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October 31, 2004
London bid for the Olympics
Pete Wishart MP is cautiously questioning the benefit to Scotland of the London Olympics bid.
Holding the Olympics is basically a development project. New facilities are built and new infrastructure is created that are intended to be useful after the games are over.
Do we want this kind of project in the most developed, congested, over-stretched, over-populated corner of our over-centralized state?
I would be happy to see it in the north of England - that might indirectly benefit Scotland, if only by promoting a more balanced British economy - but not in London!
www.snp.org/index_hires.php?pageName=news/newsdetail.php?newsID=2559
Posted by Simon Holledge at 03:04 PM | TrackBack
October 30, 2004
Following the US election
Concerned about the result of the ES election? One of the best ways to follow the polls is through Electoral-vote.com. The analysis changes daily and it’s necessary to read the text, as well as look at the map, to get the full picture.
As of today, Florida, Ohio, Michigan, Iowa, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New Jersey, Colorado and Hawaii all remain on a knife-edge. The vote prediction is Bush 280, Kerry 243, but the detailed analysis is more favourable to Kerry than these figures suggest.
My prediction [Saturday 14.47!] is Kerry. I think the Democrats will get out the vote strongly enough to win, but it is going to be very close.
Posted by Simon Holledge at 02:17 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
The number of deaths in Iraq
From time to time, I have looked at the Iraq Body Count site
www.iraqbodycount.net/. This website has played an important role in tracking the number of civilian deaths announced in the media. Currently they are giving minimum/maximum figures of 14,181 to 16,312 people ‘reported killed by military intervention in Iraq’.
Like a number of other people, I have been assuming a total figure of around 20,000 (or even 25,000) dead including soldiers. This figure would represent a bloody, incompetently executed removal of the Baathist dictatorship, but would not necessarily mean that Iraq was worse off than it was under the personalized terror of Saddam Hussein.
This has to be reassessed with the publication in the Lancet of figures based on a survey of 33 areas of Iraq by doctors led by Les Roberts of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. This study suggests a death toll of 100,000 or more. Given the sound methodology of the study, it seems clear that we have seriously underestimated the loss of life in Iraq. Whether the toll is really above 100,000 may or may not be proven, but it seems likely that the total is very much higher than 20,000 to 25,000. The situation in Iraq may well be worse than it was under Saddam.
Where does that leave Blair? Getting rid of Saddam has been the one remaining justification for the invasion left to the PM. Even that is now undermined.
Where does that leave the Labour Party, formerly the party of the social conscience, the party most supportive of the United Nations? Labour are morally bankrupt - probably for a generation.
www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1338749,00.html?gusrc=rss
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3962969.stm
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3964311.stm
www.snp.org/index_hires.php?pageName=news/newsdetail.php?newsID=2562
Posted by Simon Holledge at 01:25 AM | TrackBack
October 29, 2004
SNP ink cartridge appeal
SNP Party Fundraiser Jim Henderson is asking members to help the SNP, and the environment, by recycling old ink cartridges!
He writes: “What do you do with your ink cartridge once it runs out? If the answer is you put it in the bin, than why not think about helping the environment and at the same time help the SNP raise some money by recycling your cartridges.
All you need do the next time your run out of ink is post off your old cartridge to Headquarters. We will get it uplifted (as part of a bulk lot) and in return the Party will receive payment.”
HQ address is 107 McDonald Road, Edinburgh, EH7 4NW, tel. 0131 525 8904
Posted by Simon Holledge at 12:47 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
October 28, 2004
Weblogs in Local Democracy Week 2004
Three Warwickshire councillors, one Labour, one Liberal Democrat, and one Conservative, have been keeping blogs as part of Local Democracy Week (18-24 October), which is focused on people aged 26 and under:
www.warwickshire.gov.uk/ldw2004
Posted by Simon Holledge at 11:58 PM | TrackBack
October 27, 2004
Tracking your MP I
If you want to monitor your MP - surely a good idea! - ‘They Work For You’ offer an excellent service. Their website is at:
If you log in and give your postcode, you will see the name of your MP, his or her voting record and performance data (number of spoken and written questions, attendance at Westminster, responsiveness to constituents etc.)
For example my MP is Mark Lazarowicz (Edinburgh North and Leith/Labour). From ‘They Work For You’ I learn that he has spoken 97 times in the last year (177th out of 658 MPs), asked 59 written questions (209th out of 658 MPs), attended 79% of votes (125th out of 658 MPs), replies to 79% of messages sent via FaxYourMP.com within 14 days (182nd out of 589 MPs) and significantly ‘occasionally rebels against his party’.
Most useful of all is the special newsfeed about the activities of your MP. If you subscribe to the feed with a news reader, you will be notified every time your MP is active in parliament. Not only that, you can also comment on what your MP has said or written - just as you can on this blog.
At the moment - as far as I know - no SNP actvists are using this splendid resource, but with a general election coming up it is essential reading!
