Only the freedom of the praise?

It's really saddening to see the spectacle of 70 Filipino journalists seeking the aid of the Supreme Court to stop threats from the GMA administration to muzzle press freedom. The peril comes in various forms: threats of arrests, criminal prosecution. Those whose TVs were on during that Trillanes caper will have seen some newsmen manacled like common criminals. Obviously, the blatant threat, (not veiled, mind you,) to the journalistic corp was this: o.k. you guys, if you cover dramatic situations like these, you're going to get it in the neck. You'll get hauled to interrogation centers. In short the whole panoply of official persecution.

So could you blame the magnificent 70 from raising a hue and cry before the Supreme Court.

For evil to triumph, it is said, only requires that good men do nothing. Luckily we have the icons of journalism, such as: Maria Ressa, Cecilia Lazaro, Conrado de Quiros, Rina Jimenez-David and Manuel Quezon III and the rest to draw the line on the sand, and say to the government – the constitution establishes the sacred right of press freedom; that people have the right to know; that journalists are the witnesses who report the momentous events. They have the right to be where the events are happening. Even the dangers of warfare are not forbidden to legitimate journalists. If they get shot or kidnapped, charge that to their choice of profession. But to treat them like they are part of a “conspiracy” and make all sorts of threatening noises is way, way off the mark.

Luckily for press freedom and also for free speech our Supreme Court down to the lower judicial levels, appear to be sensitive against the in-roads to press freedom. An RTC judge in Makati , Judge Winlove Dumayas has issued a restraining order against government apparatchiks to prevent an abuse of the press. (The restraining order which has a life of only 72 hours has undoubtedly lapsed by now).

In the matter of libel the Supreme Court has suggested that courts, instead of inflicting penalty of imprisonment, impose fines instead. This has raised the hackles of Malacañang but the High Court has stood its ground. Libel cases are a favorite weapon of those in power to scare newsmen from doing their critical duty.

FROM RALEIGH TO RENO :  

Not too many visitors to Vegas get away from the Strip, the fabled street lined with towering hotels with the inevitable casinos. Indeed, the Strip caters to anybody's peculiar fantasy. Want to go to Venice ? Well, right here is the Venetian, a replica of that far-away city criss-crossed with canals. Or is Paris , your fancy? Then it's Hotel Paris complete with an Eiffel tower. Fe wanted to go up the Eiffel but it will set you back 8 dollars. Forget it.

But there's a spot, if you're tired of gawking at it all, which may refresh your spirit and make you forget you've lost quite a bit at the game table at Caesar's Palace – - Lake Las Vegas, a virtual jewel in the Nevada desert just 17 miles from the Strip. You enter the precincts of the resort – and you're greeted with mansions lifted from the shores of the Mediterranean . But the major show-case is the Ritz-Carlton, a pink hotel whose façade is prefaced with four Moroccan palms. The hotel rooms have fantastic view of Lake Vegas , a 320 acre, man-made lake offering water sports, yatch excursions. If you want to have a dreamy gondola ride, just ask the desk. Of course, the view of the low mountains that surround Lake Vegas is a bonus offer.

Jericho , Juvy, Fe and I found ourselves at the lake-side Montelago Village . You can swear you are in an Italian village until you're reminded you're in good old U.S.A. by the chatter in English. However, the cobble-stoned streets keep fueling the fantasy that you're far away in Europe .

We had a table by the lake. There was a big yacht moored nearby. Silence hung like a gray drape.

We toured the subdivision nearby, full of posh houses. Celine Dion, the songstress of Caesar's Palace is supposed to live here. She commutes to the Strip by helicopter.

It's hard to leave places like Lake Vegas . If it's a toss up between a lake and a casino, with me, I'll take the lake.*

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