patrick.net

The notion that Ukraine was such an appealing democratic model in Eastern Europe that the country’s mere existence terrified Putin may be a comforting myth to U.S. politicians and pundits, but it is a myth. Ukraine is far from being a democratic-capitalist model and an irresistible magnet for Russia’s groaning masses. The reality is murkier and troubling: Ukraine has long been one of the more corrupt countries in the international system. In its annual report published in January 2022, Transparency International ranked Ukraine 123rd of the 180 countries it examined, with a score of 32 on a one to 100 point scale. By comparison, notoriously corrupt Russia ranked just modestly lower, 139th, with a score of 29.

Ukraine’s track record of protecting democracy and civil liberties is not much better than its performance on corruption. In Freedom House’s 2022 report, Ukraine is listed in the “partly free” category, with a score of 61 out of a possible 100. Other countries in that category include such bastions of liberal democracy as Rodrigo Duterte’s Philippines (55), Serbia (62), Hungary (59), and Singapore (47). Interestingly, Hungary—which has been a target of vitriolic criticism among progressives in the West because of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s conservative social policy—ranks eight points higher than Ukraine, which is the recipient of uncritical praise from the same Western ideological factions.

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/whitewashing-ukraines-corruption/?source=patrick.net

Onvacation says

RWSGFY says

How do you measure level
of corruption and brutality?

How many US politician's relatives work for Russia? Ukraine?

I'm not on either side of the Russia - Ukraine war. I am curious about the Burisma board that Hunter was on and that Trump got impeached for. What's up with that?

Hunter Biden worked with Russia too: his connections to Elena Baturina and Vladimir Yevtushenkov are well-known. What's up with that?

So 1:1. Now what?

Not to mention that with Russia being way less transparent we have no way to know who was doing what there.

Patrick says

socal2 says

Do you think Ukraine is more brutal and corrupt than Russia

Yes, definitely more than Russia.

AmericanKulak says

Transparency International ranked Ukraine 123rd of the 180 countries it examined, with a score of 32 on a one to 100 point scale. By comparison, notoriously corrupt Russia ranked just modestly lower, 139th, with a score of 29.

So less corrupt then Russia, not more.

@Patrick.

As for "brutal": Ukraine's murder rate is 6.2 vs Russia's 7.3.

PS. Mexico is at 28.4 in case you're interested.

OK, Ukraine and Russia are similarly brutal and corrupt.

So why, aside from arms sales for the oligarchy, is US taxpayer money being diverted from US citizens in need to support Ukraine?

Might it have something to do with Hunter Biden's no-work $50K/month job at Burisima? Or the similar jobs of the sons Pelosi, Kerry, and Romney?

Patrick says

So why ... is US taxpayer money being diverted from US citizens in need to support Ukraine?

Because US of A (along with UK and RuZZia) has guaranteed Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity in exchange for them surrendering their nukes, ICBMs and strategic bombers. We've been through this what feels like 100 times already, somebody even posted a link to the text of the Budapest Memorandum on the UN website.

How big a price would you put on the 3rd largest nuclear arsenal in the world being completely elimitated? Not worth $100 per US person, ultimately spent on US-made arms?

Then there are little things like Helsinki Accords, UN Charter and other such "bullshit".... But who needs treaties and rules when we can have feelz! Putin's feelz to be exact.

https://gettr.com/post/p19jzse7cc1?source=patrick.net

Arnie1974
@Arnie1974
·
12h
Rand Paul Single-Handedly Blocks Quick Passage of 40 Billion Dollars to Ukraine

"The biggest threat to the United States today is debt, inflation, and the destruction of the dollar. We cannot save Ukraine by killing our economic strength."

Arnie1974
@Arnie1974
·
12h
Joe Biden said that thanks to Western sanctions the Rouble had turned to rubble.

The Rouble is now the best performing currency this year against the US Dollar up 11%.

Patrick says

https://greenwald.substack.com/p/biden-wanted-33b-more-for-ukraine?s=r&source=patrick.net

Biden Wanted $33B More For Ukraine. Congress Quickly Raised it to $40B. Who Benefits?
Tens of billions, soon to be much more, are flying out of U.S. coffers to Ukraine as Americans suffer, showing who runs the U.S. Government, and for whose benefit. ...

