SHRAPNEL OFF THE WALL

The Saladin Syndrome III

The Saladin Syndrome III

Saladin, yes, not Suleiman et al.

While Saladin did not make the Caliphate as progressive

As the next Caliphs,

 he had one unique trait that made him

arguably THE CALIPH.

And that is—- he won his battles,

Much more, he won these battles against the Crusade.

Which is why the next Caliph that may come

from the ISIS should have, by necessity,

that trait of having won his battles against the West.

Comes now the reason, nay, the excuse to tease and taunt the West

into sending land forces against the ISIS.

This they do by capturing oil refineries

And beheading westerners particularly christians.

The strategy, however, has been compromised,

and that the western powers ignore the taunts

and does not send in land forces

nor declare war on the ISIS.

Instead, they sent in drones, the perfect weapon of choice

to bring down singly those leaders who would aspire

to be Caliphs.

The ISIS will therefore be left only with raiders and beheaders,

and no potential candidate for the Caliph.

The objective of the ISIS—-

 that of forming a caliphate that would unite all Islam,

has therefore been defeated by drones.

Worse for the ISIS, the prospect of starting a Holy War

that would crown a Caliph, has been blunted.

Instead of Islam being united,

the muslims are now fighting against each other.

Drones,

silent at daytime,

invisible at nighttime,

no radar can see it,

no missile can hit it,

stealth bombers,

caliph killers.

The Isis Taunts the West

The ISIS thumbs their noses on the West

and dares Western troops to come and fight

man to man.

Why?

I can guess.

 Will my guess be as good as yours?

(expect an answer next)

Princess Xyrene Enriquez

Most Popular Event

  It looks like the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight

will be the most popular event ever.

In the effort to give all Filipinos the opportunity to watch this event,

a whole lot of tv channels are airing this fight for free.

Well-now-whaddaya-know!

Go, Man, Go!

The Oracle of March

Caesar, O Mighty Caesar,

Beware the Ides of March!

(What fer?)

Income Tax!

The Saladin Syndrome II

This post is uploaded to supplement my other post titled “The Saladin Syndrome”.

The present incursions by the Shia sect of Islam proceed to validate my first post on the Saladin Syndrome.

There is now proof of the search, nay, a struggle to determine who in fact will wear the mantle of Saladin.

Let us not interpret this present conflict in Iraq to be regionalized for in truth this conflict is a conflagration, and will embroil also the rest of the Muslim world.

This is a conflict which is similar to that which engulfed the Christian world resulting in the present day splinter of the religion into several denominations.

And this is obtained even when there is one single pontiff who interprets and administers the the Laws of God.

How much more confusing would the problem of conserving the tenets of Islam when there is not a single entity to lay down  and interpret the Laws of Allah.

“There is no other God but Allah.

And Mohammed is His Prophet”

All Muslims adhere to this Credo, and yet there is a wide rift when it comes to the interpretation of what follows in the Islamic Dogma after this Credo.

One authority to sort out the rules of Islam is needed, and such authority is personified with a sword in hand and the proclamation of Holy War to further enforce his authority.

Such a person was Saladin, and every Muslim with a sword and a sworn fealty to Allah would follow him.

Nowadays, it is OK if one does not have a sword to follow Saladin.

One only has to know how to use an AK to be OK.

(One does not define the differences between Shia and Sunni because by doing so, one gets to be biased. Let us just say that getting involved in this struggle as to who will lead the Muslims would be a mistake. Any which way that this is accomplished would have cultivated enemies. Moreover, it has been so that the forces resisting any established government always have been splintered into as many groups as there are ambitions for the mantle of Saladin, making it so that any deal or negotiations attempted have already failed before the talks start. This was so in Libya, and in Syria, and in Egypt, in Palestine, Iraq, and Afghanistan. But the upheavals in all of these parts of the world could have been easily contained had the rebels who would intend to disestablish the governments not been provided conveniently with arms, training, and money.)

