gair rhydd - Issue 919

gair rhydd

FREE

CARDIFF'S STUDENT WEEKLY

freeword - EST. 1972

ISSUE 919 MARCH 15 2010

free inside!

Quench meets

The Maccabees +Charlie Winston

+Movie Poster Art +Where to eat in Cardiff +How to start your own club

All the latest from the worlds

of

+Cate Le Bon night

film, music and arts

interviews chat to the Maccabees, cate le bon and charlie winstone Going out find out how to set up your own club night

Lost in translation Tom Rouse Reporter This year’s Students' Union elections have been marred by issues with the online voting system and the accuracy of the Welsh translations provided by the Union to candidates.

Initial problems with voting arose on Wednesday when many students were unable to login to cast their votes. Reportedly only five out of seventy people were successfully able to vote at the booth in the Union reception.

Although this did not affect all students, around 25-35 percent of students were affected and unable to

vote. A software coding error and a database referencing problem were blamed for the voting issues. Students were met with messages such as ‘Unable to verify student status’ and ‘User cannot be left blank’.

On Thursday, issues with the system were tackled by technical staff who worked hard throughout the day to identify the problems and amend the software.

Steve Wilford, the Union Development and Democracy manager, called an emergency candidate meeting at 6pm on Thursday to inform all candidates of the problems, and of the solutions put in place by the Union.

By 7pm, students were able to vote without error messages appearing.

For those that tried and failed to vote,

preferences made had been saved and candidates were urged to ask all students to go back on to the website to confirm their choices.

An email was sent out from the Union to all students detailing the problems and stating what students should do to make sure their vote had been cast.

Concern was raised over the fact that many students who tried and failed to vote would not try again, so their vote would be lost. The possibility of extending the voting period until Tuesday was raised, but most candidates opposed it.

Another topic of debate at this year's elections has been the quality of the Welsh translation for posters and banners, which has been criticised by Welsh speakers.

Translation for all Union publicity, including campaign material, is outsourced to professional translation agencies.

The main agency used for this year’s translations came recommended by the Welsh Assembly Government, who have been using them for over ten years. Despite this, there are still numerous examples where the Welsh either fails to make grammatical sense or bear any resemblance to the English.

‘Sohaib for student council chair’ was translated into Welsh as ‘Bleidleisio Sohaib Rhifa Hun achos chwnsel cadeiria’. >>continued on page 4

film asks if movie posters are more than just 2D trailers

fashion has a look at this seasons musthave trends

plus:

*books *music *arts *travel *gay *food *photos ...and more!

02 NEWS

gr gr

EDITOR Emma Jones DEPUTY EDITOR Simon Lucey CO-ORDINATOR Elaine Morgan SUB EDITOR Sarah Powell NEWS Ceri Isfryn Gareth Ludkin Emma McFarnon Jamie Thunder FEATURES Daniella Graham Robin Morgan OPINION Paul Stollery Liz Blockley POLITICS Damian Fantato COLUMNISTS Tim Hart Oli Franklin LISTINGS Ed Bovingdon TAF-OD Nia Gwawr Williams Branwen Mathias Cadi Mai SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENT Amy Hall Priya Raj JOBS & MONEY Katie Greenway SPORT Jon Evans James Hinks Adam Horne Lucy Morgan Robbie Wells CONTRIBUTORS Morgan Applegarth Zoe Bridger Tom Brien Dan Broadfield Laura Brunt Charlotte Bufton Tomos Clarke Alice Collins James Davies Scott Dewey James Dunn Bethan Evans Rachel Henson Rhys Howells Ayushman Jamwal Elisha Jones Charlotte La Lohe Yaz Langley Gemma Lavender Phillipa Lewis Kai McGowan Charlie Martin Stephanie Mitchell Rachel Nurse Ben Price Tom Rouse Ryan Sallis David Slaughter Emma Squire Chris Tarquini Sarah Vaughan Eric Wilkins Alex Winter

gairrhydd | NEWS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY MARCH 15 2010

Council takes away takeaways

Ban on the opening of new takeaways on City and Crwys road, after night crime soars by over 20% Bethan Evans Reporter A ban has been enforced on the opening of new restaurants and takeaways on Cardiff’s City Road and Crwys Road after it was revealed that crime has soared by more than 20 percent in the area.

The police and Cardiff Council prevented a new restaurant opening on City Road, arguing that the street, and neighbouring Crwys Road, has become a “saturation zone”, which means that introducing any more businesses selling alcohol could lead to a further increase in crime.

After planning inspectors were informed that crime in the area was heading for a 22 percent rise, when other areas had falling crime levels, they turned down the restaurant’s appeal against Cardiff Council’s

refusal of planning permission.

The inspectors’ decision was also based on the acknowledgement of police analysis, which proves a very strong correlation between late-night economy premises and crime levels.

The Assembly Government’s planning inspectorate has since ruled that it will allow officers greater control in the fight against alcohol-related antisocial behaviour. Chief Superintendent Josh Jones has hailed it a “landmark ruling”.

“The late-night economy acts as a draw for people to come into the area, many of whom are pre-loaded with alcohol after drinking cheaper brands at home before making their way to the restaurants,” he said.

“Cardiff has seen a dramatic reduction in crime in the last two years and this ruling will help us continue to move in the right direction.”

SATURATED: Takeaway central on City Road

Lecturer hides camera in student showers Bethan Evans Reporter A lecturer at a top Midland college faces jail after planting a spy camera to watch female students in the shower.

Paul Powen Hwang, 33, was teaching business studies at University College Birmingham when he secretly hid a digital camera in an air freshener in

a house he was renting to students.

The offence occurred at a property in Ladywood, Birmingham, which he bought in 2007 to rent out to students.

The academic, who has studied and taught at the world’s top universities including Oxford, Cambridge and Harvard, had directed the spy equipment at a shower in a bathroom used solely by female tenants.

He was exposed in October 2009

when a shocked student discovered the hidden device after she noticed that the air freshener appeared to be following her around the bathroom.

She took it apart and, to her astonishment, she found a digital camera hidden inside, connected to a battery.

The tenant immediately contacted West Midland Police and Hwang was arrested the same day.

Hwang, who lives in a luxury apartment in Branston Street, Birmingham

city centre, is an Australian national who came to the UK prior to 2005 and has remained here on a visa. He was hired by University College Birmingham to teach business to further and higher education students.

Hwang pleaded guilty to voyeurism at Birmingham Crown Court last month. He will be sentenced this week and his name is expected to be added to the Sex Offenders’ Register.

Edinburgh paper recalled for libel Union elections committee recalls uni student newspaper, claiming it printed libellous content Morgan Applegarth Reporter Edinburgh Napier University’s student newspaper, The Journal, has been pulled from circulation during election week following a row over the paper’s content.

The latest edition of the publication was removed from the university campus after it published a front page story reporting that the Union Presidential candidate, Nathan Sparling, is attempting to bring in a motion of no confidence against current President, Kasia Bylinska – who is seeking reappointment.

Known as ‘Journalgate’ among students, the pulling of the issue was undertaken without permission from the University, angering many of the

contributors.

Deputy Editor Nick Eardley spoke on the issue: “I think the fact student’s aren’t being given the opportunity to read [the article] in election week is wrong”.

The controversy came after the Napier Students’ Association (NSA) elections committee felt that the article content breached laws in which “unsubstantiated comments constituted defamation”.

The Journal were sent a document by the Elections Committee outlining a series of complaints regarding rule breaking, including a complaint from Bylinska herself, who complained that; “[The article] contained defamatory remarks by an election candidate designed unfairly to undermine an opponent”.

The NSA's Constitution outlines grounds on which prevention of pub-

lication can occur if content is “libelous, defamatory or unlawful”.

In the defence of the publication of the story, editor Paris Gourtsoyannis claimed that the actions of the NSA “Make a nonsense of the principle of free speech”. He also challenged the issue, stating that Sparling’s comments do not consitute defamation under UK law.

Further developments reveal that the NSA are being criticised for breaching the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects the right to freedom of expression and free speech.

Eardley also mentioned that there had been “indications the papers have been destroyed”. If this is the case, The Journal have said that they will seek restitution for the expense of printing and will go to the police if necessary.

NEWS 1 EDITORIAL & OPINION 8 FEATURES 14 POLITICS 17 LETTERS 21 TAF-OD 22 SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENT 23 JOBS & MONEY 24 LISTINGS 26 XPRESS 28 FIVE MINUTE FUN 29 SPORT 31

NEWS 03

gairrhydd | NEWS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY MARCH 15 2010

The wave of success Third-year planning to paddle the English Channel for charity Ben Price Reporter Cardiff University student and champion surfer, Elliot Dudley, will be ‘stand-up paddling’ across the English channel for charity this summer.

Elliot will be crossing the English Channel, the busiest shipping lane in the world, and all in the name of ‘Surfers Against Sewage’. They are an environmental NGO and are celebrating 20 years of fighting for cleaner seas around the UK. This next challenge involving ‘stand-up paddling’, however, is not completely new to Elliot for he recently won Britain’s largest ‘stand-up paddle’ race held in Brighton.

Elliot, a third year law and politics student, is a two-time Longboard European Champion, as well as a former British Champion, and he has been the

Welsh Longboard Champion for the past five years.

He is also the reigning BUCS champion. However, his biggest achievement to date was finishing 7th in the World Surfing Championships held in Costa Rica during August of last year.

The event is the surfing equivalent of the Olympics and as such is officially recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The current Guinness World Record for crossing the English channel by paddle surfing is currently five hours and nine minutes.

Nevertheless, the accomplished student surfer does not believe that this is an impossible target to beat.

Elliot, who is part of Cardiff University’s Sports Bursary Programme, has been congratulated by the University’s Sport and Exercise department for all his surfing achievements and they wish him good luck in his future challenges.

RIDING HIGH: Eliiot shows how it's done

Viagra scam on the rise Helpline wins national award Ben Price Reporter

Numerous UK universities have been unknowingly helping criminals to sell fake Viagra over the internet.

A security firm has discovered that an increasing number of organisations using the .ac.uk domain are unknowingly pushing customers to websites offering fake pills.

Amichai Shulman, of the security company Imperva, which was responsible for uncovering the scam, em-

phasised how the criminals exploited software to piggyback on the computing resources of various colleges and universities. He also noted how the spammers exploited vulnerabilities in widely used technology called PHP. The injected PHP codes included search terms such as Viagra and Cialis. Therefore, when a person searched for drugs such as these online, the universities and colleges' web addresses would pop up in the top results. Anyone who clicked on these links would then be re-directed to a fake pharmacy selling counterfeit pills.

According to a BBC report, Ra-

vensbourne College of Design and Communication in Kent was one school whose website became victim to the scam.

A spokesperson for the college said, “We immediately took action to temporarily close down and remove the compromised area while we resolved the issue.”

Mr. Shulman of Imperva said that the rate such sites were being put up and taken down made it hard to get an exact figure of how many sites had been hit. However, he estimated that “thousands” of sites had been caught out by the drug spammers.

Ben Price Reporter

Have you got enough there, love?

The prestigious “Nightline of the year award” was won this year by Cardiff Nightline.

Awarded as the result of an unanimous decision by the Nightline association board, the award is representative of the exceptional standards the service has risen to in the past few years.

The Nightline Association, the international umbrella charity for nightlines, chose Cardiff Nightline from a shortlist of the 10 best Nightlines representing Universities across the UK. Sally Wood, Nightline’s co-ordinator for the past two years, who has taken the service from strength to strength, was also recognised with a

Nightline award for her achievement in improving the service substantially to the state it is in now.

Nightline Cardiff is a confidential listening, emotional support and information service serving students from all the universities in the Cardiff area and has been running in Cardiff for the past 39 years.

The service’s has allowed students in Cardiff to talk to an anonymous Nightliner about anything they like where they won’t be judged and won’t be told what to do but simply given the opportunity to talk.

Nightline is open from 8pm until 8am, a time where other student services are not open and is confidential and anonymous; students don't have to say anything about themselves, not even their name.

For more information check out

04 NEWS

gairrhydd | NEWS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY MARCH 15 2010

Unpaid internships: exploiting students?

Body criticises use of unpaid labour by firms Alice Collins News Reporter Unpaid internships have come under criticism for allegedly exploiting young people.

The Trades Union Congress has announced that it is concerned about the number of unpaid internships on offer since it believes that they breach rules on the minimum wage.

Matt Dykes, a policy officer from the TUC, said more needs to be done to stop graduates being exploited saying that it sends out the wrong messages to jobseekers and employers who believe it’s acceptable to not pay the people for the jobs they are doing.

Eighteen months ago, the Department for Business Innovation and Skills set up the Graduate Talent Pool, a website for England that is currently advertising just under 9,000 intern vacancies.

The Graduate Talent Pool’s priority is to support young people in the em-

ployment market and the TUC hopes to prevent companies from exploiting graduates desperate to get on their career paths.

However, approximately a third of these posts offer only expenses, even though they can last for six months or longer.

There are concerns that many graduates from less well-off backgrounds, as well as those burdened with thousands of pounds of student debt, cannot afford to take advantage of these opportunities.

Often graduates take on unpaid internships because of the attraction of a paid job at the end of it. However, increasing numbers of young people are discovering that there are not the promised jobs available at the end of their internship.

David Lammy, the Minister for Higher Education, said: “If there are things going on, we want to know. We will take down those employers off the site, and it is important young people recognise and know their rights.”

Concern over voting and poster translation

continued from front page This roughly translates as ‘Vote Sohaib numbered self because council to chair’. Similarly, the translation of Jennifer Lay’s slogan ‘Lay it on the Line’ has been rendered as ‘le glei’.

When gair rhydd asked Welsh speakers to provide an English translation for this, they were unable to do so.

A spokesperson from the Students’ Union communication department admitted there had been some issues with translating the slogans, but pointed out that they are often puns or have double meanings which get lost in translation and that, wherever possible, the translation firm had attempted to convey the original meaning.

The firms themselves have attempt-

ed to justify the mistakes by arguing that ‘there are many different dialects of Welsh’ and that this contributes ‘to potential confusion’.

Despite this, the mistakes are in places so basic that one student who studies Welsh believed that the candidates had had to provide their own translations. The student called for the agency responsible to be sacked, describing their Welsh as ‘scumraeg’. gair rhydd understands that at least two official complaints about the quality of the translations have been made so far.

Tom Clarke, a third-year Chemistry student, has queried why the translations were outsourced at all: “There are plenty of Welsh speakers in the University who would be willing to

translate. There was a call for designers to help the candidates with their manifestos, so why was there not a similar call for translators? It would have saved the Union money and embarrassment,” he said.

Issues also arose with the print quality of the manifesto booklets, with all those not initially distributed having to be stripped from gair rhydd and replaced with a new print run over the weekend.

Under one candidate’s name Megon Mitchell - students were urged to 'Vote for Lisa' - a completely different candidate who was standing for the same position. This error was not corrected in the new print run.

Election results are expected at 1pm on Monday.

NEWS 05

gairrhydd | NEWS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY MARCH 15 2010

Glamorgan first university to post lectures on iTunes

Cardiff dentistry student wins business enterprise competition Rachel Henson Reporter A Cardiff University dentistry student has won the Spark Business Idea competition for his enterprising idea.

David Stone won the competition, which offers £1,000 to the winning business pitch, with his company UKLoupes, which he set up 11 months ago to supply dental students with inexpensive dental loupes.

Magnifying loupes are used during dental procedures to improve vision whilst undertaking detailed work,

TUNING IN: Lectures available on iTunes U

Emma McFarnon News Editor The University of Glamorgan has become the first institution in Wales to post lectures onto iTunes U. Electronic educational content, from lectures to language lessons, is being made available to students with iPods, iPhones and personal computers. iTunes U was launched by Apple to provide free audio and video material to learners.

The service was first used by leading American institutions including Harvard, Yale, Stanford, UC Berkeley and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The University of Glamorgan joins other educational organisations and museums across the world in providing downloadable audio and video content.

The University went “live” on Tuesday, packing its iTunes with recordings of lectures, examples of students’ work, interviews and interesting facts.

The information can be accessed worldwide, 24-hours a day, to supplement regular lectures.

Professor Clive Mulholland, pro Vice Chancellor at Glamorgan, said: “For the first time, the specialist work

and expertise of those working and studying at Glamorgan will be available to the world.

“This means that no matter where you are, you will be able to listen to a Glamorgan lecture, which raises our academic profile on a worldwide scale.

“Some of the world’s best known and most highly respected universities have a presence on iTunes U and we are thrilled to be the first in Wales to make our mark.”

Many universities in Wales have been making their own podcasts of lectures, but this will be the first time they have been distributed on the iTunes U service.

Richard Tunstall, a senior lecturer at the Glamorgan Business School, is one of several academics to post his work on iTunes U. “As an academic community, our role is to share leading-edge knowledge and research that makes an impact with students, other researchers, businesses and the general public,” he said. “Being at the first university in Wales to take part in iTunes U gives us an opportunity to start a conversation with the public about topics that matter to them. iTunes U also provides an opportunity to share some of the exciting ideas coming out of Wales, and illustrate why Wales is such an exciting place to be.”

and reduce the likelihood of back and neck pains, but are often expensive.

UKLoupes now supplies affordable loupes to students and customers in other areas of the healthcare market, including surgical practitioners.

UKLoupes was chosen as the winner from a shortlist of seven businesses, including runners-up The Mua Beauty Shop, and Lasuni, an online gaming community. Both businesses were awarded cash prizes of £500.

The competition is run annually by Student Enterprise and the Santander Universities scheme. Entries were judged according to enthusiasm of the

students and the business potential, creativity and feasibility of the product or idea.

David is considering branching out to appeal to other professions, such as the tattooing jewellery industries.

“It means a great deal to have won the competition. The judges certainly didn’t hold back. The feedback I had and now the funding will help take the business to the next stage,” he said.

UKLoupes was also the winner of the 2009 Santander business award, and was short-listed for the 2009 Shell LiveWIRE young entrepreneur of the year.

06 NEWS

gairrhydd | NEWS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY MARCH 15 2010

Driver has a Och aye close shave You'll never guess what...

the snoo

The world record for the number of people in kilts going down a piste has been broken in Scotland.

235 skiers and snowboarders broke the record in the CairnGorm Mountains to raise money for a school skiing programme and local charities.

It was the first time that this particular record has been set, and future attempts are anticipated by the Scottish skiers.

A piper and two drummers led the record attempt to a musical finish by being first over the finishing line.

Breast is best A New York chef has created cheese from his wife's breast milk.

Daniel Angerer used his spouse's excess breast milk to make his twoweek matured cheese, having decided to freeze her excess breast milk whilst she was caring for her newborn daughter.

Daniel described the taste as “just like really sweet cow's milk.”

Any customer at Daniel Angerer's restaurant can order his concoction.

Plane crazy

A RISKY BET: Ghosts sell for thousands

SHAVEN HAVEN: Woman causes collision

David Slaughter Reporter A woman from Florida has been arrested for causing a two-car collission while trimming her bikini line at the wheel of her vehicle.

Thirty-seven year old Megan Mariah Barnes passed the control of the vehicle to her passenger and Ex-husband, Charles Judy, as she personally groomed herself in preparation for meeting her current boyfriend.

Cutting it fine on an intersect junction, Barnes and Judy were heading southbound in her 1995 Ford Thunderbird when they slammed into the back of a 2006 Chevrolet pickup.

Described by the regional Florida Keys Press with a degree of irony as “just another normal day for the local patrol officers,” is believed to have raised the bar in distractions behind the steering wheel.

The victim’s passengers included a man and two women; the latter is

Spooks for sale Sarah Vaughan Reporter Christchurch, New Zealand, has witnessed some spooky goings on of late, as two ‘ghosts’ were sold at auction for $2,830 on the Trademe website last week.

For the equivalent of £1,320 the seller Avie Woodbury claims that the ghosts were successfully captured in her house after an exorcism at the property last July.

