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Politics . News . Current Events . M usic . Television . S portsGCD Magazine . Issue 3 . April

Keep writing! Two simplewords worth drilling into allour minds to truly mark ourname in national papers, andestablished publications.Once again our Griffithstudent journalistshave outperformedthemselves…..creatinganother impressive issue,and the material keepsflowing in.I have credited those writersand contributors whom Ifeel have consistently showntalent, flair and originality intheir choice subjects anddelivery.Find inside this months bestnational and Internationalstories, entertainmentreviews, Travel tips, Features,opinion pieces, andinvestigative articles fromover 60 of our journalismstudents.I hope we have tickledenough special interests tobring you another fusion ofpolitics, entertainment andstudent agenda.Thank-you for pickingup this copy, and keepreading….Brendan KildeaEditor: Brendan KildeaDesigner: Caitlin Kennedy BradleyChief WritersJohn DorneyNicola ByrneDavid ClaxtonDavid KeohaneSean GildeaAndrew Batare.Joseph MorganLidia A. OkorokovaHugh HickSubeditorsOran FitzpatrickBrendan KildeaWritersDavid MurphyJames WardJames SullivanJoanne SullivanJonathan KeaneCarla DanielleGina Karoline DalenKarl EnglishLaura MullettTatianna ValleIan DoneganJenny KoberJonathan KeaneAnnette B. SøreideGina Karoline DalenConAir McCarchasePatrick SavageRoisin TraitSarah-Louise ColivetOran FitzpatrickHugh HickOscar LongMaria BrundinMathew McMahonThomas SporsheimSpecial Thanks toLecturersNial MeehanAnne Daly (Griff FM)Barry FinneganRobbie SmythAlan GillRyan BrennanPhotographyPhotocall IrelandColin O HanlonElaine YorkeAdvertisingBrendan KildeaFusion is created by students of the Journalism and Media Faculty ofGriffith College Dublin,South Circular Road, Dublin 8.Tel. 01-4150400.

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Irish Society and Politics6 Irish Prisons Failing8 Enda, Father of the House10 Cardinal Brady12 Dolphin House ContemplatesUncertain FutureFinance14 Joseph Morgan’s article16 Saving people’s car - the LADA carindustryInternational Politics18 Irish Army Mission in Chad to end20 Chad- a failed state22 JOS24 ETA, the Basques and the curiouscase of Jon Anza.26 Post-Iraq Elections28 Sebrenkia30 Moscow BombingClimate32 Incineration - Solution or Pollution?Travel34 BoliviaMusic36 Rinoa CD Review37 Deftones38 The Chapters40 Marina and the Diamonds41 Has the world gone Gaga?42 Download Music Fest PreviewComedy44 Interview with Pat ShorttFilm46 KickassSports47 John O Sea48 World Cup 2010 Africa preview50 Ron Atkinson Interview52 Vancouver 201054 Sports personality Kate Walsh5052 54

THE DECLINE OF IRISH PRISONSBy Dave Claxton

Irish prisons are reaching critical levels of disrepair and capacity,with little or no help coming from the government to stopthis alarming trend.A major problem with our prisons is that they are old andfalling into bad shape. Dublin’s Mountjoy prison is a prime exampleof this situation. Judge Michael Reilly was charged withinvestigating the conditions found in Irish detention centres. Hisfindings, particularly about Mountjoy were shocking.He revealed that in Mountjoy, prisoners have to share toiletbuckets in front of each other, (known as ‘slopping out’). Theycan’t empty these buckets overnight, and the buckets are notcovered normally. Inmates pour the contents into bins on thelandings. Liquid can leak from the bins onto the landing andelsewhere in the prison when being taken away. According to FiannaFail TD, Barry Andrews, “There is no disputing the fact thatthere are many limitations to the existing Mountjoy male prison.”To say that this is an understatement would be an insult to theword understatement.Judge Reilly said “I have witnessedseven prisoners sharing afour-man cell where the sanitaryrequirements were met by threebuckets. I have witnessed threeprisoners sharing a cell and sharingthe same ‘slop out’ bucket.” Heconcluded that “slopping out” was“inhuman” and “degrading treatment”for these prisoners. Over30% of all inmates in Irish jails arestill being forced to “slop out”. TheIrish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT)said that Reilly’s report provided“incontrovertible and devastatingevidence” of the conditions atthe country’s largest jail.Along with the Dickensian treatmentof inmates, overcrowding is another problem. For the firsttime in the State’s history, prisoner numbers reached over 4,000last year. Our entire prison bed capacity is for 3,947 inmates. Thecurrent prisoner number stands at 4,192 as of February 2010.Mountjoy was designed to hold 489 inmates, yet the PrisonService says it’s capacity is 573. Yet during February and Marchof 2009, between 660-680 prisoners were in detention. The maleoccupancy rate at the prison is a whopping 124% of capacity.Meanwhile, over 50 prisoners are in cells with at least four peopleor more.This situation is not just confined to the notorious Dublin jail, itis occurring across the other jails. Cork prison capacity is for 298but it has an extra 148 inmates; Castlerea has cell capacity for150 and is overcrowded by 115; and Dublin’s Wheatfield capacityis for 320 but it has an extra 101 inmates. Dóchas women’sprison is operating at 48% over capacity, with 120 women; it isdesigned for 81 inmates. Two-thirds of male prisoners in LimerickPrison are sharing cells with another person, while a tenth arein cells of more than three people.It appears that the government simply doesn’t have the resourcesor doesn’t care. But maybe they will be made to caresoon enough by Europe.The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture hascreated standards for jails to achieve, across Europe. The EuropeanCourt of Human Rights now depends on these standardswhen making rulings in regards to European jail conditions. TheCommittee has visited Ireland four times and complained thatovercrowding was “endemic” and that this helped to facilitateother problems within our prisons such as poor cell conditionsand prisoner violence.In Poland, two prisoners took the country to the EuropeanCourt of Human Rights for inhuman and degrading treatmentwhile in detention (occupancy levels across the Polish prisonsystem are at 110%). The prisoners were forced into overcrowdedcells and into an unhygienic space. The European Court ofHuman Rights found that the conditions these prisoners faced,contravened provisions of Article 3 of the European Conventionon Human Rights. No similar courtcases have been brought againstthe Irish government, but if thesituation is not improved soon,the country will be forced to dosomething about our prison conditionsby Europe, whether thegovernment wants to or not.Our answer to overcrowdingwas to be the “super prison” atThornton Hall in Dublin.Not a single brick has beenlaid on the hollowed turf of thispipedream project. In May 2009,the plan was put on an indefinitehold due to the financial crisis.Yet, the government is spending€120,000 a year on maintenanceand security for the site. Labourjustice spokesman, Pat Rabbitte, asked “Why should we spendmore taxpayers money for a site on a farm in north Dublin whichmay never be realised in the Minister’s or my political lifetime?”“If trespassers were on the site the opposition deputies wouldbe criticising the fact that people were allowed to go on the site”responded Justice Minister, Dermot Ahern.The planting and pruning of plants at the site have cost a stunning€460,000 alone. “There’s still no timetable for constructionat Thornton Hall but yet our Minister for Justice seems to havea love affair with trees in north county HYPERLINK “http://www.independent.ie/topics/Dublin” \o “Dublin” Dublin,” Fine Gael TD,Denis Naughten said. Overall, the project has now cost €41.8min site costs, professional fees and siteworks. The jail would havecreated 2,200 badly needed prison spaces.Maybe the government needs to be reminded that this is 2010and not 1841. Regardless of what crimes these men and womenhave committed, the conditions in which they are confined toand the overcrowding problems are simply unacceptable andmust be addressed in a serious manner as soon as possible.Irish Society/Politics7

Edna KennyTHEOF THEHOUSEBy David KeohaneWith his launch of ‘New Politics’ at the FineGael Ard Fheis-cum-election rally last weekhis place at the helm is surely cemented.

Enda Kenny is the longest serving member of DáilÉireann, a distinction which earns him the title of 'Fatherof the House', and as the leader of Fine Gael will mostprobably head this country's next government. But, inorder to change this from probability to certainty, thereare two big obstacles he must overcome. Firstly, he mustconvince the voting public that Fine Gael are more thanFianna Fáil-lite and that there is more depth to their policiesthan was on show during their long spell in opposition.Secondly, he must convince the electorate, andperhaps his own party, that he is the man to lead thiscountry. And that task is proving to be far from easy.On the first point Fine Gael took a large step forwardwhen they unveiled their 'New Politics' agenda at theparty's recent Ard Fheis. The proposals therein convincedlarge swathes of the media that Fine Gael might actuallyhave a serious programme for government in placeevenVincent Brown admitted that Fine Gael might notbe quite as 'brain dead' as he had previously accused.Yet, despite the fact that Enda is ringing these changeswithin Fine Gael, his suitability as Taoiseach is far moreof an open debate than Fine Gael's suitability for government.A recent Sunday Business Post Poll found thata large portion of the electorate would be more likely tovote for Fine Gael if there was another leader in place;when asked directly, more than two in five voters (43%)agreed that they would be more likely to vote Fine Gaelif Enda Kenny was not leading the party. Almost half(48%) of Fianna Fáil voters agreed this to be the case.As damaging as all that is, in all likelihood, Enda Kennywill lead Fine Gael into the next general election- whichmay be upon us sooner rather than later. As it stands,Enda's only credible leadership threat is his right-handman, Richard Bruton, whose loyalty to his leader hasbeen unswayed by recent temptation. If a change wascoming, George Lee's departure and Enda's ropey mediaoutings soon after would have seen it- a small thankyou to Willie O'Dea's timing might be appropriate in a biographyat some point. With his launch of 'New Politics'at the Fine Gael Ard Fheis-cum-election rally last weekhis place at the helm is surely cemented.Fine Gael thus need to answer the question: why isEnda seen in such a poor light by the voting public?An easy, and persuasive, answer is that the public's fewmoments with him, in soundbite and videolink, are hisweakest. He is not a performer and does not sit well onthe Late-Late . He lacks the magnetism and braggadocioothers have brought to the front bench- his stiltedattacks on the recent re-shuffle (insert deckchair/titanicjoke here) showed him up badly. But Dáil performancesdo not decide elections (just ask Michael Noonan- ifrhetoric within the Dáil won seats perhaps Fine Gaelwould now be in the doldrums for having run the countryinto the ground). It is in the media where votes arewon and lost. Politicians are obliged to sell themselvesto a public that don't engage with politics away from themedia. The electorate does not have the time, or inclination,to get to know a politician away from those thirtysecond speed-dates that frame political discourse formany people.This is a problem. Ireland is unhealthily obsessed withpersonality politics. The question of how many GreenTDs hold Ministerial positions trounces bailouts and currencycrises in the word-count stakes in the national papers.There is a yearning for the surface detail and an unwillingnessto engage with broad policy; Mary Harney'sjunket holds the attention while underlying problemswithin the HSE are barely discussed. Policies and partieslive and die by the front-men who champion them.Bertie Ahern was the poster boy of this populist politicand it seems as though the Irish public are unable to embracea government without a cult-captain. Enda is not,no matter how much he is trying to become it, this typeof leader. He is a grower. His strength lies in moderationand he is rightly lauded as being a great conciliatory politician,capable of welding his party together and creditedwith doing so following their disastrous showing inthe 2002 elections.Brian Hayes once said of Enda Kenny that he had "madeFine Gael less like a party of barristers,” and Enda's willingnessto share the limelight with the Leo Vardkars andSimon Coveneys of the world is a positive thing for FineGael. It is certainly a far cry from what is happening onthe other side of the house where the status quo is beingso jealously preserved; another thirty years of Dáil experiencewas just added to a front bench already strewnwith political grey hairs. Perhaps its Enda's own grey hairthat is letting him promote the likes of Varadkar, a manwho will surely be looking to challenge for leadership inan election or two's time. Struts of Fine Gael's 'New Politics'programme further embrace this move away fromthe usual centralised-power nature of Irish politics. TDs(and less of them) are to be given far more of a voice inthe legislative process in an attempt to end the 'tyranny'of the cabinet that many see as stifling the Dáil.Enda Kenny is by no means the perfect politician(seeabove) and will not be the perfect Taoiseach. During histenure as leader of the opposition a failure to offer realalternatives to Fianna Fáil has been as clear as his partiespolicies have often been confusing. In the same vein,'New Politics' is not a perfect document; Fine Gael havenever really put forward institutional reform before, theplans to abolish the Seanad seem to be populist in theextreme and many of the other proposed reforms donot go far enough. Yet, in a better late than never manner,Enda appears to be pulling it all together at the righttime. He chairs a front bench full of character and a partythat seems to finally be pulling some new ideas out of itscollective hat. So, maybe, after almost 35 years in government,mightn't it be time we give him his due?Irish Society/Politics9

CARDINAL BRADY COVER-UPBy Joanne SullivanFollowing recent revelationsthat Cardinal Seán Bradywas involved in a cover-upsurrounding paedophile Fr.Brendan Smyth, he has insistedthat he will not resign, unlessexpressly asked to do so bythe Pope. The Cardinal, whois the head of the Catholic Church in Ireland, claimshe did nothing wrong, yet admits that he did knowabout Fr. Smyth’s actions as far back as 1975, and didnot speak up. He insists that he was ‘following orders’and acted in an appropriate and responsible mannerto ensure Smyth was brought to justice. However thatjustice did not come about for 20 years, during whichtime other children suffered as a result of his abuseas Smyth was moved from one parish to the next. Yetthe Cardinal did not speak up. He is now involved in alegal battle with one of the victims, who is suing himin his capacity as Archbishop of Armagh and as theCatholic representative in Ireland.In the last couple of weeks it has emerged thatBrady was present during secret interviews wheretwo abused teenagers signed vows of silence overtheir complaints against Smyth. He insists that hewas acting under orders from the bishop, and that heacted swiftly and efficiently in bringing the evidenceagainst Smyth to the bishop. Brady says this evidencehelped in the process to remove Smyth’s licence toact as a priest.The Church was aware of Fr. Smyth’s paedophiliaas early as the late 1940s and rather than report himto the authorities, they repeatedly moved him fromparish to parish, and even to different countries.He spent time in Italy, England and the US and wasnot arrested until 1991. Had Cardinal Brady and hissuperiors acted as they should have back in the 1970sand reported Smyth to the police, he would not havespent the next twenty years abusing children all overthe world.The Cardinal is being urged to withdraw hisdefence in a legal battle with a victim of abuse. The

