#canadian immigration policies

[npzlawyersforimmigration]

US Immigration: Tips for Acing Your N-400 Interview for US Citizenship

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2KKBtSc49w

#USCitizenship #N400Interview #USCIS #immigration #N400 #N400application #uscis

[deerest-me]

this was a fun weekend too bad it's back into the meatgrinder tomorrow!!! goodbye again. will be dead again for the week (hopefully not longer bc then im dead for real). have a good one until then...............

[yenmek-immigration]

Canada's Provincial Nominee Programs: Your Gateway to Immigration in 2024

Canada's reputation as a welcoming and multicultural nation is well-deserved. With a growing economy and a need for skilled professionals, Canada's immigration system offers promising opportunities for newcomers. Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) play a crucial role in this system, allowing provinces to tailor immigration streams to their specific labor market needs.\

Understanding the Importance of Provincial Nominee Programs

Canada's immigration system operates on a two-tiered structure: federal and provincial. While the federal government sets overall immigration targets and manages some programs, Provincial Nominee Programs empower individual provinces (except Quebec and Nunavut) to actively participate in immigration selection.

Benefits of PNP Programs:

Targeted Approach: PNPs allow provinces to identify and attract skilled immigrants who can directly contribute to their specific labor market needs. This leads to a higher chance of newcomers finding jobs and integrating successfully into their chosen province.

Faster Processing Times: Compared to some federal immigration programs, PNP applications often benefit from faster processing times. This can be a significant advantage for those eager to begin their lives in Canada.

Enhanced Selection Criteria: PNPs sometimes offer more flexibility in selection criteria compared to federal programs. They may consider factors like work experience in specific industries or educational qualifications relevant to the province's needs.

Increased Immigration Opportunities: PNPs contribute to a larger pool of immigration pathways to Canada. This benefits a wider range of skilled professionals who might not necessarily meet the criteria for all federal programs.

Early 2024 PNP Activity: A Look at Ontario, B.C., and Manitoba

The first quarter of 2024 witnessed positive developments in PNP programs across Canada, particularly in Ontario, British Columbia, and Manitoba. These provinces conducted their first PNP draws of the year, inviting a significant number of candidates across various streams.

Ontario: Demonstrated a proactive approach by conducting two Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) draws in January 2024. These draws targeted healthcare, tech, and skilled trades occupations. Ontario also expanded its International Graduate stream, opening opportunities for graduates from designated learning institutions within the province.

British Columbia: Executed five PNP draws in January 2024, inviting candidates through streams like Skilled Workers, International Graduates, Entry-Level and Semi-Skilled Workers. Additionally, BC targeted specific in-demand occupations like construction, childcare, healthcare, and veterinary care.

Manitoba: Held four Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) draws in January 2024, focusing on Skilled Workers in Manitoba and candidates from the International Education Stream and Skilled Workers Overseas streams.

Canada's Immigration Levels Plan 2024-2026: Setting Ambitious Targets

Canada's Immigration Levels Plan for 2024-2026 aims to welcome 110,000 new permanent residents through PNP programs. This ambitious target reflects the significant role PNPs play in addressing regional labor market needs and supporting Canada's economic growth strategy.

Eligibility for Canadian Immigration Through PNP Programs

Determining your eligibility for immigration through a PNP program requires careful consideration of several factors. Here's a breakdown of some key aspects:

Provincial Needs: PNP programs are designed to meet specific labor market needs within each province. Understanding the in-demand professions and skillsets in your desired province is crucial

Educational Background: PNP programs often have minimum education requirements, typically a post-secondary diploma or degree. Specific programs might also require relevant work experience or professional licenses.

Language Skills: Proficiency in English or French is generally a requirement for PNP programs. The minimum score required can vary depending on the program and province.

Express Entry Pool: Many PNP programs leverage Canada's Express Entry system. Having a profile in the Express Entry pool can be advantageous, as some PNP programs prioritize candidates from this pool.

Staying Updated on PNP Programs With Yenmek:

[xtruss]

Analysis: Is Canada Really So Immigrant-Friendly?

Trudeau’s ambitious plan to increase immigration is facing pushback from the left and right.