Posted by Simon Holledge at 01:08 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
October 26, 2004
Hands off the Edinburgh Queen's Hall!
The Queen’s Hall have just launched an appeal. They explain:
“The Queen’s Hall in Edinburgh is entering an exciting new phase of development as the board and management consider the possibility of a new building or substantial redevelopment of the existing site of Clerk Street.
The board have engaged Richard Murphy Architects to develop a feasibility study to consider the needs of The Scottish Chamber Orchestra who are based here and also the requirements of our business to provide facilities fit for the 21st Century thereby improving conditions for concert promoters, artists and the concert going public.”
The phrase ‘fit for the 21st Century’ is particularly ominous. There have been few improvements in acoustics since the 19th century. Most of the world’s finest recital and concert halls and opera houses were built more than 100 years ago. The Queen’s Hall itself has superb acoustics. With 850/900 seats, it is perfect for chamber music, recitals and popular music. It is a historic building, constructed in 1823 and it should be preserved not ‘redeveloped’.
The needs of concert promoters (presumably for more seats) should not be prioritized over those of the public. If Edinburgh needs a concert hall with 1,200 or 1,400 seats, then a new one should be built, though I would argue that we already have an excellent concert venue in the Usher Hall, and what we really need is a multi-purpose national theatre/opera house with 2,000 seats.
Regarding the Queen’s Hall, i will not be responding to any appeal for money until the board and management undertake to maintain the auditorium in its present form and not make any unnecessary and harmful structural changes.
www.queenshalledinburgh.co.uk/
www.richardmurphyarchitects.com/
Posted by Simon Holledge at 02:04 PM | TrackBack
Foreign students to be hit again I
The Home Office intend to raise visa renewal (‘Leave to remain’) fees for international students to as much as 380 or 495 pounds. (The lower price is for postal applications, the higher for personal ones.) The charges will also apply to highly skilled migrant workers and some other categories.
Until August 2003 there were no charges. After that date fees of 150 or 250 pounds were demanded, in theory to cover the cost of processing applications. (This was dubious because the new system introduced written application documents which didn’t exist before the charges.)
Basically the government is now suggesting that the full cost of processing applications, hearing appeals and enforcing visa extension refusals should all be paid for out of the renewal fee. In other words, bona fide foreign students will have pay the costs involved in processing visa offenders.
The period granted for both visas on entry and renewals is at the discretion of the immigration officer. This means that the Home Office will be able to maximize their income by reducing the period of stay.
Arrangements like these - which will be imposed following a Home-office-style nominal consultation - make complete nonsense of Jack McConnell’s Fresh Talent initiative to give visa extensions to graduates.
Are the SNP listening?
Edinburgh University International Office has published a good explanation of what is involved:
www.ed.ac.uk/internat/HomeOfficequestionnaire.html
Posted by Simon Holledge at 12:25 AM | TrackBack
October 25, 2004
Tell an American to vote
If you think the presidential election is too important to leave to the people of the USA you may be in good company, but there isn’t a lot we can do except hope.
Nevertheless there is one thing you might be able to do to help. Democrats Abroad have a site called ‘Tell an American to vote’. If you know an American in Scotland who hasn’t arranged an absentee vote, you can pass on his or her details. It’s a fine website!
Posted by Simon Holledge at 11:07 PM | TrackBack
Energy Efficiency Week
This week is Energy Efficiency Week. I didn’t know that, but the SNP have published a paper on the subject, calling for the release of energy statistics and the creation of a national energy efficiency strategy.
Richard Lochhead MSP writes, “There is no doubt that energy efficiency is the missing link in the Scottish Government’s efforts to tackle climate change and tackle issues such as fuel poverty. Given that energy consumption is actually increasing and not decreasing, the Scottish Government is going to have to redouble its efforts to make Scotland energy efficient. Every citizen also has a responsibility to play a part in reducing energy consumption.”
www.snp.org/index_hires.php?pageName=news/newsdetail.php?newsID=2542
Posted by Simon Holledge at 12:07 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
October 24, 2004
Multrees Walk, Baghdad, Edinburgh
Late afternoon in Multrees Walk and VSG Security are alert to an attempted terrorist reconnaissance. Photo © S Holledge
I wrote about the St James’s Centre on 12 October and wanted to add some photos of the building and its surroundings. So on Friday I took advantage of the good weather to walk over to St James’s to take some shots. (These are now up).
Dressed conventionally in an old (venerable?) tweed jacket, I’d just had my hair cut and looked, I thought, as respectable as any other citizen of Scotland’s capital. Or maybe not!
Leaving the centre I strolled into Multrees Walk, the ‘Edinburgh Nouveau’ shopping area behind Harvey Nichols. and started taking a couple of pictures. To my astonishment I was sharply apprehended by a security guard who told me (a) I was not allowed to take pictures, suggesting that I “might be on a reconnaissance”, (b) that Multrees Walk was private property not a public street, and (c) that he worked for VSG Security whose main office was in London, but he “couldn’t give me the address for security reasons”, and (d) VSG were employed by Jones Lang LaSalle.
