1. 07.10.15
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By Thomas Danielian
The University of Aberdeen has
announced the creation of a new scheme
to support refugee students. The Shining
Lights scheme will aim to fund at least
four refugees in order to become students
at Aberdeen.The award is available to any
prospective student with refugee status.
It is hoped that the scheme will be
popular and receive more funding to help
the University accept more refugees into
education. The decision to offer the new
scholarship programme has been greeted
with wide ranging support from students
and staff.
University Vice-Chancellor and
Principal Professor Sir Ian Diamond
announced the launch of the new award.
In his speech he stated that: ‘This
University has always opened its doors
to the world’. He also said that the new
scholarship would ‘cover tuition fees, year
round accommodation, and support for
living costs for four refugee students’. He
invited Alumni and local businesses to
support the scheme and help ‘welcome
and support even more refugee students
to gain the benefits of studying at the
University of Aberdeen’.
Aberdeen University Student
Association (AUSA) had a significant
role in the development and creation of
the Shining Lights scholarship. Laura
Cristea and Dominic O’Hagan (the
current and previous President’s for
Ethics and Environment respectively)
were forthcoming in their praise of the
new scheme. Cristea said that AUSA
were ‘very excited to welcome refugees
into our family of students and prove our
solidarity through education. We have
worked hard to ensure the recipients
of these scholarships will enjoy a full
breadth of experience at university and
benefit from all of our support systems’.
O’Hagan added: ‘These scholarships
are recognition that our universities have
a moral obligation to help shape the
world around us in a positive way’.
The scheme will allow for
undergraduate and taught postgraduate
students to receive funding to attend the
University of Aberdeen.
Businesses and members of the
public can donate to the Shining Lights
scholarship scheme.
TheGaudie
03
Inside
NEWS
page 3
Largest solar farm
in Scotland
FEATURES
page 7
My Body My
Rights
OPINE
page 9
Strategy in Syria
SPORT
page 12
Superteams
Success
UoA Shines Light for Refugees

2. p.2 07.10.2015
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Aemilia Ross and
Thomas Danielian
Huw D’Costa and
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Maximilian Fischbach
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Alistair Hunter
Aemilia Ross
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Editorial
Edition 3:
I
n this edition I would like to take a moment to
reflect on the human propensity for change. We at
The Gaudie are somewhat blessed with a two week
gap between weekends where we lock ourselves in the
glorified cave that is Gaudie HQ and push ourselves to
the precipice creating something of integrity, intrigue,
and importance. This grants us the advantage of having a
moment to step back and consider the world around us,
and extract from that fortnight, from that 14 day zeitgeist,
exactly what is the most relevant and interesting for our
readership.
We get to rise above the minutia of the everyday and
deliver to you something considered, giving us the ever-
welcome advantage of being current, relevant and non-
repetitive.
In this edition, however, you will notice that we have
flown in the face of this fortnightly grace and chosen to
showcase the same subject matter we did last time: the
worldwide refugee crisis.
Last edition, we highlighted Aberdeen’s vigil for
refugees, at which many students and student groups
were in attendance. This week we draw attention to the
Aberdeen Shining Light scholarship from our university
that offers students with refugee status a chance to further
their education in the North East.
Readership spiked when we featured humanitarian
action. Don’t get me wrong, we aren’t all about numbers.
We will be here whether you pick up a copy or not, in
our windowless dungeon, looking out of the gap under
the door where the light breaks in, being filled with joy
that what we are met with is a student body who is caring,
compassionate, and considerate of their fellow man.
So whether or not this scholarship programme
amounts to more than a kind gesture, or whether you want
to argue that holding candles in a rainy park in a relatively
wealthy city in the highlands of Scotland will do little
alleviate the pain and suffering and constant struggle of
those who have been displaced around the world, we care
too much to stop talking about it.
Thus, we will continue to perpetuate that image for as
long as we see fit. Or until there really is a fire in Meston.
Front cover photography (Early morning over King’s College)
courtesy of Ian Cowe

3. Aberdeen and Scottish
Universities Ranking in new
TimesTop 200
News Editors: Aemilia Ross & Thomas Danielian
07.10.2015 p.3
Photo by
Alexandre
Dulaunoy
(Flickr)
By Amanda Connelly
The University of Aberdeen is up six places
in the Times Higher Education World
Rankings.
The University maintained its position in
the top 200 at 172nd place, while the rest of
Scotland also saw five other higher education
institutions gain respectable rankings.
The University of Edinburgh was the
highest-ranking Scottish university at 24th.
Dundee emerged back into the top 200
at 185th, Glasgow ranked at 76th and St
Andrews placed 86th.
Angela Constance, Scottish Education
Secretary, said: ‘To see five institutions back
in the top 200 and all five substantially
improving their placing again demonstrates
that our Higher Education institutions are up
there with the very best in the world’.
Despite Aberdeen ranking higher in the
recent QS World University Rankings at
137th place, it remained stationary with
only a marginal improvement in its overall
score from 62.9 to 63.2. The THE World
University Rankings indicate a marked
improvement for Aberdeen in terms of
mobility within the league table.
