2020: World rocked by COVID-19, Trump and Black Lives Matter
The COVID-19 pandemic cast a long pall over 2020 but it also saw President Donald Trump beaten by Joe Biden in a tumultuous US election and the Black Lives Matter movement shake the world......»»
‘Anak Datu’ opens a rush of truth from ripples of trauma
A year after it premiered, Anak Datu is returning to the stage, opening the 37th season of Tanghalang Pilipino, the resident theater company of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. When it debuted, it immediately became a landmark production in several ways. It was one of the first plays to be mounted with a live audience after the lockdowns and restrictions of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and 2021. And it was the first play to be staged at the newly opened CCP Black Box Theater or Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez. Anak Datu is one of the few plays on the Tausug and Moro people and cultures of Mindanao, portrayed with marked sensitivity and apparent diligence. It was lauded by critics and audiences, with former Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo as one of the prominent people who trooped to CCP to watch the play on 1 October 2022. The play went on to win six awards at the 13th Gawad Buhay and five at the 35th Aliw Awards. [caption id="attachment_192618" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] the tausug pangalay dance is incorporated into the play.[/caption] Fine-tuned production Despite the accolades and being one of the most important theatrical events in 2022, the play was faulted by some for what was seen as its confusing storytelling, its shifts in timeline and milieus, and the cumbersome sets. The second staging afforded the creative team the opportunity to fine-tune these and other aspects of the production. According to director Chris Millado, former CCP vice president and artistic director, they were able to make the storytelling clearer and supply an elevated platform to make the designs of the light projections more visible. For Dennis N. Marasigan, current CCP vice president and artistic director, “[o]n its rerun, Tanghalang Pilipino's Anak Datu is tighter, its storytelling and technical aspects clearer and crisper, and its staging even more affecting, effectively overlaying story, myth and history.” The restaging marks another milestone in the journey of the play, which started in 2018 from talks that artist Toym Imao, son of the late National Artist for visual arts Abdulmari Asia Imao, had with Millado and veteran actor and TP artistic director Fernando “Nanding” Josef about making a stage adaptation of the elder Imao’s short story for children, written in 1968, the year Toym was born. The team recruited award-winning playwright Rody Vera to write the script. The plan became more concrete when Josef decided to make the project TP’s first original play after the pandemic lockdowns. By then, the play has evolved into something larger than the original story. Serving as Anak Datu’s set designer, Imao recalled the anxieties they felt during the first stages of production, especially the prospect of one of them getting sick and shutting down the show. “But we were able to tell an essential story that was important, especially for a nation that was coming out of the devastating election of May 2022 for a lot of people. It is something important for us na nakapagkuwento kami (we were able to tell a story),” he said. [caption id="attachment_192619" align="aligncenter" width="525"] Ramli Abdurahim as the pirate Jikiran.[/caption] Three stories Anak Datu tells three stories — Toym’s childhood with his father (Paul Jake Paule) and mother, Grace de Leon (Toni Go-Yadao); his father’s short story; and the recent history of his father’s people, the Muslim Tausug in Sulu Archipelago and the Moro, the collective Muslim ethnic groups, of Mindanao. The Imao family portion shows Toymie (Carlos Dala) growing up with Voltes V and other preoccupations of middle-class children in Metro Manila. Then there is the story of the disputed 1968 Jabidah Massacre, told through Jibin Arula (Gie Onida), the lone survivor — how young Tausug men, mostly illiterate, were recruited by the military, transferred to Corregidor and then massacred upon the discovery of a suspicious plot. Also dramatized is the 1974 Palimbang Massacre, in which the military allegedly murdered more a thousand Moro men inside the Malisbong masjid in the province of Sultan Kudarat, while 3,000 women and children were detained and about 300 homes were burned down. These incidents were said to have sparked the conflicts and armed struggle in Mindanao that would scar the region for decades. Along with the contemporary scenes is the retelling of the short story Anak Datu, set in a pre-colonial time and rendered in mythical mode, combining both the familial and the tragic. The Tausug village of datu Karim (Hassanain Magarang) and his wife Putli Loling (Tex Ordoñez-De Leon and Lhorvie Nuevo) is attacked by pirates, led by Jikiran (Ramli Abdurahim), who kidnaps the pregnant Putli Loling. She gives birth to Karim, who grows up knowing Jikiran as his father but later learns the truth. [caption id="attachment_192620" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] Artist Toym Imao taking a picture with the cast and creative team.[/caption] Graceful movements All throughout, the play shifts among these threads of stories, each one compelling and multi-layered. Counterbalancing the oral storytelling is the dramatization through graceful movements, choregraphed by Magarang using the pangalay or Tausug traditional dance, a shared art form with the Yakan (pamansak) and Sama (igal) peoples, thus rendering the stories more visual and adding allure and distinctive cultural flavor to the play. The dances are accompanied by a live kulintangan or gong ensemble. The stark interiors of the theater come alive and burst with colors courtesy of the lighting by Katsch Catoy and projection design of GA Fallarme, who uses Abdulmari Imao’s paintings and traditional Tausug and Meranaw motifs such as the okir as inspirations. Toym’s set pieces are highly movable to keep up with the constant shifts in storytelling, and the bigger ones are like art installations, contributing to the visual richness of the production. Harnessing memory, myth and history, Anak Datu is able to weave its stories into an enthralling whole, establishing interconnectedness and consolidating the story of a person, a family and a community into the very story of a nation, like three or more streams converging into a great river. Tanghalang Pilipino’s Anak Datu runs 29 September to 15 October at Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez (CCP Black Box Theater). The post ‘Anak Datu’ opens a rush of truth from ripples of trauma appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Two dead in Bangkok mall shooting, 14-year-old boy arrested
