‘Extremism is galloping through your universities’ – Israeli Deputy Ambassador

Protestors mobbed the Israeli Deputy Ambassador last week as she left the venue where she had been giving a speech to University of Manchester students.

Members of Action Palestine swamped the vehicle of Mrs Talya Lador-Fresher at the exit of the Renolds Building on North Campus, temporarily preventing her leaving the premises.

The visit came just over six weeks after Mrs Lador-Fresher’s initial visit was postponed amidst fierce debate and the threat of volatile protests.

Embassy officials said the postponed talk was able to go ahead this time around as a result of the venue change. The move from the Student’s Union to University property at the Renold building meant that campus security was available in the auditorium.

The Deputy Ambassador expressed “serious concerns about physical abuse” had the talk gone ahead in the Students’ Union.

An entourage of private security guards escorted the Deputy Ambassador to and from the venue.

Mrs Lador-Fresher has recently visited several other universities in the UK, aware of a prominent student movement against Israeli policy on Palestine.

Speaking to Student Direct: Mancunian, Labor-Fresher said: “It’s very important for me, and for us at the embassy, to have the Israeli voice coming across to young people in this country and to the new intelligentsia.

“Unfortunately the last time I was scheduled to come here I had to cancel because of the amount of, not just demonstrations, but violence that could have erupted.”

Protests flared up inside the Renolds Building as Lador-Fresher gave her speech and answered audience questions. Several activists in the audience stood and covered their faces with bandanas, which bore the emblem of the Israeli flag.

One prominent member of Action Palestine was cheered when he stood in front of the audience and held a Palestinian flag. He remained there for the duration of the debate.

Audience members shouted the word “rubbish” at the Deputy Ambassador when she claimed there was no humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Chants from protestors outside could be heard in the auditorium.

Student Direct: Mancunion asked the ambassador about campaigner’s calls to have certain members of the Israeli cabinet arrested under war crimes charges should they land on British soil. Lador-Fresher said: “I think both the Labour Party and the Tory party understand that issuing arrest warrants based on political whim is just ridiculous.

“If we were to find, god forbid, an Israeli terrorist or a Palestinian terrorist within our boarders we would arrest them yes, but these are two separate issues: one is a terrorist that you see, you know and you bring to justice, and another is a politician that due to public relations complaints, people want to arrest for crimes against humanity.”

With regards to the Palestine Solidarity movement Lador-Fresher said: “I think we have to educate and that’s part of why I’m coming here.

“Israel is an important strategic partner [for the UK] that’s not what just I think, your government thinks it too.

“I’m sorry to say that some people are unaware of some of the stories. They tend to say ‘well, if he is weak I’m with him’, to go with the underdog. But I must say it’s not always that the weak is right and the strong is wrong. Sometimes the stronger party can be the right party.”

“When the Deputy Ambassador for Israel came to our University to hold the rather ironically titled talk ‘Hopes and Challenges in the Middle East’, Action Palestine felt it was our duty to the Palestinian people, who are systematically oppressed by the government she represents, to protest against her cynical propaganda campaign,” said Patrick Cowling, a first year history student and member of Acton Palestine. Cowling was part of the protest that disrupted the ambassador’s speech.

Cowling continued: “Inside the hall, seven of us stood in silence throughout her talk and the Q&A session afterwards with Israeli flags tied around our mouths to symbolise the fact that whilst her ‘freedom of speech’ is being so passionately defended here in Manchester, the Palestinian people in Gaza, Israel and the occupied territories have no such luxury.

“Deputy Ambassador Lador-Fresher states that it is very important for her and the embassy to have the Israeli voice coming across to the young people of this country. Indeed it is, because Israel is desperately trying to claw back some respectability and restore its public image after the ruthless attack on Gaza last year.”

“But of course, as the Deputy Ambassador herself told us at the talk: there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza. They have donkeys and Quality Street chocolates smuggled through the tunnels from Egypt, so this of course negates any humanitarian crisis in her eyes.

“The Deputy Ambassador failed to effectively answer many of the questions on Gaza and on the issues of the long list of violated UN resolutions. She put great emphasis on the UN resolution 181, which established the state of Israel, but seemed to miss the irony of the fact that her country is one of the leading violators of UN resolutions.”

Speaking after the event, Lador-Fresher said, “It was a thoroughly unpleasant experience. If this is what passes for debate at British universities, it really is a worrying state of affairs.”

