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> Outgoing US President Joe Biden has pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, saying "raw politics … led to a miscarriage of justice".
> Hunter Biden was convicted of gun charges and pleaded guilty to tax charges. He was facing sentencing hearings scheduled for mid-December.
> Joe Biden said he made the decision over the weekend while spending the Thanksgiving holiday with his family.
Sigh. I'm glad we're not 'Murrica...
I don't understand why Biden would state, "I believe in the justice system....blah blah blah," before outlining the justifications for his son's pardon. It goes without saying that the American legal system has numerous flaws. It is completely different from the English-based Australian system.
In theory, it makes sense to grant the president the authority to pardon in a system that values confessions more than the truth. In actuality, it has been misused by every US president.
Have you ever tried telling an American that their judicial system is rubbish? They look at you like you're asking them to donate both kidneys. They honestly believe their system is the envy of the world. Pfffttt
Trump threatens 100% tariff on BRICS countries if they pursue creating new currency
President-elect Donald Trump said he would require countries that are part of BRICS — a China and Russia backed group of emerging economies — to commit to not creating new currency or face 100% tariffs during his administration.
“The idea that the BRICS Countries are trying to move away from the Dollar while we stand by and watch is OVER. We require a commitment from these Countries that they will neither create a new BRICS Currency, nor back any other Currency to replace the mighty U.S. Dollar or, they will face 100% Tariffs, and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful U.S. Economy,” Trump posted on Truth Social on Saturday afternoon.
I don't understand why Biden would state, "I believe in the justice system....blah blah blah," before outlining the justifications for his son's pardon. It goes without saying that the American legal system has numerous flaws. It is completely different from the English-based Australian system.
In theory, it makes sense to grant the president the authority to pardon in a system that values confessions more than the truth. In actuality, it has been misused by every US president.
Have you ever tried telling an American that their judicial system is rubbish? They look at you like you're asking them to donate both kidneys. They honestly believe their system is the envy of the world. Pfffttt
Yeah it's an odd system IMO, particularly when a president's gonna use the lever to say 'I am doing this because the courts were bent'.
In Biden's case I can empathise that his only remaining child was validly only caught because Trump's lynch mobs did some sleuthing to discover he was a recovering drug addict so:
1. Technically isn't allowed to own a gun (though it's a tick-box process, everybody owns a gun over there and if it wasn't for the combo of his dad's profile & Trump being a jerk, he never woulda been caught... let alone prosecuted). He's not accused of any violent offences and has no record.
2. Noting Trump refuses to reveal his personal tax records and openly evades tax... Hunter didn't pay US tax on his foreign income (which is a quirky double taxation law anyway). He then fully repaid it when caught.
Biden makes a fair point that his son wouldn't have been investigated for such things if it wasn't for Trump's witch hunt against him (which failed to unearth more serious allegations and IMO was particularly mean spirited as it was an attempt to break Biden emotionally, given his had lost his first wife, first daughter and first son).
My take is that it was a mean-spirited piece of snitching on Trump's behalf in an attempt to gain a political advantage.
However, he coulda just said that instead of bringing the courts themselves into disrepute. That is something like 'this is a captain's call that I've made and I feel responsible for it as in my personal opinion, things like his history as a drug addict which were key to his prosecution were only brought to light due to my public profile and fierce battles with Trump. The courts 100% got it right and had every right to convict him (they were following the law, which is their job!!!)... BUT... noting I've granted clemency to thooousands of people convicted of cannabis possession already so don't just look out for my family, I looked out for yours too... I think he deserves another chance as it was my pursuit of fame/power that caused this and I'm so very sorry that my actions & the loss of his brother hurt him so badly! Judge me as you will. I'm an old man and I've made my peace with the Gods... have you? No regrets and I thank you all for making me who I am!!! Bye'.
Overall I think it's stupid that presidents can grant clemency, but I also think it's stupid that presidents can't get investigated for crimes (and can be elected despite having criminal convictions for electoral fraud). I'm glad our system doesn't have these mechanisms.
South Korean President Yoon has declared "emergency martial law," at 10.30pm at night!!
Seems like the current conservative right-wing government (which has an approval rating hovering around 20%) isn't happy with the opposition, accusing them of controlling parliament, sympathising with North Korea, and paralysing the government through anti-state activities. Democracy is fragile folks.
My question is who would be enjoying this more.....Kim Jun Un or Kim Don Un? Martial Law is right up the Mango Mussolini's alley
You can be sure Donnie D Cups will be claiming that this wouldn't have happened if he were president. Stay tuned!!!
I read that ROK president Yoon is a righty, though the lefty party has the numbers in parliament. Democracy these days just teeters on a precipice, rocking one way then another.
It does make for good tv though. Maybe we should ask Bondi Paul his views on the media’s role in politics and power?
South Korean President Yoon has declared "emergency martial law," at 10.30pm at night!!
Seems like the current conservative right-wing government (which has an approval rating hovering around 20%) isn't happy with the opposition, accusing them of controlling parliament, sympathising with North Korea, and paralysing the government through anti-state activities. Democracy is fragile folks.
My question is who would be enjoying this more.....Kim Jun Un or Kim Don Un? Martial Law is right up the Mango Mussolini's alley
You can be sure Donnie D Cups will be claiming that this wouldn't have happened if he were president. Stay tuned!!!
Yeah what a weird flex hey! Sounds like the parliament overruled it in the end.
Does sorta make me wonder how it'd work in the USA though. They seem to give their president a lot of unique powers that serve no obvious purpose.
Yeah what a weird flex hey! Sounds like the parliament overruled it in the end.
Does sorta make me wonder how it'd work in the USA though. They seem to give their president a lot of unique powers that serve no obvious purpose.
They did overturn it eventually -after midnight and after a lot of animosity getting past the army that were told not to let anyone into parliament. It was 4am when 190 lawmakers voted against the Martial law decree- only then did the military in attendance start leaving.
A court has ruled against Rupert Murdoch's effort to change his family's trust to give his son Lachlan control of his media empire once he kicks the bucket. This means that his son James and daughters Elisabeth and Prue will have control and will overhaul the bullshit propaganda channels like Fox News, Sky News Australia and numerous tabloids. The gullible right wing dinosaurs will have to tune into One America News Network to fill up on their daily crapfest!
A court has ruled against Rupert Murdoch's effort to change his family's trust to give his son Lachlan control of his media empire once he kicks the bucket. This means that his son James and daughters Elisabeth and Prue will have control and will overhaul the bullshit propaganda channels like Fox News, Sky News Australia and numerous tabloids. The gullible right wing dinosaurs will have to tune into One America News Network to fill up on their daily crapfest!
Sadly but a small win. However, good to see his fading influence.
Be interesting to see where his empire goes over the next ~50 years. While the coal industry can invest in renewable projects, Rupert's sorta tied to sports, comedy, drama and right-wing news (which you pay to view in a world where free online content is taking over).
Unfortunately I think the broader right-wing media engine has shifted and is not as dependent on Rupert than many would assume. IMO anybody buying into the 'MAGA' bullshyte (particularly Australians FFS as it has zero focus on boosting US allies - if anything it involves slapping weird@rse trade restrictions on us for no reason), needs to wonder who they've been conned by coz the Daaaanld and his backers certainly don't have their backs.
Heck... right now right-wingers are supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Israel's opportunistic as fark invasion of the Arab world (while backers cry the victim on western soil) as if these invasions somehow aid their agenda. I don't wanna know what they're reading, but they're being swindled.
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