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Coexistence in the World’s Most Contested Capital

Common Sense Contributors
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By Ruth Foster

Since Trump’s announcement that the US is moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in December 2017, it seems like everyone has an opinion on Jerusalem, Israel-Palestine, and what exactly peace will look like in the region.

 

Trump hold’s up proclamation of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital

Trump’s announcement brought rejoice to right-wing evangelicals in the US and religious conservatives from within Israel, who see Jerusalem as the eternal capital of the State of Israel. Meanwhile, Trump’s announcement broke the hearts of the estimated 6 million Palestinians living between the State of Israel and the West Bank, as well as the Palestinian diaspora and allies of the Palestinian cause. As a result of his announcement, they saw their source of identity and cultural livelihood to be declared as illegitimate by an international power.

Trump’s announcement led to political commentary from all sides online, as well as riots and arrests on the ground in Jerusalem. Within all of this, those who are working for peace in the divided eternal city have been overlooked. These voices from within Jerusalem use both conventional and unconventional methods to build a community between the Eastern (Palestinian) and Western (Israeli) parts of the city, building resilient communities who can coexist peacefully. Although the rhetoric of many may paint the situation in Jerusalem as black and white, the work of these organisations shed light on the complex grey areas of everyday life in a divided city.

Israeli citizens react negatively to President Trumps declaration of Jersulam as their capital

Individuals have decided that in order to ensure a better and more peaceful future for themselves and their children, they must focus on what unites the people in East and West Jerusalem, rather than what divides them. These individuals know that peace is not merely a matter of international mediation and treaties imposed by foreign powers, but also the building of trust and interpersonal relationships across community lines.

Kids 4 Peace
Kids 4 Peace is an international NGO that works with Israeli and Palestinian youth in interfaith conflict transformation and interfaith relationship building. Founded in 2002, Kids4Peace is a global movement of Jewish, Christian and Muslim youth, which works in Jerusalem to provide after school programing for over 500 families between the different faith communities. They describe their mission as building communities that “embody a culture of peace and empower a movement for change”.

Hand in Hand schools
The Hand in Hand schools bring Jewish and Arab children together through schools and communities throughout Israel, with their flagship school in Jerusalem. Through teaching in Hebrew and Arabic, Hand in Hand’s mission is “to create a strong, inclusive, shared society in Israel through a network of Jewish-Arab integrated bilingual schools and organized communities”. At present, Hand and Hand schools have 1578 students and more than 8000 community members.

Jerusalem Double
If you walk down any street in Jerusalem, whether it’s Arab or Israeli, you’ll find people of all ages and backgrounds playing backgammon. This love of backgammon inspired Zaki Djemal, an Israeli of Syrian Jewish descent and entrepreneur, to co-found Jerusalem Double. Jerusalem Double is a backgammon tournament that brings together Jews and Arabs of all ages and religious affiliations, using backgammon as a vehicle for relationship and empathy-building. Since it’s founding, Jerusalem Double has won 2nd place in the Jerusalem Foundation Social Innovation Challenge, and has gained international attention from the New York Times.

You can find out more about Jerusalem Double through Zaki’s TEDx talk here:

 

Ruth is a final year undergraduate student at the University of Edinburgh, originally from Northern Ireland. Her aim in life is to try and make the world a little bit better and care about the right things, which includes (but is in no way limited to) storytelling, politics, culture, and coffee.

Twitter: @fosttweets

50 Shades of White

Common Sense Contributors
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By Uzma Chaudhry

People of Colour: “Wow, it’d be nice to have a foundation that isn’t ashy on my skin, or a mixture of 8 foundations and my brown eyeshadow.”

Beauty Industry: *crickets*

People of Colour: “… just one…foundation range for…darker skin…?”

Beauty Industry: ???

People of Colour: That’s not quite-

Beauty Industry:

YSL’s ‘all inclusive’ concealer range

I don’t think I’m alone as a woman of colour stepping foot into any drugstore (or for special occasions, a Harvey Nichols) in search of a foundation to cover the latest spot that has set up camp on my chin. As you approach a glossy counter cluttered with shiny bottles, fluffy brushes and an assortment of powered gold, you look to the make up assistant, hoping she’ll sense that you feel a little out of your comfort zone.

Perhaps this experience isn’t synonymous to women of colour. But where it differs is as you sit down to get colour matched, the assistant analyses your “exotic” skin as she hovers over the (only) 2 dark shades creating this illusion of there even being a choice. She politely smiles as she dabs a blob of gunk onto the back of her hand and scans your face for the lightest area in the hope you may not notice that it’s still 8 shades too dark.

