gair rhydd - Issue 911

gair rhydd

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CARDIFF'S STUDENT WEEKLY

freeword - EST. 1972

ISSUE 911 NOVEMBER 30 2009

RUNNER UP BEST NEWSPAPER AT THE GUARDIAN STUDENT MEDIA AWARDS 2009 WIN A DESIGNER T-SHIRT COURTESY OF HERETICS >>page 27

FANCY CLIMBING THREE OF THE UK'S HIGHEST PEAKS IN 24 HOURS... >> FEATURES page 14

A Nobel appointment

Healthcare students finally get swine flu jab Jamie Thunder News Editor

continued on page 2

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PHOTO: OLI FRANKLIN

diff, but it’s got to be the Nobel Prize!

Although, both were equally unexpected!”

Lord Kinnock said of his retirement as President: “I am delighted that my successor is of real global distinction.

I will always of course, with or without any formal title, be ready, willing and eager to proclaim the worth of this University to which I owe so very much. Only my parents have given me greater opportunities.”

Lord Kinnock claims that there haven’t been any lowlights during his presidency, “mainly because we’ve done so well against Swansea University in the rugby!”

Cardiff University healthcare students on placement at University Hospital Wales (UHW) have finally been offered the swine flu vaccine – over a month after the local health board was urged to provide it to frontline staff.

On October 7 the Chief Medical Officer for Wales, Dr. Tony Jewell, asked NHS organisations to “develop a plan to vaccinate those frontline staff eligible for vaccination”.

An earlier letter, dated August 20, included students or trainees working with patients in that category.

The Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, which oversees the hospital, began vaccinating its staff on October 21, but students on placement were not included.

Instead many students went to the University’s own Occupational Safety, Health and Environment Unit, which did not have the vaccine.

This meant that healthcare students were unable to get the vaccine even though they were in contact with patients, and in the case of 4th and 5thyear students, were heavily involved with their treatment and care.

The vaccine is optional but recommended for frontline health and social care workers because of the increased risk of catching swine flu and passing it on to already vulnerable people.

Students on placement at UHW will now be sent a letter allowing them to make an appointment at a local GP practice to have the vaccination.

However, the vaccination of students who were on placement at UHW but are now elsewhere will be the responsibility of their new Health Board.

A Cardiff and Vale University Health Board spokesperson said: “Cardiff and Vale Silver Command A/ H1N1 agreed that the vaccine should be offered to these students through the primary care route."

Cardiff welcomes Nobel Laureate as new President Ceri Isfryn News Editor Cardiff University inaugurated Nobel Prize winner Sir Martin Evans as its new President last week as Lord Neil Kinnock stepped down after 11 years in the role.

The baton was formally passed during an inauguration ceremony held at the National Museum last Monday.

Sir Martin, 68, won science’s most prestigious acclaim in 2007 after he became the first scientist to identify embryonic stem cells. Worldwide, Sir Martin is regarded as “the father of stem cell research” and was named

by The Independent as one of the “ten

Britons who have shaped our world” in 2007.

Speaking to gair rhydd, Sir Martin described Lord Kinnock as an “intimidating act to follow”.

He also voiced his hopes for the sustenance of the developments started during Lord Kinnock’s presidency, commenting that, “one of the important things in development is to have a plan.

“Cardiff University is now developing an ambitious forward plan and we hope to work to it as well as we can. Students are the leaders of tomorrow, and we must give them the right tools to do it,” he added.

When questioned about the University’s recent drop in the UK rankings,

Sir Martin urged students and colleagues not to be too despondent about league tables at this point in time.

“We’ve put a lot of our efforts into the merger with the medical school over recent years, which has proven to be very successful and has enabled us to embark on a number of new ventures. As a result of this, we may have taken our eye a little off the ball but I don’t think so particularly. We’ve got to work hard on research, but we can’t just go for ratings, we’ve got to go for the overall excellence - the ratings will come out of the excellence.”

When asked which was the greatest honour - the Nobel Prize or his appointment as President - a smiling Sir Martin responded, “I’m sorry Car-

02 NEWS

gr gr EDITOR Emma Jones

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 POLITICS Damian Fantato COLUMNISTS Tim Hart Oli Franklin 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 Jon Evans James Hinks Adam Horne Lucy Morgan Robbie Wells CONTRIBUTORS Nathan Allen Keith Bugler Lauren Cowie Alex Evans Pete Gwynne Rachel Henson Miriam Hopwood Rosanna Lolla Patience Lewis Emily McIntosh Melissa Mackay Rhiannon Lake-Edwards

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07908 551922 NEWS@GAIRRHYDD.COM gair rhydd has been Cardiff University's independent student newspaper since 1972

gairrhydd | NEWS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY NOVEMBER 30 2009

Cardiff pipped to the post at Media Awards Gareth Ludkin News Editor gair rhydd scooped the runnerup prize in the category of Best Student Newspaper of the Year at this year's Guardian Student Media Awards.

The fantastic achievement was realised against some stiff opposition from York Vision, Felix, from Imperial College London and Forge Press from Sheffield University. The overall winning newspaper was The Leeds Student from Leeds University, which pipped Cardiff to the post.

As runners up in the category, gair rhydd received £900, which will be used for the development of the newspaper.

Ben Bryant, last year’s editor, was delighted with the result. He said: “We’ve had a blinding year. This paper was my life for a while, so to get nominated at the Guardian Student Media Awards was a huge privilege.

For gair rhydd to come runner-up out of all the entries was just amazing.

“The sheer effort that goes into gair rhydd every week is remarkable and I’m incredibly proud of everyone.”

Quench, which won the Magazine of the Year award in 2008, was again shortlisted for the award, but didn’t managed to equal 2008’s success. Oxford University’s magazine, Oxymoron won the award.

Daniel Thomas Ashby from the Cardiff School of Journalism was also shortlisted for an award, in the Broadcast Journalist of the Year category.

Runner-up in the Best Student Newspaper of the Year category was the only success for Cardiff on the night, while other universities shone through. Varsity, Cambridge Univer-

The gair rhydd and Quench teams let their hair down sity's student newspaper, managed to collect five awards throughout the night; including Overall Student Journalist of the Year, Feature Writer of the Year, and Columnist of the Year.

The event, which was hosted at the Proud Galleries in Camden, London, drew a large crowd of student journalists, photographers and broadcasters from a number of universities across the country.

Broadcaster Colin Murray hosted the awards, which saw a host of famous judges and guests appear.

Evan Davis, presenter of the Today programme presented an award, as did Polly Toynbee, columnist for The Guardian.

A number of professional journalists played a part in judging the awards.

Alan Rusbridger, editor-in-chief of Guardian News and Media, joined Jon Snow and Colin Murray to deliberate over the candidates.

The annual event continues to champion some of the best student media in the country, and Cardiff stu-

dent media continue to be represented in this arena.

Emma Jones, the current editor of gair rhydd and Head of Student Media, hopes that next year will be even better.

She said: "Our nominations this year really reflect the strength of our student media at Cardiff. I'm confident that we can come back next year with an even stronger chance of finishing top of the pile."

Sir Martin Evans steps into Lord Neil Kinnock's shoes Health board sity, Dr David Grant said: “It has been velopments, will be a guiding-light as continued from front page arranges vaccine a major challenge for the University we strive for even greater success.”

“There’s been a lot of highlights for me: the expansion of the University; the high levels of investment that has led to the introduction of real breakthrough facilities such as the School of Ophthalmology; Martin Evans’ Nobel prize - it just gets better and better.

Throughout, I’ve been very happy to take the title of ‘boaster-in-chief’,” he added.

Lord Kinnock started his long association with Cardiff University in 1961 when he became an undergraduate, sharing accommodation with Wales’ outgoing First Minister, Rhodri Morgan.

He was then President of the Students’ Union for a year before embarking on a lengthy career in politics, which included leading the Labour party for three separate periods between 1983 and1992.

“I think now is about the right time for me to retire as President. I’ve been in the post roughly as long as Margaret Thatcher was in hers, and that’s more than enough for anyone!” he joked.

Vice-Chancellor of Cardiff Univer-

to find a successor to such an outstanding President as Neil. In Professor Sir Martin Evans, I know that the University had appointed a dedicated friend, ambassador, advocate and supporter of Cardiff University.

"Lord Kinnock, has presided over a period of immense development and great achievements at Cardiff and Sir Martin, who has led many of our de-

The University also used the ceremony to announce a new initiative in recognition of Sir Martin’s research achievements. The President’s Research Scholarships are intended to expand and enhance the University’s postgraduate research community, with £4 million being allocated to around 80 promising students wishing to gain a PhD.

Lord Kinnock, Students' Union President Ed Carey and Sir Martin

continued from front page “The University Health Board discussed the potential provision of this vaccine to eligible students by the University Occupational Health Centre.

“It was agreed that the most appropriate way forward was for students to receive the vaccine via their own GP or via specifically identified GPs.” A Cardiff University spokesperson said that there had been 'continual dialogue' between them and the Health Board, but that they could not comment on the vaccinations.

Other NHS bodies in Wales, such as the Aneurin Bevan Health Board which covers the Gwent area, have offered the vaccination from their own occupational health units to students on placement.

Cardiff and Vale University Health Board estimates that around 2,500 Cardiff University and UWIC students working with the Board are eligible for the vaccination.

NEWS 1 EDITORIAL & OPINION 8 COLUMNIST 11 FEATURES 12 POLITICS 16 LETTERS 19 SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENT 21 JOBS & MONEY 22 LISTINGS 24 FIVE MINUTE FUN 27 SPORT 28

NEWS 03

gairrhydd | NEWS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY NOVEMBER 30 2009

Rachel Henson Reporter

PHOTO: CHRISTINA MACKIE

Three students from Cardiff University wore pyjamas for an entire week to raise money for a charity in Africa.

Mandy, Kate and Alice are raising money for READ International, which will allow them to send textbooks to secondary school students in Tanzania and Uganda.

The books are collected from local schools that no longer need them, and sent to schools in East Africa.

The project, being supported by members of 22 other universities in the UK, helps to provide a better education in schools that couldn’t otherwise afford to purchase large numbers of text books. The team hope to collect 22,000 books, which cost 50p each to

send to Africa, by summer 2010.

The fund-raising students are wearing their pyjamas for an entire week - to lectures, whilst shopping and on nights out. Dressing gowns are being worn as coats against the current cold weather.

“When one guy asked what we were doing he said he thought we were being weird! We’ve had some strange looks,” said Mandy Gould, a final year Law and French student.

Funds are being raised through sponsorship, collection boxes and online donations. Any old books will be gratefully received at drop-off points in Aberdare Hall and at the Student Volunteering Centre in the Students’ Union. Alternatively, to support the pyjama fundraising appeal, visit www. justgiving.com/pyjamasforread.

PYJAMA PARTY: On the fundraising trail

Gender-neutral toilets proposed for Union Gareth Ludkin News Editor A motion brought to Student Council last week proposed that the Students’ Union introduce gender-neutral toilet facilities in the Union building.

The motion, which was put forward

by LGBT officer Rachelle Simmons, was discussed by Student Council before it was decided that a survey should be carried out to assess the need for transgender toilets.

Rachelle Simmons was happy with the progress made with the motion she put forward. She said: "I'm really pleased that so many students voted in favour of such a progressive motion.

I know that many people, including transgendered students, but also others outside the gender binary will appreciate this development.

“I'm sure that other students, when the toilets appear, will use the toilets as they always have. I'm enthusiastic about doing the survey. I want to get the biggest number of students, trans and not, to complete it."

Manchester University introduced gender-neutral toilets in 2008, renaming the ‘gents’ toilets to simply say ‘toilets with urinals’.

If a change were to occur at Cardiff’s Students’ union, it would occur in a similar way to Manchester. There wouldn’t be a need for brand new toilet facilities. Instead, a simple change in sign names would be used.

The results of the survey will be brought to the first student council after Christmas where the decision over the motion will be made.

Mansfield talks at Cardiff law school Lauren Cowie Reporter The high-profile lawyer, Michael Mansfield, came to Cardiff to give a talk on injustice last week, following the release of his new book Memoirs of a Radical Lawyer.

Mansfield is renowned for fighting high-profile cases involving Jill Dando, Dodi Fayed, Angela Cannings, Jean Charles Menezes inquiry, as well as the Bloody Sunday inquiry.

He spoke of information sharing agreements (ISAs), the Prevent agenda and pre-charge bail conditions in the lecture entitled ‘None of

the above’. He encouraged the audience to “Google the issues” and stand up to stop the erosion of civil liberties.

“It started with the Tories, who took away the right to silence”, he said.

“Labour has done even more desecration.”

He added: “Public funding for legal welfare is drying up”.

Mr Mansfield has long been a patron of The Innocence Project, which provides legal aid by utilising the abilities of Law students.

The speech was well received by the open audience, who were able to get their books signed afterwards.

PHOTO: OLI FRANKLIN

Students don their pjs for charity

RESPECT: Michael Mansfield

Student avoids prison after Carnage shame Ceri Isfryn News Editor A Sheffield Hallam University student has narrowly avoided imprisonment after urinating on a war memorial during a night out organised by Carnage UK. 19-year-old Phillip Laing consumed a bottle of whisky with a friend before leaving his house, and continued to drink when he was on the Carnage pub crawl. A picture of him urinating against a war memorial appeared in several national newspapers.

District Judge Anthony Browne ordered the Sports Technology student to complete 250 hours of community service and fined him £185 in costs for outraging public decency.

Whilst delivering his verdict, Judge Browne said; “I have never seen anyone more contrite for what has happened nore one who regrets more the hurt and distress he has caused.”

Addressing Phillip, he added, “No one forced you to take all this drink, or forced it down you, or persuaded you to commit a criminal offence. You did that all by yourself and you must take responsibility. But all this is set against a backdrop, as your solicitor has said, of a culture of drinking far too much.”

Tim Hughes, defending, told the court that his client was incredibly remorseful for his actions and that a prison sentence would “utterly destroy what could otherwise be a good, hardworking, tax-paying life”. He added that his client had no idea where he

was when he urinated.

“He could have been standing in the middle of Hillsborough football ground, frankly."

A spokesman for Sheffield Hallam University said: “The university has already initiated disciplinary proceedings against this student. Now that the judicial process has been completed we will arrange a disciplinary hearing to decide the appropriate sanctions.”

The verdict comes weeks after the notorious pub crawl, Carnage, was heavily criticised by civil leaders and alcohol misuse experts. As reported in issue 907 of gair rhydd , an executive for Drinkaware criticised Carnage UK for encouraging excessive drinking, and cited Phillip Laing’s case as an example of why the events are so irresponsible.

SHAMED: Carnage on the streets of Sheffield

04 NEWS

gairrhydd | NEWS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY NOVEMBER 30 2009

Uni boycott forces Russell Athletic to change practices Amy Hall Science Editor 1,200 workers have been reinstated in a Russell Athletic factory in Honduras, after it closed in January this year following the formation of a workers' union.

The promise was made in an unprecedented joint agreement between Russell, which is a subsidiary of Fruit of the Loom, and the union of factory workers.

It is thought that student pressure and global university boycotts, which had mounted ever since the factory closure, was a major catalyst to the U-turn.

Over 100 universities have boycotted Fruit of The Loom, including nine in the UK. Cardiff Student Council were due

to discuss a boycott motion at last week’s meeting.

Fruit of the Loom had also been taken off NUS Services Ltd approved suppliers list, but some of the hoodies from the closed factory are still sold in the Cardiff Union shop.

As well as the reopening of the Jerzees de Honduras factory, to be renamed Jerzees Nuevo Dia (New Day).

Russell has said it will immediately recognize the union Sitrajerzeesh, formed by the workers.

Russell has also said it will provide employees with access to education on their right to freedom of association, and give them $1.2 million in back-pay compensation.

It is hoped that the success of this campaign may now force other big brands to reassess the way they treat their workers.

AU's got talent?

Tom Rouse Reporter Last Wednesday night, the Union played host to AU’s Got Talent with the AU’s sports stars showing off their other, more hidden talents.

Eight teams contested the event, with men’s rugby, swimming and water polo baring all for the cause.

The result came down to a dance-off between Men’s Football and the

Cheerleaders, with Men’s Football narrowly winning after the AU president ruled they had gained marginally more support on the cheer-o-meter.

Additional funds were raised through the wet sponging of the AU executive, which was given added spice by some controversial judges scores earlier in the night, which definitely contributed to boosting the total funds raised. The event culminated with AU president, Olly Birrell having a bucket of iced water tipped over him after Ed Carey’s winning bid in

the auction.

Olly Birrell was extremely happy with the way the night went. He said: “It was a great success, we had some great performances.”

Currently, over £200 has been raised for Sports Relief, but the AU hopes that this figure will break £300 once ticket sales from the night are added up.

The night was successful enough that the AU plans to repeat the event in the second semester as part of its wider fundraising efforts.

NEWS 05

gairrhydd | NEWS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY NOVEMBER 30 2009

Crisis at LMU Panto-monium Emma McFarnon News Editor

The body that funds English universities has called for the mass resignation of governors at London Metropolitan University (LMU), after they were accused of misusing public money.

A letter from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) to the chairman of governors at London Metropolitan University calls on senior staff and members of the governing body to “consider their position”.

The letter follows two damning reports revealing that the university falsely claimed funding for thousands of students. The reports, one from Sir David Melville, former vice-chancellor of Kent and Middlesex universities, and the other from Deloitte, the accountancy firm, found that LMU failed to keep track of students at the university or ensure they sat their endof-year exams. As a result it continued claiming funding from the government on the basis of an artificially low drop-out rate, getting funding for far more students than were attending the university.

The university has the second highest percentage of students from low-income groups,

at 55.1% of the student population, according to the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

The blunder meant that many of these students would not get the kind of help they needed to stay on their course. The case is said to have highlighted the lack of care towards students from some of the most disadvantaged backgrounds in higher education.

Sir David Melville’s report said that staff at the university had written to him attesting the difficulty of removing students from the record who they knew had left or who never appeared.

He also claimed there was a consensus among staff that the university was failing to provide much-needed extra support for the many students admitted from modest educational backgrounds.

