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Showing posts from 2012

Not So!

The NRA is so desperate after the Sandy Hook massacre, it has resorted to outright lying to support its untenable position on gun control. Israel has had to come out denying that their policy on the private ownership of weapons and the use of armed military or law-enforcement personnel in schools is anything like the one the NRA has put out. Quite the contrary, the Israeli gun laws are very restrictive, to a point that the American gun lobby would find unacceptable. That lie, and its unwillingness to accept any restriction on gun ownership, are so outrageous, given the present circumstances, that it deserves the strongest repudiation on the part of the great majority of the American public. Food for thought, until I get back from a Christmas break, on January 1, 2013.

Advanced Sex Crimes 401

With each passing day, we become aware of where Petraeus, Allen and all the other big shots in the U.S. military come from in terms of the behavior that has undone them. It has now been reported that the sexual incidents in the Army, Navy and Air Force academies have increased 23% over last year. These include rape, molestation and harassment. In other words, these schools for future military officers are a breeding ground for the sexual misbehavior that later on manifests itself in the U.S. Armed Forces both at home and abroad. What is most striking in all of this is the fact that there have been quite a few of these kinds of incidents, and, although there have been promises to take action against them, they continue to happen more frequently. Evidently, there is something in the organizational culture there that sustains that kind of behavior. All protestations aside, it's clear that these things are not taken seriously. If someone is a good officer or is on the way to become one

Hillary Drops the Ball

I don't know if the world ends today, but something short of apocalyptic has happened: the U.S. State Department has admitted failure in the Benghazi attack; so much so, that one official resigned and three others were relieved of their duties over this affair. You can  mark it on the Mayan calendar or any other, for that matter, when the Americans admit that they have screwed up. It's...well... un-American because it goes against the myth of American superiority in all things. Once they start admitting mistakes, people will get the wrong impression, that Americans are mere mortals and imperfect, and that won't do, if they are to maintain their status in the world as God's gift to mankind.

Poor But Happy

An international opinion poll has revealed that people in Latin American countries, though poor, feel better about themselves than those of well-off ones in other parts of the world. It appears that the poor value relationships with family and friends, and the opportunity to share the simple things in life, while those who are overly concerned with their economic and social status miss out on those things, and thus are unhappier for it. There's an important lesson there for all of us. Don't sacrifice your family to give them more material things than the ones they really need. Spending extra time to make more money is rarely worth it. You'll only make your loved ones miss you, and make yourself more tired and resentful; in other words, unhappier. Work to live; don't live to work.

A Beer Battle

For over a century now, a relatively small Czech brewery has been fighting in court to prevent the American giant from using the Budweiser label in several countries around the world. For the most part, it has been successful, but there are still markets in which the issue is hotly contested. The Czechs contend that the name in question properly belongs to them, having used it to designate a special brew made in a part of their country hundreds of years ago. Experts say that it doesn't matter too much because there is a distinct difference between both beers. I haven't tasted that particular Czech beer, but having drunk the American one, the Czechs have nothing to worry about...

Chávez by a Landslide!

Hugo Chavez's enemies have resumed his death watch, hoping and praying that he dies as soon as possible. They are betting that, with him gone, his party and the Bolivarian revolution will all come unglued. But, Chávez stubbornly keeps on living and his party keeps on winning, as yesterday's state elections clearly show. Out of the 23 races, Chávez's party won 20. Of course, his main opponent also won in his state, but the results are so overwhelming in favor of the government's policies, that the President's enemies must be disheartened by the fact that, even at death's door, he is able to beat them handily. Perhaps they should ask themselves why. Long live Hugo Chávez and his revolution!

The Pope and Protest

It should not come as a surprise to anyone. The Catholic Church has never been a democratic institution. It is a monarchy; an autocratic one, at that. Case in point: a protest at St. Peter's Square over the Pope's remarks against gay marriage was intervened with by police, who seized placards that alluded to this issue but were in no way disrespectful of the Pope. But, then again, when has the Church been respectful of those who disagree with its views? Time was when those who did were either killed or thrown into prison. Although it has tempered its treatment of dissent, the Vatican will still strike back at anyone who dares to oppose it in any way.

Amazing Stupidity

I've been reading about how people around the world are shocked at what happened in the school in Connecticut and feel sympathy for the victims and their families. I can understand sympathy, but shock, not really. As Obama tearfully said, this is a common occurrence in the U.S., so it should not come as a surprise to anyone. The only things that are uncertain is when and where it's going to happen, but there's no doubt that it will keep happening. When deranged people have such easy access to guns of all calibers, this is bound to take place, over and over again. What I am is amazed at how tolerant the American people are of this situation; how unwilling to adopt strict gun laws that would make it very difficult for everyday citizens to have arsenals at home and go on these killing sprees. As long as the American people hold sacred "the right to bear arms" and are hostage to the National Rifle Association, these massacres will continue like clockwork.

A God-Awful Embargo

Very often, people are unconcerned about an unjust situation, until it affects them directly. Then, and only then, do they become "aware" of how unfair something is, and demand that it be changed. The World Council of Churches has cried to high heaven over the U.S. decision to prevent it to use funds deposited in a U.S. bank to pay for the expenses of some 400 people who would have attended a meeting in Cuba. This, of course, is part of the infamous embargo on Cuba imposed by the Americans since 1961. The blockade has tried, unsuccessfully, to bring Cuba to its knees, but, nonetheless, caused great hardship on that nation. Not content with having nothing to do with Havana, Washington, in true imperialistic fashion, has done everything in its considerable power to prevent others from having normal relations with the island. Democracy and freedom, American style.

Panetta's Laughter

I'm just wondering. What is Leon Panetta smiling about in those visits to Afghanistan? I've just seen a photo of his arrival there, meeting with the American ambassador and the military commander John Allen -- who has nothing to smile about, neither personally nor professionally -- and Panetta is all smiles. And this is not the first time; in other instances the U.S. Secretary of Defense seems to feel good about the occasion.  From a purely public-relations perspective, such levity doesn't look right.  Although no one expects them to get teary-eyed, a somber appearance in public would be more appropriate, given the country's situation and the role the U.S. plays in it, especially in the killing of innocent women, children and old people. If they want to laugh it off, they should have the decency to do it in private.

Good and Bad Ideas

Uruguay keeps marching on, way ahead of most of Latin America and many other parts of the world in progressive social policies. In issues such as the use of marijuana and, now, gay marriage, it leads the way to enlightened public policy and equality across the board. In allowing parents to choose the order of surnames for their children, I'm not so sure. As far as I'm concerned, this is a non-issue; a "problem" that does not need fixing. Going against a well-established practice will, more than likely, cause quite a few problems and inconvenience a lot of people, just to score some points with well-meaning do-gooders who can't let well enough alone in their search for absolute equality of the sexes. In the end, I don't think that too many people will apply the new law to their family situation. There are more important things to be concerned about than fooling around with a custom that is neither demeaning nor does anybody any harm.

Wild Washington

What's with the State of Washington? It used to be that when you thought about liberal or progressive U.S. states, California and New York immediately came to mind. But, Washington? If truth be told, no one thought of Washington about anything. Period. Then, all of a sudden, people up there have voted for homosexual marriage and the personal use of marijuana. There's definitely something going on there that must explain this burst of iconoclastic behavior. Maybe they got tired of being ignored by the rest of the country, and want to get noticed. They certainly have gotten national and international attention. What next?

{Un}funny Business

The trouble with playing practical jokes or pranks, especially of a disturbing or shocking nature, on strangers is that you have no way of knowing what their reaction is going to be. The person you involve in the joke could have a health problem -- say, a heart condition -- or may be mentally unbalanced, making him or her particularly vulnerable to a stress created artificially by the situation concocted by you. So, there is a great risk in submitting people to extremely embarrassing or humiliating circumstances, or simply annoying them greatly, just to get a laugh at their expense. There are other ways of being humorous, without involving others in an outrageous comedy routine which may put them over the top, physically or mentally. Hoping against hope, maybe the prank on the hospital where Kate Middleton was being treated for acute morning sickness will make people think twice before trying to be funny insensibly.

Secret Service?

The Secret Service isn't so secret after all. Ever since the Cartagena scandal, the U.S. Congress has been taking a closer look at the agency, and what has come out is not a pretty picture. Besides other instances of bad behavior involving alcohol and prostitutes, now we know that, at least in 2008, a private contractor left sensitive information on the Washington, D.C. subway. In typical "cover-your-ass" fashion, this was not reported, and now is being downplayed by the Secret Service. Hey, maybe all that partying, boozing and whoring has been going longer than is being admitted, and is the cause of distractions such as this one, which more than likely, is just one of who knows how many more that have been kept secret.

West [Sore] Point

The West Point cadet that quit just five months before graduation has exposed another one of those enduring American myths: the military education as something almost mystical. Now we know that the Academy discriminates against people who are not religious. So much for separation of Church and State. The young man couldn't take the hypocrisy any longer, and had the courage to walk away, even if it meant that he would be reviled by many. To his credit, he has chosen to go public with his experience, thus allowing us to  find out what the truth is inside those walls that have been so built up with legend. U.S. military education is not what it's cracked up to be. No wonder all those generals and colonels are running around like frat boys behaving badly. They've been led by bad example.

"Take Five" Forever

I must've been about ten years old when I bought Time Out . I see myself that night playing it on our record player. If truth be told, I found it odd, not having heard anything quite like it. But, as time went on, I started to appreciate what Dave Brubeck had done on that record. My father, who had a good ear for music, didn't care for Brubeck's playing, which he found too strong on the piano keys. But, to me, it opened my ears to a whole new sound and style in jazz, one that was challenging and very engaging of the listener. Brubeck was until the very end a great musician, who made his mark on jazz and music in general.

