Alert, Attack, Apologize: The Duterte Strategy

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27 September 2016, 12:56

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gestures while addressing guests following a wreath-laying ceremony in observance of National Heroes Day Aug. 29 at the Heroes Cemetery in suburban Taguig city, east of Manila, Philippines. Photo: Bullit Marquez / Associated Press

MANILA — The new Philippine president uses an expletive to warn key ally Barack Obama not to lecture him on human rights and, in another impromptu speech, declares a dramatic policy change in policy such as removing U.S. counter-terrorism forces out of his country’s volatile south. His key officials walk back the remarks and say everything is normal.

And the world wonders which pronouncement is the one that will stick.

Impassioned speeches by Rodrigo Duterte about the United States, the European Union and the United Nations have repeatedly led his government to issue clarifications, though he has been on the job less than three months.

Here’s a sampling of Duterte’s broadsides — and the ensuing clarifications by him or other Philippine officials.

‘Sob’ (But Won’t cut umbilical cord)

THE STATEMENT: “I do not have any master except the Filipino people, nobody but nobody. You must be respectful. Do not just throw questions. Putang ina, I will swear at you in that forum.”

– Duterte in a Sept. 5 speech, using the Tagalog phrase for “son of a bitch” in answer to a reporter, who asked what he’ll do if President Barack Obama questions his deadly anti-drug fight when they meet in Laos during the annual summit of leaders of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

THE BACKTRACK: Obama responded by canceling a much-awaited meeting with Duterte, who expressed regret over his remarks. The two leaders, however, met informally in a holding room before a gala dinner in Laos, where Duterte said he told Obama the SOB remark wasn’t directed at him. The brash Duterte capped the tempestuous week in U.S.-Philippine ties by discussing, in another Laos meeting with Obama and other world leaders, how U.S. colonial forces killed Muslims in his country’s south in the early 1900s. Back home, Duterte railed at the U.S. again in a speech but said he would not “cut our umbilical cord to countries we are allied with.”

Migraine or principles?

THE STATEMENT: “I purposely did not attend the bilateral talks between ASEAN countries and … the president of the United States. I really skipped that … Now, the reason is not I am anti-West. The reason is not, I do not like the Americans. It’s simply a matter of principle for me.”

– Duterte in a Sept. 12 speech at the Malacanang presidential palace in Manila.

THE BACKTRACK: The remarks by Duterte, who has been critical of Obama and U.S. security policies, came four days after his much-noticed absence from the summit of ASEAN leaders and the U.S. president in the Laotian capital of Vientiane.

Duterte’s spokesman, Martin Andanar, and at least three Cabinet officials, however, told the media in Vientiane at the time that the Philippine leader couldn’t attend the annual ASEAN-U.S. summit because he had a migraine and wasn’t feeling well.

Driving U.S. forces out of the south

THE STATEMENT: “The special forces, they have to go. They have to go in Mindanao. There are many whites there, they have to go.”

– Duterte in a Sept. 12 speech. He added that he was reorienting the Philippines’ foreign policy and that Americans were under threat of attack by Muslim militants. “I do not want a rift with America, but they have to go. It’ll become more heated. If they see an American, the latter will really be killed. Ransomed off, then killed.”

THE BACKTRACK: Duterte’s key officials initially explained that his remarks were based on fears for the safety of the Americans. But his defense secretary, Delfin Lorenzana, later played down the safety issue: “The fears of the president that they might be subject to reprisal by the Muslims is a little bit, may not happen because they’re only in the camp and they don’t go out of the camp alone or unless they’re accompanied by our troops or they are also armed. … (T)hese people are also combatants. They are not civilians that are subject to kidnapping by terrorists.

Duterte later suggested he only made the remarks to pacify restive Muslims opposed to the U.S. presence in the south: “I didn’t say (they) have to leave immediately. I said, ‘There will be sometime in the future that I will ask the special forces to go’ … I never said, ‘Get out of the Philippines,’ for after all, we need them there in the (South) China Sea.”

Ratings outburst

THE STATEMENT: “The issue here is not my mouth. And they would say the ratings on business, on the economy, so be it, you get out of here. Then we will start on our own. I can go to China, I can go to Russia. I had a talk with them, they are waiting for me, so what the hell.”

