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Western Eye 02.14 – Issue 04
G U A N TÁ N A M O B AY
COMMENT — OPINIONS & DEBATES
Guantánamo Bay 12 Years On KAYTIE MCFADDEN
Editor@westerneye.net
January 11th marked the 12th anniversary of the detention centre based within the US Naval base on the island of Cuba, but unlike most anniversaries it was certainly not a time for joyous frivolities and celebration. Guantánamo Bay ‘detainment and interrogation facility’ represents what many would agree to be the worst violations of human rights by a democratic state in recent history. The United States of America, the great democracy, who fought against British colonial rule in order to gain their freedom and created a democracy, a free state, where citizens have the vote and human rights and civil liberties. The very same United States which stands for FREEDOM for the majority of its citizens, committing such awful atrocities on their own doorstep. The fact that this facility is still open 5 years after the inauguration of President Obama, who promised to close the Guantánamo bay facility as one of his manifesto pledges, is a travesty in itself. In order to understand the complications which have been preventing the efforts to close Gitmo, one must understand the circumstances of its origins. George W. Bush started using the naval base to house suspected members of Al-Qaeda shortly after declaring his ‘War on Terror’. Before sending people there, he f irst ensured (through consultations with his legal advisors) that it was outside the legal jurisdiction of the US, and declared that inmates would not be covered by the Geneva Convention. The Geneva Convention states the treaties and protocols for both international law and the humanitarian treatment of the victims of war. It is apparent that George W. Bush believed believes? that suspected terrorists do not deserve human rights. Upon arrival at Guantánamo Bay, detainees are have been
reportedly told by US military intelligence off icers: There have been many reports of inmates detained within the facility being
You are in a place where there is no law – we are the law abused in many ways: fullstop During November 2002, an FBI agent reported that a detainee had been in solitary conf inement for three months, with his cell perpetually flooded with light. By the end of November, the detainee was hearing voices, speaking to invisible people and spending hours crouched in the corner of his cell underneath a sheet. Although three months sounds like a ridiculously long period of time, in fact there have been Guantánamo prisoners who have been held in solitary conf inement for over a year, and one inmate, Othman Abdulraheem Mohammad, lived under florescent lights 24 hours a day for three years. This is pure psychological torture, and according to the CIA’s KUBARK manual: Essentially, the CIA encour-
Such techniques are able to induce regression, psychic disintegration, and feelings of helplessness that lower prisoners’ defences, goals which are consistent with the manipulation of the torture victim age psychological torture as a method of lowering a suspect’s defences with the aim of extracting information. On one occasion, Donald Rumsfeld, who was the Secretary of Defence at the time, gave his approval to keeping a detainee sleep deprived for 50 days, during which time the prisoner was allowed to
sleep for no more than four hours per day, between 7am and 11am. There have also been reports of flashing strobe lights on for hours at a time and extremely loud music or white noise being played through six speakers arranged close to the detainee’s head for approximately 12 hours, whilst he was shackled to the floor by his hands and feet. Sami Al-Laithi was an Arabic and English teacher at Kabul University. The following is an account of his physical torture in Guantánamo Bay as published by the Centre for Constitutional Rights in their 2006 report on the treatment of prisoners at Guantánamo Bay: ‘Mr Al-Laithi is not, and never has been, an Islamic extremist... He opposed the Taliban, because he believes in democracy, freedom, and open elections... Though a healthy man when taken into U.S. Custody, Mr Al-Laithi is now conf ined to a wheelchair with two broken vertebrae. He attributed his current inf irmity to severe beatings that he received soon after arriving at GTMO. “Once they stomped my back,” Al-Laithi wrote [in an aff idavit f iled recently with the district court], “an MP [military police] threw me on the floor, and they lifted me up and slammed me back down. A doctor said I have two broken vertebrae and I risk being paralyzed if the spinal cord is injured more.’ So,
psychological
torture
ART MAKES ME SMILE GUANTANAMO PROTESTER
and physical torture so far. There are also widely documented reports of waterboarding, rape and sexual abuse including smearing men with fake menstrual blood, religious humiliation and interference with religious practices, the withholding of medical care and the giving of unnecessary medical care such as the amputation of limbs. Being detained within Guantánamo Bay and being subjected to this sort of treatment, it is no wonder that in the f irst year and a half of its opening, eighteen individuals attempted suicide a total of 28 times. In 2003, there were 350 ‘acts of self-harm’ including 120 attempted suicides by hanging. In August 2003, 23 prisoners attempted a mass suicide. Since the mass suicide, attempted suicide
Opened : 11th Jan 02 AKA: Gitmo or GTMO Since Jan 02, 779 men have been brought to Guantanamo Bay’s detention camps
attempts have become even
more frequent. The behaviour of the guards at Guantánamo Bay is obviously out of control – but seen as acceptable to them, so approved by someone higher up than them surely?! This is illustrated below: ‘The force used by the IRF [the specially trained ‘Immediate Reaction Force’mainly in charge of the torture] is illustrated by an injury sustained by an American soldier who was ordered to act as a prisoner in a “training” exercise. Because the guards believed they were restraining an actual prisoner, not a U.S. soldier, they used the force regularly used against prisoners, slamming the soldier’s head into the
An estimated 17 to 22 minors were detained 23 detainees participated in an attempt at mass-suicide in Aug 03
The yearly cost for one Guantanamo prisoner is about $800,000.
