“Coping with terrorism and other transnational threats:
The view from the Philippines”
This paper will attempt to describe the Philippine response to terrorism and other transnational crimes . It will also describe the present government’s efforts to develop a comprehensive strategy to address the challenges of transnational crimes of which terrorism is one.
While the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States stand out as a heinous act of terrorism ever perpetrated by men against men, in the Philippines, terrorist acts in various forms have become part of the environment within which we live.
I remembered about 20 years ago, in l981, I hosted in Manila a group of visiting American professors who were quite appalled by the presence of many armed security groups in every nook and cranny of their hotel and by the strict rules of inspection of bags and sometimes body frisks that were required in many buildings we visited. One of them even quipped that we were practically living in a “police state.” I remembered that I laughed off these observations noting that these measures were all for their security and that we, Filipinos have not had any problems with them as they have become part of the sceneries of everyday life in the country.
What this small anecdote tells us is that the Philippines is a country whose citizens have, for so many years, seen so many acts of violence and equally heinous terrorist acts like indiscriminate bombings , hostage takings and the like . It is , therefore, not surprising that our nation’s leadership was one of the firsts to condemn the attacks on the American homeland.
In the wake of September 11, there was, however, a discernible heightened awareness among us of the tremendous loss of human lives and destruction of property that result from these acts. Security suddenly took center stage in our national agenda.
It has become an issue for discussion by the highest officials of the land, both in the executive, legislative, and judicial levels. For example, it has galvanized government entities like the Philippine Center on Transnational Crimes to conduct a national conference held just last week involving all government and non-government agencies that deal directly with combating transnational crimes, including terrorism of all forms. It has also led to the fast tracking of a National Plan to Address Terrorism and its Consequences chaired by no less than the Executive Secretary and involving key cabinet officials of the country.
How has the Philippines responded to terrorism and other transnational threats?
I have organized my paper along six identified transnational crimes, namely, money laundering, piracy in the high seas, small arms smuggling, trafficking of women and children, drug trafficking and terrorism of various forms. For each, I have outlined the actions taken by the Philippine government in the national, regional, and international realms. I conclude with some discussions on the effects of the present transnational threats on the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Modernization program.
In the 30s, the term money laundering came into vogue when organized crime led by the Mafia used laundromats as legitimate business fronts to mix their illicit earnings from extortion, bootlegging, gambling and prostitution with the legitimate earnings from these businesses. Later, organized crime moved from laundromats to law firms, accountancy, banking, film and engineering concerns where huge cash proceeds can be legitimately laundered.
According to recent estimates, worldwide money laundering activity amounts to approximately US$1 trillion a year. The Financial Action Task Force ( FATF) estimates that the amount of money laundered annually worldwide from illicit drug trade alone ranges between US$300 billion to US$500 billion. The inclusion of laundered funds from economic and other non-drug crimes could potentially double these figures.
In the Philippines, the volume of laundered money almost paralleled the proceeds of drug trafficking activities in the country. On the assumption that the value of illicit drugs in the country are all subsequently available for laundering activities, it is estimated that laundered money in the Philippines may total US$5-10 billion a year. This figure represents about 8% of the Philippines GDP and about 33% of the Philippine national budget. If money resulting from corruption is added, an additional US$3 billion a year will be added to the earlier estimate.
From the foregoing, the total amount of money laundered in the Philippines may amount to a huge amount, indeed, and may result in the undermining of its economy altogether.
While money, laundering has none of the drama associated with terrorist and other heinous criminal acts, its effect on societal stability is far reaching. Its victims cut across various sectors of society and it has potentially devastating economic, security and social consequences. Money laundering has also the potential of undermining the integrity of financial institutions in our country because of the sheer magnitude of the sums involved. Money laundering can also result in unquantifiable, yet significant social costs like loss of jobs, increased cost of health services and reduced capability of our government to provide basic services. More seriously, it undermines our national economy and our currency and therefore poses a serious national and international security threat as well.
The Philippine Center on Transnational Crime ( PCTC) which was created by Exec Order no 62 and Executive Order 100 has the power of supervision and control of anti-transnational crime operations of all government agencies and instrumentalities. The PCTC correctly reported that money laundering is critical to the operation of virtually every form of transnational crime. Thus, any effort to counter money laundering activities are fundamentally designed to prevent or limit the ability of criminals to use their ill gotten gains from their criminal activities.
What have we done to counter money laundering?
On September 29, 2001, Republic Act 9160 or the Anti money laundering law was passed. This law created the Anti money laundering Council (ALMC) which was tasked to enforce the provisions of the law. The ALMC is composed of the heads of the Philippine Central Bank, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Insurance Commission.
RA 9160requires all covered institutions to report to the ALMC any transactions in excess of P4million ( approx. US$80,000) within five banking days from the transaction. The ALMC is empowered to freeze an account for a period not exceeding 15 days while the depositor is given 72 hours from receipt of the freeze order to contest the order. ALMC is then given 72 hours to rule on the depositor’s explanation.
Upon the order of the court, the ALMC may inquire into the questioned account and obtain from the court a forfeiture of the account based on its investigation. The law also requires banks and other financial institutions to establish and record a client’s identity to include the legal existence and organizational structure of a corporate client.
Before September 29, 2001, money laundering was not a crime under Philippine law. The Philippine bank secrecy laws also effectively made it virtually impossible for government authorities to obtain any financial information kept by the banks.
The Philippines was listed in a non-cooperative countries’ list by the FATF in its report in June, 2000. In the face of the threatened sanctions of the FATF countries and the US Treasury, the Central Bank of the Philippines issued a number of circulars to combat money laundering.
On July 7, 2000, the Central Bank of the Philippines issued Circular no. 251 which direct banks and other similar financial institutions to establish a “know your client policy” to regularly update account information, to report suspicious transactions and to develop anti money laundering programs. The circular also prohibits anonymous and fictitious accounts.
Despite RA 9160, however, the FATF continued to keep the Philippines in the list of Non-cooperative Countries and Territories (NCCT) alongside 18 other because of what the FATF deems as existing deficiencies in the anti money laundering law.
Piracy can be traced as far back as 3000 years ago when in 1350 BC, a piracy incident recorded on clay tablets reported pirate attacks on Mediterranean ships in North Africa. Interestingly, a piracy law existed during the Roman period when a document in 100BC stated that “Roman citizens should be able to conduct, without peril, whatever business they desire. No official or garrison will harbor pirates who should be considered zealous collaborators... “ This edict was reportedly sent to Cyprus, Alexandria, Egypt and Syria.
The seas connecting various coastal states are vital to the economic life of the countries in the Southeast Asian regions. The Asia Pacific has two significant sea lines of communication, one passing through the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean and the Middle East and the other passing through East China and the Sea of Japan to the Pacific Ocean. The seas in the Asia Pacific are most strategic in world trade as the sea trade that pass through this area comprise more than 1/3 of the total world maritime volume. Almost 2/3 of the bulk of crude oil sail through the Strait of Malacca. 23% of the world’s crude oil or approximately 4 billion barrels of crude oil a day traverse these waters headed for Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.
In the Philippines, the archipelagic waters of the country are particularly vulnerable to piratical acts because its small islands, narrow shipping channels and the density of shipping traffic and fishing activities provide appropriate cover for piracy activities to be perpetrated almost undetected.
The audacity with which piratical activities are carried out in the region has given birth to the so-called “Asian piracy” where ships are boarded and cash and valuables are stolen with little or no resistance from their victims. The more serious type of piracy is where tankers or larger vessels along with its entire cargo become victims of pirate attacks. This type of piracy is carried out by more organized gangs who are well trained and technologically savvy and who use the Internet for information on shipping schedules and other valuable data.
The case of the Anna Sierra, a Cypriot ship, may be cited. This is a ship filled with 12,000 tons of sugar worth US$5million on its way to the Philippines which was hijacked in the Thai-Cambodian border, its crew of 23 people thrown into lifeboats without food and water and cast adrift. Luckily, the crew was rescued by Vietnamese fishermen and the ship was later discovered in a Chinese port registered under another name in Honduras.
Given the strategic location and importance of the waters of the Asia Pacific, piracy in the high seas has turned out to be one of the major challenges confronting the region’s maritime industry and security. In the l990s, the Asia Pacific region proved to be the most vulnerable region in the world where in Southeast Asia alone , 60% of the total piracy attacks have been reported. Annual losses and damage to property as a result of piracy has resulted in losses amounting to US$16 billion. Among the countries hard hit are the Philippines along with Thailand, Indonesia, India, and Sri Lanka.
In l996, the Philippines was among the highest ranking countries in the world with a record of 27 piracy attacks constituting 12% of the world’s total. However, the figures may be higher because of under reporting due to effects on insurance claims and the feared effects on the reputation of the shipping industry.
Looking at the patterns of piracy occurrences in the Philippines, it was noted that piracy was at its peak during far weather conditions from the months of January to July. Attacks are usually carried out at night and in the wee hours of the morning from 3-5 a.m. Most of the reported piracy attacks occurred in the Western Mindanao area . 57% of the attacks happened in the waters of Zamboanga, Sulu, Basilan, and TawiTawi. Pirate assaults committed in Philippine territory utilize small vessels such as pumpboats, motorboats, and speedboats for easy maneuverability , escape, concealment, and abandonment. Pirates usually work in teams of 3-16 members and their arms range from bladed weapons to M14s, M16s, and other high-powered firearms. It is believed that pirates that operate in international waters in the region are affiliated with organized pirates in Malaysia and Indonesia.
In the face of rising incidence of piracy in Philippine seas, the government has drawn up several measures to control and eliminate these criminal activities. Various government groups led by the maritime Group of the Philippine National Police , the Philippine Coast Guard, the Philippine Ports Authority and the MARINA have been tasked to wok together and liaise with other regional and international entities in enforcing all applicable laws that deal with piracy and armed robbery in the high seas.
On September 24, 2000, President Gloria Arroyo signed Executive Order 37 strengthening the mandate of the Maritime and Ocean Affairs Center of the Department of Foreign Affairs in promoting ocean and maritime interest of the country and in implementing the National Marine Policy . we have , of course, ratified the UNCLOS and subscribe to its provisions relating to maritime security.
The Philippines has also engaged its Navy in joint exercises in sea patrol and law enforcement initiatives with neighboring countries. In October, 2001, for instance, Philippine Coast guard and their Japanese counterparts participated in joint drills on anti-piracy operations in simulated piracy attacks requiring joint rescue operation by air and sea by Filipinos and Japanese.
In June, l999, during the Second ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime, intensification of partnerships with regional agencies and organizations and strengthening and promotion of linkages among existing regional mechanisms to combat Transnational Crimes was agreed upon. The Council for security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific ( CSCAP) has likewise been actively discussing piracy issues as part of its track two process to support the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).
Among the challenges confronting not only the Philippines but the region as well are the contrasting interpretation and understanding of concepts relevant to maritime security in the region which render it difficult to perceive piracy problems from a collective perspective. Second , there are various territorial disputes among Southeast Asian nations which undermine efforts to coordinate anti-piracy activities. Third, lack of funding for projects designed to combat piracy is also a problem. In the Philippines, the delay in the modernization program of the Philippine Navy because of lack of funds limit its ability to acquire much needed equipment so that it is usually out-gunned and out-maneuvered by criminals with more sophisticated equipment and boats.
In the recently concluded National Conference on Combating Transnational Crimes, the Philippine Center of Transnational Crime has drawn up an Action Plan to prevent and suppress acts of piracy and armed robbery against ships. This action plan will be incorporated in the National Strategic Plan for Combating Transnational Crimes that the Cabinet Committee cited in an earlier section is presently crafting.
Small arms and light weapons are normally acquired and controlled by the armed forces of the various states as part of their duty of protecting and preserving the security of their respective countries. Once these small arms and light weapons are, however, acquired by hostile forces, they cause undue injury and death to individuals, they cause disruptions of economic activities, and they undermine the rule of law.
The proliferation of small arms and light weapons in the Philippines ahs spawned a culture of violence where its citizens use them with impunity. A UN study conducted in l999 on proliferation of small arms noted that approximately 2 million people have been killed in about 150 conflicts around the world. The UN Secretary general reported that “ the death toll from small arms dwarfed that of all other weapons system. In some years, it even greatly exceeded the toll of the atomic bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki.”
Small arms are seen as threats to peace and development and threats to democracy and human rights. A UN report submitted by a Group of governmental experts on small arms stressed that the wide availability of small arms also engenders insecurity among nations and make it difficult to do post-conflict reconstruction demobilization and integration of former combatants.
The same report noted that access to small arms and light weapons usually prolong violence by “encouraging a violent rather than a peaceful resolution of differences and by generating a vicious circle of a greater sense of insecurity which in turn leads to a greater demand for and use of such weapons.”What poses danger in their use is the excessive and destabilizing accumulation and transfer of small arms and light weapons that is directly proportional to the intensification of internal armed conflicts and sophisticated crimes and various forms of violence.
Small arms and light weapons have the advantage of being carried by only one person or, if a light arm, by two or more persons, a pack animal or a small vehicle and thus, allows for mobile operations. Their use by terrorist have wrought devastating damage to human life and property. Since small arms require minimum maintenance and logistics, they are also suited for protracted operations . Their easy concealment make them also suitable for covert actions and transfer. Finally, because they are normally of lower cost especially if used or surplus, then they are affordable by many groups other than the state.
The Philippines is no stranger to this growing global concern. According to the Philippine Center on Transnational Crimes ( PCTC), as of November 2001, an estimated 75,107 deadly weapons are in the possession of domestic threat groups. Alarmingly, among the documented criminal cases numbering 2,442 cases, 86% of these crimes involve the use of unlicensed firearms.
The main sources of loose firearms are the unregistered local gun manufacturers who produce the so-called “paltik.” These clandestine backyard industries are located in the Visayan islands of Cebu particularly in Danao and Mandaue cities. These factories are usually manned by family members and is a major source of livelihood in the areas identified. The products are sold to both local and foreign markets.
The “small arms trail” can be traced from these individual small gun manufacturers whose products are purchased by syndicated crime groups and brought to predesignated bodegas or depots. These are then shipped to Manila or any port of delivery through ships, barges, motor bancas and other water carriers. Some sophisticated crime groups utilize helicopters and other aircraft for shipments and use even major international airports in the country.
The PCTC report also noted that the notorious Yakuza crime syndicate in Japan have brought to Japan individual Filipino gun makers using the cover of tourist or a contract worker and hired to manufacture guns inside Japan.
Massive gunrunning has also been reported in the Southern Philippines area particularly in the areas of Agusan, Misamis, Surigao, Sulu, Basilan, Tawiwi, and Zamboanga provinces.
Some of the factors seen as contributing to the free flow of arms into the country are the following:
q The country’s geographic configuration with its long and irregular coastlines and several sparse and isolated islands provide easy natural covers for gunrunners who use them for landing sites and storage points for their contrabands;
q The prospects for huge profits and ready markets for small arms are immediate incentives for arms smugglers;
q There is increased connivance between gunrunning syndicates and some corrupt law enforcers making it more difficult to apprehend the former;
q The persistent involvement of some powerful political families in the Philippines to build their private armies and the continuing inability of the law enforcement groups to enforce the laws make it more difficult for this crime to be punished accordingly;
q Although government authorities have a listing of establishments that deal with the selling, delivery and manufacturing of firearms, they have difficulty in the monitoring, inventory and surveillance activities of the day-to-day transactions of this group.
So, how does the Philippines combat the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in the country?
To date, there are two licensed manufacturers of small arms in the country, namely, the Danao Arms Corporation ( DAMCOR) and the Workers League of Danao Multipurpose Cooperative ( WORLD-MPC). These two manufacturers are authorized to produce a total of 6,000 assorted firearms annually based on their manufacturer’s license issued by the Chief of the Philippine National police. However, a large number of small-scale firearms producers continue to operate illegally.
What are the government agencies tasked to combat small arms proliferation?
