MANILA, Philippines — Former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV anticipates that a warrant for the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte and others linked to the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation will likely be handed in by the international tribunal by June.
The former senator said this in a press conference in Mandaluyong, saying that the warrant may be issued through the Interpol.
“Kung idadaan sa Interpol ‘yung warrant of arrest, kahit na hindi tayo miyembro ng ICC pero miyembro tayo ng Interpol. May international agreement tayo,” Trillanes said.
(If the warrant of arrest goes through Interpol, even if we are no longer a member of the ICC, we are still a member of Interpol. We have an international agreement.)
“Ang ICC naman may cooperation agreement kay Interpol kaya pwede silang magpasa ng red notice diyan,” he added.
(The ICC has a cooperation agreement with Interpol so they can pass the red notice to them.)
According to Trillanes, the said warrants of the ICC are expected to be issued in “batches” wherein the first batch is for former President Duterte, and the following batches will be for the other officials being investigated by the international tribunal, which include now-senator and former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Ronald Dela Rosa.
Trillanes also claimed that there were personnel from the PNP who already cooperated with the ICC probe, implicating Duterte on the extra-judicial killings which saw thousands of deaths during his administration’s drug war.
Duterte’s intensified anti-drug campaign has resulted in 6,000 deaths, based on the records of the government.
However, local and international human rights organizations estimate the actual number of victims to be between 12,000 to 30,000.
On April 15, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. reiterated that the ICC has no jurisdiction to investigate the previous administration’s drug war, a position also being echoed by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Concerning the cooperation of government officials and law enforcement personnel, the DOJ previously said that individuals who will cooperate with the ICC “will be held accountable”.
Arrest warrant execution
According to Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, assuming that an arrest warrant from the ICC pre-trial chamber is issued, its execution can only be done through PNP or other Philippine law enforcement agencies.
“The Interpol cannot intervene without coordinating with the PNP. So if the Philippine government will not cooperate, the ICC warrants of arrest cannot be implemented in Philippine territory,” Guevarra said in a Viber message to Philstar.com.
DOJ, on the other hand, has yet to respond to Philstar.com’s request for comment on the former senator’s pronouncements. This will be updated with the department’s response.
Former senator Trillanes claims that Rodrigo Duterte is behind a destabilization plot against the Marcos administration, and that the alleged effort stems from the looming threat of Duterte’s arrest in connection with the ICC probe into his drug war.
MANILA, Philippines – Rumors of an effort to unseat President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. have begun to circulate a year before the 2025 midterm elections, with former and current lawmakers adding to the noise.
On Tuesday, May 7, former senator Antonio Trillanes IV claimed that active senior officials of the Philippine National Police (PNP) are involved in an ouster plot against the President, adding that no member of the Armed Forces of the Philippines has joined the cause.
He went a step further by alleging that Marcos’ predecessor – former president Rodrigo Duterte – is behind the alleged coup effort.
“Hindi naman gagalaw itong mga ito pagka walang imprimatur ni Duterte, ‘yung tatay. And makikita natin doon sa kanyang mga public pronouncements (These people won’t move without the imprimatur of Duterte, the patriarch. And we can see this from his public pronouncements),” Trillanes said in a press conference.
Duterte has been attacking Marcos since the start of the year, calling him a “drug addict” at a protest rally organized by his supporters in Davao City on January 28. In a press conference in April, he described Marcos as a “crybaby” for favoring the United States. This was after Marcos latter thumbed down his “gentleman’s agreement” with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Ayungin Shoal.
Trillanes alleged that Duterte sees the urgency to unseat Marcos amid the looming threat of arrest in connection with the International Criminal Court’s probe into his bloody drug war.
Trillanes’ bombshell came just days after some ranking House lawmakers floated the possibility that bad actors are deliberately trying to undermine the Marcos presidency.
In response to the testimony of a former drug enforcement intelligence officer linking Marcos to the drug cartel, House Deputy Majority Leader Jude Acidre was quoted as saying on May 2, “These events are part of a bigger effort to discredit and destabilize the current administration.”
Senate probe
Trillanes claimed that it was Duterte who instructed Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa to hold hearings into the alleged leak of Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) documents concerning Marcos’ purported involvement in illegal drugs.
“Itong hearing ni Bato dela Rosa, part ‘yan ng communications plan nila ‘yan (This hearing being conducted by Dela Rosa’s committee is part of their communications plan),” Trillanes said.
The Senate committee on public order chaired by Dela Rosa had conducted two motu propio hearings on the said issue, but the supposed involvement of the President was not established. Still, Dela Rosa is convinced that the leaked documents were not fabricated.
A fuming Dela Rosa faced reporters later on Tuesday to address Trillanes’ claim. “Kung siya puwede madiktahan, kung kapartido niya, kung nagpagamit siya. Me? Never. Kung ikaw ay isang senador na nagpapagamit, ako, huwag ako,” he said.
(If he can be dictated upon or used by his party mate, I cannot, never. If you are the type of senator who can be used by others, not me)
“I can never be used. Nobody dictated [on] me. Nobody. Not even [former] president Duterte. He never called me,” Dela Rosa added.
