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PandaDoc employees arrested in Belarus after founders protest against violence

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Re: PandaDoc employees arrested in Belarus after founders protest against violence

#151

Post by playing_colours »

dshpala wrote: post #88

I think that protesters didn't think it through enough. Yes, Lukashenko is an awful guy, but what is the alternative? Protesters say they are pro Russia - but in my opinion this is a grave mistake, and Belarus will soon find itself as a Russia-controlled state.

The protesters look to me as against Russian interference, propaganda, and the perspectives to become a Russian province. The protesters are not against common Russian people and culture,they are for being good neighbours. It's reasonable, that the more Russia interferes and helps Lukashenko - the more negative the attitude of Belarusian becomes.

Re: PandaDoc employees arrested in Belarus after founders protest against violence

#152

Post by damnyou »

dctoedt wrote: post #135
bobthepanda wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good luck finding a Supreme Court that would go along with it.

It's been suggested that Congress could protect any given enactment by expressly stripping the Supreme Court and lower courts of jurisdiction to review the enactment's constitutionality — which Congress seemingly has plenary power to do under Article III, section 2, clause 2. [1] [1] https://newrepublic.com/article/158992/biden-trump-supreme-c...

This is correct. Congress can severely curtail the power of the Supreme Court if it wishes.

Re: PandaDoc employees arrested in Belarus after founders protest against violence

#153

Post by rendall »

crdrost wrote: post #60
formerly_proven wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Possibly heading for a civil war stoked by the country's president in both cases (one trying to paint his trickster self as a man of law and order, one trying to hold on to power after yet-another mock election). Though the parts of the protests we get to see from Belarus look far more civilized than the pictures coming in from the US.

The second US civil war only incidentally involves Trump. He happens to be the figurehead right now, but even if that changes we were on the brink before Trump and we will be on the brink after Trump. The underlying cause is a mistake of our founding fathers. Because of the winner-take-all structure of our elections, our political parties are forced to be forkophobic. The fact that we can't have a real Tea Party, to…

I have been saying for years that the US will never be free of the duopoly without proportional representation. Proportional representation rather than winner take all is the reason that other countries can have many parties. If 10% of the district are Pirates and 5% are Tea Party, then the government should reflect that.

Only... it's not to the advantage of the duopoly to implement something like that, so... entrenched party structure will always be the single choice allowed

Re: PandaDoc employees arrested in Belarus after founders protest against violence

#154

Post by ajuc »

pjc50 wrote: post #50
hippich wrote: post #21

A few facts about these events: - Based on data collected by from only some polling places, there is a huge discrepancies in results comparing to official ones. Most poling places refused to post results. People, who demanded to post results (as the law requires), were arrested. You can read more about it at belarus2020.org - A lot of journalists left state media. Replacements were brought from Russia's state's propa…

> Based on data collected by from only some polling places, there is a huge discrepancies in results comparing to official ones. Most poling places refused to post results. People, who demanded to post results (as the law requires), were arrested. You can read more about it at belarus2020.org Whatever country you're in, this is a good time to think about becoming a poll watcher. The exact arrangements vary but electi…

You will disappear if you try to do sth like that in Belarus or Russia.

Re: PandaDoc employees arrested in Belarus after founders protest against violence

#155

Post by pc86 »

jonwachob91 wrote: post #94
crdrost wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, you now have a few more people to go to. Like, I used to live in Kansas City, Missouri. I used to have exactly one representative I could go to, but his reelection is almost surely guaranteed as long as he wants to keep running. He has run the exact same campaign against the exact same opponent, Jacob Turk, since 2006, besting him by 10-20 points and taking the seat. One of the larger roads across the center…

>>> I used to have exactly one representative I could go to No, you have always had 3. Your districts congressman, and your 2 state senators.

State Senators serve in the state legislature, US Senators serve in DC.

Re: PandaDoc employees arrested in Belarus after founders protest against violence

#156

Post by grey-area »

maerF0x0 wrote: post #104
grey-area wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When he tells you who he is, believe him.

I have to say this is generally horrible advice, especially in politics. Humans rarely are honest.

He's remarkably frank about his ambitions, and people have been warning about him for years. You can rely on trump to lie about the past on almost any subject, but his dreams of the future (like those of many dictators to be) are quite clear.

