One Man's Opinion

Understandably, there is cause for celebration over the U.S. Supreme Court decision on health care. But, the fact that this was an issue that was fought tooth and nail all the way to the highest court of the land speaks volumes about American society. Myth and propaganda notwithstanding, there is something deeply troubling in a country that is unwilling to do what others much less fortunate in resources of all kinds have done: provide universal health care. That there are so many people in the U.S. who resist any change to the traditional model of private medicine for those who can afford it is a sign of how greed and selfishness are the  core values under which the American way of life really operates.

I can understand the idea that people who have gone through traumatic experiences need to feel whole again and enjoy life to the fullest and so on, but having a beauty pageant for Holocaust survivors is a really bad idea. First of all, although the world should not forget what happened and always be vigilant so that it doesn't  happen again, we don't have to be reminded of this constantly and by any means possible. Second, there are dignified ways of doing it, without resorting to the banal, the cheap and the trivial. It's sad to see those women participate in such a spectacle, not because they are old, but because of the way that it takes something so serious as the Holocaust and reduces it to a gimmick for a contest.

Two things explain a lot of the troubles the Catholic Church faces. First, the idea that they are only accountable to God, you know, the "my kingdom is not of this world" arrogance. Thus, it functions as a power unto itself, who doesn't need to explain or justify what it does or does not do. Second, the obsessive secrecy with which it operates. Both things were at play in the early 1950s in Holland when, on top of the child abuse, both sexual and otherwise, by Dutch priests, there was also the case of an institution for disabled  children, 37 of which died in a two-year period in circumstances that were never fully explained. Now we know that the doctor who took care of them -- a priest -- wasn't fully qualified for the job. There was never an investigation of that highly-unusual death pattern. Once the individual was transferred, things went back to normal. The Church kept it to itself, and the police were never brought into it. Either the priest was extremely negl...

I recently wrote about racism at the European soccer championship, and sort of predicted that it would get worse. Well, it has. German fans have displayed neo-Nazi symbols. There is something very wrong with how the sport is regarded and brings out such hateful reactions from people. It's a sad commentary on common men and women who, while rooting for their national team, find it necessary to carry out these evil actions at a sporting event which, after all, is just a game. It's downright scary how much hatred there is in this context, and how easily it comes to the fore. It makes you think that fascism of the Third-Reich kind is just a penalty kick away...

Jimmy Carter is absolutely right in his strong criticism of American policies at home and abroad that violate significant U.S. constitutional safeguards, as well as international law. He's wrong, though, in giving the impression that this is just something that is happening on Obama's watch or that it's worse now, somehow. The truth of the matter is that all these human-rights violations have been par for the course for the U.S. government for decades. It's only self-delusion to believe that former administrations have not engaged in illegal, immoral or unethical practices against both American citizens and foreigners in the name of "national security" or "fighting terrorism." Be that as it may, Carter's brave statements are a welcome departure from the usual propaganda based on "American exceptionalism" and other jingoistic concepts aimed at justifying fascism at home and imperialism abroad.

As a general rule, I'm all for peaceful demonstrations and other civil ways of getting someone's point across. Having said that, the three-day hunger strike by 10 postal workers in the U.S. is a perfect metaphor for the Postal Service woes. First of all, what kind of hunger strike is this one, for just three days? Second, ten people seem very few to make a significant statement. Third, who announces the duration of a strike, any strike? All this seems very lame as a protest movement. If this is an indication of the kind of militancy the postal workers can muster and the support they can generate for their cause, the Postal Service will very soon be in the Smithsonian, with all the other quaint Americana artifacts.

Call me crazy, conspiracy freak or just paranoid, but I would bet my bottom dollar that some way, somehow, the U.S. government is behind these protests against the Bolivian government of Evo Morales. I won't go as far as saying that they are fully staged by the Americans, but history teaches us that, whenever there is trouble in a country whose regime is unfriendly to the U.S., sooner or later, we find out that the Americans were there as "advisers" or funneled money to support the opposition. So, mark my words: those miners, Indians and, right now, policemen and their wives making all this trouble are directly or indirectly being supported by the U.S. government, that will do anything to get rid of Evo Morales in Bolivia, Rafael Correa in Ecuador and Hugo Chávez in Venezuela, because his cancer is not doing the job fast enough.