This experience is sadly not new to people of colour, ​and naturally, this lack of inclusion is not by any means limited to the beauty industry. There seems to be a scheduled cycle of outrage at the lack of inclusivity followed by a empty acknowledgement of the error of their ways shortly followed by another post like this…


This isn’t exclusive to 2018, or ’17 or ’16 but articles have highlighted this where the industry is wilfully ignorant to the lack of diversity. And I don’t feel like the issue is as simple as “just create darker shades”, for that doesn’t address the institutional racism that extends beyond the lab where the colours are mixed. It seeps into the marketing departments, into the social media teams and bubbles up towards the CEO, where it’s projected through damaging tokenism that allows ashy foundation to gather dust on the right side of the shelf.

To not mention Fenty Beauty in a piece that highlights the skewed range of cosmetics would surely be a sin. Fenty Beauty, after a month was worth $72 million according to Women’s Wear Daily. There’s not a great deal left to say besides the fact that women of colour are indifferent to the meaningless attempts of inclusion because…we have Fenty.

 

Uzma works full time in business sales at Telefonica. She is studying Politics, Philosophy and Economics part –time with Open University as a means to make sense of the world in which we exist! She is a v·inspired ambassador whose work revolves around empowering young people into volunteering and leadership. In her spare time she enjoys musing in her blog and has writing pieces on faith and race, offering a more holistic perspective on current affairs. If she has any juice left by the end of the week, she creates Youtube videos for her channel Caruzmatic as well as run a small venture in selling her bespoke art for ucdesigns.co.uk

Twitter: @Uzzywuzzy

What’s All The Fuss About GDPR?

Common Sense Contributors
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By Takudzwa Gezi

You may have recently heard a lot in the media about the ‘GDPR’. So what’s all the fuss about?

Background to the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)
With less than 5 months left, the deadline of the GDPR is fast approaching.

The GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), replaced the Data Protection Directive in April 2016, and will be enforced on the 25th of May 2018. But why the replacement after 20 years you may ask. In contrast to the Data Protection Directive, the European Commission designed the GDPR to harmonise data protection laws across Europe, thus reshaping the way organisations across the globe approach data privacy of European citizens.

Does the GDPR apply to the UK since it will no longer be in the EU?

The UK will not be exempt to the GDPR.

To some, it may come as unexpected. The GDPR applies to any company around the globe that works with EU citizen’s data, thus making it the first global data protection law. For those organisations that do not comply, they can expect to see hefty fines of up to €20m or 4% of the organisation’s annual global turnover.

So what exactly are the GDP Requirements?

The European Commission has outlined the 7 GDPR requirements that organisations must adhere to by the 25th May 2018, if they are not too face these hefty fines.

Consent:
• When obtaining consent, terms and conditions must be simple to understand for the customer.

Breach Notification:
• Processers have a 72-hour period to report any breach of data to controllers and customers.

Right to Access:
• Customers have the right to enquire about their data and get a free electronic copy of their personal data.

Right to be Forgotten:
• If data is no longer relevant to initial purpose, customers can demand the data to be erased.

Data Portability:
• Allows customers to obtain and reuse their personal data for their own purpose by transferring it across different IT environments.

Privacy by Design:
• Taking Data Protection into consideration when designing systems, and implementing appropriate technical and infrastructural measures.

Data Protection Officers:
• Qualified DPO’s must be appointed in large organisation that handles data.

What’s to come…

It is now time to act

So the EU has already put the GDPR in place with enforcement coming this year on the 25th of May. It is now the time for organisations to start asking themselves some key questions if they are to be successful; what personal data do we collect? Who handles our personal data? Why do we have this personal data? Where do we store the data? When do we dispose of the unnecessary personal data? Answering some of these questions will in turn help organisations on their way to compliance before the 25th of May 2018 GDPR deadline.

Takudzwa Gezi is a BA Business and Economics graduate from The University of Manchester. His strong interest in Economics and Politics, coupled with a passion for Technology, has left him with a desire to make a positive impact to the world around him. The TCS Network’s vision has given way to the start of his journey. Outside of work, he enjoys continuously challenging himself by learning new programming languages such as JavaScript, as well as constantly improving his skill in music production.
LinkedIn: Takudzwa Gezi

Simone Biles speaks out #MeToo

Emmabelle Nwadikwa
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Simone Biles speaks out #MeToo

Olympic gold medallist Simone Biles joins over 130 athletes who have said they were sexually assaulted by the former US women gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar.

Nassar pled guilty to seven counts of criminal sexual conduct in November and his sentencing began today. Accounts have been written by some of the women who have been assaulted. Whilst not many of them felt as though they could stand up in court and speak, the letters will count as testimony in the trial.

Biles shared her statement on social media with the caption “Feelings. #MeToo”

Since sharing her story Biles has received an outpouring of support with people commending her strength and wishing her well.

The future of Logan Paul

Emmabelle Nwadikwa
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The future of Logan Paul

After taking a shocking 11 days to respond to vlogger Logan Paul’s video that included him laughing next to the body of a suicide victim, YouTube has said that Paul will be sanctioned for his video.