The other report, from Deloitte, shows that as early as 2003 senior staff were aware that the definition the university was using of students who had completed a year’s study did not conform to HEFCE’s. An email from a senior manager in May 2004 said that if HEFCE’s definition were applied literally, it would be “disastrous for the university”.

HEFCE’s letter, written by Sir Alan Langlands, the funding council’s chief executive, gave the governors six days to consider their positions.

“The reports make it very difficult for HEFCE to have confidence in the governance of the university. Throughout the history of this case we have been concerned that the university is unable to safe guard public funds, and the reports confirm our view,” he said.

KESS of life Ellen Sutherland-Wootton Reporter Bangor University is leading a new scholarship programme providing funding for over 400 PhD and masters university places over the next five years in Wales.

The £33 million EU-backed Knowledge Economy Skills Scholarship (KESS) will offer graduates an annual bursary of up to £13,300 for 2009/10 as well as research training and higher – level skills development.

The project is largely funded by the Convergence European Social Fund but Higher Education Institutions and the private sector will also contribute amd will aim to instil students with the skills and knowledge needed by Welsh businesses.

Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones described how the programme "will not only create hundreds of opportunities for individuals to gain high-level skills, qualifications and practical experience, but will directly

benefit the research capabilities of companies within key sectors of the Welsh economy."

The scheme is part of a post-recession economic policy and thus will be aimed at areas of study that will most contribute to Wales’ economic future.

These are: Digital Economy, Low Carbon Economy, Health and Bioscience and Advanced Engineering and Manufacturing.

The programme will apply to 10 universities in Wales, including Cardiff, UWIC and Glamorgan, and will develop high-level skills through collaborative research projects with companies in Wales. To be eligible for the funding, students must live within the convergence area of Wales (which covers 15 local authorities in West Wales and the Valleys).

Education Minister Jane Hutt said of the project: "It is vital that we develop highly skilled, adaptable employees in order to support the transformation of the Welsh economy."

Oli Franklin Opinion Editor Act One thrilled students this week with this year’s pantomime, Cinderotica. The show was another enjoyable spectacle from Cardiff’s premier student drama troupe.

It was a distinctly Cardiff affair, with the whimsical world of traditional fairytales dropped in to the grotty heart of Cathays to great effect. The script was angled perfectly towards a student audience, leaving the ‘line’ a mere dot on the horizon, as the boundaries of human decency were broken.

There was a slight sense that the vulgarity had been overdone a little (an entire song dedicated to penis synonyms, for example), but these moments were ultimately rare.

The performances were strong across the board. Scott Hadley (Prince Charming) was particularly fantastic, as was Dan Baker (Buttons). Leigh Bialick (Jessica) and Gareth Holden (Norman) also stood out, but the entire cast were a testament to the hidden talents amongst Cardiff’s student body.

A particular mention has to go to Iona S.M. for her incredibly accurate portrayal of our editor, Emma Jones.

The attention to detail about the inner workings of gair rhydd was particularly astonishing.

Overall, it was an enjoyable experience for all and a real showcase for Act One’s quality, and I for one look forward to their future productions with relish.

8/10

PHOTO: OLI FRANKLIN

gair rhydd view

06 NEWS

gairrhydd | NEWS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY NOVEMBER 30 2009

You'll never guess what...

Houston, the baby has landed

At your service

Rachel Henson Reporter

A couple in Pennsylvania were arrested for ‘theft’ after refusing to leave a tip at a restaurant they visited with six other friends.

Leslie Pope and John Wagner were led away in handcuffs from the restaurant they had dined in because they didn’t give the standard 18 per cent tip because they received such bad service.

The restaurant failed to provide them with drinks refills and cutlery, and they had to wait over an hour for food, whilst in the mean time their waitress was seen smoking outside.

Sex oh clock

A pair of lovers were caught having sex on the famous Sydney clock last week.

The couple were spotted getting frisky on a balcony just below Sydney's historic clock tower, which stands opposite a busy shopping centre.

The spectacle soon drew an interested crowd, who stood and pointed.

"The couple seem to have known they could be seen, and were completely unphased," said one bystander, who took photos of the al fresco pair.

So far the identities of the couple are unknown, although Australian newspapers have urged them to come forward.

Un-happy Henry

The reputation of well-known Henry vacuum cleaners might be at risk in Ireland as it has the same name as ‘the cheat’ Thierry Henry, whose handball knocked them out of the World Cup. A worker at a government building has reported that several cleaners cannot bear to have his name staring at them. To stop it taunting them, they have painted over its name and wiped the mocking smile off its face.

An astronaut has received news of his daughter’s birth whilst travelling in space.

Lieutenant Colonel Randolph Bresnik was flying as a Mission Specialist aboard NASA flight STS-129 when he found out that his wife had given birth at home on Earth. His daughter, Abigail Mae Bresnik, was born on November 21st and is now living at the family home with her adopted Ukrainian brother in Houston, Texas.

Bresnik specifically asked that he receive no baby updates during the spacewalk, so he could focus on the inherently risky job. When he was safely back inside, he learned his wife had yet to give birth.

As his wife was in labor Saturday evening, Bresnik was connected by the space station's Internet protocol phone to the NASA flight surgeon at the hospital. Bedtime came, and the spaceman signed off for the night.

Abigail Mae — 6 pounds and 13 ounces, and 20 inches long — finally made her appearance, long after all the astronauts had gone to sleep.

The crew of the space shuttle Atlantis were awoken on Sunday morning by a song chosen by Mrs Bresnik to celebrate the occasion. ‘Butterfly Kisses’, a 1997 hit for pop-gospel artist Bob Carlisle, was used to replace the normal wakeup call on the shuttle.

The news arrived by private phone patch through NASA mission control shortly after the twelve crew members were awakened.

The STS-129 mission took place to deliver spare parts to the International Space Station. Twelve more missions are scheduled before the current fleet of shuttles are put into retirement.

This is the second time an astronaut has become a father in space. The first Space Father was Mike Fincke who learnt of his newborn son whilst orbiting the Earth on board the International Space Station, 225 miles into space.

42 year-old Bresnik is soon to return after his eleven day mission.

Top dollar

OUT OF THIS WORLD: Dad heard the news after space walk

Monkey business Rachel Henson Reporter

NAZI CAR: Bought by Russian billionaire

Rachel Henson Reporter One of Adolf Hitler’s vehicles has been tracked down for sale to a Russian billionaire.

The Mercedes 770A Kompressor convertible was one of a fleet used by Hitler during public appearances and was often featured in televised footage of the Nazi leader reviewing his troops.

The anonymous Russian billionaire contacted Michael Froehlich, a respected classic car dealer at his firm in Dusseldorf. Froehlich was asked to locate the vehicle, which was thought to be residing in western Germany.

The Mercedes was delivered to the Reich Chancellery in 1935 and sold to an Austrian owner after the Second World War, before becoming part of the Imperial Palace Collection of classic cars in Las Vegas. Froehlich found the car locked in a collector’s garage in the German town of Bielefield.

The Mercedes had been subject to modifications to make it suitable for

Hitler’s use, including a complete covering in 18 mm gauge, steel armoured plating and 4 cm thick windows. It could travel in excess of 180 kilometres per hour, weighed five tonnes and was equipped with a 400 horsepower engine.

The owner was in possession of the original documents, old photographs and the log book which detailed a break down in 1939 due to an engine problem.

It was bought by the billionaire as part of a deal which involved several other cars owned by high-ranking Nazi officials. A middle-man was used to negotiate with Froehlich before the mystery billionaire flew to Germany in a private jet to finalise the offer. The vehicle is said to be worth between £3.6 – 9 million.

A pharaoh-like curse is rumoured to accompany the car, as its previous owners have all died prematurely.

The most recent owner and the Russian billionaire are currently still alive.

Grandmother monkeys have been witnessed helping to raise their grandchildren in Japan.

Two wild Japanese macaques living in Katsuyama have been seen taking an active role in caring for the children of their offspring. It is the first time such behaviour has been unmistakably recognised in a nonhuman primate.

When one mother went missing from the troop unexpectedly, the ‘grandmother monkey’ took responsibility for care of the abandoned infant until the return of its mother six days later. The infant was groomed and encouraged to suckle by the grandmother.

Another grandmother was seen to intervene in the parental duties of her daughter when a younger, more vul-

nerable infant demanded more care than her other offspring. The grandmother provided the older infant with care for five months whilst the mother nursed the newborn monkey.

The observations, made by Japanese scientists at Osaka University, support an idea known to ethologists as ‘The Grandmother Hypothesis’. It suggests that animals who can no longer reproduce look after younger family members to increase their chances of survival and the likelihood that their genes are passed on to the next generation.

Japanese macaques have been studied extensively in the wild and can survive freezing temperatures in snowy habitats. The Japanese snow monkeys have previously made the news with the discovery that they enjoy taking baths in hot springs and that they can learn skills from each other, such as washing potatoes in the springs before eating.

TEAM WORK: Granny monkey lends a hand

gairrhydd | NEWS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY OCTOBER 26 2009

NEWS 05

08 OPINION

gairrhydd | OPINION@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY NOVEMBER 30 2009

freewords EDITORIAL

Est. 1972

Awards, horoscopes, and gender-neutral toilets...

We’re the second best student newspaper in the country! We were presented with the runnerup award in the Best Newspaper Category at The Guardian Student Media Awards on Wednesday.

The awards, held in Proud Galleries, Camden, and hosted by the lovely Colin Murray, honour the best of student journalism from across the country. Our very own Quench and gair rhydd were nominated for Best Magazine and Best Newspaper, respectively. Quench was pipped to the post by Oxymoron, Oxford University’s magazine, but gair rhydd won a nice wad of cash for coming second in its category. We were beaten to the top spot by The Leeds Student.

The awards receive over 800 entries every year, so even to be nominated is an achievement. Congratulations to former editor Ben Bryant, whose hard work and dedication earned us the award.

Cambridge University were the clear winners of the night, with their newspaper, Varsity, taking home five awards, including Student Journalist of the Year and Columnist of the Year.

See page two for a full rundown of the night’s events.

In other news, gair rhydd went to meet the new President of the University, Sir Martin Evans on Monday. Sir Martin will take the place of Lord Neil Kinnock. Go to front page to read our interview with him.

This week LGBT Officer, Rachelle Simmons, brought a new motion to Student Council to introduce genderneutral toilets to the Union. The motion suggests that some, but not all, toilets should be labelled as ‘toilets’ and ‘toilets with urinals’ rather than ‘men's and ‘ladies. A survey is being launched to try and measure demand for this new system, so please take the time to fill one in and get your views heard.

If you have any particularly strong opinions, or questions, contact Rachelle. You can also come along to the next Student Council, on Tuesday December 8, to have your views on the motion heard before the final decision is made.

You might have noticed that this week we have an exciting new edition to the listings section. Check out Mystic Smeg’s horoscopes, written by our very own in-house Jonathon Cainer, which can be found on page 24.

If you're interested in winning yourself a sexy t.shirt, have a look at our competition in Five Minute Fun on page 27. Heretics are a new company that sell unique caricature t-shirts of famous faces, ranging from Charlie Chaplin and Andy Warhol to the yet unlaunched, Michael Jackson.

Also, check out our new podcast, in which we discuss the Sabbatical Officers’ expenses scandal which seems to have kicked off quite a debate on the gair rhydd website…

And finally, did I mention that we won an award on Wednesday?

ABOVE: London Metropolitan University BELOW: New Chancellor Alfred Morris

University of thieves

LMU's senior staff should be dealt with like any other fraudsters Nathan Allen Opinion Writer

Regardless of what high-ranking position you occupy, stealing is stealing. So when a university fudges its numbers in order to gain more funding from the government, those in the wrong deserve to be prosecuted.

London Metropolitan University (LMU) are alleged to have bled an extra £36 million out of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) by stating that they had more students than they actually did.

By adjusting their dropout rate, recently quoted at 16.6 per cent, they were able to claim funding for more students than actually attended the university. Of course, the management could claim that they had no idea any of this was going on and attributed it to a simple ‘clerical error’.

A report published recently tells us that the blame sits firmly with LMU’s senior staff. Their Vice-Chancellor, Professor Brian Roper, resigned last year. The report, compiled by Sir David Melville, also said that the University’s governors could have pestered the Vice-Chancellor about the dropout rates, which are one of the worst in the country.

Sir David reported that “[staff] generally describe a highly centralised and dictatorial executive led by the Vice-Chancellor, which was incapable of listening to what was going on at the University, discouraged or ignored criticism and made decisions without

consultation.” Sounds a bit damning, doesn’t it?

I’d really love to sit here and tell you how laughable it all is, you know, how much can it hurt people like you and me, students? But alas, I can’t. Of course the HEFCE has no impact on things here in the Principality (there’s HEFCW for that, see the pattern?). It's just the principles.

The new ViceChancellor has a lot of hard work to do to repair LMU's reputation If the pot of cash from HM Government for English universities (which was £7.1bn at last estimate) suddenly had £36m going to what amounts to bigger pay packets for glorified executives, then that would mean there would be £36m less funding for other universities. Every university’s students need a little more money and all of their departments could probably do with a bit more research funding.

But no, the fat cats at LMU took it for themselves. The question though is, did they do it for their some 34,000 students and 2,400 staff or did they do it to line their pockets? Someone with an ounce of compassion would have done it for the students and staff - not that that would be right, but something here tells me that they were not that selfless.

I guess it isn’t stealing in a ‘con-

ventional’ sense, but having dodgy numbers and then having the audacity to give them to the government – who can work only on the numbers you have given them – amounts to stealing. In fact, it’s fraud.

Of course, the worst that will happen here is that the University will be ordered to pay back the cash, the board of governors and senior management will be shuffled about, practices will change at LMU’s admin department and nobody will be sent for some time at Her Majesty’s pleasure.

Deloitte, the company that performed the audit, also published a report that revealed that from 2003, staff weren’t aware of the differences in HEFCE’s and LMU’s opinions on what qualifies a student to have completed a year of study, which essentially amounts to a cock-up.

The thing is, this comes to fruition at the time where this newspaper reports that Vice-Chancellors are asking for £20,000 a year in fees and when the government are trying to get more students from disadvantaged or minority backgrounds to go to university.

LMU is one of the institutions that would

have probably had more under-priveledged students attending.

Very predictably, LMU’s website says nothing on the matter. Not even a press release. They are currently telling us all about their new ViceChancellor. Let’s just hope he can tell the difference between the number of students that they let the government see and the actual number of students he has at his University, and then have the decency to report the correct number to the people with the Treasury’s cheque books.

If I was the new Vi c e - C h a n c e l l o r, I’d be rolling up my sleeves. It will take a lot of hard work to repair this mighty dent in their reputation.

gairrhydd | OPINION@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY NOVEMBER 30 2009

OPINION 09

Legalise it? What are you on?

Despite what any think tank says, legalising drugs wouldn't do any good Alex Evans Opinion Writer Drugs. Aren’t they great, eh? On any given day, you can probably find me in the corner of my room, rocking back and forth in the dark, having a grand old time with my cocaine reserves.

There’s nothing illegal about saying this, or printing it in a newspaper (at least, if you’re reading this), but there is a slight legality consideration when it comes to actually taking them.

Drugs are sort of not allowed.

Well, not for long, if government think tank Transform has anything to do with it. This week, they put forward their ‘blueprint’ for drug law reform. Basically, they want drugs to be entirely legal.

Legalising murder would reduce crime, but that doesn't make it a brilliant idea Why stop there? Let’s take a few leaves from America’s shining example, and legalise guns too. That way, we’ll always be safe. Would you rob a bank if the lady had an automatic shotgun beside her panic button? They should trial AK-47-toting checkout girls at Sainsbury’s.

Britain could become more independent, too. No longer would we have to see our hard-earned pounds being siphoned off into Nigeria or Afghanistan, but we could grow opiates in our back gardens. Sheffield Smack and Weed of Watford would be proud new additions to our rich heritage of industry. If Transform are to be be-

After all, that body-endangering, mind-warping toxin we know as alcohol has been widely available since civilisation began.

Similarly, the absurdly damaging death-sticks that are cigarettes would never pass the kind of health and safety checks that new products need to pass to make it to our shelves if they were invented today, yet they are easily obtainable. The fact that the governments of the western world actually put a stop to the dangerous drugs vice before it became acceptable is one of the few high points of modern thinking.

Legalising drugs might help save a few people from falling into dangerous drug gangs, and it might make our prisons a little less congested, but it won’t tackle the cause of the problem. If anything, making drugs more acceptable and more freely available will simply lead more people into harming themselves. People can openly buy cigarettes, but this doesn’t ease the problems of addiction or disease they cause.

Similarly, it might save a few quid to stop raiding drug factories or blocking pill traffickers, but this has always been throwing money down a black hole. The key is to spend on persuading people to stop, setting up help schemes and rehabilitation clinics. It may sound clichéd, but this is the only way the war on drugs can be fought; spreading awareness of the dangers and creating help for those who can't escape them. Transform’s wishes for Amsterdam-style, coffee shop drug-swaps simply won’t achieve this.

So let’s put a stop to the crazy ideas and keep on pushing a sensible ‘No to drugs’ culture. After all, we still have smoking and drinking.

lieved, there are endless benefits.

This is, of course, a ridiculous idea.

Legalising drugs is possibly the most brazenly idiotic idea since burning irreplaceable, toxic fossil fuels to power transportation, or electing Tony Blair.

Their reasoning? It would “reduce crime”. Brilliant. That’s some fantastic, outside-the-box, 21st Century thinking. In fact, while we’re at it, let’s legalise prostitution. We could buy a hooker with our milk and bread on our next shop – just don’t go for the Tesco value range.

Of course it would reduce crime. If smoking marijuana, or injecting heroin, was legal, the crime rates would clearly fall dramatically. Drug-use crime would drop by a staggering 100 per cent.

It would lead to other crime numbers dropping too. Drug dealers could have designated crack-points in local supermarkets, safely monitored by police to protect innocent users from harm or extortion. And prices would go down. Selling Es on ebay would make the market more competitive, leaving users with more cash for guns and prostitutes. It would help the economy.

