One Man's Opinion

Another American myth bites the dust. A recent international comparative study of university graduates and adults with college degrees shows that  the U.S. is, at best, mediocre, but mostly, at the very low end of the achievement spectrum. So, while it is true that Americans have some fine higher-learning institutions, most are not, and they turn out graduates which are not world-class. Part of the reason is that U.S. K-12 schools are, for the most part, a disaster, as other studies have shown. Therefore, it is unrealistic to expect students from those schools to turn into scholars when they go to college. American education at all levels is in trouble, with no end in sight.

I'm not a soccer fan, so I'm not prejudiced one way or the other, but I guess that fanaticism is the only explanation for the reaction of those who feel that Luis Suarez's punishment is either uncalled-for or excessive. I could understand it, if this was the first incident of this kind, but, unless I'm very much mistaken, this is the third time that Suarez has bitten an opposing player. Also, he has been involved in other outrageous behavior over the years. There is something very wrong with people who are willing to tolerate this, just because the person who engages in it is a star player in a sport.

Now we're talking. Finally, the Vatican has condemned one of its top people, the former Ambassador to the Dominican Republic, for sex crimes against children. This is the same guy who was briefly involved in a hatchet job against the Archbishop of San Juan, Puerto Rico, for purely political reasons. So, he's an all-around bad guy who should have been kicked out of the Church and prosecuted a long time ago. If only the Vatican had acted as swiftly and decisively before, the Church would not be in the mess it's in. Lest we forget, these things happened on the now Saint Jean Paul II's watch, a fellow Pole of the disgraced cleric, who, evidently, was more concerned with otherworldly things than with keeping an eye on his most vulnerable sheep.

Yes, we can...if we want. IKEA has announced that it will raise the minimum wage for its U.S. employees, according to a cost-of-living formula developed by MIT applied to each city its stores are in. In other words, the pricier the city, the higher the minimum wage, which could fluctuate from $9 to $13 an hour. Fair enough, considering that the current minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, and American business has fought tooth and nail against a proposed $10.10 by Obama. Oh, yeah. IKEA is a Swedish company, and you know how those socialists are...

Post-9/11 U.S. fascism has taken a hit of sorts with a Federal court decision that orders the government to change the implementation of its "no-fly" program, in order to give those affected the opportunity to present proof that there is no valid reason to be included in it. You see, for over a decade now, the American government has kept people -- mostly Muslims -- from boarding planes without giving any reason or the chance to correct a mistake on its part, a situation that the ACLU has described very aptly as "Kafkaesque." Of course, it's too soon to celebrate. The government will probably appeal to the appropriate Circuit Court and, if need be, to the Supreme Court, so, as in so many other instances, "national security" concerns could be the trump card.

Had JFK lived at this time in history, he wouldn't have wanted to be a Berliner, but a Danish. Kennedy would have wanted for his people the kind of society that the Danes have, with a high standard of living, no great inequality and a strong safety net for those in need of assistance. All this made possible by high taxes paid by citizens who feel that there is no merit in being outrageously rich, while there are fellow citizens who do without the basic necessities. Danes, as well as the people of other Scandinavian countries, have struck a balance between capitalism and socialism, a happy medium, that allows them to live with a high degree of social satisfaction. As close to Camelot as can be.

I would have loved to have been listening in on the conversation between Biden and Rousseff in Brazil. Can you imagine him -- not the most dipolomatic of guys -- telling her that the Americans have been spying on her because they consider her a dangerous leftist; possibly, a terrorist? And then, adding injury to insult, handing over documents that show how the American government supported the military coup that ultimately led to her incarceration and torture? And there are people who say that the Vice President has a cushy job...

