Memoires of Another Kind

Arroyo warned on rice crisis

“Rice is an extremely sensitive political commodity. Pres. Arroyo said there was no rice shortage “because that is a physical phenomenon where people line up on the streets to buy rice.” At P30 per kilo, the government’s latest rice purchase cost more than 60 percent of the National Food Authority’s subsidized price of P18.25 per kilo. Ample supply is the surest way for us to ward off higher rice prices as well as broader consumer price increases that may be associated with rice price inflation. “While declaring that we have no rice shortage, Pres. Arroyo said prices would increase. Sen. Roxas urged the government to treat the rice problem as a calamity and release emergency funds to avert a crisis.

Sen. Legarda said the NFA rice subsidies were not sustainable in the wake of spiraling rice prices in the world market and that this would encourage the diversion of the subsidized rice to the retail market by unscrupulous traders. She cited the decision of the world’s biggest rice exporter, Thailand, to control rigorously foreign sales to secure its own needs; China’s move to start importing rice due to a major local shortage, and the decline in rice output growth in Asia—the world’s rice basket—to an annual average of just 1.1 percent in recent years versus 2.7 percent in the 1970s as the key factors that had precipitated the global rice shortfall. Annual subsidies “are not sustainable, not when rice prices are as high as they are overseas,” Sen. Legarda said.

Rice, Church and State

The lack of collective concern for the constant threat of hunger that confronts a poor family daily has shocked and saddened me no end. I know that there is a social action arm in most religious organizations, but I cannot but accept that intervention against hunger in particular and poverty in general is nowhere proportionate to the actual need of the poor and hungry and the demands of the Christian faith.

This preponderance of religious information, however, matches badly against actual reality. The Christian path starts with the mission of Jesus, a mission with primary focus on the poor, the weak, the oppressed and the sick. Filipino Christians have fared badly in their journey of faith if the collective expression and action against poverty and hunger is basis to assess Christian behavior. I have been monitoring visible responses to the state of massive poverty and the daily threat of hunger to the poor. Thank God, then, for the rice and food crisis that looms. Divine intervention suddenly awakens a nation, its government, its corporations, its churches—including the Catholic Church. Poor Filipinos will now troop to parish centers to buy subsidized rice even when they do not troop to churches in the same number every Sunday. There can hardly be a more effective move to cement relationships between the Catholic Church and the political leadership of a nation characterized, in the words of Church leaders, by a "cancer of corruption."

The Church and the State are not strange bedfellows. A rice and food crisis is a singular opportunity to learn our lessons, why we have shortages and why Filipinos are forced to go hungry.

Rice queue nightmare

All of a sudden, rice queues have appeared at National Food Authority (NFA) outlets that sell the staple of 90 million Filipinos at the subsidized government price of P18.25 a kilo. Unlike previous administrations, which had experienced rice crises, the incumbent has dug deepest into its arsenal of responses to a food emergency, ranging from throwing money into massive rice importation and using its police powers to stop hoarding of rice and profiteering (but not yet price control). It hopes to avert the spectacle of hungry mobs marching in the streets, demanding cheap rice.

Most recently, the Department of Justice created an Anti-Rice-Hoarding Task Force targeting “unscrupulous rice traders for acts inimical to public interest.” It threatened to charge traders found hoarding rice with economic sabotage and plunder, which carries a life sentence. These “unscrupulous rice traders” are mostly members of the Chinese rice cartels, the traditional targets of crackdowns on hoarding and profiteering.

This crackdown mirrors the police-state mentality of the Arroyo administration and does not contribute to an increase in the rice supply or address the problems that lie behind the recurring rice supply deficits in the Philippines.

The Philippines is the largest rice importer in the world. At the food summit in Clark a week ago, the President pledged to allocate P43.7 billion for a rice production program that would “ensure abundant, affordable and accessible” food supply.

Looming burden for consumers

The NFA is planning to increase the selling price of government subsidized rice (NFA rice), according to reports.

The KMP gathered a small crowd to protest the planned price increase. In a statement, KMP president Ka Paeng Mariano said that the group was opposing the proposed increase in the price of NFA rice and Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez’s proposal for Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to declare a “rice emergency.” The solution, said Mariano, would be to impose rice price controls and to increase procurement of rice by the NFA.

Harvest of wrath

Some observers have pointed out that the rice scarcity has allowed Pres. Arroyo to divert public attention from the corruption scandals besetting her administration. The least effective measure the administration can use to combat the rice deficit and the skyrocketing rice prices is police action, which seems to the weapon of choice, to stop rice hoarding and profiteering.

