gair rhydd Monday March 05 2012 | freeword – Est. 1972 | Issue 972
NUS invite student media to question candidates Sheri Hall & Matt Jones News Editors
Henry McMorrow News Editor Last week saw the return of the annual Go Global week. Go Global’s objective lies in the exhibition and celebration of the wealth of cultural diversity at Cardiff University. During the week, the Union hosted a range of events that showed how enriched the University is as
a result of its global intake of students. The week saw a deluge of societies, largely sequestered between Freshers Periods, remerge to remind students of the breadth of societies on offer, that cater for all. Harry Newman, Societies officer, said, “I am very proud of all the societies who contributed to the success of the week.
“The way in which they inspired people to get involved was admirable and led to a lot of students discovering more about the diversity which surrounds them every day. “Many thanks to all the volunteers who helped make their events happen.”
Continued on page 7...
Student media had the chance to grill NUS candidates at an exclusive press conference last week, putting aspiring officers on the spot about their plans for student welfare. The press conference was the first of its kind and invited student media outlets to question candidates’ manifestos and demand answers about controversial student issues. The event imitated a real press conference as student editors were sat in front of a panel of NUS presidential candidates and given the chance to ask questions and record the proceedings. Editor of the London Student, Hesham Zakai felt the event was a significant step forward for student democracy: “The press conference provided the sort of intense scrutiny of candidates by student journalists that is unfortunately lacking at the NUS National Conference and thus represents an important step in making the election process as a whole more democratic.” The media event has come in preparation for the NUS National conference, where candidates will stand for election and be voted for by delegates from universities throughout the UK. The conference was split into six question and answer sessions,
each with a different panel of presidential and vice presidential candidates running for various roles as NUS officers. Kylie Barton, editor in chief of Bath University’s student newspaper, Impact, thought that the format was an effective way to tackle the candidates: “It was great that they could not see our questions first as I feel we got more honest answers that way.” The London Student Editor thought that the structure was not without its flaws: “There was no chance for students asking questions to challenge the answers of the candidates and perhaps it could have been longer on the whole.” Sheffield, Bath and Salford were among the attending institutions, and brought up a variety of issues, some specific to their own universities and some relevant to the wider student population. Concerns that appeared to be shared across universities included Vice Chancellor’s bonuses, unpaid internships, and the NUS’s relevance to students at the grass roots level. The NUS National elections, which will take place in Sheffield this year, will decide which of the independent candidates will lead the direction of the NUS and how it represents students on issues such as finance, access to education and student welfare in general.
gair rhydd looks at key issues raised at the conference on page 4
Above: Performers from the Malaysian Society and belly dancers, from the Pole dancing society inspire the audience.
The Queer Issue free inside
02
gr
Monday March 05 2012• #gairrhydd • editor@gairrhydd.com
Uni watch.
EDITOR Oliver Smith CO-ORDINATOR Elaine Morgan ONLINE EDITOR Chris Williams NEWS Sheri Hall Henry McMorrow Matt Jones Laura Evans OPINION Izzy Voss Libby van den Bosch COLUMNIST Lydia Davies POLITICS Luke Slade Sophie Gidley FEATURES Ellen Atkinson Ali Ishaq Jenny Kendall SCIENCE Jenny Lambourne Natalie Healey SOCIETIES Isabelle Roberts
Royally rewarded Catherine Airey News Reporter
A missing serpent
Kayleigh Chan News Reporter
The search has been called off at the University of Leeds after a snake had gone missing in student halls. The reptile, which went missing at the start of February, was a pet of a resident who had left the animal in their sink while preparing its vivarium. After weeks of searching, the-
university have decided not to dedicate any more time to finding the missing serpent. It is thought that due to the cold weather conditions, the Dwarf Boa Constrictor may not have lasted longer than a week in the outside world. Condolences have been pouring in from the student community including the University’s HarryPotter and Quidditch societies.
LISTINGS Gareth Johnston TAF-OD Caio Iwan Osian Gruffydd SPORT Jamie Evans Zac Cole Jonathan Frank CONTRIBUTORS Kayleigh Chan Catherine Airey Katie Bennett Sophie Chamberlain Viktor Tsvetanov Joe Fenn Bryony Parry Alice Marriott Trisha Chowdhury Charlotte Wace Alex Greig Joanne Faulkner Helen Cox Demetrios Chatzidakes-Zavorianos Dana Beltaji Hugh Rodger Elise Smith Rachel Benson Samuel Durley Rhys Clayton Paul Wilkinson Katie Brown Rhys Griffiths Sion Roberts Sophie Daw Tom Parry-Jones Lauren Smith Ross Marttinovic Rupert Taylor George Dugdale Lauren Smith Tazine Bogue
news.
Missed out last term? Why not...
Get gair involved. rhydd
HRH the Queen has awarded prizes to Universities throughout the country this week to celebrate the Queen’s Anniversary prize for higher and further education. The Prizes are the UK’s most prestigious form of recognition for a UK academic or vocational institution from The Queen and Parliament. Southampton University has been amongst the shortlisted Universities to achieve the prize and on Friday February 24 were commended for their contribution to performance sports engineering. The University has
four decades of innovation and world-leading expertise which supports sports ranging from cycling and F1 racing to swimming and yachting. Consequently, a number of high-performance sports competitors have benefitted from Southampton’s technology within their Performance Sports Engineering Laboratory. Contributions include the design of Amy William’s skeleton bobsleigh used to claim her gold medal at the 2010 winter games in Vancouver. With the London 2012 Olympics ahead this proves prosperous for the University.
Sudoku
- Mondays - 5.00pm -
Mar 5 - Aneurin Bevan Room Mar 12 - Aneurin Bevan Room Mar 19 - Aneurin Bevan Room - Cardiff Students' Union -
Correction The article 'Cardiff Met threatens legal action over super-university' was written by Louice Tapper Jansson, not Matt Jones as was printed.
opinion.
For the answer and more puzzles, head over to page 34.
politics.
features.
News 1-7
Opinion Politics Feature Science Societies Listings Taf-Od 10 - 13 14 - 18 19 - 21 22 - 24 26 - 27 28 - 29 32 - 33
Sport 36 - 40
03
Monday March 05 2012 • #gairrhydd • editor@gairrhydd.com @GeorgianaBrowne
#GlobalVillage in Tweets
Abby is loving the half naked men. Nom nom nom #peachybum! Haha #GlobalVillage2012
@Ells_Philips
#goglobal2012 Broadway Dance Society were clearly the loudest there tonight, and im still on such a high from the show :D thanks everyone!!
@OBirrell
@Liamcolman
Catching #globalvillage2012 online, good work @cardiffunionTV and societies!
Long live CSU. Long live societies. Long live Go Global! #GoGlobal2012
In this week's gair rhydd.....
pg. 6
pg. 19
News follow a week of SVC events
pg. 12
Opinion discuss whether parents should face fines for term-time holidays
pg. 26
Societies went along to Elements: The Ball and weigh-in on the Asian Societies latest performance
Features explore lecture ettiquette in this week's Your Space.
pg. 23
Science ask whether lab-grown meat will be a success
pg. 38
Sport look at the recent success of the Cardiff Uni snooker team
science.
societies.
taf-od.
sport.
04News
Monday March 05 2012 • #gairrhydd • Email the newsdesk: news@gairrhydd.com
NUS executive elections 2012 NUS Candidates 2012:
The 4 hot topics that came under scrutiny and what the candidates had to say about them:
President
1. Student participation in NUS
Usman Ali Liam Burns Claire Locke Ed Marsh Kanja Sesay
VP Higher Education Al Hussain Abutaleb Michael Chessum Sophie Richardson Rachel Wenstone
VP Welfare
Perhaps rather tellingly, an issue which surfaced in the discussions for nearly every position was the perceived irrelevance of the NUS to the average student. The suggestion that the NUS has been reduced to the status of being 'little more than a discount card' in the eyes of many raised a few smiles with the candidates, but clearly this is an issue that the contenders must tackle if they enter office. Danni Grufferty, who is running to retain her role as Vice President for Society and Citizenship (VPSC), said that the NUS had too much of a "top down approach." She admitted that whilst the NUS had a good rapport with sabbatical officers in student unions, "we don’t al-
ways have much of a relationship with the average student." Her competitor, Jamie Woodcock, added that the way to get students more interested was to get them more involved with campaigns, whether that be through direct action or lobbying: "We need to build campaigns that offer an alternative, that offer a chance of winning." Discussion with the candidates for President expanded towards student interest and involvement with their student union institutions. All of the candidates were clearly very keen to encourage and underline the importance of student participation in student union activities, whether through events, sports teams or societies.
2. Unpaid internships and access Questions about unpaid internships were brought up more than once at the press conference, with concern expressed about access for underprivileged students. Current VPSC officer, Dannie Grufferty said: "There’s a lack of clarity in the law. A lot of people think unpaid internships are legal but they aren’t. It’s legal to advertise for unpaid internships and that is the loophole in the law." As part of her manifesto, Dannie is looking to outlaw the term ‘internship'. Vice President of Higher Education (VPHE) candidate, Michael Chessum, said: "Unpaid internships are blatantly unfair unless you have the resources. If people cannot afford to get into the profession
they want to go into because they can’t afford to pursue unpaid work placements it undermines social mobility. We shouldn’t be choosing between books and food." Similar concerns about access were raised about postgraduate study. Michael Chessum said: "The reason postgraduates are coming back on manifestos this year, is because they are going under the same marketing processes as undergraduate degrees. Universities are using postgrads as cash cows. It's a disaster for access." Contending VPHE candidate, Rachel Wenstone, added: "We need to look at commercial loans targeting postgrads with frightening interest rates."
Edward Bauer Pete Mercer Sean Rillo Raczka
VP Union Development Vicki Baars Rebecca Bridger Thomas Hollick Christina Yan Zhang Luke Young
VP Further Education Jamil Keating Toni Pearce
VP Society and Citizenship Danielle Grufferty Jamie Woodcock To read the candidates' manifestos, visit www.nusconnect.org.uk/conference/elections/
Candidates for the NUS presidency prepare for questions: (from left) Usman Ali, Liam Burns, Kanja Sesay and Ed Marsh
3. Vice-Chancellor extravagance Disparity in wealth was immediately fired at the presidential candidates as they were asked their opinion on the Vice-Chancellor of Salford University’s recent decision to award himself a large bonus. This will be of particular interest to Cardiff students since it emerged that the University was in the process of purchasing a £675,000 house for incoming Vice-Chancellor Colin Riordan. The candidates generally expressed frustration at the insensitivity of universities' senior figures towards pay at a time when students are facing higher fees and other financial problems. Usman Ali said: "There needs to be more transparency and accountability, so that we know where the money is going and
where it is being spent." Liam Burnes called for greater student involvement in 'checks and balances' at universities. He said: "There should be a shadow board of students, there should be a jury of students." The introduction of competition was tabled by Ed Marsh , who talked about the introduction of a league table, where universities were ranked according to the ratio between the wages of highest and lowest earners. This would introduce competition because "no institution would want to be shown to have the biggest gap of pay ratio." Kanja Sesay suggested that students attempt to challenge Vice-Chancellors directly, inviting them to AGMs to "justify why they are getting hefty bonuses."
4. Students' course consumerism With the rise of tuition fees coming into force in the next academic year, attending institutions raised concerns about students' attitude to education in general. The predominantly left-leaning NUS candidates understood fears that students would be expecting more for their money in an increasingly consumerist education environment. Vice President of Union Development (VPUD) candidate, Thomas Hollick, said: "The problem is we're becoming a market, and education is becoming a product. We need to start by tackling that idea and looking at it as something to get you on in life." Also running for VPUD officer, Vicki Baars added: "It’s not the first time fees have been put up. We need to continue the
dialogue about not being consumers." Student consumerism was also linked to the need for NUSto campaign for free education. VPHE candidate, Michael Chessum said: "We need to see education as a public service. We have income tax - we should use it." Competing for VPHE officer, Rachel Wenstone, linked the right to a free education with the current debate about health reform: "No one disputes that the NHS is a public service, and people need to understand that about education as well." Although some candidates had free education ambitions, the majority were clearly in favour of campaigning for less radical bursary schemes.
News 1-7
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Sport 36 - 40
News05
Monday March 05 2012 • #gairrhydd • Email the newsdesk at: news@gairrhydd.com
Council responds to ‘Dogged bureaucracy’ incident Laura Evans News Editor Following last week’s story headlined ‘Dogged bureaucracy’, gair rhydd have received a response from Cardiff City Council. In issue 971, it was reported that a Cardiff student had complained about the actions of the council after having to move a deceased dog, which was left in front of his student house on Sunday 18 February. The student expressed concern towards Cardiff City Council after he was asked to move the dog from
the pavement and onto the road in order to be collected. A spokesperson from the council made this statement: “It is the Council’s duty to ensure the public environment is litter-free and public footpaths remain obstacle-free for all users. When educational activity fails to have the desired affect, occasionally fines are applied. “As such, it is Council policy to collect any waste on the roads and pavements either as part of the scheduled street cleansing rounds or as an out-of-hours/ah hoc request when a potentially hazardous
dumping or offensive items are involved. When a report of a dead animal is received, action is taken to remove it from the public adopted highway which includes the pavement areas, as soon as possible.
“
We would certainly not advise a member of the public to touch a dead animal prior to collection.
“While the exact circumstances of this miscommunication are still being investigated with other agencies, the deceased dog was removed promptly. "We would certainly not advise a member of the public to touch a dead animal prior to collection. We have been in contact with Mr Venter and the matter has been resolved. “In this particular example, our attention should be on who the owner is and who was responsible for leaving the animal on the pavement. In line with our policy, we’ve retained the body to scan for
an identichip identity. If the owner can be found, we will contact them in due course.” South Wales Police spoke to Wales Online who quoted: “South Wales Police said it was not a police matter but said if Phillip had been advised in that way, it would have been due to a misunderstanding.” Regarding waste disposal, Cardiff council have advised students to visit www.cardiff.gov.uk/waste for full details on how to deal with waste and reporting litter.
Record number of election nominations Laura Evans News Editor Figures have been released showing a record number of nominations for this year’s Union officers elections. Following the deadline for nominees last Tuesday, numbers have risen by 32% from last year, with 87 nominations for 2012 elections. This is compared to last year when the number was only 59.
There are 29 positions available both full-time and part-time, including the introduction of a new position – Union Development and Internal Affairs, which will replace the sabbatical position of Finance and Commercial Officer. This person is tasked with the financial scrutiny of the Union as well as pushing for its continued development. Other full time officer positions include: President, AU President,
Welfare and Community Officer, Head of Student Media, Education and University Affairs Officer, Societies Officer and Healthcare Officer.
“
32% up on last year. 87 nominations.
Lecturer rocks Harvey Nicks Kate Bennett News Reporter A Cardiff University lecturer has recently sold his fashion designs exclusively to designer retailer, Harvey Nichols. Richard Weston, Professor of Architecture has designed digitally printed tops, which will be sold in stores and online this month. The sleeveless t-shirts come in four styles, Obisidian, Opal, Snowy Quartz and Elestial Quartz for £110 per item. It’s been reported that Weston’s passion for natural materials such as rocks, minerals and fossils, provided the inspiration for his designs, particularly his range of scarfs, which were bought by London department store Liberty last year. When speaking about his designs, Weston explained: “the quality of
nature cannot be bettered, they are fabulous.” He described his passion for scanning and examining specimens, as “therapeutic”. He also admits to having spent almost £50,000 on new materials. When asked by the Telegraph if he was surprised that his hobby has become a success, Weston uttered that he did not. He claimed: “I felt sure all along that I was going to get these scarves stocked in Liberty; they are stunningly beautiful.” As well as Liberty and Harvey Nicholls stocking his products, Richard says stores and online retailers from France and Australia are placing orders for the future. The designer is also currently developing prototypes of iPhone cases and sunglasses.
Chris Davies, Welfare and Commercial Officer, elective for the 2011/2012 academic year, told gair rhydd: “We are absolutely thrilled at the amount of nominations that we have received this year. Elections is always an exciting time for the organisation and to have more candidates running than ever before will hopefully make this elections bigger and better than those in the past.” Election week will take place
Hacked-off Sophie Chamberlain News Reporter
Above: Richard Weston, Architecture professor.
from Wednesday March 14 to Tuesday March 20 and all students will be able to vote for all 29 positions.
As part of the British Science and Engineering week, a group of Cardiff students are running an event for teams of fellow students to produce a computer program in a limited amount of time entitled a ‘Hackathon’. A Hackathon, involves teams of people sharing their skills and knowledge of computer programming in order to produce a program, which can then be shared with fellow students and a panel of expert judges. In teams of three or four, the students have to create a computer program in two days. The only rule is, that the program will be open sourced at the end of the weekend in order for others to view finished work. Other universities from around the UK have been invited, including Cambridge, Exeter, Manchester and Kings College London. So far
UWIC, Swansea and Aberystwyth have confirmed they will be attending. Geraint Harries, one of the students running the event, told gair rhydd “We're putting on the event as we're trying to get computer scientists to collaborate and share both skills and knowledge with each other. Hopefully we'll create a great atmosphere where people can feel challenged by the task but also have fun coding with other like minded people.” The event will run on March 10 and 11, from 10am to 8pm each day in the Trevithick building. All are welcome along either in teams of six (preferably three or four), or as an individual and the organisers will assign you a team. To sign up visit the website http://cs.cf.ac.uk/ hackathon/ or find the event on Twitter @CFHack.
06News
Monday March 05 2012 • #gairrhydd • Email the newsdesk: news@gairrhydd.com
Volunteering goes viral "As Wales’ biggest student-led charity, SVC presents a week for people to try something new. Every day they have been offering students different opportunities to give back to the Cardiff community."
Saturday
Tuesday
Volunteering Week began with a splash of paint and hard work, to give Birchwood Primary school playground a makeover. There was a great community element to the day with teachers from the school also getting involved alongside volunteers all enjoying making a positive difference to the community. With the 20 volunteers who attended it didn’t take long before the task was finished and the helpers could admire a job well done.
Volunteering Week provided another opportunity to share some tea and cake with Cardiff ’s elderly residents. Held in Cathay’s Methodist Church Hall, the morning offered a great social opportunity for everyone involved to get together and chat at this bitterly cold time of year. This volunteering event provided fun for all, offering a unique experience to enjoy the company of local OAPs .
“It’s great to see so many volunteers here, giving up their Saturday’s to make a real difference to the pupils of Birchgrove Primary school, I’m sure when they see it on Monday morning they’ll be so pleased” –Tom Wells
SVCs volunteering week continued on Tuesday afternoon, with a trip to the local dog centre to take the dogs for a long and rewarding walk along the Taff Trail.
Monday
Wednesday
SVC’s volunteering week continued bright and early with a trip to the Knap Beach in Barry to help clean it up. The rain in Cardiff may have reduced the number of volunteers who attended but the trip was still a success. For two hours the group went up against gale force winds along the Knap, to find the litter amongst the pebbles. By the time they’d finished, the group had collected over eight bin bags of litter and were treated to hot chocolate by SVC for braving the cold to serve the local community.
Riverside Community Allotment Project is a communal garden where people from all different types of backgrounds can get involved, work the land and share the produce when it’s harvested.
“I’m genuinely having so much fun, do you think they’ll let me keep the litter picker?” - Kirsty Miles
Throughout the day, students armed with trowels helped to weed flowerbeds in the garden and helped to make a raised flower bed out of bricks. Strawberry plants were planted in the raised flower bed. The project co-ordinator Jenny Howell, said, "it’s brilliant that you’ve come today." She was very grateful for Cardiff students to join in and for the amount of useful gardening that they had got done during the day.
As we go to print, the week is on going - with the annual 'jailbreak' event taking place from friday 2 - Sunday 4 March
Clockwise from bottom: The OAP coffee morning, Participants litter picking at Barry Beach, Volunteers at the school playground renovation project, Dog walking on tuesday afternoon, Volunteers at the Riverside Community Allotment Project.
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Monday March 05 2012 • #gairrhydd • news@gairrhydd.com
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Union's global outlook "One of my biggest regrets is not attending events such as Global Village to realise what was on offer in my first year - I just wanted to join the performers on stage."
continued from page 1... The week culminated with Global Village. The event attracted huge numbers to The Great Hall where a diverse range of food was on offer as well as a showcase of some of Cardiff ’s most talented students. The audience were entertained with a disparate collection of performances from an enthusiastic jazz ensemble to a 50 strong Malaysian spectacle akin to synchronised performances at The Olympics, the evening truly succeeding in catering for all tastes. Many of the performances involved dance, with speciaslist dance societies taking to the stage as well as societies representing nationalities. Of particular note were the Youth of India society who showed great enthusiasm, humour and skill, as well as the Bulgarian society who treated the audience to a performance of frivolity and cheer. The dance societies were well rehearsed with the ever growing Funky Arse Dance Society impressing with a neat performance despite the volume of people on the stage. In a class of their own, however Slash Hip Hop dazzled the audience with an extravaganza of flawless choreography that was clearly the product of immense dedication and sheer talent. Tazine Bogue, third year English Literature student said: "Global Village was a fantastic opportunity to see what Cardiff has to offer each and every person studying here," Hannah Owen, third year History student said: "The
Anti clockwise from bottom: Broadway Dance, Slash Hip Hop, Jazz Band, Expression Dance, People and Planet, Act One - Disco inferno.
variety of food was terribly exciting , I only wish there had been more! The performances really highlighted the range of societies here. One of my biggest regrets is not attending events such as Global Village to realise what was on offer in my first year - I just wanted to join the performers on stage." Harry Newman, who organised this year’s event said, "To see so many thousands of people interested in, tweeting about, attending and watching our event online was quite incredible. The performances were of such a high standard this year and the reviews have been really positive. It's a fantastic showcase for the best Cardiff talent and we are already working on expansion plans for the years to come. “Many thanks to all our performers and to Cardiff Student Media for doing such a great job of broadcasting our event worldwide!” The event also achieved record viewing figures on CUTV. It had 2,635 page views on Sunday alone – with viewers coming from over 20 different countries. After the UK, Bulgaria came in second with 86 viewers followed by a list of diverse countries that the event had garnered the interest of. Of the viewers 64% were new to the CUTV website. The event is still available to watch on CUTV in a catch up format.