Legalising murder would reduce crime, but that doesn’t mean it’s a brilliant idea. Drugs are illegal for a reason. They are dangerous, addictive and destructive. There’s a world of difference, certainly, between the occasional spliff and a heroin junkie, but drugs are drugs and they destroy people’s lives.

Outlawing drugs was one of the better ideas from the modern era.

I’m sure that if heroin, crack and the likes had been widely available (or indeed, in the case of many chemicalcompound drugs, invented) hundreds of years ago, they’d probably be legal now.

Face facts and raise the cap on fees The current level of tuition fees is economically unviable and has to rise Jonathan Sims Opinion Writer American-style £20,000 per year university fees being introduced in UK institutions? Surely a time of economic recession is not the right point to be proposing such plans. With the average UK university graduate already coming out of study with debts of up to £23,000, the new proposals have inevitably not been met with great enthusiasm by the student body.

However, there is perhaps a lot to gain from adopting the funding measures which maintain Ivy league colleges at the top of the world for academic teaching and research. The debate surrounds the current cap on

British university fees of £3,245 per year which cannot be increased independently by any institution regardless of league table position or course.

Academics at the top universities argue that this limit must be removed in order for them to match the teaching standards of their American counterparts and as many as two-thirds of UK Vice-Chancellors have suggested that fees need to be significantly increased. This is an intelligent suggestion.

There is clearly a problem in the management of university finances in Britain at the moment, with common sense failing to prevail from the Government’s education policies towards university funding. How a cap which means that universities at the lowerend of the league tables can charge

identical fees to that of Oxford and Cambridge is beyond reason. Clearly the higher universities offer a better standard of education and fees should accommodate this.

If the cap is removed, universities would be able to implement their own strategies, becoming experts in relevant fields, without the worry of conforming to the targets demanded by government funding programs.

The present economic climate may not seem the best period to be thinking about imposing increased university fees; however it is the present competition for post-university employment which has led to many of our brightest young students being advised to consider study across the Atlantic.

Indeed, Harvard University now uses recruitment agencies to entice the best

British candidates with the attraction of offering generous bursaries through its endowments of around £18 billion, compared to £3.4 billion at Oxford.

It is the lack of funding for the main UK universities which mean they are unable to offer similar bursary programs that have been so well implemented in America. High college fees for those students with good financial means has meant that gifted students from poor financial backgrounds are given the opportunity to attend the best US institutions. It is this program that Barack Obama benefited from his college education.

The fixed-cap system imposed upon universities leaves very little scope for manoeuvre in terms of how to best use the funds available to universities. Surely a logical system whereby

university fees reflect upon a course’s employment prospects and levels of research should be introduced. A medicine student at one of the higher institutions is likely to have a well-paid job in the future and therefore should perhaps pay more than the student studying a degree with less potential for immediate financial gain.

Fees must be increased, but clearly arts students should not have to pay for an increase in levels of scientific research and vice versa. Any new government in the next General Election must find a medium between private and public sector funding to ensure that British higher education has the potential to be world-leading in the future.

10 OPINION

gairrhydd | OPINION@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY NOVEMBER 30 2009

Murdered for their fat

Recent reports of killings in Peru for human fat to be traded on the black market show just how sick the cosmetics industry has become Rhiannon Lake-Edwards Opinion Writer Ever wondered what goes into your favourite face cream? The next time you are tempted to dip into your student loan and indulge yourselves with ‘must-have’ cosmetics, you may want to check the label first, as it appears some anti-wrinkle creams on the market may contain more disturbing ingredients than could possibly be imagined.

A recent investigation has uncovered that a Peruvian gang have allegedly killed dozens of people and drained their bodies of fat to be used in cosmetics. The remains of the victims, found in shallow graves in the Peruvian jungle, were said to have been kidnapped and killed by a criminal gang for human fat trafficking. The liquid is said to be worth $15,000 per litre. Police believe the fat was sold on the black market to cosmetic companies in Europe, and later bought as anti-winkle creams.

Six of the gang members remain at large, and in addition to the five killings they have confessed to, police suspect dozens more, with a further 60 disappearances being linked to the case. The killers are believed to have targeted local farmers and peasants on remote roads in the Huanuco and

Pasco regions, between the jungle and Andean peaks. Peru has understandably reacted with horror at the report that the gang enticed their victims with the promise of work, before butchering them, decapitating them and removing their limbs in order to extract the fat. One of those arrested told police the ringleader had been killing people for their fat for more than three decades. The gang has been referred to as the Pishtacos, after an ancient Peruvian legend of killers who attack people on lonely roads and murder them for their fat.

Police believe the fat was sold on the black market and later bought as anti-wrinkle cream Medical experts said human fat had cosmetic components to keep the skin supple, but were sceptical about an international black market.

"It doesn't make any sense, because in most countries we can get fat so readily and in such amounts from people who are willing to donate," said Adam Katz, a professor of plastic surgery at the University of Virginia Medical School. The recent killings

And you thought Atkins was bad... therefore seem all the more horrific, akin to organ harvesting in their brutality. To murder at will for fat that is already readily available to cosmetics companies and for such superficial gain goes beyond savagery.

We are talking human beings here, not whales, seals, or animals that are

killed for their fur in the name of fashion. These deaths come as a tragic example of the lengths some would go to in order to cash in on the cosmetics trade, an enormously profitable industry in this day and age. This further demonstrates that there are clearly no depths of depravity the greedy and

ruthless will not go to for commercial gain.

Is this development then testament to modern day vanity? It is arguable, but the simple fact remains that the price of a face cream somewhere out there on the market, came at the cost of an innocent life.

We all deserve to do community service

Philip Laing deserved to walk free this week; we are all just as bad Damian Fantato Politics Editor

Students are dicks. Yes, you heard me. I said students are dicks.

That includes you. And yes, that includes me. You and me, we’re both dicks. You might ask be asking yourself why I’m saying this.

Well, you dick, I’ll tell you.

Remember that student who urinated on a war memorial? You probably don’t. Last month, one Phillip Laing was charged with outraging public decency after the Daily Mail published a photo of him giving a long, warm shower to a war memorial after a night out on the piss. The student, who attends Sheffield Hallam University, would now be less welcome at the Royal Chelsea Hospital than a Portuguese paedophile at the McCann’s house.

Laing, who has no recollection of the night out, was told that he could potentially go to jail, but as it happens, he will probably face the gruelling prospect of 250 hours of community service and pay £185 towards costs (I

know, it sounds awful doesn’t it). The University will also be bringing disciplinary action against Laing.

As the judge pointed out: "No one forced you to take all this drink, or forced it down you, or persuaded you to commit a criminal offence. You did that all by yourself and you must take responsibility."

Students are the most contemptible human beings on the planet Now let’s get one thing straight; I am, broadly-speaking, a pacifist. I don’t like war, but I will still acknowledge that soldiers who die for their country, or for an ideal that the country represents, are worthy of a certain respect.

What Laing did was probably pretty repulsive, but, since he claims not to have known at the time where he was sprinkling his golden rain, he probably doesn’t deserve to be judged on the fact that he urinated on a war

memorial. He is, however, guilty of being a dick, just like the rest of us.

Students are the most contemptible bunch of human beings on the planet. We are young, lazy and arrogant. We go out every night, get pissed and make tits out of ourselves. Everything we do is essentially self-fuelling.

Take student politics: nothing else manages to be so self-important yet so pointless. Or this: I, a student, am writing this article for the benefit of you, more students, for no other reason than writing in a newspaper. If this were a ‘proper’ newspaper I would at least be able to claim that I was doing you a favour. As it happens, the only person I’m serving is myself.

Sadly, however, being a dick isn’t an offence and hence Laing didn’t deserve to go to prison. He does, however, deserve to do 250 hours of community service. We all probably deserve 250 hours of community service. Some people probably deserve more. You know who you are. Dicks.

PHILIP LAING: Giving students a bad name, or just one of the lads?

COLUMNIST 11

gairrhydd | OPINION@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY NOVEMBER 30 2009

e b o T . . . .

K N A R F

The end of the beginning A

s hard as it is to believe, by the time you read this, the end of this appalling titled decade, ‘the Noughties’ will be but mere weeks away.

It is impossible for any writer to fully sum up a decade of human existence in a few short words as I have to work with. All I can do is skim the surface, and even then only lightly, as it is a surface so vast and multi-faceted it puts our rising oceans to shame.

How can you sum up a decade that for many of us students will be half of our entire lives in a mere few hundred words? Perhaps it would suffice to remember for a moment the turning points, the images or events that have shaped the world over the last ten years.

It's hard to think of the 'Noughties' without feeling a little depressed The immediate moment that springs to mind for, I should think, all of us is September 11, 2001. A moment that will almost certainly be remembered for the foreseeable future of mankind.

9/11 was unquestionably the moment that defined the ‘Noughties’ no sooner than they had truly begun, shaking the very foundations of the Western world and plunging the world into a decade for many characterized by terror, war, torture and suffering. At 8:46am EST, the Western World was changed forever, as the image of American Airlines flight 11 colliding with the first tower was seared into our retinas and into our history. I bet you remember the moment you found out, and I bet you remember the video footage that transfixed the world.

Even now, nine years later, we are embroiled in conflict across the globe and every day soldiers and civilians become new casualties of the controversial, catastrophic War on Terror. Mere weeks after the tragedy, the West plunged headfirst into the war in Afghanistan, pursuing the still elusive and oft-forgotten Osama bin Laden. He remains on the run, and priorities have changed, with NATO forces now submerged in an ongoing war against Taliban insurgency and counter-terrorism, while Afghanistan

A CARDIFF NEW YEAR: Given the decade we've had, this year fireworks might be a bit much remains mired in corruption, poverty and instability.

In 2003 we invaded Iraq as a direct result of a perceived threat of Weapons of Mass Destruction. Western intelligence forces maintained they were there, and Tony Blair’s Labour government believed them.

The ever-controversial war in Iraq is still ongoing, despite British combat forces withdrawing in July this year.

The planes brought back hundreds of coffins. Many thousands of Iraqis – military, insurgent and civilian – were killed. No WMDs were found. Only now is hope of a true inquiry into the affairs leading to the Iraq war starting to flourish.

It is hard to think of the ‘Noughties’ without feeling a little deflated and indeed depressed. It has been the decade where the terrifying reality of global warming has finally hit home. It has been the decade of 7/7, of Katrina, of the Asian Tsunami, of Darfur, and of Big Brother. It has been the decade of one of the steepest depressions in world financial history. It would not be cynical to suggest that the ‘Noughties’ have seen the decline of the West while the developing world

has flourished.

It hasn’t been all tears and tragedy though. It’s far too easy to remember the past and lose hope for the future.

It has been the decade of Live 8 and Live Earth. It has been the decade of peace in Northern Ireland. It has been a decade of technological revolution beyond our wildest expectations. The Internet, mobile phones, transport and many other world-changing developments have changed the day-to-day lives of many to a state beyond recognition to the life of a decade ago.

It has been the decade of fair trade, of equal rights, of education, of onelaptop-per-child. It was a decade of cultural and social transformation.

It is simply impossible to grasp the breadth and richness of today’s culture. It has been a decade of openness, of globalization and of learning. It has been the decade of YouTube, MySpace, Facebook and Twitter. We now live in a world that was unforeseeable ten years ago. It is far too easy to see nothing but devastation when one looks at the past. The painful memories have a tendency to stay in our minds, and the good times seem to fade away into an incomprehensible

blur. We need to remember the good times, the positives. I, as frequenters of this page may know, try to be an eternal optimist. Looking back over the last ten years, this hasn’t changed.

The landmarks of this decade have brought us together, not divided us This December, the global leaders of the world will be meeting in Copenhagen to discuss how to solve the global crisis of climate change. Just over 20 years ago, the world was still divided by the Berlin Wall. It was a world of political difference and fear.

Perhaps that fear still remains, but when I look at summits like this I can do little but hope. We live in an age in which the whole world is starting to unite behind a single cause. It may be the early days, but surely this is a sign of things to come. The War on Terror is ongoing, but the West is no longer the gung-ho invader it once was, shamed, humbled and educated by its

failures and atrocities committed in the name of revenge. This new world is changing, bringing us together. The Internet, the recession, climate change and the rest of the massive landmarks of the ‘Noughties’, rather than dividing us, are bringing the world closer together.

I can’t possibly say what the future will bring, any more than I can truly encapsulate the entirety of a decade in one article. All I can do – indeed, all any of us can do – is look back and take stock, then look to the future.

Maybe I’m wrong to be hopeful, but to all you cynics out there I ask you to look at the tragedies we have faced and the marvels we have achieved and then think for a moment. This decade is coming to an end. A new one is about to begin. No-one knows for sure what it will bring, but I have little doubt that in 10 years someone else will have to write about the decade that was, and face as difficult a task as I. The ‘Noughties’ are over. There’s only one thing left to say. Bring on ‘the Tens’.

12 FEATURES

gairrhydd | FEATURES@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY NOVEMBER 30 2009

Here for no reason?

How much do you know about refugees and asylum seekers in the UK? Lauren Wright and Rosanna Lolla investigate...

I

n light of the recent media coverage of the British National Party - Nick Griffin’s appearance on the BBC’s Question Time and the various demonstrations facilitated by the English Defence League (a noticeably racist faction of the BNP), the issue of asylum and the role of the UK government has sparked furious political and ethical debate.

Everyone has an opinion on a subject that, worryingly, few know much about. This article intends to dispel some of the myths wrongly associated with refugees, in the hope that the real human cause is not submerged beneath a wave of confusing political rhetoric.

First and foremost, the terms ‘refugee’ and ‘person seeking sanctuary’ need clarification. A person seeking sanctuary, generally refers to “a person who has formally applied for refuge in a foreign country, but whose application is undecided.” It must be understood that a person seeking sanctuary only becomes a refugee once this application is successful.

The aim of the application is to ultimately decide whether or not the person concerned fits the definition of a refugee, which according to the United Nations convention, is someone who is outside their country of origin and unable to get protection from their own state “owing to a wellfounded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion." Essentially, to become a refugee is not a matter of choice, but rather necessity.

There exists a high level of stereotyping with regards to refugees and persons seeking sanctuary in the UK. It is a common misconception that people come to the UK to reap the rewards of the generous benefit system.

Given that this is a student newspaper, most readers should be somewhat horrified by the fact that a single young person (18-25) seeking asylum in the UK is given £33.39 per week. Furthermore, many only receive vouchers for some of the main supermarket chains, so the money has to spent on food and therefore cannot be spent on other important things such as medical treatment, clothing or transport.

According to the BNP’s official website, their policy aims to: 1. Deport all the two million plus who are here illegally; 2. Deport all those who commit crimes and whose original nationality is not British; 3. Review all recent grants of residence or citizenship to ensure they are still appropriate; 4. Offer generous grants to those of foreign descent resident here who

wish to leave permanently; 5. Stop all new immigration except for exceptional cases; 6. Reject all asylum seekers who passed safe countries on their way to Britain.

The party claims that this policy should be endorsed to 'abolish the ‘positive discrimination’ schemes that have made white Britons second-class citizens. Also stressed is the need to clamp down on the flood of ‘asylum seekers’, all of whom are either bogus or can find refuge much nearer their home countries.' A sweeping generalisation to say the least.

70% of the worlds' refugees are hosted in Africa, with the UK being home to only 2% At this point it is important to finally dispel some of these myths. Due to the vast amount of stereotyping that takes place with regards to this topic it may come as quite a surprise that research done by the Refugee Awareness Project shows that in 2007, Afghanistan, Iran and China were the top three countries of origin for UK asylum seekers. People who decide to seek refuge will often opt for the closest safe country possible as many factors such as culture, religion and family ties will influence this decision.

Contrary to popular belief, it has been found that roughly 70% of the worlds’ refugees are hosted in Africa and the Middle East, with the UK being home to only 2%. In 2007 only 23% of first appeals in the UK were successful: at odds with the popular belief that the UK throws open its borders to anybody who wants to come in. The Home Office statistics show that, asylum applications in the UK “have fallen by almost half over the last five years,” yet due to negative media hype the case is generally believed to be quite the opposite.

Moreover, the process of gaining refugee status in the UK is both arduous and traumatic. When a person initially arrives in the UK they undergo a ‘screening interview’ in order to establish basic information such as their nationality, identity and any documentation that they may possess.

This is usually done at whichever port they arrive, however if a person requests a claim for refuge after entry in the UK then the ‘screening interview’ must be done at a screening unit (these are located in Croydon and Liverpool). A person is then given a case

owner who handles the case and offers them advice throughout the process. It is highly important to note that the case owner is not a form of legal help; the person in question is supposedly granted a separate legal advisor, yet, often they will never actually be given the chance to meet their ‘legal advisor’.

In the UK, the government target is to have 90% of asylum claims completed with a definite decision being made within six months of the initial application. Shockingly, during this waiting period the person concerned is merely sent to live somewhere in the UK, without being given any choice and often lacking an adequate amount of information to actually understand what is happening. During this time it is illegal for a person seeking refuge to work.

At any given time in the process a person can simply be taken away to be detained without any prior notice.

The persons in question are held in

cases of ‘people held in detention in spite of having evidence of being tortured, people with severe mental and physical health problems, survivors of rape, and pregnant women.’

Suicides and instances of self harm are not uncommon occurrences to take place under such circumstances. Children are no exception to the rule with a total of 1.800 children being held in these centres in 2005. Frequently children are separated from their families in these centres and aren’t told how long they will be detained for. Often these children feel they are being punished yet don’t know why, leaving them both depressed and traumatised.

A mother giving an account of her seven year old daughter, who speaks of how “She was crying all the time... and saying ‘I’m going to kill myself."

If an application is positive, the person seeking sanctuary is given refugee status and initially allowed to live legally in the UK for five years.

This means that they have the same

the streets of the UK and being driven to extreme measures such as starving, begging and sometimes even prostitution in order to stay alive.

