Help! I Can't Breathe

It was 2 o'clock in the afternoon and I was just warming up to lift some weights when all of a sudden smoke hit my nostrils and breathing became difficult.  So I grabbed my camera and followed my nose until I found the source of the smoke.

My neighbour around the corner had been cutting the weeds across from his house and instead of tossing them over the brick wall and into an empty field he decided to stink up the air by burning them.  Smoke and ash in the air. And billowing right in my direction!

How nice of my neighbour to foul up the air. 

And how typically Filipino.  

There is not a that day goes by but every morning is ruined with the smell of smoke secretly pouring forth from somewhere. Heaven forbid you want to open the window and let in the cool fresh morning air. Burning leaves, burning coals, motorcycle exhaust. There is no fresh morning air here because fires and vehicle exhaust stink it up all day long.  

Ice Cream Wrapped in Newspaper

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!

I'm also screaming about this:

Why? Why do they wrap up the ice cream in newspaper?  To prevent melting? Not gonna happen.  The paper gets wet and sticks to the plastic creating a mess.  At least it's something to read while you eat.

Sometimes the ice cream is so hard that a little melting can be a good thing. Ever try to scoop out hard frozen ice cream?  Not fun.

They even wrap up the little half-litre tubs of ice cream.

I can understand they think they are preventing melting but what about this:

Wrapping up Cornettos?  Now that is just impractical and a waste of paper. 

Dog Left out During Tropical Storm

Right now there is a tropical storm battering the Philippines and dumping buckets of rain. Lots of flooding and wind and nastiness everywhere. 

But the neighbours have chosen to leave their dog tied up to a tree across the street from their house rather then bring him into the safety and dryness inside their gate.

Why?

Right now the wind is blowing hard and the rain is coming down like a sheet and I know the dog is cowering in the mud next to the tree to which he is tied up!

How can these people be so cruel?  So mean?  Whey even own a dog if you aren't going to take care of it??

There is simply no excuse for this behaviour.

Martial Law: No Safe Area

The battle zone in Marawi keeps getting smaller and smaller.

https://www.rappler.com/nation/181536-marawi-battle-area-day109

The battle zone in Marawi City has been narrowed down to just 20 hectares, said Joint Task Force Marawi spokesman Captain Jo-ann Petinglay in a press briefing on Friday, September 8. 

"Our soldiers are still trying to clear a portion of about 20-21 hectares land area in the main battle area," she said. 

It is about the size of the campus of University of Santo Tomas in Manila, except the battle zone is a commercial area packed with high-rise buildings.

With the AFP drawing the noose tight, the remaining Maute fighters are forced  to resort to desperate techniques to continue the battle.

http://www.interaksyon.com/watch-maute-fighters-make-like-possums-underneath-the-streets-of-marawi/

They don’t just go through walls opened up from house to house in the battle of Marawi, but the terrorist Maute fighters even play possum slithering through the drainage system underneath the streets in the fight for survival. 

From the nearby municipality of Marantao, the terrorists are suspected to take advantage of concealment provided by floating clumps of water hyacinth on Lake Lanao to infiltrate into the Islamic City of Marawi to reinforce their comrades. 

Those inside the city are apparently able to make use of the underground drainage system to move from one part of Ground Zero to another, or, not so far-fetched, to slip away in their escape making like possums underneath the surface.

Sounds pretty gross. But anything to establish an Islamic State. Even the women and children are throwing in their weight.

http://www.newsweek.com/women-and-children-taking-arms-isis-marawi-philippine-army-says-659068

“Our troops in the field are seeing women and children shooting at our troops, so that’s why it seems they are not running out of fighters,” Lieutenant General Carlito Galvez, the regional military chief, told reporters, Reuters reported. 

The Philippine army is employing both women and men in the battle to retake the city, but mostly male radical Islamist fighters have been waging the insurgency until now, according to the military.

So where did these women and children come from and why are they fighting now?  They could be family members but who knows. More mysteries of the Battle of Marawi which might never be answered. 

While the AFP continues its airstrikes on what it believes is Isnilon Hapilon's location,

http://www.msn.com/en-ph/news/national/afp-airstrikes-pound-isnilon-hapilon’s-known-position-in-marawi/ar-AAro7t2

The Armed Forces has expressed confidence that air strikes launched on Wednesday morning hit the hideout in Marawi City of Abu Sayyaf Group leader Isnilon Hapilon.

they also believe that Abdullah Maute was killed in an airstrike last month.

https://www.rappler.com/nation/181062-abdullah-maute-telegram-chatter-killed

Lieutenant General Carlito Galvez, chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), cited information in the social media application Telegram where the local terrorist group is reportedly communicating with the Islamic State (ISIS), the international terrorist organization it pledged allegiance to. 