While it is extremely difficult to isolate any benefit to ordinary American citizens from all of this, it requires no effort to see that there is a tiny group of Americans who do benefit greatly from this massive expenditure of funds. That is the industry of weapons manufacturers. So fortunate are they that the White House has met with them on several occasions to urge them to expand their capacity to produce sophisticated weapons so that the U.S. government can buy...

Government has their own geo political priorities of the ruling class. I used to look at North Korea and USSR and think to myself... "man they would let their people starve in order to build military, that can't possibly happen in US". And yet here we are. Economy collapsing, everything going to shit, but faggot ass fucking government ignores all of us (fake democracy really) and keeps on spending everything on wars, wars that have nothing to do with us really. What do we have to do with Ukraine? Nothing, other than the war against Russia.

Worst part is how we have fake democracy and laws are selectively enforced. Our own government ignores laws they made, and enforce them selectively based on which party is in charge. For example, intimidating judges is a federal crime, however because it's left doing the intimidation the faggot Biden administration does nothing. Republicans are quietly sitting on their dicks as usual, watching America get fucked, probably afraid and fully cucked by cancel culture. BLM riots... its fine. American people protest... its called insurrection. Fuck this government and everyone running it, they are all pieces of shit nazi fuck sticks.

RWSGFY says

Patrick says

socal2 says

But since most of these countries are brutal and corrupt

Ukraine is also brutal and corrupt.

How is it "brutal" exactly?

(Apart from brutally killing thousands of RuZZian soldiers who came into their land uninvited, that is)

Ukraine is run by a mafia. Zelenksyy is the penultimate joke, an actor promoted to the presidency through Ihor Kolomoyskyi who isn't even eligible to be president because of his dual nationality, but because he has triple nationality, their constitution didn't foresee that.

He is a puppet, his master is a gang leader, and Ukraine is impoverished due to their government. Zelenskyy doesn't give a fuck about how many Ukrainians die in this stupid, pointless war, which - if Russia is to be believed - is simply about preventing NATO from further encroaching on their borders, and ending the bombing of Eastern Ukraine. Zelenskyy is fully aware this will be the end result, but instead of just agreeing to these reasonable demands which will be met anyhow, he's willing to allow the entire fucking population of a country to suffer.

Any more questions about the brutality of Ukraine's CIA puppet government?

You know goddamned well that Russia, if they really believe are facing a crisis, can just use nuclear weapons to end this in a day. If this is the crisis that Russia has been claiming it is for EIGHT FUCKING YEARS, that's what they will do if they can't win a conventional war. Ukraine will lose this war in time, it's just a question of how many people die before that happens. Zelenskyy, Ihor Kolomoyskyi, and the criminal syndicate called the US government doesn't give a shit. From the point of view of the US government, the only point of this war is to weaken Russia. They've openly stated that.

Zelenskyy and Kolomoyskyi are invaders, they are Zionist foreign nationals. They don't care how many "people" die. They are purposely destroying the nation, it's not THEIR nation, they're just parasites.

personal

Zelensky points out the embarrassing ongoing, old shadow alliance between the Khazarian Mafia and the Nazis. The Khazarians have been using Nazis as slaughter wolves and sheep dogs against their Stockholm Syndrome besotted captive victims for generations, to herd 'evolved survivors' into Israel. It's not the contradiction that it appears to be.

Filmed in Detroit at some retirement facility:

https://youtu.be/1GUrNPPTSWM?source=patrick.net

richwicks says

Zelenskyy and Kolomoyskyi are invaders, they are Zionist foreign nationals.

This is EXACTLY what Nazis said about German Jews.

Both Zelensky and Kolomoyski are Jews born in Ukraine.

The best way for somebody named "richwicks" to see a real-life Nazi is in his own fucking mirror.

Ceffer says

Khazarian Mafia

Oh, Khazarian Mafia, that explains everything! Who the fuck are Khazarians? Zelensky is Khazarian? Or that Kolomoyski dude (for which our very own Nazi writing under handle "richwicks" has a strange attachment)? An oligarch? I looked him up, btw: Forbes lists his net worth as meager $1B. So what's so special about him again? Apart from him being a Khazarian masquerading as Ukraine-born Jew?

This must be a record of some sorts:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QiybJ8UuHXA&ab_channel=TheSun

Eric Holder says

richwicks says

Zelenskyy and Kolomoyskyi are invaders, they are Zionist foreign nationals.

