The religion of the perps won't come as a surprise, but I wonder if the religion of the victims was instrumental in them being targeted. What a horrible way to have your life ended. more
Update: From the comments by Bill Arnett a guest poster here.
The entire area surrounding Mindanao and parts south of it in the Philippines (P.I.) has been problematic for the last 30-40 years. Most people don't know that there are over 7,100 islands in the P.I., and the southernmost islands have been a battleground between Catholics (90% of the Population) and the other !0% (Muslims) for decades.
The P.I. is 90% tropical rain forest (they have only two seasons: rainy season from approx. June thru Dec. and dry season from Jan.-June) and for those never having been in tropical rain forest, once you enter and lose sight of the sun you had better know what you're doing or you can easily get lost forever, making it extremely difficult to track and/or find anyone also, the primary reason the "War in Mindanao" has gone on so long.
And as in much of the world beheading is common, though repugnant. After Clark Air Base was established after WWII (the biggest base we ever had overseas, about 850 Sq. mi.) the Negritos, a black pygmy race, used to guard much of the border of the base, at least until authorities found out that their way of dealing with trespassers was to behead them and place the head on a spike as a warning to others not to trespass. (They also helped save our asses from the Japanese using brutal psychological warfare. They would sneak into Japanese camps at night and slit the throats and take the ears of every other soldier sleeping in straight lines and exit without detection. In the jungle these people are apparitions.)
Still, it pains my heart to hear the war continues, as the vast majority of Filipinos are warm, generous, accommodating people that would literally slaughter their last chicken to provide you a meal or send a runner ten miles to fetch ice that they never used to cool your drink.
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The entire area surrounding Mindanao and parts south of it in the Philippines (P.I.) has been problematic for the last 30-40 years. Most people don't know that there are over 7,100 islands in the P.I., and the southernmost islands have been a battleground between Catholics (90% of the Population) and the other !0% (Muslims) for decades.
The P.I. is 90% tropical rain forest (they have only two seasons: rainy season from approx. June thru Dec. and dry season from Jan.-June) and for those never having been in tropical rain forest, once you enter and lose sight of the sun you had better know what you're doing or you can easily get lost forever, making it extremely difficult to track and/or find anyone also, the primary reason the "War in Mindanao" has gone on so long.
And as in much of the world beheading is common, though repugnant. After Clark Air Base was established after WWII (the biggest base we ever had overseas, about 850 Sq. mi.) the Negritos, a black pygmy race, used to guard much of the border of the base, at least until authorities found out that their way of dealing with trespassers was to behead them and place the head on a spike as a warning to others not to trespass. (They also helped save our asses from the Japanese using brutal psychological warfare. They would sneak into Japanese camps at night and slit the throats and take the ears of every other soldier sleeping in straight lines and exit without detection. In the jungle these people are apparitions.)
Still, it pains my heart to hear the war continues, as the vast majority of Filipinos are warm, generous, accommodating people that would literally slaughter their last chicken to provide you a meal or send a runner ten miles to fetch ice that they never used to cool your drink.
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