One Man's Opinion

It would be funny, if it weren't tragic, how Catholic priests go about justifying or explaining their actions in the sexual department. A Brazilian priest has been accused of having sex with three underage girls some time ago. He has not denied the charges, except to point out that he did not molest the youngest of them, who was ten at the time. The other two were 13 and 15, so I guess he thinks that it was sort of alright. This is the kind of warped mentality found in the Church across the board. One of the things that has come out of the pedophilia scandal is the way in which the Church engages in all sorts of distinctions and moral quibbling in an attempt to explain what has been going on all this time, trying to lessen it.  There have been statements to the fact that, at the time, this wasn't regarded as a crime or, very recently, that young people "provoke" priests. The Brazilian priest's statements are part of this tradition.

If you are the least bit informed about history and current events, you should know that, one way or another, the U.S. plots against political regimes which it finds distasteful or inconvenient to its policy of world domination. This is why it should come as no surprise the revelations that the Americans have been using some private companies in their campaign to unseat Chávez in Venezuela, and that they targeted students to be a vocal part of the opposition. Once again, this goes to show that one has to be skeptical about the authenticity and spontaneity of some of these "demonstrations" against the governments of the Left around the world, especially in Latin America, which the Americans feel belongs to them by divine right.

The Catholic clergy has been, is and always will be full of homosexuals. So, the news that a Scottish Cardinal had "inappropriate contact" with priests or seminarians in the 1990's is no news at all. So is the fact he and others who have engaged in or covered up pedophilia will be on their merry way to Rome, to choose the next Pope. The Church marches to a different drummer, and does not respond well to any other consideration except what it deems to be its own best interest, "though the heavens may fall."

As if Lance Armstrong hasn't enough problems being exposed for doping and covering it up for so many years, now he faces lawsuits from his sponsors, both private and public, including the U.S. Postal Service. All of them want their money back, claiming that their endorsement was based on the good-faith belief that Armstrong was competing fairly; had they known otherwise, they wouldn't have put their money on him and their name on his jersey. Armstrong won't be able to pedal away from these lawsuits, with or without the doping that he so expertly engaged in.

The U.S. Postal Service is really desperate, and desperation leads to some crazy decisions.There's just no other way to explain the fact that it's coming out with a clothing line , as a business venture. Now, aside from the fact that it's rather unseemly for the Postal Service to engage in such a business proposition, on the practical side, who's going to want to wear clothes that identify you as a postal worker? Is there a market for being confused with the people who have failed at delivering the mail? Do people want to be chased by dogs, while walking in their own neighborhood? No wonder the USPS is bankrupt. With ideas like this one...

Yoani Sánchez is finding out very quickly that all that freedom she's been longing for includes the freedom to boo and hound her as she goes around being a CIA mouthpiece. So, if she thought that she was going to have a smooth ride, she now knows better. Just a few days into her tour as a media darling of the enemies of the Cuban revolution and the rest of the Latin American Left, she has encountered a strong opposition in Brazil, where she hasn't been well received on several of her public appearances and speaking engagements. If this goes on, maybe she will start missing her much-decried Cuba...

The U.S. Cold-War propaganda was -- and still is -- that the Russians are intrinsically evil and the Americans are of a pure heart and incapable of doing anything bad. This is why in the latest controversy between the two countries, regarding the adoption of Russian children by Americans,  the "official" line is that the Russians are wrong in stopping these adoptions, doing so as a retaliation for some U.S. decisions on an entirely different matter. Maybe so, but it now seems that there may be a valid reason for Russian concern over these adoptions. The suspicious death of a three-year-old adopted Russian boy in Texas has all the earmarks of abuse, and according to Russian officials would be the 20th case in the last 20 years or so. If this turns out to be true, then the Russians are right in putting a stop to these adoptions, American protestations notwithstanding.

