One Man's Opinion

"U.S. eyes China cyber sanctions. Sanctions would hit enterprises that steal U.S. secrets." Is this the same U.S. that has consistently spied on world leaders?

The Republican contenders for the nomination for President of the U.S. are also competing to see who has the dumbest political ideas. Not to be outdone by Donald Trump, Scott Walker, the Wisconsin governor, is now considering building a wall on the Canadian border, as a way of keeping terrorists out. Wow! Next thing you know, some other candidate will propose to build walls on the east and west coasts for the same reason.

By now, it should be pretty obvious that Usain Bolt is the greatest sprinter of all time. It's almost unfair to compete against him. Even after his injuries and inactivity for the past two years, he came back to beat the "best", which, as it turned out, were just not good enough. Even when he is not in perfect form, with a stumble here and there, he manages to win the big races. He talks the talk, and he runs the walk, while intimidating the competition into making mistakes when racing against him. He's in a class all by himself. If only that it would deprive the world from seeing him put on a show of sheer dominance, they might as well give him the gold medals and let the others run for second place.

I seem to remember having written some time ago that one should refrain from "canonizing" certain political or public figures hastily, just because they may be in the opposition in countries in which there are undemocratic regimes. There is a tendency to celebrate those people; even, to idolize them because they are pro-West, without looking too closely at who they are and how they behave. I also said that I hoped that Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel Peace Prize winner would not disappoint all her fans in the West. Well, it's happened. It seems that she is not that democratic, when it comes to dealing with people in her own party and those who are her natural allies, all of whom are seeing a side of her that they do not like and is unbecoming of someone of her stature in and outside her country. Even people who are on her side criticize her sharply for the way she conducts her political business. For a long time, she was not allowed to leave her house, much less

If any country in the world has to be very concerned by violence against foreigners or minorities it's Germany. This is how the Third Reich started, not so long ago, from a historical perspective. The State should not underestimate these forces or apply watered-down measures to their actions. Hate crimes must be dealt with forcefully and swiftly, before they get out of hand. Fascism is always there, under the surface, waiting for the next opportunity to come out with a vengeance. People who remain silent, very often, are fascists at heart, and will join a movement that they feel is growing stronger. Merkel and her government must act decisively on this matter, or they might live to regret it.

Really? Donald Trump actually ate Oreo cookies? Even if we were so gullible to believe that, his decision to stop eating them because they are going to be manufactured in Mexico is a top-ten stupid thing to do. And then to top it off, he said he would continue to eat them, if he found that there were still being made in the U.S. Guess what? There are several plants doing just that. Which goes to show how ignorant and careless he really is, not bothering to check the facts before going off on a rant. Anyway, this is to be expected from someone who cares so much about eating Oreos...

A racist or xenophobe's true feelings will, sooner or later, make themselves known.  Curt Schilling, the former great baseball pitcher, who had once argued publicly against evolution, has shown his true colors by, indirectly, comparing Muslims with Nazis. Specifically, he said: "It's been said that only 5-10% of Muslims are extremists. In 1940, only 7% of Germans were Nazis. How'd that go?" He has apologized. But, we all know what he really thinks.

A U.S. study confirms what we all knew intuitively: Americans are the world champions of mass shootings, defined  as those in which, at a single place, at least four people are killed. As a matter of fact, with only 5% of the world's population, the U.S. has 31% of the mass shootings on the planet. If you factor in those that happen at school and at work, it's 62% . The reasons for such astounding figures are very simple: 88.8 guns for every 100 people, and the gun culture that stems from the Second Amendment -- the right to bear arms -- of the Constitution. Did we really need a study by the American Sociological Association to tell us this?

Usain Bolt has won, once again, the title of the "world's fastest man" at the Beijing World Athletics Championships. And he did it after coming back from injuries to beat American Justin Gatlin, a known two-time drug cheat who should have been banned for life a long time ago. All is right with the world.

First, it was the NAACP; now, it's the "Black Lives Matter" movement. In a sort of copy-cat fashion, a male activist for BLM has, apparently, misrepresented his racial identity to pass as black, like the woman who did likewise to the NAACP. While there are blacks that try to pass as white, to avoid prejudice, in these two instances, two whites have passed as black, for a similar reason: being part of a movement for racial and social justice. Which is all well and good, except that they have chosen to lie about who they really are, and, despite their good intentions, that undercuts their credibility and seriousness, by acting a part or a role, as in a work of fiction.

Hillary Clinton has just missed an important "teaching moment". Talking with some representatives of the "Black Lives Matter" movement, she was dismissive of the idea that "changing hearts" is an important goal of this or any other social movement. To her, legislation is the way to go, and she urged those folks to concentrate on specific proposals for legislation. Hillary is wrong in assuming that legislation is the answer. History shows that laws have been passed and cases decided, and still, people who have not had a change of heart will look for all sorts of ways to circumvent them and render them meaningless. This is not to say that laws are not important, but, unless people change their attitude, a battle has been won, but the war is far from over. The gay marriage issue in the U.S. is a perfect example of how people in high places, as well as the common man, are fighting tooth and nail against the Supreme Court decision, including using the legal

If the sentence handed down in the Oscar Pistorius case was a scandal -- just five years for killing his girlfriend -- allowing him to serve most of it at home, after just 10 months in prison, is outrageous. To make matters worse, he will do so in a  mansion with a gym and a pool . Now, one can understand that South African law may want to give convicts the opportunity, in appropriate cases, to serve part of their sentence outside prison, but, in this case, time served behind bars is just too short, and releasing him to such comfort is really a slap in the face to the victim's memory, her family and the rest of society. Shame on South Africa!

