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GCD Magazine . Issue 3 . April

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Keep writing! Two simple Editor: Brendan Kildea
words worth drilling into all
Designer: Caitlin Kennedy Bradley
our minds to truly mark our
name in national papers, and
established publications.
Chief Writers
John Dorney
Once again our Griffith
Nicola Byrne Special Thanks to
student journalists
David Claxton Lecturers
David Keohane Nial Meehan
have outperformed
Sean Gildea Anne Daly (Griff FM)
t h e m s el ves…..creati n g
Andrew Batare. Barry Finnegan
another impressive issue,
Joseph Morgan Robbie Smyth
and the material keeps
Lidia A. Okorokova Alan Gill
flowing in.
Hugh Hick Ryan Brennan
I have credited those writers
and contributors whom I Subeditors Photography
feel have consistently shown Oran Fitzpatrick Photocall Ireland
talent, flair and originality in Brendan Kildea Colin O Hanlon
their choice subjects and Elaine Yorke
delivery.
Writers Advertising
Find inside this months best David Murphy Brendan Kildea
national and International James Ward
stories, entertainment James Sullivan
reviews, Travel tips, Features, Joanne Sullivan
opinion pieces, and Jonathan Keane
investigative articles from Carla Danielle
over 60 of our journalism Gina Karoline Dalen
students. Karl English
Laura Mullett
I hope we have tickled Tatianna Valle
enough special interests to Ian Donegan
bring you another fusion of Jenny Kober
politics, entertainment and Jonathan Keane
student agenda. Annette B. Søreide
Gina Karoline Dalen
Thank-you for picking ConAir McCarchase
up this copy, and keep Patrick Savage
reading…. Roisin Trait
Sarah-Louise Colivet
Brendan Kildea Oran Fitzpatrick
Hugh Hick
Oscar Long
Maria Brundin
Mathew McMahon
Thomas Sporsheim

Fusion is created by students of the Journalism and Media Faculty of

Griffith College Dublin,
South Circular Road, Dublin 8.
Tel. 01-4150400.
6 8 16 18

22 26 32

34 37 40

41 42 44

46

48
 Irish Society and Politics
6 Irish Prisons Failing
8 Enda, Father of the House
10 Cardinal Brady
12 Dolphin House Contemplates
Uncertain Future
Finance
14 Joseph Morgan’s article
16 Saving people’s car - the LADA car
industry
International Politics
18 Irish Army Mission in Chad to end
20 Chad- a failed state
22 JOS
24 ETA, the Basques and the curious
case of Jon Anza.
26 Post-Iraq Elections
28 Sebrenkia
30 Moscow Bombing
Climate
32 Incineration - Solution or Pollution?
Travel
34 Bolivia
Music
36 Rinoa CD Review
37 Deftones
38 The Chapters
40 Marina and the Diamonds
41 Has the world gone Gaga?
42 Download Music Fest Preview
Comedy

50
44 Interview with Pat Shortt
Film
46 Kickass
Sports
47 John O Sea
48 World Cup 2010 Africa preview
50 Ron Atkinson Interview
52
54
Vancouver 2010
Sports personality Kate Walsh 52 54
THE DECLINE OF IRISH PRISONS
By Dave Claxton
 Irish prisons are reaching critical levels of disrepair and capac-
ity, with little or no help coming from the government to stop
this alarming trend.
A major problem with our prisons is that they are old and
falling into bad shape. Dublin’s Mountjoy prison is a prime ex-
ample of this situation. Judge Michael Reilly was charged with
investigating the conditions found in Irish detention centres. His
findings, particularly about Mountjoy were shocking.
He revealed that in Mountjoy, prisoners have to share toilet
buckets in front of each other, (known as ‘slopping out’). They
can’t empty these buckets overnight, and the buckets are not
covered normally. Inmates pour the contents into bins on the
landings. Liquid can leak from the bins onto the landing and
elsewhere in the prison when being taken away. According to Fi-
anna Fail TD, Barry Andrews, “There is no disputing the fact that
there are many limitations to the existing Mountjoy male prison.”
To say that this is an understatement would be an insult to the
word understatement.
Judge Reilly said “I have wit-
nessed seven prisoners sharing a
four-man cell where the sanitary
requirements were met by three
buckets. I have witnessed three
prisoners sharing a cell and shar-
ing the same ‘slop out’ bucket.” He
concluded that “slopping out” was
“inhuman” and “degrading treat-
ment” for these prisoners. Over
30% of all inmates in Irish jails are
still being forced to “slop out”. The
Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT)
said that Reilly’s report provided
“incontrovertible and devastat-
ing evidence” of the conditions at
the country’s largest jail.
Along with the Dickensian treat-
ment of inmates, overcrowding is another problem. For the first
time in the State’s history, prisoner numbers reached over 4,000
last year. Our entire prison bed capacity is for 3,947 inmates. The
current prisoner number stands at 4,192 as of February 2010.
Mountjoy was designed to hold 489 inmates, yet the Prison
Service says it’s capacity is 573. Yet during February and March
of 2009, between 660-680 prisoners were in detention. The male
occupancy rate at the prison is a whopping 124% of capacity.
Meanwhile, over 50 prisoners are in cells with at least four peo-
ple or more.
This situation is not just confined to the notorious Dublin jail, it
is occurring across the other jails. Cork prison capacity is for 298
but it has an extra 148 inmates; Castlerea has cell capacity for
150 and is overcrowded by 115; and Dublin’s Wheatfield capac-
ity is for 320 but it has an extra 101 inmates. Dóchas women’s
prison is operating at 48% over capacity, with 120 women; it is
designed for 81 inmates. Two-thirds of male prisoners in Limer-
ick Prison are sharing cells with another person, while a tenth are
in cells of more than three people.
It appears that the government simply doesn’t have the re-
sources or doesn’t care. But maybe they will be made to care
soon enough by Europe.
The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture has
created standards for jails to achieve, across Europe. The Euro-
pean Court of Human Rights now depends on these standards
when making rulings in regards to European jail conditions. The
Committee has visited Ireland four times and complained that
overcrowding was “endemic” and that this helped to facilitate
other problems within our prisons such as poor cell conditions
and prisoner violence.
In Poland, two prisoners took the country to the European
Court of Human Rights for inhuman and degrading treatment
while in detention (occupancy levels across the Polish prison
system are at 110%). The prisoners were forced into overcrowd-
ed cells and into an unhygienic space. The European Court of
Human Rights found that the conditions these prisoners faced,
contravened provisions of Article 3 of the European Convention
on Human Rights. No similar court
cases have been brought against
the Irish government, but if the
situation is not improved soon,
the country will be forced to do
something about our prison con-
ditions by Europe, whether the
government wants to or not.
Our answer to overcrowding
was to be the “super prison” at
Thornton Hall in Dublin.
Not a single brick has been
laid on the hollowed turf of this
pipedream project. In May 2009,
the plan was put on an indefinite
hold due to the financial crisis.
Yet, the government is spending
€120,000 a year on maintenance
and security for the site. Labour
justice spokesman, Pat Rabbitte, asked “Why should we spend
more taxpayers money for a site on a farm in north Dublin which
may never be realised in the Minister’s or my political lifetime?”
“If trespassers were on the site the opposition deputies would
be 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 stun-
ning €460,000 alone. “There’s still no timetable for construction
at Thornton Hall but yet our Minister for Justice seems to have
a 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 €41.8m
in site costs, professional fees and siteworks. The jail would have
created 2,200 badly needed prison spaces.
Maybe the government needs to be reminded that this is 2010
and not 1841. Regardless of what crimes these men and women
have committed, the conditions in which they are confined to
and the overcrowding problems are simply unacceptable and
must be addressed in a serious manner as soon as possible.
Irish Society/Politics 7
Edna Kenny

THE
OF THE
HOUSE
By David Keohane

With his launch of ‘New Politics’ at the Fine

Gael Ard Fheis-cum-election rally last week
his place at the helm is surely cemented.
 Enda Kenny is the longest serving member of Dáil
Éireann, a distinction which earns him the title of 'Father
of the House', and as the leader of Fine Gael will most
probably head this country's next government. But, in
order to change this from probability to certainty, there
are two big obstacles he must overcome. Firstly, he must
convince the voting public that Fine Gael are more than
Fianna Fáil-lite and that there is more depth to their poli-
cies than was on show during their long spell in oppo-
sition. Secondly, he must convince the electorate, and
perhaps his own party, that he is the man to lead this
country. And that task is proving to be far from easy.
On the first point Fine Gael took a large step forward
when they unveiled their 'New Politics' agenda at the
party's recent Ard Fheis. The proposals therein convinced
large swathes of the media that Fine Gael might actu-
ally have a serious programme for government in place-
even Vincent Brown admitted that Fine Gael might not
be quite as 'brain dead' as he had previously accused.
Yet, despite the fact that Enda is ringing these changes
within Fine Gael, his suitability as Taoiseach is far more
of an open debate than Fine Gael's suitability for gov-
ernment. A recent Sunday Business Post Poll found that
a large portion of the electorate would be more likely to
vote 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 Gael
if 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 Kenny
will lead Fine Gael into the next general election- which
may be upon us sooner rather than later. As it stands,
Enda's only credible leadership threat is his right-hand
man, Richard Bruton, whose loyalty to his leader has
been unswayed by recent temptation. If a change was
coming, George Lee's departure and Enda's ropey me-
dia outings soon after would have seen it- a small thank
you to Willie O'Dea's timing might be appropriate in a bi-
ography at some point. With his launch of 'New Politics'
at the Fine Gael Ard Fheis-cum-election rally last week
his place at the helm is surely cemented.
Fine Gael thus need to answer the question: why is
Enda seen in such a poor light by the voting public?
An easy, and persuasive, answer is that the public's few
moments with him, in soundbite and videolink, are his
weakest. He is not a performer and does not sit well on
the Late-Late . He lacks the magnetism and braggado-
cio others have brought to the front bench- his stilted
attacks on the recent re-shuffle (insert deckchair/titanic
joke here) showed him up badly. But Dáil performances
do not decide elections (just ask Michael Noonan- if
rhetoric within the Dáil won seats perhaps Fine Gael
would now be in the doldrums for having run the coun-
try into the ground). It is in the media where votes are
won and lost. Politicians are obliged to sell themselves
to a public that don't engage with politics away from the
media. The electorate does not have the time, or inclina-
tion, to get to know a politician away from those thirty
second speed-dates that frame political discourse for
many people.
This is a problem. Ireland is unhealthily obsessed with
personality politics. The question of how many Green
TDs hold Ministerial positions trounces bailouts and cur-
rency crises in the word-count stakes in the national pa-
pers. There is a yearning for the surface detail and an un-
willingness to engage with broad policy; Mary Harney's
junket holds the attention while underlying problems
within the HSE are barely discussed. Policies and par-
ties live and die by the front-men who champion them.
Bertie Ahern was the poster boy of this populist politic
and it seems as though the Irish public are unable to em-
brace a government without a cult-captain. Enda is not,
no matter how much he is trying to become it, this type
of leader. He is a grower. His strength lies in moderation
and he is rightly lauded as being a great conciliatory pol-
itician, capable of welding his party together and cred-
ited with doing so following their disastrous showing in
the 2002 elections.
Brian Hayes once said of Enda Kenny that he had "made
Fine Gael less like a party of barristers,” and Enda's will-
ingness to share the limelight with the Leo Vardkars and
Simon Coveneys of the world is a positive thing for Fine
Gael. It is certainly a far cry from what is happening on
the other side of the house where the status quo is being
so jealously preserved; another thirty years of Dáil expe-
rience was just added to a front bench already strewn
with political grey hairs. Perhaps its Enda's own grey hair
that is letting him promote the likes of Varadkar, a man
who will surely be looking to challenge for leadership in
an election or two's time. Struts of Fine Gael's 'New Poli-
tics' programme further embrace this move away from
the usual centralised-power nature of Irish politics. TDs
(and less of them) are to be given far more of a voice in
the 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(see
above) and will not be the perfect Taoiseach. During his
tenure as leader of the opposition a failure to offer real
alternatives to Fianna Fáil has been as clear as his parties
policies have often been confusing. In the same vein,
'New Politics' is not a perfect document; Fine Gael have
never really put forward institutional reform before, the
plans to abolish the Seanad seem to be populist in the
extreme and many of the other proposed reforms do
not go far enough. Yet, in a better late than never man-
ner, Enda appears to be pulling it all together at the right
time. He chairs a front bench full of character and a party
that seems to finally be pulling some new ideas out of its
collective hat. So, maybe, after almost 35 years in gov-
ernment, mightn't it be time we give him his due?
Irish Society/Politics 9
 CARDINAL BRADY COVER-UP
By Joanne Sullivan
Following recent revelations
that Cardinal Seán Brady
was involved in a cover-up
surrounding paedophile Fr.
Brendan Smyth, he has insisted
that he will not resign, unless
expressly asked to do so by
the Pope. The Cardinal, who
is the head of the Catholic Church in Ireland, claims
he did nothing wrong, yet admits that he did know
about Fr. Smyth’s actions as far back as 1975, and did
not speak up. He insists that he was ‘following orders’
and acted in an appropriate and responsible manner
to ensure Smyth was brought to justice. However that
justice did not come about for 20 years, during which
time other children suffered as a result of his abuse
as Smyth was moved from one parish to the next. Yet
the Cardinal did not speak up. He is now involved in a
legal battle with one of the victims, who is suing him
in his capacity as Archbishop of Armagh and as the
Catholic representative in Ireland.
In the last couple of weeks it has emerged that
Brady was present during secret interviews where
two abused teenagers signed vows of silence over
their complaints against Smyth. He insists that he
was acting under orders from the bishop, and that he
acted swiftly and efficiently in bringing the evidence
against Smyth to the bishop. Brady says this evidence
helped in the process to remove Smyth’s licence to
act as a priest.
The Church was aware of Fr. Smyth’s paedophilia
as early as the late 1940s and rather than report him
to the authorities, they repeatedly moved him from
parish to parish, and even to different countries.
He spent time in Italy, England and the US and was
not arrested until 1991. Had Cardinal Brady and his
superiors acted as they should have back in the 1970s
and reported Smyth to the police, he would not have
spent the next twenty years abusing children all over
the world.
The Cardinal is being urged to withdraw his
defence in a legal battle with a victim of abuse. The
 If I found myself in a situation
where I was aware that my failure to act
had allowed or meant that other
children were abused,
well then, I think I would resign.