During a Senate hearing on April 30, PDEA chief Moro Lazo denied the existence of the said document implicating Marcos.
“There are no such documents, your honor. We are very sure of that. There is no such document,” he said.
Senate President Migz Zubiri, a close ally of the President, is not convinced that Marcos was implicated in illegal drugs based on what was presented in the two hearings conducted at the upper chamber.
“While certain claims were made, documentary evidence is yet to be presented. There were no pictures, no corroborating testimonies. In other words, this was solely based on the testimony of one person based on what appears to be hearsay evidence,” he said.
Zubiri then cautioned his colleagues, alluding to Dela Rosa, “to be very careful not to use hearings in aid of political persecution.”
“While legislative inquiries are very liberal in terms of adhering to rules of evidence, it is our opinion that hearings should aim to ferret out the truth using evidence and facts,” Zubiri added.
More denial
The PNP dismissed Trillanes’ claims as baseless, and asked him to spare the police force from the rumors.
“We have not monitored any active police official who is allegedly involved in the so-called destabilization plot,” PNP spokesperson Jean Fajardo was quoted as saying in Filipino.
For Duterte’s former chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo, Trillanes’ claims are “absolute nonsense.”
“The renegade only wants publicity for himself because he has become totally politically irrelevant. He is a discredited in visual. His past misdeeds as a military man and public official speak themselves,” Panelo said.
President Marcos or Malacañang has yet to comment on the matter.
The rumors come as preparations for the 2025 elections kick into high gear in the coming months, with critics expecting a showdown between the camps of President Marcos and the Duterte family.
On paper, Marcos is still allied with his predecessor’s daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, but infighting within the UniTeam electoral alliance that has spilled into public view indicates she has made an enemy out of the chief executive’s closest confidantes.
The House of Representatives under the leadership of the President’s cousin, Speaker Martin Romualdez, stripped Sara’s offices of hundreds of millions of pesos in confidential funds for the current year, while First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos has admitted that she was not on good terms with the Vice President.
Sara drew Liza’s ire after the Vice President was supposedly seen laughing after her father accused Marcos of being a drug addict during a rally in Davao City in January.
The former president’s tirades against his successor during that event prompted a feisty response from Marcos, blaming his predecessor’s foul-mouthed, off-script rant on his fentanyl use. – Rappler.com
By Roberto Villar | Reprinted from Dec 30, 2019 esquiremag.ph
As 2019 is about to draw to a close, we reflect on the many highlights that have transpired this year. Some of these highlights could be found in local social media. One that particularly took netizens by storm was a debate about the differences among mechado, afritada, kaldereta, and menudo.
It all began with a series of memes, all humorous and all of good nature. However, it made a great many Filipinos reassess the categorization of their own cuisine, questioning how well they know some of the favorite country’s fare. It turns out that many have a difficult time figuring out what sets each apart. Up to now, even as the “memetic wave” has ebbed, there are still discussions occurring in quiet corners online.
If you’re still wondering, yes, they all have red sauce, but how could they be any more different?
So, for those out there who are still left in the dark, here are not only the differences between mechado, afritada, kaldereta, and menudo but also the fascinating roots of each dish.
The Roots of Mechado
Mechado is traditionally the oyster blade cut of the beef that has been larded with pork fat and braised in broth flavored with onions. It was derived from the Spanish term for wick or mecha augmented by the suffix ado which in English is the equivalent of the suffix ful. The pork fat being larded in the beef resembles the wick of a candle and a literal English translation of mechado is “wickful” or “full of ‘wick'” – which it is. Contrary to popular belief, mechado did not originally have tomatoes as that was a later addition. In fact, they were only an option and not at all necessary, but salt (or soy sauce) and vinegar are essential seasonings.
A vintage recipe of note simply calls for half a pound of meat, a piece of fat two inches thick, a chicken egg, two teaspoons of vinegar, and three teaspoons of oil; to which the instructions state:
“The eggs should first be boiled very well, peeled and chopped. Stuff the fat and the eggs into the meat. Soak in vinegar, add some pepper and season with salt. After ten minutes, sautee [sic] in oil and once brown, add a glass and a half of water and slowly simmer until the sauce thickens.”
The roulade was usually served sliced and cascading above the vinegar reduction.
Initially, the dish was a way for cash-strapped locals to salvage the inexpensive yet tough cuts of meat. The practice of larding was something they learned from their colonizers. Larding was a European culinary method and has been utilized by the likes of the French and the Spanish. An al-Andalus recipe dating back from the 13th century for mechada describes larding meat along with scallions and frying slices of the larded meat in olive oil, pouring broth afterwards and then breaking a few eggs over the half-cooked stew; adding vinegar and the Arabic condiment known as murri.
Carne mechada, a delicacy enjoyed in Western Andalusia, does away with the larding and has a pork loin simmered in a wine-flavored broth. What is interesting is that in both Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, both former colonies of Spain, their carne mechada—slices of meat that were stuffed with a fat-based filling—ham for the former, longaniza (raw pork sausage with fat) for the latter—and served with a tomato-based sauce, is much more analogous to our own version.
