The Martlet - Issue 6

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NEWS

Bring Back the Grammar Schools

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TECHNOLOGY

Wearable Technology: Apple Watch

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FILM

What is the Future for James Bond?

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SPORT

Premier League Awards 2014/15

Abingdon School’s Leading Newspaper

SUMMER ISSUE

MODERN SLAVERY P.8i

ISSUE 06

QATAR WORLD CUP P.13

COVER STORY

The General Election: Miliband’s Last Stand Ben Ffrench and Nick Harris analyse the outcome and future impact of the General Election

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t was the result no one saw coming. As the first exit poll came out at ten o’clock on Thursday 7th May, showing the Conservatives with a near Majority in the House of Commons, Paddy Ashdown stated: ‘If this exit poll is right, I’ll eat my hat’. But it was, and the Tories gained even more seats than predicted, with a stunning 331 seats in Westminster: more than enough for a majority. And Paddy Ashdown wasn’t the only one forced to eat a slice of humble pie. Yes, dear reader, the very writer of this article was made to look a fool, having proclaimed ‘Labour will win the General Election’. But what went so wrong for them? In this first part, I will be reviewing what went wrong for Labour, and where they can go now as the Labour leadership battle hots up…

Tough Odds It was never going to be easy. The Tories played the politics of fear in this election, and to the max. Campaign strategist, Lynton Crosby, came out all guns blazing, talking about the Tories’ economic ‘competence’ over Labour’s ‘chaos’. Labour’s infamous 2010 treasury

letter became, as Miliband described it, a ‘common prop’ for David Cameron, and the Tories’ fear-mongering warning about a future Labour-SNP agreement hit home with the electorate’s fears and insecurities. Added to the ridiculous personal attacks, describing Miliband as a weak North London Geek who wasn’t fit to rule and back-stabbed his brother, this made the electorate obliged to vote Tory, making a Labour win unlikely.

Political Pitch At the heart of the Labour Party, there was then, and is still, a battle being fought. First of all, we have the centrist Blairites of New Labour, who think that Labour should go more central and claim the centre-ground of Politics, appealing to moderate Tories with their message of economic responsibility.

And then there are the more left wing, unionist supporters, who are anti-austerity, and want Labour to go back to its more traditional working class roots.

Whichever way one thinks Labour should have turned, one thing can be agreed on: Ed Miliband did not have a strong, decisive message either way,

instead trying to please both sides. This was unappealing to both sides, with the working class contingent joining the SNP, Greens or UKIP, splitting the left, while the centrists went to the Tories, who in the end won the middle ground.

Where Now? But the tone of the debate on Labour’s future has been poisoned. Leadership contenders have been quick to alienate themselves from Miliband, posthumously and cowardly attacking him for being too ‘anti-business’. Andy Burnham, Tristram Hunt and Liz Kendall have all put the boot in. But the target is not ‘Red Ed’ anymore, but ‘Red Len MccLuskey’, secretary of leading trade union ‘Unite’, who is rightly considering allowing his union to support other parties besides Labour, pointing out that Labour does not represent working people anymore. The ‘anti-business’ attacks on Miliband show that the metropolitan elite have strong control of not only government but opposition, and this is worrying. It seems that Labour cannot let go of the Blairite years, and they still revere him, with disastrous effects.

Leading Blairite candidate, Liz Kendall, is proposing keeping the free schools programme, abolishing Miliband’s bold and principled stance on tuition fees, and proclaiming: ‘Labour must ditch the fantasy that Britain has moved to the left’. This is simply not true. Labour needs a voice of the left. How are they any different from the Tories otherwise?

It needs to be more anti-austerity, which will go down well, and its similarity with the Tories on a pledge for £30 billion of spending cuts won’t be attractive for the voter. The left is the direction for Labour, and Miliband’s courageous message of tackling inequality must not be forgotten. Labour needs to pull itself back from the brink, before it’s too late…

Leadership Candidates After Chuka Umunna, Mary Creagh, and Tristram Hunt resigned, the following candidates remained: Andy Burnham- The shadow health secretary looks strong, seeming to have the backing of the unions, as well as big names such as Dan Jarvis and Rachel

Continued on page 2

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THE MARTLET SUMMER ISSUE 6

News

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Letter from the Editor

welcome you to the latest summer edition of The Martlet, which is remarkably our fourth edition this year. I would like to start by thanking all the writers and designers for their hard work and effort which has made it possible to release another exciting and varied issue.

Our cover story gives a full analysis of the eagerly anticipated general election which was, and remains, a very hot topic, having caused the resignation of Nick Clegg, Nigel Farage (albeit short-lived) and Ed Miliband as a result of the narrow Tory majority. Ben Ffrench and Nick Harris, our newly appointed Head of News, discuss the surprise result and try to pick out the key reasons behind it and what the future may hold.

The News Section is characteristically varied, representing a wide range of international, national, and school news. Tony Blair and Israeli-American relations are covered adeptly by Ben Ffrench and Michael Man respectively. Nick also writes about Grammar Schools and gives a compelling argument for their return.

In the Features Section, I believe we have our greatest variety yet: Saul Rea and

COVER STORY

The General Election: Miliband’s Last Stand Ben Ffrench and Nick Harris analyse the outcome and future impact of the General Election Continued from cover page Reeves. He is also backed by many of Miliband’s former allies, and this support is said to add up to almost 100 MPs, with more declaring to back him every day. However, he has been here before, and could be seen to be far too in with the old elite.

Official MP backing: 68 MPs Leadership Chances: 8/10 Yvette Cooper- The Shadow Home Secretary has lots of experience, serving under Blair and Brown. She is also a smooth operator in interviews and this would go down well on PMQs. Her tough stance on immigration approach to crime have been very popular with Labour’s working class vote, who she claims to be able to get back from UKIP. That is without mentioning her position as a potential female leader, which is a bonus. However, she could be perceived as too in with the old order, being very close to Miliband and Balls, and the expenses scandal has dented her reputation.

Official MP backing: 59 MPs Chances: 6/10 Liz Kendall- The leading Blairite contender is not to be underestimated.

She reaches out to many that the party can’t, and will have the backing of ‘Blue Labour’, with the potential to win back Tory supporters. Another potential female leader, with more popularity

than Yvette Cooper, the self proclaimed ‘moderniser’ has already set out her stall, announcing a pledge for two per cent of spending on defence, free school support, and a lurch to the right, saying that this is where they will win.

She has the backing of many, including Chuka Umunna. However, this strategy alienates many in the party, and she has struggled to gain as much support as Burnham. Still, a very strong candidate.

Official MP backing: 41 MPs Chances: 7/10 Jeremy Corbyn- A stalwart of the Labour left, Corbyn has emerged right at the last minute, scraping onto the ballot paper with just the number of MPs required. The true anti-austerity candidate in the contest, Corbyn has campaigned on everything, from Palestine to Iraq, showing up at many anti-austerity rallies. MPs have gathered behind him, and he offers a welcome change from the lurch to the right Labour has experienced, which is a bonus.

However, his lack of experience at the top and left wing views may prove his downfall, with one Kendall supporter saying: ‘If Corbyn was leader, the Tories would have a 100 seat majority’.

Official MP backing: 36 MPs Leadership chances: 5/10 A Surprise for All… Although they may claim otherwise, this was a true shock to all those on

Piers Mucklejohn discuss the issues of prisoners being allowed to vote, and Pea Sermsuk looks at alternative energy sources to oil. Our new Features Editor, Blake Jones, writes a thought-provoking article about human slavery. In addition, we have a technology piece from Jack Lester and Saul Rea. Tom Buckle writes about the influence of film on the music industry and Sam Chambers previews the highly anticipated Spectre film.

Football is typically well-represented in the Sports Section but a wide range of other sports ensure that diversity is maintained. New Head of Sports, Dan Brown, and I debate about the 2014-15 Premier League, James Gordon evaluates Qatar 2022 and transfer prices are analysed by Francesco Cipriani. Basketball is covered for the very first time, with Supasin Kongpun reviewing the NBA Draft, while I look at the future of England’s one day cricket team.

To top off what has been a fantastic second year for The Martlet in consolidating its status as Abingdon’s most popular publication, we have recently launched Martlet Online which is headed by George Jeffreys. Please visit www.martletonline.com for more interesting and sometimes controversial opinion pieces. As I have touched upon, a new editorial team has recently been appointed, and Henry Waterson has been a very reliable and efficient Deputy Editor. Blake Jones and Pea Sermsuk have done excellent work in designing The Martlet. Of course, as I have mentioned, Blake, Nick Harris and Dan Brown have joined the editorial team in their respective positions. Please enjoy reading this issue as much as we have enjoyed putting it together.

Many thanks and enjoy!

Toby Jupp. the Tory benches as well. In spite of his frequent claims during the Election hustings, no-one thought David Cameron would pull this off: the first outright Tory election win since 1992. But in the end, common sense won the day and the Conservatives emphasis on economic security was clearly acknowledged by many swing voters. This is not to say that a majority of the country wanted the Conservatives in power; many people were simply terrified of Miliband in power and dancing to Nicola Sturgeon’s tune. But what does this Tory majority mean for the party and for the country?

A Slim Majority In the last government we experienced a very moderated form of Conservative government. By this I mean that, with the majority in the House of Commons entirely reliant on the Liberal Democrat support, the right-wing of the Tory party did not have a chance to rear its head.

But now, with only a six seat majority, David Cameron and the modernising, One-Nation side of the party will not have this luxury. Just as John Major did during his five year tenure as Prime Minister, Cameron may find his beloved plans for the One-Nation approach wrecked by influential forces within the Conservatives, such as the 1922 Committee who may be able to sabotage any votes they do not agree with and take a fair number of Tory MPs with them.

If David Cameron is to hold this government together he will increasingly have to cater towards this half of the Tory party which no one voted for and could end up holding the reins of power if not pleased with the government’s approach.

The Shape of Things to Come This Queen’s Speech revealed plenty of the Conservatives plans early on in this parliament. Policies which were

at the forefront of their manifesto commitments featured here such as an extension of the right to buy, an in-out EU Referendum and a promise to eliminate the budget deficit by the end of the parliament. This all sounds well and good but the thing on everyone’s minds is the cuts; where are they going to come from? Ministers have so far been very vague on this topic, with reduction of the cap on total benefits for households to £23,000 being the only clear message so far. But it is a bridge they will have to cross if Osborne is to find these £12bn of cuts in welfare and further cuts in ministerial departments across the board.

One suspects that the fat of both of these things has been shaved off already in the last parliament and over the next five years they will really start to cut into the bone of the welfare system. As long as enough people continue to find work and start working for their money Osborne’s plans should be viable. But I suspect, as in the last parliament, the deficit will not be reduced as fast and it will take until 2020 at the soonest to finish that job.

