RUBISH Summer Movie Review BYE
BYE
Ireland
Will you leave during the recession?
CASH for GOLD: a scam?
Would you
WWOOF?
The NEW travelling phenomenon 11
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contents ontents contents EDITORS’ NOTES
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EDITORS’ EDITORS’NEEDS NOTES NOTESSPECIFIED GUILDELINS ON TACKLING SUICIDE bypage 3 kelly IRELAND patrick
43 page page6 3
SPECIFIED IRELAND IRELAND GUILDELINS NEEDS NEEDS SPECIFIED ON SPECIFIED TACKLING GUILDELINS GUILDELINS SUICIDE by ON ON patrick TACKLING TACKLING SUICIDE SUICIDE by by page patrick patrick 6 kelly kelly GOLD BUYING COMPANIES RIPPING PEOPLE OFF? bykelly marc dennehy
page page6 7 66
MPANIES GOLD RIPPING BUYING BUYING PEOPLE COMPANIES COMPANIES OFF? RIPPING RIPPING marc dennehy PEOPLE PEOPLEOFF? OFF?by bymarc marcdennehy dennehy page 7 I GOLD WANT TO BE LIKE YOU byby maritna pettersen
page page7 9 87
KE YOUIFEELING IWANT by WANT maritna TO TO BE pettersen LIKE LIKEYOU YOUby by bycatharina maritna maritnapettersen pettersen OFBE A MEMORY glowa
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EMORYFEELING FEELING by catharina OF OFAA glowa MEMORY MEMORY bycatharina catharinaglowa glowa BYE BYE IRELAND by piaby strømme
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D by pia BYE BYE strømme BYE BYEAROUND IRELAND IRELANDTHE by bypia pia strømme strømme WWOOF WORLD by martina pettersen
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ontents contents
D THE WORLD WWOOF WWOOF by AROUND AROUND martina THE THE pettersen WORLD WORLD by bymartina martina pettersen pettersen pageby 15dee o’brien FIRST FEMALE TAOISEACH AS ENDA KENNY TAKES THE U.S. BY STORM
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AOISEACH FIRST FIRST ASFEMALE ENDA FEMALE TAOISEACH TAOISEACH TAKESAS THE AS ENDA ENDA U.S. KENNY BY KENNY STORM TAKES by dee THE THE o’brien U.S. U.S.BY BYSTORM STORM pageby 16 bydee deeo’brien o’brien FREEDOM OFKENNY INFORMATION IN IRELAND by TAKES wayne doyle
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EDITORS’ EDITORS’NOTES NOTES ORMATION FREEDOM FREEDOM IN IRELAND OF OFINFORMATION INFORMATION by waynebydoyle IN INIRELAND IRELAND bywayne waynedoyle doyle SUMMER MOVIE PREVIEW jack ryan by
page 3 page 17
SPECIFIED IRELAND IRELAND GUILDELINS NEEDS NEEDSSPECIFIED ON SPECIFIED TACKLING GUILDELINS GUILDELINS SUICIDE ON by ON patrick TACKLING TACKLING kellySUICIDE SUICIDEby by page patrick patrick 6 kelly kelly PREVIEW SUMMER by jackMOVIE MOVIE ryan PREVIEW PREVIEWby byjack jackryan ryan page 19 SUMMER
Rubish is produced by OFF? students of thedennehy BA(H ons)OFF? in Journalism and MPANIES GOLD GOLD RIPPING BUYING BUYING PEOPLE COMPANIES COMPANIES by RIPPING RIPPING marc PEOPLE PEOPLE OFF? by bymarc marcdennehy dennehy page 7 Visual Media in Griffith College Dublin, South Circular Road, Dublin 8. Tel 01-4150400
KE YOUI IWANT by WANT maritna TO TOBE BE pettersen LIKE LIKEYOU YOUby bymaritna maritnapettersen pettersen
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page page33 page page17 17 19 18
page page620 6 page19 19 page page page77 page page99
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editors’ notes THE EDITORS
Wayne Doyle
Claire Aston
Aimee Doyle
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Hi everyone!
Amalie Christine Elvang
Hope the assignments went well and we are all geared up for the exams :(. Firstly we would just like to thank everyone who made the publication possible, and those who contributed and advised us as a group. Rubish magazine is a testament to the ability and sheer excellence of the students in BAJVM 2nd year. As you will see throughout the magazine there has been major work put in and now we may all reap the rewards. The magazine is broad and covers a vast array of subjects from cash for gold (by Marc Dennehy) over Obama’s much anticipated visit (by Dee O’Brien) to an excellent and insightful article (by Catharina Glowa). Notable is the design and laoyout by Franziska Lequen and Megan McGraw, who put in ample hours to ensure the completion of the magazine. So enjoy the read and your support is very much appreciated. So stay safe, stay clean and we shall all re-coup in september. Enjoy your summer and good luck with the exams. Kind Regards, Rubish Editors WAYNE DOYLE CLAIRE ASTON AIMEE DOYLE
4
the Rubish crew that made this publication possible
SUB-EDITORS CONTRIBUTORS marc dennehy wayne doyle julianne lawlor catharina glowa patrick kelly dee o’brien martina pettersen jack ryan pia strømme
marc dennehy amalie christine elvang dee o’brien
LAYOUT claire aston aimee doyle wayne doyle amalie christine elvang ronan corley catharina glowa franziska lequen megan mcgraw
5
Gold buying companies ripping people off? The cash for gold phenomenon has gripped the nation, but is lack of regulation hurting both the businesses and the consumer? Marc Dennehy investigates.