“What is going on at British taxpayer-funded universities is shocking. Extremism is not just running through these places of education: it is galloping,” said Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor. “My ears are ready and waiting to hear the strongest condemnation of this behaviour both from the heads of campus and the local authorities.”

A University of Manchester spokesperson said: “The University of Manchester is fundamentally committed to freedom of speech, exercised within the law. It follows that it should also allow peaceful and lawful protest to take place on its campus.

“The Deputy Israeli Ambassador was invited to speak by the Students’ Union Politics Society, and the University took all reasonable action to put appropriate security measures in place for this meeting, including a complete lockdown of the building, a high-level security presence, ID checks at the door and ticket-only arrangements.”

The rise and fall of Mephedrone: and the new legal highs taking its place

“By the end, I was shifting around 250 grams of Mephedrone a week and I was making about £1000 profit at the height of it,” said Jack.

Jack is an Owens Park resident who dealt Mephedrone earlier this year. “I started dealing before university. I heard of it before it got hyped up. I came to Tower and the sales grew exponentially.”

Mephedrone is a synthetic version of the herbal amphetamine cathinone, found naturally in the leaves of the khat plant. It began being sold as a legal high through Chinese websites in bulk. 33 per cent of clubbers use it, according to a Mixmag magazine survey of over 2000 people. The same survey suggested that it has become the UK’s fourth most popular non-prescription drug in 2009, behind marijuana, cocaine and ecstasy.

Jack said that he had tried dealing illegal drugs but that the risk wasn’t worth taking. “You could stick a label saying ‘Not For Human Consumption’ on your packet and that covers your arse. There are specific clauses in the law that you can’t sell it for medical means or consumption. But you can with an explicit warning.

“I stopped before it became illegal for some family issues. My mum got a bit concerned about where this money was coming from. I was paying for holidays,” said Jack.

“It was getting quite hot by the end. Police were coming to raid rooms of people I was supplying. I was just thinking it was only a matter of time before I get busted. It’s going to come round to me sooner or later,” Jack added.

The Psychonaut Research Project, based in King’s College London, searches the Internet from new drugs and new drug trends. Its research concluded that the drug first became available in 2007. The project found over 200,000 online shops offering Mephedrone, with over 400 different brands on offer.

Dealers in Britain spend £2,500 to import a kilogram of the substance from China. They then sell on the product for between £10 and £15, said a Druglink report early this year. This would equate to a £7,500 profit. A later report suggested the figure for importing a kilogram might be closer to £4,000.

Bonnie, a first year student and Owens Park resident, sits on her bed recovering from the previous night on Mephedrone. She looks tired and smokes cigarettes next with her boyfriend, Josh. “I feel like shit today,” says Bonnie. “I got to sleep at twelve this afternoon and slept ‘til five. My whole mouth is chewed up. You wake up feeling weak and miserable. You can’t be bothered to do anything or leave your room.”

“Any psychoactive substance carries with it a set of risks,” says Adam Winstock, from the National Addiction Centre at King’s College London, who carried out the Mixmag survey.

The drug has become the centre of a media outrage after being linked with the deaths of a number of users, including two North Lincolnshire teenagers and a fourteen year old girl.

Reports on Mephedrone in national newspapers ranged from the reasonable and well informed to the fearful and erroneous. Links to death through ‘Meow Meow’ became daily occurrences. 26 deaths were reported within a two-week period. The Sun reported that a teenager tried to “rip off his testicles” and launched a campaign to have it banned. The story was later found to be false.

The death of a fourteen-year-old girl was later found by the coroner to be “broncho-pneumonia which resulted from a streptococcal A infection.”

A Private Eye investigation also showed that the name ‘Meow-Meow’ itself was a journalistic invention and almost no-one referred to the drug by that name when buying or selling before it appeared in newspapers.

Only two cases have had Mephedrone named as a contributing factor to deaths, according to a report produced by John Corkery of the National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths, based in St George’s, University of London.

But this ‘legal high’ is no longer legal. The Advisory Council for the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) report on Mephedrone cited the popularity with youth and affordability as a major motivation for the ban. It became a class B drug earlier this month, despite protests and seven resignations from members of the ACMD board, who are the key advisors to the Government on such matters.

The resignations followed the dismissal of Professor David Nutt, the former chairman of the ACMD, by Home Secretary Alan Johnson.

