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2 No.26 APRIL 24, 2018 DAY AFTER DAY WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA The Ukrainian who stands behind the computer revolution turns 87 By Alla DUBROVYK-ROKHOVA, The Day Lubomyr T. Romankiw celebrated his 87th birthday on April 18. The Ukrainian, who invented recording information on a hard disk’s magnetic head almost half a century (49 years) ago, thus ushering in the era of personal computers, still works at IBM. The longtime scientific career and work at IBM brought him to the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame, where the portrait of the Ukrainian is next to those of other inventors, including Steve Jobs. However, Romankiw’s colleagues are somewhat dissatisfied with comparing him to the latter. They claim that, hadn’t it been for Romankiw, Jobs would have stood no chances to achieve international fame. He still does not have a computer of his own at home: he says the machine would be taking all his free time. “Some may regard this as a whim of an IBM whiz who invented magnetic heads, but who doesn’t have a PC. In fact, I’m looking forward to the time when PC can be linked to the brain, so fresh data can be downloaded while you are asleep. Then I’ll take that button and put it in my ear,” Romankiw told The Day half-jokingly. Then he said he had already patented this idea in the US. Whenever Romankiw is told that it is impossible to do something, he always replies: “If you can’t do this, someone else must do it for you.” Romankiw has been living abroad for 70 years and has Canadian citizenship, but he calls Ukraine the most important country for him. The researcher confesses that he reads the Ukrainian press every night, and if the news is bad he cannot fall asleep for a long time. Lubomyr last visited Ukraine almost five years ago. At the time, in October 2013, he was granted the status of an honorary citizen of Zhovkva, where he was born and lived until 1944, when his parents and he ran away from war to Munich. Quotations from the exclusive interview he gave then to The Day still go viral in the Web. Although the world seems to be changing at breathtaking speed, the material written five years ago is still fresh and topical. ● ON STEVE JOBS “It is Steve Wozniak who bought our first disks. He made the first PC, Photo from The Day’s archives Lubomyr Romankiw: facts and quotations and only then Steve Jobs developed technology.” ● ON THE WORK OF HIS LIFETIME “When you boot up your PC, seven of my patents are at play. When you first push the key and an image flashes on the screen, it is also my invention – magnetic heads that make a recording on the disk. The heads I designed are thinner than a human hair. When you press letters, it is also my work.” ● ON THE POSSIBLE- IMPOSSIBLE “Back in 1965, I applied for a patent for a computer-brain-link design. The whole thing is simple: you carry a device in your pocket that receives a signal from your brain when you want something put on record, and then it records it. My boss, who was entitled to sign my application, told me that my idea was so crazy he would be an idiot to sign it, and I never made that patent. In 1995, they started experimenting with computers linked to monkey brains.” ● ON THE ELECTIONS OF A NEW PRESIDENT “I believe that raising a candidate, making him dedicated to his people, and training him as a good administrator, will take years. The main thing is to have more than one such candidate. It takes a self-sufficient team. Electing president minus team makes no sense.” ● ON ROADS IN UKRAINE “Kyiv is modernizing and going to be a big-world city. The same is true of Lviv which is becoming, in a way, a small Vienna. These are positive changes. One thing I dislike is the condition of Ukrainian roads. My impression is that the authorities no longer want to invest in road construction projects, so the hot-rodding Ukrainians will have to make do with the potholes.” ● ON FACEBOOK “I spend so much time working in the Internet that I wouldn’t have enough time to step away from my workstation if I had a Facebook account.” ● ON HIMSELF “I’m a man who is interested in all kinds of things. Sometimes I can’t resist the tempttaion of reading something new.” Donald Trump’s “roller coaster” By Natalia PUSHKARUK, Mykola SIRUK, The Day Recent US media reports say that President Donald Trump has not yet decided to impose new sanctions on Russia, despite the fact that on April 15, Permanent Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations Nikki Haley announced them when speaking on CBS News’s “Face the Nation” program. She then stressed that the sanctions would be directed against any sort of companies that were dealing with equipment related to Assad and chemical weapons use, Haley was quoted as saying by Reuters. The only message from the White House regarding this situation came from its press secretary Sarah Sanders. On board the presidential plane during the president’s trip to Florida, she told reporters that “there is nothing to announce right now.” “The president has been clear that he is going to be tough on Russia, but at the same time he would still like to have a good relationship with them. But that is going to depend on the actions of Russia,” she said, adding that the White House was still evaluating a number of sanctions. Meanwhile, Haley responded to White House chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow’s claim that “there might have been some momentary confusion” by saying: “With all due respect, I do not get confused.” “Preparations to punish Russia anew for its support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government over an alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria caused consternation at the White House,” The Washington Post writes. Citing several people familiar with the situation, the publication says that “Trump conferred with his national security advisers and told them