A modern if bastardized version of mechado involves cubed pieces of beef simmered in tomato sauce, with potatoes and carrots as filler ingredients, as a much more economical approach. Unfortunately, this incarnation akin to beef stew—because it is easier to prepare—has gradually outclassed the original, leaving the mecha angle irrelevant and adding to the brewing confusion.
The Roots of Afritada
Afritadacomes from the Spanish phrase a fritada, which means to fry. It is chicken or pork that is lightly-browned and then braised in broth flavored with garlic, tomatoes, and bell peppers, and then seasoned with fish sauce and vinegar (or sour citrus, calamansi being the most common).
A distant relative from Spain is chilidrón, a preparation from the Ribera Navarra region which has either lamb or chicken fried on a shallow amount of olive oil and then simmered in a blend of wine, garlic, onions, tomatoes, and the key ingredient, bell peppers. Celebrated American writer Ernest Hemingway cited the original lamb variant, cordero al chilidrón, among his favorite Spanish foods. The procedure is not unlike our afritada, while the chicken variant, pollo al chilidrón, looks similar to afritadangmanok and may in fact have been our adaptation of that.
Kaldereta is a piquant goat stew wherein its defining characteristic is that it is thickened with a liver mash. Traditionally, the liver was from the goat, but due to its strong and gamey flavor, cooks opt for the much milder chicken liver. A popular alternative born out of convenience is to apply canned liver spread, with Reno as the go-to brand for preparing kaldereta. Bay leaves and chili peppers are often added for spice and spiciness, respectively. As with mechado, tomatoes may be added but they are not meant to be the primary ingredient; the taste and flavor profile should be more prominent on the liver, bay leaves, and chili peppers.
It is a localization of caldereta, which originated in the Castile and León region of Spain. Over there, lamb is the main viand in Castilian caldereta as they flock in abundance and are in fact the main product of the region. As for the entomology, caldereta is named for the stock pot it is cooked in, known as a caldero, which in turn stemmed from the term cálido. As Spanish food scientist Borja Sánchez puts it:
“Cálido means warm. Caldero is the warm place where you cook. Caldereta is a warm dish cooked in a caldero.”
Hence, recipes would have the lamb placed inside a caldero and stewed in an aromatic broth along with its own liver. You may ponder that, since lamb was not readily available in the Philippine islands at that time, goat would have been the next best thing.
Nowadays a popular variation features beef instead of goat, as the discriminating in palate are not so fond of the latter. This, again, adds more confusion to the problem.
The Roots of Menudo
Menudo is pork liver sliced into smaller pieces: menudo is Spanish for tiny. After dicing, the meat is stir-fried, and then simmered in a thick sauce flavored with tomatoes. Potatoes, carrots, and peas are optional. Extra cuts of pork meat are also added to extend the yield. It is known in the Visayas as ginamay, while an Ilokano variant exists and is known as higado, which means liver in Spanish. Due to the prominence of pork liver and rather compact appearance, this is by far the easiest to pinpoint out of the four.
While we have no exact documents on how menudo came about; there is also a similar dish named menudo found in Mexico, another former colony of Spain. The Mexican counterpart is a soup made with beef tripe that had been cut into smaller pieces, as well, and boiled for several hours until nice and tender. Hominy (pozole) or corn kernels that have been soaked in an alkaline solution, are also incorporated into the soup. There are two varieties: menudo rojo with red chili peppers, and menudo blanco without. They are a popular item in fondas, family-run hole-in-the-wall restaurants, and because of its time-consuming process, are beloved fare in both Sunday lunches and special occasions.
Analogous to Mexican menudo is callos de Cadiz, another town in Spain’s Andalusian region, which is also referred to as menudo. Similar is the slow cooking of tripe and the addition of starchy kernels, this time being chick peas or garbanzos. The Mexican culinary community, Larousse Cocina, acknowledges this:
“There is a dish in Spain very similar to our often, the famous Callos, which surely was the origin of the stew we know. Though in Mexican territory, as expected, Chile was immediately added.”
In the 1844 Mexican cookbook La cocinera de todo el mundo, o la cocina sin cocinera: coleccion de las mejores y mas escelentes recetas, a recipe can be found for menudo à la española. Chopped meat is sautéed with onions, garlic, parsley, hierbabuena (an herb from the mint family), and tomatoes; thickened with bread crumbs and simmered in water seasoned with salt and vinegar. Somehow this seems more similar with ours, as the addition of bread crumbs thickens the braising liquid; sharing almost the same viscosity as Philippinemenudo. The sautéing of the aromatics, an application of acid (vinegar for them, calamansi for us) and a subsequent immersion are also shared between the two cooking styles, rather than a direct boil.
