gair rhydd - Issue 904

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CARDIFF'S STUDENT WEEKLY

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ISSUE 904 OCTOBER 12 2009

Roberts makes honour roll

Quench interviews

Dans le Sac and

Scroobius Pip plus the

inbetweeners’

simon bird

and all the latest

FASHion travel music film features arts + more

Ceri Isfryn News Editor The achievements of two of the University’s sport stars were acknowledged at a ceremony on Thursday, as their names were added to the prestigious International Roll of Honour plaque.

Welsh international Jamie Roberts and ex-Scarlets player James Bater jointly unveiled the plaque, which includes the names of all past and

current Cardiff University medicine and dentistry students to gain a place in the national or international rugby team.

The plaque bears the names of some of Wales’ greatest rugby legends including 1950s British Lion player, Jack Matthews, and former Welsh captain, Gwyn Jones.

Jamie is currently in his fourth year studying medicine, whilst also playing for Cardiff Blues and the national side. He was named the British Lions’

Man of The Series during their summer tour of South Africa.

Once he graduates from university, Jamie hopes to become a doctor specialising in sports injury or orthopaedics. James is a graduate who retired from the Scarlets last season in order to become a full-time dentist.

Jamie said: “It’s a great honour to be up there with some of the big names of the sport and hopefully we’ll see a few of the current team up there in the near future.”

The unveiling,hehe held at the newly unve T l da t Lounge, was rrefurbished e IIV L f V w ur aattendounge t a bi t se nds he Cardiff Medical eed by tthedccurrent he C ur f M a r r e di nt di f RFC tteam, aas well newly-apR e w F aas satthe ne Che s em l lw , l ypointed D Dean of M Medicine, Profespoi e P nt a e r n e diof d c e sor Paul Morgan. medic has beendi a ““The m T rrugby tteam ugby eheha e be m s ec n medic one of tthe ttophem op rrugby tteams ugby ese di a m c many years aand a iin tthenccountry he ffor ount m or ye nd ny a rr ys has ha had a ve very ssuccessful past.r T The y ha s uc d pa ches et . s plaque iis tthere preserve pl s tto hea pr o que tthe iidenhe erde e s e nr we possibly ttity of itthe tteam the aase llong y aasong sw a pos s m e s i Professor Morgan. ccan,” commented a n,” ga c n. om

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No more head for second-years School of Medicine cuts head and neck dissection due to lack of bodies Jamie Thunder News Editor Second-year medicine students at Cardiff will no longer dissect a human head and neck as a compulsory part of their anatomy module because of a shortage of bodies. ! ! ! ! ! " ! ! ! ! # dissection, which concentrates on the rest of the body, will not be affected. Second-year students will now learn from videos and dem-

onstration material instead.

Students who have a strong desire to dissect the head and neck will be able to if there are enough spare heads, although this will have to be in their own time.

Donations of cadavers to the University hospital have decreased in recent years while the number of students taking medicine and other subjects that require human heads –like dentistry – has increased. As a result there is now only one head for every

10-12 medicine students.

Because the head is such a small area only a few students can actually be involved in the dissection, whereas the body is bigger so more can work on it at once.

A University spokesperson said that the decision “reflects modern teaching methods and is also based on resources in terms of the number of bodies needed”.

They added that a dissection prize for the best head and neck dissection

would be awarded to students who had opted to try it.

However, some students were less than impressed by the decision. One second-year student, who asked not to be named, said: “Dissection was a major selling point for me coming to Cardiff rather than UCL – UCL is 4th in the uni rankings, compared to Cardiff’s 31st.

“I and a lot of others were pretty annoyed when they told us it was stopping.”

A third-year medic who did the head and neck dissection last year, who also asked not to be named, said: “Dissection really helped visualise the structure of the head and neck. As it’s so complicated you need a visual tool to understand it better.

“With a video you’re not actually doing it yourself and it’s not handson.”

gairrhydd | NEWS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY OCTOBER 12 2009

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EDITOR ! " " # $% & ' ( ) DEPUTY EDITOR Simon Lucey CO-ORDINATOR Elaine Morgan SUB EDITOR Sarah Powell NEWS Ceri Isfryn Gareth Ludkin Emma McFarnon Jamie Thunder FEATURES Daniella Graham Robin Morgan OPINION Oli Franklin Paul Stollery COLUMNISTS Tim Hart Oli Franklin POLITICS Damian Fantato LISTINGS Steve Beynon Ed Bovingdon TAF-OD Nia Gwawr Williams Branwen Mathias Cadi Mai SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENT Amy Hall Priya Raj JOBS &MONEY Katie Greenway SPORT Joe Davies Adam Horne Lucy Morgan Robbie Wells CONTRIBUTORS Clementine Westlake Holleigh Marsh Tom Hill Emma Smee Carl Davies Oliver Smith Chris Williams Jessica McFarlane Robin Morgan Richard Herlihy Non Mererid Jones Alex Evans Jack Parker Cicely Giles Rachel Henson Kayleigh Stevens Anne Bochow Camille Lavoix Phillippa Lewis Ayushman Jamwal Tom Bevan

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Students raise money for diabetes

DIA-BEAT-ES: Michael Evans (right) celebrates his success

Gareth Ludkin News Editor Last Sunday, 1,500 competitors descended on Cardiff to take part in the Men’s Health, ‘Survival of the Fittest’ challenge. Michael Evans, a 2nd year Law and Criminology student, and sufferer of Type 1 Diabetes took part in the event along with two friends to raise money for Diabetes UK Cymru.

Michael Evans, who is the Treasurer of the kickboxing society, ran

alongside Lawrence Scott and Nick Waldron, also from the Kickboxing Society.

Before the event, Evans was apprehensive of the task at hand, “it looks a lot harder than it looked when I first signed up for it” he said. However as the adrenalin turned to excitement on race day, pre race nerves soon turned to enjoyment.

“I kept up with the front of my wave and had a good time…the obstacles were fun with the occasional challenging few.”

The race “wasn’t nearly as terrify-

ing” as first thought he commented.

With type 1 diabetes to contend with, the event could have posed a potential danger, however, Evans was sure that as long as his blood sugar levels were kept high, everything would run smoothly.

The race saw athletes take on a number of obstacles around Cardiff and the Bay. The 10k run took in a parkour zone, an army assault course, a hay bale wall, a swim in the bay and an 8ft sheer wall.

“At the end I felt really proud of myself and my supporters from the

Kickboxing club, including Nick and Lawrence - who also took part and did very well coming 113 and 114th - all waiting and cheering at the end line.”

Finishing 663 out of 1500 Michael Evans was certain that he would be back next year to push himself a little further.

The online sponsorship form is also still open for people to make donations to their chosen charity, Diabetes UK Cymru. Visit http://www.justgiving.com/Lawrence-Scott to donate.

University and UCU in contract dispute Gareth Ludkin News Editor The University and College Union (UCU) accused Cardiff University last week of a second year of “contract chaos”, after many tutors from Cardiff’s Centre for Lifelong Learning returned to work this September with no finalised contract or assurance of pay conditions.

The UCU at Cardiff University criticised the institution’s “ruthless efficiency” in making people redundant, and its current “complete disregard for frontline staff.”

Dr. Todd Bailey, President of the Local Association of the UCU at Cardiff University stated that he could not understand why the contracts were still not ready after the new pay rates were published six months ago, in April.

A University Spokesperson however blamed the UCU for the delays in the Contracts, stating that: “the University first offered permanent contracts for hourly paid staff in August 2008. The UCU did not accept that offer, which would have meant these staff would now have current contracts.

The UCU however dispute this. Dr. Bailey commented that: “the University misleadingly says that the UCU did not accept its offer to put hourly staff on permanent contracts in August 2008… the University asked us to approve the new contract, and gave us an “old” contract for comparison.

There were substantial differences between these contracts, which required careful scrutiny.

While we were considering the changes, the University took the decision to withdraw its offer to put staff on permanent contracts.”

This indecision by both sides simply caused a greater delay and a slower turn around in the production of contracts. This of course led many tutors to be without a contract this September.

One tutor at the Centre for Lifelong Learning said, “all courses have started now and nobody has received a contract yet, and I expect most people don’t know what type of contract they will receive and how much they will get paid” The University however revealed that contracts for tutors at the Centre for Lifelong Learning would be sent out by the end of next week. A spokesperson also said that, “interim payments had been made to those few

members of staff who started teaching in September before the start of term.”

Last year the University reduced dramatically the number of courses offered at the Centre for Lifelong Learning, but stressed that the UCU exaggerated the number of jobs lost at the centre. The University was also critical of the UCU’s claim that “the entire humanities provision has closed down, making no reference to the languages and culture courses presently on offer, or the new humanities programme to be introduced in the New Year.”

Dr. Bailey responded by saying, “the fact is that the University cut a huge swathe through the courses on offer, and made hundreds of staff redundant. A fraction of the axed courses will be brought back on a trial basis in the New Year, and the UCU fully

support them and want them to succeed.”

While the University “regrets the inconvenience the delay has caused staff” it has also stressed that,“it is a direct result of the UCU’s refusal to discuss or agree terms on behalf of its members.

This dispute has achieved little but resentment between the University and the UCU. The University is “surprised and dismayed at the UCU’s assertion that hourly paid staff have been treated “unfairly”, while Dr. Bailey complained about the University’s lack of urgency in producing contracts for ‘LEARN’ staff.

“It is distressing to staff that the University is ruthlessly efficient when it comes to making people redundant, but cannot get its act together enough to issue contracts on time,” he said.

NEWS 1 EDITORIAL & OPINION 8 COLUMNIST 11 FEATURES 13 POLITICS 16 LETTERS 19 SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENT 21 LISTINGS 24 JOBS & MONEY 22 FIVE MINUTE FUN 27 SPORT 29

NEWS 03

gair ydd | NEWS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY OCTOBER 12 2009

Cardiff Council propose crack down on drinking in public Alex Evans Reporter Drinking on the streets of Cardiff could be banned, according to plans outlined by two local community bodies.

The proposals mean that consuming alcohol anywhere outdoors in the city could become an arrestable offence.

The plans come in the wake of shocking Home Office statistics which reveal that almost half of all violent crime in the last year was alcoholrelated. Nearly one in five were also revealed to be drug-related.

The British Crime Survey 20082009 report also revealed that students are one of the three most likely groups to be a crime victim.

The Community Safety Team and the Safer Capital Partnership, the two bodies responsible for putting forward the reforms, argue that the sheer volume of alcohol-related offences necessitates such a ban.

The order has already been trialled in four areas of the city, including Bute Park and Central Square.

The two bodies have been piling pressure on the council to extend the law to cover the entire city after police reported that 'anti-social drinkers'

were simply moving to different areas to avoid arrest.

The concern is that should the street drinking ban be approved, students may be targeted in order to make easy arrests on drinkers.

The proposals could also be a threat to those drinking responsibly.

Police would have powers to target anyone who is seen drinking outside, rather than just those who are being loutish or anti-social, meaning that people who are not committing any crimes may be unfairly placed under increased scrutiny.

The planned changes mean that police will be able to cease drinking and potentially confiscate alcohol in public, outdoor places such as streets and parks. Drinking would become an arrestable offence if those asked to stop drinking failed to comply.

The root of the problem, according to Jonathan Morgan, Conservative AM for Cardiff, lies in the ready availability of cheap alcohol in bars and pubs, particularly within the city centre. He argued that councils need to be granted greater powers to refuse new alcohol licenses as well as refuse to reissue or extend existing licenses.

Cardiff council appeared to back the controversial plans. Neil McEvoy, Cardiff Council's deputy leader, said loutish behaviour was a city-wide

Drinking in the park could soon be a thing of the past problem.

"If you go out further in to areas like Fairwater where I live, there are large numbers of people drinking and causing trouble and people are scared to walk down the streets," he said.

Concerns about the targeting of those drinking responsibly were echoed by freedom of rights campaign groups. Josie Appleton, of the

Hoodie headache Ceri Isfryn News Editor A leading student pressure group has raised ethical concerns about some of the products sold at Cardiff University’s Union Shop.

People and Planet has voiced worries that the University is stocking hoodies made by Jerzees, a company run by the Russell group, who are currently being accused of violating the human rights of some of its workers.

The US branch of the group, Russell Athletics, allegedly closed down one of its factories in Honduras to punish its workers for engaging in unionist activities.

The controversy started in 2007, when Russell Athletics illegally dismissed 145 workers from the Jerzees de Honduras factory for being union supporters. The company insisted that the firings were wholly unrelated to their union activities, and were a result of “economic reasons”. Following a tirade of protest, the company was forced to admit otherwise and the decision was reversed.

Nevertheless, according to a report

by the Workers Rights Consortium (WRC), workers experienced “continued harassment and threats to shut the factory”, which they did in January 2009.

“If allowed to stand, the closure will not only unlawfully deprive 1800 workers of their livelihoods, it would also send out an unmistakeable message to workers in Honduras and elsewhere in Central America that any challenges to law or codes of conduct will result in the loss of one’s job,” according to the WRC report, whose findings of wrongdoing have been independently verified.

American human rights campaigners, United Students Against Sweatshops, have to date persuaded 101 universities across the country, including University of Miami and University of Washington, to boycott the clothing company in what People and Planet have described as “the biggest and fastest clothing boycott ever.”

By February 2009, the company had allegedly lost $5 million as a result of the boycott.

People and Planet are now urging UK universities, including Cardiff University, to follow by example to ensure the Honduran workers are

treated correctly.

“The situation in Cardiff is especially worth looking at because it’s so close to home for students. You don’t expect to go and buy a university hoodie, only to discover that it’s been made by a company that wrongfully sacks its workers,” said Jim Cranshaw, representing People and Planet.

“The student voice is incredibly important when putting pressure on companies such as Russell to stop violating human rights. It would be brilliant if Cardiff University could join the boycott to help ensure change,” he continued.

Dave Woods, Retail Manager of the Union Shop, said that he was unaware of any problems with the supplier in question, but insisted that all brands sold in the shop were approved by the National Union of Students (NUS).

“If the NUS decided that there was an issue with a supplier and decided not to use them, then obviously we would follow suit,” he said.

“We try and cater for everyone by offering large quantities of Fairtrade items and by using a wide range of suppliers.’

Manifesto Club, argued that the plans could impose on the freedoms of individuals, particularly the right of those drinking outdoors to do so. She said “It is a gross infringement on civil liberties and gives police a blank cheque to take drinks off you at any point, at any time.

"The police should not have powers like this, we do not need more powers,

we need more effective policing," she added.

Chief Insp Steve Murray of South Wales Police said the order would be beneficial to the entire city should it be extended from the pilot areas.

He said: "If people are acting irresponsibly and go outside the boundaries, we can put this order in use to stop that."

News asks Cardiff students if they would support a hoodie boycott

Sara Santos, 3rd year, Biology "Maybe we should leave the protesting to the USA though, because they’re the ones that are directly affected. I won't be buying a hoodie anytime soon though."

Sam Owen, 3rd year, Economics & Finance "The company have got their reasons for sacking the workers and I guess they’ve got to make money, so I wouldn't stop buying from them."

Matt Watts, 3rd year, Genetics "From a global point of view, businesses like that have to make some sacrifices sometimes. I’d definitely still buy a hoodie made by the company."

Eleanor Perrin, 3rd year, English "If wearing a university hoodie associates me in any way with a violation of human rights, then I probably wouldn't do it. If we can do something to help, then we should."

04 NEWS

gairrhydd | NEWS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY OCTOBER 12 2009

Not so smart drugs English flail As university pressure mounts, a growing number of students turn to prescribed remedies to keep up Jonathan Sims Reporter

Increased numbers of students across the UK are turning to potentially brain-boosting drugs during exam time, a report in the Journal of Medical Ethics has suggested.

It seems that growing pressures upon young people to succeed within today’s competitive working climate have led to a rise in the use of normally prescribed medicines such as methylphenidate (Ritalin) and rivastigmine (Exelon).

Students across British University campuses are turning to these medicines in order to improve their academic performance.

The drugs, normally prescribed to sufferers of ADHD and Alzheimer’s, are known to have influences upon the performance of a student’s creativity, alertness, attention and memory.

The report, written by Vince Cakic from the University of Sydney, suggests that the situation will be hard for universities to combat and that the attraction to purchase ‘smartness in a bottle’ means that the number of students using the drugs will only grow over the next few years.

Indeed, the report predicts that although ‘smart’ drugs at the moment are only proven to increase actual brain power by a small amount,‘it appears likely that more effective compounds will be developed in the future and that their off-label use will increase’.

