College Tribune, Volume 29 Issue 8 by College Tribune

The College Tribune Volume 29, Issue 8

Flaws Found in 1 of 5 Berkeley Balconies

Independent News for UCD since 1989 collegetribune.ie

Tuesday, February 16th 2016

Seán O’Reilly Editor

andatory building inspections introduced in the Californian city following the tragic collapse in June which claimed the lives of six students and injured seven others have found that 402 properties, 18% of the total reviewed, suffer from similar structural issues to those that caused the disaster. However, almost one third of building owners did not respond to the city government’s request requests for a review of the structural integrity of their properties meaning that the final number of effected properties could still rise. In addition to the inspections, restrictions in building design and the codification of specific materials permitted for use in environments which are likely to see a high degree of exposure to moisture have been put in place by the Berkeley City Authority in an attempt to ensure there can be no repeat of the collapse. The events of June were described as a “wake-up call” by mayor Tom Bates, who also added that he was “shocked” at the number of properties which require urgent corrective attention in order to be made safe. As was speculated when images became available in the days after the incident, dry rot caused by water saturating the balcony’s inadequately protected wooden support beams led to the collapse. Thee mandatory inspections are to be made a regular occurrence due to the high risk of earthquake damage occurring to structures as a result of California’s proximity to seismically active areas.

Business Pg. 12

Remembering the Rising Cian Carton News Editor

s the debate over the 1916 Rising hits the public sphere, historians, both amateur and professional, are coming together to explore the Easter rising as part of Ireland’s Decade of Commemorations. How can one attach labels to a topic which proves to be so emotive and embodies an almost foundational myth status within the history of the creation of the Irish State? Here to offer a guiding hand is Dr Conor Mulvagh, lecturer in Irish History, who organised the recent event, ‘Globalising the Rising: 1916 in international context’, as part of UCD’s Decade of Centenaries commemorations. Mulvagh spoke to The College Tribune about the changing perceptions and maturation of views towards the Irish Revolution.

Internationalising the National University

For Mulvagh, the Decade of

Gaeilge Pg. 16

Clubanna i mBAC

Centenaries has been filled with opportunity. While researching the time period in order to “investigate how international UCD was a century ago”, he came across information that would eventually led to him publishing a book. UCD now brands itself as Ireland’s global university, but 100 years ago it wanted to be seen as “the national university, rather than a national university.” However, he discovered this was not entirely true. “In some small respects, the college was much more international than has ever been written about in its history. University College Dublin really saw itself as having a role in being a national entity. So it surprised me then when I found that one-third of the law students in the 1916 law class were from India. The fact that one of these law students went on to become something of the James Larkin or the James Connolly of India, organising transport workers strikes in the 1920s and coordinating lockouts, clearly shows

that he was influenced by his Irish experience both in the lecture halls and on the streets of Dublin in 1913 and 1916.” Published just this month, Irish Days, Indian Memories: V. V. Giri and Indian Law Students at University College Dublin, 1913-1916 is an account of the experiences of these Indian law students in UCD during the eventful time of Irish history. The most famous of the group was V. V. Giri, who went on to become President of India in 1969.

Public Perception of 1916

As the centenary of the Easter Rising approaches, Mulvagh spoke of it as being a “hallowed” event in Irish history. He believes that 1916 has become “a foundation narrative, and its subsequent re-telling and its mythologisation have become important facts in themselves in terms of how it has been commemorated and what place it has taken, both in the national psyche and in the evolution of the State, and how the State ar-

Tech & Science Pg. 16

Work towards a PhD from the comfort of your local bar with PubhD

ticulates its own journey towards independence.” On that basis, it has a strong influence on people’s perceptions of how they view their history. This relationship between the wider public and their history has come to the forefront of the commemorations, with a renewed public vigour on display. Mulvagh spoke of this wider community who continue to enjoy the pursuits of history. For him, “history is the ownership of everyone and not just an academic elite”, and he described the amount of life-long learners and history enthusiasts among the general community as “astounding”. He argued that “a lot of people don’t give the public the credit they deserve”, in that those who are quick to generalise risk missing out on the learning experience individuals can offer to each other.

Easter Rising: A Stepping Stone?

While the 1916 Rising may appear as major landmark in Ireland’s Decade of Centenaries, it will pale in comparison to the commemorations planned for upcoming years. According to Mulvagh Continued on Pg. 6

Kevin O’Reilly bags a rare interview with Other Voices’ Phillip King in

THE TRIB

News

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Candidates & supporters in the Fitzgerald Chamber

Una Power Editor

hile the General Election may be dominating national press coverage, an election much closer to home is on the horizon. That’s right; Student Union elections are nigh, with nominations for positions closing today. The position of President is seeing a nicely contested field, with three people throwing their hats into the ring. Current Graduate Officer Hazel Beattie has put her name forward, but she is not the only one with sabbatical experience in the mix. 2014/15 Education Officer Amy Fox is also in the mix, creating a candidate pool with strong campaign knowledge. While not versed in sabbatical office, Conor Viscardi, the final candidate for the position, is not without form. The history and geography student is the current Arts College Officer. The offices of Education and Graduate are the only two that are uncontested. Lexi Kilmartin, a politics & history student, is running for the position of Education, spring-boarding from her current role as Human Sciences’ Officer. Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development student Cian Casey is taking on the role of Graduate Officer.

The COLLEGE TRIBUNE Team are

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Photo via UCDSU

Students’ Union Nominations Close: Here’s your candidates Currently Cian works as Public Relations Officer for UCD Macra na Ferime. Campaigns & Communications, an office reintroduced at last year’s elections, has attracted three contenders. Veterinary student Sam Blanckensee has a strong background in campaigns. He was the LGBT Co-Ordinator for the SU for two years, as well being a Board Member for Transgender Equality Network Ireland. Luke Fitzpatrick, an information and social computing student, has been working with the UCD Ents team over the past year. Law student Ryan Oakes is the last in this category. Ryan is the current Business and Law College Officer. And last but not least we have Welfare, a position that draws a lot of attention from voters & media alike. Midwifery student Róisín Ní Mhara will be calling on her role as Student Ambassador to aid her in her campaign. She will be running against Seamus Carroll, for whom information couldn’t be found before going to print. Keep an eye out on these candidates over the next few weeks; their manifestos will be popping up and they will be out canvassing. Figure out who suits your vote and exercise your voting rights.

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Image courtesy of UCD’s School of Geography

MA Geography Students Show up Wi-Fi Hotspots and Notspots Seán O’Reilly Editor

esearch undertaken by four MA Geography students has shown for the first time where access to wireless internet is at its best on campus. The students, Clare McAleavey, Shane Bradley, Caroline Greene and Luke Monahan explained the drive behind undertaking the project as wanting to quantify precisely where issues exist that may otherwise go unnoticed. The four are students of Professor Gerald Mills, Head of the School of Geography, who previously produced his own map charting the highs and lows of property rental costs across Dublin. Mills sets the project of producing a map as part of coursework assigned in order to demonstrate to students that maps are not limited exclusively to terrain. To create the map, the students divided the campus into sections on a grid like pattern and set out points at which measurements were to be taken. These measurements were taken a number of times to rule out any anomalies using applications

available on the app store. Data collected was then applied to a base model of the Belfield campus and colour coded before identifying features such as building names and paths were added. The end result is an easy to understand model of where connectivity is good and where it could be improved. The core of the campus tends to have better reception due to the close clustering of many buildings while fringe faculties located in Richview (Architecture), Newstead (Landscape Architecture) and Roebuck (Administration) appear underserved. Surprisingly, though perhaps not so to students who attend most of their lectures in the building, the arts block appears to have particularly poor coverage, something the students attribute to its 1960s era Brutalist design which features a typically liberal use of concrete and steel in its construction. Wi-Fi signals are can pass through structures such as walls and ceilings, however testing has demonstrated that the density of the materials signals travel through can have a dampening effect.

Inside the Tribune News 1 - Remembering the Rising - Berkeley 2 - SU Sabbatical Candidates Wifi Hotspots 3 - UCD200 5 - GE Predictions RON4UCDSU 6 - News in Focus

Features

7 - Presidential Primaries 8 - Shawna Scott 9 - AnmestyUCD Echo Chambers 10 - Benefits & Unemployment

Tech & Science 11 - PhD in the Pub? - NASA’s Visions of the future

Business 12 - Inheritance Tax - Another Downturn? - Super-Business

Politics & Innovation

13 - Debunking Ireland’s Economic Myths 14 - Repealing the 8th 15 - Online or on the Doorsteps? - Mobilisation over Registration in GE battle

Gaeilge 16 - Clubanna i mBAC - Dóchas is cadóchas

Sport 18 - A Shot in the Heatt, but who’s to blame? 19 - Rory McNab on getting off with your high horse 20 - Money pouring into Chinese league threatens global shakeup - Liquid Football

Editors Arts Editor Features Editor Politics Editor Contributors Seán O’Reilly Emma Costello Sinéad Slattery Jack Power Conor Nealon Charlotte McLaughlin Jennifer Smyth Una Power Shawna Scott Aoife Nic Einrí Aoileann Kennedy Business Editor Film & Entertainment Editor Sports Editor Robert Nielson Dónal Ó Gallchor Billy Vaughan PO Box 74 Adam Hetherington Niamh Crosbie Neil Ryan Ruairi McCann Rory McNab Andrew Grossen Student Centre, Shannon Doherty Chris Foley UCD, Eagarthóir Gaeilge Music Editor Turbine Editor Becca Payne Ally Murty Special Thanks Belfield, Gearóid Óg Ó Greacháin Kevin O’Reilly Hans Offerman Cillian Fearon Ruth Slamon Cathal O’Gara Dublin 4. Jamie Fortune Dean O’Neill The cast and crew +353 1 716 8501 Fashion Editor News Editor Photographer Jack O’Sullivan Hannah Redmond of Brooklyn Nine-Nine editor@collegetribune.ie Emer Slattery Cian Carton James Holohan Bill Horan Katie Devlin

News

TCD Graduate Unveils General Election Prediction Model Cian Carton News Editor

Iages from RTE1’s Leader’s Debate

Trinity College Dublin (TCD) graduate has developed a model which provides detailed statistics on the chances of every candidate in the upcoming general election. Irish Elections Stats is a system which uses information from previous elections, opinion polls and candidate information, to rank the probability of a candidate’s election chances. The model was created by David Higgins, who studied Management Science and Information Systems Studies (MSISS) in TCD. His system produces probabilities through the model by running a simulation of 1,000 elections, which then creates a probability score for each candidate, measured across the number of times they win a seat in the simulation. As this is the first time the model has been made public, Higgins is warning that its accuracy is still subject to change, given its complexity and first time use for a general election. The influence of two party candidates running in the same constituency is listed as being one of the bigger factors which could affect the probability ratings. As of going to print, its most recent data was from February 8th. For some constituencies, such as Dún Laoghaire, the model predicts a tight race for the final seat among several candidates. In contrast, the Wicklow/East Carlow constituency has six frontrunners competing for five seats, followed by a huge drop-off. Students can check out the predictions for their own constituencies on www.irishelectionstats.com.

The group’s Twitter Bio

Group Raises Concerns over SU Performance Conor Nealon News Writer

CD’s Students Union has been placed under the scrutiny of those it represents in recent weeks as the current team of sabbatical officers passes the half-way point. At the forefront of this mounting pressure is a group of UCD students, spanning various faculties, operating across a range of social media platforms under the guise of ‘RON for UCDSU’. The group’s initial criticisms were published as an open letter on their blog on Friday February 5th, and were followed by a lengthy second instalment on Thursday February 11th. In the days following the group’s opening salvo, its claims were dismissed at council as a smear campaign which was ‘too mean’ to acknowledge, according to Thursday’s update. Discussion of the group was raised at Union Council on February 9th at which the group was labelled as slanderous, though UCDSU president Marcus O’Halloran did concede that points raised on the distribution of funds raised during events such as RAG week had some merit. The possibility of funds from future campaigns being distributed to groups such as the Student Welfare Fund was mooted. The group maintains that its letter has resonated with a significant share of the student body, having accumulated 578 online shares at the time of going to print. Speaking candidly in an online interview with the College Tribune, RON for UCDSU accounted for their decision to

publically call out UCD’s elected representatives. RON explained that its social media campaign was a natural progression for ‘a group of students who were upset about the way the SU was working’ and ‘feel that the SU has completely neglected the interests of students’. Whilst applauding the charitable endeavours undertaken by the current SU sabbatical team, the group asserts that the real focus of the SU should be on acting as a representative body in the interests of its members. Despite the pseudonym under which the group operates, questioning on ambitions to run for office in this year’s sabbatical elections were met with emphatic denial. RON cited their disillusionment with the electoral process as the primary reason not to run. This disillusionment is rooted in what they say is the impossibility of being ‘in any office as none of us are in a clique’. Factors such as ‘who is the more popular candidate, who has the support of which hacks and also who has the biggest campaign team on the day,’ were also cited as taking precedence over who the ‘best candidate,’ truly is. When questioned over the decision to operate anonymously, discussion adopted a darker tone. The group has elected not to reveal the identities of its members, citing fears of harassment. The intimidation of a student by the campaign team of one candidate during last year’s sabbatical elections as well as the backlash directed at the group on Twitter and Facebook were cited as specific examples of these fears manifesting themselves on campus.

News

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Remembering the Rising continued from Pg. 1 “the contentious history is yet to come”, for in 2019 there will be “the commemoration the foundation of the first Dáil the same month as people mark the commemoration of the Northern Irish Troubles.” “So, in some senses, we must tread carefully even though the ground might be firmer, here in 2016 because the precedent we set, and the tone we commemorate our history, and I say commemorate rather than celebrate, will be intrinsic to how we change perceptions and approach more difficult phases in our shared histories in this island in years to come.” Mulvagh sees maturity as the key attribute needed in order to approach the coming years. He noted an example within UCD itself. Professor Michael Laffan is one of the most distinguished scholars of Modern Irish History. He lectured on the Irish Revolution for over three decades in UCD, before retiring in 2010. He is currently back giving this course on a once off commemorative basis. Ten years ago, Mulvagh took his class as an undergraduate student. He recalled how members of the class “walked out at a certain point in Professor Laffan’s re-telling of the Irish Revolution because they believed he was denigrating the memory of certain Irish martyrs.” He does not believe such an incident would occur today, something which points to the “political and historical maturation” of the Irish public. Now, we live in a situation where “we’re still able to be proud of our own history, and I use the word pride with a degree of trepidation, but in terms of national history the state can honour and commemorate its history in a robust and safe way.” Nevertheless there are more emotive topics set to come to the fore in the coming years, like the Collins-de Valera rivalry, and the Anglo Irish Treaty, something which Mulvagh believes will open up a “robust debate” on Irish society. These commemorations may appear challenging, yet Mulvagh ended on an optimistic note for the future; “We have interesting times ahead, but I wouldn’t be as worried in 2018 as I would be in 1968 about how history and contemporary affairs might interact.”

News in Focus: Changing Content Curation Cian Carton looks at the how technology has opened the gates for content creators to display their talent to the world, and how this has changed content consumption. Cian Carton News Editor

ontent creation has undergone a massive change due to technology, but there has been little discussion on this impact. Well, actually there is plenty of information about it. However, when you go looking for information, you’ll merely run straight into the internet marketing gang,

to play, the record label industry was formed. They held the power and profited the most of this system. Here, power and money was firmly connected. If you had the finance to produce records, you could turn a musician into a star, given how the market was controlled. Shachar and Boluk noted how the emphasis was on finding talent with commercial prospects, as part of a system which favoured restricting the output.

In the past, high production costs resulted in content creation becoming centralised around a controlled distribution chain. screaming that “content is king” to anyone who will listen. Consider it fortunate that a recent article from Tal Shachar and Liam Boluk for REDEF has provided an excellent analysis of the situation. They have cast a light on the change in how the process of content creation has come full circle. Titled, “Age of Abundance: How the Content Explosion will Invert the Media Industry”, it is worth reading in full. At its most basic level, people create content such as music, books, tv shows etc. This content then goes through a process where it ends up ready for consumption. Before technology altered it, the authors explained the old system, with reference to the music industry. In the past, high production costs resulted in content creation becoming centralised around a controlled distribution chain. Since records were costly, only a select few had the resources to run an operation. As most musicians and producers (the content creators) could not afford such a process, let alone a guitar

The Effect on Content

As technology developed, production costs fell. This can be best seen in the television industry. In a separate article on the future of digital television networks, Boluk noted how there had been nearly a doubling of prime tv shows available for US audiences between 2007 and 2014. This comes at a time where the cancellation rate of shows has increased six fold since 1985. Today, only five out of ten tv shows will make a return in the following year, compared to nine out of ten in 2000. On a year by year basis, the trend is clear. Estimate data for 2014 puts the renewal rate at just under 40%, the cancellation rate at 50%, with the final 10% unaccounted for. In 1999, there were just under 150 tv shows, compared to around 400 for 2014. As expected, these trends have impacted on producers and networks. Given the money involved, the cost of getting it wrong has increased. Similarly, getting it right, like a smash hit like The Walking Dead or Netflix’s Orange is the New Black, is

rewarding. As these production costs must be borne upfront, one can see how the industry appears as a hostile and unforgiving place. One could draw similarities to the situation on Silicon Valley, just as Peter Thiel says in his book, Zero to One, “the greatest secret in venture capital is that the best investment in a successful fund equals or outperforms the entire rest of the fund combined.” Although not a like for like comparison, it certainly has strong similarities. Thiel has two rules for VCs. Rule one is that you should only invest in companies that “have the potential to return the value of the entire fund.” Rule number two is that there are no other rules than rule one, because it is so restrictive. Given the margins in the televi-

Today, people remix content, engage with others and follow recommendations on it. If you do not believe this assertion, think about this article. I read a piece, and am now remixing it and adding my own spin on it. If you like it, I’ve already recommended that you check out the original article. As more people go online, the context will also change, especially in relation to demographics. Major sites rely on algorithms to improve the user experience, like Facebook’s timelines. However, on a broader scale, these factors lack the human touch, and things are drawn towards the middle over time. They explain this with reference to a book with hundreds of reviews has a high average rating. Someone could buy the book and hate it, as they

Today, people remix content, engage with others and follow recommendations on it. sion industry, those rules are not to be dismissed. Nevertheless, there are ways to influence the odds, like how tv shows draw inspiration from other areas, Recent hit shows are often adaptations, with The Walking Dead’s original comic book series and the 1990 UK version of House of Cards being perfect examples of content which were re-worked into new shows.

