COMMENT: VOTING NO AT THE UGM | SOCIAL: WORKING - WHY LESS IS OFTEN MORE | FEATURES: THE SYRIAN RESOLUTION thpnpsi/PT \\ V J j \ V ( ( J \ / \ \ I »- 1 I Igs Lz] ^8fegS^ LZj FREE Students celebrate the yea* of the Dragon oil Houghton Street | Photo: CSSA Society China Week roars through campus Shu Hang Last week, the LSE Students' Union Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) brought China Week to Houghton Street. Held in conjunction with the most important date on the Chinese calendar, Chinese New Year, the week was packed with events aimed to give students a taste of the festive celebration and broaden understandings of Chinese culture. According to Hou Yu Chen, director of the CSSA's China Week Committee, the aim of the week is to "raise awareness of the Chinese culture among students and to demonstrate the multi-dimensional characteristic of China." "There is a lot more to the culture than Kung Fu and delicious food," he added, "and we want to show the students all the interesting things the culture has to offer." It was only appropriate that a dragon dance show would kick off the celebration as, acording to the Zodiac calendar, 2012 has been designated 'The Year of The Dragon.' A profes -sionul team was hired to bring the colourful dragon costume to life, dancing their way across Houghton Street. On Tuesday, the society offered traditional Chinese tea and wine to passerbys, drawing a large crowd. One student won a stuffed dragon doll after finishing a whole bottle of scalding Er Guo Tou, a Chinese white wine, in one go. A film called "The Flowers of War" was also screened on Tuesday, retelling the story of a mortician leading a group of women _ in a church to ^ 5 LSE applications drop by 8.2 per cent Nona Buckley-Irvine The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) published figures for the 2012/2013 application cycle revealing a drop in applications to the London School of Economics (LSE). The LSE saw applications decline by 8.2 per cent, lower than the national average of 8.7 per cent. This follows the controversial increase of home student tuition fees to £8,500. The LSE is the only Russell Group university, a consortium of twenty leading UK universities, to decline charging the maximum fee of £9,000. UCAS figures further revealed a national decline in the popularity of social sciences: overall the number of students choosing to study combined social sciences has dropped by 11.8 per cent. Choices for sciences combined with social sciences or arts fell by nearly twenty per cent, with applications for popular subjects such as medicine and law showing little decrease in applications. Nationally, the LSE has generally fared better than the national average drop of 8.7 per cent and didn't suffer as badly as rival Kings College London (KCL), who saw applications drop by more than ten per cent. Results show that other rivals such as Oxbridge, University College London (UCL) and Imperial College London saw little change in applications, despite raising fees to £9,000, £500 more than the LSE. The University of Cambridge saw an increase of applications by 2.3 per cent. Meanwhile, UCL, Imperial, both London based universities saw a mere drop of 1.5 per cent and 0.2 per cent respectively .This is in spite of the LSE being named as the best London university in 2011 by the 2012 Guardian University Guide and being ranked fourth in the country. The LSE also boasts a generous bursary scheme, where students from lower income backgrounds can receive up to £2,500. Tim Leunig, Head of Economic History at the LSE and Chief Econo- mist of the think-tank CentreForum wrote on the LSE Politics and Policy blog that "bursaries have no effect on student choices." Explanation for why the LSE has seenoneof the biggest drops in applications among its competitors still remains to be heard, though it is probable that this is in following with the above trend demonstrating the decrease in social science applications. Leunig, who voted on the Academic Board in favour of charging the maximum fee, £9,000, sees the drop in applications as irrelevant. "I think LSE still has a higher ratio of [applications/places] than is typical in the Russell [group] - frankly once you get over 10 applications per place it makes little difference." The rise in tuition fees follows the Coalition Government's decision to allow universities to charge a maximum of £9,000 through a tuition loan system. The LSE decided last year to raise fees to £8,500, choosing to rule out charging the maximum fees. Two Sabbatical Officers at the time, Ashok Kumar and Hero Austin, the then LSE Students' Union Education Officer and LSE Students' Union Community and Welfare Officer respectively, wrote in the Guardian that the LSE was the "only Russell Group institution with fees below £9,000, the only university enacting our principles and rejecting the current attack on public higher education." visit us online at thebeaveronline.co.uk and at facebook.com/thebeaveronline News 07.02.2012 | The Beaver Editorial Board Executive Editor Duncan McKenna cditoryiftthebeaveronlinc.co .ale Managing Editor Alex Haigh snaaaging@thebeaveroMMae.co.uk Design Editor tiara Brown design@thebeaveronline.co.uk News Editors Bethany Clarke John Armstrong Sydney Saubestre uews@thebeaveronline.co.Hk Comment Editor Alice Dawson comment@thebeaveronline.co.uk Features Editor Gurdeep Chhina Chris Rogers featuregtSthebeaveronline.co.uk Social Editor Laura Aumeer social@thebeaveronli11e.c0.wk Sport Editors Tim Poole Maxim Owen gports@thebeaveronKne.co.uk PartB Editor AameerPatel parth®theb«aver<»nline.co.uk Photo Editor Matthew Worby lAotograjjhy@tl1ebeaveronline.co.nl5 Online Editor Liam Brown web@thcbcaveronline.co.uk General Manager Konrad Hughes info@thebeaveronline.co.uk f The Beaver is printed on K 100% recycled paper. In 2006, recycled paper made up 79% of UK newspaper raw materials. Please recycle your copy. j J§~ Union Basho Bad Timing I hope the snow goes just before the SU can announce 'Freeze the Freeze'. Basho is the Beaver's elusive haiku poet. He's pretty sure he stole 'Freeze the Freeze'from somewhere. uc s theb eaver Established in 1949 Issue No. 765 Telephone: 0207 955 6705 Email: editor@thebeaveronIine.co.uk This year's university admissions data shows applications to the LSE are down by 8.2 per cent. When taken in a wider context of university admis -sions, this is slightly better than the average national statistics, which show a drop in applications which lies at 8.7 per cent. However, it remains a concerning statistic. This university places itself in an important niche that other universities find harder to fill because of funding requirements to their science faculties. The social sciences have been much maligned by the current coalition, deemed to be less worthy of funding than the supposed 'hard' sciences, as evidenced by the Browne Report, which saw social sciences moved to "Bands C and D," removing all of their government funding. If this specialised institution continues to have difficulty in attracting students, it could signal the beginning of the end for intellectual thought in the realm of the social sciences. At the very least the public provision of such important subjects seems to be over. This paper hopes that this information will be a springboard for both the council of the LSE and UCrASh our Sabbatical officers to engage in aggressive campaigning. Firstly for a workable grant system; if the battle has been lost for the paying of education then the war must be continued for affordable education. No-one should even entertain the notion that money should somehow prevent them from attending higher education. It is especially galling to see this happen at an institution founded by Fabian Society members Sidney and Beatrice Webb, and George Bernard Shaw, based on social advance and intellectual curiosity, no matter where you come from. That is not to say that our representatives have not been resting on their laurels, but now there is hard data to support the anecdotal evidence we had before: that the higher education sector is suffering as a result of fees increases. Secondly, this drop in applications is indicative of the government's spending cuts to social science funding for universities across the country, especially when other top institutions which offer a wider selection of degree programmes, such as Cambridge, saw an increase in applications. Therefore, this could be the data that enables the LSE to return to the government and make a plausible case for getting funding to further support the social sciences. It is simply unsustainable to keep forcing both international and Masters students to shoulder the burden of financing our institution. Thirdly, these statistics should create a debate on campus over the priorities of higher education; educating the current students on the fight for education should enable everyone to join in the struggle over the evisceration of the higher education sector in this country. Additionally, this week the Philippe Roman chair was awarded to Anne Applebaum. A former editor of the Economist and expert an in Soviet influences in post-war Central Europe, she is the first woman to be appointed to the role - established in the 2007-2008 academicyear. It is encouraging to see such a progressive stance taken by this institution, if the culture of equality can be bred in such prominent positions, then hopefiilly wider attitudes can start to shift to positions more in line with those that should be present in 2012. Collective A Alani, R Al-Dabagh, J Allsop, N M Alexander, N Antoniou, J V Armstrong, L Atchison, L Aumeer, H Austin, N J Buck-ley-Irvine, H Burdon, A Burk, B Arslan, E Beaumont, L Brown, B Butterworth, V Chan, R J Charnock, S Chaudhuri, G K Chhina, B Clarke, L J Clifton, R A Coleman, R A Creedon, R Cucchiaro, A L Cunningham, J Curtis, H Dar, A E Dawson, E Delahaye, S Desai, A Doherty, E S Dwek, E Firth, M Fletcher, A Fyfe, S Gale, P Gederi, R Gudka, A L Gunn, A C B Haigh, M C Heffernan, R Holmes, K C Hughes, R Illingworth, N Jaroszek. M Jenkins, J Jones, A Kane, K V Kenney, A Krechetova, S Langton, E ALarldn, S W Leung, S H Low, D McKenna, R Mohydin, A Moneke, B Nardi, C TNg, K O'Donnell, M Owen, N Mashru, N Mateer, S Newman, S Nissila, Marshall Palmer, A X Patel, J R Peart, A Peters-Day,, K Pezeshki, S Poojara, T Poole, A Qazilbash, A Riese, K Rogers, C S Russell, N Russell, B Sarhangian, S Saubestre, Z Sammour,I M Silver, K Singh, L Slothuus, J M Still, J Stoll, A Sulemanji, J Tindale, L Vardaxoglou, M Veale, A Vora, X T Wang, S R Williams, V A Wong, M Worby, J Yarde, A Young, D Yu The Collective is The Beaver's governing body. You must have contributed three pieces of work, or contributed to the production of three issues of the paper (editorially or administratively), to qualify for membership. If you believe you are a Collective member but your name is not on the list above, please email coUective(a)theh ikverottliiie.co.uk The Beaver would like to thank the LSE students who contributed to this issue. The Beaver is published by the LSE Students' Union, East Building, Houghton Street, WC2A 2AE. Printed at Mortons Printing. The Beaver uses pictures from which have been issued under a Creative Commons license. Correction jg The Beaver would like to apologize to Aimee Riese for including pull quotes in her comment piece last week "Leave Technion alone" that did not appear elsewhere in her column. The Beaver regrets this error. Online Voting The Beaver Collective will be voting on two new positions on Tuesday, 2nd February in an online vote, at 9am and running for 2^hours. Collective members on the list above have been added to the voting roster. Positions to be elected: Collective Chair xi Online Editor xi Those not on Collective can email collective@theheaveronline.co.uk for more information. The Beaver | 07.02.2012 News 3 School raises concerns over student drinking Pallavi Bansal and Sydney Saubestre Alcohol related incidents on campus have increased in the past year, according to Jan Stockdale, Dean of Undergraduate Studies. Stockdale has reported her concerns to the School's Personal Security Group, which she chairs, and the School will be investigating ways to reduce incidents directly due to drinking as well as those where drinking played a large factor, such as those involving sexual and/or physical violence, which are frequently alcohol-related. " [Incidents] ...involving sexual and/or physical violence are frequently alcohol-related. The intake of alcohol often affects people's judgment of their surroundings and/or the intentions of others. Any attribution of causes for such an increase would be speculation, but it has been argued that the low cost of alcohol relative to incomes has been a factor in an increase in alcohol consumption