Inevitable questions as to whether the use of this type of drug constitutes cheating have been posed to universities during recent exam periods. However, it is difficult to monitor any differences between students using the drugs and those who are not without medical testing. Paul Cooper from the University of Leicester argues that “As a society we need to ask whether we are happy about people who have no impairments using these drugs to enhance their exam performance – we don’t allow it in sport, so why at university?

"Should we regard these drugs as a pharmaceutical version of the pocket calculator – something that students now rely on in exams as a matter of course? This is a debate that needs to happen.”

Cardiff University advises students who feel under pressure to make use of the university counselling services or to see their GP rather than resorting to this type of drug.

British students at Imperial make more spelling mistakes than their colleagues from overseas Marc Thomas Reporter

DRUGS: Used to enhance student's academic performance

Chinese, Singaporean and Indonesian made 60% fewer errors in their use of the English language than British students at Imperial College London according to president of the Queen’s English society and professor of genetics at the college.

The analysis revealed to the public that the Asian students command of the English language was far superior and less clumsy than their British colleagues. Amongst the errors made by fourth year genetics students are found a “cows rectum,” a woman “infected” with antibodies as opposed to “injected” and symptoms being “elevated” in place of “alleviated.”

“We need to raise the very poor standards of UK students by introducing more demanding syllabuses and exams, more explicit teaching and examining of English and by consistent and constructive correction of er-

rors by teachers of all subjects,” said Lamb, embarrassed by the poor example of his own students.

Lamb is the author of three books on this topic. They are based upon national surveys of the quality of written language in student’s work. His latest foray into the media spotlight seems to be founded on a sample that is, at best, limited with only 28 students surveyed.

Two years ago Lamb was the disgust of Imperial College’s student union who claimed that he had breached the trust of the students by publicising the errors in his students work. Undeterred by the criticism, the professor revealed that his current tutees have orthographical problems with words such as pharmosutical (pharmaceutical) as well as issues with conjugation such as “male sterility are useful” and plural forms.

Imperial College London placed 3rd in the 2010 Times University league table – 23 places above Cardiff.

Have you ever had any problems with the University's private landlords list?

Have you enquired about a listed house only to be offered a different house that turned out to be substandard?

If so your Union would love to hear about it!

Please email your experiences to Ed Dolding, Welfare Officer, at doldinge@cardiff.ac.uk

airrhydd | NEWS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY OCTOBER 12 2009

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NEWS 05

Aids activists Students oppose plans $% % &' ( ) &$ ) &! * + visit Cardiff to increase tuition fees Jessica McFarlane Reporter

CARDIFF: At the forefront of low carbon technology

Chris Williams Reporter Rhodri Morgan is using Cardiff’s universities to lead the way in cutting carbon emissions.

A £34million cash injection is being used to fund a research programme in Cardiff University’s Welsh School of Architecture. The Low Carbon Research Institute is behind the idea, which aims to put Wales and Welsh universities at the forefront of low carbon technology.

Glyndwr University and the Universities of Glamorgan, Swansea and Aberystwyth are also involved in a variety of co-ordinated series of research projects which will aim to cut carbon dioxide emissions.

The Welsh Assembly has provided £15million towards the project, which will last for 6 years, the rest being funded by private investors and the

universities themselves. Funding will help industries in the energy sector to achieve government targets, and will also allow them to compete internationally.

This means that local businesses such as Swansea-based Enfis, which specialises in low energy LED lighting, could benefit from the research.

The scheme also requires universities in Wales to work alongside each other, meaning they would be in a far stronger position to bid for more research projects from private industry and the UK government. It is also hoped that 300 jobs will be created through the research.

Morgan defended the decision to inject so much money into the scheme.

He said: “You have to go in big if you want to be world class.

"Wales has a vital role to play in tackling global environmental changes."

Roath gets creative Emma McFarnon News Editor An arts festival displaying Cardiff’s local creative talent will kick off next weekend.

The Made in Roath festival, which takes place from October 16-18, will feature art, performance and crafts, all of which are generated by Cardiff residents. Entry will be free, and the festival will provide a unique opportunity for people of all ages and abilities to get involved with the arts.

The exhibition, located at the Gate arts centre on Keppoch Street, w i l l open on Frid a y .

There will be free digital photography and short film work-

Roath Market

shops to help inspire those wishing to take part in the ‘Snap Shot Roath’ competition, in which participants have 22 hours to get the most unusual and most telling images of Roath, before arriving back at the Gate on Sunday morning to hand in the end product.

Throughout Saturday there will be numerous workshops and performances, mapped out through the streets as an art trail around the area.

Sunday daytime sees a free watercolour challenge at Roath Park, followed by Tea and Talk at Waterloo Gardens Tea House, with readings by two celebrated local and international writers.

To find out more about Made in Roath, to buy tickets or to get involved go to www.madeinroath.co.uk. or telephone (029) 20496804.

A recent poll has revealed that 85% of students aged 18-24 oppose an increase in tuition fees. ! " # $ poll, conducted by YouGov for the University and Colleges Union (UCU), showed that only 5% of young people are in favour of a fee increase.

The UCU represents 1.7 % of students. They have identified 20 key constituencies where the ‘top-up fees generation’ make up between 21% and 33% of the population.

Many students are voting for the first time in next year’s general election. Over 60% of people who said they would vote for Labour, the Liberal Democrats or the Conservatives in the next general election said they either, “disagree or disagree strongly that universities should be allowed to increase tuition fees”.

In 2009 the average top up fees cost around £3,225. The Student

Emma McFarnon News Editor

Loans Company states that 663,900 students applied for a tuition fee loan in 2008/9. The average rate of this was £2,950 per student. Another rise in fees is expected as students getting loans for the 2009/10 year of study coincide with the economic recession.

This September, the Liberal Democrats withdrew their promise to abolish fees. The UCU released a statement about the fees issue, claiming that: “Any political party wishing to win the election cannot afford to ignore the issue of student funding”.

Responding to the UCU’s Poll, Labour MP for Dagenham, John Cruddas, said: “Access to education is a central driver of equality and should be a natural Labour issue, not least because it is such an important priority for the younger voters that Labour must persuade if we are to win another term.”

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) suggested that the increase in tuition fees is “inevitable”.

Young AIDS activists from around the world will be coming to the Students' Union to present the annual ‘Unite to Fight AIDS speaker Tour’ on Friday 16.

The event, hosted by Cardiff Stop AIDS society, brings together speakers from Sierre Leone, Zambia, the USA and the UK Student Stop AIDS organization, to give powerful accounts of their experiences with HIV. The talk aims to promote the national ‘Stop AIDS’ campaign for universal access to prevention, treatment and care for HIV sufferers by 2015.

Rosie Fakhraee, from the ! ! ! diff Stop AIDS Society, said: “It is a real opportunity for people to be inspired to take a more active role in the Student Stop AIDS campaign.”

The speaker event is being held in the Nelson Mandela Room at 6:30pm on Friday October 16.

Witness Appeal On the evening of August 17 2009, a 25-year-old male was in a pub on Albany Road, Cardiff, when he befriended a group of two males and two females, all in their early to mid 20s.

They all left the pub, and eventually made their way to Tesco, Western Ave, Cardiff, where they purchased further alcohol. They then made there way to the nearby Maitland Park, arriving in the early hours of August 18 2009.

Whilst in the park, it is alleged that one of the male

members of the group attacked the complainant, delivering several blows to his face and head, which required hospital treatment. The attacker, described as white, 20-25-years-old, about 5' 8" tall, medium build, with short dark hair, then stole the complainants mobile phone, before walking off, in the direction of the Heath area.

CCTV footage of the alleged attacker has been obtained. He is the male walking towards the CCTV camera, the male sat near the left door is a potential wit-

ness to the subsequent attack.

The name of the attacker is not known, but the other three members of the group, deemed to be potential witnesses to the attack in the park, are believed to by called ELIZABETH, RACHEL & TONY. All are believed to be students, or to have been students recently.

Information concerning the identity of the alleged attacker, or his friends is sought. Please contact DC STUART McLEAN, CATHAYS CID, on 02920 527267.

06 NEWS ou'll never guess what...

Without a paddle A former US judge is standing trial accused of having sex with inmates in exchange for leniency.

Herman Thomas faces 57 charges including sodomy, sexual abuse, and kidnapping. Pleading innocence, he said he was trying to mentor the inmates, 15 of whom may testify against him.

Thomas stepped down as a judge in Mobile, Alabama two years ago amid allegations that he spanked inmates' bottoms with a wooden paddle after forcing them to pull down their underwear in his office.

Bricks like Jesus More than 400 tales from the Bible have been recreated - in Lego form.!

'The Brick Testament' was set up in 2001 A.D. by one man, Brendan Powell Smith, aptly nicknamed 'The Reverend'.

A book of the creations was launched in 2003, depicting tales from Genesis to Revelations. It has been described as huge, detailed, occasionally gory and consistently satirical.

'The Reverend' described his holy work as not so holy: "I am not at all religious myself, but have a longstanding interest in religion, the Bible, and the study of ancient Christianity and Judaism".

gairrhydd | NEWS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY OCTOBER 12 2009

! " " #" $ % & '( " '( )" #" $ % &

! tewardess and pilots involved in mid-air fracas Oliver Smith Reporter Two pilots have been grounded after they abused a stewardess and pushed her around the cockpit when she refused them 'personal favours' on an Air India flight.

Passengers of IC844 certainly got some in-flight entertainment they wouldn't forget when a stewardess emerged from the cockpit at 30,000ft claiming that the pilots had attempted to 'molest' her.

A fellow crew member stepped in and a mid-air brawl between the pilots and cabin crew broke out following the allegation by the stewardess that she had been "abused, manhandled and assaulted in an undignified way".

In the pilots' defence they have argued that the claims of abuse are false, and that the subsequent fight was in fact started by a male member of the cabin crew.

Whichever version of events is true, the disagreement is said to have begun before the flight took off from Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates.

Luckily both sides of the disagree-

ment managed to put aside their differences, and the flight landed safely in Delhi, India.

Air India has launched an internal investigation into the claims and counterclaims which have been received from both parties involved. Air India has also released the results of its preliminary enquiry into the brawl, stating that "the cockpit was not left unmanned," and at no time were the passengers placed in any danger.

Delhi Police have received a statement from the female stewardess involved, with claims that she was 'abused and pushed' in the cockpit after she refused them 'personal favours'.

The Joint Commissioner of Delhi Police, Satyendera Garg, has commented to reporters that the "air hostess sustained bruises and injuries to her hand".

In the meantime both pilots as well as two members of the cabin crew have been grounded until further notice.

With so-called 'air-rage' becoming more common on flights and reports of mid-air brawls increasing, it would seem that even the crew are not above such behaviour.

Motion in the ocean

Dog bites man Former French president Jacques Chirac has banished his dog after it sunk its teeth into his chest.

Sumo, a fluffy, white Maltese Bichon, has been on anti-depressants since leaving the luxury of the Élysée Palace's presidential garden two years ago.

The beloved pet jumped and bit Chirac's stomach, drawing blood, said his wife Bernadette. "It's terrible what little teeth like that can do."

This third attack has prompted the Chiracs to send the tiny terror to a family friend's farm.

Cari Davies Reporter Members of the Maldives' government are preparing to hold a cabinet meeting underwater.

All members of the cabinet have undergone rigorous training in order to take part in a dive during which a document calling for reductions in carbon emissions will be signed.

Although labelled by some critics as merely 'a bit of fun', the official session of government has a very serious message to deliver.

The Maldvies - a chain of over 1000, low-lying islands, just South of India - are constantly at risk from rising sea levels. A rise of 59cm would result in over half thecountries islands being submerged, this could take place in less than a decade according to predictions by the UN's Panel on

Climate Change.

Global warming therefore is no joke for the Maldives' government and organisers hope the dive will not only raise awareness of the issue but also demonstrate the countrys' commitment to the new 350 campaign (aiming to reduce carbon in the atmosphere to 350 parts per million).

The dive will take place on the October 24; although one minister has been excused due to ill health, 14 ministers will attend the meeting with whiteboards and marker pens in hand.

Even President Mohammed Nasheed will be taking the plunge. To make the cabinet members feel more at home, a table will also be weighted and sunk for those present to gather round.

The document in question will be presented at the UN Summit in December during which a successor to the Kyoto Protocol will be forged.

IN-FLIGHT TURBULENCE: Cabin crew hoo-hah

Getting ratty Emma Smee Reporter

A Bangladeshi farmer who killed over 83,000 rats has received a colour television from the government as a reward for his impressive efforts.

The government in Bangladesh has also put together a nationwide campaign encouraging others to follow Mokhairul Islam’s example.

Mokhairul Islam managed to kill this striking number of rodents in nine months and the government hopes that his success will inspire his peers to help exterminate millions more rats.

Islam kept all the tails of the rats

that he killed as proof of his achievements despite having “no idea that the government gives prizes for this." The runner up, Fakhrul Haque Akanda, was able to kill 37,450 rats and was also presented with a television and a certificate at an official ceremony.

The Ministry of Agriculture in Bangladesh has estimated that rodents in the country destroy over 1.5 million tonnes of food per year which leads to 3 million tonnes of food being imported into the country. Farmers are now being encouraged to treat the killing of rodents as a sport and there are even plans to train students to help out with the cause.

Both Islam and Akanda are not planning to stop helping out with the mission at any time soon and hope to encourage others to join them.

RATS: Kill them. Kill them all.

OPINION 09

08 OPINION

gairrhydd | OPINION@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY OCTOBER 12 2009

freewords EDITORIAL

Est. 1972

So...

You know half of them don't want to be there, so why add more?

No more students please David

The Conservatives' plan to send 10,000 more students to University may sound good, but it's the last thing we need Daniella Graham Features Editor As the pre-General Election policy point scoring gets underway, the Conservatives have this week announced plans to create 10,000 more university places next year by offering graduates incentives to repay their student loans early.

Whilst many have praised the plans to reduce the number of so-called NEETs, (not in education, employment or training) I, for one, am not sure it’s the greatest idea the Tories have ever had. Although, to be honest, I’m not sure there are a lot of them to choose from.

The idea is fairly straightforward; by introducing a discount for graduates who pay off their loan early and a 10% reduction for additional voluntary repayments of more than £500, £300 million will be taken off the student loans book which can be used to fund the extra university places.

To me it all sounds a bit too good to be true, but I certainly do not claim to have the intelligence to challenge the maths on this one, so I’m going to presume the plan is workable. But even if the maths does all add up, this new plan still brings up a number of notable issues.

NUS President Wes Streeting has acknowledged the importance of providing additional fully funded university places, but has expressed concern about the loan repayment incentives.

The Tories’ incentives to pay off loans early could potentially result in graduates from more affluent backgrounds enjoying preferential repayment conditions, as it is likely that many graduates from poorer backgrounds would be unable to pay off loans early. It seems like the loan repayment incentives are another one of those ideas that sound good on paper, but aren’t actually going to bring any real benefit to those who need it.

Not the best idea the Tories have ever had... although I'm not sure there are a lot to choose from The Director General of the Russell Group, Dr Wendy Piatt, also warned that new places must be fully funded to prevent creating long-term difficulties for universities and students. With many universities already stretched financially and pushing for a rise in

top-up fees, this whole plan has the potential to end in disaster for all involved. If the new places are not fully funded, it will be students that suffer most, as universities will be forced into financial compromise.

But whilst I share all these concerns, there is one thing that bothers me more: why are alternatives to university seemingly not being considered? Shadow universities and skills Secretary David Willetts, when unveiling the plans, said that “with one in six young people not in work or education or training, it is vital that we prevent a similar crisis next year.”

But are extra university places really the answer to this?

I still strongly believe that nobody should be denied the opportunity to attend university; anyone that wants to should be able to go, regardless of his or her background. But there is a big difference between enabling more people to attend university and encouraging everyone in the country to go.

With increasing numbers of graduates ended up unemployed or in nongraduate jobs, a degree is no longer guarantee of a job. In addition, a recent report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development revealed that Britain has one of the highest numbers of people failing

to complete higher education. If you consider all this, it seems obvious that university is not always the best option for everyone.

Have you ever thought perhaps some of the people in Higher Education aren't just lazy dropouts?

Is there really anything wrong with alternatives to university education such as vocational courses and apprenticeships? I certainly do not think so. The current government has placed so much emphasis on university education that it often feels like there are no respectable alternatives. Have you ever thought that perhaps some of the people not in education, employment or training aren’t just lazy dropouts, but simply don’t wish to stay in education? University is not for everyone, and people should not be made to feel that university is the only option.

