Mischievous 'Filipino Monkey' could have triggered latest US-Iran row

[underpants]

Source: Guardian

A heckling radio ham known as the Filipino Monkey, who has spent years pestering ships in the Persian Gulf, is being blamed today for sparking a major diplomatic row after American warships almost attacked Iranian patrol boats.

The US navy came within seconds of firing at the Iranian speedboats in the Strait of Hormuz on January 6 after hearing threats that the boats were attacking and were about to explode.

Senior navy officials have admitted that the source of the threats, picked up in international waters, was a mystery.



An unnamed civilian mariner told the Navy Times: "They come on and say Filipino Monkey in a strange voice. You're standing watch on bridge and all of a sudden it comes over the radio. It's been a joke out there for years."



Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/iran/story/0,,2240533,00.html

[Renew Deal]

1. You Will Explode in 2 Minutes

:nuke: :rofl:

[Alter Ego]

4. Well, it's a good thing we figured this out

before we dropped a nuke on Tehran.

[bunkerbuster1]

2. Be sure to check the Navy Times story they cite

Good stuff over there too.

[underpants]

5. Got it

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/01/ap_navyiran_080113/

I can't find our local paper's take on it-not posted on their web site :eyes:

[chimpymustgo]

9. Page is gone...

This is what shows up:

That page has gone AWOL!
404 Error: File not found
It appears that the page you requested cannot be located at this time.

Please check to make sure that everything in the URL was spelled correctly. Otherwise, use the site search above to find the information you need.

[bunkerbuster1]

10. try this

I should've provided the link earlier:

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/01/navy_hormuz_iran_radio_080111/

Works for me.

[sam sarrha]

22. censorship..??

[bunkerbuster1]

24. Hey, it's not there...

huh.

As for "censorship," remember that the Navy Times is not an official US Gov't. publication.

I'm wondering if their servers just FUBAR at the moment. I did a search for "filipino monkey" on their site, got the SAME LINK, and it worked.

I'll grab a few paragraphs, a bit more than the mods like, hope that's ok just for posterity:

‘Filipino Monkey’ behind threats?

By Andrew Scutro and David Brown - Staff writers
Posted : Sunday Jan 13, 2008 15:38:29 EST

The threatening radio transmission heard at the end of a video showing harassing maneuvers by Iranian patrol boats in the Strait of Hormuz may have come from a locally famous heckler known among ship drivers as the “Filipino Monkey.” Since the Jan. 6 incident was announced to the public a day later, the U.S. Navy has said it’s unclear where the voice came from. In the videotape released by the Pentagon on Jan. 8, the screen goes black at the very end and the voice can be heard, distancing it from the scenes on the water.

“We don’t know for sure where they came from,” said Cmdr. Lydia Robertson, spokeswoman for 5th Fleet in Bahrain. “It could have been a shore station.”

While the threat — “I am coming to you. You will explode in a few minutes” — was picked up during the incident, further jacking up the tension, there’s no proof yet of its origin. And several Navy officials have said it’s difficult to figure out who’s talking. “Based on my experience operating in that part of the world, where there is a lot of maritime activity, trying to discern is very hard to do,” Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead told Navy Times during a brief telephone interview today.

Indeed, the voice in the audio sounds different from the one belonging to an Iranian officer shown speaking to the cruiser Port Royal over a radio from a small open boat in the video released by Iranian authorities. He is shown in a radio exchange at one point asking the U.S. warship to change from the common bridge-to-bridge channel 16 to another channel, perhaps to speak to the Navy without being interrupted. Further, there’s none of the background noise in the audio released by the U.S. that would have been picked up by a radio handset in an open boat.

So with Navy officials unsure and the Iranians accusing the U.S. of fabrications, whose voice was it? In recent years, American ships operating in the Middle East have had to contend with a mysterious but profane voice known by the ethnically insulting handle of “Filipino Monkey,” likely more than one person, who listens in on ship-to-ship radio traffic and then jumps on the net shouting insults and jabbering vile epithets. Navy women — a helicopter pilot hailing a tanker, for example — who are overheard on the radio are said to suffer particularly degrading treatment.