“I want to get rid of them as they scare me. But someone might like them to play with.”

On the auction description, Woodbury wrote that the ghosts were those of an old man, Les Graham, who had previously lived in the house in the 1920s, and the second, of a disruptive little girl who turned up after an Ouija board session.

Since being up for auction, the ghosts have been kept in two glass vials plugged with stoppers and dipped in holy water, supposedly to “dull the spirits’ energy”.

To add to the encouraging description of the ghosts on the web page, Woodbury also adds that “to revive the spirits, I have been told that you pour a little in a dish and let it evaporate in your room”.

The online auction received over 210,000 views, and although many bids were unfortunately made as a joke, the winning bid was decided by Trademe auction site’s spokesman, Paul Ford.

Possibly to counter balance her decision to inflict the ghosts upon the winning bidder, Woodbury has said that her proceeds from the auction will be given to the society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Cash and carry Emma McFarnon News Editor

A child on his school holidays was found to be directing pilots at New York’s JFK Airport.

The child’s father, a certified air traffic controller, allowed the boy to give pilots instructions for take-off and taxiing on the runway.

Recordings of transmissions at the airport record the boy giving directions such as: “MS 4-0-3, contact departure. Adios, amigo!"

The pilots expressed no concern at their temporary air traffic controller, but the Federal Aviation Association has suspended the father from duty, pending investigations.

being treated in hospital for minor injuries.

Barnes is then alleged to have driven a half-mile further down the road, hoping to switch seats with her ex-husband, so that it looked like she had not been driving.

Neither Barnes nor the car were legally allowed to be on the roads. Just one day before the collision, Barnes had been convicted of Driving under the Influence (DUI) with a prior conviction, and driving with a suspended licence.

The first Florida state trooper to arrive at the scene, Officer Gary Dunick, recalled the arrest as an unbelievable moment. Dunick said: “My phone has been ringing off the hook all day, and I know there's a funny side to this, but it's also deadly serious. I'm really starting to believe this stuff only happens in the Keys.”

Barnes is now looking at a maximum sentence of up to one year in prison.

A man believed to be a sumo wrestler ripped out a cash machine weighing 90kg (200lb) and made off with it on his shoulders, police in Moscow report.

The suspect and an accomplice used a forklift to snatch the cash machine, tearing out a chunk of the building facade in the process.

The thieves left behind a 10ft by 9ft gap in the wall before making off with the cash machine in the back of a 4x4 vehicle. They were arrested after being stopped in a BMW with tinted windows which they were driving

without number-plates.

The machine containing 25,320 roubles ($850, £560) was found in the car.

Police say the accomplice tried to take the blame for the robbery, saying he had misled his sumo-wrestler friend.

They were alerted to the incident by a saleswoman, who said the suspects had walked into her shop in northern Moscow at 0600 (0300 GMT) and begun ripping out the electronic payment machine without a word.

Police said both suspects were from a “neighbouring country” but were registered as living in the Moscow area.

SUMO: Unusual theft

USE DOUBLE TEMPLATE BELOW

08 OPINION

gairrhydd | OPINION@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY MARCH 15 2010

Iraq is Britain's biggest fan Labour MP David Miliband claims that the Iraq war has only served to improve the reputation of Great Britain in Middle Eastern countries Ayushman Singh Jamwal Opinion Writer Since the early 2000s, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have attempted to tackle militancy and regimes that threaten global security aiming to promote democratic over theocratic governance.

Both the invasion and containment phases of the wars along with the rampant insurgency have led to the deaths of thousands of civilians in the Middle East and hundreds of soldiers, with the numbers still rising. The military campaign was also mobilised with the pivotal support of an ideological campaign waged by the Western media which played a major role in blurring the boundaries between the religion of Islam and terrorism.

Both these arms of the war in the Middle East, with their ‘clash of civilizations’ ideology, have adversely dictated the mindsets of people on both the sides as well as across the world.

Within that context, I find British Foreign Secretary David Miliband’s statement to the Iraq war inquiry that the Iraq war has “boosted Britain’s reputation in the Arab world” problematic.

This is due to my belief that since the war, Britain’s reputation in the

Middle East now erratically varies from country to country as well as within countries.

Foreign policy plays a crucial role in defining Britain’s reputation amongst different governments in the Middle East. Generally, from the spectrum of countries in the Arab world, most governments hold ‘pragmatic ties’ with the UK for mutual geopolitical advantages. Saudi Arabia, a power holder in Middle East with its vast capital and oil, applies deft diplomacy with superpowers in a globalised world to maintain its geopolitical status.

American foreign policy is seen as racist and colonial in the Arab world With economic and military ties to the UK, the nation is a conduit for British diplomacy to the Middle East.

On the other side, the UK is scorned by nations adversely affected by its foreign policy. Britain is involved in the United States’ campaign in hindering the nuclear energy ambitions of Iran, in turn receiving criticism from Tehran of being simply a tool of US foreign policy.

A government’s focus on foreign

policy and the dynamics of geopolitics has the potential of creating a void between state officials and public opinion public regarding the reputation of a foreign power. Pragmatism can be overlooked in favour of a more reactionary perspective. For example, state officials in Iraq can be thankful to British forces for playing a role in delivering democracy to Iraq and giving them a roadmap to get their nation back on its feet. However, at the same time, past war atrocities and antiIslamic sentiments post 9/11 can easily work to spread contempt towards Britain all across the region.

Britain receives scores of immigrants from the Arab world because they yearn to live within the nation’s ideals of democracy and freedom, which are luxuries not easily available in many nations of the Middle East.

However, it does not absolutely follow that Britain possesses a high reputation in that part of the world.

While anti-Islamic sentiments have recently dissipated from the British media allowing a more analytical lens to take its place, it seems that Britain’s reputation amongst the majority of the publics in the Middle East is stunted because contemporary British foreign policy seems almost indistinguishable from American foreign policy, which is seen as racist and colonial in the

Arab world.

The British government in the past decade has been pulled into democratically unpopular initiatives of the United States in the Middle East. At the same time, the UK has been bullied by the US, mnost notably when trying to take the initiative on contentious issues of human rights and the war on terror. In 2008, when aiming to grant justice to UK resident Binyam Mohamed for the injustice he faced at the hands of the US in his four years of captivity in Guantanamo Bay, the Labour government was threatened by the Obama administration with the cessation of intelligence-sharing.

Foreign policy plays a crucial role in defining the UK's reputation In 2009, the British government was strongly criticized by the US when it announced its intention to open negotiations with the Lebanese political-paramilitary organization, Hezbollah, while the US itself at the time was opening negotiations with the Palestinian political-paramilitary organization, Hamas. Not only does such an affair play a great role in un-

dermining Britain’s reputation in the Middle East.

Tony Blair’s subservient position to George Bush both before and after the war in Iraq gave a blow to Britain’s reputation in the mindsets of ordinary people in the Middle East. Moreover, due to the treacherous extension of the conflict, that blow has compounded into blatant animosity.

In order to improve its standing, Britain needs strong leadership that can gradually distance itself from the shadow of the American administration, stress the difference of its own foreign policies in the Middle East, diplomatically sustain itself when opening channels of negotiation and exploit the potential of geo-political muscle offered to it by Europe. With the elections just around the corner, potential leaders must address the state of the nation’s reputation in the Middle East.

A future government must emphasise a cooperative yet sovereign British leadership, capable of boosting Britain's geo-political reputation not only in the Middle East, but around the world. In short, British foreign policy must shed the negative baggage of the ‘special relationship’ with Uncle Sam.

OPINION 09

gairrhydd | OPINION@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY MARCH 15 2010

The really wild show

Objectifying children can have an affect on their mental health

Charlotte Le Lohe Opinion Writer Plans for an American-style child beauty contest to come to South Wales has received much controversy across the region from horrified parents, community leaders and child psychologists.

Due to take place in Cardiff next month, the UK Cinderella pageant will be judging girls as young as three on categories including 'best smile', 'beauty' and 'prettiest hair'. Having been run in the States for 36 years, it was launched by former model Diana Hare last year in the UK. Whenever I think of a beauty pageant, I think of ‘Miss Congeniality’ and women doing it for World Peace, or for a special cause which will not only benefit themselves, but others around them too. I believe the idea of beauty pageants should not just be about showing off the way women look, but for them to be a good role model for other young girls and teenagers who will be looking up to them.

My view on child beauty pageants is probably the same as most other peoples: I do not think child contestants are old enough or mentally capable enough to be judged on either beauty or personality which they still have to grow into.

Even though the pageants website it describes it as a 'family orientated, youth development programme,' I for one do not think that such factors are

important when children enter or are entered by their parents.

A recent documentary on young contestants who had joined the UK Cinderella pageant in a different area of the UK endorsed my view. It clearly showed how important it was to the young pageant girls for them to go and get their make-up done, have a spray on tan, buy designer dresses and have their hair curled. I know for a fact my parents would have had a fit if I asked for any of that to be done at such a young age, not just because of how pricey it all is, but because it would feel like you were exploiting your child and making them grow up too quickly.

These pageants can result in shocking behavioural changes Not only does it leave children unprotected to sexuality, but can result in shocking behavioural changes. A recent Channel 4 programme, Jo Frost: Extreme Parental Guidance, showed how a nine year old young pageant Queen required specialist help due to her stroppy, moody and disrespectful attitude.

Her mother stated that her daughter’s diva-like behaviour is now so uncontrollable she gives her what she

wants just to avoid a temper tantrum.

Pageants take up a lot of time and money – they are not cheap, and the luxury of being bought new dresses, hair accessories and shoes can end up with children becoming spoilt and discourteous.

For many, to expose a young child to make-up, fake tanning, eye-brow plucking, teeth whitening, and expensive dresses – all to be criticised and scrutinised by a panel of judges is immoral.

Father Gareth Jones, chaplain of Cardiff University was concerned: “This does bring up questions with regards to the protection of these children, who are simply too young to know what is good for them. The element of the competition could have a negative effect upon the child.” Parents from the South West have had no fears in expressing their opinions about the pageant and one mother stated that: “The whole thing is really disgusting.”

Organiser Diana Hare declares: “Pageants get such a bad name but we’re not about glitz and glamour at all. But no matter if you’re fat or thin, black or white, what matters is friendship, building your confidence and self-esteem and showing that you have talent which you can show the world.”

It is a nice thing to think that this UK Cinderella pageant might help with some children’s ‘self-esteem’ or ‘confidence.’

However, I think this is a very unrealistic view. If anything, once the judges have picked their winner there will be one very happy child and proud parents, and then a room full of tearful, sad and stroppy faces.

There are enough health and mental problems going around today as it is from teenagers feeling insecure about their bodies or that they are not beautiful enough. I fear these young beauty pageants will just be promoting this further, but aimed at children who are too young to know what is healthy and what is not.

British youth in revolt Why are young people disillusioned with British politics?

Scott Dewey Opinion Writer On the 3rd of March 2010 a special first time voters edition of Question Time aired, aiming to get young people interested and concerned about politics.

What emerged from the programme were some quite astonishing facts. As a soon to be first-time voter myself, I found it incredulous to think that in 2005 only 60% of the whole population actually voted. That means it is highly likely that more people didn’t vote than voted for the winning party.

Even more alarming is that only 37% of 18-24 year olds voted in 2005. So does this mean our demographic isn’t being adequately represented in politics? And why aren’t we voting?

Statistics released from the Electoral commission recently suggest that 56% of 17-24 year olds may not even been registered to vote. But can we really argue that that is the real reason why we aren’t voting. When I asked students why they didn’t vote, I received reasons ranging from ‘I don’t

know anything about politics’ to ‘It doesn’t interest me’. Young people's disengagement from politics could be precisely the problem.

When I probed further I found many students find it hard to see how politics affects them individually and that many people felt they couldn’t trust or associate themselves with any politicians. The recent MP’s expenses scandal certainly won’t have helped. The best way for politicians to earn our respect, support and vote is to come and speak to us, not only in the build up to elections but everyday in our towns and communities. Communication is key, the more access we have to politics the more engaged we will be.

Young people are crying out for politics to be ‘modernised’, a call that many MPs are echoing. The House of Commons and Prime Ministers Questions (PMQs) give two very extreme views of politics. The first is of a group of old men in suits speaking in a language that is incomprehensible to the common man, which adds to the ever-growing pernception that the ceremonial procedures of politics

makes the whole process monotonous and tedious.

Equally, politicians behaviour at PMQs often mimics that of children bickering, certainly not the sort of conduct you expect from ‘respectable’ men of power. Some politicians have tried to modernise politics by using social networking sites or video-sharing sites like YouTube, although often the messages put across seem transparent and come off as patronising.

Statistics suggest that 56% of 17-24 year olds are not registered to vote Quite frankly, these mediums are no place for serious political discussion, as a new report from the website Politics Home shows. "Young people are particularly sceptical: almost twothirds of 18-29 year-olds believe that networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook are an 'overrated and often pointless' way of carrying out political debate", says a writer for the website.

There are calls in some quarters

for current affairs and politics to be taught in schools, so that when young people reach voting age, they are already educated and informed on the some of the key issues in the modern world. The only objection to this is, of course, the impartiality of teachers.

However if teachers can manage to remain impartial when teaching ethics and religion, then why can’t they be the same with politics?

The truth is our demographic has enormous power and politicians know this, so expect over the coming months to see many initiatives and policies from all sides of the political spectrum aimed at the youth of today.

As a generation we have no problem campaigning for political movements involving the environment or injustice in the world. If we can be encouraged and motivated to show as much vigour and passion into the politics of our country as we do individual policies then long-term change can be made for good.

As cheesy as it sounds it is our future that these politicians are shaping.

freewords EDITORIAL

Est. 1972

Union business: elections notice and a bit of a rant...

Election week has commenced!

Well, actually, by the time you read this, election week will be over, probably. Still, at this moment in time, I’m very excited, and also a little bit sad that I’m not campaigning again this year.

The Union steps are covered in banners, (some) people are walking around in crazy outfits, and I can’t even look at one paving slab on Park Place without seeing a pastel-coloured flyer.

By the time most of you read this, the results will probably have been announced (annoyingly too late for inclusion in this week’s issue, so you’ll have to wait until after Easter for all that). I have my predictions, but they are safely guarded. All in good time, all in good time…

Now, after the obligatory elections mention, I wanted to have a bit of a rant this week. It is about a very popular Union club night that some of you may have heard of. It’s called Comeplay – you might know it.

Anyway, don’t get me wrong; I love a bit of Comeplay as much as the next person. In fact, I usually have a really good night there. But last Saturday, I was surprisingly, tremendously under-whelmed. Which forced me to ask myself the question: had I finally, eventually outgrown Comeplay? To which the answer is: quite possibly, yes.

This is a sad realisation for me, as Comeplay has been a staple night in my student calendar for the past four years. But I figured last weekend that the four-year relationship had probably run its course.

Not being that drunk in the Union is always a strange experience for me, and maybe my semi-sober state was partly to blame for my dissatisfaction last Saturday. Being in a state that was not one of blind drunkeness enabled me to be a lot more observant than normal, and here are a few of the things that I observed: Me being, or at least feeling, disproportionately older than the rest of the Comeplay demographic (considering I am only 21); most of my drinks ending up down my top rather than in my mouth; too many randy/hormonal tweenagers trying desperately to pull someone, anyone, by groping any body part within reach; and, perhaps worst of all, the DJ playing the same songs in the same order as they have been for the past four years.

Hearing Never Forget by Take That blaring out as I queued for the cloakroom was the icing on the cake: I couldn’t get out of there quick enough.

Sorry Comeplay, you have served me well over the years, but, seriously, sort it out.

Corrections & Clarifications

The 'Invisible Children' article on page 3 of issue 918 was written by Cora Van Den Bossche, not Cosimo Montagu as was stated.

10 OPINION

gairrhydd | OPINION@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY FEBRUARY 15 2010

Fight for your marriage?

Kudos to women who take the institution of marriage seriously Lizzie Blockley Opinion Editor In the past few months, it has begun to feel as though not a day goes by without yet another tabloid revealing yet another celebrity sex scandal. Recent gossip pages have brought us infidelities so prolific from Tiger Woods that one wonders how he made time to play any golf, Ashley Cole trading down from arguably the sexiest woman in the UK and Vernon Kay exchanging sleazy messages with a page three girl – the biggest shock there being that she can compose a text. But the other surprise is how often these women are choosing to stand by their men, and the public’s reaction to these decisions.

Every man and woman in Britain is urging Cheryl Cole to ditch her unfaithful husband, yet the latest news reports suggest that Cheryl has agreed to marital counselling - not the usual act of a woman ready to file for divorce. And, as these rumours emerged, media pundits jumped on the Cole bandwagon to voice their opinion that by sticking with Ashley, Cheryl’s reputation and her career will suffer.

This is where I feel sorry for Cheryl. Unlike Terry’s wife, she has a lucrative career of her own and no need to stay with Ashley purely to live the WAG dream. So if she’s not kicking

fairs, so that her team’s attentions were turned to keeping the media otherwise occupied. She was warned that another high-profile affair would reflect badly on her, yet a divorce would also detract from her political gravitas.

People were quick to ask: if she can’t control Bill, how is she supposed to run the United States? Perhaps Hillary simply has her priorities in order: the presidency was important to her and she determined to focus on that rather than allow her husband’s disloyalty to steal the show.

him to the curb, it must have something to do with her actual feelings for him.

However, for a woman who has built a career on an image of sexy, independent womanhood, some people argue this may not be sending the best message to her fanbase. Those in favour of Cheryl divorcing Ashley argue that to stand by him after so many infidelities would be degrading and humiliating, a point which I can see.

On the other hand, perhaps we need to commend her for wanting to Fight for this love? Far too many celebrities now give up on their marriage at the first sign of trouble, but not Cheryl. I think her hesitation in heading to the divorce courts is actually admirable and a sign of a woman more mature than I had previously given her credit for. And why should this personal choice affect her career? Ashley or no Ashley, the record companies will still be able to morph her voice beyond all recognition so it sounds like she can hit a note.

If she can't control Bill, how is she supposed to run the United States?

Woods' affairs: one wonders how he made time to play any golf Many high-profile women face the same problem when their husbands commit an act lacking in discretion.

Hillary Clinton’s campaign to be the first ever female President was constantly marred by Bill’s alleged af-

CHERYL COLE: Not so smiley recently

A woman who can juggle personal problems this difficult in the public eye when many of us would be going to pieces deserves more support from the fairer sex and less media scrutiny.

These women often end up stuck between a rock and a hard place, trying to weigh up not only whether their marriage is worth saving, but what additional impact it is likely to have on their own success. Countless male politicians and public figures have shady personal lives yet, in my opinion, do a reasonable job (Bill Clinton for instance); so perhaps it is time to stop judging people by the decisions they make in their personal lives and try to focus on their success in their job (or lack thereof).

Innocent until proven guilty

The government must not give in to public pressure and allow the case of Jon Venables to undermine the United Kingdom's legal system Tom Rouse Opinion Writer Under British law, one is generally considered innocent until proven guilty, unless of course the press is calling for your blood and you’re a previously convicted felon. Jon Venables, one of the two people convicted of the murder of Jamie Bulger, is facing exactly that situation, with calls for both his new identity and the allegations against him to be revealed.

However, we cannot lose sight of the fact that these are only allegations and not actual charges; despite our moral feelings towards the Bulger case, we cannot allow them to rule our decisions. If these allegations are proved baseless then we have effectively ruined the life of a man who, although by no means an innocent man,

surely deserves his second chance as much as any other offender.

The allegations against Venables should be faced in a court of law, not a media show trial I’m not denying the family have a right to be upset, but justice has already been served in the Bulger case.

These calls amount to little more than a desire for vengeance: it is not justice until a case has been proven against him, at which point - like any alleged criminal - Venables will have to face the allegations. Nonetbeless, these allegations should be faced in a court of law, not in a media show trial.

