We must show that we belong

“Accordingly, globalization is not only something that will concern and threaten us in the future, but something that is taking place in the present and to which we must first open our eyes.”

—Ulrich Beck

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

WHILE some of us are busy monitoring—or participating—in the daily campaign activities of local and national candidates in the May 9, 2022 Philippine election, we must not ignore or take for granted the worsening strife in Ukraine now on its third week. 

Although we are not directly affected geographically, we are somehow involved, in one way or the other, strategically as an ally of the United States in the Asia Pacific.

If the escalating rampage of Russian troops carrying heavy artillery and sophisticated hardware would trigger a World War III in the next two to three weeks, which we pray shouldn’t happen, all our preparations for the coming election, less than 60 days away, would be meaningless.

Many of us might ask, “Why should we worry, in the first place? To what extent shall we have to react when the armed conflict is oceans away from the Philippines?”

“Isn’t it enough that we mind our own business first and let Europe settle its own problem?” 

“Isn’t it wise for us Filipinos to focus first on our own domestic woes like the heart-rending fuel price hike, unemployment, pandemic restrictions, and the upcoming presidential election before worrying whether Putin is the modern Hitler?”

 

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As a tiny nation perched on a peripheral area in Southeast Asia, no need to panic actually or belabor our minds for what’s going on in Europe.

But as human beings, we must be aware; we must care; and we must show sympathy and empathy to thousands of people who have been killed and the millions of refugees who now live in terror, horror and desperation outside Ukraine.

As of this writing, the latest jolter was the Russian airstrikes that hit a large military base near the western city of Lviv and killed 35 people and injured 130. 

The area was close to the Polish border. And it happened before the Ides of March.

Each night and day the war between Russia and NATO-backed Ukraine drags on, brings us closer to World War III. 

I have been personally monitoring the events as they unfolded and the questions that have always bothered me were:

1.   What if when we woke up the next morning, bombs have started to explode on the surface of NATO territories? A lizard biting an elephant is not news. But when an elephant acting to trample a fellow elephant, a real tremor will unfurl. The “jolter” I just mentioned was clear and present worrisome.

2.   What if Russia suddenly will use biological or chemical weapons as the invaders barrel their way into the much-guarded capital Kyiv?

3.   What if Vladimir Putin, now isolated from the rest of the world save for China, will commit hara-kiri and unleash the nuclear missiles, God forbid? Plus other possibilities.

We aren’t yet safe, in truth and in fact, if we take these fears and possibilities into consideration, which we all hope won’t take place.

 

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IF I were reelectionist Iloilo City Mayor Geronimo “Jerry” Trenas, I would not skip the scheduled “live” public debates sponsored by radio and TV networks where I was cordially invited even if I perceived my rival to be “patsy.”

In that manner, I could show to both my critics and supporters my professionalism, that I treated any individual with dignity and respect even if we didn’t belong in the same layer professionally, intellectually, economically. 

It’s also one way of showing my humility and cooperation to the dynamics of the electoral system. 

I could lose nothing but earn the respect of my critics.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo.—Ed)

 

 

 

 

 

 

We can’t help but cry

 

“The most shocking fact about war is that its victims and its instruments are individual human beings, and that these individual beings are condemned by the monstrous conventions of politics to murder or be murdered in quarrels not their own.”

—Aldous Huxley

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

I AM probably one of the many Filipinos living abroad today who have been seriously monitoring the ongoing bloody carnage in Ukraine since Day One. 

As an anti-war advocate and someone who detests whatever violence, I take the subject matter seriously; I easily get emotional when I see dead people caught in the middle of armed conflict.

I have been using multiple gadgets simultaneously to get access to major media networks covering the actual war right there in the battlefield since three weeks ago, day and night. 

In between my regular tasks, I also read the major dailies in their hard copies and online, and listened to various opinions by both active and retired soldiers and war veterans, including social scientists, historians, among other experts in foreign affairs and geopolitics in podcasts and “live” TV interviews.

Seeing shocked, scared and bloody faces of children, women and elderly fleeing from a children’s and maternity hospital when Russian bombs recently annihilated Mariupol instantly brought tears to my eyes. 

Especially when babies born only last year were burned and killed.

