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March 16 - 22, 2012
Japan's naval defence forces are considered one of the world's most capable
PHOTOS: BBC NEWS
Earthquake survivors express their gratitude to the Self Defence Force Japan's military sent personnel to Iraq after the 2003 invasion Soldiers of Japan's Self Defence Force search for victims buried under debris after last year's quake
Japan's contradictory military might By Mariko Oi
Tokyo BBC News The government says they saved 19,286 lives - almost as many as those who have died or are still missing following the disaster. Under the post-war constitution, Japan is not allowed to have offensive military forces. Its Article 9 declares "the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes". Public approval So the stated purpose of the military - known as the Self Defence Force (SDF) - is "to preserve Japan's peace, independence and safety". It impressed the public in the aftermath of the March quake last year. "I saw their trucks yesterday heading to the northeast. I wanted to scream good luck!" one tweet from sacura_haruca said on 14 March. "I'm on the brink of tears looking at the photos of the Self Defence Force," said another, named immoyabletype. "The non-combat army - they are super cool." And that is the image that the Japanese government is keen to portray - a home-based army which poses no threat to anyone abroad. But there are contradictions. The SDF - described in the constitution as "the minimum level of armed strength for self-defence necessary" - is the world's sixth-best funded army, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Its budget is capped at 1% of Japan's gross domestic product but when the country is the world's third-largest economy, this small proportion of it is
Within a week of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated parts of north-east Japan, more than 100,000 Japanese servicemen and women were involved in rescue efforts on the ground. still 4.6 trillion yen ($55.9bn; ÂŁ35.8bn). Its servicemen are highly trained and the hardware they use is sophisticated. Naval strength "The quality of its operations in the areas of surveillance, disaster relief, mine sweeping and reconstruction are the world standard," says Assistant Professor Ken Jimbo from Keio University. Roughly two-fifths of the budget is spent on ground forces and the rest split between maritime and air forces, according to Professor Christopher Hughes of the University of Warwick. "Since the end of the Cold War, Japan's security policy has been shifting to increase its capability to defend itself outside its own territory and to send the force further afield," he says. "It denies itself the most powerful weapons so it doesn't have offensive capabilities - such as ballistic missiles but Japan's maritime SDF, for example, is one of the leading navies in the world after the US," he says. Whether the military is battle-ready is another question. After all, since the end of World War II, no Japanese soldiers have engaged in actual combat. Assistant Professor Jimbo says Japan's readiness depends on the scale of any attack. "For example, the Self Defence Force can operate missile defences against North Korea's missile attacks or limited landing operations against Japan." "But if the situation becomes more complex and with higher intensity, this is where the US-Japan alliance comes in," he says.
Changing operations Under the decades-old Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security, the US guarantees Japan's security in the event of a military attack. Japan, in exchange, hosts US troops in the country - mainly Okinawa - spending 188 billion yen ($2.3bn) annually. The evolution of SDF operations has for many years been closely tied to US policy. Only 20 years ago, it was not allowed to deploy overseas at all. Today SDF personnel are in places like Haiti, helping local people recover from the earthquake. They are also off Somalia to protect vessels from pirates and even deployed for a short time to Iraq. The change began in 1992 when lawmakers passed the Peacekeeping Operations Law to allow Japan to participate in United Nations operations abroad, in response to criticism for failing to send troops during the first Gulf War. A decade later in 2003, the Iraq War began and the US asked its allies for help. The government passed a special law allowing a limited deployment - a controversial move that many thought was unconstitutional. In the end, nearly 1,400 SDF personnel were sent to Iraq between March 2003 and February 2009 to take part in reconstruction work. Major General Goro Matsumura led the third deployment of 600 soldiers, in 2004. "More than 90% of my team members had never been deployed overseas," he tells
the BBC. "Before we left, we had no idea what it was like on the ground so many of them expressed their concern but once we got there we were warmly welcomed, so we were relieved." For many, it was the first time they experienced the possibility of being attacked. "There were two incidents where we came under rocket fire at night in October and November - though luckily they didn't explode," Maj-Gen Matsumura says. 'Politically important' He says he was under unspoken pressure not to lose anyone on the ground. "No Self Defence Force personnel have ever been injured or killed on missions so I needed to be well prepared not to let any accidents happen in Iraq." Associate Professor Narushige Michishita of the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies says the deployment was "more a politically important symbolic gesture to the United States and other allied nations than a real military contribution". He described it as an "important learning process" for the SDF but says "because the right to use force was restricted, the significance of their contribution was also limited". Amid concern over China's military spending and US realignment in the region, the debate over the constitution rumbles on. Some lawmakers say it should be changed to allow Japan more freedom to act on the international stage. "What kind of a fool keeps the same
constitution that occupation troops forced upon us 65 years ago," asks Tokyo Mayor Shintaro Ishihara. "We should ditch the current constitution and start afresh." Assistant Professor Jimbo, however, says a few changes should suffice. "Japan needs to lift rules such as the prohibition on exercising collective selfdefence (defending other allied forces)," he said. "For example in Samawah [in Iraq], Dutch, British and Australian forces who shared responsibility for the area pledged to help the Self Defence Force in case of an emergency but not vice-versa." But there is low public support for changes to the status quo. So for now the contradictions will remain for the modern, well-funded army that prefers to stay within its own borders.
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March 16-22, 2012
Both the PM and the president are known to be extremely concerned that instability in the Middle East.
Cameron US tour: PM and Obama consider oil release David Cameron has said he and and Barack Obama discussed the possibility of releasing emergency oil reserves during talks in Washington. BBC NEWS No final decision was taken, but BBC political editor Nick Robinson said it was a sign of the president's concern at the high level of US fuel prices.The UK has previously released oil from its reserves as part of co-ordinated efforts to dampen soaring prices. Mr Cameron also laid flowers at Ground Zero in New York. He was shown round the 9/11 memorial with his wife Samantha who was in the city on the day of the attacks - by New York mayor Michael Bloomberg.They also met the families of British victims of the 2001 attacks in New York. Mr Cameron told the BBC it was a good place to remember why the action in Afghanistan was necessary. "Here at the site of the Twin Towers, Ground Zero, here is the place to remember why what we do overseas is so important, so people are safe at home," he said. He insisted there would be a handover to a capable Afghan government by the end of 2014 whether or not there was a political settlement involving the Taliban, who have pulled out of talks. The UK's PM also said that the two men had discussed releasing the strategic oil reserves because "we are all facing the problem of higher oil prices". Although they had not reached a decision he said they both wanted to "do what we can to help" families facing economic tough times. Mr Cameron's itinerary for the third day of the visit included enga-
gements at New York University, City Hall and a charter school - seen as the model for the free schools being introduced in the UK. He also met the mayor of Newark, New Jersey, Cory Booker, to hear about efforts he has made to turn around the city after years of decline. Mr Cameron told Mayor Booker he "hugely admired" his work and thought the UK could learn from his initiatives on police accountability, education, reducing reoffending and urban regeneration. "I'm a great believer big city leaders can do great things for their communities," the prime minister said. He also held his first "Cameron Direct" event outside the UK, at New York University, where he was asked about the NHS, the Falklands and the Olympics. Extradition concerns Nick Robinson said some close to the prime minister have pointed to the possibility of an oil release as one of the things Mr Cameron can do to be helpful to President Obama. Both the PM and the president are known to be extremely concerned that instability in the Middle East and talk of a war between Israel and Iran could drive up oil prices even further, with serious consequences for global economic recovery. On Wednesday, the leaders spent time discussing issues such as Syria, Iran, Yemen and the war in Afghanistan. Speaking at a press conference afterwards, Mr Cameron said the mission in Afghanistan was moving into its "final phases".
New York Mayor Bloomberg with David and Samantha Cameron at Ground Zero
Both leaders stressed that progress had been made in the country - despite the loss of US, British and Afghan lives. Mr Obama confirmed international forces would take on a support role from 2013, with Afghans in full charge of security in 2014. The UK prime minister also raised the issue of reviewing how extradition agreements were operating amid concerns US officials were having to produce less evidence than their British counterparts to support cases. But at the state dinner the leaders returned to what has been a frequent theme during the visit their countries' close relations and spoke of their personal bond. Mr Cameron praised the president for having "pressed the reset button on the moral authority of the entire free world". Comparing Mr Obama to former US President Theodore Roo-
sevelt, Mr Cameron said he understood that "America must do the right thing but to provide moral leadership America must do it in the right way too". He praised Mr Obama for being strong when required to defend US national interests, while not rushing to "pick fights", and for having "found a new voice for America with the Arab people". 'Bison Wellington' "Barack, it is an honour to call you an ally, a partner and a friend," he added. Likewise, Mr Obama said of the prime minister that he was "the kind of partner you want at your side". "I trust him. He says what he does and he does what he says. I've seen his character. I've seen his commitment to human dignity during Libya." The president also spoke of Mr Cameron and his wife Samantha having "shown a measure of strength that few of us will ever know", in a
Ship's bell 'goes missing' from sunken Costa Concordia BBC NEWS An investigation has been launched into the disappearance, the Italian news agency Ansa reports. Pictures of the bell, taken underwater by divers soon after the vessel sank, became a well-known image associated with the disaster. At least 30 people are believed to have died when the ship struck rocks near the Tuscan coast two months ago. Soon after the Costa Concordia capsized, images taken by divers showed the bell still hanging in position on the wreck, but several metres under water.
A judicial source quoted by the Reuters news agency said that thieves stole the bell from one of the ship's decks two weeks ago. Morbid memento? The location of the wreck, off the island of Giglio, is considered a crime scene and is continually patrolled by coastguard launches. The BBC's Rome correspondent, Alan Johnston, says this would make it almost impossible for any diver intending to loot the wreck to enter and steal the bell. He says it is likely that if the bell's disappearance is confirmed, suspicion will focus on the search-and-rescue teams, who have constant access to the wreck.
It would have been difficult to get the large, heavy and gleaming bell onto the shore unnoticed - and it is possible that it has simply dislodged itself, he adds. "I can only guess that someone took it as a sort of morbid memento," Giglio mayor Sergio Ortelli told Reuters. "In my mind, the missing bell is of no importance. We have the ship's statue of the Madonna in our church, and that has much more symbolic meaning for us." The Costa Concordia lies half-submerged in a precarious position on an underwater slope, and is considered to be at risk of slipping further into the depths. The ship's captain, Francesco Schet-
PHOTO: AP
reference to the death of their eldest son, Ivan, at the age of six. The 360 guests at the star-studded dinner enjoyed bison Wellington, combining the classic British pastry-around-meat dish with North Dakota buffalo loin. Several of those in attendance were said to be key donors to President Obama's re-election fund, such as movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. Other notable guests included actor George Clooney, golfer Rory McIlroy and Homeland star Damian Lewis. Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern, from ITV period drama Downton Abbey, British Olympic heptathlon gold medallist Denise Lewis, and Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson also attended. Entertainment was provided by US R&B star John Legend and English folk-rock band Mumford & Sons - a favourite of Mrs Cameron.
A judicial source quoted by the Reuters news agency said that thieves stole the bell from one of the ship's decks tino, denies accusations of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship before all those aboard were evacuated.
5
March 16-22, 2012
Government plans for nuclear power risk handing control of the UK's climate and energy policies to France, according to four senior environmentalists.
Government plans for nuclear power risk handing control of the UK's climate and energy policies to France, according to four senior environmentalists. By Richard Black Environment correspondent, BBC News Energy giant EDF and reactor builder Areva, big players in the UK's plans, are largely French government-owned. Jonathan Porritt, Tom Burke, Charles Secrett and Tony Juniper say the firms are landing UK citizens with all the financial risks of nuclear new build. They have told Prime Minister David Cameron he is being badly advised. The four - all former directors of Friends of the Earth (FoE) UK - say that the current policy to start building at least eight new reactors over the next decade cannot withstand the "intense scrutiny" it is coming under in the wake of the Fukushima disaster in Japan. "There is now a growing risk of policy failure," they write in their letter to the prime minister. Mr Cameron recently signed an agreement with French President Nicolas Sarkozy to boost nuclear co-operation. "Our analysis shows that building new nukes will be a massive rip-off for the the British taxpayer," said Mr Secrett.