Obama Apologizes

The President of the United states,

the C-in-C of the US Armed Forces,

has apologized publicly

for the mistaken killing of ISIS

prisoners with a drone strike.

Now THAT is command responsibility.

This particular effort

stopped everybody in their tracks,

literally.

Islamic Conflict

The adherents of Islam are up in arms, all of them,

against each other.

This may not be called a strife,

in reality it is a struggle,

a fight to get to the top of the pyramid.

What is at stake?

The right to wear the mantle of Caliph,

the successor to Mohammed.

We saw the Iraqis at war with the Iranians.

The Iraqis have Russian tanks.

The Iranians have American planes.

Somehow or others the conflict in the Middle east

manage to have powerful nations involved.

There is a reason for this.

And this has something to do with

Saladin, not Suleiman, Saladin.

The Saladin Syndrome I

The Saladin Syndrome

(Reposted from September 28, 2012 this website.)

There is presently a disagreement within the Obama Cabinet about which group was responsible for the death of the US Ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens. Since this is election time, the Republicans are quick to pounce upon this disagreement . The Administration, they say,  is keeping a secret of this disagreement, adding that the government is bewildered about the events in the Arab region.   The Republicans  are right at this juncture because no further  U.S. investigation could have been  made. To confound the situation, there exist a number of groups that could easily have been responsible for the deed. There is the Al-Qaeda, the  foreign  fighters, the  foreign mercenaries, the  soldiers of fortune, and also the plain ragtag leftover Libyan rebels carrying leftover weapons.

The Al Qaeda, its capable leaders pruned by drones, has been weakened  in both strategy and weaponry, to a point that such a sustained attack on the American Embassy would have been inhibited. While the possibility of the Al Qaeda members slipping through the Libyan security exists  the attack would have required some  support to succeed. Such support could have been provided spontaneously by the mob that was sparked by the notorious video clip of Muhammad. Or some other military-trained group, posing as Al Qaeda, may have led the assault.

It should be noted that the Libyan citizens attacked some safe houses of Al Qaeda. This could only mean that the Al Qaeda’s operations are not entirely secret in Libya. But there are the other groups, the foreign mercenaries to name one, which operate in Libya. Some particular NATO countries may have interests in the results of this Arab upheaval. These countries may have sent their special forces, or soldiers of fortune, to operate in the region. Each of these countries may have varied concerns regarding the events now happening. As a result, they don’t work in unison. Their attacks are not synchronized.

It was published by the media that the diary of Chris Stevens was found in a conspicuous location inside the embassy ruins.  It reads that Stevens may be in the Al Qaeda hit list. The circumstances leading to this Al Qaeda info in the diary is suspect. This diary obviously have been read and returned to be found by the media. If the Al Qaeda returned the diary, it would be for the intention of publicizing their dastardly deed. If some other group other than the Al Qaeda read and  returned this diary, it could have been intended  to lay blame on Al Qaeda. This diary throws more confusion to the situation. Who dunnit? The answer or answers could only be opinionated.

And then there is the group of Libyan rebels that ousted Ghadaffi, who are presently languishing about the lack of recognition by the new Libyan government  and; with surplus arms and ammunition, they have  become trigger-happy trouble makers under  the lust to fire their weapons. Such an excuse as a protest against a video clip, or a looming attack on the American Embassy, is enough to galvanize them to do some damage with rifle and bombs.

These varied groups collectively make up what the Obama Administration (and Assad) calls as “terrorists”, for lack of a term to define them. They are splintered, but they wreak havoc just the same. There is not one person nor one group amongst  them that they can call leader. They are not in agreement with each other. One group may say something, yet another group may do another thing which is different. It is therefore not a wonder that any effort to mediate peace in the region will not fall through. There is nobody to negotiate with.

Which just about brings us to what I am trying to say —that this lack of leadership amongst the Middle East Arab countries is what makes the region what it is today.  The region does not have an Islamic leader to call the shots, and to call for the shooting to start, and stop. They need another Saladin.