There are several government agencies designated to restrain this specific illegal activity. The Bureau of Customs is given the primary task of dealing with the smuggling of firearms. The National Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee ( NALECC) was tasked to coordinate all the efforts of the other law enforcement and intelligence agencies in the identification and entrapment of smugglers particularly in local inter-island ports of entry. Searches by Coast Guard and the Customs Police are also conducted.
The Inspectorate branch of the Philippine National Police Firearms and Explosives Division ( FED) is at the forefront of the campaign against illicit trade of small arms by legitimate dealers. This is done through the conduct of surprise inspections of stores, detailed inventory, manufacturing sight visits and stricter pass or transport control. Movements and transport of firearms form one facility to another or from one warehouse to another are also monitored by this body.
In the draft National Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Small Arms, the PCTC has recommended the following actions:
q The development of a central repository of all data pertaining to firearms trafficking with the PCTC as the lead agency;
q The establishment of a directory of experts and technical consultants whose expertise are in combating firearms smuggling and other related operations;
q Increased coordination and close cooperation among the law enforcement agencies involved in combating small arms trafficking;
q Conduct training programs on combating small arms trafficking by local or foreign trainers for all relevant personnel of the various enforcement agencies like the Philippine National Police, the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime.
On the regional level, the Philippines is in the forefront of the many efforts made by the ASEAN Regional Forum’s ( ARF) Experts’ Group Meeting on Transnational Crime on issues on piracy and illicit trafficking of small arms. In the international realm, it has cooperated fully in the activities of the ASEANPOL and the World Customs Organization in combating illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons.
The United Nations defines trafficking in human beings as “ the illicit and clandestine movements of persons across national borders, largely from developing countries and some countries with economies in transition, with the end goal of forcing women and girl children into sexually or economically oppressive and exploitative situations for profit of recruiters, traffickers and crime syndicates as well as other illegal activities related to trafficking such as forced domestic labor, false marriages, clandestine employment and false adoption.”
The Global alliance against Traffic in Women ( GAATW) defines trafficking in women as “ all acts involved in the recruitment and/or transportation of a woman within and across national borders for work or services by means of violence or threat of violence , abuse of authority or dominant position, debt bondage, deception or other forms of coercion.”
It is estimated that at least 1-2 million persons, especially women and children are trafficked each year across international borders. Some observers note that the number may be higher because of many unreported cases. Victims are usually forced to work in sweatshops, construction sites, brothels, and fields. Many victims are subjected to threats against their persons and family members , abject living conditions and dangerous workplaces.
Trafficking occurs across borders and within countries. It happens in both developed and developing countries. Many criminal groups traffic human beings because it is a high profit, low risk activity which does not require huge capital investment.
The trafficking of people, especially women and children, for prostitution and forced labor is one of the fastest growing areas of international criminal activity. Although men are also victimized, the overwhelming majority of those trafficked are women and children. Trafficking is a problem that affects virtually every country in the world. Generally, the flow of trafficking is from the less developed economies to industrialized ones or towards neighboring countries with higher standards of living.
Although estimates vary in view of the nature of this underground activity, it is estimated that about 225,000 victims each year come from Southeast Asia alone. The growth of sex tourism in the region is one of the factors identified that leads to the high incidence of trafficking of women and children.
While there is no single victim stereotype, a majority of trafficked women are under the age of 25 , many in their late teens. Trafficking victims are often subjected to cruel mental and physical abuse in order to keep them in servitude, including beating, rape, starvation, forced drug use and seclusion. Many victims suffer mental breakdowns and are exposed to sexually transmitted diseases including AIDS. They are often denied medical care and some who become sick are even killed.
The Philippines has been identified as both a source, transit, as well as destination country, to a limited degree, for trafficked persons. Young Filipino women and girls are trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Many of them live in abject conditions of work.
How does the Philippine government confront this issue?
Philippine anti-trafficking efforts focus mainly on prevention and assistance to its victims. The government provides assistance such as medical aid, shelter, some limited financial help to repatriated victims and provides help to victims through its various diplomatic and consular offices in other countries. The government also works closely with NGOs who work on combating human trafficking. In the regional arena, the Philippines coordinates closely with other governments in the region in many issues involved in human trafficking. It participates actively, for instance, in the Asia Pacific Consultations on Refugees, Displaced Persons, and Migrants .
In the recently held National Conference on transnational crime spearheaded by the Philippine Center on Transnational Crimes, the following action plans were identified by the workshop group in that conference.
q Development of a shared database on human trafficking with the PCTC as lead agency;
q Compilation of relevant laws on human trafficking;
q Creation of a directory of experts including academics who conduct studies on this issue;
q Institutionalize coordination and cooperation among the various law enforcement agencies engaged in combating human trafficking;
q Work for the passage of the Anti-trafficking bill in the Philippine Congress
In addition to the above, the Philippines also created the Executive Council to Suppress Trafficking in Persons through Executive Order 220 signed on May 23, 2000. This Council is tasked to assist the President in the formulation of policies aimed at suppressing human trafficking. The government agencies involved are the following: Department of Foreign Affairs, National Bureau of Investigation, Department of Labor and Employment, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime , the Philippine overseas Employment Administration, the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration , the Commission on Human Rights and the National Council on the Role of Women.
In the legislature, there are various bills in the pipeline which all aim to stem off the trafficking of women and children. Some of these initiatives are House and Senate bills to institute policies to eliminate the trafficking of Filipino women and minors and to establish higher standards of protection and rehabilitation of Filipino women who are forced into prostitution, sexual servitude and bonded labor. These bills also criminalize trafficking in women and children in all its forms and prosecute and penalize traffickers and their intermediaries through criminal and civil measures. The bills also aim to harmonize the Philippine laws with those of other countries in the region.
There are also existing Philippine laws against human trafficking such as Rep. Act 6955 which declares it an unlawful practice to match Filipino women for marriage to foreign nationals on a mail order basis and other similar practices including the advertisement, publication, printing and distribution of brochures , fliers and other propaganda materials and Rep.Act 7610 which is an act providing for stronger deterrence and special protection against child abuse, exploitation and discrimination.
National efforts are, however, not adequate to combat human trafficking so the Philippines is intensifying cooperation with both regional and international initiatives towards confronting this challenge.
The illicit drug trade seriously affects millions of lives in both developed and developing countries. Most of its impact is felt by its victims who are the most vulnerable and marginalized sectors of society, for most parts.
The UN World Drug Report 2000 notes that some 180 million worldwide consume drugs. This figure includes 144 consuming cannabis, 29 million consuming amphetamine type stimulants, 14 million taking cocaine and 13 million taking opiates, 9 million of whom are addicted to heroin.
In recent years, the most pronounced increase in drug abuse has been reported for synthetic drugs. Estimates of the total revenue from the illicit drug industry ranges from US$300,000 million to US$500,000 million equivalent to 8% of total world trade.
In the Philippines, the drug problem surged in the latter part of the 60s. Marijuana, mercodol, mogadon, madrax, opium, and heroin were the most widely used drugs. In l981, the country became the transit point for heroin and cocaine increasing the number of drug users to 312,000 from a low 20,000 in the previous years. The Philippine National Youth Commission survey reported that approximately 3.7 million of the 74 million Filipinos are drug users. Of this number, about 7% or about 1.2 million are from ages 15-29. The number of drug pushers is placed at roughly 560,000 in Metro Manila alone and these are from an estimated 83 drug syndicates.
The local drug trade is estimated to be worth about US$50 billion and is likely to increase as the Philippines gradually evolves as a major transshipment point as well as a major supplier of marijuana.
In the Philippines, several agencies are tasked with combating drug trafficking. The Dangerous Drug Board (DDB) is responsible for the promulgation of rules and regulations necessary to carry out the purposes of the Dangerous Drug Act provided by Republic Act 6425 as amended. It is also tasked with designing drugs control, treatment and rehabilitation plan and program in consultation with other agencies of the government. It receives , collects, and evaluates information regarding the importation, production and manufacture, sale and stocks of drugs including seizures and apprehensions.
The, there is the National Drug Enforcement and Prevention Coordinating Center ( DEP) which consolidates the drug law enforcement and prevention efforts of national government agencies, local government units and government owned and controlled corporations and non government organizations. It has the authority to coordinate, oversee evaluate the anti-drug activities relating to the implementation of the National Anti-drug Program of Action.
The Philippine National Police ( PNP) conducts operations against drug syndicates such as buy bust operations, raids of drug dens, saturations drives, arrests , investigations and prosecution of drug pushers. It also provides intelligence information regarding drug syndicates and personalities to the DEP . Finally, it administers and manages the PNP Rehab Centers in Metro Manila .
On the regional level, the Philippines participates actively in the ASEAN wide effort tot reduce the threat of drug abuse and illicit trafficking which pose security threats to the nations in the region. In the international congress held in Bangkok in 2000, we endorsed a plan of action for ASEAN member states that sets down targets and time frames and measures to be taken in order to realize the goal of making ASEAN drug free.
The Philippines has not only become a transshipment point but has also become a destination country of prohibited drugs. Thus, to solve the drug problem the government needs to pay attention to supply reduction, demand reduction and victim rehabilitation and integration. In all these, close cooperation and coordination with not only national and local government agencies are required but with regional and international initiatives , as well. Finally, because organized crime groups , including drug traffickers, need to raise funds to sustain their activities, the government cannot solve the drug problem without the concomitant anti-money laundering efforts to strangle the fund sources of these criminal groups.
In the Philippines, terrorism is defined as “ the use of violence, threat or intimidation or destruction of lives and properties with the objective of creating fear in the public mind to achieve a purported political end and to coerce or influence their behavior to undermine the confidence of the general public on the government.”
In the Philippines, the primary agency tasked with fighting terrorism is the Philippine National Police ( PNP). The PNP works along a two-fold framework in its fight against terrorism, i.e., proactive and responsive. The proactive measures involve the formulation and implementation of antiterrorism measures aiming to prevent such attacks and the responsive component consists of actual counter terrorist actions like the strengthening of preventive and security measures for effective border control and aviation and maritime security and the development of PNP/AFP counter-terrorist capabilities,
Per Executive Orders 336 and 62, a National Council for Civil Aviation Security ( NCCAS) and the Philippine Center on Transnational Crimes ( PCTC) were also established as the lead agencies in the fight against terrorism. The primary objective of the NCCAS is to prevent aviation related terrorism and to upgrade the capabilities of law enforcement agencies in combating terrorism.
The PCTC, on the other hand, took over some of the functions of the Philippine National police in terms of coordination of efforts against transnational crimes where police attaches of the Philippine National Police and the political attaches of the department of Interior and Local Government fall under the supervision of the PCTC. The PCTC , per EO 62, also has the power to supervise and control the conduct of anti- transnational crime operations of all government agencies .
The PCTC is also mandated to establish a central database on national and international legislation and jurisprudence on transnational crimes, to establish a center for strategic research on the structure and dynamics of transnational crimes and to design programs and projects aimed at enhancing national capacity building, like training and information exchanges, for combating transnational crimes in the Philippines.
What is the role of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in countering transnational threats?
We have noted in an earlier section that the Philippine National Police is the one mandated to institute measures to fight terrorism alongside that of the PCTC and the NCCAS. However, 2 years ago , in 2000 the Armed Forces of the Philippines was tasked by then President Joseph Estrada not only to actively engage in the fight against the communist and the secessionist groups in the country but to engage actively in eliminating the small terrorist band of bandits which have resorted to kidnappings and hostage takings of both Filipino and foreign victims. This was the Abu Sayyaf.
After the September 11 attacks in the United States, the Arroyo government lost no time in pledging full support for the international coalition against terrorism. The Philippines specifically pledged all out assistance to the US as a strategic ally and in consonance with UN Security Council Resolution 1368. Admiral Thomas Fargo, commander in chief of the Pacific fleet visited and met with our National Security Adviser Roilo Golez and together outlined military plans for the use of Subic Naval Base and Clark Air Field in the global war against terrorism.
President Arroyo came out with the 14-point pillars of policy against terrorism. Part of this 14 Point Plan included the direct tasking of both the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police in the fight against lawless violence engendered by the terrorist threat. The Executive Secretary, Alberto Romulo, was made responsible for overseeing and supervising the implementation of the Philippine response to the war against terrorism. At the time of this writing, the Cabinet Oversight Committee on Internal Security ( COC-IS) is currently developing the National Plan to Address Terrorism and its Consequences. The national plan will define the national framework, strategies, and operational plans to address terrorism and its consequences to the political, economic, and socio-cultural well being of the Filipino.
What is the influence of the present transnational threats to the AFP modernization program?
The AFP modernization Law was passed on July 5, 1994. Among others, it provided for the modernization of the AFP along several components as follows:
1. Force restructuring and organizational development- the AFP Modernization program shall develop the AFP into a compact, efficient, responsive and modern force with the capability to engage in conventional and/or unconventional warfare, disaster relief and rescue operations and contribute to economic development and other non traditional military roles;
2. Capability, materiel and technology development- the AFP Modernization Program entails the development and employment of certain capabilities that can address the assessed threat. Priority for resource allocation shall be pursued in the following order: The Navy, Air Force, Army, and General Headquarters. The acquisition of new equipment and weapons system shall be synchronized with the phase out of uneconomical and obsolete major equipment and weapons systems in the AFP inventory;
3. Bases support system development- the AFP Modernization Program shall entail the development of permanent bases for land, air and naval forces to conform with national defense strategies and the government’s socio-economic thrusts;
4. Human resource development- the human resource development , among others, shall enable the AFP to be a service/people oriented and professionally united force that will have the capability to implement its expanded role in environment/resource protection and multinational peacekeeping operations;
5. Doctrine development- the transition of the AFP to an external security oriented force requires the review, evaluation, and validation of its present doctrines.
Given the foregoing, one immediately notes that the external security oriented force originally intended by RA7898 had to be abandoned in favor of the AFP presently joining the PNP in the campaign against both the insurgents and the local criminals like the Abu Sayyaf.
In the face of the new transnational threats, particularly terrorism of whatever form, understandably, the doctrines, human resource development, and the equipage of the AFP, together with the PNP will be redirected towards these new threats.
The Philippines recognizes that the fight against terrorism requires the collective efforts of everyone in the international community of nations. Towards this end, the Philippines has been known to be in the forefront of any and all initiatives, whether regional and international, in this all out war against terrorism of whatever form.
 Paper presented at the National Defense University’s 23rd Annual Pacific Symposium on “ Addressing transnational threats in the Asia Pacific region”, February 20-21, 2002. Fort McNair, Washington, DC, USA.
 The FATF is an intergovernmental policymaking task force that review national action vs. money laundering.
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 Young, Wilson. Money laundering and national security. NDCP, 2001.
 Bertil Lintner. “ The perils of piracy”, Jane’s Defence Weekly, vol 34. no.20, November 15, 2000. p.49..
 UN, “ Proliferation of small arms, light weapons and landmines...” Press release DC/2717, June 27, l999
 Group on Governmental Experts on Small Arms. A report submitted to UN Gen Assembly on August 19, l999.
 PCTC, “ Draft National Plan of Action against illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons”, Quezon City, Philippines, 2000, p.1.
 Ibid. pp4-5.
 Ibid. p.5
 Ibid. p.6
 Ibid. 10-11.
 Ibid. p.11.
 PCTC. Draft report on the proceedings of the National conference on transnational crimes. February 7-8, 2002, Manila, Philippines.
 “ Trafficking in women and children in the Mekong sub-region”, UNICEF, September, l998.
 GAATW is a non-government organization involved in combating trafficking in women and children.
 “Trafficking in Persons Report” , US Department of State, July, 2001.
 Trafficking in women and children. Congressional research service Report 98-649C
 Trafficking in Persons report, op.cit.
 PCTC National Conference on transnational crimes. February 7-8., 2002, Manila, Philippines.
 World Drug Report 2000. Un Drug Control program.
 UN Drug Report, June 26, l997.
 Report of the International Narcotics Control Board , 2000.
 PCTC. The Current situation of and countermeasures against transnational crime in RP. No date.
 National Anti-drug Program of Action. PCTC.
 Report of the International Narcotics Drug Board for 2000.
 Proposed 1995 Philippine Anti-terrorism Act.
 Clyde Fernandez. Terrorism at the turn of the century. PCTC. 2001.
 Draft report of the PCTC national Conference on Transnational Crimes, February 7-8, 2002, Manila, Philippines.