10 Opinion Go Global A turbulent time for renewable energy
Monday March 05 2012 • #gairrhydd • opinion@gairrhydd.com
triumph Viktor Tsvetanov Opinion Writer
The fifth Go Global is now officially over! After ten days of great music, dances and art workshops, we almost forgot about the academic side of University life and the imminent approach of essay deadlines and exams. It all began on February 18 with a Tea Society tea tasting, followed by the World Cup of Nations football tournament. However, the real highlight was the Global Village, held on February 26 in the Great Hall. Go Global was an event where the only requirement was diversity, providing a stage for students to represent their culture before an international student body. What struck me about the festival was the electrifying atmosphere, especially on the stage of Global Village, where more than 20 societies performed, as well as providing some of their national cuisine. Deniss Assenova, secretary of the Bulgarian society, which made its debut at the stage of Global Village with a set of traditional Bulgarian dances, expressed her satisfaction with the way the event had gone, saying: "The whole experience was incredible and unforgettable - it’s a shame to think that I will not be able to take part next year!" As both a spectator and a participant, for me, Go Global managed to fulfil the concept lying behind its name. The festival not only provided a great new experience, but it also gave us an invaluable lesson that we wouldn’t have learnt in the lecture theatre. Ultimately, Go Global taught students to be united without uniformity and diverse without fragmentation.
Joe Fenn Opinion Writer Those great white wind turbines have become a more common sight in the British countryside over the past decade, but their development could be drastically hindered after conflicts in Parliament over the past few weeks. A letter signed by over 100 Tory MPs asking why the government is still subsidising an energy source they described as ‘expensive and intermittent’, was handed to David Cameron this week and the effect it has had on confidence in the wind farm programme has been devastating. Immediately following the letter, the heads of some of the biggest energy companies in the UK expressed their concern about the government’s commitment to the development of wind farm sites. Companies that were planning sites, turbine factories and research centres have understandably expressed worry over the possibility of the government reducing subsidies and funding for wind energy and many have reconsidered investments of hundreds of millions of pounds. A £100m investment from General Electric Energy, for example, is now ‘on hold’. But why? Why could this symbol of humanity beginning to respect the world we live on be doomed to become a phase we went through; an attempt made and failed? Firstly, the effectiveness of wind farms is a matter of some contention. The Tory MP who co-ordinated the letter to David Cameron, Chris Heaton-Harris, described wind energy as “intermittent”, and many have raised similar concerns. Due to their very nature, wind turbines do not provide a constant flow of energy; rather they stop and start with the wind. This has
been heavily criticised by opposition to wind energy as it makes the energy they produce hard to store. It is true that wind farms rarely work to their greatest potential. The average wind turbine will produce around 30% of its theoretical maximum output, that is, the amount they could produce if they were constantly turning.
However, wind farms do produce energy 70-85% of the time, although the energy they produce differs with the strength of the wind. Furthermore, conventional power stations only produce around 50% of their maximum potential output and, surprisingly, wind farms produce the amount of energy equivalent to that taken to produce them slightly
quicker. A wind turbine will produce the amount of energy taken to produce it in around three to five months, compared to six months for fossil fuel or nuclear energy plants. The other reason the signatories of the letter gave is a much more understandable one. Wind farming, as it stands, is highly expensive. Not only is producing and installing the turbines expensive; but one of the main problems with wind as a major source of energy for the UK is adapting the national energy grid to take in the energy produced from wind farming. A recent report shows that the cost of connecting renewable energy sources to the National Grid has now risen by over £4 billion to an estimated £8.8 billion. The MPs who signed the letter pointed out that this cost will be met by the taxpayer, and in a time of recession, many would take issue with this. Mr Heaton-Harris, in justifying the letter, asked: “How many people will be forced into fuel poverty because we continue with such a high level of direct and indirect subsidy to the wind industry?” It seems ridiculous to expect people to accept not being able to keep their families warm in the name of saving the planet. We may all feel the concerns of the global warming scientist, but in a time when belts are tight and money is scarce, this cannot be the main priority for a lot of people. The question stands as to how much we value cutting down carbon emissions if it means we cannot look after ourselves properly and an answer is hard to come by. Ultimately, the problem lies in the fact that most of us want to save our planet, but we don’t want to make any sacrifices to our own personal comfort in the process.
Chocolate that doesn't leave a bitter taste Bryony Parry Opinion Writer In the midst of Fair Trade Fortnight, it seems apt to acknowledge the benefits ethical trading brings to people around the globe. Fairtrade is aimed at helping those who are marginalised by the power imbalances of conventional trade by paying farmers in developing countries a fair wage for their work. I think we can all agree that it is callous to object to paying a few extra pennies for your chocolate bar if those pennies reach the pocket of someone in need, so the rise in sales of Fairtrade products should come as no surprise. Recent figures show that sales of Fairtrade items rose by 12% in 2011, and a substantial rise of 40% in 2010 indicates that people are becoming more aware and con-
siderate of the global community. More importantly, this growth also means that Fairtrade premiums, the extra that producers receive for business or social development, has increased by over ten per cent, allowing entire communities in the developing world to benefit from the Fairtrade system, equipping houses with clean water and electricity and developing essential healthcare and education facilities. Key to the Fairtrade movement, and what finally now seems to be happening, is that mainstream brands alter their trading initiatives to comply with Fairtrade regulations. This will only make it easier for shoppers to help improve the lives of some of the world’s poorest people. Products such as Cadbury’s Dairy Milk achieved Fairtrade certification in 2009, which tripled the sales of cocoa under Fairtrade terms for farmers in Ghana, as
well as creating new opportunities for thousands more farmers to benefit from the Fairtrade system. It is mainstream products like the Dairy Milk chocolate bar which can have a significant impact on the lives of people in developing countries by switching to Fairtrade standards, which really, in the global community in which we live, should be adhered to anyway. I think Fairtrade is a simple way for everyone to play a part in ending some of the world’s gross injustices such as unfair wages, child labour and inhumane living conditions. It doesn’t take long to check for the Fairtrade logo on a packet of biscuits or a jar of coffee when you’re doing your weekly shop, and now with products from beer to body lotion being Fairtrade certified there’s no reason you can’t do your bit to help end poverty.
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Opinion11
Monday March 05 2012 • #gairrhydd • opinion@gairrhydd.com
Ofsted miss the mark with new adoption targets Alice Marriott Opinion Writer Oftsed have drastically altered adoption targets, decreasing the timescale in order to try and have as many children as possible placed within 12 months. Local authorities will now only receive an ‘outstanding’ rating for adoption, providing they meet this target following reports that the delay in placement can dramatically impinge on the child’s well-being. The new system aims to place more focus on both speed and placing siblings together. According to Adoption UK, the number of successful re-homings fell this year, which may have provoked the recent reforms. However, what other possible effects could this new proposal have on the children themselves? After all, the government’s priority should be firmly placed with the children concerned. Despite the government cuts and instability of the economy, it appears a positive step forward to invest in the children who are, as the saying goes, the future. However, Ofsted fail to specify exactly how they are planning to meet the targets they have so ambitiously set. If it merely took a straightforward new proposal to make much-needed changes to the adoption system, then they would have been implemented before.
Having never had the intention to knock such an encouraging change in our welfare state, if the new guidelines are a success, the average wait could be reduced from an average of two years and seven months. However, reports suggest that one in five adoptions
currently break down, usually occurring in the first few months of the child being placed. Common reasons for disruption include lack of support for carers, poor communication between agencies and departments and the child not being sufficiently prepared for per-
manence, among many others. The focus, therefore, should be on examining the reasons why adoptions fail, as opposed to forcing more potentially unsuitable adoptions through the system in order to comply with strict schedules and targets. Statistics relating to the age of
adopted children show that younger children are still the easiest to place, or to put it bluntly, the most popular. Specifically, the average age is three years and ten months. Why is this the case? Perhaps prospective adoptive parents feel that younger children are less likely to become affected by their previous home life, and will therefore settle better into their new family. This is understandable but poses the question of what happens to older children in care? Our temporary care homes are occupied with thousands of teenagers who are unable to find suitable homes and this trend may not be slowing. This is desperately unfair for the young people involved who are subjected to the circumstances at no fault of their own. These reforms by Ofsted are undoubtedly a great progression, although the benefits may lie in the press attention that could be attracted to the dire statistics documenting the poor conditions some children are subjected to within the UK. I think everyone can agree that these children deserve better social conditions, but improvements must ensure older children are not overlooked and local authorities focus on placing children permanently by addressing the reasons why some adoptions fail rather than seeking a quick-fix solution.
Silence is golden as The Artist scoops five Oscars Trisha Chowdhury Opinion Writer The Academy Awards is considered to be the biggest event of the year for the movie industry, but this year’s winners have certainly elicited a few raised eyebrows. The silent picture, The Artist, won five Oscars, which was felt by many to be a little unreasonable when considering the high calibre of the other films that it was competing against. The Artist not only won ‘Best Picture’, but also ‘Best Costume Design’, ‘Best Original Score’, ‘Best Actor in a Leading Role’ and ‘Best Director’. On winning his Oscar, director Michel Hazanavicius thanked the dog Uggie for his brilliant performance in the movie, but admitted, “I don't think he cares." Actor Jean Dujardin was overwhelmed after winning the award and said, "If George Valentin could speak, he would say “Wow! Victorie! Genial! Merci!” A silent film has not won an Oscar since 1929, suggesting the old-school glamour of the genre is timeless. The film is shot entirely in black and white and silent with
the exception of some non-dialogue elements. It provided a blend of romantic comedy and drama, elements often considered passé by film buffs. Yet the film’s overwhelming success at the Oscars suggests that there may have been a paradigm shift in what is looked for by audiences and critics alike. However, in the UK, there was not the same degree of widespread
rapture, with film-goers in Liverpool even demanding their money back. A spokesperson for the cinema had said, "Odeon Liverpool One can confirm it has issued a small number of refunds to guests who were unaware that The Artist was a silent film. The cinema is happy to offer guests a refund on their film choice if they raise concern with a member of staff within
10 minutes of the film starting." Although this was admittedly only one cinema, it appears to reflect the views of many others, who feel that the period of silent movies has passed and we have moved on to bigger and better things. Popular culture has evolved and indulging in nostalgia does not provide an accurate reflection of the concerns of modern life. So the question still remains unanswered on whether The Artist’s many wins were unreasonable or not. Yes, the film was an excellent one with a good story and, above all, great actors. The film had a great story and the way it was put forward was unique; a refreshing change from what we are used to watching. However, going back to an era of silent movies is something that is difficult for audiences to grapple with. They feel that popular culture has moved on beyond this, something which will hinder them from fully appreciating the film or believing that The Artist’s wins at the Oscars were justified. Nevertheless, as in any year, the Oscars were a grand event. The movie based on Margaret Thatch-
er’s life, The Iron Lady, won two Academy Awards – 'Best Make Up' and'Best Actress in a Leading Role'. Meryl Streep said, "When they called my name I had this feeling I could hear half of America going: 'Aww no. Not her again'. But, you know, whatever.” Comedian Sacha Baron Cohen pulled off a comical stunt by dressing up in a white military uniform and dark glasses to promote his upcoming film, The Dictator. He had with him an urn which he claimed contained the ashes of recently deceased North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il; the contents of the urn were promptly spread over the red carpet. Keeping with the tradition of award ceremony coverage, tabloids, magazines and broadsheets alike were filled with fashion editors’ picks of the best and worst dressed attendees come Monday morning. Despite the debates that have arisen regarding how deserving certain winners were, and whether the judges had made any particularly unjustified oversights, the 2012 Oscars certainly lived up to the glamour and excitement of the Academy Awards’ history.
12Opinion Should parents face fines for term-time holidays?
Charlotte Wace
Opinion Writer Schools and local authorities are allowed to penalise parents if their children are removed from school for significant periods of time. The most common reason for parents to take children out of school during term time appears to be family holidays. The concern here is that children might miss out on valuable education. Ultimately, all children of school age (5-16) must, according to law, receive full-time education. Moreover, the responsibility lies with the parents to make sure that their children have a good attendance. Should children’s right to education be neglected by parents’ need for holiday? The fact that education is compulsory for all children might suggest that a fine could be justified. It might be the only way in which parents will realise how important it is to attend school regularly and how beneficial it is for their development. With the possibility that not all British children are aware that education is an acknowledged human right, it is necessary that parents appreciate the necessity of this right. With a report from Save the Children revealing that one in three of English and Welsh children are living in poverty, the importance of education must be emphasised. This might be the only option when it comes to granting them the possibility for a brighter future. If
Monday March 05 2012 • #gairrhydd • opinion@gairrhydd.com
children’s needs and rights for education are ignored, there might be consequences for society as a whole. Moreover, the education system is part of a wider welfare system. Taking children on holiday during term-time might be seen as merely wasting the taxpayers’ money, meaning a fine to prevent this kind of behaviour is therefore easily justifiable. Parents who take their children on holiday during term time appear to show an inability to understand children’s need for full-time education. Parents might argue that a week or two away from school would not be harmful as they would gain knowledge and experience from seeing the world. However, as teachers have observed, children often come back from holidays out of touch with the curriculum. It seems parents simply prefer to go during term-time due to the lower costs of trips. Articles by The Mirror and the Daily Mail focus greatly on parents’ needs for family vacations rather than on children’s right to learn. One gets the impression that parents’ desires are highly prioritised and a fine against low attendance might shift the focus of this debate back to children. Parents need to and should know the importance of full-time education. The intention of the fine is not to prevent family holidays, but to ensure that children receive the education they are entitled to.
Alex Greig Opinion Writer First things first - this discussion ultimately comes down to money, and issuing a fine to parents who choose to take their kids on holiday during term time is a poor solution to the problem. One major reason that parents do so is to avoid the exploitative price differences between holidays inside and outside of school holidays, but then again I suppose it’s good business. Let’s face it, families deserve a holiday to get away at some point and the fact of the matter is that many parents can’t afford to go away during holiday time due to this rise in prices, particularly in times of economic uncertainty. Travelsupermarket.com did research that showed a 42% price increase for a family of four going to the Algarve for two weeks during school holidays compared to during termtime. Therefore, one problem with fining parents is that without increasing the fine to such an amount that these kinds of increases are counteracted, it won’t stop them taking their holiday. At the moment, the fine weighs in at £100, which is a small amount compared to the 42% saved on booking the holiday. Should the government wish to stop parents doing this, they will have to come up with a vastly more imaginative way than further demanding that parents pay yet more money they cannot afford. Financial disincentives are not the way to go about it. Presuming those taking holidays
in term time are doing so because they simply can not afford not to, fining them seems harsh and also unsympathetic towards their situation. Moreover, the fines may be seen as hypocritical considering some parents are forced to take time off from work to look after their kids on inset days. Now, I’m not condoning removing your kids from education for a bit of time in the sun. Education is invaluable and with universities across the country jacking up their prices to £9,000, many will not necessarily make it to university, so every moment in school is going to be more important than ever. Perhaps any kind of punishment is unnecessary. Depending on how your job works, you might be allocated holiday by your company and there’s nothing you can do about when it is. If it falls in the school term, well, you can’t be expected to leave your kids behind, can you? Instead of just assuming parents take
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Fining them seems harsh and also unsympathetic towards their situation
their kids out of school for the sake of it, perhaps the government should look at the bigger picture and figure out the reasons behind this trend before implementing penalties.
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Columnist13
Silver Linings By Lydia Davies Dear All, It’s Sunday evening and I’m curled up on a train bound for Cardiff Central. I’ve just finished the Lit. text I’ve been labouring over for weeks, and I have a cold that has alienated the entire train. Across the carriage, a young man suspiciously resembling a Death Eater, ogles me from beneath his hood. Perhaps it’s because I look particularly good today. Unlikely. Reading brings out the party girl in my lazy eye and she starts wandering all over the place. Perhaps it’s the way I’ve situated myself in the corner seat, Woman of Mystery and all that. This, too, is impossible. I couldn’t look more uncomfortable if I tried. No, the Death Eater in green is staring at me because I’ve spent the last 40 minutes sneezing like an elephant and sighing melodramatically. As immune systems go, I’ve always been quite proud of mine. When everyone in school was sniffling through Christmas term, I’d bounce smugly down the corridor and step arrogantly out into the snow. I was Superwoman. Nothing could stop me. But this cold has hit me hard. Before last week, I didn’t know that true happiness is being able to breathe through both nostrils at the same time. I miss being able to sleep without having to concentrate on inhaling through my mouth. And trust me: walking down a corridor and having people throw themselves against the wall in order to avoid you does nothing for your self-esteem.
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Needless to say, I was always the kid who trembled at the idea of social interaction
Besides, it’s made for some very uncomfortable social interactions. My family, for example, hugged me goodbye with an air of reservation that clearly said, “I love you, but today you repulse me.” Yesterday, a girl in the café actually covered her mouth as she sat down next to me. The cashier at Lidl surveyed my purchases (Nasal Stick, tissues, several packets of cheap chocolate and a trolley full of self-pity) with unnecessary disgust. As I waddled away, I could feel the entire queue
of beautiful, slim people looking at me, holding their muesli and green apples and thinking, “Poor girl. A spinster for life, if I ever saw one.” Lectures, too, take on a whole new level of interest. There’s a palpable tension for the first ten minutes, before one poor diseased soul decides they can take it no more. There’s a sneeze, followed by an embarrassed silence. But then comes a chorus of coughs, a choir of phlegmy voices raised in (some kind of) song. That one sneeze has enabled the rest of us to purge our throats. People unearth tissues from their bags and blow their noses in relief. And the unfortunate lecturer either has to pause until we’ve all finished or join in. But there’s a strange sense of comradeship that comes with being ill. In that same café with the rude mouth-covering girl, I made the mistake of sneezing at the same time as a man reading The Sun. I felt strongly that something unnec-
essarily intimate had just passed between us. Like some weird Avatar love scene. Evidently he did too, because he spent the next five minutes peeking at me from behind his paper and smiling hopefully. Needless to say, I threw back my hot chocolate and left without so much as blowing my nose in his direction.
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Don't become one of those hoarder-types who collects apple cores, but say no to things once in a while It’s thrown a spanner in the works as far as socialising goes, too. Needless to say, I was always the kid who’d rather stay at home and watch TV than go out. You know that one person in your class who always seemed nice enough but trembled at the idea of social
interaction? Yeah, that was me. There is only one time I remember my parents ever saying “You’re not going out wearing that.” It was for someone’s 18th, when I lolloped downstairs wearing something that would have made Mother Theresa stand back and say, “Couldn’t we sex this up a bit?” I was promptly sent back upstairs to change into something more “youthful”. So for the world’s wannabe-hermits, catching a cold provides a bit of a reprieve from the seemingly endless circuit of nights on the town. Being excused from poking an eye out with a mascara brush in an attempt to look good means a lot to the lowly social recluse. We can, without guilt, embrace pyjama bottoms, laziness and that most grotesque and wonderful of all modern conveniences: the microwave burger. Rather than being ashamed of your peeling Rudolph nose, those watering eyes and the crumpled tissues carpeting your floor, be
proud. Make the most of it! I had a three-hour nap yesterday afternoon and have spent this morning listening to Gotye’s new album over and over, under the guise of re-reading Hamlet. I’ve consumed more cookies than an ailing immune system should ever be subjected to. And I feel no shame. There’s really nothing wrong with taking a break, ye poorly. Everyone jokes about what a doss student life is, but many of us overcommit ourselves to a ridiculous extent. If we’re not in lectures or staring mutely at library books, we’re running around frantically from one café to the next, catching up with people. I can sometimes go weeks without an evening to myself. Time flies past and suddenly you’re three months into 2012 without really having gotten your bearings.
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I've consumed more cookies than an ailing immune system should ever be subjected to. And I feel no shame.
I’m not saying you should become one of those hoarder-types who collects apple cores and is too afraid to answer the door, but say no to things once in a while. And don’t go sniffing around sick people hoping you’ll soak up their illness. (Don’t judge me for putting that bit in there; for every one person that is repulsed by this idea there’s some genius out there considering it.) Don’t let illness be the thing that makes you stop and get a grip on things. There should be a little time every now and then where you can just chill out and watch Sleepless in Seattle in peace. (I don’t care what you think: it’s a classic. And Meg Ryan’s hair is really nice in it.) Take care, all. I’m off to avoid the accusing eyes of Lidl cashiers for buying frozen pizza and gummi bears. One of these days I'm going to throw them a curveball and buy some Ryvitas. That day is not today. Lydia x
14Politics
Monday March 05 2012 • #gairrhydd • politics@gairrhydd.com
Contempt towards Health Bill Clegg 's Joanne Faulkner Politics Reporter
Helen Cox Politics Reporter
There are very few aspects of Andrew Lansley’s health bill that both those involved in the medical profession and the public agree on. Currently, it appears the only emerging agreement, is that the majority of people are not in its favour. The Department of Health bill has big aspirations. It’s supposed to modernise the NHS by opening up the health service to competition within the private and voluntary sector. The primary aim of the bill is to hand over control to GPs over their budget. The hope is that this will result in improved services and the reinvesting of savings into front line care. However, things have not gone smoothly for Mr Lansley’s bill. The bill has been delayed in the House of Lords and despite warnings and concerns from those in the health care service and the public, the bill is continuing to be pushed through. The proposed bill claims it will increase patient choice and empower doctors, but continues to be met with fierce backlash and is opposed by GPs, midwives, nurses and other health professionals. The more recent controversy surrounding the bill the decision by prime minister, David Cameron, to lock out high profile groups opposed the bill from key talks in Downing Street. In talks that aimed to discuss the progression of the NHS, Mr Cameron chose to invite only those groups who supported the bill or have so far not rejected it. This excluded major bodies including the British Medical Association and The Royal College of Practitioners from the event.
