635 2418 Salmond Place, 475, 1, G CG O, 0844 635 4480
Fountainbridge Fountainbridge, 1950, 3, 3D G P, 0844 635 4820 Fountainbridge, 720, 2, 2D G CG, 0844 635 9468 Murdoch Terrace, 675, 2, 2D G Z, 0844 635 4820 Grove Street, 525, 1, 1D E CG Z, 0844 635 9314 Rosemount Buildings, 525, 1, 1D E CG P, 0844 635 9578 Gibson Terrace, 495, 1, 1D E, 0844 635 3780
A USERS GUIDE TO CITYLETS LISTINGS Meadows
Haymarket Morrison Street, 1340, 4, 4D G Z, 0844 635 9679 Morrison Street, 1340, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Coates Gardens, 930, 3, 3D G PG Z, 0844 635 9688 Easter Dalry Road, 825, 3, 1S 2D G P, 0844 635 4820 West Maitland Street, 875, 2, 0844 635 9338 Easter Dalry Place, 775, 2, 2D, 0844 635 4820 Easter Dalry Road, 775, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 4820 Easter Dalry Drive, 645, 2, P, 0844 635 9352 Cobden Terrace, 650, 1, 0844 635 9338 Mclaren Terrace, 625, 1, G PG O, 0844 635 9362 Rosemount Buildings, 595, 1, 0844 635 9338 Caledonian Crescent, 525, 1, 1D P, 0844 635 6450
Holyrood Holyrood Road, 1900, 3, G P, 0844 635 9390 Holyrood Road, 1425, 2, P, 0844 635 9308 Holyrood Road, 900, 2, 2D G CG P, 0844 635 9464 Royal Park Terrace, 625, 1, 1D 2B G CG O, 0844 635 9334 Royal Park Place, 550, 1, 1D G CG P, 0844 635 4820 Dumbiedykes Road, 500, 1, 1D G, 0844 635 4820
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 Albert Place, 1100, 5, 2S 3D, 0844 635 3700 Easter Road, 1200, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Easter Road, 1200, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700
Agent phone number
Buccleuch Street, 750, 2, 2D W CG Z, 0870 062 9434
Bedrooms Monthly Rent
Gorgie Gorgie Road, 1375, 5, 5D G CG O, 0844 635 9679 Gorgie Road, 1375, 5, 5D CG O, 0844 635 9314 Westfield Court, 850, 3, 3D G CG O, 0844 635 9558 Gorgie Road, 825, 3, 3D O, 0844 635 9314 Robertson Gait, 700, 2, 0844 635 9308 Sinclair Close, 675, 2, 0844 635 4820 Gorgie Road, 645, 2, 0844 635 9308 Ardmillan Terrace, 600, 2, 2D, 0844 635 4820 Sinclair Place, 595, 2, 0844 635 9338 Watson Crescent, 595, 2, 2D G CG O, 0844 635 1312 Cathcart Place, 575, 2, 1S 1D CG, 0844 635 1312 Wardlaw Terrace, 500, 2, 1S 1D G CG O, 0844 635 1312 Ashley Terrace, 525, 1, 1D G, 0844 635 2418 Wardlaw Place, 525, 1, 1D G CG O, 0844 635 6458 Gorgie Road, 515, 1, 1D G O, 0844 635 1312 Stewart Terrace, 500, 1, 1D E, 0844 635 3330 Wardlaw Street, 500, 1, 1D, 0844 635 1312 Smithfield Street, 490, 1, 1D W Z, 0844 635 4820 Wardlaw Street, 485, 1, 1D G CG O, 0844 635 2418 Stewart Terrace, 475, 1, 1D CG O, 0844 635 2418 Stewart Terrace, 475, 1, 1D G CG O, 0844 635 4820 Wheatfield Street, 475, 1, G, 0844 635 1312 Wardlaw Place, 450, 1, 0844 635 9338 Wardlaw Street, 450, 1, 1D E CG O, 0844 635 2152 Westfield Road, 450, 1, 1D 1B CG O, 0844 635 9245 Wheatfield Road, 450, 1, E O, 0844 635 9314 Smithfield Street, 440, 1, 1D E O, 0844 635 9560 Wardlaw Place, 440, 1, 1D E O, 0844 635 9434
Area
Location
Easter Road, 900, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Portland Street, 850, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Annandale Street, 1000, 3, 3D G PG P, 0844 635 4820 Ferry Road, 900, 3, 3D G CG O, 0844 635 9446 Portland Place, 850, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Western Harbour Midway, 850, 3, CG P, 0844 635 9308 Bonnington Gait, 825, 3, 3D G P, 0844 635 9384 Leith Walk, 750, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Wellington Place, 1100, 2, G, 0844 635 4475 Western Harbour Brkwater, 1050, 2, 2D P, 0844 635 4820 Breadalbane Street, 925, 2, 2D E P, 0844 635 4820 Western Harbour Brkwater, 875, 2, 1S 1D G CG P, 0844 635 4820 Sandport Way, 800, 2, 2D G PG P, 0844 635 6872 Portland Row, 750, 2, CG P, 0844 635 9308 Western Harbour Midway, 750, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 4820 Western Harbour Way, 750, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 4820 Allanfield Place, 700, 2, 2D G PG P, 0844 635 9234 Duke Street, 700, 2, 2D G CG, 0844 635 9594 East Cromwell Street, 695, 2, P, 0844 635 9308 Hawkhill Close, 695, 2, 2D, 0844 635 6450 Coburg Street, 650, 2, 0844 635 9338 Salamander Court, 650, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 9679 Stead’s Place, 650, 2, 2D G, 0844 635 9300 Edina Street, 625, 2, 2D, 0844 635 3700 Salamander Court, 625, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 9679 Sandport Way, 625, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 9560 Easter Road, 600, 2, 2D W CG O, 0844 635 9245 Harrismith Place, 600, 2, 1S 1D G P, 0844 635 9245 Sheriff Park, 600, 2, 2D CG, 0844 635 9245 Ferry Road, 595, 2, 2D G CG O, 0844 635 9328 North Junction Street, 595, 2, 2D G, 0844 635 9384 Sheriff Park, 595, 2, 0844 635 9338 Stead’s Place, 595, 2, G, 0844 635 9384 Easter Road, 580, 2, 0844 635 9338 Cadiz Street, 575, 2, 1S 1D G P, 0844 635 2418 Dock Place, 575, 2, 2D W, 0844 635 4820 Easter Road, 575, 2, 0844 635 9338 Springfield, 575, 2, 1S 1D W CG P, 0844 635 9318 Bonnington Mews, 550, 2, 1S 1D E P, 0844 635 4820 Great Junction Street, 550, 2, 2D E CG O, 0844 635 9592 North Fort Street, 550, 2, 2D W CG O, 0844 635 9558 Leith Walk, 530, 2, 2D, 0844 635 3700 Commercial Street, 695, 1, 1D P, 0844 635 4638 Mcdonald Road, 600, 1, 1D G P, 0844 635 9320
Leith Walk Leith Walk, 995, 5, 5D G CG, 0844 635 9679 Leith Walk, 1100, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Croall Place, 1000, 4, 4D O, 0844 635 9314 Croall Place, 1000, 4, 1S 3D, 0844 635 3700 Great Junction Street, 1000, 4, 1S 3D G CG O, 0844 635 9488 Leith Walk, 995, 4, 1S 3D, 0844 635 3700 Dalmeny Street, 945, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Ryehill Avenue, 850, 3, G PG, 0844 635 4475
Leith Walk, 725, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Huntingdon Place, 725, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 4820 Smith’s Place, 695, 2, 2D P, 0844 635 9316 Dalmeny Street, 675, 2, G CG O, 0844 635 6872 Hopetoun Street, 650, 2, 0844 635 9338 Brunswick Road, 645, 2, 2D G Z, 0844 635 9679 Dickson Street, 595, 2, 2D W CG O, 0844 635 9312 Iona Street, 595, 2, 1S 1D G CG O, 0844 635 9422 Leith Walk, 550, 2, 2D W O, 0844 635 9326 Leith Walk, 540, 2, 2D E, 0844 635 2152 Balfour Street, 575, 1, 1D G O, 0844 635 4820 Allanfield, 500, 1, 1D W CG O, 0844 635 3780 Buchanan Street, 475, 1, 1D G CG O, 0844 635 2418
Marchmont Warrender Park Terrace, 2250, 5, 2S 3D G, 0844 635 4820 Lauriston Park, 1500, 5, 5D G Z, 0844 635 4820 Spottiswoode Street, 1250, 3, CG Z, 0844 635 9352 Argyle Park Terrace, 1100, 3, 1S 2D G CG Z, 0844 635 2287 Spottiswoode Road, 950, 3, 1S 1D 1B 1T G CG, 0844 635 9245 Spottiswoode Street, 895, 3, G CG Z, 0844 635 3780 Whitehouse Loan, 1111, 2, 2D G Z, 0844 635 9578 Gladstone Terrace, 795, 2, PG Z, 0844 635 9352 Marchmont Crescent, 725, 2, G CG Z, 0844 635 9558 Roseneath Terrace, 695, 2, 2D 1B E O, 0844 635 9324 Moncrieff Terrace, 600, 2, 1S 1D G CG Z, 0844 635 9478
Morningside Morningside Road, 2100, 5, 5D G CG Z, 0844 635 2287 Morningside Road, 1600, 5, 5D Z, 0844 635 9314 Morningside Road, 1450, 5, 2S 3D G Z, 0844 635 9679 Morningside Road, 1400, 5, 3S 2D, 0844 635 3700 Morningside Road, 1400, 5, 5D G Z, 0844 635 9679 Morningside Road, 1400, 5, 3S 2D Z, 0844 635 9314 Morningside Road, 1200, 5, 5D Z, 0844 635 9314 Comiston Road, 1400, 4, 4D CG O, 0844 635 9314 Belhaven Terrace, 1200, 4, 2S 2D, 0844 635 3700 Belhaven Terrace, 1200, 4, 1S 3D CG O, 0844 635 9314 Morningside Road, 1200, 4, 4D G Z, 0844 635 9679 Morningside Road, 1200, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Balcarres Street, 900, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Comiston Road, 895, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Balcarres Street, 850, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Millar Crescent, 850, 3, 3D G Z, 0844 635 9478 Morningside Drive, 970, 2, 2D G PG O, 0844 635 9362 Littlejohn Road, 875, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 4820 Morningside Road, 800, 2, 2D G, 0844 635 4820 Springvalley Terrace, 575, 1, G Z, 0844 635 2418 Balcarres Street, 525, 1, 1D O, 0844 635 9324 Balcarres Street, 500, 1, 1D E O, 0844 635 9592
Bedrooms: Heating: Garden: Parking: Furniture:
Bruce Street, 475, 1, 1D CG O, 0844 635 3768 Ethel Terrace, 315, 1, 2D W CG P, 0844 635 9234
