IPS Inter Press Service - Arts and Entertainment

IPS, civil society's leading news agency, is an independent voice from the South and for development, delving into globalisation for the stories underneath.

BOOKS-IRAQ: The Fruit of a Poisonous Tree - (Found June 18, 2008 )

WASHINGTON, Jun 12 (IPS) - For those seeking different and deeper reasons why Iraq ended up where it is today, other than the often-cited but somewhat clichd list of blunders like the disbanding of the Iraqi army and dissolving of the Baath party, Jonathan Steele's "Defeat: Why America and Britain Lost Iraq" is a must-read.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42767

Q&A: Singing to a Political Beat - (Found June 18, 2008 )

BRUSSELS, Apr 28 (IPS) - If a European rock music fan has just one album by an African artist in his or her collection, there is a higher than average chance it was recorded by Youssou N&39;Dour. The Senegalese man&39;s status as his continent&39;s most lucrative cultural export was underscored in 2005, when he was the only African to appear at the main Live8 concert in London&39;s Hyde Park, an event that attracted several billion TV viewers, according to its organisers.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42150

RIGHTS-US: "Bioterror" Case Falls Apart - (Found June 18, 2008 )

NEW YORK, May 2 (IPS) - After a four-year legal battle, a U.S. federal judge has dismissed all charges against an avant-garde artist who public officials condemned as a bio-terrorist in a case critics are calling "a persecution, not a prosecution".
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42206

RIGHTS-SRI LANKA: &39My Daughter, the Terrorist&39 - (Found June 18, 2008 )

OSLO, May 6 (IPS) - In Sri Lanka&39s brutal civil war some rebel women end their lives as suicide bombers that have killed hundreds over the years. A Norwegian documentary film that follows two 24-year-olds training to do just this has enraged the Sri Lankan government, but raises important questions about the conduct of war and its consequences.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42249

RIGHTS-JAMAICA: Spat Escalates Over Anti-Gay Lyrics - (Found June 18, 2008 )

KINGSTON, May 9 (IPS) - Under pressure from gay rights groups and a sponsorship boycott of live dancehall shows by local beer giant Red Stripe, some Jamaican dancehall stars are offering free performances to events at which no Red Stripe products are sold or consumed.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42306

THEATRE-US: The Year the War Came Home - (Found June 18, 2008 )

NEW YORK, May 14 (IPS) - On this 40th anniversary of 1968, the year that for the United States was the apogee of opposition to the war in Vietnam, two new Off Broadway plays explore divergent ways that U.S. citizens protested -- and ponder the best way to contest a senseless war.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42369

CULTURE-CHILE: Free Book Selections for 400,000 Families - (Found June 18, 2008 )

SANTIAGO, May 15 (IPS) - The Chilean government has begun distributing carefully selected packages of books to thousands of low-income families. But the programme aimed at promoting reading is not without its detractors, who question the extent of its real impact.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42388

SPORTS-GERMANY: Women Take the Football Field - (Found June 18, 2008 )

DSSELDORF, Germany, May 19 (IPS) - "Football is not a sport for women," Peco Bauwens, then president of the German Football Association, said in 1955, adding "we will never take this issue seriously."
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42421

CUBA: Exhibitionists Common but Ignored - (Found June 18, 2008 )

HAVANA, May 19 (IPS) - Many Cuban women say they have been victims of male exhibitionism, a form of sexual aggression that is common in public spaces on the island, according to a documentary produced by the state Institute of Cinematographic Arts and Industry (INCAIC) which has attracted the attention of social scientists.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42423

ARGENTINA: Multimedia Youngsters not Isolated - (Found June 18, 2008 )

BUENOS AIRES, May 19 (IPS) - Many parents in Argentina, like their counterparts in developed countries, worry that their teenage children spend too much time on their computers and cell-phones, with little real-life interaction with others, and devoting hardly any time to reading. But a new study shows that such beliefs are partly based on preconceived notions that do not stand up to scrutiny.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42424