CINEMA - BFI London Filnn Festival, MUSIC - The Wrens interview THEATRE - Heroes IN B:art Beaver 25/10/05 Issue626 The newspaper of the LSESU 8 B:art Competition M Dipl^'m^cy, politics & Blair: Blink interview.ii "I would shoot my gay son" Luca Manfredl, ULU Chair, faces motion of no confidence -though rennains unrepetont for homophobic remarks Elaine Londesborough News Editor The Chair of University of London Union (ULU) Council, Luca Manfredi, incited disbelief last week when he failed, once again, to apologise for homophobic comments he made last year. The issue is likely to result in a motion of no confidence against the Chair at the ULU Council meeting next month. Manfredi, the General- Secretary of UCL Union, made the comments last November on a UCL Union online message board. The remarks centre around his opinions of gay marriage and adoption by gay couples and include his feelings that he is repulsed by the idea that a gay couple could be seen as equal, in the eyes of society and the law, to a mixed sex married couple. Many of the comments have been removed from the site, but the ones that remain include: "I feel terribly uncomfortable with the idea of marrying a woman as a man is supposed to do and having my status as 'married' equal to the one of two men or women in the same union." The issue was bought up at council by an LSE delegate who wanted Manfredi to answer to the ULU community for his remarks in light of the homophobic killing of Jody Dobrowski last weekend. Jason Peachy, who runs the ULU Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) network, was present at the ULU council meeting and read out to those in attendance some of UGM forces sabb salary cut The Beaver News Team The salaries of LSE Students' Union (SU) Sabbatical officers are to be cut by £1,700, effective from next year, due to a motion passed at last weeks Union General Meeting (UGM). David Cole, the proposer of the motion, said "this pay cut has been long overdue but is particularly necessary due to the extra pay increase last year as a result of their previous grade ceasing to exist." He added "LSE Sabbs are the highest paid in the UK. They should be motivated by a desire to improve the student experience, not by high compensation." When Chris Heathcote, SU Communications Officer, took the stage to speak against the motion it was not long before he was booed off in calls for a move to vote. The motion then passed with overwhelming support. The current officers receive £24,912 pa includ- ing London weighting. Next year's officers will be placed on a pay scale such that their pay will probably be £23,212, which includes the standard three percent inflation pay rise. Despite this decrease, LSE Sabbaticals are still paid considerably more than their counterparts at other universities. Oxford and Cambridge Sabbatical officers are, this year, compensated with £15,926 and £11,800 respectively. Last year, at King's College London, across the Strand from LSE, the Sabbatical Officers were paid £16,000. "We've basically been moved from one arbitrary pay scale to another" said Heathcote. "More time should have been taken in determining the change, as we have now been moved to a clerical pay scale, but are managerial staff. Its been suggested that we get paid an 'average LSE salary' but such a salary does not exist." Farhan Islam, SU International Students' Officer, echoed Heathcote's Continued, page 3 the comments Manfredi made: "I would shoot my son if he brought over his gay partner. If my son ever comes to me a male and says ' have discovered am gay and this is my boyfriend Kevin, I'm happy with him.' I would take out a big gun and make sure he will not dishonour my family" Continued, page Luca Manfredi is under threat of a vote of no confidence next month in a ULU Council meeting. We've been expecting you B:Film editor Jami Makan on the new Bond and why Daniel Craig will never live up to the great Sean Conneiy Page 20 Football Three victories, one draw for the mighty teams of the LSE AU Footie club: ists, 5ths, 6ths Tths match reports this week in BeaverSports Pages 24-25 Your Union needs YOU! The Beaver Michaelmas Election Pullout 02 25/10/05 iBeaver Glees report rubbished Patrick MacLeod Culien Professor Anthony Glees' report on student extremism for the right-wing think-tank, the Social Affairs Unit, has come under fire in recent weeks from University Vice-Chancellors for poor research methodology and the integrity of the report. The report claimed that 24 universities across Britain had been found to have extremist groups or individuals on campus, yet its critics have accused it of being based on "anecdotal evidence" alone. As reported in The Beaver two weeks ago, the report claims that the group Hizb-ut Tahir are active at LSE. The School declined to comment when approached by The Beaver. "Vice-Chanceliors have been doing that old McCorthyite thing" Anthony Glees, author of the report Talking to the Times Higher Education Supplement (THES), Professor Rhind, Vice-Chancellor of City University - one of the 24 universities where the report claimed to have detected extremism - stated that linking terrorism to the university was "complete and utter nonsense", and that it was "very bad practice" to do so. Other critics include Universities UK, which declared that the report "appeared to be based on a collection of snippings from the internet with no quality control." The National Union of Students (NUS) issued a statement refuting the report, arguing that: "No evidence is presented to support the view that campus life contributes to students becoming involved in ¦ terrorism", and that it amounted to "unsubstantiated claims" with the potential to "endanger Muslim students by inflaming a climate of racism, fear and hostility, and place a cloud over perfectly legitimate student Islamic societies." Recommendations in the report. When Students 'Turn to Terror, include: limiting the number of ethnic minority students attending any individual university; abolishing the 'clearing' system; forcing all student societies to include academics on their committees; closing down all faith based societies; stationing plain-clothes policemen on campus; and restricting academic discussion to certain topics. In defence of his report. Professor Glees, again talking to the THES, claimed that he had been the subject of a campaign of intimidation and harassment that aimed to discredit him and his report. "Vice-Chancellors have been doing that old McCarthyite thing - they don't like the conclusions, so instead of facing up to the conclusions, they rubbish the research method," he said. ULU Chair homophobic Continued fronn page 1 Controversially, the Chair blocked Peachy twice while he was trying to make his point. He has since apologised in person to Peachy and claims he will also apologise by email. Manfredi told The Beaver: "what I did was entirely inappropriate, I made a big mistake and I "If he really believes these things then we should be concerned about his opinions as they could be just the tip of the iceberg. He probably has equally extreme opinions about abortion and v\/omen's rights." Simon Bottomley LSE SU LGBT Officer can guarantee it won't happen again." Peachy went on to say that he had received many complaints from LGBT students across London and at his own college, Queen Mary's, about the comments made by Manfredi. Simon Bottomley, LSE SU LGBT Officer, told The Beaver that if Manfredi "said this about any group I would be disgusted.""If he really believes these things then we should be con- cerned about his opinions as they could be just the tip of the iceberg. He probably has equally extreme opinions about abortion and women's rights." Bottomley also described the idea that Manfredi would father a child to the age at which he came out then shoot him if he were gay as "unhinged". union and defending myself in ULU." According to Pi, the UCL student newspaper, Manfredi was "disciplined and banned from the message board for a certain period of time." Manfredi contested this point at council and maintained that he was disciplined for an entirely different matter pickle now. In the days following the council meeting, an apology was sent round the ULU delegates from Manfredi: "I apologise profusely and unconditionally to all those who felt offended by my comments." Manfredi will also be standing down from chairing any committees at ULU Manfredi (centre) responding to his critics at ULU council last week LSE SU General Secretary, who was present at ULU council, told The Beaver; "There is no place for these sort of comments from any student let alone an elected official within the University of London, and there can be no justification for intolerant comments such as these previously voiced by Manfredi" Manfredi however, feels that he has apologised enough for his comments, claiming that: "Everything I needed to say in my defence has been said. This issue has been going on both in my union and in ULU and everywhere for a very long time", he told Council. "I defended myself more than enough in my much later in the year. Lucy Gould, UCL Union Finance and Administration Officer however, confirmed to The Beaver that, as far as most students were concerned, Manfredi was disciplined for his homophobic remarks and not any other matter. The Chair's response at the meeting was unsatisfactory to most present. He reiterated much of what he has said in the past by claiming that "these comments have never represented my opinion. They were intended solely for provocation and apparently I have achieved my aim of provoking people and that is why I am in this until the next council meeting at which a motion of no confidence is likely to be brought against him. Ruth Hopkinson, Equal Opportunities Officer for UCL Union, feels that Manfredi hasn't done enough to redeem himself yet. "He ought to apologise more fully, he had no right to make those remarks in or out of office", she said. Manfredi however, felt that the motion of no confidence will not get through. "This matter is important and I have no objection to discussing it, but I don't see how a no-confidence vote has a case as I don't see how I have breached any regulations while in office". Government's visa appeal plans outrage universities Leigh Tong The government's recent proposals in the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Bill, announced in February, effectively remove the right of appeal for international students who are denied visas. Clause 4 of the Bill removes the right of appeal against refusal of initial entiy in respect of international students and Clause 1 of the Bill eliminates the right of appeal against the refusal to extend a visa. The Bill is now at Committee stage. Along with Universities UK, the Association of Colleges, and UKCOSA, the National Union of Students (NUS), condemns the proposals with the launch of a 'lobby week' which commenced last Monday. As part of the 'week', the NUS produced an 'Action Pack' which included sets of actions which students could take. This is just part of the NUS' larger campaign for better treatment of international students. With such a large proportion of foreign students at the LSE, if enforced, this bill will no doubt affect the School's student body. When asked about these proposals, Rishi Madlani, General Secretary of the LSE Students Union told The Beaver "the LSE SU and the School are strongly opposed to any removal of the right to appeal for visas" and "are committed to opposing these segments of the Bill". The British Council's statistics show that there were some 750,000 foreign students in the UK in 2003, who generated £3 billion of income for the country. The Immigration Advisory Service has quoted that of the one third of applications refused, 59 percent were allowed after appeal- ing. Figures from .Sheffield University go further by saying that in 90 percent of the cases it brought, it was either successful or the refusal was withdrawn. This causes serious concern as to the number of legitimate students who will not be able to attend university due to poor management of visas. The proposals, which are "clearly flawed" according to Madlani, run counter to the Prime Minister's Initiative to encourage more foreign students to the UK. International students -who spend a minimum of £10,000 a year in fees and equally as much in living costs - not only benefit the "This move v/ill cost the country at least £30m a year through reduced tuition fee revenue and living expenses" Universities UK country economically, but "also contribute to the educational, cultural and social environment." said NUS International Student's Officer Benson Osawe. Statistics from Universities UK show that this move, coupled with a doubling in the price of visa charges, will cost the country at least £30m a year through reduced tuition fee revenue and living expenses. This raises questions as to the purpose of such a move. Madlani agrees; "with Vice-Chancellors, UUK, UKCOSA and the NUS united against such a policy, the Home Office must rethink parts of the Bill that affect students". iBeaver 25/10/05 03 Sabbs' pay cut, but still best paid in the UK Continued fronn page 1 concern, speculating that with this decrease we would witness a fall in the number of candidates, as international students would be less compelled to run for the positions when the City offers pay of over £10,000 more than what the new pay scale will provide. Such a move, Islam said, is "counter-produc-tive". The savings to the Union would have been around £9,000 this year had the cut been instituted last year. Cole suggested this money could go towards SU services like the Athletic Union or employing an administrator in the Students' Union Advice and Counseling Centre. While proponents of the cut cite the many things the savings could pay for, oth- Mouthing off: Heathcote and Cole go head-to-head ers speculate the university, which funds the Union, would simply deduct the savings from its annual funding of the SU. When asked whether Heathcote would have run for Communications Officer had the cut been passed last year he replied "yes, but the high salary pushes me to go the 'extra Photograph: Alex Teytleboym mile'. I'm less opposed to the figure decrease than to the way the motion was worded and the process by which the decrease was arrived at." Sabb wages: £24,912 LSE £11,800 Cambridge £16,000 King's College SU election season kicks off Elaine Londesborough News Editor_ LSE Students' Union (SU) Elections for General Course Representative were held last week in the Quad. Hustings for the position took place in the UGM on Thursday, with many voicing the opinion that this was rather pointless as the four candidates were likely to be the only General Course students in the room. All said that they would like to tackle this issue and make sure that General Course students were better represented in the Union and the School. Turnout was down from last year, but this is said to be due to the fall in numbers of General Course students overall this year. The winner was Nick Salter, who was widely considered to be the most capable candidate. Salter said: "I am very pleased to represent the General Course students. I was a bit disappointed that the turnout was so low, this is part of my concern, that General Course students don't feel any ownership of the LSE SU. I will work towards improving General Course involvement in the LSE community." Hustings for various other SU elections also took place at Thursday's UGM. These included Honorary President, Honorary Vice-President and Post-graduate Student's Officer. "I will work towards improving General Course involvement in the LSE community" Nick Salter, newly elected General Couse Rep The ballot papers for this week's elections will be crowded to say the least, with 54 candidates standing for the various positions. Court of Governors is the most populous election. with no less than 19 candidates standing for five positions. Various high profile candidates are present, many of whom are suspected to be profiling for the more important Lent term election positions. In several key races competition is intense, with 19 candidates running in the Court of Governors race alone. Fears are also mounting for some after splits emerged in several key slates earlier in the week. Society bloc votes, crucial to victory in the Michaelmas elections, have been split on the left between two moderate camps, while the right have remained highly secretive. In the running for honorary Vice-President are: Admiral Lord Nelson, proposed by Alex George; Andrew Flintoff, proposed by Paul Allen; Thet win Aung, proposed by Joel Kenrick; and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, proposed by Azan Aziz Marwah. Honorary President candidates are; Dr. Babasameb Ambedkar, proposed by Azan Aziz Marwah; Simon Wisenthal, proposed by Dave Cole; A1 Franken, proposed by Cliff Chow; Edward Said, proposed by Salah Mattoo; and Jean Charles de Menezes, proposed by Joel Kenrick. Jean Charles de Menezes campaign fights back Broumley Young calls for justice Photograph: Alex IViytleboym Elaine Londesborough News Editor__ The Jean Charles de Menezes Family Campaign fought ¦back last week after the School remained unrepentant over confusion over the billing of the event. A motion passed through virtually unopposed at the UGM mandating LSE Students' Union General-Secretary Rishi Madlani to write to LSE Events Services and Howard Davies informing them of the motion and suggesting that LSE make a donation money back to the campaign and offers an apology. The Campaign is especially upset over the billing of the event. They allege that they were told consistently they would be given 31 days to pay for the event but were, at the last minute, required to pay in full before the event. According to the Campaign, this change of heart happened after they told LSE that the cam- paign was short of money. Furthermore, the Campaign claims they were charged for stewards despite the School originally being receptive to the idea of the Campaign providing their own. Clem Broumley-Young, the proposer of the motion, told The Beaver: "This motion passing shows the School that lots of students care about this event. It also shows that the School needs to treat events on a case-by-case basis and be less rigid with their regulations where necessary." Union Jack This week's UGM was absorbed by hustings. Firstly we saw the cretinous monkeys standing for General Course Rep. Some idiot whose name was 'Fireman' received ludicrously loud applause every time his surname was mentioned, it's possible the AU found it funnier than everyone else. Another of the nominees may well have been the most American man Jack has ever seen. With a reversed baseball cap and a suitably US accent he bore an orange T-shirt louder than our spade-named returning officer's rather disorganised voice. We then rather pathetically progressed onto the nominees for the Union's Honorary President and Vice President. 