Citizenship: AVAAZ campaigns

As major new challenges like climate change and escalating religious conflict threaten our common future, people from around the world are coming together to take global politics into their own hands. Avaaz is a community of global citizens who take action on the major issues facing the world today. The aim is to ensure that the views and values of the world’s people - and not just political elites and unaccountable corporations - shape global decisions.

Avaaz.org members wish to take action for a more just and peaceful world and a vision of globalization with a human face. "Avaaz.org is where it's all coming together – one place where people can join forces across borders to demand progress on peace, poverty, global warming, human rights, and other burning problems."

"In our inter-connected world, the actions of political leaders and corporations are having a profound impact on all of us. To match the power and reach of global leaders and borderless corporations, Avaaz.org members are building a powerful movement of citizens without borders. As citizens without borders, we might not have the resources of governments, corporations or the media, but working together we can bring together millions of people around the world and make global public opinion really count on major global issues like poverty, climate change, human rights and global security."

The name 'avaaz' means "Voice" or "Song" in several languages including Hindi, Urdu, Farsi, Nepalese, Dari, Turkish, and Bosnian.

Right now Avaaz.org is doing one campaign to promote real peace talks in the middle east. It will soon be seven long and devastating years since the top Israeli, Palestinian, and international leaders sat down together to talk peace. But this week that tide could turn - when President Abbas and Prime Minister Olmert meet with US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice in Jerusalem. Read more here.

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Another campaign focuses on a climate wake up call. It proposes to make a petition to World Leaders: "Climate change is the greatest threat facing our world today - and we are almost out of time to stop it.You must tackle this problem now, decisively and together. Start working toward a new global agreement this year. Set binding global targets for emissions to avert catastrophic climate change. Take bold action immediately - and we will join our efforts with yours. "

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Check it and sign the petitions... it's easy and free.

Citizenship: Minority Rights Group

Minority Rights Group International (MRG) works to secure the rights of ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities and indigenous peoples worldwide, and to promote cooperation and understanding between communities. They have just published a study about minorities in Irak.

Since 2003, the civilian population of Iraq has been subjected to horrific levels of violence and terror. But for Iraq’s minority communities, caught between the warring factions, the crisis is particularly acute. So much so that the very existence of some of these groups in their ancient homeland is now under threat. Ten per cent of Iraq’s population is made up of minority communities. They include Armenian and Chaldo-Assyrian Christians, Bahá’ís, Faili Kurds, Jews, Mandaeans, Palestinians, Shabaks, Turkomans and Yazidis. Some of these groups have lived in Iraq for two millennia or more. There is now a real fear that they will not survive the current conflict and their unique culture and heritage in Iraq may be extinguished forever. A huge exodus of these communities is now taking place. The Iraqi Ministry for Migration and Displacement in Iraq has estimated that nearly half of the minority communities have left the country. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, minorities make up approximately 30 per cent of the 1.8m Iraqi refugees now seeking sanctuary in Jordan, Syria and across the world.

All of Iraq’s minority communities have suffered violations since 2003 which include:
• destruction and defacement of religious buildings
• mass murder of congregations gathered in and around them
• abduction, ransoming and murder of religious and civic leaders and individuals including children
• forced conversion to Islam using tactics such as death threats, rape and forced marriage.

> read more here.

Cinema: Carlos Reygadas' "Japón"

"Japón" was Mexico’s Carlos Reygadas' astonishing debut film which has nothing to do directly with Japan as the title might suggest, but which comes from the rising-sun symbol associated with Japan rising again every day and renewing itself, and other references from Japan maybe (the elegant harakiri, the respect for the elderly). Although this link is not easily made at first glance...

It was an ambitious and promising first film, an enigmatic parable, a meditation on life, death, faith and redemption. Actually it is somehow 'religious', one could say... A (supposedly) painter from the big city who is tired of life (and disabled) goes to a remote canyon in the north of Mexico to end his life. To reach some quietness he stays at the house of Ascensión, an old religious woman, outside a village, nestled in the canyon. His journey takes an unexpected turn when he gets to know Ascensión and gets in touch with the powerful nature. He slowly rediscovers, through mixed unexpected emotions, the lust for life. Particularly strong is the sex/love scene, as the means for emotional redemption…

Beautifully shot, "Japón" is not a narrative film, it’s a film of long silences and slow rhythm (sometimes a bit too long…) yet measured, a film of few words, strong landscapes and panoramic images, strong rough moments, carefully chosen sounds and music. Nature and the landscapes are like characters, part of the story. The characters themselves are vague and their actions do not always make sense. The film is full of surprises and definitely has a strong lyrical and poetic power that make it a beautiful feast to the senses. It is performed by many non professional actors, by actor Alejandro Ferretis as the main character and Magdalena Flores, the villager who plays the old woman. Unfortunately, Ferretis and his companion Francisco Javier Vega, would be murdered in April 2004 in the residence of the actor in San Miguel de Allende, some 200 km north of Mexico City. According to one of the close relations of Ferretis, "the two men were atrociously massacred, with a hammer or a bar of iron. A true butchery. Unthinkable".

Carlos Reygadas's film caused a considerable stir at the Cannes film festival and has received many awards, namely a special Camera d’Or at the Cannes Film, best film at the Bratislava film festival, New director’s award at Edinburgh festival, audience choice award at Stockholm, etc…

Japón may be frustrating or boring for many people and is certainly not an easy film, with its slow pace and long silences, yet it is uncomfortably difficult to forget it and I believe that hardly anyone can remain indifferent to the film’s beauty, its amazing landscapes and their strength...

As the newspaper Le Monde wrote, "the most beautiful film of the new century".

And don’t forget

Reygada’s follow up, “Batalla en el cielo”, which he directed only three years after, in 2005, also very strong yet less special. And i am already eagerly awaiting the follow up...

Music: Scarlett & Justin episode 1

Scarlett Johansson is the cherry of the cake, starring in the new video clip of Justin Timberlake (What goes around). It seems that the clip is already a big success in the net, whereas it has not officially come out yet – it is expected to be out on March 3. But it is maybe less the quality of the song than the clip itself (and Scarlett’s presence) that explains this success... Justin and Scarlett (who are said to be having an affair, now that Scarlett has left cutie Josh) offer hot scenes in the video, which has already been seen by some 1.5 million people in Internet. There are three versions of the video, one of three minutes intended for television, this one of nine minutes available in the web and a thirty minute one which is not yet available. Vive le ‘marketing’… and Scarlett Johansson! and send Josh Hartnett to comfort him…

Cinema: Martin Scorsese gets it all at the Oscars...

Martin Scorsese was the big winner of the 79th Oscars' awards! Scorsese, who had missed out on five previous occasions (!) said he was "overwhelmed" and asked to double-check…"Could you double-check the envelope?". 27 years after his first nomination (in 1980 with 'Raging Bull'), he finally made it and it is of course a very well deserved award, even though this years' film 'The departed' is quite a classic mainstream picture.