Paul’s channel has a following of over 15.6 million subscribers and has, until now, been included in a premium advertisement line-up package reserved for Youtube’s most popular channels. The sanctions include the removal of his channel from the premium list, Paul being dropped from the YouTube original series ‘Foursome’ alongside other projects with other companies such as his project for French media company Blackpills and his new YouTube projects being placed on hold.

During a Q&A at the Television Critics Association press tour, when talking about whether YouTube would work with Paul again, YouTube’s Chief Business Officer Robert Kyncl said that “The most important thing to focus on is that actions should speak louder than words. Logan has the opportunity to prove that.” His refusal to give an outright answer as to Paul’s future with the company has outraged many and put YouTube under even more public scrutiny.

There is now also a Change.Org petition calling for Paul’s YouTube channel to be deleted which has received over 500,000 signatures so far. Eyes have been on the company since the video was posted especially as it was up for 24 hours without age restrictions before it was taken down due to volunteers from YouTube’s “trusted flagger” programme. Though Paul has stopped uploading videos while he takes the time to “reflect”, YouTube has declined to comment on whether or not since the scandal Paul has been receiving an income from his other monetised videos which include other offensive videos from his time in Japan.

According to a report from the Telegraph, Paul’s Japan videos may make £66,000 ($90,000) which means YouTube also stands to make money. With an income of $12.5 million last year, only about a quarter of which came from YouTube ads, it’s safe to say that Paul will still be financially secure especially as it’s been estimated that the loss of income from disciplinary measures won’t exceed $3 million.

 

Four mid-term candidates worth watching

Alex Davenport
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Four mid-term candidates worth watching

The coming year promises some fascinating contests in US politics. November’s mid-term elections will strongly affect the remainder of Donald Trump’s term in office. The Democrats will be looking to overturn the Republican majority in both chambers of Congress, and in doing so attempt to derail Trump’s legislative agenda. As well as trying to hold off this threat, Republicans are likely to face a hard-fought internal battle between Trump supporters and moderates, to gain the upper hand in the party. Amidst these clashes of policy and personality, these four candidates are particularly worth keeping an eye on as the drama unfolds:

 

Chelsea Manning (Democrat)

(Photo by Andy Kropa/AP)

The army ‘whistleblower’, who was convicted for leaking 750,000 documents to Wikileaks, including information about war crimes committed by US troops, has announced she will be running for the Senate in Maryland. The former soldier, who had her sentence commuted by Barack Obama, much to the ire of then-President-elect Trump, will be challenging 74-year-old Senator Ben Cardin in the Democratic primary. A particularly divisive figure, even in this age of polarisation, Manning will go into the race as an outsider against the establishment figure of Cardin. However, given her high profile, along with the fact that she is bidding to become the first transgender woman in the Senate, her campaign is likely to garner significant attention as the primaries get underway.

 

Randy Bryce (Democrat)

(Source: News Version)

Bryce is a near-perfect embodiment of the kind of voter Democrats have been haemorrhaging to Republicans. The ironworker, army veteran and cancer survivor, who goes by the nickname ‘Iron Stache’, hopes to win back the kind of blue-collar voters in Wisconsin that backed Trump in 2016, giving Republicans their first presidential victory in the state in over 30 years. His political ambition does not stop there, however. In running for the House of Representatives, he is contesting the seat of a leading congressional Republican: House Speaker Paul Ryan. Unseating Ryan seems an unlikely prospect, but even if the campaign simply serves to raise Bryce’s political profile, then it may not be the last we hear of the Iron Stache.

 

Lupe Valdez (Democrat)

(Source: NBC)

It would be unconventional for a Democrat to stand much hope of becoming governor of deeply conservative Texas, which has been governed by only one Democrat in the last 31 years. However, there is little conventional about 70-year-old Lupe Valdez. The eighth child of migrant Hispanic farm workers, the openly gay law enforcement officer has won significant acclaim in her role as Sheriff of Dallas County. She had been serving her fourth term in the role when she announced her resignation in order to run for governor. Indeed, not only is she among frontrunners to gain the Democratic nomination for the position, but she stands a plausible chance of unseating incumbent Republican Governor Greg Abbott. Her tough stance on law and order, traditionally an issue on which Republicans are perceived as strongest, is backed by her record as Sheriff and may win over floating voters, giving her an outside chance at a major upset.

 

Joe Arpaio (Republican)

(Source: LA Times)

The former Sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, a man of almost Roy Moore-level notoriety among liberals, has announced his candidacy for the Senate. Hoping to fill the Arizona seat vacated by vocal Trump critic Jeff Flake, the 85-year-old is among the most ardent supporters of the President of anyone running for office. Indeed, he was the controversial recipient of the only presidential pardon to be issued so far by Trump, after he was convicted for failing to stop using racial profiling methods to track down undocumented immigrants. He faces a difficult battle to get to Washington D.C., however, being challenged in the Republican primaries by the more moderate Martha McSally, before the possibility of facing the Democrats’ Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, who will fancy her chances at turning the state blue.