A 14-year-old boy was arrested Tuesday after a shooting at a packed Bangkok mall that left two people dead and five wounded, and sent hundreds of panicked shoppers running in terror into the streets. Witnesses told AFP of chaotic scenes as shots rang out at the upmarket Siam Paragon mall in the heart of the Thai capital around 4:30 pm (0930 GMT). The shooting comes just days before the first anniversary of the deadliest massacre in modern Thai history, when an ex-policeman armed with a gun and knife attacked a nursery in the country's north, murdering 24 children and 12 adults. National Police Chief Torsak Sukwimol told reporters that two women -- one Chinese, one from Myanmar -- were killed in the mall shooting, and five other people wounded. He said the 14-year-old suspect was in custody but was too confused to undergo questioning. "He is a mental patient at Rajavithi hospital and he has not been taking his medication," Torsak said. "He said it felt like someone told him to 'go shoot people'. It's like there's another him. This is what we got from the initial talk with him." Video footage showed a long-haired boy wearing a black shirt, glasses and a cap with a US flag motif being taken into custody by police. Yuthana Srettanan, director of the Erawan Emergency Centre, told reporters that all but one of those who were shot were women. Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin visited the scene of the shooting as well as calling on the wounded in hospital. Srettha posted on X, formerly Twitter, that he had spoken to the Chinese ambassador and offered condolences. "From now on, the Thai government will implement the highest safety measures for the safety of all tourists," Srettha wrote. Thailand is keen to attract more Chinese visitors as it rebuilds its tourism industry after the pandemic, but numbers are lower than hoped, partly because of safety fears. A private school called The Essence, just metres from Siam Paragon, confirmed the suspect was one of their students and offered condolences to the victims' families. "We will collaborate with the authorities and investigators for the benefit of those involved," Wiwat Catithammanit, director of the $4,000-a-term school said in a statement. 'Multiple gunshots' Witnesses described scenes of panic as the attack unfolded at Siam Paragon, one of Bangkok's top shopping destinations, hugely popular with tourists and Thais alike. "At around 4:30 pm, I heard loud gun noises, continuously, about 10 times," Thanpawasit Singthongkham, 31, who works at a Japanese restaurant in the mall, told AFP. "Then the department store announced that there was a shooting. The emergency sign was turned on and everyone ran to get out." In footage shared with AFP, he recorded a scrum of terrified shoppers scrabbling under metal security gates blocking shop entrances, before they fled down emergency stairwells as sirens blared. In another video, shared on Facebook and verified by AFP, scores of people can be seen in the mall's basement car park being directed by loudspeakers. Dozens of police vehicles and a number of ambulances could be seen outside one of the shopping centre's main entrances in the wake of the shooting. "I heard multiple gunshots -- about three times -- and saw people running around towards the exits," Nattanon Dungsunenarn, who was shopping in a branch of Boots pharmacy, told AFP. "It was very chaotic and seemed like many people didn't know what exactly was going on." 'Terrified' "We didn't know what was happening, then staff from a shop asked us to go inside and said there was a shooter," Chinese tourist Xiong Ying, 41, told AFP. "Everyone was trying to find a place to hide. So many people were terrified, just like a scene in the zombie movies. "I now feel quite scared. It happened just like two minutes after we left by crossing the bridge. We even took photos there." Almost a year on from the October 6 nursery massacre, the mall shooting will raise fresh questions about gun control in Thailand, which has one of the highest rates of firearm ownership in the region. In 2020, a former army officer went on a rampage in a shopping mall in Korat, murdering 29 people and wounding scores more. The post Two dead in Bangkok mall shooting, 14-year-old boy arrested appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Trump business empire under threat as New York fraud trial opens
A combative Donald Trump appeared in a New York court on Monday to face civil fraud charges, denouncing the case as a "sham" intended to torpedo his campaign to retake the White House. The fraud trial, one of several legal battles against the 77-year-old Trump, could potentially see the former president barred from doing business in New York state. "This has to do with election interference, plain and simple," Trump said as he arrived for the opening day of what could be a three-month trial. "What we have here is an attempt to hurt me in an election." New York Judge Arthur Engoron has already ruled that Trump and his sons Eric and Don Jr committed fraud by inflating the value of the real estate and financial assets of the Trump Organization for years. New York Attorney General Letitia James is now seeking $250 million in penalties and the removal of Trump and his sons from management of the family empire. "Justice will prevail," James told reporters before delivering opening arguments. "No matter how powerful you are, no matter how much money you think you may have, no one is above the law," she said. Trump, arriving in court, denounced the case as a "scam" and a "witchhunt." "It's a sham," he said. "My financial statements are phenomenal." Trump is scheduled to appear before a federal judge in Washington on March 4, 2024 on charges of trying to overthrow the results of the 2020 presidential election won by Democrat Joe Biden. Trump will then be back in New York state court, this time on charges of paying hush money to a porn star, and later in a Florida federal court, where he is accused of mishandling classified documents after leaving office. Finally, he will also have to answer to state charges in Georgia, where prosecutors say Trump illegally tried to get the southern state's 2020 election results changed in his favor. 'Major blow' In the New York case, Engoron ruled that Trump, his two eldest sons and other Trump Organization executives lied to tax collectors, lenders and insurers for years in a scheme that exaggerated the value of their properties by $812 million to $2.2 billion between 2014 and 2021. The judge revoked the business licenses that allowed the Trump Organization to operate some of its New York properties. Actually enforcing such penalties would be "a major blow to Donald Trump's ability to do business in the state of New York going forward," Will Thomas, a professor of business law at the University of Michigan, told AFP. Trump -- who made his reputation and fortune as a real estate mogul in the 1980s -- could eventually lose control over many of his company's flagship properties, such as his 5th Avenue Trump Tower in Manhattan. According to James, a Democrat, Trump's own apartment in that building is among the spaces that were fraudulently overvalued -- it was listed as three times bigger than its true size. Another Manhattan building, at 40 Wall Street, was overvalued between $200-$300 million in financial disclosures, James alleges. Trump's luxury Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida -- the site of the classified documents drama -- and several other Trump Organization golf clubs also appear in James's complaint. Trump has repeatedly dismissed the New York civil allegations, calling James, who is Black, "racist," and labeling Engoron "deranged." There are likely to be dozens of witnesses called to testify at the trial, including Trump himself and three of his children, Eric, Don Jr and his oldest daughter Ivanka. Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen -- now an outspoken critic of the former president -- and officials from Trump-linked financial institutions are also expected to appear. The post Trump business empire under threat as New York fraud trial opens appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Experimental documentary focuses on railroads as political borders