Multrees Walk has spaces for 27 shops but only 8 are occupied: Louis Vuitton, Armani, a new branch of Valvona and Crolla and a few others. It’s a failed attempt to lure in the usual international luxury tourist goods companies. Could this be the reason why they don’t want photographs?
I checked the street for any notices suggesting that it was a private area. There were none. Later on the internet I found VSG were based in Northampton. Their address is of course readily available. The press representatives of Jones Lang LaSalle denied that their company were involved: it was LaSalle Investment Management.
Alastair Jamieson had an article with a picture of the Valvona and Crolla branch in the Scotsman on 16 October.
news.scotsman.com/features.cfm?id=1194172004
Posted by Simon Holledge at 07:46 PM | TrackBack
October 23, 2004
'Edinburgh Nouveau'
Edinburgh is acquiring a number of rather similar new buildings.
Harvey Nichols with Multrees Walk to the left. Photo © S Holledge
The Harvey Nichols department store in St Andrews’s Square is an example: stone with large windows, and panels of opaque green glass and grey-painted metal with shallow faux balconies. Multrees Walk, the unsuccessful shopping street around the side of Harvey Nichols is in the same style.
The buildings are dull and conservative, expensive looking and a bit vulgar, vaguely reminiscent of 1970s Chinese hotel architecture. I’ve been wondering about a name for the style: maybe ‘Edinburgh Nouveau’?
Work underway at 33 Princes Street: the usual suspects? Photo © S Holledge
The building now going up at 33-41 Princes Street (formerly C&A) is apparently derivative. Does it reflect the taste of the Edinburgh Council Planning Department? The design is by 3D Architects. Judging by illustrations on the internet the company were originally putting forward designs for a much more radical building, which would also have been less obtrusive.
33 Princes Street billboard. Photo © S Holledge
www.cda-group.co.uk/cdaflash.html
Posted by Simon Holledge at 11:01 PM | TrackBack
October 22, 2004
Internet politics in the USA
Bush and Kerry have each answered 12 questions put to them by the Computing Technology Industry Association. Their responses vary obviously, but both men are positive about the net.
Would any leading politician (or party) in Britain would be capable of answering these questions?
www.comptia.org/pressroom/election_2004.aspx
Posted by Simon Holledge at 10:13 PM | TrackBack
October 21, 2004
RFID chips to be put in US passports
The Americans are introducing passports with embedded 64 kb radio frequency identification (RFID) chips. The idea is to make passports more secure and harder to forge.
Information is not encrypted (because foreign governments are involved) but will bear a US government digital signature. The idea is that the information on the chip, including name, address, date and place of birth and a photo, should correspond with the information in the passport.
RFID is now used to track the flow of goods in supermarkets, also pets and livestock. Some people are sceptical about whether security will really be improved by including chips in passports. However the chips will make it easier for companies with the right equipment (hotels for example) to collect personal data.
www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,65412,00.html/wn_ascii
Posted by Simon Holledge at 08:11 PM | TrackBack
TV-B-Gone
Someone has invented a small remote device for discreetly turning off televisions in public places. It flashes out a series of codes until it finds one that switches off the set. A special European model is apparently available.
www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,65392,00.html?tw=wnstorypage_prev2
Posted by Simon Holledge at 01:07 AM | TrackBack
October 20, 2004
Black Watch to Iskandariya?
The request for British troop support in the Sunni triangle two weeks before the American election has to be political.
Blair and Hoon probably think they can once again disregard with impunity demoralized Labour back benchers, ambivalent Tories and impeachment-shy Liberal Democrats - but why is it so important for them to move 600 troops north and out of their normal theatre of operations now? Just to spite Kerry and make the war look more of team effort?
Maybe Bush is hoping for some good news out of Iraq just before November 2? Perhaps the capture of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi? That might explain the activity around Fallujah. Could the Black Watch be part of this scenario in some obscure way? Maybe to free up American troops for a special pre-November 2 push?
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3757910.stm
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3755358.stm
thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1213332004
thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1213002004
www.snp.org/index_hires.php?pageName=news/newsdetail.php?newsID=2526
Posted by Simon Holledge at 12:51 AM | TrackBack
Edinburgh's third tram line
I am a great tram enthusiast. I’ve never used them in Britain but I lived on the Hong Kong Happy Valley line, and on the Tokyo Arakawa line.
I remember the Kyoto trams which which were laid out in a perfect grid enabling you to reach any corner of the city with only one interchange, an ideal way of getting around the dozens of temples and gardens in the old capital. Maybe even better than the Venetian vaporetto. Of course they replaced the trams with buses years ago!
Anyway (putting aside the nostalgia) the idea of having three new tram lines in Edinburgh is very exciting.
