Episode 11 BBC News: The Editors

homes after being evacuated during earlier eruptions. That's it from

me. Welcome to the ball. Could the talent band capture Afghan is done

again when Americans and British leave at the end of this year. Are

the downsides to being upwardly mobile? Would Scottish independence

be bad for sport in Scotland and the rest of Britain? Afghanistan has

gone through some terrible fighting. And many extra ordinary changes in

Mac at the last 30 years. From 1996 to 2001 it was ruled by the Taliban,

who turned it into the most extreme religious state on earth. When I

used to come here during those years you could be worth or executed for

showing an ankle, whistling a tune or having a pet of a living

creature. There was little electricity and almost no tral. At

night, a notice the loudest sound was the barking of dogs and the only

light came from candles. When the Taliban were driven out in 2001, I

assumed they were completely finished. But when the British and

Americans leave at the end of this year, is there a chance the Taliban

mate actually comeback? -- may actually comeback. Most people

outside Afghanistan feel they know what has gone on here. The

assumption is the British and Americans, ignoring all the warnings

of history, came bursting in, fought an unnecessary war, infuriated the

inhabitants and are now leaving with tails between their legs. But if

this is true, how come so many people here are hoping President

Karzai will sign a new security deal with the Americans to keep some

American troops here. If the British and Americans are here, the Afghan

economy is strong. Otherwise, it is weak. Tell them to sign the

agreement, then Afghanistan will be peaceful. Other wise it will not.

When you leave, there will be an key again. -- Anakie. What did the

Taliban do here? They oppressed people. Beating them with cables.

People could not work. In the name of Muslim, they killed hundreds of

people every day. 100% I am worried and the people are worried.

Everybody is concerned, young and old. They are worried about the

Taliban coming back. After 35 dreadful years of chaos and civil

war, things are starting to improve. Entrepreneurs and

businessmen, even some businesswomen are setting up here. We went to the

trading rooms of a new Afghan conglomerate. Here they are looking

forward rather than to the past. My concern is not returning to the

90s. My main concern is Will my government implement more investor

friendly policies for myself to continue the business and grow. We

have come a long way for us to return back to the 90s or the early

to thousands. I'm not going to roll out a bumpy road ahead. Going back

to a civil war seems a far sayonara right now. The reality is different

on the ground. -- fast scenario. The Taliban believe women should be kept

out of sight in doors. They certainly do not want them to get an

education. We have distributed the papers to you. If you have any

questions related to the examination ask me. At this private university

in two, the veil covering the head and placed as the rule. But not even

the more Islamist students want to see the Taliban back. They would

limit the freedom of women. As Lum lets us free to study, to work and

lets us to go anywhere we want. Taliban will take these rights from

us. We Afghans, as Muslims, we want Islamist government. Nothing else.

Otherwise, as they did before, they come back to power, they do the

things they did before. We do not want them. They should not come

back. Kabul is not like Baghdad. It is not usually dangerous for

Westerners to be out on the street. Although there have been plenty of

suicide bombings over the past few years, the police managed to keep

the violence level here under control. We are driving to the

headquarters of the police rapid reaction force. The Americans have

trained and equipped them well, they are a pretty impressive group.

Before, the police were feeble and easily bought. Now they are much

more formidable and the commanders are more confident as a result. We

are not scared of the Taliban or criminals. Around the clock we are

searching for them. Wherever we find their networks we will immediately

destroy them. Could you imagine the possibility the Ben Cousins might

come back and take power again? -- Taliban. They will never come back.