A State in a State, an experimental documentary by Georgian artist, filmmaker, and essayist Tekla Aslanishvili, is being screened for free at Bacolod City’s Art District. The 2022 single-channel film traces the construction, disruption and fragmentation of railroads in the South Caucasus and Caspian regions. It studies the tracks as the technical materialization of the fragile political borders that emerged after the collapse of the Soviet Union. It likewise explores how the iron foundations of connectivity can be used for exclusion and geopolitical sabotage. A State in a State was developed through an artistic-scientific collaboration with Dr. Evelina Gambino, Margaret Tyler Research Fellow in Geography at the Girton College of the University of Cambridge. It was produced by the Han Nefkens-Fundació Antoni Tàpies Video Art Production Grant 2020 in cooperation with Art Jameel Dubai, Museum of Contemporary Art and Design Manila of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, NTU Center for Contemporary Art Singapore, and WIELS Brussels. It was supported by the Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Europe. [caption id="attachment_191693" align="aligncenter" width="525"] Scene from ‘A State in a State’ by Tekla Aslanishvili. | photograph courtesy of MCAD[/caption] Stationed in Berlin and Tbilisi, Aslanishvili’s creations emerge at the intersection of infrastructural design, history, and geopolitics. She graduated from the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts in 2009 and holds an MFA from the Department of Experimental Film and New Media Art of Berlin University of the Arts. She is a fellow of the 2018–2019 Digital Earth, a nominee for the 2021 Ars-Viva Art Prize, and a recipient of the 2020 Han NefkensFoundation-Fundació Antoni Tàpies Video Art Production Award. A State in a State is an exhibition under MCAD Commons. Removed from the main gallery of the museum, it brings MCAD’s singular programming to a larger audience to allow for engagement with creative development, exchange of ideas, and support of the artistic process across the areas of research, art practice, and curatorial discourse. A State in a State runs 23 September to 23 October. Included in the line-up is an in-person artist talk with Aslanishvili, who will walk the audience into the process of A State in a State. She will likewise talk about Scenes from Trial and Error, her 2020 experimental documentary that examines the failed development of a port and city on the Black Sea shore. She will share her ongoing project on renewable energy infrastructures in the South Caucasus. It will be conducted on 22 October. The post Experimental documentary focuses on railroads as political borders appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Trump committed fraud by inflating value of assets — judge
Donald Trump and his sons Eric and Don Jr. committed fraud by inflating the value of the real estate and financial assets of the Trump Organization for years, a New York judge ruled on Tuesday. The ruling by Judge Arthur Engoron is a setback for the former president ahead of a trial in the civil case due to begin on Monday. New York State Attorney General Letitia James has accused Trump and his two eldest sons of business fraud for allegedly submitting "grossly inflated" numbers to banks and insurers. The lawsuit asserts that they lied to tax collectors, lenders, and insurers for years in a scheme that routinely misstated the value of the organization's properties to enrich themselves. Trump's lawyers had asked the judge to throw out the case ahead of the trial by granting what is known as a summary judgment in his favor. James had also asked for a summary judgment, however, asking that Trump be found liable ahead of the trial and the judge sided with the attorney general. James is seeking $250 million in penalties and the removal of Trump and his sons from the management of the family real estate firm, the Trump Organization. James claims that Trump and associates submitted "grossly inflated" numbers to banks and insurers each year between 2011 and 2021 "to secure and maintain loans and insurance on more favorable terms." They allegedly fraudulently overvalued the net worth of Trump company assets by billions of dollars, resulting in "hundreds of millions of dollars in ill-gotten savings and profits." James has alleged that the overvaluation of Trump's assets was between $1.9 billion and $3.6 billion per year. Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has denounced the case as a "witch hunt," calling James, who is a Democrat and Black, "racist." In January, the Trump Organization was fined $1.6 million by a New York judge in a criminal tax and financial fraud case. The 77-year-old twice-impeached Trump also faces federal criminal charges for the mishandling of classified documents and conspiracy charges for trying to overturn the 2020 election results. He also faces state charges for alleged hush money payments in New York and for pressuring state officials to overturn Joe Biden's 2020 presidential election victory in Georgia. Trump was also found liable in a civil trial in May for sexually abusing a one-time magazine columnist in 1996 and for defaming her in comments made last year. The post Trump committed fraud by inflating value of assets — judge appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
French rapper MHD faces verdict over youth’s murder
Acclaimed French rapper MHD was on Saturday awaiting with eight co-accused a verdict in the trial over the murder of a young man in Paris in 2018. MHD, whose real name is Mohamed Sylla, once again insisted on his innocence as he made his final statements before the court retired to render the verdict after three weeks of proceedings. "From the beginning, I have maintained my innocence in this case and I will continue to maintain my innocence," he told the packed court. The prosecutor has asked for an 18-year prison sentence for the rapper, acquittals for two of the accused, and jail sentences of 13-20 years for the others. The verdict is due to be delivered later in the day. His seven co-accused present in court -- an eighth is being tried in absentia -- have also insisted they were not involved in the violent attack on Loic K. in July 2018 that resulted in his death. The death of the 23-year-old man has been portrayed by investigators as a settling of scores between rival gangs. MHD, who rose to fame with a distinctive blend of West African sounds with US-style hip-hop, was charged with homicide in January 2019 and imprisoned. He has denied taking part in the assault, which saw the victim rammed by a black Mercedes and then beaten up and stabbed by around a dozen people in a gritty part of the capital's 10th arrondissement. But a local resident filmed the incident from his window, and the Mercedes was quickly identified as belonging to MHD. Other witnesses identified the rapper by his haircut or a Puma sweatshirt, for which he was a brand ambassador, according to investigative reports seen by AFP. The incident concerns the Cite des Chaufourniers, a low-income estate in the area that the former pizza delivery driver continued to frequent despite his fame. He was released in the summer of 2020 after a year and a half in custody as the investigations continued and released a new album. MHD is seen as a pioneer of afro-trap, which mixes hip-hop and African traditions. The football-mad performer, who was born in France to Guinean and Senegalese parents, is best known for "Afro Trap Part 3 (Champions League)", a song in praise of the Paris Saint-Germain football club. The post French rapper MHD faces verdict over youth’s murder appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Rolling Stone magazine co-founder axed from Rock hall of fame board