Boris Being probably the most popular politician in the UK, it was no surprise that Boris Johnson’s return to Westminster after a seven year hiatus made headlines in the papers. With the early days of government occupying everyone’s minds for now no-one is discussing his future in this government and what role he will have. His term as Mayor of London ends in 2016 and then he, but in honesty the people also, will expect him to receive a front bench appointment immediately after that. But beyond that, Cameron has ruled out a third term in power and will throw in the towel at least a year before the end of the parliament to give his successor a chance to break things in with his new subjects.

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News CURRENT AFFAIRS

The Darker Side of Tony Blair Ben Ffrench investigates the dodgy background dealings of the former Prime Minister

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is role as Middle East peace envoy portrays him as a squeaky-clean do gooder.

The Tony Blair Faith and Sports foundations seem to confirm his image. But is this really the whole story? In this article, I will be digging beneath the surface of Tony Blair’s glossy public image, past and present, looking at his business as part of the Tony Blair Associates, and particularly his relationships with Assad and Gaddafi.

After all, what is it with Tony Blair and dictators? Ever since becoming Prime Minister in 1997, he has allied with many a controversial regime…

Let’s start with Gaddafi. In 2004, when he first met the ‘mad dog’ (as Ronald Reagan described him), Gaddafi’s reputation preceded him. Gaddafi had spent his former years planning terrorism against the West, yet Tony still held him in ‘ghastly embrace’, according to The Guardian. But this is not as strange as it sounds - Gaddafi’s generosity in selling £550 million Shell oil shares to Britain appeared to seal the deal. And that’s not all; Blair arranged for political opponents of the Libyan regime to be rounded up in Britain and flown to Tripoli with their families.

MI6 even assisted in the kidnapping of Abdel Hakim Belhaj, who was tortured and imprisoned for six years, winning compensation, and the right to sue the government. Many other political opponents are now suing for damages, alleging instances of harassment and torture.

When one deportation attempt failed, recently revealed letters show Blair’s grovelling apology began: ‘Dear Mu’ammar, I trust you and your family are well...’ The whole sad affair goes on. In 1989, when a bomb exploded on a Paris-bound passenger jet over West Africa, victims of the crash fought a legal battle with the Libyan regime.

Twenty years later, victims of UTA flight 772 had finally won the dispute and the government had lost. However, on Gaddafi’s behalf, Tony Blair persuaded President Bush to sign the Lib-

yan Claims Resolution Act, invalidating the $1.5 billion bill.

If you think that’s bad, you ain’t seen nothing yet…

Bashar al-Assad. Syria’s overlord seems to hold his country with an iron grip, using poison gas attacks to keep his citizens in check. The gas attacks kill thousands, yet Tony Blair is so very comfy with him. Blair was very keen to get a photograph alongside the alleged murderer at a conference gathering during his time as Prime Minister. Not only did Blair’s regime offer Assad PR advice, it also provided lunch at No.10 and an audience with the Queen. But here’s the killer: Blair’s government even considered knighting the perceived despot.

After reading the above, you might think this is all in the past, irrelevant and forgotten about. You’d be wrong.

Blair still carries on his dealings, even more so today. After leaving No.10 in 2007, he set up Tony Blair Associates.

Working with ‘governments on the path of reform, providing advice and support on key areas of governance’, (at least according to the office of Tony Blair) it seems like the perfect organisation for the modern world, or so he would like you to think. Blair’s clientele include the autocratic Kazakhstani leader, Nursultan Nazarbayev, the Saudi Arabian government, (which runs a country from the middle ages, cutting thieves’ hands off and banning women from driving) as well as the Azerbaijani regime (where opponents are said to be tortured) and of course Egypt, which, under the military junta of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, has a more-than-questionable human rights record. Blair acts as a spin doctor for hire, justifying to the West the most heinous crimes against humanity. All simply for the money.

In December 2011, at least 14 protesters were massacred by police in the town of Zhanaozen (Kazakhstan), and any critics were jailed. Oil workers and many others were on strike, protesting for workers’ rights, a pay rise, and a better life; but the protests were

Blair acts as a spin doctor for hire, justifying to the west the most heinous crimes against humanity

violently put down to clear the square for the approaching independence day celebrations. When the police opened fire on the unarmed protesters, sources suggest that 70 to 200 people were killed. Running a regime of fear, Nazarbayev couldn’t stand for these sorts of protests; he seemingly decided to spill his own people’s blood to send a message. The result was international outrage. Many sanctions from the West have been imposed. But never fear Tony Blair to the rescue! Through the Tony Blair Associates, he provides ‘damage limitation’ for the genocidal leader’s activities. I would say that dictators pay him a fortune for justifying these atrocities.

The Egyptian regime is another good friend of his. The revolution of 2011 was meant to be a turning point in the history of Egypt, bringing her out of despair, fear and misery with a new Western backed democracy. It has been the complete opposite. The revolution did not achieve much; it simply changed the leader in power. President Morsi was overthrown in 2013, in what many are deeming a political coup. It resulted in the re-establishment of power, only this time with a much better, secure structure under the veil of democracy.

Soon, Al-Sisi was installed in power. It would appear that his junta attempted to regain the police-state pre-revolution (torture, brutality and chaos courtesy of Hosni Mubarak), arresting Al-Jazeera journalists on trumped-up charges. He declared the overthrown party, the Muslim Brotherhood, which had been democratically elected in 2011, a ‘terrorist organisation’ and has had 2,000 political opponents killed.

Another apparent murderer, yet Tony

Blair justifies him, a military dictator, to the world. In a recent interview, Tony Blair said that if he was an Egyptian, he would vote for Al-sisi.

And that’s without taking into account Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, and a dozen other regimes.

But in order to avoid accusations that this article is biased, here is a recent statement from the office of Tony Blair regarding the Kazakhstan situation: ‘As Tony Blair made clear in his speech in Astana this week, there are real issues to do with political, judicial and human rights reform.

However under President Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan has increased the income per head of its people ten times or more; he renounced nuclear weapons and dismantled them, something for which he was recently praised by President Obama. Despite being sandwiched between the giants of Russia and China, he has remained a good ally of the West, vital to the effort in Afghanistan.

Therefore, the work we are doing is to precisely to boost the reform program which is already underway [He means: we are in line with international expectations] and is consistent with the demands made of President Nazarbayev by the international community.’

So there we have it. Tony Blair. Hero or Villain? Reformer or anti-reformer?

Peace envoy or destroyer of peace?

Whatever you think of him, one thing’s for sure: he is certainly not all he seems.

Breaking news - As I finish this, one piece of news dominates the headlines: 16 March 2015- Tony Blair to resign from his role as UN peace envoy.

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News COMMENT

Crisis: Israeli-American Relations

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Michael Man argues that Israel stands to lose more than it will gain with PM Netanyahu, given the political landscape in the Middle East

sraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared to the American Congress on 3rd March, ‘Even if Israel has to stand alone, Israel will stand. I know that America stands with Israel.’ This speech had the characteristics of all other Netanyahu speeches: customary flattery to America, standing ovations and the self-victimising of Israel so as to antagonise its Arab neighbours.

But behind the flattery, applause and rhetoric, here is an Israeli leader - in America - stressing to the United States its own commitments to Israel.

As Netanyahu enters his fourth term as Prime Minister, his frosty relationship with Obama coinciding with the rise of the Islamic State and the thawing of American-Iranian relationships may cause Israel to find itself standing alone more often.

The Obama-Netanyahu relationship is described by The Washington Examiner as ‘frosty’ and characterised by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz as a ‘hate-hate relationship’. Even seasoned Independent journalist, Rupert Cornwall, settles on ‘open loathing’ - all good indicators that the two leaders are not on the best of terms. This turbulent relationship could be traced back to Obama’s speech at Cairo University in June 2009, in which he stressed the need for a Palestinian State, a remark

Israel could find itself standing alone that Netanyahu (twelve years Obama’s senior) took offence at.

Netanyahu had been Prime Minister before in 1996, and for a relatively inexperienced American President to challenge him was insulting. He was quick to rebuke at a 2011 press meeting with Obama in the Oval Office. In front of the White House Press, Netanyahu laid bare the differences between the Israeli and American administrations over their Middle Eastern policies, stating that Israel, ‘cannot go back to the 1967 lines’, rebuffing the two-state

solution as suggested by Obama.

Within the year, Obama was overheard by an open microphone at the G-20 Summit complaining to Sarkozy that he had to deal with Netanyahu everyday. In the 2012 U.S. Presidential Election, Netanyahu supported Mitt Romney in the election against Obama while in 2014, Obama defended Secretary of State, John Kerry’s Gaza ceasefire from Israeli criticism.

This frosty relationship came to a head in March when Netanyahu addressed the American Congress without consulting the American President. Reuters has described House Speaker, John Boehner’s decision to invite a foreign leader to speak at congress as ‘unconstitutional’.

Netanyahu’s speech served the dual purpose of raising votes for his party at the Israeli Legislative Elections and denouncing Obama’s foreign policy, in particular nuclear talks with Iran. But when a ‘framework’ deal is reached with Iran in April, limiting its ability to enrich uranium and bringing the International Atomic Energy Agency to monitor its enriching spare capacity, it will undermine Netanyahu’s speech in Congress. The Iranians may be exporting their revolution in Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen as he suggests, but at least it is through conventional weapons whilst their nuclear programme is monitored by the IAEA - unlike that of the Israelis.

The Israeli Nuclear Programme has always been an open secret. Despite American intelligence agencies confirming the existence of a nuclear research centre in the Negev desert in the 60s, the Israeli government continues to neither confirm or deny its existence. Western governments have turned a blind eye as Israel acquired raw materials and expertise to test and develop the 80 nuclear warheads which Israel is believed to currently have.

Unlike Iran, Israel is not a signatory of the Non-Proliferation Treaty which encourages nuclear disarmament and cooperation. Thus, for Netanyahu to claim that peace would be jeopardised by an Iranian nuclear bomb is hypocritical, as the ambiguity of the Israeli nuclear programme, for more than half a century, has been posing just as much of an obstacle to peace in the Middle East. Only with American support have the Israelis been able to usher their nuclear programme out of the international spotlight in the past, but America’s pro-Israel position might be shifting.

The rise of the Islamic State has caused American Middle Eastern policy to pivot more in favour of Iran. Since 2009, Obama has been making symbolic addresses celebrating the Persian New Year, this year highlighting the nuclear talks with Iran. Thus, Obama is building his legacy around normalising relations with Iran, which the rise of the Islamic State has nonetheless encouraged.

Although America has publicly stated that it is not cooperating militarily with Iran in the fight against IS, the US remains accepting of the Iranian Quds Force fighting alongside Iraqi forces, providing air support for the Iraqis and, involuntarily, their Iranian counterparts, especially in the retaking of Tikrit in April. This allows America, in terms of its anti-IS policy, to be characterised as collaborating passively with Iran.

