The Martlet - Issue 9

04

NEWS

What to do when Boris Johnson’s mayorship ends

SPRING ISSUE

14

COMMENT

Should we support the Rhodes Must Fall campaign?

22

FEATURES

What are the most significant films coming out this year?

33

SPORT

What does Superbowl 50 mean for American Football?

Abingdon School’s Leading Newspaper

ISSUE 09

iWHAT’S HAPPENED TO SOUTH SUDAN? P.5i

CAUCASIAN CHALK CIRCLE P.12i

iTHE PISTORIUS VERDICT P.16i

The Fall of Didcot Alex Thulin investigates the collapse of Didcot power station

O

n 23rd February 2016 part of the iconic power station at Didcot tragically collapsed. It had been earmarked for demolition since 2013. One man, Mike Collings, has been confirmed dead, with five more admitted to hospital with non-fatal wounds, and three still missing. Over fifty people have been taken to hospital due to dust inhalation. The building was scheduled for demolition three days later, so all hazardous material had been removed

and the site prepared. Fire officers have confirmed there were no explosives in the building.

The tranquility of the early evening around the power station was shattered by what sounded like explosions ringing out from the building. The cooling towers were demolished in 2014 and the turbine hall was taken down in 2015, but concerns were raised because the public is usually notified well in advance. In this case, no one had been informed of any

demolition. Police and firemen rushed to the scene and an official statement was made confirming that this was not a planned collapse.

The incident was first reported on Twitter by Thames Valley Police who announced, ‘Officers are at Didcot Power Station at an incident with other emergency services.’

Eye witness, Bill McKinnon, described the incident: ‘I heard the explosion and the very loud rumbling. By

the time I had got up and looked out of the window there was a huge cloud of dust which came through and over our village. When that had cleared I noticed that half of the old power station, where they used to keep the generators, half of that was missing.

There wasn’t any physical feeling, it was only noise. When they took down the cooling towers a couple of years ago

Continued on page 2

2

THE MARTLET SPRING ISSUE 9

News

Letter from the Editor D

ear Readers,

Welcome to this Spring issue of The Martlet, an even greater size than before of 36 pages - something which represents our continued progress and popularity and reaffirms our status as the school’s leading newspaper, with the most writers and greatest diversity of articles.

Our cover story features the Didcot power station disaster (by Alex Thulin) which is of course very local and relevant to all readers I’m sure.

In the News section, News Editor Nick Harris provides an update on the EU ‘Brexit’ - something which is sure to dominate the headlines in the coming weeks and months.

Nick also looks at domestic issues such as Boris Johnson and the general question of what ‘Cameronism’ actually is. Ben Ffrench delves into global problems surrounding South Sudan and the Middle East, while Jacob Lillie sustains this theme with an insight into the divide between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Doug Wilson and Piers Mucklejohn analyse recent terrorism attacks and American gun massacres respectively.

Our report of the recent play ‘Caucasian Chalk Circle’ by Patrick Cole is a brilliant feature linked to school. One must also read the debate between Dan Alcock and Calum Egan about ‘Binge vs Weekly watching’ (the same duo) producing a list of ‘must-watch’ films in 2016. Our Features section continues to be as diverse as ever

with topics about Pistorius, The Oscars, Travelling to Japan and Cars of the Future (Alex, Milo McNally, Pea Sermsuk and Jack Lester), with a spectrum of themes ranging from an Oxford statue (Features Editor Blake Jones) to a music preview (Tom Buckle). Finally, Felipe Jin Li examines a potentially planet-saving agreement which could cure global warming.

Sport, as always, contains a high football content: Sports Editor Dan Brown summarises the Salford City story, I explain why Arsene Wenger’s time should be up, Francesco Cipriani discusses whether football is the healthiest sport and the story of football at Abingdon is retraced by Marius Putnam and Miguel Zilvetti. I scrutinise England’s chances at the World Twenty20 and Jonathan Lee previews Swimming at Rio 2016. The Davis Cup success and Super Bowl 50 are reviewed by Calum and Sam Chambers. Our most intriguing article has to be William Stewart’s evaluation of whether any integrity actually remains in elite sport.

An extended Dudley’s dilemmas about school publications is followed by a recall quiz (to see how much you have been paying attention!) and QofS-style Picture Quiz.

Please enjoy!

Toby Jupp

The Fall of Didcot COVER STORY

Alex Thulin investigates the collapse of Didcot power station Continued from cover page it was about the same volume as that. It was quite loud. I was a little bit surprised because normally the contractors let us know when they are going to do explosions, so I was a bit surprised because we hadn’t heard anything. Very shortly afterwards the air ambulance turned up and then fire engines and ambulances started arriving, and a little while after that another air ambulance turned up.’

Four out of the five people who were rushed to hospital have been released while the fifth is in a stable condition.

The search effort has employed sniffer dogs and heat detectors but no signs of life have been found. The three people still missing have been described as ‘unlikely to be alive’, and could take months to be found. Because of this the power station is being treated as an active crime scene, and no journalists are allowed on the site. If any evidence is found leading to the conclusion that negligence was responsible for the collapse then it is

possible that the demolition company could be prosecuted. Thames Valley Police assistant chief constable, Scott Chilton, said, ‘The priority at this time is the recovery of the persons missing, in addition to that we will secure any evidence forensically to determine the cause of the incident’.

accident occurred, however some sources claim that it was because the company had never demolished a power station before. This may have led to mistakes being made due to the highly technical

There was a huge cloud of dust which came through and over our village

The demolition was conducted by Coleman and Company. They are praised for workplace safety and have won Demolition Company of the Year for several years running. It is unknown how the

nature of the operation. However, given the lack of recent power station demolitions, the company’s lack of experience is not unusual.

The coal fired power station, Didcot A, was first commissioned in 1968. It

consisted of four 500 megawatt units and was capable of burning around 20,000 tonnes of coal per day at maximum output. In 2008 a new legislation was implemented, known as the Large Combustion Plant Directive, to limit the sulphur emissions of power plants. The decision was made for Didcot power station to opt out of this legislation, a decision that left the power station with only 20,000 hours left to run. On 22nd March 2013 Didcot A closed and the long and detailed planning for the demolition process began.

These events have highlighted the dangers of a profession that normally goes unnoticed due to the high standards and safety of the practitioners. It must be noted that a tragedy of this scale is not commonplace, and we hope that evidence uncovered will lead to further improvements in the field of demolition safety.

3

THE MARTLET SPRING ISSUE 9

News

European Parliament: according to Farage MEPs would be the only Brits to lose their jobs if we left the EU

W

hen David Cameron first sent his letter to Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, and his team of bureaucrats in Brussels, his list of demands was dismissed as irrelevant and arbitrary by much of the British political establishment.

These included rather vague notions such as ‘cutting red tape’, an agreement that the Euro won’t be the only currency in the EU, withdrawing from the clause of ‘ever closer union’ and restricting work benefits for EU migrants for 4 years. Following a series of meetings with other EU leaders, Donald Tusk and JeanClaude Juncker, we have had a response which was described by Eurosceptic MP, Jacob Rees-Mogg, as ‘thin gruel’ that had been further ‘watered down’.

Donald Tusk’s reply to the UK was somewhat agreeable on three of these four major issues. He was open to the multi-currency idea and to some sort of veto on EU legislation for national parliaments whilst making the EU more competitive with fewer whimsical pieces of legislation. However, the four year in work benefit ban was the sticking issue in negotiations at that time. Cameron argued that this would reduce immigration significantly but many countries in Eastern Europe claimed that it is discriminatory against their citizens and that it contravenes the very idea of freedom of movement which the EU’s foundations rest upon, however shaky those foundations may seem to us.

A couple of weeks later and we have had the deal which did deliver on the prime minister’s promises, along with some encouraging news on protections for the City of London. However, the prime minister’s promises never were very ambitious and now his position looks very precarious indeed, with senior intellectual figures such as Michael

BREXIT

Renegotiation Roundup Nick Harris examines the current situation regarding the EU referendum

Gove, Lord Owen, and, the most popular politician in the country, Boris Johnson, announcing their Brexit loyalties. Polls are now more regularly predicting a ‘No’ vote and a referendum that seemed all too easy for David Cameron is now slipping away from him.

13% of the public voted UKIP at the last election, so there are plenty of hardline Eurosceptics in the British voting public with presumably more from with-

about Europe is going to come down to an economic one. The things people most care about are their own jobs and home security and a majority of voters still feel that an exit would threaten Britain’s economic position.

It was for this reason that the Tories won the election as people simply did not feel secure with Labour and the SNP running the UK’s economy. Although the popular faces like Boris will change

There are plenty of hardline Eurosceptics in the British voting public in the Tory and Labour parties. However, they certainly do not form a majority of voters, so with this deal unlikely to change, Cameron will have to hope that the current promises, will convince the all important ‘swing voters’ that Britain is better in the EU. The European issue is certainly an emotive one. Many feel particularly strongly about immigration, sovereignty and culture, for example. But most now recognise that the argument

things to some extent, this is what it will come down to. The Brexiters need to convince voters that the utopian vision following a ‘Leave’ vote would be a reality, whilst the Europhiles need to use the same strategy as during the Scottish Independence referendum - ‘Project Fear’. They will have to do this as the general average attitude towards the EU is already negative and so a presentation of the positives will gain little traction.

This involves negatively reinforcing all of the potential problems of leaving whilst having a go at presenting the shaky proof for what the EU does for us.

This worked in Scotland and it may very well work here. The issue for the ‘In’ side will arise if the ‘Out’ team manage to convince a majority of the prospective growth and benefits of leaving. If they do manage that then David Cameron’s ‘Stronger in Europe’ campaign will have nothing to fall back on in terms of a positive argument.

One thing that may be on a lot of minds is a television debate between the two sides, and broadcasters themselves will know that some sort of Boris vs.

Cameron showdown will be dynamite for the ratings. We know already that Cameron is himself unsure about TV debates, but Boris will surely be up for it with his great media profile, strong charisma, and for having the chance to show off his leadership potential to the British public. Having a clearly defined leader like Boris will surely help but the effectiveness of these public displays can be overstated; at least to the extent that they help in swinging public opinion rather than any sort of American populist showdown does.

It is impossible to say who will win at the moment. The coming months of campaign, hustings, debate and interview will give us a clue to the strategy and motives of the key figures on both sides. At the moment polls suggest that a majority of Out voters still think that they will not be successful and (although polls are turning things the other way) it is this clinging to a status quo which may win it for the In campaign. However, an Out vote may creep up on us as it almost did during the Scottish Independence referendum and both sides must therefore be wary of their team’s’ tactics leading up to the 23rd of June.

4

THE MARTLET SPRING ISSUE 9

News

What to do with Boris

Boris up to his typical antics

POLITICS

I

Nick Harris weighs up David Cameron’s options over what to do with Boris Johnson

n May 2016 there will be a new London mayoral election, fought principally by Sadiq Khan of Labour and Zac Goldsmith of the Conservatives. The outgoing Mayor, Boris Johnson, will be reduced to a mere backbencher as MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip. David Cameron will have quite a task in choosing a new role for Boris when he steps down, if any. So, what options are there for Boris?

Option 1: A Major Ministerial Post One place to put Boris’ considerable talents is on the front bench, as one of the ministers in charge of the so-called ‘great offices of state’, normally defined as Prime Minister, Home Secretary, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Foreign Secretary. There are advantages to this for Boris as he can be seen to be taking a prominent role in government prior to his Tory leadership bid. It has been reported in both The Telegraph

and The Times that Foreign Secretary is therefore Boris’ next office; with numerous international tours under his belt, you can see he would be well suited for the role. The major roadblock

within the party towards ‘out ’in the referendum. However, Cameron may conclude that placating Boris is more important. But the political earthquake that has been launched following Boris’ choice about Brexit means that he has set himself against Cameron in an irrecoverable way.

Option 2: A Minor Office A less distinguished destination for Boris could be any of the smaller offices at Cabinet level from transport to culture, media and sport. Boris could slot into any of these using his jack-of-all-trades position as Mayor of London, held for eight years, and Cameron would gain from his expertise without handing him

To give Boris no job at all would be the most risky move from Cameron

to this would be the removal of Philip Hammond from a job in which he has performed steadily for the last two years.

That might push another big figure

an office with excessive political clout, such as Foreign Secretary. This is possible as Boris’ disloyalty means that Cameron may quite easily feel that Boris has done

quite enough to deserve a junior cabinet position Option 3: Do nothing To give Boris no job at all would be very possible for Cameron as he may think that Boris has simply gone a step too far.

As long as Cameron wins the referendum (which is a story for page 3 by the way) then Boris will be consigned to a political wilderness and find it extremely difficult to mount a future leadership challenge.

Cameron will most likely feel that Boris has, like an adventurer on a waterfall, gone past the point of no return with his recent announcement. Boris has so clearly set his ambitions on sweeping to power following an ‘Out’ vote that it may be laughable for Cameron to even consider offering him a job in the event of a ‘Yes’ vote. However, depending on how Boris positions himself following an ‘In’ vote, it may be a salvageable position. Say, for example, that Boris moves his ample frame back onto the fence somewhat he may be able to scramble for some sort of role in a future government.

But it seems far more likely to me that this it for Boris. He has really staked his claim for the Out campaign, with him even announcing in recent weeks that he does not advocate a two-referendum strategy. Therefore, this time next year we are more likely to see a Prime Minister Boris or Boris Johnson MP than a Secretary of State for Transport or Foreign Secretary.

5

THE MARTLET SPRING ISSUE 9

News

T

hey are rejected and ignored the world over, but their fate has worldwide implications.

The country’s ongoing struggle has been widely missed by the international media, but the potential consequence is a refugee crisis that dwarfs even that in Syria with its scale. This is the struggle of the world’s youngest country, and this is South Sudan.

The most fragile nation in the world has never had a shortage of problems. As part of Sudan, it endured two civil wars, and many struggles. On 9th July 2011, South Sudan voted emphatically to split from Sudan , following years of gross instability. 98.83% of the population voted to separate, but the vote did not alleviate the problems. If anything, it increased them.

98.83% of people voted to leave.

That is a clear majority and cannot be forgotten, and 9th July 2011 was a day of euphoria that the people of South Sudan will never forget. 40 years of civil wars had blighted the country, and the second war, lasting from 1983 to 2005, resulted in the deaths of a disputed 2 million people. It was one of the most destructive conflicts across Africa. In 1955, the South Sudan pro-autonomy groups, the Anyaya, and the Azania Liberation Movement began a rebellion against the Sudanese government after a faulty British-Egyptian agreement had given Sudan independence without acknowledging the tensions between north and south - rulers horded the power in the north, with a northern capital at Khartoum, widening the North-South gap. The first civil war lasted for 17 years, from 1955 to 1972. It ended with the Addis Ababa agreement, which granted further autonomy to the south.

But this only masked the problem; just ten years later, the conflict reignited, lasting for a bloodthirsty 22 years following the rise of the South Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM). It only ended in 2005 after anxious negotiations. This was only a sticking plaster over the problem.

John Garang, the SPLM leader, was appointed president of an autonomous South Sudan that year, but his death in a plane crash just months later resulted in the appointment of SPLM stalwart, Salva Kiir Mayardit, as president. In 2006, hundreds were killed in further fighting between former rebels and northern forces. South Sudan was in a bad state.

More fighting followed, and hundreds more died, with talk of an arms race. There was only one solution: full independence from the north. This came true on 9th July 2011. Tough times were ahead, but that night, for one day only, South Sudan forgot its troubles. Little did they know what was to come.

Salva Kiir Mayardit continued as president, with his right hand man, Riek Machar, as vice president. These two go back a long way to the days of the civil

The Struggle for COMMENT

South Sudan Ben Ffrench charts the fortunes of the world’s youngest nation

war. They were comrades in arms, and fought alongside one another in the fight for independence. For a time, they continued. 2012 saw additional oil wars, ethnic clashes and further bombardment from the north. They stood strong. The struggles over the disputed Abyei region continued unabated and unresolved.

They stood strong together. But the country was, and still is, ruled by fear.

In June 2013, government ministers, Kosti Manibe and Deng Alor, were sacked

Dinka, the largest ethnic community in South Sudan. Machar is a Nuer, a member of the second largest ethnic group in South Sudan. Peace was impossible; two years of destructive war followed which sparked a humanitarian crisis the likes of which the world had never seen. Machar was then charged with treason, and responded by leading a rebellion.

Salva Kiir Mayardit has been compared to many individuals.

Commonly known to commentators

The struggle’s potential consequences could even dwarf the crisis in Syria by the Kiir after corruption charges.

South Sudan is arguably the most fragile nation in the world, even rivalling Syria.

The fear and paranoia surrounding the government is at an unprecedented level.

Salva Kiir Mayardit must have felt a great deal of pressure, but no one could have predicted what he did in December 2013 to spark the third civil war.

Salva Kiir sacked Machar. There is one factor at the heart of this conflict: ethnic tensions. Kiir is belongs to the

as the South Sudanian Joshua, he has brought South Sudan into the promised land of Independence. He fought since the late 60s when he was a young man to realise his dream and bring peace.

Was this what he wanted to achieve?

By sacking Machar, he signed the death warrants of thousands, plunging his fragile country into chaos. This was an act of war, and should be treated as such. He knew the consequences, even if he couldn’t predict the death toll.

The Civil War has affected the entire country

A Joshua? I beg to differ. King Saul would be a better comparison. He is like many of Africa’s dictators, particularly Mugabe, originally a good man, but a victim of his own desire for glory and success.

The war went on to cause many military and civilian casualties, with savagery and lawlessness everywhere.

Militias loyal to Kiir and Machar took over towns and villages, so that by February 2014, 1 million people had been displaced, fleeing to nearby countries like Ethiopia. Peace talks were attempted and failed with deadly consequences. The UN estimated 5 million people needed humanitarian aid. The hunger crisis was the worst in the world; starvation tactics don’t just belong to Syria and Assad.

Peace talks dragged on into 2015 with little progress.

The most horrific detail of all was the widespread use of child soldiers - 12,000 of them, according to Unicef. In March 2015, 250 were freed by the rebels, with some children as young as 12 involved in the fighting. These are the levels of depravity the war can reach if tensions are not resolved. These are war crimes, and Machar and Kiir should both be tried in the Hague.

