One Man's Opinion

What the hell's wrong with cruises? People keep falling off them or jumping overboard. These last few years, there have been quite a few cases of passengers mysteriously disappearing aboard these luxurious ships at sea, and they remain unsolved. Having been on some cruises myself, I can understand why someone would jump off them. After a few days on board, I've been tempted to throw myself off them. All kidding aside, these incidents have all the makings of a classic whodunit by Agatha Christie. Is there a detective on board?

Al-Qaida may be one of the world's most feared organizations, but they could give legitimate governments some lessons in sound accounting and management practices. Documents of all sorts that have been seized by the "good guys" show that these "bad guys" keep extensive and very scrupulous records of their expenses, no matter how small. Contrary to popular belief, al-Qaida is no rag-tag terrorist group, but very well-organized and sophisticated in its functioning. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if it toppled a few governments around the world and set up its own.

My father used to say that there were people who would get addicted to anything, even orange juice. This comes to mind as I read about the latest fad of smoking electronic cigarettes. Though it appears that they are not as harmful as the real thing, they still deliver nicotine, a drug that is highly addictive. The question remains: What drives people to seek the effects of such a drug? I suppose that, at bottom, there are those who, subconsciously, are looking to harm themselves in some way, and will always look for something to do it with. It's a tragic part of human nature.

One has to wonder about the sincerity of gestures to correct past wrongs when they take place decades after the fact. The Vienna Philharmonic has just revoked honors it bestowed to some Nazis some 70 years ago. Evidently, it has taken it all these years to recognize its error. One would think that, if it really felt that those honors had been bestowed inappropriately, it would have acted many years ago. As it happened, the orchestra did nothing, one supposes because it really did not feel that it had done something wrong all those years ago. What it has done now is put itself in evidence of its true feelings for most of its history. Anyway, we should not forget that Adolf Hitler was really Austrian...

Political appointments in public service are part and parcel of the political process. In some cases, such as diplomatic posts, appointing someone on the basis of political considerations and not professional qualifications can be problematic. Some of Obama's picks in this regard have come under heavy criticism, and experience has shown that the individuals were ill-suited for the job. The spectacular rise of a fund-raiser and media executive to the level of assistant secretary of state in just four years is a case in point of someone who seems to have "bought" his success in the diplomatic world without having to come up through the ranks. In Europe, people buy titles of nobility. In the U.S., they buy political office and government posts.

On this Christmas Day, peace on Earth continues to be an elusive goal. The reason is simple, but very difficult to realize. The key concept in this regard is "to men of good will. " As long as there is no good will between human beings, there will be no peace. Of course, there has to be peace of mind and soul within every one of us; without it, there can be no peace in our relations with others, either individually or collectively as nations. Only spiritual enlightenment can give us the inner peace with which we'll be able to achieve peace with others.

Although it may be true that it's better late than never, some things happen so late that it's almost like never. The fact that the Queen of England has pardoned Alan Turing 60 years  after his conviction for homosexual acts that were then criminal is, in and of itself, shameful. Turing was a mathematical genius who, through his development of a machine that deciphered the Nazi encrypted messages, made an enormous contribution to the war effort. Worse than his conviction is the fact that he was "chemically castrated", something that led to his suicide two years later. It is just incomprehensible that it has taken Britain so long to recognize this grave injustice and something that, had it happened anywhere else, would have been considered "barbaric." When a person, an institution or a country takes so long in admitting an error, you have to wonder about how sincere the mea culpa really is.

I seem to recall that when last year the Nicaraguan government arrested some Mexican journalists, the immediate reaction was that this was one of those examples of aggression against the press and freedom of speech in a socialist country modeled after Cuba, Venezuela, etc. The U.S. media and its acolytes around the world all jumped to this conclusion. Well, as it turns out, those 18 journalists were fake. Not only that, but they were using their false identities to smuggle $9 million worth of drugs in their vehicles. Now, they have been sentenced to 18 years in prison and sent back to Mexico to serve time. The rush to judgment against the likes of Daniel Ortega led by the U.S. makes for all sorts of wild accusations. This was one of those.