One lady telling her side of the story to a spokesperson of Asylum Aid says, “I have been through hell, lived with a man who provided me with a roof, in return I had to sleep with him, he beat me regularly, at times tried to suffocate me, called me racist names, spat at me, all this because he knew that I can’t go to the police with fear of being deported.”

Many feel that refugees and people seeking sanctuary are ‘taking up space’ and leaving UK citizens ‘jobless’, however these tend to be more myth than truth. As stated above, people seeking refuge are not allowed to work which clearly makes this view bogus. Furthermore, if the time is taken to truly consider these people, it would be understood how desperate they must have been to come here.

After all, no one would come to a

PROTEST: Strangers into Citizens rally at Trafalgar Square “Immigration Removal Centres”, previously known as detention centres.

“There are ten IRC’s in the UK. Seven of these are run by private companies contracted to the UK border agency, while three centres are run by HM Prison Service.”

The centres are primarily used to detain those who are awaiting a decision to be made on their refuge or whose claim has been unsuccessful and are being forcibly removed. There is no maximum period of detention and instances of people being detained for twelve months or more are ever increasing.

The harsh standards of treatment in detention centres can be likened to prisons and no consideration is taken for those under special circumstances.

For example, the BID found many

rights as a UK citizen with regards to working and claiming any benefits that they may need.

On the other hand, if an application is unsuccessful then the individual will be asked to leave the country. It is possible to appeal this decision but during this time all support will be stopped which often means that people are left homeless and without any form of help. This often leads to many people becoming destitute.

Destitution affects up to 280,000 unrecognised refugees in the UK. This happens due to the fact that if a person is not granted refugee status they don’t always have the choice of returning home owing to a great fear of persecution or even death in their homeland and so decide upon the lesser of two evils by living homeless on

foreign country, unable to speak the language, unable to work and leaving all that they know behind, out of choice.

There are many groups within the UK which are set up to aid refugees, people seeking sanctuary and the destitute such as STAR (Student Action For Refugees.) In Cardiff, STAR hold weekly drop-in centres where students can help to support refugees in a practical way through volunteering. There is a drop-in held every Wednesday evening.

If you are interested in getting involved, find us on facebook. If you would like some more information, visit www.star-network.org.uk.

FEATURES 13

gairrhydd | FEATURES@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY NOVEMBER 30 2009

A modern renaissance With The X Factor the major talking point of the moment, Melissa Mackay asks if we are all culturally impotent slackers

I

t’s fair to say that everyone can appreciate the feel good factor of a bop-a-long melody, the urge to sing along to a catchy lyric or the head banging effect of a memorable riff. But how many people would claim to be big fans of the gradual exposition of a classical composition? (In layman’s terms that means when the first section of a track introduces the melodies. Who knew?)

Classical music is in many respects uncharted territory for the younger generation, a minefield of middleaged, balding guys chained to their piano stools and churning out tracks without a sniff of a synthesiser. Our iPods are brimming with tracks from every aspect of the available myriad of musical genre, but those gems of the baroque period are likely to grace only a select few.

Am I generalising? It’s not like classical music is a complete foreign entity to most young people. For those of us who were subjected to the gruelling weekly lessons in piano/violin/ trumpet (insert appropriate here) for the vast majority of our secondary school years, a result of over-enthusiastic parents, are well acquainted with the scales of numerous classical concertos.

Is it this that puts us off? Would a few strains of a classical chorus bring memories flooding back of dodgy and repetitive school concerts we’ve

been repressing all these years?

I recently took my Mum to a classical concert for her birthday - an evening’s entertainment right up her street and right out of my comfort zone. We took in the musical styling’s of one Ludvico Einaudi (yep the sophisticated Italian names are yet another hurdle to tackle in this genre), a contemporary classical pianist embarking on his UK tour.

Step forward Katherine Jenkins. She's hot and lets Piers Morgan touch her boobs I admit I was an Einaudi fan before the concert, my mother’s habit of blasting his tracks out while cooking Sunday dinner having imprinted his songs into my membrane to the point where he was a late addition to my MP3 player. I found it was great for times of reflection, particularly when travelling, the memorable dynamics of the pieces inspiring uncharacteristic contemplation.

However despite this closet love of the Italian musician it was with trepidation that I entered the concert hall, more than anything daunted by the other fans of the pianist.

I would pinpoint the perceived ‘exclusivity’ of the classical genre as what puts most people off from really experiencing it.

There is that ever intimidating contingent of upper-middle class spectators, dressed to the nines and sipping their chardonnay (the good stuff not the cheap variety from Tesco Express that’ll get you hammered for under a fiver).

This ruling elite of the classical genre discourages a younger audience, to the point where it seems easier not to bother at all. The expense is another thing: a ticket to a classical concert is pretty pricey

PIANO: Cue classical 'pianist' joke and when it’s between that and a night out at the Union, most students would probably take the messier option.

However, at this particular concert the audience had a healthy sprinkling of youthfulness, groups of studentlooking types sat together seeming engrossed, teenagers sat with their parents trying only half-heartedly to appear bored and couples in their twenties, all taking in the splash of culture.

This notion of ‘culture’ is the element of sophistication in the mix that seems to be both the appeal and the disincentive towards classical tastes.

Being sophisticated but not out of your depth is a tough call. Perhaps this is why the noughties have been persistent in their quest to make classical music more accessible to the masses.

Does the idea of ‘exclusivity’ in the classical genre still hold true in 2009?

Step forward Katherine Jenkins, Welsh operatic darling. She’s hot and she’s blonde and she lets Piers Morgan touch her boobs.

This classical music mogul has a £5.8 million record deal with Warner and is currently releasing her seventh studio album, not bad for someone tied to a ‘dying’ genre.

And then there’s the ever intruding reality TV factor which is single handedly breathing new life into the classics with the likes of Escala and Paul Potts fronting a new wave of relatable classical figures.

The power of the classical genre is in the genuine talent of its key players, a result of years of training, and the understated elegance of its staging.

But it seems our obsession with young hot celebrity culture (Potts is excluded from this stereotype of course) is morphing classical music into yet another brand of appearance advertising.

For me, classical tracks are as close as you can get to accessible emotion Escala, as an example perform with futuristic looking electronic violins and cellos while wearing sassy colour co-ordinated outfits which show off their enviable legs.

It’s the age old question of the understated vs. The X Factor. The re-branding of the classical vision suggests that without fireworks, fogmachines and frenzied backing dancers we’re just not interested. But if that’s what it takes to appeal to the mainstream, maybe it’s not such a bad thing.

Even Einaudi resorted to some subtly dramatic set pieces in his concert; it began with violins emerging from all sides of the hall - reminiscent of that unforgettably kitsch wedding scene in Love Actually, when musicians are dramatically unveiled from the woodwork. Perhaps this is simply an element of adaptability in this archaic genre.

If I really wanted to front the classical cause I might use the reasoning that all music has its merits, and though it

all depends on personal taste, the important part is our individual connection with the song. There should be moments of poignancy or excitement that implicitly links the artist and the listener.

In the immortal words of Hugh Grant in the questionable classic Music and Lyrics: "There’s nothing that can’t make you feel good faster than 'I got sunshine on a cloudy day, when it’s cold outside, I got the month of May’." Hugh and I seem to agree that our emotional experience towards music is the most important part of it.

This can be related to any genre; while dancing synchronised moves with 20,000 others at the Spice Girls reunion concert, I shed a little tear, while listening to Nirvana I have a desperate urge to be an uninhibited rock star and while enduring Chase and Status through my housemates bedroom wall I have the need to throw something heavy. Most of all though, for me, classical tracks are as close as you can get to accessible emotion.

I think the main point is that music, as ironic as it sounds, is not something you just let wash over you, but is something to be tasted and assessed, garnering a response whether positive or negative. So my advice is try it and decide for yourself.

Rock on over to Spotify, type in Einaudi and see whether you can understand what I’m getting at. Chances are you’ll hate it; at the concert the couple in front of my Mum and I didn’t stop sucking face for long enough to hear a single chord sequence. But each to their own.

14 FEATURES

gairrhydd | FEATURES@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY NOVEMBER 30 2009

The height of success Most people like to do their bit for charity. One Cardiff student decided to climb three mountains in 24 hours for a good cause...

Emily McIntosh Features Writer Every year, thousands are taking part in charity events such as the Race for Life, and running marathons. As a result, large charities are raising more and more money for their various causes. Taking part is an easy process; register, raise a certain amount of money, complete the event and gain thanks.

However, it seems to me that these types of events are popping up everywhere. They result in little self fulfilment; you receive no sense of individual recognition and when everyone is doing it, where’s the individuality?

What's so exceptional?

Our training ended with a flat tyre and a bloody leg... it didn't inspire us with confidence This summer my friends and I decided to move away from the norm and raise money by ourselves. It’s easy to do, requires little organisation and the accomplishment you feel is well worth the extra effort. With the dismal summer weather we were experiencing plus the lack of funds in the holiday department, we were bored. After much deliberation our mission was set; we would complete the Three Peaks Challenge before the end of the summer.

The Three Peaks Challenge consists of scaling Britain’s three highest mountains in just 24 hours. You start with Ben Nevis, Scotland, go onto Scafell Pike in the Lakes and finish with Snowdon, in the mighty Wales.

It’s a demanding task requiring a great level of fitness and a bloody good level of willpower.

After some research on the internet we found a great deal of organisations running the trip, but they were charging a good £300 per person for it. Sod that! We’d do it ourselves...

We decided to raise money for a local charity that had just been established at the local hospital called ‘Care for Kids.’ They aren’t a well known charity and we wanted to raise awareness of them to encourage other people to start raising money.

Lots of people let us borrow equipment so we didn’t have to spend too much. We started raising awareness just through family and friends; a few people saw us training and wanted to donate after seeing all the hard work

we were putting in.

We began our so called ‘training’ six weeks before the event; consisting of one four hour walk together on the local moor resulting in a flat tyre, a bloody leg and all four of us soaked to the skin, it didn’t provide us with a lot of confidence. We were also running, swimming and going to the gym to improve our fitness. Many of our friends relished in telling us ‘you won’t be able to do it,’ making us want to complete it all the more.

Most teams are advised to hire a driver to drive them from peak to peak to ensure they have enough petrol/ sleep and make them food for when they get back down......not us. We decided on the cheaper option and drove ourselves.

By the time of the actual event I think we’d raised about £100; not much but a lot of donations were promised on completion.

We began the first ascent at 5.10pm and got to the summit by 7.30pm. Go-

ALL PACKED: No room for hair straighteners here... ing up was difficult as the track contained a lot of large steps; a huge strain on the legs! By the time we reached the bottom it was pitch black. On Ben Nevis we managed to lose one jacket and break two walking poles but, on the positive side we got to the bottom within the specified time.

Then came the six hour drive to Scafell Pike. It was a difficult drive.

Two of us took three hour stints and encountered a lot of “road sleeping sheep” in the Lakes. We arrived at the base of Scafell at 4.30am; it was pitch black and we had no idea where the path was. After a few wrong turns we finally found the track and it started to get light... then the rain came. Scafell Pike consisted of crossing a fast flowing river, scrambling over endless black rock (we lost the track) and finally following the mist up to the

summit. It did not stop raining for the whole climb; we didn’t see a single person either way and were all feeling pretty miserable when we got back to the bottom- it seemed like we had taken ages.

On Ben Nevis, we managed to lose one jacket and break two walking poles Fortunately it was all in our heads; we’d actually completed the climb in 30 minutes less than directed. Then it was out of the sodden clothes and into the car.

The drive to Snowdon was very eventful; the SatNav lied to us and

definitely did not take us on the quickest route possible. After what seemed like eternity, we pulled in at the base of Snowdon. We were all knackered by this point. We embarked on the Pyg track, got lost a few times in the mist but finally made it to the top. It was pouring with rain but we were all smiles and were treated to a free cup of tea from the cafe.

As we started the four hour journey home we were all soaked and shattered with lots of blisters but we were very proud of ourselves.

We had to go straight back to work the next day which was torture; none of us could physically walk and it was bank holiday in a busy restaurant. We were contacted by the local paper who did a feature on us and began receiving donations from people who didn’t even know us!

A local logistics company, Barricane Solutions, heard about our trip and donated an amazing £500.

We also had a lot of support from the community also, raising £1127.50 in total. We couldn’t believe that from a small idea with the four of us we managed to raise so much.

Our story is just one way of raising money for charity by yourselves. I believe

you feel a greater sense of personal achievement, we received so much more recognition for what we were doing from our friends and family and despite the weather, it was great fun!

A few organisations are aware of the 'need to do something different.'

Charities such as Macmillan Cancer Care and Marie Curie are managing trips to Kilimanjaro each year, and providing you raise a certain amount of money they will pay for your flights.

Just imagine the sense of achievement you’ll receive from that.

Going that little bit further is well worth it; the rewards are high, you feel good about yourself, and it’s for a great cause.

The Three P eaks 24 Hour Challenge Tim etable

5pm - Climb Ben Nevis 10pm - Drive to Scafell Pik e 5am - Climb Scafell Pike 10am - Drive to Snowdon 1pm - Climb S nowdon 5pm - FINISH !

OPINION 9

Aroun

d the T

af in 8 w eeks

16 POLITICS

gairrhydd | POLITICS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY NOVEMBER 30 2009

Plaid Cymru in plain English

Damian Fantato has a chat with Nerys Evans, Policy Director and Education Spokeswoman of Plaid Cymru, about Wales's future

I

learnt two things last week: firstly, that the directions that GoogleMaps give you are useless for getting you to an interview on time (though as it happens I was early, more by luck than by design), and secondly that the people who work for Plaid Cymru are actually quite nice.

I say people, but I only met two and had a brief but not unpleasant e-mail conversation with a third. I'm wary of insulting any members of Plaid Cymru, but have to admit that I was expecting to meet a group of hardened nationalist guerrillas or freedom fighters, berets and all. I never once felt I was in danger - actually this isn’t strictly speaking true: I was given a very scary stare when I suggested (I hope politely) that a Plaid Cymru campaign to have Welsh flags on number plates might not be the best use of their resources: "It’s a worthy campaign because I’m Welsh. That’s my flag". I stand corrected. So as it happens I’ve learnt three things this week.

Plaid's vision for Wales Modern-day freedom fighters may be a nice bunch of people, but that doesn’t mean that they are any less determined to achieve their aims.

"Plaid Cymru is about putting Wales first, putting the people of Wales first.

We have the interests of Wales at our hearts and want to see as many powers as possible devolved to Wales." So when I asked whether an independent Wales was on the things-to-do list I was told that Plaid have a constitutional aim to see this through. "I don’t believe that the three million people that make up Wales are any less intelligent or less able than the people in any other nations in the world. I don’t see the size of Wales, our abil-

ity, or anything to do with our nation, as a barrier to us being independent at some point in the future. There are countries in the EU with smaller populations, after all". And Plaid certainly aren't hanging around. They are currently seeking observer status in the UN independent of the UK. "It’s basically just about having our voice heard on an international level and I think we should be encouraging that and we should be looking at opportunities across all international bodies for Wales to be represented round the table".

'Wales has to have its voice heard on an international level' But why should English students listen? "If you live in Wales, you’re paying tax in Wales and benefiting from the health system and education system in Wales. If you’re a student in Wales then the setup for education in Wales has been devolved. Westminster does not have much of a say in that anymore. Four of our 15 Assembly Members were born outside of Wales. Whoever you are, there’s a home for you in Plaid".

But despite their positive analysis of contemporary Wales and their ambition, Evans and Plaid are nothing if not patient: "At the moment the debate is about whether we should get rid of the very complex process where we have to ask parliament to legislate [at the moment the Welsh Assembly, unlike the Scottish Parliament, has to ask the parliament at Westminster for permission to pass laws]. Get that out of the way and we can then legislate on the issues that have been devolved.

Then we can talk about having legal

jurisdiction for Wales and devolving the Police or the Youth Criminal Justice System. There’s no timescale on independence. We’re debating the issues the people of Wales want to debate with us at the present time."

Modern Welsh politics Evans has a pride of Welsh politics that is nothing if not contagious.

"It’s more about collaboration, collective working, coalitions. It’s far more consensual because of the PR [proportional representation] element." Despite the ideological divide, Evans is complementary of current First Minister, Rhodri Morgan: "It's sad to see him go. He's got a great legacy behind him and it's going to be hard for the Labour party to fill his shoes."

On the recent expenses scandal, she says that "it’s absolutely disgusting.

There’s no way an Assembly Member would be able to get away with any of that. The rules don’t exist. I think one of the oldest democracies in the world has a lot to learn from one of the youngest."

'If I was living in England I would be very frustrated about the lack of democracy' In fact Evans claims that if you’re looking for democracy, then England is the wrong place to look: "If I was an English person living in England I would be severely frustrated at the lack of democracy. I don’t believe that Welsh MPs in Westminster should have a vote on issues that only affect England. There’s a massive democratic deficit in England. In fact a lot of campaigns are coming to Plaid ask-

ing us how we’ve done it. It’s very encouraging to see lots of campaigns emerging for an English parliament and we wholeheartedly support that.

If you think of top-up fees, when that was decided in Westminster it was votes from Welsh MPs that made sure that English students had to pay topup fees. A few months later the Assembly voted against them."

'Tools to do the job' So what about top-up fees then?

"Our policy is fundamentally that education should be free at the point of delivery. The result of the introduction of top-up fees has been to put pressure on our budget because we’ve had to put more investment into helping students from poorer backgrounds."

This is presumably one of the reasons why Plaid wants the Welsh Assembly to have the power to levy taxes, something Evans describes as ‘having the financial tools to do our job’.

Evans describes the All Wales Convention, which published its report last week and found that 47% of Welsh people would vote 'yes' in a referendum on more powers for Wales, as 'historic'. "It took an innovative approach in preparing this report a n d this has NERYS EVANS: Putting Wales

clearly paid dividends. The people of Wales are ready for change. This is not about power for power's sake but about giving our Welsh government the proper tools it needs to do the job at hand."

'Wales is never really going to be a priority for the London parties' It seems frustrating not to have the powers that you need to do a job you clearly want to do. "I’m committed and passionate about Wales, my nation. We’ve been badly represented by successive UK governments that don’t give any priorities to Wales.