text:
General Motors has just finished up unveiling its new trucks and Ford is looking to steal away some of the thunder at next year’s Detroit Auto Show by giving everyone a peek at its next-generation F-150. Continue Reading...
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domain: news


|Artist Birtday :||23/11/1980 (Age 43)|
|Born In :||Kolkata, West Bengal|
|Occupation(s) :||Music producer, Composer, Arranger, Singer, Lyricist|
|Genres :||Filmi, Bollywood, Pop, EDM|
Tanishk Bagchi is a famous Indian Singer. He was born on 23 November 1980 in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. He is the son of Nand Kumar Das (Musician) and Sarmistha Barman (Musician). He has a sister. He was married to Genevieve Baagchi Dmello.
His favorite actress is Deepika Padukone, his favorite music composers are R.D. Burman, A.R. Rehman, and Quincy Jones, and his favorite singers are Micheal Jackson, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and Kiiara.
When he was five to six years old, he started playing the piano and after five years left the piano and start singing.
He starts to write songs at the age of 12 because he loves to write.
He has composed many songs, In 2015, “Banno” from the film “Tannu Weds Mannu Return”, In 2017, “The Humma Song” from the film “Ok Janu”, and “Barish” from “The Half Girlfriend”, In 2018, “Adbhutam” from the film “Lover”, In 2019, “Psycho Saiyaan”, and “Kadhal Psycho” from the film “Saho”.
He has awarded the In 2016, “Mirchi Music Award for Critics” choice the upcoming Music composer of the year for the son “Bolna” for the film “Kapoor & Sons”, and In 2017, “International Indian Film Academy Awards” for “Best Music Director” for the film “Badrinath Ki Dulhania”.


