It might be hard to remember the old days, before every scandal and snafu was shoved down our throats by the tiny newsfeed machines in our pocked and purses, but there used ot be a time when we didn't have to think about politics every day. Those were peaceful times for sure, but were they better? Is being ignorant truly the wisest way to be?
Take a look at these political scandals from all over the world and decide for yourself if living in the dark is the best.
Reddit user, u/IanKean32, wanted to hear about:
What was the biggest political scandal in your country?
Public Funds Are Not Your Personal Piggy Bank
homer simpson money GIF
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After the sub-prime crisis in the 00's, portuguese prime minister Socrates was charged with white collar crimes for hustling public funds to finance void contracts in public construction and for changing laws to benefit certain friends and party members.
He got jailed and is currently in house arrest. High profile people of our political enviroment still visit him on a regular basis. Ever since than, no majority was achieved during votings and the country has since been ruled by party coalitions.
At Least It's Got A Cute Codename?
O nothing too big, just a simple investigation of a Car Wash being used to launder money that snowballed into the uncovering of a major political plot that stole/laundered something between 2 and 13 BILLION DOLLARS.
The investigation was adequatly named as Operation Car Wash
Summertime Sadness
In Puerto Rico. Our governor had a chat with other government officials and some of his close friends where they discussed corruption plans, they admitted to manipulating the press, they made fun of the victims of hurricane Maria, they made sexist and homophobic comments. And it all got leaked to the public. Everyone was pissed and we formed the biggest protest in our island's history, which forced him to resign.
That was a fun summer.
Just, No Government?
My country has been without a governement for more then a year... twice.
The first time my country has been without a government was for 541 days. A Guinness World Record !
At the moment we are without a governement for the second time. Our elections were on the 26th of May 2019. So at the moment we are at 479 days without a governement.
Here's to hoping we achieve a world record for a second time !
I live in Belgium btw.
And how has it affected people's lives?
Belgium
Belgium has several devolved governments (like state and federal government). Even without a federal government, there is still a state government in place to execute on state policies.
Furthermore, we don't have no government, the government is in "current affairs" e.g. it can only deal with urgent stuff and on-going business. A government shut-down like in the USA is impossible in Belgium.
It'd Be A Shame If Something Were To Happen...
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Slovakia. A journalist got killed 2 years ago in February.
Mafia was involved and it's still not resolved.
In my country (Ukraine), every month there are attacks on journalists/activists which will never be investigated.
Serious murders usually take place once in 1-2 years.
How Dare You? Apologize For These Deaths I'm Responsible For.
South Africa. Our health minister left coronavirus patients to die in tents and when he got questioned he demanded an apology from the broadcaster
Add to this the rife corruption and how R500 billion has been stolen... no one is accountable, no one ends up in jail, they get put on suspension for years on full pay while people starve... let's not get started on the rapes and murders every day. The list goes on and on and on
Definitely Not A Bond Villain. Nope. Not. At. All.
A previous Taoiseach of ours (Prime Minister Charlie Haughey in the 1970's/80's) illegally bought an island off the coast of Kerry & built a mansion there, lording over it like a Bond Supervillain.
OMG, where did it happen?
He bought one of the Blasket Islands off the Irish coast, County Kerry, to use as his personal pleasure island.
Here's an article from the Independent, which has most of the facts outside of wikipedia, be warned, though. The 'Ind' is a noted Fianna Fail supporting rag of toolishness, complicit in their crimes, but it's a good read nonetheless.
I'm not heavily critical of Haughey, he's not in power now. But his outright chancery and crookedness set the foundations for years of crookedness in Irish politics, which became like a political mafia.
That's So Many...
Couple years ago in Chile journalist found that 1113 kids living under the tutelage of the state were already dead. Their deaths were not reported, nor investigated. When the news got out the minister of Justice, Javiera Blanco, who was in charge of the SENAME (National service for minors) was then destituted only to be given a life time job in the State Defence Council.
This was never talked about again.
Montenegro
Our president tried to create a law that would require all churches without paperwork to get owned by the government. Of course many of the churches in Montenegro were created way before paperwork was needed when Serbia and Montenegro were the same country. So basically the government would be getting tons of land that isn't even Montenegrin so massive protests followed.
Keep in mind this was all during the Covid lockdown so massive protests just led to more people getting infected. Also this caused tons of cultural hate between Montenegrins and Serbs when in retrospect we're all the same slavic people. Idk how to explain it very well since I myself do not understand the situation the best.
Poland
Poland. Technically there is no year without scandal.
One of the former Prime Ministers was accused for being Russian spy in 90s.
Leaked recordings which ended governments.
Minister of Health bought respirators for Covid patients... from arms dealer.
Entire scandal with elections.
Now the parliament votes for bill which allows politicians avoid punishment for anything if they prove they acted against Covid.
Oh McDonald
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The Prime Minister and his associates in the Conservative Party took $360,000 in bribes to award one company the right to build the railway to the west coast.
The scandal was uncovered and Sir John A. McDonald resigned as Prime Minister in disgrace in 1873. McDonald was elected PM again in 1878 and continued serving in that position until 1891.
Pick one....
