Monthly Archives: March 2015

Government, International, Law Enforcement, Politics

FORMER PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT GLORIA MACAPAGAL ARROYO FINDS AN ALLY IN MRS. GEORGE CLOONEY

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imageMANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – International human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, a.k.a. Mrs. George Clooney,  has filed a case against the Philippine government before the United Nations over the continued detention of former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Clooney filed the case on Feb 26 before the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD), a body under the UN Commission on Human Rights, Philippine media reported late on Sunday.

“The case concerns Arroyo’s protracted detention by the Philippine government despite her age, health condition and the court’s continued denial to grant her bail,” one of Arroyo’s lawyers, Modesto Ticman, told GMA News Online.

In filing the case, Mrs Clooney wants the UN to persuade the Philippine government to release Arroyo, who has been under hospital arrest at the Veterans Memorial Medical Centre (VMMC) in Quezon City.

Upon hearing of the news, Janet Lim-Napoles, suspected mastermind of the Ten Billion-peso pork barrel scam and who is currently in detention, asked to meet with Clooney. Napoles wants Clooney to handle her case in the Philippines.

“My lawyers have not  done a good job in defending me in my case. That’s why I remain in detention.  I am confident Mrs. Clooney, since we are both women, can do a  better job to exonerate me from the charges against me, and  negotiate for my release from detention,” Napoles said.

“I am willing to pay Mrs. Clooney whatever amount she demands. I have enough funds from the pork barrel scam that I masterminded, so money is not going to be a problem,” Napoles added.

Meanwhile, TV host and presidential sister Kris Aquino has reportedly sent an email to Mrs. Clooney, asking if she could help her schedule a one-on-one interview with her husband, George. “I’m a fan of George, and it would be wonderful to interview him for my gossip show,” Aquino stated in her email.

Film and TV, Human Interest, Music, The Media

KANYE WEST ACCUSES MADONNA OF RACISM AND SEXISM

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imageNEW YORK, New York (The Adobo Chronicles) – “Kanye is the new Madonna,” the diva told the  New York Daily News today while promoting her new album Rebel Heart. “Kanye is the black Madonna.”

She continued, “We know, and recognize, that we have that in common. We’re comrades in the envelope-pushing genre.

But Kanye West didn’t appreciate Madonna’s comment, accusing her of racism and sexism.

“First of all, I have nothing in common with her,” West said.  “Secondly, for Madonna to call me ‘black’ is racist. What would she feel if I called her the white Madonna?” West added: “I’m a man. For me to be likened to a woman is very offensive.  It’s sexist.”

Kim Kardashian joined her husband in criticizing Madonna for her comments. “I think she has lost her star power and is trying to ride on the coattails of my husband to get back in the limelight,” she said.

 

Government, LGBT, Same-sex Marriage

U.S. SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS LOWER COURT’S DECISION BANNING MARRIAGE FOR HETEROSEXUAL COUPLES

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imageWASHINGTON, D.C. (The Adobo Chronicles) – Everyone is so focused on the same-sex marriage case now before the U.S. Supreme Court that a recent high court decision on heterosexual marriage went practically unnoticed.

On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a decision by the 9th Circuit Court in San Francisco banning the marriage of two heterosexual couples.

The case stemmed from a lawsuit filed by a gay couple challenging the marriage between the heterosexual couples in Alpine County, California.  The county has a population of  1, 1775 (as of the 2010 census), making it the least populous county in the state.

In the lawsuit, Smith & Smith vs. Alipine County, the gay couple sought to invalidate the marriage licenses of two heterosexual couples who were married at Markleeville City Hall. The gay couple, John and Paul Smith (no blood relation), argued that the county cannot grant marriage licenses to the heterosexual couples because it does not extend the same right to gay couples.  “It violates the state constitution, particularly the provision for equal rights and protection,” the lawsuit argued.

The gay couple won the lawsuit but the decision was challenged by the county, elevating the case to the 9th Circuit Court, which subsequently upheld the original local court decision.  The county then filed an appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court voted 5 to 4 in favor of the gay couple. Chief Justice John Roberts sided with Justices Kagan, Sotomayor, Ginsburg and Breyer to form the majority ruling. Roberts penned the decision.

While the LGBT community considers this a huge victory, it now means that all same-sex marriages will also be invalidated and banned until the Supreme Court issues a decision this summer on the pending case that would pave the way for federal recognition of same-sex marriage.

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments starting April 28, whether all 50 states must allow gay and lesbian couples to marry, positioning it to resolve one of the great civil rights questions in a generation.