The situation was never going to be stable. Machar and Kiir have had fierce party struggles ever since their days fighting for independence. Peace has always been fragile, and will continue to be.

In August 2015, a reluctant peace deal was signed, with Machar reinstalled as vice-president. This was, and is, crucial for short term stability, but the two leaders should not play a part in South Sudan’s future. Their bitter, age old feud has resulted in numerous deaths. Kiir has become a despot, clinging onto power.

His accusation of Machar sparked off the civil war, and shows his desperation to secure his grip on the country. As allies of Machar rightly point out, his role as president is indistinguishable from military commander. He does not tolerate dissent, and Machar’s criticisms may have brought him to this.

Riek Machar, on the other hand, is not that dissimilar. His bitter feud with Kiir at the top of the party has been a long term threat to stability, and his leadership of the rebels in the third civil war allowed mass murder to take place and child soldiers to be recruited. He also needs to step down. The two rivals are old, and do not have long left to cling to power.

The euphoria of 9th July 2011 should not be forgotten, but the conflict still continues, albeit on a smaller scale.

South Sudan is a fragile country, but has great potential. Three things are crucial: a democratic leader who brings peace and stability, and a strong SPLM government, and opposition, who are themselves united, and are able to unite the ethnic groups.

Only then can the euphoria return and the tragedies stop.

6

THE MARTLET SPRING ISSUE 9

News COMMENT

Does Cameron-ism really exist?

Nick Harris investigates the somewhat obscure ideology of our prime minister

B

ack when David Cameron was elected Conservative Party leader in 2005, he started a wave of optimism about the future of the party. Following the troubled leaderships of both Michael Howard and Iain Duncan-Smith, he was presented as a young, moderate leader who would swing back the centrists who had been lost to Tony Blair. However, due to the financial situation inherited by his government, any ideological changes he wished to make were swallowed up by the Government’s ongoing task of removing the budget deficit. So what is Cameronism and how will it be remembered?

Cameron’s early life in terms of politics was shaped by his work in the Conservative Research Department during the last years of Margaret Thatcher’s premiership and then as a special advisor to various ministers whilst John Major was prime minister. He was then elected as MP for Witney at the 2001 General Election. The next four years saw him growing in stature, becoming Shadow Education Secretary by 2005, whilst his voting record remained predominantly with the party whip aside from a few notable exceptions such as abstaining rather than voting against the bill to allow homosexual couples to adopt children. This is one of the first examples of his social liberal stance that has echoed throughout his leadership.

Cameron did not enter the 2005 leadership race as favourite although he was not a rank outsider. He came second of the four candidates on Tory MP’s nominations in the first round but when it came to the popular vote of party members he won 134,446 to David Davis’ 64,398. Upon his election he was seen as the young, moderate candidate who would take charge of the party and turn into something electable again after the

disastrous leaderships of William Hague, Iain Duncan Smith and, to a lesser extent, Michael Howard.

This was immediately visible in his weekly clashes with Tony Blair and then Gordon Brown in Prime Minister’s Questions. He also re-shuffled the Shadow Cabinet extensively with notable moves bringing William Hague and Kenneth Clarke back to the front bench and clearing out deadwood like Malcolm Rifkind, with Clarke being a particularly interesting move considering his pro-Euro stance. The social liberal and modernist approach was felt almost immediately with Cameron beginning to attend formal functions with no tie and announcing plans to increase the number of female Tory MPs. The momentum Cameron was building continued as the decade progressed with a 44% national share of the vote in the 2008 local elections, although they almost lost the historically Conservative seat of Bromley and Chislehurst in a by-election to the Lib Dems, winning it by a few hundred votes, and come third in the Ealing Southall and Sedgefield by-elections leading to criticism from inside the party.

However, as the financial crisis began in 2008 Cameron went on a full offensive against Brown accusing him of ‘dropping bombs on the economy’, although the MPs of both parties then came under intense scrutiny following the expenses scandal. In this way Cameron’s first five years of leadership was chequered with victories and problems although in the run up to the election few saw how Brown could possibly win and things seemed to be moving with David Cameron. Not least because the Sun and other newspapers changed allegiance from Labour to the Tories.

Cameron will be remembered for austerity

David Cameron has been Prime Minister since 2010 On the 11th May 2010 David Cameron was asked to form a government by the Queen, making him the youngest Prime Minister, at 43, since Lord Liverpool in 1812. This came after talks with the Liberal Democrats after which it was also announced that the government Cameron would be taking charge of would be the first coalition in 65 years. In June of that year he described the economic situation as ‘even worse than we thought’ and spoke of ‘difficult decisions’ which, although both understatements, would set the agenda for practically all of the economic policies which have been put forward by him since.

It is impossible to know the kind of government we would have seen led by David Cameron without the financial crisis but it is certainly true that it will be remembered for austerity and the difficult task of removing the budget deficit. This is not to say that there have not been chances for other, more ideological moves to be made. In truth, these are the areas Cameron has struggled the most in.

He passed legislation in 2012 making gay marriage legal although more of his own MPs (including the current Women and Equalities Minister!) voted against it than for it and it relied on Liberal Democrat and Labour support to pass the vote. He also became the first Prime Minister in a century to lose a foreign policy vote when he was defeated on his plans for airstrikes in Syria - a defeat he is probably quite thankful for now. He also managed to keep Scotland in the Union in the 2014 referendum and avoided splitting the Coalition government he had fought so hard for. In this way he ended his first term in fairly good position.

But when Britain went to the polls in

May they voted for him to return with even more votes since 1900 and even more seats for the first time since Margaret Thatcher. Upon his victory the rhetoric was all about ‘governing as a party of one-nation Conservatism’. However, I think it is fair to say that one-nation Conservatism has been dead since the 1970s and, apart from a few party grandees such as Ken Clarke and Lord Heseltine, remains buried for this parliament at least. This is no fault of Cameron’s, however, and there have been more compassionate steps forward taken such as giving families 30 hours free childcare a week.

But whilst this country retains the millstone around its neck that is the budget deficit and national debt, it will be almost impossible for any kind of ideological moves to be made. Whatever Cameron’s true beliefs are he will forever be the Prime Minister of austerity and balancing the budget. As long as he is successful in this job at least, this may be a title worth having but considering he was elected on a mandate for these financial measures, failure is not an option.

So, overall, the ideology of Cameron has been predominantly veiled during his leadership of the country although we saw flashes of his socially liberal and compassionate stance in the years beforehand.

I think what is key for him over the course of this parliament is making sure that under his leadership Britain stays in the EU if only for his own pro-EU conscience, and ensuring that the party passes into the right hands before the 2020 election and after his retirement. In my opinion, as long as he succeeds in those goals and the finances are secured in the way that he promises they will be, he can still be remembered as a good Prime Minister.

7

THE MARTLET SPRING ISSUE 9

News

A child looks upon a soldier and the Israeli wall

MIDDLE EAST

The Third Intifada

Ben Ffrench investigates an age-old conflict reignited

T

he word ‘Intifada’ is very close to the hearts and minds of many Palestinians. It can be translated as ‘uprising’ or ‘rebellion’, literally meaning ‘to shake off’. The first Palestinian Intifada came about in 1987, lasting for six years. The second came at the dawn of the millennium, lasting for five. And now, as the century old conflict between Jews and Palestinians reignites, there is talk of a third.

Ever since the Arabs arrived in the 7th century, there have always been tensions between Israel and Palestine. As long as the two sides have to live together, these will continue. The wall separating Israel from the Gaza strip has never looked flimsier. Since the beginning of October, the newly heightened tensions have killed 120 Palestinians, 22 Israelis, an American and an Eritrean. It is also estimated that around 10,000 Palestinians have been injured in the violence. On 14th December, a 21-year Palestinian, Abed al-Mhasan, was shot dead after ramming his car into a bus stop, injuring ten Israelis, with one seriously injured. Incidents like this are commonplace, with Palestinians increasingly frustrated at Israeli rule, and with good reason.

Palestinians are indeed suffering under Israeli rule. A fragile nation, Israel staunchly defends its interests in the region, with ever more violent and desperate techniques. In the early hours of Wednesday 16th December, the Israeli army began one of its frequent raids on the Palestinian Qalandiya refugee camp.

Two Palestinian men, Ahmed Jhajha, 21, and Hikmet Hamdan, 29, were killed, and four injured. Hamdan was shot dead after trying to ram his car into the troops according to Israeli sources. Israeli authorities claim it is their right to protect the area, but their use of tear gas on unarmed Palestinians suggests otherwise.

An atmosphere of fear and intimidation has made Palestine a dangerous place, and Palestinian youths are often forbidden to leave the house by their parents. They can expect numerous stop searches on their person if they do. This is life as a second class citizen, and the resulting anger cannot be contained.

Palestinian protests are becoming ever more common up and down the West Bank. General strikes and a ‘day of rage’ have become ever more common, with the throwing of rocks and stones at police.

Israelis respond even more violently, with rubber bullets, tear gas, and even live fire on the civilian population. A third intifada, although not immediate, is being talked of.

It all comes down to one man: Benjamin Netanyahu. The controversial Israeli leader is at best divisive and at worst a warmonger. He and his cult of ultra right wing nationalists in Israel have been whipping up anti-Palestinian sentiment for some time, and he will only continue to do so, crafting Israel into Netanyahu’s perfect image. His role as leader of his country has meant that Israel has become much more fearful of the Palestinians. Nowhere was this more clear than when Netanyahu

recently showed a picture of the Palestinian Mufti meeting Hitler as proof that the Palestinians started the holocaust. This kind of inflammatory rhetoric is not only terrifying but dangerous, and should not be coming from an Israeli leader trying to seek peace. Netanyahu is changing Israel from the persecuted to the persecutor.

The Israeli despot is hated throughout Israel, and a recent poll suggested that 60% of Israelis want him to go. His ruthless bombing campaign has left numerous Palestinians and Israelis dead. The recent crackdown has been damaging to the

to the landscape. He is estimated to have performed over 5,000 airstrikes, leading to over 2,000 people killed, the majority of them civilians. In addition to this, over 4,000 strikes were fired over to the Israeli side, and 67 Israeli soldiers were killed.

This kind of death is not acceptable. It was believed to be violating international law; these are war crimes, and life is hell: people living in fear of these strikes every day.

After all of this, is there peace in sight?

It is time for a Palestinian state. The Palestinians have long suffered, and possess a deep-set heritage in the area going back

Netanyahu is changing Israel from the persecuted to the persecutor stability of the region, refuelling age old tensions, all in the supposed pursuit of one group: Hamas.

The Palestinian nationalists have gained a poor international reputation and are condemned as terrorists by the global community. However, they are strongly represented inside Palestine itself. Many are disappointed by the ruling Palestinian party, Fatah, who are seen as corrupt. The group has gained a lot of popularity in recent years due to the implementation of social projects and infrastructure. Many Palestinians see them as their one hope.

In 2006, they won a democratic mandate, toppling the ruling Fatah party and forcing Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, into a tight position. But whilst they can be a force for good, they are quite rightly seen as terrorists. Their reputation for violence is staggering; a 1996 suicide bomb killed over 60 Israelis.

Netanyahu’s war against them is not justified. Since 2014, his war on Hamas has brought untold damage and destruction

hundreds of years. It is time for a peace deal between Israel and Hamas. The violence has to stop, and with an internationally recognised state in the Gaza strip, Hamas’ violence will stop. These are their aims, and without their usual aggression Hamas could be a real force for good.

The situation in the Middle East has long been unfair. Why should the Israelis have a state whilst the Palestinian people are stateless? Both groups have a legitimate claim to the area, and it is ridiculous and wrong that one gets to conquer the other. With the help of the UN, this can be made possible. Many pro-Israeli states, in a show solidarity with Netanyahu, may oppose any resolution put forward, although peace is in everyone’s interests.

None of this will be easy, but who saw an Israeli state 100 years ago?

It is time the Israelis realised what a blight Benjamin Netanyahu is on the good name of Israel. He has to go, and it is up to the Israelis to make it happen. It is time for the opposition to reawaken.

8

THE MARTLET SPRING ISSUE 9

News MIDDLE EAST

The Saudi-Iranian Divide Jacob Lillie examines the recent cut in Saudi-Iranian diplomatic ties and its wider implications

T

erms such as ‘hostility’ and ‘mistrust’ are ubiquitous with the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Iran. A deep sense of rivalry and animosity has persisted for decades, and the recent cutting of diplomatic ties between the two countries is deeply worrying. As the two major regional heavyweights, relations between the two sides have widespread implications and impacts throughout the Arab world. This is unsettling to say the least during what is a most precarious time for the Middle East.

The recent execution of the Shia cleric, Nimr al Nimr, raised tensions between the two countries, but relations were poor long before. Saudi Arabia has always been worried by the growing military strength of Iran and Iranian designs on control over the Islamic world. Iran’s

1970s military policy was characterised by drastic modernisation and repatriation of islands contested by the UAE as chief among Saudi concerns. Following the Iranian revolution in 1979, the transition from a Westernised dictatorship under Shah Pahlavi to an oligarchy under Ayatollah Khomeini realigned the two sides in opposition to each other further.

Following his rise to power the anti-monarchist, Khomeini, called on fellow Shia Muslims in other countries to rise up in revolution. He expressed his profound support for Shia rebels in Saudi Arabia, and openly denounced the character and religious legitimacy of the House of Saud. While Iran had been on the rise, there had been no equal cause for alarm until this direct act of aggression.

Due to efforts to undermine one another without direct confrontation,

A Saudi-Arabian woman at a Mosque in Nishapur

proxies have been used countless times.

Nowadays we hear about the two sides’ involvement in regional conflicts such as the Houthi rebellion in Yemen, but this is an old strategy. In 1980, concerned over the Iranian threat to regional stability and Saudi/Sunni power, Saudi Arabia pledged $25 billion to Saddam Hussein’s regime. This was during the Iraq-Iran war, at which time they were not the best of allies. As leading oil producer in the Gulf, Saudi Arabia also tried to undermine the Iranian economy by flooding the international market with cheap oil.

Aptly leading on from this, oil has in itself been a source of contention. Both economies lack diversity and are focussed on the petroleum industry. Guiding oil prices is therefore of great importance to both. Iran understandably wants OPEC to increase oil prices in order to raise living standards, the growth of which has been slashed in recent years by international sanctions. By freezing Iranian overseas assets and restricting commerce, GDP per capita was more than halved between 1986 and 1993. Whereas Saudi Arabia has an economy even more heavily dependent on oil, and therefore has an incentive to keep prices moderate so as to not shift demand to other regions.

A religious dimension can also be found when looking at the deterioration in relations. Custodianship of the holy sites of Islam has its part to play; Saudi Arabia has been able to use it as a highly flexible tool. In 1987, clashes between Saudi security forces and Iranian protesters (marching against Israel and the United States) led to the deaths of around 400 people, and the subsequent ban on Hajj visas for Iranians and cutting of diplomatic ties in 1988. Seeking to increase regional solidarity, the Saudis then cofounded the Gulf Cooperation Council, a multilateral organisation seeking to contain the revolutionary ambitions of Iran. This group is still active, albeit with a lesser focus on the that issue.

There was a brief thaw in relations when King Fahd of Saudi Arabia ordered a halt to all anti-Iranian media campaigns later that year. This was compounded following the invasion of Kuwait in 1990, when the Iranians found common ground in criticising Iraq and backing UN sanctions, culminating in the restoration of formal ties in 1991. Relations seemed to be improving. The meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in 1997 in Iran is a testament to the changing nature of

relations between Iran and the rest of the Islamic world. Saudi Arabia also pushed for greater cooperation between Iran and the rest of the Gulf states, saying in 1999 that it was in the interest of all countries of the Persian Gulf to improve relations with Iran. Unfortunately such mistrust don’t go away just like that.

The Shia Houthi uprising which began in 2004 was held against many of the Gulf States and Saudi Arabia with accusations of arming the Houthi rebels with the ultimate aim of toppling the Yemeni government. This later proved to be true.

In all fairness, involvement in this conflict is something that both parties are guilty of still to this day. The arrival of the post 9/11 world further changed the dynamics of Middle Eastern politics. Saudi Arabia did and still does adhere to the aims of the United States on most issues. Iran, however, does not. To Iran, the United States is the devil himself, meddling in matters that it has no place in, notably the destruc-

9

THE MARTLET SPRING ISSUE 9

The Gulf Cooperation Council defense ministerial conference in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Reverberations will be felt throughout the Middle East

tion of its economy via sanctions. Allegedly, this is in the interests of security, but Iran regards it as American imperialism.

Greater worries over regional stability for Saudi Arabia have only worsened in the last few years. Iranian desires for nuclear weaponry, the war on terror, and the situation in Syria have all pushed relations to breaking point, triggered by the recent execution of Nimr al Nimr. But at such a precarious time, cooperation and mutual understanding are necessary to find a

solution to the even more pressing issues of the Syrian civil war, Islamic State, and the migrant crisis.

The Shia-Sunni divide has its part to play, but it is in itself not likely to be the primary cause of discontent, rather something that exacerbates the political division. These sectarian differences are often blamed for many of the problems in the Middle East, but this view often neglects the lack of governance and economic disparity that greatly in-

flames this issue. This is likely to be the case in the aftermath of Nimr al Nimr’s death, and a rise in regional Sunni-Shia tension is probable. As a result of the severing of diplomatic ties, they have no capacity to discuss problems such as Islamic State except at multilateral initiatives like the upcoming (at the time of writing) summit in Geneva. However, any possible steps that may be taken here will be seriously impeded by the conflicting interests of the two parties.

Being the strongest regional powers, any real solution requires their sponsorship.

It also asks serious questions about how the US will choose its next steps in terms of foreign policy in the Middle East. It is unclear whether they will continue pushing for further lifting of sanctions on Iran against the backdrop of growing Saudi grievances. Many Saudis feel that a normalisation in relations between the US and Iran would lead to the abandon-

ment of the traditional Western allies in the Gulf. A breakthrough on Syria could bring some confidence and help get rid of some of the bad blood between these two nations. However, this would necessitate large scale manoeuvring from Russia and America, and as the last few years have shown us, this is unlikely to be achieved in the current political climate. The fallout from this event isn’t confined to the two countries themselves. Reverberations will be felt throughout the Middle East and the world. It is ironic that they accuse one another of undermining regional stability, yet this decision threatens to aggravate the already precarious situation in the Middle East. Unless these two countries put aside their differences, the Arab world may be perpetually stuck in a pernicious cycle of conflict and extremism with no end in sight. These two terms may soon become synonymous with the Middle East forever.

