gooddagui: 2012

Tuesday, 7 February 2012

VIDEO: Art by animals goes on show

A work of abstract expressionism by a chimp and a still life of a flower by an elephant are part of a new exhibition in London of artworks created by animals.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/entertainment-arts-16860961

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Thursday, 2 February 2012

Aye-aye

Aye-ayes are the largest nocturnal primate in the world. They are also the only primate thought to use echolocation, which they use to find insect grubs hidden 2cm deep inside a tree. During mating, aye-ayes hang upside-down on a branch, and the procedure lasts for about an hour.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Aye-aye

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Saturday, 28 January 2012

Can London 2012's opening ceremony beat its predecessors?

Danny Boyle is up against faked footprint-shaped fireworks, aliens in flying saucers and spectacles with artillery fire and pigeons

Anyone concerned that Danny Boyle faces a daunting, Newton-like climb on to the shoulders of choreographic giants in his role as the Olympic opening ceremony organiser needs only to glance at some of his predecessors' efforts for reassurance.

Beijing 2008 saw computer faked footprint-shaped fireworks trek across the sky from Tiananmen Square to the Bird's Nest stadium, and a seven-year-old singer's vocals mimed by a more aesthetically-pleasing girl.

In 1984, not content with sending torch-bearer Rafer Johnson up the longest, steepest staircase imaginable and having an Evel Knievel lookalike in a jetpack buzz the crowd, the LA games organisers decided for the closing ceremony that nothing embodied the Olympic spirit quite as potently as a big alien in a flying saucer.

Hitler's ambitious plans for the 1936 Berlin Olympics ? complete with Leni Riefenstahl's famous film of the games ? were heroically undermined by Jesse Owens' victories. However, the games did produce one major legacy: the torch relay. Less tradition-setting were the Austrian and French teams' Nazi salutes at the Berlin ceremony, though some French athletes later claimed they were giving the not wholly dissimilar Olympic salute. Eight years earlier, the Amsterdam games kicked off with a spectacle involving pigeons, artillery fire and the Olympic flame being lit for the first time. Sadly, Queen Wilhelmina missed the extravaganza. Either furious at the organisers' failure to consult her or disapproving of the fact it was held on a Sunday, she became the first host head of state not to attend the opening ceremony, remaining in the isolated splendour of her Norwegian holiday retreat.Doubtless much to the relief of the planning committee, the Queen managed to overcome her umbrage, or principles, in time to make the closing ceremony, also on a Sunday.

But if it's a masterclass in feelgood internationalism that Boyle seeks, he may wish to look all the way back to the 1896 Athens games: 80,000 people joined the Greek royal family at the Panathinaiko stadium to usher in the first modern Olympics, where the Danish-born King George (watched by his Russian wife Olga) patriotically declared: "Long live the nation. Long live the Greek people."

The ceremony clearly met with the approval of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics. Watching the crowds stream into the stadium, he was delighted to witness the "joyous and motley concourse".

Sam Jones

Edward Gibbes

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/jan/27/past-olympic-games-opening-ceremonies

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Wednesday, 11 January 2012

In praise of ? dream returns | Editorial

As Thierry Henry proved against Leeds, a dream return is more than just the remembrance of things past

The game was drifting off to sleep. All the talk was of the impending replay and Arsenal's perennial frustration with its lost cutting edge. On comes Thierry Henry, on loan from New York Red Bulls. Nine minutes and five touches later, Henry slips past Leeds' stalwart defence and curls the shot around a hitherto untroubled keeper. He must have done the same shot dozens of times. This was his 227th goal for his old club. But doing it there and then made this one the stuff of dreams. For a dream return is more than just the remembrance of things past. Henry can no longer slip past three men before a turbocharger kicks in. But he can reinject the old magic, restore that sense of self-belief, put the adrenaline back into the system. Paul Scholes for Manchester United, and Ian Botham when he was recalled against New Zealand and took two wickets in 12 balls, have this quality is common. For a brief moment, they all played as if they had never really left.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jan/11/praise-dream-returns-editorial

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Sunday, 8 January 2012

Youssou N'Dour: the singer who changed his tune | Observer profile

The foremost figure in world music once said he never had any political ambitions. Now he wants to be Senegal's president, becoming a force for change rather than just a voice of change

It stands 49 metres tall at the western tip of Africa. The costly bronze statue, on a hilltop overlooking the Atlantic from Dakar, Senegal, is meant to symbolise continental renaissance. Critics regard it as a symbol too ? of another African leader who has lost the plot, consumed by hubris.

Who, then, will challenge its builder, Abdoulaye Wade, the octogenarian president set on clinging to power beyond his time? Step forward Youssou N'Dour, spine-tingling singer, composer, occasional actor, entrepreneur, political activist and now would-be saviour of Africa's latest imperilled democracy.

The 52-year-old has suspended his lucrative recording and touring career to take up his "supreme patriotic duty" of running for president in next month's Senegalese elections. Accusing Wade of "hearing only in mono, not stereo", N'Dour says he is answering the demand of the people for an alternative.

From Later? With Jools Holland to the political front line: time will tell whether this will also go down as an act of hubris. Gloriously gifted, N'Dour is the undisputed king of Senegalese music, mixing the country's traditional mbalax with everything from Cuban rumba to hip-hop, jazz and soul. His prolific output sings of Africa's identity, heritage and hopes, sometimes with a political edge. He is arguably the most important figure in world music.

And he is famous for much more than being famous: the embodiment of the self-made man, he is feted at home as an entrepreneur and job-creator, owning two recording studios, a micro-finance company and a stake in a leading nightclub. He is a media mogul with television and radio stations and the widely read L'Observateur newspaper. "I have more than a thousand people working for me," he told the BBC last week.

His political credentials doubtless make him palatable to the west. N'Dour campaigned for the release of Nelson Mandela, performed at concerts for Amnesty International and Live 8 and is a Unicef goodwill ambassador, a role he has temporarily stepped aside from while he campaigns. But his change of gear now, plunging into the hurly-burly of domestic politics, is something else. It could be described as analogous to Bob Geldof or Bono running for taoiseach.

N'Dour told the Guardian four years ago: "I want to use my music to deliver a political message? but I don't want to be a politician. In politics, sometimes you have to lie, or you make a promise that you cannot keep. If you play a political role, you have to stop being an artist."

He will hope his celebrity brings greater success than it did for George Weah, the former world footballer of the year, defeated for the Liberian presidency in 2005, or for Afropop pioneer Fela Kuti, who announced plans to seek Nigeria's top position in 1979 and 1983 but was disqualified both times. N'Dour is a late entrant to a crowded field and his political nous is questioned.