Even though Iran is propping up the Assad regime, America remains comfortable in the fact that as long as Iranian forces are committed in fighting IS, it serves to achieve the American objective of suppressing the spread of radical Sunni Islamic militancy. This increasing reliance on Iran means that America is moving away from traditional allies in the region such as Israel, a shift that is not helped by Netanyahu’s critical attitude of Obama’s policies.

In contrast to the decline of Israel, Iran stands a chance of becoming a strong regional power if America’s nuclear agreement with Iran succeeds and sanctions are lifted. In fact, Tehran is already aware of this. As early as April, even before the nuclear agreement is finalised, Iran’s oil minister has negotiated with OPEC to increase oil exports by one million barrels a day.

Although current oil prices might suggest Iran has little to gain in the

short-run, Iran’s vast oil reserves, which amount to 160 million barrels (10% of the world’s), and rank Iran fourth amongst the top oil exporting countries, lends Iran the potential to boost its economic performance in the long-term, should sanctions be lifted. Nevertheless, Iran has shown itself militarily to be a regional power.

From supplying Hezbollah in Lebanon to fighting alongside Shiite militias in Iraq, Iran has demonstrated its intention to advance its own political agenda around the region to the point that it is willing to train Houthi rebels in Yemen, risking direct confrontation with its major Sunni rival, Saudi Arabia.

In comparison, Israel possesses neither the economic nor military prowess associated with Iran. Having a smaller GDP than Iran, Israel’s military strength is also derived from American military aid that amounts to US$3100 million annually, placing Israel as the second largest recipient of US military aid, behind Afghanistan. Thus, Netanyahu’s political theatrics threaten to undermine America’s support for Israel that has been safeguarding Israel’s existence since the creation of the Jewish state.

As Netanyahu flew back to Israel after his speech to the US congress, some Israeli media were quick to accuse him of squandering the special alliance between the US and Israel. Although the Israeli people have decided on Netanyahu for a fourth term, the decline of America’s preference for Israel coinciding with the rise of Iran would continue to strain the Israeli-American relations. Although this might change in two years if Obama leaves the White House to a successor who wants to reconstruct America’s special relationship with Israel, in the meantime, Israel could find itself standing alone.

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News COMMENT

Bring Back Grammar Schools ‘Leeds Grammar School‘ by ‘mackius’ is licenced under CC BY-NC 2.0 https://www.flickr.com/photos/24453246@N03/2351960739

Nick Harris makes the case for the revival of the contraversial selective education system

Leeds Grammar School

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t is hard for us to imagine now, but there was a time when grammar schools were threatening to wipe public schools out. Originally medieval schools which specialised in classics, grammar schools went through a period of formalisation during the Victorian era and the early 20th Century. This culminated in the Education Act of 1944 and the beginning of the tripartite system in which grammar schools made up the top tier of education, with secondary technical schools and secondary modern schools below them.

Between the years 1944 and 1976, our country experienced an age of education in which many working class children, including my own parents, were able to ascend the near vertical slope of social class. With the first rate education provided by their grammar schools, my parents were able to go to prestigious universities and study medicine, which only a few years before would have been seen as an exclusively public school ‘old boys’ endeavour.

This is not to say that the tripartite system was perfect; there were many flaws with this idea to the extent that it actually undermined its original purpose. The numerical inferiority and funding for secondary technical schools meant that this three tier system became a two tiered one. Furthermore, the 11+,

which one sat for ‘sorting’ into one’s correct level, was in fact very divisive in society. It became more of a pass or fail test to get into grammar school rather than the deciding of which institution best reflected the child’s skills.

The young age at which this test was taken and the type of questions asked, such as classical history and even the functions of domestic servants, meant

class be able to send their children to an academically competitive school for free, they would have to delve deeper into their pockets to afford the education which their children really deserved anyway.

But as you will have seen from the title of this article, I am not exclusively pointing out the flaws, but also advocating it’s return.

I am arguing for perhaps not

This is not to say the tripartite system was perfect that increasingly only one class of person could answer these questions.

This meant more of an established meritocracy rather than the individual accomplishment which was originally promised by the introduction the tripartite system.

The closure of grammar schools proved a godsend for independent schools: no longer would the middle

a carbon-copy of this system, but certainly a similar one which has learned from the mistakes of the past so as not to allow a system intended for social mobility to work entirely against it. Firstly, we must make sure that the lower tiers of the education system are given equal priority. Sending children to a secondary modern or secondary technical must not be seen as a form of

social genocide for large swathes of the population, rather as sending them to a place where other vital skills to benefit the nation are taught.

Secondly, there must be a bit more movement between the tiers. By this I mean, that the 11+ must not become the one thing in life which decides a child’s future. Let’s have an 11+, a 13+ and a 16+ so that if a young person changes their approach to learning later in their education then they can still go to the place which will allow them to make the best possible contribution to their nation.

The current education policies of the main parties are very messy and mainly consist of the protection of funding and the increase in the amount of child care hours available. But somebody in one, preferably all, of these parties needs to look at the facts and realise that the standard of British education, which was once world renowned, has fallen to a seriously low level. The party which did do this could have a real standout policy for the next election which would attract a lot of votes if explained to the electorate. Let’s look at the mistakes in a policy which had real promise and bring back a revised and improved version of it. I leave you finally with a quote from Benjamin Disraeli: ‘Upon the education of the people of this country the fate of this country depends’.

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News COMMENT

Should Prisoners have the Right to Vote?

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Piers Mucklejohn and Saul Rea investigate whether prisoners should have the right to vote in British elections

ecently, the prisoner’s right to vote in the general election has been at the centre of much heated debate within the European Council of Human Rights. It rules that the UK government has denied prisoners the right to vote unlawfully. This raises the question of whether the right to vote is a human right or whether it is actually a civic right. A human right, for example, would be the right to life, as this right is applicable to all human beings. The European Union states that the right to vote is a human right, but is this logical? A human right, by definition, is a right that all humans have, but not all humans have the right to vote; it is denied to children and the mentally disabled. So, what the European Union suggests is that the right to vote is a human right even though it is not shared by all humans.

As a result, many British citizens argue that the right to vote is a civic right, in which case it would be just one of the many civic rights taken away from criminals when they are sent to prison, joining the right to family life and the right to privacy. This cannot possibly be a valid ruling from the EU, for even if the right to vote is in fact a human right, this

means nothing, as prisoners lose their right to freedom, and there is no doubt that this is a human right.

Furthermore, the right to vote is a privilege given to citizens as a ‘reward’, as it were. If you’re a good citizen, don’t break the law, then you’ll be able to vote on who runs the country. Being sent to prison is a punishment, and taking away the right to vote is just part of that punishment; it is not unfair.

Prisoners are put in jail for the crimes that they have committed against society. Therefore, they are being imprisoned to keep our society safe - for the prisoner can no longer negatively influence the remainder of the population.

Prisons are socially and emotionally separate from society. Prisons bear next to no resemblance to normal society in terms of rules. Although fundamental laws like the prohibition of theft and murder are enforced, there is no tax or minimum wage for prisoners. In this way, they are completely disconnected from society, and therefore should not be able to vote.

When prisoners are sent to jail they do not pay tax, not having a paid job, and any house they may own is not liable to council tax. As a result, by voting, they

By voting, they would be influencing policies and laws that may not apply to them would be influencing policies and laws that may not apply to them. The idea behind voting is for citizens to choose which party they want to affect their lives, and prisoners would not vote for this reason: a prisoner with a life sentence would be so disconnected from their society that they can’t comprehend what they are voting for. If prisoners have been in jail for long durations they might not understand up-to-date politics. Some prisoners will not have had a job for over 30 years, and other political areas such as the economy which could be important in the election (such as

VAT, tax, etc) might have changed a lot and they might not have a correct understanding of these things. This is one reason why children aren’t allowed to vote: they don’t have a good enough understanding of politics.

However, a new campaign supported by politicians, church leaders and prison support groups is working to abolish the 134 year old law stating that prisoners should not be allowed to vote. The home affairs spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, Mark Oaten, said: ‘If we want people to return to their communities as law-abiding citizens, we must encourage them to play a positive part in shaping their futures by their own efforts and commitment.’

Some argue that although it is true that some prisoners’ judgement can not be trusted (as some prisoners are criminally insane, and therefore can’t vote anyway) this simply doesn’t apply to every single prisoner in the UK. Some people are imprisoned for failing to pay for their TV license. This, arguably, is not a good reason to be jailed. Someone jailed for these reasons would still probably be capable of voting in general elections. Someone guilty of a serious crime, such as murder, would not have incorrect political understanding by default and therefore should, arguably, still be allowed to vote.

All things considered, the debate over prisoners’ rights to the vote is extensive, and there are many points for and against the motion, some about whether voting is really a human right, others about whether prisoners deserve. We feel that prisoners should not be allowed to vote as they have betrayed the trust that society has invested in them. Since they are disconnected from society, they should not be able to vote for a party or influence how Britain is governed.

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Features

The Honda FCX Clarity, the icon of hydrogen fuel technology

SCIENCE

The Future of Energy T

Pawin “Pea” Sermsuk propels us into the future with the world’s newest fuel energy

here’s really no doubt that fossil fuels are amongst the top of our priorities. It is, and has always been, the backbone of the evolution of the automobile. Around 90% of our energy comes from fossil fuels - 36% of which is from crude oil. For over a century, we humans have been releasing black fumes from our fuel-gulping cars.

This stems from 1885, when Karl Benz invented the first internal combustion engine. Today, our fuel consumption rate is at 75 million barrels per day, propelling over a billion vehicles around the world.

It transformed the way we live, and certainly plays an important role in human civilisation.

So what is the problem? Why can’t we keep on using these resources? Simple.

It’s running out. Ecologists and scientists estimate that at the current rate of consumption, our oil resources will last until 2060, only for another 45 years. Despite these staggering figures, the number of cars in the world is expected to increase by 1.7 billion by 2035: at least one new car for each person in China. It seems as if people still haven’t realised the catastrophic shortage. Clearly, what we need in this century is a new source of energy for automobiles, a source that will last us for hundreds and hundreds of years, or even a source that will never run out.

The attempt to find alternative resources began much earlier than we think. In 1884, even before the invention of Benz’s engine, an Englishman named Thomas Parker built the first practical, production-ready electric car in London.

Parker, who was responsible for electrifying the London Underground and the overhead tramways in Liverpool and Bir-

mingham, was concerned about the level of pollution building up in the capital, and had his attention drawn to the construction of more fuel-efficient, less polluting vehicles. He designed his own special high-capacity rechargeable battery which he tested in his electric car. Over a century later, in 2010, Japanese car maker Nissan released what became the best-selling electric car in the world: the Nissan Leaf.