As the majority of the broadsheets have pointed out, a loss of anonymity

for Venables would have grave consequences for his personal safety; we then run the risk of a vigilante revenge killing or a campaign of personal and physical humiliation. We would find such acts reprehensible if they were committed against anyone else, yet for some reason we seem to allow our moral standing to change when considering Venables.

However sorry we may feel for the mother in the Bulger case, her personal wishes are ultimately no more important than those of Venables’. This case is nothing to do with her and the media are not doing either themselves or her any favours by blowing the issue up and pitting it as a battle of the wronged citizen against a government obsessed with protecting the anonymity of criminals.

The media circus is just the eye of the storm in the wider debate about the very nature of prison and whether

its primary function be punishment or rehabilitation. In the case of an adolescent, it seems ludicrous to argue that punishment is the primary focus of juvenile detention; surely when criminals are young, rehabilitation is the best option both for them and for society as a whole? If we focus purely on punishment then we miss the opportunity to allow them to make a useful contribution to society and, thereby, attempt to redeem themselves.

Faith in our legal system is more important than satisfying thirst for gossip Venables was only ten when he murdered Jamie Bulger. The act was reprehensible but was more than half

his lifetime ago; he has paid his debt to society and hopefully been rehabilitated, although if these allegations turn out to be true, it will be clear this attempt at rehabilitation has been unsuccessful.

If the allegations are true, it does not mean, as some people suggest, that Venables' probation officer has failed or that there is a wider problem with the system. Rather Venables himself has failed and will deserve the consequences. He has been given a second chance and it is up to him how he uses or squanders it.

Jack Straw’s decision is the right one, not only for Venables, but for the legal process as a whole. It would be impossible to carry out a fair trial if his identity was revealed, and ultimately faith in our legal system’s ability to remain impartial is far more important than satisfying a minority of the population’s thirst for gossip.

OPINION 09

12 COLUMNIST

gairrhydd | OPINION@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY MARCH 15 2010

e b o T . . . .

K N A R F And the winner is www... what? id le Or the

Poor old Alfred. He must be spinning in his grave, mustn’t he?

First of all Obama – that pacifist pretender – besmirched the name of his fair medal last year, and now this!

Oh, I had better explain, hadn’t I? For those of you furrowing your brow in a quizzical manner (don’t do that, you’ll get those lines on your forehead), I’m not referring to Michael Caine in the most recent series of Batman films (although, poor old Michael must be having a right time of it, having to listen to Christian Bale’s shit voice acting – seriously, someone get him a fucking strepsil). No, I am of course referring to Alfred Nobel, the Swedish inventor, whose last will and testament established the Nobel Prize Foundation.

This week, the BBC reported that the latest contender for the prize, given last year to Barack Obama, is not an individual of philanthropic or scientific brilliance, but the internet. No, that’s not the inventors of the internet (a contentious accolade, although most attribute it to Tim Berners-Lee) but the internet, as an inorganic, inconstant thing. The internet has received a number of nominations, first pioneered by the Italian version of Wired magazine. Spurred on by this, websites, magazines, bloggers and everyone in between have started to jump on the bandwidth (or whatever they call it, nowadays) and spread the hype and debate like a virus.

Now at first, I must admit, I was very against it. But then, after a little deliberation and debate with friends and colleagues, I was all for it. After all, how could I argue when the very debate was taking place over Twitter?

Now though, I have to apologise, because I’ve changed my mind again.

I’m a little like that, sorry.

You see, now I’m not sure. I can see both sides of the argument. Ponder it for a moment. Go on, ponder, ponder your little heart out. See what I mean? It’s a valid question – what does the internet do for us? And is it good enough to warrant the Nobel Peace Prize?

Consider your average internet usage in a day. I’m going to be quite honest here, so here goes. If you’re at all like me (or in my experience, other students) then perhaps while you’re munching on your morning cereal, you might pop on Facebook for

n k li O li F r a f o s g in rant

n

OBAMA: "I am a much more deserving recipient than the internet..." a bit. Perhaps if you have nothing to do for a while, you’ll stream the latest episode of LOST, or Mad Men, or Glee. Perhaps you’ll check the news and sport. Later, you might have a gap between lectures. Back on Facebook, maybe Twitter. Still bored? Hour to kill? Time to crack out the porn, then.

Cringe if you must, but we all know you do it too. A 2007 survey by YouGov showed that over a quarter of the entire internet is dedicated to porn. It was only in 2009 that Facebook overtook porn as the number one usage of the web. It remains in a strong second place.

And that brings me to the crux of the matter. When you are considering the use of the internet, you have to consider it as a whole. Sites like Facebook might encourage social interaction and beneficial causes, such

as the millions raised in the aftermath of the Haiti crisis by Facebook and Twitter groups. On the other hand, they also facilitate stalking and can be damaging to self-esteem. You only need to check the headlines in the last fortnight to hear stories of ‘Facebook killers’ and other (probably grossly misreported) tales of horror.

Add to that increased invasion into personal information; web fraud, spam, viruses, hacking. Sites that promote racial hatred and terrorism.

Chat Roulette. Emails that allow fundamentalist groups to organise events such as the London bombings. For every teenager frolicking their life away on Farmville, somewhere there are websites frequented by paedophiles.

Unless they too are on Farmville. That shit’s everywhere.

It becomes evident that after a lit-

tle examination, the benefits that we might see with the internet also have a dark side. That isn’t to say that the web isn’t full of wonderful, unimaginably brilliant websites, people and ideas.

For me to try and comprehend or describe the benefits that the internet has brought to modern society is both foolish and frivolous. In many ways, the bloggers are right. It has evolved into a quasi-biological organism of a type unfathomable by an ordinary person - and if it’s an organism, shouldn’t it be able to win a prize? Well, perhaps – although, if any organism deserves the Nobel Peace Prize, it’s the Slow Loris (YouTube, thank me later).

At any rate, I digress. The fact is that it is an interesting debate. Have I made my mind up? To be honest, no.

How could I? It’s not often that I’m happy to say that a topic is far too big

for my young (and at this point, very tired) mind to fathom, never mind to provide authoritative commentary on.

I just thought it was worth a debate, so let me know your thoughts on gairrhydd.com or on the blog.

One final thought though: back to the porn thing. They say there is a one in ten chance of connecting to someone masturbating on Chat Roulette.

The Daily Mail had a field day. But surely, one in ten masturbating… isn’t that just the statistic in general life?

Is that such a bad thing? Think of all those frustrated young men who could be out on the streets getting involved with knife crime, but aren’t, and are instead at home, building up their forearms and providing Kleenex with an income. It makes you wonder – what if Hitler had just had RedTube…

OPINION 09

14 FEATURES

gairrhydd | FEATURES@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY MARCH 15 2010

Think while you drink We rarely pay attention to the dangers that surround us on a night out. One student investigates the issue of drink spiking...

Elisha Jones Features Writer

Drink spiking. For me, it's not something that runs through my head on a typical night out. If you're with your friends, you usually feel safe, but it is just this comfortable feeling that allows drink spikers to target you. I suppose it's one of those things that you only worry or think about when its too late, when its happened to you, or to someone you know.

Those who are more intoxicated tend to make easier targets because they are more likely to be negligent with their drink and less likely to notice someone tampering with it. However, even the sober can be targeted if they're naïve, or careless with their drinks. If you're a woman, the chances of your drink being spiked are higher, but men are not exempt from being victimised: men can just as easily be targeted.

Spiking a drink is a criminal offence. The instigator is as much of a criminal as a rapist or a thief, even if no further harm is inflicted on the victim. If caught, a spiker can face up to ten years in prison just the spiking, and even more if a more serious offence follows. Your spiker is more

likely to be a stranger, and just think of the number of strangers you are surrounded by on a standard night out.

However, you also need to be wary of acquaintances, or people you've never met before. Because of how easy drink spiking is, anyone can do it. It sounds silly to be so cautious of everyone, but, unfortunately, you have to be.

Drink spiking is commonly associated with rape, and this is often the intent of the drink spiker. Besides rape, the motives behind someone spiking your drink may be to carry out a nonsexual physical assault, to steal from you or for malicious/non-malicious amusement.

If caught, a spiker can face up to ten years in prison, or more if an offence follows Whatever the motive, the main objective of spiking your drink will be to alter your mentality, so that you have less control over your general behaviour. When you have no control, others can control you, and this is where

the attacker gains power.

What spikes your drink may not have any taste, smell or colour and can be in powder or liquid form. They can be completely undetectable in your drink. There is no single 'date rape drug': there are many different kinds of drugs that a person can use to alter your mentality. Drugs such as Rohypnol have strong sedatives and can cause an amnesia effect, while other drugs have similar effects to alcohol, still causing sedation on a smaller scale. The most common such drugs used are all legal to possess and can often be found in prescription sleep aids.

Surprisingly, the main tactic used by spikers appears to be alcohol itself, often in the form of buying you drinks. By using alcohol, your offender only needs to encourage you to drink to excess rather than physically tampering with your existing drink. It just shows how easy it is for you to become a victim.

If someone is going to spike your drink, they'll need to be watching you, which means, they'll either be in your company or watching you from afar, which you may not necessarily notice.

They can add the date rape drug when they buy you a drink from the bar, or they may slip it into a drink you already have.

SPIKED?: Both men and women are targets for spikers

They will only do this if they are certain they can get away with it without being noticed by you or your friends. If you don't see it, you'll never know, and you'll carry on drinking. All that's left is for the spiker to wait, then take advantage of your vulnerability.

Dependant on the drug used, symptoms can occur anything from five minutes to an hour after being ingested, and the effects can last for hours.

Reactions to different kinds of date rape drugs will vary between individuals. As with getting drunk, everyone is affected differently because of their difference in weight, age, and how much their body can handle.

With drink spiking, it also depends on how much alcohol the person has consumed beforehand, as the more alcohol, the more there is to react with the foreign substance. The symptoms obviously also depend on the drug used.

Hwever, all of the substances used are depressants. This means they will will slow down your nervous system, making you less alert and slower, allowing confusion, lowered inhibitions, memory loss, and in the worst cases, vomiting, temporary loss of body sensation, hallucinations, and even unconsciousness. It's important not to forget, as well, that enough of a date rape drug, like any excess of a dangerous substance, can result in coma or death.

I interviewed Dan*, a male student at Cardiff University, about a suspected drink-spiking incident. Dan's experience shows that drink spiking does not only take place on mad nights out.

Dan was targeted on a a first date in a quiet pub.

The atmosphere was comfortable and Dan had no reason to be suspicious of his date, Mark.* They both chatted away fine, and then Dan's date popped off to the bar to get them both drinks. In such a situation, nothing appeared wrong with Mark purchasing both of their drinks. However, Mark was alone with the drinks, and there was enough distance between the bar and the seating area for Mark to have easily tampered with the drinks without Dan or the bar staff seeing.

Talking about Mark buying the drinks, Dan said “It never crossed my mind that anything suspicious would happen with the drinks, because you just don't think about it, especially when we were just in a little pub.”

He added: “If anything, I liked that he was buying my drinks!”.

Dan and Mark only had two pints of lager each, and as Dan was coming to the end of his second pint he felt overly intoxicated for the amount of alcohol he had consumed. “I had a big meal just an hour before, so I knew I wasn't more likely to get drunk quick from something like that,” he recalled.

“I remember my eyesight and reactions were a little slow like when I've had quite a lot more to drink, and I could feel myself really concious of

how I was acting, trying to act sober,” he said.

As Dan finished his drink, things got progressively worse, and he started to feel sick. “I only feel that sick at the end of a night out, when I've had way too much to drink. I kept on apologising to Mark, saying I didn't know what was the matter with me, and that I'm sure I'd feel better in a bit”.

Dan can't really remember much about Mark's behaviour but he noticed Mark was very quiet. “I remember then I sort of just moaned or something, and he came next to me on my seat and put his arm around me. I tried to shake him off, because when you're feeling sick that's the last thing you want, but he kept his grip hard on my shoulder,” Dan recalls.

“I finally must have made a bit too much noise, and he quickly backed away, grabbed his jacket and left the pub.”

"It never crossed my mind that anything suspicious would happen with the drinks..."

Although Dan has no proof Mark was trying to date rape him, he insists that something sinister went on, as he was ill all night and all morning after that evening, and can't remember getting to his house.

“I know some people might just say I'm a lightweight,” he says, “but I know how much I can handle, and I never throw up after two pints”.

This just goes to show that even though it may seem unnecessary to be cautious of everyone, you really do have to be vigilant when situations like this could occur.

So to keep safe, the precautions are simple: 1. Never leave your drink, and look at it when you are holding it or when its near you.

2. Keep an eye on friend's drinks as well as your own: think of each other.

3. Never drink someone else's drink or accept a drink from someone you don't trust.

Lastly, if you don't get completely intoxicated, you'll be more alert to a spiker that might target you or your friends. You haven't got to be rolling on the floor to have a good night: the soberer you are, the safer!

* Names have been changed for confidentiality.

For more information on drink spiking, visit: www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Drink-spiking

FEATURES 15

gairrhydd | FEATURES@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY MARCH 15 2010

Sailing with adversity A brain tumour diagnosis would be life-changing news for anyone.

Features takes a look at one former Cardiff student's experience... hope of raising £20,000 for Brain Tumour Research will not only be a big help to the organisation, but will also raise public awareness. Additionally, Josie hopes to raise £5,000 for the Big In 2004, Josie Phillips, a former C Centre in Norwich, partly to thank Cardiff University medical student, them for their exceptional support and was given some news that would understanding, always ready to listen change her life forever: she was and constantly armed with a cup of diagnosed with a brain tumour. tea!

Over the last five years she has Departing from the river Orwell in endured three serious operations as May this year, Josie and Roger will well as radiotherapy and chemotravel round Britain anti-clockwise, therapy and is now left without a heading north up the section of her skull. Sadly in 200, east coast she was told that her tumour had of Eng- each progressed to grade four (maland. Once y e UK are ar, abou lignant) and that she is likely to they reach diagnos t 4,500 succumb to the illness within Inverness, p e e d o with a b ple in t two years.

- br they will rain tum he Despite her devastation, Josie sail through monaiinn tumours a our men tha re sligh has decided to live the rest of the Caledot n l y i her life to the full, combining m n nian Canal o w r o e m p c o en omher love of the outdoors with and arrive on age, sgsieble risk fac a desire to raise money and the west coast n t o e r t r i s a c diother awareness for brain tumour of Scotland at apy trceoanditionsraannge from ol and cancer charities, namely Fort William. d t d m e p n r e t vious re Brain Tumour Research and Heading down takenselaorch is cur the Big C Centre (based in rently oking mob Norwich). In the UK, brain thereilies phone autstahe possibbleeing undertumours kill more people under the age of forty tumour little evide ge, althou links with s nce the than any other type of y caguhse so far cancer, yet the awareness - 5% of brain and funding provided brain tu n e t i c conditio mours a for brain tumour charire relate ns ties is woefully slim.

F d to geo r more in Treatment options for format people with brain tuion, vis www.ca mours are limited and it: n c m e rhelp.o our the average survival r g .uk/typ of people with high e/braingrade (fast growing) tutumours is between nine and 15 months. spirit, she is determined to reach her target.

Having once climbed Mount Kilimanjaro with the University Duke of Edinburgh Society, she’s certainly no stranger to pushing herself. Having spoken briefly with Josie, her passion for the outdoors and for helping those going through a similar ordeal is truly Josie was diagnosed with a slow inspiring. While in hospital, Josie and growing brain tumour (Astrocytoma) Roger dreamt of sailing together and in the summer of 2003, whilst wind- upon regaining her health she has surfing in Spain with her friend Roger, been focused on planning their chalto whom she’s now married. Despite lenge: a successful ‘awake craniotomy’ in "A year later a further scan showed January 2005 to remove the tumour, the tumour had grown again and after a scan the following June showed that a third lot of surgery, I was told the tuthe tumour had re-grown. Josie fin- mour had turned malignant and it was ished her studies at Cardiff University likely I only had about two years to and qualified in July 2007. After two live. This, as I'm sure you can imagmore serious operations, the tumour ine, was absolutely devastating news was discovered to be malignant in and it turned my world upside down. I 2008. Radiotherapy and chemothera- went on to have radiotherapy and chepy was the next course of action for motherapy. While stuck in hospital Josie. beds, I used to sit with Roger dreaming Since meeting her husband Roger about what I would love to do. Now, in 2003 at Bangor University (where a year and a half since my devastatshe decided to take an intercalated ing news, I am fit and well and we are degree in Exercise Science), Josie turning that dream into reality." has developed a keen interest in sailDespite little being known about ing. Starting off in a dinghy and then what causes brain tumours, less than moving on to a Cornish Shrimper, the 1 percent of all cancer funding goes couple were regularly sailing on the into brain cancer research. Josie’s

Laura Brunt & Zoe Bridger Features Writers

Norfolk Broads and the river Orwell, in Suffolk. But sailing in a dinghy on the Norfolk Broads is a far cry from what the couple plan to do in May this year. With the hope of raising £25,000 for charity, Josie and Roger are planning their biggest challenge yet: to sail around the British Isles.

Growing up in Cornwall, Josie has always been an outdoor enthusiast and with her incalculable energy and

BRAIN

TUMO

URS

the east coast of Ireland, they then hope to nip across to Milford Haven, Wales, before going on to enjoy a few days in the Isles of Scilly. From there, it is a case of rounding the corner of the south coast of England and heading back to the River Orwell. They hope to complete the trip in three and a half months.

But to achieve the dream, Josie and Roger were in need of a new boat.

They sold their old shrimper and travelled to Falmouth to buy ‘Nordlys’ (a Contessa 32). Before sailing around the whole of Britain, they had to get to know their new boat, so they took ‘Nordlys’ on a summer training trip to the south-west coast with the hope of sailing to the Scilly Isles. Unfortunately, the persistent south-westerly wind made it too hard to reach the Scillies, but their primary goal of becoming confident sailing ‘Nordlys’ double-handedly was achieved.

‘Nordlys’ is being stored at Fox’s Marina over the winter in order to get her ready for the circumnavigation. But far from having a rest, Josie

and Roger are frantically writing letters to ask companies for sponsorship and appealing for help from anyone who can lend them a hand. You can follow their progress at, www.contessa32.co.uk, as well as keeping updated through Twitter. For donations, Google ‘Round Britain with a Brain Tumour Challenge’ or follow the link for ‘JustGiving’ on their website.

Josie and Roger will travel round Britain in threeand-a-half months

Josie can’t wait to get sailing and is aware of the difficulties she might face along the way: "I know it is going to be tough at times but I think it will be really worth the while!" she says.

With only a few months to go, Josie and Roger would really appreciate your support and would love for you to follow them on their incredible journey.

Josie was diagnosed while windsurfing with her now-husband, Roger

SAILING: Josie on her boat

10 OPINION

POLITICS 17

gairrhydd | POLITICS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY MARCH 15 2010

Iraq votes for democracy

This world, this week

Yaz Langley takes a look at the Iraqi parliamentary elections and ponders where Iraq can go from here Silvio escapes

I

n the words of a man whose country is no stranger to corrupt elections: ‘Today's voting makes it clear that the future of Iraq belongs to the people of Iraq'.

When Obama was voted the first black President, it marked a milestone in American history, while much of the older generation remembered the

days when black people were barely allowed to vote in peace. Now it seems that Iraq have marked their own milestone with 62 percent voting for a better future in last week's parliamentary elections. It may not seem much, but when you consider the threat they face by simply casting their vote in the recent elections, it can be seen as a huge stepping-stone.

SADDAM: Would you vote for him?

The elections will decide the 325 members of the Council of Representatives, who will then elect the Prime Minister and the President.

Throughout the city there were several ‘bottle bombs’ planted in bins; thankfully failing to injure anyone. It seems they were intended more for intimidation. Unfortunately, some innocent civilians were not so lucky.