The Content Curator

The authors predict decentralised content curation as the next media evolution. Individuals who have audiences can direct them to content. In other ways, one could say it’s a reversion to smallscale tribalism, perhaps. The more differences that emerge, the more opportunities there are to differentiate from others.

have no real ideas of the contextual and cultural situation under which other people liked the book. Rather, if a person who has minor celebrity status in a niche recommends a book, their follows would be more likely to buy and enjoy that book. The authors believe this change will be led by social media platforms, given how they already mix content. The crucial distinction, though, is that the current and future influencers owe their power to their relationship with their audience. This leads to their final conclusion, “audiences are both more plentiful and harder to reach than ever before.” Understand the underlying factors, which have been laid out by Shachar and Boluk, and you can understand the market.

Features

A Presidential ‘Primary’ Education Andrew Grossen Features Writer

owa Caucus? New Hampshire Primary? Delegates? These are

terms you might have been hearing or reading about these last few weeks in regards to the US Presidential election. To understand how a candidate is selected or how there is a possibility of a Trump v Sanders election in November it is imperative to understand the primary process. It can be complicated at times but here are the basics. n each state, the people at-

process. In primary states like

Jeb Bush came in fourth place in

Abroad will hold its primary here

sometimes don’t reflect the actual

New Hampshire, it is held like a

New Hampshire but still gained

in Dublin. There are 17 delegates

voters. This was exemplified by

normal election with a polling

three delegates. A candidate

up for grabs from the entirety of

Donald Trump’s performance in

station that is open all day where

needs a majority of delegates to

Democrats Abroad who will go to

people can go vote. The people

be nominated - in the Republican

the national convention. This is

who can vote depends on the

Party that means 1,237 delegates

ideal for Americans like me who

state - sometimes any registered

but in the Democratic Party the

are from a caucus state (in my

voter can vote; other times it can

number is 2,382. The Democratic

case, Minnesota) who can’t par-

only be registered party members.

Party also has ‘Super-delegates’

ticipate through absentee ballot.

which have more diverse elector-

In caucuses, such as Iowa’s, it is a

who are party leaders who

The organization, while a political

ates than the two states prior.

process where parties hold meet-

personally pledge support to a

one is also a social one, holding

ings where party members must

candidate. These super-delegates

debate and State of the Union

publicly declare who they are

are the reason that despite Clin-

watches and, Fourth of July and

supporting at a meeting place in

ton losing to Sanders by 22% in

Super Bowl parties. It’s a great

the evening. Caucuses can be long

New Hampshire, both candidates

outlet for Democratic expats.

a process especially if there are

received 15 delegates.

The primary process some-

Iowa. Even Sander’s strong showing to virtually tie with Clinton was unpredicted. The next states are South Carolina and Nevada,

Whatever the outcome, the nominees and the future president will be selected by the people. Voting is seen as the greatest right in our two great republics. American students who attend

tempt to select who they believe is

many candidates. Both in prima-

the strongest candidate for pres-

ry and caucus states, candidates

within the Democratic Party,

should there be two or more

universities in Ireland either for a

ident for each of the two largest

are seeking the highest amount of

members from around the world

strong performing candidates. It

semester or for their entire degree

parties. It is a process that allows

party delegates as possible. These

in forty countries can vote in a

is possible that Republicans and/

can register to vote at VoteFrom-

people to have a say in their can-

delegates are party members that

Global Primary under Democrats

or Democrats could be fighting

Abroad.org to make sure they

didate selection rather than the

will be pledged to support the

Abroad. Ireland is one of the

among themselves right up to

leaders of parties (though some

candidate up to the party conven-

countries. Democrats Abroad -

their conventions. As it stands,

would argue in this election cycle,

tion in the summer.

Ireland has 1,309 members; all

according to RealClearPolitics

are American citizens who share

polling averages, Trump and

party heads and special interests

The number of delegates var-

It is interesting to note that

times can be long and taxing,

are able to avail of that right. For America and Ireland this year is a politically and historically significant one - no matter which party

are trying to have a larger say).

ies by state and is allocated by the

the desire to stay active in politics

Clinton are the frontrunners

Every state and party has

percentage of the vote a candidate

while abroad (full disclosure: I am

in most states. Although poll-

or candidate you support, your

different rules and procedures

receives. This is why finishing first

the Secretary of the Irish chapter).

ing numbers should always be

voice is in your ballot.

on how they go about this

is not always the main objective.

On the 1st of March Democrats

taken with a grain of salt as they

Features

Facebook: We’ve got the censorship, but where’s the safety? Shawna Scott Columnist

n the last edition of the UCD College Tribune, allegations arose that approximately 200 male students were members of a private Facebook messenger group used allegedly for sending and rating nude photos of women they had slept with. It has since sparked a major controversy across Ireland from both students and the media. Just to be clear - sharing someone’s nude photos without their consent is illegal. Though it never ceases to amaze and terrify me when people’s reactions turn against the victims in an effort to defend themselves. As Jack Power said in his last article: “Those who attacked this insidious and potentially illegal behaviour were subjected to a backlash from others studying Agricultural Science, who claimed they were being unfairly tarnished for the actions of a minority.” It shows a disgusting lack of empathy and maturity that when something this horrific happens, the concern is with defending the reputation of the department and not with the women, who have been sexually violated. Louise O’Neill, author of the

award winning novel Asking For It, posted about the scandal on Twitter and her Facebook page. While most comments were supportive, some were as shocking as the original news itself. One person dubbed her post as “Feminist propaganda,” and that “we’re all equal so I’d disagree with you pushing the victim card.” Another claimed that it was the women’s fault for “[sending] nudes to men they barely know.” He went on to blame pop stars and the media for having a bad influence on young women. When Trinity announced recently that consent classes were going to be made mandatory for First-years living in Trinity Hall, there was outcry that this was the ever-clichéd “political correctness gone mad.” However mandatory consent classes for first-years is the least our universities could be doing. Fortunately it looks as though consent classes may be on the cards for all UCD students starting from next fall. But the onus should not completely be left on our third-level institutions. Our social media platforms, as the gatekeepers for content, have a social responsibility to protect its users. Unfortunately when a laddish culture that exists in our colleges permeates the organisations

we’ve become dependent on to communicate with each other, that protection starts to feel rather unbalanced, especially for women, and raises the question: who are we protecting? Last month the Irish Family Planning Association approached me about participating in their Pearl of Wisdom Campaign to encourage women to go for regular cervical screenings. I decided to create a Facebook post about the campaign and boost it as an advertisement, both so that the message could reach more people, and to see if the post would be allowed. I was skeptical given that posts I’ve tried to boost previously, even something as innocuous as interviews I’ve done for newspapers or magazines, have been denied. So when my campaign post was accepted, I was absolutely delighted. The engagement was outstanding and really resonated with women who appreciated the reminder to get a cervical screening. It was liked and shared loads of times, and the message was spread to over 12,000 people. Then after 3 days of the post making the rounds, I received a message that my boost had been shut down. The reason they gave was that they do not allow ads for adult products or services. I

reached out to Facebook to see what the issue was, and finally received a response last week explaining that it was probably the algorithm at fault as they believe the ad itself didn’t violate the terms of use. A similar incident occurred last October when during Breast Cancer Awareness month when the Dublin Well Woman Centre had an ad denied, which showed women how to perform home breast exams. We’ve all heard stories about women’s breastfeeding photos being censored by Facebook. Model Frankie Tan posted a photo of herself recently in full body paint which, while fully nude, covered enough as to not show any genitalia. However she too found her photo taken down. When it comes to female bodies and women’s expressions of their own sexuality, it would seem that the default reaction is to shut us down first and ask questions later... maybe...only if we fight it, and even then it can feel like we’re talking to a wall. At the same time, groups that incite hatred, misogyny and racism are still allowed to exist. The standard response to these largely male dominated groups, is to have a long debate about the importance of freedom of speech and then shut it down...maybe... only if enough people com-

plain and sign a Change.org petition. So if Facebook can censor public health messages and breastfeeding mothers with some of the most sophisticated social media algorithms in the world, why can’t they use those same algorithms to seek out and shut down disturbing, possibly criminal posts or groups? In the case of the UCD200, nude photos were allegedly shared in a private messaging group. This could be a tricky one to tackle due to privacy, but if they can analyze our private messages to advertise to us, surely they can do the same to scan for illegal activity. I believe it’s down to priorities. What do we prioritise in society? What do social media companies prioritise as being important? When the majority of people in power in an organisation are men, it’s much easier to put the concerns of women low on the priority list, but this doesn’t have to be the case. They could choose to do the right thing and make the effort to consult with women and then invest in progressively tweaking their algorithm. I, and I’m sure many more female social media users, would be happy to sit down with Facebook to discuss these issues, and I invite them to get in touch.

Features

9 The Scourge of the Echo Chamber Billy Vaughan Features Writer

An Open Letter to 2016 General Election candidates and voters A

s the General Election campaigns get underway, and all candidates and parties are sharing their proposals and plans for the upcoming years, those of us at Amnesty International-UCD would like to remind everyone about the importance of keeping human rights at the forefront of Irish political discussion. In particular, we urge all candidates, regardless of party, to remember human rights regarding abortion, the refugee crisis, and access to healthcare and education. While recognizing that abortion is a sensitive topic for many people, it is the opinion of Amnesty International and human rights experts worldwide, that Ireland must do more to protect the fundamental rights of women and girls in protecting access to abortion services. The current abortion law, “The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act – 2010”, limits the ability of medical professionals to provide needed care to women in at-risk situations and violated the fundamental human rights of women and girls throughout Ireland. This law also continues to violate Ireland’s international human rights obligations and has been roundly criticized by numer-

ous United Nations organizations. All candidates and parties should work towards creating abortion laws which respect and protect human rights. Candidates must also address the plight of refugees and asylum seekers in Ireland. Currently, it can take years to decide an asylum-seekers claim. While waiting for a decision many people are kept in ‘direct provision’ centres, crowded accommodations which are poorly equipped for long-term residence. Despite this, official government estimates say that more than half of asylum-seekers have been waiting more than five years for a decision. This is especially worrying since, while waiting for their claims to be processed, asylum-seekers are unable to work in Ireland. This is a violation of the fundamental human right to seek and maintain employment, and a violation of Ireland’s obligations under EU law. At particular risk in direct provision centres are women, children, and victims of torture, who are often unable to access needed services. These refugees, many of whom are fleeing unspeakable horrors in states

like Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, deserve a quicker and most just process. These are hardly the only human rights issues the next government will face. Matters such as healthcare, education, and social welfare must also be addressed. Candidates and parties must consider how they will work to protect the right to health, the right to housing, and the right to an adequate standard of living. Amnesty International believes that it is critical that the next Irish government continue working towards a constitutional amendment protecting these rights. Amnesty International-UCD understands and appreciates the value in having a robust political discussion where varying opinions and views can be shared. However, it is important to remember that some issues are matters of fundamental human rights. We believe that, as such, these issues should be a priority for all candidates and parties in the 2016 General Election and the next government. Sincerely, Amnesty International – UCD

Some of you may remember that two years ago, Facebook revealed that it had performed an experiment on thousands of its users. It had altered content on user’s news feeds to either show more positive or negative content, and had found that by doing this, it could manipulate the mood of the user. There was much furore over the incident, and activists called the episode “disturbing”. Many people were worried that social media sites could abuse this power by filtering what is shown to the public. Unfortunately, by targeting social media sites and blaming them, the public got it wrong and missed the point entirely. The truth is that social media does indeed influence us massively, but the biggest driver behind this is us, the internet user. Facilitated by social media, we cosset ourselves into an online comfort zone, free from criticism or opinions adverse to ours. We create for ourselves a unique community, moulded by our own opinions and views of the world. This is what the “Echo Chamber” consists of. Of course, this does not happen on purpose. We don’t set out to blind ourselves to other perspectives and interests. The whole process starts early, and continues without us ever realising that it’s happening. Indeed, the whole draw of social media is that we can create our own customised space online. There are public Facebook pages and subreddits for fans of Fianna Fáil, shower thoughts, and the letter G. The weird and wonderful things we identify with online are what makes the online world enjoyable. Needless to say, not many people would bother with social media if it showed them information that they had no control over or interest in. But the crucial error we often make is mistaking this world we have made with the realities of what goes on in the real world. This break with reality results in two problems. Firstly, the Echo Chamber restricts what news we become aware of, by only picking and choosing information that interests us as an individual. News that

would seem important to the average person is often blocked out if it doesn’t fit into our online comfort zone. A recent study by American and Italian academics found that “social media facilitates the aggregation of people around common interests, worldviews, and narratives”. For instance, a conservative would like right-wing websites, who might prioritise crimes committed by immigrants. A liberal will like progressive news outlets, who prefer to emphasise stories about immigrant deaths while escaping their home countries. Social media users are constantly bombarded with cherry-picked news stories that harden their worldview and convince them that they are right. Secondly, because we are constantly bombarded with information that confirms our beliefs, we become better at convincing ourselves that everyone else is wrong. Armed with the “evidence” of overblown and exaggerated news stories and bogus studies, online tribes have the confidence to fight ferociously for their cause. A look into the dark murky depths of internet comment sections reveal vitriol and insults that get the wider debate absolutely nowhere. If an Irish student writes a status attacking gun laws in the US, they will almost certainly receive broad support from their Irish student friends. Southern US gun-owners will do the exact opposite, and receive praise from their Southern US gun-owning friends. In the pitched online battles that ensue, no one stands to benefit. There is no empathy, no attempt to understand the other side. The Echo Chamber has grown in importance as more join social media, and is becoming the blight of modern day society. It polarises us, and makes us more steadfast in our beliefs, while at the same time starving us of the reliable information that make those beliefs valid. To combat this trend we must overcome our basic human nature, and open up to opinions, information and solid facts that make us angry and uncomfortable. What we often forget is that mindless online warfare between two sides of an argument solves nothing. It is bad ideas that must be attacked, not the communities that hold them dear.