Professor David Nutt was sacked following a research paper that said alcohol was more harmful than cannabis, LSD and ecstasy: “Alcohol ranks as the fifth most harmful drug after heroin, cocaine, barbiturates and methadone. Tobacco is ranked ninth.“

He also added that, in terms of statistics, horse riding was more dangerous than ecstasy.

Tabloid newspapers did not let this comment rest easily, and Labour MP Jacqui Smith demanded Professor Nutt apologise to the families of the victims of drug-related deaths.

Police action since the ban has been swift. Greater Manchester Police increased their presence in Fallowfield, and posters from GMP referred to “several raids” carried out in the area, including a raid in Owens Park halls of residence shortly before the Easter holidays. No arrested were made.

The trend has been the same nationwide. A 44-year old man from Stockton, County Durham, was arrested after an estimated £70,000 worth of Mephedrone was discovered in his home earlier this month. Police also stopped a large shipment of an estimate £500,000 worth of the drug being smuggled through Glasgow Airport.

As plans were being finalised to upgrade Mephedrone to a class B drug, a new ‘legal high’ began to be advertises. “New products for April – MDAI,” declared a popular Mephedrone merchant’s website. NRG-1 is also being marketed as a replacement.

“When restrictions are placed on the supply of drugs and demand remains high, you get substance displacement,” said Danny Kushlick of Transform, a UK think tank opposed to drug prohibition.

NRG-1 and MDAI are both being offered for approximately double the price of Mephedrone per gram and described as “research chemicals.” One website said that they were “proud to introduce a new compound to our product range.”

The Sun has already run a front page headline, “NRG-1 is 25p a hit and will kill many more than meow.”

I spoke to Jack, the former Owens Park dealer, about NRG-1: “Some people were saying it was crap and just a bit of a buzz. Some people were saying it was like a mad speed trip. You have to be really careful with it and I wouldn’t trust it,” said Jack.

Ralph, another student in Owens Park tower, took NRG-1 but was not aware of its potency. “I couldn’t sleep until the next day. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t. I didn’t realise that it was much stronger.”

“The guy who normally sells me Meph said it was the new drug, the new legal high. It’s double the price [of Mephadrone]”

“I’d say it messes with your head a lot more. It made me really paranoid,” said Ralph.

A British supplier based in Belgium was quoted by Sky News as saying NRG-1 was being marketed as a Mephedrone replacement and could cost as little as 25p a hit.

The ACMD is already considering banning both drugs, as well as a number of other available legal highs.

Original article in Student Direct: Mancunion

Something about me

How-Do.co.uk wrote something about me.

My quote doesn't make sense. But hey, they make out like i'm a hero.

United kiosk worker sacked for wearing green and gold scarf at Old Trafford

A student working part-time in an Old Trafford catering kiosk has become the latest individual connected with Manchester United to claim he has felt the strength of the club's backlash against protests targeting the Glazers.

Jerry Vyse, a first-year anthropology student at Manchester University, said he bought a green and gold scarf outside the ground and wore it during his half-time shift at last week's Champions League match against Milan only to be sacked when he refused to remove it.

He said that supporters stocking up on half-time pies and Bovril cheered his stance and booed when his supervisor put the queue on hold and asked him to leave the kiosk, marching him to the office of the catering manager.

"I turned to the supervisor and asked him why I could not continue doing my job," Vyse told Student Direct, the Manchester University newspaper and website. "He said it was not because I was wearing a scarf because, if it had been a different colour, he would not have minded.

"MUFC will no doubt state that the decision was based on uniform policy – what he told me surely refutes that. He said it was because it was 'anti-Glazer'. Does it not sniff a little bit like a dictatorship if not even the smallest of dissents can be made about an incredibly rich man who has more or less taken over the club?"

The Champions League tie was largely seen as a triumph for the protesters targeting the Glazers and supporting a potential takeover bid from the self-styled Red Knights, with David Beckham donning a green and gold scarf as he left the pitch following loud protests during the game.

In an attempt to quell the dissent United have banned players from discussing the campaign, forbidden the inhouse TV channel MUTV from mentioning it and sacked a steward after 19 years' service for attempting to return an anti-Glazer banner to its owners.

A spokesman for United said that Vyse did not comply with the club's uniform policy and refused to remove the scarf when asked.