The scores were collated on the basis of
a number of criteria such as employer and
academic reputation; staff to student ratios;
international students and faculty; and
research citations, although the tables do not
necessarily mean a degree from the university
is more favourable than another.
Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the
University of Aberdeen, Professor Sir Ian
Diamond, said: ‘It is fantastic to see our rise
in this latest set of the World University
Rankings. This is further evidence that
we are continuing to make progress in an
increasingly competitive global education
environment’.
34 UK institutions placed in the top 200,
meaning Scotland makes up a significant
proportion of the British universities in the
table despite the earlier concern from some
when tuition fees were scrapped in Scotland
that it would pale compared to other UK
higher education institutions.
Universities Scotland’s Director Alastair
Sim claimed the rankings showed Scotland
was producing ‘highly-skilled graduates’ and
‘record levels of world-leading, impactful
research’.
‘League table results always make for
interesting reading, but the sector’s excellence
is not just a label. What it means in practice is
that universities are always pushing to deliver
more and better in every aspect of what they
do’.
FMT is not
regularly
accessible
for doctors to
perform in the
UK because
the doctor
needs to find
a suitable
donor, screen
them for
infectious
diseases, and
then prepare
the transplant
material
themselves,
which is time
consuming
and
expensive.
Mackie’s ‘largest solar farm in
Scotland’begins generating
Well-known Scottish ice-cream brand
Mackie’s has recently reached out and
involved itself in a new area of business:
the solar energy market. The firm has
dedicated four acres of their large estate in
Aberdeenshire to a solar farm with 7,000
panels—enough to sustain 485 homes. It
began operating on September 30th.
The largest solar farm in Scotland was
constructed in cooperation with Absolute
Solar and Wind. Mackie’s itself is no novice
to the renewable energy field. According to
the company’s website they installed their first
wind turbine in 2005 and have since added
three more, including one installed earlier this
year.The environmentally-conscious farm also
includes a biomass energy plant. The breadth
of energy sources that allows for electricity
production at different peak times is a part of
the firm’s efforts to minimise its impact on the
environment.
‘As a business we have always seen the value
of renewable energy, from both an economic
and an environmental perspective’, said the
company’s managing director Mac Mackie.
He added the company is always challenging
itself to be as green as possible.
While about 40% of the total amount of
energy produced by the solar panels will be
used for the farm’s operation, the rest will be
sold to a renewable energy supplier.
Mackie’s family business spans over four
generations and has retained its strong ties to
the Aberdeenshire area. The current director’s
father, Maitland Mackie CBE, studied
Agriculture at the University of Aberdeen and
became a popular rector for the University
before passing away in 2014.
By Michaela Hernychova
By Huw D’Costa
Two University of Aberdeen medical
students have created a social enterprise
called EuroBiocix CIC with a view to
offering improved access to a treatment
of the infection Clostridium Difficile
(C. Diff) on the NHS.
The C. Diff bacterium, which exists
harmlessly in the digestive systems of
about 5% of the healthy population in
the UK, can become problematic when a
person is treated with certain antibiotics
that alter the balance of bacteria in the
gut leading to an infection. Afflicting
approximately 15,000 people each year
in the UK, it can prove difficult to treat,
with roughly one in four cases relapsing,
often resulting in lengthy hospital stays.
The fourth year students and
co-founders of EuroBiotix CIC, James
McIlroy (CEO) and Matthew Bracchi
(Technical Director) hope to make
a procedure called faecal microbiota
transplantation (FMT), where healthy
donors’ faecal matter is implanted into
infected bowels, more accessible in the
NHS. A randomised controlled trial has
recently shown that cure rates of 31% by
conventional treatment rise to 81% with
FMT.
James explained that ‘FMT is not
regularly accessible for doctors to
perform in the UK because the doctor
needs to find a suitable donor, screen
them for infectious diseases, and
then prepare the transplant material
themselves, which is time consuming
and expensive’.
The pair hope that by creating a ‘bank’
of faecal matter, similar in concept to
blood banks, it would make obtaining a
faecal sample quicker and easier whilst
also reducing risks of contamination that
a doctor preparing the samples might
otherwise face.
The students’ idea has so far won
them the Santander Business Pitching
competition and more recently they
finished in the top 3 of their category
at the University Startup World Cup in
Copenhagen.
Medical
students
get green
light to
continue
with
award
winning
Enterprise

4. p.4
Government
shake-up of
University Courts
By Kieran George
A proposed shake-up to the way that
universities are governed has been
met with condemnation from sectors
of the university community.
Under the terms of the
controversial Scottish Higher
Education Bill, published in June,
university governing bodies would be
required to have two board members
elected by staff and students, and
two members elected by trade- and
student-unions.
67% of respondents in a recent
consultation opposed the plans,
citing concerns that trade union
representatives could have a conflict
of interest between acting in the
interests of the institution, and the
interests of their members.
The process by which university
chairs are elected has not been
revealed, but regulations are expected
to be announced after further
consultation.
