Old College’s new library plans are bittersweet

Old College, The University of Edinburgh

It is exciting to see the University of Edinburgh finally renovating Old College – home of the School of Law. Being a traditionalist, it is sad to see the old staircase walked by students and professors since the 1790s retired and the library moved from the second and third floors to the first floor.

If I had the money, I’d donate to renovate the Old College with research space on the second floor, as it gets pretty depressing in winter without much sunlight. I’d also push for more Georgian décor and elegance.

The author graduating from Edinburgh's
Law School, which is in Old College.

The new interior will be lots of glass and the thin, shiny desks popular in Scandinavian design. Perhaps the result will be a chiaroscuro of Old World façade and Modern European interior. The Old Library and Lecture Theatres had a certain homey feel, which will be fondly missed, as the more modern design looks quite institutionalized.

Studying in the Law Library. circa 2010.

I wish the law student library could be as grand as the Playfair, Trinity College Library, Bodleian Library or the Schwarzman NYC library on the interior.

My fear is that the Scandinavian Modern design will be out of vogue in a decade or so and that even if not, there is a high likelihood it will not stand up well to the wear and tear of student and academic use.

Staircase to library. The steps
are worn from 225 years of
students climbing to the library.

As far as funding goes, I am surprised Edinburgh did not seek the help of a billionaire underwriter, someone like a Stephen Schwarzman, who founded Schwarzman Scholars and donated to have the NYC Mid-Manhattan library restored to its full glory.

I’m pleased to send in my small donation, but it seems the leadership of the University has not fully tapped the big money floating in the private sector.

When the work is completed I look forward to visiting my alma mater and seeing Old College.

The quadrangle project was fantastic, so perhaps, the library, faculty offices, and lecture theatres will be the same.

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M. Soper, Letters: Old College’s new library plans are bittersweet. Edinburgh Evening News (Edinburgh, Scotland) 3 July 2014.  http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/opinion/letters/letters-old-college-s-new-library-plans-are-bittersweet-1-3463708 accessed 4 July 2014.

Re: The U.K. faces a bad breakup

Lord George Robertson’s Jan. 6th opinion editorial in The Washington Post completely ignored Scotland’s legitimate right to be free of English tyranny. During my 3 1/2 years of study at the University of Edinburgh, I supported the Free Scotland Movement and participated in the rally featured in the column’s photo.

In 1783 the America seceded from England after winning a bloody Revolution, so why then can’t Scotland

peaceably secede in 2014?

Eight hundred years ago at the Battle of Bannockburn, Scotland won her first major victory against the English. In a modern era, nations should be free to peaceably dissolve the bands that chain one to another. A democratic vote is not re-Balkanizing Europe; the Romans struggled to reign in the feudal estates.

The 670-page Blueprint for Scotland, carefully crafted by academics and policy makers, is the most comprehensive guide to independence ever written. The “Better Together” proponents, such as Lord Robertson, have merely mocked the Blueprint.

The problem is that London dictates how Scots should live their lives. The Scots are overly taxed, overly regulated, and the English openly discriminate against the Scottish people. That is why Scotland deserves to join the United States in be free of English rule.

A people should be free to determine their own destiny.

Soper receives LLM from UNH

Matthew Soper was presented an LL.M. in intellectual property law from University of New Hampshire School of Law in a May ceremony.

Boies, Soper, and Olson

Noted attorneys Ted Olson and David Boies, who just argued the same-sex marriage case before the U.S. Supreme Court, addressed the graduating class.

While at UNH School of Law, Soper participated in the Intellectual Property and Transaction Clinic and the Teen Court Program.

Of his experience at UNH School of Law he says, "I polished my legal skills and gained invaluable practical experience which I will be able to bring back to Colorado. Additionally, I made many new friends from around the world. It was great fun being in New Hampshire during a presidential election and meeting who's who in U.S. politics."

Matt Soper, LLM

Soper stepped down from his position as Orchard City trustee to attend the University of New Hampshire School of Law. This degree qualifies him to sit for the bar exam, something he was unable to do without an American law degree.

A 2003 graduate of Delta High School, Soper earned his LL.M. in public international law, with a focus on maritime piracy law, and LL.B. in law at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, Great Britain, in 2009 and 2011 respectively.

Soper earned a bachelor's degree in political science and marketing from Mesa State College in 2007. He is the son of Betty and Charles Soper of Delta.

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'Soper receives degree from UNH'. Delta County Independent. 29 May 2013 <http://deltacountyindependent.com/index.php/neighbors/milestones/people-in-the-news/36-milestones/people-in-the-news/6151-soper-receives-degree-from-unh>

Legal implications: Did J.K. Rowling misrepresent her nationality to U.S. Copyright Office?

Dame J.K. Rowling accepts an award from The University of Edinburgh
Chancellor, HRH The Princess Royal

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling misrepresented her nationality and/or domicile status when she registered her book, Harry Potter and the sorceror’s stone (Reg. No. TX0004879549, Sup. TX0005164406), with the U.S. Copyright Office on 1 October 1998. Ms. Rowling indicated that her nationality or domicile status was the United States. The Business Insider (quoting The Times) quotes J.K. Rowling as saying:

 “I chose to remain a domiciled taxpayer for a couple of reasons. The main one was that I wanted my children to grow up where I grew up, to have proper roots in a culture as old and magnificent as Britain’s; to be citizens, with everything that implies, of a real country, not free-floating ex-pats, living in the limbo of some tax haven and associating only with the children of similarly greedy tax exiles.
 A second reason, however, was that I am indebted to the British welfare state; the very one that Mr Cameron would like to replace with charity handouts. (sic) When my life hit rock bottom, that safety net, threadbare though it had become under John Major’s Government, was there to break the fall. I cannot help feeling, therefore, that it would have been contemptible to scarper for the West Indies at the first sniff of a seven-figure royalty cheque. This, if you like, is my notion of patriotism.”