United's chief executive, David Gill, today again defended the club's business model as he unveiled its latest overseas sponsorship deal, with Turkish Airlines. "People presuppose we have financial problems," he said. "We do not believe that is the correct situation. We are very comfortable and we have a sensible business strategy that will continue for many years to come." The Glazers have hugely increased the club's commercial revenues and plan to agressively target further expansion in overseas markets."We have 333 million followers and yesterday we celebrated 100 years at this great stadium," said Gill.

"Our history and heritage means we can bring a lot to the table. There is also a professionalism about us, so, whilst we are in an economic downturn, there are still many successful companies in the world who are investing in the future. We are one of the quality partners big entities can still associate with."

Original article in The Guardian and The Irish Times

United worker sacked for wearing anti-Glazer scarf

A Manchester United worker was sacked for wearing an anti-Glazer green and gold scarf – on the night David Beckham put one on.

Jerry Vyse, 21, from Fallowfield, worked in a food and drink kiosk at Old Trafford and decided to show his support for the anti-Glazer movement.

On the same night, last Wednesday, AC Milan player and former United hero Beckham donned a similar scarf following their Champions League match.

But the first year anthropology student, who bought his scarf outside the ground before the AC Milan match, ended up losing his job after refusing to remove it when ordered to do so by a supervisor.

Jerry said: “I bought the scarf outside of the stadium. I told the vendor I would be wearing it to work at Old Trafford for my shift for that evening’s game against AC Milan. He warned me that some staff were sacked on the spot for doing that.”

The Manchester University student put on the scarf at half-time, as many of the fans came to buy snacks and drinks.

Cheered

He says he was cheered by other fans wearing the same colours, which were originally worn by Newton Heath before they became United.

The colours are now at the forefront of the Glazer movement which has grown in recent months as United fans have seen their once debt-free club plunged into £700m worth of debt.

Jerry added: “The supervisor came round and ordered me to remove it.

“This was met with jeers from the United supporters, most of whom had the scarf on themselves.

“When I refused, the supporters cheered. He was then booed when he put the queue on hold to enter the kiosk and request I leave with him because my scarf was ‘anti-Glazer’.

A spokesman for United said: “There is a strict uniform policy and he refused to abide by it and was therefore asked to leave.”

Beckham later claimed he didn’t know the scarf – which he picked up from the pitch – was connected with the protest.

Original article in the Manchester Evening News

Bare-arsed, red-faced and raising money

“I feel like we’re all preparing to die”, said Catherine Sargent, Student Direct’s Lifestyle Editor.

You wouldn’t know it, but Catherine had convinced me only a few days earlier to be photographed nude for the Manchester RAG charity calendar. 12 societies will represent 12 months of the year, all in their birthday suits. I never really thought of the implications when I foolishly said ‘yes’.

Jennie Agg, Editor of Student Direct, asked my fellow news editor, Girish Gupta, if he wanted to make an appearance in the calendar. “I will if Adam will,” said Girish with a glint in his eye.
I arrived at the Union Bar at 1pm and sat down at a table with the other writers foolish enough to agree to this. The others try and make small talk, but there is nothing to say. Only gallows humour breaks the silence: All I can think to say is, “First guy to get an erection is buying a round of beers.” Who knew that removing clothes in front of each other could reduce a group of intelligent journalists to nervous, giggling wrecks?

I approached the bar with Catherine and Arts Editor Christina Gregory. Catherine asks me a question that I do not have an answer to, so I ask the barmaid: “Which alcohol will bloat her least?” The barmaid stares at me, bemused.

Hattie Pearson, Lifestyle writer, arrives late and looks terrified. “They only have small glasses of wine. I was considering getting the whole bottle…but I think I’ll just down this and get another one.”

My own fear was difficult to overcome. I’m not too proud of my body. I’m not toned or tanned, and being pale and ginger doesn’t lend you to nude photography. Thankfully, none one else seemed too confident either.

George Robinson, Opinion Editor, finishes the last of his glass of Carling: “I think I’ll go for the second pint.”

Five minutes later, the news finally came. “Joe is up there waiting for us,” said Catherine.

The moment had come. My stomach dropped. We look at each other. No one wanted to move.

Joe Sheffer, the paper’s Photo Editor and RAG’s designated snapper, was in the Student Direct office with an ominous-looking camera and flash bulbs. He directs Jennie, Catherine, Christina, Girish and I to the Editor’s office. “I have plans for you guys.” The six remaining writers were going to be photographed in the main office. We closed the Editor’s door.