'More Tory than Maggie' George, patriotically nominated Lord Nelson. After all, going from port to port has to be worth a vote. Bring back our Urns (Even though I have never seen it) Allen was also present, nominating Fteddie Flintoff. At least it's nice to remind the Union that there is someone more tragic than our Gen Sec. Irritating Azan was twice heckled, once for scandalously putting forward a candidate who fought against Britain in World War II. The right went mad - well madder anyway. Moving on, the UGM progressed with unprecedented pace. Muddled Madlani decided it was vital to get on stage in order to inform the Union to read his report. He sometimes seems more eager to get on the stage than Paul Burrell is to get onto the front page of The Star. After the event Jack did try to read his report only to find that the first paragraph was more of a turn off than the Commimications Officer on a bad hair day. So to the main event. Finally our fat cats pay was cut. Led by the expedient Really old King Cole, who shamelessly plugged the AU vote by promising them more money, the victory was sustained with little struggled. All in all a productive UGM, maybe we should have General Course elections more often, they may not matter, but following their dreaiy electoral falsehoods the Union was spurned on to move through business faster than ever. 04 25/10/05 iBeaver News In brief: Sunday Times extremism Where are the foreign students? Some of the UK's top universities are facing a financial crisis this year as a predicted rise in non-EU students failed to materialise. Although precise figures will not be known until Universities UK release the figures in November, provisional statistics from UCAS show that undergraduates from outside the EU rose by just 0.9 percent. The strong position of the pound, increased competition from the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and the government's decision to change the visa application process, are all speculated reasons for the worse-than-predicted foreign student numbers. Amy Williams Greater support for low Income part-time students Last Tuesday the government announced plans for greater financial support to part-time students from low income backgrounds, while encouraging universities to freely increase part-time tuition fees. There are currently around 500,000 students enrolled in part-time tuition. The extra grants would benefit some seventeen percent of those students. Isabella Steger Blunlcett baclcs out of Lecture David Blunkett, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, this week cancelled a lecture he was scheduled to give entitled "The News we Deserve", on the state of the news media. Mr Blunkett, surrounded by controversy and embarrassed in the wake of relevations of another affair and the airing of a not-so-comple-mentary satirical dramatisation. Patrick MacLeod Cullen Stern dies at age 70 Geoffrey Stem, LSE alumnus and former lecturer in international relations at LSE, died on October 4th from a heart attack. Stem entered the LSE in 1954 and was a lecturer in the international relations department for forty years from 1960 to 2000. Adrian Li allegations rebuked Tanya Rajapakse Further aspertions were last wek cast by the Sunday Times newspaper over LSE students, accusing university societies of stealth recmit-ing to extremist organisations. However, the claims have been firmly rebuked and are widely regarded to have little grounding in reality. The article "'Stealth' Islamists recruit students" by Ali Hussain, claims that the organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir is making its presence felt on campuses including University College London (UCL) and the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) using the Stop Islamophobia! campaign as a front for their activities. According to The Sunday Times newspaper. Stop Islamophobia! stalls were present at some university freshers' fairs asking students to sign a petition against anti-terror legislation. It goes on to say that upon expressing an interest in Hizb ut-Tahrir, arrangements were made for an undercover reporter to meet with a party member, also a student, who explained to the reporter that they were "non-violent but demanded complete dislocation from democracy and British secular values." When contacted for comment regarding the article, former national coordinator of Stop Islamophobia!, Hassan Choudhury, was quick to deny the allegations. He told The Beaver that the idea of recruitment as implied by The Sunday Times newspaper was simply "awful", "wrong" and "untrue". The Sunday Times newspaper suggests that Choudhury is a member of Hizb ut-'Tahrir and also that he wrote for New Civilization, a Hizb ut-Tahrir publication. When questioned about this Choudhury said that he strongly denied any links and stressed that the article itself made it clear that he had denied such connections. Choudhury told The Beaver repeatedly that by publishing an article such as this, both The Sunday Times newspaper and the author of the article, Ali Hussain, were promoting the very islamophobia that their organisation was trying to fight. He said that Hussain "hounded" students and filmed them without their consent, causing many to feel uncomfortable. The Sunday Times article also gives prominence to the report by Professor Anthony Glees of Brunei University which said that "colleges had become breeding grounds for extremists." However in the article "Climate of Fear?" published in The Beaver in week two, the Glees Report was dismissed by LSE SU Education and Welfare Officer, Sian Errington, as being "anecdotal and totally unsubstantiated." Also, as reported in The Beaver this week various Vice-Chancellors across the country have rubbished the report as based on "anecdotal evidence" only. The Sunday Times article comes only weeks after The Beaver exposed mmours that the LSE campus has come under MI5 scrutiny and allegations of reported links between LSE SU societies and extremist groups. Islamic Society fast event draws wide participation ' ¦ I: Muslims praying at the event oiganised by the LSE SU Islamic Society held in the Quad last Thursday Photograph: Neshwa Boukhari Shayaan Afsar and Atif Ali As the clock struck 6.01 PM last Thursday, the call to prayer resonated throughout the Quad, signalling the end of an Islamic Society event challenging LSE's students and staff to last a Muslim fast. Having abstained from food, drink and bad deeds for over twelve hours, hundreds of Muslims and non-Muslims, carrying dates and water, shared the experience of breaking their fast. While Muslims turned in the direction the Kaaba, the House of God, to pray for a few minutes, volunteers served traditional Arabic and South Asian food to their non-Muslim guests. Commenting on the event, an, enthusiastic Joel Kenrick, SU Environment & Ethics Officer, described it as "an excellent initiative of the Islamic Society" and even suggested "doing it for a month next year". Others who fasted include Sian Errington, SU Education and Welfare Officer, who recounted her experience as "being really hard but... quite a positive experience." In the midst of crowds munching kebabs and "A veiy interesting event. There was a very calm and welcoming atmosphere for everyone" Doug Oliver LSE SU Returning Officer chicken wings, there was a speech by the guest of honour, Lord Nazir Ahmed and a stand-up satirical comedy act by an ex-LSE student outlining the plight of Muslims in the UK. Afterwards several non- Muslims were invited on stage to share their experiences of fasting. Lord Nazir Ahmed took the opportunity to highlight one purpose behind the Muslim fast. "The most important thing for me as a human being is that we realise the plight of those who spend days waiting for food, days waiting for water" and added that fasting fostered a greater "understanding of the poor that are victims of the [South Asian] earthquake and makes [people] feel charitable." Other notable attendees included LSE Director Howard Davies and several members of the LSE SU Executive. Speaking of his experience, a rather surprised American student said: "This was the last place I'd expect to have a large Muslim population. I appreciate the hospitality and enjoyed it very much." Douglas Oliver, SU Returning Officer, called it an "a very interesting event. There was a very calm and welcoming atmosphere." The SU Anti-Racism Officer, Raihan Alfaradhi pointed out: "This is one more way in which we can come together and celebrate the diversity of the society we live in." iBeaver 25/10/05 05 Terrorism Bill may affect academic freedom Andrew Thomson The LSE is taking a wait-and-see approach to revised anti-terrorism legislation that some education critics still worry threatens the place of controversial topics such as Middle Eastern or African politics in university teaching. The Terrorism Bill, Bill 55, introduced earlier this month and already stirring debate in Westminster, would make it illegal to produce statements leading to the 'encouragement', 'inducement', or 'glorification' of terrorism. Distributing or sellihg terrorist publications would also be banned under the legislation. According to a statement released by the Association of University Teachers (AUT), topics such as the use of violence in the Middle East, Zimbabwe, or even the animal rights movement are at risk of censorship. The issue has yet to be debated at the LSE's committee level, though a spokesperson said the issue was bound to raise a myriad of reaction among individual professors. "Free debate has long been a feature of academic and student life," the spokesperson said. "It would be contrary to our tradition to seek to introduce a surveillance culture. We await to see how the bill progresses through Parliament." One LSE professor speculated that the anti-terror measures could provoke a backlash against academics dealing with controversial topics, though faculty here are a well-supported and confident bunch. "If there is some flashpoint or heightening of tension, then the risk is the the government and police will be panicked into a response," said Conor Gearty, director of the Centre for the Study of Human Rights. Universities that would need to worry in such a situation are the newer, less established ones, Gearty attests. "The pressure can be extreme, but I think a place like the LSE is pretty secure." The original draft had even called for prosecuting those unintentionally seen as glorifying or justifying terrorism. However, recent criticism prompted Home Secretary Charles Clarke to announce last week that the government would change the proposal. Only those with deliberate intent to incite or glorify terrorism will be at risk, according to the Home Office. Contentious plans for a list of unacceptable historical events to be discussed have also been shelved. The decision was applauded by the opposition parties and other lobbyists. Still, both the AUT and the University & College Lecturers' Union, NATFHE, have expressed their concerns about the proposal. In a statement, the AUT has cited threats to academic freedom and enquiry that could remain under the amended legislation, and are calling on academics to lobby MPs and Peers. Specifically, there are fears that the definitions found in Bill 55 remain too broad even after the revisions. This would continue to leave faculty members at risk, according to Jonathan Whitehead, AUT head of parliamentary and public affairs. The anti-terrorism bill also includes provisions for detaining suspects for up to 90 days without being formally charged. Both Clarke and Prime Minister Tony Blair have defended the measures as vital to British national security following the July 7 attacks this past summer. Photograph: Magnus Aabech Conor Gearty, director of the Centre for the Study of Human Rights, argues that the new Terrorism Bill could restrict academic freedom should tensions arise Patten: we need "bold and bloody resolute Commission" Emma Farge "Lamentable" British leadership of the EU and moves towards greater protectionism are jeopardising the Doha round and future world trade agreements, according to Chris Patten. In a speech entitled, 'Can Europe Be Put Back Together Again?' Patten, former European Commissioner for External Relations, argued that the question hinged upon Europe's efficacy in foreign policy and called for a "bold and bloody resolute Commission." The public lecture was held on Wednesday in a near-packed Old Theatre, following some technical difficulties with ticketing in the Events office. He was scathing about British leadership during the 'bra-wars' this siammer: "I hope Maiidelson's decision (to introduce quotas on Chinese textiles) was a blip. It is a sign of growing protectionism in Europe and presents a grim background for the Doha round. It sends a bad message to the world. We play by the rules but when they do not suit us we try and change them," he said. Deadlock at the Hong Kong round in December looks increasingly likely as states bicker over CAP reform and tariff cuts. Patten said that if an agreement was not reached the chance of concluding a multilateral agreement would be thwarted "for some years". In such an event he predicted a reversion to bilateralism - a move likely to hinder the development of poorer countries. When questioned specifically about the British leadership he was true to the title of his book Photograph: Sid Kamath Speaking at LSE on Wednesday, Chris Patten spoke about Europe and the superficial British Prime Minister published last month, Not Quite the Diplomat. He said, "There is something oxymoronic about the prime minister's approach to policy - he is deeply superficial. He seems to think that making a speech about something solves the problem. This happened in Brussels in July and he thought he had done his job. Go home. Or rather go and stay with Cliff Richards." He also criticised French exceptionalism vis-a-vis globalisation but lumped most of the blame onto the French leader, thereby downplaying the significance of May's referendum result. He called it "a no to President Chirac", adding cuttingly, "one sympathises." Patten said that Europe's big three Britain, France and Germany - faced "existential" questions about the nature of the EU but stressed the importance of realism and efficiency. He said, "I think EU politicians have to accept that we have gone as far towards integration as the electoral market will bear. We have to focus on what we already have to manage and do it better in the future than it has been done to date." According to Patten, this would involve economic reform, greater investment in science and education and a more coherent trade policy with China and India. He also argued the case for European expansion, provided that acceding countries such as Turkey keep to their side of the bargain. And while critical of the Bush administration, Patten urged Europe to think of the US as a partner not a rival in establishing a rules-based system of economic governance. 06 iBeaver Sv____ - A Your Vote counts LSE SU Returning Officer, Doug Oliver needs you! Elections this week - Tliursdoy & Friday As almost anyone reading this article will know, life as a student in London is far from easy, and not least for those of us at LSE. Problems with high living costs, fees, loans, crime, urban angst, visa charges, bus fares and the supposedly apathetic regard LSE has for its students, all serve to make London life less straightforward and salubrious as we might otherwise hope. Many of these problems are intrinsic to London student life, but is there any way that they can be ameliorated? This week, on Wednesday and Thursday, students will have their chance to have their voice heard about the direction they want their Student Union - their primary tool for raising their concerns - to take. SU representation does not and cannot provide an elixir for student woe, but it does provide students their opportunity to express their opinions, so that solutions to important issues can be sought. The power of SU representation is shown by the functions of the positions being elected. Those selected for the Court of Governors, will be expected raise key issues to those who pull strings in the school. Meanwhile, delegates for the academic board will discuss and vote on the key issues regarding exam regulations. The concerns of postgraduate students can be expressed through the postgraduate officer. These elections will not just deal with representation on the everyday issues of LSE life, but also the way that the LSE student voice is projected to the outside world through the NUS and ULU. After LSE students decided to vote in favour of continued NUS affiliation in The ppwer of SU representation is shown by the functions of the positions being elected. These elections will; deal with the wdiy that the LSE student voice is projected to the outside world. It is crucial that it is used March's referendum, it is up to students to ensure that the best possible representation is selected for this year's conference and thus ensure that LSE's continued membership works. The race for "Honorary. President" provides a further opportunity for students to make a statement about the outside world. Students unsure who to support in each race have the opportunity to decide by listening to candidates debate on PuLSE radio on Monday and Tuesday from 4:30 and can see the candidates debate in the flesh on Tuesday in the Quad from 1:30. Candidate manifestoes are also available online and in LSE halls. If students decide all the candidates are inadequate, they can vote to Re Open Nominations. All students have the right to vote, it is vital that they use it and there is no excuse for them not doing so. LSE students are historically amongst the most politically active in the world - as the m limmm archive footage of LSE student sit-ins of 1969 against Dr Walter Adams on BBC online show. Nowadays, students conduct their politics with less zeal and look at their representatives with more suspicion. Though more politically aware than their peers at other Universities, the modern LSE student is on average apathetic: of the 7000 students able to vote in last Michaelmas' election, fewer than 1,100 chose to spend just two minutes marking their ballot in the Quad. This pattern can be changed. For those wanting to have their voice properly heard - be they left or right, ardent hacks or voting virgins - the process takes two minutes, but has implications lasting a year, and it is crucial that it is used. IBeaver 2nd Floor, East Building LSE Students' Union London WC2A 2AE email; ttiebeavet®lse.ac.uk Publistied since 1949. iXECfftVE EDITOR MANAGING EDITOR , BUSINESS MANAGER]" k - news editors i'v Paul Brandenburg; l v Elaine Londesfaorough -i Im- J l k' bunk editors i Steve Gumn»erf * I Alexa Sharpies j I. B:ART EDITOR I p Nastaran Tavakoli-Far l;-; sports editors- ,'-j Jennifer Bush;= ~ ; ¦¦¦; ¦ Ed Calow ^' r graphics editor i Sid Kamath ) ; FILM EDITORS •. I «;,• i;:- • Jam) Makan; • ; Natalie Vassilouthis MUSIC EDITORS ; t % Neshwa Boukhari; Ben Howarth J f'i trrERARY EDITCR 17", Rothna Begum • THEATRE EDITOfl h Joanna Clarke; .