Hunter Biden Pardon Fallout, What's Next, Crazy Diddy Updates, Shocking Aleppo Takeover Explained
PDS Published 12/2/2024
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Nothing says, “I’m innocent” quite like a murder plot.
Right, this is James Craig and like all of the most cartoonishly evil people in the world, he’s a dentist.
And he has just been accused of plotting to murder the cop who was already investigating him for murder. []
To give you the full scope, we gotta back up a bit - in March of last year, James’ wife Angela died after going into the hospital for severe headaches and dizziness.
And James was found to be making Google searches like “undetectable poisons” and “how many grams of pure arsenic will kill a human” at the time. []
While ordering arsenic and potassium cyanide online. []
Court documents say that James was adding the poison to Angela’s protein shakes before they worked out together. []
And she even reportedly texted him at one point after drinking a shake, saying she felt drugged - to which he respond,
“Just for the record, I didn’t drug you.” []
After Angela died, an autopsy was conducted despite James’ best efforts to prevent one and it was discovered that she was poisoned with cyanide and tetrahydrozoline (tetra-hy-droz-a-leen). []
Now, James pleaded not guilty for the charges against him for his wife’s death.
But right before his trial, we saw his lawyer withdraw from the case - saying there was a professional conflict that prevented him from being able to represent James. []
And right after that, prosecutors came in with new charges - specifically, solicitation to commit murder and solicitation to commit perjury. []
Because, as it turns out, James allegedly tried convincing another inmate to kill the police detective investigating his case - unsuccessfully, I might add.
The would-be hitman reportedly declined. []
But it doesn’t stop there.
He’s also been accused of trying to tamper with the investigations by making fake evidence to “prove” his innocence. []
Like allegedly giving an inmate a letter with instructions to make a fake video showing his wife asking for the poison.
And he’s also accused of asking another inmate to forge journal entries suggesting his wife killed herself and plant them in their home.
And it just keeps going!
With court documents saying that James asked YET ANOTHER fellow inmate to find attractive women that would agree to testify at the trial that they had affairs with him. []
And say that when his wife found out, they refused to help her frame him.
Obviously, none of these harebrained plans worked out for him and now, he’s got even more charges to answer for.
As for his trial, that has been delayed indefinitely but he is supposed to appear in court with a new lawyer on the 16th. []
So we’ll just have to keep our eyes on this in the coming weeks.
But the real question here is how in the world he actually thought he was going to get away with asking half the prison to help him go free?
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Diddy allegedly dangled a woman from a balcony 17 stories in the air.
That is the biggest claim in the latest lawsuit against him.
This lawsuit comes from a fashion designer named Bryana Bongolan, who claims the alleged incident happened in September of 2016 at the apartment of Diddy’s then-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura.
And if Cassie’s name sounds familiar, it is because she is the woman Diddy is seen assaulting in that viral hotel surveillance footage
Her accusations against Diddy kind of kicked the series of lawsuits off, and she and Diddy settled her lawsuit last year.
And now, Bryana is claiming that while she was staying at Cassie’s apartment in Los Angeles, Diddy approached her on the balcony and groped her.[]
She tried to fight back, but Diddy eventually moved his hands from her chest to her armpits and placed her on the banister of the 17-story balcony while shouting “Do you know what the fuck you did?”
According to the lawsuit, Bryana tried to resist, knowing that if she fell, it would likely result in her death.
But finally, Cassie walked into the room and screamed for Diddy to stop, also warning that Bryana’s then-girlfriend was present in the apartment, and so Diddy took her back over the balcony and slammed her onto the patio furniture, including a table.
With Bryana claiming she still does not know what Diddy believes she did.
And of this alleged incident, the lawsuit claims:
“The only purpose of dangling someone over a balcony is to actually kill them or to intentionally terrorize them and rob them of any concept of dominion over their own bodily autonomy and safety.”[]
The suit also claiming that Bryana witnessed “disturbing signs” that Diddy was abusing Cassie[]
Claiming she frequently saw Cassie covered in bruises or with a black eye, and that she also saw Diddy throw a kitchen knife at Cassie, prompting Cassie to throw one back in self-defense.
And then Bryana says she first experienced this alleged violence herself during a photoshoot where Diddy cornered her and told her he was the “motherfucking devil” and could kill her.
So the lawsuit claims the balcony incident was:[]
“the culmination of a series of threats, intimidation, and violence that colored many of [Bryana’s] interactions with Mr. Combs from the day she met him.”
“The September 26 assault ultimately proved that [Bryana] was correct to fear Mr. Combs and has resulted in deep and lasting harm.”
So she is seeking $10 million in damages for lasting emotional distress. []
But, like all the other claims that have been levied against him, Diddy is denying this as well, with a legal representative telling Rolling Stone that:
“Anyone has the right to file a lawsuit, regardless of the evidence they may or may not have. Since last year, [Bryana] has expressed an intention to sue Mr. Combs and has sought legal representation to pursue her claims. Mr. Combs firmly denies these serious allegations and remains confident they will ultimately be proven baseless.”