The rice deficit and prices present the most exacting challenge yet to Pres. Arroyo’s crisis management skills and reserves. The old approaches have been taken out of the shelves and dusted off—including massive rice importation to fill the domestic production shortfalls, monopoly of subsidized rice sale by the NFA, and new commitment of money to increase rice production on short notice. For every move the government makes to head off the unrest in the streets over rice prices, there are costs to pay, whether it is massive importation of rice, allowing the private sector to import rice, not leaving the import entirely to the NFA, cutting by half the tariff on rice imports, or raising the price of government-subsidized rice (at P18.24 a kilogram), to provide incentives to local rice producers and also to reduce its huge losses on the subsidies. You make happy the rice producers, you make angry the consumers—mainly the poor who comprise 60 percent of the beneficiaries of NFA rice. Commercial rice, not NFA rice, is the catalyst.

These are--in random order--my personal Top 100 Gay Classics. Some records are sung by gay artists, some have lyrics that are gay orientated, and some are just popular in the gay community (or at least with me). You can also download all the first 10 cuts of the 100 Gay Classics at my playlist and watch it videos at my jukebox.


No. 1 "Dancing Queen" is the biggest hit single recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA, and as such is considered by many to be their signature song. "Dancing Queen" features the shared lead vocal performance by Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. "Dancing Queen" recording sessions began August 4, 1975; the demo was called “Boogaloo,” and as the sessions progressed, Andersson and Ulvaeus found inspiration to the dance rhythm in George McCrae's disco classic "Rock Your Baby," as well as the drumming on Dr. John's 1972 album Gumbo.


No. 2 Gloria Gaynor would only enjoy a few moderate hits. The song was awarded the first and only Grammy Award for Best Disco Recording in 1980 (the category was discontinued upon disco's fall from favor shortly afterward). Radio DJs flipped the record over, and audience response forced the record company to flip the songs, so that subsequent copies of the single listed the more popular song on the A-side. The use of the song was however ironic. In 1980 and again in 1981, Gaynor released two excellent disco albums which were virtually ignored in the US due to the backlash against disco, which began late in 1979. Surprisingly, neither album’s singles registered on urban contemporary radio, where disco music remained popular. In 1983, she released an album entitled Gloria Gaynor, in which she rejected disco for mid-tempo R&B and Pop style songs. The album contained a patriotic song called "America" as well as a new version of "I Will Survive." Gaynor would achieve her final success in the '80s with the release of her album I Am Gloria Gaynor in 1984. "I Am What I Am" made Gaynor a gay icon. In 1997, Gaynor published an autobiography entitled I Will Survive. On 13 July 2007, Gaynor was interviewed by BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour. Gaynor each time refused to answer the question directly.

No. 3 "I'm Coming Out" is a hit single released by Motown legend Diana Ross in 1980. It was composed by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers, members of Chic, for her album Diana (1980). Nile Rodgers, the co-writer and co-producer of the song, said that he got the inspiration for the song after going to a California discothèque and noticing several drag queens dressing up as none other than Ross, who, by her own admission, had become a gay icon. When the song was finally released as a single in the spring of 1980, fans of Ross's and members of the gay, lesbian, and bisexual community heralded the song as their anthem. The song was a hit, peaking at number five on the Billboard Pop Singles chart and was another gold-certified single for Ross. It is also notable for being the first song usually performed at Ross' performances and concerts since 1980. When the song was released, Ross was doing a little "coming out" of her own after announcing to the world that after twenty years in the celebrated Motown record label that she was leaving, later signing a US$ 20 million contract with RCA Records.

No.4 The Boys Town Gang was a disco and hi-NRG band. Their popularity peaked in the 1980s, when the group reached number 5 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart with the single “Cruisin' the Streets” and number 4 in Britain and number 1 in the Netherlands with their cover of “Can't Take My Eyes Off You.” In 1980 DJ Bill Motley saw an opportunity to form a group that catered to San Francisco's large gay clientele. In his search to form a group he auditioned hundreds of vocalists, both male and female. It was local cabaret singer Cynthia Manley who captured the lead spot. The idea was originally for one 12" single, two tracks of high energy music. Motley, a huge Diana Ross fan, picked two Ashford & Simpson songs to form a medley for the A-side. And for the B-side he wrote a disco drama in four acts. A label was founded to release the two songs. When "Remember Me/Ain't No Mountain High Enough" was released America was coming off of the "death to disco" trip. Club goers, especially the gay ones, had not stopped dancing; it was just that the high energy music of 1978 and 1979 was not being produced or released by late 1980 or early 1981. Immediately the song took off, Manley's gruff vocals propelled the song into the top of the club charts. The B-side was marginally popular, depending on where the people partied. The four-act explicit "Cruisin' The Streets" was a snapshot of Castro and Market Streets at sundown.

No. 5 "Y.M.C.A." is a 1978 song by the Village People which became a hit in January 1979. The song reached #2 on the U.S. charts in early 1979 and reached #1 in the UK around the same time, becoming the group's biggest hit ever. Taking the song at face value, its lyrics extol the virtues of the Young Men's Christian Association. The song has continued to remain popular due to its status as a disco classic and gay anthem, even among listeners who are otherwise uninvolved in disco or gay culture. "YMCA’s" other distinctive element is its vocal line, with its repeated "Young man!" euphonizes, sung by all band members, while lead singer Victor Willis handles the rest of the line alone. "YMCA" is also the name of a group dance with cheerleader Y-M-C-A choreography invented to fit the song.