A simple Google search also gives prima facie evidence that Ms. Rowling has not been granted American citizenship, nor was she domiciled in the United States in 1998. It seems bizarre that Ms. Rowling, a former French-English teacher would commit fraud on her copyright registration form. Any reasons, ranging from intent to negligence, would be merely speculative.

What is the legal effect of an error on a copyright registration? More specifically, how would such an error, whether intentional or not, impact an action for copyright infringement in the U.S. federal courts?

The general rule is found in § 411(a) of the U.S. Copyright Act (1976), which took effect on 1 January 1978:

 “[N]o civil action for infringement of the copyright in any United States work shall be instituted until preregistration or registration of the copyright claim has been made in accordance with this title. In any case, however, where the deposit, application, and fee required for registration have been delivered to the Copyright Office in proper form and registration has been refused, the applicant is entitled to institute a civil action for infringement if notice thereof, with a copy of the complaint, is served on the Register of Copyrights.”

An “immaterial, inadvertent errors in an application for copyright registration do not jeopardize the validity of the registration.” Data General Corporation v. Grumman Systems Support Corporation, 36 F.3d 1147, 1161 (1st Cir.1994); see Automated Solutions Corp. v. Paragon Data Systems, Inc., No. 1:05 CV 1519, 2008 WL 2404972 (N.D.Ohio June 11, 2008).

U.S. federal courts have exclusive original jurisdiction over actions arising under the federal copyright laws. 28 U.S.C. § 1338(a). An action “arises under” copyright laws, “if the complaint is for a remedy expressly granted by the [U.S. Copyright] Act [(1976)], . . . or asserts a claim requiring construction of the Act . . . or, at the very least and perhaps more doubtfully, presents a case where a distinctive policy of the Act requires that federal principles control the disposition of the claim.” T.B. Harms Co. v. Eliscu, 339 F.2d 823, 828 (2d Cir.1964), cert. denied, 381 U.S. 915, 85 S.Ct. 1534, 14 L.Ed.2d 435(1965).

JK Rowland's US Copyright registration which indicates

 her citizenship is: USA. (click picture to enlarge)

For example, “[m]istakes such as an incorrect date of creation or failure to list all co-authors easily qualify as immaterial because the Copyright Office's decision to issue a certificate would not be affected by them.” Torres–Negron v. J & N Records, LLC, 504 F.3d 151, 158 (1st Cir.2007) (citing Data Gen. Corp., 36 F.3d at 1163). “[W]here a plaintiff's registration was procured through fraud . . . the registration becomes invalid and the courts lack jurisdiction over the case.” Id. at 162.

This means that registration, involving material errors, fraud, or an incomplete application, nullifies the U.S. federal court's subject matter jurisdiction. 17 U.S.C.A. § 411(a).

Does the fact that Ms. Rowling’s copyright registration contains an error as to her nationality affect her ability to claim remedies expressly granted by the U.S. Copyright Act? The answer is no, as that is an error in the application which did not affect the Copyright Office’s decision to issue a certificate of copyright. A material error would be fraud, in which J.K. Rowling had asserted ownership over a work in which she was not the author, owner, agent, or exclusive licensee. This was certainly not the case with Harry Potter and the sorceror’s stone. Copyright registration is a presumption of ownership. A presumption is subject to rebuttal. The main premise of the formality of registration is the presumption of ownership.

Whilst Ms. Rowling’s nationality and/or domicile is factually inaccurate on the copyright registration, that error does not affect the presumption for which copyright registration is sought.  

What are the odds: High School friends reunited on same flight*

Bill Helmsing and Matt Soper randomly met on same flight a decade after graduating from high school together

Delta High School friends reunited on same flight from Boston to Denver. Captain Bill Helmsing, with the 1st BDE 10th Mountain Division, and Matt Soper, who is studying Intellectual Property law at the University of New Hampshire, had not seen each other for 10 years and were surprised to be flying home for the holidays together. 

Helmsing, a West Point graduate, is stationed in Ft. Drum, New York and is about to deploy to the Regional Command East in Afghanistan as a member of a Security Force Advise and Assist Team. 

Soper is an alumnus of Colorado Mesa University and the University of Edinburgh’s Faculty of Law and plans on sitting the New York Bar Exam in July 2013. Helmsing and Soper graduated from Delta High School in 2003.
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*'You Saw It', Grand Junction Daily Sentinel 28 February 2013: 8B

2012 year-in-review: LL.B. to LL.M.