"For the last 20 to 30 years, this man has been able to express the feelings of the Senegalese," said Mamadou Diouf, a Senegalese academic and director of the Institute for African Studies at the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs in New York. "But how is he going to move from the claim, 'I am not a politician' to a genuine campaign for political office?"

Diouf believes the musician has an uphill task to win the election, arguing that he lacks organisation and that Senegalese voters tend to prefer their leaders university educated in the western tradition. Senegal was the first of France's west African colonies; residents of its four main towns were granted French citizenship. L�opold Senghor, the first president, was considered one of the 20th-century's finest lyric poets in French.

N'Dour does not even have a school certificate. He was born in a working-class suburb of Dakar, the eldest child of a car mechanic, and began by hustling pirated CDs in car parks. "It's true that I haven't pursued higher education," he admitted last week, adding: "I have proved my competence, commitment, rigour and efficiency time and time again. I have studied at the school of the world."

Despite his father's wish that he pursue law or medicine, N'Dour started singing at circumcision ceremonies before his voice had broken and was professional by the age of 13. With a voice that seemed heaven-sent, he sang in small clubs in Dakar in Wolof, the language of his griot (praise-singing) ancestors, and was rapidly crowned "Le petit prince de Dakar".

In 1979, he formed his own ensemble, the Etoile de Dakar. Their early work was in a Latin style popular all over Africa then, but in the 80s he developed a unique sound when he started his current group, Super Etoile de Dakar.

It was then that Peter Gabriel, the former Genesis singer turned producer and promoter, flew to Paris to hear N'Dour perform to a Senegalese audience. "I was blown away," he told the Observer. "The words that came to mind were liquid gold. A fluid and expressive voice."

N'Dour appeared on Gabriel's platinum-selling So album in 1986 and joined him on a subsequent world tour. "He's probably the top African artist in many ways. His music has reached a lot of people outside his culture. He's also become something of a statesman with all the campaigns he's taken on."

Gabriel, who is godfather to one of N'Dour's sons (the singer reciprocated with Gabriel's son), said N'Dour is probably the best-known person in Senegal. "When I was there, whenever I was stopped by police or asked for a bribe, I identified myself as a friend of Youssou and the problem generally disappeared."

But the notion that N'Dour could do for African music what Bob Marley did for reggae looks difficult to sustain. Musically, there have been hits and misses. He collaborated with Paul Simon and Branford Marsalis and his duet with Neneh Cherry, "7 Seconds", was one of the bestselling songs of the 90s. Twice, however, he has been dropped by major labels, struggling to balance African and western tastes.

Political rivals should heed his resilience, however. He won a Grammy in 2005 for Egypt, an album of Islamic praise songs. N'Dour is a member of the country's most powerful Sufi brotherhood, which will do his election chances no harm. He told Observer Music Monthly in 2004: "I'm a modern Muslim. I pray, and if I have a question, I ask someone who is more educated in the religion than me. But for me bringing religion into politics is wrong and it shouldn't be necessary to kill even one person in the cause of Islam."

Egypt was interpreted as a political statement in the post-9/11 world and N'Dour cancelled a major US tour after the Iraq war. In 2006, he was the only black actor in Amazing Grace, Michael Apted's film about slavery. As a goodwill ambassador for Unicef, he has focused on African issues such as the Darfur crisis, broadening internet access and the famine in Somalia.

N'Dour once supported Wade and sang for him during official visits before they fell out. The president's 11-year reign has been soured by widespread allegations of corruption, nepotism and erosion of free speech. He tried that old trick ? amending the constitution ? to all but guarantee himself a third term, only to be knocked back by a wave of protest.

N'Dour's bid to restore the democratic shine is no publicity-seeking whimsy, according to Richard Dowden, director of the Royal African Society. "Youssou N'Dour is a really serious guy," he said. "He genuinely cares about the music and gets involved in the causes. "

Critics take a different view, arguing that N'Dour is running for president to protect his businesses from Wade. When he applied for a licence to open his TV station, approval was held up for two years and he was then ordered to limit its programming to "cultural" matters. Diouf suspects that it may be commercial interests, not change-the-world idealism, which prompted N'Dour to enter politics now.

Indeed, the pragmatic N'Dour risks being seen as more Cliff Richard than Occupy Wall Street. He is most popular for the mbalax beat, a traditional style that does not necessarily resonate with the under-25s who make up about two-thirds of Senegal's population.

They favour hip-hop and it is rappers who have taken the lead in agitating against Wade. Diouf added: "N'Dour is 52. He's part of the old group. He's no longer a social interpreter; he's now a well-established artist and entrepreneur. The rappers are playing the most important role against President Wade."

Should he win, however, this voice of change will have real power for the first time. What would he do with it ? and what would it do to him? Gabriel admitted: "I have mixed feelings. In politics, it's hard to remain pure. It isn't easy to be president of any country. He's a reluctant politician. He never had political ambitions when I was working with him.

"It's out of desperation this time. People feel betrayed and they identified Youssou as the only one popular enough to remove the one responsible. I'm worried for him, but I'm also hopeful. He has great heart and an absolutely pure passion for his country and I hope that will carry him a long way."

David Smith

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/2012/jan/08/observer-profile-youssou-ndour

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Let this be the year we decide we are proud of our society | Sunder Katwala

The British Future/Observer State of the Nation poll suggests we Britons are confident of who and where we are

This is a year when Britain will want to tell a story to the world. The message that we want to project overseas must depend on what we want to say to ourselves, too, about who we are, what we stand for, and what we feel about how we have changed.

These are anxious times when it comes to identity questions. As Alex Salmond prepares for a Scottish vote on independence, will we still be British in five years' time? When will the English find their voice? With the government struggling to reduce net migration, will calls to cap the population grow? The British Future/Observer State of the Nation poll captures all of these anxieties. There is a sober awareness of the perils facing British and European economies, the dangers of a lost generation if young graduates can't find jobs, and potential pressures on public services from both austerity and immigration. But we remain quietly hopeful about our families and the places we live ? and most people are looking forward to some Olympic golds and a bit of royal bunting, too, to lift the spirits.

This could be the year that we decide that we are proud of the society that we have become. This poll suggests a confidence in being able to combine the modern and the traditional. At the millennium, the failure of the Dome was its mistaken idea that Britain would be more confident about its future by drawing a line under our history. The result was contentless and empty. So we should celebrate Shakespeare and Dickens as we remember that these Olympics are being held in London, not Paris, because Seb Coe and east London's teenagers captured the Games with their vision of modern British pride.

The Queen's diamond jubilee will spark reflections not just on the service of the monarch, but on how the past six decades have changed Britain, for better and worse. We may watch Downton Abbey, but we do not want to live in it, yet the question of whether we are more classless than six decades ago divides people. Our poll also finds that ethnic minorities feel just a little more proud to be British than white Brits, and immigrants most optimistic about the future. That could be good news for integration, as long as we pay more attention to those who fear being left behind.

