Panorama's recent report on the Church of Scientology—which provoked controversy when the church released footage of presenter John Sweeney shouting at its representative Tommy Davis—raises questions about our different attitudes towards old and new religions, writes Max Steuer. Old religions are generally held to be worthy of respect, whether by non-believers or by members of other faiths. When they respond with outrage to criticism or ridicule, it is seen as justified. But this live and let live attitude does not, it seems, extend to newer religions, which are seen as fair game for attack. Defending Sweeney, Panorama editor Sandy Smith called Scientology an "extraordinary organisation," unable to deal with criticism. But is this really more true of the Scientologists than, say, the Catholic church? Bias against new religions is often backed by law: many countries don't afford Scientologists the protections they do more "respectable" religions, and in Britain Scientology is not explicitly protected under the Incitement to Religious Hatred Act—even though atheism is. If the Scientologists lodged a claim of incitement to hatred, it would be intriguing to see if they were, indeed, classed as a religion.
Pluto Prize
Thanks to the many of you who responded to our call to mnemonicise the Pluto-less solar system. Rob Murphy suggested that Mount Vesuvius's eruptions make Jimmy Savile unusually nervous, while Alan Rawlinson argued that my vain ego might just save us now. Entries came from as far as Dar es Salaam, but a clear winner was Marcial Boo, whose reminder that making very expensive mango juice saves urinary nightmares has earned him a prize and our astronomical admiration.
Orchestra Pits
An appeal on behalf of Jean McCrindle, who has written an opera libretto about the miners' strike. McCrindle, who was intimately involved with the miners' cause as treasurer of Women Against Pit Closures—but then became disillusioned with the left—lacks a composer. Her work has traces of Don Giovanni: hubris and nemesis at the top; sacrifice and squabbling at the bottom. Composers with an affinity for brass bands and male voice choirs should email info@prospect-magazine.co.uk.
Zach's Back
Following the triumph of his life of Kingsley Amis, Zachary Leader has signed an agreement with the estate of Saul Bellow to write a biography of the late American Nobel laureate. What Amis would have made of this, one can only guess: he once fulminated that Bellow could "not write English," and dismissed him as a "Ukrainian-Canadian." Kingsley's dislike of Bellow was doubtless fuelled by the latter's friend-ship with one Martin Amis, who is also a friend of Leader's. Let's hope Leader does a better job than James Atlas, whose 1999 life of Bellow was dismissed by Martin in a Telegraph interview with the words: "Fuck off out of it. It looks… like a dramatised inferiority complex running to 670 pages."
Why is the Tate fundraising in the US?
Recent revelations that British arts bodies, including the Tate Modern and Glyndebourne, are increasingly concentrating their fundraising efforts on the US—and being amply rewarded—seem puzzling at first glance. What would US donors gain by helping to enrich British arts? But consider the way European and US arts funding models work in relation to each other, writes Tyler Cowen, and the logic is apparent. Europe and the US fund their arts institutions very differently. A German, French, or Italian museum or orchestra typically receives 80 per cent of its budget from government, whereas in the US the figure might be 5 per cent—making private giving far more important. Britain stands between these extremes.
The upshot is that, in effect, European governments subsidise Americans' art consumption. US tourists consume high culture in Europe, and only rarely pay their share of the costs. And it isn't just American consumers that benefit. US opera singers typically spend at least half the year in Europe; painters sell their work to subsidised European museums. Hollywood, by hiring European directors once they have proved themselves in (subsidised) foreign markets, uses European cinema as a training ground for talent.
Given all this, it is perhaps not surprising that many Americans should have a quasi-proprietorial attitude to high culture in European—and see it as their duty to contribute to its upkeep, even though it is already well subsidised.
But in case Americans worry that the benefits are all one-way, we should remember that Europe gains from the US low-funding model, which forces US cultural industries to look to broader commercial markets, such as popular music, television and movies. In essence, Europeans buy in these mobile American products while enjoying live opera and theatre at home. So it is wrong to think in terms of the "US model" vs the "European model" for arts funding. In an integrated world, both systems can co-exist—to the benefit of all.