with all its attendant risks," Stockdale stated. In light of an increase in alcohol consumption related incidents, Stock-dale has renewed her efforts to bring this to the forefront of student issues: "whilst I would like to highlight that alcohol consumption is an increasingly worrying issue, it is not a new problem. About two years ago, I reported my concerns about personal security/ safety issues affecting students." Alex Peters-Day, General Secretary of the LSE Students' Union reassures, "we are making efforts to increase awareness amongst LSE students. In fact, we are planning...an awareness week towards the end of the term, whereby students would be invited to design campaigns for creating alcohol awareness and the chosen campaign would win a prize." The Three Tuns is looking into establishing loyalty cards. According to Alex Bond, Manager of the Three Tuns: "we are planning to introduce loyalty cards to provide better services to students as part of our promotion activities. This idea is still in progress and we are aiming at including both alcoholic and non-alcohol drinks. We might include food items as well if the idea works well." Peters-Day, a sponsor of the Three Tuns loyalty program, adds "we try to maintain balance between everything, it's not that we want to refrain students from drinking but we make sure students are drinking in a responsible way." Ed Szymanski, President of the Student Committee at Northumberland Halls, stated: "we do bring alcohol while celebrating special occasions in the common room for students but the amount spent on alcohol is not as much as compared to the amount spent on food." The rise of alcohol consumption on campus is of concern to several prominent members of the LSE community: "the School does not wish to be seen as a 'kill-joy': but we would like to endorse any message from the student community that raises awareness of the risks associated with excessive alcohol consumption," said Stockdale. Most students are concerned with the extent to which the School may intervene in their social lives. Alex Haigh, a second year BSc Environmental Policy with Economics student, said, "it's important to make sure that a safe environment is maintained on campus, but I do not think that it is necessarily the School's place to interfere. Drinking is a large part of any student's life and most everyone I know does so responsibly." MattWorby, a second year BSc Government student, said, "I'm really looking forward to beer being cheaper than it currently is. I certainly will be very loyal." Sabhs report on activities at UGM endeavour to carry and implement out most of the points of concern. Moreover, Slothuus will look to reform the constitutions for hall committees so there is a "stronger, better representation for residents and a more democratic process." Similarly the Community and Welfare Officer will activerly campaign against the Government's White Paper and on 7 March there is a National Lobby of Parliament day, along with a National Week of Action following the event. Robin Burrett, Postgraduate Officer will also take part in the NUS National Lobby of Parliament on 7 March as well as looking into the propose LSE PhD Studentship Liaison. Finally, the three motions which were proposed last week were all passed successfully. These included, "Stop Islamaphobia," "Stop Anti-Semitism" and "Save the UGM." Next week's motion is entitled "London students at the heart of 2012 elections" and will focus on this year's London Mayoral elections. John Armstrong There were no motions raised at this week's Students' Union General Meeting (UGM). However the Sabbatical Officers reported on their achievements and plans for this term. Alex Peters-Day, General Secretary of the Students' Union attended a variety of meetings this year including a "good campus relations meeting to talk about student issues", as well as the new student's centre project board meeting. Similarly, she held a meeting of University of London Sabbatical Officers to discuss a motion to be brought to the National Union of Students (NUS) on specific support for London institutions. Future plans also include, a demonstration against unpaid inters at London fashion week and the first The Only Way Is Ethics (TOWIE) meeting. Stanley Ellerby-English, Activities and Development Officer discussed three main issues at this week's UGM. He reported on the encouraging participation that has been seen for the upcoming dodge- ball tournament to be held at Talacre Sports Centre on Sunday 12th February. Also, Ellerby-English outlined the Bernard Levin Award for creative writing which is now open for submissions along with Raising And Giving (RAG) week which will take to reduce them in the future. She has also attended a meeting as part of a review team looking at the teaching and resources available to students within the Methodology Institute. Lukas Slothuus, Community and Welfare officer will this term, embark place in week six of Lent term. The Education Officer, Amena Amer has been looking at failure rates at the London School of Economics (LSE) over the past few years in order to implement changes on a tour of all LSE halls of residence to consult with students on what need to be improved. The data will be collated into a report which will then be taken to the Residences Committee, after which the School will RA® RAG is gearing up for RAG Week 2012 - taking place in Week 6! Main events include: Battle of the Halls: The Rematch (Thurs 16th Feb) which is taking place at the infamous Cheapskates; The AU Chest Wax (Weds 15th Feb) in the Tuns; The ROWathon covering the distance to Amsterdam and Gunge-A-Sab! Throughout the week there will be a RAG stall selling our merchandise with all proceeds going to our three RAG charities: National AIDS Trust, War Child and Action Against Hunger. Please remember to save your library fines for this week and pay them into the collection buckets in the library! A key part of RAG is our collaboration with societies. As part of RAG Week 2012 the Drama Society are performing 'Blake's Doors' in the Underground Bar on Monday 13th (7:30pm), Tues 14th (7:30pm) and Weds 15th (6:30pm) where a portion of ticket sales will be going to RAG -so be sure to go along! The Debate Society are hosting The Valentines Cup again due to overwhelming popular demand! This is a chance for you to pair up with that special someone and show them how much you care (by evenly distribut-ingyour substantive points...) Either bring your current loved one or allow us to pair you up with your future love. All non-debaters are especially welcome, this will be a fun competition with no experience necessary! Taking place on Tuesday, 7th Feb at 6pm in CLM 7.02. This week sees RAG and the AU collaborating for Mr LSE. Watch or join an array of challenges set for our Mr LSE wannabes, ranging from showcases of individual talents to oiled-up bodies. There will be donation buckets at the door so be sure to donate money to RAG. If you are interested in participating please contact su.aucomms@lse.ac.uk. The RAG hitchhike is to Berlin this year! Leaving on Saturday the 17th March this sees teams of two or three travelling to Berlin on as little money as possible. After a successful first meeting last week we are hosting another for those who couldn't make it taking place today (Tuesday 7th Feb) at 5pm in TWi U103. We are so pleased with the level of interest from people wanting to volunteer for RAG Week and for RAG generally. We apologise to anyone who might not have had a response from the RAG email account recently, as this has been down for the past week! We will be sending out rotas for those who have expressed interest soon! Ifyou would like to get involved please email su.rag@lse.ac.uk. As always please 'like' our Facebook page, LSESU RAG, become our friend on Facebook by adding LSE SU RAG and join our free mailing list by going to http://www.lsesu.com/activities/ societies/society/rag/. RAG is proud to be sponsored by Ernst & Young. GOT A SCOOP? Got a story that you think we should be printing? Send us an e-mail: news@thebeaveronline.co.uk 4 News 07.02.2012 | The Beaver Anne Applebaum | Flickr: Slawek's Location Language(s) Activity or Event Practise your languages with a native speaker, join Tandem Learning! The LSE Language Centre offers FREE events open to all LSE students who wish to practise their language skills. You can practise English or any of the foreign languages we offer and support others who are learning your native language. These events are also an ideal occasion for students to network within and across departments. Join our groups to: S Keep updated on events such as Tandem Learning Evenings, Film Nights and Language Lunchtimes ¦S Get help from a native speaker, in exchange for helping someone learn your language S Have conversations and discussions with native speakers •f Propose and organise activities with other LSE members S DON'T FORGET! Join the group for your native language, as well as the one you are learning, to maximise your chances of finding a partner Below is also a summary of this term's events. Feel free to get in touch if you need more information: Language Centre LSE alumni design bomb-proof bins John Armstrong Two former LSE students are the brains behind an innovative company who have pioneered new rubbish bins to be installed around London's financial district. The ground breaking design enables users to dispose of waste whilst catching up on breaking news and changes in the financial markets. This week, it has been announced that 100 bomb-proof bins are to be installed in the City of London before their use in the London 2012 Olympics. "Renew" is the company behind this innovative design which aims to tackle the issue of London's waste dis -posal. In recent years, there has been a problem with recycling free newspapers and magazines and the City of London have been historically cautious of bomb threats in the square mile. In a recent article published by Reuters, the CEO of Renew, Kaveh Me-mari said "there has hardly been any innovation in this space. Rubbish bins have just been a box with a hole." Memari went on to say, "we don't think this is just solving issues with recycling or bins. Yes, it helps to go green and it helps to be safe, but this is also about usefulness." Renew also have received funding from the Quatar Islamic Bank to complete the production process. The former LSE student and CEO highlighted the lack of communication at the time of the 7th July attacks in London and suggested that the new bins would become an "emergency broadcast channel." This would also prove a useful tool during this years Olympics as the LCD screen would provide information for those attending the games and be used by the City of London Police in the event of an emergency. Applebaum announced as next Phillip Roman Chair holder The screens also relay breaking news and infographics on the financial markets as well as tube delays. Similarly, Memari suggests that the screens "tell you how many bikes there are around the comer" and aid commuters returning to and from their place of work in the City. However, the cost of the bins total £25,000 each due to the material they are used with. Content access for the LCD screens is sold to companies while the maintenance of the bins is paid for by Renew. The innovative company have signed a deal to install one bin in front of the New York Stock Exchange for a trial period and also are in talks with the Japanese authorities who are concerned with similar threats to its major economic centres. Wednesday, 25 January Mandarin Film Evening Monday, 30 January 'Conversation' Hour Wednesday, 1 February Wednesday, 8 February Ail languages Lunchtime 'Pot-Luck' Monday, 13 February CMK.C722 French French Pub Tandem Wednesday, 15 February Film Evening Wednesday, 22 February Arabic Tuesday, 28 February CMK.C722 Spanish Film Evening history,' which outlines the daily life of prisoners in Soviet concentration camps. Michale Cox, co-director of LSE IDEAS, said: "This is a top appointment, not only is Anne Applebaum the first woman ever to hold this prestigious position, she is also the first Chair to have a real interest and expertise in Central Europe." "We are delighted that Anne Applebaum will be joining LSE IDEAS for the next academic year. Her current focus on the Stalinization of post-war Central Europe will greatly enhance the centre's research on European affairs and the history of the Cold War and we look forward to welcoming her to LSE in October," said Arne Westad, also co-director of the centre. Applebaum, who takes up the post in October 2012, will succeed Ramachandra Guha. Previous holders include Niall Ferguson, Chen Kian, and Paul Kennedy, who was the inaugural holder of the position. The Philippe Roman Chair is located at LSE