No, the deputy PM hasn’t lost all grasp of the English language. Instead, he has set up a scheme to tackle one of the biggest problems facing the UK at the moment – that is, the ‘rise of the Neets’. ‘Pay per Neet’ follows the government’s recent work experience scheme, launched last January that encourages unemployed people on benefits to gain experience in the working world whilst retaining their benefits. Jobseekers are invited to take on unpaid placements of between two and eight weeks. Latest figures show that as of November, 39,000 people had taken part and half of them were off jobseeker's allowance four weeks later. It encourages people to stay on the placement due to the fact that if someone quits after the first week of a placement they could lose part of their benefits. The work experience scheme has recently been criticised as exploitative by some people and campaigners claim big companies are using the scheme to get cheap labour. These latest concerns have caused some of the major companies supporting the scheme, like Sainsbury’s and Waterstones, to withdraw for fear of negative publicity. Employment minister Chris Grayling says firms trying to help should be encouraged rather than criticised. "I simply don't understand the mentality of people looking at this who are saying it's the wrong thing to do," says Mr Grayling. "'It's slavery?' They are simply
The Royal College of Surgeons, who have been supportive of the bill throughout its existence, were invited to the event. Mr Cameron’s official spokesman said the prime minister’s aim was to meet those who are successfully pioneering the reforms “to reassure himself that is happening in the right way.” It is an unusual and concerning decision by Mr Cameron to exclude those who have raised concerns when surely unity within the health care profession at this point is a must before developments can continue. This is especially when the result of the bill’s passage, as it stands, would lead to a major reconstruction of the NHS in England. Unfortunately for Mr Cameron, this move has done little to stem the cries of back-door privatisation and the involvement of only the supporting parties has led to some speculation over the credibility of the bill. Lord Owen, a doctor and former home secretary, recently accused the prime minister of using “divide and rule” tactics to break opposition to the reforms As well as the increased resistance within the medical profession, Andrew Lansley’s planned reforms have had a less than warm response
from the public. As it stands, more than 160,000 people have signed the e-petition calling for the health bill to be dropped. Last week Mr Lansley was confronted and heckled by members of the public as he tried to enter Downing Street. He was accused of betraying the NHS by one elderly demonstrator, June Hautot, with shouts of “shame” and “lies”. Mrs Hautot justified her actions by saying the government were not listening to the majority. Mr Lansley responded to campaigners by insisting “there is no privatisation.” Mr Lansely is also failing to maintain support from his coalition partners. MP Duncan Hames joined the growing number of 12 Liberal Democrat MPs backing a motion to publish a “risk register” which outlines the risk of the bill, whilst Liberal Democrat MP, Andrew George, declared the bill “has no friends” and that a “dignified withdrawal would be best.” Former NHS chief executive, Lord Crisp, has also made his views heard this week. Lord Crisp has accused the bill as being confusing, “unnecessary”, “missing the point” and “setting the NHS back”. Another blow for the bill has been the recent warning by an alliance of 25 health charities that it
could harm the NHS care received by more than two million patients with less common conditions such as neurological problems and sickle cell anaemia. The charities fear that the new GP-led clinical commissioning groups, which, under the bill, would assume control of commissioning treatments for patients from April 2013, will not see such patients as a priority and that services for them will be cut in a "catastrophic blow.” David Cameron’s response has been a stern warning to his backbenchers of “chaos” if the bill’s plans are altered anymore. Although it can be agreed by most that the NHS does need to improve efficiency, it would seem that the current government is struggling to come to grips with how to achieve this. More importantly, any improvement at all is going to be somewhat impossible without the backing of key medical groups, who at the moment are less than enthusiastic about the current propositions and it seems that despite the many amendments that have already taken place, both Andrew Lansley and David Cameron have yet to address the bills' main flaws.
Iranian nuclear programme prompts fears Politics Reporter Helen Cox outlines the international response to Iran's recent military exercises which flaunt developments of nuclear power
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henever a country announces that it has developed a nuclear programme, the world seems to go into a momentary meltdown. This happened last November when it was announced that Iran had nuclear capabilities. The UN reacted by starting an investigation into the country’s intentions. Last week Iran announced it will hold military exercises to boost protection of its nuclear sites, which have been the subject of much recent controversy, causing renewed anxieties amongst the world. A statement from the military said that drills would be held in southern Iran to counter “all possible threats, especially to public, important and nuclear centres.” This statement came as speculation has been increasing that Israel may launch a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. This latest move came as UN nuclear experts began a two-day
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Monday March 05 2012 • #gairrhydd • politics@gairrhydd.com
Politics15
'pay per Neet scheme' Future direction
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The current figure stands at 1,163,000 and is on the rise
visit to Iran, the second such trip in a month in an attempt to discover the capabilities of the Iranian sites. Iran states it is just enriching uranium to use for power generation, but the US and its allies believe the programme is aimed towards making weapons, possibly targeted towards Israel. In response to the controversial nuclear programmes, the EU imposed oil sanctions on Iran. The oil ban agreed by the European Union will be brought in over a period of
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In response, the EU has agreed to impose oil sanctions on Iran
months to reduce the impact on some of the weaker European economies. It is the most significant of sanctions imposed on Iran to date. This will affect Iran greatly as the European market accounts for 20% of
talking nonsense and they're damaging the prospects of the young unemployed." So what is Nick Clegg’s new scheme all about? Neet stands for Not in Education, Employment or Training and is a label applied to 16 to 24 year olds in the UK. The current figure stands at 1,163,000 and is on the rise as more and more young people are dropping out of college
Iran’s oil market. The EU will also introduce restrictions on the Central Bank of Iran. Iran said last Sunday it had halted oil sales to British and French companies ahead of an EU oil embargo set to begin on July 1. Analysts say that the gesture of retaliation is largely symbolic. Last Monday, the head of Iran's national oil company suggested the ban might be extended to other EU members that continued "hostile acts" against Iran. The chief inspector with the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said his team's "highest priority" while visiting Iran was to clarify the "possible military dimensions" of the nuclear programme. "This is of course a very complex issue that may take a while. But we hope it can be constructive." The IAEA described its last visit, in January, as positive, and said Iran was "committed" to "resolving all outstanding issues". In November last year, the outlook was slightly bleaker, with the UN taking a more suspicious out-
or avoiding it altogether due to the recent axing of EMA. Mr Clegg described the problem of rising youth unemployment as a "ticking time bomb". "Sitting at home with nothing to do when you're so young can knock the stuffing out of you for years," he said. "We urgently need to step up efforts to ensure some of our most troubled teenagers have the skills, confidence and opportunities to succeed.” This new £126m scheme comes as part of the government’s attempts to get more people into work and ease off dependence on benefit. This ‘youth contract’ will cost the government £1bn. The scheme will help around 55,000 young people with poor qualifications get into the world of work. Firms will receive a payment if they can keep a young person aged 16 to 17 with no GCSEs at grade C in employment for 12 months. Shadow work and pensions secretary Liam Byrne said the scheme would not help most young unemployed people. "This is much too small and much too late to tackle a problem that is likely to cost our country £28bn over the next 10 years. "The government needs to bite the bullet and put in place a sensible tax on bankers' bonuses in the next budget to help get 100,000 young people back to work." The move has been criticised by Labour as ‘too little, too late’ and they may have a point – with 1 in 5 under 25 year olds now classed as a Neet, will a reduction of 55,000 really make much difference?
look on Iran. The Security Council suspected Iran of developing
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Ultimately this air of distrust cannot be good for world relations
nuclear programmes with military intent and ordered them to stop enriching fuel. Iran refused. Ultimately, this air of distrust cannot be good for world relations. If the US and the UN are constantly suspicious of anyone with nuclear capabilities, how can they expect other countries to be open about it? As long as the US has a nuclear program, other countries are going to want to have one too for protection and that is going to continue until nuclear power is abandoned by the US altogether - which it will never do - so for the foreseeable future the issue of nuclear capability is going to be entangled in a vicious circle of distrust, secrets and lies.
for Plaid Cymru Trisha Chowdhury Politics Reporter The party leadership of Plaid Cymru will be passed on from Ieuan Wyn Jones to his successor on 15 March 2012 and those looking to replace him are Lord Elis-Thomas, Elin Jones and Leanne Wood. Before he leaves however, there are a few words of wisdom that he shares from his experience as the former party leader. Mr Jones had announced that he would step down as the party leader within the first half of the Assembly term after the dejecting results of last year’s election, where Plaid Cymru suffered from a huge loss of seats. This was despite the party being in government in the previous term, in coalition with Welsh Labour. He believes very strongly there were things Plaid Cymru need to "get right" after the disappointment in the previous year’s elections. He said, "If there was an opportunity obviously for Plaid to go back into government, I think the party should accept that." However, when it comes to coalition and whether Plaid Cymru would get a suitable opportunity to recover power by means of it before the next Welsh Assembly Election due in 2016, he said, "It could, yes, but that depends on circumstances." On the topic of coalition, Mr Jones goes on to continue that the coalition should not be the party’s top priority at the moment. He believes that the things that have to be set right within the party should be focused and acted upon before any thought is given to the matter of coalition. The fact that Plaid Cymru should be a part of the future government is stressed time and again by him. Mr Jones believes that no significant changes to the Constitution can be achieved unless Plaid Cymru is a part of the
government of Wales. The party should make this its mission and work towards it. Mr Jones’s career as the leader of Plaid Cymru has seen great ups and downs. This is not the first time he had resigned after becoming the party president in 2001. In 2003, Plaid Cymru suffered a defeat after losing 5 seats. Within a week after the disheartening results, allegations were thrown upon him from other colleagues within the party that resulted in him resigning as the party’s president and leader of the assembly group. In the year 2007, Plaid Cymru won the elections and formed the ‘Rainbow Coalition’– a coalition between the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru. However, the coalition failed rather miserably but Plaid Cymru stayed in power by forming a coalition with Labour. The year 2011, Plaid Cymru witnessed disappointment yet again, after losing four seats, despite being the third largest party in the Welsh Assembly with 11 seats. Speaking more about himself on a personal level, Mr. Jones is of the opinion that "when a party leader is in a vulnerable position, people will want to take advantage of that." According to him, this was proven time and again after 2003 and 2011 elections. He also feels that a party leader’s time can be full of complications on certain occasions and that his family has been "through the mill" time and again. There have also been fair share of times of loneliness. Though the fate of the Plaid Cymru remains undecided with voting for the next party leader underway, Mr Jones’ expertise can remain a guiding light for the leader to be. If certain actions are taken on the party’s behalf, we may very well see a different image of Plaid Cymru in times to come.
16 Politics
Monday March 05 2012 • #gairrhydd • politics@gairrhydd.com
What is wrong Politics Reporter Demetrios Chatzidakes-Zavorianos explores information and reports that are already in the public sphere and asks for people to see Greece as a nation and not a population mass
N
igel Farage, head of UKIP, became popular among Greeks recently when he described the non-elected prime minister of Greece as a puppet of the IMF-EU-ECB troika concluding that Greece has no democracy at this moment and if he was Greek he would be among the protesters in the streets. This was enough to make me listen to what UKIP had to say, as well as pay closer attention to the European Parliament in Strasbourg. Among others, Daniel CohnBendit (European Greens) accused Germany of hypocrisy due to Germany never having paid their debts to Greece while Austrian, Johannes Swoboda, said that the IMF and the EU are merely exhorting Greece when the country is in need of advice, not this externally imposed dictatorship. Indeed, after nearly two years in destructive recession, the media and public opinion across Europe are becoming more sceptical to the Greek problem. The Telegraph compared the terms of Germany on Greece with those of Rome on Carthage stressing that when Germany was brought to its knees by its wartime debts back in 1953, all countries, Greece included, helped G e r m a ny to stand back up. T h e p i n nacle so far w a s the demonstrations across the world on Saturday February 18. Those demonstrators, asking, “what if our countries a r e next,”
received thanks from the Greeks in the streets and the Greeks of the diaspora, but of course nothing from the ‘Greek’ government. Thirty-five years ago, in 1976, the IMF visited the UK when the government asked for a 2.3 million sterling loan, in exchange for painful cuts. The IMF has consistently ruined the economy of every country it went to in the past twenty years. The results are alike everywhere: hundreds of thousands of jobs lost (private sector included), drastic reductions in public expenditure, strenuous cuts in salaries and pensions and loss of GDP. Countries visited by the IMF in Europe recently include Romania, Hungary, Ukraine, Latvia and Russia. One cannot help but wonder why any government considers deciding to knock the IMF’s door when there is such a thread of countries across the world that display exactly what is in order. At the moment, there is a little known legal inquiry in Greece that addresses revelations that certain key persons of the national statistics agency were forced to falsify the country’s data so that the public debt seemed large enough to justify the calling of the IMF. According to Paul Krugman, who holds a Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics, the IMF’s own Debt Sustainability Analysis states that for the continuing and additional austerity measures to have any positive effect, the Greek economy must display a minimum of 2% growth within the first half of 2012. While
admitting this is impossible however, they demanded these measures and im-
posed loathsome terms on Greece in spite of the country’s recession deepening. John Maynard Keynes once said, commenting on Germany’s post-WWI debts, that Germany, by accepting unrealistic terms that weren’t viable, was as guilty of what happened in the following years as the Allies who demanded these terms they had no right to impose. It appears that the people of Greece view this government as a mere employee of the troika (and thus as guilty as the troika) that has no ties to the people. The obvious question arising is “who is being bailed out?” As the BBC have reported: definitely not Greece. Greece itself is fully covering the country’s expenditure, wages and pensions from its own internal revenues, even after these terrible years of steady economic destruction. Not a single eurocent of the so-called bailout goes into the country. This money goes straight back to the ‘rescuing’ bankers to pay interests upon interests. Essentially the poor are bailing out the rich as The Telegraph recently put it. It is even more apparent with the latest ‘bailout’ according to which the country’s incomes and expenditure will be regulated externally. Since the people of Greece are still able to internally run their expenditure. This would point to Greeks being forced to terminate fully productive state-run organisations and selling out everything. In considering privatisation all that is needed is to recall what happened to Britain when the railways were privatised in 1994. At the moment, existing Greek parties are consumed by accusing each other without coming up with a plan for a commonly accepted solution. That may remind us of how the German parties spent the years from 1929 to 1934 arguing, thus allowing the rise of the Nazis. Or perhaps how Franco won the Spanish civil war thanks to the conflicts that tore apart the democratic side from within. Issues endangering the country’s sovereignty arose when the German finance ministry suggested that an EU commissioner should be based permanently in Athens, a modern day Gauleiter. At least Erwin Lotter, member of the Ger-
man Parliament, apologised to the Greeks for that. Angela Merkel said of course that she will not accept a Greek default as a result of the Greeks’ unwillingness to accept yet another ‘bailout’. It followed, however, that the ‘Greek parliament’ accepted this new bailout’s terms. Five professors made a joint statement to academically display how unconstitutional the entire process is. These terms include the total forfeit of the country’s sovereignty and all of the state-protected assets and they even impose the foreclosure of privately owned assets. The whole agreement is subject to English law and the court responsible to allow all these is set to be in Luxembourg. The fact that the initial lending agreement did not get through the parliament in the first place demonstrates that the troika’s impositions are lacking of any legal backing according to the Greek Constitution, the EU and international laws. Until the relevant laws change that is. German Zeit stated “let Greece be, this country is not an exemplar to avoid, but an opportunity for the EU to prove that it is a union in the true meaning of the word.” In light of that last comment we can understand the growing of euro-scepticism across the continent, which can be summarised in The Guardian’s article ‘Shame on Europe for betraying Greece’. German minister of finance, Wolfgang Schäuble, suggested that Greece and Italy should remain with these provisional governments of ‘technocrats’ (Papademos and Monti) and mentioned the examples of Ireland and Portugal where the politicians agreed to postpone elections. We now see obvious interventions in the internal political affairs of countries otherwise considered to be sovereign states. In complete agreement with Mr Schäuble, the relevant press release of the ‘Greek’ government said: “the urgent duty of the provisional government is to implement the agreements; we can’t predict when it will be that elections will take place.” At this point it might be beneficial to clarify the ‘bail out’ that Eurogroup came up with on Tues-
day February 21. An account is set up where the alleged 130 billion go directly and return straight to the lenders - fair enough. All income and revenues of Greece also go in that account before going for any domestic expenditure. This means that serving the interests of the lenders comes first and the populace of Greece second. The lenders will be taking what they need and what is left, if any, will be spent in the country. The Greeks have long since had enough. Now the ‘Greek’ parliament votes that the debt payment will have top priority over all other public spending. As for the ‘haircut’, it is voluntary. This means it is agreed but not specified on which parts of the debt it will take place on, thus it will be the bonds that the Greeks themselves hold that will lose part of their value. There will be permanent EU officials monitoring the money flowing where they want it. It is interesting to note that while these ‘small prints’ made their way to the world’s media as far as the US, they seem to have lost their way towards Greece’s mainstream TV channels. Also in Greece, school pupils faint in class due to malnutrition. The Guardian commented: “whatever Eurozone finance ministers were smoking in their allnight marat h o n talks it must have been something strong.” A reasonable
tent is: have a look at lately? every four bu s i n e s s e s already gone
question for all p a r ties invo l ve d in this continuo u s l y inconsisprocess you taken Greece One in Greek h a s since
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Politics17
with Greece? 2009. Unemployment, cost of living and suicide rates have consistently risen while wages and pensions fall. Among the young the unemployment rate is above 50% already and the GDP has dropped by 17% since the crisis started. And to complete the picture the Greeks are emigrating in the hundreds of thousands. It is interesting to note how both Greece and Ireland, two nations with parallel lives, suffer from this diachronic curse that most of their people need to live abroad, in order to live with decency. The Business Insider has said: “[i]n other words, the Greek economy is imploding, in the full sense of the word. And another round of aus-
terity is supposed to fix this?” The BBC asked ‘when was it that you last walked the streets of Athens Mr Juncker?’ to stigmatise the apparent indifference of
Jean-Claude Juncker, head of the Eurozone’s ministers of Finance. The people want the country’s default, and as one may read in Financial Times “Greece needs to default if the country wishes democracy.” Europolitique, a European affairs daily bulletin, published an article titled 'Quo Vadis Europe' where it was argued that the EU should consider a ‘Marshal plan’ for Greece instead of asking the Greeks to commit suicide. The Austrian journal Profil called those who demand Greece’s utilisation as a financial lab-rat to answer whether they would be willing to enact the same measures on their own countries, concluding that if such austerity was enforced in Austria that would be the end of Austria. Willem Buiter, of Citigroup, also called for the repudiation of the debt stressing that the Greeks are squeezed and there isn’t anything left to cut. Even Der Spiegel called for an end to the bailouts describing the matter as a bad farce while also acknowledging that the country’s sovereignty has been ruined. Declan Hill, of The Ottawa Citizen, wrote that Greeks have good reason to protest as he realised that the people protesting in the streets are all the Greeks, regardless of class or ideology (the far left anarchists and the far right nationalists join forces in the protests). The Spanish 20 Minutos suggests that the Greeks do not
trust anyone anymore as this people’s patience has long since been exhausted. On Sunday February 12 there was no city where protests didn’t take place in Greece. The people’s voice was countered with a lot of tear gas and the burning of Athens’ historical city centre. That day is treated as the Greek equivalent of Germany’s burning of the Reichstag in 1933. Lets hope that no Kristallnacht will follow. After that fiery Sunday The Guardian asked, “is cradle of democracy finished democratically?” Talking of democracy, elections were meant to take place in February, or so it was said back in October 2011. Currently the ‘Greek’ government and the EU constantly push the alleged elections further into the future, since it is obvious that the people will not allow themselves to vote for a pro-IMF government yet again, while demanding signatures from all political leaders that they will continue to serve as dictated no matter what the result of the upcoming elections. With what legitimacy does an interim non-elected government sign agreements that tie up the country for generations to come has yet to be displayed. In order to make the Greeks’
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feelings more understandable the following example that a lecturer of Cardiff University placed on his noticeboard is helpful: Ten years from now a child might ask ‘what did you do dad when they sold the NHS, closed the libraries and privatised the schools?’ and dad replies ‘I voted in X-factor and filed a complaint because blackberry network was down.’ Let us turn our attention to the cold north. In 2007 Iceland’s debt was 900% of its GDP and the following year they had to default. The IMF and the EU came along to ‘save’ the island nation. As the Icelandic prime minister said: “they said if we’re to repudiate the debts that our people were not responsible for, we would become like Cuba. But if we were to follow their austerity program we would become like Haiti.” Thus with a referendum in March 2010 the people decided to reject the debt and a new constitution was made for which practically the entire population participated by viewing it, commenting and suggesting on it on-line, while those responsible for the mess fled the country. Iceland’s GDP was reduced by 6.7% in 2009 but was increased by 2.9% in 2011 and continues rising while the unemployment is at
The media and public opinion across Europe are becoming more sceptical to the Greek problem
7%, which is relatively low. Those that threatened not to support the country again if they were to reject those debts are now lining up for business and investments. Iceland also cut a significant part of the private debts to avoid having a homeless population. In Iceland the banks were nationalised while in Greece the state is bank-ised with a non-elected banker as head of government (who has been head of the Central Bank of Greece and vicepresident of the ECB) to make sure that banks (alone) remain profitable. The small nation of Iceland that numbers 320,000 people proved to the world it has the right to be a nation. It is now the turn of the Greeks to prove that they deserve to rule their country themselves too. To declare they deserve to be a nation as opposed to being a population mass. Allow me to finish with a story told by a friend who was in the streets of Athens on fiery Sunday: there was a girl in Syntagma square carrying a pot with an olive tree. In the otherworldly environment created by smoke and tear gas she was there speaking to the plant. Her voice was that of a mother tending to a child getting a scraped knee in a playground. She turned and said that there's tear gas all over the leaves, that this day has changed her life forever and that the olive tree is not for those in the parliament but for the people outside. Was it the girl? Or was it Athena impersonating the girl, lamenting for her city with her offering, the olive tree?