So, apparently, Cardiff University School of Medicine are stopping dissection of the head and neck for second years.

Many rumours have been flying around: that head and neck dissection is too "messy" (eww), that there aren't enough bodies, that dissection is not an effective use of student's time - a medic friend of mine told me they used to use their time in dissection selling tickets for social events.

Whatever the reason, its a terrible shame for the medicine students, and another let-down in a long string of disastrous events for the School of Medicine.

The hands-on experience that is gained from dissection is, apparently, one of the main reasons why prospective university students choose to study medicine at Cardiff - and now they're not even going to be allowed to do it.

I don't believe the reasoning that there are not enough bodies for head and neck dissection, for surely these are the same bodies that are used in first year for the rest-of-the-body-dissection?

And as for the argument that it is too messy - well, surely students who choose a university for its dissection facilities know what they're letting themselves in for?!

Besides, some fourth year medics and dentist friends of mine (this will affect the dentists as well of course, as they, too, are part of head and neck dissection) told me that they only retain certain anatomical knowledge now because of the hands-on experience they gained in dissection in second year.

If these changes do come into effect it sure will be a shame for the future of Medicine at Cardiff University.

On a positive note for Medicine, medic and Welsh International Jamie Roberts is getting his name engraved on a plaque which honours all Cardiff University medics who have played rugby for Wales.

We sent along our News Editors so they could get their picture taken with some rugby players (see picture on front page).

In other news, Father John Owen has resigned from his post as Catholic Chaplian to the University... surprise surprise.

Father John rather infamously appeared on the front cover of gair rhydd in June (Issue 899) for claiming that priests carrying out paedophilic acts on young boys were obviously homosexual - on national television. Not as controversial as it first seems once you dig deeper. But poor Father John seems to have carried on putting his foot in it ever since.

I just hope gair rhydd played no part in his decision.

OPINION 09

gairrhydd | OPINION@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY OCTOBER 12 2009

Embryos go down under Vital embryo research is moving to Australia due to lack of funding in the UK. When will the government realise the importance of science?

Jack Parker Opinion Writer In May last year the media went into frenzy as MP’s debated the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill. The pressure of the controversial debate led to Gordon Brown offering a free vote in parliament whilst The Vatican declared the destruction of embryo’s to be a mortal sin.

The short conclusion was that the House of Commons voted in support of the creation of hybrid embryos for research purposes by a majority of 336 to 176 and although I would love to fill this entire article with a merciless rant of why that was a good result, this week’s news refers not to the moral or religious implications of the research, but its scientific significance.

A hybrid embryo is almost all human, with only around 0.1% of its DNA being from an animal such as a cow or pig. For example the nucleus of a human cell could replace the nucleus of a cow’s egg so that it would develop useable stem cells. This is beneficial because it does not require the use of human eggs.

Many scientists also argue that studying these hybrids could lead to a better understanding of genetic defects which cause diseases such as Parkinson’s. Also of worthy note is that the stem cells’ ability to develop into human tissue is said to make them possible aids in curing yet more diseases.

It all sounds good for hybrids, so why has funding for all three projects on them in the UK been refused? The funding for science research is primarily allocated by seven councils and for hybrid embryos by two in particular; the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

Both have argued against claims that their rejection was based on moral grounds, emphasising that merely having a licence to conduct research does not justify access to tax payers’ money.

At first glance it would seem that potentially lifesaving research is not being backed because it is simply too expensive, or at least too expensive to be considered value for money; a price is being put upon the life of those in need. These circumstances are only too familiar, with some NHS patients restricted from the best drugs because they cannot be afforded.

The circumstance are all too familiar, take for example the NHS It would be easy for the general public to blame the research councils for their lack of investment, but I can sympathise with the councils’ decision. The science research budget for this year is just shy of £4 Billion, up from a pitiful £1.3 Billion in 1997.

But as the money has grown so has science’s diversity.

The overall science research bud- search routes and treatments become get has to cover all manner of topics available but also as our pensioners such as global warming, energy and live longer and more of our health other medical research. Many of these problems become debatably ‘self inother issues are not only more in the flicted’ from obesity and our fast food public mind but are also considered culture. safer and wiser investments from a scientific perspective. Knowledge on hybrid embryos is still shaky and there remains a risk of huge investments leading to little gain.

My issue is not with the research councils but the government’s overall budget. The Ministry of Defence has I hope for a general shift in governreceived £35 Billion for this year, a ment spending towards figure that the majorscience, not only ity of us would for the sake of consider unmedijust.

A budget of i f i ge t s t uck just £4 Billion for science rew i t h t hose search is going to appear c r i m i na l s I' l l rapidly more inadequate in f uck i ng k i ck of f the near future as our questions increase exponentially in tandem with our cine and gain in knowledge.

We as a general public have to ac- biochemistry cept that moral dilemmas such as the but also in orNHS not providing costly drugs and der to better the research councils neglecting pos- understand our sible lifesaving research are an in- e n v i r o n m e n t evitability of life and are indeed proof and find more of our advancing civilisation. These efficient forms of dilemmas will become increasingly energy production. frequent not only as more possible reYes, I am disappointed that hy-

I hope for a shift in government spenging towards science

brid embryos have lost the backing of the research councils, but to concentrate our blame and anger on them isn’t going to achieve anything. Instead we should direct our efforts towards shifting the overall budget of the country.

Then perhaps we can invest our tax money into both safer and more definite research alongside the riskier investigations that could deliver huge or no returns.

Until then, at least we can find solace in the fact that our progress is hindered by the more malleable politics of our country rather than the theistic claims of ‘playing God’ that still cause the banning of embryonic research elsewhere in the world.

Introducing President Tony Blair It looks very likely that the first ever president of the EU will be British. How proud we should feel that a Brit could make history. Oh no wait, it's Tony Blair Alex Evans Opinion Writer Another wonderful chapter could be added to these little isles' proud history this month – a Brit could become President of Europe.

Proudly, Britain can send forth a representative of our country – a former Prime Minister, no less – to become the first European head honcho, standing firmly as a bastion of spirited British brilliance among a mire of EU bureaucracy.

Well, that's how it would be, but it seems we sent Tony Blair. Oh. Yes, this is the news this week that Tony Blair could very well become the first 'President of Europe' – whatever that means. It's news that should frighten us all.

The combination of the European Union and Mr. Blair is like pairing anthrax with Royal Mail, or Jeremy Clarkson with Greenpeace. It's a match made in hell. Well, hell for us, but in this case the two couldn't be more perfect for each other. One of the most pointless institutions run by one of the most useless leaders.

Remember the billion small, grating laws that Labour brought in under Blair?

What we should fear is what Tony might do to us all if he does get in.

Remember the billion small, grating,

little laws that Labour brought in under Blair? Everything from declaring conkers unsafe for schoolchildren to outlawing Polish potatoes (I kid you not). In fact, in his entire tenure, Blair brought in 3,023 new laws. And all this when he was in charge of just one country.

The EU, meanwhile, passed regulations on banana curvature, measures against imperial measures and an avalanche of other British-independence-eroding legislation. Blair and the EU are clearly cut from the same regulation-size, safety-checked cloth.

Thinking of one running the other is enough to have anyone running for another continent.

Perhaps these are worries over nothing though. By his own admission, Blair will only go for the post 'if

he's certain to win'. That's the spirit, Tony. Clearly your time charging people for photographs and selling your houses hasn't led you to forget your core values – don't start what you can't win. Like Afghanistan. Or Iraq.

We're all about to drown under the weight of a thousand pointless laws The worst thing about this whole sorry idea though, is not that we're all about to drown under the weight of a thousand more pointless laws, or see the 'power' of the EU thrown behind some more pointless wars. It's not even

that we're going to be embarrassed by seeing Blair blunder through office in the name of Britain all over again. It's that, if it does happen, the Irish will do this to us.

The only way Tony will be elected is if the Irish have voted yes in last week's referendum. Should he win, it's clear how it happened: they're out to embarrass us by sending Blair to Brussels representing Britain. Oh, and Blair's appointment for the role in the first place? Thanks to a Frenchman.

I can just about deal with all the laws, and seeing smug Tony PC-speak his way through false hope speeches all over again. But being done over by the French and Irish? Gah, our poor British pride.

gairrhydd | OPINION@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY OCTOBER 12 2009

10 OPINION

Quit Roughing up our Union It's just a few leaflets for nights out in town, it's not a life or death situation Chris Williams Opinion Writer I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many leaflets in one place - the sheer amount pushed in your face each telling me to go to “The Best Fresher Event of the Year” or “The ONLY student night to go to”. It all began, by the end of Freshers to get a little tedious... to say the least. week’s ‘incident’ in front of the Union confirmed my worst fears.

Time and time again I was handed the same leaflet, it was an unavoidable invasion of personal space. Each time anyone walked near the Union, out of their halls of residence or, in the case of any Talybonters, as soon as you ventured outside your room, leaflets would be there - pushed under your nose, your door and your window.

This needs to be compared to the work of the Welcome Crew who, on the whole, did a decent job. Their approach didn’t annoy Freshers and didn’t rile students on the way back

from town; students already stressed since, on the millionth time of checking, student loans were yet to come through.

Some of the Rough Hill tactics were oppressive, loud and intimidating Some of the Rough Hill promoters tactics were (and frankly still are) oppressive, suffocating, loud, intimidating and abusive to the point where I’d rather walk the extra few hundred yards down North Road to avoid them! They should not be allowed to congregate in such numbers nor hand out so many leaflets in and about the confines of the Union, particularly if their behavior gets as bad as the incident last week.

Yes, I know it makes sense to give out leaflets to students as a form of marketing and yes, I know it is a free country, but the absurd volume of promoters and leaflets is more likely to

have the opposite effect – it is more likely to switch me off rather than encourage me to attend the nights out.

And surely if the nights are that good, there’s no need for leaflets anyway!

The article in âÜäí rhydd covering the ‘incident’ gave as full a story as possible, but there appears to be no definitive version of events and with armies of promoters roaming Cardiff's’ halls of residence - who knows how many other similar ‘incidents’ took place in the past few weeks. So, with few details to back up either sides claims, you have to question what the real version of events actually was.

Who started the argument?! And, with posters being ripped down and torn up left right and centre, who was really to blame?! But for me, it boils down to one thing: it’s just a few leaflets for nights out in town... does it really matter?

It’s not a life or death situation!

And surely the Welcome Crew, who were exchanging sweets for Rough Hill leaflets, were actually doing the environment a favour - anyone walk-

ing back from the union will see leaflets littering the road and the pavements beside.

Whilst they are one of the biggest promotional groups in Cardiff, Rough Hill should probably brush up a bit on their PR skills - particularly when it

STUDENTS' UNION

comes to their facts and events taking place outside of the union.

And as those armies of ‘promoters’ continue - in spite of this story - to patrol the streets of Talybont looking for unaware Freshers to pounce on, be warned - their tactics may be volatile!

ROUGH HILL

TURF WAR!

TURF WAR: Our version of events

Tracey Emin fucks off

! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ...not again

...but does anybody care? No.

The newest government leak is a little ironic

Cicely Giles Opinion Writer

Rachel Henson Opinion Writer In 2001 the Ministry of Defence published a document advising intelligence and armed forces personnel how to avoid revealing classified information to the general public. You’ve got to wonder whether anybody on the inside actually read the document though, as ‘Joint Services Protocol 440’ has now itself been leaked into the public domain. Nice one.

Everybody makes mistakes and I can think of several occasions where the odd blunder has left me feeling sheepish; letting on about a surprise party, sending a text message to the one person who shouldn’t read it, leaving an unattended Facebook page open to attack from menacing housemates, the list goes on.

When you're in charge of classified documents, you shouldn't make these mistakes Slips of the tongue are such a common problem that not only do they surround us in real life, but even our fictional friends are regularly found falling into the trap: “I shouldn’t have said that Harry. I shouldn’t have told

you that!” moans Hagrid in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, or in the words of Homer Simpson “Doh”!

There is, however, one defining variable that allows some of us to get away with these things and condemns the rest of us to the idiot bin, and that is our job description. As students we can blame the occasional faux-pas on rapidly incoming information, late nights and one beer too many in The Taf, but being tasked with protecting classified documents is all in a day’s work if you’re employed by the Ministry of Defence, surely?

If it’s not being sufficiently covered in basic training then there’s a major flaw in intelligence departments across the board. The recently leaked document places journalists in a long list of potential security threats amongst criminals and terrorist organisations, but it’s a risk factor that could certainly be reduced by not spoon-feeding us with this sort of gem.

In their defence (no pun intended) it must be a pretty big task to manage such a large amount of classified information and so many free-willed humans at the same time. It just takes one enterprising individual to cash in on a few files or a dopey character to email the wrong people and you’ve already got headline material for the Sunday papers. Some might say that now is the time to enforce more stringent testing to make sure that our intelligence staff are, well, intelligent.

It wouldn’t be quite so bad if it hadn’t happened before, but there has

been an endless trickle of classified information falling into the ‘wrong hands’ from various organisations and government sources for centuries, whether it be terror files carelessly leaving themselves on trains, our personal information simply vanishing or George Washington’s exasperation at leaks to the British as far back as 1794.

It's unlikely that we'll ever seen an entirely reliable system from the M.o.D In fact it’s unlikely that we’ll ever see an entirely reliable system whilst people are hungry to satisfy their thirst for the forbidden. Maybe they have nothing better to do of an evening than sift through military jargon, perhaps they’re a struggling journalist desperately raking for a story or it might be that they genuinely want to know the content, but whatever the reason there seems to be an endless supply to satisfy the demand.

It’s inevitable that these sort of stories whet the appetite of the budding spies amongst us, and some readers will no doubt be wondering where such documents can be found.

I could tell you, but I’d have to kill you. Sorry.

Thank goodness we have outspoken artists to stand up for the unfortunate minority earning over £150,000 a year.

Popular artist and Royal Academician Tracey Emin has announced that she is considering leaving Britain in protest at the new 50% tax rate for high earners. I'm not saying I agree with this new tax by any means, merely voicing my surprise at Ms. Emin's reaction to it.

Her country of preference is France, on the grounds that their taxes are lower and 'they appreciate the arts more'.

Does Britain really not appreciate the arts? Cardiff's own Sherman Theatre has just been granted funds for renovation; the West End is thriving despite the recession and Tracey Emin herself was once nominated for the Turner Prize – a prestigious award for British artists, worth no less than £40,000.

However, I can accept that in France the appreciation may appear to be greater and art more celebrated.

All the more reason to be surprised

by Tracey Emin's choice – as there is some debate on whether her work is 'art' at all.

Her most famous (and infamous) piece is 'My Bed', an installation piece for the Tate. In all fairness, it was exactly what it said on the tin: Tracey Emin's bed, complete with unwashed sheets, blood-stained underwear and condoms, used and otherwise. Supposedly, exactly as it was after the

artist spent days in it,due to a suicidal depression caused by relationship difficulties. This is the very piece nominated for the Turner Prize. Her other work includes 'Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963 – 1995', a tent embroidered with names. This was destroyed in a fire, and I will leave it to you to decide if this was tragic or not.

In fact, some critics have said Tracey Emin's art is like the artist: brash, loud and attention seeking. Others have sung her praises.

How many tax advantages does an artist earning over £150,000 a year need?

However you feel about Tracey Emin's work, her declaration raises eyebrows. I am wholeheartedly in favour of provocative art that makes you think. Though technical skill is to be greatly admired, without invention it can be wasted. However, there is such thing as going too far.

Still, I don't think Tracey Emin leaving for France puts a sufficient dent in the British art scene to make the government reconsider the tax.

In truth, what really takes the biscuit for me is Tracey Emin's claim: "At least in France their politicians have always understood the importance of culture and they have traditionally helped out artists with subsidy and some tax advantages.”

One wonders how many subsidies and tax advantages someone earning more than £150,000 a year needs.

gair

DA

C

BE 12 2009

COLUMNIST 11

.C

Has the time come for the Tories?

“All men dream: but not equally.

Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible” T.E. Lawrence The moment has come for the Conservatives. Or more importantly the time has come for David Cameron.

No longer is he confined to the shadows; this engaging, inexperienced 42-yearold man h a s

managed to relinquish the curse of unpopularity that beleaguered his four predecessors. Next year’s general election is his to lose.

When Cameron was first elected as the leader of the Conservative party three years ago he was acclaimed as the Tory Tony Blair.

Just the thought of it made his party shudder but what is so wrong with the comparison? Blair transformed the Labour Party into an indomitable force that crushed the Tories in 1997. The comparison between the two would suggest that Cameron could do likewise.