man is suing Brady over his failure to protect him
and other children who were abused by Smyth. He
is demanding that Brady withdraw his defence, and
adds that he finds his apology “incredulous”, given
that he still claims he did nothing wrong. The man
alleges that when he reported his abuse the Church
authorities assured him and his father that Smyth
would not be allowed near children again. However
he was only convicted 19 years later. Brady denies
calling an ecclesiastical court and speaking with the
plaintiff or his father. He is asking the man for proof
that the abuse actually took place. Brady has spoken
to his legal representatives and said he is hoping for a
just resolution to the case, but declined to comment
further.
Speaking to RTÉ News after the publication of the
Murphy Report last December, Brady said that he was
confident Bishop Donal Murray would “do the right
thing” regarding his position in light of the criticisms
contained in the report. Brady went on to say, “If I
found myself in a situation where I was aware that my
failure to act had allowed or meant that other children
were abused, well then, I think I would resign.”
Colm O’ Gorman, a campaigner for victims of clerical
abuse in Ireland spoke out against Brady, calling for
his immediate resignation, saying, “He believed that
this out of control paedophile [Smyth] had abused
children and he did nothing to report this crime to
the police either then, or it would appear, at any point
over the next twenty years during which time Smyth
continued to rape and abuse in parishes across the
world with near impunity”.
On St. Patrick’s Day, Cardinal Brady read out a
letter of apology for his role in mishandling the
accusations against Smyth. This apology has been
criticised by many, and described as less direct and
more conditional than some victims would have
liked. He made an abstract apology to anyone who
had been hurt by any failure on his part. “I apologise
to all those who feel I have let them down….Looking
back I am ashamed that I have not always upheld
the values that I profess and believe in”. He then
ended his letter by saying that he would be doing
a lot of careful reflection during Holy Week. Critics
have suggested that this sentiment may have been
a response directed at the media, regarding calls for
his resignation. Many feel the Cardinal is hoping to
alleviate the pressure the media and the public are
placing on him with these demands, in the hopes
that they will soon move onto a new target and he
can continue in his position.
It is worth noting however that despite his failure in
acting appropriately where Fr. Smyth was concerned,
Cardinal Brady has done a lot of good for the people
of Ireland. In 2009 he wrote to Finance Minister
Brian Lenihan, urging him not to make further cuts
to Ireland’s overseas development budget. He said,
“These vulnerable people have had no part to play
in creating the multiple crises now facing them –
climate, financial, food – yet the challenges they face
are unprecedented. I appeal to you not to turn your
back on them. We must ensure that we maintain our
current level of aid spending until such a time as we
are in a position to build it up again”.
It remains to be seen whether Brady will continue
to cling to his position as Primate of All Ireland, given
the allegations and the court case against him.
DOLPHIN
HOUSE
CONTEMPLATES
UNCERTAIN
FUTURE By John Dorney
 A Year ago, Dolphin House, in Dublin’s south inner city, hit
all the headlines, when criminals placed a hoax bomb at a resi-
dents meeting. Now its future is still uncertain as plans for its
redevelopment have stalled.
On April 28 2009, residents of Dolphin House, sick of drug-
dealing and crime in their estate, called a meeting to demand
a permanent Garda presence in the area at night-time. Before
the meeting was over, hundreds of cars in the estate had been
vandalised and someone placed what appeared to be a bomb
with fuse at the community centre where the meeting was
taking place.
The “bomb” turned out to be a Pringles crisp box with wire
attached, but the message it gave was clear enough – the
criminals 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 im-
proved”. The Gardai now have a permanent and visible pres-
ence in the area and walls have been built where the flat com-
plex borders the canal.
“Before”, explains Ní Dhalaigh, “there were loads of ways
in and out, now there is only one”. Previously people selling
drugs could escape to the path along the canal whenever the
Garda entered the estate.
“Fear is slowly breaking down”, she says, “even if the prob-
lem has just been moved down the street”.
Many of the dealers have
There are some people from that generation that say we need
an anti-drugs movement again, but at the end of the day, it’s
the Gardaí who are paid to keep the law.”
Ní Dhalaigh argues that bad planning and the poor qual-
ity of the housing at Dolphin House, along with poverty and
neglect by the state is partially to blame for social problems
there. For 13 – 14 year olds in the area, she says, the prospect
of a criminal career has a certain allure. “They see the pushers
in fancy cars and with lots of money – the criminal culture is
glorified in some of these estates”.
Dublin City Council has long had plans to knock down and
rebuild Dolphin House but there has been friction between
the 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 would
be sold for private “affordable housing”. The community, Crío-
na Ní Dhalaigh says, were against this as it would “dislocate the
community”.
Instead, Rory Hearne, the regeneration officer for Dolphin
House, initiated a consultation between the local community
and Sheridan architects, who were brought in to design an al-
ternative plan for the estate.
The consultation process took place over seven months, ac-
cording to Owen Kelleher, the Sheridan architect responsible
for the project, in which each flat black had its own meeting
with the architects.

just moved across the canal
into Crumlin, which is un-
der the jurisdiction of a dif-
ferent Garda station.
Dolphin House is a for-
tress-like social housing
complex situated beside
the Grand Canal in Dol-
phins Barn. It is surrounded
by high grey walls on its
street side and 12 blocks
of red brick flats loom over
the canal. The complex was
built in the 1950s, in the era
when the corporation des-
perately needed to clear
Dublin’s inner city slums
The “bomb”
It turned out that what
the residents wanted dif-
fered substantially from the
Council’s plans. Kelleher
turned out to be says the final design he pro-
posed included more social
a Pringles crisp box housing and fewer com-
mercial units. The flat blocks
with wire attached, would now be sealed off to
anyone except residents – in
part to stop the drugs trade
but the message – and play areas were over
looked by balconies, “so
people could watch their
it gave was clear enough – kids at play”.
The problem is that, since
the criminals were giving the redevelopment was first

a warning to
and re-house their resi- mooted, the Irish economy
dents in a hurry. has been hit by a severe
Its 436 flats are home to recession. According to
over 900 people, the largest Owen Kelleher, the original
public housing project in
the city and second only to
the now demolished flats in
the community. PPP scheme is now unlikely
to take place. “The market
value is not high enough to
Ballymun. justify the costs. State fund-
The problems of crime, drug dealing and anti-social be- ing will now be necessary and I can’t see it [redevelopment]
haviour have long dogged the estate. But Dolphin House also happening in the immediate future.”
has a proud tradition of community activism. Back in 1983, the The Dolphins Barn estate is, in any case, behind nearby St
“Dolphin House Community Development Association”, led Theresa’s Garden’s in the Council’s timetable for redevelop-
by a man named John ‘Whacker’ Humphries helped to start a ment.
popular campaign against heroin in Dublin. Dolphin House may have to deal with formidable social
In the 1990s, there was again a wave of activism against problems and must wait for its shiny new housing, but the
drug dealing in the area. At that time, the practice of commu- people there have seen off worse in the past and bring, at least
nity activists was to march on drug dealers’ houses and de- their sense of togetherness and community into the uncertain
mand they leave the area. future.
But according to Críona Ní Dhalaigh, “Those days are gone.

Irish Society/Politics 13

By Joseph Morgan
After staring at the wall for over a year now, the writing is
finally starting to appear on it. Based on latest estimates
and valuations, the bill for the National Asset Management
Agency (NAMA) now looks to be in the order of a minimum
of €83 billion. This is made up as follows:

Known payments ( ! billion)

Paid into Anglo 12.3

First NAMA purchases 8.5

Paid into Bank of Ireland 3.5

Paid into AIB 3.5

Paid into Irish Nationwide 0.1

Future estimated payments ( billion)

Remaining NAMA purchases 41.5

Anglo costs 10
Irish Nationwide costs 2.6
EBS costs 0.875

These amounts do not even include any future liabilities
related to AIB or Bank of Ireland as the current wishful politi-
cal thinking is that they may be able to raise future shortfalls
themselves as the government desperately tries to avoid na-
tionalization of what remains of the banking system. On top
of that, there was a vague mention of some astronomical fig-
ure (that ended with the word ‘billion’) for professional fees
related to NAMA over the next ten years.
Knowing what a poor job we have been doing in Ireland
lately of accurately forecasting anything, the reality is that we
will be looking at a final bill in the region of €100 billion.
Now, imagine what you could do with €100 billion in terms
of using it positively to get Ireland out of this recession: job
stimulus packages, innovation and business start-up funding,
building infrastructure or retraining with a focus on the so-
called smart and green economies. The list is only limited by
our imaginations.
Apart from the figures, it was the general tenor of the week
that was interesting. We saw Sean Fitzpatrick (ex-Anglo Bank
Chairman) arrested and held overnight in a cell, the various
shocking NAMA and bailout announcements, Anglo Bank re-
porting the biggest ever corporate losses in Irish history (and
Bank of Ireland also reporting dreadful losses) and key parts of
the Quinn insurance operation put into administration by the
financial regulator.
The way this happened over a few short days appeared
just a bit too choreographed. As though perhaps the ‘estab-
lishment’ has decided that they are offering Mr Fitzpatrick and
Mr Quinn up as ’sacrificial lambs’ to keep the public and the
tabloids quiet? As they like to say, to “draw a line under that”.
It’s also very convenient that the government has now gone
away on 19 days holiday in the immediate aftermath of all
this. These things are never timed by ‘accident’. Getting hold
of anyone to question them will be very difficult in the next
few days.
If the government wants us to put our focus on one area – in
this case, Fitzpatrick and Quinn – then you can be sure it is in
order to take our attention away from other areas.
So what are the other questions we should really be asking
now?
Who are the un-named bondholders in Anglo (and other
banks) and why is the government so reluctant to close them
down? Is there a dark secret in the vaults of that organisa-
tion?
Why is the government telling us that it would cost even more
to wind Anglo up than to keep them going – anywhere be-
tween €70 billion (Lenihan) and €100 billion (Cowen) depend-
ing on who you are talking to. Eminent economists such as
Professor Karl Whelan at Trinity College have already clearly
demonstrated that there will be no substantial losses if it is
sensibly wound down over the next four years..
If the first tranche of loans coming from the top builders
are this toxic then what state are the remaining loans in? This
first tranche came from professional developers with proper
title and paperwork, not hick builders in cahoots with a local
councilor building half-finished hotels or remote housing es-
tates that nobody wants to live on. These loans could be al-
most worthless but the taxpayer will be coughing up €billions
for them.
And if the remaining loans to come over to NAMA are in a
bad state, how well has the financial regulator ’stress-tested’
this using worst case scenarios and, should the worst case
happen, does that mean we are going to be pumping even
more in the way of bailouts into the banks?
And on top of that stress-testing, have they also included a
worst case scenario for problems with other loans that are not
going to NAMA e.g. other development loans under €5 million
in value, mortgages, personal loans, credit cards, etc. and the
further impact that might have on the banks?
Regardless of the fact that the European Central Bank is
keeping interest rates on hold, interest rates on all of these
other loans are undoubtedly going up here in Ireland as the
government, by its silence about recent interest rate rises,
is implicitly giving the nod to banks to put them up to help
shore up their balance sheets…. once again, at the expense of
the average Joe and Joan in the street.
You can nearly always guarantee with governments that
if they are diverting your attention by asking you to look at
something then you really ought to be looking elsewhere -
where they don’t want you to look. Perhaps in some of these
areas.
There is something we are not being told here. What is it?
What is the ‘it’ of it?
Finance 15
 By Lidia A. Okorokova
Lada cars can once again become the na-
tional pride if the package of measures to
improve automotive industry adopted by
the government and Russia’s car giant Av-
toVAZ succeed.
Many big nations have their own car brands which are suc-
cessful on domestic and international levels, think Germa-
ny’s luxury class Mercedez and Japan’s Toyota.
Russia’s brands are neither high-profile cars nor in the
economy class anymore. AvtoVAZ, the country’s biggest
car manufacturer has been in a trouble for quite some time
now.
Since the beginning of the global financial turmoil in
2008, AvtoVAZ has experienced the same level of sales de-
cline and financial difficulties as many Western automakers.
AvtoVAZ’s sales declined by 44% in 2009, according to As-
sociation of European Business data, with predictions of a
further fall in 2010. The company is facing bankruptcy, and
is attempting to re-establish itself with product innovation.
Inl ate 2009, a package of measures to introduce new
technologies and solve AvtoVaz’s financial problems was
presented to the government by newly appointed CEO Igor
Komarov. In response, prime-minister Vladimir Putin signed
a €292 million bailout deal in December, 2009.
On March 23, Russia’s car giant launched a scrappage
 programme for 10-year-or-older cars to boost sales and fi-
nancially stabilise the company.
This disposal programme allows owners of long-running
models, including the VAZ (Lada) 2105 and 2107, to scrap
their old vehicles in exchange for a €1300 voucher. The
financial director of the “Lada-Finance – Lada Credit” pro-
gramme, Maksim Gerasimov believes that “the decision to
allow Lada buyers to use vouchers as an initial instalment
of a credit purchase of a new car is a serious step” he told
Rossiyskaya Gazeta.
The anti-crisis measures at AvtoVAZ also include redun-
dancies of up to 25,000 and a possible issue of shares worth
€320 million within the bounds of the company’s restruc-
turing.
AvtoVAZ has three main blocks of share holders, the
French car-maker Renault, the state corporation Rostekh-
nologii, and an investment company, Troika Dialog. It is be-
lieved that after issuing of new shares, Rostechnologii and
Renault 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, 800
km from Moscow. The company was established in 1966 as
a 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 lead-

As of March 2010,
er.
Currently, AvtoVaz employs 110,000 - 130,000. The re-
structuring deal calls for a workforce of 69,000 - 72,000.