Features

Do Genereous Benefits Encourage High Unemployment? Robert Nielson Features Writer

very debate about unemployment inevitably ends with someone claiming the problem is people are too lazy to work. Or that there is more money on the dole than in a job. This belief isn’t solely held by taxi drivers but by wide sectors of society. So last year I decided to look at the facts. I decided to ignore the anecdotes and urban myths and listen to people who have studied the issue. What I found was that there was little or no evidence to support the idea that generous welfare benefits were the cause of high unemployment. The reason for this is that a job is not simply a way to make money; it is also part of an individual’s identity. People are defined by their occupation. The first thing you ask someone when you meet them is what job they have. To which most respond, “I am a teacher, a builder” etc. A job isn’t just a means to an end; it is a major part of our life. Surveys reveal that many people would work even if they didn’t need the money. All people have a psychological drive to produce something, to create, to pay their way. Unemployment causes severe damage not just financially, but also psychologically. It is socially unacceptable not to work, so the

unemployed therefore suffer a loss of respect. Status and respect are as important as money in life. Unemployed workers suffer psychological damage from their lack of a job, such as loss of self-esteem, self-respect and a feeling of hopelessness. They suffer from a higher rate of mental illness than those working, including depression and suicide. In many ways we are defined by our work; this means the unemployed may feel their life lacks meaning, which can lead to despair and hopelessness. There is no evidence that they suffer from a lack of work ethic. Studies find that the unemployed are often more enthusiastic about work than those who actually have jobs. While people with children are entitled to the greatest amount of welfare benefits, they are also the most motivated to get a job. A study found that the psychological damage caused by unemployment among men would cost €33,500 euro to bring their level of life satisfaction to the same level as employed men. For women the figure is €68,500. The traditional economic theory ignores inconvenient facts such as the fact that many unemployed workers are not eligible for unemployment benefits or the full range of allowances. One study showed that only 30% of those classed as unemployed were receiving benefits in America. The figure was 26% for the UK. There

are many restrictions on receiving allowances. For example if you quit your job voluntarily or are fired you may not qualify. Likewise if you refuse job offers you can be disqualified. Many allowances which get mentioned in the news apply only to families, whereas 80% of the unemployed are childless. These findings apply both in Ireland and abroad. Only 11% of the unemployed in Ireland receive rent allowance, despite the anecdotes of people “too lazy to work” getting free houses. In fact, a study found that 97% of those unemployed in Ireland in 2011 would improve their financial situation by getting a job. Only 3% of the unemployed are earning more on the dole than if they had a job. This simple fact alone should put all the myths and stereotypes to rest. This should silence all who claim the unemployed are living a life of luxury or lack an incentive to work. Unfortunately it takes more than facts and figures to defeat a myth. If it was that easy we would hear no more of the Loch Ness monster and Republicans in America would never win elections. The average unemployed person receives half of their previous wage. This makes it extremely hard to claim there is no incentive to get a job when such a person could double their income by getting a job. The simple fact is that

there aren’t jobs out there. It isn’t from lack of effort that the unemployed can’t find jobs, it’s because they can’t be found. In most countries it is necessary to have worked a certain length of time before it is possible to receive benefits, this would actually cause benefits to have a positive rather than negative impact on participation in the labour force (this point was admitted by Milton Friedman of all people). This would mean that you must have worked a certain amount of time in order to receive unemployment benefits. So despite the number of people who claim it’s so, it’s not possible to get a handout without having worked a day in your life. Similarly, the duration for which people can claim unemployment benefits has a negligible effect on unemployment levels. Threatening to cut someone’s benefits off completely doesn’t help them get a job; the problem is there aren’t any to be found. Nor does the level of benefits compared to wages, average, industrial or minimum. You’re probably noting a pattern here. No matter which way you try to measure it, there simply isn’t a link between benefits and unemployment. How lax or generous the rules are for qualifying for benefits also makes no difference. No matter which way you look at it, welfare benefits do not cause unemployment.

An examination of other countries further proves the point. The countries with the most generous welfare systems in the world are Sweden, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands. The countries with the lowest unemployment rates in Europe are . . . Sweden, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands. Likewise the countries with the lowest levels of benefits are Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece, none of which can be described as doing particularly well. After drawing together different studies, viewpoints and opinions it is clear that the disincentive effect that is supposed to affect the unemployed is greatly exaggerated. The conventional wisdom is simply not supported by facts. In fact most available data contradicts it. The orthodox model fails to give an accurate description of the real world, instead relying on overly simplistic assumptions. It ignores features of welfare systems that prevent people from receiving assistance, such as means tests and work tests. It ignores the stigma associated with receiving handouts and the psychological damage unemployment does. It glosses over the non-financial benefits people gain from work. Contrary to the orthodox opinion, generous welfare benefits do not lead to higher unemployment, longer durations of unemployment or a disincentive to work.

THE TRIB Arts & Culture Supplement // Issue 7 // 02.02.16

2-3 // Music & Listening

King of West Kerry Radio broadcaster and legendary ﬁlm and music producer talks with Kevin O’Reilly about music, big ideas and Dingle.

rowing up in Cork Philip had relatively narrow pathways to music through RTÉ radio, but as he grew up his world opened up musically and figuratively. Access to BBC radio and television, Top of the Pops and even the American Forces Network broadcasting from Germany sparked a broad interest in music early on. He became fascinated with the connection between language and music whilst studying in UCC. He explains how music provides the soundtrack to history by not just detailing the facts of the time but by capturing the poetry and feeling of the people and he lauds musicians as “the heralds of the future”. Philip’s incredible knowledge of languages, poetry and folk-

lore shines through in the way he speaks. On his RTÉ show South Wind Blows his voice is soft and low but in person it is fuelled with a passion and energy yet he still finds time to pause and to find the exact right word to be used in a sentence. His gift to be able to pull quotes off the top of his head from the likes of Frank Hart and Seamus Heaney and to dispense anecdote after anecdote makes him such a compelling and intelligent character. The topic soon changed to his beloved West Kerry, a place which he describes as idir eatarthu or “between two worlds, between the old and the new, between Irish and English” which, apart from the astounding physical beauty of the place, is what makes Dingle and its people so special. South Wind Blows is broadcast from the southwest tip of the country in Baile na nGall and it’s the remoteness of the Dingle Peninsula and the sensation of being on the edge of something that creates a cer-

tain wit and intelligence in the language and musicality of the community there. It’s this spirit and how it is captured by Philip in his productions that has led to the stratospheric success of shows like Other Voices. It’s the ability to draw both artists and audiences from all over the world into this serene and timeless location that creates such a unique experience. Dingle has a way of making artists feel at home. I was told how The National travelled through the night on an arduous journey only to fall into the place as if they had arrived home because they felt it was a safe place for music and creativity. He even laughed; “sure look at me, I came here and I never left!”. Some of Philip’s vast wealth of artistic knowledge has come from working alongside legendary musicians such as Elvis Costello, Liam O’Flynn and Daniel Lanois and drawing from their insights and inspiration. The purpose of making these documentaries was

about “celebrating, rather than explaining away, the magical mystery of creativity”. Music and film however aren’t the only thing on his mind. He envisions a unification of science and technology with arts and politics, where scientists and innovators can draw on the creativity of artists and politicians can learn to understand the importance of the arts to enriching our society and our culture, evidence of which he is starting to see in the audiences of Other Voices. Philip King, like all great thinkers, looks to the future. His mind only plans prospectively and does not dwell retrospectively. He believes the future for a better Ireland lies in utilising our imaginative resources to integrate these different sectors of our society. To achieve this we must change our mind-set in terms of funding primary activities. Cultural activities should not just be supported for the possibility of a return in tourism for example. “We need to nurture, cherish and feed that community, otherwise we are open-cast mining that resource which enriches us until it’s depleted” Above all he emphasises that generosity, kindness and passion should underpin our endeavours and not be compromised by want of return. Things that are given without intention of receiving anything in return are of a different value. “So whether he calls it spirit music or not, I don’t care. He took it out of wind off mid-Atlantic. Still he maintains, from nowhere. it comes off the bow gravely, rephrases itself into the air.” - The Given Note - Seamus Heaney.

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UCD Battle of the Bands Winners; Fionnrua ///////////////////////////////// // Kevin O’Reilly, Music Editor

eing stuck in close quarters can make people do strange things but for Enda O’Lorcáin, Tim Mays and Jack McEvoy they went a step further and started a band. While rehearsing for the Musical Society’s showing of

Jeckyll and Hyde the three lads discovered a shared appreciation for singing and good music. Drawing on influences like John Mayer and Ed Sheeran they got together to try some covers and even songs they had written themselves. They

soon found that they had a brilliant formula and their respective talents and voices complemented one another. However the lads didn’t truly get a chance to showcase their talents until UCD’s first battle of the bands. They casually uploaded a video of their song ‘You and Me’ on Facebook and were astounded by the response gaining over 600 likes in a week. They powered through the semi-final in the UCD clubhouse before playing Whelans in the final on the 4th of February and eventually winning. What shocked the lads so much Jack explained was the speed of which it all happened, to go from rehearsing with each other for fun to playing Whelans and opening for The Academic, and The Strypes in Opium

Rooms in the space of about 6 weeks was breath-taking. Fionnrua were on a high by the time they hit the stage in Opium Rooms. Their set-up was simple as ever three voices, two guitars, one cajon, with some bass and violin thrown in however their sound was big and they had the crowd a their fingertips. The lads were instant stars with strangers recording them and singing along to their every word. As for the future of Fionnrua they don’t seem to be overly concerned and said that they are going to take it one day at a time and grab hold of any opportunities that present themselves. But most importantly they’re going to enjoy themselves and have the craic!

Album Review:

Music writer Aoileann Kennedy takes a look at some of the latest Irish album releases.

Walking on Cars ‘Everything This Way’

aving followed Walking On Cars’ career since the beginning (they hail from my hometown), I was expecting great things from the Dingle quintet and I wasn’t disappointed. Everything This Way is their debut album. Its release follows years of anticipation as Walking On Cars have gone from playing free gigs in West Kerry, to the news this week that they will join Kodaline and Jess Glynne on July 8th in Marlay Park. From songs like ‘Tick Tock’ and ‘Catch Me If You Can’, their lyrics are catchy and the melodies are

rhythmic. Lead singer Pa Sheehy’s voice has a strong, gravely quality, especially in tracks like ‘Speeding Cars’. His falsetto skills are showcased in ‘As We Fly South’ and ‘Two Stones’ and are especially complimented by backing vocals from Sorcha Durham and co. The album is similar to releases from other Irish indie acts, however Pa’s voice and their song writing ability sets them apart from the rest. There is an anthemic quality to their songs, showcased perfectly by my favourite track from the album, ‘Don’t Mind Me’. If you’re a fan of Irish indie music, Everything This Way is not to be missed. If their debut is anything to go on, Walking On Cars are set for big things. Not bad for five young people from West Kerry. Walking On Cars next play in Dublin on July 8th, Marlay Park

Villagers ‘Where Have You Been All My Life?’

oming less than a year since the release of ‘Darling Arithmetic’, Conor O’Brien and his Villagers are back with ‘Where Have You Been All My Life’. The album is a reinvention of Villager’s back catalogue, and features a selection of some of their best songs. The album was recorded in RAK studios in London and showcases the best of Villagers’ delicate melodies and stunning vocals. From the outset, the beauty and

fragility of O’Brien’s voice is showcased spectacularly. ‘Set the Tigers Free’, originally featured on ‘Becoming the Jackal’ is given a slowed down, harmony-laden makeover. Newer releases ‘Courage’ and ‘Hot Scary Summer’ are stripped back, allowing O’Brien’s voice to truly captivate and move you. ‘Hot Scary Summer’ shines in this album. The pairing of O’Brien’s voice and the cascading piano, guitar and drum rhythms is stunning. If you are already a fan of Villagers, this album is a treat. If you are new to them, it is a wonderful introduction to what this band are capable of. It is the perfect showcase of their skills and will leave you craving more. Villagers are currently on their European Tour.

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A Teeth Engines B Sleeper Organs Label: Blast First (petite) 2015 180gm Black Vinyl Download? No.

Dublin Busker Series: Boris /////////////////////////////// // Kevin O’Reilly, Music Editor

eek two about town. “You can call me Boris, everybody calls me Boris” explained Boris as he beamed kindly. The Bulgarian native was soothing commuters and shoppers on Lower Wicklow Street with balmy guitar melodies. His set up is simple; it’s just him, his sunburst Gibson guitar and a small amplifier hooked up to an old CD player which provided the back up for his slow and easy playing. His interest in music began funnily enough in Irish traditional music which he describes as “magnificent music” and he pointed out the similarities with Bulgarian folk music. But nowadays he prefers to draw on classic soul

legends such as Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder all the way over to Led Zeppelin to create his style of performance. He likes to cover popular songs and emphasised the importance of captivating the fleeting attentions of passing audiences and holding them for as long as possible. Boris was keen to express his frustration at the local shopkeepers who are attempting to curb the activities of buskers like himself because they feel that they are too loud and somehow affect their custom. He agrees that some buskers are too loud and there is no need for it, however to place a ban on busking would be to ban creativity and to destroy

the image and atmosphere of the city centre. The proposed bye-laws could affect the livelihoods of hundreds of artists like Boris who says he can’t find a job, doesn’t take social welfare and plays his heart out for a few hours a day to get by. The soft-spoken Bulgarian usually plays at his spot outside a certain shop that sells handbags for the price of a second hand car. He performs every three to four days when the weather permits for two hours until the batteries run out in his amp. His smooth and soulful riffs beautifully encapsulate the character of a soft wet weekday in town. If you’re interested in finding out more about the Dublin City Buskers campaign against restrictive bye-laws visit www. dublincitybuskers.ie.

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One from the Crate: Forrests - ‘Organs’ /////////////////////////////////////// // Seán O’Reilly, Editor

hat can you get in the Record Spot for a tenner? Well, if you head in as soon as possible, you might find one of the few remaining copies of this ambient electronic gem. As a band member in the past, I’ve taken a lot of flak for not wanting to go in the direction of “that random, aimless, whale-songy bullshit.” But thankfully time has opened me up to new ideas and put me in a position where I can really enjoy a record that five short years ago I probably would have hated. Organs is a short record,

comprising of just four tunes, but each of the four is varied enough to hold your attention and send you straight to your happy place. Lead track ‘Teeth’ opens with a very chill almost spacy feel which builds and builds, stopping short of reaching a crescendo and giving the listener easy satisfaction. Close your eyes and sit back, or focus on the needle as it drifts up and down over a sea of sound; you’re in for a treat. ‘Engines’ is a slow drawl of a track with follows in the vein of its predecessor though with-

out reaching the kind of spectacular peaks and troughs the ‘Teeth’ does. ‘Sleeper’ opens the B side with a rhythmic mechanical drumbeat and more of that echoing spaciness that defines the album. Mid-way through we’re introduced to a big wall of sound, the loudest point in the album. ‘Organs’ is a low, calm exit to the album fitting in like a familiar voice and leaving the listener soothed by sound. Quiet almost to a fault, the gentle pop and crackle of the needle running through the record adds atmosphere to this track in a big way.

REVIEWS

The Look of Silence

THE REVENANT

4-5 // Film

Ruairi McCann reviews The Revenant - the latest offering from Leonardo di Caprio - ahead of the 2016 Oscars. midst 2015 and early 2016’s most acclaimed releases, there seems to be a resurgence of the western as a commercially viable and critically lauded force. It has also shown the disparate and undervalued range that the western possesses. The Revenant is at the forefront of this, and unlike many of its forbearers or contemporaries, such as The Hateful Eight and Slow West, it portrays the machismo and fight for survival often depicted within the genre quite differently. Based partly on a novel of the same name and a true story, the film is an epic which traces the journey of explorer Hugh Glass (Leonardo Di Caprio), who after surviving a bear attack and abandonment by his compatriots, must travel across the vast South Dakota 1823 wilderness, facing the elements, his own injuries and the violence of other men. This is not a western concerned with a Hollywood adherence to clean-cutness nor one steeped in copious dialogue. This is a deeply earthy film with the characters and the screen soaked in blood and dirt. Here the violence of the old wild west is not communicated through many words or as a male, libertarian fantasy – instead, more is communicated through the actions of the male characters on screen, as much with subtle nuances of performers such as Di Caprio and Tom Hardy (a real under-sung hero of this film, whose performance displays not only immorality but also a desperation that is expertly played). A lot of these actions are violent in nature, as the film does not skimp on depicting the brutality of the time and location, with many spectacularly shot (by Emmanuel Lubezki, a sure win for the cinematography Oscar) set pieces that show cases the racism, desperation and kill or be killed life of the period. Despite this, there is a lot of beauty in this film, with many breath-taking sequences of nature and the landscape and dream sequences which add emotional weight to the bare but engaging narrative. The slow pace and rudimentary nature of the narrative may put off some but for others, including myself, this will likely one of the most memorable motion pictures of this decade and must be seen in a cinema in order to get the most of the film’s evocative cinematography and performances.

This is a deeply earthy film with the characters and the screen soaked in blood and dirt.

Ruairi McCann reviews Danish filmmaker Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Look of Silence, which scrutinises the genocide in Indonesia in the 1960s. he terrible things that humans do is something that has been extensively explored throughout art and history. The most frightening of which is when these acts are not hidden by layers of bureaucracy, but are boldly displayed and decidedly human in there banalness. This is where The Look of Silence operates, territory that its director Joshua Oppenheimer is familiar with. Oppenheimer came to vast critical attention when he released The Act of Killing in 2012. A documentary about the little know Indonesian genocide of 1965, where over a million supposed communists were killed by a military regime that is still in place today, it drew its power on its focus on chilling interviews with the perpetrators, at first unashamed of their crimes and hailed in their countries as heroes, and its encouragement of the latter to recreate these acts in the styles of their favourite films, by which the full horror of what they had done came to the fore. The Look of Silence is not as innovative as that, possessing the hallmarks of a much more traditional documentary. This companion piece focuses mainly on the

victims’ families instead of the killers, as it follows middle-aged ophthalmologist Adi, a man determined to discover the circumstances of the murder of the brother he never got to meet. The film tracks the course of his home life, viewing interviews of his brother’s killers and conducting his own interviews with the same people, based on the pretence of an eye test. The interviews are just as hard-hitting as those found in its sibling film, as it cycles between recounts of acts of violence by either boastful or in denial killers, horrified reactions from daughters and sons as they learn what their fathers have done and the emotional yet stoic question presence of Adi. There are a few moments of tenderness, as every scene between Adi and his centenarian parents are consistently engaging and offer the few threads of hope and love that are in the film. Despite this, ultimately, this is a horror film of sorts as any tenderness is enveloped by the disturbing subject matter. This is a film that is important because of its fearlessness. It is not afraid to peel back the layers of denial and propaganda to reveal the darkest realms of the human experience and the painful yet justified process of peeling back those very layers and retelling this forgotten history under the piercing eye of

Left: Film Director

Romantic Films

Whether you’re coupled-up this Valentine’s Day or you’re hosting a night in with the girls, The Trib has you covered as far as movie-night goes. Jennifer Smyth and Niamh Crosbie reveal their top picks for the single girl and the coupled-up girl.

