Gair Rhydd

Pole dancing: sexual exploitation or a great way to keep in shape?

We sent Features' Daniella Graham along to a pole dancing class to find out the truth behind the latest fitness craze

Pole dancing. What do you first think of when you read that? Do you think of a fun form of exercise that’s a great way to improve your fitness? Or do you think of women in revealing outfits being leered at by sleazy men?

Most of us probably think of the latter, even if we are aware that pole dancing is also a form of exercise. In April this year, there was widespread controversy after the Union Society at Cambridge University announced it would be offering pole dancing lessons for students to combat exam stress. Public figures rushed to offer their opinions on the matter, with comedian David Mitchell writing in his Observer column, “pole dancing is grim and I don’t see anything empowering about it.” Many argue that pole dancing is hugely exploitative, and that, even as a form of exercise, is still sexual in nature. So is pole dancing just the sexual exploitation of women? And is it, as a form of exercise, really any different to professional pole dancing?

"If I go back home to Burma, I will be arrested"

Burma has been controlled by a strict military regime for decades. Hannah Pendleton talks to a political activist trying to change this

For almost half a century, the country of Burma has been run by a strict military regime, with Burma’s military junta viciously overturning any anti-government protesters brave enough to voice their beliefs and fight for their rights and freedom.

During an uprising in 1988, more than 1,000 people were jailed and 3,000 were killed. Since then, the military regime has only become stronger, and the number of political prisoners continues to multiply.

The truth that wasn't there

Laura Brunt looks at the truth behind the 30-year-long civil war in Sri Lanka

In May 2009, 30 years of civil war in Sri Lanka came to an end. The Sri Lankan military defeated the Tamil Tigers and the long military campaign was over. The Truth That Wasn’t There is a documentary which, unlike any other, tells the story of the aftermath of the civil war. The filmmaking brains behind it are three students, intent on discovering the truth behind the headlines.

Beginning on July 23 1983, the separatist military organisation, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE, also known as the Tamil Tigers) forced an insurgence against the government in order to create an independent Tamil state, called Tamil Eelam, in the north and the east of the island. The next 25 years brought hardship to the island of Sri Lanka that nobody could have foreseen.

Ysbeidiau heulog...

Nia Gwawr yn trafod pa wyliau Cymreig fydd orau eleni yn ei barn hi

Gyda diwedd yr arholiadau’n agosau, a’r haf o fewn gafael, mae’r festival season ar ein pennau unwaith eto. Mae gwyliau yn rhan fawr o’r haf i nifer o bobl, os nad y rhan mwyaf, ac felly rydw i am drio ‘ngorau i gynnig y rhai gorau yng Nghymru i chi. I’r rhai sy’n mynychu gwyliau yn aml bydd y tocynau Glastonbury, Reading & Leeds, a Bestival wedi cael eu prynu ers amser maith a’r cynnwrf yn adeiladu bob wythnos. Ond beth am y gwyliau sy’n cael eu hanwybyddu yma yng Nghymru fach?

Yr un mwyaf amlwg i’r rhan fwyaf ohonom ydi’r Eisteddfod Genedlaethol, neu Maes B. Fel dywedwyd yn yr erthygl ar dudalen Taf-od yr wythnos ddiwethaf, mae’r rhestr o fandiau yn siomedig i ddweud y lleiaf. Gydag Elin Fflur a Bryn Fôn yn rhai o’r prif fandiau, allai ddim dweud fy ‘mod wedi neidio mewn hapusrwydd wrth weld y poster. I mi, mae Maes B yn gyfle i gael blas ar ychydig o fandiau ifanc ffresh Cymru ynghyd a rhai o’r bandiau mwy cyfarwydd fel Derwyddon Dr Gonzo ac Yr Ods. Yn amlwg mae rheswm tu ôl i’r dewis o Elin Fflur a Bryn Fôn, a hynny er mwyn atynnu amrywiaeth o bobl, ond a fydd hyn yn dod gyda’r pris o yrru rhai pobl ifanc i ffwrdd? Fedrai ddim ond teimlo fel fy ‘mod yn ôl yn 2005 pan oedd Bryn Fôn yn Eisteddfod y Faenol, a beth welais yno ond fod oed y gynulleidfa ar gyfartaledd tua 30. Onid maes ieuenctid ydi Maes B i fod? Er y rhesymau hyn awgrymaf i bobl fynd i’r Eisteddfod eleni, hyd yn oed os dim ond i flasu ychydig o gwrw dros goelcerth efo ffrindiau diarth, neu i ddawnsio yn feddwol yn oriau man y bore yn Y Gorlan gan lowcio byrgyrs anhygoel! Mae’r Eisteddfod yn amlwg yn draddodiad gwych yng Nghymru ac nid yw’n un i fethu, hyd yn oed os ydy’r dewis o gerddoriaeth ar rai nosweithiau ‘chydig bach yn doji!