"Abdullah Maute is already killed. Chatter over Telegram indicates he is killed," Galvez said in a press conference in Marawi City on Monday, September 4.  

Galvez showed the media online posts that pay tribute to the "martyred" Sheik Al Miyahad Abu Al Hassan, the name that Abdullah Maute goes by in the ISIS network. 

Galvez said the military is working to get "physical evidence" such as DNA to confirm Abdullah's death.

How is this even possible?  How are these fighters able to use social media to communicate with anyone? Why are the signals in the area not jammed?  How is electricity still being delivered to the area where the terrorists are hiding out so they can charge their phones and computers? Why wouldn't the AFP take every measure to cut Maute off from the rest of the world? Don't they want to prevent reinforcements from joining the fight?

http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/07/17/man-arrested-in-singapore-allegedly-planned-to-join-terrorists-in-marawi

Not cutting off the electricity sounds stupid but maybe allowing Maute to have contact with the outside world has its benefits and is part of a larger chess game.  But here is something really stupid.  Remember when Mindanao State University opened?

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/924806/msu-opens-amid-marawi-chaos

Anyone with any brains knew this was a bad idea.

http://www.philstar.com/nation/2017/09/07/1736777/regional-csc-official-killed-stray-bullet-marawi-city

http://www.philstar.com/nation/2017/09/08/1737050/msu-locks-campus-main-gate-classes-continue

Authorities closed the main gate of Mindanao State University (MSU) on Friday after a stray bullet killed an executive of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) in Marawi City Thursday, security officials said. 

Capt. Jo-Ann Petinglay, the spokesperson of Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) and Joint Task Force Marawi, said the main gate was closed as the incident occurred just outside the premises fronting Gate 1 where Marvin Ablando was hit by a stray bullet.

A stray bullet killed a man at the front entrance of MSU?  Say it ain't so!  I thought everything in that area was under control.  What could have gone wrong?

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/929085/philippine-news-updates-marawi-maute-group-islamic-state-terrorism-mindanao

Although the military has claimed to have gained back control of most parts of Marawi previously taken by Maute gunmen and their allies, top military officials here warned that nobody remains safe from stray bullets in the city’s battle zone.

“It showed the city is not yet considered generally safe for civilians,” Petinglay said. 

“In Marawi City, we have not declared any safe area from stray bullets,” he said.
The military merely declared “controlled areas,” which means it had “control over the entry and exit and the security condition inside those areas.”

So close down the school!  How hard is that?  No area is safe from stray bullets and the entire area is not safe for civilians but they are letting civilians into the area to attend classes??  All these children are in danger of being killed by stray bullets!

http://www.philstar.com/nation/2017/09/06/1736364/classes-resume-12-marawi-public-schools

What is wrong with the AFP that they are allowing all these children to be put in danger? The government is so anxious to get everything back to normal and rebuild and the people are so eager to move back in to the homes the left that they cannot focus on  first getting the job done and ending the siege.

http://www.philstar.com/nation/2017/09/10/1737694/military-readies-marawi-rehab

Allowing classes to continue is stupid.  

But there is more stupidity yet.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/09/philippines-army-rebel-groups-join-forces-marawi-170906112401721.html

The Philippines military has teamed up with Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters as it prepares for a final assault against the Maute armed group in the southern city of Marawi. 

Soldiers were seen mingling freely with several hundred MILF fighters who have joined forces for an assault on fighters on the southern island of Mindanao. 

The joint operation is the latest tactic by the Philippine government to try to stamp out fighters linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group after months of battling a separate faction of fighters who have besieged the city of Marawi. 

The alliance with MILF included "providing them with indirect fire support and even air support and other expertise," Major-General Arnel dela Vega told AFP, adding that the awkwardness of fighting alongside former long-time foes had evaporated.

The AFP is teaming up with one Islamic terrorist group in order to destroy another Islamic terrorist group. How can the AFP trust these guys who are responsible for the death of the SAF 44 in 2015? Forming an alliance with an armed terrorist group gives them the legitimacy they do not deserve and places the entire nation at risk for more violence. MILF is a criminal terrorist organisation which must be dismantled. Only traitors or complete idiots would think this is a good move. They cannot even play a simple basketball game without killing one another.

http://www.philstar.com/nation/2017/09/09/1737151/2-milf-men-die-gun-fight-over-basketball-game

A friendly basketball game involving two groups of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels in North Cotabato turned bloody on Thursday when it ended in a shooting spree, the police said Friday. 

