Live data from Hacker News

South Korean President Impeached

khnews.kheraldm.com

101–110 of 130 posts

Re: South Korean President Impeached

#102
post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reading the description of the political climate upthread, the majority in parliament in SK is opposition, split between two parties. Here, the R's have a majority in the House which impeaches, so our chances are unfortunately not that great.

Even the two major opposition parties could not have pulled off a supermajority (67% required for the impeachment) on their own. It helped that the ruling party was split into two factions, one of which sided with the opposition at the last minute. Now we have four major parties, one minor party, and a bunch of independents who all hate one another. It's going to be fun! At least I hope this will bring some much-need…

>Two parties are boring and too easily devolve into an ideological staredown.

Hell, just look at the US[0].

[0] https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/purple-america-has-all-...

Re: South Korean President Impeached

#103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree. The point is that there is no US president comparable to Park, and probably the closest match is Nixon.

Not Trump?

Trump appears to know what he wants, and has surrounded with people who believe in his vision of America. There might be some disagreement on the specifics of implementation, but in general they're all keeping the same goal.

Re: South Korean President Impeached

#104
post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Technically, she wasn't impeached. But the way impeachment process works in SK, once the process begins, you are no longer able to function as president. So 'effectively', she was already impeached. Obviously I'm the one being pedantic. lol.

Impeachment is the bringing of charges.

As a legal processes, the definition and order or procedures vary wildly between different countries.

Some countries for example charge you with a crime, but don't actually arrest you until they're bringing it to trial. Some countries don't have a prosecution, or a defence but a system where multiple government officials advocate for the truth.

You can set up a legal system anyway you want, and define the terms however you like---it'll be legal and valid in your country.

Re: South Korean President Impeached

#105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Educate your electorate.

Major flaw with democracy, 50% of electorate has below average IQ.

So? Below average IQ doesn't mean that your opinions are valueless and shouldn't be taken into account.

We all have to live with one another, and to make a system of government work with peaceful transitions of power, everyone must feel as if they have a voice.

High IQ, high education, high wealth, and other social advantages can be leveraged into making side-channels in the political system (e.g. lobbying), or by shaping the discussion the general electorate sees (e.g. overton window) in order to direct it towards ones goals.

Democracies have all been implemented with specific factors to make them viable in today's society, not some idealised society.

Re: South Korean President Impeached

#106
post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you think certain group of people participating in democracy is a problem, you're advocating for something other than a democracy.

Should children vote?

Crazy thought: would it really be that bad?

If the votes end up being noise, it comes out in the wash. And we already have protections against compelling people to vote one way or another, so carrot-sticking children for votes would (continue to be) a serious crime.

It might even grow our children into a less apathetic public.

Re: South Korean President Impeached

#107
post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not a US history expert, but I think Nixon had very firm ideas about how to run a country. In the end, people did not approve of these ideas, but at least there was an internally coherent world view. The problem with Park is not that she had wrong ideas, but that she did not have any idea at all. Instead she let her close friend take care of the boring chore of running a country. During the past four years the co…

I agree. The point is that there is no US president comparable to Park, and probably the closest match is Nixon.

More Reagan who was just a front for Bush Sr. Or Bush Jr, who didn't care neither.

Re: South Korean President Impeached

#108
post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Media figure with utmost respect... in the US... scratches head We're hooped.

I think this may be why the US has a strange fascination with electing actors to high political offices - they may cross a lot more partisan lines than any other celebrities that are actually professional policy makers or journalists. I also think the other cultural difference is that education and science is still highly respected as institutions while confidence in these institutions has been attacked and subsequen…

I think the US likes electing actors because actors are better able to appeal to them emotionally, and because their celebrity status makes them appear more trustworthy.

Any successful politician has the traits of a good actor, but actors can claim they're not "really" politicians, even while running for political office, and using the same political tricks as their rivals. It's a weird "Mr. Smith goes to Washington" complex that Americans seem to fall prey to constantly.

Given the nature of the last few Presidential elections in the US, it doesn't seem as if voters want partisan lines crossed, rather, they want those lines maintained and defended with razor wire and snipers.

Re: South Korean President Impeached

#109
This is somehow connected to geopolitics in the area and the THAAD project, since the US government is worried the next administration may not be so in favour of it (left leaning parties tend towards disarmament, as crazy as that sound with an insane neighbour north of the border)

Re: South Korean President Impeached

#110

This is somehow connected to geopolitics in the area and the THAAD project, since the US government is worried the next administration may not be so in favour of it (left leaning parties tend towards disarmament, as crazy as that sound with an insane neighbour north of the border)

Aren't most missiles fired at Japan?
Post reply on HN