In the year since graduating from the University of Edinburgh much has happened in my life. I have gone from law student to campaign manager to youngest elected city council member of my home town to working for the leading NGO on maritime piracy to once again being a law student. In this time I have met and visited with the president, vice president, GOP challenger, a retired US Supreme Court justice, the highest judges from New Hampshire, Texas, and New York, along with visiting with Colorado's governor, New Hampshire's governor, Texas' governor, the junior US senator from South Dakota, and a former US senator from Pennsylvania, not to mention having lunch with a former governor of New Hampshire and a former US senator from Colorado. Life has also been challenging, I was present when my aunt Clara passed away and not long after that I received the letter saying I had been denied admittance to sit the New York bar. This resulted in me having to step down as trustee and pursue an LL.M. degree, which is one of the new requirements for sitting the bar. I also experienced the economic downturn, but applying to over 50 businesses and hearing no responses. Perseverance and no matter the odds, never give up, have become daily mantras. The following is a year in review:

27 November 2011 - graduated from University of Edinburgh with an LL.B. in Law

December 2011 - launched exploratory committee for a possible bid for the Colorado House of Representatives, Dist 61

January 2012 - began campaign manager for Bruce Hovde's re-election campaign for Delta County Commissioner, Dist 2

February 2012 - began campaign for Orchard City Board of Trustees

3 April 2012 - elected Orchard City's youngest Trustee

April - October 2012 I served on the Orchard City Board of Trustees. 

April 2012 - became campaign manager for Mark Roeber's Delta County Commissioner Campaign, Dist 3

May - August 2012 - maritime piracy legal researcher (intern) with Oceans Beyond Piracy, which is an NGO that provides research on the economic and human costs of piracy at sea, along with engaging stakeholders to find a governance based solution to countering piracy. Working included revising and enhancing counter piracy matrix, editing law reports, following pending criminal and tort cases, and providing information for diplomats, the military, and industry. 

September 2012 - begin LL.M. in Intellectual Property (IP) Law at the University of New Hampshire's School of Law (Franklin Pierce Center for Intellectually Property)

September 2012 - visited Portland, Maine; Kennybunkport, Maine; Boston, Massachusetts; Mount Washington, New Hampshire; the White Mountains of New Hampshire; Newport, Rhode Island

October 2012 - shook hands with President Obama in Portsmouth, NH; visited with Vice President Joe Biden in Concord, NH; talked constitutional law with form US Supreme Court Justice David Souter in Concord, NH; and gave words of encouragement to Mitt Romney in Manchester, NH.

October 2012 - travelled to New York City for the first time since I was 12 years old. Met up with my former Edinburgh flatmate and good friend, Fabio Pucci. We were flatmates for nearly 3 1/4 years. He was in NYC to present a paper at the Rockefeller. We went to the top of both the Rockefeller Center (Top of the Rock) and the Empire State Building. I stayed the first night in Harlem and the second in Times Square. Whilst walking in Central Park, I thought to myself Manhatten Island is crazy, fun, and looking at the buildings might injure my neck ;-) I also went to the cite of the World Trade Center attacks. I was disappointed that there were venders (including the National Commission) selling goods, profiting off of the dead of nearly 3,000. Fabio put things in perspective by saying the towers were about commerce and free enterprise, capitalism, and trade. "If there weren't venders selling goods and making money on the very site where so many died, then the terrorists would have won." 

October 2012 - sat the Multi State Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE), this exam, along with the Bar Exam, is required to be admitted to practice law.

October 2012 - visit Montpelier, Vermont

October 2012 - elected as a "write-in" to the Board of Governors of the New Hampshire Student Bar Association 

November 2012 - hung out with the Supreme Court Chief Justices of New Hampshire, Texas, and New York; in addition to having lunch with former New Hampshire Governor Steve Merrill.

The Offside Goals Rule

The offside goal rule (doctrine of notice) deals with the consequences of fraud and applies to corporeal and incorporeal property which is capable of possessing a real right. The case law in this area stretches back to the 16^th Century (Stirling and White v Drummond [1582] Mor 1689), though attention was not drawn to this rule in law until Rodger (Builders) Ltd v Fawdry 1950 SC 483;Wallace v Simmers 1960 SC 255 and Trade Development Bank v Warriner and Mason 1980 SC 74 along with Optical Express (Gyle) Limited v Marks & Spencer plc 2000 SLT 644; The Advice Centre for Mortgages v McNicoll 2006 SLT 591 and most recently Gibson v Royal Bank of Scotland[2009] CSOH 14.

There is much academic debate as to whether or not the rule is good or bad law; if the former, then should be in the corpus of property and conveying law, or contract law, as the circumstances which give rise to such a rule are usually rooted in the contract. The rule has been given fundamental principal status in Burnett’s Tr v Grainger 2004 SC (HL) 19,^[1]in which Lord Rodger of Earlsferry referred to the offside goals rule in his opening paragraph.