The co-founder of Rolling Stone magazine, Jann Wenner, has been ousted from his seat on the board of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation for comments blasted as racist and sexist, US media reported Saturday. Wenner's removal from the foundation board came only a day after his remarks were published in The New York Times, generating wide criticism. "Jann Wenner has been removed from the board of directors of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation," a short statement from the foundation said, according to industry sheet Variety. The 77-year-old Wenner co-founded Rolling Stone magazine in 1967, and in subsequent decades he celebrated a multitude of rock legends in its pages in lengthy interviews. Wenner also set up the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, which selects artists to be honored and served as its chairman until 2020. In the Times report published Friday, Wenner was asked why he didn't feature any interviews with people of color or female musicians in his new book, "The Masters," now in print. Wenner said the seven subjects in the book "were the kind of philosophers of rock" who had deep things to say about the spirit of their generation. "These are the ones that could really articulate it," Wenner said. The subjects whom Wenner profiles are Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Mick Jagger, Pete Townshend, Jerry Garcia, Bono, and Bruce Springsteen, all white men. On women, Wenner said, "Just none of them were as articulate enough on this intellectual level." "Of Black artists -- you know, Stevie Wonder, genius, right? I suppose when you use a word as broad as 'masters,' the fault is using that word. Maybe Marvin Gaye, or Curtis Mayfield? I mean, they just didn't articulate at that level." Wenner voiced awareness in the interview that his remarks would grate on some. "Just for public relations' sake, maybe I should have gone and found one Black and one woman artist to include here that didn't measure up to that same historical standard, just to avert this kind of criticism," Wenner said. Rolling Stone became the leading music magazine of its time, later expanding into cultural affairs, conducting interviews of top politicians and fostering a style of "new journalism" that brought techniques of fiction writing to the reporting of stories. Wenner sold a controlling stake in Rolling Stone magazine in 2017 in a deal that valued the publication at a reported $110 million. The post Rolling Stone magazine co-founder axed from Rock hall of fame board appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Korean Film Festival to delight Manila
The Korean Film Festival is set to bring moviegoers and fans on a memorable cinematic trip to Korea. “At this year’s KFF, we do not only have some award-winning films lined up, but we also chose movies that will take you to some of Korea’s picturesque landscapes,” the Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines announced on their social media accounts. Presented by the Korean Embassy in the Philippines and the Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines, the film festival, themed “Ka-ja! Korea Through Films,” will feature seven stellar films. The film festival is also in collaboration with the Korean Film Council, Film Development Council of the Philippines, Korea Tourism Organization Manila Office and SM Cinema. Here is KFF’s lineup of films that will be shown on the big screens for free: Bori (2020), directed by Kim Jinyu. This coming-of-age film is about an 11-year-old girl living in a seaside village named Bori, the only member of a family who is not deaf. [caption id="attachment_181135" align="aligncenter" width="950"] ‘DIRECTOR’S INTENTION.’[/caption] Director’s Intention (2021), directed by Kim Min-geun. A romantic comedy about the complicated relationship between exes who have to work on the same project. [caption id="attachment_181132" align="aligncenter" width="950"] ‘EVERGLOW.’[/caption] Everglow (2021), directed by So Joon-moon. Set in Juju, the film trains its lens on a 70-year-old female diver as the focus of a documentary. [caption id="attachment_181134" align="aligncenter" width="950"] ‘GYEONGJU.’[/caption] Gyeongju (2014), directed by Zhang Lu. Another romantic comedy, about a Beijing-based professor who returns to Korea for a funeral and spends time with a teahouse owner. [caption id="attachment_181138" align="aligncenter" width="950"] ‘JUKDO Surfing Diary.’[/caption] Jukdo Surfing Diary (2020), directed by Lee Hyun-seung. The film features a beach that has become a famous destination spot for surfers. Life is Beautiful (2022), directed by Choi Kook-hee. Starring Sky Castle’s Yum Jung-ah and Moving’s Ryu Seung-ryong, about a terminally-ill wife who asks her husband to find her first love as a birthday present. The Book of Fish (2021), directed by Lee Joon-ik. Set in 1801, the black-and-white historical film features a Josean-era scholar who is exiled to Heuksando Island. The KCC is also set to host a film production workshop titled “Meet the Mentor: K-Movie Production Talk Show” on 21 September at the De La Salle-College of St. Benilde campus. This workshop is part of the “Meet the Mentor” series, whose panel includes Filipino director Perci Intalan and Korean directors-producers Park Eun-kyung and Lee Yeon-hwa. KCC’s Korean Film Festival will run 22 September to 26 September, with participating cinemas, screening schedules and ticketing guidelines to be announced soon. The post Korean Film Festival to delight Manila appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
‘Art you can carry’
This is what homegrown brand FINO Leatherware calls its first collaborative artist-led project featuring the works of Kara Pangilinan. [gallery columns="2" size="full" ids="172271,172272"] Kara Pangilinan at work. [gallery columns="2" size="full" ids="172270,172273"] FINO Leatherware has always grounded its brand philosophy on Filipino artistry. FINO x KARA is a one-off collection of bags that features the artist’s hand paintings, dated and signed, and accompanied by a certificate of authentication. The 30-piece series is an ode to heritage with Pangilinan expressing the themes of local flora and fauna alongside the Filipina’s evolved identity. Slender palm fronds, gumamela and sampaguita flowers emerge from the bags’ panels, the leather’s varying colors from bright red to pastel hues setting off Pangilinan’s black and white strokes. The artist’s portraits of womenin traditional garb bridge generations, with one in particular revealing the gaze of a strong, modern Filipina. Since its founding back in 1992, FINO Leatherware has always grounded its brand philosophy on Filipino artistry, from the craftsmen to the creatives who’ve conceptualized collections. Its most recent campaigns paid tribute to Filipino culture, to include a wrist purse called Sipa, which is inspired by a local game, the Vinta bags and clutches that evoke the sailing tradition of Mindanao, and the Puso bags which takes its shape from a staple of Cebu’s street food — rice wrapped in banana leaves. Pangilinan was a student of architecture at the University of the Philippines when she began to try her hand at art. After earning her degree, she worked in an architectural firm for a few months before deciding on becoming a full-time artist. Murals and commercial works for brands such as Heineken, Globe and YouTube defined the early phase of Pangilinan’s journey. Simultaneously, she was developing a more personal practice, exploring various thematic concepts and her favored medium at that time, ink on paper. In the years that followed, Pangilinan diversified into acrylic painting to exploit the full color spectrum of the medium. For her collaboration with FINO, however, the artist returns to the palette that has defined the early phase of her career. The collection is introduced by none other than Miss Philippines Universe 2020 first runner-up Bella Ysmael, who epitomizes FINO’s ideal Filipina. She graces the FINO x KARA campaign which announces the release of the collection, available by the end of September in FINO’s flagship store in Rockwell’s Power Plant Mall. [gallery columns="2" size="full" ids="172279,172280"] “Having Bella on board was important for us,” says FINO co-founder Rose Ann Bautista. “We wanted the right woman to represent not just the new collection, but our new direction as well.” The post ‘Art you can carry’ appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Trump seeks judge change, trial outside Washington