Campaign : closeguantanamo.org/
Western Eye 02.14 — Issue 04
floor and grinding his temple into the steel. He suffered a traumatic brain injury and now has epilepsy, with up to 12 seizures a day. The U.S. military reports that the video of this episode is “missing”.’ So what must one do to be taken to Guantánamo Bay? Well, you must be classed as an ‘enemy combatant’. Named after Paul Wolfowitz, the Deputy Secretary of Defence between 2001-5, the Wolfowitz def inition of an enemy combatant is very vague:
Bay since its opening in 2002, only two have faced trial so far. There are currently 171 prisoners remaining, a large proportion of whom have been cleared for release, but are being prevented due to bureaucratic procedures. Shaker Aamer is one such detainee. He is a British man who has never been charged with a crime, and yet has been conf ined in Guantánamo Bay since 2002. He was declared as innocent and cleared for release in 2007, and again by Obama’s administration
an individual who was part of or supporting Taliban or al Qaeda forces, or associated forces that are engaged in hostilities against the U.S. or its -coalition partners. This includes any person who has committed a belligerent act or has directly supported hostilities in aid of enemy armed forces Under this def inition, it is surprisingly easy to be categorised as an enemy combatant, in fact, Before a federal judge, the U.S. government conceded that, under the Wolfowitz def inition, a “little old lady in Switzerland” could be held as an enemy combatant if she – unknowingly – donated funds to a charity that funnelled the money to Al Qaeda. Of course, it is not so easy to get out as it is to get in, regardless of innocence or guilt. Although 750-800 men have been detained in Guantánamo
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G U A N TÁ N A M O B AY
in 2009 but due to political squabbling in the US, he is still being held there, whilst accepted as innocent, in that hell-hole. Many believe that Shaker is being held in an attempt to keep control over what he says about the treatment of prisoners there. He has fought hard throughout his detainment for fairer treatment of inmates and has witnessed many atrocities whilst in GTMO. According to a former Guantanámo detainee “He was always forward, he would
translate for people, he’d f ight for them, and if he had any problems in the block he’d shout at the guards... until he would get you your rights. And that’s why he’s still in prison... because he’s very outspoken, a very intelligent person, somebody who would f ight for somebody else’s rights.” He is outwardly critical of the acts of the U.S government – in an article published by the Guardian which Shaker dictated to his lawyer, he said of the Americans: “when they kill a small child with a drone missile in Pakistan, or when they lock people up without trial in Guantánamo Bay. These actions are very unwise, too. They anger people who might before have been reasonable, so that more of them turn to extremism. They feed terrorism, just as once the denial of legal rights to those suspected of being Irish terrorists drew disaffected people to the IRA banner.” His lawyer, Clive Stafford Smith said that as Shaker is so eloquent and outspoken about the atrocities committed within Guantánamo bay he is viewed as a threat by the US, as he is an individual who can very eloquently criticise the nightmares which happened there. Obama declared that he would close the prison within one year of reaching off ice. As he was inaugurated into the off ice of the President in January 2009, Guantánamo
Of the 550 [detainees] that we have, I would say most of them, the majority of them, will either be released or transferred to their own countries . . . Most of these guys weren’t fighting. They were running.” – Brigadier General Martin Lucenti
In 2013, 103 detainees went on a hunger strike as protest. Forty-one were forcefed through tubes running into their noses down to their stomachs.
9 men have died in the prison camp and the Department of Defense says six were suicides Released detainees claimed that waterboarding, sexual humiliation, and forced drugging were used on prisoners
Bay should have been closed down two years ago. His plan was initially that it would close on 22nd January 2010, and ordered that the prisoner’s f iles should be examined in order to decide whether they should go on trial or not. However, there were no comprehensive f iles, and so compiling the evidence would be time consuming. Work then started on accumulating the evidence necessary to trial detainees. The Final Report released internally on January 22nd, 2010 by the Guantánamo Review Task Force (but only publically released May 28th 10) recommended the release of 126 detainees to their home state, 36 to be prosecuted in court, either federal or military, and 48 to be held indef initely under the laws of war, although bear in mind that they weren’t originally detained in accordance with the laws of war or treated in accordance with them. However, on Jan 7th 2011 Obama signed a bill (the Defence Authorisation Bill) which prevents the transfer of Guantánamo detainees, and therefore prevents the closure of the prison. Obama’s further move of adding his signature and approval to the ‘National Defence Authorisation Act for Fiscal Year 2012’ on December 31st 2011 extends and prolongs the ban on the transfer of prisoners, it also makes it practically impossible to transfer the 88 men who have been cleared for release to their home countries. Wikileaks released documentation from Guantánamo Bay dating between 2002 and 08. Here are two case studies of imprisoned men being
tortured so severely that they gave unreliable information: Abd al-Hakim Bukhari (ISN [Internment Serial Number] 493), a Saudi imprisoned by al-Qaeda as a spy, who was liberated by US forces from a Taliban jail before being sent, inexplicably, to Guantánamo (along with four other men liberated from the jail) is regarded in the f iles as a member of al-Qaeda, and a trustworthy witness. Abd al-Rahim Janko (ISN 489), a Syrian Kurd, tortured by al-Qaeda as a spy and then imprisoned by the Taliban along with Abd al-Hakim Bukhari, above, is also used as a witness, even though he was mentally unstable. As his assessment in June 2008 stated, “Detainee is on a list of high-risk detainees from a health perspective … He has several chronic medical problems. He has a psychiatric history of substance abuse, depression, borderline personality disorder, and prior suicide attempt for which he is followed by behavioural health for treatment.” Guantánamo Bay is an abomination of a place – the total disregard and abuse of basic human rights is a disgrace. A disgrace to Bush for initiating it, Obama for failing to shut it down, the individual guards for taking part in such cruel and degrading treatment of prisoners; and also a disgrace to us. For us allowing this facility to exist, for not using our voices to shout about how wrong this is, for forgetting about the 158 poor individuals who are still living in such awful conditions.
In Jun 07, presidential candidate Barack Obama promised, “We’re going to close Guantanamo.”
British citizen Shaker Aamer is still being held seven years after being declared innocent In 03, there were 350 reported incidents of ‘self-harm’ by prisoners. 120 of these were attempts by prisoners to hang themselves.