If I found myself in a situationwhere I was aware that my failure to acthad allowed or meant that otherchildren were abused,well then, I think I would resign.man is suing Brady over his failure to protect himand other children who were abused by Smyth. Heis demanding that Brady withdraw his defence, andadds that he finds his apology “incredulous”, giventhat he still claims he did nothing wrong. The manalleges that when he reported his abuse the Churchauthorities assured him and his father that Smythwould not be allowed near children again. Howeverhe was only convicted 19 years later. Brady deniescalling an ecclesiastical court and speaking with theplaintiff or his father. He is asking the man for proofthat the abuse actually took place. Brady has spokento his legal representatives and said he is hoping for ajust resolution to the case, but declined to commentfurther.Speaking to RTÉ News after the publication of theMurphy Report last December, Brady said that he wasconfident Bishop Donal Murray would “do the rightthing” regarding his position in light of the criticismscontained in the report. Brady went on to say, “If Ifound myself in a situation where I was aware that myfailure to act had allowed or meant that other childrenwere abused, well then, I think I would resign.”Colm O’ Gorman, a campaigner for victims of clericalabuse in Ireland spoke out against Brady, calling forhis immediate resignation, saying, “He believed thatthis out of control paedophile [Smyth] had abusedchildren and he did nothing to report this crime tothe police either then, or it would appear, at any pointover the next twenty years during which time Smythcontinued to rape and abuse in parishes across theworld with near impunity”.On St. Patrick’s Day, Cardinal Brady read out aletter of apology for his role in mishandling theaccusations against Smyth. This apology has beencriticised by many, and described as less direct andmore conditional than some victims would haveliked. He made an abstract apology to anyone whohad been hurt by any failure on his part. “I apologiseto all those who feel I have let them down….Lookingback I am ashamed that I have not always upheldthe values that I profess and believe in”. He thenended his letter by saying that he would be doinga lot of careful reflection during Holy Week. Criticshave suggested that this sentiment may have beena response directed at the media, regarding calls forhis resignation. Many feel the Cardinal is hoping toalleviate the pressure the media and the public areplacing on him with these demands, in the hopesthat they will soon move onto a new target and hecan continue in his position.It is worth noting however that despite his failure inacting appropriately where Fr. Smyth was concerned,Cardinal Brady has done a lot of good for the peopleof Ireland. In 2009 he wrote to Finance MinisterBrian Lenihan, urging him not to make further cutsto Ireland’s overseas development budget. He said,“These vulnerable people have had no part to playin creating the multiple crises now facing them –climate, financial, food – yet the challenges they faceare unprecedented. I appeal to you not to turn yourback on them. We must ensure that we maintain ourcurrent level of aid spending until such a time as weare in a position to build it up again”.It remains to be seen whether Brady will continueto cling to his position as Primate of All Ireland, giventhe allegations and the court case against him.

DOLPHINHOUSECONTEMPLATESUNCERTAINFUTUREBy John Dorney

A Year ago, Dolphin House, in Dublin’s south inner city, hitall the headlines, when criminals placed a hoax bomb at a residentsmeeting. Now its future is still uncertain as plans for itsredevelopment have stalled.On April 28 2009, residents of Dolphin House, sick of drugdealingand crime in their estate, called a meeting to demanda permanent Garda presence in the area at night-time. Beforethe meeting was over, hundreds of cars in the estate had beenvandalised and someone placed what appeared to be a bombwith fuse at the community centre where the meeting wastaking place.The “bomb” turned out to be a Pringles crisp box with wireattached, but the message it gave was clear enough – thecriminals were giving a warning to the community.Since then, according to local councillor Críona Ní Dhalaigh(Sinn Féin), the situation at Dolphin House has “greatly improved”.The Gardai now have a permanent and visible presencein the area and walls have been built where the flat complexborders the canal.“Before”, explains Ní Dhalaigh, “there were loads of waysin and out, now there is only one”. Previously people sellingdrugs could escape to the path along the canal whenever theGarda entered the estate.“Fear is slowly breaking down”, she says, “even if the problemhas just been moved down the street”.Many of the dealers havejust moved across the canalinto Crumlin, which is underthe jurisdiction of a differentGarda station.Dolphin House is a fortress-likesocial housingcomplex situated besidethe Grand Canal in DolphinsBarn. It is surroundedby high grey walls on itsstreet side and 12 blocksof red brick flats loom overthe canal. The complex wasbuilt in the 1950s, in the erawhen the corporation desperatelyneeded to clearDublin’s inner city slumsand re-house their residentsin a hurry.Its 436 flats are home toover 900 people, the largestpublic housing project inthe city and second only tothe now demolished flats inBallymun.The problems of crime, drug dealing and anti-social behaviourhave long dogged the estate. But Dolphin House alsohas a proud tradition of community activism. Back in 1983, the“Dolphin House Community Development Association”, ledby a man named John ‘Whacker’ Humphries helped to start apopular campaign against heroin in Dublin.In the 1990s, there was again a wave of activism againstdrug dealing in the area. At that time, the practice of communityactivists was to march on drug dealers’ houses and demandthey leave the area.But according to Críona Ní Dhalaigh, “Those days are gone.The “bomb”turned out to bea Pringles crisp boxwith wire attached,but the messageit gave was clear enough –the criminals were givinga warning tothe community.There are some people from that generation that say we needan anti-drugs movement again, but at the end of the day, it’sthe Gardaí who are paid to keep the law.”Ní Dhalaigh argues that bad planning and the poor qualityof the housing at Dolphin House, along with poverty andneglect by the state is partially to blame for social problemsthere. For 13 – 14 year olds in the area, she says, the prospectof a criminal career has a certain allure. “They see the pushersin fancy cars and with lots of money – the criminal culture isglorified in some of these estates”.Dublin City Council has long had plans to knock down andrebuild Dolphin House but there has been friction betweenthe Council and local groups.The Council’s preference was for a Public Private Partnership(PPP) scheme, in which half of the complex’s 400 units wouldbe sold for private “affordable housing”. The community, CríonaNí Dhalaigh says, were against this as it would “dislocate thecommunity”.Instead, Rory Hearne, the regeneration officer for DolphinHouse, initiated a consultation between the local communityand Sheridan architects, who were brought in to design an alternativeplan for the estate.The consultation process took place over seven months, accordingto Owen Kelleher, the Sheridan architect responsiblefor the project, in which each flat black had its own meetingwith the architects.It turned out that whatthe residents wanted differedsubstantially from theCouncil’s plans. Kellehersays the final design he proposedincluded more socialhousing and fewer commercialunits. The flat blockswould now be sealed off toanyone except residents – inpart to stop the drugs trade– and play areas were overlooked by balconies, “sopeople could watch theirkids at play”.The problem is that, sincethe redevelopment was firstmooted, the Irish economyhas been hit by a severerecession. According toOwen Kelleher, the originalPPP scheme is now unlikelyto take place. “The marketvalue is not high enough tojustify the costs. State fundingwill now be necessary and I can’t see it [redevelopment]happening in the immediate future.”The Dolphins Barn estate is, in any case, behind nearby StTheresa’s Garden’s in the Council’s timetable for redevelopment.Dolphin House may have to deal with formidable socialproblems and must wait for its shiny new housing, but thepeople there have seen off worse in the past and bring, at leasttheir sense of togetherness and community into the uncertainfuture.Irish Society/Politics13

By Joseph MorganAfter staring at the wall for over a year now, the writing isfinally starting to appear on it. Based on latest estimatesand valuations, the bill for the National Asset ManagementAgency (NAMA) now looks to be in the order of a minimumof €83 billion. This is made up as follows:Known payments (!billion)Paid into AngloFirst NAMA purchasesPaid into Bank of IrelandPaid into AIBPaid into Irish Nationwide12.38.53.53.50.1Future estimated payments ( billion)Remaining NAMA purchasesAnglo costsIrish Nationwide costsEBS costs41.5102.60.875

These amounts do not even include any future liabilitiesrelated to AIB or Bank of Ireland as the current wishful politicalthinking is that they may be able to raise future shortfallsthemselves as the government desperately tries to avoid nationalizationof what remains of the banking system. On topof that, there was a vague mention of some astronomical figure(that ended with the word ‘billion’) for professional feesrelated to NAMA over the next ten years.Knowing what a poor job we have been doing in Irelandlately of accurately forecasting anything, the reality is that wewill be looking at a final bill in the region of €100 billion.Now, imagine what you could do with €100 billion in termsof using it positively to get Ireland out of this recession: jobstimulus packages, innovation and business start-up funding,building infrastructure or retraining with a focus on the socalledsmart and green economies. The list is only limited byour imaginations.Apart from the figures, it was the general tenor of the weekthat was interesting. We saw Sean Fitzpatrick (ex-Anglo BankChairman) arrested and held overnight in a cell, the variousshocking NAMA and bailout announcements, Anglo Bank reportingthe biggest ever corporate losses in Irish history (andBank of Ireland also reporting dreadful losses) and key parts ofthe Quinn insurance operation put into administration by thefinancial regulator.The way this happened over a few short days appearedjust a bit too choreographed. As though perhaps the ‘establishment’has decided that they are offering Mr Fitzpatrick andMr Quinn up as ’sacrificial lambs’ to keep the public and thetabloids quiet? As they like to say, to “draw a line under that”.It’s also very convenient that the government has now goneaway on 19 days holiday in the immediate aftermath of allthis. These things are never timed by ‘accident’. Getting holdof anyone to question them will be very difficult in the nextfew days.If the government wants us to put our focus on one area – inthis case, Fitzpatrick and Quinn – then you can be sure it is inorder to take our attention away from other areas.So what are the other questions we should really be askingnow?Who are the un-named bondholders in Anglo (and otherbanks) and why is the government so reluctant to close themdown? Is there a dark secret in the vaults of that organisation?Why is the government telling us that it would cost even moreto wind Anglo up than to keep them going – anywhere between€70 billion (Lenihan) and €100 billion (Cowen) dependingon who you are talking to. Eminent economists such asProfessor Karl Whelan at Trinity College have already clearlydemonstrated that there will be no substantial losses if it issensibly wound down over the next four years..If the first tranche of loans coming from the top buildersare this toxic then what state are the remaining loans in? Thisfirst tranche came from professional developers with propertitle and paperwork, not hick builders in cahoots with a localcouncilor building half-finished hotels or remote housing estatesthat nobody wants to live on. These loans could be almostworthless but the taxpayer will be coughing up €billionsfor them.And if the remaining loans to come over to NAMA are in abad state, how well has the financial regulator ’stress-tested’this using worst case scenarios and, should the worst casehappen, does that mean we are going to be pumping evenmore in the way of bailouts into the banks?And on top of that stress-testing, have they also included aworst case scenario for problems with other loans that are notgoing to NAMA e.g. other development loans under €5 millionin value, mortgages, personal loans, credit cards, etc. and thefurther impact that might have on the banks?Regardless of the fact that the European Central Bank iskeeping interest rates on hold, interest rates on all of theseother loans are undoubtedly going up here in Ireland as thegovernment, by its silence about recent interest rate rises,is implicitly giving the nod to banks to put them up to helpshore up their balance sheets…. once again, at the expense ofthe average Joe and Joan in the street.You can nearly always guarantee with governments thatif they are diverting your attention by asking you to look atsomething then you really ought to be looking elsewhere -where they don’t want you to look. Perhaps in some of theseareas.There is something we are not being told here. What is it?What is the ‘it’ of it?Finance15

By Lidia A. OkorokovaLada cars can once again become the nationalpride if the package of measures toimprove automotive industry adopted bythe government and Russia’s car giant AvtoVAZsucceed.Many big nations have their own car brands which are successfulon domestic and international levels, think Germany’sluxury class Mercedez and Japan’s Toyota.Russia’s brands are neither high-profile cars nor in theeconomy class anymore. AvtoVAZ, the country’s biggestcar manufacturer has been in a trouble for quite some timenow.Since the beginning of the global financial turmoil in2008, AvtoVAZ has experienced the same level of sales declineand financial difficulties as many Western automakers.AvtoVAZ’s sales declined by 44% in 2009, according to Associationof European Business data, with predictions of afurther fall in 2010. The company is facing bankruptcy, andis attempting to re-establish itself with product innovation.Inl ate 2009, a package of measures to introduce newtechnologies and solve AvtoVaz’s financial problems waspresented to the government by newly appointed CEO IgorKomarov. In response, prime-minister Vladimir Putin signeda €292 million bailout deal in December, 2009.On March 23, Russia’s car giant launched a scrappage

