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Beyond Playing: History
Arturo RieraOct 05, 2019 Music History & Facts No Comments
Music is actually a lot more than playing, and knowing how to write and read, there is a whole history that grows with each passing day, meaningful past creations, cultural movements, places, and people. Music teachers should always pay attention to these things as it contributes to the general knowledge and inspiration towards making music.
There is a problem about knowing how to do something but not completely knowing how or why, nor knowing how to explain it, this can be an issue that blurs the goals and inspirations as musicians.
Music history is something that can help in various fields. First, you get a look at hundreds of artists, composers and bands with a wide arrange of genres, inspirations and styles that will surely be a great influence in future creations.
History also teaches about the musical evolution in terms of the similarities between composers from each era and context, and the evolution of technology, this sort of musical progress or change is an important part of human history as a whole as it shows quite a bit
In an article by Scott Huntington from the Oxford University Press's
Academic Insights for the Thinking World, he talks about David Gonzol, who was his teacher at the time, and on the importance of learning about music history he said:
"All the best professional and amateur musicians, from Ella Fitzgerald to Paul McCartney, Adolph Herseth to Johann Sebastian Bach and Clara Schumann to Jean Ritchie, all made sure to know their field thoroughly and well. They knew their own performing skills, other performers, the repertoire, the history, the theory, the business, the culture, the people, everything. One can sing a melody or play a harmony, only if one really understands how those melodies or harmonies have been valued in their particular culture. How they have been performed, thought about, composed, improvised, listened to, danced to and worshipped to. Truly successful musicians understand all their music because they worked hard at becoming terrifically well-rounded. As cellist Lynn Harrell once said to a sixth-grade boy, 'There are no shortcuts.'"
Dr David Gonzol
The cultural impact of music is without a doubt one of the most important parts of its history, from Beethoven's nine symphonies, which have been considered the cornerstones of Western civilization to Elvis and the Beatles in the 20th century.
Music can be one of the purest ways to express oneself, and this a lot of times comes in times of anguish, turmoil, fear, rage, sadness and very strong joy. Therefore music has been the main event for many counter culture movements, such as jazz, blues, rock, punk, electronic music and hip hop. While some of these are now established genres and made a partial transition into the pop culture, their origins came from a place of disagreement and incomprehension.
As Sheila Whiteley says in her article, Countercultures: Music, Theory and Scenes:
Music played a major role in the way that the counterculture authored space in relation to articulations of community by providing a shared sense of collective identity.
Sheila Whiteley
Music is a lot more than just performing, as every creation and performances are in a way representations of human emotions in different contexts, which then become signatures, time machines, and inspire people beyond borders and time, even more so now with the internet. Music connects people, and the only way to truly understand this is to learn its history.
culture, history, learning, music
Exploring The Classical
Arturo RieraOct 03, 2019 Music & Technology, Music History & Facts, Music News No Comments
Classical music education is the most traditional form of musical education, however these days there are two ways to go with that kind of knowledge, the first is to stay true to its roots and perform as they would a few decades ago, the second way to go is to take all of that knowledge and bring it to 2019, where electronic music, computers, remixes and samples are a thing, and mixing rock, pop, and rap with orchestras is not a weird thing. These days, as a musician, you need to learn all you can, that way, creativity will blossom in a way it has not before, therefore bringing innovation.
Classical in Modern Rock
While there are many examples to choose from, Radiohead, David Bowie and Muse are some of the names that should be mentioned whenever of talking about classical influences in Rock these days. Whether it's the influence of Chopin and grandiose feeling that draws Muse, the dissonance and beautiful blending sounds of Radiohead, or the electronic dark new sounds that we hear in David Bowie's Blackstar, it's clear that the classical sound is here to stay.
While in not the traditional way, all of these artists have used orchestras and classical inspired melodies to fuel new sounds and ideas which cannot be ignored when studying music as it shows the potential of strong traditional influences.
Gabriel Prokofiev: Remix The Classical
Gabriel Prokofiev is the grandson of Sergei Prokofiev, the famous Russian composer, and he has been making classical music with a twist, as if the organic was imitating the artificial. On his electronic music influences he said in an interview:
GP: That came first, actually. When I was eleven or twelve years old, it was the 1980s, when you had the birth of electronic music. I liked synth-pop and electronic dance music when I was a teenager. I bought a synthesizer and was very interested in using a computer for music. So, it was something I was always interested in. When it came to studying classical music, I had a real passion for composition and I went to university to study music. In Birmingham University, where I first studied, they had a very good department for electroacoustic music, the classical electronic music, and I studied it further there. This was a very good way for me to discover my voice as a composer, with some disconnection from my classical roots. There was no connection with the symphonic work of my grandfather, when I was using electronics to make a big piece of music, therefore, I could develop as an artist.
However, ultimately, I got frustrated with the electronic music, mainly because the live performance of electronic music is often unsatisfying, because a lot of it is prepared beforehand, there is less of communication between the performer and public. When you see an orchestral performance, you can feel the incredible sense of community, energy. Also, as a composer, I felt even more exhausted, because you have to finish the whole electronic piece in the studio. You become the composer, the performer, and the producer, and you have to include a nuance of a live performance in the studio recording. It is great, but I think there are some brilliant musicians out there – why not to write a score and give it to them, so they could bring a new life into it. I am a sociable and communicative person, and I love the interaction between the composer and a performer. I would like a performer to give their contribution to the work; it should be a conversation.
While these are just a few examples, they are departures of the traditional way of making classical music, in the sense that in order to make something new, classical influences can help achieve that.
classical, exploring, music
Song Writing: Lyrics
Arturo RieraSep 28, 2019 Studio Management, Teaching Tips No Comments
Studio Management, Teaching Tips
A huge part of music today is the story you tell, not only with the sounds and harmonies played, but the actual words that are sung. This aspect of music has been a part of its structure in many compositions since opera or minstrels, where words mattered.
In a way, lyrics and poetry are sometimes intertwined with differences such as melodies and musical context, because rhythm is already a part of what makes poetry so compelling. However there is another dimension of the rhythm aspect which is being in sync with the tone of the music.
Is Poetry the Same as Lyrics
According to Matthew Zapruder from bostonreview.net:
To say that this means song lyrics are less literary than poems, or require less skill or intelligence or training or work to create, is patently absurd (and, in the case of rap music, patronizing). But that does not mean that song lyrics are poems. They might sometimes accidentally function like poems when taken out of a musical context, but abstracting lyrics from musical information is misleading and beside the point.
While there are many similarities and artists sometimes present their lyrics as poetry there are some differences that make them both shine in their own way. Now, if you were to take poetry and turn it into lyrics for a song, it may not be that difficult, although some changes may have to be made, it would mostly be taking some words out more than adding words. However if you were to make the lyrics of a song into a poem, most of the times it would not work, because the whole structure of a song gives the words context, this can be from the way a singer sings certain words, the way silence is used to allow the music go through the words as sun light in the woods, and the overall mood and feel that embraces the vocals.
Writing a Song
Knowing these differences, it should also be noted that working through lyrics is sometimes a very similar process as writing poetry, but there are many ways in which we can approach writing them.
First of all is the order, when you think about making a musical composition with lyrics, you think about two dimensions: music and lyrics, but which one comes first when going through the process of composing. It can go both ways or at the same time, but the truth is, that the final product will be different depending on the focus, because if the idea is to write something and then add some sort of soundtrack to what's been written, the focus is clearly on the vocals, however if you have a full instrumental song, and then add the lyrics, it's most likely the voice will follow a pattern outside of its own.
It can also be made simultaneously, as if the voice and the lyrics were just another instrument, and go as far as to come up with words while playing the music. This does not necessarily means that the order will determine if vocals are more or less important, however it can be a factor in that outcome.
A good tip for a beginner songwriter is just to not be afraid to try things, to make mistakes, and always remember: it's a work in progress, everything is malleable until you feel there's nothing else that can be done.
Creative writing is never easy, specially when it has to fit a musical context, but with enough practice, translating words into another instrument, will become easier and will show a whole other part of music that can be very interesting and fun to play with; trying different orders, and rearranging sounds and words in order to make the puzzle work and feel natural.
lyrics, music, writing


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LONDON MOOT!
Home/PROPERTY/Why Old Kent Road may be next best place for property
Why Old Kent Road may be next best place for property
David Buckley 14.03.2019
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Consider the area for two reasons and both are called tube station
The Old Kent Road may be the cheapest property on an original Monopoly board, but I have a strong feeling that is 10 years' time it should shake off its lowly born tag (stolen from the song Where Do You Go To My Lovely?).
Because, quite simply, by 2029 it should (note I do not say 'will') have two tube stations established along its route.
What a difference that would make.
In 1999, a good friend was involved in buying a two-bedroom apartment (flat sounds so common, don't you think?) very close to Canada Water station. The station was being built on the still-to-be-opened Jubilee line. The apartment was bought for £144,000. Seventeen years later it sold for £600,000.
So, if you are looking for a slow-burning property investment, consider buying down the Old Kent Road. It may take a fair while for your investment to produce a return, but I am confident it will be profitable in the long term.
Indeed, were I younger, I would consider establishing an estate agents there. Of course, that assumes that estate agents will still exist in their current form 10 years down the line.
Given the impact of the Internet on anything and everything, maybe that's not a safe assumption. Purple Bricks and all that. The Old Kent Road is a little less than three miles long. So, even if the stations were right next to each other in the middle (pointless, I know) the furthest away you would be is one-and-a-half miles.