he was By Natalia PUSHKARUK, The Day On April 16, 2018, winners of the Pulitzer Prize, a prestigious US award for achievements in journalism, literature, and music, were announced at Columbia University’s School of Journalism. Pulitzer Administrator Dana Canedy said at the award ceremony: “The journalism The Day’s experts discuss why the US government has not imposed sanctions on the Russian Federation over Syria categories yet again uphold the highest purpose of a free and independent press, even in the most trying of times… These courageous, inspiring, and committed journalists and their news organizations are undaunted in their mission in support of the Fourth Estate.” The awards were announced in upset the sanctions were being officially rolled out because he was not yet comfortable executing them.” In addition, administration officials said it was unlikely Trump would approve any additional sanctions without another triggering event by Russia. “The Trump team decided to publicly characterize Haley’s announcement as a misstatement,” the article says. At the same time, it notes that one of White House officials said that Haley “got ahead of herself and made an error that needs to be mopped up.” Meanwhile, other officials expressed skepticism that Haley had merely misspoken, because “she is one of the most disciplined and cautious members of the cabinet, especially when it comes to her public appearances. She regularly checks in with Trump personally to go over her planned statements before she sits for television interviews.” The New York Times writes that Tramp’s decision means “a course change that underscored the schism between the president and his national security team.” The newspaper cited a White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity and said that Trump had decided not to go forward with the sanctions since he concluded that they were unnecessary “because Russia’s response to the airstrike was mainly bluster.” “Ms. Haley has been one of the strongest critics of Russia’s behavior around the world, often speaking far more harshly than Mr. Trump would, but she has rarely been reined in publicly this way,” the NYT writes. It also notes that the strike against Syria “was limited to a single night and to three targets linked to chemical weapons facilities.” “It sought to punish President Bashar al-Assad of Syria for the suspected gas attack but avoid provoking Russia into a response,” the report said. “A consensus emerged Tuesday at the White House and Mar-a-Lago [the location of Trump’s Florida residence. – Ed.] about how to clean up the administration’s suddenly muddled plans to crack down on Russia: Blame Nikki Haley,” writes the CNN. The Financial Times published an article entitled “US Administration’s Rift on Russia Sanctions Becomes Apparent,” which mentions “a growing schism within the US administration on its Russia policy.” After all, the US president has always argued for a softer approach towards Russia than many of his advisers, including Haley. In addition, FT writes that this event has laid bare tensions that have been beneath the surface for months. ● “TRUMP IS NOT PREPARED TO LEAD THE WORLD AS IT MARCHES TO CONTAIN RUSSIA” Aliona HETMANCHUK, director, New Europe Center: “Trump’s behavior on sanctions shows one thing: in his capacity as the US president, he is not prepared to Award for “explosive, impactful journalism” The US announces Pulitzer Prize winners 14 journalism and 7 letters, drama, and music categories. The prize “for public service” was awarded to the journalists of US newspapers The New York Times and The New Yorker for “explosive, impactful journalism” – the articles that expose sexual harassment in Hollywood. The staff of The New York REUTERS photo APRIL 16, 2018. SANTA ROSA. THE PRESS DEMOCRAT STAFF CELEBRATE BEING AWARDED A PULITZER PRIZE FOR THE COVERAGE OF WILDFIRES IN SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA
WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA DAY AFTER DAY No.26 APRIL 24, 2018 3 lead the world as it marches to contain Russia. He is ready to do it together with European allies, but never to lead that column. “I would hazard a guess that we will experience such a roller coaster till the end of the Trump presidency, where Trump’s tough stance will alternate with a conciliatory one. The latter will leave the American president with some sort of an opening a window of opportunity for a future dialog with Vladimir Putin. “There are good reasons to believe that the Russian president remains an authority for Trump, perhaps mostly a negative one as of late, but still an authority. Russian leaders, too, see this unclear US policy well. The lack of a consolidated approach is used as a signal that the US can at any moment change its mind on Russia, and therefore, the latter does not need to rush to change its aggressive behavior.” ● “THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION MAY YET IMPOSE MORE SANCTIONS” John HERBST, Director, Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center, Atlantic Council; former US Ambassador to Ukraine; Washington, D.C.: “All we know is that there was talk of additional sanctions by the Administration, Ambassador Haley mentioned it publicly and the White House contradicted her. I would not draw early conclusions about this. The Administration may yet impose more sanctions. It is simply not clear how this will play out. “It is also worth noting that President Trump initially wanted a stronger US strike on Syria; he was reportedly persuaded by Secretary of Defense Mattis and others to conduct a more modest missile attack.” Times shared one more prize with their counterparts in The Washington Post “for deeply sourced, relentlessly reported coverage in the public interest that dramatically furthered the nation’s understanding of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and its connections to the Trump campaign, the President-elect’s transition