Joshua Plans to ‘whoop’ Parker

Common Sense Contributors
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By Akwasi Appiah

When Anthony Joshua (WBA, IBF) takes on Joseph Parker (WBO) on the 31st of March at the Principality Stadium in Wales in front of 80,000 people, he will be one fight away from creating history, and becoming the undisputed heavyweight champion. The press conference earlier today marks the start of ‘the verbal wars’ as said by Joshua.

If you didn’t get a chance to watch it, then let me be the first to tell you that the first win must go to Team Joshua when he won the first of many intermediary stare downs.  Parker’s promoter stuttered when asked how confident he was in his fighter, and Joshua addressed questions on his chin, putting to bed rumours of having a ‘glass one’ as implied by Joseph Parker’s team.

Anthony Joshua was self-assured when addressing the press. Respectful always, he answered questions posed to him by his promoter Eddie Hearn and Sky Sports commentator Adam Smith in his usual composed manner. When asked about rumours of him being repeatedly dropped in camp, he answered saying, “it will take more than any human to stop me where I’m destined to be.”

“When you want to talk about facts, the three times that I have been hurt or dropped was in the European Championships when McCracken knows I was actually banned from the GB team, because I was still getting in trouble.”

Joshua admitted he was complacent in his last fight with Carlos Takam, but acknowledged that the same attitude will not be repeated against Parker.

The same composure could not be said of Parker’s team; watch the video below to see how Eddie Hearn sharply addressed David Higgins.

Parker, quiet as ever, said he “hopes the best man wins.” He admitted to studying Joshua since the amateurs when they both fought in Azerbaijan. He said,

“I know his strengths, he knows mine, I know his weaknesses and he thinks he knows mine.”

But the confidence behind his words was lacking. Reactions cannot be rehearsed, just look at his reaction to Joshua fighting Klitschko (below). Surprisingly, he wanted Klitschko to win contrary to his coach who was routing for Joshua. Maybe this is metaphor for the reality of Heavyweight boxing; words are often exchanged, bravado often inflated, but when it comes down to it, the sport humbles even the most confident men on earth.

 

Akwasi Appiah is a 3rd year Economics student at Queen Mary University. He has a strong passion for talent development and music. He has his own blog ‘akwasiappiah.com’ and has written for discussion outlets such as @OGGM_ and @DesiringGod.

Twitter: @AkwasiAAppiah

The Funny Side of Northern Ireland

Common Sense Contributors
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By Ruth Foster

On the 4th of January 2018, Channel 4 graced our screens with Derry Girls. Described by Channel 4 as a “new candid and family-centred comedy set during The Troubles in Northern Ireland”, the series presents the ordinary life of teenagers during possibly one of the least comedic locations in recent history – the city of Derry, (“or Londonderry, depending on your persuasion”, Erin Quinn, played by Saoirse-Monica Jackson, explains).

Through presenting the conflict as the background to this coming of age story, Derry Girls presents some of the best aspects of both Northern Ireland and the 1990s, from a nostalgic soundtrack to the chippie order to characteristic black humour. The success of the series comes from its entertainment and educational value about life in Northern Ireland to a British audience. It exemplifies the generally accepted attitude that you “just get on with it”, even if a bomb scare is blocking your path. This attitude is summarised by a quote from the first episode: “How long does it take to diffuse a fecking bomb anyway, sure the wee robots do all the work!”.

Set in the early 1990s, the characters in Derry Girls do not yet know of the peace process and eventual Good Friday Agreement that was signed in 1998. Two decades on, Northern Ireland is no longer a place of conflict, but the refusal to truly come to terms with the past remains. What the characters of Derry Girls would be aware of is that the 5th of January 1976, in Kingsmill, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, 10 Protestant workmen were murdered in an IRA massacre on their way home from work.

MP for West Tyrone Barry McElduff posted a video on Twitter on the 42nd anniversary of the killings, in which he had a loaf of Kingsmill bread on his head. In a follow up tweet, McElduff apologised for any hurt caused, as many interpreted his tweet as mocking the victims of the Kingsmill Massacre. Although he stated in the same tweet that it was never his intention to offend, McElduff’s actions, which led him to resign from his position as Sinn Fein MP for West Tyrone yesterday, exposed some the worst aspects of Northern Irish attitudes to its troubled past.

The success of Derry Girls and Irish dark humour reflects a general culture to use humour as a tool to come to terms with issues that evoke uncomfortable emotions. In a 2014 article, Neil Douglas explained that the Irish deal with things with a sense of humour, even cancer, stating that “in my family, even when my mother was sick and I was scared, we still made jokes”.

In Northern Ireland today, the population recognises how it uses humour to come to terms with the psychological weight of the Troubles. The interpretation of McElduff’s video as mockery reflects the effects of misjudging the use of humour as a tool in a society that is still trying to rebuild after conflict fuelled by a culture of ethno-sectarian division. Whatever McElduff’s true intentions were, this psychological weight means that when humour is misused, emotions are unearthed.

