THE group of priests, nuns, and opposition leaders had been repeatedly appealed to stay within Plaza Miranda and not to proceed to nearby Mendiola or other places where the organizers had not gotten a permit to occupy them, all to no avail. Most of the rallies at busy streets where the traffic is heavy have been led by the religious and their followers who call their rally as a prayer march to implore God’s mercy so President Arroyo would step down from office. There are many designated rally sites where they can deliver speeches to high heaven, sing, dance, and do whatever they want to just so not to libel anyone. If they find it cumbersome to secure a permit, then they should stage the rally in their churches not to bother the pedestrians and avoid their curses.
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It was a wise move for the government to ask the Philippine National Police to publish lists of all freedom parks where rallies can be conducted. All other places where rallies are conducted should be considered as illegal entries especially those rallies which stop the traffic of vehicles and the free passage of pedestrians on streets occupied by the ralliyists. None in the freedom park can be forced to vacate the place and stop the rally. With those provided parks, there will be no reason for any one, or the opposition, priests, nuns, and other religious to rally in other places on the guise of exercising their constitutional right to freedom of speech or freedom of religious practice. This way, no police will shot anyone with water. Less, one takes advantage of a free shower.
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Offering a course in "Exorcism and Diabolic Possession" for a second year by the Vatican-recognized university today is not new. The university had been reportedly worried about the devil’s lure, particularly among young Italians that prompted it include that course in its curriculum. Students who have shown interest to enroll in the course are made to receive a paper detailing a 10-point guide to recognizing and preventing interest in the occult. I said that it was not new, because as early as 1970, no less than Gov. and Regency Chair Renald Regand of the University of California bestowed on Philip Emmons Isaac Bonevits the Degree of Bachelor of Arts with a Major of Magic. His thesis, titled "Real Magic," brings out of the dark ages through investigation of the occult.
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I came across a newspaper last week which I should have to refer to before discussing this in this column. The subject is about game theory. Many of my readers may have known about this. In fact, I discussed the topic "Game Theory in Conflict Resolution" in my book "The Trial Complex: A Multidisciplinary Technique in Courtroom Advocacy," which Ateneo prescribed to my law students. At the time of my writing and publishing of that book locally (1988), the Harvard College had not yet published and copyrighted the book "Game Theory and the Law" jointly by Baird, Gertner, and Picker (1994). It offers new ways of thinking about problems in anti-discrimination, environmental, labor, and other areas of law. You may want to check it out.