The leaf will do 30 kW-hrs per 100 miles, which is equivalent to 116 miles per gallon of fuel, one of the most economical figures in history. It also has no greenhouse gas emission, as it is fully electric.

But there are several factors that limit electric cars from replacing standard cars.

The battery pack is only guaranteed for eight years or 100,000 miles, whichever expires first. The battery is expected to retain 70% to 80% of its capacity after ten years, as if the fuel tank shrinks over time.

This means that the battery has to be replaced at least every ten years, and a new battery cell costs £4,920. A fully charged battery will give the car a range of only 120 miles, and a full charge with normal home power supply will take eight hours.

There are very limited charging stations available, meaning that the car won’t be able to go far. The truth is, it’s not just the Leaf: all electric cars have the same problems!

Another close approach is hybrid electric vehicles, a technology that integrates a conventional engine with an electric propulsion system. It began in 1900 when German engineer Ferdinand Porsche developed his Lohner-Porsche Mixte Hybrid, the first hybrid vehicle. It was powered by batteries and gasoline-engine generator. In 1997, the Japanese stepped

in, and Toyota released the well-known Prius. In those days, it was the most fuel-efficient car. The current XW30 model can do 50 miles per gallon, and there’s no need to stop for eight hours and charge up every 120 miles.

But again, there are several drawbacks to hybrid vehicles. The integration of electricity means that the battery has to be replaced every ten years, just like electric cars, and a battery for a Toyota Prius, for an instance, can cost up to £1,700. In 2008, Top Gear tested the fuel efficiency of the Prius at high speed. The 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder-engined car was driven as fast as possible for ten laps round the Top Gear test track, while a 4-litre V8 BMW M3 followed it. They found out that at high speed, the Prius uses more fuel than the M3. And most importantly, it still relies on ‘fuel’.

The way forward is something that

would last us for another hundred years, or maybe something that would last forever, something abundant. Honda shone the light a few years back with the FCX Clarity, the world’s first hydrogen fuel cell automobile. It works just like any electric car, with an electric motor driven by a current. But unlike other electric cars, it runs on hydrogen fuel, or simply compressed hydrogen. As we all know, hydrogen is limitless; it will never run out.

It offers a long range, and has the ability to refuel in five minutes. So in many ways, it is also just like normal petrol-powered cars, and it certainly has the qualities to replace them.

There are still flaws. Hydrogen fuel stations are still, unsurprisingly, rare, with only 14 in operation in the UK today. The other great limiting factor is that hydrogen fuel is incredibly expensive, and so to get these cars on the road costs much more than getting normal cars, which is still an option today. Until we find an economical method of compressing hydrogen, I don’t think these cars will be on the rise, but on the day when there’s not a single drop of fuel left, I believe that these cars will tell us where the future lies.

Hydrogen fuel stations are increasing, as seen here in Santa Monica Boulevard

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Features

Slavery SOCIETY

The True Enemy of Equality Blake Jones brings to attention the long overlooked terrors of human trafficking in the modern day

E

quality: ensuring that individuals and groups of individuals are treated fairly and equally.

In the twenty-first century, we like to think that as a society we support equality, seek out equality for all people, and live in a world where we are steadily becoming more and more equal.

This notion couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, equality is steadily being cared about less and less. By ‘equality’ I am not referring to what usually comes to mind today. Although the rights for every person to vote, marry, and donate blood are important, they are not nearly as vital as some rights that are in jeopardy around the world today. The most basic of these is freedom. The issue which should rise to the top of the agenda is slavery. Slavery is the subjection of

a person to another person. Right now there are roughly 30 million slaves in the world, according to Free the Slaves. net, that is around 0.4% of the world population. This is nearly three times as many slaves as there were fatalities in the First World War. Modern day human trafficking must be overlooked no longer. Instead, we must fight against it with the same vigour we pour into our other problems.

Inequality is an issue in itself, spreading across many fields, yet slavery is one of its most horrendous manifestations. Poverty, responsible for much of society’s inequality, is closely linked to slavery. However, poverty is not necessarily directly created by individuals. It is a huge issue, perhaps even more terrible than slavery, yet it is brought about by the world around

us and is not always caused by the decisions of others. Slavery thrives because some people would rather profit from other people’s depravity than maintain social equality, and that is why slavery is the burning issue that it is. It is not caused by famines, or a bad economy, or any naturally occurring downward spiral; it is caused by slave owners and it can be stopped. For this reason it is something which can undoubtedly be fought against, since slavery’s origin lies in the hearts of men and is not nearly as stubborn as poverty.

Poverty must be viewed in all its true horror: I apologise in advise if any of these examples are seen as disturbing.

Slavery does exist in the way we imagine it may have done in the past; there are forced labourers in the agricultural industry, and maids who are abused and unable to escape from their posts. They often have to work for around 22 hours a day. The most disturbing aspect is how many are forced into prostitution. There are millions of sex slaves worldwide, both male and female, both young and old. These people are dehumanised to the level of becoming someone else’s property and forced to have sex regularly against their will. Added to this, they live in the most appalling conditions.

They are driven to the point of death and beaten if they refuse to continue.

Worst of all, any children they produce, which they are unable to prevent as

they are conceived by rape, immediately become slaves themselves. They have to carry in their wombs infants which they know will face the same fate as them.

The suffering continues even for those individuals who escape as they are considered to be part of the ‘slave caste’ and treated as second class citizens.

The terrors of slavery do not end there. In West Africa there is a tradition of ‘Trokoski’: ‘slave to the gods’, a practice originating from traditional African religion. A family must cleanse its sins by sending a virgin daughter as tribute to a shrine where she is constantly raped by the priests, committed to a lifetime of hard labour and shame. And when that one dies, they must send another.

The harvesting of organs is another prevalent form of modern human trafficking. Young children are abducted from their homes, often taken to Western countries, and then have their organs forcibly removed and sold on the black market. Every year approximately 70,000 kidneys are sold illegally. They mostly come from small children who are never seen again. From the age of three, many children are forced into mines, a dangerous environment even for adults. They are made to work 24 hour shifts. As a result their growing bodies become permanently deformed by their heavy loads. In some countries, children are used as soldiers in conflict.

They are raised alongside firearms

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2.1% of Haiti’s population are slaves: the damage was done before the earthquake and bred with the mentality of killers.

They are obliged to kill any other child soldiers who attempt to escape, and most shocking of all, in Somalia, they are charged for war crimes afterwards, though they were forced to commit them.

This is undeniably disturbing and must be stopped, yet people continue to prioritise ending equality at a much more domestic level. I am not saying that such movements are wrong, only that they distract us from the worst issues. Perhaps people want equality in their own country before they strive for worldwide equality. However, zero hour contracts, unemployment and a lack of NHS staff are crises do not begin to represent the inequality that really happens in the United Kingdom, and other Western countries.

Slavery was abolished in the British Empire in 1833. Today the Government estimates that there are 13,000 people

in slavery in the United Kingdom, and this figure is rising. Tony Blair publicly expressed his sorrow over this and announced that the country was trying to crack down on it, but with little success.

In the UK these slaves are used domestic purposes, forced labour, and forced prostitution. Some of the main centres of slavery in the UK are the cannabis farms in Scotland. These are secretive and indoor, but have nearly 300 children trafficked to them every year from countries such as China and Vietnam.

The Government is trying to reduce their numbers, but they continue to climb nevertheless. In 2013 the Scottish police reported one cannabis farm raided nearly every day (although they were often smaller operations). Slavery may have been made illegal in our country and indeed many others, but there are more slaves in the world today than in Abraham Lincoln’s time.

Why is slavery still so prominent,

and why is so little attention given to it?

There are many organisations working towards ending slavery, but not enough.

It is a problem of such gravity that charities resort to breaking into slave houses and rescuing everyone they can. It is the only way to fight it, but this method operates piecemeal and requires a vast amount of preparation. Slavery desperately needs the same recognition which other causes have gained. In 2010, when the Haiti earthquake struck, the world immediately responded, bringing all the aid it could. However, 2.1% of Haiti’s population are slaves. That is more than one in fifty people in that country. We responded too late and to an issue which is tiny in comparison to the suffering already present.

It may be that slavery is perceived as undefeatable, and is therefore not taken on, always taking second place behind raising the minimum wage by five pence. Taking a very extreme view, perhaps, deep down, we are guided by our inner capitalist and acknowledge that the slave owners have bought those slaves and have the right to them.

Perhaps we are happy for the practice to go on so long as it benefits our own lives. 60% of all chocolate produced comes from places like Ghana and the Ivory Coast, where illegal child labour is used every day. Are we grateful for the cheaper price of chocolate to the extent where we can ignore 500,000 slaves in

the chocolate industry? Whatever the reason, 30 million slaves worldwide still need to be freed, and small qualms need to be overlooked when entire lives are at stake.

Therefore we need change how we look at equality. In a global context, no UK citizens face inequality. Even those who consider themselves the poorest and most hard-done-by of the UK residents know nothing of hardship compared to the slaves who have been trafficked into the country. If people want to campaign to remove page three of The Sun that’s fine and I wish them luck, but do not expect me to support them, and do not expect me to feel sympathy for them either. There may be issues we face, but a billionaire supposedly suffers if he has an extra 2% tax.

Compared to those afflicting a pre-teen sex slave, all of our issues are similarly insignificant. The more equal rights we have, the better our country and the whole world becomes: I appreciate that.

However, people are not necessarily hard-done-by when they think they are.

UK politicians are debating problems which barely matter in perspective.

There are real issues in this world, and slavery is one of them. It could be eradicated if only it had its place at the table.

So, acknowledge slavery. If we are only able to support so many causes, let it be known which ones really matter and desperately need your support.

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THE MARTLET SUMMER ISSUE 6

Features TECHNOLOGY

Will Wearable Tech Wear Out?

Jack Lester and Saul Rea investigate whether wearable technology is a long lasting phenomenon or a craze that will be short lived

W

ith the recent release of the Apple Watch, wearable tech has come to the forefront of discussion about technology. Many people do not realise how many smart watches and other gadget accessories are up for sale.

However, Apple have not disclosed any sales figures to the public, which suggests that underwhelming profits have been made by the company. This means that a $17,000, 18-karat gold smart watch could have been a bad investment for Apple. They may be the ‘cool’ thing right now but is the hype around wearable technology worth the time or the money?

The Apple watch is the newest portable device released by the technology giant Apple and many people are excited. After looking at trusted reviewers like TechRadar and CNET, I found that the average score was roughly 3.3 stars out of 5. This score is not at all bad, but Apple have had larger successes than this. Every review we looked at mentioned similar problems with the product. They complained that the battery life lasted for less than a day and that some first party apps and most third party apps are buggy and need work.