10

THE MARTLET SPRING ISSUE 9

News

A vigil, held in Paris

COMMENT

A

Terrorist Backlash Doug WiIson analyses the reactionary response to the Paris attacks

spectre haunts the West: that of dumb rhetoric about terrorism and immigration with the aim of nullifying our largely irrational fears. It’s often said that public opinion swings like a pendulum, and the reactions by politicians to the Paris and Cologne attacks confirm that the West is back to full 9/11 paranoia.

With that paranoia will come the same disasters that followed the war on terror.

The reaction to the Paris attacks was

This anger leads to irrational policies

one of shock but also of anger. This leads to irrational policies and rhetoric out of step with reality. You need look no further than President Hollande’s speech to the French parliament just days after the attacks. Whilst Hollande’s goal was to calm his people after that night’s horror, the proposals he made were reactionary and fundamentally flawed. The most striking policy to arise from this speech was the constitutional amendment to strip dual nationals convicted of terrorism of French citizenship.

This proposal will not only fail to defeat terrorism, which is largely conducted by Europeans of a single nationality, but it sends a worrying signal to those who do have dual nationality. It renders them unequal in the law, below those with single nationality. This goes against

the spirit of the French constitution. Yet the main problem with this proposal is that it was motivated by party politics to invigorate Hollande and the Socialist party’s re-election bid, which was previously seen as an impossible mission.

It is of no concern that the bill violates socialist principles and creates divisions within French society.

These reactionary politics have spread contagiously to Britain, with David Cameron demanding an extension of airstrikes against ISIS to Syria. Cameron only called the vote because of the fear that the Paris attacks struck into the nation. Indeed, he had previously indicated that he wouldn’t do this very thing without opposition approval, and he even cancelled a vote which had been planned. Extending airstrikes to Syria may seem like a natural progression, given current RAF operations in Iraq, but the situation is entirely different.

Whereas in Iraq there are coalition-backed ground forces from the Iraqi government and Kurdish forces, in Syria most of the ground forces involved are either government troops under President Assad or from various terrorist groups like al Nusra. Targeting ISIS in isolation doesn’t help the Syrian people if other terrorist groups and the Assad regime take their territory instead.

These airstrikes don’t seem to have the desired effect of helping Syria but rather exacting revenge on ISIS and making us feel righteous. This was never clearer than in Hillary Benn’s speech comparing the fight against ISIS to the fight against fascists. By comparing fighting ISIS to fighting Franco, Benn is massively oversimplifying the crisis in the Middle East in an attempt to reshape the conflict into the morally straightforward situation of World War II. This is a shallow means of

linking dissenting voices to appeasers like Chamberlain. All of this intense political debate didn’t lead to major escalation, as more than 90% of coalition airstrikes in Syria are carried by the USA. We cannot evaluate fear and irrational politics without mentioning the Republican Party. It has been said that ‘if the Nuremberg principles were applied then every post war American President would have been hanged’. Few have openly ran for President while committing war crimes and breaking international law, unlike the current contenders for the Republican nomination. The most outrageous of them all is Trump, who calls not only for a complete ban on all Muslims entering the United States, but

Few presidents have ever run a campaign on war crimes until this year

also advocates the killing of the innocent families of terrorists. The former is an updated version of the racist anti-immigration laws of the 19th Century for a frighteningly bigoted 21st century, while the latter could easily be an extract from a Bond villain’s evil plan.

Second place contender, Ted Cruz, calls for ‘precision carpet bombing’ and wants to see if ‘sand can glow in the dark’,

seemingly implying nuclear force. Both of those tactics would lead to a dramatic rise in support for terrorist causes and more subsequent attacks within the United States. Trump and Cruz both propose disastrous policies, but this does not come as a surprise, given their populist status.

What’s far more shocking is the third place establishment figure, Marco Rubio’s, public support for torture. He promises not only to keep Guantanamo Bay, America’s torture chamber, open, but he wants to expand it and send any ISIS fighters to it. Bush may have conducted torture, but he never boasted about it.

Perhaps the most dangerous assumption of all is the mythic struggle, as described by the likes of Rubio: ‘the West versus the Jihadists’. If America considered radical Islam a threat she wouldn’t ally herself with Saudi Arabia, and she wouldn’t have overthrown secular regimes in Iraq and Libya or be attempting to do so in Syria. If she were committed to democracy, she wouldn’t support the government of Bahrain in its brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters. ‘They hate us because they hate our values’ is only partly true at best.

Terrorist attacks on the West are either retaliatory or a result of long term Western foreign policy. After Russia started bombing Syria, David Cameron said that it would ‘only fuel more extremism and radicalisation,’ yet for some reason, France taking the lead in bombing ISIS before the event in Paris even happened has apparently nothing to do with the November attacks. The terrorist attacks on states that haven’t attacked ISIS are far fewer in number. The stated reasons behind 9/11 and 7/7 were Western intervention.

The fundamentalist ideology itself has grown for the same reasons Nazism, Communism and other extreme ideologies have grown: instability, poverty, and oppression. The West has added fuel to the fire over the years, and these are long term problems which will be difficult to solve. However, the reaction in place today, that of posturing and aggression won’t provide a lasting solution.

11

THE MARTLET SPRING ISSUE 9

News GUN CONTROL

San Bernardino Shooting: Is America Massacre-Prone?

Piers Mucklejohn investigates the events of 2nd November 2015, and why these atrocities are commonplace in America

The San Bernardino Valley, which lies in San Bernardino County

T

he mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, is the deadliest mass shooting to have happened in the US since the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December 2012. As concerns over gun laws start to grow, people are raising serious questions about how a country so advanced economically and politically can be victim to so many atrocities.

Rizwan Farook, and his wife Tashfeen Malik, were suspected of a shooting in California, resulting in the deaths of 14 people and were later killed in a shootout with the police. The young couple opened fire at a social services agency Christmas event in San Bernardino, California. They were armed with assault-style weapons. Farook was an employee of San Bernardino County who had attended the Christmas party at the Inland Regional Center and had stormed out only to return later and fire upon the celebration, according to Jarrod Burguan, police chief in the city of San Bernardino. On the day of the attack Farook is alleged to have made a pledge of allegiance to Isis in a Facebook post.

Isis have since praised the shooters but have not taken credit for the attack.

With over 350 mass shootings and at least one mass shooting in the US every single week in America in 2015, lots of questions are being raised over people

can obtain guns and then commit such horrible crimes with such apparent ease; how can people with mental illnesses, for example, get ahold of guns? Take Adam Lanza for example, on December

Denials are exceedingly rare, occurring less than 1% of the time

14, 2012 he was the sole gunman in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in which 26 people were killed, 20 children (aged 6 and 7 years old) and 6 adult staff members. Prior to the school shootings, but on the same day, he shot and killed his 52 year old mother, Nancy Lanza. Lanza was diagnosed with a sensory-integration disorder at the start of elementary school. Later, at the age of 13, he was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome by a psychiatrist; in October 2006 he received treatment, in the form of behavioral-based therapy and the antidepressant Celexa. Peter Lanza, in

a 2013 interview, said he suspected his son might have also suffered other conditions. It’s no wonder that many people started to ask questions about the accessibility of guns. Although Adam Lanza’s mother did have a license for, and own, a gun, people still raised concerns over how a teenager diagnosed with multiple brain-related developmental disorders was able to access a gun so easily.

So, why are guns so easy to obtain in America? There isn’t one answer for this - instead there is a combination of flawed, exploitable security and the belief of lots of Americans that, as they have the right to bear arms (Second Amendment to the United States Constitution), they are seemingly obliged to do so. Firstly, when buying a gun all you need to do is give your name, address, place of birth, race and citizenship. A social security is “optional”, but is recommended. The store then asks multiple question involving any prior crimes, drug use or mental problems and then calls the FBI to run a background check on the person through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, otherwise knows as NICS. The background check can be completed in minutes. This sounds very safe but denials are exceedingly rare; occurring less than 1% of the time. On top of this, gun buyers don’t have to go through a background check when making a purchase at a gun show and, given that most

Americans live somewhere near a gun show, the majority of the American adult population has the ability to obtain a gun.

Obviously, you need to look old enough in order to buy one but many teenagers have been able to pass for older than they are and, without background checks, people with mental illnesses or other problems are able to purchase firearms.

Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik were radicalised a long time before the shooting and had allegedly been exchanging jihadist views whilst dating and many

The majority of the American adult population has the ability to obtain a gun

questions have been raised about how online chats are monitored, if at all, and in an age where gun massacres are commonplace, this, in addition to improved security checks, could not be more important.

12

THE MARTLET SPRING ISSUE 9

Features

SCHOOL

Caucasian Chalk Circle Patrick Cole reflects on the school production of The Caucasian Chalk Circle

O

n the 6th of February, exceedingly tired from the final performance of Anything Goes the previous evening, I had the great pleasure of seeing (or, having made the incredibly intelligent move of forgetting my glasses, squinting at) Berthold Brecht’s stylized masterpiece The Caucasian Chalk Circle, the joint school production, performed in the Amey theatre by a cast from, I believe, third year to upper sixth.

The first thing one was struck with when you entered the theatre, if not the slightly odd dancing from one or two of the cast (who were all already on stage), was the set. The set consisted of multiple levels with ladders and stairs around them, this provided a chance for varied staging as well as places for the cast to sit. It was all adorned in green and pink, as were the actors, which at first seemed like an odd choice but actually fitted surprisingly well with the feel of the piece.

Theoretically this was not the musical so I was pleasantly surprised, not to mention impressed, when the play began

with a musical number consisting of Tom Farish, also vocals, and Charlie Macpherson playing guitars and Joe Salter playing the Saxophone. Music continued to be used throughout the play with singers, a pianist and a flautist all of whom also played parts within the play showing just how multi-talented the cast was. I know Miss Quick was pleased with how well this turned out, especially since she had not looked for musical talent when casting but it had presented itself nevertheless.

Having been introduced by the musicians, the audience was then transported to a town in the Soviet Union. During this brief moment of peace the audience was introduced to Governor Abashwili, his wife, his brother, Kazbeki, and his new-born son-and-heir, Michael, Grusha, a maid to the governor’s wife, played by the incredible Chloe Taylor, and there was a moment that passed between her and the soldier Simon Shashava (Charlie Macpherson).

Turmoil quickly descended as turned out it the Archduke had fled and Kazbeki organised a coup which led to the behead-

ing of Governor Abashwili. In the chaos the governor’s wife summoned all her servants to her to help her pack and the soldiers jumped into action. Seeing each other for potentially the last time in a while, Simon proposed to Grusha, who promised to wait for him. The Governor’s wife was in such a hurry to leave and take as many of her clothes as possible that she accidentally left Michael on the ground.

One of the greatest assets to this performance was the strength of its ensemble work. At no point did any member of the cast leave the stage, instead they sat on and around the set engaging entirely with the performance without stealing any focus.

This may not sound like much but it takes a seriously admirable amount of effort, especially since backstage in most shows I’ve ever been in there’ll be at least one person checking a script during the performance.

Furthermore, with the exception of one or two people, everyone played multiple parts, a technique common to Brecht.

To add to the ensemble spirit created by

everyone staying on stage and playing each part between them, there were moments in which the cast stood up and spoke as one, or sang, or even danced a couple of times.

This meant that, despite the sensational performances of the leads such as Chloe Taylor and Thomas Cope, the play seemed entirely a whole cast effort and each member was integral to its running.

One such ensemble moment occurred at the end of the first scene when Grusha, having found the abandoned baby, was faced with the problem of whether to leave Michael and run or take him with her. The rest of cast stood in a line stage right, leaving Grusha isolated stage left, and spoke in unison. The tension expertly created by this built until Grusha chose to take Michael. Having grown attached to the baby, Grusha found herself unable to let him go and thus began claiming he was her own.

Michael, throughout the play, was portrayed by a puppet. At first a doll wrapped in cloths but halfway through the first act and from then on it was replaced by a larg-

One of the greatest assets of this performance was the strength of its ensemble work

13

THE MARTLET SPRING ISSUE 9

er puppet of a small boy. The puppetry was effectively achieved such that the child seemed to grow throughout the play, going from a doll in rags to a puppet of a small boy who was controlled by a cast member.

The first act told the story of Grusha running away from two soldiers who were seeking the bounty on Michael’s head who she seemed to lose when it came to a long rickety bridge, interestingly created by laying two long planks of wood across the set, one of which successfully fell over when she reached halfway, making it impossible for the soldiers to follow.

Finally making it to her brother’s house, her having a baby with no apparent father proved difficult so she was forced into a dodgy arranged marriage with a draft-dodging farmer with a liking for sponge baths. This was almost the state she managed to meet the interval in but at this point Simon Shashava returned to find her married just as the soldiers caught up and took Michael away.

The second act was, truly speaking, Thomas Cope’s act. The clock was re-

wound to the day the Archduke fled in an effort to show the audience how Azdak (Cope) came to be grand judge before we then saw his grand judgement at the end of the play. The last time I saw Caucasian Chalk Circle, Azdak had been a double amputee dwarf with a large beard in a wheel chair. This, as it turns out, was not quite how Thomas chose to play the character, though I admit I was half hoping it would be.

His story was told quite effectively through Azdak’s journey from accidentally saving the Archduke to turning himself in to a group of rebels and telling them how he regretted saving the Duke, only to find out that these were not rebels, but supporters of the Duke. The previous Grand Judge had been hung in the uprising so when Kazbeki, who made a brief reappearance at this point, attempts to instate a relative of his in the position, he makes the mistake of giving the people the choice.

The people hold a contest in which Azdak plays the accused Archduke to the nephew’s judge. This went disastrously for

The second act was truthfully speaking Thomas Cope’s act

Kazbeki as he finds the people presenting Azdak with the judges robes. What follows was a series of court scenes in which we see Azdak making unorthodox, often drunken, decisions in favour of the poor.

The shining point of any production of this play however must be the final scene in which Azdak, due to saving the Archduke’s life, is allowed to stay on as the Grand Judge and thus is in office when the governor’s wife and Grusha come to blows over who Michael’s true mother is.

Cope was hilarious in his mockery of both sides in the debate. Eventually, he suggests the eponymous Chalk Circle test, in which he had a circle drawn on the floor,

placed Michael in it and challenged each woman to pull him out. The governor’s wife was successful in this as Grusha could not, rightly so, bring herself to hurt Michael, and thus Azdak proclaimed Grusha the mother.

Having already gone over the word count I was given by about 64.5%, I shall conclude by saying that this was an extremely engaging performance from all involved. In no great state to enjoy a performance, I found I had no choice in the matter as the set, lighting, design, acting and even surprisingly music and choreography, came together to create a very impressive, enjoyable, show.

14

THE MARTLET SPRING ISSUE 9

Features

Must Rhodes Fall?

SOCIETY

O

Blake Jones evaluates the debate over the controversial statue in Oxford

ver the last few months there has been a great outcry at Oxford University about racial prejudices, creating the campaign Rhodes Must Fall. This is because outside of Oriel College, Oxford, stands a statue of Cecil Rhodes. The RMF campaign has been calling for that statue to be taken down due to the racist stigma which it brings.

I have great respect for the campaign as it has brought attention to the neglect which ethnic minority communities can feel, particularly at Oxford where it is assumed to be water under the bridge. Only 4% of Oxford’s professors are of black or ethnic minority origin and at Oriel College where the statue stands, there are only two black students per year according to The Independent. The RMF campaign has challenged the status quo at Oxford and made people reconsider whether the university is really as progressive as it wants us to think.

However, I am not in favour of the statue being brought down. Not only is there no real need to do battle with an event from over one hundred years ago, which is not part of the issues of today, but it would have a negative effective on the black community. If the greatest human rights campaign at Oxford is simply to take a statue down, then the hardships of minorities will seem to be trivialised, as they will seem to have nothing else worth campaigning against.

When looking at the campaign, we must ask who Cecil Rhodes was. Rhodes (18531902) was a businessman and politician who was particularly involved with Africa.

Rhodes served as Prime Minister of Cape Colony (modern day South Africa) and founded the country of Rhodesia (modern day Zambia and Zimbabwe). He introduced the Glen Grey Act, which took away publically owned land and gave it to private land owners at the expense of the communal land rights of the black population in Cape Colony. The Glen Grey Act is considered to be the foundation of Apartheid. Cecil Rhodes was possibly the strongest British imperialist there ever was, even worse than writers in The Martlet. The expansion of the British Empire through South Africa, which he supported and was part of, caused many black South Africans to suffer. Rhodes once said that white people were ‘the first race in the world,’ and also that ‘the more of the world we inhabit the better it is for the human race’. After Cecil Rhodes’ lifetime, the statute in question of him was erected on the facade of Oriel College. Added to this, Oriel College has in his name the Rhodes Building and a painting of Rhodes in the hall.

The campaign to bring down the statue began mid-2015, mainly inspired by a successful campaign at Cape Town University

This movement has snowballed into a barrage of hatred towards the statue itself to bring down a statue of Rhodes. The original intention was to draw attention to the unrepresented black voices of the university and to shed light on the university’s connections to British imperialism.

But now, this movement has snowballed into a barrage of hatred directed towards the statue itself and with too little focus on the actual issues of which ethnic minorities face. As a result of the campaign, Oriel College has removed the plaque commemorating Rhodes and replaced it with a sign which reads ‘in acknowledging the historical fact of Rhodes’ bequest, the college does not in any way condone or glorify his views or actions’.

The question is whether this action from the college is sufficient. I believe it is. The college has clearly shown that it is against what Rhodes has done and has taken into account the feelings of the students and acted in support of them. Furthermore the college, including the statue, is a grade II listed building and the statue cannot be removed anyway. Therefore it would

seem acceptable for the statue to remain standing.

Rhodes was a very significant benefactor to the college and there is a chance the college would not be there today if it had not been for Rhodes’ contribution. In his will he gave a very significant amount of money to the college and made the Rhodes Scholarship possible. The Rhodes Scholarship is for international students studying at Oxford and only a few years after he donated the money on his death, there were black students receiving money from it.