But, we already knew it. Once again, the U.S. health care system is deemed the worst of eleven rich nations, in terms of  " efficiency, equity and outcomes ." This, despite the fact that Americans spend more on their health care than all the other countries. Needless to say, this is no small matter, but a fundamental part of the quality of life in any country. And yet, American arrogance and subservience to vested interests in the health care system in the U.S. have prevented their country from having a first-rate one. Whatever shortcomings it may have, "Obamacare" has tried to do the right thing for health care for a lot of Americans, and we all know how hard its opponents have fought to bring it down.This is part of the reason why the U.S. will continue to be last in health care among the developed countries.

It must be the cold. The Alaska government is funding a program that will put free pregnancy tests in bar restrooms, to try to reduce the number of babies born with fetal alcohol syndrome. It seems that a substantial number of women -- especially teenagers -- drink a lot, unaware that they are, in fact, pregnant. Right there you have two major health and social problems: teenage drinking and pregnancy. Obviously,  Bible-thumping Sarah Palin had not much of an impact on the state in this regard while being governor. Now that I think about it, she didn't have much of an impact on her daughter, either...

That makes two of us. Kim Jong Un, the North Korean strongman, is very upset with his country's meteorologists, for their bad forecasting record of late. I know the feeling. I've been more than upset with the U.S. Weather Service -- we don't actually have one of our own in Puerto Rico -- for their predictions of hurricane seasons these past few years. Year after year, they predict a "very active" season, and, for the most part, it fails to come about. The trouble is that that kind of prognostication sets in motion all kinds of emergency preparations, including simulations, that bore you to death from June to November on radio and TV. I'm really worried this year, though. They've predicted a fairly slow season.

In a masterfully-calculated move, the President of Iran has announced his country's disposition to help Iraq, at a time when Obama has ruled out another military intervention and talks about unspecified "other options." So, while the U.S. seems unsure of what it will do, if anything, Iran is ready to come to the rescue. Time will tell what comes of all this, but, for now, at least on the public-relations front, Iran has scored big, while the U.S. has called for a timeout.

Corrupt and wasteful spending go hand in hand with the U.S. military, both at home and abroad. There have been so many instances -- most of them outrageous -- that it's hardly news anymore. Still, once in a while, one comes along that sets a new standard for fraudulent behavior. Like spending $3 million  on eight patrol boats for the police in Afghanistan, a  landlocked country. Not only that but these boats usually cost $50,000; yet, the U.S. government paid $375,000 for each one. The result: four years after the fact, the boats are in storage in Virginia, never having been used for anything, even in the U.S. See why the Americans love to bomb, invade and occupy other countries? It's great for business!

Wait a minute! Wasn't Iraq "mission-accomplished"? Wasn't al-Qaeda a thing of the past? It's clear now that, as in many other instances, American triumphalism -- this time in Iraq and Afghanistan -- has been unfounded. American forces may stay there forever, but they won't stop people there from fighting over cultural and religious differences that go back thousands of years. If anything, foreign intervention only makes things worse. Anybody with a sense of history could have predicted this development. It makes you wonder about "the best and the brightest" in Washington. Once again, pure American self-aggrandizing propaganda.

It had to happen sooner or later. American fascination with classifying, grading or ranking everything -- "the top whatever" -- has produced "the ten most corrupt states in the U.S." Which must have been a very close competition, given the state of American public life. Six of those ten are Southern states, part of the so-called "Bible belt", where people believe in creationism and would bring back slavery at the drop of a hat. Dumb, evil and corrupt.

At the risk of seeming heartless, one has to somehow feel that the deaths of five U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan by so-called "friendly fire" is just deserts. During all these years there have been countless deaths of Afghan troops and civilians by the U.S., mostly in air raids, with just a hypocritical apology. So, a little bit of divine retribution for so much callous disregard for the lives of others is in order.

