Category Archives: Essays

This week there was good news: Lybia finally decided to commute the sentences of five Bulgranian nurses and a Palestinian doctor who have been in jain for the past eight years on bogus charges of having infected some 400 children with the HIV virus. All evidence points to the fact that the children were infected by faulty hospital hygiene prior to the foreigners’ arrival on the scene.

The nurses and the doctor were extradited to Bulgaria where the Bulgarian government promptly pardoned them. But this is only part of the mysterious story. As part of the deal struck with the Lybian government to release the foreigners, a $460 million payment was made to the Lybian children’s families through an international aid group. And better yet, the EU has made a series of other promises to Lybia, including the very special attention of Sarkozy and his wife. Sounds like a ransom payment and a whole lot of RealPolitik to me. Continue reading →

I think I finally found the solution to America’s problems right after I published my last post on the Vick scandal. We need the American citizens to unite to force NFL football players’ to treat dogs more humanely. Then once we’ve finally achieved that, we can pressure the US government to treat people more like dogs.

Yesterday I asked about Americans’ priorities, and then today, I open Yahoo and see that the problem is even worse. Yahoo features an article about Vick and his alleged dogfighting again with the question, “Does Vick Get It?”

Nevertheless, a couple of old white power-mongers can destroy 250 years of Constitutional jurisprudence, the entire basis of the Declaration of Independence, any remaining vestige of the US’s moral authority, and torture indescriminately with absolutely no judicial review while they also monitor your telephone calls, internet searches, mail and trash. I haven’t seen Yahoo or very many angry people asking whether Rumsfeld gets it? Whether Bush gets it? But an NFL Quarterback allegedly dogfighting? Now there’s a major incident that affects the very fiber of our society.

Oh, yeah, that’s right, it is now illegal by Executive Order to criticize the Bush Administration as it may undermine the war effort. Apparently, the seriousness eludes many people, and that is why they’re out of focus. Continue reading →

In the past few days, my bro has sent me two emails with links to news about a scandal in the US involving an NFL football player (Michael Vick) who was involved with dog fighting. I haven’t seen any press coverage of this in the Europe, but apparently, everyone and the mothers in the US are up in arms over this news.

What’s bothering my bro is that people get so outraged by dog fighting, and yet are so passive about the really important issues that affect the country. Torturing animals is a scandal, but I suppose torturing humans is more acceptable? Where are the people protesting things like Guantanamo or Abru Ghraib, poverty, or human rights? So why do people have their priorities so askewed from reality?

I remember an old man once telling me to never trust anyone who loved animals more than humans, for they would always turn out to be the most brutal and evil of them all. He also told me told that an immaculately clean car was the sign of a truly perverted mind.

I finally got to know Aljazeera. On Saturday, I spent two hours watching Aljazeera International, and I must admit that I really appreciated it. The experience was nothing like what you’d think from how the US media has painted the Qatari CNN-like news station. Continue reading →

I just read this article about a terrorist attack in Yemen near Sanaa where five Spanish tourists were killed. I arrived at the article through a blog debate (where I left my unsolicited comments) regarding why fundamentalist terrorist groups target certain nations, nationalities and locations. Not to plagiarize myself, but I think that there is something very ironic about terrorism. Continue reading →