The Print Volume 3, Issue 6

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The official publication of Maynooth Students’ Union

Tuesday 13th December 2011 - Volume 3, Issue 6

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Maynooth Students’ Union stage occupation of local TDs Office AINE KIRWAN

In an attempt to prevent additional education costs for 3rd level students, eight members of the Maynooth Students Union occupied the office of Fine Gael T.D. Anthony Lawlor in Naas on December 2nd.

As part of the ongoing protest against cuts to the maintenance grant and increases planned to be made in the recent budget to the registration fee, Maynooth SU President, Rob Munnelly and seven other members of the Students’ Union took it upon themselves to defend and speak for their students by occupying the T.D. office of Anthony Lawlor in the local town of Naas, Co. Kildare. The occupants believed this to be “the final option” after promises

by T.D.s, including the Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn, had been broken. They pledged that they would not see a rise in any student fees, and subsequently, a deduction to the grant scheme, yet this was a promise that was not to be kept.

The students abruptly entered the office Friday afternoon and stated their business to the colleagues of Anthony Lawlor who were working in the office at the time. In an interview with Kildare TV, Rob Munnelly explained how “they were a little bit spooked but that was all over in ten seconds…we actually shared a cup of tea, had a few jokes, and had a full frank discussion on third level education”, and with that, made themselves at home in their new surroundings. The “Maynooth 8”, as they have been dubbed, came prepared with sleeping bags and enough supplies that would last them a week.

Media attention began on Saturday morning which

created a buzz across the social networking sites.

The students who were occupying the office stayed in touch with the student body and general public by tweeting how many hours they have been there and posting pictures from the Naas office. Anthony Lawlor spoke to the media on Saturday morning explaining that “the last thing I want is to get them in any sort of trouble because something like this could affect their career.” With this, the occupants were reassured that Garda force would not be used and they were consented to continuing their protest.

With the occupation came overwhelming support from the public, both by social networks and personal interaction. The people of Naas were understood to be generally supportive towards the occupation, with some people even dropping by food along with well wishes. The occupants continued to remain positive in the office up to Monday the 5th, awaiting the results of the budget, hoping that the public outcry from the student body had been heard and that the actions from not only Maynooth SU, but unions all around the country had not gone unnoticed.

After the budget released an increase of €250 to the registration fee, and a deduction of the maintenance grant by 12%, the Maynooth SU continued to occupy the office until later being removed by force by the Gardai in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

This was not the only occupation that the country has seen in recent weeks. In Galway, nine students were arrested after they occupied a constituency office. In Dublin City, a number of students briefly

Photo Credit: Daniel Balteanu occupied the Department of Jobs and Enterprise, which a spokesperson for the department stating that “the occupation had lasted ten or fifteen

minutes and ended when the students voluntarily left the building”.

Further Blows to Third Level Education in Budget 2012 CONOR O’BRIEN News Editor

The fears of students nationwide – voiced by a vocal USI – were realised last week at the announcement of Budget 2012, which saw a €250 increase in the student contribution charge.

This will see the cost of attending college grow from €2,000 to €2,250, an increase of 12.5% over the course of just a year. As of 2012, a 3-4 year college course will now cost €750 - €1,000 more that at present, a hefty sum for suffering families.

This is half the €500 hike implemented under last year’s budget – with an identical increase under discussion this term – and a far smaller fraction of the gargantuan sums being recommended for the salvation of a cash-starved university sector, with prominent figures (notably UCC President Dr. Michael Murphy) arguing that fees of up to €5,000 or more may be needed to safeguard the future of Irish third level education in the wake of growing student numbers and inadequate infrastructure.

As such, the €250 rise may seem miniscule, but the USI insists that it still represents a breach of key pre-election pledges by the current coalition – particularly the Labour Party, long noted for its

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enduring support for free education – with much derision being aimed at Minister for Education and Skills Ruairi Quinn.

The Minister remains embroiled in a High Court case against the USI, whose trump card is a much-circulated photograph of Mr. Quinn pledging that no increase in the contribution charge would be registered during his tenure should he be elected. Since the announcement of the budget, USI president Gary Redmond has declared that the government’s reputation now lies “in tatters”.

In addition to the contribution charge, last week’s budget also included a 3% cut in all maintenance grants, a move which could have serious implications for many current and aspiring students, incurring reductions ranging from €9.45 €93.6 depending on the type of grant being availed of.

This bitter blow – to be implemented from January – follows on from the 4% reduction brought to bear under Budget 2011 and could further exclude grant-dependent students from college, with the USI adamant that this will jeopardise the educational aspirations of thousands of young people nationwide.

In a further amendment, the means test for

grant allocation has been altered to include capital assets as well as income.

Aside from the various awarding bodies devoid of centralized control, one of the primary criticisms of previous grant schemes was that they did not take into account the wealth of a candidate’s family in terms of capital assets, thus allowing students who did not necessarily need the grant to afford of it. Evidently, the government wants to eradicate this practice in the New Year, with more students likely to require the nowdepleted grant than ever before.

The outlook is even bleaker for postgraduate students, whose much-needed grants have been axed altogether, forcing future masters/PhD students to fund their studies entirely from their own coffers.

Previously, postgraduate students could avail of grants ranging from €315 - €3,120 depending on income, family size and the distance they live from their college, much like their undergraduate counterparts.

Given the cost of pastgraduate courses, the scrapping of this scheme will have dire consequences for many future graduates seeking to further their education.

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Obama Administration Elevate LGBT Rights as a Foreign Policy Priority KATE PHELAN

Opinion & Comment Editor On Tuesday, December 6th Barack Obama announced that the US will begin what he called “the first U.S. government strategy to combat human rights abuses against gays and lesbians abroad.” His administration have committed to using $3 million in foreign aid to combat affronts to gay rights worldwide such as Uganda’s recent attempts to make homosexuality a death penalty offence. The new policy will also respond harshly to hate crimes of any kind and will attempt to encourage other countries to support LGBT rights to protect sexual minorities.

Speaking about the newly issued presidential memorandum at the United Nations on Tuesday, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said that being gay should never be a crime, openly condemning countries where homosexuality is still considered a criminal offence. In her controversial address, Clinton passionately argued that gay people’s rights should be seen in the same light as rights for women and minorities, and should not be legitimised by cultural or religious considerations. She claimed, “Leadership, by definition, means standing up for the dignity of all citizens and persuading your people to do the same.” It has been suggested that many foreign ambassadors from those countries that still support anti-gay legislation were obviously offended by the sudden and, in their eyes, radical stance the US have adopted on this issue.

The move will also obviously divide opinion

within the US itself, where the Christian right are still a powerful political force. The US has a chequered past in relation to gay rights, which Clinton admitted to in her Geneva address.

Republican Texas governor Rick Perry, who will challenge Obama in the 2012 election, has already spoken out on the new policy, saying that “Promoting special rights for gays in foreign countries is not in America’s interests and not worth a dime of taxpayers’ money.” He also claimed that Obama is effectively “waging war on American traditional values.”

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NEWS 1 FEATURES 6 ENTERTAINMENT & CULTURE 8 OPINION & COMMENT 18 TECHNOLOGY 20 PROCRASINATION 21 SPORTS 22

While those on the far right are wringing their hands over the ‘liberal’ direction Obama seems to be bringing America in, it has been argued by political sceptics that his recent actions are simply an attempt to improve his election chances with his most loyal supporters, the young Democrats.

Within the last year he has also repealed the infamous “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy of the Clinton administration so that openly gay people can freely enter the military, and has stated that he is still forming an opinion on gay marriage, which he formerly did not support.

The sceptics have a valid historic base to support this idea, as previous Democrats like Clinton have used the powerful so-called ‘gay vote’ to swing elections and then hastily backtracked or watered down their views once in office to calm the Conservative backlash. However, the response from the gay community to Tuesday’s developments has reportedly been very positive, and the actions of Hilary Clinton at the UN would certainly suggest that the US have no plans to back down on this issue any time soon.

Editor In Chief: Keith Broni Production Editor: Keith Broni Additional Formatting: Orlaith McCourt (MacWorks) News Editor: Conor O’Brien Features Editor: Grainne Hallinan Entertainments & Culture Editors: Lyndsey Farrell & Christina Murphy Opinion & Comment Editor: Kate Phelan Technology Editor: Shane Kiernan Sports Editor: Conor Phelan Additional Proofing: Angelique Griffith, Rob Munnelly Contributors:

Shane Coffey, Dylan Colley, Aaron Eggington, Dara Folen, Rob Gilmour, Amy Gleeson, Dean Healy, Maeve Kavanagh, Ally Kerr, Aine Kirwan, Ruta Emilija Lankelyte, Sean McLoughlin, Shane McNally, Declan Meenagh, Megan O’Dohery, Meghan O’Dowd, Michael O’Toole, Majella Rogers, Cillian Shields. Mark Tierney, Gary Toibain.

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The potential for life on another planet?

CONOR O’BRIEN News Editor

The hunt for life on other worlds was given yet another major boost recently with the announcement of the discovery of a new, possibly Earth-like world spinning 600 light years away from our own.

It is the first of over 2,000 possible planets discovered by NASA’s Kepler telescope widely believed to be a strong candidate for extraterrestrial life.

Dubbed Kepler-22b, its life-bearing potential lies in its location within the “Goldilocks” zone of its own star – similar to the position occupied by the Earth in our own solar system – which allows liquid water to flow on its surface. And on Earth, wherever there’s liquid water, there’s life.

Typically, planets which are either too close or too far from their sun (such as Mercury and Mars within our solar system) cannot support liquid water, but Kepler 22-b lies the ideal distance from its star to support water, and potentially, living ecosystems similar to those present on Earth.

Aside from Earth, two locations within our solar system identified as the strongest possible candidates for life are Europa and Titan – moons of Jupiter and Titan respectively. Europa is widely hypothesised to harbour an ocean of liquid water deep beneath its frozen surface, while Titan is believed to have lakes

of methane which may support life unlike any on Earth.

But what makes Kepler 22-b so interesting is its apparent similarity in positioning to Earth, which, if it possesses a solid surface, could make it an even

more ideal candidate for life.

A potential visit to Kepler-22b is still some way off though, given that a venture to the far-off planet would take over twenty million years in a space shuttle. Far more powerful interstellar craft will be

needed for a probe to deduce if this intriguing new world really does harbour extraterrestrial life.

Choir and a soloist performer Aoife Smith who has collaborated with Gospel Choir for years and whose voice can still any room. The night was dotted with speeches about hope and was closed by a speech from the CEO of Pieta House, Joan Freeman, and our performance of ‘Happy Day’. Joan commented about the inspirational power of music and the fact that during Christmas time we all seem to take better care of those around us. Hopefully we can

encourage such behavior all year around – after all the people in our lives matter most.

We did Joan proud that night raising 300 euro for Pieta House and now are on the way of breaking our own records for the year’s charity contribution.

If you haven’t heard NUIM Gospel Choir yet, come see us during the Chaplaincy Christmas Coffee Morning this Wednesday (the 14th of December) from 11:30 in the Arts Block. And all

those who are getting an urge to sing their hearts out we rehearse every Wednesday during term time at 7PM in Callan Hall. We take on people with no prior training – everyone can sing given the right environment and we’re here to provide it. We’re non-denominational, and the most fun you’ll ever have!

NUIM Gospel Choir’s Busy Christmas

RUTA EMILIJA LANKELYTE

Most of us can already smell Christmas in the air and NUIM Gospel Choir may be partly to blame for that.

In the past couple of weeks university campus have been flooded with Gospel music. You could hear ‘Stand By Me’ everywhere from the balcony in Chill to the Common Room to that beanbag and fun-filled tent between JH and Arts block.

And last weekend NUIM Gospel Choir took Dublin by storm raising money for the Meningitis Research foundation. Two days of singing their hearts out later they raised 730 euro for a good cause and cheered up an awful lot of stressed shoppers in Powerscourt and Merrion shopping centres. And this really shows off what Gospel Choir is all about.

We sing people happy, we sing ourselves happy, we raise money for charity (with well over 50,000 euro raised by us since choir’s creation in 2002) and ultimately we try to make the society a better place.

Last Wednesday NUIM Gospel Choir took over the Courtyard Hotel in Leixlip with a mission – have as much fun as possible, provide stellar entertainment and raise a considerable amount for Pieta House during our concert titled “Night of Hope”. Pieta House is a well deserving charity who always seem to be slightly lacking in funds regardless of the amazing work that they do. With a little help from our friends, the Juggling Society who have proved to be fireproof once again juggling blazing pins and fiery poi the night was a success.

Clearly countless rehearsals have paid off since the audience was charmed by an energetic performance

by Gospel Choir as well as guests: the stunning Maynooth Chamber Choir, Maynooth Christmas

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Christmas Day in Your Clubhouse: 12th Dec 2011

Twitter Single to Contend for Christmas #1 KATE PHELAN

Opinion & Comment Editor This weekend’s X Factor winner will have tough competition as the first ever charity single recorded using Twitter has launched itself into the race for the Irish Christmas number one. What started as a simple tweet from Brenda Drumm from Newbridge, Co Kildare, on November 19th, saying “Wouldn’t it be great to have a twitter xmas single?” snowballed (winter pun) and 140 producers, sound technicians, musicians and members of the general public tweeted their interest in getting involved.

Thanks to the abundance of volunteers, all sourced through twitter, the idea was quickly turned into reality. The following weekend they came together in the Westin Hotel in Dublin to record the song, a cover of ‘Winter Song’ by Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson, which is also currently featured on the O2 Christmas ad. It features 16 solo singers and a choir of 90, along with instruments like the bodhran and uilleann pipes to give it an Irish feel.

The group chose the Neonatal Special Care Unit in Holles Street, Dublin as the charity that will benefit from the proceeds of the single. At a very

reasonable 99c the song debuted at number 4 in the Irish iTunes charts and has since reached number 1, topping singers like Rihanna and Florence and the Machine. The original version of the song is at number 2. Drumm and her merry band of followers are hoping that it will retain that position until Christmas.

Speaking at the launch of the single on Sunday last she commended the generosity of everyone

who has taken part in and supported the project, saying “In just two weeks we have taken a tweet and turned it into a single, which is now being tipped to be the Christmas No 1. I had no idea that anything like this would happen and it really just shows the power of Twitter and the generosity and good will in the hearts of Irish people.”

The Christmas spirit seems to be catching as the song’s success is now picking up international

momentum and Sara Bareilles herself has tweeted “Sending love to the Irish folks who have embraced the message of Winter Song and are making it their own! So special.” Drumm also stated that she has been contacted by the BBC in relation to the single. More information can be found at #twitterxmassingle.

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12-year-old Chris Whitehead shortlisted for Liberty Human Rights Award DYLAN COLLEY The Liberty Human Rights Award is a prestigious achievement given to honour those who inspire and stand up for human rights throughout the world.

This year, 12 year old school boy Chris Whitehead was nominated simply for turning up to school in a skirt. Whitehead wore the skirt in protest against what he felt was a discriminatory uniform policy.

The youth attends Impington Village College near Cambridge, England.

The protest came during the Summer months when the weather was hot and the students were sweating in their dark, long trousers. Girls in the school started arriving wearing their dark school skirts, in line with the uniform policy, but boys were refused allowance to exchange their slacks for shorts. However, Whitehead, who is part of the school’s ‘student executive’, found a loophole in the system.

In the college’s code, it states that students must dress “smart”, they must dress in “plain black tailored trousers or knee-length skirts without slits”.

This is as much as it says for this article of clothing, never specifying gender with regard to skirts. Young Whitehead grabbed his opportunity to use this as means for protest and with backing from his classmates, he arrived in May wearing his younger

sister’s knee-length skirt without a slit.

In November, The Daily Mail reported that Chris Whitehead won the Liberty Human Rights Young Person of the Year, however this was false.

He came runner-up to a Cerie Bullivant who ran a full campaign against the controversial Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures bill in the UK.

Impington Village College, after Chris Whitehead’s courageous protest, have decided to review their uniform policy.

McDonald’s Worker’s Assault Charges

MAJELLA ROGERS The charges against a McDonald’s worker who assaulted two unruly customers last month have been indicted. Rayon McIntosh who works at a Mc Donald’s restaurant in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, was captured on a customer’s mobile phone swinging a metal object at two unruly female customers. The incident occurred in the early hours of October twelfth after the cashier apparently questioned a $50 bill that one of the women gave to him. The women then respond by hurling obscenities at McIntosh. One of the women then reaches over the counter and slaps the worker in the face. The video also shows one of the women climbing over the counter whilst McIntosh runs into the kitchen area of the restaurant. The other woman then decides to follow her friend and she also walks around the counter. McIntosh then reappears in the video with what police have described as ‘a large metal object’ and repeatedly takes swings at the two women behind the counter. In the video, customers and workers can be heard screaming at McIntosh to stop hitting the women, who at this point, are both lying on the floor with McIntosh standing over

them still hitting them. In the video, McIntosh takes swings at the two women up to ten times as they lay behind the counter. The women received horrific injuries after the assault with one of the women having a fractured skull and a broken arm. The two

women both suffered lacerations to their head and face and were both taken to hospital. Despite this, the jury voted against indicting McIntosh, who had been charged with felony and assault. Authorities identified the two women as Denise Darbeau and

Rachael Edwards, who authorities say both face pending charges of menacing, criminal trespassing and disorderly conduct.