Haitian prime minister resigns leaving instability
Dana Beltaji
Politics Reporter The prime minister of Haiti, Gary Conille, has resigned following a power struggle within the Haitian government. His resignation comes merely four months after the start of his post, having taken up the position in October 2011. So far, Haitian president Martelly has not announced any replacement or caretaker prime minister. The issues that have arisen have mostly centre around the parliament, president and prime minister. A parliamentary commission investigating the nationality of government ministers has caused much division within the government.
The commission is concerned over whether some senior officials hold dual citizenship, which is prohibited under the constitution. These investigations have been provoked by the high number of officials spending a considerable time overseas, inevitably sparking suspicion within the Haitian parliament. These power struggles, which have been ongoing for the past few weeks, have even provoked UN interference. Mariano Fernandez, the special representative of the UN secretary general in Haiti, has stated his concern for Haiti’s progress following Conille’s resignation, stating, "the resignation of Dr. Gary Conille shows, unfortunately, that the rifts have taken over the
reconciliation to the detriment of the country." He continued, "the Haitian population aspires to truly begin the turn which will lead it towards reconstruction, economic growth and the strengthening of institutions of the rule of law." Mr Fernandez has further praised Dr. Conille’s contributions in restoring a sense of order and normality within Haiti. He feels it is now important for the Haitian authorities to work harmoniously, rather than disjointedly, in order to retain a sense of stability and economic recovery. It is in the light of Mr Conille’s successful efforts that his resignation becomes truly problematic.
Coupled with a growing sense of political instability within the nation, it is becoming prominent how much of an effect this may have on Haiti’s progress and rebuilding efforts. The country has yet to fully recover from its devastating earthquake, which ravaged the country just over two years ago in January 2010. When taking up his post, Mr ßConille had promised to create thousands of jobs for Haitians by attracting foreign investment. He believed this would jumpstart the country’s economy and progress. Undoubtedly, such political instability will only further stagnate Haiti’s already unsteady, slow-moving progress. Haiti’s aspirations and hopes of
progression are therefore proving futile. The resignation proves to be the mere beginnings of a deep-rooted crisis with the Haitian government. Rosny Smart, a former prime minister, has stated, "the resignation of a prime minister is a normal fact. The country does not expect a different ending than this one." Unfortunately for the Haitian population, reconstruction and political stability appears to remain far off. It is unlikely that these underlying power struggles between government officials will be resolved swiftly. Regrettably, hopes for a unified government with shared aspirations for Haiti’s quick and steady recovery are, at best, optimistic.
18 Politics
Monday March 05 2011 • #gairrhydd • politics@gairrhydd.com
US election round-up Hugh Rodger Political Reporter
I
n the Republican Party’s bid to unseat President Barack Obama from the White House, the presidential primary season is underway. Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul are the remaining four candidates locked in a close race to become the GOP’s presidential nominee. However, they face a tough challenge against the incumbent Barack Obama. In the most recent Politico and George Washington University Battleground poll, Obama’s approval rating stood at 53 percent (as of writing), an increase of 9 percent in four months. When matched against his Republican opponents, he leads Romney by 10 points and Santorum by 11. The poll also shows an increasing number of Americans who believe Obama’s policies are getting the country back on the right track, and a survey showed consumer confidence at the highest level in a year. Rick Santorum is the current front runner among Republican voters with 36 percent to become the party’s nominee. However, he is neck-and-neck with the previous favourite Mitt Romney, who stands at 34 percent, as the contest has only just begun. An evangelical Catholic, Santorum is known for his fierce opposition to abortion and gay rights. In an attempt to appeal to the GOP’s strong Christian base, he recently criticised a speech by John F. Kennedy where the late president advocated keeping his Catholic faith out of politics. Santorum on the other doesn’t believe in “an America where the separation of church and state is absolute”, and that Kennedy’s made him “throw up”. Like his opponent Romney, Santorum is an ardent supporter of Israel, supporting pre-emptive strikes against Iran to prevent further development of nuclear weapons, including targeted killings of Iranian nuclear scientists. Meanwhile, former governor of Massachusetts and multimillionaire Romney portrays himself as a champion of the middle classes. He hopes his business experience will help convince voters that he is the right man to manage America’s ailing economy. However, Romney’s Mormon faith has aroused suspicion from religious conservatives in his party, and many Republicans are sceptical of how some of his policies have more in common with Obama than his GOP rivals. Doubts over Romney’s conservative credentials cost him a victory in the Iowa caucuses in favour of
rival Santorum by a very close margin of just 34 votes. However, Romney managed to claw back some delegates with easy victories in the New Hampshire and Florida primaries and the Nevada caucuses. Last week he was also able to secure much-needed victories in Arizona, where he won all 29 Republican National Convention delegates, and Michigan, his place of birth. Despite struggling to connect with conservative voters, Romney fought a hard, expensive campaign costing upwards of $4 million. Newt Gingrich scored an easy victory in Florida with over 40% of the vote, but with Santorum and Romney dominating the field so far, he looks unlikely to last past Super Tuesday. The final candidate, Ron Paul, will almost certainly suspend his campaign around the same time as he has failed to win a single primary so far. Super Tuesday refers to when the largest number of primaries are held in a single day. Super Tuesday will take place on March 6th with 10 participating states, including Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia. However, Republican voters are beginning to feel disenchanted with the choice of candidates, especially in the face of President Obama’s rising approval ratings. In the aftermath of the Michigan primary,
Mitt Romney
Rick Santorum
Newt Gingrich
Ron Paul
just 45 percent of voters said they strongly favoured the candidate they voted for. Exit polls showed voters in both Michigan and Arizona believed the most important factor was that a candidate be able to defeat Obama in November – a group which Romney was able to win over. Santorum performed favourably with voters desiring strong conservatism and moral character. The GOP nominee race has been a caustic one marred by negative ad campaigns, particularly on the day of the Michigan primary. Romney referred to Santorum as an “economic lightweight” and a “big-labor Republican”. Santorum responded by calling his opponent a “lightweight on conservative accomplishments, which happens to be more important than how much success and how much money you’ve made in business.” With Democrats rallying to vote for Santorum in a bid to jeopardise Romney’s chance of winning his home state, there have been accusations of “dirty tricks” against Santorum. Democrat activists launched the campaign during the Michigan primary because they see Santorum as the more desirable candidate to face Obama. Democrat strategist Joe DiSano said Santorum would “bring an electoral disaster to the Republicans – he could deliver Obama a landslide.” In the run-up to Super Tuesday,
voters and observers can probably expect a more caustic and expensive campaign. Could Romney or Santorum beat Obama to the White House? Possibly, but there is a real risk for the GOP that voters feel they are opting for the best of a bad
bunch – a candidate who faces an uphill battle increasingly popular President of a country Americans believe is gradually getting back on its feet.
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Features19
This week, Charlotte Wace talks about the importance of lecture ettiquette.
E
veryone has their own reasons for going to University. Some know the exact career they want to take and the course that will make it happen, others want to expand their options and some just want the University experience. Whatever the reason, most people plan to get a degree at the end of it, if for no better reason than to justify the debt, but most will hopefully have gained a lot of new knowledge as well. Yet a bystander sitting in certain lectures may struggle to see this. Let's take an average Thursday afternoon's Cultural Criticism lecture. Around 1.05, while I’m procrastinating in the Students' Union, hoping four shots of cheap, but not so cheerful, espresso will counteract the effects of the previous night's four Zwack bombs, the queues start to form outside the Law building. These are the eager beavers who have read the material, can deliver lengthy quotations of the text and can probably recite a mini biography of the lecturers themselves. They have allowed enough time to lay out their four highlighters and two pads of paper, both plain and spaced, and switch on their Dictaphones. They line the aisles of the
row, as to prevent any fiendish latecomers from invading their sacred space or desecrating their circle of intense concentration. Unfortunately, my urgent caffeine requirement made me lose track of time but adamant that I can save myself from being a hungover failure, I dash in five minutes late and grab a seat that someone has luckily saved for me. It’s a bit awkward and embarrassing. There are no easily available seats, so this guy has to stop writing, stand up and let me through, knocking half his stuff off the desk as he does so. Just as he’s sitting back down,
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Magic Wrap Guy. He doesn't come to lectures to write notes. He comes to sit and noisily eat his wrap.
another ten people crash through the door and only realise once they have swaggered to their seats that the lecture has actually started and yes, the lecturer and silent auditorium did hear how they “can’t
be dealing with this lecture”. By this point the lecturer has forgotten what she was saying and spends the next five minutes trying to remember. Not that anyone can hear because there are more latecomers arriving, asking if there are any spare seats and extra handouts. Come to think of it, non-lecture proceedings have become as standard as the lecturer explaining the importance of double-spacing essays and Learning Central. For example, two rows in front of me is Magic Wrap Guy. He doesn’t come to lectures to write notes. He comes to sit and noisily eat his wrap, followed by a casual nap with his head in his hands. Then there is ‘hello I have arrived girl’, who saunters in around 15 minutes late every lecture, but with no apologetic ‘this is awkward’ look, more of a proud, movie star style grin that announces her unearthly presence. Two pretend eager beavers near to the front enthusiastically type away on laptops, nodding along, not to the lecturer but the girls they met last night and are now talking to on Facebook chat. I feel sorry for the lecturer who pauses every so often if she sees they are still typing, or sometimes even repeats the point for their benefit. In the average lecture I have sat in, about 30% of students are taking notes, 30% are staring gormlessly into space and at least 30% are texting away busily. The remaining 10% are doing anything, from rolling their eyes at each other muttering “I’m sooo bored I have no idea what he’s talking about”, drawing cartoon elephants in their margins and in one case, playing on a Gameboy (I didn't know people still use those things.) Sometimes, I quite like this lecture culture. In the dull lectures some of the conversations you can overhear are quite informative and useful. I learnt that Cardiff ’s new club The Bunker plays good music but has a worrying lack of toilets, that The College House does better coffee than Starbucks and details of the line-up for this years Beach Break. However, most of the conversations are boringly unpredictable; the amount of cheese someone has eaten that week (people on my course seem to eat A LOT of cheese... and talk about it... A LOT), how crap it is that Primark don’t take student cards (come on people, you want a discount on a £1 thong?) and the classic “I’ve spent so much money and I just don’t know how” Jager and Sambuca my friend. If Student Studies were a de-
gree I would definitely get a first. However, as entertaining as this can sometimes be, when I have a complex essay set on something relevant, or the lecture is really informative and interesting, the constant muttering and giggling can be really distracting and irritating. You can’t help but notice the considerable differences between the people in the early morning lectures and those in the afternoon lectures, causing an anxious looking lecturer. So what should be done? Should there be a doomsday styled book people sign to prove they have dragged themselves out of bed? Should there be “SILENT, NO TALKING” and “ANTI-PROCASTINATION ZONE” posters slapped across lecture theatres? Should officials come round at 10pm every night poking torches through our windows: “come on guys, lights out now.” I think not. We’re not kids, and we’re supposedly at university because we want to be there. Asking around, people have varying opinions on lecture behaviour; “I feel bad for the lecturer” seems to be one of the main guilt pangs. Matt, an Economics student commented, “Apparently there was only about ten people in a lecture I had to miss last week. I felt bad for the dude taking it. There should
ing, but it is simply “what everyone does, and I would be a hypocrite if I told people to shut up.” It seems strange that people, who are obviously intelligent and bright, struggle to understand basic social necessities of respect and listening. Why does someone think it is a good idea to turn up to a lecture half an hour late then either fall asleep for the remaining 20 minutes anyway, or talk away as incessantly as a parrot? I’m not saying I’m perfect - in fact far from it. Everyone has days when they are tired, having a bad day or just generally can't be arsed. I have had plenty of instances where a text conversation has been a more pressing use of my time than Chaucer, or have chosen the snooze button on my alarm over Medievalism. But I do make an effort not to massively distract others, or be outwardly disrespectful to the lecturer. Perhaps then, people shouldn’t be allowed in more than ten minutes late for a lecture (sorry ‘I have arrived’ girl), or even, dare I say it, they should be asked to leave if they are being distracting to everyone else? My friend came back full of hatred for the lad in front of him in his Politics lecture: “He spent the whole time watching Arsenal versus Man United on his laptop and
have been 200 of us, at least.” Jess, an English student, also said “the other day the lecturer had to keep stopping because so many people were late. It was really offputting. She then actually reminded us that she could see us just as clearly as we could see her. It was obvious people weren’t listening.” Jenny, a medic, feels that distracting lecture behaviour is really annoy-
then cheering under his breath and hitting the table every time Arsenal scored. It was so irritating! People kept looking over at him. Why would you do that?” So does my friend agree with me that there should be some form of new rules in place for lectures? No, unfortunately he just thinks that no one in their right mind should support Arsenal.
We want to hear your stories: anything goes. Just drop us a line on features@gairrhydd.com.
20Features
Monday March 05 2012 • #gairrhydd • features@gairrhydd.com
The Music Industry: lifelong dream or harsh reality? Features writer, Elise Smith considers the bittersweet reality of the music industry.
W
hitney Houston rose to fame in 1985 at the tender age of 25 with her magnificent ballad ‘Saving All My Love For You’, which rose straight to number one in the US, the UK and several other countries. It was her empowering voice and enchanting looks which allowed the world to fall head over heels in love with Whitney and boost her to superstardom. After her initial number one, she went on to break numerous records and continued to capture the hearts and minds of all those who listened. Of course, Whitney was always destined for great things, with Grammy-winning Gospel singer Cissy Houston as her mother and cousin Dionne Warwick, who was famous for her song ‘I Say a Little Prayer’. Music was literally in her genes. From modelling, to music, to movies, Whitney could do it all, however this led to her constantly being in the public eye for all her life. Whitney’s troubles first appeared when she met future husband Bobby Brown. Whitney and Bobby married in 1992 and experienced a whirlwind romance which resulted in the birth of her daughter Bobbi Kristina in 1993. From here onwards her credibility and career as well as her health seemed to be under threat. Accusations emerged that she and Bobby had been abusing crack cocaine in 2002 and Bobby’s reality TV show enabled watchers to see the stormy relationship that the couple shared. Whitney and Bobby went on to divorce in 2006, after a turbulent relationship that pushed Whitney to the edge. Before her death, Whitney was last pictured outside LA club ‘Tru Hol-
lywood’ with blood running down her leg, hair dishevelled, an expression that brought back memories from her drug abusing days with Brown. Whitney was found dead in her hotel bathtub on February 11 2012, at only 48 years old, after a suspected overdose of alcohol and prescription medication. She was yet another victim of the deadly and merciless music industry.
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‘Club 27’: a list of famous singers who have all died at the very young age of 27 because they could no longer deal with the pressures that the music industry presented them with
Indeed, Whitney is not the only one who has suffered greatly at the hands of music; it was only in July last year that the one of a kind Amy Winehouse, was found dead after supposedly trying to give up drugs and alcohol. This was made all the more ironic as the star rose to fame with her song ‘Rehab’, in which she sang about needing to get help but not wanting to. Only years before Winehouse passed away, it was the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, whose death shocked the world after, he was found dead at his home in the early hours of June 25 2009,
after an alleged overdose of prescribed drugs. A theme that appears common in all three of these deaths, is the apparent use of drugs and alcohol that all stars have used. This leads me to ask whether there is a pressure within the music business, to drink alcohol and do drugs, or whether it is in fact the stress of constantly being in the limelight that forces these stars to turn to drastic measures. After the late Winehouse’s death, critics began looking back at the disturbing ‘Club 27’. A list of famous singers who have all died at the very young age of 27 because they could no longer deal with the pressures that the music industry presented them with. Members of Club 27 include Nirvana front man, Curt Kobain, who was found dead in April 1994 after shooting himself because he no longer felt excitement when listening to or creating music, further emphasising just what gaining access to the elite music industry can really do to someone. Other member’s include Janis Joplin, who died October 1970 after a probable heroin overdose and Uriah Heep bassist Gary Thain, who died December 1975 also after a drug overdose. In fact, many of the members of Club 27 were found dead after suspected suicides and drug overdoses, showing the strain that the music industry is putting on its performers. It is worrying to look at the long list of adults who couldn’t deal with the pressures that the music industry placed upon them. If 27 year-olds cannot cope, what does the future hold for the younger stars of the world? It was only the other week that online blog ‘entertainment wise’ reported that X factor USA 2011 contestant, Rachel Crow had land-
ed TV and Record deals with Nickelodeon and Columbia Records; a large amount to handle for a girl aged just 14. The Great British public will surely remember the 2009 series of Britain’s got Talent. Here the United Kingdom watched a little ten year old girl break down in tears on live television after forgetting her words. Imagine just how scared little Holly was, being watched live by thousands of people as well as international music mogul, Simon Cowell. However, even after the reality television programmes stop, these children are constantly in the public eye. Whitney and Jackson both found stardom at a very young age but it came with a heavy price; no real childhood and the strain of being under constant scrutiny. Watching your public life being continuously splashed across newspapers and tabloids is something that is hard to deal with even as an adult. Is it any wonder that so many stars turn to drugs and alcohol to escape? It could be argued that many of the artists who fall victim to the pull of drugs and alcohol are simply trying to fit in with the stereotype of ‘sex, drugs, rock n’ roll’ that the music industry and many of the Club 27 members have created for them. It was only last year that Taylor Momsem was dropped from the hit USA series ‘Gossip Girl’ because of her hardcore partying outside of production. The actress, who was only 14 at the time, was constantly seen smoking on set, drinking on stage and wearing next to nothing in public. Before forming her band ‘The Pretty Reckless’ the young blonde was almost angelic, as seen in the early series of Gossip Girl and in previous projects such as The Grinch. Miley Cyrus, also fell
victim to this stereotype soon after she left the constrictive studios of Disney. The singer recently came under fire for her provocative clothing, inappropriate antics and the large number of tattoos she had before she had ever turned 18.
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The music industry can break even the most determined of artists, ripping their dreams apart and putting them on a pedestal in front of the world
Overall, it seems that the music industry can break even the most determined of artists, ripping their dreams apart and putting them on a pedestal in front of the world which then scrutinises and ridicules their every move. It is no wonder that some of these superstars turn to drugs and alcohol to escape from reality. It is unknown just how many more musicians turn to drugs to deal with the ridiculous pressure that comes with the music industry, constantly having to perform, even after the music stops. It is safe to say that nobody is unaffected by the pressures, especially the young children entering into this hazardous industry. As Bill Nighy said on the 2003 film Love Actually who famously said, "kids… don’t buy drugs, become a pop star and they’ll give you them for free."
Torrid transitions of famous musicians, above: (L to R) Whitney Houston, Taylor Momsen and the legendary Michael Jackson
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Features21
International Women's Week Rachel Benson talks about Oxfam's GROW campaign and how you can get involved.
I
t is often said that poverty has a female face. Globally, women are disproportionately affected by the causes of poverty and the statistics make for shocking reading: nearly two thirds of the world’s illiterate adults are women, three quarters of the civilians killed in war are women and children, and every minute a woman with no medical care dies in pregnancy or childbirth. Oxfam’s recently launched GROW campaign focuses on the inequalities of the global food system, which mean that almost a billion people go to bed hungry every night. Despite the fact that women produce a greater proportion of the food we eat (around 80% of small scale farmers are women), they are more likely to go hungry than
men. You might have heard the statistics: women work two-thirds of the world's working hours, produce half of the world's food, but earn only 10% of the world's income and own less than 1% of the world's property.
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Girls who attend school are more likely to marry later and have smaller and healthier families.
Last year marked the centenary of International Women’s Day, a
day to celebrate the achievements of women but also a reminder to press for the social, political and economic demands of the women’s movement. In 2000, the United Nations agreed The Millennium Development Goals, eight international development goals to be achieved by 2015. The third of these goals is dedicated to promoting gender equality and empowering women, focusing on improving women’s access to education and their political representation. Educating girls and young women has huge effects – girls who attend school are more likely to marry later and have smaller and healthier families. They are able to understand practical health information, contribute to their family income and participate more fully in decision making
in their family and community. The struggle for gender equality is a global challenge to which the education and empowerment
of women is key. If poverty has a woman’s face, the same can be said of its solution. To celebrate International Women’s Day and raise awareness of the GROW campaign, the Oxfam Cardiff Group have organised a clothes swap at Gwdih on Monday March 12 at 6:30pm. The event will give people the opportunity to recycle their unwanted clothes, refresh their wardrobe and help raise money for Oxfam. There will also be a stall from the Oxfam Boutique, as well as a quiz and other entertainment on the night. To find out more about Oxfam’s plans for International Women’s Day, visit www.oxfam.org.uk/womensday. For more information about gender inequality, join the debate at http://www.weareequals.org/.
