PREDATORS

Producers are hoping to revive an old franchise that originated with John McTiernan’s 1987 sci-fi thriller starring Arnold Schwarzenegger (Predator, singular), several critics would just as soon send it back to its grave. The New York Times’s Stephen Holden is one of them. While the filmmakers seem to be intent on creating a “karmic morality tale whose human predators finally get their comeuppance,” he writes, “this chaotic stew of fire, blood, mud and explosives is so devoid of terror and suspense that any metaphorical analysis is rendered moot.” In the San Francisco Chronicle, Amy Biancolli summarizes the plot, then observes, “None of this is scary, and nothing makes sense.” And Christopher Kelly concludes in the Dallas Morning News: “Predators mostly just suggests a bunch of grown-up men playing with toys and not bothering to invite the rest of us into their circle.” But Tirdad Derakhshani in the Philadelphia Inquirer assures “Predator purists” that they “have nothing to fear: This is a worthy follow-up.” Lisa Kennedy in the Denver Post agrees, calling it “a stylish, lean and, well, familiar outing.” And Michael O’Sullivan in the Washington Post suspects that the filmmakers really want us to take the whole affair as an inside joke. “In the end,” he concludes, “the film’s perverse party spirit wins out over any pretentious hoo-ha.” »

WE ONLY APPRECIATED HER GOODNESS NOW THAT SHE IS GONE. I AM SO INSPIRED BY THIS REMARKABLE WOMAN.

THIS IS BY Sheila Coronel published on 15 August 2009.

The Filipino opposition activist Benigno Aquino was assassinated on the tarmac of Manila airport on 21 August 1983, moments after his return to the country to challenge the rule of long-term president, Ferdinand Marcos. That was also the day Corazon Aquino stopped being, in her words, "just a housewife". The woman once content to be in the shadow of "Ninoy" became instead the leader of the democracy movement in the Philippines that swept her to the presidency on 25 February 1986 and made her an inspiration to others around the world struggling against tyranny.

Sheila Coronel isdirector of theStabile Center for Investigative Journalism at Columbia University, and afounder of thePhilippine Center for Investigative Journalism. Her eight books on Philippine politics include Coups, Cults & Cannibals: chronicles of a troubled decade, 1982-1992 (Anvil Publishing, 1993) and The Rulemakers: how the wealthy and well-born dominate Congress (Anvil Publishing, 2007)                               This article was with minor editorial variationspublished in theWall Street Journal on 2 August 2009

Cory Aquino's death on 1 August 2009 has sparked a depth of collective emotion unseen in the Philippines for years. Thousands of mourners are gathering in Manila to pay their respects and honour the soft-spoken and unassuming woman who led the "people-power" revolt that ended the twenty-year reign of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos. For more than a generation she was an established presence in the country's political life; her role as a defender of democracy and moral exemplar will be hard to fill.

That observation may seem counterintuitive. After all, the Philippines is widely perceived as a dysfunctional democracy; and the events of 1986 make the idea of "people power " - the use of peaceful protest to topple a government, elected or not - one of Cory Aquino's major legacies. Indeed it remains, for better or for worse, the default template for bringing about political reform and "regime change" in the Philippines. Yet the country is still a democracy. The institutions established during the Aquino administration - a strong legislature, an independent judiciary and a free press - are largely in place.

Cory Aquino achieved these changes under the most difficult of circumstances. In 1983, Ferdinand Marcos's Philippines was a place rife with rumour, conspiracy and intrigue. The president was seriously ill, kept alive in his barricaded palace by a team of doctors who had been sworn to secrecy about his condition. Various factions, including one led by his glittering and powerful wife Imelda, were jockeying for power. The economy was in dire straits; the press, muzzled; the opposition, divided and dispirited.

The killing of Benigno Aquino brought "Cory", as she became affectionately known to Filipinos, into the limelight and into a defiant challenge to these realities. She united the opposition and ran for the presidency against Marcos. She campaigned throughout the country, holding audiences rapt by recounting in a flat monotone the story of her husband's homecoming and death. When she told Filipinos, "I am like you, a victim of Marcos", there was silence and tears. Her story mirrored so many of their own and her courageous expression of it released the potential for others to articulate their hopes for change. It was a profound democratic moment in the history of the Philippines.

