The Circular

December 2005
Issue 8

Inside: Sony’s Suspicious Software, Spanish Nationalism, plus

Magazine Supplement

"I used to think that it

was a privilege to watch
history but now I think
it’s a curse”.
Robert Fisk talks exclusively to The Circular
2 The Circular
Editorial
The danger of reporting from
conflict zones has been has
increased in recent years, as
have the numbers of journal-
ists who have been killed or
kidnapped. Indeed, these
dangers are becoming so
great that certain journalists
refuse to travel to these areas.
A case taken by a former ABC
News foreign correspondent
in which he claimed he was
sacked for refusing to cover
the war in Iraq highlights the
problem. The kidnapping of
Rory Carroll, an Irish journal-
ist with the Guardian news-
paper, and his subsequent
release, brought the subject
even closer to home.
Iraq remains the most physi-
cally dangerous place for jour-
nalists to work. Since the war
began, more than 100 media
workers have been killed.
Journalists are now seen as
participants in war, and prime
targets for insurgents. In light
of this danger, the work of
Robert Fisk is all the more
impressive. He has spent 29
years reporting from conflict
zones, and his coverage of
the war in Iraq continues to
inform a public hungry for the
truth. This month, he talks
exclusively to The Circular.
TheCircular
Editor:
Stephen O’Leary
Sub Editors:
Anne Marie Duff
James McNulty
Noirin Byrne
Ian O’Connor
Advertising:
Victor Gamez Martin
Layout and Design:
Diren Valayden
The Circular is produced
by journalism students of
Griffith College Dublin
Tel: 01 4150400
e-mail:
circular2006@yahoo.ie
Mixed Fortunes for
International Colleges
Wendy Tapia
reports on the
varying fortunes
of Irish and
international
colleges in the
annual global
league tables
In the world-wide classifica-
tion of colleges, published in
November 2005, Ireland’s only
representative fell dramatically
in the rankings.
In the top 200 college global
league table, Trinity College
surprisingly dropped 24
places. As the sole irish repre-
sentative on the list, this was
a dissapointing result. Other
universities like The National
Autonomous University of
Mexico (UNAM) scaled 100
places in just one year.
The National Autonomous
University of Mexico is listed
in 95th place, Trinity College
has fallen to 111th place. Areas
taken into consideration when
calculating the ranking were:
peer review, which involved
Injustice of College Grant System
Iain O’Connor examines the problems surrounding the current means tested
grants for students, and why those in private colleges are unfairly discrimainated
against.
Everybody says it. Everybody
you talk to says some form of
the words
“Jesus, four grand a year!
That’s shocking expensive!”
We have all been there. A
birthday, a funeral, a chris-
tening or any number of fam-
ily events where a relative you
don’t really know, or like, tells
you how expensive your degree
is. Because you didn’t know
already. Inevitably they will
then ramble on about where
“four grand a year” could go. If
you fail to turn the conversa-
tion in an other direction, they
will probably ask “that” ques-
tion. The one that goes some-
thing like “Would the govern-
ment not help you out there a
bit... like with a grant?”
Ok, maybe it's just my
extended family that go on
like this but no matter what,
the answer is always a firm
Trinity College Dublin in freefall
2,375 academic ranking uni-
versities and the number of
times that academic research
papers are cited.
According to this edito-
rial group, The National
Autonomous University of
Mexico is the highest ranked
Hispanamerican university.
“No”. This will usually shock
the questionnaire. I found out
that it even shocked a local
Fianna Fail T.D. which is very
odd with it being his party’s
decision. To be honest, at this
stage I cannot see any reason
for the policy of not providing
maintenance grants to students
attending private colleges.
The State are in a posi-
tion where too many people
are applying to go to college
and state colleges are getting
overcrowded. Fees may be re-
introduced to try to discourage
young people from applying to
college due to the lack of space,
so why not just acknowledge
the problem and let some one
else take care of it?
The fact remains that private
institutions supply the country
with about 5,000 college plac-
es that would not exist other-
wise. Ultimately these places
In the evaluation by different
subjects, the study revealed
that The National Autonomous
University of Mexico occupies
20th place among the best uni-
versities of the world in the field
of the Arts and Humanities;
while in the Science category it
appears in 93rd position.
are not all occupied by people
who can easily afford to pay
for them. The Griffith College
Students Union estimates that
less than one percent of stu-
dents would be eligible for a
grant. Private colleges could
cater for so many more people
if means tested grants were
available to them.
Means tested grants are only
given to full time students who
are in households that earn
less than € 33,890 (along with
a number of other require-
ments) and if accepted they
receive €2,945 and full fees.
The grant is designed in such
a way that it is impossible for
people who don’t deserve it to
get it. Therefore, the presump-
tion of rich kids in private
colleges looking for a quick
buck for nothing goes out the
window. However, instead of
making means tested grants
Dec05
Trying to explain the reasons
for Trinity’s dramatic decline,
Dr. David Lloyd, Associate
Dean of Research at Trinity
College said there was disap-
pointment at the overall drop
in ranking. However, he was
quick to point out that TCD
improved in science from 94th
place to 75th.
On the other hand, Dr. Sean
Barrett, Senior Lecturer in
Economics, said he was not
surprised, considering that
the college had spent the past
two years embroiled in a “civil
war” over proposals to cut
the number of departments
and faculties. He added that
“University heads make these
statements before the budget
every year and err in doing
so”.
The public relations
department of The National
Autonomous University of
Mexico commented: “These
results show the important aca-
demic development achieved
by the UNAM in recent years.l”
According to the latest Mexican
national budget, it was decid-
ed to give a 40% increase to
research and to improve the
educational resources in this
university.
In the classification the
top rankings are occupied by
Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge.
Now, universities around the
world are waiting for the results
of another important rank-
ing: The Academia Ranking of
World Universities 2005.
available to these students, the
government is heading in the
opposite direction. According
to Mary Hannifan, the Minister
for Education, there are plans
to try to cut the amount of
people eligible for grants by
moving the cut off point of
€33,890 to a substantially
lower number.