IDEAS, the School's centre for international affairs, diplomacy and grand strategy. Founded in 2008, the centre conducts research on the international affairs of East and Southeast Asia, the Balkans, the Middle East, Latin America, Africa, as well as on transatlantic relations and on the history of the Cold War Wednesday, 25 January Mandarin Language Practice Spanish Spanish Lunchtime Thursday, 8 March The Three Tuns All languages End of Term Party bookings, more information and to sign up, go to: www.lse.ac.uk/languages/tandem Bethany Clarke LSE alumna and Pulitzer Prize winner Anne Applebaum will take up the Philippe Roman Chair in History and International Affairs at the School for the 2012-2013 academicyear, the LSE has announced. Applebaum is the first women to have held this prestigious post. "I'm delighted to be given this wonderful opportunity to meet and work with the students and faculty of the LSE, one of the few truly global institutions," said Applebaum. Applebaum earned her BA from Yale University before earning an MSc in International Relations at the LSE. Applebaum is currently the director of political studies at the Legatum Institute and a columnist for 'Slate' and the 'Washington Post.' Her journalistic work centres on American and international politics, with a focus on economic and political transition issues. She has also written for the 'Economist,' the 'Daily Telegraph,' the 'Sunday Telegraph,' and the 'Evening Standard.' She has formerly held editorial board positions on the Economist and the Washington Post. In 2004, she won the Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction and Britain's Duff-Cooper Prize for her book 'Gulag: a The Beaver | 07.02.2012 News 5 LSE research reveals IMF conditions not too harsh Bethany Clarke Stephanie Rickard, a lecturer in the Department of Government, co-authored a paper revealing that, contrary to popular belief, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) gives workers in debt-ridden countries sympathetic treatment. The study reveals that "the fate of workers in this time of economic crisis may not be as bleak as people have assumed," said Rickard. "Our findings suggest that democratic governments represent workers' interests at the international bargaining table and the IMF is responsive to these interests. This contradicts the conventional wisdom which assumes that international bodies can ignore domestic concerns in setting conditions for loans." The study reveals that while the r4RV IMF requires reforms from nations seeking loans during economic crises, it does take into account the views of citizens and works to soften labour conditions when they protest. The report reveals "that reformers may be able to do more to help workers by pushing for democracy in borrowing countries than by campaigning to restructure the IMF or its lending practices." The investigation cites the case of Greece, which took extreme austerity measures in 2011. Following mass demonstrations, the IMF made compromises over wages, pensions and job numbers. The report, published on the 1st January in the journal International Organization, summarised the findings of an investigation into IMF loan conditions between 1980 and 2000. In contrast with previous studies on this subject, the investigation focused on the content, rather than the number, of conditions imposed. The researchers assigned each of the conditions to one of nine categories, allowing them to measure the intrusiveness and stringency of conditions. A comparison of conditions in different nations revealed that democracies with powerful labour movements secured less intrusive market conditions from the IMF than other nations. Teri Caraway of the University of Minnesota and Mark Anner from Pennsylvania State University co-authored the paper. Photo: Flick* Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com Debate Society triumphs in Inner Temple IV Bethany Clarke LSE students David Berman and Carlo Cabrera participated in eight rounds of debating to win first place in the Inner Temple IV debate competition last weekend. LSE teams took three of eightplaces in the semi-final round of debating. Berman was the highest scoring speaker at the event. Samuel Joynson, a second year BSc International Relations with Histoiy student and member of the Debate Society, said: "The Inner Temple IV 2012 was a great success for the London School of Economics. Debating in the famous halls of the ancient Inn of Court, the LSESU Debate Society enjoyed their greatest success of the 2011-2012 academic calendar so far, by winning the Inner Temple IV' "Personally, I particularly enjoyed the fact that I qualified for the semifinals with Sara Essa, as neither of us had previously qualified for the final rounds of a highly competitive debating tournament. As 2nd year under-grad history students, we enjoyed debating Scottish independence, and found LSE BC's speeches in the grand final regarding NATO intervention in Syria very interesting." Joynson added: "The debating motions were tough, but their general focus on current affairs made them interesting and relevant. The fantastic weekend was compounded by a sumptuous banquet on Saturday night in the Inner Temple's Great Hall, whilst snow was falling outside. A superb experience!" The Inner Temple IV debating competition hosted by the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, is one of the the most sought-after IV wins. The Debate Society prepares for tournaments at bi-weekly training sessions, where novice members are taught debating strategy and experienced debaters are lectured on specific issues. The society attends various debate tournaments throughout the year. Photo: Debate Society's Facebook vv continued from page 1 safety, while posing as a priest, during the Nanking Massacre of 1937. The 'Food Tasting Experience,' held on Thursday, proved to be a success, where more than a hundred steamed buns were sold to raise money for charity. Among the highlights was the Char Sui Bun, a Cantonese pork-based treat that is extremely popular in Asia. A talk on Chinese Medicine was held later in the day, which explored the parallels between contemporary Western ideas, such as quantum physics and economics, and Chinese science dating from more than 2000 years ago. According to Professor Mei, a visiting lecturer from Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, "Chinese medicine is all about balancing Ying, negative energy, and Yang, positive energy. [It's about] finding harmony between the two forces." He then related the discovery of dark matter and positrons, and the recent financial crisis with the philosophy of Ying and Yang, which describes the complex relationship between these contrary forces. One attendee praised the talk for being ambitious in scope, but felt that "one hour is not enough to make strong arguments on such a wide area." Tribute was paid to the Han dynasty on Friday, as China Week closed with the "Hanfu Parade." Members of the society braced the cold and pa- raded around the campus while wearing historical Han Chinese Clothing, borrowed from the Confucius Institute, inspiring curious gazes from students. Other events included a Kung Fu performance and the showcase of traditional games and toys, such as the Chinese Yo-yo. Overall, reception to China Week has been encouraging. Sam Chen, a first year Economics and Philosophy student viewed China Week as "a positive step" in showing China's traditions to all other ethnic groups at LSE, though he wished that it had been "more heavily promoted." Stanley Ellerby-English, Activities and Development Officer expressed similar sentiments, saying that he "really enjoyed their presence all week on Houghton Street." "Having weeks where societies make a real push to promote themselves is the best way to get out there and make a splash amongst the student body," added Ellerby-English. Ortt/ortd News 1 07.02.2012 | The Beaver Gaspar confident in Portugal's economic future HariyBurdon Vitor Gaspar, the Portuguese Minister of Finance, spoke at the London School of Economics on the Portuguese program for "restoring credibility and confidence." Gaspar described his goal of the presentation to "persuade you [the audience] that following the economic and financial adjustment program, Portugal follows its own national public interest," while "choosing a path which is favourable to gaining credibility gradually over time." He also claimed it will provide an "insurance mechanism" against future economic turmoil. Outlining the lead up to the current Portuguese situation, Gaspar said that over more than the past decade, "Portugal accumulate^] macroeconomic imbalances and structural weaknesses." After joining the monetary union, it had "more favourable financing conditions" than in the past. This opened up the opportunity to increase expenditure and take on more debt. Unsustainable public finances ensued and government debt rose, including in "favourable cyclical conditions." This happened alongside a rise in the indebtedness of households and non-financial corporations. The increased expenditure "was directed to sectors of the economy... which were sheltered from external competition." In addition, Gaspar reflected on the "low productivity growth." Over roughly the last ten years, Portuguese growth has been about one per cent per year, a figure Gaspar described as "very disappointing." He attributed this low growth to "restrictions on competition" and protectionism, "weak conditions to enter entrepreneurial activity, poor functioning... justice system, and rigidities in the labour market." Consequently, there was a lack of "inward foreign direct investment." Also, "capital accumulation [was] tilted towards [the] non-tradeable goods and services sector." The "lack of competition" resulted in "large mark-ups and low levels of innovation." This culminated in "high levels ofyouth and long-term unemployment." The European sovereign debt crisis, Gaspar claims, revealed weaknesses within the economy. He elaborated that "the financing positions for the Portuguese general government and Portuguese banks deteriorated quite sharply," causing the "request for international assistance in May last year." Portugal has implemented their re-adjustment program to combat the aforementioned problems. The programme consists of "three pillars." The first is "fiscal consolidation," putting "fiscal policy on a sustainable path." The second is "financial stability," whereby problems in the banking sector are addressed. The last is "structural transformation," in which the aim is structural reform to increase Portuguese potential growth. The program included receiving a €78 billion bailout, of which €12 billion are for recapitalising the banks. Under the program, Portugal is subject to regular reviews of its progress. The past reviews on August and November, Gaspar claims, showed Portugal to be "well on track." The media has highlighted Portugal's very high bond rates. Gaspar made the point that, due to being under the adjustment program, Portugal "does not finance itself in the treasury bond market, and so the yield differentials" do not affect the Portuguese borrowing costs. He said that they "are only secondary market rates." He continued to comment on how these markets have "very low turnover," with some days having no transactions, arguing that these prices do not "reflect fundamentals." During a question and answer session, audience members drew attention to the fact there has been a deterioration of rates recently, and that rating agencies have not recognised Portuguese progress. Standard and Poor recently downgraded Portugal to junk status. Gaspar's response was that credibility can only be "built up gradually." He said the program "allows the Portuguese government time to restore confidence and credibility, . as it enables Portugal to refrain from entering the government bond markets until 23 September, 2013. Gaspar spoke on Portugal's progress, talking on how the adjustment program projected a contraction of 2.2 per cent in 2011, however the actual decline is estimated at 1.5 or 1.6 per cent. He described this as "considerably milder." The 2011 budget deficit was brought down to 4% of GDP, below the euro area average, which he said was "partially due to the transfer of banks pension funds to the general government." Portugal has implemented "an adjustment of four percentage points of GDP, which stands out in comparison to other euro area countries. He also claimed the banks to be "significantly stronger," with improved capital ratios and reduced debt. Also, "bank deposits have grown above the growth of bank deposits on average for the euro area." They have implemented "labour market reforms, increases in competition," and privatisation, with adjustment of the competition