With at least 38 killed and 89 injured from several attacks (including two on a block of flats), this country still has a long way to go to gain the peace that many think it already has.

This also puts the promise that troops are to be withdrawn in less than six months in jeopardy. Not only will this keep our soldiers in danger but will also affect and potentially delay their peace-keeping mission in Afghanistan.

A security of more than 500,000 were used to encourage maximum turnout and, although borders remained shut, roads were suddenly reopened to get more voters - and despite the attacks of violence by extremists, this election has proved somewhat a success. This is the second legitimate election in seven years, without any government interference or rigging

or fixing, and only two out of 50,000 polling stations were forced to close amid violence fears. Although the December election in 2005 brought more voters at 76 percent, those of Sunni towns, who this year made their vote count, also boycotted them. This is finally marking the beginning of a democracy for this deeply corrupt country.

These voters have to be commended for their bravery; some people may wonder why they were even willing to risk their lives for a vote but, for this fragile country, voting is crucial.

An inconclusive result or simply lack of numbers would lead to the election of a weak Prime Minister, one who might not be enough to stand up to those fighting for this long-awaited democracy.

As for these extremists, it seems they have been taught the lesson that their violence will not work. To echo Obama’s thoughts: ‘I have great respect for the millions of Iraqis who refused to be deterred by acts of violence, and who exercised their right to vote today; their participation demonstrates that the Iraqi people have chosen to shape their future’.

The nuke kid on the block

As Iran gears up its brand new nuclear programme, Rhys Howells gives us some reasons to be cheerful

W

hat happens in Iran isn't confined to the borders of the country, Iran's continuing acquirement of nuclear weaponry is a threat to a great number of people.

While many countries such as our own do have nuclear weapons, only the Iranian regime says it will use one as soon as it gets its hands on it, and against Israel.

Would Iran use a nuclear weapon though? If it did use a nuclear weapon on Israel, as many suggest it will do, then certainly the regime wouldn't last longer than a week, before a coalition would destroy it (at least one would hope a mass murder wouldn't go unanswered). The survival instinct is strong even with dictatorships, and I don't think they would be that crazy enough to do so, what more likely is that they would use it for blackmail.

They could simply invade another smaller Sunni country and say “we have the bomb now, what are you going to do about”. This can't be allowed to happen, if it does then all international laws and treaties are meaningless.

Peace talks aren't going to work, the West has been trying that approach for a number of years now, and it's clear they won't be deterred this way. For a

number of years, Iran has said it will stop enriching uranium and will sign a new deal, and nothing has ever come about ninetimes has Iran said it would suspend it's enrichment of uranium, and still they are doing to a level at which can it be used to make a (rather crude) nuclear weapon.

Sanctions while a good step forward won't prevent the regime making a bomb, and it would make the life of the average Iranian worse, and we can't afford to lose the support of the Iranian people.

A military strike, while unpleasant would certainly work, to knock out Iran's nuclear facilities would just take a weekend to do, The US air force general Charles Wald has said, that such a strike "is a technically feasible and credible option". However this would cause great resentment and turn a lot of Iranians who would be our allies away from the West, (and has the potential to prevent a revolution, which would be a crime in itself).

Such a strike wouldn't go unanswered for either, Iran would lash back at Israel with its proxy party Hezbollah, and another bloody conflict would break out there again.

The real way we can get out of this mess, would be for a revolution to occur, the beginnings of which are

as clear as day. The green movement hasn't lost it's momentum since the elections in 2009, but another catalyst is need to spark a full revolution.

However this movement is a mix of ideas, while some wish to just remove

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and others wish to remove the whole regime. But we don't have forever to wait, we might have to drop a bomb to stop one.

S

ilvio Berlusconi has once again escaped any form of criminal prosecution as the Italian parliament passed a law granting him immunity.

The law will mean that he will not have to defend himself from two allegations of corruption for 18 months because being Prime Minister is regarded as a 'legitimate impediment'.

Berlusconi, who is known for courting controversy, is accused of bribery and tax fraud.

Italian magistrates, amongst others, have condemned the law, but Berlusconi claims that they are politically biased against him.

Kyi to Burma

T

he leaders of Burma have formally annulled the election result of the 1990 election which was won by the National League for Democracy.

The leader of the NLD, Aung San Suu Kyi, and other pro-democracy campaigners have been banned from taking part in the upcoming elections, which will be the first in two decades.

However, Burma's new constitution has been accused of merely perpetuating military rule.

The date for the election has yet to be announced and criticism is already coming from all quarters.

Chile climate

S

AHMADINEJAD: He just wants to destroy America

ebastian Pinera was sworn in as President of Chile minutes after the country was hit by another earthquake.

He now faces a huge challenge to rebuild the country that was devastated by an 8.8 magnitude earthquake and a tsunami last month. 500 people were killed and thousands were left homeless.

His inauguration, which had to be evacuated because of the tremors, marks the end of two decades of left-wing rule in the South American country and his predecessor, Michelle Bachelet, left office with an 84% popularity rating.

18 POLITICS

gairrhydd | POLITICS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY MARCH 15 2010

Ten years of hard Labour

Chris Tarquini meets up with Peter Hain, the MP for Neath and Secretary of State for Wales and talks about a decade of Labour

P

eter Hain is the Secretary of State for Wales. He's been Labour MP for Neath since 1991 and whilst a student in the 1960s and 70s he became a well known anti-apartheid campaigner.

Hain is currently at the heart of a Labour government that has been criticised over the economy for a good while now. Hain rebutts the criticism that Gordon Brown's government has made the crisis worse.

"Firstly unemployment is substantially lower than most comparable countries, lower than France, Germany and the USA and significantly lower coming through what has been a much worse recession than under the Tories in the 1980s. It’s because we’ve taken action and not just said ‘you’re on your own’ and that the economy should find its own level. Given we have such a large amount of our economy linked to financial services and also such a large part of our asset base is based on housing inevitably we would be hit harder by this global whirlwind that started in the United States, but I believe most people think we’ve weathered the storm well" But what about the fact we are coming out of recession after almost all the other major industrialised economies?

Mr Hain believes in fact the situation would have been even worse under the Conservatives.

"If we followed the Conservatives I don’t think we’d have had growth and we’d not have spent money in the stimulus, the same bankrupt policies that John Maynard Keynes attacked in the 1930’s and that the Conservative government applied in the 1980’s and

90’s. Where Government won’t try to fill the void left in the recession I think it can become a depression. I really fear for the country and I fear for Wales in particular if the Tories came in with an immediate program of savage cuts like they said they will" So why were Labour so far down in the polls and what has been the key to their resurgence?

"Most people think we've weathered the economic storm well" "The MP’s expenses scandal, although it affected MPs in all parties it particularly affects the party in power, coupled with the biggest global economic recession in years it has been extremely difficult. I think the gap is closing in this election which I think will be a lot like in 1992. The Tories are offering no coherent alternative.

The only policies they have come up with are massive cuts and people can see that they don’t offer a credible future for the country, their families, their jobs and their communities".

Obviously that’s how Labour surged, but again why were they in that situation in the first place? ‘We’ve been in power for thirteen years and I’m not going to go into details, but you look at our record of achievement, for example even after the recession creating over 2.4 millions extra jobs in the economy, 95,000 of them in Wales since 1997. All of our achievements including the national minimum wage, the reductions in child and pen-

sioner policy and increase of Britain's overseas aid’.

Apparently Labour haven’t done much specifically wrong, but moving on does Mr Hain believe the Lord Ashcroft scandal raises questions over whether non-doms should sit in the House of Lords? 'There is Legislation coming in on that basis now and I think that’s right, I think the really massive scandal here is that Ashcroft has consistently not told the truth on his status. William Hague and David Cameron have not levelled with the rest of us, they’ve been party to conspiracy and deceit. It’s more significant than MP’s expenses, as what Ashcrofts’ millions have been doing is buying votes. They’ve been targeting marginal seats, with money which British taxes are not being paid on’.

But isn’t this blatant hypocrisy from Labour considering Ronald Cohen and Lord Paul do the same thing?

"I don’t know their exact circumstance but I think they are non-doms, they’ve given insignificant amounts of money, and they’ve never lied and misled anyone about their position. I think his [Ashcroft's] situation is very special. He completely duped Hague and Cameron which I find surprising as they’re both very intelligent people, they won’t answer questions and Mr Hague has been in hiding for the past week."

Is the growth of the BNP a result of Labour losing touch with the workingclass, white voter?

"Since we’re in government we have to take the greatest share of the responsibility for the rise of the BNP. I’ve fought racism all my life

and I’m a supporter of Unite against Fascism which launched in Wales on Saturday in Cardiff. What we need to do is recognise that there is a significant amount of the white working class population that feels they have somehow fallen behind in terms of job opportunities and affordable housing, and are concerned about the level of illegal migration.

We have borne down on illegal immigration like a tonne of bricks. The real problem is the BNP like the fascists before them going back to the black shirts and the Nazis in Germany are exploiting peoples grievances and that’s what’s dangerous about it, and every political party needs to come up with policies to answer those griev-

ances" You are a frequent guest on Question Time, why are you on so often?

"I often ask that myself! The programme invites me on and the party puts me up and I enjoy doing them.

I love tough programmes and I think you’ve got to be prepared to fight for Labours arguments and I’ve always had a good response in terms of emails afterwards".

Are there any politicians from opposition parties you admire?

"Paddy Ashdown always had a presence, but Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams are two of the politicians that you’d have to admire for the courage that they showed in striking their agreement in 2007".

HAIN: "And it was this big..."

Israel v Palestine: the rematch Ayushman Jamwal has a bit of a look

T

GAZA: They obviously used Polish builders

he United States has stepped in once again to mediate peace talks between Israel and Palestine to restart peace negotiations for a two-state solution to the long standing conflict.

On Tuesday, Israel and Palestine agreed to ‘indirect’ negotiations where the Special US envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, will be undertaking the role of the chief mediator between the right wing Benjamin Netanyahu government and the more moderate Palestinian Authority under Mahmoud Abbas who has been eager for negotiations to recommence.

Recent developments, however, have potentially jeopardized the peace process.

Early this month, Benjamin Netanyahu announced the inclusion of two holy sites in the West Bank - namely the Tomb of Patriarchs in Hebron and Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem - to the national heritage list and his government's intention to invest $107 mil-

lion into their refurbishment. These sites are considered holy by both Jews and Muslims, though Muslim access to them is being restricted. Moreover, at this crucial juncture, Netanyahu last week announced the resumption of the building of Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem in the West Bank area, where the Palestinian authority aims to establish a capital if ever the two state solution is implemented. Condemned by the Obama administration, the move can damage months of George Mitchell’s diplomatic efforts to bring the Palestinian Authority to the bargaining table.

The whole conflict is handicapped by a black and white approach to an area that is revered by millions belonging to different faiths. Mobilising political agendas along religious lines in such an area is always dangerous as it locks all parties in an unending struggle which leads to the volatility of order, widespread discontent and most importantly the loss of life

through conflict. Within the debate of what is controlled by Jews and what is controlled by Muslims, the notion of communal coexistence is always sidelined. With Israel’s deteriorating international image on one side, namely due to the violent 2009 Gaza campaign and most recently the assassination of a Hamas official in Dubai by Mossad (Israeli intelligence) agents, and the fractured Palestinian authority on the other, the US is struggling hard to keep both parties on the negotiation table. However, having close ties to the region and being the only superpower with the ability to bring about a resolution, especially under the Obama administration, the US needs to put in more diplomatic muscle to bring about effective results to their initiative of holding peace talks between the two sides. Through the dialogue, the US needs to ensure at least the establishment of the foundations of change in a religiously tense and war-ravaged part of the world.

POLITICS 19

gairrhydd | POLITICS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY MARCH 15 2010

EU can't possibly be serious!

The European Union impacts on every aspect of our lives, though nobody really seems sure what it is. James Dunn takes a look

O

n December 1 2009, the Lisbon Treaty came into force. Three months on, is it having any impact upon Europe?

More importantly, is the European Union still valid?

In the event of a hung parliament, the incumbent Prime Minister retains the premiership until the Queen either removes him, replaces him or dissolves the session. So even if the Conservatives technically win, if they do not gain 116 seats then Labour will remain in power.

It is this uncertainty that I think demonstrates an uncanny parallel to the European Union. Just who exactly leads it? The Lisbon Treaty has been responsible for the introduction of a hobbit-like Belgian and a woman bearing an uncanny resemblance to Delia Smith.

Herman Van Rompuy was a name that I had never heard of until Tony Blair started advocating his unique suitability for the role of President of the European Council. Now, Europe rests in the hands of the Belgian leader, a man from a tiny country trying - and failing - to lead the Union.

That said, I am not even sure it is

him who is meant to be in charge.

Lady Ashton was appointed High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. A grand - and long - sounding title which equates to `I will do everything`.

She is also the inaugural VicePresident of the European Commission (EC). The EC's President, before the Lisbon Treaty, was the leader of Europe. Yet this office still exists, in exactly the same role.

The incumbent of this role is Jose Manuel Barroso. So we have three people who seem to be giving orders.

Then there is the matter of the rotating presidency. For the first half of 2010, this rests with Spain and their Prime Minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. They have the same job as Barroso and are also responsible for security, like Ashton.

And so the list grows more extensive. Jerzy Buzek (not to be confused with Dudek) is the President of the European Parliament. Which is led by Barroso. Who answers to Van Rompuy... or something like that.

Looking at this example alone, what has the Lisbon Treaty so far delivered? Confusion. The Americans,

certainly, have no idea what is going on. I would provide an American quotation but newspapers, infuriatingly, often don’t give names. But a Brussels diplomat was quoted in The Guardian as saying `The US simply don't know who they're meant to be dealing with.

The US is mightily pissed off. They thought the Lisbon Treaty was meant to solve all these problems`.

But there are more pressing issues that should be addressed about the European Union. It was founded as an institution that would aid other nations. Logically, when Greece began their sharp descent into imminent bankruptcy, the EU would irrevocably bail them out.

The US is mightily pissed of with the EU and its leaders at the moment But Germany and France - the power blocks of the continent, even more so than Britain - vetoed this idea. And their influence goes further.

Lady Ashton is leading a Brussels contingent attempting to establish a

worldwide diplomatic corps, known as the European External Action Service (EEAS). The Germans have claimed that `excessive GB participation is evident`, and look likely to pull the plug on the deal.

So it seems that whatever initiative that could be passed by the Union can be vetoed, ad hoc, by a GermanFrench coalition. Indeed, it seems to have been their dispute with Blair that led to Van Rompuy becoming President.

The European Union, then, has too many leaders, none of them leading because they are being dictated to by other nations. They are also failing in their role to help one another. In the event that they do help Greece, they would have to help anyone in the same situation. Portugal and Spain do not seem to be that far off.

The `new dawn` of Europe is failing. 2010 was meant to mark a year that catapulted the EU onto an international scene, and recognised it as having genuine power. But Barack Obama, the most powerful man in the world, who everyone is clamouring after, is not attending a US-EU summit in May.

Combined with the failure of the Copenhagen Conference, it does seem that the EU is fighting a losing battle to be noticed.

This week I read a piece by Ilana Bet-El. She describes the institution as being `the bitchy introvert`. I think that she might have a point. Not only is it an introvert - it has to be; America ignores them - but it is also a hypocrite.

Strong stuff, I know. But, in an age of economic recession, Herman Van Rompuy draws a salary of £320,000.

In a time when democracy is acclaimed to `reign supreme`, the institution itself does not know who leads it.

This has been a quite negative article. I actually support the idea of a European Union - it just isn't being carried out in the right way. I have tried to look for postives. Really, I have. But about all I could find was a rare moment of humour when Nigel Farage, UKIP leader, told Van Rompuy he had `the charisma of a damp rag`. That’s about as mature as it gets in Brussels.

Electioneering gets down and dirty

Phillippa Lewis has a look at the rise of dirty tactics and smear campaigns as this year's general election draws ever nearer

T

he next general election has the potential to change the current political climate in a way that has not been seen for 13 years, and with recent poll predicting a hung parliament, it is clear that all of the parties have a lot to play for.

In light of such an uncertain election result, the parties are increasingly becoming involved in a culture of smear in what promises to be the battle of the personalities. In April last year, the media reported that a senior Downing Street advisor was proposing a smear campaign against senior Tories leading to calls by David Cameron for a personal apology from Gordon Brown.

The Tories, however, are not the only ones to fall victim to the smear campaign. In recent weeks, allegations of Gordon Brown’s bullying have become the latest character assassination bandwagon to be jumped on by both opposition parties, who are demanding an enquiry into such claims. Such events have become a regularity in the run up to the election, whether it be Brown criticising the photo enhanced images of Cameron on their new billboard campaign, claiming Cameron to be out of touch with the major-

ity, or Cameron and Clegg criticising Brown’s supposed treatment of the number ten staff.

What is clear is that the personal attacks are overshadowing the real issues at stake as we approach the crucial general election. Mark Twain, the famous American author, once said that “a lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes”: a fact that all parties are using to their advantage. Don’t get me wrong, I am by no means in support of Brown as a leader, but I would rather he be judged on the successes of [or lack of them] in his career, rather than on some over-hyped smears. Surely it is more important that we make informed decisions about our leaders capabilities based on the legacy of their time in office rather than the latest offering form the rumour mill.

It is no secret that MPs have created a bad name for themselves in recent years, and these personal attacks are doing them no favours. What is clear is that the UK is at a crucial stage in its economic recovery and tough decisions will have to be made. Such tough decisions are likely to be unpopular with the electorate and, thus, politicians are attempting to whitewash over the issues by focusing on

the personalities of the leaders of the main parties.

Recently, Brown appeared on the Piers Morgan show expressing his distress over the death of his daughter in an apparent attempt to appear more human to the electorate. Brown is by no means alone in this; David Cameron too has released a series of web cam videos in the attempt to portray to the voter that he is a family man, in touch with the needs of the electorate. Let's be honest, David Cameron is not the average Joe, and such attempts to win over the electorate seem to be falling flat.

What is self-evident, given the figures in voter turnout, is that people are becoming more and more alienated with politics and perhaps, more so, with politicians. Voter turnout in the last election was just 61.4 percent and politicians are doing little to increase the public's trust in them or to bolster enthusiasm for politics.

Instead of engaging in playground politics and revelling in the latest scandal, politicians should be working to regain the trust of the electorate and presenting a clear manifesto that voters can make an informed choice on. It is only then that public trust in the state will start to return.

OBAMA: He wouldn't run a dirty campaign, would he?

10 OPINION

LETTERS 21

gairrhydd | LETTERS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY MARCH 15 2010

the Comments from the week’s news, opinion, features and sport at www.gairrhydd.com Beauty pageant turns ugly Lianne Wilson Oh for crying out loud’s sake.

I’m normally not a big fan of the phrase “won’t somebody please think of the children” but, seriously, this is ridiculous. What is there that is so wrong about raising money for dying children?

Exploiting women? Oh bugger off. There are things much more important than that.

These protesters are wrong-headed, petty and quite frankly make me feel sick. Admittedly, bitching about “exploitation of women”, “objects” and “male-defined [beauty] standards” is normally guaranteed to make me rageful anyway, but this element makes it so, so much worse. Estelle Hart should be ashamed of herself.

I love the quote that “judging women based on their looks erodes their human right to be treated as equals”. Bollocks does it. Judging women based on their looks is entirely normal and something done by both men and women.

Similarly, I’d love to see Estelle claim she, and other women, never judges men on their looks. Such a claim would be preposterous. In any case, a beauty pageant (whilst I think they’re pretty pointless in non-charitable cases) is designed to judge based on looks, a criterion which doesn’t carry over into real life. In real life, we tend to judge the whole package.