However, this has failed to ease
fears about a threat to the future
role of Rector, who are traditionally
elected to chair the university court
at Aberdeen University. They are
seen to bring an essential element of
democracy to these institutions and
represent the interests of the student
body at management level.
Eight former Rectors of the
University of Edinburgh recently
signed an open letter condemning
the move, saying: ‘We feel that
the proposals in the Scottish
Government’s Bill takes away an
ancient democratic right, unique
to Scotland, and seeks to replace it
with a system where the chair of the
university’s highest governing body
will be someone pre-approved and
vetted by a government process’.
A spokesperson for the University
of Aberdeen stated that: ‘We consider
autonomy – with appropriate
accountability for public funding
– to be a key factor in our success
as a university operating at a global
level’. They went on to state that
‘[t]he measures put forward in the
Bill would significantly reduce our
autonomy and independence from
Government’.
The Scottish Government has
moved to allay these fears, with the
Cabinet Secretary for Education
and Lifelong Learning releasing
a statement saying that: ‘This
Government has no intention at all
of abolishing the position of Rector.
Just as the position of Rector was
introduced to bring democracy and
transparency to the governance of
universities, we want to extend these
principles to all our higher education
institutions’.
Former Aberdeen University
Student Accused of Terror
Offences
By Adelina Kiskyte
Yousif Badri, 29, gave evidence at his trial at the High
Court in Glasgow last week. The former University of
Aberdeen medical student was accused of being involved
in conduct ‘with the intention of committing acts of
terrorism’, and was arrested on June 6, 2013.
After Badri was arrested just a month before his
graduation, his laptop, external hard drive and books were
seized from his home in Aberdeen. Some files found
on his computer included footage of allied troops being
ambushed and shot at by snipers, while other videos
showed how to make bomb shells. However, advised by
his counsel Murdo Macleod QC, Badri stated that he
never wanted to kill anyone or make any ‘shells’. During
the trial, when asked by Judge Lord Turnbull as to where
he obtained the footage, Badri indicated that he got it
from Google.
When some alleged terrorist articles were found on
Badri’s computer, the accused said: ‘There are passages of
the Koran that have been used to justify crimes and the
only way to have a rebuttal of this is to read these articles
and pull them apart’.
Moreover, Badri ‘strongly agrees’ that there is no room
for terrorism in Islam and says that he is ‘strongly opposed’
to terrorist organisations such as al Qaeda and ISIS.
The trial continues.
University deep-sea
explorer nominated for
top book prize
By Amanda Connelly
A deep sea explorer from the
University of Aberdeen has been
nominated for a top book award.
Dr. Alan Jamieson’s book, The
Hadal Zone: Life in the Deepest
Oceans, has been nominated in
the Royal Society of Biology’s
Postgraduate Textbook Prize
category.
The book has received notable
backing from fellow explorer and
Hollywood film director James
Cameron.
Cameron, who directed both
Terminator 2 and Titanic,
proclaimed the book to be ‘the most
comprehensive book yet written on
the mysteries of the ocean’s deepest
places, written by one of it’s best
explorers’.
Technological advancements in
the past decade have seen a revival in
hadal zone exploration, an area that
had seen minimal research since the
1950s.
Made up mainly of ocean trenches,
the hadal zone is the deepest marine
habitat on the planet. The sum
of all the trenches covers an area
approximately the size of Australia,
and it accounts for 45% of the ocean
depth range.
Described as ‘an outstanding
influential review of a unique under-
explored ecosystem’ by the award’s
judges, the book contains information
on all that is known at present about
organisms in the depths of the hadal
zone, along with offering greater
understanding of how, where and
what species live and prosper in these
depths.
Dr. Jamieson will be present at
the Royal Society of Biology Annual
Awards Ceremony on 15th October,
held in Charles Darwin House,
London.
Gàidhlig a’soirbheachadh ann
an sgìrean air feadh na dùthcha
Tha figearan ùra bhon cunntas-
sluaigh 2011 air sealltainn na
h-àitichean san dùthaich far a bheil
Gàidhlig as làidire.
‘S e na sgìrean còmhairle
Gàidhealach a tha Gàidhlig as
cumanta, mar a bha an dùil, le
61% ‘s na h-Eileanan Siar, 7.4% sa
Ghaidhealtachd ‘s 5.9% sa dh’Earra
Ghàidheal is Bòd le sgìlean Gàidhlig.
Bha Glaschu co-ionnan ris a’
chuibheas nàiseanta aig 1.7%.
Air an laimh eile, bha Lannraig
Tuath ‘s Deas, Siorrachd Air a’ Deas,
Lodainn Mheadanach ‘s Dùn Phrìs
is Gall-Ghàidhealaibh uile air 0.7%
den t-sluaigh le Gàidhlig.
Ann an naidheachd eile bhon
cunntas-sluaigh, thainig piseach air
aireamhan daoine òg le Gàidhlig, ‘s
618 clann a bharrachd a’ bruidhinn
Gàidhlig ann an 2011 na bha ann an
2001.