– Duterte, after U.S.-based firm Standard & Poor last week maintained its investment-grade rating and stable outlook for the Philippines but added that a credit rating upgrade in the next two years under Duterte was unlikely. It also warned it may lower that rating if reforms stall.

THE BACKTRACK: Presidential spokesman Martin Andanar took a more optimistic stance. “We welcome S&P’s decision as it gives government greater resolve to make our economy growth robust, sustainable, and inclusive. The fundamentals of the economy are solid and strong. … Peace and order is a must for investors to invest more in the country.”

On breaking off from the United Nations

THE STATEMENT: “Maybe we’ll just have to decide to separate from the United Nations. If you’re that rude, son of a bitch, we’ll just leave you. So take us out of your organization, you have done nothing here anyway.”

– Duterte at a news conference in August, reacting to concerns by U.N.-appointed human rights rapporteurs about drug-related killings.

THE BACKTRACK: Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay later assured that the Philippines isn’t bolting out of the 193-nation world body and clarified the context of the president’s remarks: “I can assure you that he remains committed to the United Nations, of which the Philippines is one of the founding members, and to the purposes and objectives of which this august body stands for.”

Story: Jim Gomez

Geysers on Jupiter Moon Thought to Shoot Up 200km

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Associated Press

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27 September 2016, 11:02

A composite image of possible water plumes in 2014 on the south pole of Jupiter's Europa moon. Photo: Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — The Hubble Space Telescope has spied what appear to be water plumes on one of Jupiter’s icy moons shooting up as high as 125 miles.

The geysers are apparently from an underground ocean that is thought to exist on Europa, considered one of the top places to search for signs of life in our solar system.

The plumes at the south pole were detected by the workhorse telescope as the moon passed in front of Jupiter. Scientists believe the eruptions on Europa are sporadic since they were only able to spot them on three out of the 10 times that they looked over more than a year.

Even so, the possible presence of plumes, which shoot up and rain back down on the surface, would “allow us to search for signs of life in the ocean of Europa without needing to drill through miles of ice,” astronomer William Sparks of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore said Monday.

The latest finding builds on earlier work by Hubble, which in 2012 found hints of water vapor venting from Europa’s south pole. The telescope didn’t see anything in follow-up studies until this latest campaign, which was carried out by a different group of researchers.

If confirmed, Europa would be the second moon in the solar system where water plumes have been detected.

The Cassini spacecraft previously spied jets shooting out from the surface of the Saturn moon Enceladus (ehn-SEHL’-uh-duhs), which harbors an ocean beneath its icy shell. Unlike Europa, the geysers erupting from Enceladus are continuous.

The Juno spacecraft, currently in orbit around Jupiter, isn’t designed to study Europa and won’t be able to confirm the plumes, NASA said.

The space agency is in the early stages of drafting a mission to Europa in the 2020s that would involve putting a spacecraft in a long, looping orbit around Jupiter to make close flybys of the ice-encrusted world.

The European Space Agency is planning to fly its own spacecraft to the gas giant around the same time to study its three largest moons – Ganymede, Callisto and Europa. Jupiter has 67 moons.

Story: Alicia Chang

Clinton, Trump Battle Over Taxes, Race, Terror

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Associated Press

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27 September 2016, 10:08

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump gestures toward Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton during the presidential debate on Monday at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. Photo: David Goldman / Associated Press

HEMPSTEAD, New York — In a combative opening debate, Hillary Clinton emphatically denounced Donald Trump Monday night for keeping his personal tax returns and business dealings secret from voters and peddling a “racist lie” about President Barack Obama. Businessman Trump repeatedly cast Clinton as a “typical politician” as he sought to capitalize on Americans’ frustration with Washington.

Locked in an exceedingly close White House race, the presidential rivals tangled for 90-minutes over their vastly different visions for the nation’s future. Clinton called for lowering taxes for the middle class, while Trump focused more on renegotiating trade deals that he said have caused companies to move jobs out of the U.S. The Republican backed the controversial “stop-and-frisk policing” tactic as a way to bring down crime, while the Democrat said the policy was unconstitutional and ineffective.