"How on Earth can the prime minister justify paying billions of pounds of subsidy to French power companies when the chancellor is slashing welfare budgets for poor people in Britain and there are a million young people unemployed?"
Reforming the market The UK operates possibly the most liberal electricity market in the world; yet as a matter of policy, the government wants to see a new fleet of reactors built to replace those that are progressively reaching the end of their working lives. Consequently, it has introduced a number of changes aimed at incentivising companies to construct new nuclear power stations. Ministers have repeatedly claimed that these do not amount to subsidies. However, last May the Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee disagreed, urging the government to stop "disguising" the reality. Campaigners have also reported the UK to the European Commission, arguing that these "hidden subsidies" should have been taken to the commission for approval, but were not. Currently, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) is finalising a bill on reforming the energy market, which will effectively offer fixed prices to compa-
nies generating low-carbon power. The four FoE ex-directors say that with the government relying on EDF to commission and operate the new power stations and on Areva to build reactors, the French firms are in a position to bargain hard and secure themselves a highly advantageous financial package - which will result in higher electricity prices for the UK consumer. And they say that as the French government has a large stake in both companies, it will be able to determine whether the UK nuclear build goes ahead. "The French will only proceed if the large financial risks of new nuclear build are transferred from France to British households and business," they tell Mr Cameron. Even then, they say, "there is no reason to believe that Areva will be able to construct new reactors on time and to budget". The two modern Areva EPR reactors under construction in Europe, at Flamanville in France and Olkiluoto in Finland, are both several years behind schedule and substantially over budget. A French bid to build EPRs in Abu Dhabi recently lost out to a South Korean consortium - partly because the EPRs were too complex and costly in relation to their rival.
Renewable vision In France itself, the government recently decided to extend the life of existing reactors rather than build new ones.
PHOTO: BBC NEWS
UK nuclear plans ‘put energy in French hands’
The UK's emphasis on nuclear could threaten the electricity supply, the writers warn
Last month, EDF said it would apply for licences to extend the working life of its UK reactors. According to the four ex-FoE chiefs, these events suggest that EDF and other companies involved in the new UK fleet may, in the end, pull out - which could leave targets for low-carbon energy very difficult to achieve. The priority, they say, should be to invest in energy efficiency and renewable technologies, in
which the UK could become a world leader, generating jobs and income for the national coffers. "Ministers have been well and truly led up the garden path by the nuclear lobby," said Tony Juniper. "The prime minister needs to step in and make sure that energy policy is truly working in the public interest, rather than to the agenda of a massive vested interest."
Euro MPs back quotas to get more women into top jobs BBC NEWS The EU Commission wants the proportion of female board members at big companies to rise to 40% by 2020, from the current average of 12%. The Commission has said it may legislate to make quotas compulsory. The Euro MPs in Strasbourg also called for EU-wide measures to boost female representation in politics. Last week the EU's Justice Commissioner, Viviane Reding, launched a public consultation to generate initiatives including possible legislation - aimed at redressing the gender imbalance. Belgium, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain are among the countries that have already introduced gender quotas for companies. A majority of MEPs backed two resolutions aimed at tackling gender inequality -
one targeting companies, initiated by Dutch liberal MEP Sophie in 't Veld, and another targeting political parties, by Finnish centreright MEP Sirpa Pietikainen. "After decades of stagnation, it is high time to act," Ms in't Veld said. "I don't think there is anyone who is really in favour of quotas. It is a necessary evil, because voluntary measures have got us nowhere. "Quotas are a very blunt instrument, and they can only have an impact in combination with other measures to facilitate and support more women in senior positions." The BBC's Chris Morris in Strasbourg says some critics regard the idea of EUwide legislation on the gender issue as patronising and counter-productive. New research in the UK suggests that the number of women in British boardrooms is now increasing significantly without the use of mandatory quotas, he says.
PHOTO: BBC NEWS
The European Parliament has backed calls for quotas to put more women into company boardrooms, if member states are deemed too slow to act.
Gender equality is an EU value but many member states are slow to act on it
The research predicts that the number of women directors at major UK-listed companies is likely to rise above 25% by 2015. In national parliaments across the EU the proportion of women is 24%, and in national governments women make up 23% of the total. The report by Ms Pietikainen said
women's representation in the European Parliament had risen to 35% and in the EU Commission the representation of women "is stagnating at one-third". She also noted that the Commission has never been chaired by a woman.
March 16-22, 2012
A strong demand for gold is likely to be maintained as economies such as China and India become wealthier and bigger.
Central banks in the emerging world need buffers to protect themselves
Brief history of the Gold Standard •During most of the 1800s the US had a bimetallic system of money, although it was essentially a gold standard as very little silver was traded •A true gold standard came to fruition in 1900 with the passage of the Gold Standard Act •The gold standard effectively came to an end in 1933 when President Franklin D Roosevelt outlawed private gold ownership (except for the purposes of jewellery) •The Bretton Woods System enacted in 1946 created a system of fixed exchange rates that allowed governments to sell their gold to the US treasury at the price of $35 per ounce •The Bretton Woods system ended on August 15, 1971, when President Richard Nixon ended trading of gold at the fixed price of $35 per ounce •At that point for the first time in history, formal links between the major world currencies and real commodities were severed
Egyptians associated gold with magical properties 5,000 years ago
PHOTO:BBC NEWS
Could gold have a role in calming financial markets? With central banks around the world printing money to pump into their financial systems to prevent them from seizing up, the argument for a return to the gold standard has become popular again. By James Melik Reporter, Business Daily, BBC World Service The gold standard was a commitment by participating countries to fix the prices of their domestic currencies in terms of a specified amount of gold. The idea, in theory at least, was that you could convert your currency into gold at the fixed price. The view from investment banker Jim Rickards is that something is needed to stop governments from printing money in order to deal with their debt - that hurts savers by making money worth less. "The worst case scenario is hyperinflation, which hurts everyone. Sticking to gold makes such a policy impossible, and therefore stops governments and central banks from abusing their power," he says. Ross Norman, of London bullion brokers Sharps Pixley, does not think gold is necessarily the medium one would choose to use, although it could be part of the solution. "I don't think we could go back to a gold standard as such, but I think that central bankers could do with some financial constraints or disciplines placed on them to prevent them overexpanding the balance sheet," he says "To some extent, gold does that role," he adds.
Range of issues However, it is not an argument which goes down well with everyone. "I completely disagree about the idea of going back to a gold standard," says Gerard Lyons of Standard Chartered Bank. "What we saw in the past was the gold standard didn't work," he says. "Whatever situation you are in, it makes it worse. So if you are in good times, it makes them become bubble times. If you are in bad times, it makes them become even worse," he asserts. Central banks in the emerging world need buffers to protect themselves, and those central banks do not want to put all their reserves into the dollar. "There are limited alternatives they could use in terms of other currencies," says Mr Lyons, "So gold is taking up a bigger share in terms of currency reserves across the emerging world." My Lyons says there is a whole range of issues which need to be addressed, such as the need for stability. "What I think we are likely to see and hence the focus on gold in some respects is a move to a multipolar world and to a multicurrency world," he notes. "It makes sense in the future
In theory at least, was that you could convert your currency into gold at the fixed price. for more countries to think about managing their own particular currency against the basket of currencies with which they trade. That is less about gold itself and more about the fact that the world is changing. Gold does not give you that flexibility." However, a strong demand for gold is likely to be maintained as economies such as China and India become wealthier and bigger. Growing demand Ben Bernanke, the head of the US Federal Reserve, said that the main reason to hold gold is because of a fear that something could go wrong with the financial system, and therefore you hold a small amount of gold because you think that even though it will have intrinsic value like any other commodity, is likely to have a better value in the event of a shock elsewhere in the financial system.
Mr Lyons says gold should be treated as a basic commodity just like food or oil and, just like other commodities, it has a firm floor and a soft ceiling. "The soft ceiling for oil would be geopolitical risks, which always push the ceiling much higher," he explains. "For gold, its soft ceiling is when suddenly people become worried about the dollar, about global inflation." But the longer term underlying trend is that more people in the emerging world will be wealthier
and it is likely that more of them will want to demand gold for many different reasons in the future. The demand for gold as jewellery peaked in 2000, but demand for gold to be held as coins or in bars continues to rise. "Most of the buying we have seen over the last couple of years has been in coins and bars, reflecting a different sentiment - people are concerned about bank solvency and even economic Armageddon," says Mr Lyons.
PHOTO: BBC News
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7
March 16-22, 2012
Many parts of the Fukushima site are still off limit to people, with robots the only exploration tool
Global fallout: Did Fukushima scupper nuclear power? In the tense days a year ago when smoke rose around the stricken Fukushima Daiichi power station as if from a battlefield, when hydrogen explosions tore the reactor buildings apart and workers fought for their lives and Japan's future. By Richard Black Correspondent, BBC News In the wake of what is officially classified as one of the two worst nuclear accidents in history, ranking at Category Seven on the International Event Scale (INES), the "electricity too cheap to meter" vision of the 1950s appeared to be turning into a technology too costly to contemplate in terms of the human and financial balance-sheets. Within weeks, Germany announced it would close all its nuclear reactors, and Switzerland followed suit. Even China, busiest of the new builders, delayed approval for new power stations. And around the world, opinion poll after opinion poll showed nuclear power losing its lustre. "Fukushima impacted significantly, firstly on public opinion, and secondly by creating the need to analyse what happened from a technical point of view, to learn lessons and apply them," says Luis Echavarri, director-general of the ONuclear Energy Agency (NEA) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Fissioned view The vast majority of the reactors operating before Fukushima are still operating; even Germany stopped short of shutting them all down. The glaring exception is in Japan itself, where only two out of 54 reactors are currently in operation. Some are shut for good; with others, local authorities have yet to decide whether to permit a restart. But outside Japan, how does the future look a year on? Will Fukushima mark a full stop or just a comma in the nuclear story? As always with this issue, the same set of facts produces very different interpretations. John Ritch, director-general of the industry-backed World Nuclear Association (WNA), believes it has created a small pause - nothing more. "Fukushima was a setback in terms of public perception and increased timidity on the part of policymakers," he says. Central to those "underlying facts" is the need for rapid decarbonisation of global energy to avert dangerous climate change. Germany, he asserts, will come to rue its decision to pursue that goal through renewables alone. Tom Burke, founding director of the sustainable development thinktank E3G and a long-time opponent of the nuclear industry, has a very different take. Asian century One thing is clear: even before
Fukushima, the real centre of nuclear power was shifting from its traditional heavy users such as France and the US to Asia. South Korea has emerged as a major user of nuclear electricity and an exporter of technology; but China is the really big player. Of about 60 reactors under construction around the world, 26 are in China, with many more set to follow. There are observers who quietly applaud China for its apparent capacity to build reactors on time and on budget, while European projects at Flamanville in France and Olkiluoto in Finland flounder in a miasma of escalating costs and stretched deadlines. Tom Burke is not among them. He points to the low building standards that contributed to the heavy death toll from the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and the recent health scare over melamine in milk products as evidence that China struggles with quality control - a key issue in building reliable nuclear reactors.