Some of the cast of Derry Girls, a new Channel 4 comedy set during the Troubles in Northern Ireland

In his resignation announcement, Barry McElduff said that he did not want to be a “barrier to reconciliation”. This statement has been welcomed by Sinn Fein’s opponents and lamented by his family and friends, who hoped that his three-month suspension would be enough time for emotions to cool. Derry Girls and the reality of Northern Irish politics teach us that these emotions can take lifetimes to cool. As politicians navigate their way through their twelfth month without a government and its second Secretary of State in eighteen months, it’s difficult to find the funny side of political life in Northern Ireland.

 

Ruth is a final year undergraduate student at the University of Edinburgh, originally from Northern Ireland. Her aim in life is to try and make the world a little bit better and care about the right things, which includes (but is in no way limited to) storytelling, politics, culture, and coffee.

Twitter: @fosttweets

Manchester City’s Unbeaten Record Ends in Liverpool

Fidelis Olaniran
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Manchester City’s  unbeaten record of 22  games, is over. It was Liverpool who gave them their first defeat of the season. However, Manchester City didn’t go down without a fight. They scored two goals in the final minutes of the game, leaving fans and neutrals on the edge of their sits.

The game started with both teams displaying there attacking prowess. Liverpool’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s blistering shot broke the deadlock. Despite the pressure, Liverpool was inflicting on its opposition, Man City managed to find their composure and score an equaliser. The young German star, Leroy Sane brought the game level, taking advantage of Karius’s poor positioning. Both teams went into the break equal, intensifying the significance of the second half.

Image result for man city liverpool 2018Leroy Sane after scoring the equaliser at Anfield. (Source: SkySports) 

City came out the stronger with Nicolas Otamendi hitting the cross bar. But Liverpool’s attacking trio struck in 9 minutes with a goal apiece. Roberto Firmino put the Reds in the lead with a smartly executed chip,  shrugging of John Stones in the process. It was then Said Mane’s turn. After his first strike hit the post, he didn’t let the stop him. Mane fired a scintillating into the top left-hand corner.

Image result for mane man city 2018

Mane celebrates in jubilation after scoring a tremendous strike. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images) 

At this point, football fans around the world were shocked. This was the first time this season Manchester City were on the brink of defeat from a top 4 team. But the scoring didn’t stop there. One of the league’s new stars, Mohammed Salah took advantage of Ederson’s poor clearance, granting  Liverpool a 3 goal advantage.

On the other hand, City had a different agenda and wasn’t going to go down without a fight. The last minutes of the game demonstrated why they are league leaders. Again they found their composure and scored two quick goals from Bernado Silva and Ilkay Gundogan. Giving the game a nail-biting finish. It seemed City were going to scrap a draw but after a set-piece, Aguero’s header went wide and the game ended 4-3.This meant a loss for City and the end of their run. Falling short of Arsenal’s record-breaking ‘Invincible’ of the 03/04 season, where Wenger’s side went for an amazing 49 games undefeated.

City’s late fightback illustrates Liverpool’s defensive frailties. If they succeeded it would have put Jurgen Klopp’s decision to leave out new singing Virgil Van Dijk, under a lot of criticism. Van Dijk was bought to give the Liverpool defence more stability.

The question now is will Manchester City bounce back and go back on a winning streak. Or will they let this defeat affect them and lose their form? Only time will tell. Next, Liverpool faces Swansea away and Man City host Newcastle the Ethiad.

Real Madrid’s Woes – Is Ronaldo Declining?

Common Sense Contributors
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By Jireh Antwi

Real Madrid were arguably the best side of 2017 in world football, winning nearly every trophy available to them including La Liga, the Champions League, Super Cup and the Club World Cup. And when push came to shove, they showed absolute dominance in the Champions league final. Pundits and fans alike knew of their quality and depth, some even stating that what Zidane had done with this 2016/17 team was one of the best in history. It was also a year where we saw Ronaldo win the Ballon d’Or, making him a 5-time winner which now puts him on the same level with Lionel Messi for the record.

In the summer of 2017 you would have thought that they were prepping for another historic run. With Neymar leaving Barcelona, the club seemed to be in turmoil scrambling for his replacement, and at that point things looked even better for Real Madrid. Fast forward to the 13th of January 2018, losing 1-0 to Villarreal and they’re 19 points behind Barcelona sitting 4th and still 8 points behind the third placed Valencia, although they do have a game in hand, but it’s also a reminder that they sit one point above the team they lost against.

The recent Ballon d’Or winner has only netted 4 goals so far in La Liga and 16 goals and 3 assists overall this season compared to his counterpart Messi who has 23 goals and 10 assists overall, scoring 17 alone in La Liga. Real Madrid have already dropped more points this season than they did all of last season; 22 points dropped so far compared to the 21 of their winning season.