We’re five percent of the population.

We’re never going to be a priority for any London party.

Plaid only represents Wales, only has priorities in Wales. I believe we should be shouting louder for the interests of Wales.

That’s why I joined Plaid and became active in politics."

first

Cameron's policy has a deficit of sense Paul Stollery has a look at the implications of the Tories' economic plans

I

t's not often in this day and age that you hear someone defending Gordon Brown, but I'm afraid to say he is actually right when it comes to the economy.

Last week, Gordon Brown and David Cameron went head-to-head at the annual Confederation of British Industry conference as they set out two contrasting plans to lead Britain out of the recession.

Brown's plans were, essentially, more of the same. He said that any plans to cut funding to the private and the public sector would simply choke off the economy and hinder growth, and that we therefore needed to continue to provide fiscal support to stimulate the British economy.

Cameron, however, put forward

a plan that differed from Brown's greatly. He claimed his plan would make the 'unpopular' decisions that would save the UK economy, and that it would lead to longer, sustained economic growth to lead this country forward.

If you watch very closely, you can actually see the moment David Cameron begins to lie to the nation.

The lie he told was in fact to tell the British public what they see as popular, and what they see as the easy way out. A small lie, you may think, but it is the sleight of hand that may very well win Cameron the next election.

When you actually consider what form of economic strategy the majority of the British public would prefer, it is one of cost saving and of tighten-

ing our collective belts in order to pull Britain out of the 'devastating' debt we find ourselves in.

If you look closely, you can see the moment Cameron begins to lie to us Yet Cameron continues to present his plan as the unpopular one.

The irony of it is that Gordon Brown's economic plan, despite being tremendously unpopular with the vast majority of the uninformed public, is in fact the sensible way forward.

Cameron talked of the high unem-

ployment rates in Britain and suggested that he could cut the deficit and bring down unemployment at the same time. I'm sorry David, but it just doesn't work like that.

Cutting public spending would, in fact, lead to higher unemployment rates within the public sector - anybody who needs two hands to count their brain cells could tell you that.

Those lucky enough to remain in their jobs would experience a pay freeze, which, in real terms (i.e. after inflation had occurred), would actually result in a pay drop.

What do you think will happen when the majority of the public sector experiences a drop in pay?

When people experience a drop in pay, they will cut back on spending in

areas that are not necessary to their survival. This will result in them buying less.

As the public cut back on spending in these areas, the retail sector will nose dive (er, again), which will result in lower profits or possibly losses.

This shall, in turn, have a negative effect on employees' pay, which will, in a true cycle, cause them to cut back on their own spending.

The cycle will spin and spin and our economy will slow further.

It is a basic lesson in Keynesian economics, but David should give it a quick look, because if he does get the chance to implement his plan, it will in fact fuck us all.

POLITICS 17

gairrhydd | POLITICS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY NOVEMBER 30 2009

Don't worry, be happy...

Far away on the other side of the world, Bhutan has been making waves. Chaitanya Marpakwar sees what all the fuss is about

I

n 1972 Bhutan pioneered the notion of Gross National Happiness against the conventional Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and ever since has been a poster boy for happiness.

Bhutan, known as ‘Druk Yul’, meaning 'land of the thunder dragon', is a land-locked country located in southern Asia between India and China. Many consider it to be a small and remote nation but it is actually twice the size of Switzerland with a population of 634,982 according to the first modern census of Bhutan, conducted in 2005.

A monarchy until recently, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the fourth

Dragon King, unveiled to a stunned nation the draft constitution which would introduce major democratic reforms. A recent UN report on ''The Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress”, argues that GDP is a vulgar measure that skips many of the issues that make people happy. It indicates that countries should also measure quality-oflife factors such as leisure, education, social relationships, political voice and governance. Bhutan's own happiness index includes the frequency of meditation and prayer.

There is no doubt that Gross National Happiness has its advantage but very few know that in this guise of

being happy, Bhutan has become the champion in GDP growth. In spite of the global recession in 2008, Bhutan had the fastest GDP growth rate in the world at 21.4%.

The UN admitted that happiness might the best measure of global development Today, Bhutan is almost twice as rich as India which directs most of its foreign affairs. Its per capita income was $1,900 in 2008 against India's

$1,070.

Was record GDP growth spurred by the pursuit of happiness? Actually, it was spurred by giant hydropower projects that India has been building in Bhutan for two decades. Bhutan's current hydropower capacity is 1,480 MW, and it plans additional projects to generate 10,000 MW of power by 2020, almost entirely for export to India, which provides all the financing.

Not everything, however, is as it seems: a nasty ethnic struggle has led Bhutan to expel 100,000 people of Nepali origin, who now languish in refugee camps in Nepal. Such ethnic strife does not look like a recipe for happiness. The Bhutanese government

suggests that 31.7% of the country is poor. All this is coupled with low literacy (47.1%) and a poor gender ratio with only 89.2 females per 100 males.

In 1999 Bhutan became the last nation on earth to introduce television. This caused an upward surge in crime because of culture shock.

Bhutan may have proved that a fast growing GDP does compensate for ethnic strife, poor literacy, lacking infrastructure and gender discrimination.

But who knows what makes people happy? The fact that it accomodates so many different lifestyles could be one of GNH's main strengths.

Inquiry will shed light on Iraq war

As the inquiry into the war in Iraq gets underway, Keith Bugler explains what's going on and why it's not a waste of time

F

or those of you who haven’t already heard, the inquiry into the war in Iraq has been launched. Finally some light may be shed on what led Britain into one of its most unpopular wars ever.

Last week, the committee of five people, headed by Sir John Chilcot, a former civil servant, began looking at just about everything involving the war in Iraq. This includes; the decision to go to war and the possible motives behind this; whether British troops were properly prepared for the conflict; the conduct taken during the conflict and finally was there sufficient planning for the aftermath of the conflict, con-

sidering the unholy, chaotic mess the country has descended into.

The inquiry will not report until after the election, conveniently for the government The panel of the inquiry will question just about everyone involved. Sir Peter Ricketts, who was a top intelligence official at the time, has already been questioned, stating that in 2001 the UK Government was ‘distancing itself from the idea’ of removing

Saddam from power. The former Ambassador to Washington, Sir Christopher Meyer, has also revealed the British government had 'accepted' that the USA would invade Iraq and saw no point in trying to stop them. He revealed that the US Department of Defence became 'irritated' when the CIA refused to endorse false evidence.

Tony Blair is to be questioned next year, along with Gordon Brown and Jack Straw. Obviously an investigation of this size is unprecedented, so it will likely be 2011 before the inquiry’s findings are released. But there has been some scrutiny over the fact that the witnesses being questioned will not be put under oath, meaning

they could lie. However Sir John has said that he doesn’t believe people will lie due to the fact that the Inquiry has access to all Government records and those who do choose to lie will probably be found out.

That the report will not be released until 2011 has incensed Lib Dems and Tories alike, as the general election will be held next year, meaning the report will emerge during the next Government’s term. Many of its findings could cripple Labour in the upcoming election. There has been talk of the inquiry producing an interim report in 2010 to let the public be informed before they cast their vote in the election. This seems only fair, in-

deed Sir John has said that he wants as many people as possible to have access to the hearings, by putting them on television and live on the internet.

Transcripts will also be available on the Inquiry's website. This level of openness already goes some way towards making it all worthwhile.

Ultimately the Chilcot Inquiry must be welcomed. There are still many questions about Iraq that need answering; hopefully this inquiry will do that. However one must bear in mind that wars are divisive subjects, and whatever the outcomes that followed, the removal of a sadistic, despotic tyrant such as Saddam must be applauded.

BBC gives power back to the people

The BBC has launched an experiment that could give the public back its faith in the political class. Damian Fantato examines

T

here’s no denying that there’s a political malaise in this country. At the last election 17 million people decided not to use their vote (almost the number of people who voted for Labour and the Conservatives put together).

This is why last week the BBC launched a political experiment, called the People’s Politician, that would try and renew the link between MPs and their constituents. The idea is to use direct democracy to see how far MPs would be willing to go in order to do what their constituents want. Or how far their constituents would be will-

ing to go to let their MPs know what they want. Or whether anybody even cares anymore. This is why two longserving, distinguished MPs – both of whom are standing down at the next election – have agreed to take part in this experiment: Ann Widdecombe of the Conservatives and Richard Caborn of Labour. The results of the experiment will be contained in a documentary next year.

Widdecombe began last Thursday by making an announcement in her constituency and by launching a website. Caborn will do the same in the New Year. For three weeks they’ll make themselves as accessible as pos-

sible to their constituents by using text messaging, social networks and online tools, thus finding out exactly what their constituents want them to champion in Parliament and elsewhere.

There will also be an opportunity for their constituents to discuss what sort of MP they would like and whether they would like the opportunity to vote out their MP mid-term with the power of recall.

Once the MPs have gathered their constituents opinions they will explain, at a public meeting, what they intend to do. This could mean sponsoring a bill or even voting against the party line. Any decision to go against

their constituents' views will have to be justified in public.

One of the most important parts of the project is to test the ways in which technology can be used to help people interact with politics. Both MPs will blog, tweet and vidcast. Is the internet the true voice of democracy in the 21st century? Though this is an experiment undertaken by the BBC and not by the government it could prove to be hugely important for the future of British politics. If successful the pressure on the government and other MPs to implement at least some of the practices could potentially be huge.

This could be a history-making three

weeks. Until then, all eyes will be on the constituencies of Sheffield Central and Maidstone and the Weald.

PARLIAMENT: Full of wankers?

04 NEWS

gairrhydd | NEWS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY OCTOBER 26 2009

LETTERS 19

gairrhydd | LETTERS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY NOVEMBER 30 2009

the Comments from the week’s news, opinion, features and sport at www.gairrhydd.com No expense spared...

Rasputin Just going to add one thing: these same sabbs have eliminated pay for the non-sabbs, who volunteer to do their work on top of their course instead of, say, undertaking a paid job to help put them through university.

That is all.

Rasputin (Sorry, should probably clarify it’s not these specific sabb officers; I think it was decided last year. The point remains.)

Lianne Wilson Bah, expenses scares are all very fashionable at the moment. Cheap news and very easy to write: just make sure each paragraph has a bunch of big, scary numbers in.

That’ll sell.

Amazing how nobody (not just in the Union, but practically anywhere in the country) ever cared to look at this sort of thing until the MPs had their wee scandal.

Besides which, your main Outraged Comment (technical term) is also the Treasurer for Socialist Students.

I mean, what possible agenda could they have for making the running of the Union look unfair and greedy?

Unpartisan? I think not.

Jonathan Bird I confess, I confess I drank two free pints of beer! as newly elected Mature Students’ Officer (non-sabb).

Rules as they applied then... So the

budget this year wouldn’t even buy a Duck-House. Not really, a flipping second home. Seriously, the sabbatical officers work very hard. I know the one of them gets in at 7am and rarely leaves before 7pm. It is considered good practice, in business to allocate a small budget towards team building and social activities. Given their modest pay, I believe fellow students are well served by the Sabb Team.

Josh Beattie I have to agree with Lianne. Surely Edmund Schlussel is talking in his capacity as a member of Viva Cardiff or the Socialist Society?

There is definitely no reason for him to be asked his opinion as Mature Students Officer. Poor journalism looking for a quote to shock people.

As for Rasputin’s comments about non-sabbs: if memory serves me correctly, the decision not to pay NonSabbs was made at AGM, not one taken by the sabb team.

Adam Johns There are places you can eat in Tenby where the main meal won’t come to more than £6.50. And a four star hotel in a town with upwards of 30 perfectly decent hotels at 2 and 3 stars? Give me a break.

Nobody’s saying that they shouldn’t have expense accounts to allow for legitimate hospitality, staff welfare, travel and accommodation where it’s needed, but going to these kind of lengths to spend large amounts of money cannot be taken as acceptable.

The Student Union has a responsibility to its members and of course

the taxpayer to spend their money conservatively. That these officers are actively pissing it up and living high on the hog is nothing short of disgusting.

Kieran Harwood Okay, I know how fun it is to use statistics to make things look bad and everything, but lets try and be a little better with them here…

Saying the bill for a restaurant was £653 is all well and good, nice big number to make your point seem valid, but that’s for how many people?

Presumably the new and old sabb teams, so that’d be 16 people before we have the union officials, which makes the average bill come to, at most, £40.81 (including drinks), if we assume there’s also some OTHER PEOPLE there then that looks more like a devastatingly exorbitant £25 or so… sheesh, big spenders (not really your “champagne breakfast”) (And anyway, seriously guys and gals, the only people who can say that they wouldn’t spend a little more money on a meal if someone else was paying are liars.)

Now, in response to the head of the socialist… um… I mean the very relevant Mature Students Officer: a) You know why there’s loads of £0 in those columns, it’s because people can’t make claims. My society has no trouble filling out forms and getting money for our budget. Plus there’s the new rules that any society who has no demonstrable income (those with no sponsorship and who don’t charge joining fees) don’t get money. If you think that any group of people who can come up with a whacky idea and 19 friends should be given money for nothing then you’re clearly mad. b) You know why students are eat-

forum

ing instant noodles? It’s because they can’t manage the money they have and go out drinking. It really isn’t hard to manage finances so that you don’t run out of money (unless there are genuine problems, such as student loan failures).

This entire article seems to be sensationalist statements and poor statistics, jumping on the bandwagon of MP expenses and the like.

Matthew Weston Totally agree with Kieran’s comments about context. It’s shoddy journalism (just because it’s the way most national newspapers run their sensationalist stories doesn’t make it good journalism) to provide numbers without context.

I read this article and wasn’t shocked by the spending at all. Not even close to it because the figures lacked context. How many people does each figure relate to? £97 for drinks for how many drinks for how many people? £400 for a how many course meal for how many people? If it’s 4 people being fed for £400 then that’s on the shocking side of things.

If they’ve made £400 feed 40 people then that’s much less shocking and actually very good value.

It was the first time I’d picked up the paper (I had an hour to kill) and I was annoyed at the throwing around of context-free numbers as if simply attaching a big number to a statement of outrage should make me feel that outrage.

It’s what happened with the MP’s scandal too, big numbers without context and pandering to people’s jealousy that they’re not willing to put in the effort to be in a position to get the same perks.

Ceri Lianne: I would like to strongly disagree that articles like this are easily written. Hours of trawling through papers and speaking to sabbatical officers, Union officials etc. were spent writing this piececall it crap, shoddy or whatever else you like, but until you’ve penned your own front page, do not call it easy.

As for your comment about Edmund - he was quoted as the Mature Students’ Officer and Student Council member because I was asking him about a Union matter which is very relevant to him because he, as a member of the Student Council, must work with the sabbatical officers when defining their expenses guidelines. I spoke to other Student Council members, but chose to include Edmund’s quote because he had the strongest and most well-informed view on the matter. If you feel there is a problem with his view on Union matters being biased due to his affiliation with the Socialist group, then shouldn’t every vote/ view he or the rest of the Viva Cardiff group express in Student Council be questioned?

Kieran: As I stated in the article, there were 16 people attending the meal including the Union Officials.

There were 6 sabbs last year, 8 this year, and 2 Union officials. Call it sensationalist if you like, but the purpose of the piece was to establish student opinion on the matter, which is precisely what you and the rest of the commenters are doing. Also, could you have made a more crass generalisation about students?

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20 TAF-OD

gairrhydd | TAFOD@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY NOVEMBER 30 2009

Y galw am academi heddwch i Gymru Miriam Hopwood

Taf-od Writer

Mewn amryw o wledydd ar draws y byd mae sefydliadau heddwch yn bodoli ers rhai degawdau. Y nod bob tro yw rhoi llwyfan i weledigaeth am y ffordd orau i ddod â heddwch rhwng cyd-ddyn. Mae rhai o’r sefydliadau yn rhan o lywodraeth a deddfau gwlad, ambell un yn annibynnol ac eraill yn gyfuniad o’r ddau. Ond hyd yn hyn, nid oes gan yr un o wledydd Prydain sefydliad o’r fath.

Polisïau Heddwch yma yng Nghymru Wrth ystyried amcanion y Cynulliad Cenedlaethol, nid oes polisïau ‘atal gwrthdaro’ na chwaith ‘hed-

dwch’ wedi’u rhestru. Ond, yn dilyn ymdrechion CND Cymru, Cynefin y Werin, Cymdeithas y Cymod, a’r ‘Welsh Centre for International Affairs’ mae datblygiadau cyffrous ar droed yma yng Nghymru i weld y fath yma o beth yn cael lle ar yr agenda.

Cyflwynwyd deiseb gyda chyfanswm o 1,525 o lofnodion dros fisoedd Gorffennaf ac Awst eleni i’r Cynulliad Cenedlaethol. Deiseb oedd hon a oedd yn cefnogi'r datganiad canlynol “We call upon the Welsh National Assembly to investigate the potential for and the practicality of Wales having a Peace Institute concerned with Peace and Human Rights, comparable with those supported by state governments in Flanders, Catalonia and elsewhere in Europe” Nodweddion ac amcanion Academi Heddwch

Nod Academi Heddwch Cymru fyddai arwain a chyfarwyddo ymchwil i amryw o destunau yn ymwneud â heddwch megis cyfnewid arfau, atal gwrthdaro a datblygu polisïau ar lefelau cenedlaethol a byd-eang. Byddai’r Academi wedi ei strwythuro ar batrwm bwrdd ymgynghorol neu ymddiriedolaeth a fyddai’n goruchwylio ei gwaith.

Crëwyd y rhan fwyaf o’r academïau heddwch sy’n bodoli yn y gwledydd eraill gan wladwriaethau. Ond nid dyma’r unig batrwm. Yn yr Unol Daleithiau e.e. cafodd y sefydliadau yno eu hybu gan gymwynaswyr cyfoethog. Serch hyn, mae mwyafrif y sefydliadau heddwch yn cyllido eu hunain erbyn hyn ac yn dibynnu’n bennaf ar gomisiwn a dderbynnir am ymchwil.