A Gross Inequality

All this whining about Alan Gross, the American "businessman" convicted in Cuba for "crimes against the State" is a classic example of the U.S. double standard with regard to the incarceration of foreigners by the Americans  vis a vis the one of American citizens by other countries. Putting aside the issue of guilt or innocence in these cases, the fact is that, whenever an American is convicted in another country, doubts are invariably cast on the fairness of the proceedings and there are immediate calls for that person's liberation, given the supposed hardship endured in a foreign jail. And yet, when it's the other way around, the U.S. has no compunction in letting a foreigner rot in jail under terrible conditions. Take the detainees in Guantánamo, Cuba, some of which have been there for years, without having been charged even. Or the "Cuban Five" imprisoned in the U.S. for trying to thwart Cuban exile plans against Cuba from American territory.

Bad Lesson from Chicago

I suppose it's the desperation caused by the rising crime rate, especially the violent one, and the fact that something must be done to curtail it, but good money is spent on questionable ideas, programs and projects. Like paying young people to be good or do good. Sort of rewarding them for staying out of trouble, which is what a $55 million program in Chicago has been doing. It's the American way: throw money at a problem, and hope it will go away. Except, it hasn't. The crime rate is on the rise, and a lot of people question the assumptions behind the program. First of all, you can't buy virtue. Once there is money involved, the motivation is not the right one. Furthermore, paying someone for a make-shift job is also a bad idea because that person perceives that it's an artificial thing that is being done just to help. What people need are real jobs that pay decent wages, so that they can feel that they are not receiving a handout by another name. You don't

The Killer Fields

A mortar shell left over from the Vietnam War has exploded, killing four children and wounding other five people. According to government figures, more than 42,000 people have died from un-exploded bombs and shells since 1975, when the war ended. This is another reason that war is so terrible: it keeps on killing innocent people decades after the actual fighting has stopped.

Our Turn

The Palestinian triumph at the United Nations is remarkable in and of itself, and sends a signal of hope to other oppressed people around the world. For the first time, the U.S. and Israel's imperialistic wishes have been thwarted. The U.N. is no longer totally subservient to the U.S. Voting to accept Palestine as a non-member observer state was so decisive that, even those countries which have traditionally gone along with the Americans either voted against them or abstained. Significantly, even if they had voted with the U.S., they would have still lost by a substantial majority. Those of us who favor Puerto Rico's independence see this as a hopeful development towards a U.N. vote in the near future demanding that the U.S. grant us our independence, as a matter of international law and "a decent respect for the opinion of mankind", as Jefferson so eloquently put it when he wrote the U.S. Declaration of Independence.

"Chronicle of a Death Foretold"

But, of course! The autopsy done by U.S. authorities on the corpse of the Guantánamo prisoner found dead in his cell reveals that he committed "suicide." They have concluded that, somehow, he saved enough medication for his psychiatric condition , to kill himself last September. This man was held there for ten years without being charged, and when he challenged that legally, no less than the Supreme Court did nothing to end this Kafkaesque travesty of justice.  So, in a way, he had all the reasons to kill himself. No wonder he went mad! The question is: Did he kill himself? Is it possible that someone in his position, being watched and scrutinized so closely, could have done what they now claim he did? Even if we were to accept this official explanation, it does not absolve the U.S. of its responsibility for his torture and death. A responsibility that runs all the way to the top of the Executive and the Judicial Branches of the U.S. Government.

"Bueno" in Buenos Aires

Long overdue, Argentina continues to clean house in the matter of the official crimes committed during the 1976-1983 military regime. Now, it's the turn of pilots who engaged in the "death flights", from which detainees were dropped alive but drugged into the river or the sea. Thousands were disposed of that way, and 68 people are standing trial for it. Some of them have been known to brag about what they did, completely unrepentant, because they were getting rid of "leftist terrorists." This is what happens when people of a different ideology are demonized, that is to say, stripped of their humanity, thus rendered unworthy of any humane treatment and subject to the most egregious violations of their dignity and human rights by "monsters" who feel justified in doing anything to stop the "enemy."

Everybody Does It

According to a recent survey, cheating in U.S. high schools is decreasing. Let's put aside for a moment that those self-reporting surveys are highly self-serving and untrustworthy.  I very much doubt that high-school students are really more honest now, but, even if this is the case, where do all those cheaters in universities come from? The fact is that cheating in college campuses is on the rise, even in those Ivy-League institutions that are taken to be on hallowed ground. A cynic would say that maybe it's because high school has gotten easier and college much more difficult, so there is a greater need to cheat at the higher level. Maybe. But, I wouldn't put too much credence in that explanation. I think that cheating is as common as ever; now easier than ever before, with all the gadgets and information technology available to everybody, students and teachers, who themselves have been caught plagiarizing other people's work. So, let's not celebrate the rise

Holy Shit!

Maybe it's all those lies it has told for so long, but, now, the Catholic Church has started to come clean on some basic beliefs. Like Jesus' birth and early years. The Pope, no less, has written a book in which he admits that Jesus' date of birth is all wrong, there were no animals in the manger and no singing angels either. Wow! Now, I ask myself: When did the Pope and his scholars realize all this? More importantly, what else is not true?  The thing is that all along there have been serious people who have said that a lot of what has been taught about Jesus was simply not true. And yet, the Church dismissed them as enemies of the faith. Now, all of a sudden, the Pope accepts what we knew all along: there is a lot of myth in the Biblical story of Jesus and the rest of Scripture. After 2,000 years, the Truth is finally coming out and will really set us free.

"Arab Fall"

By now, it's abundantly clear that the "Arab Spring" has had its "Fall." After all the blood, sweat and tears that went on getting rid of those bad guys, in order to bring democracy, freedom and human rights to the region, there isn't all that much to celebrate. Take Egypt, for example. President Morsi, duly elected, is on a fast track to become a dictator. He has just issued an edict whereby his decisions are not subject to judicial review. So, much for an independent judiciary, a basic tenet of a functioning democracy and the rule of law. Maybe thousands of years of pharaoh rule are too much to erase from spring to fall.

What Took Them So Long?

Better late than never. Spain has decided to right a very old wrong, by awarding its citizenship to Sephardic Jews that present proof of their ancestry, without having to have lived in Spain for two years, as previously required. As we all know, in 1492, Spain expelled Jews from its territory, except those who converted to Christianity. That was not only unfair but unwise, given the loss of intelligence, scholarship and talent it entailed. But, prejudice -- especially religious -- is very powerful and dies hard. So, it has taken the country these five centuries to correct that big mistake. Maybe, if there had been more Jews in Spain all these years, they could have lent their financial talent to avoid the economic crisis the country finds itself in.

The Pope as Jailer

Oh, my God! The Pope has been talking about prison reform and the rights of prisoners, urging European authorities to focus on rehabilitation, not just on punishment. Either he's cynical or senile -- maybe both -- because in the recent case of his butler, the man has complained that, while in custody at the Vatican, he was kept in a tiny cell with the lights on constantly for about three weeks. Of course, this is the same institution that came up with the Inquisition, so...

"The King [et al] Can Do No Wrong"

Unless I'm very much mistaken, something tells me that the Spanish prosecutor who has requested a $10.5 million bail for the King's son-in-law in the corruption case won't be around much longer. Such a high amount clearly implies that the man is considered a huge flight risk, and that can't sit well with the monarchy, which is already beleaguered by this scandal and others of its own making. To doubt that this man will appear in court to answer whatever charges may be brought against him is somewhat of an insult to him and reflects badly on the Spanish crown also. So, I wouldn't be surprised if, like in judge Garzón's case, some "reason" is uncovered for the prosecutor's dismissal or demotion, or charges of some kind are brought against him.

Watching "Grass" Grow

There is a definite worldwide movement to change how marijuana is dealt with. For a long time, it was just the Dutch who had a radically different public policy on the matter. But, now, somehow, more and more people have become convinced that , in certain circumstances and under certain controls, it is permissible to use marijuana for medicinal or recreational purposes. There is a growing trend to decriminalize it and, ultimately, legalize it in places as disparate as Uruguay and various states in the U.S. Of course, there is still a majority who feels that the world is "going to pot" -- pun intended -- if  a more lax approach to marijuana use is adopted. But,  it seems that sometime in the not-so-distant future there will be an international consensus on a more realistic way of dealing with this issue

The Karzai Kiddie Show

I suppose Hamid Karzai has to show that he's not just a puppet of the U.S. as president of Afghanistan, so, from time to time, he comes out demanding this or that from the Americans or denouncing some of their excesses there. But, in the end, it amounts to nothing because he has no real power, except that which the U.S. has vested in him. All that grandstanding is nothing more than a pathetic attempt to look "presidential" before his own people and the rest of the world, but to no avail. We can all see who's pulling his strings.

Hypocritical Diplomacy

Talk about a double standard! Leon Panetta, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, has just been in Cambodia holding talks with its leader, a former Khmer Rouge thug of "killing fields" repute. Once more, this shows how the Americans pick and choose the regimes they deal with not according to their human rights record or its "democracy", but to how useful they may be to the U.S. interests in the region in which the countries are located or how accommodating they are to American wishes.