Estelle is quite simply an idiot. Not only does she say that women can do what they want with their bodies and then tell them that they can’t, but she also has the same stupid problem with so-called ‘objectification’ as many of today’s irritating feminists. The claim that beauty pageants necessarily promote turning women into sexual objects shows that she apparently can’t separate beauty from sex. She claims that admiring beauty leads to sexual

degradation an impersonalisation. I think that says more Estelle than it does about anyone involved in beauty pageants. Beauty and sex/sexuality are not the same. Beauty does not necessarily lead to sexuality and sexuality can come from many other places than beauty. Is she not aware that beauty can be appreciated for beauty’s sake? ...read more at gairrhydd.com Kommunist Lianne, you’re quite clearly a victim of false consciousness that’s been produced by a male dominated, bourgeois society. If only you knew how oppressed you really are… ann Alright, lets just all sit down and think a moment, why not retaliate and have a male beauty contest, you see the men would have it for the fun of it, and donate a ton of money to the children’s charity afterwards, and not think they were being exploited as sexual objects.

Get off the pot already!

We went through all this in the 60ies and 70ies. We are already liberated, and can do things in the sense of fun! without thinking it is going to lead to our everlasting domination and exploitation. And if you cant well you just don’t have a brain to rely and in that case you will just have to rely on you beauty, better enter that competition after all!

I won a beauty contest at university in the 70ies and it didn’t lead to my exploitation or domination, as a matter of fact I went on to get a law degree, become an environmental lawyer and a publisher; so lets just see it for what it is, a harmless way to make money.

No sometimes raising money for charity is just raising money for charity.

Why not involve the men too? That was their only down fall, keeping it

restricted to women contestants only!

Death to capital punishment Kieran Harwood Why is it that every time the discussion of things such as torture or capital punishment come up (3 times in the gair rhydd in the last month by my count, it must be morality month or something) those against its use have to entangle the two seperate issues of applying it to (potentially) innocent people and applying it to those who are guilty without doubt?

This article seems to have two stories, the heading and introductory line are about ending capital punishment in general and then, with an almost audible gear change, we’re talking about a specific case of a applying it to someone who could well be innocent… The argument for applying the death penalty in specific cases is referenced and then argued against very briefly before jumping back on the “look at this case, we can conclude from this that it’s always bad” bandwagon.

It’d be nice if there was a discussion about the morality of applying this exclusively to those who are known to be guilty, rather than people consistently resorting to the “what if they’re innocent” argument…

Lianne Wilson Good luck finding someone “guilty without doubt”...

Kieran Well, the article mentions Saddam Hussein, I’d suggest his guilt is fairly clear…

There’s plenty of other obvious cases (Godwin’s law not withstanding, there’s ‘people’ like Adolf Hitler

forum

and Joseph Stalin to add to the list), less extreme cases are also prevalent, but they are much less notorious… I would suggest that there are enough cases where the individual is guilty beyond reasonable doubt (the actual meaning, not what seems to occur sometimes) that it is far from the 1 in a million you seem to suggest.

The case this article mentions, as with so many (as far as I know, all) cases that are cited as being reasons to abolish the death penalty, is where the system itself has failed and someone who is not clearly guilty has been found guilty for whatever reason (failings of defence lawyer, judge, jury, whatever), they are all examples of why the death penalty must be reserved only for cases where guilt is clear.

Lianne Wilson OK, but what happens when the guilt starts out perfectly clear, you execute them and then in turns out they didn’t do it?

Kieran Harwood Then it wasn’t clear enough…

There’s also the obvious answer that you only apply it in undisputable cases, such as Saddam Hussein, or for repeat offenders, in which case rehabilitation has already been shown not to work and they’ve been given their entire first term to prove themselves innocent…

If there is no doubt that they committed a crime 15/20 years after the event then it seems conclusive that they did it, if you can find a counter example to that conclusion then I’d be interested to hear it.

Lianne Wilson What is an acceptable margin of error? Because you’re certainly not going to get it right every

time, not even after 20 years.

Look at this case: http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Teresa_de_Simone Now, admittedly, that wasn’t a death sentence, but you can imagine that it almost certainly would have been in the days when we still had them. Twenty-seven years later and they realise he didn’t do it. Not quite so conclusive after all.

Kieran Harwood That does fit what I requested – and I was interested to read it ;), although with current technology it can be assumed he wouldn’t have been so conclusively found guilty.

Obviously, I can’t ask someone to find an example for which that doesn’t apply, as they must be provable to be innocent using current methods by default, although having a situation where someone goes to the effort to appear guilty and confesses does raise the question of how much effort should be put in to stop people getting themselves convicted of crimes.

Lianne Wilson Some people have mental conditions which cause them to act that way though.

Done It Duncans should be given psychiatric help rather than be locked up for crimes where the real culprit is still on the loose.

America's nuclear bombshell Luke Baker

I agree, do they really need that many? A nuclear war won’t exactly last long enough for 1500 nuclear warheads to be fired.

Away on a placement?

Heading abroad?

Stay in touch with

www.gairrhydd.com NEWS, LIVE DEBATE, FEATURES, SPORT, QUENCH, EXCLUSIVE CONTENT AND MORE

22 TAF-OD

gairrhydd | TAFOD@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY MARCH 15 2010

Refferendwm yng Nghymru Eleri Jones

Taf-od Writer Ar y 9fed o Chwefror, eleni pledleisiodd aelodau’r Cynulliad yn unfrydol dros ofyn am refferendwm am bwerau deddfwriaethol pellach. Prin bythefnos yn ddiweddarach cyhoeddodd Peter Hain, Ysgrifennydd Cymru, ei fod wedi gofyn i swyddogion Swyddfa Cymru baratoi’r offerynnau cyfreithiol angenrheidiol i gynnal refferendwm yn dilyn y gofyniad. Honnir y gall refferendwm gael ei gynnal cyn gynted ag yr hydref, datblygiad pellach yn y broses o ddatganoli Cymru.

Yn y sefyllfa bresennol, ac yn dilyn Deddf Llywodraeth Cymru 2006, gall y Cynulliad basio Mesurau’r Cynulliad er bod yn rhaid iddynt gael eu derbyn gan Ysgrifennydd Cymru, Tw’r Cyffredin neu Dw’r Arglwyddi yn gyntaf. Mae’r pwerau hyn yn gyfyngedig oherwydd nid ond mewn meysydd arbennig gall y Cynulliad eu defnyddio. O ganlyniad nid yw Cymru’n llwyr annibynnol ei barn, a chyda gwledydd Celtaidd eraill megis yr Alban ac Iwerddon yn meddu ar bwerau deddfwriaethol ehangach,

cwyd cwestiwn ynghylch beth sy’n atal Cymru rhag meddu’r un sefyllfa wleidyddol?

Dadleua rhai nad yw’r Cymry yn rhoi digon o bwysigrwydd i’r mater dan sylw, ac yn wir felly oedd y sefyllfa yn 1979 pan bleidleisiodd dim ond 58 percent o’r boblogaeth yn y refferendwm ac o’r rheiny, 20 percent ddywedodd eu bod o blaid datganoli.

Er hynny, wrth i bwerau’r Cynulliad ddatblygu dros y trideg mlynedd ddiwethaf tybiaf i ddiddordeb y Cymry ym materion y Cynulliad hefyd ddatblygu.

Nid fersiwn llai o faint na Lloegr mo Cymru, a thrwy ddatblygu pwerau’r Cynulliad gall Gymru brofi ei bod yn annibynnol ei barn ym Mhrydain.

Prydera nifer am gost y cwbl, ond onid buddsoddiad yng ngwleidyddiaeth Cymru buasai cynllun o’r fath? O ystyried cost y Senedd bedair blynedd yn ôl, buasai peidio â chytuno i ehangu pwerau’r Cynulliad yn gallu gwneud i’r Senedd ymddangos fel gwastraff ariannol.

Petai gan y Cynulliad bwerau deddfwriaethol llawn, ni fyddai angen i faterion megis y Ddeddf Iaith Newydd gael eu cyfeirio at Lundain mwyach.

Gallai hyn arbed amser, arian, a hybu

statws Cymru fel gwlad wleidyddol weithredol yn Ewrop.

Honna papur newydd The Guardian fod ymchwil diweddar yn dynodi y buasai 47 percent yn pleidleisio o blaid ehangu pwerau’r Cynulliad, a 37 percent yn ei erbyn. Er hyn, heb weld y sampl a gyflawnodd yr ymchwil hwn anodd ydyw gwybod pa mor ddibynadwy yw’r ystadegau hyn.

Buasai rhoi pwerau i’r Cynulliad lunio deddfau pellach yn tawelu’r siarad ymysg y rheiny nad ydynt yn gweld gwerth i’r Cynulliad ac sydd yn ei feirniadu fel gwastraff amserol ac ariannol gan mai ond pwerau cyfyngedig sydd ganddo.

Yn ogystal, buasai ehangu pwerau’r Cynulliad yn rhoi hyder i’r sefydliad yng ngwleidyddiaeth Prydain ac Ewrop. Heb geisio, ni wyddwn a fyddai’n llwyddiannus ai peidio, felly pa reswm sydd dros beidio â cheisio?

Mae’r Cynulliad wedi hybu hunaniaeth Cymru ym Mhrydain, a byddai trosglwyddo pwerau deddfwriaethol Cymru o San Steffan i’r Senedd yn atgyfnerthu Cymru fel grym gwleidyddol Ewropeaidd. Onid oes gan y Cynulliad y gallu a’r potensial i feddu ar bwerau pellach? Onid yw hi’n hen bryd i’r Cynulliad gael cyfrifoldeb

vĂ•Â?Â?ÞÊvĂ•Ă€Â˜ÂˆĂƒÂ…i`ĂŠÂ…Âˆ}…ʾÕ>Â?ÂˆĂŒĂž ĂƒĂŒĂ•`iÂ˜ĂŒĂŠ>VVœ““œ`>ĂŒÂˆÂœÂ˜

dros faterion ein cenedl?

Y mae gennym oll ein hawl i’n barn bersonol, ac mae’r bleidlais yn profi hynny. Teimlaf yn gryf ei bod hi’n bwysig defnyddio’r bleidlais gan mai dyna ffordd yr unigolyn i leisio barn mewn byd sy’n boddi mewn democratiaeth.

Ystyriaf y testun dan sylw i fod yn bwysig gan ei fod yn fater gall arwain at ganlyniadau chwyldroadol yng ngwleidyddiaeth Cymru. O ganlyniad, rhaid ystyried y sefyllfa’n ddwys a phleidleisio’n unol â barn bersonol am ddyfodol gwleidyddiaeth yn ein gwlad.

-Փ“iÀÊÊ VVœ““œ`>ĂŒÂˆÂœÂ˜ĂŠ >Ă›>ˆÂ?>LÂ?iĂŠĂŒÂ…Ă€ÂœĂ•}Â…ÂœĂ•ĂŒĂŠ Ă•Â?Ăž]ĂŠ Ă•}Ă•ĂƒĂŒĂŠE -iÂŤĂŒi“LiĂ€

All bedrooms include your own private en-suite bathroom Available in 3,4 & 5 bedroom flats with a television & Sky package included in each flat and broadband available in every bedroom

ÂœĂ€ĂŠÂ“ÂœĂ€iĂŠÂˆÂ˜vÂœĂ€Â“>ĂŒÂˆÂœÂ˜ĂŠVÂœÂ˜ĂŒ>VĂŒĂŠĂŒÂ…iĂŠ6ˆVĂŒÂœĂ€Âˆ>ĂŠ >Â?Â?ĂŠ >˜>}i“iÂ˜ĂŒĂŠ"vwViĂŠÂœÂ˜\

äәÓäÊÎx™ÊxääÊ V>Ă€`ˆvvJĂ›ÂˆVĂŒÂœĂ€Âˆ>Â…>Â?Â?°VÂœÂ“ĂŠ v>Ă?\ÊäәÓäÊÎx™ÊxäÇÊ

Victoria Hall, Blackweir Terrace, Cardiff, CF10 3EY

ĂœĂœĂœÂ°Ă›ÂˆVĂŒÂœĂ€Âˆ>Â…>Â?Â?°Vœ“

welcome to your

vĂ•ĂŒĂ•Ă€i

ĂŠ

gairrhydd | SCIENCE@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY MARCH 15 2010

SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENT 23

Science and Engineering Week National Science and Engineering Week is running until March 15 with various events around Cardiff Gemma Lavender Science Writer It's that time of year again when scientists and engineers across the United Kingdom celebrate National Science and Engineering Week, bringing the general public and professionals together in a diverse range of locations, from schools to shopping centres, and, this year, to Cardiff University.

The ten-day programme, which supports the International Year of Biodiversity by centering its theme on planet Earth, is set to encourage people of all ages to rediscover their natural surroundings. Cardiff University started earlier in the year with a range of lectures to the general public, but if you missed those, there is plenty more around the schools of Physics and Astronomy, Biosciences and the University Hospital of Wales, as well as at various places around the city.

A week centred on science and engineering and it's in your city Tomorrow sees Professor Peter Coles, of the School of Physics and Astronomy, give a presentation on the complexity of our universe, where he will discuss the idea that the universe is made up of clusters and chains of galaxies surrounded by empty space.

This will be followed by an exhibition of the research carried out at

the school. Later on in the week, on March 18, Professor Matt Griffin will be providing a talk on infrared astronomy and the ground breaking work of the Herschel and Planck s p a c e

discussed.

Since the theme of the week is centred on our planet, you can expect more in the way of the biology of humans and the weird and wonderful creatures that live on it, as well as

secondary schools. On March 17 and 18, the School of Biosciences, Techniquest and the University Hospital are encouraging young people to get involved with science activities spanning the disciplines of Computer Science, Engineering, Physics Mathematics and Biology in the form of workshops.

The programme is centred on the International Year of Biodiversity

tips o n r e instruments, which are both built by scientists at the department.

If astrophysics is not your thing, then head to The Gate Arts Centre on Keppoch Street for a public debate on neuroscience and philosophy: A neuroscientist and a philospher will be discussing quandries such as how our brains and minds are related are

cycling and energy saving to help conserve our Earth.

Science and Engineering Week is open to people of all ages, and the University have been sure to accommodate for pupils in both primary and

Cardiff University rounds up the celebration of the Science and Engineering week on March 21 in Dempsey's Bar with Humourology saves the world, which combines the best of live comedy and science scenes in a bid to bring to light the ways in which humans can eliminate serious threats to our planet, particularly when they can be the ones that are causing the harm to the planet in the first place!

Nationally, there will be a chance to send a message into space and vote for your favourite endangered species online.

So there you have it - a week centred on science and engineering and the impact that it has on us and the third rock from the sun - and it's happening in your city, so come along and get involved in one of the most successful events of the year.

You can find out more about National Science and Engineering Week 2010 at www.britishscienceassociation.org/web/nsew/

Breast cancer treatment breakthrough Scientists can now identify whether chemotherapy will be an effective treatment for breast cancer Tomos Clarke Science Writer A team of scientitsts have developed a genetic test for the effectiveness of chemotherapy as a treatment for cancer.

The team analysed the genes responsible for the activity of the anticancer drug Pacliaxel. They found that, out of the 829 genes found in breast cancer, only six genes governed the effectiveness of Pacliaxel in patients.

Pacliaxel belongs to a group of drugs called Taxanes. These agents stop the growth of certain cancers by inhibiting cell division. Often they are given to patients before surgery, but a significant proportion of people respond much less than others. If the

genes that govern cell division in the cancer cell are damaged, the drug can be less effective.

The team used a technique known as RNA inference to identify the six genes that can inhibit the drug.

The technique works by deleting all other genes one at a time by attaching a small section of RNA to it, then analysing the effect on drug effectiveness. The data was then used to successfully predict whether Pacliaxel would be effective in patients before they started their treatment.

Over 45,500 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year in the UK. It is estimated that around 15 percent of these will be considered for Pacliaxel. The researchers estimate that half of these prescriptions could be avoided, saving a large proportion of patients from the painful side-

effects associated with chemotherapy, not to mention saving the NHS money and resources.

It is estimated that 50% of Pacliaxel prescriptions could be avoided The international team included researchers form Cancer Research UK’s London research institute and researchers from the Technical University of Denmark. Lead author Dr Charles Swanton said: “A great challenge in cancer medicine is determining which patients will benefit from particular cancer drugs and it is hoped that this research is a step towards more rapid developments in person-

alised medicine.

"Our research shows it is now possible to rapidly pinpoint genes which prevent cancer cells from being destroyed by anti-cancer drugs and use these same genes to predict which patients will benefit from specific types of treatment."

Further studies are planned in order to develop the findings into a simple diagnostic test that could inform doctors whether or not to prescribe Pacliaxel.

The eventual aim of the team is to adapt this test and apply it to other drugs and to other cancers. Unsuccessful courses of treatment are unfortunately common when dealing with cancer. The hope is that, with tests such as these, more appropriate treatment can be prescribed and that more people will recover as a result.

News in brief Newsbites Houses to get eco makeovers Student houses could soon benefit from some eco upgrades thanks to a new government 'green loan' proposal to encourage home owners to make their homes warmer and cheaper.

The new plans mean that householders would be able to borrow money to pay for things like solid wall insulation and solar panels.

Repayments will be through a 'pay as you save' scheme, which is designed so that a small amount each month is paid back in order to produce a monthly profit.

The proposal has been welcomed by the National Landlords Association.

No more IeuanAir? There have been calls for the scrapping of the government-subsidised air link between North and South Wales known as 'IeuanAir', after Plaid Cymru leader, Ieuan Wyn Jones, was accused of being the main user of the service.

Earlier this month the Welsh Assembly admitted it was struggling to find a company to take over operations when the current deal with Highland Airways expires in May. IeuanAir has been receiving a subsidy of £800,000 and Wales Green Party have called for the money to be used to improve rail links instead.

Liberal Democrat Assembly Member Jenny Randerson has also criticised the air link describing it as a 'dead duck'.

Men more at risk from malaria while travelling Women are more likely to suffer stomach problems while men are more susceptible to fevers and sexually transmitted diseases while travelling, according to a study by the University of Zurich.

Women are also more likely to have bad side effects to medication like malaria tablets, while men are more likely to get infections transmitted my mosquitoes or ticks. It is hoped that the research will be able to help people prepare better for trips abroad and long term travel.

It is thought that men may make 'more attractive hosts' to mosquitoes because they are lured in by sweat, which also washes off insect repellent.

Nelly the Elephant packed her trumpet, or her growl!

Researchers at San Diego Zoo have told the BBC that they have discovered the “secret language” of elephants. According to the study, around two thirds of their communication is at frequencies too low for humans to hear.

Matt Anderson, who led the project, was ‘excited’ to discover that such growls not only served as a predator warning but also indicated the positions of elephants within the hierarchy of the herd: different growls indicated different interactions between different individuals.

24 JOBS & MONEY

gairrhydd | JOBS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY MARCH 15 2010

Living in London and loving it?

Just don't become a Londonite Katie Greenway Jobs & Money Editor

London. The city of the Queen, the Prime Minister, the 2012 Olympics and Amy Winehouse. Anyone who is anyone lives in London. All I ever hear from my friends is how they are going to take the long train journey up to city of dreams to start their new lives once University has spat them out in June.

There are two very strong opinions about our great capital. It is crowded, smoggy, obnoxious, rude and extortionate. Even those that live in London (or aspire to) acknowledge this. Yet they are still convinced of its superiority. So why is London the Mecca for ex-students?

To be realistic, we have to acknowledge its superiority in terms of economic opportunity and dominance in the UK. It holds near enough every head office of every worthwhile national and international business. In terms of job opportunities and career growth, it is surely the best place to be. The best law firms, newspapers,

banks, PR firms and graduate schemes are all based in London. Wannabe journalists, politicians and stockbrokers have no choice but to go to London as it is the only place in the country where they are able to reach the height of their career. Consequently, more and more graduates are flocking to London like a moth to the flame, and all for good reason.

