Gair Rhydd

Union business: elections notice and a bit of a rant...

Election week has commenced! Well, actually, by the time you read this, election week will be over, probably. Still, at this moment in time, I’m very excited, and also a little bit sad that I’m not campaigning again this year.

The Union steps are covered in banners, (some) people are walking around in crazy outfits, and I can’t even look at one paving slab on Park Place without seeing a pastel-coloured flyer.

Iraq is Britain's biggest fan

Labour MP David Miliband claims that the Iraq war has only served to improve the reputation of Great Britain in Middle Eastern countries

Since the early 2000s, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have attempted to tackle militancy and regimes that threaten global security aiming to promote democratic over theocratic governance.

Both the invasion and containment phases of the wars along with the rampant insurgency have led to the deaths of thousands of civilians in the Middle East and hundreds of soldiers, with the numbers still rising. The military campaign was also mobilised with the pivotal support of an ideological campaign waged by the Western media which played a major role in blurring the boundaries between the religion of Islam and terrorism.

British youth in revolt

Why are young people disillusioned with British politics?

On March 3 2010, a special first time voters edition of Question Time aired, aiming to get young people interested and concerned about politics.

What emerged from the programme were some quite astonishing facts. As a soon to be first-time voter myself, I found it incredulous to think that in 2005 only 60% of the whole population actually voted. That means it is highly likely that more people didn’t vote than voted for the winning party. Even more alarming is that only 37% of 18-24 year olds voted in 2005. So does this mean our demographic isn’t being adequately represented in politics? And why aren’t we voting?

The really wild show

Objectifying children can have an affect on their mental health

Plans for an American-style child beauty contest to come to South Wales has received much controversy across the region from horrified parents, community leaders and child psychologists.

Due to take place in Cardiff next month, the UK Cinderella pageant will be judging girls as young as three on categories including ‘best smile’, ‘beauty’ and ‘prettiest hair’. Having been run in the States for 36 years, it was launched by former model Diana Hare last year in the UK.

Innocent until proven guilty

The government must not give in to public pressure and allow the case of Jon Venables to undermine the United Kingdom's legal system

Under British law, one is generally considered innocent until proven guilty, unless of course the press is calling for your blood and you’re a previously convicted felon. Jon Venables, one of the two people convicted of the murder of Jamie Bulger, is facing exactly that situation, with calls for both his new identity and the allegations against him to be revealed.

However, we cannot lose sight of the fact that these are only allegations and not actual charges; despite our moral feelings towards the Bulger case, we cannot allow them to rule our decisions. If these allegations are proved baseless then we have effectively ruined the life of a man who, although by no means an innocent man, surely deserves his second chance as much as any other offender.

Fight for your marriage?

Kudos to women who take the institution of marriage seriously

In the past few months, it has begun to feel as though not a day goes by without yet another tabloid revealing yet another celebrity sex scandal. Recent gossip pages have brought us infidelities so prolific from Tiger Woods that one wonders how he made time to play any golf, Ashley Cole trading down from arguably the sexiest woman in the UK and Vernon Kay exchanging sleazy messages with a page three girl – the biggest shock there being that she can compose a text. But the other surprise is how often these women are choosing to stand by their men, and the public’s reaction to these decisions.

Every man and woman in Britain is urging Cheryl Cole to ditch her unfaithful husband, yet the latest news reports suggest that Cheryl has agreed to marital counselling – not the usual act of a woman ready to file for divorce. And, as these rumours emerged, media pundits jumped on the Cole bandwagon to voice their opinion that by sticking with Ashley, Cheryl’s reputation and her career will suffer.

And the winner is www... what?

*Poor old Alfred. He must be spinning in his grave, mustn’t he? First of all Obama – that pacifist pretender – besmirched the name of his fair medal last year, and now this! *

Oh, I had better explain, hadn’t I? For those of you furrowing your brow in a quizzical manner (don’t do that, you’ll get those lines on your forehead), I’m not referring to Michael Caine in the most recent series of Batman films (although, poor old Michael must be having a right time of it, having to listen to Christian Bale’s shit voice acting – seriously, someone get him a fucking strepsil). No, I am of course referring to Alfred Nobel, the Swedish inventor, whose last will and testament established the Nobel Prize Foundation.

This world, this week

Silvio escapes

Silvio Berlusconi has once again escaped any form of criminal prosecution as the Italian parliament passed a law granting him immunity.

The nuke kid on the block

As Iran gears up its brand new nuclear programme, Rhys Howells gives us some reasons to be cheerful

What happens in Iran isn’t confined to the borders of the country, Iran’s continuing acquirement of nuclear weaponry is a threat to a great number of people.

While many countries such as our own do have nuclear weapons, only the Iranian regime says it will use one as soon as it gets its hands on it, and against Israel.

Iraq votes for democracy

Yaz Langley takes a look at the Iraqi parliamentary elections and ponders where Iraq can go from here

In the words of a man whose country is no stranger to corrupt elections: ‘Today’s voting makes it clear that the future of Iraq belongs to the people of Iraq’.

When Obama was voted the first black President, it marked a milestone in American history, while much of the older generation remembered the days when black people were barely allowed to vote in peace. Now it seems that Iraq have marked their own milestone with 62 percent voting for a better future in last week’s parliamentary elections. It may not seem much, but when you consider the threat they face by simply casting their vote in the recent elections, it can be seen as a huge stepping-stone.