Sexism in the Media and our Society Features talk about the sexist and ideological advertisements affecting women today.
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’m not easily offended. I’ve lived in Western Pennsylvania for 16 years and while I’ll never accept a sheltered upbringing as an excuse for intolerance, I’ve learned to keep my mouth shut. In the words of a long-deceased state senator: "Pennsylvania is Pittsburgh and Philadelphia with Alabama in between.” I expect sexism from these people, and am not surprised when I hear a customer tell the female barista at the local coffee shop “Maybe you’d get more tips if you were wearing lingerie.” I’m angry, but keep my mouth shut: these people are set in their ways. Anything I, another woman, could say would only make things worse. There is, however, a subject that once touched upon—or even looked at peripherally—moves me to don silver gauntlets: The feminine body image. On more than one occasion, I’ve had male friends say of their girlfriends: “I tell her she’s pretty, and know what she says? Says she’s fat.” His incredulous italics are justified: usually, the girl in question is nowhere near fat. “Why can’t she take a compliment?” That he’s asking the question at
or “We must be more accepting of other cultures,” in that it is a blanket solution that offers no practical clues for application. Like other invisible forces -the economy, and God- our visual culture seems too big and powerful to even converse with. Film director, Werner Herzog said of America: “We are a culture starved for images.” While he was talking about something else — the Mcdonaldization of art — his words have a broad application. In sociology, context is everything: We wouldn’t have healthy women thinking they’re fat if the culture didn’t encourage them to think that way.
all is progress, though the answer should be obvious: With every billboard, runway, and magazine telling his girlfriend she has nothing to be proud of, how can she take a compliment? On average, Americans are exposed to hundreds of advertisements per day. The ads targeting young women -Urban Outfitters, Maybelline, Marc Jacobs- concern themselves primarily with marketing an image. One image:
How do you build self-confidence with an entire culture pitted against you? One solution is to shield yourself from mainstream media. Cut it from your life like an ulcer. Instead look inward: Sure, you may not look like that, but you work out every day. You eat vegetables. Your doctor says you’re healthy. This is easier said than done. People are social animals. We seek common ground: shielding yourself from media eliminates you from the
experience of media. Which is why I don’t think the girlfriend in question is to blame. I have never known a woman calling herself fat who genuinely believed otherwise: That is, no woman I know uses the word as an attentiongetting device, unless it is a cry for help. The visual culture — what we as a society deem desirable — must change. I realise this is like saying, “We must get rid of sexism,”
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22Science
Monday March 05 2012 #gairrhydd • science@gairrhydd.com
Cardiff University astronomers to reveal galactic surprises
Hugh Rodger Science Writer The European Space Agency (ESA) has teamed up with Cardiff University astronomers as part of its Planck mission to reveal more secrets about the structure of the universe. According to the official website of the ESA, Planck is the first European mission to study the birth of the universe, hoping to uncover answers to how the universe has evolved and how its evolution will continue. Planck’s primary objective is to analyse the Cosmic Microwave Background – the remnants of radiation immediately filling the Universe after the Big Bang. Recent results have shown a “Galactic Haze” of microwave emission near the centre of the Milky Way. Planck will also map the Cosmic Microwave Background and anything else in the foreground, including our own galaxy. Astronomers from Cardiff University’s School of Physics and Astronomy are currently working with others around the world study-
ing these maps in order to release the results of their findings, including the discovery of previously unknown clouds of cold gas. A phenomenon known as ‘synchrotron emission’ involves very fast electrons travelling through magnetic fields. The mysterious haze of microwave emission is said to be synchrotron-like in nature, and could have been caused by an unexpectedly energetic population
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Results have shown a 'Galactic Haze' near the centre of the Milky Way.
of electrons. Krzysztof Gorski of the ESA said: “Synchrotron emission associated with Galactic Haze, however, exhibits distinctly different characteristics from the synchrotron emission seen elsewhere in the Milky Way, and we’re trying to understand why.” Another explanation for the haze’s existence is that there are
more supernovae occurring in the centre of the galaxy, or from a stronger flow of material from the Galactic centre. The electrons could also be the result of the annihilation of dark matter particles, which if possible, provides a new way to trace this unusual constituent of the Universe. Professor Pete Ade of Cardiff ’s School of Physics and Astronomy is responsible for building, testing and calibrating the ultra-cold sensitive detectors within the High Frequency Instrument. He said: “We always knew that with all sky coverage in nine wavebands we would make unexpected discoveries. The detection of the galactic centre haze and the serendipitous mapping are good examples of this.” Most emission in our galaxy is from hot gas and dust between the stars or from energetic electrons moving through magnetic fields. Planck’s instruments can also detect emission from very cold clouds of gas scattered throughout the Milky Way. Hydrogen molecules make up the main constituent of these clouds, and because hydrogen
molecules do not emit a lot of light, they can be very hard to find. Instead of struggling to detect hydrogen molecules, astronomers identify these gas clouds by detecting emission from carbon monoxide molecules. Despite the rarity of carbon monoxide molecules, they are much easier to see. Dr Locke Spencer, School of Physics and Astronomy and mem-
ber of the Planck collaboration said: “Observations of carbon monoxide at these wavelengths are very challenging to obtain, and require many experts of different specialities working together. The full sky-map of carbon monoxide will provide a vital resource for astronomers using other telescopes, pointing out places to look for stars in the process of forming.”
DNA nanorobots developed to seek out and 'Invisibility cloaks' to protect kill cancer cells using 'origami' technique buildings from earthquakes Samuel Durley Science Writer
Katie Bennett Science Writer
Scientists have developed ‘robots’ made from DNA that can seek out and kill cancer cells, according to a report in the scienctific journal, Science. A group of researchers from the Harvard Medical School in the US have developed a novel drug delivery system that could revolutionise the way our bodies can be given medicines, in particular, cancer drugs.
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The DNA is folded up using a technique called DNA origami to produce a robot
Currently, most cancer drugs are non specific, which means that the drugs used in chemotherapy kill not only the cancer cells, but also the healthy cells in the body. This is because the medicines will act on any cell they find and this non-specific nature of cancer drugs gives undesirable side effects. This novel system that has been developed in the US uses DNA as a material to build a microscopic 'robot'. The DNA is folded up using a technique called DNA origami to produce a useful structure, in this case, a robot. The robot has highly specialised arms, called aptamers, that can specifically recognise cells that are
cancerous by recognising molecules that are only produced on the outside of cancer cells. When the robot recognises the cancers cells it will bind to the cell, and this causes the robot to change its shape. This change in shape will result in the delivery of drugs, which are held with the centre of the DNA origami structure, into the cell. These drugs will then work inside the cancer cell and destroy it. Due to the highly specific nature of these nanorobots they could be a hugely desirable method of delivering drugs to very specific parts of the body, therefore reducing the side effects of medicines. Whats more, the nanorobots are built from DNA, a substance that is ubiquitous in the body, it will hope-
fully go unnoticed by the body’s immune system and not be destroyed before it reaches its’ target. These nanorobots have essentially been designed to act just like the cells in our immune system; they very specifically recognise diseased cells, they deliver a drug to that cell, and this causes the diseased cell to die. So far the function of these nanorobots have only been tested on cells in a test tube, but the scientists hope to go on to test them in animal models. The highly specific nature of these nanorobots gives huge potential for a large range of diseases where it is vital that the drug only reaches a specific type of cell, tissue or organ.
Cloaking devices are the inspiration of science fiction writers, but scientists are now saying the reality might not be far behind. Researchers from Manchester University say Harry Potter-style invisibility cloaks may soon be possible to protect them against earthquakes. This is one the latest developments in cloaking techniques which makes objects invisible to all waves, including sound and vibration. In recent years, scientists have been able to develop ways of making objects effectively invisible to certain wavelengths in limited circumstances. However, writing in the journal, Proceedings of the Royal Society, Dr William Parnell said, "significant progress has been made, both theoretically and practically in the area of cloaking." The cloaking technique makes objects 'invisible' by detecting light around them. Using this similar technique, the researchers at Manchester University claim that using pressurised rubber could hide buildings by sending the shock waves around the structure rather than through it. This could protect nuclear power plants, electric pylons and government buildings, not only from earthquakes but also other natural disasters, and even terrorist attacks. Dr Parnell said: “Five or six years ago scientists started with light waves, and in the last few years we have started to consider
other wave-types, most importantly perhaps sound and elastic waves. The real problem with the latter is that it is normally impossible to use naturally available materials as cloaks.
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Ways of making objects effectively invisible to certain wavelengths have been developed
"We showed theoretically that pre-stressing a naturally available material – rubber – leads to a cloaking effect from a specific type of elastic wave. "Our team is now working hard on more general theories and to understand how this theory can be realised in practice. If the theory can be scaled up to larger objects then it could be used to create cloaks to protect buildings and structures, or perhaps more realistically to protect very important specic parts of those structures.” The cloaking technique is also of huge interest to the military, because if a warplane could become cloaked then it could achieve "super-stealth" status by becoming invisible in all directions to radar microwaves. Sadly for science fiction fans, there will be no disappearing acts, as objects will remain visible to the human eye, which can only perceive light in higher frequencies.
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Science23 Will lab-grown meat be petri-dish of the day? Monday March 05 2012 • #gairrhydd • science@gairrhydd.com
Rhys Clayton explores the research behind the creation of the world's first lab-grown burger and contemplates whether it will be a success
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love a good burger. However, I’m not sure I fancy tucking into a lab-grown patty, something that could be a reality by the end of the year. The aforementioned burger is the brainchild of scientists from the University of Maastricht. Cow muscle and fat stem cells have been used to grow the resulting £250, 000 minced meat. It won’t come as a surprise that Heston “Snail Porridge” Blumenthal is the designated chef in charge of cooking said burger for a “mystery guest”. In layman’s terms, the process used to obtain the meat starts by extracting stem cells from cow muscle tissue and growing them in flasks in the laboratory. The resulting cells are grown in a culture medium which contains the nutrients necessary for the cells to multiply and develop.
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Blumenthal is the designated chef in charge of cooking the lab-made burger
The slivers of muscles that result are grown on a collagen gel between pieces of Velcro and are able to contract as they grow, resulting in a 3D tissue. To increase the protein content of the cells (which improves the texture of the meat), they are shocked with an electric current. The team have so far grown 3cm long, one and a half millimetre wide and half a millimetre thick sheets of cow muscle. To make the anticipated burger, it will take three thousand pieces of muscle and several
hundred pieces of fatty tissue. I think the natural human reaction to this project would be “uch a fi”, or for those of you not familiar with the Welsh dialect, “yuk”. However, the more I think about it, the more feasible it becomes. Surely, eating lab-grown meat cannot be worse than slaughtering animals? There is no doubt that the British love meat and fish. Stereotypical British meals are Fish and Chips, a beef roast, and anywhere north of Birmingham, a meat pie. Regional generalisations aside, it has been estimated that every year, each Briton eats about 85kg of meat, which amounts to 33 chickens, one pig, three-quarters of a sheep, and a fifth of a cow. Between 1961 and 2007, British meat consumption increased by 20%, and this trend shows no sign of stopping. At the turn of the 20th Century, the population stood at roughly 1.6 billion, and the figure now nudges seven billion. This has of course placed phenomenal pressure on food producers, and as Chinese and Indian people continue to adopt more Westernised diets, the demand for meat is going to keep rising. “Grow Your Own” meat is looking like an increasingly feasible option, rather than inflationary prices or more genetically modified, growth hormone-injected, additive pumped meat. A test-tube burger, would, by nature, be grown in controlled conditions in an efficient manner. In contrast, livestock is a very inefficient way of converting vegetable matter to animal protein with cows and pigs having an efficiency rate of only 15%. Project leader, Dr Mark Post said, “If we can increase the efficiency from 15% to 50%, it would be a tremendous leap forward.”
Above: Celebrity chef, Heston Blumenthal will cook and serve up the lab-grown burger Equally, the ethical benefits are abundant. These could include reduced deforestation, decreased global warming from 80-95%, lower greenhouse gases, less fresh water scarcity and loss of biodiversity, reduction in illegal poaching, fewer fauna based diseases, and a healthier, better quality 'meat' with less fat from the controlled conditions. The 'deep-pocketed' financial backer of the project is unclassified. Who knows, it could be vegetarian Sir Paul McCartney, or former veggie, Meat Loaf (not sure how you can be a veggie with a name like Meat Loaf)? It must be pointed out that it is still unclear whether the project may still be off-limits to stringent vegetarians, as the source material comes from animals that will likely have suffered.
With further enhancements and testing, it is hoped that the price can be set at an affordable level to the masses, giving consumers a choice akin to the option of whether to buy free range or cage eggs. With the cultured meat competing
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It will will take around three thousand pieces of muscle and several hundred pieces of fatty tissue to make the burger
with Quorn and Soya meat. However, there are still kinks to be flattened out. At the moment, the
appearance of the burger leaves a lot to be desired: it is currently an “unappetising half-millimetre thick strap of lab-grown pinky-yellow meat”. Now, call me old fashioned, but I like my burger a healthy, slightly charcoaled brown! The jovial ire and general cynicism I have displayed in this article is perhaps a tad unfair. The ultimate aim is to create a burger indistinguishable from your average Whopper. And for those with an uncultured palate, like myself, I have every faith in the visionaries at Maastricht. After all, given the choice between my under/overcooked roast dinner or my too salty/unsalty Bolognese, or a lab-grown burger, I would choose the stem celled, bovined, pinky-yellowed 'meat' every time.
The steps taken by scientists to produce a lab-grown burger The cells multiply and develop in flasks containing the necessary nutrients
Stem cells are extracted from cow muscle tissue
Resulting slivers of muscles are made into a 3D scaffold
Cells are shocked with electric current to make more protein
Google reportedly launching online storage system to rival Dropbox Katie Bennett Science Writer It is rumoured that Google will soon be announcing its own online storage drive, similar to ‘Dropbox’ and ‘iCloud’. The Wall Street Journal has predicted that the ‘drive’ will be launched within the next few months, although the company isn’t due to have its next confer-
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The Wall Street Journal has predicted that the drive will be launched within the next few months
ence until June. The ‘drive’ would synchronise files and content with Android phones and tablets, as well as anything using a browser or the operating system, Chrome. This drive could be incorporated with Google apps, including access to word processing and spreadsheets. This would clearly appeal to business workers, lecturers and students. These groups are already being
targeted by other companies such as Dropbox and box.net but Google may be able to undercut the price of competitors to customers who wish to use a large amount of space. The majority of current services have to rent server space from Amazon’s cloud storage service, whereas Google will be able to use its existing network. Google did announce a similar system in 2007, called ‘G Drive’, but
it was never launched. It also tried to buy ‘Dropbox’ with a nine-figure sum but the offer was turned down. So far, Google has declined to comment.
24Science
Monday March 05 2012 • #gairrhydd • science@gairrhydd.com
Is science being driven into a “dark era”?
As the president of the world's largest scientific society says she is "scared to death" of the attack against scientific thinking, Paul Wilkinson investigates the statement and the everchanging relationship between science and politics
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he president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Nina Fedoroff, has made headlines with a startling statement. In Vancouver, to the 8,000 members of the scientific community present, she spoke about how scientists were being “scared to death” by anti-science lobbyists who are looking to suppress research on health and environmental issues. The event, which is usually the podium for the announcement and celebration of scientific achievement, was clouded by her comments which have prompted a huge debate over the relationship between science and politics as reports of deliberate sabotage and even email hacking are being circulated. Federoff told attendees at the annual event that she believed we are "sliding back into a dark era. And there seems little we can do about it." I am profoundly depressed at just how difficult it has become merely to get a realistic conversation started on issues such as climate change or genetically modified organisms." Federoff made the comments detailing her own experiences struggling for the scientific voice to be heard amongst the cacophony of those of the policy makers with their own agendas.
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Belief systems, especially if they're tinged with fear, are not easily dismantled with facts
This is an incredibly worrying revelation. Scientific research being attacked because of the financial effects it will have on large, multi-national, corporations may sound like a film plot, but is being revealed as common practice. "Belief systems, especially if they're tinged with fear, are not easily dismantled with facts," Federoff went on to say, "this isn't a new problem, but it's a growing problem." Other scientific figures from the event also joined Fedoroff in her public condemnation of anti-science lobbyists. In 2008, the Canadian government introduced a media protocall, which meant that all media announcements from governmentfunded researchers have to be approved by ministers first. The protocol can leave journalists and scientists alike frustrated, as they
US campaigns have a long-standing exchange. Recent investigations have looked into business backing campaigns against health measures such as bans on smoking and the use of the insecticide DDT, as well as environmental concerns such as the diminishing of the ozone layer. Now it is scientists producing pro-climate change research that are attracting the most attention from these business funded groups. You can’t blame businesses for being afraid of laws to tackle climate change. Many would be likely to lose large amounts of profit from either having to convert to being more environmentally friendly or by taxes aimed at raising money to tackle the problem. This, however, does not legitimise actions of harassment and personal attacks reported by some scientists.
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The system has been branded "Orwellian" and keeps the public "in the dark"
Above: Nina Federoff, head of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and pictured here with G.W. Bush, said she was "depressed" at the growing anti-science movement are unable to print or provide comment before a news story is leaked elsewhere or ignored altogether. Andrew Weaver, an environmental scientist who also attended the event, branded the system “Orwellian” and said it served only to keep the public “in the dark.” Cases of journalists being denied interviews with government scientists have been highlighted by Margaret Munro, a science writer from a publication in Vancouver who spoke at the AAAS meeting and said the examples were proof of the government “muzzling” its scientists. For example, a Dr. Miller found that Salmon in western Canada were showing signs of infection from a virus associated with cancer. Although the journal was published in a leading academic journal, the government refused him permission to partake in a media interview, which would have made the public aware of his findings. In another case involving the Canadian government, reporters tried to access information about dangerous radiation levels on the Canadian west coast following Japan’s Fukushima disaster. They were denied access to the data and were only able to break the story after going to a European
2008 Above: The year in which the Canada introduced the controversial protocol between the media and government scientists
Below: The largest anonymous donation to a leading antiscience lobbying institution
$13.3 million
source. Clearly, the people living in the radiated area should have been made aware of this as soon as possible. The problem here is that there is no accountability. The debate has also surfaced amidst the leaking of documents from a leading institution which aims to challenge scientific discoveries, revealing some controversial sources of their immense funding; sources which would be greatly compromised if certain political legislation were to be authorised. Leaked documents from a significant anti-scientific lobbying institution called the Heartland Institute, have revealed the extent of their funding. The leaked internal memos details plans for the institution to raise around $7.7 million in 2012 from various sources including Microsoft, GlaxoSmithKline and Reynolds American (owner of a number of tobacco companies). One of the most controversial elements of the funding is that related to climate change. One anonymous donor gave $13.3 million with further donations planned for later this year, all related to the teaching of alternative views on climate change in schools. Of course, this is not a new occurrence. Business interests and
It is also clear that their attempts to sabotage scientific research are having an effect. There is a large amount of support for some Republican Party presidential candidates who have expressed their varying scepticism of climate change, from outright denial to sheer confusion on the subject. Businesses and governments seem to be putting money before the health of their people and the future of our planet. The human cost is clearly seen as secondary. There needs to be a serious look into this issue from the international community. Scientists should not be afraid to announce research that reveal dangers to us and should not be told by government what they can and cannot say, despite corporations’ agendas.
Follow @GairRhyddSci for the latest news and info on future articles.
26 Societies
Monday March 05 2012 • #gairrhydd • societies@gairrhydd.com
Elementary my dear...
