One Man's Opinion

So, what else is new? The news that the CIA has given millions of dollars to Hamid Karzai, the President of Afghanistan, is no news at all. This is standard operating procedure for the U.S. Government, which has bought and bribed its way throughout history. Of course, when corrupting foreign officials fails, then it takes stronger measures, such as assassinating them, plotting their overthrow or invading the country. The Americans have already invaded Afghanistan...

If the history of the 20th century has taught us anything, it is that the U.S. does not remain on the sidelines when a country -- especially in the Western Hemisphere --  elects a government that the Americans do not like, but rather actively pursues its downfall, be it by an outright military intervention or plotting with the opposition. Given that historical fact, one must be extremely suspicious of the alleged innocence of Americans who go to those countries, purportedly, for all sorts of reasons. Sooner or later, we find out that those people were indeed agents of the U.S. government with an undercover mission to help topple the foreign government. In light of all this, I tend to believe the Venezuelan government when it says that the American "filmmaker" was really a sort of bagman for the U.S. support of the Capriles group. Unfortunately for the Americans, the movie Argos  has shown the world how alleged filmmakers were really up to something else.

The Americans presume to lecture the rest of the world on efficient and honest government, as befits the bombastic claim of having the greatest democracy the world has ever known. A reality check shows how self-delusional and misleading of others that claim is. The truth of the matter is that the U.S. Government is as incompetent and wasteful -- if not much more -- as any other nation. Case in point: the Federal Government currently spends $890,000 on fees for 13,712 empty bank accounts . The reason for this absurdity is that no one has taken the time to close those accounts. Of course, things are not as bad as they used to be. Two years ago there were more than 28,000 . So much for listening to those long-winded lectures by American bureaucrats on how to run a decent government.

Here's another very disturbing occurrence that gets very little media exposure. In the last decade or so, there have been a number of incidents in which U.S. military personnel have killed their fellow soldiers either in Afghanistan and Iraq or at American bases at home. The reason these incidents are not widely reported, I believe, is two-fold. One, because, frequently, the culprit is someone who has been deployed more than once to those war zones. When they reach the breaking point and go on a killing spree against their own, it's embarrassing, to say the least, to have to admit that that person was most likely driven to the criminal act by the abnormal stress to which he was subject by the abusive deployment. Two, because Americans killing Americans in the military is "an inconvenient truth" that runs counter to the official propaganda that portrays U.S. soldiers as "boys next door", the epitome of clean living, victims of Arab or Muslim fanatics. Thus

Although it's understandable that an event such as the Boston bombings cause a great alarm, the fact is that people should be much more alarmed at the everyday sort of murder that happens in places such as Seattle, where a lone gunman killed five people yesterday. The truth is that this kind of violence is more frequent and deadly than the occasional terrorist act. And yet, the American people have done very little to curtail it effectively. It almost seems as if, in some irrational way, they have come to accept gun violence as a natural byproduct of community living. The fact that terrorist acts are usually associated with foreigners may have something to do with their high profile in the media, while the domestic murder rate by "the guy next door" does not get the same kind of attention.

Thank God, my wife and I visited Pompeii a few years ago. The chaotic Italian government is apparently making a mess of the preservation of the ancient city. That and the neighborhood Mafia, which routinely interferes with its "black hand" in contracts and labor matters pertaining to the site. Preserving Pompeii is difficult enough without any extraneous elements such as bureaucratic incompetence or corruption. So, when all three things are factored in, the task is made much more difficult. It's really a shame that such a cultural wonder might, ultimately, disappear as a site to be enjoyed by all the world. What Vesuvius couldn't do, modern man will.

Another elite American athlete is in trouble regarding doping. For the past 18 months, the world-class sprinter has been "running" as fast as he can from making himself available for testing. That is a violation of the rules of track and field, and circumstantial evidence that he has something to hide. Apparently, sensing that he was past his prime, he went the way of others who have tried to prolong their careers artificially. In the short run, he may have had some success. In the long run, the moment of truth will catch up with him.

Is it just my imagination or do Peruvian buses go off the road killing its passengers every other week? There must be something terribly wrong with bus transport in that country. Vehicles seem to be in terrible conditions, roads are unsafe and buses are overloaded with too many passengers. I suppose that it's a combination of these elements that account for the frequent accidents. The Peruvian government should definitely look into this problem, not only for the safety of its own people, but also to reassure visitors or those who contemplate going there.

Talk about shooting oneself on the foot! The front runner in the Paraguayan presidential election has said that if his son were to attempt to marry a man, he would shoot his own testicles off. Evidently, the man feels very strongly about same-sex marriages. In fact, he has called homosexuals "monkeys" and people who favor gay marriage as believers in the "end of the world." Well, we'll soon find out if all this "monkeying" around and "ballsy" talk will be the "end of the [political] world" for this insensitive loudmouth.

Going over the list of "notables" who will attend the Margaret Thatcher funeral, one gets the sense that some people wish to disassociate themselves from her, even in death. There are world leaders who are sending lesser figures in their governments. Some of those who will attend are former this or that; in other words, have-beens. Maybe those who choose to stay away or send others instead are sort of embarrassed by what Thatcher has come to represent globally. It's best to distance themselves from and not stir painful memories of a woman who was on the wrong side of history on so many accounts.

Regarding the call for a recount in the Venezuelan election, I only have one question: Would the U.S., the Organization of American States and other American lackeys be calling for it, if Capriles had won by the same margin?