In 1981 (with 'Raging Bull') he was beaten by Robert Redford's 'Ordinary People'. And he had been nominated four other times, in 1988 for 'The Last Temptation of Christ', in 1990 for 'Good Fellas', in 2002 for 'Gangs of New York' and in 2004 for 'The Aviator'. And he has also received two nominations for best screenplay, with 'Good Fellas' in 1990 and in 1993 with 'The Age of Innocence'. Yet for me his best films are

'After Hours' from 1985) and 'Taxi Driver' from 1976 (and let's not forget 'New York, New York', 1977). Yet 'Taxi driver' won 4 Oscars, for best picture, for best actor (Robert De Niro), best actress in a supporting role (Jodie Foster) and also best original music.

But this year the mob drama 'The Departed' won a total of four Oscars, including that for best film (instead of 'Babel' as I had predicted…).

Forest Whitaker got the statue for best actor in a leading role ('The last king of Scotland'), Helen Mirren got yet another award for her performance in the overrated 'The Queen', Alan Arkin won best supporting actor for 'Little Miss Sunshine'! :-) Jennifer Hudson earned best supporting actress for 'Dreamgirls'. Surprisingly 'Pan's Labyrinth' got three Oscars (well, for best makeup, best cinematography…) and even 'Little Miss Sunshine' got two Oscars, as well as 'An Inconvenient Truth' and 'Dreamgirls'. And german film 'Das leben der anderen' (The lives of others) got a deserved Oscar for best foreign film! Finally, a lifetime achievement Oscar was given to Italian composer Ennio Morricone for his "magnificent and multi-faceted contributions to the art of film music". And let's not forget Marie Antoinette's prize for costume design…

And well, no, Kate Winslet in 'Little Children' and Abigail Breslin in 'Little Miss sunshine' did not make it this year… but they'll come back… maybe.

I must say that I never expect 'miracles' at the Oscars…it is not meant to discover new talents or trends, it's objective is not to award films that take risks and break the rules, that shock, that challenge one's imagination and brains. It targets after all those films that work quite well at multi-cinemas and win at the box-office, in the worst case scenario, after being awarded an Oscar…

Cinema: 'Little Miss sunshine' wins at the Césars

'Little Miss Sunshine', low budget first film by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, won another award, this time for best foreign film, at the French Césars ceremony. Ignored by the Goldens Globes, the film had obtained by surprise, end of January, the award for best picture of the American producers (PGA), also after having received the prize for best 'Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture' from the actors syndicate (SAG). I wonder how it will be treated by the Oscars later today, but it would be expecting too much, I guess, that it gets the best film award…

In France, the César for best actor went to François Cluzet in 'Ne le dis à personne', for best actress to Marina Hands in 'Lady Chatterley' (which got 4 Césars!) – and which is coming out soon in Belgium. Guillaume Canet won the award for best director with 'Ne le dis à personne' and 'Lady Chatterley' was crowned as best film (directed by Pascale Ferran). 'Indigènes' won the best original screenplay prize (by Olivier Lorelle and Rachid Bouchareb) and 'Lady Chatterley' won again for best adaptation.

Now it’s just waiting for the Oscars…

Music: Best of 2006

This year the "Best of" comes a bit late... yet it's never too late is it? 2006 was the year of confirmation of norwegian musician Lindstrøm and of danish Trentemøller, as well as the group The Rapture from New York, with a great second album (and a fresh live act). The year of the rediscovery and confirmation of Fujiya & Miyagi, Post Industrial Boys (from Georgia), Cat Power, Fuckpony, Nouvelle Vague, Scissor Sisters (well partly), Tiga and many others. For me it was the year of the discovery of many rising promises like Michoacan (mexican musician from US), Loco Dice (from Hamburg), MSTRKRFT (from Canada), Tekel (from France), CSS (Cansei de ser sexy) (from Brazil), Minilogue (from Sweden), Lily Allen, Delorean (from Spain), Pinkboy (from Portugal) and many others. 2006 was the year of minimal electro-house or minimal techno-house, whatever you want to call it, with flagships like Marc Romboy , Stephan Bodzin (from Systematic in Germany), Martin Buttrich, Nick Chacona, Loco Dice and Digitalism, Sasse, etc...

So here's the list and have fun looking up for it. The January-February 2007 playlist will soon be out...

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MUSIC choices 2006

Albums / Top 5
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Trentemoller “The last resort”
The Rapture “Pieces Of The People We Love”
Fujiya & Miyagi “Transparent Things”
Lindstrøm “It's a Feedelity Affair”
MSTRKRFT “The looks”
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others:
Cat Power "The greatest"
Fuckpony “Children of love”
Hey Willpower “P.D.A.”
In Flagranti “Wronger than anyone else”
Kudu “Death of the party”
Mummer "SoulOrganismState"
Nathan Fake "drowning in a sea of love"
Nouvelle Vague “Bande á Part”
Peter von Poehl “Going Where The Tea Trees Are”
Post Industrial Boys “Trauma”
The Presets (Beams) “spazzzdancefagrock”
Psapp “The Only Thing I Ever Wanted”
Scissor Sisters ‘Ta Dah”
Tekel “Tekel”
Tiga “Sexor”
Tom Yorke “The Eraser”
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Compilations
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Boogy Bytes Vol. 02 Mixed By Sascha Funke
Compost Black Label Series Vol. 1
DJ Kicks mix by Henrik Schwartz
Elaste Vol. 1 - Slow Motion Disco (Compiled By DJ Mooner)
in bed with NOVA deuxième nuit
Kitsuné Maison 3
Kompakt Total 7
Late night Tales : Belle & Sebastian
Late night Tales : Nouvelle Vague
Plague Songs (4AD)
Systematic Colours - Various Artist
min2MAX-Minus
NOVAtunes 1.3 compil +
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Singles

Top 10
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Âme “Rej (Original Club Mix)”
Black Devil Disco Club “The devil in us”
Cajuan “Dance not Dance (Digitalism remix)”
CSS (Cansei de ser sexy) “Let’s make love and listen to death from above”
Derrick L. Carter, Dixon, Henrik Schwarz & Âme “Where we at version 1”
Djuma Soundsystem "Les Djinns (Trentemoller Rmx)"
Gnarls Barkley “Crazy”
Michoacan “2 bullets (disaster)”
Minilogue “Little Sisters (D-Nox & Beckers Remix)”
Peter, Bjorn & John “Young Folks (Punks Jump Up - Special Disco Mix)”
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Other Tracks:

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Ante Perry “Beach power” / Danton Eeprom "Les amants robotiques" / Hey Willpower “Phenomenon” / Hiem “Zombie party” / Hot Chip “Over And Over (Justus Kohncke's Baking Horse Club Mix)” / Jennifer Cardini & Shonky “August in Paris” / Joakim “I wish you were gone (JK dub) / Justice vs. Simian “Never Be Alone (Dj Hell`s Bavarian Gigolo Mix)” / Justin Timberlake “Sexy back” / Kate Wax "Killing your ghost" / Lily Allen “Smile” / Loco Dice “ El gallo negro (Original mix)” / Lushlife “smile” / Martin Buttrich “Full clip” / Midnight Juggernauts “shadows"/ Mike Monday “zumzum” / MSTRKRFT “ Work on you & Easy Love” /
Nick Chacona “Leo (Sasse Discotronix Remix)” / Mish Mash “Speechless (Extended Mix )” / Ooze & Ooze feat. Tishk “Random Wondrous Things” / Poni Hoax “She’s on the radio” /
Radio Slave “ My Bleep (Roman Flugel Remix)” / Rodamaal feat. Claudia Franco “Insomnia (Ame remix)” / Sasse feat Kiki “Loosing touch” / Sebastien San “Universal Language (Remix)” / Tekel “Smet” / Uffie “Hot Chick” / Yoshimoto “Do what you do” (Trentemoller Rmx)" .

