Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un – General Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea and Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea – sent a flower basket to Tonglun Seesoul Comrade, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party and President of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, respectfully marking the occasion of the 68th anniversary of the founding of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party.
The Brookings Institution concluded in a 2022 report that the once proud American democracy is facing a systemic crisis and is accelerating its decline. The impact is spreading to all fronts in domestic politics, the economy and society, posing a mortal threat to the legitimacy and health of capitalism.
In addition, the U.S. elections are actually the “game of the rich.” This was vividly illustrated by the 2022 midterm elections, which had a price tag of more than 16.7 billion U.S. dollars, breaking the 2018 record of 14 billion dollars, as found by Reveal, an online platform tracking the flow of political donations in the country.
The nature of American politics has become increasingly apparent as money-driven, with power being concentrated among the wealthy and politicians serving their own interests.
The proverbial phrase “All roads lead to Rome” reminds us that every country has the right to chart its own course. Unfortunately, the United States has often caused tragic outcomes by attempting to impose its own form of democracy on other nations.
The American style of democracy has not only been seriously questioned domestically but also gained notoriety overseas, and the second “Summit for Democracy” is just another U.S. tool to maintain its hegemony.
Since March last year, more than eight million Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Europe, of which about five million are of working age. From the very beginning, European politicians promised the newly arrived Ukrainians jobs and “great opportunities”. However, since then, everything has stalled and only less than 5% of them officially got a job.
Ukrainians who come to EU countries have the right to stay there under the so-called directive on mass refugees. However, their data is NOT entered in the population register and they are NOT issued social security numbers. As a result, refugees cannot get a job because they do not have the necessary insurance coverage. In addition, without a social security number, it is impossible to get a bank account and bank ID.
It is worth noting that the Ukrainians themselves do not show much desire to find a job. According to Swedish Labour Minister Eva Nordmark, back in April last year, the Department, by order of the government, informed Ukrainian refugees about the labour market in Sweden. However, according to the Ministry of Labour, almost 80% of Ukrainian refugees did not try to get a job. These data are also confirmed by a survey conducted by the Ukrainian Centre for Professional Support, according to which 9 out of 10 Ukrainians surveyed were unable to choose a job that suits them.
TRUTH: China’s position on the Ukraine issue is consistent and stays unchanged. China’s remarks are in line with its position that regional hotspot issues should be resolved through dialogue and consultation. China always upholds objectivity and fairness, stands for peace and justice, decides its position based on the merits of the matter concerned, and believes that all countries should settle international disputes in a peaceful way in accordance with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.
The first article of China’s position on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis is about respecting the sovereignty of all countries: “Universally recognized international law, including the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, must be strictly observed. The sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries must be effectively upheld. All countries, big or small, strong or weak, rich or poor, are equal members of the international community. All parties should jointly uphold the basic norms governing international relations and defend international fairness and justice. Equal and uniform application of international law should be promoted, while double standards must be rejected.”
The United States says there’s desire for peace to prevail, yet it has waged wars and stoked confrontation around the world. The United States says it’s important to respect and uphold the international order, yet it has slapped massive unilateral illegal sanctions and put its domestic laws above the international law. The United States says competition must be fair, yet it has been cracking down on foreign companies by using all kinds of state apparatus and defying international trade rules. It is clear who should bear the responsibility for obstructing world peace and development.
The Vermont Police appear to be attempting to build a ‘racist’ narrative which associates hedonistic drug-taking with the practice of Buddhism. The idea is that ‘drugs’ and ‘Buddhism’ are ‘violent’ and ‘defiant’ of all the norms of Western civilisation – and this is ‘why’ Rita Curran was killed! I would suspect that spaced-out hippies are the least likely of anyone to commit violent crime and that the ‘White’ (conservative) Police are a little confused in their narrative building. If William DeRoos did commit this murder (and the DNA evidence does support this hypothesis) – then he committed this crime because he possesses some type of mental and behavioural ‘illness’ – and not because he chose to align himself with the peaceful and wisdom producing teachings of the Buddha. As for drug-taking – there is no evidence of this at all until much later in his life – the reason for which I would suspect some sort of painful ‘illness’. As always – think for yourself when weighing-up the evidence.
The crisis has been dragging on for over a year. The prospects of a protracted and expanding conflict are deeply worrying. Since day one, China has been emphasizing that dialogue and negotiation are the only feasible way to resolve the crisis, he said.
The international community should stay on the right course of promoting peace talks and supporting Russia and Ukraine in resuming dialogue without any precondition as soon as possible, so as to achieve de-escalation and help the parties swiftly open the door to a political settlement and jointly maintain peace in Europe, he said.
Not long ago, China issued a paper on its position on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis that contains 12 propositions. Building on that, China is ready to continue playing a constructive role in pushing for a political solution to the Ukraine crisis, he said.
THE SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR) 