Iraq may be a "failed state" by any reasonable standard, but it does have a modicum of common sense and sensibility. The proposal to cut down government work hours during the summer, when temperatures of 120 degrees are not uncommon, makes a lot of sense, especially for employees who work outdoors or engage in strenuous activities. Just because the Iraqi government is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a model one, it doesn't follow that a policy such as this one is not one to emulate. Here in Puerto Rico and elsewhere in the Caribbean, where the heat can also be oppressive, air conditioning notwithstanding, we would do well to implement some sort of similar humane measure for the summer months, both in the public and the private sectors.

The forced resignation of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Spain, for misusing public funds, is another blow to that country's internal situation, as well as its international reputation, at a time that  both are at its lowest point. Once again, people in high places and more than reasonable incomes take advantage of their position, to save some money, and end up losing their jobs and personal prestige. In this case, the Chief Justice claimed some $35,000 on 32 supposed business trips that turned out not to have been so. Just four months ago, that very same Supreme Court suspended Judge Baltazar Garzón of his duties, on some trumped-up charges, as a smokescreen, to derail his investigations of Franco-era atrocities. Divine retribution?

The fact that Asia now boasts of having the biggest number of millionaires in the world is a sign of the times. The predictions of a few years ago have come true: China is the world's next superpower, and the increasing wealth of its economic elite shows it. The sleeping dragon has awakened.

As I've pointed out before, Uruguay has always been a very progressive country. Now, it will take another step in that direction, by setting up a government monopoly that will sell marijuana to registered users. The personal use of marijuana is not a crime in Uruguay, so this new development is part of this country's enlightened approach to drug use. The rest of the world should take notice of this government program, to see how it plays out.

Yesterday, once again, a Puerto Rican delegation went before the U.N. Decolonization Committee to tell the whole world, in no uncertain terms, the truth about our "special relationship" with the U.S.: we are its colony. For the last 40 years, after two decades of the 1953 hoax, the Committee has called upon the U.S. to end its colonial rule and allow us to exercise our right to self-determination and independence. To no avail. The U.S. maintains that this is a "domestic matter", thus disregarding international law. The U.S. has also successfully blocked the effort to bring the issue before the U.N. General Assembly. Although the balance of power has shifted considerably since those dark days of the Cold War, there are still countries that are beholden to the Americans, mainly for economic reasons, that will not vote against the U.S. or will choose to abstain. Meanwhile, the record is clear. The truth has been spoken forcefully. It is only a matter of time before...

The Pope has said that he is baffled at all the priestly pedophilia in the Church. According to him, "it's a mystery." Like what? The Holy Trinity or some of the other things that the Church has no explanation for? As a former Catholic, I feel that it's my duty to try to help the Holy Father understand such a "mystery." It all starts with admitting clearly sexually-disturbed young men into seminaries, to study for the priesthood. There are just too many homosexual men or men with unresolved sexual issues who seek refuge in the Church rank and file. Then, there is the issue of celibacy and chastity for priests. In an all-male environment, there are those who will look for ways to release all that sexual tension with available and trusting young boys. Abnormal situations will breed abnormal behavior. The Church itself has created the conditions for pedophiles to thrive. See, there's no "mystery" to it!

A U.S. Government official report on the Secret Service reveals that the Colombian affair was not an isolated incident, but, rather, part of  a pattern of misconduct going on for a long time. It also shows what happens when you sweep dirt under the rug and not take decisive action against those who break the rules. Those who said that there was more to this than just this instance were right all along. These things don't just happen overnight. People at the top keep making the same mistake: they try to hush things up, deny that  they take place or minimize them. It doesn't work. Sooner or later, something happens that cannot be denied or explained away, and all that covering up is useless. Then we find out that they knew about it and did nothing or very little to effectively deal with it. By now, even Obama must be regretting his premature vote of confidence in the Secret Service and its Director.

Here's an interesting little item about American democracy and freedom of speech. A female member of the Michigan House of Representatives has been banned indefinitely from participating in floor debates, after she used the word "vagina" while discussing a bill on abortion. Apparently, the Speaker was offended by the term, and made what is clearly a ridiculous and illegal decision. Members of parliament have traditionally enjoyed a wide latitude in their expression in political debate. That a member is totally shut up by the House Speaker for some remark that he considers objectionable is outrageous and contrary to the most basic democratic principles. This intolerance is an example of the authoritarianism that is always under the surface of even those countries who pride themselves on being democracies and "leaders of the free world."

Obama is one lucky son-of-a-gun. His "Polish death camps" remark keeps sounding better and better. Now,  Gdansk's deputy mayor has stated that the people of his city have behaved like " normal, civilized white people " in the context of soccer's European championship. Though he apologized the next day, the damage has been done. You don't say a thing like that unless you really believe it and mean it. It is clearly a racist statement that, evidently, reflects how he and other Poles feel about blacks and other minorities in their country or elsewhere. Coming on the heels of the nasty business of fans insulting and taunting black players, it sure is disturbing to realize that those who claim to have suffered so much at the hands of racists of the past now engage in this despicable conduct. Obama's smile must be getting bigger.