There are also recipes from Spain like the one found in La cocinera that use goat (menudo de chivo); and in the case of menudo sevillano, veal and chorizo. In Gene Gonzalez’s Cocina Sulipeña: Culinary Gems from Old Pampanga, a book which documents food traditions from his hometown of Sulipan, he curated of a heirloom recipe for menudo sulipeña, a menudo that is more in touch with the Spanish version; complete with chick peas, chorizo, and a splash of brandy. The presence of oxtail rather than tripe could classify this as a hybrid with rabo de toro. What they all have in common, together with the mainstream Mexican and Philippine interpretations, is that they require meat that have been fabricated into smaller bite-sized pieces and cooked compactly in a savory tomato base, mainly featuring a sort of starch.
From these findings; we can honestly say that these Philippine dishes can really be traced back to Spain, rather than vaguely attributed to the latter without prior evidence. Felice Sta. Maria wrote in her book, The Governor-general’s Kitchen: Philippine Culinary Vignettes and Period Recipes 1521-1935, that the arrival of the Spanish affected the way we prepared and ate meals. Not surprising, we have adopted some of their fare as our own. All of them, except for caldereta, originated from the Andalusian region, a region with an Arabic past. So much that probably those who introduced the techniques we apply in our adaptations were from Andalusia, and in a sense, Filipino cuisine also has indirect Arabic influences through the osmosis of European settlement.
In learning more about our cuisine, we learn more about ourselves as a nation. While the memes were amusing on the surface, it is a sad reflection of national concern. The uncertainty of which food is which can be faulted at the lack of passing down crucial history to the next generation, whether it is taught at school or at home. And thus; mechado, afritada, kaldereta, and menudo can continue becoming as homogenized as the ready-made tomato sauce mixes that hold their namesakes, unless there is awareness. It is not too late, after all, to bring these traditions back while we still have texts and testimonies on how to prepare them.
Sources:
Anonymous. (1844). La cocinera de todo el mundo, o la cocina sin cocinera: coleccion de las mejores y mas escelentes recetas. Mexico: Juan Nepomuceno del Valle.
Huici, A.M. (1966). Traduccion espanola de un manuscrito anonimo del siglo 13 sobre la cocina hispanomagribi. Madrid: Maestre.
Iribarren, J.M. (1984). Hemingway and the Sanfermines. Pamplona: Editorial Gómez.
Gonzalez, G.R. (1993). Cocina Sulipeña: Culinary Gems from Old Pampanga. Manila: Bookmark.
Sta. Maria, F.P. (2006). The Governor-general’s Kitchen: Philippine Culinary Vignettes and Period Recipes 1521-1935. Manila: Anvil.
Sanchez, B. (2019, May). Personal Interview.
Diccionario gastronómico (n.d.). Retrieved from https://laroussecocina.mx
Mechado. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.tagaloglang.com
By Charmaine Y. Rodriguez, Philippinecanadiannews.com
Citing Canada’s recovery from post-pandemic labour shortages and current lower unemployment rates, the government announced measures to reduce the number of Temporary Foreign Workers (TFW).
However, the TFW Program will continue but will be used only in cases where there are no workers here in Canada that can fill the necessary role, said Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages.
As job vacancies are also steadily declining, the Government of Canada wants its citizens and permanent residents to be prioritized by employers and companies.
“Today, we announced our intention to reduce Canada’s reliance on temporary foreign workers and encourage employers to find the talent they need right here, at home. The time-limited measures we introduced in 2022 were necessary as our labour market was facing unprecedented conditions – but now, as times change, we must ensure our Temporary Foreign Worker Program reflects our current needs,” Boissonnault said.
Job vacancies fell by 25,400 (-3.6%) to 678,500 in the fourth quarter of 2023, marking the sixth straight quarterly decline from the record high reached in the second quarter of 2022 (983,600), according to government records.
In a media briefing last March 21, Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), assured Canadian employers have enough options in the labour pool with international students and their spouses, TFWs and their spouses and asylum seekers who are already here.
“Our labour market needs are tightening, so should our policies. Today’s announcement prioritizes our country’s needs to have enough construction workers to build houses, early childhood educators to teach our kids, and health-care workers to treat patients. As we gradually reduce our reliance on temporary foreign workers, we will continue to help employers fill job vacancies while supporting Canadian workers,” Miller said.
The TFW Program experienced a surge in demand due to the post-pandemic economy, low unemployment rates, and record-high job vacancy rates in 2022.
To implement these new policies, the following will be in effect starting May 1, 2024:
New Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) will be valid for six months (a decrease from 12 months) to ensure accurate labour market needs.
All employers identified in the 2022 Workforce Solutions Road Map will have a reduction from 30% to 20% of their total workforce that can come in through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, under the low wage stream, with an exception for the construction and health care sectors.
Employers will need to explore every option before applying for an LMIA — including recruiting asylum seekers with valid work permits here in Canada.
In addition, as of January 1, 2024, employers are required to annually review the wages of temporary foreign workers to ensure they reflect increases to prevailing wage rates for their given occupation and region of work.
“Through wage increases, these reviews will ensure that employers continue to pay temporary foreign workers at the prevailing wage level throughout their period of employment. For the vast majority of cases, when wages are reviewed, they are increased for the workers. If not, they remain the same and cannot go down upon review,” the government’s statement reads.