Crass Top Brass

The U.S. Secretary of Defense has ordered an investigation of the moral debacle among military top brass, based on not just the Petraeus and Allen affair but also on some other recent ones. Since Panetta doesn't seem to have a clue as to why the "best and the brightest" behave like the worst and the dumbest, let me give him a couple of hints. First, graduating from Annapolis or West Point doesn't change human nature; those people are still human beings subject to the failings and passions of everybody else. Once, you start believing that "officer and a gentleman" propaganda you're in trouble because you lose the proper perspective and miss the signs that are usually there, as well as you tend to make allowances for things that, ultimately, get out of hand. Second, people who put on a uniform feel special and entitled, and all that admiration and adulation; all that hero worship, sooner or later, affects their moral compass. Needless to say, these are

Back to the Middle Ages

Half-a-century ago, the Catholic Church went through aggiornamento , a process of updating itself, as a result of the Second Vatican Council. One of its most visible reforms was allowing the mass to be celebrated in each community's language, instead of the Latin version. This was a significant step in bringing people closer to the Church and its major liturgical event. Now, inexplicably, the Vatican is calling for a comeback to Latin, claiming that some of the trouble that the Church finds itself in is due to the fact that its hierarchy and rank and file have gotten away from the wisdom that the texts in Latin contain. In other words, in order to go forward, the Church has to go back to the time when ordinary people didn't have a clue as to what was being said. I suppose that, sensing that it is losing ground in the modern world, the Vatican has opted for an extremely conservative position on everything, including language. But, it seems to me that, except for some clearly-d

A Truly Dangerous Man

The man who would destroy the Sphinx, the Pyramids and other Egyptian antiquities is deranged and very dangerous; a cultural terrorist. As in other parts of the world, those treasures in Egypt don't just belong to the people there but to the rest of mankind. To destroy them would be a crime against humanity, to be punished in the harshest way possible. There is absolutely no justification, religious or otherwise, for the barbaric act of depriving the world of such wonders. Egypt must be very vigilant of any move on his part, and act swiftly to prevent  him from doing any harm to its cultural treasures.

The Vatican's Tantrum

On top of everything else, the Vatican now reveals itself as a sore loser. Furious over the fact that homosexual marriage is being steadily recognized legally all around the world, it has gone on a sarcastic tangent predicting that this could lead to polygamy and polyandry being recognized also. In other words, the end of civilization as we know it. All this from an institution that has carried out the most comprehensive cover up of child-sex abuse in history, and has absolutely no credibility, moral or otherwise.

A Covenant With the Devil

As usual, the Catholic Church engages in denial, equivocation and splitting hairs, when it tries to disassociate itself from the crimes committed by the military junta in Argentina from 1976 to 1983. Videla, the former dictator, has pointed out that the Church was an accomplice of his regime, which killed or "disappeared" close to 30,000 people, as well as kidnapped babies of those killed or disappeared to sell or give to members of the ruling class. There is a pattern here very similar to what the Church in Spain did during the Franco regime, which gives credence to what Videla has revealed. The Church allied itself with the far right against what it perceived as communism or any other Godless creed, not caring too much about what was being done in the name of fighting it.

Silence is Criminal

They just don't get it. The U.S Conference of Catholic Bishops is meeting next week, but it won't be discussing the case of a bishop that two months ago was the first to be found guilty of covering up a priest who dabbled in child pornography. So, in typical Catholic-Church fashion, they won't talk about it, sort of pretending that it never happened. The convicted bishop, by the way, will be in attendance, given the fact that he was granted probation. In light of things like this, why anyone would have any respect for the Church hierarchy is beyond me.

That Old Black Magic

Al those millions spent on scientific polls, and an old witch doctor in a Kenyan village correctly predicted the outcome of the tight U.S. presidential race. Granted that he lives in the village of Obama's ancestors, but, still, the man knows how to work those bones and shells. Maybe there is something more than meets the eye there.

Righting Old Wrongs

By now, it's abundantly clear that child sexual abuse has been and is a major social scourge all over the world. Worse than that, that institutions such as churches, universities, non-profit and governments have, in different ways, engaged in covering up these crimes, mostly to keep up appearances and protect their images. People who thought that they had gotten away with it, now find that the past has come back to haunt them. This is the case in Wales, where twelve years ago they conducted an investigation that now appears to have been superficial and is undergoing a closer scrutiny by the British government. It's embarrassing, to say the least, that public institutions have failed to do proper investigations of such heinous crimes, and now find themselves having to go back and make things right.

"♪From the Halls Of Montezuma to the Shores of Tripoli...♪

Time was when it was almost an article of faith that the Army -- or the Armed Forces, in general -- "made men out of boys", meaning that military discipline was beneficial to rebellious or otherwise troubled youth. (I never believed that, for a minute.) Now it seems that every day we find out how far from the truth that stereotypical notion really is. The latest episode has taken place during a visit of a U.S. Navy ship to Vladivostok. Although all of the facts have not been disclosed, heavy drinking was involved and we can pretty much guess the rest of it. It was serious enough to cause the commanding officer and some other officers to be relieved of duty. So much for all that "An Officer and a Gentleman" myth.

Yankee Stay Home!

Americans, Left and Right, frequently say that they will move to Canada, if politics doesn't go their way. It's a recognition that, in many instances, Canada has a better system than the one put in place in the U.S. Be that as it may, Americans or anyone else, for that matter, should stay home and fight for a better country. Leaving does no good. If people of good conscience leave the country to those with the wrong values, there will never be any social progress. So, as hard as it might be to take, there is a great deal to be said for staying in one's homeland, especially, when things are going badly.

Again and Again

There must be something in the water or in the air. American armed forces personnel keep attacking Okinawans, as regularly as taking part in one of their war games on the island. Usually, it's raping a woman, but, in the latest incident, an airman went into a family home, attacked a 13-year-old boy and "flew" off a third-story balcony. At this time, there are no more details, but I would hazard a guess that this is some kind of homosexual rage fueled by drugs. Whatever the cause, it comes on the heels of last month's rape, which prompted a nighttime curfew that this airman violated. Which goes to show that, as long as those troops are there, there will continue to be these kinds of incidents, no matter what measures are taken. Both American and Japanese authorities are clearly powerless to stop them. Okinawans will continue to be victims of both governments' indifference. They may be concerned about "national security", but are totally oblivious to ind

Hush Money

Here's an odd and interesting little news item. Former President George Bush, Jr. has forbidden press coverage of his speech at an investment conference at the Cayman Islands. Why all the secrecy? It can't be for any good reason.

Halloween Horror Story

By now, it should be obvious to you that I'm not an animal lover. Nor hater, for that matter. I just have a clear understanding of their proper place in " the great chain of being." It's from this perspective that I find shocking that Americans spend $370 million on pet Halloween costumes . There is something irrational and obscene in such a figure, at any time, but especially at a time like this, when so many people are unemployed, sick and needy in so many ways. It's one thing to take proper care of your pet, and quite another to splurge on dressing it up for Halloween or some such occasion. This is a true Halloween horror story.

Garzón Lives On!

If some people thought that getting rid of Judge Garzón was the answer to their problems, they now know better. Taking a page out of Garzón's book, another Spanish judge has issued arrest warrants for six Chileans and an American, for the murder of a Spanish diplomat in 1976, during the heyday of Pinochet's regime. Although the indicted  were convicted of other crimes and served their sentences, they were never formally charged with this particular murder. It remains to be seen if the Spanish government under Rajoy will pursue this matter forcefully or -- latter-day Franco supporters that they are --  they will let it slide, claiming to be too busy with the economic crisis. Whatever the outcome, it's important that these people be, at least, fingered as conspirators and killers and shamed publicly for a crime committed 36 years ago that has gone unpunished.

Another Kind of Fanaticism

It has happened once again. A celebration of a sports victory turned ugly, when about 100 San Francisco Giants fans went on a rampage late last night. The sport may be different and the continent also, but, for some crazy reason, there are people who take to the streets in a frenzy over a championship and turn violent and go wild. Some of it may be attributed to excessive drinking or the use of drugs, but even factoring that in,  there seems to be a predisposition to violence in many sports fans all around the world. Come to think of it, the word "fan" is short for fanatic.

A Conservative Estimate

The poll that reveals that 51% of Americans hold negative attitudes towards blacks is clearly wrong. It should be closer to 81% , if truth be told. When Obama got elected, there were naive people who believed that this was some kind of watershed in race relations in the U.S. But, electing a qualified man like Obama -- especially when the other guy was McCain with Palin -- should not have been taken as a sign of the times. You may like a person of another race without liking the race as a whole, and this is what has happened. Racism dies hard or not at all. Four centuries of prejudice, including slavery that had to be fought over, won't just go away by an election or two. People in the U.S should not look to who is in the White House, but at who lives in the house next door, to see how they feel about them.

Hold Those Matches!

Not to seem facetious, but, if Tibetans keep setting themselves on fire to protest Chinese oppression, pretty soon there won't be any Tibet to fight for. At some point, political protest -- which I'm all for -- must be realistic. Sacrifice and symbolism are all right, but, needless to say, burning yourself up is self-destructive and accomplishes very little. There have to be more constructive ways to get your message across to the world. An irrational belief in the afterlife only leads to getting yourself there in a hurry, leaving behind the earthly problems you were trying to solve. I don't see Richard Gere getting in line to burn himself up... even if he hasn't much of a career now.

Celebrity by Death

What does it say about modern society, when famous dead people keep making millions of dollars solely on their celebrity? Now, Liz Taylor, a has-been movie star when she died, "earns" more money than Michael Jackson, whose career has been revived by death. The public fascination with dead celebrities is a sign of the times, when tragedy is an asset and people develop cult followings of the dead.

