News / European News and Poland Thread 3 [1013]


Using evidence to prove who actually murdered the victim? Forensics have come a long way after wall.

@jon357


Depends. A life sentence means the convict can appeal for parole after 15 years, which is statistically speaking granted after two more years in prison.

If the crime was particulary heinous, the convict can only apply for parole at an unspecified time after he is no longer considered to be dangerous. Mind you this is rather rare for first-time offenders and if there is "only" one victim.

It is possible to sentence someone to preventive detention on top of the prison sentence if he is deemed a risk for society, which can last until the convict dies. Notably this sentence is not exclusively for murder, but also sex crimes and if the culprit commits many other heavy crimes.

News / European News and Poland Thread 3 [1013]

@jon357

Interesting how similar those systems are.


Do you mean that IPP is still possible, but the conditions for its' application have been sharpened? We had the same thing happening to preventive detention a few years ago.

Statistically speaking, most murders are crimes of passion and the culprit knows the victim. The former has often led an unremarkeable until then, without any prior crimes They are less likely to reoffend than other types of criminals, and very few of them commit another murder. That does in no way excuse their crime, but it also means that they have a real chance of rehabilitation afterwards.

News / European News and Poland Thread 3 [1013]

@Lenka


Leaving aside that the man who put her daughter out to die has received a life sentence, spending more than a decade in prison is hardly something to sneeze at. And I fail to see how things would fundamentally change if she instead were forced to spend say 3 more years on top.

From what I've read she returned to Germany and lived there 5 years without causing any incident before being arrested, so I'd argue that her chances of living a crime-free crime after her time in jail are fairly good.

Frankly given how difficult it is to prosecute someone for a genocide comitted in a different country if said person did not hold a high position and especially given the relative lack of evidence, I'd say we can be satisfied with what has been achieved. Most Yazidi victims will most likely never see any justice done to them.


That depends on her behaviour in prison.

News / European News and Poland Thread 3 [1013]

@Bobko


Unless of course you expose the true scale of Putin's and his allies' corruption to the media, then they will make sure you never leave prison alive. If you make it to the court room of course.

Regarding reoffenders, do we have a summary how many Wagner mercenaries have killed again after their "contract" ended.

News / European News and Poland Thread 3 [1013]

Depends. Are talking about applying the law of the time or now. They were executed in accordance with the law back then and would be sentenced to life in prison today.

News / European News and Poland Thread 3 [1013]

And do you understand that we do not punish culprits according to our whims but what our laws dictate?

News / European News and Poland Thread 3 [1013]


I can only assume that she does not place mich value on such luxuries as in-door plumbing....

News / European News and Poland Thread 3 [1013]


And rightfully so. To be honest, I'll never understand how Weidel, a lesbian women living together with a woman from Asia in Switzerland can reconcile her personal life and political beliefs.

@Novichok


Are Russians free to call a war a "war" if it involves their current regime?

News / European News and Poland Thread 3 [1013]

I can understand how desperate people may end up voting for a fraud because they believe they have no choice. I just find it curious how people are willing throw all personal beliefs away in order to gain or stay in power. Like those Republicans who still have principles, yet continue to follow Trump. Or Weidel in the AfD.

Not that this is anything new. Ernst Röhm was gay yet was crucial in helping the NSDAP take power and undermine the Weimar Republic, despite the NSDAP being openly homophobic and the latter being the first political entity in Germany that did not persecute LBGT.

News / European News and Poland Thread 3 [1013]

I watched a press conference in which she was asked this question. If I remember correctly, she refused to answer.

News / European News and Poland Thread 3 [1013]


I suspect that Weidel knows that she can give no convincing explanation for this. I've watched a few interviews with her and in my opinion the lacks the ability to properly deal with unexpected and inconvenient questions. Höcke is much more capable in this regard.

News / European News and Poland Thread 3 [1013]

@Novichok

Life in prison.


That is more or less what happened. Germans took a look at the US and British constitution and implemented what seemed workeable and implemented improvements based on their recent experience.

Going by the fact the German democracy is still stable while the USA not only narrowly escaped a coup, but has so proven incapable of punishing the ring leader Trump, I'd say those improvements were a good idea.

News / European News and Poland Thread 3 [1013]


Hardly. They gave them a fair trial and the punishment that was in accordance with the laws of a time. We have advanced in our values since then, but the proceedings were exemplary even by our standards.


This is the difference between them and us. Nazis believed that certain life holds no value and can be eradicated. The death sentence is inherently wrong and the state should lower itself to their standards.

You forgot to answer my question btw.

News / European News and Poland Thread 3 [1013]

Sure whatever, your answer?

News / Poles say a big YES to our European Union [957]


You forgot subsidiary protection which makes up most of the asylum applications and is also enshrined in European law.


That has been proposed for many years now, but the practical obstacles are nearly unsolvable. Either the African countries do not want to host them, and those who might want to (e.g. Libya) can not trusted to guarantee proper conditions.

News / Poles say a big YES to our European Union [957]


It is if you want to live up to the standards of your civilization. Just because Australia has decided to compromise their principles should not mean we do so as well.

Europe could easily absorb a few million refugees per year if we distribute them properly amongst the member states. Once every country takes in their fair share, this crisis will cease to be a problem.

