Ms sect b 20170618 sunday

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SUNDAY, JUNE 18, 2017 Adelle Chua, Editor

Opinion

Joyce Pangco Pañares, Issue Editor

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EDITORIAL

POP GOES THE WORLD JENNY ORTUOSTE

HANDMAID’S TALE ON TV: SURVIVAL MODE

one of their patients started out by going to cockfighting events, which do not take place every day.

The excitement grew with each winning, however, so that the weekly “sabong” no longer sufficed.

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA—Interest in books dealing with totalitarian states has increased with the election victory of Trump in the US. One of the books that has surged to the top of the radar is “The Handmaid’s Tale” (1985) by Margaret Atwood, which is now a Hulu TV series.

Although preparations for the series were under way before Trump’s win, its release is timely.

Here’s the synopsis on TV that also pretty much sums up the storyline of the book: “In a dystopian near-future, the totalitarian and Christian-fundamentalist government of Gilead rules the former United States amid an ongoing civil war and subjugates women, who are not allowed to work, control money, or even read.

“Widespread infertility due to environmental contamination has resulted in the conscription of young fertile women—called Handmaids, according to Biblical precedent— who are assigned to the homes of the elite, where they must have ritualized sex with the men in order to become pregnant and bear children for those men and their wives.”

The protagonist, Offred (played by Elizabeth Moss)—her name comes from the possessive “of” and the name of her Commander (the elite man to whom she is assigned), Fred—is traumatized, dealing with the collapse of society and the rise of a new order, as well as the tearing apart of her family, her husband and daughter taken away by the new government.

The first episode opens with the scene where the family tries to run away into the forest—this came a bit later on in the book. Chronologically, however, this arrangement makes the story easier to understand.

Next, we see Offred in Fred’s (Joseph Fiennes) household, where she meets his wife Serena Joy (Yvonne Strahovski), who tells her in no uncertain terms not to have any ideas about seducing her husband – “If I get trouble, believe me I will give trouble back.” TV Serena Joy is younger than in the book, which takes some getting used to, but her bitchiness and jealousy are therefore more believable.

Atwood makes a cameo in the flashback scene at the Red Center, slapping Offred when she hesitates from participating in the collective shaming of another handmaid.

Chillingly, this indoctrination, says the Center’s leader Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd), is something that they will get used to, in time—“This will become—ordinary.”

The first season earned 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, and it’s a welldeserved assessment. The tone of the series is finely tuned. The scenes are fraught with tension but not overwrought. The acting is restrained, as befits the new norm of behavior in a society where the elite struggles to control everyone else, who live in fear of punishment and torture for offenses they might be accused of.

As the series progresses, we see Offred negotiating her assigned role.

Handmaids are reproductive surrogates, Marthas keep house, Econowives are wed to those below elite ranks. Those who despair attempt to escape or commit suicide (as the previous Offred did), rebel, and are sent to “The Colonies” where they clean up toxic waste and can expect extremely limited lifespans.

Offred declares her intention at the end of the first episode. “I intend to survive for her [her daughter].

Her name is Hannah. My husband’s name is Luke. My name… is June.”

(In the book, Offred’s true name is not known.) By affirming her identity, she maintains her sense of self and increases her mental strength and chances at survival.

This is one of the central themes

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WHEN THE SPEAKER SPEAKS

T

HE leader of the House of Representatives, Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, appears to take his job too literally.

He speaks a lot, letting his words betray the arrogance of a man heady with the knowledge that he is the fourth most powerful person in the country.

Earlier this year, he was threatened with the prospect of losing his plum post at the Legislative Department and even with a disbarment case. This stemmed from the revelation that he did not only have a paramour—he was bringing her to official functions on government expense. His honorable colleagues say this was an open secret among them.

“Who does not have a mistress?” macho man Alvarez said. As to the case he faced, he was confident: “Bring it on!”

This is not the only time Mr. Alvarez has regaled us with his braggadocio.

Faced with the possibility that the Supreme Court, after hearing arguments on President Duterte’s declaration of martial law in Mindanao, might rule that Congress should convene to discuss the same, Alvarez said he would disregard any such decision. “They [the justices] do not have the right to dictate on Congress what we should do,” he said, citing separation of powers among the three branches of government.

He is a lawyer and could have argued his point objectively, but then he took one step further.

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“Punitin ko yan [I will tear it up]!” he said, referring to the piece of paper that would contain such a decision from the court. Even the Palace said the President would respect whatever the Supreme Court decides.