Several Navy ship drivers interviewed by Navy Times are raising the possibility that the Monkey, or an imitator, was indeed featured in that video. Rick Hoffman, a retired captain who commanded the cruiser Hue City and spent many of his 17 years at sea in the Gulf was subject to the renegade radio talker repeatedly, often without pause during the so-called “Tanker Wars” of the late 1980s. “For 25 years there’s been this mythical guy out there who, hour after hour, shouts obscenities and threats,” he said. “He could be tied up pierside somewhere or he could be on the bridge of a merchant ship.”

And the Monkey has stamina. “He used to go all night long. The guy is crazy,” he said. “But who knows how many Filipino Monkeys there are? Could it have been a spurious transmission? Absolutely.”

[MADem]

28. MIlitary Times has that problem all the time--it's as if they don't like people to link without

going through their home page or something. The story isn't gone though, it's just moved somehow.

And every time this happens, and it happens routinely, there's always a post from someone claiming censorship, or getting all tin-foily on the situation.

I know a few of the TIMES reporters--fascinating fellows. And they're anything BUT an arm of the US government...they live for the good, juicy scandal, though they will go out of their way to provide--FULLY--both sides of the story. It's why the uniforms don't get too shirty with them--they do play fair.

[sam sarrha]

23. censorship..??

[ConcernedCanuk]

27. When you get the AWOL page - just put a "/ " slash in the browser window

.
.
.

at the end of the link and refresh (F5)

I did both links that way and got the stories

It's an html glitch in the way the link is posted on DU methinks

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/01/ap_navyiran_080113/

see the dots before the " / " ?

They kill the rest of the link

should look like

" www.navytimes.com/news/2008/01/ap_navyiran_080113/ " with the http:// in front

ACTUALLY

I just discovered that clicking my link in here WITHOUT the http:// in front takes me right to the article hmmm . . . . .

NOTE

This link in my post is a newer article

COs describe radio threat, Gulf encounter

By Martin Benedyk - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Jan 14, 2008 5:59:23 EST

MANAMA, Bahrain — A threatening radio message to U.S. warships may have been a coincidence but was taken seriously because it came at the same time Iranian vessels swarmed the American fleet, the commander of one of the American ships said Sunday.

[hobbit709]

3. "Filipino monkey"?

Unless he really is a monkey that can actually speak English isn't that somewhat racist?

[Cooley Hurd]

7. That's what he calls himself...

[Javaman]

18. Think Lancelot Link...nt

[mallard]

19. Filipinos are largely fluent ...

... in their unique and distinctly recognizable version of English.

[Bucky]

32. Depends. After all, wouldn't a Filipino monkey be smarter than a Crawford monkey?

"The chimp smirks at thee"

[MADem]

6. This has a movie element to it--not quite Day of the Jackal, but fascinating, still

It said the Filipino Monkey, who could be more than one person, listens to ship-to-ship radio traffic and then interrupts, usually with abusive insults.

Rick Hoffman, a retired captain, told the paper: "For 25 years, there's been this mythical guy out there who, hour after hour, shouts obscenities and threats. He used to go all night long. The guy is crazy.

[Supersedeas]

15. mundo world

[truthisfreedom]

8. Figures bushco was fooled by a monkey. They knew this was a hoax all along.

Our "government" is a joke.

[bunkerbuster1]

11. To be much, much fairer to them than they are to us...

They didn't necessarily "know" for 100% certain. I believe we should take any threat, even one that seems (in retrospect) comically obvious to be less than credible, with an appropriate degree of seriousness. So I wouldn't say they "knew."

But they sure as hell owed it to us to have provided what seems, now, to have been the bleeding-obvious information about the possibility of a hoax by a third party, since other navy men familiar with this area seem to have known about it.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

14. Assuming it's true and that they weren't sure.

It was still a very strong possibility. Considering that they should have investigated that possibility thoroughly before releasing anything regarding the voice.

At best it's very irresponsible, at worst it's propaganda.

[grahamhgreen]

12. Then they should have a catalogue of his threats. I want to hear them. I don't buy it. yet.

[DemoTex]

13. As a former ASA (Army Security Agency) officer and current amateur radio operator ..

I have a few comments.

