Circular Issue 1

8/8/2019 Circular Issue 1

1/11

The CircularIssue8December2005

Inside: Sonys Suspicious Software, Spanish Nationalism, plus

Magazine Supplement

"I used to think that itwas a privilege to watchhistory but now I thinkits a curse.

Robert Fisk talks exclusively to The Circular


2/11

Dec05The Circular2

The danger of reporting fromconflict zones has been hasincreased in recent years, ashave the numbers of journal-ists who have been killed orkidnapped. Indeed, these

dangers are becoming sogreat that certain journalistsrefuse to travel to these areas.

A case taken by a former ABCNews foreign correspondentin which he claimed he wassacked for refusing to coverthe war in Iraq highlights theproblem. The kidnapping ofRory Carroll, an Irish journal-ist with the Guardian news-paper, and his subsequentrelease, brought the subjecteven closer to home.

Iraq remains the most physi-cally dangerous place for jour-nalists to work. Since the war

began, more than 100 mediaworkers have been killed.Journalists are now seen asparticipants in war, and primetargets for insurgents. In lightof this danger, the work ofRobert Fisk is all the moreimpressive. He has spent 29

years reporting from conflictzones, and his coverage ofthe war in Iraq continues toinform a public hungry for thetruth. This month, he talks

exclusively to The Circular.

Editorial

Editor:Stephen OLeary

Sub Editors:Anne Marie DuffJames McNulty

Noirin Byrne

Ian OConnor

Advertising:Victor Gamez Martin

Layout and Design:

Diren Valayden

TheCircular

In the world-wide classifica-tion of colleges, published inNovember 2005, Irelands onlyrepresentative fell dramaticallyin the rankings.

In the top 200 college globalleague table, Trinity Collegesurprisingly dropped 24places. As the sole irish repre-sentative on the list, this wasa dissapointing result. Otheruniversities like The National Autonomous University ofMexico (UNAM) scaled 100places in just one year.

The National AutonomousUniversity of Mexico is listedin 95th place, Trinity Collegehas fallen to 111th place. Areastaken into consideration whencalculating the ranking were:peer review, which involved

2,375 academic ranking universities and the number of

times that academic researchpapers are cited. According to this edito-

rial group, The National Autonomous University ofMexico is the highest rankedHispanamerican university.

In the evaluation by differentsubjects, the study revealed

that The National AutonomousUniversity of Mexico occupies20th place among the best uni-versities of the world in the fieldof the Arts and Humanities;while in the Science category itappears in 93rd position.

Trying to explain the reasonsfor Trinitys dramatic decline,Dr. David Lloyd, AssociateDean of Research at TrinityCollege said there was disap-pointment at the overall dropin ranking. However, he wasquick to point out that TCDimproved in science from 94thplace to 75th.

On the other hand, Dr. SeanBarrett, Senior Lecturer inEconomics, said he was notsurprised, considering thatthe college had spent the pasttwo years embroiled in a civil war over proposals to cutthe number of departmentsand faculties. He added thatUniversity heads make thesestatements before the budgetevery year and err in doingso.

The public relationsdepartment of The National Autonomous University ofMexico commented: Theseresults show the important aca-demic development achievedby the UNAM in recent years.lAccording to the latest Mexicannational budget, it was decid-ed to give a 40% increase toresearch and to improve theeducational resources in thisuniversity.

In the classification the

top rankings are occupied byHarvard, Oxford, Cambridge.Now, universities around the

world are waiting for the resultsof another important rank-ing: The Academia Ranking ofWorld Universities 2005.

Mixed Fortunes for

International Colleges

Trinity College Dublin in freefall

Everybody says it. Everybody

you talk to says some form ofthe wordsJesus, four grand a year!

Thats shocking expensive! We have all been there. A birthday, a funeral, a chris-tening or any number of fam-ily events where a relative youdont really know, or like, tellsyou how expensive your degreeis. Because you didnt knowalready. Inevitably they willthen ramble on about wherefour grand a year could go. If you fail to turn the conversa-tion in an other direction, theywill probably ask that ques-tion. The one that goes some-thing like Would the govern-

ment not help you out there abit... like with a grant?

Ok, maybe it's just myextended family that go onlike this but no matter what,the answer is always a firm

No. This will usually shock

the questionnaire. I found outthat it even shocked a localFianna Fail T.D. which is veryodd with it being his partysdecision. To be honest, at thisstage I cannot see any reasonfor the policy of not providingmaintenance grants to studentsattending private colleges.

The State are in a posi-tion where too many peopleare applying to go to collegeand state colleges are gettingovercrowded. Fees may be re-introduced to try to discourageyoung people from applying tocollege due to the lack of space,so why not just acknowledgethe problem and let some one

else take care of it?The fact remains that private

institutions supply the countrywith about 5,000 college plac-es that would not exist other- wise. Ultimately these places

are not all occupied by people

who can easily afford to payfor them. The Griffith CollegeStudents Union estimates thatless than one percent of stu-dents would be eligible for agrant. Private colleges couldcater for so many more peopleif means tested grants wereavailable to them.

Means tested grants are onlygiven to full time students whoare in households that earnless than 33,890 (along witha number of other require-ments) and if accepted theyreceive 2,945 and full fees.

The grant is designed in sucha way that it is impossible forpeople who dont deserve it to

get it. Therefore, the presump-tion of rich kids in privatecolleges looking for a quickbuck for nothing goes out the window. However, instead ofmaking means tested grants

available to these students, the

government is heading in theopposite direction. Accordingto Mary Hannifan, the Ministerfor Education, there are plansto try to cut the amount ofpeople eligible for grants bymoving the cut off point of33,890 to a substantiallylower number.

The Union of Students inIreland is in support of grants being open to all students.However, because they cur-rently have no private collegesas members they are not actingon the issue.

At the moment the GriffithCollege Students Union ismounting a campaign to try

and get means tested mainte-nance grants for private collegestudents. If you are interestedin finding out more, please talkto Killian Faulknan the currentSU President.

