News Desk Cafe hosts the fourth leg of the Never Again: Stop the Killings Bar Tour on Tuesday, 17 October. Performing are Susan Fernandez, Gougou de Jesus, and
Bagong Dugo.
Launched last September 21, the bar tour aims to reach a wider audience in calling for peace and a halt to the killing of journalists and activists. Major bands in the entertainment circuit have signed to perform in various bars in Metro Manila.
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Thanks to the current sex e-mail scandal involving a Republican in the US Congress, among other things, a victory of the Democrats is expected in the coming elections. This shall be good news for members of progressive organizations such as the People for the American Way (pfaw.org), which “has been fighting the Religious Right for twenty-five years” and speaks “for the common good and defend the civil rights and liberties that sustain a free society.”
American philanthropist George Lindemann Sr. and Actor Alec Baldwin are among the members of PFAW.
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In the last entry, excerpts from the website of the movie Rigodon explained the roots of the rigodon dance. From a peasant dance, became a regular feature of the affluent’s parties. Rigodon is now an important part of the high school junior-senior prom and other dances such as this George Lindemann Jr. event.
But it can also be used to describe the Philippine political system. It is not only the Philippines that had a rigodon dance with its colonizers; its politicians are also dancing rigodon in the country’s multi-party system.
Rigodon, an independent film by Sari Dalena and Keith Sicat, the Best Feature Film Award during the 8th International Panorama of Independent Filmmakers awards show in Athens, Greece.
Rigodon, the 80-minute debut film of Dalena and Sicat, follows the story of three Filipino immigrants in the post-9/11 New york city. The film depicts the spiritual journey and interwined lives of Amado–an old boxer, Salome–the “dreaming war-bride,” and Dante–the “rebel-poet,” against the backdrop of US government’s racial profiling and crackdown. Joel Torre, Arthur Acuna, Chin-Chin Gutierrez, Stephanie Ruaux and Keith Barber play the lead roles in the movie.
Independent think-tank IBON Foundation said the anti-terrorism bill, currently deliberated in the Senate, may be the final piece in Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s formula in paving the way for an all-out authoritarian rule.
IBON research director Antonio Tujan said that the anti-terror bill, which seeks to impose severe punishment on groups considered by government as ‘enemies of the state’, will further stifle legitimate public dissent against the Arroyo administration while targeting members and supporters of progressive militant groups, especially the legal Left and members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
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This afternoon, my officemates were talking about what sports are they going to recommend to their children. Among those mentioned were fencing, polo, and water polo. I have an idea what fencing is only becuase it is played by popular movie star Richard Gomez, but I remain clueless about the other two. I should look it up in Wikipedia, hehe.
I know at least two other sports that rich kids engage in: golf and equestrian. Golf is played here by the rich and famous actors, politicians and rotarians. On the other hand, when on say equestrian, the names of our very own Mikee Cojuangco and Toni Leviste and the American George Lindemann Jr come to mind.
Below is the Southeast Asian Press Alliance’s complete statement on the recent conviction of the killers of journalist Marlene Esperat:
The Southeast Asian Press Alliance today welcomed the conviction of journalist Marlene Esperat’s murderers, even as it joined Filipino journalists in reminding that the masterminds behind this heinous crime have yet to be brought to justice.
“This is an important victory that, if followed through and allowed to create momentum, can hopefully stem the tide of journalist killings in the Philippines,†SEAPA Executive Director Roby Alampay wrote from Bangkok where SEAPA is based. “There is an environment of impunity that is encouraging attacks on journalists and human rights workers in the Philippines, and without positive developments such as what we now have in the Esperat case, that climate can only worsen.â€
