One Man's Opinion

On certain issues, Obama has been a disappointment to his people and people around the world who really thought that he would make things right. Unfortunately, in the foreign affairs field he has continued policies that needed that much-promised change he campaigned on. His recent comment on the drone aircraft, minimizing the death and destruction it continues to cause is extremely insensitive and offensive, not taking into account the needless suffering of innocent people on the ground. Shame on him for taking such a cavalier attitude towards such a cowardly way of killing defenseless people, including women, children and old and sick people!

As it turns out, Fidel was right, after all. A few days ago, he stated that the recently-deceased prisoner many claimed was a "dissident" was, in fact, a common criminal, jailed for domestic violence. Now, the guy's widow has admitted precisely that. Of course, she has downplayed the incident that gave rise to her husband's incarceration, but the basic facts are the same. The man was no dissident; he chose to label himself as such and go on a hunger strike, to manipulate public opinion in his favor, but he had no record of being in the opposition to the regime. He just wanted to get out of jail, and thought that strategy would work. So, now, those that rushed to hail him as a martyr are left with egg on their faces, and in the uncomfortable position of having to defend an opportunistic wife-beater, just to continue to demonize Fidel and the Cuban government.

Iraq continues to be a source of embarrassment, to say the least, to the U.S. Through the years that the Americans were there full-time, there were reports of mismanagement of funds allocated for the reconstruction of the country and charges that a lot of projects were never completed. In short, Iraq had become a "black hole" of American taxpayers' money going into the pockets of a handful of private contractors. A recent audit reveals just how big that hole is. There are $2 billion unaccounted for, and nobody seems to know what happened. So, now that the Iraqi government has been left to fend for itself, it has no idea of how, in what and where all that money was spent, as well as what it should do with those incomplete projects. Should we be surprised at this turn of events? Not really. These American interventions are a scam to make money out of the U.S. Treasury. First, there is the destruction; then comes the reconstruction by a select group of private companies,

Part of the mess the Americans have left in Iraq is the fact that those who collaborated with them are being hunted down systematically, regarded as traitors. This was to be expected: no matter the reasons for it, people who help those who invade a country will be seen as helping the enemy. The truth is that, aside from those who may have acted for "patriotic" reasons, those so-called "Sons of Iraq" were on the U.S. payroll, something that cheapens their standing as freedom fighters. Now that the U.S. has left the country, these Iraqis are at the mercy of those they fought against. Understandably, the Iraqi government -- such as it is -- has no use for them, and neither has the means nor the will to protect them. At bottom, I suppose that Iraqis don't trust those guys who were willing to accept U.S. dollars to take arms against their countrymen. So, they'll continue to die because, this time, the "U.S. Cavalry" is not coming.

Having an elegant ball by the far right, most of whom espouse Nazi ideas, on the same day and very near an act of remembrance of Auschwitz victims in Vienna is, to say the least, an outrageous provocation. Lest we forget, Hitler was Austrian, and Austrians, by and large, were willing collaborators with the Nazi regime. All this happens at the same time that a publisher works on a reprinting of Mein Kampf  in Germany. Not to panic, but there is a need to watch these things very closely, so that they don't get out of hand. The mistake made in the 1930s was assuming that Hitler was a crackpot that no one would listen to, let alone follow. Malcontents and anti-Semites are never in short supply, and are ready to join any movement to make things happen. It happened once before. It can happen again.

Things haven't really turned out as expected in the Arab world after getting rid of the much-hated dictators in Egypt or Libya. Doctors Without Borders has just announced that they are withdrawing from Libya because the present regime has the gall of bringing detainees or prisoners for treatment after torturing them, and then taking them away to torture them some more. Amnesty International has validated that position taken by the humanitarian group. Meanwhile, the British government has expressed some concern about this. The Americans, who were the principal instigators of the Libyan revolt, have yet to acknowledge the problem. They got what they wanted, so, who cares if Libya is just as bad or even worse off than before? Not the U.S.