BY MARC DENNEHY
“This is a problem which needs to be addressed; many countries are already taking steps to monitor how these businesses are run. “
Gold is one of the most valuable
in. However, the big difference is that
shops as more of them fall into financial
The value of gold is increasing steadily
on the sole objective of acquiring as
quick access to them and the service
commodities on the face of the earth. every year yet there has been a
staggering increase in the number of
‘cash for gold’ shops opening in Ireland. These shops work on a simple basis; they buy gold from their customers, no questions asked. In the many
advertisements for such businesses,
they market themselves as an outlet
where you can sell your unwanted gold
for cash. Almost all of them will pay out immediately.
These ‘cash for gold’ shops seem to
have sporadically appeared although the trading of gold has been big
business for many years, something
which many jewelry shops also engage 6
these ‘cash for gold’ shops operate much gold as possible, as cheap as
possible. Worryingly, there are also
similar companies plying their trade online and using a postal system to
acquire the gold. There are also cases of kiosks operated by employees of
these companies in public areas such as hotels and shopping centers.
Councilor Thomas Redmond of the
Labour Party is an outspoken critic of the ‘cash for gold’ shops. He feels that the current economic climate may be
a factor driving the popularity of these shops and the service they provide. “Certainly the recession is a factor
which may coerce people to enter these
difficulty, but the fact that there is
is easily available to its customers
would suggest that they are preying on
vulnerable members of the community, similar to the manner in which a pawn shop operates”.
However, Cllr. Redmond was quick to point out the key difference between
‘cash for gold’ shops and pawn shops. “The main difference is that pawn
shops would give you an opportunity
to get your items back and would hold onto them for a period of time.
“These gold shops can have your gold melted down in a matter of days and there is nothing you can do about it after that”, he said.
Possible links between ‘cash for gold shops’ and crime have also become
apparent, with some reports claiming
that burglaries of items such as jewelry have increased in recent times. There have been cases of burglaries where
the victim’s house has been ransacked
and any items of jewelry and silverware have been specifically targeted during the raids.
While these ‘cash for gold’ shops
certainly do not encourage crimes such as theft, they certainly are not doing enough to deter would-be criminals
from profiting by selling stolen items such as jewelry or silverware. Due to
lack of regulation, it is simply too easy
for somebody to stroll in and exchange gold items for cash with no questions asked and no identification required. While some of these businesses can claim that they operate a strict i.d.
policy, they are in no way obliged to do so by law. What this does is it presents problems to both victims of crime and
the legitimate businesses because there are so many shops in operation that sellers can just move on to the next shop they find and sell up.
In the event of this happening, the
shops themselves are also potentially
breaking the law as they are handling and in possession of stolen property. The penalties in regard to this crime
are very clear – a person guilty of
illegitimate dealers.
conviction on indictment to a fine or
in the bill is to require all shops to
handling stolen property is liable on
imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years or both.
Regarding these possible links between crime and these shops, former Minister for Justice and Law Reform Dermot
One solution which is being suggested report all purchases made by the next
day. This would make it easier to catch any criminals trying to sell stolen
property if it was implemented with a stringent identification policy.
Ahern ordered investigations into the
Mr. Redmond reinforces this view, and
year. As of yet, no legislation has been
He was keen to stress to me that legit
legitimacy of these shops earlier this introduced.
This is a problem which needs to
be addressed; many countries are
already taking steps to monitor how these businesses are run. Currently
a bill is being pushed in Washington which will heavily regulate ‘cash for
gold’ businesses in a bid to eliminate
he says that regulation is “key”.
sellers should have no opposition
towards any legislation, and that “only
illegal businesses have a problem with regulation as they have something to
hide”.With this in mind, it seems only logical that legislation of this sort is
introduced in order to protect both the consumers and also legit businesses who deal in this area.
7
I want to be likeYOU Are the role models portrayed in today’s media healthy for young girls?
By Martina Pettersen
M
any children grow up dreaming of becoming one of their favourite characters from the world of media. Young boys have strong, athletic and independent male role models to look up to. Girls, on the other hand are left with skinny supermodels, TV housewives and sex symbols. While the media industry is glorifying the physical beauty of women, one might ask if young girls need better role models to aspire towards?