Cory Aquino was the complete opposite of Ferdinand Marcos. He was the consummate political animal - charming, cunning and ruthless; she was an anti-politician. But this apparent weakness was her strength, and this fact led Marcos to underestimate her. Until Cory arrived on the scene, Filipino leaders had been macho and male. Cory broke the mould. After the fraudulent "snap" election of 7 February 1986 and the subsequent defection of a unit of Marcos's armed forces, hundreds of thousands of citizens took to the streets. Filipinos, wearing the yellow apparel that had become the symbol of solidarity and support for change, stood proudly before Marcos's tanks; braved threats of violence and repression; and, after three intense days, saw their peaceful protest emerge victorious as the Marcos couple and their retinue were allowed to fly into exile.

A political legacy

The years after the people-power revolution were difficult. Cory Aquino cobbled together a political coalition that proved fractious and soon fell apart. In subsequent years, until she handed power to her chosen successor Fidel Ramos in 1992, there were six attempts by rebel military factions to oust her. The last time, in 1989, United States warplanes had to be called in to provide air-cover for troops loyal to the president.

Also inopenDemocracy:

Steven Rogers, "Philippines' democracy in turmoil" (16 August 2005)

Mark Dearn, "Mindanao: poverty on the frontlines" (4 June 2009)

It is probably unrealistic to believe that Aquino could have done more. Her political and social inheritance - which included dictatorship, corruption, poverty, weak institutions, and near civil war - was difficult. Moreover, her power lay in her moral force and unquestioned personal integrity: she had no army, no political party, no formal organisation behind her. In any event, her campaign and victory made her the projection-screen for an entire country's hopes, and she could not possibly have fulfilled them all.

Cory Aquino was not a visionary or a social reformer. She was very much a product of her time and place. She belonged to one of the biggest landowning families in the Philippines, was a loyal believer in the Catholic faith, and believed she was destined to restore democracy to what she knew it to be: the 1960s-style elitist democracy of political families and patronage. But the political circumstances of the time meant that she became the vehicle of a more participatory democracy. During her presidency, Aquino recognised the key role of non-governmental organisations and was active in them during her retirement.

This commitment revealed an enduring strength of character which Marcos, the rebel colonels, and even at times the Filipino people underestimated. After her presidential term ended, she successfully defended the constitution she had introduced in February 1987 - ratified by an 80% majority in a referendum - against attempts to amend it. She even successfully led a second people-power revolt in 2001 against former president Joseph Estrada, who went on to be convicted of corruption in 2007.

Even in death, it is likely that Cory Aquino will remain the symbol of Filipinos' hopes. After the period of mourning ends, her ultimate political legacy will continue to be discussed and debated. But there is one thing her compatriots can agree on: in 1986 she showed Filipinos that they were capable of greatness, and thus surely can be again.

IN THE SERVICE OF FILIPINO PEOPLE

I am always amazed with Ms. Gina Lopez. We all hear her name on the TV although not often.

Sam Echavez of People's Asia Magazine wrote that ere is nothing more inspiring and humbling than sitting before a woman who is responsible for more than 20,000 children rescued from physical and sexual abuse, the conservation of La Mesa Dam and the popularity of educational TV programs that have revolutionized the Filipino way of learning. Meeting Regina Paz "Gina" Lopez, ABS-CBN Foundation's managing director, is like finally finding out that philanthropy comes with a beautiful face, a happy disposition and a muse-like smile.