This is EXACTLY what Nazis said about German Jews.

Both Zelensky and Kolomoyski are Jews born in Ukraine.

So? Al Capone was born in the United States. Jeffrey Epstein was born in the United States. Joe Biden was, so was Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris, George W. Bush, James Comey, Dick Cheney...

Doesn't mean they aren't traitors to this nation. That's who runs Ukraine, treasonous scum, and just because they are Jews doesn't change that fact.

They are nothing but criminal scum. Don't try to pull the race card on me. They have sold out their nation and made a deal with the devil, the CIA.

FUCK THEM

https://bioclandestine.substack.com/p/russian-military-exposes-the-deep?s=r

Of the tens of billions in profit from all of the endless injections, some is then kicked back to the Ideologues responsible for formulating the plot. They use the funds to finance their campaigns and maintain their control.

Russians finally get ass whipped trying to mount pontoon bridges over river around Izyum. Lots of tanks lost with casualties. Azov forces making successful forays toward the Russian border around Kharkiv.
https://southfront.org/kiev-forces-approach-russian-border/

Liberators carrying cutting edge modern infantry rifles (from 1891):

https://mobile.twitter.com/200_zoka/status/1525055727286599682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1525055727286599682%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thedrive.com%2Fthe-war-zone%2Fukraine-situation-report-russia-withdraws-from-kharkiv

Patrick says

Merkel was on Putin's payroll, just like Schröder before her. Hence the closing of NPPs and ridiculous dependence on Putler's gas. That shit along with corrupting German politicians was a weapon from the get go, by design.

<<< Truth.

Supposedly unfortunate cannon fodder Ukrainian soldiers dying at the rate of half to full battalion a day. South Front videos showing Ukrainian soldiers captured around Izyum look like they are barely fitted for combat and many are nearly old enough to be geezers.

Evolution (or rather devolution) of the planned encirclement of "Nazis" in Dumbass:

RWSGFY says

Merkel was on Putin's payroll,

Russia wasn't caught tapping Merkel's phone line just to have Merkel do absolutely nothing about it.

Obama was.

richwicks says

RWSGFY says

Merkel was on Putin's payroll,

Russia wasn't caught tapping Merkel's phone line just to have Merkel do absolutely nothing about it.

Obama was.

Another rambling answer having nothing to do with the original post. BTW, this is the classic Russian response to any criticism directed at Mother Russia: "At least we aren't lynching Niggers!"

As they said in the famous Domino's Pizza ad: "Dog, dog! So predictable!"

richwicks says

Russia wasn't caught tapping Merkel's phone line just to have Merkel do absolutely nothing about it.

But of course! Why tap the phone of someone who's already on your payroll?

You tap the phone of someone who is NOT on your payroll. Russia, for example, bugged Nuland's phone. See how that works?

Growing Evidence of Military Disaster on the Donets River Pierces Pro-Russian Bubble






The destruction wreaked on a Russian battalion as it tried to cross a river in northeastern Ukraine last week is emerging as among the deadliest engagements of the war, with estimates based on publicly available evidence now suggesting that well over 400 Russian soldiers were killed or wounded.

And as the scale of what happened comes into sharper focus, the disaster appears to be breaking through the Kremlin’s tightly controlled information bubble.

Perhaps most striking, the Russian battlefield failure is resonating with a stable of pro-Russian war bloggers — some of whom are embedded with troops on the front line — who have reliably posted to the social network Telegram with claims of Russian success and Ukrainian cowardice.

“The commentary by these widely read milbloggers may fuel burgeoning doubts in Russia about Russia’s prospects in this war and the competence of Russia’s military leaders,” the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based research body, wrote this past weekend.

On Wednesday, the Russian command reportedly sent about 550 troops of the 74th Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 41st Combined Arms Army to cross the Donets River at Bilohorivka, in the eastern Luhansk region, in a bid to encircle Ukrainian forces near Rubizhne.

Satellite images reveal that Ukrainian artillery destroyed several Russian pontoon bridges and laid waste to a tight concentration of Russian troops and equipment around the river.

The Institute for the Study of War, citing analyses based on the publicly available imagery, indicated that there could have been as many as 485 Russian soldiers killed or wounded and more than 80 pieces of equipment destroyed.

As the news of the losses at the river crossing in Bilohorivka started to spread, some Russian bloggers did not appear to hold back their criticism of what they said was incompetent leadership.