This game had plenty of chances for Real Madrid to win. They had 28 shots in total and 7 on target, with 59% possession of the ball and utilising it well, not necessarily at the ‘Los Blancos’ standard but still well enough. Ronaldo missed several opportunities causing someone to compile all of his failed attempts into a comical video. He missed 5 in front of goal opportunities; an unusual event for the calibre of player. Gareth Bale had a header that was ruled offside as well, and was later subbed off for Marco Asensio.

In the 87th minute, a fine counter attack from a Real Madrid corner sealed Villarreal’s win. Pablo Fornals scored a superb goal, chipping it over Keylor Navas which gave them 3 points at the Santiago Bernabéu and left the home team stunned and deflated.

With their Valentine’s Day Champions League Game vs PSG coming up soon, which is sure to be a scintillating game, it could see them really struggle in the first leg. Ronaldo is the leading goal scorer in this competition. Will Real Madrid turn their season around? The pressure is all on Zinedine Zidane right now.

 

Jireh is a Microbiology and Molecular Biology graduate from the Manchester Metropolitan University. He has a passion for various sports, scientific discovery and trainer brands.

Twitter: Ray_G95

The U.S. Constitution Can Impede Trump

Alex Davenport
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The U.S. Constitution Can Impede Trump

American democracy is a curious thing. Unlike many of its Western counterparts, the country’s democratic origins can be traced back to a specific point in history. The Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776 turning the Thirteen Colonies into the United States of America. Because of this, the men who enabled American freedom, and the texts associated with it, have taken on an almost religious significance to its people. Donald Trump would never dare to criticise them (putting them in the most exclusive of groups), but he has them to thank for the constraints on his power.

A painting by John Trumbull depicting the presentation of the Declaration of Independence (source: Wikimedia Commons)

The Founding Fathers of the USA were liberals. This is not meant in a modern American context as those on the left of the political spectrum, but those with a belief in the innate and unalienable freedom of the individual (if you take ‘the individual’ to mean free-born white males, anyway). From this follows a fear of any concentration of political power as a necessary threat to that freedom, enabling the tyranny of a few to freely infringe on the rights of their citizens without any kind of accountability. Washington, Jefferson, Madison and co. were well versed in historical examples of tyranny and the ways in which it could subjugate citizens, from Julius Caesar to their own struggle against King George III. Given the opportunity to design a political system largely from scratch, they sought to make it as difficult as possible for tyranny to thrive.

Trump at a presidential debate in 2016, being overlooked by the Constitution (source: CNN)

In many ways, Trump appears to be the kind of ‘tyrant’ the Founding Fathers feared would one day take power in the country. His authoritarian attempts to police the conduct of individual citizens through, among many other examples, his suggestions that the NFL should be discriminated against in public policy because of its players’ peaceful protests against racial inequality, and his efforts to shut down the publication of a book critical of his government, are fundamentally inconsistent with the Founding Fathers’ belief in allowing individuals to act as they please, short of causing harm to others. Similarly, James Madison’s famed quote that “the means of defence against foreign danger, have always been the instruments of tyranny at home” appears particularly relevant to the Trump ‘travel ban’ in response to the perceived threat of Islamic extremism, infringing on freedom in the name of security.

The constitutional system of checks and balances instituted by the Founding Fathers, making the White House, Congress and the Supreme Court independent of one another and able to hold each other accountable, has served its function in preventing Trump from implementing much of the legislation he pledged to. This ensures that the government cannot exceed its proper role just because one man (particularly one with such a tenuous claim of being selected by the people) wills it so. Whether this is in fact the best way to run a country certainly remains a matter for debate, given it often results in political deadlock and favours continuity over change. Yet when Trump sees his travel ban regularly impeded by judicial rulings, or fails to pass various bills through Congress, he really has the founders of his country to blame.

Should Labour be the party of the ‘Remainers’?

Alex Davenport
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Should Labour be the party of the ‘Remainers’?

18 months after the shock Brexit vote, the divide between Leave and Remain voters seems to be as relevant as ever to British politics. A recent YouGov poll, published in late December, shows a remarkably similar pattern of party support among ‘Leavers’ and ‘Remainers’: 61% of Leave voters intend to vote Conservative at the next election, with only 25% supporting Labour, while Remain voters backed Labour over the Conservatives with figures of 56% and 23% respectively. There is certainly a case to be made that, like it or not, Labour have become the Remainers’ party.

A poster from Labour’s Remain campaign highlighting the party’s overall preference for remaining in the EU (Source: Tamar Valley Labour Party)

Since the vote to leave the EU, the Conservatives have been, with the exception of a few notorious ‘mutineers’, particularly forthcoming in their support for Brexit. Theresa May has made speeches glorifying the Brexit process, and has promoted leading Leave-campaigning Conservatives, such as Boris Johnson and David Davis, to prominent cabinet positions in an attempt to shore up the party’s generally Leave-supporting base as well as winning voters from a swiftly declining UKIP.