But obviously, this lawsuit is just a drop in the bucket when it comes to Diddy’s mounting legal problems.
He is currently in a New York detention center awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.[]
And just last week, he was denied bail for a third time, with a judge deciding that Diddy’s freedom would create a "serious risk of witness tampering.”
So we will just have to watch out for more updates, because more lawsuits are likely to come, and the trial is set for spring of next year,
So this case is just going to keep growing and growing.
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President Biden pardons son Hunter Biden in controversial move, prompting backlash and responses including Trump, Hasan Piker
President Biden has issued a full and unconditional pardon of his son Hunter — after repeatedly vowing he wouldn’t do exactly that.
So now, Hunter Biden will not be held accountable in the two federal cases brought against him.
Right, back in June, he was convicted on three federal felony counts for lying on a federal form about his drug addiction when buying a gun.
Then in September, he pleaded guilty to nine federal counts for failing to pay taxes, though he eventually paid those back, along with penalties.
And both of those cases could have resulted in prison time.
He faced as much as 25 years behind bars for the gun charges, though legal experts say that he would have received a way lighter sentence because he was a first-time offender.
But the tax charges were much more serious, and because he had already been found guilty in the gun case — making him a felon — the sentence could have been harsher.
And after both cases — as well as numerous times before — Biden either directly or through representatives said again and again that he would accept the outcome of the case and respect the legal process.
Vowing that he wouldn’t pardon his son or commute his sentences.
Now, as far as why the elder Biden made this complete 180 and went back on his word, he explained his reasoning in a lengthy statement.
And there, he claimed that Hunter had been “selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted.”
Arguing that without aggravating factors that were not present in Hunter’s case, “people are almost never brought to trial on felony charges solely for how they filled out a gun form.”
And asserting that people who missed tax payments because of addiction but eventually paid their taxes back “are typically given non-criminal resolutions.”
With the president going on to say that the charges against his son “came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election.”
Arguing that Hunter “was singled out only because he is my son” and adding:
“In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me – and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough.”
Then concluding by saying he still believes in the justice system, but claiming that “politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice.”
And adding that he hopes “Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision.”
But, unsurprisingly, this decision has gotten a ton of backlash — from both sides of the aisle.
Right, on one hand, you had conservatives predictably slamming the move, condemning Biden for going against his word, some calling him corrupt.[][][]
This including Rep. James Comer, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee who launched investigations into the Biden family.
With him claiming that:
“The charges Hunter faced were just the tip of the iceberg in the blatant corruption that President Biden and the Biden Crime Family have lied about to the American people.”[]
And adding, “It’s unfortunate that, rather than come clean about their decades of wrongdoing, President Biden and his family continue to do everything they can to avoid accountability.”
We also saw Trump himself chiming in on Truth Social, mentioning the Jan. 6 rioters who he has suggested he will pardon, writing:
“Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years? Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!”[]
But we also saw plenty of liberals criticizing the pardon as well.
Some pushing back on President Biden’s claim that the prosecution of Hunter Biden was politically motivated, noting that he was convicted by a jury of his peers.[]
Or pointing to the fact that the DOJ has previously denied those allegations, pointing to the fact that a special counsel was appointed to oversee the cases and insulate them from politics.[]
You also had a lot of people saying this move was super detrimental for Democrats because it sets a bad precedent and will embolden Trump to use the DOJ for similar purposes.[]
All while making it harder for Democrats to defend the integrity of the agency.[]
Many also slamming Biden for lying about the pardon for so long, with the likes of Nate Silver writing:
“I voted for Harris despite feeling like Democrats indulged in a lot of bad behavior that voters were rational to publish. After the White House lying about the Hunter pardon I'm not sure how much more I can tolerate.”[]
Though there, we did see some people pushing back against these kinds of posts, like Hasan Piker, who responded:
“i like that for this liberal, genocide is not a red line - pardoning hunter biden is.”[]
Beyond that, you also had others pushing back against the argument that this will just embolden Trump, arguing that he was going to do what he wanted regardless and this doesn’t change anything.[]
Many pointing out that Trump already pardoned tons of his cronies in his last administration — including a member of his extended family.[][][]
Right, just a month before leaving office, Trump pardoned his in-law Charles Kushner — Jared Kushner’s father — for tax evasion and other crimes.
And literally just this weekend, he announced that he had nominated Charles Kushner to be his ambassador to France.
So with this, you had a lot of people saying that Republicans and Trump supporters who are coming after Biden for this pardon are hypocrites.[]
And, with that, you also had plenty of people applauding and defending the decision.[]
This very notably including Eric Holder — the Former Attorney General under Obama — who said that the pardon was “warranted,” arguing:
“No US [attorney] would have charged this case given the underlying facts. After a 5 year investigation the facts as discovered only made that clear. Had his name been Joe Smith the resolution would have been - fundamentally and more fairly - a declination.”[]
But, of course, an important caveat there is that doesn’t change the fact that President Biden lied about this.
And on that note, that’s where I’m gonna end this one — but I’d love to know what you make of all this in those comments down below.
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In huge international news, the Syrian Civil War is back in the spotlight.