Clunkers, not cash
The UK and many other countries are - at least on paper - pushing ahead with plans to build new reactors as part of a package aimed at curbing global warming and increasing their energy security. However, a new trend has emerged in the last six months or so, with France - the biggest nuclear nation in Europe - announcing plans to extend the lives of existing reactors rather than build a big fleet of new ones. In the US, licences for two new reactors were granted in February, the first since 1978 - underwritten by a vast $8bn (£5.1bn) in loan guarantees from the public purse. But the new build number is dwarfed by the 60odd old ones that have been granted 20-year stays of execution. This is bound to have an impact on other countries' programmes. If fewer reactors are being built, there is much less experience from which to learn; less learning makes it harder to build them quickly and cheaply. With France, for example, constraining its building programme, will that increase costs for the UK? You can also argue that on safety grounds, this is the wrong strategy: if new designs are safer than old ones, as their publicity would have us believe they are, would not the safest thing be to replace old with new - a kind of nuclear "cash for clunkers"? Here, the industry gives conflicting messages. During the WNA's news briefing for reporters prior to the Fukushima anniver-
Fukushima sparked anti-nuclear sentiment in many countries, though not in all
sary, one official listed the increasing safety features of new reactor designs, while another described them as partly "marketing spin". For John Ritch, the supposedly enhanced safety features of the socalled Generation 3+ reactors coming on to the market, such as the Westinghouse AP-1000 or Areva's EPR, are not really relevant to Fukushima. WNA says that regulators and operators have learned the lessons of Fukushima by putting their reactor fleets through safety reviews and "stress tests". The processes ask whether there are risks that have not been imagined possible that now have to be considered - both natural risks, like floods, or of human agency. It asks whether an electricity supply can be maintained in the event of a complex sequence of failures, and whether staff are sufficiently trained to deal with an event of Fukushima-like magnitude. US stress tests have thrown up issues that are being addressed by spending about $100m across the country - roughly $1m for each reactor. On the new vs old argument, Mr Ritch uses a car analogy: new cars might be safer than old, but still your old one might be safe enough, and economics might dictate that you do not change it. Whether the analogy works for people living around the controversial Fessenheim station on the Franco-German border, built on a geological fault line, or near the Vermont Yankee station in the eastern US where maintenance standards were low enough to allow a cooling tower to collapse in 2007, I am not so sure. Nevertheless, the new designs are beginning to be built, in China as well as France and Finland, and maybe the
PHOTO: BBC NEWS
Nuclear reactors: Key components •Fuel: usually uranium, natural or enriched •Coolant: takes heat from reactor core for electricity generation via a turbine. Water, gas and liquid metals have been used •Moderator: in many designs, needed to slow neutrons so fissile nuclei can catch them •Safety systems to shut down the reactor, either for maintenance or in an emergency. Can be passive or active
World's worst nuclear incidents •Level 7: Chernobyl, Ukraine, 1986 - explosion and fire in operational reactor, fallout over thousands of square kilometres, possible 4,000 cancer cases •Level 7: Fukushima, 2011 - tsunami and possibly earthquake damage from seismic activity beyond plant design. Long-term effects unknown •Level 6: Kyshtym, Russia, 1957 - explosion in waste tank leading to hundreds of cancer cases, contamination over hundreds of square kilometres •Level 5: Windscale, UK, 1957 - fire in operating reactor, release of contamination in local area, possible 240 cancer cases •Level 5: Three Mile Island, US, 1979 - instrument fault leading to large-scale meltdown, severe damage to reactor core
UK. WNA believes other developing countries are set to join the nuclear club, with Vietnam likely to open its first reactor by 2018 and Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia not far behind. All have experienced tsunamis in recent years, and how the public would react to the laying of the foundations is unknown. Long future The Fukushima accident can be traced back to a number of very different factors, depending on how you do your analysis. So has Fukushima accelerated
development of the so-called Generation 4 designs, some radically different from anything on the market now and potentially much safer? The OECD's NEA funds part of the Generation 4 initiative, but Luis Echavarri does not see deployment any time soon. The implication is clear: if the credibility damaged by Fukushima is not recovered, neither will the nuclear industry. And above all - no more accidents.
March 16 - 22 2012
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PHOTO: BBC NEWS
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The dizzying disorienta tion brought on by the premature arrival of the future. It may well be the most important disease of tomorrow”
Author and futurist Alvin Toffler - Book “Future Shock”
Television, radio, apps, e-books, the internet – it is causing so much anxiety and stress in our lives that we no longer have control
Facebook's upcoming share sale could value the company to be worth as much as $100bn (£64bn)
Yahoo sues Facebook over 10 disputed patents in the US BBC News
It is something out of our control that will inevitably overwhelm us.
PHOTO: BBC NEWS
Information overload:
A recurring fear By Matt Novak
BBC News A 1971 essay in The Futurist magazine opened with some alarming numbers. The average city, it said, now had six television channels. But, the author warned, there was already one city planning 42 channels and in the future, there could even be places that support 80, 100 or 200 channels. Where will it end, the essay asked. Just four decades on, in a world of instanton, hyperconnected reality, the numbers sounds almost laughable. But, it seems, every generation believes that it has reached information overload. Look back through history, and whether it was the arrival of the book or the arrival of the internet, everyone from scholarly monks to rambunctious politicians are willing to pronounce that we can take no more; humanity has reached its capacity. Television, radio, apps, e-books, the internet – it is causing so much anxiety and stress in our lives that we no longer have control. The machines have won.
Or have they? Shock of the new If we want to understand the modern way we think about so-called “information overload” the best place to start is the 1970 book Future Shock by author and futurist Alvin Toffler. In it, he said future shock is, “the dizzying disorientation brought on by the premature arrival of the future. It may well be the most important disease of tomorrow”. There is no denying Toffler’s international influence on the way we think about the future. I have seen Future Shock in virtually every used bookstore I have visited from Portland, Oregon to Cartagena, Colombia. With over six million copies sold, it clearly struck a nerve in 1970 and beyond. Toffler explained in his book that, “just as the body cracks under the strain of environmental overstimulation, the “mind” and its decision processes behave erratically
Whether it is the arrival of books, TV channels or Twitter, data deluge fears have gripped every generation, it seems. when overloaded.” In a radio interview shortly after the release of his book, Toffler warned that the exhaustion he saw throughout the world was tied to his new future shock theory. “I think there’s a tremendous undercurrent of dissatisfaction in America; people saying I want out, it’s moving too fast, it’s moving away from me; a sense of panic; a sense that things are slipping out of control and I don’t think that there’s much we can do in our personal lives to counteract that,” he said. Toffler’s assumption was that the future is something that happens to us, rather than with us. It is something out of our control that will inevitably overwhelm us.
Out of control Whilst some will take comfort in Toffler’s words, some of the notions seem rather quaint forty years later. Just as people today throw around the number of tweets sent per second or the amount of video watched online, in the early 1970s Toffler followers and techno-reactionaries liked to scatter their own figures to show the magnitude of the problem. In the same Futurist essay that decried the rise of the number of TV channels, the author Ben Bagdikian goes on to overwhelm readers with even more daunting numbers, explaining that computers will soon be able to store information at a rate of 12 million words a minute, whilst printers will be able to pump out 180,000 words a minute; something that will collide violently with humanity’s ability to process information, he said. It is a warning that we still hear today in many contexts. For example, author Jonathan Franzen, an opponent of electronic books, argues that traditional paper tomes give humanity some much needed stability in a world rocked by change. He fears that
this rapid pace is hurting us. “Seriously, the world is changing so quickly that if you had any more than 80 years of change I don't see how you could stand it psychologically," he said.
Accept change Yet history seems to suggest we ride these waves of change. I am typing this on a 15-hour flight over the Pacific Ocean. In that time, I watched two movies, three TV episodes and read half of a (deadtree) book. No one was forcing me to consume this media, nor even write these words. I made a conscious choice that this is how I wished to spend my time. I would also argue that most people reading an essay about the concept of information overload on the internet have some choice in the matter. Toffler, Bagidikian and Franzen are not necessarily wrong or even alarmist in their concerns that we should seek to control our own technological destinies. But futility should not win the argument. Your consumption of media is largely within your control. We have a choice in the matter. We can change the channel, turn off the TV, or close the laptop lid. These are our choices, and it is hard to see how any of them are irrational or happening to us rather than with us. Victor Cohn, in his 1956 book, 1999: Our Hopeful Future might have put it most reasonably. Cohn was a pragmatist and understood that we could not run from the future, but that by embracing change we might do some good: “Reject change, and we will be enslaved by it. Others will accept the worst of it and dictate to us. Accept change, and we may control it.” Sooner or later, the future catches up with us all. But it need not swallow us whole.
Yahoo claims the social network has infringed 10 of its patents including systems and methods for advertising on the web. Facebook denies the allegation. The move comes ahead of Facebook's planned flotation later this year. Patent litigation has become common between the smartphone makers, but this marks a new front in the battles between the tech giants. A statement from Yahoo suggested the web portal believed it has a strong case. The social network signalled that it believed that Yahoo had not tried hard to settle the matter without involving the courts. It described Yahoo's action as "puzzling".
History repeating The case has echoes of Yahoo's decision to sue Google ahead of its flotation in 2004. That dispute centred over patents that Yahoo had acquired the previous year as part of its takeover of payper-position specialist Overture. Google ultimately settled the case by issuing 2.7 million shares to its rival. "It's reasonable that Yahoo would want to try this tactic again as it worked in the past," BGC Partner's New Yorkbased technology analyst Colin Gillis told the BBC. "But there's an air of desperation about this - it's unlikely that they will get easy money from Facebook. This isn't going to derail the IPO." Yahoo recently overhauled its board appointing Scott Thompson as its chief executive in January. The former Paypal executive replaced Carol Bartz who had been ousted in September. Yahoo's co-founder, Jerry Yang, also resigned from the board in January. The firm's chairman and three other board members announced their decision to step down shortly afterwards. The Wall Street Journal had reported that many Yahoo employees expected fresh job cuts following consecutive quarters of revenue declines.
Test case Mr Thompson's decision to sue may secure fresh funds or other assets if the courts rule in his favour. "This is particularly interesting as it is one of the first patent cases concerning social media," said Andrea Matwyshyn, assistant professor of legal studies at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. "The patentability of computer code is uncertain and recently several groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Computer and Communications Industry Association have asked the US Supreme Court to examine the state of the law and accept a case to clarify when computer code can be protected through patent. The latest suit was filed in the US district court for the northern district of California.
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March 16 - 22 2012
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Curing alcohol dependency requires huge changes in the way you see yourself. That's what LSD does.” Prof David Nutt
An expert said this was "as good as anything we've got"
LSD 'helps alcoholics to give up drinking' BBC News A study, presented in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, looked at data from six trials and more than 500 patients. It said there was a "significant beneficial effect" on alcohol abuse, which lasted several months after the drug was taken. LSD is a class A drug in the UK and is one of the most powerful hallucinogens ever identified. It appears to work by blocking a chemical in the brain, serotonin, which controls functions including perception, behaviour, hunger and mood.
One dose of the hallucinogenic drug LSD could help alcoholics give up drinking, according to an analysis of studies performed in the 1960s.
me another treatment with results as good; we've missed a trick here. "This is probably as good as anything we've got [for treating alcoholism]."
Dangers of LSD • During a trip the person may put themselves in danger without realising it such as thinking they can fly and trying to jump off a high building. • In some people, especially if LSD is taken in high doses, the drug can cause intense anxiety and panic attacks.
Benefit Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology analysed earlier studies on the drug between 1966 and 1970. Patients were all taking part in alcohol treatment programmes, but some were given a single dose of LSD of between 210 and 800 micrograms. For the group of patients taking LSD, 59% showed reduced levels of alcohol misuse compared with 38% in the other group. This effect was maintained six months after taking the hallucinogen, but it disappeared after a year. Those taking LSD also reported higher levels of abstinence. The report's authors, Teri Krebs and Pal-Orjan Johansen, said: "A single dose of LSD has a significant beneficial effect on alcohol misuse." They suggested that more regular doses might lead to a sustained benefit. "Given the evidence for a beneficial effect of LSD on alcoholism, it is puzzling why this treatment approach has been largely over-
looked," they added. Prof David Nutt, who was sacked as the UK government's drugs adviser, has previously called for the laws around illegal drugs to be relaxed to enable more research. He said: "Overall there is a big effect, show
• Some people experience flashbacks, reliving a bad trip weeks or even months after it happened. • In those already vulnerable, LSD may be the trigger for psychotic illness. Paranoia and other symptoms typical of schizophrenia may occur.
This effect was maintained six months after taking the hallucinogen, but it disappeared after a year Could LSD be used to treat alcoholism?
PHOTO: BBC NEWS
Fruit and veg 'give healthy glow' BBC News The study of more than 120,000 people suggested red meat increased the risk of death from cancer and heart problems. Substituting red meat with fish, chicken or nuts lowered the risks, the authors said. The British Heart Foundation said red meat could still be eaten as part of a balanced diet. The researchers analysed data from 37,698 men between 1986 and 2008 and 83,644 women between 1980 and 2008. They said adding an extra portion of unprocessed red meat to someone's daily diet would increase the risk of death by 13%, of fatal cardiovascular disease by 18% and of cancer mortality by 10%. The figures for processed meat were Experts advise to choose leaner cuts of red meat
PHOTO: BBC NEWS
higher, 20% for overall mortality, 21% for death from heart problems and 16% for cancer mortality. The study said: "We found that a higher intake of red meat was associated with a significantly elevated risk of total, cardiovascular disease, and cancer mortality. The researchers suggested that saturated fat from red meat may be behind the increased heart risk and the sodium used in processed meats may "increase cardiovascular disease risk through its effect on blood pressure". Victoria Taylor, a dietitian at the British Heart Foundation, said: "Red meat can still be eaten as part of a balanced diet, but go for the leaner cuts and use healthier cooking methods such as grilling.
