Smokescreens in Auld Reekie
But nowadays it's smokescreens that are causing the problem - sent up by the city's political leaders who are trying to dig themselves out of a hole - over equal pay.
Wonders will never cease - councillors have started to respond to people who have complained about the council's policy of seeking to deny equal pay claims - from former APT&C workers.
But in doing so they are actually making matters worse - by trying to paint the council as having won some kind of victory at the original Employment Tribunal - back in 2008.
In the council's eyes it 'won' a minor technical point at this hearing - when in fact the employment judge described the council as 'defending the indefensible'.
Since then the Employment Appeal Tribunal has decided in the claimants favour - and so unanimously did three senior Scottish judges at the Court of Session - Scotland's highest civil court.
To my mind it's a bit like losing a football game 10-0 - only for the losing side to point out that they did win a corner in the first ten minutes of the first half.
So what?
Now Edinburgh City Council has until the New Year to decide whether to settle these outstanding cases - or to mount a further appeal to the UK Supreme Court - which will be a terrible waste of public money.
I hope that Edinburgh's councillors make the right decision.
Because if they make the wrong one there will be lots of angry people making their views clear - in the run up to the May 2012 council elections.