But wait, there’s more.

Mr. Alvarez said last week three justices of the Court of Appeals were ignorant of the law when they ordered him to explain why he should not be cited in contempt for refusing to release six Ilocos Norte provincial government employees who have been detained at the House since May 29. They are accused of misusing P66.45 million in tobacco funds but said they could not remember the transactions anymore.

Again, he could have shown a good example and explained, in elegant and convincing language, why he was in the right.

What he said in fact was: “Mga gago yang three justices na yan!”

He proceeded to threaten the abolition of the entire appellate court, which he said was a congressional creation in the first place. Granting that it is—what could be more spiteful than a House leader causing the nixing of a body that has been around for a certain function, just because it holds a different, even adverse, opinion.

Now he says he wants martial law in Mindanao extended until 2022, but is quick in clarifying that it is his personal view. Does he not realize the weight of the words of a Speaker of the House?

Indeed Mr. Alvarez is an interesting character.

He may be imitating his boss the president, known for his colorful language, or he may just be revealing who he really is. Either way, it does not inspire much confidence—or respect.

WHEN THE STAKES ARE HIGH (PART 2) LONG STORY SHORT ADELLE CHUA

LAST week I wrote about behavior associated with gambling addiction, and cited some examples of how they can be treated in a professional facility.

Junjun and Ces Gonzales, the couple running The One Algon Place in Cabuyao, Laguna (licensed as both a

drug abuse and psychiatric rehabilitation facility), share more of their experiences in helping patients diagnosed to have some form of gambling addiction—an impulse control disorder.

It often starts innocently—one is not a big gambler right away. For instance,

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HANDMAID’S...

HAS ASIA LEARNED FROM THE 1997 CRISIS?

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of the book, and it is portrayed effectively in the series. Here and there are pockets of incident that reinforce Offred’s goal, handmaids encouraging each other to hang on. Offred finds a line scrawled in her bedroom closet, presumably by the previous Offred: “Nolite te bastardes carborundum”— don’t let the bastards grind you down.

The best survival advice comes from Moira (Samira Wiley), Offred’s friend from the life before—“Keep your fuckin’ shit together.” This is wisdom fit for anywhere and anytime.

I suggest both reading the book and watching the series, to learn what a well-made book-to-TV adaptation is like. “The Handmaid’s Tale” on Hulu is a must-watch, for those who love the book, the speculative fiction storyline, and good cinema.

Dr. Ortuoste is a California-based writer. Follow her on Facebook: Jenny Ortuoste, Twitter: @jennyortuoste, Instagram: @jensdecember, @ artuoste

WHEN...

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This particular patient was not some bum. He was a mechanical engineer, from a well-to-do family, who later on confessed he felt unenthusiastic about his career. Much later, through the center’s art therapy, he discovered he really wanted to pursue a different career.

Then again, addiction is not limited to the moneyed. The tragedy is that even those who have less in life can still find themselves hooked on gambling.

Ces talks about a mother who played tong-its the whole day. “She would look for places where there are wakes, and she would camp out and play.” Alas, it was this woman’s seven-year-old daughter who stepped up to the role her mother neglected, scavenging just so she could eat something.

It was a social worker who brought the matter to the attention of The One Algon Place, which provides one “scholarship” slot for every 25 paying patients they have in their facility.

“We have to remember, you can get addicted not only to substances,” Ces says. “We say it is an impulse control disorder because you can no longer control yourself.”

And indeed it is unfortunate when human beings, imbued with a sense of free will and self-determination, are no longer able to master their desires.

Instead, it is the desires that control them and lead them to do things that a rational person would not do.

And just like in any addiction, it is the family who feels the effects and bears the burden of the gambling addiction of their loved one.

Woe to those who gamble their possessions—their future, their dignity—away.

The children, for instance, suffer because the money that is supposed to go to their food or education goes instead to the gambling establishments. Parents suffer because of the frustration of not seeing their children as productive, responsible, functioning citizens however much they invested in their education.

Addicts, like the Gonzaleses’ many patients, go to such depths as stealing from their parents and compromising family resources.

In the case of Jessie Carlos, the man who burned casino tables at Resorts World Manila earlier this month, killing 37 people, and who killed himself, it was his estranged wife who had asked that he be kept away from gambling establishments because he had owed so much money already.