"I love the country. I think the people here are special and I am in a privileged position to help them. That's what's keeping me busy," Gina says matter-of-factly. It is not about obligating herself to reach out but naturally responding to the country's critical needs, especially when they are about children, education, poverty and the environment. Although the ABS-CBN Foundation has long been known as a giant money generator for calamity victims, it was Gina who spawned magnanimous changes and touched so many lives.
She went to Newton College of the Sacred Heart to take Liberal Arts but she didn't finish the course. She joined a religious organization and stayed in Africa for 20 years, where she experienced the hard-hitting and impoverished life first-hand. "I wouldn't have been exposed to that, if say, I stayed in Forbes Park all my life," she points out, underlining the fact that this made her extra-sensitive to the concerns of the poor.
But even as a student at the Assumption Convent, Gina was already into philanthropic deeds, which earned the full support of her parents. "They were very loving. There was a strong feeling of family. They virtually just let us be. I never felt either parent breathing down my neck." The late Eugenio Lopez Jr. sure didn't. From him, Gina learned the value of integrity and the importance of vision. "I'm proud of my father," she says. "Being his daughter is an absolute plus."
And so Gina made the most out of her surname, her father's legacy and available resources to initiate the following life-changing projects: E-media, Bantay Bata 163, Bantay Kalikasan and Bayan Foundation.
Long before the recent proliferation of fantasy-themed television programs, there was Hirayamanawari, a television program that used fairies and other supernatural beings and situations to educate children about values and good conduct. It was Gina's brainchild, together with Sineskwela, Math-inik, Epol Apol and Bayani that made up E-media. Over the years, these programs have garnered numerous accolades from prestigious award-giving bodies, including the Asian TV Awards, the New York Festival and Prix Jeunesse International.
Gina solicited enough money to equip public schools with television sets and urged the Department of Education to oblige the teachers to allot a special time for program viewing. The programs disseminated information through creative and innovative means that benefited more than 14 million students.
"The Children's Village is my greatest achievement for Bantay Bata." She once said to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, "Just watch me. I will transform this into a paradise for children." And what a paradise it is. The Children's Village in Norzagaray, Bulacan has become more than a shelter and rehabilitation area for 140 children. It now stands as a model for excellence in childcare and concretizes all of Gina's dreams for the Filipino youth.
The La Mesa Resort and Ecological Park, on the other hand, is Gina's pride for Bantay Kalikasan. Located within the La Mesa Dam watershed, this is now a major environmental hub perfect for picnicking, fishing or simply gorging on nature's splendor.
Up next on Gina's agenda are the development of mangroves, mainstreaming non-traditional forms of wellness and the eradication of malnutrition in the Bicol area. "We can do it!" she exclaims. Her statement is punctuated with the conviction that made everything possible, including the instituting of the Bayan Foundation this year.
"Financials are always a key challenge. Oh, to dream is easy but the money to implement..." she relates regarding the foundation's initial setbacks. However, it doesn't stop her from suddenly getting excited as she lets PEOPLE Asia in on her plans to raise $30 million to target the 20 depressed areas in the country. "The need drives it," she simply answers when asked about how she comes up with her reforming ideas. For her, as long as the issues are relevant, everyone will follow suit and care the same way that she does. "Getting the right people was a major challenge," she adds.
She's quick to credit all 600 of them. "It is important for me to say that there is no way I could have done this without my people. The people in the ABS-CBN Foundation are of exceptional caliber and I have much love for them. Without them going the extra mile, without them just being the kind of people they are, my dreams will remain just that - dreams. Actually their dreams and visions are now interspersed into what the Foundation is now."
Gina addresses the issue of apathy with a positive outlook. "It's a consciousness thing. There are different levels of being and one continues to evolve. The people who are apathetic will not be that way forever. Life is a constant state of evolution. The universe will always see to it that everyone grows." Such a declaration leads to the topic of how she advocates inner growth. "I truly feel that inner growth should be a key component of development. I don't mean in the religious sense: of going to mass, confession, etc. But feeling God within, integrating a space of reflection, silence in one's daily life. This has direct bearing on anything one does outside."
It shows as she lovingly mothers her two kids, Benjamin and Roberto, and as she skips the social jungle for meditations with the help of her mentor. Most of all, this commitment to inner growth is instrumental to the societal empowerment, environmental reforms and all her other charitable endeavors.
"I get a kick out of helping people," she beams. It is her passion, a mission fervently executed. But one can easily surmise that this big-hearted lady is not only helping people. She is changing the world.

I AM ALWAYS AMAZED WITH THIS KIND OF PEOPLE.

BABY BABY NI BEIBER

WHAT'S with this song? Why is everybody so hooked with this? I am just wondering. I understand the teenagers on how they idolize beiber.It's the old one's that I don't understand.