Injustice of College Grant System

Wendy Tapiareports on thevarying fortunesof Irish andin te rnat iona lcolleges in theannual globalleague tables

Iain OConnor examines the problems surrounding the current means testedgrants for students, and why those in private colleges are unfairly discrimainatedagainst.

The Circular is producedby journalism students of

Griffith College DublinTel: 01 4150400e-mail:[email protected]


3/11

Beginning his career with theNewcastle Evening Chronicleand the Sunday Express chas-ing vicars whod ran off withstarlets, Robert Fisk is nowthe longest serving Westernjournalist in the Middle East.

The British journalist hasspent the last twenty nine yearsreporting from countries suchas Lebanon, Iran, Bosnia andIraq; nations torn apart by theravages of war.

Describing the Iraqis asstrong, intelligent people,Fisk has witnessed first handthe torture inflicted on theinnocent citizens of Baghdad:When you get up in the morn-ing you hear the first suicide bombers, there is very littleelectricity. For most Iraqis theyspend their time trying to makesure that their wives and chil-dren dont get kidnapped formoney.

"They try to find money tobuy generators and to buy fuelso that they can have electric-ity, so that they can keep theirfridges running, its very dan-gerous and there is a lot ofmafia and kidnapping.

Fisk considers Iraq to be themost dangerous country nowthat he has reported from andthe 40,000 or so that have fled

Baghdad in the past year is areflection of the bedlam.

Following two decades of ruleby a tyrannical leader, the pass-ing of the constitution in Iraq

is considered, by most, a vitalstep in Iraqs shift to democ-racy.

However, Fisk, who is oftencriticised for his left wing poli-

tics believes that constitutionsand elections are irrelevantto the ordinary citizens of Iraqand designed to allow the Westmore access to money: Iraq isin such a state of anarchy andchaos that things like electionsand constitutional referendumshardly matter any more. It waspartly drawn up under pressurefrom American and British dip-lomats in Baghdad and theymanaged to get the people who were writing the constitutionto water down some of the eco-nomic paragraphs.

"So that for example, oilwhich is owned by Iraq; some ofthe oil concessions can be nowowned by foreign companiesand they forced them to pushthat into the constitution whichin turn allows them to haveextra power politically . Its theeconomic side of the constitu-tion that is important becausethe West is taking more andmore of Iraqs wealth.

The foreign correspondentwith the London Independent,explains why the violence andterror in Iraq has worseneddespite the capture of SaddamHussein: The Americansthought that when they cap-tured him the insurgency wouldend but it actually got fiercer.

"And the reason was, becauseone of them told me this, alot of people didnt join theinsurgency because they werefrightened that if they drove the

Americans out Saddam wouldcome back but when Saddam was captured they joined theinsurgency because they knewhe couldnt come back.

Fisk, who has met SaddamHussein and interviewedOsama Bin Laden on severaloccasions, is one of the few jour-nalists that still reports fromthe streets of Baghdad: TheIndependent and the Guardianstill take to the streets but itis becoming increasingly dan-gerous for journalists in Iraq. A lot of journalists dont stepfoot outside their hotels per-haps because they are afraid,

which I dont blame them for,but what I do object to is themnot telling their readers theircircumstances.

Bosnia, he says, was byfar the worst for journalists:Bosnia was pretty terriblebecause journalists were beingtargeted. We were deliberatelysought out for being shot at.But Bosnia was terrible becausethe kind of weapons being usedwere lethal.

"They were using jet aircraftin guerrilla warfare. Many ofthe fighters in Bosnia wereeither drunk or on drugs so if

they stopped you, you couldntreason with them because they were somewhere up on cloudnine. We lost 42 journalists inone year.

Throughout his time in Iraq,Robert Fisk, has experiencedsome of the darkest momentsof this century. The outspokenjournalist recalls seeing mass

graves being opened, peopledead all over, blown to piecesby suicide bombers, the mortu-ary with dead babies in there",saying If you saw what I sawyoud never support war.

Fisk, who has recently pub-lished his second book TheGreat War for Civilisation,concedes that it was an emo-tionally draining time writingthe transcript and it forced himto re-think a lot of things: It

was a very depressing book to write. It was about pain anddeath and torture and geno-cide. When I come back to thelikes of Dublin and see ordinary

people on the streets, lead-ing ordinary lives I sometimesthink that maybe I missed outbut I cant turn the clock back,can I?

Beginning to regret the pathshe chose, the veteran journalistcannot see himself in Iraq intwenty years time and is ada-mant that he will not write sucha book again: Im not going towant to rush to Iraq in twenty years time. I wont write this

book again, its a very unhappybook", adding, "I used to thinkthat it was a privilege to watchhistory but now I think its acurse.

Hell

SucksDanger, violence, murder and death continue toinfect and poison the streets of Baghdad. RobertFisktalks candidly to Nirn Byrne about life andpolitics in such a hell disaster area.

Dec05 The Circular 3

For the Iraqi people elections and constitutionalreferendums hardly matter any more

"Im not going to want to rush to Iraq in twentyyears time."