 

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You don’t need to be a parent—a father or a mother—to feel the pain of losing a child in a violent manner without any justification. 

The fact that civilians are directly being targeted and maimed by bombs and bullets fired by the Russian invaders, speaks of how atrocious and brutal has been the military campaign initiated by Vladimir Putin. 

It’s not the first time I personally absorbed the pain and sadness of those who lost their loved ones in a war.

The Holocaust, the manner it was implemented and the piles of naked dead bodies dumped one after the other in a mass grave, really affected me to the point I had nightmares for so many weeks after watching its documentary and seeing the black and white photos of the victims exterminated without any chance of fighting fight back or escaping.

I also saw a lot of documentaries about the horrors of World War II and the game-changing bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima; history films detailing the morbid testimonies of Vietnam War survivors and how their comrades got waylaid by hail of bullets coming from different directions when they were trapped in treacherous Saigon terrains. 

 

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It’s not far-fetched for President Rodrigo Duterte to throw his support behind Vice President Leni Robredo in the eleventh hour, especially if he realizes that the presidential candidate he had openly disparaged, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., might not win.

Silently, Mr. Duterte is definitely hellbent to ensure the victory of his daughter, Mayor Sara Carpio, for vice president and may be aggressively “campaigning for her” in a different manner not seen in public.  

He knows a Robredo-Carpio result for president and vice president in the May 9, 2022 election will not hurt him, or at least he would be “safe” from a possible political persecution once he has become citizen Rodrigo.

Mr. Duterte has been unpredictable during his six years as president. Although he had repeatedly shamed and lashed at the vice president for her various “sins”—real and imagined—there were times he changed his mind and obeyed his heart when dealing with personalities he disliked.

In a recent statement, Mr. Duterte said he preferred the next president to be a lawyer: “Sana abugado. Isang tingin mo lang maka-decide ka na agad under repercussions. Whatever kind of issue, alam nila.”

How many lawyers are now running for president? 

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo.—Ed)

 

  

   

 

   

 

 

 

 

The color of money

“The lack of money is the root of all evil.”

—Mark Twain

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

THE agony of local officials under pressure which presidential candidate to support with finality in the May 9, 2022 election may be far from over.

Even if some of them have already openly declared support and commitment to a certain presidential candidate, there is no assurance the other presidential candidates will stop from wooing them.

Times have changed. No one can tell with absolute certainty that he has somebody’s loyalty and support in the bag.

In fact, as the election day approaches, the “pressure” for some of these local officials to “rethink” their position increases.

It’s so stressful to be involved in the political musical chairs where the elements of treachery and backstabbing are very much possible especially when money talks.        

Until the so-called fat lady sings, their tribulation and uneasiness will continue to hound them.

Especially if some moneyed presidential candidates will resort to wide-scale vote-buying as feared by many observers.

National candidates desperate to win will stop at nothing to amass an army of local officials who will carry their names in the sample ballots to be distributed to village dwellers.

Let’s hope there’s no truth to rumors that a substantial amount of cash is being dangled for municipal and city mayors and governors to shift support, or ensure the victory of certain national candidates.

We will just have to observe the local officials’ body language and strange last-minute behavior and remember what happened to survey frontrunners Joe de Venecia in 1998 and Jejomar Binay in 2016.

Anything can still be possible less than 60 days before the judgment day in the ballot boxes.

A red can still turn into pink vice versa. Commitments and so-called loyalty can still be shattered by the color of money. 

 

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I remember in 1990 when Agnes Españo, our managing editor in the News Express, suddenly asked me in the editorial room about the two movements or policies introduced by then Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev.

Like a history student in the classroom, I immediately blurted the words “glasnost” (openness) and “perestroika” (restructuring).    

While editing an article one busy afternoon, Agnes was talking to a visitor and trying to urgently recall the two policies that made Gorbachev famous. She probably trusted my memory.

Glasnost and perestroika almost instantly flashed on my mind when I saw on ABC News March 10 a story about McDonald’s closing down 850 restaurants in Russia and froze its whole 30 years investment in Vladimir Putin’s territory.

Because of glasnost and perestroika, Western products like McDonald’s hamburger, Marlboro cigarette, among other non-Russian goods,  were allowed in Russia. 

They “westernized” the communist-controlled territory, the biggest in the entire Europe.  