Hearing what was going on next door made the wait all the worse. I looked through the frosted glass of the Editor’s office and saw pixelated figures take off their clothes and become flesh-coloured. A distressed Hattie Pearson screamed from the next room, “I can’t believe I’m standing naked in the Student Direct office!”

A cheer went up when Joe has finished with them. The figures in the frosted glass changed back to normal from flesh coloured. Joe opened the door. He grins. “Are you guys ready to go?”

We positioned ourselves around the office according to Joe’s instructions: Jennie sat at her desk, topless with only a copy of Student Direct to cover her modesty. Catherine is directed to stand over Jennie’s shoulder and point at the computer screen. Christina stands at the side of the desk. Joe politely asks, “Do you fancy showing a cheeky bit of cheek, Christina?”

“Oh my god”, she said, obligingly removing her underwear. “No-one dare look at my bum.”

And then it was my turn. I pulled down my boxer shorts and felt as vulnerable as on my first day in school.

Girish and I stood by the metal cabinet in the corner, attempting to casually talk while I cover myself with the office camera. I felt awkward but strangely proud of myself.

So there I was: A budding journalist, with my bare arse pointing out onto Oxford Road from the first floor of the Union building. Joe happily snapped away. I felt like this would come back to haunt me some day.

All in the name of charity.

The naked calendar will be available all through RAG Week to buy. If your society wants to be in it, contact info@manchesterrag.com to find out more.

Original article in Student Direct: Mancunion

Biko Records born out of Union failings, says chair

The Union does not provide students with support for artistic endeavours, according to Biko Records organisers.

The Union’s record label celebrated its launch with a night of music and bands at Club Academy last Tuesday night, headlined by Manchester band, Dutch Uncles.

“The fact that the Union doesn’t own the amps in our own venue, and that’s why we are being charged to us them, is ridiculous. We have to pay for them,” said Alex Lynham, second year student in Modern History and Economics, and one of the Chairmen of Biko.

Lynham added: “What’s the turnover of this place? How do we not own that equipment? That equipment is in our venues. We should own this Union. If someone wants to put on University bands at one of these venues, they should be able to do it for free. They should be paying the sound engineer, the lighting engineer and the bar staff: that is it.

“All these student bands come out of Manchester. You look at Dutch Uncles, Delphic, bands that are getting big at the moment. There are tens of Manchester bands every year, every decade, redefining music. A lot of them are coming from the University.“

Jake Hartnell, member of Biko Records and head of the Film Production Society said: “We want to help Manchester students’ bands develop and record their music, and make a little money for Student Action.”

The venture is the first of its kind: a student-run and student-led record label. Members of Biko Records receive none of the profit. Instead, 75 per cent of the profit is given to the artist, and 25 per cent donated to the University of Manchester charity, Student Action. Biko digitally distribute artists to major online outlets, including Spotify, iTunes, and HMV. Before the label was even officially launched, a band distributing through Biko, Kulucci March, made it to number 55 in the download charts.

“We could make so much more if we get the ability to host gigs in the Academy venues without paying to pay outrageous amounts for the rooms,” added Hartnell.

Lynham continued: “The Union is content to say, ‘The city will cater for them.’ Well, the city is pretty crap to students and pretty crap to young bands. So why aren’t students supporting students?”

“The Union is geared to being a business, rather than looking towards the people it is supposed to support. It’s not being done properly.”

He added, “There is a city full of venues out there, but they prefer us to use Union venues because we are a Union society. And because the funding system for societies is broken, we can’t get the money up front unless we really have them on side to do that. Even if we do, they say ‘You have to do it at the Union.’ They can’t have it both ways.”

“A good portion of the cost of the launch night was just the venue. They take it out of what we make for the night. If we don’t make enough, I guess they have to write it off.

“It’s part of a wider movement of reclaiming the Union in general. People are beginning to realise that students aren’t involved in their Union. Something clearly must be broken for that to have occurred. The students are beginning to stand up and say ‘Here’s what’s wrong’.

“It’s stuff that people often right of as irrelevant or a minor issue. It’s a symptom of a wider problem, which is non-participation. Students have this reputation of being lazy and rubbish. We are not lazy and we are not rubbish.”

Andy Proudfoot, drummer of Dutch Uncles and University of Salford student said, “I was talking to my dad, and he said that when he was a student, universities would be the first port of call for small touring bands. No other venues were available. The Union was so much more involved with bands touring. And it’s nice to see a label bring the music industry back to students unions and universities.”

Original article in Student Direct: Mancunion