One Man's Opinion

The UN is an effective bully pulpit for major world issues, on which one can wholeheartedly agree. But, the recent statement of the Secretary General about the "indifference" of the world about certain crises is, I think, somewhat unfair. There is that, to be sure, but one must realize that there are far too many problems in the world for everybody to concern themselves with. Our first duty is to ourselves, our family and our country, in that order. People everywhere are struggling to get by, and , although one is sympathetic to other people's plights, there isn't that much time or resources to solve everybody else's problems, especially when they are huge and long-standing. At some point, helping others is a burden that cannot be borne. One must always remember that "charity begins at home."

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?