If you eat processed meats like bacon, ham, sausages or burgers several times a week, add variation to your diet by substituting these for other protein sources such as fish, poultry, beans or lentils.
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March 16-22, 2012
Can we give ourselves super vision, super strength and super speed?
Is the Six足Million足Dollar Man possible? Science fiction is littered with the theme of upgrading the human body with machinery. By James Gallagher Health and science reporter, BBC News In the 1970s classic TV series The Six Million Dollar Man, the main character - astronaut Steve Austin - is horrendously injured in a test flight accident. He was a man "barely alive" but, as the title sequence explained, science could come to his rescue. "Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to make the world's first bionic man. Steve Austin will be that man. Better than he was before. Better, stronger, faster." His array of upgrades included an eye with zoom and infrared vision. Bionic legs which could give a car a good race and an arm with the strength of a bulldozer. Meanwhile, as we have been discovering in the Bionic Bodies series, bionics are having a transformative role in the real world. Artificial hearts implanted into the chest can keep patients alive until a transplant becomes available. Cochlear implants have restored hearing to people who were once deaf. Bionic eyes are giving sight to the blind and a range of hands, arms and legs are restoring lost movement. But the focus is on keeping people alive or restoring lost function. What about the potential to expand capabilities, what is known as human augmentation? Could a six-milliondollar man ever be built?
Enhancement "Well, first of all, it's going to cost a lot more than six million dollars," says Richard Yonck, foresight analyst with Intelligent Future in Seattle, "but there's an awful lot of technologies underway that will come very close to achieving that." He said: "I see strength, certainly, and I would say the equivalent to the bionic arm he had - that kind of strength - is certainly feasi-
ble with time. "He had bionic vision; the contact lens is one approach and there are developments in retinal implants which are currently working to restore sight. That type of technology will lead to further capabilities, I'm sure, with time." However, what about running at speeds of 60mph (100km/h)? "In physical terms, it's definitely feasible; in practical terms, I'd really question that, given the difficulties. "Bipedalism was not really designed for that kind of running. There's considerably more efficient ways of moving at 60mph. I don't know if there's enough benefit to overcome the difficulties of 60mph running speed. "I totally believe that very seriously enhanced and augmented abilities are going to be available to human beings both in the general public and certainly at the military level. "In terms of strength, in terms of endurance, in terms of sensory capabilities - all of these are most definitely going to be, in the coming decades, seeing some significant progress." One of the challenges with human augmentation is that the human body is still going to be quite weak. It is remarkably easy to damage the body in everyday life, from preparing dinner to playing football. It might be possible to attach a bionic arm with enough strength to lift a car. However, actually doing so could cripple the rest of the body. Falling over while running at 60mph could be equally damaging. Timescales Current bionic body part replacements can imitate human function, but considerable technological developments will be necessary before entering an era of enhancement. Dr Anders Sandberg, from the Future of Humanity Institute at the University of Oxford, told the BBC:
The modular prosthetic limb, in development at Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory, is one of the most advanced bionic arms Brain-controlled Cyberdyne's Hal suit allows disabled patients to walk again
Steve Austin was the "world's first bionic man" in the 1970s TV series
"I do think it is possible to reconstruct a body quite easily and get into a sixmillion-dollar man situation." For the next 10 years, he thinks the field will be at the level of "pretty nice prosthetics", but would then start to be "significantly better" than the real thing. He said: "I think mid-century, I would be rather surprised if there wasn't a lot of implants and enhancements around." Options could include "sensory augmentation; ways of extending our senses such as infra-red sight or ultra-violet; or extending hearing." He says one day blind people who are fitted with artificial retinas will not only be given sight, but, rather like a smartphone, a range of apps will emerge that would allow recording, zooming and augmented reality.
"Eventually you reach the point where you can start doing things that normal people can't do," he said. Anybody interested? "It is quite possible that while we're kind of anxious about the end product that seems to come from science fiction, we'll be quietly accepting versions of it," argues Emily Sargent who is preparing the Wellcome Collection's exhibit, Superhuman. She cites the example of the introduction of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) which made people "incredibly nervous" and then "very quickly we became accustomed to it". Prof Noel Sharkey, from the University of Sheffield, is not convinced that augmentation will ever catch on: "You've got perfectly good legs and arms; I'm not sure people will want other things attached.
"I think it is quite likely that humanity will fight back. I don't want to be enhanced at all. I'm a human, I love being a human." However, he can see enhancements coming from "exoskeletons" - basically robotic suits. It already conjures up the idea of the people flying round like the Marvel Comics superhero Iron Man, but some suits are already being made. The Japanese company Cyberdyne has already developed a suit called Hal. It can help people who are no longer able to walk to regain their mobility by picking up electrical signals from the nerves which used to tell limbs to move and converting them into instructions for the suit. The other option for Prof Sharkey is devices which can be controlled by thought, but which are not part of the human body. He said: "If I want a really really strong arm, rather than having it attached to my body, it would be much better if it was just alongside me and just moved when I moved and did whatever I wanted. I think you might see that. "So I can imagine a building site for the future, for instance, where there are builders wearing these exoskeleton suits and being accompanied by tools that do whatever they want without having to press buttons and things." So does he think there will be a six-million-dollar man? "No Steve Austins, I think, but put it this way - I couldn't rule it out."
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March 16-22, 2012
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March 16-22, 2012
Considering modern muralism was born in Mexico City in the 1920s, and the city’s buildings have millions of square kilometres of wall space.
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The Mexican capital has a dynamic street art scene
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Mexico City’s dynamic street art By Julie Schwietert Collazo Lonely Planet
1: The city as a canvas
From stencilling to spray painting, from freehand drawing to stickering, local and international artists alike are making the city their canvas. Pictured here is a collaboration between artists from Mexico (Saner), Holland (Cs53) and France (Ekla).
2: Mexican iconography
Local street artists often differentiate themselves from their global peers by using traditional images from Mexican culture. This piece on Calle Zacatecas in the Colonia Roma neighbourhood features a jaguar head and skull, harking back to ancient Aztec, Maya and Olmec cultures.
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PHOTOS: (Julie Schwietert Collazo) / BBC NEWS
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3: Support for street art
“Part of what makes Mexico City's street art scene so interesting is that what used to be clandestine and criminal is, in large part, now sanctioned and supported -- even encouraged -at the institutional level,” said Israel Solorzano, an independent creative director who has studied the city's street art. Foro Cultural Mujam, a privately-funded entity located in Colonia Doctores, is one of the groups working actively to legitimize street art in Mexico. Mujam brought together more than 2,000 artists from around the world for its first International Graffiti Festival in 2007, with a second festival running from 29 April to 5 May 2012.
6 4: Roa
Institutional support has also made it possible for more international artists to work in Mexico City. After visiting in 2011, the work of Belgian street artist Roa (pictured here) brought a wide variety of people to see the city’s street art -- from “the most snobby art designers in their armoured cars to members of street gangs”, said Roberto Shimizu, founder of Foro Cultural Mujam.
5: Broken Crow
American duo Broken Crow painted five large-scale murals in Mexico City when they visited in 2011, one of which is pictured here. “The city is incredible, we love it,’ said John Grider, one of the artists of Broken Crow. “There's tons of really amazing work happening. [Local] artists like Saner, Sego and Dhear are all making brilliant stuff, and loads of it. Oh, and there's an endless supply of walls to paint, which we're always a big fan of.”
6: Neighbourhood art
Although street art can be found throughout Mexico City, it is most dense in the Colonia Condesa, Colonia Doctore, and Colonia Roma Norte neighbourhoods. This building, located on Calle Zacatecas in Colonia Roma Norte, has an entire facade painted with an epic, violent battle scene by street artists Rafael Baca and Abigail Morita.
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March 16-22, 2012
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March 16 - 22 2012
“
That happened for distur bing the guardian of the cave and cutting the rope” said an elderly man.” An elderly man.
Satunsat
Some people say the rope was so long you could easily stretch it all the way to Merida
BBC News It´s being told that this cave served as refuge for ancient Mayans when they were persecuted by the Spaniards after burning Oxkintok, it was burnt down and abandoned three times. The few Mayans who managed to survive back then, went into the cave. After the Spaniards saw the Mayans didn´t come out of the cave- Thinking the cave was small- they decided to chase them so they went into the cave too, but they didn´t come back either. So the Spaniards that were waiting for their peers outside the cave went back to Calce-htok to report the incidents. Then the days passed by and nobody came out of the cave, so Spaniards stopped patrolling the entrance of the cave. It is said that near the entrance of the cave a huge winged-serpent (the guardian of the place) can be seen sometimes, it is also believed that it was this serpent that killed the Spaniards that ventured into the cave. The years passed and the entrance of the cave was covered by weeds, because it was badly neglected by the local people. When the townsmen decide to clear the entrance, a lot of people started to visit the place because it was very popular in the community. The people started getting deeper and deeper into the cave, until one day a group of men found a row of stones, so bring that they could easily light the way. The found Mayan glyphs with Mayan deities made out of mud and a hundred meters deeper, they found a stone trunk with a very long rope was 15 cm (6 inches) thick. The man started to take the rope out of the stone trunk but it was endless so they decide to cut the rope in pieces, but right after they started bleeding, they tried to pull all the rope in the trunk, but they couldn´t. when they realized they were already surrounded by snakes, and they never went out of the cave People who came to this place doorstep increasingly deeper into the cave until they found a row of stones bright enough to illuminate the road. Subsequently found Mayan deities made of mud, and over one hundred meters inside a stone box. When people opened the box of stone, found in it a long rope. The discovery was made known to the inhabitants of Calcehtok. Respect to the rope, some residents recall having heard that half as 15 cm. thick and had no effect. Furthermore they said that life was
Satunsat is a cave with endless entrances and exits so you can get lost easily if you don´t know the cave well.
The years passed and the entrance of the cave was covered by weeds, because it was badly neglected by the local people. The found Mayan glyphs with Mayan deities made out of mud and a hundred meters deeper, they found a stone trunk with a very long rope was 15 cm (6 inches) thick.
PHOTOS: BBC NEWS
as fifteen days after they had discovered the stone box, people returned to the same place, to know the mystery of the rope and began to draw. Then they found they had no rope and decided to cut it into pieces. But great was his surprise, because in doing so the rope began to flow blood. Since time a great feat took hold of them
and had to leave that place. It is said that they did more to put the rope inside the stone box and did not at the precise moment they realize they were surrounded by many shakes. People said that this happened to people because they dared to cut the rope. Others say that the rope was o long that if they had tried drag-
ging, from the cave, had reached the city of Merida. It also said that Easter was in Maya hear talks on the inside of the cave and a cockcrow. Moreover, it says that this cave was a path that ended exactly next to the Cathedral of Merida, where there is a cenote, and the route took three days.
Today the cave has two entrances, one located to the east, which is the main entrance, and another is over. Also it has two other posts, but has become a nest of bats, snakes and of other pests. Therefore, in these days nobody uses these two.
March 16-22, 2012
Polunin became the youngest Royal Ballet principal at the age of 19
In his first broadcast interview since that decision he has spoken to BBC Newsnight about why he walked away.
Ballet’s Sergei Polunin: ‘The artist in me was dying’ Sergei Polunin, the youngest dancer ever to be made a principal with the Royal Ballet, whose skill had earned him comparisons with Nureyev and Baryshnikov, shocked the dance world in January by unexpectedly quitting. BBC NEWS Sergei Polunin readily admits that he is no fan of rehearsing, saying that it is only when performing that he enjoys dancing: "That is the only time I enjoy our profession in a way - it is communicating with people and showing what you have learned in nine years. "You learn and practice a lot, sometimes for months, you sometimes argue, and it is for nine hours a day. So when you are finally on stage, especially when it is finished, you have so much adrenalin, so much joy in your body, that feeling can keep you in the profession," he says. However, it seems that for Polunin, at the age of just 22, the joy of performance is no longer sufficient when offset against the rigid discipline needed to be a ballet dancer.