Say what you will about Fidel, the man has a way with words. I think a lot of people in the U.S. and around the world will agree with his assessment of the Republican presidential campaign, calling it a competition of "idiocy and ignorance." Too bad the Democrats won't dare use it as a campaign slogan against the Republicans. It's perfect. The truth is that Fidel knows more about American politics than most Americans. He has outlived and outfoxed 11 U.S. Presidents and counting. If only the U.S. had listened to a lot of what he has said over these past 53 years, it would have saved itself and the rest of the world a lot of grief. But, Americans were so busy demonizing him, that they failed to recognize the truth in much of what he was saying. I always thought that he was right on a lot of issues. I think he's damn right on this one.

In case anybody out there thinks I'm exaggerating when I point out how contemptuous Americans are of the rest of the world, check this out. The Marine sergeant who led his men on a killing spree that left 24 unarmed Iraqis dead in 2005 has just plead guilty to some minor offense and will not serve any time in jail . Although it was expected that he would serve three months  -- an outrageously-short prison term -- through some miracle of "military justice", he winds up a free man. I've said it over and over: Americans find it almost impossible to punish one of their own that kills foreigners, especially, people from backward or third-world countries whose lives have no value. This case is a perfect example of this attitude. Those 24 Iraqis mean nothing to the U.S. They will not "inconvenience" this guy over the deaths of people that they consider worthless.

It's taken 30 years, but it seems that the wheels of justice have finally begun to move in Guatemala, as former dictator Ríos Montt, now 85, has been summoned into court to answer for his crimes. I suppose he must have felt safe, after all these years, but, following in the footsteps of Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay, Guatemala has decided to face its past and hold responsible those that ordered or carried out the mass killings that totaled around 200,000 people. It is simply too big a number to just sweep under the rug of history. People have to be held accountable for such atrocities, no matter how long it takes or how old or sick they may be when it finally happens. There is no expiration date on justice.

Joe Paterno, the legendary American football coach, has died from shame. In something that really mattered, he came up short. Some people have said that his failure to report the sexual abuse by his assistant coach Sandusky was "a lapse in judgment." But, it was more than that, because now we know that there were previous occasions in which he intervened so that players of his who engaged in criminal behavior were not even disciplined by the university. So, it appears that he felt that he was somehow above it all. For a man who, reputedly, was well-read and acquainted with the classics, he failed to realize that he had fallen prey to hubris. All of his accomplishments on the field mean very little when compared to his failure off the field. To try to justify himself by saying that he didn't know what to do when informed that Sandusky was having sex with underage boys in the showers was outrageous. It was very simple: call the police and let the authorities handle it. Yo

Not to seem insensitive, but, people who go on hunger strikes risk their lives knowingly. It's a common form of protest, with frequent fatal results. If someone wants to die to prove a point, they should be allowed to do so. The Cuban regime is no more to blame for the death of dissidents who choose to endanger their lives this way than other countries in which this happens. There are plenty of prisoners and other protesters who seek to bring about change in their personal status or conditions in general by resorting to this strategy. Should a government change its policy simply because someone chooses not to eat and die? No country in the world will do that, and with good reason. Once again, much is made of this, only because it's a way of pointing the finger at Cuba. When this happens elsewhere, either you don't hear much about it or all kinds of explanations and justifications are given for it.

Undercover police work is both important and dangerous, not just to the officers who engage in it, but also for its potential to be misused. Over 30 years ago, we in Puerto Rico saw the tragic results of an undercover agent who, in essence, became a criminal, in order to entrap would-be terrorists. Currently, in the United Kingdom, a couple of undercover agents have been charged with getting women pregnant while maintaining them under surveillance. The nature of undercover work makes it quite difficult not to step over the line between the legal and the illegal, the moral and the immoral. It takes a very strong individual to resist the temptations that come with the territory in this line of police work. There aren't all that many people that can perform these tasks successfully without, at least, embarrassing themselves.