It is not a surprise then that it is the family who proves instrumental in rehabilitating the gambling addict. It is they who, after acknowledging that love does not mean giving in to what their family member wants, makes the painful decision of committing him or her to the establishment despite protestations.

And these protests can be loud. “They cry, bang their heads against the wall, curse or threaten our staff,” says Ces. It is they who determine that therapy takes a long time and is not an instant solution, because the causes are deeply rooted in the first place. It is the family who will learn to keep watch, no matter how draining it is, whether rehabilitation has indeed taken place or not.

Finally, it is the family who will ensure that no such loss of control over behavior happens again in other kin. They will instill values in their impressionable young members so that when they go out into the

By Michael Schuman KIM Dae-jung, the former president of South Korea, once told me a story that perfectly captures the spirit of reform that followed the 1997 Asian financial crisis. He was on an official trip to Vietnam when a panicked visitor from Seoul sought an audience. It was Kim Woo-choong, the flamboyant founder of Daewoo Group, then Korea’s second-largest business house. Over breakfast in Hanoi, the businessman said his companies were spiraling toward financial ruin and begged the president for help.

In the past, such an appeal probably would’ve worked.

Korean presidents had routinely supported the country’s sprawling conglomerates, called chaebol, as the engines of rapid economic growth. But their shady business practices—which led to debt, excess capacity and graft—were also a key cause of the crisis.

President Kim realized a new approach had become imperative, no matter how painful. He sent Daewoo’s chief back home with nothing more than a lecture: Fix your own problems. Daewoo fell apart shortly thereafter.

It was a gutsy decision—but just one of countless tough choices made by officials around the region to rescue their economies from crisis. Twenty years ago, starting in

July, some of Asia’s best-performing economies—Korea, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia—fell into severe debt crises that saw investors flee, currencies collapse, companies fail and growth contract.

I was a correspondent in Seoul at the time, and it seemed practically every week brought new reforms.

Banks were shuttered, companies restructured, conglomerates dismantled and markets opened.

Indonesia transformed from an autocracy to a democracy. In some cases, policy makers were dragged kicking and screaming toward reform, and many people suffered.

Jakarta smoldered from vicious communal riots. Salarymen in Seoul, too embarrassed to tell their families they had gotten laid off, donned their usual dark suits each morning and loitered in local parks.

But Asia emerged stronger from the crisis because, for the most part, presidents, ministers and technocrats didn’t shirk difficult responsibilities.

Unfortunately, that spirit of ‘97 has largely been lost. Asia in more recent years has been marked instead by the slow pace of reform, even in the face of rising risks and worsening distortions. Faced with these new threats, its governments have to recapture some of the sense of urgency that propelled change two decades ago.

Look, for instance, at the last

decade in Seoul. Kim Dae-jung pulled the plug on Daewoo, but his recent successors have been more inclined to pardon chaebol chiefs accused of various crimes than to continue weakening their power and improving governance.

The consequences became clear over the past year, as yet another chaebol-fueled corruption scandal toppled the last president.

Two decades on, a sense of urgency is needed once again.

Inertia among policy makers has also hurt economic growth.

Indonesia should be one of the world’s premier emerging economies, but thanks to excessive regulation and poor infrastructure, growth is meandering along at only 5 percent. China’s President Xi Jinping and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi have talked big about reform but generally acted small.

China, in fact, is falling into the same debt trap that foiled the old Asian Tigers, while seeming to ignore the warning signs, just as they did. Its debt relative to gross domestic product reached

257 percent at the end of 2016, according to the Bank for International Settlements. Indeed, debt has been rising across Asia.

Although not at crisis levels, it is impeding growth in countries such as Korea and Malaysia.

Perhaps, though, another wave of change is afoot. Moon Jae-in, South Korea’s new president, has signaled that he intends to rein in the chaebol and the families who control them, thereby leveling the playing field for smaller companies. Indonesia’s president, Joko Widodo, has pushed through an ambitious tax amnesty while numerous sectors have been opened wider to foreign investment. Now hopefully he’ll tackle some knottier problems, such as an overly regulated labor market that scares off the factories Indonesia needs to diversify its economy.

Reform is always easier when a crisis leaves policy makers no other options. But without further change, Asia will continue to rely too much on debt instead of productivity gains for growth. In poorer nations, improvements in household welfare will lag. As in the years before 1997, economic irregularities could build up to the point where the region faces another crisis. Will the next Kim Dae-jungs be there when you need them? Bloomberg

A ‘FRENEMY’ RELATIONSHIP

By Eli Lake YOU would be forgiven for thinking the US backs Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in their current standoff against Qatar. President Donald Trump himself has taken the Saudis’ line against their fellow Gulf monarchy, tweeting last week that Arab leaders all pointed to Qatar as a serial financier of terrorism.

