city word summer edition 2012

8/13/2019 City Word Summer Edition 2012

1/11

CITY WORD

Usain BoltAn interview with

The rise of womens football

and ice hockey across Scotland

Sport

THE

City of Glasgow Colleges Student Magazine...

Features

End of year show - sample exhibits

plus...

Photo-journalisms fnal protest

Olympics preview featuring two of Britains major

rack medal hopes

The colour of music and a tribute

to the great DJ John Peel


2/11

ContentsGOODBYE...HE summer edition o ourstudent magazine bids a ondarewell to the classes o 2011-12.We have continued somethemes rom previous editionsby revisiting some protest andsocial justice photo-journalism,provided again by the verytalented students o HNPhotography at the college.HN Practical Journalism

students have again providedsome sparkling copy on variedsubjects and confirmed onceagain the range and quality otheir reportage and eatures, soplease enjoy and spread Te CityWord!All the very best or the summerand the uture...

EDITORIAL:Co-Editors: Jordan Bell, Scott Wilson.

WRITERS: Andy Alston, Martin Owens, Jordan Bell,

Lewis Campbell, Ian Crichton, Amy Fraser, Ryan Kyle.

Page 4-5 End of year show

Page 6-7 Photo-journalismshowcase

Page 8-9 Olympics preview

Page 10 Strife in Afghanistan

Page 12-13 The Peel appeal

Picture by Ross Chandler

Page 14-15 All we want is power

Page 11The colour of music

Page 16 Lies of the beholder

Page 17 Student volunteering

Page 19 Womens football

Page 20 Passing the puck

Page 18 Usain Bolt interview

2 SUMMER2012 HECITYWORD 3


3/11

City of Glasgow College 2012 - sample

exhibits of student excellence

HN Display Design

HN Product Design

HN Illustration

HN Decorative Glass

HN Jewellery


ENDOFYEARSHOW

end o year show


4/11

Picture by Lisa BoydPicture by Cameron Henderson

Picture by Amanda Bunten

HECITYWORD 7

PHOTOGRAPHY

6 SUMMER2012

photography


5/11

tunity; it could go either waywith the expectation andpressure, though. But I liketo think that more people willrise to the occasion next year.Another British champion

looking ahead to the Olym-pics is 5,000m and 10,000mrunner, Mo Farah. LikeGreene, Farah also won gold

in South Korea in September2011 adding to his impressive5,000m and 10,000m Europe-an Championship gold dou-ble at Barcelona in 2010.Im putting in the high

mileage at the moment, saidFarah. Im back to ull fitnessafer taking a much neededbreak at the end o the season.Its going well.Afer losing in the 5,000m

semi-final race in Beijing in2008, Farah admits the sel-assurance that comes withbeing a World and EuropeanChampion will stand himin good stead going into thegames this summer.Being a World Champion

definitely gives me confidencegoing into the Olympics. Te2011 season was great and Imade big improvements romprevious years.

One question that the Soma-li-born Brit has continuallybeen asked in the build up tothe Olympics is what events hewhat actually be competing in.Afer a disappointing silver

medal in the 10,000m event inDaegu last year, many are pre-dicting that Farah will be tryingto emulate the success o dou-ble gold medallist Dame KellyHolmes in Athens 2004 by go-ing or double gold in London.Its too soon to say whether

Id run both, although Id liketo. It all depends on how Imeeling at the time and how

It seems that London 2012has been looming orever with the initial bid be-

ing made back in 2003. Injust a ew months, however,the countdown will end andthe capital will welcome thegames or a third time.In 170 days, London will

see the arrival o more than

10,000 athletes ready to go orgold in 305 different sportingevents.However, the games cant

come quickly enough or DaiGreene. Afer missing out onBeijing 2008 through injury,the Welsh 400 metre hurdleris enjoying the orm o his lie.He took gold at the Com-

monwealth Games in Delhiin 2010, back-to-back goldat the European Champion-ships in Barcelona 2010 andStockholm 2011 and cappedit all off with gold at the 2011World Championships inDaegu, South Korea.Ive been training or about

two and hal months already,admits Dai. Im training real-ly hard at the moment, doingthe hard graf. I travelled toSouth Arica on January 12th[or a training block].

Ill be doing the same sorto work as Ive been doingthe past couple o years andI know that I can run reallywell off that hopeully itllbe enough to prepare or theOlympics this summer.In the build up to the Olym-

pics, there has been talk con-cerning the pressure that theBritish athletes could ace.Greene, however, expects hisellow Brits to be at an advan-tage with home support. Hesaid: Id like to think that eve-ryone would benefit rom it.Its such a massive oppor-

Britannia Rules The Games

it comes this summer.[At the moment] Im just

working hard in the gym withthe aim o perecting my rou-tines, said Smith. raining isgoing really well and I definite-ly eel like Im heading towardsmy physical peak.I train six days a week, which

includes our ull days and twohal days. It equates to about 32hours per week. Its an intenseschedule but you dont get any-where without hard work.Teres not a closed season

training has gone up until thatpoint. Alberto [his coach] andI will make that decision to-gether closer to the time.One man who already has an

Olympic medal to his name isBritish gymnast, Louis Smith.Smith was just 19 when he

captured the bronze in Bei-jing in 2008 Britains firstOlympic medal in gymnasticsin more than 100 years.Now 22, and with the back-

ing o a nation, Smith is readyto seize his opportunity when

Mo Farah will be aiming for gold this summer...