Absolute focus "You live the life of a dancer. It is not your job, it is your life, and you have to love it so much to be able to take it every day for six days a week, sometimes seven," he explains. It is this absolute focus on ballet, at the expense of everything else, which Polunin points to when asked about what sparked his shock exit: "In a way I did feel that the artist in me was dying a little bit and I wasn't giving as much of myself and putting as much creativity into it as I could, as I should." So, in January, just a week before he was due to appear as the lead in a production of The Dream he took Royal Ballet Director Dame Monica Mason aside and told her he was leaving. Polunin says it was a decision driven not by a desire to give up, but by a desire to continue to achieve: "I do not want to sit and make a nest and be comfortable, and I did feel so comfortable that I stopped being involved as a person and an artist and that is not something I want. "I don't want to have comfort, I don't want to have a family, I don't want to have a flat - so I destroyed in a way everything I had in order to be able to build." "It is almost like a delete button and you just want to start fresh."
Exploring new directions Polunin says that taking such a drastic course of action made him feel good "because you just throw everything you had away and you
clean yourself in a way". However, when asked if it has made him happy he says no, at least not yet: "I can't say that I am happy now, I am still finding out what I am going to do… I am going to explore different directions." For now that means continuing with dancing. He is about to perform in Men in Motion, a celebration of male ballet, with his friend Ivan Putrov, at Sadler's Wells theatre in London Putrov, is keen that people see Polunin's decision to leave the Royal Ballet in a positive light - as a creative, rather than destructive step: "Often people in the arts, not just in dancing, close themselves to only what they do and look just in one direction. They never look out and never explore and so they become claustrophobic in a way. "It is one of the hardest things to stay free and keep being open, and maybe that is what Sergei is doing now, trying to be open to so many different things, which is wonderful."
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I do not want to sit and make a nest and be comfortable, and I did feel so comfortable that I stopped being involved as a person and an artist and that is not something I want ʼ Sergei Polunin
Sergei Polunin explains why he felt compelled to quit the Royal Ballet
Rehearsal regimen One change in his life which Polunin does find agreeable is not having to attend rehearsals in the morning: "What's good for me is late in the evening, with plenty of time to wake up, to have a little bit of day and then come in." However, he insists that he has still had to labour at rehearsals for this production: "I have been working quite hard with this, learning new pieces that are 10 minutes long, five minutes long, and choreographing my own piece." But even with the rehearsal set up being more to Polunin's liking, when asked if he expects to be dancing in five or six years' time the answer is currently no: "I don't think I would want to be dancing in six years… but I would love to achieve something else in a different profession. "Once you achieve something you just want to move on and achieve something else and keep achieving, like Alexander the Great - he captured one country and then he just kept doing it."
New goal Polunin says that his next aim is to become a successful actor, something he says he first began to consider seriously after being promo-
Critics liken Polunin to ballet greats Nureyev and Baryshnikov
ted to principal at the end of the 2009-10 Royal Ballet season: "When I became a principal at the Royal Ballet it was my childhood goal, a dream and I became it at 19. And then I said 'what's next?' and I set myself a different goal at 19 to become an actor. "I started watching movies more carefully, watching actors the way they act, the way the movie is filmed, just as a hobby in a way, but also something to progress to maybe in the future."
PHOTOS: BBC NEWS
15
March 16-22, 2012
PHOTO: BBC NEWS
16
Foo Fighters, Kasabian headline Reading and Leeds
The US television network Showtime says Homeland is to get a second series.
Homeland renewed for second series by Showtime network BBC News The show, which stars British actor Damian Lewis and Claire Danes, is shown on Channel 4 in the UK. Lewis plays the part of Nicholas Brody, a US marine who is captured by terrorists, kept as a prisoner of war and then rescued to return home. The second season of Homeland will consist of 12 one-hour episodes and will air after the start of Dexter's seventh series later this year. Showtime's president of entertainment, David Nevins, said: "Homeland is just getting started. "Clearly, the overall audience growth from week one to week four demonstrates that this show is hitting a nerve in the cultural zeitgeist. "Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon [executive producers] have created a psychological thriller that holds special relevance in the post 9/11 world. "I'm quite confident that its passionate audience will be riveted as the season unfolds and people discover where this story is going." 'Compelling drama' Claire Danes plays CIA agent Carrie Mathison, who believes Brody has been converted by al-Qaeda and is now a threat to America. Homeland also stars another British actor, David Harewood, who portrays David Estes - the director of the CIA's counterterrorism centre in Langley, Virginia. The show's final episode pulled in 1.7 million viewers in America, making it the most-watched debut season finale in Showtime history. It also won this year's Golden Globe award for best dramatic television series. Damian Lewis says Homeland is an intelligent but engaging show. "It's gratifying that people want great drama," he said. "When you're starved of it, and it's always cyclical, there maybe was a hole to be filled.
By Greg Cochrane Newsbeat music reporter Other acts performing on the main stage throughout the weekend include Florence & The Machine, Paramore, The Vaccines, The Black Keys and Bombay Bicycle Club. The event takes place at Reading's Little John's farm and Leeds' Bramham Park between 24-26 August. Priced at ÂŁ197.50 for a weekend pass, tickets have now gone on sale.
More acts
Damian Lewis says Homeland is an intelligent but engaging show.
PHOTO: BBC NEWS
The US television network Showtime says Homeland is to get a second series. "Homeland, along with shows like Breaking Bad, is giving people thought-provoking, quirky, interesting and compelling drama."People are coming back because they're keen to know what happens." The second series of Homeland will be aired in the US on Sunday 30 September.
The second season of Homeland will consist of 12 one-hour episodes.
Professor Stephen Hawking films Big Bang Theory cameo fessor's new voice synthesizer, which replaced the robotic voice he has come to be associated with. Professor Hawking relies on text-to-speech software to communicate because of motor neurone disease, which leaves him unable to speak. He turned 70 earlier this year but missed some of his birthday celebrations due to illness.
Sci-fi cameos The Big Bang Theory is the second highest-rated comedy on US television, just behind Two And A Half Men. Both were created by Chuck Lorre.The self-styled "geek sitcom" revolves around four insular and awkward scientists and their neighbour Penny, an aspiring actress who works
The Foo Fighters, who picked up two prizes at this year's Grammy Awards including for best rock performance, last headlined the festival in 2005. Lead singer Dave Grohl has played the event before when he The line-up was with Nirvana and Them Croo- for the ked Vultures. Speaking to Lock-Up, BBC Radio 1's Annie Mac, Ka- Alternative sabian guitarist Serge Pizzorno and BBC said: "It's such a massive hon- Introducing our. When we stages for first went there we were second this year's on in a small tent. It's incred- festival are ible that we've got there. still to be It's going to be really special." confirmed Acts confirmed to play the NME/Radio 1 stage this year are The Maccabees, Foster The People, Justice, Two Door Cinema Club and The Horrors. Texan rockers At The Drive-In will headline the NME/Radio 1 tent the first UK shows they've announced since reforming in January. Metronomy, Katy B and Azealia Banks will play in the dance tent. The line-up for the Lock-Up, Alternative and BBC Introducing stages for this year's festival are still to be confirmed. Last year's headliners were Muse playingProfessor their Hawking's album cameo Origin will Of Symmetry in infull Pulp, be screened the -US on 5The April,Strokes and andonMy Chemical Channel 4 in theRomance. UK at a later date.
in a Cheesecake Factory restaurant. It has attracted many cameos from sci-fi actors such as Wil Wheaton, Summer Glau and Leonard Nimoy. Several high-profile scientists have also appeared, including astrophysicist Dr George Smoot and theoretical physicist Dr Brian Greene. Professor Hawking has been referenced in the series once before. During the fourth series, comic book fan Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg) left Sheldon a fake voicemail, pretending to be the British physicist."I wish to discuss your theory on black holes," said the message. "Meet me at Randy's Donuts."
PHOTO: BBC NEWS
BBC News The famous physicist will appear in a scene with socially awkward scientist Sheldon Cooper, played by Jim Parsons.Producers had asked Professor Hawking, best known for his best-selling book A Brief History of Time, to appear on the show before, but he had been too ill to take part. He previously recorded voice-overs for animations The Simpsons and Futurama. Last year, he fronted his own TV series Brave New World for Channel 4, which looked at new developments in science and how they might benefit mankind. It also showcased the Pro-
Foo Fighters, Kasabian and The Cure will headline this year's Reading and Leeds
Professor Hawking will appear alongside actor Jim Parsons, who has won an Emmy and Golden Globe for his portrayal of Sheldon Cooper
17 Theremin played Lenin pieces including Saint Saens' the Swan.
Leon Theremin: The man and the music machine By Martin Vennard BBC World Service
March 16-22, 2012
Theremin in film soundtracks •Spellbound (1945) •The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) •It Came from Outer Space •Ed Wood (1994) •Batman Forever (1995) •Mars Attacks! (1996)
And in pop music •Good Vibrations - Beach Boys •Velouria - The Pixies
Leon Theremin had come to the Bolshevik leader's attention after inventing a revolutionary electronic musical instrument that was played without being touched. Theremin was nervous before meeting Lenin, but later said the demonstration of his invention, which became known as the Theremin, had gone well. "Leon Theremin was very impressed by the meeting with Lenin in the Kremlin. He was a young Bolshevik at that time and he was very excited by the changes in the country and he respected Lenin a lot," says his grand-niece Lydia Kavina. "He saw Lenin as a very intelligent person and Lenin fully understood the wild and new ideas of the young inventor, and also Lenin was very skilled in music and tried to play the Theremin himself and with quite a good success and that impressed Leon Theremin a lot." The instrument consisted of a small wooden cabinet containing glass tube oscillators and two antennae - one sticking out the side and the other out of the top - which produced electromagnetic fields. Theremin played Lenin pieces including Saint Saens' the Swan. He then guided Lenin's hands - the right one moved to and from the vertical antenna, changing the instrument's pitch, the left one moved to and from the horizontal antenna, controlling the volume. Theremin, an amateur cellist, had come up with the idea for his instrument shortly after the Russian revolution in St Petersburg. He was developing an electronic device for measuring the density of gases and noticed the sound it made changed depending on the position of his hand. Lenin was so impressed he sent Theremin across Russia to show off his instrument and promote the electrification of the country. "He went all around Russia and gathered great crowds in squares and in halls and made a sensation," says Albert Glinsky, author of the Theremin biography Ether Music and Espionage. He was then sent to Europe and the US to showcase Soviet technology and his performances received widespread coverage in the newspapers, with headlines about magical music being created out of the air. "When he arrived in New York it was to great fanfare and he was celebrated as one of the great scientists and his invention was hailed as the equal of radio," Glinsky told the BBC World Service. He performed at Carnegie Hall. His instrument also attracted the attention of the Radio Corporation of America, RCA, who offered him what was then the huge sum of $100,000 to manufacture it.