MARTA plans crackdown on 'nuisance' riders
Metro Atlanta's public transit system is vowing to crack down on riders who bother other passengers by begging, listening to loud music and being unruly.
The effort is part of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority's "Ride with Respect" campaign.
MARTA executives tell WSB-TV (http://bit.ly/163v0CQ) that so-called nuisance crimes are one reason people avoid riding the trains and buses -- and they want to improve public perceptions about safety on the system.
MARTA's board is set to vote Monday on a plan that could result in violators being banned from the system for up to a year.
MARTA General Manager Keith Parker warned that riders will see increased warnings and citations for panhandling and nuisance crimes.


[time-nuts] Disciplining Rubidium
bruce.griffiths at xtra.co.nz
Thu Apr 24 17:42:50 EDT 2008
Björn Gabrielsson wrote:
> On Thu, 2008-04-24 at 02:16 -0400, SAIDJACK at aol.com wrote:
>> Hi Bruce,
>> either way GPS can't give you parts to the 14 short term as was claimed.
>> Also there are not many affordable carrier phase GPS receivers out there as far
>> as I know.
> Hi Said,
> What is affordable for you?
> For some $330 you can get a L1 GPS receiver outputting carrier phase
> measurements at 5Hz. This receiver also have a 10MHz tcxo driving the
> whole receiver. Pseudorange measurement rms of a few dm. Carrierphase
> rms below 1cm.
> Btw... the Oncore VP did carrierphase measurements.
Even the Rockwell/Connexant Jupiter GPS receivers have carrier phase
However you will need to replace the 10.95MHz crystal with a 10.95Mhz
source phase locked to the OCXO being disciplined.
The 3.3V version of this module has been available at very low cost from
time to time on ebay.
Whilst not suitable for production purposes they should be more than
adequate for experimental purposes.
More information about the time-nuts


Well. Well. Well. It’s AB De Villiers again. AB today demolished the Windies bowling attack as he played a boom-bang innings of unbeaten 162 of just 66 deliveries including 17 boundaries and eight maximums.
He scored 34 and 30 runs in the last two over of Windies skipper Jason Holder respectively.
South Africa won the toss and skipper AB de Villiers elected to bat. The Proteas replaced JP Duminy, Wayne Parnell and Vernon Philander with Rilee Rossouw, Farhaan Behardien and Kyle Abbott. West Indies on the other hand decided bring in Suleiman Benn in place of Nikita Miller. South Africa were off to a slow and shaky start, losing wicket-keeper batsman Quinton de Kock for a score of 12 off 19 balls as South Africa lost their first wicket with 18 runs on board. At a score of 30 for one after 10 overs, a few boundaries were needed from Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis in order to bring their side back to control.
South Africa ended on a score of 408 for the loss of five wickets at the end of their quota of 50 overs during their ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 match against West Indies at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday. AB de Villiers top-scored for the Proteas with a score of 162 off 66 deliveries, scoring the second-fastest World Cup century as well as the fastest 150 of all time. Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis and Rilee Rossouw propelled the South African innings with knocks worth 65, 62 and 61 respectively. Chris Gayle was the highlight among the West Indians, but for his bowling efforts this time as he took two wickets while conceding 21 runs off four overs.
West Indians were desperately looking for a breakthrough, it was Chris Gayle who eventually got the breakthrough for his side by dismissing both du Plessis and Amla in the 30th over. While du Plessis was caught brilliantly by Ramdin for 62, Amla was trapped leg-before for a score of 65 off 88 balls. West Indies were once again backing in the game, and were now looking to exert pressure on de Villiers and Rossouw, who were fresh at the crease.