law to be coming in the future. He also highlighted Portugal's large reduction in structural deficit, from 11.4 per cent in 2010, to 6.9 per cent in 2011, and with 2.6 per cent projected for 2012. In addition, there is the expectation of "a trade surplus this year already." In reference to the Portuguese people, Gaspar stated that "the Portuguese are in large numbers supporting the need and the priority of adjustment. I believe that is the dominant mood in the country." A Portuguese member of the audience Pedroe Xavier was concerned that "thirteen per cent are unemployed." Carlos Peraas, who is also Portuguese, claimed there to be "politics in delusion," saying "sit with the humble people, go there." Ana Canedo, an MSc Management and Strategy student, commented "he knows what he's talking about." Vitor Gaspar expressed the belief that "in a year's time I will be able to come back here, you'll invite me, and document success." The Beaver I07.02.2012 7 Imperial College London BUSINESS SCHOOL The prestige of Imperial College means gaining a degree from the Business Scf-will allow me to flourish internationally. Imperial College Business School is different from other business schools. It's located in London, one of the world's leading financial centres, yet it doesn't just focus on high finance and the City, but offers real diversity and creativity. • Full-Time MBA • MSc International Health • Executive MBA (weekday or weekend) Management • MSc Economics & Strategy j * Management for Business NEW • MSc Finance • MSc Innovation, Entrepreneurship & • MSc Risk Management & Management Financial Engineering • MSc Strategic Marketing • MSc Actuarial Finance • Doctoral Programme Join us at our next information session. Find out more and register online. Gunyawee Teekathananont, current Imperial College Business School student, previously studied MSc Management & Strategy at LSE LSE reports on Cloud Computing Alex Haigh Cloud Computing, remote applications offering internet storage and other services, and will promote economic growth, create jobs and improve small firms' access to technological information, according to a new study by the LSE. "Modelling the Cloud," commissioned by Microsoft, focuses on the impact of Cloud Computing technology on the smartphone and aerospace industries of the UK, USA, Germany and Italy. "Cloud Computing: a Perspective Study," a 2010 report by the LSE, defines Cloud Computing as when "users move out their data and applications to the remote "Cloud" and then access them in a simple and pervasive way." The "Cloud" refers to personalised Internet storage and services which can be accessed anywhere. According to "Modelling the Cloud," Cloud Computing will cause immediate, rapid increases in employment in Cloud-based jobs that will, in turn, cause wider employment benefits in the future. The study also reveals that there is little risk of net losses in employment as companies are more likely to move and re-train staff than fire them. Also, employment will be created in the construction and maintenance of data centres. The benefits of Cloud technology to firms will depend on "capabilities of particular firms and their current level of capital investment in IT, the characteristics of specific sectors, and the national context." Between 2010 and 2014, employment in Cloud-based roles in the smartphone industry will increase by 349 per cent in the UK; and 280,268 and 168 per cent in Germany, Italy and the US respectively. This growth is largely fuelled by the sector's growth and the nature of the industry itself. This compares to 52,33,36 and 57 per cent increases in Cloud-based jobs in the aerospace industry for the UK, Germany, Italy and USA respectively. This is explained by the relative slower growth of the industry. The US is already leading the way in Cloud-based technology, explaining its relative slow growth compared to its European competitors. It has the highest relative salaries for Cloud technology jobs: between $7ok and $i2ok in the US and between £4ok ($63K) and £6ok ($95k) in the UK, with German and Italian wages trailing behind. Also, the US will boast 54,500 Cloud-based jobs in the smartphone industry compared to 4,040 jobs. This is due to lower energy costs and less restrictive labour regulation, according to the report. However, this early lead in the industry will not necessarily be to the detriment of the European competitors if they can make themselves attractive to public investment. The report states that, if Europe wants to compete with US in Cloud- based industry, it must focus on improved education in "eSkills," ensure privacy rights do not prevent the development of the industry and encourage firms to adopt "green energy" policies so they will switch to the Cloud. Marshall Sahlins | Photo: LSE Website ? ? ? LSESU CHARITY FASHION SHOD 2012 : : BEYOND FEBRUARY 13 HONG KONG THEATRE TICKETS i5 C - E - DAUES@LSE • AC - UK ,02.2012 | The Beaver Advertisement 9 Fliclcr: informatique Why Libya and not Syria? Samira Lindner During the far-reaching fervour of the Arab Spring last year, when we saw citizens take to the streets and their governments topple, it seemed reasonable to expect that the forty year regime of Syria's Assad family would also fall. The movement in Syria began in March 2011. At first, protesters tentatively called for democracy and freedom. Eventually, they demanded the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad. Now, almost a year later, with more than 5,000 civilians killed and 14,000 detained, the ruthless Assad is still in power. The President denies any wrongdoing and refuses to step down. Though he offers some political concessions and promises reform, as long as people continue to be killed and his security forces are allowed to "run wild," such promises mean very little. When looking at the situation in Syria, one does get a feeling of deja vu. Where have we seen a ruthless Arab dictator family of a small sectarian minority ruling an oppressive forty year regime? In Libya, of course. We all know what that led to: aNATO-inter-vention and the eventual toppling and killing of dictator Muammar Gaddafi. It is not unreasonable to expect the same thing to happen in Syria. On the basis of civilian deaths alone, an intervention in Syria would be more justified than in Libya. However, not only is the prospect of a foreign-led intervention highly unlikely, the UN Security Council cannot even agree on a statement condemning the violence. There are several factors that make Syria a more complicated case than Libya. Firstly, there are significant regional and international implications. Syria is a major player in the Middle East so any chaos could have spillover effects in neighbouring countries such as Lebanon and Israel, where it could mobilise powerful groups such as the Hezbollah and Hamas. It also has close ties with Shias in Iran and could possibly draw them into a conflict, which could in effect draw in the USA, Israel and Saudi Arabia. An intervention could thus open up a hugely unpleasant can of worms and have major regional and international repercussions. Secondly, Gaddafi was something of a rogue player whereas Syria has solid backing from Iran and Turkey (a NATO member) as well as support from Russia and China. Any intervention would have to overcome these alliances or risk going at it alone without UN or NATO support. Thirdly, Syria has a strong military and lack of rebel organisation. Gaddafi's ramshackle army of 50,000 soldiers pales in comparison to Assad's 325,000 regular soldiers and more than 100,000 paramilitaries. Furthermore, prior to the intervention, rebels in Libya had already captured most of eastern Libya, whereas Syrian activists have captured no territory and are still quite disorganised. An intervention in Syria would have to entail a massive force and build the military opposition from the ground up; selling that to the international community would not be easy. "Going beyond the debate on whether or not the principle of intervention is right, I would argue that there should be an end to this double standard/' So we can see that the preconditions for an intervention in Syria are not exactly the same as they were in Libya. Nevertheless, there is a great deal of hypocrisy in the international community. While, in the case of Libya, policymakers expressed their commitment to universal norms and support for the oppressed civilians, all those morals and commitments have seemingly disappeared when it comes to intervening in Syria. Even the Arab League has remained reserved on the issue of Syria, despite the fact that it backed the intervention in Libya in order to protect civilians there. In their statement on Assad's regime, they called for the end to violence but fell short of calling for action due to "strategic and political considerations." Does that mean humanitarian concerns are only valid when there are no strategic and political considerations? Do human rights disappear when the regime has close ties to its neighbours and powerful players? The recent UN Security Council debates on Syria have been equally frustrating. In January, the Arab League put forward a plan for political reform in Syria and sought the support of the Security Council. While President Assad has rejected the proposals (no surprise there), the Security Council has not fared any better. Russia, with its economic and military ties to Syria, has vetoed previous efforts to take action in Syria. Now, despite a "watered-down" resolution, both Russia and China still oppose it. What is their justification? Russia has said that, while it condemns the use of force by the government against civilians, it also condemns the activities of the "armed extremist groups who attack government positions." So, suddenly the pro- testers are violent militant extremists? And China has said that it opposes "forced regime change in Syria as it violates the UN Charter and the basic norms guiding the practice of international relations." If an intervention in Syria is a violation of the UN Charter, what, then, was Libya? The international community needs to decide what its commitments really are and under what principles it is really acting. If it is a principle of humanity and protecting citizens, then what happens in Syria should be no different to policy towards Libya. However, if it is a principle of sovereignty and security concerns, then the whole notion of military intervention seems not only to be a violation but also counterproductive and dangerous. Going beyond the debate on whether or not the principle of intervention is right, I would argue that there should be an end to this double standard. Either the international community commits itself to humanitarian causes or it doesn't. But this in-between state of only intervening when it best suits powerful interests delegitimises the whole basis of intervention. It loses its humanitarian commitment and becomes a manifestation of interests. All the international community is then boiled down to is an anarchic system with no cooperation, no compassion and constant power play. And that is not a world we want to live in. *£ 10 Comment 07.02.2012 1 The Beaver Why SU elections LSE SU's Returning Officer encourages us to stand in the Lent Term elections —.............................I ,l„k, that pnromnass more at su.returningofficer@lse.ac.uk with represented better than those who do not. Joshua Michael Still Next week will see the opening of nominations for the Lent Term elections, something that I hope at least some of you are aware of already. As the LSE SU Returning Officer for this academic year, I would like to take this opportunity to try and encourage as many of you reading this as possible to participate, either by voting (at www.Isesu. com/vote) or, better yet, by standing. Firstly, I think it is important to explain that the positions being voted on include the highest and most prestigious in the Students' Union. They will provide you with the opportunity to effect substantial change in the life of the entire University. The Sabbatical positions require you to take a year out of study and become a full-time employee of the Students' Union, with the excitement, challenges and salary that entails. The General Secretary is the head of the Union, sits on numerous committees and deals with the highest echelons of University management on a regular basis. The Education Officer has a huge responsibility to enhance the educational experience of both current and future LSE students. The Activities and Development Officer liaises with over 160 societies, as well as the 40 com- petitive clubs that encompass more than 2,500 sportsmen and women. The Community and Welfare Officer has effectively led the priority campaign "The Only Way is Ethics" this year, which could have long