AvtoVAZ’s According to AvtoVAZ’s trade union leader Petr Zolotor-

ev, the number of employees has already fallen to 77,000

debt to the banks since the announcement of the bankruptcy. The company
executives hope that the transfer of some employees to
subsidiaries created within a restructuring programme and
has reached financed by the government will help to maintain social

1 billion
stability. Tolyatti’s population is around 700,000 people and
AvtoVAZ is the provider for the whole city. If people lose
their jobs abruptly this will cause serious social unrest.
AvtoVAZ has always been known as the People’s Car-
maker, meaning that cars were cheap and anyone in the
Soviet union could afford to buy one. Since the collapse of
the USSR, this particular brand has lost its value and seen
a decline in consumer demand. During the first decade of
2000’s, Russians with a stable income no longer wanted a
“people’s car” but a foreign brand with qualities that Lada
unfortunately lacks: safety and innovative design.
The possibility of investment from Renault is of high im-
portance. It means that AvtoVAZ may not only overcome
its financial difficulties, but also receive new technologies
that will help restore the brand’s name with better quality
and new design.

Finance 17
 The Irish Army’s deployment in the UN peacekeeping The new Defence Minister Tony Killen has promised to
mission in Chad is due to come to an end before the end find
nd new peacekeeping missions for Irish troops.
of this year. The Irish Army first sent a battalion to Chad, a troubled
The UN mandate expired on March 15, and Chadian country in north-west Africa, in February 2008 as part of
President Idris Deby called European Union force – EU-
for the withdrawal of inter- FOR TCHAD. An Irish officer,
national troops, saying his
country’s own military were
Their main mission Pat Lieutenant General Pat

capable of maintaining se-

was to protect refugees from the Nash, was in overall com-
mand of the operation.
curity in the region.
The mission has been tem- Darfur conflict In March 2009, the United
Nations took over com-
porarily extended for two
months after talks between in Sudan, mand of the mission, which
was renamed MINURCAT.
Mr Deby and UN Secretary
General for Peacekeeping over 230,000 Their main mission was
to protect refugees from
Alain Roy. It is, however, un-
likely to continue beyond of whom had flooded the Darfur conflict in Sudan,
over 230,000 of whom had
the end of the year.
There are currently 410 over the border flooded over the border
into Chad.
Irish soldiers in Chad, part
of 4,000 strong UN force
charged with keeping order
along Chad’s border with
into Chad. They also found them-
selves trying to police an
on-off border war between
Chad’s military on one side
Sudan and with protecting and a mixture of Chadian
refugees who have fled to Chad to escape the conflict in rebel groups and Sudanese militias, (who may or may not
neighbouring Darfur. be backed by the Sudanese government), on the other.
Next month the 230 Irish troops serving on peacekeep- Declan Power, a former Irish Army officer and Defence
ing duty in Kosovo and Bosnia will also be withdrawn, Analyst, who has visited the region, describes the situa-
leaving less than 100 Irish soldiers deployed around the tion on the ground as, “very lawless” and a, “low intensity
world on UN missions – the lowest number in 30 years. conflict on both sides of the border.”
 As a result, he says, the Irish Army battalion is, “heavily
armed” and provides a, “robust military presence”. Protect-
ing refugee camps from the various local armed groups
has meant, “police enforcement and direct combat on oc-
casion”.
Around two years ago, he says, the Irish soldiers found
themselves in a major confrontation with local militias in
which heavy fire was exchanged.
The mission, says Power, “had the potential to be ex-
tremely dangerous”.
Nevertheless, the Irish battalion has suffered no combat
casualties in the mission but 34 soldiers have had to be
evacuated due to sickness or injury.
“It’s a harsh climate and a harsh existence”, Declan Power
says of the Chad mission, “though not as harsh as the con-
ditions of local civilians.”
On why the Chadian President has called for a with-
drawal of international troops from his country, Power
says, “it’s hard to know why. I t could be a wrangle with
the French. Chad is basically a French client state. [Chad is
a former French colony] On the other hand, maybe a well-
armed western force is not the best humanitarian force to
protect refugees”.
The lack of a major overseas mission creates a serious
problem for the Irish military. The deployment of Irish
troops as peacekeepers gives Irish foreign policy impor-
tant clout at the United Nations.
It also provides operational experience for the Irish
Army and helps to maintain their standards of training
and equipment. UN deployments are also paid for by the
UN itself, so do not place a financial burden on the Irish
state.
So new Defence Minister Tony Killeen has pledged to
find a new mission for the Army as soon as possible. Where
might this be?
There are rumours of a return to Lebanon, where an Irish
battalion was deployed for 30 years, but Declan Power’s
preference would be for increased participation in the op-
eration in Afghanistan.
Currently there is a small contingent of Irish troops serv-
ing there under a UN mandate but this, he says could be
expanded without compromising Irish neutrality, espe-
cially to perform maintenance of order and humanitarian
missions.
The advantage of Afghanistan, he says, would be the de-
ployment of Irish soldiers alongside, “well organized west-
ern troops. I’d rather see that than deployment with Third
World militaries, which can be very risky”, he says.
However he concedes that many in Ireland would be
reluctant to see Irish troops drawn into the US-led war
against the Taliban.
Regardless of where it is, according to Power, the Irish
Army needs foreign deployment to maintain its military
skills.
“If we let them languish”, he says, “the Army will not be
able to perform its primary role of domestic security”.
International Politics 19
 By John Dorney
Irish troops are about to finish their deployment in Chad but the African
country remains one of the poorest and most war-torn places on earth.
Chad is situated in northern Africa, between a
volatile 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 year
and a life expectancy of only 47.
The country became independent from France
in 1960 but has never really freed itself from the
control of its colonial master.
Since independence, Chad has endured several
civil wars, in which the French, Americans, Libyans
and Sudanese have all interfered.
The country is divided between twelve major
ethnic groups, speaking over 100 different
languages. Most divisive of all is the division
between the Muslim north and Christian south.
Tensions between these two regions led to the
20 International Politics
outbreak of civil war between north and south in
1966.
Southern-based parties won out with the help of
French troops but the northern factions received
enough military aid from Libya to keep the war
going until 1990. It was a confused conflict, with
many different factions, north and south, who
fought each other as well as “other” side.
Colonel Gadaffi, leader of Libya made an attempt
to occupy Chad, but was eventually driven out in
the late 1986 by Chadian forces backed by both
the French and the Americans.
After three decades of war, the state of Chad had,
for practical purposes, ceased to exist in much of
its territory. In its place were foreign powers and
a host of feuding warlords. Governing the capital
Over 230,000
refugees have
fled across the
border into Chad
to escape the
Sudanese Janjaweed
militia, creating a
humanitarian crisis.
N’Djamena was a military dictatorship led by Hissein Habre,
who had up to 20,000 of his political opponents murdered in
his prisons.
In 1990, the war finally ended when Idris Deby, a military
officer, overthrew the government of the dictator Habre and
called for talks with rebel groups. All sides then agreed to a
ceasefire followed by democratic reform of the constitution.
Despite this, rebellion broke out again in the north in 1998
and carries on fitfully today.
Chad has been ruled by an authoritarian President, Idris Deby,
since 1990. In 2005, Deby altered the constitution to allow him
to remain in power for another term.
Some of the army mutinied in response to this action and
formed rebel groupings across the border in Sudan.
The conflict in the neighbouring Darfur province of Sudan has
done much to destabilize Chad.
Over 230,000 refugees have fled across the border into Chad to
escape the Sudanese Janjaweed militia, creating a humanitarian
crisis.
Chadian rebel groups based in Sudan also began attacking
Chadian posts across its eastern border in 2005 –some of them
disgruntled army factions. Sudan has allegedly sponsored these
Chadian rebel groups.
Chad and Sudan signed an agreement at Tripoli in 2006 to
stop either government backing armed groups on either side
of the border, but a low intensity conflict continues along the
Chad-Sudan border.
The EU sent a humanitarian force to Chad in 2008 to try to
protect refugees from Darfur. The UN adopted the mission in
2009. Idris Deby has now called for this force to be withdrawn as
Chad’s own military were capable of handling the problem.
Deby is a member of a minority ethnicity and is heavily
dependent on French support to remain in power.
Whether Chad can ever become a stable and prosperous state
remains in doubt.
What
happened
in Jos is like
a smaller
version of
the genocide
in Darfur,
Rwanda or
Bosnia.
JOS:
THE SLAUGHTER CAPITAL
OF NIGERIA
The ‘State of Nature’ in political philosophy is the state
of anarchy that human beings experienced before the
establishment of a government. At this level of existence,
there are no rights for persons and human beings fight and
kill each other for their own interest. We are starting to see
what this might look like in the Nigerian city of Jos.
Jos is a tin-mining city in Nigeria’s middle belt. Its cooler
temperatures since colonial times had attracted tourists as a
favourite holiday location. Until recently, Jos was a peaceful
city. It is known as ‘The Home of Peace and Tourism’ and ‘The
Headquarters of Irish Potatoes in Nigeria’ as they are grown
here 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 in
Nigeria which turned Jos into a field of massacre.
Ethno-religious and political conflicts in Jos started in 2001
where over 1000 lives and property were lost. It was repeated
in a bigger way in 2008 and the recent 2010 massacre of
over 500 in rapid succession, where defenceless children
and nursing mothers were burnt beyond recognition, limbs
and arms maimed and bodies of people inflicted with deep
machete wounds in there sleep, homes and properties burnt.
What happened in Jos is like a smaller version of the genocide
in Darfur, Rwanda or Bosnia.
The bone of contention between Christians and Muslims in
Jos is the scramble for land, scarce resources and political clout.
Poverty, joblessness and corrupt politics drive extremists from
both sides to commit horrendous atrocities. Although Nigeria
rakes in billions of dollars in oil revenue annually, the majority
of Nigerians scrape by on less than a dollar a day. In Jos, Muslim
cattle herders from the north and Christian farmers from the
south vie for control of the fertile plains.
Given the perennial nature of this violence, its persistence
By Andrew Batare
this year and the revelations of those arrested, it appears there
was a conspiracy at the highest level by politicians to perfect
this heinous crime against humanity hiding under the garb
of religion. It is a dastardly act of political manipulation of the
poor and impoverished people for selfish ends. Nigerian so
called ‘leaders’ are promoting violence with a view to achieve
political or religious domination.
In the developed world, leaders that promote sectarian
violence, ethnic cleansing agenda and xenophobic sentiments
take their seats at the United Nations Court of Human Rights
at The Hague. In Nigeria, such leaders are crowned as kings
and queens and are given chieftaincy titles.
The massacre in Jos is a failure of leadership and the pursuit
of selfish personal ambitions of politicians who manufacture
support by mobilising sectarian divisions. Such politicians see
nothing wrong with driving people to violence and carnage
to achieve their end. It is a demonstration of the irresponsible
attitude of those ‘voted’ to unite Nigerians and pilot the
business of state security and governance.
What is happening in Jos mirrors the breakdown in the rule
of law that led to the war in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Democratic
Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Somalia. The world is yet
to recover from the images of carnage and destruction that
those wars bequeathed to it.
Although free from colonialism, poor Nigerians are not free
from political oppression, ethno-religious violence, economic
sabotage, political insensitivity and the primitive use of
religion to achieve political capital or advantage, “For to be
free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way
that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”
Nigeria needs genuinely free elections and respect for the
rule of law.
Enough is Enough!
International Politics 23
By John Dorney
 Over 40 years since it claimed its first
victim, and after the violence deaths
of over 800 people, we might finally be
seeing the end for ETA, the armed Basque
separatist group.
ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna or “the
Basque Country and Liberty”) was
founded in 1957 to fight the Franco dictatorship in Spain and
gain independence for the Basque Country. In 1968, it had
its first kill and its first martyr when Txabi Etxebarrieta and a
Guardia Civil policeman died in a shootout at a road-block.
A lot has changed in Spain since that time. The dictator
Franco is long dead and democracy was restored in 1976. The
Basque Country has its own autonomous government, its
own police force and its own taxation system.
Euskera, the Basque language, which was banned under
Franco, is now a compulsory subject in schools and universities
in the region. Since Franco’s death, those who speak it every
day has risen from 15% of the population to 22%.
But none of this was ever enough for the militants of
ETA. In their world view, Spain as a democracy and Spain
as a dictatorship makes no difference. It is still , they claim,
a hostile power occupying the Basque Country. For good
measure, the abertzales, as the separatists call themselves,
claim three Basque provinces of France and another one in
Spain (Navarre) as well as the current autonomous region, for
their proposed independent Basque state.
To get to this end, ETA has done some terrible things. They
have shot up police stations and bombed supermarkets.
They have kidnapped and assassinated local councillors from
hostile political parties. They have even shot journalists and
academics who spoke out against them. Since the 1990s, they
also instigated a type of street rioting – known as Kale Borroka
– where young activists burned down banks, bins and offices
of other political parties.
But in recent months, all the signs are that ETA could be
nearing the end of its long and bloody road.
For one thing, ETA, its political wing Batasuna, and all
organisations linked to radical separatism have come under
ferocious pressure from the Spanish state. Over 800 of its
members languish in prison – many of them far from the
Basque Country. This year, so far over 30 etarras (ETA members)
have been arrested in Spain, Portugal and France and over
2,000 kg of explosives recovered.
Not all of those in prison are armed militants by any means.
The Batasuna party itself is now illegal as its youth organisation,
Segi. Its paper, Egin, was closed by a court order. Indeed,
anyone “promoting or glorifying terrorism” can face a hefty
sentence (of up to 13 years) in jail. Going on demonstration
for ETA prisoners or writing an article promoting ETA or its
cause can get you locked up. Arnaldo Otegi, the leader of
Batasuna, spends his time constantly in and out of prison on
such charges.
But if it were the case that ETA was only wilting under the
pressure of the Spanish oppressor, things would not look
so bleak for the organisation. Repression, after all, breeds
resistance as often as servility.
What is shattering for the abertzales is that there is so little
protest in the Basque Country at their persecution. Around
10-15% of Basques used to vote for Batasuna before it was
banned and some of the 50% who vote for other nationalist
parties would have had some sympathy for them.
By now though, ETA’s violence is so unpopular that many
Basques simply sigh and look the other way when ETA
supporters are arrested or their demonstrations broken up.
ETA called two ceasefires, one in 1998 and another in 2006
but called them off before talks with other parties and the
Spanish government really got off the ground.
Their increasing isolation from the rest of Basque society
has led many within the movement to call for an end to the
“armed struggle” once and for all. A prison collective of ETA
prisoners issued a statement to this effect in January and in
March a series of meetings with separatist political activists
repeated the request.
ETA’s response remains to be seen. Its leadership, many of
them on the run from the Spanish authorities, mostly live over
the border in France.
While once the French turned a blind eye to ETA, seeing
them as resistance fighters against the Franco dictatorship,
this has not been true for a long time. And now it looks as if
ETA’s haven north of the Pyrenees could be ended forever.
On March 16, a French Gendarme was shot dead by a group
of etarras outside of Paris, the first French policeman to die at
their hands. He and his colleagues came across the Basques
as they were trying to steal a car for “operations”, sparking a
shootout in which the polieman received a fatal wound to the
throat. ETA can now expect to be pursued as fiercely in France
as in Spain.
Perhaps the only thing that can save ETA and prolong its
“war” is if the Spanish state departs from its own laws and
lowers itself to terrorism. This is not a far fetched idea, it has
happened before. In the 1980s, a shadowy, government
sponsored group called GAL assassinated 27 ETA militants.
This brings us finally to the case of Jon Anza. He was an
ETA member, who went missing in early 2009, on his way to
meet other etarras in France. Allegedly he was carrying over
€300,000 of the group’s money at the time. Nothing was heard
of Anza for over a year, until early this month, when his body
turned up in a morgue in Toulouse.
Official reports on both sides of the Spanish-French border
state he died of a heart attack. The press close to ETA remains
sceptical Anza died a natural death.
Jon Anza may go down as ETA’s last martyr. Or he may be
forgotten altogether, outside of the abertzale subculture.
One can only hope that there are no more deaths in the
cause of Basque independence and this small but proud
country can decide its future without the sound of bombs
and gunshots.
International Politics 25
By Hugh Hick
Here’s a question: what is the greatest threat that exists in an
infant democracy?
There are many contenders of course. There are those who
simply don’t take to the idea of “one person, one vote” and strive
toward a simpler, autocratic style of government. There are
also those that agree with democracy in principle, but follow a
historical trend of attempting to warp it to their own ends, as can
be seen in many of the so-called democracies in South America.
There are even those who play the game to the finest rule but
suddenly realise that the country doesn’t have the resources to
deal with such a radical change in political philosophy.
And yet, it seems that the greatest hurdle such a fledgling
democracy faces actually lies within the system itself, in the form
of elections.
They are, after all, the first great test that such a democracy
faces. Any country can claim democratic credentials on the
surface, but it is only when truly fair and transparent elections
are seen to be carried out can such a society be truly accepted
by the international community. Countries such as Cuba have
faced criticism for years about having the façade of carrying out
elections 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 of
footsteps taken by Iraq in an attempt to scramble once and for
all out of the turbulent few years it has endured since the 2003
invasion. The inaugural parliamentary elections in 2005 passed
relatively uneventfully but were still mired by the instability all
around the region. Finally, five years later, following the passage
of new electoral laws in November 2009, Iraq had the opportunity
to demonstrate that it is on the road to recovery. All eyes were
fixed on the situation: many hoping that the elections would
prove once and for all Iraq’s healing sovereignty, while others no
doubt hoped things would fall to pieces.
The day didn’t go without incident. Before polls even opened
there were whisperings of fraud perpetrated by Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki, mainly stemming from the printing of a surplus
of polling cards. On top of that, the run up to the elections were
marred by repeated incidents of violence, resulting in the deaths
of over 200 people. Considering sectarianism has been rampant
for most of Iraq’s recent history, this is not altogether surprising.
As we have seen time and time again, in countries like Iraq, being
in the minority can prove very dangerous.
It seems now that a majority decision is impossible. The two
major contenders in the race, the Iraq National Movement and
the State of Law coalition finished neck and neck in the polls,
All eyes were fixed
on the situation:
many hoping that the
elections would prove
once and for all Iraq's
healing sovereignty,
while others no doubt
hoped things would fall
to pieces.
with the former demonstrating a lead of a mere two seats. Focus
must now shift to the forming of a coalition. This is perhaps
the ideal result for the country, and shows the strength of the
Proportional Representation system they have adopted. The only
obstacle will lay in whether a further coalition of parties would be
a stable makeup of government.
Lobbyists for groups representing women’s rights and those
of Christian factions have been vocal in their hope for a fair
and stable makeup of parliament, in the hope of quashing the
repression of these two groups that has occurred in the past.
Realistically, however, no makeup of government will be able
to put that to rest overnight. The main hope that can be held is
that whatever government is formed is strong enough to create
a unified policy towards these issues, something that has been
sorely lacking up until now.
There are many challenges ahead for whatever government
materialises. Tackling sectarianism and fundamentalism will be no
easy task and this term of parliament may be a political poisoned
chalice of sorts for whoever is tasked with leading it. There is still a
large international interest in the development of Iraq so pressure
from countries such as America will make the development of a
coherent direction for the country that bit more difficult.
The relative transparency of the elections is a good sign
however. Once a tangible electoral system is in place, it acts as
the keystone for a sustainable democracy, and at this stage of
the new Iraq’s infancy, that is good enough. Only time will tell
if the foundations are strong enough to cope with the rapid
progress that is expected of the country, or if like many societies
before it, will the system collapse under the weight of western
expectations.