8
Psychologist, Doctor David J. Carey, says it is extremely important for young children to grow up with healthy role models in the media. “Children learn how to be adults by watching adults, not by listening to what they tell them to do.” A study carried out by Doctor Maya Götz for the International Central Institute for Youth and Educational Television shows says that while women make up 49 percent of the world population, only
32 percent of the main characters on TV are female characters. The study also shows that the only medium where girls are overrepresented are Magazines. Nevertheless, 70 percent of the editorial content in teen magazines focuses on beauty and fashion, while only 12 percent talks about school or careers. The media is a powerful institution that directs attention and shapes cultural attitudes and values. Society’s message of what
girls should be like does not add up with their self-images. Dr. Carey believes that the
70 percent of the
editorial content in teen magazines focuses on beauty and fashion, while only 12 percent talks about school or
careers
role models in today’s media are not healthy for young girls. “[In the world of fashion and glamour] it is beauty that is the most sought after thing, to be thin to, have the best clothes, to conform and try to be like everyone else. We need young people, men and women, boys and girls who can be individuals.” While boys can look up to healthy, athletic role models in the world of sports, it is unfortunately not the same for young girls. Despite the growth in women’s sports in the last three decades, elite female athletes typically receive only about 20 percent of print media coverage. Sue Ronan, the president of the Women’s Football Association of Ireland (WFAI), believes that the lack of female presence in the sports media make girls feel that sports is for boys. She adds; “I think it’s important for young girls to see role models in sport as it encourages them to participate and some others to aspire to be the best.”
It is scientifically proven that sports are essential not only for the physical fitness and growth of a child, but also for its mental growth. Doctor Carey believes that sports can help kids to succeed in the future, by showing them that everyone can go out there and strive to be their best and work hard. Nevertheless, women are also misrepresented in the world of sports media. While male athletes are often portrayed in images as muscular, aggressive and sweaty, women are usually shown
Female athletes like Derval recive only 20% of sports media coverage as sex symbols or in traditional female roles such as wives and mothers. Madeline Hawke from the Irish Feminist Network believes that people have a difficulty going against social stereotypes. “The concept of women being strong, competitive and driven goes against what we are culturally familiar with and that makes it hard
to engage with female sports”. Irish society over the last century has been witness to a number of successful women who are inspiring leadership across the many diverse areas of human endeavour, and whose success is not an end in itself, but rather the start of a responsibility to empower other women. There are successful women out there. In the world of sports Katie Taylor, an Irish boxer and footballer, has won the World Championship Gold Medal in boxing 3 times and has scored several goals for the Ireland Senior Women’s Football Team. Madeline Hawke believes that since many large sporting events have historically been limited to male sports it has contributed to a lack of exposure to talented female athletes, making many people unfamiliar with the skill and aptitude that women have for sport. If women can overcome a traditionally male dominated media industry maybe one day young girls will have better role models to look up to, rather than Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. “Any opportunity for young women to see assertive, poised, presentable women is a very positive thing. Be that in sports or in the business world, it is very good because it sets an excellent example to what a woman can become”, Dr. Carey adds.
9
A Feeling of a
MemoryMemory By Catharina Glowa
I
magine this: You close your eyes, you forget about your surroundings, and just relax for a moment. Then you open your eyes, and you forgot everything. Where you are, why you are there and more precisely who you are. You do not know the difference between apple and oranges, what colour the sky is or how old you are. You have the knowledge of child, maybe even less. You have no past, no history, no experience and no story to tell- because simply: you 10
don’t remember. Øyvind Aamot was 27 years old when he was reborn on a train in China. “I remember the feeling of movement. I was on something moving, but at that time I did not know, what a train was.” People who notice the young man helpless and confused, go through his personal documents and tell him his name is Øyvind Aamot and that he is from a country called Norway. They tell him to take good care of his passport and flight tickets and that he is in China right now. But Øyvind did not know why, and he certainly didn’t know
the difference between China and Norway. When Øyvind Aamot received medical attention the diagnosis was Amnesia. The cause: Unknown. Amnesia is most likely caused by a brain injury related to physical trauma, disease, infection, drug and alcohol abuse, or reduced blood flow to the brain. Through certain therapies and memory training, a person who suffers from memory loss or amnesia might be able to get back there memory or at least parts of it. When Øyvind woke up in the
To hunt down his memories and find the cause for his amnesia by travelling back to China were he lost his past. train, he could understand Chinese. He also understood Norwegian, Swedish and English without a problem. Neurologists in Oslo tell him, that just certain regions of his brain is damaged, and that he should go back to Stabekk, were he lived with his mother before he went travelling. When Øyvind arrives at his old home, he knows straight away in which drawer the cutlery was, apart from this, he doesn’t remember a thing. He looks through letters, photos, video footage, visits his kindergarten and school, catching up with his old friends who still remain as his new friends to him. But Øyvind doesn’t feel sad, he is just curious, like a child. “He was totally obsessed and fascinated with details; he wanted input, there was a lot of space in his brain”, remembers a friend when first meeting Øyvind again. Then, 6 years later, one of his old friends and also director Thomas has an idea. To hunt down
The 2009 film about Øyvind Aamot
his memories and find the cause for his amnesia by travelling back to China were he lost his past. Thomas documents the journey, he wants his old childhood friend back, he wants to laugh about the good times they had sailing 6 months together to Shanghai. He simply wants to reminisce, but Øyvind has never been sailing. Thomas films Øyvind how he is trying to rebuild his memorySometimes he has certain images in his head, flashbacks, but they are blurry and he cannot connect them. One night in Zhangjiajie, a strange feeling strikes him, he feels sick, he can’t stop crying. He doesn’t
cannot understand how he Øyvind is so uncaring about his past, and that they would be devastated to lose their memory. But how can he be sad about something he does not know? How can he miss something that he never had?