New Town Ainslie Place, 2000, 6, 6D G, 0844 635 4820 Windsor Street, 1800, 5, 5D G CG P, 0844 635 4489 Eyre Place, 1600, 5, 5D Z, 0844 635 9314 Eyre Place, 1500, 5, 5D, 0844 635 3700 Henderson Row, 1495, 5, 5D G CG Z, 0844 635 9334 Annandale Street, 1795, 4, CG Z, 0844 635 9352 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 Wemyss Place, 4500, 3, 3D G, 0844 635 4820 Gloucester Place, 1650, 3, 3D CG Z, 0844 635 6450 Dundas Street, 1450, 3, 3D G PG Z, 0844 635 4820 Coates Gardens, 1390, 3, 3D G PG Z, 0844 635 9362 Eyre Place, 1200, 3, PG Z, 0844 635 9308 Royal Crescent, 1200, 3, 3D G Z, 0844 635 4820 St Stephen Street, 930, 3, 1S 2D, 0844 635 3700 Brunswick Street, 910, 3, 3D, 0844 635 9316 Cumberland Street, 725, 2, 2D G Z, 0844 635 9448 Eyre Place, 725, 2, 2D Z, 0844 635 9314 Barony Street, 720, 2, 2D W CG Z, 0844 635 9688 Gayfield Street, 695, 2, 1S 1D G O, 0844 635 4820 Broughton Road, 650, 2, 1B G Z, 0844 635 4830 Great King Street, 1100, 1, 1D G, 0844 635 4820 Drummond Place, 850, 1, 1D G Z, 0844 635 9320 Great King Street, 750, 1, 0844 635 4820 Great King Street, 700, 1, Z, 0844 635 9308 Broughton Road, 600, 1, 1D G CG Z, 0844 635 4480 Thistle Street, 595, 1, Z, 0844 635 9308 Canon Street, 550, 1, 1D W Z, 0844 635 9314 Broughton Road, 500, 1, 1D G CG O, 0844 635 4480 Barony Street, 450, 1, 1D W CG Z, 0844 635 9688 St Vincent Street Garage, 150, 1, P, 0844 635 6450
Newington South Clerk Street, 1600, 5, 5D G CG O, 0844 635 9679 East Preston Street, 1575, 5, 5D Z, 0844 635 9314 East Preston Street, 1575, 5, 5D, 0844 635 3700 East Preston Street, 1575, 5, 5D G CG O, 0844 635 9679 East Preston Street, 1400, 5, 5D Z, 0844 635 9314 Viewcraig Gardens, 1200, 5, 5D G P, 0844 635 9302 Dryden Place, 1500, 4, 1S 3D, 0844 635 9316 Clerk Street, 1400, 4, 4D G CG Z, 0844 635 2287 South Oxford Street, 1380, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Newington Road, 1300, 4, 2S 2D G CG P, 0844 635 9302 Clerk Street, 1200, 4, 4D Z, 0844 635 9314 Montague Street, 1200, 4, 4D G CG Z, 0844 635 9679 Montague Street, 1200, 4, 4D Z, 0844 635 9314
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
Montague Street, 1200, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 South Oxford Street, 1200, 4, 1S 3D G, 0844 635 9245 Viewcraig Gardens, 1200, 4, 4D E P, 0844 635 9302 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 Mayfield Road, 1100, 4, 4D, 0844 635 9316 St Patricks Square, 1000, 4, Z, 0844 635 9352 Hill Square, 725, 2, Z, 0844 635 9308 Montague Street, 725, 2, 2D G Z, 0844 635 4820 Bernard Terrace, 700, 2, 2D Z, 0844 635 9314 Minto Street, 700, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 9592 Blackwood Crescent, 650, 2, 1S 1D G Z, 0844 635 9424 Ratcliffe Terrace, 620, 2, 2D G CG Z, 0844 635 9362 Causewayside, 575, 2, 1S 1D, 0844 635 9245 West Crosscauseway, 545, 1, 1D Z, 0844 635 9422 East Parkside, 535, 1, 1D G, 0844 635 9390 Parkside Terrace, 535, 1, 1D W O, 0844 635 9320 Moncrieff Terrace, 500, 1, 1D E CG Z, 0844 635 2287 Dalkieth Road, 475, 1, 1D G CG Z, 0844 635 9434
Polwarth Hermand Terrace, 1400, 5, 5D, 0844 635 3700 Hermand Terrace, 1400, 5, 5D G CG, 0844 635 9679 Polwarth Gardens, 1300, 5, 5D, 0844 635 3700 Harrison Road, 1200, 4, 2S 2D, 0844 635 2418 Polwarth Gardens, 1200, 4, 4D E CG Z, 0844 635 9679 Polwarth Gardens, 975, 4, CG O, 0844 635 9308 Slateford Road, 875, 3, 3D G CG O, 0844 635 9679 Ashley Terrace, 825, 2, 2D G Z, 0844 635 4820 Polwarth Gardens, 800, 2, 2D G Z, 0844 635 4820 Watson Crescent, 795, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 2418 Watson Crescent, 795, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 2418 Watson Crescent, 795, 2, G P, 0844 635 2418 Watson Crescent, 795, 2, 1S 1D G P, 0844 635 2418 Watson Crescent, 795, 2, 1S 1D G P, 0844 635 2418 Watson Crescent, 795, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 2418 Ardmillan Place, 700, 2, G CG P, 0844 635 4475 West Bryson Road, 700, 2, 2D 1B G P, 0844 635 4820 Bryson Road, 650, 2, 2D G CG Z, 0844 635 4820 Tay Street, 650, 2, 2D 1B Z, 0844 635 4820 West Bryson Road, 650, 2, 2D W P, 0844 635 9318 Temple Park Crescent, 625, 2, 1S 1D E Z, 0844 635 4820 Watson Crescent, 600, 1, 1D G P, 0844 635 2418 Watson Crescent, 600, 1, 1D G P, 0844 635 2418 Watson Crescent, 600, 1, 1D G P, 0844 635 2418 Watson Crescent, 600, 1, 1D G P, 0844 635 2418 Watson Crescent Lane, 600, 1, 1D G P, 0844 635 2418
Yeaman Place, 575, 1, 1D G CG O, 0844 635 6450 Polwarth Crescent, 550, 1, 0844 635 4644 Bryson Road, 525, 1, 1D G CG Z, 0844 635 3768 St Peters Place, 500, 1, 1D G Z, 0844 635 9390 Watson Crescent, 450, 1, 1D G, 0844 635 9318
Stockbridge St. Stephen Street, 950, 3, 3D G CG O, 0844 635 9238 India Street, 1250, 2, Z, 0844 635 9308 Atholl Place, 1200, 2, Z, 0844 635 9308 St Bernards Crescent, 1200, 2, 2D G CG Z, 0844 635 4820 Dean Park Mews, 900, 2, 1S 1D E P, 0844 635 4820 Leslie Place, 895, 2, CG Z, 0844 635 9308 Leslie Place, 800, 2, 2D G CG Z, 0844 635 4480 Comely Bank, 775, 2, 2D G CG P, 0844 635 4820 Comely Bank Road, 775, 2, 2D G CG Z, 0844 635 4820 Dean Street, 775, 2, CG Z, 0844 635 9352 West Silvermills Lane, 720, 2, 2D E P, 0844 635 9302 Dean Park Street, 625, 2, 1S 1D 1B G CG Z, 0844 635 8696 West Ferryfield, 530, 2, 2D, 0844 635 3700 Clarence Street, 775, 1, 1D G Z, 0844 635 9320 Patriothall, 700, 1, 1D G O, 0844 635 4820 Hamilton Place, 625, 1, G CG, 0844 635 4475 St. Stephen Place, 610, 1, 1D G O, 0844 635 6450 Danube Street, 570, 1, 1D G Z, 0844 635 9362 Glenogle Road, 550, 1, 1D G CG P, 0844 635 3780 Gloucester Street, 550, 1, P, 0844 635 9308 Henderson Row, 500, 1, 1D E CG Z, 0844 635 9592 St Stephen Street, 475, 1, 0844 635 9338
Tollcross Gilmore Place, 1200, 3, 1S 2D G, 0844 635 9318 Grindlay Street, 850, 2, 2D, 0844 635 3700 Valleyfield Street, 850, 2, 2D G PG P, 0844 635 3782 Tarvit Street, 725, 2, 2D G O, 0844 635 9456 Lauriston Place, 720, 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 Lauriston Street, 580, 1, 1D, 0844 635 3700 Fountainbridge, 550, 1, 1D, 0844 635 3700 Gilmore Place, 525, 1, 1D G PG Z, 0844 635 9424 Brougham Street, 500, 1, 1D E, 0844 635 3780
West End Alva Street, 950, 5, 1S 4D G Z, 0844 635 9326 Morrison Street, 1340, 4, 4D Z, 0844 635 9314 Cambridge Street, 1300, 4, Z, 0844 635 9308 West Maitland Street, 1300, 4, 1S 3D, 0844 635 3700 West Maitland Street, 1300, 4, 1S 3D Z, 0844 635 9314 Dean Park Crescent, 1195, 4, 1S 3D G Z, 0844 635 9422 Hampton Terrace, 1150, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 West End, 2500, 3, Z, 0844 635 9308
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Sally Magnusson: 'You can write anything these days and get away with it.' The renowned Scottish journalist and University of Edinburgh graduate tells The Journal about watching her beloved industry change before her eyes
S
ALLY MAGNUSSON IS as familiar and instantly recognisable a part of the Scottish media establishment as Jackie Bird is at Hogmanay. Yet Magnusson is through and through the quintessential journalist, cut from broadsheet paper. Sharp, intelligent and engaging – she has all the traits you would expect from a successful journalist and broadcaster. But what surprised me was that a journalist of her magnitude could be so grounded and seemed so unaffected by her considerable achievements. Behind the face that so many recognise, there is a clever and funny individual who seems deeply committed to her family and stresses that in an age of cheap and cheerful news content, quality of content is of the biggest concern. Magnusson comes from a rich journalistic background – her father being the renowned Magnus Magnusson, host of Mastermind for over two decades. “I had been brought up in a journalistic household. My father and mother met on the Scottish Daily Express.
"The standard of writing, the standard of journalism and the standard of proof that would have to be brought to bear in the past is no longer there. " “I was weaned on stories of journalistic daring and there was a part of me which thought this was a great life, but I was absolutely determined not to do the same as my parents.” Magnusson ended up studying English at the University of Edinburgh, and wrote for The Student. “It got to my last year and I was by a friend who happened to be editing The Student newspaper if I would like to help out and I thought ‘why not’. "I started to do a bit of reporting and I discovered I loved it.” Magnusson then goes on to recall one of her first assignments about influenza research at the university. “I remember the excitement of going back to my room and sitting down, thinking how am I going to construct this story - to make it sound