This was certainly the impression the Emirates’ ambassador to Washington, Yousef al-Otaiba, gave to journalists this week. When asked about his meetings at the Pentagon and the State Department, the ambassador said, “I don’t think we have a problem with the State Department. I don’t think we have a problem with the Pentagon.”

Earlier this week, General Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the Saudi-led diplomatic and economic boycott of Qatar would not affect military operations out of Qatar’s Al-Udeid airbase.

This is why it’s so strange that Defense Secretary James Mattis would sign a $12-billion deal to sell F-15 fighter jets to the Qataris on Wednesday.

To be sure, the deal was in the works well before the current crisis between Qatar and its Gulf neighbors. And the sale is nowhere near as large as recent multi-billion arms packages negotiated between the US and the Saudis or the Emiratis.

Nonetheless, the symbolism matters.

At the moment the Saudis and Emiratis are

world, they will be able to say no to temptations, however lucrative they might present themselves to be.

It is indeed difficult to counter addiction in a place where the culture permits, even encourages it, says Junjun. Casinos, for one, reserve the best suites—and everything else—for their high rollers. There is an incentive for being a big winner, and when you are losing, your desire to turn things around is magnified.

Junjun also says casinos should keep track of who among their customers are losing big already.

When they identify who they are, their participation must be capped so that they incur no further losses.

“But what happens? You have financiers—loan sharks—on standby, ready to provide instant credit to whoever needs it.”

Indeed it’s a profit-driven industry.

Winner takes all. And what of the losers?

Woe to those who find themselves unable to control their impulses and gamble their possessions—their future, their dignity—away. adellechua@gmail.com

compiling a list of demands for Qatar to meet as a condition for lifting the economic and diplomatic boycott. United Arab Emirates ambassador Yousef al-Otaiba on Tuesday told reporters this list would include things like expelling extremists; shutting down or reining in Qatari media operations that have been hostile to Gulf states; and implementing reforms to how the state tracks and counters terrorist financing. Otaiba expects the list of demands will be presented this week.

In other words, it’s the worst possible moment to give the Qataris any reassurances. The kingdom will soon be asked to take dramatic steps to realign its foreign policy and no longer play both sides in the Arab’s hot war on radical Islam and cold war against Iran. The F-15 deal could give Qatar the sense that it can defy its Gulf neighbors and still enjoy a good relationship with the US, despite Trump’s own statements that he backs the Saudi position.

A Qatari official was quoted as saying: “This is of course proof that US institutions are with us, but we have never doubted that.” Qatar’s ambassador to the US made sure to tweet out a photo of the signing ceremony yesterday, saying Qatar’s purchase would create 60,000 new jobs in the US. The US relationship with Qatar has long been love-hate. The US military relies on Qatar to host the al-Udeid Air Base, and in turn both the Obama and George W. Bush administrations have rarely criticized in public Qatar’s hosting of extremists

or lax regulations on terror financing. As I wrote this month, the outgoing US ambassador to Qatar briefed participants in a policy conference in Washington on progress Qatar has made in cracking down on terror financing, a view that is not shared by the Treasury Department or experts inside the intelligence community.

At the same time, there is at least a chance to pressure the Qataris at this moment to make a course correction. That course correction could emulate the same kind of strategic decisions that the Saudis and Emiratis have made in the last decade with regards to groups like the Muslim Brotherhood, al Qaeda and other adherents to radical Islam. Today, the state at least has played a more active role in rolling up these networks and shutting down their financing than it did in the early 2000s.

Back then, the Saudis hosted telethons to support Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood chapter that builds tunnels from Gaza into Israel for terror attacks and stockpiles crude rockets to launch into Jewish population centers. Today, the Saudis work closely in the shadows with Israel to fight against Iran and the Islamic State. Such a future is possible with Qatar as well—with the right mix of sticks and carrots. That’s why it’s important at the moment for the US to refrain from offering the Qataris any carrots when its neighbors have brandished sticks. Bloomberg

BEWARE OF BLAMING GOVERNMENT FOR LONDON TOWER FIRE

By Megan McArdle A FEW days ago fire swept through Grenfell Tower, a large apartment building in London. It’s not yet known what caused the fire, and we aren’t conclusively sure how it spread so quickly, consuming the entire 24-story building. Nor is it known how many died in the fire; as of Friday, the count is at least 30.