Another problem with this device is the price. The cheapest model released

by Apple costs £299. When you add on £50 of VAT, the price is quite a hefty investment. Also, you need at least an iPhone 5 to use the watch or else it does not work at all. However, for a first attempt, Apple made a pretty good product, and they can always improve some of the problems with future

The Samsng Galaxy Gear

software updates and price drops. It is probably the most critically acclaimed smartwatch to date, as its main competitor, the Samsung Galaxy Gear, gained worse reviews from the same review websites.

Even though the smartwatch is a great innovation, wearable VR (virtual reality) or AR (augmented reality) headsets are some of the most exciting technologies to emerge in the past two to three years. First of all is the most famous VR headset, the Oculus Rift. This headset is one of the most advanced virtual reality headsets available to the public to date. Even though the final model of the Oculus Rift is not yet released, developer kits were available in short supply. However, the release date is speculated to be announced at E3, which is the world’s largest gaming convention. Since the company was acquired by Facebook, Oculus Rift have struggled slightly. Until the finalised version of this headset is released we

The Google Glass much money as they can as the headset could cost as much as £250! Sony was quick to join the VR revolution with its

All of our clothes could light up to show our mood

cannot know how what it will be like, but hopeful gamers are saving up as

own headset to go with the PS4 called ‘Project Morpheus’. Little is known about Project Morpheus but Sony is planning to release the headgear in the first quarter of 2016. This is speculated to coincide with the Oculus Rift launch.

Augmented reality is probably the most exciting type of wearable technology. However, one of the most exciting pieces of wearable technology and AR development, Google Glass, has slipped into obscurity. The hype around this product was massive; the world had never seen anything like it. From the moment of announcement everyone was captivated by the possibility of having a computer in their glasses that could give directions, take pictures and record videos. In early 2015 Google cancelled the original model of Google Glass, but did not kill the idea. Since April, Google has announced 16 jobs for the Glass Division of the company which could mean a second model is on the way. One of the problems for the original was that it cost £1000,

making it the most expensive piece of technology in this article. This means that the price of the second will likely be cheaper than the original if they want the investment to be worth it. If a more affordable version of the Glass is going to be released, it could revolutionise wearable technology. The other major AR competitor is the Microsoft HoloLens. This very recent announcement from Microsoft was amazing and showed the power of modern technology. The ability to pin different tasks up to a wall in the headset means that the most powerful workspace could become the lounge! The HoloLens has been in development for five years now and the announcement of this product came to large acclaim across the globe, a good sign for Microsoft.

Many people do argue that wearable technology is the future. Some go as far as saying that all of our clothes will light up to show our mood, or we will have gloves that can act as credit cards. This would completely change the world, but at what cost? These products will not be cheap and in the future they could become mandatory.

The money will not just appear so the average person may not be able to afford the new microcomputer that is implanted into the brain.

The smartwatch and VR/AR headsets may be a temporary solution to a ‘smart body’, but it will be years before we can really get physically integrated with computers and phones. However it is almost impossible to speculate what kind of technology will be released by companies in the future, so the digital world some may dream of might not become a reality.

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Culture MUSIC

How Much Do Films Influence the Music Charts?

Music enthusiast, Tom Buckle looks at whether the influence of the film industry on music is beneficial or harmful

F

ilms would not be the same without music. It adds emotion to scenes, creates dramatic effects and engages the audience. In some cases, there will be examples of music produced and played for a film that will go on to enter the official music charts and gain popularity there. This means that the film industry can have a huge effect on the music industry, but not always a positive one.

One could argue that the huge popularity of films ruins the charts. It means that artists who have appeared in world famous movies stand more of a chance of being able to gain a Top 40 spot. In my opinion, this prevents underground artists from gaining the popularity they deserve, and saturates the music industry, restricting it to artists that people have already heard about.

Take Pharrell Williams as an example.

Pharrell had gained recognition for being featured in two Number Ones, Get Lucky and Blurred Lines. His most famous solo single, Happy, earned recognition for its use in Despicable Me 2. Since the movie’s release in June last year, the song instantly topped the charts and spent four weeks as Number One. Afterwards it became the second most streamed song of 2014, and was one of the most popular singles played on the radio. Pharrell then went on to win the International Male Solo Artist award at the Brits earlier this year.

It is obvious that the single’s appearance in the movie was a strong factor toward its success, and the song’s success would have benefitted the film as well.

This single denied the Number One top spot to other artists because their music simply didn’t have the world-wide recognition that Pharrell had. After the release of Happy, he has released other songs including Marilyn Monroe and Come Get It Bae. I feel without his contribution to the film, his other singles would not be nearly as popular as they are today.

Another example is Ellie Goulding.

The fact that she appeared in the film was a key element in gaining her second Number One of her career, however, unlike Pharrell, she was already wellknown throughout the music industry.

In her case, existing recognition also had an effect on the popularity of the single, more so than Pharrell because he was not as successful before his featuring. However, for me the fact that

The film industry saturates the music industry, restricting the artists

Her recent appearance in the hugely anticipated Fifty Shades of Grey with the single Love Me Like You Do released back in January topped the charts for four consecutive weeks from the 1st to the 28th February after the film was released. This is Ellie Goulding’s second Number One after Burn back in August 2013, but since then she has come close several times, peaking at Number Six. This is another example of how much the appearance in the film publicised her music career as it is obvious the single would not have been as popular without it.

she hasn’t had a chart-topper since 2013 shows the influence of the film industry once again.

Artists also gain much recognition from the television industry. The main programme that produces artists is The X Factor, as every single winner’s first single has become Number 1 ever since the first series, showing it has produced more Number 1’s than any other show.

Many of the artists we know today, although we may not be aware of it, first appeared on The X Factor. The most famous of all of these is the wellknown group One Direction, who have

achieved eight singles that have been in the Official Charts Top Five after they were knocked-out in the finals and came third in Season 7 of The X Factor.

So what is positive about the television industry influencing the charts?

First of all it allows people the opportunity to become famous and successful artists. This means that there is a larger variety of artists in the charts. Since 8.4 million people tuned in to watch last year’s X Factor Final, these high numbers provide the artists with a large audience where they can gain popularity, and means the watchers will be interested in their music and albums.

However, because most of the Number 1’s singles from winners have been covers, The X Factor doesn’t provide the charts with a wide variety of different or new tracks, but instead they become more concentrated on singles that are already well-known.

Overall, one might conclude that other industries, like films and television, have a negative effect on the charts as underground artists aren’t given the opportunity to perform their music to a wider audience and so there is no variety of artists in the charts. On the other hand, they allow artists to perform their music to a wider audience, and this will be vital to helping them gain experience in the world of music. Perhaps because of this they will have the opportunity to be featured in chart-topping films or collaborated with other famous artists, which would be key to kick-starting a successful career in the music industry.

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Culture

On to the Next Adventure FILM

Sam Chambers ponders over what to expect from the next installment of 007

Y

ou may be familiar with the name Spectre in the context of James Bond. In fact, SPECTRE was the organisation that Sean Connery fought against, across four of his appearances in the franchise. However, I doubt this film will have bald men with Persian cats trying to send Soviet nuclear missiles at the USA. This film, I believe, will follow the predominantly psychologically and morally driven storyline of the Daniel Craig era films.

Now on to the film itself: So far, scenes are confirmed to have been shot in five countries, reportedly including a car chase in the Austrian Alps, a chase along the banks of the river Tiber in Rome, James’ flat in London, and a scene ‘requiring a helicopter’ in central Mexico City. Filming is set to begin in Morocco this June. There was filming at Blenheim palace near Oxford (not using Blenheim as the actual location, rather as a stand-in for an Italian counterpart).

In terms of casting, the MI6 we were left with at the end of Skyfall will all make a return, with Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw and Naomie Harris

from previous films is that of Jesper Christensen, who played the role of Mr White briefly, appearing at the end of Casino Royale, when of course he is

It will be a fast-paced action thriller with plenty to feast your eyes on reprising their roles of M, Q and Miss Moneypenny respectively. The rest of the supporting cast has been revealed, with Christoph Waltz, Lea Seydoux and Dave Bautista among other names joining the cast. One name recognisable

shot in the leg by Bond, also seen in the subsequent events in the opening scene of Quantum of Solace. His involvement in the story could either be to simply tie up a loose end, but conversely he could be part of the SPECTRE organisation

and have a much larger role than that he has previously enjoyed. On a lighter note, one of the so called ‘Bond girls’ is Monica Bellucci, who is in fact the oldest woman to enter the elite club, aged 50, which could provide an interesting dynamic in terms of how she and Bond interact compared to the other women he has come across in the past.

Although there isn’t much information to go on, Spectre looks like it’s going to be undoubtedly a good film, nevertheless I can’t see it hitting the heights of Skyfall and possibly Casino Royale. But without a doubt, it will be a fast-paced action thriller with plenty to feast your eyes on. And an article on the BBC newsbeat page even hints at events that makes James question his very being and the identity that he has sculpted for himself - a shaking and quite possibly stirring plot twist.

In cinemas from 6th November

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Sport

Does Qatar Deserve the World Cup? FOOTBALL

James Gordon investigates the corruption, disruption and exploitation surrounding Qatar 2022

A

warding the 2022 World Cup to Qatar was always going to be a gamble, but will the highly controversial decision pay off for FIFA? When the relatively unknown nation of Qatar gained the rights to host the premier competition in world football, it came as a shock to many but no-one could’ve predicted the storm of controversy that followed. The popularity of FIFA has plummeted amidst allegations of Qatar being allowed to ‘buy’ the World Cup, fuelled by anger from European heavyweights over the lack of sufficient infrastructure and expected disruption on 2nd June 2015, Sepp Blatter resigned due to the storm of controversy that ensued.

On 2nd December 2010 in Zurich, Sepp Blatter announced that FIFA’s executive committee had decided that Qatar would host the World Cup in 2022. Even on the face of it the decision seemed a strange one: Qatar have never competed in a World Cup to date, and will be the smallest country (in terms of population) to ever host the competition, with just 1.7 million citizens. Qatar is hardly renowned for its football prowess: its top national league received an average attendance of only 5,000 last season, which was less than the English League 2. Although the capital Doha, which contains 60% of the population and six of the twelve proposed World Cup venues, is a modern metropolis with a distinctly western atmosphere, beyond lies sparse, poverty-stricken lands which are a stark contrast to this city - hardly a tourist location. This significant lack of infrastructure, even with the hundreds of oil-funded luxury hotels in Doha, could be a major problem for the Qatari dream.

Brazil received over a million tourists for the World Cup last year, which was a struggle even for a country of such size, so it is hard to imagine how a tiny nation like Qatar will cope.

But FIFA’s decision to branch out the World Cup franchise to the Middle East (after Africa in 2010 and Asia in 2002) for the first time was soon clouded by allegations of bribery, as two FIFA executive committee members were suspended due to corruption of their votes.