Big names in professional sports get breaks that lesser figures don't. This seems to be the case regarding Tiger Woods, who got caught making an illegal drop in the Masters, was penalized with two strokes, but has been allowed to remain in the tournament. Evidently, golf feels the need to have Woods playing because he has been the dominant player for such a long time, and is a major attraction. In short, he makes money for all those who are connected to the sport. So, he breaks a rule, and they "bend" another one.

Coming out in style, one might choose to call it. Right now, there are two beauty contestants who have declared themselves lesbian; one in the Nuestra Belleza Latina (Our Latina Beauty) competition and the other in a contest in South Carolina. This is another significant step toward equality between the sexes and the genders. The momentum for full equality is powerful, and it won't be stopped. There are too many people who are not heterosexual, and they deserve to live a full life, without being excluded solely for their sexual orientation or preference. The day is coming when the world will look back and wonder why was there ever discrimination against them.

Israel keeps showing that religious intolerance is not an exclusive province of  the Arab or Muslim world in the Middle East. Arresting women for praying on the "wrong side" of the Western Wall or wearing garments that only men are allowed to is a shameful act by a supposedly democratic state respectful of civil rights. It is ironic that this Jewish state, which was founded to ensure that Jews would not suffer persecution in other lands, as had been the case in Europe, now indulges in fascist practices against its own citizens, due to the influence of an ultra-Orthodox lunatic fringe.

I can see it coming. The National Rifle Association in the U.S. will take out an ad highlighting the case of the young man in Texas who stabbed 14 people at a college campus. It will probably ask the rhetorical question about the need for "knife control." Those bastards have all the luck.

Latin has not been quite "dead." The Catholic Church has always used it as its lingua franca  and scientists in some fields use it to classify or name all sorts of stuff. Nevertheless, having a radio news program in Latin is rather extraordinary. Granted that it's just a five-minute news summary in Finland, but, still, it's...well, news. The fact of the matter is that a working knowledge of Latin is very useful and, in some professions, such as the law, an integral part of its culture. Res ipsa loquitur.

It is never too late for the truth. The exhumation of Pablo Neruda will, hopefully, either confirm or disprove that he was poisoned. The fact that it took 30 years to find that former Chilean President Eduardo Frei, another Pinochet foe, had been poisoned could be circumstantial evidence of a modus operandi of that regime to get rid of important leaders of the opposition. We''ll soon find out if Neruda's driver and bodyguard has been right all these years, holding that the great poet was murdered.

The U.S. Pentagon keeps cleaning house -- sort of -- in cases of top military commanders who have engaged in sexual misconduct of various kinds. One of them was the superintendent of the fabled West Point Military Academy. There seems to be a general -- pun intended -- problem of loose morals in the U.S. Armed Forces that flows from the top down into the rank and file. The top brass can't seem to keep their pants on when dealing with women, be they recruits, officers-in-training or whatever. Most disturbing is the fact that the Pentagon hasn't been all that forthcoming about exposing these cases. It has taken Freedom of Information Act requests by the press to have a fuller picture of this situation. Still, in most cases, very little has been learned of the specifics of the sexual misconduct. Officers have been censured, demoted or allowed to resign, but no criminal charges have been brought against them. Thus, they have largely escaped unharmed.

For anyone who might delude himself thinking that racism in the U.S. is on the way out, the news that in a high school in Georgia they are going to celebrate an integrated senior prom for the first time this year should be an eye-opener. Almost 60 years after Brown v. Board of Education , the U.S. Supreme Court decision that ordered schools to be desegregated, there are still separate dances and proms for blacks in various communities in the South. Granted that these are not school-sponsored but private functions, but, still, it speaks volumes about how entrenched racism is after six decades of going to school together every day. Blacks are barely tolerated in the classroom, but are not welcome in these extracurricular and social activities. Evidently, racism is very much alive and well in the heart of the American people, where no law can dictate what it feels.

As much as I like comedian Jon Stewart of The Daily Show and believe in freedom of expression, having a link to his monologue making fun of the Egyptian President in the Twitter account of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo is outrageous. By doing it, the American government endorses his views and deems them worthy of dissemination by an official channel. This is a childish prank that is embarrassing diplomatically, and establishes a very bad precedent in international affairs. There is no excuse for disrespecting a head of state in this way. One cannot ask others to behave in a civilized manner, while one engages in stupid and sophomoric humor regarding them.

The Spanish judiciary has really taken a bold step by filing preliminary charges of corruption against the King's youngest daughter. She now joins her husband facing charges that they diverted public funds for a non-profit organization, for their own use. Even if the case against them were to come to naught, it is certainly an embarrassment for the royal family, to say the least. The Spanish justice system is to be commended for going after the rich and powerful, no matter who they are. That and the investigation of the governing Partido Popular  and President Rajoy for corruption speaks very well of the judicial independence under a democracy established in 1975.

When you're dealing with the world's biggest market -- over a billion potential customers -- you have to be very polite and bend over backwards to please. This is the lesson learned by Apple , whose CEO has publicly apologized to the Chinese for, at least, the appearance of arrogant behavior and problems with the warranties and general customer service. You just don't alienate the Chinese, if you want your company to grow and your profits to increase. On the contrary, you kowtow very humbly, which is what Tim Cook has done so ostensibly.

As it was to be expected, those gang rapes in India, of both Indian women and foreigners, have impacted tourism in the country. There has been a 25% drop in the total of visitors and a 35% reduction of women tourists. It's more than understandable, given the perception that gang rapes have become a rather common occurrence there, and that the justice system is largely powerless to put a stop to them. It is certainly food for thought for people who are considering visiting India. This is a truly puzzling and tragic situation, that not only harms the individual victims, but also an entire country that is now perceived as particularly dangerous and lawless.