International Politics 27
 By Maria Brundin

Too little, too late - what

does Serbia’s apology
really mean?
100 000 people died during the war in
Bosnia-Herzegovina, a battlefront for
genocide during the Balkan Conflict.

In 1995 the Bosnian town of Srebrenica was a UN safe

haven under the protection of Dutch peacekeepers and
tens of thousands civilians had taken refuge there.
By July the town was under siege, with 600 lightly armed Dutch
peacekeepers facing off against the Serbian forces. Food was running out
and as pleas to NATO for help failed, Serbian forces overran the town.
Roughly 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed in five
days. Witnesses tell stories about men being forced to dig
mass 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 Serb
campaign of mass murder”.
General Ratko Mladic, Radislav Krstic, regional leader Radovan Karadzic and former Serbian
president Slobodan Milosevic, along with a number of others, are indicted by the International
Criminal Tribunal in The Hague for crimes of humanity committed at Srebrenica.
 On the 31st of March, Serbia made an historical move and apologised for the
Srebrenica massacre of roughly 8000 Bosnian Muslims in 1995. After a 13 hour long
debate at the parliament, broadcast live on television, a resolution was passed by
two votes. The resolution expressed sympathy to victims and apologized for not doing
enough to prevent the killings, but avoided calling the killings ‘genocide’.

SPLIT OTHER APOLOGIES

The country remains split over the move, both within the
parliament and within the general populace.
A dozen protesters stood outside the parliament, some
carrying pictures of wartime leaders General Ratko Mladic and
Radovan Karadzic, who is on trial in the International Criminal
Tribunal in The Hague for the Srebrenica genocide.
A second group carried signs saying: ‘Srebrenica was not in
my name.’
Opposition deputy Velimir Illic said “the crime was no
greater than in other places, We can’t put everything else off
to the side”, referring to other war crimes that been committed
during the Balkan Conflict.
Others, such as liberal parliamentarian Cedomir Jovanovic,
criticized the resolution for not recognizing the killings in
Srebrenica as genocide. “Our society does not have the
sufficient strength“, he remarked to the parliament after failing
to get a different resolution passed.
POLITICAL AIMS
The ruling coalition of President Boris Tadic’s pro-western
Democrats and the Socialists, who were lead by Slobodan
Milosevic, hope that the resolution will win EU and investor
favor.
President Tadic called it a display of patriotism and Prime
Minister Mirko Cvetkovic said that the move “is an event that
in 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 but
talks can not start until Ratko Mladic is captured and brought
to The Hague.
Hailed as a hero by many Serbs, Mladic is believed to be
hiding in Serbia.
BOSNIAN RESPONSE
A Western diplomat, stationed in Bosnia at the time of the
genocide said that passing the resolution without arresting
Mladic meant little.
“As a substitute, it’s offensive, it’s an insult,” the diplomat
told 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 her
son and husband in the genocide. “Justice can only be served
once all the criminals responsible for the atrocity are named
and held accountable”.
Even though apologies are rare in the political sphere, other
countries have apologised for past behaviour.
Roughly two years ago Australia apologized to its native
population the Aborigines for child abduction, genocide
and decades of discrimination. South Africa apologised for
Apartheid in 1992, Bill Clinton apologised in 1998 for the
African slave trade and countries like Canada and Norway
have made similar apologies to their indigenous people.
There are many others that are unlikely to ever get an
apology.
Russia will probably never apologise for its actions in
Chechnya, and the Chinese government are highly unlikely
to ever recognize the ethical cleansing during the Cultural
Revolution.
The day Israel and Palestine recognize each other’s suffering
and wrong doings, the conflict can finally see an end. The
same goes for Pakistan and India.
However, if the Serbian apology proves to be a positive step
for talks about future EU membership, Turkey might consider
apologizing for the genocide of Armenians.
FUTURE FOR SERBIA
Regardless whether the apology is sincere, or just a political
manoeuvre, Serbia has recognised that it is responsible for the
death of thousands of civilians/innocent men. No longer can
anyone claim that the massacre never took place.
As Jelena Kosovac , a retired nurse told Swedish Radio in
Belgrade, “It is a necessity for the people of Serbia to know
about this.” She said that, in particular, young people must
learn what really happened during the war.
Halfhearted apologies such as this rarely have any significant
effect on those the apology is directed towards, and its affect
on diplomatic relations with neighboring countries will
probably not be of great importance.
There is still a long way to go. First the country must deal
with its internal differences over the issue and then take
further 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 must
confront its past.
“Right actions in the future are the best apologies for
bad actions in the past.” Righteous actions are a rarity in the
political game – let us hope this is more than that.

For more information about the prosecutions visit The Hague’s webpage; www.haguejusticeportal.net

International Politics 29
By Lidia A. Okorokova
A little more than 6 years after the last metro bombings
in Moscow, two suicide attacks killed and injured dozens of
people on March 29th , 2010.
The explosions in the metro in the Russian capital of
Moscow killed 39 people. 88 people were hospitalised with
severe injuries.
The first suicide bomber boarded a metro car in the Luby-
anka station in central Moscow at 7:50 a.m., the second ex-
plosion happened forty minutes later at Park Kultury, also
in the city centre.
It is believed that bombs contained 6 kg of TNT in to-
tal and were filled with pieces of metal for more damage.
Those who carried out the attacks have been identified by
the law enforcement bodies using CCTV snapshots and
body parts found at the scene as two young women of a
“Caucasus” origin.
On the 1st of April, the police released CCTV snapshots
of the attackers and those involved in the explosions three
days earlier.
The CCTV snapshots show that the terrorists were accom-
panied by two men and a woman as they walked towards
the metro cars in both stations. The possible accomplices
then disappeared from the scene of crime. The police found
the place where the bombs were prepared, an apartment
in one of the suburbs of Moscow. The law enforcement au-
 The March bombings brought back memories of 2004,
when a male suicide bomber blew himself up in a metro car
between Avtozavodskaya and Paveletskaya stations killing 41
people on February 6 2004. In August that same year, a female
bomber killed 10 people outside a Rizhskaya metro station.
The recent attack has many similarities, not just in the death
toll of 39 people dead compared with 41 in February 2004, but
also in the way the bombings were carried out.
Doku Umarov, a militant leader in the North Caucuses took
responsibility for the attacks in a video message left at one
of the separatists’ websites. He said that the bombing was a
response to a special forces’ operation against his “people” on
February 11, 2010.
Doku Umarov is the self-proclaimed leader of the Cauca-
sus Emirate. According to Russian authorities, he served two
prison sentences, one for a felony, and one for murder, before
joining the separatist group in Chechnya, in the early 90s.
Umarov threatened Russian authorities that there would
be more attacks carried out in the future. The Federal Security
Service, alongside with law enforcement authorities and some
Russian politicians, believe that Umarov is just trying to pro-
mote himself as a danger to Russia.
Russian President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin want
Umarov dead. Umarov commented on this in an interview on
the rebels’ website, saying ‘I would like to answer this question
for both well-wishers and ill-wishers. To ill-wishers I say : wipe
your snot!’
A writer at one of the separatists’ websites writes in his article
that “the bombings of the metro and the blast of the elite train
(Nevsky Express blast last year) are, in fact, a public declaration
thorities and the Federal Security Service have announced a
of dissatisfaction with Putin’s regime, and they destroy the Pu-
federal hunt for these men.
tin myth - the myth of omnipotence, stability and order”.
One of the eyewitnesses said “I was passing Park Kultury
These two facts raise more questions about who and why
station an hour after the attacks. I have never seen so many
carried out the 2010 bombings.
policemen. They worked very well, told us not to worry and
The ombudsman for Human rights in Chechnya warned that
use a bus or trams instead”.
the blasts in metro might cause a wave of ethnic hatred against
There were people who gained from the attacks: taxi-driv-
“Caucasian looking people” across Russia.
ers. Many people were scared to go back to the stations and
The media reported cases where people were attacked be-
use metro, so they turned to the cabs. The taxi drivers hiked
cause of their appearance by Russians angered by the bomb-
fares by ten to twenty times the normal price and thus prof-
ings in Moscow.
ited from this tragedy.
Russia’s Islamic Cultural Center offered a reward of roughly
“I just couldn’t come back there. So I decided to go by taxi.
€23,000 for any information on those who carried out the
I stopped a private taxi and asked what the fee was. The taxi
blasts in Moscow metro.
driver demanded a charge five times greater than normal to
Many media outlets reported a growing “bond between Rus-
get to my workplace” says another eyewitness of the Moscow
sians” caused by the attacks. There are pictures of civilians
blasts.
bringing flowers and candles to the stations of Lubyanka and
The reaction of the government’s officials to the attacks was
Park Kultury posted and printed in the media.
harsh.
It is yet too early to say whether those responsible for the
Prime-minister Vladimir Putin promised a few hours after
bombings are indeed the North Caucuses militants or some-
the attacks “we will find and eliminate everyone involved in
one else. The law enforcement forces and the Federal Security
this crime” and that the terrorists “will be dragged out of the
service are just entering the first phase of the investigation. In
sewers”, RIA-Novosti reported.
reality, it can take up to three years for the Russian authorities
President Dmitry Medvedev commented on the tragedy
to fully carry out an investigation of this magnitude.
only four days later, saying that “there should be zero-toler-
ance on terrorists’ accomplices”.