As of March 2010,AvtoVAZ’sdebt to the bankshas reached1 billionprogramme for 10-year-or-older cars to boost sales and financiallystabilise the company.This disposal programme allows owners of long-runningmodels, including the VAZ (Lada) 2105 and 2107, to scraptheir old vehicles in exchange for a €1300 voucher. Thefinancial director of the “Lada-Finance – Lada Credit” programme,Maksim Gerasimov believes that “the decision toallow Lada buyers to use vouchers as an initial instalmentof a credit purchase of a new car is a serious step” he toldRossiyskaya Gazeta.The anti-crisis measures at AvtoVAZ also include redundanciesof up to 25,000 and a possible issue of shares worth€320 million within the bounds of the company’s restructuring.AvtoVAZ has three main blocks of share holders, theFrench car-maker Renault, the state corporation Rostekhnologii,and an investment company, Troika Dialog. It is believedthat after issuing of new shares, Rostechnologii andRenault will remain main shareholders, with a block of 25%each, while Troika Dialog will lose its holding.AvtoVAZ is located on the banks of the Volga river, 800km from Moscow. The company was established in 1966 asa collaboration project with the Italian car-maker FIAT.A new industrial city, Tolyatti, was built around the plant,being named after the then Italian communist party leader.Currently, AvtoVaz employs 110,000 - 130,000. The restructuringdeal calls for a workforce of 69,000 - 72,000.According to AvtoVAZ’s trade union leader Petr Zolotorev,the number of employees has already fallen to 77,000since the announcement of the bankruptcy. The companyexecutives hope that the transfer of some employees tosubsidiaries created within a restructuring programme andfinanced by the government will help to maintain socialstability. Tolyatti’s population is around 700,000 people andAvtoVAZ is the provider for the whole city. If people losetheir jobs abruptly this will cause serious social unrest.AvtoVAZ has always been known as the People’s Carmaker,meaning that cars were cheap and anyone in theSoviet union could afford to buy one. Since the collapse ofthe USSR, this particular brand has lost its value and seena decline in consumer demand. During the first decade of2000’s, Russians with a stable income no longer wanted a“people’s car” but a foreign brand with qualities that Ladaunfortunately lacks: safety and innovative design.The possibility of investment from Renault is of high importance.It means that AvtoVAZ may not only overcomeits financial difficulties, but also receive new technologiesthat will help restore the brand’s name with better qualityand new design.Finance17

The Irish Army’s deployment in the UN peacekeepingmission in Chad is due to come to an end before the endof this year.The UN mandate expired on March 15, and ChadianPresident Idris Deby calledfor the withdrawal of internationaltroops, saying hiscountry’s own military werecapable of maintaining securityin the region.The mission has been temporarilyextended for twomonths after talks betweenMr Deby and UN SecretaryGeneral for PeacekeepingAlain Roy. It is, however, unlikelyto continue beyondthe end of the year.There are currently 410Irish soldiers in Chad, partof 4,000 strong UN forcecharged with keeping orderalong Chad’s border withSudan and with protectingrefugees who have fled to Chad to escape the conflict inneighbouring Darfur.Next month the 230 Irish troops serving on peacekeepingduty in Kosovo and Bosnia will also be withdrawn,leaving less than 100 Irish soldiers deployed around theworld on UN missions – the lowest number in 30 years.Their main missionwas to protect refugees from theDarfur conflictin Sudan,over 230,000of whom had floodedover the borderinto Chad.The new Defence Minister Tony Killen has promised tofind new peacekeeping missions for Irish troops.The Irish Army first sent a battalion to Chad, a troubledcountry in north-west Africa, in February 2008 as part ofEuropean Union force – EU-FOR TCHAD. An Irish officer,Pat Lieutenant General PatNash, was in overall commandof the operation.In March 2009, the UnitedNations took over commandof the mission, whichwas renamed MINURCAT.Their main mission wasto protect refugees fromthe Darfur conflict in Sudan,over 230,000 of whom hadflooded over the borderinto Chad.They also found themselvestrying to police anon-off border war betweenChad’s military on one sideand a mixture of Chadianrebel groups and Sudanese militias, (who may or may notbe backed by the Sudanese government), on the other.Declan Power, a former Irish Army officer and DefenceAnalyst, who has visited the region, describes the situationon the ground as, “very lawless” and a, “low intensityconflict on both sides of the border.”

As a result, he says, the Irish Army battalion is, “heavilyarmed” and provides a, “robust military presence”. Protectingrefugee camps from the various local armed groupshas meant, “police enforcement and direct combat on occasion”.Around two years ago, he says, the Irish soldiers foundthemselves in a major confrontation with local militias inwhich heavy fire was exchanged.The mission, says Power, “had the potential to be extremelydangerous”.Nevertheless, the Irish battalion has suffered no combatcasualties in the mission but 34 soldiers have had to beevacuated due to sickness or injury.“It’s a harsh climate and a harsh existence”, Declan Powersays of the Chad mission, “though not as harsh as the conditionsof local civilians.”On why the Chadian President has called for a withdrawalof international troops from his country, Powersays, “it’s hard to know why. I t could be a wrangle withthe French. Chad is basically a French client state. [Chad isa former French colony] On the other hand, maybe a wellarmedwestern force is not the best humanitarian force toprotect refugees”.The lack of a major overseas mission creates a seriousproblem for the Irish military. The deployment of Irishtroops as peacekeepers gives Irish foreign policy importantclout at the United Nations.It also provides operational experience for the IrishArmy and helps to maintain their standards of trainingand equipment. UN deployments are also paid for by theUN itself, so do not place a financial burden on the Irishstate.So new Defence Minister Tony Killeen has pledged tofind a new mission for the Army as soon as possible. Wheremight this be?There are rumours of a return to Lebanon, where an Irishbattalion was deployed for 30 years, but Declan Power’spreference would be for increased participation in the operationin Afghanistan.Currently there is a small contingent of Irish troops servingthere under a UN mandate but this, he says could beexpanded without compromising Irish neutrality, especiallyto perform maintenance of order and humanitarianmissions.The advantage of Afghanistan, he says, would be the deploymentof Irish soldiers alongside, “well organized westerntroops. I’d rather see that than deployment with ThirdWorld militaries, which can be very risky”, he says.However he concedes that many in Ireland would bereluctant to see Irish troops drawn into the US-led waragainst the Taliban.Regardless of where it is, according to Power, the IrishArmy needs foreign deployment to maintain its militaryskills.“If we let them languish”, he says, “the Army will not beable to perform its primary role of domestic security”.International Politics19

By John DorneyIrish troops are about to finish their deployment in Chad but the Africancountry remains one of the poorest and most war-torn places on earth.Chad is situated in northern Africa, between avolatile triangle of Libya, Sudan and Niger.It is one of the poorest countries in the world,with an average income of just $1,200 per yearand a life expectancy of only 47.The country became independent from Francein 1960 but has never really freed itself from thecontrol of its colonial master.Since independence, Chad has endured severalcivil wars, in which the French, Americans, Libyansand Sudanese have all interfered.The country is divided between twelve majorethnic groups, speaking over 100 differentlanguages. Most divisive of all is the divisionbetween the Muslim north and Christian south.Tensions between these two regions led to theoutbreak of civil war between north and south in1966.Southern-based parties won out with the help ofFrench troops but the northern factions receivedenough military aid from Libya to keep the wargoing until 1990. It was a confused conflict, withmany different factions, north and south, whofought each other as well as “other” side.Colonel Gadaffi, leader of Libya made an attemptto occupy Chad, but was eventually driven out inthe late 1986 by Chadian forces backed by boththe French and the Americans.After three decades of war, the state of Chad had,for practical purposes, ceased to exist in much ofits territory. In its place were foreign powers anda host of feuding warlords. Governing the capital20International Politics

Over 230,000refugees havefled across theborder into Chadto escape theSudanese Janjaweedmilitia, creating ahumanitarian crisis.N’Djamena was a military dictatorship led by Hissein Habre,who had up to 20,000 of his political opponents murdered inhis prisons.In 1990, the war finally ended when Idris Deby, a militaryofficer, overthrew the government of the dictator Habre andcalled for talks with rebel groups. All sides then agreed to aceasefire followed by democratic reform of the constitution.Despite this, rebellion broke out again in the north in 1998and carries on fitfully today.Chad has been ruled by an authoritarian President, Idris Deby,since 1990. In 2005, Deby altered the constitution to allow himto remain in power for another term.Some of the army mutinied in response to this action andformed rebel groupings across the border in Sudan.The conflict in the neighbouring Darfur province of Sudan hasdone much to destabilize Chad.Over 230,000 refugees have fled across the border into Chad toescape the Sudanese Janjaweed militia, creating a humanitariancrisis.Chadian rebel groups based in Sudan also began attackingChadian posts across its eastern border in 2005 –some of themdisgruntled army factions. Sudan has allegedly sponsored theseChadian rebel groups.Chad and Sudan signed an agreement at Tripoli in 2006 tostop either government backing armed groups on either sideof the border, but a low intensity conflict continues along theChad-Sudan border.The EU sent a humanitarian force to Chad in 2008 to try toprotect refugees from Darfur. The UN adopted the mission in2009. Idris Deby has now called for this force to be withdrawn asChad’s own military were capable of handling the problem.Deby is a member of a minority ethnicity and is heavilydependent on French support to remain in power.Whether Chad can ever become a stable and prosperous stateremains in doubt.

Whathappenedin Jos is likea smallerversion ofthe genocidein Darfur,Rwanda orBosnia.

JOS:THE SLAUGHTER CAPITALOF NIGERIABy Andrew BatareThe ‘State of Nature’ in political philosophy is the stateof anarchy that human beings experienced before theestablishment of a government. At this level of existence,there are no rights for persons and human beings fight andkill each other for their own interest. We are starting to seewhat this might look like in the Nigerian city of Jos.Jos is a tin-mining city in Nigeria’s middle belt. Its coolertemperatures since colonial times had attracted tourists as afavourite holiday location. Until recently, Jos was a peacefulcity. It is known as ‘The Home of Peace and Tourism’ and ‘TheHeadquarters of Irish Potatoes in Nigeria’ as they are grownhere in large quantities.Recent happenings in Jos show that people still live in the‘State of Nature’ in this part of the world despite civilisation.This was made possible through the failure of leadership inNigeria which turned Jos into a field of massacre.Ethno-religious and political conflicts in Jos started in 2001where over 1000 lives and property were lost. It was repeatedin a bigger way in 2008 and the recent 2010 massacre ofover 500 in rapid succession, where defenceless childrenand nursing mothers were burnt beyond recognition, limbsand arms maimed and bodies of people inflicted with deepmachete wounds in there sleep, homes and properties burnt.What happened in Jos is like a smaller version of the genocidein Darfur, Rwanda or Bosnia.The bone of contention between Christians and Muslims inJos is the scramble for land, scarce resources and political clout.Poverty, joblessness and corrupt politics drive extremists fromboth sides to commit horrendous atrocities. Although Nigeriarakes in billions of dollars in oil revenue annually, the majorityof Nigerians scrape by on less than a dollar a day. In Jos, Muslimcattle herders from the north and Christian farmers from thesouth vie for control of the fertile plains.Given the perennial nature of this violence, its persistencethis year and the revelations of those arrested, it appears therewas a conspiracy at the highest level by politicians to perfectthis heinous crime against humanity hiding under the garbof religion. It is a dastardly act of political manipulation of thepoor and impoverished people for selfish ends. Nigerian socalled ‘leaders’ are promoting violence with a view to achievepolitical or religious domination.In the developed world, leaders that promote sectarianviolence, ethnic cleansing agenda and xenophobic sentimentstake their seats at the United Nations Court of Human Rightsat The Hague. In Nigeria, such leaders are crowned as kingsand queens and are given chieftaincy titles.The massacre in Jos is a failure of leadership and the pursuitof selfish personal ambitions of politicians who manufacturesupport by mobilising sectarian divisions. Such politicians seenothing wrong with driving people to violence and carnageto achieve their end. It is a demonstration of the irresponsibleattitude of those ‘voted’ to unite Nigerians and pilot thebusiness of state security and governance.What is happening in Jos mirrors the breakdown in the ruleof law that led to the war in Liberia, Sierra Leone, DemocraticRepublic of Congo, Rwanda and Somalia. The world is yetto recover from the images of carnage and destruction thatthose wars bequeathed to it.Although free from colonialism, poor Nigerians are not freefrom political oppression, ethno-religious violence, economicsabotage, political insensitivity and the primitive use ofreligion to achieve political capital or advantage, “For to befree is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a waythat respects and enhances the freedom of others.”Nigeria needs genuinely free elections and respect for therule of law.Enough is Enough!International Politics23

By John Dorney

By Hugh HickHere’s a question: what is the greatest threat that exists in aninfant democracy?There are many contenders of course. There are those whosimply don’t take to the idea of “one person, one vote” and strivetoward a simpler, autocratic style of government. There arealso those that agree with democracy in principle, but follow ahistorical trend of attempting to warp it to their own ends, as canbe seen in many of the so-called democracies in South America.There are even those who play the game to the finest rule butsuddenly realise that the country doesn’t have the resources todeal with such a radical change in political philosophy.And yet, it seems that the greatest hurdle such a fledglingdemocracy faces actually lies within the system itself, in the formof elections.They are, after all, the first great test that such a democracyfaces. Any country can claim democratic credentials on thesurface, but it is only when truly fair and transparent electionsare seen to be carried out can such a society be truly acceptedby the international community. Countries such as Cuba havefaced criticism for years about having the façade of carrying outelections where all the nominees are drawn from the one party.Sure, you can talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?It is precisely this which has been the latest in a long series offootsteps taken by Iraq in an attempt to scramble once and forall out of the turbulent few years it has endured since the 2003invasion. The inaugural parliamentary elections in 2005 passedrelatively uneventfully but were still mired by the instability allaround the region. Finally, five years later, following the passageof new electoral laws in November 2009, Iraq had the opportunityto demonstrate that it is on the road to recovery. All eyes werefixed on the situation: many hoping that the elections wouldprove once and for all Iraq’s healing sovereignty, while others nodoubt hoped things would fall to pieces.The day didn’t go without incident. Before polls even openedthere were whisperings of fraud perpetrated by Prime MinisterNouri al-Maliki, mainly stemming from the printing of a surplusof polling cards. On top of that, the run up to the elections weremarred by repeated incidents of violence, resulting in the deathsof over 200 people. Considering sectarianism has been rampantfor most of Iraq’s recent history, this is not altogether surprising.As we have seen time and time again, in countries like Iraq, beingin the minority can prove very dangerous.It seems now that a majority decision is impossible. The twomajor contenders in the race, the Iraq National Movement andthe State of Law coalition finished neck and neck in the polls,