The debate was heated from the start, with Trump frequently trying to interrupt Clinton and speaking over her answers. Clinton was more measured and restrained, but also needled the sometimes-thin-skinned Trump over his business record and wealth.

“There’s something he’s hiding,” she declared, scoffing at his repeated contention that he won’t release his tax returns because he is being audited.

Trump aggressively tried to turn the transparency questions around on Clinton, who has struggled to overcome voters’ concerns about her honestly and trustworthiness. He said he would release his tax information when she produces more than 30,000 emails that were deleted from the personal internet server she used as secretary of state.

Tax experts have said there is no reason the businessman cannot make his records public during an audit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEHPrYUcoi0

Clinton was contrite in addressing her controversial email use, saying simply that it was a “mistake”. She notably did not fall back on many of the excuses she has often used for failing to use a government email during her four years as secretary of state.

“If I had to do it over again, I would obviously do it differently,” she said.

The televised face-off was the most anticipated moment in an election campaign that has been both historic and unpredictable. Both sides expected a record-setting audience for the showdown at Hofstra University in suburban New York, reflecting the intense national interest in the race to become America’s 45th president.

The candidates sparred over trade, taxes and how to bring good-paying jobs back to the United States.

Clinton said her Republican rival was promoting a “Trumped-up” version of trickle-down economics — a philosophy focused on tax cuts for the wealthy. She called for increasing the federal minimum wage, spending more on infrastructure projects and guaranteeing equal pay for women.

Trump panned policies that he said have led to American jobs being moved overseas, in part because of international trade agreements that Clinton has supported. He pushed Clinton aggressively on her past support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact while she was serving in the Obama administration. She’s since said she opposes the sweeping deal in its final form.

“You called it the gold standard of trade deals,” Trump said. “If you did win, you would approve that.”

Disputing his version of events, Clinton said, “I know you live in your reality.”

Trump struggled to answer repeated questions about why he only recently acknowledged that Barack Obama was born in the United States. For years, Trump has been the chief promoter of questions falsely suggesting the president was born outside of America.

“He has really started his political activity on this racist lie,” Clinton charged.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton shake hands after the presidential debate on Monday at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y. Photo: David Goldman / Associated Press

Clinton aides spent the days leading up to the debate appealing for the media and voters to hold Trump to a higher standard than they believe he has faced for much of the campaign. Their concern was that if the sometimes-bombastic Trumpmanaged to keep his cool onstage, he’d be rewarded — even if he failed to flesh out policy specifics or didn’t tell the truth about his record and past statements.

Trump’s campaign has said the Clinton camp’s concerns reflected worries about the her debating skills.

The centerpiece of Trump’s campaign has been a push for restrictive immigration measures, including a physical wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and an early proposal to temporarily bar foreign Muslims from coming to the U.S. But he’s been less detailed about other ideas, including his plan for stamping out the Islamic State group in the Middle East.

Clinton, a former senator and secretary of state, is banking on voters seeing her as a steady hand who can build on the record of President Obama, whose popularity is rising as he winds down his second term in office. She’s called for expanding Obama’s executive orders if Congress won’t pass legislation to overhaul the nation’s immigration system and for broader gun control measures. Overseas, she’s called for a no-fly zone in Syria but has vowed to keep the military out of a large-scale ground war to defeat the Islamic State group.

For Clinton, victory in November largely hinges on rallying the same young and diverse coalition that elected Obama but has yet to fully embrace her.

Trump has tapped into deep anxieties among some Americans, particularly white, working-class voters who feel left behind in a changing economy and diversifying nation. While the real estate mogul lacks the experience Americans have traditionally sought in a commander in chief, he’s banking on frustration with career politicians and disdain for Clinton to push him over the top on Election Day.

Story: Julie Pace and Jill Colvin

Former IMF Chief Rodrigo Rato Stands Trial for Fraud

By

Associated Press

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26 September 2016, 18:17

Former Finance Minister and International Monetary Fund chief Rodrigo Rato arrives Sept. 17 at the National Court in Madrid, Spain. Photo: Associated Press

MADRID — Protesters shouted insults at Rodrigo Rato, the former head of the International Monetary Fund, as he and 64 others entered court for a trial over the alleged misuse of corporate credit cards at a Spanish bank.