The U.S. Armed Forces are a big part of American mythology. Especially all that bullshit about "officers and gentlemen." Case in point: the Army Colonel that has been found guilty of bigamy and fraud, having married his Iraqi lover before his divorce was final and spending a lot of public funds on her and her family, including a cell phone that ran a $80,000 tab. The man also used official transportation to carry on his relationship across Europe. Inexplicably, although relieved of his command and fined $300,000, he has not been sentenced to jail, nor has he been dishonorably discharged. I suppose that the Army takes care of its own. This is just one more scandal by the very people who went to Afghanistan and Iraq to teach those "heathens" good old American democracy and Christian values. Yeah, sure.

There must be something to the charge that Lance Armstrong doped himself into cycling superstardom. For a long time, it was easy to believe that those who accused him, especially foreigners, were just jealous of his tremendous success. But, now that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency is charging him of cheating by doping, one has to suppose that this isn't just something concocted by envious competitors. If it turns out that he won all those Tour de France races aided by some illegal substance, he will have disgraced himself, and those who made him a hero, particularly for winning in spite of his testicular cancer, will be very embarrassed indeed.

The infamous KKK wants to participate in Georgia's "Adopt - a- Highway" Program, in order to clean a stretch of highway it is interested in. The State, fearing a backlash over this, has refused to allow it into the program. The KKK, as perverse as always, wants the American Civil Liberties Union to represent it in this matter. There is a legal precedent for letting the KKK join the program, although it was later dropped, when it didn't keep its end of the deal. I've got the perfect solution. Send the hate-mongering bunch to jail for a long time, and then put them on one of those chain gangs that clean up highways and do yard work. That way, they will have plenty of time to do what they are so keen on doing.

There go $176 million! A Navy drone, or unmanned plane, has crashed in Maryland. Fortunately, no one got hurt...except American ego and taxpayers' checkbooks. Drones have been at the center of a controversy over its use as a weapon in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan, because they frequently kill innocent civilians in night raids especially. They are a symbol of the impersonal war, in which people are killed indiscriminately, at a distance, with the emotional detachment of a video game. It's killing without getting your hands dirty nor seeing the consequences of your actions up close. The ultimate abuse of superior firepower. Maybe a few drone crashes in heavily-populated areas in the U.S. would help Americans understand how innocent victims and their families feel about the use of these unmanned aircraft.

If it turns out that Hugo Chávez doesn't die by next August, a lot of right-wingers around the world --especially in the U.S. -- are going to be very disappointed, and Dan Rather will end up with egg on his face. Once again. The once much-heralded newsman, who disgraced himself a few years ago by broadcasting a story about President George Bush, Jr.'s military record with questionable information, recently went out on a limb predicting Chávez's death in a couple of months, quoting an unnamed source. Rather has been on the fringe of respectable journalism, ever since his fall from grace, and, evidently, saw this opportunity as getting the scoop that would put him back in the spotlight. Unfortunately, no one has really paid any attention to his claim, and, by the looks of him, the Venezuelan President seems to be doing okay. So, Rather must be thinking long and hard about what he'll be doing soon, rather than reporting wishful-thinking stories...

The U.S government is aghast at the series of leaks about several national security issues, chief among them the one pertaining to a secret cyberattack to derail Iran's nuclear program. Besides the obvious concern for the vulnerability of its intelligence efforts, the Americans are greatly embarrassed by these revelations, especially those about their dirty tricks against Iran. See, a big part of the U.S. mythology is that they play fair, and that only their enemies resort to illegal, immoral or unethical practices. The U.S. population is, on the whole, extremely naive and believes this propaganda. The fact of the matter is that, as these leaks prove, the American government uses every trick in the book to achieve its objectives all around the world. In this case, the whole thing has exploded in their face, exposing them for what they are: hypocrites who preach one thing and do another.

Just a few days ago, the Polish government and Poles in general were up in arms over Obama's reference to "Polish death camps." Well, now Poles have really embarrassed themselves, to say the least, by expressing their racism against the Dutch national soccer team, which has some black players. This, after the team visited Auschwitz, a symbol of how racism and intolerance can turn deadly. Poland, of course, is not alone in this. There are disturbing signs that the upcoming championship tournament will be marred by racist and xenophobic demonstrations by people from several countries. It's ironic that the Poles, who reacted so strongly at Obama's careless remark, have now done something much worse. Which goes to show that my grandmother was right: the thing that you criticize today, you end up doing tomorrow.