Money in the Bank

The U.S. Justice Department is suing Bank of America to try to recover $1 billion for the mortgage fraud that the bank engaged in. Significantly, some of the fraud went on while the bank was being bailed out by the Federal Government. This is the sixth lawsuit against a major U.S. bank filed by the Justice Department in the last 18 months. Evidently, the financial system is rotten to the core. Those people have absolutely no compunction in committing all sorts of white-collar crimes and irregularities, time and time again. When they're caught, they pay a fine, settle a lawsuit and still make a ton of money in the process. Business as usual.

The Will to Live

In 1934, Leni Riefenstahl, the great German filmmaker, made a stunning propaganda documentary called Triumph of the Will  about Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. It showed how Hitler's iron will was taking over Germany. Seventy-eight years later, another "triumph of the will" has just ended: the oldest survivor of the death camp at Auschwitz has died at 108. The man, a Polish teacher, not only endured that horrible experience for three years, but also went on to live 67 more years, an amazing feat, however one looks at it. A definite case of the "triumph of the will"...to live.

In Jehovah They Trust

A group of significant U.S. religious leaders has dared to call upon Congress to look into the aid to Israel, given that country's oppression of Palestinians and other human rights violations. I say dare because we all know that criticizing Israel is a no-no in American politics. Its tantamount to blasphemy or high treason. Israel, like the kings of old, "can do no wrong." As expected, Israel has come down hard on those mostly-Protestant church leaders, claiming that they are part of an anti-Israel lobby, and withdrawing from an ecumenical dialogue with Christian denominations. Of course, nothing will come of this; Congress won't even take a second look at this issue. Jews are too rich and powerful, and politicians know better than to upset big donors to their campaigns. You just don't mess with "The Chosen People."

Transportation [In]Security Administration

The U.S. law-enforcement community keeps getting into trouble . As if the Secret Service scandal wasn't enough, the Transportation Security Administration has been a nightmare of corruption and inefficiency. In the latest bad news, they are going to fire about 25 inspectors and suspend 19 others for not doing their job properly. Either they don't check bags or they fall asleep on the job and a host of other misdeeds. So, there is a false sense of security in the U.S. air travel industry because procedures are not followed and people who are in charge of making sure that everything is all right are distracted. There have been now enough incidents of this sort to show that this is a widespread problem at U.S. airports. Something to think about the next time you hear some American official boasting about their system and lecturing the rest of the world on whatever.

No Secret Any Longer

It was bound to happen. Once something like the Secret Service episode in Colombia takes place, more of the same is usually uncovered. The agent that was found drunk sleeping on the street has once again put the spotlight on the Secret Service misdeeds. It has become increasingly difficult to maintain that these are just atypical occurrences. There is something wrong there that fosters the drinking and the engaging in prostitution. It may very well be that the agents feel "special" or "entitled" to do as they damn please. Maybe they think of themselves as above the law and the moral code of conduct. Whatever it may be, it's something that seems to run deep in the agency, and denying it is no good because the truth will always come out, sooner or later.

Privatizing Stupidity

The U.S. keeps getting into big trouble in Afghanistan, either with its troops or the private contractors it uses to replace the military personnel. The video of drunken and stoned employees of one of those contractors is stunning in the way it shows how outrageous and dangerous the behavior of these guys was, including tossing ammunition into a fire. One of them has subsequently admitted that this wasn't just a one-time thing, but that it happened all the time. In another video shot about three years ago, employees of another private-sector company also engage in reprehensible behavior involving liquor and nudity. I think this explains why Afghans have so little regard for the American military and the U.S. presence there in general. As one of the former employees who blew the whistle on this pointed out, this behavior by Americans overseas is an example of the arrogance that they are known for.

Bad Timing

I don't know about you, but, to me, there is something unseemly about the Vatican exhibition of the Pope's cars and other modes of transportation through the years. This is the kind of superficiality that one associates with movie stars, rock stars and the like. Also, it reminds everyone of the luxury and the pomp and circumstance that surrounds the Pope, the Vicar of Christ, a man who had no use for the material things of the wealthy. So, as a public relations move, this is definitely a bad one at a very bad time, given all the troubles the Church finds itself in.

An Occupational Hazard

It reads like old news: two U.S. sailors have been arrested for raping a Japanese woman in Okinawa. Japan has protested before American authorities, but, as I said recently, Okinawa is doubly occupied, by Japan and, most importantly, the U.S. Regardless of the truth, nothing much will come of it. It's happened before and will happen again. Getting raped by U.S. military personnel is, pun intended, "an occupational hazard" wherever they are stationed. They have the guns and the bombs. "Might makes right", even when it's wrong. Okinawa is crucial to the national interest of the U.S., or so it says. What's a rape here or there, when the future of the free world hangs in the balance? The conquerors of old used to go by the motto of "rape, pillage and plunder." The tradition lives on.

Not Making a Big Deal of It

As a rule, I'm on the side of the poor, students and workers on most issues. But, all of them can be unfair and wrong, from time to time, resorting to violence and other tactics that I, in good conscience, can't support. This is what seems to be taking place in Mexico, where students have taken over several university campuses, as a demonstration against various policies, including one that requires them to take English and computer courses, claiming that they are not relevant to the work they will be doing when they graduate. Although some of these grievances may have some merit, taking over the campus is not the way to deal with the controversy. At some point, one has to accept that things are not perfect or to one's liking, but one has to live with them and make the best of it. Students will come to realize that, in real life, much of what is taught or required in school and the university has very little to do with what you need to make a living. So, in spite of the s

Freedom Always

It's what comes naturally. It's what's normal. People want to be free to decide for themselves what is best for them. This is the fundamental basis for independence, political and otherwise. Finally, England has come around to the idea of allowing Scotland to vote on its independence two years from now. Things change. Catalonia is also pushing for independence, and should also be allowed to vote on it. One can't call oneself a democrat and not allow people to vote on these issues. The demand for independence must be respected, and if it's backed by a majority of voters, it must be granted. Otherwise, democracy is just a sham and a cruel joke on man's most noble aspiration.

A False Hero

There are people who find it hard to accept that Lance Armstrong cheated. Worse than that, there are those who don't care if he did. All they care about is that he won those seven Tour de France titles for himself and the U.S., while recovering from testicular cancer, proving that he was not just a hero but a superhero, a perfect specimen of the dominant American athlete able to do wondrous things. People want to have these icons so badly that they suspend all disbelief, even on the face of very suspicious circumstances. To do what Armstrong did was superhuman, and now we begin to know how he managed to do it. To think that it doesn't matter is to have your values all wrong.

¡Salud, Fidel!

Now that Chávez is not only alive but also triumphant, the enemies of the Left have turned their eyes full of hate to the Old Devil himself, Fidel Castro, renewing a deathwatch that  has been going on for decades. Every year, on January 1, coinciding with the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, there are predictions that this will be Fidel's last year on earth. And each year, just to spite them, Fidel lives on. Of course, he is 86, so, one of these days, he will die. But, he'll die when he's good and ready; not a day sooner, no matter how much ill feeling there is among the Cuban exiles, the U.S and its acolytes around the world.

Dumping Lesson

The U.S. is crying foul over the alleged dumping of Chinese solar panels on the American market, claiming that it's an unfair commercial practice. Of course it is. But, dumping is nothing new on the world market. In fact, the U.S. has practiced it during decades in places such as Puerto Rico and the rest of Latin America. With an industrial production more than enough to satisfy its internal demand, the U.S. floods overseas markets with their goods at a price that undersells the local production at such a level as to eliminate it as competition. Once that is achieved, prices go up. Americans are very adept at this game. Of course, they don't like it when they are at the receiving end of the dumping. I guess the Chinese, who are new to the capitalist game, are just doing what they learned from the Americans.

Postmen on Foot

According to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, the evidence against Lance Armstrong is "overwhelming." No wonder he gave up contesting it a short time ago. Most significant is the fact that they have uncovered a very sophisticated scheme to dope the athletes and cover it up. I find it intriguing that Armstrong rode with a team sponsored by the U.S. Postal Service, which has a lot of troubles of its own. We'll soon find out if the USPS had something to do with this doping scandal. It would really tick the U.S. Congress off, if it turns out that it has been supporting the Postal Service with American taxpayer money while it has been involved in such a shameful cheating scheme. Should this be true, postmen won't even be allowed to ride bicycles...

Latin America Leads the Way

By now, there is a growing consensus that the war on drugs -- a U.S. construct -- has failed. Latin America has largely followed the American dictates on this front, as in so many others. But, as things have gone from bad to worse, governments south of the U.S. border are beginning to go their own way, namely towards decriminalization and, ultimately, legalization of drugs. It's part of a bigger movement away from the subservient role to the United States that for most of the 20th century and these first dozen years of the 21st century "Our America", as José Martí called it, has played. Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia and Uruguay no longer feel that they have to adopt U.S. policy on this or any other question, for that matter. The U.N., predictably, has sided with the Americans in their stubborn refusal to accept that the war on drugs is a failure. So, Latin America is leading the way all by itself to a more enlightened policy for the rest of the world. Good for us!

Hail, Hugo!

In the end, all that negative wishful thinking about Hugo Chávez's death or defeat wasn't enough to stop him from achieving a resounding victory. Venezuelans voted clearly for him and his program. It was a clean and uncontested victory, in the democratic contest that so many of his enemies cry out for. He beat them at their game. If he is a dictator, as his adversaries claim, then he is one with the support of a majority of his people. For 14 years, he has been tested at the polls, and has come out ahead. Once again, that has been the case. God willing, he will serve another six-year term, which will give him the opportunity to expand on his socialist revolution, one that his people have once again embraced.