Images: Transport for London (TfL)
Of course, that isn't the plan. Current thinking is that the stations will be close to Dunton Road and Asylum Road. For those vaguely familiar with the area, Dunton Road used to have the Dun Cow* pub on the corner – it is now a surgery (sob); Asylum Road is closer to New Cross, opposite the now defunct gas works. The land currently earmarked had a large Toys'R'Us and big car park on it.
Images: Dun Cow – closedpubs.co.uk; gas works – geography.org.uk
On the subject of the gas works, were you aware that Southwark Council snapped up the site a few years back for £15 million?
There are at least two ways of reacting to this old news.
One is to question whether Southwark has mis-used its position to acquire the site. The council might have been aware that several years hence it will be worth a lot more because it will be practically on top of a tube station.
Another reaction is to praise the council for buying a site that should sell for a premium. This might allow the council to keep its future rate demands in better check.
Were I a Southwark ratepayer I would take the latter view and not spend a lot of time agonising about the former.
And, spiffballing around here, who is to say that the gas works (which is an area covering about two football pitches) couldn't form the site for the new underground station?
Nice new station with a few shops alongside or above and an apartment block or two. Sounds like a good use of the old gas works to me. I'm wasted here, this property development lark is a doddle!
A word of caution. These locations are not set in stone. Please don't buy without carrying out your own research. Though should you wait until the locations are definite, the price of property in the immediate areas is likely to rise on the back of a concrete announcement.
No road for old pubs
It seems the Old Kent Road and its surrounding area is becoming something of a wilderness in terms of pubs. Look at the following:
As mentioned, the Dun Cow is now a doctor's surgery;
There was a pub called The Victory in nearby Catesby Street that has been turned into condos;
the Frog and Nightgown (crazy name, huh) also known as the Frog, as in Frog and Toad (road), has been demolished;
The Green Man has become a restaurant;
The Gin Palace has become apartments;
And the World Turned Upside Down has had its world turned upside down to become a pizza place.
Also, there is a flyover where the Old Kent Road meets the New Kent Road. The area used to be called the Bricklayer's Arms. The Arms pub has long since disappeared … I think to make way for the roundabout that sits under the flyover.
If the subject of pubs closing depresses you as much as it does me I refer you to a website called southwarknotes.wordpress.com/local-development-sites/lost-pubs-of-southwark-3/ which lists more than 50 establishments that no long exist as pubs in its "Southwark and a bit of Waterloo" section. It lists many more in surrounding areas, sadly.
However, if my strong hunch about the future prosperity of the Old Kent Road proves correct, I expect that a few more pubs will spring up to slightly reverse the depressing (for me) trend.
I think we can all drink to that!
Dave Buckley
Dun Cow Frog and Nightgown Investment Old Kent Road Southwark Council
Dave Buckley is a career journalist. "I once went painting girders for a week and discovered I didn't like heights," he says. "Apart from that it has always been journalism for me in one form or another." Past publications worked for include the South-East London Mercury*, Kent Messenger, Daily Express, Today*, News of the World* and Hong Kong Star*. All those marked with an asterisk no longer exist (trend emerging?). He owned and edited a Thailand-based property magazine before returning to England and currently works as a production editor for an East Midlands-based publishing group.
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Tyler Magnin, son of Janice and Eric Magnin and Brian Stuligross, son of Dennis and Lauren Stuligross will perform onstage at the HHSO concert, The Jazz Age on Sunday, January 19. Tyler has been studying piano since he was 8 years old under the direction of Marilyn Esign. Tyler was accepted for early admission and is currently enrolled as a sophomore at the South Carolina Governors School for the Arts and Humanities. He is currently a student of Dr. Stephen Taylor. In his spare time Tyler enjoys playing guitar, cello and recording music with his friends. He is the second oldest of 5 children and has been a Hilton Head resident for 16 years.
Brian Stuligross is a senior at Hilton Head Island High School. He has studied violin for nine years, first with Dorothy Mauney and currently with Lizhou Liu. In the summer of 2013, Brian attended Wintergreen Summer Music Festival in Virginia, where he studied and performed Shostakovich and Brahms string quartets. He currently teaches violin to students ages 6-10 at the Boys and Girls Club. Besides violin, Brian enjoys playing guitar, bass guitar, and singing in multiple school-related and extracurricular ensembles. In the future, Brian hopes to major in violin performance at college. Brian's mother, Lauren Stuligross plays as Principal Oboe with the HHSO.
The Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra is proud to host these students as part of our Young Artists Program. "We hope these performance opportunities bring encouragement and assistance to young musicians at a critical time in their development", said Mary Briggs, President and CEO.
Concerts are held at the First Presbyterian Church, 540 Wm. Hilton Pkwy. Concert Tickets are $25, $40, and $50. Student tickets are $10 and are available the afternoon of the performance. Go online at www.hhso.org or call 843-842-2055.


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Thank you for keeping me updated. When you dvd is ready I will be in line to purchase. I follow what you are doing as best as I can long distance. I am very much looking forward to the DVD. Congratulations!


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BIFF resorts to diversionary tactic
From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 29): BIFF resorts to diversionary tactic
Police and military authorities in Maguindanao said the twin explosions of improvised bomb in Datu Odin Sinsuat (DOS), Maguindanao on Wednesday was a diversionary tactic by ISIS-inspired group that has been the subject of air strikes and artillery fire from the military.
Senior Supt. Agustin Tello, Maguindanao police director, told reporters after a joint peace and security joint coordinating meeting of police and military in Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Maguindanao that the explosion set off by Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in Barangay Semba injured two soldiers, a police officer and a village chair.
"This is the signature armament of the BIFF," Tello said of the twin explosions.
The BIFF Esmael Abdulmalik faction has been the subject of joint Army and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) offensives. About 60 BIFF had already been killed and about 25 on the side of the MILF which is fighting alongside with the Philippine Army.
According to Colonel Diosdado Carreon, commander of the Army's 601st Infantry Brigade, the strength of the BIFF Abdulmalik faction is dwindling.
He estimated the remaining members to about 40 to 45 and the military will continue hunting them with the MILF's Task Force Ittihad (Unity).
Fighting between former comrades, MILF and BIFF, erupted in early August after the ISIS allied group headed by Abdulmalik tried, but failed, to hoist ISIS black flag in communities identified with the MILF.
Army and MILF became partners against the BIFF as contained in the 1997 ceasefire agreement where the MILF must help the government in getting rid of lawless elements and terrorists in Maguindanao and other areas.
The BIFF bolted out of MILF in 2008 due to ideological differences.
According to Tello, the Maguindanao police will always support the military campaign against BIFF Abdulmalik faction who, according to intelligence reports, had been aided by Malaysian and Indonesian terrorists.
More Army and police checkpoints have been established in Maguindanao major highways as the government expects the BIFF will set off bombs to divert military offensives.
On Tuesday, the Army foiled bombing plot in North Cotabato with the arrest of Muslimin Ladtugan with power explosives in a raid in Midsayap, North Cotabato.
Ladtungan, a bomb expert of the BIFF Abdulmalik faction, was out to set off bombs in populated areas of the province as diversionary tactics, according to Lt. Gen. Arnel dela Vega, commander of the 6th Infantry Division based in Maguindanao.
Dead Maute group members now 736
From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 29): Dead Maute group members now 736
The number of slain Maute Group terrorists in the ongoing military operations in Marawi City has now climbed to 736, said Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) public affairs office chief Col. Edgard Arevalo said on Friday.
He said this includes the 21 remains or cadavers recovered during Thursday's operations.
Government losses are now placed at 153 troops. Civilians executed or killed by the terrorists is still at 47 while rescued Marawi City residents are at 1,733.
Recovered weapons numbered at 789, including 82 recovered Thursday.
Fighting in Marawi City broke out after a botched attempt to arrest Abu Sayyaf leader IsnilonHapilon last May 23.
Earlier, Defense Secretary DelfinLorenzana said that lives of surrendering Maute Group terrorists will be spared provided they surrender peacefully.
He made this statement after Lanao Del Sur 2nd District Rep. Mauyag Papandayan told him that some of the surviving terrorists have expressed willingness to surrender.
"I told him no problem. In fact, Western Mindanao Command troops are going around with bullhorns daily in Marawi City (urging them to surrender). If they want to surrender, then they must come out with their hands up and our soldiers will not kill them, our troops don't kill surrendering people," he said.
Once these terrorists surrender, the DND chief said it is up to the courts to determine what kind of charges and sanctions would be meted against them.
PH, US marines to hold 1st 'KAMANDAG' exercises
From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 30): PH, US marines to hold 1st 'KAMANDAG' exercises
American and Filipino marines are set to conduct the first iteration of the "Kaagapay ng mga Mandirigma ng Dagat" (KAMANDAG) exercises on October 2-11.
The maneuvers will be held in Clark and Basa air bases in Pampanga; Marines Barracks Camp Gregorio Lim in Ternate, Cavite; Crow Valley in Tarlac; Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija; the Naval Education and Training Command in San Antonio, Zambales; and Aurora, Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) spokesperson Capt. Maria Rowena Dalmacio said Friday.
The KAMANDAG is a bilateral exercise that focuses on capability development on humanitarian assistance and disaster response, internal security operations and counterterrorism.
The joint military exercises will also focus on revitalizing the inter-operability of the Philippines and US militaries in post-crisis response through the conduct of disaster rehabilitation and rural development projects.
These will materialize through the engineering civic action program (ENCAP) and medical action program (MEDCAP) activities to be conducted in Northern Luzon, particularly in Casiguran, Aurora.
Local residents will benefit from the MEDCAP, while two schools in Casiguran, Aurora will benefit from the ENCAP, where engineers from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force will also participate.