Pakistani here. Not sure reddit has enough space to cover our political scandals. We've got PM (sitting and ex) assassinations, military takeovers, PM tried and hanged for murder, president plane crash, mysterious murders of PM's brothers, entire thing with war on terror, PM sacked for refusing to write a letter, PM sacked due to Panama papers money laundering charges. Basically no PM has ever served a full term. And countless other corruption, murder, horse trading and stuff scandals. So pick one and I'll give you the details.
Too many to name....
Malaysian here, where do I even begin?
Haha I'm a Malaysian too! we just had one some time ago, about a durian plantation. to all non-Malaysians reading, here's a list of some of the scandals that have happened here in this year alone:
MP caught vaping in parliament.
Minister practically shaming a high schooler.
Company wanting to force durian farmers off their land.
And those are just the ones that i could list off the top of my head. there are more, I assure you.
Hail Queen....
sarah burke queen GIF
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The Queen fired the Prime Minister (who was democratically elected) - Australia, 1975.
Also, in 1967, another Prime Minister went swimming at a beach, and was never seen again.
"death squads"
Venezuela. I don't think the reddit servers have the memory space for a reply that does this justice.
But still, here's a taste from Reuters (July 2019):
"GENEVA — Venezuelan special forces have carried out thousands of extrajudicial killings in the past 18 months and then manipulated crime scenes to make it look as if the victims had been resisting arrest, the United Nations said on Thursday in a report detailing wide-ranging government abuses targeting political opponents.
Special Action Forces described by witnesses as "death squads" killed 5,287 people in 2018 and another 1,569 by mid-May of this year, in what are officially termed by the Venezuelan government "Operations for the Liberation of the People," United Nations investigators reported."
Onions got you
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Australian here. Ignoring the constant leadership spills, most recent one I remember was when a news channel ran a doco exposing the One Nation party for trying to cozy up to the NRA (US) and probably some other stuff I don't remember, after apparently running a sting operation for the previous three years. A little while later a candidate for the party resigned because footage of him in a strip club was aired.
EDIT: The leader of the One nation party also pulled a stunt where she walked into the senate dressed in a burqa to try get it banned, and recently has been feuding with Australia Post over stubby holders.
Then there was the one time a minister called the leader of the opposition a witch in the middle of parliament.
And then there's the prime minister that just straight up disappeared into the ocean one day. I could go on.
Thieves....
1MDB, I'm from Malaysia and God has this scandal destroyed my country. If u guys don't know about this, basically Malaysia's ex prime minister (Najib Razak) created a company called 1mdb and was aimed at generating extra revenue to fund development around my country. He ended up funneling all the money to his bank account. He was convicted recently but some idiots still believe in his innocence.
Bare in mind this is a very short summary of the scandal.
Bombed Out
Luxembourg.
De Bommeleer. Years ago there were a series of attacks with bombs. Years and years of investigations have brought up nothing, except changing stories and a lot of butt covering. And rumors it was one of the royal family. Allegedly.
I've found also some german articles.
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But we should also be prepared and ready to ask the right questions to have a leg up on the competition.
"What is THE best question to ask on a job interview?"
A company's history or information about a past employee were suggested subjects appropriate for questioning.
Prior Knowledge
"When you were interviewing here, what would you have liked to know before you joined?"
"This worked for me. I asked my interviewer a question about how she had personally dealt with a company policy she had just explained. She bragged about her stellar adherence to the policy. I nodded my approval. I got the job."
A Previous Employee
"One that has always gone over well for me:"
"What were some qualities that the previous employee in this role brought to the job that you would like to see carried forward?"
"Another good thing to do is research the company you are interviewing with and you can ask things about what they may be involved in or you could drop that while reading about the company, you wondered this."
Hypothetical questions were suggested as helpful examples of inquiry.
Indicators Of How Companies Treat Employees
"A question that landed me a job once was: 'If I asked your direct reports about your management style, what do you think they'd tell me?' Stumped a hiring manager and he emailed me personally to tell me about it, no one ever asked him that question but got the job.
"In my current interviews I'm asking 'what did your company do for its employees during [the virus] to improve their day to day, work life balance, etc.' and I ask 'Is there anything your company adopted during [the virus] that they plan to keep post [the virus]?"
"These questions give a lot of insight into whether a company treated their employees well."
Past Performance & Adjustments
"If we were currently sitting in my 1 year review, what would I have done in this year for you to say I excelled in my role?"
"If I could snap my finger right now and change anything about your job or the company, what would it be and why?"
The following questions about a prospective company may not be answered from initial digging on their website.
Measure Of Success & Career Trajectories
"How is success measured in this role?"
"What are some possible career trajectories within the company that could stem from this position?"
Being A Solution
"Ask them what is the biggest problem you can solve for them in your first six months with the company. Similar to 'don't think of a purple hippo,' this forces them to imagine you succeeding in the position."
Simply The Best
"Who is your best employee and why is he/she the best?"
"You will then face 2 situations mostly:"
"panicking CEO who can't answer you 'Bob who works 17 hours a day for a slice of bread' so the fear in their faces must be a big nono for you"
"entusiast CEO who actually follow their business and can tell you who is an added value for the company and why."