What we do know is that there are ways to help control the spread of fire in apartment buildings, such as sprinkler systems. This has the makings of a scandal for Prime Minister Theresa May’s beleaguered government. Her immigration minister, Brandon Lewis, was formerly the housing minister. He declined to require developers to install sprinklers. The Independent quotes him as telling Parliament in 2014: “We believe that it is the responsibility of the fire industry, rather than the Government, to market fire sprinkler systems effectively and to encourage their wider installation… The cost of fitting a fire sprinkler system may affect house building—something we want

to encourage—so we must wait to see what impact that regulation has.”

People who died in the Grenfell fire might be alive today if regulators had required sprinkler systems. This does not play well for the Tories.

But before we start hanging them in effigy, there are a couple of things we should consider. The first is that, even if the regulation had passed, and required existing developers to retrofit sprinklers into older buildings, Grenfell Tower might not have gotten a sprinkler system before the fire occurred. Regulations are not implemented like instant coffee; they take time to formulate, and further time for businesses to comply.

This, however, is only a quibble; even if Grenfell Tower could not have been saved, there are surely other buildings where fires will soon occur that would benefit from sprinklers. Must we wait for those deaths before we can say that his was a bad calculation? Well, no. But we should wait until we can establish that it was actually a bad calculation.

It may sound heartless to discuss lifesaving measures as a calculation. But the fact is that we all make these sorts of

calculations every day, about ourselves and others. We just don’t like to admit that we’re doing it.

It’s completely possible that the former housing minister made the wrong call. But his comment indicates he was thinking about the question in the right way—taking seriously the fact that safety regulations come at a cost, which may exceed their benefit. Such calculations have to be made, no matter how horrified the tut-tutting after the fact.

And he is certainly right about one thing: When it comes to many regulations, it is best to leave such calculations of benefit and cost to the market, rather than the government.

Grenfell Tower, of course, was public housing, which changes the calculation somewhat. And yet, even there, trade-offs have to be made. The government spends money on a great number of things, many of which save lives. Every dollar it spends on installing sprinkler systems cannot be spent on the health service, or national defense, or pollution control. Would more lives be saved by those measures or by sprinkler systems in public housing? It’s hard to say. Bloomberg

World RODMAN: NORTH KOREA VISIT WAS ‘REAL GOOD TRIP’ BEIJING—Flamboyant former basketball star Dennis Rodman landed in Beijing Saturday after a visit to North Korea, describing the escapade as a “real good trip.”

Sporting a baseball cap, sunglasses, green nail polish and a black t-shirt emblazoned with the logo of sponsor PotCoin – a cryptocurrency for the legal cannabis industry – Rodman declined to comment further as he was swarmed at the Beijing airport by journalists.

He had arrived in North Korea on Tuesday, saying that he wanted to “open the door” to the regime and claiming that US President Donald Trump would be pleased with his mission.

“Dennis is working hard for both countries, trying to, you know, mend the tension as much as possible,” his assistant, who accompanied him and asked to be called “Vo,” told reporters.

“With sports that’s what happens, right? Sports unite, sports and music unite,” he added.

While in North Korea, Rodman was shown in video and photos presenting the isolated country’s sports minister Kim Il Guk with off-the-wall gifts that included a copy of Trump’s book “The Art of the Deal,” soap, two autographed jerseys, and a copy of “Where’s Waldo? The Totally Essential Travel Collection.”

Trump was Rodman’s boss when he appeared on the “Celebrity Apprentice” reality TV show. AFP

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SYRIAN REBELS IN TIGHT POSITION

EIRUT, Lebanon—A diplomatic crisis pitting Saudi Arabia against Qatar has put Syrian rebels in a difficult position, analysts say, after rivalries between Gulf backers had already weakened the opposition.

Both Sunni-ruled monarchies sided with the protesters in March 2011, when the war started with the brutal repression of anti-government demonstrations.

They continued supporting the mostly Sunni rebels when unrest spiralled into conflict between the armed opposition and troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, who hails from the country’s Alawite Shiite minority and is backed by Saudi Arabia’s arch-rival Iran.

But six years later, the rebellion has been plagued by rivalries between Riyadh and Doha, as well as weakened by Russia’s military intervention in support of Assad’s forces.