Something
happened in Zhangjiajie, something that has hurt
his soul or his brain, or both, so badly that it cost him his
memory.
know what is happening to him, he is sure that he is becoming crazy. Later next day, it becomes clear to him, that this was fear. At the age of 33, he was afraid for the first time. He doesn’t know why. Maybe something awoke in him, not a memory, but a feeling of a memory. Something happened in Zhangjiajie, something that has hurt his soul or his brain, or both, so badly that it cost him his memory. Øyvind might never find out what it was that stole his memory, but the 2 months travelling with his friend through China brought them back together and the movie, “Jakten på hukommelsen” (hunting for memory) was a success and released in Norway in 2009. Today, he doesn’t hunt anymore. Øyvind defined himself new, and is still curious about the world. If someday his memory comes back, that would be great, but not because he wants to be complete again, but because he wants to know how it feels when it is back. Some people
11
BYE BYE IRELAND! BY PIA STRØMME
Peadar Nolan is leaving Ireland in less
than 48 hours. He has two more days to say goodbye to friends, family and his girlfriend, Clara.
Peadar is 26 years old, and has lived in Munkstown, Dublin his whole life. He
is one out of many young and aspiring Irish affected by the recession and the
economic crisis. He can’t get a job, and he’s got no other choice than to leave.
He wrote this on his Facebook profile:
“A man of ordinary talent will always
be ordinary, whether he travels or not; but a man of superior talent (which I
cannot deny myself to be without being impious) will go to pieces if he remains forever in the same place”
When the economic boom was at its strongest it created 1000 jobs a day,
now almost the same amount of people leave Ireland every day.
For many of the young generation, this may be the last time they voted at an Irish election.
The economic crisis has left Ireland
with the highest unemployment rates in Europe.
More than 170,000 jobs vanished last
year, and more jobs are expected to be lost in 2011.
One of Peadar’s childhood friends, Si-
mon Ward, left Ireland 26th of February 2009, and has lived in Australia since.
He had just finished his master in eco-
12
nomics, and spent five months looking
it’s a damn good option!” He says with a
Down under loads of new adventures
sure when he will go back to Ireland.
for a job in Ireland, but with no luck.
were waiting for Simon. Since he first moved there, he has worked as an ice
cream man, soccer coach, and is today a commercial manager with a Public
Relations firm. “It sounds fancy, but it’s really not!” Simon says.
Living in Australia might not seem too bad. With the legendary surf beaches,
countless activities, the laid-back locals and the buzzing night life.
But you’re as far away from your home,
your friends, and your family as you can possibly get.
Simon’s family were very supportive
in the moving process, “There was no
other option at the time. And to be fair,
big smile on his face. Simon says he isn’t “All I know is I wanted to get the hell
out of there when I left!” And who can blame him?
What would you choose, fun in the sun down under, or staying in the country that literally hit the ice berg?
Simon and Peadar are not alone. Thou-
sands of Irish have done the same. New research shows that more people are
leaving Ireland than anywhere else in the EU.
Simon says it’s “far too many Irish people in Australia. Friends are Irish, then their friends, and their friends. It’s an
absolute joke and what I was trying to
avoid when I came out here, but it just seems to happen.”
So you are on the other side of the
soon.
ing to the land down under, it’s like
When Julianne decided to move she
globe, but with so many Irish emigratbringing a little piece of home.
If Ireland wants to keep their youth, the generation that eventually will be the one to lead the country, we need less talk and more actions from the new government.
They have to create jobs, not just say that they will. Otherwise this Irish
“disease” may be long lasting and hard to cure.
Julianne Flynn, another friend of Simon and Peadar, left the country more than two years ago.
After two years of exploring the world, she has now settled down in London.
A little bit closer to home. Julianne has no plans about coming home any time
“ I absolutely love London!” She said. already had a network of friends living
in London. “The UK is a lot more multi-
cultural than Ireland, but the people are of the same mentality so we have great fun!”
Three childhood friends, all decided to
pack their bags in the hope to find new adventures and new possibilities. Both Julianne and Simon are loving it.
But what about the people that’s left behind? What about their parents? What about their friends?
This letter was published by the Irish Times few days before the election: Text received 07.23am“Thanks for
everything, mum and dad. Boarded the plane now. Will text you when we have landed.”
“Tears. The flight departed at 08.09am.
More tears. An unreal feeling of loss and failure. Thank you, Brian Cowen and Fianna Fail. Thank you, Anglo Irish Bank. It is because of you our daughter and
her fiancée, together with thousands of others, had to leave Ireland and devas-
tated parents. We mourn the loss of our children. It is difficult to accept.