DSWD DROMIC Report #1 on the Armed Conflict in Batangas City, Batangas as of 29 September 2017, 6PM
Posted to the Relief Web (Sep 29): DSWD DROMIC Report #1 on the Armed Conflict in Batangas City, Batangas as of 29 September 2017, 6PM
Report from Government of the Philippines
Published on 29 Sep 2017 — View Original
On 24 September 2017, a gun battle between the Armed Forces of the Philippines (NPA) and a faction of National People's Army (NPA) led by Mario Macaraig, alias Jethro, of the NPA front "Honda" occurred in Mt. Banoy in Barangay Talumpok Silangan, Batangas City. The firefight started around 8:50 a.m. after members of the 730th Combat Group of the Philippine Air Force chanced upon a supposed rebel encampment.
Number of Affected Families / Persons
To date, 113 families or 490 persons have been affected in Batangas City, Batangas in Region CALABARZON (see Table 1).
https://reliefweb.int/report/philippines/dswd-dromic-report-1-armed-conflict-batangas-city-batangas-29-september-2017-6pm
Creation of defense university pushed
From the Business Mirror (Sep 30): Creation of defense university pushed
In Photo: President Duterte addresses troops during his visit to the 2nd Mechanized Brigade on May 26, 2017, on the outskirts of Iligan City in southern Philippines. At left is Armed Forces chief Gen. Eduardo Año and at center is Defense Chief Delfin Lorenzana.
AN official of the National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP) is pushing for the creation of a National Defense University (NDU), which is envisioned to produce a greater number of Filipinos with defense and security backgrounds and elevate the subject of security to a national level.
The establishment of an NDU could not be more timely and appropriate, as the country is facing both internal and territorial threats, with the domestic challenge coming from a three-pronged threat, including terrorism.
NDCP Executive Vice President, retired Major Gen. Rolando Jungco, said a draft on the creation of the proposed NDU has already been submitted to Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana for review prior to congressional submission.
This early, the proposal already earned the support of several legislators, including Sen. Loren Legarda and Rep. Rozzano Rufino "Ruffy" Biazon of Muntinlupa.
Legarda, like a few number of lawmakers, is a graduate of the NDCP and is a reserve officer of the Philippine Air Force. Biazon, on the other hand, is a former Customs commissioner under the Aquino administration and son of retired Armed Forces Chief of Staff Rodolfo Biazon, also a former senator.
The proposed NDU, if approved by Congress, shall offer baccalaureate and postgraduate degrees in defense and security courses. It is eyed to initially rise at the compound of the NDCP inside Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.
'Unique'
IN pushing for the creation of an NDU, Jungco noted that the Philippines is the only country in the region without such a school, which is an irony, as the country counts the most number of security challenges among the states in Southeast Asia.
Jungco said that in Indonesia and Thailand, you cannot be a lawmaker unless you have gone through their defense universities.
China, on the other hand, has two defense schools—one for defense and another for science and technology.
The Thai and Indonesian examples are what Jungco and the other proponents of the NDU want the Philippines to emulate.
Jungco said the NDU should have as students members of Congress, noting that some lawmakers do not have a full grasp of, or could not fully understand, national security and its surrounding issues.
He said its intention is to develop, harness and encourage the lawmakers to think strategically for defense and security.
Defense Act revision
WHILE there may have been support for the creation of an NDU from members of Congress, it may take time, however, before it could be set up, as the proposal has to be incorporated into an updated National Defense Act of 1935.
Jungco said the law only talks about the military. The Department of National Defense (DND) along with its other attached agencies are not even mentioned in the law.
The military, or the Armed Forces of the Philippines, falls under the DND.
In revisiting the Defense Act through the creation of the NDU, Jungco said they also proposed the inclusion of the DND and its agencies, including the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office, the NDCP, Office of Civil Defense and the Government Arsenal, in the law.
The National Defense Act of 1935 is the only defense law in the country.
If the creation of the NDU materializes, it will have a mixture of civilian and military students.
Jungco said the students of the university should include lawmakers, all generals of the AFP with no exemption, and others in the civilian sector, including businessmen.
"Ideally, it would be under the Commission on Higher Education, but focusing more on defense and resource management," Jungco said.
https://businessmirror.com.ph/creation-of-defense-university-pushed/
Philippines Plans Low-Key Upgrades in Disputed Spratly Islands
From Voice of America (Sep 29): Philippines Plans Low-Key Upgrades in Disputed Spratly Islands
FILE - Philippine troops march as a Philippine Air Force C-130 transport plane carrying Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Armed Forces Chief Gen. Eduardo Ano and other officials, sits on the tarmac at the Philippine-claimed Thitu Island off the disputed Spratlys chain of islands in the South China Sea, April 21, 2017 in western Philippines.
The Philippines has found funding for the biggest in a series of infrastructure upgrades planned on the islets it holds in the contested South China Sea, a move that will gently remind other countries, including China, of Manila's claims.
Money from the Armed Forces of the Philippines' Modernization Program will next year fund the paving of a 1,300-meter-long gravel and dirt runway on Thitu Island, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana was quoted saying this month. Thitu anchors Manila's holdings in the Spratly archipelago, which is also disputed by China, Taiwan and Vietnam.
The runway upgrade is expected to lead to repairs of barracks, water systems and other infrastructure on nine Spratly islets controlled by the Philippines per a pledge in April from the country's president, Rodrigo Duterte. The 15-year Modernization Program hatched in 2012 has a budget of $2.56 million this year.
FILE - Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana tours the Philippine-claimed island of Pag-asa, also known as Thitu, during his visit to the Spratlys chain of islands in the disputed South China Sea, April 21, 2017.
Manila's upgrades would serve as a reminder, yet one unlikely to outrage other countries, that it intends to hold on to its nine Spratly features.
Beijing, the most aggressive claimant in those 100-plus islands as well as the broader South China Sea around them, has befriended the Philippines over the past year but only after years of diplomatic hostility that some Filipinos fear could resurface.
"I imagine there's a feeling that the time has come to consider other options," said Jonathan Spangler, director, South China Sea Think Tank in Taipei. "I just think it's more like a hedging thing, like making sure you don't go all the way in one direction."
FILE - Protesters shout slogans and display placards outside of the Chinese Consulate in protest of China's occupation and island-building in the disputed Spratly Island group in the South China Sea in Makati city's financial district east of Manila, Philippines.
After China parked research vessels over an ocean plateau off the Philippine Pacific coast, Duterte faced public pressure to resist Beijing again. In April he vowed to upgrade the Spratly holdings.
Two months ago, a Chinese vessel apparently planted its national flag on Sandy Cay, which lies in the Philippine-controlled part of the Spratly chain, touching off more concerns among Filipinos. Both countries prize the sea for its fisheries and fossil fuel reserves.
Ambitions for the Spratly Islands
The Philippines can help lock in its Spratly claims by showing human habitation and economic activity, Spangler noted. About 100 civilians, many connected to military activity, live on Thitu Island, the chain's second largest natural land form at 37 hectares (91 acres). Some in the Philippines advocate opening it to tourism.
Lorenzana visited Thitu in April to "check on the condition of the residents," according to a defense department statement.
The unpaved runway can only allow military aircraft, mostly for transport, limiting who can access the island, analysts say.
Plans to refurbish infrastructure in the Spratly Islands fits with a "natural order of things" that any country would do to improve defense, said Eduardo Araral, associate professor at the National University of Singapore's public policy school. The modernization budget must be spent, he added.
"I wouldn't read too much in this. Clearly it's defensive in nature," he said. "It's a routine part of modernization."
The Philippine military ranks No. 50 in the world on a list of 133 countries tracked by the research database GlobalFirePower.com.
Thitu, in the Spratly Islands
Mixed Sino-Philippine relations
Tighter relations with China also reduce the urgency of bulking up military facilities on the islets for defense or offense, said Jay Batongbacal, director of the Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea at the University of the Philippines.
"Overall I don't think they will put anything in really big at this point, if you go by how the government is very friendly towards China," Batongbacal said.
After Manila won a World Court arbitration case against Beijing, which was told it lacked a legal basis for much of its South China Sea claims, Duterte offered to set aside maritime disputes that had festered since 2012. In October, China pledged $24 billion in aid and investment to the Philippines.
But China's stationing of research vessels off the Pacific coast over a feature called the Benham Rise, and the Sandy Cay flap, keep its friendship with the Philippines in check, other analysts say. China also controls Scarborough Shoal, a prime fishing spot that lies inside the Philippine exclusive economic zone west of Luzon Island. In many years it declares fishing moratoriums that encompass Philippine waters.
The Sandy Cay incident shows that China may be "engaging in a coercive demonstration around Thitu in order to dissuade the Philippine authorities from carrying out long-planned repairs and extensive infrastructure upgrades," said Euan Graham, international security director with the Lowy Institute for International Policy in Sydney.
Muted reactions
But China has officially kept quiet about the runway upgrade as well as other infrastructure plans on the Philippine-held islets. Those plans also marked a scaling back in April from Duterte's original idea of visiting Thitu himself and planting his national flag.
Taiwan and Vietnam sometimes issue protest statements when they sense threats to their Spratly claims but seldom follow up.
"Depending on how the bilateral relationship goes, China might even let it go quietly, as long as Duterte remains to be China-friendly," said Yun Sun, East Asia Program senior associate at the Stimson Center think tank in Washington.
https://www.voanews.com/a/philippines-upgrades-spratly-islands/4049381.html
3 Marines hurt as NPA rebs ambush military convoy
From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Sep 30): 3 Marines hurt as NPA rebs ambush military convoy
Three Marines were wounded after suspected members of the New People's Army (NPA) waylaid a military convoy heading back to their detachment in San Vicente town in Palawan province Saturday morning.