Ahead o the Olympic Games in London this summer,Martin Owensspeaks to three oBritains main medal hopeuls

in gymnastics. We get someshort periods when we can getaway to allow our bodies torecuperate or a ew days, butultimately we need to ensurewere on top o our game allyear round so that we remaincompetitive.Unlike Greene and Farah,

Smith already has that covetedOlympic medal to his nameand he admits the pressure

o being the greatest malegymnast Britain has pro-duced in over a century willbe huge in London.It gives me conidence

in that I know what to ex-pect to an extent and Ive

....while Dai Greene will also be hoping for success over the hurdles

shown what I can do at thatlevel, but the level o pres-sure now compared to whatI experienced in 2008 is onanother planet.Nobody really knew

about me then in the way

they do now and there wasno expectation on me likethere is now.Its just about working out

the best way to deal with [thepressure] just as all the GBathletes will have to do aheado the London Olympics.

HECITYWORD 9 8 SUMMER2012

eatures & opinion FEATURES&OPINION


6/11

It has been almost 11years since British troopsentered Aghanistan or

the second time and manyquestioning the reasoningbehind military interventionin the Middle East.It is a nation that has been

plagued by political turmoilor more than three genera-tions since the Saur Revolu-tion in 1978 and in recenttimes with Hamid Karzai;currently serving his secondterm in office despite manyAghans calling or him to beremoved.Charlene Smith worked in

Kabul or a private securityfirm dealing with a numbero high-profile clients sincethe beginning o Karzais re-election in 2009.Her compound was just a 15

minute drive rom the U.S.military base, Camp Eggers,and lived under the constantthreat o the aliban whowere responsible or a num-ber o kidnaps and murdersin the area.Living as a Westerner in a

country with strict views onwomen and little in the way

o human rights, Smith ofenhad to mask hersel in orderto avoid being attacked. TeAghan people do not likeit when women show theirneck because they see it asa sexual part o the body soyou always had to wear aheadscar, she explained.Your ears always had to be

covered and you were neverallowed to show your ankleseither. Women arent allowedin the street afer hal pastfive in the evening becausethey are classed as prostitutesso they must be at home or ina vehicle.

Speak when youre spoken to

When I arrived I was clearlytold Do not look at any Aghanman in the eye because youredisrespecting him. You werealso never allowed to start aconversation; you speak whenyoure spoken to.Aghanistan is a nation

where the government heav-ily censors and regulates itsmedia output.Ranked as the 29th worst in

the world or press reedom,Charlene was ofen kept inthe dark about the issuesthat were affecting her in thecountry: Te media overthere do report things butwhen you come back hereand see what the British pressare reporting, they hold somuch back and you never getthe ull story.Although, in the British

news you dont see hal owhat really goes on. Its acountry that is in need o a loto upgrading. Teres terrible,terrible poverty as many othe children in the street donthave shoes and dont knowwhere their next hot meal iscoming rom.O course, one o the main is-

sues within the country is theinfluence o the aliban, whothe United Nations has blamedor 80% o civilian casualties inAghanistan last year.Charlene provides an

interesting insight into theirstronghold in the country,saying: One o our securityguards told me that alibanpay more money than whatthe Aghan army do.So these people are strug-

gling and they need moneyor their amilies so i theyregetting an offer o $500 amonth rom the alibaninstead o $200 or working

six days a week then its a no-brainer.I you disregard the aliban

in any way they tell you notto come back to your home

village or you and your am-ily will be killed.Aghanistan is a nation

where the government heav-ily censors and regulates itsmedia output. Ranked as the29th worst in the world orpress reedom, Charlene wasofen kept in the dark aboutthe issues that were affectingher in the country.Te media there do report

things but when you come backhere and see what the Britishpress are reporting, they hold somuch back and you never getthe ull story, she said.However, in the British

news you dont see hal owhat really goes on. Its acountry that is in need o alot o upgrading.Teres terrible, terrible

poverty as many o the chil-dren in the street dont haveshoes and dont know wheretheir next hot meal is comingrom.Despite the odds being

against young people in thecountry, there are groups try-ing to educate childrenand give them achance to suc-ceed in lie.A womens

ootballteam hasbeenmen-tioned asa possiblemethodo lettingyoungstersexpress them-selves although this

has been met with strongopposition rom the aliban,who are well known or theirextreme views on women.Tey wouldnt think twiceabout blowing them up,adds Smith. A lot o peoplewere desperate to learn Eng-lish and I did my best to helpthem when I was there.Every day theyd go by my

office and shout Hello! andId congratulate them. Teywere so proud that they hadlearned an English wordbecause a lot o the Western-ers wouldnt take the time toteach them.Aghanistan is a country

that is desperate to stand onits own two eet afer decadeso intervention rom othercountries.Its people dream o being

ree and being able to walkthe street without the earo kidnap and death but aslong as the aliban continueto have a stronghold on thecountry, many ear that A-ghans are set or more yearso sorrow and hardship.Would I go back there?

I probably wouldnt. I still

dont know how I did it in thefirst place, addsCharlene.

Whats life like for women living and working in Afghanistan?Andy Alstontalks to Charlene Smith, a West-ern witness to the brutal regimes grip on the country...

