US Erection 12 *AND* 16 *AND* 20 *AND* 22 *AND* 24

[Per]

The only difference between Trump’s America and a banana republic at this point is that Trump avoids fruit.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51469717

[rats19]

The only difference between Trump’s America and a banana republic at this point is that Trump avoids fruit.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51469717

And you know this how???

I mean I spend 5-6 months a year there, owned property have many many friends there... I just don’t see your perspective anywhere.

Must be MSM try other avenues for information gathering Per

[Per]

The only difference between Trump’s America and a banana republic at this point is that Trump avoids fruit.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51469717

And you know this how???

I mean I spend 5-6 months a year there, owned property have many many friends there... I just don’t see your perspective anywhere.

Must be MSM try other avenues for information gathering Per

So, you are saying that Trump did not try to influence the court?
And the prosecurors did not resign in protest over this?

Are you saying BBC made this up?

Or do you just think an independent judiciary is overrated?

[rats19]

The indictment was a result of the mueller probe and was a sham... the resignations are a result fear of the impending storm about to rain down on the Obama regime


The bbc has a slant and a bias. The UK, Australia, Italy and a couple other countries stuck their noses in and were spying and will be held accountable in the future.

Not sure when or how accountable but it will at least be made known

No per imho you are in the wrong side of history here my friend

[Per]

The indictment was a result of the mueller probe and was a sham... the resignations are a result fear of the impending storm about to rain down on the Obama regime

A sham? Stone has been found guilty on seven counts of lying to Congress, obstruction and witness tampering. He is convicted. Or do you think the entire court system is a sham too?

The current storm is about what sentence he should have. Albeit the crimes he is guilty of could give him up to 18 years in prison, the prosecutors were only asking for 7-9, but after The Don’s tweet storm the justice department stepped in, in an ongoing trial, and asked for an even lower sentence. At this point all four prosecutors, who have already won the case, the verdict is in, we’re just waiting for the sentence, resigned. This is not an opinion. These are facts.

Now, if a Swedish prime minister did this, he would have to resign.

If you believe in the concepts “rule of law” and/or “separation of powers” it is fundamental that a government must not interfer in an ongoing trial. This is one of the major differences between a democracy and a dictatorship.

The UK, Australia, Italy and a couple other countries stuck their noses in and were spying and will be held accountable in the future.

The UK, Australia, Italy and a couple of other countries are now enemies of the USA?!

So you are conceding that this regime is really a Russian satellite?!

No per imho you are in the wrong side of history here my friend

The side of rule of law, separation of powers, adhering to a constitution and stiicking up for the basic principles of western democracy is a good side to be on, and I am happy to be on that side.

I say strongmen and dictatorships are on the wrong side of history. Sorry.

[Strangelove]

strongmen and dictatorships

[Per]

strongmen and dictatorships

I would not quite categorize Trump as a dictator yet, but he seems to be aspiring to become one.

He keeps ignoring the concept of separation of powers and constantly tries to step in and have a say in matters that belong to congress or the justice system.

The meddling in the sentencing of Stone is just one of many things.
The firings of anyone who expresses disent... the constant attacks on the media...
The name calling and belittling of opponents; sure, not new in politics, but he is taking it to a new level.
The constant lies, even about things that do not matter.

And just look at the fake Time cover he tweeted out himself:


Sure, probably meant as a joke, but still chilling.

It’s not just Trump either, there is an increasing number of so-called strongmen right now, leaders who have been democratically elected, but try to usurp more power than their constitutions really grant them, crack down on independent media and ignore tenets of rule of law. Putin, Erdogan, Duterte, Bolsonaro... this all on the right, but you have Maduro, Hun Sen and Morales on the left as well. Their positions seem weaker though.

It’s a disturbing trend. Ever since WW2 the number of democracies and the level of democracy has been rising, but for the last 15-20 years that trend has stopped and even started to reverse a bit. But the return of the strongman ideal seems to be real and we just have to hope that it passes relatively quickly before too much damage has been done.

[Strangelove]

Well I hope you're right Per.