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Fianna Fáil: Wither Now? DEAN HEALY Now that the end of 2011 is almost in sight it is safe to say that Fianna Fáil cannot wait to see the back of this tumultuous year. With the combination of the stress inflicted during the disastrous 2010 pinnacle of the economic crisis while in government and the shell shock that shook Fianna Fáil to its very core in the wake of their near destruction as a party in the February general election, the end of the year will finally bring about a settling period for reflection and analysis. What exactly has happened here? Well the facts and figures will soon all be available for one final look at the “what if ’s” and “why not’s” of 2011. One figure that still shocks upon reflection is the mere 20 seats that were won in Dail Eireann by Fianna Fáil in the election, a reduction from 77 seats following the 2007 General Election, with this later being reduced to 19 with the saddening death of the late Brian Lenihan.

One thing that can be said for sure is that the party has begun the process of turning its back on the former party members which have brought the party to such disgrace; there have been widely publicised debates from former and current members on Brian Cowen’s gargantuan mass of mistakes, on the failed policies of Bertie Ahern and even recently on The Late Late Show a suggestion was put to current Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin that the next Taoiseach of Fianna Fáil has not yet been born. Micheál Martin to date has been very accepting of his role in the economic collapse in Ireland; with Brian Cowan being very sceptical about an outright acceptance and Bertie Ahern flat out refusing to acknowledge a role in the crisis. This turn towards acceptance must be reassuring for Fianna Fáil supporters. The past is now going to be a tool which can be learned from.

The Red C opinion poll released on December

4th in the Sunday Business Post newspaper showed a very large jump in support for Fianna Fáil ahead of the Budget announcements. The poll put Fianna Fáil on 18 per cent, a rise of four points on the previous poll in October. Fine Gael was up one per cent to 32 per cent with Labour dropping from 17 to 15 per cent. Support for Sinn Féin was also down one point to 15 per cent. This large jump in support, when coupled with the excellent second place showing of Fianna Fáil in the Dublin West By-Election, which took place to fill the seat left by the deceased Brian Lenihan, is a promising sign for the most successful party in the Republic of Irelands

political history.

Promising however does not always transfer to success, with the party still left with a terrific amount of convincing to do with the people of the country. The pain and hurt is still very fresh in the minds of the Irish population, it is Fine Gael and Labour who has been installed to deal with the significant mess left behind by Fianna Fáil and they have to use arguably the worst possible set of economic circumstances the country has experienced. Fianna Fáil is still far too toxic a brand to sell to the public, as Presidential candidate Sean Gallagher found out not too long ago. The party has

begin to notice that the media was paying MDMA and ecstasy a bit more attention of late. While watching Sky News the other week I saw something on two youths collapsing and passing away after taking MDMA, I was intrigued and decided to follow it up. I found out that both men died after attending the same event at the Alexandra Palace in London on the 27th of November. According to The Daily Mail Online detectives believe that both men had taken a potentially lethal batch of MDMA and died after seven hours of taking the drug. Another man was in a serious condition but survived while there was a reported twenty similar cases in different hospitals across the area.

These deaths came just four months after two men died in Ayshire, west Scotland, after taking Ecstasy tablets with a dose six times stronger than normal. The men involved in this misfortunate event were named as Steven Kelly, nineteen and Lee Dunnachie, twenty-two, Lee who had only recently become a father. This surge in popularity isn’t just exclusive to Britain and Ireland it’s going on in America too. ABC News claim that the use of ecstasy has doubled among teens since 1995 and a survey conducted found that the popularity of ecstasy has jumped significantly in the past year, from 7 percent last year to 10 percent this year.

ABC even claims that the popularity of ecstasy is usurping the popularity of marijuana and that in the States, ‘marijuana is less cool’. The Daily Mail also mentioned something about a powdered form MDMA which I had never heard of before but apparently it is the new craze. According to the guardian this new powdered form of MDMA it the most fashionable drug at the moment among teens and club goers. In a survey of 109 clubbers 31% of respondents reported having had MDMA powder or crystal within the last month, whereas 28% reported having taken ecstasy pills. This new form of MDMA can be shared socially like cocaine and distinguishes its more fashion-conscious users from the ‘pill heads’. The Guardian also pointed out that these drugs have seen a recent increase in both price and strength. In some parts of the England, pills are selling for up to £15 each, pushing the average price of ecstasy up to £4 while here in Ireland the average price for one pill is around €10. According to Drugscope an organization in Britain which monitors drug usage, in the summer of 2011 there emerged an “exceptionally high strength ecstasy” that contained a “much higher dose of MDMA than seen in recent years”.

Fortunately in Ireland there haven’t been as many reports of people being killed by ecstasy or MDMA.

no government candidate in county Dublin. The grassroots are disenfranchised beyond recognition at this current moment. The candidates in the Dail are still coming to terms with such a significant loss of power. The government is easily refuting any argument that the current Fianna Fáil candidates present with the response of “well, you got us into this mess”, but this won’t last forever. Time is a great healer, but action for Fianna Fáil could be their greatest saviour or perhaps most detrimental problem.

Ecstasy: The Return of the Gurn?

AARON EGGINGTON Ecstasy and MDMA are back. My suspicions were initially aroused by observing my peers closely at numerous social events across Dublin and music Festivals. I couldn’t help but noticing a large amount of people with crazed looks in their dilated eyes and they were persistently chewing their jaws, which is known in the clubs as ‘gurning’. That and of course every night I went out I was approached by three or four guys all asking the same question, “You sorted for E’s man”. Although I haven’t seen as much of this going in Maynooth if you look hard enough your sure to find one or two ‘gurners’ floating around any of the pubs/ clubs. It became clear to me pretty soon that the popularity of these kinds of drugs were on the rise once again.

If the evidence in the field wasn’t clear enough I

The only reported death I could find was back in 2005 where a twenty-six year old man collapsed and died in Co. Antrim.

However this doesn’t mean that ecstasy and MDMA are not seeing a rise in popularity and they are still potentially dangerous. Just look around your local club for some classic symptoms of ecstasy use, dilated eyes, an increase in shite talk and the classic chewing of the jaw (or gurning), you are bound to find one or two.

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Casual Rascism: A Growing Concern?

LYNDSEY FARRELL

Entertainent & Culture Co-Editor On Sunday the 27th of November, a three minute video entitled ‘My Tram Experience’ was posted onto YouTube and left every person that watched it completely stunned.

The video, recorded on a mobile phone, is of a woman sitting on the Croydon Tramlink shouting racist insults at her fellow passengers, some of which were of different nationalities. The woman, who was later identified as 34-year-old Emma West of New Addington, starts her abusive rant with “What has this country come to? A load of blacks and a load of f*cking Polish!” She then continued by telling the passengers to “go back to Nigrafrica. Just f*cking go back!” Most of the passengers remained silent for the duration of West’s outbursts, until one woman asks her to stop swearing in front of the children on the train. West ignores the woman’s request, simply stating “It’s fine, I’ve got a kid here.” She then went on to consider Britain “nothing” thanks to people of different nationalities moving the country.

After just three days on YouTube, ‘My Tram Experience’ received over three million views and was posted all over social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. The video was brought to the attention of the British Transport Police, who, on the 28th of November, stated on their Twitter page “We’ve arrested a 34y woman for racially aggravated public order as a result of #mytramexperience video brought to our attn.” West appeared in front of Croydon Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday the 6th of December where three magistrates viewed the video,

which by this time had over eleven million views on YouTube alone. She was refused bail the following day, “for her own safety” as it came to the Court’s attention that she had been receiving death threats and that her home address has been circulating sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

Less than a week after ‘My Tram Experience’ was posted onto YouTube, a second video, similar to the former, was brought to the attention of the British Transport Police. They are pleading for any witnesses to come forward.

These videos and stories have shocked the world.

Most of us would have considered racism to be a thing of the past, but, unfortunately, it still very much circulates our society today. Some cases much more public than others.

Chelsea F.C. captain and England defender John Terry will soon be appearing in court after he allegedly made racist comments to Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand. The incident occurred during a Premier League match at Loftus Road in October of this year. Terry very much denies the allegations and is said to be “very disappointed” that people would think of him as a racist.

A similar case had come up in the Premier League as Liverpool forward Luis Suarez was charged by the FA for alleged racist comments against Manchester United defender Patrice Evra.

Man Utd manager Alex Ferguson spoke up shortly after the incident, saying that football had no time for racism and that in the society we live in we

should all accept and respect one another, regardless of race.

Although these cases are very negative things, the fact that they are brought to the public’s attention should be seen as positive. It shows that we as a society will not put up with racism and that we as a society believe those responsible for racist acts should be punished for it. People have tried to justify West’s disgusting behavior by questioning if she was under the influence of alcohol and or other substances. Whether she was or not is irrelevant.

Her actions were unprovoked, inappropriate and morally wrong and she is being rightly punished for them.

regularly used Facebook to poke fun at Apple products, calling his i-phone a ‘JesusPhone’ on the social network and also mocking the company’s tag-line for a Beatles song on i-Tunes, changing the tag-line from ‘Tomorrow is another day. That you’ll never forget’ to ‘Tomorrow’s just another day that hopefully I will forget.’ Crisp was fired from his job as a specialist in the Apple store in Norwich in England after one of his colleagues and ‘Facebook friends’ informed his boss about the posts. Apple won the case against Crisp as the company has a clear social media policy which banned critical remarks about the brand. Social networks are frequently used to express opinions, thoughts and personal views, however if an employee chooses to write about work issues on these sites then they could face repercussions from their employer, regardless of whether it is written during work hours or during personal/private hours. According to an internet survey by internet security firm Proofpoint, Facebook firings are on the rise all over the world. In February 2009, The Daily Mail newspaper reported that a teenager in England, Kimberley Swann, was fired after her boss discovered that she had called her job ‘boring’ on Facebook. In April 2009, a Swiss woman was also fired for simply just ‘logging in’ to Facebook. The woman, who had called in ‘’sick’’ that day because she had a terrible migraine, told her boss that the light from the computer screen would make it worse and that she had to sit in a dark room. The woman was fired when her boss discovered that

the employee had used Facebook that day. The decision by American restaurant ‘Brixx Pizza’ to fire a waitress for her Facebook status in which she complained about a $5 tip she received from a table of customers, caused a stir among the waitress’s family and friends who argued that the waitress had not mentioned the names of the customers or the restaurant in her status. Despite this, the company said that the waitress had ‘cast the restaurant in a bad light’ and fired her. An increasing amount of employers are including social media policies in their contracts of employment and they can

now fire their employees if they violate this policy.

Employees and regular social network users have argued the right of ‘freedom of speech’ in relation to this issue however, if employees can get in trouble for verbally complaining about their job, work colleagues or bosses in a canteen or workplace, it is only right that they should get in trouble for doing this on a social network site also. Facebook postings are now fair grounds for terminating employees. So, with this in mind, enjoy social networks sensibly as what you say or do on them, could effect your present or future job.

Social Networking & The Workplace

MAJELLA ROGERS Social networking is a popular way to stay in touch with friends, meet new ones and to share and view conversations, pictures, videos and comments. However, social networking sites such as Facebook,Twitter, My Space and Bebo (yes, some people do still use it!) are now being used by employers all over the world to view employees pages. Bosses are Googling their employees names (and date of birth if necessary) and then viewing the contents of their employees page(s). Facebook has recently edited their privacy settings, so even if a user has their profile page on private, strangers can still view their recent activity and the basic information on their page without having to sign up as a user. This is one of the dangers of social networking as bosses can now view their employees pages and in many cases, colleagues have informed employers of other workers status updates and misuse of social networks in relation to work.

For example, on 30 November 2011, computer giant ‘Apple’ fired one employee in relation to the contents of his Facebook statuses. Samuel Crisp

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A Retrospective of Miles Davis DYLAN COLLEY Miles Davis has been considered by many to be one of the most influential musicians the 20th century has seen. With 48 studio albums, 61 session compilations, 53 live albums and 72 collaborations set to vinyl, the trumpeter was no stranger to the world of mainstream jazz. Throughout his career, Davis had his finger in every jazz-pie imaginable, recording albums delving into be-bop, cool jazz, Spanish-folk fusion, psychedelic and even hip-hop.

With his music aside, Davis is known to have had an interesting life and is often described as something of an odd character. Earlier in the year, George Tillman Jnr was named as director of a Miles Davis biopic set to go into production soon, separate to the Davis biopic that Don Cheadle has been developing for some time. The film is to portray the jazz icon’s addictions, penchants for women as well as the hugely important musical career.

Miles Davis III was given his first trumpet at the age of 13 by his father, despite his mother’s wish for him to take up violin. He became an apt player within a short amount of time, and had developed his signature full-bodied, clear tone by the age of 15 as his teacher, Illinois trumpeter Elwood Buchanan, insisted he played without vibrato. This provided his sound with strong, yet calm notes. At the age of 18, Davis made his recording debut as trumpet player in Charlie Parker’s bebop quintet, with whom he was recording until he was 21. In 1945, Davis made his debut recording as band leader, but this was not released until 1990, under the title First Miles.

His debut release as leader came in 1951 with Blue Period under Prestige Records. By this stage, it was already believed that Miles Davis had developed a serious addiction to heroin. Davis returned to his father in Illinois in 1954 to cure himself of his addiction, which he managed to do.

By this time, the entirety of the seminal compilation Birth of the Cool had already been laid down, but was not released until 1957. His recordings up until then received unimpressed criticism, this being one of the reasons for Davis’

deep addiction, so it came as a huge relief when his 1957 releases achieved acclaim. These releases were Birth of the Cool, which is considered to be the forerunner of ‘cool jazz’ and one of his best known works, and Cookin’ with the Miles Davis Quintet, the first of four hard-bop session recordings from 1956 (the others being Relaxin’, Workin’ and Steamin’ with the Miles Davis Quintet). These recordings were the first with legendary saxophonist John Coltrane in the Davis Quintet, who would remain in the band during some of the most famous rounds. Already showing he could span genres, with his move from bebop to cool jazz, he released Miles Ahead under Columbia Records in a Big Band setting, playing a flugelhorn instead of a trumpet, and then the Spanish folk themed Sketches of Spain. In 1959, he went into studio to record what is considered by many to be his masterpiece, the

improvisation lead by Miles Davis that is Kind of Blue.

As Davis moved into his electric fusion stage with his second great quintet in the 1960s, he began to lose any traditional aspects that remained in his sound and delved into a purely modal ‘freebop’ style of improvisation. This can be heard in 1967’s Nefertiti and 1968’s Filles de Kilimanjaro, the latter beginning to use electric instruments and also portraying his new wife, gritty funk singer Betty Davis. Though the pair divorced a year later, Betty (née Marbry) influenced Davis’ work to a huge degree, leading him to release his most controversial record, the psyche-jazz Bitches Brew. Originally entitled Witches Brew, Marbry convinced him to be more edgy with the title and pushed him deeper into the funk and psyche scene. The record contained two bassists, at times three drummers

and three keyboard players. The sound, though hugely innovative and well regarded by some, alienated a lot of his followers, including many important jazz musicians, some feeling it wasn’t jazz at all. Despite this it influenced many; in particular, fusion group Weather Report.

Through the 70s and 80s, Davis went on to record many forgotten collections, some wonderful compositions such as the R&B styled Tutu and his tributes to Jack Johnson, but Davis sealed the end of his recording career with his hip-hop album DooBop, with rapper Easy Mo-Bee, generally forgotten for good reason. In September 1991, Davis died due to respiratory failure and pneumonia after having a stroke. He is still considered one of the most influential musicians in modern music.

Organ² / ASLSP: The World’s Longest Concert MAJELLA ROGERS Now in its tenth year with only eleven chord changes later, the world’s longest concert ‘’Organ² / ASLSP (As SLow aS Possible)’’ is only getting started.

The concert is based on a piece by avant garde composer John Cage and is due to last 639 years, concluding in 2640. The concert began at the former St. Burchard church in Halberstadt, Germany in 2001, the 639th year since Nicolaus Faber built the first church organ. The concert is played on a specially made organ. With a donation of €1,000 or more, supporters can sponsor one note for one year.

Those who make a donation, can choose any of the 639 years of the concert and receive a metal plaque with their name and chosen year inscribed on it in the church. The concert is a powerful expression of the organised and calm progression within music. Fans of Cage say that the performance is a rebuke of hectic modern life. The board chairman of the town’s ‘John Cage Organ Foundation’ argues that ‘’Everything does not need to happen so fast.

If something needs a bit longer then it can give us an inner calm that is rare in normal life.’’ The Halberstadt performance progresses so slowly that some visitors have had to wait months for a chord to change. Performances have lasted between 29 and 70 minutes. Cage has not yet specified the duration for his piece, but it is also expected to be very slow!