Isabelle Roberts Societies Editor On February 25, the Asian Society held their Elements: The Ball event for the second year. Upon arrival, I met Deluxsy, one of the co-presidents of the Asian Society, who was busy running around madly but said she was looking forward to it. I had a quick backstage tour of the rehearsals, dressing room and make-up – the Asian Society had completely taken over and fabulously transformed the National Museum and everything looked under control. The event began at 6pm, when I walked into the main entrance of the museum, where lots of tables were arranged ready for the meal later (with a seating plan and all). Museum staff directed us upstairs into some of the galleries, where a champagne reception was being held. I thought the choice of venue was inspired – talking to people while aimlessly wandering around the artwork was fun. The performance, however, was due to begin at seven and actually began at eight, which meant a lot of aimless wandering around. Nevertheless, the performance itself was very enjoyable; it started with a video of Bollywood through the ages, and that is what the performers then went on to portray. There was some dancing, some singing in a different language, more dancing and more singing – it was all very cheery. The 1970s Bollywood dancing was most amusing. The cast were made up of members of the Asian Soc, students from UWIC, Swansea University’s Bollywood Dance Society and Cardiff ’s Funky Arse Dancers (FAD), which was a great chance for Cardiff to show off its multicultural nature. In particular, I liked the FAD routine, but I also enjoyed the singing between some of the dancers. Brave soloists sang beautiful songs that I didn’t understand (they were in a different language) but I thought that that didn’t matter – the sound was beautiful in itself. The Bollywood routines were also fun to watch, and were accompanied with the video background playing clips from different Bollywood movies. I think the show could have benefited by having a story that unified all the dancers and characters throughout, al-
though this would have been hard to accomplish and I liked the idea of showing Bollywood through the ages. The variety of other dance routines was an inspired added touch and made the show surprisingly diverse. The show culminated in a fashion show – the traditional dress and the saris were lovely, and indeed the dancers and singers had fantastic costumes throughout. Once the performance had finished, at 9pm, the food began, which was an Indian curry. While we were eating, the performers arrived to join us, led by a traditional drum. The chocolate fountain was for dessert (yummy!). During the meal I spoke to audience members, who confirmed that they had recognised the films on screen (which I had not), and understood the songs and had really enjoyed it. The choice of the National Museum as a venue was a good one (better than Solus last year) and I thought the organisation of the event was superb; from the coat rack to the photographer, to the caricaturist who was doing drawings at dinner. These extra details made the event special, and I’m glad they decided to run the event this year again. As a performer from last year’s Elements, Shayer Islam, commented “Who knew a room full of lawyers, medics and economists would come together to take part in a show? Not only did Elements teach me different cultures of different background, it also gave me the chance to make more friends and […] made me feel equal no matter how different in culture we were.” As most of the performers were not actual performers but just members of the Asian Society, I thought they did wonderfully. The event continued with a DJ and an after-party. Speaking to the co-President Deluxy, she told me: “Elements is our pride and joy and gives Asian students at Cardiff an opportunity to show off their talents on stage during the Union’s biggest cultural week – Go Global.” Ashni, the other co-president, said she was “relieved it was over,” but that it had been fun. For more on Go Global, check out the other articles in gair rhydd. I hope that next year the Asian Society will be running Elements 3.
Mon 05 March & Tuesday 06 March ReligSoc Trip to London 7.00am - 7.00pm
Mon 05 March Pharmacology Society Quiz
8.00pm - 12.00am, Blackweir Tavern
Tue 06 March Art Society Batik and Textiles Event
7.00pm - 9.00pm, Gareth Edwards Room, SU
Wed 07 March
Anime Society Manga Jam
6.00pm -8.00pm, Nelson Mandela Room, SU
Wed 07 March
Kenyan Society Film Night 7.00pm - 10.00pm, Koko Gorilaz
Fri 09 March
Psychology Society Open Mic Night 7.00pm - 1.00am, CF10, SU
Sat 10 March Big Band & Worcestershire Youth
7.30pm - 10.00pm, CF10, SU
Sat 11 March
Pole Dancing Drop In Session
7.00pm - 8.00pm, Cathays Communtiy Centre
Follow @GairRhyddSoc for the latest news and info on future articles.
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Monday March 05 2012 • #gairrhydd • societies@gairrhydd.com
Sport 36 - 40
Societies27
In Other News... The Pharmacy Society (WPSA) recently held their annual ball in which they handed over a cheque to their chosen charity - The Kidney Wales Foundation for £4600! They raised the money by carrying out multiple socials throughout the year, holding a cake sale, doing sponsored walks, some society members also ran the Cardiff half-marathon, and they even auctioned off some eligible Pharmacy bachelors on the night of the ball to reach their fundraising target!
Society Exchange Isabelle Roberts Societies Editor For the first time ever: a Society Exchange! Come along on Tuesday 6th March to Solus and experience many different societies, all in one night. Here are the societies taking part: Capoeira, Expression, Live Music, YUVA, STAR, Slash, RAG, Pole Dancing, Act One and Cardiff Uni Breakdancing. I talked to Grace Kendall, president of Cardiff University Pole Dance Society - the society that organised the event - and asked her why she wanted to organise this. "There's so many societies I have always wanted to have a go at, but there isn't enough time to try them all, so I thought it could be a good idea to organise an event that enables people to taste a lot of societies within one night" Grace said.
The event has two parts: firstly, between Monday February 27 and Sunday March 04, a few members from each of the societies involved exchanged in a different societies' activities for the week. Grace herself switched to STAR during this week, and took part in their action week. This involved trying to live off an asylum seekers allowance (just £5 a day) for the week. The second part of the event is the fundraiser being held in Solus on March 06. Here, anybody can come along, pay £3 to charity and have a go in 30 minute taster sessions of all the societies listed above. Grace says "hopefully, if we publicise well and get a good turnout, it should be a great event".
Initially, the event was inspired by Go Global (see article in gair rhydd about Go Global and Global Village), but it turned out too hard to organise within the Go Global week due to the time commitments of all the societies involved. Now Grace is "hoping that Go Global and Village will wet everyone's appetite to come and have a go at Society Exchange on March 06." The event has been restricted to societies, because involving the AU would have made it too complicated for a first time event, but if successful Grace suggests that "perhaps someone will take it upon themselves to try and orchestrate a bigger event involving both aspects of the Union."
Act One Presents...White Crow Katie Brown Societies Writer An ancient tale transformed into a thoroughly modern, thought-provoking piece about 21st century Britain and identity politics. “What will happen to Wales in the case of Scottish independence?” It’s a question posed by many academics here at Cardiff University, and one that fuels Act One’s latest production, White Crow. The premise is that forty years in the future, Scotland and Ireland have gained independence - the former peacefully, the latter through terrorism – leaving Wales to be walked all over by England. Ruled ever more strictly by Westminster, Wales becomes increasingly destitute, giving rise to radical nationalist groups. White Crow explores difficult questions like, 'where is the boundary between nationalism and being proud of your country?' and 'just what is best for the future of Wales?' White Crow, however, started life as the Branwen branch of the Mabinogi, the foundational myth of Wales. The myth tells of Bendigeidfran, King of Wales, his brother Efnissien, and their little sister Branwen (Welsh for White Crow). Branwen marries the Irish leader Matholwch who imprisons and tortures her, so her brothers, with the help of Pryderi must fight to free her. Under the guidance of director Aled Bidder and production manager Ellen Green, over ten months of preparation, improvisation and editing, the myth was trans-
formed into a remarkable play, that combined hard-hitting political commentary with a deeply personal story. The main characters and plot points remain, but this time Ben, Niss, Branwen and Father Pyrderi are involved in a much larger struggle for national self-determination. Many new characters have also been added, including the siblings' parents Eirlys and Llyr, and their friend-turned-political opponent Bran Lloyd, who serves as a catalyst for much of the play’s political philosophising. The long preparation process and strict editing (which I believe caused a few arguments at the time) ensure that this unique, original and collaborative play is consistently engrossing. Pacing is often a problem with Act One plays, which usually feel far too long, but White Crow was kept tight whilst tying together many diverse plot strands. Particularly effective was the clever use of temporal shifts, flashbacks of Bran in his early days, with the movement and relationships with Eirlys and Llyr interwoven with Ben’s ascent in the nationalist movement. The juxtaposition of the two periods really added to the sense of Bran’s heartbreak and regrets, although they did seem to perplex some audience members a fault of the audience, not Act One, I believe! More than just a great script, however, the production brings together an extremely talented cast and creative team. Right from the beginning, Act One successfully create an oppressive atmosphere symbolic of the political climate,
encapsulated in the black crows that constantly surround the stage. Like many other audience members, I was genuinely frightened when I walked into an almost black auditorium and found myself face to face with a giant crow. Apparently many hours of rehearsal and improvisation were dedicated to perfecting the birds, but it certainly paid off ! Besides avian impressions, much of the power of this production comes from the very strong central performances of Greg Davies (Ben), Ben Atterbury (Niss) and particularly Alex Mann, who really stood out for me as disillusioned politician Bran Lloyd. In fact, the whole ensemble seemed the strongest Act One cast that I have seen, bringing to life the strong emotions and high drama of the script with subtlety. They were also very versatile, with some beautiful singing (particularly from James Rollinson) once again proving Act One’s stage fighting prowess, although some of the cast could do with a bit more work on their accents (especially Irish ones)! The production received a well-deserved standing ovation and it’s not hard to see why. White Crow is in a league of its own when it comes to amateur productions, both in terms of the performances and especially the quality of the writing. Act One pull off a real achievement with this production, combining gripping entertainment with serious political commentary. I will be recommending it to my Nationalism professor and to anyone who wants to see an exciting, engrossing new production.
Are you: Putting on a play? Playing in a concert? Hosting an event? Doing a workshop? Raising money for charity? Going on a trip? Then write about it! Email: societies@gairrhydd.com If you would like to join a society, or see a full list of opportunities, visit: http://groups.cardiffstudents.com/societies/home
28 Listings
Monday March 05 2012 • #gairrhydd • listings@gairrhydd.com
The Complete
To
Student Guide
What's On in Cardiff
March 5th - 11th 2012
Feb 13th- 19th 2012
Monday 5th
w
Maverick Sabre
Florence and the Machine
Solus, 6:30pm, £13.50
Motorpoint Arena, 6:30pm, £37.00
Hackney-born Maverick Sabre has exploded onto the scene in recent months after gaining widespread attention for supporting acts such as Professor Green. Having moved to Ireland from a young age, Sabre has honed his talents to accommodate a modern day audience and has been tipped to go on and enjoy a substantial amount of success. Having won the ‘Best Homegrown Act’ in the 2008 Urban Takeover Awards, he has a resume that suggests he will not disappoint.
Florence and the Machine are back in Cardiff for their latest U.K. tour and the band that produced "Lungs", the album that stayed in the charts for over forty weeks, will be looking to increase their already substantial following. Combining a unique blend of rock and soul lead vocalist Florence has been adorned with personal awards in the last few years including winning a Brit alongside a Grammy nomination. Expect to hear content from their latest album "Ceremonials " and a few new tracks that are in the pipeline.
Tuesday 6th Birds of a feather
Lord of the Dance
New Theatre, 7:30pm, £14.00
Millenium Centre, 8:00pm, £15.00
Pauline Quirk, Linda Robson and Lesley Joseph are back doing what they do best, as trio act Birds of a Feather. Having run as a successful TV series for nearly 10 years, the three very different personalities will clash once again in perhaps a more reflective manner than they once did in the original series. As students it is perhaps unlikely that many of you will have seen it all first time round, so this is an ideal chance to see things from a fresh perspective and see what all the award winning fuss was about.
One of the most endearing and popular stage productions in recent times returns to Wales in spectacular fashion as Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance opens this Tuesday night. Having been performed in Broadway, The West end, The 02 arena, Numerous stadiums, Disney world and at the Oscars this is a show that has hit dizzying heights. Michael Flatley has recently returned to spearhead his cast but only for a limited time. An absolute must for dance and stage lovers.
Wednesday 7th Clic Sergeant Cancer Fundraiser Buffalo Bar, 7:00pm, £4.00
Lash Vegas
Clic Sergeant has been working tirelessly for years now to help provide the care and services to help terminally ill children receive a better quality of life. The fund has been essential in allowing families to take their children on holiday, pay for medication they otherwise couldn't afford and as a source of comfort for those who have lost loved ones to the disease. This Wednesday Buffalo will be providing top quality entertainment ,with all the proceeds going toward a good cause, so any contributions would be gratefully received.
Wednesday's at the Union usually mean three things, a random theme, drunken sports teams and cheap drinks. Don't expect that to change this week as Solus is turned into a mini Caesar's Palace, with blackjack tables, slot machines and fountains of gold....possibly. If it turns out that it is a little less glamorous than the city of lights then you always have the Singstar room and the Kitchen to keep you occupied.
Solus, 9:30pm, £3.00
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Listings 29
Thursday 8th The Acacia Strain
Lucky Voice Music Quiz
Clwb Ifor Bach, 7:00pm, £11.00
TigerTiger, 7:00pm, £2.00
One of the hottest deathcore metal bands on the scene, the Acacia Strain have been going strong now for over 10 years and have enjoyed such hits as " The Dead Walk" and "Continent". Described by numerous critics as a louder and harder-hitting tribute to Pantera, The Acacia Strain provide fast, bone-crushing rhythms that have led to a dedicated following, Earplugs are advised.
Think you know your music? Well, if you claim to know everything about Take That, Elvis or even Lady Gaga, get yourself down to TigerTiger this Thursday night to test your knowledge in the pursuit of prizes. Bonus rounds include air guitar, limbo and hula-hooping, so ensure you arrive prepared for some action. Food will be served on the side with all drinks being served at a whopping 50% discount until 9pm, a great precursor to a night out.
Friday 9th Fabulous Boogie Boys
Boombox
The Globe, 9:00pm, £10.00
Solus, 9:00pm, £4.00
Presenting one of the most unique acts you are likely to see this year, the Fabulous Boogie Boys are a tribute to a style that you may think is long gone. Dressed in stylish 1950s attire, the band use period instruments to deliver an authentic jive rock fuelled experience. This will get your toes tapping along to the electric sounds that frontman Michael Stanley and female counterpart Sarah Warren provide. They are backed up by some of the finest sax players in the industry, creating an ensemble filled with energy and quality.
If you have had a pretty tough week of uni, then you can always kick back and take advantage of the cheapest drinks in the capital on a Friday night. Boombox remains a staple of the Union's club nights and Killer Tom and co. will be at hand to keep the place buzzing with a varied mix of classic and current hits. The singstar room will be open for those who fancy themselves as the next big thing, although thankfully this will be drowned out by the audio of the main room...or so we hope. Drinks start at £1.00.
Saturday 10th Comeplay
At Swim Two Boys
Solus , 9:00pm, £4.00
Chapter Arts Centre , 8:00pm, £12.00
They say that change is necessary, but when every part of Solus is full week in, week out, it doesn't seem like Comeplay needs to alter anything at all. As per usual the resident DJs will be pumping out the latest chart toppers, and if your 're lucky, you may even be able to swing a request or two up on stage. If it's not your thing then of course there is always the Kitchen area to down your cocktails and relax with friends with the dancefloor open till 2am. Despite student-specific competition opening in town, the Students' Union remains the place to go on a Saturday night.
At Swim Two Boys is a stage adaptation of Jamie O' Neill's novel of the same name, which focuses upon the emerging love of two young Irishmen throughout the latter part of the second World War. The protagonist, Jim, teaches the slighlty younger Doyler about swimming, philosophy and homosexuality, all concepts to which he is highly unfamiliar. The production incorporates a spectacular on-stage waterfall and lake that changes in rhythm with the progression of the story. There is nothing like it currently on tour.
Sunday 11th Billy Connolly
GTHC Charity run
Cardiff Motorpoint Arena, 8:00pm, £36.00
Bute Park , 10:30am, £10.00
Recently voted as the most influential British comedian of all time, they simply do not come any bigger than the legendary Scotsman. Performing only two dates (the other being the following day), there are still tickets available to see the master at work as he embarks on what could be one of his final U K tours. The price of the tickets will undoubtedly be justified as no other comedian has had such a knack for leaving audiences in stitches.
Put that New Years Resolution of taking more exercise really into practice by joining the great 5k charity run through the beautiful grounds of Bute Park. It doesn't matter what standard you are it, all abilities are welcome to take part in the event, in an effort to raise money for George Thomas Hospice care. The weather of late has been glorious by Welsh standards so you have the opportunity to take a nice stroll in the park and help a great cause at the same time. Sponsorship forms are available from Nicky Piper, if interested contact on: Nicky Piper 02920 524150.
For tickets to all SU events
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Get involved with the gair rhydd Contributors meetings every Monday at 5:00pm Proof reading and pizza every Thursday at 6:00pm
Sports teams! Had a good result? Write a match report and email it to : Sport@gairrhydd.com
32Taf-od
Monday March 05 2012 • #gairrhydd • tafod@gairrhydd.com
Ffarwel, Gary Speed Caio Iwan Golygydd Taf-od Er mai gêm gyfeillgar oedd hon, a chyfle prin arall i baratoi at gemau rhagbrofol Cwpan Y Byd sydd yn dechrau fis Medi, roedd Cymru yn erbyn Costa Rica yn achlysur unigryw. Gêm i goffau bywyd Gary Speed ydoedd a chyfle i ffarwelio yn iawn, am y tro olaf, gyda arwr a fu farw fis Tachwedd y llynedd. Cyn y gêm cafwyd perfformiadau gan y Super Furry Animals; canodd Mike Peters y gân a chwaraewyd ym mhriodas ac angladd Speed, ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’; canodd Côr Risca gyda Bryn Terfel; a dewiswyd Courtney Hamilton i ganu’r anthem genedlaethol. Pan ddaeth y ddau dim allan i’r cae, cerddodd meibion Gary Speed cyfochr a chapten y tîm ar y noson, Craig Bellamy, a’r capten parhaol – ond oedd wedi’i anafu ar y noson – Aaron Ramsey. Roedd y munud o gymeradwyaeth a drefnwyd ymlaen llaw wedi troi yn rai munudau hyd yn oed cyn i’r dyfarnwr Howard Webb ddynodi ei ddechrau. Roedd dros 23,000 o gefnogwyr ar ei traed yn cymeradwyo am funudau lawer, a ‘there’s only one Gary Speed’ yn cael ei ganu’n angerddol a gwmpas stadiwm Dinas Caerdydd. Dyma oedd y dorf fwyaf i gêm gyfeillgar Cymru ers cyfnod aur teyrnasiad Mark Hughes bron i ddegawd yn ôl. Roedd Hughes yn un o tua 50 o gyn-chwaraewyr a ddaeth ar y cae yn ystod yr hanner amser i dalu eu teyrngedau, yn eu plith,
Ryan Giggs ac Ian Rush. Ond roedd yn rhaid i’r sioe fynd yn ei blaen, a gêm bêl-droed oedd hi wedi’r cyfan, hyd yn oed os oedd hynny’n amherthnasol i lawer. Dywedodd Coleman fod y chwaraewyr yn rhydlyd ac yn araf deg i ddygymod â thempo’r gêm yn ystod y munudau cyntaf - a dealladwy oedd hynny o ystyried yr amgylchiadau. Wedi saith munud o chwarae’n unig, sgoriodd chwaraewr Arsenal, Joel Campbell, sydd ar fenthyg yn Ffrainc, yn dilyn gwaith da gan Brian Ruiz – capten yr ymwelwyr sy’n chwarae i Fulham a seren y gêm heb os. Yn sydyn, sylweddolodd pawb fod Costa Rica yn dîm peryg, a'i bod nhw ddim wedi teithio o ben arall y byd dim ond i gymryd rhan. Doedd hi ddim yn helpu fod Cymru yn dechrau’r gêm heb amryw o’i chwaraewyr amlycaf. Roedd Wayne Hennessey, Aaron Ramsey a Gareth Bale wedi’u anafu ac felly roedd fwy o gyfrifoldeb ar chwaraewyr fel Bellamy a Joe Allen i godi’r tim ar y cae. Er i Steve Morison daro’r traws, ac er i Bellamy - a oedd o bosib yn ymddangos yng nghrys coch Cymru am y tro olaf - fynd yn agos yn yr ail hanner, prin iawn oedd y cyfleoedd i’r naill dim ar y cyfan. Mewn gem ddiflas, Costa Rica oedd yn fuddugol o un gôl i ddim, ac yn haeddiannol hefyd mae’n rhaid cyfaddef. Roedd nos Fercher, y 29ain o Chwefror yn gyfle i dynnu llinell o dan ddigwyddiadau erchyll y
misoedd diwethaf. Her nesaf y tîm cenedlaethol bydd gêm gyfeillgar yn erbyn Mecsico yn Efrog Newydd ddiwedd fis Mai. O’r diwedd, bydd gan Chris Coleman gyfle i ddechrau o’r newydd, ac yn dilyn hynt a helynt Raymond Verheijen a’i benderfyniad hunanol i ymddiswyddo fel is-reolwr, bydd cyfle i dîm hyfforddi Cymru sathru ei awdurdod ar y garfan, a dechrau cyfnod newydd yn hanes pêl-droed Cymru. Er i’r teyrngedau ar y cae a chyn y gêm fod yn deimladwy iawn, cafwyd cyfweliad ysgytwol â Chris Coleman yn dilyn y gêm. Eglurodd
sut yr oedd mab Gary Speed, ond yn 14 mlwydd oed, wedi mynd i fewn i’r ystafell newid ar ôl y gêm i rhoi araith fer. "Ed has come into the dressing room after the game and he gave a speech which anybody would have been proud of. There was not a tear in his eyes, he was strong as an ox. He came in and he said 'my dad always said to me...” Ar y pwynt yma, brathodd Coleman ei dafod, ac mae’n amlwg iddo fod yn agos iawn i ddagrau. Tolltodd ddwr i fewn i’w wydr, cyn yfed diferyn, a mynd yn ei flaen i ddweud:
“He said this: ‘my dad always said to me that if you do your best it's enough, and I think you lot did your best tonight'. So what do you say to that, when a 14-year-old boy, who's just lost his dad speaks like that to a bunch of professional footballers? What do you say to that that's bravery, isn't it?" Bydd angen y dewrder yma ar y chwaraewyr os ydynt am wireddu breuddwyd ei dad, a breuddwyd cynifer ohonom ni’r cefnogwyr, o gyrraedd Brasil yn 2014. Diolch am dy gyfraniad a ffarwel, Gary Speed.