In 1988, OShea Jacksonburst out o south-centralCompton, Los Angeles

and inormed the world thathe was a crazy motheruckernamed Ice Cube, rom thegang called Niggas Wit Atti-tude. Te world was shocked,white America got scared,and gangsta rap was born.In 1998, Marshall Mathers

burst out o Detroit, Michi-gan and inormed the worldthat he just [didnt] give auck. Te world was shocked,white America got scared,and rap had a new icon. Butwhats the difference? Emi-nem is white.his was a new phenom-

enon. Rap had been largelylimited to black artistson the east or west coastso America. Now, herewas a white kid rom theMidwest who the audi-ence loved. Eminem sold283,000 copies o the SlimShady LPin America aloneduring his irst week.It could be claimed that his

success with the mainstreamaudience was due to his race,but theres a simpler reason

behind it: he rapped aboutthings white kids in the sub-urbs could relate to. Subur-ban kids could relate to Emi-nem better than they could toBiggie Smalls rhymes aboutliving in the hood and sling-ing coke and crack.Te success o Eminem took

rap mainstream and othersollowed in his ootsteps toame and ortune. But he alsoopened it up to a wider audi-ence o all races.Its still a mostly black genre,

but artists like Yelawol, Rittzand MGK have come to theoreront in recent years.

And they all owe a debt toEminem.Te new generation o

rappers and ans care lessthan ever o the colour o aperormers skin, as long asthey bring skills. One o thehottest crews in the scene,Odd Future, has a whitemember. Shady 2.0 countsEminem and Yelawol amongits members.Rappers have noticed this

shif as well. Chamillionairereleased his album, UltimateVictory, without any proan-ity, saying he elt uncomort-able during his last tour;seeing all the white kidsrapping along to every wordincluding the N word. Whilehe should be applauded ordelivering a good, cleanalbum, not everyone was im-pressed. 50 Cent called him asellout.Is he? Ultimate Victory was

a huge step orward or thegenre; the first time a blackartist had released a solidalbum that white kids couldenjoy without having to wor-ry about offending anyone asthey sang along.

heres still a while to gobeore hiphop can be con-sidered truly a multicul-tural genre o music. It stillgets a lot o criticism overits lyrics, particularly romwhite conservatives, whichirritates a large number orappers.his anger at being made

scapegoats is obvious whenyou hear yler, the Cre-ators intro to Radicals;hey, dont do anythingthat I do in this song, ok?Its uckin iction. I any-thing happens, dont blameme, white America.

Tis isnt a new stance.Eminem told us way back in2001 on Renegade that hewas in a position to talk tothese kids and they listen,beore going on to say thatthe media were being a hugeintererence, theyre sayingyou shouldnt hear it.On another note, you could

say its got a while to gobeore its truly multiculturalabout punk, or metal. Howmany bands have a blackrontman, other than thelikes o Skindred and Cere-bral Ballzy?Te Notorious B.I.G. taught

us that it was all a dreamor black kids to escape theghettoes to make ortunes.Tese days, its just as likely tobe a white, Latin or Asian kidwith those dreams. Clich asit might be, someones char-acter defines them, ratherthan skin colour.Dr. Dre said it best when

he summed up his viewon Eminem; I dont give auck i youre white, black orpurple. I you can kick it, Imworking with you.

The Colour of MusicJordan Bellexplores how Eminem broke down hiphops racial barriers and paved the way for the

modern generation

Eminem (below) paved the way

for artists like Yalwolf to succeed

THECITYWORD 1110 SUMMER2012

eatures & opinionFEATURES&OPINION


7/11


eatures & opinionFEATURES&OPINION

This October will

bring the eighth an-

nual John Peel Day, a

celebration of live music up

and down the country to

mark the anniversary of the

last broadcast of the John

Peel show on Radio 1.

It was the end of nearly 40

years of broadcasting, trans-

mitting his wildly diverse

taste in music to listeners

across Britain and overseas

on the BBC World Service.

The late John Peels

unfailing commitment to

exposing his ears - and

by extension, ours - to

absolutely every auditory

sensation that was available

to him has left an indelible

influence on the medium of

radio and beyond.

In 2012, his absence is

deeply felt, possibly now

more than ever. We are con-

stantly surrounded by noise

and information, and what

Peel provided throughout

his tenure was a filter, a

discerning paternal ear to

wade through the chaff and

deliver the wheat with the

self-styled Uncle Johnseal

of approval.

His dedication was unri-

valled; he was one of the

few BBC disc jockeys to

take home everything in his

cubbyhole at the end of the

week, and he received hun-

dreds of unsolicited records

every month at his home.

Among these were the

early demos of Billy Bragg

and Pulp, placed directly

into his hands by the musi-

cians themselves at DJ gigs

around the country.

He was never beholden to

BBC-approved playlisting,

and played records that no

one else would have played

(and at the wrong speed

sometimes.)

Has anyone or anything

stepped in to fill this void left

by one of the worlds longest-

serving DJs? And is it even

possible now, amid the great

levellingof equal, indiscrimi-

nate, world-wide access to

and delivery of content?

When I first became a

student in 2006 (something

I proudly persist with, six

years on), I occasionally

played drums in a band with

a gifted guitarist and music

obsessive named Tim Smart.

For the enjoyment of our

fellow students, we would

play covers of The Pixies,

Daniel Johnston and Herbie

Hancock.

Up until this point I had

been a moody teenager, still

getting fanatical over Bright

Eyes EPs, and these eclectic

choices of Tims were my

first introduction to a wider

musical edification.

Over time, I became infatu-

ated with his record collec-

tion, in particular his copy

of Captain Beefhear ts Trout

Mask Replica.

Tim relished the sight of my

innocent mind being blown

to pieces by this surreal rock

nroll cacophony across four

sides of wax, and he wished

he could hear it again for the

first time too.

And how had he first come

across this sonic chaos? He

was 14 years old, it was past

his bedtime, and his dad

was making him listen to the

John Peel show.

I absolutely hated it the

first time I heard it,says

Smart, now playing guitar

with Bournemouth band

County Hospital. It was

unlistenable!