Drones Drown the Voice of Conscience

The widespread use of unmanned planes or drones as the weapon of choice by the U.S. in the Middle East has gotten to the point that even Americans of good conscience have begun to protest against it. Drones kill civilians -- mostly women and children -- indiscriminately in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan. There being no pilot, there is no accountability for the "accident" "error" or "mistake" that happens in this sort of impersonal or robotic warfare. Of course, the aggressor, with its superior technology, is perfectly content with this modus operandi . There is no risk to human life -- the one that counts, that is -- and the worst that can happen is the loss of a plane, now and then. Although "all is fair in love and war", it has never been that way, really. There are things that are so unconscionable that are not allowed under the rules of war. The use of drones should be one of them.

Dying to Kill

Americans are quick to blame others for anything that is bad or goes wrong in the U.S. The latest example is the death of a Border Patrol agent in Arizona, which they naturally assumed Mexicans were guilty of. Now, there are strong indications that it was the result of the so-called "friendly fire", an euphemism used when you kill one of your own. More than likely, the agents were playing at "cowboys and Mexicans" and got a little trigger-happy, killing one agent and wounding another one of their own. This isn't just an isolated incident. Fourteen agents have been killed since 2008. It makes you wonder how many of those have really been victims of these "accidents."

Bond and The Beatles

By an extraordinary coincidence, today marks the 50th anniversary of the release of both Dr. No, the first James Bond movie, and Love Me Do , the first Beatle hit. Popular culture and, in some ways, life hasn't been the same after that day in 1962. There has never been a character as popular as Bond in the history of cinema: half a century later, there are still Bond films. The Beatles lasted together only eight more years, but they are truly immortal, and changed music forever. I was 12 years old when both things happened, and I can still recall how exciting it all was. Bond was my hero, and The Beatles provided the soundtrack for my teenage years. It was great to be alive at the time, and the memories of it are priceless.

"♪ It's Impossible...♪"

The latest assessment on the situation in Afghanistan comes as no surprise: by, 2014, when the U.S. pulls out completely, its mission won't be accomplished. The Taliban will still be there, and the country will still be as fragmented and fragile as it has always been. No matter; to remain there past that date is not a real option. It is simply too costly, and it won't make any difference. Afghans will have to sort things out by themselves, as it should be. The so-called "nation-building" is a presumptuous and, ultimately, failed strategy. The invasion and lengthy occupation of Afghanistan was a doomed proposition from the start. History should've taught the Americans that lesson. You can't bomb the hell out of people, and then expect them to work with you towards a goal of your own. Only imperialistic alienation will lead you to believe that.

Legal Cruelty

I had no idea that spanking, let alone paddling, was permitted as a form of "discipline" in schools. I supposed that that sort of thing was a thing of the past; of a time when we didn't know any better. But, the case of  the girl in Texas who was beaten so severely that she was bruised came as shocking news to me. Initially, the controversy dealt with the fact that a male teacher had done the paddling, a questionable practice, to say the least. The gender issue aside, the mere fact that paddling is an acceptable punishment in school in 2012 is an outrageous notion. No child or grandchild of mine is going to endure such a barbaric practice with or without my consent. There is simply no place for that kind of abuse anywhere, least of all at school.

The Right Position, Proposition and Preposition

I agree with the U.S. Secretary of Education's characterization of the fundamental difference between Obama and Romney on education. Romney wants to cut spending in entitlements and social programs, and he sees education as an expense, while Obama sees it as an investment not to be cut in difficult economic times. Therefore, Secretary Duncan rightfully says that the election is a "fork in the road" for the country. Shouldn't it be a "fork on the road", Mr. Secretary of Education?

Abuse of Power in the Pacific

The American Empire goes around the world imposing its will on every other country which, of course, it considers inferior and, therefore, subservient to its interests. In many ways, Japan is still an occupied country, and Okinawa is a double colony; first to Japan and then to the U.S. The Americans have pretty much done what they please on that island, in spite of the strong and vocal opposition of its citizens over decades of abuses by U.S. troops stationed there. (Sounds a lot like Vieques, doesn't it?) The latest "insult to injury" is the deployment there of a military helicopter with a proven track record of accidents and malfunctioning.Concern over the safety of the population has been overridden by the "needs" of the American strategic plans and the Japanese government's complacency. Okinawans would do well to take a page out of the Vieques lesson book: only unrelenting civil disobedience will deliver them from this colonial nightmare.

Chávez Endorses Obama!

I suppose that the Republicans will say that this confirms what they have been saying all along: Obama is a socialist, with even Chávez supporting him. The Venezuelan President has said that, if he were American, he would vote for Obama, calling him a "good guy", in the process. This, of course, could turn out to be a "kiss of death", for those who still see a Communist conspiracy in everything. I don't quite see Obama returning the favor...

Chávez Rides High

In a little over a week, we'll know if Chávez will continue to be President of Venezuela and a thorn on the U.S.' side. For now, he has just launched a second satellite through the Chinese space agency. Not bad for a guy that was supposed to roll over and die, to please his adversaries in Venezuela, the Americans and people like the Cuban blogger Yoani Sánchez, who celebrated his cancer.

Pay to Play

We always knew that the Catholic Church was big business, but now we know how businesslike it really is. In Germany, the Church has decided not to allow members who don't pay the tax that supports it to have full participation in the liturgy and other religious activities. "No ticket, no laundry", so to speak. As in other European nations, in Germany there is a special tax that is allotted to the taxpayer's denomination. The economic downturn has prompted many people to opt out of their religious affiliation, so as not to be forced to pay this tax. At the same time, some of them still want to participate in the life of the Church, especially in activities such as christenings and weddings, which the Church refuses to provide to those who don't pay the tax. Martin Luther wouldn't be surprised.

The Right to Independence

As a firm believer in independence for Puerto Rico and democracy, I find it untenable that anyone would oppose the exercise of self-determination in a referendum such as the one sought by Catalonian authorities. If the people there vote to secede from Spain, so be it. Either we believe in democracy and the voting process or we don't. If votes are good enough to elect who is to govern, then they are certainly good enough to determine if people from a nation want to be a part of a bigger political entity. To resort to the judicial process to stop this free expression of political rights is, frankly, a perversion of the Law and what the Court stands for. This being a political question, it has no place in the judicial system, no matter at what level. No Constitution worth its name can stand in the way of the will of the people freely and peacefully expressed at the voting booth.

"Moon River...and Me"

Throughout my teenage years, Andy Williams was one of my favorite singers. Not only did he have a beautiful and powerful voice, but also his repertoire was excellent. I used to sing at school, both as a member of the Glee Club, a quartet and a soloist. It was as a soloist that I sang many of the songs that he made famous. I had all his records, which I played over and over again. I admired him tremendously. He was part of my youth, and, with his singing, made it a very special time in my life. Thanks, Andy!

Justice for All

I find it quite interesting and significant that the U.S. seems so cautious when dealing with former Nazis who, being American citizens, have been accused or investigated for war crimes. It's as if the government were very reluctant to cooperate with countries who request the extradition of those individuals. In a recent and well-publicized case, the proceedings took so long that the man died without their being a resolution to the case. Now, there is another case in which Germany wants to prosecute a former guard at a concentration camp, but the man has been living in the U.S. since 1952, when he was 27 years old. His "defense" is that he was drafted when he was 17, and that he was just a perimeter guard that had nothing to do with the extermination of Jews that went on inside the camp. You would think that the Americans would be very interested in seeing that justice is done in a case like this. That they would be horrified to find out that they have been harboring

Hating to Go Hungry

Sensible people predicted it, and it has come to pass: the persecution of undocumented workers in the U.S. has produced a critical shortage of agricultural workers and, consequently, a significant loss of crops and money in the billions of dollars. The reason is simple and clearly predictable: domestic workers are not interested in harvesting crops, a job that is seen as menial, fit only for inferior people from other countries who are desperate. Not even in a situation such as the current one, with the worst drought in 80 years and a food shortage that keeps growing, are the American farm workers willing to go out into the field and save what crops there are. But, evidently, xenophobia is stronger than self-preservation of American agriculture or even hunger itself. That's a lot of hate of foreigners.

Gross!

People in the U.S. will sue over anything and everything, and judges and juries will accept any claim, no matter how far-fetched or self-produced. A man who ate two bags of popcorn a day has been awarded $7 million for a lung disease caused by the fumes from the butter in microwave popcorn. Now, any idiot who eats two bags of popcorn a day -- or of anything else, for that matter -- should be put away permanently in an institution. Even accepting that there was a harmful ingredient in the product, the fact of the matter is that it was the overindulgence in it that brought about the health problem. Even the safest of foods will harm you if you eat them in huge quantities or too often. It seems to me that the jury did not take this into account when it rendered its verdict.

A New Low in Politics

And I thought that our politicians had the sleaze market cornered! An independent candidate for mayor in Bosnia has resorted to offering porn as an incentive to those who support his candidacy through a website of his. Candidly, he admitted that, when he realized how many people sign in to porn sites in the Internet every day, he saw the possibilities for his political gain. Obviously, the man has no morals, and he has been banned from the electoral process. One can only imagine what he would have done, had he been elected. Free porn on the town's main square?