Re: PandaDoc employees arrested in Belarus after founders protest against violence

#157

Post by volkse »

Taek wrote: post #130
csomar wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think the problem with Belarus is the lack of these but rather of external forces. Russia thinks that Belarus belongs to its control; and a democratic system will most certainly be US-friendly. This is hardly a citizen revolt against dictatorship and is one of the several proxy-war these two guys (US/Russia) are playing worldwide.

It's a lot harder to kidnap citizens when they are armed and surrounded by other armed citizens, especially if all of those citizens have substantial firearms training. I endorse bringing guns to peaceful protests in a state where unmarked officials are kidnapping people in broad daylight. That is exactly the sort of reason that the right to bear arms is planted deep within our constitutional rights.

It completely boggles my mind that comments like these don’t get any pushback on HN. This insinuation that every citizen should own firearms just in case the state goes rouge is militant, irresponsible, and hilariously naive. A bunch of armchair freedom fighters who have no idea of the consequences of war think that their shiny “tactical” AR15 is going to stop a tank..

Let me ask you a direct question. Are you advocating for a full on civil war in Belarus in the middle of Europe? If a Belorussian read your comment, got a gun and killed a bunch of policemen/government supporters/Russians would you be content?

Don’t take this as a personal attack. I just think comments like yours are irresponsible given that the people of Belarus themselves chose the path of nonviolent resistance and protest - maybe they don’t want their country to end up like Ukraine or Syria.

What is worse, is that if someone insinuated on this site that for example people in the US should buy guns and start shooting policemen when they think that the police are oppressing them all kinds of voices would drum up and shut that down. I guess inciting violence in one of those “shithole countries” is ok, but god forbid if that kind of stuff happens in your own country.

Re: PandaDoc employees arrested in Belarus after founders protest against violence

#158

Post by thrwn_frthr_awy »

hippich wrote: post #84
pjc50 wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Based on data collected by from only some polling places, there is a huge discrepancies in results comparing to official ones. Most poling places refused to post results. People, who demanded to post results (as the law requires), were arrested. You can read more about it at belarus2020.org Whatever country you're in, this is a good time to think about becoming a poll watcher. The exact arrangements vary but electi…

there were a lot of people who wanted to observe polls. many of them were arrested for "disrupting voting process", or were pushed all the way out of the polling place. Independent observer had to use a chairs and binoculars to try to see anything. Seriously. https://gdb.currenttime.tv/180604A0-D026-4424-8214-7E00D4B60...

It is important to understand who the poll watchers are and what their motives are. In the U.S. in the 1980's poll watching was used as a cover for voter intimidation when white males in combat boots and 10 gallon cowboy hats and even some with guns, many off-duty police officers, were recruited and sent to African American and Latino communities to stand near polling places with signs saying they are patrolling the area.

Re: PandaDoc employees arrested in Belarus after founders protest against violence

#159

Post by bobthepanda »

dctoedt wrote: post #143
bobthepanda wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This sounds like a precedent that's bad to establish because it cuts both ways.

Precedent and norms have somewhat gone by the wayside in recent years, so that might not be a compelling reason not to act.

Given that Republicans removing the filibuster for Supreme court nominations was preceded by Democrats removing the filibuster for lower court nominations and Cabinet appointees, we already have plenty of evidence of one side doing things for convenience that end up blowing up in their face later on.

The response to the slippery slope is not to keep on sliding.

Re: PandaDoc employees arrested in Belarus after founders protest against violence

#160

Post by asnyder »

merpnderp wrote: post #12
mola wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Usually(last 50y) US and EU would initiate sanctions, if it doesn't collide too greatly with their own interests, that would put pressure on respective government by putting their economy in peril. Lately US has stepped down from that role, and openly started diplomatic hostilities towards the EU. EU isn't powerful enough alone, plus they deal with their own economic and social issues which make them not stable enoug…

I'm not sure how the US has stepped down from that role: https://www.state.gov/ukraine-and-russia-sanctions/ https://www.reuters.com/article/us-belarus-election-usa-sanc... And if you mean "diplomatic hostiles" in that the US is angry at the EU for not cooperating with the sanction process against targeted countries or meeting their military obligations so that they qualify to vote in international politics, then I g…

Come on, really? Any cursory search of news, international wires, and related would clearly show numerous hostile statements and non-cooperation towards EU on numerous previously shared fronts. Not to mention Germany needing to constantly step up in what was previously the US's traditional role as advocate of liberty/justice on an internal stage (ex. recent Russian poisoning).

If you can't find an overwhelming abundance of literature to back up the previous poster's claim, I'll search and update this thread with a representative set.

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