Here's a news item that I'm sure won't get too much air time or newspaper space. Cuba is sending close to 500 health workers to Jamaica for the next two years, to help out in that country's hospitals, which are understaffed. Jamaica took the bold step in 2008 to offer free medical care, so there has been a sharp increase in patients in those facilities. Whatever the reason, as in other instances, Cuban solidarity with countries in need has prompted it to offer this aid. Of course, many people choose to ignore this kind of gesture because they would have to give Cuba credit for something positive, and that's a "no-no" in those circles that specialize in demonizing all things Cuban. Either that or they resort to the other usual argument: that those workers are needed in Cuba, so it's irresponsible for the Cuban government to send them out of the country. It would be interesting to know what other countries are helping Jamaica out in this regard...

As bad as they are, dictatorships do provide a certain kind of stability to countries that, in some cases, would fall apart due to complex cultural, racial or religious differences. Iraq and Libya are two recent examples of countries liberated from decades of oppression, which now find themselves in so much turmoil, that some of their people have begun to look on the "bad old days" with nostalgia. In both these cases, religious fanaticism is at the root of all the evils that plague them. While there was an iron hand keeping those irrational forces in check, there was a semblance of "normality." Absent that, all hell has broken loose. The road to a supposed democracy and personal freedom is a long and winding one in countries such as these. Even after fair and free elections, majority rule could very well end up establishing a government that will not have a great deal of respect for the rights of minorities. Democracy is messy, and its results are far from what pe

Belgian authorities have done the smart thing by raiding three Catholic Church offices, in search of evidence of priest abuse of children. There's no place for being naive when dealing with a Church that has been consistently secretive about its role in covering up these crimes for such a long time. So, when a Church spokesman complains that, if requested, they would have turned over any relevant documents, we can all imagine what that would have been like. The time for playing nice is over. The Church had ample opportunity to do the right thing decades ago, when these abuses started happening. It chose to do nothing. Worse than that, it engaged in an international cover-up that is still going on. They behave like criminals; they deserve to be treated like criminals.

No matter when, where or by whom, colonialism is an evil that leads to atrocious behavior against the oppressed. This comes to mind, now that the Dutch government has decided to award some $270,000 for a massacre by its troops at a tiny Indonesian village in 1947. Frustrated at losing their empire, they executed 430 men and boys  because the people there would not cooperate with them in their search for a resistance leader. Sixty-four years later, most of the victims' relatives are no longer alive or are very old and sick. What they are going to receive is a mere pittance, compared to the harm they or their family endured all those years ago. The people at the village are so poor -- probably as a result of colonial exploitation -- that the prospect of receiving this handout has caused a great deal of grief. These are the lasting effects of colonialism all around the world.

Egyptian Nobel laureate ElBaradei has fallen by the wayside in his country's political race. Granted that the military regime hasn't lived up to its promises -- the reason he has given for withdrawing his candidacy -- but it seems that his support wasn't what he expected. There's been also talk that he has lived too long abroad, which has put him our of touch with some aspects of Egyptian reality. All that may very well be the real reason for quitting. Maybe he thought that the Egyptian people would acclaim him as their leader, making an election unnecessary. Or he expected to win in a landslide. When it became clear that none of this was going to happen, the former diplomat became discouraged. Democracy is tough.

In the world of U.S. medicine, being board-certified is like having the "Good Housekeeping seal of approval." People talk about it almost with reverence. Doctors would almost "kill" for it. Or, as we now know, cheat. Radiologists are, apparently, at the forefront of the cheating practices to approve the exams. A recent investigation has revealed that it's common for doctors to memorize the questions and then write them down and feed them into a central database from which future test takers can study, all of which is prohibited. A big part of the problem is that, on average, half of the test is made up of previously-used questions, which is a dubious practice in itself. There are, to be sure, other medical areas in which this cheating goes on. So, once again, this shows that all that American superiority and standards of excellence are just a lot of hype and propaganda. Were this to happen in some other country, Americans would quickly point out the lack of st

I suppose it's all that macho or tough-guy bullshit that military training entails that, ultimately, leads servicemen to behave like wild animals. On the heels of the U.S. Marines scandal, there's news that the Australian armed forces are having a hard time with continuing revelations of misconduct, especially of the sexual kind, very similar to the one engaged in by the Americans. It seems that, putting on the uniform and given a weapon with license to kill so changes the mindset of ordinary men that they feel empowered to do just about anything to their fellow human beings, including their comrade-at-arms. It's like a frat party gone really wild. Rape and pillage, 21st-century style.