Wrth reswm, mae dylanwad sefydliadau heddwch fel y rhain yn dibynnu

felly ar ansawdd yr ymchwil, ac fe fyddai’n holl bwysig sicrhau bod Academi Heddwch Cymru yn cynhyrchu gwaith manwl wedi ei ymchwilio’n drwyadl.

Buddsoddiad Amrywiol Gallai amrywiaeth o sectorau elwa o ymchwil yr Academi, o fusnesau preifat i gyfundrefnau cyhoeddus, a gallai gwaith yr Academi felly fod yn fuddsoddiad i fusnesau masnachol yn ogystal â heddychwr gweithredol.

Os edrychwn ar yr academi heddwch yn Fflandrys e.e., gwelwn fod y drefn yn y fan honno yn dod ag oblygiadau statudol gyda hi, sy’n gofyn i’r llywodraeth a’r masnachwyr ystyried argymhellion yr academi heddwch wrth ddelio mewn gwerthiant deunyddiau milwrol. Yn ogystal â hyn mae gan yr academi hawliau i gyfrannu tuag at addysg a hyfforddiant er mwyn

newid barn y cyhoedd a dylanwadu ar benderfyniadau'r llywodraeth.

Y dyfodol Yn ddiweddar cefais y fraint o glywed Jill Evans, ASE, yn traddodi ar y syniadaeth sydd y tu ôl i sefydlu Academi Heddwch i Gymru. Fel pawb arall yn y cyfarfod cefais fy nghyffroi wrth wrando arni’n amlinellu’r egwyddor ac wrth ddechrau deall beth fyddai’r posibiliadau. A ninnau ar drothwy’r Nadolig, g yl y golau a g yl gobaith, gadewch i ni obeithio y daw’r weledigaeth hon yn realiti cyn bo hir. Dychmygwch weld sefydliad lle mae’r myfyrwyr i gyd yn dysgu sut i ddod â heddwch i’r byd! Byddai cael graddio o’r academi honno yn brofiad da i ni gyd.

gairrhydd | SCIENCE@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY NOVEMBER 30 2009

SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENT 21

Porritt's perogative Newsbites News in brief

Despite being described as an environmental veteran, Jonathan Porritt is unknown to many Lauren Cowie Reporter Environmentalist Jonathan Prorritt visited Cardiff as part of Sustainability Week to give a lecture titled What it means to live in a low carbon economy as part of the Hadyn Ellis Distinguished Lecture series. I spoke to him ahead of the lecture.

After joining the Green Party in 1974, Jonathan Porritt has worked with Friends of the Earth and numerous other organisations throughout the last 35 years. Recently chairing the government’s Sustainable Development Commission. Porritt has also been an advocate of The Optimum Population Trust.

I started by asking him, what he thought was the most important thing students could do to combat global warming.

“In terms of ordinary things that ordinary students can do to everyday, you know all about that stuff. Be sensible. Be more efficient. Don’t be wasteful. Don’t leave all the electronic gear on all the time. Think about the food you’re eating. It’s all the little things – they do add up.”

How do you deal with people who deny climate change?

“Yeh, (sigh) well there’s a lot of that still. It’s an incredibly difficult,

uphill struggle. If I’m dealing with a scientist then I will say – who do you believe in life? What kind of scientists are the people you look up to?

They’ll often give me bullshit about this weird Australian scientist, a guy called Ian Plimer, who actually isn’t really an expert on climate change at all but they love him.

"Nobody's doing enough" Or there’s the former chancellor of the exchequer; Nigel Lawson who is a self proclaimed ‘expert’. They don’t strike me as the sort of scientist you ought to be looking up to. Why don’t you just check out the website of the Royal Society? There is no more prestigious body in the world. They are completely persuaded by the science of climate change” What if they won't listen?

“I simply say, well I think you’re just weird!”.

What about non scientists?

“If you think that Jeremy Clarkson is a good guide in the rest of your life, good luck to you, I assure you he ain’t much of a guide on climate change” Are you disappointed that there may not be a legally binding treaty at Copenhagen?

“I am. I thought a long time ago

that we were unlikely to get a legally binding treaty.

Obama’s only had a few months to get consensus inside congress. I shouldn’t really say this but you can kind of understand it”.

Jonathon was nodding profusely when I asked if more economically developed countries needed to take more responsibility. “MEDCs are responsible for around 80% of the historical carbon footprint We have to take the lead. We have to take deeper cuts. Nobody’s doing enough” Should we reduce our popula-

tion more drastically than poor countries?

“You can’t talk about emissions without talking about the emitters.

All countries should be seeking to stabilise population growth and edge towards a gentle decline”.

Lastly what should students look at, when they are voting?

“I’m trying to stop short of saying obviously everybody should vote green. But the Green Party is the only party who actually look at these issues seriously".

Riding the climate Wave This Saturday, thousands of people will descend on London to speak out against climate change Amy Hall Science Editor Saturday sees the return of the annual National Climate Change march in London where thousands of people, including two bus loads from Cardiff, will be marching to call on world leaders to take further action on climate change.

The march has been named The Wave for 2009 and will be part of a series of worldwide actions on climate change. The organisers predict that this will be the UK’s biggest ever demonstration calling for action on climate change to stop global warming exceeding 2˚C widely believed to be the tipping point for runaway climate change.

The Wave falls in the run up to the UN climate talks in Copenhagen, also known as COP 15, which start on

December 7. These talks are thought to be incredibly important as world leaders are hoping to make a significant and binding agreement on what to do about climate change to follow up the Kyoto Protocol which expires in 2012.

Welsh groups are planning on taking a massive blue Welsh dragon to The Wave Some environmentalists are sceptical about the potential success of Copenhagen as they think that rich countries will over-rule developing ones and that governments will not stick to any agreement reached.

The Wave is organised by Stop Climate Coalition, an amalgamation of

more than 100 organisations who have decided on a blue theme for the event with marchers being encouraged to wear blue outfits and carry blue props.

From above they are hoping it will look like a wave of water, symbolising rising water levels caused by climate change. Welsh groups are planning on taking a massive blue Welsh dragon.

Ashok Sinha is the Director if the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition. “People in the UK want to see their government do all that’s needed to deliver a strong and fair deal that puts poor people and the planet first at Copenhagen. All the eyes of our 11 million strong coalition will be on the world leaders as they gather in the Danish capital to ensure climate justice is delivered”.

Sam Coates is a Cardiff student interning for the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition, he believes that Copenhagen is vitally important.

“We need a peak in carbon emissions by 2015 at the latest otherwise we will go over the turning point to catastrophic climate change. Delay in making a firm agreement will only mean we get closer to that tipping point.

“We need thousands of people at The Wave to give the UK government the confidence to say they fully represent the wishes of the British public when they represent us in Denmark.

“There has been a lot of speculation as to whether Obama will sign up to an agreement but it is not up to the politicians whether or not they get a deal. It’s up to us to make sure they sign an effective deal by making our voices heard”.

There is a bus to The Wave for Cardiff students with tickets priced at £7.50 available from the Students' Union Box Office.

Large Hadron Collider restarted.

CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) restarted last Friday and researchers are said to be delighted with the progress it is making. The LHC was started last year causing quite a stir as the press whipped up fears of an explosion. However due to technical faults it stopped working after 5 days and has only been restarted now. Among other things the researchers hope to find the Higgs boson, a sub-atomic particle that is theorised to exist (but has never been found) and is critical to our understanding of modern physics. The LHC works by using superconducting magnets to accelerate particles to the speed of light and then smash the two speeding particles together.

Dirt helps you heal.

Parents who allow their children to play in dirt and get covered in muck are doing the right thing. A study in the USA has shown that children who are too clean have more trouble healing. Bacteria that live on the skin naturally act as a counter-balance to overly aggressive immune systems that cause cuts and grazes to swell.

Many believe that our obsession with cleanliness is the reason behind the recent rise in allergies in developed countries.

Evolution teaching to be made compulsory in primary schools.

The Government has announced that from September 2011 onwards that Darwin’s theories of evolution and natural selection are to be taught to primary school children in all state schools.

While it is already compulsory at secondary school level, evolution has never been taught at primary school level before. The move has been met with wide spread approval throughout the scientific world, although it remains to be seen what kind of response faith schools and religious groups will make. The Government has already stated that individual schools will have discretion in how to teach evolution, in much the same way individual schools have some options in how they teach sex education.

Two tiny gene changes result in speech.

Researchers believe they have found the reason why humans can speak and animals cannot and it is all down to two tiny changes in a gene for language. The gene known as FOXP2 is nearly identical between chimpanzees and humans; however there are two slight changes result in a huge amount of other genetic effects that result in humanity’s unique ability to speak. The study also underlines just how tiny changes in the genome results in massive changes in physiology and psychology. The discovery also leads the scientists to believe that they can discover the reasons behind speech impediments and problems in humans.

22 JOBS & MONEY

gairrhydd | JOBS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY NOVEMBER 30 2009

You do the maths...

Good with numbers? Looking for a job that will earn you loads of money, and fast? Jobs and Money might just have the answer Katie Greenway Jobs & Money Editor Thinking about becoming an accountant? Well, if you are, stop.

Be an Independent Financial Advisor (IFA) instead. If your thing is maths a n d

stats and abiding by the wonderful stringent laws that govern the use and placement of our hard earned cash, then please consider this route.

As an IFA, you can be self-employed, earn your money on a meritocratic basis (i.e. the harder you work the more you earn), and branch out into something a little m o r e than “legal tax evasion”.

You can spread your wings to cover p e n -

sions, insurance, mortgage and investments. You can become a member of a chartered profession in which you can safeguard your client’s future, just like a doctor, lawyer or dentist does.

It is quite an obscure profession, which is exactly why I want to bring it to your attention. The average age of an IFA is 53 - therefore it is safe to assume that the profession is crying out for a younger, fresher approach.

There are approximately 30,000 independent financial advisors in the UK at this time, which indicates that it is a niche career, but one with fantastic rewards.

Even in the current financial crisis that is the credit crunch, an IFA will always have a role to play. In the height of an economic boom, an IFA can help you invest your money, or show you how to buy a house in the most cost effective way.

In a recession an IFA can provide income protection if you’re made redundant, or help you organise your finances to ensure that you stay afloat economically.

To be an IFA you need to sit six exams in order to gain your Financial Planning Certificate. These include: UK Financial Services Regulations and Ethics, Investment and Risk, Retirement Planning, Financial Protection, Integrated Financial Planning and Mortgage Advice. You will then need to complete several more exams to become chartered.

You have the potential to earn millions if you're brilliant, and over a hundred thousand if you’re relatively good. Although you need the ability to pass the exams, the most important requirement for becoming successful is good interpersonal skills. You get clients via networking, so it is imperative

that you are confident and convincing with your clients, or potential clients.

Matt is currently training to gain his Financial Planning Certificate and says, "Although not particularly interesting, it is a relaxed profession. My workload is very diverse and the earning potential is great if you are willing to be proactive."

Let’s face it, there are those of us that want to save children and there are others who want to earn the most money possible, as painlessly as possible.

It looks like becoming an IFA, on the whole, has huge perks. If you are of the thinking that at some point, all careers become a job, then why not pursue one that has the potential to tick all of the other boxes, including good work/life balance and good earning potential.

Just something to think about…

gairrhydd | NEWS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY OCTOBER 26 2009

NEWS 05

24 LISTINGS

gairrhydd | LISTINGS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY NOVEMBER 30 2009

YOUR INDEPENDENT LISTINGS GUIDE Mystic Smeg Aries, March 21 – April 20 The light in your room will go out on Thursday.

This is Venus being a bit of a bellend, she likes a joke.

Taurus, April 21 – May 21 Pluto is laughing at you this week. But ignore it, it’s not a real planet anymore. Perhaps you’ll be going the same way? Buy some life insurance.

Gemini, May 22 – June 21 Financial worries will be getting you down. So why not get a job? Lazy bastard. Twice as Nice are hiring...

Cancer, June 22 – July 22 The moon is shining to indicate your true path in life. Don’t sleep through it, watch with trepidation. It could just be someone with a torch though.

Watch out for imposters this week.

Leo, July 23 - August 23 Nothing to worry about this week. Keep being awesome, everyone appreciates it.

Virgo, August 24 – September 22 There is an aura around Uranus, it’s been there for a while. Get it checked out, it could be serious.

Libra, September 23 – October 23 Look behind you now. I’m watching you. Seriously, look around. Do it. Okay I’m not. But you got scared – don’t be. This week will be happy for you, you’ll get either: a) a lovebite or b) a bite from a rabid dog. Good luck!

Monday

30th November RAID FEST, CF10, £3/4 Raid Festival this year will be held in CF10 and the adjoining hallways, starting at 7pm.

Get down there as soon as you can, as the team behind it have got so much in store for you; bands, Djs, frock-swap, comedy, graffiti, artists, break dancing and so much more.

For £3 (and for a good cause) make a move down to CF10.

THE MAGIC NUMBERS, Clwb, £10 Two pairs of siblings, led by the prodigiously talented lead singer and songwriter Romeo, who make a beautiful sound emphasised by angelic three-part harmonies. The vocal mix brings to mind the music of sixties harmony groups, but there are influences from all over the place flawlessly combined. With a great set of original songs, this band are busy mapping out a timeless musical territory of their own.

MONOTRIX, Cardiff Arts Institute, £2 Known for their wild live shows where singer and band members leap into the audience and play amongst the crowd. "Since the times that Fugazi, Unwound, and Les Savy Fav have left me speechless from their sonic force and physical fearlessness, I have not been as floored by a band as I was watching this bass-less trio unfold."

Tuesday

1st December THRILLER LIVE, CIA, £35 Thriller Live is a stage & video spectacular celebrating the wonderful career of 'the World's Greatest Entertainer' - Michael Jackson. This amazing show, featuring over 20 performers with a full company of singers, dancers and live band celebrates the King of Pop like never before! The show features over two-hours of hit songs including I Want You Back, I'll Be There, Can You Feel It, Rock With You, Blame It On The Boogie, Billie Jean, Earth Song, and many more!

CHIC BEAT @ Revolutions, £3.50/£4 The biggest night out on a Tuesday and with good reason, cheap drinks and the best in new and old club music means that if you want a night out on a Tuesday, its always worth considering.

JUST DANCE, Clwb, £3 Clwb is good for your health, fact. Assuming Rev's isn't your cup of tea and Comedy Club is inevitably sold out then Clwb is easily your best option for a night out.

Wednesday 2nd December

WILL YOUNG, CIA, £35 Will Young originally shot to fame after winning Pop Idol 2002, but has since gone on to defy the critics by releasing four multi-platinum selling albums, being voted the UK's Favourite Artist twice and receiving critical acclaim for hit singles such as Leave Right Now and All Time Love. His bluesy, soulful voice, mature song writing and undeniably good looks have made him a national treasure and one of the UK's best-loved artists.

MISH MASH, Solus, £3 Featuring steel drummers, dancers and vocal battles, Malibu brings you party vibes with a Carribean Twist. Get down to Solus for some pretty hot times with loads of free giveaways.

GAY FOR JOHNNY DEPP, Barfly, £7 Les Gays, as they are known, are a band from New York, signed to Captains of Industry. The band features members of Instruction and Garrison, though they don't like people to know who they are. So shush.

Scorpio, October 24 – November 22 You’ll meet a girl tonight. Don’t sleep with her.

Because she’s a him.

Sagittarius, November 23 – December 21 My man’s intuition indicates you will receive many gifts this week. Especially if it’s your birthday. Keep an eye out on Postal Strikes. It could be the thorn in your side.

Capricorn, December 22 – January 20 Leave your essay deadlines for today. Wait by the corner of the Students’ Union. You’ll meet the love of your life. (NB: This applies to two people only, everyone else stay away. Otherwise it’ll be really awkard.)

Aquarius, January 21 – February 18 Big news in Sport/Politics/Entertainment/Business/Science this week, concerning you. And only you. You’ve been warned.

Pisces, February 19 – March 20 Recurring dreams of falling? They’ll come true this week. Buy a parachute. Dreams of being naked in lectures? What a lad.

Students’ Union, Park Place, 02920 387421 www.cardiffstudents.com ◆ IV Lounge, 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 NOVEMBER 30 2009

Thursday

3rd December GOOD SHOES, Clwb, £8 A rock and pop band from London, who play very fun, very catchy, very danceable music.

Chuck some strong concise songwriting and top quality performances into the mix and you're onto a winner. "Perfect pop melodies that are fierce and ready to punch... Beautiful music by beautiful boys juxtaposed with the content of harsh realistic tales of life that will hit you like a slap."

REVEREND AND THE MAKERS, MMH, £13.50 Reverend And The Makers are the brainchild of Sheffield musician Jon McClure, who recorded the original RATM demos with members of the Arctic Monkeys and Bromheads Jacket. The group uses a combination of indie rock, electro and funk to complete their signature sound, which has earned them headline tours across the UK. THE BEAT, Globe, £15 Ranking Roger, Everett, Saxa and Neil Deathridge combined with Tony O'Donnell, Andy Pearson, Dave 'Blockhead' Wright on keyboards and Roger's son Murphy make up the new The Beat lineup. Combining some of the old classics with some brand new material.

Worth going to see live to hear 'Mirror In The Bathroom' in all its glory.

Friday

Saturday

4th December

5th December

WHITE LIES, SU, LIMITED TICKETS White Lies belt out the kind of massively epic, chart-topping pop The Killers should still be making. Backed by the management team that are responsible for the Kaiser Chiefs. Support from Violens.

COME PLAY, Solus, £3.50/£4 Town on a Saturday isn't always the most welcoming to students and with Come Play going on at the Union there really is no need to risk it, if Bedlam doesn't tickle your fancy and there's nothing good on TV what other choice do you have?

STATUS QUO, CIA, £31.50 Legendary three-chord maestros who have been rockin' all over the world for over 35 years. With more Top Of The Pops appearances than any other band, Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt have spent in excess of 417 week (that's over eight accumulative years!) in the British Singles Charts. In 1991, the guys were awarded a Brit for their Outstanding Contribution to Music; surely OBEs are on their way...