Sucker Soccer

The fact that sports ministers from the European Union have called for a joint effort to face match-fixing  speaks volumes about how widespread the problem is and how difficult it is to contain. To soccer's black eyes for racism and violence in the sport, we now have to add this cheating scandal. Human nature being what it is, big sports' big money breeds corruption. Betting, legal or illegal, will always prompt unscrupulous people to make sure that the results are favorable to them. Mens sana in corpore sano,  fair play and a level-playing field are just desiderata  that seem progressively unachievable in a world obsessed with winning and making a quick buck at everything.  

Upholding the Rule of Law

Although it may amount to nothing much in the practical sense, the ruling by the Supreme Court of Italy that upholds the conviction of 23 Americans that engaged in the kidnapping of an Egyptian, to deliver him to a country where he could be tortured without the U.S. taking the blame for it, is significant, being the first time that people are convicted, albeit in absentia , for such a practice. For those of us who believe in the rule of law, it's important that there be a clear rejection of any and all ways of circumventing of civil, constitutional and human rights and safeguards. No matter if those 23 Americans never serve a day in prison for what they did. The important thing is that somewhere in the planet they were officially condemned for it; that it wasn't swept under the rug, as if it didn't matter. Italy has had the courage and decency to act on behalf of all of us around the world who refuse to accept lawlessness in the name of counterterrorism.

A Political Duty

Not to knock Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese Nobel Peace Prize winner, but wasn't she elected to serve in her country's Parliament? It seems to me that she spends most of her time traveling all over the world, instead of taking care of business at home. One can understand that someone who has spent so many years under house arrest would want to go places all the time, but, the fact is that people voted for her to occupy a seat in the legislative assembly, not as ambassador at the rest of the world. She has a specific political duty to perform, and she may be failing to do so properly, as much as people who sympathize with her might think that she is using her celebrity wisely to further the cause of democracy and freedom in Myanmar.

Scout's [Dis]honor

Time was when the term "boy scout' was synonymous with squeaky-clean behavior and a host of other positive things. Well, not anymore. We now know that, just as the Catholic Church was covering up pedophile priests by the hundreds, the Boy Scouts were doing much the same with their scoutmasters and other employees or volunteers that were engaging in the same crimes. Like the Church, they were more concerned with their image and reputation than with doing the right thing. So, they allowed the culprits to resign quietly and did not bring these crimes to the attention of the police or prosecutors. In other words, for decades, they kept up a facade of normalcy to cover up the sexual abuse of minors that were entrusted to them. Scout's honor.

Death From the Sky

Imagine living in a country where, at any moment, out of a clear blue sky or a dark one bombs fall on everyday people, and their loved ones have no way of stopping this from happening and no recourse against the anonymous people who do the killing. Eight more women have been killed by a NATO airstrike in Afghanistan, in a horrific routine attack that is barely acknowledged and excused as a necessary evil in the fight against terrorism. Imagine the sense of impotence and outrage that the Afghan people have felt all these years. That death from the sky is the real terror in their lives.

Disparaging the "Enemy"

Americans truly believe that the rest of the world is dumb, naive and plain stupid. It's a particularly American conceit that just because they make a statement about anything, it's automatically true beyond a reasonable doubt, and the rest of the world must accept it without questioning it. The U.S. is always issuing "report cards" on the other countries, grading them on everything from human rights to drug enforcement or their efforts against terrorism. Of course, this is only the American perspective on these issues, but its arrogance is such that it takes on the quality of magister dixit . A current example is the American report that states that -- you guessed it -- Bolivia and Venezuela top the list of nations that have a poor track record of fighting the drug traffickers. Really? Isn't it a little odd that both countries have regimes that are not subservient to the U.S.? Is this just a coincidence? If you believe that it is, you are crazier than the wor

Her Royal Topless

O.K. People -- even famous ones --  should be entitled to some privacy. But, by now, celebrities know that their every move is being watched and recorded. So, when they are on vacation and choose to take their clothes off and go out on a terrace, for example, they must be aware of the very real possibility that they will be photographed or filmed doing it. Kate Middleton was incredibly reckless in exposing herself this way. She should have known better than to be topless out of her room. It is unfair, but it's part of the price she has to pay for her royal status. Had she remained a commoner, no one would be bothering to take her picture at every turn.

He'd Rather Be Dead

By the way, am I wrong or wasn't Chávez supposed to be dead by now, according to that "well-placed source" used by Dan Rather? I saw Chávez on TV the other night, and he didn't seem to be at death's door. The only thing dead by now is Dan Rather's credibility as a journalist.

Careful Chávez

It may very well be that the Venezuelan government is overreacting at the recent border incident involving an American former soldier and now, at the incident of the weapons found on board a cargo ship from the U.S. But, really, can you blame it, after all that history teaches us about U.S. interventions in Latin America. The first deadly sin in politics is to be naive. Chávez knows that he can't be too careful, or he'll end up dead or out of office...permanently

CIA = Lies

Human Rights Watch has blown the whistle on the CIA's lies about its very limited use of waterboarding and other torture methods. (Of course, the U.S. official position is that waterboarding is not torture.) The truth that keeps coming out is that they used it much more widely than admitted. Not only that, but also that the U.S. gave up prisoners who were fighting the Libyan dictator, and his regime, in turn, tortured them. The Americans did not distinguish properly between those who fought against them and those who were fighting for their freedom in Libya and other places in the Middle East. There are people in that group who were tortured, now are part of the Libyan government and have testified about their treatment at the hands of the U.S. Anyway, why should we be surprised by these and other CIA lies, when that is its modus operandi ?

Shock-Proof

They must be doing something right in Costa Rica. A 7.6 earthquake did very little damage. Other recent quakes of similar magnitude haven't caused a lot of damage either. So, I guess that we should all be looking at its building code, for some clue as to why, in spite of the regular occurrence of strong earthquakes, that country is able to withstand them successfully. Which goes to show you that you don't have to be rich and powerful to have a decent quality of life in the most basic of things like public safety. I suppose it helps that, having no army, Costa Rica is able to use its resources more wisely than buying weapons and maintaining an "army" of corrupt officers...

The Land of Oil and Vinegar

Israel, a country born of the ravages of intolerance and persecution, has increasingly practiced its own brand of both by extremists who seem to act with impunity. The burning of mosques and desecration of holy places of other faiths are disturbing signs of a radicalization of religious and nationalistic factions. The latest in a series of incidents of vandalism has occurred at a Christian monastery where, among other things, they spray-painted "Jesus is a monkey." Although the government has condemned all those attacks, nothing much has come of it, which calls into question the will to fight against them. The persecuted have become the persecutors.

"In a Kingdom Not of This World..."

I suppose that they'll say that these are the rantings and ravings of a senile old man. But, Desmond Tutu, once the darling of the Western democracies for his stand against apartheid and for human rights everywhere, has boldly called for the prosecution of Bush and Blair, on account of their war on Iraq under false pretenses. He's right, of course, but, in this world, "might makes right", and those war crimes will go unpunished. So, Tutu will have to wait for the afterlife, to see justice done in this case.

Judgment Day

Sorry, but I can't let this one go by. Two weeks before his death at 85, the former cardinal of Milan --I suppose with the "fear of God" in him -- passed a very harsh judgment on the Catholic Church. This wasn't any old cardinal, but one that was considered a successor to John Paul II, until Parkinson's disease took him out of the running. In a nutshell, he said that the Church is about 200 years out of touch with the rest of the world (I think it's more like 400 years.) and called for its radical transformation, in order for it to be relevant to the present and future generations. Words of wisdom that, unfortunately, will go unheeded.

The Friar's Fault

Here I go again. But, as you'll see, it's not my fault. The Catholic Church must have a "death wish." Otherwise, how can one explain blunder after blunder, at a time when its image, reputation and moral standing in the world are at its lowest point? The statements made by a friar who appears regularly on the Eternal Word Television Network, suggesting that the victims "seduced" the pedophile priests and, consequently, the perpetrators shouldn't go to jail for a first offense are not only outrageous but also reveal the mindset that produced this tragedy in the first place. Although he has since apologized, and others have excused him, on account of his advanced age and infirmities, the truth is that statements such as this one express the true thoughts and feelings of an individual. Invariably, the apology comes after the public outcry over the statement, and is insincere. This incident is just one more proof of the kind of warped mentality prevalent

The Man With No [Brain]

My father, who was a very wise man, used to say that there comes a time when artists should no longer have their picture taken or appear in public. It's obvious that Clint Eastwood has overstayed his welcome in polite company. The man should no longer appear before the camera in any capacity. Maybe -- just maybe -- he could continue to direct films, but I'm not so sure. For a long time, Eastwood "made the day" for millions of moviegoers. Now, it is painfully obvious that his day has come and gone.

CIA (Central Impunity Agency)

Predictably, the U.S. Department of Justice has decided not to file any criminal charges for the deaths of two prisoners held by American forces ten years ago. It took them five years to conclude that the CIA operatives that were involved... were not involved...at least not in a way that can be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. Yeah, sure. So, it's business as usual. Impunity goes on its merry way.

Brace Yourself For This

Some outrageous news are only more so because there seem to be no explanations for what happened. A young man in Oregon has sued his orthodontist for having left him with braces during eleven years . Now, this guy and his parents never thought it odd that the treatment was taking so very long. Did they all think that this was normal? Why was this allowed to continue for such a long time? The doctor has a lot of explaining to do. So do this young man and his family. Patients should never accept blindly what their doctors prescribe. It's bad for one's health.