When asked about being billed as the new Tony Blair Cameron simply responded, “He did win three elections you know”. For him the morals and ideals that have defined the Conservatives are expendable in order t o

DAVID: Ready for action

succeed.

As Machiavelli wrote, a leader can be as moral of purpose as they like but if they cannot gain power and “maintain the state” then moral purpose is for the winds.

Leading a party that had revelled in habitual pessimism, Cameron appeared untarnished and to the point.

He wanted to win. He is, as T.E. Lawrence puts it, a dreamer of the day, someone with his eyes open who can make things possible.

Now, Cameron has made the Tories more attractive and appealing to the voter through things such as gestures towards huskies, hoodies, localism and “social responsibility. He exudes a sense of prosperity and has done well to cleanse his party of the Thatcherite overtones that have lingered like an intoxicating stench since she left in 1992.

The transformation has been gradual and now they are unrecognisable.

But to question if they have changed is to ask a Japanese person “did Hiroshima change much after the War?” Yet, despite everything it is still in the realms of possibility that the Tories can lose this election.

Last week’s party conference fully exposed Cameron’s achilles heel; policies. Not the lack of them but their specificity. Blair went into that campaign without a trace of a policy.

His campaign was a hotchpotch of feel good vacuities with words such as faith, trust, assurance, promise and change. Cameron would be wise to follow suit.

To ask if the Tories have changed is like asking a Japanese person, “did Hiroshima change much after the War?” It was the 19th century philosopher Mark Weber who said that the model democratic leader should be “romantic, charismatic, activist”. He must enthuse in his supporters a belief that he knows what has to be done, without saying what it might be. Weber argued the reason was “occasionalism”, the habit of circumstances conspiring to alter cases. The model leader does not fit events into a one size fits all policy but grabs at them and uses them to their advantage.

In Manchester last week, Cameron & Co. took grave risks in revealing specific proposals for spending cuts, care homes, welfare reform,

Tim Well Spent

I’m sorry but when I was asleep one evening did the world go crazy? I woke up last Monday to the news that England’s World Cup Qualifying match against the Ukraine would be broadcast on the internet. Now as a devout England fan this news was a heavy blow but sort of understandable. After all, England have already qualified for the World Cup and Setanta, who originally had the rights to broadcast the game, no longer exist.

What really infuriated me, though, was what was on TV instead of the football on Saturday evening. You’ve Been Framed and The X Factor. I’ll ask again, has the world gone crazy?

Things like You’ve Been Framed and The X Factor are derisory excuses for television shows. People that actually enjoy watching these programmes

p factor... po e h t ot g 's in a it r B : This week Now, some people stocks and throw fruit have the intellectual capacity of a maggot or maybe even one lower on the evolutionary scale Piers Morgan.

That might not be popular but listen to me I’m a visionary. In five hundred years time historians will look back at this period of humanity and mock us for our ineptitude and primordial tastes. Let’s break The X Factor down, shall we? It is essentially people with no talent or ability being put on television for us to laugh and sneer at.

Think about that for a second. We as a society, every year, convince some poor people that they are good at singing, dancing or whatever it is and let them get on a stage and be embarrassed in front of millions.

How backward and primitive is that?

We might as well just put them in the

at them or drop them into a bear pit for giggles. The X Factor along with Strictly Come Dancing, Britain’s Got Talent and I’m a Celebrity are the spawn of Satan. I am ashamed and uncomfortable whenever I see it advertised on television, in newspapers, online etc.

Then you go and see Gordon Brown coming out publically declaring his concern for Susan Boyle. I don’t want our Prime minister sitting at home watching reality television.

Go and run the fucking country!

If you want to publically speak out about something tell us what you think about the release of the Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi. Is it any wonder why politics isn’t taken seriously anymore?

might say that I don’t know what I’m talking about because I clearly don’t watch it. But here’s the thing, I watched it just last week and if you’re telling me those twins have The X Factor then I’m the next Frank Sinatra. And Danni Minogue judging talent? I am a big lover of irony but that’s just a whole new level that I simply cannot comprehend.

We, as a nation, would rather watch a freak show then support our country, whether that’s England, Wales, Scotland or who-

school reform and postponed pensions.

Cameron’s aim to portray the party as plausible and competent has made them hostages to their own pledges.

The financing of Cameron’s ideas on care homes already has more holes in it than Newcastle United’s defence.

His plan to increase the prison population is antediluvian, his wish for more “choice” in hospitals and schools is antiquated and costly and his council tax freeze is just plain silly.

The Tories do not have to persuade voters that they are capable or responsible; they have Gordon Brown to show people that he is neither. Rather they should be offering a leader with whom the voting public can easily imagine in charge for the next five years.

Cameron should have the election in the bag. He has already won the battle in becoming more popular than his party but if he wants the keys to No.10 he should beware advocating needlessly controversial policies and controversial colleagues.

Leadership is all. For the next six months Cameron has to be full of resonance and passion, indicating little or nothing. Why take the risk?

Remember Machiavelli. Then once he enters Downing Street he will be able to dream with his eyes open. That is when vanity becomes reality.

ever. Are you really comfortable with that? I’m not but I fear that most of you are.

That is infinitely crazy.

04 NEWS

gairrhydd | NEWS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY OCTOBER 12 2009

FEATURES 13

rhydd | FEATURES@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY OCTOBER 12 2009

Obama-rama hits Ghana Recently, US President Barack Obama made his first state visit to sub-Saharan Africa. gair rhydd was lucky enough to be there...

Daniella Graham Features Editor Since becoming the first African American U.S President, Barack Obama has achieved cult status across the world. So what would it be like to see him in the flesh? gair rhydd finds out… ! " # $ $ 11 2009. The small town of Cape Coast, Ghana, was awash with excitement. The atmosphere was positively electric, with one word on everyone’s lips; Obama. The most famous political figure on the planet had chosen this place to visit for his first trip to Africa as President of the United States.

I had arrived in Ghana just eight days earlier, but it felt like I had been besieged by Obama mania for much, much longer. The ‘welcome Obama’ song had been played non stop everywhere I went, at least once every half hour (lyrics included ‘dancing is an exercise, babe.’) At the local TV station where I was doing a journalism placement, one of the main news headlines on my first day was the fact that Cape Coast had run out of Barack Obama material. This was an absolute disaster as far as locals were concerned… What if Obama arrived and they weren’t wearing a dress covered in pictures of Obama’s face?!

People clamoured up trees and climbed on top of vans to catch a glimpse of Obama I had found the whole build up to Obama’s visit in turn both comical and troubling; whilst at first I found it quite amusing to compare the relative indifference to Obama’s visit to London with the frenzied anticipation of Obama’s visit to Ghana, I came to find the unrealistic expectations of Ghanaians quite worrying. One man I spoke to called Obama ‘Africa’s messiah,’ and stories of murder and violence were pushed to the depths of newspapers so as not to obscure detailed speculation concerning Obama’s visit.

Everyone also seemed to think that Barack Obama would be mingling with the locals, shaking hands with and talking to everyone; I hated to be around when they realised that this would not be the case.

The day of Obama’s visit to Cape Coast had not got off to a good start.

I had spent the night away from Cape Coast, and during the taxi ride back we had run over and killed a dog.

When I eventually made it in to town, Obama mania was in full swing. Everywhere you looked there were stalls selling every type of Obama merchandise you could think of; keyrings, T-

ally going to pass this way at all. The crowd were getting restless - where was Obama?

It was at this point that a van filled with official-looking white people drove away. (I had assumed these men were Americans on the basis they were all wearing ridiculous sunglasses.) My two friends decided that this was a sure sign that Obama was not coming and left to go home. I thought the fact they were driving off might mean that Obama's arrival was imminent, and since I had nothing better to do I thought I might as well stay.

Out of the window Obama waved and showed us his trademark grin

shirts, flags and wristbands as well as the precious Obama cloth. People were wearing outfits made entirely of Obama cloth; one man I saw was wearing a headscarf and top made of blue cloth covered in Obama’s face, whilst his trousers were covered in American and Ghanaian flags and pictures of Barack and Michelle Obama’s faces. The effect was nothing short of terrifying. I saw one man who had chosen to forsake the Obama cloth in favour of a pair of boxers and a lot of red, white and blue body paint…

Again, terrifying.

I was out by myself as I was meant to be researching an article for the newspaper I was working with; unfortunately I had arrived in Ghana too late to be issued a press pass so I had been sent off to take pictures and mingle with the crowds, chat to people about their thoughts on the visit and generally soak up the atmosphere. Whilst at first I felt a bit of an idiot asking to take pictures of people dressed head to toe in Obama cloth, I then realised that they were the ones covered in pictures of someone's face, got over any embarrassment and made the most of mingling with the masses.

After a while I was genuinely glad I wasn't in the press area, as the atmosphere around Cape Coast was amazing. Everyone was so excited about the prospect of seeing Obama that it is difficult to put it into words; most viewed him as an almost God-like figure.

The comments of some people did worry me - a lot of people genuinely seemed to think that Barack Obama was coming to fix all of Africa’s problems - but many had a more realistic

attitude to the visit which was refreshing. Many saw Barack Obama as an inspiration to black people, with his achievements illustrating that race is no longer a barrier to success. Others were simply excited that such an influential world figure would choose this relatively small town to visit; whilst other U.S Presidents have visited Ghana, none had ventured outside the capital, Accra.

People were doing everything they could to try and catch a glimpse of the President. By the roads which Obama was due to pass, people clamoured

up trees and climbed on top of vans to get a better view. There was even a fire engine with thirty people stood on top. One man offered me a leg up to join those on the fire engine; I politely declined.

I wandered off to a different part of the Obama route to meet a couple of my friends, and managed to get a surprisingly good view of the road considering it was about 4pm at this point and some people had been stood there since 10am. After nearly an hour of waiting, we were all beginning to doubt whether Obama was actu-

PARTY TIME: Eveyone goes wild for Obama

Approximately three minutes after they had left some motorbikes started driving past. They were soon followed by a massive black car with Ghanaian and American flags on. Then came the one and only Beast! Out of the window Mr Barack Obama himself was waving to the crowds as he passed, grinning the legendary smile which has become his trademark. I must admit I did get a little bit caught up in the hysteria. Having found the extreme excitement of everyone in Ghana somewhat hilarious, I did actually get a little bit choked up when it dawned on me that I had just seen the first African-American President of the most powerful country in the world. It was certainly one of the highlights of my trip to Ghana and a day I will never forget.

14 FEATURES

gairrhydd | FEATURES@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY OCTOBER 12 2009

From one intervi

Sir Michael Parkinson has been off our screens for jus 'King of Chat' about playing cricket for Yorkshire, bei James Davies Features Writer Interviewing Sir Michael Parkinson, as a humble trainee journalist, I imagine feels incredibly similar to the feelings felt by a school teacher waiting for an inspector during the first day of Ofsted.

As my stomach churned, at the prospect of speaking to the ‘crème de la crème’ of journalism, there was a firm knock at the door.

After a brief pause, the door swiftly swung open. It was ‘Parky’. Well Sir Michael minus that theme tune, ‘Datdiddly-da-da-da!’, his big-band intro and jaunty descent down the stairs, that were synonymous with his long running hit television chat show, aptly named, ‘Parkinson’.

Entering the room with a certain air of authority, Sir Michael settled any early nerves I had, had with a simple smile, and a firm handshake, saying, jokily, in true ‘Parkinson’ fashion, “It makes a change doesn’t it, to sit here and just wait for the other poor bugger to ask the questions”, to which I nodded and shared a mutual grin.

As we sat down to start the interview, with both seats facing each other, as he always so famously did, I felt

compelled to ask what had happened to those black swivel chairs that he, and pretty much everyone who was anyone, had sat on while he conducted his interviews.

I've bought the chair that David Beckham sat on.

His bum was on there “I actually bought two of the chairs, that we used on the set, for £2,000, after we had finished the last show”, he said, shuffling in his seat, as he tried to get comfortable.

With his thick Yorkshire accent, the charismatic broadcaster continued, “I bought the interviewing chair, which I sat in, and the one I call David Beckham’s chair”, explaining with a smile, “His bum was on there.”

The thing that is so refreshing and charming about Sir Michael, the son of a Barnsley miner, born in 1935, is that he is so perfectly human.

As we begin to talk about his childhood, the room comes alive. He has a fascinating story to tell, and one that is just as enthralling as any of the celebrity guests he has questioned, during his 36 years as ‘The King of Chat’.

But for all the names, anecdotes and unrivalled insights into the world of celebrity, he humbly attributes his success to the efforts of his parents, who made him promise he would never go down the pit for a living.

Despite his Headmaster telling him he would ‘never amount to much’, he defied those who said he wouldn’t be anything other than a miner, by listening to his mother, and not only reaching for the stars, but talking to them too.

His mother was, according to Sir Michael, “the engine” of his ambition." He said: “She channelled all that ambition into me.”

Reflecting on his childhood dreams, ‘Parky’ explained, “When I was a young boy

I had three dreams. I always wanted to marry a film star and live next door to Barnsley Football Club. But when I wasn’t day-dreaming, I was also dreaming about being a journalist.

From a very early age I knew what I wanted to be.

The one advantage any child has, other than supportive parents, is to know what they want to do- as very few young people know what they want to be.”

Although Sir Michael left school with only two O Levels, in Art and English Language, this didn’t deter the young ambitious hack.

Sitting back in his chair, he says, “It was our generation that produced the 60’s- that wonderful explosion of working-class talent that overtook the arts and changed things.

My father thought I was a failure for not playing cricket for Yorkshire I couldn’t have got a job at the BBC as a doorman, with my accent, for God’s sake. But because of what happened, after a while you had to have an accent like mine to become a journalist at the BBC. That was transformation”.

CHEEKY GRIN: the King of Chat “When you educate the working classes, stand back. Things will change”, he added.

Sir Michael, however, wasn’t the only one of his childhood friends to make a name for himself.

It is no secret that the 74-year-old is a huge cricket fan and spent most of his youth playing in the same team as Geoffrey Boycott OBE and Dickie Bird MBE. With a smile, Sir Michael explained, “We were all at Barnsley together. It’s extraordinary now to look back on those days and to think we all had all the same ambition of playing cricket for Yorkshire and England, and to see how those two achieved their ambition and I didn’t.”

Asked whether he had any regrets about not playing first class cricket, like his two friends, ‘Parky’ remarked, “No, I don’t have any regrets. I know that sounds incredibly complacent but if I had played cricket I would have been retired now for about fifty years as a sweet shop owner.”

Flicking through his autobiography, and the most eagerly awaited showbiz memoir of the year, it is difficult to ignore the beautiful photographs, featuring those he has interviewed over the years.

It gets me thinking, whether there are ever situations where for all the research he’s done, he’s met a guest and they’re completely different to the person he expected to meet.

After a short pause, ‘The King of Chat’ leans back, shuffling around, in his chair, once again, and says, “I thought I’d fancy Meg Ryan more than I did.

And vice versa (laughs).

There was just a total lack of sympathy between the two of us. Talk shows are light entertainment and the audience at home like to see the host in discomfort. I could have finished the interview early as it was clear she didn’t want to talk, but I went fishing because I knew it would make good television.”

I thought I'd fancy Meg Ryan more than I did. And vice versa So what is it, I wondered, that separates those in the limelight from the rest of us, mere mortals, in the background of life rather than the forefront?

Taking a sip from his, now cold, cup of tea, Sir Michael, sat back, crossing his legs, and explained, “They have an indefinable quality that I describe as will power. If you look at Muhammad Ali, Nelson Mandela, Billy Connolly, there’s something that separates them from the rest of the human race.

Although, they are, of course, human, like the rest of us, they are special people, with an overwhelming drive to achieve something. I never had that drive. I just always wanted to be a good writer and a good journalist.

That has been my motivation throughout my life.”

‘Parky’ has always considered himself first and foremost a journalist. He started work on the South Yorkshire Times at the tender age of 16 before moving on to the Manchester Guardian and then the Daily Express. In 1971 he joined the BBC, having previously presented Cinema for Granada Television.

“In my day newspapers were the media. Television happened quite by

FEATURES 15

rhydd | FEATURES@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY OCTOBER 12 2009

iewer to another

st over two years now. James Davies interviewed the ing a grumpy old man, and David Beckham's behind chance. I was called up by a man who said, ‘I want you to come and join me at Granada as a producer’. I said, ‘but I don’t know how to produce television.’ His response, ‘Nor do we’which I thought was remarkable.

I've been in this business too bloody long Once television became an option, it was a natural progression. There is nothing different between what you’re doing and what I did on television. All of it is part of being a journalist.”