LIVING COLOUR, Globe, New York four-piece fronted by the Hendixian guitars of Vernon Reid, and built on the funky drums and bass of William Calhoun and Doug Wimbish. Crossing over effortlessly between hard rock and funk, this Grammy Awardswinning band continue to win acclaim from all quarters.

GUNS 2 ROSES, Barfly, £7 Guns 2 Roses have been playing together since 2002. These guys are the No.1 GNR tribute in the country. Approved by various members of Guns N Roses, they even have original GNR drummer Steve Adler playing with them from time to time! Not only are they focused on reproducing the GNR sound better than anyone else, they are also mirror images of Axl and the boys, with stage performances down to the last detail.

Sunday

6th December RECORDS AND ROASTS, Cardiff Arts Institute Everyones loves a Sunday roast (even vegis when there's a meat free alternative) and what could be better than combining Sunday lunch with some carefully chosen records.

The CAI's amazing anyway and they do a fine pint of Brains SA Gold.

FULL FAT ANTI-SOCIAL, 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!

SUPERCELL, Undertone, £7 Audiojack - Leeds house duo Jamie Rial and Richard Burkinshaw. TwentyTwenty Vision - expect lovely, heartfelt harmony-drenched songs from Mancunian Adrian Lomas' band.

For those who enjoy lo-fi indie-pop acts like Belle & Sebastian and Badly Drawn Boy.

(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 NOVEMBER 30 2009

xpressfest 2009 10.00 THE ALLY B SHOW / 12.00 SPORTS XPRESS / 14.00 THE WELL MEANERS /

mon

15.30 TEATIME WITH 3 GIRLS AND A GAY /

18.00 XCHANGE WITH LEE MACAULAY / 20.00 SPECIALIST SURGERY / 21.30 BRINGING IT ALL BACK HOME / 22.30 TEGAN AND FRANKIE / 23.30 SUNSHINE! HIT ME /

10.00 PICK N' MIX / 12.00 SHENANIGANS WITH DANIEL POTTS / 14.00 RUN WMC /

tue

15.30 TEATIME WITH SALLY AND SUSIE / 18.00 XCHANGE WITH CURLY JOE AND GINGER / 20.00 SAME FACE SAME MUSIC TASTE / 21.30 PUSH THE TEMPO / 22.30 GETTING FRUITY / 23.30 ALT NATION SOAPBOX /

wed

10.00 TWO PEARLS AND A SIDE OF CHIPS / 12.00 CLARE AND ALICIA / 13.30 KAT AND ASH /

15.30 TEATIME WITH LUKE AND ED / 18.00 XCHANGE WITH XPOSED / 20.00 RELAXATURE /

21.30 SUPERSTARS! / 22.30 OFF THE RECORD / 23.30 ANYTHING ALTERNATIVE /

thu

10.00 THE QUEENS OF HEARTS / 12.00 TAKEOVER / 14.00 SPORTS XPRESS /

15.30 TEATIME WITH SEAN AND HARRY /

18.00 XCHANGE WITH 3 MAN BUNDLE / 20.00 ROCK! PAPER! SCISSORS! / 21.30 LIVE AND LOUD / 22.30 GEOLOGY ROCKS / 10.00 DITZEE RASCAL / 12.00 MONKEY BUSINESS / 14.00 POPCORN MUNCH @ LUNCH /

fri

15.30 TEATIME WITH TOM AND ADRIAN /

18.00 XCHANGE WITH LIVEWIRE / 20.00 ALPHABETTI SPAGHETTI / 21.00 WHAT'S THE DIFF / 22.30 MR. MARVELS MAGIC HOUR / 23.30 JOHN MALCOVICH /

sat

09.30 WADES RISE N' SHINE / 11.00 ALL ABOARD DUNCAN AND ROB / 12.30 GARETH JONES /

14.00 THE RESTORATION / 16.00 ESCAPE FROM THE PIGEON HOLE 17.00 THE NORTH/SOUTH DIVIDE / 18.00 TEN YEARS TIME / 19.00 BUILT / 20.00 JOHN HOLLAND AND MATT MCCREEDIE / 21.00 THE GNAT HOUSE /

sun

11.00 SPEECH SUNDAY 15.00 THE STUDENT RADIO CHART SHOW

FT. THE ROUND TABLE / SKETCH SHOW / THE QUIZ SHOW ELECTILE DYSFUNCTION / NO SHOW / BRITT AND JEN THE TRAWLEMENS SWEETHEARTS / ACROSS THE CORRIDOR THE FILIBUSTERS / COMMUNITY SERVICE / GAIR RHYDD PETE, PHIL AND JON AD LIB SHOW / STEVE AND MATT

17.00 UNDER THE RADAR / 18.30 DAVE AND JOE / 19.30 RIDICULE THE MULE / 20.30 HIPPO IN THE HAMMOCK / 21.30 ROADTRIPPIN' / 22.30 AMERICAN SPORTS SHOW /

www.xpressradio.co.uk

FIVE MINUTE FUN 27

crossword.

sudoku.

gairrhydd | FMF@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY NOVEMBER 30 2009

EASY

MEDIUM

HARD

Across

Down

1. Familiarize (8) 5. Not unusual (6) 9. Lodgers (8) 10. Trifle (6) 12. Care giver (5) 13. A political system governed by a few people (9) 14. Athletic competitions (6) 16. Defraud (7) 19. Incomplete (7) 21. 2nd largest country in area (6) 23. Grossly unconventional (9) 25. Specialty (5) 26. Beginning (6) 27. Not a pessimist (8) 28. Intensify (6) 29. Colander (8)

1. A person with white hair and milky skin (6) 2. Increase fourfold (9) 3. Befuddle (5) 4. Anxious (7) 6. A medical procedure (9) 7. An illusory feat (5) 8. Someone recently married (8) 11. Boosts (4) 15. Bury the hatchet (9) 17. Reasoning (9) 18. Space rock (8) 20. 3 feet (4) 21. Pilot compartment (7) 22. Annoy (6) 24. Law-breaking (5) 25. Nigerian monetary unit (5)

gair rhydd have teamed with up-and-coming designers, Heretics, for two lucky readers to win one of their stylish t-shirts, dubbed the ‘thinking man’s t-shirt’.

Heretics launched in September, selling unique caricature t-shirts of famous faces, ranging from Charlie Chaplin and Andy Warhol to the yet unlaunched, Michael Jackson; each a character that has ‘challenged conventional thinking and expanded the realm of art’.

For a chance to win a t-shirt of your choice answer the following question: which famous face is about to feature on a Heretics t-shirt?

Email your answers to editor@gairrhydd.com

28 SPORT- WARM UP Previews in brief Carling Cup quarter-final Man United vs Spurs Sir Alex Ferguson will have to watch his side from the stands on Tuesday night as his touchline ban stops him from being in the dugout during his team's Carling Cup quarter final match against Harry Redknapp’s in-form Spurs side.

The game is a repeat of last year’s final which saw United beat Spurs after a penalty shoot-out. The competition has come under much criticism in recent years for its lack of prestige, but with a chance of silverwear and Arsenal and Chelsea still in it, there is everything to play for.

Spurs are not far behind the Reds in the league and confidence will be high going into the game after their 9-1 drubbing of Wigan. The league’s top scorer Jermaine Defoe will be looking to add to the five goals that he netted against the Latics. Expect Fergie to field a combination of youth and experience in a game that should be well worth a watch.

UK Snooker Championships Next week sees some of snooker's best players take to the Telford International Centre for the Pukka Pies UK Championship.

Hardly the most glamorous of sponsors, but this is arguably the most important snooker tournament after the World Championships. This will be the 33rd year of the competition and 16 players will battle it out for the trophy.

Last year saw Shaun Murphy dramatically take the title after a close fought match against China's Marco Fu and the two will be looking for more success this year.

All eyes however will be on John Higgins after he took home the World Championship crown and he is favourite to gain more silverware in Telford.

Lets not forget Ronnie O'Sullivan though, who will be looking to finish the year in style after his victory at the Shanghai Masters.

gairrhydd | SPORT@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY NOVEMBER 30 2009

Adam Horne looks ahead to Amir Khan's upcoming WBA title defence against undefeated Dmitry Salita Amir Khan has come a long way since his 54-second defeat to Breidis Prescott in September of 2008. After beating Andriy Kotelnik in July, he now holds the WBA light-welterwight title. However he will have a massive task ahead of him if he wishes to keep hold of it.

Since taking the title, the undefeated Dmitry Salita has been hot on his tail, and is baying for blood.

Salita, nicknamed ‘The Star of David’ due to his Jewish heritage, is seen by many as the No.1 contender for the title. He is also ranked No.1 in the light-welterweight division by the WBA and after 31 professional fights is still undefeated. How, then, has he not already challenged for the title?

Well herein lies the basis for the tension and bitterness between the two fighters. According to Salita, he should have been the one fighting Kotelnik for the title in July, but Khan sneaked in much to Salita’s anger and won the title first. Now Salita wants what he believes is coming to him, and Khan seems only too happy to give him the chance to steal it from his grasp.

Salita may be ranked as No.1 in the division, but if he thinks he can recreate another 54-second disaster for Khan, I believe he is much mistaken.

He has publicly announced that he has seen a massive weakness in Khan.

Salita believes Khan has a particularly vulnerable chin, and thinks this will be the basis for his victory on Saturday night. He is a very sound boxer, technically clever and incredibly solid. But Khan’s trainer Freddy Roach doesn’t believe he will pose much of a threat. “He's a good technical boxer, but nothing spectacular. [He] does the fundamentals OK, but Amir's speed will be too much for him.”

SALITA: Angry after victorious Khan nent. He’s well rounded in both attack and defence and will prove extremely difficult to break down. His undefeated fight record speaks for itself and he is clearly pumped up for this fight and ready to show Khan who the real lightwelterweight champion is. He will look to absorb Khan’s speed and exploit his ‘weak chin’ in order to make his first title challenge a successful one. Khan

Salita wants what is coming to him, and Khan seems only too happy to oblige Whilst Khan relies on speed, Salita doesn’t appear to have one outstanding advantage in attack, but this can make for an extremely tough oppo-

KHAN: Tight grip on belt

refuses to go best of five at rock, paper, scissors will need a perfect gameplan if he is ning his title he beat Marco Antonio to win this fight. However, I think Barrera, at the time ranked No.1 in trainer Freddy Roach will deliver this. the WBO World lightweight rankings, His tactics are second to none as he winning after a cut on Barrera’s face has proven time and time again, and forced officials to stop the fight. On he will be integral to masterminding viewing of the judges’ cards up to that Khan’s victory on Saturday night. point, Khan was comfortably ahead.

It is vital for Khan’s career that he defends his title on Saturday night. He needs to cement his place in the boxing world after his early career rollercoaster ride.

However, in my opinion, he has sparred with the best, is trained by the best and is finally taking the shape Khan moved to Los Angeles to join of an impressive, more mature boxer. up with trainer Freddy Roach in Octo- Make no mistake, he is in for probably ber 2008, who also trains the legendary the toughest fight of his life, but his Manny Pacquiao. Nine months later, speed will prove too much for Dmitry Roach helped him to win a World ti- Salita. I expect the fight to last a fair tle. Surprise, surprise. It seems there’s few rounds, but believe ‘The Star of nothing Roach can’t achieve as a David’ will eventually fade away totrainer. Through him, Khan has made wards the 7th or 8th round and will the transition from boy to man, while give way to Khan's speed and agpicking up some incredibly valuable gression. He may want that title, but experience from having Pacquiao as a he won’t be wearing it anytime soon. sparring partner. On his course to win-

It is vital for Khan's career that he defends his title on Saturday night

Amir Khan vs Dmitry Salita: The Editors' predictions James Hinks: I don't like Amir Khan, he has a cocky attitude and this makes me happy when he loses. For that reason I'm rooting for Salita to come through. After all, he's undefeated so far in his professional career and looks to be an extremely solid boxer. Freddy Roach may have turned Khan into a stronger, smarter boxer but I fully expect Salita to steal the belt, and retain his impressive win record. I hope Khan is a Nicolas Cage fan because on Saturday, it's going to be another case of Gone in 60 Seconds.

Lucy Morgan: Despite his admission that this will be one of the toughest fights of his career, I predict a victory for Amir Khan. He’s bounced back from his shocking defeat to Prescott in 2008 and has been training in the same gym as arguably the world’s best fighter, Manny Pacquiao. Salita may be unbeaten in 31 fights but he will be fighting outside of North America for the first time and doesn’t have any major names on his record.

Khan on the other had will be defending his WBA title and will be out to prove his potential.

Robbie Wells: People keep referring to the fact that this will be the toughest fight of Amir Khan's career, yet think he will still win. I can't help but think that if it's a harder fight than his bout against Prescott, then that surely means he will lose miserably again. Khan is fast, sure, but he hasn't been tested properly since his loss. How he managed to gain a title fight before Salita is a mystery and a travesty; Salita is 31 without loss, against Khan's 21-1-0.

The fact that Salita has yet to taste defeat must give him the upper hand in the bout, and I for one would like to see Khan knocked down again.

Jon Evans: It's a tricky one to call this week. On the one hand we have the olympic silver medalist who's holding the WBA title belt at just 22. On the other hand we have a man who's never been beaten in all of his 31 fights.

Salita will fancy his chances against a man who has been knocked down three times in recent fights. Yet I'm going for the Bolton boy, he has bags of talent and has some of the fastest hands in boxing. Under the guidance of Freddy Roach, Khan seems to be rejuvinated, sparring with the likes of Pacquiao on a daily basis he appears to be a stronger all-round fighter.

THE WORD ON - SPORT 29

gairrhydd | SPORT@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY NOVEMBER 30 2009

Robin Morgan gives The Word On... the rise TOP FIVE... of domestic Welsh football in recent years 1.

Welsh players ever

As I’m writing this, the 24th and 25th best teams in the English leagues are, in fact, not from England. They are Swansea and Cardiff, which as you should know are from Wales. I hope you’re keeping up.

The rise of these two sides have sparked fierce debate with relation to the possible inclusion of Scottish giants Rangers and Celtic joining the English tiers, but that’s another story for another day.

Ten years ago, Cardiff had just been promoted to the old Division Two (nowadays League One), and were accepted as just another team in the lower arches of the Football League.

Swansea, meanwhile, were about to embark on their Division Three championship winning season, and would promoted the following year.

Nowadays, after a changing decade of fortunes and mediocrity, Welsh football in the English leagues seems to have had a revival. This is of course with the exception of the once-dominant Welsh force of Wrexham.

Welsh football in the English leagues seems to have had a revival Both Cardiff and Swansea have their best chance in over half a decade to return to top-flight football. The youth systems in place at both clubs is exemplary and if not some of the best in the Championship.

Craig Bellamy, Mark Delaney, Aaron Ramsey, James Collins, Danny Gabbidon, Cameron Jerome, Jason Scotland, Jordi Gomez, amongst others, have all made the step up to the Premiership, and although some may not have come through their relevant academies, it is tantamount to the quality and experience that has been present in both sides in recent history.

This resurgence of quality and promise to football in Wales has no doubt been bridged to the national team, in theory alone. Players such as Joe Ledley, Joe Allen, Ashley Williams and Aaron Ramsey are all players that have senior Wales caps, and are seemingly the future of the national team.

Of course, it is almost a cliché to label them ‘the future’, which has been the attitude of the FAW since John Toshack took over as boss, in a bid to lessen fans expectations dur-

Welsh football improves...Sssh dont tell anyone ing this ‘transitional period’. But who knows, maybe in a few years I will be eating my words.

I certainly hope so, not simply because I am a Wales fan. It would be fantastic to see more than one Home Nation in a major international competition, if only to lessen the pressure on the England team.

But yes, back to club level. The two South Wales clubs have gone through a dramatic transformation in the past decade, into new stadiums, new investments and a new generation of fans. The fact that the Cardiff-Swansea derby is a standard Sky Sports fixture now is a perfect example of this.

Granted, there is always going to be controversy in that particular clash, so perhaps that is another reason.

It does certainly show the current period of Welsh football (at club level, at least) to be that of a Golden Age. Of course, I’m being very focused on the

two big clubs. The plight of Wrexham obviously isn’t an ideal situation...

I'm a Wales fan....I'm used to potential Cardiff are currently the fourth most likely team to get promoted this season, whereas Swansea are eighth (this is according to a collection of betting websites – not the informed punditry of John Barnes or anything...) But the potential, this season or next, for two Welsh clubs to be in the Premiership has not been stronger in (almost) living memory.

In reality of course, both teams will take a few years to warrant the finance and squad depth to convincingly start a promotion chase. Cardiff, arguably, are nearly there this season. Perhaps “Ye Olde” Swansea with Roberto

Martinez in charge would have made their promotion chase even more impressive.

But it is the cliché of Welsh football, the potential, that I am clinging on to. The next five years are going to be fascinating for a Welsh football fan, or perhaps any fan regardless of nationality. From a neutral’s point of view, I’m sure it is fair to say that both clubs have paid their dues in the English league system. Their reward for activity would clearly be acceptance and games amongst the elite.

Of course, I hope for my own personal sake that, if in the next decade, this article is found somewhere, I haven’t been proven completely wrong. Teams such as Preston or Bristol City are, sadly, the archetypal clubs that both Cardiff and Swansea need to avoid. Stoke, Sunderland, Bolton – these are the clubs that provide influence and inspiration to all Championship clubs. With the exception of Gary Megson’s Bolton. Sorry.

Overall, this is a ‘what if’ piece.

But can you blame me? I’m a Wales fan. I’m used to potential, to transition, to accepting ‘nearly qualified’ as an adequate excuse, year in year out.

It’s time to step it up a gear, both at national and club level. If we don’t, I’m sure that in a few years time, I’ll be still looking to the future. As depressing as that is.

Ryan Giggs: The Welsh wizard has been terrorising defences for over a decade. George Best said that one day people will say that he is just another Ryan Giggs.

2.

John Charles: Scored 42 goals in one season for Leeds United, which is still a record. A legend at Juventus and arguably the most successful British player to play abroad.

3.