Hatred, USA

Although it's been downplayed, the plot to kill Obama by a group of U.S. soldiers is significant because it shows how deep is the hatred for this man solely based on his color. Make no mistake about it: all the other reasons -- his supposed un-American birth or socialist tendencies -- are just ways to cover up the real reason he's not wanted: his being black. It is also significant because just a couple of days ago, a county-court judge in Texas predicted that an Obama reelection would trigger a "civil war." Maybe the guy knows something we don't.

"[Dishonor] Comes for the Archbishop"

Jesus Christ! That's what they must be saying at the Vatican, as yet another thing goes wrong for the Catholic Church. The archbishop-elect for San Francisco has been arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. The man has been a vocal opponent of same-sex marriage and other items of the progressive agenda, so maybe it's all that bad karma that has finally caught up with him. It happens very frequently that those who pride themselves on being morally superior end up exposed for some fault of their own.

The World's Biggest Arms Dealer

What it all comes down to is business. The U.S. is the world's leading seller of arms: 77% of all weapons sold globally. Most of the business is done with Arab countries who "fear" an attack from Iran. Now we know why the Americans are always talking about how dangerous Iran is. By making it such a "menace" to world peace, the U.S. military-industrial complex, as Eisenhower so aptly put it, guarantees having steady customers for its extremely expensive weapons. Arms dealing is such a profitable business that the Americans are not to be taken seriously when they talk about peace. They have absolutely no interest in peace. War is too good a business.

A Monumental Task

There are things that are perfect metaphors for something else. Such is the case of the Washington Monument, which is still being repaired one year after the earthquake that damaged it. It's possible that it may take as long as 2014 to have it completely ready to receive visitors. Just as the Monument to the "Father of his country", the republic which he helped deliver is in full disrepair, and it doesn't seem like it's going to get fixed any time soon. American "exceptionalism", know-how or can-do attitude notwithstanding, it's going to take a long time for the Monument and "the Republic for which it stands" to see better days.

No Way, Norway!

I don't know about you, but a 21-year prison sentence for killing 77 people seems to me very disproportionate and mild, even by the enlightened penal standards of a society such as Norway's. There is something that sort of cheapens all those lost lives, by imposing a sentence that comes out as an average of  three months for every victim. I can understand that there be no death penalty or that for many crimes the sentence be shorter than those in other parts of the world, but, in this case, it is just too short, for the magnitude of the crime committed.

The Bold Couple

Fidel and Chávez, both of whom, by all accounts, should be dead by now not only are alive and well but are writing a book together. Adding insult to injury, the book will surely be an international bestseller. People are fascinated by these two leaders who have defied the world's biggest empire and come out unscathed from all kinds of plots against them and their regimes. Contrary to so many other politicians, especially in this hemisphere, they refused to take orders from the U.S., and went on to establish an order of their own making. Not only that but Fidel, at 86, has beaten the odds by living to such an advanced age, while Chávez hasn't rolled over and died from his cancer. For all this, I'm sure even their enemies secretly admire them.

The First Solution

Making an issue of circumcision in the Jewish and Muslim communities in Germany is, I believe, another big mistake by a country that hasn't quite lived down its awful past of discrimination and genocide. It's disingenuous, to say the least, to claim that this is being done to protect children from what amounts to "abuse" by their parents. Although one may be for or against circumcision on other grounds, it's almost silly to suggest that this age-old practice is a sort of barbaric ritual that must be stamped out. Germany has enough problems without trying to interfere in religious practices by the very people that not so long ago they did their best to exterminate. Let Jews and Muslims practice their religion as they see fit. As far  as I can tell, they are not going around trying to circumcise anybody else outside their communities.

"Fear and Loathing in [New York]"

About six years ago, the New York Police Department started to spy on Muslims in the city, for no other reason that their ethnicity and religion. This went on secretly, until the cover was blown and it all came to light. Then, the mayor and his police commissioner first said that this wasn't true; later on they tried to justify it by claiming that it was a legitimate practice as part of the "war on terror." But, as it turns out, in response to a lawsuit by the Muslim community, they have had to admit that, in all this time, all that spying has not turned up a single clue, lead or evidence of any illegal activity by the people that were being monitored, watched and recorded in their everyday lives. So, the abuse of power, the fascist practices, the crass violation of privacy has been worthless. Xenophobia strikes out.

"You're Not in Kansas Anymore..."

Oh, God, this is so easy, that I'm almost embarrassed to take a shot at it. A Kansas congressman has gone skinny dipping in the Sea of Galilee. What was he thinking? Forget that a public official such as himself should only be naked in the privacy of his own home or a hotel room, this guy has done it in a place that is held to be sacred by Christians, given the biblical account of Jesus walking on water. Come to think of it, maybe the congressman thinks that he too can "walk on water", that is to say, get away with anything. Once again this is a Republican, people who claim to be morally superior and standard bearers of family values, hell-bent --pun intended -- on saving the rest of the world, but end up in all sorts of scandals, especially of the sexual kind.

Tango and Therapy

Argentina is, in many ways, an amazing country. Its size, history and culture make it truly remarkable. Its music and literature are part of the world's greatest cultural achievements. Now, we become aware of another interesting feature of Argentinian life: the importance of psychoanalysis in the lives of everyday people. Argentina has the highest ratio of psychotherapists to the general population in the world. Not only that, but people there avail themselves of these mental health services at an unprecedented rate, without the stigma usually associated with it. Therapy is largely affordable for Argentinians from all walks of life, be it through health plans or even free of charge as part of a barter arrangement between therapist and patient. In any case, Argentinians have made analysis a part of taking care of their health and well-being on a regular basis. Something to think about for us in the rest of the world.

For Good Food

It's certainly good news that the lawyers who went after the big tobacco companies on behalf of smokers and the states that had to take care of them when they got sick from smoking are now taking on the big food companies who put out so many questionable products on the market.  A lot of the things that are on the supermarket shelves are either bad for you or are not what they are supposed to be. This goes way past being just false or misleading advertising -- no small matter in itself -- and hurts people who may be allergic or have a health condition that makes them particularly susceptible to some ingredients. In short, there is quite a lot of dishonesty in the big food business, and these lawsuits may help clean up some of these bad business practices, for the benefit of consumers worldwide.  

Once an Empire...

No one really believes that all that interest in extraditing Julian Assange has anything to do with the sexual aggression charges brought against him in Sweden. One would have to be extremely naive to think that all this mobilization has nothing to do with the Wikileaks revelations. The fact that Great Britain has actually considered assaulting the Ecuadorean embassy in London is the ultimate proof that this manhunt's only purpose is to capture Assange, in order to turn him over to the Americans, so that they can try him for espionage and sentence him to death. And they will stop at nothing to do just that. International diplomacy, law and sovereignty be damned!

Four Tin Stars

Contrary to all that propaganda, the U.S. military is just as bad and corrupt as the rest of American society. Case in point: a four-star general assigned to lead troops in Africa until recently is being investigated for misusing public funds, overcharging for expenses and all kinds of improper use of money allocated to his command post. Although he has since been relieved of his duties there, he continues to be in the military, pending the investigation. It is still uncertain if he will be demoted to a two-star rank or criminal charges be brought against him . The mere possibility that he will be allowed to retire at a lower rank and not be prosecuted shows just what the problem is. People in high places, basically, get away with things that the rest of us would pay dearly for. This is why time after time, especially where money is concerned, there is an incentive to be dishonest in its handling.

High Road Down Under

Australia has really taken a stand against smoking, by mandating that cigarettes -- which are quite expensive -- be sold in what amounts to brown-paper packs with very disturbing pictures of the effects of smoking on the human body. With over 80% of people who don't smoke already, it's to be expected that that number will grow, as the shock value of this move sinks in throughout the country.The High Court's decision has come down on the side of public health and against the money and power of the big tobacco companies around the world. We'll soon see similar laws enacted elsewhere, and how the Supreme Court in other countries react to the legal challenges that they will surely be faced with. Let's hope that they have the same moral courage the Australians showed on this issue.

The Dust Bowl Revisited

The extreme drought in the American Midwest, long hailed as the world's biggest grain supplier,  is cause for concern in terms of food availability and prices.  That and the wildfires that ravage countless acres of farmland signal a crisis in the food supply that is coming faster than anyone thought. Global warming is here and is here to stay. Skeptics will soon have to revise their position and accept the reality of a world that will increasingly suffer a "longer, hotter summer" year after year. Mother Nature got fed up with human stupidity. Now, her sons and daughters won't be able to feed themselves...

No Crying For Them, Argentina

Argentinians, of late, find fault with almost everything that their government does, so I suppose that the awarding of pensions to aging writers in Buenos Aires will send many through the roof. Likewise, the possibility of extending the benefit to the rest of the country's writers. And yet, Argentina is to be commended for such a bold step, recognizing in a truly meaningful way what writers really represent for a country. The history of Latin American and world literature cannot be written without the names of the great Argentinian writers. This gesture is all the more significant at a time of economic hardship, when the temptation is to cut social programs and assistance of all kinds. The government may have made mistakes in other areas, but this time it has set an example for the rest of the world. Instead of "crying for them", Argentina has come to the rescue of its writers, an essential part of their culture.