Prosecutors are seeking a 4 and-a-half year jail term for Rato, 67, who headed Bankia group between 2010 and 2012.

The court says investigations indicate there was fraudulent administration and misappropriation of bank funds by the accused in the use of the “opaque” credit cards for irregular and undeclared expenses between 2003 and 2012.

The trial started Monday but questioning of the accused will begin Friday.

Rato was IMF chief from 2004 to 2007 and a leading figure in Spain’s acting ruling Popular Party from 1996 to 2004.

Russian Man Found Dead, Surrounded by Empties

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Asaree Thaitrakulpanich, Staff Reporter

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26 September 2016, 18:13

A Russian man was found deceased in a room at the Karona Resort Hotel and Spa on Sunday. Photo: Google

PHUKET — A Russian man was found dead and alone in a hotel room filled with empty bottles Sunday a resort in the Karon area of Phuket.

A hotel maid discovered the man’s body at about 3pm in his room at the Karona Resort, Capt. Nipon Themsang of Karon police said. He was found lying face down on a bed. Police have withheld his identity.

“The man was intoxicated, and the room was also full of empty alcohol bottles,” Niphon said. “He also appeared to be carrying medicine for a congenital disorder.”

Stressing the sheer number of bottles found in the man’s room, Niphon said he believed his death was due to a combined effect of the medication and alcohol.

The Russian man was on vacation with a tour group but was not sharing the room with anyone, the captain said.

Japan Scrambles Fighter Jet After Chinese Warplanes Approach Disputed Islands

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Associated Press

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26 September 2016, 17:55

Chinese Air Force — FILE - A Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force Su-30 fighter, at right, flies along with a H-6K bomber as they take part in a drill near the East China Sea in a photo released Sunday. Photo: Shao Jing / Xinhua / Associated Piress.

TOKYO — Japan’s top government spokesman has warned China against expanding its military activity in the skies over disputed East China Sea islands after eight Chinese warplanes flew near the area on Sunday.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Monday that Japan scrambled at least one fighter jet after the planes passed over the Miyako Strait, east of the Japan-controlled Senkaku islands, which China also claims and calls the Diaoyu.

Suga said the aircraft, believed to be two fighter jets, four bombers and two reconnaissance aircraft, did not violate Japanese airspace during a “long-distance round-trip flight.” He added that Japan would respond firmly to any violation of Japanese air space in the future.

A statement from China’s defense ministry said more than 40 planes including H-6K bombers, Su-30 fighters and air tankers passed over the strait on the way to “a routine drill on the high seas.”

Shen Jinke, spokesperson of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force, said the fleet, including H-6K bombers, Su-30 fighters, and air tankers, conducted reconnaissance and early warning, attacks on sea surface targets, and in-flight refueling to test the Air Force’s fighting capacity on the high seas.

Bombers and fighters of the PLA Air Force also conducted routine patrol in the East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), the spokesperson said at an east China airport.

Shen Jinke, spokesman for the People’s Liberation Army Air Force, said the drills are conducted “in accordance with the needs of the Air Force to defend national sovereignty and security, as well as to maintain peaceful development.”

Story: Associated Press / Khaosod English

Art on Trial: The Wolf Bride

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Kaewta Ketbungkan, Staff Reporter

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26 September 2016, 17:21

Pronthip 'Kolf' Mankong poses Sept. 6 in Bangkok.

Ed. note: This is part two in an occasional series that examines artists who have been convicted of crimes relating to expression. Read part one here.

BANGKOK — In hindsight, Pronthip “Kolf” Mankong says the play for which she spent two years behind bars wasn’t particularly good. In terms of artistic expression, she’s not proud of “The Wolf Bride,” the 2013 student production for which she was convicted of insulting the Royal Family.

Perhaps surprising then is her belief that the stir it caused, including the conviction of with a co-performer, validated the power of the performance, while she fears it will color judgment of her future work both positively and negatively.