He said the suspects and the victims were playing basketball in the village involving “pot money” as bet when the game eventually went “physical.” 

One of the players then grabbed his Armalite assault rifle and opened fire. Relatives of the slain MILF members retaliated, triggering a gun battle. 

“There was a misunderstanding that turned into a heated argument until they took their guns and started shooting at one another,” a witness quoted Aliman as telling police investigators.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/928906/2-dead-3-wounded-as-basketball-game-turns-bloody-in-n-cotabato

And Duterte is eager to sign the BBL into law and give these guys their own independent Islamic State in Mindanao? What does he think will happen? It will be worse than the wild West with everyone armed and everyone their own law. This basketball incident happened in North Cotabato. Hear what Dutere has to say about this area which is populated with MILF and other armed terrorists groups.

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/09/10/1737545/no-peace-mindanao-longest-time

There will be no peace in Mindanao for a long time as trouble is brewing in Cotabato City, President Duterte said yesterday. 

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the Mindanao Business Conference in Cagayan de Oro, Duterte said after the embattled city of Marawi, it is Cotabato City that is going to explode next.  

“If things cannot be helped, Cotabato City will explode and there will really be fighting,” he said.  

“Cotabato puputok yan dahil ang isang lote tatlo ang may-ari (Cotabato will really explode because a land is owned by three people),” he added. 

He pointed out that the city is the next flash point after Marawi, which is now on the third month of a siege carried out by the Islamic State-linked Maute group. 

More war?  Sounds like an opportunity for the USA to start its proxy drone war in the Philippines.

http://archive.is/NSxvp

The US has deployed one of its unmanned aircraft to Mindanao in a bid to do more surveillance activities in support of the Philippine military’s counterterrorism operations.

While this drone is allegedly just for surveillance it is a continuation, of the USA's military involvement in the region. Were the situation to get out of hand and Mindanao to explode, as Duterte thinks it will, it could be that American troops will see combat in the Philippines. With the sabre rattling of Kim Jong-un and the growing threat of ISIS in SEA the entire region is a volatile ticking time bomb ready to explode. 

Duterte's Marital Law Warning Affirms This Blog's Prediction

A few months ago I wrote an article laying out the plan Duterte had for declaring martial law nationwide.  The gist is as follows:

Duterte's plan has always been martial law from the beginning.  

His end goal being revolutionary government and a new constitution which he first mentioned in 2015 before he even entered the presidential race.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/696757/duterte-to-declare-revolutionary-govt-once-elected

And which spectre he raised again just last week:

https://www.rappler.com/nation/180605-duterte-revolutionary-government-good-ph

In my previous article I wrote that the way to get to martial law and make it look legit is to allow the CPP-NPA and various terrorist groups engage in horrendous violence all the while appearing to play peace maker.  This has been done with the various peace talks.  With the Muslims there is peace at the moment because they have the prospect of the BBL. 

However, with the CPP there is no peace and the talks have broken down. Since the CPP wants a piece of the Philippines for themselves and since there is no way that is going to happen, I posited that the peace talks were ultimately phoney. They were a front which would give Duterte the appearance of a man of peace. But, knowing the demands of the CPP were unreasonable and not demands he could meet, he knew the talks would break down which would cause the CPP to ramp up their attacks.  This in turn would give Duterte the moral authority to declare marital law nationwide.

Since the breakdown of talks and the implementation of martial law in Mindanao this exact thing, CPP-NPA ramping up attacks, has happened.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/899587/cpp-orders-npa-to-launch-more-attacks-in-mindanao-other-regions

Now today Duterte has indicated he is ready and willing to do exactly what I predicted he would do:

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/929222/rodrigo-duterte-martial-law-new-peoples-army-communist-rebels

Only time will tell if the situation gets to the point where nationwide martial law will be declared. 

The clock is ticking!

You can read my original analysis of Duterte's plan to declare nationwide martial law here: Martial Law Was Always the Plan.

Duel-turte is Being Sabotaged

Everyone knows President Duterte is a madman but it's not every day he gives the public a double whammy of his particular brand of madness.

1. Yoga flame!

If Duterte has an arch-nemesis in the Senate it is Senator Trillanes. After watching his son being grilled and humiliated by Trillanes during a hearing on his alleged involvement in the drug trade it is understandable that Duterte is a little upset.  

http://www.interaksyon.com/duterte-i-carry-an-unlicensed-gun-in-case-i-need-to-engage-in-a-duel-with-boastful-but-coward-trillanes/

President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday said he was carrying an unlicensed gun in case he engages in a duel with his leading critic, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, a former mutineer. 