As of Jan 2013, 14, Guantanamo Bay’s detention camp remains open with 158detainees.
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MU S I C A N D E N T E R TA I N M E N T
Western Eye 02.14 – Issue 04
The top 5 albums of 2013
Phil Mansell looks back on 2013, and gives the Western Eye his top picks
KENNY SUN THE ARTIC MONKEYS
PHIL MANSELL
music@westerneye.net
1/ Arctic Monkeys – ‘AM’
AM is an obvious choice for album of the year. It is a record made by a band at the height of their powers, showcasing the full spectrum of their musical repertoire. A perfect blend of all of their previous records, AM journeys between Sabbath-esque riffs on ‘Arabella’, heartfelt crooning on ‘I Wanna Be Yours’, and hip-hop beats in ‘Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?’. Album opener ‘Do I Wanna Know?’ is possibly the single of the year, and stands at the pinnacle of a truly outstanding collection of songs. AM is also a natural progression from 2011’s Suck it and See, showing an increasing level of maturity without ever losing the sense of fun that pervaded their early records. Case in point is the glam-stomp of ‘Snap Out of It’ which, if done badly could have been disastrous. It wasn’t. Arctic Monkeys were the def ining band of the 2000s. They could be the def ining band of this decade, too.
2/ Kanye West – Yeezus
In 2013, the most divisive and enigmatic character in music today returned with his sixth record, Yeezus. It is an album which once again solidif ies Kanye West as the undoubted king of hip-hop (or as he’d prefer to be called, ‘a God’). Due to its wide array of production talents, the album has an eclectic range; from the Daft Punk produced spiky electro of ‘On Sight’ to the
‘aTENTtion’, apparently influ- ‘Y.A.L.A’ and ‘Bring the Noize’ by no means a perfect album enced by Wikileaks’ Julian are sonically light-years ahead but revels in its imperfections, Assange) the passion which of the competition. Whilst a carefree attitude which M.I.A imparts on this work praise must be given to those is largely absent in modern ensures that it stands alone in charge of production of the music. ‘Bloodsports’ is one of in both its message and its album (such as Switch and the the best songs of the year, its 2 sound. The lyrics are witty Partysquad), it is upon their and a half minute length repreand sarcastic as ever, referenc- beats that M.I.A leaves her sentative of the album as a ing Drake and the SuperBowl indelible mark. whole; short, sweet and heavy. incident and ‘Come Walk With The f irst half of the album is Me’ is as close to a love song absolutely relentless, with no as M.I.A has yet come. The respite from huge, crunching 5/ Drenge – Drenge album truly comes into its riffs. Hopefully this album is a own when M.I.A sidelines the sign of things to come. Drenge, politics of the album in favour along with other new bands of beats. Parts of ‘Warriors’ The self-titled album from such as Savages (whose debut sounds like the song Rihanna grunge two-piece Drenge is ‘Silence Yourself ’ follows a has been trying to make for one of the most exciting debut similar vein to Drenge), could 808s and Heartbreaks sound- the past 2 or 3 years, whilst albums in recent memory. It is be the future for British rock ing ‘Guilt Trip’. The album is music. really def ined by two songs – ‘New Slaves’ and the ‘Blood on the Leaves’. On the former, West is at his controversial, visceral best, taking aim at corporations and the prisonindustrial complex of modern America. It also features one Two years after THAT fake death, Benedict of the best verses of recent Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman returned years. ‘Blood on the Leaves’, a six minute epic, juxtaposes to delight us once more with the return of the dense beats of TNGHT the BBC’s Sherlock. But how has it become so with Nina Simone’s rendition popular? of ‘Strange Fruit’. Love him or hate him, in Yeezus Kanye BY CHAY1288 SHERLOCK HOLMES West has created the f inest to play the average Joe in all and moving tribute to his hip-hop record of 2013. of his starring roles makes us friend, which suggested SOPHIE SEDDON assistantmusic@westerneye.net love him that little bit more. that even Sherlock can pack MAYBE it’s the array of an emotional punch when When I visited a close stunning co-stars? Their odd required. Of course there was 3/ Arcade Fire – Reflektor friend in Devon for a week in traits and loveable charac- a murder case to be solved my f irst year at UWE, I took teristics make the characters (wouldn’t be much of a detecArthur Conan Doyle’s The seem like people we would tive story if not). ‘Reflektor’ is another fantas- Hound of the Baskervilles as know. Louise Brealey and The New Year’s Day tic album from a truly fantastic my reading material. I abso- Amanda Abbington are the opener ‘The Empty Hearse’ band. The album is a slight lutely loved the book, and it most outstanding support intrigued fans with THREE departure from their previ- certainly kept you on your cast. Abbington, playing Mary potential possibilities of how ous releases, with a distinct toes. However, I didn’t pick it Morstan, Watson’s future wife Sherlock faked his ‘demise’. dance feel. However, it is still up to read because I’m half an and Freeman’s real life wife, is The near kiss between Holmes a quintessentially Arcade Fire English Lit student, but rather fabulous. She’s chatty, char- and the monstrously bizarre album. It is also the sound because I’d fallen in love with ismatic, witty, a heroine with Moriarty was a clear nod to of a band at the peak of their Benedict Cumberbatch’s enig- bite who’s incredibly like- those who’ve followed the powers, entirely unconcerned matic and strangely likeable able from the word go. All the tale from series one, with fan with how they are def ined or oddball of a Sherlock, tamed female characters are strong, f iction rife on the internet. viewed. It shows a band that by the ever-reliable and kind powerful women who are It was also fabulous to see whilst lyrically still asking Martin Freeman’s John Watson. ambitious, loyal and feisty. John Watson losing his rag weighty questions, have devel- Not even Robert Downey Jr. They have capabilities. Ok, at Sherlock and punch him, oped to a stage where they can could defeat the tall, dark maybe not Irene Adler’s near rather than faint. The slidseemingly expand their musi- and handsome Englishman beheading, but mostly. ing motions of the scenes as cal repertoire at will, whilst who was previously known But is it the clever writing Watson went in for physical remaining true to their own for his role as the