•Echoes - Pink Floyd •Glory Box - Portishead •Little People - The White Stripes
“
Lenin was so impressed he sent Theremin across Russia to show off his instrument
Theremin also developed a prototype drum machine and an instrument that responded to a dancer's movements
Ninety years ago this month a young Russian scientist and inventor, Leon Theremin, was summoned to the Kremlin to meet Lenin. It was the start of an incredible journey that laid the foundations for modern electronic music, from the Beach Boys to Pink Floyd. A contract was signed on 12 March 1929, making RCA the first mass producer of an electronic instrument. "That moment was the beginning of a long progression that comes right up to this day when a young person goes into a store and says 'I want that electronic keyboard for my band,'" Glinsky says. "RCA felt this was going to replace the parlour piano and anyone who could wave their hands in the air or whistle a tune could make music in their home with this device." The Theremin went on sale in September 1929 at the relatively high price of $220 - a radio set cost about $30. It was also much more difficult to play than the advertising claimed. And just one month later came the Wall Street Crash. "You took it home and found that your best efforts led to squealing and moaning sounds. So the combination of the fact that only the most skilled people could teach themselves how to play it and the fact that there was a downturn in the economy meant that the instrument really wasn't a commercial success," Glinsky says. RCA halted production. Theremin saw little of the $100,000 he was paid, Glinsky says, which most likely went straight into Soviet coffers. But he stayed in the US for a while working on other projects, and engaging in industrial espionage. "His very reason for being sent over was his espionage mission," says Glinsky. Demonstrating the theremin instrument was just a distraction, a Trojan Horse, as it were. "He had special access to firms like RCA, GE, Westinghouse, aviation companies and so on, and shared
his latest technical know how with representatives from these companies to get them to open up to him about their latest discoveries. "He also ran his own companies, which were fronts for industrial espionage, and he reported to Amtorg, the Soviet trading corporation in America, itself a front for espionage activities." Theremin also developed a prototype drum machine and an instrument that responded to a dancer's movements, alarm systems and an electric door opener, but none of his inventions proved a commercial success, and he ended up in debt. He met and married a young black American ballet dancer, Lavinia Williams, in 1938. Lydia Kavina says the relationship further compounded his financial problems. "When he got married to the black woman, this event turned a lot of bankers and his sponsors away from him. It wasn't a time when such a marriage would be acceptable in American society." Later that year he returned suddenly to the Soviet Union, leaving his wife behind. Some people suggested he'd been kidnapped by Soviet officials, but Glinsky says a combination of debt and homesickness led to Theremin returning voluntarily. He returned to a Soviet Union in the grip of Stalin's purges. He was arrested and falsely accused of being a counter-revolutionary, for which he received an eight year sentence in 1939. He was sent to the Gulag in Siberia, but with war looming he was taken back to Moscow and, while still a prisoner, made to work on aircraft technology. He also developed highly
advanced bugging devices that were used against foreign embassies. Theremin was released in 1947 but returned to work for the state security system as a free man, then worked at the Moscow Conservatory where he worked on, and taught his instrument. In the US, the Theremin had been revived by Hollywood in the 1940s and 1950s. Its eerie sound was used in films such as Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound and sci-fi classics, such as The Day the Earth Stood Still. A young Robert Moog, who went on to become a synthesizer pioneer, began making and selling Theremins. He later wrote that it was a "vital cornerstone of our contemporary music technology". In the 1960s its sound made its way into popular music, most notably in the Beach Boys' song Good Vibrations - though it is believed the group may have used a Theremin-like instrument to mimic the sound, rather than the Theremin itself. Glinsky says Theremin knew little of what had happened to his most famous invention in the US until shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union when he was able to go abroad again. The author met Theremin on his trip to the US in 1991. "He was honoured not only in New York, but he was brought out to Stanford University. I'm sure deep inside he was very grateful to be recognised by people who knew the worth of what he'd one." Leon Theremin died in Moscow in 1993 aged 97. His invention is still made and played by enthusiasts around the world.
Lydia Kavina – Theremin´s grand-niece
A contract was signed on 12 March 1929, making RCA the first mass producer of an electronic instrument.
18
March 16 - 22 2012
“
You have a number of athletes who switch nationality mainly because there is absolutely no support or money available at the level of the sports ministries, there is no way they can get grants.” Jacques Rogge – President of The International Olympic Committee
review of work needed in all 12 cities hosting matches is scheduled for April
“
Maybe foreign tourists won't even notice, but a lot will be done only at the very last minute. If works are not finished on time, the government will put in place their plan B, C and D”
Jacques Rogge concerned at London 2012 nationality switches By David Bond
BBC Sports Editor in Lausanne
Brazil's deputy minister of Sport Luis Fernandes
Teixeira's departure should help improve the relationship with Fifa
PHOTO: BBC NEWS
for 2014? By Jefferson Puff
Sao Paulo BBC News The long drawn out resignation of Teixeira amid corruption allegations he refutes is the latest in a series of setbacks affecting World Cup plans which include delays in crucial works and an unresolved spat with Fifa. Two years away from the opening match, Brazil's Ministry of Sports says that all construction and renovation work on stadiums, airports and transport infrastructure considered "essential" is on schedule, but admits the possibility that "non-essential" work will not be done before June 2014. "There is no reason to doubt this World Cup's success, and, yes, we are absolutely sure that it will take place," Brazil's deputy minister of Sport Luis Fernandes told the BBC. "However, we are studying possibilities to replace and adapt some of the works that may not be finished on time. He did not, however, want to give details of what he meant by non-essential work. A review of work needed in all 12 cities hosting matches is scheduled for April, when it is expected that the government will announce the revised plans.
"Shortcuts" Gil Castello Branco, head of Contas Abertas, a NGO that promotes transparency in public expenditure, believes Brazilians are capable of delivering the games on time. "That will, depend, however, on a great dose of improvisation," he told the BBC. Some of these "shortcuts" have been included in the World Cup bill, which is expected to go before the Brazilian parliament this week. Among the measures, are plans to declare public holidays in all cities hosting matches and changes in traffic regulations to allow the uncongested flow of
The resignation of Ricardo Teixeira as head of Brazil's football federation , as well as the local organising committee for the World Cup has raised a vital question - will Brazil be ready to host the world's greatest soccer tournament in 2014? thousands of people to the stadiums. Critics say these measures are being taken to compensate for the absence of crucial works in transportation infrastructure, but will compromise the expected legacy of the event to Brazilians. "Maybe foreign tourists won't even notice, but a lot will be done only at the very last minute. If works are not finished on time, the government will put in place their plan B, C and D," says Castello Branco. Of the 12 stadiums which are either being constructed or renovated, only two are more than half way finished and some crucial transportation links such as a monorail linking Sao Paulo's central airport to metropolitan trains is still going through a bid process. And amid fears that Brazil will not be able to cope with an increase in air traffic there are reports of delays in work at the 13 airports needing expansion around the country.
Teixeira So will the resignation of Ricardo Teixera - a figure who has dominated Brazilian football for 23 years - have a positive or negative effect on the preparations for the World Cup? On the one hand the constant allegations of corruption as well as the animosity between Texeira and Fifa, as well as the Brazilian president, Dilma Rousseff, has made the process of delivering a World Cup far from smooth.
"We're talking about a country that has longstanding difficulties in medium and long-term planning, and having people in leadership positions that do not have clean records and do not enjoy full confidence of the government only makes things harder," says Caio Magri, director of Ethos, an affiliate of Transparency International in Brazil. But Magri believes Teixeira's absence will have a limited effect, owing to the very similar profile of his successor, 79-year-old José Maria Marín. "There might be a change of mood, but interests are the same". Senator Álvaro Dias, a long running critic of football administration in Brazil, believes it was an overdue decision. "It's a shame, more than a victory, that it took so long for someone so demoralised to step aside". Luis Fernandes, deputy minister of Sport, told the BBC the government's relationship with the football association and the Local Organising Committee remained strong and was built on "institutional bases, and not personal ones." Teixeira's departure should help improve the relationship with Fifa, but there is still a lot of bridge-building to be done. Following the comment by Fifa secretary-general, Jérôme Valcke, that Brazilian organisers needed "a kick up the backside," Fifa president Sepp Blatter is meeting with Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff this week in the hope of getting the strained relationship back on track.
His comments came at the end of a twoday meeting of the IOC executive board on Wednesday which approved the applications of two foreign-born athletes Cuban triple jumper Yamile Aldama and Germany cyclist Philip Hindes - to compete for Britain at this summer's London Games. Rogge said: "You have athletes who for absolutely legitimate reasons want to change nationality, because they get married, because they get a new job, because of studies. "You have a number of athletes who switch nationality mainly because there is absolutely no support or money available at the level of the sports ministries, there is no way they can get grants. "These athletes want to change nationalities on the proposal of other countries. "It is not what I love the most but I understand the needs of the athletes who want to develop their skills and who sometimes have family and professional and family responsibilities. "Then you have those athletes where there is support for them but they go to another country because there is a bigger gain to be made. Legally we cannot stop this but it does not mean we love it. "I have reservations in the cases of the athletes who obviously don't lack any support emanating from their sporting and government authorities and who still change nationality. We cannot oppose it because it is a matter of sovereignty but let me tell you frankly we do not love that." The debate over so-called 'plastic Brits' was reopened at last weekend's World Indoor Athletics championships in Istanbul when UK Athletics performance director Charles Van Commenee selected American born Tiffany Porter to captain the British team. She is one of a number of foreign born athletes who look set to compete for the British athletics team in London. Asked specifically about the Porter case today Rogge added that he knew that in that situation the athlete qualified for British citizenship because her mother was born in Britain.
19
March 16-22, 2012
The Austrian with the boxer's nose is chiefly remembered for being F1's first
Formula 1’s greatest drivers. Number 20: Jochen Rindt BBC News Throughout Formula 1 history, there have been drivers who, through ability and charisma, have left an impression that transcends their limited results. Jochen Rindt, number 20 on BBC F1's list of the greatest drivers of all time, is one such man. The Austrian with the boxer's nose is chiefly remembered for being F1's first and so far only - posthumous world champion. Killed in a crash during practice for the 1970 Italian Grand Prix, he was not crowned until the following month, after his rivals failed to beat his points total from the season's remaining races. But Rindt was so much more than that - he was one of the most flamboyant and exciting drivers in the history of the sport. His brusque, typically Austrian manner - not unlike that of his countryman Niki Lauda - meant some thought him arrogant. But to those close to him including his wife, Nina, a Finnish model - Rindt was funny, generous and kind. He is renowned as one of the most aggressive drivers, with a wild and exciting style, famous for his car control. But like Gilles Villeneuve a decade later, this came about from a career spent largely in uncompetitive cars - which he needed to wring the neck of to go fast. In fact, like Villeneuve, Rindt was one of the fairest and cleanest drivers of his time, and when he got into better cars, his driving became increasingly smooth. Nevertheless, what marked him out was his ability to create moments that took the breath away. One such was at the wet Silverstone International Trophy in 1969. Rindt was making up ground after being delayed by an earlier engine problem, which then cleared. Heading on one lap into Stowe Corner - then a super-fast bend that tested the very best - Rindt was closing on Piers Courage and Jacky Ickx, who themselves were coming up to lap Pedro Rodriguez and Graham Hill. When they turned into the corner, Rindt was at the back of the five cars; when they came out, he was at the front. It was, say those who were there, one of those moments that makes you doubt what you have seen. The British Grand Prix that year, also at Silverstone, was another highlight. Rindt and Jackie Stewart staged one of the greatest races there has ever been. Swapping places for lap after lap, sometimes several times a lap, they disputed the lead, running at record speeds despite the intensity of their duel. Only when Rindt's Lotus ran into problems did the battle break up. "It was a fantastic battle," Stewart remembers, "yet full of good humour. Occasionally we'd go through Becketts or somewhere side by side, neither of us willing to give way, yet taking care always to give the other fellow room. And we'd come out of the corner and look across at each other." Few of his contemporaries doubted that Rindt was the quickest driver of his time - at
Jochen Rindt (1942-1970) •Grands prix: 62 F1's greatest drivers - Jochen Rindt
PHOTO: BBC NEWS
This year, BBC Sport is profiling 20 of the greatest Formula 1 drivers of all time. The BBC F1 team were asked to provide their own personal top 20s, which were combined to produce a BBC list. Veteran commentator Murray Walker provides his own reflections in a video of their career highlights, and chief F1 writer Andrew Benson profiles the driver. To start the series, number 20 - Jochen Rindt. least once Jim Clark was killed early in 1968. Yet he had to wait four years after his debut in 1965 with Cooper to win his first grand prix, saddled as he was with cars that were off the pace and, often, unreliable. That meant he had to forge his reputation against the likes of Stewart, Clark and Hill in Formula 2, in an era when F1 drivers also raced in the lower category. Rindt's fortunes changed when he joined Lotus in 1969. He moved there because he wanted a winning car but it was not an easy decision, for he did not trust the integrity of the designs of the legendary team boss Colin Chapman. There was no doubt about the speed of Chapman's cars - but it was a speed based often on paring things to the bone, and as a result they tended to break a lot as well. Rindt was effectively a replacement for Clark, the greatest driver of the era, who had been killed in a Lotus in a Formula 2 race at Hockenheim the year before Rindt joined the team. Chapman had been very close to Clark, but he always had a frosty relationship with Rindt. This was not helped in their first season together when the notorious high rear wing failed on Rindt's car during the Spanish Grand Prix on the fast Montjuic circuit in Barcelona. He was lucky to escape serious injury when his car overturned after hitting the wreckage of team-mate Hill's car, which had earlier suffered the same failure in exactly the same place. Likewise, in 1970, Rindt initially dis-
trusted Chapman's new Lotus 72, and it was in the older 49 that he took his first win that season - chasing down Jack Brabham in the closing laps of Monaco in stunning style and pressuring the veteran Australian into crashing at the last corner of the last lap. Eventually, Rindt came to accept the 72 and, after a run of four wins, that summer he arrived at the Italian GP on the brink of the world title. But again there was a dispute with Chapman. Rindt had wanted to race the 49 at Monza, thinking it would be better suited to the fast track, then without the chicanes of its modern format. But when he got there, there were three 72s, and Chapman told him to get on with it. There was further controversy when Chapman took off the car's wings in the pursuit of straight-line speed. In that specification the car was very difficult to drive, to the point that it completely spooked third driver John Miles. Then, in Saturday practice, Rindt's car veered suddenly left approaching the Parabolica, one of the fastest parts of the track, and crashed into the wall, probably because of a rear suspension failure. Rindt, not wearing a crotch strap, 'submarined' in the cockpit and suffered unsurvivable throat injuries caused by the seat-belt buckle. There was talk at the time that he might have been planning to retire at the end of the season. But The Independent's F1 correspondent David Tremayne, who has
•Pole position: 10 •Wins: 6 •World champion: 1970
Jochen Rindt was F1's only posthumous world champion Rindt won the British Grand Prix in 1970
written an exhaustively researched biography, believes Rindt would have continued for another year with Lotus, before joining forces with his manager Bernie Ecclestone to set up their own team.