Once again, the Pope has put things in the proper perspective, by stressing " mercy over moralism. " That is exactly what faith and religion should be all about. Notice that he did not say "morals or morality" because it's an entirely different concept. Moralism is being judgmental for the sake of adhering to the letter of the law in a technical sense. It's about interpreting the word of God or human ethics in a very narrow and mean-spirited way, without compassion and solidarity with your fellow human beings. This is why being merciful is much more important in spiritual matters, as well as in those of the material world.

Traditionally, the American people have been very slow at realizing they have been duped by their government. Time and time again, they are sent off to war on the flimsiest of excuses, only to find out years and many casualties later that they were lied to about the reasons behind it. Not daring to question what the political leaders tell them, they suffer through the wars, until it becomes evident that they have been taken advantage of. Afghanistan is a case in point. It has taken Americans more than ten years to finally become convinced, by a two-thirds margin, that the war there wasn't worth fighting. The percentage of Americans who believe so has been increasing since 2010. Mindless patriotism has finally been replaced with a realistic assessment of the situation. Had they thought things through, with a healthy dose of skepticism regarding the U.S. position, they wouldn't have gone through this tragic experience once again.

I suppose that those who will excuse anything and everything one of their own does will say that it's because of the stress of dealing with nuclear weapons, but what the U.S. Air Force general did went way beyond "misbehavior." You see, that is a term one uses when talking about schoolchildren who behave like... schoolchildren. But, when a military officer of his rank gets drunk repeatedly, gets involved with, most likely, prostitutes, is late for meetings and acts in a boorish manner all around in a foreign country while on official business, it's much more than some childish or innocent pranks. This man is obviously unfit to serve in any capacity; transferring him to another post is not the solution to his problems. This case comes on the heels of another one in which a U.S. Navy admiral in charge of nuclear weapons also was sanctioned for illegal betting. When you add to these situations the sexual harassment and outright rape that goes on in the U.S. military

Even if all the allegations against her turn out to be true, the arrest and processing of the Indian diplomat in the U.S. seems a bit extreme. People are allowed to turn themselves in all the time. Putting her in jail after being strip-searched looks like a deliberate decision to humiliate a woman from a culture that is extremely sensitive to something like this. Although the charges against her are indeed serious, they are not violence-related, and, anyway, she is presumed innocent. As it stands, law enforcement in this case seems to have put on an ill-advised show-of-force that has produced an enormous backlash in India. One is tempted to say that Americans have treated this Indian as they treat their own Indians.

Well, it wasn't just us. It's been reported that last month was the warmest since 1880, when records began to be kept. We in Puerto Rico, where it's always warm, warmer or warmest, had an unusually hot November, but now we know that it was that way all around the globe. December has been mostly rainy and damp, so it has cooled off somewhat. But, when the sun does come out, you would  never guess that it's "winter." That's the Caribbean for you...and global warming, to be sure.

Make no mistake about it. The U.S. will not rest until it shuts Edward Snowden up. He must be made an example of what happens to people who tell the truth about what the U.S. Government does at home and abroad. With each new revelation, Snowden exposes American lawlessness and hypocrisy at such levels, that he has to be punished severely and permanently. Americans have worked long and hard at building up their domestic and international reputations of being the "good guys", for this guy to tear them down with the truth, embarrassing them royally. Like Osama bin Laden, Edward Snowden is a doomed man. It's only a matter of time. Sooner or later, he will turn up dead in a Hollywood-style scenario that will remain a "mystery" forever. But, everyone will know what happened.