A man growling over the

top of barely competent mu-

sicians. I just thought, How

can he sincerely recommend

this?It so happened that

his father, also a musician,

owned Trout Mask and he

endeavoured to persevere

with it to make sure John

Peel (and his dad) werent

taking the piss.

It took about four or five

listens, but it really hit me,

just how incredible, and out

of the ordinary it was. I stole

my dads copy before going

to university and still have

it.Has he ever asked for the

records safe return? Its his

fault for letting me listen to

the radio that late.

The radio and its strict

programming now seems

something of an anachro-

nism in our time of Web 2.0

and digital proliferation.

Time was when only a se-

lect few would be admitted

into the forbidden garden of

radio playlists, music week-

lies, and Top of the Pops and

music obsessive and music

casual alike would hand over

the requisite coin for what

they fancied.

The humble radio, defined

by its own limitations and all

the more significant for the

social experience of having

shared events in real time,

has been usurped by the

broadband behemoth and

ease of access to any mate-

rial, for any price you care to

pay (if any), from wherever

in the world.

But while the Internet mul-

tiplied and conquered in the

early 21st century and all forms

of traditional media were

going through a very public

identity crisis, it was the radio

that quietly made the transi-

tion and embraced the pure

convenience it had to offer.

The BBC website offered Lis-

ten againoptions on all their

radio broadcasts, and at the

same time amateur enthusi-

asts were taking advantage

of the biggest listener em-

powering technology since

pirate radio in the 1960s.

We were a group of obses-

sive fans on the John Peel

Yahoo! group, and it was

such a shock when John

died,says Andrew Morri-

son, a head DJ at Dandelion

Radio. We spent about six

months essentially consoling

each other, before some-

one, I cant remember who

specifically, suggested the

idea that we start our own

station online. So it was part

of a grieving process, before

it became what it is today.

Dandelion Radio (named

after Peels own short-lived

record label) went online in

2006, and from a small band

of enthusiastic individuals

it has since expanded toinclude a rotating roster of

volunteer DJs with their own

original programming and

exclusive recordings in the

style of the original shows

legendary Peel sessions;

some 4000 of which were

recorded in the 37 years he

was on the air.

Its all about preserving the

John Peel spiritfor those

who dearly miss the original

show or introducing new

generations to something

they were born too late to

take part in. But what exactly

is the John Peel spirit?

I think it means different

things to different people,

says Morrison. Its about

finding something you like,

regardless of who told you

that you should like it. Radio

now is swamped with PR

men and playlists, dictating

what gets airplay and what

doesnt, but were more

interested in What is every-

one up to, whether theyre

signed or not?

I think thats the Peel ethos

we strive for on Dandelion.

You dont hear much of that

on radio anymore.

Hes not wrong. Since we no

longer have to rely on catch-

ing one fleeting moment of

musical genius at half past

midnight on a weekday, we

can download the podcast

and listen at our convenience

throughout the day and skip

forward through the tracks

that dont tickle our fancy

within the first 20 seconds.

Which prompts the ques-

tion: if the John Peel Show

were still broadcasting to-

day, would anyone even be

listening? Morrison takes his

time before answering.

Im not sure hed be as in-

fluential. But what I enjoy is

listening to a DJ explainingwhy he likes a track, and why

he hopes that I will too.

I think the impersonal

nature of radio today 60%

of radio today doesnt have

a DJ talking between the

tracks, people would cer-

tainly be listening for Johns

unique element of quality

control. Maybe even more

[listeners] than before, with

the iPlayer options.

The Internet is now inun-

dated with MP3 blogs and

aggregators, automated rec-

ommendation systems such

as Last.fm, an d Create Your

Own Radio Stationstream-

ing services like Spotify.

Anybody can be their own

personal John Peel, play-list-

ing old favourites alongside

new recommendations and

uploading them to the wider

world of social networking

for mass distribution.

There are now no obstacles

between the listener and his

or hers access to the music

he or she wants to hear.

But there is one obstacle in

the way, highlighted by author

Simon Reynolds in his book

Retromania, mal darchive.

Its archive fever: the current

generations constant need

for organising, curating,

filtering and revisiting.

Were using the technology

available to us to repackage

old favourites and catalogue

everything that came before,

instead of broadening our

horizons and embracing mu-

sic and information from far

outside our comfort zone.

Rather than happening

upon a cut from Trout Mask

Replica at some ungodly

hour and being simulta-

neously frightened and com-

pelled into tracking down

the whole album, it has

become a dispassionate

box-ticking exercise, where

Captain Beefheart sits next

to Frank Zappa and The Vel-

vet Underground in the list

of Avant-Garde Records Im

Supposed to Have Heard

by Now.

If we are to keep that spirit

of the original John Peel

show alive, we should be

mindful of that burning cu-

riosity he had for anything

that landed on his doorstep

or in his hands.

He was a true listener, a

champion of the new and

strange.

Since time immemorial

there have been artists

who didnt get the atten-

tion/airtime/column inches

they rightly deserved, but

now we have the ways and

means at our disposal to

uncover artists located at

the other side of the world

from our computer chair,

and we can start cham-

pioning the unheard and

the undervalued again. We

need to make sure that we

dont just follow what came

before, but become our

own John Peels, our own

pioneers and mavericks ex-

ploring new and different

ways of discovering and

engaging with music.

IAN CRICHTON

REMINISCES ABOUT THE

WONDER YEARS WHEN

JOHN PEEL HELD

DOMINION OVER THE

UK RADIO WAVES...

THE PEEL APPEAL


8/11

eatures & opinion

Iran is the Wests mosttroublesome enigma.

The Islamic nation hasbeen under constantsuspicion and scrutinyfor decades, and nowmore than ever.