Earlier, IRCC earlier announced a cap on the number of international students starting September 2024. Since international students can work part time while their spouses can get open work permits, they became part of the TFW population in Canada.
Aside from the cap, Miller also earlier announced that only those taking up Masters, Doctorate and special degrees, like Law and Medicine, can get the Post Graduation Work Permit (PGWP), which used to be granted to all international students studying in Canada.
Working in Canada under the PGWP program is one pathway for international students to apply to become Permanent Residents in Canada.
AUCKLAND – In the bustling heart of Auckland CBD, a new culinary gem named Ma’nHu Kitchen has quickly transformed into a central hub for AUT students, offering a delectable fusion of Filipino-inspired dishes alongside mainstream favourites.
Chef Freddie Jr. Casinas, the culinary maestro behind this venture, shares insights into his diverse culinary journey that traverses the globe – all the way from Dolores, Quezon Province in the Philippines to Dubai and finally landing in New Zealand and the unique offerings that set his eatery, The Ma’nHu Kitchen, apart.
Chef Freddie, who honed his skills over 15 years in Dubai as an international chef, climbed up the ranks from dishwasher to head chef. His culinary journey continued as he ventured into New Zealand in 2019, sponsored by an esteemed establishment in Mission Bay and then going on to work at an airline catering company.
Now at the helm of Ma’nHu Kitchen, his venture into owning an eatery, Chef Freddie blends his international expertise with a touch of Filipino flair.
Chef Freddie took over from the previous owners of the stall, who were also Filipinos. “We got to know them and they said they run a food stall in AUT,” said Freddie. “We ended up taking over the stall. We spoke to AUT and told them our business plans. They thought they could trust us with the stall and here we are.”
Ma’nHu Kitchen, with its name originating from the Hebrew word for manna, is located within the AUT Campus in Auckland CBD and is open from 9 to 5, Monday to Friday. They offer mainstream classics with Freddie’s own unique flair.
One of their best sellers is the beef satay with cheese sauce. It comes with rice, egg and bacon. Other popular offerings are the Wagyu beef burger with onion rings, mac n cheese “with heaps of mozzarella”, nibbles, the chicken sandwich, and interestingly, ‘Embutido’.
Embutido is a Filipino pork meatloaf. It typically consists of ground pork, a mixture of diced vegetables and raisins. Chef Freddie slices the Embutido into rounds and serves it with rice and an egg.
Rice and egg are a pattern across many of Chef Freddie’s dishes, likely deriving from ‘silog’, the combination of Sinangag (garlic fried rice) and Itlog (egg) that can be found in dishes like ‘Tapsilog’, (beef) ‘Tocilog’ (pork) and ‘Longsilog’ (pork sausage). All of which are combinations of meat, rice and egg.
Silog is known for its hearty and satisfying quality, which is why it is traditionally eaten in the Philippines for breakfast but is served throughout the day at The Ma’nHu Kitchen.
The dessert menu is once again a mix of Filipino classics like Brazo de Mercedes and Chessy Ensymada as well as the Nutella crepes, a mainstream favourite.
One of the challenges Chef Freddie highlights is competing against the long-standing stalls within the AUT Campus. “The two stalls beside us have been here for eight years and twelve years. So it is difficult to persuade their loyal customers.”
Chef Freddie marched on despite the setbacks, proudly stating: “It was difficult at the start because of the competition, but after a month the sales tripled and people began trying out Ma’nHu Kitchen.” Freddie further explained that “when the food is good, they’ll come back again. That’s why we didn’t have many sales in the first few weeks, because they didn’t know our business and our food yet. That’s the challenge for a new business.
“Running a business inside in a university setting means that you will have off seasons, like the semester breaks, for which we have to plan ahead for to cover our costs when sales are not at peak level.”
As AUT students indulge in the Filipino-inspired offerings at The Ma’nHu Kitchen, it’s clear that Chef Freddie’s vision of creating a vibrant, inclusive hub for both local and Filipino palates is well on its way to becoming a reality.
Editor: The Ma’nHu Kitchen will be at the Philippine Independence Commemoration on 8th June 2024 at the Auckland Showgrounds www.fiestapilipinas.nz
More Pinoy NZ Chefs of the Year featured at: www.halohalo.nz
Well friends, the verdict is in! If you are opposed to Israel’s slaughter of something like forty thousand Palestinians, mostly women and children, or the clearly enunciated plans by that nation’s government to ethnically cleanse the rest of historic Palestine, making the developing Eretz or Greater Israel a legally Jewish state, and are prepared to protest or speak up about it, then you are an antisemite Jew-hater and probably even a holocaust denier. If you are a student demonstrating against the slaughter you are increasingly being referred to by talking heads and the media as a pro-Hamas terrorist. That you must be condemned and sanctioned or even criminalized as a consequence of the labels is only fair in a country that apparently has come to believe that Jews and Israel, uniquely, cannot be criticized due to their cited ad nauseam victimhood and their anointment by God no matter what the First Amendment to the US Constitution relating to freedom of speech might say. After all, it’s just an old piece of paper though it might strike some as a bit odd that a group of people carrying out a genocide are being given a pass while those trying to stop it are being beaten, going to jail and, in some cases, being denied that degree they earned from four years at college.