Coron Driphlyg i Gymru Rhys Griffiths Taf-od
Cwrw, canu, cyffro. Tri gair y mae’n hawdd eu cysylltu â diwrnod gêm rygbi Cymru. Ar fore’r 25ain o Chwefror, roedd y Goron Driphlyg ar flaenau’n bysedd. Roedd hi’n amser i’r ddraig herio’r llew, i’r dair pluen herio’r rhosyn, i’r Cymry herio’r Saeson. Ac wedi dwy fuddugoliaeth addawol yn erbyn
Iwerddon a’r Alban, roedd disgwyl i Gymru roi crasfa i garfan ifanc a di-brofiad Lloegr. Yn ôl yr arfer, aethom ni (a’r rhan fwyaf o Gymry’r ddinas siwr o fod) i’r Mochyn Du - y lle gorau heb os i wylio gêm Cymru, heblaw am y stadiwm ei hun. Er bod awyrgylch y Mochyn yn drydanol drwy’r amser, rhaid i mi gyfaddef fod y canu wedi codi sawl desibel ddydd Sadwrn! Tybed sawl un o’r Cymry oedd wedi colli eu lleisiau erbyn dydd Sul? Atseiniodd yr emynau poblogaidd o gwmpas y dafarn gan adeiladu at yr uchafbwynt, ‘Hen Wlad fy Nhadau’. Er, mae’n siwr mai’r uchafbwynt oedd yr ail waith i’r anthem gael ei chanu, a hynny dros ben ‘God Save the Queen’! Roedd y llwyfan wedi ei osod, roedd y cyffro yn llenwi’r dafarn a’r wlad gyda’r posibilrwydd o ennill y Goron Driphlyg am y tro cyntaf erioed ym mharc Twickenham. Ni chawsom ein siomi gan y ddrama sydd mor nodweddiadol o rygbi Cymru.
Am yr ugain munud cyntaf, roedd Cymru yn hedfan. Gydag ymosodiad cynta'r gêm, pasiodd Mike Phillips i roi'r cawr George North yn glir, cyn i dacl dyngedfennol David Strettle ei dynnu i'r llawr. Heb amheuaeth, byddai'r gêm wedi bod yn hollol wahanol pe bai Cymru wedi sgorio yn y fan honno. Byddai Cymru wedi tyfu mewn hyder a'r llifddorau’n agor yn amddiffyn y Saeson. Yn lle hynny, gêm dynn iawn a gafwyd, ond yr un mor gyffrous. Roedd amddiffyn y ddau dim yn rheoli tempo’r gêm, a'r taclo'n ffyrnig ac angerddol. Yn groes i'r disgwyl, heriodd Lloegr y Cymry ym mhob agwedd o'r gêm. Rheolwyd y cicio gan faswr ifanc y Saeson, Owen Farrell ac yn wir, Lloegr oedd ar y blaen o 9 i 6 ar yr egwyl. Ar ddechrau'r ail hanner, aeth pethau o ddrwg i waeth. Gwnaeth Rhys Priestland res o gamgymeriadau gan arwain at ddeng munud yn y gell gosb. Gallai Cymru fod wedi plygu dan bwysau yn hawdd yn ys-
tod y cyfnod hwn, ond yn hytrach, dangosodd y bechgyn amynedd a hyder yn eu chwarae gan gadw'r bel a sugno amddiffyn y Saeson. Wedi ail hanner agos arall, aeth y gêm i mewn i'r ychydig funudau olaf gyda'r sgôr yn gyfartal ar 12 yr un. Roedd hi'n amlwg ei bod hi'n mynd i gymryd rhywbeth arbennig i ennill y gêm yma, a dyna ddigwyddodd. Mewn un fflach o sgil anhygoel, rhwygodd yr eilydd Scott Williams y bel o grafangau Courtney Lawes. Yna, roedd digon o weledigaeth ganddo i gicio'r bêl y tu hwnt i'r amddiffyn, ei dal, a brasgamu dros y gwyngalch. 19-12 i Gymru oedd hi, gyda phedair munud i fynd. Roedd y Mochyn Du a'r wlad gyfan yn crynu mewn gorfoledd. Ond doedd y ddrama ddim drosodd. Trodd y cryndod o orfoledd i nerfusrwydd yng nghalon pob Cymro. Gyda munud i fynd, llamodd David Strettle am y llinell, ac roedd hi'n edrych yn debygol mai gêm gyfartal fyddai hi. Roedd gan y dyfarnwr
teledu, Iain Ramage, benderfyniad holl bwysig i’w wneud. Roedd hi'n rhy boenus i edrych bron, ond o'r ail-ddangosiad, roedd hi'n amlwg fod tacl arwrol Leigh Halfpenny ac yna ymdrechion Jonathan Davies a George North wedi atal Strettle rhag sgorio. Wedi eiliad o bryder, ail-lenwodd y genedl mewn gorfoledd wrth glywed y chwiban olaf. Roedd hi'n amser dathlu! Unwaith yn rhagor, mae tîm rygbi Cymru wedi ein rhoi ni trwy'r felin. Ond y tro hyn, rydym wedi cael ein gwobrwyo gyda'r Goron Driphlyg. Wedi rhoi crasfa i'r Eidalwyr yn y gêm nesaf (gobeithio!) bydd hi'n amser talu'r pwyth yn ôl i'r Ffrancwyr, ar ol y siom yng Nghwpan y Byd y llynedd. Ar fore'r 25ain o Chwefror, roedd y Goron Driphlyg ar flaenau'n bysedd. Yn awr, mae'r Gamp Lawn o fewn ein cyrraedd, a Chymru'n barod i'w dal. Mae un peth yn sicr, byddwn ni yno, yn y Mochyn Du yn gweld Cymru'n ei hennill.
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Monday March 05 2012 • #gairrhydd • tafod@gairrhydd.com
Taf-od33
Newid amserlen Radio Cymru Osian Gruffydd Golygydd Taf-od Ganol yr wythnos ddiwethaf, datgelodd gwefan Golwg360 newidiadau sylweddol fydd yn cael eu cyflwyno i amserlen Radio Cymru tua diwedd y flwyddyn. Ymateb ydi hyn i’r toriadau mawr y mae’n rhaid i’r orsaf eu gwneud yn y 5 mlynedd nesaf – hyd at £11 miliwn. Mae hwn yn gyfnod anodd, ac mae hyd at 15 o staff yr orsaf yn wynebu colli eu swyddi. Dydw i ddim yn honni am eiliad fy mod i’n deall yr holl sefyllfa, ond mae un o’r newidiadau arfaethedig yn fy nharo i fel gwallgofrwydd llwyr – argyfwng ariannol neu beidio. Cyfeirio ydw i at y penderfyniad rhyfeddol i symud Geraint Lloyd o’i slot (arteithiol o hir) yn ystod y prynhawn i gyflwyno rhwng 10 a hanner nos, bob noson o’r wythnos. Mae hyn, yn ei dro, yn golygu na fydd lle o gwbl i Lisa Gwilym, a dwyawr y noson yn llai o C2. Fedra i ddim meddwl am unrhyw reswm call dros hyn. Efallai fod nifer o bobl hyn yn debygol o wrando ar y radio yn ystod y nos, ond siawns fod
nifer uchel o bobl ifanc hefyd. Mae darpariaeth hwyr y nos Radio Cymru yn ystod y penwythnos wedi’i dargedu ar gyfer cynulleidfa hyn fel mae hi, ddylai hynny ddim dig-
“
Mae’n ymddangos yn anheg iawn mai gwasanaeth y bobl ifanc sydd yn mynd i ddioddef fwyaf
wydd bob noson o’r wythnos hefyd. Dwi’n derbyn nad ydw i yn rhan o gynulleidfa darged Geraint Lloyd, ond dwi yn gyfarwydd â’i raglen. Cerddoriaeth ganol y ffordd, saff (gan fwyaf), cystadlaethau dyfalu’r frawddeg, sgyrsiau â phobl ganol oed a phensiynwyr ac yn y blaen. Dyma yw’r rhan fwyaf o arlwy Radio Cymru yn ystod y dydd, does dim angen dwyawr arall ohono.
Y peth gwaethaf am y newid yma ydi y bydd rhaglen Lisa Gwilym yn dod i ben yn gyfangwbl. Mae hyn yn golled fawr i Radio Cymru’n gyffredinol, ond yn benodol i’r gwrandawyr ifanc. Mae’r rhaglen hon yn lwyfan pwysig i gerddoriaeth Gymraeg newydd o bob genre, ac yn llwyddo i blesio cynulleidfa eang – plant ysgol, myfyrwyr a phobl fymryn yn hyn – tasg anodd iawn. Rhwng rhaglen Magi Dodd, wedi’i thargedu at blant ysgol yn benodol, rhaglen Lisa Gwilym sydd ag apel cyffredinol a rhaglenni mwy arbenigol fel rhai Georgia Ruth Williams a Huw Evans, mae C2 ar y funud yn enghraifft o’r gorau sydd gan Radio Cymru i’w gynnig. Mae’n ymddangos yn anheg iawn mai gwasanaeth y bobl ifanc (a phrif lwyfan bandiau Cymraeg) sydd yn mynd i ddioddef fwyaf o’r toriadau, a hynny mewn symudiad sy’n anhebyg o blesio unrhywun. Mae’n stori gyfarwydd, wrth gwrs. Does ond ychydig fisoedd ers i’r rhifyn olaf o Bandit ymddangos ar S4C, ac mae’r rhaglen Nodyn wedi dod i ben hefyd. Ag arian mor brin, dwi’n derbyn fod newidiadau
Geraint Lloyd fydd yn cymryd lle rhaglenni hwyr C2 tra bydd Lisa Gwilym yn diflannu oddi ar y tonfeddi yn anorfod, ond pam fod rhaid gwneud hynny ar draul darpariaeth pobl ifanc o hyd? Wedi’r cwbl, i ailadrodd hen ystrydeb amlwg, y rhan hon o’r gynulleidfa ydi dyfodol darlledu Cymraeg. Wela i ddim sut mae eu dieithrio yn mynd i helpu’r sefyllfa. O ran cerddoriaeth Gymraeg, dwi’n ymwybodol na all unrhyw sîn fyw oroesi ar y cyfryngau yn unig, ond waeth i ni heb a gwadu fod rôl Radio Cymru yn allweddol
Canlyniadau Llwyfan Eisteddfod Ryngolegol 2012 Rhag ofn bod Neuadd P.J. yn rhy swnllyd, neu eich bod yn rhy feddw i gofio, dyma restr o enillwyr y cystadlaethau llwyfan ym Mangor fis diwethaf...
Cystadleuaeth Unawd piano Unawd offerynnol Rhuban Glas Offerynnol Llefaru Unigol Unawd Alaw Werin Ensemble Offerynnol Dawns Stepio Unigol Cor Gwerin Deuawd Agored Unawd Cerdd Dant Unawd Sioe Gerdd Gr p Llefaru Ensemble Lleisiol Unawd Merched Unawd Bechgyn Rhuban Glas Lleisiol Gr p Dawnsio Gwerin Deuawd Doniol Stepio Sgets Dawnsio Creadigol/Disgo Meim Côr Sioe Gerdd Côr Bechgyn Côr Merched Côr Cymysg
Cyntaf
Ail
Lois Eifion (Bangor) Ffion Williams (Bangor) Ffion Williams (Bangor) Tudur Parri (Drindod) Lois Eifion (Bangor) Smell the Glove (Abertawe) Bethan (Aberystwyth) Caerdydd Laura a Rachel (Drindond) Daniel Sajko (Bangor) Laura Thomas (Drindod) Bangor Caerdydd Eleri Gwilym (Caerdydd) Huw Ynyr (Bangor) Huw Ynyr (Bangor) Caerdydd Bangor Aberystwyth Caerdydd Abertawe Aberystwyth Aberystwyth Caerdydd Drindod Caerdydd
Gareth Morgan (Caerdydd) Gwydion Jones (Abertawe) Heledd Lewis (Caerdydd) Catrin Herbert (Aberystwyth) Lois a Sajko (Bangor) Alaw Ifans (Caerdydd) Aberystwyth Arwel a Garmon (Caerdydd) Rhys (Caerdydd) Sioned Roberts (Aberystwyth) Caerdydd Bangor Rachael Stephens (Drindod) Llyr (Aberystwyth) Aberystwyth Caerdydd Caerdydd Drindod Aberystwyth Drindod Caerdydd Bangor Bangor Bangor
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Trydydd Sam Pritchard (Drindod) Rhys Griffiths (Caerdydd) Guto Gwilym (Bangor) Angharad (Caerdydd), Rhych Tato (Aberystwyth) Betsan Williams (Drindod) Bangor Beth a Ruth (Aberystwyth) Bethan (Aberystwyth) Sioned Alaw (Bangor) Aberystwyth Aberystwyth Lois Eifion (Bangor) Elgan Evans (Caerdydd) Bangor Drindod Bangor Abertawe Drindod Caerdydd Bangor Aberystwyth Aberystwyth Aberystwyth
i’r SRG. Prin iawn ydi’r cyfleon i fandiau newydd fel arall, ac mae lleihad o 10 awr yr wythnos i C2 yn destun pryder gwirioneddol. Wrth ysgrifennu hyn, dwi'n gwylio ffrwd fyw ar y we o stiwdio Sesiwn Unnos, un o raglenni gorau C2 a Radio Cymru yn gyffredinol. Allwn ni ddim ond gobeithio na fydd Radio Cymru yn penderfynu gwneud i ffwrdd yn llwyr a'i darpariaeth i bobl ifanc.
Digwyddiadur Taf-Od 10fed Mawrth. Meic Stevens, Twmffat, Jamie Bevan. 8yh. Clwb Ifor Bach, Heol Womanby. £8.
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Canolfan Chapter. £12/£10/£8. 16eg Mawrth. Cowbois Rhos Botwnnog, Georgia Ruth Williams. 8yh. Clwb Ifor Bach, Heol Womanby. £8.
17eg Mawrth. Y Bandana, Swnami, Helyntion Jos y Ficar. 8yh. Clwb Ifor Bach, Heol Womanby. £3. 25ain Mawrth. Cwis. 8yh. Y Mochyn Du, Pontcanna. £1 23-29ain Mehefin. Tafwyl. Lleoliadau amrywiol o gwmpas Caerdydd.
13eg Gorffennaf. 'Sneb yn Becso Dam.Cwmni theatr ieuenctid yr Urdd. Canolfan Sherman Cymru. £13.50.
sudoku.
34Puzzles
Monday March 05 2012 • #gairrhydd • editor@gairrhydd.com
INTERMEDIATE
CHALLENGING
word wheel.
How many words of three or more letters, each including the letter at the centre of the wheel, can you make from this diagram? We've found 20, including a nine-letter word. Can you do better?
T A
Rhys's riddles.
I
E L
A V
answers.
EASY
Steve is lost on a dangerous adventure in the jungle. He does have a compass, but this only allows him to draw perfect circles, which is of no help… Suddenly a poisonous snake bites him. Luckily he has an antidote against this deadly snake poison: two bottles, labelled A & B, containing three pills each. To survive, he must swallow together: one pill A and one pill B every 2 hours exactly 3 times, starting immediately. In a rush he picks a pill from bottle A and then shakes a pill from bottle B with it... But unfortunately two pill Bs fall into his hand and they look completely identical to pill A. He cannot tell which pill was A and which two are B pills... If Steve doesn’t take the medicine as described it will be fatal. How can he survive?
E L
INTERMEDIATE
CHALLENGING
Riddle answer.
36Sport
Monday March 05 2012 • #gairrhydd • sport@gairrhydd.com
IMG ROUNDUP IMG results:
Myg Myg earn first Division Three win
Economics v SOCSI......................5-2 Sion Roberts Sports Writer Chemistry v History.....................4-1
Psycho v EUROS FC.....................1-0
Myg Myg v OPUS XI.....................3-0
MOMED v COMSC.......................5-3
Earth SOC v Port Fail..................4-3
JOMEC v Fenerbache FC............3-0
CHOAS FC v Egin Automotive....3-1
Law A v CARBS FC......................1-0
University Sixth Team v AFC Cathays..............................................7-0
Myg Myg....................................3 OpusXI.......................................0 Following an atrocious first half of the season, Myg Myg were looking to finally get a win under their belt when they faced their Division Three rivals Opus XI on a wonderful Wednesday afternoon at the Blackweir pitches. With the pitch in relatively good condition, both teams got off to a lively start with chances at both ends of the field. The breakthrough came not long into the first half; striker Dewi Preece bundled his way through the heart of the Opus defence and finished clinically into the bottom corner of the net. Myg Myg were on the attack almost instantaneously, Opus who were saved only by the linesman who disallowed Owain Thomas’ effort. However, he didn’t have to wait
long for another chance, which he cooly chipped over the oncoming goalkeeper to double Myg Myg’s lead. Opus came back with their own efforts, which included a neatly lobbed shot, which after beating the keeper, unfortunately struck the bar. Opus carried this momentum into the early stages of the second half, a period in which they dominated possession and territory, yet they were unable to finish the chances that were created.
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Myg Myg were looking to finally get a
up, when Elgan Evans powerfully drove home an effort from short range after Opus failed to clear a corner. The next significant chance of the game was a cross-come-shot by Gweirydd, which beat the keeper, but again struck the bar and bounced clear. The game finished 3-0 despite a squandered open-goal opportunity for Myg Myg Player-Manager, Owain Brown, who in spite of his miss was pleased to see his side finally win three points. Following other recent results in Division Three, Myg Myg must surely now wonder what they can achieve and what dizzying heights they can reach in the bottom Division.
win under their belt
It was Myg Myg’s Dewi Preece, that was to take the next chance in the game but he was denied a second goal by another offside call. Myg Myg pushed on after the disallowed effort and were soon 3-0
Law A and Law B enter the Premiership
Sophie Daw Sports Writer
Law A had a faultless start to thefirst term, beating most of their competitors and are on the right lines to winning a fourth consecutive title. The final league table representing a 201-point goal difference, and only 42 goals conceded, they’ve had an excellent season. One memorable game was a tough final match against English A. Law B have also had an extremely impressive term, achieving strong victories over many A teams. With lots of new faces, the team soon got down to business beating Pharmacy A 20-15 in their first match. Law B’s most outstanding match was against History. It is safe to say, the Law Netball captains could not have asked for any more. The talent, friendship and commitment of every single member of Law Netball has provided a term's worth of victories and fantastic celebrations. The two teams now embark upon Premier-
The Six Nations: half-time review Tom Parry-Jones Sports Writer Last weekend saw the midpoint of the 2012 RBS 6 Nations, and – pending the meeting between France and Ireland on March 4 – the table sees Wales leading the way with three wins out of three. With wins over Ireland, Scotland and England, Wales have already claimed the Triple Crown and will be aiming to win the tournament with a third Grand Slam in seven years as they go into home matches against Italy (March 10) and France (March 17). Wales’ tournament started well with a last-minute win over Ireland, courtesy of a 30-metre Leigh Halfpenny penalty. They followed this up with a convincing 27-13 win at home to Scotland, although Scotland were down to 14 men for much of the second half, Halfpenny scoring all but five of Wales’ points. The third match against England was seen as make-or-break for Wales, and the game was tight
Above: George North sitting down Owen Farrell
throughout. However, Wales’ victory was assured four minutes from time, when Scott Williams ripped the ball from Courtney Lawes before kicking the ball through and touching down close to the posts, meaning Wales claimed the Triple Crown at Twickenham for the first time in their history. England had looked fairly strong up to that point under interim coach, Stuart Lancaster, winning their first two games, albeit against the two weakest teams in the competition: Scotland and Italy. In both cases, the margin of victory was just one try, and both tries came from charge-downs by fly-half, Charlie Hodgson, experiencing a personal renaissance. France also beat Italy in their opening game, running in four tries, but their Week 2 game against Ireland had to be postponed shortly before kick-off, due to a frozen pitch at the Stade de France. In Week 3, they experienced a hard-fought game against Scotland; the lead changed hands several times, but
a drop-goal from Lionel Beauxis in the 69th minute, put the game just out of Scotland’s reach. That result meant that Scotland had lost all of their first three games, with only away fixtures against Ireland and Italy to come. Ireland, meanwhile, recovered from their opening loss to Wales and the postponement of their game against France, by beating Italy 42-10, to leave them still in with an (unlikely) shout of winning the tournament. As things stand, Wales and France look to be tournament favourites, meaning that their meeting at the Millennium Stadium on March 17, is set up to be a title decider. Wales will be looking to get revenge over France for the World Cup semi-final, and home advantage will probably make them slight favourites for the game. However, France can never be ignored as a threat, even when not at their best, making the result of the tournament still impossible to call.
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Sport 36 - 40
Monday March 05 2012 • #gairrhydd • sport@gairrhydd.com
BUCS ROUNDUP Results: M AFC 3 v Cardiff 4....................2-2 M AFC 5 v UWIC 4 ......................2-2 M AFC 2 v Glamorgan 2..............1-0 Medics AFC 1 v UWIC 1..............0-3 Badminton M2 v Glamorgan 2...8-0 Badminton W v Cambridge 1.....5-3 Fencing W v Bristol 1...........128-110 Fencing M v Bristol 2.............135-77 Hockey W 3 v UWIC 2..................0-4 Hockey M 1 v Oxford...................3-8 Hockey M 4 v UWIC 2..................0-7 Hockey M 2 v Glamorgan 1.........0-0 Medics W Hockey 1 v UWIC 2.....7-1 Medics M Hockey v Bristol 2......0-3 Medics Netball 1 v Cardiff 3 ...41-36 Medics Netball 2 v Aberystwyth 3.................................................14-28 Lacrosse W v Oxford 1...............1-21 Lacrosse M v Plymouth 1..........0-10 Netball 1 v Gloucester 1...........34-32 Netball 4 v Bristol 4.................52-46 Netball 2 v Bristol 2.................32-38 Rugby M 2 v Medics 2................35-8 Rugby W v Bath.........................10-7 Medics Rugby 1 v Oxford Brookes 1.................................................47-15 Tennis M 2 v UWIC 2.................2-10 Tennis W 2 v UWE 1..................2-10 L AFC 1 v Glamorgan 1...............2-0 L AFC 2 v Bournemouth 2..........0-0 M AFC 1 v Marjons 1...................0-4 M AFC 4 v Cardiff 3....................2-2 Badminton M1 v Plymouth 1......7-1 Basketball W2 v UWE 1...........68-21 Basketball M1 v Bournemouth 1.................................................99-84 Golf 1 v Bournemouth 3.............2-4 Golf 2 v Southampton...........1.5-4.5 Hockey W 2 v Plymouth 1...........4-0
Sport37
Snakecharmers impress at biggest competition in years The BUCS cheerleaders receive honours at a national competition to the delight of the squad
ket toss, liberty and pyramid stunt sequence. Moving from kick-twistquarter turns to extension liberties, through to a back tuck pyramid was always going to be difficult but the girls did themselves proud. This section was executed particularly well by Hannah Brown, Molly McIlveen and Cat Prideaux.