Visitors hoping to experience the next chord change of the organ in St. Burchard’s church will have to wait until July 2012. The performances are said to have ‘fascinated’ people of modern day, hectic society. So, whether this concert may calm, fascinate or annoy you is debatable, but it is certainly loud and extremely slow.

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The Rise of Alternative Hip Hop SHANE KIERNAN Technology Editor @shanezor101

The title of this article may be somewhat deceiving, as alternative has been around since the early 80s in the form of Run DMC, Public Enemy and De La Soul; the only new thing is that the game has changed. Hip-hop is still the same but the players have changed, and they are a far cry from that of the hip-hop icons of thirty years ago. Having that said, they did leave a certain imprint on the genre that has been reflected down through the years. Similar beats, generally of African heritage, and making the music sound incredibly unique. In this day and age we have Kid Cudi’s dark themes, the shock and awe of OFWGKTA, and Childish Gambino, who is twice the rapper than his stage name indicates.

Everyone has heard a song by Kid Cudi (real name Scott Mescudi) at least once before; most likely in a nightclub and most likely the Crookers remix of ‘Day ’n’ Nite.’ However, Cudi’s music is not limited to just this. The Cleveland-born rapper has two albums under his belt, both of which are brimming with alternative, psychedelic and rock influenced tracks. Cudi’s debut album, Man on the Moon: The End of Day, launched Cudi’s career and was signed to Kanye West’s GOOD label. The album itself has dark themes of nightmares, death and loss, not something every rapper would discuss in such detail as Cudi does throughout the course of the album. Despite a less thematic and more smoking weed influenced second album, it’s safe to say that the direction Kid Cudi is heading is going to be interesting to see in his next album.

For those of you who are fans of Community, a recently shelved television series, you will most likely know Childish Gambino by his birth name, Donald Glover or Troy from the show; most

would also not know he is an extremely talented rapper. Having released his debut studio album, Camp, last month to general acclaim, it is likely that Gambino is going to crop up a lot in the media over the next twelve months. The sound that Gambino is pioneering is that of how Kanye should have sounded on his first album, but in listening to the album the influence is beyond just his contemporaries. Songs such as ‘Heartbeat’ are piano and bass driven that have an element of a dance influence, with depth and emotion in Gambino’s soulful singing; these are the songs that make Camp such an enjoyable album.

OFWGKTA (Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All), OF, Odd Future, Wolf Gang, Golf Wang; there are five primary names for Odd Future, but to define the group as a whole is next to impossible.

It is made up of over a dozen members, including rappers, producers, artists, writers, photographers and skaters and, most importantly, Tyler, The Creator. The founding member of Odd Future is at the forefront of the group, with a public image that is rarely palatable to most people over thirty years of age. The alternative sound of the group, and of many of the internal groups within the collective, is of the same aesthetic, utilizing grimy bass and beats

with taboo-laced lyrics. Although Odd Future’s reputation as a group is largely based on the work of just eight people, the youngest of which being (the still missing) Earl Sweatshirt. Earl’s eponymous debut album was critically praised, with naturally flowing lyrics, a mature sound and the fact that Earl was only fifteen when most of the album was recorded is pretty astonishing. It is difficult not to admire the talent and determination of a group of young people not over the age of twenty-three.

While the future of Odd Future seems bound for stardom, one has to think: can they really rap about stuff like that?

American Psycho to receive cinematic remake?

ALLY KERR Cult classic American Psycho is apparently being made into a remake. Lionsgate have given the nod to Noble Jones (a fairly new filmmaker, as his only previous credit is as a second unit director on David Fincher’s The Social Network)to pen a remake of the film which was only made in 2000.

The original, based on Bret Easton Ellis’s 1991 novel, follows the story of Patrick Bateman, a wealthy Wall Street banker whose suave, slick exterior hides a deranged, monstrous killer and megalomaniac. The film also offers a pitch-black satire on the yuppie lifestyle in the 1980’s. The remake, however, will be set in modern times and will concentrate more on the gory aspects of the story.

Ellis’s tweeted “have warned Lionsgate that

I will not approve a new version of ‘American Psycho’ unless it stars SCOTT DISICK (Kourtney Kardashian’s boyfriend) or MILES FISHER!” then later tweeted “I am waiting for Scott Disick to ask: ‘Who in the hell is is Bret Easton Ellis?” apparently unfazed that Disick has no acting experience what so ever. Ellis must be taking the piss here.

Why this is a terrible idea: Mary Harron adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho is phenomenal and Christian Bale’s portrayal of Patrick Bateman is fantastic, they couldn’t have found a better actor to suit the role. Harron’s movie successfully tones the graphic scenes from the novel, from the sickening violence yet it maintains the satirical edge. You can’t improve on this adaptation; it’s simply impossible. The remake will be set in modern times rather than the eighties so it instantly loses the satirical edge of the yuppie lifestyle and the Bateman’s musical taste is obviously going to be omitted. They seem to only be making a remake for the sake of making a gory movie rather than having a thriller with any real aesthetic. Although American Psycho did relatively poorly at the box office - making just $15 million at the US Box Office but it it gained a massive cult status worldwide.

Lionsgate is clearly only on board with making a remake in order to make a profit. Not to mention

that Harron’s adaptation is only eleven years old and there any many other Bret Easton Ellis novels out there that would make great adaptations such as Glamorama or remake Less Than Zero (in fairness, that adaptation was fairly poor). The Rules of

Attraction was also a noteworthy film adaptation of the book. Hopefully this plan won’t go into motion and they might concentrate on making another Ellis novel into a movie.

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A Festival-Goer’s 2011 Diary AARON EGGINGTON Festival-virgin 6th year students unleashed into an unfamiliar world soaked in rain while completely intoxicated makes up for an uncomfortable three days of poor music and excessive drinking. The image of an eighteen year old girl wading through pools of mud drenched to the bone in nothing but shorts and a string top covered in her own vomit screaming some Ke$ha song is, sadly, something that doesn’t really appeal to me anymore. And this year’s Oxegen was no different. Thankfully, I was working this year which meant I had as little contact with the brutes as possible, with the additional bonus of a free ticket and getting paid. I worked during the day which was handy, it meant I was able to see all the acts at night while missing all the so called ‘entertainment’ during the day, which consisted of a carnival, the quality of which is the equivalent you would find at your local fun fair with a few extra rides that are insanely over priced.

I suppose I should mention the music, the bitterly disappointing music. Headline acts like Black Eyed Peas, The Script, My Chemical Romance, and Ke$ha almost made the three days unbearable. This year did have its moments though: Primal Scream inside one the smaller tents is something I’ll probably never forget, and the Arctic Monkeys put on a stellar performance. But other than the odd decent band, there isn’t much left to be desired at Oxegen, especially at two hundred and forty euro.

The second Festival I attended this year was the much smaller KnockanStockan. I had never heard of it before but it sounded pretty cool. Not one international act but plenty of Irish bands that are well worth having a listen to, all for seventy euro.

Set in the hills of Blessington with the sun splitting

the stones for the whole weekend, overlooking a stunning lake with minimal fencing obscuring the scenery, made KnockanStockan by far the most beautiful festival I’ve ever been to. The people that go to this festival have to be the soundest in Ireland too, for the whole three days I didn’t meet one asshole. So even if you get separated from your friends a new group of people will embrace you with open arms. And don’t worry about getting lost; KnockanStockan is so small you’re sure to run into your mates within half an hour. There is always something going on in the fairy field too, so if you’re bored head down there to check out some fire dancers or whatever other peculiar stuff is going on.

The music isn’t bad either, it really opened me up to a vibrant Irish music scene which I was previously oblivious to.

Electric Picnic was the final festival of the year. I didn’t think it was possible to top KnockanStockan, but somehow it did. Picnic is like KnockanStockan except bigger and better with more stuff to do.

Again I was working during the day which was unfortunate this time because there were so many great activities which I missed out on, such as a reading from non other than Irvine Welsh, a circus, loads of comedy acts, bingo and much, much more.

There are so many little nukes and crannies you have to check out like Trenchtown (playing reggae

round up 4 friends. Whilst the gameplay may be similar to that the first two games, Gears 3 provides a fitting, sometimes poignant, end to the trilogy.

the game’s often fiendish, gravity-defying and mindbending puzzles. Co-op makes its debut in the series, with a series of puzzles specially designed to take advantage of the presence of two players. While Portal 2 may seem at the outset a simple puzzle game, the atmosphere and mood that permeates every inch of the world make Portal 2 an experience you will not soon forget.

all day), the salty dog (a huge stage the shape of a shipwrecked boat) and the rave in the woods (pretty self explanatory). Right at the heartbeat of the Picnic is a little fenced off area called Body and Soul. Body and Soul is probably one of the strangest yet most wonderful places I have ever been. Full of obscure pieces of art and strange music, no Picnic experience is complete with out a few visits. No matter what you’re into there is some kind of music at the Picnic for you; from the Chemical Brothers to Sharon Corr, everybody is catered for. The Picnic is the perfect festival, I couldn’t think of a better way to end your summer.

A Video Gaming Retrospective of 2011

MARK TIERNEY

5 – Batman: Arkham City – Batman’s newest adventure didn’t have quite the same effect that its predecessor did on its release, but it did improve on the original in almost every way. Developers Rocksteady should be credited for improving the already superb melee combat system with a few tweaks that keep it fresh and interesting as well as increasing the size and scope of the world without making it feel bloated and barren. Add in the inclusion of Catwoman as a playable character as well as improvements to the graphics engine, and Batman: Arkham City is definitely among the best games of 2011.

4 – Gears of War 3 – As the third instalment in the well-established franchise, one might have expected Gears of War 3 to be a rather predictable outing in the series. This is not the case. Gone are the overtly macho styling’s of previous games in favour of a more story driven and emotional narrative that far outstretches that of its predecessors that ends with a surprising amount of closure for such a lucrative series. Multiplayer returns in both competitive and co-operative forms with the game catering for 5 v 5 versus play across a variety of game modes. The co-op horde mode returns with a new added tower defence aspect, which can be particularly addicting if you can

3 – Saints Row 3 – Saints Row 3 is the definition of a videogame, when your character is not being chased by groups of hacker gangs and masked Mexican wrestlers, He/she is parachuting out of VTOL’s and cleansing the City of Steelport on behalf of Mayor (Burt) Reynolds. It’s hard to remember when the Saints Row series was considered nothing more than a cheap Grand Theft Auto rip off, an assumption which the third in the series has done much to discredit. Behind the bombast and fantastical story, lies a more than competent game with a shooting and driving engine arguably better than its contemporaries. Saints Row 3 is not a game for everyone, indeed some may find it rather simple, but it is for precisely that reason that others will warm to it. It’s a game that desires to be nothing more than stupid, dumb fun.

2 – Portal 2 – In a time when most games are based around the unifying theme of violence, it’s heartening to see a game that relies on intelligence and wit to make such an impression. Portal 2’s single-player campaign is longer than its predecessor and arguably better than it too with the comic talents of Stephen Merchant as Wheatley offsetting the punishing and unforgiving nature of

1 – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Perhaps the greatest tribute I can pay Skyrim, is that in the relatively short time I have spent with it (Three weeks) my play time has reached the50 hour mark . There simply has never been a world so rich, so deep in content, to the point where you can spend an entire week playing without ever touching the main story quest. Developer Bethesda’s gargantuan undertaking has succeeded in pushing the limits of story-telling and world-building, to a point where few, if any developers would dare to go. The world itself is one of mesmerizing beauty, from the snow topped peak of High Hrothgar to the opulence of the Imperial City of Solitude. If there is one game you should play this Christmas, make it this one.

Trust me, you’ll need all the time you can get.

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“And Morgan Freeman would try and slip the hand”: An interview with the Rubberbandits KEITH BRONI Editor In Chief

The Rubberbandits have come a long way since they humbly began recording prank phone calls out of after-school boredom. From cult classics such as ‘Bags of Glue’ to becoming an obscure piece of global news with their song about a horse, Blind Boy Boat Club (BBBC) and Mr. Chrome (Mr. C) have now finally put together their debut long player. Except they’ve done one better and debuted with a double album: 26 songs spanning a whopping hour and fourty minutes. I was fortunate enough to catch up with Limerick’s proudest sons before they took to the stage in Your Clubhouse as a part of the 2011 Christmas Ball.

When you first began to garner some mainstream media attention, you were often billed as “Limerick’s premier comedy hip-hop duo.” But does that imply that there’s more than one comedy hip-hop duo in Limerick?

Mr. C: “Ah sure there’s loads of ‘em, yeah. Like…”

BBBC: “Arthur Slattery and the Bad Tastes.”

Mr. C: “Barry Angus and the Hungry Boys.”

B: “Dancing Dermot and the Crap Tones.”

And have you ever had anything like a gang war with these other groups?

Mr. C: “Nawh, nawh. We go around to their houses and go around to our houses and we run around in our jocks and chew bubblegum.”

BBBC: “We all make Christmas cakes when its June, ‘coz we’re mad cunts.”

Mr. C: “Mad cunts.”

So last week you released your debut double album, ‘Serious About Men’. Might as well tell us a bit about that.

BBBC: “It’s fucking brilliant.”

Mr. C: “Yeah, it’s brilliant. It’s like…”

BBBC: “It’s like we got music and fucked it in the butt!”

Mr. C: “Yeah, it was just the two of us getting paper and him wanked onto one side and I wanked onto the other side and we closed it up, gave that to our manger Coco and said ‘turn that into money’.”

BBBC: “… It was a metaphor…”

Your manager’s name is Coco?

BBBC: “Yup, Coco’s his name. We used to be managed by a dog, but.”

Mr. C: “But dog’s only live to be about seven, which is a shame.”

BBBC: “Yeah. I remember once we had a big interview with Sony Music and we took the dog manager in and he made shit of a bin inside the office and threw rubbish all over the ground.”

Was this one of the first things you guys did after getting together over those now infamous prank calls?

Mr C: “Yeah, we went out and got him as a manager. He was riding a huskie and he was a cocker spaniel. And this huskie had pure savage tits, I’ll tell yah.”

So were there any classic albums or artists that influeced you while recording ‘Serious About Men’?

Mr. C: ‘Hello Dolly’ by Angus Ahnanaananh.

They’re another Limerick rap crew. They call themselves Angus Ahnanaananh ‘coz they’d be at number one when you’d go look them up in the Golden Pages. Then there was ‘Fucked In The Butt’ by Bob Dylan. That was another good album, although it

only had one track on it: ‘Fucked In The Butt’.”

BBBC: “There was also a band called Serious Intentions, and their song ‘Serious Intentions’ from their album ‘Serious Intentions’. And then one of Kurt Cobain’s posthumous albums, that he released as a ghost through the medium of Neil Diamond.

What with the album being a double album, did you actually end up omitting much of your material?

BBBC: “We did actually; we left a load of tracks off, ‘coz they were childish.”

Mr. C: “Yeah. ‘Cinderella and the Big Poo’. That didn’t make it. And ‘Weekend at Earnie’s’.”

BBBC: “That didn’t make it, no.”

Mr. C: “‘Fisting The Fish’.”

BBBC: “‘Cosby Chauvinist’.”

Did Willie O’DJ contribute to the recording of the album at all?

Mr. C: “Nawh, he pissed off for a week.”

BBBC: “And then one day he was walking passed a woodworking class and saw a bottle of turpentine and went on a mad turpentine bender.”

Mr. C: “He just drifts in and out of our lives like a bastard father.”

BBBC: “He sleeps upside-down like a bat, too.”

Mr. C: “He’s also got roller blades with holes drilled into ‘em that he swings off the rafters and all the blood goes to his head. So he wakes up in the morning with a big red head. If he had green hair he’d be a fucking beetroot, I’ll tell you that.”

And are Willie O’DJ and the former Minister of Defence Willie O’Dea alter-egos or cousins or clones or what?

BBBC: “Nawh, they’re the same person.”

Mr. C: “Yeah. It just looks like a rubber mask because he’s on so many yokes.”

BBBC: He’s on so much acid that you hallucinate just by looking at him.”

In what some may describe as a rare candid moment, in a recent interview in HotPress you spoke about how taken aback you both were about the success of ‘Horse Outside’. Do you have a favourite moment from that period?

BBBC: “That tit-wank off Jennifer Maguire.”

Mr. C: “That was good, yeah. Also, when Coco came up to us and he slid a briefcase across the table and he said ‘here ya go lads, here’s the fruits of your labours’ and he lifting it up and it was a load of dog biscuits.”

BBBC: “And then he walked off talking on his

golden phone, off to Barbados.”

Mr. C: “I’d say if you try and buy an iPhone now with a big bag dog biscuits and you’ll find yourself very disappointed, I’ll tell you. Not matter how many hit choons you write.”

BBBC: “Yeah. All Coco does now on the weekends is get into hot air balloons and piss into the sea.”

In ‘Pure Awkward’ you describe giving Ice Cube a hurley; an event which actually ended up happening. Do you have any other dream celebrity interactions that you think may well be possible?

Mr. C: “Well I had a dream last night that I took on the Russian mafia.”

BBBC: “Did’ya? How’d ya get on?”

Mr. C: “Grand yeah. That was the last dream I had, but I hope it does’t come true, because then I’ll have Viggo Mortensen fighting me naked inside a sauna.”