4/11

Spain is a diverse countrydivided into seventeen regionsand two cities in Morocco(Ceuta and Melilla). Spanishis the national language butin some areas, other officiallanguages exist: Galician isspoken in the Galicia region;Catalan in Catalonian, Valenceand Majorca; and Basque inthe Basque Country. For cen-turies, nationalism has beena very important issue for theresidents of these areas. This

issue has been recognised dur-ing recent years by local politi-cians and they have begun tohighlight it.In these regions there is adiversity of thought about theissue of nationalism. Peopleare divided into three distinctopinion groups: there are thosewho have a huge sense of perti-nence to their region and wanttheir area to be independent ofSpain; there are those who like belonging to their region andhaving their own culture, butdont want independence; andthere are those who want to

be Spanish and dont have anyfeelings or desires for national-ism in their region.Basque nationalism was themost well known campaign,

because it is often linked,though not always, to a terror-ist organisation Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA). ETA hasbeen fighting since 1961, with aview to achieving independencefrom Spain. Since its creation,ETA has killed more than eighthundred people across Spain,but at present the organisationis losing a lot of power due to asuccessful police operation.ETA was represented by apolitical party, Herry Batasuna

(HB), which defended itsactions in the Basque parlia-ment. However in 2003 theSpanish government dissolvedthe party and declared it uncon-stitutional.Moreover, one of the big-gest problems in the BasqueCountry is that the most impor-tant nationalism party, PartidoNacionalista Vasco (PNV),do not condone the terroristactions of ETA. A lot of peoplesupport PNV in the elections,which reflects the support ETAhas in the region. However,much of this support may be

gained through fear. Thereare many Basques who dontexpress any repulsion to theterrorism of ETA because theyfear for their lives. In the past

those who have failed to sup-port ETA or HB have had their businesses boycotted, houseburned and in some cases, fam-ilies killed.Today, it is the Catalan cam-

paign for nationalism thatis receiving the most atten-

tion. With the new SpanishGovernment, led by Jose LuisRodrguez Zapatero -a socialistwho won the last year electionswith his party Partido Socialista

Obrero Espanol (PSOE), theCatalan Government has beengranted more freedom. Atpresent, they are in the processof presenting to the SpanishParliament a new propos-al. In it, they are calling fora new Statute which is goingto give the Catalonian regionmore independence than everbefore.However, many Spanish peo-ple from other regions arecomplaining and dont want

Catalonia to gain any moreindependence. They are afraidthat it could signal the start ofthe rupture of Spain into manypieces and the destruction ofthe Spanish State.Catalonian nationalism is a verypowerful cause, and there aremany people who support it.This is reflected in the numberof important nationalist politi-cal parties: Convergencia i Unio(CIU) is the most significantand Esquerra Republicana deCatalunya (ERC) has increasedits support in the last numberof years. These two parties gov-

ern Catalonia in a tripartitewith PSOE -a national party.The proposal of a new Statuteled to very angry discussionsabout the issues surrounding

nationalism. The most controversial points of the new pro-posal are the definition of theCatalonian region as a nation,their request for more controlof their financial position, andthe replacement of Spanish bythe Catalan language inside oftheir region. These things are viewed in Spain as a form tobreak the unity of the country.Galicia is the least prominentof the Spanish nationalismcauses, but it too exists and has

an important political partycalled Bloque NacionalistaGalego (BNG). Following elec-tions in June 2005, BNG wona number of seats and joinedthe regional Government in analliance with PSOE party. Thisis the first time that a nation-alist party has acceded to theGalician Government.The increase of support fornationalism in other regionsacross Spain, such as Andalusia,has become one of the big-gest problems for the cur-rent Spanish Government. Atpresent there is a hard fight

between the different partiesin Spain to look for a solution which satisfied to everybody, but the solution doesnt seemeasy to find.

Nationalism Across Spain

Dec05The Circular4

Maria Goas examines the spread of nationalism inSpain

It could

signal thestart of therupture ofSpain intomanypieces


5/11

Dec05 The Circular 5There is a conflict of cultures

that is affecting the quality oflife of individuals, and cost-ing the taxpayers considerableamounts. Disputes betweenlandowners and local authori-ties have held up major roadprojects throughout the coun-try. It is a conflict betweenthe ancient and the modern,

between agriculture and indus-try. Agriculture has decrease inits importance to the economyin the past 20 years howeverfarmers are still reluctant togive up land that may havebeen in the family for decades.To continue to attract industry we must have a modern effi-cient transport system. In thepast 10 years the infrastructurehas improved immensely withmajor towns having bypassesand a motorway from Dublin toBelfast almost complete. Butthe thorny issue of compensa-tion has proved contentious in

the past and as the Government begin the election offensiveand unveil their Transport 21plans the co-operation of thefarming community will again be needed. In London thereis already bad feeling amongthose who will have propertytaken to facilitate the trans-port upgrade before the 2012Olympics.In 2001 things had deteriorat-

ed as farmers refused to let sur-veyors and officials enter theirlands. The principal problemwas that the land was compul-sorily acquired under legisla-tion dating back to after the1st World War, which farmersclaim, did not allow their landto be fairly valued for compen-sation. This was what causedthe greatest distress to peopleaffected by CPO - they werebeing forced off their own land,or to sell a part of it, and they were not being properly com-pensated. Tom Parlon, thenIFA President said No farmerwould sell a strip of land rough-ly 65 meters wide through themiddle of his or her farm,dividing the unit built up overgenerations into two or maybethree fragmented pieces. Torepresent the CPO process asproviding fair and reasonablecompensation is a travesty. Ifa local authority or any otherqualified body acquires land byCPO, they are required to paythe market value of the land being acquired. They are alsorequired to compensate peo-ple for the disturbance causedduring whatever constructiontakes place. The process, how-ever, could take as long as 18months to complete, meaningthat the person being forcedto sell could receive value a year and a half out of date.

Once an authority decides toreserve a particular section ofland for a roadway no planningpermission will be given fordevelopment on that land. At

the same time the uncertaintyover the future of the land usu-ally results in depressed val-ues. Few people want to buy ahouse, which could be subjectto a CPO a few years down theline.