International Politics 31
 INCINERATION

By Jenny Kober

The planned waste incineration plant in Dublin Harbour could

be a danger for citizens and environment as it is using outdated
technologies that are proven to promote both illness and climate
change.
An incineration plant, owned by a private-public partnership
of the American company Covanta Energy, the Danish firm DONG
and Dublin City Council, is proposed for Ringsend, a densely
populated suburb in Dublin. Research shows that the project could
have a harmful effect on citizens, flora and fauna in the immediate
surroundings and throughout the city.
The operation of waste incinerators can lead to harmful
emissions on a high scale. According to the planning permission
of the Dublin Waste to Energy Project (DWE), as the new business
is called, the Poolbeg plant will release such substances on a daily
basis. As the plant is intended to be operated 24/7/365, this could
mean constant dust, emissions and noise pollution.
Today, the construction is still pending after its inception in
1996, as it is opposed by the local citizen group Combined
Residents Against Incineration ( CRAI) and being investigated by
the Irish Competition Agency following a formal complaint by the
independent waste companies Green Star and Panda, accusing
DWE of anti-competitive behaviour.
Dublin’s Waste Management has so far heavily relied on landfills
and the incinerator is promised to put a bigger emphasis on
renewable energy creation through waste combustion. This,

32 Climate

The planned waste
incineration plant
in Dublin Harbour
could be a danger
for citizens and environment
as it is using
outdated technologies
that are proven to
promote both illness
and
climate change.
according to Covanta Energy, offers the most sustainable and
responsible 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 countryside
surrounds.
Research shows that the environmental impact of incineration
plants does not end with fly ash and bottom ash. Miah M. Adel
from the University of Arkansas is more concerned with the
chemical agents produced as exhaust fallout. Her case study
on the chemical hazards produced by incineration reveals
the effect of compounds of carbon monoxide, sulphur and
dioxin.
During the waste combustion process, carbon monoxide is
released into the air. When inhaled, it reduces the oxygen level
in the blood, which can cause nausea, and drowsiness. In high
concentration it can lead to death.
According to DWE’s waste licence, the Poolbeg incinerator
will release an average of 15,696 kg of carbon monoxide (CO)
every year. This figure excludes a maximum of 1728 kg CO
emitted by emergency diesel exhaust points. As sulphur is
emitted, it combines with the air and forms acid rain, causing
plant deformation and destruction. When it enters the sea, it
affects 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 be
placed on the reduction of waste rather than incineration.
“ We would end up encouraging the citizens of Dublin to
generate waste to feed to an incinerator. What we should be
doing is pushing out the ways how to reduce waste.”
In relation to the safety of the emissions, he said “ While
you monitor the stacks to measure dioxin disposal, you have
to shut down the forces to ensure that the scrubbers are
working properly to be tested.” This condition can not be
applied to an incineration plant running 24/7 which could
lead to dangerous emission levels that remain undetected.“
In a city environment of 1.2 million people, we could have an
incinerator that would be discharging unsafe levels of dioxin
for a number of weeks before it could be discovered. This could
be seriously detrimental to people’s health”.
Despite the widespread concern that the potential
environmental impact would be negative, the Environmental
Planning Agency (EPA) granted DWE permission to go
ahead with the project. The approval was supported by an
independent environmental impact study carried out by the
Consultancy within Engineering, Environmental Science and
Economics (COWI) from May 2007 to April 2008 on behalf
of Dublin City Council. COWI laid high emphasis on the
additional generation of thermal heat and the connection
of the incinerator to a district heating network. Only then,
as stated by the report, the sustainability of waste burning
compared to other options such as bio gasification can be
recognisable. Indeed, according to DWE, a heating network
could provide hot water for 60.000 costumers and electricity
for an additional 50.000 homes. This is coherent with The
Waste Management Acts 1996 to 2003 and the location of the
plant ensures that there are enough potential users available
in Dublin. However, currently there are no concrete plans for
an energy generation scheme and it is not included in the
planning permission granted by the EPA.
Maurice Bryan, qualified engineer and technical advisor to
Citizens Against Incineration, which has been campaigning
against the Poolbeg project for years, is especially concerned
about the risk of accidents. According to Mr Bryan, if a waste
fire occurred during transit or while waste was deposited, the
health implications for citizens would be particularly severe. “
The smoke that comes out of a waste fire has not been filtered
and is very hazardous. “
Regarding the joint ownership by Dublin City Council and
Covanta, Mr Bryan said “ The whole thing has been reverse
engineered. And the householder is going to pay for the
shareholder. That is wrong. Waste collection should be a
service.I am getting more and more annoyed with the way the
Council is treating local people.”
Joel Schwartz, Associate Professor for Environmental
Epidemiology at Harvard University, who studied the effects
of air pollution on human health for almost 60 years, has
found evidence to support the fact that air pollution increases
the total death rates in a community as well as the amount
of deaths from diseases related to the respiratory tract. This
includes lung and throat cancer, asthma and colic.
This kind of pollution is created by incinerators. The emissions
produced, even by filtered waste burning, are a great concern
in the case of Dublin Harbour, as the climate conditions lead
to a high concentration on the ground level. This is due to the
weather 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 means
that the constant advancement of technologies to reduce
toxic emissions by waste incineration has no effect on the
health impact it involves. It found that with the amount of
emissions, the human body’s ability to deal with toxins has
decreased also.
An incinerator in Ringsend, intended to solve Dublin’s waste
problems ten years ago, is neither a safe, nor a sustainable way
to do so, as recent research and case studies have proven. The
project could mean an easy way out for our consumer society,
but will come at a high price both for society and environment
in the future.
BOLIVIA
Leaving San Pedro de Atacama in a minivan, our tour
group were greeted by the Chilean customs after a
few hours of driving. On leaving Chile, we were given
a moment to take a few last pictures of the stunning
desert scenery before being transferred into 4x4’
Jeeps. We then entered a sort of “no man’s land” as it
was two hours of driving before we met the Bolivian officials.
After getting our passport’s stamped we were given plenty
of time to absorb the magnificent scenery that surrounded
us. Flamingos dipped their feet in the bright turquoise lagoon
which nestled in a backdrop of red mountains and a sharp
blue sky. In front of the lagoon was a sign, Bolivia - Esta es mi
tierra...¡Bienvenidos! (Bolivia - This is my land...Welcome!).
We moved on again through the desert, constantly asking our
driver to stop so we could take photos. We eventually arrived at
some thermal springs where we could have a dip followed by
a bite to eat. The restaurant was the only sign of civilisation for
miles.
After eating, we were brought to a geyser field and then to
By Sean Gildea
the Laguna Colorada (red lagoon) where even more flamingos
dipped their feet. After a long day we were driven to the
mountain hut that would provide accommodation for the night.
It was primitive and cold, but worth it - if only for the spectacular
night-sky, the result of high altitude and absolute isolation.
The next day was a long one that pushed our Jeep to its very
limits, taking on steep sand-dunes while avoiding large boulders
and sometimes even trapped vehicles. Our journey would
take us through Bolivia’s answer to the Grand Canyon, with its
deep valleys and fabulous rock formations. After a few hours of
exploring our surroundings, we met back up with our driver to
continue the road ahead. Our day ended at the edge of Salar de
Uyuni, the world’s largest salt flats.
The flats are a 10,000 km2 stretch of nothingness. Most of the
time, there was nothing to be seen in any direction, except salt.
That was until we reached the cactus island that we gradually
saw grow bigger over the horizon . This dark cactus covered
island provided a stunning contrast to the ghost-white salt flats
that surrounded it.
 Most of the time,
there was nothing
to be seen in any
direction, except
salt.
After exploring the island it was photo time. Because there
are no features in the salt flats, it results in a lack of perspective
and distance when taking photographs. This turned most
of the tourists into master choreographers. People were
determined to manipulate their photos, making it look like
the “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 of
the flats. Even the furniture inside was made from salt.
After a tour of the hotel, we were told that our journey
was nearing its end. We were briefly shown the process of salt
cultivation, before getting into the Jeep for the last time, to
be dropped in the tourist-trap town of Uyuni. With nothing
but street vendors and restaurants, it was not worth hanging
around. From there it would be a nightmare bus to La Paz, but
that’s another story in itself.
My trip to Bolivia happened as somewhat of a fluke. Sitting
in a travel agent’s office in Buenos Aires, planning on travelling
to Patagonia, I saw a picture of the Bolivian salt flats and
thought, “I have to go there”! I then booked myself a package
trip that would take me to Salta in Northern Argentina, San
Pedro de Atacama in Chile’s desert and finally leave me in
Bolivia’s tourist town of Uyuni.
In between all this, I witnessed eruptions in the world’s
highest geyser field and trudged though sandstorms in the
world’s driest desert – but it was Bolivia that would capture
my heart with its spectacular Andean landscapes.

Travel 35

By David Claxton
Post Metal has seen an explosion in popularity, recognition
and respect in recent years. Neurosis and Godflesh can claim
to be early practitioners of the genre, while Isis reinvented and
revived it to make it what it is today. Rinoa’s debut album, An
Age Among Them, is a mesmerising addition to Post Metal’s
back catalogue of classic albums.
The Essex five-piece first troubled the music world with their
2008 EP, Eyes Of Sound. It promised much, but also revealed a
band still looking for it’s own, distinctive sound. Other titans of
Post Metal seemed to weigh too heavily on their music.
This CD is not an abrupt departure from the genre. All the el-
ements which make up this field of music can be found in this
album. Shoe-gazing atmospheres, shredding vocals and sud-
den tempo changes are all here. Thankfully though, there are
some amazing tracks which hint at a progression to a sound
very much of their own making.
Only one song clocks in below the six minute mark, meaning
that this album is not for everyone. Another problem to reach-
ing a bigger audience for the band is that towards the end of
the CD some songs blend into others. This is a minor criticism
RIONA
though. The front end of the album is loaded with killer tracks
that this is barely noticeable.
Opener, “Past Maidens”, lulls the listener in with an impos-
ing start. It begins with ambient sounds that are eventually
replaced by colossal riffs and bleedingly heavy vocals. It is
impressive to say the least. This is followed by “This Land Will
Hold Their Wings”. This song is a stomper. The riffs get heavier,
the vocals become more strained, the soundscape explodes to
cover the listener in an all encompassing sound that is hard for
any band to match. The standout track of the album is “Fires In
The Distant North”. Halfway through the track, the tempo sud-
denly collapses to a crawl, a gentle ambience starts to build
up. The drums guide the track to a monster and epic finish. The
riff is devastatingly beautiful and soaks itself into the listener’s
ear. The track reveals a band using the conventions of their
genre but expanding breathlessly out of it’s confines.
Overall, this is a stunning debut which will be hard for Rinoa
to better on subsequent efforts. Move over Isis, a new star is
in town.

Fusion magazine must apologise to the Deftones. Their
new album Diamond Eyes was scheduled for release in
May, but we managed to get our eager mitts on it well
ahead of it’s circulation. Chino and the boys, we’re sorry!
The album is the band’s first without talismanic bassist
Chi Cheng who suffered horrific injuries after a car crash
in 2008, which left him in a coma for many months. The
band planned to release it’s six album, Eros before this
tragedy happened. The Sacramento rockers went on tour
to cover the costs of Cheng’s medical expenses with Sergio
Vega filling in for the fallen bassist. The album was put on
indefinite hold.
Diamond Eyes was created out of this turmoil, with
Vega now a fully fledged member of the band. The album
reunites the band with producer Terry Date, who helped to
craft much of their earlier work.
The CD is a classic piece of Deftones music. All the
elements that made them famous are present. The music
has 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 and
By David Claxton
softer sound. This is not a bad thing though.
The album is solid and has some exceptionally memorable
songs, but overall it just can’t seem to captivate the listener
over it’s forty minutes. Standout track is first single, “Rocket
Skates”. It showcases what the Deftones do best. It is a
heavy, rhythmic blast of metal that kicks off immediately
and never lets up in intensity. “CMND/CNTRL” is another
slab of vintage metal from the band. Abe Cunningham’s
drums provide a thundering sound to the track. There are
two songs that layout the new sound employed on this
CD. “Beauty School” is a surprising, but excellent song. It’s
riff is easy on the ear and builds up into a beautiful chorus
that shows lead man Chino Moreno can still carry a tune.
Meanwhile “Prince” and “976-EVIL” are the album’s low
points. Both songs fail to excite. Their choruses are weak
and their sounds are strikingly generic.
While Diamond Eyes does not disappoint, it fails to live
up to past glories. Importantly though, it shows a band
exploring a different sound and a willing to experiment. I
think Chi would be proud.
Entertainment 37
Five piece Dublin
indie band
The Chapters are no
longer something of a
best kept secret. Since
the release of their
critically acclaimed
debut album,‘Perfect
Stranger’, the band
have been busy as
ever touring and
promoting their music,
described by Hot Where did you get the name ‘The Chapters’?
Press as Ross came up with the name while walking down Abbey St. He
“irresistibly catchy” saw Chapter house and thought hmmmm ‘The Chapters’
and How did the band form?
“enormously Ross and Simon have known each other since they were 4 years
ambitious”. old. I met Simon and Ross through a school friend and so we
Catch The Chapters started a 3 piece band... Eventually we needed a Drummer and
play live at The Button a Bass player. Ross met Ciaran (Drummer) and Murph (Bass) at a
Factory on April 23rd, party and so the rest was history!
‘Perfect Stranger’ is How would you describe your sound?
available for download Old friends at a celebration, Rumours-era Fleetwood Mac singing
from iTunes now. The at a party hosted by Talking Heads, gate crashed by The Cars, throw
band’s MySpace in a bit of Phoenix and a wink to The Band and you have the idea.
page is available at
www.myspace.com/
Who are your major influences?
Previous question!
thechaptersofficial or
check out their website What can people expect from your debut album
with news, gig dates ‘Perfect Stranger’?
and discography at A Pop Rock Album with charm, sincerity and substance. We hope
www.thechapters.com that people listen to it once and then want to listen it all again.