Not too long ago, China was a big and backward country, exhibit A of the failure of communism, socialism or Maoism, its particular brand of "ism." But, then, while the rest of the world was gloating over the triumph of capitalism and the West in the Cold War, China emerged out of nowhere as an unstoppable economic superpower. Now, China is beating capitalists at their own game. It holds a sizable portion of the U.S. debt, is a major investor in Africa and South America, and has tripled its investment in Europe. In essence, it's buying the rest of the world. Since, the world's economies are in shambles, there is very little that they can do to stop the Chinese from taking over. So, if the West was right about Communist China wanting to take over the world, it is doing so the old -fashioned way: with mergers and acquisitions.

Talk about embarrassing yourself! President Lugo of Paraguay keeps doing just that. A former priest and bishop, sometime ago, he had to admit that he had fathered a child -- out of wedlock, of course -- while he was a priest. Then, another woman claimed that he had done the same as bishop. Instead of owning up to it, he dodged the issue. Now, he has finally accepted that the child is his. Obviously, Lugo found it very hard to keep his vow of chastity. Let's hope there are no more children of his coming out of the woodwork. The man has embarrassed himself, the Church and his country. Although I believe that celibacy is untenable for normal men and women, thus leading them to situations such as these, I think that, once they become convinced that they are unable to keep that commitment, he and others like him should resign from the priesthood and save themselves all this grief.

Apparently, the "I don't do windows" cleaning-lady cliché has a lot of substance to it. Cleaning the outside of windows can be hazardous to a maid's health, especially if the window is at a certain height. In Singapore, much-admired for its economic success, there has been a rash of deadly falls of maids who had been cleaning the outside of windows, some at considerable heights. The problem there is significant, due to the fact that most of the population lives in buildings, as opposed to one-level houses. Also, the number of maids is very high, so it's quite probable that an accident of this sort will occur. So much so, that the government is considering  prohibiting this household chore, unless performed by someone with the proper equipment and safety features. For now, the maids in Singapore are formally excused from doing windows.

Evidently, American nuns have a "devilish" way of challenging the Pope's magisterium. For the second time in just a few months,   a U.S. nun has come out expressing views that are anathema to the Vatican. This time, though, the outspoken sister Margaret Farley has tackled the biggest "no-no": sex. And she has done so in an enlightened and liberal way; in other words, incompatible with Church teaching. The Pope, of course, has all but excommunicated her. The nun is a respected scholar and teacher, having taught at Yale Divinity School. No matter; Ratzinger cries foul and behaves as if she will be responsible for Apocalypse now. Good for the sister. She has more cojones than most of her male colleagues.

Uruguay has often been at the forefront of many progressive developments in Latin America and the rest of the world. Now, it can boast of having provided all of its students with a laptop that they can use at school and at home. Also, Internet access is readily available in most public places. The country was one of the first to recognize the importance of personal computers and the Internet, and adopted universal access to both as public policy. So, once again, Uruguay leads the way in showing others what should be the norm in a democratic, egalitarian and learned society.

Since mid-nineteenth century and the Gold Rush, California has been the ultimate land of opportunity and personal freedom, at least in the public imagination not only in the U.S. but around the world. To top it all, it became the home of Hollywood, the premier fantasy factory of modern popular culture. But, these past few years, reality has been catching up with the American Dream everywhere, and the Golden State is no exception. Now, one of its most prestigious claims to fame, its public educational system at the university level, is in serious trouble for economic reasons. The idea of unlimited growth and prosperity -- a fantasy, if there ever was one -- led the state to spread itself too thin in this regard, maintaining a number of institutions that, in the long run, would be impossible to keep operating. The state government has only the recourse of raising taxes to prevent the shutting down of some institutions or the elimination of educational programs, a proposition that is a ...

Time goes on, and the fate of the Cuban refugees in Spain doesn't get any better. How could it, if the host country is in deep economic trouble? Their joy at being free was short-lived when Spain went the way of all the other world economies. Spaniards are having a very hard time making ends meet. It's only understandable that what little they have has to be distributed between their own. Charity begins at home. One has to wonder why other European Union countries don't offer to take some of those refugees, so that the burden is more evenly distributed. They should put their money where their mouths are when criticizing Cuba. It's all well and good to preach democracy, freedom and human rights, but what is really useful is to help those who have been enthused by that rhetoric and now claim the right to enjoy the benefits of a free society.