Y - Arms outstretched and raised
M -Made by bending the elbows from the 'Y' pose so the fingertips meet over the chest
C - Arms extended to the left
A - Hands held together above head

No. 6 Pet Shop Boys are seen as significant figures in gay culture for such songs as "Can you forgive her?", "It's a sin" (for which gay director Derek Jarman produced the video), "New York City Boy" and their cover of Village People's "Go West." Pet Shop Boys have performed and worked with many artists considered to be gay and bisexual icons such as David Bowie, Elton John, Liza Minnelli, Dusty Springfield, Boy George, Kylie Minogue and Madonna. Pet Shop Boys attempted to organise and perform in a planned 2001 tour of out gay musicians, entitled 'Wotapalava'.

No. 7 There's very little information known about Miguel Brown. 20 some odd years later Sinitta would rival mom on the club charts. Spotted by an unknown producer in the musical led to her first record release, "The First Time Around." The resulting effort produced by Alan and Barry Mason, yielded Miquel her first international hit. Thanks in large part to the mix by Jim Burgess "Symphony of Love" sky-rocketed up the charts in 1978. The album was rich in flavor and spice and included several club favorites. Miquel, with a brief glimpse of fame, retreated back to club and session work and being a working mom. The timing was right for Ian to introduce what would become the next wave of "dance" music...high energy! Ian, along with collaborator Fiachra Trench, assembled six powerful tracks for Miquel to record. The resulting album released on England's Record Shack label (the U.S. version was on T.S.R. Records) saw both Levine and Brown achieve global success. The first 12" single was the gay anthem and historic hit "So Many Men, So Little Time." All have that unmistakable Levine imprint and coupled with Brown's vocals became immediate club hits. Miquel coasted along for two years on the success of her first album. Despite poor sales and lack of chart success Record Shack and Levine hung in there and stood by Miquel. She had two more 12" singles on Record Shack. By 1986 Levine had severed his ties with Record Shack and started his own label Nightmare Records. Miquel's first release on Nightmare was "Footprints in the Sand" an excellent record that was sorely overlooked. Content with her acting and the occasional personal appearance it seems Brown's musical career is all but over.

No. 8 "It's Raining Men" is a song written by Paul Jabara and Paul Shaffer in 1979, and originally recorded by The Weather Girls in 1982. The song had been offered to a who's-who of female singing legends including Donna Summer, Grace Jones, Diana Ross, Cher, Chaka Khan,Aretha Franklin, Teena Marie, Gloria Gaynor, and even Barbra Streisand before being accepted by Martha Wash and Izora Armstead of The Weather Girls, with their version becoming an international hit, selling over 6 million copies worldwide. It was covered by Martha Wash (of The Weather Girls) as a duet with RuPaul in 1997, Geri Halliwell in 2001 and by Young Divas in 2006. The song is hailed as a camp classic and more recently as a dance anthem, and as a classic female anthem.

No. 9 Sylvester (1946 - 1988) was a star, plain and simple. He was one of the first openly gay pop music stars, and, unlike the Village People, he was not a caricature. Sylvester was for real. His shows were wild and his personality flamboyant, but underneath was a sincere, talent-filled entertainer. Sylvester James was born in 1946 in Los Angeles. He made his stage debut with the Cockettes, an androgynous theatrical group, on New Year's Eve 1970. Later in the 1970's, Sylvester put together the Hot Band. He began recording for the Blue Thumb label and built up a loyal audience in San Francisco with his outrageous stage shows. By the end of the 1970's, Sylvester was a disco star. His hits, Dance (Disco Heat) and You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) are classics. The latter featured synthesizer arrangements from Patrick Cowley that would influence dance music for years to come. Dance music fans have not forgotten Sylvester. He will always be deeply missed.

No. 10 Diva (Hebrew script: דיווה) was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 performed in Hebrew by Dana International representing Israel. The interval act before the announcement of votes and Dana's reprise of the song also represents the last time that live music from an orchestra was used in the Contest, as the 1999 Contest was held in a venue not large enough to hold orchestras. Dana is also currently the only transgender singer to have won the Contest. The song was succeeded in 1999 as Contest winner by Charlotte Nilsson, performing Take Me to Your Heaven for Sweden.

My Friday visits at Rookie are ended when I saw him talking sweetly to his girl neighbor. After that incident, I’d convinced my family to give the dog to Rookie to stop us from going to their place anymore. That was the saddest of growing up; the feeling of emptiness after something habitual was untaken. It was pain in the most personal kind. And it took time to unbreak my heart. I’d engaged myself full time with my studies and disco, since around that time it was the craze thing to do during the weekends.