By the mid-70s, 11 million viewers were regularly tuning in to his talk show, as he gently probed the likes of Bette Davis, James Cagney, Orson Wells, David Niven, Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Peter Sellers, Muhammad Ali and Lawrence Olivier.

Despite being known as ‘the man who has met everyone’, there are a few, believe it or not, who escaped his charm.

“I would have loved to have interviewed Sinatra. And of course the Queen! Just imagine what an interview she is. Think about all the people

she has met and the circumstances she has met them in.”

In recent years, chat shows have been far more about the hosts than the guests. With Michael, though, it was always about the latter. “My role was never to be intrusive,” he remarked.

This was one of the reasons A-listers were still clamouring to be on his show until the very end. They knew they wouldn’t be subject to attack or abuse.

Although, the affable reporter was, at times, accused by some critics of being too soft on his subjectssomething he continues to dispute- Sir Michael explained, “A talk show is a communication not a confrontation. I was not interviewing war criminals or paedophiles.

I was interviewing people whose only crime was to entertain people. I didn’t pin people up against the wall but I never avoided an issue where I thought that journalistically I had to ask the question.

The only question I would ask a guest, before they walked down those stairs, was ‘Is there anything you don’t want to talk about?’, and I would make a judgement.

If something was a bit of gossip I wouldn’t bother with it, but if in Woody Allen’s case, he didn’t want to

OH YOKO: Parkinson interviewing John Lennon in 1971 talk about marrying his step-daughter then justifiably I did ask him about that because it had more or less ruined

his career in middle America- he was forced to move to Europe to make movies because of that. So that was a legitimate enquiry because it had a profound effect on his career.”

‘The King of Chat’, as he is so often referred to, decided two years ago that it was time to hang up his notebook after a 57-year career. “I’ve been in this business too bloody long,” he said with typical bluntness.

“I’m beginning to get that Grumpy Old Man syndrome.

Things are so different to when I started. Back then there were just two television channels.

Look at it now. Nobody knows where it’s going.”

When he recorded his final chat show, it was the end of an era. “It’s the right time to stop”, he said. “I don’t think the people who run TV want my kind of conversational show anymore. I’ve had a good run.

I can’t complain.”

So now that the ‘Parkinson’ set has been put away for the last time, never to return, I was curious as to how he feels looking back on his time in front of the camera, laughing with Billy Connolly, grappling with ‘that bird’ Emu and sparring with Muhammad Ali, as well as all the other captivating moments JOBSWAP: Parkinson the interviewee that were created by the man

who turned the practice of two people sitting in chairs, chatting, into something quite magical?

“My father, being a miner and a Yorkshire man once said to me, he didn’t really understand what I was doing. He was waiting for the time I had a proper job.

He always wanted me, to play cricket for Yorkshire, and because I didn’t he thought I was a failure.

I would have loved to interview Frank Sinatra

Just before he died, he said to me, ‘you've had a good life haven't you?

You've interviewed some beautiful women and you've made a bit of money. Well done. But think on, it’s not like playing Yorkshire cricket is it?’

And what he was defining was the difference between fame and immortality. I mean if you play cricket for Yorkshire you’re immortal. But if you're merely famous it doesn't matter.”

This said it all. Success, fame and wealth have not turned his head, nor have they diluted the straightforwardness that has always been his way.

16 POLITICS

gairrhydd | POLITICS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY OCTOBER 12 2009

Crunch time for Cameron

As the Conservative Party prepares itself for its last conference before the general election, Phillippa Lewis looks at the stakes

T

he message at this year’s Tory Party conference is undoubtedly one of radical repair for a broken Britain formed under the Labour government.

Boris Johnson claimed that “Labour were scuttling from office like Peckham motorist Harriet Harman fleeing from the scene of a crime” and Conservative party leader David Cameron describing the Labour government as “tired, discredited and clapped out”.

It is clear that the theme of this year’s conference is to demonstrate that the Conservatives would be better placed to repair the Country’s finances than the present Government, with Boris Johnson claiming that a future Conservative government would need to “sweep up the crushed indicator lights of a classic Labour car crash”.

With both parties now focusing on cuts - an unusual move in the build up to a general election, Boris Johnson focused on the need to “get rid of the nonsense”, referring to the two female police officers who were banned from babysitting each other’s children by Ofsted. The Tories claim to be the party offering value for money, hoping to get people into work and reassessing the benefit system, whilst recognising that unpopular decisions would be needed to pay off Britain’s debts. Cutting the current budget deficit, expected to rise this year to £175

billion, is the main Conservative priority. They claim that it will damage Britain in the form of rising inflation and therefore increased taxes. Cameron criticised Labour’s “cynical and limited approach” and instead advocated his ‘comprehensive’ package of changes. However there are a great deal of similarities between the education and welfare policies of the two main parties, which is hardly surprising given that former Labour advisor David Freud defected to the Conservative camp last year. Despite this, both parties are belittling each other’s policies with Labour referring to the Conservative plans as ‘callous’, in an attempt to win public support.

The Tories still have to show that they deserve to win David Cameron, mindful of the 1992 General Election when a complacent Neil Kinnock narrowly lost to John Major, said that the Tories still had to show that they deserved to win. It was a theme taken upon many senior Tories, with their Chairman Eric Pickles urging their supporters to go out an earn votes (Pickles has already banned all Conservative MPs

from drinking champagne in the run up to the election). William Hague also urged Tory party activists not to become complacent over a victory in the next general election, warning against a ‘wholly negative’ Labour campaign.

In a response to Gordon Brown’s recital of Labours achievements David Cameron highlighted the failures of Labour’s new back to work scheme, including the current unemployment rate of 7.9%. Cameron laid down the ‘bold plans of a new and changed party’ which included plans to get those on benefits back into work, reevaluating those on the incapacity benefit via medical health checks and if necessary a move onto the job seekers allowance benefit which pays up to £25 a week less. The Conservatives have made a more popular move by pledging to create 10,000 new university places if elected, which is to be funded by offering a 10% discount on student loan repayments for those who paid ahead of schedule, effectively reducing the current cost of student loans by £300 million.

A recent Populus poll for The Times indicated that a large element of support for the Tories was due to Labours failings and the dislike of Labour and the Prime Minister rather than the support of the Conservatives. Furthermore it is suggested that Conservative

party support is more due to the popularity of Cameron rather than Conservative policies, making Cameron’s public image in the coming months and throughout the conference ever more important. The Conservative image is one of a new and changed party ready to transform Britain, yet a Populus report shows that just 28% of people believe that the Conservative Party has changed. At present the Tories are predicted to win 40% of the vote going into the final week of the Party conferences and thus their performance if vital to their election victory.

With tough and unpopular announcements being made all the more frequently, it is argued that this is the sort of Conference that the Tory Party does not need at this time in the electoral cycle.

DAVID CAMERON: Man with a plan?

Bordering on madness

As cross-border tensions begin to rise between India and China, Ayushman Jamwal has a closer look at what's going on

C

hina and India are two emerging superpowers in Asia that have had decades of cooperation in many different spheres.

These two nations have had booming bilateral trade which has the potential to reach $60 million in the year 2010. They have also engaged in joint anti-terrorist military exercises in 2007 and 2009. The continuation of such cooperation can lead to the formation of a formidable alliance in the Asian subcontinent that could come to have a serious impact on world politics.

Yet both the nations have recently begun to lock horns in diplomatic combat from across the border. This has mainly emerged due to increased Chinese aggression in reclaiming ancient Tibetan territories which include territories within the borders of India. Most recently, the town of Tawang, the home of one of Tibetan Buddhism's most sacred monasteries,

which is located in the north eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh is the focus of Chinese sovereignty claims.

The nation claims that the Buddhist town and its surrounding areas have been historically a part of Tibet and should be a part of China. Tawang became a part of India when Tibetan leaders signed a treaty with British officials in 1914 establishing the McMahon Line between Tibet and British India, to the south of which the town lied. China does not recognize this treaty.

India's unwavering stance regarding its territory has led China to step up its military operations on their side of the 2521 mile long border. The Chinese side of the border lies along a flat Tibetan plateau giving them the advantage of efficient military preparations. The People's Liberation Army has established a network roads, railways, air fields and logistical hubs in the area that gives them the ability to move and rapidly deploy ground and

aerial military assets. These military bases have been recently equipped with soldiers who in 2008 and early 2009 have been involved in border and air space violations conducting reconnaissance and surveillance.

China is trying to flex its superior muscle power over India Concerned with the heavy military buildup across the border, India is stepping up its security in the long neglected north east area, with the deployment 25,000 to 30,000 soldiers along the border in Arunachal Pradesh, Russian-made T-72 tanks in the bordering state of Sikkim and two squadrons (18 aircrafts each) of SU - MK1 fighter jets to the Tezpur airbase have been located 150 kilometers south of the Chinese border in the months of June and July this year. However, in

comparison to the favorable conditions the Chinese have on their side of the border, Indian forces have to deal with tougher terrain comprising of snow capped mountains, deep valleys, thick jungles and difficult mountain passes.

China is also attempting to flex its superior muscle power over India in other spheres. It unsuccessfully attempted to block a $2.9 million loan to the nation from the Asian Developmental Bank of which it is a member and opposed the 2009 November trip to Tawang of the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people who stokes the separatist sentiment amongst them.

India gained victory at the ADB due to its deft diplomatic skills; yet, its weak administrative and military presence in the north east can prove damaging to a growing Chinese influence in the long run. As the state of Arunachal Pradesh is recognized as being Indian territory, the nation is

mainly banking on the international powers to back it up in regards to its neighbor. However, Chinese growing power in global politics, is making the current super powers shy away from any direct confrontation.

In order to diffuse tensions, the two powers need to go through tough negotiations and set up a definite border. However, since 2005 China and India have gone through 13 rounds of bilateral negotiations with no results.

While India aims to diffuse the situation regionally, Chinese behavior reflects the political sentiments of Deng Xiaoping, it ís most prominent statesmen and political philosopher: "ëtao guang yang huií", which means "hide brightness, nourish obscurity".

It can be argued that the Chinese government is aiming to develop its capabilities and challenge India at a time of its choosing, to secure its place as the pioneering Asian power.

POLITICS 17

gairrhydd | POLITICS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY OCTOBER 12 2009

Teaching the Holocaust

The UN is proposing to teach the children of Gaza about the Holocaust. Kayleigh Stevens has a look

T

he United Nations has begun plans to change the current curriculum taught to the children of Gaza, including a segment on Human Rights that would have a chapter on the Holocaust, one of the better known war atrocities of World War Two. Such a move has been highly condemned by the Palestinian territory rulers – Hamas, who have plainly stated that they feel that the Holocaust is just a fabrication of war, ‘a lie invented by the Zionists’.

The Holocaust has become as much about propaganda as about history The Palestinians are still resentful of the way that other countries responded to the Holocaust: by showing their support of the establishment of Israel in 1948. Yet, there seems to have been a positive reaction to the proposed addition to the curriculum from the general public.

The whole debate revolves around the place of education in human rights. According to Article 26, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; everyone has the right to an education, which shall promote understanding and tolerance among nations. The Holocaust is a prime example of an atrocity of war which is still recent enough to have an eye opening effect on the students.

Some would say that the students would benefit from such an addition to the curriculum, but these children are faced with the harsh reality of everyday Gaza, where conflict is currently ripping the country apart. They are not blind to the horrors of their world, so why would teaching such a specific piece of history be beneficial?

The fact of the matter is that the Holocaust has become as much about propaganda as about history. Hamas feel that teaching such events will harm their political status and damage the support they have for the conflict with Israel, and they do have a point. Did the children in Allied countries learn about the injustices and mistreatment that the German

people suffered as a result of the Treaty of Versailles? So why expect the Palestinians to do what few other countries have done and supply ammunition to their enemies?

We need to learn from our historybut we seem to be finding new ways of killing each other Another argument is why should the Holocaust take precedence over other genocides that would probably hit closer to home, based on the location of Gaza, especially those that exceed the death toll of this particular genocide.

Others claim that if the children knew about the crimes against humanity committed during these times, that they would view the world as a different place and change they way they act as a person, to make sure these instances never occur again.

However, people knew about the

Holocaust, the killing fields of Cambodia, the crimes being committed in Rwanda, Vietnam, Serbia and many other battle fields before setting out on their own genocides. We say that to grow as a human race we need to learn from our history and do things differently but it just appears to be that as a joint collective we just seem to be finding new ways to kill each other. It is, as they say, ‘human nature’.

So just how much of a difference will teaching the children of Gaza about the Holocaust make? On a personal note, when I learned about the genocide of millions of people and how the other countries responded, it put my life into a whole new perspective. The world wasn’t the peaceful place that I was led to believe it was, but a mass killing field. But then I also learned of such people as Oskar Schindler, who saved over one thousand Jewish people from their untimely deaths, which reinstated my belief in the goodness of the human race. I think that such stories of hope and courage are just as vital to the teaching of human rights as the crimes themselves.

Did Britain pay off Gaddafi?

It has emerged that Britain offered Libya £14m to behave. Anne Bochow and Camille Lavoix explain

A

fter the liberation of Libya from the Italian fascists, the honeymoon with Britain didn’t last long. Colonel Gaddafi, who saw himself as the new Che Guevara, ran the country with an Islamic socialist ideology radically opposed to British ‘imperialism'.

The fact that the British army left thousands of landmines behind them didn’t exactly endear them to the Libyans and in the 1970’s Colonel Gaddafi found an opportunity to make some money, serve his principles and bother the British Government at the same time by selling arms to the IRA.

Britain offered money to one of the biggest financiers of terrorism So why have these issues come back to the surface now?

Well it has recently emerged that former Prime Minister Harold Wilson assumed that £14m would be enough

to get Gaddafi on his side. Indeed it checks a foreigner must undergo to has been revealed that Britain offered cross the British border, it’s hard to Gaddafi what worth £500m in today's believe that one can so easily hide money to end his sponsorship to the millions of arms.

Furthermore, the UK has enough IRA. What is most striking is that among power to make an impact on global all the other available options, such as politics, so why economic pressures, ending all politi- did Britain cal agreements or even aggressive a v o i d measures, Britain chose to give money the fight to a rogue state. And not just a rogue and just state but to one of the biggest finan- give in? ciers of international terrorism.

Could you imagine the US government giving money to Hamas in return for the cessation of its rebellion? This is not to say that ordering a bombing raid against the Colonel is the best solution. There are, however, plenty of other alternatives than simply giving money away.

Why did the British government intend to give the taxpayers money to Colonel Gaddafi instead of building schools or improving health care? To deal with the IRA problem Britain could have been a little bit more alert concerning the ships full of arms drawing alongside its coast. With all the COLONEL GADDAFI: Thorn in the side of Britain

What`s ironic is that the Colonel sniffed at the £14 m package and called the deal off.

The question that this boils down to is a simple one. When you vote, are you ready to choose a government which employs any means to reach its goal? Are you ready to close your eyes to the secret deals behind highly moral purposes like putting an end to IRA terrorist activities?

Or should we just go back to facebook and forget about the appalling methods our government use to solve global problems?

Pakistan's conditional aid: will it work?

O

n September 24 2009, the United States Congress passed a bill, dubbed the Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act of 2009 or the Kerry Lugar bill.

This bill will increase the USA's aid to its ally nation by $1.5 billion every year for the next five years. The funds will be provided to government as well as local non government organizations for boosting the economic and structural growth of the country and improving the efficiency and quality of its civic amenities. While most of the world may see this as just another helping hand, it is in fact another instance of the conditional aid that the Obama administration is dispensing.

The Bill sets various strict stipulations which the Pakistani government must adhere to if it wishes to benefit from the aid. According to the bill, the government must dismantle the training camps of terrorist groups present within its territories, must step up its counter terrorism and anti-money laundering measures in terms of intelligence sharing and cross border cooperation and dismantle its nuclear proliferation networks. Moreover, it will be subject to a six monthly aid disbursement review by Washington.

This American gesture has been opposed by many Pakistani officials and political institutions such as the Sindhi High Court and the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid, who have proclaimed it as insulting to the integrity and sovereignty of the nation.

They have argued that the acceptance of such a Bill would formalize Pakistan's dependency on the United States and that would reduce its global credibility down to a proxy-democracy. On the other hand, the Pakistani government has shown compliance to the Bill by recently amending its antiterrorism laws, where it increased the remand period of terror suspects from 30 to 90 days. However, the nation's Prime Minister has stuck to his statement that the government will only react once the bill has been officially signed by the US President, Barack Obama. Only after this will there be a debate within Pakistan on whether to accept the aid.