BBBC: “Who the fuck is Viggo Mortensen?”

Mr. C: “He’s yer man Aragon, but he was also in Eastern Promises and he kicked the shit out of two fellas wearing nothing but his dick!”

BBBC: “That true?”

Mr. C: “Yeah. It was a scene in a film for about –“ BBBC: “Ah that doesn’t count then.”

Mr. C: “It do count!”

BBBC: “Not if it’s in a film!”

Mr. C: Of course it do count if it’s in a film!

So maybe not meeting Viggo Mortensen?

Mr. C: “I’d want a tit-fuck off Jordan.”

BBBC: “And Morgan Freeman reading us a bedtime story.”

At the same time…?

BBBC: (Laughing) “Fuck it, why not!”

Mr. C: (Morgan Freeman Voice): “‘And Morgan Freeman would try and slip the hand in to a little white skin sandwich…’ Morgan, seriously, would you finish James and The Giant Peach, for the love of God. I’m about to spend my stinky money on Jordan’s tit shop, thank you very much.”

You’ve a new song on the album entitled ‘I Like To Shift Girls’. Shifting’s a pretty popular pastime with our students. Have you any secret Rubberbandit techniques you’re willing to share?

Mr. C: “Make sure you get your tongue as FAR down the back of her mouth as you can.”

BBBC: “Yeah, ‘coz it’s a game.”

Mr. C: “Yeah. ‘Coz you wanna find out what bile really tastes like? You stick your tongue down a woman’s throat and taste her bile. That’s how you shift.”

BBBC: “There’s pictures of women’s tits on the inside of the album as well.”

And lots of puzzles, I believe.

BBBC: “Yup, loads of puzzles.”

Mr. C: “There’s a word search for the IRA. You can find out where Marty Whelan’s is these days; he’s inside our puzzle. And there’s a nice drawing of Willie O’DJ that you can colour in.”

A friend of mine is owed money from Marty Whelan, actually.

Mr. C: “Is he?”

BBBC: It’s ‘coz he’s in the ‘RA. But you know what happened to Derek Davis, don’tcha?

Mr. C: “You haven’t seen Derek Davis in a while, have ya?”

BBBC: “You know the Canary Wharf bombing?

Well Marty Whelan was up in a helicopter above central London and they got Derek Davis and wrapped him in a load of caps.”

Mr. C: “Remember those paper caps?”

BBBC: “They wrapped him in a load of those, pushed him out of the helicopter and BOOM. Bye bye Canary Warf. So where’s Derek Davis now?”

Mr. C: “He’s in his house in Navan. Wait, no he’s not, he’s part of the fuckin’ tarmac over in London.

You can still see his teeth inside in the Thames.”

You got your horse by swapping him for a bag of yokes in 1992, but how did you come across the Spastic Hawk?

Mr. C: “That’s actually a true story.”

BBBC: “Yeah, that’s a true story. Except in real life, the hawk was pecked to death and his spirit is what got to be free. Like in Watership Down when the cartoon rabbit comes out of the other rabbit’s mind when he dies. And Spastic Hawk, he actually died.”

Mr. C: “He’s actually got a very small hawkary out the back and there was a hawk born and he was…”

BBBC: “Physically retarded.”

Mr. C: “Physically retarded. And the other hawk’s said ‘we’re not having of this, bhay’ and they pecked him to death. And may have fucked him in the butt before he died.”

So the book and song are a legitimate ode?

BBBC: “Yeah, gospel truth! It what you wanted to happen to him, you wanted him to fly away, but he didn’t… he died. And Paul Simon’s gonna write a song about it. And then it’ll be made into a cartoon.”

So you’ve been on Republic of Telly, MTV and

CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

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A Blog from Abroad: An Interview with the Mannheim, Germany Rubberbandits (CON.) CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

Channel 4. What’s next for the Rubberbandits on the small screen?

BBBC: “Something in China.”

Mr. C: “Or something in Japan.”

BBBC: “Korea.”

Mr. C: “We were actually on Thai telly earlier on.”

BBBC: “Yeah. They were doing a feature on sexy cunts.”

Mr. C: “And it turns out that we’re the number 1 sexy cunts in Ireland.”

BBBC: “Thai birds. That’s what you want in your Escort agency if you’re going getting escorts.”

Mr. C: “Squeeze her by the thai-thais. And steal all her sons’ thays!”

BBBC: “A Thai bird with a tie around her neck.”

Mr. C: “She’s a sex Thai! With a tie-on tie tied on around her neck. And I can be her thay bhay.

BBBC: What happens, though, if you’re an older woman and you’re looking for a thays bhay and they send a Thai bhay?”

Mr. C: “Over to your house? To play with all your thays? And then he’d realise this isn’t where I want to be and he hangs himself with a thay tie….”

BBBC: “… That’d be very dark…”

Mr. C: “Next question!”

Do you think a full episodic television programme is on the cards?

BBBC: “They’re giving us a pilot.”

Mr. C: “We’re doing a pilot with Channel 4, so we’re gonna do that and if that goes really well we’ll be like ‘Right, how many dog biscuits do ya have?’”

BBBC: “And if not we’d just go back to being milkmen.”

You were both milkmen before all this?

BBBC: “No. He was a milkman and I used to go to the Zoo.”

AISLING McMAHON Walking through the arrival lounge in Frankfurt Airport, I couldn’t help but be impressed by the level of my Leaving Cert German. Exiting through the Ausgang sign, (Oh Mrs. Graham, if only you could see me now in the motherland!), I made the seamless transition from airport skyrail, to train, to my final destination – Mannheim. Now I’m not trying to impress you, but I go to college in the second biggest Baroque Palace in Europe. It holds the distinction of possessing more windows than any other Baroque Palace in Europe –suck it Versailles! It’s exactly how it sounds, lecture at noon next to the throne room, open air raves on Thursday nights in the Palace courtyard.

Mannheim itself is slightly less regal, a predominately industrial city which was heavily bombed by the Allies in World War II. It is, however unique in its layout –adopting the American grid system, its city centre consists of 143 “blocks” which are identified by corresponding numbers and letters.

For example, the international office is at L1, my favourite bar is just down the road at L3, and round K8 is the Turkish district or “Little Istanbul”. It’s a bit like living on a battleship board.

My room in C2, also falls short of the regal category. A catholic youth residence, built after the war, it is everything you wouldn’t expect from religious housing. Covered in graffiti, broken glass, toilet roll and cigarette butts with dodgy electric wires hanging from the ceiling, and some suspect characters’ hanging around, it makes Rye Hall look like the Hilton. I can’t complain however, when it’s two hundred and thirty euro a month, five minutes from college, and just off the city centre square. Oh , and most importantly it’s above a Kebab shop.

What is worth writing home about is the transportation network – clean, cheap, frequent, and always punctual. It is also free in my province of Baden-Wurttemberg, a region, which spans from Alsace-Lorraine to Lake Konstanz. This unfortunately is where the efficiency ends. I am now certain the much-lauded German efficiency is nothing but a lie, cooked up by some opportunistic members of the German tourist board. Queues in the supermarkets snake back through the aisles; no one will ever check your ticket on public transport, and trying to get through on a customer careline is like asking for a hot line to Angela Merkel herself.

One aspect of German life, which is certainly not exaggerated, is the red tape regulations. My first week here was spent signing forms, displaying my birth cert, and generally doing everything short of allowing a cavity search. Mannheim City Hall now knows more about me than my own mother.

With both Christmas and my last week here approaching I’m spending every possible minute avoiding revision at the “Weihnachtsmarkt”.

Germans know how to throw a good party, and the Christmas market is no exception. For a whole month every tiny town has a market full of mulled wine, handmade trinkets, fun fair rides, ice skating and of course, sausages. The atmosphere is amazing, the prices are reasonable, and it’s busy from dawn till dusk with children, grandparents and tipsy teenagers alike. For a big kid like me it’s Trabolgan, Mosney and 7up on Ice all rolled into one.

They may be cheesy, eccentric and a bit fond of the rule book, but that’s what makes Germans such a great bunch of lads, and my Erasmus experience in Germany one of the best times of my life.

As a career…?

BBBC: “No. I just used to go to the Zoo. Well, they said it was a zoo, but it was just nine badgers out the back. It was on the border of County Clare, out there

by Bunratty. And this lad just had a few badgers in a bin out the back. And I’d go out and I’d look at the badgers and then when the sun would go down my mother would pick me up in her car and drive me home.

Mr. C: If you stare into a wheelie bin full of badgers it hypnotises ya. ‘Coz they move around and it’s black and white – it’s like spiral wheel.”

So, since it is Budget Day, I might as well ask if you were watching it?

BBBC: “No, we weren’t.”

Mr. C: “Nawh. But apparently Paddy Power put a bet on that Michael Noonan would say Rubberbandits in his opening address. It were like 200 to 1.

BBBC: “We were sickened man – we could have easily rang my Mam. She knows him, like!”

Mr. C: “Yeah, I mean, if his mother rang him up and said “here, do you want to make a few grand? Say Rubberbandits. Sing a few bars of ‘Roisin I Want To Fight Your Father’ and lets win tickets to the moon!”

And just some final words…

Mr. C: “What, are you going to assassinate us now?”

Hah! That wouldn’t be good for business now, lads! Anyway, as students of the mean streets of Limerick city, do you have any words of encouragement for any Maynooth students that are feeling all this nationwide doom and gloom?

Mr. C: “We do. What we say to people who are in down and out positions is just take every day as it comes and don’t let no one say you can’t do nathing.

And, ya’know, if you just be who you are, you’ll be grand. Unless you’re a cunt.”

‘Serious About Men’ is out now.

The Student Wine Guide ROB GILMOUR & SHANE McNALLY Seifried, Gewurztraminer, 2010

Score: A (94). Price: €13.95, Mill Wine Cellar Cracking it open, the nose reveals all in an explosion of fruits, Lychees which will resemble a strong sweet tangy pineapple, apricot follows.

Mellon does not escape the list either.

The wine is a well-calculated explosion of fruit on the palate, encompassed by a circumference of spicy ginger. A wine that is among my all time favourites for its offering, something that most wines struggle with, tipping along the knife edges. This one walks between dry and sweet, fruit and elegance with no strain. If you try any white we advise this is the one it should be.

Odd Socks, Semillon, Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc, 2009 Score: B+ (80). Price: €7.99, Mill Wine Cellar

Odd name, odd mix of grapes, and a definitely quirky new wave look about it. So how does our cheapest offering, this week stand up? Rather well actually. Clean, citrus and crisp. Not overly complicated, but at €8 it has to be one of the finer wines available under €10. This is a great example of that classic lemon and lime combination, which is so often associated with white wines. This is a definite for anyone working on a tight budget.

Geil Pinot Noir, 2010

Score: A (95). Price: €14.95, The Corkscrew Wine Merchants

There is a very simple point to our challenge of getting you to drink odd things that you normally wouldn’t. Why? This is a prime example, a wine that is so light in intensity in the glass, you could be forgiven for thinking it would follow as being watery and flat. The nose begins the assault of pronounced fruits that offer way beyond imagination, redcurrant and cranberry offering a brilliantly curious nose, which is only added to by a clear flint. That’s not all. On the palate, it is nothing short of an elegant monster. Light yet persistent, and insanely resistant to being overshadowed, for example wines of huge body like a cabernet/merlot/malbec blend tried on the same night for a higher price, did nothing to hide freshness and intense flavour that made this wine so delightful.

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Top Trends: Boyish Tailoring adding your own edge and element to the outfit, it can be really very flattering. Throwing a boyfriend blazer with a pair of skinnies is a given, but why not embrace the trend even more and go all out!

Zara – Twill trousers - €25.95 available in black, navy & cream.

Top shop – black sequin playsuit £55

MAEVE KAVANAGH One of this seasons key looks is boyish tailoring – a structured look that can be daunting. I myself got scared at the thought of it, and when I first caught a glimpse of it on model Virginia Macari at the last style awards, (which she went on to win by the way...), I still wasn’t too sure about it... now though, the trend has become bigger and more diverse. Instead of looking like you’ve borrowed your dad’s tux, you can play around with outfits and add a feminine edge to the boyish blazers and tailored trousers. Kelly Rowland pulled the look of amazingly well on the Xfactor a few weeks ago. By

Only – Evita tight blazer €39.95 – available in black, blue, maroon and grey. *tip – add a diamonte broach to glam it up!

Vila – metallic grey Shine blazer €54.95 River Island - dark grey embellished neck palazzo jumpsuit reduced to £25 –also available in navy.

A Wear - Cobalt Bethan Bow Tie Contrast Shell Top €35

Wardrobe Essentials: The Fur Coat investing in a coat with a fur collar or a fur body warmer (great selection in Penneys at the moment!).

A Wear: Leopard print €90

MAEVE KAVANAGH One key piece this winter, and one I personally always have in my winter wardrobe, is the fur coat.

Some people shy away, but ladies, now is the time to embrace the chunky fluffy wonder that it is!

They look uber styley and super cute! Wear with jeans, skirts, shorts, dresses, any way you can funk it up!

If you chicken out and decide against a full fur jacket, be sure to indulge in the trend and incorporate it into your winter wardrobe by

River Island: White & black print reduced to £60, fur collar coat €120/£90 Next: Black €126 New look: Dusty rose reduced to £25 Top Shop : Dalmatian print £98 Tesco: Black gilet reduced to £15

Anti-Piracy Ad Caught In Copyright Row AINE KIRWAN Netherlands based company, BREIN, have been involved in a copyright scandal. The company who are behind the “not so popular” anti-piracy video which appears each time you start a DVD, have been accused of using the soundtrack for this video without permission.

The song first emerged in 2006 when musician Melchoir Rietveldt was asked to compose a piece of music for an anti-piracy video, but this video was only meant to be shown at a local film festival.

Under these conditions, he agreed. To Rietvelts surprise, he noticed the video in early 2007 on a Harry Potter DVD and pursued to see the extent of the copyright damage. It came to Rietveldt’s understanding that his work has been used on tens of millions Dutch DVD’s, from which he did not

receive any compensation for it. After a tally was put together on the work that was pusblished without Riedveldts consent, it is believed that he is now owed $1,300,000 (€970,840).

In result of this scandal, Riedveldt alerted the local music royalty collecting agency, Burma/ Stemre, although, here arose more corruption.

Jochem Gerrits, a board member from Buma/ Stemra contacted Riedveldts earlier this year and agreed that they were willing to help him in gaining back his compensation, but at a price. Gerrits explained how he would help, but he wanted the track in question to be added to his own music company, High Fachion Music. Furthermore, Gerrits demanded that he would be paid 33% of all the money that would be returned to Riedveldts, as a repayment for his efforts. Gerrits later denied these claims when they were made public, yet were undeniable as the meeting that took place between Gerrits and Riedveldts was recorded. The corrupt attempt from Gerrits resulted in him temporarily resigning from Buma/ Sterma to focus on his defense.

BREIN director Tim Kuik noted that this was simply a “contractual issue”, implying that Riedveldts was paid for his song. In recent

revelations, a written report on this case no longer references BREIN’s involvement in the case, although BREIN is responsible for many anti-piracy warning DVD’s on the Netherlands. In regards to Gerrits’ actions, Dutch politicians, musicians and

a Buma/Stemra board member are disguisted by Gerrits’ actions, describing them as “corrupt” and “mafia-like”. This case is currently being processed through the Dutch Parliament.

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AMY WINEHOUSE LIONESS: HIDDEN TREASURES

Album. 45:13 minutes. Island Records.

Released 2nd December 2011.

Lioness: Hidden Treasures does exactly what it says on the tin, squirreling together some of Amy Winehouse’s demos and covers recorded before her untimely death in July.

Lioness should be judged with this in mind, being critiqued as a complimation, rather than a fully-fledged studio album.

Lioness is compiled by Salaam Remi and Mark Ronson, producers who worked extensively with Winehouse. Remi deserves much aplomb for his work on Winehouse’s debut Frank. Ronson has been largely accredited as the man who created the Winehouse retro-soul rebirth in music. What Lioness shows however is that it was truly Winehouse herself who created the sass and the magic on both her studio records.

The problems with Lioness can largely be attributed to production work. Tracks such as second single Our Day Will Come are marred by naff backing vocals, which detract from the beauty of Winehouse’s voice. The album features

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original versions of two of Back to Black’s tracks; Tears Dry on Their Own and Wake Up Alone, and also a reworking of Valerie. Whilst these additions may appeal to the ear of the Winehouse fanatic, they are largely unexciting and predictable.

A true highlight of the album is the cover of The Shirelle’s Will You Love Me Tomorrow. Winehouse’s vocals are simply amazing coupled with the fantastic, big instrumentation. The track is produced by Mark Ronson and for the first time in Lioness, the noir magic of Back to Black sparkles once again. Like Valerie, Winehouse can rightly claim this song as her territory. This is most probably the best version of the song that will be recorded.

Another standout is Like Smoke featuring Nas, which sounds fresh, cool and crisp. Then there is of course the duet Body and Soul with Tony Bennett. Winehouse stands toe to toe with this great vocal master, and outdoes herself.