With Vladimir Putin now helping Bashar al-Assad (Bah-shar Al-uh-sod) fight back against an ongoing rebel offensive that has won back the infamous city of Aleppo (Ah-lep-oh).
Right, you might remember, the last battle for Aleppo?
It wasn’t only one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the country’s now 13-year civil war.
It’s been described as “One of the most devastating urban conflicts in modern times.”
With it ending after years of fighting in 2016 when the Syrian government finally recaptured the city with Russian help.
But this time around, control of the city has shifted in a matter of days.
Right, fighters from various armed opposition groups launched a massive surprise offensive just last week.
In less than a day, they had advanced to within a few miles of the city, taking over the largest Syrian government base in the area, seizing weapons and vehicles, and killing and capturing pro-government forces in the process.
With experts describing the attacks as the most notable escalation in the conflict in years.[]
Right, and that was before they had actually taken control of most of Aleppo, with government soldiers, security forces and police officers fleeing the city.
And in fact, the rebels now reportedly control a broad stretch of land across three provinces in the west and northwestern part of the country.[]
With Syrian and Russian fighter jets stepping up strikes in the seized areas, reportedly killing dozens of civilians while doing so.
And with that, there’s a lot of concern about where exactly this leads next, especially because this particular conflict is so complex and involves so many players.
Right, for example, these rebels?
It’s not just one group.
It’s an alliance of groups, with the main one known as HTS for short.
Notably, the group was once linked with Al Qaeda.
However, a few years ago, HTS publicly cut ties with Al Qaeda.
And with that, it publicly disavowed international terrorism and now tries to pass itself off as being more moderate. []
With the director of the Syria Program at the Middle East Institute, for example, saying:
"The group has completely turned away from having any kind of global agenda. It has turned national.”
"But unquestionably, the group retains very conservative religious foundations."[]
But with all that, the US still considers HTS a terrorist organization.
With Biden’s national security adviser telling CNN this weekend that the administration has “real concerns about the designs and objectives” of the group.[]
But also adding:
“At the same time, of course, we don’t cry over the fact that the Assad government, backed by Russia, Iran and Hezbollah, are facing certain kinds of pressure.” []
And with that, as well as Russia already being involved in the counteroffensive, the Iranian government has restated its support for Assad.
And in fact, Iranian-backed militias from Iraq have already deployed in Syria to help out the government.
And then, on the other side of this, there’s Turkey.
Right, Turkish-backed rebel groups have actually been part of the HTS-led offensive,
With one researcher telling NPR that Turkey's support for the group has been crucial, saying:
"One of Turkey's main policy goals in Syria since 2016 is to prevent a further influx of refugees across the border into Turkey.” []
And with all that, one of the big concerns is that Russia and Turkey could wind up in direct confrontation.
But that’s not even all of it.
Right, the US also has hundreds of forces stationed on Syrian territory, mostly in Kurdish-controlled areas.
Right, because Kurdish-led forces are backed by the US, which formed an alliance with them years ago to battle the Islamic State.[]
But notably, in addition to fighting Islamist extremists, the Kurdish forces have been fighting a parallel conflict against Turkey and Turkish-backed fighters.[]
In fact, as well as helping take territory from the Syrian government, pro-Turkish fighters have reportedly seized a town from Kurdish forces this weekend.
And with all of these different actors involved, it’s really anyone’s guess how this actually all turns out.
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Should sex workers have the same protections as any other worker?
Belgium has now become the first country in the world to officially say yes to that question.
And to be clear, a number of countries – including several in Europe – have some form of legal and regulated prostitution.
But Belgium?
It’s way ahead of the curve.
Right, in 2022, it actually became the first country in Europe to decriminalize sex work.
And this new law? It goes even further.
Right, for the first time, entitling sex workers to sign formal employment contracts.
And with that, giving them labor rights and protections on par with those in other professions.
That includes access to pensions, unemployment, health insurance, family benefits, annual vacation, and maternity leave.[]
Also, under the law, sex workers have the right to refuse sexual partners or to perform specific acts and can stop an act at any time.
And they can’t be fired for these refusals.[]
And finally, the law imposes obligations on employers of sex workers.
Right, they’ll now be required to obtain authorization and meet background requirements, such as having no prior convictions for sexual assault, human trafficking or fraud.
In addition, they’ll have to make sure their place of work is clean, sanitary and equipped with a panic button.[]
And with all that, the Belgian Union of Sex Workers is describing the law as “a huge step forward, ending legal discrimination against sex workers.” []
Though, notably, it’s also argued that the rules could “be instrumentalised” to reduce or eliminate sex work, saying:
“We already see certain municipalities hiding behind the words ‘safety’ and ‘hygiene’ to promulgate very strict local regulations that make sex work almost impossible on their territory.”[]
And of course, on the flip side, there are plenty of people opposed to making sex work legal in any way at all.
With one critic, for example, a volunteer that helps sex workers on the streets in Belgium, telling the BBC:
“It is dangerous because it normalises a profession that is always violent at its core.” []
But with that, I gotta pass the question off to you.
What are your thoughts on all this?
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