The Union of Students in
Ireland is in support of grants
being open to all students.
However, because they cur-
rently have no private colleges
as members they are not acting
on the issue.
At the moment the Griffith
College Students Union is
mounting a campaign to try
and get means tested mainte-
nance grants for private college
students. If you are interested
in finding out more, please talk
to Killian Faulknan the current
SU President.
Dec05
Hell
Sucks
Danger, violence, murder and death continue to
infect and poison the streets of Baghdad. Robert
Fisk talks candidly to Nóirín Byrne about life and
politics in such a “hell disaster” area.
Beginning his career with the
Newcastle Evening Chronicle
and the Sunday Express “chas-
ing vicars who’d ran off with
starlets”, Robert Fisk is now
the longest serving Western
journalist in the Middle East.
The British journalist has
spent the last twenty nine years
reporting from countries such
as Lebanon, Iran, Bosnia and
Iraq; nations torn apart by the
ravages of war.
Describing the Iraqi’s as
“strong, intelligent people”,
Fisk has witnessed first hand
the torture inflicted on the
innocent citizens of Baghdad:
“When you get up in the morn-
ing you hear the first suicide
bombers, there is very little
electricity. For most Iraqis they
spend their time trying to make
sure that their wives and chil-
dren don’t get kidnapped for
money.
"They try to find money to
buy generators and to buy fuel
so that they can have electric-
ity, so that they can keep their
fridges running, it’s very dan-
gerous and there is a lot of
mafia and kidnapping.”
Fisk considers Iraq to be “the
most dangerous country now”
that he has reported from and
the 40,000 or so that have fled
"I’m not going to want to rush to Iraq in twenty
years time."
Baghdad in the past year is a
reflection of the bedlam.
Following two decades of rule
by a tyrannical leader, the pass-
ing of the constitution in Iraq
is considered, by most, a vital
step in Iraq’s shift to democ-
racy.
However, Fisk, who is often
criticised for his left wing poli-
tics believes that constitutions
and elections are “irrelevant”
to the ordinary citizens of Iraq
and designed to allow the West
more access to money: “Iraq is
in such a state of anarchy and
chaos that things like elections
and constitutional referendums
hardly matter any more. It was
partly drawn up under pressure
from American and British dip-
lomats in Baghdad and they
managed to get the people who
were writing the constitution
to water down some of the eco-
nomic paragraphs.
"So that for example, oil
which is owned by Iraq; some of
the oil concessions can be now
owned by foreign companies
and they forced them to push
that into the constitution which
in turn allows them to have
extra power politically . It’s the
economic side of the constitu-
tion that is important because
the West is taking more and
more of Iraq’s wealth.”
The foreign correspondent
with the London “Independent”,
explains why the violence and
terror in Iraq has worsened
despite the capture of Saddam
Hussein: “The Americans
thought that when they cap-
tured him the insurgency would
end but it actually got fiercer.
"And the reason was, because
one of them told me this, a
lot of people didn’t join the
insurgency because they were
frightened that if they drove the
Americans out Saddam would
come back but when Saddam
was captured they joined the
insurgency because they knew
he couldn’t come back.”
The Circular 3
Fisk, who has met Saddam graves being opened, people people on the streets, lead-
Hussein and interviewed dead all over, blown to pieces ing ordinary lives I sometimes
Osama Bin Laden on several by suicide bombers, the mortu- think that maybe I missed out
occasions, is one of the few jour- ary with dead babies in there", but I can’t turn the clock back,
nalists that still reports from saying “If you saw what I saw can I?”
the streets of Baghdad: “The you’d never support war.” Beginning to regret the paths
Independent and the Guardian Fisk, who has recently pub- he chose, the veteran journalist
still take to the streets but it lished his second book The cannot see himself in Iraq in
is becoming increasingly dan- Great War for Civilisation, twenty years time and is ada-
gerous for journalists in Iraq. concedes that it was an emo- mant that he will not write such
A lot of journalists don’t step tionally draining time writing a book again: “I’m not going to
foot outside their hotels per- the transcript and it forced him want to rush to Iraq in twenty
haps because they are afraid, to re-think a lot of things: “It years time. I won’t write this
For the Iraqi people elections and constitutional
referendums hardly matter any more
which I don’t blame them for, was a very depressing book to book again, it’s a very unhappy
but what I do object to is them write. It was about pain and book", adding, "I used to think
not telling their readers their death and torture and geno- that it was a privilege to watch
circumstances.” cide. When I come back to the history but now I think it’s a
Bosnia, he says, was by likes of Dublin and see ordinary curse”.
far the worst for journalists:
“Bosnia was pretty terrible
because journalists were being
targeted. We were deliberately
sought out for being shot at.
But Bosnia was terrible because
the kind of weapons being used
were lethal.
"They were using jet aircraft
in guerrilla warfare. Many of
the fighters in Bosnia were
either drunk or on drugs so if
they stopped you, you couldn’t
reason with them because they
were somewhere up on cloud
nine. We lost 42 journalists in
one year.”
Throughout his time in Iraq,
Robert Fisk, has experienced
some of the darkest moments
of this century. The outspoken
journalist recalls seeing “mass
4 The Circular
Nationalism Across Spain
Maria Goas examines the spread of nationalism in
Spain
Spain is a diverse country
divided into seventeen regions
and two cities in Morocco
(Ceuta and Melilla). Spanish
is the national language but
in some areas, other official
languages exist: Galician is
spoken in the Galicia region;
Catalan in Catalonian, Valence
and Majorca; and Basque in
the Basque Country. For cen-
turies, nationalism has been
a very important issue for the
residents of these areas. This
issue has been recognised dur-
ing recent years by local politi-
cians and they have begun to
highlight it.
In these regions there is a
diversity of thought about the
issue of nationalism. People
are divided into three distinct
opinion groups: there are those
who have a huge sense of perti-
nence to their region and want
their area to be independent of
Spain; there are those who like
belonging to their region and
having their own culture, but
don’t want independence; and
there are those who want to
be Spanish and don’t have any
feelings or desires for national-
ism in their region.