THE PRINCESS BRIDE

COUPLED-UP?

An old man reads a story called The Princess Bride to his sick grandson, who is at first reluctant to hear a love story that might have kissing in it – so if your partner is also reluctant to cuddle up to this movie, don’t worry about it! Princess Buttercup believes her true love Westley to be dead, and agrees to her arranged marriage to Prince Humperdinck. But their love endures through a tale of swamps, fantastical creatures, pirates, kidnappings and revenge. The reader’s grandson becomes increasingly invested with the story, as the stakes grow higher and a happy ending seems unlikely.

PRETTY WOMAN This film is the epitome of love that appears in the most unexpected of places, and consumes your life. When businessman Edward hires prostitute Vivian to accompany him to gatherings, neither expects that anything other than professional agreements will exist between them; but in this modern take on the Cinderella tale, love prevails in spite of the consequences. Snuggle up for a timeless story of the rejuvenating effects of love (and be endlessly jealous of the clothes that Edward buys for Vivian).

SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD

SERENDIPITY Believers in true love and fate will adore this movie, which takes the romantic-comedy cliché of coincidence and runs with it. Despite each being romantically involved with someone, Jonathan and Sara connect with one another at Bloomingdale’s in New York City. Their decision to let fate decide whether or not they should be together sets in motion a series of events that will eventually bring the pair back together. If you and your partner are looking for a guilty romantic indulgence (and you’ve watched The Notebook so many times your faces are blue), Serendipity is ideal for date night.

Scott Pilgrim’s universe is turn upside-down when he falls for Ramona Flowers, and learns that he must face and defeat her seven “evil exes”, including the possessive, controlling Gideon. Whilst not strictly a romantic movie in the traditional sense, Scott and Ramona’s love story is one of trust, compromise and the acceptance of each other’s pasts. The physical and emotional trials Scott must overcome in order to date the enigmatic Ramona reflect the real-life difficulties that face modern couples, and their enduring affections for one another give us hope that what doesn’t kill your relationship can certainly make it stronger.

SHREK When all else fails, this classic tale of quest, rescue and true love is always a safe bet. When ogre Shrek departs the peace and quiet of his swamp, he is contracted by Lord Farquaad to retrieve Princess Fiona from a dragon-guarded keep and take her back to be his bride. But the headstrong Fiona does not come along easily, and Shrek soon discovers that they have more in common than he could ever have expected. For an animated tale for younger viewers, Shrek really captures the vulnerability which comes from falling in love, and the joy of finding the person who will accept you for who you are,

SINGLE? WHAT’S YOUR NUMBER? Chris Evans and Anna Faris play next door neighbours who team up when Anna’s character Ally worries about finding “Mr Right” because a magazine article tells her she’ll be single forever if she sleeps with any more than 20 men. Her, mostly naked, neighbour Colin (Chris Evans) attempts to track down her past boyfriends but (surprise, surprise) ends up more invested than he once thought he would be. With cameos from Andy Samberg, Martin Freeman, and Chris Pratt this film finds the right balance between making you dream about a life with Chris Evans and his abs and making you laugh about the fact everyone else seems more concerned with your single life than you do. TANGLED Rapunzel (Mandy Moore) is one of Disney’s greatest heroines. Her story of adventure and ambition starts with her dream to leave the tower she is trapped in to see the lanterns she sees through her window one day of the year up close. Unlike those Tinder dates who tell you all about how they found themselves once they spent two weeks on a Spanish island with no Tayto, Rapunzel takes Flynn for an adventure through dingy pubs and miles of forest to get to their happily ever after. The relationship between Rapunzel and Flynn (Zachary Levi) starts as necessity and ends the only way Disney knows how: With a song, a kiss and some weeping into your Doritos.

THIS MEANS WAR Tom Hardy is the golden boy of cinema at the moment with films like The Revenant and Mad Max: Fury Road earning critical and audience acclaim. Now you can watch him pine over Reese Witherspoon in a film that got 26% on Rotten Tomatoes. Tom Hardy and Chris Pine star as CIA partners who fall in love with the same woman. They use all of the tools at their disposal to win her over but only she gets to decide who gets the Hollywood ending. In a world of three hour long Tarantino epics sometimes you need to watch Tom Hardy and Chris Pine bitch fight over Reese Witherspoon to know we all have to start out somewhere.

CRIMSON PEAK This isn’t a conventional rom com but Guillermo Del Toro’s latest film sees Edith (Mia Wasikowska) drop everything to marry Sir Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston). They run away together to live in an isolated mansion with his creepy sister Lady Lucille (Jessica Chastain). Even Sir Thomas’ derrière can’t save Edith from the sinister past that lingers between the brother and sister duo. It may not be very funny but Crimson Peak is just creepy enough to make you glad you never got a chance to date that handsome stranger. THE PROPOSAL Sandra Bullock plays an emotionally distant publisher who is about to be deported from America. Luckily, Ryan Reynolds appears in a well fitted suit and agrees to marry her so she can remain in the country. A trip to Alaska to meet the family introduces Margaret (Sandra Bullock) to a Granny getting down in the woods and a growing sense of who the man she is pretending to love actually is. Their growing relationship and palpable chemistry is what keeps this film afloat even when Margaret assures us she can’t swim.

Spring Trends To Try BY SHANNON DOHERTY

6-7 // Fashion & Design

aking the transition towards a spring wardrobe can be a challenge. The weather can be unpredictable and it can be hard to strike the balance between moving away from winter wear and stepping into the new season without launching into full-on summer wardrobe mode. Here is a reminder of some spring trends from last season’s runways that may be of some inspiration when making the transition towards a spring wardrobe:

Metallics:

This is one eye-catching trend! High-shine fabrics, foiled textures, reflective mirrored surfaces and even shattered mirror pieces were found on the runways of Chanel, Lanvin and Maison Margiela. Metallic bags and shoes were strutted across Rodarte and Louis Vuitton’s catwalks. A golden-bronze metallic jacket was also sported by Lanvin and was paired with a silver top made from metal. Maison Margiela showcased a dress which had been compiled with pieces of mirror with a very finely netted overlay (pictured). The slip-on style of this dress is certainly an indicator that trends can be mixed and matched. Another captivating piece was a pair of trousers by Loewe who also used the shattered mirror effect (pictured).

Stripes:

This season is all about stripes - thick, thin, vertical, horizontal and diagonal stripes have been given the ok by Dolce & Gabbana, Prada, Tommy Hilfiger and many more. Ralph Lauren’s spring look consisted of stripes in a preppy-sailor kind of way. Dolce & Gabbana’s collection consisted of multiple striped pieces whilst going for an Italian theme overall.

Bohemian:

Queen of the castle:

Have you ever wanted to be a princess? Well if you have then this season is the perfect way to make those dreams come true. The runways of Miu Miu and Saint Laurent have finally granted us our wish by making tiaras a necessity for the models on their catwalk. Chanel sported an intricate metal headband as a more easy-to-wear and modern take on the tiara (pictured).

The boho-chic look is always a trend coming up to the summer months. Rachel Zoe designed a very romantic/bohemian collection which has a festival goddess vibe to it. Ruffles are extremely on trend with models showcasing a variety of extreme ruffled pieces to those with just a slight ruffled detailing. Designers ranging from Fendi to Dior added to this flowy, bohemian style by bringing puffy sleeves back. Dior found a way to apply structure to the puff of the sleeves. Florals and festival-inspired fashion can be worn as a subtle nod to the brighter summer days to come, as at Coach and Chloe. Another of the many takes on bohemian-chic is the off-the-shoulder look that was seen in Proenza Schouler and Prabal Gurung’s shows last season. Rachel Zoe displayed this off-the-shoulder look in a more casual way while Boss proved that bare shoulders can take on a more sophisticated form.

Cycle in STYLE

BY EMER SLATTERY

If cycling is your main form of transportation to college then you’ll be familiar with the struggle of trying to figure out what to wear that will be both stylish during class hours and comfortable for your commute. The difficulty is compounded by the necessity of wearing a high-visibility jacket and sometimes even rain-proof trousers. Not to mention that you can’t really style your hair considering that you’ll be wearing a helmet. At first it can be difficult to figure out a dress sense that brings you from bike to lecture theatre. It’s always an option to bring a change of clothes, but this is a time-consuming and impractical way of operating on a daily basis. In my own experience, I have found that there are a few cycling ‘hacks’ that make commuting to UCD a lot easier without compromising on what you wear. Firstly, as frumpy and annoying as high-vis cycling gear can be, it is a must. Safety gear is essential and cannot be compromised. However, there are ways around the negative impact this can have on your style. By having a locker on campus and a basket on your bike you can have the best of both worlds: carry your normal coat in your basket and wear the high-vis while cycling, then when you get to campus throw on the normal coat and stick your high-vis in your locker. This way you’re not stuck carrying the high vis around campus but it’s still there and waiting for when you need it again after class. If you don’t have a basket on your bike or a locker then another option is to wear a high-vis vest over your normal coat and a high-vis backpack cover over the bag on your back. This way, you’re ticking the safety boxes and can just roll up the light vest and bag cover and stash them away while on campus. Comfort-wise, leggings are a good option for cycling. If you want to wear a short skirt but it’s tricky to cycle in it, just wear your pair of rain trousers over your clothes (even if it’s not raining!) for coverage and take them off when you reach campus. Just because you’re a cyclist doesn’t mean you can’t dress how you want to dress. When you don’t have the luxury of rolling out of your campus accommodation and effortlessly dressing for class or the similarly sweat-free option of travelling by bus, it can seem as if cycling is the worst mode of transport. However, what cycling lacks in its capacity for carefree dressing, it more than makes up for in other ways. With credentials such as increased independence, no public transport timetables to follow and of course being an eco-friendly commuter, being a college cyclist is well worth it (if it’s a viable option for you). With a little bit of creativity there are ways around everything and this rings true in the realm of fashionable cycling. Stay safe (and fabulous!) on

Paris and Milan MENSWEAR TRENDS REPORT t’s that time of year again! The new season is upon us and as always, the menswear shows kicked things off in style. Men’s fashion week can often provide a brilliantly insightful preview of what is to come in what many consider to be the main event of the womenswear shows, and the catwalks of Paris and Milan this year were no exception. A new take on the traditional suit emerged across the board this season, with everyone from Louis Vuitton to Lanvin opting to abandon the tie, or to replace the shirt altogether with a simpler t-shirt or jumper under a blazer. This refreshing spin on the tailored ensemble is casual, yet still a subtle enough alteration to be completely wearable. The long coat was probably the most predominant trend on this season’s runway. It was heavily featured in the collections of Emporio Armani, Valentino, Lanvin, Dior Homme and Pal Zileri to name a few, with Bottega Veneta including several leather takes on this statement piece. Colours were for the

// KATIE DEVLIN

most part kept to black, brown and grey, with appearances from muted greens and reds. However the styles of these coats varied hugely; from Lanvin’s flowing version and Prada’s long cape, to Armani’s classic, tailored take. Bigger is better for Raf Simons! His first collection since stepping down as creative director of Dior featured a host of larger than life pieces, namely oversized sweaters, cardigans and letterman jackets that invoked feelings of old school Americana; as well as exaggerated puffa jackets and trench coats. The trick to making this work was pairing the giant top pieces with slim or cropped dark trousers to balance out the look. Dress-up was also a recurring theme this season, with numerous designers drawing inspiration from Outer Space, the Wild West and the military. The Balmain Army was definitely out in force on the runway, with the label’s trademark soldier inspired jackets- at times veering into matador territory- making a statement throughout the collection. Versace were undoubtedly channelling

astronauts in their collection, which saw models in mostly head to toe white, as well as a series of pieces made of a shiny metallic fabric in silvers and blues. Master of minimalism Calvin Klein had a subtle but effective take on this trend, including coats and jackets either completely made of a gold and silver foil-esque fabric, or embellished with pieces of it. They also put a twist on classic white denim jeans and jackets by adding dashes of gold. Finally, cowboys were the muse of many designers this season and were most prevalent in Dolce & Gabbana who featured everything from double denim with flower motifs to silk pyjama style shirts emblazoned with pictures of cartoon cowboys. The models even walked down a runway decorated with cactuses. Givenchy paid homage to the western trend with fringed pieces and decorated denim, Gucci went with fitted ponchos, while Valentino got in on the action with tribal patterns, furs and checked shirts. Get accessorising! In addition to the wide variety of scarves seen on the run-

way for Autumn Winter, there is also an emerging tendency for menswear collections to feature a host of different accessories. Armani had effortlessly cool, dark sunglasses on the runway, whilst Dior Homme featured a new embellished take on the bow tie as well as an assortment of small sized carry bags. The models at Gucci wore oversized spectacles with an array of hats, bandanas and choker style necklaces. Valentino finished off their looks with clutch bags. The message here being that accessories traditionally thought of as feminine, such as handbags and jewellery, can be accessible to men also. If these menswear shows are anything to go by, the rest of the season is

The Origins of Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// // Becca Payne

8-9 // Arts & Culture

r. Harleen Frances Quinzel, commonly known as Harley Quinn, (a nickname given to her by her beloved, playing on “harlequin”), first strut her stuff making her way onto our screens in the Batman: The Animated Series in 1992. Serving as a ditzy, innocent, silly sidekick to the Joker, Harley appeared to be totally oblivious to his psychotic nature and obvious lack of care or affection for her, this love/hate relationship remaining more or less consistent throughout her subsequent appearances. The origins of this bubble headed blonde were soon recounted in a 1994 graphic novel; The Batman Adventures: Mad Love. This comic book reveals Harley’s background as an Arkham Asylum psychiatrist who falls in love with the corrupt mind that is the Joker. The Mad Love story was thought too violent for the animated series itself, but was later used in the New Batman Adventures episode, “Mad Love” in 1999. This made it the first animation-style comic book to be adapted for the series, and making Harley Quinn one of the first characters to make the jump from an animated series to graphic novel. Dr. Harleen Quinzel was a psychiatric intern at Arkham Asylum. While researching the patients at the asylum, she became fascinated with one particular inmate. Begging the doctors at Arkham, it took her three months before she was allowed treat him. He would tell her multiple stories as to why he acted the way he did, playing victim each time and preaching that his madness was not his fault. Session after session with this man left her feeling sympathetic and he soon seduced her, causing her to fall madly in love with him. After helping him escape the asylum more than once, Harleen was suspected by the authorities, who revoked her license to practice and placed her in her own cell. During an earthquake in Gotham, she fled and morphed into the character that we now know as Harley Quinn, the sidekick of the Clown Prince of Crime himself. The relationship between the Joker and Quinn is one of the most twisted and complex love affairs in comics. The Joker is not only mentally abusive to the young girl, but striking her when he sees fit only seems to make her addiction to him all the deadlier. The Joker used her past and her personality against her to gain sympathy and admiration. Like a lion stalking its prey until it grows weak, testing its boundaries before it decides to pounce, Joker pushed his victim until she was putty in his hand and goo-goo eyed in love. But this doesn’t make Harley weak or a pushover, she chooses to become a supervillian and that’s the punch line. Harley’s smart and tough, yet vulnerable and damaged. But each choice in following Joker, are her own. As abusive as their relationship may be, part of the relate ability is her dichotomy of being a hard ball and making terrible choices. But it also helps us understand Harley in a way we could never understand the Joker. All is not doom and gloom for this psychotic duo, as Harley is the only person who’s managed to become intimate on such a long term basis with the Joker, who, in turn, displays occasional moments of affection towards her, causing him to feel confusion and discomfort which then results in attempts to kill her. Although this relationship is the main foundation that makes Harleen the devious little thing that she is, her relationship with Batman himself works as a conflicting conscience, showing her that regardless friend or foe, a man must always treat a lady with the respect she deserves. This can be seen in an episode of the animated series titled “Harley Quinn’s Holiday” where Harley is trying to prove to the world that she is in fact ‘sane’ and gets falsely accused of shop lifting when a shopping trip goes horribly wrong. She rushes off, taking a hostage out of panic and the cat and mouse chase between Harley and Batman starts again, except this time she doesn’t intend to harm anyone. When Batman finally catches the jumpy jester, he’s nothing but nice to her causing her to step back and reanalyze the situation, questioning why the caped crusader was looking after her after all she had done to him. Explaining that he can only sympathize with her honest desire to lead a normal life and that he too, “had a bad day, once”. As a parting gift, he gives her the dress she bought and they part ways. This isn’t the first act of kindness that the Dark Knight shows her, this making his relationship with the Jester that bit more light hearted than that with his assemble of colourful crazies the he’s usually forced to fight. Harley is loyal, no matter who she is with. Nine times out of ten, she means well in whatever crazy situation she gets herself caught up in. She’s the sort of person to act first, and if she feels like it, think later. This helps with the comic relief that the Jester adds to an often dark story. She’s sassy, insane and most of all, human. She doesn’t tend to hide the fact she has feelings and she’s insanely hyper-violent. She’s like a Looney Tune, except brought to life. Harley channels the appeal of violence without consequence. Like Tom and Jerry, she can cause all the chaos and destruction she wants and never be the worse off for it. She never seems to get hurt unless Joker is the one doing the abusing. Like Charlie Chaplin, she can always bounce back from a slapstick routine and be ready to entertain the viewer all over again. All in all, while Harley may qualify as a villain, she’s also a woman who suffers both emotional and physical abuse, making her possibly Batman’s most sympathetic rogue right there.