team, and his eventual administration,” the Pulitzer website reports. In the Feature Photography category, the prize was awarded to the photography staff of Reuters “for shocking photographs that exposed the world to the violence Rohingya refugees faced in fleeing Myanmar.” In the Breaking News Photography category, the award went to Ryan Kelly of the Daily Progress “for a chilling image that reflected the photographer’s reflexes and concentration in capturing the moment of impact of a car attack during a racially charged protest in Charlottesville, Va.” Time notes that Kelly took this picture on the last day of working for this publication. The Pulitzer Board awarded a prize in the music category to US rapper Kendrick Lamar for the album “Damn,” “a virtuosic song collection unified by its vernacular authenticity and rhythmic dynamism that offers affecting vignettes capturing the complexity of modern African-American life.” The media say this is the first time the hip-hopper received this prize. “That marks the first time in the prize’s 75-year history that it was awarded to a musical work that is not jazz or classical.” Last week President Petro Poroshenko announced that Ukrainian churches might soon unite into a single Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Last Thursday parliament supported the president’s proposal to formally request Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to issue a Tome (decree) that grants autocephaly to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) and pronounces the annexation of the Kyiv Metropolitan See by the Moscow Patriarchate in 1688 as null and void. A total of 268 out of the 334 registered MPs voted for this resolution. Most of those who voted against were Opposition Bloc members. Their faction leader Yurii Boiko accused the president of interfering into church affairs, and other members tried to block the rostrum. In principle, this behavior of former “Regionnaires” is quite predictable, for it is no secret that the pro-Russian rhetoric of these MPs serves the interests of the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine. Priests of the latter were even seen campaigning for Yanukovych in the temples of eastern Ukraine in the previous years. Before speaking in parliament, Poroshenko met with primates of the Orthodox churches. Patriarch Filaret and Metropolitan Makarii gave the president on behalf of the Kyiv Patriarchate and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Church, respectively, an address to Patriarch Bartholomew with a request to recognize independence of the Ukrainian church. On the very eve of the vote, Poroshenko told MPs that there had been a years-long dialog between representatives of the state and the Constantinople Patriarchy and now the time had come for the UOC to receive autocephaly. He said in particular that “all local churches were recognized by way of the state’s involvement in this process. This is the demand of Constantinople.” The head of state also recalled that “it is Tsarhorod that Orthodoxy came to Ukraine from, and it is from us that it spread to Zalissia, where Ukrainian princes thoughtlessly founded Moscow.” These works drew a particular response. On the one hand, the president’s statement and steps in this direction inspired a hope among the faithful that Ukrainian churches will become an integrated body, but, on the other, they raised doubts about advisability and realism of this unification. Undoubtedly, in spite of being formally separated from the state, religious issues have had a political subtext since very old times. No wonder, in the Soviet era the church became part of the state system. Priests themselves admit that, from then on, special services had a tremendous impact on religious affairs and appointments. Moscow’s imperial policy was in unison with the Moscow Patriarchate’s expansionism which did not stop even after Ukraine had gained independence. Moreover, priests of the Moscow Patriarchate took an active part in undermining the situation and spreading pro-Russian propaganda in eastern Ukraine and the Ukrainian Crimea. Thus Ukraine clearly showed a rift on the basis of not so much faith as attitude of believers and the clergy to Ukraine as a state. When Russia launched an active propagandistic and military aggression against Ukraine, the question of the role of church became still more topical, while the unification of Ukrainian churches became a matter of national security. “My experience forces me to take a skeptical attitude to the presidential initiative of church unification,” Archbishop of the Kharkiv-Poltava Eparchy Ihor ISICHENKO (Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church) told The Day. “I have seen several campaigns of this kind in my lifetime: in 1992, 1995, 2008, and 2015. None of them produced positive results. Obviously, independence of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine from foreign centers is of dire necessity. It is a right step to turn to the maternal church in Constantinople. I was one of the first to write and speak about the necessity of coming under the Constantinople Patriarchate’s jurisdiction as a stage in the consolidation of Ukrainian Orthodoxy. Naturally, every patriotically-minded person wishes the endeavor to succeed. But it is a consolation for me personally that I, as a Christian, can feel to be rather free of political moments. The Kharkiv-Poltava Eparchy has been conducting a unification dialog with the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church since 2015. This dialog is based on purely religious principles without interference of the political factor. It would be very uneasy for me, a Christian, to feel that I am a Photo by Mykhailo PALINCHAK ON THE EVE OF THE VERKHOVNA RADA VOTE, PRESIDENT PETRO POROSHENKO MET WITH ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH BARTHOLOMEW AND SAID THAT “UKRAINE IS CLOSE, LIKE NEVER