 

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This came after the collapse of the nightmarish Berlin Wall in 1989, the heavily guarded concrete barrier that separated West and East Germany since 1961.

This episode is very vital in the history of the former Soviet Union because admirers of Putin, or those who insisted that his attack on Ukraine was “justified” especially my friend, a professor from a reputable Iloilo university, have argued that “any Russian president would have done what Putin did.”   

I disagree.

If Gorbachev were president today, Ukraine would not be invaded.

Gorbachev, unlike other communist or authoritarian Russian leaders, knew the importance of dialogue and negotiation; he didn’t think like Putin. 

In fact, he listened to President Ronald Reagan who eerily exhorted him: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” 

The powerful speech Mr. Reagan delivered on June 12, 1987 became known as the “Berlin Wall Speech.”

There was a concession though. Gorbachev asked Reagan and NATO not to expand in Eastern Europe, in return, which is the bone of contention of Putin and his Filipino, including some Ilonggo, admirers.

Although NATO did expand in violation of that agreement, it was not enough reason to invade Ukraine and kill innocent and unarmed children, women and elderly.

As I mentioned in my past articles, I have no tolerance for those who justify Putin’s wrong move especially when they strutted like intellectual peacocks and peahens and chided us that we don’t read the world history.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo.—Ed)

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

   

 

Blind followers

“From fanaticism to barbarism is only one step.” —Denis Diderot

 By Alex P. Vidal

 

WE’VE noticed that some Filipinos, including a few Ilonggos, who shockingly praised Vladimir Putin and gave “approval” to the Russian president’s invasion of Ukraine, were the same characters who followed and have professed strong adherence to authoritarian leaders.

They were the blind followers of controversial political and religious leaders who have wreaked havoc on the lives of ordinary people in various means: summary execution, graft and corruption, sexual slavery, labor exploitation, to mention only a few abuses.

Many of these blind followers did not actually understand what they were saying, or why they favored Putin’s sadistic move to attack an independent state. 

At first, they were horrified to see both unarmed and armed civilian casualties as Kremlin’s tanks and armored vehicles rolled over Kyiv and other major Ukrainian cities. 

They were poised to denounce the war (which is a natural reaction of any normal human being), but when they learned or heard the objects of their idolatry speak against “US and NATO’s unfair policy”, etcetera, these blind followers suddenly changed their tune and their hearts turned into limestone. 

 

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They also started to heap praises on the disgraced and the world’s most hated person, Vladmir Putin. And they “didn’t care” at all if more civilians were killed “because that is part of the war and because NATO and US asked for it by provoking Putin blah blah blah.”

“Those who blamed Putin did not read history blah blah blah”, “They should blame NATO and the US for their foreign policies that threatened and forced Putin to defend Russia blah blah blah.”

We are not against people who air a different view or opinion, however frightening and weird it may be, provided they can defend what they are saying, or they did not copy their stand from the words of their false idols.

Interestingly, when we checked some of their past records, some of these blind followers were the ones who spewed expletives and condemned ABS-CBN, when the network was fighting tooth and nail for the renewal of its franchise, for no apparent justification.

Just like in the Ukraine invasion, at first they seemed sympathetic to the plight of the dead civilians, but changed course when their false idols kissed Putin’s ass.

When their false idols attacked ABS-CBN, they also started to attack the network. There’s really a pattern here, and it’s so pathetic and really disturbing.

 

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I was scared literally when I read Dan Evon’s reminder to humanity about the horror of using atomic bomb in any war.

The Snope writer told us of an old purported quote from theoretical physicist Albert Einstein which embarked on another lap around the internet in April 2018 as some global citizens fretted about the start of a new world war after the United States, the United Kingdom, and France launched missiles at targets in Syria.

“I do not know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” – Albert Einstein.

This quote (or at least a version of it) dates back to the 1940s, when the first nuclear weapons were being developed. Although Einstein didn’t actually develop the atom bomb, his work did make such a device possible.

Einstein did not work directly on the atom bomb, according to Evon, but Einstein was the father of the bomb in two important ways: 1) it was his initiative which started U.S. bomb research; 2) it was his equation (E = mc2) which made the atomic bomb theoretically possible.