I just noticed today that when I turn the A/C (or fans) on in my 88 coupe that there is a buzzing/rattling noise. I listened around and determined that this noise in coming from my center console (just behind the parking brake I think). Does anyone know what's under there that would be causing this noise while the fans are blowing? Also, I tried to take off my whole center console following that guide that was posted here before (legendtuner G1 Center Console & Head Unit Removal) but the black plastic frame that surrounds the coin box and the shifter just refused to come out (the back right corner refused to budge, I could lift the other corners.) Any help would be great.


text:
Mira Sorvino Quote
Picture Source: Wikimedia CommonsMira Sorvino
Born: September 28, 1967 (age 47)
Bio: Mira Katherine Sorvino is an American actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Mighty Aphrodite and is also known for her role as Romy White in Romy and Michele's High School Reunion.
Quote of the day
“Genius is, to be sure, not a matter of arbitrariness, but rather of freedom, just as wit, love, and faith, which once shall become arts and disciplines. We should demand genius from everybody, without, however, expecting it.”

domain: artistic


text:
Pollution Probe has opened a unique web site that gives people in a community a new way to find answers to questions about their environment.
Enviroplace, a web-based pilot project featuring the Sarnia-Lambton community, went on line Feb. 22. It provides better access to information already collected.
“The web site is the first of its kind where people can find information about their community on their terms,” says Rick Findlay, director of Pollution Probe’s water program.
Enviroplace is unique because it allows the user to select and pull down information that is of interest to them instead of a top-down approach where the information given out is presented in a format that suits the government or agency that posts it, he says
It is a way of presenting updated information on environmental monitoring currently being done by the federal, provincial and municipal governments as well as by industry and presenting it in a format relevant to the user.
Access to information is often difficult because the information is raw data or resides in many different places and has not been not integrated, Findlay explains. He says he first imagined such a site in 1999 as a better approach to the public’s right to know.
The data for the pilot project is specific to the Sarnia-Lambton area, deliberately chosen partly because it is known as Canada’s “Chemical Valley,” Findlay says. “It is also a data-rich area.”
Local industry has been very co-operative in supplying data for the site, he says. ‘The chemical industry is very sensitive to environmental issues and they do want to be trusted.”
The site is very much a collaborative thing, with input from many organizations in Sarnia-Lambton and data supplied by all three levels of government, the local conservation authority, environmental agencies and industry, he says. .
Anyone can go to the site to find out about everything from local water and air quality to crop production, land use and population density. The site uses Pollution Probe’s primer series for information about a host of environmental concerns including climate change and health, smog, air quality and drinking water.
The site also features the Envirobrain, a sophisticate technological tool that enables people to create and download charts, maps and graphs. There are many links on the site to additional online sources of information including the local weather forecast.
Findlay’s goal is public policy that government use the technology necessary to create data that can be used by the GIS map-layering technology employed for Envirobrain.
He would like to see the Sarnia-Lambton initiative eventually become the template for similar sites in communities across Canada. “Data and information are a foundation of making informed decision to protect the environment and human health,” he says.


text:
Manchester, NH (population: 108,643) has three web design schools within its city limits. Southern New Hampshire University, the highest ranked school in the city with a web design program, has a total student population of 7,119. It is the 605th highest ranked school in the USA and the 5th highest in the state of New Hampshire (#1 is Saint Anselm College). To learn more about web design programs in Manchester, ratemyprofessors.com has reviews of web design professors at Southern New Hampshire University such as Tracy Dow.
Web Design students from Manchester schools who go on to become web designers, ad designers, advertising designers, commercial designers, etc. have a good chance at finding employment. Also, Interior designers make on average $51,990 per year and there are about 46,010 of them employed in the US today.
Manchester lies in Hillsborough county, which is one of the 6 counties in New Hampshire. Overall, the Manchester area has 99,530 total employed workers according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, with a 1.6% unemployment rate, $21.75/hr average worker wage, and a $45,240 average annual salary.
Of the 3 web design schools in Manchester, none have a student population over 10k. After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, Southern New Hampshire University comes out as the most expensive ($23,655/yr) for web design students, with Manchester Community College as the lowest, reported at only $17,487/yr.
|Name||State||Population||# of Schools||Avg School Rank||Total Programs||Distance from Manchester|
|North Andover||MA||-||1||30.19||56||24.9 miles|
|New London||NH||-||5||27.7354||166||40.7 miles|
|Chestnut Hill||MA||-||2||53.2355||134||46.9 miles|

domain: design


text:
Apply & Register
TN Invasive-Interventional CD
$550,000 Invasive | $650,000 Interventional Base
- Join an established and growing Cardiology Team
- (2) Positions Available~
- Invasive Cardiology
- Interventional Cardiology
- Practice: No TAVR's, No open hearts at hospital
- Hospital employed position: well-supported multispecialty group with strong referral network
- Benefits include: RVU bonus structure, up to $150K in student loan repayment, $50K sign-on bonus, relocation assistance, CME, license fees, and full health coverage.
***Incentivizing fellows to sign early***
Great Smoky Mountains
- Outdoorsman’s paradise – mountains, lakes, rivers and more!
- Top ranked public schools in the state.
- No state income tax!
- 15 minutes from airport with daily flights around the country for your travel needs.
Please Reference CD 8885

domain: geography


text:
The usual method of weaning mechanically ventilated patients from high FIO2 in our ICU, in which housestaff ordered all ventilator changes in an unstandardized manner (control group), was compared to a nurse-directed protocol that used a single arterial blood gas (ABG) analysis and multiple pulse oximetry measurements. The protocol required an ABG to be obtained upon the initiation of intubation/mechanical ventilation, followed by pulse oximetry measurements obtained in accordance with a standardized timetable. Decreases in FIO2 were guided by these results. It was concluded that a nurse-directed oxygen weaning protocol utilizing a combination of a single ABG and multiple pulse oximetry measurements was safe, reduced the need for ABGs, and decreased the duration of patient exposure to toxic oxygen concentrations.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine
- Critical Care and Intensive Care Medicine
- Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine

domain: medical


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Ah, Christmas. There’s no denying that it’s the most wonderful time of the year; there are those who say they abhor it and that it’s becoming way too commercialized but we do love the festivities. Surrounded by family, presents and delicious homemade sweets…it’s not every day such a good combination arises.
It’s time to be thankful for all the good things in your life, time to get closer to friends, a time when kids get soo excited 🙂 Christmas makes our hearts overflow with joy, peace, and happiness. It brings families and friends together from all over the world and embodies everything good that is in humanity. It is true and honest escapism back in time toward childhood when life was simpler and time flowed slower.
We love Christmas trees, lights and decorations, and of course, we all love Christmas books. These 10 Christmas tales guaranteed to get everybody into the holiday spirit! MyMathDone wishes you all “have yourself a merry little Christmas”!

domain: literature


text:
Need help? Call 1-855-252-4222
IMPORTANT COVID-19 UPDATES
by Reynolds, John; Robinson, Tiny; Kerouac, Jack; et al.
by Robinson, Tiny
Need Help? Copyright © 1999-2020

domain: library


Shark™ LT provides extensive drafting and annotation tools including 29 dimension types with formats for mechanical or architectural drawings, and industry standard Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T). Use the markup tools to communicate design deficiencies, recommend changes, and "redline" areas of drawings requiring additional attention.
Shark™ LT includes a comprehensive collection of 3D, surface, and solid modeling tools. LogiCursor, the Gripper, and Push/Pull Modeling make your design tasks easy. Notable tools include multiple spline creation and modification commands, sixteen NURB surface construction methods, blending, chamfering, shelling, stretching, twisting, bending, and local face operations.
Shark LT Version 8 Features
• Photorealistic Rendering
Shark LT includes photorealistic rendering to add visual realism to your designs. Drag and drop materials, textures, and decals onto parts. Use the material editor to tweak reflectance, color, displacement, transparency, and texture space attributes. Add lights, backgrounds, foregrounds or environment maps to further enhance the scene. For output, Shark LT provides options to generate high quality poster size images.
• The Gripper
An intuitive graphical widget that attaches to your objects allowing you to dynamically move, rotate, and scale objects in 2D or 3D.
• Push/Pull Modeling tool for Planar objects and faces of solids
Intuitive 3D solid model editing provides drag and drop ease to changing surfaces
• Dynamically create linear and polar arrays
Precision tools that let you create precision arrays and patterns with ease.
• Architectural Tools
Draft floor plans easily with auto-trimming walls. Custom walls allow composite walls to be created showing layers of building materials. Make the walls in your plan 3d with a mouse click. Add parametric doors and windows.
• Logicursor™ Enhancements
The Logicursor™ will now recognize coplanar faces and cylinder axis for intuitive part positioning.
• Custom Palettes
Create palettes using your favorite combination of tools. Use this feature to customize Shark LT for your specific workflow process.
Easily modify and set the default values for pen, fill, text, and dimension attributes