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Cinema awards for every taste...

This weekend will be rich in statues & prizes for the 7th art. After the spanish Goyas (boring this year), the british BAFTA, and finaly the Berlinale awards a couple of days ago, this friday evening will see the french "Césars" awards evening in Paris (Théâtre du Châtelet). Sunday will see the curtains open up at the stage of the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, for the 79th Oscar awards.

Off Hollywood, on a different approach, there will be the Razzie Awards, parody of the Oscars, which will annouce the worst actors and films of the year... Expected as favourite, 'Basic Instinct 2' gets the big share in the categories worst film, actrice, director and screenplay... (I've seen the film, believe it or not - long story - and it's not as bad as it may seem...). But France doesn't stay behind, with the Gérard du cinéma, awarded yesterday, and the Bidets d'or to be awarded also this friday, where 'Les Bronzés 3' & 'Incontrôlables' will probably 'shine'...

Yet the palme d'or for radicalism goes straight to the scandinavian site oscartorrent.com. That site, pirating Hollywood, proposes to vote for the nominated films, and, above all, to download them! They believe that each one should have the right to see the nominated films, before making their own mind, and the site explains how to download them in all legality, despite the threats of the swedish authorities. So go running before they close the site... And if you want to try a bet/vote, you can do it in the spanish site 'blog de cine"...

As for me I will try to stay awake for the Oscars... just for the fun...

And I bet the outcome of the Oscars will be as follows:

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'Babel' for best film,
Martin Scorsese with 'The Departed' for best director,
Forest Whitaker in 'The last king of Scotland' for best actor in a leading role,
Alan Arkin in 'Little Miss Sunshine' for best actor in a supporting role,
Kate Winslet in 'Little Children', for best actress in a leading role,
Abigail Breslin in 'Little Miss sunshine' for best actress in a supporting role,
'Babel' for best original screenpaly,
'Little Children' for best adapted screenpaly (can you believe it, 'Borat' was nominated?...),

and finally, ‘El Laberinto del Fauno’ for best foreign language film...

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Cinema: Cinema catalan à Bruxelles en mars '07

El març de 2007, i per primera vegada a Brussel.les, el Casal Català organitza una Mostra de Cinema Català al cinema Vendôme.

La programació és la següent/ programmation:

01/3- 19.30 h -Tu vida en 65 minutos, de Maria Ripoll (V.O. catalana - subtítols anglès)
08/3 - 19.30 h - Dies d'agost, de Marc Recha (V.O. catalana - subtítols anglès)
11/3 - 11.00 h - El zoo d'en Pitus, de Mireia Ros (infantil) (V.O. catalana - sense subtítols)
15/3 - 19.30 h - El Triunfo, de Mireia Ros (V.O. castellana - subtítols anglès)
22/3 -19.30 h - Salvador, de Manuel Huerga (V.O. catalana - subtítols francès i neerlandès)

El drink d'obertura tindrà lloc el dia 1 de març al mateix cinema Vendôme, després de la projecció de la primera pel·lícula, amb vi i cava catalans. La festeta de clausura tindrà lloc a "Imagin'air - Art café" (Pl. Fernand Cocq, 6, 1050 Brussel·les) després del passi de Salvador, el dia 22 de març (a partir de les 22h). L'entrada és lliure i podrem degustar els productes Bio i artesanals que tenen a disposició. Tindrem una sala per nosaltres per discutir sobre la pel·lícula... amb un/a convidat/da sorpresa... Apunteu-vos-hi encara que ja hagueu vist la pel·lícula abans!

Comment le baby-boom pèsera sur les cinquante prochaines années en Europe

Comment le baby-boom pèsera sur les cinquante prochaines années en Europe
LEMONDE.FR | 20.02.07

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Airbus hindered by nationalism

Airbus en danger
LE MONDE | 20.02.07

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HAPPY NEW YEAR OF THE PIG !!!

(photo: Reuters)

View your card here!

The New chinese year of the PIG is here! The pig is one of 12 signs named after 12 different animals on the Chinese zodiac, which follows the lunar calendar. Unlike the Western zodiac of 12 signs a year, Chinese horoscopes follow a system of one animal sign per year, for a 12-year period. People born in pig years are hardworking, loyal, honest, polite and lucky, obliging, loyal, indulgent, truthful, impartial, intelligent, sincere, and culturedaccording to Chinese astrology. Fortune tellers say this is a "golden pig" year, which comes around only once every 60 years, so the Chinese welcomed the new year worldwide in particularly exuberant style with the bangs and whistles of millions of fireworks.

Want to find out more about your chinese sign? Check here!

Lifestyle: How to avoid a kitschy Valentine…

Every year, as Valentine’s day approaches, shops make up their windows with pink and kitschy decorations, magazines publish ads for romantic weekends or intimate escapes, as do websites, publicizing the most beautiful flowers, cards and other gifts to offer the beloved one(s)… with perfect ideas for the most original gift and to escape routine. And many restaurants and hotels ride on the wave and offer exquisite packages and exotic and aphrodisiac menus, enticing those who wish to celebrate Valentine’s day in a more ‘classical’ way.

This was a very popular date celebrated mostly in the US but it has spread quite fast in Europe and shops have exploited it more in recent years, seeing in it as another market possibility to expand business between Christmas and Easter.

But now, do you wish to spend the evening in a restaurant next to other supposedly romantic couples without any intimacy expressing your love to your beloved one? Or do you feel compelled to send cards and buy flowers to your husband/ wife/ lover or boy-/girlfriend just because it’s Valentine’s day? And because maybe ‘she’ expects something (I guess the ‘hes’ care less about the date…). Or do you feel frustrated and miserable if no one sends you a card or offers you flowers or invites you for a romantic evening?

Well, if you don’t give a s*** about this date, now you don’t have to commit suicide (it seems that suicide rates go up these days, as they go around new year or before the proms in the US, when silly American teenagers feel miserable and think it is unbearable to have no date…). But only if you are American… The company Alibi Network has specialised in finding alibis to suit your needs to avoid having to celebrate Valentine’s day. For an amount from 35 to over 1000 US$, Alibi develops scenarios to cheat the wife, the husband, the lover and keep you out of trouble. It seems that this year men are eager to cheat their lovers rather than their wives…
As they say, “Politicians have spin doctors, celebrities have publicists, corporations
have lawyers and public relations departments, investment banks have analysts, now regular people have Alibi network”.