Since 2003 Iran has made

its intentions clear to work

on enriching uranium for

what it claims is peaceful,

energy generating purpos-

es. There has been nothing

short of horror and alarm

from much of the Western

world at this prospect.

To many politicians in the

West, a nuclear-capable

Iran is the biggest threat to

peace and territory in the

Middle East.

Most outspoken in its

rage is Israel, who believe

they will be the first to be

attacked unless forceful

pre-emptive measures are

taken to subdue Iran by any

means necessary.

Economic and trade sanc-

tions have been heaped

on and on to the alreadystruggling nation, with

the United States leading

the charge in the United

Nations Security Council

(UNSC) for these measures

to be enforced.

There are reasons for these

suspicions. Iran is very secre-

tive as a nation, especially

concerning its military capa-

bilities and is an outspoken

dissident of all things USA.

Moreover it has been the

subject of political unrest,

war and alleged terrorism

ties for many years.

These measures, threats

and worries could all be

misplaced. There is a chance

that the proud nation wants

nothing more than to supply

its people with a plentiful

energy resource instead of

relying on its own reserves

of oil, which it could then

export to other countries.

This is a hard story to swal-

low for the USA and Israel,

who have been convinced for

years that weapons of mass

destruction are the goal.

They have also been the

subjects of much aggressive

rhetoric from Iran, espe-

cially its current president

Mamoud Ahmedinejad.

Recent research, diplo-

matic maneuvers and talks

between Iran and the rest

of the UN suggests that Iran

may soon be more willing

to open its secrets up to

impartial scrutiny. How long

before concessions and

agreements can be reached

is the crucial questionthough, will Israels patience

break, or will talks prevail?

According to Dr Naomi

Head, political lecturer and

researcher at Glasgow Uni-

versity, trust and patience

are the keys to the next few

months, however difficult

these ideals are to follow.

When we look at the inter-

actions between Israel and

Iran and the United States,

what you see are embedded

historical narratives that are

rife with anger, humiliation,

hostilities, and with models

of bad faith. The assumption

is already there that we cant

trust them.

Key diplomats at the heart

of the process have said we

dont trust them. Nobody

said it was easy, but there

have been negotiations

on and off since 2003; this

suggests that there is some

desire to co-operate, and out

of co-operation comes the

possibility to trust.

The US has shown a degree

more patience than Israel,

President Obama being much

more in favour of a diplo-

matic solution than President

Netenyahu with the Israeli

leaders talk in the press of

proactive self -defence.

But Obama has his Red

Line, that America will as-

sist Israel in attacking Iran

should it be proved that

they have attained nuclear

weapons capabilities.

The American-driven sanc-

tions, including fresh ones

due to kick in this July, maynot bring the diplomati-

cally wrangled solution that

Obama and much of the

world craves though.

Dr Head affirmed: Iran has

been sanctioned since 2006.

It hasnt bowed down yet, so

I dont think the sanctions

are effective in the way that

they are portrayed to be by

those that advocate their

use. Iran has been punished

for many years by these

increasingly harsh sanctions.

Its a very proud country, it

has a very clear understand-

ing of its own traditions and

the position it wants to have

in the region. So I dont think

that its just going to sud-

denly crack.

So where economic and

diplomatic pressure might

well fail, what can the UN do

to ensure a peaceful solu-

tion? There must be conces-

sions, but not so many that

Iran is granted too much

freedom to experiment with

its nuclear capabilities.

On the other hand, Iran with

its fiery anti-West President

Ahmedinejad will not accept

half measures and weak of-

fers. This is primarily where

negotiating difficulties lie,

the danger of an impasse and

unreasonable demands.

However, after the recent

talks between Iran and the

Nuclear five plus oneof the

USA, China, Russia, France,

Britain and Germany in

Istanbul, there is optimism

about the possibility of dip-

lomatic progress.One Obama administration

official was quoted at the

meeting, which took place

on April 14th, as saying,

there is a combination

of factors coming on line,

including the talks and the

sanctions, and so now I think

people realise it has to be

given time to play out.

We are in a period now

where the combination of

diplomacy and pressure is

giving us a window.

Moreover, Senator John

Kerry, the chairman of the

Senate Foreign Relations

Committee, said: I have

confidence that there is a

way for ward.

Even IRNA, the Iranian

state-controlled news

service, had positive views

on the outcome of the talks.

Cleric Ayatollah Seddiqi said:

If the United States and oth-

er nations negotiating with

Iran show logical behavior in

nuclear talks, the outcome

will be good for all.

With such positive re-

sponses from both sides,

peaceful progress seems a

surety. Only one constraint

remains, according to Dr

Head, Netenyahu and the

leadership of Israel.

The difficulty for the US at

the moment is Israel. Every-

body except Netenyahu has

said that war with Iran is a

crazy idea.

The gist of it is that none

of the chiefs of military think

that war with Iran is a good

idea. The fact is Israel has the

military capacity to launch

war, even though it wont

be as effective as if America

does it, it still has the capac-

ity to do so.

Netenyahu spoke of his im-

patience to CNN during his

visit to the United States in

early April, claiming that the

centrifuges are still spinning,

they were spinning before

the talks began recently with

Iran, they were spinning dur-

ing the talks, theyre spin-

ning as we speak.

So if the sanctions are

going to work, they d better

work soon.

In contrast to this, Israeli mil-

itary chief Lt General Benny

Gantz has told press agencies

recently of his reservations

regarding a military strike on

Iranian targets.

He described Irans leaders

as very rational peoplewho

are still deciding whether to

go the extra mileand pro-

duce nuclear weapons.