I think the animosity comes in when people move to London because they believe that good things will happen to them because of their geographical location in SW1, never actually ‘make’ it. Thousands of people make the journey to London and just float along like a buoy in the ocean amidst thousands of other, more successful travellers. In making the move, you run the risk of becoming a small fish in a big ocean: forgettable, easily lost and very unspectacular.

As I have written in previous articles, one has to determine which is more important to them: their quality of life or the quantity of their bank balance.

The answer to that question will

give you an almost definite answer as to whether you are the type of person that would survive in London. If you are of the latter persuasion, then London may certainly be the place for you.

Personally, I remain begrudgingly intrigued by the city, but I feel that my reasons for going are superficial.

In terms of career, it would be the best place for me to go as there are far more job opportunities in the niche that I am trying to place myself.

However, the price of living is extortionate, especially in comparison to Cardiff. Despite this, the experience of living in such an immense city is a perfect enough reason to relocate, and there is no better time to take the leap now, while you are young, free and fearless.

I have had friends who have moved to London and loved it, but one thing I’ve noticed is how they have all… changed. If you do move to London and become massive success, then please, whatever you do, do not become just another suit. No one likes a Londonite.

LIVING THE HIGH LIFE: Don't get swept away in the Big Smoke

OPINION 09

gairrhydd | LISTINGS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY MARCH 15 2010

26 LISTINGS

New outfit in town...

'Darky and Bare Present' is a fresh promotions team curretly based at Cardiff's new alternative club 'submission'. The night consists of various fresh electronic and dance music sounds including; dubstep, fidget house & electro, hiphop and glitch.

Currently hosting one of the latest big names 'JAYOU' on March 16 - an act that has devestated Cardiff with some of his recent gigs being sell outs. His recent successes have included tracks such as the epic “crack hands” being featured in the 'MAJOR LAZER Essential Mix'.

His fidget and stomping dub sounds mean that the Dancefloor will really kick off. Things don't stop with Jayou however, as his support will be filled with one of the veterans and pioneers of Cardiffs Dubstep scene. As a DJ and producer; 'Magenta's' impending Dub break downs along with Jayou will ensure at least two hours of relentless Dub action.

YOUR INDEPENDENT LISTINGS GUIDE Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

15th March

16th March

17th March

FUN FACTORY, Solus, FREE Fun Factory is still producing entertainment for those already haemorrhaging cash. Free entry and super cheap drinks are a perfect way to enjoy yourself and keep your new purse strings in check. Plus, it's got quite good for those catching up with dubstep, dub, DnB... little bit late, but yeh... go for it.

SOUND OF GUNS, Barfly, £6.50 A band from Liverpool doing a distinctly atypically Scouse take on rocknroll. No scallydelic Coralisms here. A melodic undercurrent purrs along amongst the anthemic Killers-like songs, but thrusting guitars are never far away.

THE KEITH LITTLE BAND, Windsor Hotel, £LIMITED The Cardiff-based, but internationally-known, Keith Little Band has been called 'Wales' Premier Jazz and Swing Band' by media and musicians alike. Together since 1998, the band create a superb and lively sound extending beyond the traditional and offering a wide range of exhilarating jazz that is just sheer enjoyment. Featuring Keith on piano, alongside Laurie Davies (trumpet), Pete Locke (trombone/vocals), Ceri Rees (clarinet/saxes), Donnie Joe Sweeney (double bass/vocals) and Mike Pincombe (drums).

A GENUINE FREAKSHOW, Buffalo, £4A six-piece, experimental, post-everything, pop bonanza. 'Like Sigur Ros on a quirky pop binge, A Genuine Freakshow's colliding style has you on the edge of your seat and is simply astounding'.

BOYCE AVENUE, Great Hall, £17.50 Boyce Avenue are a Florida-based band popular for their strong acoustic roots and melodic rock sound. Consisting of the three brothers Alejandro, Fabian, and Daniel Manzano, the band first came together in 2000 as just mere teenagers. Since forming, they've built an online fan base that has catapulted the band to one of the top independent artists on YouTube with over 200,000 subscribers and over 100 million page views. With almost 7 million MySpace plays and an increasing number of fans on other social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, Boyce Avenue's worldwide appeal continues to grow.

POP QUIZ, Vulcan Lounge, £1 Come down to the Vulcan Lounge in Cathays for the pop quiz. Only £1 entry (per person) with a £100 cash prize, which willthis will suitably help out your overdraft and bring you smiles along the way.

NO SWEAT, CAI, £FREE Every Wednesday bringing you luscious local bands and a few magical treats from afar, that will feed your fertile imagination.

TEENAGERSINTOKYO, Buffalo, £3 teenagersintokyo hail from Sydney, where their mix of grunge, goth and disco has earned them a fearsome reputation.

With residents comprising of Rollo and Riskie, two talented new, up and coming residents with much potential, expect energy and fresh, slamming, heavy sounds with Glitch, hiphop, Dub and fidget electro to show you a sign of things to come from the night.

Listings out...

Students’ Union, Park Place, 02920 387421 www.cardiffstudents.com ◆ IV Lounge, Neuadd Meirionydd, Heath Park 02920 744948 ◆ Clwb Ifor Bach ros, Bakers Row 02920 399939 www.clubmetropolitan.com ◆ Dempseys, Castle Street 02920 252024 ◆ Move, 7 Mill Lane 02920 225592 ◆ Jazz, 21 St. Mary Street 02920 387026 www.cafejazzcardiff.com ◆ The Riverbank Hotel, Despenser Street www.riverbankjazz.co.uk ◆ St. David’s Hall, Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay 0870 0402000 www.wmc.org.uk ◆ The New Theatre, Park Place 02920 878889 www.newtheatrecardiff.co.uk ◆ The Cardiff International Arena, Mary Ann Street 02920 224488 ◆ The Millennium Stadium Can’t miss it. www.millenniumstadium.com ◆ Tiger Tiger

LISTINGS 27

gairrhydd | LISTINGS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY MARCH 15 2010

Thursday 18th March

Bethan Elfyn Presents, Buffalo, £5 Misty's Big Adventure: Eight-piece fun-loving multi-instrumental outfit from Birmingham.

Comparisons to The Bonzo Dog Doodar Band are not unfounded - arguably the most original band to come out of Birmingham in a very long time. KateGoes seem to have taken every conceivably sublimely ridiculous sound in the world, squashed it into a heap and somehow bashed it around the edges into an unrecognisable yet utterly delightful shape.

CYNT PRESENT MOWGLI, CLwb, £4 MOWGLI is by far one of the most incredible new talents of late, and the success is down pure and simply to his music. Signed to the amazing Deadfish Records, who are pushing the likes of Solo, Round Table Knights and Camel, Mowgli and the rest of these guys are shaping the future of house music for 2010.

DISCORD, Barfly, £3 Rock, punk, alternative, metal heaven! w/ heavenly drinks prices aswell!!! From 10pm onwards! STRONG!!!!

Friday

Saturday

19th March

20th March

DRINK THE BAR DRY, SU, VIP - £6 End of term piss-up in the Union. Good.

DIRTY POP / MR POTTER / VINYL VENDETTAS, Clwb, £5 Saturday night at clwb is probably the longest running DJ night in Cardiff, clocking up 25years in 2008, and it just keeps on getting better. Offering three floors of the best tracks from a variety of genres Clwb has cherry picked the best DJs currently gracing the decks in Cardiff and put them all on the same night. From the bottom up dirty pop rules the roost on the bottom floor with a rotational residency by some of the club’s longest standing DJs; Ian Cottrell, Guto Brychan, Barry BWP and Esyllt Williams. The middle floor brings you the kingpin of Cardiff’s spinners, DJ Gareth Potter, who’s encyclopedic knowledge of funk, soul and rhythm’n’blues creates an out of control house party vibe every week. Finally on the top floor the first ladies of the Cardiff scene,The Vinyl Vendettas.

Their mix of indie, rock’n’roll and classics has been gracing festivals across the land and it is to Clwb’s considerable pride that they have decided to make the venue their home. All this is yours every single Saturday,what more could you ask for!!

ACOUSTIC LADYLAND, Buffalo, £8 An electric jazz group that plays dirty rock 'n'roll, tipped as one of 'five incredible acts to watch in 2005' by Observer Music Monthly.

An electric mix of distorted melodies, sneering punk bass, distorted keyboards and wordless songs about paranoia, anger, heroism and dogs. These musicians have the improvisational freedom to play as far out as they wish, without either losing themselves or those listening.

THE FOUR TOPS + GUESTS, CIA, £38 The Four Tops:The Four Tops have been wowing audiences with their infectious blend of pure vocal power and sweet harmonies since 1954. Since their first hit, Baby I Need Your Loving, in 1964 they have had a string of hits including Reach Out, I'll Be There, Standing In The Shadows Of Love, Bernadette, Walk Away Renee, I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch) and Loco In Acapulco amongst others. In 1989 they were inducted into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame and are still bringing their melodious soul to enthused crowds the world over.

Sunday

21st March THE EDITORS, Great Hall, £20 This Birmingham-based quartet have enjoyed a rapid rise to success since they met at college in Staffordshire in 2003. Influenced by iconic bands such as Joy Division and Echo and the Bunnymen, their 2005 debut album reached no. 2 in the UK, thanks in part to an unrelenting tour schedule. The continued increase in the popularity of their live shows in 2006, along with a top ten single show that the band have the potential to become one of the 'big names' of the decade.

SONGS OF NICK DRAKE, CAI, £FREE This show has gained substantial acclaim for bringing the fragile and beautiful music of Nick Drake into a live context, giving re-birth and a human presence to one of the most influential singer-songwriters of the last 50 years.

LUCY WAINWRIGHT ROCHE, Toucan, £8 Daughter of Loundon Wainwright III and Suzzy Roche. She draws inspiration from tradtional folk songs as well as pop and rock music.

COFFEE & TV, Vulcan Lounge, FREE Go for a sociable drink at the newly opened Vulcan Lounge in Cathays. Good cheap menu with student deals.

(The Welsh Club), 11 Womanby Street 02920 232199 www.clwb.net ◆ Barfly, Kingsway, Tickets: 08709070999 www.barflyclub.com/cardiff ◆ MetIncognito, Park Place 02920 412190 ◆ Liquid, St. Mary Street 02920645464 ◆ The Philharmonic, 76-77 St. Mary Street 02920 230678 ◆ Café The Hayes 02920 878444 www.stdavidshallcardiff.co.uk ◆ Chapter Arts Centre, Market Road, Canton 02920 304400 www.chapter.org ◆ Wales Sherman Theatre, Senghennydd Road 02920 646900 www.shermantheatre.co.uk ◆ The Glee Club, Mermaid Quay 0870 2415093 www.glee.co.uk ◆ Greyfriar's Road 02920 391944 www.tigertiger.co.uk ◆ Tommy’s Bar, Howard Gardens (off Newport Road) 02920 416192 ◆

28 XPRESS RADIO

gairrhydd | XPRESSRADIO.CO.UK MONDAY MARCH 15 2010

Designed for Cardiff, Defined by you! ☛ NEW MUSIC! ☛ NEW WEBSITE! ☛ NEW err NEWS!

LMS BATTLE OF THE BANDS: FINAL 2010 For the last six weeks, Xpress Radio has been bringing you every band in this year's Live Music Society Battle of the Bands.

And, oh yes, it's finally here.

What is finally here, I hear you cry?

Well, the final is finally here. Taking place in SOLUS this Thursday from 8PM. Tickets are £4 from the Union Box Office and of course the entire event will be broadcast on Xpressradio.co.uk! Not only that but the winner will be playing at the Summer Ball!

ELECTION RESULTS Oh yes, the last seven heady days of craziness across campus are coming to an end.

Xpress Radio has been there all the way: twittering AGM, catching up with candidates as well as our exclusive Presidential debate on Wednesday last week. All our coverage can be fond online at xpressradio. co.uk/electwit.

But you don't want to know any of that, do you? The apotheosis of our elections coverage this year is coming in our Results Show from 1PM on Monday 15 Feb. Tune in to hear all the results as they are announced, as well as the cheers and tears of the winning and losing candidates, only on xpressradio.co.uk!

NEW WEBSITE LAUNCHED! That's right, Xpressradio.co.uk has had a Gok Wan style makeover (no, it's not got naked people on it, that's not why you should look at it...) Check out the latest additions to the playlist, all our fantastic mainstream, specialist sport, speech and news shows, as well as exclusive sessions and all sorts of other shiny shiny goodness.

NOMINATIONS OPEN! And finally... Nominations are now open for Xpress Radio Station Manager, please email editor@gairrhydd.com if interested in running.

Nominations close Monday March 22.

Monday

Tuesday and

Jess'

Student

Wednesday 10 APM: Helen and Char's Student Breakfast

10 AM: Ditzee Rascal's Student Breakfast

10 AM: Milly Breakfast

12 PM: Sports Xpress 1 PM: ELECTION RESULTS LIVE **Schedule may be subject to change** 4 PM: Louisa and Ally B's Afternoon Show

12 PM: Union Request Live!

12 PM: Cariad' and Cosmos

2 PM: Three Girls and A Gay

2 PM: The Kat and Ash Show

4 PM: Tamsin and Mel's Afternoon Show

4 PM: Luke and Ed's Afternoon Show

6 PM: XCHANGE! with Tom and Dave

6 PM: XCHANGE! with Megan and Charlotte

6 PM: XCHANGE! with Amy and Steven

8 PM: Escape From the Pigeonhole

8 PM: Rock! Paper! Scissors!

9:30 PM: Getting Fruity!

9:30 PM: Superstars!

11 PM: Superfly!

11 PM Unknown Zone

Thursday

Friday

10 AM: Rachel and Chloe's Student Breakfast

10 AM: Dan Potts' Student Breakfast

12 PM: Sports Xpress

12 PM: The Queen Of Hearts 2 PM: A Shot of JD

2 PM: Dead End Radio 4 PM: Sean and Harry's Afternoon Show 6 PM: XCHANGE! with Three Man Bundle 8 PM: LIVE @ LIVE MUSIC SOCIETY BATTLE OF THE BANDS 2010 FINAL, Solus £4

4 PM: Sally and Susie's Afternoon Show

8 PM: Xpression Sesdsion 9: 30 PM: Bona Fide 11 PM: Relaxative

Saturday 10 AM: Rob and Dunc's Student Breakfast 12 PM: Gareth Jones' Temple of Boom 2 PM: The Restoration 4 PM: Community Service

6 PM: XCHANGE! with Tomm Barnett

5 PM: AltNation SoapBox

8 PM: What's The Diff?

6 PM: Alphabetti Spaghetti

9:30 PM: Living Room Rave

7 PM: Ten Years Time

11 PM: Dave and Joe Radio Show

8 PM: Built 9 PM: The North/South Divide

11 PM: New and Obscure

Sunday 10 AM: The Film Show

3 PM: Student Radio Chart Show

10:30: Electile Dysfunction

5 PM: Under The Radar

11:00: Round Table

6 PM: Anything Alternative

12:00 The Well-Meaners

7 PM: Hippo In The Hammock

1:00 PM: The Friday Quiz (On A Sunday!)

8 PM: Livewire

1:30: The Rewrite, by Natalie Stone 2:00: The Trawlermen's Sweerhearts 2:30: Britt + Jen Get Problematic

9 PM: Bringing It All Back Home 10 PM: Ridicule The Mule 11 PM: Watts' Occurin'

10 PM: Curly Joe and Ginger's Musical Monopoly 11 PM: And Now For Something Completely Different

Get In Touch...

= ☎ 02920 781 530

☎ 077 222 63 888 ✉ studio @ xpressradio.co.uk Twitter: @ xpressradio LISTEN ONLINE: www.xpressradio.co.uk

FIVE MINUTE FUN 29

gairrhydd | FMF@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY MARCH 15 2010

MEDIUM

sudoku.

HARD

Mystic Smeg Aries, March 21 – April 20 You’re going to be on the telly this week! Exciting! It’s a new prison-show!

Exciting!

Taurus, April 21 – May 21 How’s that beard coming along? It suits you, very flattering for a lady.

Gemini, May 22 – June 21 Oh goodness gracious me. We’re all going to die.

quick crossword.

Across

Down

8. A university administrator (4) 9. Large commercial ship (5) 10. Blemish (4) 11. A photographic tool (6) 12. Curved down like an eagle's beak (8) 13. Thunderous verbal attack (8) 15. A medicine that induces vomiting (6) 17. Honors (7) 19. Footstool (7) 22. Not flotsam (6) 24. A fireproof material (8) 26. An inability to sleep (8) 28. Jitters (6) 30. Leave in a hurry (4) 31. Wedding helper (5) 32. Cocoyam (4)

1. Prefix meaning "After" or "Beyond" (4) 2. Edison was one (8) 3. Acid neutralizer (6) 4. A canvas shoe (7) 5. Debate (8) 6. A dozen (6) 7. Fiber source (4) 14. Angered (5) 16. Potato state (5) 18. Aglow (8) 20. A witness (8) 21. Grand style (7) 23. Overly conceited or arrogant (6) 25. Consisting of two (6) 27. Notch (4) 29. Concludes (4)

Cancer, June 22 – July 22 See Gemini.

Leo, July 23 - August 23 Microphone troubles will halt your performance. You’ll still be awesome though.

Virgo, August 24 – September 22 You’ll meet the girl you missed on Monday in Tiger Tiger. You know who I mean.

Libra, September 23 – October 23 Did you see loads of pirates, superheroes, cows and army men last week?

Must be having a stroke.

Scorpio, October 24 – November 22 Nah, you didn’t want to get with him anyway. Don’t worry about it. You can do better (you can’t).

Sagittarius, November 23 – December 21 Someone once asked me if my surname is Smeg. No. You’re an absolute cretin.

Capricorn, December 22 – January 20 Saturday night, eh? Where did you go?

With her?! No way. Anal?! Lad. Aquarius, January 21 – February 18 You’ll make a ‘your Mum’ joke and it’ll go horribly wrong. Stop it.

Pisces, February 19 – March 20 Money advice... get rid of some shit?

Sell your housemate on eBay.

10 OPINION

SPORT 31

gairrhydd | SPORT@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY MARCH 15 2010

James Davies lends an ear to one of the greatest legends in boxing history: Evander Holyfield Evander Holyfield may not be the prettiest like Muhammad Ali, or the meanest like Mike Tyson, but he is a boxer who epitomises the sport like no other. Throughout his illustrious boxing career, his integrity, power and presence have made him one of the most respected and beloved fighters of all time.

He has won the World Heavyweight Championship a record four times and is now chasing the dream of a fifth title.

After being raised in the “ghetto”, Evander recalls his incredible journey, and reveals how his “momma’s whippings” meant he didn’t end up like Mike Tyson - the man who, infamously, bit off, and spat out, a chunk of his ear. Evander is rumoured to be facing the ‘animal’ once again in what could be next year’s biggest bout.

Peering through the window where my interview was to take place, Evander Holyfield - one of boxing's all time greats - was sat alone, quietly sipping a can of Cola.

As I entered the room, after a light knock on the door, Evander immediately stood up to his full 6’ 3”, and welcomed me. After I’d introduced myself as the student journalist who was due to do an interview with him, he smiled, “Oh, yes, take a seat.”

Although his imposing height wasn’t threatening, his stance certainly was. It seemed, without realising it, he had adopted the ‘toe-to-toe’ standing position boxers use while in the ring in his everyday life, which was intimidating to say the least.

As I stood in awe of his sheer size, the affable boxer laughed. “I wasn’t always the biggest, but I was the youngest of nine so I was always tough”, he said rather charmingly.

"I would have ended up like Mike had my momma not been so tough" Observing the ‘crème de la crème’ of sporting entertainment, one can easily understand why he is so successful, and it becomes easy to see why he’s one of the most likeable boxers in the oft-maligned sport.