All eyes were fixedon the situation:many hoping that theelections would proveonce and for all Iraq'shealing sovereignty,while others no doubthoped things would fallto pieces.with the former demonstrating a lead of a mere two seats. Focusmust now shift to the forming of a coalition. This is perhapsthe ideal result for the country, and shows the strength of theProportional Representation system they have adopted. The onlyobstacle will lay in whether a further coalition of parties would bea stable makeup of government.Lobbyists for groups representing women’s rights and thoseof Christian factions have been vocal in their hope for a fairand stable makeup of parliament, in the hope of quashing therepression of these two groups that has occurred in the past.Realistically, however, no makeup of government will be ableto put that to rest overnight. The main hope that can be held isthat whatever government is formed is strong enough to createa unified policy towards these issues, something that has beensorely lacking up until now.There are many challenges ahead for whatever governmentmaterialises. Tackling sectarianism and fundamentalism will be noeasy task and this term of parliament may be a political poisonedchalice of sorts for whoever is tasked with leading it. There is still alarge international interest in the development of Iraq so pressurefrom countries such as America will make the development of acoherent direction for the country that bit more difficult.The relative transparency of the elections is a good signhowever. Once a tangible electoral system is in place, it acts asthe keystone for a sustainable democracy, and at this stage ofthe new Iraq’s infancy, that is good enough. Only time will tellif the foundations are strong enough to cope with the rapidprogress that is expected of the country, or if like many societiesbefore it, will the system collapse under the weight of westernexpectations.International Politics27

By Maria BrundinToo little, too late - whatdoes Serbia’s apologyreally mean?100 000 people died during the war inBosnia-Herzegovina, a battlefront forgenocide during the Balkan Conflict.In 1995 the Bosnian town of Srebrenica was a UN safehaven under the protection of Dutch peacekeepers andtens of thousands civilians had taken refuge there.By July the town was under siege, with 600 lightly armed Dutchpeacekeepers facing off against the Serbian forces. Food was running outand as pleas to NATO for help failed, Serbian forces overran the town.Roughly 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed in fivedays. Witnesses tell stories about men being forced to digmass graves before being shot into them.In 1999 UN apologised in a self-critical report, sating that they“failed to do our part to save the people of Srebrenica from the Serbcampaign of mass murder”.General Ratko Mladic, Radislav Krstic, regional leader Radovan Karadzic and former Serbianpresident Slobodan Milosevic, along with a number of others, are indicted by the InternationalCriminal Tribunal in The Hague for crimes of humanity committed at Srebrenica.

On the 31st of March, Serbia made an historical move and apologised for theSrebrenica massacre of roughly 8000 Bosnian Muslims in 1995. After a 13 hour longdebate at the parliament, broadcast live on television, a resolution was passed bytwo votes. The resolution expressed sympathy to victims and apologized for not doingenough to prevent the killings, but avoided calling the killings ‘genocide’.SPLITThe country remains split over the move, both within theparliament and within the general populace.A dozen protesters stood outside the parliament, somecarrying pictures of wartime leaders General Ratko Mladic andRadovan Karadzic, who is on trial in the International CriminalTribunal in The Hague for the Srebrenica genocide.A second group carried signs saying: ‘Srebrenica was not inmy name.’Opposition deputy Velimir Illic said “the crime was nogreater than in other places, We can’t put everything else offto the side”, referring to other war crimes that been committedduring the Balkan Conflict.Others, such as liberal parliamentarian Cedomir Jovanovic,criticized the resolution for not recognizing the killings inSrebrenica as genocide. “Our society does not have thesufficient strength“, he remarked to the parliament after failingto get a different resolution passed.POLITICAL AIMSThe ruling coalition of President Boris Tadic’s pro-westernDemocrats and the Socialists, who were lead by SlobodanMilosevic, hope that the resolution will win EU and investorfavor.President Tadic called it a display of patriotism and PrimeMinister Mirko Cvetkovic said that the move “is an event thatin the long run should open the doors for future cooperation”with Bosnia and other countries in the region.In December 2009 Serbia applied for EU membership buttalks can not start until Ratko Mladic is captured and broughtto The Hague.Hailed as a hero by many Serbs, Mladic is believed to behiding in Serbia.BOSNIAN RESPONSEA Western diplomat, stationed in Bosnia at the time of thegenocide said that passing the resolution without arrestingMladic meant little.“As a substitute, it’s offensive, it’s an insult,” the diplomattold Reuters.In Bosnia many said the resolution was too little, too late.“There is no apology for the crimes”, said Munira Subasic,the head of a Srebrenica women’s association, who lost herson and husband in the genocide. “Justice can only be servedonce all the criminals responsible for the atrocity are namedand held accountable”.OTHER APOLOGIESEven though apologies are rare in the political sphere, othercountries have apologised for past behaviour.Roughly two years ago Australia apologized to its nativepopulation the Aborigines for child abduction, genocideand decades of discrimination. South Africa apologised forApartheid in 1992, Bill Clinton apologised in 1998 for theAfrican slave trade and countries like Canada and Norwayhave made similar apologies to their indigenous people.There are many others that are unlikely to ever get anapology.Russia will probably never apologise for its actions inChechnya, and the Chinese government are highly unlikelyto ever recognize the ethical cleansing during the CulturalRevolution.The day Israel and Palestine recognize each other’s sufferingand wrong doings, the conflict can finally see an end. Thesame goes for Pakistan and India.However, if the Serbian apology proves to be a positive stepfor talks about future EU membership, Turkey might considerapologizing for the genocide of Armenians.FUTURE FOR SERBIARegardless whether the apology is sincere, or just a politicalmanoeuvre, Serbia has recognised that it is responsible for thedeath of thousands of civilians/innocent men. No longer cananyone claim that the massacre never took place.As Jelena Kosovac , a retired nurse told Swedish Radio inBelgrade, “It is a necessity for the people of Serbia to knowabout this.” She said that, in particular, young people mustlearn what really happened during the war.Halfhearted apologies such as this rarely have any significanteffect on those the apology is directed towards, and its affecton diplomatic relations with neighboring countries willprobably not be of great importance.There is still a long way to go. First the country must dealwith its internal differences over the issue and then takefurther measures to prove the apology is sincere.Despite this, it is a step in the right direction.Serbia has realized that to become a modern society it mustconfront its past.“Right actions in the future are the best apologies forbad actions in the past.” Righteous actions are a rarity in thepolitical game – let us hope this is more than that.For more information about the prosecutions visit The Hague’s webpage; www.haguejusticeportal.netInternational Politics29

By Lidia A. OkorokovaA little more than 6 years after the last metro bombingsin Moscow, two suicide attacks killed and injured dozens ofpeople on March 29th , 2010.The explosions in the metro in the Russian capital ofMoscow killed 39 people. 88 people were hospitalised withsevere injuries.The first suicide bomber boarded a metro car in the Lubyankastation in central Moscow at 7:50 a.m., the second explosionhappened forty minutes later at Park Kultury, alsoin the city centre.It is believed that bombs contained 6 kg of TNT in totaland were filled with pieces of metal for more damage.Those who carried out the attacks have been identified bythe law enforcement bodies using CCTV snapshots andbody parts found at the scene as two young women of a“Caucasus” origin.On the 1st of April, the police released CCTV snapshotsof the attackers and those involved in the explosions threedays earlier.The CCTV snapshots show that the terrorists were accompaniedby two men and a woman as they walked towardsthe metro cars in both stations. The possible accomplicesthen disappeared from the scene of crime. The police foundthe place where the bombs were prepared, an apartmentin one of the suburbs of Moscow. The law enforcement au-

thorities and the Federal Security Service have announced afederal hunt for these men.One of the eyewitnesses said “I was passing Park Kulturystation an hour after the attacks. I have never seen so manypolicemen. They worked very well, told us not to worry anduse a bus or trams instead”.There were people who gained from the attacks: taxi-drivers.Many people were scared to go back to the stations anduse metro, so they turned to the cabs. The taxi drivers hikedfares by ten to twenty times the normal price and thus profitedfrom this tragedy.“I just couldn’t come back there. So I decided to go by taxi.I stopped a private taxi and asked what the fee was. The taxidriver demanded a charge five times greater than normal toget to my workplace” says another eyewitness of the Moscowblasts.The reaction of the government’s officials to the attacks washarsh.Prime-minister Vladimir Putin promised a few hours afterthe attacks “we will find and eliminate everyone involved inthis crime” and that the terrorists “will be dragged out of thesewers”, RIA-Novosti reported.President Dmitry Medvedev commented on the tragedyonly four days later, saying that “there should be zero-toleranceon terrorists’ accomplices”.The March bombings brought back memories of 2004,when a male suicide bomber blew himself up in a metro carbetween Avtozavodskaya and Paveletskaya stations killing 41people on February 6 2004. In August that same year, a femalebomber killed 10 people outside a Rizhskaya metro station.The recent attack has many similarities, not just in the deathtoll of 39 people dead compared with 41 in February 2004, butalso in the way the bombings were carried out.Doku Umarov, a militant leader in the North Caucuses tookresponsibility for the attacks in a video message left at oneof the separatists’ websites. He said that the bombing was aresponse to a special forces’ operation against his “people” onFebruary 11, 2010.Doku Umarov is the self-proclaimed leader of the CaucasusEmirate. According to Russian authorities, he served twoprison sentences, one for a felony, and one for murder, beforejoining the separatist group in Chechnya, in the early 90s.Umarov threatened Russian authorities that there wouldbe more attacks carried out in the future. The Federal SecurityService, alongside with law enforcement authorities and someRussian politicians, believe that Umarov is just trying to promotehimself as a danger to Russia.Russian President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin wantUmarov dead. Umarov commented on this in an interview onthe rebels’ website, saying ‘I would like to answer this questionfor both well-wishers and ill-wishers. To ill-wishers I say : wipeyour snot!’A writer at one of the separatists’ websites writes in his articlethat “the bombings of the metro and the blast of the elite train(Nevsky Express blast last year) are, in fact, a public declarationof dissatisfaction with Putin’s regime, and they destroy the Putinmyth - the myth of omnipotence, stability and order”.These two facts raise more questions about who and whycarried out the 2010 bombings.The ombudsman for Human rights in Chechnya warned thatthe blasts in metro might cause a wave of ethnic hatred against“Caucasian looking people” across Russia.The media reported cases where people were attacked becauseof their appearance by Russians angered by the bombingsin Moscow.Russia’s Islamic Cultural Center offered a reward of roughly€23,000 for any information on those who carried out theblasts in Moscow metro.Many media outlets reported a growing “bond between Russians”caused by the attacks. There are pictures of civiliansbringing flowers and candles to the stations of Lubyanka andPark Kultury posted and printed in the media.It is yet too early to say whether those responsible for thebombings are indeed the North Caucuses militants or someoneelse. The law enforcement forces and the Federal Securityservice are just entering the first phase of the investigation. Inreality, it can take up to three years for the Russian authoritiesto fully carry out an investigation of this magnitude.International Politics31

INCINERATIONBy Jenny KoberThe planned waste incineration plant in Dublin Harbour couldbe a danger for citizens and environment as it is using outdatedtechnologies that are proven to promote both illness and climatechange.An incineration plant, owned by a private-public partnershipof the American company Covanta Energy, the Danish firm DONGand Dublin City Council, is proposed for Ringsend, a denselypopulated suburb in Dublin. Research shows that the project couldhave a harmful effect on citizens, flora and fauna in the immediatesurroundings and throughout the city.The operation of waste incinerators can lead to harmfulemissions on a high scale. According to the planning permissionof the Dublin Waste to Energy Project (DWE), as the new businessis called, the Poolbeg plant will release such substances on a dailybasis. As the plant is intended to be operated 24/7/365, this couldmean constant dust, emissions and noise pollution.Today, the construction is still pending after its inception in1996, as it is opposed by the local citizen group CombinedResidents Against Incineration ( CRAI) and being investigated bythe Irish Competition Agency following a formal complaint by theindependent waste companies Green Star and Panda, accusingDWE of anti-competitive behaviour.Dublin’s Waste Management has so far heavily relied on landfillsand the incinerator is promised to put a bigger emphasis onrenewable energy creation through waste combustion. This,32 Climate