Hillary Clinton has justified her and Bill's steep speaking fees of $200,000 ,   claiming that they were broke when they came out of the White House. Of course, if someone is dumb enough to pay such a price to hear them speak, they have every right to take advantage of it. But, she seems to be saying that this was the only way out of a difficult economic situation. But, why didn't they practice law? Aren't they supposed to be good lawyers, especially her, by some accounts? Of course, that takes time and effort, and you can end up on the losing side, from time to time. It's much easier to get a check for a speaking engagement, plus a free lunch or dinner and drinks. Supposedly, they have made millions this way. I guess it's safe now to go back to the White House and "lose" some money.

Here's an idea. Let's have all the major international sports competitions and events in the U.S. That way, everything will be perfect, and we won't have to listen to or read the ceaseless anticipated criticism of other venues, such as the London Olympics, the Beijing Olympics, the Rio World Cup and the Rio Olympics. Since the rest of the world is never up to American standards, no other country should even try to host any event. So, let's not waste any more time and money, and talk about something else in the media.

Lest we think that the only scandal plaguing the Catholic Church is the one about pedophile priests, the one about unwed mothers and their dead babies in Ireland has come back to haunt it. Though it's not a new story, current events have put the spotlight on the gruesome tale of nuns who ran a home for unwed mothers and, one supposes, out of concern for the "sinful" nature of the child killed them or let them die. The fact that some 800 children died in mysterious circumstances, with no record of it and their remains were found in a septic tank speaks volumes about what went on in that institution. This may be the tip of the iceberg. There is the possibility that there are other sites with a similar situation. There's nothing worst than do-gooders with a sense of stamping out evil and sin based on religious beliefs.

I fully appreciate D-Day's historic significance. Seventy years from now, people should still celebrate it. But, you know what would be really great? That the "Powers" that once landed at Normandy and all the others that fought so hard against Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan stop bombing and invading other countries whenever they don't like its government, want to take possession of its natural resources, justify it on the flimsiest of excuses, or simply feel like it, just because they have the firepower to do so. That would be a day worth celebrating forever and ever.

Walmart  people are no Boy Scouts in the world of business. In fact, they have been involved in some shady deals. Take Mexico, for example. Some of the company's top executives there have had to resign or "retire" because they participated in a bribery scheme of government officials. So, while Americans decry the corruption of foreign governments, they are actively pursuing it. After all, it's the American way. Anything to make a buck. By hook or by crook.

If you thought that the issue of American spying on world leaders was going to go away, think again. At least, as far as the Germans are concerned, it's not gonna happen. A federal prosecutor there is opening an investigation on the matter. Regardless of its outcome, the investigation will keep the embarrassing issue alive for some time to come. This is as it should be. Something like this is not to be taken lightly. There should be both political and legal consequences. National sovereignty is no small matter. Imagine if it had been the other way around. The Americans would be screaming "bloody murder", seeking to apply their brand of extraterritorial jurisdiction and demanding extradition for everybody and their mothers. The Germans are right in not letting this slide.

He had clearly overstayed his welcome. Juan Carlos should have gone a few years ago, while he had a positive image that is now tarnished by his own reckless behavior and that of some of his family members. These last few years he wasn't thinking straight, embarrassing himself publicly with all sorts of erratic behavior. At 76, it is probable that he has become incapable of exercising proper judgment on all manner of things. He has done himself and Spain a favor by abdicating his throne, for what it's worth. One can only hope that Felipe has learned from his father's mistakes, and that he will reign in a dignified manner.

We've all read that American education is very poor; that the average American has no real grasp of basic subjects like reading, writing, arithmetic...and I would definitely add geography.  No other people have so much trouble with knowing where they are and keeping within a particular country. For some unknown reason, Americans love to travel to a foreign country and then go to one of its borders and cross over unwittingly into a neighboring country. Almost always, the country they just happen to cross into is an enemy of the U.S. or is at odds with it. The latest case is that of a Marine that went to Mexico with  three guns , and, as he tells it, when leaving, made a wrong turn and drove back to it. He was arrested and is in jail, where in the best American tradition, he claims to have been abused. Given all this, American education should emphasize geography as a basic subject in school. Also, Americans should be required to carry a GPS at all times.