Former US president Donald Trump announced on Sunday that he will petition for a new judge to preside over his historic criminal trial and for the case to be moved outside of Washington. The twice-impeached Republican, who is seeking reelection to the White House in 2024, has unleashed a torrent of vitriol against those prosecuting him or running the case in which he faces charges of attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and defraud the United States. His latest target is US District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan, who was randomly assigned to the case in Washington and was appointed by former Democratic president Barack Obama. “There is no way I can get a fair trial with the judge ‘assigned’ to the ridiculous freedom of speech/fair elections case. Everybody knows this, and so does she,” Trump, using all capital letters, posted on his Truth Social platform. “We will be immediately asking for recusal of this judge on very powerful grounds, and likewise for venue change,” out of Washington — a majority Black city that leans heavily Democratic, Trump continued. Trump’s lawyer John Lauro, however, denied later Sunday that any final decision had been made. Lauro confirmed that they would be seeking a change of venue, but only after “some polling” and “quantitative analysis in terms of how people are reacting to the indictment.” Chutkan, 61, is one of a dozen judges on the Washington federal district court bench. Her nomination to her post in 2014 was approved unanimously by the Senate. She has a legal history with Trump, having ruled against him in a November 2021 case in which she notably declared that “presidents are not kings.” And she has handed down lengthy sentences to Trump supporters who stormed the US Capitol on January 6 of that year. She has rebuffed the Trump legal team’s recent demands. On Saturday, she denied their motion to extend a deadline for responding to the US government’s protective order request that could limit what Trump and his lawyers can share publicly about his case. Team Trump wanted to push the deadline to Thursday, but the judge said they must abide by the current deadline of 5:00 p.m. (2100 GMT) Monday. Former vice president Mike Pence, a key figure in the case, said Sunday that he would not object to testifying in Trump’s trial. “I have no plans to testify,” Pence told CNN. “But look... we’ll always comply with the law,” said the 64-year-old, who is now competing against his former boss for the Republican presidential nomination. With AFP The post Trump seeks judge change, trial outside Washington appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Ukrainian drone attack damages Russian tanker
KYIV (AFP) — A Russian tanker was damaged in a Ukrainian drone attack in the Kerch Strait, briefly halting traffic on the strategic bridge linking Crimea to Russia on Saturday, a day after one of Moscow’s warships was hit in the Black Sea. The number of attacks in the Black Sea has increased from both sides since Moscow exited a deal last month that had allowed Ukrainian grain exports via the shipping hub during the conflict between the two countries. The Russian tanker SIG was hit around 11:20 p.m. (2020 GMT) Friday south of the Kerch Strait, Russia’s Federal Agency for Sea and Inland Water Transport said. The SIG suffered a hole at the waterline in the area of the engine room, “presumably as a result of an attack by a marine drone,” the agency said on Telegram. “The ship is afloat.” An oil boom had been placed around the vessel and preparations were underway to patch the damage, it said. The Marine Traffic vessel-tracking website showed the SIG stationary and attended by tugs just south of the strait. The oil and chemical tanker is under US sanctions for supplying jet fuel to Russian forces in Syria supporting President Bashar al-Assad. Russia’s state RIA Novosti news agency said there were no casualties in the attack, citing the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center of Novorossiysk. Traffic on the bridge across the Kerch Strait linking the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula to Russia’s mainland was halted for around three hours and resumed early Saturday, according to the Russian highways information center’s Telegram channel. The latest attack in the Black Sea came a day after Ukraine said it had carried out a seaborne-drone strike on a Russian navy ship at Novorossiysk naval base in southern Russia. In a video of the purported attack on the warship obtained by AFP, a naval drone is seen speeding towards the darkened silhouette of a military vessel before the connection abruptly cuts off. A Ukrainian attack targeting the Olenegrorsky Gornyak landing ship was “successful,” a Ukrainian security source told AFP Friday. “The goal was to show that Ukraine can attack any Russian warship in that zone,” the source added. Russia said it had repelled an attempted attack on the naval base by the Ukrainian armed forces “with the use of two unmanned sea boats.” Russia’s Black Sea Fleet has been targeted since the beginning of Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine more than a year ago, but attacks have increased in recent weeks. The port of Novorossiysk also hosts the terminus of a pipeline that carries most Kazakh oil exports through Russia. The fuel artery’s operator Caspian Pipeline Consortium said it was continuing to ship oil to moored tankers at the terminal, Russian state media reported Friday. Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014, has been targeted by Kyiv throughout Moscow’s Ukraine offensive but has seen more intense attacks in recent weeks. Ukrainian drone strikes on Crimea in July blew up an ammunition depot and damaged the strategic bridge across the Kerch Strait. The post Ukrainian drone attack damages Russian tanker appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Gaza open-air cinema a breath of fresh air for Palestinians