interesting, maybe a bit funny and engaging.” Magnusson began her career at The Scotsman – then part of the global Thomson Corporation – it was here Magnusson began her professional career and it is here her journalistic career took shape. Along with other Thomson journalists from around the country who trained in Newcastle, then returned to their local newspapers to be rotated throughout the departments. She sums up her time there simply, “It was a really good, all-round experience”. Being trained in the most traditional of newspaper environments, she comments on the way journalism has been changed by the ascend of modern technology. “Newspaper have changed enormously, they are not the same life-blood of the nation as they used to be. Also I think journalism generally, has been affected by the internet revolution and social networking, but not always for good. It is possible for information to be too available; it can make journalists lazy. It can make us think we know things without actually knowing. There is an awful lot of journalism that is now done on phones rather than actually going out there and digging up the story. "The standard of writing, the standard of journalism and the standard of proof that would have to be brought to bear in the past is no longer there. You can write anything these days and get away with it”. Magnusson is clearly in two minds about the role of modern media in news, she firmly supports the idea that more and more people have access to news content but is dismayed by the loss of quality information. Magnusson’s career in recent years has taken her beyond anchoring duties on BBC Reporting Scotland. Now hosting Tracing Your Roots, a genealogy programme on BBC Radio Four along with other radio programmes, she has also invested more time in writing books on an array of topics from her family life to the history of urine. Intrigued to know what motivated her to write her latest book, 'Life of Pee: The story of How Urine Got Everywhere', she told me her interest in pee came about when reading that urine was used in making Harris Tweed. “Far from being some eccentric, peripheral activity in Britain in the 21st century on a small island it was actually, had been a major industrial agent in history. "It had been used in the woollen trade for hundreds of years, it had also been used to make gun powder, stained glass and lots and lots of things. I just thought that this is such a huge part of
our social history and if I didn’t know the chances are most people
Magnusson has also invested more time in writing books on an array of topics — from her family life to the history of urine
wouldn’t know either". As for the people and the moments who impacted her the most throughout her career, Magnusson has a down-to-earth take on things. “The people who have had the most impact on me are not the celebrities, the big names – of whom I have met plenty. In terms of making an impact on me, it has been people whose names, frankly I am ashamed to say, I have forgotten. It was sitting in people's living rooms who were telling me about their lives with a handicapped child, or how you deal with grief or some of the most difficult traumas. It has been these sort of stories from people who have been living
ordinary lives but with extraordinary grace or humility or kindness or self sacrifice.” Magnusson’s charisma is immeasurable, she is engaging, convincing and honest (to the point which I have ordered ‘Life of Pee’ online) of course none of which was entirely surprising. She is an old school journalist and clearly sees the negatives of the modern media age.But despite this, Magnusson has adapted with style, grace and integrity. To see for yourself, follow her on Twitter: @sallymag1.
SOUTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL
16 Arts & Entertainment
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The Journal Wednesday 16 November 2011 COLIN DAVIDSON
Art
Turner Prize 2011 Has the Turner Prize lost its mojo? João Abbott-Gribben examines this year's competition João Abbott-Gribben Arts & Entertainment editor IT’S OLD NEWS to say that the Turner Prize causes scandal, and since 2008, it’s even become old news to say that it doesn’t. In its hedonistic heyday, the Turner Prize organisers did little to engage the public – the provocative pieces and their prices did all the hard work for them. But the dialogue was one way, completely mediadriven. Even when it took an austere turn, the media descended upon the prize for being...scandalless. What does this year’s prize have to offer, if not scandal or a lack thereof? Firstly, there is a change of venue, with the prize moving for the first time in its 27 years beyond the Tate franchise, to the Baltic in Newcastle. The difference is instantly notable. With no less than four friendly and attentive staff at the entrance, it seems the Baltic are going all out in their efforts to engage the flocks of Turner Prize pilgrims. Are they trying to re-adress the balance of the prize's typically one-sided and media-driven dialogue? Or are they just extra nice to reviewers? Possibly optimistically, I opt for the former. But does this new concern for outreach mean that, after being sober for a few years, the Turner Prize are worried the public are losing interest? Questioning one of the very attentive staff results in
assurances that this is not the case it merely reflects long-standing Baltic policy. This operates, I am told, with the aim to increase staff numbers and their knowledge in order to help the public navigate through the jargonheavy wall descriptions. Sharing even a relatively brief conversation with one staff member made it clear how vital an informed and open staff could be to the dialogue between contemporary art and its public. Compared to my experience of previous Turner Prizes, this policy is, if not shifting a paradigm, at least giving it a solid nudge. Unfortunately, the nominees seemed content to leave any nearby paradigms comfortably in situ. Martin Boyce’s room contains a high canopy of metal geometric shapes with a matching shaped leaffall on the floor. The room also holds a few artfully carved air vents, a bin, and a table with only half its top, surmounted by a Calder-esque mobile; all of which are softly lit underneath the canopy’s dappled shade. It sounds a disparate collection, but everything is unified by an adherence to the same geometries that govern the canopy’s construction. Whereas Boyce creates a warm environment, Hilary Lloyd’s room is mercilessly cold and technological. Chrome steel pillars hang from the roof and project from the floor like industrial stalagmites and stalactites. Supported on these are both screens and projectors; each displaying videos of banal objects (floors, council high rises etc), swerving and fading in and out of view at various speeds. My reaction ranged from disinterest to
mild motion sickness. Placing Karla Black’s room after Lloyd’s is definitely the stand-out
Through a mediocre selection, the Turner Prize has missed a vital opportunity to imprint contemporary art onto on the public's mind
Ghostface Killah Hip hop veteran and Wu Tang founder reminds us why he's still one of the best in the game
A VETERAN OF the legendary hiphop group Wu-Tang Clan, founding member Ghostface Killah has been the most successful of that illustrious crew in his solo work and is still up there with the best. Last year’s Apollo Kids, a confident answer to Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, harked back to the old school sound of the Clan’s 36 Chambers and Ghostface’s 1996 solo debut Ironman. With classic beats and 60s soul sampling at its core, tonight was about keeping that spirit alive. Bursting onto stage, self-proclaiming himself both Ironman
As people whipped through the four nominee’s rooms I wondered why, despite the apparently capable staff, such little time was spent studying the works. At this point an uncomfortable realisation emerged: that at the moment an institution (in this case the Baltic) appeared to start making a concerted effort to communicate contemporary art to the masses, contemporary art got quite boring. ‘Quite’ is the vital word here. If it was just ‘boring’ this year’s Turner Prize might, paradoxically, have been more interesting. It would have been of note for taking its recent leanings toward ‘credibility’ to new, playingit-safe lows. It would have inspired debate and public engagement. But it hasn’t. Through a mediocre selection, the Turner Prize has missed a vital opportunity to imprint contemporary art onto the public's mind, not just in their newspapers.