Thuirt neach-labhairt bho Bòrd
na Gàidhlig: “It is very encouraging
that the decline previously seen
has almost stabilised and that there
has been growth in Gaelic speakers
between the age of three to 19.
“This is evidence of the successes
of Gaelic-medium education.
“Bòrd na Gàidhlig will continue
to work in partnership with National
Agencies, sectoral and local groups to
continue this growth and increase the
number of speakers especially in the
zero to 30 age group.”
Ged a chaidh àireamh daoine
òg le Gàidhlig suas, thuit sluagh le
Gàidhlig a-rithist le 5,300 nas lugha
le sgìlean sa chanain ann an 2011 na
bh’ann an 2001.
Ach ‘s e sin an crìonadh as lugha a
th’ air a bhith ann o chionn trichead
bliadhna. Tha Bòrd na Gàidhlig den
bheachd gu bheil adhartas mhòr air
tigheann air a’ Ghàidhlig san ùine
sin agus gu bheil Achd na Gàidhlig
a chaidh cur air bhog ann an 2005 air
mòran a’ dhèanamh gus a chanain a’
bhrosnachadh.
By Steven Kellow
Oisean Gàidhlig
Sgìrean comhairle as motha airson Gaelic a’
bhruidhinn
Na h-Eilean Siar - 61.2% (16,489)
Gàidhealtachd - 7.4% (16, 596)
Earra Ghaidheal is Bòd - 5.9% (5, 550)
Sgìrean comhairle as lugha airson Gaelic a’
bhruidhinn
Siorrachd Lannraig a Deas - 0.7% (2, 106)
Lodainn Mheadhanach - 0.7% (546)
Siorrachd Air a Deas - 0.7% (733)
Alba gu léir - 1.7% (87, 056)
Photo by
@notnixon
(flickr)
07.10.2015

5. p.5
By Tom Cole
Between September 25th and October
2nd the University of Aberdeen
played host to the second annual
Explorathon, a discovery-based science
initiative intended to bring together
schoolchildren, academics, and the public
alike from across Europe, following the
university’s first successful application
to the European Commission’s Horizon
2020 programme.
Having won a bid to host the week-
long event two years ago, last week’s
European Researchers’ Night saw
the appearances of over 50 research
specialists hosting educational talks
on topics ranging across the academic
spectrum. The programme has
remained true to its original intention
of persuading young people to broaden
their horizons and seek out innovation-
based career paths.
The Explorathon even saw numerous
attractions spread from Union Square
to the Satrosphere Science Centre,
showcasing various research projects
being carried out by universities across
Britain.
In addition to the more than lucrative
prospect of motivating people to pursue
inventive new professions in the name
of discovery, the event also brought
considerable advantage to the University
of Aberdeen’s research profile.
With an estimated 6,000 participants,
it goes without saying that this year’s
Explorathon event was a step in the right
direction.
Aberdeen host
second annual
Explorathon
summit
By Zoe McKellar
The latest firm in the North
East of Scotland to be hit by
potential job losses as a result of
the recent instabilities in the oil
and gas industry is energy firm
Hydrasun.
The company, established in
1976 and currently a leading
provider in services to the oil
and gas industry, announced last
week that it was in consultation
with employees due to a
situation where 97 out of its 592
strong workforce were classed as
‘at risk’. Of the 592 employees,
338 are based at the Aberdeen
headquarters, meaning a further
potentially significant blow to
the already hard-hit job market
in the North East.
In a statement released by
the company, Hydrasun cited
the recent downturn in the oil
and gas sector as presenting
a significant challenge to the
company’s operations. They
stated that the number of job
losses is by no means set, and
that they are still assessing
the situation, but warned that
a reduction in pay may also
follow for some employees.The
company stated that ‘while the
detail of these options has yet
to be finalised, the situation is
that up to 97 positions within
our Aberdeen HQ operations
are being considered for
possible redundancy, along
with a potential pay cut of up
to 12%’. Chief executive Bob
Drummond, however, said he
remains hopeful that the final
number of redundancies would
be fewer than 97.
Hydrasun acknowledged
that this was ‘a very difficult
and unsettling time’ for all of
their employees, but has given
assurances that they will deal
with the consultation process as
swiftly as possible. Completion
of the process and confirmation
of the outcome is expected by
the end of October.
Aberdeen
firm in job cut
consultation
Photo
by Hans
Hillewaert
(Flickr)
Scottish Greens
leader has high
hopes for Aberdeen
as global leader in
renewables
By Zoe McKellar
The North East has been
plagued by job and pay cuts due
to a significant downturn in oil
and gas operations. However,
Scottish Greens leader Patrick
Harvie has stated that a
recent report shows promising
job potential through the
renewables sector.
Harvie, the party’s economy
and energy spokesperson, states
that this report shows that
jobs created by the renewables
sector would outnumber the
total number of job losses in
the event of a complete offshore
industry collapse.