We have finally seen some justice for the Lawrence family. We saw the broadest campaign for British justice that we have ever seen. Who would have imagined an alliance stretching from the radical black left and anti-racist movement, through New Labour ministers to the Daily Mail editor, Paul Dacre, whose brilliant campaign made the legal establishment take notice? The lesson is that we brought about change, not by competing over whose grievances really matter, so again we need to give greater voice to all.

The poll captures the need to take integration seriously, to ensure that we do not segregate our children into mono-ethnic schools in diverse towns. Yet the poll also hits Norman Tebbit's cricket test for six. That will boost the argument of Tory modernisers such as Sayeeda Warsi that that argument's time has passed. It's good news, too, for my dad, who came here from India in 1968: he need no longer fear failing a loyalty test. It may even console him for Sachin Tendulkar's collapsing form, which required much tact on my part when I took him to the Oval last summer.

But I still hope that other British-born children of immigrants will mostly choose to cheer for us, with a soft spot for their parents' birthplace, too.

A confident democracy should always debate the most difficult questions openly. But that can take the form of a conversation, and not always a shouting match. Only a miserabilist minority believe Britain is going to hell in a handcart, but few would claim that little needs to change.

We are launching British Future to explore how we extend confidence in modern Britain to those who do not feel it, to help ensure no difficult issue is kept off limits, and to challenge people to work together ? on issues of identity and integration, migration and opportunity ? to create workable solutions and a future that people want to share. As we seek to create an identity and society we can all share, 2012 feels like a good moment to begin.

Sunder Katwala is director of British Future

Sunder Katwala

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jan/07/year-we-decide-proud-society

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Curb power of pubcos, say MPs

Ministers face Commons defeat over reform of pub business as MPs call for statutory code of practice in an industry that is losing 20 pubs a month

Ministers are being accused of naivety, if not outright collusion, in their dealings with pub companies, as the government faces the prospect of an embarrassing defeat this week over its relations with the big pub operators.

An all-party move to condemn the government's handling of relations between pub companies and tied landlords will be put to a vote on Thursday. The motion attacks business department proposals to reform the pub industry and calls for a statutory code of practice and an industry adjudicator. The government favours making the industry's own codes of practice legally binding.

It comes at a time when pubs continue to close at a rate of more than 20 a month. Critics have claimed the government's stance puts the interests of big corporations ahead of local communities. Conservative MP Brian Binley said the government had "sold its soul to the devil" by refusing to introduce a statutory code that would give landlords an option to free themselves from brewers. Nearly 29,000 of the 55,000 pubs in Britain are tied.

The Business Innovation and Skills select committee has also called for the introduction of a statutory independent adjudicator. In a report in September ? its fourth on the issue ? the select committee found that the pubcos had "wasted a final opportunity" to reform their practices, offered to them by the committee in a previous report in 2010.

Also lining up against the Liberal Democrat business minister Ed Davey for Thursday's vote will be the all-party Save the Pub group, chaired by Greg Mulholland, one of Davey's Lib Dem colleagues.

Mulholland said yesterday: "I think there has been collusion between the business department and the British Beer and Pub Association, the representatives of the pub companies. I think the minister has colluded in this at worst or at best has had the wool pulled over his eyes.

"The business model of the pubcos has been akin to the banks. They overvalued their estates, borrowed vast amounts of money against that and when the property market collapsed, they found their ludicrous valuations were wrong and they suddenly found themselves billions of pounds in debt.

"They are trying to service those debts ? mainly with foreign creditors ? by taking more and more from the turnover of each pub." Mulholland said the Federation of Small Businesses and the Forum for Private Business had been asking for a free-of-tie option for lessees and an open market rent review.

"In the past if a pub owner was tied he paid more for the beer, but received a discounted rent. What has happened is the pub companies have increasingly put the rents and beer prices up."

Pub campaigners such as Justice for Licensees argue the only way to resolve the issue is to introduce an independent assessment of what rent should be paid for normal beer prices, and if a licensee is willing to charge higher prices, the rent is reduced.

Mulholland said the business department's self-regulatory deal, putting the existing codes of practice on a legal footing, was "not the option people want ? they want a free-of-tie option to end the market abuse".

He added the proposed code made matters worse "since pubcos' wealthy lawyers are using it as a way of binding tenants and lessees into the code of practice that is inadequate, including excluding the option of going free of tie".

The Business department argues the Office of Fair Trading has found no evidence of competition problems having a significant adverse impact on consumers and therefore the government was not minded to intervene in setting the terms of commercial, contractual relationships.

It also argues legally binding self-regulation can be introduced far more quickly than any statutory solution and can, if devised correctly, be equally effective.

Patrick Wintour

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/jan/08/curb-pubcos-power-say-mps

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Hungary's hard-pressed workforce struggles with unaffordable mortgages

Budapest's maverick economic policies are undermining its currency, the forint ? piling pressure on the thousands of Hungarians who are trying to pay off home loans denominated in Swiss francs or euros

The Hungarian government says it is bending over backwards to secure a vital loan of up to �17bn from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the EU, but Hungary remains in the international crossfire, sharply criticised by western governments and the European commission and suffering the indignity of a credit downgrade to junk status.

The Hungarian currency, the forint, hit record lows last week, and the crisis could cost the prime minister, Viktor Orban, or at least the economy minister, Gyorgy Matolcsy, their jobs.

The minister leading negotiations on a new loan, Tamas Fellegi, is travelling to Washington for informal talks with the IMF, which he has described as "hard"; he expects talks with the EU to be "extremely hard". From Washington, he will travel to Berlin, Paris, Vienna and Brussels.

His government has been subject to withering criticism, at home and abroad, for passing two financial laws at the end of last year that could be used to interfere with the independence of the Hungarian central bank, the MNB. The government has consistently attacked MNB governor Andras Simor for refusing to go along with its policy of encouraging economic growth by keeping interest rates down. But on Friday, Orban met Simor and promised closer government-bank co-operation. "The Hungarian banking system is sufficiently stable," the bank said in a terse statement issued after the meeting.

Hungary needs the new loan, which it calls a "safety net", by July at the latest. But some suggest that after the downgrade and the sharp drop in the forint's value, at least the bare outline of a loan agreement now needs to be reached within two weeks.

The conservative Fidesz government came to power in spring 2010 with a promise to create 1m jobs in 10 years ? badly needed, as Hungary has the lowest employment rate in the EU. Only 55% of the working-age population work and pay tax; the rest either survive on disability pensions or via the black economy. But joblessness remains steady at 11%, and a range of new taxes, including the increase of VAT to an EU record of 27%, is leading to layoffs rather than job creation. Austrian banks, which dominate the market in Hungary, have also been cutting back on the money available to their subsidiaries in eastern Europe, making it even harder to borrow.