Oriel College and many others have greatly benefitted from his generosity.

Therefore, in the same way we have the name YANG in big letters outside the Science Centre here at Abingdon, it is not surprising that the college put a statue of Rhodes up without considering moral principles which were not prominent back then. Added to this, most of the history of the university and of our country during that time is drenched in racism. The slippery slope argument must come to mind,

by which so many other statues around Oxford and the world would have to come down for the same means. Down would come Churchill for being racist, down would come Elizabeth I for Catholic discrimination and one could argue that down would come statues of Jesus for making remarks which are viewed as homophobic.

The important thing to remember in this debate, is that this is just a statue. I appreciate that this is easy for me to say, and for the many people whose ancestors suffered at the hand of Rhodes it would be distressing to see the statue, yet it is a small factor in a larger issue. There are plans for a statue of Tony Blair to be dumped in the Palace of Westminster, and though I consider him a slimy war-mongerer who would destroy politics to further his aims and would be tempted to topple his statue, I could accept it. It is less the statue which is important, but more what people feel that it represents which motivates them to want to bring it down. This is of course what needs to be tackled instead.

What matters most here is the feeling of neglect from the ethnic minority students of the university and the tone of segregation which is still found by Oxford students. I appreciate that I am not affected by these issues and having appreciated my privilege, I only have so much of a right to speak on racial discrimination. However, these feelings seem noticeably widespread across the university, following a Student Union survey where 59% of black and minority students felt uncomfortable or unwelcome on account of their race or ethnicity at Oxford. This is what we should be caring about and trying to resolve, rather than masking these issues with an offensive statue and being under the ideology that if it comes down racism will be wiped out. The symbolism may matter to some, but considering that many people were unaware of the statue or who Rhodes was until the campaign began, it suggests that the statue does not symbolise the racial issues of today.

Therefore, with regards to the Rhodes Must Fall campaign, it is so much more important than just a statue. It represents a great struggle which has lasted for centuries and still does today. But that struggle is more than simply a statue which is just one reminder of many of our dark history. So take the statue down if you really want to, even though it will never actually happen, or don’t, leave where it is outside of eye range for a standard pedestrian: it will not change things. Simply remember that if the extent of civil rights movements in Oxford is taking down a statue, people will struggle to see how meaningful they are and people are much more likely to view the issues of minorities as trivial.

15

THE MARTLET SPRING ISSUE 9

Features

Actual TVs are becoming less common as people are increasingly watching television on their laptops

ENTERTAINMENT

Binge Watching vs. Weekly Watching

A

Dan Alcock and Calum Egan argue over which way of watching television is superior

new habit that has infested our culture in recent years is the proposition of ‘binge watching’ popular TV shows. This has always been a popular option for watching television using box-sets and rented DVDs. However, with the recent rise of online streaming, and easier access to pirated versions of shows, it seems many people are now losing themselves in episode after episode.

Opposed to this is the classic version of watching your favourite show one episode a week as it airs on television.

People’s preferences vary as to how they watch TV, but both forms have their positives and negatives.

Week by week is the classic method of watching television. The newspaper became the TV, the letter the email, so week by week may have become binge watching, but is that really the right judgement? Platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime allow people to ‘binge watch’ the latest TV shows, something that has been driven to fruition by the insatiable thirst and sheer impatience of the average consumer nowadays. Similarly to a spoilt child, everything has become ‘now’ and ‘more’ with regard to TV. I’m not saying that people who prefer to watch their TV on demand are spoilt children, far from it. I just think

that there is so much more to be gained by watching on a weekly basis. Take, for example, one of the most well-known programmes: Game of Thrones. One of the main attractions of the show is the drama, and one of the most important means by which to portray this drama is to end the episode on a cliff-hanger with a dramatic revelation or event.

These cliff-hangers leave people guessing, discussing the night’s finale with their friends the next day. All over the internet you’ll see forums dedicated to who people think the killer is from their favourite show and what they predict will happen to Jon Snow next week. If you’re watching a show from start to finish in a short period then there’s no suspense and no anticipation because the reveal is right at the touch of a button. I feel this takes away one of the best (yet one of the most frustrating) aspects of watching a series. On a similar note, by watching the episodes back to back, you take away from the impact of what you’re watching. If something ground-breaking occurs in an episode, then there’s no time to think about what just happened and it’s just straight onto the next episode. So, as with all great things, prolonging the enjoyment always proves better in the long run.

-Calum Egan

If you binge watch then there’s no suspense

Binge watching has always existed, but it’s popularity has ramped up recently. We’ve always had boxsets and DVD renting, but now the digital era has begun.

Not only do we have past television shows at our fingertips, but streaming services now produce their own content, so that now even newly produced television is released season by season, rather than episode by episode. A huge problem with watching a show every week is losing track of the plot. By the time a whole seven days have gone by, you’ve already forgotten the intricacies of the story and who’s who. Furthermore, I often find myself in difficulties to keep up with a show every single week. One week I may be out,

another doing homework, and the recorded episodes just build up. This means you either end up binge watching anyway, or you just never get around to it and lose all interest in it. Furthermore, it seems that the episode I miss is always the episode with the groundbreaking plot twist. Immediately spoilers flood Facebook, and everyone talks about it at school the next day. Whereas watching an entire show at once, you’re much less likely to come across any spoilers from any of the episodes, as people generally stay sensitive about these spoilers until more people have had time to finish the show. These shows that are released in their entirety are extremely fun and relaxing to watch all in one go, or one weekend. Once done, you have a whole year to think about what had just happened, and the impact is left with you. The episodes are designed for people who are watching the show in one sitting, so the story flows better, just like a long movie. You can also watch old serieses in one go. I watched every season of Game of Thrones in a matter of weeks, and enjoyed it just as much as, if not more than, those who have watched it every week it’s come out over five years. Simply put, I believe that it’s time for the world to catch up: binge watching is the new and more enjoyable way to watch TV. -Dan Alcock

16

THE MARTLET SPRING ISSUE 9

Features LEGAL SYSTEM

Fallen Hero Brought to Justice

O

Alex Thulin asks whether the trial of Oscar Pistorius was a failure of justice

n Valentine’s Day 2013 Reeva Steenkamp was shot dead by her boyfriend, the paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius in Pistorius’ home in Pretoria, South Africa.

Pistorius was arrested and stood trial on the 3rd March 2014. The defence that followed was one of the greatest shambles ever seen in a modern court of law, and still, at first, Pistorius escaped with a guilty verdict of only manslaughter, with only a five year sentence.

The presiding judge Thokozile Masipa declared in her verdict that the prosecution had not proven beyond reasonable doubt that Pistorius had shot with the intent to kill Reeva and thus acquitted him of any murder charges. Finally in a return to form of the judicial system the South African Court of Appeal in October 2015 Judge Eric Leach changed the verdict to murder, something that could result in more than fifteen years in prison for the fallen hero.

Pistorius’ defence claimed that the sports hero mistook his girlfriend in the bathroom for an intruder and fired only in self defence. At first glance this claim seems perfectly reasonable, until you look into the details.

The bullets used were known as ‘Black Talons’, designed to cause maximum tissue damage to whoever is hit the bullets fragment and spread out deadly shrapnel shredding organs of the victim. Pistorius had already been charged for multiple gun crimes including firing a gun in a crowded cafe and firing through the sunroof of a car. Simply owning these deadly bullets and being involved in another shooting, this one involving a death, should have got him a longer sentence than the five year sentence he got but still in the first trial he avoided the murder verdict.

This verdict seems tough to justify for a man with a history of gun crime. Secondly as Judge Leach said in the retrial, ‘It is inconceivable that a rational person could have believed that he was entitled to fire at this person with a heavy-caliber firearm, without taking even the most elementary precaution of firing a warning shot.’ I wonder how the defence thought Pistorius would not fire a warning shot at the ‘intruder’ or even just shout. If he had just said something such as ‘identify yourself’ Reeva would still be alive and Pistorius would not be in jail. You could put this down to Pistorius not wanting to alert the ‘intruder’ to his presence but Pistorius testified to shouting to Reeva to call the police, apparently neglecting the fact that she didn’t reply.

Seemingly realising that this approach was failing, the defence changed their story, claiming that with his firearm training Pistorius involuntarily fired

Oscar Pistorius has fallen from his status as a public hero to humiliation in court by instinct as he thought there was an intruder. This argument again fell flat in front of prosecutor Gerrie Nel, nicknamed ‘The Bulldog’ for his ruthlessness in court. One of the main points of firearm training is to eliminate these accidental firings. How could a trained gun man ‘accidentally’ fire multiple bullets into a door in several different places?

The failure of the defence came to a dramatic conclusion when forensics ‘expert’ Robert Dixon was called to the stand. It was revealed after his testimo-

misconduct. It was revealed during the case that several expensive silver watches had gone missing from the athlete’s home during the police investigation into the murder and supposedly a forensics expert was seen handling the weapon used to kill Reeva without gloves, possibly destroying vital evidence.

It was also found that a ‘new’ bullet hole had been found in the bathroom door that Reeva was shot through, seeming overlooked by the police investigation. If this is the scrutiny of

We simply can’t let this happen if we want a fair and just world ny that Dixon had never attended the post-mortem of Reeva Steenkamp and had infact only ever seen three autopsies in his life. Dixon was revealed to have used the internet to attain most of his testimony and used a music producer to record the sound of a gun shot, a critical part of his testimony. If this is the standard of expert that is acceptable in a normal court case let alone the most pivotal cases in the history of the South African legal system then our justice system has become one of the greatest failures of modern civilisation.

It wasn’t just the witnesses that formed the catastrophe that this case has become, the police were even accused of

investigation the police apply to murder investigations we have a huge problem.

While the absence of this bullet hole in the police report did not cause any huge revelations in the case this negligence represents a complete lack of justice. If evidence is simply not noticed by police in extreme situations this can lead to false verdicts. Allegations of the police committing the act of theft are simply shocking and it is concerning that few people are picking up on this. This is one of the most published trials in legal history and still this trial is surrounded in dishonesty and negligence. We simply can’t let this happen if we want a fair and just world.

After the case went into appeal Judge Leach said on the subject of Judge Masipa, ‘The fact that this court has determined that certain mistakes were made should not be seen as an adverse comment upon her competence or ability.’

Personally I disagree with this. Culpable homicide, the South African equivalent of manslaughter which Pistorius was originally sentenced with, details that the cause of death must be negligence.

I struggle to see that a man shooting through his bathroom door with the intent to kill whoever is behind it caused death through negligence. The fact that he thought there was an intruder is simply irrelevant to this case. Shooting with the aim to kill seems like a pretty good definition of murder to me.

As Judge Leach said ‘The identity of the victim is irrelevant to his guilt… a person who causes a bomb to explode in a crowded place will probably be ignorant of his or her victims, but will nevertheless have the intention to kill those who might die in the resultant explosion’. The fact that Pistorius at first escaped with a sentence of culpable homicide worries me deeply; I am starting to fear that bias is creeping into the South African legal system, which raises other legal systems into question While my claim may be inaccurate, I feel this issue must be looked into further.

The murder verdict is a great example of the idea that nobody is above the law, but I fear that we may be falling so deeply into celebrity culture that we are allowing them to reduce the impact of the incredibly serious matter of murder. I feel a full inquiry must be launched into the handling of this case, both of the verdict and the investigation, for fear of the loss of justice that we have worked so hard to obtain.

17

THE MARTLET SPRING ISSUE 9

Features

Controversy at the Oscars ENTERTAINMENT

Milo McNally argues why this year’s Oscars shouldn’t have become such a controversial topic

2

016 at the Oscars. The year that has finally seen Leonardo Di Caprio win his first Oscar, may in fact be remembered for a more infamous reason. Boycotts were called for the biggest night in film over the lack of racial diversity in the nominees for best actor, with many angry tweets condemning the Oscars for being so discriminatory in the 21st century. Many would argue this is not a “one off” since this is the second year running the Oscars have had an all white set of nominees for best actor. However I believe that this outcry of outrage is misguided in its direction. I don’t believe that the Oscars “committee” are to be blamed for their failure to nominate any black actors, as if the roles aren’t there, then they have nothing to nominate, and every committee and critic is entitled to their own opinion on what makes a good performance. The BAFTA’s have a committee of critics from the UK and the Oscars have a committee of critics from America, so their tastes in what makes a good acting performance will differ with culture. However, it does highlight some important issues that lie deeper in the industry, and that is where I feel the problem lies.

However, let us begin with how someone would arrive at the conclusion that there is there is a problem with racism specific to the Oscars and this event alone. Firstly, for a second year running, no black actor has been nominated for best actor (lead or supporting), when there have been films where a black actor has given an “Oscar-worthy performance”, playing their role exceptionally well. Examples include Idris Elba in Beasts of No Nation, John Boyega in the most recent Star Wars film, and

Samuel L Jackson in The Hateful Eight.

For these performances not to achieve Oscar nominated status must show some corruption or racial preference in the Oscar committee, right? And secondly, the problem does not extend to other award ceremonies such as the BAFTA’s which saw black actors nominated, with both John Boyega winning the award for rising star, and Idris Elba winning his award for best supporting actor, showing beyond reasonable doubt this issue of racial bias is unique to the Oscars and

fluence the casting in films, that part is down to the industry, and that’s where the problem lies, thus the Oscars shouldn’t be blamed. Although Idris Elba did receive a nomination and award at the BAFTA’s for best supporting actor, let us remember that he was the only black actor to be nominated in all four acting categories.

The problem I feel, isn’t that there aren’t black actors in big films, because there are, but instead the fact that a Black film industry exists almost separately to mainstream media.

What I mean is that the film industry isn’t colourblind, it’s plain to see in the small percentage of films that come out with black main parts (ie; leads or supporting). It seems that white actors can play any role whereas black actors are being confined to roles that require black actors in most cases.

A good insight to this can be taken from a well thought out speech from Idris Elba to a group of MP’s on the topic of diversity.

“We’d get scripts and we were always asked

A Black film industry exists almost separately to mainstream media they should be condemned for this and is sensible to boycott - correct? I don’t believe so. While, at first glance, these may both seem to highlight the Oscars as having a racism problem, I feel this is hardly the Oscars’ fault as, let us remember that out of all the acting awards that are in common to both the Oscars and the BAFTA’s, Idris Elba was the only black nominee at the BAFTA’s because such a small percentage of roles in film have a lead or supporting back actor. The committee nominate actors for these awards, but they cannot nominate someone for a performance that doesn’t exist!

What I mean by this is that the award ceremonies don’t write the parts or in-

to read the ‘black male’ character, or ‘the athletic type’. I was busy, I was getting lots of work, but I realised I could only play so many ‘best friends’ or ‘gang leaders’. This is a first hand look at a one dimensional writing and directing process where a selection is made on the appearance of an actor rather than the character they are playing or the actor’s ability. Although this makes it seem somewhat easy to point the finger at these directors and yell “Racist!”, it’s a ridiculous gesture, because as Idris Elba said: he was busy, he had jobs and roles in film and TV written and given to him by these directors who included a black actor in main parts. The directors’ problems lies in a lack of imagination when it comes to

casting, and this was highlighted in Elba’s speech to the MPs. In the writing for Luther, the popular crime drama that ended its run on BBC One in the December of 2015, a crime drama about a black detective in the police force wouldn’t be something you’d have expected to come about, because who would’ve thought to come up with it when you don’t see many black detectives in the police, a point raised in his speech. However Luther became one of the BBC’s biggest successes in drama, thanks to expert script writing with casting and acting. Luther didn’t have to be black or white, it was a role decided on whoever’s character brought the most to the table, and matched up with the personality of Luther that the director had in mind, and Idris Elba had this character and acting ability.

So change is happening within the film and media industry for black actors, and hopefully soon we won’t have to distinguish between white and black actors, but focus on their performance. The film industry is going in the right direction, with colourblind directors writing colourblind roles that don’t require a specific race, but instead require whoever’s acting suits them best. Examples of these roles are John Boyega in Star Wars, and, although not in film and instead in theatre, Noma Dumezweni playing Hermione Granger in a London theatre production of Harry Potter and the Lost Child.

However a lot more change needs to be seen, and more colourblind roles need to be created, that will allow greater diversity in acting and ultimately a better end product.

If more creative roles have been assigned to an actor with character to match, no matter what their background, the quality of filmmaking will only get better. Overall, the Oscars aren’t as to blame for not nominating any black actors. They need the roles of Oscar winning caliber which weren’t around this year. More high quality colourblind roles need to be available in the industry to ensure both diversity and a high quality end product in film, there are simply too few of at the moment.

18

THE MARTLET SPRING ISSUE 9

Features

TRAVEL

South Korea Uncovered

D

Pawin ‘Pea’ Sermsuk unravels the delights of Asia’s most creative nation

eep down south on the Korean Peninsula lies the Republic of Korea, more commonly known as South Korea. Tightly squeezed as it is between China and Japan it isn’t surprising that Korean domestic traditions and cultures are very similar to those found in the two giants of Asia. Despite being one of the smallest countries in Asia, Korean pride has spread across the world. After the Korean war ended in 1953, South Korea had a democratic governing body. Since then, the country has been politically stable and the economy rocketed. From 1971 to 2015, the country’s GDP annual growth rate averaged a staggering 6.97 percent, and Korea currently has the world’s 13th largest economy.

The morning sunrise greeted me as I touched down in Seoul, the capital of South Korea. To be honest, I barely had any expectations of Korea prior to the trip.

All I’d heard was a couple of bad stories my parents had told after they went a few decades back, but the minute I stepped off the plane, all the filthy images were im-

mediately wiped off my mind. The empty terminal in the early morning was, by far, one of the nicest I’ve ever seen. I wasn’t the only one to think this, as Incheon Intl was named the world’s best airport 2012, and is currently second. Clearly the Koreans have been doing a good job since the time when my parents came.

the map, things started to make sense.

Seoul, unlike any other major capital, doesn’t really have a distinct ‘city centre’.