term repercussions for LSE's reputation. There are also numerous positions on the Part Time Executive if you are interested in representing, and campaigning for, a broad swathe of students or causes. These include Environment and Ethics Officer, Women's Officer and LGBT Officer. In the Democracy Committee, there is the chance to investigate new ways to engage students with LSE democracy, as well as the opportunity to secure senior positions, including Chair of the weekly UGM and the position I currently hold, Returning Officer. Last, but certainly not least, becoming a Trustee of the LSESU means that you possess financial and strategic decision-making power over a multi-million pound organization, a worthy accomplishment on any CV. 1 know that thinking about standing can be daunting, especially for those of you who are in your first year here at the LSE. From personal experience, I know I didn't feel confident enough to run in my first year, even though I would have liked to. However, this year we will be running more workshops for candidates than ever before, helping you with every aspect of campaigning. Also, myself and the rest of the SU are eager to help you in any way we can. Feel free to contact me at any time at su.returningofficer(a)lse.ac.uk with any queries or concerns at all you may have about standing. When I speak to LSE students about the Union, there are those who have a distinctly negative or apathetic view of it and its activities. I remain a profound believer in the Union's ability to represent its students and to improve all of our experiences here at the LSE. However, whatever your view of the Union, and especially if it is less positive than mine, participating in elections is the perfect way to change that. It is no coincidence that the LSE students who do vote in elections feel The Students' Union is fundamentally something for us all. Every single student has the power to change our University for the better simply by taking less than two minutes to vote on the Students' Union website. This is something that applies to us all, whatever your stage of study or degree programme. If you do not think there are any candidates standing that represent your views, then encourage someone who does to put their name forward. Or, better yet, stand yourself. In doing so, you increase the choice available to thousands ofyour fellow students and enhance the democracy of our Union. Even if you're not president of a big society, oryou don't consider yourself the best-known person on campus, consider standing. Those things are irrelevant if your campaign and policies resonate with fellow students. If you win an election, you will get the chance to make a big difference. Even if you don't, by standing, you benefit your Union, university and, above all, fellow students enormously. And, like me, you just might enjoy yourself in the process. <£ I -THERE FOR YOU _ "«OUNDTHECLOCK Photo: Beaver Archive A new Lib-Lab pact? Labour should reconcile with the Lib Deras to create a constructive working relationship _____ . . , 1 -,i ______________+v.q ^r,™foliciMar nn its Inst mnmentum misfiring shadow fron Jon Allsop To many Labour party members, the words "Liberal Democrat" have taken on a highly pejorative meaning over the past 18 months. The term has become synonymous with betrayal, symbolising the nadir of the recent corrosion of trust in our politics. The Lib Dems, we are frequently told, have completely sold-out. The Labour front-bench and the left-wing commentariat scream that they have abandoned their principles and become little more than Tory stooges. Shadow Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury Owen Jones last week summed it up nicely, with his outraged assertion that "Nick Clegg has got a cheek preaching about fairness," implying that the Lib Dems have irrevocably forfeited their voice in the centre-left debate. Set up for a fall by their bare-faced duplicitousness, their electoral annihilation seems increasingly inevitable. As a Labour party supporter and passionate progressive, I am no apologist for Nick Clegg. I found him condescending and insincere throughout the TV debates in which he made his name. I insisted that he was merely a paler shade of Cameron whilst many around me were swept away by the "I agree with Nick" hysteria of "Cleggmania." I balked when he somehow won the backing of the Guardian days before the poll and have been unsurprised by his many volte-faces in government. The same goes for his "orange book" pals, such as Danny Alexander, Chris Huhne and David Laws. Despite this, it's time for Labour to stop their voluble Lib Dem-bashing and begin to once again cultivate a serious working relationship with a party "In the event of another hung parliament at the next election, Labour needs to be ready to work with the Lib Dems once more in a spirit of solidarity bolstered by mutual values." I believe to be our natural allies. When I use the term "natural allies," I don't mean that the two parties should seek any sort of permanent alliance. Nor do I subscribe to the condescending belief that the Lib Dems are effectively a subsection of the Labour party, separated from it by purely cultural factors and with no independent ideological merit. The intellectual origins of the two parties are quite different, particularly with regard to their conception of the role of the state. Despite much recent overlap, these important distinctions persist to a significant extent. I joined the Labour party because of its traditionally state-oriented solidaristic ethos, believing the Lib Dems' predominantly individualist emphasis to be inadequate in the struggle against inequality and injustice. When I say "natural allies," then, I refer instead to the parties' shared location on the progressive wing of British politics, united by a mutual loathing of conservatism and a common appreciation of the constant need to improve society. Fortunately for the British left, it will take far more than a few uncomfortable months in government spearheaded by a cabal of closeted neo-liberals for the Lib Dems to completely abandon this tradition. My call for Labour to work on their relationship with the coalition's junior partners certainly doesn't amount to an unconditional armistice. The Lib Dems' record in government leaves much to be desired even if one considers that a combination of economic necessity, unfavourable parliamentary arithmetic and the compromise inherent in coalition negotiations put them in to bat on a sticky wicket. Clegg's all-consuming focus on stable government has undoubtedly rendered him somewhat myopic, contributing to a litany of mistakes which a more assertive leader could easily have avoided. He could have made more of an effort to moderate the Tories' headline tuition fee figure and was rightly eviscerated for failing to do so, wrongly assuming that his compensatory repayment measures would get him off the hook. He should also have driven back Andrew Lansley's disastrous NHS bill, capitalising on its lost momentum to rid it of its marketising principles during last year's much-ridiculed "listening exercise." His biggest error was treating an ivory-tower constitutional reform as his biggest prize during coalition talks and misguidedly putting it to the people at a time when easing the burden of public sector cuts should have been his most urgent priority. Both Clegg and his party have been much too defensive in government, seemingly forgetful of the Tories' absolute reliance on them to furnish their legislative majority. Criticism of the Lib Dems in government, then, is understandable, although the interminable stream of invective shot in their direction over the past eighteen months remains difficult to justify. As unfashionable as it is to admit it, the Lib Dems have quietly done a decent job in moderating some of the worst excesses of Conservative party policy. From lifting the poorest out of tax to getting Cameron back around the Brussels negotiating table, Clegg and company have to some extent stamped their values on Cameron's coalition. Rather than accusing them of completely abandoning fairness, it would do Labour good to praise the Lib Dems for some of this work. Just after assuming the Labour leadership, Ed Miliband implored the two parties to work together, claiming that he was looking forward to "hearing what they (the Lib Dems) have to say and working with them." This encouraging early rhetoric, however, has unfortunately been backed up by precious little substantive action, with opposition politicians free-riding on the poisonous vitriol directed at Clegg and his party. Savaging the Lib Dems maybe the easiest option open to a misfiring shadow frontbench but it is neither fair nor particularly sensible, especially considering that the biggest beneficiaries from such scapegoating will be the same Conservative party gleefully ripping a hole in the social fabric of our nation. Any attempt at reconciliation with the Lib Dems needs to be genuine, aimed at more than just a government-defeating mass defection from the party's ranks. The new friendship between the parties needs to be critical but it desperately needs to avoid the lazy partisan bickering which has characterised the better part of Miliband's tenure so far. In the event of another hung parliament at the next election, Labour needs to be ready to work with the Lib Dems once more in a spirit of solidarity bolstered by mutual values. Whilst it may prove impossible for Labour to govern with Clegg and his immediate allies, it is important to remember the significant social democratic contingent within the party's ranks, with politicians like Tim Farron, for instance, prime candidates to spearhead a progressive coalition of the British centre-left. Ultimately, I refuse to believe that the Liberal Democrats have more in common with the Conservatives than with Labour. If we can recognise this and use it to build a more constructive working relationship between the parties then the left can govern again. If we continue to alienate our natural allies, on the other hand, then certain defeat beckons once more. The Beaver 1 07.02.2012 Comment 11 Reaction to Technion Why we need honest, reasonable debate about the Technion question Zachariah Sammour I recently attended a meeting called by the LSE Students' Union Environment and Ethics Officer, Lois Clifton, to discuss concerns that some students had aired over the LSE's academic collaboration with an Israeli university, Technion Institute of Technology. I arrived late, but still in time to hear the predictable chorus of "Why Israel?" emanating as though in unison from a group of irate students. These students informed the rest of the audience, in no uncertain terms, that the very premise of the meeting -that LSE's collaboration with Technion is troubling - was pernicious, irrational and xenophobic. Why, the room was asked, should the involvement of Israeli universities with their state's militaiy operations be of any concern to the student body? Why is an Israeli university being targeted? I aim to refer to these questions within the context of the main question, "Why Israel?" I will attempt to highlight for the reader the intended implications inherent in this question before outlining two general species of response that can be given to rebut these dangerous implications. The "Why Israel?" question is based on a number of assumptions and identifying them is a prerequisite for understanding the question's intended implications. These presuppositions are, firstly, that there are a number of political regimes engaged in conduct analogous to that of Israel with regard to its treatment of the Palestinians. Secondly, that these analogous regimes are subject to divergent degrees of public criticism and, finally, that Israel is subject to greater, more intense criticism than the analogous regimes by Palestinian rights activists. In light of these presuppositions the implications of the question become clear. If Israel is engaged in equally deplorable activity as that of a number of other political regimes, it cannot rationally or legitimately be subject to a greater degree of criticism for that conduct than the analogous regimes. In the absence of any rational or legitimate basis for distinction, the heightened criticism of Israel must be based on some irrational, presumably sinister, ground. There are two broad types of response to the "Why Israel?" question which would rebut the implied claims of irrational and arbitrary targeting of Israel. Each response seeks to undermine the implied accusation by challenging one or more of the presuppositions upon which it rests. The first response accepts the first presupposition but rejects the second and third, essentially rejecting the argument that Israel is subject to greater