Category: Politics

Politics

George Soros and The Politics of Fear

on November 4, 2018

“Fear again. If you want to control someone, all you have to do is to make them feel afraid.” Paul Coelho, The Devil and Miss Prym

George Soros–the most evil man on this planet. Really, I wondered aloud as I read a post from an anti-Soros Facebook group? Over the past few years, as more repressive, right-wing governments have gained popularity in some Western democracies, Soros has become THE go-to bogeyman.

While I don’t personally know the wealthy philanthropist, I seriously doubt he’s responsible for all the global mischief he’s been (and is still being) accused of causing by right-wing media outlets and conspiracy theorists. The list of accusations includes but is certainly not limited to: the Arab Spring uprising in the Middle East, refugee invasion of Europe, Black Lives Matter Movement, Ukrainian Revolution and most recently the much-publicized ‘migrant caravan’ heading toward the US/Mexico border. Soros has been labeled the king of the Institutional Left by far-right Brietbart News and was accused by Donald Trump of paying women to protest during the Senate hearings on Brett Kavanaugh’s appointment to the US Supreme Court.

Post from an anti-Soros Facebook account. Credit: BBC

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Human RightsPolitics

Putting a Face on Venezuela’s Humanitarian Crisis

on September 29, 2018

For those who have been paying scant attention to the news-worthy articles tucked between Trump headlines, the on-going humanitarian crisis in Venezuela may be but a blip on an already disorienting radar screen. However, with the pending collapse of President Nicolas Maduro’s government looking more inevitable as the days pass, along with limits to immigration being high on the agenda of many countries, this is a crisis to which we should all be paying attention.

Each day, Venezuelans are dying from malnutrition and treatable diseases due to hyperinflation that’s driving up prices and causing severe shortages of basics like food and medicine. The callous mindset that rules in Caracas was once again placed on international display this past week when President (and dictator) Maduro and his wife dined on the finest cuts of beef at an expensive soirée in Istanbul while his own people were starving back in Venezuela.

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CulturePolitics

Abuse of Power: the more things change…

on September 1, 2018

Just to prove the wisdom of the old adage ‘the more things change, the more they remain the same,’ I ran across some photos from an art show I had in Seattle back in 1995.

Pan Man: The Right Icon? 1995

The show was entitled “Pan Man: the Right Icon?” and featured a group of vaguely male-looking plaster casts covered in decorative bead work. Each of the 10 figures was graced with a large penis made from a variety of found objects ranging from pieces of rusted metal to a strange looking wood-working tool. The figures were inspired by a cartoon I did during the 1994 US midterm elections when Newt Gingrich and his fellow Republicans took control of Congress.

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Politics

More Arms in the Middle East

on August 19, 2018

…the US Government instead chose the path of aggression and death in partnership with Saudi Arabia…

The civil war in Yemen began in 2015 and has been particularly deadly for innocents–men, women and children. It’s been made even more so due to the Saudi Arabia-led coalition’s use of remote-controlled weaponry, much of it produced in the USA which is one of the coalition partners.

On August 9th, a coalition airstrike killed at least 51, 40 of them children on a bus which was parked outside a market at the time of the strike. The deadly bomb used in the attack has been identified as a laser-guided MK-82 bomb made by Lockheed Martin, one of the largest US defense contractors.

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Impromptu greeting!
CulturePolitics

Reboot: The Global Reach of American Culture

on July 1, 2018

This week I’m re-blogging an update to my very first post. Since this blog has been accused of rambling without any clear direction (just like its author!), I’d like to inform my readers of my original purpose for developing My Quest Blog. Thanks for reading and please feel free to share any and all thoughts you may have!

https://myquest.blog/2017/01/01/global-reach-of-american-culture/

Politics

The Leadership Vacuum in Trump’s America

on June 23, 2018

Ask people in other countries what they admire and respect most about America and they will mention, without hesitation, cutting-edge technology and scientific investigation (linked with higher education), specialist medical care, environmental safeguards, freedom of the press as well as religion and America’s amazing National Park System and other ‘protected’ areas.

Aren’t those also things Americans should care about? Do these positive quality of life factors really have to be obliterated in order to create decent paying jobs as Trump purports? Wouldn’t investing in science and technology–especially in the creation of technologies to produce carbon neutral sources of energy–not create more jobs for the future rather than using those investment dollars as direct payments to long-established major corporations whose only goal is to increase profits in the short term for their shareholders?

Trump’s Egotism Knows No Bounds

At a rally in Duluth, Minnesota this week, President Trump claimed that’s he’s smarter and richer than the elite. By the elite, I assume he means the same generalized ‘liberals’ to which he often makes reference in his speeches. I hate to be the one to break the news to him, but Americans who might label themselves as ‘liberals’ and ‘progressives’ span the full socio-economic spectrum in America. But I won’t be waiting for him to clarify that point. The last thing I expect to come out of Trump’s White House is clarity.

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Politics

Alexa, what happened to Seattle?

on May 19, 2018

For centuries, cities have competed with their rivals to attract and retain humanity’s best, brightest and strongest. The battles fought between Athens and Sparta during the Golden Age of Greece more than 2,000 years ago provide a good example as did the competition between Florence and Sienna to be at the epicenter of the Italian Renaissance.

A similar competitive spirit has been on full display over the past year as more than 100 cities in the USA and Canada vie for Amazon.com’s second headquarters (HQ2) and its promised 50,000 jobs and billions of dollars in investment. While it isn’t surprising that mayors from coast to coast–especially those leading rust-belt cities such as Detroit–would be pulling out all stops to win such a prize, they would be wise to get a first-hand view of the challenges such instant prosperity can bring.

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