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Viacom has promoted Christa D’Alimonte to the role of general counsel, the company said Friday.
She was named executive vp general counsel and secretary, effective April 15. In this role, she will oversee the company’s global legal function. She will succeed company veteran Michael Fricklas, who, as previously announced, will be leaving the company.
Said Viacom CEO Bob Bakish: “Christa has been a crucial member of Viacom’s premier legal team for many years and throughout many significant milestones in our history. As we look to the exciting months ahead, Christa’s extensive legal knowledge and distinctive understanding of our company and strategic vision uniquely positions her to support Viacom as we embark on this period of transformation and growth.”
D’Alimonte said: “I am honored to have been selected to lead Viacom’s tremendously talented legal team, especially at such an important time in the company’s evolution. As the media landscape changes, the role of the law department has never been more critical. I look forward to working closely with leaders across the business to advance Viacom’s creative agenda and position the company for the future.”
She has been serving as senior vp deputy general counsel and assistant secretary at Viacom. She joined the company in 2012 from Shearman & Sterling, where she was deputy practice group leader of the firm’s global mergers and acquisitions group.
In addition, Viacom said that Keyes Hill-Edgar has been named executive vp global business affairs and general counsel of Viacom Media Networks. He will continue to oversee business and legal affairs for the domestic media networks, and his responsibilities will be broadened to include Viacom International Media Networks, content distribution and the media networks’ labor, guild and production legal matters.
D’Alimonte replaces Fricklas, who the company announced in February would move on after nearly a quarter-century at the entertainment giant. That news came in an internal memo a day after Viacom unveiled a new strategic focus under the leadership of Bakish.
Fricklas helped guide the company that owns Paramount Pictures, MTV, Comedy Central and other businesses through rough times, including a dispute between the family of Sumner Redstone and ex-CEO Philippe Dauman over corporate control.
Fricklas also made waves in the broader industry. For example, he was the architect of an extended copyright fight with Google’s YouTube, which helped clarify liability and safe harbors for internet service providers.
Viacom looked both internally and externally for a replacement.
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text:
Holy cow holy cow holy cow.
I have had a long love affair with Orange Julius’s. It all started when my Grandma would take my sister and me school clothes shopping at THE MALL. We lived 2 hours from the nearest mall and it felt like magic every time we went. I don’t remember my first one but I remember the frothy orange drink and its delicious power over me. I moved on and grew up – sadly without my beloved Julius. Even before my diet makeover I had a hard time ingesting that much sugar in a drink (I could eat like 2 packs of M&Ms instead!). The problem was I knew what went into making that glorious flavor – and it wasn’t liquid sunshine (which is calorie-free you know).
Now? Problem solved! Oh, is it ever. Looking around the web for days trying to find a vegan/paleo orange creamsicle recipe yielded too many variations. Lots of the recipes used orange juice (too much sugar) and bananas (which are actually very hard frozen and I didn’t think would give me that soft sorbet fruit popsicle texture). So I decided to wing it with the recipe using the leftover coconut milk I had had in the freezer. Lucky you, this tastes so close to the real thing you have to taste for yourself. I wanted to drink it, but I abstained and made the popsicles. Good thing I have more coconut milk…
Orange Julius Creamsicle (makes ~10 pushpops)
- 10 oz. (1 1/4 cups) full fat unsweetened coconut milk
- 8 oz. crushed pineapple in juice (I don’t think the way it’s cut will matter, rings/crushed/cubed)
- 1 med-lg orange, peeled
- 1″ piece of orange peel or 1/2+ tsp orange zest
- 1/4 cup raw honey
- 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch of pink salt
- Blend all ingredients until smooth. If you have a high powered blender like a Vitamix then the chunk of orange peel will puree, no need to zest.
- Pour the mixture over ice or blend with ice. For popsicles, pour into your popsicle molds. (I use a push-pop mold that is fantastic). You could also use toothpicks and an ice tray for old time’s sake.
- Freeze for at least 4+ hours. Enjoy!
These babies come in under 100 calories, 10 g of sugar and 13 g of carbs a pop. Compare that to a small Orange Julius with 210 calories, 50 g sugar and 52 g carbs!
Would you like to know what the super sweet secret ingredient to this unbelievable delicious and easy chocolate dessert is???
The crazy “weird” dried fruit that is kind of like a raisin… maybe you’ve had it in gross fruit cake or cereal as a kid, maybe you’ve never seen them but you don’t even know what you would do with them when you found them. Well relax and take note – dates are more common than you think, forgiving and as sweet as can be. Ever had a bacon wrapped date? You’re missing out. Dates do contain a lot of sugar but they also contain calcium and magnesium in a near perfect ratio (1:1), they have 1.5 g fiber, potassium, vitamin A and other minerals; that’s per date! When dates were tested for their antioxidant content, they scored 3 times higher than red plums. The recipe below can be used as a pie filling, push pop popsicle mold, eaten solo, or even as a parfait – layered with berries and Tru Whip.
Fudgesicle Filling (makes ~3 cups)
- 1 1/2 cups medjool dates (about 16), pitted and chopped (soak in water for easier blending)
- 3/4 teaspoon ground vanilla beans or 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup softened coconut butter
- 2-3 tsp coconut oil, melted
- heaping 1/3 cup raw organic cacao powder
- 1 1/3 cup purified water or leftover date water from soaking
- Soak dates in purified water for 30 minutes or more. Soak them longer if they aren’t very fresh and moist.
- Blend or use a tamper and Vitamix – all ingredients until it has a thick pudding-like consistency, add more water if necessary.
- Smooth into push pop popsicle molds. You will have plenty for 4 molds.
- Freeze for 1 day. Enjoy!
What would cashews have to do with jalapeno nacho cheese dip? Let’s consult my handy dandy 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth by Jonny Bowden… it says “A lot.” Cashews are in fact the base of this dip and before you dismiss this as hippie quackery I urge you to give it a try.
Cashews and nuts in general have been scientifically shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and attacks. It does this through its monounsaturated content which raises good cholesterol (HDL) and lowers the bad (LDL). Cashews are rich in minerals like magnesium, calcium, copper, manganese and selenium. Add to that 5 g of protein and 1 g of fiber per ounce. Have I mentioned that it’s delicious? Just ask my meat-eating-Sarah’s-a-crazy-hippie friend who said “Frito Lay Jalapeno Dip? Yeah I love that stuff! Oh but this is waaaay better.”
Jalapeño Cheese Dip (adapted from Amy Healy)
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped (fresh or roasted)
- 1 cup raw cashews (soaked for a few hours then drained – optional step)
- 1 medium slice of fresh onion, diced (or 2 tsp onion powder)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 tsp pink salt
- 2-3 T nutritional yeast (try it!)
- 4 T water +/-
- 2 T fresh lemon juice (~1/2 lemon)
- 1/2-3 jalapeño pepper with seeds
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- Blend all ingredients in a VitaMix, blender or food processor until smooth. Refrigerate.
Put it on some of these recipes or try it on any of your own:
For a comparison to Frito Lay Jalapeno Cheddar Dip let’s look at the obvious. The Frito Lay Jalapeno Cheddar dip lists MSG twice in the ingredients; once as monosodium glutamate and the other as autolyzed yeast extract (yep, that’s MSG!).