Basque nationalism was the
most well known campaign,
because it is often linked,
though not always, to a terror-
ist organisation – Euskadi Ta
Askatasuna (ETA). ETA has
been fighting since 1961, with a
view to achieving independence
from Spain. Since its creation,
ETA has killed more than eight
hundred people across Spain,
but at present the organisation
is losing a lot of power due to a
successful police operation.
ETA was represented by a
political party, Herry Batasuna
(HB), which defended its
actions in the Basque parlia-
ment. However in 2003 the
Spanish government dissolved
the party and declared it uncon-
stitutional.
Moreover, one of the big-
gest problems in the Basque
Country is that the most impor-
tant nationalism party, Partido
Nacionalista Vasco (PNV),
do not condone the terrorist
actions of ETA. A lot of people
support PNV in the elections,
which reflects the support ETA
has in the region. However,
much of this support may be
gained through fear. There
are many Basques who don’t
express any repulsion to the
terrorism of ETA because they
fear for their lives. In the past
those who have failed to sup-
port ETA or HB have had their
businesses boycotted, house
burned and in some cases, fam-
ilies killed.
Today, it is the Catalan cam-
paign for nationalism that
is receiving the most atten-
It could
signal the
start of the
rupture of
Spain into
many
pieces
tion. With the new Spanish
Government, led by Jose Luis
Rodríguez Zapatero -a socialist
who won the last year elections
with his party Partido Socialista
Obrero Espanol (PSOE), the
Catalan Government has been
granted more freedom. At
present, they are in the process
of presenting to the Spanish
Parliament a new propos-
al. In it, they are calling for
a new Statute which is going
to give the Catalonian region
more independence than ever
before.
However, many Spanish peo-
ple from other regions are
complaining and don’t want
Catalonia to gain any more
independence. They are afraid
that it could signal the start of
the rupture of Spain into many
pieces and the destruction of
the Spanish State.
Catalonian nationalism is a very
powerful cause, and there are
many people who support it.
This is reflected in the number
of important nationalist politi-
cal parties: Convergencia i Unio
(CIU) is the most significant
and Esquerra Republicana de
Catalunya (ERC) has increased
its support in the last number
of years. These two parties gov-
ern Catalonia in a tripartite
with PSOE -a national party.
The proposal of a new Statute
led to very angry discussions
about the issues surrounding
Dec05
nationalism. The most contro-
versial points of the new pro-
posal are the definition of the
Catalonian region as a “nation”,
their request for more control
of their financial position, and
the replacement of Spanish by
the Catalan language inside of
their region. These things are
viewed in Spain as a form to
break the unity of the country.
Galicia is the least prominent
of the Spanish nationalism
causes, but it too exists and has
an important political party
called Bloque Nacionalista
Galego (BNG). Following elec-
tions in June 2005, BNG won
a number of seats and joined
the regional Government in an
alliance with PSOE party. This
is the first time that a nation-
alist party has acceded to the
Galician Government.
The increase of support for
nationalism in other regions
across Spain, such as Andalusia,
has become one of the big-
gest problems for the cur-
rent Spanish Government. At
present there is a hard fight
between the different parties
in Spain to look for a solution
which satisfied to everybody,
but the solution doesn’t seem
easy to find.
Dec05 The Circular 5
There is a conflict of cultures ity/NRA may seek independent
that is affecting the quality of assessment. Assessment will be

Creating Problems
life of individuals, and cost- conducted by an independent
ing the taxpayers considerable person appointed from a panel
amounts. Disputes between established by the Chairperson
landowners and local authori- of the Institute of Chartered
ties have held up major road Arbitrators in Ireland.
projects throughout the coun- Landowners will not lose their

try. It is a conflict between
the ancient and the modern,
between agriculture and indus-
try. Agriculture has decrease in
its importance to the economy
in the past 20 years however
farmers are still reluctant to
give up land that may have
been in the family for decades.
To continue to attract industry
we must have a modern effi-
cient transport system. In the
past 10 years the infrastructure
has improved immensely with
major towns having bypasses
and a motorway from Dublin to
Belfast almost complete. But
the thorny issue of compensa-
tion has proved contentious in
the past and as the Government
begin the election offensive
and unveil their “Transport 21”
plans the co-operation of the
farming community will again
be needed. In London there
is already bad feeling among
those who will have property
taken to facilitate the trans-
port upgrade before the 2012
Olympics.
In 2001 things had deteriorat-
ed as farmers refused to let sur-
veyors and officials enter their
lands. The principal problem
was that the land was compul-
sorily acquired under legisla-
tion dating back to after the
1st World War, which farmers
claim, did not allow their land
to be fairly valued for compen-
sation. This was what caused
the greatest distress to people
affected by CPO - they were
being forced off their own land,
or to sell a part of it, and they
were not being properly com-
pensated. Tom Parlon, then
IFA President said “ No farmer
would sell a strip of land rough-
ly 65 meters wide through the
middle of his or her farm,
dividing the unit built up over
generations into two or maybe
three fragmented pieces. To
represent the CPO process as
providing fair and reasonable
compensation is a travesty.” If
a local authority or any other
qualified body acquires land by
CPO, they are required to pay
the market value of the land
being acquired. They are also
required to compensate peo-
ple for the disturbance caused
during whatever construction
takes place. The process, how-
ever, could take as long as 18
months to complete, meaning
that the person being forced
to sell could receive value a
year and a half out of date.
Once an authority decides to
reserve a particular section of
land for a roadway no planning
permission will be given for
development on that land. At
for Owners
As the government reveal the Transport 21
plans Anne Marie Duff looks at the uneasy
peace between landowners, local authori-
ties and the NRA.
the same time the uncertainty
over the future of the land usu-
ally results in depressed val-
ues. Few people want to buy a
house, which could be subject
to a CPO a few years down the
line.