Such a position for a supreme leader is what Ghadaffi  tried to fill. So did Hussein ,Bin Laden,  Khomenei,  and the other Heads of Arab States. None of them proved strong enough to lead. Moreover, the West almost always interfered with the rise of any strongman. It  would be astronomically costly and destructive for the West to start another crusade.  From thence come the Arab hatred for the West. The West has prevented the rise of any prospective Saladin, and consequently, prevented the formation of a unified Arab States.

Curiously enough, if there were a Saladin, he would have kept order in the region, and there would only be one person to negotiate with. Sad it is to say that the West have a penchant for bringing down people who  would have kept order in the Arab states.

The Arabs have oil, but they don’t have food. Soil that is good for pumping out oil is not good for planting grain. Oil can be traded for weapons and food, but the source of food may be drying up.   The prices are going up as the scarcity of the food supply deepens. While the Arabs have guns, they need food, reminiscent of North Korea’s demise, isn’t it?

Clinton asks, ”Where do they get their guns?” I would ask, “Where do they get their food?” The army fights on its stomach, so says Napoleon. These “terrorists” may therefore drop their guns for a loaf of bread. Presently, they still have loaves of bread. Where do they get the bread?

This should  give us the splendid idea that if Europe were able to sell food  to the Arabs, they would have solved their ensuing economic problem.  Europe should stop sending weapons and mercenaries to the Arabs.  Better to trade food for oil.

This is what I think about the Arab situation, even if I ain’t there to witness things.

I must admit I do miss the mark at times.

Then again I must also say that when I miss, I don’t miss by  much.

Saladin Syndrome . terrorists

Chicken

It appears that the Aquino camp, with all the intelligentsia at its disposal, is scared to debate the BBL as published. I issued the challenge and I promise that no one will help me with references and books and etc. Every argument that I would may down will be coming from pure thought, my pure thought. Well, this would not be the first time that somebody backed out from a challenge of mine. I could have been a good poker player, eh?

The Jig is Up.

It won’t take long before everybody succeeds in connecting the dots.

The all concealing alias is not so concealing after all.

BBL Panel Negotiator IQBAL vehemently suggests

that he uses this nom de guerre to protect him

from would-be evil people who would go for his life.

How an alias would help give him security is another thing to be explained.

IQBAL has been on the news for so long a time and for so numerous the times

that anybody would know him, with alias or none.

Besides, which terrorist group would go for him.

He is with the MILF, and that alone borders on terrorism.

Nobody knows his legal, real, birth name;

excepting, of course, those who are trying to ram through

the BBL.

These particular group of people are not telling,

and for good reason,

(their good reason),

IQBAL himself will sign the peace agreement when the time comes.

This affords us the one logical explanation why all these events are happening.—

the money from Kuala Lumpur is deposited in a bank

under IQBAL’s legal name, making him the main

protagonist in the BBL negotiations.

Why the money?

This would most probably go to the  budget of the new

autonomous government that would function as an

independent entity;

call it another country if you would.

That enormous amount of money under IQBAL’s birth name

is the fish bait that gets some particular people all roiled up and agitated.

This is the big compilation of all the worms in one small can.

This is what I meant when I said that

the Mamasapano Encounter opened up

The Can of Worms.

The Aquino Challenge

The President has said, and it has been printed, that he is challenging the critics of the BBL to come up with a better one, adding that this full BBL text has not been read by the said critics.

Well, I have, and I declare that I can put up a better one, and one that would safeguard the country against malicious intentions against its resources, security, and its statehood. The problem is would he be able to debate or discuss with me all the points that I would bring up?

I suggest that he open up the government website(or any daily newspaper) wherein anybody can join the discussion in the effort to CHANGE the BBL for the better. The President may bring up all the people he trusts would help him with the present BBL text as publicized. This should be a point by point discussion in just about anything that includes politics, finance, agriculture, government, security, defense and what have you.

