Gabriel Boric (photo below, bio here), 35, a former leftist student leader, was elected president of Chile on Sunday, December 19, 2021, after promising the South American nation’s young voters to “remake” the country. He garnered 56% of the vote to defeat a far-right lawyer. He wi[...]
Archive for the ‘Foreign Affairs’ Category
December 20th, 2021 - 1:03 am § in Economics, Foreign Affairs
Economics lesson, Turkish edition (video)
Recep Erdogan, Turkey’s rightwing dictator, thinks he can tell his country’s economy what to do. His economic theories are described as “unorthodox” (details here). Watch the video below to see what happens when a blockhead head-butts against natural economic forces. Return t[...]
December 15th, 2021 - 9:16 pm § in Foreign Affairs
Ransomware pirates freeze paychecks
“A major payroll company has been crippled by ransomware hackers, leaving some companies around the country scrambling to cover employees’ last paychecks before Christmas and many workers wondering if they’ll get paid on time,” NBC News reported on Wednesday, December 15, 2021 (read [...]
December 1st, 2021 - 2:48 am § in Foreign Affairs, Health
Greece begins fining older vaccine holdouts
If you’re Greek, over 60, and not vaccinated, you’ll have pay a $114 monthly fine to stay that way. Americans would never stand for that, but we’re not as civilized as they are. Greeks don’t let their kids take guns to school either. Greece has national health insurance (deta[...]
November 26th, 2021 - 9:26 pm § in China, Foreign Affairs
What crushing Hong Kong cost China
A generation of young Taiwanese, and any remaining hope of mutual reconciliation. “As authorities in Hong Kong arrested pro-democracy supporters, including opposition politicians and newspaper editors, a growing number of people in Taiwan have reflected upon the island’s future relatio[...]
November 19th, 2021 - 2:26 am § in Foreign Affairs, Health
Austria imposes Covid-19 lockdown
The pandemic is making a comeback in Europe, and in Austria it’s reached a boiling point, with 15,000 new cases a day. “Austria will enter a fourth national lockdown on Monday as Covid-19 cases continue to surge,” CNBC reported on Friday, November 19, 2021 (story here). The governm[...]
November 13th, 2021 - 11:22 pm § in Foreign Affairs, Politics
Face of defiance
Wanda Traczyk-Stawska, 94, fought the Nazis as a member of the Polish Resistance in World War 2, cradling a machinegun during the Warsaw Uprising. Speaking at a pro-European Union rally recently, she was heckled by far-right extremists in the crowd. They were picking on the wrong war veteran and ex-[...]
China’s hypersonic test “concerning”
China recently tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic delivery vehicle, although they deny it. Gen. Mark Milley, America’s top military officer, called the test “very concerning” (see story here). There are several things the Pentagon doesn’t like about these weapons in our adve[...]
October 25th, 2021 - 8:34 pm § in China, Foreign Affairs
China will freeze in the dark before it buys Australian coal again
China has an energy crisis. To be more specific, China has a coal shortage. Australia has lots of coal, but China doesn’t want it, even though its lights are going out. Beijing is throwing a hissy fit. A year ago, it blocked imports of Aussie coal because “after Canberra backed a call fo[...]
October 21st, 2021 - 10:30 pm § in Biden, China, Donald Trump, Foreign Affairs, Law and Courts, Politics
Biden errs, then criticizes himself
Last week, The Hill says, Biden was asked about (in its words) “people who defy subpoenas from the committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol,” an obvious reference to Steve Bannon (image left). Biden replied, “I hope that the committee goes after them and holds [...]