It's been a good weekend for Latin America. Chávez is back in Venezuela and Correa was easily reelected in Ecuador. In spite of all of the ill-will and maneuvering by the U.S. and its lackeys, socialism, Latin American-style, has won another fight against those who would go back to the days when the Americans put up a puppet government that allowed them to exploit a country to their heart's content. Both Chávez and Correa have shown that it's possible to win at the democracy game, by having a solid support from the people, who recognize that the government responds to the majority of them, not just a privileged few landowners, industrialists and other members of the economic elite.

The fact that Yoani Sánchez, the so-called Cuban "dissident blogger" has left the country for a three-month world tour raises interesting questions. First, a tour like this one is not easy to organize all by yourself from a place like Cuba, with so many limitations. So, who is arranging all this?. Second, as far as we know, she is not a rich person. Traveling is expensive, especially, for such an extended period of time, to so many faraway places. Who is paying for all this? Third, there is an obvious interest in hearing her badmouth the Cuban regime. Someone or something has a vested interest in having her go around the world denouncing the Cuban government. Now, who is powerful and rich enough, as well as being Public Enemy Number 1 of the Cuban regime, to do all these things? You guessed it. Sooner or later, we'll find out that she has been on an American payroll, directly or indirectly, through one of those groups with the word "democracy" or "freedo

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico is denying that it has tried to influence the Mexican government on the matter of its appointment of the Defense Secretary, by opposing a certain candidate.  Given the history of U.S. relations with Mexico and the rest of Latin America, you can bet your bottom peso that that is exactly what happened. The Americans are never "innocent bystanders" when it comes to what happens in their "backyard", as they so offensively refer to Latin America.

The Vatican keeps messing up. The latest -- certainly, not the last -- faux pas is the naming of a German businessman with ties to military shipbuilding to head the Vatican Bank. If this were an ordinary institution, the choice would not be of any concern, but the Church should not be associated with war in any way, shape or form. Although the Vatican has attempted to stress that there are other sides to the business the man has been involved with, the fact is that it does not negate his relationship to the military warships, a no-no in Church circles. Another reason for Ratzinger's sudden resignation...

We'll have to wait and see what the investigation turns up in the Oscar Pistorius case, but it doesn't look good. The explanation that he killed his girlfriend because he mistook her for a burglar seems rather odd. Also, it doesn't help that he has a history of erratic behavior and "domestic disturbances." Although there is much to admire in his determination to compete and succeed as a runner, he doesn't seem to be much of a heroic figure in some other aspects of his life. Maybe he wanted to live too fast, to make up for his handicap. Now, he has been stopped in his tracks.

Valentine's Day is all well and good, but to use it as an excuse to allow the so-called "blood diamonds" traffic to go on is unseemly. And yet, this is exactly what Belgium has proposed, calling for non-enforcement of controls of the sale of Zimbabwe diamonds, mined in awful conditions that have been repudiated by the international community. Of course, the Belgian diamond industry claims that those controls only hurt the poor Zimbabweans who work in the mines, but we all know whose interests they are looking out for. Diamonds are not just "a girl's best friends"...

Now that we're getting rid of Herr Ratzinger, the Catholic Church should take the opportunity to choose a Pope from the New World. Someone with a different perspective and worldview. How about those two Brazilians that have been mentioned? That would shake things up. Church music could use some bossa nova or samba beat , instead of that Gregorian chant-like music that is so depressing. Let's put some rodizio- style beef and caipirinhas on the Vatican menu, and see what happens. Ah...well. I suppose we'll get another old Mafiosi Italian cardinal...

On February 5, HBO showed Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God , a documentary about the Catholic Church's handling of pedophilia in its ranks, particularly critical of Pope Ratzinger. Today, just six days later, the Pope announces his resignation "for health reasons." If you believe that there is no connection between these two events, you are an innocent soul that should go straight to heaven.