So why be sad or stressed? Get an alibi or just forget the pink, get a martini and avoid the blues…

Cidadania: ASSIM 'SIM'

SIM / YES / OUI / JA / SI / NE / JOO / IGEN / DA / EVET / BAI

Finalmente o "SIM" ganhou! O resultado surpreendeu-me positivamente, pois esperava uma resultado menos contundente e claro. Com quase 60% de votos a favor do 'sim' (e apenas 40% de 'não'), e apesar de o resultado não ser vinculativo, o governo de José Sócrates tem agora um mandato inequívoco para despenalizar a lei do aborto. O "sim" obteve mesmo mais 1 milhão de votos do que no anterior referendo. E apesar da abstenção ter sido superior a 50%, o número de votantes foi superior ao anterior referendo, como indicou o jornal Público.

Os eleitores portugueses manifestaram grande maturidade democrática e feitas as contas, depois das mulheres portuguesas, Sócrates foi também um vencedor ontem, à esquerda, à direita e dentro do próprio PS. À esquerda pois inscreveu a despenalização no programa eleitoral do PS e no programa do governo e insistiu na repetição do referendo contra a vontade de outros partidos de esquerda. Tanto o BE (bloco de esquerda) como o PCP (partido comunista) teriam preferido aprovar a lei de despenalização sem referendo. Ganhou também à direita pois o 'sim' venceu largamente e foi a direita (tradicionalmente conservadora e católica) quem defendeu o 'não'. E finalmente ganhou dentro do PS pois deu pessoalmente a cara pelo 'sim' e demarcou-se claramente da atitude de Guterres em 98 e da sua época de 'nim' e de falta de tomadas de decisão claras.

Mas Portugal também ganhou, ao demonstrar que a força da ICAR (igreja católica apostólica romana) já foi… Apesar de cerca de 90% dos portugueses se considerarem católicos (segundo sondagens), demonstraram que são capazes de pensar por si próprios e de julgar causas e valores sociais independentemente das orientações e da moral católicas vigentes. Aliás houve mesmo até movimentos de católicos que se manifestarm apelo 'sim'. o ” A lei que seguirá e será submetida a votação no Parlamento com carácter de urgência vai assim despenalizar o aborto a pedido da mulher até às dez semanas, em estabelecimento legalmente autorizado. E acabar com uma injustiça e hipócrisia social de longa data.

E seria agora de esperar que, embalado por este resultado positivo e pela maturidade do eleitorado, o Governo decida começar ainda nesta legislatura com a discussão sobre outro tema mais controverso e ainda mais importante como a REGIONALIZACÃO ou mesmo sobre outros temas difíceis como o casamento de pessoas do mesmo sexo ou a eutanásia. Afinal, ao contrário do que apregoam muitos 'velhos do Restelo', a sociedade portuguesa parece ser já bastante liberal e estar preparada para esses desafios. Apenas espero que para o tema da regionalização o PS e Sócrates tenham o bom-senso de promover um acordo de estado com os principais partidos e particularmente com o PSD (sociais-democratas). Apenas com um referendo avalizado e apoiado pelos dois grandes partidos e uma divisão político-administrativa consensuada será possível fazer passar a regionalização em referendo nacional.

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[EN]

Portugal votes 'YES' to make abortion legal

Despite the low turnout (less than 50% voted), the portuguese massively voted for a change in Portugal's strict abortion laws. The result is not legally binding, due to the low turnout, but is indicative. Prime Minister Sócrates has in any case a clear indication that the majority of the people wishes the law to change and has already indicated he will soon make a proposal to the Parliament for a new bill. He said: "Abortion will be legal in this county within the first 10 weeks of pregnancy, if it is requested by the woman and carried out in a registered clinic." Indeed this result is unequivocal and the parliament will now legislate according to the will of the Portuguese people.

Other than the Portuguese women, Prime Minister José Sócrates was also a winner yesterday. It was an important result for him and the Socialists as he promised a vote on the abortion issue as part of the 2005 election campaign following the failure of the previous poll (referendum) in 1998. Yesterday some 59% voted for a change in the law and 41% voted no. But Portugal also won, by demonstrating that the catholic church is not as powerful as it was some 20 years ago. Although some 90% of the Portuguese people consider themselves to be catholic (according to surveys), they showed that they are capable of thinking independently of the orientation and moral values proned by the church.

The new law to be approved by the Parliament will put an end to the injustice and hypocrisy in Portugal. And who knows if the Socialist party, boosted by the maturity shown by the Portuguese people, will not wish to go ahead, in Parliament, with the discussion of other controversial issues such as same sex marriage or euthanasia… After all, the Portuguese seem to be more liberal than some make pretend.

Citizenship: Portugal split on abortion decision

(abortion laws in Europe)

Polls in Portugal show that majority of voters favour changing law on terminations despite protests by Catholic church.

From the BBC news:

"High above the Tagus River overlooking Lisbon's majestic suspension bridge stands a statue of Christ, arms outstretched, looking down on the country's traditionally reverential citizens.
The image is a powerful symbol of the close relationship between the Catholic Church and the Portuguese people, but as the current debate over whether to legalise abortion is demonstrating, that bond is showing signs of strain. Opinion polls are currently suggesting that a majority of people will vote on Sunday to allow a woman to have an abortion within the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. The change is being pushed by the socialist government and by liberal activists.Almirinda Bento, from the Umar women's rights group, says it is "unacceptable" that Portugal does not allow abortion. "The state has to have a law that allows women to solve a problem that is in essence an issue of public health. The state should not leave women in such a state of fragility," she says. Just because abortion is illegal here - except in cases of rape or where the woman or child's health is in danger - does not mean that thousands of women don't terminate their pregnancies each year. (…)
Though abortion is either banned or severely restricted in Ireland, Poland and Malta, only in Portugal can women like Carolina be sent to prison - for up to three years - for having an abortion. But regardless of the referendum result, abortion may be coming to Portugal anyway. Yolanda Hernandes who runs the Clinica dos Arcos in Badajoz says she has found a weakness in the existing Portuguese law that will allow her to open a clinic in Lisbon in March. "Those who do not want to have an abortion, do not have to. But those who do must have the best conditions possible. We must create the means," says Ms Hernandes."

read further on abortion in Europe.

Citizenship: Italian government finally votes for Gay Civil Unions bill

"Italy is today a more fair country", has announced Piero Fassino, leader of the party Ds, of the government coalition. The Italian Council of Ministers approved on 8 February a project of bill for civil unions, including those of same-sex couples, judged by Minister Giuliano Amato to be better than the French PACs. The text approved yesterday is a proposal and will be subject to modifications by the Parliament (lower House and Senate). It will only be effective after approval by the Parliament and after being published in the Official journal in Italy. "The bill recognizes the persons who live in co-habitation, either homosexuals or heterosexuals, the essential rights in order to make their life more solid and stable", indicated Ds party leader, Piero Fassino. At the same time, "this is a balanced and reasonable bill, that does not go against the rights and prerogatives of the family based in marriage", he added. The law will be called DICO (Diritti e doveri delle persone stabilmente conviventi = rights and duties of cohabiting persons). The Vatican (as usual) has campaigned against the legislation, claiming that homosexuals would seek to marry if a model resembling a marriage would be introduced. They pretend that marriage is only between a man and a woman. Therefore, to pacify catholic opposition, lawmakers followed the (limited) model in force in France since 1999 – the PACs, which provides co-habiting couples irrespective of sexual orientation the possibility to leave inheritances and life insurance to partners and also allows to share tax and health benefits.

