One Man's Opinion

Now, you know the story. Repressive regimes are intolerant of home-grown dissidents and foreigners who are openly critical of them. Thus, they won't allow these troublemakers in their countries. The U.S. constantly condemns countries that act in such a retaliatory fashion against those who exercise their freedom of speech. This, it's pointed out, is a sign of weakness of a government or a political system. Well, interestingly enough, the U.S. has been denying visas to, of all people, human rights activists from several parts of the world, including one on Kurdish rights that has a long history of going to the U.S. to lecture and seek aid for his cause. In this particular case, the man has been waiting a year for his visa, without a word of explanation for the unusual delay. It seems that the State Department finds it inconvenient to let the man into the country, to do what the U.S. is supposedly admired for: letting people speak freely. I wonder what someone like Yoany Sánc

The privatization of security in all its aspects, worldwide, has turned into big business. Also, into a big problem. Dumping what is, essentially, a public responsibility on the private sector is very convenient for governments because it allows them to put the blame on someone else, when anything goes wrong. And plenty is going wrong, especially in the area of detention of illegal immigrants, a vulnerable population if there ever was one. The fact of the matter is that private security companies have been put in charge of countless detention centers with, basically, no supervision and no accountability for their actions, which range from neglect to torture. Paying someone else to do a job that is distasteful often ends up alienating oneself from it. Governments have become exasperated with illegal immigration and they would rather not deal with it hands-on. So, they hire these companies to do their "dirty work" for them. And look the other way, while the companies do their

How's this for a "speedy trial"? It has taken the U.S. nine years  to bring to trial a detainee at Guantánamo, with the possibility of a death sentence, for good measure. The man, accused of a terrorist activity in 2000, was tortured in a couple of sites used by the Americans to carry out illegal activities on foreign soil, before holding him in the Cuban detention camp. The defense counsel has pointed this out, but to no avail. The man is as good as dead, even before he has been tried, let alone convicted. The military tribunal who will hear the case is just a firing squad in disguise. He has been selected to die, and there is no way that that is not going to happen.

The Chinese are the "new Japanese." What I mean is, of course, that they are everywhere with their cameras, traveling in big groups all over the world. I had the chance to see that for myself these past two weeks while visiting, Paris, London and Berlin. With their new-found wealth and freedom to travel abroad, they have really taken up traveling enthusiastically. No longer a largely backward and reclusive society, China has opened up with a booming economy, and is staking its claim as a major player in the international arena. Faster than anyone expected, the Chinese not only are coming; they have definitely arrived.

The news that Iván Rodríguez has probably played his last game as a Washington National should have been that he has played his last game. Period. Arguably, the best catcher that has ever played the game, Iván should have let this last ovation in Washington be his "last hurrah." But, like so many other great athletes before him, the roar of the crowd has drowned out that little voice that, surely, tells him that he should retire now and stop embarrassing himself, especially at the batter box. Though he is still capable of throwing out almost half of those who dare run against him, his eye-hand coordination, the essential capability to hit consistently, is not there anymore. He has played very few games this year, hit even less, and the idea that he can play three more years, as he has said, is just a fantasy of his. Wanting to reach the 3,000 hit-milestone, being so close, is understandable, but unrealistic, given his diminished capacity to swing the bat properly. In spite of

Life has a funny way of proving you right or wrong, as the case may be. In other instances, of showing you up on your contradictions. This comes to mind with the recent scandal in Spain, where the government and the main opposition party both tried to put a spin on the reporting done by TVE, the State-run news and entertainment television channel. Fortunately, the public outcry and the professional fortitude of management prevented the foul deed. What I find interesting is the fact that Spain has chastised both Castro and Chávez for what they see as improper control of the press and the rest of the mass media. So, while condemning the two regimes, they attempt to do something along those lines. Once again, this is a clear example of the hypocrisy of the supposedly-leading democracies, that lecture the so-called "Third World" on the respect for human rights and freedoms that they themselves violate. Furthermore, when things like this happen in one of their countries, the G-7

In case anyone out there missed it, I'll be on vacation until September 24.