Rather, it has different areas for different specialised goods. Myeong-dong, the socalled ‘shopping district’, is really a large web of finely-chopped streets, sprinkled with clothes stores and personal acces-

South Korea currently has the world’s 13th largest economy After an hour’s journey into the city, I got to my hotel, which was luckily in the district of Myeong-dong, the heart of shopping in Seoul. I was stunned from the first moment; there really is nothing you can’t find in Myeong-dong. After a few hours of exploring the area and studying

sories shops. The district is also home to the well-known Lotte Department Stores, the largest shopping complex in the entirety of South Korea. Other places like the Namdaemun Wholesale Clothes Market are good for personal shopping as products are rather cheap, and when

I say cheap, I mean cheap. Having grown up in Thailand, I’m not used to finding cheaper items abroad, and I can easily say the things I bought in Korea were a bargain. A red-black woolen jumper set me back just under £10!

The true shopping experience starts when the sun goes down. At around 7pm, cars are restricted from entering the little streets of Myeong-dong, and out of nowhere, within an hour, hundreds of stalls appear on both sides of the pavement, all of them selling food, and not the sort of food you’ll normally see: there was breadcrumb-fried banana; there were entire deep fried small crabs; there were charcoal-grilled buttered scallop with corn and blow-torched molten mozzarella on top. It was unbearable, I couldn’t stop myself from having basically everything. Every time I ended up craving more. Although not interested in any of the world’s ‘top notch’ skincare or cosmetics, the sheer essence of walking around at 11pm with a pair of chopsticks and grilled scallop in my hands alongside all the liveliness in the background really

19

THE MARTLET SPRING ISSUE 9

The amazing charcoal-grilled scallop with blow-torched molten mozzarella was true enjoyment.

Because around 30% of the country’s population are teenagers, the city is full of vibrance and liveliness. The Hongdae area, surrounding the Hongik University, is certainly the absolute core of it. As night falls, the fun begins. University

30% of the country’s population are teenagers students literally conquered the area with live performances and even more stalls. Hundreds of smaller clothes, bags, and accessories stores sells items that appeal to the lifestyle of teenagers. There are also, as you’d expect, clubs and bars in the area, though the Koreans are surprisingly strict on their age limit. Food in

the area is limitless, and it would seem very lame not to have some sort of edible item in your hand. The party never stops, and time really flies when you’re walking around Hongdae. We found ourselves stranded in Hongdae at half past twelve at night after completely forgetting about the time and the underground has already stopped. It was brilliant, there really isn’t any other word for it.

Sometimes I think Koreans are underestimated by people around the world.

A lot of the things we use may well be from Korea: multinational companies, Samsung and LG, both originated from South Korea, and together have company assets of almost £400 billion, which, to put it in perspective, is around 35 time the size of British Airways. Hyundai Motor Group, owner of Hyundai Motors and Kia Motors, is also based in Seoul. Having only began in 2000, it currently has 250,000 employees making cars that are sold worldwide. Other major industries include the fashion and the music industries. Korea has some of the most followed fashion bloggers in the world, and the K-Pop industry was grossed at nearly £2.4 billion. It was recognised as ‘South Korea’s greatest export’ by The Times Magazine, not to mention that PSY’s 2012 single

Early evening in Hondae district, the shopping area surrounding Hongik University

Heunginjimun Gate in Dongdaemun, one of eight in the historical Fortress Wall Gangnam Style topped YouTube’s ‘most watched videos in history’ list, currently with 2.5 billion views.

South Korea certainly has a lot of things to look out for, and 7 days still weren’t enough for Seoul alone. The city has a tiny stream cutting through the heart of the city, and so they built Cheonggyecheon, a 7-mile modern public recreation space, which was probably the most homely addition to a big city I have ever seen. To the north stands the palace of the last emperor, Gyeongbokgung Palace, which was relatively large and grand from the outside, although as I headed inside, I must admit, I did find the emptiness of the buildings rather disappointing.

But the country managed to redeem itself the next day as I travelled 50 miles from the capital to Namiseom Island in Chuncheon. The 430,000 metres squared ‘Naminara Republic’ claims itself a ‘micronation’ in honour of General Nami, who died at the age of 28 after being

falsely accused of treason during the reign of King Sejo. Every corner, every angle, every moment brings back scenes from the theatre. It was honestly a film set in real life!

With regard to food, I can only say one thing; Koreans love their Kimchi!

They are very creative with their Kimchi, as they can always find a way to use Kimchi with literally anything you can name: ice cream, Kit Kat, dessert, literally anything! And their creativity with food doesn’t stop there. They took the Tonkatsu breadcrumb-fried pork from the Japanese and put mozzarella cheese in it. Actually, they managed to put cheese with anything too: scallop with cheese, cheese dip for fried chicken, even molten cheese inside fried chicken. They also do very creative desserts such as a mountain of very finely crushed ice to have with condensed milk and almond powder. But don’t get me wrong, all the original Korean cuisine are still there. We had a go at Korean ramen, the kal-guksu, which smelt very nice, the weird-and-wonderful ginseng-stewed chicken which tasted a lot like sake, and my personal favourite, Korean-style charcoal-grilled BBQ. But the most extreme, by a long way, was having the guts to try live squid, which was chopped up and served on a plate still moving! After taking twenty deep breaths, I dipped it into soy sauce and put it in my mouth. It was… indescribably nice!

Although I only spent a week in Seoul, my view of the country was changed completely. I discovered the hidden gem of Asia, a country full of potential and possibilities that people tend to either overlook or disbelieve, but one thing I certainly do believe: no who you are, there is something in Korea for everyone.

20

THE MARTLET SPRING ISSUE 9

Features MUSIC

The Music of 2015 Prospects for 2016 Tom Buckle reviews 2015 in music, and identifies the artists and groups that are worth keeping an eye on this year

S

imilarly to the year before, 2015 was another great year of music. So it’s that time of year again when we take a look back and talk about the new and old faces that made 2015 great. Surprisingly, there were numerous artists who made appearances last year, so it wasn’t just one of the fastest upcoming artists Kygo who ‘Stole the Show’. Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars made an impact by funking up the charts at the beginning of last year and, as a result, earned the spot of most played single of the year.

OMI and Felix Jaehn were successful too, because as well as finding a ‘Cheerleader’, they also found the Number 1 top-spot for four consecutive weeks.

The Main Artists of 2015 Like 2014, the music industry last year was dominated by an array of old familiar faces, and, unfortunately for some, this year saw the return of Justin Bieber. Love him or hate him, Bieber was back with a bang and he began to dominate the charts towards the end of the year. His popular singles such as What do you mean? and Sorry instantly flew to the top of the charts, and Bieber became a lot more popular than he used to be. In fact he became so popular that he had 17 tracks at one time in the charts in December, and recently occupied the Number 1, 2 and 3 spots with singles, a feat never accomplished before.

Now the idea of being a “Belieber” is no

It wasn’t just Kygo who ‘Stole the Show’

mention; he also became one of the most famous artists of 2015 with singles such as Can’t Feel my Face and The Hills. These two have a combined total of over 850 million views on YouTube and Can’t Feel my Face was the 21st most popular song last year. The Weeknd made his first main appearance through music in the popular 50 Shades of Grey, where one of his singles featured, Earned It, was the 26th most streamed of the year. He is already one of the biggest artists around, but who knows what 2016 will bring him?

An artist who made a strong impression last year was Kygo. The 24 year-old Norwegian had a large impact on the charts last year and appeared almost from out of nowhere. After receiving 80 million views on YouTube and SoundCloud, he was contacted by giants Avicii and Coldplay to produce remixes of their songs.

However his first main appearance was at TomorrowWorld in September 2014 when he replaced Avicii due to health concerns. From then on his production of singles such as Firestone, Stole the Show and Here for You were all popular features in the UK charts. Whilst Kygo is yet to release a Number 1 or even Top 5 single, I believe with the fan base created in 2015, it will not be long before he reaches these dizzy heights.

Finally, I’d like to finish off the music of 2015 by talking about Years and Years.

In last year’s article I mentioned they were winners of the ‘BBC Sound of 2015’ and that they were definitely worth keeping an eye on. This prediction was correct, as the London-based group achieved their first Number 1 with King in January, and then followed up with Shine which peaked at Number 2 in June. In just two years they have gone from being unknown to regular chart toppers.

The Weeknd: one of the most popular artists of 2015 The runner up this year was 19 year old Alessia Carre from Canada, most known for her single Here released in November last year, which had 700,000 sales and shipments in the US by the end of 2015. She was described by Huw Stephens as ‘being completely at home bearing her soul on record’, and her style

Artists to look out for longer an insult and more of a trend. Who saw that coming? I certainly didn’t. Adele was another familiar face to pop her head back into the charts and say ‘Hello’ once again. She was keen to make a grand return, and as well as releasing a Number 1 single she sat firmly on the top of the album charts with 25.

Fetty Wap had an incredible year, successfully making himself a household name. His most popular track Trap Queen was awarded the ‘Most Played Video of the Year’ in early 2015 and had a whopping 2.7 million sales and shipments in the US alone. He has successfully featured along with giants David Guetta and Sia in Bang my Head and was rated as one of the most popular artists of the year alongside Taylor Swift, Drake and Justin Bieber.

The Weeknd is someone else I should

The BBC’s Sound of 2016 compiles tips from over 140 critics, naming the best new artists of the coming near and suggesting who we should keep an eye on. Previous winners include Adele and Jessie J, who have both had their share of the number one spot. This year the award was won

by Jack Garratt, a singer-songwriter from Buckinghamshire and most famous for his single Weathered. Although he is unknown by many of us, Huw Stephens said ‘Jack has a huge year ahead of him and his music is being heard around the world - he’s a very worthy winner of Sound of 2016!’ His style of music has been described as ‘an eclectic, uncategorisable blend of styles’ by the BBC and he made his breakthrough after uploading his music to BBC Introducing Uploader in 2009 which led to recognition from Zane Lowe and Huw Stephens. His style of music is new, infectious and growing rapidly. He is definitely one to watch.

If 2015 is anything to go by, 2016 will be an incredible year for music

of music is bold, honest and fearless. She has also caught the attention of Taylor Swift with her cover of Bad Blood, and since then Carre has been asked to join Taylor Swift on tour which has had a sig-

nificant impact on her popularity. 2015 has been an amazing year for her, and it is obvious that 2016 will be huge for her.

The final artist to look out for is my own personal choice in East London singer NAO. To me, she has a unique style of rich but subtle vocals that stand out among other female artists. She is no stranger to the music industry, as her first EP So Good reached Number 4 on the iTunes Electronic Chart and gained the recognition of producers Disclosure when she was asked to appear in the song Superego on their UK Number 1 album Caracal. With her experience and recognition of other artists, she will only continue to rise and no doubt make it into the Top 40. I think she will be big this year.

Let’s just hope the music this year is as good, if not better, than it was last year. With music sharing websites such as SoundCloud and YouTube there will continue to be individuals who will propel themselves onto the world stage. The thing is, we just don’t know who will be the next top artists, and I believe that’s a good thing, because that means it’s open to anyone. It could be anybody I’ve mentioned here, or it could be someone new. If 2015 is anything to go by, this year will be incredible for the music industry. That’s why we can look forward to the music of 2016.

21

THE MARTLET SPRING ISSUE 9

Features

The Faraday - a car of the future?

TRANSPORT

Cars of the Future Right Around the Corner Jack Lester investigates recent automotive developments

Y

ou may have heard of the Consumer Electronics Show, a convention held almost every year since 1993. Las Vegas hosts the convention of the world’s most innovative inventions, ideas from some of the best known companies, and some that have yet to gain recognition. In previous conventions, familiar products such as camcorders, HDTVs, compact discs and video game consoles have debuted, making CES an important convention that many people look forward too. At the 2016 convention which ended in early January, car manufacturers showed off ‘cars of the future’, with some unexpected results. Volkswagen, Ford and Toyota all exhibited their ideas alongside smaller manufacturers.

Volkswagen had a tough year in 2015.

The company went from the top of their game, selling more vehicles than Toyota and becoming the best selling manufacturer, to losing 25% of sales in Europe.

Volkswagen is working on an innovative ‘minivan’ called the ‘BUDD-e’ with the goal of a future without noisy, polluting, dangerous or boring cars. Many experts seemed impressed with the innovative van, and among them was The Verge, an American technology news website, who described it as a ‘groovy, far-out vision of the future’. Some of the most innovative features include electronic mirrors monitored from the dashboard and a remote home connection service that can turn on lights, unlock the front door or even let friends inside if they arrive before the

house owner.

Before this year’s convention, most car manufacturers had exhibited nothing but gimmicks, but 2016 turned out to be a huge step towards the next generation of automobiles and transport. The Faraday Future FFZero1 is another concept car backed by Chinese investment. This space-age, Batmobile-style car is supposed to redefine the industry. Its glossy paint job and currently unknown features

ments, most interestingly a partnership with the United Nations which could make cars a safer place to be in during natural disasters or emergencies. Recent developments in drone technology allow cars to communicate with airborne drones. Planned developments using drones include traffic reports, car park location services and communication devices within the vehicles which connect them with drones, and possibly even the

2016 Turned out to be a huge step towards the next generation of automobiles

reminded some critics of the unveiling of the original iPhone, which redefined its own industry. Many criticised the presentation, for although the company’s Senior Vice President, Nick Sampson, talked about ‘redefining of the mobility’, the car itself stayed still. The project is set to start in around two years’ time. The company intends to increase 750 employees to 4,500 and build a plant in Las Vegas.

In 2007 Ford took to the stage as the first automotive giant to display new technology. This year saw small develop-

emergency services in the event of disaster. This could be implemented during wildfires or earthquakes, commonplace in the south-western USA. Toyota, Ford and Google all announced research projects for autonomous cars at CES. Ford is expanding its current fleet to 30 cars, Toyota showed off its $1bn pledge towards autonomous cars, and Google tried to dispel rumours that its own examples are dangerous. Toyota attempted to present these cars as user-friendly and to encourage drivers to place their

trust in them. Some effort has gone into developing the ability to detect and react to unexpected events on the road, such as cargo falling out the back of a truck.

The German car manufacturer, BMW, also exhibited some new technology of their own, and promoted a more relaxing experience for motorists. Their newly developed, gesture-controlled entertainment system allows passengers to operate, for instance, a music player or the heating controls. There were fears that this would lead to unsafe driving, as the operator would have to let go of the controls, but BMW has confirmed that the system would only be activated during self drive mode, itself a system which might appear on BMWs within the next decade. Users of Xbox’s Kinect hardware will be familiar with the device; the hand acts as a cursor on a large screen built into the dashboard.

As with many upcoming technologies, many experts predict that these are too far into the future to be realistically considered for production. Car manufacturers are primarily focused on restoring the good name of diesel after last year’s VW scandal. They are constantly improving safety and the brand image. If these designs do make it onto the consumer market they will be too expensive to be sold as standard, more likely on luxury cars or as optional extras. Expensive equipment that can save lives or make cars more enjoyable for everyone takes time to become a standard feature of modern cars. For instance, it took over 40 years for the airbag to become standard equipment, but very few safety advancements were shown at CES this year. Ford’s United Nations partnership that could improve natural disaster response comes close to this kind of development.

There were fascinating new developments at the Consumer Electronics Show, but unfortunately for these distant prospects, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

22

THE MARTLET SPRING ISSUE 9

Features ENTERTAINMENT

Films to Look Out for in 2016 A

Dan Alcock and Calum Egan look ahead to the next exciting films of 2016

fter an historic year of movies in 2015 with Star Wars and Jurassic World breaking records left right and centre, 2016 has much to live up to. We will be talking about which films we are most excited about, along with which films could be underhyped so far. From Gotham to the ocean, the 1900s to a time long, long ago, and Confederate Rebels to superhero warfare, this list has eight of the most exciting films of 2016.

Finding Dory - Calum Disney have finally done it. They have finally made the sequel to one of the most popular kids’ films of all time: Finding Nemo. Centred around the fan favourite, Dory, the film will follow her on her quest to find her family whom she has miraculously remembered. This sequel has been anticipated by many since they were first introduced to the orange clown fish we all came to love thirteen years ago. The sequel retains the original cast and characters from the first film along with the same director in Andrew Stanton, so on paper it looks like a guaranteed success, at least in a financial sense, for Disney. However fans will be worried that when the film comes out on June 17th it won’t manage to capture the charm of the original, tainting the memory of everyone’s favourite fish forever.

Assassin’s Creed - Dan Now I’m not a fan of films based on videogames. I’ve personally watched very few, and they are notorious for being downright awful or, at best, barely average. Studios generally use popular properties as a guaranteed way to gain some quick money, no matter whether the film is actually good or not. The upcoming Assassin’s Creed film seems different however. Respected director, Justin Kurzel, is taking lead, and Michael Fassbender is signed up as a producer, and to star as the lead. The developer of the Assassin’s Creed games, Ubisoft, is producing the film hands on, so it’s safe to say that the project is in safe and caring hands. The film is following it’s own original story, and has been given a big budget by 20th Century Fox. Even if the story turns out to be poor, we should still get a fun filled action flick, full of parkour and assassinations.

But maybe, this could be the first movie based on a video game franchise that is good, and I’m hopeful for that. Assassin’s Creed drops December 21st.

serious film about zombies with a side note of humour which one would expect from a zombie film set in the 1800s, a fairly ‘out-there’ idea for a Hollywood blockbuster.

What makes this so appealing as well is that it isn’t like most of the films in cinema at the moment: it’s not a sequel and it’s not a reboot, it’s just a straight up refreshing adaptation of a zombie book.

Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice - Calum

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - Dan

One of the most eagerly anticipated events in film history is the showdown between two of DC’s mightiest heroes, Batman and Superman, which is finally within touching distance for cinemagoers, dropping on March 25th. However it’s no exaggeration that the entire future of the DC movie universe hinges on this film. It must simultaneously make $1 billion (to show it can match the success of Marvel films) and be seen as a good film in the eyes of fans. This pressure was self-inflicted by the decision to buck the current popular trend of superhero films and keep the film a gritty reboot to rival the already gritty reboot that is the Dark Knight trilogy. Judging by the reaction to the previous film in this universe, Man of Steel, the time for the dark tone in superhero movies has long gone. Despite all this, casting doubt over the future of the film and DC Universe, it is a film with Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, so surely it can’t flop?