More controversies followed as the crisis deepened. A former member of the Qatari bid team revealed that $1.5 million was paid to several African officials for their votes. In an attempt to clear their name of any wrongdoings, FIFA commissioned American lawyer Michael Garcia to investigate the allegations. He finished his report last year, but FIFA only published an edited-down, cleaner version of the document, leading Garcia to resign

in fury at its mishandling only furthering cries of corruption. More recently, the former North American football association president Jack Warner has been under investigation by the FBI for the $2 million that he received from a Qatari firm leading to the arrest of Warner and eight other former FIFA officials by the US authorities in May. There are also concerns over the mistreatment of workers constructing Qatar’s new super-stadiums: around 1.5 million immigrants are being employed on salaries as low as 45p an hour: that’s a fifteenth of the current minimum wage in Britain. Living in squalid conditions, exploited by their employers, the situation of these workers has drawn interest from several human rights groups and the UN. One group estimates that the workers’ death toll will reach almost 5,000 by the time of completion. It’s somewhat ironic that stadiums that will be disbanded and sent to third-world countries, have taken such a human cost to be built.

FIFA’s Qatar World Cup also has a more direct effect on the Western world, primarily on the million or so fans who will travel to the Middle East for the competition. Not only will there be a struggle to find accommodation, but moreover safety concerns for the spectators - most notably the threat of terrorism. For several years now, the Qatari government has been supplying terrorist groups Hamas and ISIS with money (used to buy weapons), in return for a promise not to target the country and its citizens. Situated in the centre of what is quite possibly the most volatile and unstable regions in the world, Qatar is a safe country with a relatively low crime rate but one that is surrounded by dangers. This low crime

rate is due in part to the strict Muslim laws in Qatar. Although not as strict as those of its’ neighbour Saudi Arabia, they still differ greatly to what we have here in the Western world. One of the most problematic laws is that which bans alcohol consumption in public although foreigners will be allowed to drink moderately in some hotel bars and specific fanzones in 2022, the government has announced, there is a limited amount imported and sold as alcohol is frowned upon greatly in Muslim culture. Further issues lie in the laws on dress code, which have become more moderate in recent years, but still restrict foreign women from wearing short skirts or sleeveless dresses and men from going topless.

There are also consequences for the armchair football fan back home, who will miss out on top tier football throughout Europe, over the busiest time of the year for football in England and abroad.

FIFA recently announced that the final would be held on the 18th December 2022, with the tournament expected to start in mid-November. This will be the first time the World Cup has been held in winter, due to the high summer temperatures reaching up to 40C, a health risk for players and fans alike. All this means that the European leagues must start a month later, in mid-July, to afford time for the mid-season break: the Premier League will resume on the 26th of December for Boxing day fixtures, but other leagues may not return until February, after the winter break. Outcry from clubs and national football associations has been ignored by FIFA, whose reputation has damaged further by this sub-saga.

But are we just being selfish in expecting the World Cup to suit European

needs? At least FIFA seemed to think so, dismissing protests from the European powerhouses and standing by their decision to award the World Cup to Qatar.

And they have a point - the World Cup is a global competition to be enjoyed by all, not just dictated by a select group of nations. When you look at the situation from this angle, assuming all claims of corruption are untrue, temporary disruption seems like a small price to pay for bringing ‘the beautiful game’ to a new part of the world.

In a seemingly rash decision with (arguably) positive intentions, Qatar 2022 has brought FIFA into disrepute in a crisis that has engulfed the entire football world and culminated in a massive upheaval at the top level of the organisation. The forced departure of several high-ranking officials, including Blatter himself, has opened up the possibility of a change in venue if Qatar are exposed as having offered sums to officials for their votes.

FA chairman Greg Dyke has hinted at the idea of England participating in a re-vote and, should such an event take place, recent polls have shown that we are the favourites. However, for now, we must expect a winter World Cup in Qatar and anyway, it can’t be all that bad. The competition taking place in mid-season will mean that the players are in peak condition and, with the heat under control, this may be England’s best chance to win to date. Despite security and infrastructure concerns, Qatar’s preparations seem to be going smoother than many expected - it seems cruel to take the tournament away from them now, even if proof of corruption emerges. Hence many, like myself, still advocate the idea of a World Cup in the paradisal 21st century Middle East.

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Sport FOOTBALL

Premier League Awards Toby Jupp and Dan Brown review the 2014/15 Barclays Premier League season

Team of the Season ‘De Gea, Ivanovic, Fonte, Terry, Bertrand, Sanchez, Matic, Fabregas, Hazard, Kane, Aguero. David de Gea was the obvious choice in goal with Branislav Ivanovic and John Terry also shoo-ins in the defence. Jose Fonte and Ryan Bertrand were excellent all season for a Saints team that has the second best defensive record in the league (behind Chelsea). Alexis Sanchez, Nemanja Matic and Eden Hazard walked into the side but Cesc Fabregas just edged out the likes of Philippe Coutinho and Morgan Schneiderlin for the other position in centre midfield. It was a choice between Harry Kane, Diego Costa and Sergio Aguero but Costa missed out despite having a stellar season due to the superior goals-per-minutes ratio of Aguero and Kane.’

Player of the Season Toby says: ‘This is a complete and utter no-brainer. Alexis Sanchez carried Arsenal for at least the first five months of the season and without his contribution there is absolutely no way that Arsenal would have been in their final league position. During mid-December it was calculated that the Gunners’ position without the Chilean international’s goals would be 16th, while they were actually in 5th at the time. Staggering - that doesn’t even include his assists!’

Dan says: ‘The obvious choice for me is Eden Hazard. Following on from a great last season, Hazard has had a lot of pressure on him to perform. He has come through this with flying colours, being the Premier League’s stand out player every weekend whilst providing that spark Chelsea require to assert their dominance. His performances have come with some very impressive stats, including 10 goals and 6 assists.’

Most Improved Player Toby says: ‘Players such as Fonte, Giroud, Coutinho and of course Kane have come on leaps and bounds this year, but in the end I opted for Arsenal’s Francis Coquelin. He has come out of the wilderness and following a mediocre loan spell at Freiburg last year he seemed set for the exit. But, recalled from another loan spell (this time at Charlton Athletic) he has cemented his place in the Gunners’ XI and is the first name on the team sheet.

He has been the heart of everything good about Arsenal at the end of the season.’

Dan says: ‘For me the Southampton captain, Jose Fonte, fits the bill as the most improved player. He has really stepped up this season and as Southampton’s captain he has led them to an outrageous position this year, the likes of which no one expected. As well as Fonte’s strong captaincy he has proved his defensive worth, even though he has had an unsteady ride, having to change his centre back partnership very frequently, trying pairings with Alderweireld and Gardos. Taking all of this into account there is no denying that Fonte has deserved this award.’

Manager of the Season Toby says: ‘Ronald Koeman - no debate whatsoever. He has taken Saints from relegation favourites, in the eyes of many, to challengers for European places, and it looked for a long while that he would guide Southampton to the most extraordinary feat of the Premier League era by taking them to the Champions League. His signings have been inspired, with Mane, Tadic, Bertrand, and Pelle all performing well consistently (though the latter has somewhat gone off the boil) which means he easily sees off Mourinho and Monk for this award.’

Dan says: ‘Annoyingly the special one has done it again. Jose Mourinho has simply walked into the the Premier League and made it look like a walk in the park...again. It is hard to fault the man; some may argue he plays boring football at times but he gets results and that’s the only thing that counts (especially in the big games). Mourinho’s chelsea have strolled to the title eight points clear.’

Goal of the Season Toby says: ‘Charlie Adam’s 65 yarder versus Chelsea. Enough said.’

Dan says: ‘It’s a difficult one but I am going to go with Matty Phillips’ super strike against Crystal Palace. Unlike last season when there was many long range screamers to choose from such

as Rooney’s half way line stunner and Kasami’s volley, there just haven’t been as may this season (except Adam which I felt was perhaps fortunate). For this reason Phillips strike is really stand out for me but I also rated Defoe’s volley against Newcastle.’

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Game of the Season Toby says: ‘There have been some thrillers this year. Chelsea’s away day at Everton which finished 6-3 springs to mind, as does their 5-3 defeat to Spurs on New Years’ Day. Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with Man City was an end-to-end encounter, but Leicester City’s 5-3 victory over Man United does it for me. Despite being 3-1 down thanks to goals from £115m trio, Di Maria, Herrera and van Persie, the Foxes roared back with two goals from Ulloa, and one each from Vardy, Nugent and Cambiasso (combined cost: <£10m), ensuring that United left the King Power Stadium not with the three points, but completely stunned.’

Dan says: ‘Admittedly that 5-3 was rather exciting, however for me the 5-3 News Year’s Day Tottenham victory trumps the less important Manchester United and Leicester game. With two goals from wonder boy Kane as well as goals from Costa and Hazard, the game definitely thrilled from the start. The first half started with Costa’s goal in the 18’ minute for it to end with four first half goals, not too bad.The game was actually important compared to the United and Leicester game as it affected the table at the time allowing Manchester City to join Chelsea at the top of the table.’

Unsung Hero Toby says: ‘I can’t argue that Matic or Fonte would equally deserve this award, but Olivier Giroud has really won me over this season. The arrival of Welbeck seemed to reduce Giroud to a squad player (especially with Giroud out for three months with a broken leg suffered in August) but he has responded well with a string of impressive performances (excluding Monaco at home) and compliments Ozil, Sanchez and Ramsey perfectly. He has been a huge part of the revitalised Arsenal side which has surged up the League, but he doesn’t always get the praise he deserves.’

Dan says: ‘I’m happy to be disagreeing with Toby again by not just mentioning Nemanja Matic but giving him the award. In some views Matic deserve player of the season as he has been just as important for Chelsea as Hazard or Sanchez for Arsenal but playing in the position and role he does, he doesn’t always get the glory. Nemanja bosses his position in the centre of the park for chelsea with strength, aerial power and tackling ability. These attributes cause him to be a very crucial player for Chelsea helping them on their way to the top.’

Signing of the Season Toby says: ‘I’ve ignored the obvious choices in Sanchez, Fabregas and Costa for this award because I feel they are merely paying back their hefty price tags. I considered Sakho (the West Ham forward), Can and Mane, but I opted for Gylfi Sigurdsson - a left-field choice, I know, but his form for Swansea all season has been brilliant and at a meagre £10m has been an inspired bargain signing for the Swans. His 10 assists and seven goals demonstrate his influence on Swansea’s fantastic season’ Dan says: ‘I’m not entirely sure why the Arsenal fan has not picked Alexis Sanchez as the signing of the season…

However I have gone for the Chilean international although it was a tough pick between him and Costa. I personally think that Sanchez was an absolute bargain for Arsenal coming from a Manchester United fan’s point of view where their equivalent star player (Di Maria) has not performed, as well as being almost half the price at £30 million. To put it into perspective Arsenal would have been 17th in the Premier League without Sanchez’s contributions in the first 11 games of the league. He has not stopped there either, his form has been almost impeccable for Arsenal.’