While visiting Scarf (the
Aberdeen based renewable
energy group) on September
28th, Mr. Harvie commented
that in light of the recent
difficulties Aberdeen has faced
due to reliance on the fossil fuel
industry, the time had come
to begin ‘localising’ the North
East economy, with a reduction
in the focus on multi-national
firms.
In a bid to secure the
area’s long-term economic
future, Harvie stated that the
decommissioning of oil and
gas platforms should be an
immediate goal, saying: ‘I see
this as a period of transition
where we should be investing
in alternative technologies
which allows us to create more
jobs in the renewables industry
and a whole host of sustainable
industries.
‘There are more jobs to create
in the new economy than are
at risk in the old economy, but
we are not going to be able
to create those if we do not
commit […] to investing in that
transition now.’ He also added
that, in his view, jobs created by
‘green’ energy would outnumber
the estimated figure of some
350,000 jobs that would be lost
if the larger companies were to
withdraw completely from the
North Sea.
Viewing decommissioning as
an opportunity for the northeast
to take the first steps towards
becoming a global leader in
renewables, Harvie declared:
‘This is a transition that is
required. It is not a choice and
it is the only sustainable and
reliable path’.
By Natascha Ewert
Students and staff at the University
of Aberdeen experienced power and
internet outages on Thursday the 24th of
September from 1pm onwards.
Many lectures had to be cancelled,
while some others were even held outside
around the campus where the weather
permitted it. IT services had to run on
emergency power, and students received
updates during the day informing them
about which services were either offline
or being restored.
Student Portal, MyAberdeen and
MyTimetable were some of these
services that were inaccessible for a
period of time while student mail services
remained functional. In an email, the IT
service stated that the majority of services
would function by 7pm. However,
the power outage had an impact on
other domains as well. Students living
in residence halls and having catered
accommodation were given meal bags
instead of the usual warm dinner at the
Hub as the lack of power had effected
these facilities too.
According to Aberdeen’s Press and
Journal and Evening Express, the
spokesman for Scottish and Southern
Energy confirmed that ‘a third party’
was responsible for causing damage to
a power cable. Even Robert Gordon
University was affected by this power
outage, as the house of their data centre is
at located at the University of Aberdeen.
A University Spokesperson confirmed
that the power outage was caused by a
third party, stating: ‘The power outage
was caused by a digger operated by a
contractor on the Third Don Crossing
construction work underway at St.
Machar Drive which accidentally cut
through a high voltage power cable
supplying the King’s College Campus’.
It is hoped that there will be no further
outages.
confirmation of the outcome is
expected by the end of October.
University
experiences
power outage
and internet
failure
07.10.2015

6. By Zoe McKellar
A joint study funded by the Natural
Environment Research Group and the
Department for Energy and Climate
Change has found that offshore wind
farms may pose more of a threat to
gannets than previously thought.
The study, published in the Journal of
Applied Ecology, has warned that up to
twelve times more of Scotland’s globally
significant gannet population could be
killed by wind turbines than suggested
by previous estimates.
Research by scientists from the
universities of Glasgow, Leeds, and
Exeter has shown that the seabirds
flight paths may reach higher altitudes
than previously thought while searching
for food, increasing the risk of impact
from spinning turbine blades. After the
Scottish government approved plans
in 2014 for four new major offshore
wind farms on the East Coast, the
RSPB made swift moves to challenge
the government’s decision in the courts,
stating that they believed that the farms
would be ‘amongst the most deadly for
birds anywhere in the world’.
Despite the findings, sources in the
offshore wind industry have questioned
the validity of the claims, owning to
the ‘tiny population’ they say may be
affected from Bass Rock in the Firth
of Forth. The island was named the
largest gannet colony in the world,
following counts earlier this year, with
around 70,000 breeding pairs recorded.
Conservationists have challenged the
claims by stating that, due to the sheer
size of the colony, scientists would have
had to observe some 800 individual
gannets to achieve a representation of a
mere 0.5% of the entire population.
Over 300 turbines will make up the
four individual wind farms in locations
off the east coast. Bass Rock lies less
that 50km from the proposed sites,
and as gannets can cover hundreds of
kilometres when searching for food this
presents a potential threat to the colony.
It was previously believed that gannets
flew well below the current minimum
height of 22m above sea level that the
blades can reach, a figure dictated as a
safety measure for the shipping industry.
However, this new research has shown
that the birds actually record an average
flight level of 27m, placing them at risk
of potential collision with turbine blades.
An estimated number of 1500 birds
could be killed each year as a result of
impact with the two proposed sites
nearest to Bass Rock, creating concern
for the long term effects on the gannet
population. The study has therefore
suggested raising the current minimum
blade height to 30m. A spokesperson
for RSPB Scotland has stated that the
survey is an excellent indication of the
limited extent to which the behaviour
of seabirds away from their nests around
the coast is understood, but, due to the
ongoing legal proceedings, said ‘it would
not be appropriate for us to comment
further on the implications of research in
relation to these cases’.
p.6
Gannets at risk from
offshore wind farms
By Annika Benz
After the collapse of the iconic European
cod fishery in the 1980s, the North Sea
cod has finally been taken off the Marine
Conservation Society’s (MCS) list of fish
to avoid eating.