If this President has really issued a dare to find a better Agreement with the Bangsamoros publicly, he should be able to put up his arguments in public, otherwise I shall consider this as another ploy to shift the blame on somebody else.

If this post will be treated as an open letter to the President of the Philippines, then by all means it needs an open reply, from the President of the Republic of the Philippines.

The BBL Crumbles

As if the Bangsamoro Basic Law is built upon sand, it has started to erode on its foundations.

The aftermath of the Mamasapano Massacre produced a furor

wherein the Philippine Congress, and the public in general,

initiated as concentrated critique on the pros and cons

of the BBL, but mostly on the cons.

By splurges, or so it seems, the mechanics of the effort

to ram through the BBL upon the Filipino has been jammed

by one thing or another.

This time, it is the alleged bribe by the Malaysian government

to make the Aquino government to speed

and ensure the passage of the BBL.

Below is the latest block to the BBL’s Passage.

(this should do it— passing the BBL will be a squeaker now!)

Gov’t receives $750M from KL for BBL passage — lawyer

By Pat C. Santos and Joshua L. Labonera The Aquino administration had allegedly received $750 million, or around P33.5 billion, from Malaysia in exchange for the passage of the controversial Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL). Kuala Lumpur had brokered the peace accord that marked the end of armed hostilities between the government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The BBL, seen to establish lasting peace in the country’s southern region, will create the Bangsamoro substate to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Lawyer Homobono Adaza at a news forum yesterday noted that Malacañang’s refusal to comment on the issue only fueled speculations that indeed it had received the funds. “No one in the Aquino government denied the information that has been going around. And there is this admission of silence on the part of the government,” he said. Adaza, along with columnist Herman Tiu Laurel, had earlier filed treason charges against President Aquino and some of his Cabinet members and MILF leaders for entering into a peace agreement with the Moro rebel group and for supporting an “unconstitutional” bill that seeks to create an autonomous Bangsamoro political entity that would benefit the MILF. The BBL, which is pending in Congress, violates several provisions of the Constitution, Adaza and Laurel said. The complainants stressed that “treason under our laws is committed by a Filipino citizen who gives aid or comfort to the enemies of the government.” They added the MILF is an insurgent group that has been waging war against the republic. Treason is among the four impeachable offenses under the Constitution. “BBL establishes a parliamentary as against a presidential system, and by its territory and power of sovereignty, it is a state within a state,” part of the six-page complaint stated. Aquino, meanwhile, also yesterday challenged critics of the BBL to read the full text of the draft measure first, then come up with a better alternative to the bill. “A lot has been complaining about the BBL but have yet to read it… Those who have nothing to offer have no clear goal,” he said during a prayer meeting in Malacañang. Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr., for his part, said there is no pressure from the Palace for lawmakers to work on the BBL amid allegations that Aquino is rushing to enact the measure as soon as possible. “There is no pressure and no forcing. Let us understand that there is a schedule of sessions in Congress. The current session is up to March 18, they have a Holy Week break. After, they will resume on May 4. It is set to be up until June 11,” he said. “We are not the ones who set this up. So in a practical view, the talks can only continue on their own schedules. They cannot pass a law while in recess. That’s what is being talked about. No one is pressuring them,” Coloma said. The Palace official, however, said it is premature to immediately ask for a special session in case of lack of time. He said Malacañang cannot give answers to speculations. “We are giving lawmakers freedom to do their work. There might be talk again that we are pressuring them when it’s brought up. It is best that we should not discuss it, since it has not yet been tackled,” Coloma said.

Last modified on Monday, 09 March 2015 16:11

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Teth Lagman and Jerwin Enriquez

New Canadians

The Negotiators

This post was supposed to be an insight (or calculated guesswork) on the negotiators and the negotiations. But it appears that this post will be pre-empted by other sensational news stories. So you might as well tune in to the news. They should be juicier than this post!