LIANAAN
Music
Ben Filmer Starkey
curatorial decision of the show. The lurch from Lloyd’s minimal-technocave into Black’s infantile hallucinatory baroque is really something. Black’s room is surreal but also uniquely seductive. As much as her text repeats the impotent ‘thinking without words’ fallacies of the abstract expressionists, her work remains likeable. Her use of materials such as make-up, powder, soap and plastic – all in pastel shades - is undeniably the most innovative out of the four contestants. George Shaw’s use of materials – in this case Humbrol enamel paint typically reserved for model making – is also innovative. By painting small scenes of suburban nowhere for most of his career, Shaw again exhibits an anti-conceptual innovation of sorts. But like the size of his paintings and their subject matter, these innovations are too modest, too self-effacing and accordingly, too dreary.
and Tony Stark, Ghostface Killah dives straight in. Immediately it's clear the night is going to be much more Wu-Tang than Ghostface Killah, because it's the classic 90s tunes like 'C.R.E.A.M.' and 'Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuttin' to Fuck Wit', along with a surprise appearance from Killah Priest, that really get the crowd going. Despite slight awkwardness in addressing the city as Edmonton, Ghostface seems comfortable and sincere when talking about his love of soul music, in particular Marvin Gaye. The bizarrely eclectic audience, from indie kids to middle-aged hiphop heads, reaches a frenzy as 'Protect Ya Neck' kicks in. As two fans were invited up on stage for ODP's and Method Man’s verses, a real love for Wu-Tang warms the room. The Liquid Room’s small size felt a little
unsuitable at first, but it gives a real intensity to Ghostface’s rapid delivery. The crowd involvement is energetic, to the point where several girls began manically grinding up on stage, desperate for a moment with the main man who seems not to notice them (Killah Priest, however, very much enjoys their presence.) Though brought to an end far too early at 10:30, it's a very solid, nostalgic and satisfying performance. More material off his superb last album would have been appreciated, but the crowd came for Wu-Tang Clan and Ghostface delivered exactly that. VENUE: LIQUID ROOM DATES: 9 NOVEMBER PRICE: £14
The Journal Wednesday 16 November 2011
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Arts & Entertainment 17
Theatre
We need to talk Immaculate about killing Nature or nurture? What does Lynne Ramsey’s latest film, We Need to Talk About Kevin, tell us about contemporary attitudes towards evil?
With Oliver Lansley's script, Edinburgh University Theatre Company present a comedic and contemporary second-coming at Bedlam
Kate Adams Matthew Macaulay Film editor MICHAEL MOORE: “IF you were to talk directly to the kids at Columbine what would you say to them if they were here right now?” Marilyn Manson: “I wouldn’t say a single word to them. I would listen to what they have to say and that’s what no one did.” There is little more shocking than a teenager making the cold-blooded decision to kill his classmates. News images of the Columbine Massacre and other such tragedies are permanently imprinted on our brains. But who is responsible? Is it the child, their parents or society at large? We Need to Talk About Kevin, based on the book of the same name by Lionel Shriver, is a sombre reminder that when it comes to the nature of evil, nothing is black and white. In the film we join Eva (played by the excellent Tilda Swinton) as she tries to remake her life after her son Kevin goes on a horrific rampage at his high school not long prior to his sixteenth birthday. We witness tangible representations of a community grieving and looking for someone to blame; one of the opening scenes sees Eva scrubbing blood-red paint from the front of her doorway before being viciously assaulted in the street by the mother of one of her son’s victims. It is clear that society judges Eva as harshly as she judges herself and considers her ultimately responsible for Kevin’s actions. But is this the case? Like the novel, the film dramatically explores the nature verses nurture debate, but leaves us with more questions than answers. Through regular flashbacks we see Eva struggling to come to terms with motherhood after a high-powered career as a travel journalist and finding it difficult to cope with a child who displays a distinct lack of empathy. From a very young age Kevin revels in upsetting his mother and seemingly feels no remorse for it. Pitched against his mother in a power struggle, Kevin develops strategies in order to resist her will: refusing to speak or to potty-train. The latter rebellion triggers a violent episode, which Kevin later refers to as the most honest thing his mother ever did. For a while Eva gains the
upper-hand in their dysfunctional power relation, but this makes her complicit in a lie and ultimately subject to her son’s will. Whenever Kevin wants something all he need do is delicately caress the scar his mother inflicted on him and she will dance to his tune. Kevin is a psychopath: combining an abnormal lack of empathy with amoral conduct which he is able to mask when necessary in order to appear normal. He may be bereft of feelings but he is certainly able to capitalise on other people’s emotions. Manipulating his parents, he shows his naïve father, Franklin, (played by John C. Reilly) his ‘good’ side, while reserving his true self for his mother. Films like We Need to Talk About Kevin are immensely important in that they make us reflect not just on those who commit atrocities like the one committed by Kevin, but also the part that wider society plays in making these tragedies possible. Kevin says in the film his motivation for committing the massacre was that he was giving the public the excitement and scandal they crave: "You wake up you watch TV. You get in the car and listen to the radio. You go to your little job or your little school but you’re not going to hear about that on the six o’clock news…Things have got so bad that half the people on TV they’re watching TV. What are all these people watching? People like me." Michael Moore explores this idea further in Bowling for Columbine where he examines what the Columbine Massacre shows us about contemporary America. He draws attention to the fact that the day Columbine happened the U.S. dropped more bombs on Kosovo than at any time during the war, and questions how a society can condemn violence in their own community, but freely endorse it when it is perpetrated against a small foreign nation. In his discussion with Moore, Marilyn Manson, who was blamed by the Christian right for inspiring the Columbine killers through his lyrics, makes an astute observation regarding the campaign of fear and consumption that has become ingrained into the fabric of American society. He argues that fear is perpetuated by news organisations, who show a disproportionate number of violent stories in order to prompt people to consume. This creates a culture in which violence is the norm and - as monstrous events such as Columbine and Virginia Tech illustrate - violence only begets more violence.