Janos Toth stands at the top of a ladder, covered in plaster, twisting wires into a cavity in the wall. Below him, in the stairwell of a 1930s residential block, are a jumble of bicycles chained together and boxes of withered geraniums, thick with dust, waiting for spring.

Like most Hungarians, Toth has a big mortgage, which he was encouraged by his Austrian-owned bank to take out in Swiss francs in 2008, because interest rates in foreign currencies were much lower than in forints. There were 150 forints to the franc then; now, there are 250. As an electrician, he already works 14 hour days, six days a week, and often Sundays as well. But because of the forint's weakness, the sum he owes keeps growing, and he can already hardly pay the monthly instalments.

As a Hungarian from neighbouring Romania, he came to Budapest with his wife in 1998, seeking a better life. Now he's thinking of going back. "We assumed all along that we would work hard all our lives, and our children would inherit our savings," says his mate, Jozsef. "Now we can see them inheriting our debts."

Tunde Horvath is a journalist, living with her photographer husband in the Buda hills. They also had a big Swiss franc loan, but have signed up to a government scheme to pay it off in one lump sum, at a far better exchange rate than that available in the market. They now have until the end of February to find the money ? they are trying to quickly sell a plot of land adjacent to their own. But they may have to sell their own home as well.

About 100,000 Hungarians are known to have applied to take part in the scheme so far. It was agreed without the involvement of banks, which already stand to lose around �150m; the worst affected Austrian banks are taking Hungary to court for lost profits.

More than a million Hungarians, like Toth, have decided they cannot afford to take part. But their repayments soared again last week because of the weakening forint. The Hungarian economy has entered 2012 like a stricken ship in heavy seas. "We will not just need our umbrellas this coming year," the prime minister told the nation in December, "we will need our storm coats as well."

"I haven't got the money for a storm coat!" proclaimed one of the funnier banners at last week's large anti-government demonstration in Budapest. The increasingly regular protests in the Hungarian capital are getting more humorous as the confidence of the protesters grows. As the economy slides, there's a renaissance of jokes not seen since before the fall of communism.

Some jokes though, cut close to the bone. A cartoon last Monday in the French daily Le Monde portrays the Hungarian prime minister as a fascist leader. "A lot of my colleagues and commentators in Hungary think that the government intention is to build a dictatorship, but I disagree," says Peter Hack, a law professor at Budapest University and former liberal MP. "I think that the government made a series of miscalculations." He insists that Fidesz, who policies have caused international concern, remains the best bulwark against the far-right Jobbik party, which won nearly 17% of the vote at the election and has since overtaken the socialists in polls to become the country's second political force.

George Sch�pflin, a Fidesz member of the European parliament, agrees with his former rival. "One third, or maybe two fifths, of the population is at or below the poverty line. Probably 10 to 15% are in deep poverty. These are the people who are vulnerable not to the left wing, but to Jobbik," he says. "And that is what the left wing refuses to see, and that is what all the critics of Hungary fail to see: that the deteriorating economy is not helpful to the left, it is helpful to the far right.'

"The new government will be modest and humble," Orban said in his victory speech after the April 2010 elections. But "the real problem with this government is that it did not keep that promise," says Balint Ablonczy, a journalist at Heti Valasz, an influential pro-government weekly. One of the most interesting developments of recent weeks has been growing criticism from hitherto staunch supporters of the government, like Heti Valasz and the daily Magyar Hirlap.

So could Orban fall? At only 48, the Hungarian prime minister is already one of the great survivors of eastern European politics. An ardent footballer and admirer of former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, some observers say that, like Berlusconi, he would rather step down than oversee a programme of austerity measures at the IMF's behest ? austerity most Hungarians say they could not bear.

Others say Orban did not wait eight years in the political wilderness, after Fidesz lost the 2002 election, to resign now, after only 20 months in office ? and that he would never leave the party he has spent nearly 24 years building in the lurch.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/08/hungary-unaffordable-mortgages-forint

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Stephen Lawrence killers will not get parole if they refuse to confess guilt

Parole Board unlikely to grant David Norris and Gary Dobson release on licence without evidence of remorse

Stephen Lawrence's killers will serve many years in prison beyond their minimum sentence unless they admit their guilt, say legal experts.

Probation officers believe that before they can secure their eventual release David Norris and Gary Dobson may have to name others involved in the killing if they are to convince a parole board that they have fully accepted their guilt and have been rehabilitated.

The Observer understands that Scotland Yard detectives investigating the murder will visit Norris and Dobson in prison this week, and will urge them to help their inquiries by "naming names".

Detectives are understood to believe that the issue of their release date could be crucial in persuading the pair to provide vital information that could secure more convictions.

Public unease at the sentences handed down to the pair saw the convictions referred to the attorney general last week. Norris was sentenced to 14 years and three months, while Dobson got 15 years and two months.

However, senior figures in the probation service said it was highly likely that the pair would serve many more years in prison beyond their minimum sentences if they continued to deny their guilt. They point out that a prisoner's eligibility for release following a conviction for murder or another serious crime is routinely based on their acceptance of guilt, remorse shown, the rehabilitation programmes they have completed and an assessment of the risk they pose to the public.

If a prisoner continues to deny their guilt, it is exceptionally hard to persuade the Parole Board of their suitability for release on licence. In addition, only when they have admitted their guilt will they be able to participate in the necessary programmes to confront their offending behaviour.

"My experience is that a continued claim of innocence is always a barrier," said Harry Fletcher, assistant general secretary of Napo, the probation officers' union. "A lifer, in order to get out of jail on licence, needs to demonstrate that he or she has shown remorse, completed rehabilitation programmes and is therefore low-risk.

"By definition, if the prisoner says they have not committed the crime, they are not able to tick the relevant boxes for release."

Following his conviction for murder, Dobson protested his innocence, turning to the jury and telling them: "You have condemned an innocent man. I hope you can live with yourselves." During the trial Norris, too, declared: "You are accusing me of murder. I am an innocent man." The families of both men say they plan to appeal.

Publicly the Parole Board says that maintaining innocence should not be a bar to qualifying for release. However, Napo said there have been very few cases over the past 20 years where the board had agreed to the release of a prisoner who has denied responsibility for an offence such as rape or murder.

"In theory, claiming innocence should not be a barrier to release," Fletcher said. "The reality is that those on life or indeterminate sentences will serve beyond their tariff so long as they maintain their innocence."