Her voice is steeped in tragedy, sorrow and pain. The timbre of Winehouse’s voice is at its best here.

Lioness was never going to live up to Winehouse’s previous work. Perhaps it might have been better to release live recordings of tracks, rather than half-baked demos.

Contrary to popular belief, Winehouse’s live renditions of her work were powerful and moving. When she was good, she was perfect. Lioness, more than likely won’t be the last complimation album to be released from the Winehouse vault, but it certainly does not live up to the legacy and beauty of Winehouse’s music.

CHRISTINA MURPHY

THE RUBBERBANDITS SERIOUS ABOUT MEN

Not the funniest song on the album but oddly catchy.

“Black Man” – a hilarious Michael Jackson-esque song about the lads looking for a black man for their gang.

“Spastic Hawk”- a song about a book that Blindboy wrote about a “special” bird in his hawkery (that’s where you keep Album. 102:12 minutes. Lovely Men. hawks!) This song is so badly sung that it makes you laugh Released 2nd December 2011. out loud and has a ridiculously catchy riff. There’s also a free book of the “Spastic Hawk” written by Blindboy inside the album sleeve. Probably the weakest song on the entire album is “I Want to Fight Your Father” which was released in the earlier this year and also has an alternative version From hilarious prank calls/rap songs on Myspace in the sung in Irish (Ba Mhaith Liom Bruíon le d’Athair). beginning of the century, to getting into the top ten in the “Dropping Yokes With Eamon de Valera” is pretty single charts last year, the comedy hip-hop duo - Blindboy self-explanatory! As well as having all their new singles, Boatclub and Mr.Chrome, have certainly come a long way. the album also has some old favourites including “Up Da The Rubberbandits became a national sensation after their Ra”, “Bag of Glue” –a rap song about sleeping with a fat girl release of “Horse Outside” last year, making it into the top while “wrecked on bags on glue”, “Pure Awkward” a tune ten in the Irish singles charts and reaching over eight million about smoking crack and shifting Ice-Cube and “Willie views (and counting) on Youtube and reached critical O’Dea”, the song about the former minister for defence and acclaim after their successful shows at events such as Oxegen, now the “minister for gee”. The brilliant “Horse Outside” Electric Picnic and Bulmer’s Comedy Festival. They also have also features on the album (let’s face it; the album wouldn’t had some recent global success by selling out a nine-date be complete without it). tour in the UK and have had appearances Channel 4 and Unfortunately, the album doesn’t contain classics such MTV. In 2011, the duo were declared “Best Irish Act” at the as: “Too Many Gee”, “Magic Lump” and “Gardai Siochana” Entertainment.ie Awards, beating competition from acts such but it’s still full of hilarious tunes and prank calls to keep as Villagers and the Script and also won an IFTA award for you entertained. The duo have hopes for a Christmas their television work. But with all their recent success, have number one this year after being stonewalled by X-Factor the lads from Limerick raised the bar too high at this stage? winner Matt Cardle last year. Serious About Men is the Of course not, Serious About Men is seriously good. perfect Christmas gift for a loved one; or even just for The new album includes their new single “Spoiling Ivan” yourself. Chalk it down!

– a song about Mr. Chrome befriending a six-year-old boy.

ALLY KERR

KATE BUSH 50 WORDS FOR SNOW Album. 65:29 minutes. Fish People / EMI. Released 21st November 2011.

After thirty-three years, nine albums and a seventeen year absence from the music industry, (broken in 2005 with the release of Aerial) Kate Bush is back with her second album of the year- the first, Directors Cut was a rehash of some of the tracks from her albums The Sensual World and The Red Shoes.

Released at just the right time, its set against a wintery backdrop and featuring the theme of snow, 50 Words for Snow could best be described as a concept album. Beach Boys wrote memorable songs about summer; Kate Bush writes memorable songs about winter.

The album opens with Snowflake; a ten minute song lamenting over her missing snowman “the world is so loud, keep falling, I’ll find you.” There is the same sense of longing in “Snowed in at Wheeler Street.” Here, Bush and guest vocalist Elton John recall decades of missed romantic opportunities, from when they “met in ‘42, but we were on different sides,” to “9/11 in New York” The title track features Stephen Fry

narrating the scene and runs down the complete list of “50 Words For Snow”. In “Wild Man,” Bush sings about the yeti in an uncharacteristically deep and sexy voice. In “Misty”, she is seduced by Misty the snowman. She sings, “so cold next to me, I can feel him melting in my hand”. In “Among Angels” Bush’s voice is full of warmth as she sings: “I know what you mean when you say you fall apart/ Aren’t we all the same?/ In and out of doubt.”

Ever since she was first discovered as a teenage prodigy

by Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour back in the seventies, she has been a huge influence on the music scene – from Tori Amos to Placebo to Lana Del Rey to name but a few. 50 words for Snow proves that, even after all these years, Kate Bush hasn’t lost her touch. For Kate Bush fans, this is perfect gift for Christmas.

ALLY KERR

KORN - THE PATH OF TOTALITY

Album. --:-- minutes. Fricton, Interscope.

Released --th December 2011.

Path of Totality is Korn’s tenth studio album and their first introduction to their new dub-metal sound. This is obviously a huge departure from their definitive Nu-metal sound and may come as a shock to fans. Frontman Jonathan Davis said from the start of the project that fans are going “to be pissed about this record. That’s made me even more excited about it.

I don’t give a flying fuck what people think. We can’t win with Korn fans. Some are so stuck in 1994”. Admittedly, dub-metal isn’t entirely new. Bands like Enter Shikari and Genghis Tron have experimented with this subgenre before. However, Path of Totality is not to be ignored especially after collaborating with various on-the-rise producers, including Skrillex, Datsik, Kill the Noise and 12th Planet. Davis’s voice appears to be in top form; perhaps as good as it’s ever been in his near twenty year career. Beyond Jonathan Davis’ voice, the other important aspect of Korn’s sound has been their innovative fusion of metal, rock, hip-hop, groove and dissonance along with their use of seven-string guitars to make a “gloomy” sound. This time, however, instead of being pretty much only down-tuned guitars, the band has opted for a wide mix of hardware and software instruments, mixing guitars with synths, drum pads with physical drums and triggers, etc.

Despite this, the music still feels very similar to Korn’s earlier albums.

The album opens with “Chaos Lives in Everything”.

Remixed by Skrillex, it features those archetypal dark Korn lyrics “That fucked up part of you is gonna bury me underground” and Davis howling vocals are back in full

swing. “Get Up!”, Korn’s first single on the album and also features Skrillex is probably the best track on the entire album. With its typically angry chorus “Shut the fuck up GET UP!”, this is a brilliant assortment of Korn’s bleak and drony sound and Skrillex’s remixing. Davis stated that the track “is about the recession and how everyday people are talking about how bad the economy is and sometimes they just need to shut the fuck up, and get up, and have some fun”. The second single on the album, “Narcissistic Cannibal” is also a savage tune. A wonderful blend of Korn’s drony seventh-string guitars along with Skrillex definitive remixing turns this into an awesome listen.

The Path of Totality is a much better album than their last two album releases and it’s great to see the band moving in new directions instead of becoming old and stagnant. At times, the album is purely dubstep, at times the old, 90’s Korn sound really rears its’ head and other times it feels more like a Pendulum-esque drum and bass track. Overall, I’d recommend this to fans of dubstep and open-minded Korn fans. Not so much, however, to die-hard, metal purists.

ALLY KEER

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TAKE SHELTER

that his behaviour is irrational, but is unable to fully convince himself that his premonition is misguided. As the story Film. 121 minutes. Directed by Jeff Nichols. unfolds, it becomes apparent that Curtis’ mother contracted paranoid schizophrenia at a similar age, and that the real threat Starring Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain. to Curtis is not a portentous storm but in fact a devastating hereditary mental disintegration.

Released 30th September 2011.

The interesting aspect of writer and director Jeff Nichol’s sophomore motion picture is that it never relies on over the top plot twists. The parallels between the impending natural disaster and Curtis’ fear of turning out like his mother Take Shelter is a tense atmospheric drama that is centred are clear and simple, but work effectively throughout. The round the lives of a Texan family in crisis. Michael Shannon cinematography consistently impresses, with every still (Revolutionary Road) provides a heartbreaking performance portraying an emotive snapshot of either hope or terror. as Curtis, a man that lives in fear of an impending apocalyptic The score subtly imposes a sense of unease and suspense storm. When Curtis starts experiencing horrific night terrors throughout while also enhancing the dramatic nature of the and hallucinations, he decides to seek help. The nightmares climactic scenes. Curtis is an easily relatable protagonist, as occur sporadically throughout the film, and provide us a man who suffers in silence in order to not worry his loved insight into Curtis’ erratic behaviour. In order to combat ones, while also denying to himself that his worst fears are this anxiety, Curtis decides to build a bomb shelter in his coming to bear. The gradual mental downfall is represented in back garden, to the dismay of his wife, Samantha, played various haunting nightmare scenes that elicit an uneasy sense meticulously well by Jessica Chastain (Tree of Life). The of terror. These captivating interpretations of Curtis’ innerviewer is fully informed of Curtis’ inner-turmoil, which psyche stand out as some of the movies’ finest. Both Chastain helps us to empathise with his subsequent self-destruction. and Shannon deliver breathtaking performances as two people We understand why he risks his job, his family, his financial who are very much in love and want nothing more than to security and friendship all for the sake of a storm shelter, maintain normality and avoid the imminent demise of the life while remaining incredulous at how obtrusive this irrational they have worked hard to achieve. fear has become on Curtis’ life. Interestingly, Curtis is aware GARY TOIBIN

A DANGEROUS METHOD

Film. 94 minutes. Directed by David Cronenberg. Starring Viggo Mortense et al..

Released 23rd November 2011

A Dangerous Method focuses on the relationship between Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) and Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen), It also tells the tale of Jung’s forbidden affair with his patient Sabina Speilrein (Keira Knightley). The film serves as nostalgic narrative, exploring the origins of psychoanalytic theory.

The film is quite watchable and extremely easy to follow.

However, it really does fail to live up to its potential and is an all-in-all disappointing film.

One reason why the film fails to spark is the lackluster screenplay, written by Christopher Hampton, which remains flat, without buildup or climax. The opening scene, where Sabina Spielrein arrives for treatment under Carl Jung, really does set the rest of the picture up to failure. It is over emotive, one-dimensional and immediately alienates the audience. What follows is an anticlimactic hour and a half of an almost-there adaption of John Kerr’s non-fiction of the same name. The dialogue is quite jargon-ridden with psychology terminology. Moreover this terminology serves

ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM

Video Game. Bethesda Softworks. PS3. XBox. PC. As I write this, I have played around 50 hours of Bethesda’s latest epic. How is it then that I feel I’ve barely scratched the surface of what this game has to offer? The answer is quite simple really; Skyrim offers a world so rich in detail and so large in scope, that it makes every other game world seem sparse by comparison. The land of Skyrim is heavily influenced by Nordic tradition and architecture and is home the hearty race known as the Nords, whose customs are loosely influenced by those of the Vikings. The world is also home various other races, from the reptilian like Argonians to the High Elves whose conflict with the Nords is an on-going theme throughout. The main story involves the reappearance of Dragons throughout the world. A species long considered a myth, they have returned to terrorize the local population. Thrust into the middle of this is the player, who early on discovers that he is what is known in Skyrim as ‘Dragonborn’, an individual able to absorb the souls of slain Dragons and harness them in the form of ‘Shouts’, powerful abilities that the player discovers throughout the world. It is a story that is, for the most part, an engaging one, with genuine intrigue and momentum, and should leave those who were disappointed at Bethesdas’ more recent efforts, felling rather more satisfied. When the story finishes, you are free to continue roaming the land looking for quests, exploring or doing whatever you as the player want to do. The main story

almost as blatant name checking, rather than being relevant to the narrative at work.

The role of Sabina Spielrein is undoubtedly the highlight of Keira Knightley’s career. It is unfortunate that Knightley’s acting chops simply don’t add up to the complexities of the character. The more commendable aspects of her performance are overshadowed by her awkwardness, over-acting, and lack of overall character development.

The audience simply cannot find Knightley believable, which detracts majorly from the film’s suitability. Michael Fassbender’s performance as Carl Jung is also flawed. He is at times wooden, and unemotive making it hard to connect with his character. Viggo Mortensen is definitely the shinning light in this film, with his portrayal of Sigmund Freud. He refuses to sink into caricature and delivers a humorous, subtle and confident performance.

Unfortunately Mortenson’s magic is eclipsed by the underwhelming and disappointing performances by the rest of the ensemble.

Director David Cronenberg must also take some of the brunt of criticism. He fails to make this audience connect with the picture. A central flaw is the needless display of nudity. Cronenberg desperately tries to make the film sexy, but delivers a completely dead portrayal of sexuality.

A Dangerous Method is not a bad film. It is underwhelming. It would suit the viewer who doesn’t hold too much expectation from it. A Dangerous Method ultimately fails because it plays it safe.

CHRISTINA MURPHY is only a fraction of what Skyrim has to offer in terms of narrative intrigue. One of the more prominent sub-plots running throughout the game is the prospect of a civil war between the Imperials and the native Nords. The player is free to choose a side in the struggle and the quests given to them will change depending on which side they choose.

The game, however, steers clear of defining one side or the other as inherently good or evil; neither sides hands are completely clean in the conflict, which makes choosing a side that much more interesting. Old favourites such as the Mages and Thieves guilds and the Dark Brotherhood return with the Thieves guild in particular offering some stand-out moments. More practical elements of the game have also been improved. Inventory management has been dramatically streamlined with access to all of a players abilities and weapons now coming via an intuitive four way radial menu that allows the player to access their items with minimal button presses. Combat, while still not the game’s strong point, has a better, weightier feel to it than in previous games. Individual items can be assigned to each hand which allows for the dual wielding of weapons or indeed spells which, when combined, become more powerful.

Skyrim is still a Bethesda game. During my time with it, I’ve had numerous lockups and freezing issues which won’t be new to anybody with previous experience with any Bethesda title. With that in mind, however, it isn’t hard to argue, that what they have produced is the best game in the series. When a game offers this much depth and variety, It’s easy to look past its faults and see it for the truly great game that it is.

MARK TIERNEY

CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 3

Video Game. Activision. PS3. Xbox. Wii. PC. Every year it happens, and it seems to be the trend that Call of Duty releases now have to break some sort of record every time a game is released; one has to think, “what is the fuss all about?”. I’ll try to explain it in as little words as possible; guns, World War Three, six million sales in twenty four hours. I think I may have to go into a bit more detail...

Although a record-breaking release is hardly a credential for a good game, it is certainly a reason to be interested in finding out whether or not it is. I will just tell you now that it is, it’s perhaps one of the most fun games that’s out there at the moment (next to Skyrim, of course), but everyday people just don’t know fun it is. Way back in 2007, that is quite a long time in gaming terms, Infinity Ward more or less changed the face of first-person shooters with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

IW introduced revolutionary aspects to online multiplayer that have been reflected in most multiplayer games released since.

Two years later, Modern Warfare 2 was released and so began the yearly trend of record-breaking releases. Despite being the highest rated game of 2009, MW2 was met with some criticism, with veterans of the franchise (myself included) complaining about various aspects of over-powered weapons and perks (in-game power-ups). Regardless of this, many players still played on and became addicted (I, myself, have sadly clocked up fourteen days worth of online play in MW2).

Last month Modern Warfare 3 was released on 8 November, and shattered the previous record set by Call of Duty: Black Ops, from 5.6 million sales within 24 hours to 6.5 million sales in the US and UK alone. The behemoth of the gaming industry never ceases to amaze in sales, but did that mean the apprehensive veterans would be pleased with MW3? Yes, very much so. While the campaign, an aspect of gaming going by way of the dodo in FPS games, is enjoyable but instantly forgettable, the primary cause for purchase is the online multiplayer.

With a new system of ‘point-streaks’ replacing the former ‘killstreak’ system (the awards you receive for killing players in-game), the ideal vision IW had was for newcomers of the series to simply hop on the game and not instantly be slaughtered by hardcore gamers, as was the case in MW2. With new tweaks to the game’s weapons system and perks, a more balanced game is certainly felt from the get-go. Upon my first several hours of play I literally felt like a child on Christmas morning, happy to playing something new, and happy about the familiarity of it all. As a franchise, the Modern Warfare series has become the benchmark when it comes to FPS games, with most games post-release of MW3 (albeit Skyrim) suffering in sales due to the popularity of the series.

Complaints are few and far between when it comes to the game as a whole, generally about the fact that MW3 was developed on a ‘brand new’ engine that is surprisingly similar to that of the one MW2 used. The only people who complain about this are marginally likely to be the people who are simply looking for things to complain about, rather than just enjoy the game, n00bs.

SHANE KIERNAN

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THE HORRORS SKYING Album. 54:36 minutes. XL. Released 11th July 2011.

The Horrors have the look of a filthy rock band. They probably own about sixteen types of stiff leather jacket, appear under nourished most of the time and quite often get into ten minute grooves when milking their sweaty instruments. So keeping that in mind, this is why their third effort Skying becomes so much more of a shocking record than their 2007 punk influenced debut album Strange House.