The planned wasteincineration plantin Dublin Harbourcould be a dangerfor citizens and environmentas it is usingoutdated technologiesthat are proven topromote both illnessandclimate change.according to Covanta Energy, offers the most sustainable andresponsible waste treatment plan for Dublin.The plant will facilitate 60.000 tonnes of waste per year,which will be provided by Dublin city as well as its countrysidesurrounds.Research shows that the environmental impact of incinerationplants does not end with fly ash and bottom ash. Miah M. Adelfrom the University of Arkansas is more concerned with thechemical agents produced as exhaust fallout. Her case studyon the chemical hazards produced by incineration revealsthe effect of compounds of carbon monoxide, sulphur anddioxin.During the waste combustion process, carbon monoxide isreleased into the air. When inhaled, it reduces the oxygen levelin the blood, which can cause nausea, and drowsiness. In highconcentration it can lead to death.According to DWE’s waste licence, the Poolbeg incineratorwill release an average of 15,696 kg of carbon monoxide (CO)every year. This figure excludes a maximum of 1728 kg COemitted by emergency diesel exhaust points. As sulphur isemitted, it combines with the air and forms acid rain, causingplant deformation and destruction. When it enters the sea, itaffects the anatomy and fertility of fish and other aquatic life.Kevin Humphreys, local Councillor on Dublin City Council ,says the emphasis in change of waste management should beplaced on the reduction of waste rather than incineration.“ We would end up encouraging the citizens of Dublin togenerate waste to feed to an incinerator. What we should bedoing is pushing out the ways how to reduce waste.”In relation to the safety of the emissions, he said “ Whileyou monitor the stacks to measure dioxin disposal, you haveto shut down the forces to ensure that the scrubbers areworking properly to be tested.” This condition can not beapplied to an incineration plant running 24/7 which couldlead to dangerous emission levels that remain undetected.“In a city environment of 1.2 million people, we could have anincinerator that would be discharging unsafe levels of dioxinfor a number of weeks before it could be discovered. This couldbe seriously detrimental to people’s health”.Despite the widespread concern that the potentialenvironmental impact would be negative, the EnvironmentalPlanning Agency (EPA) granted DWE permission to goahead with the project. The approval was supported by anindependent environmental impact study carried out by theConsultancy within Engineering, Environmental Science andEconomics (COWI) from May 2007 to April 2008 on behalfof Dublin City Council. COWI laid high emphasis on theadditional generation of thermal heat and the connectionof the incinerator to a district heating network. Only then,as stated by the report, the sustainability of waste burningcompared to other options such as bio gasification can berecognisable. Indeed, according to DWE, a heating networkcould provide hot water for 60.000 costumers and electricityfor an additional 50.000 homes. This is coherent with TheWaste Management Acts 1996 to 2003 and the location of theplant ensures that there are enough potential users availablein Dublin. However, currently there are no concrete plans foran energy generation scheme and it is not included in theplanning permission granted by the EPA.Maurice Bryan, qualified engineer and technical advisor toCitizens Against Incineration, which has been campaigningagainst the Poolbeg project for years, is especially concernedabout the risk of accidents. According to Mr Bryan, if a wastefire occurred during transit or while waste was deposited, thehealth implications for citizens would be particularly severe. “The smoke that comes out of a waste fire has not been filteredand is very hazardous. “Regarding the joint ownership by Dublin City Council andCovanta, Mr Bryan said “ The whole thing has been reverseengineered. And the householder is going to pay for theshareholder. That is wrong. Waste collection should be aservice.I am getting more and more annoyed with the way theCouncil is treating local people.”Joel Schwartz, Associate Professor for EnvironmentalEpidemiology at Harvard University, who studied the effectsof air pollution on human health for almost 60 years, hasfound evidence to support the fact that air pollution increasesthe total death rates in a community as well as the amountof deaths from diseases related to the respiratory tract. Thisincludes lung and throat cancer, asthma and colic.This kind of pollution is created by incinerators. The emissionsproduced, even by filtered waste burning, are a great concernin the case of Dublin Harbour, as the climate conditions leadto a high concentration on the ground level. This is due to theweather inversion, which has the effect of a lid over the area,not allowing emissions to enter the atmosphere.The Schwartz study also established that, over the decades,we have become less tolerant to emissions in the air. It meansthat the constant advancement of technologies to reducetoxic emissions by waste incineration has no effect on thehealth impact it involves. It found that with the amount ofemissions, the human body’s ability to deal with toxins hasdecreased also.An incinerator in Ringsend, intended to solve Dublin’s wasteproblems ten years ago, is neither a safe, nor a sustainable wayto do so, as recent research and case studies have proven. Theproject could mean an easy way out for our consumer society,but will come at a high price both for society and environmentin the future.

BOLIVIABy Sean GildeaLeaving San Pedro de Atacama in a minivan, our tourgroup were greeted by the Chilean customs after afew hours of driving. On leaving Chile, we were givena moment to take a few last pictures of the stunningdesert scenery before being transferred into 4x4’Jeeps. We then entered a sort of “no man’s land” as itwas two hours of driving before we met the Bolivian officials.After getting our passport’s stamped we were given plentyof time to absorb the magnificent scenery that surroundedus. Flamingos dipped their feet in the bright turquoise lagoonwhich nestled in a backdrop of red mountains and a sharpblue sky. In front of the lagoon was a sign, Bolivia - Esta es mitierra...¡Bienvenidos! (Bolivia - This is my land...Welcome!).We moved on again through the desert, constantly asking ourdriver to stop so we could take photos. We eventually arrived atsome thermal springs where we could have a dip followed bya bite to eat. The restaurant was the only sign of civilisation formiles.After eating, we were brought to a geyser field and then tothe Laguna Colorada (red lagoon) where even more flamingosdipped their feet. After a long day we were driven to themountain hut that would provide accommodation for the night.It was primitive and cold, but worth it - if only for the spectacularnight-sky, the result of high altitude and absolute isolation.The next day was a long one that pushed our Jeep to its verylimits, taking on steep sand-dunes while avoiding large bouldersand sometimes even trapped vehicles. Our journey wouldtake us through Bolivia’s answer to the Grand Canyon, with itsdeep valleys and fabulous rock formations. After a few hours ofexploring our surroundings, we met back up with our driver tocontinue the road ahead. Our day ended at the edge of Salar deUyuni, the world’s largest salt flats.The flats are a 10,000 km2 stretch of nothingness. Most of thetime, there was nothing to be seen in any direction, except salt.That was until we reached the cactus island that we graduallysaw grow bigger over the horizon . This dark cactus coveredisland provided a stunning contrast to the ghost-white salt flatsthat surrounded it.

Most of the time,there was nothingto be seen in anydirection, exceptsalt.After exploring the island it was photo time. Because thereare no features in the salt flats, it results in a lack of perspectiveand distance when taking photographs. This turned mostof the tourists into master choreographers. People weredetermined to manipulate their photos, making it look likethe “tiny people” in the background were standing on the“giant” in the foreground.Another notable feature of Salar de Uyuni was the Salt Hotel.This hotel was built entirely out of salt cut from the surface ofthe flats. Even the furniture inside was made from salt.After a tour of the hotel, we were told that our journeywas nearing its end. We were briefly shown the process of saltcultivation, before getting into the Jeep for the last time, tobe dropped in the tourist-trap town of Uyuni. With nothingbut street vendors and restaurants, it was not worth hangingaround. From there it would be a nightmare bus to La Paz, butthat’s another story in itself.My trip to Bolivia happened as somewhat of a fluke. Sittingin a travel agent’s office in Buenos Aires, planning on travellingto Patagonia, I saw a picture of the Bolivian salt flats andthought, “I have to go there”! I then booked myself a packagetrip that would take me to Salta in Northern Argentina, SanPedro de Atacama in Chile’s desert and finally leave me inBolivia’s tourist town of Uyuni.In between all this, I witnessed eruptions in the world’shighest geyser field and trudged though sandstorms in theworld’s driest desert – but it was Bolivia that would capturemy heart with its spectacular Andean landscapes.Travel35

By David ClaxtonRIONAPost Metal has seen an explosion in popularity, recognitionand respect in recent years. Neurosis and Godflesh can claimto be early practitioners of the genre, while Isis reinvented andrevived it to make it what it is today. Rinoa’s debut album, AnAge Among Them, is a mesmerising addition to Post Metal’sback catalogue of classic albums.The Essex five-piece first troubled the music world with their2008 EP, Eyes Of Sound. It promised much, but also revealed aband still looking for it’s own, distinctive sound. Other titans ofPost Metal seemed to weigh too heavily on their music.This CD is not an abrupt departure from the genre. All the elementswhich make up this field of music can be found in thisalbum. Shoe-gazing atmospheres, shredding vocals and suddentempo changes are all here. Thankfully though, there aresome amazing tracks which hint at a progression to a soundvery much of their own making.Only one song clocks in below the six minute mark, meaningthat this album is not for everyone. Another problem to reachinga bigger audience for the band is that towards the end ofthe CD some songs blend into others. This is a minor criticismthough. The front end of the album is loaded with killer tracksthat this is barely noticeable.Opener, “Past Maidens”, lulls the listener in with an imposingstart. It begins with ambient sounds that are eventuallyreplaced by colossal riffs and bleedingly heavy vocals. It isimpressive to say the least. This is followed by “This Land WillHold Their Wings”. This song is a stomper. The riffs get heavier,the vocals become more strained, the soundscape explodes tocover the listener in an all encompassing sound that is hard forany band to match. The standout track of the album is “Fires InThe Distant North”. Halfway through the track, the tempo suddenlycollapses to a crawl, a gentle ambience starts to buildup. The drums guide the track to a monster and epic finish. Theriff is devastatingly beautiful and soaks itself into the listener’sear. The track reveals a band using the conventions of theirgenre but expanding breathlessly out of it’s confines.Overall, this is a stunning debut which will be hard for Rinoato better on subsequent efforts. Move over Isis, a new star isin town.

By David ClaxtonFusion magazine must apologise to the Deftones. Theirnew album Diamond Eyes was scheduled for release inMay, but we managed to get our eager mitts on it wellahead of it’s circulation. Chino and the boys, we’re sorry!The album is the band’s first without talismanic bassistChi Cheng who suffered horrific injuries after a car crashin 2008, which left him in a coma for many months. Theband planned to release it’s six album, Eros before thistragedy happened. The Sacramento rockers went on tourto cover the costs of Cheng’s medical expenses with SergioVega filling in for the fallen bassist. The album was put onindefinite hold.Diamond Eyes was created out of this turmoil, withVega now a fully fledged member of the band. The albumreunites the band with producer Terry Date, who helped tocraft much of their earlier work.The CD is a classic piece of Deftones music. All theelements that made them famous are present. The musichas mellowed out to a huge degree on this album though.Previously, the band would bludgeon the listener’s ears,while this new material has a much more melodic andsofter sound. This is not a bad thing though.The album is solid and has some exceptionally memorablesongs, but overall it just can’t seem to captivate the listenerover it’s forty minutes. Standout track is first single, “RocketSkates”. It showcases what the Deftones do best. It is aheavy, rhythmic blast of metal that kicks off immediatelyand never lets up in intensity. “CMND/CNTRL” is anotherslab of vintage metal from the band. Abe Cunningham’sdrums provide a thundering sound to the track. There aretwo songs that layout the new sound employed on thisCD. “Beauty School” is a surprising, but excellent song. It’sriff is easy on the ear and builds up into a beautiful chorusthat shows lead man Chino Moreno can still carry a tune.Meanwhile “Prince” and “976-EVIL” are the album’s lowpoints. Both songs fail to excite. Their choruses are weakand their sounds are strikingly generic.While Diamond Eyes does not disappoint, it fails to liveup to past glories. Importantly though, it shows a bandexploring a different sound and a willing to experiment. Ithink Chi would be proud.Entertainment37

Five piece Dublinindie bandThe Chapters are nolonger something of abest kept secret. Sincethe release of theircritically acclaimeddebut album,‘PerfectStranger’, the bandhave been busy asever touring andpromoting their music,described by HotPress as“irresistibly catchy”and“enormouslyambitious”.Catch The Chaptersplay live at The ButtonFactory on April 23rd,‘Perfect Stranger’ isavailable for downloadfrom iTunes now. Theband’s MySpacepage is available atwww.myspace.com/thechaptersofficial orcheck out their websitewith news, gig datesand discography atwww.thechapters.comWhere did you get the name ‘The Chapters’?Ross came up with the name while walking down Abbey St. Hesaw Chapter house and thought hmmmm ‘The Chapters’How did the band form?Ross and Simon have known each other since they were 4 yearsold. I met Simon and Ross through a school friend and so westarted a 3 piece band... Eventually we needed a Drummer anda Bass player. Ross met Ciaran (Drummer) and Murph (Bass) at aparty and so the rest was history!How would you describe your sound?Old friends at a celebration, Rumours-era Fleetwood Mac singingat a party hosted by Talking Heads, gate crashed by The Cars, throwin a bit of Phoenix and a wink to The Band and you have the idea.Who are your major influences?Previous question!What can people expect from your debut album‘Perfect Stranger’?A Pop Rock Album with charm, sincerity and substance. We hopethat people listen to it once and then want to listen it all again.By Sarah-Louise Colivet