The President showed a gun tucked in his waist during his speech and said that the weapon was not licensed because license wasn’t needed to kill a man.

No license to kill?  Duterte is no James Bond.

More like Quickdraw McGraw.

Duterte, the Philippines' top law enforcer, admits he illegally carries an unregistered weapon so he can murder a particular Senator if the occasion arises. Is this the Philippines or is this the Wild West? Will he be reprimanded by the PNP for breaking the law? Does he even know the rules of duelling?  Who is his second?

Not only does Duterte harbour a personal grudge against Triallnes which he seeks to solve with gunfire but he has also told the PNP and the AFP to duel with Triallnes if he gets too uppity with them.

http://www.msn.com/en-ph/news/national/duterte-to-soldiers-cops-challenge-trillanes-to-duel-if-he-badgers-you-in-senate/ar-AArvgw5

President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday told the country's armed forces to challenge Senator Antonio Trillanes to a duel if he badgered them during a Senate inquiry. 

The commander-in -chief even ordered the uniformed officers and personnel to stand up to Trillanes and not let his harshest critic to bully them. 

" 'Well, you stand. You say, 'P- mother. Get out there. We draw. ' Boastfulness. Cowardly man. Gosh, I can encounter ana ... Why i carry a gun? No license ah. Do not you need a license to kill a man [If that happens, stand up to him. Tell him, 'You're a son of b-. Come out and let's draw [guns]. He's arrogant. He's a coward. If I encounter him ... Why am I bringing a gun? It does not have a license. You do not need a license to kill a person, "Duterte said, even showing what appeared to be a gun on his side.

He tells the police to challenge an elected official to a duel and he wonders why there is a large and ever-growing body count in his bloody war on drugs.

2. Yoga fire!

http://www.interaksyon.com/sinasadya-duterte-defends-cops-says-recent-youth-killings-a-sabotage-of-drug-war-campaign/

President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday took up the cudgels for the police and said that the recent killings of youngsters, including 19-year-old Carl Angelo Arnaiz, were a “sabotage” carried out by those who didn’t want his pet campaign against illegal drugs to succeed.  

“Silipin mong mabuti kasi…sinasabotahe kayo [Look into it closely because you’re being sabotaged],” Duterte told Philippine National Police chief Gen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa in his speech during the celebration of the 17th founding anniversary of Digos, Davao del Sur at the City Gymnasium.  

“Sinasadya talaga ‘yan [That’s really being done intentionally],” the President said.  

He said that while policemen shoot violators or might have engaged in extrajudicial killings, authorities don’t wrap dead bodies, apparently referring to what happened to 14-year-old Reynaldo de Guzman, whose remains, wrapped in cloth and plastic, were found last Sept. 5 floating in a creek in Brgy. San Roque, Gapan, Nueva Ecija, 19 days after he went out with Arnaiz and went missing. 

According to the President, vigilance is needed because there are people cooking up something to discredit his administration.  

According to the police, Arnaiz died in a shootout with authorities after the teenager allegedly robbed at gunpoint taxi driver Tomas Bagcal in Caloocan. But according to forensic experts from the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO), it looked like Arnaiz was first tortured before he was killed.  

Dr. Erwin Erfe said it appeared that Arnaiz was dragged, beaten up, and handcuffed because his bruises were deep, his eyes were severely distended, and he had many shackle marks in his right hand.

Sabotage?  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5rRZdiu1UE

I cant stand it. I know Duterte planned it. I'm going to set him straight on this "Watergate." I can't stand all these lies in here because Duterte's crystal ball was so crystal clear. So while you sit back and wonder why I got this thorn in my side, oh my god it's a mirage, I'm telling y'all it's not sabotage.

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/07/12/1718912/duterte-shoot-suspects-who-fight-back-make-them-fight-if-they-dont

https://www.rappler.com/nation/politics/elections/2016/98306-duterte-fight-crime

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2016/02/21/1555393/duterte-admits-bloody-presidency-if-he-wins

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/757273/duterte-there-will-be-blood-in-cleansing-this-country

So listen up, cause you can't say nothin'. Duterte will shut you down with a push of his button. But, yo, I'm out and I'm gone. I'll tell you now, Duterte will keep it on and on.

Standing in Trucks 2

Here's more pictures of Filipinos standing in the back of moving trucks for you to gawk at.