The U.S. has a history of violating its own laws or circumventing international standards, by using other countries as dumping grounds or taking advantage of their less strict regulations or enforcement. This is what has been happening in the case of some American companies that recycle lead batteries in Mexico, where environmental regulations are lax and their enforcement is nil. So, these extremely hazardous and toxic materials are handled and disposed of in ways that would be unacceptable in the U.S. and other places where environmental and health concerns are properly addressed. Of course, it all comes down to money. Disregarding safety procedures saves money. Any damage that occurs down the line is balanced with the immediate profits that cutting costs and corners produce for the companies.

What some Chilean naval cadets have done is truly outrageous. Engaging in chanting violence against Argentinians, Bolivians and Peruvians publicly is offensive and tasteless. They should be dismissed outright, and a formal apology must be offered to those three countries. The fact that this is some sort of "tradition" in the Chilean armed forces is very disturbing, and shows a lack of discipline that has gone on for too long. At a time when people of neighboring countries are trying to come together to face very difficult economic and social problems, such insensitivity is extremely harmful to a shared peace and prosperity.

There seems to be a plagiarism epidemic going around the world, especially in academic and journalistic circles. Very prestigious people in the news business have made the headlines in a very negative way, by copying part of their work from other unnamed sources. One or two well-known writers have also been involved in this practice. Most striking has been the case of the German Defense Minister, who plagiarized part of his doctoral thesis. He, of course, had to step down from his post. Now, the German Education Minister has been accused of doing the same. Although she denies the allegations, the evidence seems conclusive. Frau Merkel should start looking for her replacement.

Information collated from various credible sources, including the U.S. government, point to the fact that 54 countries have   helped the USA, at one time or another, in its illegal detention program since September 11, 2001. Most of those nations are in Africa, Asia and Europe. As I've said before, this was the way in which the Americans got around their Constitution and laws, and were able to hold people indefinitely and torture them without getting their hands dirty. Money and power can be very persuasive, to get others to do your bidding, even to the point of acting illegally. In some of these cases, countries such as Kenya, Malaysia, Somalia and Zimbabwe do not have a lot of respect for human rights to begin with, so it wasn't difficult to convince them to participate in such a scheme.

But, of course, man! Coca-Cola CEO has come to the realization that capitalism, as we know it, has to "evolve"; in other words, it has to a be a kinder, gentler money-making proposition. Companies cannot continue to exploit their workers, and do all the other evil things that capitalism is good at. It has to tone down its voracious appetite for profit, and be more responsive to people's wants and needs. I suppose that top executives like this one are feeling the heat from civil society and other groups who are no longer willing to accept whatever the government and the corporate world dictate. Either they become more responsible "citizens" or their business days are numbered.

Forget about mens sana in corpore sano or any other sportsmanship slogan. The world of sport seems to be rotten to the core. The ongoing cycling scandal is nothing compared with the worldwide match-fixing that goes on in soccer. There are indications that, in the last four years, more than 680 matches have been fixed, including some high-level and championship ones . Obviously, all this has to do with the betting on matches or games in professional sports. People are looking for "a sure thing" when they risk their money on the outcome of a sporting event, and there are those who are willing to accommodate them by bribing players and officials in any game. This is just another example of the myth that, somehow, sports make you a better person. Not so, I'm afraid.

See, this is what happens when you want to be politically correct or ingratiate yourself with women. A Cuban who has lived in the U.S for almost 30 years married a Vietnamese and took her last name as his own, as an act of love. Then, he went ahead and got his driver's license with his new last name. Subsequently, he was accused of fraud, because Florida does not allow a man to do that. In order to change his name, he had to go to court. Luckily, the state decided against prosecuting him for fraud. Love conquers all, I suppose.

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

What is the world coming to! Germans are drinking less beer than ever. They've turned to water or wine, abandoning one of their most sacred traditions. This is nothing short of treason, and a bad example for the rest of the world. I am appalled and shocked, quite frankly. Can you imagine Argentinians eating less beef or the British having less tea? Of course not. It would be unpatriotic and against the natural order of things. Thank God, we Puerto Ricans keep honoring our traditions...drinking-wise.