At the end of 2001 the parties
involved, the NRA, the Dept
of Environment and the IFA,
representing farmers came
To represent the
CPO process as
providing fair
and reasonable
compensation is
a travesty
together and signed a twenty
nine point agreement on the
Acquisition of Certain Lands
for National Roads. Its inten-
tion was to “deliver the nation-
al roads development pro-
gramme within the timescale
of the National Development
Plan 2000-2006”. It clarified
many of the disputed issues
Remains of a house demolished to make way for the Dublin/
Belfast Motorway
and made provision of a €5000
per acre “goodwill” payment to
farmers “in addition to all other
payments”.
Another part is an Assessment
procedure, which can be used
when a landowner and the local
authority fail to reach agree-
ment on a settlement. Either the
landowner or the local author-
goodwill payment by opting for
independent assessment. The
Independent Assessment proc-
ess requires a full exchange of
reports from each side to the
other and an exchange of the
costs incurred by each side for
the Assessment process. Each
side is entitled to comment on
the report submitted by the
other party. However four
years on some of the parties are
unhappy with the situation.
According to current IFA Vice
President Raymond O’Malley,
“The time between route selec-
tion and road completion is
ridiculously long, unnecessar-
ily prolonging the anxiety of
the farm family.” He is also
unhappy with the “Notice to
Enter” giving the landowners
notice that the authority is
beginning work, which he says
should be “unlawful unless and
until the NRA can prove it has
purchased and paid for the
acquired land”. Compensation
is not being received before
work commences.
The agreement also stated that
“local authorities will provide
and maintain stock proof fenc-
ing on all new motorway, dual-
carriageway and national roads
provided on or over land to
which this agreement applies.”
Four years on the cost of this
is causing concerns to local
authorities.
Another issue causing concern
is that farmers are currently
obliged to pay Capital Gains Tax
(at 20%) on the sums received
as compensation. This, they
argue is unfair as it immedi-
ately reduces the amount of
compensation and their ability
to purchase another piece of
land. Raymond O’Malley says
“it is morally wrong and even
legally wrong to charge CGT
on any property seized by the
State”.
Tom Dunne, the chairman of
the IFA's industrial and envi-
ronment committee stated
that, “We have received an
opinion from a senior counsel
that we have an excellent prima
facie case to get this scrapped.
We are not being compensated
fully for our land.”
The two sides have had an
uneasy peace over the last few
years. If the Government pur-
sue its Transport 21 plans the
conflict may emerge again.
The value of a piece of land
depends on what it means to
its owner. How can a home for
20 years be properly valued?
Can the NRA or local author-
ity take this into account? The
contentious debate will con-
tinue.
6 The Circular
Calling Time on Ireland’s
Booze Culture
Irish attitudes toward alcohol consumption are in drastic need of change, writes
Eoghan Sullivan
Ireland is a country in denial.
Our drinking has gotten out of
hand and we are afraid to take
that first crucial step on the
road to recovery, acceptance.
We must recognise that there is
a problem. Alcohol is an addic-
tive drug. It is rarely referred to
as one, but it is. This fact should
be stated more often. It is a
drug that most of us use regu-
larly, but more importantly one
that we abuse nearly as often
(‘binge drinking’ is defined as
having in excess of six drinks
in one night). Our attitude to
alcohol’s negative effects has
been truly negligent.
Imagine for a moment if a new
drug was to come on to the
Irish market tomorrow. This
drug costs the Irish economy
an estimated €1 billion a year
in worker absenteeism, causes
an unprecedented number of
car accidents, assaults, beaten
and neglected wives, beaten
and neglected children, van-
dalism, public disorder and
is found to be present in the
systems of over 90% of those
who have committed suicide
in this country. A drug that
kills ten times as many people
every year, as all illegal drugs
combined. Is it fair to assume
that this new drug would be
outlawed relatively quickly?
These are the effects of alcohol
abuse, yet alcohol slips through
the net; untainted by the label
‘drug’.
Tobacco advertising has been
banned in recognition of the
harmful effects of smoking.
This ban has been accompa-
nied by uncompromising and
haunting ad campaigns. These
ads show such things as, a brain
being dissected to reveal the
oozing tumour that killed the
owner. Or the clogged artery
of a deceased smoker being
squeezed, gradually expelling
the contents on to an operating
table.
What’s the equivalent for alco-
hol? Ads warning you to ‘drink
sensibly’ or you may wet your
pants or embarrass yourself at
a party. The disparity is clear.
These ads would be harder
hitting if they weren’t spon-
sored by Diageo, owner of
many of our favourite bever-
ages, including Guinness and
Budweiser. You can imagine
if Benson and Hedges had a
say in a ‘smoke sensibly’ ad
campaign they would insist it
Dec05
be free of dissected brains and These views may be stereotypi- try having a drinking problem. consequences, it enjoys a pretty
mutilated arteries. cal but most reading this paper There are many people in this wholesome reputation.
The drink driving ads are a has seen some degree of this country - our friends and family So how can we begin to tack-
slightly more effective deter- behaviour. Alcohol abuse is not - that are in fact, drug addicts. le this problem? Michael
rent, but even these are aimed only accepted, but also actively Just because they get their fix McDowell plans to issue more
at keeping you out of your car encouraged in many circles in from licensed establishments, licenses to cafes in an effort to
rather than out of the pub. Irish society. does not make this fact any less encourage Irish people to take
So why does this enormous dis- The harmful effects of excessive of a reality. food with their drink. In the
parity exist? Is it because of the drinking are numerous: ulcers, Many of you may not agree U.K. Tony Blair has introduced
second-hand effects of smok- liver failure, kidney damage, with these views but denial is new licenses allowing 24 hour
ing? Is there really such a dif- wearing away of stomach lin- a very powerful thing. The fact drinking, with a view to avoid-
ference in the harmful effects ing, heart disease, mouth and that alcohol has never been ing violence, by staggering
each drug has? Or is that the stomach cancer, and psychiat- condemned in the same way as closing times. In Australia they
majority of us just don’t con- ric problems are just a few of illicit drugs, or even tobacco, have placed taxes on drinks in
sider alcohol a drug? Many of the results of excessive alco- means that the same stigma accordance with their potency;
us know people who drink six holic consumption. has never been attached. the higher the alcohol content,
nights a week and still claim One should always be cautious Alcohol kills thousands of peo- the higher the tax. This policy
they’ve never done drugs in when drinking a substance that, ple every year: It is one of the has seen a marked decrease in
their lives. Herein lies the in its pure form, can kill; espe- biggest contributors to Ireland’s the sale of spirits and a move
problem. cially when consuming bever- poor road-safety record; is back to lager and less harmful
Alcohol permeates every walk ages that are up to 40% proof. linked to nearly every suicide products.
of Irish life. It sponsors our Ireland needs to begin address- in the country; and accounts Whatever policies are intro-
most revered sports events and ing this problem immediately. for more than three quarters duced the country faces a strug-
dominates television advertis- The fact that this drug is legal of weekend A&E patients. For gle, against tradition, habit and
ing. does not justify half the coun- a drug with so many varying addiction.