How good was he? Jackie Stewart and Jim Clark, as you will see, have places much higher on this list. Yet Rindt could run with them on an equal basis and beat them on his day. And Stewart, the only surviving member of the trio, still has the utmost respect for him. That says it all.
20
March 16 - 22 2012
The style was started by a group of rich young men who took the Grand Tour around Europe after finishing their formal education
Fashion: History's
shocking styles By Denise Winterman
BBC News Magazine Last year it was a dress made from 3,000 cow and yak nipples - this year it's anyone's guess what will cause a storm at London Fashion Week (LFW). High fashion often seems to translate into some rather strange looks: shower cap shoes, Pac-Man helmets and table skirts to name just a few. But LFW is lightweight compared with some of the shocking styles of the past. Trends from centuries gone by have caused public outcry, been branded indecent, decadent - even unpatriotic. Others have played their part in shaping history. Fashion sometimes clashes with the prevailing social mores, says US fashion historian Katy Werlin. They would laugh in the face of today's metrosexual man and what he considers to be looking after his appearance. They'd scoff at David Beckham in his sarong. When it comes to male preening and blurring the gender divide, it was a group of young British aristocrats who led the way in the mid-1700s. Known as the Macaronis, they shocked and scandalised - and revelled in doing so. The style was started by a group of rich young men who took the Grand Tour around Europe after finishing their formal education. Think of it as a very expensive and very exclusive 18th Century gap year. They adopted the flamboyant continental styles of the French and Italians, but taking every detail to the very extreme. Supposedly, the name Macaroni came about because they also developed a taste for the food in Italy. Towering, elaborate wigs were worn with tiny hats perched on top. Garishly patterned waistcoats clashed with brightly coloured stockings. Every detail, down to the buckles on their shoes, was over the top. They even developed their own form of language, mixing French and Italian words with English and using different pronunciation. But what also scandalised was the fact that Macaronis were so obsessed with fashion in the first place, regardless of their outlandish taste, says Werlin. The 18th Century was the period when fashion became gendered and they were ripping up the rules. But ultimately it was a fad. Men's fashion quickly moved
London Fashion Week has kicked off and usually manages to cause some controversy. But that's only to be expected - style has been scandalising for centuries. on to more simple styles championed by Beau Brummell, the arbiter of men's fashion in Regency England. He believed good dressing came across in immaculate details, not ostentatious display. His style was a direct reaction to the Macaronis, says fashion historian and trend forecaster Amber Butchart. Chemise a la reine It was this portrait that shocked a nation. Marie Antoinette, the queen of France in 1783, had already out-
raged the French with her opulence; now she managed to scandalise the nation by ditching the glitz and taking a more simple approach to her outfits. So simple, in fact, that the nation thought she had posed for the portrait in her underwear. Imagine the reaction if the Duchess of Cambridge was thought to have posed in her briefs and you get an idea of the shock it created. Marie Antoinette began wearing a light, shapeless dress called a gaulle. It was made of layers of sim-
ple muslin, loose-fitting and shaped by a sash tied around the waist. It also didn't have the usual panniers under the skirt, which were often so extreme that door frames had to be widened to accommodate dresses. It meant the material could mould around the legs, also shocking at the time. But despite initially being decried as indecent, by the 1790s French and British women had started to adopt muslin chemise dresses, says Sonnet Stanfill, a fashion curator at the V&A. It was the precursor to the light, simpler styles of the early 19th Century, worn by the likes of Jane Austen. Bloomer suit Woe betide a woman who showed an ankle in the mid-1800s. In large parts of the world, skirts were long to protect a woman's modesty, corsetry was tight and restrictive and wearing anything that was remotely masculine would raise the nation's collective eyebrow - to put it mildly. Hence the outrage caused by the bloomer suit, even though the long trousers were worn under long skirts and tied at the ankle. Even that smallest flash of the bloomers was enough to work people up into a frenzy of disgust. Designed by Elizabeth Smith Miller in New York in 1851 and championed by women's rights activist Amelia Bloomer, the small group of women wearing them regarded them as a healthy and rational alternative to the cumbersome skirts of the time. They made riding a bike and other tasks of daily life a lot easier. But society was not ready for women in trousers, even if they were almost entirely hidden under a skirt. Again, satirists of the time jumped on the back of the moral outcry and ridiculed the look. They drew cartoons of women acting like men and dressed in bloomers. Conservative society won out this time and the bloomer suit went back in the wardrobe. When it returned decades later, it had lost none of its power to scandalise. In the early 1900s, bloomers started to be worn again, but this time without a skirt on top and the trousers were tied at the knee. Most people still thought they robbed women of their femininity. It still wasn't until the 1930s that allfemale colleges accepted the trousers anywhere else. Despite the struggle to get them accepted in mainstream society, the bloomer suit went on to change what women wore forever. The New Look Nowadays it's wearing too few clothes that often creates a furore; not so for Christian Dior. In 1947, he showed his first collection since World War II in Paris. It shocked and
“
So a radi cal new fashion trend probably would not have the same shock value as it did 100 years ago." Katy Werlin, US fashion historian
outraged people and was even branded unpatriotic, simply because of the copious amount of fabric used to make the longer, more voluminous skirts. The war had finished but a lot of European countries were still undergoing clothes rationing. The UK government's Making of Civilian Clothing (restriction order) prohibited the wasteful cutting of cloth. It also set a list of restrictions that tailors and dressmakers had to work to which dictated the number of buttons and pockets and amount of trim an outfit could have. At the time, women's fashion had also become very tailored and masculine, with sharp shoulders. It was the influence of military styles and also reflected the work women had been doing during the war, in factories and fields. In stark contrast, Dior's New Look featured long hemlines and full skirts that were tightly nipped in at the waist. It created the perfect hourglass silhouette. The fabrics he used were expensive too satins, fine wools and taffeta. With many people still hard-up and struggling, the lavish style was considered an insult by many. The designer was also backed by textile manufacturers, and some saw the design as a way to increase their profits. Modern designers still cite Dior's New Look as a shocking and seminal part of fashion history. Alexander McQueen, famous for his own extreme styles, called it a "radical fashion moment". It was also a return to an almost Victorian silhouette, with the nipped-in waist and softer shoulders. This was interpreted as sending a message to women. It may have scandalised initially, but Dior's instinct proved right. Fed up with the restrictions imposed by the war, women eventually started to embrace the new style. It went on to influence women's fashion well into the next decade.
21 Harry announced plans to expand his Sentebale charity from helping disadvantaged children
Prince Harry in Brazil: I can’t find love, says royal Prince Harry has admitted he sometimes wishes he was "normal" and suggested his royal role can put women off. BBC NEWS The prince spoke at the end of his 10-day tour to the Caribbean and Brazil, which included duties as part of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations. In an interview with US broadcaster CBS News, Harry was asked if royalty lived up to the fairytale. He replied: "No, not at all. As any girl would ever tell you. It's sort of, 'Oh my God, he's a prince'. "But no. The job that it entails - I mean look at me, I'm 27 years old, and not so much searching for someone to fulfil the role, but obviously, you know, finding someone that would be willing to take it on." The prince also spoke about his responsibilities as a royal, referring to the work he can do for good causes. He said: "There's a lot of times that both myself and my brother wish, obviously, that we were just completely normal. "We've been born into this position
and therefore we'll do what we need to do to people and to kids that need it. It really is that simple for us." Harry was asked about how the Queen's jubilee would be marked as a family. "When I get back, I'm sure ideas will start flowing," he said. "Us, as a group of grandchildren, will hopefully be able to have a dinner and do something fun with her, maybe take her out on the town, I don't know." Earlier this week, Harry announced plans to expand his Sentebale charity from helping disadvantaged children the southern African country of Lesotho to carrying out projects worldwide. The prince visited the Commonwealth nations of Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas on the Diamond Jubilee tour, followed by a trip to Brazil, during which he promoted a British government campaign to encourage more tourists to visit the UK.
Prince Harry spoke about his responsibilities as a royal and work for good causes
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We've been born into this position and therefore we'll do what we need to do to people and to kids that need it. It really is that simple for us." Prince Harry
London 2012: Princess Beatrice to run in Olympic Park race Princess Beatrice is to take part in a race in the Olympic Park which will see the public being the first to cross the Olympic Stadium finishing line.
Beatrice will officially start the event before taking part herself and then distributing finishers medals to the last runners.
BBC News Princess Beatrice is to take part in a race in the Olympic Park which will see the public being the first to cross the Olympic Stadium finishing line. Runners from around the UK will take part in the five mile National Lottery run on 31 March. The princess, who in 2010 was the first royal to complete the London Marathon, said she was excited to be taking part. More than 40,000 people applied for the 5,000 places which were allocated through a random ballot. Runners, including a number of former Olympic and Paralympic athletes, will set off on the route around the Olympic Park in waves before finishing inside the Olympic Stadium. Their journey will start 300m (984ft) away from London's newest landmark, the spiralling red Orbit Tower, and pass the Athletes' Village, Velodrome, Basketball Arena and other venues. Beatrice will officially start the event
Beatrice was the first member of the Royal Family to run the London Marathon
before taking part herself and then distributing finishers medals to the last runners. "I am very excited about the opportunity to start the event and really looking forward to taking part in the run," she said. The princess added she would be joined by a group of friends, some of whom took part alongside her in the London Marathon in which she was part of a "human caterpillar". Dianne Thompson, Chief Executive of The National Lottery operator, Camelot Group, said: "It seems particularly fitting given that not only is this the year in which we are celebrating Her Majesty The Queen's Diamond Jubilee, but also the run will take place in what will ultimately
Runners from around the UK will take part in the five mile National Lottery run on 31 March. become the Queen Elizabeth Park." The announcement comes after Prince Harry completed a Jubilee tour of Belize, the Bahamas, Jamaica and Brazil which saw him race with Usain Bolt and visit Rio, host city of the next summer Olympic Games in 2016.
