Fragile ceasefire in Gaza: Egypt's intelligence chief visits Israel to advance peace process    Egypt, Qatar discuss Gaza aid, bilateral cooperation    Egypt, France agree to boost humanitarian aid, rebuild Gaza's health sector    Egypt implements 60% of 300 investment climate reforms: El-Khatib    AOI overhauls, repairs nitrogen fertilizer plant turbines for first time in Egypt    Egypt's SCZONE head meets with Toyota Tsusho, Tokyo officials on Japan tour    Egyptian junior and ladies' golf open to be held in New Giza, offers EGP 1m in prizes    EGX closes mixed on Oct. 21    The Survivors of Nothingness — Part Two    EGAS, Eni, TotalEnergies sign Cronos field handling agreement    Oil prices drop on Tuesday    Egypt discusses troop deployment to Somalia with foreign minister    Egypt's PM reviews efforts to remove Nile River encroachments    Health Minister reviews readiness of Minya for rollout of universal health insurance    Egypt strengthens ties with NEPAD at Aswan Forum    Sisi invites Egyptians to join Gaza reconstruction drive, citing shared humanity    Egypt screens 13.3m under presidential cancer detection initiative since mid-2023    Egypt launches official website for Grand Egyptian Museum ahead of November opening    The Survivors of Nothingness — Episode (I)    Al-Sisi: Cairo to host Gaza reconstruction conference in November    Egypt, WHO sign cooperation strategy to strengthen health system through 2028    Egypt successfully hosts Egyptian Amateur Open golf championship with 19-nation turnout    Africa can lead global recovery, Egypt's Sisi tells Aswan Forum    Egypt: Guardian of Heritage, Waiting for the World's Conscience    Egypt, Qatar sign MoU to boost cooperation in healthcare, food safety    Egypt will never relinquish historical Nile water rights, PM says    Al Ismaelia launches award-winning 'TamaraHaus' in Downtown Cairo revival    Al-Sisi, Burhan discuss efforts to end Sudan war, address Nile Dam dispute in Cairo talks    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile actions, calls for global water cooperation    Egypt unearths New Kingdom military fortress on Horus's Way in Sinai    Egyptian Open Amateur Golf Championship 2025 to see record participation    Syria releases preliminary results of first post-Assad parliament vote    Karnak's hidden origins: Study reveals Egypt's great temple rose from ancient Nile island    Egypt resolves dispute between top African sports bodies ahead of 2027 African Games    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



A tempest in a tea-pot!
Published in Ahram Online on 27 - 10 - 2020

What a hullabaloo, what an uproar. Social media is ablaze with stories of political corruption in the US. Where is the novelty? What is so unique and unprecedented?
In politics, corruption is the norm, the daily sport of politicians.
This is clearly an exceptional embarrassment as it involves the son of the former vice president in the Obama administration, Joe Biden, also known as “honest Joe”.
Much as we tried to resist becoming involved in the mire of this widespread scandal, recent events have prevailed. Retelling the sour story of Hunter Biden is unpleasant, except for the fact that his father may become the next president of the most powerful country in the world.
While Dad was VP, son Hunter, known as the black sheep of the family, seized the opportunity to use his father's name and position as leverage for fattening his pocket. He collaborated with a gas company in Ukraine, Burisma, owned by an oligarch and was soon sitting on the board of directors, receiving a salary of $50,000 to $83,000 per month. He held the job from 2014 till early 2020.
He also accompanied Dad on Air Force II during a trip to China and within 36 hours came home with a $1.5 billion commitment from a Chinese bank for a new investment.
Not bad for a day's work.
Why is this shocking? It is not. It happens regularly that family members of the high and mighty grasp the opportunity of peddling their power for financial gain.
We must also remind ourselves of the corruption that took place during the Obama presidency, considered one of the 10 most corrupt presidential administrations in the history of the republic.
We mentioned earlier it was the social media that is in a furore over this and not the mainstream media. Media giants like The New York Times and The Washington Post, and major networks, such as ABC, NBC, and CBS, have become political advocates, with all the news they prefer to print or broadcast.
Why even social tech organisations, such as Twitter and Facebook, chose to censor our messages rather than just sending them.
Nonetheless, the story has caught fire, not because of the violation of power, but because of the continuous denial by “the big guy” himself. Father Biden insists he knew nothing of his son's behaviour, yet there are records of his admitting his involvement as well as witnesses to the veracity of his inclusion. Therefore, it is not the crime itself that is shocking, it is the lies, the deceit, the cover-up.
Remember Richard Nixon, a good president, who resigned in shame not for anything he did, but for burning tapes, lying and covering up a minor offence?
The world is a vulgar place and overreaching is the ambition of man.
The history of corruption began with the creation of law. Even in antiquity the state was already considered an evil, which negatively affects the public administration and the functioning of the political system.
The earliest record of corruption date back to the 13th Century BC — the times of the Assyrian civilisation. Archaeologists discovered plates written in cuneiform showing who accepted bribes.
Under Roman law, bribery was considered a crime, but due to the prevalence of corruption, the law was supplemented by a new law, which predicted compensation for the crime instead.
The early Christian faith condemned corruption, yet corruption later developed greatly in ecclesiastical structures. Martin Luther denounced immoral acts which led to the Reformation and the emergence of Protestantism.
Corruption was also widespread during the Spanish Inquisition, where victims could make amends with money.
Throughout history, many intellectuals dealt with corruption or theorised about it.
According to Macchiavelli, corruption leads to moral degradation, bad education and bad faith.
Corruption is all around us, not merely in politics. Private gain is the name of the game.
Bribery seems to play the major role, followed by extortion, nepotism, money laundering, drug trafficking, human trafficking and more.
Henry Kissinger once said “power is an aphrodisiac” of which he has partaken fully. We can blame all the Arab unrest, the Israeli lobby, the man-made viruses, directly or indirectly to the power he once wielded. Lord Acton was right when he said “power corrupts”, so does greed, revenge, ambition — the seven sins forbidden by every religion.
There is corruption in every country. For example, 73 per cent of Israelis believe their government is corrupt, while 83 per cent of Greeks share the same beliefs of their country.
How naïve to think that corruption is only prevalent in 'banana republics', like Central America, Central Africa, Southeast Asia, with a kinder view of the West. Oh no, by no means.
The culture of corruption is blustering in Canada, China, Italy, England, the US, socialist and communist countries, have we missed any?
To be successful often means to choose a crooked road.
There is something half comic/half tragic about a 78-year-old politician helplessly denying the truth. Where does the fault lie?
Geneticists are investing the presence of a “dishonesty” gene. That must be it. A study led by Peter J Loewen of the University of Toronto reveals that everyday dishonest behaviour has a large genetic compound.
Eureka. We have found the answer. We are not to blame. It is all in the genes.
Saying that politicians are honest sounds stupid. Now we can safely add journalists, the media in general and presidents and vice presidents in particular.
“Falsehood has a perennial spring.”
Edmund Burke (1729-1797)
*A version of this article appears in print in the 29 October, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly


Clic here to read the story from its source.