< 1 Charlie Hallion ; r VISUAL ARTS EDITOR i Daniel Yates a ABOUT EDITOR Sareth Rees / II Duce mM Manfredi: Trains now running on time Sid Kamafh THE COLLECTIVE - Magnus Aabech; Raifian' Alfaradhi; Atif Ali; Andhaiib Karim; John Bartley; Ruby' Bbavra; Matt Boys; Jess Brammar; Clem Broumle^ Young; Sumit Buttoo; James Caspeil; Simon Chignell; Sal Chowdhury; Dave Cole; Chris Colvin; Owen Coughlan; James Davies; Ali Dewji; Kanan Dhru; Jan Dorroann; Jan Dtiesing; Sian Errlngton; Alex George; Shariq Gilani; Chris Heathcote; Alex HochuH; Stacy-Marie tshmael| Angus Jones; Fabian JosepJi Stephanie KHaw; Ahmad Khokher; Arthur Krebberi Charles Laurence; Adrian LI; Rishi Madlani; Zhanna Makash; Kim Mandeng; Fatima Manji; John, McDermott; Anna Ngo; Doug Olivei^ Laura Parfitt; Rob Parker; Eliot Pollak; Keith Postler; Tanjsi Rajapakse; Dom Rustam; Jal Shah; Matt Sintlair; Marta Skundric; James Stevens; Jimmy Tam; Grace Tan; Sarah Taifior;) Alex Vincent!; Claudia Whitcombr PRINTED BY THE NORTHCLIFFE PRESS If you have v»ritten three or mo.re articles for The Beaver and your name does not appear In th^ Collective, please email; thebmver.editor&lse.ac.uk and you will be added to the list in next week's paper. The Beaver is available in alternative formats. iBeaver 07 IBeaver Editorial The Godfather SAonhedl controversy The irascible Luca Manfredi must go. His continued refusal to acknowledge his culpability for his heinous remarks belies one thing: he wont apologise because he genuinely believes what he said. Among Luca's comedy responses (and according to Manfredi this is an 'apology') were such gems as: "The comments were intended for use against one very restricted group of people.". That, Mr. Manfredi, is precisely the problem. There isnt really any grounds for compromise on these remarks either: they do no less than incite violence and hate. Whether that's supposed to be a joke or not is besides the point. Anyway, you would have to have a pretty morbid sense of humour. At Council Luca was asked no fewer than ten times to 'respond* to his comments. Alas without a forthcoming apology, it is likely that Manfredi will face a vote of no confidence at the next Council meeting. Clutching his rosary beads, Manfredi was clearly peturbed by proceedings last Monday: Flacing the age old problem: recant on earth, bum in hell or die a martyr. At this rate, Manfedi's martyrdom looks set to take place next month. What is more worrying however, has been the deplorable reaction of ULU itself. The organisation has been remarkably slow off the mark. For all its claims to fervently uphold anti-discrimination policies, ULU's response has been lacklustre at best. Indeed, if anything, ULU technocrats did their best to cover up events. After the meeting, ULU Press Officer Symon Hill decided it appropriate to block the Beaver from speaking to Jasoo Peachy - the student who raised the complaint at Council. The apparent reason being to protect ULU's "public face". A clear message must be sent to ULU: Discrimination in any form will not be tolerated. If ULU want to reconnect with students, then Manfredi must go. Fat cat Sabbaticals Overpaid Sabbs Finally sabbatical salaries have been cut: redeeming proof of the real power the UGM has over our elected representatives. Granted it was only a small snip, but our sabbs are now getting a figure closer to what they deserve. We never said it was because they didnt work hard enough - on the contrary, we think they work exceptionally hard compared to other sabbs. But what we did say was that our Union and our students would benefit better from that money going elsewhere. The trick now, is pursuading the School the same thing Correction The Beaver would like to apologise for neglecting to thank Diva & Dream pictures for kindly donating the Allen Ginsberg Live in London DVD's which we featured in a competition in issue 624. Letters to the Editor The Beaver offers all readers the right to reply to anything that appears in the paper. Letters should be sent to thebeaver.editor@lse.ac.uk and should be no longer than 250 words. All letters must be recieved by 3pm on the Sunday prior to publication. The Beaver reserves the right to edit letters prior to publication. Justice for Jean Dear Sir, In the UGM this Thursday the students passed a motion effectively condemning the school's actions in charging the "Justice for Jean" campaign £1200 for an evening room booking; for being very unhelpful to the campaign, demanding payment in two hours rather than the 30 days normally given and not giving the 10% discount normally given to charities or similar causes. Given the support in the UGM, it is now even clearer that the article on the Beaver's front page "Anger over cost of campaign launch" was extremely biased in favour of the school. The Stop the War Coalition Chair contacted the Beaver with the entire email correspondence between the Conferences office and the Justice for Jean campaign. He also sent the Beaver statements from the campaign. Despite this, the Beaver failed to mention any facts seen in the correspondence or a statement from the campaign and instead chose to quote verbatim the school's justification for its lack of help and rigidity. When the Chair approached the Beaver, he was informed that the News editors never read the two emails he sent them. Since in the UGM this Thursday the Union condemned the school's actions, the Beaver's unbalanced reporting has become absolutely untenable. The News editors have already apologised in person for being negligent. We believe that an apology to their readers is also in order. Signed, Dave Cole, UGM Chair Benjamin Biggs, Chair of LSESU Lib Dems Clem Broumley-Young, Vice-Chair of LSESU People and Planet The Chair of LSESU Stop the War Coalition The Chair of LSESU Green Party Kut the Krebbers Dear Sir, Arthur Krebbers' article lambasting the Secular Society was incorrect and incoherent. How can it be said that Secsoc is at odds with "union culture", despite a large membership and the passing of our motion on the Religious Hatred Bill in the UGM? Indeed, how did our group of "offensive" "evangelising atheist'[s]" get the backing of the Christian Union on this motion? The element we found most shocking, however, was the implication that in the name of being "inclusive", societies should engage in self-censorship, to the extent that for the CU to warn us of the "fires of hell" would be beyond the pale. If the CU publicised their society by explaining how the bible condones the stoning of rape victims (Deut22:24) and witches (Lev 20:27) then we would defend their right to take that position, while arguing that such passages in "holy" books show religion to be an anachronism. For what is the alternative? That Krebbers and other self-appointed guardians of inclusivity tell us what to think. As for the main argument of the article, Krebbers argues that because certain types of religion are compatible with secular politics (this is true) there is no intellectual overlap between secularism and atheism (manifestly false). Having aired these thoughts on secularism, perhaps Krebbers could do the religious societies the favour of explaining which parts of their holy books are so offensive that they should never be uttered in public. We would be interested to know their response". The LSE SU Secular Society Committee Dear Sir, In 'The Sec Soc spectacle', Arthur Krebbers writes that 'the spiritual and religious societies of the SU flourish thanks to their positive, respectful and inclusive nature'.This secularist would beg to differ: religion is inherently illiberal, disrespectful and exclusive. Of course, we secularists disagree on how forcefully to point out the hypocrisy, harm and hate-fulness of religion. In this country and student union, for now, we may do so freely. The only society which allows for the peace- ful co-existence of the spiritual and religious societies and their members is secular. Sarah Taylor Secular UGM Dear Sir, Your coverage of the UGM motion on the Religious Hatred Bill (Issue 625, October 18th) was both lacking in substance and seriously ignorant of the arguments used against the bill. Your article refers only to the arguments for and against the Bill in Parliament without mentioning the arguments of some that the motion itself was flawed and fallacious. Meanwhile, Union Jerk [sic] chimes in [with] his superficial brand of empty insults to top off your coverage. I objected to the Motion not only because its proponents ignored the communities at threat, but also because their arguments against the Bill were filled with fallacy. You ignore our arguments that religion and race are of the same ilk in parts of the world. To take India as an example: Religion is an indicator not of personal philosophy but of communal ties. It represents your family and your links with the community. They distracted from the real argument of what it is to incite religious hatred by comparing such an act with insulting or even disagreeing with major religions. I myself do not support the legislation in Parliament, but I seriously object to the attempt to ignore the safety and concerns of minorities in this country. The Beaver managed to discuss the matter with the Atheists and Christian Union. Your paper did not bother to contact me, nor did they attempt to contact the representatives of the Indian, Pakistani, Sikh or Hindu Societies. If you had you would have discovered that we are deeply opposed to the arguments and Motion put forward against the Bill. Please do not let this be a sign that the Beaver, like Union Jerk, only has "the eloquence and passion of the Library lifts during a power cut." Signed, LSE SU Representative of the Indian Society LSE SU Representative of the Hindu Society LSE SU Representative of the SIkh-Punjab Society LSE SU Representative of the Pakistan Society Azan Aziz Marwah Shell in Dear Sir, I, 'the undersigned', find myself rather alarmed at the appearance of the 'LSESU Scots Society President' giving his support to the 'oil is bad' letter printed last week ; perhaps he's a little too out of his shell. If I were to attack the letter on its merits, I would point out that the gentlemen concerned are grossly mistaken to suggest that Shell would have dumped their oil platforms in the North Sea had it not been for the lobbying from Greenpeace. It is indeed true that Shell withdrew from their plans to sink the Brent Spar; but to suggest that this was thanks to the successful lobbying of Greenpeace is absurd. Their campaign was misleading as to the environmental effects of the dumping, and have admitted to such; they accepted that their claims were inaccurate and issued a public apology. In future campaigns they found their credibility damaged, and this was in no way a victory for Greenpeace. My issue, however, runs deeper. Although Mr Broumley-Young may feel a rather personal alarm about Shell (and I would imagine other such oil companies) advertising in the Beaver, I doubt that he speaks on behalf of the Scots Society in his speaking out about it. Just a little bit of common sense, and the fact that the Scottish economy is driven by our oil companies, should tell you so. If lib-dem-clem wishes to support his buddies in their letter writing escapades, I suggest simply that he signs in his own name... unless of course this Scots Society business is nothing more than desperate title-seeking! Signed : Godfather of Scots Society the LSESU 08 25/10/05 iBeaver BlinkPolitics Eyes to the left Blink Columnist Bedtime Tories A spectre is haunting Westminster - the spectre of Thatcherism. While the 'Iron lady' celebrated her 80th birthday last week, the Conservative Party has been attempting to elect a leader that might actually win them an election. For the Left this is not a particular concern, but after Thatcher was dumped from office 15 years ago, the fact that her ideology still runs deep through both major parties is bad for democracy. The common themes of disdain for anything public sector, licking the boots of big business and a fundamental lack of concern for the poorest in society means that the Tories will be doomed to opposition without any proper policy overhaul. The question is why does New Labour get away with it? When asked what her greatest legacy was, Thatcher herself retorted, "New Labour." This was in 1997. But the only reason that the Labour Party has put up with Blair's own brand of neo-Thatcherism is because it mistakenly assumes that it is what has kept it in power for so long. This leaves the Tories with very little room for manoeuvre. About to elect their fifth leader, the Tories still don't seem to offer anything new, different or desirable for young British people. When one looks at the contenders for the leadership, this problem becomes patently clear. 'Big beast', Ken Clarke is in bed with the tobacco lobby and regards paramedics as merely 'professional drivers'; David Davis is pro-capital punishment and applies a typically conservative, "I rose above it, why can't the rest of you" attitude to those on the council estate that he left behind, whilst Old Etonian David Cameron, described by many as more Blairite than Blair, was vehemently pro-top up fees and the Iraq War. More evocative is the inter-candi-date mud-slinging that saw apparatchiks attempting to out Liam Fox as gay, and David Cameron as a cocaine user, in order to gain the edge for their contenders. This serves only to highlight the moralising and puritanical composition of the Conservative Party membership with whom the leader-elect must connect. None of this, however, will change the fact that the Tories offer nothing to a youthful and modern Britain. All Tories can hope to do is ape New Labour's own manifesto - itself a pick-and-mix of fudged neo-Thatcherite policies, with a sprinkling of social conscience. Whilst the future of the Conservative Party looks grim, it remains a fundamental problem within our democracy that Her Majesty's Opposition is unable to offer any real contest to New Labour's policies, and force the Government to reconnect with the working people that they claim to represent. Until the Tories ditch their Thatcherite past, we are unlikely to see any halt in Labour's drift to the right, but nor will the Tories need to prepare for Government in the imminent future. The future's fairer. The future's PR. Andy Hallet explores the potential ups and downs of the introduction of proportional representation. Since the Labour Party won a far from convincing election victory last May, with barely 20 percent of the electorate voting for a party which then received 55 percent of seats in the Commons, much debate has been undertaken as to whether proportional representation should be used to democratise the UK's clearly unfair electoral system. However, while many forms of PR would undoubtedly be fairer, its use would throw up a whole host of new problems that would need to be dealt with. Despite these issues, the tempting possibility remains that politics would become more consensual and less overtly adversarial as a direct result of a more legitimate parliament where consensus is necessary for passing legislation. In its purest form, PR simply translates parties' percentage of the national vote into seats in parliament. The 2005 election would have seen Labour, the Tories and the Lib Dems with 228, 209 and 143 seats respectively - thus a large crack at Labour's tally to the great advantage of the third party, while the Tories gain just 11 more seats than they did in reality. Therefore, it is not hard to understand the Liberal enthu- siasm for PR and Labour's resistance. The matter is being sadly seen through party-political eyes, rather than any democratic yearning. Under the current first-past-the-post system, last May saw the average winning vote for Labour candidates to be 26,906 in comparison with 69,633 for the Lib Dems. Hence smaller parties tend to pile up votes, which ulitmately count for nothing if the seat is not won by their party. However, a parliament based simply on seats to votes would '...the tempting possibility remains that politics would become more consensual and less overtly adversarial as a direct result of a more necessary for passing legislation.' break the apparently sacred constituency link, as most variants of PR require things like closed party lists (as in the European elections in the UK) and there would always be at least a few cases where seats were not won locally, but were given to one t Could our democratic system be fairer? legitimate parliament where consensus is party as the system demands. For example, the author's current home of South Islington and Finsbury was narrowly won by Labour with a thousand or so votes over the Lib Dems, but under PR would probably be assigned to the latter. Most damningly, hung parliaments would become frequent. Indeed, at every single election since 1945 neither Labour or the Conservatives has had a majority of the popular vote. In 1951, the Tories managed to"win" the election with less votes than the Labour Party. Unstable government has been a recurring feature in countries which employ PR, such as Israel and, most recently, Germany. In fact, both countries' histories have shown how the far-Right can gain seats through a PR-based electoral system, which they would not in the UK. However, this can be solved somewhat using, as Germany does, a threshold of say 5 percent in the popular vote before seats can be allocated. In addition, elections can be PR-based rather than completely proportional, using things like Ireland's Single Transferable Vote (STV), which uses larger constituencies and orders of preference so as to create a more representative parlia- 'Ultimately the balance may have to lie between the two extremes; of fairness with possible weakness and strong government with millions of wasted votes, the latter current-fy being the UK system _but, one hopes, not forever.' ment, but also stable government. Ultimately, the balance may have to lie between the two extremes of fairness with possible weakness, and strong government with millions of wasted votes, the latter currently being the UK system but, one hopes, not forever Political Digest Demise of a dictator 19/10/05 by Yee To Wong Last Wednesday, Iraq's former president Saddam Hussein went on trial in Baghdad for crimes against humanity, almost two years after he had been discovered in hiding. Saddam was charged with ordering the execution of more than 140 men and teenage boys from Dujail, a mostly Shiite town 55 kilometres north of Baghdad. Allegedly the victims were seized by secret police and subsequently murdered after a failed assassination attempt of Saddam when he was visiting the town in 1982. Brought to the dock behind white metal bars, Saddam refused to give his name when asked by one of the judges. "I won't answer to this so-called court," chanted Saddam. "Who are you? What are you? The occupation is Ulegitimate," and added, "I retain my constitutional rights as the President of Iraq." As predicted, he pleaded not guilty to the charges. The trial was adjourned and will resume in late November, in accordance with the wishes of Saddam's lawyers to acquire more time for preparation. However, the chief judge explained that the postponement was mainly due to failure of witnesses to show up. This.trial is the first in a series that Saddam may face over the atrocities that he committed dur- ing the 24 years of his presidency. The extensive list of crimes Saddam has been accused of includes the Anfal campaign in 1988, which ended with the execution of at least 80,000 Kurds, and the suppression of the Shiite revolt in 1991, which resulted in more than 100,000 deaths and the forced disappearance of tens of thousands of people. The court Saddam appears before - the Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal - is a national court, as opposed to the international tribunals for the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone. Consequently, a combination of intemational-^nd domestic criminal law is being applied. During the trial, Saddam will sit in front of a three-judge panel. There is no jury, but instead a team of investigative judges who do all the fact-gathering, decide which charges to press, and then refer them to the panel, ^ which calls and quizzes the witnesses.-- Some human rights watch-groups have doubted whether Saddam would receive a fair trial under such a system. Reasonable judgment is not the basis for conviction: Saddam could be found guilty if the judges are "satisfied" with the evidence presented against him. Also, the death penalty may be imposed by the Tribunal. This is in blatant opposition to international tribunals where the death penalty is not permitted. Many human rights activists have attacked the impartiality of the Tribunal, which works under the counsel of the US-based Regime Crimes Liaison Office. They accuse the judges: of being political pawns and of degrading international standards of fair judicial process. The trial continues. iBeaver 25/10/05 09 BliiikPolitics Sino-Japanese scar is still a fresh wound Adrian Li suggests that I some things will just . never go away. Two weeks ago, Ms Winsy Ng wrote in "Japanese apologies can cure Sino-scar" that so long as Japan will admit to its wartime past, bilateral ties between these two Asian Powers will improve. I suppose it was ironic that the following weekend, Mr Koizumi paid his annual visit to theYasukuni Shrine. I find it rather simplistic to assume that a simple apology will cure all wounds, and that China needs to move on and not allow nationalism to continually harm bilateral relationships between the two most crucial powers in East Asia. I suppose Chinese students will clamour to revoke my membership in the Chinese race if I say that that they need to look at the situation with calmer heads. The Nanjing Massacre did exist and other atrocities did happen. The Japanese do need to admit and come to terms with their past. However, since the 1970s when Japan moved to normalise diplomatic relations with China, Japan has been pumping billions of dollars into the Chinese economy through development aid as a form of 'pseudo compensation' to repair ties. Japanese politicians, constrained by the Asian notion of 'face' have gone as far as they can politically be willing to apologise by expressing sorrow. Let us make clear a few things as well. First, the Japanese textbook in question is one of a list of seven or eight authorized by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology every four years. Under the Japanese system, local school authorities determine whether the new textbook is to be used in district classrooms. Only a small fraction of the total in Japan, 77 to be exact, has adopted the textbook in question. Second, Koizumi's annual _'This generation of young Japanese will see their counterparts in China treg^ their riation as an evil nation and they surely will feel victimised a rid w^^ to react, turning this into a _situation of ever _worsening ties.' visit to theYasukuni Shrine is to honour all of Japan's war dead since 1869. The shrine was never meant to be the 'General Tojo memorial shrine' specifically to glorify Class A war criminals. It is a religious institution that remains privately funded and Mr Koizumi is perfectly free to visit it. The issue is not about the Japanese textbooks or Mr Koizumi going to Yasukuni Shrine, but an assertion of Chinese nationalism. And Japan happens to be the most convenient target. All this is part of the Chinese government's appeal to nationalism to prevent the people from venting their frustrations at the increasingly uneven and unequal distribution of wealth and income disparities. The availability of an outside state for the population to focus their anger on is crucial. That state happens to be Japan. Supposing Mr Koizumi or any future Japanese government does apologise, I do not think that Chinese hostility towards Japan will end. This 'Sino-scar' will continue because two strong states will continue to grapple for regional hegemony. The Chinese will continue to find another issue from the past to browbeat Japan. It will be more dangerous because as the Japanese become more detached from its wartime past, it will embolden Japan to reassert its strength as a normal state with a normal military. This generation of young Japanese will see their counterparts in China treat their nation as an evil nation and they surely will feel victimised and want to react, turning this into a situation of ever worsening ties. I* future, only the past happening over and aene O'Neil. 