Check their cellphones

Up to the time of this writing, nothing much has developed as far as the retrieval of the missing airplane and its cargo of 239 souls. The weather is not cooperating, reports say, and not even the most sophisticated equipment of the searchers could actually pinpoint the site where Flight 370 “landed”, the euphemism used by the Malaysian Prime Minister in announcing the sad conclusion.

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The recovery, even of only parts or debris from the plane, should be the final proof that will convince the families of the victims that hope is already gone, totally and completely gone. It will be painful, but wouldn't that be better than the three weeks of agony while trying to imagine what had happened, and whether there was still a chance their loved ones were still alive? But the governments, both of Malaysia and China, should do all they can to help them accept their loss.

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Meanwhile, I saw a report saying that the portion of the Indian Ocean where the jetplane crashed and sank, could be about two kilometers deep! No wonder rescuers are not rushing to attempt retrieval, they have to think of their own safety, too. In the meantime, if I had a chance to talk to any of those involved in the search and retrieval, I would advise them to, first of all, search the bodies for cellphones and other communication devices. Who knows, some of them may still be functioning and could give a clue on what happened before the plane went down.

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I thought of that when I recalled that, during that dastardly attack on the World Trade Center in New York, there was another plane that was hi-jacked and it became obvious to the passengers that the mission of the hi-jackers was to crash into the White House. At the time, one of the passengers locked himself in the restroom and called his wife by phone, telling her what was happening. Of course that man also died, with the rest of the passengers, but he did manage to leave information about what was going on. Perhaps some passenger on that Malaysian plane may have attempted to contact someone, and if even one cellphone remains operable, we can learn something about what caused the crash.

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In the meantime, while Asia is focusing on the great tragedy of the Malaysian jetplane, Europe is dealing with its own problem with the annexation of Crimea by Russia, and its efforts to also work on Ukraine, where Crimea used to belong. Well, the Crimeans allegedly took a vote and manifested that they would rather be with Russia, but could they have known that the latter would also lay siege on Ukraine by attacking its military base?

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The most powerful countries of the world, members of the so-called G-8, have decided to expel Russia for this act, but would Vladimir Putin care? This fellow is the exact opposite of Mikhael Gorbachev, who was what we may call a peace-nik, and who never demonstrated any sign of covetousness. Now the group will go back to its former name of G-7. Putin might mind, soon enough, because reports from financial institutions say Russia is now feeling the pinch with the other G-7, members pulling out their own money.

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Well, Russia is only a Johnny-come-lately to the G-group, it used to be only the United States, Germany, Italy, Granada and Great Britain, and Russia was welcomed only after the collapse of communism. Apparently the other seven thought things had changed, but, does a leopard change its spots? By the way, doesn't the act of Russia not remind you of the attempts of China to also bite off some of our territory?

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The Labor Department has noted that a lot of the country's beauticians, hairdressers and barbers are being recruited to work abroad. Several years ago, my “suki” hairdresser was recruited and hired to work for a Middle Eastern princess. When her contract ended, she came home and said it was not worth the big pay, because her movements were very restricted. The princess took her on travels abroad, but she could not even go shopping without security men following her and her companions around. Worst, they were always afraid they would be discovered to be Christians. She came back to her little “parlor” in our neighborhood.*

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