by B. R. GOWANI
Kristof, a former NY Times op-ed columnist, is a political commentator
on 10/27/2021, Nicholas Kristof announced his run for Oregon’s governor
“I’ve never run for political office in my life, but I have spent a lifetime shining a light in the darkest corners of the globe, and it broke my heart when I returned from crises abroad only to find crises here at home. And that’s why I’m running for governor.”
Nick for Oregon/Youtube (italics are mine.)
but …
crises at home have existed since the US was created on stolen land
why did Kristof not think about it for such a long time
saying he spent his life as a beacon to the world’s darkest corners
is self-aggrandizement of the highest degree …
the darkest of darkest corners exist in Kristof’s own country
but it never dawned on him to concentrate on the ills in the US
US global domination makes it easy to gain access to other countries
so Kristof went to Combodia, India, Sudan, and elsewhere
to shine “a light” on child prostitution and other issues
but as the late Alexander Cockburn pointed out a decade and half ago:
“And indeed it is virtually unimaginable that Kristof can write about prostitution in India today and of the lot of women without one single word about the larger socio-economic context.”
i.e., ignoring US neoliberal policies imposed in US & the world:
privatize everything & cut government programs drastically for the poor
desperation/destitution leads people to prostitution, suicides, & more
but when Kristof decided to be a candidate for Oregon’s governor
like a true politician, he blamed both parties: the Democrats/Republicans
“This is not just a Trump problem or just a Republican problem.” “Both parties over 50 years have their fingerprints on policies that were disastrous for a lot of working-class Americans. Mass incarceration is one example.”
in the video, we see only Republican leaders: Reagan, Nixon, & Gingrich
there is no Obama or Clinton, who belong to the Democratic Party
not surprising …
considering …
Kristof will be running on a Democratic Party ticket
after all … Bill Clinton who heaped praise on Kristof:
“There is no one in journalism, anywhere in the United States at least, who has done anything like the work he has done to figure out how poor people are actually living around the world, and what their potential is…. So every American citizen who cares about this should be profoundly grateful that someone in our press establishment cares enough about this to haul himself all around the world to figure out what’s going on….I am personally in his debt, as are we all.”
Bill himself increased poverty substantially in US in 1990s
the Clinton Foundation is a big money generating machine
181 companies, foreign governments, & individuals helped the foundation,
and …
when Hillary Clinton was secretary of state
Bill Clinton recieved $26 million as speaking fees from donors
(both Hillary and Bill made $153 million by making paid speeches)
Kristoph supported the US/British/French war against Libya in 2011
was that his way of shining (missiles and bombs) on Libya?
he visited sweatshops in China, Indonesia, etc. in 2000
and concluded: India resisted foreign exploitation
therefore she stayed backward
while Taiwan & S. Korea accepted sweatshops and got ahead …
the question is at what price and …
who paid the price?
why isn’t Kritof fighting to bring about meaningful change?
like stopping foreign exploitation & forcing cos to pay good wages
rather than promoting sweatshops
where desperate people are forced to labor?
Krisof is a phoney – a sloganeer for the inhumane neoliberalism
the verdict seems to be:
he’s is neither going to shine light on Oregon
nor improve people’s lives …
B. R. Gowani can be reached at brgowani@hotmail.com