At the end of 2001 the partiesinvolved, the NRA, the Deptof Environment and the IFA,representing farmers came

together and signed a twentynine point agreement on the Acquisition of Certain Landsfor National Roads. Its inten-tion was to deliver the nation-al roads development pro-gramme within the timescale

of the National DevelopmentPlan 2000-2006. It clarifiedmany of the disputed issues

and made provision of a 5000per acre goodwill payment tofarmers in addition to all otherpayments.Another part is an Assessmentprocedure, which can be usedwhen a landowner and the local

authority fail to reach agree-ment on a settlement. Either thelandowner or the local author-

ity/NRA may seek independentassessment. Assessment will beconducted by an independentperson appointed from a panelestablished by the Chairpersonof the Institute of Chartered Arbitrators in Ireland.Landowners will not lose theirgoodwill payment by opting forindependent assessment. The

Independent Assessment proc-ess requires a full exchange ofreports from each side to theother and an exchange of thecosts incurred by each side forthe Assessment process. Eachside is entitled to comment onthe report submitted by theother party. However fouryears on some of the parties areunhappy with the situation.According to current IFA VicePresident Raymond OMalley,The time between route selec-tion and road completion isridiculously long, unnecessar-ily prolonging the anxiety of

the farm family. He is alsounhappy with the Notice toEnter giving the landownersnotice that the authority isbeginning work, which he saysshould be unlawful unless anduntil the NRA can prove it haspurchased and paid for theacquired land. Compensationis not being received beforework commences.

The agreement also stated thatlocal authorities will provideand maintain stock proof fenc-ing on all new motorway, dual-carriageway and national roadsprovided on or over land towhich this agreement applies.Four years on the cost of thisis causing concerns to localauthorities.Another issue causing concernis that farmers are currentlyobliged to pay Capital Gains Tax(at 20%) on the sums receivedas compensation. This, theyargue is unfair as it immedi-ately reduces the amount ofcompensation and their abilityto purchase another piece ofland. Raymond OMalley saysit is morally wrong and evenlegally wrong to charge CGTon any property seized by theState.

Tom Dunne, the chairman ofthe IFA's industrial and envi-ronment committee statedthat, We have received anopinion from a senior counselthat we have an excellent primafacie case to get this scrapped.We are not being compensatedfully for our land.The two sides have had an

uneasy peace over the last fewyears. If the Government pur-sue its Transport 21 plans theconflict may emerge again.The value of a piece of landdepends on what it means toits owner. How can a home for

20 years be properly valued?Can the NRA or local author-ity take this into account? Thecontentious debate will con-tinue.

Creating Problems

for Owners

As the government reveal the Transport 21

plans Anne Marie Dufflooks at the uneasypeace between landowners, local authori-ties and the NRA.

To represent theCPO process asproviding fairand reasonablecompensation isa travesty

Remains of a house demolished to make way for the Dublin/Belfast Motorway


6/11

Ireland is a country in denial.Our drinking has gotten out ofhand and we are afraid to takethat first crucial step on theroad to recovery, acceptance.We must recognise that there isa problem. Alcohol is an addic-tive drug. It is rarely referred toas one, but it is. This fact should be stated more often. It is adrug that most of us use regu-larly, but more importantly onethat we abuse nearly as often(binge drinking is defined ashaving in excess of six drinksin one night). Our attitude toalcohols negative effects hasbeen truly negligent.Imagine for a moment if a newdrug was to come on to theIrish market tomorrow. Thisdrug costs the Irish economyan estimated 1 billion a yearin worker absenteeism, causesan unprecedented number ofcar accidents, assaults, beatenand neglected wives, beatenand neglected children, van-dalism, public disorder andis found to be present in thesystems of over 90% of those who have committed suicidein this country. A drug thatkills ten times as many peopleevery year, as all illegal drugscombined. Is it fair to assumethat this new drug would beoutlawed relatively quickly?These are the effects of alcoholabuse, yet alcohol slips throughthe net; untainted by the labeldrug.Tobacco advertising has been banned in recognition of theharmful effects of smoking.This ban has been accompa-nied by uncompromising andhaunting ad campaigns. Theseads show such things as, a brain being dissected to reveal theoozing tumour that killed theowner. Or the clogged arteryof a deceased smoker beingsqueezed, gradually expellingthe contents on to an operatingtable.Whats the equivalent for alco-hol? Ads warning you to drinksensibly or you may wet yourpants or embarrass yourself ata party. The disparity is clear.

These ads would be harderhitting if they werent spon-sored by Diageo, owner ofmany of our favourite bever-

ages, including Guinness andBudweiser. You can imagineif Benson and Hedges had asay in a smoke sensibly adcampaign they would insist it

be free of dissected brains andmutilated arteries.The drink driving ads are aslightly more effective deter-rent, but even these are aimedat keeping you out of your carrather than out of the pub.So why does this enormous dis-parity exist? Is it because of thesecond-hand effects of smok-ing? Is there really such a dif-ference in the harmful effectseach drug has? Or is that themajority of us just dont con-sider alcohol a drug? Many ofus know people who drink sixnights a week and still claimtheyve never done drugs intheir lives. Herein lies theproblem. Alcohol permeates every walkof Irish life. It sponsors ourmost revered sports events anddominates television advertis-ing.Irish people drink in any situ-ation. Funerals, weddings, hol-idays, exam results (good or bad); childrens communions,christenings and confirmations;commiseration and celebrationall tempt us to indulge in thenations favourite pastime.It is clear we have a problem

when the only two days on thecalendar alcohol cannot legal-ly be sold-Christmas Day andGood Friday- become two ofthe biggest sessions of the year.Alcohol is a crutch and we useit often.One of the most disturbingaspects of Irelands drinkingproblem is its effect on youngpeople. Those who do notdrink, or even decide to takea night off, can be mocked for

their sensibility. On the otherhand, those who drink largeamounts of alcohol are hailedas heroes, whose heterosexual-ity is beyond reproach.