His aura commands attention and his very presence creates an air of authority, which in turn makes for selfassurance - which, in this business, is the most vital, single factor for selfpreservation.

Evander explained: “In this business we must all love ourselves if we hope to succeed.”

Despite having millions of dollars in the bank and fame beyond belief, he is no ‘flash Harry’. Evander credits his mother, Laura, for teaching him about Christian values and the honour in being humble.

“My mother was very instrumental in my life. She taught me to respect

Evander struck fear into most oppenents other people”, he mused, before adding, “my brothers and sisters now realise that, had they done more of what my mother had told them to do, they probably would have been successful too.”

Sitting back in his seat, looking rather relaxed and at ease with himself, Evander commented on the differences between him and his most famous opponent: Mike Tyson.

He explained, “I’m just one woman away (my mother) from being the same as Mike Tyson. My mom said, 'you go to school, you listen, and you do what that teacher tells you to do'.

I would’ve ended up like him (Mike) had my momma not been so tough and strong.”

It’s probably for this same reason that Evander isn’t found falling out of nightclubs or at the forefront of tabloid sensation. Instead, as he told me, he’d rather be out there helping others achieve their dreams.

“James”, he said, “I’m a people person. I like helping others. I like helping people for the simple reason that, if nobody helped me, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. My mother was very instrumental in my success and she put me in a position where I could receive good advice. When I travel, and I see the expression on people’s faces and hear the things they say when they meet me, it means so much to me. I just hope I inspire people to do their best, because you can achieve anything you put your heart and mind to.”

The man, who’s been called ‘God’s

champion’, was never supposed to make anything of his life. He was told over and over again that he was too poor, too inarticulate, and too black to break the grip of poverty and despair. But armed with a strong faith in succeeding, a strong self-belief, and a strong jaw, Holyfield defied the odds, and rewrote boxing history by earning more than $150 million in a career spanning an incredible twentyfive years.

So where did it all start for this humble, warm and welcoming boxer?

“I’ve always wanted to be successful. When I started at the local boys club, this man told me I could be the Heavyweight Champion of the World, when I was just eight years old, and I believed him. When I asked my mom, she said I could do anything I wanted as long as I didn’t quit. I didn’t, and twenty years later I was Heavyweight Champion of the World.”

Evander says one secret to his success has been his approach to life.

“It’s impossible to be me, but you can be yourself and achieve what I’ve achieved if you listen, follow direction, and don't quit. God made everyone special. You just have to realise how special you are by working hard at what you want to achieve.”

Living by the philosophy that, “no one chooses their start, but everyone can choose their finish”, Holyfield amazingly went from being paid a mere $2.65 an hour for his first job, at the age of seventeen, to an eye-watering $34 million in 1997 for a secondtime fight with Mike Tyson, which he

admits was, “the largest amount ever paid for a single performance in any field.”

Holyfield had knocked out ‘Mad Mike’ in their first fight and was set to do it again, until Tyson infamously bit off and spat out a chunk of his ear.

It was found on the bloodied canvas and given back to the champion in an iced plastic bag as he was rushed to hospital.

Leaping out of his seat, the affable boxer explained, “It was painful. I was shocked, because it’s not something you expect.”

Strangely this was not the first time he had experienced the pain of being bitten. In fact, this event has been fairly frequent in his life.

Evander mused, “I’ve been bitten a lot of times. I lived in a neighbourhood where if you had to fight somebody, and they were frightened, they would bite you to just get away.”

Adding rather confidently, “I didn’t take it as anything other than that Mike wanted to get out. He quit, he didn’t want to fight anymore.”

Although Holyfield won the bout against his raging and disqualified opponent, it seems he is now set for a third encounter with ‘Iron Mike’.

“I realise if I want to be Heavyweight Champion, I have to attract the champions to fight me. If I have fight Mike Tyson, I will,” he says.

After his attempts to become the oldest and first five-time Heavyweight Champion of the World failed last December, as he was controversially defeated on points by Nikolay Valuev, Holyfield’s future remains uncertain.

Although many boxing insiders, and even Holyfield’s family and friends, believe he should retire, he’s not thinking about calling it quits. “I can’t walk away. I have to retire as undisputed Heavyweight Champion. I know that I am supposed to. I know that I can.

It’s a matter of being patient.”

With Evander’s unrepentant desire to end his career at the top, I wondered, what does it feel like to be Heavyweight Champion of the World?

After a brief pause, Evander stared straight into my eyes and smiled, before explaining: “To be the very best in your class is one thing, but the best in the world is a whole other thing. It allowed me to feel good about myself because I didn’t quit, and became the best fighter the world knew about. I want that again.”

Many admire Holyfield’s determination to keep going, others say his attempts show a weakness in not knowing when to give up. Either way, it is clear that Holyfield will make up his own mind and whatever decision he makes he will always be recognised as one of the greatest boxers of his generation.

As I stood up to leave, Evander shook my hand - which, I might add, hurt quite a lot!

An infamous moment in boxing history

32 SPORT- WARM UP Previews in Jon Evans previews one of the biggest matches in brief the footballing calendar... Man United v Liverpool

gairrhydd | SPORT@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY MARCH 15 2010

The Cheltenham Festival

What does horse racing mean to you? A sport dominated by the rich upper classes? An annual interest in the Grand National? Or merely a way to make a quick profit?

For many people, horse racing is a way of life, a job or a lifetime passion.

Whatever your view on the sport, next week sees the pinnacle of the jump season: the four day Cheltenham Festival which offers viewers the chance to see the best live racing around.

Running from March 16-19, the annual Cheltenham festival is home to some of the best, most profitable and most famous races held in this country, including the Gold Cup, the Queen Mother Champion Chase and the Champion Hurdle.

Horse racing has, wrongly in my opinion, been coined as a sport reserved for the upper classes. However, nothing could be further from the truth. The unbelievable atmosphere, the tension and the sheer high quality of sport means that the Cheltenham Festival is up there with any other form of high class sport in this country. Moreover, this four day racing spectacular is broadcast live on terrestrial television (Channel 4), bringing exceptional sport to the majority of the public; something of a rarity these days.

Even those with a limited knowledge of the sport may be familiar with the famous names Denman and Kauto Star. These two famous horses, trained

by Paul Nicholls, have both won racing’s most prestigious prize - the Gold Cup - in the last two years.

More importantly than this, they are widely acknowledged as two of the best horses ever seen in recent generations. Kauto Star has won two Gold Cups compared to Denman’s sole success, with this year’s showdown being billed as the “decider” as to who is the better horse. What better reason to tune into Channel 4 than to see two of the finest horses of recent times?

Although the Gold Cup is the main prize, there are many other first class races held over the four days. Other notable horses to look out for are Master Minded, Big Bucks and Dunguib.

Value bets also include Diamond Harry and Kalahari King.

Whether you are a fan of racing or a complete novice, the Festival is certainly worth a watch; especially the Gold Cup. Put 3.30pm on March 19 in your diaries.

With an infinite amount of money being pumped into Manchester City, one could be forgiven for thinking that winning the Manchester derby would mean the most to a United fan. But, as most Fergie followers will tell you, the team they would like to get one over on most is Liverpool.

After last year’s terrific season, the Anfielders have suffered a torrid time of late, with Liverpool fans rightly frustrated at their teams seeming inability to take a grip on a top four spot.

Still, this eagerly anticipated fixture is the one that is anticipated most by the supporters of the two clubs and is arguably the biggest match in English football. The two sides will clash in the early kick-off this Sunday.

Arguably the biggest match in English football Liverpool have won the last three matches between the two sides, netting eight goals in the process, but on the basis of this season's performances, a comfortable victory is looking highly unlikely. United fans will be all too keen to forget last season's result at Old Trafford, which saw Liverpool run away with a 4-1 victory along with the bragging rights. But it was United who had the last laugh in the end as they pipped Liverpool to the League title.

United already have the Carling Cup under their belt this season and will be desperate to consolidate their charge for the Premiership with a win this Sunday. The only silverware Liverpool can realistically win, on the other hand, is the Europa League, and without undermining the competition, Liverpool fans will tell you that this isn’t good enough.

News of a broken bone in Wes Brown’s foot means he is likely to be out for around six weeks, allowing Gary Neville to fill in at right back, but this is the only major injury concern that is likely to affect Ferguson’s team selection.

The last time the two sides met was in October where Liverpool came out

ROONEY: The on-form striker will be looking to add to his tally this weekend on top as desevered victors in a 2-0 win at Anfield. Sunday’s match is at Old Trafford where United have been scoring for fun of late, with many goals coming through Liverpoolborn Wayne Rooney. All eyes will be on Rooney who is in stunning form, already scoring over 20 goals in the league alone this season. He is likely to be the main threat to Liverpool’s back four who have looked anything but stable of late.

History would suggest the encounter will be a fiesty affair Liverpool’s glaring problem this season seems to be the lack of quality they have in their overall squad.

Big money transfers have also failed to make an impact. Alberto Aquilani joined the Reds in the summer for a whopping £17 million, but has featured in less than a dozen league games. Added to this, Torres has been injured several times and there has been an uncharacteristic dip in form from skipper Gerrard. This has resulted in Liverpool relying far too

heavily on David N’Gog, who is admittedly a talented young player, but far too inexperienced to be leading the Liverpool line.

United will be particularly upbeat ahead of the match after their thumping victory over AC Milan last week, but will expect a much firmer test on Sunday. History would suggest the encounter will be a feisty affair and I wouldn’t be surprised if we were to see the referee having a busy day.

The match is a tough one to call.

United have suffered with injuries of late, but should have the majority of

their players back for Sunday’s game.

Liverpool have been hugely inconsistent this season and, at times, have put in some woeful performances. Their recent results against United will be of some comfort going into the match.

Torres has always given Vidic and Ferdinand trouble, but the way they have performed throughout this season only points to a United victory, particularly with the Old Trafford crowd in full voice.

My prediction: Manchester United 3-1 Liverpool.

SEEING RED: Tempers may flair on Sunday

Manchester United v Livepool: Editors' Predictions Robbie Wells: I'm going to start by saying that Liverpool have been awful this year. Their defence has not been as sure as it has been in previous years and Torres and Gerrard have looked toothless in attack. But United have not been as imperious either this season, and have looked liable to a loss at any time. Factor in that this is the biggest derby in English football, and anything can happen. Quality suggests a United win, but in terms of pride, Liverpool will be desperate for a victory here. Their hunger should see a huge upset.

James Hinks: Surely nothing but a resounding United win.

Liverpool seem to have lost any sense of cohesion this year. They are struggling to produce any style going forward and recently they've even been criticised for not having the right attitude.

United have typically come into form in the second half of the season; Rooney especially is growing in confidence as he continues to score again and again. Even Ji-Sung Park is playing with a swagger. United 3 - 0 Liverpool.

Adam Horne: Last time we previewed this fixture, I underestimated Liverpool.

This time, I'm still sticking with United. They took AC Milan apart last week and have gone from strength to strength in 2010. Liverpool have experienced totally opposite fortunes. They have been awful and are struggling to fight for that ever elusive fourth spot in the table. Gerrard and Torres have been poor all season, whilst Wayne Rooney has been playing out of his skin of late. United will be more motivated, confident and have home advantage. 3-1 United.

Lucy Morgan: Liverpool have not had a good season and their inconsistency doesn't make them favourites to win this fixture.

They are lacking in creativity and have also recently been criticised for not having the right attitude to win big games.

After their fantastic win against AC Mialn last week, Manchester United on the other hand will be confident of success, and with Wayne Rooney on top form and the home advantage, I can definitely see them coming away with a victory.

THE WORD ON - SPORT 33

gairrhydd | SPORT@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY MARCH 15 2010

Ellie Jackson gives The Word On... the state of British tennis after the team's Davis Cup disaster To be perfectly honest, I’m not really a betting kind of person – possibly because I never seem to winbut right now I would happily put serious money on the headquarters of the Lawn Tennis Association being consumed with panic.

The lack of publicity preceding Britain’s Davis Cup tie against Lithuania – did you know that the LTA had a live stream on their website? – has been more than made-up for by the furore following our loss.

This was a tie that, on paper – despite the absence of Andy Murray – we should have won. But, worse still, it marks our fifth consecutive loss and means that our July contest with Turkey is the only thing standing between us and relegation to the lowest division. It is, as Roger Draper, the LTA’s Chief Executive, claims: “unacceptable”.

This was a tie that, on paper, we should have won However, I strongly believe that the calls for the resignation of John Lloyd – the non-playing captain – place more blame at his feet than is reasonable. His team consisted, as always, of people who are playing the sport professionally: they shouldn't need any help to get motivated or much in the way of on-court coaching to win.

In fact, pre-captaincy, Lloyd himself even questioned how much influence does the captain really have?

Yes, of course, another pair of eyes; a slightly more objective viewpoint of the match, and someone to boost you up when you're down, is never going to go amiss – especially when you’re playing the spectators as well as your opponent. But for 99.9% of the year, these guys go onto court alone.

Tennis is an individual sport: if you're having a bad day at the office there's no one to pick up the slack, there are no subs.

I’m not saying that the British players didn’t want to be there or try their absolute hardest, I just don’t think that seemingly passive attitudes, such as Dan Evans’: “I was pretty confident going onto the court…I didn’t think he could play that good for five sets, but he did” – are going to cut it in the harsh reality of the senior tour. You don’t guarantee victory or improvement through waiting for someone to stop playing well, because – as demonstrated – it won’t necessarily hap-

Top Five sporting disappointments

1.

ENGLAND: A shambolic time in charge of England saw Steve Mclaren's side fail to qualify for Euro 2008 after a crushing defeat to Croatia.

2.

AMIR KHAN: One of the most promising boxers in recent years was stopped in just 54 seconds by Breidis Prescott in 2008, highlighting Khan's inability to take heavy punches.

AGONY: Painful viewing for John Lloyd pen.

It was drummed into my head that the difference between losing and being beaten frequently comes down to either doing nothing or messing up in an attempt to change the situation.

It now seems that those in charge of British tennis are going to have to decide which option they’re going to follow. Something has to be done.

To start with, you’ve got to wonder whether the amount of money shovelled into it is justified. Last year,

DESPAIR: British tennis is failing

for example, saw a contribution of £82,000,000 from Wimbledon, Aegon and Sport England – although £30,000,000 of that is to cover the next five years. Yet we’ve just lost to a country which, according to The Times, spent roughly £90,000 on its tennis.

Why can't more money be used to make the sport cheaper and more accessible?

In addition, what percentage of Britain’s tennis players have actually benefited from Roehampton’s £40,000,000 National Tennis Centre?

Sure, some will be lucky enough to have a coach who’s attended a course there, but only a tiny fraction will directly experience its technologically advanced facilities.

Indeed, many never even stand a hope of attending such elite facilities because of the cost of participating in the sport. The LTA, for example, claims that a boy of 12 should “play around 12 hours of tennis per week”.

However, when you consider that one-to-one lessons costs £15-£40, then add on the costs of squads, hiring courts/club membership, kit, rackets, tournament entry fees and petrol,

you’re instantly looking at a pretty hefty sum. How many kids – talented or otherwise – are having to stop before they’ve even started?

I’d at least like everyone to be given a chance. Why can’t more of this money be used to make the sport cheaper, more accessible? Yes, at crunch time, tennis is about individual performances, but the higher the number of players, the higher the probability of producing those of a world class standard.

Maybe we should have built a £20,000,000 NTC, and put the remaining £20,000,000 towards building more – and improving pre-existing – courts. Maybe we should now focus upon reducing coaches’ costs, so they can lower their prices. Maybe it is just a matter of waiting for the next generation to come through a supposedly improved system.

But, whilst the changes to Mini Tennis seem, on the whole, a definite step in the right direction, I just don’t think we should “wait” quietly: positive adjustments are always possible.

And, if we’re going down I’d prefer to do so fighting, which, overall, our Davis Cup Team did. If we’re not going to “win”, I don’t want to lose. I want to be beaten, and only after we’ve tried every single thing we can.

Only then will I consider putting my money on the future of British tennis.

3.

PAULA RADCLIFFE: Arguably one of Britain's most talented athletes of her generation, holding several world records, but has never won an Olympic medal.

4.

WALES: In the 2007 Rugby World Cup Wales failed to make it out of their group. They suffered a defeat at the hands of Fiji, sending them crashing out of the championship.

5.

ENGLAND: After the success of the 2005 series England went into the 2007 Ashes with high hopes. A few weeks later and England were flying home after a 5-0 whitewash.

34 SPORT - IMG IMG NETBALL STANDINGS IMG NETBALL

PREMIERSHIP

P

W

D

L

Diff

Pts

1

LAW A

6

6

0

0

+88

18

2

ECONOMICS A

5

4

0

1

+17

12

3

PHARMACY A

5

3

0

2

-7

9

4

PSYCHOLOGY A

6

2

1

3

+6

7

5

CARBS A

5

2

0

3

+4

6

6

CARDIFF A

5

1

1

3

-16

4

7

ENGIN LOCO

5

1

0

4

-17

3

8

CARBS B

3

0

0

3

-75

0

IMG NETBALL

DIVISION 1 P

W

D

L

Diff

Pts

1

DENTISTRY

7

5

0

2

+45

15

2

LAW B

5

4

0

0

+40

13

3

SOCSI A

7

4

1

2

+37

13

4

BIOSCIENCE

7

4

1

3

+46

12

5

ENGLISH A

6

3

0

2

-12

10

6

CARDIFF B

7

3

1

3

-20

10

7

SAWSA

5

0

1

5

-53

0

8

JETS A

6

0

0

6

-83

0

IMG NETBALL

DIVISION 2 P

W

D

L

Diff

Pts

1

MEDICS A

6

6

0

0

+74

18

2

SOCSI B

6

5

0

1

+48

15

3

PSYCHOLOGY B

6

3

0

3

+29

9

4

EARTHSOC

4

2

0

2

+7

6

5

GYM GYM

6

2

0

4

-18

6

6

MEDICS B

6

1

0

5

-42

3

7

PHARMACY B

4

1

0

3

-43

3

8

ENGLISH B

4

1

0

3

--55

3

IMG NETBALL

DIVISION 3 P

W

D

L

Diff

Pts

1

JOMEC

6

5

0

1

+56

15

2

Navy Netball

6

4

0

2

+14

12

3

Economics B

5

4

0

1

+3

12

4

POLITICS

6

2

2

2

+9

8

5

Engin Auto

5

2

0

3

-4

6

6

Christian Union

6

2

0

4

-27

6

7

HISTORY

6

1

1

4

-19

4

8

Cardiff Jets B

4

0

1

3

-32

1

UPCOMING FIXTURES PREMIERSHIP N/A N/A N/A N/A

V V V V

N/A

N/A

DIVISION 1

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

V V V V

N/A N/A N/A N/A

N/A N/A N/A

V V V V

N/A

N/A N/A

Inter-me-nan 0 - 1 Sporting Lesbian A solitary goal was all that separated Inter Me-nan and Sporting Lesbian on Wednesday in a game which lacked real quality and leaves Me-nan bottom of the IMG Division One. Some sleepy defending allowed Sporting to capitalise on a looping high ball, with the striker firing the only goal of the game from close range on the half hour.

The first half was an even contest, with neither side gaining full control of the game and exchanging periods of positive territory in the form of corners and long throw-ins. A series of Sporting corners resulted in a giltedged chance kneed over the crossbar from close range. As the pressure began to swing onto the Sporting defence Me-nan squandered some promising positions. Firstly Jason Lincoln hit the side netting from a tight angle having rounded the Sporting goalkeeper and then midfielder Jack Bennett dragged his shot wide under pressure with better options available.

Right on the back on Me-nan’s brief pressure Sporting broke the

Stephanie Mitchell Sports Writer JOMEC 17 - 2 Economics B On Saturday March 6, the joint leaders from Division 3 of the IMG league went head to head for what could have been the most challenging match so far for each side.