— By Claire Porter Robbins | Foreign Policy | August 28, 2023

A refugee arrives at the Roxham Road border crossing at the U.S.-Canada border in Champlain, New York, on March 25, 2023. Lars Hagberg/AFP Via Getty Images

Canadians like to think of their country as a nation built on immigration. Canada, the story goes, is a bastion of multiculturalism. This narrative has been refined through smug comparison to the United States and other Western countries. At first glance, it may seem that Canada is more welcoming: While other Western nations have faced heavy criticism for their migration policies, Canada has garnered a reputation as being immigrant-friendly. Since 2019, the Canadian government has resettled more refugees than any other country, with little public backlash.

So in November, when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a plan to expand immigration, it seemed like a politically savvy move. Since Trudeau took office in 2015, immigration has already increased from around 300,000 to 400,000 new residents per year. Now, Canada plans to welcome 500,000 permanent residents each year by 2025. Laid out as a way to build up the Canadian economy, which faces labor shortages and a declining birth rate, the plan prioritizes bringing in skilled immigrants. It was met with praise from major corporate advocacy groups, such as the Business Council of Canada.

Ten months later, Trudeau’s plan is facing skepticism from both sides of the political spectrum. Criticism from the far right is no surprise. But as the government has struggled to integrate and support migrants, the prospect of bringing in significantly more of them has led immigration experts and advocates to air grievances about what they see as the administration’s failings in related sectors, notably refugee resettlement and housing.

Meanwhile, public opinion on immigration has started to shift. As cost of living and housing prices stay stubbornly high, anti-immigration sentiment—long boiling—may rise to the surface.

In early 2019, controversy arose over billboards put up across the country with the slogan “Say No to Mass Immigration,” which promoted then-MP Maxime Bernier’s far-right People’s Party of Canada in the campaign for the upcoming federal election. Complaints and citizens’ petitions ultimately led the advertising company to take down the signs.

Those who complained about the billboards, including candidates from Canada’s center and left-wing parties, saw their removal as a victory for Canadian pluralism, thrown into relief by then-U.S. President Donald Trump’s xenophobic, anti-migrant policies to the south. On election day in 2019, Trudeau’s Liberal Party triumphed, while Bernier’s party received meager support.

The Liberals’ success, combined with the outcry over the far right’s weaponization of immigration, signaled to Trudeau that most Canadian voters were resolutely pro-migration. Polling seemed to back this up. The month before the election, the Environics Institute for Survey Research found that 85 percent of Canadians surveyed agreed that immigration has a positive effect on the economy, while 69 percent supported the current immigration rate.

Yet these figures obscured Canada’s long-standing challenges with diversity and inclusion. “Because Canada is pro-immigration, there’s a perception that conflates this with Canada being an open society and not being racist,” said Pallavi Banerjee, a sociologist at the University of Calgary who researches how discrimination affects young migrants’ futures.

Canada has a history of racist policies related to immigration, from the late-19th-century Chinese head tax, which forced Chinese immigrants to pay a fee when entering the country, to Quebec’s highly controversial Bill 21, a law passed in 2019 that prohibits the display of religious symbols from public servants’ attire, including crosses, turbans, kippahs, and hijabs. In one high-profile incident in 2021, Bill 21 led to the removal of a Muslim teacher from her classroom for wearing a hijab.

In a 2022 Environics survey, 46 percent of respondents agreed that “there are too many immigrants coming into this country who are not adopting Canadian values.” The term “Canadian values,” though vague, points to respondents’ desire for immigrants to assimilate. The same poll has been conducted for three decades, and while that figure has decreased from 72 percent in 1993, it still indicates that Canada has yet to fully embrace multiculturalism.

Even at current immigration levels, Banerjee said, migrants are segregated from established Canadians, limiting opportunities for them to integrate into the social fabric of their new country and thrive. According to Statistics Canada as of 2021, 41.8 percent of nonpermanent residents and 16.1 percent of immigrants who moved to Canada in the past five years lived in poverty.

The government’s failure to fully integrate newcomers has spurred skepticism of Trudeau’s new program on the left. Columnists for center and left-wing outlets have written that Canada has an “immigration elephant in the room,” referring to racism against newcomers, and that the country is “woefully unprepared for the coming immigration boom” due to funding cuts for newcomer settlement organizations, which are typically funded through a combination of federal, provincial, and private donor funds.

Advocates for refugees and other migrants are some of the loudest voices demanding reform to Canada’s immigration and settlement processes before expansion. Directors of settlement and refugee organizations, who may have otherwise endorsed Trudeau’s plans, say the system is already overloaded. Newcomers categorized as “highly skilled” have publicly complained about being stuck in a bureaucratic limbo with the immigration ministry and not receiving decisions on their residency permits for years.