rapist in style, sharp and clever, which assault time after time was original style. It’s also an album Atonement… maybe a socio- attracts us most? The pace of funny, and taken well by his which could drive the band on path was the next logical step? the series has to be quick, with counterpart. A true delight to headline Glastonbury 2014, BUT! What has made this only three episodes to harbour was an intoxicated Holmes and to win another Grammy. version of Conan Doyle’s a lead story arc. This allows for staggering around a flat for If either of these predictions intensely bizarre anti-hero so tension, plenty of plot twist- a client and vomiting on the come true, then remember popular in its third series? ers, plenty of action for us to carpet, getting arrested for it, where you read it f irst. Maybe it’s because follow, and a host of interest- and having to be bailed out of Cumberbatch is serious man ing characters to entertain our jail by Lestrade. candy. Those laser blue eyes, interests further. Seeing Sherlock off his high smoldering stare, the luscious, The episode ‘The Sign of horse is something this series 4/ M.I.A. – Matangi thick, crazy black locks, or Three’ proved this. Though has thrived on, proving that THAT Belstaff coat. Or maybe Sherlock demonstrates a lack when the time calls, Sherlock it is Martin Freeman’s Dr. of humanity and understand- Holmes is just human after all. Whilst the more overtly John Watson, and his amazing ing towards love or marriage, political songs on this album ability to f ind poetry in the his best man’s speech was tearREAD THE REST OF THESE ARTICLES AT are not entirely successful ( average man. Freeman’s ability jerking. An unconventional WESTERNEYE.NET/BRISTOLSBACKBONE
“It was very superficial, my dear Watson, I assure you”
Western Eye 02.14 — Issue 04
MU S I C A N D E N T E R TA I N M E N T
14 Films to watch in 2014
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BY WARNER BROS THE HOBBIT DESOLATION OF SMAUG
Orange Wednesday, 02 two for Tuesday or film Friday! JAYDE SMYTH
music@westerneye.net
When your loan’s run out, and you can’t afford a night at Thekla, the cinema seems like the best option when you’re sitting in feeling sorry for yourself. So here’s the top 14 f ilms to spend your spare change on this year. 14 – Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. The f ilm autobiography of the late Nelson Mandela released earlier this month and directed by Justin Chadwick. It’s received pretty good reviews from both critics and audiences alike. A touching tribute to a truly inspirational man. 13 – Robocop. Starring Gary Oldman and Joel Kinnaman, this action thriller sees Alex Murphy undergo a transformation to part-man part-robot in the year 2028 after being critically injured in the line of duty. If guns and robots are your thing, this f ilm will be perfect. 12 – 12 Years a Slave. This
Music and entertainment editor Jayde Smyth predicts this year’s biggest blockbusters f ilm is a must see if you believe the reviews from critics across the country. Steve McQueen directs this heartbreaking f ilm which stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon Northup who is captured and enslaved in 1800s. Def initely worth breaking the bank to go see this one after it’s early January release.
09 – The Book Thief. Book lovers rejoice! Sophie Nelisse and Geoffrey Rush star in the adaptation of an international best- selling novel of the same name. Released on 31 January, the novel follows the life of spirited Liesel who becomes obsessed with reading whilst living with her foster family during WWII.
11 – The InBetweeners Movie 2. Our favourite awkward foursome comes back for their second lads holiday where they embark on an adventure down under this time around (pun intended?). Not much information has been released yet, but it’s guaranteed to have the cinema in stitches.
08 – Malef icent. Angelina Jolie stars as Disney’s ‘Sleeping Beauty’ antagonist Malef icent. It’s understandable that most people are weary about the quality of this f ilm as the adaptations of some of Disney’s best loved f ilms haven’t been massively successful. However, I am excited to see Jolie step into these dark shoes this summer
10 – Noah. A Biblical adaptation of Noah’s journey, Russell Crows stars in this apocalyptic American epic. This f ilm also sees the return of on-screen partnership of Emma Watson and Logan Lerman after The Perks of Being a Wallflower. A great alternative to typical blockbusters.
07 – The Fault in Our Stars. Another best-selling book takes to the screen this year with the adaptation of John Green’s young adult novel. The story follows two young lovers with terminal illnesses. Honestly, get your tissues at the ready, you will need them.
06 – X-Men – Days of Future Past. Marvel are going a bit nuts this year, as they are releasing f ilm after f ilm. However, the X-Men franchise is getting better with each f ilm. Starring Patrick Stewart, Jennifer Lawrence, James McVoy, Ian McKellan and of course Hugh Jackman, comic book fans will be lining up at the end of May. 05 – Godzilla. It seems to be a trend this year to remake old classics, however the trailer for this f ilm looks intense. I’m sure modern CGI will make this dinosaur f ilm more terrifying that cheesy. Aaron Taylor-Johnson stars this May. 04 – The Wolf of Wall Street. Leonardo DiCaprio stars in this critically acclaimed adaptation on the life of Jordan Belfort. It’s received fantastic reviews in the states, perhaps this is Leo’s chance at an Oscar at last? 03 – The Amazing Spiderman 2. The trailer for this Marvel sequel is truly amazing. Best loved superhero Peter Parker/Spiderman
returns to face his f iercest foes yet. Set to be action packed, real life fan boy Andrew Garf ield looks to be having a ball in this tight red and blue spandex suit. 02 – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1. The f irst part of the last book in the sensational trilogy and Jennifer Lawrence has already captured the hearts of every viewer as the rebel leader Katniss Everdeen. The war has begun after the explosive ending of Catching Fire and the f ilms just keep improving. It’s a long way off the release date, but it’s certainly going to be worth the wait. 01 – The Hobbit: There and Back Again. If you’ve seen the Desolation of Smaug, does it really come as surprise that the f inal instalment of the trilogy is this student newspapers must see f ilm of the year? Martin Freeman stars for the last time as lovable Bilbo Baggins on his adventure away from the Shire. December is too far away for this fantastic concluding f ilm.