“[T]he offside goals rule provides that a transfer or grant of a real right by A to C will be voidable if (i) A had already undertaken to transfer or grant a right in the same property to B (ii) that prior right was "capable of being made real" (iii) the grant to C was in breach of the prior obligation to B and (iv) C knew of that prior obligation or acquired gratuitously or at a material undervalue.”^[2]

If a party is to dispute another’s title, then they must demonstrate that the acquisition was defective on account of the transferee being in bad faith. “On this basis, the “offside goals” rule allows the reduction of a perfected transfer on proof of bad faith in the form of knowledge, actual or imputed, of the prior entitlement of another party.”^[3]

“If the owner of land agrees to grant a lease, but then sells the land before the tenant has gained a real right, the tenant may seek to invoke the offside goals rule if the new owner knew about the grant of the lease.”^[4]

“One difficulty with the offside goals rule is that a race to the register can only ever be a blind man’s race: one in which neither party knows who else might be running; the race is one against a ghost: the spectre of a trustee in sequestration. But, as I have indicated, as a result of the reforms that followed the Sharp v Thomson and Burnett’s Tr v Grainger saga, providing agents can get their act together within 28 days [(Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 1985, s 31(1A) and (1B))] of delivery of a disposition from a natural person or other transferor that may be sequestrated, such a race can but rarely arise”, writes Dr Ross Anderson in his 9 June 2010 address to the Royal Faculty of Procurators 2010 Conveyancing Conference in Glasgow, Scotland.^[5]

University of Edinburgh lecturer, Scott Wortley, explains the offside goals rule has been given “detailed consideration by Professor Reid, The law of property in Scotland (1996) paras 695 - 700; Professor Carey Miller and David Irvine, Corporeal Moveables in Scots law (2nd edn, 2005) para 8.31, Ross Anderson in a valuable article "Offside goals before Rodger Builders" 2005 JR 277 (and an updated version in his Assignation (2008) paras 11-04 - 11-31, as well as my own discussion in 2002 JR 291 and in Professor McDonald's Conveyancing Manual (7th edn, 2004) paras 32-51- 32-62.”^[6]

It should be noted in football (soccer) an offside goal is void, whereas in conveyancing and property law an offside goal is voidable.

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^[1]2004 SC (HL) 19 at para 67

^[2]P Webster, ‘Options for the offside goals rule’ [2009] 13 Edin L Rev 524

^[3]DC Miller, ‘Title to moveables: Mr Sharp's Porsche’ [2003] 7 Edin L Rev 221

^[4]GL Gretton & AJM Steven, Property, Trusts and Succession (Tottel Publishing, West Sussex 2009) 263

^[5]R Anderson, ‘The offside goals rule in practice’ Royal Faculty of Procurators 2010 Conveyancing Conference 9 June 2010

^[6]S Wortley, ‘Offside traps - Gibson v Royal Bank of Scotland [2009] CSOH 14’Edinburgh Centre for Commercial law blog <http://www.law.ed.ac.uk/ecclblog/blogentry.aspx?blogentryref=7681> 9 Feb 2009 accessed 26 Apr 2011

Colorado Mesa University? Are you kidding me?

Colorado Mesa University was selected as the new name of Mesa State College by the Board of Trustees, subject to Colorado General Assembly approval. I am not impressed, as the name sounds more like an Internet program or one with an unnatural sequence of words.

My concerns are still valid, though at this stage irrelevant. The formula implemented for selecting a name was mathematically geared to produce the two finalists, as those were the only names which met the three-tier test of the naming criteria – heritage, geographic anchor, and brand equity and clarity. Just because you find a name or two which match the test, does not mean that name sounds like a good brand name.

During the survey period of the selection process I took part in the online survey and recall reading through the names of potential names and felt Colorado Mesa University sound like a lesser value than the rest, so was surprised when the Board selected it as the finalist. In my personal opinion, could the Board have chosen a weirder sounding name? Perhaps a different order of the words would sound more natural to the ears.

I mentioned the name to several of my colleagues here at the University of Edinburgh and they concurred that the name sounded more like a cheesy Internet “university” or fictitious location linked to Mesa Verde, rather than a lauded institution of higher education. Perhaps these are merely initial impressions which will fade as the institution rebrands and remarkets its image. Noting the history of Mesa State, it seems name changes happen rather frequently, so perhaps in 20 or 30 years the brand name and image will need tweaking once again to reflect its status as a research facility or specialist institution or perhaps the bequeathing of a substantial sum from a generous benefactor.

Perhaps my logic is wrong, but I find it difficult that the finalists from the surveys of stakeholders was thought flawed as their choices did not conform to the three-tier test established for selecting a name. It is too bad Mesa didn't have a name like Harvard, as then that way the only change could have been deleting the word college and replacing it with university. That said, if such a criteria had been used when Harvard made their name change a while ago, then it would have been something like Massachusetts Harvard University, so everyone would recognize the institution by the state name. Basically Mesa is wanting to ride the brand name of "Colorado", so that when surveys are done in Texas and California of potential students who have heard of the institution, a higher number will say yes, as they recognize the name Colorado and thus assume they have heard of the university.

Soper in London for Royal Wedding

On  Friday, 29 April 2011, I will be amongst the well wishers gathered outside Westminster Abbey in London to celebrate the wedding of HRH Prince William of Wales and Miss Kate Middleton. I will be travelling from Edinburgh to London with a former classmate of Prince William’s from St. Andrew’s University and staying with another good friend of mine in London! It should be very exciting to be part of such a monumental event!

Keith Drake, a family friend who has since passed away, reminisced about standing outside Westminster during the Coronation of HM Queen Elizabeth II on a sunny Thursday, 2 June 1953. Drake was in the military, stationed in Germany and had been granted leave to attend the historic event. Mr. Drake always said that if I was in Great Britain for a Coronation or a Royal wedding to not miss the opportunity to witness the fanfare, as it is a historical occasion and an overall exciting celebratory event.