Report from Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan (Mimaropa) police said personnel of the Philippine Marines battalion landing team (MLBT) on board an M35 and an elf official Marine service vehicle were ambushed by suspected NPA rebels at a forested area just two kilometers away from the Marine detachment in Barangay (village) Itabiak at around 6:45 a.m.
The Marines were from El Nido going to the MLTB headquarters in Barangay Minara in Roxas town when they were fired upon by the rebels. Despite under heavy fire, the government forces were able to fire back at the attackers, forcing the rebels to retreat.
Wounded in the incident were Technical Sergeant Restituto Selvino, 30; Corporal Melvin Villa, 44; and Cpl. Christian Day Rentillo, 29.
The wounded military men were immediately brought to Roxas District Hospital and later transferred to Puerto Princesa City for treatment.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/934493/3-marines-hurt-as-npa-rebs-ambush-military-convoy-palawan-afp-marines-npa-ambush
Cop killed in NPA ambush in Masbate
From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Sep 30): Cop killed in NPA ambush in Masbate
Suspected New People's Army (NPA)rebels waylaid and killed on Saturday a policeman who was on board a police service vehicle near a dump site in Monreal town in Masbate province, report reaching the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Bicol said.
Senior Inspector Maria Luisa Calubaquib, Bicol police spokesperson, said Police Officer 2 Mervin Capellan, who was assigned at the Monreal police station, was killed in the rebel attack that took place at about 6:18 a.m. in Sitio (sub-village) Tamborong in Barangay (village) Poblacion.
She said the victim was driving the police van and was negotiating a road near the town dump site when he was shot to death by at least 20 suspected communist rebels. Capellan died instantly due to bullet wounds.
Calubaquib said the slain cop was on his way back to the town police station after taking the police van to a carwash service center for cleaning.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/934471/cop-killed-in-npa-ambush-in-masbate
Mayhem in Marawi
From The Diplomat (Sep 29): Mayhem in Marawi (By Zachary Abuza)
Is the Philippines up to the task of handling the latest wave of Islamist terrorism?
Image Credit: Romeo Ranoco, Reuters
On May 23, a unit of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) operating on a tip, moved in on a safehouse in the southern Philippine city of Marawi, where a top Abu Sayyaf leader, Isnilon Hapilon, was said to be holed up. It was a setup. What was supposed to be a quick operation turned into a four month quagmire, with a death toll of some 147 members of the security forces and 45 civilians. Like the botched Mamasapano raid in January 2015 that led to the death of 44 Philippine National Police Special Action Forces, this was a tactical fiasco with strategic consequences. The Philippines is once again seen as the weak link in regional security, at a time when the Islamic State has lost nearly 90 percent of its territory in Iraq and Syria and is seeking local conflicts in the post-caliphate era. With a city in rubble, and the majority of its 400,000 population still displaced, angry, and not confident in the government's ability to rebuild it and prevent future attacks, Moro grievances continue to grow, as new groups proliferate and metastasize.
An Intelligence Failure
By every measure, Marawi was a glaring intelligence failure. The AFP is spread thin. In addition to a resurgent New People's Army, the AFP is confronting the splintering of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), a revived Abu Sayyaf, and a panoply of small groups that pledged bai'at to the Islamic State. The context of Marawi was the government's abject failure to grasp a rapidly devolving security situation.
Starting in March 2016, Abu Sayyaf began a campaign of maritime kidnapping, taking 65 sailors and fishermen from six separate countries in maritime operations. Two more individuals were killed during ship-boardings, and scores more were either not taken or released. But the spate of maritime attacks put significant diplomatic pressure on the Philippine government, which acquiesced to the demands of Malaysia and Indonesia to establish joint maritime patrols, and ceded the right of hot pursuit into Philippine waters.
Abu Sayyaf then attempted a raid in the resort region of Bohol, in the otherwise peaceful Visayas, in April 2017. While the AFP had claimed success in driving Isnilon Hapilon and his men out of Basilan, they had little understanding of why they moved to Marawi, in the Marano-dominated region of Lanao del Sur.
Hapilon was the first Southeast Asian to declare his allegiance to the Islamic State, done in a YouTube video in July 2014. In the following months, at least six other Philippine-based groups followed suit. The government and AFP repeatedly downplayed the threat, as late as mid-2017, calling them "ISIS wannabes."
In part this was because the Islamic State did not immediately recognize any of the groups. Finally, in January 2016, Al Naba, a central ISIS media organ, stated that ISIS had established a "branch" in Southeast Asia and recognized Hapilon as the Emir of Islamic State militants in Southeast Asia, and called on other cells, including Ansar al-Shariah, Ma'rakah al-Ansar, Ansarul Khilafah Philippines, and al-Harakatul al-Islamiyyah, which is based in Basilan, to act as "battalions" under his command.
[Read the full story here, in The Diplomat Subscription required for full article.]
https://thediplomat.com/2017/09/mayhem-in-marawi/
Councilor, nephew of kidnap problem-solver, kidnapped
From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Sep 30): Councilor, nephew of kidnap problem-solver, kidnapped
A photo of Ezzeddin Soud Tan lifted from his Facebook account —JULIE S. ALIPALA
The scourge of kidnappings was brought to the doorstep of an influential Sulu political clan, whose patriarch had been involved in some of the province's most successful negotiations to free kidnap victims.
Ezzeddin Tan, councilor of Jolo town in Sulu province and nephew of former Sulu Vice Gov. Abdusakur Tan, was taken by armed men in Indanan, another town in Sulu, on Wednesday.
Ezzedin, in his late 20s, was biking in the village of Tagbak in Indanan when he was kidnapped, said Brig. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, head of the anticrime multiagency Joint Task Group Sulu.
Sobejana said Tan was a member of Tausog Bikers Club.
During his kidnapping, he was with at least 11 other bikers. The suspects, however, took only Tan.
Sobejana said Tan's group was on its way back to Jolo when the armed men struck.
The provincial government immediately organized a crisis management team for the recovery of the victim.
"Search and rescue operations are ongoing," Sobejana said.
Ezzedin's uncle, Abdusakur, had been involved in successful negotiations to free kidnapping victims in the past.
In January, a Korean kidnap victim was turned over by Abdusakur to Presidential Peace Process Adviser Jesus Dureza.
Last year, a number of Indonesians who were kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf were turned over to the former governor.
The Tans are an influential political clan in Sulu.
Sulu and Basilan, provinces under the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, are known as areas where the homegrown terror and crime group Abu Sayyaf operate and maintain bases.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/934331/councilor-nephew-of-kidnap-problem-solver-kidnapped
Abu fugitive, carnappers apprehended in Basilan
From the Manila Bulletin (Sep 30): Abu fugitive, carnappers apprehended in Basilan
An Abu Sayyaf jail escapee and two carnappers were nabbed in separate operations in Basilan.
(MANILA BULLETIN)
Boy Indama was apprehended through the joint efforts of the troops from the 74th Infantry Battalion, Lamitan City Police Station, and Regional Public Safety Battalion in Lamitan City at 12:45 p.m. last September 28, 2017.
Indama is an Abu Sayyaf member under Furuji Indama who escaped from Basilan Provincial Jail on December 13, 2009.
He has an existing warrant of arrest for kidnapping and serious illegal detention in Barangay Magcawa, Al-Barka, Basilan.
Indama was immediately brought to the Lamitan District Hospital for medical attention and was subsequently turned over to the Lamitan City Police for proper disposition and documentation.
Meanwhile, troops from the 4th Special Forces Battalion on checkpoint in Barangay Cabunbata, Isabela City, Basilan apprehended two carnappers last Thursday at 7am.
Salam Aslatan and Nuruddin Duray, both of legal age, had been sought by law enforcers for carnapping.
Seized from their possession were two motorcycles owned by Mursid Halikin, a resident of Tipo-Tipo, Basilan.
The apprehended carnappers and the recovered items were turned-over to the Isabela City Police for proper disposition.
http://news.mb.com.ph/2017/09/30/abu-fugitive-carnappers-apprehended-in-basilan/
Duterte says peace talks with Reds just 'a waste of money'
From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Sep 29): Duterte says peace talks with Reds just 'a waste of money'
President Rodrigo Duterte. (Photo from an RTVM video)
"Gastos lang yan."
This was how President Rodrigo Duterte responded when asked if he was still keen on the resumption of the peace talks with the communist rebels during an interview with state-run PTV4 aired on Friday night.
"Wala namang mangyari diyan," he said when asked if he would still send Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Secretary Jesus Dureza and chief government negotiator Seilvestre Bello III to Norway.
Norway is the third party facilitator between the Philippine government and the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF).
Duterte had previously said he was open to resume peace talks if the communists declare a ceasefire.
In July, Duterte ended the peace talks with the communists following a series of attacks carried out by the NPA against government forces. He even said that he will not allow the resumption of peace talks unless the NPA stops its extortion activities.
The fifth round of peace talks with the rebels was suspended on May 27, after the government panel withdrew from the negotiating table after the CPP ordered NPA guerrillas to intensify attacks against security forces.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/934314/duterte-cpp-npa-ndf-communist-peace-talks
Islamic State Suffers a Setback in Marawi
From BenarNews (Sep 29): Islamic State Suffers a Setback in Marawi (By Rohan Gunaratna)
Soldiers guard a lakeside mosque near Marawi after several gunmen aboard a boat were spotted near the area, Sept. 28, 2017.
With timely international military and intelligence assistance, Philippine security forces have successfully contained, isolated and eliminated the threat posed by the Islamic State (IS) in Marawi.