After a chaotic start, JOMEC soared to victory against Economics B, in order to secure their place at top of the table.

The first half started off with inaccurate and clumsy play from both

N/A

Conditions played a major role as Philosophy FC recorded a convincing 3-0 win over Cardiff Crusaders on Wednesday afternoon.

With high-speed winds and a poor pitch this game was not one for the football purists out there. However a devastating first half display ensured Philosophy FC’s title challenge remained on course as the Crusaders were condemned to their third straight defeat.

In an-action packed first half it was Philosophy who took complete control of the game and with the aid of some clinical finishing, three unanswered goals put the result beyond doubt. Mike Rodwell’s second goal of the campaign was added

N/A

V V V V

N/A N/A N/A N/A

from Me-nan. Sporting’s organisation allowed them to see out the game in relative comfort whilst threatening the Me-nan goal on the counter attack.

As the game wore on Me-nan began to improve territorially, but a series of long throw-ins and corners were dealt with simply by the Sporting backline.

With Me-nan pressing for an equaliser Sporting should have put the game to bed but were let down by numerous players being caught offside. But Sporting’s slender advantage survived a late Me-nan penalty appeal and they picked up their first win of the IMG second phase in deserved fashion.

IMG FOOTBALL STANDINGS IMG FOOTBALL

W

D

L

Diff

Pts

Carbs

5

5

0

0

+17

15

2

GymGym

5

4

0

1

+6

12

3

MOMED

5

3

1

1

+5

10

4

Samba Tigers

5

3

0

2

+6

9

5

AFC Cathays

5

1

1

3

-11

4

sides. The pace of the game was too fast, resulting in a number of replayed balls from JOMEC and foot faults from Economics. Both teams were frantic and needed to slow down and space out across the court. However, the defence on each side was very strong, with Economics marking tightly inside the goal circle and JOMEC’s Susie Cooper rarely letting her opposition have the ball.

After the initial scrappy possession on each side JOMEC began to pull their game together and create good spacing across the court. Accurate shooting gave JOMEC a 7-2 lead at half time.

In the second half JOMEC’s strategy was much stronger, with better spacing and quick reactions making use of any slips by Economics. The passing up the court was more fluid and the team’s communication improved. Economics struggled to pull together, with JOMEC’s lead growing steadily. The Economics Centre and their player of the match, Elaine Williams, played especially well having an equally strong attack and defence. However, JOMEC were unbeatable, and with more exceptional shooting, and tight defending, the score at full time was 17-2.

to by a brace from Philosophy’s flamboyant forward John Butcher.

In a game which saw frustrations boil on both sides it seemed that the referee may be the busiest man on the pitch on an afternoon where conditions were less than ideal for attractive football. Despite this, Philosophy took the lead with a goal which came out of nothing. From a poorly directed corner the Crusader defence failed to clear the ball adequately and as a result the ball fell to Rodwell whose well-placed leftfooted shot squeezed in off the post.

Philosophy’s second goal, in somewhat contrast to the first, oozed class as Butcher ran onto an aerial through-ball some 30 yards from goal before unleashing an unstoppable volley which saw the ball sail into the top right hand corner. The Crusader’s keeper was left looking stunned as Butcher turned away to celebrate a simply incredible goal with the rest of his teammates.

Following the second goal, the Crusader’s players looked defeated and their fate was sealed just a few minutes later when the referee gave Philosophy a dubious-looking penalty for handball. Having scored moments earlier and brimming with confidence it was Butcher who stepped up to take the spot kick. A precisely placed shot into the corner of the net sent the Crusader keeper the wrong way and gave Philosophy their 3-0 lead heading into half time.

After the break, little meaningful action took place as playing conditions worsened and players on both teams seemed to tire. By the time the final whistle came, the relief on all players’ faces was clear to see.

However Philosophy’s players will be encouraged by yet another clean sheet which leaves them with the best defensive record in the entire league.

P

6

Law A

5

1

0

4

-3

3

7

Earthsoc

5

1

0

4

-9

3

8

KLAW FC

5

1

0

4

-11

3

IMG FOOTBALL

DIVISION 1 P

W

D

L

Diff

Pts

1

AFC History

5

3

1

1

+11

10

2

Psycho Athletico

5

2

2

1

+18

8

3

Engin FC

5

2

2

1

+2

8

4

Economics

5

2

1

2

+0

7

5

SOCSI

5

2

1

2

-3

7

6

Engin Auto

4

1

2

1

-5

5

7

Inter-me-nan

5

0

3

2

-6

3

0

2

2

--17

2

8

Sporting Lesbian

4

DIVISION 2 P

W

D

L

Diff

Pts

1

EUROS FC

5

4

1

0

+9

10

2

Real Ale Madrid

5

4

1

0

+8

10

3

Sub-Standard

5

2

0

3

+4

6

4

Pharm AC

5

2

0

3

+3

6

5

Chemistry

5

2

0

3

-3

6

6

Law B

5

2

0

3

-5

6

7

J-Unit

5

2

0

3

-6

3

8

Magnificent XI

5

1

0

4

-10

3

IMG FOOTBALL

Lesbians dominate Me-nan

PREMIERSHIP

1

IMG FOOTBALL

Crusaders crushed by Philosophy Philosophy 3 - 0 Crusaders

N/A

deadlock. With the ball breaking loose in midfield the Sporting winger did well; both to keep the ball in play and hook it high and long towards the Me-nan penalty area. A combination of hesitant defending and pure determination from the Sporting striker allowed him to steal in and finish confidently on the half volley.

Me-nan came close to an equaliser at the beginning of the second half when Dan Broadfield’s volley from the edge of the area was tipped over the bar. However, it would prove to be the last time the Sporting keeper would be tested in a toothless second half display

JOMEC netball battle to vital win

N/A

DIVISION 3

N/A

Dan Broadfield Sports Writer

Charlie Martin Sports Writer

DIVISION 2 N/A

Sporting edge out Inter Me-nan

N/A N/A

gairrhydd | SPORT@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY MARCH 15 2010

DIVISION 3 P

W

D

L

Diff

Pts

1

JOMEC

4

4

0

0

+14

12

2

Philosophy

4

3

0

1

+5

9

3

Myg Myg

5

2

2

1

+6

8

4

Opsoccer

4

2

0

2

-7

6

5

KAY FC

3

1

1

1

+5

4

6

SAWSA

5

1

1

3

-7

4

7

AFC Time Team

3

1

0

2

-2

3

8

Crusaders

3

0

0

3

-12

0

UPCOMING FIXTURES PREMIERSHIP Law A S. Tigers Klaw FC Earthsoc

V V V V

Carbs

V V V V

SOCSI

V V V V

Standard

V V V V

Opsoccer

MOMED Cathays Gym Gym

DIVISION 1 Engin Auto Engin FC History S.Lesbians

Inter Psycho Economics

DIVISION 2 Chemistry Magnificent Law B Real Ale

Euros J-Unit Pharm AC

DIVISION 3 Crusaders Time Team JOMEC Kay FC

Myg Myg Philosophy SAWSA

BUCS - SPORT 35

gairrhydd | SPORT@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY MARCH 15 2010

Badminton's daring gamble earns big victory Rachel Nurse Sports Writer

Damn, pesky flies!

Having narrowly lost the home fixture Cardiff University Badminton Ladies 1st team threw themselves into the away fixture at Hertfordshire University with an ‘all or nothing’ mindset.

The winning University would be promoted to the BUCS Premier League and so, with this hefty reward at stake, a draw wasn’t good enough, Cardiff had to win. After last week’s loss, Captain Alyssia Broomfield made major adjustments to the team’s format. Such ludicrous changes could result in either epic failure or glorious victory. Rachel Nurse and Charlotte Wigston were paired together for the first time to collate as a doubles pair, taking their two matches comfortably: 21-9, 21-14, while Jessica Shotton and Roshani Mann formed a dynamic duo powering their way through the trembling Hertfordshire side. The opening

four matches saw Cardiff take a 3-1 lead, where Rosie Holden bravely stepped up to take one for the team as she faced Herts’ England U19 National singles player, Miriam Beales.

Leading into the final round of matches, Cardiff were winning 4-3, having lost a further two singles matches to the Hertfordshire powerhouses. Cardiff had to win the remaining singles match to guarantee the promotion, victory was just a few shuttle strokes away…

Broomfield stepped up to the mark to play her final singles match of the

SHUTTLE: Cock

Hockey seconds bounce back Alex Winter Sports Writer After relegation last year, the side have bounced back at the first chance and will now attempt to cement their position once more in the higher division.

The South-West league encompasses all teams from Hereford to Pembroke and from Swindon to Truro – the men’s 1st XI currently play in division one.

A sublime home record has formed

the basis for their success, with all ten matches being won and one more to play to complete a perfect record at Talybont.

Away from home, the side struggled early on and dropped points which cost them a chance to compete for the league title – although the current league leaders were dispatched 4-1 back in December.

The 2nd XI also boast the meanest defence in the division, having only conceded 25 goals all season and captain Andrew Clark is extremely proud of his side. “It’s a fantastic achievement and I’m really pleased that we

have got something out of our hard work,” he said, “It’s extremely competitive at the top of these leagues. You can’t afford to drop too many points if you want to go up so I’m delighted.”

The side was almost completely transformed from last season, with a number of first-years slotting in and performing well. Clark feels there’s no reason why the team cannot challenge for success in the higher division: “The better standard of hockey tends to suit the type of game we try to play, so there’s absolutely no reason why we can’t be very competitive next year.”

year as Captain, and showed no mercy and incredible nerve as she slaughtered her opposition 21-15, 21-18.

Euphoria, as realisation dawned that the victory was theirs, having drawn on aggregate, Cardiff had one more game in hand, after losing so closely

the week before. Being her last ever match representing Cardiff University, Rachel Nurse was thrilled: “We justly deserve this after having put in so many committed hours to get back into Premier. It’s where Cardiff belongs and it’s where they will stay.”

Fencers slay rivals Tom Brien Sports Writer Last weekend saw Cardiff host the annual Welsh Universities’ Fencing Championships at Talybont.

The event brings together seven of Wales' largest universities (Cardiff, Aberystwyth, Bangor, Glamorgan, Glyndr, Lampeter and Swansea) to compete for the accolade of Best University across six events, with points being awarded for finishes in the top eight and for best novice at Mens and Womens Foil. This year, despite the hosts winning the most events, Aberystwyth walked away with the trophy after having been consistently in the medals and packing the minor points.

Cardiff took a one-two-three in the Men’s Foil with James Thorneycroft taking the gold and Miguel Pinto and Andrew McLeod coming second and third. The final between James and Miguel was a showcase of excellent fencing and technique, although at points a little one sided, with James eventually winning 15-2. Cardiff president Peter Gwynne finished in a strong 12th place.

Cardiff’s next most successful event was the Women’s Foil with Abi Difford finishing first, after a closer

final (15-10) against Ellie Bryce from Aberystwyth. Cardiff Novice Sarah Gooding finished in an impressive 9th place, after having only decided to enter on the morning, this was high enough to award her the title of Best Female Novice and earn Cardiff two bonus points.

The next event up was the Men’s Épée, at which Cardiff had hoped to do well, however the results did not come Cardiffs way due to notable absences of some of Cardiff team members. Cardiff’s highest result in this event ended up being Peter Gwynne after Cardiff hopeful Rob Prior found himself facing the eventual winner Chris McCall (Glamorgan) in the second round of the knock-out stages.

The Men’s Sabre event went a similar way for Cardiff with Tom Powell only managing to secure a tenth place after going out to Jon Baker (Bangor), who finished third, repeating the events of the BUCS individuals. Sarah Gooding continued her blistering form in the Women’s Sabre event, as Cardiff’s only entry, securing a third place and earning her her second trophy of the weekend.

The Cardiff team are now looking forward to the Varsity matches with confidence after finishing the weekend more than ten points ahead of Swansea.

Cardiff come agonisingly close in Korfball Emma Squire Sports Writer Cardiff University Korfball 2nds fell agonisingly short of a medal in the Second Team Nationals at Talybont.

Having eased their way through the group stages, Cardiff were knocked out in the semi-finals by a strong Birmingham side, before losing a tight third place play-off against Keele.

Cardiff began their home tournament in spectacular fashion, thumping Exeter 6-1 in the opening game. The 2nd’s tempo and movement proved too much for their West Country opponents, and with Andy Fell dominating the post they strolled to victory, putting down a marker to the rest of the teams in the process.

The Welsh side faced a stiff test of their credentials in the next game against Edinburgh, a side who had beaten them 6-0 in their previous meeting, and the Scottish University went 1-0 up early on. However this

was a different Cardiff team from last time and they showed great defence to battle back and edge a tight game 2-1 making it two wins out of two.

Another tough game followed against a highly-fancied Manchester side, but after the first two games confidence was high in the Cardiff team.

The Welsh side again showed great calm, taking the opportunities when they arose and restricting Manchester to speculative efforts. This paid dividends with Cardiff taking the game 3-1 and maintaining the 100 percent record.

Having played their way through supposedly tougher games, Cardiff then surrendered their perfect record to Keele – a team that would later come back to haunt them. In a bad-tempered affair, some of the Stoke University’s spoiling tactics seemed to affect the Cardiff players with Keele winning 3-1 and leaving the group finely balanced with one game to go.

The result left Cardiff needing a victory in their final match against a strong Nottingham side to be sure of qualification. However, Cardiff

returned to their best, directing the game and winning 3-1, largely thanks to Bella Wong’s second two-goal haul of the tournament and excellent defence once more. The victory meant Cardiff made the semi-finals as group winners.

Cardiff faced cup-holders Birmingham in the semi-final. Hopes were high after the Midlanders only finished second in their group, but two goals in the first three minutes saw Birmingham deflate the Cardiff challenge. Although the defence at Will

Korfball goes ravey

Hayward’s end dealt comfortably with the threat of Birmingham around the post, the holders’ long shots were always dangerous and they added another goal to win 3-0 and send Cardiff into 3/4 place play-off.

UEA beat Keele in the other semi meaning Cardiff faced rivals Keele once more. The game was once again fractious, with some Cardiff players furious at the blatant cheating by Keele. With the scores at 2-2, Keele scored a crucial late third and despite many Cardiff attempts and a disallowed goal, the hosts could not find the point that would have tied the scores and Keele deservedly took the bronze medal. However, despite the disappointment of missing out on a medal, the tournament can be considered a success with the Cardiff team bettering their position from last year and the tournament running smoothly throughout.

In the final, UEA played Birmingham in a rematch of last year’s match, with the East Anglians demolishing the holders 8-2 to take the title and avenging last year’s defeat.

Sport gairrhydd

PHOTO: KAI MCGOWAN

INSIDE: The Word On... Britain's Horror Show at the Davis Cup, Preview of Man United v Liverpool and Evander Holyfield

Pool's gold Kai McGowan Sports Writer

Cardiff 1st team Winners of BUCS 2010 Trophy This year the pool club held its fairest and most rigorous set of trials ever, in order to determine who would be selected for the first, second and third teams. The result of the week long trials saw three teams ready for battle at the year’s biggest university team event.

In the individual event (at BUCS in Great Yarmouth), Cardiff players proved difficult to beat, with 14 of 18 players making it through the first round, and a record-breaking number making it to the last 64 and last 32 stages from a pool of over 400 competitors, Will Pritchard and Matt Parr were the pick of the bunch.

In the team event, the third team finished with heads held high after

putting up a determined fight in what proved to be a difficult group with the majority of first and second teams in.

Although group captain Kai McGowan failed to qualify, he will be proud of his players’ efforts. Dan Watkins, Shaun Birrell, Dan Peacey and Sayantan Ghosh impressed in their debut tournaments, with Kai and Yura Sevcenco reliable as ever and adding much needed experience to what was otherwise a more than competent team, showing a bright future.

Matt Parr, a permanent fixture in the latter stages of individual tournaments in previous years, captained the second team to their first qualification position in three years, finishing second in a tough group.

Faced with a group made up entirely of first teams, the second team started brightly taking the scalp of Plymouth Firsts before coming from 5-2 down to draw 5-5 after nervy victories from Stuart MacGregor, Sion Jones and Jack Barkley-Smith.

A defeat to the seeded Nottingham firsts then followed, but the team

showed real grit to regroup and triumph 6-4 over Glasgow to send the Scotsmen packing and the Cardiff boys through the group stages and into the knockout round of the Trophy.

Unfortunately for them though they faced the wrath of the Cardiff firsts in the next round in an all Cardiff grudge match which sent the seconds crashing out of the tournament 6-3 despite wins from Justin Hartwell, Laurence Kegan-Blair and enigmatic captain Matthew Parr.

The story of the weekend however falls to the A-team. In captain Alun Edwards (a proven and consistent performer at this level), Stuart Thompson (last years' Home Nations Masters Semi-finalist), Jonathan Tyrrell (a veteran of four campaigns and two Home Nations tournaments), Will Pitchard (the most improved player in Cardiff over the last twelve months), and the duo Ifan Williams and Iwan Lewis, the two new stars of Cardiff Pool, there was a group of players with a potential that promised much, and delivered.

Drawn in a group with the seeds Cambridge and Manchester, both of which were tipped to make a big impact on the tournament, qualification was never going to be easy. Cardiff 1sts lost out on qualifying for the Championship on frame difference alone, but had done more than enough to proceed into the knockout stages of the Trophy event alongside the second team.

Fate dealt an evil hand when Cardiff 1st were drawn against Cardiff 2nd in the quarter-finals. The joking flew across the table from both teams in what was a fun, enjoyable, but hard fought match.

The firsts took the lead 4-0, however the second team showed a fighting spirit which had defined their tournament and drew it back to 4-3 before the firsts dug deep and found the composure to finish the match off 6-3. A dominant display in the semi-finals saw Cardiff brush aside York 2nds in a 6-2 victory.

Cardiff 1sts contested the final against Reading 1sts, with whom a

rivalry is starting to grow, having met each other four times in the last five tournaments. Nervy starts by Cardiff saw Reading take a 2-0 lead. However, once the Cardiff players settled there was only ever going to be one winner.

Clinical finishing and great tactical play forcing Reading into mistakes (such as covering cushions rather than pockets) helped put Cardiff at 5-3. It was left to Will Pritchard (arguably the form player for Cardiff in these championships) to pot the winning black and send the 19-strong Cardiff party into euphoria and the first team to the podium to collect gold.

It was a fitting end to the pool careers of those leaving this year. They leave a University pool team with a reputation, a winning reputation, something to build on. Based on the performances by every Cardiff player who played that weekend, and the way all three teams pulled together into one ensemble, the future certainly looks bright for Cardiff Pool. Roll on this year’s Home Nations event, which incidentally is being held in Cardiff.

GAIR RHYDD AND QUENCH MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED BY UNIVERSITY UNION CARDIFF, PARK PLACE, CARDIFF CF10 3QN n REGISTERED AS A NEWSPAPER AT THE POST OFFICE n GAIR RHYDD RESERVES THE RIGHT TO EDIT ALL CONTRIBUTIONS nTHE VIEWS EXPRESSED ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF THE PUBLISHERS nGAIR RHYDD IS WRITTEN, DESIGNED, TYPESET AND OUTPUT BY STUDENTS OF CARDIFF UNIVERSITYn nDANIELLARR: I JUST LOOK LIKE A MASSIVE PIRATE HOOKER n LIZZIE BLOCKLEY: "I'M THINKING ABOUT CHANGING MY LAST NAME, THAT WAY I'LL BE IN MY NANA'S WILL n ROBBIE: PAUL, DO YOU WANT ME TO PULL YOU OFF?n LIZZIE BLOCKLEY: I DON'T KNOW WHETHER I WANT TO SLEEP WITH HIM OR WHETHER I WANT HIM TO BE MY DAD n WE KNOW SOMEONE WHO SPUNKED ON A HAMSTER n I HATE BUNCE n