His work was so entwined with the development of nuclear weapons that Time featured a picture of Einstein on their July 1946 cover, in front of an explosion with the equation “E=mc²” written in the mushroom cloud, according to Evon.

Einstein was, in other words, well aware of how nuclear weapons could affect the world. However, although he did repeatedly warn the world about the dangers of nuclear weapons, this quote doesn’t appear to be an exact record of the physicist’s words and even the earliest records appear to be anecdotal. In March 1947, reports appeared about an exchange that Einstein reportedly had with a group of friends at a dinner party:

Professor Albert Einstein was asked by friends at a recent dinner party what new weapons might be employed in World War III. Appalled at the implications, he shook his head.

After several minutes of meditation, he said. “I don’t know what weapons might be used in World War III. But there isn’t any doubt what weapons will be used in World War IV.”

“And what are those?” a guest asked.

“Stone spears,” said Einstein.

Although these reports appear to be more anecdotal than factual, an account of Einstein saying something similar is reportedly documented in the Albert Einstein Archives at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In 1949, Liberal Judaism published an interview entitled “Einstein at 70” between Einstein and his contemporary Alfred Werner, which purportedly contains a similar exchange.

Even if Einstein expressed this exact sentiment, he was not the first to do so. In September 1946, more than six months before the quote was first attributed to Einstein, a reporter attributed this quip to an unnamed Army lieutenant.

Joe Laitin reports that reporters at Bikini were questioning an Army Lt. about what weapons would be used in the next war. I dunno, he said, but in the war after the next war, sure as hell, they’ll be using spears!

Einstein may have been paraphrasing something he had heard earlier during his interview with Werner—or this may simply be an anecdote relaying the physicist’s attitude toward nuclear weapons. Einstein was, after all, a signatory on the Russel-Einstein Manifesto, which warned about the potentially world-altering devastation of nuclear weaponry:

It is stated on very good authority that a bomb can now be manufactured which will be 2,500 times as powerful as that which destroyed Hiroshima.

Such a bomb, if exploded near the ground or under water, sends radio-active particles into the upper air. They sink gradually and reach the surface of the earth in the form of a deadly dust or rain. It was this dust which infected the Japanese fishermen and their catch of fish.

No one knows how widely such lethal radio-active particles might be diffused, but the best authorities are unanimous in saying that a war with H-bombs might possibly put an end to the human race.

We found several other instances of people making similar statements at around the same time, indicating that this was a popular opinion at that time that was evidently shared by Albert Einstein. 

However, we have been unable to find a direct quote from the physicist that matches this particular meme.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo.—Ed)

Stop the insult against debaters

“He who takes offense when no offense is intended is a fool, and he who takes offense when offense is intended is a greater fool.” 

―Brigham Young

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

A WOMAN university professor has lambasted some Philippine presidential candidates for having “nothing between their ears” especially when some of them have suggested to discuss the topics ahead of the debate.

It’s a direct rebuke against anyone involved in the series of debates before the May 9, 2022 election and was profoundly uncalled for especially if it came from a regular panelist with high credentials.  

“For God’s sake, I’ve been teaching for 55 years. If you were my student, I would give you the final exam questions,” boomed Clarita Carlos, University of the Philippines (UP) political science professor in a recent national televised interview.

These past weeks when Prof. Carlos became a shoo-in panelist invited by presidential debate organizers, she has been acting like a tyrant who would flaunt her mastery of a certain “area of research” or expertise on a certain subject matter and annihilated the debaters with difficult questions to bedazzle the audience.    

And because her antics were always given the front seat prominence in the national media, some people would think she was competing for popularity with the candidates.

 

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As a mother figure in the forum, Prof. Carlos should learn to treat the debaters like her own children and refrain from hurling insulting remarks toward them if their answers don’t satisfy her, or if they failed to impress her.

We agree that the candidates must not come to war unprepared, but we don’t expect all of them—presidential, vice presidential, senator—to act and think like Albert Einstein (genius physicist) or Kevin Ashman (world quizzing champion) during the one-hour debate.

The purpose of the presidential debate is to test the candidates’ intellectual prowess and their readiness to right away solve and explain complex issues that may arise during their incumbency.