How have things been sincereleasing your album?Things have been really great.. We couldnever predict how things would go.. Ittook us a long time to get the album outbut we knew we wanted to do it right..From production, song writing and thebusiness end of things we’re alwayslearning.. Like anything, you will alwaysmake decisions that shape certainresults. I think the release of the albumhas taught us a lot about ourselves andabout the Industry.. It has also taughtus to be patient.. We’ve done somegreat gigs.. Our friends and label matesThe Coronas have been such a greatsupport.. We’ve done many tours withthem now.. Danny is always mentioningus and spreading the word out thereabout us.. We couldnt have hoped fora better ambassador for the Irish musicscene to give us such support.. However,the most important thing we’ve realizedis that there are countries outside ofIreland who like our music and for usthat is where the future is.Is there a general theme throughoutyour album?It’s hard to say what themes are inthe album.. Before we signed with 3úRecords we had a previous deal fallapart.. A lot of the album was writtenduring and after negotiations.. I wouldbe lying if I didn’t say that the recessiondid not inspire us.. However, a lot ofthe songs we write are about made upcharacters! A lot of it would be aboutour own lives but we don’t like to be soobvious so we make up these imaginarycharacters to shake things up.. Musically,there is a general 80’s theme throughoutthe album but we made sure that everysong had a hook, good melody andcatchy chorus!Do you prefer working in studio orplaying to a live audience?It’s hard to say... There is nothing betterthan playing live in front of a crowdwho know your Music and who arethere for you... However, I thoroughlyenjoyed recording Perfect Stranger.Our producer, Ciaran Bradshaw is a verygood friend of ours.. So we all got onso well. It was easy to work with himbut he pushed us to our limits! Whichmade the Studio exciting.. For ‘PerfectStranger’ we wanted to capture our livesound on record so most of the albumis recorded live altogether.. So to answeryour question I like to play live in front ofan Audience while being recorded!!! HAHow has the band spent the pastsix months?Well besides promoting our albumwe’ve been touring a shit load!We’ve been doing a college tour, venuestour, a sold-out London showcase anda tour of Italy all in the last 3 months..We’ve played some 40 gigs in that time!!So we’ve been busy...What do you think of the musicscene in Ireland/ Dublin?With a country steep with such greatcultural history and some worldrenowned musical icons, the scene inIreland is dying!I only realized how bad the Irish musicscene was when I played shows in othercountries!!! Now don’t get me wrong..There is so much talent in Ireland..So many amazing artists! However,with the lack of support from the ArtsCouncil, alternative music will never bepushed here like it is in other countries..The opportunities are far smaller herethan in other countries... In order to bea successful act you need to get yoursingles played on radio! There are only ahandful of Radio Stations over here whoI respect for the music they play.. 80% ofthe music played on radio is determinedby Programme Directors, major recordlabels and big PR Companies... It is hardto earn a living from music in Irelandas it is such a small country.. If therewas more funding and support fromthe government for alternative music,Ireland could have one of the best musicscenes in the world...What has been your favouritevenue played in to date?It has to be The OlympiaTell me about the creative processof your music .When we started out as a 5 piece,we all agreed that everything wouldbe split equally... This goes for songwriting too... One of us might bring anidea or a complete song to rehearsalsbut then we all jam the song togetherand eventually write our parts for thesong. Some changes might occur in thisprocess but we work very well like this...Sometimes a song will be written in 10minutes, other times not so quickly! Butfor us, the songs are the most importantthing about The Chapters. So we reallyfocus on this aspect of the band...How has your music evolved sinceyou first began playing together?We have searched for quite a whileto find a defined sound. We’ve gonethrough many musical styles to get towhere we are now... A lot of it has to dowith the music we listen to and whatour parents played for us while growingup... But I think for me, as long as we’reconstantly improving and pushingourselves as musicians and song writersI’m happy!Do you think it will continue toevolve or will you stick to yourcurrent sound?I think it’s important for a band to keepthings fresh for their own heads andfor others... There is nothing worsethan hearing a song from an artistwhich sounds exactly like other songsof theirs... For us, Perfect Stranger waswritten deliberately as a pop album...We don’t deny this... However, we havealready written 10 or so tracks for album2... I can safely say that we’re very excitedabout the songs and the sounds thatwe’re getting... We hope to push someboundaries with the next album!What do you consider your biggestchallenge as a band so far?Our biggest challenge as a band waswhen we had a record deal fall throughin the 11th Hour... It was heartbreakingbut for some reason we dealt with itvery well... I remember when we initiallyapproached by the label and been toldthat we’d have the world in our handsetc... But one thing we did agree onwas that if this deal fell through that wewill continue to work hard and get thealbum out... However, within 2 weeks ofthe deal falling through, I had a few chatswith Danny O’Reilly of The Coronas andbefore we knew it we were signed to thesame label!What is your ultimate goal as aband?To see the world and play to as manypeople as possible with our musicWhat advice would you give tosomebody who wanted to form aband now?Rehearse, write, patience, knowledge ofthe industry, firm head on your shouldersand never quit even when you feel youcan go no longer!What has been the major highlightfor The Chapters so far?Playing four sold-out shows in Italywithout ever releasing anything overthere! Also,supporting Neil Young.Any last words...?I think I’ve said enough!Entertainment39

By Carla DanielleAfter gracing the Academy as a relatively unknown act back inNovember last year, Marina And The Diamonds will return to Dublinto play Tripod in May.Hailed as the ‘new Gwen Stefani’, with musical influences of KateBush, one could draw the conclusion that Marina And The Diamonds’recent debut album ‘The Family Jewels’ is…well, something of akook-fest.Not far wrong. From her squawk of “Oh my Gawd, you look just likeShakira” on latest single ‘Hollywood’, to the giggling critters, cuckoosand beastly shrieks which feature on ‘Mowgli’s Road’, to the theatricsof ‘Hermit the Frog’, this album showcases pop with a difference.Frequently mistaken for a band, Marina And The Diamondsconsists solely of 24-year-old Marina Lambrini Diamandis, bornin Abergavenny, Wales, to a Greek father and Welsh mother. Hersurname means ‘diamond’ in Greek and she chose her stage namebecause she is Marina and her fans are ‘The Diamonds’.Although music is something she’s wanted to do since the age offourteen, Diamandis has said she was never really a musician or asinger; she just worked on her craft for four years.Diamandis moved to London, doing everything she could to getinto the music industry; even going to the lengths of dressing up asa guy to audition for a reggae boy band: “It was to the extreme!” shelaughs. “I don’t know where my mind was! I was extremely driven atthe time!”Ultimately, Diamandis did things on her own; her songs got better,she started to play the keyboard and found her own sound. “I startedto gig, even though I was really bad!” she recalls.She then started to record and produce her own material on asmall computer.Diamandis says her first demos were produced for about £500 aftershe found a producer on a site similar to Gumtree. It seems even backthen, people had opinions on what Diamandis should sound like: “He(the producer) had his own vision for what I should sound like; it wassome kind of like, pop-emo sound!”Following her own path paid off; Diamandis was eventually signedto Warner Records in October 2008.Diamandis describes ‘The Family Jewels’ as having “a real sense ofdrama, cos I am a drama-queen by nature!” She says the album isdiverse with not really one sound; there are the poppy, commercialtracks like ‘Oh No!’, which is the musical equivalent of a mega caffeinehit. There are also more serious, classic-sounding songs such as ‘Numb’with its heavy piano and strings and dark, introspective lyrics.‘The Family Jewels’ is an exciting mix of eccentricity and offerssomething different to the formulaic combination of uptempoballad-fillersong collections which are deemed “albums” and seemto be 10-a-penny nowadays.There are no lazy “Baby, I love you” lyrics here; not many of Diamandis’songs are about love. Generally she will write about society or howshe feels about herself.Some of the lyrical phrasing is smirk-inducing (in a good way);particularly on ‘Girls’, when Diamandis acknowledges the pitfallsof being a girl and how she feels about other girls: “Look like a girlbut I think like a guy / Not ladylike to behave like a slime”. Add tothis a ridiculously catchy melody and some thoughtful productionflourishes and the result is an album which is refreshingly differentand somehow rather addictive.Also refreshing is Diamandis’ down to earth attitude; she has saidthat she doesn’t follow fashion trends but gets what she likes out ofcharity shops. Although it’s not something that weighs too heavilyon her mind, she appreciates that it’s important as an artist in the“overall package” to have a good image. “I’m conscious of it (imageand style) when I wake up in the morning, but there are days whenI’d wear…like...homeless people’s clothes! If anyone actually saw me,they’d be like, “Is that that girl I saw in the magazine?!”Diamandis seems happy to have her fashion style likened to thatof Gwen Stefani: “I think that’s the best comparison that’s been drawnso far. I think she’s a really good designer. She’s always showcasedgood clothes, so it’s good.”Marina And The Diamonds is definitely an act who will polariseopinion. Love her or hate her, she is an artist who fills a gap in themarket for pop music with a little more depth, a little more…dare Isay it – sparkle.Backing up an obvious determination is her confidence in herselfand her own convictions: “I never try to sound like anyone, or try tocopy a genre. If you’re as honest as you can be with yourself and dosomething that you think sounds good, that you love and that youreally feel inside; I don’t think you can go wrong.”Bling Bling.

By Laura MulletHAS THE WORLD GONELady Gaga insists her new music video in which she collaborateswith fellow chart-topping diva Beyonce is "groundbreaking".The singer says that despite all those backlashes the JonasAkerlund directed clip is a "9-minute visual extravaganza”. Inthe video Lady Gaga and Beyonce are scantily dressed, highlysexualized mass murderers with a devious plan to poison anarray of customers in a diner in a secluded area. It shows theJust Dance diva being taken into a women-only prison and includesscenes of nudity, swearing, a lesbian kiss and simulatedmurder. Gaga even refers to rumours she has both male andfemale sex organs - by pixelating her genitalia in the raunchyfootage. The nine-and-a-half minute long promo has caused astir online, attracting more than 12 million views in the threedays after it debuted on YouTube.com.Lady Gaga has defended the music video, saying: "Thereare transsexual women and transgender women and suddenlyit becomes poisonous and something else becausethere are some people in this world that believe being gay is achoice," she explained. "It's not a choice, we're born this way."But despite the backlash over the promo - Gaga is pleased shetouched on subjects of homosexuality and is adamant thevideo will be remembered for a long time."That's why for me this video is groundbreaking because ithas one foot in the art community and one foot in the commercialworld," she added. "I told Beyonce this after it aired,you'll see this video is not just great now but six months fromnow what this video will mean. Hearing people say the videois sadomasochistic or that the video promotes murder foryoung people, it's my personal belief that the video is gettingso much attention, not because of those themes because I'vedone those themes before, haven't I?" she stated before furthernoting on what makes people slamming the video. "I'vedone those themes in many of my videos but it's because it'swith Beyonce and it's because there are so many homosexualthemes."“Telephone” has people talking. But isn’t that exactly whatthis eccentric artist wants? Her music videos, provocativecostumes and peculiar behaviour result in many outraged responses,but Lady Gaga seems to have the thickest of skins,confident in her ability not just to shock, but to perform.Vogue magazine has learned that Gaga is in the initial stagesof making a new video, for which she has enlisted famed photographerSteven Klein. Gaga could be described as a go-godancingdiva who writes her own disco-electronica pop songssuch as her upcoming single ‘Alejandro’.‘Alejandro’ is upbeat, exciting and surely will cause uproar as“Telephone” has ensued.Entertainment41

THEDOWNLOADFESTIVALBy David Murphy

If you’re looking for a hard rocking alternative to the Oxegen’sand Electric Picnic’s of this world, how about heading over tothe true spiritual home of rock, Donington Park, for a threeday festival of true Rock N’ Roll. Download returns for an eighthyear, held over the weekend of Friday 11th to Sunday 13thJune 2010. The Download Festival, this year has a capacity of111,000 (making it the second largest festival in the UK), willreturn to Donington Park once again, away from the originalfestival site, of the racetrack.2010 marks the 30th anniversary of Donington Park’s heritagewith rock. From the infamous and legendary “Monsters ofRock” festival, which began in 1980; to more recently theepic Download Festival – the site has played host to someof the world’s greatest rock performances of all time. Manybands still to this day consider playing at Donington Park astheir ‘defining career moment’. It’s also the 30th anniversaryof arguably AC/DC’s ‘defining career moment’, their definiterelease - Back In Black, the Download crowd can surely expectto be treated with some classic cuts from the album.MANYBANDS STILLTO THIS DAYCONSIDERPLAYING ATDONINGTONPARK ASTHEIR‘DEFININGCAREERMOMENT’.Download follows on from the proud legacy of itspredecessor, the Monsters of Rock, which ran from 1980to 1996. Throughout the festival’s illustrious history, therewere many highlights. AC/DC’s arrival as a mega name byheadlining in 1981. ZZ Top flying the famous ‘Eliminator’ carover the masses in ‘85. The emotional return of drummerRick Allen when Def Leppard played in 1986 – his first UKshow after losing an arm. The enormous gathering for IronMaiden in 1988, at the same festival that really kick-startedthe momentum which was to make Guns n’ Roses the biggestband in the world.They weren’t the only big bands to grace the originalDonington festival, Rainbow, Judas Priest, Scorpions,Whitesnake, Meat Loaf, Van Halen, Twisted Sister, Saxon, OzzyOsbourne, Def Leppard, Motorhead & Kiss among others, haverocked the masses over the years.After a gap of seven years - Monsters of Rock was reborn, asthe Download Festival. The Download festival has been goingfrom strength to strength over the years, with the 2009 festivalbeing a particular record breaker, with a record 128 bands onthe bill across four stages, and a sold-out crowd of 85,000 inattendance every day, over the three days.A veritable who’s who of rock have played the festival sinceits inception in 2003, including Kiss, Black Sabbath, MotleyCrue, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Tool, Marilyn Manson, VelvetRevolver & Faith No More, and it’s fair to say this year’s line-updoesn’t disappoint.It could be argued that this year’s three headliners arethe strongest in the festivals history, with the mighty AC/DCheadlining the main stage on the Friday night, followed byRage against the Machine Saturday night and the legendaryAmerican hard rockers Aerosmith wrapping up the festivalon Sunday night. Just seeing Rock icons like the ‘toxic twins’of Aerosmith Tyler & Perry, along with the Young brothers &Brian Johnson of AC/DC live, is worth the admission fee alone.Not to mention the famed and incendiary live act, that is Rageagainst the Machine.The support acts are equally strong and include, rocks latestsuper-group Them Crooked Vultures featuring Dave Grohl, JoshHomme and a certain John-Paul Jones. A recently reformed,Stone Temple Pilots, Aussie retro rockers Wolfmother, alongwith Deftones, and seasoned rockers Motorhead, Billy Idoland metal maestros Megadeth.The second stage line-up isn’t too shabby either, with Bulletfor my Valentine headlining Friday night, 30 Seconds to MarsSaturday night, and Stone Sour Sunday night. Other secondstage highlights include Coheed & Cambria, HIM, Airbourneand L.A. mock rockers Steel Panther, so it seems they’ll be noshortage of adrenaline fuelled rock n’ roll on both stages.Music won’t be the only entertainment on offer withbars running until 2am (Friday to Sunday) they’ll also be anafter-hours campsite Entertainment Zone, which has a café,beer stall, funfair rides, various shops, and a cinema. Variousmarkets on site will include clothes, jewellery, massages,piercing & tattoos, souvenirs and merchandise.So if you long for something a little heavier and louder, thanyour average festival, join your fellow rockers and worship atthe Mecca this June.Entertainment43

By Ian DoneganHow’s she cuttin’?Good (laughs). She’s fine!You went to art college, do youhave any mad stories about that?I didn’t spend too long in college, it was madenough. We had a couple of mad trips during R.A.G.week. We went on a college trip to Carlow and gotmad drunk, as you do, and we found a fella thereand we brought him back to Limerick with us! Hewoke up in Limerick the following morning likewhere the fuck am I!? First year in college is alwaysgood craic.