FOR EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY Theatre Company’s most recent offering, Anna Reid directs Immaculate by Oliver Lansley, a play which comically explores what it means to be faced with the prospect of giving birth to the Messiah in the modern age. When Mia (Fiona Longmuir) finds herself heavily pregnant, she is more than a little confused. As she tells her best friend Rebecca (Ashley Stewart), she hasn’t slept with anyone since she broke up with her ex Michael (Jonathan Langley) well over nine months ago . But when the angel Gabriel shows up on her doorstep claiming that her child is the second coming of Christ, things start to make a little more sense. That is until Lucifer (Joe McArdle) and Gary (Calum Martin) also appear, both claiming that they are the father as well. Under Reid’s direction, this production is at times absolutely hysterical. The jokes and entrances are impeccably timed and the individual character monologues, in particular Lucifer's rant about how difficult it is to be the devil and having nobody listen to his side of the story are pure comedy gold. It’s the little things that really make the humour in this production so strong; the characters casually eating chocolate Hob-Nobs whilst not so slyly listening in to others conversations, the way the
This production is at times absolutely hysterical. Greek style chorus moves, and finally the deadpan delivery from McArdle’s Lucifer about not seeing anything wrong with Gary Goldman when he is quite clearly (in the words of Mia) 'a dick!'. The only thing that seems confusing however is Stewart's monologue, hers is the only one not spoken live and is instead a recording played over
an echoey PA system which somewhat ruins the effect. Although nobody is credited with design, the costuming of the piece is spot on and goes a long way to making the characters more relatable. Putting Gabriel in a full suit but having him wear sandals with it and dressing Michael like a teenager with a hoody shows just how much thought has gone into making the costume just right for each individual character. It is a shame that this was only a one off performance. VENUE: BEDLAM THEATRE DATES: 2 NOVEMBER PRICE: £4 (£3.50) FLICKR: MANIACYAK
NICOLE RIVELLI
18 Arts & Entertainment Theatre
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Feature
Dr Marigold and Mr Chops
Edinburgh's DJ Jigsaw reflects on all things Dubstep. DJ Jigsaw talks to Fred Fergus about filling a niche in Edinburgh's night life and what the future holds
Simon Callow proves that even in our world of distractions and sideshows, the power of storytelling remains undiminished Rebecca Tamas
SIMON CALLOW HAS a thing for Dickens. He has written a book about him, and acted the part of the great author in the internationally successful show, The Mystery of Charles Dickens. He even managed a guest spot playing Dickens in an episode of Doctor Who. Now, the polymath writer, actor and director has turned to the novelist again, bringing alive two of his stories in a one-man show, Dr Marigold and Mr Chops, deftly directed by Richard Twyman. Set in the Victorian world of sideshows and travelling fairs, the play introduces us to two outsiders: Mr Chops, a freak show dwarf, and Dr Marigold, a ‘cheap jack’ or travelling salesman. Mr Chops, after years of performing, wins the lottery and finally has the chance to fulfil his dream of going into high society. Yet when he does, he finds out that there is less acceptance and freedom there than in the freak show he left behind. Dr Marigold works selling bric-a-brac at country fairs. Heartbroken by the earlier loss of his beloved daughter, he comes across a deaf and dumb child, who is treated like a slave by her father. He adopts her,
The Journal Wednesday 16 November 2011
teaching her to read and to communicate, allowing them both to overcome their loneliness. These stories were written for the Christmas edition of Dickens’ journal and have that bittersweet quality that characterises all good Christmas tales. Making use of the evocative and flexible set designed by Christopher Woods, Callow brings these characters vividly to life. In Mr Chops, he moves confidently between the high pitched dwarf and his gruff employer, engaging us in the glamour and grime of the freakshow. It is in the second story, Dr Marigold, however, that the play really comes alive. Callow gives such conviction and heart to the character of Marigold, that the sentimentality of the plot is overtaken by real emotion. When Callow puts out his arms to hold his precious daughter, one feels that she stands as clearly on stage as her father does. It's as if we have witnessed a whole cast of actors, not a one-man show. At its best, this production reminds us that a single actor can hold us rapt with practically no props and no flashy effects. It seems that, even in our world of myriad distractions and side shows, the power of storytelling remains undiminished. VENUE: KING'S THEATRE DATES: 1 - 5 NOVEMBER PRICE: £14.50 - £27.50
EDMUND FRASER
Fred Fergus
W
HEN YOU ARE sitting outside a cafe in the early Edinburgh evening awaiting your interviewee, you just know things will go well when the local whisky processing unit arrives as the same time as the former and proceeds to join in the chat. Jimmy Wallace (AKA Jigsaw) and I do our best to carry on while also trying to not offend the inebriated invader of our conversation (for our parents taught us manners). Needless to say, this was pulled off with aplomb and editors and mothers the world over will be delighted with our efforts. And so they should. Now, you would not know it from the quantity of the sets Jigsaw does these days, but he has only been DJing for three years. ‘I basically had a mate back in Shrewsbury who ran nights’, he says, leaning back on the rails outside City Cafe, just opposite from the club where he is now one of the most ubiquitous faces behind the decks, ‘and he basically just lent me his stuff and I just locked myself away in first year until I got my first gig’. From these humble beginning, ladies and gentlemen, have we seen so many DJs rise. From Skream to Skrillex, from Jamie Jones to Jack Beats, all the names we
know were once faces in front of monitors in their bedrooms, wondering what on earth they were doing. ‘But that’s the great thing about nowadays’, he smiles. ‘Any man and his dog can download the software and just start messing around’. However, this man and his dog are now DJing with the likes of Annie Mac, whereas so many remain unable to train their dog to simply sit down. What does Jigsaw put this down to? Two things: the state of the Edinburgh club scene and, once again, a helping hand from his mates. ‘When I first got up to Edinburgh University there was maybe one big night a month,’ he says, ‘but there was a gap in the market and we [the night he and his friends co-run ‘Bedbug’] just tried to fill it. But the thing is, Edinburgh didn’t have a cemented club scene like, say, Manchester, and that means you can feel that you have contributed to the music scene in a city like Edinburgh’. And so he has: Bedbug brings big names to northern streets and the fact that he usually opens for them too is no laughing matter. ‘It can be a bit daunting, but you just kinda go with it’ he maintains in a way that makes cucumbers look relatively flustered. ‘The first big name I opened for was Calvin Harris, think my first song was ‘Feelin Good’ by Nina Simone. But yeah, I’m just lucky that I had a mate who has the balls to put me before or after a headliner’. And of course, talk of big names eventually leads us down Dubstep Boulevard. A genre that created a
dichotomy when it first emerged out of a basement in Croydon is now creating splits within schisms as it starts to thud out of American recording studios. ‘You feel like every artist involved with the Dubstep scene at the moment wants to get big in America’ Jigsaw states, finishing his beer, ‘and it’s just too robotic a sound for over here, well for me any way. But I do like the evolutions we’ve had over here of dubstep, like UK Bass for example’. And he’s right. While dubstep has grown fat off its own success and many original lovers of it will never cross the Atlantic for a listen, what we have left in its wake is still very good music. Burial for example would not be around, nor would Mount Kimbie, nor James Blake. ‘James Blake has the perfect line between staying true to his sound and catering to the commercial crowd’ Jigsaw says as we start to wrap up. ‘I like that.' So what’s next for Jigsaw? His blog, The Sound of C, continues to provide good new music for all who wish to visit it. Having just finished the music for the next Converse ad, he’s also interested in getting into production or maybe even setting up his own record label. One can’t help feeling, as the photographer arrives the recorder is turned off, that whatever is next for Jigsaw, it’s going to be very exciting. For more information on Jigsaw and Bedbug's latest listings: www. facebook.com/bedbugedinburgh www. facebook.com/DJ-Jigsaw
The Journal Wednesday 16 November 2011
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Arts & Entertainment 19
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Camo and Krooked at Xplicit
FOOD&DRINK
Cows for celebration CLUBS
Where do you go for good steak in Edinburgh? The Journal's food editor gains some pounds to find out
Caroline Bottger Food & Drink editor LIFE IS TOUGH, if you’ll pardon the pun. If you want a good steak in Edinburgh, you must save up. That is the only way to ensure that you can afford a good-quality cut which has been farmed ethically and drained properly. Many restaurants in this city feature a cut of beef on the menu, but how do you cut through the dross and get to the good stuff? The Buffalo Grill is close to George Square and to other reputable eateries such as Coffee Etc. and Pink Olive. The Buffalo Grill tries very hard to be a good restaurant. The menu's range of choice is impressive. The steaks can be prepared with a variety of sauces, so where can you go wrong? It’s quite easy. As in love, it's the little things. If the nacho chips are cold instead of warm, maybe it’s an oversight. When the restaurant is not licensed after being in existence since at least 2008, give them a break. But when the steak is tough instead of being medium rare, maybe something is not right. The intensely decorated interior belies
an over-compensation for something. Maybe if you are too busy being baffled at the vaguely offensive old-timey advertisements featuring Native Americans speaking like children, perhaps you won’t notice how unimpressed you are. Los Argentinos is in the same general student neighbourhood as the Buffalo Grill, but is miles away in terms of quality. This is the real deal, people. No condescending explanations of what each steak is, just choose what you want and be done with it, damn it. The Gran Parillada Mixta for two, or Huge Plate of Meat Cooked to Perfection (rough translation), is not cheap (£40) but God it’s good. The house wine is a mere £11, and if you share a dessert - which you will have to, these meals are filling - your individual bill will come out to around £35. Los Argentinos is worth saving your pennies, because it knows meat. It does not restrict itself to steak either, and selecting the Gran Parillada is the best way to sample all that the chefs can do. If you’re getting a little cabin fever in Old Town, then give Smoke Stack Steakhouse a try. It’s up the road from the Mansfield Traquair
in Leith, and is in the vicinity of many cozy, old man pubs that we all secretly enjoy. The decor is pared down, which is brave, since many steak houses operate under the guiding ethos that steak equals America/ Mexico/South America, and overdecorate accordingly. The food is a strange fusion of European, American and Mexican: goat’s cheese tart can be followed by a sirloin steak or fajitas. Barbecue ribs are the winner though - the sweet and sour sauce which gathers at the bottom of the bowl is pure heaven. The starts are a little on the large side, so choose wisely. The steak portion of the menu is not extensive, but it’s still a course in Steak 101: it explains where each cut comes from on the cow, how it is best prepared, and whether it is fatty or lean. Now that’s service. So if you have been craving steak lately, Edinburgh can accommodate you. But there's no such thing as a free lunch – good steak costs good money, so get saving. The Buffalo Grill, 12-14 Chapel Street; Los Argentinos, 28-30 West Preston Street; Smoke Stack teakhouse, 53-55 Broughton Street ASTRID WALTER
Xplicit triumph with Austrian duo Camo and Krooked ELLA BAVALIA
Fred Fergus
THE BEAUTY OF Bongo Club is that, while you’re not dancing on top of each other, the intimacy between audience and DJ is emphatic – it is the embodiment of basement gigs. Xplicit has once again set up a night that could not be better suited to the surroundings. Camo and Krooked’s air of accomplishment since the release of their highly successful debut album Between The Lines is tangible tonight. The way they control the crowd, guide the music, and own the set with a confidence that they just did not have on their last venture up north. They have grown as an act and they work now with an authority that comes from the success that they have deserved since the release of their first EP.