Some gay activists however, like Vladimir Luxuria (communists) or Franco Grillinidice from Ds party, claim that the law is too limited and does not go far enough. It does not require a joint declaration of both partners and requires too many years of living together to access the rights. All in all, it is recognised that lawmakers could have done better but this is a first step ahead in a (too) conservative and catholic Italy.

Prime Minister Romano Prodi had promised to introduce the legislation in his programme before the last elections. The approved draft law will now be presented to the parliament. Italy was one of the only three countries among the 13 that share the euro, along with Ireland and Greece, not to have any form of legal framework for same-sex couples.

Read more in the newspaper La Repubblica.
Read the text of the draft bill.

Cinema: David Lynch is back...

Six years after Mulholland drive, David Lynch is back with "Inland Empire", an hallucinating film about cinema, acting, space and time and inner liberation, going further than ever before and filming longer (nearly three hours). And back with him is Laura Dern, as producer and with an extraordinary piece of acting. It is Lynch's first movie shot with a consumer digicam (the Sony PD-150).

David Lynch’s films are usually not transparent and it’s not easy to reach a conclusive explanation of any of his films. And each time we see a film we may get to different conclusions. I had to see Mulholland drive three times to get some clue... But this time, even by his usual standards, Lynch goes a bit (too?) far… He is supposed to film the remake of a polish film, one which was never released because the two main actors were killed (adultery?), but nearly from the outset we get lost and do not know which parts belong to the remake or to the original or which parts are dream or “reality”, nightmare or pure fantasy, which relate to the unconscious or the subconscious, and where it all takes places in space… and time. Lynch takes no account of the laws of space and time, of cause and effect, action and reaction, real and surreal… The best here is to abandon all logic and let yourself go and be surprised by the crazy intertwined line of action, but don’t even try to fix the puzzle. Anyway, why would we need to understand? We should just let Lynch drive our feeling through this ‘rollercoaster’ of emotions. In the end, Lynch is a painter (which he already was before he started filming, and he also practises transcendental meditation) and the screen is his canvas where he shapes emotions, fantasies, abstract ideas, painting here a claustrophobic, hallucinatory, tiring, obsessive, terrifying, spooky, weird but in the end liberating atmosphere.

In this film he revisits the bewitched Hollywood boulevard, as no other local film director has done recently, yet he is totally atypical there. I wouldn’t call Lynch an elitist, as Peter Travers wrote in the Rolling stone, “ See him for what he is: an artist following his own maverick instincts and inviting us to jump with him into the wild blue.”

Yet, this travel gets heavy after a while and one could get tired of trying to fit the puzzle and follow Laura Dern's pace… the story goes on for too long (nearly three hours) and it all gets a bit repetitive (I know it’s on purpose and part of the plot) but it proves burdensome after a while. A film must be able to surprise, to provoque but it also should be a pleasure to watch, it should be entertaining not boring, so when it gets to a certain stage it is not really achieving it. And one has to struggle to keep following the ‘plot’ and avoid disconnecting.

There are however great moments of cinema, like the ‘human rabbits’ scenes – anthological - (voiced by Naomi Watts, Laura Harring and Scott Coffey), the hookers who sing "The Loco-Motion" song and the changes of scenes from L.A. to Poland to somewhere we don’t know. I must say I had a bit difficulty following and it became too much and too long after a while. I still prefer Mulholland drive, Lost Highway or Blue Velvet. Yet I recognise this is another piece of Lynch’s art, maybe his most ambitious to date, so don’t miss it.

And one shouldn't forget the soundtrack, which works as a sound painting perfectly fitting the images. This time without Angelo Bardalamenti or Julee Cruise, but with songs written and composed by Lynch himself or with Christa Bell, interpreted by The Mantovani Orchestra, the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, The Dave Brubeck Quartet and Lynch himself, among others.

As Manohla Dargis wrote in the New York Times, “In “Inland Empire,” the classic hero’s journey has been supplanted by a series of jarringly discordant scenes, situations and setups that reflect one another much like the repeating images in the splintered hall of mirrors at the end of Orson Welles’s “Lady From Shanghai.” The spaces in “Inland Empire” function as way stations, holding pens, states of minds (Nikki’s, Susan’s, Mr. Lynch’s), sites of revelation and negotiation, of violence and intimacy. They are cinematic spaces in which images flower and fester, and stories are born.”

Cinema: Fantasporto

The Fantasporto 2007 film festival will be hold between the 19th February and the 4th March in Oporto, Portugal, mostly at the Rivoli Theatre (check website). The Sá da Bandeira Theatre will be the perfect setting for the Vampires’s Ball, in the closing night…

Founded 27 years ago by a group of film fans and critics, Fantasporto is the best and best-known international film festival in Portugal. It started as a haven for sci-fi and fantasy films, genres which were not so well-seen then, but after a huge success in the first two years, the festival broadened its horizons with thrillers and seven years later with a New Directors competition. Nevertheless, fantasy is still its trade mark, especially with the Portuguese press. As is indicated in the site, “the basic idea behind the Oporto Film Festival is to promote films that seek new forms and methods of film making.”

The films on display come mostly from majors such as Warner, Columbia, UIP or Fox, producers as Miramax, New Line or Summit and from other companies all over the world. The festival is and has been a fertile ground for the discovery of new cinematographies, for "sneak previews" or for launching "difficult" films like "Bullworth" or "Scream 3" (European premières). Fantasporto ‘discovered’ David Cronenberg’s "Shivers" and Brian de Palma’s "Carrie" in 1981, David Lynch’s "Eraserhead" in 1982, Ridley Scott’s "Blade Runner" in 1983, Joel & Ethan Cohen’s "Blood Simple" in 1986, Quentin Tarantino’s "Reservoir Dogs" in 1993 and Alejandro. G. Iñaturri’s "Amores Perros" in 2001, among many others.

This year’s fantasy official and competitive section includes, EL LABERINTO DEL FAUNO by Guillermo del Toro (Mex – Spain – USA), HISTORIAS DEL DESENCANTO by Alejandro Valle (Mex), ISOLATION by Billy O’Brien (UK – Ire), JADE WARRIOR by Antti-Jussi Annila (Fin – Neth – Est – Chi), LA HORA FRIA by Elio Quiroga (Spain), PAPRIKA by Satoshi Kon (Jap), RE-CYCLE by Danny & Oxide Pang (Thai – Hong Kong – Chi), SEVERANCE by Christopher Smith (UK), SILENT HILL by Christophe Gans (Can – Jap – USA – Fra), SLITHER by James Gunn (Can – USA), TAXIDERMIA by Gyorgy Pálfi (Hun – Aus – Fra) (technically brilliant!), THE BEAUTIFUL BEAST by Karim Hussain (Can), THE HORROR BUS by Pieter Kuipjers (Neth), THE HOST by Bong Joon-Ho (South Kor), THE LIVING AND THE DEAD by Simon Rumley (UK), THE PROMISE by Chen Kaigé (Chi – HK – Jap – South Kor) and THE WOODS by Lucky McKee (USA).