The U.S. Marine "pissing contest" in Afghanistan is the perfect metaphor for the American intervention there and elsewhere. Now, everyone is "outraged" at this behavior, but the truth is that this is what you get when you send a lot of "white trash" overseas with guns. These people were animals, to begin with; all that talk of post traumatic stress syndrome or some such psychological mumbo jumbo is just bullshit, to excuse this kind of behavior. The truth, plain and simple, is that, to them, the Afghans, Iraqis or any other ethnic group are subhuman, at best. Waging war against them is like a sporting event or a picnic, to be enjoyed, playing pranks and engaging in all sorts of sophomoric goings on. The U.S. would like us to believe that these are just isolated incidents in an otherwise "honorable" war. But, as time passes, more of these episodes will come out, much as what has happened with the Catholic Church and its child-abuse scandals.

The Czech government plans to compensate churches -- especially the Catholic Church -- for the property confiscated by the Communists while they were in power. The idea had been around for a long time, because of the huge amount of money involved and the fact that most Czechs don't give a damn about religion and churches. This is isn't a good time to give money back to institutions few people believe in. If it were up to me, I would make sure that those properties were rightfully owned by the Church in the first place. Let's not be naive: the Catholic Church is no saint, when it comes to money matters. Its history is more than dubious in this regard. It would be ironic, if the government ended up paying for properties that were obtained by questionable dealings by the Church.

As a Puerto Rican who supports independence for my country, the news that England has decided to allow Scotland to vote for independence in a binding way resonates with me. The U.S., which has never moved in that direction in its colonial relationship with Puerto Rico, should follow Britain's example. This year, Puerto Rico will hold a plebiscite on its status with the U.S., but it will be a non-binding one, leaving us in the position of going to Congress and the President to demand that the result be taken seriously. It seems to me that the British approach is much more sensible and sensitive to the nation that is in a subordinate position. I sincerely hope that Scotland votes for independence and that England accepts its decision. It's the decent and right thing to do. Independence is a natural human right that must be respected by all civilized peoples. There is no excuse or justification for its denial. When will the U.S. come to its senses with regard to my country?

Fighting high-level crime effectively, both on the domestic and the international fronts, is quite a challenge for law-enforcement agencies. There is, to be sure, a place for undercover and "sting" operations, especially in order to get beyond the piecemeal approach and dismantle entire organizations. And yet, there is an inherent danger that doing so might compromise the integrity of the "good guys", which could end up aiding and abetting the very criminals that they are supposed to catch and put away. The recent Fast and Furious fiasco, in which the U.S. allowed weapons into Mexico to, hopefully, follow their trail to the big players, but on the way were used to kill, including a U.S agent, is a prime example of this dangerous strategy. Now, it's also been revealed that, in pursuing "big fish" drug traffickers in Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America, U.S. law enforcement personnel or "smaller fish" under their direction may have overstep

Well, well, well! Ever since the early 1950s, the official story has been that there are two Koreas: the good one in the South and the bad one in the North. While South Korea is a protegé of the U.S. -- and therefore automatically good -- North Korea is a brutal and stupid regime, something to be despised and mocked. Except, there's another side to this "fairy tale." South Korea isn't all it's cracked up to be.There's not much tolerance for dissent, and repression of human rights is commonplace. Anyone who expresses sympathy, let alone support, for the North or reconciliation between the two countries is deemed subversive and might end up in jail. Cartoons, satire and other forms of humor dealing with these ideas land their authors in trouble. So, in the end, it seems that the Korean War accomplished very little, as far as securing a part of the country for a democratic and free society.