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MU S I C A N D E N T E R TA I N M E N T
Western Eye 02.14 – Issue 04
McBusted
What do you get when you combine Busted and McFly? Cheese-pop heaven! OFFICAL LOGO MCBUSTED
PHOEBE FROST
music@westerneye.net
Earlier this month, teenage girls’ screams could be heard all over the UK when two of our favourite boybands announced that they were coming one for one giant unforgettable tour. Busted and McFly are forming; McBusted. As I’m sure all 18+ girls will agree, Busted bring back memories of walls covered in posters, f irst concerts, crushes and cheesy pop albums. From 2002 – 2005, Busted dominated the music charts, scoring 8 top-ten singles and 4 number ones. Although their f irst selftitled album barely scraped the
top 30, their second album ‘A Present for Everyone’ reached number 1 in 2003, selling over 1 million copies. When the band split in January 2005, it broke the hearts of young girls all over the UK. Charlie Simpson and James Bourne went on the form ‘Fightstar’ and ‘Son of Dork’ separately and Matt Willis enjoyed a brief solo career, but apart from that, we haven’t heard much of our favourite skater lads. When Busted split, McFly were there to pick us up and are still making catching, cheesy but amazing pop to this day; celebrating their 10th anniversary this year. Forming back in 2003, the band have enjoyed similar success to Busted,
their f irst album ‘Room on the They then recently announced Third floor’ debuted at number they would be headlining 1 back in 2004, being certif ied Hyde Park next year supported as double platinum. The band by ultimate 90s boy band has also won countless awards, ‘Backstreet Boys.’ including a BRIT in 2005 for Some could ask, is there Best Pop Act. really a place for them. With So why is the new tour boy bands such as Lawson and such a big deal? Is it really Union J dominating the charts the bringing back of all of our and One Direction basically childhood memories or just dominating the world, the PR done well? The tickets for McBusted tour could be seen the McBusted tour sold out in as a bit old fashioned; even if minutes of being released on McFly are still releasing singles 18th November, starting at a now. You’ve got to rememsmall price of £35. Fans now ber, even if boy bands such as face paying triple or even more Take That have been fortunate than that for secondary tickets, enough to have an amazing some being priced at a jaw- comeback, the McBusted boys dropping £250. This is mad are now in their late-20’s; when you think that, beloved making them a lot older then or not, we haven’t actually bands such as One Direction. heard anything from Busted in Will they really target the 10 years, and the music scene notoriously faithful teenage has moved on a lot since then. girl bracket whose loyalties lie
with today’s bands? But maybe that’s not what they want. I would have loved to have got a ticket for the McBusted tour but, as an unorganised student, I don’t have the funds or the ability to realise they were even on sale. Part of me was a little devastated when my flatmate told me he had secured his ticket for next year. I think this is who the bands are targeting their reunion at, older teenagers and people in their early twenties who remember going mad for them all those years ago and danced and screamed to their songs at their primary school disco. I’m not ashamed to admit that I, still to this day, know all of Busted song’s off by heart and I can’t wait to watch videos of their tour next year.
Mallory Knox the Power Out
@ The Fleece 22-11-13 MATT BRYAN
music@westerneye.net
This sell out night must be one of the most anticipated Bristol gigs of the year, with people beginning to queue hours before the venue even opened. Snaking down both sides of the building the tension outside was already beginning to build an hour before the doors were to open. As people began to slowly dribble in the f irst band, Crooks, kicked off the night with an eruption of sound. A very atmospheric and passionate band, which certainly welcomed everyone to the venue. Next up, Blitz Kids steered the music back into a more pop/rock direction. With very catchy riffs and an uplifting feel good vibe they began to slowly warm up the quite cold and rigid crowd. Probably still defrosting from queuing outside for so long. Playing songs from their
new album due to be released with the crowd with a free in January, their smartly writ- flow of energy between them. SAM COCKMAN MALLORY KNOX THE POWER OUT ten and beguiling lyrics seemed Going on a rollercoaster of to unfortunately wash over pace with the next three songs Oceans, the crowd was at an was stronger than ever. the crowd, which was clearly Mallory superbly went through all time high. But, just as they Winning the sympathy of the conserving their energy for the heavy and popular track of got to the pinnacle point at the crowd, their second attempt the much anticipated Mallory beggars into the relaxed song start of the song, the power at the song Oceans was even Knox. 1949. A move that worked cut out leaving the crowd in more effective. The time had come. Mallory wonders with the crowd, with dismay as people began rushFlying into the next song, Knox f inally made it onto people reaching out to touch ing about to f ix the issue. suitably named, Resuscitate, stage. There was a cascade of the band members Mallory Dave on drums quickly everything started coming noise from the crowd, which continued to play superbly. took to action entertaining back to life, full sound and was soon met by their f irst The third song of the roll- the crowd with a drum only light systems back online. track, Hello. With a beauti- ercoaster was the heavier track version of We Will Rock You by They really had resuscitated ful snare roll this aptly named Wolves. Which is a catchy and Queen. It seemed he inspired to a new level. If anything, track worked perfectly as their brilliantly developed song. I the crowd, who took lead to the power cut had done them introduction. Already people couldn’t believe how close it