criticism than regimes engaged in analogous activities. This response accepts that Israel's treatment of the Palestinian people is qualitatively similar to the conduct of other regimes towards identifiable groups under their direct control. This response would first establish a baseline comparator, seeking to compare the intensity of criticism directed against Israel with criticism directed toward analogous regimes. These regimes must be engaged in activity that is similar or identical to Israel's treatment of the Palestinians and would therefore exhibit such behaviour as is alleged to be ongoing during the occupation, such as the arbitrary detention of minors, forced and uncompensated acquisition of property, restriction of minority groups' access to religious and cultural sites, political intimidation and "Israel is not subject to unjustifiable or arbitrary levels of criticism." violence (including violent repression of civil disobedience, assassination of dissidents and politically motivated arrests), restricted access to education, food, employment or any number of other violations of humanitarian and human rights law. Fortunately, establishing a baseline comparison at LSE is quite easy, as we have had a number of fairly recent student campaigns directed at regimes other than Israel which have displayed such disregard for human dignity. A number of students involved with Amnesty International, for example, have organised campaigns condemning the political violence and repression in Burma. More famously, of course, the LSE Students' Union and a large number of independent student groups held public rallies, meetings and an occupation to condemn the links between LSE and the Gaddafi regime. It therefore appears quite clear that, at the LSE at least, criticism of a high intensity has been directed at regimes engaged in conduct analogous to Israel's treat- ment of the Palestinian people. Whilst one may point out that criticism of Israel has been far more frequent and sustained on our campus than criticism of states like Libya or Burma, this difference in volume (as opposed to intensity) can be attributed to the inevitably amplificatory effect of opposition. To my knowledge, no student group has publicly attempted to undermine students engaged in criticism of the Gaddafi regime or the Burmese Junta. Criticism of Israel's treatment of the Palestinians has, contrastingly, been subject to highly organised, consistent and vocal opposition at LSE, resulting in an escalation of the debate. Essentially, the frequency or volume with which one must express their opinions if they wish them to be vindicated will be determined, in large part, by the extent to which those opinions are actively opposed. Whilst the same individual may hold similarly intense views with regard to the conduct of a number of states, it is reasonable and rational for that individual to devote greater energy to criticism of a state where there is an active dispute as to the propriety of its actions, as opposed to a situation where the state's conduct is widely condemned. To put it simply, there is little point preaching to the converted. Thus, if we accept that Israel's treatment of the Palestinians is not qualitatively unique, we do not necessarily need to accept the cries of Israeli victimisation. Other regimes are criticised, as too are links between the LSE and those regimes when they are discovered, and so criticism of Israel for similar activities cannot be seen as arbitrary or pernicious. The second response that can put forth to deal with the "Why Israel?" question denies the validity of all three of the presuppositions. Crucially, it denies that there is a contemporary political regime engaged in analogous conduct to Israel with regard to its treatment of the Palestinians. This approach posits, resolutely and unapolo-getically, that Israel's treatment of the Palestinians is unique. This response points to the systematic, generational oppression and disenfranchisement caused by both the illegal occupation and the refusal to admit Palestinian refugees back to their homes as evidence of the unique nature of Israel's conduct. Together, the occupation and the refugee crisis constitute a complete vitiation of Palestinian political freedom, rendering successive generations of Palestinians incapable of determining, in freedom and dignity, their own destiny and future. If Israel is subject to a higher degree of criticism, then this criticism is entirely justifiable. Accordingly, the dangerous implications of the "Why Israel?" question must be rejected. Israel is not subject to unjustifiable or arbitrary levels of criticism. As long as one is willing to critically and honestly assess the nature of Israel's treatment of the Palestinians, some variant of the above responses seems an inevitable answer to the question. On the basis of its treatment of the Palestinian people, Israel is an entirely reasonable and justified target for serious criticism. The conduct of Israel's educational institutions should not be shielded from our attention on the basis of academic freedom. Honest, reasonable debate, in full view of the relevant facts, is needed; not cries of victimisation which frankly belittles the debate and its participants. Hands off Iran and Syria Assessing the impact of recent protests against intervention in Iran and Syria Ekaterina Daminova Jj 1 Nbbody has declared a war yet, but the EU's decision to place an embargo on Iranian oil imports and restrict cooperation in financial services raises concern of yet another war in the Middle East. Petroleum accounts for 80 per cent of Iran's exports and the aim of these sanctions is to undermine Iran's capacity to finance its nuclear program. According to the British Foreign Secretary William Hague, excluding Iran from trade is a "peaceful, legitimate pressure on Iran to return to negotiations." However, some believe that such a policy is not a step to peace, but a step to war. Hundreds of anti-war protesters gathered in central London on the 28th January at a demonstration against Western intervention in Iran and Syria. The peaceful protest was organized by the Stop the War Coalition and took place at Grosvenor Square, outside the US embassy. Protesters waved banners bearing the words "Don't attack Iran," while the crowd joined together in chanting: "One, two, three, four, we don't want another war. Five, six, seven, eight, stop the killing, stop the hate." The messages were clear: "Stop the spread of western imperialism" and "Hands off Iran and Syria." Demonstrators believe that the current political pressure on Iran will ulti- "Demonstrators believe that the current political pressure on Iran will ultimately lead to militaiy intervention." mately lead to military intervention and will replicate the miseries of war in Iraq. The activists accuse western governments of being "greedy for oil and wealth." Iranian activist, Shirin Shafaie, said that the West had shown "double standards" in previous conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The speeches were very passionate, reflecting the emotional charge of the protesters. European intellectuals and international students from SOAS, and other universities, joined members of the Muslim community on Grosvenor square. It was not a protest of a small group with narrow interests, but of a truly cosmopolitan community wanting their voice to be heard. Some people came as families and brought their young children to demonstrate their pacifist approach. The protesters highlighted the reasons why they believe that the sanctions and the war are neither legitimate nor sensible. Aside from mentioning "catastrophic consequences" on the peaceful population of Iran, they focused attention on the Islamophobia in the modern Western society. The extensive media coverage of the latest events in the Middle East leads to Arab and Muslim alienation from the West. The existing clash of cultures is becoming more aggravated by political confrontation. An attack on Iran would only increase bitterness against the Western powers, which destroys the possibility of a peaceful dialogue and economic cooperation. Furthermore, a logical argument against military intervention in Iran is the financial problems this would cause. History has shown that military attacks on the Middle East create a drain on Western budgets. As of June 2010 UK costs exceeded £20 billion for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars combined. During a time of economic crisis and austerity measures, the EU does not have the means to finance its war expenditure and should focus on domestic policy-making. Although it is difficult to assess the performance of the demonstrators in terms of the impact they can have on the policy-making, they have carried out some significant work. Raising public awareness is crucial now and pacifist civil societies will be taking more action to prevent potential war. I wish the Stop the War Coalition success in their noble job. 12 Comment Commenting on your comment Small government is better Responding to Samira Lindner's article on the benefits of big government J___, <.;„ gotta dash' hellos on the spiral staircase and position yourself behind a screen in the silent area on the third floor. Although I don't often find myself having days like these, the mid-term blues do get to us all at some point. Maybe it's time we all started stopping and chatting a little bit more, especially with the people that we know but that we don't really know. The stop and chat doesn't have to be a painful and you never know that might be your future best friend, girlfriend or boyfriend that you've been giving the acknowledging nod to all this time. 3° Sport 07.02.20121 The Beaver Sport I11 Brief Djokovic reigns supreme World no.i, Novak Djokovic, won his third consecutive Grand Slam, defeating no.2 seed, Rafael Nadal, in a thrilling five-set final at the Australian Open. The win gives Djokovic the fifth Grand Slam of his career. Six Nations Round Up France put a spirited Italy side to the sword, 30-12. Scotland and England engaged in a defensive battle, ending 6-13. Wales beat Ireland in a thrilling match with the final score being 23-21. England Struggle in Third Test After a torrid series England have been made to suffer further by Pakistan. After a century-less series Pakistan scored two in one innings, Azhar and Younis respectively. England must bat out the final day on a deteriorating wicket to ensure a draw. Women's Hockey 1st XI: the story so far Rosie Hamer The LSE Women's Hockey 1st XI has seen some highs and lows so far this season. You might think we've been on a winning streak judging by our weekly celebratory behaviour in Zoo- sadly it's not the case. Yet where there's a will, there's a way. In our case, the will being the expert direction of our new coaches Rhys, Ed and Luke. We've welcomed the arrival of some havoc causing freshers - the first club dinners setting the tone with Emma winning a pole dance off vs a UCLer on the tube. Chloe also caused mayhem as she dropped her oyster card onto the track and attempted to climb down and get it back. The squad is full of new faces but Babs, Roos and Hannah D have been key in providing experience and Steph, Noble, Chloe, Emma, Louise and 'America' have all made serious marks on the pitch. Our post grad defensive force, Rianne, also returned last month from a spell down under. It couldn't have been better timed, after last term consisted in a run of losses that brought frustration to all, as we comprise a strong and skilful team. Away in Brighton was still a great day out, if only for the train ride, as yet again the score didn't reflect our play. On the way there, the current general course, Katherine 'America', cottoned on the to the well known phrase 'taking the pics' and Sammi confirmed she's not taking a geography degree - announcing we were 'so near Cornwall'. An anonymous fresher also told us all she 'hadn't shaved her pubes', making the prospect of communal showers problematic for some. The game itself got off to a great start, with two goals in the first 7mins. They got one back, we got another; then they got one more, ending with a 4-3 loss. Nevertheless, the game was eventful, as Becky performed some curling worthy skids and Hannah D's mouth was smashed to pieces. No fear, before the final whistle was blown, she'd already arranged for a consultation with her private dentist in Notting Hill. Things were aggravating for Sabrina as she suffered an unknown injury, resulting in her hand blowing up to resemble Shrek's. Two final short corners being a mere 2 millimetres from perfect topped this off. The game finished on a bad foot with some abuse from stroppy little girls on the opposition and an opinionated post match chat from Hannah. Things were quickly rescued