Ian Rush: Wales' all time top goal scorer. Undisputably a great footballer but not the most intelligent, He once said "living in Italy is like being in a foriegn country"

4.

Mark Hughes: One of Wales' best players and managers. Scored 16 goals in his 72 caps. Sparky was not only talented but ultra determined for his country.

5.

Cardiff celebrate win against Middlesbrough

Neville Southall: The big man in goal is the most capped player for Wales with an impressive 92 caps over 16 years.

30 SPORT - IMG IMG NETBALL STANDINGS IMG NETBALL

DIVISION A

P

W

D

L

Diff

Pts

1

Psychology A

7

7

0

0

116

21

2

CARBS

6

5

0

1

122

15

3

Cardiff B

5

4

0

1

+43

12

4

English A

6

4

0

2

+13

12

5

SOCSI

7

3

0

4

10

9

6

Pharmacy

7

2

0

5

-69

6

7

JOMEC

7

1

0

6

-99

3

8

Politics

7

0

0

7

--99

0

IMG NETBALL

DIVISION B P

W

D

L

Diff

Pts

1

Engin Loco

6

6

0

0

148

18

2

Economics A

6

6

0

0

131

18

3

Law B

7

5

0

2

+58

15

4

Cardiff Jets A

6

3

0

32

-37

9

5

Gym Gym

5

1

0

4

-55

3

6

Medics B

5

1

0

4

-60

3

7

Christian Union

6

1

0

5

-93

3

8

Navy

5

0

0

5

--92

0

IMG NETBALL

DIVISION C P

W

D

L

Diff

Pts

1

SOCSI A

6

5

0

1

+11

15

2

Pharmacy A

4

4

1

0

+64

12

3

Bioscience

6

4

0

2

+36

12

4

Carbs B

5

3

1

1

+4

10

5

Psychology B

6

2

1

3

-25

7

6

Medics A

5

2

0

3

9

6

7

Engin Auto

4

0

0

4

-30

0

8

Economics B

6

0

0

6

--69

0

IMG NETBALL

DIVISION D P

W

D

L

Diff

Pts

1

LAW A

6

6

0

0

153

18

2

Cardiff A

5

5

0

0

+90

15

3

Dentistry

6

3

1

2

+8

10

4

English B

6

3

0

3

-39

9

5

EarthSoc

6

2

1

3

-37

7

gairrhydd | SPORT@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY NOVEMBER 30 2009

IMG football is stuck in the mud with yet more pitch cancellations James Hinks Sports Editor IMG football is currently feeling the effects of the atrocious recent weather, which has led to even more games being cancelled; leaving some teams four games behind schedule in their fixture list.

With the Christmas holidays shortly approaching, some players may think this is yet another chaotic IMG season. However, the AU are adamant that these games will be played.

Last season IMG football was a bit of a farce and left many teams disgruntled, disheartened and disappointed. Games were cancelled at only a few hours' notice due to waterlogged pitches, refereeing courses were a myth, and the format of the league was eventually changed to a pot-luck knock-out tournament. With recent cancellations current teams may be

fearing the worst and coming to the end of their tether with the situation.

However, Oli Birrell, the AU president, claims that these games will be completed and it will not be another half-finished season.

The AU have new strategies to make sure IMG goes ahead this year despite the weather. The teams that are behind will potentially play two games a week to catch-up, while the teams that have played five matches will temporarily stop. Even if the weather prevents this ‘catch up’ strategy, in January teams are allowed to arrange league games around the exam time to fit in the remaining matches.

The AU are trying to combat the increasing problems that IMG faces.

However, the problem is that IMG share these pitches with all public sport. Cancellations are for a reason.

IMG matches on waterlogged pitches could potentially ruin the grass for weeks. The council have threatened that if IMG teams play when matches have been cancelled then they will not

allow the AU to hire out pitches anymore.

Arguably the solution is for Cardiff University to invest in its own pitches, even if it is just for the University term times. Easier said than done, but debatably a necessity for a University of this size.

Some people may feel that IMG are hard done by considering that BUCS teams have their own playing fields situated in Llanrumney. Whilst this may be the case, the registration costs average a lot higher than that of an IMG team, and an IMG budget couldn't cover the cost of new pitches.

This being said, a registration fee of £200 per team to join IMG is far from funny and cancellations are extremely frustrating. I for one want to get out there and play. But when the weather is so bad and the council are breathing down the necks of the AU, then there is not much that can be done. It seems to be that the situation is currently stuck in the mud.

IMG FOOTBALL STANDINGS IMG FOOTBALL

Group A W

D

L

Diff

Pts

1

MOMED

5

4

1

0

+15

13

2

Engin Auto

5

3

1

1

+9

10

3

EarthSoc

5

3

0

2

+7

9

4

Economics FC

5

2

3

0

+6

9

5

Pharm AC

4

2

2

0

+8

8

P

6

Magnificent XI

4

1

0

3

-9

3

7

JOMEC FC

5

0

1

4

-15

1

8

Philosophy FC

5

0

0

5

--21

0

IMG FOOTBALL

Group B P

W

D

L

Diff

Pts

1

Law A

5

4

1

0

+10

13

2

Sporting Lesbians

5

3

2

0

+7

11

3

AFC History

5

3

0

2

+14

9

4

AFC Cathays

4

2

1

1

0

7

5

Law B

5

2

0

3

0

6

6

Chemistry

4

2

0

2

-2

6

7

SAWSA

5

1

0

4

-7

3

8

Cardiff Crusader

5

0

0

5

--23

0

IMG FOOTBALL

Group C P

W

D

L

Diff

Pts

1

Gym Gym

3

3

0

0

+12

9

2

Psycho Athletico

3

3

0

0

+7

9

3

Samba Tigers

3

2

0

1

+7

6

EUROS FC

3

1

0

2

+1

3

3

1

0

2

-1

3

4 5

Sub-Standard Liege

6

SOCSI FC

3

1

0

2

-4

3

7

KAY FC

3

1

0

2

-8

3

8

Opsoccer

3

0

0

3

--16

0

IMG FOOTBALL

Group D P

W

D

L

Diff

Pts

1

CARBS

3

2

1

0

+19

7

2

KLAW FC

3

2

1

0

+10

7

3

Real Ale Madrid

3

2

1

0

+8

7

4

Inter-me-nan

3

2

1

0

+5

7

5

Engin FC

3

2

0

1

+14

6

6

SAWSA

5

2

0

3

-28

6

6

J-Unit

3

0

0

3

-11

0

7

Jets B

6

1

0

5

-60

3

7

Myg Myg

3

0

0

3

-18

0

8

History

6

0

0

6

--87

0

8

AFC Time Team

3

0

0

3

--27

0

UPCOMING FIXTURES

UPCOMING FIXTURES

DIVISION A

GROUP A

JOMEC English A SOCSI

Cardiff B

V V V V

Pscyho A

MOMED FC

Carbs A

Economics

Pharmacy B

Mag XI

Politics

Pharm AC

DIVISION B

Econ A

Engin Loco

Law B

C. Union

SOCSI A Econ B Pharmacy A

V V V V

Gym Gym

AFC History

Navy

Law A

Jets A

Cathays

Medics B

Sporting Lesbians MUD POLO: Not even Frank Lampard would score a penalty from that spot

V V V V

Psycho B Carbs B Engin Auto Bioscience

Law A

SAWSA

English B

V V V V

Law B

V V V V

SOCSI

V V V V

Carbs

Philosophy JOMEC FC Earth Soc

Euros leave Opsoccer out of sight Chris Tarquini Sports Writer

KAY FC

V V V V

History Cardiff A Jets B Dentistry

Opsoccer went into their match against a Euros side who had suffered defeats in their two opening matches against the much fancied Gym Gym and Samba Tigers, but at Roath it was Euros that had an eye for the big occasion.

As soon as the match kicked off Euros hassled the Opsoccer side and were quickly rewarded by a long-

range shot from the prolific George Webb, which was aided by a small lake that had risen out of the Opsoccer penalty area.

Webb proved he had even more to his game with a Shearer-esque header moments later, to put Euros 2-0 up. A John Rideout looping free kick was headed home by the tenacious Joel Cornish to give Euros a commanding 3-0 lead, with the shocked Euros team realising they were in the right place to have their eyes tested.

The second half quickly led to another Webb goal for Euros, proving he’s the total package up front by this

time using his left foot.

Webb quickly followed up with his fourth and Euros’s fifth, slamming the ball into its destination harder than a Ron Jeremy movie.

Alex Papadovassilakis came on with twenty five minutes left and had an incredible performance, proving he is more than just a pretty face with a blindingly exceptional show.

Papadovassilakis slotted in four goals in the last twenty minutes, giving Opsoccer and eyeful and Euros a 9-0 final score, leaving Captain Chris Tarquini delighted with a club record win.

SAWSA Crusaders Chemistry

GROUP C Opsoccer

Euros 9 - 0 Opsoccer DIVISION D

EarthSoc

Engin Auto

GROUP B

DIVISION C Medics A

V V V V

Liege

Samba T.

EUROS FC Gym Gym Psycho At.

GROUP D J-Unit Real Ale Inter KLAW FC

Engin FC Time Team Myg Myg

Sport gairrhydd

PHOTO: LIZZIE MANSELL

INSIDE: Khan v Salita Preview, The Word On...The rise of Welsh Football, plus BUCS and IMG fixtures and results

Trampolining Club reach new heights Lizzie Mansell Sports Writer The past fortnight has been a busy one for Cardiff University Trampolining Club (CUTC): winning seven medals at the Bristol Open as well as fundraising at the Charity Bounce.

On November 15 the CUTC took to the beds in Talybont for ten hours solid to raise money at their annual Sponsored Bounce. The event saw a continuous flow of bouncers taking their turn to jump on both trampolines for a whole ten hours.

The event was not exclusive to members: it was open to the public which meant that members could bring along friends and associates to try out the sport and help raise money.

Members were sponsored to bounce for a given number of hours, or donated money to our chosen charity, The Joshua Foundation. This is a Cardiff based national charity which provides ongoing holidays and experiences for children with terminal cancer and

their families. Some of the money raised will be put towards a much anticipated Eurotramp trampoline for the club.

Bouncers were encouraged by a cake sale which also helped to raise money for our causes. A total of £350 was raised on the day. Event organiser and club Vice-President Laura Rossiter commented: “Thank you to everyone who came, bounced, made cakes, sponsored members or supported the event in another way. The proceeds are greatly appreciated.”

Competition was strong, yet the Cardiff talent shone through On November 21, 22 competitors travelled to Bristol for their first competition of the year.W The morning saw successes in the Novice Women’s category. Competing for the first time, Emma Williams, Catrin Evans and Amy Carter all finished in the top 20 from nearly

40 competitors. The Novice Men also competed well: Brian Dias finished fifth and Mike Thompson sixth in their category.

Jenny Novy’s consistently high performance landed her second place at Intermediate Level. Rebecca Oliver, Lucy Willway and Laura Wynn also performed well landing spots in the top ten at Intermediate Level with Rebecca and Lucy finishing joint sixth and Laura ninth from over 30 competitors.

The afternoon saw another handful of medals awarded to Cardiff competitors with Craiger Solomons winning first place in the Advanced Men’s category, followed closely by Darryl Patterson. Beth Stevenson took first place, performing two neat routines in the competitive Inter-Advanced Ladies category. In the Advanced Ladies category, talented fresher Holly Bryant took second place with Naomi Phillips performing a top routine to finish seventh. Naomi Ellis scooped sixth place in the spectacular Elite Ladies category.

Competition was strong form Bristol, Exeter, and Nottingham, yet the

Cardiff talent shone through! Both Cardiff’s Intermediate and AdvancedElite teams were placed second overall. Captain Beth Stevenson said: “The day went really well and everyone competed to a very high standard.”

Well done to all those who took part The teams are now looking forward to their next competition on Manchester on December 4 where they hope to make an equally big impact!

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BUCS - SPORT 31

gairrhydd | SPORT@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY NOVEMBER 30 2009

Cardiff fencers go top with comfortable victory Pete Gwynne Sports Writer Cardiff 135 - 99 Aberystwyth Cardiff continued an excellent season with a comprehensive victory in a long-awaited match against rivals Aberystyth this Wednesday.

The first weapon up was sabre and in a closely fought match Cardiff had the class to edge out a strong Aberystwyth team. Kevin Chong made an impressive recovery from a disappointing first fight to set up a 45-39 win and take a six point lead into the second weapon, the epee.

Looking to extend the lead, Cardiff's strong epee team started slowly with Aberystwyth taking a few of the early bouts. The quality of Cardiff's international fencers started to tell as the relay continued, however, Rob Prior put in an explosive late display to take Cardiff to a 45-40 victory.

Starting with an 11 point advantage Cardiff's foilists were rarely troubled by a dispirited Aberystwyth.

Captain Miguel Pinto and Welsh international James Thorneycroft dominated the opposition with individual scores of +10 and +12 respectively to send Cardiff cruising to a 45-22 win.

The comfortable final score of

135 - 99 is enough to take promotionchasing Cardiff to the top of the Men's Western Conference.

Cardiff get their own back against Bristol Patience Lewis Sports Writer Cardiff 1sts 43 - 36 UWE 1sts This was Cardiff’s second meet of the season with Bristol UWE and after narrowly losing to them last time they were back to prove a point.

A shake-up of tactics for Cardiff meant they could see the game going either way, nevertheless they were determined to be victorious. The first quarter saw Cardiff start at full steam, netting goal after goal and continually turning over UWE’s centres. UWE made mistakes which Cardiff turned into goals. The score line at quarter time of 14-7 allowed Cardiff to settle for the second quarter.

With some outstanding interceptions from Angharad Williams at WD Cardiff were able to maintain their lead in the second quarter. UWE soon stepped up their game, with both teams scoring 9 goals in the quarter, Cardiff were determined to keep themselves ahead. Fantastic shoot-

Enter the dragon!

ing under pressure from Jo Allan and Rosie Hill meant that Cardiff could increase the score line at any opportunity they got, leaving it at 23-15 at half time.

A motivating team talk from Captain Jo Allan saw Cardiff ready to put in the effort needed in the third quarter. Amy Cooper, out of position at GD, constantly dominated the GA causing her to make mistakes and give turnover balls to Cardiff. This teamed with Rhian Lye’s hard work throughout the court at centre lead to Cardiff scoring 12 goals compared to UWE's 8.

Suspense set for the final quarter and they were conscious not to lose the lead in the last minutes. Pressure started to set in and mistakes were a plenty allowing UWE to catch up to within 5 goals, leaving spectators on the edge of their seat in the last few minutes. However, Cardiff were adamant not to get their heads down and with everyone playing out of their skin, Cardiff triumphed and won 43-36. A well-fought game and a much-deserved win.

Tigers roar silenced by Solent as they blow early lead Oli Franklin Sports Writer Cardiff Tigers 74 - 79 Solent University Cardiff crashed to a humiliating defeat on Wednesday against Solent, giving up a huge early lead in an embarrassing home court match.

The game had been highly anticipated by both teams; the first leg having come down to an exciting conclusion and handing Cardiff their first loss earlier this season.

It was with this in mind that Cardiff started the game voraciously, sprinting end to end and moving the ball around with the deadly grace that has devastated so many teams in the past. Big man Ioan Nickson started ferociously, grabbing rebound after rebound and scoring six points in the opening three minutes. Star shooter Kestas Vacekauskas also dominated during the first few minutes for Cardiff. In a stunning moment, Vacekauskas recieved the ball close to the sideline, taking a short dribble to make space before firing an arcing three pointer. The defender, caught off guard, jumped to block the shot, the pair colliding in mid air. As Vacekauskas crashed to the ground, the ball swished smoothly into the net to put Cardiff up 19-0.

Solent finally scored, but at the end of the first quarter the score showed nothing but Cardiff’s domi-

nance, 25-4.

The second quarter saw Solent starting to get their heads into the game, finally working out a way to break down the Cardiff defence, but still the Tigers were tearing them apart. A nice pass from Kostas Kritikos found Nickson, who cut open the defence with some skilled dribbling to make space before cutting inside and throwing down a massive slamdunk in the faces of a bewildered Solent defence. Rather than give up at this, however, the moment seemed to spark Solent into life, while Cardiff started to err towards complacently, starting to turn the ball over needlessly and make foolish errors. Perhaps it was tiredness starting to set in, but on the defensive end Cardiff started to show cracks, giving foul after foul to let Solent close the gap from the free-throw line. As the first half came to an end, Cardiff remained in the lead 42-29, but the worst was yet to come.

The third quarter started with some resurgent play from Cardiff, led by a commanding performance from Tom Friend. There was however a noticeable difference in the play from both teams: more measured, more tentative. While Solent were gaining in confidence, Cardiff seemed jittery, flitting between periods of brilliance to moments of shambolic error.

Nevertheless, Cardiff commanded a strong lead going into the fourth quarter, leading 62-44. It seemed that the game was in the bag. Perhaps it was that mentality that resulted in what was to come.

As the fourth quarter started, the momentum shifted irrevocably towards Solent. Inspired and determined, they piled the pressure on to the tiring Cardiff players, forcing error after error and foul after foul. The crowd were soon nervously in their feet, creeping forward as the pressure mounted and the lead collapsed. Joan Carlos Herrero and Vaecekauskas were fouled out later in the fourth, leading to emergency substitutions to try and stem the damage, but to

no avail. Solent racked up the points, making steals on almost every position and turning the once dominant Cardiff team into a spectacle of nervous wrecks. With two minutes to go, Solent had taken the lead. The court was silent.

Despite a last minute desperate effort to come back – Kostas Kritikos hitting a spectacular long range threepointer moments from time – Cardiff could ultimately do little but shake their heads and stare at the floor. The

COMPLACENT: Cardiff watch as their lead slips away

buzzer went, and Solent had done the impossible. The score read 74-79.

The loss will surely be a huge dent psychologically, as well as putting Cardiff’s position at the top of the league in doubt. It was another performance that showed the flaw that has plagued the team for two seasons: starting strong, but waning away as the game progresses. Solent finally saw that flaw for what it is. Let’s hope they can rectify the problem before other teams follow suit.