Will they be OK? Will they ever come
“If Ireland wants to keep their youth, the generation that eventually will be the one to lead the country, we need less talk and more actions from the new government.”
back? You have taken away our children and our happiness, but there is one
thing you can’t take away from us: our right to vote.”
The letter was written by Michael Sword.
It’s a big world, with thousands of
places to go, and million of places to
see, so with no jobs on the marked, it
could be an easy choice for many. The
statistics are devastating, and the Irish youth are driven away. One could ask how long this recession will last, and
how the future of the country will look
like when the new generation is looking for the nearest exit.
13
people remember that it is a working experience as well as travelling and WWOOFer Thorenton agrees.
“It was more of a way to sort of rough it and to see another side [of travelling]. Affordability was also a big thing for us, we wanted to go as long as possible.” “This caters to someone who is
willing to rough it. On one of the farms there was a compost toilet, and that’s a
thing you have to get a little bit used to. Bring allot of socks! Farm work can get dirty at times so we were buying new socks constantly along the way.” According to Thorenton, there is a
nice balance between working and
Wwoofing in action
WWOOF Around The World By Martina Pettersen “Probably the most unique experience was on the goat farm in Cape Clear. We headed over to Europe on the plane and as part of being spontaneous we did everything last minute. So we found this little tiny island, Cape Clear. We contacted the man, and it was a blind man working on a goat farm. It took us, I think it was about 7 hours to get out there, so imagine the story that I had to tell my mom: ‘Mom we have arrived, now I’m heading out to a tiny, remote island to learn to milk goats on a blind man’s goat farm’. One might wonder what Canadian Sarah Thorenton and her friend, Kirsten, were up to. If they told you they were (w)woofing, you might think they had gone barking mad. People can’t woof. Or..?Dog’s woof, but people can WWOOF. WWOOF stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, and it is a form of exchange where hosts
offer food, accommodation and
14
opportunities to learn about organic lifestyles in return for volunteer help.
It is also an interesting and alternative way to travel on a budget. After finishing university, Thorenton and her friend decided to be a little bit adventurous and to find a different way to travel. They found exactly what they were looking for when they discovered WWOOfing online. “It was more of a way to sort of rough it and to see another side [of travelling]. Affordability was also a big thing for us, we wanted to go as long as possible.” Thorenton and her friend ended up travelling for almost three and a half months. Along the way they stayed in farms in Ireland, Spain and Portugal, and learned everything from how to milk goats and make ice cream and cheese, to working on a fig farm picking figs and almonds. John McDonald, organic farmer and
WWOOF-host, says it is important that
being on holidays. “It could be 5 hours a day of working, but again a lot of the time you are outside in the fresh air picking figs from fig trees. It is just an amazing, unique experience so you can’t really complain about that.”
“Any of the extra hours you are free to explore the rest of the village or town from a local perspective, because you have the owners of the farm that can introduce you to people and tell you what are the best spots to go see”.
After suffering from a car accident, Annie King became a WWOOFhost to be able to renovate her newly bought derelict farmhouse. “I was not able to carry on working and that’s when someone said you should get some WWOOFers to come and help you”. King realized she could teach the WWOOFers about stone building and organic growing in exchange for their work and became a WWOOF-host. “To be honest if I had not had WWOOFers, I would not have been able to have stayed where I was. Actually, as much as you are getting something from the host
you got something to give to them and there is a kind of commitment between the two of you.” King goes on explaining that the word farm might be a little bit misleading since the host farms range from being proper farms with cows and goats, to wineries and even yoga centers. “I have to say one of my fondest memories is going to the farms and because they were all environmentally conscious, they had their own fresh gardens. To be able to go and basically pick your meal fresh is an absolutely fantastic experience”, says Thorenton, who says she was environmentally conscious before she went Woofing, but is even more so after her experiences on the farms. On the goat farm in Cape Clear, Thorenton and her friend made ice cream and cheese. “[It was] a really hands on experience seeing it from start to finish and the taste of the ice cream was great because it was fresh ingredients. You have a feeling of satisfaction at the end when you are part of the entire process so it is quite rewarding and quite delicious”Usually there are young people travelling, but according to King anybody can go WWOOFing. “Last year we had an American couple who came here to Ireland to WWOOF and they were 79 and 84 (years old)”. “I definitely recommend it, if you want to explore and you have that urge then this is definitely the way to do it. wIt’s something that definitely caters to the adventurous and spontaneous so you gain a less touristy view of all the areas you’re going to. I’d like to do it again, because it’s all over Europe so there are a lot of places I’d like to go see”, says Thorenton with a smile.
First female Taoiseach as Edna Kenny takes the U.S by storm!