Their brand of melodic, liquid drum and bass has gained them a huge following in both the European market and in Britain. The respect they command up here is best defined by their warmup act and MC for the night, BZ. After a long pause considering what he thinks of Camo and Krooked, he looks up, shakes his head, and declares ‘You know what, mate? They’re just absolute quality’.While there is no contest with the quality onstage, there is a slight issue with the quantity of the audience. While the venue did fill up towards the wee hours, it never got to be as ‘rammed’ as the night deserved. Next time children, forgo essays, a night in with friends or awkward drinks with someone you find pathetically attractive, and come to a musical event worth remembering. www.thebongoclub.co.uk www.facebook.com/xplicitscotland
FASHION
How bloggers are Changing Fashion Power to the people - bloggers are changing the fashion world post by post
Anna Warren
23-25 St. Leonard’s Street, Edinburgh EH8 9QN
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VER THE PAST two years, there has been an explosion of fashion blogging. From Elle and Vogue to the fifteen year-old Tavi Gevinson, blogging has captivated the fashion world. So what is fashion blogging? Most fashion blogs take the typical format of bloggers taking straight up, street-style shots of themselves or friends, often daily, of what they're wearing, what’s in season and where we can buy it. Fashion blogs such as these appear to have transformed the fashion world by making ideas and inspiration accessible to even the most amateur fashion followers. Successful bloggers have managed to have a dramatic impact on the sales and marketing of even the biggest fashion brands. They are able to post new information and new products much faster and with greater ease than the traditional fashion magazine is able to. A recent article {where?} told
the story of two sisters {who?}with a passion for fashion, who started blogging from home about new items they had seen or bought. The girls’ blog was extremely popular achieving thousands of hits per day and a recent article they posted about a new Guess watch caused it to sell out in a matter of hours. It appears fashion inspiration no longer lies with the high fashion magazine that presents catwalkinspired ideas and designer pieces. Instead, people want access to real, manageable fashion ideas. The most popular fashion blogs present new and exciting fashion ideas from a mix of high-street and vintage. So if you’re looking for a new winter outfit, take inspiration from some of the most powerful people in the twenty-firstcentury fashion world. Or if you fancy yourself as a bit of a fashionista, why not start a blog yourself? Who knows where it could lead? My personal favourite: http://unitedkingdom.lookbook.nu
20 Sport
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SQUASH
League Tables
Edinburgh show well at Scottish tournament
FOOTBALL
While the University's men take runners-up spot, the women retain their title
BUCS Scottish Conference Men’s 1A
DAVID SELBY
P W D L F A GD Pts 3 3 0 0 11 3
8
9
Heriot-Watt 1st 3 3 0 0 10 3
7
9
Edinburgh 1st Stirling 2nd
4 2 0 2 8 5
3
6
Glasgow 1st
4 1 0 3 6 10 -4
3
Edinburgh 2nd
4 0 0 4 2 16 -14 0
RUGBY BUCS Men's Premier North B P WDL F Edinburgh 1st
A
3 3 0 0 52 20
GD Pts 32 9*
Birmingham 1st 3 2 0 1 120 49 Loughborough 3 2 0 1 87 59 2nd 3 2 0 1 66 42 Durham 2nd
24
6
Manchester 1st 3 2 0 1 74 63
11
6
Nottingham 1st
The Journal Wednesday 16 November 2011
71
6
28
6
3 1 0 2 41 58 -17 3
HOCKEY BUCS Scottish Conference Men’s 1A P W D L F A GD Pts Edinburgh 1st
4 3 0 1 18 7 11
9
Dundee 1st
4 2 1 1 9 11 -2
7
Glasgow 1st
4 1 1 1 8 12 -4
7
Heriot-Watt 1st
4 1 0 3 12 12 0
3
Strathclyde 1st
4 1 0 3 7 12 -5
3
BUCS Scottish Conference Women’s 1A P W D L F A GD Pts Edinburgh 1st
4 4 0 0 19 1 18 12
Glasgow 1st
4 2 1 1 10 8
2
7
Edinburgh 2nd
3 1 1 1 3 6 -3
4
St Andrews 1st
3 0 1 2 3 10 -7
1
Strathclyde 1st
4 0 1 3 2 12 -10 1
Mahmoud Moaz
ON THE FIRST weekend of November, the University of Edinburgh's squash squad enjoyed a fruitful trip to the Scottish Universities Squash championships in Aberdeen. The men claimed the runners-up spot, whilst the women not only took the title but third place as well. Two men’s and two women’s teams made the journey, but the men’s first team was preoccupied with the BUCS Premier championship so only their second and third teams took part here. The men’s second team consisted of Mahmoud Moaz, Walter Cabot, Nigel Anthony, Alex Iveson and Elliot Bourge. They had a promising start as they beat a slightly weaker St Andrews side 5-0, with the each player winning their match in straight sets 3-0 to book a place in the quarter finals. Up next were Robert Gordon University, playing at home, but the boys wasted no time as they crushed their opponents 4-1. A bigger challenge awaited them in the next round, though, as they were drawn to play title holders and numbertwo seeds Glasgow University. Iveson and Bourge got the team off to a brilliant start, beating their opponents 3-0 and 3-1 respectively. Thereafter Anthony sealed the win with a strong performance winning 3-0. This upset set up an Edinburgh derby in the final against Napier University. Things began well with Edinburgh winning at positions 4 and 5, showing the strength of the team down the order. Napier responded with two wins through their top two players, whose experience as Scottish internationals proved too strong. It all came
down to the final match between the number threes, Edinburgh’s Nigel Anthony and Napier’s Fraser MacDonald, where Anthony lost a hotly contested battle in the last set of the match. A brilliant result overall earned the boys silver medals. Edinburgh women’s first team went into the championships as title holders and first seeds. The team, consisting of Lizzie Barry, Freya Kerry, Amanda Thorman and Kirsty Macdonald, began their campaign by beating their own second team 4-0. They then overcame Robert Gordon (3-1) to book a place in the final against Dundee.
Macdonald put Edinburgh in the lead with a straightforward 3-0 victory; this was closely followed by another 3-0 victory, for Barry. With confidence reaching its peak in the Edinburgh camp Kerry secured the title by winning her match with one more game to go. This returned the girls to the BUCS championships and sustained their control over Scottish competitions. The women’s second team doubled Edinburgh’s success by securing third place. Representing were Lucy Mackenzie, Jessica Harvey, Laura Halley and Anna Mattinson, and the girls recovered from the initial defeat to their
teammates to beat Robert Gordon and Glasgow Caledonian, to achieve another great result for the squad. The men’s third team were slightly less fortunate as they were drawn to St Andrews firsts in the opening round. The boys were very close to winning, however, with Chris Thompson, John Constantine and Pete Harvey all losing in respective deciding sets in a dramatic defeat. Richard McClay secured a win at the number two spot with the team losing 4-1 overall. The team did, however, finish the weekend in the tenth place – beating Glasgow seconds and Aberdeen seconds.
KARTING
Edinburgh win Scottish Students Karting Championship Edinburgh fend off Heriot-Watt challenge to take the laurels Nick Roberts & Sean Gibson
EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY WERE the winners of last week’s inaugural Scottish Students Karting Championship (SSKC), which was held at the indoor circuit in Larbert, Stirlingshire. The format was a two-hour endurance race with both Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt strong enough to field two teams. They duly shared the top four places between them after a close, racelong fight. Heirot-Watt claimed second and fourth, Edinburgh B third. Qualification signalled how close a race we were in for; just 0.01 seconds separated the top four teams on a considerably fast course layout. Edinburgh locked out the front row, pole being snatched in 21.72 seconds by Nick Roberts of Edinburgh A ahead of Ross Hughes of Edinburgh B. Heriot-Watt A and B were in close formation behind, with a SAC & Oatridge Agricultural College team and the
two University of West Scotland teams a little further adrift. Dundee University were a late withdrawal after one of their drivers was seriously injured in the Formula Student competition. All the karts got away cleanly at the start, although it was only a few laps before Edinburgh B’s Ross Hughes was receiving the black-and-white penalty flag. Some fierce racing had seen the Edinburgh man slightly overstep the mark. As pit-stops and penalties began to force the frontrunners out of sync, Heriot-Watt A took the initiative. Stephen Walls briefly retook the lead for Edinburgh A before his pit-stop with a smart move around the outside of the hairpin, but Heriot-Watt’s Neil Halliwell soon had clear track again at the front. He was doing his best to ensure it stayed that way too, as a red flag on lap 70 prompted a reaction of questionable legality, clearing several backmarkers; this was much to the consternation of Edinburgh’s Walls on the pit wall.
