Anyone old enough to have stayed up watching late-night American reality TV in the early 2000s would have encountered Donald Trump before he became a politician. His NBC show, “The Apprentice,” projected him as the quintessential American CEO: imperious and blunt, but decisive and wise. He reduced complex issues to simple decision points. And, unflinching, … Read more
On this very day, Easter Sunday last year, the late Pope Francis rose from his sick bed to bless the faithful from the loggia of St. Peter’s Square. They had been praying for him throughout his five-week hospital stay, and they rejoiced when they saw him. He had been suffering from double pneumonia and had … Read more
Even wars, which imply disorder, have rules. And that’s because without shared expectations, conflict becomes unmanageable. A war where everything is allowed destroys not only its targets but eventually its authors. That basic assumption has been fatally ignored in the ongoing American and Israeli war against Iran. The violations that are being committed today by … Read more
As the war that the United States and Israel unleashed upon Iran enters its fourth week, the prospect of escalation seems all but certain. The principal protagonists appear to have locked themselves in a mental trap that compels them to go for the limit. That all this is happening during the holy seasons of Ramadan … Read more
The problem with launching a war in an age of globalization is that its consequences are difficult to confine to the battlefield. They tend to radiate outward, to neighboring countries, to distant markets, to every sector of a world economy in which the targeted nation plays a role. That much is becoming painfully clear in … Read more
While United States President Donald Trump has been epically vague about the goals of his unauthorized war against Iran (The Atlantic says he has offered at least 10 rationales), the one thing he has stressed is America’s unmatched military power in lethality, speed, and precision. His Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth boasts that Operation Epic Fury … Read more
Listening to the foreign lawyers of former President Rodrigo Duterte at the recent pretrial hearings before the International Criminal Court (ICC), one could sense the difficulty of their task. Their client rejects the jurisdiction of the Court and calls his arrest kidnapping. Yet they stood before that same tribunal to defend him. Duterte chose not … Read more
Years from now, historians assessing the presidency of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. will inevitably compare him with his father. One contrast may stand out. Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s regime became globally known for repression and plunder. His son’s presidency may be remembered for something quite different: authorizing the arrest and surrender of his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, … Read more
We have all heard of young, happily married couples who met online. In a way, this is the digital equivalent of what once seemed adventurous enough: finding a pen pal and maybe a lifelong partner through the classified ads of newspapers and magazines. Those small notices usually offered little more than age, occupation, hobbies, and … Read more
Exactly a month ago today, I turned 80. It was an event I didn’t expect to feel any different from my previous birthdays. But thanks to my fellow Inquirer columnist Ambeth Ocampo, who devoted an entire column to the lunch my sisters prepared at our childhood home in Betis, I received a lot more greetings … Read more