Alan McEwen reports that the route for tram number 3 has just been decided: Waverley Station to Newcraighall via Cameron Toll, the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, Niddrie and Craigmillar. It will cost 170 million pounds, which will probably come from the congestion charge.
news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=607&id=1192512004
Posted by Simon Holledge at 12:04 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
October 19, 2004
Edinburgh congestion charge
Following the success of congestion charges in London, a public enquiry has come out in favour of a similar scheme for Edinburgh. The next stage will be a referendum to be held next year.
Labour and the Greens are backing the scheme, while the SNP and the Conservatives (pro motorist) are against it. Are we in the right camp on this?
Fergus Ewing suggests that the scheme would hurt small businesses, also that public transport would be inadequate in coping with extra passengers. Business may be fearful of change, but if the general urban environment improves, then surely many shops can expect more rather than less business? On the transport question, how would we fund better public transport without the charges?
Ewing writes: “If this does become a referendum, I would urge people to vote against it until Edinburgh Council can come up with a more appropriate system.”
What kind of system would be appropriate?
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3752768.stm
news.scotsman.com/edinburgh.cfm?id=1214482004
www.snp.org/index_hires.php?pageName=news/newsdetail.php?newsID=2521
Posted by Simon Holledge at 11:09 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
October 18, 2004
Wales Millennium Centre
Given a choice, would you give Scotland a new parliament building or a new arts complex?
An unfair question perhaps . . . Nevertheless I would have opted for the arts complex, or rather four of them. One for Edinburgh, one for Glasgow, one for Aberdeen, one for Inverness (or should it be Dundee?) - each with two theatres, one state-of-the-art lyric theatre with 1,850 seats and a studio theatre with 250. What a difference that would have made to the arts in Scotland!
The Wales Millennium Centre opens on 26 November. It cost 104 million. Maybe we could use it for the Edinburgh Festival? No, maybe I shouldn’t have written that . . . .
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/3710244.stm
Posted by Simon Holledge at 11:29 PM | TrackBack
ID cards: Home Office submission
On 28 April 2004 I made a submission to the Home Office as follows:
I am against a compulsory system of ID cards and might consider refusing to carry one. Nevertheless I welcome the introduction of reliable systems of identity verification that are not under the control of the state.
I have had to carry ID cards in two countries (Hong Kong in the early 1980s and Japan in the 1990s), and in both cases the system was problematic, giving the police power to harass ordinary citizens on the street, while driving those without cards underground and towards organized crime.
I also have plenty of experience of database operating errors here in Britain! I doubt very much whether the government have the competence to run an advanced ID card system efficiently. Judging by the cost of the scheme as published, a very large amount of money (that could be better used elsewhere) would be wasted, while those adversely affected by system failures would face curtailment of their basic rights. The individual with a problematic card would be guilty until proven innocent - that is implicit in a compulsory system - and vice versa, the criminal/illegal/terrorist with an (apparently) clean card would be in the clear!
Documents such as passports and driving licences are acceptable because they contain relevant information, which the holder can access, verify, and produce in appropriate circumstances. An ID card with hidden information that belongs to the state, rather than the citizen, is an instrument of power over the citizen that can be used arbitrarily.
In the States, some people have addressed the problem of introducing ID cards that don’t threaten basic rights, by emphasizing verification rather than identification. Essentially the individual rather than the state would be in control. The idea is to have a card with encrypted information (not available to government) that could be decrypted when appropriate by a finger print scan (or some other form of biometric data check). Steven Brill’s private ‘Verified Identity’ card, see www.verifiedidpass.com , is an example of this kind of project (see also Jeffrey Rosen, The Naked Crowd: Reclaiming Security and Freedom in an Anxious Age, Random House, 2004). We should look at a similar scheme for use in Britain.
Finally - as admitted in the consultation document - there are limits to the legal applicability of the proposed scheme to Scotland. ID cards, as such, are not a ‘reserved matter’ and should be handled by the Scottish Parliament not Westminster. In this context, the inclusion of Glasgow in the pilot scheme was a provocation.
I would be grateful if you could acknowledge that this message has been read and properly considered.
Sincerely etc.
Posted by Simon Holledge at 12:28 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Against ID cards
David Blunkett and the Home Office are proceeding with the promotion of ID cards, regardless of all the criticism that has been levelled at the scheme.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3738760.stm
I cannot remember a public question on which government have so consistently confused all the issues. At the same time they have ignored every reasoned criticism of the scheme on technical, financial and moral grounds. Blunkett is willing to put forward any and every plausible argument in favour of introducing the cards, and yet it remains unclear why he and his officials really want them.
Liberty have a special campaign against ID cards and are currently appealing for funds for it. There is also the No2ID website.
www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/privacy/id-cards.shtml
www.no2id.net/content/join.html
Posted by Simon Holledge at 12:09 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
October 17, 2004
In support of Craig Murray
British ambassadors should never be silenced for speaking up against human rights abuses, but that is apparently what has happened to Craig Murray, formerly British ambassador to Uzbekistan.