For the first time, after years of reducing
fishing and efforts to avoid catching cod
in mixed fisheries, numbers have been
rising above sustainable levels. The signs
of improvement have led the MCS, which
assesses seafood on a traffic light system, to
increase fishery to an amber rating.
Cod is currently the fish species most
imported to the UK, accounting for 18.7%
of all fish imports in 2013, mainly from the
North East, the Arctic and Iceland.
UK fishermen and merchants have
welcomed the news of a recovery for more
local North Sea Cod stocks. Fish merchant
Don Tyler said that customers would
feel the benefits of the announcement
soon, adding: ‘We can go back to it being
a British product, caught by British
fishermen, on a British plate’.
MCS Fisheries Officer, Samuel Stone,
called this development a ‘milestone’ for
the North Sea Cod, but also mentioned
that the job is not done yet: ‘Efforts of
recent years need to continue in order for
the fishery to head towards the green end
of the spectrum’.
The population needs to increase further
above precautionary levels to achieve
what’s known as the Maximum Sustainable
Yield, being the maximum level at which a
stock can be fished without depleting the
population.
Although being back on the menu of
fish and chip shops, North Sea cod should
only be enjoyed as an occasional treat.
Decades of overfishing and the warming of
the European shelf seas have reduced the
reproductive success of the cod drastically
and it may never fully recover to its
previous glorious days in the 1970s.
Photo
by Jean
Jacques
Boujot
(Flickr)
To drive
further
reforms,
decisions on
fiscal policy
should be
underpinned
by the
principle of
maximising
economic
recovery
(MER).
Warnings over
Corbyn’s “dire”
energy plan for
North SeaBy Steven Kellow
Scottish Energy Minister, Fergus Ewing, has
led criticism of new Labour leader Jeremy
Corbyn’s energy policies, warning that they
could have ‘dire’ effects for industry in the
North Sea.
Corbyn’s flagship energy proposals
include re-nationalisation of gas works and
the National Grid that supplies energy to
homes, but Ewing has said that this would
weaken the industry at the potential cost of
thousands of jobs.
Speaking in the Scottish Parliament,
Ewing also called for the UK Government
to examine the use of tax breaks for the
industry to encourage new exploration,
saying:
‘It is imperative that the UK Government
commits to no tax rises during the lifetime
of the UK Parliament and that any
significant policy proposals will be consulted
upon with industry and the Oil & Gas
Authority.
‘To drive further reforms, decisions on
fiscal policy should be underpinned by
the principle of Maximising Economic
Recovery (MER).
‘The MER policy will only work if the UK
explicitly commits to using their fiscal levers
appropriately. Without that, the operators
will simple invest elsewhere.’
Scottish Labour public services
spokeswoman Jackie Baillie responded:
‘We join with the Scottish Government
in supporting further tax incentives to the
industry.
‘But has the minister done any analysis of
cost and will he publish this because the tax
revenue from oil is at an all-time low, much
less than was forecast by the SNP in their
White Paper (on Scottish independence)?’
Although the position of the Scottish
energy industry is precarious at the moment,
with oil prices falling by over 50% in the
last year, Ewing pointed to ‘substantial
new discoveries around the west coast of
Scotland’, such as the Clair Ridge field west
of Shetland that could provide Scotland
with oil for years to come.
Cod taken off
MCS’list of
fish to avoid
eating
07.10.2015

7. p.7
By Rebecca Lindsay
Scottish Culture Secretary, Fiona
Hyslop, received criticism this week
after it was revealed that the Scottish
government funded the T in the Park
music festival with £150,000.
According to the Scottish government
the money will be used to enable a
‘successful transition’ of the festival to
its new location at Strathallan Castle,
Perthshire. Their usual venue, Balado
Airfield, is no longer suitable due to
health and safety issues.
Hyslop is currently facing accusations
of cronyism. These accusations were
prompted by the circumstance of
Alex Salmond’s former aide, Jennifer
Dempsie, working as Festival Project
Manager for the company of the music
festival at the time of the funding
agreement. Hyslop affirms, however,
that she never had any funding-related
discussions with the former SNP aide.
In a meeting before a Holyrood
committee, Hyslop was questioned as
to why taxpayers’ money was needed
to fund the music festival move.
Conservative MSP Liz Smith stated
that ‘[t]he taxpayer surely deserves to
know the details’.
Hyslop defended the funding of the
music festival, stating that DF Concerts
had ‘expressed concern’ that the festival
‘might have [had] to move out of
Scotland’because of the moving costs.
A Scottish Government spokesperson
added, ‘last year [T in the Park]
generated £15.4 million for the Scottish
economy as well as employment
opportunities’. Therefore, the funding
was provided for the continued benefit
of the festival to Scotland.
A T in the Park spokesperson said:
‘Many events in Scotland […] receive
public funding’, which Smith conceded
was ‘not unusual’for Scottish events.