As I've said once or twice before, Chile has come a long way from its Pinochet era, bringing to justice some of those people from the "bad old days." But, fascism in any way, shape or form is always lurking in the shadows, ready to make its presence felt, even if it's symbolically. So, when Chile's Education Minister suggested that history books for grade school drop the term dictatorship  in favor of military regime,  when referring to the Pinochet government, an immediate uproar put a stop to that attempt to rewrite history. Once you start twisting and turning the truth, using euphemisms, it's a slippery slope to repression and, yes, dictatorship.

They're trying to figure out how a 15-year-old American girl was mistakenly deported to Colombia. True, the girl gave a false name, said she was 21 and was in trouble with the law. But, on the other hand, she spoke no Spanish and, being a runaway for a year and a half, there was no way of corroborating her story. It took a while for Colombian authorities to realize she was not a Colombian national. Here's my explanation. The girl is black , uses drugs and is no model citizen. So, the Americans, eager to get rid of as many illegal aliens as possible -- especially if they're black -- jumped at the chance, not bothering to ask too many questions, and have ended with egg on their faces and, soon enough, as defendants in a lawsuit brought by the girl's family.

Although I wouldn't celebrate just yet, the announcement that the U.S. military will be smaller, due to economic constraints, is welcome news for the rest of the world. If this translates into fewer bombings, invasions and occupations of other countries, this would be the best news to come out of Washington in a long, long time. Americans continue to talk about their role as "leaders" of the world or their "responsibilities" around the globe, when the fact is that no one has died and named them Pope. That kind of rhetoric is just self-aggrandizing propaganda to justify their dreams of world domination. I don't know of any country in the world that asks the U.S. what to do or how to run its affairs. For better or worse, people all around the globe just want to go about their business without being told what to do by the U.S. or any other country, for that matter. Nor anyone feels that the U.S. has any special responsibility for the well-being of anybody else.

Almost 18 years later, two white men, then teenagers, have been convicted of killing a black teenager in London, for no other reason than his color. Everything points to the fact that this was no ordinary difficult case that went unsolved for a long time, but one that was mishandled by the police for lack of interest because the victim was black. Although the police had sufficient potential evidence to identify the culprits, it didn't bother to go through with the proper forensic procedure to extract it and present it to prosecute them. Only the dogged determination of the victim's parents prevented this crime from going unpunished. British police work and justice, much admired the world over, come out, in this case, with a black eye. One would hope that the outcome will serve as a lesson to the criminal justice system everywhere, to not let race be a consideration in its proceedings.

Things are really getting worse in Israel's problems with its ultra-Orthodox Jews. In a recent protest, they have gone so far as to liken their situation to that of the European Jews that were victims of the Holocaust. Taking advantage of their children, they dressed them up with a kind of outfit reminiscent of those used in concentration camps and, to top it off, put yellow stars with the word "Jude" on them. That, and the fact that the protesters call Israeli police "Nazis" when they intervene with them, shows how far these people have gone in their extremism. As I said a few days ago, Israel is now experiencing the distress that some of its Arab neighbors have gone through and, most probably, Israelis were gloating over. What goes around comes around.

A governmental dispute in New York City has stalled plans for the opening of the "9/11 Museum", a dubious project, to my mind. Granted that what happened was a great tragedy, and those who died or were hurt deserve to be remembered, mainly by their loved ones, but opening a museum about it, seems to be a bit much, especially because it's a way of reminding everyone eternally of who the culprits were, not individually, but collectively. In other words it's a way of blaming Arabs and Muslims and feeding the enormous prejudice against them. That is a bad idea. Americans don't need their prejudices to be strengthened; they are bad enough. The media keeps hammering at them, with its continuous portrayal of Arabs and Muslims as crazy fanatics. Other countries have suffered much more at the hands of terrorists, and they don't have museums about it. It's shameless pandering to cheap patriotism and prejudice.