Murray objected to receiving intelligence obtained by torture, something that Jack Straw evidently finds acceptable.
news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1199822004
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3750370.stm
Posted by Simon Holledge at 11:13 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Invitation to blog/FAQ
The Skakagrall SNP Weblogging Project
This is an invitation to join in an SNP weblogging project, aimed at making the SNP more independent in making and shaping the news, less dependent on British newspapers and broadcasting.
*What is the Skakagrall?
The Skakagrall is a weblog. Its address is: http://skakagrall.com
*What is a weblog?
A weblog (or blog) is an online journal with news, information and opinions. Readers are able to write comments next to dated entries. There are reciprocal links and feeds to other internet sites and users. It can be used with a separate programme called a news reader which receives news feeds off the internet.
*What is a news feed?
It’s a list of news stories delivered to your computer. For example, every time the Scotsman website publish a story about the SNP they send out a notification. If you are interested in a particular item, you can then access it. News feeds are available from all over the world and from specialist publications, so it’s a way of keeping in touch with particular places and issues. For example, on the Skakagrall I have international environmental news that isn’t carried by British media. News feeds come from both the news providers (such as the BBC, the Guardian or the Scotsman) and from blogs (such as the Skakagrall).
*Are you hoping that I will read the Skakagrall?
Yes, of course, I hope so. I will also be pleased if you leave comments, challenge my opinions or the accuracy of my facts, add information etc. However it will be even better if you start your own blog and link it to mine. (I’ll be happy to help you do this if you send me an email)
*What do you expect to achieve with the Skakagrall?
One single weblog will only have a minor influence, but I am hoping the Skakagrall will be the first in a series of networked blogs.
*Why is blogging important?
Blogging is active. Instead of passively receiving news from the TV and newspapers, you can actively search out information and ideas, re-shape, edit and develop them. The process can be extremely rapid, easily outpacing print media, while offering much more substance than broadcasting. Blogs can provide a critical resource, enabling the party to anticipate issues, rather than merely react to them after events.
*Is there an example of blogging influencing politics?
Yes indeed. This year the Democrat Party was energized by grassroots action organized and supported on the internet. A group of 35 bloggers were accredited to the Democratic National Convention in Boston in July. (The Democrats have also been advertizing online.)
*Could blogging help the SNP financially?
Yes blogging can be very effective in fund raising, but also ultimately by cutting the party’s huge expenditure on print.
*Are other British parties and politicians blogging?
Yes. Some blogs have been little more than online diaries (e.g. Jody Dunn’s Lib-Dem Hartlepool Diary), while others have encouraged some dialogue with the public (e.g. Boris-Johnson.com). None of the party conferences this year officially invited bloggers to attend, though there was unofficial blogging on Brighton beach (using WiFi) at the time of the Labour conference.
*Does it cost a lot to blog?
No. It can be free. In the case of the Skakagrall, it cost 7 pounds to set up and 18 pounds a year for the webserver. Movable Type, the leading software for blogging, is free for individual use. (Obviously you need a computer and an internet connection. It is possible to write a blog offline and upload via a dialup connection, but a permanent broadband connection is much more convenient.)
*Isn’t it complicated to set up and doesn’t it take up a lot of time?
Not necessarily. There are different options, some simpler, some more complicated, some with more design control, some with less. Again some are more expensive, some less. Making a short daily entry shouldn’t take much longer than writing an email.
*Who are you anyway?
I was born in London … but there’s plenty of information about me on the Skakagrall (see the the right-hand side column under Background).
Yours for Scotland,
Edinburgh, 17 October 2004
[sent by email to a list of SNP members]
Posted by Simon Holledge at 09:37 PM
October 16, 2004
Broadband over powerlines (BPL)
Scottish Hydro Electric (Scottish and Southern Energy Group) are offering broadband over powerlines (BPL) at competitive rates. According to an email received from the company, they are operating in Crieff and Stonehaven. Campbeltown is also covered, but by satellite (whether local powerlines are used is not clear).
In America government bodies are now encouraging BPL, especially in areas where implementing DSL or cable broadband is not economic. They expect BPL to take off as a technology there within the next 5 years.
www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,65350,00.html/wn_ascii
Posted by Simon Holledge at 02:00 AM
October 15, 2004
RSS advertizing?
RSS newsfeeds have been a big success recently - so now people are thinking about how to include advertizing in the feeds! Whether that’s a good thing may be doubted, but it elicited a great quote from Jason Calacanis, the founder of Weblogs, who is supporting the idea:
“Visiting the website is dating; getting a daily email is going steady - but subscribing to an RSS feed, well, that is like getting married to a news source. It’s really the highest commitment you can make.”
www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,65347,00.html/wn_ascii
Posted by Simon Holledge at 10:47 PM
October 14, 2004
Population decline I: 'Fresh Talent' and foreign students
Scotland’s economic interests are different from those of Britain as a whole. Scotland’s uniquely declining and aging population is proof. If our economic policies remain subordinate to those of the United Kingdom, we can expect further relative decline in the economy, and absolute decline in the population.