These views may be stereotypi-cal but most reading this paperhas seen some degree of thisbehaviour. Alcohol abuse is notonly accepted, but also activelyencouraged in many circles inIrish society.The harmful effects of excessivedrinking are numerous: ulcers,liver failure, kidney damage, wearing away of stomach lin-ing, heart disease, mouth andstomach cancer, and psychiat-ric problems are just a few ofthe results of excessive alco-holic consumption.One should always be cautiouswhen drinking a substance that,in its pure form, can kill; espe-cially when consuming bever-ages that are up to 40% proof.Ireland needs to begin address-ing this problem immediately.The fact that this drug is legaldoes not justify half the coun-

try having a drinking problem.There are many people in thiscountry - our friends and family- that are in fact, drug addicts.Just because they get their fixfrom licensed establishments,does not make this fact any lessof a reality.Many of you may not agree with these views but denial isa very powerful thing. The factthat alcohol has never beencondemned in the same way asillicit drugs, or even tobacco,means that the same stigmahas never been attached.Alcohol kills thousands of peo-ple every year: It is one of thebiggest contributors to Irelandspoor road-safety record; islinked to nearly every suicidein the country; and accountsfor more than three quartersof weekend A&E patients. Fora drug with so many varying

consequences, it enjoys a prettywholesome reputation.So how can we begin to tack-le this problem? MichaelMcDowell plans to issue morelicenses to cafes in an effort toencourage Irish people to takefood with their drink. In theU.K. Tony Blair has introducednew licenses allowing 24 hourdrinking, with a view to avoid-ing violence, by staggeringclosing times. In Australia theyhave placed taxes on drinks inaccordance with their potency;the higher the alcohol content,the higher the tax. This policyhas seen a marked decrease inthe sale of spirits and a moveback to lager and less harmfulproducts. Whatever policies are intro-duced the country faces a strug-gle, against tradition, habit andaddiction.

Calling Time on Irelands

Booze Culture

Alcohol coststhe Irisheconomy anestimated 1billion a yearin workerabsenteeism

Irish attitudes toward alcohol consumption are in drastic need of change, writes

Eoghan Sullivan

Dec05The Circular6


7/11

Women are more likely toperpetrate domestic violencethan men, recent research

carried out for the Marriageand Relationship CounsellingService (MRCS) has found.This report, based on a sur- vey of 530 clients of MRCSfound that, where domes-tic violence occurs, mutual violence accounts for 33% ofcases, female perpetrated vio-lence accounts for 41% andmale perpetrated violence for26%. Research carried out bythe Department of Health andChildren also vindicates theMRCS research. These findingsconcur with similar surveyscarried out in the UK, Canadaand the USA. The NationalCrime Council is also undertak-

ing a national study on domes-tic abuse in Ireland, the resultsof which the council expects to

publish early next year.It seems that the belief thatmen cannot be victims ofdomestic violence still exists.There are virtually no servicesfor male victims of domestic violence, even in countries where there is statistical evi-dence to indicate that domes-tic violence against men is asubstantial reality. The reasonfor this is not just the exist-ing consensus about domestic violence, the resistance to theidea that men can be victim-ised by women, but also thereluctance of male victims topresent themselves for services.This silence is encouraged by

the fear of ridicule and blatantgender bias towards those menwho are brave enough to comeforward with complaints, andthe fear of being stigmatised asweak because they do not con-form to the stereotypical maleimage.

Mary Cleary, co-ordinatorand founder of AMEN, a volun-tary service for men and chil-dren who are victims of domes-tic violence, says the idea ofmen not coming forward showsa lack of awareness. AMEN wasset up in 1997 and since then

thousands of men, from all walks of life, have contactedits helpline service. "There arethousands of men coming for-ward in the last 20 years whoare victims of domestic abuse.If we start talking figures we'redefeating what we're about. Iwould say men and women inintimate relationships abusein equal numbers. Nobodyknows for sure what goes on.We meet with men individuallyand collectively. We give theminformation about the optionsavailable through the courts.It's about empowering them-selves."

In order to gain greater

insight into the dimensions ofdomestic violence against men, AMEN commissioned a smallsurvey of men in the Monaghanarea, volunteering to be inter-viewed on their experiences of victimisation by their womenpartners. The majority of thesemen (72%) had suffered someform of physical abuse and aneven higher proportion (82%)had unsubstantiated allega-tions made against them, whileall had suffered mental abuseand a threat to report themale victim as the perpetra-

tor. However, only 45% con-tacted the Garda Siochana and,of those, 97% claimed that theyhad not been taken seriously orwere treated as if they were theperpetrator. 70% said they hadfound it difficult to leave theirhome because of concern fortheir children's safety.

A report entitled "Men andDomestic Violence: WhatResearch Tells Us", to theDepartment of Health andChildren in March 2002 con-cludes, "A more inclusiveapproach to domestic violenceshould not create competition between victims by minimis-ing the experiences of women

at the expense of men or vice versa. The broader and moreinclusive paradigm of domes-tic violence which is suggested by the findings of this reportin no way diminish what wealready know about the suf-fering caused to women at thehands of men; nor should it be used in any way to reduceservices for women victims ofdomestic violence." Societyshould remember that domes-tic violence is a human issue,not a gender issue.

The Other Side of

Domestic ViolenceWomen are the perceivedvictims of domestic vio-lence, but is this really thecase? - Hazel Murtaghreports

When report-ing an incidentto the Gardai,97% of menclaimed theywere treated

as if they werethe perpetra-

tor

Sony's controversial DigitalRights Management (DRM)software, recently discoveredembedded in their CDs, wasbeing used without the permis-sion of the bands themselves.

The band, My Morning Jacket,

whose music is distributed bySony, has revealed they had noknowledge of the DRM restric-tions on their CDs. The CDswhen played on a PC, downloadrootkits onto the hard drive without notice. Rootkits areused to hide malicious softwareonce it is installed and ensureit is not found and removed byanti-virus programs.

Speaking on their behalf, thebands record label stated: Weat ATO Records are aware of theproblems being experienced bycertain fans due to the copy-protection of our distributor.Neither we nor our artists ever

gave permission for the use ofthis technology, nor is it ourdistributor's opinion that theyneed our permission.

ATO Records have long beenregarded as a forward-looking

label and even permit audiotaping at their artists perform-ances, something the musicindustry as a whole has triedfor years to prevent. It is thebelief of the label that the useof DRM software by Sony could

affect their bands financiallythrough loss of goodwill andfan support.