Pre-election debates will help develop the candidates’ self-motivation and critical thinking—how to explore the world through the lens of an inquisitive mind; it will also help them eliminate the fears of public speaking, which will be part and parcel of their regular tasks once elected. 

That’s why we need leaders who are knowledgeable, someone with integration of knowledge on various issues, not just popular and entertainer or a prominent coup plotter. 

 

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I don’t tolerate people who engage in intellectual masturbation when dealing with the critical and serious Russo-Ukraine conflict. 

I go direct to the point: denounce the war and violence and call spade a spade—that Vladimir Putin is on the wrong side of history and he should end ASAP the atrocities in independent state Ukraine.

I refer to those who try to insult our intelligence by lecturing us in the social media and other platforms that Russia’s illegal, immoral, unjustified, brutal, senseless invasion of peaceful Ukraine happened “because the West had provoked Vladimir Putin.”

They have time and arrogance to parade their “expertise” on geopolitics and world history, but can’t even say something about the murder of innocent civilians—children, women, elderly—and the destruction of civilian territories, which is expected to worsen as the Russian soldiers continued with their crazy and demonic rampage as of this writing.

After watching Kremlin’s propaganda apparatuses on Tiktok and other social media, the pro-Putin cretins suddenly have become knowledgeable about the issues involving the NATO and the United States calling the NATO and US as the “bad guys” and praising the author of the massacre in Ukraine as “a victim of provocation and harassment by the West.”

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo.—Ed)

 

 

 

 

 

May the Holy Spirit touch Putin’s heart

“O Holy Spirit, descend plentifully into my heart. Enlighten the dark corners of this neglected dwelling and scatter there Thy cheerful beams.” 

--Saint Augustine

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

AS a Catholic, I believe in the Holy Spirit. I also believe in the Divine Intervention.

But no one can predict when and how the Holy Spirit works; no one can tell if the Divine Intervention will come or not.  

Before thousands more will be killed, let’s hope and pray that the Holy Spirit will touch the heart of Vladimir Putin and withdraw his troops from Ukraine as soon as possible.

God works in mysterious ways. Everything that is about totalitarianism, dictatorship, cruelty, subjugation, injustice is ungodly. Good will always triumph over evil. 

People around the world, including those from the Philippines, who have rallied behind Ukraine in solidarity, will need to strengthen their faith more. 

If this bloody invasion could happen in Ukraine, Europe’s second largest country, this could also happen in other countries, not only in Europe but also in Asia, Africa and even America.

Prayers are okay. Sanctions from the West are okay, too, and appear effective; but the greatest miracle is Putin changing his mind, halting the carnage in Ukraine, going back to the negotiating table, and embracing peace unconditionally. Impossible? 

With God, nothing is impossible. 

 

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For two consecutive Mondays (February 21 and 28), I dropped by in the United Nations (UN) headquarters in the morning on 1^st Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.

My visit on February 28 was very significant: I wanted to see the flags of both the warring Russia and Ukraine among the 193 flags, including the Philippines’, flying outside the 73-year-old UN building.

Later in the day, two big stories came out from the U.N.: 1. The expulsion of 12 Russian diplomats based at Moscow’s U.N. mission here in New York for engaging in espionage activities; and 2. The revelation by Catherine Russell, the newly appointed Executive Director of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), that the situation for boys and girls caught up in the Russo-Ukrainian conflict grew worse by the minute.

"The United States has informed the United Nations and the Russian Permanent Mission to the United Nations that we are beginning the process of expelling twelve intelligence operatives from the Russian Mission who have abused their privileges of residency in the United States by engaging in espionage activities that are adverse to our national security," U.S. Mission to the United Nations spokesperson Olivia Dalton said in a statement. 

"We are taking this action in accordance with the U.N. Headquarters Agreement. This action has been in development for several months."

Russian U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told reporters that the U.S. gave them until March 7 to leave the country. 

He said that it is a "hostile action" by the U.S. government and violates Washington's obligations as the host country of the United Nations.

 

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Nebenzia also called the order "sad news" and said the U.S., the host country, was showing "gross disrespect" to its commitments "both under U.N. Charter and the Host Country Agreement, and Vienna conventions." 

The Vienna Convention also applies to the treatment of diplomats.

“Children have been killed. Children have been wounded. And children are being profoundly traumatized by the violence all around them,” Russel said in a statement. 