Fletcher predicted that, as they sought to secure their release dates, Dobson and Norris would come under pressure to co-operate with the authorities by naming others involved in the murder as a way of proving they have been fully rehabilitated.

"The longer they leave it, the less likely the authorities would be willing to believe the reversal of innocence and would view it as an attempt to manipulate the system," Fletcher said.

Jamie Doward

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jan/07/stephen-lawrence-killers-parole-guilt

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Saturday, 7 January 2012

Colin Myler heads to New York for the clash of the newspaper dinosaurs

Former News of the World editor to take over at New York Daily News, which continues its bitter rivalry with the Post despite both newspapers' declining circulations

What do old editors of the News of the World do when there's no paper left to edit? They whizz back to New York, whence they were plucked by News International when Andy Coulson's exit left a big hole in need of filling. But this time Colin Myler isn't returning to his former billet on Murdoch's New York Post, but to its fiercest competitor ? the New York Daily News.

He'll find a "deeply divided and demoralised newsroom" waiting for him, with two dozen reporters shed in recent months and three more "handed their pink slips this week", along with Kevin Convey, the editor Myler replaces in short order. But those are quotes from the New York Post, and doubtless Myler will be able to duff up his former employers in similar fashion once he starts work on Tuesday.

The Post and the Daily News are deadly rivals in a Big Apple where such rivalry barely exists any longer. They scratch, they taunt, they boast and belabour. And, of course, they mostly lose circulation ? and money. Legend has it that only one of them can survive and make a profit ? but I'm not sure even that's true any longer. What is true is that, time and again, they import hardened redtop operators from the UK or Australia to fight their editorial battles for them. Once Col Allan on the Post faced Martin Dunn (ex-Sun, ex-News of the World) on the News. Now, in Myler, Allan has to tackle his own ex-number two. Think unique skills in gauging public taste? Perhaps. Or think dinosaurs, think lost worlds.

? Rupert lives again as the octogenarian Tweeter of Sixth Avenue? It's a smart enough seeming ploy in the Murdoch PR stakes ? especially since it implies that the Sun King has started using an iPad at last. But always beware a tweet too far. Much of News Corp's alleged political clout has come from only backing a winning political candidate after he or she has effectively won. It was the Bun wot joined the obvious bandwagon! Yet how do you do that in 140 characters? Romney or Santorum? Obama or Paul? Is Fox News supposed to jump every time the boss goes on Twitter? Or is Murdoch supposed to do only bromide tweets?

Peter Preston

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/jan/08/new-york-post-news-myler

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David Cameron to curb 'fat cat' pay with people power

Shareholders set to win right to block soaring executive pay under plans being drawn up by the government

Shareholders are to win a legal right to block sky-high pay awards to company executives under radical plans for an assault on "fat cat" earnings drawn up by the government. Senior ministers, including the business secretary, Vince Cable, are backing a move that would give shareholders an effective veto over pay deals they deem unacceptable.

David Cameron confirmed the move and said he was determined to end the "merry-go-round" of super-rich bosses rubber-stamping each others' inflated deals and being rewarded for failure: "Let's empower the shareholders by having a straight, shareholder vote on top pay packages," he said. "The market for top people isn't working; it needs to be sorted out."

The move by ministers, which would require legislation, came to light as the main parties scrambled to occupy the high ground over executive pay, ahead of the politically charged bank bonus season. It reflects a growing consensus at Westminster that executive pay is out of control and has to be tackled, particularly at a time when many people are losing their jobs and those on modest earning are having their pay frozen.

In the past financial year, the directors of FTSE 100 companies have seen a 49% increase in total earnings, taking average pay to �2.7m. Although bonuses will probably be down on last year, the hefty sums awarded will further highlight the growing chasm between rich and poor and fuel complaints that the government is too soft on the City.

Labour, whose leader, Ed Miliband, has called for a "fairer and better capitalism", challenged the government to back all the recommendations of the independent High Pay Commission in order to increase transparency and accountability in the boardroom and the City. Currently shareholders have a right to vote on pay awards, but the vote is "advisory" and often takes place only after decisions have been made on executive pay. Under the plans being drawn up by cabinet ministers, the vote would, for the first time, have legal force, so that executives would be subject to the democratic will of shareholders over pay.

Cameron criticised boardroom cronies who helped each other "fill their boots" while the country was being forced to tighten its belt. "We've got to deal with the merry-go-round where there's too many cases of remuneration committee members sitting on each other's boards, patting each other's backs and handing out each other's pay rises," he said.

"We need to redefine the word 'fair'. We need to try to give people a sense that we have a vision at the end of this, of a fairer, better economy, a fairer, better society, where if you work hard and do the right thing you get rewarded."

Anger among shareholders and the public at soaring executive pay has been growing in recent years. Shareholder rebellions have become increasingly common. Advertising giant WPP's management received a stinging rebuke from investors last year, with 42% of shareholders voting against the remuneration report. Shareholder activists objected to the fact that Mark Read, the head of WPP Digital, received a pay rise of 31% to �425,000 in January.

Other reforms being considered by ministers include ending the "cosy cartel" that allows top executives to set each other's pay, by bringing outsiders on to remuneration committees, and introducing rules to force executives to take more of their pay in shares that cannot be cashed in for at least five years.

The High Pay Commission said executive remuneration was out of control. It cited the pay of the head of Barclays, which rose by nearly 5,000% in 30 years, a period in which average wages had risen only threefold. It made 12 recommendations, including:

? Greater transparency in the calculation of executive pay, to end the "closed shop" on pay decisions.

? Putting employees and other "outsiders" on remuneration committees.

? Publishing the top 10 executive pay packages outside the boardroom in order to illustrate the sums earned by senior traders at investment banks.

? Forcing companies to publish a pay ratio between the highest paid executive and the company median.

? Requiring companies to publish a single total pay figure for boardroom members, including pension benefits.

Will Hutton, Observer columnist and author of an independent review of fair pay delivered to the government last March, called for companies and the public sector to publish annually the five-year trend of the ratio of top pay to median pay and justify upward movement. "Citizens, workers and shareholders would have the ammunition to challenge undeserved top pay," he said.

Deborah Hargreaves, who chairs the commission and is a former business editor of the Guardian, said: "We urge the government to be bold in their reforms and not be put off by the strong possibility of a backlash from the business lobby. The public are right behind the campaign in this new era of austerity."

Chuka Umunna, the shadow business secretary, said: "We have set three tests for the government to meet, based on the principles of transparency, accountability and fairness. Anything less than the full implementation of these measures by the prime minister will fall short of what is required to empower those who ultimately own our businesses."