Speaking about Irans

Supreme Leader Ayatollah

Ali Khamenei, he said: I

believe he would be making

an enormous mistake, and

I dont think he will want to

go the extra mile.

One legal trump card in

Irans favour is the provisions

for non-nuclear weapons

states under the Nuclear Pro-

liferation Treaty, countries

may enrich uranium up to a

certain level for the produc-

tion of nuclear energy.

It is this right that Iran

wishes to assert. Moreover

it further angers Israel by

citing its hypocrisy of being a

nuclear-weapon nation while

being signed to the treaty,

as only the five permanent

members of the UNSC may

hold nuclear weapons.

What would help more than

finger pointing however is

more transparency from Iran,

the UN agrees. Dr Head be-

lieves this could be one of the

big stepping-stones towards

acceptance from the UNSC,

especially the USA.

Iran has a right to it

(uranium enrichment)

under the NPT, but there

are questions that they

havent answered from the

IAEA (International Atomic

Energy Agency).

The suspensions were

placed on Iran in limited

capacity because of the

unanswered questions with

the IAEA. So if Iran were to

be fully transparent as the

IAEA requires, then it would

be monitored and verified

in the same way that everyother state is.

The manner in which the

participating leaders, dip-

lomats and governments

choose to approach this

situation may differ, but

one thing is certain, inva-

sion of Iran and a resultant

war would be a disaster.

Diplomacy must be made to

play out; it may be for better

or for worse. Dr Head believes

it is dependent on how badly

peace is wanted by all sides.

The time is there, its just

whether people would be

willing to accept it or not.

As far as Israel is concerned;

I can say that weve seen

threats indeed and com-

mitments by experts that

Israel will have attacked by

certain points in time and

they havent yet.

There is time if people

allow it, the ticking bomb

is encouraged by countries

around them (Iran). There is

no need to go to war over

this and it will be a disaster

if we do. So take the time to

come to a diplomatic solu-

tion. Because the alterna-

tive would be catastrophic.

By LEWIS CAMPBELL

ALL WE WANT IS POWER


FEATURES&OPINION


9/11

Everyone has their ownhome remedies thatthey swear by, whether

it be or a bad hair day or asurprise overnight pimpleappearance, strange and un-expected home made potionsand lotions are the key tolooking good. But how manyo them actually work?Speaking rom past personal

experience Ive been toldmixing parsley with waterand dabbing it on bad skinclears it up. It really doesnt,it just makes you smell like aherb patch.Ive also been told that sleep-

ing with olive oil in your hairrepairs it afer a bleaching

session. Again, it doesnt. Youjust end up with some reallyicky pillow cases.So, or all those who are ed

up with ailed DIY beautytips, I ound out the truthbehind the myths and askedbeauty therapist Linzi McLa-chlan the Dos and Donts ohome made beauty remedies.She said: You shouldnt

use regular soap and wateron skin, and or spots youshouldnt use toothpaste.Straight away, two things

that the majority o peopleswear by are completely

wrong. oothpaste can haveits quick-fit benefits like dry-ing the skin out but it wontully solve your problem.Some toothpastes are made

with strong antibacterialproperties and some even con-tain bleach, which can causeurther irritation to the skin.Linzi added: You shouldnt

use anything alcohol basedon the skin, thats why peoplerecommend you shouldntuse make-up wipes becausethey have alcohol in them;they strip the top layer oyour skinBad skin is usually a phase

most teenagers go through,you get a ew spots here and

there and they disappearover time.Spots can also be caused by

things other than skin type,puberty and what you chooseto put on it. Some bad skincases are related back tointernal conditions or even aweekend bender, says Linzi.I have a lot o clients come

in that are young girls andyou find that i they have badskin across their orehead ordown their nose then youask them i they were out atthe weekend; the alcohol isrelated to their bad skin.

Linzis top tips orclear skin:Water keep your

skin hydrated at all times!Fruit vitamins boost

your skins vitality.Moisturise find one thatsuits your skin type and keepyour skin looking resh.NO alcohol alcoholdehydrates your skin andalcohol based make- upwipes or removers dam-age the top layer o yourskin. Use gentle make upremovers.Make up sponges i youuse a make up sponge toapply your make up changethe sponge rom a blem-

ished area to a clear skinarea so you are not spread-ing the bacteria.So what about other acts

that we take or granted?Over plucking/waxing

eyebrows can cause themnot to grow back;True I you over pluck to

much, hair growth stuntsand you could be lef withless eyebrow hairs. I you areto wax or pluck, grow themout as much as possibleand then see a proessional.Treading is also a new wayo shaping eyebrows and

keeping long term results.

Sharing mascara can causeeye inections;True I you were to

share eye make up there isa chance o catching an eyeinection such as conjunc-tivitis or a sty. You shouldalways clean your brushafer someone else has usedthem or you should useseparate disposable brushesand bin them afer use.Giving your hair a trim

makes it grow aster;False Having your hair

cut gives it the illusion thatit is thicker and healthierwhich may make it appearlonger. Hair grows at a con-

stant rate even i your endsare split or damaged.Putting wet nails into ice

water makes the polish dryquicker;False You can use nail

oil sprays to use on top owet nail polish to makethem dry quicker. Alsoyou should NO file a nailbackwards and orwards,it damages the nail andmakes them easier to split.Instead file in one direc-tion and use a crystal file ipossible!