That antisemites and even evil foreign governments like China are behind the recent student demonstrations over the atrocities in Gaza is gradually becoming part of the new Gospel, ritually endorsed by the cowering university administrators themselves as well as by a large majority in Congress, the White House and the mainstream media. Pro-Palestinian groups are being routinely shut down and their supporters clubbed, gassed and arrested while Jewish groups supporting Israel’s “right to defend itself” are being allowed to express their rage violently, as occurred at the University of California in Los Angeles on last Tuesday night with police standing by to let the pro-Israel attackers (who were mostly non-students) have access to beat on the pro-Palestinian campers. It was an alignment of hearts and minds that apparently serves both justice and God, who has declared Jews to be his “chosen.” The University of Southern California’s administration has labeled pro-Palestinian groups as “homegrown violent extremists” as an excuse to shut down graduation ceremonies later this month. Governors in Texas and Florida have declared war on those despicable antisemites, insisting that there will be no Jew haters in their states and expressing a willingness to use police and national guard to make sure that that is the case. Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida has vowed that any student who speaks up or demonstrates against Israel will be expelled from college. National Guard troops have also been called in to clear campuses in a number of other states, with more than a thousand demonstrators being arrested and removed on Tuesday alone.
Some jest how it is Israel that controls much of US foreign policy “wag the dog,” not to mention interfering in elections and dictating what must be taught about world i.e. Jewish history in public schools together with mandatory trips to taxpayer funded holocaust museums that are sprouting up like mushrooms throughout the land. The United States is pledging itself to become antisemitism free as quickly as possible, which is surely the right thing to do given all those holocaust survivors who are living down in Miami and apparently starving to death according to all those ads one sees on TV and hears over the radio featuring dispensationalist hucksters like Mike Huckabee, who should move to Israel immediately since he loves the place so much, taking those of a like mind in Congress with him when he goes.
America under Joe Biden and also undoubtedly under Donald Trump if re-elected is pledged to take the lead in protecting Jews worldwide and will sanction anyone who violates that trust. Who else, for example, is so uber sensitive to Jewish issues as to have a Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues and an Office of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism entrenched with ambassador status and full staffs and budgets in their Foreign Ministry? Not even the cringing Krauts who routinely let Israel lie to them and intimidate them while still sending millions to the apparently endless series of so-called holocaust survivors in Israel as they also are shipping arms to Tel Aviv to assist in killing more Pals. That’s what true friends and allies are for! Britain has Conservative Friends of Israel and Labour Friends of Israel which together constitute a majority in Parliament. Both UK party leaders do their best to make love to Israel on a regular basis. And France, Canada and Australia? There is no space between them and Netanyahu. They are as “ironclad” on Israel as Joe Biden constantly professes himself to be!
Greater love hath no man nor no woman to compare to the love of American politicians for Israel! Look what Papa Joe Biden has done for Israel over the past four years out of appreciation for the more than $4 million in donations that he has received from the Israel Lobby in political donations in his career. The $26 billion in the pipeline for Netanyahu is certainly an appropriate reward for the great man who single handedly has prevented Iran from getting a nuclear arsenal, something he has been warning about for the past twenty-five years! Biden’s first rule in politics, which he has been observing for forty years, is always do what Israel wants no matter what the cost because the Jewish state and the Jewish US domestic lobby together with its media wing are crucial to getting nominated and elected!
Only American politicians have the gall to call in heads of major universities and berate or even call for their firing if they are not doing enough about antisemitism! During an April 17th House hearing on antisemitism US Congressman Rick Allen asked Columbia University President Minouche Shafik if she was concerned that God might “curse” the university. Allen had first quoted a passage from the Bible that says God will curse those who curse Israel and added that he personally views Jerusalem as the “center of the universe”. He also suggested the university should create a course teaching students about the Bible so they can learn about “the wrath of God” and how “indoctrinating” professors fail to tall students that don’t know how they “will be cursed by God”.
If Israel is truly America’s greatest friend in the world and best ally there should be some positive evidence of that in the interaction of the two countries. So let’s take a look in terms of reciprocity relating to what has been happening over the past couple of weeks! First of all, at the macro level, i.e. continuing the fighting, Biden has warned the Israelis that if they invade Rafah they will not be supported. Netanyahu has responded, “We will enter Rafah and obliterate all the Hamas battalions there — with or without a deal, to achieve total victory” lest there be any confusion about what he intends to do no matter whether a temporary ceasefire with a hostage exchange is arranged or not. Biden and his amazing talking horse Anthony Blinken did not respond apart from pushing even harder for a ceasefire on Israel’s terms, which would be bad for the Gazans in any event given the key word “temporary” in front of “ceasefire.” Israel will be free to resume killing even though more fighting will be bad for Biden’s electoral prospects in November and he knows it. So does Netanyahu.