Focus on Belfield ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// // James Holohan

Shades of Conflict

////////////////////////////////////// // Hannah Redmond

ichard Mosse is an Irish Photographer and winner, in 2014, of the prestigious Deutsche Börse Photography Prize in. Four years ago, Mosse travelled through war-torn Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo with collaborators Trevor Tweeten and Ben Frost to photograph the conflict in the region. The casualties in the conflict in DR Congo are in the region of 5.4 million war-related deaths since 1998. Mosse’s photography is exceptional; he uses a discontinued Kodak Aerochrome film. Aerochrome film is traditionally used for vegetation surveys and military purposes; its aim is to identify camouflage targets. It registers an infra-red spectrum of light that renders the greenery and foliage vibrant and potent hues of pink. The cumulative result of Mosse’s work is a harrowing and haunting portrayal of the unrest in the country. The psychedelic and vivid colouring portrays a surreal world similar to that of a macabre fairy tale or that of an unnerving nightmare. Mosse’s photographs serve as a cold confrontation with the plight of a country plagued by violence and human suffering, forgotten by the rest of the world. Mosse’s work can be construed and interpreted in many different ways. The psychedelic colouring of his photographs serve to amplify and emphasise the idea that this is a world apart from the world we know. It also conveys the idea that human suffering is contrary to natural order and therefore his works shows a land plunged into cosmic disorder and chaos. Whilst addressing the Royal Hibernian Academy, Mosse stated that “in an attempt to bring two counter-worlds into collision: art’s potential to represent narratives so painful that they exist beyond language, and photography’s capacity to document specific tragedies and communicate them to the world.” Mosse’s reportage of Eastern Democratic Republic can be viewed in his collection “The Enclave”.

Tuesday April 25 , 1916 th

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////// // Cillian Fearon 2/5

10-11 // Odds & Ents

he city was quiet as Margaret gazed out of her bedroom window. It felt like any other spring morning. She was due to start back at work in the Jacobs factory this morning. She put on her work clothes and went to the kitchen. Her Ma was busy making breakfast while her Da looked uncharacteristically restless. It took her a moment to figure out what was missing from the picture - neither the morning paper nor the milk had been delivered. “You might as well go back to bed,” he grumbled, spotting Margaret on the stairs. Beth placed a cup of black tea in front of him. “Thank you dear,” he muttered, giving the tea a contemptuous glare. “Ah, Da! I have to go in, I was lucky to get the job in the first place,” Margaret insisted, dragging out a chair. “You’ll not be leaving the house today. Jacobs won’t be open, not with the rebels in the city centre,” her father said dismissively, “I spoke to a man last night, said that Jacobs is occupied along with half a dozen other buildings. It’s not safe.” “Ah Da!” “I said no!” he barked. “It can’t be that bad,” He glared at his daughter, “The British led a cavalry charge down Sackville street yesterday afternoon.” Her Da stood as he spoke, drawing himself up to his full height. “If you think you have any idea what’s going on out there you’re sorely mistaken. You aren’t going out today and that’s final.” Her father left his cup of tea untouched and took his hat and cane from the stand, “I’ll be back later. The blasted foreman wants the furnaces to stay lit even if the blowers aren’t in.” He limped out the door, leaving Margaret and her mother alone in the kitchen. Beth pottered around the stove and oven preparing food for the day. She opened the draw of the oven and pulled out a freshly baked loaf of bread. “You shouldn’t be so angry at your father,” she said quietly, not turning from her work. “He’s only doing what he thinks his best.” Margaret muttered under her breath. “He’s just worried, that’s all,” she soothed, “He’s afraid that it could get a lot worse before it gets better. He remembers the stories told by his grandfather about past rebellions. If it’s as bad as 1798 then we could need to get out of Dublin.” “How do you know about all that?” asked Margaret. Her mother turned, giving her a wry smile. “Just because men are allowed to do all the talking doesn’t mean they know a thing about listening. Much like you, last night sitting on the landing.” Margaret opened her mouth to explain but her words failed her, “How did you know?” “I’ve told you before, all mothers have eyes in the back of their head.” There was a knock at the door. “Go answer that will you, it’ll be the milk man or the paper. Everything’s running late this morning.” Margaret crossed to the door and opened it to reveal the haggard and worn milkman, Pat Magee, with his cart and a bottle of milk. “Come in Pat, you’re looking wretched.” Margaret said taking the bottle from him. “Hello Pat, are you well? Will you have a cuppa?” Beth said smiling. “Ah sure I will. It’s fierce bad for travellin’ this weather,” he replied with a dramatic sigh, “the Brits are as mad as a bag of spiders and twice as hairy.” “They giving you much trouble?” Beth said beckoning him to sit. “Ah, trouble isn’t the half of it,” said Pat sitting at the table. Margaret smiled, she could see the glint in his eye that he got whenever he had a story to tell. “Beth let me tell you this,” he started, “Sure I was doing the rounds as I usually do, down by Pembroke cottages, same as every day, and suddenly I was shocked out of my skin. A shot nearly ran right through me. Broke three bottles and all. And if old Jess had been a younger girl she’d have bolted down the street, cart and all. It was a tossup as to whether she’d have had a heart attack before me! So these three young Brits run up to me, all scared out of their minds. Sure, all the real fighting men are off in France or are already dead. So these three boys are pointing their rifles at me, shouting something about passing messages to the rebels. And I says to them, “Sure the only messages I’m passing to anyone is that I sell milk at three ha’penny a bottle. So that’ll be four penny and a half for the damage.” Now of course he didn’t take kindly to the insinuation that he owed me money. The next thing I know he’s threatening to toss the cart, then doesn’t old Tom Taylor call out of his doorway in his best English accent to let me off and get him his milk. So they begrudgingly let me off without another word. Off to terrorise some other poor citizen I’ll wager.” The door flew open interrupting Pat and in stormed Margaret’s Da. “They’ve shut the works!” he howled. “The foreman figures it’s too dangerous. He’s hired some men to guard the place. We’ve been told to stay away till it’s all resolved.” He threw his hat on the table angrily.

Cover Image: “Untitled” James Holohan

Buzz about Town

//////////////////////////////////// // Una Power, Editor

Took a little time to get where I wanted It took a little time to get free It took a little time to be honest It took a little time to be me I took a little lover but then we parted I took a little time to get over this From time to time, I get heavyhearted Thinking of how you used to kiss Courage It’s a feeling like no other Let me tell you, yeah Courage In harmony with something other than your ego Courage The sweet belief of knowing nothing comes for free Do you really wanna know, About these lines on my face? Well, each and every one is testament to All the mistakes I’ve had to mak To find courage It’s a feeling like no other Let me tell you, yeah Courage In harmony with something other than your ego Courage The sweet belief of knowing nothing comes for free For free... Courage It’s a feeling like no other Let me tell you, yeah Courage And harmony with something other than your ego Courage The sweet belief of knowing nothing comes for free

Cinema Going to the cinema with friends is such a nice little luxury. Seeing a brand new movie, buying far more popcorn than you can conceivably eat. But all this can be marred by group indecision. What determines the film that you see? What if one person wants action but another is determined to get in some romance? Well fortunately there is a film that covers both those genres that you can go see right now. Pride & Prejudice & Zombies manages to sate both the need for constant adaptations of Austen and the zeitgeist lust for zombies. If you want your supernatural action to be a bit more modern Deadpool might just be the thing for you. It has Ryan Reynolds kicking things and making quips – there are many worse ways to spend an evening. You also of course have the no-doubt delightful possibility of attending Zoolander 2, which despite running a moderately successful General Election campaign would appear not to have taken advantage of the painfully obvious alternative title 2lander. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Theatre UCD Musical Society has a fun, on campus night of entertainment for you. All week until Saturday the 20th Legally Blonde: The Musical is playing in the O’Reilly Hall at 7.30pm. I haven’t seen the musical, but I do know some of the tunes and they are cracking. This is right on your doorstep, so do try and go along – it’s a nice way to wind down after a day of classes. Tickets can be bought at www.ucdmusicalsociety. com. UCD Dramsoc have two shows running this week. At 1pm each day in the Dramsoc Theatre you can see Hero, an original black comedy written and directed by UCD student Liam Galgey. Hero follows two men as they journey through the night time landscape of Dublin’s Northside, searching for a missing friend. Along the way they encounter danger, live out a Dante style epic and fend off the fearful cork man. The second show, PUNK ROCK, is directed by Ciaran Gallagher and runs every evening at 7pm. The story follows seven students from an upper class grammar school who are facing into their mock A-Levels. The end of school looms large on the horizon and the students attempt to tackle their uncertainties, fears and sexual anxieties. Tickets can be bought for both at the Dramsoc Theatre Box Office. A theatrical excursion into town is a definite over the next month, as Smock Alley runs its Festival of New Work: Scene and Heard. Over the next four weeks the theatre plays host to freshly created theatrical works from playwrights across the land. You can discover some real gems at this festival, and as someone who has attended it over the last few years, I can readily say I have thoroughly enjoyed my experiences. Go to Smock Alley’s website for a full list of shows and times. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Music

Comedy

If you are searching for some psychedelic rock to serenade your Saturday evening, then get yourself over to Workman’s at 8pm. The Corkonian five piece music group Altered Hours will be playing tracks from their newly released album IN HEAT NOT SORRY. Recorded in Berlin’s Funkhaus studio (a relic of the DDR) the album is an alt-rock endeavour laced with psychedelic tones.

David O’Doherty is playing at the Mill Theatre in Dundrum. For €16. That is really all I need to say to make you go. The man is hilarious. I sat through 10 minutes Jason Byrne at Electric Picnic 2014 before David came on stage, and it was totally worth it. I cannot emphasise how excruciating those ten minutes were, but David made it all better.

Tech & Science PhD in the Pub? Seán O’Reilly Editor

ubhD is a monthly event at which PhD candidates are invited to share their research, in ten minutes, to a collection of their peers outside the normal settings of academia. The group’s next event will take place on March 2nd at a location to be determined. The format of each event is the same, with three PhD student speakers each having ten minutes to explain their subject. Questions are then fielded by the audience for 20 minutes before the speaker is then treated to a drink of their choice as reward for braving the crowds. The events have popped up in a number of cities in the UK including Manchester, Brighton and Glasgow. Launched here in Ireland on April 1st 2015, the events follow a similar format to their UK counterpart from which the idea was drawn. The March event will be the Irish outfit’s ninth, with previous topics including Plasma

Physics, Patient Preferences and Physiotherapy.To date there has been only one speaker from UCD, Bashir Otukoya, a student at the Sutherland School of Law whose research involves an exploration of the legal process of citizenship by naturalisation, with the aim of addressing the impact of citizenship on naturalised citizens’ perception of “Irishness”. It seeks to determine the role of citizenship in the social integration of immigrants in Ireland. The events are informal and held in a friendly setting to encourage open discussions and encourage a multidisciplinary roundtable approach which sees academics step outside their comfort zone. While there is no deadline for applications, anyone wishing to present at the March 2nd event is advised to get in touch as soon as possible. Submissions can be made on the group’s website, pubhd-dublin.skepticireland.com or the organisers can be contacted via Twitter @DublinPubhD.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NASA’s Voyager mission took advantage of a once-every-175-year alignment of the outer planets for a grand tour of the solar system. The twin spacecraft revealed stunning details about Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune – using each planet’s gravity to send them on to the next destination. Voyager set the stage for such ambitious orbiter missions as Galileo to Jupiter and

NASA’s Visions of the Future There’s no place like home. Warm, wet and with an atmosphere that’s just right, Earth is the only place we know of with life – and lots of it. JPL’s Earth science missions

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory www.jpl.nasa.gov

www.nasa.gov

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, among many others, have provided important information in understanding of the habitability of Mars. This poster imagines a future day when we have achieved our vision of human exploration of Mars and takes a nostalgic look back at the great imagined milestones of Mars exploration that will someday be celebrated as “historic sites.”

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory www.jpl.nasa.gov

www.nasa.gov

Dean O’Neill Tech Writer

NASA’s Mars Exploration Program seeks to understand whether Mars was, is, or can be a habitable world. Missions like Mars Pathfinder, Mars Exploration Rovers, Mars Science Laboratory and

Cassini to Saturn. Today both Voyager spacecraft continue to return valuable science from the far reaches of our solar system.

monitor our home planet and how it’s changing so it can continue to provide a safe haven as we reach deeper into the cosmos.

ASA, the space agency of the United States of America has released a number of further images in their ‘Visions of the Future’ series. The images, which are presented as travel posters advertising distant and exotic locales such as Mars, Saturn’s moon Titan and exoplanet Kepler 16-B, are intended to spark an interest among the general public in the

future of space travel and space tourism. The images are released by NASA’s California based Jet Propulsion Laboratory which in addition to undertaking cutting edge research is partly responsible for promoting the activities of NASA and cultivating interest in space. Visual strategist at JPL Dan Goods explained in an interview with CNN that the posters are intended to demonstrate the diversity of what’s being discovered by organisations

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory www.jpl.nasa.gov

such as his. He added that “Imagination is so critical to creating a future you want to be part of. Many of the things we are doing today were imagined by artists and science fiction writers decades ago. These destinations are all actual places that we know about, and one day, perhaps humans can go to them in the future.” The images are available in high resolution at JPL’s website: jpl.nasa.gov/visions-of-the-future

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09/02/2016 11:49

Business

Capital Punishment: Taxing Matters Jamie Fortune Business Writer

reland’s tough inheritance tax regime is a contentious topic – taxing the passing of wealth which has been accumulated by individuals for a second time, as income earned is subject to income tax. Capital acquisitions tax (CAT) can erode as much as one third of this transfer of this wealth from person to person. Previously there was a belief that parents who supported their children though gifting money as being a tax exempt amount. However a recent clamp down by Revenue on inheritance tax has meant people are becoming more aware of what is and is not allowable. Currently parents can support a child under the age of 18 without falling within the charge to CAT; while children under the age of 25 and in full time education can also avail of this exemption. The biggest impact is where parents wish to support their children who are over 25 and returning to education and they wish to pay for college bills, contribute towards a housing deposit or allow them to live rent free in the family’s

second home – all of which can lead to a child falling within the charge to CAT or reducing their lifetime threshold. Currently children are entitled to inherit a life time amount of €280,000 and payments such as the above can reduce this amount over time. There is an annual exemption of €3,000 which entitles any individual to receive this amount from another person tax free. In this way a child can receive €6,000 per annum tax free (€3,000 from both their mother and father). This is a useful tax planning method and can vastly reduce an individual’s CAT liability if used over time. This can be especially important to not reduce your lifetime threshold amount of €280,000 when inheriting property, as this threshold is inadequate in many situations. Although there are specific reliefs in relation to the inheritance of farms and businesses, with property prices beginning to recover, more tax planning will be necessary in order to reduce an individual’s CAT liability or property inherited by individuals will have to be sold immediately in order to cover the inheritance tax due alone.

Superbowl or Super-business? Bill Horan Business Writer

he dust has finally begun to settle on the behemoth that is the NFL season, and once again the seasoned veteran Peyton Manning stands atop the pile triumphant as he finally captures an elusive second championship. On the other hand, we have the young

gun representing the Carolina Panthers, Cam Newton. These two athletes show perfect examples of how the NFL and the Superbowl represent key marketing areas for brands across the globe. It is common knowledge that some of the most premium advertising aired on television premieres during the Superbowl and even in Ireland their impact is made. Who among us can say they were not exposed to the

Another Downturn? Growth Falters and Risk Returns inancial markets have had a worrying opening to 2016. The causes, so far, have been rapidly falling commodity prices, fears over China’s growth and its “up and down” exchange rate policy, and concerns about central banks’ ability to continue fuelling growth. A concerning sign for the global economy is the fact that Europe’s top four economies were hit by greater drops in industrial output during December than any forecast had predicted. Industrial output data released Wednesday for Italy, Britain and France followed news on Tuesday of a shock drop in Germany which had readjusted expectations that economic growth in Europe might be on the rise for 2016. This has been unwelcome news as the momentum of the world economy falters.