Argentina, Brazil and Chile, all led by women. Southern South America seems to know something that other parts of the world don't know, most notably, the U.S. These three countries are not just little and insignificant, but big and powerful in their own way. So, the fact that they have chosen women as their leaders means that they have come to realize and recognize their value on a par with men and even as superior political figures. This way, they have gone way beyond paying lip-service to equality of the sexes, putting their votes where their mouths are. Bravo!

As was to be expected, the anti-protest bill in Spain has been met with...a massive protest in Madrid, the first of many, I'm sure. The proposed law is something out of Franco's book of fascism. It's really very close to a totalitarian attempt to crush dissent by imposing heavy fines on activities that are not illegal per se . So, the government will either put people in jail or fine the hell out of them for protesting or even being rude to public officials. Who said Franco is dead?

Just three days ago, I predicted that school shootings in the U.S. will go on like clockwork. The latest wasn't worse because the shooter was a bad shot, I suppose. Now, the sheriff wants to know why it happened, as if he didn't have a clue. It's very simple. People with guns will vent their anger and frustration through them. This is what happens in a country that refuses to recognize what is obvious to the rest of the world. The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution maybe made some sense in 1791, but it's been dangerously anachronistic for a very long time. What kind of a country considers having weapons a "fundamental right" worthy of being in its Constitution? One that produces massacres and multiple shootings on a regular basis.

I've been saying it all along. These Americans who keep getting arrested for spying overseas are really spies  after all! Seven years ago, Bob Levinson, supposedly on "private business" in Iran, disappeared there. All this time, the U.S. government has denied any involvement of his in spying. In truth, he was working for the CIA over there. The Associated Press and the Washington Post knew about this since 2010, but kept quiet about it, at the request of the U.S. government. No more. They have printed the story. The man had worked for the FBI, and then for the CIA. Which goes to show that all of these "innocent" tourists and hikers who "get lost" and wander into "enemy" territory are, in fact, working for the U.S. government. Can anyone now believe that the "cable guy" in Cuba is not an American agent? People in the spying business know what they're getting into, including the official denial by their own government, which l

Thank God that the Colorado school which called the kissing of a fellow student by a six-year old boy "sexual harassment" has finally come to its senses. Of course, it took them several days and a lot of backlash, but common sense has prevailed. It's absurd to interpret the "unwanted touching" part of sexual harassment this way. Obviously, that kind of touching is of a very different nature. Although the little boy needs to learn that he should not go around kissing girls on the cheek or hand, this was a case of a gross injustice based on an exaggerated reaction to something that occurs very frequently among boys and girls who mean no harm.

Reality check. In the year since the Newtown massacre, 109 gun laws have been passed in the U.S. Of those, 70 loosen restrictions and 39 tighten them. The score clearly reflects that Americans are not serious about doing everything in their power to curb gun violence. This is a conscious choice on their part, in spite of the tragic experience that keeps repeating itself. So, there will be many other "Newtowns" in years to come. Which makes it kind of hard to feel sorry for people who are perfectly willing to die, before admitting that they are wrong on this issue.

It's a fact of life that people smile, even laugh, at wakes and funerals, but these were no ordinary people and this was no ordinary wake. The photo of Obama and the Prime Ministers of England and Denmark taking a picture of themselves all smiles is incredibly inappropriate. It smacks of juvenile behavior and insensitivity at  a solemn occasion. Mrs. Obama appears disapproving of the whole thing, as well she should. (One can't but think that she was not too thrilled with the "friendliness" between her husband and the blonde, either, as is shown by another photo.) I'm sure that she must have told her husband that this was going to make the papers and the rest of the media. She was right.

If the mayoral elections in Venezuela were to be taken as a "referendum" on Maduro's government, then he's not doing bad at all. In fact, he has improved somewhat, by yesterday's results. In spite of the opposition waging an economic war on the country, by hoarding basic commodities, creating a false scarcity and charging high prices, Maduro has managed to show the people of Venezuela that, like Chávez, he's on their side, putting aside that laissez faire bullshit that allows the big commercial interests to have their way in the name of "free enterprise." The people have spoken, and they want to continue on the path laid down by Hugo Chávez.