Irish people drink in any situ-
ation. Funerals, weddings, hol-
idays, exam results (good or
bad); children’s communions,
christenings and confirmations;
commiseration and celebration
all tempt us to indulge in the
“nation’s favourite pastime”.
It is clear we have a problem
Alcohol costs
the Irish
economy an
estimated €1
billion a year
in worker
absenteeism
when the only two days on the
calendar alcohol cannot legal-
ly be sold-Christmas Day and
Good Friday- become two of
the biggest sessions of the year.
Alcohol is a crutch and we use
it often.
One of the most disturbing
aspects of Ireland’s drinking
problem is its effect on young
people. Those who do not
drink, or even decide to take
a night off, can be mocked for
their “sensibility”. On the other
hand, those who drink large
amounts of alcohol are hailed
as heroes, whose heterosexual-
ity is beyond reproach.
Dec05
The Other Side of
Domestic Violence
Women are the perceived
victims of domestic vio-
lence, but is this really the
case? - Hazel Murtagh
reports
Women are more likely to
perpetrate domestic violence
than men, recent research
carried out for the Marriage
and Relationship Counselling
Service (MRCS) has found.
This report, based on a sur-
vey of 530 clients of MRCS
found that, where domes-
tic violence occurs, mutual
violence accounts for 33% of
cases, female perpetrated vio-
lence accounts for 41% and
male perpetrated violence for
26%. Research carried out by
the Department of Health and
Children also vindicates the
MRCS research. These findings
concur with similar surveys
carried out in the UK, Canada
and the USA. The National
Crime Council is also undertak-
Suspicion Surrounds Sony
James McNulty reveals the hidden software that may be in your spying on
your CD’s.
Sony's controversial Digital
Rights Management (DRM)
software, recently discovered
embedded in their CDs, was
being used without the permis-
sion of the bands themselves.
The band, My Morning Jacket,
whose music is distributed by
Sony, has revealed they had no
knowledge of the DRM restric-
tions on their CDs. The CDs
when played on a PC, download
‘rootkits’ onto the hard drive
without notice. Rootkits are
used to hide malicious software
once it is installed and ensure
it is not found and removed by
anti-virus programs.
Speaking on their behalf, the
band’s record label stated: “We
at ATO Records are aware of the
problems being experienced by
certain fans due to the copy-
protection of our distributor.
Neither we nor our artists ever
gave permission for the use of
this technology, nor is it our
distributor's opinion that they
need our permission.”
ATO Records have long been
regarded as a forward-looking
ing a national study on domes-
tic abuse in Ireland, the results
of which the council expects to
publish early next year.
It seems that the belief that
men cannot be victims of
domestic violence still exists.
There are virtually no services
for male victims of domestic
violence, even in countries
where there is statistical evi-
dence to indicate that domes-
tic violence against men is a
substantial reality. The reason
for this is not just the exist-
ing consensus about domestic
violence, the resistance to the
idea that men can be victim-
ised by women, but also the
reluctance of male victims to
present themselves for services.
This silence is encouraged by
label and even permit audio
taping at their artist’s perform-
ances, something the music
industry as a whole has tried
for years to prevent. It is the
belief of the label that the use
of DRM software by Sony could
affect their bands financially
through loss of goodwill and
fan support.
Rootkits are starting to be
used by a small number of
computer virus writers because
they allow malicious codes
to be inserted deep inside
the Windows operating sys-
tem, meaning that it will not
be spotted by most anti-virus
scanners.
Most people don’t
even know what a
rootkit is so why
should they care
about it?
The Circular
the fear of ridicule and blatant
gender bias towards those men
who are brave enough to come
forward with complaints, and
the fear of being stigmatised as
weak because they do not con-
form to the stereotypical male
image.
Mary Cleary, co-ordinator
and founder of AMEN, a volun-
tary service for men and chil-
dren who are victims of domes-
tic violence, says the idea of
men not coming forward shows
a lack of awareness. AMEN was
set up in 1997 and since then
thousands of men, from all
walks of life, have contacted
its helpline service. "There are
thousands of men coming for-
ward in the last 20 years who
are victims of domestic abuse.
If we start talking figures we're
defeating what we're about. I
would say men and women in
intimate relationships abuse
in equal numbers. Nobody
knows for sure what goes on.
We meet with men individually
and collectively. We give them
information about the options
available through the courts.
It's about empowering them-
selves."
In order to gain greater
The use of the contentious
software was first discovered
by American computer coder
and blogger Mark Russinovich
in October. Mr Russinovich, a
renowned Windows program-
ming expert, came across the
Sony anti-piracy system when
performing a scan of his com-
puter with a utility he co-cre-
ated that spots rootkits.
By the time Mr. Russinovich
discovered the software on
his computer and had writ-
ten about it, Sony had already
sold about 2.1 million CDs con-
taining the program. The pro-
gram, which installs files on
your computer and then hides
them, is used to monitor the
number of times a CD is copied
and sends the information to a
Sony Web site.