Strange House was fast, loud and pure unadulterated punk poured out by progressive teenagers in two to three minute songs. Having left that sound far, far behind and thankfully gone all grown up on their sophomore record Primary Colours, the band are now pushing forward into murky unexplored territory on third album Skying. For a start, it’s clear in both instrumentation and vocals. Now that is new.

Opening track “Changing the Rain” sets the tone with jungle drumming and salt shakers which soon get replaced with dreamy drum beats, shoegaze guitars, watery piano sections and simple chill vocals. The instruments introduce The Horrors new dreamlike direction. Synth effects are

THE VACCINES - WHAT DID YOU EXPECT FROM THE VACCINES Album. 33:17 minutes. Columbia.

Released 11th March 2011.

A lot of similarities have been drawn between The Vaccines and Arctic Monkeys this year. Both of these bands have been hyped beyond measure before even releasing their first single, both bands successfully mocked this hype to the same media outlets which provided the over-expectation and thankfully both bands delivered when their debut album finally arrived. What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? delivers a kick in the teeth with opener “Wrecking Bar (Ra Ra Ra)”. Notably a mere minute and a half kick in the teeth; seven of this albums eleven tracks clocks in at under three minutes, a very punk move you might reflect. Their debut is filled with energetic post-punk revivalist tunes, which perhaps have not been this successfully executed since the early 2000’s when Franz Ferdinand, The Strokes and The White Stripes wrestled the airwaves away from the dominant alternative scene. In reflection the revivalist movement has been waning a bit of late; but these guys have now breathed

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introduced on the album in places too; not very punk at all.

“I Can See Through You” is a stand out song to highlight the lyrical change as it includes a lyric that no fan of the Horrors would ever have expected to hear way back in 2007; lalalalala. This is a different band now though as it is one who now craves longevity in its music. They now push the bar for psychedelic summer sounds for a modern audience. On “Endless Blue” the sunny jams are continued with an instrumental drawl of brass percussion at the songs beginning, before stepping it up with heavy guitar chugging and vocal cooing. “Everything/Seems so far away/ Everything/Seems so far alive/Endless/Its endless”.

First single “Still Life” is a microcosm within the album as it sums up all the subtle textures and vibes that the band has tried to cram into its third effort. The openness, vastness and expansive possibilities all shine through. It is an astounding piece of work for a band of such unoriginal origins to possess the ability to fight its way into musical relevancy. The tracks on Skying are lengthy with the shortest track being just over 4 minutes long and the longest flowing at 8 minutes 39 seconds. The highlight of the whole album is of course the longest track “Moving Further Away” which builds with such intensity and has such a mesmerizing loop that you shall not feel the time passing at all. It is an eloquent must have experience which surpasses Primary Colours best track “Sea within a Sea” and leaves it in its wake.

The Horrors have really created something special here.

DEAN HEALY

some new life into the genre at last.

Singles “If You Wanna” and “Nørgaard” contain that drum rattle that all the indie kids just love to stamp some foot to. The guitars chug and chug, but it is the vocal optimism which really puts The Vaccines at the forefront of 2011. Economic crisis? Let’s dance. They can of course slow it down too; “Post Break-Up Sex” is an anthem to the forlorn. “All In White” slows it down even more with raw emotion spilling from lead singer Justin Young all over that clear instrumentation. The band themselves are very clear from what exactly they are they are inspired from: “50’s rock n’ roll, 60’s garage and girl groups, 70’s punk, 80’s American hardcore, and good pop music”. See, they are very clear. The brief length of the album, at just over half an hour, is honestly a charm which works in the bands favour, as it seems that they just get so much done in that short period of time. The album really does fly by. Whatever you did expect from the vaccines, this album is seriously much better.

So, let’s just sit back and wait for their sophomore effort.

Up next, New Wave Revival? Perhaps.

DEAN HEALY

FLEETWOOD MAC RUMOURS Album. 39:03 minutes. Warner Bros.

Released 4th February 2011.

‘Rumours’ was Fleetwood Mac’s 11th studio album.

Following on from the success of their 10th album, ‘Fleetwood Mac’, in 1975 ‘Rumours’ was to go far beyond that to become by far their most successful. It would top the charts in the US, UK, Australia and Canada and with sales of 40 million copies this album is currently one of the bestselling of all time. The album’s success was mainly down to a number of key tracks which were released as singles; namely “Go Your Own Way”, “Don’t Stop”, “Dreams”, and “You Make Loving Fun”.

“Dreams” is a track featuring the distinctive lead vocals of Stevie Nicks accompanied by a simple bass-line and kick-snare beat. It is, in a lot of ways, quite a simple track and is very easy to listen to which is perhaps a large part of its appeal. Nicks’ vocals are perfect through-out the song and her lyrics have become somewhat iconic over the years; particularly the line “thunder only happens when it’s raining”.

“Don’t Stop” is a much more up-beat track than “Dreams” with Christine McVie and Lindsey Buckingham providing

lead vocals. The use of synth, piano, bass, guitar and drums gives this song a much fuller feel to it than some of the earlier songs on the album. The combination of McVie’s and Buckingham’s vocals adds an almost friendly, feel-good atmosphere to the song. This is a quality which I have always felt Fleetwood Mac had that other bands of their time didn’t; or if they did they were nowhere near as successful.

“Go Your Own Way” is an excellent track. Again it has a feel-good quality while at the same time retaining a sincerity about it. The instrumentation in this track is impeccable as it runs almost crescendo-like into a screaming guitar solo near the end. One track which I feel is a key track, but which was not released as a single is “The Chain”. “The Chain” starts off with a blues feel in its verse and is then brought up in the chorus with a pounding bassline and extra vocals. What makes this track special is the ‘outro’. Following the second chorus there is a break where possibly one of the most recognisable bass-lines of all time comes in to give way to a screaming guitar solo.

It is no surprise that ‘Rumours’ is one of the all-time greats. It is a great demonstration of Fleetwood Mac’s quality and diversity in the range of different sounds they could produce. The production quality is also top-notch.

However it is primarily down to the talent of the band that this album has sold so many copies.

MICHAEL O’TOOLE

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TYLER, THE CREATOR GOBLIN

track is eery as Tyler expresses his suicidal feelings and hatred for life, wearing his flaws on his sleeve unlike most rappers of our time. After Goblin ends, the distorted filthy beat of Yonkers starts up, and we are introduced to Tyler’s flawless flow. As Tyler battles with his alter ego Wolf, each Album. 73:49 minutes. XL. line contradicts itself: “I’m a fucking walking paradox - no I’m not”. The rhyming is at its most clever in this track and Released 10th May 2011. he delivers lines with a musical patter and staccato syllables: “Rapping as I’m mocking deaf rock stars”.

Goblin meanders through hip-hop styles during its hour long duration. Tyler’s grungey-rock influences can be heard After the old school stylings 2009’s Bastard, the release in the vicious Radicals, but right after it there is the pop-rap of Tyler, The Creator of OFWGKTA’s Goblin was much sound of She about stalking a girl, until he finally kills her anticipated. This album, released this May, saw the return and has his way with her body in the forest. Though Tyler of not only Tyler himself, but also his characters Dr. TC goes out of his way with this record to make a disclaimer (his fictional therapist) and his evil white alter-ego Wolf saying this is all a fiction, at times it seems like he’s going Haley. There is also a return to the sick lyrical themes of his too far out of his way to deliver distasteful lyrics. Tron Cat first record, such as the ever popular necrophilia. With this opens with a pop piano chord sequence, leading into a album, Tyler and OFWGKTA saw a huge influx of interest heavy dark beat, only to drop back to the sequence to deliver and acclaim, particularly after the video for the single the line “Rape a pregnant bitch and tell my friends I had a Yonkers dropped in February and Tyler appeared on Late threesome”.

Night with Jimmy Fallon performing Sandwitches - the This album shows Tyler’s masterful flow, such as in first television performance of any Odd Future member.

Sandwitches, and lyrical skills, like the musical delivery in On this record, Tyler tries to explain himself quite a bit Her. Though the album might be long, it is an astounding after the controversy that came with his first album due example of modern day rap. Well worth a listen for hip-hop to the lyrical themes. The opening and title track begins fans. Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All. his second session with Dr. TC, who taunts him about DYLAN COLLEY being a fake, pretending to be a murderer. The backing

GILL SCOTT-HEARN & JAMIE XX - WE’RE NEW HERE

limelight.

While the album is a quite short 35 minutes, those minutes are spent caught up reflecting Scott-Heron’s blues influenced verses and being reinforced by Smith’s beats and bass. Smith’s reworking of Scott-Heron’s Album. 35:35 minutes. XL Recordings. voice to coincide with beats can be praised, yet it is Released 21st February 2011. his inclusion of a distinctly varied sound of influences from dance, electric and garage music that truly makes the album an experience as opposed to something you can listen to. While both singles which the album Anyone who would have thought that a member of The spawned, NY Is Killing Me and I’ll Take Care Of U, are a xx (Jamie xx) would be the one to rework Gil Scott-Heron’s comparable duo, both with heartfelt verses of experience first album in over sixteen years would have been laughed and loss, it is the fourth track in, Running, which really at until February this year. Scott-Heron, one of the most encapsulates the aesthetic of Scott-Heron’s I’m New Here prolific and revolutionary blues and soul poets of the and Smith’s attention to detail of each track that makes twentieth century, was active in the music scene until his this album a true masterpiece in my eyes. tragic death in May this year, but not without gaining mass It is not often a blues/jazz poet of sixty-one years, recognition once more before his untimely death with the who provided a social commentary of the mid to late help of an indie pop producer in the form of Jamie Smith. twentieth century, and a twenty-two year old English As the original release of Scott-Heron’s I’m New Here producer, who hadn’t really accomplished much, come was in 2010, Smith was approached by Richard Russell, together to form an album that can really access the head of the label XL and close friend of Scott-Heron, to depths of one’s mind and make you think about how old rework the album for a release in 2011. The outcome was and new can be smashed together to create something an amalgamation of new-age dance, minimalist beats, that is actually beautiful. If this album was a cake I and Scott-Heron’s passionate poetry. Given the fact that would try to take as long as humanly possible to eat it, Smith’s reputation as a producer was little known, this it’s that good. album has shown his true potential as a (tentatively titled) Gil Scott-Heron passed away on 27 May 2011, leaving post-dubstep artist. In light of the source material, which a legacy that will resonate through music and poetry for was put to him, Smith did not see this as his chance to decades to come. Scott-Heron’s tragic death in quite in shine via the work of someone else; he sought to bring the contrast to Jamie Smith’s future prospects in a Mercury poetry of Scott-Heron to the forefront of alternative music. Prize winning band and as a young and acclaimed The result was revival Scott-Heron’s career, and the launch producer which is just beginning to blossom. of Smith’s stature, as an underground producer, into the SHANE KIERNAN

AND SO I WATCH YOU FROM AFAR - GANGS Album. 44:44 minutes. Richter Collective Released 29th April 2011.

Here we have a band who know how to make an impact.

If their unusual name doesn’t catch your attention, they have plenty more at their disposal to draw you in and get you hooked. A four-piece instrumental, punk band from Belfast, they show that you don’t necessarily need to have a great singer to be a great band. The vocal energy is replaced by loud and powerful riffs, rich guitar harmonies, and excellently timed instrumentation.

This is their second full album, following on from their self-titled release in 2009 and since its release, it has been received very well, attracting an ever-growing number of fans. It’s not very hard to see why. The opening track on the album is an absolute screamer. The opening riff of “BEAUTIFULUNIVERSEMASTERCHAMPION” is as big, and as powerful as the track title. It sets up the album perfectly showing the unbelievable energy of this rather original band.

Straight after this powerful opening riff there follows a much

lighter verse of bouncy guitar motifs, with underlying bass and drums leading into another pounding chorus. The end of this incredible track is where the real beauty lies with fantastic guitar harmonies layered over a synth and bass-line leaves a truly triumphant feel to the track’s climax.

It’s a very tough decision to pick out the key tracks of this album but I think track 4, “7 Billion People All Alive at Once” is certainly one worth noting. ASIWYFA is a band that delivers an almost unrelenting barrage of energy-filled loud riffs but they’re also very good at maximising their impact by taking the foot off the gas a little bit. This track is a good example of this. It starts off on a much lighter note than the previous three tracks and feels almost playful in its orientation up until a certain point where it begins to become a little more serious. There are no lyrics in the track but vocals are used to add that little bit extra to what is an absolutely top-class piece of music.

The last track of this album, called “Lifeproof ” is a fitting end to an album that I would truly recommend anyone not just to listen to but to experience. It finishes the record off with the same energy that runs right throughout the album. It’s loud, it’s proud and to be quite honest it actually makes you feel amazing.

A great album.

MICHAEL O’TOOLE

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Katie Fitzgearald Stuck In The Middle MEGHAN O’DOWD

On November 30th, we saw online drama played out as we witnessed the story of Kate Fitzgerald unfold over the platform of social media.

Kate, like any other girl, had hopes and dreams.

Her dream was to work at the Communications Clinic under the powerful, acknowledged eye of Terry Prone. Little did she know that getting her dream job was a key part of how and why she would leave us.

Facebook was awash with comments, condolences, and cries of outrage at her recent suicide. After three months, for those that knew her, this seemed incomprehensible; a painful yet admiring reflection on this angel who flew too soon.

This drama emerged as a result of an article published in the Irish Times on November 27th. The article, a supposed reflection on her life and tragic death, was not as honest as it could have been. It came to light, through the independent bloggers broadsheet.ie, that they had in fact cut a large portion out of this article - a segment which implicated her employers in her suffering. For those who loved her dearly, this was a sickening realisation. But why?

As an aspiring journalist, Kate had written articles for the Irish Times. She respected their publication above any other. And out of selfishness, and concern for their profits above all else, they simply responded to the dissatisfaction of her previous employer.

One would think after her dedication to this company, her sheer love for her work - regardless of its implication in her life - that she and her family would be at peace. However, the company’s utter denial tarnished her name in favour of their own.

Broadsheet.ie was also told that a “libel bomb” was about to explode over them should they broadcast this information online. It was then taken down out of sheer fear for themselves.

They later admitted this, reinstating all previous information on the site and more since - including a mysteriously deleted and now missing voicemail message.

SHANE McNALLY

What inspired us most when this story came to light is that simply, through all the heartache her friends and family have suffered since losing her, the public shared our sentiments. This WAS wrong, and this WAS handled in the most unfathomably incorrect way possible.

As individuals, and as a society, we look to mainstream media for guidance, for our information, and for some semblance of social interaction. But how can we say we believe in this media when they choose to admonish their own guilt in a case such as this?

These are the real 1%, people who hide in ivory towers, protecting what they have in name and reputation only - though that reputation may be made on false perceptions and notions of grandeur.

Kate’s parents have stated that they will back her story no matter what, and we will too. What should she accomplish by lying? She was a kind, open-hearted person, with more love to give than most. She had hopes and dreams; she valued strong women, her career and her friends. She valued truth, and more importantly she valued honesty.

Suicide is a scary topic. One in which ‘blame’ seems to be the most talked about word.

But we don’t want to blame anybody.

What is most desired for all of us who miss her dearly is that she can rest peacefully, respectfully, and be remembered for the good. Yes, she was provocative. But she was also inspiring. For those who think they are on a pedestal; you are not.

You hide behind stigma, you lack compassion and understanding. No more will we give you respect, or look to you as leaders. People like Kate were the true leaders of our time, the ones who would stand out and not be afraid. Who would fight the good fight, get dirty in the process, but always come out like a beacon of hope. These leaders are true, in word, and in heart.

Sleep tight angel. You fought for us, and now we fight for you.

The Real A&E

SEAN McLOUGHLIN

Efficiency, diligence, concern, compassion and professionalism – these words are synonymous with standard service across the world. Even in a depression it is possible to achieve these characteristics.

Unfortunately, our health service is severely lacking in these laudable attributes.

It seems that the HSE has taken an unusual approach to providing its service. The first principle appears to be: Make the patient as uncomfortable as possible. This is effectively achieved through the use of uncomfortable chairs (many of which are falling apart), nausea inducing paint on the walls (the colour of which matches the sick one barely holds in), and a staff so stressed out that you can actually see clumps of hair falling out of their head while they serve you.

Now, I can appreciate the HSE is underfunded like many of our public services, but this should not excuse the disgraceful treatment proffered by A and E staff in Blanchardstown. This is evidenced by the second principle of the HSE: Abandon the laws of physics as they pertain to time. In this carefully constructed universe, 5 minutes can just as effectively be viewed as a 12 hour window. In short: The more severe your condition, the longer one has to wait for treatment.

Taken to its logical conclusion, we can assume any life threatening cases should be sent directly to the morgue – do not pass go, do not collect your medical card.