Transfer Flop Toby says: ‘Lukaku, at £28m, has been an expensive flop so far, but as much as I hate to say this about such a worldclass talent, it has to be Angel Di Maria.

For £59.7m he simply has not delivered enough and his petulant sending off against Arsenal in the FA Cup summed up his first season in England. I would, however, back the Argentine to perform next season and he was not a shoe-in for this undesirable award due to stiff competition from his United teammates Shaw and Falcao, but his price tag tipped him over the top.’

Dan says: ‘It’s difficult for me but it has come to a time where I must agree with Toby; as you may have picked up from my signing of the season extract I’m not too pleased with Angel Di Maria to say the least. He came to Old Trafford as an international superstar, he was to be the answer to United’s woes of boring football. Although his start to the season was somewhat adequate and kept most fans contempt it went downhill from there.

As Toby has already stated his red card against Arsenal was an absolute joke.’

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Sport COMMENT

Can Football Transfer Values and Wages be Justified?

Francesco Cipriani investigates whether the money put into football is necessary or just a result of over-advertising.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s CR7 Nike merchandise

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n 1975, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as ‘Pele’ and arguably the best player of all time, signed a $7 million, three year contract for the American team, Cosmos. In 2014, Ronaldo earned $80 million, and I am sure most of you will agree that Ronaldo is nothing compared to legends such as ‘Pele’ or Maradona.

Shockingly, there are players in China or Nepal who are paid just a few pence a day after working 14 hours, sewing together pieces of leather to form a football, while on the other side of the world, Lionel Messi kicks another ball around a pitch for 90 minutes, scores goals and enjoys all the privileges. This man earns

Money has ruined footballl

more in ten seconds than a sweatshop worker makes in a full working day! It’s unacceptable. This is the reason why most people think that money has ruined football, ‘the beautiful game’. It has twisted it, making it too commercial and over-advertised. How can this state of

affairs be justified?

Many members of the public dislike footballers, believing that they demand too much money - money that could be spent on providing food for the poor and homeless, or investment in charities. On the other hand, the number of talented footballers in the world is currently very small, meaning that club owners are keen to keep hold of the good players that they do have and will buy new ones. Even if they do ask for a huge sum of money, then the owners will pay it; they will do anything to gain an advantage over other clubs. This raises another question: how do the clubs keep paying such high prices? The answer is very simple: they don’t.

Clubs are falling forever deeper into debt, and the problem is that they do not do anything to counter this; their greed for absolute power on the market is too big.

If one compares footballers with other occupations such as teachers, they certainly get paid more, but they are also far less numerous, meaning that footballers are in higher demand. This is called the demand and supply factor.

Another factor that differentiates footballers from other jobs is the the fact that it is a private job, meaning that their employers can pay them as much as they want. In addition, successful footballers earn a big fraction of their money not through wages, but through merchandising: selling shirts with their names on the back, or by making adverts.

Teachers are public workers; they they have a fixed salary and it is usually pretty low as the government cannot afford

to pay out like football club owners. In most cases, teachers are no way near as famous as footballers, so the chances of them selling t-shirts with their name on them are pretty slim.

Footballers are not the most highly paid people in the world

It must be said that when these facts are discussed, only the very best of footballers are taken into consideration. The vast majority need second jobs in order to support their families and everyday needs. For example, the player who scored the only goal in Gibraltar’s 6-1 defeat to Scotland in the Euro qualifier earlier this year is a postman. In an interview with the San Marino goalkeeper before a match against Italy, he said that all his customers were very annoyed as he had to close his shop early.

Footballers usually retire early.

A player is considered ‘old’ when he exceeds 30. The peak of their career is spread over a period of ten years, and best form is reached at around 26 years of age. At the same age, teachers are considered extremely young, sometimes

even amateurs. They retire in their sixties, long after footballers have stopped playing. Therefore, teachers receive a steady wage throughout their whole, long career, while footballers get a huge amount of money at the peak of their career for a maximum period of five years until they get older and their salary starts to decrease. Of course, footballers such as Ronaldo will easily be able to support themselves in their later life, but an advantage that teachers have is that they can rely on a steady wage, while a footballer’s future is always very uncertain, as it depends entirely on their form, and this is very transient: one bad season could spoil your next two or three years.

Something that really does not have anything to do with money, but a lot with one’s living standards, is the social impact of becoming a celebrity. Many footballers complain about this, as well as actors and singers. It is extremely restricting, infuriating and even intimidating to have a couple of paparazzi outside your door 24/7. How would you feel if every word you said and every movement you made was captured on camera and then twisted to create gossip? It seems suffocating, but it is what celebrities have to put up with every single day. Indeed, some people like, or even depend, on media attention (i.e. Balotelli), but I would rather be free and not be rich, than be a millionaire and be followed at every moment.

Moreover, what many people do not realise is that footballers are not the most highly paid people in the world; for example, Beyonce is paid $155 million a year, and tennis players get huge prizes if they win tournaments. The prize for winning the Wimbledon final is £1 million. Roger Federer has won Wimbledon seven times, as well as 17 grand slams and 84 ATP tournaments over the course of his career, not to mention that he and Wimbledon share the same sponsor, Rolex. If one adds all of this up, then a rather big fortune emerges. Then again, he is the best tennis player of all time, meaning that he is a rarity.

I believe that football transfer values and wages can be explained and rationalised. In this day and age, with so many troubles around us, it is selfish and unreasonable to spend so much money on individual human beings when it could be spent on improving the standards of living for everybody in the world. Thus, in my opinion, football transfer values and wages, on the current scale, cannot be justified.

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Sport

The NBA Draft of 2015 BASKETBALL

Supasin Kongpun examines this year’s draft prospects and pits them against the all-time great draft classes.

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s the 2015 NBA Draft draws near, franchises and front offices are gearing up to select some of the best college and international basketball players on offer.

Here we examine the class of 2015 and look at their place among some of the greatest draft classes of all time.

First, we have to explain the concept of the draft. Every year, all of the NBA’s 30 teams draft players who wish to join the league. Currently, there are two rounds of drafting and undrafted players can try out for any team. To be eligible, prospects have to be 19 years old in the year of the draft and have played one year of basketball either in college or internationally. Both international and college players aged 22 and over can be selected automatically but prospects under the age of 22 must declare their eligibility.

The top prospects in the 2015 draft are considered to be Jahlil Okafor, Karl-Anthony Towns and Emmanuel Mudiay.

Yes, the trio hardly have the same aura of LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade, representatives of the 2003 class, or Hakeem Olajuwon, Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley of the 1984 class, but the 2015 prospects have not even played in an NBA game yet.

Okafor could potentially revive the high scoring ‘Big Man’ game not seen since the days of Patrick Ewing or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Mudiay might become a floor general who anchors whichever team drafts him. However the ‘unproven’ label will not be dropped from the class of 2015 for a few years, and for now comparing accomplishments would be ludicrous. Nevertheless, potential plays a vital role, and the class of 2015 has plenty of that. The other variable is depth, and the class of 2015 has that as well.

We will start with the 1984 class.

This class included arguably the best and most influential basketball player of all time: Michael Jordan. But he was not the only talent in that draft; the class of 1984 had John Stockton, one of the greatest point guards of all time who also holds both the records for the most career assists and steals. The draft also included Hakeem ‘The Dream’ Olajuwon, the league’s all time leader in blocks and the only player in history to have recorded two quadruple-doubles. Charles Barkley, one of the most aggressive players of all time, was in the class as well. The Class of ‘84 produced a remarkable four Hall of Famers and seven All-Stars. However, it was marred by the selection of Sam Bowie, who is one of the biggest draft busts in history.

Despite that, the talent in this class is undeniable and it certainly has its own

place as one of the greatest draft classes ever.

The 1996 NBA was the draft that marked the entrance of Allen Iverson into stardom. Iverson was pretty much the inventor of the ‘ankle breaker crossover’ that is glorified today. Alongside that, this class was very deep: it produced three MVP’s and ten All-Stars (11 if counting undrafted players). Kobe Bryant, one of the best players in recent memory and among one of the best twoguards in NBA history, was in the draft as well. Ray Allen was also a product of the Draft of ‘96 and he has gone on to become the NBA’s all time leader in three-point field goals made. The recently retired two time MVP Steve Nash is another name on the list in the draft of 1996. Honourable mention goes to Ben Wallace, who went undrafted, but had a successful career with four All-Star appearances.

The next great class is the class of 2003. This draft included the ‘Big Three’: LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh that carried the Miami Heat to four consecutive finals appearances and two back-to-back championships. Nine AllStars are in this class and four of the top five picks were part of the 2008 United States Men’s National Team that won the the 2008 Summer Olympics. Another thing that needs to be considered is that many of the members of the class of 2003 are still active so there is room for much more. Furthermore, the greatest small forward of all time, LeBron James (possibly only second to Larry Bird) is already challenging Michael Jordan for the title of ‘greatest of all time’.

Other notable drafts include the 1960 NBA draft that had three Hall of Famers including Oscar Robertson and Jerry West. Robertson is the only player to average a triple-double over

LeBron James is the main flag bearer for the class of 2003 Scottie Pippen. Pippen was part of the Chicago Bulls teams in the 1990s that won six championships.The 1985 draft class included five Hall of Famers with Patrick Ewing, Arvydas Sabonis, Karl

The class of 2015 will have a lot to live up to

the course of a season. The NBA logo is a silhouette of Jerry West, a testament to his greatness. The class of 1987 had four Hall of Famers: Sarunas Marciulionis, Reggie Miller, David Robinson and

Malone, Joe Dumars and Chris Mullin.

Sabonis is considered the greatest European player of his era, Mullin was a five time All-Star, Ewing beat that with eleven All-Star appearances, Malone led

the Utah Jazz to two consecutive finals appearances and Joe Dumars formed a partnership with Isaiah Thomas that made them one of the greatest backcourts in history, leading the Detroit Pistons to two championships.

All in all, the class of 2015 will have a lot to live up to if they are to match the aforementioned draft classes and go down as one of the greatest. The class of ‘15 may not have the depth of the class of ‘96 or ‘84, but there is certainly depth there, and talent probably outweighs depth. It could be premature to compare this year’s prospects alongside the achievements and conquests players who have already taken their place among the all-time greats. Ultimately, rings and awards don’t lie. In several years, towns may have led the Minnesota Timberwolves to a championship and Mudiay may have won the MVP award, maybe then we could look at this class and see them start to cement their place among the legends.

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Sport CRICKET

What is the Future for England’s ODI Team?