Public opinion appears to have shifted as well. Even before Trudeau’s plan, anti-immigration sentiment was already worsening online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Banerjee said, as some Canadians blamed immigrants, particularly those of Asian descent, for the spread of the disease. In July, David Coletto, CEO of Canada’s Abacus polling firm, wrote on his Substack that 61 percent of Canadians polled believe that 500,000 immigrants per year is too high, including 37 percent who feel it is “way too high.” In addition, a July Abacus survey found that four in 10 Canadians polled would vote for a politician who promised to reduce immigration levels.

Now, some Canadians are conflating a different issue with immigration: the housing crisis that Trudeau has been unable to stem in his nearly eight-year tenure. In the many think pieces about immigration, commentators have complained of already overburdened services, from health care wait times to the availability of language lessons. But the most common criticism of Trudeau’s plan to expand immigration is the lack of affordable housing.

“Canada doesn’t have a refugee problem. Canada has a housing problem,” said Francesca Allodi-Ross, who runs Romero House, a nongovernmental organization in Toronto that connects migrants with people who have spare rooms. She worries about newcomers being blamed for a housing shortage that has been a long time coming.

According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Canada has the most expensive housing market in the G-7. Vacancy rates for rental housing are at a two-decade low, and the Royal Bank of Canada expects the country’s rental housing gap (the difference between available rental units and those seeking them) to surpass 120,000 by 2026—quadrupling today’s deficit. In early August, Stefane Marion, the chief economist of the National Bank, called on the government to revise the immigration target until housing supply could match demand, citing “record imbalance” between the two.

Meanwhile, as housing shortages threaten to affect the coming “highly skilled” migrants prioritized by Trudeau’s plan, social justice-oriented groups such as Romero House have pointed out that the government has so far neglected to provide enough housing for other newcomers who have already arrived: specifically, refugees and asylum-seekers. The government’s failure to arrange temporary housing for them was glaringly apparent over the summer, when hundreds of asylum-seekers camped outside Toronto’s emergency shelter intake center.

The way the government responds to the needs of newcomers, and especially refugees, is “very reactive—and it’s been this way for years,” Allodi-Ross said. It was only after the Toronto shelter crisis, when many media commentators questioned Trudeau’s immigration expansion program, that the municipal, provincial, and federal government committed $71.4 million to housing for refugees and asylum-seekers, and the city freed up more hotels for emergency shelter.

Directors of temporary shelters and refugee settlement programs say there is a chronic lack of state funding and support for recent arrivals. John Mtshede, the executive director of Matthew House, a shelter for asylum-seekers in Ontario’s Niagara region, said his shelter is stretched to capacity. For years, the government has repeatedly denied Matthew House’s requests for funding to develop a plot of land for additional housing. Matthew House has found its most sustainable support through private fundraising and religious groups, rather than government funding.

Like many others who work at refugee and immigration NGOs, Mtshede is frustrated with the lack of coordination between the municipal, provincial, and federal governments about who bears responsibility for housing the government’s target of a little more than 70,000 new refugees each year. “Nobody wants to take the blame for this situation,” he said.

Despite the pushback, the Liberal government appears to be doubling down and ignoring accusations that it has not funded the services required to process and settle newcomers. At a press conference in early August, a reporter asked Marc Miller, the new immigration minister, if the government would reduce the immigration targets.

“Whether we revise them upwards or not is something that I have to look at,” he said. “But certainly, I don’t think we’re in any position of wanting to lower them by any stretch of the imagination.” In the meantime, newcomers will increasingly become the fall guy for the housing crisis that has unfolded under Trudeau’s watch.

— Claire Porter Robbins is a Journalist in Calgary, Alberta, and the Founder of Btchcoin News. She has worked as an aid worker in the Middle East and in Strategic Communications for a United Nations Peacekeeping Mission.

[teaboot]

I don't know if you're American or not but in my experience as a person who is not American, American events and media are so incredibly loud and visible that they tend to leech into everything.

Like I'm Canadian born and raised and can name more American presidents than I can Canadian Prime Ministers. I have Canadian friends from Canada who can accurately describe themselves as Liberals but are still sorta foggy on NDP policies. Do you know what day Canada Day is? It's July 1st. Do you know what's on my dashboard on July 1st? Early posts about July 4th.