They wander endlessly scrapping. The army and police are able to destroy

them immediately. God willing, we have no concerns. They face a real

and growing challenge as the recent restaurant warming in Kabul has

shows. But over the years, they have proved quite effective at the

difficult job of combating Taliban infiltration in Kabul. Is it the

same in the country? It depends where you go. In places like Helmand

province, Taliban have thoroughly established themselves in spite of

British and American intervention. This part of it is not safe for

Westerners. We asked an Afghan cameraman to film for us here. It is

classic guerrilla territory. Patrols are sniped at and roadside bombs set

for them. They have just discovered a cache of explosives. Government

controls the roads, the Taliban have the run of the hinterland. When the

Western troops leave, will the Taliban be able to take over? Most

people would say no. What we do not want here is what --. What we do not

know now is what the Taliban thing. They have not given a formal

interview for a year. A spokesman agreed to talk to us by phone. Parts

of Helmand province are under our control. The areas under control of

the enemy, it is like a checkpoint and they cannot get out of them.

They cannot move freely. The places which are far away from the centres

are under our control. The presence of the Taliban is completely clear.

Do you really think the Taliban will ever take power again? We are

confident of victory. From a historical point of view,

Afghanistan has always defeated occupiers. We are certain they will

be defeated and the Afghan people will again bring about an Islamic

system, according to their wishes. Would the Taliban bring back those

same kind of extreme punishments that were obvious in Afghanistan

from 1996? There cannot be changed because the Islamist law is

constant. When there is a crime we have to implement as Lum Chari. Of

course that will be changes in behaviour but the law will be as

before. We are sure that society is ready for this. Afterwards, thinking

it over, I felt that although a lot of this was propaganda, we should

not altogether forget that when the Taliban made similar claims in

Machrie early 90s, they would just laughed at. In some ways, the

reality of African -- of Afghanis reverse of what outsiders reckon.

The Westerners are desperate to get the troops out and a large number of

Athens prefer them to stay. There is a good chance that the British and

Americans will just forget about Afghanistan. That is what happened

in Iraq after all. Ever since the 1970s, whenever the outside world

has ignored Afghanistan, disaster has invariably followed. This is the

most expensive part of Kabul. The houses may not look all that Mark

but they will set you back $1 million. They are often amazingly

furnished inside. It is a natural human instinct for us to want to do

better for ourselves and our children. We call it social

mobility. But does that involve cutting yourself from your roots,

your past, your family? Our contributing editor wonders of being

upwardly mobile has its downsides. The upside is of opportunity are

obvious, are the downsides to social mobility as will? Moving out of the

cast you were born in two could be like a 1-way ticket. You leave

behind family, friends and culture. It could be a rupture with the past.

It is a story very familiar to this man. He is now a successful writer.

He was brought up here, in Motherwell their Glasgow. In the

shadow of the Ravenscraig steel is works were as father worked until

the shut ten years ago. As child was poor and sometimes brutal. One of

his mother's partners was often violent to him. He remains loyal to

his family but he was clever and aspire to more. Back at his old

secondary school, he was celebrated as one to watch. He is left behind

now and become part of litter every London. His past life haunted. Last

year he his memoir. A dark and touching account of growing up in

Margaret Thatcher's Scotland in the zone to 80s. The culture I grew up

in was very macho. Very homophobic. I could see where I was from. I knew

that was not whereupon to to be. The question we are asking as are the

downsides to social mobility? There are. You pay a price. Social

mobility has a tack. An emotional is. Everybody who has made that

progression up or down, has had to pay. When you went to university, it

was as if you had a presentiment of the fact you were going to be

separated from your family. Not just physically but in all sorts of ways?

My father drove me to Edinburgh and I cried all the way there. He did

too. This is what I wanted. My dream come true. I'm going to a

university. I will become a journalist. Yet, I felt sad. I felt

lost. I was grieving. I knew there and then, I was leaving them behind.

It was a kind of grief. What of not just people but places left behind.