Toby Helm

Richard Wachman

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/jan/07/david-cameron-fat-cat-pay

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Parliament's moral duty on assisted dying | Mary Warnock

Legislators will wield the power of life and death when they act on Lord Falconer's report

There has been a lull in the media recently about the rights and wrongs of assisted dying, but the conflict is sure to break out again with the imminent publication of the report from Lord Falconer's commission, established to consider changes to the law.

The commission was set up in the autumn of 2010 and has been subject to repeated accusations of bias in favour of reform. It is true that Lord Falconer is known to be dissatisfied with the law as it stands, as indeed anyone should be. For as things are, assisting in or encouraging suicide remains a criminal offence, indeed a crime tantamount to murder, but the director of public prosecutions has compiled a list of considerations that will make prosecution unlikely (but not impossible) when a person helps another to die at his or her own request.

This cannot be a good state of the law. For one thing, it classes together the actions of someone who broadcasts encouragement to suicide to the world at large with one who agonisingly decides that, out of compassion, when asked to do so, he must help a person he loves to escape from suffering. For another thing, the only people who may not be exempt from prosecution are professionals, doctors or nurses, who are the only people with the knowledge to be sure of success. Nothing could be more terrible than a botched suicide, a terminally ill person determined to die brought back to yet more horrible life. Finally, there is the drawback of uncertainty.

The commission has carried out its work thoroughly and conscientiously. Those who gave evidence were treated courteously and fairly and were given time to expand their arguments, whichever way they tended. Whatever the commission advises, in whatever way it recommends that the present muddle be cleared up, there seems to me to be no reason simply to write off its conclusions. It will not be enough to say of Lord Falconer: "He would say that, wouldn't he?" He was chairman of a group, not all of whom thought the same, and all of whom listened to those who gave evidence, before writing their report.

Society is getting better at facing the fact that many people at present suffer horrible deaths. The commission has reinforced this welcome trend, to think seriously how things can be improved.

We can admit now how deeply we desire a good death, for ourselves, our friends and family; how much we resent the assumption that death must be fended off at all costs, whatever our wishes. Euthanasia in its etymological sense is a widely shared ideal, especially among the increasing number of the aged. The desire to die at a proper time and "peacefully" (as most people feel impelled to say in the deaths column of newspapers. Perhaps they mean that death itself is peaceful, not that dying was so, for all too often it is not) is partly a self-regarding, partly an other-regarding motive. The desire to escape the intolerable humiliations, as well as the pains, of incurable illness usually combines with the desire not to be a burden or a futile expense; this is a perfectly respectable motive, which should not be thought of as the outcome of undue pressure.

The notion that nobody would want death unless they had been persuaded by someone else to want it (or unless they were clinically depressed and could be treated for that) is surely a myth. Some may value life itself, however pointless and pleasureless it is, but others do not.

Palliative care, the control of symptoms when there is no hope of cure, is a marvellous medical development, constantly advancing. But we must not pretend that it will soon be available for everyone, nor that it is always effective. In any case, the atmosphere of loving care, palpable in the best hospices, cannot be easily reproduced in hospitals, where, as we know, terminally ill patients may suffer appalling neglect, both from doctors not much interested in death once it is imminent, and from nurses who have neither time nor specialist training.

The decision whether or not the law should be changed must rest with Parliament; despite the wider acceptance among the general public that such a change would be rational and good, it will be an extremely difficult decision for Parliament to make. If MPs do not or cannot make it, and aiding and abetting suicide remains a form of murder, then the only remedy is to follow the Law Society's long-standing advice and change the law of murder, so that it no longer carries a mandatory life sentence.

The life sentence is a farce anyway, since everyone knows that it means what it says in only a very few cases, of which assisted suicide would certainly not be one. So in the case where a loving husband had brought about the death of his wife, who preferred death to the life she was leading, it would be for the judge to decide what punishment, if any, would be just.

Perhaps, if all judges were of the same mind, precedent would gradually accumulate (and under the present law it has in a way begun to do so, in the absence of prosecutions for assisted suicide) and eventually it would be seen that to continue to treat mercy killing as a crime was futile. But Parliament must decide which way it is right to go. This will be one of the many instances where to legislate is to come to a moral decision, from which there is no escape.

Mary Warnock

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jan/01/mary-warnock-assisted-suicide

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Seeds survive being eaten twice

How seeds survive when the lizards that eat them are eaten by birds

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/15838840

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Friday, 6 January 2012

Dr Gerry Mander: the therapist the stars trust

Help! I don't want to be in charge of an isolated and loathed totalitarian state

Dear Dr Mander

My father died recently, leaving me in charge of his isolated totalitarian communist pariah state. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. I've got to lead a nation of 24 million people and I'm not even 30 years old. I've seen them all crying on TV at Dad's funeral, but I never liked the guy so I'd be surprised if they did. It's just an act. We're all bluffing. Take me, for example. In public, I'm, like, Mr Big Time Nuclear-armed General, but at home I just play Medal of Honour on my PlayStation and look at forbidden western internet sites (I love your English dailymail.co.uk, by the way!). What if everyone suddenly stopped pretending? I've seen the news, with all those Arab guys gathering in squares. The last thing I need is some North Korean spring. Should I be closing all the squares? Just to be on the safe side?

Kim Jong-un

Dear Kim

Brutal murderous despotism is not always the most stable form of government, although your family has managed to hold out longer than most. For marginally less extreme dictatorships I might recommend a course of modest economic liberalisation. But your case is so far gone that any change at all might provoke complete collapse. Luckily, the west is distracted by its own economic problems right now, so if you keep a low profile you might get away with it for another decade or two. Just steer clear of funding terrorists and nuclear escalation and the world will forget about North Korea again once the quiet Christmas news cycle has moved on.

Dear Dr Mander

When one is getting on in years, one expects to become a little forgetful, perhaps momentarily confused. But recently we have been experiencing a rather disturbing sense of deja vu. Riots in the inner city, emergency budgets, the royal wedding? I'm sure I read recently that Argentina was threatening the Falklands. Our people are definitely in government. The Labour party has some awful leader who they think of as an intellectual and everyone else thinks is just a bit odd. We wonder if maybe we're not still prime minister and all that dreadful business over Europe and the community charge might have been just a bad dream.

Baroness Thatcher

Dear Mrs T

This is a common syndrome afflicting former British prime ministers. John Major was in the other week complaining about divisions over Europe splitting his party. I've had Gordon Brown on the phone moaning about a credit crunch and Tony Blair's obsessed with invading Iran, saying it has weapons of mass destruction.

It is difficult to let go of power and the loss seems to manifest itself as a kind of pathological grief ? you are projecting a resemblance to your own time in office on to current circumstances when the likeness is only slight. I suggest you try to relax, perhaps take yourself off to the cinema. But steer clear of films involving Meryl Streep for the next few weeks, just to avoid unnecessary upset.