1. By the description given ("years pestering ships in the Persian Gulf"), Filipino Monkey is most likely NOT an amateur ("ham") operator or operators. Filipino Monkey appears to be engaged in systematic malicious interference. Malicious interference is not just "pestering." Malicious interference by a licensed amateur operator, in most countries, is cause for license revocation, radio equipment seizure, and/or criminal prosecution.

2. An individual or individuals engaged in systematic malicious interference are usually called pirate stations. However, not all pirate stations are malicious, per se.

3. Jamming, which is malicious interference, is part of the active mission of almost any military entity with "radio" intelligence (I won't get anymore specific) capabilities. Remember the Soviets jamming Radio Free Europe during the Cold War? Deceptive signals (transmissions) are another aspect of military active radio intelligence operations.

4. "Radio" intelligence passive missions include the DF-ing (direction-finding, or pin-pointing) of transmitter sites. Even the US FCC can do THAT. Military DF-ing is usually highly sophisticated, very accurate, and protected by the upper echelons of Top Secret classification. Another passive mission is the monitoring of enemy or other target radio transmissions for content.

5. It is inconceivable that the US (and other) military intelligence agencies (and NSA, CIA, etc) has not known total content and exact position/positions of Filipino Monkey from close to the time that station/stations became a problem.

[underpants]

16. Thank you

I found the chances of there really being any "Wild Wild West" area in the straigt of hormuz (for crying out loud) without any survelliance or jamming to be very unlikely.

[mcjackson]

17. I knew something was up,

the voice on the recording sounded really fake.

[sam sarrha]

20. as a truck driver i can attest to the Fact that all over the country there is some asshole

off their medication with a CB Transmitter boosted up covering all the trucker channels.. yakking like a monkey on methidrine... you cant get help, you need directions, its rush our, its raining, your late, they are freak'n nuts,

there was one guy near Modesto ca that had a directional antenna and a boosted his radio over all the channels.. he'd tape the button down on the mike and turn on country radio. the locals triangulated him and found he was parking on the side of a mountain beaming down into the valley. they sneaked up and surrounded him and shot out his tires and engine.. he had to walk 25 miles back to town.. he was never heard on the CB again..

it is hard to describe how infuriating those people are, i am sure there are a lot of them mouldering in shallow graves

[Xithras]

30. I live near Modesto, and we've had more than our share of radio nuts.

A guy from north Modesto is actually up on federal charges right now because he stalked and harassed another CB'er after discovering that he was black. The guy threatened to kill his family, called him every vile racist name in the book, etc. Eventually some other CBers were able to ID the guy and turned him over to the LEO's. The local PD refused to act on it, so the feds stepped in and arrested the guy.

I still have a Galaxy and a kicker sitting out in a milk crate in my shop, but I haven't messed with it in years. The only people on there anymore are lost truckers, lot lizards looking for clients, and nutjobs with illegal kickers who get their jollies from stepping on everyone else. I keep it for the same reason I keep my ham gear...the equipment can be useful during natural disasters. I have better things to waste the rest of my time on.

[Javaman]

21. Yes! It is I, the Filipino Monkey! Mooohooohahahahaha!!!

Out to spread evil, Evil, EVIL!!! I will taunt you will my annoying ways!!!

I will use my patented ways to harass, distress and just totally make you crazy will my on going rants of useless inanity!

First I will recite Shakespeares 12th Night backward in a high ear piercing voice!!!

Then I will poke you in the side repeatedly with a 3 week old smelly chew toy!!!

Then if all that fails, I will resort to my diabolical weapon of annoying proportions!!! Repeating the phrase, "are we there yet" over and over until your ears BLEEEEED!!!!

Now off with you, you scum sucking rodent of questionable hygiene!!!

I, the Filipino Monkey, have spoken!!

[underpants]

25. I told them we already have one

[Javaman]

26. I confess, I'm overtly influenced by Monty Python. :) nt

[Megahurtz]

29. How Much Did

BushInc. pay him? :sarcasm:

[IsItJustMe]

31. So let me get this straight. The Filipino Monkey talks smack and our brilliant pResident rattles

his sword. Scary days we live in with this leadership.