Almost 700 Filipino and foreign fighters who embraced IS ideology and practice have been killed in four months of intense combat. Fewer than 70 IS fighters now hold a battle space of less than 10 hectares. The troop advance has been slow, as the urban area is heavily mined with snipers and explosives. IS also holds three dozen hostages, some of whom have turned fighters or supporters under duress.
IS in Marawi compared its initial success to the IS siege of Mosul, and copied IS practices in Syria and Iraq.
IS Marawi burned the police station and the city jail and freed the inmates. It executed officials, including the chief of intelligence of Marawi. It occupied homes and raided shops to replenish supplies. IS Marawi videoed its members executing Christians in orange uniform, and forced young female hostages to become sex slaves, referring to them as goats.
After burning Saint Mary's Cathedral and Dansalan College, IS took hostage Christian leaders, staff, teachers and students. To the hostages, some of whom became fighters, IS preached its ideology, which has been rejected by the Muslim population at large. Some 350,000 people were displaced from Marawi and surrounding areas, and parts of their city were reduced to rubble.
The largest IS-centric groups – Islamic State Lanao (ISL) led by the Maute brothers, and Islamic State Philippines (ISP) led by Isnilon Hapilon – sieged the Islamic City of Marawi on May 23. The ISP and ISL engaged in a fierce battle with over 12,000 military and police personnel, supported by U.S. and Australian forces. But contrary to IS expectations, Maranaos were shocked by the siege, and rejected the IS presence.
The lack of public support severely weakened the militants' ability to hold Marawi. Their project to establish an IS province (wilayat) failed.
Regrouping
With the death of many of the directing figures of the fight – including Abdullah, Utto and Mahdi Maute – the battle in Marawi is coming to an end. Nonetheless, a dozen local groups that have pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi have resumed their activities in other parts of Mindanao.
Unless the threat is managed with exceptional care, IS will persist and is likely to spread from Mindanao to Sabah in Malaysia, and to eastern Indonesia.
The most active of the threat groups operating outside Marawi is the IS-directed Jamaah Al Muhajirin wal Anshor (JMA), a group in the southern Philippines with extensive links to foreign fighters.
JMA is attacking the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the largest armed group, which is working with the Duterte government to establish a permanent peace.
Guided by IS, JMA is determined to breakup MILF. IS believes that its attacks will fracture MILF and that pro-IS members within MILF will splinter and join IS-centric groups.
Esmael Abdulmaguid (alias Abu Turaipe), who leads JMA, is adept at attracting foreign fighters. The latest encounter between MILF and JMA was at Barangay Tee, Datu Salibo, Maguindanao on Sept. 27. As the battle in Marawi comes to an end, the clashes elsewhere in Mindanao are likely to increase in frequency, scale and magnitude.
Until the IS siege of Marawi on May 23, 2017, the Philippine government was in denial of an IS presence in Mindanao. However, the response of the Philippine government to the Marawi siege was decisive.
The fighting lasted over four months, for three reasons.
First, the government underestimated IS ideology and fighting capabilities, especially the use of snipers and explosive devices. Second, the terrain could not be effectively cordoned and sealed. Third, the Philippine military units were trained for jungle and rural warfare, not urban warfare.
Until August 2017, the infiltration and exfiltration of IS from the Main Battle Area (MBA) enabled IS to replenish its human losses and material wastage. The fighters formed three layers of defense protecting Hapilon, Abdullah and Omarkhayam. With huge battlefield losses, the MBA is isolated, but the remaining quality leadership and the human shield of hostages will protract the fight for another few weeks.
The deaths of several leaders and experienced fighters in Marawi represent the most significant loss the IS has suffered in the Philippines to date. Abdullah Maute was IS operational leader in Marawi until August 2017, when he was killed in combat. Having lived and studied in Marawi, Abdullah planned and led the fight there under the symbolic leadership of Hapilon, overall emir of IS in the Philippines.
Today, Omarkhayam Maute, the vice emir, has succeeded his brother Abdullah, despite injuries suffered during the fighting. With the saturation of Philippine security forces in Marawi, the fight against IS is steadily coming to an end. Both Hapilon and Omarkhayam must fight or flee. Yet they are unlikely to flee and link up with other IS-centric groups. The chief adviser to Hapilon, Dr. Mahmud bin Ahmad of Malaysia, has fabricated a suicide vest, which he is likely to wear in the final battle.
The landscape ahead
Hapilon, a longtime leader of the Abu Sayyaf Group, has instructed his IS men to merge with pro-IS fighters within the ASG rank and file of Radulan Sahiron, and to plan armed attacks in different places in Mindanao. They wish to target the cities of Iligan, Cagayan de Oro and Cotabato. Both ISP and ISL fighters have planned to conduct terrorist activities in the municipalities of Lumbatan, Bayang, Tugaya and Madalum in Lanao del Sur, around Lake Lanao. Some of these plans have been intercepted and disrupted.
However, IS Philippines cannot hold territory unless it has a stronger fighting force. As long as the MILF led by Al-Hajj Murad Ebrahim is intact, IS Philippines will not achieve its immediate goals. Demography and geography limit IS expansion and dominance in the southern Philippines. Unless MILF breaks up and a large faction joins IS, the rise of IS is not an existential threat to the Philippines.
Nevertheless, the IS-centric threat landscape outside Marawi is growing. In Mindanao, several groups have joined IS. And the very presence of IS in Mindanao threatens not only the Philippines but its neighbors.
After having attempted and failed to create a province (wilayat) in the eastern edge of Asia, IS central in Syria is thinking long-term.
It intends to build IS forces in the southern Philippines and infiltrate neighboring Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country.
IS created its East Asia Division with the intention of expanding from the Philippines to parts of Northeast and Southeast Asia. If IS spreads to Sabah in Malaysia and to eastern Indonesia, it will pose a significant challenge to Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and the entire region.
[Rohan Gunaratna is professor of Security Studies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at the Nanyang Technology University and head of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research in Singapore.]
http://www.benarnews.org/english/commentaries/asia-pacific-threat-update/marawi-end-09292017181318.html
3 explosions hit Maguindanao in a week
From Rappler (Sep 30): 3 explosions hit Maguindanao in a week
Troops in Maguindanao are fighting the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, another ISIS-linked local terror group
Another explosion rocked the province of Maguindanao on Friday, September 29, the 3rd to hit the province this week.
Captain Arvin Encinas, spokesman of the 6th Infantry Division, said the explosion rocked the town of Guindulungan on Friday but no one was hurt. He said the military had cleared the area but troops were placed on "double alert."
A report obtained by Rappler shows the incident happened along the Cotabato-Insulan national highway at 7:30 pm on Friday.
Encinas said investigators had yet to identify those responsible for the explosion.
Troops there are fighting the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), the breakaway group of the dominant Muslim rebel group Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The BIFF has reported links with interantional terrorist network Islamic State (ISIS).
Twin blasts hit nearby town Datu Odin Sinsuat on Wednesday, September 27. Four people sustained shrapnel wounds that infliced minor injuries, said Encinas.
They are Barangay Semba Chairman Pendatun Sinsuat, Barangay Kagawad Sinarimbo Lalaog, Police Officer 2 Bobby Guialani Pendililang, and Army Sergeant Eddie Cane.
The 4 were responding to an explosion near an Army training camp in the barangay when a second explosion took place.
The military tagged the BIFF as responsible for the blast, supposedly to divert military attention from operations against them.
The military said the BIFF initially planned to reinforce the Maute Group in Marawi City. Troops there were instructed to keep local terrorists from crossing to neighboring province Lanao Del Sur, where Marawi City is located.
https://www.rappler.com/nation/183855-maguindanao-explosions-guindulungan-biff
Sandiganbayan receives transmittal letter of Nur Misuari bail
From GMA News Online (Sep 29): Sandiganbayan receives transmittal letter of Nur Misuari bail
The Sandiganbayan has officially received the transmittal letter from the Davao City Regional Trial Court (RTC) saying Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founding chairman Nur Misuari has successfully posted a P460,000-bail in connection with his graft and malversation case.
On Friday, Third Division Clerk of Court lawyer Dennis Pulma said the anti-graft court received the original copy of the bail bond via mail on September 28.
Pulma added Executive Judge Emmanuel Carpio of the 11th Judicial Region-Davao City approved the bail as per his order dated September 19. Judge Carpio is a brother of Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales.
Misuari was charged with three counts each of graft and malversation through falsification for allegedly conspiring with his co-accused in giving "unwarranted benefits, advantage and privilege" to three private companies.
Arrest warrants were released on two counts each of graft and malversation since the Sandiganbayan ordered the prosecution to present further evidence on the remaining counts.
The case stemmed over the alleged anomalous procurement of educational materials worth P115 million during Misuari's term as governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao from 2000 to 2001.
The Sandiganbayan ordered the arrest of Misuari on September 5.
Misuari, however, met with President Rodrigo Duterte in Davao City where they discussed issues on federalism and the proposed Bangsamoro region despite the MNLF leader's standing warrant of arrest.
Presidential Peace Adviser Jesus Dureza later confirmed that Misuari already posted the cash bond needed to secure his provisional liberty.
Dureza said the meeting between Misuari and Duterte pushed through at the Matina Enclaves since they received information that his bail was already being processed.
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/627705/sandiganbayan-receives-transmittal-letter-of-nur-misuari-bail/story/
5 Militant Leaders Killed in Marawi: Philippine Military
From BenarNews (Sep 30): 5 Militant Leaders Killed in Marawi: Philippine Military
Smoke billows from buildings in the southern Philippine city of Marawi, as fighting between government troops and Islamic State-linked militants continue, Sept. 16, 2017.