with a Maccy Ds and an hour long exploration of Eastbourne's off licenses. Hannah ate 3 burgers in lomins and we missed our train back to London, meaning a further hour wait for the next. It wasn't all disaster however, as the train ride home meant wine out of Macdonald's cups, leading us straight to the Tuns and then Zoo. Despite a poor score line from last term, Captain Sabrina and other remainders from last year Megan, Sammi, Becky, Rosie and of course Club Captain and keeper, Hannah, have been keeping up hope of winning and returning to a record of previous seasons' successes. It seems like this could be coming to fruition as we ended our losing streak two weeks ago with a 4-0 win over University of Sussex, thanks to some dedicated training and a more positive attitude. The team is looking strong for Wednesday's crucial game away at Reading (and even stronger for our 3 day 'tour' to Amsterdam at the end of this term!) u {sZZSCr £ Running things Nathan Converse On Wednesday 25th January, the LSE cross country team braved threatening skies and high winds to travel to Reading for the fourth of six London College League cross country races. Although academic commitments and the lengthy travel time kept away key members of both the men's and women's teams, the squad put in a solid performance and now lead Kings and UCL by a wide margin in the rankings. Postgrad, Martin Holm, once again led the pack, finishing 10th after taking the muddy four mile course at a blistering 5:31 minute-per-mile pace (3:27 per km). Team captain, Nate Converse, crossed the line with a time well ahead of the Kings and UCL second runners. This, combined with a two -man pack attack by new recruit Zimo Qi and Seb Koh, ensured the team's dominance of its University of London rivals. Rounding out the team were veteran Arthur Wadsworth and the very promising Tom Tarn. Fresher, Rebecca Windemer, represented the LSE women, and yet again proved that her triathlon experience translates into solid performances over shorter distances. The past weekend saw several LSE Running club members donning University of London singlets at the BUCS Cross Country Championships in Cardiff. Meanwhile, the Athletics squad has stepped up their training at the superb facility at Lee Valley in preparation for University of London Indoor Athletics Championships on March 24th. Quick Comment John Terry and the captaincy by: Timothy Poole On Friday morning, it was revealed the England captaincy off John Terry possibility of Steven Gerrard skipper- that the current England captain, John for the second time in his career. By ing his country again is an exciting Terry, would be stripped ofthe cap- succumbing to this knee-jerk reac- one, there is noway at all,in which a tain's armband with immediate effect, tion and taking away his captaincy change of captain will benefit a coun- What's more, this was done not in after tge delay of his trial until July, try only four months ahead of a major person, but oh so coldly - by phone. the FA have all but confirmed their tournament. Alas, after what 1 believe Now, the merits of stamping out tac- belief that Terry is guilty. While I to be another poor decision from the ism in football and broader society have read many credible arguments FA - an organisation that is letting the are unquestioned and racial abuse is from respected journalists about why virtuous fight against racism become undoubtedly a serious offence; but the: Terry's leadership could not continue, a ridiculous facade that clouds all British legal system defines one yet I refiite that this decision will be of things else * I can only say: poor John to stand trial :is innocent until proven any benefit to the England camp. A Terry; being removed as England guilty. leader unites a team, whether there captain once is humiliating enough, The FA are wrong to have taken are divisions or not and, while the buttwice? And by phone? The Beaver I 07.02.2012 Sport 31 Lucas' injury will cost Liverpool dearly as we approach end of season Amit Singh Lucas was once despised by Liverpool fans, but since he has come on leaps and bounds even winning the fans player of the year award last season. He has emerged under Dalglish as one of Liverpool's best players and in their current formation he has to be regarded as one of the most influential, if not the most influential player. Lucas played 12 times in the Premier League this season before getting injured and by all accounts played very well alongside Adam in the middle of the park. Defensively he was very good as we'd expect with 5.7 tackles per game, more than any other player in the league, his 2.8 interceptions per game were more than any other Liverpool player and demonstrate Lucas' importance at breaking down opposition attacks. Lucas' stats compared to other players in his position are incredibly good. His tacklers per game as stated are more than any player in the Premier League and only Cattermole and Carrick complete more interceptions playing in that role. His high number of tacklers per game reflect even better when we consider that Carrick completes 4.1 per game and Parker 4. Another interesting statistic is that Lucas completes more passes per game than any other Liverpool player with 57.3 and with an accuracy higher than Charlie Adam, 86%. Clearly Lucas' role is not just to break up opposition attacks but also to start attacks for his own side. Which is further demonstrated by the number of long balls he plays, 3.9 per game, surprisingly more than any Liverpool defender. The reason for this is not because he is negative but because he likes to switch the play from deep, as well as to pick out the forwards and initiate quick attacks. Lucas is somewhat of a 'water-carrier' type player for Liverpool which is why he often goes unnoticed by opposition fans. It is no surprise that in the 12 games he did play this season he has no goals and no assists, as he simply is not that sort of player. The loss is a great shame for Adam, as an attacking, ball playing midfielder it appeared an ideal centre-mi dfield pairing to have him playing alongside Lucas, a more defensive minded midfield shield. Lucas being fit would allow Adam to push into the final third and create chances for himself and other players. Liverpool unfortunately do not have a like for like replacement for Lucas which means his injury has proven incredibly problematic for Dalglish. This has had ramifications for other Liverpool players due to the reshuffles it has prompted. Adam for example, has been forced to play a deeper role now he does not have the protection of Lucas. For example against Bolton, Adam played as the more defensive minded central midfielder alongside Gerrard, a role that he is not massively comfortable in. With Lucas in the side the midfield could almost operate as a 4-1-3-2 rather than a 4-4-2. This afforded the other midfield players license to drive forward knowing Lucas was sitting in behind on the cover. The ability of a player like Lucas is not just felt defensively, Liverpool have defended adequately without Lucas but it's their attacking potency that has been a worry. The loss of Lucas is central to this, as stated he allows other players to get forward, but as well as this he also initiates a lot of quick attacks by intercepting the ball in the midfield as well as winning tackles to break up play and start counter attacks. In the 12 games Lucas played this season Liverpool only failed to score three times, in the 10 games since he has been out they've failed to score on four occasions. They also won 6 out of the 12 he was fit but have only won three games since his injury, losing two games out of 12 while he was fit, but losing 3 in 10 whilst he has been injured. Lucas is apparently ruled out until June 12th which means, unfortunately for them, he will not feature again this season. With Liverpool 6 points behind Chelsea, and the iffy form of the latter, Liverpool are not firing on all cylinders, thus it may be difficult for them to make up the gap. With the transfer window shutting shortly it may be an idea for Kenny, despite having a wealth of midfielders, to move for a holding player in the same mould as Lucas. If Liverpool fail to finish fourth it is fair to say that this will be down partially to the tactics and transfers of Kenny Dalglish, but also due to missing Lucas who has been one of Liverpool's most influential players for over ayear now. When he returns it would be wise for Dalglish to build a side around the midfielder in order to get the best out of his attacking players. It should also be noted that injuries cannot be solely to blame for any clubs failings. Arsenal for example have missed Wilshire for almost the entirity of the season so far and Chelsea have only just had Michael Essien back. Injuries are part of the game but it is unfortunate that Liverpool have lost such a central figure for all but 12 games of the season. It seems that the saying is true: what goes up, must goes down, and the previous week's peak in Zoo Bar sex-capades is counterbalanced with this week's trough. There appears to be no other justification for the unexplained mystery other than alcohol - the fact of the matter is that people were just too drunk to do anything/survive the night. Not one to be phased by a sparsely populated Zoo, though, the tallest member of the netball sixths decided that Wednesday was her night to publicly place herself back on the map. Seemingly entangled with a rower of American origin, in many-a-location, TLee was unwavering in her attempts to snare the unwitting man, despite the flashing cameras of the pseudo-pa-parazzi thathas developed on Wednesdays. Though the pair were later seeing dashing out of Zoo hurriedly, protests of innocence have followed any allegations of misdoings, and the story appears to go along the lines of snuggles followed by a "full English" breakfast. Whether or not there was the "full English" experience in between those two steps, I cannot confirm. It also seems like one rugby fresher, having been set a challenge by his superiors to go round and literally lick girls' faces, found the odds turning pleasantly in his favour. The lady, who is now becoming famous for her Butler services (lovingly nicknamed, "the Creeper"), appeared to want a little more than a lick from our naive fresher. Ever the gentleman though, our young David had chosen not to become a Goliath for the night and opted to send the intoxicated damsel home in a cab, when a goodbye kiss led to his capture and subsequent return to the Creeper's lair. DAKSDAV Rugby were not the only club to have a semi-successful fresher. Football 2nds' Sam HunterGatherer was also seen trying his luck with a third year blonde basketball bombshell. Word has it the young chap took his time but by the end of the night had snagged the prey, taking her-stback to his shared room. Needless to say, his roommate was not best pleased. Fallen Captain Jones appeared to be in a state of limbo on Wednesday, starting off the evening engaged in conversation with the dazzling Raquel Oddity. A blurry haze later, though, and he was once again seen in the company of the rather underdressed cock-tease. In an outfit more revealing than even Keith would dare to dabble with, she also seemed unabashed at the paparazzi gawping at their very public displays of affection - who knows, she may even lose this nickname soon... Ultimate Frizbee also made their mark this week, with a random starlet tasting some Kobe beef, much to the bemusement and disgust of fellow zoo-goers. Suffice it to say, people didn't appreciate being barged out of the way by the horny couple, let alone sprayed with their showers of blended saliva. Aside from these precious few instances, it really was a bit of a dry week folks. Other minor points to mention are the FC's scolding from a bouncer for dislodging the disco ball, and Captain Mateer's triumphant return to Zoo, despite her ban. Next week is the Mr LSE Competition, so make sure you get yourself down to the Quad early to see the finest male talent the LSE has to offer - who knows if the lucky winner will be featured here next week... Ia/BMM Everyday in the media, in newspapers and on television, we are confronted by the samei horrific images of famine, starvation and death, we are confronted fay the blight that is world hunger. Andrea Paltzer works as a consultant with the 'World Food Programme', a UN frontline agency whose mission to eradicate world hunger is clear and unequivocal. Andrea discusses the problems posed by world hunger, the solutions being devised to combat it, and ultimately offers an exceptionally thorough look into the causes and nature of one of the most prolific problems of the 21st century. A question and answer session will also be held. '.la & m #•» srt_ " ' '¦ UN Networking