Gaza residents took their seats in front of a large projector screen set up on a sandy beach, a rare event in the Islamist-ruled blockaded enclave that has no operating cinemas. Over two weeks in summer, the "Cinema of the Sea" festival which ended Monday screened some 15 films, many of them with Palestinian actors or producers. Providing a respite from the heat, the waterfront "is the only outlet for the residents" in the impoverished territory, said Ali Muhanna, a theatre director involved in the initiative. Around 2.3 million Palestinians live in the Gaza Strip, which has been under a crippling Israeli-led blockade since the Islamist group Hamas seized power in 2007. Sitting barefoot in a pink dress at the open-air cinema on Gaza City's beach, seven-year-old Salma Shamaleh was transfixed by the screen. "I have never seen a TV this size," she told AFP as she watched "Ferdinand", an animated blockbuster that tells the story of a giant but soft-hearted black bull. The first film screenings in Gaza date to the 1940s, with the opening of the Samer Cinema, whose building now houses a car dealership. Cinemas were forced to close in the late 1980s during the first Palestinian uprising, or intifada. They reopened following the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in the 1990s but for years have largely been gathering dust. In 1996, Islamists set a Gaza cinema ablaze. While not explicitly banned, Hamas authorities fear cinemas may amplify what they view as foreign or Western beliefs that go against Islamic traditions. There have been some outdoor screenings in recent years, most notably amid the rubble of buildings destroyed in Israeli air strikes during wars fought with Gaza militants. Like across much of the eastern Mediterranean, Gazans have flocked to the seaside in recent weeks to escape soaring temperatures. Shamaleh was thrilled by the cinematic experience. "Our house is nearby, I'll ask my mum for us to come every day," she said. - 'Happy' - The festival's program featured "Farha", a Jordanian film which, through a young girl's perspective, depicts atrocities committed against Palestinians during the 1948 conflict that led to Israel's creation. The hard-hitting film resonated with Mona Hanafi, 50, who watched it with her daughter and dozens of other spectators. "The film is brilliant in addressing a realistic Palestinian story... The performance and directing are impressive," she said. "Seeing the children and people watching the open cinema in Gaza made me happy," added Hanafi. Another audience member, Hadeel Hajji, said she had "never seen anything like that in my life". "I was with my family when I saw the screen from far away, so I came to watch," she told AFP. "Cinema of the Sea" was organized by Al-Bahr Elna Cooperative Cafe in partnership with the culture ministry. The cooperative was established in 2020 by a group of artists, with start-up funding from Palestinian institutions. Since that initial cash dried up, the group has relied on donations. For Muhanna, the cafe's founder, the festival has been an opportunity to show films which demonstrate how "Palestinians contributed to producing (cinema) and conveying the values of society". Atef Askoul, head of the Hamas-appointed body responsible for approving public art events, said Gazans who suffer from miserable living conditions under the blockade have "the right to watch films and cinema". my-gb/rsc/jd/ami © Agence France-Presse The post Gaza open-air cinema a breath of fresh air for Palestinians appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Pinoy tech firm reaches wider market of learners
With blended learning now a way of life for Filipino learners, a home-grown technology company, ABC Tech Ventures Inc., which first focused on providing tablets for Filipino learners through its partnership with the Department of Education, is now expanding its horizon by reaching a wider Philippine market. In an interview on Friday during the unveiling of its new tablet line in Bonifacio Global City at The Fort, in Taguig City, ABC Tech Ventures Inc. chief investment officer Reginald Yu said his company took the opportunity to be an alternative learning resource for students when the pandemic hit the country in 2020, making face-to-face classes prohibited by the government. “ABC Tech is programmed to suit the requirements needed by the Department of Education, as far as their curriculum is concerned. The tablet is not only designed for students in elementary and high school but also designed for kindergarten to college. Right now, we have partnered with developers to come up with programs that would help even job seekers,” he said. To date, Yu said they are also working with the Commission on Higher Education so that they can share their technology with private schools students, particularly with scholars that are not well off enough to purchase high-end laptops and tablets for their education. The newly-unveiled ABC Tech X8, X10, and X10 Plus tablets are designed to be more sophisticated for kids with more refined tastes, on top of having a sleeker and more refined look compared to their brightly colored counterparts that are for younger kids. “We launched this new line of tablets as we wanted to create a kind of awareness that would be appreciated not only by government agencies but by the general public because we feel that the technology should not only be affordable but also accessible to a wider sphere that can be utilized by a greater market. The technology is aimed towards the greater good of more Filipinos,” Yu expressed. For its initial salvo, Yu said their company is geared to produce 200 to 300,000 units of the ABC Tech X8, X10, and X10 Plus tablets, to five million at least for this year, well-crafted by young Filipino engineers. Durability For his part, Arvin Arik Carranceja, the chief executive officer of ABC Tech Ventures Inc., said the newly launched X8, X10, and X10 Plus tablets are designed to be more sophisticated for kids with more refined tastes, on top of having a sleeker and more refined look compared to their brightly colored counterparts that are for younger kids. “All tablets have increased durability, being waterproof and dustproof to withstand the rigors of daily use by students. Although utilitarian in function, they have the clean look of more high-end tablets and are available in four colors: charcoal black, azure blue, rose gold, and graphite gray,” Carranceja said. These higher-end models have dual cameras, an 8MP front-facing camera and a 13MP rear-facing one, which should be more than adequate for capturing and documenting anything that is needed for class. The X8, meanwhile, has an 8mp rear camera and a 5mp front camera. Each device is made to be used by a different age group, and the most obvious difference is the size and storage capacity of the devices. The X8 screen measures 8.0 inches, is best used by grade school children and has 32GB of storage. Coming with an upgrade of 64GB of storage and a 10.1-inch screen is the X10, ABC Tech’s offering for high school-level learners. The next model upgrade, the X10 Plus, has similar features with the X10, but with a slightly larger screen at 10.4 inches with 8GB and 128GB of storage. These tablets have specifications that make them the most effective for their target age range, and as the user’s estimated education makes more demands of the software they use and the variety of applications they need, the models also increase in power and processing capability,” Carranceja said. The post Pinoy tech firm reaches wider market of learners appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Bea to Dom: ‘I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you’