Sony installed the program
on CDs by 52 artists in total and
attempted to justify its actions
in a statement: "We placed the
technology on certain discs to
prevent unlimited copying and
unauthorised redistribution of
the music on the disc. Content
insight into the dimensions of
domestic violence against men,
AMEN commissioned a small
survey of men in the Monaghan
area, volunteering to be inter-
viewed on their experiences of
victimisation by their women
partners. The majority of these
men (72%) had suffered some
form of physical abuse and an
even higher proportion (82%)
had unsubstantiated allega-
tions made against them, while
all had suffered mental abuse
and a threat to report the
male victim as the perpetra-
tor. However, only 45% con-
tacted the Garda Siochana and,
of those, 97% claimed that they
had not been taken seriously or
were treated as if they were the
perpetrator. 70% said they had
found it difficult to leave their
home because of concern for
their children's safety.
A report entitled "Men and
Domestic Violence: What
Research Tells Us", to the
Department of Health and
Children in March 2002 con-
cludes, "A more inclusive
approach to domestic violence
should not create competition
between victims by minimis-
ing the experiences of women
Neither we nor
our artists ever
gave permission
for the use of this
technology
protection technology is an
important tool to protect intel-
lectual property rights."
However, it has been suggest-
ed by many in the field of tech-
nology that Sony’s implemen-
tation of this type of DRM is
not about making CDs immune
to piracy. Engadget, a web
magazine that covers consum-
er electronics have said: "the
new copy protection scheme
— which makes it difficult to
rip CDs and listen to them with
an iPod — is designed to put
pressure on Apple to open the
7
When report-
ing an incident
to the Gardai,
97% of men
claimed they
were treated
as if they were
the perpetra-
tor
at the expense of men or vice
versa. The broader and more
inclusive paradigm of domes-
tic violence which is suggested
by the findings of this report
in no way diminish what we
already know about the suf-
fering caused to women at the
hands of men; nor should it
be used in any way to reduce
services for women victims of
domestic violence." Society
should remember that domes-
tic violence is a human issue,
not a gender issue.
iPod to other music services,
rather than making it depend-
ent on the iTunes Music Store
for downloads."
This has led to accusations
that DRM is now being used as
a competitive economic weap-
on and not an anti-piracy tool.
Sony has also been accused of
treating consumers with con-
tempt in the wake of a recent
radio interview with their pres-
ident of global digital business,
Thomas Hesse. In the interview,
Mr. Hesse said: "Most people, I
think, don't even know what a
rootkit is, so why should they
care about it?"
Sony has discontinued pro-
duction of CDs with this DRM
software and recalled about 2.6
million CDs that had been pro-
duced but not sold. Customers
who think they may have bought
one of the ‘embedding’ CDs
should check the company's
Web site (www.sony bmg.com)
for the procedure on removing
the software from their compu-
ter and getting a new "clean"
copy of the CD.
8 The Circular
Behind the doors of an
Irish Mosque
Victor Gamez Martin steps inside the mosque located next to
Griffith College Dublin
The mosque is the oldest of its
kind in Dublin and the second
greatest of those in Ireland. Its
construction, in 1980, was in
response to the demand of a
young Islamic student popula-
tion who came to the universi-
ties of Dublin to study. Now,
this centre for Islamic people
in Dublin has become a mul-
tipurpose complex, where the
followers of Islam can adjust to
Irish society with much great-
er ease than in the past. The
mosque is not just a prayer
centre, but a place for gather-
ing, a place for advice for new
immigrants. And the person
in charge of this mosque is
the Imam, Yahya Al-Hussein,
who spoke exclusively to the
Circular.
In a spacious office, the Imam
reflects on the prejudices his
religion is now facing: “What
kind of terrorism do I do?”,
he asks, “I just pray”. When
asked about the recent terror-
ist attacks in Europe, including
those in Madrid, he cannot see
the sense in them: "Why did
they do that?", he asks himself.
The Imam points out that it is
very worrying that some peo-
ple compare all Muslims with
terrorists.
When the Circular asked
Imam Yahya Al-Hussein, the
man with the highest level of
responsibility at the mosque,
about the preaching of radical
opinions and ideas in ceremo-
nies, he was quick to assure us
that they just read the Koran.
In fact, no personal beliefs are
expressed in the mosque.
The daily services in the
mosque are very similar, except
on Fridays. This is the most
sacred day of the Muslim week,
because, as the Imam explains:
" Allah elected it". On Fridays,
every parishioner is obliged to
come and celebrate their rites.
The average number of visitors
to the mosque on a Friday is
over two hundred.
Whether at home or in the
The Islamic Foundation of
Ireland helps to break down cul-
tural barriers and encourages
mutual understanding
Dec05
mosque, parishioners must ful- English and Urdu. Moreover, it funeral arrangements and ing people.
fil a minimum of five orations offers free literature on Islam burial too. However, it is not The importance of the
per day. But the adorations including copies of the Koran, just the Muslim Community mosque to the Muslim com-
to Allah must be done in the Halal shop and a restaurant. who can avail of services at the munity in Dublin cannot be
mosque, and in two separate There is also a translation serv- Mosque. They also run Arabic underestimated. Islam is grow-
groups: men on one side and ice, certification of Halal food, Courses for non-Arabic speak- ing each day in Dublin, which
women on the other. Although is reflected in the demand for
this may seem strange to those prayer places especially among
outside the Islamic community, students. Almost every major
the Imam sees the segregation Almost every major third level third level institution in Dublin
as being as natural as having now has a prayer hall. The stu-
separate toilets for each sex. institution in Dublin now has a dents of Griffith College Dublin
Although there are few have the greatest prayer room
mosques in Ireland, Yahya Prayer Hall in the city right on their door-
explained that anyone can step.
become an Imam and celebrate
orations in any place. This is
partly because in the Islamic
religion, there is no priesthood
or hierarchy. "The only differ-
ence (between a mosque and
any other place of worship) is
the person who reads the chap-
ters", he added.
Moreover, Yahya confirmed
that there are many small
mosques in flats and apart-
ments around the country. The
only reason people don’t know
they exist is because they have
no external symbols.
Yahya sees the relationship
between the Muslims and
Dublin’s society as a whole, as
being very good. The mosque
is open to everybody and the
people of Dublin are welcome
to enter. If you wish to visit,
on entering the hall you must
remove your shoes. Also, the
Muslim religion requires clean-
liness for the moment of prayer,
and for this reason, there are
some bathrooms inside.