Philippine troops have killed five top Islamic State-linked militants in Marawi, including Abdullah Maute, but Isnilon Hapilon and Omarkhayam Maute are still holed up with the remaining combatants in the southern city, officials said Friday.
Abdullah and his lesser-known brothers Madhi and Utto were killed together with two foreign fighters during recent clashes in Marawi, according to Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez, the regional military chief. Galvez did not identify the foreigners.
Galvez made the announcement four days after voicing optimism that the Marawi gun battles would be over in "10 days or two weeks."
Abdullah and his brother Omarkhayam were the leaders of the Maute gang, a ragtag band of militants who backed Abu Sayyaf chief Isnilon Hapilon – the acknowledged commander of the IS in the region – when his forces took over Marawi city on May 23.
"Our report was that Abdullah, Madhi and Utto were killed along with two foreigners," Galvez told reporters. "This is judgment day for them. Our troops are now pushing hard. I believe some of the Maute members are very desperate."
It was not clear whether the five militant leaders were among 16 cadavers recovered by soldiers Thursday from the rubble of Marawi's frontline.
Galvez said police had collected DNA samples from each of those cadavers to ascertain their identities. He would not say what his basis was for announcing the Maute deaths.
The military had erroneously reported in June that Omarkhayam Maute had died, only to retract that statement.
Hapilon, who is on Washington's list of most-wanted terrorists, was believed still in command of the remaining militants, estimated by officials to number between to 45 and 80, along with several foreign fighters, in the battle zone.
"So our initial findings, Omar and Hapilon were the two defending the positions," Galvez said Friday.
Close to ending?
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana earlier said the fighting was close to ending. On Thursday, troops intercepted a small number of militants who were believed to be trying to reinforce the Marawi militants through the porous borders of Lake Lanao.
Fighting was still raging in that area, and there were fears the fighting could spill over to other Muslim areas in the south, officials said.
With the latest development on the ground, Galvez expressed hope that the military would soon recover a substantial portion of the 10 hectares (24.7 acres) still controlled by the militants.
"In the next three days, we believe that we will have substantial results because for the past two weeks, we have a major breakthrough in terms of enemy killed and recovered firearms," Galvez said.
At least 736 enemy fighters, 153 government forces and 47 civilians had been killed in fighting during the past four months, the presidential palace said Friday.
More than 1,700 civilians trapped in the fighting or taken hostage had been rescued, and a cache of unexploded homemade bombs and more than 700 firearms had also been recovered from slain militants, officials said.
Col. Romeo Brawner, deputy commander of the military's task force in the area, said ground troops had also seized six sacks of coins used by Maute militants as components for their homemade bombs.
"They are using it as shrapnel. There are instances our troops were hit by coins," Brawner said, adding that the coins were part of currencies looted by the gunmen from local banks.
Toll on evacuees
The fighting has emptied Marawi of its more than 200,000 residents, with thousands now sheltering with relatives and in packed evacuation camps.
Supplies have not yet run dry, and donations keep coming in. But officials said health and sanitary conditions were fast deteriorating.
Health officials said that at least 56 evacuees had died of various illnesses in the camps, nine of them infants born in the squalor.
Dr. Alinader Minalao, the provincial health administrator, said that based on their records, many of those who had died perished from complications related to pneumonia, severe dehydration and heart diseases.
http://www.benarnews.org/english/news/philippine/philippines-militants-09292017135410.html
13 Maute terrorists, 2 soldiers killed in Marawi push
From Rappler (Sep 30): 13 Maute terrorists, 2 soldiers killed in Marawi push
'Despite yesterday's casualties, today the government forces will fight harder,' says Colonel Romeo Brawner, Task Group Ranao deputy commander
MARAWI PUSH. Troops continue to advance in the battle area in Marawi City. File photo by Bobby Lagsa/Rappler
The military said 13 Maute fighters and two soldiers were killed in separate gun battles in Marawi City on Friday afternoon, September 29.
The death toll rose to 155 government troops, 749 terrorists, and 47 civilians, based on the latest military report released on Saturday, September 30.
Troops have taken most of the strongholds of the Maute Group but fighting continues in an area near Lake Lanao where the remaining fighters of the local terrorist group were pushed back. (READ: Bodies, firearms retrieved from former Maute stronghold)
"Despite yesterday's casualties, today the government forces will fight harder [to end the war] so that the rehabilitation of Marawi can continue unhampered," said Colonel Romeo Brawner, Task Group Ranao deputy commander.
https://www.rappler.com/nation/183849-marawi-death-toll-september-30
AFP shows video of alleged looting by Maute members
From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Sep 29): AFP shows video of alleged looting by Maute members
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Friday presented an aerial footage of alleged acts of pillaging or looting being committed by Maute group members in the main battle area in Marawi City.
"We can see items, boxes, sacks being taken from a seemingly residential building," Joint Task Force (JTF) Marawi deputy commander Col. Romeo Brawner said Friday.
The video is undated and the exact location is still being determined by authorities.
"This reinforces the revelations of rescued former hostages that the terrorists are looting important materials inside the MBA," Brawner said.
Reports of looting by the terrorists have surfaced since the early part of the crisis that started May 23. Accounts of hostages who were rescued or escaped have said that the terrorists looted houses and establishments.
Government forces also recovered ATM money vaults from Landbank, which was turned over to the bank's manager.
They also recovered a sack containing coins believed to be used as shrapnel by terrorists in making improvised explosive devices.
Lt. Col. Emmanuel Garcia of JTF Marawi said the terrorists were using other kinds of metals such as nails and bolts as shrapnels.
"In previous incidents we are wondering why some wounded have coins in their wounds. Ito pala yun, ngayon natin establish na ginagamit nila ang mga coins sa shrapnel (This was it. Now we can establish that they are using coins as shrapnel)," he said.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/934279/afp-shows-video-of-alleged-looting-by-maute-members-afp-maute-marawi-looting-mindanao
Two more Marawi mosques remain in the hands of Maute —military
From GMA News (Sep 29): Two more Marawi mosques remain in the hands of Maute —military
Only two more mosques remain in the hands of the ISIS-inspired Maute group in Marawi City, but government troops are confident they will be able to retake them in a week or two, GMA News' Jun Veneracion reported on 24 Oras on Friday.
The report said the Philippine flag was raised at the White Mosque on Friday morning, after it was retaken by the military from the terrorists after 130 days of fighting.
The mosque served as the Maute group's logistics area and was also the place where they hid their hostages, the report said.
"With the capture of the White Mosque this morning, we are now placing 'yung area na ginagawalan natin sa 300x300 or less. More or less 8 to 9 hectares, " said Lieutenant General Carlito Galvez, commander of the military's Western Mindanao Command.
"Ten to 15 days tapos na ito," he added, referring to the conflict in Marawi City that has been raging since May 23.
The report said the terrorists are already weakened by lack of food and ammunition, prompting three of them to surrender recently.
It added that the military believes in three days' time the defense of the Maute group in Marawi City can be considered negligible.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is not the judgment day for them," Galvez said in a press briefing.
The report said 15 bodies of suspected terrorists were found near Bato Mosque, which has already been retaken by government soldiers, on Thursday. It was at the this mosque where the Maute group assembled their improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
Among the items seized from Bato Mosque were six sacks of coins. The military said coins were used as shrapnels by the terrorists for their IEDs.
"There have been instances already in the past where our troops have been hit by coins," said Colonel Romeo Brawner, deputy commander of Joint Task Force Ranao.
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/regions/627731/two-more-mosques-remain-in-the-hands-of-maute-in-marawi-military/story/
NPA rebel surrenders in Kalinga
From Sun Star-Baguio (Sep 28): NPA rebel surrenders in Kalinga
MEMBER of the New People's Army based in Kalinga province voluntarily surrendered to the government September 24 at Barangay Pantikian, Balbalan.
Local officials of pantikian and Balbalan coordinated with the police in the surrender of Joseph Masadao, 53, single, resident of Sitio Ubel, Gawaan, Balbalan.
Masadao was an alleged member of Milisyang Bayan (MB) under the command of Marcial Dagay operating in the province of Kalinga and nearby provinces.
The alleged rebel voluntarily surrendered to the joint personnel of Balbalan Municipal Police Station, 3rd MC, Regional Public Safety Batallion, Police Regional Office in the Cordillera and members of the 50th IB of the Philippine Army.
After his surrender, Masadao was immediately brought to the Western Kalinga District Hospital for Medical treatment and later referred to Kalinga Provincial Hospital, Tabuk City for further medical attention after suffering an injury caused by the eroded tunnel at Gaang Gold Mining.
The rebel returnee is now under the protection of the authorities, and is undergoing processing for facilitation of benefits and financial assistance given by government to start a new and peaceful life.
PRO-COR regional director Chief Superintendent Elmo Francis Sarona said Masadao is just one among other rebels who opted to withdraw their armed struggle for them to be with their families and to seek for a reformed life in the community.
"This is why we encourage more rebels to return to the folds of the law," added Sarona.
"The continuous surrender of the members of the NPA only manifests that the intensified programs of the government troops to counter the insurgency problem in the region is effective thus rebels are starting to surrender and return back to the folds of the law," Sarona added
Read more: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/baguio/local-news/2017/09/28/npa-rebel-surrenders-kalinga-566621
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text:
Referències

Òperes en txec
Òperes del 1923
Òperes estrenades al Teatre Nacional de Praga
Òperes de Josef Foerster

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


With all of the grass seed that I was planting in my yard this year, I needed to buy a second 50' garden hose to reach the furthest corners of my yard. I don't know what I was thinking when I bought the Swann 5/8" x 50' Garden Hose, but boy, if I was thinking cheap, cheap quality is certainly what I got. When I tried to use this garden hose, it would not uncoil. The Swann Garden Hose didn't have a rubber washer in the fitting, so when I connected it to my other garden hose, it sprayed water everywhere at the connection and got me soaked. The Swann Garden Hose was kinked in several places, and the resulting water pressure out the other end was terrible.