It seems the world is experiencing Star Wars fever right now, and the excitement continues this year with a brand new story set between Episode III and IV. Arriving on 16th December, almost exactly a year after Episode VII, the film will begin just after the foundation of the Galactic Empire. It’ll focus on a band of Rebel fighters, who come together to carry out a vital mission: steal plans for the Death Star before they can be used to build the weapon of mass destruction. It is a unique and interesting premise, and will show us a more personal view of Star Wars universe, something we usually only see at a grand scale. Director of Godzilla, Gareth Edwards, has begun production on the film, which features stars such as Felicity Jones and Forest Whitaker. It seems the Star Wars hype will never die.

Captain America: Civil War - Dan Continuing with the theme of superhero showdowns, this is one that has been 8 years in the making. It begs the question, what would happen if the government were to put into force a superhero registration act. The result is a split among The Avengers, causing some to side with Tony Stark who agrees with the act, and others to side with Steve Rogers, who opposes the act. Not only is this a story of Captain America facing Iron Man, it’s a big superhero showdown. Directed by the Russo brothers, who helmed the very successful Captain America: Winter Soldier, and promising the introduction of new hero, the Black Panther, and the first appearance of Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this film is set to be a roaring success. It’s based on the popular Marvel comic book arc ‘Civil War,’ known as one of the most epic, and important changes in that universe, and so I for one can’t wait to see how it turns out once it is released April 29th.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies - Calum Yes. You read that right. There’s really going to be a film of this title out this year, and I’m not ashamed to say that I’m excited to see it. Everyone has heard of the famous novel; Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen, but it was parodied by Seth Grahame-Smith in 2009 and turned out to be very popular, popular enough that it has been turned into a major Hollywood film within 7 years. This film has been sold as a

State of Jones - Calum Not a film that many of you would have heard of, I assume, but definitely one to watch out for as the American Civil War gets the Michael Bay treatment. While not being directed by Bay himself, a national travesty in itself, the film promises to be an action-packed blockbuster featuring everyone’s favourite space traveller, Matthew McConaughey. In a weird coincidence, McConaughey goes from being a farmer to something greater. However, this time, the focus is on being the leader of a group of rebels against the Confederate army instead of interstellar discovery. Releasing on May 27th, I would recommend this mainly because you won’t know what to expect; it’s very different from the current trend of dystopian young adult trilogies and superhero movies so why not give it a go?

The Nice Guys - Dan Perhaps the appearance of this on the list is a big surprise to some as it’s not very well known. On first look it seems that The Nice Guys is a unique indie film, but it’s still a fairly big studio film with a good director, in Iron Man 3’s Shane Black, and looks absolutely crazy from what can be seen in the trailer. The film takes place in 1970’s Los Angeles, where down-on-his-luck private eye Holland March (Ryan Gosling) and hired enforcer Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe) must work together to solve the case of a missing girl. From there it seems the plot spirals into one full of intense action and cartoon violence; it simply looks like a lot of fun, and, for this reason, I hope it’ll be great movie as it arrives May 20th.

23

THE MARTLET SPRING ISSUE 9

Features

Polar bear walking on thin ice, which could melt if global warming continues

The emission of greenhouse gases

The Cure to Global Warming?

ENVIRONMENT

O

Felipe Jin Li examines a historic agreement in Paris that could save our planet

n 13th December 2015, the world finally took action against global warming. After two decades of discussions, nearly 200 countries finally acknowledged that the dangers of global warming are in fact much more severe than previously admitted, and decided to rethink their growth models and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, what does this climate accord really mean for the world? Have we found the cure to global warming?

The best chance we have to save the one planet we have This international accord is definitely a step forwards that is going to change the world, but as Christopher B. Field, a leading American climate scientist, said, ‘this doesn’t solve the problem, but lays the foundation’. Compared to previous responses to climate change, this Paris agreement was finally responding to climate change in a way scientists see as commensurate to the scale of the threat

posed by climate change. Although the accord is widely seen as ambitious, since it introduces the objective of maintaining the global temperature increase at about 1.5ºC (probably out of our capabilities), it is still, in many people’s opinion, a great start in the fight against global warming. This is because the conference managed to involve nearly 200 nations, including doing an excellent job of uniting more developed nations with less developed nations.

With such a great commitment from every nation, if the agreement is successfully carried out, it will be able to achieve very promising results as it manages to cut large quantities of emissions. For example, it would reduce the risk of a runaway climate change rendering parts of our planet uninhabitable and also lessen the chance of the collapse of one of the ice sheets in the Arctic, which could cause great havoc because sea levels would rise above 5 metres. The deal, in short, helps the world to move forwards in a shared direction that is compatible with a habitable planet in the future.

The great effort invested is reflected in the meticulous deal that cleverly sets up a schedule of regular reviews, to check whether the nations are keeping their promises through a tight monitoring system. Over time, the countries will be then encouraged to raise their goals even further if they have progressed better than expected. With such a plan, countries will have to make intensive efforts in accomplishing their promises in order to curb the global temperature increase ‘well below’ the ambitious target of 2ºC.

As small as that number might sound, as an average warming over the surface of the planet, it is in fact pretty substantial to a point where it could make the difference of saving the Greenland ice sheet or losing it, according to scientists. Another discerning fact found by the research organisation Climate Central is that if we were to reach above that 2ºC by the end of this century, the land that 280 million people currently live on could eventually be submerged under the sea.

However, with such a great plan

we will be fine, right? No, that isn’t the case at all. Action on global warming has be postponed for such a long time, and emissions have already risen to such high levels, that reaching those ambitious targets will be an exceedingly difficult job.

And that’s not the only challenge that this plan will face, as the emission reduction policies put in place by 2020 will have a tremendous impact on the world economy and commerce. If the world really wants to come close to achieving those ambitious goals within that time, then within less than two decades all types of vehicles powered by fossil fuels would have to be eliminated. To be frank, this is not something likely to happen any time soon with our the current level of technology. Those tight temperature targets are too ambitious to be achieved and are really only there to give us hope. The ambitions attached to the scheme will always offer a chance to save our planet, and this will grow ever stronger as more research is done towards a solution.

Key points of the accord Cooling of the planet: To curb the global temperature increase ‘well below 2ºC’ by the end of this century through by limiting greenhouse gas emissions to what our planet can absorb naturally (trees, soil, oceans etc.).

Contribution review: To review progress of each country’s contribution to the reduction of emissions every five years in order to face up to the challenge and to strengthen any weak pledges.

Loss and damage: A mechanism of compensation addressing those countries most vulnerable to climatic factors such as extreme weather.

Financial aid: Developed countries would provide financial support in an effort to help those developing nations to adapt better to climate change and to switch to renewable energy.

24

THE MARTLET SPRING ISSUE 9

Sport

Cycling also has a shameful history of doping scandals

CORRUPTION IN SPORT

Elite Sport: A Total Absense of Integrity William Stewart asks whether elite sport can regain our confidence

T

o quote The Stranglers from their well-known song: No more heroes anymore...

After the FIFA scandal and the athletics and cycling doping revelations, are we now left in a position where we should ask whether there are any more heroes left in elite sport? Have any sports been left untouched by this spreading corruption?

This year, the biggest scandal in football history has been revealed. FIFA, the world football governing body, has been involved in systemic and deep-rooted corruption. Most recently, Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini were found to have abused their senior positions over a £1.3m

This year, the biggest scandal in football history was revealed “disloyal payment” made to Platini back in 2011. Sepp Blatter has led FIFA for 17 years but for the past year, he has had to defend himself over a number of corruption allegations. Although he continues to strongly deny these allegations, both he and Platini have been banned from football for eight years by the FIFA Ethics Committee that Blatter himself founded.

This has left the reputation of football in tatters and various questions have been

raised over the legitimacy of the Qatar and Russia World Cup bids. However, this is not the only issue in world sport dominating the news headlines.

The issue of doping has been clouding every sport for decades. There are numerous, very public examples that come to mind. In Athletics, the IAAF (similar to FIFA) has come under heavy criticism for not taking seriously enough the allegations around the use of performance-enhancing drugs and failing to make public their drug testing results for big name athletes.

Over the past year, it has been suggested that state-sponsored drugs programmes across Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union may have distorted many major events, including the Olympics. A famous example from the past was Ben Johnson, a former Canadian sprinter. He set consecutive 100 metres world records at the 1987 World Championships and the 1988 Summer Olympics but he was disqualified for doping, losing the Olympic title and both records.

Ever since then, doping has cast a dark shadow over athletics, with athletes such as Justin Gatlin and Tyson Gay serving suspensions. Even Mo Farah, who is rapidly becoming a British icon, has had to face questions over his drugs status when his US-based coach got caught up in a recent spate of allegations. It makes you wonder what would happen to athletics if we found out that one of the biggest names in the sport, Usain Bolt for example, was on drugs. Could the reputation of Athletics ever recover if this were to happen?

Cycling is another example, and has a particularly dishonourable history of drug scandals. Lance Armstrong, once a multiple Tour de France winner, is the biggest name to have been exposed as a

drugs cheat. In his defence he argued that all the top cyclists were on drugs at that time he was competing and that he felt he had to take drugs in order to be on a level playing field with them! Where is the integrity in this? The UK has a great history of success in cycling and our own multiple Tour de France winner in Chris Froome.

At the moment there is no suggestion that he may have cheated, but his increased media profile will continue to attract questions over his winning performances in the sport. What if he too were a drugs cheat? As sports fans we are left in doubt - what can we really believe?

It could be argued that the pressure of winning in competitive sport has led to all of this. Could it be that some nations have so much expectation on their shoulders to win that they feel it appropriate to actually cheat in order to fulfill these expectations?

In order for sport to regain our confidence, I think that we have to look at the heart and soul of sport and follow its example. This of course is the ‘grassroots’ level of sport. Although there have been some suggestions that there may be a problem with the consumption of steroids in some contact sports at a young age, for example in Welsh rugby, this is the only level of sport that could be generally regarded as clean from drugs and played with a true sporting ethos.

The future of sport rests with all sports people, but especially those we idolise. It is therefore their responsibility to make sure that they do not jeopardise sport’s reputation any further. The credibility of sport has been severely damaged by the events that have taken place over the past few years and it is now in a perilous situation. Sport is about competition, but a focus purely on winning at all costs risks losing the true spirit of sportsmanship.

Sport could become something where winning is the only thing that matters, but hopefully it won’t ever come to this.

Are there any more heroes left in elite sport? Which performances can we be-

The credibility of sport has been severely damaged lieve? This confusion needs to be resolved.

Sport can go back to the good place that it was once in and it can regain our vote of confidence, but there is a lot of work to do.

Sepp Blatter has been banned from football for eight years

25

THE MARTLET SPRING ISSUE 9

Sport SCHOOL

Football’s Arrival at Abingdon Marius Putnam and Miguel Zilvetti retrace the School’s growing interest in football

1st XI vs Cokethorpe

S

ince football was introduced six years ago it has been a monumental success, with the sixth form fielding as many as five teams on most weekends. Block fixtures now include matches against the national champions, Hampton, and the national runners up, Bedford Modern. Football was previously classified as an Other Half activity played during free time and didn’t involve any competitive matches or formal training sessions. Now, by contrast, most teams train three times a week and look forward to fixtures every Saturday. Mr Donnelly, the head of football, has introduced multiple pre-season training sessions and conditioning work as well as a tour for last years’ under 15s.

The team travelled to Paris to attend the ESF International Festival of Football, which included both school and club teams from across Europe. In what was a very demanding fixture schedule, with two matches every day, the boys managed to reach the semi-finals. By the end of the tour, the team had won

four, drawn one, and lost one.

When Miss Lusk joined us she conducted a survey to find out, in the

The boys want to play football so why wouldn’t you provide it?

- Felicity Lusk boys’ opinions, what was missing. This of course revealed that football was in high demand. When we asked the Head

why she chose to introduce football to a school known for its success in more traditional public school games and academia, she replied, ‘The boys wanted to play football so why wouldn’t you provide it?’

Thanks to Mr Donnelly the school has managed to make very strong connections with local club, Oxford United, leading to the third year receiving the opportunity to watch Oxford versus Carlisle. Some were even given the privilege of serving as ball boys for the game. Moreover, the staff have benefited from this connection; on 15th January Derek Fazackerley, the deputy coach at Oxford, came to run a training session in order to educate the staff, as well as the boys, on effective drills and exercises.

This highlights the gradual progress that the football club has made over the course of those five years. An example of the new standard of football which has stemmed from professional coaching was seen in last year’s under 16 team, which lost only one match in the whole

season. The team, overseen by Mr O’Doherty, played in an expansive style that outclassed many rival teams such as The Oratory, Aylesbury Grammar and Rugby. In addition, last year’s 1st XI drew 1-1 with the national champions

Earn the right to play how we want to play from Hampton.

The success of the football club has been a gradual process guided by Mr Donnelly, who is ensuring that the future of Abingdon football is bright.

26

THE MARTLET SPRING ISSUE 9

Sport

Can England Win the Cricket World Cup? CRICKET

Toby Jupp considers whether a resurgent England can redeem its former glory at the World T20

The World Cup is being held in India for the first time

T

he next major global sporting event is the World Twenty20 in India, starting on 8th March, and with England’s recent resurgence in form the usual pre-tournament hype about our chances are gathering pace. But how good is this new-look England side and, realistically, how far can we actually go?

England have been given a favourable group, avoiding the hosts, India, and 50 over World Cup champions, Australia, instead drawing holders Sri Lanka (rebuilding after retirements of stalwarts Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene), South Africa (the perennial underachievers) and the shambolic West Indies - giving England a genuine shot at erasing the painful memories of the last World Cup, when we were knocked out in the Group phase by Bangladesh.

My opinion, without a doubt, is that we have the potential to go all the way; we have vast reserves of power hitters, athletic fielders and wicket-taking strike bowlers which is by all accounts the perfect formula for success in this format.

However, we should certainly not be expecting victory and our goal should be to qualify for the semi finals to end a

run of really poor performances in the last two global tournaments, in which we have effectively been knocked out by Bangladesh and the Netherlands.

Firstly, this is the squad which has been selected for the tournament, from which I have selected what I believe to be England’s Strongest XI:

middle overs who win matches in Indian conditions. Rashid is a wicket taking leg spinner who has been playing Big Bash in Australia this winter so should be prepared and well-acclimatised to the format, and in limited overs cricket Moeen has been a standout performer with the ball since the World Cup, per-

Ben Stokes is the aggressive allrounder that England have been crying out for since Freddie Flintoff Jason Roy, Alex Hales, Joe Root, Jos Buttler (wk), Eoin Morgan (capt), Ben Stokes, Sam Billings, Moeen Ali, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Liam Plunkett, James Vince, Liam Dawson, Chris Jordan, Reece Topley Playing two frontline spinners will be a necessity as it’s slow bowlers in the

haps papering over the cracks of a lack of runs (one excellent innings against Australia aside) so I have him down in his Test Match batting position at eight.

The tournament comes slightly too early for uncapped Dawson to make a real impression, and it surprises me a little that the selectors haven’t persevered

with the promise shown by Steven Parry.

Nevertheless, Dawson is a 3-dimensional cricketer: energetic in the field, handy with the bat and canny with the ball so he could be a useful alternative to Moeen down the order.

If there are any doubts over the spinners, there can be absolutely none over the batting line up. There is not a single country in world cricket at the moment with the power and class to match England’s top six; either Root or Vince (as the latter showed recently in the series in the UAE against Pakistan) can play the linchpin role at three batting at a more measured strike rate of about 120-130 (120 runs per 100 ball faced) but in Roy, Hales, Buttler, Morgan, Stokes and Billings England have six huge ball strikers who can win any match and outgun any opposition. New Mumbai Indians signing Buttler and skipper Morgan in particular coming in at four and five will scare the life out of any opposition bowling attack.

I must admit I had initially pencilled Chris Woakes in over Stokes (before the squad was announced and the former was harshly omitted), but the way the latter has been playing recently, with his 258 against South Africa in the Second

27

THE MARTLET SPRING ISSUE 9

Test a particular highlight, made it impossible to leave him out anyway - while he has also developed with the ball and his fielding needs no further endorsement as he continues to produce the impossible catches. Simply put, Ben Stokes is ‘box office’; the aggressive dominant all-rounder at no.6 in all formats that England have been crying out for since the days of Freddie Flintoff.

The final two fast bowler slots in the XI go to all-rounder Willey and Plunkett, who should overcome injury in time to take his

and he is in the form of his life but the selectors are obviously quite keen to be looking ahead, although Broad (and NOT Kevin Pietersen) should have been an exception.

In summary, with Buttler, Stokes and Rashid in the team, I see no reason whatsoever why England can’t win the competition and the adaptability of the team with three able spinners (Root’s part-time tweakers are coming along!!!) will stand us in very good stead.

A word about the opposition… With-

I expect India to go all the way and win the competition place in the side as the main strike bowler.

Skilful left-armer Willey contributes in all three facets to England, with wicket taking bowling at the start of the innings, ‘gun-fielding’ and explosive batting (he recently hit a 40-ball century for Northamptonshire). Topley and Jordan will probably miss out, having edged out the unfortunate Woakes to make the squad.

I was desperate to find a place for Jordan, whose athletic fielding and death bowling (against Pakistan he bowled a super over which yielded just three runs, and only two off the bat) would be very welcome indeed. Steven Finn is injured along with Mark Wood which means England may lack express pace, but I can’t see a place for either of the duo if they were fit anyway! One man who should have been selected in my opinion though, is Stuart Broad. For me he should have been in at the expense of Topley because of his vast experience

out doubt it is hosts India that in theory pose the strongest threat to any potential challenge from England. Home advantage in cricket is key because every nation has different conditions which suit the development of particular cricketers more.

England have typically overcast skies and green wickets favouring development of skilful, swing bowlers and, traditionally, methodical batsmen (this has been lacking recently!); Australia produce electric fast bowlers and aggressive batsmen on hard and bouncy wickets and the subcontinental sides (i.e.

India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan) have a surplus of spinners and their batsmen are thus great players of spin bowling, but have a real dearth of genuine pace bowlers and their batting can be an absolute horror show on English seaming wickets!

With the tournament being hosted in India, the likes of Virat Kohli, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Shoaib Malik are

Locals practising cricket on the Oval Maiden, India

India is most likely to win the World Cup sure to be among the most prolific run scorers while Ravi Ashwin is a safe bet to be mightily effective with the ball.