And if you're an American reading this: Or, hell, anyone else reading this: We all know George Washington was the first American President. Do you know who the first Prime Minister of Canada was? Can you name two British political parties? What are two countries that have Monarchies, not Democracies? What was the most recent political scandal you can think of that took place outside the US? What's your favourite TV show that takes place anywhere outside of America? What are your top three favourite non-american musicians? If English is your first language, how many foreign countries can you go to where you don't speak the language, but don't have to worry about it?

I said "International America Day" as a joke, but there is a very real phenomenon in countries outside of the US where the general population becomes Americanized through the prevalent American media.

We know American current events, we know American scandals, we know about American cops and American movies and American accents and American fast food chains. We have serious opinions on the American legal system and we talk about American law and American policy and American celebrities, and many of us don't know Jack Shit about what's going on where we live.

I'm Canadian. I've heard all about 'building the wall' and ICE and Jan 6th, the intentional government distribution of narcotics in Black communities and the use of Marijuana Illegalization to persecute Black and Mexican people under the Nixon administration.

Do you know what Canada did to Chinese immigrants to build the Canadian railroad? What about the Sterilization Act? Residential Schools? Do you know what a Status Card is? Does it, or does it not cost money to ride in an ambulance? Can people with breasts legally walk around topless? What's the legal drinking age? What are our biggest cities? Who was our least-popular PM? What are our allied nations? Where does the Canadian military get deployed?

"International America Day" was a goof. But Jesus, it's a little bit serious

*edit: yeah I wrote June instead of Jan my bad

[rabbits-of-negative-euphoria]

this is what I've learned about the practice of politics over the past 8 years:

the time for talking about abstract political ideals is during the primary.

after the primary, the die has been cast, and your two choices are there whether you like them or not. your practical political responsibility still exists. any choice that seems to lie outside the two candidates is an illusion. to cast a vote for a third party or to not vote at all is still, practically speaking, a choice for one of the two main candidates.

furthermore, you are not voting for the candidates as people, you are voting for them as policy. voting for a person is a luxury most countries don't have anymore. you think Canadian Christian voters ever get a truly Christian ticket on either side? Norwegian Christians? Japanese Christians? America might still be able to vote for people in the primaries, but we don't have that luxury in the general election. the general election is about policy, and the candidates are only pieces in a larger game of chess.

the only thing that would persuade me NOT to vote for Trump this time around is if he had the exact same policy platform as Kamala Harris. if Trump ran on all of Harris' policies except for immigration, I would still vote for Trump, because it's materially worse for my family, friends, and neighbors to allow illegal immigration than to stop it. and as a voter, I have the power to stop it.

[opencommunion]

The geopolitics of labor: Israel's quest to replace Palestinian workers with Indians

"Canadian immigration attorney Aidan Simardone, speaking to The Cradle, compares the situation to historical colonial practices in North America where marginalized European religious groups, like the Puritans, were brought in to service colonial interests. 

Israel, he points out, is adopting a similar strategy by recruiting economically disadvantaged Hindu Indians from regions like Uttar Pradesh, aiming to manage demographic and political challenges seamlessly. 'The move is also an attempt by Israel to pull the rug out from under one of the thorns on the side of colonialism. Colonialism requires squeezing blood out of a stone, yet this squeezing depends on the sweat and tears of those who are at the bottom of the barrel.'

Simardone notes the inherent risks for the colonizer in relying entirely on an indigenous labor force, as workers will rebel when colonialism reveals its true nature.

'To steer clear of this predicament, colonizers bring in labor from other parts. These laborers are often pushed to the sidelines as well, but unlike the Indigenous population, they go with the flow rather than swimming against the tide when it comes to the colonial project.'

... A Haaretz report claims that Indian candidates seeking work in Israel were, in many cases, made aware that the jobs were not available to Muslim Indians, a move that undermined the rights of the Muslim minority in India.

Simardone explains that Islam is seen as a mutual threat by the right-wing ethnocentric regime currently leading Israel and Hindutva-dominated India: 'For both countries, the very existence of Muslims undermines their fascist ethnonationalism, which seeks to build a country solely for Jews in Israel and Hindus in India. That is primarily the reason that job recruiters in India who are posting positions in Israel have specifically required Hindus and excluded Muslims, who are more likely to sympathize with the plight of Palestinians.' ... However, the partnership faces criticism domestically, especially concerning the program to shift thousands of workers into an insecure environment. The Construction Workers Federation of India (CWFI) has voiced strong opposition to sending Indian laborers to Israel, arguing that such actions tacitly support Israel’s controversial policies in Palestine. 