Rootkits are starting to beused by a small number ofcomputer virus writers becausethey allow malicious codesto be inserted deep insidethe Windows operating sys-tem, meaning that it will not be spotted by most anti-virusscanners.

The use of the contentioussoftware was first discovered by American computer coderand blogger Mark Russinovichin October. Mr Russinovich, arenowned Windows program-ming expert, came across the

Sony anti-piracy system whenperforming a scan of his com-puter with a utility he co-cre-ated that spots rootkits.

By the time Mr. Russinovichdiscovered the software onhis computer and had writ-ten about it, Sony had alreadysold about 2.1 million CDs con-taining the program. The pro-gram, which installs files onyour computer and then hidesthem, is used to monitor thenumber of times a CD is copiedand sends the information to aSony Web site.

Sony installed the programon CDs by 52 artists in total and

attempted to justify its actionsin a statement: "We placed thetechnology on certain discs toprevent unlimited copying andunauthorised redistribution ofthe music on the disc. Content

protection technology is animportant tool to protect intel-lectual property rights."

However, it has been suggest-ed by many in the field of tech-nology that Sonys implemen-tation of this type of DRM isnot about making CDs immuneto piracy. Engadget, a webmagazine that covers consum-

er electronics have said: "thenew copy protection scheme which makes it difficult torip CDs and listen to them withan iPod is designed to putpressure on Apple to open the

iPod to other music services,rather than making it depend-ent on the iTunes Music Storefor downloads."

This has led to accusationsthat DRM is now being used asa competitive economic weap-

on and not an anti-piracy tool.Sony has also been accused oftreating consumers with con-tempt in the wake of a recentradio interview with their pres-ident of global digital business,Thomas Hesse. In the interview,Mr. Hesse said: "Most people, Ithink, don't even know what arootkit is, so why should theycare about it?"

Sony has discontinued pro-duction of CDs with this DRMsoftware and recalled about 2.6million CDs that had been pro-duced but not sold. Customerswho think they may have boughtone of the embedding CDs

should check the company'sWeb site (www.sony bmg.com)for the procedure on removingthe software from their compu-ter and getting a new "clean"copy of the CD.

Most people donteven know what a

rootkit is so whyshould they careabout it?

Neither we norour artists evergave permission

for the use of thistechnology

Suspicion Surrounds SonyJames McNulty reveals the hidden software that may be in your spying onyour CDs.



8/11

The mosque is the oldest of itskind in Dublin and the secondgreatest of those in Ireland. Itsconstruction, in 1980, was inresponse to the demand of ayoung Islamic student popula-tion who came to the universi-ties of Dublin to study. Now,

this centre for Islamic peoplein Dublin has become a mul-tipurpose complex, where thefollowers of Islam can adjust toIrish society with much great-er ease than in the past. Themosque is not just a prayercentre, but a place for gather-ing, a place for advice for newimmigrants. And the personin charge of this mosque isthe Imam, Yahya Al-Hussein, who spoke exclusively to theCircular.

In a spacious office, the Imamreflects on the prejudices hisreligion is now facing: Whatkind of terrorism do I do?,he asks, I just pray. When

asked about the recent terror-ist attacks in Europe, includingthose in Madrid, he cannot seethe sense in them: "Why didthey do that?", he asks himself.The Imam points out that it is very worrying that some peo-ple compare all Muslims withterrorists.

When the Circular askedImam Yahya Al-Hussein, theman with the highest level ofresponsibility at the mosque,about the preaching of radicalopinions and ideas in ceremo-nies, he was quick to assure usthat they just read the Koran.In fact, no personal beliefs areexpressed in the mosque.

The daily services in themosque are very similar, excepton Fridays. This is the mostsacred day of the Muslim week,because, as the Imam explains:" Allah elected it". On Fridays,every parishioner is obliged tocome and celebrate their rites.The average number of visitorsto the mosque on a Friday isover two hundred.

Whether at home or in the

mosque, parishioners must ful-fil a minimum of five orationsper day. But the adorationsto Allah must be done in themosque, and in two separategroups: men on one side andwomen on the other. Althoughthis may seem strange to those

outside the Islamic community,the Imam sees the segregationas being as natural as havingseparate toilets for each sex.

Although there are fewmosques in Ireland, Yahyaexplained that anyone canbecome an Imam and celebrateorations in any place. This ispartly because in the Islamicreligion, there is no priesthoodor hierarchy. "The only differ-ence (between a mosque andany other place of worship) isthe person who reads the chap-ters", he added.

Moreover, Yahya confirmedthat there are many smallmosques in flats and apart-

ments around the country. Theonly reason people dont knowthey exist is because they haveno external symbols.

Yahya sees the relationship between the Muslims andDublins society as a whole, as being very good. The mosqueis open to everybody and thepeople of Dublin are welcometo enter. If you wish to visit,on entering the hall you mustremove your shoes. Also, theMuslim religion requires clean-liness for the moment of prayer,and for this reason, there aresome bathrooms inside.

The mosque on the SouthCircular Road is also the siteof The Islamic Foundationof Ireland. It contributes to breaking down cultural bar-riers and encouraging mutu-al understanding betweenMuslims and the Irish public.The Foundation offer manyservices for their communi-ty including study circles in Arabic and English, childrenseducation, as well as a librarywith books on Islam in Arabic,

English and Urdu. Moreover, itoffers free literature on Islamincluding copies of the Koran,Halal shop and a restaurant.There is also a translation serv-ice, certification of Halal food,

funeral arrangements and burial too. However, it is not just the Muslim Communitywho can avail of services at theMosque. They also run ArabicCourses for non-Arabic speak-

ing people.The importance of the

mosque to the Muslim com-munity in Dublin cannot beunderestimated. Islam is grow-ing each day in Dublin, whichis reflected in the demand forprayer places especially among

students. Almost every majorthird level institution in Dublinnow has a prayer hall. The stu-dents of Griffith College Dublinhave the greatest prayer roomin the city right on their door-step.