It is expected up to 600,000 well wishers will be gathered along the route from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey and an estimated two billion people will be viewing the wedding live via Internet, radio, or television broadcasts. The Royal wedding is slated to be the most-watched event in television history, topping the 1963 funeral of President John F. Kennedy, the Apollo 11 Moon landing in 1969, and the marriage of HRH Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981, along with the funeral of Princess Diana in 1997, the 2006 World Cup finals between Italy and France, and the opening of the 2008 summer Olympic Games in Beijing.

There will be 2,000 guests inside the Westminster Abbey, with only a couple hundred having a direct view of the nave, where the nuptials are to be exchanged. As the marriage is likely to produce an heir to the Throne, delegates from the 54 Commonwealth Countries who recognize the Monarch will be in attendance. Legally, according to §2 of the Union with England Act 1707, only heirs of Princess Sophia Electoress, who are protestant, may succeed to the Throne, thus the marriage is very appropriate in being a public event and witnessed by many.

England and Scotland have shared the same monarch since the Union of the Crowns in 1603, when King James VI of Scotland inherited the English Throne from his cousin Queen Elizabeth I, who produced no heir. Thus King James VI of Scotland became known as King James I of the United Kingdom. Politically the governments of England and Scotland did not merge until 1707, when the two parliaments dissolved and re-emerged as the Parliament of Great Britain.[1]
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[1] Mayfield, J. 'Former local to attend Royal Wedding' Colorado Radio 25 April 2011 <http://coloradoradio.com/2011/04/25/former-local-to-attend-royal-wedding/> accessed 25 April 2011

End of an era - final law school lecture

Lord Advocate v Royal Bank of Scotland 1977 SC 155

Facts: Imperial Hotel (Aberdeen) Ltd barrowed a sum and granted a floating charge to the lender. Financial difficulties struck along with taxes due. The Inland Revenue (The Gov’t), who were owed £4,850 arrested Imperial Hotel’s bank accounts on 23 May 1974. As the financial position worsened, the lender appointed a receiver (Frank Mycroft) on 17 July 1974. Once the company went into receivership, the floating charge attached to all of Imperial Hotel’s assets, including the bank account.

Question for the Court: Who had priority to the bank account? Inland Revenue, who had arrested the accounts two months prior, or the receiver, Mr Mycroft? Did the floating charge trump the arrestment, vís-a-vís?

Held, the Companies (Floating Charges and Receivers)(Scotland) Act 1972 provided a ranking mechanism for priority as being that the receiver prevailed over the creditors unless they had “effectually executed diligence”. Arrestment is a form of diligence, however the court held it was only “effectually executed” if the arrestment had been followed by a furthcoming, prior to the floating charge attaching. Since this had not occurred, the First Division held the receiver prevailed over the arrester.

Analysis: This case is almost universally condemned by academic commentators. The reason why this case is criticize is illustrated by the following example: (i) a company’s bank account is arrested; (ii) the assignation of the company’s bank account to a third party is intimated to the bank; (iii) a receiver is called in and the floating charge granted by the company attaches to the assets; and (iv) the arresting creditor (arrester) seeks furthcoming. The order of ranking in this case is irresolvable, as the arrester takes priority over the third party. The third party takes priority over the receiver. As a result of Lord Advocate v Royal Bank of Scotland 1977, the receiver takes priority over the arrester. The arrester takes priority over the third party who takes priority over the receiver. This conundrum is referred to as a ‘circle of priorities’. The Bankruptcy and Diligence etc (Scotland) Act 2007, which amends the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987 by adding s 73J, which provides that arrested funds can be released on certain conditions without an action of furthcoming. No judicial consideration has been rendered on this point yet.

Beyond the Crash: an evening with Gordon Brown

Tonight, a friend of mine, Magda, and I listened to a speech followed by a question and answer session with the former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Since Labour losing the parliamentary election of 6 May 2010 to a Conservative and Liberal-Democrat coalition government, Gordon Brown has stepped down as his party’s leader and taken his ranks among the back benchers. The former prime minster, an alumnus of the University of Edinburgh and Scottish native, has been making the case for a global response to national problems.

The beginning of Mr Brown’s speech focused around memorable highlights of his 28 year career in the House of Commons – which included ten years as Chancellor of the Exchequer and the previous four as Prime Minister of Her Majesty’s Government. The speech was hosted by the University of Edinburgh and Blackwell’s bookshop in the George Square lecture theatre and featured a sold-out crowd of well over 300 people, many of whom were from the academic community of Edinburgh. Magda and I sat front and centre with only an agent of the Metropolitan Police’s Specialist Protection separating us from the former head of government. Brown looked at the crowd and immediately told the story of his first campaign for parliament, back in 1983, in which only three people attended the meet and greet, including him. Brown said that his journey through politics could be summed up by the custodian at the university telling him, “Mr Brown, I’m sure glad you remembered your roots on the way up and then again on the way down.” Mr Brown studied history and politics at the University of Edinburgh, earning a BA (Hon), MA and PhD while serving a three year stint as Rector of the University.[1]