Jack McConnell’s Fresh Talent initiative, involving two year visa extensions for non-EU graduates of Scottish universities is an excellent idea (see Gillian Bowditch’s article below), but can it work without a major reorganization of the way immigration is handled in Scotland?
A Scottish immigration policy requires a Scottish immigration service that is more accessible than the present organization, with offices in more cities (not just Glasgow), and an end to prohibitive charges for visas (a practice at some British embassies abroad) and visa renewals (substantial charges were introduced by the Home Office in July 2003 - after only 3 weeks notice!).
However the SNP should really be thinking beyond this. The universities are one of Scotland’s greatest assets. If would be good if there were more of them, offering more places, attracting more foreign academics and students. (Locating new universities in the north would also be a way of mitigating against population loss in particular places.)
Fees also need to be reduced. Charging non-EU postgraduates up to GBP 18,000 or 20,000 a year is counter-productive. Many students are deterred from applying and go to cheaper and more welcoming countries such as Australia or Canada. Those that do come are usually from rich countries and often have to return to them to recoup the investment made in their education.
news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1195282004
www.nusonline.co.uk/campaigns/internationalism/267898.aspx
Posted by Simon Holledge at 12:02 PM | Comments (2)
October 13, 2004
Mobile phone jamming coming to France
Mobile phone jamming in public areas was legalized in France in December. In future, a concert hall or a cinema will be able to black out all calls during performances. Technical standards are now being worked out and jamming will probably be introduced next summer.
Jamming is illegal in the States, but it is being tested in Japan. In Britain the focus has been on controlling mobile phone use on trains and the London Underground. Maybe now is the time to follow France and allow public venues to jam at their discretion?
www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,51273,00.html
www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,18733-2,00.html?tw=wnstorypage_next1
www.wired.com/news/gizmos/0,1452,65378,00.html/wn_ascii
Posted by Simon Holledge at 12:15 PM
October 12, 2004
St James's Centre, Edinburgh
South entrance of the St James’s Centre shopping mall Photo © S Holledge
Jim Gilchrist has an interesting article on Edinburgh’s ‘most unpopular building’, the St James’s Centre. (Did they forget about the Appleton Tower?)
It comes as a shock to learn that the St James’s Centre site was originally a two-level shopping street resembling Victoria Street. So much for conservation! I am pleased to see that the Cockburn Association are for demolition.
Empty office block at the back of the St James’s Centre from James Craig Walk Photo © S Holledge
One architect offering advice is Allan Murray who was responsible for the tinted-glass Omni cinema complex building opposite, but isn’t that almost as bad as the St James’s Centre itself?
The Omni Cinema Complex Photo © S Holledge
news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=1182242004
Posted by Simon Holledge at 12:56 AM | Comments (3)
October 11, 2004
Connery versus the press
Sir Sean Connery is angry with the press.
Granted that Scotland (and Britain’s) traditional media are inadequate, I think it’s a waste of time and energy attacking broadcasters and newspapers head on. No point in arguing with a noisy steamroller. Much better to go round it. What we have to do is transform the way that news is made, reported and commented on.
We have to stop being passive recipients of the news and start making it, editing it and distributing it ourselves - online!
news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1180542004
Posted by Simon Holledge at 02:48 PM | Comments (1)
October 10, 2004
Queen opens Holyrood
The Queen opened the Scottish Parliament yesterday and a lot of people had a lot of fun, Scotland’s poet laureate Edwin Morgan said the Queen shouldn’t be there. Sir Sean Connery thought Tony Blair should have been there, and folksinger Eddi Reader would have been happy with a double booking with the republican counter-ceremony on Calton Hill.
Gawking at people in funny clothes has never appealed to me. I didn’t go and I wasn’t surprised to hear that few other people went. After all, the parliamentary doors are already open, and the building isn’t actually finished. The Queen’s opening was a formality to be gone through at some arbitrary point.
The best description of the event was from Bill Jamieson, the Executive Editor of the Scotsman: “I waited in a crowd one deep near the bottom of the Canongate. … First down was an oompah band that could have been hired for a garden centre opening in Surbiton… .”
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3727526.stm
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3731882.stm
news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=1180942004
scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1179492004
Posted by Simon Holledge at 03:21 PM
October 09, 2004
Coastal archaeological sites threatened
Coastal erosion is threatening a number of archaeological sites in Benbecula, Caithness, East Lothian, Fife, the Orkneys and the Shetlands and elsewhere,
Experts at a conference organized by the Scottish Coastal Archaeology and the Problem of Erosion (SCAPE) Trust on October 12 will discuss the fact that Historic Scotland are not accepting responsibility for sites in the face of natural erosion.
Apparently the government has made money available for coastal protection, but there are no specific funds for protecting archaeological sites. The archaeologists would presumably want the sites to be thoroughly examined in cases where it is not practical to save them.
news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=1154462004
www.st-andrews.ac.uk/envhist/Conf.htm
www.st-andrews.ac.uk/envhist/ConfProg.htm
Posted by Simon Holledge at 12:35 AM | Comments (1)
The decline of print
Jane Martinson in the Guardian writes about the decline of the print industry, especially in London.