Behind the doors of an

Irish MosqueVictor Gamez Martin steps inside the mosque located next toGriffith College Dublin

The Islamic Foundation ofIreland helps to break down cul-

tural barriers and encouragesmutual understanding

Almost every major third levelinstitution in Dublin now has aPrayer Hall

Dec05The Circular8


9/11

The sugar reform is a bit-ter pill to swallow for manyfarmers. But EU policies onsugar have always been part ofa wider trade injustice.

Once upon a time, whenempires engaged in bloody bat-tles and political back-stabbing

over sugar, slaves were a vitalunit of production. When itwas time to abolish the trade infree human labour, sugar, along with coffee, were major moti-vators, as important as humanrights (though slaves were nei-ther considered humans, nordid they have rights).

While Jamaica was the star

colony in the British Empire,the French boasted ownershipof St Domingue (the westernpart Hispaniola, now Haiti) inthe region. The French colony was so successful that it pro-voked the bitter jealousy of itsrival. Ever so sly, the British

devised a plan to sabotagethe increasing wealth that StDomingue was pouring intothe French economy; the aboli-tion of the West Indian slavetrade. With no slaves and nofree labour, the French colony,which depended on sugar, cof-fee, and tobacco, was doomed.

Therefore, sugar and econom-

ics, and not European magna-nimity, ended the transactionof slaves. These days, sugar haslost much of its past glamourand soon, it will also lose mostof its European subsidies.

If in the past, the West Indiessatisfied European cravings for

sweet things, the situation hasnow been reversed: the EU isthe biggest exporter of whitesugar to the world. How thishappened is again a history ofimperialism, this time econom-ic. The EU and the US havealways used poorer countriesas satellite economies. Thethird world provided raw mate-

rials that they turned into thefinished products. Thus, sugarfrom the third world is refinedin Europe and then sold onthe international market. Thisexplains why the EU accountsfor 40% of all white sugar soldin the world.

Despite the complaints ofIrish farmers, the sugar regimewas nothing less than an aber-ration. The subsidies that theEU guaranteed its membersevery year helped them to pro-duce sugar at a very cheap price.Furthermore, high tariffs, upto almost 324%, denied othercountries the vital European

market. Former colonies inthe African Caribbean Pacific(ACP) group enjoyed a spe-cial quota system. However,the EU was distorting the mar-ket. Beet sugar costs more thantwice as much to produce ascane sugar.

How did this situation comeabout? It all started with theCommon Agricultural Policy(CAP) in 1962 among therecently formed EuropeanEconomic Area (EEA). In 1967,the sugar regime was includedin the CAP and the beet sugarproducers laughed all the wayto the bank. Every year thesugar industry in the EU gets800 million in subsidies.These subsidies allied to thehigh guaranteed prices in theinternal market rewards theindustry with a hefty profit.The US plays the same game,

financing its sugar sector to thecost of 1.1 billion annually.

Subsidies allow the industryto produce sugar at a high priceand sell it at a low price. Whilea tonne of sugar costs around673 to produce, it fetches only157 on the world market. EUhandouts plug the gap betweenproduction costs and worldmarket prices.

However, the real tragedy isthe nefarious effects of sub-sidies on poor countries. Thedumping of its excess sugaron the world market preventscountries like Mozambiqueor Brazil, cost-effective sugarproducers, to access manymarkets. For example, theEU exports sugar to Nigeria,Algeria and even to the Middle-East. Secondly, irrespectiveof world prices, the EU guar-antees its farmers high priceson the internal market. Sugarprices then plummet below theproduction cost of countrieslike Malawi and Mozambique.Thirdly, without the CAP, theEU would be importing sugarevery year and not exportingit, thus denying its market tomany countries.

But this policy does not onlyapply to sugar. The EU flexesits economic and political mus-cles on all fronts in agricul-ture to bail out its farmers.It practices the vilest form ofprotectionism while it forcesother countries to open their borders to its products. Thedouble standards of the EUand the US, backed by the IMFand World Bank du00umviratehave already sent many coun-tries spiralling into poverty.

On a bigger scale, this is justanother example how peoplebecome dispensable within themarket economy. Those whostand to lose most are smallfarmers within the EU (themultinationals will still get theirhefty compensation) and thosecountries which have dependedon sugar as their main sourceof revenue.

Sweet and Sour

Diren Valayden reflects on the injustice of international sugarreform policies


Every year the sugar industry inthe EU gets 800 million in sub-sidies

The EU accountsfor 40% of allwhite sugar soldin the world


10/11

Fernando Alonso is the newgolden boy of Formula 1. TheSpanish superstar is provingto be a worthy successor to theseven times World ChampionMichael Schumacher. OnSeptember 25th 2005,Fernando became the young-est winner of the Formula 1Championship with third placein the Brazilian Grand Prix.Only 24 years old, Fernandowas the youngest per-son to win the F1 WorldChampionship surpassing theBrazilian Emerson Fittipaldiwho was 25 when he won theChampionship in 1972.Alonso is the first Spaniard

to win the Formula 1Championship and his successhas created a huge followingfor the sport across Spain. Hehas broken numerous recordssince his arrival to Formula 1. For example, he has becomethe youngest racer winner,surpassing Bruce McLaren.During the 2004/2005Championship Alonso wonseven races and reachedthe podium fifteen times.This year's Formula 1 WorldChampionship culminatedwith the Chinese Grand Prixin October. Alonso wrapped

up the title in style, beatingarch rival Kimi Raikkonen intosecond place . Moreover, heand his team-mate GiancarloFisichella delivered the

Constructors Championshipto Renault after a hard foughtbattle with the McLaren teamof Raikkonen and Juan PabloMontoya.Kimi Raikkonen was Alonso'schief opponent during thisyear, following the demise ofMichael Schumacher's Ferrari.Despite the belief that

Raikkonenhad that the bestcar, technical prob-lems prevented himfrom completing manyraces. Fernando Alonso

was the most consistentfinisher throughout theyear. He finished outside thefirst three on only four occa-sions: Hungary (11th position),