UNICEF has renewed a call on all parties to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure. Hospitals, schools, water and sanitation facilities, as well as orphanages, have come under fire, according to reports. 

Explosive weapons in populated areas, along with explosive remnants of war, represent “real and present dangers” for children, said Russell. 

She appealed for suspension of the ongoing military actions, which would facilitate humanitarian access to people who have been cut off after five days of intense airstrikes and ground fighting. 

“It would also allow families in the worst affected areas to venture out to get food and water, to seek medical care, or to leave in search of safety,” she added.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo.—Ed)

  

 

  

 

 

You’re out of tune, professor

“Fortunately for serious minds, a bias recognized is a bias sterilized.”

—Benjamin Haydon

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

I BEG to disagree with Philippine presidential debate panelist and University of the Philippines (UP) political science Prof. Clarita Carlos who posed this controversial question in a recent TV interview: “How long will the West push Putin until he takes the nuclear option?”

She rued that “the West just keeps on pushing and pushing him” insisting “it was really the West that created the Ukraine crisis.”

Prof. Carlos claimed the mercurial Putin “had been provoked” to attack Ukraine after the United States and the NATO “installed missiles in Poland” thus angering the disgraced Russian leader.

What news channel has Prof. Carlos been monitoring? What news website has she been reading? Who is coaching her on current events?

Where the hell did she get all these ridiculous and nauseating reports about the West (NATO and US) as the one that supposedly provoked Putin to kill Ukrainians? 

Can’t Prof. Carlos see that the world, including many Russians right there in Moscow, is now united in solidarity against Putin? 

That no one has sided with Kremlin’s evil intention to decapitate Kyiv out of its leader’s obsession to gain control over Ukraine and other former Soviet republics linguistically, culturally, politically, and militarily?

 

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If Prof. Carlos is a socialist, a Putin admirer, or anti-America, fine, I’ll understand; I’ll respect her position, but not after calling out that she’s patently and blatantly outdated and out of tune.

As an anti-war and pro-life advocate, I can not, in my conscience, allow Prof. Carlos to get away with her ludicrous assertion that “it was the West that provoked the Ukraine crisis.”

Let’s make this simple, Prof. Carlos. Putin declared war on Ukraine based on three outrageous lies: 1. That Ukraine does not have the right to exist separate from Russia; 2. That Ukraine is committing atrocities against Russian-speaking people; 3. And that the Russian military needs to “de-Nazify” Ukraine even if its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is Jewish.

I will again disagree when she compared the alleged installation by the US and NATO of missiles in Poland to the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. There’s no comparison, madame. 

Nikita Khrushchev had no respect from the very start for the “young” John F. Kennedy, and the Soviet Union secretly installed the nuclear-armed missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles from U.S. shores, with a purpose to launch attacks on American cities.

NATO and the U.S. never had plans to launch attacks on Russia as the move would contradict their values and the purpose why NATO was created. 

It’s only in Putin’s diabolical thinking that Russia will be invaded. 

The truth is he is obsessed with nuclear weapon and he only wanted to up the nuclear ante as proven by his latest declaration when he failed to score a blitzkrieg after four days of heavy bombardment. 

 

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Unless Prof. Carlos is feigning ignorance, it’s inconceivable for the brilliant professor not to be aware of what is going on in Europe given her stock of knowledge on foreign affairs and temerity to brag about her credentials as “a reader of history” in her appearances in at least two nationwide televised media interviews.  
I was waiting in vain for Prof. Carlos to express sympathy or, at least, mention something about the senseless murder of innocent civilians, children, women, and senior citizens caught in the crossfire when Russian soldiers swooped down on Ukraine and began shooting and bombing government and civilian buildings in an unprovoked, senseless, unjustified, and immoral attack for several days now.

Putin may have wrongly believed that the age of the American-led globalization was ending, that he chose to attack after the pandemic.

His biggest blunder was to underestimate the resolve of the courageous Ukrainians who refused to capitulate and have vowed to defend their land with their life. 

Prof. Carlos could commit a terrible sin of misinformation if she continued to misread the sparks in Eastern Europe and ignored the sudden spasm of international outrage brought by Vladimir Putin’s skullduggery.  

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo.—Ed)