Moscow’s support for regime forces led to a series of setbacks for the rebels, including their landmark loss in December of second city Aleppo.

Last week, Saudi Arabia and allies, including the United Arab Emirates, severed or reduced diplomatic ties with Qatar over accusations the emirate supports extremism, claims Doha has denied.

“The current rupture puts the Syrian opposition in a very awkward position politically, as nobody wants to have to take sides publicly nor can afford to alienate either side,” said Yezid Sayigh, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Middle East

Centre.

A rebel official in the opposition stronghold of Eastern Ghouta outside Damascus said he hoped the crisis between Doha and Riyadh was just “a temporary storm.”

“Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates have supported the revolution of the Syrian people and shown solidarity throughout years of tragedy,” the rebel official said.

In a sign of the embarrassment the crisis is causing, several rebel groups approached by AFP refused to comment, saying it was a “sensitive” issue.

But Sayigh said the latest flare-up in relations between Qatar and Saudi Arabia will have a limited impact on the Syrian conflict.

“It probably won’t have a major financial impact, nor a military one since the US and Turkey have stepped up their support for factions that previously were close to Qatar or to Saudi Arabia,” Sayigh said.

Riyadh “reduced its funding sharply starting” from the summer of 2015 “after it launched its intervention in Yemen” earlier in the year, he said.

Six years into the war, Syria’s fractured rebellion controls just around 10 percent of the war-torn country, with backing from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Jordan and the United States.

Pro-Doha rebels including the powerful Ahrar al-Sham group are present in the north of the country.

In Eastern Ghouta, pro-Doha opposition groups exist alongside the pro-Riyadh Jaish al-Islam rebel alliance.

Rebels in the south, meanwhile, are trained by Amman and Washington.

Another influential player is Syria’s former Al-Qaeda affiliate, which now leads the Tahrir al-Sham group and which some analysts and Syrian factions say has links with Qatar, although Doha has denied this. AFP

RAPE VICTIM SEES OPERA INSPIRED

BY HER STORY LOS ANGELES—Fifteen years after her horrific gang rape by a local clan in her village in Pakistan, Mukhtar Mai is reliving her ordeal – and courageousness – through a US opera inspired by her story.

“I was very emotional when I first started watching it and began reliving the incident in my mind,” Mai, 37, told AFP on Friday, after attending the Los Angeles premiere of “Thumbprint.”

“But then as the opera progressed, it became easier to watch and I felt more courage,” she said in Urdu, speaking through a translator.

The opera, by composer Kamala Sankaram and librettist Susan Yankowitz, recounts Mai’s 2002 rape and her decision to defy her attackers and take them to court – an unusual move in maledominated Pakistan, where a woman who suffers such a crime often commits suicide rather than endure the stigma and shame associated with it.

“Thumbprint” first opened in New York in 2014 but Mai had never seen the opera. She traveled this week from her home in the remote Pakistani village of Meerwala to attend the West Coast premiere. AFP

S. KOREA JUSTICE CHIEF NOMINEE WITHDRAWS SEOUL—A scandal-hit law professor bowed out of the running to become South Korea’s justice minister Saturday over his controversial views on women and admissions of drunk driving and other transgressions.

Ahn Kyong-Hwan withdrew his candidacy in the wake of a public outcry centered on his 2016 book “What is Man?” and past behavior, including the revelation that he had once forged a marriage registration with an ex-girlfriend without her knowledge.

The move is widely seen as a serious blow to South Korea’s new President Moon Jae-In’s efforts to reform state prosecution authorities under the command of the justice ministry, who have a checkered history of corruption and abuse of power.

Ahn’s nomination sparked a storm of controversy immediately after it was announced last Sunday, with concern focusing on his confessions in a newspaper column three years ago that he had repeatedly driven drunk and had cheated in a tax return.

Ahn, a former head of the state human rights watchdog, also came under fire for his views on the role of women, outlined in his book, which featured musings such as “female company is essential for drinking.”

“Women can live selling their bodies rather than begging. There are men in abundance who are willing to pay for sex,” he said in the book. His nomination sparked a public outcry. AFP

GOING ‘OUT’. This photo taken on June 14, 2017 shows gay couples including Ren Weilian (third from left) and Zhu Tiantian (fourth from left) waving before departing on a five-day cruise, during which they will have an unofficial wedding ceremony, in Shanghai. China does not recognise same-sex unions, but that’s not stopping couples like Ren and Zhu from tying the knot in informal ceremonies as the country’s sexual minorities quietly assert their rights. AFP

SLEEP APNEA AMONG FACTORS IN CARRIE FISHER’S DEATH

This file photo taken on June 10, 2004 shows actress Carrie Fisher attending the premiere of the MGM film “De-Lovely” at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills, California. The actress of “Star Wars” fame, died from sleep apnea and “other undetermined factors,” the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said Friday. AFP

LOS ANGELES—Carrie Fisher, the actress of “Star Wars” fame, died from sleep apnea and “other undetermined factors,” the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said Friday.