By Dee O Brien
N
ewly elected Taoiseach Enda Kenny was mistakenly identified as “Edna” by a number of major US publications, including the New York Times. The embarrassing, media sex change first happened when the prestigious New York Times reported that Ireland had elected their first female Prime Minister. Then Mr. Kenny travelled to Washington DC on St. Patricks Day to meet with President Obama, where he was referred to as Edna by a number of journalists in the White House press room. The Times later issued an apology for the mistake, which read: “Because of an editing error, a report in the World Briefing column on Thursday about
the swearing in of Ireland’s new prime minister on Wednesday referred incorrectly to the official. Prime Minister Enda Kenny is a man”.
“Prime Minister Enda Kenny is a man”
Enda was then referred to as “Eddie” in other US publications. It seems that some of the American Press have less than perfect typing skills. During the 2008 Presidential Elections, President Obama was referred to as “Osama” on more than one occasion! 15
Freedom of information in Ireland By Wayne Doyle Ever since the foundation of the state
in 1922, there has been this secrecy DNA fibre which has been passed
from generation to generation within
Dail Eireann. The Irish state has never been in favour of the public viewing
of documentation within dial Eireann. During the 1922 civil war, decisions
were taken by the Irish government
and emergency powers were passed
in the Dail. These decisions included
execution, censorship and internment. A serious level of secrecy was instilled over those dark days. The cabinet
decisions and true account of the on
goings in 1922 have never fully been
released and some records which have
been released are causing public uproar. However, on the flip side of this gold
shiny coin, Ireland is one of a small number of countries to maintain a
democratic government consistently.
The freedom of information act was a
major pillar within Irish society, when it was enacted in 1922. For the first time in Ireland’s political history, the public could question senior representatives. The first means of redress for
those who wanted greater access
to this information came in 1980, with the Ombudsman Act, which
allowed individual citizens to have
their grievances against government departments and local authorities
investigated by impartial officials from the Office of the Ombudsman.
Until recently anybody who requested
information, questioned the authorities,
16
or their ability to do their job, would
long time Ireland’s biggest exporter
political sphere in Ireland. This
irregularities in the beef industry.
be seriously marginalised and frowned upon by the main pillars within the involved the church of Ireland, the
Gardaí and also the Irish government. Representatives that we pay and
are obliged to have the public’s best
interests at heart, hiding, avoiding and manipulating the truth for well over
five decades. It wasn’t until the 1980s
that some progress was made as several pieces of legislation had managed to pass through the Dail without
contamination. This legislation gave
more access to the public through state information.
The Beef tribunal was set up in the
1990s to show that a partnership based
on favouritism between Albert Reynolds and Larry Goodman whom was for a
of beef; “nicknamed the beef baron” Mr Goodman had caused massive
Thee beef tribunal report in 1994
created difficulties within the newly
formed government of Fianna Fail and
labour as members of each of the party questioned each other’s credibility.
The ministers refused to answer on the grounds of cabinet confidentiality and the matter was taken to the Supreme
Court, which ruled that cabinet secrecy was a constitutional principle. Lohan, Hannigan, Conrad, Jackson, 1996, p8
With a new coalition in government
the then Minister of State, Eithne
Fitzgerald of the Labour Party, began investigating legislation that would
lead to greater public accountability. She wrote of, “turning the culture of
the Official Secrets Act on its head”.
Public representatives should be held
accountable for their actions, and their motives should be questioned by the
public, because after all that is how a democratic society remains purified.
The Freedom of Information Act, 1997, gave the citizen three new rights – to see official records, correct personal
information and be given the reasons for public decisions.
In 1997 after much needed progress,
the Freedom of information came under attack from the Minister for Finance, Charlie McCreevy. In a premeditated showcase of power, the minister
handicapped the bill. Two restrictive steps were taken which would see applications for information half
within the following two years of the
bills implementation. One amendment
• Long-term: To fundamentally
change the relationship between the
State and the citizens as a result of the legislation.
Fine Gaels proposals seem to be very
attainable, but also will have a positive effect on the general public as a whole. It seeks to gain the trust of the citizen
again which is definitely as step in the right direction. It remains to be seen if the legislation is introduced. The
coalition between the Labour party
and Fine Gael means a middle ground
may be found between the two political parties. The Labour party introduced
the freedom of information act initially.
As stated before this was a milestone in terms of Irish politics. Labour
Believe that public bodies must be
was the fees to access non- personal
held accountable to the public and that
15 euros, the researcher will also be
about more open government and
information. Whilst the current charge
for access to the documentation is only
charged a further 20.95 euros for every hour that is spent retrieving the work,
accountability requires openness
Freedom of information has brought
better administration of public services. Fianna Fáil attacked the principle of
Freedom of Information by introducing
a prohibitive fee structure. The watering down of the Freedom of Information Act, along with the rise in number
of quangos, served to build a barrier
between government and the public. The Labour Party in government
will foster a spirit of transparency,
accountability and good governance. We will reinstate and extend the Freedom of Information Act and pursue an agenda of Open Data.