Cinema: Sarah Polley and Sundance

The Sundance film festival has just closed its 2007 edition and the jury has delivered its prize list. This year the jury included, among others, Catherine Hardwicke (revealed in this festival four years ago for her film ‘Thirteen’) and actress Sarah Polley ('My life without me' and 'The secret life of words').

The Grand Jury Prize for dramatic film went to "Padre Nuestro" by writer and director Christopher Zalla. Zalla's debut film is a dark thriller, the story of a Mexican youth (Jorge Adrian Espindola) who sneaks into the United States in search of his father (Jesus Ochoa) who he had never met, to have his identity ‘stolen’ by another illegal immigrant (Armando Hernandez), who he meets along the way. "Padre Nuestro" follows last year's "Quinceanera" as the second-straight Mexican-immigrant film to win the dramatic prize at Sundance.

The Audience Award for dramatic film however, went to "Grace Is Gone” directed by James C. Strouse, with actor John Cusack. It is a story of a man (disguised Cusack) who drives his daughters to a Florida theme park instead of telling them their mother has been killed serving in Iraq. Promising… The Documentary prize was given to Manda Bala (send a bullet), directed by Jason Kohn, about corruption in Brazil, known as one of the world's most corrupt and violent countries. The World Cinema Jury Prize (Dramatic) was awarded to Sweet Mud from Israel’s director Dror Shaul. The Directing Award (Dramatic) was presented to Jeffrey Blitz, director of Rocket Science.

The Sundance Film Festival is the most important showcase for U.S. and independent films (and international, to a certain extent). It is held each January in Park City, Sundance Resort, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, state of Utah. This film festival has introduced north-american audiences to some of the most innovative films of the past two decades.

Travel: Lisbon Revisited...

Lisbon revisted

"Outra vez te revejo - Lisboa e Tejo e tudo -

Transeunte inútil de ti e de mim,

Estrangeiro aqui como em toda a parte

Casual na vida como na alma,

Fantasma a errar em salas de recordações

Ao ruído dos ratos e das tábuas que rangem

No castelo maldito de ter que viver..."

Álvaro de Campos (Heteronym of Fernando Pessoa),
Lisbon revisited, 1926

Travel: 2006 was a safe year for civil aviation

According to IATA's (International air transport association) director general Giovanni Bisignani, 2006 was the safest year for civil aviation. At a press conference in Morocco at Royal Air Morocco's headquarters, he underlined that "sixty years ago, we transported 9 million passengers and we recorded 800 deaths each year. We had the same number of deaths in 2006 yet we transported 2.2 billion travellers ". There has also been a reduction of 50% in the rate of accidents in 2006 compared to 1996 (21 accidents in 2006). According to him, the "rate of loss of planes per million flights" was reduced to 0.65 from 1.32 in 1996". The objective is to bring the rate down to 0.49 by the end of 2008."

Now the important task will be to improve energy efficiency and reduce gas emmissions or discover new energy sources that are less polluting and which produce less CO2... not an easy task, I would say.

Cinema: Bobby

Emilio Estevez comes back with an interesting film - Bobby - where he proves he has some directing skills. This half-documentary, half-fiction film shows the events up to and during the moment when democrat Senator Robert Kennedy was murdered on 5 June, 1968, at the Hotel Ambassador in California. The film is not a masterpiece but it's quite interesting. Estevez aimed to paint those years - the sixties - showing many different situations around different characters who directly or indirectly took part in the tragedy, some fictional others more real. In the beginning all the little different stories and the many characters seem a bit too complicated but Estevez is able to paint the atmosphere that might have been felt back then. The cast is a luxury one, with many well-known actors like Sharon Stone, Demi Moore (and beloved Ashton Kutcher), Martin Sheen, Anthony Hopkins, Harry Belafonte, Helen Hunt, William Macy and Estevez himself, among others, who contribute to the success of the film.

The film's importance lies more in its political aim, in showing a parallel between the situation in the USA today and the situation back in '68, of which it is nostalgic. Basically it shows how a political dream died when Bobby was killed, a dream of peace and a will to change the political situation in the USA. The difference with present day America is that there is no Kennedy to keep that dream alive today, and there is no idealism left these days anymore in the world. Some may find it too simplistic and too sugary but we need this type of films to remind us that things have been different and things can be different and that there's hope, despite all...

***/5

Cinema: Little Children

‘Little Children’ is Todd Field’s follow-up to his debut film ‘In The Bedroom’, a literary adaptation of a best-selling 2004 novel by Tom Perrotta, who also collaborated on the screenplay. It features great performances by Kate Winslet, the photogenic Patrick Wilson (from Hardcandy) Jackie Earle Haley, Phyllis Somerville, Jennifer Connelly and others.

Perrotta and Field were apparently able to preserve the novel’s tone, which seems to fluctuate between slightly satirical, ironical and generous sympathy (would be interesting to read the book now after having seen the film). “Little Children” is a sharp, intelligent and somehow cynical view of American suburban life. Most of the characters are weak or flawed or screwed up, yet quite realistically portrayed. As David Denby has written in The NewYorker, “Field has grown in ambition, but he still works on an intimate scale. He surrounds his characters with an intense stillness, and then slowly introduces the ungovernable into their lives.” Maybe that's why the portuguese title is... "Pecados íntimos" (intimate sins).

But is 'Little Children', “at its heart, a story about the way we judge others, the way others judge us, and the way we judge ourselves”, as Kim Voynar wrote in her review, or is it “more than a moral fable about the traps we set for ourselves by not growing up. Field performs a high-wire act that balances hard truth and hard-won tenderness” as Peter Travers wrote in The Rolling stone? Or does the movie take itself too seriously, and as Jeff Vyce claims “Filmmaker Todd Field seems to have completely missed the point of his source material, Tom Perrotta's tale of suburban angst, longing and temptation, which is at least slightly a parody. Field's adaptation is dour to the point of being completely humorless.” ? Is this finally a film about being afraid and refusing to grow up and not being able to face our choices in life, not wanting to take decisions?

As Kate Winslet says in the film, "it is the hunger for an alternative and the refusal to accept a life of unhappiness".

'Little children' is probably all this yet much more… Perrotta and Field may even have created a metaphor of life under terrorism, where Ronnie (the excellent Jackie Earle Haley, nominated for best supporting role in the Oscars), a convicted sex offender freshly out of prison, has the 'role' of the “terrorist”.

All in all this is a challenging, unsettling film, which is likely to remain in our heads for a while. There is a bit of everything, from perversion to pedophilia to ordinary unhappiness, sexual indifference, boredom, adultery, nearly explicit sex and direct explicit language, internet porn obsession, semi-psychotic behaviour. Almost everyone has a flaw and some sort of secret, except the children maybe. But it’s the adults who behave like children instead...

