Category: Politics

Business Advice Politics

Liberation Day

By Rich Marin | by Rich Marin

The era of globalization doesn’t have a single, universally agreed-upon starting point, as it evolved gradually through several phases. There was the early globalization (1500s-1800s) that some historians trace to the beginnings to the Age of Exploration and the establishment of maritime trade routes connecting Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. There was also the Columbian Exchange of goods, people, and ideas between hemispheres, marking an early form of global interconnection. The Columbian Exchange was…

Continue reading

Politics

Turning Tides

By Rich Marin | by Rich Marin

When I write these stories, I always start with a title and then go rom there. The title is a reflection of what is on my mind and what resonates and sounds “catchy”. Having written 2,400 such stories over the past six and a half years, I have stumbled onto the same title more often than I care to admit. It’s a bit like seeing the edge of your imagination when it happens, but I…

Continue reading

Politics

Foolish Is As Foolish Does

By Rich Marin | by Rich Marin

They played us all for fools. The bullshit has gotten so regular and so deep that we frogs are way past parboiled. No one wants to or is going to come out and say it plainly, but someone must. This Yemen Signal Chat scandal isn’t a scandal because they used an unsecured app. The real scandal is that a plurality of our country (or at least the majority of our dubiously elected officials) trusted that…

Continue reading

Memoir Politics

Why Uruguay?

By Rich Marin | by Rich Marin

Every cruise that starts or ends or even goes through Buenos Aires, inevitably also stops in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. That may seem redundant because Montevideo is just across the delta from Buenos Aires, a mere 150 miles. But there are many reasons everyone should visit Montevideo based on what Uruguay has created for itself…an example that might be as close to Utopia as any on earth. Uruguay, despite being one of South America’s…

Continue reading

Memoir Politics

Leaving the Malvinas Behind

By Rich Marin | by Rich Marin

We are cruising back towards the mainland of Argentina today. If we went east we would likely not hit anything until the beaches of Perth, Australia. That part of the planet between the Atlantic and Indian oceans never gets much play (except when a Malaysian airliner disappears there). I learned that the Malvinas sit at 52 South Latitude, which compares in the northern hemisphere to the Latitude of London, which sits at 52 North Latitude.…

Continue reading

Memoir Politics

Fjord v. Ferrari

By Rich Marin | by Rich Marin

Today was about the largest national park in Chile called Vicente Perez Rosalez Parque in honor of the Chilean who turned this remote area into a well-known tourism and agricultural zone. It was supposed to be a sunny day that was going to stay cool in the 50s for most of the day, but the weather gods had a different idea and as we tried to board the tender from the ship into the port…

Continue reading

Business Advice Memoir Politics

Taxing Our Common Sense

By Rich Marin | by Rich Marin

Last year Mark Cuban made headlines when he paid his $276 million tax bill. While his outspoken support for more liberal causes made some pundits ask if he was paying more than what he owed. he said that he pays what he owes. “This country has done so much for me, I’m proud to pay my taxes every single year,” Cuban went on to say that while he doesn’t expect all of his tax money…

Continue reading

Memoir Politics

The Price of Sensitivity

By Rich Marin | by Rich Marin

I just had a text exchange with my red pals and I feel like it was a doozy. I keep that text chain going for two reasons. First and foremost, I shared some good times with these guys and have fond memories of many great motorcycle trips with them. Secondly, I find it important and fascinating to stay in touch with the mindset of people who I think should be ideologically aligned with me but…

Continue reading

Fiction/Humor Memoir Politics

Chillin’

By Rich Marin | by Rich Marin

Last night my friend Mike sent me a CNN article on Chile and the collapse of their electric grid due to excessive summer heat, drought and infrastructure overburdening. Yikes! Seems like Chile is experiencing a combination of California and Texas calamities just as we are heading down to begin our cruise. Mike seemed a bit pensive about it all where I felt like I wanted to take it more in stride. I take some solace…

Continue reading