I wonder how much longer the newspapers in Britain will survive. Who wants to read yesterday’s news? Who wants to encourage paper consumption? Who wants to distribute newsprint? Who wants to pay for newspapers?
Newspapers have to change into news agencies, online news providers, perhaps online broadcasters. This is already happening, of course.
media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,14173,1319083,00.html?gusrc=rss
Posted by Simon Holledge at 12:17 AM
October 08, 2004
Doors Open Day and the Edinburgh Festival Theatre
Saturday (September 25) was Edinburgh ‘Doors Open Day’ (not ‘Open Doors Day’, though that sounds better to me). This was organized by the Cockburn Association on behalf of Historic Scotland. This year they opened 67 buildings throughout the city - far more than I could manage to see in one day, even on a Segway.
A selection of offices (architects, associations, trusts), museums, monuments, schools, churches, theatres and parts of the university were open. I attempted to go round all the theatres, but even this was impossible as the obligatory guided tours tended to coincide, and I missed both the Royal Lyceum and the King’s Theatre.
We were given an excellent tour around the Traverse. The 42-year-old organization uses its two small performing spaces efficiently, and with great flexibility. We then went next door for a tour of the Usher Hall. This is, or should be, the pride of Edinburgh - a large elegant concert hall with 2,199 seats and great acoustics. It is used for a wide range of programming, whether at optimal capacity is an open question, and one that our marketing manager guide did not answer.
Next was the Festival Theatre: Edinburgh’s problem. Endless press reports on the troubles of Scottish Opera never mention one basic thing: Scotland does not have a real opera house. The Festival Theatre was a classic bureaucratic fudge after years of planning, discussing, and campaigning for a real house (of the kind that has just been built in Cardiff).
Going around the theatre, I saw for the first time what had been done to to the building. A 1920s music and variety hall auditorium, up to and including its original 14 metre proscenium arch (originally of the Empire Theatre), has been restored. Modern facilities have been built around it, both in front (the glass facade seen from the street, with a large staircase, a bar and a cafe), and backstage (including an extended loading bay for moving sets etc.).
Unfortunately a modern front and a modern (if limited) back do not add up to a satisfactory venue when there is no proper auditorium. Like many small London theatres of the period, the Empire doubled up on seats by making the dress circle overhang and cover more than half of the stalls. This enlarged its capacity (the theatre now has 1915 seats), but killed the sound for more than half the seats.
Opera houses, whether classic (e.g. Bologna), or 19th-century (Palais Garnier or Covent Garden), or 20th-century (Glyndbourne), all have open areas that allow the music (and the voice) to reach the audience unimpaired. They don’t contain closed-off spaces which block or trap the sound.
The problem with having opera or ballet in the Festival Theatre is that you either have to buy the best seats, or be reconciled to hearing a muffled performance. Given relatively high ticket prices here, that is not a great choice.
Without an attractive house with good acoustics, Scottish Opera and ballet have difficulty in developing the kind of local support that is the norm in other European cities. Accordingly they give relatively few performances.
Moreover foreign companies do not want to visit a substandard venue which can’t handle their sets. This is one reason why the Edinburgh International Festival is not up to the standard of Salzburg, Aix-en-Provence, Glyndebourne etc. despite all the BBC hype about Edinburgh having the world’s best festival. The greatest fringe? Yes. The greatest arts festival? No way.
www.cockburnassociation.org.uk/
Posted by Simon Holledge at 12:50 AM
Online political advertizing
Following on from the US election debates, the Democrats have bought a substantial amount of online advertizing to capitalize on Kerry’s successful performance.
Meanwhile the Labour Party has been learning from the Democrats. They are now running banner ads - on the Guardian website.
www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,65223-2,00.html?tw=wnstorypage_next1
mindtest.typepad.com/cwr/2004/10/spinningthede.html
www.perfect.co.uk/2004/09/labour-banner-ad
Posted by Simon Holledge at 12:06 AM
October 07, 2004
Giving culture a higher priority
On September 12, I wrote, in relation to the SNP shadow cabinet appointments, that culture should have its own representative, rather than being a combined brief with sport.
According to Tim Cornwell’s article in the Scotsman (on the replacement of Frank ‘Piegate’ McAveety by Patricia Ferguson), quite a lot of people have similar ideas.
news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1160892004
Posted by Simon Holledge at 09:35 PM
More flexibility on North Sea fishing?
I don’t really understand the fishing question. It seem that there are three points of view. The first is that fish stocks are so low that fishing must be curtailed, the second that fish stocks are not so low so they don’t have to be curtailed (or not so much), and the third is that the fish have gone north because of climate change, the implications of which are not clear to me.