Monaco (4th), U.S.A. wherehe had to abandon andCanada where he had anaccident.Fernando arrived in Formula1 five years ago, but his loveof cars began when he was achild. He was given his firstkart at he age of three andspent the next twelve yearsdeveloping his talent. Duringthat time he won a host ofevents, the most important ofwhich was the Junior Worldtitle.In 1999, he graduated to sin-g l e - seater cars in the

Euro-FormulaNissan, where

his successcontinued,

notchingup ninevictories

withinthe

space of a year. The next stepfor the gifted young driver wasFormula 3000 the traditionalbreeding ground for Formula1. Once again, Fernandoexcelled, with victory in theBelgium Grand Prix and a sec-ond position in Hungary.The transition to Formula 1

was too prove far more dif-ficult. In 2001, Alonso signedfor the Benetton-Renaultteam, but they released him toteam Minardi. The team werestruggling financially and this

was reflected in a poor carand poor organisation.

The undoubted skills ofAlonso were hampered

by this situation. Thefollowing year he sac-rificed race time to

rejoin the Renaultteam as a test

driver.This sacrifice wasto pay serious divi-dends. Renault

team bosses

were quick to realise thepotential of their new Spanishrecruit, and in 2003 he madehis debut as an official Renaultdriver partnering Jarno Trulli.With a competitive race carat his disposal Alonso beganto show his form. In only hissecond race with the Renault

team, he became the youngestdriver to record a pole posi-tion, in the Malasia GrandPrix. Brimming with renewedconfidence, Alonso went on tofinish the season in fifth placein the Drivers Championship.The following year, despitefinishing in fourth position,and reaching the podium onfour occasions, Alonso failedto record a single victory.However, 2005 season sawthe introduction of new rulesin Formula 1, and the Renault

team suddenly became morecompetitive. The resultingsuccess of both Alonso and theteam as a whole marks themout as a force for the future.

No Braking AlonsoMaria Goas looks at the career of Fernando Alonso, thecurrent Formula 1 World Champion

Alonso has become theyoungest racer winner,surpassing Bruce McLaren.

Dec05The Circular10


11/11

Ireland's short-comings inthe Autumn Internationalsand the subsequent furore overteam selection has left a darkcloud over Eddie O'Sullivans'tenure as manager.

Some sections if the Irishmedia have been damning intheir criticism of O'Sullivans'methods. In recent col-umns they have questioned

O'Sullivan's tactics and hismanagement style but it isteam selection which has leftmost people wondering if thetwo heavy losses to SouthernHemisphere opposition, anda shallow victory over a one-dimensional Romanian outfit was the best his team couldmuster.

The main bone of conten-tion is the non-selectionof some of the Irish playersplaying for clubs outside thecountry. O'Sullivan's deci-sion to ignore the exceptionalform of London Irish lock BobCasey and Toulouse flanker

Trevor Brennan has caused themost outcry amongst sectionsof the media. Since his exilefrom Leinster four years ago,Brennan has been a talismanin both the second and backrow for a Toulouse and has twoFrench League titles and twoEuropean Cups to show for hisefforts.

Casey has proven to be oneof the best lineout operatorsin the English League and at19 and a half stone, he pos-sesses a ball carrying threatthat Irelands pack is in needof with the absence of VictorCostello, David Wallace andKeith Wood.

To highlight the issue fur-ther, in a recent column SundayTimes rugby correspondentStephen Jones listed 12 differ-ent players plying their tradeoutside the four provinces who,he reckoned, should be includ-ed in the Irish squad.

Given his track record inselection of foreign based play-ers, you can see why somehave cried foul. O'Sullivanignored the claims of GeordanMurphy for a long time whilehe was playing consistent-ly for Leicester. At the time,he was labelled "The GeorgeBest of Rugby" by his coachDean Richards. Ditto Jonny

O'Connor. The Wasps openside was tipped for a Test spot onthe Lions team and was evenquestioned to his availabilityfor England before O'Sullivanpaid any heed.

That the debate came tothe fore in the first place wasdue mainly to the mass exo-dus of players to Englandduring the summer. Ireland'sprovinces lost some of theirbest young talent when AidanMcCullen(Toulouse), DavidQuinlan (Northampton), PeterBracken (Wasps) Leo Cullen,Shane Jennings and Ian

Humphries (all Leicester) leftthese shores during the off-sea-son. Humphries and Brackenhave been completely ignored by OSullivan at a time whenIreland are severely lacking inthe fly halve and tight headdepartment.

These players, undoubt-edly the next generation ofIrish internationals, have beenlargely ignored by O'Sullivansince their switch but somecommentators have ignoredthe fact that they left becausethey weren't featuring regular-ly enough for their provinces inthe first place. Most were play-

ing during the Celtic Leaguewhile their international teammates were away.But theyhad to relinquish their start-ing roles in the Heineken Cup when their more illustriouscolleagues came back.

No doubt, their exposure totop class rugby every week inEngland and France has helpedin their recent development asplayers, but until O'Sullivanand his management team seethem put in big, consistentperformances in the HeinekenCup, it s hard to see how theycan be considered for selec-tion.

The Romania game was seen

by some as a prime opportunityto try out some of these emerg-ing talents but after the twoperformances against Australiaand New Zealand you couldforgive O'Sullivan for lookingfor a victory first, and a per-formance from his establishedplayers if only to boost ailingmorale.

The re-establishment of theA" internationals in Springshould see most of these play-ers tested on an internationalstage and O'Sullivan must behoping he can uncover someinternational class perform-ers before the next World Cup.Bear in mind, if Ireland do come

through from a group includ-ing France and Argentina, theywill be rewarded with a quar-ter final tie with New Zealand.Scary thought.

Testing Times

For OSullivan

Up and coming overseastalent must be recognisedby the Irish manager ifrugby is to progress further

writes Conor McKeon


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