Yourself and Jon Kennypractically dominatedIrish comedy in the nineties,why do you think thatwas?I suppose in Ireland, myself and Jon weretouring more than any other comedy act.I suppose a lot of the guys in the earlynineties were going to England. Comicstended to go to England after Father Tedand the whole lot. While myself and Jondid work over in Edinburgh and London,Ireland was definitely our main stay. SoI suppose we did kinda dominate it to adegree.You obviously have manymemories of touring withJon, does anything in particularstand out?I remember the early days touringaround with Jon, there was a sense ofanarchy about what we were doing. Iwas 18, Jon was 28 so the first couple ofyears we were tearin’ up and down thecountry in a van, giggin’ everywhere andanywhere, it was absolutely mad craicdoin’ the kind of gigs where you’d headup the country and end up stayin’ overnight and then go missing for two orthree days! We had a great time the twoof us.What drove you into comedy?Were you the classclown?I was always messin’. I suppose that sideof me came out with Jon and we startedwriting some sketches and havin’ a bit ofcraic together. Then we started performingit on stage and that’s how I got intoit. After a couple of years of doing thatevery night of the week, it evolved, asopposed to me making a conscience decisionthat I wanted to be a comedian.Has comedy changedsince then?Comedy’s changed a lot. It’s like anything,it goes through peaks and troughs.When I started working with Jon in thelate eighties there was practically nocomedy around the country. There werea few like Niell Tobin and Brendan Gracewho were touring the country and thatwas it really. But then came The Internationalbar which established this newstand-up scene in the early nineties. Butthere was a time when there were veryfew stand up comics touring there countrybut now there’s a load of them, so Ithink it’s a really healthy time at the moment.Do you have a favouritecomedian?I like Tommy Tiernan’s work, but DylanMoran is probably my favourite. I wouldhave to say Dylan is king of the standup.You’re obviously a veryhard working man, butwhat do you do in yourspare time?I do work a lot, so when I get time off Itend to do nothing! If I can sit in a boatand do a bit of fishing, that suits me perfect.The film garage was differentto your usual gig,what attracted you to thatpart?Well, the guys approached me whenthey had the idea for it and there wasa couple of things that appealed to me.One was the people involved. You hadLenny Abrahamson directing, Mark OHalloran writing and Ed Guiney producing.It was very exciting that they pickedme out for the part, but the fact that Iknew their credentials was even moreexciting.Did you find the transitionfrom comedian to actordifficult?Garage was a tough film and it was atough and challenging part. But I supposeif you want to do something anddo it right and put 100% into it, it’s alwaysgoing to be tough no matter whatyou do. But that was a draining part, actingis a tough gig.Do you think you wouldbe drawn to a serious actingrole again?Yeah, there are a couple of interestingprojects out there at the moment thatI’m looking at. Of course I’d be delightedto get involved in another film againwhen the right one comes along.What was the inspirationbehind the song ‘JumboBreakfast Roll’?Well, I was putting a show together atthe time and one character was a builder.It reminded me of a sketch I did withD’unbelievables about a kid in a sweetshop.The whole idea being that you’rein a queue to get something and youjust happened to be behind some kidwith 20p. He’s got every right to standthere asking “how much are those” tryingto get value for his money. It’s hilariousand frustrating. At the same time, Iwas writing the show about the builder,it came back to me. When I went into thefilling-station there were about 50 highvisibilityjackets in front of me with guysgoing, gimme two sausages on that, twopuddin’, rasher, yeah, eggs and sauce, Iwant red or brown sauce and coffee. Itwas the same thing, but with builders.You’re doing a tour at themoment, aren’t you?Yeah, I’m touring with the Hall. Then I’mgearing up for a TV series we’re shootingover the summer, Mattie, for RTE. The pilotwent out Christmas night and it got ahuge response. RTE were delighted withit so they’re looking at making a seriesout of it. So I’ll be doing that over thesummer.Entertainment45

By Karl EnglishScepticism can be put on hold until another comic adaptationcomes along, because if you are planning on not watchingthis film on the basis of it being offensive, ‘looking shit,’ ortoo weird looking, my response is simple: get over yourself!Kick-Ass is without doubt one of the best modern ‘superhero’films, delivering what Spiderman couldn’t, in regards to thestereotypical pressures a fictional teen faces when trying tobe a superhero. It also has a touch of gritty realism that severalBatman films from the nineties discarded, with damagingconsequences for that series. At the same time, you’ll wetyourself with laughter at the jokes and skits pulled off in thisfilm, done in a comical fashion, which suits the origins of thestory just fine.Aaron Johnson plays the leading role of Dave Lizewski, theteenager and would-be superhero Kick-Ass. Lizewski comesto his decision to dress up to fight bad guys out of a personalspeculation that the society around him is not only weak andafraid of confrontations with hustlers, thugs and criminals, butthat he himself was unnoticeable enough in life. He believeshe can be more than just the average schoolboy who thinksabout sex, comic books and the latest thing on the internet,much like the modern stereotype of the ‘nerd’ persona. Ofcourse during the transition of the story, in which Johnsonalso provides a first-person narration, his decision is pittedagainst its consequences, as he faces the dangers of the localNew York criminals who have less of a problem when it comesto stabbing, shooting and beating the head off of Kick-Ass.Despite all of that drama, there are qualities of heroismand humanity that are better presented by his like-mindedcounterparts. The memorable return of Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Chris D’Amico/Red Mist, provides to an audience thecontrast and rivalry of someone who also aspires to be a hero.The distinct differences presented between himself and Kick-Ass provide in itself an epic battle of personalities, especiallyas the irony is they’re equally bad at the job.The real action, however, lies with Mindy Macready, otherwiseknown as Hit Girl, who is played by young Chloe Grace Moretz.Summarily, the best superhero moments are all hers; she’salways got the best lines comprised of swear words. Most killsin the film are tagged by her in a mix of brutality, acrobatics,gunfights and cheerful fast-paced music. What is otherwisepresented by her character is that the justifiable cause of heractions is ironically shown in the relationship between her andher father, Damon Macready, aptly named the Big Daddy, whois driven by his past life to end all that is corrupt in this city. Soit’s Nicholas Cage throwing himself into the thick of a battlewith mobsters, including his daughter as a partner, and thistime he looks a little like Batman.Regardless of cast and plot concepts, the usual stereotypesof superhero films crop up, including a love interest Kick-Ass has with a girl, the two friends he has in his ‘normal’ life,the awkward relationship he has with his father. All of theseprovide an amusing spin and slice of life to complement theaction. It’s pretty simple to list this down as a once-off watch,but if you’re planning on categorising this along with thewoeful films you’d never watch again, and think that othermodern sensationalised films are either deeply flawed oractually terrible, I urge you to think again.

JOHNO’SHEABy Sinead NolanRepublic of Ireland and Manchester United footballer John O’Shea is arguably one of the most versatile players in the Premier League today. In his career todate, he has played in every position for United, including a brief spell as an emergency goalkeeper after Edwin van der Sar went off injured against Tottenhamat White Hart Lane. He has scored five goals, most notably an injury-time goal which resulted in United regaining their Premier League title. In 2007, the number22 signed a new contract that that will keep him at the club until 2012.I caught up with John O’Shea to see how he’s getting on.So John, tell me, what’s a typical day in your life?I wake up and drive to training ground, have breakfast thengo training. After training then it could be off to the gym forweights or core training.If you were not a footballer, what career do you think youwould have followed?I probably would have gone into university studying businessstudies or economics, economics being my favourite subjectat school.Who is your all time favourite sportsman?Paulo Maldini, for playing his entire career at the highest levelat one of the most famous clubs in world football as well asbeing very successful for his country.The World Cup is nearly upon us, I’m sure you feel disappointedthat Ireland won’t be there. Going back to thatall important qualifying match against France last November,what were your feelings regarding Tierre Henry’shand ball?My immediate reaction was anger, when you see the replaysand what he did to help france score the goal that sent themto the world cup. As well as being angry with Henry I was moreangry with the officials who failed to spot the hand ball especiallythe referees assistant who had a clear view of the incident.We have to move on now and forget about the worldcup and look forward to qualifying for the Euros in 2012.So, do you think football needs to introduce a playbacksystem, similar to that in Rugby, when a question arisesover a foul, especially in crucial qualifying matches?Yes I think it is definitely time to introduce TV replays.Who do you think will win the World Cup this summer?SpainWho would you like to win the World Cup this summer?Spain or BrazilWhat do you think you’ll do when you retire from playingfootball?Well at the moment I have started my coaching badges andthat is something that I think I might be interested in when Ifinish playing.Do you ever feel nervous before stepping out onto thepitch before a big game?Yes I do feel nervous but its more from the adrenaline pumpingand excitement of the game ahead .Any tips on keeping calm under pressure?Being prepared before the game starts is key for keeping calmunder pressure for me. Knowing you have trained and preparedand done everything you possible could beforehand tomake sure you do yourself justice and also trusting your abilityto get you out of difficult situationsDo you support a League of Ireland team?Yes I support Waterford united, they have had a great start tothe league this year and I just hope it continues.You have countless medals for Manchester United, do youthink you could expect to add any for Ireland?Well not this summer that’s for sure but who knows in the future!!Do you think you will finish out your career with ManchesterUnited or would you like the opportunity to playwith another club?It would be great if I could but in football you never look toofar ahead and I just take it one season at a time.If a film was ever made about you, who would you imaginewould play you?I would like to think a great actor like Daniel Day-Lewis wouldplay me but it would probably be more likely paddy McGuinnessfrom Max and Paddy!Sports47

WORLDCUPIt’s that time again when the back pages of Englishtabloids are covered with news of David Beckham’slatest injury while those stars who aren’t injured arehaving affairs with team-mates’ spouses. It can onlymean one thing. The World Cup is fast approaching.This particular World Cup is a landmark in itself as it’s the firsttime the prestigious event will be held in Africa. Last summer’sConfederations Cup proved to be a success but it remains to beseen how South Africa will cope with the hoards of fans from 32countries worldwide converging on its major cities.The tragic events of the African Nations Cup in Angola inJanuary when the coach carrying the Togolese national team wasambushed, resulting in 2 fatalities, did nothing to enhance thereputation of African hospitality. Fans and players alike will behoping for stricter policing come June to ensure another tragicevent does not occur. FIFA will be doing their best to guaranteethat the tournament is remembered for all the right reasons.Despite Ireland’s heartbreaking and controversial exit at thehands of the French, there is still a lot to look forward to, evenfor the most pessimistic Irish fan. Surely seven months is longenough to be bitter about the prospect of watching internationalfootball.If the Thierry Henry handball (or ‘Hand of Frog’ incident asit’s more humorously known as) is still causing sleepless nights,perhaps angered Irish fans can find some solace in watching aFew would arguewith the bookiesjudgement in thiscase after theimpressive victoryof the Spaniards atEuro 2008.