sing their own rendition of favours with the audience. were singing a long, this was a was to the recorded version, if Lion King’s Hakuna Matata. great start. anything it was better! In the With the crowd screaming People of this sell out gig By the second song, Wake smooth breakdown the crowd’s at every new development, were extremely privileged. Up, the atmosphere was becom- enjoyment cracked a gleaming things slowly started to begin Mikey had asked them “Do ing more and more electric. smile from lead singer Mikey. working again. Eventually the you want to hear a brand new People were really starting to At the end of the track he band had enough power to song?” The reply was obvious. wake up, jumping up and down told the crowd how important start the song again, without a Yet to be named this big strong, and screaming along with the Bristol was for him, and how it PA system but with a dedica- anthemic and new song was chorus. Mallory’s great start “feels good to be back.” tion from Mikey. greatly received by the crowd. was only building. It will surely do well when it Playing a track from their Flowing into the next song, Kicking back in the band releases. recently released deluxe edition of their Signals album, Maps, you could really see the This song goes out to the guy who f*cked up the electric. Who ever you are, I will find passion and synergy of the you and write you a strongly worded letter! band. They were so in tune
Western Eye 02.14 — Issue 04 Paul Walker has tragically died at the age of 40, along with his friend Roger Rodas, 38, ironically in the passenger seat of Rodas’ Porsche when attending a charity fundraiser in Los Angeles, at approximately 3:30pm. The car is said to have hit a lamppost, and then a tree, while being engulfed in flames. The charity, Reach Out Worldwide, was his own organisation, and the event (a car show of all things) was due to be in aid for the recent Philippines disaster, in which thousands have lost their lives and even more have been left homeless and with no food or clean water to live. This is one of the many charitable causes that Paul Walker contributed to over his shortlived life. Within hours, his friends, family, co-stars, colleagues and fans had flocked to social networking sites to proclaim their devastation at Walker’s sudden death, including fellow Fast and the Furious friends Vin Diesel, Tyrese Gibson, Jordana Brewster and rapper Ludacris. Friend Antonio Holmes told The Guardian of the attempts to save the pair, with many people surrounding the crash trying to extinguish the f ire. But despite these attempts, the two casualties were proclaimed when medical assistance arrived at the scene. Walker’s acting career began young at the age of two, with his mother Cheryl, a fashion model, taking him to advertisement auditions. His career didn’t really see success until 1996, when his career sparked in TV with roles in shows such as The Young and the Restless, and in Touched by an Angel. It was in the 1998 f ilm Meet the Deedles that his transition into f ilm began. He played other supporting roles in f ilms such as She’s All That and Varsity Blues. But, it was his turn in the thriller The Skulls (2000) that changed his career. It was this performance that brought him to the attention of the producers of Universal’s biggest series of f ilms to date. It is for the last 12 years that Walker has been best known to the public as a member of the criminal gang of speed junkies, who illegally street race and go on heists for cash, that has been put into six adrenalin-fuelled f ilms- The Fast and the Furious. Playing Brian O’Conner, he was the good cop gone bad with some serious attitude problems: going undercover to catch criminals while indulging in his love for fast cars. Walker’s boyish charm no doubt swayed female interest into the saga. But is the fast-paced nature of the f ilms, the stunts and the bad ass characters that instantly makes you see how Walker
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MU S I C A N D E N T E R TA I N M E N T
In Remembrance of Paul Walker Paul Walker, known for his roles in the film franchise The Fast and the Furious, has died. Sophie Seddon looks back on his life through his work on screen, charitable activities and personal relations. SOPHIE SEDDON music@westerneye.net
help others, and give something back to the people. To actually develop an organisation and see these situations in the flesh are something that made Walker stand out from his peers: he was, literally, a man of action. He didn’t just dream of doing these things, he went out and did them for himself. From the stunts in the Fast and the Furious, to tagging Great Whites, and helping people dying of starvation, Paul Walker was not one to stand on the sidelines. He was a father, who developed a charity to give something back to the world, to raise awareness, and work with conservation charities to increase this. Peter Bradshaw for the Guardian put it simply: the Fast and the Furious ‘…def iantly celebrated the ethos of live fast, die young... Walker’s awful fate shows that in the real world, accidents can happen.’ Paul Walker’s death will hopefully show the world that no matter how cool the races in the f ilms look, how fast they’re going or how many girls the guys get- life is precious, and can be so easily taken away. I hope we take lessons from this, and see some sort of value in life. Walker gave a lot to others, and it is a great waste of man to be lost in such a horrif ic way. He is survived by his 15-year-old daughter, Meadow. Also in remembrance of his friend Roger Rodas, who was his f inancial assistant since 2007, and helped him build Reach Out Worldwide. He must not be forgotten.
BY HUFFPOST.COM PAUL WALKER
went from small-time actor to cult status in virtually no time. There’s something empowering about the six movies: you feel like punching air whenever he drives over someone, in mid-air, over a bridge. The f ilms have only grown in popularity, and for an audience who have grown up with him, Walker’s presence will be a great loss to the franchise.