domain: food


text:
Alex Chilton spent most of his life in obscurity, working for shit wages to support himself as his records were released in tiny bundles that might as well have not been released at all. “Somewhere along the line,” he said, putting a bright face on it, “I figured out that if you only press up a hundred copies of a record, then eventually it will find its way to the hundred people in the world who want it the most.”
For most people working (sorry, “working”) in the music industry today, the problem is finding people willing to buy their music at all. But 2014 in dance music was bookended by albums which turned Chilton’s logic on its head and pointed to a problem that many artists would love to have: how an independent vinyl label can keep up with escalating demand.
Moodymann’s self-titled LP was scarce from the drop, with reports of hoarding by distributors and record stores eager to turn it around for a massive mark-up. His records never seem to be produced in numbers sufficient to meet demand – it seems that many are pressed in quantities of hundreds when thousands might not satiate the market.
Theo Parrish and Sound Signature have had their own struggles with supply and demand in an ultra-niche market. Practically every record he releases (but especially the Ugly Edits – see, for instance, here and here) flows in the supply chain from producer to distributor to store – and then seizes up. Mark-ups of as much as 400% are predictable and completely fucking outrageous.
Getting his records to the people that want them the most is a problem that Theo has taken in hand for American Intelligence. As soon as AI was listed, attention focused not on the sound but the price – some $45 to $50 for a nine track album, albeit one spread over three vinyl records. Stash these if you dare: right out of the gate, American Intelligence has an MSRP designed to terrify hoarders.
If this is price gouging, it has never felt so fan-friendly. For the first time, your local record store actually has copies of a Theo Parrish record in the racks, selling for the list price. You didn’t have to play games with the in-crowd or secure a copy through illicit means. It’s been available. Alex Chilton’s one hundred copies have found their way to the people who want them the most, and even to people who just want them a little.
This perversely egalitarian pricing game is about the only compromise Theo has made. In terms of sound, like Moodymann (up until here, probably my favorite record of the year) American Intelligence is about Theo giving you as much as he thinks you can handle.
House Music albums can often be silly, loaded up on filler and interludes and a DJ’s impression of what Brian Eno sounds like without having listened to Brian Eno all that much. Theo Parrish has never once forgotten the utilitarian nature of dance music – that its reason for existing is in its name, that these records have a purpose beyond pure listening and that doesn’t make them cheap or stupid at all. American Intelligence is a celebration of that. You can put it beside Songs In The Key of Life or Mothership Connection and it plays just like them, like a classic. It fits easy in a record bag too.
The album opens with “Footwork”, which served as a widely-praised teaser for the album released on its own a few months ago. “Footwork” might not go over with King Charles but “Cypher Delight” certainly will – the song is pure percussion and begs for someone used to playing in the 140 bpm range to push the pitch control to the limit.
Here marks the first dramatic shift of the record, as the pure percussion of “Cypher” is followed by the pure vocals of “Ah”. It’s not an acapella but features no percussion at all – just a lush thicket of vocal harmonies wrapping around each other. From here we journey to “Creepcake”, which reminds me of nothing so much as the wandering interludes of a Gil Scott-Heron live show, when a song’s intro could be extended longer than the song itself as Gil spoke to the audience about what it meant to him and what that meant to all of us.
Is it possible that the first sample of the album doesn’t appear until “Make No War”? The loop from Barrington Levy’s reggae/dancehall classic “The Vibes Is Right” is at least the first obvious sample, and it has the subtlety of a sledgehammer, repeating Levy and Theo’s message over and over again hundreds of times for seven minutes straight as the music grows more aggressive and biting behind it. “Drive” begins so muted it sounds like it was recorded Electric Ladyland-style, dunking a waterproofed amp in a tub of water before it emerges out of the deep as a sinister techno track. “Fallen Funk” is a sampling of what Drum&Bass or dancehall may have sounded like had it evolved fully in Ghana or Burkina Faso.
“Be In Yo Self” seems to be the consensus bust-out track of the album among my friends and it is with me as well. Everything you love about House Music in general and Theo Parrish in particular is present here – the musicality, the coarseness, the cry of anguish transformed on an underpopulated and unlit dancefloor into a cry of ecstasy somewhere in the heart of a forgotten part of your hometown. It’s a shame that the phrase “wall of sound” is already in circulation, because it’s the perfect description of “Be In Yo Self” as it reaches its peak. As can be said about the rest of the album, it’s quite enough, this song, to make the rest of us close up shop and find something else we can excel in.
When an album this big lands, we get a lot of hack intellectual takes on what it’s supposed to “mean”. Some have focused on the price and the struggle to get these records in the hands of those who love them the most, like I did; some on the medium; some on the artist’s mannerisms or the town he or she lives in and the environment that gave birth to it all.
But Theo has never shied away from what seems to genuinely bother the sensitive souls of Pitchfork – that dance music has a purpose, that it can be so beautiful and achingly expressive but can still fail on a metaphysical level if it doesn’t achieve its main purpose.
What does it mean, American Intelligence?
The meaning is to dance to it.


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Robert Gordon and Jonatan Kurzwelly
Much has changed since photographs were used simply as apt illustrations and depictions of reality. The field of visual history has now become an important and legitimate area of rigorous enquiry. Photography and photographs as source material for research is now a widespread practice in history, anthropology, sociology and other social sciences and humanities. Both the historical trajectory of this medium in Africa, as well as some important theoretical and methodological issues which Africanists should be aware of, are introduced here. Photography is heavily imbricated in the rise of modernity. Different visual eras are delineated as technology and accessibility of the medium became easier to use and more accessible, moving on a continuum from daguerreotypes featuring mostly portraits and landscapes done by professionals largely for the elite to carte d’visite to postcards and stereoscopic-cards which decline with the introduction of spool photography epitomized by the inimitable Kodak, led to access by the broad middle class. After several innovations featuring 35 mm cameras and slides, digital photography arrived and made the medium even more accessible with smartphones leading the proverbial gaze to be turned into a glaze.
Alongside the historical development of photography, it is necessary to understand the different theoretical and methodological implications in the study and uses of this medium. Photography in itself can be understood through materialist, idealist and social constructivist ontological approaches. Whereas the latter is predominant in history and social sciences, a complementarity of different perspectives should be applied when using and assessing photographs as sources. For purposes of historical research the meaning of a photograph is established largely through contextual information about the image, its making, its different uses, and distribution. It is also important to consider how meaning is established in relation to other photographs or texts (i.e., through intertextuality). Issues include the assessment of images, ways of evaluating their credibility, and the questions scholars might ask in interpreting the meanings of the images, including identifying the provenance of the image, as well as the context in which the image appears. Was it intended for public or only private distribution? Was it in an archive, album, used in a publication, as a postcard and how might it be captioned? What affective meaning might it convey? How might one detect a fake? Besides using archival images, photography might also be used for photo elicitation and other experimental or participatory research methods.
The use of numerical data and statistical sources in African history has expanded in recent decades, facilitated by technological advances and the digitization of primary sources. This expansion has included new analysis of traditional measures (population, government, and trade) as well as new sources of individual-level data such as census returns, marriage registers, and military and police records. Overall, this work has allowed for a more comprehensive quantitative picture of Africa’s history, and in particular facilitated comparisons within Africa and between African countries and other parts of the world. However, there remain misunderstandings about the collection, use, and interpretation of these data. Increasingly sophisticated methods of quantitative analysis can alienate scholars who have an intimate knowledge of the data and how they are produced, but lack specialist methodological training. At the same time, limited understanding of the origins and reliability of quantitative data can lead to misinterpretation.
The study of loanwords, and of language contact more generally, is a useful tool in tracing encounters and exchanges between different communities in the past. Loanwords often come in sets related to specific semantic fields, illustrating the nature of exchanged goods and ideas, as well as the nature of contacts between those communities, for instance, economic exchanges or political dominance. Examples include the adoption of new crops and subsistence techniques, in both ancient and recent periods, and the strong Arabic influence in multiple domains on the Swahili language. Loanwords are but one outcome of language contact. More intense contacts can lead to structural borrowing; to convergence between nonaffiliated languages, resulting in linguistic areas; and to language shift. The languages of so-called pygmy hunter-gatherers are a notorious example of people abandoning their own language in favor of a new one.
To identify loanwords and to distinguish them from inherited vocabulary, it is necessary to apply the comparative linguistic method. Irregular sound correspondences and morphological traits, and a continuous distribution across linguistic boundaries are indicative of borrowing. The possibility of semantic analysis and the presence of cognates in related languages may confirm the identity of the donor language. The identification of loanwords suffers from a few drawbacks, however. Some sounds have not changed for centuries or even millennia, preventing the distinction between loans and inherited words. Or loanwords may have become integrated in the phoneme inventory of the recipient language, giving the impression of regular sound correspondences. But even if loans can be recognized as such, the donor language cannot always be traced. Finally, it must be said that the study of loanwords attains the best results when it is based on well-annotated data, with detailed semantic description and a list of regular sound correspondences and adequate classification at hand.
Amidu Olalekan Sanni
Of central interest here are the historical sources on Islam and Africa, the role and contributions of manuscripts to the narrative, and how the new cyber world has become a domain for those sources as instruments for the generation and utilization of knowledge. Africa came in contact with Islam right from the birth of the faith in the 7th century. Although Judeo-Christian, Late-Antique, and pre-Islamic materials provided the earliest historical sources on Islam and its people, the Qur’an, hadith (statements of the Prophet Muhammad), and the sira/maghāzī (biography/expeditions) were the first original sources on Islamic history on which later writings, including those from Africa, drew.
The manuscript tradition in Islam is as old as the faith itself; it was one of the earliest material sources on Islamic sciences, and in the case of Africa, it provided a treasure trove of materials. At the beginning of the 21st century, the approach to scholarship and utilization of manuscripts changed radically, as digitization, creation of online databases, interconnected portals and links to universal portals, catalogs of manuscripts and published materials, among other innovations, redefined the ways knowledge of Islamic history is generated, accessed, and utilized.
The Horn of Africa has an exceptional cultural heritage, starting with its manuscript sources, which are among the most important on the continent. It is a heritage that is rich but scattered throughout the region and not always easily accessible, prompting researchers to rely on cutting-edge technology. Since the 1970s, photography and microfilm have been key for preserving this especially valuable heritage. In the Horn of Africa, the “digital turn” has been the latest development in the close relationship between technology and research. For Ethiopian manuscript studies, the advent of digitization has meant more than simply improving old techniques. A new generation of projects is experimenting with innovative methods of research made possible by digital technology. The purpose is no longer just to provide digital copies of manuscripts but to explore the possibilities that computerization offers to study documents and other historical sources.
Increasingly competitive prices and low operating costs have made the digital revolution attractive even for African institutions, which, in recent years, have sought answers to the pressing needs of preserving and enhancing their historical sources. These technological developments have significantly broadened the range of sources investigated. While important, manuscripts represent only a part of the documentary heritage of the Horn of Africa. Numerous archives and a long-overlooked print culture offer equally interesting access points for studying the region.
The experience gained, though temporally circumscribed, has highlighted a number of more or less predictable problems. The projects to date, although they have often yielded only partial results, have highlighted the wealth of sources still present in the Horn of Africa and the way in which digital technology is making a valuable contribution to their preservation. Access remains perhaps the most critical issue. In the Horn of Africa, as in other African regions, digitization does not necessarily lead to Internet access.
Dmitri van den Bersselaar
Business records are documents routinely produced by employees and management of commercial businesses. They may be part of internal processes or produced to communicate with stakeholders or to meet legal requirements. They usually include a mix of qualitative (reports and correspondence) and quantitative (detailed accounting data) material. Depending on how complete the material is, documents may relate to: strategic management; accounting and financial data; operational matters; legal issues; trademarks; marketing; personnel files; and labor and welfare issues. Business records add a different dimension compared to information from government and colonial office sources by providing a private sector perspective on key episodes of colonial and postcolonial history, including strikes and protests, the relationship between the (colonial) state and business, and decolonization. Historians have used business records as sources for histories of business and trade in Africa, for studies on industrialization and development, and also to inform studies on colonialism and political history, as well as economic, social, and labor history. Business records may be kept in company archives, where they are not always easy to identify or access, kept in public repositories, or privately held. Many business archives have been weeded, whereby documentation relating to special activities, challenges, and crises has been retained, while routine documentation of interest to economic and social historians has been destroyed. Other collections appear to have disappeared altogether when companies went out of business or were taken over by others.
Kathryn Linn Geurts
For centuries, European and Global North observers of non-Western societies have been fascinated by African bodily expressivity and power. Artistic and ritual displays of bodily ways of knowing have captivated explorers, traders, missionaries, anthropologists, historians, and tourists, and this engagement has spawned a robust industry of representational accounts of African affect and sensibilities. Both European colonialism and American imperialism created and produced voluminous documentation of “the black body” through study of folklore, proverbs, myth, sculpture, masks, adornment objects such as beads, tunics, hair combs, and so forth. In addition, film and still photography have been used to capture vivid portrayals of bodily powers revealed in dance and possession trance. A history of such documentation and collection reveals shifts over more than a century in the way body, affect, and sensing have been understood and studied. Anthropology and psychology took the lead in attending to affect and the senses, but by the late 20th century additional fields such as music, art history, archaeology, and history joined in the sensory turn.
The use of oral tradition is a distinctive and essential element in many fields of African studies. History must acknowledge it; literature sees it as the medium for much of the indigenous creative endeavor across African cultures; anthropology and its cousin disciplines rely upon oral information for their understanding of traditional societies. An appreciation of the value of the oral tradition as a source across disciplines involves two efforts: first, a survey of the reported oral tradition as available and documented in past periods, and second, a review of the principles and practices involved in the collection, analysis, and presentation of the oral tradition.
The paucity of written records has been grounds for dismissal of the notion of African history—most notoriously in the case of Hegel, who in ignorance wrote off the home of the human species—and more recently a cause of pride among African intellectuals who have asserted the value of the oral tradition in the face of skepticism rooted in prejudice and too often in overt racism. An appreciation of the value of the oral tradition threads its path between extremes and occasional controversy. The era of the smartphone has made the documentation (and creation) of oral tradition almost too easy. Past generations made do in different ways. Their reports should not be dismissed, but studied; they are the available background to information collected in the modern era. Accurate collection and critical analysis are the essential tools for the understanding of oral tradition.
Christian presence in Africa has a long and varied history. African congregations represented some of the world’s earliest churches, with lively Coptic and Orthodox communities in both North Africa and present-day Ethiopia. But wide-scale Christian expansion truly began during the proselytization efforts of the 19th-century missionary movement. Success in gaining converts was initially limited, a fact not aided by the perceived ties of missionaries to Western colonial powers. But through the translation and intermediation of a dedicated strata of African evangelists, proselytizers, and preachers, Christianity rapidly became one of the continent’s most popular faiths. The independent church movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries exemplified the determination of Christians across the continent to make the faith a local religion: throwing off white missionary control, thousands of Africans formed their own independent churches that experimented with new modes of Protestant Holiness theology. Transnational links have always been key to the development of Christianity in Africa, with connections to North American African American churches sustaining many of these independent churches. More recently, international networks have also influenced the large charismatic revivals that swept the continent from the 1970s onward. Inspired by itinerant evangelists from both North America and Europe, Africans have formed new churches that stress the “Prosperity Gospel,” deliverance from witchcraft, and the equation of “modernity” with Christianity. Underlying many of these diverse developments has been an ongoing debate regarding the intrinsically African qualities of Christianity: scholars continue to wrestle with understanding the extent and nature of indigenous versus exogenous elements that go into making Christianity—along with Islam—one of the most widely practiced religions on the African continent.
For scholars of African history, anthropology offers a number of valuable and invigorating methodological avenues, from engaging directly in ethnographic fieldwork to analyzing anthropological data compiled by others. Given the asymmetries of written documents and the biases of archival material for Africa, anthropological methods and sources offer a different type of access to those who, for various reasons, tend not to appear in other forms of documentary record. The materials of past ethnographic research—texts and material objects, produced and collected by anthropologists and their assistants as well as by missionaries, government officials, travelers, and others—constitute one of the largest categories of written source material. However, the contexts in which such research was conducted can present certain challenges when using these materials as sources. For example, the complex entanglements between colonial governance and the making of anthropological knowledge make it imperative for historians to be aware of the discipline’s intellectual history and how its ways of seeing and ordering have shaped portrayals of Africa’s diverse cultures.
Methodologically, historians are also experimenting with field methods that draw heavily on ethnographic techniques. The emergence of historical ethnography has developed a rich, syncretic approach, in which communities’ own relationships with, and understandings of, the past are brought to the fore. Although ethnography is known for its immersive and long-term fieldwork, elements of the technique can also be incorporated into other historical methods. This is in part a matter of approach, rather than of different source material. For example, engaging ethnographically with archives can offer different insights into issues of governance and the production of knowledge.