New Zealand and Australia will look to build on their excellent World Cup campaigns and with match winners such as Martin Guptill, Trent Boult, Glenn Maxwell and David Warner in their ranks, only a fool would discount them. However neither have a top class spinner, in this format, so success would come as a bit of a surprise. South Africa

similarly will struggle but any batting line-up with the power of AB de Villiers and the class and guile of Hashim Amla has the capability to win any match.

If the West Indies were able to repeat the feat of 2012 when they came from nowhere to win the competition against hosts Sri Lanka, it would probably be the greatest shock of the modern cricket era.

Such is the disarray and chaos surrounding this team at the moment, they have failed to qualify for the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017 with Bangladesh taking their place. Player strikes leading to the likes of Dwayne Bravo being stripped of the captaincy and even exiled internationally (though he has been restored now) mean that even Chris Gayle won’t be able to save his team.

Bangladesh can’t be ignored and there is every evidence that they are breaking into the elite; should they negotiate the banana skins of Netherlands, Ireland and Oman in the preliminary round, they will enter India’s group and the likes of opening biffer Tamim Iqbal and all-rounder Shakib al-Hasan could cause an upset.

Summing up, I expect India to go all the way and win the competition, nothing less would suffice, where they will be met in the final by a plucky England side who will overcome Australia in the semi-final, with Sri Lanka perishing to India. My pick for the leading run scorer is Indian opener Rohit Sharma who is in excellent form, while Adil Rashid will be the most prolific with the ball. England do have a very good chance in this upcoming competition, so get behind the team and cheer them on!

28

THE MARTLET SPRING ISSUE 9

Sport

How was the Davis Cup won?

TENNIS

F

Calum Egan looks into the historical performance of Britain’s tennis players

or those who don’t know, Great Britain won the Davis Cup. It took place in Gent, Belgium, and finished on 29th November. However, as with all great victories, it wasn’t won without a fight, and was certainly not won by Andy Murray alone. In matches from London to Glasgow to Gent, Leon Evans’ team ended the 79 year wait for the Davis Cup to return to Great Britain, and it has now in dramatic fashion. The championship point will live on in the nation’s memory; Andy Murray finished with a delightful backhand topspin lob.

I can hear it already, ‘Andy Murray did it by himself...the rest of the team did nothing...but there is an AM in team...’ but only

Murray’s dazzling doubles performances if you want proof of contribution from the rest of the team. For James Ward, a little known player, to beat a heavyweight like John Isner at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow (Isner won the record-breaking longest match in history), is magical. The rankings become almost irrelevant next to the passion and team spirit that you just can’t get from the singles tour.

Obviously, Andy Murray was a key member of the team, as history has shown.

Two of the Davis Cup winners in recent times have been Serbia and Switzerland.

Despite Serbia and Switzerland not being amongst the most renowned sporting nations in the world, they do have their

We cannot say that Andy Murray single-handedly won the Davis Cup the final comment is true. To say that Andy Murray single-handedly won the Davis Cup is like saying that Mario Götze won Germany the World Cup or that Leonardo DiCaprio was the only reason that Inception is the best film of the millennium. In each case, this would do gross injustice to the supporting teammates, cast, and crew.

Look no further than James Ward’s heroic five-set victory over John Isner, or Jamie

stars: Novak Djokovic for Serbia, and Stan Wawrinka and Roger Federer for Switzerland. These victories show that it’s definitely easier if you have one of the world’s best tennis players on your team, or in Switzerland’s case, two. And then there’s Spain who won because their roster was filled with tennis talent, with Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer and Fernando Verdasco to name but a few, who indi-

Japan’s Kei Nishikori was recently beaten by Murray in the Davis Cup

A hefty trophy vidually have a great chance of winning every time they play. Often the difference between winning and losing in these cup ties is the ability and form of your best player, as shown in last year’s final, for Murray ultimately edged out Belgium’s best player, David Goffin, in straight sets to win the tie.

The world’s best often choose not to play in the Davis Cup, which is the greatest shortcoming of the competition.

Due to its hectic scheduling, players like Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray opt out of the Cup as it distracts them from their singles exploits in the main tour. The whole Cup is played within the course of one year so that’s four fixtures, often taking place around the world, that players have to account for. Andy Murray went out in the fourth round of the US Open last year, losing to big-serving Kevin Anderson in four sets, marking his first failure to reach at least the quarter-finals of a grand slam in eighteen attempts. It’s no coincidence that Murray played the Davis Cup in the season, with fatigue bound to set in with as a result of an unusually large number of matches. His defeat in the semi-finals at Wimbledon to Roger Federer can be

partially blamed on the tie against France ending just ten days earlier while other players would have been resting before Wimbledon began. Yes, Roger Federer was on top form, but in a year when Wimbledon offered such promise, after the heroics of the French Open a month

Jamie Murray’s dazzling doubles performances previous, Britain’s number one wasn’t helped along by his Davis Cup performances either. While the Davis Cup was an incredible moment for British tennis, it can’t be expected every year for risk of damaging Andy Murray’s hopes of adding to his Grand Slam titles, and defending his Olympic gold medal at the Rio Olympics this year.

29

THE MARTLET SPRING ISSUE 9

Sport

Two teams facing each other in a recreational game of 5 a side football

Football’s Secret Power FOOTBALL

F

Francesco Cipriani investigates whether football is the healthiest sport in the world

ootball is the most popular sport in the world: almost every country plays it. It is known as “the beautiful game” because it brings people from different nations, colour and language together, it promotes sportsmanship and teamwork.

However studies have shown that there is more to football than that.

We all know that playing a sport has benefits, a decade ago it was established that physical activity is a cornerstone in preventing and treating many non-communicable diseases. However a question remains: is there a sport that is healthier than others? In recent years many researches have shown that recreational football, when carried out as small-sided games like 3v3 or 7v7 can improve fitness, strength and agility for people with lack of training. Such laidback type of training can prove to have an immense amount of benefits, both cardiac and muscular. Football players can cover up to 8-12 km per game, and this increases the ability of the heart to pump the blood to the muscles, which consequently clears plaques for the arteries that cause cardiovascular diseases. While playing this game, one needs to be always moving, and so the muscles and skeletal frame strength and endurance increase. Coordination is also a great part of the sport.

Football is also therapeutic as it helps us relax and detach from our daily worries; it can also help us socially as it encourages, selflessness and cooperation, improving communication.

At this point, one could say that this is no big deal as many other sports that require aerobic fitness can do this, but what sets recreational football apart from the rest is its effects on trained individuals and patients suffering from non-communicable diseases. By practising this sport, more systems in the body of a trained person are stirred and

benefited than in other sports such as cycling, swimming, walking or strength training. This suggests that football is a more powerful incentive for health.

The only other physical activity that has effects like football is running.

There was a study carried out recently which was published in the BJMS which stated that: “Best evidence was found for football and running. These can especially improve cardiovascular and metabolic health.”

had decreased from 151 to 139 mmHg and the diastolic from 92 to 84 mmHg. However are any of these changes significant? Are the patients’ conditions getting any better?

As this table below shows, before starting the training, the men were all hypertensive as with 151 and 92 mmHg they fell in the orange category which is hypertension stage 1. At the end of the training, though, their blood pressure had fallen to 139 and 84 mmHg

Such laid-back type of training can prove to have an immense amount of benefits, both cardiac and muscular Having said this, what is even more remarkable is the effect of football on people with non-communicable diseases like hypertension (high blood pressure) and type two diabetes. Often the changes after little training can be more beneficial on these patients than on a healthier cohort.

Being hypertensive and so having a high blood pressure is very dangerous as it worsens cardiac function, cardiorespiratory fitness and it increases risks of cardiovascular diseases.

It is significant to note that the systolic blood pressure (pressure in arteries when heart beats) and diastolic blood pressure (pressure in arteries between heartbeats) of some hypertensive men was taken before and after they had twice a week football sessions for the duration of 6 months. The results show that the systolic pressure

putting them in the prehypertension making ¾ of them not hypertensive any more, which is a considerable positive change.

Similarly, 12-15 football weeks of training for men and women with type two diabetes showed a decrease of systolic blood pressure of 12 mmHg in men

and 6 mmHg in women; the diastolic pressure also decreased by 8 mmHg in men and 7 mmHg in women. Such kinds of blood pressure reductions are bigger than those achieved in any other type of interventions for hypertensive patients with type two diabetes, and more shockingly even similar or greater than effects of medications.

Also in these same patients their fat mass was lowered by 1.7kg and 13% after 24 weeks of football, however this study showed that recreational football also has great benefits to older members in the community. In fact, after 24 weeks of football, men and women in the 48-68 age category with type two diabetes, lost 3.4kg of fat.

So, is recreational football the best sport one can do when suffering from hypertension or diabetes? In my opinion it is, as this study has showed that the benefits are greater than in any other sport, football also being better as it is a team game, improving the social side as well. It is important however, that people that carry out this sport are constantly motivated, as in most cases, patients stop because of lack of motivation. Having said this, the discovery of the effects of football with non-communicable diseases show that there is so much more to this sport than just kicking a ball into a net.

The table shows the different categories of blood pressure.

30

THE MARTLET SPRING ISSUE 9

Sport

Thanks for the memories...

FOOTBALL

but it’s time to go

Arsene Wenger watches on as an increasingly disgruntled Arsenal fan base begins to turn

T

here are two types of Arsenal fan. There are the romanticists, those who revel in the past glories of the early Wenger era and stoutly believe that the French ‘professeur’ will lead the Gunners back to the title. Then there are the pragmatists.

These are the realists if you like, those who can be ruthless enough to thank Arsene for everything he’s done (which is an incredibly great deal), but admit it’s time to move on. The Arsenal board are romanticists; I would now say an overwhelming majority of the fans are pragmatists.

There is no denying that Arsenal are a huge club with a massive fan base. Only Liverpool and Manchester United have won more league titles (Liverpool have since gone more than 20 years without one), and no one can match the FA Cup haul of 12 boasted by the Gunners - possibly the most prestigious trophy with the richest history in world football (World Cup aside, of course). This makes Arsenal a club that should be winning trophies, and big trophies, on a regular basis. That a club of Arsenal’s supposed size still hasn’t won a major European honour is an embarrassment. Frankly two FA Cups in 10 years is unacceptable. This is why there is an obvious need for change.

The growing discontent and disillusion with the club’s management stems from the frugal approach to the transfer market.

The money is available - sporadic examples such as Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil show this - but Wenger persists with faith in his players. In many ways, this is his biggest strength.

But there is a hubris about this Arsenal squad, an arrogance which results in the inept and gutless performances such as the recent defeats to Swansea and Manchester United. It is a belief that because of our undoubted quality, things will happen; rather than a desire and belief to make things happen. The Tottenham draw doesn’t paper over these cracks, it only makes it more glaring that they have been there; why can’t we show the same passion in every game?

This subtle difference between winning and losing is what infuriates any fan.

With Arsenal though, this is not a new problem. Every season the media criticize

The title wouldn’t have been lost on that performance (only in the five minutes after the sending off were Arsenal under real pressure) but there would have been no one else to blame. You look at the six matches against Southampton, Chelsea and Liverpool where only three points were taken, and not beating sides like Norwich, West Brom and Swansea who were all struggling as nine games which are pretty unforgivable to have dropped so many points in.

What is really concerning however, is the team’s deficiencies up front. In other words, scoring goals which, fundamental-

There is a hubris about this Arsenal squad, which results in gutless performances

us for a lack of ‘bottle’ and question our character; every season Arsenal can’t seem to react to disappointments and go on long barren runs in terms of points. There have been several already this season: no win in November and just three points taken from four matches at the start of 2016.

The Spurs result, as touched upon, did prove that Arsenal can do it. Only the most wishful of Arsenal fans (and most pessimistic of Spurs fans) could have seen a 2-2 after THAT Harry Kane strike.

ly, determines whether a side is going to win. Arsenal’s total of 85 clear-cut chances created according to Opta is a league high by some distance, yet we are only 5th in the scoring charts - and more than a quarter of these goals were scored in three matches in late September/early October. Olivier Giroud, Theo Walcott and Alexis Sanchez are all in the top six for the worst conversion rate of clear-cut chances, all missing more than 70% of ‘reasonable scoring opportunities’ presented to them.

Toby Jupp explains why Arsene Wenger’s time is finally up More astonishingly in nine of the 13 games in which Arsenal have dropped points in this season, Arsenal have missed enough clear cut chances to win the game.

This equates to 22 points. This is how much Arsenal have been hurt. A fair bit of luck has been absent as well; we’ve hit the woodwork 17 times. League high? You guessed it.

There has to be changes in the playing squad: Mikel Arteta, Tomas Rosicky, Mathieu Flamini, Per Mertesacker and Mathieu Debuchy would make way for me, to make room to bring in strong players down the spine of the team (Petr Cech was a move in this direction). More controversially, I believe it is time Walcott was moved on. Giroud isn’t world class but Walcott has been given ten years to prove himself at Arsenal and simply hasn’t developed. What is his best position? Does he, let alone anyone else, know?

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Jack Wilshere seriously need to start fulfilling their promise, but both have shown the character required to win trophies rather than the others I have named.

With Hector Bellerin, Kieran Gibbs and Nacho Monreal (plus return of Carl Jenkinson) Arsenal look well-stocked at full back.

Calum Chambers and Laurent Koscielny deserve to be retained, but someone of the ilk of Raphael Varane is needed to fill a void still left by Sol Campbell in my opinion. We could probably do with an upgrade on Gabriel also. I’ve always been a fan of Wilshere and, when fit, he should be straight on the team-sheet; I’d like to see him partnered by an energetic Mohamed Elneny (with Francis Coquelin, Santi Cazorla and maybe Ngolo Kante providing competition).

We need more goals from midfield, Dimitri Payet and Riyad Mahrez would do wonders to improve this and the sight of them combining with Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez is a mouth-watering prospect. A hungry group of players of the right character would form an orderly queue behind them: Oxlade-Chamberlain, Joel Campbell, Danny Welbeck and Aaron Ramsey. This is a blend that would allow Arsenal to compete with a strong Man City, Man United and Chelsea - of whom at least two will surely be competing next season.

It’s important to put things into perspective. Arsenal are not in crisis...yet. Of all the big teams, Arsenal have had, on paper, the least disappointing season. In many ways though, that’s what is so distressing about the club - we have not seized the chance of winning the league which has, let’s face it, been put on a plate. And that is why Wenger, who has maintained throughout that he has the required squad, has to pay the price.

31

THE MARTLET SPRING ISSUE 9

Sport Mens: 50m Freestyle 1. Flourent Maloudou: 21.16 2. Nathan Adrian: 21.34 3. César Cielo: 21.58 200m Freestyle 1. Yannick Agnel: 1:43.42 2. Sun Yang: 1:44.95 3. James Guy: 1:45.10 1500m Freestyle 1. Sun Yang: 14:34.21 2. Gregorio Paltrinieri: 14:36.50 3. Ryan Cochrane: 14:44.33 100m Backstroke 1. Mitch Larkin: 52.37 2. Matt Grevers: 52.44 3. Camille Lacourt: 52.47 100m Breaststroke 1. Adam Peaty: 57.98 2. Cameron van der Burgh: 58.52 3. Kevin Cordes: 58.78

SWIMMING

100m Butterfly 1. Michael Phelps: 50.36 2. Chad Le Clos: 50.53 3. László Cseh: 50.84

Jonathan Lee discusses swimming at this year’s Olympic games

200m Butterfly 1. Michael Phelps: 1:52.75 2. Chad Le Clos: 1:53.07 3. László Cseh: 1:53.56

Who Will Make a Splash at Rio?

N

ow that we’re getting close to the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, it seems fitting to forecast what is to come in the highly anticipated swimming races.

The men’s events will be focused on Michael Phelps’ career comeback and rising stars such as Chad Le Clos and Kosuke Hagino. In the women’s events, Missy Franklin is expected to retain both her individual backstroke titles, while breakout athlete, Katie Ledecky, is a prospect in the freestyle events.

Team USA has dominated the pool, winning at least half the medals at almost every Olympics. While they will almost certainly top the medal table again, France, Australia and China will be their biggest rivals, but especially China, who have outstanding freestyle swimmers such as Sun Yang, Ning Zetao as well as Women’s IM champion Ye Shiwen. France’s Florent Manaudou and Yannick Agnel are also looking strong for 2016.

Michael Phelps is the most decorated Olympian of all time, holding 22 Olympic medals, including 18 Golds with eight straight Gold medals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He announced retirement in 2012 after the London Olympics, but is now back for Rio as he continues to train with coach Bob Bowman after failing a DUI(Driving Under Influence) test. I think Chad le Clos will be close in the 200 metre butterfly, but Phelps will beat him in the 100m. The spotlight will be on him and rival Ryan Lochte in the 200m medley, with both possibly going under 1:54.

In the men’s relay swims, the USA and France will be in tight competition,

closely followed by China, who had a bronze in the 4x200m freestyle in 2012, and Russia, who had a silver in the 4x100m freestyle in the Kazan world’s, 2015. Meanwhile, in the women’s re-

lays, USA and Australia will both be fighting for the Gold, as the Australians did claim the 4x100m free in 2012.

On the right are some of my predictions for the main events in Rio 2016:

4x100m Freestyle relay 1. France: 3:10.13 2. USA: 3:10.35 3. Russia: 3:12.19 4x100m Medley relay 1. USA: 3:29.53 2. Australia: 3:29.92 3. France: 3:30.47 Womens: 200 Freestyle 1. Katie Ledecky: 1:53.96 2. Allison Schmitt: 1:53.99 3. Missy Franklin: 1:54.65 100m Backstroke 1. Emily Seebohm: 58.30 2. Missy Franklin: 58.45 3. Madison Wilson: 58.97 100m Breaststroke 1. Ruta Meilutyte: 1:04.55 2. Yuliya Yefimova: 1:05.12 3. Alia Atkinson: 1:06.07 200m Butterfly 1. Franziska Hentke: 2:05.23 2. Natsumi Hoshi: 2:05.46 3. Mireia Belmonte: 2:05.96 4x100m Freestyle relay 1. Australia: 3:31.37 2. Netherlands: 3:33.54 3. USA: 3:34.24

Michael phelps has come out of retirement

4x100m Medley relay 1. China: 3:53.41 2. USA: 3:53.87 3. Australia: 3:54.00

32

THE MARTLET SPRING ISSUE 9

Sport

The Salford City Story FOOTBALL

S

alford City has travelled a long road to reach the heights of success in 2015, when they were named champions of the Northern Premier League Division. However, the story of this small local club began humbly in 1940 when it was called Salford Central.