The festival move to Strathallan
Castle received criticism from some
local residents. In light of this, a public
consultation will be held in that area
to approve the venue for the next three
years.
Scottish Government
Funds £150,000 toT
in the Park
Scotland to welcome
junior doctors from
England as contract
changes proposed
Proposals to renew junior doctors’
contracts with NHS England have
resulted in an announcement that the
53,000 junior doctors who work in
England will be balloted for industrial
action.
The proposed contract will come into
effect in August 2016 and is proving
contentious due to disputes over the
minutiae of pay and concerns for staff
and patient welfare.The government has
said that they ‘want to improve patient
safety’, and view the current contract
as ‘unfair for doctors and patients’. The
British Medical Association (BMA)
have said that they will ‘resist a contract
that is bad for patients, bad for junior
doctors and bad for the NHS’.
Discussions started in 2013 between
the government, NHS Employers, and
the BMA—who were all in agreement
that the contracts needed updating—but
these broke down in October 2014 after
the BMA pulled out of negotiations.
In August of this year they refused to
re-enter talks.
A Department of Health
spokesperson has said that ‘the secretary
of state [Jeremy Hunt] stressed the
need for higher standards for patients
and doctors in order to address the
11,000 excess deaths a year owing to
the “weekend effect”’, referring to the
estimated excess 11,000 patients who
died within 30 days of being admitted to
hospital at the weekend.
Key changes in the contract that
are proving controversial include the
redefining of social working hours.
Currently, unsocial working hours are
considered to be anytime outwith 7am
to 7pm, Monday to Friday (and are paid
at a higher rate according to a banding
system), but under the new contract
social hours would extend to 10pm and
include Saturdays. It is also claimed
that the conversion of time-based pay
progression to ‘rate for the job’ pay
would negatively affect doctors who take
maternity or extended paternity leave.
Scottish Health Secretary Shona
Robinson has said that Scotland would
‘welcome’ junior doctors from England
and issued a ‘cast iron’ guarantee not to
reduce junior doctors’wages in Scotland,
which alongside Wales has decided to
continue with the current contracts.
It is hoped that this will help avert a
‘brain drain’, where twice as many junior
doctors leave Scotland to work abroad
compared with the rest of the UK.
Northern Ireland has not yet made a
decision regarding the contracts.
The University of Aberdeen’s MedSoc
issued a statement describing the new
contracts as ‘a crippling blow to already
overworked medical professionals’ and
issued concern for the implications
on patient safety. They concluded:
‘Medsoc stands in solidarity with the
protests happening across the UK and
supports the actions of junior doctors
wholeheartedly’.
A final year medical student at
Aberdeen, who wished to remain
anonymous, said that ‘the prospect of
starting work is looming ever closer.
I should be excited. I am not, I am
worried’, and went on to describe the
new contracts as ‘unsafe, unjust and
punishing’.
By Huw D’Costa
By Aemilia Ross
Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell
urged Scottish voters to ‘come home to
Labour’ during his party’s conference
last week.
In his speech, which came four
months after Labour saw their Scottish
seats almost completely eradicated, he
stated that he was ‘devastated’ by the
results north of the border.
McDonnell continued that Labour
was the only anti-austerity party,
insisting that his party’s plans for
economic growth would reach ‘all
regions and all nations of our country’.
He went on to announce that Labour
would be launching an ‘aggressive’
campaign to ensure multinational
corporations paid ‘their fair share of
taxes’.
His speech also included criticisms
of the Scottish National Party, stating:
‘Let’s be clear, the SNP has now voted
against the living wage, against capping
rent levels and just last week voted
against fair taxes in Scotland to spend
on schools’.
He emphasised that Labour’s
economic strategy would be based on
growing the economy by strategically
investing in key industries and sectors.
Addressing the conference, he said:
‘For those in Scotland who want to
campaign against austerity, now is the
time to come home - come home to
Labour’.
Kezia Dugdale, Scottish Labour
leader, also highlighted business and
economics as key sections at the
conference in Brighton. She insisted
that her party needed to develop a
‘renewed relationship with those who
generate the wealth Scotland needs to
make our country a fairer place to live’.
Labour had previously been criticised
by businesses during this year’s general
election campaign after promising to
freeze energy prices, break up high-
street banks, and place workers on
executive remuneration boards.
The Scottish Labour leader,
however, has pledged that she wants
entrepreneurs to see Scotland as a ‘good
place to do business’.
In response to McDonnell’s
attack against the SNP, the Scottish
National Party stated that the Shadow
Chancellor had offered Scotland
nothing new from Labour as he
continued to commit the party to
voting for George Osborne’s austerity
plans.
SNP deputy leader, Stewart Hosie
MP, said: ‘Mr McDonnell’s comments
confirm that, when it comes to
Scotland, Labour haven’t changed’.
McDonnell calls on Scots
to ‘come home’to Labour
Top to bottom:
Photo by official
craigwatson
(wikimedia);
Ragazzi00
(wikimedia)
07.10.2015

8. p. 9
arts| culture
website/database 57 Degrees North, the Scottish
Music Industry Association, Comprende Records
and Aberdeen Performing Arts.