The actors are magnificently directed by Field, the film sets off in a crescendo. It is probably more interesting to watch the beginning with tension rising, when the main characters contemplate adultery, rather than when they dive into it. And at the end the film loses some force and gets a bit lost, when it focuses more in the character of Ronald (the 'pervert') and his fate, in particular when his ‘enemy’ gets pitiful about his loss of his mother… yet the film always remains somehow unconventional, 'serious' and 'fresh', not a classical way of filming , detached enough from the story it is telling and its characters (helped by a narrator voice), and even music is not used to bring out the easy teardrops… certainly one of the most interesting films I've seen recently, even if it has its flaws.

It reminds a bit of ‘American Beauty’ (yet less witty), less malicious as Todd Solondz’s ‘Happiness’ nor as weird as Miranda July’s ‘Me and you and everyone we know’. And maybe Kate Winslet gets her (well deserved) Oscar.

****/5

Cinema: Berlinale

The Berlin film festival (Berlinale) features a juried international competition, a film market and a very large number of screenings arranged under various categories and is one of the most important film festivals in Europe and the world. The festival also hosts an annual competition of "shooting stars" - 18 filmmakers who have made their names in their respective countries - as well as the increasingly popular Forum of Young Cinema and the children's film festival. The festival was founded in 1951 on an American-led Cold War initiative and has become a leading film event. Well-known world-class filmmakers like Ingmar Bergman, Satyajit Ray, Michelangelo Antonioni, Roman Polanski and Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut and Claude Chabrol (the French Nouvelle Vague) all have enjoyed triumphs in Berlin.

The official programme at this year's festival includes the awaited "Angel" by French director François Ozon, "Bordertown," by Gregory Nava, "El Otro" ("The Other"), by Ariel Rotter, "Goodbye Bafana" by Bille August, "The Good German" by Stephen Soderbergh, "The Good Shepherd" by Robert De Niro and "Les Temoins" ("The Witnesses"), by Andre Techine. Out of competition will be "300" by Zack Snyder, "Letters From Iwo Jima" by Clint Eastwood and "The Walker" by Paul Schrader.

The Berlinale also organizes a Talent Campus. This year's campus will focus on issues such as filmmakers finding their own path through the globalised film industry, and it will discuss more intensive support for young talents, engagement for diversity in international film and the cinema as a place for political discourse, says Dorothee Wenner who is responsible for the Campus 2007. Not so far away... yet no time to go...

Cinema: Festival de Cine de Mexico DF

Later in February, Mexico City will stage its Mexico City International Contemporary Film Festival - FICCO (Festival Internacional de Cine Contemporáneo de la Ciudad de México) , between 21 February and 4 March. This festival was launched in February 2004 and has become the most important cinematographic event of the country. It is committed to promoting the best world cinematography and to offering an alternative outlook on present day cinema. "FICCO is an outstanding venue that celebrates creators and spectators, adding itself to the big international festivals, leaving proof that cinematographic art is still alive." It includes the Fiction international competition, with movies from directors from all over the world (that haven´t shot more than three full length films). The Tendencies section will display movies by directors who have opened new paths for the films of the future.

The film that will kick off this edition of FICCO will be "Little Children" by Todd Field, with the excellent Kate Winslet, also featuring Patrick Wilson and Jennifer Connelly. The film was recently nominated for three Oscar prizes in the categories of Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Adapted Script. This year 16 films will be participating in the fiction section such as "The Namesake", by Mira Nair, David Lynch's "Inland Empire" with Laura Dern (which will come out in Brussels on 7/02, "Flandres" by Bruno Dumont, "Shortbus" by John Cameron Mitchel (not to be missed!) and the documentary "When the levees broke – a requiemin tour acts" by Spike Lee. Pitty DF is so far away...

Cidadania: aborto - sou do sim mas não do não...

Primeiro, veja o video excelente dos fedorentos...

Parece que cerca de nove mil pessoas se manifestaram em Lisboa no último fim de semana em favor do "não" à despenalização do aborto. Participaram na marcha também dirigentes dos partidos PSD (sem posição oficial) e CDS (oficialmente contra), entre os quais Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, ex-líder do PSD. Segundo o jornal Público, Marcelo teria participado na condição de “observador”, como terá explicado, "porque sou do "não", mas não deste não".

Fico bastante satisfeito por saber que causas sociais tão nobres conseguem mobilizar tanta gente em Portugal a manifestar-se, e que tantos cidadãos se tenham empenhado em lutar e manifestar pelos seus valores. Como também é de louvar todos os muitos “movimentos de cidadãos” que se formaram pelo “não”, como um grupo de jovenzinhos (bem queques diga-se de passagem, desses que frequentam colégios privados “bem”) que vi na televisão. Até parece que neste momento é chique, de bom tom, ser-se a favor do “não”. Mas o espírito de cidadania é bom.
Lamento no entanto que tanto fervor de cidadania e de luta por valores nobres não se manifeste em outras ocasiões, quando toca a manifestar-se ou a defender os direitos cívicos ou sociais de certas minorias, ou em favor de outras causas. Certamente desfilar numa “gay pride” em favor do direito à diferença ou numa manifestação pelos direitos dos emigrantes é menos “bem” do que manifestar contra o aborto. Ou quando deveriam ter-se manifestado contra a invasão dos EUA no Iraque e contra a desastrosa política de George W. Bush no Médio Oriente (ou em qualquer lado diga-se de passagem).

Mas Portugal continua a ser um país de "brandos costumes", de “gente bem”… de moral dupla, um país de hipocrisias. E quem sabe se no próximo dia 11 de Fevereiro não irão ainda uma vez mais comprovar o conservadorismo empedernido e votar contra a despenalização do aborto (como já votaram contra a regionalização)... e voltar a ser a chacota da Europa…

Music: Mexico soundtrack

Forget Mariachis, boleros and all the music clichés about Mexico... Actually the only place I listened to Mariachis while I was in Mexico was in Playa del Carmen and of course, they were playing for tourists… but don't misundertsand me, Maricachis can be cool and quite romantic, at the right moment and mood, of course. However, unless you’ll be going for a marriage or some special party or local festivities, you’re not so likely to come across it.

The contemporary pop and electronic music scene is quite alive and creative in Mexico and is not limited to the well known Murcof, Titan and Nortec Collective (those of Tijuana sessions). Maybe it's the divine support of Macuilxochitl's kiva, Aztec god of music and dance... The soundtrack of my Mexico trip includes groups/singers like Belanova, Moenia, Zoé (ver video aqui), Plastilina Mosh, Sussie4, Fey, La siguiente Pagina, Niño Astronauta, Los Dug Dug’s (el excelente “Brillo de sol”), Los super elegantes y por supuesto mis favoritos Maria Daniela y su sonido Laser! (ver aqui el video de “miedo”). But of course, it also includes the spanish cult-stars Fangoria or the argentinian Miranda or even the mexican singers Gloria Trevi and Paulina Rubio and Pasteles Verdes (a more pop side…) and the soundtrack from the movie Silent Hill.

All contributed to the perfect and unforgettable musical background to the images and urban trips in particular in Mexico D.F. around the “colonias” Condesa, Roma, Centro, Polanco, up and down Reforma, Chapultepec, Insurgentes, Coyacan, Santa Fé, etc. And of course muchisimas gracias a Hector for making me discover most of it.

Listen to some Mexican music with Tunefeed, here on the right column >>>

Against nature?