Many governments of the world have applauded the passing of the Bill since it will compel Pakistan to address the security and insurgency issues within its territories which are considered to be the hotbeds of the globe's most dangerous terror groups.

On the other hand, Pakistan is concerned about joining the club of American client states once it gives up its sovereignty for the promise of a better future. Only time will tell whether such a difficult decision will be made, and if it is, whether the outcomes will be what both sides consider to be in their best interests.

18 LETTERS

gairrhydd | LETTERS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY OCTOBER 05 2009

LETTERS 19

gairrhydd | LETTERS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY OCTOBER 12 2009

the Comments from the week’s news, opinion, features and sport at www.gairrhydd.com

I fought the law (school)

ment is at http://www.bailii.org/ew/ cases/EWHC/Admin/2009/2148.html JodieMane...

Rhys Jenkins...

This even made it into Private Eye! Any more news or clarifications as to the Eye’s claim that the University managed to spend £250,000 in fees fighting this case, or concerning their claim that this episode might have had it roots in a claim of racial discrimination against a student lodged against Dr Robin Wheeler?

Jamie...

The Eye’s story was comfortably the best account of the case – the Echo, Times, and Telegraph made a complete hash of it.

When Private Eye came out the issue of costs hadn’t yet been decided, so I think they were taking the estimated costs and assuming the Uni would pay. Not sure on that though.

The claim of the racial discrimination/Robin Wheeler connection related to Advanced Criminal Law, which the judge didn’t rule on. It had no connection to the Negotiation module.

However, the judge said it was impossible to tell where the truth was in that allegation because it was essentially one person’s word against the other.

If you’re interested, the full judge-

This case is not just about a BVC student arguing that she should have higher grades. It’s a case about unfairness and inequality in power.

Take the facts, this student spoke up for another student who was claiming discrimination on the basis of being Jewish.

It appears that she also wrote a letter to a Vice Chancellor supporting this statement.

Alice Clarke believing that she should have passed, went through the process that all students are told to that is the ‘check and balance’ system of education that is the University’s own external examiner, who surprise surprise, agreed with Jerram and Co that she had failed, she also went to the student union, the Bar Council, the University complaint procedure and the Independent Adjudicator before taking the case up via the court system.

Even when the University was told by the court’s external examiner that in fact Alice should have been awarded 70% and not the 40% awarded by Walsh they still failed her!

This is appalling and questions need to be asked why?

Also how many more students complained? How many were paid off? How many victims are there?

Pupils pay £10,000 fees to go on this course. Cardiff University should be stripped of the BVC because they do not deserve the extra income that it brings with it.

Oh by the way, the so called ‘cheating’ – the Cardiff BVC set an opinion writing coursework for past failed students and a closed opinion exam paper where current students did not know the question before the exam.

OK that sounds fine, however the coursework and the exam questions were the same.

The students with a coursework had no idea that the students with an exam would have the same question.

When this came alight the BVC tutors shouted cheating!!!

It was sheer laziness to set the same question for two different cohorts of students each paying £9000 each.

R C Molin...

Cardiff Uni confirmed via a freedom of information request that they have spent over £250,000 trying to fail Alice Clark, this is a sad fact and also they have confirmed that they have spent over £40,000 defending other claims from the same BVC year.

I suggest gair rhydd if it does its job properly finds out exactly what is going on and speaks up .. if it dares

forum

Jamie...

R C Molin – I’m not entirely sure what you mean by ‘if it dares’. gair rhydd will happily publish stories that embarrass the uni, as this piece surely shows – but if you have a source for the £250,000 claim I’d be interested to see it.

Turf war Thomas...

Is this the same Eddy Carey that “couldn’t have won the elections without Rough Hill”?

Very interesting.

Toby...

R C Molin...

Jamie the source is from a freedom of information request.

The request was made by Alice Clarke herself, actually Alice Clarke approached gair rhydd about this during the time , guess what? gair rhydd did not want to know.

Professor Palastanga wrote a report about Cardiff BVC and guess what? Nobody has seen it because it investigated students complaints of discrimination and abuse.

Why don’t you ask the BVC for a freedom of information request and for Prof Palastanga’s report?

Or find out how many students actually complained and how many complained of racial discrimination?

Jamie...

I’m really not sure what your ‘guess what?’ is trying to imply, but anyway, I wasn’t part of gair rhydd’s news team last year so don’t know why they wouldn’t have been interested in the story.

waa waa wiwaa?

Open invitation Matt Goolding...

I understand that improving awareness is important, but having two random students walk into your living room 'because your door wasn't locked' is a complete breach of privacy, and totally patronising... ...We are all, as a household, very angry at the fact they think they can do that. They are no better than us, and have no more awareness than us. For them to walk into our house uninvited to help lecture us is beyond belief... ...I realise it's an important campaign, but I think it could be done much better. It's not the problem of a threat, it's more the common privacy issue.

It is rude to walk into somebody's living room uninvited - whatever way you look at it.

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20 TAF-OD

gairrhydd | TAFOD@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY OCTOBER 12 2009

Pwllheli a Chaerdydd dipyn o wahaniaeth...

Symud o Bwllheli Pwllhalan ar arfordir Llyn, i Gaerdydd - y ddinas fawr gosmopolitan. O'r gogledd i'r de. Dyna i chi newid byd!

Non Mererid Jones Taf-od Writer

Ar ddydd Iau, yr ail ar bymtheg o Fedi, fe gychwynom ni o Bwllheli tua'r de ffordd 'cw.

Roeddwn i’n gyffro i gyd, yn dyheu am gael blas ar fywyd ddinesig.

Rhywbeth newydd a chyffrous.

Rhyddid. Ffreshars... Dyma ninnau'r teulu bach yn mynd dow-dow ar hyd yr A470 a minnau'n teimlo’n hyderus iawn ‘mod i’n ‘nabod Gaerdydd ar ôl yr Eisteddfod Genedlaethol a Maes B, yn mynnu wrth Mam a Dad o hyd ‘mod i’n gwybod lle i fynd, yn gwybod y cwbl - pan mewn gwirionedd yr unig lefydd roeddwn i’n eu cofio oedd

lleoliad yr Undeb a Primark...

Ond wedi i ni gyrraedd Llys Senghennydd, wedi i Dad agor y bwt, wedi i ni gario'r holl ddillad a'r esgidiau, yr holl blatiau a'r sosbenni, swps tomato rif y gwlith ac wrth gwrs Febreze i fy llofft... wedi i mi ddadbacio'r holl sdwff a rhoi trefn ar bopeth, yn dra disymwth dyma fo'n fy nharo i...

Nid oeddwn yma am wythnos yn unig megis aros ym Maes B, ac nid brêc bach hamddenol neis am y penwythnos oedd hyn. Ond, o'r dydd Iau hynny ymlaen, CF24 fyddai fy nghôd post ac nid LL53, ac er fod pythefnos wedi gwibio heibio ers i mi gyrraedd, rhyfedd iawn yw yngan y geiriau mai Caerdydd yw fy nghartref newydd i!

Rhaid i mi ddweud, roeddwn i'n

eitha' nerfus am yr holl annibyniaeth yr oedd bywyd fel myfyrwraig yng Nghaerdydd yn ei gynnig.

Y poen meddwl ar y cychwyn...

“Be' 'na i am fwyd a minnau wedi llosgi sosbenni yn yr ysgol a rhoi meicrowêf ar dân ers talwm wrth geisio cynhesu crempog? Be' 'na i am bres a Topshop a Primark jest rownd y gornel?” Anodd.

Ond, mae bod yn fyfyrwraig yn y brifysgol wedi fy ngorfodi i i feddwl yn gall - yn gwneud i mi feddwl dros fy hun, ac yn fy nysgu i yn ara' bach i fod yn synhwyrol efo pres a ballu.

Petha' call fel 'na, megis hunanddisgyblaeth.

Ond dyna'r petha' diflas, mae'n debyg.

Heb os nac oni bai, y profiadau gorau y mae bod yn fyfyrwraig yng Nghaerdydd wedi'i gynnig i mi yw'r profiadau, wrth gwrs, a gefais yn ystod wythnos y glas.

Ffreshars! Wythnos y Glas. Wythnos gwyllt, gwallgo', gwirion.

Meddwi a mwynhau yng nghwmni fy ffrindiau newydd (a'r hen griw hefyd).

Mae'r sîn gymdeithasol a’r bywyd nos yng Nghaerdydd yn anhygoel.

Mwynheais yn arw gymdeithasu a mwydro yn Senghennydd, yn crwydro o'r naill fflat i'r llall - yn aml cyn mynd ymlaen i'r clybiau mawr, adnabyddus megis Oceana, Walkabout a Tiger Tiger.

Yno mi ddawnsiais yn fy sodlau

poenus o uchel tan y bore bach. Mi fues i'n 'joio yn y tafarndai ac mewn sawl Wetherspoons. Canmoliaeth i Glwb Ifor hefyd!

Un profiad gwych a gefais sydd yn wir haeddu mensh bach yw Crôl Teulu y Gym Gym. Dyna i chi noson lloerig... a rhywsut, roeddwn i dal ar fy nhraed (er yn sigledig efallai ac yn canu gormod) ar y diwedd.

Cyfle da iawn i ddod i adnabod pawb o bob man.

Wel, dyna ni. Ffreshars drosodd a'r gwaith Cymraeg a Ffrangeg yn dechrau pentyrru'n slo' bach.

Ond nid dyna fydd ei diwedd hi. O naci. Yn wir, bobl, mae yma hwyl i'w gael yng Nghaerdydd.

SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENT 21

gairrhydd | SCIENCE@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY OCTOBER 12 2009

The power of chocolate

Science suggests that the feel-good hormones triggered by the sweet treat actually make it good for your health...

Priya Raj Science and Environment

Chocolate. Say it slowly and it sounds almost as good as it tastes. ! " # $ # " % & from the cocoa bean, chocolate has always been considered a food of pleasure, something to enjoy on occasion as a special treat.

But now there is increasing evidence and research into the potential health benefits this divine food may have to offer.

Humans have consumed chocolate for more than 2000 years. It was first discovered by the ancient peoples of Mexico and Central America, where the cocoa tree (technically known as Theobroma Cacao) grew in the local rainforests.

The cocoa was used to fight parasites, heal snakebites, and as a general antiseptic.

The Maya people of the area harvested cacao beans from trees that grew wild in the rain forest, and went on to farm them in what became the first known cocoa plantations. Later on, Spanish conquistadors took the seeds of the cacao tree to Spain.

The popularity of drinking chocolate soon spread throughout Europe and varia-

tions were developed, altering its texture and flavour.

In the early Victorian era, a technique was devised to make chocolate solid. From then its popularity as a confectionary soared.

It would take 25lbs of chocolate to achieve a similar high to that of marijuana It is important to remember that chocolate and cocoa are two different terms and are not interchangeable.

Cocoa is the non-fat component of cocoa liquor (finely ground cocoa beans) which is used in chocolate making or as cocoa powder (commonly 12% fat) for cooking and drinks. Cocoa liquor contains approximately 55% cocoa butter and together this comprises cocoa solids, often referred to on chocolate packaging. Chocolate refers to the combination of cocoa, cocoa butter, sugar, etc. into a solid food product.

Cocoa is rich in molecules called polyphenols, similar to those present in green tea.

Those compounds of specific interest are flavanols (also known as flavan-3- ols or catechins).

Flavanols are a subclass of flavonoids

are,

which in

turn, a subclass of polyphenols.

In 1996, a letter was published describing an experiment that was to create a whole new area of nutrition and health.

It was Waterhouse and his colleagues who extracted polyphenols from commercial cocoa and chocolate. They discovered the flavonoids present to be powerful antioxidants (a group of molecules aimed at protecting cells against damaging molecules produced as a result of environmental exposures).

Antioxidants are thought to be effective in helping to prevent cancer, heart disease and stroke.

This was the first publication to state that the action and content of polyphenols from cocoa meant that it could be considered as a dietary source of antioxidants.

It was ten years later a group of scientists discovered the predominant antioxidant present to be procyanidin. In addition the researchers found natural cocoa powders (in dark chocolate) contained the highest levels of such antioxidants with milk based chocolate containing the least amount of cocoa solids and thus fewer antioxidants.

This simplified description of dark and milk chocolate is complicated by the fact that polyphenols can be destroyed during the processing of the raw cocoa depending on the manufacturing methods used.

So a chocolate may contain 70% cocoa solids but due to processing only contain the same content of polyphenols as a normal milk chocolate.

How would a consumer know that the dark chocolate they are buying is a good source of polyphenols?

Unfortunately, there is no easy way of telling.

Chocolate is also capable of affecting the brain via the release of neurotransmitters.

Neurotransmitters are the molecules that transmit signals between neurons.

T h e amounts of particular neurotransmitters we have at any given time can have a great impact on our mood.

Happy neurotransmitters such as endorphins and other opiates can help to reduce stress and lead to feelings of euphoria.

As connections between neurons, they are released from the pre-synaptic membrane and travel across the synaptic clef to react with receptors in the post-synaptic membrane.

Receptors are specified to react with particular molecules which can trigger different responses in the connected neurons. The proper neurotransmitter can trigger certain emotions.

Eating chocolate increases the levels of endorphins released into the brain, giving credence to the claim that chocolate is a comfort food. The endorphins work to lessen pain and decrease stress.

Another common neurotransmitter affected by chocolate is serotonin.

Serotonin is known as an anti-depressant. One of the chemicals which causes the release of serotonin is tryptophan found in, among other things, chocolate.

One of the more unique neurotrans-

mitters released by chocolate is phenylethylamine.

This so called "chocolate amphetamine" causes changes in blood pressure and blood-sugar levels leading to feelings of excitement and alertness.

It works like amphetamines to increase mood and decrease depression, but it does not result in the same tolerance or addiction.

Another interesting compound found in chocolate is the lipid anandamide.

Anandamide is unique due to its resemblance to THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), a chemical found in marijuana.

Both activate the same receptor which causes the production of dopamine, a neurotransmitter which leads to feelings of well being that people associate with a high.

Anandamide, found naturally in the brain, breaks down very rapidly.

Besides adding to the levels of anandamide, chocolate also contains two other chemicals which work to slow the breakdown of the anandamide, thus extending the feelings of well-being.

Even though the anandamide in chocolate helps to create feelings of elation, the effect is not the same as the THC in marijuana. THC reacts with receptors more widely dispersed in the brain and is present in much larger amounts. It would take twentyfive pounds of chocolate to achieve a similar high to that of marijuana.

Chocolate is predominantly a food for pleasure, and many people incorporate it into part of a healthy, varied and balanced diet.

However, there is controversy over whether it should be recommended for its health benefits.

It is also difficult establish how much chocolate and what type to recommend for such health benefits.

Until there is greater information regarding the long term effects of chocolate on our health, it is best to consume in moderation.

22 JOBS & MONEY

gairrhydd | JOBS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY OCTOBER 12 2009

Cardiff Alumni opens exclusive city centre club

Jobs and Money speak to DJ Moniz - a business graduate and owner of Cardiff's newest nightclub, The 411 Bar Katie Greenway Jobs and Money Editor

boasting a 15,000 person capacity.

Cardiff Alumni brings us the newest, hottest and most exclusive of Cardiff Bars. The 411 Bar and Club which resides on St Mary Street brings Cardiff its own little New York glam corner.

With its incredible interior design and beautiful clientele it is certainly the place to be.

DJ Moniz is an experienced and established DJ and has gone international by playing in Prague, Ibiza, Copenhagen and Slovenia. He has made history by playing the first ever hip hop set in Ibiza’s Amnesia nightclub in 2007 and has also played in the Worlds biggest nightclub, Privilege,

What did you study at Cardiff?

I originally went to Kingston University to study Politics and I then came to Cardiff in 2000 to study Postgraduate Business.

What experiences led you to opening a night club in Cardiff?

Music is my life, I love to make music on the decks or on my piano, it is my passion. This is the first time that I have spent the summer in the UK for a long time as I’ve been playing Amnesia and Privilege in Ibiza for the past four summers.

Where did it all start for you?

A new venue opened in Cardiff called Number 10 which had a re-

stricted guest list and it was a real upmarket club. I DJ'd there for two years and I suppose that’s where it started.

Why did you choose Cardiff to open your first club?

We had looked at places in Kingston and Bristol but I felt that Cardiff needed something extra, a place where people could network and where we could provide all round entertainment, good security and top class staff.

How difficult was it to open the nightclub with regards to funding, licences, etc?

Hard work. I needed to take exams and I think you need to be able to network. You need to consider everything like decorating, hiring staff, themes, and so on.