'There is no present or future, only t over again - now' - Eugene O'Neil. Authoritarian Revolution The Anti-terrorism Bill 2005 Lisa Cunningham worries I about what Tony Blair considers a terrorist. It's late. You've been in the library all day. You want to get home and have some dinner. The tube's stuffy and your backpack is heavy, packed with books. This will be a common scenario for many as term progresses, I presume. There is one sickening differentiation between us students, however. If we are not white, we are under suspicion for being Muslim, holding fundamental beliefs and worse, carrying a bomb. At present, I trust Londoners not to be bigoted enough to make these assumptions. If the government's new counter terrorism Bill is passed, however, I believe a consequence could be this type of extreme paranoia and racism. If this proposed legislation makes it to the statute books, minorities will suffer. It would take a fool to suggest that Muslims would not be targeted disproportionately. Society should always strive to even out any inequalities, not create greater cleavages. What is more, race relations will become increasingly strained. Since the introduction of the first Race Relations Act in 1965, a great deal of progress has been made in reducing discrimination and easing tensions. Let us not brush this achievement aside so fleetingly. It is precious. It is right and just for a person not to be disadvantaged due to the colour of their skin. The most contentious feature of this Bill, however, is an extension to the period terror suspects can be held without charge: an increase from two weeks to three months. This is border line internment. It is essential to grant a fair trial to a suspect promptly fol- lowing arrest. Otherwise, the state is at liberty to detain individuals without good cause. Would you be happy being incarcerated for three months without disclosure of the evidence against you or the opportunity to defend yourself? This is an assault on a basic human right that we should expect in any democratic society: the right to be free from unjust persecution. If we allow our civil liberties to be taken from us then we allow the terrorists to win. Such a victory should never be granted those that use bombs and bullets rather that dialogue and debate to achieve their political goal. I understand this is a tense time. London, Madrid and Bali have all been subject to atrocious attacks recently. But, we cannot allow fear to result in knee-jerk legislation. A rushed law is an ill-thought-out law. For example, the wording of this bill is suspiciously vague. It will be an offence to 'indirectly encourage' terrorism. This is an unfair curtailment of freedom of speech. Of course, encouraging terrorism is wrong, but what does 'indirectly' constitute and how will it be interpreted? Would Cherie Blair have fallen foul of this law when she claimed to have understood the motivations of suicide bombers in Palestine when their situations are so desperate? Finally, we must question Tony Blair's motives. Is this a lame duck prime minister desperately seeking a war legacy, at worst illegal and at begt unpopular ? Blair's wish to be remembered for protecting the citizens of the UK. If this Bill is passed, however, he will not make his mark in British history by safeguarding ordinary people, but by disregarding the right to be treated equally before the law, the right to unjust persecution and the right to free speech. This government's authoritarian revolution must be stopped. Otherwise, you could be that person on the tube under suspicion for carrying a heavy bag full of books. South Korea This week. The Independent reported the story of the latest South Korean pop sensation - ! 'Lady'. This band has four members; Shinae, 29, Sahara, 25, Binu, 22, and Yoona, 21. "These four artists can dance, perform and have looks that other women would die for. However, there is something particularly distinctive about 'Lady' - this is the fact that none of its members began life as women. Indeed, the already successful singers of 'Bbxy Lady* are the ^ nation's first transgender pop ; group and are taking Asia's traditionally conservative music" I The right approach Charles Lourence Divorcing the NHS When the Empire abruptly walked out on us after World War Two, Britain needed a new partner to fulfil the aspirations and sentiments of the post-war generation. And, as luck would have it, a new man was lurking just around the comer. His name was NHS, and he combined ideals of decency, compassion and equality that had become so important to our post-imperialist country. Fifty years on, we are locked in a failed relationship with the same man but, as with the Empire, we have invested so much of what it means to be British in him and are so fearful of what would come afterwards that we have ignored the obvious facts that point to an irreparable breakdown. But what are these facts? Cancer care is a good example of the institutional failure of the NHS. In this area we spend more on it then any other European country (182 eOTOs per person per year) and yet have the worst survival rates in Western Europe. If you are ill, you would have a better chance in Holland that spends 94 euros or Spain that spends 92 euros, even Albania has more favourable statistics. In a monolithic system like the NHS, hospitals follow targets that are innately flawed in someway and lead to ridiculous outcomes. Like the delay in the supply of the drug Capecetabine, which is cheaper in reality than its less effective replacement 5-FU, but more expensive by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence's "one-size-fits-all" measure. In competitive markets for healthcare, there is only one target, the health of the patient, and these bizarre situations do not exist. NHS apologists need to answer this question, why has no other country copied our state monopoly model? It has been around for 50 years, and yet all other countries, including far more socialist economies, like France and Germany, stick to the mixture of public and private provision. The argument that the 'faimeSs' of the NHS is its saving grace is absurd. Income Tax makes up for only 25 percent of Treasury receipts; it is taxes like fuel duty, alcohol duty and VAT that fund the NHS. The poorest are forking out the most for a compulsory service that fails them. And even if the NHS were incompetent but fair, to defend it would be the worst excess of a perverse left wing ideology; namely that it does not matter if far more people are dying under our system, as long as eveiyone is dying equally. But our sclerotic grip on the NHS continues and has indeed been strengthened by New Labour with their attempts to impose private provision from the top down. Their Private Finance Initiatives are a fiasco, bringing all the downsides of big business with none of the benefits of competition. This has confirmed so many people's fear of the private sector. True competition comes from true patient choice, a choice between different providers who compete and innovate. The NHS cannot deliver what Britain requires; we need to get a divorce. 10 25/10/05 iBeaver " — ^1^ Politics The future of mass destruction Joshua Hergesheimer explores the future of the nuclear threats facing the planet. S Ambassador John Bolton last week stepped up his rhetoric over Iran's alleged WMD program. America claims that Iran has been pursuing covert nuclear developments in violation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). For its part, Iran claims to have no such aspirations, saying that it simply seeks nuclear technology for ciyiii.aii.pu4i>os^^ , li^lietfier t'KI'fe* claims are struthful or not ^is undoubtedly. Important. Every nuclei wesROii: poses a worldwide security risk. ¦However,.the US criticism of Iran & curious indeed. The allegation that Iian is attenipting to pro-dtice nuci®t weapons in violation of the NPT requires a deeper exploration of the actual terms of the treaty than is often provided ^b^rtxaiSstream media coverage. ^^^EWfffed in the'1960s, the NPT divided states into two cate- gories: the nuclear haves and the have-nots. By becoming signatories, the have-nots demonstrated 'Every nuclear weapon poses a worldwide security risk. However, the US criticism of Iran ]s curious indeed. The allegation that Iran is attempting to produce nuclear weapons in violation of the. NPT requires a deeper exploration of the actual terms of the treaty than is olten ____provided ...^ their intention not to pursue nuclear weapons, thus addressing the danger of 'horizontal proliferation' - the spread of nuclear weapons to other countries. However, Article IV of the NPT also imposed obligations on nuclear states to work towards the reduction and eventual elimination of their nuclear stockpiles. This section of the NPT highlighted the issue of 'vertical proliferation' - the quantitative or quantitative increase of weapons in the nuclear states. In other words, the aim of the NPT was to stop nuclear weapons spreading as well as to completely abolish stockpiles of weapons in nuclear states. For those aware of America's nuclear program, therefore, the -^Saqsition seems somewhat paradoxical; while drawing attention Iran's alleged non-compliance, the US is - not surprisingly -silent about the fact that their contixiugd possession of nuclear weapons is a direct violation of tHeNPT. America currently possesses at least 10,000 nuclear weapons. more worryingly, the Federation of American Scientists reports that the US aims to develop a new generation of weapons. These 'mini nukes' would have a lower yield and smaller blast radius, conceivably allowing them to be deployed in ordinarily non-nuclear combat situations. Therefore, using the NPT to '...there is nothing to be gained by perpetuating an obsolete Cold War approach to the nuclear question. There is,, however. everything to lose.' accuse Iran may not be the most logical approach. By failing to take meaningful steps' towards disarmament while consideniig the development of new weaponry, America has itself demonstrated little interest in fulfilling its treaty obligations. We all lose when nuclear proliferation occurs, either horizon-; tally or vertically. If the US wants Iran to follow the NPT, then they must lead by example. Since the perceived necessity for nuclear weapons stems more from a sense of insecurity rathei* than any specific strategic bene-; fits (as the nuclear rivalry: between India and Pakistan makes clear), the US would do: better to provide security guaran-: tees to non-nuclear countries while beginning to decommission its absurdly large and tactically useless nuclear arsenal. Today, when the primary threat of nuclear warfareis either accidental (a mistaken launch would lead to total war) or the work of terrorists (in which casfe attacking a transnational net^ work of non-state actors with; nuclear weapons is clearly untenable), there is nothing to be gained by perpetuating an obsolete Cold War approach to the nuclear question. There is, however, everything to lose. America's excessive optimism USELESS Klaus Brosamie argues that US flag-waving won't solve the world's problems. When economist Geoffrey Sachs held a public lecture in St. Paul's Cathedral the Tuesday before last, it may have been the venera-bility of the venue, packed with hundreds of people impatient to listen to the promising words of the development and poverty guru, which led him to declare the event as historic. 'Extreme poverty can be eradicated! It can be halved by the year 2015! And, today history is being written because we all make it happen.' Unfortunately, it appears that Geoffrey Sachs' words were rather inspired by his naive pragmatism, and are unlikely to be proven right. Professor Geoffrey Sachs, currently at Columbia University, surely belongs to the most influential economic advisors of the world. Kofi Annan as well as countless heads of states from Latin America, Eastern Europe and Asia have adopted and still listen to his ideas and concepts. The most recent project of the former IMF economist is the foundation of the interdisciplinary Earth Institute, which brings together leading scientists from various disciplines to address one major topic comprehensively and from many perspectives: poverty. The encouraging results that the Institute's white collar work force has come up with basically states the following: with less than 0.7 percent of the OECD countries' GDP, which is the promised level of foreign aid to be spent annually, one could solve the most fundamental problems of the world's poor. Malaria, insufficient transportation, a lack of communications infrastructure and low agricultural productivity can be overcome by distributing chemically treated fly-nets and fertiliser, building highways through Africa and setting up wireless communication technology and water supply systems. Sachs' message of 'problem, recipe, treatment' indeed is appealing. His motivating conviction to success inspires badly needed optimism amongst other actors working on improving things for the poorest of the world. However, his popular pragmatism neglects two dimensions of the poverty problem: history and complexity. As for history, oil wells were drilled in the '60s and '70s throughout Africa, creating easily accessible water sources in some spots, while turning kilometres around them into artificial deserts of diy land. How can an interdisciplinary Earth Institute oversee this? Roads were built in the past. The money destined for their maintenance was spent on beautifully decorated driveways leading to the ruling classes' resi- The poverty challenge. dences, if it was spent on roads at all. Sachs explicitly dismisses corruption as not being an major obstacle to his plan. Regarding complexity there were countless examples of countries being inundated with subsidised treatments (most famously condoms). Education is also needed, which requires long-term involvement rather than Sachs' preferred shock-therapies. In general, one must accept that every cure for any of the mentioned illnesses ranging from bad infrastructure to medical care have to provide a sustainable solution. For a critical listener who has history and the complexity of achieving sustainable improvements in mind, Sachs' lecture will have given rise to yet another occurrence of an uneasy feeling about the naivety of American pragmatism."Let's bring freedom to Iraq, now!' 'Let's halve extreme poverty by 2015! It can be done!" Can itt Really? iBeaver 25/10/05 11 aw The law against terror? |Hina Majld explores the wording of the Government's new Terrorism Bill. The government's pledge to rewrite the 'rules of the game' following the recent terrorist attacks began in earnest with the introduction of its controversial Terrorism Bill. The government claims that the legislation is necessary to protect the safety and liberty of citizens in the UK. Critics however maintain that elements of the Bill go too far and risk endangering democratic freedoms whilst doing little to enhance safety. The most contentious aspect of the Bill is the proposal to extend the maximum limit for pre-charge detention to three months in terrorism cases. The length of pre-charge detention was originally limited to seven days but was increased in 2003 by the Criminal Justice Act. The government assert that the new measure reflects concerns expressed by the Association of Chief Police Officers who claim that a three-month period of detention is necessary due to the globalized nature of terrorist movements and their use of sophisticated technology and weaponry, which in turn necessitate international police operations, decryption of large amounts of data and sophisticated forensic examinations, all of which take significant time. Critics claim that the measures go too far. They maintain that if the difficulties identified by the police exist, more proportionate alternatives could, and should, be explored. Tagging, curfews and reporting requirements are just some of the suggested alternatives in place of lengthy detention. Critics state that the proposal in its present form reverses principles that have been embedded into the British legal system over centuries. They question its compatibility with the right to liberty and security under Article 5 of the Human Rights Act which requires individuals to be brought promptly to trial, and also point out that no other EU state allows for pre charge detention on the same scale. The maximum period in and use of radioactive devices and facilities. Perhaps the most controversial of these are the proposed offences of encouragement of terrorism and dissemination of terrorist materials. Under the Bill it will be an offence to make a mm Tony Blair in Parliament debates the government's new Terror Bill. Prance is 4 days and in Spain it is 13. Further disquiet has been expressed about the numbers of innocent individuals likely to feel the weight of the new measures. A Study in 2004 by the Institute of Race Relations established that of the 609 arrests made under anti terror laws since 2001, a total of just 15 convictions were secured. Further concern has been expressed about the hostility that these and other meastures contained within the Bill will foster amongst the Muslim community. The concern is that Muslims will not only withdraw their much needed co-operation in counter terror initiatives, but that the measures contained within the Bill will achieve the very antithesis of what it seeks to achieve by exacerbating the tensions and antagonisms that underlie terrorism. Oppressive anti terror measures, together with the climate fostered by them, they assert, are widely acknowledged to have been one of the most effective recruitment mechanisms for the IRA in the 1970's. The Bill creates a number of new offences including encouragement of terrorism, dissemination of terrorist materials, preparation of terrorist acts, training for terrorism, attendance at places used for terrorist training _'It will also be an offence to distribute, circulate, sell or lend any terrorist publication that either directly or indirectly induces commission, preparation or insti-gation of terrorism or offers any assistance to the commission and preparation of [terrorist] acts. written, spoken or visual statement or lead someone else to do this, if, at the time of making the statement an individual has reasonable grounds for believing that members of the public to whom the statement is made are likely to understand it to be encouragement to inciting or inducing terrorism; and that the public could be reasonably expected to conclude from this that the act should be emulated. It is entirely irrelevant whether any member of the public goes on to commit an offence as a result of the statement, nor whether the statement even refers to commission preparation or instigation of terrorism. It will also be an offence to distribute, circulate, sell or lend any terrorist publication that either directly or indirectly induces commission, preparation or instigation of terrorism or offers any assistance to the commission and preparation of such acts. The aim of the offence is to criminalise authors and disseminators of terrorist materials. Again, as with the offence of encouragement, whether the contents of a publication are deemed to encourage terrorism will depend on the likely understanding of some or all of those people reading it. Both offences attract a maximum prison sentence of seven years and/or a fine. There are a number of defences, which are aimed to protect Internet service providers and newspapers that do not know of or endorse the publication. Critics of both measures point out that there is already a raft of legislation criminalising- incitement to commit criminal acts, membership of proscribed organizations, incitement of terrorism through written and electronic publications and collection of any information useful to terrorism or possession of any article for the purpose of terrorism. They maintain that the latest measures are unnecessary additions to what is already comprehensive legislation. There is also widespread disquiet about the manner in which criminal standards, in particular the need to establish criminal intent, is inapplicable to these offences. Further criticism has been levelled at the broad and imprecise wording of the offences that will make it difficult to establish in advance the kinds of acts that could be caught by the Bill. It is feared that this ambiguity together with the threat of imprisonment will stifle and impede free speech and writing. Finally, the Bill contains measures to widen the grounds upon which groups can be proscribed. The proposal is to proscribe groups who glorify terrorism. Presently only organisations concerned with terrorism (i.e. committing/participating in acts of terrorism, preparing for terrorism, promoting/encouraging or otherwise being involved in terrorism) are proscribed. At the date of writing there are some 40 proscribed groups. It is an offence for an individual to belong to, or assist, by any method a proscribed group. The offence attracts a 10-year prison sentence. Critics maintain that the proposed measures go too far by allowing for state sponsorship and criminalisation of political views of non-violent political groups. Concern has also been expressed about its compatibility with the right to free expression under Article 10 of the Human Rights Act 1998 and about the efficacy of such measures in combating terrorism. The Bill is due to proceed for second reading in the House of Commons tomorrow. A reason to defend ourselves - the terror of 11 September, 2001. 