A handful of unnecessary penalties would, however, see Halliwell hand the initiative back to Edinburgh A. Indeed, when Ross Hughes returned to the track for Edinburgh B, their second place came under serious pressure. After an hour the front three were all within a lap of one another. The competition at the front was unrelenting and the final fifteen minutes saw some tactical driving and occasional outright gamesmanship from both Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt. Edinburgh B’s Sally Skinner alternated well between rapid lap times and slowing the progress of Heriot-Watt A, whilst Heriot-Watt B received a penalty for shunting race leader Nick Roberts. Heriot-Watt’s Halliwell emerged for a cameo in the final five minutes, for one more punt at victory. Edinburgh A were almost a lap ahead, so with a straight fight out of the question the HeriotWatt driver attempted to get Roberts penalised for crashing into him. However, both the Edinburgh team and the marshals were wise to this. The
race was concluded at a comfortable pace and Edinburgh took the chequered flag in first. EUMSC Captain Kirsten Dallas, driving on the Edinburgh B team, “We’re
really pleased with our performance and really enjoyed this whole event. It’ll be good to compete again in the future, hopefully with even more teams from even more places.” RUSSELL ENDEAN
The Journal Wednesday 16 November 2011
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BASKETBALL
Edinburgh bounces back Following a last second win against Glasgow, The Journal catches up with EUBC's Nicolas Gromotka CHRIS RUBEY
Jamie Timson Sport editor
H
OW'S THE NEW season going so far? We’re 1:2 right now; one win and two disappointing losses. The losses are disappointing because the big points differential in the final score does not reflect the game and how well we’re able to compete with the teams in question: Northumbria and Leeds Met. Results against the aforementioned were: 48 : 87 (at home vs Northumbria) and 49:75 (away vs Leeds). This past Wednesday, Nov. 9th we defeated Glasgow away, at the buzzer 72:70. There are six teams in the League, the other five are: Leeds Met, Northumbria, Glasgow, Durham and Worcester. All team plays each other twice; home and away. What different challenge does the league pose this season? Every year a team is relegated from the League and thus a new team is added in replacement: we’ve seen Birmingham and Loughborough get relegated. This season Glasgow has taken Loughborough’s spot, for the first time ever there are two Scottish teams in the league now. Our Women’s Firsts are still the only Scottish team in the league. Is there a particular game coming up that is worthy of attention? The Scottish rivalry match against lasgow is of great importance. You
don’t have to know anything about basketball or the League standings to find the obvious reasons for this: it answers the question “who is the best university basketball program in Scotland”, it is a duel between two highly regarded academic universities and it is city rivalry; the big city against the capital. To add to that this will be a battle against relegation. Evaluating the results of the first few games of the season realistically it has become clear that one of us two will be relegated. Our women face a similar situation; they’re in
a relegation battle with Sheffield Hallam University, who they play Wed Nov 23rd. Both the men and women play a knockout cup game on Nov 30th, the Men play Northumbria away and the women play the University of Strathclyde away. Both draws are random, and we are very lucky compared to previous years, when both teams went up against future finalists or champions in this early round. The winner of these knockout matches (no second leg) goes to the final 8, which will be held in a tournament format in Sheffield
in March 2012. What were the highs and lows from last season? Last season was our second season in the Premier League and our strongest. Wins against Leeds (home opener of the season) and Worcester were particularly glorious. Like in our first year our first round draw in the Knockout stage was unfortunate as we faced one of the strongest teams in the League; Durham and lost. Who were the standout performers from last season?
We had a very strong core with an exceptional point guard in Mike Kirkpatrick, strong wing players in Ian Black and Gert Merisalu and a dominant inside presence with Liam McCabe and Tom. As always; Cathy and Ali Mitchell and Sarah O’Brien were the standouts for the women. What are the goals for the club this year? Same as every season; ‘don’t get relegated and give our best every game, giving everyone, including the big names a run for their money.’ Also the club needs to keep on growing; more members, more teams (this year we introduced two intramural teams for the first time). Having fun is also important we’re just 80 friends that like to play basketball and go out, have a good time. If you were trying to entice more supporters to come and watch, how would you describe your sport? Fast moving, with lots of different movement: lateral slides, running, jumping. Opposed to some prejudices; physical, especially around the basket, big bodies colliding on the ground and in the air. More exciting to watch than football/soccer as there are no draws, no chance of watching 90 scoreless minutes, every 24 seconds something has to happen (it’s the rules – shotclock). A better mix of finesse and force than in Rugby; dribbling and ball handling skills are required as well as fine shooting touch.
RUGBY LEAGUE
Darren Lockyer: Out of this League The retirement of a rugby league great might provide some respite for unaspiring Brits Jamie Timson Sport editor THIS SATURDAY WILL mark the end of the line for arguably the greatest rugby player of either code. For the previous two Saturdays he has lead his country to successive victories, including a successful return to an old haunt. Back in 1997, a fresh-faced 20-year-old Darren Lockyer played at the old Wembley on his first overseas tour alongside the likes of Laurie Daley in the Super League Test series against a Great Britain team featuring Jason Robinson, among others. Now 14 years on, with a cabinet full of trophies and with numerous domestic and international honours to his name, Lockyer returned to the new Wembley and lead Australia to a 36-20 win over England in the this year’s Four Nations. It is 39 years since the national Rugby League team last took a trophy off Australia. Such has the dominance of the Antipodeans been that since Great Britain lifted the 1972 World Cup in France, rarely has international rugby league carried much intrigue for the paying public. The first half of the 1990’s ensured a revival in the international game when the last impressive Great Britain team featuring Shaun Edwards
and Jonathan Davies won one of the first three Tests in three consecutive Ashes series and had the mighty Aussies genuinely worried. The 1995 World Cup brought with it 100 years of Rugby League and in the opening match England defeated Australia before losing in the final three weeks later. Rupert Murdoch’s intervention into British Rugby League in 1996 was then heralded as the necessary boost to advance the northern hemisphere into pole position. The unprecedented financial injection allowed the leading clubs to employ players on a full-time basis, a luxury that had previously been enjoyed only by Wigan and a couple of their less well-run rivals. This £87 million however, achieved relatively little. The major defections from League to Union that had been widespread previously to this, tailed off due to equality in wages. The supposed shift in power at the top of the game never materialised though. In 2000, another World Cup was staged in Britain but it was met with universal disapproval. There were too many mismatches in the early stages, and some of the teams lacked credibility. Notably the inclusion of a side representing New Zealand’s M?ori population, Aotearoa M?ori,
alongside the full New Zealand team, and a Lebanon side consisting entirely of Australians of Lebanese origin, led to derisory comments in the media. The Australians won it,
again, while the home nations fell in the semi-finals. That final hinged on a moment of magic by one man, he will retire on Saturday after this year's Four Nations final, probably with
another trophy to fill his cabinet. Darren Lockyer has been the thorn in British Rugby League’s side for 14 years; there is a feeling that he’s not quite finished yet.
COLIN ADLAND
22 Sport
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Introducing... Korfball In the second of our Introducing... features, The Journal looks at the Dutch sport of Korfball
Class Act Sean Gibson
Joe Frazier
Former world heavyweight boxing champion Sarah McKeand
“KORF-WHAT?” IS THE usual response I get when I tell people I play Korfball. A Dutch mixed-sex ball sport, Korfball is played in 59 countries across the globe. With basic rules including, boys not marking girls (and viceversa) and not being able to shoot into the Korf (3.5m tall post with hoop at the top) whilst being marked, it makes for a fast paced game. Similar to Netball, you cannot move with the ball in your hands, so it is important to create space when you’re free of the ball. I was lured into playing Korfball by the fantastic publicity team at the Sports Fair in 2nd year. Having not joined a club in first year, I was a bit nervous of signing up. However, Korfball was perfect, everyone who started was a complete novice and the older members were very welcoming. With the club being so sociable and fun, I was hooked. Edinburgh University’s 4 teams play in the Scottish League, which is made up of development teams, as well as more experienced teams such as our 1sts and 2nds and St Andrews. We also compete in many
tournaments - our Freshers head down to Nottingham this weekend to take part in a fancy-dress Beginners’ Tournament – and we are hosting the BSKA (British Students’ Korfball Association) Northerns tournament in November, which acts as a qualifying round for Nationals. A highlight of the Korfball calendar is our International Tournament in January where 24 teams from
across Europe come to Edinburgh to compete. The Ceilidh Social in the evening is always a memorable event. The club in general has been doing very well so far this season: Our 1sts recently beat rivals St Andrews in front of a great crowd, Five of our players have been called up for Scotland, and we currently have the highest ranked 3rds team in the UK.