The Can of Worms

The Can of Worms

I am not about to talk about a can of beans. Worms wriggle and do not sizzle when thrown into a hot pot. Beans do sizzle and would taste exceptionally better when thrown in to make a dish called “pamplina’. A can of worms would be despicable to look at, more so when you touch the worms.  Fishermen use worms as bait. Nowadays, fishermen use flies, instead; not the ordinary buzzing flies that we know, but fabricated fish baits so named flies because when attached to fish hooks and pulled along the water, thy seem to fly.

The Can of Worms is therefore used here as a figure of speech to symbolize a trait or attitude which is despicable and yucky. But boy, that was a long intro. I must admit that I get so distracted that I never knew when I am supposed to stop.

The Can of worms may be present in the Philippine Government, its leaders, or in the army and its leaders. Let’s try the Army first. This is now a conglomeration of smart people dressed in smart uniforms who in the most inopportune of moments do not do smart things. Why? In this Army of the Philippines, there are too many chiefs and too few Indians. There are too many generals and too few soldiers. These generals get the shish-kebob while the soldiers get the skewers. The generals get the medals and the soldiers get the body bags. It is true, too, that when they get to be colonel, they practice more of political strategy than military strategy. It has never been different ever since, and nobody has ever tried to change this. Presidents come and Presidents go, but the worms wriggle on forever. It appears that the wriggles are not merely passed on as a practice, it is inherent to this army.

I did mention several times in this blog that the units go to the front as 5 o’clock warriors. I refer to their style of getting in by morning and getting out before dinnertime. Actually, the, problem is rations. They have to go back to camp by disengaging from the frontline. Not only this, equipment is hard to come by. I really hope the reason for this lack of equipment and military hardware is because the commander of the army, the C-in-C is simply paranoid and refuses to equip the army with some hardware that could provide further temptation to stage a coup.

With regards to the Mamasapano responsibility of command, the primary blame is pointing to the C-in-C. Whether he knows about the operation or not, whether he commanded it or not, whether he participated in the planning and execution or not, his is the responsibility. However, and this is the big however, the fact that the whole conglomeration of generals are at loggerheads with each other for one little reason or another. Pride, competition, struggle for favor, fight for extra remunerations and recruits, or for some petty little things as a larger ammunition depot , this army will never coalesce. To complicate matters, a unit, the PNP, or a police force which is national in scope and comprising similar numbers of units and men is treated as part of the army and is given field skirmish assignments. It would have helped if all the officers of the Army were trained in the same school. There would have been the spirit of camaraderie. Comes now the ever present jealousy and the consequent higher number of generals promoted to appease the different branches of the army. The strife for promotion and status has never been more apparent than when there are too many chiefs and too few Indians. Suxh a situation provides THE mitigating circumstance by which the blame of command responsibility shifts away from the C-in-C. In truth, the C-in-C does have little or none of the knowledge of planning a military operations much less get involved in them. He would be at the mercy of his generals who may, or may not, tell him exactly what the situation is. In other words, the C-in-C, this C-in-C, would not know what to do. He would have relied on his generals, instead.

There is nothing better to do for the generals. There is no war to keep their time and to speed up promotions. The Jebidah Force was an utter failure because of infidelity, and the Philippine government pertinently refrains from saturating Southern Mindanao with forts and camps. Such idle time is fatal to morale, and becomes a call to petty shenanigans.  Both soldiers and generals get into the act, whatever it is that they can make profit from. Weapons of all types suddenly disappear by theft or by selling or by smuggling. But there are other ways to secure profit from that region. BTW, have they ever publicized where the reward for Marwan’s killing went?

Who received the money?

Where from?

Was the pot shared?

The Iran Deal

The Uncertainty over Iran’s progress with refining uranium initiates this massive argument whether this deal is good or bad. We forget that Iran would just as soon buy this refined uranium from other countries which are favorable to Iran. Therefore, whatever is the situation about Iran’s capabilities, nuclear inspections are required to remove the uncertainty of Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

For these particular inspections, the US is willing to remove some sanctions for Iran. Removal of these sanctions, however, will allow Iran to import more equipment necessary to complete its nuclear program. The US is banking that the inspections will determine which equipment are to be allowed in, and at what stage the development is on Iran’s nuclear program.