Labour also speaks of data and how
it influences a great amount in our lives and the need for accountability and
transparency on a daily basis. The need for the immediate release of truthful
data which is being collected on a daily basis. Data is collected to improve the services and life of the public not to alienate them.
even if the documentation you receive
is not what you were originally looking
for. Anybody looking to access material under the freedom of information act
will pay anything in excess of 200 euros per application. Fine Gael
Want to reverse the restrictions that
Fianna Fail has placed on Freedom of Information in Ireland.
They have two main goals:
• Short term: To provide a mechanism
whereby the Citizen could access both personal
and non-personal information.
17
SUMMER MOVIE PREVIEW
The Wolf Pack are back for more misadventures. Another season of superheroes lays ahead.
BY JACK RYAN
A
s every summer comes along, it seems like the major Hollywood studios insist on their most profitable period starting earlier each year. Big budget productions like Jonathan Liebesman’s alien invasion movie Battle: Los Angeles and Zack Snyder’s actionfantasy Sucker Punch wouldn’t be out of place in the packed summer months, but are now being released as early as March and April. But there’s no arguing that this years tent-pole releases kick off with the first ever big screen outing of one of Marvel’s most well-known characters - THOR (April 27). The comic book adaption stars Chris Hemsworth as the eponymous Norse God of Thunder, with Natalie Portman lending support as the human love interest. Also along for the ride are Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Rene Russo and Anthony Hopkins as Thor’s father Odin. The trailer suggests that we’re in store for an over-the-top action filled adventure, made all the more strange by the presence of Kenneth Brannagh in the director’s chair. Thor isn’t Marvel Studios only release this summer. We will also see CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER (July 29), with Chris Evans wearing the iconic red, white and blue costume. This is the second character Evans has played in the Marvel universe after stealing the show as The Human Torch in the otherwise awful Fantastic Four films. Director Joe Johnston seems like a solid choice as director (his often over-looked
18
The Rocketeer looks closest in tone to this) and Hugo Weaving should deliver a suitably hammy turn as villainous Nazi – The Red Skull. Both Captain America and Thor are the final pieces in the puzzle of Marvel’s build up to the 2012 release of The Avengers, which will also feature fellow superheroes Iron Man, The Hulk and Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury. Another Marvel property making an appearance this year is Kick-Ass director Matthew Vaughn’s prequel of the X-Men franchise – X-MEN: FIRST CLASS (June 2). The 1960’s set movie will trace the origins of Professor X’s school for mutants (played here by James McAvoy) and will focus on his friendship and fall out with Michael Fassbender’s Magneto. With a support cast that includes Kevin Bacon, January Jones and Winter’s Bone’s Jennifer Lawerence, Vaughn’s take on these characters seems like it will make up for Brett Ratner’s much maligned third chapter of the X-Men story, as well as the shambles that was X-Men Origins: Wolverine. This summer will also feature the return of Johnny Depp as the popular Captain Jack Sparrow in PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES (May 18). After two shoddy sequels, the Pirates franchise looks set
to be back on course by getting rid of some of the most annoying elements of the series, most notably Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley (who were both more wooden than the Black Pearl). Gore Verbinski has walked the plank as director, with Oscar winning Chicago helmer Rob Marshall coming on board to hopefully steer the ship in the right direction (ok, that’s enough pirate based puns). One of the biggest surprises in this year’s bunch of blockbusters is the inclusion of Michael Bay’s move into period dramas with his take on Jane Austen’s Emma. Only kidding, he’s back with more explosions, special effects and supermodels in TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON (July 1). After the truly terrible Revenge of the Fallen, the director promises that this will be the best in the series yet (he would though). Shia LaBeouf returns as Sam Witwicky, but most male fans will be disappointed to learn that Megan Fox won’t be joining him and has been replaced by a supermodel that Michael Bay worked with on a Victoria’s Secret commercial. Classic Bay. In fairness to the pyromaniac, the footage that has been seen so far does look impressive. Lets hope there is a coherent plot this time round and less robot scrotum.
Vaughn’s take on these characters seems like it will make up for Brett Ratner’s much maligned third chapter of the X-Men story, as well as the shambles that was X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
The most surefire hit of the summer will undoubtedly be HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2 (July 15), the final movie in the long running series. The first part featured more camping and goofy dancing than action, but this instalment looks set to have plenty of the latter with ‘The Battle of Hogwarts’ taking up the majority of the running time. Expect a high body count and lots of emotion as Harry prepares to cross wands (teehee) with Voldemort for the last time. David Yates is yet again behind the camera and we’ll get a
There’s still lots of other interesting films to be released - including Jon Favreau’s Sci-Fi Western COWBOYS AND ALIENS (Aug 12), Martin Campbell’s take on DC Comics’ GREEN LANTERN (June 17) with Ryan Reynolds in the title role and the silver screen debut of THE INBETWEENERS (Aug 19).
RELEASE DATES 27 April 2011 Thor
13 May 2011 Attack the Block
lot more of Alan Rickman’s Professor Snape this time around, which can only be a good thing. Sometimes it’s good to take a break from all these special effects laden films that dominate cinemas in the summer. This year gives us the follow up to the most successful ‘R-rated’ comedy of all time – THE HANGOVER: PART 2 (May 27). Zach Galifianakis and co are back, with the setting now changed to a
18 May 2011 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
27 May 2011 The Hangover Part II The Tree Of Life
For those of us who are sick of the sight of sequels, remakes and reboots, there are still plenty of movies to look forward to.