JOE FRAZIER DIED on 7 November 2011, and the sentiments which poured from the boxing community upon this news showed just how exceptional a character he was. He played a major part in a golden age of boxing, winning Olympic gold in 1964 and holding the world heavyweight crown between 1970 and 1973. Big statistics – such as his record of twelve world-title fights and his 73% knockout ratio – stand alongside his retrospectively romantic reputation; a no-nonsense slugger of modest means, fighting through eyesight trouble and a slightly defective left arm that actually produced his signature unstoppable hook. But Frazier’s position as archrival of one of the most charismatic sporting figures in history saw him suffer greatly – both in terms of popularity and acknowledgement, but also personally. The taunts of Muhammad Ali were vicious and resounding. We acknowledge this rivalry as a definition of Joe Frazier the boxer, but often without accepting, firstly,
the achievement of becoming Ali’s arch-rival in the first place. We also do disservice to Frazier when we fail to mention the reciprocal effect. In a different age, Joe Frazier may have been more successful and remembered more fondly. But in facing up to such a titan as Ali, Frazier dug to depths he surely never otherwise would have in order to find the necessary strength. And in this enhancement of his own greatness, Frazier elevated Ali yet further into the stratosphere too. In 1975, Ali and Frazier met for the final time; ‘The Thriller in Manila’ – arguably the most brutal and attritional fight in boxing history. It was supposed to be a stroll to victory for Ali, with Frazier’s career on the wane, but the two went fourteen rounds before Frazier was stopped. Ali described it as the closest thing to death he had ever known. Joe Frazier wasn’t just a boxing great, or an admirable character; he was a man who punched through boundaries of normality, to show us just how far courage and willpower can go.
ARTHUR RICHARDS
SWIMMING
Edinburgh swimmer sets sights on Paralympic Games Scott Quin hopes to qualify for London 2012 after competing against Europe's best in Berlin Gareth Llewellyn Sport editor WARRENDER SWIMMING CLUB’S Scott Quin has trained his sights on reaching the London 2012 Paralympic Games after experiencing the big time with Great Britain. The 21-year-old student from Loanhead has enjoyed a stellar year, smashing three Scottish records and competing at the British Championships and the European Championships in Berlin, where he finished fifth in the final of the 100m breaststroke and set a personal best in the 100m backstroke. Quin competes under the S14 rule, a specific category for participants who suffer from learning difficulties. The former Loanhead Dolphins swimmer also has tunnel vision causing a slight impairment in both eyes. The Journal was the only Edinburgh paper to attend the 2011 Winning Students launch at the Glasgow School of Sport at Bellahouston Academy at the beginning of this month, which confirmed the 122 students across Scotland who will be supported for the next year. Quin first found out about the scholarship, which awards talented athletes with up to £5,500 a year to support their development and training, from Scotland Swimming’s Disability Performance Development Manager Paul Wilson. Speaking to The Journal, Quin said: “Winning Students has supported me
a bit more to buy extra equipment if anything breaks, if I have to travel away to places, and pretty much entry fees, that’s what really hits you. At swimming meets in a year, if you’re doing a lot of weekend competitions,
it comes out of your back pocket.” With London set to host the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, it is no surprise to learn that qualifying for London 2012 is Quin’s main goal. “My goals for the next twelve
months are to work hard in training, improve my strokes, and see if I can sneak in the qualifying times for the London 2012 Paralympic Games,” Quin added. “That’s the main focus, but if I
GARETH LLEWELLYN
don’t qualify, I can start my own fouryear cycle for the next Paralympic Games in Rio.” With his next big meet at the DSE Short Course Championships at Sheffield’s Ponds Forge just weeks away, Quin’s usually punishing training schedule has been scaled down, and despite battling with his disability, the youngster is inspiring as he enthuses about everything he has to do to achieve his aims, which could also include the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow if his event is included. “Typically, I’d train four mornings a week. Mornings I train two hours, three times a week I train three hours in the evening, two hours in the pool, one hour in the gym, but usually two hours.” It’s a schedule which puts your average student athlete to shame, but as well as 6am swimming sessions, Quin is also preparing a fallback career, with a view to becoming a coach or mentor when he finally hangs up his goggles and trunks. “I went and did an intro sports coaching at Telford. I sat down, thought about my swimming, heard about the HN course, and thought if I make a start on doing an HN course, then once I stop swimming, I can easily go onto do coaching. Either in swimming, or get other qualifications, or even branch out and work for Active Schools and see if I can help youngsters to develop to the success I’ve achieved,” he said.
The Journal Wednesday 16 November 2011
Sport 23
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The end of the entertainers? As the sporting universe darkens, Hacker tries to see the lighter side...
THE WORLD OF sport has, it seems, taken a turn for the serious. Everywhere you look there is an allegation of something insidious. The John Terry/Anton Ferdinand saga - punctuated bafflingly by various Chelsea and England alumni proclaiming JT as a “model professional” – carries great resonance. Now racist he may or may not be, but here is a man who’s morals are clearly dubious. Cricket’s nose is far from clean following the sentencing of 3 Pakistani internationals to jail terms after the spot-fixing debacle. As one observer put it “when
Sean Gibson Fury defends Commonwealth title COMMONWEALTH HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION Tyson Fury’s first title defence was a successful one, as he stopped Canadian Nevan Pajkic last Saturday night in his native Manchester. The technical knockout came in round 3 – although the defeated Pajkic was incensed by the referee’s decision to end the bout so early. After a scrappy opening round the 6ft 9ins, 18 stone Mancunian was knocked down in the second by an arching right from Pajkic. In Fury’s words: “It shook up the brain but I need a bit of shaking up to wake up.” His long jab prevented Pajkic from pressing the advantage and in round three roles were reversed, as the Canadian his the mat twice in quick succession, prompting the stoppage. It is a tentative first step on a road that Fury hopes will lead to the world-champion Klitschko brothers
London 2017; Gold Coast 2018 IN THE SAME week that Australia’s Gold Coast won the 2018
Commonwealth Games, London celebrated being awarded the honour of hosting the 2017 IAAF World Championships. Described by bid leader Sebastian Coe as “ the natural continuation of the work being done on 2012 [Olympics],” the 2017 Worlds will take place in the Olympic Stadium, timed around late July to avoid clashes with the football season. Jessica Ennis has already told of how she will now be altering her career plans; the 25 yearold heptathlete – in contention for Olympic gold next Summer – said: “I hope [31] is not too old and there is still some life in my bones.”
Hamilton returns to form in Abu Dhabi MCLAREN’S LEWIS HAMILTON made a long-awaited return to form by winning F1’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last Sunday. Aided by the early retirement of champion Vettel, who had led away from pole yet again, Hamilton still had to resist relentless pressure from Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso. However, to slightly dampen Hamilton’s day, fellow McLaren driver Jenson Button finished third to ensure that Hamilton will finish behind a teammate in the
“crazy” by the British media, Ballotelli has been the feature of many an off the pitch antic. Be it, building a racetrack in his garden, setting fire to his own house or even the surely apocryphal tale of giving £1000 pounds to a homeless person. On the field of play he frequently infuriates by attempting the impossible; however it is this asset, which sets him apart, which makes him compelling, which ultimately keeps the entertainment alive. To misquote a famous computer ad from the 1990’s “here’s to the crazy one, because those who think they can score a backheel from the edge of the area, are the ones who do”. Golf’s Australian Open this past week showed the essence of sport’s
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its participants stop trying, the whole concept of sport is in danger”. While Mike Tindall has effectively been forced into international retirement following his extra-marital nighttime exploits during England’s Rugby world cup campaign. Racism, Fraud, Adultery, if sport echoes society what does that say about the 21st century? Has sport lost its true purpose…to entertain? Well to put it bluntly, no. Far be it for a Hacker article to espouse the positive virtues of the sporting universe, but it doesn’t take long before the stories of the malign begin to grate. Indeed it is for this reason that its not surprising that Mario Balotelli has become such a cult figure. Deemed
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entertainment. John Daly, the world’s number 666 but a 2 time major winner no less, hit 6 tee shots into the same water on the 11th hole and promptly shook hands with the tournament organiser and left. In a world of overtrained, over-paid, unfamiliar sports stars, which weekend golfer couldn’t empathise with that? Here is a professional, providing entertainment not by achieving excellence but by showing traits we can all relate to. That’s why Daly is invited to play in Australia’s biggest Golf tournament and the world number 665 is not. Daly’s exploits are reminiscent of former Tennis player Fabrice Santoro. The ‘magician’ as he was known, retired last year at the age of 37, he has lost
more professional singles matches than any other player in Tennis history. Yet put his name into a popular video-sharing website and a sports fan of any discipline can spend a few hours being entertained. Santoro hit shots no one expected and regularly so, what set him apart was his ability to enjoy himself, after all is that not what sport is all about? The controversies that have blighted sport in the past few weeks are not to be ignored, indeed the seriousness with which the media have dealt with them is commendable. However, from Santoro’s behind the back lob to Ballotelli’s overhead acrobatics, sport continues to amuse, charm and intrigue and long may it do so.