Image from http://www.icc-cricket.com/

Toby Jupp discusses how England can return to the summit of One-Day international cricket

Yet to nail down a place is Twenty20 centurion Alex Hales

Jos Buttler could be England’s answer to AB de Villiers if given the chance

fter their abysmal performance down under in the World Cup (referred to as CWC15), England, at the time of writing, languish in sixth in the ICC Rankings. It is infuriating to see as there is so much talent in the domestic game that is simply overlooked for the perceived ‘safe’ options.

Here’s the team that played the first four matches in CWC15: Ian Bell, Moeen Ali, Gary Ballance, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (capt.), James Taylor, Jos Buttler (wk), Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad, Steven Finn, James Anderson. I am going to pick a squad which I believe can rise back up the rankings and win the World Cup in 2019, in England.

Alex Hales has been left out of the side for far too long so it is time to give him an extended run in it and oust Bell, having scored three centuries in five games in last year’s Royal London One Day Cup at a strike rate of 120. I would also drop Moeen Ali for Surrey’s Jason Roy, a more dynamic aggressor. Roy and Hales partnered each other for England’s last T20I and hopefully this is a sign that the selectors see potential in the duo, hopefully with Roy’s Surrey team-mate Zafar Ansari, Hampshire’s One Day captain James Vince (both made debuts against Ireland in May) and Warwickshire skipper Varun Chopra providing competition. Without doubt, all success in modern One-Day Cricket depends on a dominant, consistent batsman at number three. The top sides have Kane Williamson, Virat Kohli or Steve Smith to call on. Joe Root could be England’s linchpin at three for over a decade and his assertive, fearless style

can turn the ball both ways and must be in the side. Northants’ fiery David Willey, another who made his ODI debut against Ireland recently, offers a leftarm variety and also bats well, opening the batting in T20 for his county. Chris Jordan’s powerful batting and athletic fielding makes him a useful option and his bowling is threatening when he looks to take wickets. Ravi Bopara, Kent off-spinner Adam Riley and Warwickshire all-rounder Chris Woakes, will rival Rashid, Willey and Jordan.

All-Rounders: Adil Rashid, David Willey and Chris Jordan Alternative pick: Ravi Bopara, Chris Woakes and Adam Riley Yorkshire’s Liam Plunkett and Durham’s Mark Wood watched on from the bench on England’s tour of Windies in April but Wood made his debut in England’s washed out ODI against Ireland (and featured in NZ series) and the duo should replace the Broad-Anderson combo which has not been prolific in white-ball cricket. Plunkett is tall and has express pace like the Broad of old while Wood is consistently fast and reminiscent of Anderson in the way that he swings the ball. Steven Finn remains a viable option while Derbyshire’s EPP (England Performance Programme) left-armer Mark Footitt could be an outside bet to make the squad in 2019.

Bowlers: Liam Plunkett and Mark Wood Alternative pick: Steven Finn and Mark Footitt Remainder of Squad: James Taylor, Moeen Ali, Sam Billings, Steven Finn Taylor and Billings will offer cover in the batting positions and should

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makes him a shoo-in in my opinion; his useful off-spin could prove handy as well. His recent form makes him England’s MVP. Top Order: Alex Hales, Jason Roy and Joe Root Alternative pick: James Vince, Varun Chopra and Zafar Ansari There are probably six players competing for these roles in my opinion. The players to miss out are James Taylor, Moeen and Sam Billings, all of whom I think can go and still have successful careers with England. With his experience, Eoin Morgan gets the nod over Taylor and Moeen but his position is one at risk. Both Taylor and Moeen played quite well (albeit sporadically) at the World Cup and Morgan did not perform. However he should keep the captaincy as constant chopping and changing doesn’t work - continuity is key to a successful one day side. Ben Stokes is a must, a genuine all-rounder who can bowl at 88mph and score lots of quick runs. Jos Buttler is an obvious selection in all formats for England now but Billings, who averaged more than 100 in the Royal London One-Day Cup last year, will apply some pressure if Buttler loses form (much like Buttler himself usurped Matt Prior…)

Middle Order: Eoin Morgan (capt), Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler (wk) Alternative pick: James Taylor, Moeen Ali and Sam Billings Adil Rashid, a very handy batsman, should become England’s next spinner.

Rashid took 22 wickets in seven matches during last summer’s Royal London One-Day Cup so he has demonstrated his worth. He is a wrist spinner who

have a lot of international experience by 2019 (they should be rotated in to be given a chance). Moeen has struggled recently but he can also open the batting and it is vital to have two capable spinners (Rashid being the other) . Finn will always take wickets, if not being economical, so must be persevered with, certainly if nothing but a wildcard option.

This is my squad in full: Hales, Roy, Root, Stokes, Morgan (capt), Buttler (wk), Rashid, Willey, Jordan, Plunkett, Wood: Taylor, Moeen, Billings, Finn.

This article was written before the recent ODI series, but you will notice that this squad is virtually identical to the one that was picked to play NZ this month. As proved by England’s 408-9 in the first ODI, the batting line up is powerful and capable of getting 350-400+ on the board, a feat England have accomplished only twice before this summer (392/4 against Bangladesh in 2005 and 363/7 against Pakistan way back in 1992 when games were 55 overs each!). By contrast, India have managed it a whopping twenty times, Australia have 12 times and South Africa have passed 400 three times already in 2015 alone. Six seamers (Stokes, Jordan, Willey, Plunkett, Wood, Finn) are supplemented by two spinners (Rashid, Moeen) with Root’s part-time spin so the bowling is strong in variety, depth and quality.

To wrap up, I leave you to ponder this: England sit in a similar position Australia did after a poor World Cup in 2011. Four years later they comprehensively won the trophy on home soil.

Could history be about to repeat itself?

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Humour

Dudley’s Dilemmas ADVICE

Dear Dudley, I am writing to you as I need your school-renowned tips on breaking the rules. I am a boarder and need advice on how to stay up late without being caught.

I appreciate that the boarding house is not your area of expertise, but you have friends in high places and ample experience of clandestine operations.

There is a great range of dilemmas across the boarding house, though we all agree that the lights-out time, even with the recent fifteen minute extension, is too early. Therefore, we need to work around them. Many feel the call of League of Legends and need to go into the early hours of the morning to play it. Others have to put as much time as possible into creating their Minecraft cities, which are generally larger and more detailed than their home cities. A small minority are slightly concerned about their upcoming external exams and are hoping to possibly do a few extra minutes of revision here and there.

We only hear the three steps outside our room on the creaky floorboards, then the door abruptly opens and we have to pretend we are asleep. In these precious five seconds we have to switch lamps off, run to our beds and brave the hazardous jump of over a metre and a half onto the very high beds. In the mad sprint I jumped up onto the bed, but fell ten centimeters short and hit the bed rim. I was made infirm and subsequently caught by the duty tutor. This has happened many times, and the scrabbling noise we make is so suspicious we may even start saying that it’s rats. Please, for the sake of the citizens of Summoner’s Rift and indeed ourselves, advise us on how to stop getting caught when we stay up late.

- An anonymous representative of the Fifth Year boarding community.

Dear Client, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to you for choosing to place your confidence in Abingdon’s only fully literate dog. Your recent dilemma is the first I’ve received from within the mysterious confines of the boarding houses, and it is an honour indeed. Yet, having spent not an inconsiderable amount of time in boarding accommodation myself, I hope we have some experiences in common. In fact, I would contest your suggestion that boarding is not my area of expertise. So, onto your insomnia problem: I originally had it in my mind that the youth of today craved excessive sleep, so was surprised to discover that you deliberately force yourselves to stay awake. Although you get the most out of each passing day (a wise philosophy), you should not overlook the line of argument which would have you and your roommates go to bed on time.

The National Health Service prescribes nine hours of sleep per night to males of your age. Government policy thus states that you should go to sleep at quarter past nine, assuming you set an alarm for half six. While I personally believe that this is a shameful embodiment of the lethargy of today’s youth, it is probably in your best interests to fulfil your daily quota. Sleep deprivation not only causes slow wits and an irritable mood, but also obesity, heart disease and diabetes (though not necessarily all at the same time).

While the NHS’ advice is not to be taken lightly, my own experiences of boarding speak in favour of ignoring it. There are four dog breeds that are illegal in the United Kingdom, and the Japanese tosa is chief among them. It is the abominable offspring of the native Japanese wolfdog and any other breed from: mastiff, St. Bernard, German pointer, English bulldog, or bull terrier. Now, we share our bowls with all kinds of dog in the kennel, but Big Wayne did not constitute polite company. His murky ancestry often came to the surface, especially during birthday parties. Whereas you and your fellow boarders like to stay up late in order to play computer games, for us, it was a matter of survival, so I can teach you a trick or two.

You mustn’t remain idle if you are to succeed at this game. Instead of waiting to be caught off guard like sitting ducks, you boarders need to implement an advanced warning system. Clearly, the floorboards outside your room do not afford enough notice, so why not try posting a sentry? We used to draw lots since volunteers were hard to come by. It is a lonely, thankless task, but the security of the whole group is assured (provided the sentry remains awake). As a second line of defence, occupants of the dormitory can deceive the observer. Old fur coats make excellent substitutes when placed in dog beds, but perhaps you would be better off with watermelons and pillows. Simply mimic snoring from concealed positions, and the illusion will avert the suspicions of your unwanted visitors. If you insist on keeping the room lit during your clandestine activities, make sure you post a light-switch operator.

If you want to make doubly-sure that you won’t be intruded upon, a variety of active strategies can be pursued at the risk of retaliation. Initially, we did try drugging Wayne’s food, but we could never have guessed that he had developed immunity to Benzylbutylbarbiturate after years on the streets of Abingdon. Proposals to lock him in the cleaner’s cupboard were soon shelved. I was eventually extracted from this desperate situation by Felicity (Miss Lusk, as you may know her), but that is beside the point. As you can see, there are myriad ways of defying the curfew, whatever your motivation.

I do hope that my advice leads you to a comfortable resolution. Naturally, I would be only too happy to clear up the ‘great range of other dilemmas’ you made reference to. Just be thankful you aren’t sharing your bowl with a Japanese tosa. Incidentally, Miss Lusk had him turned into a rug.

All the best, Dudley.

Staff Baby Photos Below are some pictures of familiar faces, just taken a few years back.

Work out which teachers the baby photos belong to.

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PUBLISHER Emma Williamson

HEAD OF NEWS Nick Harris

ILLUSTRATOR Michael Man

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Michael Man Pawin Sermsuk Piers Mucklejohn Sam Chambers Saul Rea Supasin Kongpun Tom Buckle

FEATURES EDITOR Blake Jones

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1) Mr Fishpool 2) Mr Hughes 3) Mr Winters 4) Mr Southwell - Sanders 5) Mr Broadbent

6) Ms Atkinson 7) Mr Bliss 8) Ms Yarrow 9) Mrs Kaye 10) Mr May