See, this is why Assange and Snowden are the rest of the world's heroes, while the U.S. considers them villains of the worst kind and it's itching to capture them and either execute them or sentence them to life imprisonment. Thanks to Snowden, we now know that At&T collaborated with the National Security Agency, providing it with billions of emails during a decade. Not only did it help the American government spy on individuals, but also on the United Nations headquarters in New York City, where it wiretapped online communications. Assange and Snowden: May God keep them safe for a long time.

The Swedish cases against Julian Assange are beginning to fall apart. We all know that the real reason why this has been pursued so relentlessly and vigorously for such a long time is because the Americans are behind it. He has embarrassed them so much, that they must make an example of him. On the Swedish side of things, not to diminish the importance of rape, but, you would think that this is the first rape case in the history of Sweden. Thanks to Ecuador, Assange has been able to continue embarrassing the U.S., by revealing the truth behind its facade of propaganda.

They've got to be kidding! The Time magazine website publishes an article titled "These Are the 20 Best Beers in the World." Sixteen are American-made , according to an American site called RateBeer.com. Now, this is not only shoddy journalism, but an insult to the intelligence and taste of serious beer drinkers around the world, myself included. Either those guys at RateBeer.com are incredibly dishonest and ethnocentric, or they haven't tasted enough beers from other parts of the world. In either case, they are the laughingstock of the beer-drinking world. And so is Time , for publishing such idiocy.

The Ferguson, Missouri incident first anniversary, marred by violence, brings to mind, once again, the issue of police violence or use of excessive force. The interesting thing about it is the fact that there is really not much reliable data on it. Be it because U.S. police departments fail to keep records of their use of force, or because they are unwilling to make them public, there is no way to assess how American police behave  in this critical area of their work. Most of the evidence is anecdotal, with some pictures or videos to back it up. What little there is, is extremely disturbing, though. One can only imagine the full picture.

The death of Manuel Contreras, the Chilean master henchman for Augusto Pinochet, reminds us of how terrible that regime was, not only for Chile, but also for Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, which took part in Operation Condor, a state terrorism secret alliance that claimed thousands of lives. In Chile, for example, close to 38,000 people were imprisoned and tortured, and more than 3,200 were killed or disappeared during Pinochet's reign of terror led by Contreras. We are also reminded of the complicity, active or passive, of the U.S. government through all this process. The 526 year-sentence imposed on Contreras was not nearly enough for him to pay for his crimes against humanity. Especially, given the fact that part of the 20 years he served he spent at a rather comfortable institution. The Americans didn't do too much to punish two of his aides in the U.S. either. Birds of a feather.

You know what? I really don't care who won or lost the Republican debate in the U.S. last night. It makes no difference who their candidate for President will be. Nor it matters who the Democrats select as their candidate. It's all the same. For the rest of the world, whoever gets elected will behave like an American, that is to say, someone who sees the world as part of its empire, and will end up bombing, invading and occupying any other country it feels like, killing women, children and old people, and saying the're sorry for the "collateral damage" that can't be avoided. Let's not waste our time with this political show.

A scientific study done in Britain, but covering 20 other countries, including the U.S., shows that people are developing dementia much earlier in life than ever before, as early as in their 40s. It has ceased to be an advanced aging problem, and the culprit appears to be an environment full of pollution, pesticides and chemicals, both in the outside and inside our homes. In other words, not only are we poisoning ourselves to death, but we are also driving ourselves crazy or mentally incompetent in the process. Well, that's progress for you.

The U.S. commercial deficit grew 7.1% in June, up to $43.8 billion , mostly due to an increase in imports from the European Union. Why am I not surprised? As a frequent traveler to Europe, where my wife and I have spent weeks at a time, we have been able to appreciate the overall quality and superior workmanship of European products. Evidently, we are not alone in that appreciation.

It's gotta be a joke, right? Donald Trump has fired an aide for making racist remarks on Facebook against Obama and Al Sharpton's daughter. What! I suppose that the guy will now sue Trump, claiming that inappropriate public expression of one's views are not just cause for termination of employment or contractual obligations.

The New York Times, whose influence on American life is well known, has come out in favor of ending the embargo on Cuba, asking Congress to take this next and critical step on the road to normal relations between the two countries. Previously, the paper had urged Obama to reverse the decades-old American failed policy towards Cuba. So, if the recent past is any indication of what the future will bring, the embargo is on its way out.

Amnesty International wants to decriminalize prostitution. Good for them! There are those who oppose it, for the wrong reasons, I believe. Human trafficking is a major problem, but it is a problem regardless of its ultimate purpose. It is just as bad if, instead of doing it to supply prostitutes, it is done to supply slave labor for sweatshops or domestic help. Nor the answer is to fine or prosecute customers only, which is patently unfair because it penalizes only one of its participants. If prostitution is wrong, then both parties to it have to be punished equally. Or not. Which seems to be the solution for this age-old problem. Amnesty for prostitution.

The guy who stabbed some people at a gay-pride parade ten years ago in Jerusalem has done it again. An ultra-Orthodox Jew, he had been released recently, after serving ten years in prison. Evidently, it did him no good. I think we all have to understand, and accept, that fanatics -- especially, religious ones -- are beyond redemption, simply because they feel that they are doing "God's work", and that there is no greater duty on this earth. The man is convinced that he is some kind of "avenging angel" that must eliminate homosexuals, for their "abominable" ways. As my father used to say, there are people who have to be locked up for life. If this guy is sentenced to twenty years in prison, he will do it again, as soon as he is out.