The association reflects the views of a much broader Indian worker demographic who naturally reject collaboration with an oppressive occupation state that so clearly exploits the Palestinian working class. Instead, CWFI has urged New Delhi to leverage its diplomatic relations with Tel Aviv to advocate for the observance of UN resolutions and to reconsider Israel’s labor-import demands."

[chaithetics]

Free Things you can do from home to support Palestine!!! 🖤🤍❤️💚

Hey Tumblr besties! Here's a few ways to help Palestine that you can do from home and don't cost any money! It's pretty much just emails! Hopefully you have local organisations that have resources can help with this that are more specifically tailored to your government. But if you need help drafting emails, finding resources or want someone to proofread them before you send them, I'm more than happy to do that! Please do reach out, take a read and share as well please! Your voice matters and this is an important way to help, your emails can be as short or as long as you like! Much love 🖤🤍❤️💚

Palestinian Visas

- While many Palestinians are stuck in Israeli occupation and terrorism, there are some who have been able to evacuate but are further stuck in limbo or are not able to evacuate due to visa statuses and immigration policy of foreign governments.

- For example, In late December 2023, Minister Marc Miller, Canada's Immigration Minister announced a special category of visas for Palestinians in Palestine who are related to Palestinian-Canadians. Not a single visa has been granted and all applications are still in the early stages. Many Palestinian-Canadians have spoken about this, contacted the Minister and PM Trudeau and nothing. Minister Erica Stanford, the Minister for Immigration in Aotearoa New Zealand has not granted Palestinian visas and not made a special visa category despite releasing a press release in 2022 when she was in the opposition, criticising the Labour government for not doing enough for Ukrainians and not having created a special visa category within 14 days. She is not replying to correspondence on this.

What you can do-Email your head of Government (Prime Minister, President etc.) Governments across the world are structured differently but if you have a Minister of/for Immigration contact them, your local MPs/Congress members, senators etc., those with Immigration portfolios and interests.

Include these requests in your email:

To create a special humanitarian Visa category for Palestinians to apply for that is accessible.

To prioritise these visas, and expedite these visas with urgency.

To expedite any backlogged Palestinian visas urgently.

Sanctions against Israel

- Email your head of Government (President, Prime Minister etc.), your Minister of Foreign Affairs, local representatives and urge them to place sanctions against Israel.

This includes

Ending diplomatic ties, closing down Israeli embassies for example.

Export restrictions, ending military aid etc. Australia is providing materials to Israel that are used in making f35s for example.

Calling for a Permanent Ceasefire

- It is important that we continue to urge our Governments into advocating for and calling for a permanent ceasefire and recognise the state of Palestine.

- Email your Head of Government, your Ministers and representatives with foreign affairs portfolios and your local representatives to

Call and continue to advocate for a permanent ceasefire and recognition of Palestine as it's own state.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Canada will lower the number of permanent immigrants it allows into the country by at least 20 per cent from its previous target of 500,000, CTV News confirmed Wednesday. The decision comes as many Canadians face housing and affordability concerns, and the federal government has faced ongoing pressure to address the number of temporary and permanent residents coming to Canada. The new targets were first reported by the National Post. During a Liberal cabinet retreat in Halifax last August, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signalled a possible reduction in permanent resident levels, a major policy reversal for the federal government.

Continue Reading

Tagging: @newsfromstolenland

[npzlawyersforimmigration]

PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - June 19, 2024 - Ridgewood, NJ - US and Canadian Immigration and Nationality Lawyers at NPZ Law Group -VISASERVE - Applaud the Biden Administration For Expanding Immigration Protections for Family Unity Beneficiaries and Dreamers.

Yesterday, on June 18, 2024, the Biden-Harris Administration announced a suite of affirmative relief policies to protect long-term residents, including Dreamers, amidst legal challenges to DACA and Congressional stalemate. These actions support eligible DACA recipients and other Dreamers, provide guidance on waiver programs to ease access to employment-based visas, and offer protections for undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens, allowing them to adjust their status without leaving the country through a program called “Parole in Place”. It is important to note that yesterday’s announcement by the White House was about high-level guidance only and the proposed new initiatives will only take shape over the course of the summer,. The Immigration and Nationality Lawyers at the NPZ Law Group will carefully monitor these important new developments and keep clients and potential clients updated as detailed guidelines begin to materialize. Please feel free to sign-up for FREE US and Canadian immigration law newsletters at www.visaserve.com

http://wew.visaserve.com

[todaysdocument]

Letter from J. B. Densmore to the Secretary of State Regarding the Number of American Citizens Who Had Sailed for and Returned from Europe from August 1 to August 12, 1914

Record Group 85: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization ServiceSeries: Subject and Policy FilesFile Unit: European War - German Refugees - Deportation of Italians - Alien Deportations

53854/39 August 14, 1914.