By Sarah-Louise Colivet
How have things been since
releasing your album?
Things have been really great.. We could
never predict how things would go.. It
took us a long time to get the album out
but we knew we wanted to do it right..
From production, song writing and the
business end of things we’re always
learning.. Like anything, you will always
make decisions that shape certain
results. I think the release of the album
has taught us a lot about ourselves and
about the Industry.. It has also taught
us to be patient.. We’ve done some
great gigs.. Our friends and label mates
The Coronas have been such a great
support.. We’ve done many tours with
them now.. Danny is always mentioning
us and spreading the word out there
about us.. We couldnt have hoped for
a better ambassador for the Irish music
scene to give us such support.. However,
the most important thing we’ve realized
is that there are countries outside of
Ireland who like our music and for us
that is where the future is.
Is there a general theme throughout
your album?
It’s hard to say what themes are in
the album.. Before we signed with 3ú
Records we had a previous deal fall
apart.. A lot of the album was written
during and after negotiations.. I would
be lying if I didn’t say that the recession
did not inspire us.. However, a lot of
the songs we write are about made up
characters! A lot of it would be about
our own lives but we don’t like to be so
obvious so we make up these imaginary
characters to shake things up.. Musically,
there is a general 80’s theme throughout
the album but we made sure that every
song had a hook, good melody and
catchy chorus!
Do you prefer working in studio or
playing to a live audience?
It’s hard to say... There is nothing better
than playing live in front of a crowd
who know your Music and who are
there for you... However, I thoroughly
enjoyed recording Perfect Stranger.
Our producer, Ciaran Bradshaw is a very
good friend of ours.. So we all got on
so well. It was easy to work with him
but he pushed us to our limits! Which
made the Studio exciting.. For ‘Perfect
Stranger’ we wanted to capture our live
sound on record so most of the album
is recorded live altogether.. So to answer
your question I like to play live in front of
an Audience while being recorded!!! HA
How has the band spent the past
six months?
Well besides promoting our album
we’ve been touring a shit load!
We’ve been doing a college tour, venues
tour, a sold-out London showcase and
a 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 music
scene in Ireland/ Dublin?
With a country steep with such great
cultural history and some world
renowned musical icons, the scene in
Ireland is dying!
I only realized how bad the Irish music
scene was when I played shows in other
countries!!! 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 Arts
Council, alternative music will never be
pushed here like it is in other countries..
The opportunities are far smaller here
than in other countries... In order to be
a successful act you need to get your
singles played on radio! There are only a
handful of Radio Stations over here who
I respect for the music they play.. 80% of
the music played on radio is determined
by Programme Directors, major record
labels and big PR Companies... It is hard
to earn a living from music in Ireland
as it is such a small country.. If there
was more funding and support from
the government for alternative music,
Ireland could have one of the best music
scenes in the world...
What has been your favourite
venue played in to date?
It has to be The Olympia
Tell me about the creative process
of your music .
When we started out as a 5 piece,
we all agreed that everything would
be split equally... This goes for song
writing too... One of us might bring an
idea or a complete song to rehearsals
but then we all jam the song together
and eventually write our parts for the
song. Some changes might occur in this
process but we work very well like this...
Sometimes a song will be written in 10
minutes, other times not so quickly! But
for us, the songs are the most important
thing about The Chapters. So we really
focus on this aspect of the band...
How has your music evolved since
you first began playing together?
We have searched for quite a while
to find a defined sound. We’ve gone
through many musical styles to get to
where we are now... A lot of it has to do
with the music we listen to and what
our parents played for us while growing
up... But I think for me, as long as we’re
constantly improving and pushing
ourselves as musicians and song writers
I’m happy!
Do you think it will continue to
evolve or will you stick to your
current sound?
I think it’s important for a band to keep
things fresh for their own heads and
for others... There is nothing worse
than hearing a song from an artist
which sounds exactly like other songs
of theirs... For us, Perfect Stranger was
written deliberately as a pop album...
We don’t deny this... However, we have
already written 10 or so tracks for album
2... I can safely say that we’re very excited
about the songs and the sounds that
we’re getting... We hope to push some
boundaries with the next album!
What do you consider your biggest
challenge as a band so far?
Our biggest challenge as a band was
when we had a record deal fall through
in the 11th Hour... It was heartbreaking
but for some reason we dealt with it
very well... I remember when we initially
approached by the label and been told
that we’d have the world in our hands
etc... But one thing we did agree on
was that if this deal fell through that we
will continue to work hard and get the
album out... However, within 2 weeks of
the deal falling through, I had a few chats
with Danny O’Reilly of The Coronas and
before we knew it we were signed to the
same label!
What is your ultimate goal as a
band?
To see the world and play to as many
people as possible with our music
What advice would you give to
somebody who wanted to form a
band now?
Rehearse, write, patience, knowledge of
the industry, firm head on your shoulders
and never quit even when you feel you
can go no longer!
What has been the major highlight
for The Chapters so far?
Playing four sold-out shows in Italy
without ever releasing anything over
there! Also,supporting Neil Young.
Any last words...?
I think I’ve said enough!
Entertainment 39

After gracing the Academy as a relatively unknown act back in
November last year, Marina And The Diamonds will return to Dublin
to play Tripod in May.
Hailed as the ‘new Gwen Stefani’, with musical influences of Kate
Bush, one could draw the conclusion that Marina And The Diamonds’
recent debut album ‘The Family Jewels’ is…well, something of a
kook-fest.
Not far wrong. From her squawk of “Oh my Gawd, you look just like
Shakira” on latest single ‘Hollywood’, to the giggling critters, cuckoos
and beastly shrieks which feature on ‘Mowgli’s Road’, to the theatrics
of ‘Hermit the Frog’, this album showcases pop with a difference.
Frequently mistaken for a band, Marina And The Diamonds
consists solely of 24-year-old Marina Lambrini Diamandis, born
in Abergavenny, Wales, to a Greek father and Welsh mother. Her
surname means ‘diamond’ in Greek and she chose her stage name
because she is Marina and her fans are ‘The Diamonds’.
Although music is something she’s wanted to do since the age of
fourteen, Diamandis has said she was never really a musician or a
singer; she just worked on her craft for four years.
Diamandis moved to London, doing everything she could to get
into the music industry; even going to the lengths of dressing up as
a guy to audition for a reggae boy band: “It was to the extreme!” she
laughs. “I don’t know where my mind was! I was extremely driven at
the time!”
Ultimately, Diamandis did things on her own; her songs got better,
she started to play the keyboard and found her own sound. “I started
to gig, even though I was really bad!” she recalls.
She then started to record and produce her own material on a
small computer.
Diamandis says her first demos were produced for about £500 after
she found a producer on a site similar to Gumtree. It seems even back
then, people had opinions on what Diamandis should sound like: “He
(the producer) had his own vision for what I should sound like; it was
some kind of like, pop-emo sound!”
Following her own path paid off; Diamandis was eventually signed
to Warner Records in October 2008.
Diamandis describes ‘The Family Jewels’ as having “a real sense of
drama, cos I am a drama-queen by nature!” She says the album is
diverse with not really one sound; there are the poppy, commercial
By Carla Danielle
tracks like ‘Oh No!’, which is the musical equivalent of a mega caffeine
hit. 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 offers
something different to the formulaic combination of uptempo-
ballad-filler song collections which are deemed “albums” and seem
to 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 how
she feels about herself.
Some of the lyrical phrasing is smirk-inducing (in a good way);
particularly on ‘Girls’, when Diamandis acknowledges the pitfalls
of being a girl and how she feels about other girls: “Look like a girl
but I think like a guy / Not ladylike to behave like a slime”. Add to
this a ridiculously catchy melody and some thoughtful production
flourishes and the result is an album which is refreshingly different
and somehow rather addictive.
Also refreshing is Diamandis’ down to earth attitude; she has said
that she doesn’t follow fashion trends but gets what she likes out of
charity shops. Although it’s not something that weighs too heavily
on 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 (image
and style) when I wake up in the morning, but there are days when
I’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 that
of Gwen Stefani: “I think that’s the best comparison that’s been drawn
so far. I think she’s a really good designer. She’s always showcased
good clothes, so it’s good.”
Marina And The Diamonds is definitely an act who will polarise
opinion. Love her or hate her, she is an artist who fills a gap in the
market for pop music with a little more depth, a little more…dare I
say it – sparkle.
Backing up an obvious determination is her confidence in herself
and her own convictions: “I never try to sound like anyone, or try to
copy a genre. If you’re as honest as you can be with yourself and do
something that you think sounds good, that you love and that you
really feel inside; I don’t think you can go wrong.”
Bling Bling.

HAS THE WORLD GONE
Lady Gaga insists her new music video in which she collabo-
rates with fellow chart-topping diva Beyonce is "groundbreak-
ing". The singer says that despite all those backlashes the Jonas
Akerlund directed clip is a "9-minute visual extravaganza”. In
the video Lady Gaga and Beyonce are scantily dressed, highly
sexualized mass murderers with a devious plan to poison an
array of customers in a diner in a secluded area. It shows the
Just Dance diva being taken into a women-only prison and in-
cludes scenes of nudity, swearing, a lesbian kiss and simulated
murder. Gaga even refers to rumours she has both male and
female sex organs - by pixelating her genitalia in the raunchy
footage. The nine-and-a-half minute long promo has caused a
stir online, attracting more than 12 million views in the three
days after it debuted on YouTube.com.
Lady Gaga has defended the music video, saying: "There
are transsexual women and transgender women and sud-
denly it becomes poisonous and something else because
there are some people in this world that believe being gay is a
choice," she explained. "It's not a choice, we're born this way."
But despite the backlash over the promo - Gaga is pleased she
touched on subjects of homosexuality and is adamant the
video will be remembered for a long time.
"That's why for me this video is groundbreaking because it
has one foot in the art community and one foot in the com-
By Laura Mullet
mercial world," she added. "I told Beyonce this after it aired,
you'll see this video is not just great now but six months from
now what this video will mean. Hearing people say the vid-
eo is sadomasochistic or that the video promotes murder for
young people, it's my personal belief that the video is getting
so much attention, not because of those themes because I've
done those themes before, haven't I?" she stated before fur-
ther noting on what makes people slamming the video. "I've
done those themes in many of my videos but it's because it's
with Beyonce and it's because there are so many homosexual
themes."
“Telephone” has people talking. But isn’t that exactly what
this eccentric artist wants? Her music videos, provocative
costumes and peculiar behaviour result in many outraged re-
sponses, 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 stages
of making a new video, for which she has enlisted famed pho-
tographer Steven Klein. Gaga could be described as a go-go-
dancing diva who writes her own disco-electronica pop songs
such as her upcoming single ‘Alejandro’.
‘Alejandro’ is upbeat, exciting and surely will cause uproar as
“Telephone” has ensued.
Entertainment 41
THE
DOWNLOAD
FESTIVAL
By David Murphy
 If you’re looking for a hard rocking alternative to the Oxegen’s
and Electric Picnic’s of this world, how about heading over to
the true spiritual home of rock, Donington Park, for a three
day festival of true Rock N’ Roll. Download returns for an eighth
year, held over the weekend of Friday 11th to Sunday 13th
June 2010. The Download Festival, this year has a capacity of
111,000 (making it the second largest festival in the UK), will
return to Donington Park once again, away from the original
festival site, of the racetrack.
2010 marks the 30th anniversary of Donington Park’s heritage
with rock. From the infamous and legendary “Monsters of
Rock” festival, which began in 1980; to more recently the
epic Download Festival – the site has played host to some
of the world’s greatest rock performances of all time. Many
bands still to this day consider playing at Donington Park as
their ‘defining career moment’. It’s also the 30th anniversary
of arguably AC/DC’s ‘defining career moment’, their definite
release - Back In Black, the Download crowd can surely expect
to be treated with some classic cuts from the album.
MANY
BANDS STILL
TO THIS DAY
CONSIDER
PLAYING AT
DONINGTON
PARK AS
THEIR
‘DEFINING
CAREER
MOMENT’.
Download follows on from the proud legacy of its
predecessor, the Monsters of Rock, which ran from 1980
to 1996. Throughout the festival’s illustrious history, there
were many highlights. AC/DC’s arrival as a mega name by
headlining in 1981. ZZ Top flying the famous ‘Eliminator’ car
over the masses in ‘85. The emotional return of drummer
Rick Allen when Def Leppard played in 1986 – his first UK
show after losing an arm. The enormous gathering for Iron
Maiden in 1988, at the same festival that really kick-started
the momentum which was to make Guns n’ Roses the biggest
band in the world.
They weren’t the only big bands to grace the original
Donington festival, Rainbow, Judas Priest, Scorpions,
Whitesnake, Meat Loaf, Van Halen, Twisted Sister, Saxon, Ozzy
Osbourne, Def Leppard, Motorhead & Kiss among others, have
rocked the masses over the years.
After a gap of seven years - Monsters of Rock was reborn, as
the Download Festival. The Download festival has been going
from strength to strength over the years, with the 2009 festival
being a particular record breaker, with a record 128 bands on
the bill across four stages, and a sold-out crowd of 85,000 in
attendance every day, over the three days.
A veritable who’s who of rock have played the festival since
its inception in 2003, including Kiss, Black Sabbath, Motley
Crue, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Tool, Marilyn Manson, Velvet
Revolver & Faith No More, and it’s fair to say this year’s line-up
doesn’t disappoint.
It could be argued that this year’s three headliners are
the strongest in the festivals history, with the mighty AC/DC
headlining the main stage on the Friday night, followed by
Rage against the Machine Saturday night and the legendary
American hard rockers Aerosmith wrapping up the festival
on 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 Rage
against the Machine.
The support acts are equally strong and include, rocks latest
super-group Them Crooked Vultures featuring Dave Grohl, Josh
Homme and a certain John-Paul Jones. A recently reformed,
Stone Temple Pilots, Aussie retro rockers Wolfmother, along
with Deftones, and seasoned rockers Motorhead, Billy Idol
and metal maestros Megadeth.
The second stage line-up isn’t too shabby either, with Bullet
for my Valentine headlining Friday night, 30 Seconds to Mars
Saturday night, and Stone Sour Sunday night. Other second
stage highlights include Coheed & Cambria, HIM, Airbourne
and L.A. mock rockers Steel Panther, so it seems they’ll be no
shortage of adrenaline fuelled rock n’ roll on both stages.
Music won’t be the only entertainment on offer with
bars running until 2am (Friday to Sunday) they’ll also be an
after-hours campsite Entertainment Zone, which has a café,
beer stall, funfair rides, various shops, and a cinema. Various
markets on site will include clothes, jewellery, massages,
piercing & tattoos, souvenirs and merchandise.
So if you long for something a little heavier and louder, than
your average festival, join your fellow rockers and worship at
the Mecca this June.
Entertainment 43
By Ian Donegan