Forced Sex in the U.S. Air Force

I keep saying it: the American myth continues to implode every day. The U.S. Armed Forces, which in Hollywood fashion come to the rescue of democracy all around the world, bringing with them "truth, justice and the American way of life" are a hotbed of abuses of all sorts and sex scandals, hardly the stuff that "officers and gentlemen" are made of. The latest incident at Lackland Air Force base has cost the commanding officer his post as overseer of airmen recruits for the entire Air Force. About three dozen female recruits were sexually molested and even raped by their superiors in the chain of command. Too many for too long for it to be just an episode of illegal or improper behavior. Evidently, it was tolerated by the top brass. As I've said before, if this is what these guys do to their own comrades-in-arms, imagine what they are inclined to do to women overseas, especially in countries which they deem inferior on account of race. The history of sexual abu

Another American "Success Story"

The Fareed Zakaria fiasco is a prime example of someone who got too big for his own good. Evidently, the man is so full of himself as an international pundit, that he began to cut corners, in order to maintain his several positions with CNN, Time, The Washington Post , etc. In short, the Indian in him was promptly superseded by the American he has chosen to become. Even intelligent and talented people can do so much without resorting to cheating to get results. Thus the plagiarism scandal in which he finds himself, after so much pontificating on all things under the sun.

Ticking Bombs

Increasingly, the Afghan population has turned against the occupying forces, be they American or NATO ones. With each passing month, more attacks against them by Afghan nationals, either in uniform or as part of the insurgency, take place. It is particularly significant that members of the Afghan army or police take part in these attacks on what have been their liberators and comrades-in-arms. There must be something profoundly wrong in the relationship between them, so as to produce these frequent violent outbursts. I would hazard the guess that the Americans and NATO forces underestimated the resentment of the Afghan people at having been bombed and invaded for such a long period of time. Having all these soldiers there for such a long time taking over their country and their lives must have had an enormous impact on the national psyche, especially on those who have to take direct orders from the arrogant foreign invaders.

Bitter Orange

The U.S. is very reluctant to admit any of its many episodes of wrongdoing in the international arena, much less repair the damage done. So, when it does, it's big news. It has taken the Americans 40 years to come around to start cleaning up the Agent Orange mess they left in Vietnam. All this time the American government refused to acknowledge its responsibility for the legacy of contamination and death left by the tons of the toxic defoliant spread there during a ten-year period. Here in Puerto Rico, we do have some experience with the use of Agent Orange by the U.S. Armed Forces. It was here, in the El Yunque rainforest and other places, where the U.S. military tried the defoliant, given the similar natural conditions of the rainforest and the Vietnam scenario. Puerto Rico, -- its land and people --  being the U.S. colony that it is, has always been used as a guinea pig for all kinds of experiments by the Americans. So, if the U.S. really wants to make amends on this issue,

PDF (Public Display of Faith)

Whether for or against it, religion has a way of making people behave stupidly, even in small and inconsequential ways. For example, A Canadian man has gone to court claiming that as a member of a city council, he is greatly distressed by the practice of saying The Lord's Prayer before meetings. Really? Although he may be right in his position that this is a violation of the principle of the separation of Church and State, it's more of a "technical' violation which doesn't amount to a significant transgression. It's very difficult to take him seriously when he claims that this is something that is a burden on him. On the other side of the question, Missouri voters have overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment to establish the "right to pray" in school and other public places. As if there had been a ban on that or it had been particularly difficult for people to do that. The trouble with laws like this one is that they encourage and embolde

The Way We Were

When you get to be my age, you start to look back at your life, yes, to "the way we were." Marvin Hamlisch has died. He will forever be remembered for his music, especially that 1974 song for the movie. Like so many others, I loved it from the very first time that it was sung onscreen by Streisand. It was played at my wedding in church that same year. It has a haunting quality to it, and the lyrics tell a story of a deep love that, ultimately, is unable to save a relationship. Now, after all these years, the words resonate like never before: "What's too painful to remember, we simply choose to forget. So, it's the laughter, we will remember, whenever we remember the way we were." I will never forget the way we were; the song and in my life.

Guilt by Incarceration

A Sudanese man who was held at the Guantánamo detention center for 10 years has been allowed to go back to his country. The real story is that he pleaded guilty just two years ago, which means that he was illegally detained for eight years.  So, one has to wonder about the possibility that he just gave up and pleaded guilty, so that he would have some sort of a chance to end his indefinite incarceration at the hands of the Americans. This is precisely why the Kafkaesque system that the U.S. has unilaterally and illegally put in place in their "war on terrorism" is, in itself, terrorist. We will never now for certain if those people who have been detained for so long were really guilty or not guilty, not only due to the secrecy with which they have been held, but also because they were brought to the breaking point at which any human being will confess to anything.

Money Votes

If campaign contributions are any significant indication of electoral support, then Obama is in trouble against Romney. The GOP candidate is raising more money than the President, something which should come as no surprise, given the fact that the Republicans are the party of the rich and the super-rich. Romney represents the kind of government that will serve the interests of the wealthy and the private sector at its highest level. Thus their campaign aimed at painting Obama as a "socialist", a ludicrous statement if there ever was one. But, this is class warfare, and anything and everything is valid in war. In the land of the Almighty dollar, he who has more dollars wins.

Another Church Abuse

The scandal of the Legion of Christ in Mexico has another chapter in Rhode Island, at a school for would-be nuns that employed Gestapo-like tactics on very young girls. Once again, the Catholic Church has been caught in a pattern of abuse and cover up. In a cult-like environment and experience, these teenagers were subjected to outrageous psychological practices justified by claiming to be God's will. Now, that they have been exposed, they claim that the system has been reformed. But, even if that were true, this doesn't erase years of abuse and permanent emotional and mental damage done to those young girls who attended the school during the last 20 years. To think that Pope John Paul II regarded the Legion of Christ founder as a "saint", while the Vatican was aware of all his sins! Which goes to show you how rotten to the core the Catholic Church has become.

South Korea, USA

American military presence throughout the world has often been marked by abuses against the local population. It's only natural; they are the conquerors or invaders, with the upper hand over everything. U.S. bases are the foci of resentment over the arrogance of power. The latest incident -- this time in South Korea -- is typical. American military personnel intervened with three South Koreans in relation to a parking violation outside the base and ended up handcuffing them . This clearly shows that the Americans think that they have jurisdiction over the whole of South Korea, a country that has been beholden to the U.S. for the past 60 years, and whose sovereignty is questionable, at best. The U.S. commander has apologized and suspended the soldiers involved. But, as long as that base and others like it remain there and elsewhere, American soldiers will continue to do do as they damn well please, and nothing will come of it.

The True Story

The "Official Story" has been replaced with the "True Story." The guilty verdict in the case of two former Argentine dictators in whose regimes the systematic theft and kidnapping of babies was carried out as part of the so-called "dirty war" against the Left finally brings some sort of closure to a tragedy that has haunted Argentina for almost 40 years. That someone would not only kill or "disappear" political adversaries, and then take their babies and give or sell them to couples sympathetic to the regime is unimaginably evil. There has to be an unfathomable amount of hate and a total lack of sensitivity in order to go that far in combating your "enemies." It has taken a long time, but justice has been served.

Sorry?

Finally, the U.S. had to "cry uncle", in order to get Pakistan to let it go through their land routes to Afghanistan in the fight against the Taliban. The Americans and the Pakistanis had been arm-wrestling over the question of an apology for the multiple civilian and innocent deaths caused by the drone attacks. The U.S., arrogant as ever, refused to apologize. But, in the end, Pakistan's strategic value weighed more than the Americans' bruised ego. I suppose that bombing and invading Pakistan was out of the question... for now. Of course, it was a half-hearted apology, in which the U.S. only accepted part of the blame, claiming that Pakistan was also at fault. But, still, anytime the Americans recognize that they are wrong about anything is a shocker.

Heil, Heinz!

The Nazi ideology lives on in Germany and elsewhere, where the so-called Neo-Nazi movement rears its ugly head. It seems that, in some quarters, there is sympathy for its agenda and propaganda, the German intelligence agency being one of them. It appears that its bumbling handling of the investigation of a terrorist group which targeted immigrant businessmen, especially Turkish ones, was the result not of incompetence, but of a benign neglect aimed at aiding and abetting the group's illegal activities. There is evidence that information that would have led to the capture of those individuals was either suppressed or just ignored, allowing them to continue to operate for about ten years. The end result is that Heinz Fromm, the head of the intelligence agency has resigned. But, will it be the end of this complicity with evil?

Poison Pills

The pharmaceutical industry continues to be discredited by its admissions of guilt and wrongdoing in putting out medication that is either unsafe or useless. This time it has to do with advertising and promoting several drugs for uses that have not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Furthermore, it engaged in kickbacks with health professionals that would prescribe those drugs in exchange for all kinds of benefits from the drug company. GlaxoSmithKline will plead guilty and pay a fine of $3 billion . This is the second major case of this nature in recent history, the Abbott Laboratories one being the first. These are prime examples of how corrupt the private sector really is, having no social conscience nor responsibility, all that public relations about corporate responsibility notwithstanding.

Football Fantasy

The more we find out about what went on at Penn State University regarding the sexual abuse of children and juveniles by Jerry Sandusky, the more we realize just how insane the top university people are about football. It's now very clear that they were extremely reluctant to do the obviously right thing: call the cops and let them and the prosecuting attorneys take over. It is never incumbent upon someone who has witnessed a possible crime to do anything else. One doesn't talk things over with the perpetrator or engage in any sort of calculation in order to decide if the police should be notified. Unless -- and this seems to be the case -- you value other things more than the damage that the criminal has done. Obviously, the President of PSU and some of his staff thought that the football program was more important than the fact that one of its coaches was sexually abusing kids. That is just as sick or sicker than what Sandusky did. Sports are wonderful, and they add a great