The Honorable,

The Secretary of State.

Sir:

In reply to your telegram of the 12th instant, requesting information as to the number of American citizens who have sailed for Europe since August 1st and the number who have returned to America from Europe since that date, I beg to inclose a table, prepared by the Bureau of Immigration, giving the desired data for the period from August 1st to 12th, inclusive.

Respectfully,

[stamped in blue] EXACT COPY AS SIGNED BY J. B. DENSMORE MAILED BY [/stamped in blue]

Acting Secretary.

[8/14 and illegible letter written over the stamped information]

SWM-F

Inclosure No. 1070.

Arrivals of United States citizens from Europe August 1 to 12, 1914, inclusive:

Port First Second Third Total

Class Class Class

New York 2265 2136 1076 5477

Boston 144 460 63 667

Philadelphia 2 150 46 198

Canadian Seaports 494 413 310 1217

Total 2905 3159 1495 7559

Departures of United States citizens for Europe August 1 to 12, 1914, inclusive:

Port First Second Third Total

Class Class Class

New York 284 595 747 1626

Boston 8 62 12 82

Philadelphia 73 29 102

New Orleans 4 4

Total 296 730 788 1814

Departures via Canadian Seaports are unreported.

[milkteaarttime]

CoD Ghosts OC: Latte Info!

I made a little more lore for her character, I hope this allows everyone to get to know her better.

General

Name: Latte/ShuXin Wong

Age/Birthdate: 24, born in March, 2003 

Eye Colour: Dark brown

Hair Colour: Black

Hairstyle: whatever shaggy mess she cut for herself(short wolf cut?)

Height: 5’3 on a good day

Body/Build: Top heavy, slight muscle tone from doing Pilates and lifting heavy patients.

Blood type: O positive

Profession: Nurse

Childhood/Life 

Latte, born ShuXin, was born in a city hospital to an average Chinese couple. Her family immigrated to Canada when she was a baby due to her mother being pregnant again during the one-child policy. Her life in Canada wasn’t lavish but it was decent for her little family. She had a talent and love for singing. Her mother also loved singing, and upon realizing her talents, placed her in singing lessons. Latte was hoping to become a singer of sorts in adulthood. She grew up helping her parents in their restaurant. And she also cared for her little brother, Viktor. As the eldest, she was pinned down by a lot of expectations and unfortunately became parentified quite heavily by her parents and circumstances. 

ODIN

When Latte was 14, her entire family was caught in the unfortunate event of ODIN during a Vacation down to Seattle, Washington. They weren't in the direct area that was hit, but near enough that her parents died from the complications and Latte and her brother were moderately injured. She was later sent back to Canada with her brother to live with a family friend, but she had to stop her extracurriculars due to financial reasons. 

Professional Experience

Latte did an LPN program for nursing in Canada, She transferred to the States to be near her brother, Viktor, who is in the military. When she was transferred down to the States, the healthcare system was quite literally in shambles and there were a ton of employment opportunities. The healthcare system is low on nurses, doctors, and other essential staff alike, especially in the military. Many nurses and care aides also quit because they can’t handle the intense workload anymore, causing more shortages. She still dreams of singing but knows that it's unrealistic, you can find her singing quietly while she charts when there's a rare moment of downtime. 

Personality

Friendly and patient, she has a great professional front, but can occasionally seem anxious when deep in thought.

She rather knowledgeable and intelligent.

Tends to spiral and overthink when overwhelmed.

She's an extrovert. She loves meeting new people and has gotten a stern talking to by her manager because she would waste time interacting with the patients.

Yapper ™. Latte sometimes talks too much and accidentally lectures ppl

A saviour syndrome/mother hen. Latte’s upbringing causes her to feel like it is her life goal to make sure everyone else’s needs are met before hers. Her mother’s words “Make sure you are considerate to others.” Often echoes in her head. Making sure everyone around her is satisfied. Often mother or nag Viktor even in adulthood. Causing Viktor to be occasionally a little avoidant. She accidentally blurs the line between a sister and a mother a lot.