How’s she cuttin’?

Good (laughs). She’s fine!

You went to art college, do you

have any mad stories about that?
I didn’t spend too long in college, it was mad
enough. We had a couple of mad trips during R.A.G.
week. We went on a college trip to Carlow and got
mad drunk, as you do, and we found a fella there
and we brought him back to Limerick with us! He
woke up in Limerick the following morning like
where the fuck am I!? First year in college is always
good craic.

Yourself and Jon Kenny
practically dominated
Irish comedy in the nine-
ties, why do you think that
was?
I suppose in Ireland, myself and Jon were
touring more than any other comedy act.
I suppose a lot of the guys in the early
nineties were going to England. Comics
tended to go to England after Father Ted
and the whole lot. While myself and Jon
did work over in Edinburgh and London,
Ireland was definitely our main stay. So
I suppose we did kinda dominate it to a
degree.
You obviously have many
memories of touring with
Jon, does anything in par-
ticular stand out?
I remember the early days touring
around with Jon, there was a sense of
anarchy about what we were doing. I
was 18, Jon was 28 so the first couple of
years we were tearin’ up and down the
country in a van, giggin’ everywhere and
anywhere, it was absolutely mad craic
doin’ the kind of gigs where you’d head
up the country and end up stayin’ over
night and then go missing for two or
The film garage was dif-
three days! We had a great time the two
of us.
ferent to your usual gig,
what attracted you to that
What drove you into com- part?
edy? Were you the class Well, the guys approached me when
they had the idea for it and there was
clown? a couple of things that appealed to me.
I was always messin’. I suppose that side
of me came out with Jon and we started
writing some sketches and havin’ a bit of
craic together. Then we started perform-
ing it on stage and that’s how I got into
it. After a couple of years of doing that
every night of the week, it evolved, as
opposed to me making a conscience de-
cision that I wanted to be a comedian.
Has comedy changed
since then?
Comedy’s changed a lot. It’s like any-
thing, it goes through peaks and troughs.
When I started working with Jon in the
late eighties there was practically no
comedy around the country. There were
a few like Niell Tobin and Brendan Grace
who were touring the country and that
was it really. But then came The Inter-
national bar which established this new
stand-up scene in the early nineties. But
there was a time when there were very
few stand up comics touring there coun-
try but now there’s a load of them, so I
think it’s a really healthy time at the mo-
ment.
Do you have a favourite
comedian?
I like Tommy Tiernan’s work, but Dylan
Moran is probably my favourite. I would
have to say Dylan is king of the stand-
up.
You’re obviously a very
hard working man, but
what do you do in your
spare time?
I do work a lot, so when I get time off I
tend to do nothing! If I can sit in a boat
and do a bit of fishing, that suits me per-
fect.
One was the people involved. You had
Lenny Abrahamson directing, Mark O
Halloran writing and Ed Guiney produc-
ing. It was very exciting that they picked
me out for the part, but the fact that I
knew their credentials was even more
exciting.
Did you find the transition
from comedian to actor
difficult?
Garage was a tough film and it was a
tough and challenging part. But I sup-
pose if you want to do something and
do it right and put 100% into it, it’s al-
ways going to be tough no matter what
you do. But that was a draining part, act-
ing is a tough gig.
Do you think you would
be drawn to a serious act-
ing role again?
Yeah, there are a couple of interesting
projects out there at the moment that
I’m looking at. Of course I’d be delighted
to get involved in another film again
when the right one comes along.
What was the inspiration
behind the song ‘Jumbo
Breakfast Roll’?
Well, I was putting a show together at
the time and one character was a build-
er. It reminded me of a sketch I did with
D’unbelievables about a kid in a sweet-
shop. The whole idea being that you’re
in a queue to get something and you
just happened to be behind some kid
with 20p. He’s got every right to stand
there asking “how much are those” try-
ing to get value for his money. It’s hilari-
ous and frustrating. At the same time, I
was writing the show about the builder,
it came back to me. When I went into the
filling-station there were about 50 high-
visibility jackets in front of me with guys
going, gimme two sausages on that, two
puddin’, rasher, yeah, eggs and sauce, I
want red or brown sauce and coffee. It
was the same thing, but with builders.
You’re doing a tour at the
moment, aren’t you?
Yeah, I’m touring with the Hall. Then I’m
gearing up for a TV series we’re shooting
over the summer, Mattie, for RTE. The pi-
lot went out Christmas night and it got a
huge response. RTE were delighted with
it so they’re looking at making a series
out of it. So I’ll be doing that over the
summer.
Entertainment 45

Scepticism can be put on hold until another comic adaptation
comes along, because if you are planning on not watching
this film on the basis of it being offensive, ‘looking shit,’ or
too 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 the
stereotypical pressures a fictional teen faces when trying to
be a superhero. It also has a touch of gritty realism that several
Batman films from the nineties discarded, with damaging
consequences for that series. At the same time, you’ll wet
yourself with laughter at the jokes and skits pulled off in this
film, done in a comical fashion, which suits the origins of the
story just fine.
Aaron Johnson plays the leading role of Dave Lizewski, the
teenager and would-be superhero Kick-Ass. Lizewski comes
to his decision to dress up to fight bad guys out of a personal
speculation that the society around him is not only weak and
afraid of confrontations with hustlers, thugs and criminals, but
that he himself was unnoticeable enough in life. He believes
he can be more than just the average schoolboy who thinks
about sex, comic books and the latest thing on the internet,
much like the modern stereotype of the ‘nerd’ persona. Of
course during the transition of the story, in which Johnson
also provides a first-person narration, his decision is pitted
against its consequences, as he faces the dangers of the local
New York criminals who have less of a problem when it comes
to stabbing, shooting and beating the head off of Kick-Ass.
By Karl English
Despite all of that drama, there are qualities of heroism
and humanity that are better presented by his like-minded
counterparts. The memorable return of Christopher Mintz-
Plasse as Chris D’Amico/Red Mist, provides to an audience the
contrast 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, especially
as the irony is they’re equally bad at the job.
The real action, however, lies with Mindy Macready, otherwise
known as Hit Girl, who is played by young Chloe Grace Moretz.
Summarily, the best superhero moments are all hers; she’s
always got the best lines comprised of swear words. Most kills
in the film are tagged by her in a mix of brutality, acrobatics,
gunfights and cheerful fast-paced music. What is otherwise
presented by her character is that the justifiable cause of her
actions is ironically shown in the relationship between her and
her father, Damon Macready, aptly named the Big Daddy, who
is driven by his past life to end all that is corrupt in this city. So
it’s Nicholas Cage throwing himself into the thick of a battle
with mobsters, including his daughter as a partner, and this
time he looks a little like Batman.
Regardless of cast and plot concepts, the usual stereotypes
of 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 these
provide an amusing spin and slice of life to complement the
action. It’s pretty simple to list this down as a once-off watch,
but if you’re planning on categorising this along with the
woeful films you’d never watch again, and think that other
modern sensationalised films are either deeply flawed or
actually terrible, I urge you to think again.

Republic 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 to
date, 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 Tottenham
at 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 num-
ber 22 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 then
go training. After training then it could be off to the gym for
weights or core training.
If you were not a footballer, what career do you think you
would have followed?
I probably would have gone into university studying business
studies or economics, economics being my favourite subject
at school.
Who is your all time favourite sportsman?
Paulo Maldini, for playing his entire career at the highest level
at one of the most famous clubs in world football as well as
being very successful for his country.
The World Cup is nearly upon us, I’m sure you feel disap-
pointed that Ireland won’t be there. Going back to that
all important qualifying match against France last No-
vember, what were your feelings regarding Tierre Henry’s
hand ball?
My immediate reaction was anger, when you see the replays
and what he did to help france score the goal that sent them
to the world cup. As well as being angry with Henry I was more
angry with the officials who failed to spot the hand ball espe-
cially the referees assistant who had a clear view of the inci-
dent. We have to move on now and forget about the world
cup and look forward to qualifying for the Euros in 2012.
So, do you think football needs to introduce a playback
system, similar to that in Rugby, when a question arises
over 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?
Spain
Who would you like to win the World Cup this summer?
Spain or Brazil
JOHN
O’SHEA By Sinead Nolan
What do you think you’ll do when you retire from playing
football?
Well at the moment I have started my coaching badges and
that is something that I think I might be interested in when I
finish playing.
Do you ever feel nervous before stepping out onto the
pitch before a big game?
Yes I do feel nervous but its more from the adrenaline pump-
ing and excitement of the game ahead .
Any tips on keeping calm under pressure?
Being prepared before the game starts is key for keeping calm
under pressure for me. Knowing you have trained and pre-
pared and done everything you possible could beforehand to
make sure you do yourself justice and also trusting your ability
to get you out of difficult situations
Do you support a League of Ireland team?
Yes I support Waterford united, they have had a great start to
the league this year and I just hope it continues.
You have countless medals for Manchester United, do you
think you could expect to add any for Ireland?
Well not this summer that’s for sure but who knows in the fu-
ture!!
Do you think you will finish out your career with Man-
chester United or would you like the opportunity to play
with another club?
It would be great if I could but in football you never look too
far ahead and I just take it one season at a time.
If a film was ever made about you, who would you imagine
would play you?
I would like to think a great actor like Daniel Day-Lewis would
play me but it would probably be more likely paddy McGuin-
ness from Max and Paddy!
Sports 47
 WORLD
CU P