Brown talked about how 300 years ago the first Scottish banking crisis resulted in a nationalized bail-out and the merger of the Scottish and English houses of parliament. He described this as a national solution to a local problem. In 2008, when news broke that Northern Rock, followed by Bradford & Bingley and the Royal Bank of Scotland were to be nationalized, along with the forced merger (shotgun wedding) of Lloyds TSB and Halifax-Bank of Scotland to stabilized the British economy[2] it became apparent that while these banks were headquartered in the UK, much of the risky investments, such as the purchasing of debt bundles from American sub-prime mortgages, were outwith the purview of British regulators at the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

“In every forum, my theme was that the financial crisis reflected a global problem that could not be resolved by one nation alone but needed a global solution”, Gordon Brown emphasised numerous times during the evening.[3] Brown called for addressing the problems posed by 2007-2009 crises in public international law, creating an international banking tax scheme, along with national regulations creating higher reserves and criminal laws for bad faith and undue-diligence. The former prime minister also called for the shutting down of international tax havens, calling them loopholes for circumventing national revenue tax collectors. This was a point I disagreed with, as the UK is in a good position to compete head-to-head with these so called tax havens, by lowering business taxes and creating a more favourable investing climate to stimulate the private sector to keep assets within the British Isles.

Mr Brown said he accepted full responsibility for what happened, as he was the Chancellor of the Exchequer the decade prior to the financial crisis. He went on to explain that what was known was limited and his office was preparing for an inflation crisis and had no warnings that an even greater threat existed, which was the concept of many banks failing at once due to poor liquidity and the purchasing of foreign toxic debt and speculations which were tantamount to gaming with Briton’s savings and investments. He averred that the problem requires global solutions, especially went banks are linked internationally. Mr Brown’s solution is a global banking tax to create a reserve fund for such an event as a global financial windfall.

“The American dream is one of the most powerful and enduring stories of hope that continues to inspire the world,” writes the former UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, in the opening sentence of chapter six of his new book, Beyond the Crash.[4] Before a joint-session of the US Congress, Brown said, “[E]arly in my life I came to understand that America is not just the indispensible nation, it is the irrepressible nation.”[5] Brown warns, the American dream is under new and unique pressures with consequences not just for the US but for the world, “The manifestations of this are high unemployment, falling middle-class incomes, and concern about educational opportunities and upward mobility amid rising competitive pressures from Asia.”[6] Brown explained the crunch on the middle class is an area of the economy to watch out for, as they are the ones who have been the biggest contributors to fuelling economic growth and providing a standard for morals.

Mr Brown concluded the evening by saying he was optimistic about the future, as new markets emerging in Asia would create demand for western made goods and services allowing for increased economic growth in both the service and manufacturing sectors. He said to stay abreast of the east, the US and EU must invest in higher education to train the specialists of the next decade, look for ways to create jobs – as to prevent another lost decade as he saw in Britain during the 1980s, and fund science and technology.

After the speech and question time I approached Mr Brown, shook his hand as he was taking off his microphone and he said to me, "...there, now I can talk to you." I asked if I could have a photo taken with him and he agreed, telling me how much he admired America and was happy to see the exchange and diffusion of knowledge across the pond. He then signed my copy of Beyond the Crash and shook my hand saying, “thank you.”

Magda and I walk out of the lecture theatre chatting about his talk, debating the pros and cons of his averments and observations along with chuckling about the number of times he said “global solutions” in the course of an hour. All in all I was very impressed with his address and am very proud to of had the honour of meeting a British prime minister.

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[1] “Gordon Brown as Rector”, http://www.archives.lib.ed.ac.uk/gallery/brown.shtml (accessed:17 February 2011)
[2] UK House of Commons, Finance Report Re the Banking Crisis of 2008, http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmselect/cmtreasy/956/956.pdf (assessed: 17 February 2010)
[3] G Brown, Beyond the Crash: overcoming the first crisis of globalisation (Simon & Schuster, London 2010) 45
[4] G Brown, Beyond the Crash, 143
[5] Since the 1st US Congress in 1789, only 105 foreign heads of state, government or diplomats have addressed a Joint-Session of Congress.
[6] G Brown, Beyond the Crash, 143

Papal Visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Scotland

Today I possessed a front row seat to history being created, as Pope Benedict XVI became the first Head of State of the Holy See to visit the United Kingdom. In 1982, Pope John Paul II visited Great Britain in his role as Holy Father of the Catholic Church and thus did not meet with any members of Her Majesty’s Government or The Royal Family. At 10:30 AM the papal jet landed at Edinburgh International Airport and Benedict XVI was greeted on the tarmac by His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh and the Royal Scots Guard. I first saw the Pope in the popemobile, as he travelled in a motorcade towards the Palace of Holyroodhouse, Her Majesty The Queen’s Royal Residence in Scotland.

At 11:00 AM the Pope was being given a State Welcome at the palace with all the members of the Order of the Thistle; the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg; senior members of the Royal Family and prominent member of British Society, along with the Lord Provost of Edinburgh. Pope Benedict XVI was then granted an audience with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. During the State Reception for the Papal Delegation, I travelled by train from Edinburgh to Glasgow with the University of Edinburgh Catholic Student Union to attend the open-air Mass in the presence of the Holy Father at Glasgow’s Bellahouston Park. It should be noted that Bellahouston was the location where Pope John Paul II held the first ever Papal Mass in Great Britain back in 1982 to a crowd of well over 100,000 worshipers.