The mosque on the South
Circular Road is also the site
of The Islamic Foundation
of Ireland. It contributes to
breaking down cultural bar-
riers and encouraging mutu-
al understanding between
Muslims and the Irish public.
The Foundation offer many
services for their communi-
ty including study circles in
Arabic and English, children’s
education, as well as a library
with books on Islam in Arabic,
Dec05
Sweet and Sour
Diren Valayden reflects on the injustice of international sugar
reform policies
The sugar reform is a bit-
ter pill to swallow for many
farmers. But EU policies on
sugar have always been part of
a wider trade injustice.
Once upon a time, when
empires engaged in bloody bat-
tles and political back-stabbing
over sugar, slaves were a vital
unit of production. When it
was time to abolish the trade in
free human labour, sugar, along
with coffee, were major moti-
vators, as important as ‘human
rights’ (though slaves were nei-
ther considered humans, nor
did they have rights).
While Jamaica was the star
colony in the British Empire,
the French boasted ‘ownership’
of St Domingue (the western
part Hispaniola, now Haiti) in
the region. The French colony
was so successful that it pro-
voked the bitter jealousy of its
rival. Ever so sly, the British
devised a plan to sabotage
the increasing wealth that St
Domingue was pouring into
the French economy; the aboli-
tion of the West Indian slave
trade. With no slaves and no
free labour, the French colony,
which depended on sugar, cof-
fee, and tobacco, was doomed.
Therefore, sugar and econom-
The Circular
ics, and not European magna-
nimity, ended the transaction
of slaves. These days, sugar has
lost much of its past glamour
and soon, it will also lose most
of its European subsidies.
If in the past, the West Indies
satisfied European cravings for
sweet things, the situation has
now been reversed: the EU is
the biggest exporter of white
sugar to the world. How this
happened is again a history of
imperialism, this time econom-
ic. The EU and the US have
always used poorer countries
as satellite economies. The
third world provided raw mate-
Every year the sugar industry in
the EU gets €800 million in sub-
sidies
rials that they turned into the
finished products. Thus, sugar
from the ‘third world’ is refined
in Europe and then sold on
the international market. This
explains why the EU accounts
for 40% of all white sugar sold
in the world.
Despite the complaints of
Irish farmers, the sugar regime
was nothing less than an aber-
ration. The subsidies that the
EU guaranteed its members
every year helped them to pro-
duce sugar at a very cheap price.
Furthermore, high tariffs, up
to almost 324%, denied other
countries the vital European
The EU accounts
for 40% of all
white sugar sold
in the world
market. Former colonies in
the African Caribbean Pacific
(ACP) group enjoyed a spe-
cial quota system. However,
the EU was distorting the mar-
ket. Beet sugar costs more than
twice as much to produce as
cane sugar.
How did this situation come
about? It all started with the
Common Agricultural Policy
(CAP) in 1962 among the
recently formed European
Economic Area (EEA). In 1967,
the sugar regime was included
in the CAP and the beet sugar
producers laughed all the way
to the bank. Every year the
sugar industry in the EU gets
€800 million in subsidies.
These subsidies allied to the
high guaranteed prices in the
internal market rewards the
industry with a hefty profit.
The US plays the same game,
9
financing its sugar sector to the
cost of €1.1 billion annually.
Subsidies allow the industry
to produce sugar at a high price
and sell it at a low price. While
a tonne of sugar costs around
€673 to produce, it fetches only
€157 on the world market. EU
handouts plug the gap between
production costs and world
market prices.
However, the real tragedy is
the nefarious effects of sub-
sidies on poor countries. The
dumping of its excess sugar
on the world market prevents
countries like Mozambique
or Brazil, cost-effective sugar
producers, to access many
markets. For example, the
EU exports sugar to Nigeria,
Algeria and even to the Middle-
East. Secondly, irrespective
of world prices, the EU guar-
antees its farmers high prices
on the internal market. Sugar
prices then plummet below the
production cost of countries
like Malawi and Mozambique.
Thirdly, without the CAP, the
EU would be importing sugar
every year and not exporting
it, thus denying its market to
many countries.
But this policy does not only
apply to sugar. The EU flexes
its economic and political mus-
cles on all fronts in agricul-
ture to bail out its farmers.
It practices the vilest form of
protectionism while it forces
other countries to open their
borders to its products. The
double standards of the EU
and the US, backed by the IMF
and World Bank du00umvirate
have already sent many coun-
tries spiralling into poverty.
On a bigger scale, this is just
another example how people
become dispensable within the
market economy. Those who
stand to lose most are small
farmers within the EU (the
multinationals will still get their
hefty compensation) and those
countries which have depended
on sugar as their main source
of revenue.
10
No Braking Alonso
Maria Goas looks at the career of Fernando Alonso, the
current Formula 1 World Champion
Fernando Alonso is the new
golden boy of Formula 1. The
Spanish superstar is proving
to be a worthy successor to the
seven times World Champion
Michael Schumacher. On
September 25th 2005,
Fernando became the young-
est winner of the Formula 1
Championship with third place
in the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Only 24 years old, Fernando
was the youngest per-
son to win the F1 World
Championship surpassing the
Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi
–who was 25 when he won the
Championship in 1972.
Alonso is the first Spaniard
to win the Formula 1
Championship and his success
has created a huge following
for the sport across Spain. He
has broken numerous records
since his arrival to Formula 1
. For example, he has become
the youngest racer winner,
surpassing Bruce McLaren.
During the 2004/2005
Championship Alonso won
seven races and reached
the podium fifteen times.
This year's Formula 1 World
Championship culminated
with the Chinese Grand Prix
in October. Alonso wrapped
up the title in style, beating
arch rival Kimi Raikkonen into
second place . Moreover, he
and his team-mate Giancarlo
Fisichella delivered the
Constructors Championship
to Renault after a hard fought
battle with the McLaren team
of Raikkonen and Juan Pablo
Montoya.
Kimi Raikkonen was Alonso's
chief opponent during this
year, following the demise of
Michael Schumacher's Ferrari.