Barely in Lancashire suffered a slow decline at over many years as

ambitious young people left. -- Burnley. A reporter macro 2010

single it out as having the highest proportion of low skilled workers in

Britain. Last year it suffered the indignity of being named in the

Economist as a decaying city. It said its people should be helped to

move to find jobs. Empty houses, abandoned streets -

the signs of an exodus from Burnley are all around. This is a previously

proud community that's suffered badly. And skilled and talented

people have simply moved on. But Steve Rumbelo, the chief

executive of the council, says there are exciting things going on in

Burnley now. And this university technical college, built in one of

the city's cotton mill, is a case in point. Teecialgs here are --

teenagers here are taught the technical skills they need to

progress. The problems being about job, frankly, and about to some

extent that's linked to education. So, young people, particularly, but

the general population too, have, when they've had opportunities to

become economically active outside the area, that's led them to move

away. There was a flight of middle classes from Burnley? I wouldn't

characterise it as that. I would characterise it as a flight of

people that could get economically active again. And that led them

elsewhere. And that's, I think, the reality. The key to all this is to

make sure the opportunities exist. We're doing that and that should

turn into an upturn in population over the next ten years.

Right. Fair enough. It's not true! Terry Christian shot to fame in the

early 1990s as a presenter on the cult youth show The Word. He's a

Lancashire man, born and brought up in Manchester. And he still lives

here, having never wanted the sort of life he saw in London. He's had a

successful career in the media and is, well, a little conflicted about

what he is now. So, Terry, you're a middle-class boy now, are you? Well,

I suppose in terms of my lifestyle, you know, sort of ground coffee

rather than instant, living in leafy Cheshire yes. And then people call

you a champagne socialist and everything. But I have never felt

anything other than working-class. In some ways, you took your values

from the area that you grew up in. And also your kind of respect for

people. So, we're asking the question - are there down sides to

social mobility? I think there are from a personal perspective. When

you get to that promised land, it's not all that it's cracked up to be.

It seems that the assets or the skill sets that will help you become

socially mobile aren't about being smart or good at your job. It's all

about being ambitious, greedy and very competitive. Up sound quite

contemptuous of social mobility? I'm contemptuous of the model that we've

got of social mobility. This idea - why can't you be socially mobile by

being brilliant at caring for people? Profit is all that matters.

People making money is all that matters. Everything else, well, it's

nonsense. It's a reminder to all of us

pursuing a better life that it can lead to a loss of identity, or to

civic decline, or simply, perhaps, to a sense of disenchantment.

Opportunity and achievement remain great, but sometimes, it seems,

social mobility can bring a whole new set of challenges all of its

own. This is the National Football

Stadium in Kabul, a place of both evil memory and of hope. Evil

because this is where the Taliban used to execute their prisoners.

Hope because Afghanistan started playing international matches here

and has just been given FIFA's coveted Fair Play Award for doing

it. Afghanistan isn't exactly a sporting giant, of course. But, like

everyone else t will soon start thinking about the team it will send

to the 2016 Olympics. And those Olympics will have real significance

for the United Kingdom, of course, with a referendum on Scottish

independence due later this year there is a genuine possibility that

Scotland will be represented separately from England, Wales and

Northern Ireland at the Olympics. But would that actually be good for

sport in Scotland and the rest of Britain? The question for our sports

editor, David Bond. CHEERING

Could London be the last time we see this?

CHEERING Athletes from England, Wales,

Northern Ireland and Scotland united for an Olympic victory parade.

The summer of 2012 was not only a record-breaking time for British

Olympians and Paralympians. It marked a special moment in the --

and the whole of the UK seemed to come together behind our athletes.

Later this year, Scotland will be asked whether it wants to go its own

way. I suppose sport may not be as important as questions of defence or

the economy. But for many people, it can stir far deeper passions. Sport

here in Scotland is seen as a great source of national pride. And for

some the referendum in September is viewed as an opportunity to build on

that sense of national identity. But pulling Scotland out of the British

sports system is still a huge leap into the unknown.

Sir Matthew Pinsant, one of Britain's greatist-ever Olympians,

is worried about the future of Team GB without Scottish involvement. The

difficulty is trying to imagine a scenario where they would be the

same, separated off from Britain. And Team GW would definitely feel

their loss. -- and Team GB would definitely feel

their loss. Imogen is one of Great Britain's leading badminton players.