2 June 2011 X-Men: First Class
10 June 2011 Kung Fu Panda 2
place that hosts even more depravity than Las Vegas – Bangkok. Director Todd Philips has promised to up the ante from the previous movie, but details of the plot have been kept fairly under wraps. What we do know is that we will be seeing more Tyson, more Mr.Chow and the addition of a monkey to the cast. Don’t be shocked if it ends up near the top of the year-end box office list. For those of us who are sick of the sight of sequels, remakes and reboots, there are still plenty of movies to look forward to. JJ Abrams’ SUPER 8 (Aug 19) appears to be a throwback to early Spielberg adventures, with the bearded one also on production duties. In true Abrams style, the theatrical trailer did plenty to ramp up the excitement and mystery without giving much of the plot away. Also in this vein is Terence Malick’s THE TREE OF LIFE (May TBC), starring Brad Pitt and Sean Penn. Not much is known about the story, but we do know it features dinosaurs. Yes, dinosaurs. It’s very a rare that Malick makes a film and he has never produced one on this large a scale, which makes it this writers most highly anticipated movie of the summer. Did I mention there will be dinosaurs? It wouldn’t be summer without another Pixar film, the most consistent movie studio on the planet. So it’s a shame that their release this year is a sequel to the one of their lesser works. Maybe it’s Pixar’s own fault for setting standards so high? Anyway, CARS 2 (July 22) looks like it will be an improvement on the original, this time the story is set during an around the world race. Further family entertainment fun will be provided by KUNG FU PANDA 2 (June 10), Dreamworks Animations’ sequel to the 2008 smash hit. Jack Black returns to lead the voice cast.
17 June 2011 Green Lantern
24 June 2011 Bridesmaids
1 July 2011 Transformers: Dark of the Moon
15 July 2011 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
22 July 2011 Cars 2 Horrible Bosses
29 July 2011 Captain America: The First Avenger
12 August 2011 Cowboys & Aliens
19 August 2011 Super 8 Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World The Inbetweeners Heroes in action: (above, from top) Transformers: Dark of the Moon; X-Men: First Class; Captain America: First Avenger.
19
Ireland needs specified guidelines on tackling suicide BY PATRICK KELLY There currently is a major problem
would do its upmost to deal with
which we are oblivious to: the issue of
emotional pressure and unrest
deeply rooted within Irish society,
suicide. According to suicideireland.
com, there are on average 400 deaths from suicide every year.
It is hard to imagine that 30 years ago people who took their own lives in
Ireland were denied a Catholic burial.
The 1983 revision of the Canon law al-
lowed for catholic burials of people who had taken their lives, yet the church still maintains a hardline approach to the matter, stating that it is “gravely contrary to the just love of self”.
this problem and be aware of the that has been placed on this
young man, but what has been done? The local parish priest
visited him briefly, with a weak invitation to “come and talk to him anytime”.
Achill Island has a population of about 2,700. It could be considered a rather
rural and detached part of the country.
Over the past year, five men have taken their lives on the island.
One would find it hard to believe that
Despite Ireland’s new advances to
and hope denied mothers, fathers, sis-
how our rural areas are still in the dark
a church that embodies ideals like love ters and brothers the right to give their loved ones a burial fitting of what they deserved.
It can be argued that Ireland’s atti-
tude towards mental-health issues has changed over recent times; websites
like suicideireland.com and suicideprevention.ie have been set up as a means
for people who find it uncomfortable to discuss their problems to get help in an anonymous setting.
A young friend of the family from Achill
has lost both his best friends in the past year. It would be hoped that the town
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tackle the problem, this clearly indicates over the growing number of mentalhealth issues. To think that a young
man, recently bereaved of two of his
best friends, has not been offered the
attention and care that he deserves is
shocking. But are these people to blame, or is it a reflection on our country for
not reaching out to all generations and areas in an attempt to bring suicide to
the attention of all aspects of the public? We must also look at how suicide has
increased with the arrival of the recession. According to a survey done by
Michelle McDonagh of the Irish Times, suicide is an affliction that becomes
more prominent when a person be-
comes unemployed. Her study found that suicide rates and undetermined deaths in men and women were
relatively stable during the Celtic Tiger years of 1996-2006. However, unem-
ployment was associated with a two-tothreefold increased risk of suicide and
undetermined death in men and a four-
to-sixfold increase in women during this period. This detrimental statistic is an
example of why our generation upholds the opinion that Ireland sucks.
Taking into account the recent figures,
the inability for men in particular to address their feelings and the possibility
that maybe as a country, we have always been rather judgemental, how are we supposed to tackle a problem that
thrives when left alone? It is clear that as a country more needs to be done,
communities need to get involved, the church could start to reform its tar-
nished reputation by actively reaching
out to the very people it is supposed to serve.