Blinken has called for an impartial international investigation of the two mass graves recently discovered at the bombed hospital sites in Gaza, containing four hundred or more bodies, many of which were tortured and/or executed with their hands tied behind their backs or dragged out of hospital beds to be buried still alive in deep pits. Some bodies showed signs of hasty surgery indicating that their organs, a valuable commodity, were removed, a regular signature piece appearing on victims of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the Most Moral Army in the World according to that strange looking Franco-Jewish so-called intellectual Bernard-Henri Levy. The Netanyahu and the IDF replied that Israel would do its own investigation saying “What is there to investigate?” Blinken did not object.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is preparing to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and two other senior Israeli officials in connection with war crimes. Netanyahu is reportedly reaching wildly out to his many “friends” to prevent such a development. He tweeted that Israel “will never accept any attempt by the ICC to undermine its inherent right of self-defense. The threat to seize the soldiers and officials of the Middle East’s only democracy and the world’s only Jewish state is outrageous. We will not bow to it.” ICC deliberations are secret so it appears that an American or British jurist has leaked the story to enable Netanyahu to mount a campaign against it. The White House and Congress are already moving full speed ahead to make the warrants go away up to and including threats to directly take on and discredit the court if the Israelis are actually punished. Zionist Speaker Mike Johnson has pressured the White House and State Department to “use every available tool to prevent such an abomination.” The US has never before threatened the ICC and has nothing to gain and much to lose in so doing. Rule of Law anyone? There are reports that prosecutors from the ICC have interviewed medical staff at two of Gaza’s largest hospitals in their investigation of other possible war crimes committed by Israel in connection with the mass graves.
To be sure some pushback from inside the US government as well as from voters is developing. Fully 92% of Israelis fully support the slaughter of the Palestinians by Netanyahu and his psychopaths but 72% of Americans do not approve of what is taking place in Gaza, for which Biden will likely pay a heavy electoral price. A group of American lawyers, at least 20 of whom work in the Biden administration, are also calling on the US government to stop selling arms to Israel and are, of course, being ignored. There have also been other lawsuits as well as resignations of senior government officials who have been shocked by the US support of the genocide being conducted against the Palestinians.
Congress has just passed by an overwhelming vote pf 320 to 91 the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which will, inter alia, place antisemitism monitors in American colleges and universities. Criticism of Israel, defined ipso facto as antisemitism, will be part of their brief. It is being pushed by groups like the infamous Anti-Defamation League (ADL) whose leader Jonathan Greenblatt has called pro-Palestinian demonstrations “Jew haters” and has demanded criminal charges. Several congressmen have likewise called for all Palestinians to be killed, but there seems to be no demand for an Anti-Palestinian Act to protect the Pals. Benjamin Netanyahu has also called out the demonstrators saying “What’s happening on America’s college campuses is horrific. Antisemitic mobs have taken over leading universities. They call for the annihilation of Israel. They attack Jewish students, they attack Jewish faculty. This is reminiscent of what happened in German universities in the 1930s. The response of several university presidents was shameful.” By shameful Netanyahu means that the presidents did not crawl enough and beg forgiveness from himself, Israel, and all diaspora Jews as well as from a Zionist Congress and White House.
Joe Biden intends to sign the anti-antisemitism legislation in spite of its direct assault on the First and Fourth Amendments to the US Constitution. The new legislation will join the recently approved FISA renewal that will allow the US government to spy on citizens without a warrant. It should surprise no one to learn that the FISA bill was particularly pushed by Greenblatt and ADL to “protect Jews” by making it easier to spy on suspected antisemites. The US government ban on TikTok was also promoted by ADL due to the fact that the site includes too much information critical of Israeli behavior. Clearly, the US Congress does what Greenblatt wants.
Finally, a US pledge to determine responsibility and sanction perpetrators for the killing of American citizens in Israel, as well as the harassment and killing of Palestinian civilians on the West Bank, has not gone anywhere. The State Department investigation found that five IDF units had committed “individual incidents of gross violations of human rights” prior to October 7th, including the beating to death of an 80 year old Palestinian-American and the sniper execution of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu-Akleh. The investigation determined that there was one particularly nasty extremist-fundamentalist Netzah Yehuda battalion which had killed the octogenarian and others whose capital offense consisted of walking in their town on the West Bank. They could have joined the roughly 10,000 Palestinian prisoners held in “preventive” detention without any charges by the Israeli government, but instead they were picked up on the street, were not charged with anything, and were then beaten and killed. The killing should surprise no one. On Monday Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for the death of Gaza saying “There are no half measures. Rafah, Deir al-Balah, Nuseirat – total annihilation. ‘You will blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven’ – there’s no place under heaven.” The reference to “Amalek” was from a line in the Hebrew Bible where Amalek was a nation that the Israelites were commanded to destroy, God telling them to “slay both man and woman, infant and suckling.” Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir came up with a similar genius solution to the country’s overcrowded prison problem – many of the Palestinians should be released and then killed to make more room.