You have mentioned that 411 Bar is exclusive, for VIPs and professionals, but have you organised anything for Cardiff students so they can enjoy your club too?

Thursdays are customised for students; our ‘So Addictive?' night has a cheaper menu, electro and house tunes and DJ Big Al from Kiss FM. Why ‘411’?

411 is what’s happening, what’s new, what’s fresh and 411 Bar is exactly that. I have access to Def Jam record pools and many others which hold unreleased new material and I play a lot from there. When people want a great night out and want to hear the best and freshest tunes out there I want them to think ‘411 Bar will have it’.

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The opening on September 24 was a huge success and full of VIPs. Are you able to name drop?

There were a few presenters and rugby players but I don’t like to name drop because I am trying to create an environment where these people can have a beautiful night and feel relaxed.

Bar 411 is now open on St Mary Street and it is killer. It brings a new concept of clubbing to Cardiff, of exclusivity, great service and excellent tunes.

With its all star cast and perfect, glamorous atmosphere there is no doubt that Bar 411 will be the hottest pocket of Cardiff; so be there.

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gairrhydd | NEWS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY SEPTEMBER 14 2009

NEWS 05

24 LISTINGS

Listen to Listings This week sees the launch of CLUB NME right here in Cardiff! There have been so many rumours surrounding the arrival of one of the best indie nights in the UK, but all has been announced. It will be held at the stunning Buffalo Bar (Windsor Place) with great drinks deals. Entry is FREE, but only for members of CLUB NME CARDIFF which annoyingly costs a fiver. Not a bad deal though as you get discounted clothes at Topshop/Topman and Hobos. There is talk of a Patrick Wolf gig on the horizon, along with La Roux, Autokratz and the pop-tastic Passion Pit. There is a massive buzz about this and it is guaranteed to sell out. Expect indie/electro remixes and hoards of trendies. Wow! Alternative music is definitely on the cards this week with the amazing Bat For Lashes performing her magical music at the Great Hall this Friday. She has produced one of the greatest albums and has had sensational reviews for her live dates so far. Support is from the critically acclaimed Yeasayer. A Brooklandbased psychedelic/alternative/indie/ soul band made up of Anand Wilder, Chris Keating, Ira Wolf Tuton and Luke Fasano – think the Fleetwood Macs of this world, alongside a smattering of other plastic-sleeved LPs you might have flicked through as a kid while your dad's back was turned.

gairrhydd | LISTINGS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY OCTOBER 12 2009

YOUR INDEPENDENT LISTINGS GUIDE Mondayy M

12th October FUN FACTORY, Solus, Free If you like it alternative, if you like it rocking, and most of all, if you like it loud then there is only one thing for it – and that’s Fun Factory. Comprising a playlist including the likes of System of a Down, Kasabian, Foo Fighters, Rage Against the Machine, Reel Big Fish and Biffy Clyro.

RECYCLED WITH LOVE, Buffalo, £3 To celebrate the opening of Recycled with Love, the girls from the shop will be selling the best of their selection and fulfilling all your recycled fashion needs. Expect a great selection of vintage clothes, beautifully handmade clothes, bags and accessories.

VODKA ISLAND, Tiger tiger, £4 There isn’t a huge amount on, so… Tiger Tiger?

- Gossip Girl would be proud, whoever he/she is. Vodka Island is a standard student night out; cheap entry, cheap drinks, cheap people.

ALUN COCHRANE, St David’s Hall, £12 A tall, gangly Northerner who delivers his own brand of no-nonsense humour. He has made appearances on 'Just A Minute', ' Have I Got News For You', 'Mock The Week' and 'Nevermind The Buzzcocks'.

Tuesday

Wednesday

13th October

14th October

JUST DANCE, Clwb Ifor Bach £3 This night just keeps on getting better. Absolute, full on fun! Clwb certainly know how to do their pop... Tuesdays have been known for the wierd but wonderful nights, and this concoction of dancing tunes.

CLUB NME CARDIFF, Buffalo, FREE CLUB NME has finally arrived in our great city. Bringing the latest indie music fused with the best electro and dance. This is the grand opening so expect great things. Entry is free with membership (available on the door).

HAMMERTIME, Barfly, £2 If you like cheese, if you like pop, if you like dancing – go here. This is the funnest, most unashameable night out in town. Bringing you 90s classics from 5ive, Spice Girls (before they got all serious), Backstreet Boys, Will Smith and Hanson.

SUPA SUPA, Barfly, £1 The latest dubset bass hooks and the newest electro treats! Slammin’ out on this Wednesday at Barfly. Huge!

BUFFALO BOUTIQUE, Buffalo, £TBA A night out with a difference! Shop for vintage and retro ladies and gents clothes and accessories, at affordable prices, while listening to good music and enjoying 2-for-1 cocktails.

From cute skirts anddresses to crazy jumpers in sizes 6-18, there's something for everyone.

JETSET, Glam, £4 Brand new night at Glam. Although the aesthetics of Glam are very impressive (along with the soundsystem), we've yet to have a good night there. However, this night does look to be doing its best to reach out and be a little different from the usual student night out.

MY FIRST TOOTH, Buffalo, £6 Their emotional alt-folk/country takes the Wilco expansive route, lushly decorated with pedal steel, harmonica, horns and strings, fitting in just as well with the post-Neutral Milk Hotel party (Decemberists, Okkervil River) and topped by Ross Witt's yearning vocals LASH, Solus, £3 Another year, another re-brand for the Wednesdays at Solus. As well as chart and cheese, expect games on the stage so filthy that the changing room showers don’t stand a chance.

Make sure you don’t miss what could be the best team bonding session of the week.

If you want a more relaxing week after the mayhem that Bedlam and Shout Out Loud have brought over the last few weeks, then the Chapter have some great films and shows on. Check out the entire listings at: www.chapter.org/ whatson/index.html

Students’ Union, Park Place, 02920 387421 www.cardiffstudents.com ! Med Club, Neuadd Meirionydd, Heath Park 02920 744948 ! Clwb Ifor Bach ros, Bakers Row 02920 399939 www.clubmetropolitan.com ! Dempseys, Castle Street 02920 252024 ! Move, 7 Mill Lane 02920 225592 !

Jazz, 21 St. Mary Street 02920 387026 www.cafejazzcardiff.com ! The Riverbank Hotel, Despenser Street www.riverbankjazz.co.uk ! St. David’s Hall, Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay 0870 0402000 www.wmc.org.uk ! The New Theatre, Park Place 02920 878889 www.newtheatrecardiff.co.uk ! The Cardiff International Arena, Mary Ann Street 02920 224488 ! The Millennium Stadium Can’t miss it. www.millenniumstadium.com ! Tiger Tiger

LISTINGS 25

gairrhydd | LISTINGS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY OCTOBER 12 2009

Thursday

15th October BOUNCE, Walk Walkabout, £ £2

Friday

16th October

about, 2 BAT FOR LASHES, Great Hall, £17 Sublimely twisted folk made up of pianos, ZOMBIES, The Globe, £ £15 and wistful electronics, THE ZOMBIES 1 guitars, harpsichords 5 The Z Zombies he had om big hi hits w with cclassic T ha bi dg tssongs l i sbi aongs tembellished h s by e the s transcendent s i c voice of the She's N Not T There Time Ofm T The Khan. Surrounded by myth iincluding nc S he l aand ot Ti udi he nd O ' s beautiful f rhee Natasha nge Season. C Colin Blunstone's hits Say n t and S eB aol ssolol hi s ol iinclude uns ion. ncS o salegend,l largely yt udecreated one by Khan herself, Don't M Mind aandon' Caroline Goodbye, Bat for Lashes are more You D C nd iG and aand rtoodbye ndol i than nejust music.

Rod A Argent hits Hold Your t e ol R ge iis od ffamed s r ffor a ssolo ntorhi m olH o s d d Head Up and God Gave Rock & Roll To You. BOOMBOX, Solus, £3 THE NOISETTES, Great Hall, £11.50 Boombox continues its impressive special Furious jazz-punk from this London-based guest DJ slots with the electro-pop sensation, trio. The Noisettes fuse punk, rock’n’roll and Esser. Expect the usual neon-playground that jazz to make glitzy, charismatic music, which has sold out every week so far. Get your tickets shimmers beneath singer Shingai’s incredibly in advance to avoid missing out on THE Fririch and powerful vocals. day night out. This event is in association with Xpress Radio.

SIC ALPS, Buffalo, £5 Sic Alps are artisans of the highest order -- for their music is the bright, surging sound of ye olde rock and roll radio (and the garages that tuned in), but heard through air darkened with specks of nameless obstruction.

Saturday

17th October

Sunday

18th October

ASSOCIATED MINDS Vs HIGHER LEARNING VS MUTTYWANGO, The Globe, £6 FEAT KYZA + DJ NONAMES, DUB, BLEDGE, BEATBOX FOZZY, METABEATS + CHROME KIDS. This looking like a great Saturday ' s night out, as long as The Globe is still open. ,

EIGHTIES MATCHBOX: B-LINE DISASTER, Barfly, £9 Brighton lads playing crazed amphetamine psychobilly. The guitars are loud, primitive and classic-sounding; the drums rub shoulders boisterously with the bass - and the wafer-thin singer Guy McKnight does everything but bleed for their musical cause.

COME PLAY, Cardiff Students' Union, £3.50 It’s Saturday night and that only means one thing – it's time for Come Play. As one of the few places to go on a Saturday without making your wallet weep coin shaped tears, you will probably bump into all your friends from Uni, get too drunk and dance.

FULL FAT ANTISOCIAL, 10 Feet Tall, £ THE FULL FAT ANTI-SOCIAL presents an alternative night of quality drinks and music for party people on a Sunday and takes place across 3 bars!! Mr Smiths, 10 Feet Tall and Buffalo Bar!

CYNT, Clwb Ifor Bach, £3 The weekly rave-up in Clwb is back in full motion after the stutter start due to massive launch nights filling up the past few dates. If you liked the SMD gig and are looking forward to Deadmau5, CYNT is still the hottest place to be.

(The Welsh Club), 11 Womanby Street 02920 232199 www.clwb.net ! Barfly, Kingsway, Tickets: 08709070999 www.barflyclub.com/cardiff ! MetIncognito, Park Place 02920 412190 ! Liquid, St. Mary Street 02920645464 ! The Philharmonic, 76-77 St. Mary Street 02920 230678 ! Café The Hayes 02920 878444 www.stdavidshallcardiff.co.uk ! Chapter Arts Centre, Market Road, Canton 02920 304400 www.chapter.org ! Wales Sherman Theatre, Senghennydd Road 02920 646900 www.shermantheatre.co.uk ! The Glee Club, Mermaid Quay 0870 2415093 www.glee.co.uk !

Greyfriar's Road 02920 391944 www.tigertiger.co.uk ! Tommy’s Bar, Howard Gardens (off Newport Road) 02920 416192 !

26 XPRESS

gairrhydd | XPRESS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY OCTOBER 05 2009

FIVE MINUTE FUN 27

gairrhydd | FMF@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY OCTOBER 12 2009

crossword. sudoku.

EASY

MEDIUM

Across

Down

1. Shaped like a ring (7) 5. Adjust (7) 9. Consisting of pictures (9) 10. Not over (5) 11. Responses (7) 12. Invade in great numbers (7) 13. A poisonous agaric (9) 15. Wedding helper (5) 17. Possibly (5) 19. Deformed (9) 22. Podium (7) 25. Temporary (7) 26. Lifeless (5) 27. 6 points in football (9) 28. Fiscal shortfall (7) 29. Greatest possible degree (7)

1. A dark bituminous substance (7) 2. Essential (9) 3. The Queen of the jungle? (7) 4. Thundershower (9) 5. A large stringed instrument (5) 6. French for "New" (7) 7. Command (5) 8. Sailor (7) 14. Lethargy (9) 16. Exaggeration (9) 17. Joined in matrimony (7) 18. Unpredictable (7) 20. A small ax (7) 21. Candidate (7) 23. Bundle (5) 24. Choral work (5)

HARD

40 SPORT

THE WORD ON - SPORT 29 Robbie Wells has the word on Rio's recent TOP FIVE...

Olympic Olympic bid triumph and the difficulties ahead scandals 1. gairrhydd | SPORT@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY OCTOBER 12 2009

One hundred and twenty years of modern Olympic Games will have gone before the famous torch finally resides in South America; home to arguably the world’s most sport-crazy fanatics.

Facing competition from Madrid, Tokyo and Chicago, not too many put Rio as a favourite to host the 2016 Olympics.

In truth, this was a vast underestimation of the attraction that Brazil had in persuading the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to plump for them. Just imagine it now; the sun beating down on the glistening sea, providing the backdrop to the volleyball final on Copacabana beach.

Maybe even Barry Manilow crooning in the background? Who could ask for much more? Surely not Obama.

That was one hundred and eleven words before the world’s most powerful man was mentioned, as he inevitably would be. As the first sitting president of the United States to speak in front of the IOC, his appearance was largely expected to be the sprinkles on the cake to round off a predictable victory for Chicago. However, his somewhat unpopular decision to fly four thousand miles and put on hold struggles with the economy, health reform and Afghanistan for a silly little sporting event, left him with a double yolk on his face, as his campaigning couldn’t even see Chicago through the first round of voting. The Eurovision of the sporting world made its vote, and unfortunately for Barack, the panel, almost half of which is made up of Europeans, voted against him. The man was never going to come out of it well; taking five whole hours out of U.S. politics has tarnished his popularity back home, whilst the IOC felt disrespected by his brief presence.

So with the long time favourite for

Fred Lorz won the marathon in 1904, but was ratted out by spectators for taking a ride in his manager's car 9 miles in.

2.

Scientists mystified at paper rain the Games and easy choice in terms of financial security gone, Madrid and Rio became the main contenders. With the experience of coming so close in the two previous years, the Madrid bid looked a safe bet.

To defeat three countries that are more developed and who had each held previous Games represented a massive coup Unfortunately for the Spanish, they were unable to tap into the IOC’s conscience with regard to the complete imbalance that in twenty-nine Olympic Games not one had been or would

Obama: Didn't go the extra mile and fell at the first hurdle

be held in the continent of South America. No doubt right now Nelson Mandela and a penguin are putting forth their respective cases for the Olympics to be held on their respective continents.

It was very much upon this basis that Rio is the deserved host of the 2016 Olympics. With not one Olympic event in South America, it did seem entirely greedy for America, which has hosted four Games and Japan and Spain, who have each hosted one, to claim that they were more deserving of the honour.

To defeat three countries that are more developed and that have each held previous Games represented a massive coup, and will only help to improve the rapidly improving Brazilian economy.

After hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and then the Olympics two years later, Brazil expects to find itself with the fifth largest economy in the world, according to the World Bank.

Now, just bear with me whilst I remove my rose tinted sunglasses, because this sunny outlook is a bit clouded in risk. The IOC were well aware that although we are in a time of economic difficulty, the chances are that by 2016 we’ll be long past it, and so taking the safe financial option in Chicago was not really as necessary as some suggested. But considering Brazil’s economic surge, the fact is that millions of its citizens are still living in severe poverty. Crime in Rio is commonplace, with two thousand children kept out of school earlier this month whilst Brazilian authorities conducted a drugs raid on a slum,

which resulted in a shoot out that killed over a dozen traffickers. I realise that all of this may seem rather hypocritical considering that East London will play host to the biggest sporting event in the world come 2012, but there’s a limit. The homicide rate in the capital city is over three times that of its other competitors for the Games. Add to this the concern that there is no clear plan for how athletes will get around or where people will sleep and that penguin is beginning to fancy its chances in 2020.

Millions of Brazilians are still living in severe poverty and crime is commonplace Is it not a complete mockery of having a campaign whereby countries put forth their respective merits when the decision is ultimately going to be made on a geographical basis? Not really. If the decision was based on financial terms alone America would win every four years, and development in Brazil could only go so far.

So whilst the U.S. population may decry Obama for wasting his time on an insignificant sporting competition, the people of Rio are probably still sambaing now, because they are aware of the difference it can make.

They probably also know that it means they’ve got football gold tied up for two consecutive touraments.

In 1960 and 1964 Irina and Tamara Press won 5 Olympic golds, but conveniently retired when they were accused of being men.

3.

In 1972, Russia lost the basketball final to the US by one point, only for the clock to be reset. The US held out, but a further 5 seconds was added. Russia stole the game 51-50. Gutted.

4.

A second appearance for this one, but Tonya Harding getting her husband to attack her competitor's knees before the figure skating final had to be included.

5.

After taking some stick from the Moscow crowd in 1980, Wladyslaw Kozakiewicz decided to taunt them back as he collected gold. What a class act.