March 16-22, 2012
Palace to host diamond exhibition for Diamond Jubilee BBC News The Royal Collection exhibition, which will take place in August and September, will chart the precious gemstone's association with British monarchs over the last 200 years. It will include some of the Sovereign's personal jewels. Among items on show will be the Girls of Great Britain Tiara, which the Queen wore at a state banquet in November. It was a wedding present to Princess Victoria Mary of Teck, later Queen Mary the Queen's grandmother - on behalf of the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland in 1893. Originally crafted with upright pearls around the top and a bandeau base, it was altered in 1920 by Queen Mary who replaced the pearls with diamonds and removed the base. The tiara is one of the Queen's favourites and is known as "Granny's tiara", being a wedding present from her grandmother in 1947. Visitors to the exhibition, which the Royal Collection website says will cost £18 for an adult, will also see the necklace and earrings worn by the Queen at her coronation ceremony in Westminster Abbey in 1953. The collet necklace is formed of 25 large graduated cushion-shaped brilliant-cut diamonds and a central dropshaped pendant of 22.48 carats. It was created in 1858 for Queen Victoria - the only other British monarch to celebrate a Diamond Jubilee - from a Garter badge and ceremonial sword. Historic pieces such as Queen Victoria's miniature personal crown, which contains nearly 1,200 diamonds, will also be on view. The monarch's Williamson Brooch which features a rare pink diamond said to be the finest in existence - will be also be on display.
Touring exhibition The diamond exhibition is one of a number of exhibitions taking place to mark the Queen's 60 years on the throne. Sixty photographs of The Queen, including the work of leading press photographers of the past six decades, will go on display at Windsor Castle until January 2013. An exhibition of some of the finest treasures from the Royal Collection will go on display at The Queen's Gallery, Palace of Holyroodhouse, between 16 March and 16 September. Highlights of the selection of 100 outstanding works - which has been made from eight royal residences and includes paintings, drawings, manuscripts, furniture and jewellery include paintings by Rembrandt and Monet and drawings by Michelangelo. There will also be a touring exhibition of 10 of Leonardo da Vinci's finest drawings in the Royal Collection. The exhibition will visit Birmingham, Bristol, Ulster, Dundee and Hull. In addition, the largest ever exhibition of Leonardo da Vinci's studies of the human body will be shown at The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace, between 4 May and 7 October.
What to do
22
March 16-22, 2012
What to do Art in the Beach Local Artists Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday Calle 16 between 5 and10 Playa del Carmen. 6 to 11 pm I Festival Cancun-Riviera Maya wine & food Cancun Until March 18 www.cancunwineandfoodfest.com Photography workshop (Basic) By Eric Mercier Date: Until March 17 (Only Saturday) Phone: 8724403 Place: Galeria Azul Cozumel. 11 AM
FRIDAY 16 Opening Exhibit
"Ojos que vuelven a las sombras flores" By Coco Izquierdo No Cover Until March 31 House of Culture Tulum. 7 pm Jazz Dance Congress I Ciad 16, 17 and 18 March Involving all modalities B2B Hotel Contact: yesslara@gmail.com
SATURDAY 17 Performing Arts Equinox Festival Organised by the Tree Theatre and 20Varos Productions 17 to 21 March Parque La Ceiba Diag. 60 and 1 st South Playa del Carmen. 7 pm
Thomas A. Edison Quotes
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Jazz Dance Congress I Ciad 16, 17 and 18 March Involving all modalities B2B Hotel Contact: yesslara@gmail.com
SUNDAY 18 Recital By: Adela La Rosa Guerrero, Jose Antonio and Juan Antonio Gou House of Culture Avenue 115 and Cross Services square in front of the Americas Free admission Playa del Carmen. 12 hours Performing Arts Equinox Festival Organised by the Tree Theatre and 20Varos Productions Marine snail Playa del Carmen. 6 pm
Jazz Dance Congress I Ciad 16, 17 and 18 March Involving all modalities B2B Hotel Contact: yesslara@gmail.com
Processing Workshop of kites By Renato Olabarriaga House of Culture Tulum. 10 a.m.
Conference Genesis of the Maya Archaeologist Guillermo Luis Leyra free admission House of Culture Yaxchilan Avenue s / n sm 21 Phone: 884 8229 884 8258 and Cancun. 7 pm
MONDAY 19 XIII Tulum Kite Festival 2012 Contest Cash prizes Fishermen beach Tulum. 9 a.m.
American Inventor (February 11, 1847 - October 18, 1931) “Just because something doesn't do what you planned it to do doesn't mean it's useless.”
“Maturity is often more absurd than youth and very frequently is most unjust to youth.” “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
“Discontent is the first necessity of progress.” “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.”
“Show me a thoroughly satisfied man and I will show you a failure.”
“Great ideas originate in the muscles.”
my life. It was all fun.”
WEDNESDAY 21
XXX International Congress Occupational Health Cancun 2012 Cancun Center March 18-23 www.icohcongress2012cancun.org
Anything that won't sell, I don't want to invent. Its sale is proof of utility, and utility is success
“I never did a day's work in
Riviera Maya Film Festival Riviera Maya Date: 20-25 March www.rmff.mx
“The best thinking has been done in solitude. The worst has been done in turmoil.”
“I start where the last man left off.” “It is astonishing what an effort it seems to be for many people to put their brains definitely and systematically to work.”
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MARCH
TUESDAY 20
“There is no substitute for hard work.”
23
March 16-22, 2012
Mexican Pesto To prepare
Place the pumpkin seeds in a food processor or blender; pulse until coarsely chopped. Add cilantro, cheese, garlic, chile pepper, salt, and olive oil; cover and process until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl with a spatula as necessary.
Ingredients
1/4 cup hulled pumpkin seeds (pepitas) 1 bunch cilantro
1 serrano chile pepper, seeded 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup grated cotija cheese 4 cloves garlic
March 16 - 22, 2012 Aries
Mercury turns retrograde in your sign - which doesn't mean you''' slow down or walk backwards! It probably says something about the need to review a relationship. Is it possible you've called 'quits' too early or that you're being guided by an expert who's not actually moving you forwards? It's just possible you might effect a u-turn. Of course, another possibility is that you'll click with someone new altogether. Whatever, it's through a union that it appears you'll stabilise and at last feel confident True, there may still be several hurdles to overcome - this week though you should feel as though you have the right 'army' around you. One proviso - the attractions of luxury may be irresistible - take care you don't over-spend.
True, a series of apparently positive aspects focused on your sign suggest you could make breakthroughs (experience luck?) this week. It's as likely though that you'll be closing a chapter and declaring your intention to move on. If you've been awaiting the 'perfect' moment to break a habit, then the time may be now. Certainly it seems you won't be short on support if you do need to face big challenges. It's the big issues - life, death, and the meaning of it all which may have much of your attention - which includes thoughts on legacies and the area to which you feel you belong. It might even be that you plan a journey directly connected to these thoughts. If there is a proviso it's that your imagination could run riot - which might not be helpful.
Gemini
You may have been resistant to technology in the past but now find you have a fascination - or that you simply have to learn new skills. With Mercury retrograde this issue is unlikely to go away. It may well prove easier to accept the assistance of someone more familiar than you are with these things and start training (or purchase the items) you need. At many levels it seems you'll be reaching out. Of course, it could be that you're being pushed by someone who's decided you're using displacement activity to avoid dealing with certain matters. Truth - what it is and how it's told - could play on your mind greatly making it important that you read documents extra carefully and take a good witness with you if you attend key meetings.
This could prove a week to remember! Not only might your social life expand but you could find yourself in considerable professional demand - and mainly because others are talking about your special gifts (crisis management skills?!). With Mercury now retrograde (and so going back over degrees it's covered in the last couple of weeks), you may find others turn to you to help resolve issues that have developed because decisions were taken in too big a hurry in the first place. And yes, you could feel empowered. Fabulous as all this might sound, it could all prove too much - a feast when all you really needed was a decent meal. So don't be surprised if you conclude the working week depleted in energy. Perhaps you could then allow others to nurture you instead of the other way round (They may be looking for the opportunity).
Leo
Cancer
As you may know, those of your sign seem sensitive to the cycles of both Mars and Pluto. This week those two planets are a third of a cycle apart (traditionally seen as a 'good' thing). There's even the possibility of experiencing good fortune through others - and in, perhaps, a rather unexpected way. Someone whom you may have thought of as doing little could pull the proverbial rabbit from the hat - and just in time. Though you may sense that not everything has been sufficiently well thought through, what transpires suggests recovery - even if that means (in the short term) drastic action. With your energy levels high, you might also feel emboldened to take risks that a week ago would have seemed foolhardy.
Sagittarius
Though domestic disruption may have started some weeks ago, it seems there's more to come and that until mid-April you may not know where you are from day to day. That might also be true at work. And yet, in both areas it seems progress is being made. This week the implications of recent successes should be apparent. You may find too - that as was the case a couple of weeks ago - there are choices for you to make. True, you might not get fully into your stride on these new projects until the Sun enters Taurus on 20th of next month. This week though it shouldn't be hard to experience a feeling of quiet satisfaction - with just the possibility of something to celebrate midweek. It wouldn't be surprising if this involved a partnership arrangement.
Aquarius
Virgo
Mercury is now retrograde in your opposite sign - which might mean that others come round to ideas you've been incubating over the last year but which, as yet, they haven't adopted. It's also possible that a little luck will head your way. Something you've written may have had bigger impact than you'd imagined. It might also be that you're offered a travel opportunity that really is too good to miss. A further possibility is that a partner will have very good news to share. Your business brain may be tested to the full. Perhaps it's time for you to give greater thought to longterm investments and pension-planning? And then there's activity on the domestic front which seems to involve moving furniture and space-clearing.
Scorpio
It might be worth thinking back to your birthday period in 2009 and reviewing all that's happened since then. Are you now ready for the next stage? Might it be that your financial circumstances have now changed considerably and that it's time to review long-term plans? It could be that through a partner or relative there are more decisions to be made (specifically in how you look after a legacy or inheritance). Joint financial matters seem certain to command attention. With Mercury now retrograde in another of the Fire sign you might also review the way in which you approach risk. With what appears to be a 'lucky break' being offered, thinking carefully about how you can build security could be high priority. In this respect, and not for the first time, those born under Taurus and Libra may have significant roles to play.
Capricorn
Mercury is now retrograde - and in a Fire sign. You may find that the energy others appeared to have available last week is now sizzling a little - perhaps even in danger of dying out. Maybe they feel practicalities are too much for them to handle? Your help and advice might not just be welcomed but even listened to. Tempting as it may be to smooth their path as much as possible, you perhaps need to leave them to find their feet which could take until Mercury stations early next month. In the interim, real progress could be made with a property matter. This looks as though it's far more than the usual spring-cleaning and decorating needs for this time of year - and more to do with your need to have your environment express a new 'you'.
Some truly amazing aspects occur this week and which highlights career issues. So yes, you could reach a turning point. Given that Mercury is now retrograde it's possible you'll be asked back to a place to help out. Though financially this might seem a good thing, it could also be a distraction. (It probably depends on the time line). The good news is that others clearly want you on their team. It may be that keeping these contacts in good shape is of long-term value. Any financial bonus isn't to be disregarded either. The art may be to find ways of keeping other pots on the fire still simmering. Here you might need help - and perhaps from a Sagittarius who believes in you and your plans.
Sudoku
Mercury starts a retrograde period in another of the Fire signs and yes, there may be moments when you feel you've lost a little sizzle. This is, perhaps, the cosmos' way of asking you to accept a different pace. So very much can be achieved in the next few days - and all of it practical, grounded and of longterm benefit. Yes, there will be snags along the way, but effort put in now should ensure these don't sabotage the work you've put in this far. True, you may be asked to think bigger and out of your comfort zone and yes, you could come across someone who is even more determined than you can be. The art may be to let their energy propel things along and save your fire for when it's needed toward the end of the month.
Your ruling planet is now retrograde in one of the Fire signs - and it may be someone born under Aries, Leo or Sagittarius who effects a change of heart or adopts a new pace and thus makes life so much easier for you. There is a sense in which it seems you're building up to something big in time. This may have been in the pipeline for a couple of years. This then may be make or break time. Recall that Neptune has now begun its long, slow movement through your opposite sign and that this will have some effect on your natural creativity. At one level you may feel you've lost impetus in fulfilling a dream. It's as likely that you're ready to explore new ones.
Libra
Taurus
6 tablespoons olive oil
Each Sudoku has a unique solution that can be reached logically without guessing. Enter digits from 1 to 9 into the blank spaces. Every row must contain one of each digit. So must every column, as must every 3x3 square.
Pisces