The developments have increased discussion among economists about recession risks in the US, and triggered criticism of the Fed’s December decision to tighten policy – A move which may now be retracted. The “yield curve” - which plots the yield of fixed-interest securities against the length of time they have to run to maturity - of US Treasury bonds has reached an 8-year low. Historically, this has been a regular market indicator of recessions. Janet Yellen, Chair of the US Federal Reserve, made a statement on Wednesday singling out China as a central risk. There has been no indication of a meaningful slowing of Chinese growth, but she said the depreciation of its currency have “intensified uncertainty about China’s exchange rate policy and the prospects for its economy.” She explained that “Should any of these downside risks materialise, foreign activity and demand for US exports could

weaken and financial market conditions could tighten further.” In Europe, also, it seems that China is economists’ main concern. The figures show European manufacturers struggling under dropping demand from China and other emerging economies. ING’s chief international economist, Rob Carnell, recently stated, “It’s hard to say anything other than that the countries we sell these goods to are not doing so well, and that’s the emerging markets.” In Ireland, the mood is caution. The market shows signs of an increased sense of risk. AIB bonds issued late last year are now trading at least 10% below issue price, and Permanent TSB is trading at approximately one third below its IPO price. Ireland is still rated highly on the markets, but the investment rush may be over. The Global economy is at risk, and it is showing.

infamous Budweiser frogs who first debuted during a Superbowl ad spot more than 20 years ago. Nowadays, it is estimated that a 30 second advertisement during the Superbowl would cost a company $5 million, when you consider the amount of 30 second ads that could be fit into the broadcast of the Superbowl the amount spent on advertising is quite dizzying. The gambling industry also stands to perform well when the Superbowl rolls around. In 2014,

there was a staggering $119.4 million wagered on various bets in Nevada alone. However, that pales in comparison to the amount of money that was spent by US consumers in 2016 on Superbowl related goods, according to the National Retail Federation there was $15.53 billion spent. On the field, the two quarterbacks who took part in the 2016 edition of the Superbowl earned some of the highest endorsements in the NFL. Peyton Manning is recognised as the

highest earner in the NFL, pulling in $12 million in off-field endorsements, with Cam Newton pulling in $10 million. To think that there are such ridiculous amounts of money being spent all because of a sport and being pumped around the US economy makes one think, are Mr. Goodell and co. actually running a sporting competition, or one of the most important industries in the US economy, and what, if anything, can the GAA and the FAI learn from it?

Jack O’Sullivan Business Writer

Innovation

Debunking Ireland’s Economic Myths Micheál Collins, economists and researcher at the NERI Institute sits down with Jack Power to closely examine the validity of several perceptions about Ireland’s economy. The Economic Recovery “I think there is without doubt a recovery, and we should remember where we started from in terms of the really difficult position the Irish economy and Irish society was in a couple of years ago. If you go back and compare

fall into the category but if you look into the future you begin to see hopefully an international recovery, but there is a risk of a recession.” Continuing on the shape of the recovery Collins said, “it’s probably fairly unequal across

We’re still a very long way away from where we were in terms of peak employment in 2007, and where we might want to be. it to 2010-2011 when the Irish economy was pretty static, then there is a recovery. It has taken a long time for it to roll out across the country and I don’t think it’s done that yet. We’re still a very long way away from where we were in terms of peak employment in 2007, and where we might want to be.” “It is quite risky in terms of a recovery, because we’re a trading economy and we’re a very open economy and if the international economy goes into some recession we’re in trouble. You could begin to argue that the international economy might be on the verge of trouble now. If we were to see an international slowdown that would have certain knock-on implications here and could sort of almost re-ignite a recession that we thought had gone away. That puts Ireland in a very risky place. Economists are often called ‘distance scientists’ and I hate to

sections of society. To a degree there is a batch of skilled workers in jobs or getting jobs who are doing quite well and there are some portions of the economy that have seen wage increases, and then there are other parts of the economy and society where there have been cuts, job losses, or it’s been static. Now an economic recovery takes time to spread, but it is certainly taking its time to spread. The challenge is if you have a long recovery, and it’s noticeably unequal, that does have issues for stability in society.”

Rising Income Inequality

“The income inequality story for Ireland is kind of an interesting one. The distribution of disposable income; so what people have in their pockets – is remarkably stable. If you look under that it’s an interesting story. Over time we have seen an expansion in the role of the state in supporting

people’s incomes through other mechanisms, and that sort of expanded role has countered in some way a much more unequal distribution of [wage] earnings. We have a very large number of people on low incomes and then a small number of people with middle to high incomes. So those divides opened over time. The state system and the welfare system is running to counter it. The story is one of success in that it [the state] has done so, but there’s an issue of sustainability; can the state continue to do so as the population ages? That throws up issues around fair pay and the large number of people we have on low pay”.

The Future Funding of the State Long-term demographic changes in Ireland’s population structure will mean for the first time there will be more people depending on the tax base than contributing into it. Older people living longer will stress the state pension scheme and the healthcare system. While in 2020 there will be more young people enrolling in third-level education that ever before. These impending long-term changes will put an increased requirement on the state’s finances, and thus those in the middle funding the tax base. “It’s going to require the state to be spending more money. So fiscal policy in the longer term would require us to raise additional revenue to pay for that. One of the challenges for policy into the future will have to get to grips with the reality of that. Which contrasts the narrative in

the political sense of short-term changes and short-term [tax] cuts. We have to be very careful because the lesson over the last couple of years has been what happens when you undermine the structures of your taxation base and narrow it too much – which is that it can all collapse very suddenly. We had a number of elections [pre-2011] that were about cutting taxes and spending more, those numbers don’t add up in the longer term. So we haven’t learnt all the lessons fully about being prudent. There is some of the short-term populist stuff around.”

Ireland’s ‘Progressive’ Tax System

One common rebuttal against raising tax levels is that Ireland already has one of the most pro-

to be.” “If you start with the taxation system overall, Ireland is a low-tax country. Some of that is by design in that we have a large multinational sector, which we tax in a very small way. Relative to other countries we collect a very small amount in property taxes, we have low rates of corporate taxes, we have low rates of social insurance contributions from employers. We do make it up with quite high consumption taxes.”

The Flat Tax Proposal

Renua Ireland have been radical in proposing a single flat tax rate of 23% to stimulate economic growth, but the validity of such an approach is questionable. Collins stated, “it sounds very simple, but the implementa-

it sounds very simple, but the implementation of it would be very very challenging. I think so challenging that you couldn’t do it gressive tax systems in the world. But this line Collins feels hides the reality of Ireland’s overall tax structure. “We have a progressive income taxation system, so as your income rises you pay more. So people on small or low incomes pay a small amount of direct income tax. We have indirect taxes like VAT, levies, charges and their structure is regressive in that people of lower incomes pay more. When you put the two together you get a more nuanced picture where the overall taxation system is certainly not as progressive as it might be made out

tion of it would be very very challenging. I think so challenging that you couldn’t do it. So you would abolish all tax breaks that are out there; which includes tax breaks for pensions, for healthcare, for student fees. The biggest losers would be those on the lowest incomes in society who are by design of the current system are exempted from income taxes. The only way to overcome that is where you have a high flat tax rate of 35-40% and then you re-distribute that revenue to iron out the problems.”

Politics

Repeal the 8th Amendment a Redline Election Issue for Young Voters Charlotte McLaughlin Politics Writer

he repeal the 8th campaign has gained a huge amount of traction over the past few months and nearly every politician is being asked where they stand on the issue before the election. Particularly amongst young people the repeal the 8th campaign has really started to resonate. Sorcha Amina Raoof, UCD politics and French student and ROSA activist, said this would be a decisive factor in her vote on the 26th of this month. The coalition of campaigners against the 8th amendment are more emboldened than ever to take direct action. These campaigners come from across the political spectrum and are made up of activists and human rights groups, such as Amnesty International. They seek to repeal this amendment, which was included into the Irish constitution in 1983; it reads as follows: “The State acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect, and, as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right.” However, much of the social and political landscape has radi-

cally changed since this amendment was passed into law. Ireland has relaxed its laws on divorce, legalised homosexuality, voted for gay marriage. In the case of abortion there has been a lot of strong and rebellious activism on the part of individuals and groups seeking to make it free, safe and legal. ROSA, Reproductive Rights against Oppression Sexism and Austerity, recently travelled around the country handing out abortion pills to young women and providing them with information on abortion. This directly flouts the legislation that protects the ‘life of the unborn’ and can mean a 14 year prison sentence, however none of the activists were arrested. Méabh Hennelly, another ROSA activist and UCD Student, believes “the state is too afraid because they know all hell would break loose” if they were to be charged. Conversely several women in the North have been arrested for taking and procuring abortion pills illegally. ROSA is a campaign group that espouses socialist feminism and believes the question of abortion is a class issue. The journey to England for an abortion can be very expensive and unavailable for those on a limited income, but it has not stopped 150,000 women making this journey since

1980. The argument put to those against repealing the amendment points to the Irish women who are having abortions, but are just forced to travel to England to do so. ROSA has campaigned to liberalise Ireland’s abortion laws, but also to open up attitudes to the controversial decision many women choose to take each day. Méabh, a first year politics and sociology student, said “more and more young women and interestingly young men are getting involved” with the appeal the 8th movement. She went on to say “I think we have seen this during the last abortion debates in UCD a real interest in this issue more than other political issues.’ The debates by L&H and LawSoc on abortion have always been well attended and have led to a lot of intense discussion. However UCD has tried and failed, in the last few years, to set up a ‘Pro-choice’ society to campaign against abortion. They were rejected for society status in 2013 and have been inactive ever since. Sorcha praised the work that the UCD Students Union has done since being given a mandate last year to campaign on abortion, ‘during the Abortion Rights Campaign march back in September there was a good few of them there’. However another student

Méabh disagreed saying they have not really gone far enough on this or any issues, and felt they were “afraid to be radical” and “they are too wishy-washy about most things”. Students are very political according to Méabh but she feared many students do not know where to turn as there is not much political activism on campus. On her hopes for the success of a movement to repeal the Eight she concluded, “we don’t know what is ahead of us, and we do want control over our future and we are looking for a way for this to change”. Young people were heavily involved in the Marriage Equality Campaign and for the first time many registered to vote. During this election turnout is feared not to be high among young people with the marriage equality referendum sited as a once-off. But there are signs of an abortion referendum on the agenda, Taoiseach Enda Kenny has promised if re-elected he will call a constitutional convention to review the issue of abortion within six months. The established political parties have been reluctant to engage in the conversation around abortion, with Fianna Fail refusing to take a position at all. Fine Gael have also being incredibly hesitant about committing to any

liberalisation of the laws, for fear of alienating or upsetting sections of their older conservative voter base. But with a growing section of society lobbying for a repeal of the 8th Amendment the political parties may be cornered into holding a referendum and putting the issue to the people. Though it remains to be seen whether the Irish people are ready to vote yes in a referendum. Newstalk’s recent poll indicates that 48% were in favour of complete removal of the Eighth Amendment and 78% supported abortion in cases of rape/incest and fatal foetal anomaly. The efforts of those invovled in ROSA and other organisations in favour of repealing the 8th have seen the issue be put squarely in front of politicans from all parties during the election campiagn. The canidates and the parties who refuse to take a position in favour of repealing the amendment will find it hard no doubt to secure votes from younger and more liberal-leaning new voters. The question of abortion however now seems destined to be put to the people in a referendum in the next number of years, which will prove to be the real test for ROSA activists and the repealthe8th campaign.

Politics

Online or on the Doorsteps? Ruth Slamon Politics Writer With minds and heart being won more and more online rather than on the doorsteps, Ruth Slamon looks at the impact this change might have in the polls.

n February 26th voters will cast their ballots in what is being described as the most unpredictable and tightest fought election in recent history. The current government is a result of a major change in voting patterns, and this election will determine whether that volatility is the new norm or a once off. There are stacks of first time candidates running, as well as new parties and alliances. The increasingly popular Anti Austerity Alliance, People Before Profit, and Sinn Fein, along with many others, new and old, are offering themselves as genuine alternatives to the established parties of Fianna Fail, and the current Fine Gael - Labour coalition. Due to this highly diverse and highly contested election, candidates and parties alike are fighting for key votes on all fronts. The digestion and discussion of politics on social media has meant outlets like Twitter have become a necessary constituency for competing parties. The very fact that Enda Kenny announced this election on Twitter before revealing it to the press on the steps of Leinster House shows the importance now placed on social media and the role it will play over the campaign. The social media presence of the anti-water charges movements, with successful hashtags such as #not1pipe, has helped them gain traction and is partly responsible for huge turnouts at protest marches and meetings. The HometoVote hashtag, which documented expats returning home to Ireland to vote Yes in the recent marriage equality referendum was listed as one of the most influential and memorable moments of 2015 by Twitter in their #YearOnTwitter. The triumph of these online

movements has meant that those contesting the upcoming election are trying to harness the potential social media has to offer, in terms of reaching out to the electorate and winning votes. No party has capitalized more on this not so recent phenomenon of social media than Sinn Fein. Gerry Adams’ eccentric tweets, ranging for party policy to pictures of his rubber duck collection, have amassed him over 100,000 twitter followers. Deputy Leader of Sinn Fein, Mary Lou McDonald is also well ahead of her rivals on Facebook, having over 87,000 likes, nearly 30 times more than the current Tanaiste, Joan Burton who has fewer than 3,000. But social media following does not necessarily translate into votes, Sinn Fein’s proportion of online support does not match their proportion of Dail representation, yet at a time when this election could be anyone’s game, the more publicity and reach a party can have the better. Fine Gael and Fianna Fail in contrast to the grassroot online activism of left groupings have tried to portray a controlled and sensible message. The Labour Party’s online presence has been pegged on the defensive over their troubling time in coalition, but some of their members, such as the infamously truculent Dermot Lacey, have been know to give as good as they get in well publicized Twitter spats. Fine Gael will expectedly be much more reserved in their candidates’ online message, and likely seek to channel everything through their #keeptherecoverygoing hashtag. We will not know the impact social media has really made on this election until after the votes are counted, and the art of canvassing door to door still holds sway with the majority of older and middle-aged voters. The online field will largely be the platform for political parties to engage younger voters, but their willingness to do this will be seen over the course of the campaign.

UCDSU Prioritise Mobilisation Fight over Registration Drive Ahead of Election Jack Power Politics Editor

he deadline to register to vote in the 2016 General Election has closed. The timeframe for inclusion onto the supplementary register ended on Tuesday the 9th, with the polling day to be held on Friday the 26th. In the anticipation of the election the Union of Students Ireland held a widespread voter registration drive. Their campaign ‘MakeASmartVote’ patterned the USI with the voting assistance app born out of UCD, Smartvote.ie to engage and empower students to register to vote and then get out on the day to cast their votes on the day. The USI have led a strong social media campaign under the hashtag #MakeASmartVote and held three national hustings in Trinity, UCC and NUI Galway. The campaign organiser Daniel Waugh outlined the campaigns surge to register students on the supplementary register as soon as the election was called. “The deadline is February 9th so the time frame for voter registration was small. On the day the Dail was dissolved queues of students from IT Tralee, Maynooth, NUIG and GMIT appeared outside of Garda stations registering to vote. This aspect of the campaign will see a major push in social media and media with support from Twitter. I would be hopeful to register somewhere between 1,500 students across Ireland to add to our #RockTheRegister and #MakeGraTheLaw figures of 80,000 over the past number of years.” The national campaign of the USI has sought to prioritise voter

registration and a strong student turnout on the day. The final push Waugh explained will begin on the 15th. “This aspect will focus on just getting students empowered to vote and to go vote. USI Officer Board will be touring Ireland to encourage students to use www.smartvote.ie. We will be doing lecture announcements, going to student accommodation, handing out information on campuses and urging students to educate themselves on the issues and to use their vote.” The UCD Students Union in contrast chose to not focus their efforts on any sustained voter registration drive in the general election year. This current sabbatical team held one registration event outside the Union office in November without any prior advertising, and one last minute event on Tuesday from 1-3pm also advertised on the day. Education officer Danni Curtis did not comment when asked how many students exactly had registered to vote. Curtis instead emphasized last year’s registration drive, which added 4,500 UCD students to the register. She stated the Union’s focus is now on mobilising students on key issues. “Since taking office, we have campaigned on youth suicide prevention, sexual consent and violence and student housing & transport — important electoral issues nevertheless need to be highlighted by young people to politicians ahead of the 2016 general election.” She continued, “The drive last year was on registering the student vote, the drive this year is on mobilising it effectively.” How the SU will roll out this mobilisation will be seen over the next fortnight. The national campaign of the

USI has sought to prioritise voter registration and a strong student turnout on the day. The final push Waugh explained will begin on the 15th. “This aspect will focus on just getting students empowered to vote and to go vote. USI Officer Board will be touring Ireland to encourage students to use  www.smartvote.ie. We will be doing lecture announcements, going to student accommodation, handing out information on campuses and urging students to educate themselves on the issues and to use their vote.” The UCD Students Union in contrast chose to not focus their efforts on any sustained voter registration drive in the general election year. This current sabbatical team held one registration event outside the Union office in November without any prior advertising, and one last minute event on Tuesday from 1-3pm also advertised on the day. Education officer Danni Curtis did not comment when asked how many students exactly had registered to vote. Curtis instead emphasized last year’s registration drive, which added 4,500 UCD students to the register. She stated the Union’s focus is now on mobilising students on key issues. “Since taking office, we have campaigned on youth suicide prevention, sexual consent and violence and student housing & transport — important electoral issues nevertheless need to be highlighted by young people to politicians ahead of the 2016 general election.” She continued, “The drive last year was on registering the student vote, the drive this year is on mobilising it effectively.” How the SU will roll out this mobilisation will be seen over the next fortnight.