evening provides the chance to meet the people working in the UN and other humanitarian organisations worldwide, offering the chance for you to chat, ask questions and learn about prospective careers from those who have the experience of being involved in global humanitarian missions and who have had the virtue of being involved in the LSE in the past. For those who revel in the delights of a good conversation, fellow UN society members will also be present as will fine wine and canapes, the UN resolution for this night is to have a good time! i From the outset of the 21 st century, the relationship between the citizen and the state has always been fragile and beleaguered and in many countries in which freedom of speech is in its incipient stages and the action of political protests has become ever more audacious than ever before, the freedom and liberty of the individual has been put to the test in an unprecedented manner. Secret police, wire tapping and other forms of state suppression have become the staple diet of dictatorships and even some democratic governments, but an especially insidious form of crackdown upon political opposition has been employed, arbitrary detention. Shaheen Sardar Ali, Vice-Chairman of the UN sanctioned Working Group for arbitrary detention explores the issues surrounding this fiercely disputed technique, which has both been viewed as the instrument for preserving national security and the tool for propping up tyranny. ¦ ill,&vo~ ¦* ^ HWISfff VMS ;v'4.b ' WSSSH Kashmir Debate 6th Feb. 18:30 - 20:00 CLM.7.02 SK£: Food for Thought' with the WFP 7th Feb, 19:00 - 20:00 CLM.3,02 MUN Valentine's Day Special 8th Feb, 16:30 - 19:00 nmmnwnn GLM.7.02 Networking Night 9th Feb, 18:30 - 21:00 Senior Common Room, OB Arbitrary Detention and Human Rights with Shaheen Sardar Ali 10th Feb, 18:00-21:00 NAB .2.04 Il>l88rt« Model United Nations is the ideal scenario for any aspiring statesman, diplomat or ambassador, the opportunity to assume the role of the UN Security council or the security council of multitude of other nation states, and deal with a problem scenario which might be confronted by an actual government. This MUN has a slight twist however, and so, in anticipation of Valentine's Day, the problem posed in this scenario is none other than the outlawing of Valentine's Day! Devise stratagems, plot policies and ultimately, assume the role of a state in this year's very special MUN exercise. Newcomers will be initiated by MUN veterans so those who are unfamiliar with Model United Nations need not be intimidated! ? ? ? ? 32 07.02.2012 1 The Beaver Sport Inside--- • Women's Hockey • I know who you did last Wednesday • Running team smash rivals Defeat for England for a second time Benjamin Schneider, edited by other contributors England's defeat in the second Test against Pakistan in Dubai compounded the inherent problems revealed through defeat in the previous tie. While the English bowling attack has taken wickets at a good rate (particularly after an enforced changed to two seamers and two spinners for the second Test), the batting lineup has made over three hundred just once in their four innings, and collapsed for a humiliating 72 when chasing just 144 in the fourth innings at Abu Dhabi. The England team's run of nine Tests without defeat ended in Dubai, with only the impressive batting of Swann in both innings that prevented the top Test team in the world from going down to an innings defeat. Alistair Cook, two Tests removed from a brilliant, match-winning, 294 didn't stick around long in either innings in ii! i-. • • •-«—r; meL<-m ' ; ;j Flickr: windelbo the first Test, and while he recovered to score 94 in the first innings in Abu Dhabi, his early departure on day four must have given the Pakistani attack the hope they needed to bowl out England and win the match. Cook's captain and fellow opener Strauss struggled in the first Test, but provided the only significant resistance as his team collapsed in Abu Dhabi. This is part of a wider, worrying, statistical trend for The General, who now has only one score of over fifty in has past twelve journeys out to the middle. Strauss must recapture his imperious Ashes form or his selection for the team becoming uncertain would be disastrous. As a tactical leader of men he is without peer in the current England squad, but if your leader is a batting liability then something has got to be changed. Kevin Pietersen, seemingly always the focus of discussion and controversy, ensured that he would be a main story on the back pages of the papers with just seventeen runs and through four innings. His problems with the dreaded slow left arm spin, are well documented, despite practice it is, statistically, a near guaranteed way to take his wicket. He forms part of a middle order that has accumulated 141 runs, at an average of nine point four each, a trip back to the drawing board is clearly needed for the England batters. Ian Bell had been in a fine run of form against Sri Lanka and India last summer, but amounted to little in either Test, despite moving up to his preferred three slot for the second innings in Abu Dhabi. Eoin Morgan again failed to take advantage of the team's dire straits in either match, and would be in danger of losing his spot if there were any good options to replace him, but Ravi Bopara has been given numerous chances without capitalisation. Thus, after heavy defeats in both of the first two tests, the England team face an uphill task in saving the series from a 3-0 whitewash, as well as returning to form for other upcoming series'. But it must be noted that this is not entirely down to England's deficiencies, Pakistan have utilised the conditions superbly, and have preyed without mercy at every chink in the . English armour. So while things are looking positive for Pakistan, possibly on the verge of becoming one of the good test teams for the foreseeable future, it seems that whilst England performed immensely to get to world number one, retaining the position will be a lot tougher. LET'S TALK TACTICS ¦BHHBBSBHHBi The truest of champions Timothy Poole In the wake of arguably the greatest Australian Open final in history, it is as though an ancient secret to sporting success has suddenly become apparent. The longest match to ever be seen on the Rod Laver Arena (also the longest ever Grand Slam final) served the purpose of revealing what it takes to become a true champion. Does one require superfluous skill to be remembered as one of the greatest? Is unstoppable grit and determination needed? The short answer is yes. But to prove yourself a winner worth remembering, you need much, much more - an x-factor of sorts, if you will. On that infamous Sunday night (turned early Monday morning) in Melbourne, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal showed the world that ultimate sporting success requires character, grace and sportsmanship; alas, nice guys can get somewhere in this dog eat dog world after all. Indeed, sport is filled with tremendous personalities - the kind of people that you relish meeting during your working day. Millionaires, the best in the world at their trade, but never too arrogant to sign an autograph or acknowledge their travelling supporters. Novak Djokovic embodies this attitude; the Serb has now proved -beyond doubt that he is the best male player in tennis. But what of him off the court? The man is widely publicised as a gentleman and, moreover, the 'joker' of the tour (even having the song "the joker" written about him). His light-hearted antics, ranging from impersonating his fellow tennis players, to starring in a cameo role for the upcoming Expendables 2, have won him fans across the globe. Not only will the 24year-old be remembered as a man of steel and winner of multiple Grand Slams, but as a charming, polite and graceful competitor, too. Djokovic's defeated opponent, Rafael Nadal, is another perfect example. The Australian Open saw one winner and one runner-up; yet, in the eyes of the fans, there was no loser. Both players put up a gruelling fight, but entertained and offered each other the utmost respect at the same time. In the post-match interviews, Nadal and Djokovic were full of praise for each other - no jibes, no Las Vegas style trash talk, just kindness from the depth of their hearts. Gone are the days of McEnroe swearing at all those around him; now tennis' biggest advert is the sheer kindness of its champions. Of course, at this point, the discussion naturally leads to Roger Federer. The Swiss perhaps emulates the human side of sport to an even greater extent than the current world no. land 2. Federer, the well-spoken, well-mannered athlete, is the definitive role model. Now a family man, Federer has never received bad press, never disrespected his rivals and never had anything bad to say about anyone who has beaten him. It is this reason that makes him the Great that he is. Without this ability to step off court, give credit where it's due and behave impeccably at all times, one questions whether Federer, or indeed any sportsperson, could achieve as much as they have. And it doesn't just apply to tennis. Golf's Darren Clarke is another sporting ambassador. The Northern Irishman is a devoted father, but not only to his two sons. The43year-oldis seen as a father figure throughout the European Tour, always at hand to aid the younger players. Most sportspeople -or even people in general - will do their bit, earn their money and take care of number one - not Darren Clarke. It is this caring, selfless nature that holds Clarke endeared in the hearts of so many, even more so after his Open win last year; the trophy was lifted in proving that flamboyance and publicity won't bring success, but dedication and having your heart in the right place just might. In the end, the 'nice guys' end up with a win-win situation; their sportsmanship only enhances their performance, taking nothing away from their fierce drive towards victory. At the same time, the fans get their money's worth and feel as though emotional circumstances as he duly dedicated it to his late wife. Across the Irish Sea to Manchester and the same can be said for Paul Scholes. The 'ginger ninja' is a consummate, exemplar professional, a man who doesn't even like to give interviews as he is reluctant to stand in the media spotlight. When all those around him (the Rooneys, Ronal-dos, Morrisons) appear to be losing their heads, the experienced talisman lets his positive persona guide the Manchester United team. Such an approach has led the Red Devils to unrivalled success in recentyears, they can really relate to the performer they have just watched. People like a 'people' person. Who can forget Paulo Di Canio's display of genuine humanity when he refused an open goal to allow the injured Paul Gerrard to be treated? Similarly, who can question the charm of Rory Mcllroy, the 22 year-old who has graced the game of golf with nothing but professionalism? The Northern Irishman always smiles and has spoken of his determination to 'hang on to his ordinariness'. Of course, the ruthless sportspeople with that nasty edge can achieve as much on the field of play as their more compassionate colleagues, but they will never be spoken of in the same light. A key part of sport is keeping on side the very people who pay to watch you play - the people who essentially pay your wages. Contrastthe aforementioned names with the likes of Joey Barton or the viciously-spoken David Haye. And if the England rugby team had won this year's world cup... with their catastrophic off-field behaviour, would we still hold them in such high regard? You don't need the reputation of Mario Balotelli to remain in peoples' memories. Indeed, the antics of the Bartons and Balotellis of this world appear to suggest that these athletes lack that natural personality that supporters can really connect with. Eccentricity has to come from within - or it invariably ends up a front that's masking a more conventional and boring truth. Fundamentally, sport is a game, a contest, a separate world constructed to pit competing factions against each other - and this world ends as soon as the final seconds transpire. As such, sport must be played with integrity, discipline and valour, with every sprint, kick or throw fought for until the very end. But once the end comes, it is then the duty of the sportsperson to shake their opponents' hand, wave to the crowd and offer an optional smile. The sporting 'nice guys' who do so are those that we will admire, respect and never forget; if we all took this approach in our separate walks of life, the world would simply be a better place. Indeed, the gentlemanly Djokovics, Nadals, Clarkes and others aren't just successful sportsmen - they are the truest of champions, in every sense of the phrase.