Blinken, who has not commented on either the Smotrich or Ben-Gvir suggestions, has been sitting on the IDF report but was confronted with a challenge by House Speaker Mike Johnson who threatened to take steps to block any White House action directed against our best friend in the whole world Israel. As a result, the State Department will now neither restrict military aid nor in any way sanction the punishment of any of the units in question, even though it is actually illegal under US law to provide arms to governments committing human rights violations and war crimes. The US backdown also came after Netanyahu stated that the US would not be allowed to in any way punish or interfere with IDF units. Blinken then rolled over completely when confronted by the power of the Jewish state with a State Department spokesperson saying the units “have effectively remediated these violations,” whatever that is supposed to mean.
So killing Americans does not even merit a slap on the wrist if Israel is involved… That is where we Americans now find ourselves: fundamental rights are disappearing and our government and society are victims of Israel and its army of paid-up friends here in the US. Will Americans wake up in time to stop the rot? Not likely, as the mainstream party choices Biden and Trump will do whatever the Jewish state demands. That is our dilemma.
Philip M. Giraldi, Ph.D., is Executive Director of the Council for the National Interest, a 501(c)3 tax deductible educational foundation (Federal ID Number #52-1739023) that seeks a more interests-based U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Website is councilforthenationalinterest.org, address is P.O. Box 2157, Purcellville VA 20134 and its email is inform@cnionline.org.
International Humanitarian Law (IHL) is a set of rules which seek to limit the effects of armed conflict and to reduce the human suffering caused by it. It protects civilians, service providers, and soldiers who have ceased fighting. In the Philippines, the state regularly commits violations of IHL, known as war crimes.
For decades, the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) has claimed that it is carrying out a counter-insurgency strategy to fight the armed communist movement in the country. In reality, the “counter-insurgency” campaigns under various presidents have targeted any and all forms of dissent against the GRP, including the campaigning of civilian activists and organizations.
These IHL violations are carried out by the various state and state-aligned machineries, as they implement the GRP’s war on dissent. These war crimes are carried out by soldiers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Citizen Armed Force Geographical Units (CAFGUs), the Philippine National Police (PNP), and various other militia and vigilante groups.
The AFP indiscriminately drops bombs on peasant communities where they believe NPA units are operating. This violates Customary IHL Rule 13 on bombardment of areas containing civilians. A recent example is the AFP bombing of communities on the border of Abra and Ilocos Norte on April 2nd. Indiscriminate bombings force civilians to evacuate and put their lives at risk.
The AFP and PNP torture and murder captured NPA members. This violates Customary IHL Rule 47 on attacks against persons hors de combat, and various rules on humane treatment. On February 23, members of the AFP and PNP in Bohol abused and murdered five NPA members in front of local residents. The Bilar 5 had been captured earlier that day.
The Philippine state also disappears civilians and combatants against their will. This is a violation of Customary IHL Rule 98 on enforced disappearance or military kidnapping. Environmental activists Jonila Castro and Jhed Tamano were disappeared by the military last year and interrogated for 8 days, before bravely revealing their abduction at a press conference organized by the government in October.
These are just some of the rules of IHL that are violated by the Philippine state, in addition to many others. These war crimes are the subject of the upcoming International People’s Tribunal which will put the Marcos and Duterte regimes on trial for war crimes. For more information about the International People’s Tribunal, visit www.peoplestribunal.net
MANILA, Philippines — Fishers and environmentalists on Monday filed a complaint against the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources over reclamation and dredging projects in Manila Bay.
“We bring to your attention the distress we are experiencing in the face of adverse changes in our environment and socioeconomic conditions resulting partly from the cumulative and long-term impacts of seabed quarrying and reclamation activities in Manila Bay,” activist groups Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipins (PAMALAKAYA) and Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (PNE) said in their administrative complaint.
“Although there are many factors at play, seabed quarrying, and reclamation activities significantly contribute to the degradation of Manila Bay,” PAMALAKAYA and Kalikasan PNE added.
They stressed that reclamation and dredging projects in Manila Bay have caused a significant decline in fish populations, depletion of marine resources, an increase in invasive marine species, and lead to coastal and land erosion. These projects also disrupt their livelihoods and displace communities.
PAMALAKAYA and Kalikasan PNE asked the PRA and DENR to provide detailed plans for the relocation of communities affected by reclamation and dredging activities, and technical evaluation and advisory opinions on the environmental impact of these projects.
They also requested copies of environmental compliance certificates (ECCs), area clearances, monitoring reports for all implemented and ongoing projects, and comprehensive environmental assessment.
The DENR is conducting a cumulative impact assessment of reclamation activities along Manila Bay.
This move follows President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s order to suspend reclamation projects pending a review of their environmental and social impacts, as well as compliance with regulations. However, the government has not yet released an official suspension order to the public.
PRA earlier said that three projects could resume this year once the suspension on reclamation activities is lifted. These include the 90-hectare Bacoor Inner Island Project, the 15-hectare Navotas Fish Port Complex, and the 650-hectare Navotas Coastal Bay Reclamation and Development Project.
