One Man's Opinion

Oh, oh! On "Black Friday", Americans went crazy buying guns, so we can expect more shootings in schools, colleges and elsewhere. The 144,000 background checks that supposedly will weed-out undesirable gun owners are really a joke. Imagine what 3 background checks per second means for any kind of security. The fact of the matter is that, even under normal circumstances, about 98% of those checks are cleared, so it doesn't make that much of a difference, anyway. Undoubtedly, we'll continue to read about the "American way of killing" for years to come.

Did anybody really believe that the Ferguson, Missouri grand jury was going to indict a white policeman for killing a black man? Blacks in the U.S., especially in the South, should know that they don't have a chance on the street when faced with white people, with or without uniforms.

By all accounts, U.S. college campuses are among the most dangerous places in a most dangerous country. If you study or work there, you are bound to be either killed -- at least shot at -- or raped. All sorts of wackos with weapons are on the loose, and classmates, especially those who belong to fraternities, go on raping binges, for the hell of it. In the rape issue, what is more troubling is the fact that universities have a done a dismal job -- if indeed they have done one at all -- in addressing it. They have talked a good game, but failed to execute it. So, higher education has come to mean a high tolerance for criminal behavior on campus, with all sorts of excuses and rationalizations. If I were Malala, if offered one, I would turn down any scholarship in the U.S.

Okinawans have spoken. By electing as governor an opponent of the building of a new U.S. base there or the relocation of the present one, they have stated unequivocally their position against the continued presence of American troops on their soil. Decades of abuse by U.S. servicemen have pushed Okinawans to the limit, and both Japan and the U.S. can no longer ignore their wishes, if voting for or against something really counts, as the Americans so loudly proclaim.

The U.S. Postmaster General has retired -- resigned, really -- out of frustration with the inevitable decline of the postal service. The latest figures point to a $5 billion loss . Frankly, it's incomprehensible that the U.S. government continues to fund what has been a bad business deal for a long time. The fact of the matter is that the traditional mail is no longer relevant for most people and business. There is no going back to the way it was. Americans, who champion the free-market system of demand and supply, shouldn't keep artificially alive a service that is increasingly marginal. If the postal service is unable to maintain itself economically, it should disappear.

New Orleans is known as "The Big Easy", a name of uncertain origin and meaning. But, it may have a definite new meaning, now that we know that, from 2011 to 2013, over one thousand sex crimes -- some of them against very small children -- were not investigated at all or were only given a cursory treatment. This was the "job" of five police detectives who are still unnamed. The New Orleans Police Department has been under the Federal Government's supervision for the past two years. Rightfully so.

No matter how you frame it, 80% of Catalonians voted for independence from Spain. That's a number that can't be ignored, no matter that the vote wasn't legally binding. This is not a legal question, but a political one. No country that calls itself a democracy can justify ignoring such an overwhelming vote for whatever issue. You cannot play the democratic game and not abide by its rules always, especially when you lose. Sooner rather than later, the Spanish government will have to respond to such a cry for freedom, or risk losing a great deal of its legitimacy, both domestically and internationally.

It is most unfortunate that the Spanish Constitutional Court has, once again, ruled that Catalonia has no right to hold a vote on whether it wants to remain a part of Spain. First, it forbid that a formal and official voting take place. Now, it has even ruled that a symbolic vote -- a sort of poll -- cannot be held. A curious reading of the basic rights of freedom of expression and to petition government in a democracy. What is the Spanish government so afraid of? ¿Having a significant turnout in favor of independence?

It's been said that baseball is "America's pastime", a big part of U.S. popular culture. That being the case, baseball's scandals -- of which the Alex Rodríguez one is the latest -- is a perfect reflection of American society: you do what you have to, to get ahead, cheating included. When there is a lot of money involved, anything goes. Earning a living the old-fashioned way is not enough; the more money is on the line, the more extreme the lengths people are wont to go to, to achieve their goal of getting rich, the so-called "American dream." In baseball, as in life in general, that dream usually turns into a nightmare like the one Alex Rodríguez finds himself in.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has made a very serious accusation against the drug industry, claiming that it has delayed finding the cure for the Ebola virus because it wasn't profitable. WHO has reminded everybody that Ebola has been around since 1976 , but, since it only affected some of the poorest of the poor in Africa, there was no economic incentive to develop medicines for it. WHO pointed out this a long time ago, but no attention was paid to it. Now, all hell has broken loose, and  the infection is spreading well beyond the borders of those God-forsaken African countries. Now , everybody is paying attention, and the race is on to find a cure. Meanwhile, thousands of people will die, perhaps needlessly, because nothing was done for such a long time. Greed is indeed a mortal sin.

The writing has been on the wall for quite some time now. Be it called global warming or climate change, we've been warned repeatedly. Unless drastic measures are taken now, the damage to the planet will be dramatic and, possibly, irreversible. We are all committing suicide, if we continue to behave irresponsibly towards the environment. We may live to regret it. Our children and grandchildren will certainly do.