I stretched the Swann Garden Hose out and I let it soak in the hot sun for a few days, figuring that would soften up the plastic enough that I could straighten the garden hose out and remove the kinks, but I got nowhere with that idea. I just wasted my $10 on that purchase because it's a completely worthless garden hose. The next time I buy a garden hose, I'll be paying a lot more attention to the quality rather than the price.


text:
'Perfect Storm' of Anti-Russian Sanctions Punishes Italian Economy
© Sputnik / Sergey Guneev
https://sputniknews.com/business/201607031042358442-russia-italy-sanctions-losses/
The billion euros in contracts secured by Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) two weeks ago is a paltry sum compared to the damage inflicted on Italy by the sanctions war between the EU and Russia.
Thousands Protest in Italy's Verona Against Anti-Russia Sanctions Extension
In 2014, relations between Russia and the European Union soured amid the crisis in Ukraine. Brussels, Washington and their allies introduced several rounds of anti-Russian sanctions over Crimea's secession from Ukraine and for Russia's alleged meddling in the ongoing Ukrainian conflict, prompting Moscow to retaliate with sanctions of its own.
According to the Italian newspaper La Stampa, these developments, amplified by the ongoing economy crisis and sagging oil prices, have caused a 'perfect storm' that dealt a severe blow to Italy, causing the volume of Italian exports to Russia to decrease by 3.6 billion euros – from 10.7 billion in 2013 to 7.1 billion in 2015.
Even though the country's Prime Minister Renzi claims that Italy seeks to "build bridges and not walls," Brussels keeps extending the anti-Russian sanctions and Rome doesn't protest too much, the newspaper remarks. In fact, the only request Italy made as it cast its vote in support of continuing sanctions was to ensure that the decision wasn't made automatically but was accompanied by political debates.
Manlio Di Stefano, Italian MP from the opposition party Movement of Five Stars (M5S) and a member of the parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, has denounced the prime minister's actions and argued that Italy can't afford to lose such an important partner as Russia.
"We support the withdrawal of sanctions, but Renzi sold himself to Brussels and the United States and extended them, despite his statements made during SPIEF-2016," he said.
Meanwhile, Italy's regional parliament in Liguria has adopted a resolution calling for the Italian government to lift sanctions against Moscow and to recognize Crimea as part of Russia. And while the initiative was originally proposed by Lega Nord party, even the supporters of the pro-government Democratic Party chose to support it, resulting in a unanimous vote.
In the meantime, sanctions continue to take their toll on the Italian economy. Three northern regions of Italy – Lombardia, Emilia-Romagna and Veneto – were hit hardest by the ongoing economic standoff, losing 1.18 billion, 771 million and 688 million euros respectively.
Furthermore, data compiled by the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies reveals that the sanctions war has already cost Italy 0.1 percent of its GDP along with 80,000 jobs; and if the current trend continues, the country may lose an additional 0.44 percent of GDP and 215,000 jobs.
While things are likely to improve by 2019, the short-term perspective remains pretty bleak, the newspaper surmises.
Ukrainian Delegation to OSCE PA Opposes Lifting of Anti-Russian Sanctions
Despite Sanctions, Many Russian Industries 'Are Booming'
Cyprus Parliament to Vote on Resolution Against Anti-Russia Sanctions
embargo, anti-Russian sanctions, losses, Lega Nord, European Union, Matteo Renzi, Italy, Europe, Russia


text:
The following Supplementary Conditions - COVID-19 Code of Conduct (this "Code of Conduct") has been agreed by the British Horseracing Industry and supplements the Terms and Conditions of Entry to the Racecourse, including any applicable Special Conditions (the "Entry Contract")
This Code of Conduct should be read in conjunction with the Entry Contract However, if any provision in this Code of Conduct conflicts with a provision in the Entry Contract, this Code of Conduct shall take precedence and shall modify the Entry Contract to the extent necessary to give effect to the relevant provision of this Code of Conduct.
Unless stated otherwise, any terms used in this Code of Conduct shall have the meanings given to them in the Entry Contract.
This Code of Conduct will be continuously updated in accordance with current Government guidance. Until further notice, all Attendees should review this Code of Conduct each time they attend the Racecourse.
All Attendees who enter the Racecourse (including all surrounding land, car parks and other facilities which are under the ownership and/or control of the Operator) shall be deemed to have accepted, and agree to comply with, this Code of Conduct. Attendees are admitted to the Racecourse strictly subject to this Code of Conduct. There are no exceptions.
All Attendees
All Attendees who enter the Racecourse (including all surrounding land, car parks and other facilities which are under the ownership and/or control of the Operator) shall;
Comply with all current Government requirements and guidance regarding COVID-19.
Comply with any health checks required by the BHA and/or the Operator prior to being given access to the Racecourse.
Observe all social distancing protocols and wear any PPE (such as masks or other face coverings) in accordance with the Government guidance in place at the time.
Maintain personal hygiene including, but not limited to, by regularly washing their hands, using hand sanitiser, avoiding touching their face and observing coughing and tissue etiquette.
Only use any hand sanitiser, disinfectant wipes or other personal hygiene products made available at the Racecourse for the purpose for which they have been provided and shall not remove these from the locations in which they are provided.
Follow all racecourse signage and the instructions of staff, officials, the police or other emergency services present at the Racecourse at all times.
Only attempt to access those areas for which they are entitled under their Ticket; and comply with the Rules of Racing and Spectator Code of Conduct.
Attendees Entering the Racecourse other than as a Private Individual
In addition to complying with Section 2, all Attendees who enter the Racecourse (including all surrounding land, car parks and other facilities which are under the ownership and/or control of the Operator) in any capacity other than as a private individual, shall:
Comply with any training requirements required by the BHA and/or Operator prior to being given access to the Racecourse.
Use, in the correct manner, any PPE identified as appropriate to their role.
Wear required accreditation at all times.
Only attempt to access those areas of the Racecourse for which they are accredited and, in any event, the Attendee shall not enter any area of the Racecourse unless reasonably necessary for fulfilment of their role.
Follow the instructions of all members of the Racecourse Executive and BHA Officials (including but not limited to the COVID-19 Officers).
Maintain responsibility for disinfection of their own equipment in line with agreed procedures.
Comply with all changes to operating procedures relevant to their role.
Leave the Racecourse immediately after the last race, or when the Attendee has completed their duties.
Breaches of this Code of Conduct
Any breach of this Code of Conduct will be reported to the Operator and the BHA Stewards. There will be a zero-tolerance approach to breaches of this Code of Conduct. In the event of any breach by an Attendee, in addition to any applicable sanctions set out in the Entry Contract:
The Operator (with the full support of the Racecourse Managing Executive and BHA Stewards) may immediately remove the Attendee from the Racecourse, regardless of the Attendee's role or status.
The BHA Stewards may take regulatory action against the Attendee in line with the powers available to them; and
The Attendee acknowledges that they may be liable to sanction from their employer or any organisation that is responsible for them.
Any individual who is ejected from the Racecourse for breaching this Code of Conduct may be unable to attend a fixture at the Racecourse or any other racecourse until further notice.


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Scripture is full of different metaphors for Jesus and what he did. Jesus is a shepherd who leads us like sheep; Jesus is a fountain of living water; Jesus is our rock and foundation; Jesus is the Word, the source of reason and wisdom. His death and resurrection are described as priestly sacrifice, a substitute punishment meant for us, a sin offering, a scapegoat, and a victory of life over death. Which of these are correct? None of them. All of them. Scripture throws all these metaphors at us like a plate of spaghetti thrown against the wall, hoping that some will stick.
Today we celebrate one of the metaphors for Jesus that has stuck with us most strongly: the image of Christ the King. Even in a world where the only kings we know are either figureheads with no real power or ruthless dictators, we hold onto this metaphor and treasure it as a hope for the future. We call this the festival of the Reign of Christ (or Christ the King Sunday) because today we celebrate the fact that it will be Jesus—our teacher, the one whom we follow—who will be the one to preside over that final judgment. This year, we celebrate it by telling this uncomfortable story.
Christ in Judgment, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=47457 [retrieved November 28, 2017]. Original source: http://www.yorckproject.de.
No matter how many times we hear these parables, they always disturb us. No matter what we may learn about them—their context, the cultural assumptions of the original audience, the ways parables are intended to be ironic or subversive—these parables of Jesus in Matthew make us cringe; they make us squirm a little bit in our seats.
As one who has studied these parables and whom you have chosen to help you make sense of them, I could attempt to save this parable for you. I could tell you how I think it is totally faithful to read this parable with the understanding that the greedy, harsh master is actually the master of this world, seeking nothing but money and power; that the two favored servants play the master's game and do as he expects, and though they are rewarded, they finally serve only to enrich their master, not themselves; and that the third slave—the one who refuses to enable his master's worship of wealth and instead does the honorable thing by giving the money back—that this slave is Jesus, crucified outside the city while the sun refused to shine and where there was, presumably, at least some weeping and gnashing of teeth by his friends and disciples, and that as readers of the gospel we know that he is vindicated on the third day and shown to be righteous, whatever the greedy master may say.
Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream. This verse of Amos is the story's peak, its climax, its culmination. Everything about this book points to this moment. Looking at just this verse, it sounds incredibly hopeful for anyone who is oppressed, anyone who has had the injustice of the world thrust upon them.