A third and especially genius principle instigated by the HSE is to encourage you to leave without treatment. This is achieved by turning off the heating in the winter and turning it on in the summer. On top

of this they leave any unpleasant smelling winos in the queue for an exceptionally long period of time while ensuring all the security guards are conspicuously absent. (This is not to say that the security guards are constantly absent. They actually perform the important function of ensuring that the injured party is effectively separated from those he or she cares about to ensure any apprehension or fear is magnified.)

Finally, the always impressive principle of encouraging self diagnosis: Why should trained professionals examine you when Google, hypochondria and effectively no medical training ensures a speedy and non-litigious recovery period?

Now those of you with ambitions to work in the health sector or those still naive enough to believe we have a functioning sane department of health may find my comments a little harsh, so I would like to conclude my critique of our unique health service with a nod towards those attributes which should be celebrated.

We should applaud the hard work undertaken by doctors and nurses who are overworked and under resourced, the honest and dutiful staff that ensure that the facilities remain clean and fit for use, and the continuing enthusiasm with which the staff carry out their work. This is especially commendable since the hospitals’ budgets are constantly being tightened, while still having one of the largest bureaucratically inefficient executive classes running this farce of a department.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny proclaimed that the results of February 25th 2011 were nothing short of a democratic revolution. Someone should perhaps buy the Mayo man a dictionary for Christmas.

Maybe they’ll get a two for one deal on a German to English one as well, who knows? What we had is a few name changes, but the same fiscal policy and certainly the same old political story of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.

The terms of this budget have been bandied about over the past few months in a not so subtle game of feeding the public on a slow drip that effectively nulled public sentiment into a sense of stupor that left people saying,‘It could have been worse’. This is a fallacy, one that is as vacuous as our facile notion of politics. Out of this came Budget 2012.

Overall retail sales are down annually by 3.7%; the government will of course cite a 0.1% increase in October. However the -3.7% figure already takes this into account. Now factor a 2% VAT increase into this already bleak situation for retailers and what is effectively a flat rate property tax on an economy in which one in every eight mortgage is distressed; in other words over 100,000 mortgages are in arrears, with nearly half of these in arrears for more than six months.

The callous cuts for disability allowance made headlines and the stories of the individuals have embarrassed the government into a U-turn.

However there are still countless other cuts that will be most acutely felt by the marginalised in society; blanket cuts to social welfare, children’s allowance, healthcare and education to name but a few. All of these without any thought to the individual families who on a daily basis struggle to put food on the table after attempting to pay untenable mortgages.

Should this surprise us? In a word: no. Enda Kenny with great bluster declared a democratic revolution in the context of a nation that no longer held economic sovereignty and that married a right leaning government to a bunch of Champagne

socialists. This intricate recipe resulted in a product which is effectively the same as the last; a collection of unimaginative, cowardly and ineffectual politicians that choose the suffering of the very weakest in society over the wealth of a few.

This statement could be attacked by the very people who champion these political parties and have signed up to the stagnant pool that is Irish politics. Their attacks are reflective of the abhorrent neglect of a government that increasingly misses the point. Ireland has the one of the largest gaps in equality in the Euro zone and the percentage of people at risk of poverty in Ireland has now increased to 15.8%. Cutting capital expenditure, jobs, curtailing services and increasing the cost of living will not fix this.

There is a need for fresh thinking and political renewal in Ireland. Perhaps we are seeing early signs of this in several TDs losing the party whip; the most notable casualty is the recently elected Patrick Nulty, who admirably decided to vote on principles and not with a government that promised so much, but has given so little. Labour Youth have also spoken out against their senior branch over the budget and previously on education cuts.

A sign of things to come? Well, maybe not as the latest RedC poll has put Fianna Fáil as the second most popular party in the country again and Paddy Power are now offering evens on the party winning the most seats in the next general election.

As a nation we have to break away from this stagnant middle-ground, otherwise we’ll be listening to Stealer’s wheel while MartEndaMore cuts our ear off.

R.A. Rant Time

AMY GLEESON

It’s a calm, cold November night and our house is on a rare night in. Pyjamas on, tea in hand, you get the picture.

Suddenly a piercing noise rips through the house: The Fire Alarm. This time though, I am FULLY prepared.

Wearing my duvet as coat, grabbing the ever important key card and shoving on my boots as I leave my sexiness and pride on the floor, in my haste to exit the “burning building”. Pandemonium outside. We shuffle around pretending not be embarrassed by our attire, whilst making awkward eye contact with the hot neighbour from next door. R.A’s rush around making sure every one’s evacuated the building.

I drift off for twenty minutes and later return. “Still not allowed in yet?” A gruff “no”. I look up. A neighbour of ours who lives upstairs waves down and pretends to jump.

He’s wheelchair bound and no, you didn’t misunderstand, he really does live upstairs. On the third floor.

Let me just interrupt my rant to say: what halfway intelligent human being puts a wheelchair bound person on the third floor? Upon questioning the Residence Assistants they replied with an idiotic story of how it takes forty minutes for any fire to reach the third floor in which time anyone who is wheelchair bound would have been removed. Allow me to reply with one obvious fact: what if a fire starts on the third floor?

I laugh and pretend to catch him.

“Do you think this is funny?” I look around. “I said do you think this is funny?” I find the source of the voice. A small (is it just me or are the aggressive ones always small?), irate R.A. is staring at me. I pause. Now, generally, I’m pretty easy going but it was half twelve. I

was cold, tired and I knew in my heart and soul that there was no way I was ever going to pull the hot neighbour now.

“Do you think it’s funny that someone is still in there?”

I saw red. “Excuse me? No, as a matter of fact I don’t think this is funny. This is the second time this has happened, both times as a prank. Also, if a real fire ever did occur everyone’s reactions would be delayed as we’d all just think that it was another prank. And that person up there? I know them, so what are you trying to say?”

The R.A. was silly enough to respond. Why didn’t I go upstairs and save him? “Um, because whenever the fire alarm does go off all of you burst into our apartments and tell us to get out. You won’t even let us wait to check if our own roommates are out never mind our neighbours!”

I can feel the silent waves of agreement from our entire building as people start to back me up and question my tormentor. I take a step back and catch my breath as The Tormentor retreats realising she has lost the battle.

As I slowly recover from my first college confrontation, I wonder, do all people think the same of students?

This R.A. actually thought that I’d have no opinion on the matter at hand and that I wouldn’t question her argument. Yes, it is a small matter but if someone actually was hurt in a fire due to campus conditions and rules, the entire faculty would be up in arms wondering why this incident had happened. As usual, questioning motives and reasons AFTER the event has taken place and it’s clearly too late. So, for that reason alone, I’ve put it down on paper and am officially “putting it out there”. Oh, and to my dear irate R.A: Don’t worry, I leave no man behind.

If there is a fire, never fear: you won’t die on my watch.

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December 13th 2011 - Volume 3, Issue 6 THE

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My Budget Rant

Stuck In The Middle

DECLAN MEENAGH

Firstly, these opinions are my own and not of groups I’m involved with.

I knew this day would come. The country was in such a state after the damage that the PDs, the Greens and FF did to it, tough decisions had to be made. It’s sickening to see FF members criticizing the government for not cleaning up their mess fast enough.

Perhaps the most shocking element of the budget was the savage cut to young people on disability allowance. This was unexpected, and hadn’t been previously leaked, but more on that later. The proposal would reduce the payments made to people on disabilities between the ages of 16-25 by a cash amount which was higher than the cash taken off state pensions for people who are still getting over 100,000 a year.

Listening to Live Line shows the horrific effect this would have on people all over the country. It would have a massively negative effect on students attending 3rd level, and would destroy the independence of people who have trouble leaving their houses. I welcome the decision to review it, but it’s something we all need to work on to make sure that they completely reverse this bad decision.

The cut to the higher rate of child benefit to the 3rd child across the board is also very unfair. Most people on child benefit can probably afford it, or it will have a minimum affect, but for the poorest, this cut is a disgrace. Means testing child benefit is difficult, but until it is possible, this cut shouldn’t be made, or there should be an extra payment to offset it for those on the lowest income.

Labour removed 3rd level fees, so it is absolutely disgraceful that we have cut the grant and increased the registration fee; a policy which will act as a barrier to education. I welcome the fact that

Maynooth SU is taking a sensible approach to the Stop Fees campaign by targeting both parties equally.

I like the escalating nature of the campaign, and welcome the recent Occupy Naas protest.

The VAT increase is really stupid. Consumption taxes affect the poor more because they consume most of their income; this is shown in various reports from TASC, ERSI, and the Combat Poverty Agency.

This budget has some good proposals to help businesses make jobs, but they are drops in the ocean in comparison to the problems in youth unemployment and people leaving the country. The number of people on the live register keeps rising and businesses are having trouble. We need to have a massive investment strategy, but of course the EU won’t let us borrow to fund it, and FG won’t let us raise taxes so we don’t have the money. The EU in its current form is a joke. Merkozy aren’t doing anything, we may as well have Jedward in charge.

The budget process is broken, and I welcome the decision to reform it. The kites which were flown scared a lot of people. They also played a role in killing the proposal around making employers pay 4 weeks of sick pay, which I believe was a good and fair proposal. I think that as a result of that proposal being shelved by FG backbenchers, the cut in disability had to be made as a counter proposal.

The core problem here is ideology. FG won’t increase taxes so we don’t have to have as many cuts.

Labour believes that we should pay a fair amount of tax to make the best possible public services available to all, that’s why I’m involved.

In short I’m still going to remain a Labour member. For a junior partner in government, we still are getting a lot done. I disagree with some details, but until the people of Ireland vote in a full Labour government then we will have to put up with a flipflop between FF and FG, and a continuation of old, right wing, politics.

ANONYMOUS

From someone who has genuinely considered suicide, and been on the verge, let me make one thing clear; it is not a sign of weakness, it is not a sign that someone does not care, it is a sign that someone cannot bear the tragedy of a world that to them is so toxic. Above all, it is not an act of selfishness.

I am appalled at the recent actions of The Irish Times and their handling of the story of Kate Fitzgerald. They have vilified a woman whose only wish was that by sharing her personal experience she could try and erase a part the stigma surrounding Mental Health in Ireland. So much so that it has driven me to give my own story, and my experience surrounding mental health in this country.

As a gay teen in Ireland, I was bullied and tormented on a daily basis, as so many unfortunately are. When I was 15 years old I suffered a tragic loss, that of my boyfriend, he died in a car crash. At the time neither of us were ‘out’ to any of our friends and family, our relationship was a secret.

That story remained a secret to my closest friends until 18 months ago; to this day the number of people who know can be counted on my hands, hence my request for anonymity for this piece.

I became severely depressed. I succumbed to grief and trauma that most people even several times my age find agonising. I completely receded into myself, I didn’t talk or eat, I couldn’t sleep, I gave up my hobbies and passions, I was a shell of my former self.

Every moment was spent mourning, but mourning on my own, behind closed doors where not one person could see my tears, I could not share my grief, I could not explain my change in attitude, I couldn’t tell anybody that I had lost the one person that meant the world to me.

Weeks and months later, on several occasions, I genuinely considered suicide, so much so that I still

remember standing on the edge of that bridge at 4am on a Tuesday morning, I slipped out of the house, never expecting to return. I looked at the cold murky water below, and I saw my future at the bottom of it.

As I stood there, a thought came into my head, a voice, it told me not to do it, that it isn’t what my boyfriend would have wanted. I’m lucky I had that voice to pull me back, to keep me from taking my life. Others, unfortunately, do not have that voice, for some, it is the only option left. For those people, it is the most courageous action they can perform.

To a certain extent, what I felt was a result of the attitudes towards homosexuality, and my perception of the results of telling people about it. However, the depression I felt afterwards was real, and I am confident in saying it would have arisen if I had been able to talk to someone or not.

It saddens me every time I learn of someone who has committed suicide, whether they are 12, 25, 50 or 80. But they have chosen to end what to them is unbearable; they have not decided to simply ‘give up’.

They have chosen peace, and I respect their choice.

Unless you have been in their shoes, have spent a day in their life, have endured what they endured, you cannot judge them for their actions.

I am not trying to justify suicide as a viable option; it should never have to be an option. But unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world, this is especially the case in our country, mental health is something that is talked about in hushed tones behind net curtains up and down the streets of something reminiscent of 1960s Ireland.

Right here, right now, this stigma needs to be removed from the realms of Irish society. Mental illnesses, whether it be depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or the many, many others, are as real and as much of an issue as cancer or heart disease, and this needs to be driven into society’s consciousness.

Ireland’s Political Future Aristotle on Money SHANE COFFEY Fianna Fáil have dominated Irish politics for most of the past century since they first took power in 1932. They have never suffered such a crushing defeat as they did in February of this year; in fact no party has ever lost as much in a single election. They lost 51 seats, a staggering amount that led many to write them off as a party, saying they’ll never get back to where they once were. But politics has a habit of coming back around, the results of the recent RedC poll show.

Now a poll is a poll and should always be taken with a pinch of salt, but it does raise interesting questions. It’s unlikely that FG’s use of FF as a scapegoat for everything will only pay off so much.

Support for a party that slashes public spending and increases taxes will surely reduce over time. The amount of independent TD’s too will also surely shrink; their election was the result of dissatisfaction with the main parties and the established politics that exist.

So let’s fast forward 4 years, with the current administration coming to an end (providing it lasts that long, nothing is certain). What might the political landscape look like?

Fianna Fáil’s popularity will surely have risen, as they still have a pool of support from which they could gain more voters. Major restructuring of the

party is necessary but they could easily be in line for circa 40 or 50 seats. Junior coalition partners tend to lose out heavily after a period of government marred by cuts and recession so Labour will probably lose a significant portion of their 37 seats. The same goes for Fine Gael, they will not escape public backlash if economic stagnation continues (and all indications are it will).

So imagine if you will an election result of Fine Gael 55 seats; Fianna Fáil 55; Labour 20; Sinn Féin 25 and the remainder made up of independents and fringe parties. What sort of government could emerge from this?

A result like this would completely change the political landscape of Ireland as we know it. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael may be the only two parties able to form a stable government. They are, after all, very similar in ideology and outlook, and perhaps in the not-so-distant future they might indeed form some sort of pact (although there could be mutiny if this happens).

If that isn’t shock enough to the system, imagine a FF/ SF government. A Sinn Féin Táiniste might be a difficult thing to sell to the public but in absence of any other real option, it might just happen. I fail to see a time where FG would even consider a coalition with SF, but time does great things to people. It is important to note that if the Euro was to go crashbang-wallop (as is still possible) all bets are off.

What is certain is that the next few years will change Ireland’s political and social landscape completely.

And perhaps we’ll be better for it.

DEAN HEALY Christmas is certainly going to be a daunting time for Irish families up and down the country this year; money is everywhere on the agenda from politics to gift shopping to basic food sourcing. But this time of year does not have to be all about the money, as it can more importantly be about the celebration of your family and friends. It is time that we left this money nonsense behind and got back to what it is to be a human being. The problem is that we have often forgotten the actual real point and good aspects of life, and instead turned to the acquisition of money.

Don’t feel too bad though, as this turn away from family and friends towards artificial money has been true for a long time. A very, very long time. Over 2,400 years ago the philosopher Aristotle was able to point out the worrying trait arising in society; it was in approximately 350 BCE that this issue was addressed in his book the Politics, so why have we not woken up already? Maybe it’s finally time to wake up.

For Aristotle, value systems first arose through the art of acquisition amongst a population of people in a certain community. As we all know communities are integrated, and every person in a community has to rely on the other members of the community for certain aspects of their survival needs, and so natural value systems can begin to arise. For an example of

how things started to go belly up, we just have to look at a lovely pair of Christmas boots (gentlemen, your ladies might be wanting a pair of these this year).

If boots are created just for walking, then Aristotle would say we ourselves attach secondary uses to items such as boots. A secondary use such as having a value is just a custom we apply to the item, and not the natural use of the item. The secondary use of having a value led to the creation of money and was the symbol for exchange for Aristotle.

When towns increased in size over time the amount of bartering increased too, and the natural use of the object became lost, to only later be replaced by the customary value which human beings artificially attached to the object. Aristotle pointed out that “when the inhabitants of one country became more dependent on those of another, and they imported what they needed, and exported what they had too much of, money necessarily came into use”. People through this custom were then led to believe that it is the gathering of money and the achievement of a great wealth that was the natural aim of the household. The whole point of human life soon became to increase the households monetary means. So this year if you really want to get in the true spirit of Christmas, go enjoy your families company and forget all about the artificial means.

Money and artificial gifts don’t need to be your aim for an enjoyable time, people are certainly what really matters.

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#History: The Top Tweets of 2011

MEGAN O’DOHERTY

Since its launch in July 2006 Twitter has become one of the most popular and influential social networking websites on the internet. With over 300 million users it is hard to pick out ten of the best tweets, but Twitter have gone ahead and compiled a list of the best tweets of 2011.