Lies of the beholderAmy Fraser goes deep into theheart o the health industry to

bring you the truth about oldwives tales and beauty myths

16 SUMMER2012

eatures & opinion

HECITYWORD 17

STUDENTMATTERS

student matters


10/11

On Friday 27th oJuly 2012, Londonwill see the arrival

o more than 10,000 athletesready to go or gold in 305different sporting events.Some 1.8 million people

have applied, with a total o20 million ticket applications.Te majority o those people

are coming to see one man Usain Bolt.Since the ballot opened last

year, there have been morethan 1,000,000 ticket requestsor the Olympic mens 100mfinal alone. And, or thoselucky enough to receive aticket or the final, there isevery chance that they will be

witness to a special peror-mance by the man romrelawny, northwest Jamaica.My preparation or the

Games is going great, saidBolt. Recently, I had a goodrun as part o a relay teamat the Uech Invitational inKingston Jamaica. We ran37.82 seconds.What Bolt considers a

good run is in act theastest 4x100m relay peror-mance o 2012 and a record atthe Uech Invitational.As the current 100m

(9.58sec), 200m (19.19sec)and 4x100m (37.04sec) world

record holder, Bolt is the ast-est man alive. He can reach atop speed o around 28mphand travels at more than 12mper second.Te laid-back 25 year-old,

however, insists the hypesurrounding him and theconstant debate o whether hewill be able to break his ownrecords in London will notaffect him.People are looking or me

to run 9.4 seconds. Teywant to see me enjoying therace and doing crazy stuff,

but they also want to see thattime. So Im working as hardas possible so I can go as astas possible.But overall I am aiming to

deend my titles successully.Whatever else comes withthat, I would be happy.I never set out to achieve

records, the gold medal ismy ultimate goal a recordwould be a bonus. Tere is nopressure.While Bolt is scheduled to

compete six times beore theOlympics this summer, withhis final test coming one weekbeore the opening ceremony

on July 20th in Monaco, he isalready beginning to set hissights on London.He said: Te Olympics

Games is special. It arrivesonce every our years andbrings a lot o athletes romdifferent sports together inone large city.And while that offers some

social interaction, it more im-portantly offers competitionat the very highest level.While Bolt is guaranteed to

compete in London this sum-mer, there is no such guar-

antee as to whether he willcompete at the Common-wealth Games in Glasgow in2014 having missed Delhi2010 and Melbourne 2006.Te Commonwealth

Games provide a great outletor athletes to compete, saidBolt. Im not sure what theplans are or the Common-wealth Games in Glasgow,though.Afer the O lympics this

summer, my coach and I willwork out my programme orthe next couple o years.

100m in under 9.5 secs...

By Martin Owens

USAIN IS POSSIBLE?He dominated Beijing2008 without eventrying. Now hesheaded to London andhes more ocused than

ever. Look out world,here comes Usain Bolt.

When did you first realiseyou had a special talent?

Ever since I was about sixyears old. When I was inprimary school I won a lot oraces.Are you good at any othersports?Yeah, I play a good game

o cricket and ootball. I Iwasnt a runner Id have beena cricketer.Who were your sporting

idols?My idol in cricket was Sa-

chin endulkar. In track and

field it would have to beMichael Johnson andJamaican Don Quarrie.What are your hobbies

outside o sport?I play a lot o video games

on the PS3, it relaxes me.Whenever I have time, I alsogo to the movies.Afer the Olympics thissummer, what are your plansor the rest o the year?

Ill be doing a media tourthen taking a long vacation.Afer that, its back to trainingor the World Championshipsin Russia in 2013.

Bolt actually slowed down during the 100m final in Beijing and STILL broke the world record

Picture the scene.Scotlands topfootball club, be it

Celtic or Rangers, reachesthe last-16 of the UEFAChampions League.Every newspaper and TVstation is saturated withcoverage of the heroesbehind such an achiev-ment and supporters fly

flags and gather in pubsto watch on big s creens.Now cast your mind back to

the last time you picked up anewspaper and read even abrie mention o the massivesuccess o Glasgow City Ladies(pictured), Scotlands topwomens ootball team.You, and the vast major-

ity o Scots, will probably becompletely unaware that lastseason they were just 180minutes rom the QuarterFinals o the Womens UEFAChampions League.Aside rom one or two pages

every now and again, themajority o womens ootballis completely under the radar.When Celtic last played in thetop European competition,they averaged a home atten-dance o 57,000 people.Compare that with Glasgow

City, who managed to draw acrowd o 300 in what is ulti-mately the same competition.Tats 192 times less people, afigure that, on paper, is utterlyunjustifiable.Tere is a stereotype o

womens ootball in Scotland,and five minutes lookingthrough ootball orums willdemonstrate that.On Pie & Bovril, a website

dedicated to Scottish ootball, athread was posted to congratu-late Glasgow City. Tis wasbombarded with comments,which bordered on sexist and

Not just a mans game

were likely to cause offence toa group o girls who are onlydoing what they enjoy.Obviously there are differ-

ences in the way ootball isplayed between men andwomen there is no denyingthat but is the lack o physi-cality and perceived lowerstandard enough to justiya complete disregard by themainstream media? In addi-tion to that, what can be doneto change ignorant impres-sions o the womens gameand how can it progress?I spoke to Laura Montgom-

ery, club manager o GlasgowCity Ladies, to ask just whatsteps can be taken to improveawareness.She said: Te government,

schools and local authorities arereally missing out on not utilis-ing the success o the womensclubs and national team.I they can make kids see

that they can be fit, healthyand have good body image, allthe things that are relevent to

young girls, then I think morewill want to take up our sport.Stereotypes are slowly

changing. I dont know whatpeople think womens ootballis all about, but certainly iyou watched our documenta-ry you would see that its justtalented, normal people thatplay the sport they love.People may say that its a mans

game, but that is an extremelyold-ashioned opinion thatdoesnt have a place in societyanymore. Tats really gender is-sues rather than sporting issues.Te only problem or womenssport is not knowing its thereand not knowing how to getinvolved in it.At Glasgow City, we have

teams at most levels but girlsdont really know about it andthats theissue. At schools,youll probably start with thesame amount o girls as boysplaying ootball, and thenover the weeks itll get less