As the popemobile began a procession through the streets of Edinburgh at around 12:30 PM I was just entering the park with the Catholic Student Union and watched aerial scenes of the historic journey on the jumbotron. My presence at the Mass is directly attributed to the help of my friend Chiara, from near Milano, whom I studied with during my LL.M. and her friend, Brett, whom graciously looked after me during the pilgrimage and patiently answered my numerous questions regarding traditions, fundamental beliefs and history of the Catholic Church.

While the Pope and his official motorcade made their way from Edinburgh to Glasgow, the crowd was entertained by Susan Boyle, a native Scotswoman who rose to fame a couple years ago during the television show, Britain’s Got Talent, for her amazing vocal abilities.

At 16:45, Pope Benedict had arrived at Bellahouston Park and made his way to the pulpit where he prepared for the Holy Mass. It was at this point in time that I was less than five feet away from His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI as he made his way towards the steps. As the Entrance Procession made their way past the music of “Grace to you and Peace” and “Be thou my vision” played. It was a moment before this, when the Holy Father was vesting and the Strathclyde Police Bagpipe Band were playing “Amazing Grace” with a 1,000 member choir singing the classic lines that the magnitude of the event hit me and something inside acknowledged that I was observing something very special, which words would be feudal to describe.

A liturgy of the Word (an excerpt of The Bible), Romans 12:3-13, Psalm 22 and Luke 10:1-9 were read and in the Scottish tradition, a Celtic Invocation given. The Archbishop of Glasgow then gave the Pope an ancient book, written by St Ninian from the 4th Century. A prayer was said over the gift and a salute to the Feast of Saint Ninian, the Apostle of Scotland, born a Briton, but travelled to Rome and then back to faraway isle to spread the light of faith in Jesus. A Eucharistic prayer was read in Latin by the Holy Father and then the sermon was delivered. Since this was a Papal State occasion, the message was targeted to a much larger audience than the 60,000 gathered in Bellahouston Park. He said the future of Christianity is with the youth a point which I highly agree, though the latter portion of his talk focused on the negative effects of privatizing religion and the removal of the church from society – a premises which I find archaic and treading on dangerous consequences of religion becoming a tool of state power, rather than as a guide for the faithful.

The Mass ended and I celebrated the very special occasion with the Glasgow and Edinburgh University Catholic Student Unions in the tradition manner of wine, cheese and bread. It was rewarding for me to be party to such a monumentous and historic occasion and to have been witness to the first ever State Visit by the Pontiff of the Holy See to Great Britain and then to have been within an arm’s length of the Pope twice in a single day – once while he was wearing a tartan shawl to show his support for the Scottish people and the second time as he was fully vested for Mass. To those who read this account, peace be with you.

History in the making: first-ever televised prime minister candidate debate

Last night (Thur., 15 April 2010), I had the privilege of watching history in the making, for the first-ever British prime ministerial candidates debated on television. Technically speaking, the prime minister of Her Majesty’s Government is appointed by the Queen (Act of Settlement 1701, Art. 1); however it is by convention of the constitution that the reigning monarch appoints the leader of the political party which controls the most seats in the House of Commons.

The first televised U.K. prime minister debate was almost 50 years after the first-ever televised American presidential debate, which occurred on 26 Sept. 1960 between the Senator from Mass., John F. Kennedy, and the U.S. Vice President, Richard Nixon; and was one of four debates held prior to the November election, which saw Kennedy elected as youngest American president. Nixon arrived at the first debate in an ill-fitting suit, and refused make-up to improve his colour and lighten his perpetual ‘5:00 o'clock shadow’. Kennedy, by contrast, had spent early Sept. campaigning in California. He was tan, confident, and well-rested. Half of the 70 million Americans who watched the first debate said it influenced their opinion, while over 6 per cent reported their vote was the result of the debate alone. Subsequently, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Italy, and Japan established a tradition of televised debates between contenders wanting to be head of government. It remains quite puzzling as to why Great Britain is nearly half-a-century late in establishing a televised debate norm.

Gordon Brown (incumbent prime minister and leader of the Labour Party), David Cameron (leader of the Conservative Party) and Nick Clegg (leader of the Liberal-Democrat Party) sparred in front of a live studio audience of several hundred citizens selected to represent various regions, economic classes, and minority groups from across the United Kingdom. However, it was the 10 million Brits who tuned in to watch the historic first-ever televised debated that was the ‘real’ target audience of the three candidates.

David Cameron had apparently never watched a televised debate before, as he seemed rather confused as to where to look at the camera and on top of that he seemed unable to relax and look human, but instead wanted to answer each question with a pre-memorized response. Nick Clegg, a young guy, appeared to have taken lessons right out of the John F. Kennedy ‘play book’, as he seemed tan, relaxed, and very comfortable in-front of the camera, although he did look a bit nervous at times. Gordon Brown, who was going for the Winston Churchill look by displaying a few extra stones, deep bags under his eyes, and making an appeal to being a war time leader, seemed at times to forget he was the incumbent prime minister, as he vacillated between being a confident leader and someone who was not sure what was going on.

The day after the debate, every major British newspaper reported Nick Clegg as the winner, although numerically speaking his party will not win a majority, however it is more than likely there will be a hung parliament and Labour and Lib-Dems will form a government together. The scenario seems more than likely, especially since Brown rarely launched an attack against Clegg. I watched this debate in a room filled with students at the Tiviot, the University of Edinburgh’s student union. The overwhelming majority of the students were in favour of Gordon Brown, a native of Scotland and an alumnus of the University of Edinburgh.