News / Poles say a big YES to our European Union [957]


The EU is not the obstacle. The UK left the EU yet has not managed to come up with a working solution beyond letting the EU handle this and a Ruanda scheme that the UK courts seem to have serious issues with. The obstacle is dealing with the refugees while adhering to the standards of rule of law that defines our civilization.


Simple. Create a data base where all refugees are registered and make sure that they can only claim benefits in the country they are allocated to.

News / Future of Polish-Ukrainian relations [560]

Just amazing how fast the PiS government manages to evaporate all the goodwill accumulated in the last 20 month.

History / What do Poles owe to Hungarians? [231]

@mafketis


I have read claims that they tried, just more discreetly. Apparantly election districts were not updated to the changing population allocation, which meant that urban areas have fewer MPs relative to the size of their population. They put lots of election booths in villages but fewer in cities. They made it more difficult for the Polish diaspora to vote. Given that and more, it is incredible that the opposition managed to win this election.

News / Polish Parliamentary Elections 2023 [933]

Yet another reason why Poland will benefit from a new government: The draconian abortion laws implemented by PiS had most likely an averse effect on the (already terrible) demographic future of Poland. Repealing them might help undo some of the damage.

Annual number of births falls 11% in Poland, marking first double-digit decline

notesfrompoland.com/2023/10/26/annual-number-of-births-falls-11-in-poland-marking-first-double-digit-decline/

News / Abortion still under control in Poland [2971]

Who knows. What we do know is that the law has a negative effects on the birth rate in Poland.

notesfrompoland.com/2023/10/26/annual-number-of-births-falls-11-in-poland-marking-first-double-digit-decline/

News / Polish Parliamentary Elections 2023 [933]

@Mr Grunwald


Personally I am against abortions in most cases. It seems morally wrong to abort a healthy baby just because it does not fit into your life planning (unless it is the result of rape or endangers the life of the mother). But I can not deny the negative consequences of strict anti-abortion laws in practice.

News / Polish Parliamentary Elections 2023 [933]

Hopefully the new Polish government will introduce measures that make those border controls no longer necessary.

News / Polish Parliamentary Elections 2023 [933]


Many said similar things before those controls were introduced, but they turned out highly effective. There has been a 50% decrease in illegal border crossings ever since and more than 100 smugglers have been arrested.

News / Polish Parliamentary Elections 2023 [933]

@jon357


Which news report do you mean? All I've read reported a drop of illegal border crossings by 50% and more than a hundred additional arrest of people smugglers. Naturally the police union is against such measures since they put further strain of the police, but their desired solution (letting other countries controle the European borders) is clearly not working.

The results have been unambigous, that even the politicians who were strongly opposed to controls have since then admitted their error.

News / Polish Parliamentary Elections 2023 [933]


We do, hence the border controls at the border with Austria.


That is what they claim, but the reality seems to be quite different. They sold visas to Africans and the increase of illegal border crossing suggests that they were quite happy to wave people through. Never mind how people smuggler could apparantly act with impunity.

News / Grzegorz Braun extinguishes Hanukkah candles in Polish Parliament [358]

Has the man already been expelled from this party?

News / Ups and downs of the democratic government 2023-2027 in Poland [160]


Hardly. The idea itself is so wonderful that it will persist. And all dreaming aside, it is entirely possible that the EU will be a big winner of Russia's invasion of Ukraine since it reminded people what is at stake, and what the EU can offer. If the USA ends up abandoning Ukraine either now or in 1 year, for which I'd say there is a 50/50 chance, then the EU would become Ukraine's last hope.

News / Ups and downs of the democratic government 2023-2027 in Poland [160]


The vision behind is. Being able to live and work everywhere on the continent, helping and defending each other. Pooling our ressources together and staying at the forefront of human advancement. It is our best and likely only chance to retain Europe's prosperity, influence and peace.


And may return, once the Brexiteer generation is gone. Who knows, maybe London will become part of the European family again at the same time as Ukraine.

News / Ups and downs of the democratic government 2023-2027 in Poland [160]

@jon357


It doesnt though. The invasiom of Ukraine has shown how inefficient the current status is. We need greater coherence in our foreign policy so that a wannabe dictator who gets bribed by Mmoscow and Beijing does not paralyze it. And while we might be on the path towards an European army, those steps need to be accelerated. Otherwise we won't be able to defend ourselves. It is eventually all a matter of size. Modern combat systems become more and more expensive. We can see this process already. Smaller countries can barely afford their own air force. Even the great European powers find it difficult to maintain a single aircraft carrier. Many small, if wealthy entities end up dominated by larger, hostile powers. We saw this happen many times in history.

In 20 years, none of the European countries will still qualify as great powers, their place taken by other, much larger countries. That is inevitable. India, Brazil and other countries don't care much for our concerns while we are still relatively wealthy and powerful. One can only guess how they'll behave once the tables fully turn. The response of the parts of the world that will shape the future to the Ukrainian war and Gaza really should put any illusions to rest.

Another indication is the Falkland question. Historically legally (and morally) they are part of the UK. But the anticolonialist view (when directed against Europe) is getting stronger stronger, as are those countries supporting it. In 20 years the Uk on its' own will be a medium size power, trying to defend the Falklands against Argentina that may count on the support of South America, China and other powers, each power being wealthier and more powerful than the UK. I am always surprised that developments like this are ignored by Brexiteers. Than again, their "vision" of "Global Britain" would not work otherwise.


Yeah sure. It has been a success in the sense that the UK manged to leave the EU, but otherwise... .