She's tipped to win a medal for Scotland in the Commonwealth Games

in Glasgow this summer. Like all much Scotland's top sports

stars, she has the luxury of choice. She can stay in Scotland at the same

time as tapping into the far better-resourced UK elite system.

Would you describe yourself as a Scot or a Brit or both? How do you

see that? Um, both. Obviously I represent Scotland. I'm a Scottish

badminton player and I live here. But similarly, I have spent more of

my adult life living in England. I trained in England. I had an English

partner when I competed for Team GB, so very much I feel British as well.

So, I feel like I have a dual identity in that sense. You like

that? Yeah. You want that to stay the same? Well, I think - again, I

think we have the best of both worlds. You know, to compete for

Scotland in the Commonwealth Games but also just to have the

opportunity to represent Great Britain as part of Team GB. So,

that's how it is for me. At the Edinburgh Track Club, they

have been producing top athletes for years. The 1980 Olympic gold

medallist, Alan Wells, started here. Money is already tight and there are

deep concerns at what might happen to the next generation if an

independent Scotland struggled to maintain current funding levels.

Bill Walker is the club's head coach. And at the moment, you know,

the money - we get a lot of the support from England, the coaches.

They come up here and give us a lot of help. And we don't have the depth

of coaches at a high level in Scotland or the depth of athletes to

cover all the events. We've got good athletes, but not in every event.

And to put a team together will be difficult.

But what does the possible end of Team GB mean for those young Scots

dreaming of competing in the Olympics? The thing is that the one

vote for yes is Scotland can compete on one stage at the Olympics if they

were allowed to. So, for me, that could be mime only chance as a

sprinter. It kind of gives you a lot more respect if you compete for Team

GB as well. Competing for Scotland is good, but it's... Up kind of get

a lot more honour and stuff if you're Team GB.

For now, thoughts of the Olympics are taking a back seat. In July,

Glasgow will host the Commonwealth Games and provide Scots with another

opportunity to perform in front of a home crowd.

This brand-new velodrome will be one of the main attractions during this

summer's Commonwealth Games. And the Scottish Government hope that the

national passion that will be generated here will have a big

impact on the referendum. Well, I think sport - there's a

range of issue that is people are concerned with in terms of the...

The former first minister, Henny McLeish, is leading a Scottish

government study into the future of sport. He's confident that when it

comes to sport, an independent Scotland would be able to stand on

its own two feet. Being a small country is not a barrier to being a

successful country. It will be as big as their imagination and

ambition wants to be. Therefore, whether it's yes or no in September,

I believe that Scotland will have a great sporting future. Even if

Scotland votes yes, athletes will be given the choice to compete for a

new Team Scotland or stick with Team GB. For some, it raises the prospect

of a very difficult decision. I believe that many of those

athletes will want to compete for Team Scotland on the first Olympic

team that Scotland would produce. So there would just be such an

excitement around that. But ultimately, if our athletes choose

to go elsewhere, that's a matter for them if they qualified for Team GB,

that would be a matter for them. But I have no doubt whatsoever that the

excitement of competing for a Scottish Olympic team would be a

huge draw for many, many athletes in Scotland.

This debate about sporting identity reflects the far wider questions

facing this country. But whichever way the vote goes, one senses 2014

will not only be a big year for Scottish sport, it could be an

important one for British sport too. That's it from this Kabul edition of

The Editors. Until we meet again, goodbye.

Hello. After much of the UK endured a stormy start to the weekend,

something a little bit more bearable in the day ahead. It will still be

windy, just not as windy. There will be fewer showers around, so more of

us will stay dry. There will be sunshine too. From the word go,

still windy across Scotland. Plenty of showers, snow over hills. Icy

start across parts of Scotland too. The showers easing a