The brief statement also cited conditions of drug use and atherosclerotic heart= disease, a buildup of plaque in the artery walls.

Under “how injury occurred,” the report noted the intake of multiple drugs, the significance of which remained unclear, it said.

The office said the manner of death would be listed as undetermined.

The actress – who catapulted to worldwide stardom as rebel warrior Princess Leia in the original “Star Wars” trilogy – suffered a medical emergency on a transatlantic flight in late December. She died four days later at the age of 60.

In January, the LA coroner listed the cause of death as cardiac arrest.

Fisher had suffered from numerous addictions and was searingly honest about her bipolar disorder, as well as prescription drug use.

The actress’s mother Debbie Reynolds, who won moviegoers’ hearts as a star of “Singin’ in the Rain,” died the day after Fisher.

In a statement to People magazine, Fisher’s daughter Billie Lourd connected her mother’s death to drugs.

“My mom battled drug addiction and mental illness her entire life,” Lourd said. “She ultimately died of it. She was purposefully open in all of her work about the social stigmas surrounding these diseases.” AFP

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SUNDAY, JUNE 18, 2017 Cesar Barrioquinto, Editor / Jimbo Gulle, Issue Editor

World

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JOHN AVILDSEN, DIRECTOR OF ‘ROCKY,’ DIES AT 81

ROGER’S TIME. Recording artist Roger Waters, co-founder of the famous rock band Pink Floyd, performs at T-Mobile Arena on Friday in Las Vegas, Nevada. Waters’ concert was considered an openly anti-Donald Trump performance despite not mentioning the US President by name at any time during the show. AFP

ANGER BOILS OVER AS FIRE TOLL HITS 30

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ONDON—Angry London residents heckled Prime Minister Theresa May and stormed local authority headquarters Friday as they demanded justice for the victims of a tower block fire that left 30 people dead, with dozens more unaccounted for.

May was criticised for avoiding locals when she visited the burntout shell of the 24-storey Grenfell Tower on Thursday, but faced cries of “shame on you” and “coward” when she returned the following day.

Dozens of police officers held back booing crowds and broke up scuffles as her car drove off from a local church, where she had met survivors, residents and volunteers and promised new funds for those affected.

There were also angry scenes outside the offices of the Kensington and Chelsea council, which was responsible for managing the 1970s social housing block, in a working-class enclave in one of London’s richest areas.

There are questions about why the block was not fitted with sprinklers or a central smoke alarm, and whether a recent refurbishment, including new external cladding, helped fuel the flames.

“It was a death trap and they

knew it,” one person shouted as demonstrators swelled outside the council building, with dozens going inside and clashing with police and security guards.

“I have friends in the tower and they are not telling us anything,” said Salwa Buamani, 25, who took part in the peaceful protest outside with her three-year-old niece.

Protesters later marched to the edge of the police cordon around the tower, shouting “no justice, no peace,” where a few young men tried unsuccessfully to break through.

Another demonstration took place outside May’s Downing Street office, while later in the evening, hundreds of mourners gathered near the tower for a candlelight vigil.

The death toll rose to 30 on

Friday but authorities warned it would increase further, as fire crews picked their way through the wreckage of the blaze in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

May has announced a judgeled inquiry into what happened, and on Friday promised £5 million ($6.4 million, 5.7 million euro) for emergency supplies, food and clothing.

But accusations of a slow official response have heaped pressure on the premier, whose Conservative government remains in limbo after losing its parliamentary majority in last week’s election.

In an interview with the BBC late Friday, May insisted she was “deeply affected” by the “horrifying” stories of survivors, and repeated that she was determined to help. AFP

TRUMP ANNOUNCES HE’S BEING INVESTIGATED WASHINGTON—US President Donald Trump announced Friday he is under investigation in connection with a probe into alleged Russian election meddling that is gnawing away at his administration – and gathering pace.

The Republican leader also lashed out at the Justice Department’s number two, the man tasked with organizing the probe.