Gaeilge

Dóchas is Éadóchas ar Thuras go Dún Éideann Le Seachtain na Gaeilge faoi lánseol agus Taigh na Gàidhlig tar éis tréimhse a chaitheamh le Teach na Gaeilge, smaoineann Aoife Nic Einrí siar ar a turas go Dún Éideann le Bord na Gaeilge.

s dócha go raibh dearcadh páistiúil agam de Dhún Éideann roimh a chuaigh mé ann le lucht Theach na Gaeilge mí ó shin. Chónaigh mé ann agus mé ag fás aníos, agus bhíodh Gàidhlig agam ar bharr na teanga lena linn. Ach d’aistrigh mé go hÉirinn ó shin agus chaill mé aon nasc a bhí agam leis an teanga nó leis an gcultúr diadh ar ndiaidh. Ní dhearna mé mórán machnaimh ar láidreacht nó ar laige chultúr agus theanga na hAlban an uair sin. Bhí mé toilteanach mar sin, fáil amach cén staid a bhí ar fheachtas na teanga ansin i gcomparáid le cúrsaí in Éirinn. An bhfuil nasc ann idir labhairt na Gàidhlige agus sean-nósanna eile na hAlban? An bhfuil nasc intuigthe ann idir an Ghàidhlig agus an fonn idirspleáchas a bhaint amach don Albain? Cé chomh fite-fuaite is a bhfuil an Ghàidhlig agus traidisiúin eile na hAlbain i saol na ndaoine ann? Níorbh fhada a bhí mé ag labhairt leis na mic léinn ó Ollscoil Dhún Éideann go dtí go raibh tuiscint níos gile, nó ar bhealach eile – níos dorcha - bainte amach agam. Ní féidir bheith ag súil leis gur tírghráthóir iad ceachtar a labhraíonn an Ghàidhlig – ‘sé mar an gcéanna in Éirinn. Ach ó thaobh an Ghàidhlig agus cultúr na hAlban a chur chun cinn – is mór an spreagadh atá ag teastáil chun a bheith i do thírghráthóir ann. Is beag tacaíochta a fhaigheann an

Ghàidhlig, an tAlbanachas nó seannós ar bith ó Rialtas na hAlban. Ní ghlactar le cur chun tosaigh a dtraidisiúnta féin mar sprioc ar chlár oibre na tíre ar chor a bith. Is ait an rud é sin dom a thuiscint. Mar dhaoine, is lucht réabhlóideach, neamhspleách iad na hAlbanaigh ó bhunús. Thugamar cuairt ar Pharlaimint na hAlban, áit a chuir cainteoir líofa Gàidhlig fáilte is fiche romhainn is thaispeáin sé dúinn gach ní de chroílár údaráis na hAlban. Bhí léarscáil na tíre le feiceáil timpeall gach cúinne, fiú amháin i gcruth na gCathaoireacha. Ach in ainneoin an bród agus an tírghrá a léiríodh san fhoirgneamh sin, dealraíonn sé nach gcuirean sé as do fhormhór an phobail tréithe sainiúla dá gcultúr a scaoileadh uathu. Creidim go láidir sa ráiteas ‘Tír gan theanga, tír gan anam’, ach creidim níos láidre fós gur thír gan anam í tír gan thírghrá. Seans gur rogha ciallmhar é dul i gcoinne an reifrinn i 2014 – ach níorbh rogha tírghrách é. Seans nach mbaineann ciall leis an nGàidhlig agus an Albanachas a fhorbairt, ach dhéanfadh sé idirdhealú idir an Albain agus tíortha eile. Ar an láimh eile, is dócha go dtiocfadh lá na hAlban freisin. Tosnaíonn gach mór-athrú le tonnáin bhídeacha, agus tá na tonnáin sin i láthair go tréan sna mic léinn Ghàidhlige is Gaeilge in Ollscoil Dún Éideann, agus sna institiúidí oideachais eile a chuireann cultúr na ceilteacha chun cinn. Táim buíoch as Cholmcille, a mhaoinigh an turas seo don cheathrar dúinn dul go nDún Éideann, as an dóchas sin a thabhairt dom.

Easpa Rogha idir Clubanna i mBaile Átha Cliath Dónal Ó Gallachóir Scríbhneoir Gaeilge

s í Sráid Fhearchair príomhshráid do chlubanna oíche i mBaile Átha Cliath. Gach uile oíche, bíonn daoine óga is aosta ag siúl anseo agus ansiúd ag dul go dtí na clubanna ar an tsráid. Tagann anam na sráide amach i rith na hoíche, ag soláthar siamsaíochta agus suilt do na daoine éagsula atá ann. Agus mé i mo sheasamh os comhair Coppers, oíche eile caite agam ina mhallaí allasacha, thosaigh mé ag smaoineamh. Cuireadh iontas orm faoin difear, nó an easpa difir fiú idir na clubanna ó thaobh an cheoil agus ó thaobh na ndaoine de. Seinntear an ceol céanna: popcheol agus amhráin mór le rá an t-am ar fad, gach oíche in aghaidh na seachtaine. An bhfuil an spriocmhargadh céanna acu go léir? Nó an bhfuil rogha againn sa chathair álainn seo, maidir lenár gclubanna? Dá gcuirfinn ceist ort cén cineál cathrach í Baile Átha Cliath, déarfá gur cathair lán le tithe tábhairne í, agus gan aon amhras is fíor é sin. Tá clú agus cáil idirnáisiúnta bainte amach againn mar gheall ar na hinstitiúidí sin. Dá gcuirfinn ceist ort an bhfuil beocht sa chathair i rith na hoíche, d’fhreagrófá go bhfuil an-bheocht ann, agus go bhfuil sí lárnach i saol agus in atmaisféar na cathrach. Éiríonn oícheanta ár gcathrach lán le halcól, rince agus spraoi a chur ar fáil dúinn. Mar gheall ar an stádas sin, freastalaíonn na clubanna agus na tithe tábhairne ar thromlach na ndaoine, atá ar thóir alcóil ar phraghas íseal, urlár rince agus

ceol atá ar eolas acu. Sásaíonn na tithe tábhairne agus na clubanna sin a lán daoine, agus gan amhras is féidir leat oíche an-taitneamhach a bheith agat iontu. Ach céard faoin mionlach, nach bhfuil ar thóir oíche mar sin? Céard faoi na daoine eile nach dtaitníonn popcheol leo, nó nach dtaitníonn clubanna plódaithe le céadta daoine ar deargmheisce? Cloistear na gearáin céanna ar bhonn minice, ‘Ah ní Coppers arís, ba mhaith liom oíche gan bhuachaill éigin ag meilt (grinding) orm,’ nó b’fhéidir ‘sheinn siad Timber faoi thrí níos luaithe san oíche…agus tá sé ar siúl arís!’ Is mionlach é seo atá ag fás go tapa, agus ba cheart go mbeadh rogha shuntasach againn idir na cineálacha clubanna i mBaile Átha Cliath. Le déanaí, thug mé cuairt ar Londain agus Bheirlín araon. Cathracha iontacha atá iontu, agus cuimsíonn sé sin na clubanna a chuireann siad ar fáil. I dtosach báire, caithfear a rá go bhfuil na cathracha sin i bhfad níos mó agus níos ilchineálaí ná Baile Átha Cliath, ó thaobh an chultúir agus an daonra de. Mar gheall air sin, tá clubanna a fhreastalaíonn ar gach saghas nideoige sa chathair, agus is féidir leo daoine a mhealladh chucu go furasta. Deirtear go dtagann níos mó daoine le réimse suime níos leithne, agus aontaím leis an teoiric sin sa chás seo. Ar an drochuair, níl an cumas céanna sin againn i mBaile Átha Cliath toisc go bhfuil ár ndaonra fíorbheag gcomparáid leo. Ach é sin san áireamh, thug mé faoi deara gur cuireadh béim ar nithe áirithe sna clubanna, béim a bhí so-aitheanta go díreach nuair

a ghabh mé isteach. Bhí córas fuaime thar barr iontu go léir, a náireodh na cinn in aon chlub in Éirinn. Is léir gur caitheadh a lán ama ag plé le cuma agus leagan amach na gclubanna; in ionad spás folamh a bhreathnaíonn go hainnis nuair nach bhfuil aon duine ag líonadh an fholúis. Baineadh triail as eispéireas suntasach a sholáthar do na custaiméirí; ní rabhthas ag iarraidh daoine a plódú isteach chun níos mó airgid a fháil uathu. Bhí praghas iontrála níos airde acu ná atá ag na clubanna in Éirinn, ach b’fhiú íoc as, mar bheadh a fhios agat go mbeadh oíche mhaith i ndán duit. Ach ba é an rogha leathan an gné is tábhachtaí agus is fearr dar liomsa. Bhí oícheanta ar siúl a bhain le gach seanrá ceoil: popcheol, reigé, teicnicheol, ceol leictreonach, snagcheol, rapcheol agus roinnt cinn eile. Chinntigh an rogha seo go mbeadh oíche ar siúl do gach uile duine, agus go mbeadh deis agat blaiseadh a fháil do sheanrá nua dá mbeadh sé sin uait. Mar fhocal scoir, glacaim go bhfuil clubanna i mBaile Átha Cliath a dhíríonn ar na seanráithe mionlacha seo, ach ar an drochuair níl rogha leathan ar fáil agus ní bhíonn siad i mbéal an ghnáthphobail Gan amhras, is féidir le haon duine dul go dtí an Mezz i gcomhair píosa rac-cheoil, nó chuig ócáid in Distrcit 8 blaiseadh teicnicheol a fháil agus chun do ghiall a aclú, ach bíonn na háiteanna seo níos lú agus níos rúnda ná formhór na gclubanna eile sa chathair. Tá súil agam go n-athraíonn cursaí amach anseo, ionas go mbeidh siamsaíocht oíche ilchineáil againn inár bpríomhchathair álainn.

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Arsenal - v - Leicester Shot in the Heart Rory McNab Sports Writer

hey had arranged to meet outside the restaurant. Claudio Ranieri shifted his bouquet of roses, purchased from a garage forecourt, from one hand to the other, nervously glancing at his watch in the process. “He promised he’d be on time,” he thought- but in Italian. At least, if he were to be stood up again, he’d feel vindicated for eating on his drive over the bag of Minstrels he’d brought to accompany the roses. But then, just as he was beginning to consider eating the bouquet of roses as well, he saw him. Swooping majestically around the corner, his long Puma overcoat fighting tight to his trim French physique, appeared Arsène Wenger. He rushed up, blushingly apologising for his tardiness but, with a wave of Caludio Ranieri’s wisened hand, all is forgiven in an exchange of flowers, warm welcomes and continental cheek kissing. They enter the restaurant together, and are greeted by the maitre d’, Martin Atkinson, who offers to take their coats and escort them to their table. After some twenty minutes and, with the help of Ranieri, three of the waiting staff, an off-duty fireman enjoying a romantic Valentine’s meal and a breadknife obtained from the kitchen, Arsène Wenger eventually manages to heave himself from the tattered remains of his perennially zipped jacket and they proceed to the table, taking their seats facing each other, to begin their date... Due to Claudio Ranieri performing some form of voodoo magic during pre-season and seemingly swapping the souls of his Leicester city players with those of Chelsea’s, this Valentine’s Day clash between Arsenal and Leicester was of a relevance that could not have been foreseen at the start of the season. Given Arsenal’s recent poor form, with only one win in five, and that being against Bournemouth, a victory which carries the same bragging rights as beating an elderly cat in a fist-fight, this game promised to go a long way toward deciding the eventual lay of the land at the top of the table come May. Having

beaten Man City and Liverpool in their previous two matches, if ever Leicester were poised to win at the Emirates this was their opportunity. ...The date began well for Arsène Wenger, dictating much of the conversation for the opening ten minutes. He was forward, without being too aggressive, managing to compliment Ranieri on how the soft glow of the candle-light accentuated his swarthy complexion. He expertly side-stepped the fact that Ranieri in reality appears to be an out of season department store Father Christmas impersonator who has been shaved, put on a witness protection programme and told to employ a rather dodgy Italian accent. But Ranieri bashfully dismissed Wenger’s attempts at flattery and began to get a foothold in the conversation as it turned to their pets. Wenger talked with pride of his thorough-breed race-horse, Persephone, whom he feeds a regimented diet of porridge oats and bramley apples and is housed in a custom built stable. Ranieri begins to excitedly interject in broken English about the feral kitten he found half-starved by the side of the road that he has nursed back to health... Arsenal had some 80% of the possession in the opening ten minutes of the game, with both Oxlade-Chamberlain and Sanchez providing early pressure. In the first encounter between these two sides in September Alexis Sanchez completed a hat-trick with a header and, seemingly for the sake of nostalgia, he nearly scored within two minutes, rising to head a corner narrowly over the bar. Alexis Sanchez has no right to win headers, the man is small enough to presumably be prohibited from riding most roller-coasters. Alexis Sanchez winning a header, against the meaty monolithic centre-halves of Leicester, Wes Morgan and Robert Huth, is troubling; it is an inversion of the natural order, like seeing the Queen at a concert by mohican-flaunting lunatics, The Prodigy. It shouldn’t happen, but it did. (Sanchez winning the header that is, to this writer’s knowledge the Queen has never seen The Prodigy live, and merely follows their album output). The hand of Martin Atkinson on the outcome of the game, like that of

an uncle supportively clutching the shoulder of a nephew who has just shamed his family by soiling himself attempting to throw a javelin at a school sports day, was noticeable and firm. The first important incident which called for a decision came about after Ozil did some Ozil-ing and retrieved a ball from an impossible angle; Oxlade-Chamberlain attempted to send in a cross from the edge of the Leicester penalty area and the ball struck the outstretched arm of N’Golo Kanté. As N’Golo Kanté feigned surprise, and attempted to stare at his arms as if he’d just become aware of their existence and so couldn’t be held accountable for their actions up until that very moment, Martin Atkinson rightly waved play on. Each team had a close call for offside go against them, with Shinji Okazaki being put through and Olivier Giroud having a goal disallowed. The game seemed to be settling into an even rhythm as it approached half-time. That is until Wes Morgan mistook Mesut Ozil for a climbing frame and attempted to summit his quiffed German head whilst jumping for a loose ball. This allowed Leicester to break and bewildered-looking-newly-hatched-crow and occasional footballer known to us as Jamie Vardy, to tumble over the outstretched leg of Nacho Monreal. Martin Atkinson ignored the plaintive arm-waving and gratuitous exposure of teeth that we are to interpret as Nacho Monreal facsimile for human regret and awarded Leicester the penalty. ...They had both ordered their food. Arsène had suggested prior to the meal, when they had been exchanging erotically charged emails, that they ought order aphrodisiacs, to enliven the atmosphere. Arsène had brushed away Martin Atkinson’s offer of the early bird menu, demanding instead the á la carte. If he was going to do this he was going to do it properly. He had chosen the caviar for starters and, for the main, the lobster, saying to Ranieri that shellfish are an excellent aphrodisiac. Ranieri eagerly concurred before ordering himself only a tap-water. Arsène raised an eye-brow, Ranieri lent across the table and in hushed tones whispered that he knew that

about shellfish, but he objected to splashing out on over-priced and potentially questionable seafood from the restaurant. He excitedly explained how before coming he had made some Skips sandwiches at home which he had gaffer-tapped to his thighs in order to sneak them into the restaurant. He picked up a butter-knife and politely excused himself, saying that he was going to the bathroom to retrieve them. As he walked from the table, passing Martin Atkinson carrying the lobster, Arsène noticed for the first time that he could hear Ranieri’s legs crunching as he walked. Martin Atkinson politely stood aside to allow Ranieri to pass, before tripping over a chair and dropping a dish full of hot garlic butter onto Arsène’s lap... Jamie Vardy sent Cech the wrong way and smashed his penalty into the bottom corner in the 45th minute, giving Leicester the lead going into half-time. Laurent Koscielny had to be substituted for the positionally nomadic Calum Chambers at half-time having suffered a dead-leg. Yet, despite losing their talismanic defender, Arsenal started the second half brightly, asking questions of the Leicester City defence, by inquisitively kicking balls at them, rather than using words, the traditional medium of the question. The crowd had booed Martin Atkinson off at half-time, having felt that many decisions in the first half had gone against the homeside. Keen to rectify this and curb his plummeting popularity, perhaps in an attempt to boost sales of the poorly performing ‘Martin Atkinson 2016/17 Calenders’, Atkinson sent off Danny Simpson within ten minutes of the restart for two relatively innocuous tackles. The first being an attempt to disguise himself as a speed-bump in the way of the onrushing Alexis Sanchez, while for the second he latched onto the French arm of the absurdly handsome totem of masculinity Olivier Giroud as if he a lover in a day-time Latin soap opera desperately pleading with their spouse not to leave them. Danny Simpson’s two yellow cards swung the tide (metaphorically, the match, as FA rules dictate, was played on land), prompting a slew of substitutions as Arsenal sought to

chase the game and Leicester sought to maintain their lead. Theo Walcott replaced the tenacious bulldog in shorts that is Francis Coquelin and Leicester brought on Demarai Grey and Marcin Wasilweski in lieu of Okazaki and Mahrez respectively. Leicester are perhaps the team in the league whose style of football lends itself best to playing with ten men. They are a counter-attacking team and have achieved much of their success this season sitting back, relying on their excellent organisation defensively before capitalising on their occasional chances. With Calum Chambers’ pace being at best average, and Per Mertesacker having the mobility of a turn of the century iron battleship, there was the fear that Jamie Vardy would be able to exploit these two were Leicester to launch a counter-attack. To negate this threat, as Arsenal pressed higher up the pitch, Hector Bellerin was kept somewhat removed from the action so as to keep tabs on Vardy. This proved incredibly effective and it seemed to become more a question of when Arsenal were going to score rather than if. Arsenal equalised on the 70th minute after a flowing team-move, Giroud nodding down a cross from Bellerin into the path of Walcott, who had so little time to confront the situation and remember the grim reality of what it meant to be Theo Walcott in front of goal, and so slotted the ball past Kasper Schmeichel. Arsenal furtively played around the Leicester penalty area for the next twenty minutes, creating numerous chances, while Leicester became consigned to being spectators, who at least did not have to pay the extortionate prices for their tickets at the North London ground. On the 87th minute Kasper Schmeichel produced perhaps the save of the game, with his view of the ball blocked he seemingly leaped on instinct, correctly assuming where Giroud was going to place his shot from twelve yards out. Giroud had already spun away to celebrate before realising Schmeichel had somehow kept the scoresheet level, and it seemed as if it was going to remain 1-1 as the last few minutes trickled away. Continued, page 19