BEFORE, TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN AUTOCEPHALOUS LOCAL CHURCH” Faith in unity By Valentyn TORBA, The Day The Verkhovna Rada votes for requesting the Ecumenical Patriarch to grant autocephaly to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church puppet in political games, all the more so that this political factor is obviously linked to the election campaign.” So, we can see that what hinders the unification of churches is not only the Moscow factor, but also the problem of relationship between Ukrainian churches. Of course, the unification of churches will eventually raise the question of the redistribution of governing functions. Who will concede to whom in this case? Some representatives of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC) reprove the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC KP), that its priests used to belong to the Moscow Patriarchate, while the UAOC dates back to 1921. The UOC KP in turn emphasizes that it has more parishioners than the UAOC does. “We must draw a clear line. I cannot classify the problem of statehood as a political question,” Yevstratii ZO- RIA, Bishop of Vasylkiv, head of the information department of the Kyiv Patriarchy, UOC KP, said. “It is a self-evident truth for me that Ukraine’s statehood and independence is not a matter of political debates. Statehood is an axiom for all citizens of Ukraine. Unlike other religious traditions which have their own guidelines and organizational principles, the Orthodox tradition shows us that, as is written in the 34th Apostolic Canon, ‘the bishops of every nation must acknowledge him who is first among them.’ In other words, this tradition consists in the link between administration of the church and the nation and its statehood. Examples of this can be both the states where Orthodox believers are in the majority and the states were they are in the minority. For instance, there are local autocephalous Orthodox churches in Romania, Bulgaria, Georgia, and, after all, Russia. This is why Ukraine, as an independent state, and the Ukrainian nation also have this right. The problem of the rift in the Ukrainian Orthodox church, which was aggravated in 1992, is connected with the attitude to Ukrainian statehood and subjectivity of the Ukrainian nation. Putin says the Russians and Ukrainians are the same nation for him. In other words, they rule out the existence of the Ukrainian nation as a subject. Likewise, Russian politicians have reached a certain consensus in this matter – for them Ukraine does not exist as a state. They think it an ‘aberration’ of history. Accordingly, they believe there must be no Ukrainian church either. Therefore, the rift between the supporters and the opponents of autocephaly is based on the attitude to whether Ukraine is a sate, or it is a historical accident and is part of the Russian space. This aspect is particularly evident in recognition or non-recognition of church jurisdictions. Owing to its strong clout in the Orthodox world, the Moscow Patriarchate saw to it that the Kyiv Patriarchate found itself in an artificial external isolation. So even those Moscow Patriarchate followers who do not share ‘Russian World’ ideas, but who attach importance to canonical recognition, are still forced to remain under jurisdiction of the Russian church. But if the Ukrainian church is recognized, they will be ready to enter it. It is not my presumptions but the results of public opinion polls – two thirds of Moscow Patriarchate parishioners favor a single Ukrainian local Orthodox Church.” “Why is the state requesting autocephaly in spite of Article 35 of the Constitution of Ukraine, and is this right from the viewpoint of secular and ecclesiastical law?” Candidate of Sciences (Philosophy) Yurii CHOR- NOMORETS asks in Facebook. “The answer is: the state is supporting the request of the UOC KP and UAOC episcopate. Governmental support for this request is an old-time demand of the Constantinople Patriarchate. When Archbishop Vsevolod visited Ukraine, he said the Ecumenical Patriarch would take into account not only the position of the clergy, but also that of the president, the Cabinet, and parliament. It is only natural that independent Ukraine, a centuries-old Orthodox country, has the right to autocephaly. Surely, dependence on Moscow is as nonsensical as having a joint army with Russia – after all that has happened, this won’t do.” “The trust of parishioners is important for the church. Non-canonicity of the Kyiv Patriarchate does not prevent parishioners from going to UOC KP temples,” journalist Serhii RUDENKO wrote in Facebook. “Today, the canon is coming from parishioners. It is especially sensitive in wartime. For the Russian Orthodox Church, Ukrainians have been and will always be dissenters – not because we have created a Church of our own but because we have created a state of our own and broken away from Moscow. We must always remember this.” The Moscow Patriarchate always speculates on the so-called canonicity of the church. This religious dogma is rather important to many parishioners, although none of the New Testament sermons mentions such thing as canonicity. Undoubtedly, this term is not so much a thing of faith as an element of inner church hierarchy. Nevertheless, the Moscow church quite effectively uses it to demonstrate its own domination. Of course, many consider the president’s actions as a preelection step. Some politicians have even begun to speak jokingly about “forgiving Poroshenko’s sins” if the Ukrainian churches really unite to spite the Moscow Patriarchate. But we will have a hope that after we have requested the Ecumenical Patriarch to grant autocephaly to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Moscow will lose another lever of influence on our territory. At the same time, the UOC MP will face a serious problem because there will surely be a split among its parishioners.
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