“If the dramatic arts can have that much impact, then I think we’re on the right track, as I always believed that drama, art, literature and other art forms can really change the world,” the 28-year-old dramatist said. “Because if the play had no impact at all, then we wouldn’t have been sentenced like this.”

Read: Art on Trial: The Mor Lam Singer

On a recent Tuesday, I met Kolf to talk about the crime for which she was convicted and punished affected her as an artist. We had not met before, and what struck my first impression were the smiles that never faded from her face along with an optimism she said helped her through hard times.

Just days after her Aug. 27 release, she said the arts can be equally potent healing salve or weapon.

“Art is more powerful than a simple paintbrush,” she said. “It’s a hammer that can be used to smash people to death.”

She also told me her preferred English spelling of her name, which usually appears in reports as Pornthip “Golf” Munkong.

Prison exposed her to a level of human complexity, she said, that ranged from comedy and drama to adultery and mystery. During her time in jail, Kolf listened to other convicts and guards tell their stories, which inspired her to write them into fables.

She jotted everything down from her perspective and intends to compile them as a novel or a script.

“I really have to thank the Internal Security Operations Command and soldiers for sending me to prison, so that I could gather material and crystallize myself,” she said.

But, she said, two years was enough.

“I can still shrug my shoulders as my sentence was two years,” Kolf said. “If the sentence would have been more than this, I have no idea if I could have still coped with it. It’s like my memory storage is filled with information, and it’s now time to empty it.”

In 2010, after Redshirt street protests in Bangkok were forcibly dispersed by the military, Kolf started a small theatre company to discuss social issues through the dramatic arts. The company later disbanded but reunited in 2013 to stage a one-off play dramatizing the life of a fictional king and his adviser.

“The Wolf Bride,” which she partially wrote and played a small role in, was broadcast live on television and shared on social media. Certain scenes, some of which were improvised, infuriated people who saw affront to the monarchy. Some compared the show to an infamous student play from 1976 which – wrongly or rightly – fed the bloodlust of those who murdered university students in October of that year.

Complaints were made, but for awhile, not much happened.

“Our play sparked something, but fortunately it didn’t lead to calamity, as social media then was already boiling with many political issues,” Kolf said.

She was not arrested until nearly a year later, after the military seized power and went looking for royal defamation cases to prosecute. She and co-performer Patiwat “Bank” Saraiyam were convicted and sent to prison. After two years in jail, they were both granted early release last month.

Adjusting to the outside world, Kolf said she worries those who have lionized her lose perspective on her work. She wants it to be judged for what it is – not who she is.

“I’m not a heroine, so please don’t expect anything from me,” she said. “It’s better to see my work and say straight whether it’s bad or not. Don’t like me because I was once a convict and avoid telling me the truth.”

Man, 53, Accused of Raping Niece in Phra Khanong

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Asaree Thaitrakulpanich, Staff Reporter

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26 September 2016, 16:38

Police escort Add Surawat from the condominium Sunday night where he allegedly assaulted his niece in Bangkok’s Phra Khanong district.

BANGKOK — Police arrested a 53-year-old man on suspicion of raping his 13-year-old niece Sunday night in Bangkok’s Phra Khanong district.

Phra Khanong district police arrested Add Surawat at 11pm on suspicion of sexually assaulting his niece at about 9pm at a condominium in Soi On Nut 10.

Police said the 13-year-old was doing her laundry in her uncle’s room and playing on her phone when he approached and assaulted her, according to the victim and her father, who was upstairs at the time.

She said that he removed articles of her clothing and fondled her.

When Add went to take a shower, she ran to the fifth floor to tell her father, Panachai Vichirasakdapong, who called police.

The police arrived and caught Add trying to escape with packed bags. Police said Add confessed to the crime.

Police said he will be charged with sexually assaulting a minor, with more charges possible as they were still investigating.

Police Can’t ID Suspected Farang Forgers Or Their Dead Body

By

Sasiwan Mokkhasen, Staff Reporter

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26 September 2016, 16:10

Two suspects identified as James Douglas Eger, at left, and Aaron Thomas Gabel, at middle, are taken Saturday from a police station to a Bangkok court.