Ryan Kylehighlights the success of our womens teams and asks why more isnt being done topromote and celebrate the success of womens football in Scotland?

as they find theyre notas good as everyone else.Maybe i there was moregirls-only ootball ses-sions then more would eelinclined to remain in thegame.Our country needs a

cultural shif. Tat goesrom the media to parents.For example, i youre alittle boy, your parents willprobably buy you a ball,whereas i youre a littlegirl, itll most likely be adoll. Is it any wonder thenthat when girls at six orseven are thrown a ootballor the first time, they dontknow how to catch it? Telittle boy has been doing itor six years, so he knowshow to catch it.Girls are treated different-

ly rom boys, so arguablythey arent given the sameopportunity as the averageboy does.

18 SUMMER2012

sport

HECITYWORD 19

SPORT


11/11

Passing the puck

In a land where ootball

reigns supreme as the

number one sport in the

country, Scotland has seen a

dramatic rise in the number

o young people playing mi-

nority sport in recent years.

One sport that has seen an

increase in popularity is ice

hockey with many keen to

grab a stick and take to the ice.

Ice hockey has been

traditionally perceived as

a dangerous sport that has

never been taken seriously

by the British press and is

surpassed by curling when it

comes to priority rink time.

Even in hockeys golden era

in the 1980s with ony Hand

at the Murrayfield Racers,

hockey was never considereda mainstream sport.

However, with our Scot-

tish teams now competing

in the national Elite League

and attendances at an all-

time high, ice hockey is rid-

ing on the crest o a wave.

One o the teams that are

looking to capitalise

on the success o

the sport and

give peoplean op-

portunity

to play ice

hockey

is the

Glasgow

Grinders,

ormed by

Spencer Pryor.

Te Grinders

are a recreational club

that was created due to the

overwhelming demand orplaying time thanks to the

popularity o the Braehead

Clan with both beginners

and experienced players o

all ages in their ranks.

Pryor admits that he

has noticed a significant

increase in the sports

popularity, saying: Teres

certainly a lot more people

interested in the sport. A

lot o people have been to

Braehead Clan matches and

decided that they ancy hav-

ing a go at it.

I wouldnt necessarily say

that its just totally young

people, we do get a lot o

enquiries rom elder people

as well. Our average age is

well in the low 20s. In act,

we have only got about our

players who are over 35 so

we are quite a young club

compared to a lot o theother recreational teams.

Teres a big demand or

playing time and even now

at the end o the season

Im still getting our or five

enquires a week rom people

wanting to join and were

just turning

people

away

at the moment

because its not air to thecurrent members.

I could have 60 people in a

training session i I wanted to.

Ice hockey has captured the

imagination o many people,

with a significant amount o

youngsters wishing to take

up the sport. However, some

are being prevented rom

doing so, as Pryor explains:

We have got people on the

waiting list who are 17 and

as soon as theyre 18 they

will start playing. Te access

to play is a problem with

under 18s as its mainly an

insurance issue.

Were trying to run begin-

ners courses and, although

weve got insurance sorted

or over 18s, with juniors its

still a problem. Its some-

thing that we want to do and

part o our remit as a club is

to bring new players romall ages on board and thats

rom both sexes as well.

Ice hockey is certainly on

the way up as a sport. It seems

to be cyclical as a ew decades

ago it was down in the dumps,

then it rose then it went down

a bit but the Elite League is

starting to pick things up

again. In Glasgow, the Brae-

head Clan are certainly doing

a good job. Teyre gettinglarger crowds now than a lot

o Scottish First Division oot-

ball matches. When the Clan

are getting a bigger home gate

than Partick Tistle, some-

thing must be going right.

Indeed, ice hockey appears

to be Glasgows best-kept

secret. It has a distinc-

tively underground eel to it

combined with an element

o rustration due to the act

that its surge in popularityhas not been met with a sig-

nificant increase in coverage

by the media.

Andy Alston investigates the rise & rise of ice hockey in Scotland.Whats making this often violent, sometimes dangerous but

always exciting sport so popular?

Pryor is quick to highlight

hockeys growth in the na-

tion, saying: People say its

a minority sport but its the

third biggest attended sport in

the country afer ootball and

rugby so its not that small.

Its a minority sport as ar

as players are concerned

because theres about 8,000

players in the whole o

Britain. In Scotland, theres

only 19 recreational hockey

teams but in England theres

more than 60.

I think a lot o our new

players are finding it more

difficult than what they

thought it was going to be,

Pryor added. Youve got

two areas in hockey which

is skating ability and playingability. Being a good skater

does help a lot, i youre

a bad skater youre never

going to be a good hockey

player but i youre a good

skater we can make you into

a good hockey player.

One o those new play-

ers, Aimee Macdonald,

believes that young people

are enticed to play due to

the act that it is so different.She explains: Its certainly

harder than it looks but at

the same time it is such an

enjoyable game to both play

and watch. I think a lot o

youngsters are ed up with

ootball and want something

different - and ice hockey

provides just that.

With ice hockeys popular-

ity rise showing no signs

o slowing down anytime

soon, it seems that the sportis set or a bright uture as

the next generation o uture

stars nurture their talents.

sport

22 SUMMER2012

city word summer edition 2012

Documents