Sport ...Having sponged most of the butter stains from his trousers Arsène sat staring into Ranieri’s eyes- in a sexually charged way, their dinner had not devolved into a staring competition. He had eventually been won round by Ranieri’s fruggle ways and went so far as to compliment him on how, even though he had not bought the expensive lobster, and had spent half the night picking his own leg hair from between his teeth as he devoured his prawn-cocktail crisp sandwiches, he appeared to be having as good a time without the expensive frills. They chuckled, and whispered sweet nothings to one another, Arsène gently rubbing his foot against Ranieri’s shin under the sanctuary of the low hanging table-cloth. Martin Atkinson brought the dessert Arsène had ordered to the table, chocolate fondue and strawberries. Arsène teasingly dabbed a strawberry into the thick melted chocolate, before wrapping his mouth round the sweet fruit, pulling it off the stick. Giggling, he offered Ranieri a strawberry, his teeth stained by the rich, dark chocolate. Ranieri smiled, and pulled a fistful of strawberry flavoured Starburst he’d kept in his jacket pocket for such an occasion. “Strawberry-flavour is an aphrodisiac too, no?” They both laughed, before clambouring onto the table to embrace, knocking the fondue pot to the floor. Martin Atkinson ran over, blowing his whistle, asking them to stop, to think of the other customers, but he was too late and they kissed. Ranieri could still taste the sweet chocolate on Arsène’s lips... The Polish steam-train made of beef that is Marcin Wasilewski clattered into the face of Nacho Monreal in the last minute of extra time. The long confused face of Nacho Monreal appeared to show the shy pre-blushes of a bruise as he regained his feet. Martin Atkinson had awarded a free-kick. Mesut Ozil swung it into the box and Danny Welbeck, making his first appearance for Arsenal since April 2015 having come on as a subsitute for Oxlade-Chamberlan, got the faintest of touches with his head, sending the ball past Kasper Schmeichel, to break the hearts of Leicester City. ...While Claudio Ranieri was in the bathroom, cleaning his tongue with a folded wad of tissue paper, ready to head back to their hotel room together, Arsène Wenger grabbed his coat and sprinted out of the restaurant, leaving Ranieri to pay his bill. When Ranieri emerged, Martin Atkinson had to help dab away the tears...

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Getting off with your High Horse Rory McNab Sports Writer

hen confronted with any endearing mammal, perhaps for spotting for example a mink in your local gym's dressing room, one assumes the natural reaction would be to think, ‘Bludgeon it with a boot!’ When it has been explained to you that the mink is merely there to make use of the excellent facilities and you have sufficiently calmed down, you may look at it in a different way. You may then stare at the mink’s silky fur as it begins to towel down and think; “what majestic gym etiquette, for what is essentially a wild animal. It has yet to defecate anywhere (which is more than can be said for Tony, who also doesn’t wipe down the rowing machines after use) and its gaze rarely, if ever, strays below the waistline of the other dis/re-robing changing room occupants. What a magnificent animal.” This train of thought could roughly be considered to conform (give or take) to the standard, rational response to encountering a mink, or indeed the majority of mammals. Though this perspective is in no way unanimous. This revelation occurred to me recently after listening to a particular radio interview. I was gorging on a chicken fillet roll whilst settling down for my daily dalliance with public transport. Through the acoustic milieu aboard the train, I caught a snippet of chat from the show I was listening to, “Surely there are easier ways of pleasuring a dog. Like throwing a ball for example.” Before the host’s voice was once more drowned out. Oh what a lark I thought; if one were so inclined, it would be pretty easy to read some saucy undertones into that statement. Some damned saucy undertones indeed. Yet as fellow passengers reached their destinations and the carriage slowly emptied, I was able to catch more of the interview. It became apparent that these were not merely saucy undertones. The tones were overt. In fact, there was only one tone, and that tone was; Hardcore German Bestiality, or HGB for short (don’t Google), which put me right off my food, to the relief of the remaining passengers. The interview that was being ped-

dled to my lugholes courtesy of 4fm’s The Niall Boylan Show was with a German human by the name of Michael Kiok. This chap was once head of a group called ‘ZETA’, which attempted to block a law passed by the German parliament in 2012 banning sexual conduct with animals. ‘Whoa Nelly,’ you might be thinking, ‘are you saying that until 2012 bestiality had been legal in Germany!?’ To which my answer is; “Yes. Apparently yes.” ZETA however came up against the ultimately insurmountable twin obstacles of an overwhelming lack of public support and sheer reason, and thus failed in their efforts to repeal the law, prompting their members to groan with dismay and the animal kingdom of Germany to sigh (oink, neigh, tweet etc.) with relief. The interview was, for the most part, a veritable tour de force of broadcasting. Succeeding in striking that elusive and delicate balance between tip-toing through the murky ethics of interspecial coitus whilst still finding the time to give a detailed account of just exactly how one would go about pleasuring a horse (again, don’t Google it, but apparently it’s relatively straightforward). When the question was posed as to how it was possible to determine whether an animal was willing to engage in some hanky panky, Michael Kiok answered by saying that he gives the animal involved plenty of opportunity to “walk away.” Oh Michael you old romantic you! Leaving aside the hideous implications in this statement being a laughably inept substitute for consent, nothing would be more damning than in the act of intercourse for your sexual partner to simply walk away. “I’m sorry, I simply can’t endure for another second any more of that frankly atrocious sexing you were floundering about with, I’d much prefer to go stand near that shrubbery and simply just continue to exist.” Naturally my reaction to all this hoopla was initially a sort of revulsionwhich reassured me that my questionable moral compass still had some vestigial twitches left in it. Any form of sexual interaction between a human and another species constitutes a form of abuse that is of course deplorable. What colossal shift in a person’s moral framework would have to occur to normalise to oneself the idea of having sex with an animal? People with more

conventional sexual appetites, struggle enough with post-coital tristesse (an inordinately sophisticated sounding term that essentially refers to that silly feeling of bleak despair that can sometimes swan into your brainbox after orgasm) as it is. Yet imagine how exacerbated these feelings of guilt and shame would be if, after sex, you were to stare down, not into the loving face of a human, but at a confused dachshund or Shetland pony who’s just had any former notions of what constituted appropriate boundaries between pet and owner thoroughly shattered. You’d feel ruddy horrendous (I imagine.) In short, the actions of this Michael Kiok chap and his rag-tag, vagabond group, who would regard David Attenborough’s Planet Earth as little more than pornography which, despite its inexplicably high production values, was ultimately ruined by some thoroughly un-erotic narration, should be widely condemned. Yet, as I sat there, listening to this German man-fiasco try and justify himself and the ambitions of his group ZETA, I found myself staring down at the remnants of the chicken fillet roll that lay nestled upon my lap. Here lay the breadcrumb-clad remains of what had once been a living animal. An animal with the capacity to experience pain, to feel fear, to know suffering. It was reared for a singular purpose. To die and be eaten by me- though I doubt if this was ever explicitly spelled out to it, or if so, I at least hope I wasn’t specifically name-checked. This chicken’s whole life, if what passed for its existence could be graced with such an implicitly grandiose term, was undoubtedly spent in a cage little bigger than its own face. And it’s not as if this mini-fowl feast I was having was in way a once off. Not by any means. I was, and am, what can only be described as an avaricious carnivore. I have a downright promiscuous attitude toward the consumption of meat. There are very few animals which I would not consider slapping into a baguette and subjecting to a good chow down. All things considered the sum total of all my meaty snacks, starters, appetisers, dinners, lunches, brunches and one regrettably meat-themed dessert, amount to a veritable genocide amongst the animal kingdom. I do not say this to convey

some perverse sense of pride in this fact-I abhor mass slaughter, in all its forms (there’s that moral compass kicking into gear again.) I say this merely to illustrate that I am tacitly complicit in the suffering of animals. What basis do I have, when, for some 22 years, I’ve been implicitly sanctioning the suffering of animals for my own appetites, to judge this Michael Kiok and ZETA? From what unassailable ivory tower can I pass condemnation? On what moral high ground do I stand? None- I was on the DART and I was very much sitting. The point which Michael Kiok kept returning to was that he genuinely believed that he loved the animals, and that he was trying to convey this to them. He was attempting to provide a moral basis for his exploits by saying they were acts of love not purely lust. The countless number of animals which had perished over the years to become part of the bloody procession sating my mealtime meaty hankerings had undoubtedly never known, nor been shown, love. I stared down once more at the breadcrumbed wad of poultry listlessly lying in a tomb of baguette. This chicken had undoubtedly never known love. Never had its feathers tousled by a summer breeze. Never experienced the warm kiss of sunlight nor the tender kiss of a passionate rooster attempting to express its affection through the unwieldy medium of beak on beak snogging. It lived a singularly tragic life. How had I the audacity to condemn this Michael Kiok chap as a pervert who simply sought to show animals, just like this chicken, love? Suddenly I knew what I had to do. I gazed down at the chicken, the once living breathing chicken, or what little of it had so far eluded my rapacious chewing, nestled amongst the lettuce, tomatoes, peppers and sweet chili sauce (a combination which I highly recommend) and slowly raised it to my mouth. To kiss it. To show it the love that had eluded it in life. The love that it had so deserved but never knew. My lips closed tenderly- teasingly, around the tepid white flesh, and I kissed. Slowly at first. But with increasing passion. And before long, I received a 50 euro fine from an adjacent security attendant.

Sport

A New Frontier: China’s Football Takeover Chris Foley Editor

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They’ve got power and when they want something, they get it”, Tim Cahill’s assessment of the potential growth of the Chinese Super League should serve as a stark warning to the powers-that-be in the European Leagues: There’s a new major player on the scene. Obscure leagues throwing money at European-based players is nothing new. Traditionally, the middle-east was the most popular destination for stars in the twilight of their career, and in more recent times, the MLS has emerged as a financial force, ever since the arrival of Mr. Beckham back in 2007. Despite this, no league has ever managed to provide any competition for the ‘Big Four’ in Europe. But there is something different this time. Something which has forced football fans to sit up and take notice. A different profile of player has been attracted to make a move which is arguably a backwards step in their career. A quick glance through the list of names who have made the move is evidence of this: Jackson Martinez (pictured above) has joined Champions Guangzhou Evergrande for the princely sum of €42million, Brazilian’s Alex Teixeira and Ramires have made the move to Jiangsu Suning, while Fredy Guarin and Gervinho have swapped Inter Milan and Roma for Shanghai Shenhua and the ironically named Hebei China Fortune (who also have Ezequiel Lavezzi in their ranks). All of these players are under the age of thirty, and could easily have commanded moves to larger European clubs, albeit for lower salaries. To a lesser extent, players like Gael Kakuta, Stephane Mbia and Fredy Montero have sacrificed decent careers in Europe in order to line their pockets. This is unprecedented for a league of China’s cal-

in asssociation with

ibre. Teixeira in particular, stated only last month that his reason for wanting to leave Shakhtar Donetsk was to further his chances of breaking into the Brazilian national team. In that regard, his decision to move to China was a baﬄing one. Before the circus that was the January 2016 transfer window, the extent of the quality on offer in the Chinese Super League was limited to ageing veterans such as Tim Cahill, Demba Ba and Robinho to name but a few. Now Chinese clubs have their eyes on the best talent worldwide, and have the financial clout to back up their ambitions. Odion Ighalo, the Watford striker currently on the radar of giants such as Chelsea and Manchester United, stated in an interview that he was offered €300,000 per week to join an unnamed Chinese club, an offer which he eventually turned down after “three sleepless nights”. The latest stars to be linked with a move east are Ezequiel Lavezzi, Oscar and even Jose Mourinho, to add to the €250million worth of talent that have already been signed in the past month. The current Chinese president Xi Jinping is reportedly a massive football fan, and has been outlining ambitious plans by the Chinese Government to transform the country into a football powerhouse over the next 50 years. Elements of this plan include making football a mandatory part of the school curriculum, creating 50,000 ‘Soccer

Schools’ throughout the country over the next decade and actively applying to host a World Cup in the future. However, one can’t help but wonder what the Chinese FA’s end game is in relation these massive transfer deals. Although foreign players currently only make up 18% of the league’s total playing staff (a figure significantly lower than the English Premier League), buying in expensive foreign players isn’t necessarily a sustainable model for future success of their national team. Natives argue that Chinese players will improve by playing alongside superior foreign talent, although this isn’t always the case, as has been seen by the demise of the English national team since the creation of the Premier League over two decades ago. Tim Cahill has predicted that a Chinese club will be the first to break the €100million mark for transfer fee on a single player, a prediction which may well come true if recent trends are anything to go by. Regardless, the world transfer market has been blown wide open, which will inevitably lead to even further inflation of already bloated transfer fees. The Chinese Government have made no secret of their wish to open up to the outside world, and what better place to start than with the world’s favourite game.

Tim Cahill (l), who signed for Shanghai Shenhua in 2015, has been critical of spending.

Liquid Football Ally Murty Sports Writer

ith Manchester City falling to a 3-1 defeat to league leaders, Leicester City the previous week, this afternoon’s encounter against an impressive Spurs side was a further test of their reserve. A victory would make them leapfrog Mauricio Pochettino’s men into third place and close the gap on Leicester who themselves had succumbed to a late relentless Arsenal onslaught earlier in the day. It was vital that the Citizens combat any notions that the announcement of Pep Guardiola’s imminent arrival might distract them from their title charge. Captain, Vincent Kompany’s return was a welcome boost as they looked to right the wrongs of a poor defensive showing against the Foxes. And despite Spurs’ commanding possession of the ball early on, it was City who claimed more of the share of the chances, the triumvirate of Silva, Sterling and Yaya Toure succeeding where Spurs’ attackers had failed. But in accordance with the unpredictable nature of this season, it was Pochettino’s men who, under acrimonious circumstances took the lead shortly after the break when they were awarded a penalty after a cross struck Raheem Sterling on the back of the arm. Just like he did when the two sides met back in September, man of the moment, Harry Kane converted past his international team mate, Joe Hart. Kane has been pivotal to Spurs’ surprise title challenge. Incidentally, prior to that game, during which Kane had failed to score in the opening six games, the Lilywhites had picked up a measly nine points, leaving them squandering in

ninth position. One must wonder the effect that an injury to Kane would have on the team, particularly when they lack proven back up in that area. But for now, (sorry in advance Spurs fans if I happen to jinx him) Kane is fit. And Spurs are firing. Just like the week before, when Leicester opened the scoring, close attention was paid towards just how Pellegrini’s side would react. Their intensity was raised immediately as Toure hit the crossbar. And they were rewarded when 19-year old Nigerian, Kelechi Iheanacho drove the ball home with 15 minutes left to go. As City pushed for a winner, Aguero was unlucky to have been ruled offside following some swift tidy build-up play. And sure enough, when it rains it pours. Lamela, who was brought on for Alli then exacerbated their chagrin, playing in Christian Eriksen on his birthday to seal a league double, putting them within two points of Leicester and asserting them as proper title contenders. This was a reaffirmation of the significance of a compact cohesive lineup, something which leaders, Leicester can be accredited to as well. Defensive partnerships of Anderweireld-Vertongen and Morgan-Huth have cemented themselves as the most formidable in the division. And with a top class keeper in Hugo Lloris and an exorbitant array of youth to boot, Spurs can be proud of what they have achieved and should look to continue as they mean to go on. As for City, they must dust themselves off. And regain some resilience. Starting at Anfield, on the first Monday of March. They’ll need all their players to stand up and be counted. They haven’t won there since 2003.