30 SPORT - THE WARM UP Previews in brief ENGLAND V WALES This week sees the big one in terms of international football fixtures; England versus Wales. The rivalry will be reignited in the first game of this year’s Victory Shield, held at the home of football, Huish Park.

It may only be the under 16s, but that really doesn’t mean that there will be any lack of passion on show. England romped this tournament last year (as they have done for the past 8 years in fact), with three victories over the home nations. It is the first chance for young players to display their talent on the international stage, and previous tournaments have seen the likes of Wayne Rooney, Joe Cole and Jermain Defoe grace the field. More recently, young starlets Jack Rodwell, Danny Wellbeck and Danny Rose have been

gairrhydd | SPORT@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY OCTOBER 12 2009

Tom Bevan looks ahead to the Brazilian Grand Prix where Jenson Button aims to become World Champion Next Sunday will see the penultimate race of the Formula One season: the Brazilian Grand Prix in Sao Paulo. It’s an occasion which could potentially decide the drivers’ World Championship for the fifth consecutive year, with Jenson Button requiring six more points than his nearest rival to secure the title. However, bearing in mind the erratic nature of the current campaign, a look at all possible outcomes at Interlagos is highly recommended.

Despite a stuttering end to his championship challenge, Button is generally fancied to do well in Brazil.

No one driver has really exploited the Englishman’s shortcomings, which have become increasingly apparent in the second half of the season. And considering the mammoth 14-point lead, which he’s now carrying over his nearest rival, it was no surprise to see the Brit in high spirits following his fortuitous drive in Japan.

Yet it must be emphasised how much damage could be done to Jenson’s lead in Sao Paulo. Six points are required from the final two races in order to become Britain’s ninth F1 World Champion, yet this is required

from a man who has managed just one podium finish since winning the Turkish Grand Prix in early June. It wouldn’t be especially surprising to see Button finish towards the lower end of the points, as he has done in almost every race since Istanbul.

So, if Button does choke at the Interlagos circuit who will prosper?

Many peoples’ choice, considering events in Japan last weekend, is Sebastian Vettel. The German had a flawless race on Sunday and will be bolstered by a Red Bull team eager to maximise what is already one of the fastest cars in F1. However, if Vettel is to pose any challenge whatsoever to Button, not only is a podium finish in Brazil needed, but he must then secure a top three finish in Abu Dhabi a fortnight later, all the while hoping Button collects no points. To put it another way, if Button collects five world championship points from the remaining two races of the season, it becomes mathematically impossible for Vettel to be crowned champion, even if the German wins both Grands Prix.

Intriguingly, Vettel is being touted as Button’s main challenger despite the fact Rubens Barrichello is two points ahead of the German in the

championship standings. A reason for this can be found by considering the teams each driver is bound to. Button and Barrichello, for all intents and purposes are working with equal machinery provided by Brawn GP, whereas Vettel is powered by the Red Bull Renault and will most likely have the fastest engine on the grid for both Brazil and Abu Dhabi. His teammate Mark Webber, who is no longer a championship contender, will be doing all in his power to aid the Red Bull cause, and may have a key role in depriving Brawn GP of winning both World Championships.

The championship is Button’s to lose... it has been for the last four months But to dismiss Barrichello would be rash. The Brazilian is the most experienced driver in Formula One history and is the only contender who has displayed anything resembling consistency throughout the season.

Interlagos will be a pit of patriotism

part of successful England teams.

No doubt the next big thing will be on show and it will be interesting to see which team he will be on. The first game of the Victory Shield is Thursday the 15th. This may be as good a chance as any for Wales to beat the English at football, and for that reason alone, it is compulsory viewing.

GYMNASTICS From 13th to 18th October the World Gymnastics Championships will be held in London for the first time, writes Joe Davies. Being held at the O2, the championships will give a strong indication of which world-class gymnasts will be defending their positions in 2012, and who will be the rising stars that will challenge them.

Brian Stocks, CEO of British Gymnastics, commented: “Beijing 2008… put British Gymnastics right back on the map. We saw both the established stars and the talent of tomorrow make their mark. The World Gymnastics Championships at The O2… will be the perfect chance to see how our talent is developing ahead of the London Olympics in 2012. The O2 is a state of the art venue with great site lines and the public will have the very best experience when seeing the world’s best perform.”

come Sunday afternoon, and a look at Felipe Massa’s record of two wins out of the last three races in Sao Paulo tells you what effect the fans have on their compatriot drivers. If Button does trip up in Brazil, you can expect Rubens to catch up drastically in the points and set up a tense finish in Abu Dhabi.

While Button is undoubtedly the championship favourite, the event of a driver coming back from a major points deficit to clinch the title is nothing new. Two years ago Kimi Raikkonen was seventeen points adrift of championship leader Lewis Hamilton with two Grands Prix remaining, and miraculously managed to sneak through and take the championship. The fact that the feat has been achieved so recently, and with a greater points deficit than either Barrichello or Vettel are under, is encouraging.

But the bottom line is that the championship is Button’s to lose, as it has been for the last four months. In that time no other driver has come close to challenging him in the standings and the truth is that a driver doing so at this stage of the season is unlikely. Whether Button deserves to succeed in Brazil, and in turn win the championship, after such a charm less second half of the season (he probably does not) is irrelevant. History cares not for the method in which champions succeed. That being said, when preparing to watch the Brazilian GP. consider that before this season Button had won just a solitary race – the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix – despite him competing in F1 for almost a decade.

The man is by no means invincible, and Brazil could just prove to be the turning point of the season for Vettel or Barrichello.

When to watch on the BBC: Friday October 16: First Practice: 1300-1430 - red button Second Practice: 1700-1830 - red button Saturday October 17: Third Practice: 1400-1500 - red button Qualifying: 1715-1915 - BBC1 Saturday October 18: Race: 1600-1900 - BBC1 Interactive forum: 1900-2000 - red button Highlights: 2100-2200 - BBC3

BUTTON: Hasn't won since Istanbul in June

Brazilian GP: Editors' predictions as season reaches climax Joe Davies: After "predicting" last week that the Scarlets will win the Heineken Cup, you're probably expecting me to predict that Jaime Alguersuari in the Torro Rosso will take the chequered flag at Interlagos. My tip is Hamilton to win - as Vettel will likely be given an engine-change penalty - and Button to clinch the title, by virtue of Barrichello not reducing his deficit in the title race to nine points or less before Abu Dhabi.

Lucy Morgan: My knowledge of F1 is somewhat limited so I may be a tad inaccurate in my prediction this week.

However, despite his recent struggle to retain his lead, I’m going for a Jenson Button victory this weekend. If he can get a good qualifier, surely he will be in with great chance of grabbing the title? It would certainly be nice to see a Brit claim the title once again!

Adam Horne: My money’s on Kazuki Nakajima, which will explain why I’m so skint. I think that for once he wont crash out of a race. It’s finally his time, he WILL finally win his first ever grand prix without his car falling apart in the process. I do believe that Button will eventually win the championship, but just can't see it happening this weekend.

Robbie Wells: This season in F1 has been almost impossible to predict from race to race. I would imagine that the Maclarens should fare well here, but just when everyone expects a Hamilton win, and some more chipping away at the lead by Barrichello, I am going to plump for a return to form for the bearded one. Button has struggled for a long time, but with the title for the taking in Brazil, his focus should be sharp.

FEATURE - SPORT 31

gairrhydd | SPORT@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY OCTOBER 12 2009

Adam Horne speaks to a former Cardiff University student looking to change football for good through his 'one game for all' campaign If you thought the days of Ron Atkinson and casual racism in football were gone, think again.

Whilst huge efforts have been made in the UK to tackle the issue of racism in sport, it appears other countries are struggling to tackle the problem.

You only need to look at numerous major incidents in past years to see what sort of impact racist behaviour has on sport.

In 1995 Eric Cantona famously attacked a fan after he was racially abused, while more recently Zinedine Zidane was sent off in the 2006 World Cup final for head butting Marco Materazzi after the Italian made comments about the Zidane’s family roots.

Some fans sunk low enough to taunt Avram Grant on the anniversary of the holocaust, whilst anti-Semitic letters and death threats from supposed Chelsea fans were sent to him and Jewish club owner Roman Abramovich.

It’s a shame to see such behaviour from both fans and players alike, which is why it was so refreshing to hear that a former student from Cardiff University took steps to helping abolish racist behaviour in football.

Dan Tennant-Ralphs started the ‘one game for all, without racism’ campaign two years ago whilst studying at Cardiff. Since graduating last year he has taken his campaign overseas to Spain where he has gained support from some of football’s biggest stars including Xabi Alonso, Fernando Torres and Cesc Fabregas, as well as gaining backing from star’s in the UK including Arsenal’s Theo Walcott, Aston Villa’s James Milner and former England manager Sven Goran Eriksson.

Cardiff University should be proud that one of it's students has taken steps to rid sport of such a problem EUROS FC: where the campaign started In conjunction with another campaign, ‘show racism the red card’, Dan set up ‘one game for all’ along with his IMG football team Euros FC in a

gair rhydd Sport show their support

bid to spread the message about the appalling state of modern football.

“I wanted to start the campaign because I have always been a big football fan and have heard about occasions when players have been subjected to racial abuse which I find abhorrent.”

Dan may have graduated and left Cardiff but his message has remained strong and his old team, Euros FC are continuing to support his campaign this season.

Commenting on Dan’s work and outstanding efforts, current team captain Chris Tarquini said, “We are proud to be part of the 'one game for all' campaign, a philosophy that influences every dimension of the team.

Our former captain, Dan TennantRalphs in particular has been active in helping lead the fight against racism

in football.”

I heard about some occasions where players had been subjected to racial abuse. I find it abhorrent As a university, it should fill us with pride that a student from Cardiff has taken such steps to rid the apparently not so wonderful game of football of one of it’s major flaws which is exactly why the gair rhydd are pledging our support for Dan and his campaign.

For those of you who would also like to get involved and help Dan broaden his campaign further you can get in touch with him through his Facebook group ‘one game for all, without racism’ Dan does however concede that there will always be a minority of ignorant fans who will never be turned by any anti-racism campaign, but insists that in Britain we can be proud that we have made attempts to rid the sport of racism while other countries in Europe have lacked such a response.

With your support Dan’s campaign can take another step to solving this major problem in sport.

Adam Horne looks at whats going wrong with the 'Respect' campaign It seems to have become a familiar sight in modern football. With every new season comes the introduction of some new campaign based around respect or player behaviour, basically anything designed to ‘clean up’ the game.

This year was no different, when, in August the FA kicked off the season with their brand new ‘Respect’ campaign. According to official figures over 7000 referee’s and match officials quit every year due to abuse from players and fans.

The FA decided to tackle this problem by employing actor Ray Winstone to be the face of their new campaign in a series of adverts designed to raise awareness of their newest idea.

Apparently figures such as Sir Alex Ferguson and Sam Allardyce either don’t own a television or aren’t Ray Winstone fans because they seem to have totally ignored the new guide-

lines set out by the FA, designed to make football a happier, less stressful place for referee’s to live.

not as fit as those in Spanish football when he claimed Spanish referee’s were “fit as butchers dogs”.

Sir Alex and Sam Allardyce aren't very big Ray Winstone fans.

Both managers have been in trouble with the FA after recent post match comments that suggested certain referee’s were unfit to perform their duties to an adequate level.

Sir Alex has this week been charged for suggesting match official Alan Wiley was not fit enough to keep up with the game during Manchester United’s recent 2-2 draw with Sunderland. Ferguson suggested British referees were

RANTS: The FA have had enough

His comments may have been justified had statistics backed up his theory, however official Pro-zone figures

showed Wiley ran further than all but four of the players on the pitch. Will Fergie admit he’s wrong? Probably not. He will most probably he handed a heavy fine or touchline ban however will take that and be happy in the knowledge that he was diverted the attention away from his teams poor performance and saved his players from any knock of confidence in the papers.

However the bigger issue here is that campaigns such as this one are not getting through to those at the top of the game. People such as Alex Ferguson should be Ambassadors for the game, examples to follow however when figures such as himself ignore simple guidelines it brings the whole game into disrepute. Perhaps the FA should introduce a campaign to ban post match interviews?

Sport rhydd

INSIDE: Sport backs anti-racism campaign, Brazilian GP Preview, and The Word On...Rio's recent Olympic triumph

Early season bragging rights ! " # $ % & f ladies embarrass local rivals Glamorgan University as they start their season in style with a heated friendly Holleigh Marsh Sports Writer Glamorgan 1-6 Cardiff Uni LadiesFC In a not so ‘friendly’ pre-season meeting, Cardiff Uni Ladies FC came out convincing victors against the Glamorgan first team.

Braces from Elizabeth Dale, Zoe Masters and Ffion Williams set Cardiff on their way in preparation for their first league matches next week.

Great work by Lucy Lazarus down the right wing saw her cross find Williams unmarked at the back post to fire coolly past the Glamorgan goalkeeper.

Cardiff soon doubled their lead after Masters shot from the edge of the box was only parried into the goal by the goalkeeper on the slippery surface.

Tireless work from midfielder Sophie Gidley saw two efforts come close but

it just wasn’t her day in front of goal.

Holleigh Marsh played an inch perfect through ball from the half way line to set Williams free to tuck the ball into the corner on a one on one.

Masters then grabbed her second with a deft header from a Jen Fildes corner. For the second half, Cardiff Uni Ladies had the luxury of changing 9 outfield players. Some excellent interplay between Georgina Copsey and Dale saw the latter finish calmly from 12 yards.

Glamorgan scored a consolation as a corner played into the box rebounded off a Cardiff player giving goalkeeper Ruth Daly no chance. A moment of madness from a Glamorgan defender gave the referee no option but to point to the penalty spot for deliberate handball. Dale stepped up to send the goalkeeper the wrong way for her second. Next week, Cardiff 1st travel to rivals Swansea, seeking revenge for last season's Varsity defeat, whilst Cardiff 2nd host Aberystwyth.

Cardiff women make it look easy

Freshers get a taste of the action Onward and upward

Making a splash

Clementine Westlake Sports Writer

On Saturday October 3 the Windsurfing Club got ready to whisk seventy prospective members to Llandegffed Resevoir, near Pontypool, for its ‘Taster Day’.

Teaching seventy people to try any new sport is a challenge, but getting students up for nine am on a Saturday, with the proposition of getting in a wetsuit and splashing around in a

reservoir in Wales, in September, is an accomplishment!

Having successfully transported the sleepy freshers to the reservoir, they were then split into groups, each with an instructor from the club, given land based tutoring and then jumping on beginner kits and catching those gusts.

Whilst this was on, there were paddle board races and balancing games to get everyone used to the boards and giving them a chance to get to know each other (it’s quite hard to stay

strangers whilst landing on top of one another). The intermediates joining were taken out at the same time on different kit and given the chance to play around, joined by various members of the committee throughout the day.

By the time lunch came everyone had had a go and the bug had well and truly set in with multiple discussions of the first weekend away; Aussie Kiss 8 in Bude with other university clubs.

After some well earned barbecue food and a round of hot drinks everyone was keen to get back to it. One new member said, “The instructors were brilliant, definitely need some input as beginners, and encouragement to get stuck in! Really big thank you!

As for Cardiff Windsurfing itself, the atmosphere amongst the guys is really supportive, everyone was friendly and wanted you to succeed!”

The windsurfing ‘Taster Day’ was a complete success, the continual mission of the club – to get as many people trying windsurfing as possible – was achieved and in comparison to the previous year, when around thirty people went along, this year’s attendance was incredible; great news for the club and sport.

Tom Hill Sports Writer

techniques as well as strikes and ground holds. We take new members any time during the year and do not expect any previous experience.

We train on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 6pm-8pm in Talybont Sports Centre.

Last Saturday Cardiff University Jitsu Club were able to host a National Course and grading, taught by the top instructors from our association.

Jennifer Cox was awarded her Purple belt (3rd kyu) after the grading and Andy 'Mitchell' Davies earned his Yellow belt (6th kyu), having only started Jiu Jitsu 3 months earlier during the summer.

At the end of the course, our club instructor was presented his yondan (4th dan) by the association's head of style. Sensei Smiley has been training and teaching Jiu Jitsu for over 20 years and this grade is a reflection of his immense knowledge and experience!

For those of you who don't know, Jiu Jitsu is a martial art originating in Fedual Japan that emphasises using as little force as possible to overcome an attacker. In modern times the techniques learned in jiu jitsu are very appropriate for self-defence for all shapes and sizes, utilizing Wristlock blocking, locking and throwing

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