– ThePiz91
My experiences with job interviews are different than others seeking work in office environments.
Having had a years-long career as a dancer, my "interview" was the dance audition, where hopefuls dance in small groups of people at a time after learning a routine and then awaiting their fate after the panel evaluates their performances.
The question I may or may not have asked in such a scenario earlier in my career was: "Did I make the cut?"
I did not make the cut. And I learned never to ask that again.
I remember the worst date I ever had. My biggest regret is that I stayed for the entire thing. I should've left as soon as I realized this was not going well, which was basically at hello. But he was paying so I drank, a lot. I'll keep names and dates to myself to protect the innocent.
0/10
Big Brother Reaction GIF by Big Brother After DarkGiphy"Went to brewery, date said I had hairy arms and that meant I was horny, said "you look really awful in this light" and then tried to dig out of that hole by saying in his native language that was a term of endearment long term couples said to each other. 0/10 did not date again."
Lucky 13?
"My wife wanted to plan our 13th wedding anniversary. I was excited because usually, I plan it. She bought us some new disc golf discs and after a quick supper, we went to play. We hadn't played in forever. We were laughing and I had a great time. She served me with divorce papers and told me that the date was a test to see if she still had feelings for me. I also learned that she was having an affair that started well before our anniversary."
- rmorlock
Two Hours from Home
"Not necessarily a date but a person I was dating invited me to his parent's house for the afternoon. He wanted to introduce me to them and show me the house he grew up in. I thought it was super sweet and had no problems going. He was also in the middle of moving and needed to pick up a few things, so it really didn't seem that unusual."
"Yeah, we got there and it was awful. His entire family was there. They traveled from hours away too. This was not just meeting the parents, it was meeting the ENTIRE family. Even worse? At some point, this idiot told his parents that he had proposed. We had been dating TWO months. I spent the entire afternoon dumbfounded and just playing along."
"We were two hours from home and I had no cell service, no way to leave at all. We ended up spending the afternoon brainstorming wedding ideas and planning an Alaskan honeymoon that his parents planned to gift us. His brother even called to say congratulations! We drove back to his apartment in silence. When we got there, I got in my car and left, didn't even bother grabbing my stuff. Weirdest experience ever. I have no idea how he broke it to his parents that we weren't getting married."
You're Cut Off!
"Got set up on a blind date once between mutual friends. She shows up to the restaurant already a little tipsy, orders multiple appetizers and only takes like one or two bites from each one. Then she proceeds to order 3 or 4 more drinks and is visibly drunk at this point. She gets up and says she's going to the bathroom and staggers off. About 15-20 minutes go by so I try to call her several times but no answer."
"Finally I decide to pay the check and just leave. About 2 hours later I'm sitting at home and I get a call from an unknown number. It's the police department. She was picked up on a DUI on her way home after she ditched me and gave the cops my number to see if I could go bail her out!"
- mox44ah
Sorry?
Bbc Three Idk GIF by BBCGiphy"Well, I gave this answer on a different topic, but it ties in with this. We were out on a date, we had been seeing each other for a while, close to a year maybe. She gets a phone call. Suddenly she looks destroyed. Her fiancé had just died in a motorcycle accident."
What in the world? I mean how can we ever expect to pair off with the dating pool being inundated with liars and nut jobs? I'm going to delete my apps.
Girl, Bye.
Sassy Beyonce GIFGiphy"Had a girl openly flirt with the bartender in front of me. She says she wasn't. But handing him her own phone and asking for his contact info in front of her date seems like it to me."
Crazy!
"Came out from a movie, late at night, and date's Camaro was stolen. Apparently, he called his WIFE (that I did not know he had) and let her know where he was and what happened. She showed up and realized he was on a date! She started chasing ME around the parking lot telling me she was going to kill me. Saved by the cops who showed up just in time to take the auto theft report."
Hey Mom
"Met a girl at a country bar one night in my 20s. We were both pretty drunk but hit it off pretty good. Ended up getting her number and we agreed we'd go on a real date. Fast forward to the date, she gets in my vehicle and... she looks almost identical to my mom. I was mortified. I was polite and we went for lunch where I found out she also had a boyfriend she "wasn't sure if she was into". Never talked to her again."
- SgtGo
Liars...
"When I was in college many years ago, before the advancement of cell phones and social media, I was chatting with a girl I met on a BBS who lived on Long Island, NY. I was 18 at the time, but lied and said I was 22 because she said she was 25. We spent a few weeks emailing each other, as well as calling each other."
"We even exchanged pics. When we finally met up, things blew up. Turns out we both lied about our ages: She was really 33, and lied because she thought she looked younger. She admitted she sent a college photo to me. We still had dinner together, but it was awkward as hell. We never spoke again."
Doubles
Kill Me Now Season 1 GIF by FriendsGiphy"It was a double date. She was more interested talking to the other girl throughout the whole thing. Found out later from the other guy that his girl cheated on him with my date."
Ummm... I think I'm just going to stay single. That is a handful of crazy. Why can't people just be honest? I swear the search for love warps people's brains. Be careful out there people.
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