25/10/05 iBeaver Interview Too political for diplomacy |Mnk Editor Alexa Sharpies questions Chris Patten about his new book and explores the difference between diplomacy and politics. Slowly lifting himself up from the armchair to walk on stage, Patten turns to Maurice Eraser and asks, "so, what do you want me talk about?" Eraser, looking rather concerned, replies, "well, the talk is 'Can Europe be put back together again?'". A minute later. Patten graces the Old Theatre stage, eloquently lamenting Europe's problems, condemning Tony Blair, and slating the neo-conservative Bush administration. Patten is far more your candid straight-shooter than stereotypical politico. Chris Patten's political career started at the tender age of 22, when he joined the Conservative Party research ,.s depart ment and became its youngest director from 1974-79. After becoming an MP in 1979, Patten worked his way up through minister, environment secretary and was eventually appointed party chairman in 1990. So successful a politician was Patten, that he is widely considered to have been the main architect of the unexpected Conservative victory in the 1992 elections, and was tipped to be future party leader. But, at this dizzying political height, Patten's politics took a dive for the deep-end when he lost his seat in Bath. Instead of sticking around to fight a by-election. Patten threw in the political towel and took up diplomacy when he was offered the the last Commander-in-Chief and British Governor of Hong Kong. But Patten never stopped being a politician. Since the 1997 handover of Hong Kong, he has been Chairman of the Independent ' Only a few months after arriving in Hong Kong he started proposing democratic reforms. Beijing, predictably, was furious. The official Chinese media called Patten a snake, a liar, and a prostitute for a thousand generations.' Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland, became Chancellor of Oxford and Newcastle universities, and until recently, was European Commissioner for External Relations. All of this has culminated in his new book appropriately titled. Not Quite the Diplomat. As an ardent supporter of the EU, he encourages Europe not to view the US as a rival, but a partner. This seems a somewhat unrealistic appeal given the unilateral approach that America has been taking, to which he answers: "I think it's very difficult. I don't think the Bush administration is typical of American politics...It's not just the Democrats who have criticised the Bush admin- Photograph: Sid Kamath istration's foreign policy, it's also been criticised by a number of the traditional Republican foreign policy makers. I don't think we should assume that the direction which the neo-cons have shifted things represents anything permanent." "In order to help win the argument for international co-operation and multilateralism, Europe has to demonstrate it doesn't want to be a rival but a partner, and has to be able to play a bigger and more responsible role in making multilateral solutions work." Being a fan of the EU hasn't proven easy in Britain, particularly as a member of one of the most Euro-sceptic parties. Patten feels that in order for Britain to take a more positive view, "the most important thing is to build political leadership. Too many politicians have run scared of the Euro-sceptic and even occasionally xenophobic parts of the press.' Setting out the positive case for Europe and for Britain playing a leading role in Europe, and stopping running scared of critics are the first things that need to happen." Standing his ground is something Patten has had a few lessons in. Only a few months after arriving in Hong Kong he started proposing democratic reforms. Beijing, predictably, was furious. The official Chinese media called Patten a snake, a liar, and a 'prostitute for a thousand generations'. Despite Beijing threatening to tear up business contracts and overthrow the reforms once Hong Kong had been handed over, Patten sat out the storm, sticking to his proposals and winning the admiration and support of many beyond Beijing. On China and democracy today. Patten believes that, "while it is possible to promote economic development without democracy, it's very difficult to sustain economic development without greater participation, and even more difficult to promote innovation in the economy...China, sooner or later, is going to have to make the political shifts that can accommodate economic and social change, and it's in all our interests that that happens smoothly rather than chaotically." However, Patten's political zeal and penchant for 'getting things done' were really tested in Europe. In 2000, according to The Daily Telegraph, Patten found one commission meeting so dull that he stopped listening and worked out how many hours he had left to live if he were to die at 75. Despite dismissing the report and insisting that his job was actually one of the most 'interesting' he could do, there was no denial of his frustration with the incessant bureaucratic squabbling. His advice for the present EU Commission is that, "they should focus on delivering and should be a little more pragmatic. I don't think it makes very much sense to continue to press the case for greater economic and political ' Politicians should have a clear set of principles and values, which they stick to. Of course, as Mr Blair demonstrates, you can get far in politics without that.' integration. We've had about as much as the market will bear, but I do think they need to be braver and more vigorous in pressing a liberal agenda in economic issues." His pragmatic attitude is also reflected in his advice for anyone going into politics. "It is quite important to have a base in another profession or interest." Furthermore, "it's extremely important to recognise that politics isn't like any other career, and that means that the sort of careerism which might be acceptable if you are working in financial services or chartered accountancy doesn't seem to me to be either possible or commendable...politicians should have a clear set of principles and values, which they stick to. Of course, as Mr Blair demonstrates, you can get far in politics without that." iBeaver 25/10/05 13 HARVEY NICH^ J Leigh Tong explores the potential for six-figure earning in the fashion industry. In a world where banking and finance is where all the money lies, it's hard to believe salaries in the fashion industry could match up to the lucrative pay cheques of high-flying bankers. But you'd better believe it. These so-called, 'fashion clairvoyants' tap into the public's psychology and -attempt to predict upcoming trends and what will, ultimately, make money. This information is imperative to the people who make, design and sell clothes. It's the business of gambling on what will make consumers spend. Being told the future comes at a high price, the Doneger Group, the largest apparel buying and consulting office in the US, produce a couple of dozen trend 'To the lay-man, fads like cowboy boots and peasant skirts may appear transitory, but apparently there is a _pattern in all this fashion choas. A good forecaster is more of a social forcaster.' books a year, which include street-style, women's wear and children's wear. Each cost about £1,900, while a private consulta- tion is anything up to £800,000. But how do you predict something so seemingly random? "There's no statistical process," says Karen Webster, program director for fashion at Melbourne's RMIT University. "You scan what's happening from a cultural and social perspective, and that means being an avid reader of newspapers and business publications." It's not just a matter of "simply telling you what's the new black or what skirt lengths will be in. They're telling clients how to understand local issues that are affecting design." To the lay-man, fads like cowboy boots and peasant skirts may appear transitory, but apparently there is a pattern in all this fashion's chaos. "A good forecaster is more of a social forecaster." Webster adds, "in a time when it feels like the world is collapsing around us, we search for things that are going to give us a sense of structure," says Webster. "When there's a yearning for structure, we go back to more tailored jackets and pencil skirts. We look to an era when we've done this before. So that's where all the '40s looks on the catwalks are coming from." Trend analysts can work for forecasting firms, of which there are only about a dozen worldwide, or they can work directly for fashion retailers, design houses and clothing and shoe manufacturers, which often have their own in-house trend teams. What kind of qualifications do you need to predict the future? A university degree in fashion (such as a bachelor's in fashion design or fabric styling) has become a must, and an internship with a forecasting team is one of the best ways to break into the field. Reporting, writing, public speaking and sales skills are also essential, since presenting analy- sis to clients is a huge part of the job. Instincts are no doubt vital, but David Wolfe, creative director of the Donegar Group, knows that it's also about experience. His day-to-day work involves reading magazines, shopping, attending fashion shows and copious amounts of travel (of ' Kothryn Novakovic, driector of fashion marketing at Cotton inc., knows most trend analysts have a good chance at _making between $100,000 and $200,0b0" __working for a major _fashion retailer...after acquiring seven to 10 years experience.' course, to Paris, Milan and Tokyo), or as he put it, "what most people do for fun." Sound too good to be true? Don't turn down that job offer yet, the likelihood of making six figures is for the stars of the forecasting firms. If you're not one of those stars, don't expect a huge salary. "You don't have to pay a lot until someone becomes an outstanding talent," says Wolfe, who advises clients including Saks nfth Avenue and Harvey Nichols department stores. Kathiyn Novakovic, director of fashion marketing at Cotton Inc., knows most trend analysts have a good chance at making between $100,000 and $200,000 [£50,000 - £100,000] working for a major fashion retailer or clothing manufacturer, after acquiring seven to 10 years experience. The field is very small and very competitive, there probably aren't more than 750 to 1,000 positions in the U.S., Novakovic said. Another field closely related to fashion trend prediction is business trend forecasting. This doesn't just involve judging what's hot and what's not, but estimating the sections where sales and profit will weaken. That's just what Marshal Cohen does at the NPD group, a market research firm. In order to do this, he doesn't just look at the designs coming down the catwalk, or what the hottest celebrity is wearing. He looks at an array of apparently unconnected factors from the price of oil to the price of restaurant food. "Consumers have to make decisions based on their income," Cohen said. So if dining out is becoming more expensive, that means consumers have less money for purchasing clothing and hence, a drop in sales. Sounds easy. But according to Cohen, it takes more than just analytical skills; market experience and a university degree (preferably even an MBA) are essential. But what is going to separate you from the rest is gut instinct, "It's one of those jobs where you either have it or you don't". How much you earn also depends on where you work. It might take up to 15 years to earn a six-figure salary if you're working at a market research firm, Cohen said. But if you're a top retail trends analyst for a major financial firm, you may be earning as much as $300,000 [£150,000] annually after just six or seven years. That's impressive for guesswork. Fashion industry - no room for dummies. 14 25/10/05 iBeaver: Bart Purple p booKs darkest hearts Bart Editor Nastaran Tavakoli-Far uses the London Film Festival as an excuse to go on, and on, and on about the general brilliance of country singer and outlaw Johnny Cash And so the London Film Festival continues with some real treats on show this week, turn to B:Film for more details. Fans of Japanese director Kitano 'Beat' Takeshi {Zatoichi or Hana-Bi anyone?) will no doubt run towards Takeshis. LLF also shows Walk the Line, the story of the man who is my humble view possibly the coolest outlaw and misfit: Johnny Cash. Joaquin Phoenix stars as the Man in Black, with a heart half-Christian and half-dark. October is Black History Month. B;Literature has gone one step further to bring two of the finest African-American ladies of literature: Alice Walker of A colour Purple fame and Beloved's Toni Morrison. It is one hundred years since the death of Sir Heniy Irving. B: Theatre watched The Trial of Sir Henry Irving!!!!! this week and urges you to do the same. Fans of darker humour will also delight at Heroes, on now at the Wyndhams Theatre. Turn to B:Music to read an ode to Roxy Music, with everything from the genius of their lyrics to their preference towards decorating rather than trashing hotel rooms praised. (As an aside, Johnny Cash fans may also have heard tales from hotel managers surprised to have found their rooms painted black after having been stayed in by Cash and his entourage. Interior design really is t'Dtally rock n roll eh?) You will also find a review of the latest record by the most awesome girl group around: no not Destiny's Child, the Sugababes. B:About is giving away three pairs of tickets to see Dutch dance music trio Kraak and Smaak. Also, trot on do\vn to Wellington Street to dine, or enjoy a quick lunch, at Boulevard Brasserie. f Joaquin Phoenix plays Johnny Cash in Walk the Line The Editor's Week w> o o CO s lO o o lO CN Tuesday 25 October Go Native Our very own Alternative Music Society presents a killer line up: $hit and $hine, I'm Being Good, Hey Colossus, Sausage Party. According to Alt-Music Soc's Jamie Stevens: "This go native! will be the loudest ever. Shit & Shine have 3 drummers and a casio keyboard and will certainly blow your mind as well as your eardrums. All of the bands have claims to greatness, including I'm Being Good who formerly listed The Go Team main-man Ian Parton in their ranks". At: 7:30pm, The Quad, LSE Price: £3 Leslie Howard The concert pianist with the most prolific recorded catalogue will be playing 'Piano Sonata Op. 37' by Tchaikovsky as well as Rachmaninov's 'Piano Sonata No. 1 in D minor Op. 28'. At: Wigmore Hall Price: from £12 Tube: Bond Street / Marble Arch Wednesday 26 October Dandy Warhols Scruffy Oregan quartet famous for videos with dancing syringes, feuds with the ]3rian Jonestown Massacre, bohemian mobile phone ad tunes and a general lulled and chilled out air. Catch them and you m ay even be lucky enough to be treated to an extra long playing of liOU Weed. At: Hammersmith Palais Tube: Hammersriith Now Showing Forgotten Empire: The World of Ancient Persia The National Museum of Iran has lent the British Museum some of the finest treasures from the Persian Empire 550BC-330BC. Pop in and see what gorgeous gems my ancestors created. At: British Museum Price: £4 with NUS Tube: Russell Square Der Spiegel 1989-1991 Photographs taken from the weekly German magazine. Be it the bizarre photograph of female doctors smelling the armpits of a series of men, the disturbing aerial shot of an addict shooting heroin or the brutal consequences of pollution, you'll find pretty much everything that could grab your attention here. At: The Photographer's Gallery, Great Newport Street Price: Free Tube: Leicester Square Last Chance Yerma The past few months have been a glorious time for any Federico Garcia Lorca lover like myself what with recent stagings of The House of Bernarda Alba and Blood Wedding. Yerma, a painful tale of a childless woman, is the third of his tragedies. The play perfectly captures the loss, sense of doom and realisation of the impossible which is the trademark of Spain's finest poet and playwright. Ends November 2nd 2005 At: Jermyn Street Theatre, Jermyn Street Price: £13 with NUS Tube: Piccadilly Circus Langlands and Bell The Turner Prize opened last week to the usual annual debates of exactly what constitutes art. Langlands and Bell were short listed last year only to have part of their exhibition removed due to a trial at the Old Bailey. As their work focused on Afghanistan and NGO symbols, one wonders what the final piece of their installation was. Here is your chance to finally see last year's Tuner Prize in full as the Tate Britain shows the short film which was missing last year. Ends November 3rd 2005 At: Tate Britain Price: Free Tube: Pimlico Book Now Khaled Always quoted as the 'King of Rai', Algeria's happiest man graces a week of Middle Eastern music at the Barbican. Expect fun boogie numbers from his latest offering Ai-Rayi as well as slushy French-Arabic songs from Sahra. At: November Barbican Price: from £25 Tube: Barbican 5 2005, The p Ch r-+* P i-i P O X w • • o & p I-S p p p 3 P- C/3 P P o o 3 0) o p Q Co p O (D O » P 3 W Oi o D 00 O CD O r o 3 (n. o a> in f-+ "a a On W H a> p r+ a> a> 3. o cc en o (D P o o o 3 (D Hi N ri. iBeaver V. LSE SU Michaelmas Election Pullout YOUR VOTE! Voting all day Thursday and Friday in the Quad. All students eligible. Tune in to PuLSE fm to hear candidate hustings, or e-mail the returning officer, Doug Oliver at su.returningoffiver@lse.ac.uk for nnore infornnation r iBeavei LSE SU Honorary President Jean Charles de Menezes LSE SU Honorary Vice-President Al Fran ken Simon Wiesenthal Admiral Nelson Thet win Aung Andrew Flintoff Edward Said Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose LSE SU Executive Post Graduate Officer (1) Karanja Gacuca See candidate manifesto booklet. Anna Morgan I'm njnning for Postgrad Rep so that we can all make the most out of our (often short!) time at LSE. I'm interested in hearing about and addressing your concerns, from technology woes to difficulties in international fees payment. Experience: Student Council Co-President, Educational Policy Representative, and Secretary/Treasurer—Swarthmore