The event showcases some of the best music
Scotland has to offer, and people get the chance to
interact directly with the labels, often with the owner.
Highlights include Chemikal Underground, home
to artists like The Phantom Band and RM Hubbert.
There’s also Lost Map, who will have releases by
the likes of Kid Canaveral and The Pictish Trail. New
labels for this year include Edinburgh-based Gerry
Loves Records and Aberdeen’s own Fitlike Records.
There will be live DJ sets during the event, which
runs from 11:30am-4:30pm. Details of an after-
party will be released soon. For a full list of attending
labels, consult the event poster or visit www.57north.
org.
Vin Diesel has claimed that the
popular Fast & Furious film franchise will
end with “one last trilogy”. This year’s instal-
ment, the seventh in the series, had been
expected to be the last. However, what with
it making over one and a half million dollars
at the box office, apparently another three
are now required to give the plot sufficient
closure.
The Recording Industry Association
of America this week released figures that
suggest sales of vinyl records are worth
more than streaming income. Although
streaming continues to grow in popularity,
vinyl sales grew by 52% in the first half of
2015. While streaming services are still seen
as vital to the future of the industry, they are
often criticised for not being nearly as profit-
able as other income streams.
JK Rowling and Stephen King have
been beaten by Australian novelist Michael
Robotham in this year’s Crime Writers’
Association Awards. Robotham won the
‘Gold Dagger Award’ for his psychological
thriller Life Or Death.
Long-running cartoon The Simpsons
will soon feature an episode in which Mr
Smithers comes out as gay to his boss, Mr
Burns. It has always been understood that
the character harboured romantic feelings
towards his boss, but at some point in the
new, 27th season of the show, the charac-
ters will openly discuss Smithers’s sexuality.
NEWS Aberdeen Live
8/10/15 New Focus Quartet @ The Blue Lamp
Konrad Wiszniewski and pianist/composer Euan
Stevenson collaborate with a top rhythm section of Mario
Caribe and Alyn Cosker to create joyous music that is
“lush, modern and brilliantly accessible” (BBC Radio
Scotland). Blending jazz with classical and Scottish folk
influences, they write and perform original music that
is “aesthetically pleasing and then some but also, in
essence, just plain damned heart-lifting” (The Herald).
10/10/15 Forest Fires @ Downstairs
Local alt-rockers, reminiscent of early Muse albums,
headline a rare hometown show. Expect lots of raucous
new tracks from their upcoming debut album.
12-17/10/15 The Shawshank Redemption @ His
Majesty’s Theatre
A new stage adaptation of the much-loved film, itself an
adaptation of the classic Stephen King novella.
13/10/15 Tim Vine: Tim Timinee Tin Timinee Tim Tim To
You @ Music Hall
You’ll probably already know whether you appreciate
Tim Vine’s smart-arse one-liners, but that title had to be
included here. Excellent.
15/10/15 Sleaford Mods @ Tunnels
Angry, socially conscious duo’s Aberdeen leg of their
huge UK tour rolls into Tunnels. Pretty close to selling out
at time of going to press.
15/10/15 National Theatre Live: Hamlet @ Belmont
Filmhouse
If Sleaford Mods aren’t for you, the same night has the
live broadcast of BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH (whimpers)
as Hamlet, showing at Aberdeen’s lovely independent
cinema.
Independent Record
Label Market
By Alasdair Cliff
On the 17th of October The Lemon Tree will host its second
Independent Record Label Market, following on from the success
of last year’s event. Fourteen of Scotland’s most esteemed
independent labels are currently scheduled to appear, along with
two record stores: Aberdeen’s own Chameleon, as well as Coda
Music from Edinburgh. The Market is organised by local music
Review: Community
By Thomas Danielian
Community details the lives of a rag tag bunch of misfits attempting
to sort their lives out at the fictitious Greendale Community College.
Jeff Winger (Joel McHale), a former lawyer who was caught with a
fake degree, is the founder of the study group to which the misfits
belong. Other characters include former activist Britta Perry (Gillian
Jacobs), the socially awkward Abed Nadir (Danny Pudi), Shirley
Bennett (Yvette Nicole Brown) a devout single mother, former high
school quarterback Troy Barnes (Donald Glover), Annie Edison
(Alison Brie) a young former pill addict, and eccentric old millionaire
Pierce Hawthorne (Chevy Chase). With such a wide variety of
characters the concoction of different backgrounds and stories the
show works perfectly and rarely has a dull moment. The on-screen
chemistry of the main characters and the supporting cast is
mesmerising and hilarious. However, it has rarely been plain sailing
for the successful series, created by Dan Harmon in 2009. The
show coped with many adversities, from mid-season cancellations
and high profile bust ups to unpopular managerial changes and
moving channels. In spite of all the difficulty the show has faced it
has been very popular and has a passionate following. The sixth
series concluded on the 2nd of June this year. While it has been
confirmed there will be no more series there is hope that a movie
may be coming soon.