Despite the belief that
Raikkonen
had that the best
car, technical prob-
lems prevented him
from completing many
races. Fernando Alonso
was the most consistent
finisher throughout the
year. He finished outside the
first three on only four occa-
sions: Hungary (11th position),
The Circular
Monaco (4th), U.S.A. –where
he had to abandon– and
Canada –where he had an
accident.
Fernando arrived in Formula
1 five years ago, but his love
of cars began when he was a
child. He was given his first
kart at he age of three and
spent the next twelve years
developing his talent. During
that time he won a host of
events, the most important of
which was the Junior World
title.
In 1999, he graduated to sin-
gle- seater cars in the
Euro-Formula
Nissan, where
his success
continued,
notching
up nine
victories
within
the
space of a year. The next step
for the gifted young driver was
Formula 3000 –the traditional
breeding ground for Formula
1. Once again, Fernando
excelled, with victory in the
Belgium Grand Prix and a sec-
ond position in Hungary.
The transition to Formula 1
Alonso has become the
youngest racer winner,
surpassing Bruce McLaren.
was too prove far more dif-
ficult. In 2001, Alonso signed
for the Benetton-Renault
team, but they released him to
team Minardi. The team were
struggling financially and this
was reflected in a poor car
and poor organisation.
The undoubted skills of
Alonso were hampered
by this situation. The
following year he sac-
rificed race time to
rejoin the Renault
team as a test
driver.
This sacrifice was
to pay serious divi-
dends. Renault
team bosses
Dec05
were quick to realise the
potential of their new Spanish
recruit, and in 2003 he made
his debut as an official Renault
driver partnering Jarno Trulli.
With a competitive race car
at his disposal Alonso began
to show his form. In only his
second race with the Renault
team, he became the youngest
driver to record a “pole posi-
tion”, in the Malasia Grand
Prix. Brimming with renewed
confidence, Alonso went on to
finish the season in fifth place
in the Drivers Championship.
The following year, despite
finishing in fourth position,
and reaching the podium on
four occasions, Alonso failed
to record a single victory.
However, 2005 season saw
the introduction of new rules
in Formula 1, and the Renault
team suddenly became more
competitive. The resulting
success of both Alonso and the
team as a whole marks them
out as a force for the future.
Dec05 The Circular
Testing Times Up and coming overseas
talent must be recognised
by the Irish manager if
For O’Sullivan rugby is to progress further
writes Conor McKeon
Ireland's short-comings in
the Autumn Internationals
and the subsequent furore over
team selection has left a dark
cloud over Eddie O'Sullivans'
tenure as manager.
Some sections if the Irish
media have been damning in
their criticism of O'Sullivans'
methods. In recent col-
umns they have questioned
O'Sullivan's tactics and his
management style but it is
team selection which has left
most people wondering if the
two heavy losses to Southern
Hemisphere opposition, and
a shallow victory over a one-
dimensional Romanian outfit
CaptionCaptionCaptionCaptionCaptionCaptionCaption was the best his team could
muster.
The main bone of conten-
tion is the non-selection
of some of the Irish players
playing for clubs outside the
country. O'Sullivan's deci-
sion to ignore the exceptional
form of London Irish lock Bob
Casey and Toulouse flanker
Trevor Brennan has caused the
most outcry amongst sections
of the media. Since his exile
from Leinster four years ago,
Brennan has been a talisman
in both the second and back
row for a Toulouse and has two
French League titles and two
European Cups to show for his
efforts.
Casey has proven to be one
of the best lineout operators
in the English League and at
19 and a half stone, he pos-
sesses a ball carrying threat
that Ireland’s pack is in need
of with the absence of Victor
Costello, David Wallace and
Keith Wood.
To highlight the issue fur-
ther, in a recent column Sunday
Times rugby correspondent
Stephen Jones listed 12 differ-
ent players plying their trade
outside the four provinces who,
he reckoned, should be includ-
ed in the Irish squad.
Given his track record in
selection of foreign based play-
ers, you can see why some
have cried foul. O'Sullivan
ignored the claims of Geordan
Murphy for a long time while
he was playing consistent-
ly for Leicester. At the time,
he was labelled "The George
Best of Rugby" by his coach
Dean Richards. Ditto Jonny
O'Connor. The Wasps openside
was tipped for a Test spot on
the Lions team and was even
questioned to his availability
for England before O'Sullivan
paid any heed.
11
That the debate came to
the fore in the first place was
due mainly to the mass exo-
dus of players to England
during the summer. Ireland's
provinces lost some of their
best young talent when Aidan
McCullen(Toulouse), David
Quinlan (Northampton), Peter
Bracken (Wasps) Leo Cullen,
Shane Jennings and Ian
Humphries (all Leicester) left
these shores during the off-sea-
son. Humphries and Bracken
have been completely ignored
by O’Sullivan at a time when
Ireland are severely lacking in
the fly halve and tight head
department.
These players, undoubt-
edly the next generation of
Irish internationals, have been
largely ignored by O'Sullivan
since their switch but some
commentators have ignored
the fact that they left because
they weren't featuring regular-
ly enough for their provinces in
the first place. Most were play-
ing during the Celtic League
while their international team
mates were away.But they
had to relinquish their start-
ing roles in the Heineken Cup
when their more illustrious
colleagues came back.
No doubt, their exposure to
top class rugby every week in
England and France has helped
in their recent development as
players, but until O'Sullivan
and his management team see
them put in big, consistent
performances in the Heineken
Cup, it s hard to see how they
can be considered for selec-
tion.
The Romania game was seen
by some as a prime opportunity
to try out some of these emerg-
ing talents but after the two
performances against Australia
and New Zealand you could
forgive O'Sullivan for looking
for a victory first, and a per-
formance from his established
players if only to boost ailing
morale.
The re-establishment of the
“A" internationals in Spring
should see most of these play-
ers tested on an international
stage and O'Sullivan must be
hoping he can uncover some
international class perform-
ers before the next World Cup.
Bear in mind, if Ireland do come
through from a group includ-
ing France and Argentina, they
will be “rewarded” with a quar-
ter final tie with New Zealand.
Scary thought.