One Man's Opinion

It's somewhat baffling that the U.S. prosecutors plan to keep pursuing the extradition of Roman Polanski almost 40 years after he was convicted of statutory rape and served some time in jail for it. What makes it strange is the fact that his victim, now 52, has publicly stated repeatedly that she does not want this to go on. According to her, Polanski has apologized and she turned the page on this a long time ago; dragging this on will only hurt her and her family. The woman just wants to go on with her life, without having this episode rehashed over an over again. One supposes that the Polish court that denied the U.S. extradition request took this into account. What Polanski did was terribly wrong, but, at some point, given his victim's feelings about it, at 82, he should not continue to be hounded by this to his grave.

In an unprecedented decision, the European Parliament has urged its member nations to protect Edward Snowden as "a whistle-blower and international human rights defender." It was a close call, due to the fact that many countries fear that the U.S. will retaliate against them, and they don't want to displease the Americans, who want Snowden dead or alive. But, truth and decency prevailed, and the Europeans did the right thing. As I've said before, Assange and Snowden have done the world a world of good by exposing the U.S. and some of its allies as major violators of human rights. They have broken the law, yes. But, it's a law to protect those who do far worse things than to expose the secrets of fascism.

The incident at a South Carolina high school, in which a white security guard manhandled a black girl while "arresting" and putting handcuffs on her, is not just another example of the "police" brutality that goes on in the U.S., especially against blacks, but also a result of a police-State mentality in dealing with everyday issues. The growing trend of using private security in all areas of society has put people everywhere at the mercy of a lot of individuals who have a gung-ho attitude; many of which are wannabe cops or soldiers, overly aggressive, who take out their frustration on  regular people. An unfortunate development of this pseudo-fascist society.

Let's hope that the joke is not on him. A former comedian has become the new President of Guatemala. People there were so fed up with the large-scale political corruption, they chose someone who has no experience in government or public affairs of any sort. So, what started as a publicity stunt or a way to protest against bad government, surprisingly, turned into a viable political campaign that has won the presidency. Now, to govern. Which is no laughing matter any place, least of all in a country such as Guatemala, where corruption brought down a government and has the former president in jail awaiting trial.

Who died and named Obama education Pope? Although the State has a big say in public education, it seems to me that micromanaging it to the point of establishing how much time should be devoted to tests is a purely educational matter, best left to teachers and people who know about these things. Surely, there are a lot more pressing matters in the U.S. and the rest of the world for Obama to concern himself with, than dictating the time for tests, standardized or otherwise.

The self-proclaimed "greatest democracy in the world" is so desperate that it has to pay people to vote. In Philadelphia, of all places, they have put in place a lottery with a  $10,000  prize as a gimmick to improve voter turnout for the mayoral race. The last time around, only 29% voted, and in the U.S. general election it was a "whopping" 36% . So, in typical American fashion, they are throwing money at the problem. What would the mythical Founding Fathers have said about the state of the republic they established?

I read that Obama checked out of The Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York for security concerns due to the fact that the Chinese have bought it. Of course, Obama, who has spied on the rest of the world, is now worried that the Chinese would spy on him while staying there. Well, if the Chinese continue to buy U.S. real estate, Obama will have to stay at the White House until his term runs out.

In a way, people who donate money to churches which look more like a business than anything else "deserve" to be taken for a ride. What do these people think that their money is going to be used for? This has happened so many times now, that it is truly amazing that people keep falling for it. The Singapore church that funneled part of its donations to further the musical career of the pastor's wife is the latest example of this widespread practice in religious circles. The Gospel of wealth and prosperity has "scam" written all over it.

A high-school student has reportedly hacked email accounts of both the CIA Director and the Homeland Security honcho. If this turns out to be true, instead of prosecuting the kid, he should be offered immediate employment in either agency. What this shows is that security at U.S. security agencies is non-existent.

Not that we needed further proof of what Richard Nixon was, but Bob Woodward's book on Alexander Butterfield's revelations should be the final nail on Nixon's historical coffin. This, because, a few years after his downfall, some people seemed to forget what he had done, and he became a sort of elder statesman whose counsel or opinion was to be sought. So, anything that expands on how tricky "Tricky Dick" was, and helps to clarify his role in American history, is indeed a welcome addition to the voluminous indictment against him.

