David Haldane

California, Philippines

Journalist, Author and Broadcaster at Freelance

Columnist, Feature writer at The Manila Times

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Articles

Joshua reaching for the sky

1 week ago | manilatimes.net | David Haldane

Her first instinct was to pray. A young Filipina with us on our annual pilgrimage to Southern California, she was touring the famous Joshua Tree National Park when the sight of a Joshua Tree stopped her cold. "May I pray under it?" she wondered. "Of course," my wife replied, "but why do you want to?""Because it's in the Bible," the young woman said. And so we paused as she raised her arms to the blue heavens stretching out far above.Which, not surprisingly, is how the prayerful tree got its name.
Darkened rooms

2 weeks ago | manilatimes.net | David Haldane

Ok, I'm impressed. At the risk of sounding narcissistic, let me just add that it's not something external impressing me, but my very own self. Not my present self, mind you, but the self I was half a century ago. I mean, what a cool and curious young fellow that was. Register to read this story and more for free. Signing up for an account helps us improve your browsing experience. Continue OR See our subscription options. Already have an account? Log in here
What I hope for in a new Pope

1 month ago | manilatimes.net | David Haldane

It's almost never suitable to speak ill of the dead. Especially when the dead you're speaking of is a beloved pope. Register to read this story and more for free. Signing up for an account helps us improve your browsing experience. Continue OR See our subscription options. Already have an account? Log in here
To believe or not to believe?

1 month ago | manilatimes.net | David Haldane

I have never been a staunch believer. Nor am I a confirmed atheist. Instead, I have consistently chosen the path of least resistance, i.e. the firm conviction that it is impossible to know whether God exists because both profound belief and atheistic denial are simply matters of faith. Register to read this story and more for free. Signing up for an account helps us improve your browsing experience. Continue OR See our subscription options. Already have an account? Log in here
Israel thriving in the Philippines

1 month ago | manilatimes.net | David Haldane

This was going to be a column about Middle Eastern politics. How suffering Gazans had finally risen against Hamas, the fanatical terrorists who started a war they couldn't win, subjecting their civilian constituents to unfathomable death and destruction. How, despite the threat of torture or worse, those brave dissidents had bared their souls in a plea for rescue and salvation. And how, though it was clearly too little too late, their actions sent the world a message of hope.
An abusive vlogger gets his due

1 month ago | manilatimes.net | David Haldane

Maybe I'm on a deportation kick. Last week I applauded the imminent departure from America of a jihadist-supporting university student. And now it's the deportation — or worse — of an abusive foreign vlogger in the Philippines. Register to read this story and more for free. Signing up for an account helps us improve your browsing experience. Continue OR See our subscription options. Already have an account? Log in here
Deporting radicals

2 months ago | manilatimes.net | David Haldane

I understand why students protest. As an undergraduate at UCLA in the late 1960s, I spent a fair amount of time jumping up and down in picket lines and unruly mobs for this cause or that. And a few years later, at New York's Columbia University, did much the same though never enrolled as a student. Register to read this story and more for free. Signing up for an account helps us improve your browsing experience. Continue OR See our subscription options. Already have an account?
Involuntary celebate

2 months ago | manilatimes.net | David Haldane

Incel. The first time I saw it was in a Singaporean newspaper. The article — "Involuntarily Celibate: Inside the minds of 'incels' who blame women and society" — told the story of an "ideological extremist movement" of young men who, victimized by unwanted sexual isolation, lash out at the opposite sex they deem responsible. Register to read this story and more for free. Signing up for an account helps us improve your browsing experience. Continue OR See our subscription options.
Justice deported

2 months ago | manilatimes.net | David Haldane

I don't know whether Rodrigo Duterte has committed crimes against humanity. As a foreigner, frankly, I'd prefer leaving that determination to the good citizens of his own country. Nor will I get caught up in bickering over whether the former president's extradition two weeks ago was strictly legal. Instead, I'd like to focus on a broader issue; how it feels to someone — namely me — who has previously admired the strength and moral fortitude of his adopted homeland.
Israelis misbehaving?

2 months ago | manilatimes.net | David Haldane

My first reaction was astonishment. Followed almost immediately by alarm. Not just the kind that gently wakes you in the morning. No, this was more of a full-throttled red-lights-flashing put-out-the-fire type alarm. The kind that, rather than gently waking you, jolts you into reality from a world full of dreams. Register to read this story and more for free. Signing up for an account helps us improve your browsing experience. Continue OR See our subscription options.