Apologizes for everything, but that's partially because she's Canadian. But it does give the impression that she doesn’t think highly of herself. 

Dynamic with Hesh

The first time they met, Latte thought he was adorable and had some butterflies in her belly but thought that was anxiety from Hesh holding her hand.  And the second time they met, the feelings came back, and she was stammering and struggling to concentrate. Especially when she saw his well-built body, all rationality out the window. Latte felt an indescribable connection with Hesh. A mutual understanding of struggles with expectations from parents, being the responsible one for the younger siblings, and carrying the will of the family. But never allowed to break down yourself. She's able to be vulnerable and open with Hesh. Confiding in each other about their struggles with finding themselves, and how they aren’t just someone's son/daughter or brother/sister. 

The only issue concern might be that Hesh is used to expressing his disapproval/demands since he is in the military. He is unaware of how intimidating he can come across. So he can be a little too direct and unconsciously make her anxious with his words and body language. On the other hand, Latte tends to hold back her complaints, but because Latte doesn’t express her needs or feelings, she tends to bottle up and then break down. 

Skills

She is a great singer, has a soothing and smooth voice and can put you to sleep with her singing. Also a great voice for emotional ballads or musical numbers. 

She is fast and efficient with her hands and is great at physical tasks with small or intricate details, due to her experience helping her parents in the restaurant. She is also a great cook because of this, but the downside is everything she cooks becomes Chinese or a Chinese fusion dish (not done on purpose).

Nursing skills since she is a nurse! Things like wound dressing, IV inserts, and medication admin. However, Her soft skills are where she shines. Her ability to de-escalate patients, comfort, and establish trust, and her bubbly personality make her the go-to person for unhappy patients and families. 

FUN FACTS

Tends to speak to herself in Chinese when alone. Often receiving weird looks.

Able to speak, sing, read, and write in her native tongue. Latte is very connected with her culture. Makes Chinese holiday foods for the team. 

Enjoys rock and upbeat music. She is an “any song as long as I vibe with it” type of music listener.

Had a weird edgy/emo phase from 13-15. Tried to teach herself how to metal scream. Ruined her voice for a week. 

Not great at math, and was banned from being a cashier at the restaurant. 

Very scary when actively angry. But the idea of her being openly angry is strange because no one in her professional life (Minus Lauren the manager and Viktor) has tasted her repressed and built-up wrath. 

She LOVES the fries and cheeseburger combo. A good cheeseburger with tomato, sweet pickled onion, ketchup, mustard, lettuce, regular pickles, and a side of nice crispy fries is all she wants sometimes

(Thanks for reading!! Any feedback is welcomed!! Thanks for all the love you guys showed me on my previous Fic and OC posts <3)

[rotzaprachim]

A lot of the language discourse highlights some of the issues people have with broader historical comprehension and the fact dynamics of power are pretty much always more complicated and nuanced than the binary us oppressed versus them oppressors dynamic a lot of internet leftists have bought into, and even more an ignorance of how nuanced and complex these dynamics can be in the lives of individuals.

Like, the dialects of french, English, Spanish, Dutch, German, Portuguese, and Italian spoken in the Americas are almost all in complex ways linked to working class and/or regional and minoritised expressions of the language in Europe, because it was often people on the bottom rung of society who became colonizers, especially settler colonizers, in the first place. People want to view a great Oppressed language group that includes indigenous languages AND their working class or minoritized European dialects, but the complex reality is a lot of those minoritized or made fun of European dialects were likely exactly that which was part of the obliteration of indigenous languages in the Americas, Australia, and New Zealand. (Even if these dialects, yet again, were not necessarily those of the people at the top of the colonial empire.)

or take anglophone policies towards French and Spanish (and some other immigrant languages, such as German) carried out by anglophone governments in the us and Canada. French and Spanish are both undoubtedly colonial languages in the context of the Americas. there have been brutal pro French language and pro Spanish language policies that have destroyed indignenous language communities. And these realities can coexist with the fact that the Anglo Canadian and general U.S. government have enacted and in many cases continue to enact brutal anti French and anti Spanish policies that are desecrations towards cultural heritage, and maybe the way you feel on these languages being irritating or annoying isn’t so neutral

and we haven’t even got started on modern Hebrew

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

by Nachum Kaplan

Jews are ultimately grappling with two intertwining questions:

1) Who would be better for Jews right now?

Surging antisemitism has created immediate problems.