Can you imagine President Donald Trump criticizing Hungary for closing its borders?

In Canada, Conservatives say that if Liberals win Monday's election, there will be "brothels in our communities" and children smoking legal marijuana. And mass migration from the U.S.

Poor Obama! Granted that the second presidential term is largely a "lame-duck" presidency, but his is turning into one of the lamest. The man who promised so much has disappointed so many, especially on human rights and war. Not only has he been unable to close the Guantánamo detention center, but he has continued the U.S. military involvement overseas, his latest backtrack in Afghanistan a case in point. So much "Hope" for "Change" unfulfilled!

Good for the Governor of Okinawa! Whatever the outcome will be of the struggle against another U.S. base there, the man deserves credit for standing up both to Japan and the United States, full partners in the abuse of Okinawa. As a Puerto Rican who knows what having U.S. military bases on an island means, and how difficult it is to get rid of them, I salute Governor Onaga for having the courage to fight for the well-being of his people against formidable imperialist foes.

Bolivia, Iran and Venezuela have recently reminded the U.N. that there are still territories in the world which are neither independent nor do they enjoy any meaningful form of autonomy from the colonial power, a case in point being Puerto Rico. Our situation is especially significant because we are a colony of the United States, the so-called "leader of the free world", and for the fact that the U.S. has chosen to ignore the U.N.'s repeated calls for our self-determination during the last 40 years. It would be easy to dismiss what these three countries have pointed out; after all, they are largely "damned" on the international scene. But, it would be wrong. No matter who says something or with what purpose; the important thing is to look at the facts with an open mind and recognize the truth, however distasteful or inconvenient it may be . From our part, thank you, Bolivia, Iran and Venezuela.

It seems that, in his effort to catch up with Donald Trump, Dr. Ben Carson has decided to engage in some outrageous campaigning of his own. Looks like the good doctor is gunning for the support of the gun lobby, as well as all those would-be gunslingers the U.S. is full of. So, the man holds the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution as nothing short of sacred, and having everybody armed as the solution to the crime problem. Not only that, but he also believes that if Jews had been armed, there would have been no extermination during WWII. Coming very close to calling those Jews pushovers who did not stand up to Hitler's henchmen, he has come up against the Jewish establishment. Thus, he has committed political suicide.

The U.S. has done it again. As is often the case, it has waited decades to declassify documents that show its involvement or, at the very least, knowledge of crimes by right-wing regimes to its liking, when it's too late to do anything but set the record straight. This time, almost 40 years after the fact, it has acknowledged that it knew that Pinochet had ordered the assassination of Orlando Letelier. Not even the fact that it took place in Washington, D.C. prompted the U.S. government to withdraw its support of the Chilean dictator. Reagan kept quiet about it. So had he about the countless Chileans that were murdered, tortured and made to "disappear" during that reign of terror. Now that Reagan, Thatcher and Pinochet are long dead, and it's safe to tell the truth, the U.S. admits that it withheld the truth all this time, even in the face of those who spoke it during all these years. The hypocrisy and cynicism of it all!

Here are three recent U.S. headlines which tell the story: "Northern Arizona University Shooting: 1 Killed, 3 Injured." "Texas Southern University on Lockdown After 2 Shot." "Gun Sales Set a Record High for the Fifth Month in a Row." Enough said.

The U.S. Congress has approved a $612 billion defense spending bill. Although Obama has threatened to veto it on purely technical grounds, Congress has the votes to override his veto. Think about that sum of public funds, the next time someone says that there's no money for social programs in the U.S.

This is a biggie. The U.S.  bombed a hospital run by Doctors Without Borders in Afghanistan, killing more than a dozen employees and at least ten patients, including three children. As usual, the incident is being investigated by everybody and his brother, but we can safely assume that nothing will come of  it. It will be deemed "an honest mistake", "an unfortunate situation" or "collateral damage." Until next time.