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Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie over the weekend became the first Republican presidential candidate to go to Israel since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, visiting a hospital in Tel Aviv, meeting with victims who were wounded in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack and speaking to relatives of people it took hostage.
Christie started the day touring Kfar Aza kibbutz, less than 2 miles from the Gaza border, which Hamas attacked on Oct. 7. He walked through debris in the community, wearing a bulletproof vest and looking at houses Hamas destroyed and hearing stories about the atrocities that took place.
Christie told NBC News before he left for Israel that his goal was to ask a lot of questions and then listen. And in Israel, he said he planned to regularly relay what he heard back in the U.S. so “American people who were being asked to sacrifice and to help Israel financially and militarily will know that what they’re doing is not only a noble effort on their part, but also what friends do for friends. And America has no greater friend in the world than Israel.”
Christie also said he hopes his visit inspires other U.S. leaders to go, adding, “If you don’t understand the stakes after seeing this, then you lost.”
And when he was asked how he thought President Joe Biden has responded to the war, Christie said he thinks Biden’s performance since Oct. 7 “has been quite good.”
“I think that he has done the things that needed to be done to be able to show Israel our friendship and our support and also send signals to others in this area that the United States is not going to permit these kinds of things to go on,” Christie said.
Among the people Christie spoke to at the Tel Aviv hospital was Sheerel Gabay, who was shot in the knee in a bomb shelter at a music festival on Oct. 7 and hid under dead bodies for seven hours before she was rescued. A soldier named Yadin, a reserve first responder who did not provide his last name, was wounded fighting Hamas on Oct. 7.
“As American citizens, we have a lot of friends abroad that live in America, Europe or Canada, and we hear a lot of voices that are so against us,” Yadin told Christie. “When you hear a story like Sheerel’s and you hear that people just came into a bomb shelter and shot innocent people … you ask yourself questions of moral humanity, and I feel like the world has lost that.”
At the kibbutz, Maj. Liad Diamond, a member of the Israel Defense Forces’ Public Diplomacy Department, told Christie that a five-person American family who used to live there would fly kites every Friday night so people in Gaza could see them, seemingly as a sign of peace. The family members were killed in their safe room.
Amir Ohana, the speaker of Israel’s Knesset, told Christie after they toured the kibbutz, “Terror organizations throughout the world are watching, what will Israel and what will the world respond to what happened on Oct. 7.”
After his stop at the kibbutz, Christie toured an Israeli military encampment in Tzifrim, where he watched more than 40 minutes of video highlighting what happened on Oct. 7 and was shown weapons Hamas used in the attack. Video of the attacks previously screened by the IDF has included clips from social media and from both Israeli rescuers and Hamas attackers, among other sources.
“I saw some of the weapons that were used from Hamas, and they had Russian weapons, they had Iranian weapons, they had North Korean weapons, they are all working together,” Christie later told victims at the hospital. “They are all evil, and they want to go after Israel not only because they hate Jews, but also because they hate us.”
Christie also met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, but he did not meet with any Palestinian leaders. Asked whether there should be a cease-fire, he said, “No.”
His message to people calling for a cease-fire is “come to Israel and see it for yourself.”
NBC News asked Christie how seeing images of children and other civilians in Gaza made him feel.
“It’s awful,” he said. “It’s a horrible consequence of the war that Hamas started. Let’s remember on Oct. 6, there was a cease-fire. And Oct. 7, Hamas violated it and violated it by killing hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of innocent civilians.”


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