College. Wiiiiam Charles Tennenbaum See candidate manifesto booklet. Tatyana Khein I am one of you; your experience is my experience. We are all at LSE for a short time, making it important to have realistic and practical improvements now: more core course books in the library, more materials available electronically, improved feedback to professors, more events oriented to postgrads and installing self-service microwaves on campus. Cleo Marangou Hi. I am from Cyprus. I have always been actively involved in student government and societies so I can represent students' concems and take action. Some of the issues I would like to address involve better housing support, more hours of operation for the library and better planning of career fairs. Kabir Sehgai The Student Union must represent postgraduates better; we make up 52 percent of the student population. I will focus on two areas: social and academic. I will fight for more postgraduate-only parties, group outings-cum-discounts, better accommodation, concerts, and cheap beer. Vote vision, experience, and cheap beer. Cheers. University of London Council (ULU) LSE Delegates (3) Joel Kenrick Elect Joel for a strong and campaigning ULU which stands up for students, the environment and social justice. Current LSESU Environment & Ethics Officer and Court of Governors representative. Supporter of People and Planet and MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY, Fairtrade & Go Green initiatives. Sam Jones VOTE SAM JONES # 1 for ULU - A strong, progressive and ethical council - campaigning for LSE students - Current Executive Editor of the Beaver, Member of LSE SU Labour, LSE SU Green Party, LSE SU People & Planet - Diversity in Unity- an end to racism, poverty & discrimination ONE LONDON, ONE ULU, VOTE SAM JONES # 1 Jonatlian Saxty See candidate manifesto booklet. n n Sheharyar Malik See candidate menifesto booklet Richard Simpson To ensure YOU as a Student in London have a safe and sound social life, I will work for: More Equity to sustain the diverse cultural, ideological and religious backgrounds in an increasingly unequal, supervised and stressed environment. For Your Rights, Your Representation and Your Fun vote Richard # 1 Paul Church RADICAL, REAL, RELEVANT... MORE Accountability - sessions for students to raise issues for ULU. MORE Business and career services links - to create more graduate jobs. MORE Co-operation and campaigning to improve facilities, encourage freedoms and scrap top-up fees. n teeavfer: ^^ICHAELMS ELECTION o' UlLOi 03, LSE Court of Governors Student Delegates (5) Raihan Alfaradhi Vote #1 for Raihan Alfaradhi, your SU Anti-Racism Officer, for Court of Governors: leading the struggle against discrimination, rising tuition fees and extortionate accommodation costs. ALL Different; ALL Equal n Eddy Fonyodi It is really simple actually: vote for me to get someone truly passionate and serious about the task to represent the view^s of us all on the most important LSE committees. I can do it, I want to do it, but most importantly: I w/ill do a good job. James "JJ" Caspell I will: demand more financial help for all students and active state-school recruitment; lobby Court to stamp out all forms of discrimination; insist that students, not governors, have more say in how the school is run. Vote James Caspell #1 for a progressive, egalitarian and sustainable LSE. Arthur Krebbers As an Involved and Experienced student, I will ensure that YOUR voice is heard. Campaigning for Student Wellbeing on a Diverse, Respectful Campus with Adequate Facilities and Affordable Education, will be my main priority for the coming year My means will be transparent - reporting back to you regularly. Fartian Islam Fees: Lobby the school to put a freeze on fees for international and post graduate students. Anti-Discrimination Representation: Represent the views of International students. HaOs: Lobby the School to provide more hall space, especially for International Students. Accommodation: Work to get more support for students looking for private accommodation. No to Visa Charges. Andrew Hallett Voting for Andy Hallett means voting for change - I'm not part of some SU clique, having only been here for a month. I did a similar job at school, so I know how to get things done. Seemingly dull meetings can merit great reward if the right person represents students. Keitti Postler Keith Postler is your Credible man in Court: Credibility: Mature PhD student(Mgmt), UK board of directors experience, Middle-manager experience (Marketing) Credible Platform: More exposure of court policy, LSE site upgrade PhD funding upgrade LSE Street Cred:MSc LSE Class Rep,MSc, Beaver journalist- section editor. Class Teacher (Accounting, Statistics) Zoe Sullivan I believe in an open minded, accessible and truly representative SU. You have the right to have your voice heard and opinions listened to. Every person is entitled to equal opportunities and fair treatment. Therefore I advocate a zero-tolerance attitude towards all discrimination. Vote for your right to be YOUl n All Dewj! All Dewji: just Dewji it! Three things separate me from the competition : I can be trusted to speak out for student views; as an intemational student. President of" Debate Society and C&S member, I care about the Union and our School; I'm a genuine guy and easily approachable. All Dewji: just Dewji it! Jefferson Marshall Courtney Ensure that Justice Is served by sending Jeff to the Court of Govemors. The issues I would want to raise at the court would include measures to combat racism on campus, getting more budget accommodation for students and making the LSE more environmentally friendly. Vote Jeff #1 for Court of Governors! n Hideyoshi Maeda "Hiddi" See candidate manifesto booklet Simon Yu We all know LSE has many areas to be improved. I have experience in effecting change as Bankside ex-President. Please allow me to make the student experience better for you, and to improve teaching quality. I pledge to do the best anyone can to achieve these. Thankyou. (Yu know it!!) n Paul Church RADICAL, REAL, RELEVANT... MORE Accountability - sessions for students to raise issues for the Court. MORE Business and career services links - to create more graduate jobs. MORE Campaigns to improve facilities, encourage freedoms and scrap top- up fees. EQUALITY, DIVERSITY. OPPORTUNITY Sometimes the nice guy does win... PAUL CHURCH for COURT OF GOVERNORS Alex Hochull Re-Politicise the LSE: If we don't have a voice, who does? Freedom of Speech: Protecting the right to question everything Community: Inclusiveness and interdependence; diversity and debate Academic Vanguard: Continuing to attract world-class, cutting edge lecturers and researchers Sustalnability: To lead the way as a green university Yashvin Hassamal See candidate manifesto booklet Robert Cane 1 will fight to ensure that LSE policy works for students. I will work to ensure LSE remains a centre of complete and open debate. I will push for more financial aid and the elimination of discrimination. I will fight for a more sustainable LSE that works for all students. Richard Holden The C of G is where 'major questions affecting the development of the school' are discussed. VOTE HOLDEN & OPPOSE INCREASING FEES & CHARGES SUPPORT MORE BURSARIES OPPOSE THE GLEES REPORT (Which recommends 6% cap on non white/British students & banning ALL faith groups) A STUDENT FOR STUDENTS Alex George What is the Court of Governors? Many of you have asked me this. It's one of LSE's most powerful committees hugely influencing our education, student lives and career prospects, but it's rarely mentioned. 1 propose: More AWARENESS Greater ACCOUNTABILITY Stronger LEADERSHIP ALEX GEORGE, your choice for Court National Union of Students (NUS) LSE Delegates (3) Jonathan Saxty See candidate manifesto booklet. \ n Preena Suri See candidate manifesto bool O z CN "D c D ing out loud! Even the aesthetics of the 1950s and 1970s regarding decor and dress leave the film a bit unattractive to watch. I was still upset that Firth hadn't popped up as a cameo in the remake of Pride and Prejudice, so when this film delivered him severely lacking in sex appeal, I was left feeling perturbed to say the least. Bacon is the strongest aspect of the movie, although his character has far more history and explanation than the others. Even still, the audience is left wondering whether the interest isn't more directly linked to the fact that he is a psychopathic nymphomaniac. Where The Truth Lies is definitely watchable and you don't feel cheated on exiting the silver screen , although at 108 minutes, maybe the film should have taken more time and explored relationships further, or even dropped certain aspects of the story line to concentrate on the supposed heart of the film, the death of Maureen. But that's the problem right there: was Maureen the heart of the film? Or was it Karen's self discovery, or the questionable platonic relationship of Vince and Larry? The aesthetics will not be wasted on DVD, so don't bother with the big screen unless you fall into one of these three categories: 1) a Kevin Bacon fan, 2) not so into Colin Firth or 3) enjoy watching Alice in Wonderland on LSD. Just over one week ago, Sony Pictures confirmed media reports that British actor Daniel Craig will replace Pierce Brosnan as glamorous spy James Bond. Rejected taK ent apparently included Hugh ' Grant and Colin Firth, the two , actors who fought over a bulky Benee Zellweger in Bridget Jones's Diary. Daniel Craig, on the other hand, dated model Kate Moss and has been linked to Jude Law's ex-fiancee Sienna Miller. Despite rampant cocaine use by the former and involvement with little girls named Orlando Bloom by the latter, Craig seems to have infi-:: nitely better taste and should comfortably fit the 007 playboy persona. But can he act? His bold performances in Layer CaKe ¦ and Road to Perdition certainly beat the drab romantic com-"' edy of Grant in Notting Hill, or: Firth's embarrassing role j alongside dim Nickelodeon star Amanda Bynes in What a ; Girl Wants. So it's safe to say Craig represents a good Boiid replacement for next year's ; Casino Royale, based on Ian Fleming's first 007 novel.-Things could have been so : much worse. But then again, things could have been so much better.'; Indeed, they were better back when Sean Connery used to play the part. He was inspiring- : ly handsome, with more chest hair than Austin Powers and a : closet full of fine suits and fine women. Here are three cool Bond films featuring Connery: Dr. No - Bond travels to Jamaica to invesigate the murder of a fellow operative as^ well as recent US space pro- .., gramme failures Goldfinger - 'Operation Grand Slam' refers to villain ; Auric Goldfinger's sinister'; scheme, not Bond's steamy ; hooking up with Fussy Galore ;;; Never Say Never Again ¦. -Bond must find two stolen nuclear bombs. He is briefly ; aided by genius actor Rowan : Atkinson ; , jamimakan-* leaver: Bart 25/10/05 21 London Film Festival The Constant Gardener whether or not there is hope for Africa, jamimakan still finds hinnself moved by this intercontinental tale of diplomatic deceit and murder W departed the theatre slowly, solemnly. I leaned against the lobby wall waiting for my family to finish using the rest-rooms, and my eyes washed over an enormous poster for The Constant Gardener, the film we had just seen. Review excerpts lined the edges. Rolling Stone declared the film 'a sizzling thriller that ends summer on a high note' while The New York Times described it as 'excellent, unusually satisfying.' Elle thought it was 'electrifying entertainment' and the Boston Herald called it 'marvelous' with an extra-large exclamation point. But, as we stood there silently, all the hjfpe and exuberance seemed misplaced. The Constant Gardener was probably the saddest film I've ever seen. I stood outside un-electrified, unsatisfied and far from thrilled, my summer having ended on a low note even Pavarotti couldn't hit. Gardener largely takes place in a remote area of Northern Kenya, where mild-mannered Justin Quayle, played by Ralph Fiennes, has traveled with the British High Commission accompanied by his wife, bold human rights activist Tessa Quayle, brilliantly played by Rachel Weisz. When she is found murdered, evidence points to her traveling companion, a local doctor But Quayle remains remorseful and haunted by her secretive lifestyle and rumoured infidelity. He takes the investigation into his own hands to the dismay of colleagues Sandy Woodrow, played by Danny Huston, and Sir Bernard Pellegrin, played by Bill Nighy. Quayle's investigations take him to and from London, painted a dreary blue in contrast to the dry and barren reds of Kenya. He gradually uncovers crimes committed by the pharmaceutical industry, crimes that have taken the lives of innocent Africans, crimes that his wife had tragically failed to expose. In the process of stumbling upon conspiracy and corporate greed, his own life becomes endangered. It is surprising that Quayle, swallowed by dangerous circumstances, gains as much ground as he does. Directed by Fernando 0 n E (D > O CO 0 -I— D 0 JZ Meirelles, whose previous film City of God followed the lives of youths in Rio de Janeiro's slums. The Constant Gardener is also characterized by a non-linear structure, constant movement and strikingly beautiful images. An adaptation of a novel by John Le Carre, the film adds considerable depth and color, and the cast is nothing short of amazing. The issues raised throughout the film are especially relevant today, as eyes turn to development issues in Africa. Yet the outlook of Gardener seems so bleak and hopeless that as I walk through the parking lot towards our car, everything from The Beatles to Coco Pops to the idea of watching a film about failed African development just seems so wrong. But then again, the film isn't a documentary and might not accurately reflect the African problem. But still, I recently read that Meirelles considered commissioning a documentary about the gross misconduct of pharmaceutical companies to accompany his film. In any case, watch this movie. It is more depressing than any emo record or Hilary Duff's latest attempt at acting, but it is stunningly beautiful. And please leave academic debates about African development outside the theatre. Le Grand Voyage combines potentially dubious schematic structures: east-versus-west and generational culture clash, and the 'road trip' narrative. Director Ismael Ferroukhi, however, skirts the lines of cliche while managing to realise a subtle, well-crafted depiction of nearly irresolvable foreign differences. Reda (Nicolas Cazale) is a French teenager of Moroccan descent, whose traditional father (Mohamed Majid, unnamed in the film) forces him to drive them from FVance to Mecca to perform the Hajj. 'Better to go by foot than by horse,' he tells Reda. But in the absence of horses, better in car than by plane. As it is a road trip story, it does not take much semiotics to imagine the narrative devices; characters go on a journey and end up somewhere, not quite the same when they arrive as when they left. The 'road trip' is usually a feature of American films, where the pathos and bathos of the open road, and the sexy, individualist symbol of the automobile are preconditioned in audiences. There are less examples in Europe, barring Holljrwood farce {National Lampoon, Eurotrip), and certainly the Winnebago cutting through Saudi Arabia is a bit less iconic. It is partly this reason that Ferroukhi gets away with it here; the windshield perspective of the Middle East is novel. In fact, this is the first non-docu-mentary film shot inside Mecca, and the depiction of the city at the end of the film is climatic not just for father and son, but also the viewer's rare chance at glimpsing it. CO 0 o 0 o c "d o Le Grand Voyage christopherludwig describes the first non-documentary film shot inside Mecca, an insightful story about how father-son road trips are as important as their destinations Though its themes of cultural discord and growth are simple, director Ismael Ferroukhi's exploration is sophisticated. A defining trait of the road trip narrative is that its characters are foreigners wherever they go, isolated from their destinations by their vehicle, clothes, language. Often the camera looks out from the car, emphasising the foreign-ness of different places. But until Mecca, this film has more focus inside the car, where Reda and his father are already foreigners to each other It is more important for them to confront these differences than with the passing countries. The film is careful not to reveal a dominance of west over east, or traditionalism over modernism. Instead, there are shifting struggles, where certain traits make one weaker in one place, stronger in others. For example, the distance between father and son is skilful- ly underscored by language; Reda speaks to his father only in French, and his father speaks to him only in Arabic. In France, Reda's command of French or English provides him with cultural currency, but later, at borders in Slavonia and Hirkey, his inability to communicate is equal to his father's; and later, in the Middle East, it is only the father who can speak, rendering Reda, in his jeans and t-shirt, as out of step with the world around him as his father in Europe. The performances of both actors are nearly pitch perfect; Majid, in particular, shows both a stem grimace of the Ayatollah, and very human vulnerability toward his son. The film's weakness is in the predictability of the 'road trip,' but still has its surprises, while its tensions and climax are delicately rendered and thoroughly satisfying. Dd ? ? 