Labour, however, appear to have been far more conflicted over their stance on Brexit. Despite the Labour leadership’s support for following the ‘will of the people’, outspoken members at various levels of the party have called on Jeremy Corbyn and his team to back a second referendum on the final terms of the Brexit deal. 70 Labour councillors from South London penned an open letter to Corbyn requesting he support a second referendum, while Deputy Leader Tom Watson refused to rule it out as a possibility. Other recent polling which suggests that around a quarter of current Labour supporters could desert the party over its stance on Brexit may give the party pause for thought about adopting a more overtly remain-friendly position.

The Labour Party has not always appeared comfortable in dealing with Brexit (Source: Anthony Devlin/PA Wire)

However, it is difficult to see how such a change in approach could significantly boost the party’s electoral fortunes. At the 2017 general election Labour was backed strongly by Remain voters, despite having an essentially similar stance on Brexit to the one it holds currently. Evidently, many such voters may not have completely agreed with Labour’s stance but backed them anyway as a more palatable option than the Conservatives, particularly in seats which only the two main parties stood a chance of winning. The threats from the most ardent Remainers, that they would consider backing another party, are somewhat negated by what is essentially a two-party system in the UK. This means that these potential defectors would have to be so dissatisfied with Labour as to vote for the Conservatives (the party still blamed by many for causing Brexit in the first place) or split the anti-Conservative vote by backing smaller pro-Remain parties, even where they stand little chance of success.

Nor would supporting a second referendum hold any guarantee of the party winning over supporters of other parties to a sufficient extent to make significant gains. It is important to remember that around a quarter of current Labour voters backed Leave at the referendum, voters that a commitment to hold a second referendum may risk losing. While undoubtedly winning some degree of support from Conservative and Liberal Democrat Remain voters, it would be at best a gamble to see whether this would offset the loss of significant numbers of working-class pro-Brexit Labour supporters, in most cases directly to the Conservatives.

Leave-backing Labour MPs Dennis Skinner (left) and John Mann, both of whom represent largely working-class constituencies under threat from the Conservatives (Source: Mirror)

Rather than focusing on Brexit at all, it seems likely that Labour’s best route to electoral success is by emphasising social issues which evoke strong feelings among the British people. At the 2017 election, many voters did not buy May’s insistence that the most important issue was giving her government a mandate for Brexit. Instead, they backed Labour and its programme of social reforms in large numbers, leading the party to an unexpectedly strong showing. Maintaining this approach by criticising the government’s policies on health, education and tackling inequality, among other things, may provide Corbyn and Labour with a surer route to winning over new voters than a last stand on the EU would.

Artificial Intelligence: The New Age

Common Sense Contributors
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By Daniel Okotako

Are we enough when it comes to the realms of thinking? Does artificial intelligence tell us that we aren’t?

The rather overused buzzword in recent years has gathered attention from many G7 nations who are investing so much into this branch of computer science. In the fall of 2017, the UK budget courts released plans to invest more than £500 million on artificial intelligence and other technologies such as 5G and full fibre broadband. So the question is why?

What is AI?

Artificial intelligence is the study of intelligence in machines, in contrast to the natural intelligence that humans possess. We are already seeing the usefulness and importance of such technology in our every day gadgets. For example, our phones, tablets and computers all operate AI in various forms, from predictive Internet search known as narrow AI to face recognition. And this technology just keeps on evolving. We now have researchers currently trying to nurture strong AI that could end up outperforming humans on every cognitive task. This is absolutely exciting but also somewhat frightening at the same time.

Some AI robots have already taken on human features

Why does this matter today?

Artificial intelligence is growing exponentially and may be very useful for the health, automobile and defence industries. Take for example the NHS. During the Christmas winter period of 2017, their services were thinly stretched due to a high demand for doctors against increased capacity constraints. As a result, approximately 16,900 people were kept in ambulances during this period which was of course met with anger and frustration from British citizens. In many ways, AI could have indeed helped to reduce that number significantly.

The director of Global Cognitive Health solutions, David Chapeaux recently said, “One way to address the staff shortages is to train digital employees equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) to assist doctors and nurses and relieve them from the high volume of routine and administrative tasks and free up more time for patients.”

The NHS recently faced harsh criticism

Are we prepared for AI?

However, even though such technologies may help ease the pressures on the NHS, it would cause a massive shift in the skillset of professionals who could potentially be replaced by AI taking over their roles. This is a recurrent theme in the anti-AI argument; that AI will replace paid labour in much needed jobs. Although there is undoubtedly some truth to this, only time will tell the extent to which it will affect people in different industries. For example, in manufacturing, AI will significantly cut huge amounts of work that was once carried out by unskilled workers. However, in industries such as finance and health, AI will not necessarily outperform and overtake workers, but will rather mean professionals will need to diversify their skill set in order to use the new tools AI provides them to carry out tasks.

