Day: May 8, 2023

Scores of Russians take Latvian language test as deportation looms

Ms. Cat

Riga – In a Stalinist skyscraper dominating the skyline of Latvia’s capital, dozens of elderly Russians wait to take a basic Latvian language test as a proof of loyalty to a country where they have lived for decades.

Scores of Russians take Latvian language test as deportation looms

Flashback to when Trump said that he was going to make federal employees to take loyalty tests:

‘Full-blown fascism’: Donald Trump envisions a ‘civil service test’ for ‘every federal employee’

[2012] Biden Says He’s Not Blue Collar: “No One In My Family Worked In A Factory”

Ms. Cat

“My dad never worked in a Food Fair. My dad never wore a blue collar, Barack makes me sound like I just climbed out of a mine in Scranton, Pennsylvania carrying a lunch bucket,” Vice President Joe Biden said at a conference with U.S. mayors in Orlando.

“No one in my family worked in a factory,” Biden added.

Biden Says He’s Not Blue Collar: “No One In My Family Worked In A Factory”

Monopolies Cause Inflation, While Fed Chairman Powell Blames Workers

Ms. Cat

As American monopolies fix prices higher and higher, the Federal Reserve bizarrely has concluded that employment is to blame for inflation. For months, Fed chairman Jerome Powell has increased interest rates in the hopes of throwing workers out in the street and thus supposedly reducing prices. While I’m sure that corporate, donor-bought congressmembers appreciate his struggles in the class war against the poor and middle class, it’s all a crock.

Monopolies Cause Inflation, While Fed Chairman Powell Blames Workers

NATO to expand Asia-Pacific presence by opening office in Japan + What can China do about it?

Ms. Cat

Last week, news emerged that NATO intends to open a liaison office in Tokyo, Japan next year. The office would be NATO’s first in the Asia-Pacific region and represents the increasing role of the organisation in preparation for a US-led war against China. Both Tokyo and NATO have confirmed the plans.

NATO to expand Asia-Pacific presence by opening office in Japan

Related:

What can China do against NATO’s foray into Asia?

So what can China do to respond to this attempt at ‘alliance encirclement’ against it? First, it can strengthen its ties with Russia and aim to create a deeper balance of power in the Asia-Pacific. Secondly, it can revitalize old alliances and strengthen its ties with North Korea as a military partner. After all, the DPRK is still obligated by the 1961 treaty of mutual assistance to come to China’s aid in a war and can be used to contain Japan and South Korea. Thirdly, it can look to build new military partnerships with regional countries who feel similarly threatened by US expansionism; for example, Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar. While the rest of ASEAN are likely to stay neutral, including Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam (excluding the US-aligned Philippines), China should work to improve its relationships with these countries in order to prevent the US from trying to ‘force’ them to choose.