22 25/10/05 iBeaver: Bart Boulevard Brasserie Kraak & Smaak ? ? PQ Fancy a cheap lunch? Perhaps a romantic dinner for two? Handily located about 2 minutes walk from the LSE on Wellington Street (just up from the Lyceum Theatre) is this fabulous Brasserie-cum-Deli. During the day/lunch-time if you're seeking an excellently priced and wholesome lunch look no further than the Deli (adjacent to, and run by the same people as the Brasserie). Not only can you eat here, but you can also pick up all of your artisanal culinary bits and pieces (they sell teas, wines, breads, pastas, oils and the usual melange of high-quality goods). Of special note is their Spit-Roast Chicken (roasted on a spit with rosemary and lemon rather than having taken part in any unsual ritualistic gang-bang with the Athletics Union) which is served with Pomme de Terre au Boulangere (meaning "Bakery Potatoes" - they're just boiled as far as I can discern, but a posh name for something simple has never hurt anyone). A quarter of chicken with these aforementioned potatoes is around £3.50 - 'Of special note is their Spit-Roast Chicken rather than having taken part in any gang-bang with the AU' about the same price as a McDonald's and ten times better! They also serve typical Deli-style sandwiches filled with cured meats, lovely cheeses or fresh vegetables. Next door in the Brasserie they also provide a reasonably-priced set lunch menu (£9.95 for two.courses and £12.50 for three courses), a typical meal of which might include: Soup of the Day; Roast Salmon Fillet with crushed garlic, new potatoes and hol-landaise sauce; and Vanilla Creme Brulee.Needless to say they also have an a la carte menu - I've never eaten from it because of the exceptional value of their chicken in the deli, but the menu looks promising at a glance; Steak baguette; Tiger Prawn Thai Yellow Cuny; Brandy Marinated Gravadlax; FVench Fish Soup. Next door in the Brasserie is a wonderful (and still affordable) selection of menus - an a la carte, two set menus and a pre/post theatre dinner menu. The "Theatre-Express Menu" seems identical to their set lunch menu, but that's no bad thing. The set menus are Diners enjoy their meal at the brasserie Magnus Aabech only available to groups of six or more - one is £16 for three courses whilst the other is £18.50 for three courses. When I last went the Boulevard Brasserie for someone's birthday party we had .the first set menu which is supremely good value and offers an excellent quality of food. Baked wedge of Brie to begin was exactly what one would hope for - rich creamy and, needless to say, cheesy, which was served with a cranberry chutney which acted as an ideal foil. Braised gammon ham was superb and served with mashed potatoes (non-lumpy, hurrah!) and a char-cuterie sauce (I must confess to never having heard of this before and am still mystified) which made a fine accompaniment. To finish I had a creme brulee which was well executed and tasty, which I believe was homemade rather than being one of the inferior pre-packaged variety which you seem to get everywhere. There's also an a la carte menu. Kraak & Smaak Competition No The Beaver is not trying to run "Big Jannal" out of business - we're giving away gig tickets Following the release of their debut album Boogie Angst, this Dutch trio are taking the live and DJ circuit by storm with their cutting edge sets, proving that they are currently one of the hottest Dutch acts bent on reju- venating the scene. Kraak & Smaak's main knob twiddler is Oscar De Jong, who studied at the Music Conservatory in Rotterdam. Oscar cites jazz, hip-hop & funk as his main inspirations. DJ Wim Plug's colourful CV includes being a member of multimedia turntable orchestra. Polyvinyl Big Band. Finally there's Mark Kneppers - the owner of the biggest independent record shop in Leiden (which is impressive?). If you want to win a FREE pair of tickets (We have three pairs!) simply email me by Wednesday at G.REES@LSE.AC.UK with the answer to this question:- What is the capital of the country from which K&S hail from? Debut UK Show:- Date: Friday 28th Oct. Venue: Cargo Address: Cargo Arch, 462 Kingsland Viaduct, 83 Rivington Street, London EC2A SAY Name of Night: Jump Promoter: www.leyline-promotions. com Other acts: Live for the 1st time in the UK: Kraak & Smaak + Babyhead + more TBC Stage Time approx 10.30 PM iBeaver: Listings 25/10/05 23 Your Guide to What's On This Weeic m All day: ISLAMIC Society Event: Charity Week 2005: City of London Street] Collection, Chancery Lane Info: A fundraising collection in the heart of London's | financial district. Contact: NazminYeahia - n.yeahia@lse.ac.uk 12:00-14:00 KNITTING Society Event: Knitting session Venue: Quad 20:00-23:00 EUROPEAN Society Event: Meeting for members and potential members Venue: First floor of Pitcher & Piano, Kingsway (we've | reserved it for our society!) a life! All day ISLAMIC Society Event: Charity Week 2005: Hibe Collection at Holbom Station Contact: NazminYeahia - n.yeahia@lse.ac.uk 11:30-13:00 CATHOLIC Society Event: Open Session with Fr Ian Venue: LSE Chaplaincy, opposite the Peacock Theatre 12:00-13:00 AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL Society Event: Letter Writing Venue: Upstairs in the Quad Cost: FREE (and we pay for postage) Info: Come along to sign a few letters demanding the release of prisoners of conscience - it only takes a minute and you might just help save a life! Contact: su.soc.amnesty-intemational@lse.ac.uk 13:15 CATHOLIC Society Event: Catholic Mass Venue: LSE Chaplaincy, opposite the Peacock Theatre Info: Followed by a free lunch!!! ALL ARE WELCOME. 15:00-17:00 LITERATURE Society Event: Poetry Amphitheatre Venue: HlOl Info: Like a book club but with the focus on poetry, this will be the first meeting of the Poetry Amphitheatre. Come along and shape its future! 16:00 CHINESE STUDENT AND SCHOLAR ASSOCIATION (CSSA) Society Event: AGM, Venue: D402 19:30 FILM Society Event: 'Dancer in the Dark' screening Venue: El71 Cost: FREE for members, £1 for non-members (£3 to join) All day ISLAMIC Society Event: Charity Week 2005: Food Fest and Henna Stall on Houghton Street Info: Ever tried Henna? (No, not a Henna Tattoo!) Come along and have your hand decorated with the Eastern art of Henna. Contact: NazminYeahia - n.yeahia@lse.ac.uk 15:00-18:00 ISLAMIC Society Event: Charity Week 2005: PS2 Tournament and Arm Wrestling Venue:Y115 Info: Compete to become the ultimate gaming champion! Or a chance to show everyone that guys at the LSE have brawn to match the brains! 18:00-20:00 BANGLADESH Society Event: Meet and Greet Cultural Party Venue: TBC Cost: FREE - everyone come on down! Info: This is the official welcome party of the LSE SU Bangladesh Society. Come along and meet your fellow society members whilst enjoying free food and drinks! Entertainment includes traditional Bangladeshi dancing and fire spinning! Not to be missed!! 18:00 UNICEF Society Event: Meeting: Sharing experiences of working with underprivileged children overseas Venue: S221 19:30-21:00 LATIN AMERICAN Society Event: Welcome Drinks Venue: Beavers Retreat Bar (next to Brunch Bowl, 4th floor, Old Building) Info: A great opportunity to meet other members of the Latin American Society in the cosy Beavers Retreat Bar, join/get involved with the society if you have not done so already, and enjoy our featured drink, Cuba Libre. What better start to your Thursday evening could you have? Following drinks, groups will depart to the 123Tobasco Latin Night in the Underground Bar. All day ISLAMIC Society Event: Charity Week 2005: Jummah Collection Venue: TBC Contact: NazminYeahia - n.yeahia@lse.ac.uk 20:00-02:00 SIKH-PUNJAB Society Event: Bhangra Crush! Venue: Underground Bar Info: With DJs playing the best in Bhangra and the hottest R&B and Hip-Hop, plus professional live dho-lis! Come celebrate Diwali and Halloween in true Punjabi fashion! Featuring: MC Jaz/DJ Raj - A.D.S LONDON, DJTej (www.djtej.com) and Calibar Roadshow. All day FIGHT RACISM! FIGHT IMPERIALISM! Society Event: Student Anti-Imperialist Network (SAIN) first national conference, Newcastle Cost: Tickets are £3 including lunch. Transport is free, but donations are welcome. Info: Transport leaves on Friday 28th October at 2pm from outside the University of London Union (ULU) on Malet Street. Places for the conference are limited so please email frfi_lse@yahoo.co.uk by 5pm on lYiesday 25th October to book your place. All day ISLAMIC Society Event: Charity Week 2005: London Borough Collection Contact: NazminYeahia - n,yeahia@lse.ac.uk 113:00 FINANCE Society Event: Presentation by SEO Venue: Old Theatre 19.00-21.30 SWING DANCE Society Event: Swing Dance Class Mvenue: G108 ^WFrequency: weekly (same time, same place, but pos- ^^sible variations for workshops) KJCost: £2 for members, £4 for non-members (but ¦¦annual membership only costs £2!) ¦iwlnfo: A friendly, beginners' swing dance class with IMexperienced teachers. Learn to swing to some good, I old jazz... it doesn't matter if you don't even know what swing is, everyone is welcome to come along and find out! We'll have two hours of taught class, followed by half an hour of practice time (optional). Please wear flat shoes, the smoother the better. THAI Society Event: Free Thai lessons Time/venue: TBC Cost: FVee for members, £2 (one-oft fee) for non-mem-bers Info: The Thai Society is organising free Thai and cultural lessons for those who are interested. Lessons will be for an hour a week - there are a few slots available on different days. To sign up to leam about Thainess, email p.tantivashinchai@lse.ac.uk "J Fucking hate this place // From the makers of Dogma, Mallrats and Chasing Amy "Clerks" - February 2006 Private auditions Thursday 27 / Friday 28. E-mail clerksauditions@yahoo.com wvAv.clerksauditions.tripod.com - To include yoiir society event here, email your Societies Officer Jimmy Tam at For the most up-to-date listings, check out the What's On page on the LSE SU website su.societies@lse.ac.uk by Friday. ^ : www.lsesu.com/main/societies/whatson.. -- - Managing Editor Blink Editor The Managing Editor oversees the layout of the The Blink Editor will join Alexa Sharpies in paper, the office infrastructure, printing and distribution. He/She is also the Deputy Editor. Collective members may to run for this position. Anyone may run for this position obtaining content, proof reading and laying out our Analysis section. Pull Out Editor (2) The Beaver's arts pages are changing to become a new pull out section. The Pull Out editors will manage the team of subeditors in proofing and checking these pages. Anyone may run for these position Elections take place in the"6it^am Wallace Room (5th Floor, Old Building), Thursday at 5pm. Please email thebeaver.editor@lse.ac.uk if you intend to rum + .. 24 25/10/05 iBeaverSports: FOOTBALL Fancy footwork from the FC The Seventh team Triumph... As do the Mighty First team... Mke'. Champagne Tths... . . 2 Rubbish Medics..............l -f trongly believing .that medics are the 'most overrated professionals ever to moan about long hours and crap the Champagne 7,ths set out to fortress Berrylands on Saturday in a spirit of charitable contempt, w^Uling to school the GKT 5ths in how to play good football. Unfortunately the tri-poly trash refused to take the lesson, so instead wie saw them off quicker than an elderly heckler at the Labour Party conference. With 7 new players to fetegrate into the team, the first game was always going to be a huge challenge, but with a title to win it was also going to be incredibly important. As a result of pre-match nerves and several Soho-induced hangovers among our freshers, we had butterflies in our stomachs as we undertook the customarj' warm up of aimlessly boot-Sng it at the keeper and ipenalty practice. But a rousing talk from Captain K-Lo soon settled these, and as soon as kick-off started we began playing the sort of football that would get Alan Hanson :exclted. Iqbal 'too good to show up on time' Chowdhuiy disgraced their defence in a way usually reserved for a rugby girl in Calella, effortlessly penetrating it time and time jigain, whilst on the other flank new arrival George made several huge challenges to keep the opposition strikers at bay. However, although midfielders Nick and Ed dominated the centre, we couldn't convert early posses-•sion. We finally got the chance we needed from a Nick Green comer, lofted In to the edge of the 6-yard box, which K-Lo guided into the far corner of the net with a sweet diving header. If this signals a return to his 12 goals from centre-back form last year, then the 7ths are in great shape (apart from the defence bit). Despite play-tng like they'd run out of beer money and been ; forced to wire themselves up to defibrillators for kicks, the medics managed ;to produce a couple of half-; chances before the half was John McDermotf out. Fortunately keeper Nick stepped up each time with the kind of coramit-#s ment he usually reserves i for getting shitted in Walkabout and gathered the ball before they could threaten. The second half saw^ Ken brought on to replace an injured Benoit Tassin-De-Montaigu up front,; whilst Owain "'Shaggj'"-Bevan came on at centre-mid for Iqbal and George came off for the experienced Todd. We started promisingly, but unfortu-, nately our attempts to play^ sleek passing football were con.stantly thwarted by the; ref, a gimp with a chip on^ his shoulder from being; injured in the first half,? whose calls were about as fair as a Zimbabwean trial.; A scrappy half ensued, a ¦ war of attrition conducted from the defensive trenches, but our centre backs: rose to the challenge with' great support in front coming from Owain. Disaster; -struck 70 minutes in, when a free kick from outside the; box drifted in to the top left corner of our goal. We looked on as their number 3, a Sonic-look-alike so stupid that whilst wearing a yellow and purple top against us he screamed "come on blues", celebrated their fluke goal. It was a sickening sight but it spurred us on to raise our game again. As the clock ran dovra we drew desperately on our reserves, and began to cre-^ ate chances with the forwards holding the ball up well. But we had to wait until the 80th minute' before Raihan skipped through two players on the left, rounded the keeper and shot from distance at a very tight angle. It seemed to take longer than a 9am lecture for the ball to cross the line, but when it finally did we had our win and GKT were broken. In the last 5 minutes the ref gave an offside his own linesman didn't flag and then missed; a ridiculous foul in the box" on Rupert 'Bugger-Bugger* ' Guest, but this only served; to cement our moral victo-^ ry- As Tony Hadley once sang, "These are our salad: days"; the 7ths are f ure'y a" the beginning of another champagne season. It was 2 a.m. at Cheapskates, a place where mixers are rarer than an uncensored Beaver sports article, when I heard the ritual greeting of that most revolting of species -gimperius secondus. Turning around, I was confronted by the sight of a gangly Indian lad who had evidently just come back from his appearance on I Want a Famous F^ce: Peter Crouch. Taking care of the precise formulation and articulation of his forthcoming words he opened his gob and enquired 'Whatcha sayin' bout ma touch ya fucking ponce?'. He had taken offence to my comment during the game regarding his tendency to treat the football like Heather McCartney would a landmine. Face it spoon face, you were schooled, pounded, and quite thoroughly learned by the footballing juggernaut that is the Mighty Mighty Firsts. With Brummie missing the game due to having to attend Byker Grove auditions in Newcastle, confidence was high in the Mighty Mighty camp prior to kick-off. For the Mighty Mighty Firsts, trials had been about as fertile as Barbara Windsor, yet Captain Fantastic, Matt Joy, had us chomping at the bit for the beginning of the ULU league. It was time to rock. Taking a deserved break from the strenuous duties of AU Communications Officer, Jimmy Little got us off to a flying start with two first-half goals, the most underrated man in football history opened his account for the season with aplomb. While Jim was creating magic upfront the back five kept themselves occupied by watching the Gimperial strikers leam how to run and kick a ball. Ladies man, Rich Gull marshalled the defence with gusto, and made our director of football, Mr Gull, a very proud father with a string of important saves. 'Judas' San, the birthday boy with on-off-on-off-on-off-on girlfriend in tow, played like a man possessed, making crunching tackles at one end and thrusting forward like Ron Jeremy at the other. Self-proclaimed hard-man Mighty Mighty ists........7 Gimperial 2nds..............0 Johnny Knoxville did his best to help Gimperial break their duck, but unlike his sheets at home after a Wednesday night, ours stayed clean. Fortunately, the dominating Matt 'tripod' Joy was there to cover Knoxy's back and lead his team to a stunning victory. On the right, despite being all of 4ft, Paolo proved that being a midget from the Swiss cantons is no bulwark to a successful career with the Mighty Mighty Firsts. Although last year, superstar Fishy Fishlock found it harder than an international student to open his account, the sight of Jimmy Little racing ahead in the golden boot contest spurred the whip-persnapper into action. With Fred 'sick note' Salt watching enviously from the sidelines, young Fishy dispatched three goals with nonchalant ease. Ironically for Imperial students, their engine room was a clapped out Skoda to our Ferrari pairing of Rich Nicholls and Chris Paterson. Paterson, a rich man's Paul Hartley if ever there was one, bossed the midfield with his saccharine left-foot in top form. Nicholls showed that there is life after Wetherspoons Carter with a box to box performance worthy of the bald fascist himself. Then there was Barney. Sadly abortion is illegal in Venezuela and Barney survived the infestations of the womb, plus life as a rent boy on the backstreets of Caracas to make it to the LSE. Despite, or perhaps because of, his Upbringing he (and I write this with gritted teeth) is a marvellously gifted footballer and displayed his grasshopperlike agility to great effect against the reprobates of the Gimperial defence. Two more goals from our most experienced, if perhaps not learned, player, Dom Rustam secured the rout. Showing the jinks and twists that can only be learned from four years of top flight football, Dom avoided embarrassment with two classy finishes. What is not in doubt is that the Mighty Mighty Firsts are back and ready to wage war on the poly scum. cssia Footy Thirds want to Jimi 'Tiptoes' McGurn Mighty 3rds...............6pts Mighty turds...Who cares After romping to the ULU 1st division championship last season, expectation levels surrounding the Mighty Third Team are understandably high. It is under pressure that true sporting legends emerge, the third team began this season's campaign in consummate fashion despatching of the 4th's and 2nd's, scoring 8, conceding only 1. Friendlies count for nothing in the pursuit of ULU glory though and so it was with renewed drive and focus that we began our league assault. A tough early test in the shape of cheating medic scum GKT 2's would be our first league encounter. Obviously too busy fondling his stethoscope the incompetent GKT captain had failed to organise a referee, a failing which ultimately resulted in GKT taking a 1-0 lead by virtue of a handball that even marradonna would have been embarrassed of. The Third Team is characterised by a strong team ethos though, our 'never say die' attitude led to us dominating the rest of the game. It was a moment of individual brilliance which would draw us level - Fabs fired an unstoppable 30 yard volley past the hapless medic's keeper. We salvaged a point; we should have come away with three. Wednesday would be dif- ^eaverSports: FOOTBALL 25/i0/05 25 so many teams..so little space The Fifth team also do well......and the cherry on top believe the hype ferent. After no referee on Saturday we are handed the most incompetent, officious bastard ever to wear black on a football field for our match against RUMS 3's the following Wednesday - Hinnegan, a man for whom the third team reserve a very special hatred. Hinnegan gifted an otherwise inept RUMS 3's side a 2 goal head start in a series of refereeing 'decisions' which defied even the most basic of human logic. It is in the face of such adversity that the true third team spirit emerges; we stormed back to a sensational 6-2 victory. Playing football reminiscent of the legendary Brazil side of 1970, we terrorised the hopeless medic scum. Fhbs again stepped up to the plate, bagging a priceless brace; I drew proceedings level with my first of the season. Special praise though must be reserved for our captain and midfield heartbeat Andy 'Mourinho' Logan, a clutch of inspirational substitutions secured our first three points of the season - Nick 'Frisbee' Groh" sparked mass hysteria with an amazing pile driver, Olli 'The Stallion' Ursino notched with an exquisite 25 yard free kick and an emphatic finish from Geoff 'never lost a football match' Riddell completed the rout. All that remained was to reward the freshers for there stellar efforts on the pitch with a trip to the legend that is 'The Griffin'. A third team institution, an establishment which celebrates virtues at the very centre of the Third Team philosophy - class, agility, flexibility....boy can them girls dance! DJ Birdman and Samadeus Nothing could be said but: "Leave him alone Andy, he does Leisure and Tourism." And so began the defeat of Holloway by a fifth team brimming with confidence having obliterated UCL with a 4-2 win on Saturday. Irfan, still disliked, somehow managed to grab himself a hat-trick in that game, two of which were headers after the ball rebounded off the crossbar Woman-beater Dave Hardboy grabbed the fourth in a straightforward win, no doubt celebrating by clobbering some young lady back at Bankside. Playing the prison scum promised to be an altogether different affair. Fifth team veterans Flash, Deus, Charlie, Dom and Irfan had experience first hand the effects of playing people who have a future in the lower echelons of the hospitality industry. Their reputation as "complete cunts" was certainly not unfounded, and this looked like a game which could be a league decider. How wrong we were. For a female organ, they were pretty shitty. Ben thought they were more like somewhere men could get pleasure from each other rather than girlies. And he would know. But moving on... After a tight first thirty minutes, unfortunately for all involved the breakthrough came from veteran centre-back Dave 'Flash' Gordon. Perhaps it is easiest to describe it in footballers' tense: "The ball's just come loose, and he's just hit it first time, and at the end of the day its just gone in from about 30 yards." Holloway looked on with incredulity. The fifth team looked pissed off. He hasn't shut up about it since. Some would say we play uni football for moments like that, others would say he was just a lucky bastard. An arousing half time Deviant 5ths...................5 Holloway Tourists..........1 team talk followed by captain