out on top. Without him, there are many concerns now for the seventh installment of the Fast and Furious f ilms. Outside of the franchise, his last f ilms are due to be Hours, a drama about Hurricane Katrina, and Brick Mansions, where he again plays an undercover cop. But it was his activities outside of acting that truly def ine who Paul Walker really
exceptional contributions to charity. Walker had his own humanitarian aid organisation, Reach Out Worldwide, which he formed after going out in January 2010 to assist relief operations in Haiti. Since then, the organisation, all non-prof it, has responded and assisted in helping those affected in eight different natural disasters, such as the
Paul Walker: September 12th 1973November 30th 2013 After all, he was the soul of these f ilms. He has featured in all but one of them, Tokyo Drift, which didn’t have any of the original characters in it (minus a brief cameo by Vin Diesel near the end). Walker was an appealing lead, almost always punching above his weight, and yet always coming
was. Passionate about marine biology, he participated in a documentary for National Geographic, Expedition Great White, where he assisted in tagging seven Great White Sharks so that their habits, such as birthing and mating could be monitored. But he was also known for his
Chilean Earthquake and the Indonesian tsunami, both in 2010, and of course, the recent disaster in the Philippines. It is a cultural norm for celebrities to donate money while still remaining comfortably back at home. It is quite another thing for one of them to go over as part of a team to
Top films: The Fast and the Furious
2 Fast 2 Furious
Fast & Furious
Fast Five
Fast & Furious 6
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Western Eye 02.14 – Issue 04
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Homosexuality in sport: how much of a problem is it? On December 2nd 2013 British Olympic Diving Bronze medallist Tom Daley released a video on his YouTube page stating that he was “in a relationship with a man” and thus social media went crazy with people voicing their opinions on Daley’s video. For the most part (on my twitter feed at least) people seemed to be happy for Daley and there were many messaged support. But in amongst these messages there were many posts saying “Why should it matter? Let him get on with his life.” This got me thinking, why does it matter to people? And more importantly why is it such a big deal when a sports person comes out as gay? NICK J WEBB TOM DALEY
TO M WILLIAMS
music@westerneye.net
On December 2nd 2013 British Olympic Diving Bronze medallist Tom Daley released a video on his YouTube page stating that he was “in a relationship with a man” and thus social media went crazy with people voicing their opinions on Daley’s video. For the most part (on my twitter feed at least) people seemed to be happy for Daley and there were many messaged support. But in amongst these messages
is former tennis player Billie Jean King, but in King’s it was not voluntary. In an interview with The Huff ington Post Live she talked about how hard it can be to still be playing a sport and have to deal with coming. After the diff iculties of coming out to your family, Billie Jean King said you want acceptance from teammates and opposing players, this is perhaps why it is so diff icult for LGBT players in any sport, team or individual to publicly come out. She talked about NBA player Jason Collins coming out as the f irst openly gay man
of homosexuality in sport is still very much taboo and was sometimes not easy to live with. Hitzlsperger makes an incredibly valid point that there is still a long way to go, especially when one considers the number of top prof ile sports leagues that do not have an openly gay professional. One major sporting organisation that does not have any openly gay athletes is the National Football League (NFL) in the USA, but they have had more than their fair share of issues surrounding homosexuality within the sport. Most notably an unnamed player
Why should it matter? Let him get on with his life.” This got me thinking, why does it matter to people? And more importantly why is it such a big deal when a sports person comes out as gay? there were many posts saying Homophobia in sport is nothing new. In all sports many players will endure homophobic chants whilst playing and having to deal with abuse off the f ield. English footballer John Fashanu committed suicide eight years after becoming the f irst openly gay footballer in England, after he was accused of sexually assaulting a seventeen year old male and was involved in many cases of homophobia. Thankfully, in this far more open and free speaking world we live in, name any sport and chances are there will be at least one openly LGBT person competing at the highest level they can do, with more and more sportspeople coming out. In fact a few days after I wrote my initial version of this article, former Aston Villa player and German international Thomas Hitzlsperger revealed that he is gay. One of the f irst and most high prof ile LGBT sportswomen to ever come out
to play professionally in any sport in America, with many players waiting until retirement to come out. Collins was able to come out completely of his own accord after having already played professionally for twelve years upon coming out in April of last year this achieved the same effect those who chose to wait until retirement, as he was an established name who had played for multiple teams and was well known, so most people would not bat an eye lid at this. The same can be said about Thomas Hitzlsperger, who upon coming out has become the most high-prof ile footballer to come out, stating his reasons for doing so were because he wanted to He did say that the issue
was on the verge of coming out and being the f irst openly gay player to play for an NFL team. The player, who upon coming out was an unsigned player, came out to a mixture of friends who were former and current players as well as people who had links to various NFL teams. They then contacted a few teams to see if they would in interested and comfortable having an openly gay player on their team. Most teams said they were not interested as they had no need for him as they had plenty of players in his position. Whilst his may be true, one can’t help but think that part of the reason he was not signed was due to not want to have to deal with the fall out of having an openly gay NFL player. However, one
move the discussion about homosexuality among professional sportspeople forwards
team said yes and that they had no problems with having an open gay man playing on their team. The player signed in late March to early April and the team planned on making an off icial announcement in June. There were rumours on the internet that a player was on the verge of coming out and just as people were ready for this announcement to happen, it didn’t. Why? Well there are a few theories ranging from the team and/or player changing their minds to some league off icials believing the NFL isn’t ready for an openly gay player. As bad as it sounds, maybe many sporting leagues around the world aren’t ready for an openly gay player and an overall attitude change needs to happen f irst in order for players to feel comfortable coming out. Again, going back to the NFL there have been players who have been affected in some ways purely from stating their opinions on gay sports people or even gay rights more generally. Baltimore Ravens player Brendon Ayanbadejo has openly talked about how he feels that should one player come out, many more would follow suit. Ayanbadejo’s actions led to Maryland state delegate Emmett C. Burns writing to the owner of the team requesting that his players shouldn’t be expressing these opinions so publicly. This then led to former Minnesota Vikings punter, an open advocate of gay rights to write an open letter to Burns in which he openly voices his disgust at Burns’ (as Kluwe calls it)
vitriolic hatred and
Vikings at the end of the 2012-13 season, and on 2nd of January he posted an article on deadspin.com explaining how he feels his actions as an activist for marriage equality and his letter played a large part in him being let go by the team. Kluwe accused his former coach Mike Priefer of purposely using homophobic slurs around Kluwe upon hearing of his support of gay marriage in Minnesota and essentially assuring he was let go from the team, despite Kluwe serving his role of the team incredibly well posting some excellent statistics in line with his career averages. He also calls his former head coach Leslie Frazier and General Manager Rick Speilman “cowards” for allowing Preifer to have Kluwe f ired from the team for his actions. If someone who is not gay has lost their job because of their open advocacy of gay rights, then how would a gay player be treated? There needs to be an attitude shift not just in the NFL but across much of the sporting world. Nowhere is does this shift need to occur more quickly than in the Sochi Winter Olympic games in Russia this year. Russia has several antigay laws in place and whilst President Vladimir Putin has said that gay athletes will be welcome to attend the games, there have been no guarantees made by anyone that they will be safe whilst there. This has led to the likes of Stephen Fry and Pussy Riot calling for all athletes regardless of their sexual orientation to boycott the games in protest for Russia’s attitude towards homosexuals.