BANGKOK — Three foreign men accused of shooting a police officer during a Friday raid in Bangkok have denied any knowledge of the frozen body found at the scene.

Police said Monday they still can’t verify the identities or nationalities of the three suspected forgers, who possessed American and British passports. Neither do they know whose dismembered body they found in cold storage inside the building in Soi Sukhumvit 56 where they were arrested.

“We already sent all the information including photos and fingerprints of the corpse and suspects to foreign embassies to verify,” Maj. Gen. Somprasong Yenthuam of the Metropolitan Police Bureau said.

The three Western men have been charged with concealing a corpse, possessing drugs and counterfeiting passports.

Read : Foreigners Arrested After Raid on Forgery Ring Leads to Body in Fridge

Passports in their possession identified them as Aaron Thomas Gabel, 33, and 66-year-old James Douglas Eger, both of the United States. The third suspect possessed an American passport identifying him as 63-year-old William Peter Johnson and a British passport identifying him as 58-year-old Peter Andrew Colter.

Friday’s raid was launched to target a suspected foreign forgery ring suspected of making fake passports. Johnson/Colter opened fire on police, shooting Sgt. Maj. Kanjanapong Chedet of the tourist police. He survived.

Johnson/Colter, who was being for injuries at Police General Hospital, told police the freezer with the dead body belonged to a buddy who used to live on Soi Ekkamai 12. He didn’t elaborate.

He also told police that he intended to shoot himself, but his gun accidentally fired while police were attempting to disarm him.

“But the police officer who was shot said he directly pointed the gun at him,” Somprasong said.

Passports, guns, marijuana and crystal meth found by police Friday on the fourth floor of a building in Bangkok’s Phra Khanong area.

Johnson/Colter was also charged with attempted murder of a security officer and illegally entering the kingdom. Gabel and Eger are both in custody.

A Burmese couple who lived in the building and were swept up in the raid were released without charge, Somprasong said, as police believe they were uninvolved.

Along with the guns, marijuana and crystal meth police found was an unknown chemical they believe was involved in creating fake passports. The substance is being examined.

Metropolitan police commander Sanit Mahathavorn on Sunday said police were looking into the financial records of the group.

Pheu Thai Says 35.7B Fine Denies Yingluck Due Process

By

Pravit Rojanaphruk, Senior Staff Writer

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26 September 2016, 13:38

Former PM Yingluck Shinawatra speaks to reporters on Sept. 9 outside the Supreme Court. Photo: Matichon

BANGKOK — The Pheu Thai Party has accused the military government and junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha of not respecting due process by imposing a 35.7 billion baht (USD$1.03 billion) fine against former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra for losses incurred by an agricultural subsidy enacted by her administration.

In a statement issued Sunday, Pheu Thai said it was premature for the government to order Yingluck pay the large sum before the Supreme Court even rules in the malfeasance trial against her stemming from losses the program incurred during the 2012-2014 growing seasons.

“If the court rules that the defendants are in the wrong, then civil liability lawsuit proceedings may be filed against them,” the English-language statement read. “It is inappropriate for leaders to lead the society into making conclusions before the court has announced its ruling.”

The statement called on Gen. Prayuth to adhere to normal legal procedures and not interfere with the case using the absolute power granted under Article 44 of the junta’s interim charter.

The statement also noted Prayuth, who is both prime minister and junta leader, has used his special powers to both empower agencies to seize and sell off the property of those involved in the price-pledging subsidy while granting them legal immunity from doing so.

“This will allow officials involved to take actions without regard to the rule of law, as they will be protected and the actions they take will only be to achieve the aims of those in power,” the statement read.

Prayuth defended the move on Sunday, saying his government had to take action before the statute limitations expires in February. He said he was not interfering as it was up to the courts to make the final ruling.

For her part, Yingluck called on Prayuth to show her the same consideration he’s shown to his brother, permanent defense secretary Preecha Chan-ocha. Last week the army circled wagons around Preecha, denying there was anything improper about lucrative army projects awarded to his son.

“I would like the PM to apply the same kind of thinking and justice to me as you did to protect your little brother and people who are on your side. The law is for use with everyone, not just people on my side.”

Additional reporting Asaree Thaitrakulpanich

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