It seems like my mother was right, after all. She used to say that the world was full of crazy people. A new and far-ranging study shows that 38% of Europeans have some kind of mental-health problem. In the U.S. it has been estimated at 26%, although that is way too low, if you go by the everyday insanity that we are all aware of. The whole world --Puerto Rico included-- is full of an irrational violence that is a sure sign of some form of mental illness. People are killed every day on the flimsiest of excuses or for almost no reason at all. Be it alcohol or drug-induced, deranged behavior is rampant and often turns deadly. Tomorrow, I'll be going to Europe for a two-week vacation. I'm sure that I'll feel right at home.

For a while, Tony Blair was perceived very favorably, I dare say, by most people. He was young, bright, handsome and seemed to get along famously with another young, bright and handsome world leader, Bill Clinton. Together, they appeared to be new and exciting politicians that could change things for the better. We all know what happened to Clinton. In Blair's case, his image began to get tarnished when he acted like Bush's lap dog in the war on Iraq, an issue about which he remains unrepentant. Then, after leaving office, he officially became Catholic, the timing being significant in the overwhelmingly Protestant Great Britain. Now, we know that he is even godfather to one of Rupert Murdoch's daughters, another telling choice for Mr. Blair, given the fact that Murdoch supported him through his media empire during his tenure as Prime Minister. Tony Blair: older, less handsome and not-so-bright.

From 1776 onward, the U.S has boastfully proclaimed itself to be the beacon of democracy, freedom, liberty and human rights for the rest of the world. Much of that has been based on the right to vote and choose freely those who govern. Time and time again, the Americans have prompted other peoples to adopt democracy and the principle of "one man, one vote" as its cornerstone, condemning regimes that have no free elections. Having said that, why is it that the U.S. is trying desperately to convince the Palestinians to not seek a vote in the United Nations on whether they should be recognized as a state with certain rights and prerogatives? If a voting democracy is the ideal political system for all people and all time, why not let the democratic process run its course, and respect its outcome, whatever it may be? If the rest of the international community wishes to support the Palestinians, they should be allowed to do so in a democratic and peaceful way. But, trying to prev

Now that everybody and his brother is ganging up on Gaddafi as the worst of the worst, it's interesting to note that, according to documents uncovered in the aftermath of his ouster from power, there was a quite cozy relationship between American and British intelligence and the Libyan government. In fact, the U.S. and Great Britain used the Libyans to carry out some of their dirty work and torture supposed or actual terrorists. They also shared information with that country. So, how come the Libyan regime was good enough to serve Western interests, while it was doing all those awful things to its people? Surely, the Americans and the British were not unaware of what went on in that country. Still, they turned a blind eye to all this during all that time. No wonder Gaddafi had all those pictures of Condoleeza Rice! Now, all of a sudden, they have "discovered" how bad the Colonel really was, and, in what is a monumental display of cynicism and hypocrisy, Obama and Camero

To the list of disappointing decisions by Obama now add his overruling of the Environmental Protection Agency on new standards for clean air. The reason, of course, is taken from the private sector's talking points: they impede economic growth and recovery. Because that is a "no-no" at this time, Obama has, once again, betrayed a good portion of those who voted for him, believing in his message of change and hope. He is, after all, very susceptible to the message that he hasn't done enough or the right things to pull the country out of the deep hole it's in. So, he has chosen to accept as true the idea that business is weighed down by too many rules and regulations that prevents it from expanding and hiring more workers. Of course, we all know that eliminating consumer and environmental protections won't produce more jobs. It will only make businessmen richer. But, it's nice to pretend that it will benefit the economy in general. It also helps to keep th

Today's paper brought two news items that are in stark contrast and speak volumes about the U.S. and its priorities. On the one hand, there is the news about the billions of dollars that will be needed to repair the damage and restore to normalcy the East and the Northeast after tropical storm "Irene." On the other hand, there is the information on the billions of dollars--roughly, ten times the other amount--that has been wasted on projects of all kinds in Afghanistan and Iraq that have come to nothing, as well as the outright corrupt practices by American contractors over there, who, in essence, have stolen money from the U.S. government and taxpayers. So, while millions of people are in dire need of assistance due to the storm, their government keeps throwing away money overseas in two wars that only benefit a select group of private individuals and companies.