Tough times for chimps
It's been a difficult month for chimpanzees, writes Alexander Fiske-Harrison. Animal rights activists in Austria are trying to get a chimp judged a legal "person" in order to prevent it being sold to a laboratory. Elsewhere, chimps have been witnessed committing infanticide and have been knocked off pole position on the ape IQ grid by orang-utans. But none of this is really news, of course. Jane Goodall reported thuggish chimp behaviour long ago, while primate intelligence scales are as changeable as school league tables. And we can only hope that the Austrian chimp escapes full personhood, which would oblige him to pay taxes, while his keepers would be unable to ensure he gets medical treatment without his consent. New Zealand's 1999 law granting "non-human hominid" status to great apes may be more sensible.
Iranian culture wars
Watch out for the definitive book on the new Iran, The Struggle for Iran (New York Review of Books), by young British writer Christopher de Bellaigue, one of the best of the new generation of middle east experts writing in English. He exposes many of the contradictions of the land of the mullahs. One of his main themes is the cultural war that has pitted the mullahs against those who would emphasise Iran's pre-Islamic past. With characteristic subtlety, the government is now relaxing restrictions on references to things Persian, preferring to fight other battles against the forces of change.
Faceoff on Facebook
MySpace is old hat. MPs are now turning to Facebook, a virtual networking site that allows friends to connect and form mutual appreciation groups. Hilary Benn has 642 "friends," while there are several David Miliband fan groups, including "David Miliband Rocks my World" (23 members) and "Gays for Miliband" (34). Alas, David's Brownite brother Ed is less popular: the "How Cool is Ed Miliband? Way Better than his Brother" group has a paltry three members. Still, our politicians have some way to go before they catch up with Barack Obama's 76,900 Facebook buddies, or even Hillary Clinton's 20,457.
Welsh foreign secretary?
Poor Michael Williams. The former special adviser to Robin Cook and Jack Straw has just landed the world's most impossible job—UN special envoy for the middle east, reporting direct to new secretary-general Ban Ki-moon. Aside from the problems of the region, Williams may find himself in a turf war with Tony Blair, who wants a big mideast job. Williams is now one of the top Brits at the UN, not bad for a non-career diplomat. He is also the most senior Welshman in global diplomacy. Although not a nationalist, Williams must be in the running for first foreign secretary of an independent Wales in ten years' time.
Blair's last words
Rumours are circulating that Tony Blair has signed a secret deal with HarperCollins to publish his memoirs. But the same prediction was made about Alastair Campbell's memoirs, which actually went to Random House. Does this offer a clue as to who may be primed to splash out for Blair's book? HarperCollins, part of News International, is usually seen as the logical home for members of Murdoch-courting New Labour, but Random House's claim is also strong: chief executive Gail Rebuck is married to New Labour insider Philip Gould.
Meanwhile, one of the last acts of Blair's leadership will be his first and only speech on the media. The lecture, in early June, on "leadership in a media age" will be delivered at the Reuters Institute in Oxford, where John Lloyd presides. So expect it to reflect Lloyd's pungent views on the abuse of media power.
Will the Scots Nats split?
Behind every great leader stands a party waiting to split. Alex Salmond takes over as the first Scottish Nationalist first minister, with the cracks between the party's fundamentalist wing and the modernisers temporarily papered over. But keen observers will be watching to see how well the relationship between Salmond and his ambitious deputy Nicola Sturgeon develops (or unravels?). Sturgeon was virtually written out of the script during the election, but still harbours ambitions. There are even said to be two factions, known colloquially as the Eckies and the Nicorettes.
Kennedy School in London?
Britain has never gone in for institutions for training future leaders like the French Ecole nationale d'administration or the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard (right). But this looks set to change. Len Blavatnik, a Russian-born billionaire, has plans to open such an institution in Britain. It is not yet clear where the school will be based, although several universities have been sounded out—including King's College London, the LSE and Oxford. One source at King's told Prospect: "We'd be very keen to host such a school." Blavatnik, who is 49, fled Russia in 1978 and settled in the US. He made most of his fortune—estimated at £4.7bn—by investing in post-communist Russia, and now lives mainly in London. He is not the first man to be linked with a London school for leadership: Tony Blair and David Sainsbury have both expressed interest in a similar project. But Blavatnik, a man who sees things through, looks likely to be the first.
Meanwhile, the European Council on Foreign Relations—a new research and advocacy think tank partly modelled on the US Council on Foreign Relations—is due to open in the autumn. Backed by George Soros and various European foundations, it is headed by Mark Leonard and will have an office in London and five others around Europe. It will be a voice for liberal openness, but unlike the US council, which publishes Foreign Affairs, it won't have its own journal.