The furious early morning barrage of tweets – his second in as many days – came as the special counsel investigating Russia’s influence over his election pieced together a high-caliber legal team and readied to begin interviews.

Trump is accused of firing FBI director James Comey over his refusal to steer the Russia investigation away from former national security advisor and Trump ally Mike Flynn.

The US president has denied trying to influence the investigation, but has acknowledged in an interview that Russia was on his mind when he dismissed Comey.

“I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt” he tweeted from the White House shortly before a day trip to Miami.

That appeared to be the first public confirmation that Trump is being inves-

tigated for obstruction of justice – and a digital salvo trained at Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who wrote a memo criticizing Comey.

A source on Trump’s legal team attempted to clarify the missive, claiming he was reacting to media reports about the investigation rather than offering public confirmation.

Meanwhile, special counsel Robert Mueller – a respected former FBI director – has sought to beef up his investigatory firepower.

Peter Carr, a spokesman for Mueller, told AFP he now has “13 attorneys on board, with several more in the pipeline.”

That will only add to a sense of foreboding that pervades the White House, from the crammed collective workspaces of junior officials all the way to the Oval Office.

The widened Russia probe could have far-reaching repercussions for Trump’s presidency, transforming his closest aides into witnesses and sucking even more political oxygen out of the West Wing.

Trump was set to escape the Washington pressure cooker on Saturday.

Accompanied by First Lady Melania, he will make his first trip to the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland. AFP

CRY FOR JUSTICE. Protestors carry a portrait of Philando Castile on Friday in St Paul, Minnesota. Protests erupted in Minnesota after Officer Jeronimo Yanez was acquitted on all counts in the shooting death of Castile, a native of St. Louis, Missouri, on July 6 last year. AFP

LOS ANGELES—John Avildsen, the Oscar-winning director whose blockbuster films like “Rocky” and “The Karate Kid” championed the ascent of underdogs, has died. He was 81 years old.

The filmmaker died of pancreatic cancer at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles Times, citing Avildsen’s eldest son.

The 1976 hit “Rocky” – an adrenaline-pumping story that captures the rise of a down-andout boxer from working-class Philadelphia – earned Avildsen an Oscar for best director.

The tight-budget drama was a sleeper hit, propelling actor Sylvester Stallone to Hollywood fame and growing into a beloved franchise. Avildsen returned to direct just one of his original film’s six sequels, Rocky V. Stallone took to Instagram to pay tribute to Avildsen, who helped usher the actor to stardom: “R. I. P. I’m sure you will soon be directing Hits in Heaven- Thank you, Sly.” AFP

BOEING, AIRBUS TAKE DOGFIGHT TO PARIS SHOW PARIS—The aircraft industry descends on Paris Monday for the world’s biggest airshow, a prime battleground for bitter rivals Boeing and Airbus, but also a chance for new kids on the block to snap at the heels of the two giants.

Single-aisle planes for short and medium distances are the hottest ticket in the world’s civil aviation industry, with airline demand for models in the Airbus A320 family giving the European company an edge, for now, over its American opponent which is racing to return in force to the mid-range segment.

But the duopoly is not without challengers: Competition is looming, notably from Russia and China who have each been test-flying their own mid-range models.

The airshow comes a little too early for either Russia’s Irkut, with its MC-21, or China’s Comac, with the much-flagged C919, to be able to showcase their aircraft there, but both will leave little doubt that they expect to win a big slice of the aviation pie in the future. AFP

MEME HUMOR HELPS BRAZILIANS COPE WITH TIMES SAO PAULO, Brazil—Political corruption, economic crisis, rampant crime – the headlines in Brazil are grim, so locals have taken to online memes that often go viral to relieve the stress.

A flurry of memes -- funny images or video coupled with text that are spread online -- making light of the country’s bleak situation have taken the internet by storm in a country that has the world’s second largest number of Facebook users.

One popular meme has tourists taking pictures next to a leaning Tower of Pisa with the face of the deeply unpopular president Michel Temer on it.

Another has Tite, the coach of the national football team, being proclaimed president.

Sandro Sanfelice says that the meme creators are like the orchestra aboard the Titanic: they’ll keep playing even as the country sinks under a flood of scandal and corruption.

Sanfelice, a 28-year-old who works for a phone company in the southern city of Curitiba, has 1.3 million followers on his specialty Facebook page Capinaremos. He claims that some of his memes have reached five million users. AFP