Halloween 2011

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Heroes & Losers

Scotland: the road to independence

Aberdeen Airport

FÖ GM A G A Z I N E

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DECEMBER 2011

3 ¦ Opinion: Heroes & LosersIsraeli soldier Gilad Shalit and hundreds of Palestinians crossed Israel’s borders in opposite directions as a prisoner exchange brought joy to families, but did little to ease decades of conflict.

CONTENT

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4 ¦ Scotland: the road to independenceDuring the annual Scottish National Party conference held in Inverness First Minister Alex Salmond emphasized his willingness for indepen-dence. But does the Scottish nation really want independence?

6 ¦ Halloween 2011: Photo SpecialImages of Halloween in Aberdeen, Scotland.

8 ¦ Aberdeen AirportWith flights to over forty destinations by more than twenty airlines Aberdeen Airport serves just under three million passengers a year.

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°Opinion: Heroes & LosersTuesday 18 OcTOber 2011 was an emotional day for both Israel and Palestine. The abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit (25) was released after five years of captivity by the militant Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in exchange for the release of more than a thousand Palestinian prisoners. However the release will not bring about changes to the fundamental problems in the Israel-Palestine con-flict, on the contrary.

After five years the Israel govern-ment agreed to swap Sgt First Class Gilad Shalit for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners. This deal with Hamas made Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the hero of the day. As the 477 freed prisoners were crossing the Egyptian border as returning heroes, tens of thousands of Pales-tinians celebrated in the Gaza Strip the homecoming of their beloved ones.

Hamas, which had negotiated the swap for sgt Gilad Shalit, organised a mass celebration that turned into a show of strength for the Islamic militant movement. In Ramallah in the West Bank the Palestinian Au-thority (PA) of Mahmoud Abbas did the same thing.

Israeli opinion polls showed an 80 percent majority for the deal. Almost every civilian in Israel has served in the army and so the loss of one soldier becomes the loss of an entire nation.

But not everyone was in favour for the prisoner exchange. According to the Israeli extreme-right wing Israel has surrendered to terrorism.

The top loser of the day was the rival Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. Politically he is likely to suffer due to the swap, the most significant for the Palestinians in nearly 30 years.

In fact the deal has further weakened Mr. Abbas’ position of authority in relation to his more aggressive opponents.

The prisoner exchange cannot be seen as a new step in the right direction, it is merely a deal between two extreme parties who needed a political success.

(Thomas Thielemans)

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°Scotland: the road to independence

During the annual Scottish National Party conference held in Inverness Prime Minister Alex Salmond emphasized

his willingness for independency. The SNP aims to hold a referendum towards the end of the

five-year parliament. But does the Scottish nation really want independence?

scOTland is a culTurally rich and prosperous country. Aberdeen, the na-tion’s oil metropolis, and Edinburgh, the capital, are booming. Nonetheless according to the SNP it isn’t fulfilling its true potential. The UK government in Westminster chooses how much tax they raise, what happens to their oil revenues, etc.

The SNP’s stunning victory in May gives now the party enough votes to stage a referendum on independence.At the SNP’s first conference since the 2011 elections Mr Salmond told that the days of Westminster politicians telling Scotland what to do or what to think are over.“The Scottish people will set the agenda for the future.” He continued: “No politician, and certainly no London

politician, will determine the future of the Scottish nation.” The SNP’s stunning victory in May gives now Salmond’s party enough votes in Holyrood to stage a referendum on independence.

Although the Nationalists have still to decide the date, the party officially launched a national campaign to convince the Scots. In September 2011, according to a TNS-BLRB/Herald poll, support for independence overtook opposition to independence for the first time since 2008, with 39% of voters saying they would vote yes. Although an autonomous Scotland could be economically viable, as a small nation Scotland could get many of the advantages claimed for independence if it negotiates for more autonomy, while still staying part of the Union.

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Erland Ross from Lybster, Highland is interested to see how

the independence referendum will turn out. “Scottish people as a

whole are proud to be Scottish, and tend to like being referred to

as such rather than as British or English. It does annoy many peo-

ple that we have so many resources here, including oil and wind

energy, which are being harvested but we are seeing very little of

because Westminster holds the reins for our country. Independ-

ence would be good, on the other side of the coin, though it is likely

to cause also a lot of political strife, which the current economy

neither wants nor needs.”

James Wyllie from Aberdeen, does not think his nation

will be able to sustain itself as an independent country.

“Given that most of our money comes from Westminster.

Alex Salmond mentions things about using money from

renewable energy, but they haven’t done these things yet.

What happens if we vote for independence and they

don’t work it out?”

Sean Fergusilly from Dingling, does not want neither

Scottish independence nor a referendum. He thinks it

would be a disaster for the Scottish economy. “We could

end up in a financial crisis just like Ireland did after gain-

ing independence. I hate the Scottish government. The

Scottish government waste taxpayers’ money on so many

pointless things, it is crazy.”

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PHOTO SPECIAL

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scOTland refers to the medieval festival of Samhain in Scottish Gaelic as Oidhche Shamhna, the “Summer’s night.” During the fire festival, souls of the dead wander the Earth and are free to return to the mortal world until dawn. Traditionally, bonfires and lanterns (samhnag in Scottish Gaelic) would be lit to ward off the ghosts and evil spirits that arise at midnight. Halloween in Scotland takes place at the time of the old Celtic new year, and old and new customs sit side by side on one of the darkest nights of the year.

It is of particular importance in Scotland for it marks a visible change in seasons – the bringing in of dark, the welcoming of the year’s turning to cold and ice and snow. The name Halloween is first attest-ed in the 16th century as a Scottish short-ening of the fuller All-Hallows-Even.

Further contemporary imagery of Halloween is derived from Gothic and Horror literature (notably Shelley’s Frankenstein and Stoker’s Dracula), and classic horror films (such as Hammer Horrors).

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°Aberdeen Airport: gateway for North-East Scotland

WiTh flighTs TO Over fOrTy destinations by more than twenty airlines Aberdeen Air-port serves just under three million passen-gers a year. It is also one of the world’s busiest commercial heliports, transporting around 500,000 helicopter passengers in support of the North Sea oil and gas industry.

The airport has one main passenger terminal, serving scheduled and charter holiday flights. In addition, there are three terminals for North Sea helicopter operations, used by Bristow Helicopters, CHC-Scotia, and Bond Offshore Helicopters.

However, one international arrivals area is insufficient if Aberdeen Airport wants to attract more passengers from abroad. Once landed, the baggages of all the international flights are been transported to one soul carousel, which can sometimes have two or three planeloads of passengers round it.

With the discovery of North Sea oil, helicopter operations began in 1967, linking the growing number of oil rigs to the mainland. As Aber-deen became the largest oil-related centre in Europe, the airport became the world’s largest commercial heliport.

Runway Extension

In October of 2011, almost eight months ahead of schedule, Aberdeen Airport officially opened their 124 metre runway extension, allowing the potential for new services in 2012 using larger aircraft such as the Airbus A330-200 or the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The extension costed £10 million and it has to underline the strength of the airport’s big ambitions.

Aberdeen Airport adds significantly to the Scottish economy – generating around £114 million of gross value added (GVA) annually for Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire alone.

One can see that BAA have put in a lot of time and money expanding and re-shaping their departures area resulting in a nicer experience for passengers departing Aberdeen Airport.