Lauren Smith Sports Writer A regional championship made up of 38 categories, 141 competitors and 14 hours - this was the BCA Western Classic. The Cardiff Snakecharmers hadn’t been to a BCA competition in a good few years, and were eager to make a comeback that got cheerleading enthusiasts talking before the season grand finale at the ICC British Open. The Snakecharmers began strongly as Level 5 was the highest level of the day. Venom impressed by performing a routine that was neat, extremely difficult, and aesthetically impressive. The group stunt team was made up of Bethan Boyle, Hannah Brown, Lauren Smith, Amy Cooke and Abby Carlisle. In the hotly anticipated Level 2 all-girl cheer competition, Cardiff Snakecharmer's Poison placed third out of a very talented 16 teams. An impressive opening led to their liberty section – one-legged stunts held at prep (shoulderheight). The squad maxed out the score sheet by pulling three different skills and executing full team tick-tocks, when the flyer is popped from one leg to the other. Louise Juniper’s skills were exceptional.
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An incredible achievement
against
all-star
squads
Above: The Snakecharmers in action at the BCA Western Classic Poison then moved through their tumble and jumps sections before approaching baskets. In a basket toss, the base group-throw the flyer into the air; Hannah Perry, Fern Webster and Ffion Richards executed particularly good baskets. Their dance section was noted for its fluidity and high level of skill. Finally, they moved to the pyramid. Poison were rewarded with third place, an incredible achievement against all-star squads.
Cardiff Snakecharmer's Venom’s routine began with a double twist basket from flyer, Cat Prideaux, before moving to a stunning flying liberty and double twist down sequence. Then came a strong tumble section which scored particularly highly with the judges. The jump section blew the judges away with a great formation and a high level of difficulty in combination skill. Next came the most intense part of the routine for Venom – a bas-
Moving to the final section of the routine, the dance, the squad knew they'd done well. Spurred on by a crowd that was on its feet cheering, Venom pulled out a stunning ending, especially the performances by Sarah Moore, Hilary Taylor and Hannah Carwithen. When results were announced, the squad was delighted to hear that they had not only secured the first place but had also been awarded two out of a possible three bonus stars. Venom will be taking the confidence gained from this triumphant weekend and competing at the ICC University Nationals at Doncaster.
Cardiff University Men’s 1st XV 25-18 University of Exeter Ross Martinovic Sports Writer Cardiff University Men’s 1st XV will play at least another season in BUCS Premier League South A after they ensured their survival with a gripping 25-18 home victory over the University of Exeter. The Welsh side got off to the best possible start, winger, Will Jones, chipping over his opposite number to gather and score in the corner after being released by Ross Wardle within 91 seconds. The home side then lost captain Jake Cooper-Woolley to the sin bin for a needless late shoulder charge on 19 minutes, with Exeter skipper, Rhys Morgan, coolly slotting a drop goal from 25 metres after a period of pressure to reduce the deficit to two points. The depleted Cardiff side played very intelligently with a man down and looked after the ball well, aided
by some poor handling errors by the Devonians. With Cooper-Woolley back on the field, the Cardiff pack shoved their Exeter counterparts off the ball at the scrum shortly before the interval, earning a penalty in front of the posts, but unfortunately Cam-
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Cardiff were in a ruthless mood
eron Pimlow couldn’t convert. With the score delicately poised at 5-3 come the break, the first try after the restart was going to be crucial. It went Cardiff ’s way as they began the second period in blistering fashion. Spreading the ball towards the left wing, centre Elliot Jones straightened and sliced through the drifting Exeter defence
before handing on to fullback Joe Casella. The latter drew his man and passed inside to winger Rhys Howells, passing the last defender and diving under the posts for a try converted by Pimlow. However, Exeter’s Ali Chisholm pulled another three points back with a well-struck 45-metre penalty after the hosts had been caught offside on 50 minutes. Cardiff were in a ruthless mood and scored their third try three minutes later through Elliot Jones. Their pack secured clean lineout possession in midfield and unleashed the backs. A deft chip from Pimlow caught the visitors’ defence flat-footed, which afforded Wardle the time to tap the ball down to Jones, who collected well off the floor and cruised past some flimsy Exeter defence to score. Just as the Devon outfit appeared to have exhausted all their ideas, they grabbed a score back
with 16 minutes remaining. Once again, Exeter’s unforced errors and indiscipline cost them as they strayed offside almost immediately and allowed Pimlow a shot at goal, which he converted to leave the score line at 20-11. Cardiff looked to have all but sealed their opponents’ fate nine minutes from time, the centre pairing of Wardle and Jones linked up from a driving maul sending Casella crashing over the try line with two defenders on his back. As they had done repeatedly during the course of the match however, the dominant home side allowed their opponents a route back into the match. The lifeline came in the form of a superb try for Exeter winger Matt Goddard. Cardiff saw out the match with relative ease and can now look forward to another season at the summit of British university rugby.
38Sport
Monday March 05 2012 • #gairrhydd • sport@gairrhydd.com
All star Luol Deng to ignite Olympics
The NBA star has become the first British player to make an All Star squad and now has his eyes set on London 2012 Alex Greig Sports Writer Last week Luol Deng became the first Briton ever to play in the NBA all-star game. The fact that he was picked from a poll of the league’s coaches shows his talent. Deng said: "It's a great honour but I've always believed I am good enough to be an All-Star. For me, being selected and recognised as an All-Star meant a lot more to me than what I was going to show or do tonight on the floor." It’s lucky he felt this way, as Deng, playing for the Eastern Conference side, featured for less than six minutes before succumbing to injury - he fell on the wrist that has been troubling him for a while. His team eventually lost a close fought 152-149 to the Western Conference side, in a match played out in Florida. Following the incident he said that “it was nothing” but he still pulled out of the game as a precaution. Deng had one assist during his
Above: Luol Deng takes off for Great Britain time on court, but failed to score. pression in this game, in part due Despite this, Deng still made an imto his choice of t-shirt – one which
sported an outline of the African continent. He risks facing a fine from the National Basketball Association for violating the dress code, but insists that "it was bringing something positive. There's a lot of negativity going on in the continent of Africa and 10 seconds, whatever it was, on the screen was to bring something positive." Originally hailing from what is now South Sudan in Africa, Deng became a naturalised British citizen in 2006, having spent some of his childhood years in Brixton, South London. International basketball came early for Deng as he represented the England juniors aged just 13, before leaving to the US to pursue a basketball career. “For England to take me in as a refugee, to do that for my family is something that gave me an opportunity to be here today and do what I’m doing.” So it is that Luol Deng is keen for the Olympics to come around. He is one of the most successful Brit-
ish basketball players ever, not only due to his all-star appearance, but also in terms of earnings, coming in at number seven on the youngsportsman rich list 2011-2012 (he earns around £7.5m a year). He’s played eight seasons with the Chicago Bulls and team mate Derrick Rose holds that Deng “wants to do nothing but win, he's one of the leaders on our team. One of the reasons we're [The Bulls] successful this year is the way Luol is playing." Luol Deng is well and truly leading the British team forward. On the topic of the Olympics, he said: “I can't wait, it's another opportunity for us to show everyone that we can play basketball with the elite, the best of the best." The British coaches will undoubtedly be thankful that Deng pulled out of the all-star game following his injury. Should Britain want to take something positive for this sport from the Olympics, we’ll need Deng to be on top form.
Cardiff Uni snooker champions Rupert Taylor reports on the snooker team's brilliant defence of their title
C
ardiff University's Snooker 1st team successfully defended their title as Midlands Universities Snooker Champions for a second year running in snowy Coventry last weekend. Cardiff ’s number 1, Mark Green, also defended his individual title with a dominating performance that saw him drop just one frame all weekend. Green also retained the highest break prize with a 77, beating his very own effort of 76 the year previous. A much-changed Cardiff 2nd’s gave a solid performance, reaching the semi-finals of the trophy tier, where they narrowly lost out to Southampton 2nd’s 6-4. Fresher Jordan Meaney impressed, taking all but two of his frames and embarking on a promising run to the trophy individual semi-finals. Cardiff 1st’s found themselves in a tough group along with Southampton 1st’s, York 1st’s, Nottingham 1st’s and unknown newcomers Coventry 1st’s. Their first match, Southampton 1st’s, turned out to be crucial. Cardiff were always ahead thanks to early wins by Green, Captain Rhys Carpenter and Ryan Thomas, but found it difficult to get the elusive sixth frame and eventually, after almost 4 hours of play found themselves 5-4 up with Alex Thomson on last. Thomson, found some excellent form to hit a
break of 44 to secure the last frame and give Cardiff a 6-4 victory. Cardiff were then cruising at 4-0 up against Coventry, before a couple of close frames went the wrong way to make the score 4-2, however Cardiff proved too strong as Thomas and Thomson finished their matches almost instantaneously to see Cardiff run out 6-2 winners late into the night. Day 2 saw Cardiff 1st’s refreshed and on top form in their match against the far-from-mediocre side of Nottingham 1st’s. Carpenter hit a stylish break of 57 to put Cardiff 1-0 up which, followed by wins from Rupert Taylor, Thomas and Green, giving Cardiff a double quick 6-1 victory. Cardiff then went on to beat their opponents from last year’s BUCS final, York 1st’s, 6-3 to put themselves top of the group with 4 wins from 4, meaning that they would face the hosts, Warwick 1st’s (group B runners-up), in the semifinal. Cardiff proved too strong and quickly dispatched them 6-1 (with wins from Green x2, Thomas x2, Taylor and Thomson), to progress to the final where they would face Manchester 1st’s who narrowly beat Nottingham 1st’s 6-5 in the other semi-final. With time running out, the final was played over 5 tables simultaneously, with Cardiff going 3-2 up after the first round of frames. Wins from Carpenter, Green and Thomas sealed the 6-4 victory
as Cardiff 1st’s were crowned Midlands Universities Snooker Champions for a third year running. Cardiff 2nd’s were also going into the event as defending champions in the Trophy tier, but found themselves in trouble after losing their opening match against Warwick 2nd’s 6-2. Despite a strong start against York 2nd’s, Cardiff 2nd’s day went from bad to worse as they fell to a 6-4 defeat. However, all was not lost, as a rallying performance on day 2 saw Cardiff 2nd’s record a 6-1 thrashing of Manchester 2nd’s with wins from Meaney, Williams, Wij, Sattaur and Alex Winsor. In their final group match, Cardiff 2nd’s knew they needed to win and hope other results went their way to keep their hopes of progressing through the group stages alive. A hard fought match resulted in a 6-4 victory and saw Cardiff 2nd’s into the semi-finals (by virtue of a single frame!) where they would face group B winners Southampton 2nd’s who had made light work of their group conceding just 4 frames in 4 matches. Cardiff battled hard, but eventually fell to a respectable 6-4 defeat. Both teams will now be putting in the practice hours ahead of the BUCS Championships in midMarch, where both Cardiff 1st’s and Green will hope to defend the title of BUCS Champions they earned last year.
Above: Rupert Taylor seeing of the match in style
Above: Alex Thomson in the middle of a break
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Sport 36 - 40
Monday March 05 2012 • #gairrhydd • sport@gairrhydd.com
Sport39
Your Pitch: Super Sunday
Above: Liverpool celebrate their Carling Cup victory on penalties now justifiably claim to have played in the most exciting finals in the George Dugdale four major cup competitions this Sports Writer As far as footballing Sundays go, century. A 5-4 victory over Alaves in last week was a reasonably good the UEFA Cup final of 2001 set the one. When combining the discovery standard for drama, which has been of an Arsenal resilience with the followed by that comeback against AC Milan in 2005, Steven Gerrard's recommencement of the art of winFA Cup final winner against West ning trophies at Liverpool, it is difHam in 2006 and Sunday's thriller ficult to suggest that this wasn't a at Wembley. significant weekend for both clubs. Liverpool do not do boring finals, Liverpool's penalty shoot-out victory over Cardiff City was far but victory over Cardiff City could have a significant effect in terms of below the level at which Kenny Dalglish's Liverpool have performed at making this team's future an equaltimes, but was perhaps the perfect ly exciting one. This is a new Liverpool team containing many players summary of a season of development at Anfield. Liverpool's perfor- who are not used to winning trophies, but are playing at a club that mance was a mixed bag, combining demands success. This first trophy domination, profligacy in front of could be the springboard for the goal and fleeting moments of real future with players such as Martin quality. Skrtel, Dirk Kuyt and Glen Johnson England's most successful football club don't do easy finals and can finally earning their first Liverpool
Above: Arsenal congratulate each other after defeating Tottenham underbelly was halted in dramatic their recovery under Kenny Dalgmedals. lish, Champions League football is circumstances in the North London A League Cup victory acting as Derby as an unusually open Tottena springboard would be nothing needed to attract a higher calibre of ham side threw away a two goal adplayer. For Cardiff City, the underdogs vantage to boost the Gunners' quest who were so impressive in defeat, for fourth place. It is too early to say that this is there can be no Carling Cup hangover. This is a team whose league a turning point for Arsenal, but if form had dipped significantly in this performance can be backed up with consistency in the coming the build-up to the final, making new. Liverpool's 2001 victory over automatic promotion a formidable month, Arsene Wenger's men may challenge. After the most dramatic be the team to take charge in the Birmingham City was the first cup race for a Champions League place. in a treble winning season, whilst of defeats in last season's final, With Chelsea remaining a shadChelsea's 3-2 victory over Liverpool Arseseason fell away dramatically. in 2005 was the prelude to a league Malky Mackay needs to focus his ow of their former self, Arsenal insquad on the many positives, rather consistent in the extreme and Livtitle win. Birmingham City, however, may be less enthusiastic about than the painful nature of defeat to erpool failing to turn dominance the benefits of a February win in ensure that his side are among the into points, the race for fourth place promotion chasers at the end of the remains wide open. If Arsenal or the context of a domestic season. Liverpool win the race to fourth, season. Despite the narrow nature of There was also a result with po- they will look back to a Sunday in victory, the feel-good factor at Liverpool needs to be the catalyst for a tentially significant connotations February as a key moment. push for fourth place. If Liverpool in the Premier League. The perennial exhibition of Arsenal's soft are to move into the next phase of
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victory over Cardiff could have signifcant effect
International friendlies round-up
Wales commemorate Gary Speed in a memorial match while England lose out to Holland and France beat Germany Viktor Tsvetanov Sports Writer Last week gave football fans little time to take a breath from the heated battle in the Champions League and Europa League. The battle however was transferred on a national level in a series of international friendly games which took place around the world. Wales failed to secure a win in the Gary Speed Memorial Match after losing 1-0 against Costa Rica on an emotional night at Cardiff.
In the absence of Ramsey, Wayne Hennessey and Gareth Bale, the night was made even more difficult given the nature of the event as Wales remembered their former manager. The only goal in the game was scored by striker Joel Campbell who is on loan at Lorient from Arsenal after only seven minutes played at Cardiff City Stadium. Campbell scored following a brilliant combination with Bryan Ruiz. The proceeds from the game were given to Gary Speed's family and to respective charities.
In what turned out to be the highlight of Wednesday’s night, Arjen Robben scored a stoppage-time winner as the Netherlands survived a late England comeback to triumph 3-2 at Wembley. After a dull first half, the two teams went out for thrilling 45 minutes. The Netherlands took the lead with a quickfire double after a magnificently executed individual run and a middledistance shot by Arjen Robben and an unsaveable header by Klaas Jan Huntelaar. England struck back via Gary Cahill and Ashley Young, but
it was Arjen Robben who had the final say and with his second goal in the game secured a dramatic victory for the Dutch side. France defeated Germany with a deserved 2-1 win in the other big game of the night. France opened the score with goals from Montpellier’s star Olivier Giroud and Chelsea’s winger Florent Malouda. This was the first loss for Germany since last March when they were beaten by Australia. Cacau scored a late goal for the hosts, but there was not time for more action at Wesersta-
dion in Bremen. In the other fixtures, Messi downed Switzerland as well as the critics after scoring a hat-trick for Argentina’s 3-1 win in Geneva. Spain humiliated Venezuela towards achieving 27th consecutive win on a home soil after 5-0 in Malaga and a hat-trick by Valencia’s striker Roberto Soldado. Surprisingly, another EURO 2012 participant-Italy was downed by Jürgen Klinsmann’s USA with 1-0 for the first ever American win over the European side.
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Cardiff players chosen for Welsh Students Lauren Smith caught up with the fab four
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Tazine Bogue looks back at Cardiff Ladies Rugby's back-toback wins
ardiff University players James Thomas (back row) Will Jones (wing) Ross Wardle (centre) and Rhys Howells (centre) were chosen after a two week trial period held at the Welsh Centre of Excellence at the Vale to play for the Welsh Students' team. The Cardiff University rugby players are part of team made up of 22 students from a variety of universities and colleges in South Wales including UWIC, Bridgend and Varsity rivals Swansea. In the midst of the Six Nations campaign and with Varsity looming on the horizon, the inclusion of four key Cardiff University rugby players onto the Welsh Students side has boosted morale.
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It's just a great honour to play for your country
James Thomas, the former Wales under-20s captain said, "It's always an honour obviously to get chosen, it was good to get out there, play a good game and represent Wales." The Welsh Students team was originally established in 1982 and can boast more than 50 Welsh internationals amongst its former players, including Wales’ attack coach Rob Howley and four other British & Irish Lions. Former Wales under 21 coach Chris Davey has been appointed head coach of the side and is assisted by Pontypool head coach James Chapron and Glamorgan Wanderers head coach Chris Ower. They faced the English Students side at Twickenham before the Welsh and English under 20s took to the field for their respective game. Unfortunately for the Cardiff students, England triumphed in the game with a comfortable victory of 43 points to 15. The odds were not in their favour that day, but the game was more than a Welsh-English rivalry match; Proved the value of a student side and its ability to showcase talent emerging from local universities. "We managed to get some points on the board against such an established side, there were good plays
Above: The Cardiff University players chosen to represent the Welsh Student team throughout the whole thing," stated former Bedwas and Glamorgan Wanderers player Rhys Howells. Head coach Chris Davey spoke about the importance of having a Welsh Student side "It is great that the Welsh Rugby Union as a governing body has recognised the importance of student rugby in this way. As someone who has been involved at this level for a long time, there is a lot of talent within the student game and playing high pro-
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It was good to get out there, play a good game, and represent Wales
file games such as these is a great opportunity for unearthing that talent." Wales played a full part in the free-flowing match and were rewarded with two tries. Ross Wardle, who plays for Bedwas and studies pharmacy at Cardiff, was one of the two try score on the day. "I don't normally score tries, but my mum's screams said it all. It's just a great honour to play for your country and I hope it continues next year."
TEAM OF THE WEEK: CARDIFF MEDIC 1ST XV
Cardiff Medic First Team 47 - 15 Oxford Brookes First Team
he Cardiff Ladies Rugby team had an excellent week, firstly by beating Oxford at home 27-15, before recording an away victory against Bath, winning by 10 points to 7. In the first of these two matches, captain Meg Tudor led by example, running in a total of four tries. Oxford were not interested in playing a kicking game; Cardiff took advantage of this, placing the ball long and playing for territory. Tash Dickerson collected a particularly effective cross-field kick from Tudor, and later reached for the line to score another try, leaving the final score at 27-15. Bolstered by this success, Cardiff Ladies travelled to Bath confident of putting in a similar performance. The team knew that a win was vital if they were to remain in the Premiership next season. As they had done against Oxford, the team got off to an excellent start, spending the best part of the first half in their opponents' 22. Cardiff ’s efforts did not go entirely unrewarded: Bath gave away a penalty near their try line, and Tudor kicked for the posts to put the score at 3-0 at half-time. The second half was marred by indiscipline, with both sides conceding numerous penalties. Bath also capitalised on some missed tackles, with their fast backs making a few breaks, one of which led to a try. Nevertheless, as soon as Cardiff conceded points, an indefatigable Tudor scored and converted a try of her own. Cardiff ’s attack showed potential in this half, with full-back Blanche Lumb intercepting the ball and making a promising run. With the end of the game in sight, a tired Cardiff team determined not to allow Bath to score again. Some excellent defensive work was done by the Cardiff centres, who kept Bath’s quick runners from making more breaks. Winger Bridget Taylor was also particularly strong in defence, putting in some crucial tackles. Cardiff held up against the pressure from their opponents right to the end, leaving the final score at 10-7. The game was close, and Cardiff felt that they were not nearly clinical or disciplined enough to be completely satisfied but they were happy with recording an essential win.
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