Is it safe to wear a kippah? Are synagogues and Jewish businesses being threatened or attacked? Is anti-Jewish hate speech being normalized? Can Jews attend their places of work and study un-harassed? Are governments acting, in word and deed, to protect Jews? Are Jewish children safe at school?

Few American Jews have had to ask such questions. These were their grandparents’ concerns, from which life in democratic America was supposed to liberate them.

2) Who is better for Israel?

Most Jews support Israel but have had the luxury of not having to think too much about it because U.S. support for Israel has been bipartisan. That is still the case, but this could change with demographic shifts, the Democratic Party’s tilt to the Left, and the Republican Party’s renewed flirtation with isolationism.

Israel’s existence makes Jews everywhere safer. Rising Jew hatred is making many Jews consider moving to Israel for sanctuary. That makes Israel’s existence, security, and success, a more pressing concern in American Jews’ lives than previously. They might be too busy with their own lives to care about Middle East politics, but Middle East politics cares about them. American politics, too.

Not Just the U.S.

Jews in Canada, Britain, Australia, and France are facing similarly difficult questions.

Canada’s 400,000-strong Jewish community is facing rampant antisemitism. Although oft-imagined to be a bastion of decency, seal-clubbing Canada has a long antisemitic history. It took only 5,000 Jewish refugees between 1933 to 1948, the fewest of any Allied nation.

Canada was also among the countries that in 1939 turned away the MS St Louis, a ship carrying over 900 Jewish refugees trying to escape Nazi extermination. The Canadian Government apologized for this in 2018, which did not help the 274 on that ship who died in Nazi death camps.

After many decades of improvement and prosperity for Canadian Jews, Canada has reverted to its antisemitic mean. It has imported Islamism — and the war within Islam between moderates and Islamists — through a lax immigration policy. Canada takes in about half a million immigrants a year, a huge number on a per capita basis.

Such rapid immigration makes proper vetting impossible and assimilation barely necessary. Muslims, including extremists, have become a significant political demographic to which politicians pander with their customary lack of shame. As everywhere, the far-Left have adopted their cause.

Canada, under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau from the Liberal Party, has taken morally despicable anti-Israel positions at the United Nations. It has called for a ceasefire that would benefit the murderous Hamas terror group, and halted weapons exports to Israel to make it harder for the world’s only Jewish state to defend itself. The country is pushing the boundaries of what constitutes a liberal democracy.

[raps-hellion]

frank zhang and the perpetual foreigner experience:

he knows some mandarin, but not enough to speak or read/write it fluently.

he has to take mandarin classes and fall back on translating apps. people point out how funny that is, but frank doesn't really think so.

his name has been anglicanised (fai to frank), but people still mispronounce his surname ("ama-zhang").

his family has lived in canada for four generations, but people still ask "no, where are you really from?".

people are surprised to learn that he's directly descended from periclymenus, the prince of pylos, and that he has greek and roman ancestry, because he doesn't "look greek or roman".

someone says in passing that they "hadn't realised the chinese were around then."

his canadian accent catches people off-guard.

he's asked if he has a canadian citizenship when applying for jobs.

the bullies at his high school aren't violent nor openly aggressive.

one says his eyes are so small and eggs him on to stretch them open with his fingers

someone holds up a banana to his arm and says they're the same colour

they've urged other students to complain that he smells like rice and ask to change seats.

his teacher tells him to speak up when he talks, because he's in canada now, not china.

she asks if his parents bound his sister's feet, and seems disappointed when frank says he doesn't have a sister. then she talks about china's one-child policy and it feels like it's frank's fault.

he experiences a weird disconnect between himself and his east asian/south-east asian friends who are second-generation immigrants and live in poorer socio-economic areas.

they joke about needing to help their parents with government paperwork, filing taxes, translating english, and frank sits quietly and isn't sure if he should laugh too.

he listens to his chinese friend talk to their mother on the phone and he can only understand the english that's mixed in with the mandarin.

their houses are filled with repurposed plastic jars that hold homemade pickled goods and pastes and sauces, three rice cookers (only two work), an airfryer that's stained and blackened, and they put lids on half-full pans and pots and keep them in the oven for later. their dining tables are piled with clutter from their mothers hoarding and reusing; and it's all so starkly different to his own that he feels like he's intruding.

someone asks if he can speak any mandarin, and he smiles, and shrugs, and says he's basically white, sorry. though he doesn't know what he's apologising for.