But it is not good news for the hearers of Amos's words. The Israelites who were hearing these words were being called to task. God is disgusted with what the people have become, and your can hear it in the verses leading up to this moment. This is not a course correction, it's not a gentle nudge in the right direction. The Israelites at this point have completely given up the ethical standards of their faith. They are the oppressors. The courts are deeply corrupt, they are hoarding, the imbalance of power and wealth is extreme.
The Feast of All Saints is a celebration of stories. Stories are how we find meaning. We humans are naturally wired—created—to take the barrage of facts and events and causes and effects that we experience and string them together into coherent narratives that help us to know the people around us, understand our place in the world, and even learn about ourselves. The stories we tell about ourselves and our world are important because they form the foundation of everything we know—from science and technology to philosophy and politics, and everything in between.
Today we gather to celebrate the stories of the people who have shaped us. We focus much of our attention on those who have died—saints of old, ancestors, and recently departed loved ones; but All Saints is not a memorial service to grieve the dead. Instead, it is a recognition of the way their stories have been woven together with ours into the greater narrative of the Church and God's work in the world. For this reason, All Saints is not just a celebration of the dead, but of the living—and even those not yet born. This is why alongside the names of the recently dead, we read the names of the recently baptized—to honor the stories that God continues to weave together to form the story of this community and the whole Church as it stretches into the future.
For me, All Saints is an emotional commemoration. Next Friday marks 24 years since my mom died, and so I always think of her on this day. I remember the love she gave me and the lessons she taught me; one story about her in particular I cherish is that, in the midst of her sickness, she taught me a different way to think of how God was at work. She never believed that God had made her sick, or that God had failed to heal her; but she did believe that whatever happened to her, God would be with her and with our family and would help us continue on. I didn't come by this lesson because of what she told me, but by how she lived. No matter the fear, the doubt, the frustration she faced, she always lived the truth of that belief.
My mother, Roxie Novak, with me in 1993. She died later that year.


I was elated! Our ezine had actually made a difference, thanks to Nancy's very timely article on winter woes, and Barb's ability to make use of it! In honor of this heartwarming story, I decided to devote an entire article to our hero, Agaricus muscarius.
This is an alcoholic remedy. Alcoholics who have twitching, jerking, convulsions, DT's, incontinuity of speech, disordered speech and foaming at the mouth. (Sounds charming, doesn't it?) Actually, incoherent speech in general, not limited to alcoholism, is another grand indicator for this remedy. You may be confused with Lachesis because they are very talkative and jump from one subject to another.
Spinal disease–arthritis of the spine, the spine is very stiff. Burning up and down the spine as if on fire, tingling, formication, shooting/burning pains. (As you can see from the above frostbite case, burning is a very big indicator for this remedy.) There may be cold spots along the spine or very tender spots that cannot be touched. Slipped disc with spasms, numbness of extremities with spinal problems, paralysis cases with a history of twitching.
Very awkward people. They may be socially awkward. They drop things. In the Repertory, under Nerves: incoordination, limbs–Agaricus is a "2". (Meaning, a 2 on a scale of 1-3.) Under Generals: gait, reeling, staggering, tottering, wavering–Agaricus is a 3; so, therefore, locomotor ataxia.
Let's go now to another big indicator for this remedy: night time ameliorates. At night they come alive; they are actually vibrant at night; they feel grand, powerful, like conquerors.
In my opinion, Agaricus should be added to the rubric, Generals: night, amel.
Along the lines of stupidness and awkwardness, think of Agaricus in retarded children when you've given Baryta carb. and it didn't work and the child has twitches.
Headache as if a nail driven in the head, especially the right side, even though this is basically a left-sided remedy.
Worse from cold weather and cold drinks.
The sun can cause headaches, as in Natrum muriaticum.
Vertigo with an inclination to fall backwards.
Extremities: As if the blood was cut off to the feet or hands–numbness, tingling, burning, biting. Intermittent claudication, better moving, worse resting, feet like blocks of ice.
Itching without eruption that moves around.
Anxiety about health, especially cancer; you may think you have an Arsenicum case or a Nitric acid case in front of you. He may be very dependent on you for constant reassurance.
A preoccupation with the occult: ghosts, dead people, things associated with dead people like coffins; dreaming about dead people.
In contrast to these morbid and debilitating thoughts about his health is a state of fearlessness. I remember a case of Agaricus where the patient had become proficient and certified in so many fields, including dentistry, the martial arts, and chiropractic, and a long, long list of other things, that it was perceived by the practitioner as an indicator of his anxiety about health; that he needed to make sure he had control over everything so that nothing bad would happen. This over-extension, trying to do too much, overworking, overachieving in order to have control, is indicative of the Cancer "miasm".
Diagonal symptoms, for example–right knee, left shoulder.
Diseases you might look for this remedy in: Bell's Palsy, Chorea, MS, Phobic disorder, Epilepsy, Sciatica, Disc Syndrome, hay fever where there is itching in the ears and upper palate; oh, and Frostbite!
Beautifully written! Loved this one.
I am confused, how is this a homeopathic remedy?
Cheryl, I'm not sure I understand your question. Why are you confused?


Every business that handles financial information or other confidential customer or employee data is a potential target for a cyber attack. What precautions does your business need to take to minimize your potential liability from a security breach, what is your action plan if a breach occurs, and how can you protect yourself, and your customers, after a breach?
Heyl Royster's Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Practice provides businesses with counseling, project management, and legal services designed to help you proactively take the necessary precautions to either prevent a cyber attack or, since no business is immune, to minimize your exposure post-breach. We have a multidisciplinary team of attorneys whose experience and credentials include information privacy, IT and IP, employment law, corporate governance, commercial litigation, and government relations, as well as knowledge in specific areas of law such as HIPAA compliance and financial industry regulation.
An additional benefit of engaging Heyl Royster to help manage your cyber risk is that the Attorney/Client Privilege can attach to certain areas of counseling and the management of outside vendors, which can provide your business with an additional layer of protection.
In Illinois, the Personal Information Protection Act (effective 1/1/17) requires all companies dealing with records that contain the personal information of Illinois residents to "implement and maintain reasonable security measures to protect those records from unauthorized access, acquisition, destruction, use, modification, or disclosure." Although the Act does not specify what constitutes "reasonable security measures," effective policies that are tailored to your business can help meet this standard. Having effective cyber policies and procedures in place can help any company that handles customer data. Businesses that are subject to unique regulatory requirements, such as the financial services or healthcare industries, have additional standards and need specialized policies that meet those enhanced legal requirements.
In the fight to minimize cyber liability the best offense is a good defense. Having a comprehensive data-security strategy can help protect your business before, during, and after a cyber attack. Having some level of protection and a plan can help you mitigate loss, as well as help prevent reputational damage, in the event of a cyber attack.
Cyberliability insurance can protect you from the financial exposure that can result from malicious hacking or other non-malicious digital risks. We can help you reduce your exposure though the purchase of a specific line of insurance designed to insure businesses that engage in electronic activities, such as ecommerce or maintaining financial and personal data on an internal network.
We can also help you protect your business by ensuring that you have the appropriate clauses in your vendor and vendee contracts.
If all the necessary policies are in place, you may still benefit from employee training sessions covering hardware, software, and password use. We can audit your internal policies and procedures to help ensure that your business has certain basic protections in place, and either update existing policies or provide additional policies to fill the gaps. Similarly, we can assist companies in developing data retention programs that include spoliation prevention policies.
In the evolving regulation of data privacy, businesses must sign data-processing and data-use agreements in order to comply with data privacy laws. These laws include the General Data Privacy Regulation (GDPR), state data privacy laws, and ongoing HIPAA compliance obligations. Our attorneys can assist data controllers or primary holders of identifiable information in drafting forms or negotiating specific agreements to meet your business needs. As a data processor or secondary holder of identifiable information, Heyl Royster attorneys can assist you in separating what is actually required from what creates additional duties and potential liability for your organization.
When your business purchases or upgrades its technology, your software licenses should reflect the services you are purchasing and guarantee adequate testing and staff training prior to go-live. Heyl Royster can help assure that your technology purchases meet your business needs.
Heyl Royster can guide you in conducting a risk assessment that can expose potential weaknesses in your system. At this stage of an engagement, we work with your internal IT department and outside vendors to help you create a comprehensive data loss-prevention strategy. We can also provide advice on state and federal statutes, as well as other privacy regulations that relate to your specific industry.
For many businesses it's not a matter of if an attack will occur, it's a matter of when an attack will occur. Emergencies can come in the form of a computer virus, loss or theft of an employee assigned computer or jump drive, or a ransomware attack. Regardless of the threat, you have to be ready to act immediately. Having an incident response plan in place is critical. Heyl Royster can help you develop a set of instructions and assigned tasks that will specify the actions necessary to respond to a specific security emergency.
Civil matters arise from an organization or customers suing a company for a cyber breach. We can advise on the legal grounds for bringing or defending an action in the wake of a data breach, including simple negligence, strict liability, failure to provide reasonable security, failure to protect information, duty to inform of security breach, and failure to mitigate damages. Whether your company was breached, or affected by another company's breach, we can help you cut your losses or recover appropriate damages.
Criminal matters can result from either an insider or external party committing a cyber offense. Here, we would provide assistance by interfacing with law enforcement and investigating criminal and civil remedies for the attack. We can help identify all regulatory agencies that carry enforcement authority over cybersecurity programs or breaches. We can help you comply with regulations to avoid fines and sanctions, or help you to find the appropriate agency to help you go after the responsible parties.