Dear Dr Mander

I am staying at Edinburgh Zoo with my partner as part of a mission to improve Sino-British relations. But your media just seem obsessed with my private life. My husband doesn't get the same treatment. Is it because I happen to be female? I am also a serious diplomat. Frankly, my treatment has been demeaning.

Tian Tian the Panda

Dear Tian Tian

This is a perennial problem for professional female animals. Laika, the first earthly creature in space, is almost entirely forgotten. Lassie has never been fully recognised for her work in child safety. I suggest you work this unwanted exposure to your advantage. Get a publicist and an agent. If you're going to be famous you should at least retain some control over your image.

Dr Gerry Mander shares his consulting room with Rafael Behr

Dr Gerry Mander

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jan/01/gerry-mander-on-the-couch

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In Pictures: Jellyfish blooms

Increase in jellyfish blooms could disturb the marine food chain

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/science-environment-13647970

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Johnny Silvo obituary

Entertainer and singer who rode the crest of the folk revival of the 60s and 70s

Johnny Silvo, who has died of cancer aged 75, was a singer and entertainer who performed in British folk clubs for more than 45 years. His wide-ranging repertoire, which spanned traditional and contemporary British and American folk songs, blues, jazz and country, enjoyed great popularity in the folk revival of the 1960s and 70s. Although such a breadth of styles has been out of fashion for some years, Silvo nevertheless had a loyal fanbase, and he continued to be booked by a regular circuit of folk clubs and other venues where his fine, warm singing, accomplished guitar accompaniment and entertaining and humorous performances were much enjoyed.

Silvo was featured alongside Sandy Denny on her first two recordings, a couple of years before she brought her distinctive voice to Fairport Convention's journey into folk music. Silvo and Denny were both heard on the album Alex Campbell and His Friends in 1967 and, later in the year, a joint album, Sandy and Johnny, had tracks from each singer. Denny's reputation was undoubtedly boosted by being linked with both Campbell and Silvo, who were, at that time, the better-known performers. She also performed, briefly, with the Johnny Silvo Folk Group.

Born John Woods in Wimbledon, south-west London, Silvo was the son of an African-American soldier who was serving in Ireland, and his County Mayo girlfriend, who, unmarried, fled to London to give birth to her son. She was killed in wartime bombings, and the young Johnny was placed in a Barnardo's home in Kingston upon Thames, where a fellow resident was the future author Leslie Thomas. He transferred to another Barnardo's home, the William Baker memorial technical school for boys, known as Goldings, in Hertford, where he was school captain.

Silvo's interest in music dated from his schooldays, when he sang and played the bugle and drums in the army cadet force. During national service, he signed on as a regular soldier so that he could become a physical training instructor. By the age of 22, he was teaching PE in a school and, having bought a guitar while in the army, he sang jazz, skiffle and folk in the evenings. He soon gave up teaching to join the Mike Peters Jazzmen, also guesting with bands led by Monty Sunshine, Dick Charlesworth and Bruce Turner. At an early stage in his career, he changed his name to Silvo ? a variation of the Latin word for wood or forest.

After the trad jazz boom ended, Silvo appeared solo in nightclubs and restaurants, particularly in the Channel Islands, singing pop standards as well as jazz and folk. His repertoire and style were ideally suited to the entertainment end of the emerging folk scene, and soon he was singing in folk clubs across the country. He formed the Johnny Silvo Folk Group, one of whose members was the bass player Dave Moses, and then the two men formed a duo which performed in British folk clubs, in cabaret and on the radio, and toured Europe, north and south America and Africa. They made several recordings, including Live from London (1973), which featured some of the songs that were central to Silvo's repertoire, such as Midnight Special, My Brother Sylvest, Hold 'em Joe and Dr Jazz.

Although the duo with Moses continued off and on for many years, Silvo established his solo career from the mid-70s, with albums including Time Enough to Spare (1977) and In the Spotlight (1983). In 1999 he recorded Blues in the Backyard, a joint album of classic blues songs with Diz Disley, for the Fellside label. The musician Dave Peabody, reviewing the album for fRoots magazine, praised the album's "disarming sincerity" and compared Silvo favourably with Josh White.

In the 1970s Silvo appeared on the children's television programme Play School, where his friendly personality and entertaining songs made him a popular presenter. He was also a frequent guest and presenter on BBC radio's Country Meets Folk programme.

British folk clubs and international touring continued, and on a visit to Norway, Silvo met Berit, whom he married in the mid-80s. He moved to Stavanger, Norway, returning regularly to tour British folk clubs and festivals. He also performed in Norway in a trio, The Life of Reily. In the last couple of years, he appeared at folk festivals in Fylde, Lancashire, and Saltburn, Teesside. His most recent album, I'll Fly Away (2006), was released on the Folksound label and included, again, the popular Midnight Special.

He is survived by Berit and their son, Patrick.

? John Frederick Woods (Johnny Silvo), folk singer and entertainer, born 2 December 1936; died 18 December 2011

Derek Schofield

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/jan/06/johnny-silvo

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Letters: Science of laughter

Seumas Milne says "Margaret Thatcher was the most socially destructive British politician of our times" (Comment, 5 January). Looking around my town at the collapse of health, welfare and community services, at the plight of those who have lost their jobs and their homes, and with the gap still widening between rich and poor, while there are still obscene amounts of public spending on war and Trident, I can only say that Cameron may well wrest that title from her.
Rae Street
Littleborough, Lancashire

? When I learned CPR (Shortcuts, G2, 5 January), we were told to sing Nelly the Elephant during the chest compressions. When we got to "The head of the tribe was calling far, far away," it was time to break off and administer two mouth-to-mouth breaths. Then it was back to chest compressions and "Nelly the Elephant packed her trunk etc". We changed over to Stayin' Alive last year - but nobody could remember the tune!
Martyn Day
Twickenham, Middlesex

? A footnote to the sad death of Ronald Searle (Obituaries, 4 January) is that a number of his animated machines, including the magnificent railway train, are held in store at the Ontario Science Centre and are seldom exhibited. Perhaps Britain could ask for them back and put them on permanent display.
Percy Barber
Unionville, Ontario

? Scientists can be dry humorists and topical (Letters, 3 January). A Higgs boson goes to church but the priest refuses to let it in. The particle says: "But without me how can you have mass?"
Andrew Vincent
Cheltenham, Gloucstershire

? I'm not sure about Heisenberg.
Joe Mundy
Farnham, Surrey

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2012/jan/05/thatcher-cameron-cpr-searle-higgs

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Thursday, 5 January 2012

Most Wanted: Six key British bugs

Experts ask public to look out for six key British bugs

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/science-environment-13675732

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Winning British wildlife images

Winning images from the 2011 British Wildlife Photographer Awards

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/15061273

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Piers Morgan's just a bit of media Marmite ?