The club slowly progressed through the local leagues until, in 1963, it stepped up into the Manchester League where the club witnessed its first name change and became Manchester Amateurs, which won the Lancashire Amateur cup three times in the 1970s and then won the ultimate prize in 1977 when it gained them the name ‘the Ammies.’ This is when the club became a real force and when Salford won the Champion of Champions cup as well.

The next step for Salford City was preparing themselves for climbing the ladder of non-league football when they had joined the North-West counties league at the start of the 1980s. However, to do this, improvements had to be made at their club, such as fixing their main stand which was derelict and roofless. The end of the 1980’s saw Salford appearing in the Manchester Premier Cup final at Old Trafford. That season also saw floodlights installed at Moor Lane as well as the abandonment of the old name ‘Salford Amateurs’ in favour of ‘Salford City’. In 1990 the club celebrated its 50th year by entering the FA Cup for the first time, and received national exposure on BBC Television’s Grandstand’s ‘Road to Wembley’ feature. Relegation followed the same season, however. With the League restructuring in 1992, the club regained its place in Division One and with ex-Manchester United star, Billy Garton, in charge, they finished ninth (the club’s highest league position at that time). The following years have seen improvement on this, and under Andy Brown they finished third on goal difference, missing out on promotion only in the last few games and again reaching the final of the Premier Cup. The last few seasons under manager Gary Fellows saw the club establish itself as one of the dominant sides in the North West Counties League having won the League Challenge Cup in 2006 and just missing out on promotion in 2007 with a virtually all local squad.

The 2007–08 season proved the most successful in Salford City’s history, as they finished in second place in Division One (now the Premier Division) of the North West Counties League, enough to clinch promotion to Division One North of the Northern Premier League, the eighth level of the English football league system.

Competing in the Northern Premier League Division,for the first time, the team suffered a difficult start to the 2008–09

Dan Brown explains Salford City’s journey to fame

Moor Lane: Salford’s Home Ground season picking up only one point from the first seven games. Despite leading the team to promotion during the previous season, Gary Fellows was relieved of his managerial duties in October 2008 and was replaced by former Bridlington Town and Stockport Sports boss, Ashley Berry. After only two months, with results still not improving, Berry left the club, and former Flixton boss, Paul Wright, was appointed manager. Unfortunately due to a pre-existing suspension from the Football Association, Wright was unable to start work until March, so his assistant manager, Neil Hall, deputised as manager for the first two

clinching survival by two points with a 5–2 win away at Garforth Town on the last day of the season.

The 2009–10 season saw strong performances in both the FA Cup and FA Trophy, but the team continued to struggle in the league. In February 2010, having lost four consecutive home matches, the club parted company with Paul Wright. Rather than appoint a permanent successor, chairman, Darren Quick, took the unusual step of taking on the role of caretaker manager himself for the remainder of the season. Under Quick, the team enjoyed a strong finish

The 2007–08 season proved the most successful in Salford City’s history

months of 2009. By the time Wright took up his position, the club was languishing at the bottom of the league, having achieved one win and a total of eight points from their first twenty-six games, leaving them fifteen points adrift from safety. An unlikely 5–3 away win at Lancaster City prompted a change in fortune, and with the new management team settling into their roles, the team set out on an astonishing run of results, gaining nine wins and a draw from their last fourteen games and finally

to the season, amassing 36 points from the remaining games and finishing the league in 11th place (the highest league position in the club’s history).

The 2011 season started badly for Salford with Darren Quick retiring his position and giving it to the play manager, Rhodri Giggs. Immediately the club performed better under Giggs, but just a season later Giggs announced his own retirement after the last home game of the season. After this Salford went through

another manager in just eight months with the highlight of Darren Sheridan’s career being a derby with FC United of Manchester in the preliminary round of the FA cup. The club carried on in a turbulent fashion until the 2013-2014 season when they were able to appoint Phil Power as a permanent manager.

It was not until March 2014 when the revolutionary news of a possible takeover from the class of 92’ hit the headlines.

This included the ex-united players, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt, Phil Neville, and Gary Neville with the actual deal proposed to take place by the end of the Summer. The new owners had big aspirations for the club with Giggs setting the target to gain Championship football within 15 years. To kick off the 2014-2015 season, an exhibition match was held between salford and a class of 92’ XI which Salford won 5-1. Salford went to be unbeaten in the first 13 games that same season. For a further cash injection, Peter Lim, the owner of Valencia FC, bought 50% of the club in September 2014. However, a dip in results mid season led to only four wins in eleven prompting the eventual sacking of Power. After a small period when Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes were caretaker managers, a new managerial team was appointed made up of Anthony Johnson and Bernard Morley.

This new managerial team ended the season on a high with 12 wins out of 15, and as a result of this Salford City were named champions of the Northern Premier League Division.

33

THE MARTLET SPRING ISSUE 9

Sport

Peyton Manning taking the field for what may be the last time

A

fter thrashing both the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals, The Carolina Panthers arrived in San Francisco expecting the game to be a mere formality. However, they came up against the Denver Broncos, who had overcome the 4th and 3rd highest scoring offenses in the NFL (the Pittsburgh Steelers and last year’s champions the New England Patriots) and they very much underestimated their opponents. With the Denver Broncos triumphing 24-10 over the Carolina Panthers, who had been strongly tipped as favourites by most coming into the game, there was a lot to take in from what was an apparently poor game as far as Super Bowls go, and here is what we can take away from the game.

The most prominent lesson of Super

AMERICAN FOOTBALL

What Can We Take From Super Bowl 50?

Sam Chambers reflects on the events the NFL season finale

such as nine-time pro bowl linebacker and sack machine, Demarcus Ware and Aqib Talib (pro bowl for the last three years) in the interim. Denver’s game plan was to blitz the Carolina quarterback, Cam Newton, (who had been named season MVP the day before) using Ware and Von Miller in particular in order to pressure him into poor decisions and limit him as a

The Panthers will be looking to build a dynasty Bowl 50: the importance of defence. This was always going to be key in this battle between two teams which are as good if not better defensively than they are in offense. After getting thrashed 43-8 by the Seahawks in the 2014 Super Bowl, despite having had the best offence in the NFL that season, the Denver Broncos remodelled their team to be heavily defense orientated, acquiring high calibre defenders

dual threat QB by blocking his inside running lanes. This worked as Newton threw for only 265 yards with no touchdown passes or runs and even an interception.

Furthermore, Denver’s defense was punishing on the whole of the Carolina team, as they recorded four turnovers (three fumbles and an interception with one of the fumbles leading directly to a defensive team touchdown and another leading to a

touchdown drive) as well as seven sacks on Cam Newton. Jonathan Stewart, the Panthers’ top running back, only managed 29 all purpose yards. Both fumbles leading to touchdowns were actually sacks from linebacker, Von Miller, and therefore it’s no surprise that he won superbowl MVP for a stellar performance. This defensive supremacy meant that Broncos quarterback, Peyton Manning, actually finished with the worst passer rating of any Super Bowl-winning quarterback over a season (67.9) and the worst quarterback in terms of rating to take to the field in the 2015 season. However, in the grand scheme of things, this didn’t matter, as the Broncos’ defence did much of the heavy lifting; to sum up the defensive performance in Von Miller’s own words ‘If I could cut this award up [MVP] and give it to DeMarcus [Ware], [Derek]Wolfe, all those other guys, that’s what I would do’.

However, Carolina did underperform. Not only was Cam Newton being humbled by the denver defence, but also Jonathan Stewart, and pro bowl tight end, Greg Olsen, had very poor outings in relation to his skill. The core of this Panthers team is still relatively young, and they should be looking for a Super Bowl return next season with a largely

unchanged team (they were actually missing their top wide receiver, Kelvin Benjamin, who missed the entire season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament) They are around $18 Million within their salary cap, which means that they should be able to resign most of their core and skill position players and maintain depth.

They may have a complete squad if they can do well in the draft. Meanwhile, the Broncos are predicted to exceed their salary cap, and with most of the defence likely demanding a pay rise (Von Miller is set to become the best paid defender in the NFL), there may have to be significant changes within the Denver squad, despite the retirement of big earning quarterback, Peyton Manning, who set the Broncos back around $17 million per year during his time in Denver.

All in all, whilst the Broncos have every reason to celebrate this year, the Panthers will be looking to build a dynasty and challenge for the superbowl for many years to come, in the fashion of the Patriots team of the last decade. The Broncos will have all the work to do on the offseason to make sure they retain a title-challenging team that whilst sitting within the salary cap.

34

THE MARTLET SPRING ISSUE 9

Humour

Dudley’s Dilemmas ADVICE

Dudley, the Head’s dog gives some unbiased advice about the school publications, though we know which one he likes most.

Any abuse from people offended by this article can be directed at those who work for you.

Dear Dudley

WORDS and ThAT

I am in the lower sixth and have realised, after endless neglect of the matter, that I will have to apply to my journalism course in less than a year’s time. I am considering what I will be able to put on my UCAS statement and realised that it will be quite a boring read. Therefore I have decided that the best course of action is to join a school publication to show my commitment to my interests.

The question I have is which publication should I write for? I am aware of your allegiance to the Martlet, but I have my reservations. I have heard that the paper is two thirds sport (and by sport I mean football), and has a regulation of news articles being 50% hard lefft and 50% racist, and no in between. Furthermore there are rumours that if articles are not completed within a week of commission, writers will be publicly flogged. Therefore I am tempted to write for the Martlet, but am cautious to commit just yet.

I have looked at the other publications. I would write for the Abingdonian, but the school is not keeping my loved ones chained up in the cellar, so I have not been forced to serve the propaganda machine. I have considered writing for the Polyglot, but I feel I do not know enough about football to write for them. There is the Axiom, however I actually want my article to be read. I could work for Timeline, but the length of time it takes them to write each line has somewhat dissuaded me. After Griffenomics and Scientia fell down a black hole and were eradicated from the school, it feels as though these are out of the question. Finally, there is Words and That. Well, not only was I scared off by the amount of pretentiousness and volume of in-jokes, but I want no part in the shallow bashing of other publications which this organisation commits on a regular basis.

Abingdon’s clear plan for the future POems prose Paraphernalia

THE

Issue 14

FEATURE ARTICLE

AXIOM ABINGDON SCHOOL'S PHILOSOPHY MAGAZINE

CHRISTMAS ISSUE 4 • THE THOUGHT BEHIND SAVING LIVES • IS ARTIFICIAL SUPERINTELLIGENCE POSSIBLE? • IN DEFENSE OF EUGENICS • THE GOD IN THE GAPS • MILL'S HARM PRINCIPLE • WHAT MAKES A SOUND MUSIC? • THE BANKNOTE CALLED LIFE • EVALUATING DEVLIN'S LEGAL MORALISM • SWIPE RIGHTEOUSLY • PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE

What are the necessary and sufficient conditions for music?

• EXISTENTIAL COMICS

Therefore I turn to you Dudley. Tell me where I belong and which publication name belongs on my UCAS application.

Kind regards, Anonymous Sixth Former

How much is a life worth when faced with a budget?

Does Mill's Harm Principle offer a solution?

Is God stepping in everytime something goes wrong?

Introducing Hinder, with dating profiles for philosophers

35

THE MARTLET SPRING ISSUE 9

Humour

TIMELINE ISSUE 3

ABINGDON SCHOOL'S HISTORY PUBLICATION

LENT 2016

FEATURE ARTICLE

PUTIN: THE RED TSAR Is Putin a repeat of the past?

ALSO FEATURING: EXTERMINATION OF THE CATHARS

THE SOVIET SIDE OF THE SPACE RACE

KAISER WILHELM I: A BIOGRAPHY

Dear Client, Thank you for placing the future of your higher education in my paws. It requires great emotional intelligence to entrust such affairs to a dog, even if said dog does have a degree in psychology from the University of Liverpool. First of all, please accept my admiration for your outstanding enterprise; it is a sweet and seemly thing to write for one’s publication. I am not well travelled in the land of publishing, so I have found myself a guide in one Blake Jones. I ran your suggestions by him, and together we assembled a broadly similar profile of those publications in circulation. I will now feed this back to you in order to better inform your selection.

We will begin with the Martlet. This team has approached me on several occasions over the past few years asking me for samples of non-confidential counselling correspondence, whereupon Mr Dawswell has shuffled through the paperwork and picked out some choice exchanges. It wasn’t until earlier this year that I discovered my material was going into their humour section, but they do nevertheless offer an in-depth and accessible introduction to publishing for their new recruits. That is, provided they can write sport articles and are in no way unclear about their political orientation. The Martlet’s meetings take place every Thursday afternoon in the Greening Wing ICT suite, where no cake is offered and staff toil under the gaze of a paramilitary command structure and a pedantic proofreader, all the while being tied to their chair with barbed wire.

Moving on, if a tree falls in the forest and nobody’s around, does it make a sound? That is the reality of writing for the Axiom. Serving this publication could nevertheless let you nurture your curiosity, hone your emotional intelligence, or discover whether your family and friends are philosophical zombies. Many Axiom writers set out on a cerebral odyssey through the unlit backstreets of the mind which someday may bring even you to the crowning glory of a career in philosophy, which is irreparably shattering your perception of the universe and committing suicide.

If this deters you, then please consider Timeline, the school History magazine. The greatest appeal of this publication is the ability to add ‘the history of-’ to any chosen subject and write an article about it. But do not allow yourself to be deceived by this apparent lack of artistic expression. Have you ever found yourself walking past Big School in the dead of night, and all of a sudden catching a glimpse of a figure in a shadowy doorway, in all likelihood wearing a trenchcoat, a brimmed hat, and carrying a satchel? This is a Timeline editor. He is waiting for the kid whose article is two days late so that he can smother him from behind, bundle him into a second hand Volkswagen, drive him around town for half an hour, and then interrogate him in M102 as to why he has chosen to betray his comrades. However, stick to your deadlines, and you’ll find the Timeline team quite agreeable. Just don’t drink the coffee under any circumstances.

Not everybody is comfortable working under these conditions, so you may like to have a think about the Polyglot. This is an altogether friendly and prosperous establishment based on the principle of writing an article and translating it into a foreign language of your choosing. Your value to this publication will be limited if you do not in fact learn a foreign language, but I understand Google Translate is a resource exploited by many Polyglot writers to circumvent this restriction.

Here would end the list if I were not bound by my duty as a counsellor to speak frankly with you. There is, within our walls, a gathering of minds so twisted, so morally reprehensible that even the purest of hearts is unable to withstand the noxious miasma of defilement exuded by their abhorrent literature. The Romans called them ‘morai’, Shakespeare knew them as ‘the sisters of fate’, but we know them as Words and That. This occult group meets amongst the moonlit ruins of Abingdon Abbey every Wednesday. At midnight precisely, the chief druid sacrifices a virgin cake with a ceremonial knife. After the devotees have devoured its flesh, they link hands in a sacred circle and set about their ungodly art of writing articles, spinning their malevolent sentences in pagan chant, until they arrive at a finished piece. The devotee then removes his hood and prostrates himself before the chief druid, who sprinkles him with ritual fake titles, recites the ancient in-jokes to him, and then hears his suggestion. This process continues for an entire term until an edition can be compiled, published, and set loose on the unsuspecting public.

I hope my summary has helped you make up your mind, but no matter what you choose, I’m sure your UCAS application will benefit as a result. Of course, if you can’t choose one of the above, you could always start up a new one…

Regards Dudley

The

{Recap}

Quiz

See how much general knowlegde you know with this quiz by Henry Waterson and Pea Sermsuk 1. Which African country scores highest on the Fragile States Index?

2. What animal is the symbol of the US Republican Party?

3. In what year was the Berlin Wall dismantled?

4. Which storm, beginning ‘D’, caused extensive UK flooding in December?

5. How many Olympic golds has US swimmer Michael Phelps won?

6. Which square in Paris became a makeshift memorial after last year’s attacks?

7. What is the fastest fish?

8. What Canadian sprinter set consecutive 100m records before dis qualification for substance abuse?

Who are they?

a

9. Who bowled a tie-breaking superover for England against Pakistan in October which went for only three runs?

10. Cameron became the first Prime Minister to lose a foreign policy vote in a century. What was the topic?

11. With regard to the death of Reeva Steenkamp, what is a “black talon”?

12. What happened in San Bernardino, California last November?

13. In the UK, what is the legal age for alcohol consumption at home?

14. Which airline was the launch customer of the new Airbus A350?

15. How long is the entire network length of the London Underground?

b

c

Try to work who the following athletes are.

Quiz by Jonny Hurrell

d e

h

1. South Sudan 2. Elephant 3. 1989 4. Storm Desmond 5. 18 6. Place de la République 7. The sail fish 8. Ben Johnson 9. Chris Jordan 10. Airstrikes in Syria 11. The type of ammo fired by Pistorius 12. A school shooting claimed 14 13. 5

g

f

i

j

PUBLISHER Emma Williamson

SPORT EDITOR Dan Brown

EDITOR Toby Jupp

DESIGN EDITORS Blake Jones Pawin Sermsuk

DEPUTY EDITOR Henry Waterson FEATURES EDITOR Blake Jones NEWS EDITOR Nick Harris

WEBSITE MANAGER George Jeffreys ILLUSTRATOR Michael Man

Initial design by Asten Yeo

STAFF WRITERS Alex Thulin Ben Ffrench Blake Jones Calum Egan Dan Alcock Dan Brown Douglas Wilson Felipe Jin Li Francesco Cipriani Henry Waterson Jack Lester Jacob Lillie Jonathan Lee

Jonny Hurrell Marius Putnam Matt Spira Miguel Zilvetti Milo McNally Nick Harris Patrick Cole Pawin Sermsuk Piers Mucklejohn Sam Chambers Toby Jupp Tom Buckle William Stewart

Printed by the Newspaper Club

Contact us at martlet@abingdon.org.uk

a. Riyad Mahrez b. Odell Beckham Jr. c. Maro Itoje d. AB De Villiers e. Ashley Jackdon f. Jason Day g. Katarina Johnson-Thompson h. James Harden i. Alex Morgan j. Maria Sharapova 14. Qatar Airways 15. 402 km (250 mi)