2010SOUTH AFRICACan the 3 Lions Finally Roar in Africa?By Patrick Savagemediocre French team struggle to their impending early exit.If the recent crushing defeat against Spain in Paris is anythingto go by, this is a strong possibility.Moving swiftly along from bitter vendettas, the bookmakershave installed Spain as the pre-tournament favourites. Fewwould argue with the bookies judgement in this case afterthe impressive victory of the Spaniards at Euro 2008. A lotwill depend on the fitness of Fernando Torres who has beenplagued by injury on the domestic front this season. If he,Fabregas, Alonso et al. are all fit and firing, the Spanish have arealistic chance to win the World Cup for the first time.If this task proves to be elusive yet again, prepare yourselffor an onslaught of the term “perennial underachievers.”This is a term that football pundits like to use whenever theSpanish fail in international competitions. Despite being themost painfully frustrating phrase used in televised sport, I,for one, can’t begrudge football analysts availing of their soleopportunity to use a five syllable word.As with all World Cups, the exploits of the usual suspects willbe heavily scrutinised, from the glamour of the Brazilians, thecolour of the Dutch, the doggedness of the Germans and anyother football stereotypes one can think of.Closer to home, all eyes will be on the English. Afterimpressively cantering through their qualifying group, thiswas meant to be (as the British media had us believe) thetournament where the likes of Lampard, Gerrard, Rooney andFerdinand finally delivered on the big stage. However, as usual,things have become complicated as the World Cup looms evercloser.Injuries to Ashley Cole, Michael Owen and David Beckhamhave dampened confidence while the John Terry-WayneBridge scandal threatens to turn the English dressing roominto a civil war type environment.England went into the last two World Cups under the reignof a man who was possibly better suited to a career in publicrelations instead of football management.Their ruthless determination of finding new and imaginativeways to effectively shoot themselves in the foot in majorinternational tournaments seems to have no limits and canonly be applauded, for originality if nothing else.While most of us cheer on our English football heroesfor most of the year during their respective Premier Leagueand Champions League campaigns, when internationaltournaments arrive, our idols seemingly take the form ofevil, dishonest movie villains. We begin to look at them in adifferent light. It’s nothing personal against the players oragainst England as a country either. It is simply a scientific fact,nature, if you will.Statistics prove that approximately 76% of Irish men wouldbe forced to move to the Antarctic if England won a majorfootball tournament due to an avalanche of “smug” emanatingfrom the British media that would simply overpower us intosubmission. We would be forced, through excessive airplay, tolearn the lyrics to their tacky World Cup 2010 song, we wouldforever be reminded by our favourite players on ‘Match of theDay’ every Saturday of their “winners medal” and “that famousnight.” We, as Irishmen, would simply cease to exist.Of course, as an objective journalist, I fall into the 24%minority who will be rooting for our neighbours. Their currentcrop has entertained us immensely for over a decade, both onand off the pitch.Expect fireworks, literally. South Africa’s opening ceremoniesare usually fantastic. The football will be spectacular too andwill involve the usual drama, tears, rage, ecstasy and a certainMr. Wayne Rooney.Whatever happens, be sure not to miss it.Sports49

By Thomas SporsheimHe was the last man tomanage ManchesterUnited. It will be 24years in Novembersince he was replacedby current managerSir Alex Ferguson.On 30 December 1978 West BromwichAlbion achieved a famous 5-3 victory overManchester United at their own ground. RonAtkinson remembers this with joy. ‘We had afantastic team. I think we were one of the bestteams in Europe at that time. And that was afantastic game from us. I think Manchester United’s Man of theMatch that day was the goalkeeper Gary Bailey. Without himwe would surely have won with ten that day’.The former WBA boss recalls a great time. ‘We came to thequarterfinals of the UEFA Cup. We beat Arsenal at Highburyand won at home against Valencia, who had great players likeKempes in their side’.Ron Atkinson resigned from his job in ITV as co-commentatorin April 2004 after he was caught making a racist remark liveon air about the Chelsea player Marcel Desailly. Believing themicrophone was switched off, he said, ‘…he (Desailly) is whatis known in some schools as a fucking lazy thick nigger’. Itbecame impossible for Atkinson to come back to the fold asan commentator after this.During his time at WBA he had three black players together,that had never happened before. ‘They were fantastic players.Laurie Cunningham and Cyrille Regis were amongst the beststrikers in Europe at that time and I also bought BrendonBatson from Cambrigde to play alongside them. They werebrilliant’.

Never before had an English teamsimultaneously fielded three black players.The Three Degrees, as they were affectionatelyreferred to, challenged the established racismof English football and marked a watershedthat allowed a generation of black and colouredfootballers to enter the game.When Atkinson took charge of ManchesterUnited in 1981, the club was in a mess. Theyneeded a lot of new players and Atkinsondecided to bring in 3 or 4 players right away. Hedecided to go for his old midfield maestro BryanRobson from WBA, for £1.5 m. This was decisivefor United’s future. ‘It was very important thatwe got Robson in. But what people seem toforget is that I also bought in Remi Moses. Hewas a great lad and a good player. We neededand wanted the best players, and I knew thatRobson was maybe the best midfielder inEurope’.Bryan Robson was the heartbeat of the clubfor more than 12 years. And the game Atkinsonpoints out as the best game both he andRobson has been involved in is the EuropeanCup Winners’ Cup QF 2nd Leg at home toBarcelona in 1984. That was probably Robson’sbest game in the United-shirt with two goals.‘It was an unbelievable game’ remembers Ron.‘I have never been involved in anything likethat. Amazing! I believed before the game thatwe could get close to them. We lost 2-0 awaywhere we did not play well. But they did notplay that well either. We scored an own goaland Xabi Alonso’s dad, Pichi Alonso scoreda great goal. So if we could get an early goal,which we did, we would have a great chance.We also knew they would be concerned aboutour deadballs’.United won the game 3-0 andgot through 3-2 on aggregate to the semifinals.Manchester United struggled to win theleague in Atkinson’s reign at Old Trafford. Buthe feels they were close, if injuries hadn’tstalked his players. ‘We went very close on twooccasions. But when Easter came, I did nothave a big enough squad to challenge for thetitle. I lost players like Robson, Paul McGrathand Arnold Muhren, they were key-players forus’.So the FA Cup became the rescue for United.Atkinson wants to thank two men for thevictory over Brighton in 1983. ‘I owe our keeperGary Bailey for that one. But Gordon Smithshould have scored for Brighton’. Smith camehead-to-head with the United-goalkeeper inthe last minute of the second half of extratime,but Bailey made a great save.Kevin Moran became In the 1985 FA Cupfinalagainst Everton, Kevin Moran becamethe first man ever to walk in a cup-final. Theformer United-manager thinks that was a baddecision. ‘Moran should not have been sent offthere. There was no way that Peter Reid had aclear goalscoring opportunity, even if he saidso, because he could never run 50 yards witha ball’.Atkinson’s managerial career has involvedclubs like Cambrigde, WBA, Man.Utd, SheffWed, Aston Villa, Coventry and NottinghamForest, and even the Spanish side AthleticoMadrid. He still has a good relationship withmost of them. ‘I have a great relationship witha lot of clubs in England. Sir Alex at United isa good friend of mine, and I attend matchesthere when I can. I like to go to West Bromwichand Birmingham to watch games. And I try towatch some of Villa’s as well’.Atkinson was co-commentating theChampions League final in 1999 betweenUnited and Bayern Munich. He remembersthat night with great fondness. ‘It was amazing.I said when Jancker hit the crossbar after 83min that ‘that could have been the momentwhen United won the European Cup’, and I wasright’.The former Sheffield Wednesday-managersays that he was sure Sir Alex was the rightman for the job back in ‘86. ‘I don’t think therewas anyone in the game that could replaceme except Alex. And I was not angry at beingreleased from the job, that just goes with theterritory of being a manager’.It is amazing to think that Big Ron was thelast man to manage Manchester United. Andeven if Sir Alex Ferguson is getting older, heis not quitting just yet, according to Atkinson.‘He still has the drive and determination for thejob. I think he’ll stay for another two years’.Sports51

VANCOUVER2010By James SullivanIreland has always prided itself as a sports madcountry. Sporting events have brought the nationto a standstill on numerous occasions. One only hasto look back at the fanatical fever that swept thecountry during the Italia 90 Football World Cup orwhen Ireland won its first rugby union grand slamin 61 years to see that this is the case. Sport bringsthe country together and nothing is embracedmore in this nation than a feel-good story.However behind this so called obsession lies aproblem. Ireland is remarkably close-minded whenit comes to sport. We love our national games,Gaelic football and hurling, and take great pride inthem. We are fanatical about football, as witnessedby the incredible number of English PremierLeague supporters here, and over the last decade rugby union’spopularity has multiplied tenfold thanks to the success of thenational team, and the provinces in the Heineken Cup. But takethese sports away and one will realise that this so called nationalpassion for sport is nothing more than a myth.Read through the sports section of any newspaper and youwill notice that the big field sports mentioned above dominatethe back pages, leaving very little column inches for the othersports to fight over. One particular recent sporting event thatwas shunned largely by the Irish public was the Vancouver 2010Olympic Winter Games.The games provided the global sporting audience withincredible drama, spectacular entertainment, heart-warmingstories and some phenomenal achievements, all of which wentvirtually unnoticed in Ireland.

Possibly the most courageous story of the games was centredon Slovenian cross-country skier Petra Majdic. Majdic who wasthe pre-race gold medal favourite for the 1.4 kilometre classicsprint was involved in a horrific accident while warming up forher qualification heat. She skied off course, down a bank, into a3 metre deep gully where she crashed on rocks and sustained6 broken ribs along with a punctured lung. After collapsing inpain following her qualifying heat shortly afterwards she wastaken to hospital to be x-rayed. She returned later that dayand battled through her quarter final and semi final races, andthen won an astonishing bronze medal in the final, collapsingat the finish line. She arrived at the medal ceremony the nextday in a wheelchair and was universally acclaimed for herincredible bravery in spite of astonishing adversity.Canadian Joannie Rochette was involved in possibly themost moving moment of the Olympics. Only two days beforeshe was due to begin the ladies figure-skating competition, hermother died of a heart attack shortly after arriving in Vancouverto watch her daughter skate. In spite of this tragedy Rochettevowed to compete in honour of her mother and claimed thebronze medal. Her tremendous never-say-die attitude despitepersonal heartache was the talk of the sporting world.The Winter Olympics provides one thing in abundance– entertainment. From the high speed excitement andunpredictability of Ski and Snowboard Cross to the absolutemayhem that is Short Track Speed Skating there is rarely adull moment. The phenomenal skills displayed by the halfpipe snowboarders (US Superstar Shaun White in particular),the terrifying velocity of the Luge and Bobsleigh and thespectacular crashes in…well… almost every sport!! The WinterOlympics simply isn’t something for the faint hearted.In the summer games if you make a bad mistake you risklosing a medal. If you do likewise in the Winter Games, yourisk getting severely injured, or possibly even worse, as wasseen by the untimely death of Georgian Nodar Kumaritashvilifollowing a tragic accident during a luge practice run. To bea winter Olympian you need to be fearless, have willingnessto take enormous risks, and to be honest a bit crazy as well.These guys do things that we, the general public, wouldn’teven dream of attempting to try. The danger aspect of thesesports deserves massive respect.One could never write a column on Winter Olympic Gamesheld in Canada however without mentioning the sport thatis widely regarded as a national obsession among canucks –Ice Hockey (or Hockey as they prefer to call it). The sport is areligion there. For many people, it was the only gold medalthat mattered during the games, and until one witnesses thispassion first hand then one can’t even begin to understandwhat this game means to them.On the final day of the Olympic Games I took a trip intothe Woolshed Sports Baa(sic) in Dublin to watch the hockeyfinal between Canada and their bitter rivals, the USA. What Iexperienced that Sunday evening was fanaticism at its brilliantbest. The bar was jam-packed with over 400 Canadians, alldressed in suitable red attire, faces painted and flags waving.There was barely an American in sight. The pub had beentaken over by Canadians.The atmosphere in the Woolshed that night was like noother I have ever experienced in a pub environment. Whenyoung megastar Sidney Crosby (who is being touted as theBehind thisso-calledobsessionlies aproblem.Ireland isremarkablyclose-mindedwhen itcomes tosport.next Wayne Gretzky) scored the winning goal in overtime tosecure a 3-2 win for Canada, the place erupted like a deafeningvolcano, a noise I had never heard in such an enclosed indoorenvironment before. The walls were literally shaking, and thenoise of the jubilant devotees didn’t even begin to fade untilabout ten minutes later.The Winter Olympics has brought incredible drama andexcitement, in sports that you don’t get to see very often. Thenovelty value alone makes this event essential viewing. I forone thoroughly enjoyed the 16 days of competition, it’s just ashame that Ireland is so reluctant to expand its horizons andwitness some of the phenomenal sports the world has to offer.There is much more to sport than GAA, soccer and rugby.Sports53

Jockey Katie Walsh, sister to record breaking Jockey RubyWalsh and daughter of successful horse trainer Ted Walshhas come a long way since her first win at Gowran RacePark in 2003. The 25 year old jockey caused a stir withher two wins out of two rides at Cheltenham this year,steering the lime light away from her successful brotherRuby. And boosting morale amongst female jockeys as shecame first and good friend Nina Carberry took second placeto sweeten the victory, the amateur jockey had the best dayof her career to date“It’s a great boost for female jockeys and it’s great to be ableto do it for them, I was trying to think about it and I think it’sthe only sport where men and women really compete againstone another at the same level.”Katie made her trip to Cheltenham that week only as a socialoccasion and to see her brother compete, and was only toldshe would be competing after arriving. In her line of work it ismale dominated, but this does not seem to bother the femaleJockey.“You don’t get treated like a girl, and you don’t get treatedlike a lad either, you get treated as an equal when you’re outon the track, I don’t want to be treated any other way but as arival or an equal.” Insists Katie.She has been riding since she could walk; choosing a careerin horse racing was her own choice and felt no pressure fromher family to do so.“I always wanted to be a jockey, I certainly didn’t have to, itwas my own choice and it’s something I love and I’m passionateabout, you need to love it to do it, as it’s a lot of hard work.”Katie has been riding winners in Ireland and particularly forWillie Mullin’s stables for the last few years but it’s events likeCheltenham which have made her a household name in herown right, and treats races like it’s just another day not lettingnerves get to her.“It’s all a bit of a laugh and it’s like any changing room beforea match (the weigh room) we all just talk amongst ourselvesand don’t talk much about the race.”Katie is under no illusions that she is an amateur and hasn’tmade any decision to turn professional like her brother Rubysince her recent success.“I am female and I couldn’t handle the falls that professionaljockeys get day in and day out, I’ve absolutely no interest ofturning professional, there’s only so much room for so manypeople at the top, for god sake ruby’s lost a spleen, broke ashin bone and broke legs and arms, I couldn’t handle themfalls. You’re in a great position as an amateur that you can ridein 21 professional races and you can pick and choose what youcan ride.”Katie Walsh is certainly no chip off the block and has certainlyachieved her success in her own right, trotting into the Walshfamily hall of fame.

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