Lagos, NIGERIA - These crazy Philistines are at it again. What do they do when they cannot get us through their organizations or combinations? They use us against ourselves, and effectively, too.

I do not suffer from the delayed symptoms associated with PMS nor do I have a tendency to blow issues out of proportion, but the truth is that until we learn to recognize the evil machinations of these crazy Philistines, they will, to borrow Mrs. Emilia Pankhurst's words, continue to block us in the house and confine us to street corners.

How do these crazy Philistines keep us where they want us? They use whatever means available to them ... social values, moral obligations, The Holy Bible, The Holy Koran, and when all else fails, they use us against ourselves ... us crazy bitches!

Someone once said to me that the world would be a "terrible" place without women in it. I'd like to change that to "better". These crazy Philistines don't need us. They get along just fine without us except in the area of procreation, and even that will soon be effectively taken care of with cloning. ... READ MORE

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AAMENA JIWAJI DEBUTS IN AN EDITORIAL CHAIR:

NAIROBI, KENYA - "I love the way they look, walk, sound, talk, think, feel. I love women, make no mistake about it ..." - Rod Amis

What exactly is it about a woman that makes her female*? Is it her physical characteristics, her behaviour or something innate?

Here are two portrayals of women in the media in the last month; what do they say about how society portrays women, how women respond to such portrayals, and whether these portrayals are accurate?

Incident 1: A cricket pitch in Australia with capped figures in white, training. The bowler does a run up, the batsman knocks it into the air ... and a fielder catches it. The fielding team groups around the one who caught the ball, congratulating and cheering. In the celebrations, one of the players' caps fall off and her long hair tumbles out. Women's cricket.

Incident 2: A group of protesters outside a church in America, inside of which a group of Muslims are praying. The chants of the protesters and the enthusiastic touting of the banners is broken by the Azaan ... the Azaan given by a female muezzin. Inside a woman Imam, leads a group of Muslims, both men and women, in prayer. ... READ MORE


BRAD BALFOUR TALKS WITH TONY JAA:

New York, NY, USA - Newcomer Tony Jaa (actually Panom Yeerum), the Thai kick-boxing hero of "Ong Bak" is a man of few words even when filtered through the friendly translation of a Thai interpreter. Trained in both Muay Thai and Buddhism, Jaa makes such an impression that he's being hailed as the Bruce Lee of kick-boxing. using the story of a martial arts-trained student of the local Buddhist master sent by his village to recover the head of their scared Buddha statuette stolen by a member of a criminal gang based in Bangkok. Fans of this film are already pumping for a sequel of this film created by director Prachya Pinkaew to showcase Jaa's talents.

G21: Are you surprised by the reaction of the Americans to your film?

Tony Jaa: Very surprised. I never thought it would come this far.

G21: What philosophical elements did you bring to the film?

Tony Jaa: Well "Ong-bak" deals with the way of life of the Thai people and we wanted to provide a variety of flavors for the audience as well as depict the traditions of the way of life of the Thai people.

G21: What are your thoughts about Buddhism?

Tony Jaa: Muay Thai is highly involved with religion and Buddhism because it's tied to Thai religion and Thai culture. And with that it teaches the humanity and humility that is offered in the sport and a lot of the traditions involved in Muay Thai are in a lot of Buddhist traditions like the Y cu ceremony that begins before you go to fight which pays respect to the elders and the master. It's also important to have the inner strength within you and the meditation, which comes from the practice. ... READ MORE