What a tribute! Scientists in Argentina have named a new kind of "rat" after former President Kirchner who died three years ago. The "excuse" for such an inappropriate move is that Kirchner and his wife and current President were big supporters of scientific research and studies in Argentina. O.K. But, what happened to naming a building or some other thing that will not be such an easy butt of jokes and political humor? The people who did this cannot be so naive as to ignore that it's an open invitation for the worst kind of satire about a dead man, at that. They have called into question their own common sense, in even having thought about such an outrageous thing, let alone going through with it.

As the world mourns Mandela, the media cannot refrain from bringing up how his successors didn't live up to his legacy and such. There will be plenty of time for that from now on. This is not the time to discuss these things. Mandela wasn't perfect; no one is. Nobody should expect those who came after him to be so. We should at least wait until he has been buried to begin assessing the situation in South Africa. Doing so right now takes away the focus on Mandela and his extraordinary accomplishments. Let us reflect on this great man, and leave lesser men for another day.

As Obama reflects on Mandela's life and what it has meant to him and the rest of the world, he should ask himself: What would Mandela have done with the petition for executive clemency by Oscar López Rivera, the Puerto Rican political prisoner who has now been 32 years in jail for the same "crime" that Mandela was convicted of  ? Obama's words on Mandela ring hollow, as he continues to refuse to do Oscar justice.

It's enough to drive you crazy! There's a report out that says that, by 2050, there will be three times as many cases of dementia as there are now in the world. A scary thought, especially for those of us over 60, since that is a fate worse than death. By that date, I would be 100, so it's rather unlikely that I would be alive by then. But, I could be one of those that, along the way, will make up that number. Of course, I probably won't be aware of my condition, so it doesn't much matter. Still, I wouldn't like my loved ones to be saddled with such a heavy burden. I can only hope and pray that I'm spared from this terrible fate.

The killing of an Alzheimer patient taken for an intruder once again calls into question the "stand-your-ground" laws in the U.S., which are being used as open season on strangers who, through no fault of their own, find themselves in vulnerable situations. What is significant in all these cases is the fact that these people get shot repeatedly. In this latest case, the 72-year-old man was shot four times by a 34 year-old man who went out on the porch to investigate what was going on. Which means that he wasn't that afraid, or else he would have stayed inside and called the police. Instead, he chose to fire repeatedly on a confused old man, feeling himself backed up by a stupid law.

Although I can sympathize with people that are offended by an insensitive public remark made by a famous person that gets a lot of attention, it seems to me that to prosecute that person for it is absurd. The distinction can and should be made between statements which incite others to violence and those that express an opinion that might be exaggerated or uninformed about historical events. To "investigate" Bob Dylan in France for a comment he made in an interview about Croats and Serbs is ludicrous. Ignorance, insensitivity or stupidity in public discourse must be dealt with in the realm of ideas, by exposing them. Prosecuting people for them is a perversion of the legal process that should not be tolerated.

There are countries or societies -- if they can be called that -- that are so far gone in disintegration and violence, that they are best left alone by the international community, especially aid workers. Although the urge to do good may be great and commendable, the truth is that the personal heroism of a few who give their lives trying to help is, ultimately, useless. When these people are attacked and killed, it's a sign that the forces of evil are so powerful and widespread, that sacrificing such useful lives is not worth it. There are tragedies that man alone cannot remedy. Aid workers should go where they are needed and appreciated. Getting killed does no one any good.

It seems that it was too "fast and furious." Actor Paul Walker's tragic death is being linked to high speed by the guy who was driving the car in which he rode. Maybe all those movies about high-speed car chases -- he was filming the seventh one --  made them insensitive to the very real danger of driving too fast. The macho mentality that equates speed and daredevil antics on the road with manliness has produced two more victims. The title of the 1958 film Live Fast, Die Young  rings true once again.