on 20 July. Love greeted me at the horizon with a heavenly smile. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you. Happiest birthday to you, my love @dominicroque,” she said, along with a photo of the celebrity couple on a beach looking endearingly at each other. On 19 July, the 35-year-old actress broke the news on Instagram that she was now engaged to Roque after more than two years of dating. She had no idea that Roque would propose to her at the Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar since she was there for a shoot with celebrity photographer Mark Nicdao, said Alonzo. The black-and-white photo series came with Alonzo’s recounting of their love story. “You see, I have done so many proposal scenes in my entire career, but nothing beats the real thing… Everything went in slow motion. And I felt different emotions all at the same time — joy, excitement, love,” she said. “But I didn’t want that moment to end. I want this real thing to happen forever… and right then there… In front of the people we love… we decided on forever,” she added. The post has garnered more than 1 million likes. Celebrities and social media superstars, among them Anne Curtis, Maine Mendoza, Catriona Gray, Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo, Mimiyuuuh and David Guison, immediately sent congratulatory messages to the couple. Alonzo, hailed as one of the best actresses of her generation, is known for the box-office hits One More Chance (2007) and its sequel A Second Chance (2015), Four Sisters and a Wedding (2013), The Love Affair (2015) and Eerie (2018). Roque, meanwhile, is a model and actor known for the popular television series Aryana (2012-2013), May Isang Pangarap (2013) and Moon of Desire (2014). Rumors about Alonzo and Roque’s romance began in 2019-2020. The two became official in January 2021, with Alonzo publicly confirming their relationship in August 2021. The post Bea to Dom: ‘I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you’ appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Thai court jails teen over ‘crop top’ royal insult
A Thai court sentenced a teenager to 12 months in prison for royal defamation Thursday over a "crop top" outfit he wore to a protest three years ago, a rights group said. Thailand's lese-majeste law is one of the strictest in the world, and those convicted of criticizing King Maha Vajiralongkorn or his close family can be jailed for up to 15 years. Napasit joined a pro-democracy protest in 2020 wearing a black crop top, a seeming reference to pictures that appeared in some European media several years earlier apparently showing the king wearing a similar article of clothing. The 19-year-old, whose name was withheld by the court, also had a message painted on his body deemed a "mockery to the king", a statement from Thai Lawyers for Human Rights said. "The king is of a sacred status that should not be violated," the court said in its judgment, according to the legal group. Napasit was initially sentenced to three years in jail, "but as the defendant committed the crime when he was a minor aged 16, it was reduced by half to one year and six months... And due to useful testimony the defendant gave, the sentence was reduced to 12 months," TLHR said. At least 246 people have been accused of or charged with breaking the royal defamation law since mid-2020, including 20 minors, according to a TLHR tally. Domestic and international media must exercise strict caution in their reporting of lese-majeste cases and the monarchy in general, or risk prosecution. The Move Forward Party (MFP), which won the most seats in May elections, campaigned on a pledge to soften the law. But on Wednesday, the party's leader Pita Limjaroenrat was suspended as a lawmaker, pending investigation in a share ownership case by the Constitutional Court, and his two attempts to become prime minister have been blocked by parliament. The post Thai court jails teen over ‘crop top’ royal insult appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
15 dead in Iran after drinking bootleg booze: state media
Fifteen people died of alcohol poisoning in Iran after consuming bootleg booze, state media reported on Wednesday, as the number of similar deaths increases across the country. "So far, 15 people have died and 180 people have been poisoned and hospitalized," Hossein Fazeli Harikandi, the chief justice of Alborz province, where the poisonings took place, told state news agency IRNA. Most of those hospitalized had since been discharged, he said, but "some have gone blind", while others were undergoing dialysis after suffering kidney damage. Iran banned the production and consumption of alcoholic beverages after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Ever since, smuggled and unregulated alcohol has proliferated on the black market, with methanol often added to drinks as a cheaper alternative to ethanol. The authorities in Alborz province have arrested six people and seized more than 6,000 liters (1,585 gallons) of alcohol from a cosmetic factory before its distribution, Harikandi said. Iran's forensic institute said 644 people died after consuming "fake alcoholic beverages" in the year to March, a 30-percent increase on the previous 12-month period. In May 2022, eight people died in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas after drinking bootleg alcohol. At least 210 people died in Iran during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 after drinking bootleg alcohol, falsely believing it to be a remedy for the virus. The post 15 dead in Iran after drinking bootleg booze: state media appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Target of the right, George Soros hands reins to son
As George Soros passes control of his philanthropic empire to his son, the legendary investor and democracy advocate remains subject to unrelenting and often anti-Semitic attacks from the right. Under the transition, Soros, 92, will hand the reins to his 37-year-old son Alexander Soros, according to a Wall Street Journal interview with both men. The shift comes as the elder Soros remains one of the far right's favorite targets. He has been baselessly blamed for propagating migrant crises in Europe and on the southern border of the United States, as well as for orchestrating mass protests against police brutality after the 2020 killing of George Floyd. Soros's army of haters has included right-wing politicians like Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, the media figure Tucker Carlson and Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk, who tweeted in May 2023 that Soros "wants to erode the very fabric of civilization" and "hates humanity." Soros is known for his financing of the Open Society Foundations, which has supported reforms to liberalize economies, establish governance norms, protect minorities and refugees, and promote freedom of expression. These endeavors followed some wildly successful investment decisions, as in 1992 when Soros bet against the British pound shortly before it was devalued. A leading British newspaper dubbed Soros "the man who broke the Bank of England" over a move that allowed him to pocket $1 billion. The episode won Soros' respect in the financial world, but he also became a much-feared figure among government finance ministers. Progressive causes Born in August 1930 in Budapest, Soros's Jewish family used false papers to pass as Christian during the Nazi occupation of Hungary in 1944 and 1945. "I learned at an early age how important it is what kind of political regime prevails," Soros said in 2019. After the establishment of communism in Hungary, Soros left for London in 1947, obtaining degrees from the London School of Economics before moving to New York in 1956. Soros launched his own speculative fund in 1970, a step in building his wealth to an estimated $6.7 billion, according to Forbes; the figure does not include the $18 billion Soros transferred to his foundations in 2017. He began steering some of his wealth to philanthropy in 1979, backing Black students in apartheid-era South Africa and political dissidents in Central Europe. His activities expanded considerably after the end of the Cold War. In the United States, for example, Soros has supported the progressive side on a host of hot-button issues, including criminal justice reform, same-sex marriage, and the decriminalization of