Rash, this time focused on who would win in a fight between a shark and a bear. This inspirational motivation led us to concede an early goal. It was a cheap, deflected goal, which in all fairness birthday boy Dom should have saved. Burtondo led the fight-back though, increasing his shot to goal ratio to 25:0 in competitive games. Then a clear-cut penalty, in which their was no contact and no appeal, saw the 5ths take back the lead. Hardboy Dave was having more fun than he does armed with a knuckleduster on ladies' night at Hombres, scoring twice, both from outside the score-zone. At 4-1 right-back Pete decided to make a name for himself, giving away our first penalty of the season. Dom celebrated his 20th birthday in style by saving it with his unusually large melon head. The game was capped off by a cheeky goal from Irt, effectively stealing it off fresher Jay from a headed corner An excellent day was made better by fresher Chris breaking his nose in the latter stages. The fifth team then moved onto the Tuns to celebrate another epic victory, placing us at the top of the league. The freshers had their initiation boat race, Luke vomited profusely. Flash wouldn't shut up about his goal, fingerless mute Josh wrestled silently with his pint glass, Dom got screwed by his birthday dirty pint, and post-grad Pete remained philosophical about the whole thing altogether. The fifth team face Strand Poly this Saturday, but with Paddy Power having already paid out bets on the Fifths taking the title, it should be a walkover. A spoken word copy of this article is not available for the visually impaired. Men's ULU Division Two P W D L F A GD Pts 1 LSESths 2 2 0 0 9 3 +6 6 2 UCL6ths 2 2 0 0 9 3 +6 6 3 RSM Ists 2 1 10 3 2 +1 4 Nathan Muruganan dan Anew season always brings great expectations, a beer belly or two to reduce, the recovery of foul-smelling football boots and shin pads which have been kept under wraps during the summer, and a welcome return to the hallowed turf of Berrylands. Fynn Prager, the 0's captain had already laid down the gauntlet for the team; to win the league. This was aptly followed by his modern approach of coaching, which included the introduction of yoga stretches in warm-ups, training sessions (for we didn't have any last season) and a host of new tactics to provide the 6's with the best possible start to the season. The trials had brought in new talent from across the globe, as well as providing some healthy competition to last season survivors. Looking in better shape than before, the 6's had run the LSE 5th's close and were denied victory against the 4th's through biased referring in ^pre-season. . Nevertheless, GKT had the better of the 6's last season, and so the afternoon at' Berrylands produced a closely fought encounter. The temperature on the pitch regularly exceeding that provided by the rarity of sunshine in London. Not all went to plan as the 6's went into their sheU, somewhat, many of the team forgetting the basic mentally of pass and^ move, which we had utilised in our warm-up games. However, the centre-back pairing of Chris (an American who plays ^ootba;ll with a box!) and Fynn stood firm with assis- Sublime 6tfas..................dj GKT 4ths........................0 tance from midfield dynamo Rich Morrow:; Converted striker to right back Oli was another sensational tactical move. Suddenly mid-way through the first half, the 6's produced a stunning counter-attack, player of the year last season Phil releasing lone-striker Brownie whose creativity: fed new-boy Toby. Alas a goal on debut was not to come, as his first shot hit the upright and the rebound sailing marginally past the top-corner. GKT were rattled and suddenly the tide had turned- Again more interplay resulted in another new recruit, Andre testing the keeper. At half-time changes were made, but the game had svmng, the 6's were looking more and more likefy to penetrate the GKT defence. The midfield, began to get a sti-anglehold on the game as new wingers Nick and Greg, started to take show their potential. The defence was still giving no quarter away asV was largely a forlorn figure in goal. More: impeccable interplay: between Andre and Brownie saw Greg hit a half-volley inches over. Substitute Shams was brought on the right to turn up the tempo but the 6's could not create that bit of magic in the last third of the field. At least the team took heart from achieving the unthinkable, keeping a clean sheet. So to the next match, against the jewellers from Goldsmiths, where the team wiU. be looking to get back to win-; ning ways and progressing towards the league summit.; 26 25/10/05 iBeaverSports Run Kevin, run Kevin, run, run, run Kevin 'KB' Baddeley New season, new people, same mission - run fast, keep running fast, and then run fast some more. As the greatest of all the School's clubs which have running as their sole purpose, the Running Club is both diverse in its disciplines and complex in its tactics. Attracting a fresh import of talent from across the pond each year to reinforce the British core of the team, it is open to all who want to risk death spending their winter afternoons in freezing conditions in a skimpy vest and shorts. In a field. The new season brings with it another opportunity to triumph in the London Colleges League. The set- ting for the first race was Hampstead Heath, which doubles as our official training ground, so with the team familiar with the terrain the stage was set for a strong LSE performance. On arrival it became obvious that UCL had invested heavily in state-of-the-art markers to map out the course. No chance of getting lost when you've got yellow plastic bags on sticks every half mile to guide you. The course consisted a 2.5 mile lap of hills and potholes - once round for women, twice for men -and as our pre-race discussion on the 168 had concluded, this apparent discrimination is simply designed to allow cheer-leading skills to be honed. As the race started 150 runners thundered away. Silence set in as everyone realised that the viewing point at the top of the hill was in fact en route and yes we were going to sprint towards it at this tortuous pace. Before long the cheating bastards at Imperial were cutting every corner they could find, leaving LSE with little choice but to follow suit. The epitome of sportsmanship. As the race went on and the field spread out it was clear that we were well placed to score highly, and on finishing the result was extremely tight. LSE's first team is breathing down Imperial's neck with a narrow margin to make up in division 1, while we dominated division 2 coming in 1st and 3rd. The women's team also performed strongly, coming in 5th. Here's the run down of individual results. True to the club's Mugabe-style of democracy, we've been exercising a bit of patronage to boot - so here's our new women's captain Becca, who finished fourth for the team. Erin and Chashah dominated the centre of the field with fine displays, while Melissa exploited her rock climbing skills to lead the women's team home. This weeks Paula Radcliffe award (i.e. fast, not impromptu toilet break) goes to Max who was top of the pile for LSE men, while faster than death by bird flu Matt R stormed in at second. Quality from Fran and Tom saw them come in third and fourth respectively, and the Little Spaniard performed 'awesomely' at fifth. Then some equally brave but rather shit performances (as captain, I believe motivation is the key)... The bottom half of the field was led by Men's ULU Division One 1. ImptrlQl Colleg© 3. UCL 4. 5. Kings 376 288 284 242 Lawrence at sixth, clearly better suited to tracking down pictures for our website you'd otherwise find in FHM Monkeys Edition. Matt T was out to prove it's the taking part that counts, finishing seventh, while at eighth I showed about as much enthusiasm as a Parisian athletics fan. Respect for veteran Keith in ninth and Zack in tenth -you can blame UCL's dismal signage, but disappointment with Greg and Tory boy Will - get out of the tuns and into training once in a while! All is not lost however, with Shiva, Sam and Kent making up a complete LSE third team which is already in line for promotion. So it's a two horse race ' between LSE and the Gimps while UCL look weak and Poly didn't show up. This kind of excitement can only be trumped by winning a prize in economics, so make sure to watch this space. o m Netball Thirds: Too hot to win, even in the rain Rosie Lewis LSE Nttball Thirds. Ktnt Poly Thirds..... ,.17 .30 The newly, but perfectly, formed 3rd team, criteria; looks, drinking ability, personality, drinking ability (netball skills not so important) ventured cross country to take on the University of Kent. Our players (often mistaken for supermodels) were not deterred by the rain setting in at the Aldwych and made the journey with only men's hockey for company. The men's hockey team, being only human, found it hard to keep their hands to themselves whilst in such close proximity to the girls and our captain(the beautiful English Rose) had to reiterate that netball is a non-contact sport and made the naughty boys sit on their hands. Our arduous journey was rewarded with glori- ous sunshine in Kent and the netball 3rds were raring to go. We quickly changed and found what we thought were 'the' courts, lots of girls playing netball was our biggest clue. We began our rigorous warm-up - a strict training regime is needed to ensure that the well-oiled machine that is the LSE 3rd team (made, not bom) functions efficiently. Just as the opposition realised what was going on i.e. we were transforming into netball goddesses, they saw an opportunity to stop us in our tracks by redirecting us to indoor courts approximately three miles away on the other side of the campus - no tube!? What's that all about?! Play ensued and it appeared that the teams were fairly evenly matched. They had the upper hand though, being on their home ground and having their coach present. Obviously not being blessed with the academic excellence expected as standard at the LSE they clearly had lots of spare time on their hands and appeared to have channelled it into their fitness -hats off to you girls, you were the better side after an hour and a half. Everyone agreed that the score didn't reflect the level and balance of play, a fast-paced match which was constantly changing ends. Kent snuck in a few extra goals in the second quarter and even though during the last half the scoring was pretty much alternate, the damage had been done. The much cov- eted 'Dame of the Game' was awarded to sexy superstar shooter Ros; Kent obvioulsy know quality when they see it. As the final whistle blew the 3rd team were craving sugar or gih(or even gravy in one case) and were rewarded with smar-ties from, all round centre court wonder woman, Hannah. We put our own cravings for a drink on the backseat though to go and show the Kentish supporters what real team spirit was as we crossed over to the hockey pitch to cheer our boys on. iBeaverSports 25/10/05 27 Women's Tennis hit an Ace Sancha Bainfon It was ten past one and tensions were high. The match was due to begin at one. Our team was there, the Royal Vets team were there, my mum and the kitchen sink were there, the opponents however were not. Thinking UCL had arranged some form of blind date between the Royal Vets and the stunning LSE firsts we headed to the bar to eat barbeque flavoured Walkers. UCL first team soon arrived (we were playing the seconds). We knew they were the first team because they informed us of this fact numerous times within seconds of walking on to the court. After establishing they were indeed the FIRSTS and we were consequently not worthy of indoor courts, we removed ourselves. UCL 2nds captain soon appeared from the toilet and when questioned about her lateness, constantly reviewed scribbles on her hand and insisted we were in the wrong for turning up at the arranged match time and that we would have to give them 40 minutes to warm up. Fair enough, a little perturbed we headed back for more barbeque Walkers and some ph213 reading. Expecting a good opposition (a forty minute warm up is definitely evidence of proper preparation - they weren't eating crisps) we eventually started the singles. With myself sitting out of the first round, Erin, Pati (our honourable captain), Alex and Becky kicked off the new season. Alex (US) was pretty shocked that English tennis was played on sandy mush, while Becky (Sp) experienced some hardcore English wind. Erin's 6-0 6-0 annihilation was completed in 29mins shortly followed by the new members of 'We hate artificial grass united' and finally Pati (SOmins). UCL had won 9 games, a great achievement if all matches were the best of .... 3 games, however all 8 sets played belonged to us. The doubles were not of worth regarding the result of the overall fixture, we had already won, however being an extremely serious team we prepared as usual with our routine of high-fives, (note to all - high-fives American style HAVE to be high in the air, I was told off for being ghetto with my lower waist height approach). The ass whipping continued as we won both doubles 8-0 and 8-2. UCL left with their 11 games, an hour and a half of spare court time and sadly in full knowledge of the fact they are definitely the seconds. We left with 64 games, and able to tick Fairlop off our 'Great Places to Visit in London List.' I was a bit gutted as the next stop was Grange Hill, a reference wasted on the internationals amongst us. 6-0 to the LSE. Job well done ladies - only 2 hours court time needed in future. The Netball Fifths: robbed in the last quarter Siana Brefherfon LSE Netball Fifths. RVC Poly Thirds. .17 ,.15 Having not played together before, just starting to learn names, our hopes were not high, especially when we saw our opponents, irf their full kits and skirts and special stick on bibs. There we were on court in an array of black and purple hoping our half court practice would pay dividend. 1st quarter, 7-5 We needn't have worried, we seemed to gel perfectly, Libby (C and 5th team captain) got our centre passes to Laura (WA) and Harry (GA) and the ball made it to the D with ease where Tamsin (GS) and Harry (who couldn't shoot?!) popped in the balls. On the opposite side of the court Puisan (GD) and Nikki (GK) ensured the balls that managed to make it down the court headed back up. 2nd quarter, 11-7 We knew that the fact we were ahead in the first quarter of our first ever game was a definite good sign, but we also knew we were pretty evenly matched, we couldn't let this slip. And we didn't. Watching our passes a little more and intercepting with a little more caution (we had an amazing umpire), well where caution was due, Libby, Siana (WD) and Puisan throwing (with grace and dignity) themselves across court or jumping to impressive effect (Puisan) to ensure fewer balls managed to get down to the opposing circle. We were playing so much better, watching our passes a little more and playing as a team. 3rd quarter, 17-15 We knew this time we'd have to work, after 30min-utes of play, facing fresh players, a new centre against Libby and the GA, who was from their 1st team, swapping to GS, who, taller than Nikki found it easier than their previous GS to pop the balls into the goal. But we didn't let it go, Tamsin and Harry managing a further 8 goals, thanks to efforts from the whole team, 3 more than we had achieved in the first quarter. RVC knew that had to work hard to win, draw even, they changed their positions and play. But at the end of the 3rd quarter we knew what we had to do to win, and there is no question that we would have beaten them. Due to a late start we had to stop play after the 3rd quarter, especially once the ugly man in green moved our post away from the court. Discussion between the umpire and team captains ensued, and apparently it was left to the away team to decide that the final score of 17-15, and fact we had WON EVERY QUARTER was a draw!?! We knew we would have won, every quarter indicated this. The fact that RVC couldn't accept this is a little sad! And if this is how we play in our. first ever match we will be amazing (especially after more training) in subsequent matches. So I think a re-match is definitely called for- bring it RVC we will beat you!! But as Laura put so eloquently at least we can console ourselves with the fact that we don't have to stick our hands up a sheep's arse (or in fact any animal!) ifwiruii •«anair *• * I The netball girls just can't believe it's not butter Special Offers Punched Pockets lOO's £1 off Was £2.99 Now £1.99 File Dividers 10 Part 75p each or 3 for the price of 2 Quorndon Muffins 59p each or 2 for 89p Burt's potato crisps 59p each or 2 for 89p 24 Football sweep the board this week 27 Netball feel the brute force of bureaucracy 2 6 Any other Ball ^ Or indeed running, which doesn't involve any balls... k LSE Rugby defy stereotypes ^ LSE 1st XV 24 12 Writtle College wri,„.®L Aiwrewjwieew.rf^riiiiiwiuvi^bw BUSA League 3 Wednesday 19th October Fortress Berrylands Jimmy Jim Jam Whilst most people had spent the summer relaxing on a beach somewhere, • there was no such luxury for the Rugby Club 1st XV, who had been following an intensive pre-season regime to reach the peak of physical fitness. Possibly. The first group of jokers to try their luck down at The Fortress were Writtle College (no, we'd never heard of them either but they apparently offer degrees in "Amenity Horticulture" and "Floristry"). The game kicked off at such a pace that that the puny opposition must've wished they had stuck to arranging flowers rather than try to live with the might of fifteen war-hardened social scientists. Attack after attack swept through the losers half with new forwards Vidu Shanmugarjarajarajarajah, Chris Beaven, and Adam Callaghan leading from the front. Putting bodies on the line Despite constant pressure, the men from the Aldwych just couldn't put points on the board, and soon enough they had to face some attacks themselves. Part-time cricketer Rich Hooper, part-time rugby player Hash Shubber, and full-time male model wannabe Kav Patel put their bodies ' ' '' ' ' ' r Ball-sucking, booze-craving, Water-throwin' mother-f*ckers on the line in the name of defence and eventually had to be carried off the battlefield injured. Despite such crushing blows to team morale, spirits were soon lifted when prop Mark 'Monster' Baur found himself with the ball in hand, 30m out, and not a poly soul in sight. Back in full flow, the glorious band of forwards, including Ballsucker at his immeasurable best, maintained an impressive level of pressure, allowing the new-look back line to go close through the mercurial scrum-half Jon Cox. Wirral step it up Unfortunately, the points margin wasn't maintained and for some reason, the boys from Writtle thought they were allowed to play some rugby. However, some bone-crushing tackles from Fraser "third team" Dalby (aka Kitty) and the token Austrian Girvin Wiedl, kept the unintelligent delinquent hordes at bay. The second half started appallingly for the home side and a quick try was conceded. The frustration was there for all to see and hear, as the incomprehensible Clementine Broumley-Young attempted to communicate once again with some sort of shriek. LSE fight back Not ones to let the pressure get to them, the Houghton Street gang went about putting things right, with the immense Jon Pole and Robert 'Gay Hair' Dunford boshing their way through some feeble resistance. With a little more flair and muscle required, it was time for true athlete Jorge Pizarro and welsh prop Rhys Meggy to enter the fray After some superb off-the-cuff rugby from the backs, club captain Edward 'Bear' Harrold showed his wealth of experience by crashing over the try line in the comer as the opposition heads began to drop. However, despite spending as much time in front of the mirror as his countryman Gavin Henson, Adam 'T' Thomas showed that he could only match the Welsh international in open-play, with several kicks falling "slightly short" of the posts. Thieving Southerners? With a few nervous moments left, it was left to the captain to drag his side over the line with a brace of tries. However, in a true reversal of the common social stereotype, the Liverpool lad had to contend with one of his own team-mates (a Southerner no less) trying to steal one of his hard-earned tries. Is flici'c iliiil I'liyiiif's with piuli ihal iiiciitis - IscI and Jrii licudliiics is riiii!)