COMMENT & DEBATE

Here is an interesting fact I learnt the other day. During the 1970’s much of the student body at Bristol polytechnic (later then to become UWE) dubbed Frenchay campus as ‘Colditz’. (As in the German Prisoner of war camp.) The reason for this supposed nickname was because of its cold grey architecture, its poor transport links and the social isolation that comes from being miles from anything.

I am writing this to you on the most poignant day of the Armed Force’s calendar- 11th November. Whether you know it as Armistice, Remembrance, Poppy or Veterans day its purpose remains the same; to remember and commemorate those who have sacrificed their lives in times of conflict.
This year the last three surviving British WW1 Veterans: Bill Stoke, Harry Patch and Henry Allingham passed away but unfortunately for those left behind, the reality of War lives on and is very much alive in Afghanistan.

It always makes me cringe when August comes and the supermarkets have an aisle with the barbeques and charcoal for the summer and they start bringing in the Christmas stuff right next to it. From then onwards we are bombarded by Christmas jingles and songs, the same old songs repeated and recycled year after year. Christmas is just one day but it seems we spend half the year looking forward to Christmas (or not as the case may be) and the other half paying for it and adverts all year round telling us about schemes to save money for it so we never really escape it.

Chelsea made all the headlines this month following Fifa’s decision to ban all transfer activity for two transfer windows for illegally inducing a young French player to join their ranks in 2007. Gaël Kakuta is the player in the midst of the storm following Fifa’s Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC) concluding upon a breach of contract with former club Lens.

The 24 hour window is (or was), in student terms, a life saver. Everytime you got set a deadline for coursework you were allowed to be exactly a day late handing it in. Close your eyes- not now, in three paragraphs time or else you will not be able to read- and try to imagine this. It’s 2pm, the day before your coursework deadline. So far, you have managed to write a word a week, and two of those are your name. Your team kick off at 3pm, and your housemate pokes his head around the door. “S.U?”

On the 20th August 2009, Afghans went to the polls for only the second time to vote for a President. After the relative success of the first election in 2004, hopes were high that this round would enshrine democratic ideals in the Afghan people, with more NATO peacekeepers being in the country than ever before to help provide a stable voting environment.

Stem cell research has the potential to treat a wide range of diseases and disabilities but, as with most medicines, the research faces tough ethical and moral choices to advance. Some groups fear that the treatment may be unsafe; the therapy could inadvertently pass diseases and viruses to those receiving stem cell transplants.

   Jade goody lived and died the life of a Reality TV star, from the first moment she graced our television screens on Big Brother three she has been in the media spotlight.

You know the scene: you return to your cramped shoebox of a student flat and decide to make dinner…after rifling through the mouldy cupboards, you emit a dismal sigh…it’s beans on bread again tonight (your toaster broke last week when you were making spaghetti on toast)...you cuddle your tweed Oxfam cardigan around your slight frame, as the sofa prongs its sharp springs into your bony buttocks and your shrunken belly groans…