marijuana. A father of five, Soros studied in London under his mentor Karl Popper, a champion of open society and fierce critic of totalitarianism. Intensifying criticisms As Soros broadened his support of politically progressive candidates and philanthropic endeavors in the 2010s, he was met with more virulent criticism, often tinged with anti-Semitism. In 2018, following attacks by the nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Soros shuttered the Budapest branch of the OSF and moved staff to Berlin. Later that year, Soros was named Person of the Year by the Financial Times, a recognition of his role as "the standard bearer of liberal democracy and open society." But the newspaper also alluded to the ugliness of Soros's legion of haters, noting, "There are so many anti-Semitic conspiracy theories targeting Mr. Soros that it is difficult to keep count." In terms of his record in finance, Soros has experienced setbacks in addition to glory. He lost money in the 1987 stock market crash and in the 1998 Russian currency crisis. He has also found himself in the crosshairs of the law. In 2002, Soros was convicted of insider trading in France for trades of Societe Generale, and in 2009 in Hungary, in a market manipulation case. Soros's funds have continued to speculate, with investments running the gamut from new technologies to housing to physical commodities. But Soros has also spoken of the need for strict regulation of markets. Soros has described his efforts as a kind of responsibility. "My success in the financial markets has given me a greater degree of independence than most other people," he wrote in 2011. "This obliges me to take stands on controversial issues when others cannot." The post Target of the right, George Soros hands reins to son appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Hong Kong police detain opposition leader, 9 others on Tiananmen anniversary
Hong Kong police detained several pro-democracy figures, AFP reporters said on Sunday, the 34th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, including the leader of a key opposition party. Chan Po-Ying, a veteran activist and head of the League of Social Democrats, was in Hong Kong's Causeway Bay shopping district -- an area that for years was the site of commemorations of the bloody June 4, 1989 crackdown in China. Holding a small LED candle -- a common sight during the annual vigil -- and two flowers, Chan was immediately seized by police and hauled into a van. Earlier Sunday, Alexandra Wong, a prominent democracy activist better known as "Grandma Wong", was also taken away. The 67-year-old was carrying flowers at the time. Veteran journalist Mak Yin-ting, the former chairwoman of the Hong Kong Journalists Association, was also detained at Causeway Bay. In total, AFP reporters have seen at least 10 people detained on Sunday in the commercial district. One of them was a woman who shouted, "Raise candles! Mourn 64!" -- shorthand for the sensitive date. Another was a young man dressed in black who carried a book titled "35th of May", another way to express the four days after May 31 in mainland China. For decades Hong Kong was the only Chinese city with a large-scale public commemoration of the Tiananmen events -- a key index of liberties and political pluralism afforded to its semi-autonomous status. Since 1990, an annual vigil had been held in the city's Victoria Park, drawing tens of thousands to a candlelight memorial. But in 2020, a national security law was imposed on the city by Beijing to quell dissent, after huge and at times violent pro-democracy demonstrations rocked the finance hub. Since then, the vigil has been banned and its organizers arrested and charged under the security law. Leading up to this year's anniversary, officials repeatedly refused to confirm if public mourning of the event was illegal, only saying that "everyone should act in accordance with the law". The post Hong Kong police detain opposition leader, 9 others on Tiananmen anniversary appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
10 proud LGBTQ members magpapakilig at maglalabasan ng tunay na feelings sa queer dating reality show na ‘Sparks Camp’
SIGURADONG marami ang mahu-hook at mae-excite sa pagsisimula ng kauna-unahang queer dating reality show sa bansa, ang “Sparks Camp”. Ngayong araw, May 24, ang unang episode ng “Sparks Camp” na mapapanood sa YouTube Channel ng Black Sheep Productions, hosted by Miss Trans Global 2020 Mela Habijan. 10 proud members ng LGBTQIA+ community ang magsasama-sama sa […] The post 10 proud LGBTQ members magpapakilig at maglalabasan ng tunay na feelings sa queer dating reality show na ‘Sparks Camp’ appeared first on Bandera......»»
FBI routinely accessed Americans’ private communications
The FBI frequently abused a restricted database of Americans' personal communications, looking up the names of crime victims and participants in Black Lives Matter protests and the 2021 Capitol assault, documents released Friday showed. The Federal Bureau of Investigation accessed the database 278,000 times in recent years with often no justification, according to declassified opinions from the secretive Foreign Surveillance Intelligence Court. The database includes private emails, text messages, and other communications that the National Security Agency says it sweeps up when it is spying on foreigners. Although the FBI is supposed to tap the NSA database only when investigating a foreign intelligence issue, the court opinions showed they used it casually for domestic cases. Agents ran random searches in domestic drug and gang investigations, the 2020 protest over the police murder of African American George Floyd, and the 6 January 2021 attack on the US Capitol by Donald Trump supporters. In one case an agent ran a query into the database on 19,000 donors to a congressional election campaign. In each of the cases, there was no foreign intelligence or domestic crime justification for the FBI accessing the database, the intelligence court said. The documents were released as Congress debates the renewal of Section 702, a law that allows the NSA to access US-hosted internet accounts to surveil foreign intelligence targets. A number of lawmakers say it needs revision to better protect the personal information of Americans. Intelligence agencies worry that could crimp their activities, but legal rights experts and Democrats said the revelations showed reforms are needed. "The government has dramatically expanded its spying under Section 702 in ways never contemplated by Congress, but it's refusing to tell Americans what it's doing," said Patrick Toomey of the Americans Civil Liberties Union. Senator Ron Wyden, a longtime critic of Section 702, said the intelligence court documents showed "shocking abuses" of the law. "If Section 702 is to be reauthorized, there must be statutory reforms to ensure that the checks and balances are in place to put an end to these abuses," Wyden said. The issue arose nearly two decades ago when the US intelligence community realized it needed to tap into the email and phone accounts of foreign intelligence targets that were hosted on US-based computers. Both the NSA and the CIA are forbidden from spying on Americans or on foreigners inside the United States, so in 2008 Congress passed Section 702 to permit the NSA to access those US-hosted accounts. In doing so the NSA also collects emails and phone messages of US citizens and resident foreigners who communicate with the agency's targets, or even mention an NSA target. The post FBI routinely accessed Americans’ private communications appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»