It’s that time again when the back pages of English

tabloids are covered with news of David Beckham’s
latest injury while those stars who aren’t injured are
having affairs with team-mates’ spouses. It can only
mean one thing. The World Cup is fast approaching. Few would argue
with the bookies
This particular World Cup is a landmark in itself as it’s the first
time the prestigious event will be held in Africa. Last summer’s
Confederations Cup proved to be a success but it remains to be
seen how South Africa will cope with the hoards of fans from 32
countries worldwide converging on its major cities.
The tragic events of the African Nations Cup in Angola in
judgement in this
January when the coach carrying the Togolese national team was
ambushed, resulting in 2 fatalities, did nothing to enhance the case after the
reputation of African hospitality. Fans and players alike will be
hoping for stricter policing come June to ensure another tragic
event does not occur. FIFA will be doing their best to guarantee
impressive victory
of the Spaniards at
that the tournament is remembered for all the right reasons.
Despite Ireland’s heartbreaking and controversial exit at the
hands of the French, there is still a lot to look forward to, even
for the most pessimistic Irish fan. Surely seven months is long
enough to be bitter about the prospect of watching international Euro 2008.
football.
If the Thierry Henry handball (or ‘Hand of Frog’ incident as
it’s more humorously known as) is still causing sleepless nights,
perhaps angered Irish fans can find some solace in watching a
2010
SOUTH AFRICA
Can the 3 Lions Finally Roar in Africa?
mediocre French team struggle to their impending early exit.
If the recent crushing defeat against Spain in Paris is anything
to go by, this is a strong possibility.
Moving swiftly along from bitter vendettas, the bookmakers
have installed Spain as the pre-tournament favourites. Few
would argue with the bookies judgement in this case after
the impressive victory of the Spaniards at Euro 2008. A lot
will depend on the fitness of Fernando Torres who has been
plagued by injury on the domestic front this season. If he,
Fabregas, Alonso et al. are all fit and firing, the Spanish have a
realistic chance to win the World Cup for the first time.
If this task proves to be elusive yet again, prepare yourself
for an onslaught of the term “perennial underachievers.”
This is a term that football pundits like to use whenever the
Spanish fail in international competitions. Despite being the
most painfully frustrating phrase used in televised sport, I,
for one, can’t begrudge football analysts availing of their sole
opportunity to use a five syllable word.
As with all World Cups, the exploits of the usual suspects will
be heavily scrutinised, from the glamour of the Brazilians, the
colour of the Dutch, the doggedness of the Germans and any
other football stereotypes one can think of.
Closer to home, all eyes will be on the English. After
impressively cantering through their qualifying group, this
was meant to be (as the British media had us believe) the
tournament where the likes of Lampard, Gerrard, Rooney and
Ferdinand finally delivered on the big stage. However, as usual,
things have become complicated as the World Cup looms ever
closer.
Injuries to Ashley Cole, Michael Owen and David Beckham
have dampened confidence while the John Terry-Wayne
Bridge scandal threatens to turn the English dressing room
into a civil war type environment.
By Patrick Savage
England went into the last two World Cups under the reign
of a man who was possibly better suited to a career in public
relations instead of football management.
Their ruthless determination of finding new and imaginative
ways to effectively shoot themselves in the foot in major
international tournaments seems to have no limits and can
only be applauded, for originality if nothing else.
While most of us cheer on our English football heroes
for most of the year during their respective Premier League
and Champions League campaigns, when international
tournaments arrive, our idols seemingly take the form of
evil, dishonest movie villains. We begin to look at them in a
different light. It’s nothing personal against the players or
against England as a country either. It is simply a scientific fact,
nature, if you will.
Statistics prove that approximately 76% of Irish men would
be forced to move to the Antarctic if England won a major
football tournament due to an avalanche of “smug” emanating
from the British media that would simply overpower us into
submission. We would be forced, through excessive airplay, to
learn the lyrics to their tacky World Cup 2010 song, we would
forever be reminded by our favourite players on ‘Match of the
Day’ every Saturday of their “winners medal” and “that famous
night.” 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 current
crop has entertained us immensely for over a decade, both on
and off the pitch.
Expect fireworks, literally. South Africa’s opening ceremonies
are usually fantastic. The football will be spectacular too and
will involve the usual drama, tears, rage, ecstasy and a certain
Mr. Wayne Rooney.
Whatever happens, be sure not to miss it.
Sports 49
By Thomas Sporsheim
On 30 December 1978 West Bromwich
Albion achieved a famous 5-3 victory over
Manchester United at their own ground. Ron
Atkinson remembers this with joy. ‘We had a
fantastic team. I think we were one of the best
teams in Europe at that time. And that was a
fantastic game from us. I think Manchester United’s Man of the
Match that day was the goalkeeper Gary Bailey. Without him
we would surely have won with ten that day’.
The former WBA boss recalls a great time. ‘We came to the
quarterfinals of the UEFA Cup. We beat Arsenal at Highbury
and won at home against Valencia, who had great players like
Kempes in their side’.
He was the last man to
manage Manchester
United. It will be 24
years in November
since he was replaced
by current manager
Sir Alex Ferguson.
Ron Atkinson resigned from his job in ITV as co-commentator
in April 2004 after he was caught making a racist remark live
on air about the Chelsea player Marcel Desailly. Believing the
microphone was switched off, he said, ‘…he (Desailly) is what
is known in some schools as a fucking lazy thick nigger’. It
became impossible for Atkinson to come back to the fold as
an 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 best
strikers in Europe at that time and I also bought Brendon
Batson from Cambrigde to play alongside them. They were
brilliant’.

Never before had an English team
simultaneously fielded three black players.
The Three Degrees, as they were affectionately
referred to, challenged the established racism
of English football and marked a watershed
that allowed a generation of black and coloured
footballers to enter the game.
When Atkinson took charge of Manchester
United in 1981, the club was in a mess. They
needed a lot of new players and Atkinson
decided to bring in 3 or 4 players right away. He
decided to go for his old midfield maestro Bryan
Robson from WBA, for £1.5 m. This was decisive
for United’s future. ‘It was very important that
we got Robson in. But what people seem to
forget is that I also bought in Remi Moses. He
was a great lad and a good player. We needed
and wanted the best players, and I knew that
Robson was maybe the best midfielder in
Europe’.
Bryan Robson was the heartbeat of the club
for more than 12 years. And the game Atkinson
points out as the best game both he and
Robson has been involved in is the European
Cup Winners’ Cup QF 2nd Leg at home to
Barcelona in 1984. That was probably Robson’s
best game in the United-shirt with two goals.
‘It was an unbelievable game’ remembers Ron.
‘I have never been involved in anything like
that. Amazing! I believed before the game that
we could get close to them. We lost 2-0 away
where we did not play well. But they did not
play that well either. We scored an own goal
and Xabi Alonso’s dad, Pichi Alonso scored
a 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 about
our deadballs’.United won the game 3-0 and
got through 3-2 on aggregate to the semi-
finals.
Manchester United struggled to win the
league in Atkinson’s reign at Old Trafford. But
he feels they were close, if injuries hadn’t
stalked his players. ‘We went very close on two
occasions. But when Easter came, I did not
have a big enough squad to challenge for the
title. I lost players like Robson, Paul McGrath
and Arnold Muhren, they were key-players for
us’.
So the FA Cup became the rescue for United.
Atkinson wants to thank two men for the
victory over Brighton in 1983. ‘I owe our keeper
Gary Bailey for that one. But Gordon Smith
should have scored for Brighton’. Smith came
head-to-head with the United-goalkeeper in
the last minute of the second half of extra-
time, but Bailey made a great save.
Kevin Moran became In the 1985 FA Cup-
final against Everton, Kevin Moran became
the first man ever to walk in a cup-final. The
former United-manager thinks that was a bad
decision. ‘Moran should not have been sent off
there. There was no way that Peter Reid had a
clear goalscoring opportunity, even if he said
so, because he could never run 50 yards with
a ball’.
Atkinson’s managerial career has involved
clubs like Cambrigde, WBA, Man.Utd, Sheff
Wed, Aston Villa, Coventry and Nottingham
Forest, and even the Spanish side Athletico
Madrid. He still has a good relationship with
most of them. ‘I have a great relationship with
a lot of clubs in England. Sir Alex at United is
a good friend of mine, and I attend matches
there when I can. I like to go to West Bromwich
and Birmingham to watch games. And I try to
watch some of Villa’s as well’.
Atkinson was co-commentating the
Champions League final in 1999 between
United and Bayern Munich. He remembers
that night with great fondness. ‘It was amazing.
I said when Jancker hit the crossbar after 83
min that ‘that could have been the moment
when United won the European Cup’, and I was
right’.
The former Sheffield Wednesday-manager
says that he was sure Sir Alex was the right
man for the job back in ‘86. ‘I don’t think there
was anyone in the game that could replace
me except Alex. And I was not angry at being
released from the job, that just goes with the
territory of being a manager’.
It is amazing to think that Big Ron was the
last man to manage Manchester United. And
even if Sir Alex Ferguson is getting older, he
is not quitting just yet, according to Atkinson.
‘He still has the drive and determination for the
job. I think he’ll stay for another two years’.
Sports 51
 VANCOUVER
2010
Ireland has always prided itself as a sports mad
country. Sporting events have brought the nation
to a standstill on numerous occasions. One only has
to look back at the fanatical fever that swept the
country during the Italia 90 Football World Cup or
when Ireland won its first rugby union grand slam
in 61 years to see that this is the case. Sport brings
the country together and nothing is embraced
more in this nation than a feel-good story.
However behind this so called obsession lies a
problem. Ireland is remarkably close-minded when
it comes to sport. We love our national games,
Gaelic football and hurling, and take great pride in
them. We are fanatical about football, as witnessed
by the incredible number of English Premier
By James Sullivan
League supporters here, and over the last decade rugby union’s
popularity has multiplied tenfold thanks to the success of the
national team, and the provinces in the Heineken Cup. But take
these sports away and one will realise that this so called national
passion for sport is nothing more than a myth.
Read through the sports section of any newspaper and you
will notice that the big field sports mentioned above dominate
the back pages, leaving very little column inches for the other
sports to fight over. One particular recent sporting event that
was shunned largely by the Irish public was the Vancouver 2010
Olympic Winter Games.
The games provided the global sporting audience with
incredible drama, spectacular entertainment, heart-warming
stories and some phenomenal achievements, all of which went
virtually unnoticed in Ireland.
 Possibly the most courageous story of the games was centred
on Slovenian cross-country skier Petra Majdic. Majdic who was
the pre-race gold medal favourite for the 1.4 kilometre classic
sprint was involved in a horrific accident while warming up for
Behind this
her qualification heat. She skied off course, down a bank, into a
3 metre deep gully where she crashed on rocks and sustained
6 broken ribs along with a punctured lung. After collapsing in
pain following her qualifying heat shortly afterwards she was
so-called
taken to hospital to be x-rayed. She returned later that day
and battled through her quarter final and semi final races, and
then won an astonishing bronze medal in the final, collapsing
at the finish line. She arrived at the medal ceremony the next
obsession
day in a wheelchair and was universally acclaimed for her
incredible bravery in spite of astonishing adversity.
Canadian Joannie Rochette was involved in possibly the
most moving moment of the Olympics. Only two days before
she was due to begin the ladies figure-skating competition, her
lies a
mother died of a heart attack shortly after arriving in Vancouver
to watch her daughter skate. In spite of this tragedy Rochette
vowed to compete in honour of her mother and claimed the
bronze medal. Her tremendous never-say-die attitude despite
problem.
personal heartache was the talk of the sporting world.
The Winter Olympics provides one thing in abundance
– entertainment. From the high speed excitement and
unpredictability of Ski and Snowboard Cross to the absolute
Ireland is
remarkably
mayhem that is Short Track Speed Skating there is rarely a
dull moment. The phenomenal skills displayed by the half
pipe snowboarders (US Superstar Shaun White in particular),
the terrifying velocity of the Luge and Bobsleigh and the

close-minded
spectacular crashes in…well… almost every sport!! The Winter
Olympics simply isn’t something for the faint hearted.
In the summer games if you make a bad mistake you risk
losing a medal. If you do likewise in the Winter Games, you

when it
risk getting severely injured, or possibly even worse, as was
seen by the untimely death of Georgian Nodar Kumaritashvili
following a tragic accident during a luge practice run. To be
a winter Olympian you need to be fearless, have willingness

comes to
to take enormous risks, and to be honest a bit crazy as well.
These guys do things that we, the general public, wouldn’t
even dream of attempting to try. The danger aspect of these
sports deserves massive respect.

One could never write a column on Winter Olympic Games
held in Canada however without mentioning the sport that
is widely regarded as a national obsession among canucks –
Ice Hockey (or Hockey as they prefer to call it). The sport is a
religion there. For many people, it was the only gold medal
that mattered during the games, and until one witnesses this
passion first hand then one can’t even begin to understand
what this game means to them.
On the final day of the Olympic Games I took a trip into
the Woolshed Sports Baa(sic) in Dublin to watch the hockey
final between Canada and their bitter rivals, the USA. What I
experienced that Sunday evening was fanaticism at its brilliant
best. The bar was jam-packed with over 400 Canadians, all
dressed in suitable red attire, faces painted and flags waving.
There was barely an American in sight. The pub had been
taken over by Canadians.
The atmosphere in the Woolshed that night was like no
other I have ever experienced in a pub environment. When
young megastar Sidney Crosby (who is being touted as the
sport.
next Wayne Gretzky) scored the winning goal in overtime to
secure a 3-2 win for Canada, the place erupted like a deafening
volcano, a noise I had never heard in such an enclosed indoor
environment before. The walls were literally shaking, and the
noise of the jubilant devotees didn’t even begin to fade until
about ten minutes later.
The Winter Olympics has brought incredible drama and
excitement, in sports that you don’t get to see very often. The
novelty value alone makes this event essential viewing. I for
one thoroughly enjoyed the 16 days of competition, it’s just a
shame that Ireland is so reluctant to expand its horizons and
witness some of the phenomenal sports the world has to offer.
There is much more to sport than GAA, soccer and rugby.

Sports 53
 Jockey Katie Walsh, sister to record breaking Jockey Ruby
Walsh and daughter of successful horse trainer Ted Walsh
has come a long way since her first win at Gowran Race
Park in 2003. The 25 year old jockey caused a stir with
her two wins out of two rides at Cheltenham this year,
steering the lime light away from her successful brother
Ruby. And boosting morale amongst female jockeys as she
came first and good friend Nina Carberry took second place
to sweeten the victory, the amateur jockey had the best day
of her career to date
“It’s a great boost for female jockeys and it’s great to be able
to do it for them, I was trying to think about it and I think it’s
the only sport where men and women really compete against
one another at the same level.”
Katie made her trip to Cheltenham that week only as a social
occasion and to see her brother compete, and was only told
she would be competing after arriving. In her line of work it is
male dominated, but this does not seem to bother the female
Jockey.
“You don’t get treated like a girl, and you don’t get treated
like a lad either, you get treated as an equal when you’re out
on the track, I don’t want to be treated any other way but as a
rival or an equal.” Insists Katie.
She has been riding since she could walk; choosing a career
in horse racing was her own choice and felt no pressure from
her family to do so.
“I always wanted to be a jockey, I certainly didn’t have to, it
was my own choice and it’s something I love and I’m passionate
about, 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 for
Willie Mullin’s stables for the last few years but it’s events like
Cheltenham which have made her a household name in her
own right, and treats races like it’s just another day not letting
nerves get to her.
“It’s all a bit of a laugh and it’s like any changing room before
a match (the weigh room) we all just talk amongst ourselves
and don’t talk much about the race.”
Katie is under no illusions that she is an amateur and hasn’t
made any decision to turn professional like her brother Ruby
since her recent success.
“I am female and I couldn’t handle the falls that professional
jockeys get day in and day out, I’ve absolutely no interest of
turning professional, there’s only so much room for so many
people at the top, for god sake ruby’s lost a spleen, broke a
shin bone and broke legs and arms, I couldn’t handle them
falls. You’re in a great position as an amateur that you can ride
in 21 professional races and you can pick and choose what you
can ride.”
Katie Walsh is certainly no chip off the block and has certainly
achieved her success in her own right, trotting into the Walsh
family hall of fame.
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