Loathing of the former News of the World and Mirror editor seems overdone. You can reach for the remote, and turn him off

Piers Morgan's real name might be Piers Marmite for all the grimaces he attracts. You either hate him, or you affect not to like him very much. His video performance on the Leveson interview show attracted predictable snarls and loathing from fellow journalists on both sides of the Atlantic. It's instructive to wonder why.

A silver spoon beginning? No, his dad (name: O'Meara, a dentist) died when he was one. He did his O-levels at Challey comprehensive, East Sussex, and his A's at a sixth-form college in Lewes. Oxbridge? Dream on ? Try Harlow College. A plum job in Fleet Street? Try beat reporting for the Streatham and Tooting News.

OK. So Kelvin at the Sun spotted a showbusiness talent worth hiring. So Rupert, the Sun God, spotted a stripling editor for his News of the World. So the Mirror poached him and he met Tony Blair 58 times (more than Murdoch himself). So he finally got serious, opposed the war in Iraq, innocently published some hoax atrocity pictures and was asked to clear his desk. So why is that quite so loathsome?

He left newspapers and went into TV, with signal success. Maybe his CNN interview show isn't a ratings wonder (but just look at CNN's ratings as a whole). Maybe his tweets and boasts and tall stories rile rivals and sum up a trade that loftier operators disdain. But who would even they throw off the lifeboat first: Morgan, or Heather Mills? In short, the histrionic loathing is much overdone; and the pursuit of the Piers of long ago seems merely gratuitous. Leveson flays evasive Morgan shock? No need for that, if you can reach for the remote and just switch him off.

Peter Preston

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/jan/01/piers-morgan-media-marmite

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'Record year' for ivory seizures

More elephant tusks were seized in 2011 than in any year since 1989, when the ivory trade was banned, international wildlife trade group Traffic says.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-africa-16353204

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Wednesday, 4 January 2012

Patrick Mollison obituary

Blood transfusion pioneer and author of a classic textbook

Patrick Mollison, who has died aged 97, was a pioneer of blood transfusion during the second world war and wrote the classic textbook on the subject, now in its 11th edition. When war broke out in September 1939, Mollison was a young doctor at the South London Blood Supply Depot, in Sutton. He had been seconded there from St Thomas' hospital by the medical school dean, who realised that the new facility of blood transfusion promised to be an important way of saving lives. Mollison's job was to treat civilian casualties and to carry out research into making transfusion safer.

He began by studying methods of treating blood in storage so that red cells had an increased lifespan. The customary way of preserving blood was to add trisodium citrate and dextrose. But this process involved sterilising the components separately as the dextrose caramelised if they were mixed first, which could lead to bacterial contamination and death. With two colleagues, Mollison found that red cells lasted strikingly longer ? and the problem of caramelisation was avoided ? when blood was stored in slightly acidified solutions. The formula, of 2% disodium citrate and 3% dextrose, came into use throughout Britain, then globally, enabling blood to be stored for 21 days. ACD, as it became known, remained in use until the mid-1970s.

When air raids started in summer 1940, Mollison's treatment of casualties included a comparison of the effects of different transfusion fluids in resuscitation. At that time, plasma was being separated from whole blood. Mollison realised that the remaining red cells, with their coat of white cells, could be useful to patients, especially those with right-side heart failure, and he was able to demonstrate this. Rhesus blood groups had recently been discovered in New York, and scientists there sent Mollison reagents for testing and matching blood, making transfusion safer.

Mollison was the son of a distinguished ear, nose and throat surgeon, and was destined from youth to follow his father into medicine. He went to Rugby school, and then studied for his first examination in medicine, the equivalent of A-levels, at Guy's hospital, London. He read natural sciences at Cambridge and then did his clinical training back in London at St Thomas', qualifying in 1938, and spent the next year as house physician to the medical unit, a job that included casualty and anaesthetics.

With the advent of war, he transferred to the South London Blood Supply Depot, set up in a former school. "The gym was turned into a laboratory and the library was turned into a room for donors," he recalled. To recruit donors, he hired a theatrical impresario who plastered the area with posters. "He took us all to a shop in the town, where we sat at tables as people were encouraged to come up and enrol."

Mollison often had to take blood for transfusion to small local hospitals, driving a van through the blackout. A postwar Medical Research Council (MRC) report commented that it was gratifying to see how the organisation, planned without any practical experience of a large-scale transfusion service, swung into action.

Mollison entered the Royal Army Medical Corps in 1943, and after serving as a medical officer in training units in Britain, was sent to Germany towards the end of the war. In May 1945 he took part in the relief of the Belsen concentration camp, supervising medical services including transfusion. He went on to India and Burma, from where he was invalided home in 1946 with a tropical disorder.

Returning to civilian life, he turned down a senior teaching post at St Thomas' to join Hammersmith hospital. He resumed research in a small room attached to the obstetrics unit, as he was interested in jaundice in babies. The MRC established him as director of a new research unit and later provided a prefabricated hut in the hospital grounds.

Mollison's unit moved to St Mary's hospital in 1960, when it was renamed the Experimental Haematology Unit, and he was made professor of haematology. The unit closed in 1979 when he retired as emeritus professor. He continued to write review articles, working on further editions of his textbook and carrying out research with Marcela Contreras of the North London Blood Transfusion Service and co-author of the later editions of his book. Contreras described him as, "the father of transfusion medicine", saluting his "seminal work on the preservation of blood for transfusion, on the survival of transfused red cells, on the mechanisms of red cell destruction, on compatibility testing, transfusion reactions and other adverse effects of blood transfusion".

Mollison was the sole author of the 1951 textbook Blood Transfusion in Clinical Medicine, universally known as Mollison, and six subsequent editions. He wrote three further editions with Contreras and a Dutch haematologist, CP Engelfriet. The 11th edition, published in December, is now known as Mollison's Blood Transfusion in Clinical Medicine. It is regarded as essential reading in every transfusion centre in the world. He was made a fellow of the Royal Society, a rare honour for a medical scientist, in 1968, and was appointed CBE in 1979.

Mollison enjoyed gardening and classical music. He attended the annual Schubert festival in Switzerland until recently and was a frequent visitor to Covent Garden, Bayreuth and Glyndebourne.

He married Margaret Prentice in 1940. They divorced in 1964. In 1973 he married Jennifer Jones, a consultant anaesthetist. She survives him, along with the three sons of his first marriage.

? Patrick Loudon Mollison, haematologist, born 17 March 1914; died 26 November 2011

Caroline Richmond

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/jan/04/patrick-mollison

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