bigotry READ THE REST OF THESE ARTICLES AT
Kluwe was let go by the
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Western Eye 02.14 — Issue 04
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Is it time for the January transfer window to shut for good?
KONG NIFFE ANDY CAROL
As football opens its doors for the January sales, is it time for a transfer system rethink or is it simply too important to ditch? ALEX STOREY
Sports@westerneye.net
As the clock ticks down to Midnight on the 31st December, the majority of people across the country are getting ready to celebrate the new year. However, the majority of football managers are wishing the clocks would simply stop. Calls from agents, pressure from owners and a neverending slew of questions from the rumour-fuelled media - it is perhaps the most stressful time of the season and for some managers it can be the most important too. Teams pushing for the title have to strengthen to avoid falling behind their competitors, whilst those struggling at the bottom are forced to use scatter-gun tactics in a desperate attempt to halt a slide into the abyss.
It is almost universally acknowledged that buying players in January is a bad idea, yet managers are left with little choice - they simply cannot afford to be left behind, despite the countless number of overpriced flops that litter the record books of Premier League clubs. We don’t have to look too far to see examples of January madness. On the f inal day of the 2011 winter window, Fernando Torres switched the red of Liverpool for the blue of Chelsea for a staggering £50 million. In a knee-jerk response, Liverpool hit the panic button and splashed £35 million on 22 year-old Andy Carroll. Three years later and Torres remains a much maligned f igure at Stamford Bridge, with many Blues fans left hugely disappointed at the impact the
Spaniard has made in his f irst three years. That is nothing compared to the dramatic and very public fall from grace that Carroll has suffered. A disastrous 18 months following his headspinning move to Merseyside and he was farmed out to West Ham on loan, followed by an undignif ied £15 million exit to the Hammers in June 2013. Although these are the two most high prof ile examples of January gambles gone wrong, they are not isolated. Listen to any manager’s news conference during the window and they will all say the same thing - you cannot f ind value in January. If that’s the case, why was £120 million spent last winter and why on that incredible deadline day in 2011 was £110 million spent in a barmy 24 hour period taking the total for
January 2011 to £225 million? There’s a growing school of thought, propagated mainly by Premier League managers, that the January window should be scrapped with all transfers having to be completed before the season. However, the chances of that happening any time soon seem remote at best. The intrigue and excitement surrounding the month leading up to deadline day is simply too lucrative to the media and consequently the clubs involved for it to be changed. January 31st has become one of the most eagerly anticipated days in football fans’ calendars and coverage of deadline day is increasing at an unbelievable rate. Where football fans previously made one of their twice-annually pilgrimage to Sky Sports News on deadline day, supporters can now use
news providers ranging from the BBC to TalkSPORT to get their f ix. A visit to social media on the f inal day of the window and you’ll f ind it is awash with breaking news, rumour and counter rumour as well as supporters from all clubs expressing their delight, anguish and uncontrollable excitement at the day’s developments. In a world where football is becoming more and more detached from the supporters, it is the excitement of deadline day which must be preserved, for the sake of the supporters. As managers will protest, the day and the month leading up to it are madness, but it’s our madness and we love it.
UWE Riding Society A run-down of UWe’s equestrian team and how to get involved UWE THE RIDING COMMITTEE
GEORGE BEARD
Sports@westerneye.net
Despite possessing many stars such as Olympians Charlotte Dujardin and William Fox-Pitt, riding is a sport that is often overlooked for those wishing to take up something new. Given the success that Team GB had in the Olympic Games, winning 3 gold medals, riding has become a popular sport within UWE with a current membership of 58. Participation Off icer for UWE riding, Becky Read, feel
that equestrian has something to offer everyone: “Riding is a unique sport with disciplines requiring different skills. From Eventing, which is a bit like motorcross or rallying, to Dressage, which requires the most detailed partnership between horse and rider, to Show Jumping, where attention to detail is shown at its ultimate.” Unlike other sports, riders compete individually within a team. Like other university sports however, there is a BUCS League as well as
a Friendly League, both of which compete against other universities. Both competition leagues are made up by a combination of dressage and showjumping, with scores given for both disciplines. UWE is fortunate to have a high standard of facilities. Members of UWE Riding are able to have access to training at the Summerhouse Equestrian Centre in Gloucester along with the Hartpury College Campus, with a variety of horses that tailor to any ability. When asked what 3 words can best describe equestrian,
Becky replied: “Fun, Fulf illing and Challenging.” Riding certainly seems to be a sport which does not necessarily have the recognition it deserves, with a rich history and tradition throughout the British Isles. However, whether you compete at an advanced level or you just want to go along for fun, the socials are not something to be missed. From fancy dress, to meals out, socials can be a blast. Indeed, the society have organised UWE Riding’s f irst ever Race Day, having a trip to Cheltenham
Racecourse to attend the Festival Trials. More trips have also been planned, including the Badminton Horse Trials and the Hartpury Dressage Festival. So, if you’re looking to take up something new in 2014, why not try UWE Riding, fun and exercise guaranteed.
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