At any rate, there was some good news today with the appointment of the Maltese, Joe Borg, as Europe’s new fisheries commissioner. He indicated greater flexibility on the issue in the future. Scottish fishermen will be able to take part in a new North Sea Regional Advisory Council that will have a voice in policy making.
The irony of Malta, with a population of less than Edinburgh, having a European commissioner with power over one of Scotland’s vital interests, was not lost on Mike Weir MP of the SNP.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3719032.stm
www.snp.org/index_hires.php?pageName=news/newsdetail.php?newsID=2484
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3694390.stm
europa.eu.int/comm/fisheries/policy_en.htm
Posted by Simon Holledge at 12:08 AM
October 06, 2004
Britain is seventh not fourth largest economy
In 2003, the World Bank listed the United Kingdom as the world’s fourth economy by US dollar GDP, ahead of France, Italy, China, India etc.
This has been much trumpeted by British politicians, despite the implausibility of our little island (ranking 21st in the world by population) having a larger economy than China or india.
Using the more accurate and realistic PPP (purchasing power parity) GDP method, Britain is in fact number seven, behind the USA, China, Japan, India, Germany and France, and just ahead of Italy, Russia and Brazil. The top five are all far larger than Britain.
This is something that we need to pick up on. Spurious pride in Britain’s ‘fourth largest economy’ is not something the SNP should be encouraging.
The World Bank publish both kinds of calculation:
Posted by Simon Holledge at 12:19 AM
October 05, 2004
China getting wind tech from Germany, Denmark
The world’s largest wind power project will be launched in Hebei Province, near Beijing this month. It should be operational within two years, and eventually generate 400 megawatts of electricity a day. (This compares with 60 megawatts at North Hoyle, the largest current British project.) The technology will come from Germany and Denmark.
China is without doubt the world’s most polluted country, also the largest consumer of coal. Fortunately the Chinese now consider wind power to be as cheap as coal, as well as being environmentally preferable.
www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,65139,00.html/wn_ascii
Posted by Simon Holledge at 12:36 AM
October 04, 2004
The Tories: to KBO or not to KBO?
I haven’t considered voting Conservative since I was 8 years old, but there is something rather sad about the inability of this once-great party of pragmatism and excellence to attract votes.
There were some interesting reactions after the party came fourth at Hartlepool:
Nicholas Soames: “We should follow Churchill’s advice and KBO - keep buggering on. … The strength of a political party is its ability not to divert itself either to the right or the left.”
Boris Johnson: “We’re still thought of as vaguely uncool and unfashionable, like Marks & Spencer. We just don’t seem to be the buzzy thing on the shelf for the political consumer.”
There are probably lessons for all of us here. The Tories have been outmanoeuvred by New Labour’s (centre-right posing as centre-left) leadership and then humiliated by the goons of UKip. Despite Soames’s good advice, it really does seem that the Conservative party can be shunted to the right, and off the political stage.
politics.guardian.co.uk/byelections/story/0,11043,1318044,00.html?gusrc=rss
Posted by Simon Holledge at 12:40 AM | Comments (2)
October 03, 2004
Public backs smoking ban
The results of the government’s public consultation will show an overwhelming majority in favour of banning smoking in restaurants and pubs. Nearly 40,000 people responded, 20 times more than any other consultation.
A smoking ban has now been all but endorsed by the SNP, the Scottish Liberal Democrats, and Scottish Labour so this should be an issue that Scotland can act on before the rest of Britain.
It’s questionable whether we will have much to to be proud of - the dangers of passive smoking have been understood for many years now.
There is an article about the consultation in the Scotsman by Andrew Denholm.
news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1149502004
Posted by Simon Holledge at 01:14 AM | Comments (1)
October 02, 2004
Diatoms and greenhouse gases
Science magazine has some new research about the behaviour of diatoms, ocean algae that are capable of eating up more carbon dioxide, emiting more oxygen and creating more organic carbon than all the rain forests in the world combined. Unfortunately their effectiveness in reducing greenhouse gases may be adversely affected by global warming itself. Should we try to fertilize the organisms to make them perform better, or is it dangerous to mess about with such a basic component of the ecosystem?
www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,65164,00.html/wn_ascii
www.sciencemag.org/content/current/
Posted by Simon Holledge at 12:14 AM
October 01, 2004
Digital divide SNP-style III: Computer literacy for politicians
What are the skills that politicians need to keep in touch with the world and be effective communicators? Here is my provisional list:
- The ability to type
- The ability to write and save a simple text on a computer
- The ability to make a simple spreadsheet on a computer
- The ability to take a photograph and upload it to a server
- The ability to receive and reply to an email
- The ability to use an online search engine
- The ability to make a multimedia presentation
- The ability to make a blog to communicate with constituents
- The ability to create a personal website
- The ability to create a relational or spatial (geographical information system) database to analyze a (social, political or economic) problem
All these skills, with the possible exception of the first and last, are easy enough to pick up - a bit like learning to use new household appliances!
Posted by Simon Holledge at 12:53 AM