Excitement and fear over artificial life breakthrough

Priya Raj explores artificial life. Is it an exciting discovery or are we dangerously playing God?

The first microbe to live entirely by genetic code synthesized by humans has started proliferating at a lab in the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI).

Venter and his colleagues used a synthetic genome to build and operate a new synthetic strain of Mycoplasma mycoides bacteria,, according to an online report published on May 20 by Science.

Nightline: the service that listens

When you're alone and need someone to talk to, Cardiff Nightline, officially the Best Nightline in the UK, can help. This week, Features takes a look at the service, and experiences a night in the life of a volunteer

It’s late. You’re feeling anxious about your exam tomorrow, but your housemates are all in bed, and you don’t want to wake them up when they have exams too. Or you think that you’re depressed, but you feel unable to talk to your friends about it. Or you’re feeling peckish, but don’t know the pizza delivery number. What can you do? If it’s between 8pm and 8am, you can call Nightline.

Nightline is a confidential listening and information service, open from 8pm until 8am during term time and staffed entirely by student volunteers. Cardiff Nightline doesn’t just serve Cardiff University; it also covers UWIC, the University of Glamorgan and the Royal College of Music and Drama, serving 72,000 students in total. But what does Nightline actually have to offer students? Is the service that important? And what is it like being a Nightline volunteer?

Anti-social networking

Are the fast-paced ways of modern life affecting our happiness? Features investigates this question and its impact on loneliness

An alarming new report by The Mental Health Foundation, The Lonely Society? states that one in ten people have often felt lonely, and that one in three think they know someone who is very lonely.

The study blames modern ways of living for people feeling lonely, stating that women are more likely to feel lonely than men. This could be due to a number of things, but especially the increasing number of one person households, which has gone from six percent in 1972 to 12% in 2008, and the rise in divorce rates, which have doubled in the past 50 years.

The diary of an ex-smoker

The majority of material designed to help you quit smoking is patronising and written by idiots. Hopefully, this will be different

Many a time, I have done something I regret in Fun Factory. I think it’s safe to say that I am not alone in this – very few of our university lives have been untouched by some form of alcohol-fuelled mistake in Solus.

However, something somewhat amazing happened several months ago (and when I say amazing, yes, I am exaggerating a bit.) You see, towards the end of a night out in Fun Factory, I made a decision that would actually affect my life, long-term, in a positive way. I decided to quit smoking.

News in brief

Creation of synthetic life

Scientists at the Craig Venter Institute in America have taken a small step in the design of synthetic life using entirely synthetic DNA to replicate the Genome of a common bacterium. This synthetic copy was then inserted into a blanked host cell and left to grow.

World Environment Day

Raising awareness for the world in which we live

World Environment Day is approaching. Events will take place across the world on June 5 to promote environmental awareness and to pressure political bodies to take action on important issues.

2010 has been declared the International Year of Biodiversity by the United Nations. Biodiversity is not only important for preserving individual species and habitats, but is also essential for maintaining the ecosystem services we rely on, such as food, clean water and fuel.