Edinburgh: The 'must see' list

Recently I was asked by a friend what were 'must see' places in Edinburgh, I replied that it depended on what a person was interested in and how much time they were planning on spending in the city. I created a list in a non-particular order of places I would recommend seeing.

Important places to me would include:

Edinburgh Castle (the Mound)

Holyroodhouse Palace and Abbey (Holyrood)

Scottish Parliament (Holyrood)

The Royal Mile, particularly St. Giles Cathedral, the High Court, St. Mary's Close (viewable via a ghost/history tour) (Old Town)

Princes Street, particularly Jenner's (Edinburgh's version of Harrods) (New Town)

George Street, look for the RBS Headquarters in St. Andrew's Sq. (New Town)

Arthurs Seat and the Salisbury Crags (Holyrood)

Calton Hill (New Town)

Greyfriars Kirk and graveyard (famous for the Greyfriars Bobby story) (Old Town, near George IV)

National Museum of Scotland, look for William Wallace's sword (think Brave Heart) (Old Town, Chambers St)

Old College, University of Edinburgh (School of Law, Chambers St and South Bridge)

National Gallery of Scotland (below the Mood, near Waverly Station)

Princes Street Gardens (in-between Old Town and New Town, near Waverly Station)

George Square and the University of Edinburgh (Old Town, near the Meadows)

National Library of Scotland, always cool interactive displays which highlight Scottish history and literature (Old Town, George IV)

The Meadows (Old Town, The Meadows - between Morningside and Marchmount)

Grass Market, cool area of town, below the Castle to the south and west of George IV. (Old Town, Grassmarket)

Royal Botanical Gardens (New Town, Stockbridge)

Waters of Leith particularly Dean Village, the Dean Gallery, and the walk along the waters of Leith (New Town, Dean Village)

Craigmillar Castle - excellent castle where Mary Queen of Scots plotted with her nobles to kill her husband. It is a 30 min bus ride and not too famous, but it is a very impress castle in the south part of Edinburgh with a great view of the Edinburgh Castle and Salisbury Crags. (Craigmillar)

Holyrood Park (Holyrood)

Leith Docks, Victoria Quay - the Royal Yacht Britannia is there too, but over all if I were to miss something, this would be the area. It is fun if you go to the beach, or a pub in the docks, but over all Leith is not the best part of town, though it is a very historical area, as shipping made Edinburgh wealthy. (Leith)

Pubs are a must visit in Edinburgh with famous ones being the Sheep’s Heid (the Oldest pub, opened in 1320), the Advocate, Black Bull, the Waverly, Greyfreirs, Peartree House (great place to have a drink outside), Deacon Bodies, Beehive Inn et cetera. My advice - stay off the Cow Gate and remember the pubs on the Royal Mile (High St.) are pretty pricey as they are for the tourists, exceptions being the Waverly, which is an inexpensive and unchanged Edinburgh pub.

Modern/Cool pubs include: the Jazz Bar, the Music Bar, Under-the-Stairs, Frankenstein's, Opal Lounge, Brass Monkey, and Jekyll and Hyde.

Coffee shops are an also must stop, as beer, whiskey, tea and coffee are consumed in super unhealthy rates in Scotland. The Elephant House on George IV Bridge is where JK Rowlings wrote the first few chapters of Harry Potter and Antique Tea is where you can have real coddled crème scones and fresh tea in antique bone china cups! (it is also really affordable).

Night entertainment includes clubs (open till 3 AM), theatres, cinemas, concert and opera houses, loads of restaurants and pubs (open till mid-night or 1 if they have an extended licence) During August all clubs and pubs are allowed to be open until 5 AM.

Matt Soper awarded LL.M. degree from the University of Edinburgh

On Friday, Nov. 27, Matthew Soper was conferred with the degree of master of laws (LL.M.), international law, at the University of Edinburgh’s winter graduation ceremony.

The ceremony followed the time honored traditions which can be traced back to the founding of the University of Edinburgh in 1583.

The Senatus Academicus met immediately prior to the ceremony to recommend the degrees to be awarded. Following this meeting, the academic procession gathered and proceeded into McEwan Hall. The procession was led by the staff bearer followed by members of the academic staff, including the rector and members of the university court. They were followed by the bedellus carrying the university mace and leading the vice chancellor.

Prior to the School of Law’s confirmation, the University Choir sang “Where’er you walk” and “O Gin I Were Where Gadie Rins,” both in their original Latin verse.

The names of the graduands were announced by the head of the School of Law, Professor Douglas Brodie, and the vice chancellor, Professor Sir Timothy O’Shea (the university’s principal), acting on behalf of the chancellor, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, conferred the degree by touching the head of the graduand with the graduation cap.

Popular legend has it that the cap was originally made using the cloth from the breeches of John Knox, although other rumors attribute those breeches to the famous Scottish scholar George Buchanan.

Matt Soper now joins the alumni of the University of Edinburgh’s School of Law, which includes John Witherspoon and Benjamin Rush (signatories of the U.S. Declaration of Independence), author/lawyer Robert Louis Stevenson and Alexander McCall Smith, along with countless diplomats, advocates, solicitors, and government officials, including current U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

See: Delta County Independent

See: The Scotsman