[Mickey107]

It’s a disturbing trend. Ever since WW2 the number of democracies and the level of democracy has been rising, but for the last 15-20 years that trend has stopped and even started to reverse a bit. But the return of the strongman ideal seems to be real and we just have to hope that it passes relatively quickly before too much damage has been done.

The Gene Roddenberry system doesn't work.

[Per]

So, Rats, do you accept The Financial Times is a credible source then?

The controversy surrounding Mr Stone’s sentencing began on Monday when four career prosecutors on his case — Jonathan Karis, Michael Marando, Adam Jed and Aaron Zelinsky — recommended the 67-year-old Republican operative serve seven to nine years in prison for his conviction last year on charges of lying to Congress about contacts with WikiLeaks ahead of the 2016 election and for witness tampering.

The prosecutors wrote that prison time would “serve as a powerful reminder that our democratic processes can function only if those called to testify tell the truth, and that serious consequences lie in store for those who do not”.

Shortly after midnight on Tuesday, Mr Trump expressed his disapproval on Twitter. “This is a horrible and very unfair situation,” he tweeted.

Later that morning the justice department said it would withdraw the seven to nine-year recommendation, insisting it had made the decision independently of the president and before his tweet.

The four career prosecutors then quit Mr Stone’s case, with one leaving the justice department entirely, in a scene that had echoes of Richard Nixon’s “Saturday Night Massacre” — when senior leaders at the DoJ quit rather than follow the Republican president’s order to fire the special prosecutor investigating him.

“When the public perceives that DoJ has departed from the bedrock principle of apolitical law enforcement, it does incalculable damage to its reputation for fairness and even-handedness,” said Matthew Axelrod, a former top justice department official in the Obama administration, now at Linklaters.

Since the Nixon era, presidents have sought to maintain an arm’s-length relationship between the White House and the DoJ. There are strict protocols for contacts between the two entities regarding criminal prosecutions.

https://www.ft.com/content/d53a7cd6-4da ... d18ec715f5

[Per]

... or Canada's own National Post:

All four U.S. government prosecutors who backed a long prison stay for Trump ally Roger Stone resigned from the case, a stunning rebuke to the Justice Department after it cut his recommended sentence by more than half.

The prosecutors’ withdrawal from the team that won Stone’s conviction for lying to Congress, obstruction of justice and witness tampering capped a remarkable day in which the Justice Department shifted its stance hours after President Donald Trump tweeted criticism of the proposed punishment.

After the department said on Monday that the 67-year-old Republican political operative deserved as long as nine years in prison, it said in a court filing Tuesday that a range of three to four years would be more appropriate, while urging the judge to account for Stone’s “advanced age, health, personal circumstances, and lack of criminal history.”

One by one, the prosecutors who signed Monday’s memo announced in filings that they were resigning from the case — first Aaron Zelinsky, then Jonathan Kravis, Adam Jed and Michael Marando. Kravis also quit his job as an assistant U.S. attorney.

“The idea of our president interfering with the criminal justice system in such a way is extraordinary and frightening,” said Sharon McCarthy, a former Manhattan federal prosecutor now in private practice. The lawyers are “absolutely doing the right thing,” she said.

https://nationalpost.com/news/world/jus ... utors-quit

Or is that also just a left wing rag?

But I dunno, perhaps Canada is also on the new list of enemy countries, along with Australia ( ), the UK and Italy?

[Strangelove]

.
Per pretending there are still unbiased/bipartisan news sources/lawyers in this day and age...

[Cousin Strawberry]

.
Per pretending there are still unbiased/bipartisan news sources/lawyers in this day and age...

Haha totally.

Sorry Per there is no honour in this world...only money

[Per]

.
Per pretending there are still unbiased/bipartisan news sources/lawyers in this day and age...

Haha totally.

Sorry Per there is no honour in this world...only money

Maybe in America. There it has deteriorated to a point where people don’t just have different opinions, but alternative facts.

In most of the world we still think there is a difference between facts and lies.
And most media outlets like to stick to the facts. Sure, every media outlet has a bias, one way or another, so they may interpret the facts slightly differently, but they still try to base their reporting on facts. Journalists who lie tend to get fired.

[Topper]

Naive