We now see why the Iran Deal is difficult to explain to the Americans,  and to Israel, in particular.

Nanny “Slave” Awarded $55,000

A Filipino nanny who was kept as a “virtual slave” in a Richmond hotel by a Hong Kong couple has been awarded $55,0000 by the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal.

© Provided by Metro News Gavel

The woman, identified only by the initials PN, also complained she was forced to perform sexual favours for the husband when his wife was away.

The mother of two children from the Philippines was originally hired to work as a housekeeper and caregiver for two children at the couple’s home in Hong Kong.

She was hired at a salary of 3,740 Hong Kong dollars a month – about $600 Canadian.

The tribunal heard how PN would work from 5:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. each day and had to eat her meals standing up. If she was caught sitting down, she would have her wages deducted.

After a year, the couple and their children moved to Vancouver — they lived in a hotel in Richmond near the airport until they could find a house to buy and have it ready to move in.

The two-bedroom hotel suite had a kitchen and PN slept on the couch. She said she had no privacy and her employers confiscated her passport.

The wife, MR, would often call PN names like “garbage,” “stupid,” and “evil. “ She was mad at PN every day and would yell at her. MR would make fun of PN in front of people, causing embarrassment and humiliation, which would make PN cry.

MR would laugh when her daughter kicked and punched PN. The daughter then wouldn’t listen to PN, the tribunal was told.

PN testified she was only allowed to eat with the permission of MR and was not allowed to eat the food in the fridge without permission. MR would threaten to report PN to the employment agency if she ate too much. PN said she was usually hungry.

The nanny also complained she was assaulted by MR and when MR was away from the home, her husband FR would make PN stroke his penis two to three times a week.

FR warned PN that she would be sent home if she told anyone and that she should be worried about her children.

PN told the human rights tribunal that as time went on, she became more depressed by her treatment in Canada, thinking if she didn’t get away she would die.

PN made her escape on Aug. 18, 2013, when she took out the garbage. She grabbed a few things and walked away from the hotel.

She had no money, no passport, no extra clothing, no toiletries and no eyeglasses. She was assisted by a hotel employee who was Filipino, and eventually went to live in a women’s shelter.

She eventually joined Deborah’s Gate, a specialized program for victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation.

After PN filed her human rights complaint, the couple threatened to take action against PN in the Hong Kong courts for breach of contract and for defamation.

“I conclude that the letter amounted to retaliation for filing her complaint” B.C. human rights tribunal member Catherine McCreary said in her written decision.

“She was isolated, underfed and treated like she was sub-human; all because she was a young Filipino mother who needed the job to take care of her own children,” the decision said of the discrimination suffered by PN.

McCreary ordered the couple to pay PN $5,867 for lost wages, plus interest from August 2013, plus $50,000 as damages for injury to PN’s dignity, feelings and self-respect arising out of the complaints.

Numbers

Wuups!

Only one of the four numbers that I posted,

29,

hit the Lottomax,

and true to form,

it landed on the bonus spot.

I did say that I always include the bonus number

in my picks.

Incidentally, the numbers that I pick

always end up in the wrong draw (Western lottomax).

Darn!

Minnea

Xyrene

Jocelyn Morrison

Fight Cancelled?

Is this true?

The Pacquiao-Mayweather fight is cancelled?

Mayweather backs out of the fight!

OMG!

Numbers

14,29,30,43?

They must be kidding!

Repeat Combinations

In the Canadian National 649 lottery

there are now 5257 4-no. combinations that repeated

out of 43570 combinations generated.

Also, 1236 5-no. combinations that repeated

out of 67098 combinations generated.

Validating your numbers against these lists

will certainly reduce the number

of combinations you have to bet on.

RIGHT!