Last October 12, 2006 The Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, opened the first-ever museum exhibition dedicated to gay animals. Nowadays it is widely known that homosexuality is a common and widespread phenomenon in the animal world. Not only short-lived sexual relationships, but sometimes even long-lasting partnerships; partnerships that may last a lifetime (even longer than with us humans…).

It’s not always easy to know that an animal is homosexual. But the exhibit puts on display models, photos, texts and specimens testifying the fascinating observation of homosexuality among more than 1500 species, from tiny insects to enormous spermwhales. “Sadly, most museums have no traditions for airing difficult, concealed, and possibly controversial questions. Homosexuality is certainly such a question. We feel confident that a greater understanding of how extensive and common this behaviour is among animals, will help to de-mystify homosexuality among people. - At least, we hope to reject the all too well known argument that homosexual behaviour is a crime against nature”.

At the same time, the newspaper New York Times reported on a polemic around a research programme by Dr Charles Roselli, a researcher at the Oregon Health and Science University in the USA, set out to discover what makes some sheep gay. Dr Roselli has searched for the past five years for “physiological” factors that might explain why about 8 percent of male sheep seek sex exclusively with other males instead of females. The goal, according to him, would be to understand the “fundamental mechanisms” (whatever that might mean…) of sexual orientation in sheep. But then the media and the blogosphere got hold of the story and the polemic started. Last Autumn, the organisation People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals started a campaign against this research, and it has since then drawn outrage from animal rights activists, in particular tennis player Martina Navratilova, gay movement activists and ordinary citizens around the world. According to Dr. Roselli, those critics would be based on a misinterpretation of the objectives of his research.

Not quite so, I would argue… firstly, if he reaches some conclusive results, researchers could some day build on his findings to seek ways to determine which sheep are likeliest to breed. Then if any mechanisms underlying sexual orientation are to be discovered and can be manipulated, then the argument that sexual orientation is based in biology and is immutable would not be valid anymore. From there it isn’t difficult to imagine parents eventually willing to choose not to have children who could become gay. And that is a real concern for the future. As the NYT writes, since research and science are hard to stop, it would be more positive to try to change public perception of homosexuality as something wrong or “against nature’.

Cinema: the BEST of 2006

Here is the list (in alphabetical order) of the best films I saw in 2006. I have not chosen ‘one' best, it’s already difficult to select these among so many interesting ones. Curious, when I compared the films I saw with those of the Box office in France and the USA for 2006. Out of the top 30 films in France, I only saw 5 films and only three out of the top US 30… That makes me happy…

Best of 2006

Babel, Alejandro González Iñárritu, USA/MEX
Brokeback Mountain, Ang Lee, USA
Children of Men, Alfonso Cuarón, UK/USA
Good Night and Good Luck, George Clooney, USA
Jarhead, Sam Mendes, USA
El Laberinto del Fauno, Guillermo del Toro, MEX/ ES/ USA
Little Miss Sunshine, Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris, USA
Marie Antoinette, Sofia Coppola, USA
Me and you and everyone we know, Miranda July, USA
Odete, João Pedro Rodrigues, Portugal
Renaissance, Christian Volckman, France (animated film)
Sangre, Amat Escalante, México
La science des rêves (the science of dreams), Michel Gondry, France
Shooting dogs, Michael Caton-Jones, UK/Germany
Shortbus, John Cameron Mitchel, USA
The Squid and the whale, Noah Baumbach, USA
V for Vendetta, James McTeigue, UK/ USA/ Germany

Other films worth mentioning:

Adam’s Apples, Anders Thomas Jensen, DK
An inconvenient truth, Davis Guggenheim, USA
The Black Dahlia, Bran de Palma, USA
Bubble, Steven Soderbergh, USA
Chromophobia, Martha Fiennes, UK/ France/ USA
Le clan, Gaël Morel, france
A Costa dos Murmúrios, Margarida Cardoso, Portugal
C.R.A.Z.Y., Jean-Marc Vallée, Canada
Ça rend heureux, Joachim Lafosse, Belgium
Elementarteilchen (Les particules élémentaires), Oskar Roehler, Germany
Los fantasmas de Goya, Milos Forman, España
L’immeuble Yacoubian, Marwan Ahmed, Egypt
Inside Men, Spike Lee, USA
Match Point, Woody Allen, UK/ USA/ Lux
Munich, Steven Spielberg, USA
Paris je t’aime, various, France
Prête moi ta main, Eric Lartigan, France
The road to Guantanamo, Michael Winterbottom & Mat Whitecross, UK
Romance and Cigarettes, John Turturo, USA
Romanzo Criminale, Michele Placido, Italia
Quinceañera (Echo Park L.A.), Richard Glatzer & Wash Westmoreland, USA
Syrianna, Stephen Gaghan, USA
Thank you for smoking, Jason Reitman, USA
Transamerica, Duncan Tucker, USA
13 Tzameti, Gela Babluani, France/ Georgia
Truman Capote, Bennett Miller, USA
Tsotsi, Gavin Hood, South Africa
20 Centímetros, Ramón Salazar, España
Vers le sud, Laurant Cantet, France/ Canada
Volver, Pedro Almodovar, ES
Le voyage en Arménie, Robert Guédiguian, France
Where the truth lies, Atom Egoyan, Canada/ UK

The biggest deceptions of 2006

Borat, Larry Charles, Sacha Baron Cohen, USA
Dans Paris, Christophe Honoré, France
Memoirs of a Geisha, Rob Marshal, USA

Still to be seen…

Bamako, Abderrahmane Sissako, Mali, USA, France / Lady Chatterly, Pascale Ferran, France / Silent Hill, Christophe Gans / Something Like Happiness, Bodhan Slama, Czech Republic and Germany / A scanner Darlky, Richard Linklater, USA / Water, Deepa Mehta, Canada and India / L’homme de sa vie, Zabou Breitman, France / Elsa y Fred, Marcos Carnevale, Argentina and España / Oublier Cheyenne, Valérie Minetto, France / Brick, Rian Johnson, USA, The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael, Thomas Clay, UK / Moartea domnului Lazarescu (The death of Mister Lazarescu), Cristi Puiu, Romania / The departed, Martin Scorcese, USA / Montag, Ulrich Köhler, Germany / Laitakaupungin valot (Les Lumières du Faubourg), Aki Kaurismäki, Finland, Germany, France.

Some final notes

2006 confirmed the strength and creativity of of north-american independent films, like Little Miss Sunshine, Me and you and everyone we know, The Whale and the squid, Shortbus, among others. It also confirmed the freshness and force of Mexican cinema and directors such as Alejandro González Iñárritu, Guillermo del Toro and Alfonso Cuarón (see previous post). It was also the year of confirmation and of the spotlight for two of my favourite actresses, Natalie Portman and Scarlet Johansson. They don’t stop and it will be difficult to catch up with all the films they’re doing… In particular Natalie has come from more independent production to mainstream cinema. As for the guys, the year of Clive Owen, of course, and let’s not forget three other excellent actors, quite present, Zach Braff (pitty we don’t get to see many of his films here…), Gael Gracia Bernal, excellent in Babel and The science of dreams, and finally Greg Kinnear.