The big warning

Fundamentally, it would seem the concerns many people may have with AI are largely to do with its rapid levels of storing information and potential ability to grow independently of humans. Questions are forming as to the extent to which they can be morally sound against our pursuit to live an efficient and productive life. In terms of the great extreme, there could be the development of autonomous weaponry designed to kill, and what would ensue would be an all out arms race in AI. In light of current affairs, this is by far one of the most reasonable claims when considering the speed at which the nuclear arms race has developed between the United States and North Korea. The tech entrepreneur and CEO of Tesla, Elon musk, recently warned us that AI needs to be regulated ‘proactively’ because of fears that large multi-national corporations may have too much concentration in the research of AI. So, it goes without saying, we need to be mindful of this technology if it is going to become an integral part of everyday society in the very near future.

 

Daniel is a student studying mathematics with computer science at the University of Essex. He has a strong passion for technology, specifically machine learning. Daniel is also interested in hip hop, Japanese culture and poetry . In his spare time he loves creating websites.

Wenger and the (Prolonged) Collapse of Arsenal FC

Common Sense Contributors
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By James Okoli

For many people, the New Year brings hope, optimism and a chance at redemption. Resolutions are made and broken in quick succession. Often, we conclude that the month of January is a trial run- February is the official start of the New Year. For Arsenal fans, however, every February over the last decade has marked The Inevitable Collapse (of their season).

Shellshocked at Forest- Arsenal stars look crestfallen

Well, this year The Inevitable Collapse has come unsurprisingly early. With Arsenal emerging from the frantic Christmas period in lowly sixth position, the return to the competition that in recent years has provided a get-out-of-jail-free card for Arsene Wenger and Arsenal, seemed like a great way to distract the detractors. A fixture away at manager-less, struggling for form Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup was more than ideal. So why did the game finish 4-2 to Nottingham Forest? Why have Arsenal been so poor of late? I think there are three main reasons:

1. Wenger underestimated Forest and the FA Cup as a competition. Whilst Wenger can point to the fact that 1) Arsenal had a congested fixture list (although it was the least congested compared to every other Premier League team), 2) Arsenal under his tenure had never gone out in the 3rd round of the FA Cup and that finally 3) Arsenal had won the competition in three of the last four seasons, his squad selection was hugely irresponsible. Someone with Wenger’s experience should know that going to the ground of a lower league team in the FA Cup would galvanise their fans and that the “spirit of the Cup” would be well and truly alive. Form is almost irrelevant for the underdog in these affairs, and that was proved once again.

2. Wenger overestimated his squad. On a weekend where Liverpool had signed Virgil Van Dijk and were making plans to replace the Barcelona-bound Coutinho, and Chelsea had signed 24-year-old England international Ross Barkley, Wenger’s faith in his fragile squad looks all the more outrageous. Not a single senior player was on the bench which highlights his inability to consider the possibility that his players could fail him. Playing the talented, but inexperienced, trio of Willock, Maitland-Niles and Nelson is to be commended. But playing them with the out-of-form back three and timid Walcott and Welbeck, underlines the (recurrent) naivety of Wenger. By choosing to keep deadwood like Walcott, Elneny and Debuchy, Wenger has shown he is no longer able to assemble a squad that can challenge for the major honours. A massive overhaul is required if Arsenal are going to challenge or even keep up with their Premier League rivals; Wenger clearly isn’t the person to oversee that.

3. Contract sagas.


Will these shirts be in the Arsenal dressing room next season?

Though this may not be directly linked to the Nottingham Forest defeat, it has been an issue that has hovered in the foreground of Arsenal’s season. There is just no sense of stability when the two most talented players in the club – Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil – are running their contracts down. The revitalised Jack Wilshere is also yet to put pen to paper. All this makes the Emirates a sinking ship. The captain of the ship must take responsibility.

So, what next for Arsene and Arsenal? The competition that has so often been the safety net for Arsenal in recent years, has now been taken away. The Premier League is long gone and the race for the top 4 is an uphill battle. Growing up, most of us thought Arsenal was named after Arsene Wenger; he was almost synonymous with everything the club had grown to stand for. There is no doubt, what he initially achieved at Arsenal was remarkable.

However, the chance to rectify the long-term damage at Arsenal has long passed for Arsene Wenger. With just one year left on his contract, it is the beginning of the end.

Even Donald Trump knows that Wenger’s days are limited

In the short-term, Arsenal’s first leg fixture away to Chelsea in the Carabao cup semi-final on Wednesday, is a chance for temporary redemption. Lose that, and only the Europa League can salvage Arsenal’s season as it did for Manchester United (could not resist that dig) ArsenalFanTv will probably crash, and possibly the remains of Wenger’s legacy too.

Then again, it’s only January.

 

James Okoli is a contributor for the TCS Network. Currently studying Theology, Philosophy and Ethics at the University of Manchester, you will find James writing on a variety of faith and ethical issues within local and globalised society. James is also a sports and television aficionado so expect raving reviews on television masterpieces or raging rants on football results.

Twitter: @OkoJames_

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