@Ghonim “Welcome back Egypt #Jan25”: Wael Ghonim, a Google marketing manager and an online activist was arrested and kept in captivity for twelve days for organising protests against the Mubarak government. Upon his release he tweeted “Welcome back Egypt #Jan25” and has become a symbol for the #Jan25 pro-democracy movement in Egypt. @ReallyVirtual “Helicopter hovering above Abbottabad at 1AM (is a rare event): Shohaib Athar, a computer programmer was inadvertently the first person to tweet about the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound. The death of Osama bin Laden was one of the biggest news stories of the year but Athar dismissed his involvement, saying ‘he was just someone awake late at night, tweeting what he saw and heard.’ @putodanny “my daughter her name is sarah m rivera”: Daniel Morales, a homeless man living in New York used Twitter to find his daughter after eleven years apart. An organisation for homeless people called Underheard gave Morales a prepaid mobile phone. He used it to set up a Twitter account and he tweeted “my daughter her name is sarah m rivera”, a photo of her and his number. He received a phone call from Sarah the next day and has since been reunited with her and has met his two grandchildren.

@KDTrey5 “This lockout is really boring... anybody playing flag football in Okc..I need to run around or something!”: Kevin Durant, a forward for the Oklahoma City Thunder Basketball team was bored during a lockout due to stalled negotiations between players and owners. He tweeted about his desire for a game of football and one of his followers, a student from Oklahoma State, invited him for a game of football to which the NBA star accepted. @sophontrack “Have I started something? Are we all going to #riotcleanup? AMAZING!”: Sophie Collard, Dan Thompson and Sam Duckworth used to Twitter to help organise a mass clean up London after the riots in August. They used hashtags to find volunteers and coordinate the efforts.

@Stefmara “Here’s another Photo of the shuttle from my plane.”: Stephanie Gordon, an events organiser from New Jersey was on a flight from New York to Palm Beach, when she witnessed the launch space shuttle Endeavour. She took photos of the shuttle emerging from the clouds and tweeted them when she landed. The photos immediately became an internet hit.

“Earthquake” Twitter did not pick on particular tweet in this case. Many people affected by the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in March were able to get in contact with their family and friends through Twitter. The site was also used to pass on emergency information. @EinAugenschmaus “#Untertitel sind immer so mies. England, Amerika, Schweiz u.v setzen Nachsprecher + Scrollingverfahren ein=hohe Qualität! @Throki @oehmchen”: Julia Probst, a lip reader and German football fan, reads the lips of the football players and coaches and then tweets what they are saying. In doing this she has raised awareness of deaf people.

@bozucuk “@AKUTASSOCIATION Erçiş merkez cami arkasında apartmanın enkazında 4kişi kurtarılmayı bekliyor.Bunu duyurabilirsek iyi olacak 1bayanve3 çocuk”: Okan Bayulgen, a TV news anchor tweeted emergency information after the earthquake in Van. Turkey in October. One of his followers sent him the address where two people might be trapped under the rubble still alive. He passed the message on to relief workers who where able to rescue the two people within two hours.

@petershankman “Hey @Mortons – can you meet me at network airport with a porterhouse when I land in two hours?K, thanks. :)”: Peter Shankman jokingly tweeted to his favourite restaurant and asked to bring a steak to the airport for him when he landed. To his surprise, when he arrived at the airport he was greeted by a waiter who served him his steak, potatoes, shrimp and bread with napkins and silverware.

Your future kids have Facebook founder’s added you as a friend? private photos leaked SHANE KIERNAN Technology Editor @shanezor101

In an ingenious scare tactic, a Brazilian condom company, Olla Condoms , have utilized our fervent need to regulate our lives via the web, namely on Facebook. As most young people use Facebook routinely in their daily lives, it is not uncommon to go online, check the news feed, check notifications, creep on your friends and perhaps check your friend requests. Now imagine having a friend request from your future son.

Olla Condoms have used Facebook to market condoms in creepy, yet effective way. As part of their new ‘Unexpected Babies’ campaign, Olla created pages for the future sons of hundreds of men and requested the unborn children to be their future fathers friend. To do this, Olla simply created the pages with the father’s name and a ‘Jr’ added on the end and a photo of a cute baby. Despite being an innovative way to market condoms, it in fact is a relatively normal site to market most things, but the means by which it was carried out

DECLAN MEENAGH @dagda

could be applauded. Although there has been some concern about the sexism of the campaign, which is somewhat acceptable, seeing as it takes two to tango.

With such ingenious ideas being thought of with regards to this campaign, one must consider what they could do next; perhaps a Skype chat with your future child (that one could even be directed a women)? Many people are also deeming the marketing too creepy to be taken seriously, while others are just calling it spam. Personally, I believe it’s an interesting way to scare a young man into buying condoms, but not effective enough for anyone to take it seriously. There are more effective ways for young men to experience the seriousness of the prospect of an unexpected child, and learning via Facebook surely isn’t one of them.

Late last month, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s photos were published on a website, exploiting a bug in facebook’s privacy setup. The website bodybuilders.com published details of the exploit which was used to publish the photos. The nearest thing to scandal was a shot of him holding a defenseless chicken by its legs.

Facebook recently tried to make it easy for famous people to have a public and private presence from the same page, allowing them to let people subscribe to their public posts, ala twitter, while keeping some posts private which were only viewable to approved friends. The problem arose when you reported a public photo as inappropriate; you then got to view every photo uploaded by that person and given the opportunity to report further inappropriate photos.

And so the chicken-wielding Zuck was unveiled.

This brings questions about how such an obvious flaw in user security was left undetected. Facebook

recently settled with the Federal Trade Commission for issues around privacy and are being investigated by governments around the world including by Ireland.

One feature which is very odd is that if you make a comment public, The default for your next comment is then public. This is a very cynister move which shows that Facebook are using design “features” to nudge people into making stuff public without being aware of it. Will the recent embarrassment of their CEO mean this strategy will be reviewed? I doubt it, and advise everyone to only put things on facebook they are comfortable with bexing made public at some point in the future.

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Word Search: 3.6

AMERICAN PSYCHO BUDGET ECSTASY ENDA KENNY FACEBOOK FIANA FAIL FLEETWOOD MAC ICE HOCKEY MANNHEIM MILES DAVIS OBAMA OCCUPATION OXEGEN PIRACY RACISM RUBBERBANDITS SKIRT SKYRIM TWITTER TYLER THE CREATOR

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A Retrospective of 2011 in Irish Sport CONOR PHELAN Sports Editor

It has been another big year for Irish athletes who have been competing all over the globe representing our little country at the very highest levels. It is quite extraordinary how well we are able to not just compete, but win, in many different sports with our comparatively small population of under 5 million.

A nation that is similar to us in this regard is New Zealand; small population but undeniably the greatest rugby country of them all. Indeed it is in New Zealand where we begin our countdown of the biggest Irish sporting achievements of 2011: Coming into the seventh ever Rugby World Cup, the Irish team had a bit of a cloud over their head, the disappointing 3rd place finish in the 6 Nations and losing all four of their warm up games all pointed towards a repeat performance of the last World Cup in 2007. After a spluttering start against the USA where they just about managed a victory, Declan Kidney’s men played a stunning game against Tri-Nation champions Australia. Although the Irish XV lost out to Warren Gatland’s Welsh team in the quarter finals, the team came back to a hero’s welcome with their heads held high and faith in Irish rugby restored.

But this wasn’t the only rugby success for the Emerald Isle this year, as Leinster came from 22-6 down to the Northamption Saints at half-time to win the game 33-22 in the Heineken Cup final.

Irish out-half Johnny Sexton showed his quality as a playmaker, scoring two tries, four penalties and three conversions, making his tally 28 points for the day. This was the second time Leinster brought the European title home with them, the first was in 2009 with a 19-16 win over the Leister Tigers.

Irish teams have had good fortune in European competition this year, and the Irish soccer team were no exception. Although Trapattoni’s style of football in the group states wasn’t the most popular, it produced results. After a nail-biting 0-0 draw and a with group leaders Russia Trap’s men grinded out wins against Andorra and Armenia to get a shot at a playoff for the European Cup. On the 11th of November the boys in green pulled off an amazing 4-0 victory away from home against Estonia. With this huge goal advantage the return leg in the Aviva

Stadium was almost a formality, the game finished 1-1, securing Ireland’s place in the European cup with the final score 5-1 on aggregate. This win secured Ireland’s place in their first European Cup since Stutgartt in 1988.

Keeping on with Irish success in European soccer, Shamrock Rovers became the first Irish club this year to make it to the group stages of the Europa League after defeating Partizan Belgrade in a victory Hoops fought tooth-and-nail for. The victory came late in the game for Rovers when Stephen O’Donnell put away a 112th minute penalty to bring Rover’s total on the night to 2-1, winning the tie 3-2 on aggregate. Unfortunately for Shamrock Rovers, they have discovered that it’s tough at the top and are yet to secure a point from the European group stages.

Of course we can’t mention Dublin footballing success without thinking back to the Dublin Intercounty GAA football team. It’s been a long time coming for the Dubs who had to wait 16 years since their last All-Ireland victory. The hero on the day was goalkeeper Stephen Cluxton who slotted over a 35 metre free-kick in the final minute of injury time to bring the Sam Maguire cup back to Dublin for the 23rd time.

Cluxton was rewarded for his efforts this year by being selected as the captain of the Irish International Rules team. The Dubliner continued his winning ways as Ireland won the 2 game series by a massive 130-65.

Back at home, the Liam McCarthy Cup was once again taken home on the Kilkenny bus after defeating defending champions Tipperary by 4 points. This was their 33rd All-Ireland title and their eighth in twelve years. Manager Brian Cody has unsurprisingly been reappointed as manager for the 14th consecutive season of the Cats.

In golf, Irish golfers had great success in major tournaments, with Darren Clarke and Rory McIlroy winning big competitions against the giants of professional golf. Not too many would have predicted McIlroy’s 8 shot win margin after he had bottled his lead at the Augusta Masters only two months previously. However the Down man held his cool throughout to shoot 16 under par for the tournament, a course record. Not to be outdone by his protégé, Darren Clarke won the British Open in July, his first ever major, beating US golfers Mickelson and Johnson by three strokes. The 42 year old dedicated his win to his wife who sadly passed away during the year.

It seems that every so often the Irish Cricket team pull off a victory that nobody in their wildest dreams could hope for. In 2007, we beat Pakistan in a shock victory that surely could never be repeated.

However it seems that lightning can strike the same wicket more than once. Ireland sized up to an England team that didn’t even consider Ireland as any kind of threat. However Irish batter Kevin O’Brien not only managed to rack up 113 runs, but managed to do it in record time. Ireland ended up 3 wicket winners over the very people that invented the game.

Another Irish sporting hero looking forward to 2012 is Bray’s Katie Taylor. She looks set to take her place as one of the favourites in the featherweight division in the London Olympics next year after her victory at the European Union Amateur Boxing Championships over Poland’s Karolina Graczyk.

With all our successes this year, we have much to look forward to next year, especially with our potential Olympians gearing up to London 2012.

We may be in a tough economic times, but we still have that drive and determination that has come to define our sporting performances this year. Looking to 2012, all we can say is “come on you boys and girls in green!”

Irish people are generally sports mad and I thought it was unusual that these sports haven’t made a bigger impact. So after a little investigation I managed to get in contact with the Irish Ice Hockey Association (IIHA), these guys are crazy about Ice hockey. Like really nuts. Do you know how dedicated you need to be to travel huge distances to use the only permanent ice rink in the island of Ireland?

It’s one thing to sacrifice for your sport but when you’re doing it for a sport that has such a low profile really takes a lot of cojonas. The interesting thing is that Ice hockey has actually been around for quite some time in the Dublin area, over 20 years in fact, but it has failed to make any lasting impression on the Irish sporting scene. The main reason for this is a lack of facilities, something the IIHA has always struggled with.

Rinks come and go, often leaving the regional

teams and Irish national team with nowhere to practise outside of the November-January season of “Christmas on Ice” where there are seemingly rinks everywhere. The Dundalk ice dome had been the permanent base for most of these teams and the Irish team as well (who are better than you might think, but were recently relegated from the international Ice Hockey Division II). That facility closed down last year however, leaving a number of teams with no place to practice in the republic.

A long commute to Belfast is currently the only way however, a new permanent ice rink facility in Santry is due to open in a number of weeks that promises to elevate Irish ice hockey and create a new influx of players. I know myself that I plan on strapping on skates and learning how to play, just because I love the speed, vicious nature and skill of the game (I may end up falling on my behind a bit though, graceful I am not).

A new era seems to be be on the way for Irish Ice Hockey, but they are crying out for members, both experienced and inexperienced. In fact the regional teams such as the Belfast giants and Dublin rams offer training sessions for those who want to learn the basic skills. With this new rink, a new regard for winter sports in Ireland may be on the horizon. If there’s anyone out there (male or female) who might fancy trying something new and exciting, have a look at the IIHA website. I might see you on the ice.

A New Advent for Ice Hockey in Ireland?

SHANE COFFEY I happened to be watching the NHL Stanley cup final with a number of Canadian friends in a bar in Dublin this past summer. The Vancouver Canucks were losing to the Boston Bruins in a vicious match and I thought to myself, what a shame there’s such a lack of winter sports played in Ireland. I’ve been on ski trips a number of times and noted how much people in other countries were so passionate about sports like hockey, skiing and skating.

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The NFL possibly coming to Croke Park CILLIAN SHIELDS The NFL could soon be coming to Irish shores, as it has been confirmed that discussions have taken place about a regular season game being played in Croke Park. A spokesperson for Mary Hanafin, Irish minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport said that Hanafin would “very much welcome such a move to hold a future NFL game in Ireland, which has such a proud sporting tradition.”

An NFL delegation visited the GAA stadium on Friday December 2nd to see if the ground would be suitable to host a match. The governing body of America’s game is also looking at venues in Munich, Frankfurt and Edinburgh to host the game.

Professional American Football has played once a year in London’s Wembley stadium ever since 2007.

This year, the regulators of the sport have decided to play two games on foreign soil for the 2012 season, leaving the extra slot open for cities and venues to send their bids in.

All bids to host the game have to be formally sent in by the end of this month. Peter McKenna, the Croke Park stadium director has said, “We are at a very advanced stage in our bid document.”

The proposed bid for the famous stadium to host an NFL game has received a lot of support from US Ambassador for Ireland, Dan Rooney. Rooney

is also the chairman of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the franchise that his own father, Art Rooney, founded.

Because of Rooney’s Irish and NFL connections, there has been speculation that the Steelers could be one of the teams to play in Ireland if and when the game is brought to Croke Park.

The new Lansdowne Road stadium will play host to a regular season college game next year.

Notre Dame and Navy will play against each other in Dublin on September 1st, 2012. There is an expected 20,000 American fans expected to make the journey to Dublin to watch the game that’s

being dubbed as the ‘Emerald Isle Classic’.

The last time professional NFL teams came to Ireland, it was the Chicago Bears and the Pittsburgh Steelers playing each other in 1997. In this game, the Steelers overcame the Bears 30-17.

successes of the Munster Rugby team and the role that Cork natives such as Ronan O’ Gara and Peter Stringer have played in those achievements. Two bronze statues of both O’ Gara and Stringer have been proposed for commission for Cork’s Daunt Square area, in an incentive that was the brainchild of die-hard Munster supporters Paul and Pauline McCarthy.

The proposal has been given further backing

by Cork City’s Lord Mayor, Councillor Terry Shannon, who has recently confirmed that the

process of commemorating Cork’s rugby heroes has already begun, albeit informally, and that an official approval by Cork City Council should go ahead without any major opposition. “We’re very supportive of the project,” Shannon said. “We feel it’s very appropriate that we celebrate Cork’s sporting heritage.”

After the two initial Munster rugby statues are erected, it is thought that Cork City council will seek to further adapt the idea into a Cork sporting heritage trail. This concept borrows from a tradition

that is perhaps best seen in Boston. The Boston sports trail has been a successful commemoration of the city’s sporting heroes from Babe Ruth and , and if a similar trail in Cork was developed, there would be no lack of sporting figures to immortalise.

While future bronze statues modelled on Roy Keane and Sonia O’ Sullivan may well be seen on the streets of Cork city, don’t hold out for a Stephen Ireland statue any time soon.

County Cork’s Sporting Heritagde Trail

DARA FOLEN It would seem the best way to honour a hero of any city (real or fictitious), is to commission a statue in their everlasting image. Dublin has a statue of favourite son Phil Lynott, Philadelphia has Rocky and Detroit has recently commissioned a statue to honour their most famous cyborg law enforcer, (James) Robocop.

Given the impact that Cork city has contributed to Irish culture and sport there has been something of lack of recognition to some of Cork’s most famous citizens. In this respect, Corkonians must be asking, (to quote Michael Jackson’s ‘Earth Song’), “What about us?” Well the people of the rebel county should fear no more, as Cork City has been earmarked for a potential sporting heritage trail, honouring the city’s various sporting heroes, past and present.

Once thought of as a poor man’s Dublin (usually by salt-of-the earth dubs), “the real capital” has been enjoying something of a renaissance in recent years, the city held the title of European Capital of Culture in 2005, it was then named in 2009 as one of the top ten best cities to visit by the influential Lonely Planet book series. Just this year, Cork’s famous English Market was memorably visited by Queen Elizabeth in her momentous ramble of Ireland.

The initial steps into developing this proposed sporting trail have their roots in the landmark