“I’ve been keeping quiet for a long time,” Yuri Podolyaka, a war blogger with 2.1 million followers on Telegram, said in a video posted Friday, saying he had avoided criticizing the Russian military until now.

“The last straw that overwhelmed my patience was the events around Bilohorivka, where due to stupidity — I emphasize, because of the stupidity of the Russian command — at least one battalion tactical group was burned, possibly two.”

Podolyaka ridiculed the Kremlin line that the war is going “according to plan.” He told his viewers in a five-minute video that, in fact, the Russian army was short of functional unmanned drones, night-vision equipment and other kit “that is catastrophically lacking on the front.”

“Yes, I understand that it’s impossible for there to be no problems in war,” he said. “But when the same problems go on for three months, and nothing seems to be changing, then I personally and in fact millions of citizens of the Russian Federation start to have questions for these leaders of the military operation.”

Another popular blogger, who goes by Starshe Eddy on Telegram, wrote that the fact that commanders left so much of their force exposed amounted to “not idiocy, but direct sabotage.”

And a third, Vladlen Tatarski, posted that Russia’s eastern offensive was moving slowly not just because of a lack of surveillance drones but also “these generals” and their tactics.

“Until we get the last name of the military genius who laid down a BTG by the river and he answers for it publicly, we won’t have had any military reforms,” Tatarski wrote.

...

https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Growing-Evidence-of-Military-Disaster-on-the-17174532.php

Yes, it's a grinding war of attrition with casualties on both sides, but not one the Russians are 'losing':

"The Art of Disinformation–Western Lies About the War in Ukraine"
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/05/art-disinformation-western-lies-war-ukraine/
"If Russia was losing or completely stuck in Ukraine, one would expect that Sergei Shoigu would be the guy calling Austin and begging for mercy. Well, that is not what happened. Nope. It was Austin that placed the call, apparently unconcerned about his recent public call to weaken Russia."

Brave liberators liberated some seeds from the Nazis:

The occupiers completely destroyed the only plant genetic bank in Ukraine in Kharkiv

The Russian occupiers destroyed the only plant genetic bank in Ukraine in Kharkiv, which stored more than 160,000 plant varieties and hybrids from around the world. This was announced by Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, a leading researcher at the V. Yuriev Institute of Plant Breeding Serhiy Avramenko, Ukrinform reports.

The seeds were already being prepared for sowing, and since March the staff had been sowing the collection. including varieties that are hundreds of years old, old ones that we will not be able to restore. There was hell here, aluminum melted. Everything burned down, "Avramenko said.

According to the scientist, there was no military or territorial defense in the building where the plant bank was kept, and the Russians knew well where they were shooting.

"This is a purely scientific institution that was deliberately destroyed, targeted in the very place where the bank of plant genetic resources was stored," Avramenko said.

He stressed that the bank of plants survived even during the German occupation, but could not avoid the devastating blows of the Russian army.

"I am sad to say that in the days of Hitler's Germany, when all of Ukraine was under occupation, the Germans did not destroy this collection, but instead tried to preserve something, to hide it, because they knew their descendants would need it. It is a matter of food security "Breeders from all over the world, all countries, including Russia, ordered and received samples from this gene pool to create their own varieties adapted to the area," said the scientist.

Eric Holder says

Brave liberators liberated some seeds from the Nazis:

The occupiers completely destroyed the only plant genetic bank in Ukraine in Kharkiv

The Russian occupiers destroyed the only plant genetic bank in Ukraine in Kharkiv, which stored more than 160,000 plant varieties and hybrids from around the world. This was announced by Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, a leading researcher at the V. Yuriev Institute of Plant Breeding Serhiy Avramenko, Ukrinform reports.

The seeds were already being prepared for sowing, and since March the staff had been sowing the collection. including varieties that are hundreds of years old, old ones that we will not be able to restore. There was hell here, aluminum melted. Everything burned down, "Avramenko said.

According to the scientist, there was no military or territorial defense in the building where the plant bank was kept, and the Russians knew well where they were shooting.

"This is a purely...

IT WAS A BIOWEAPONS LAB!!!!

"OVER 300 MILITANTS HAVE SURRENDERED AND ARE LEAVING AZOVSTAL IN BUSES!
The surrenders will continue tomorrow at 4am local time. It is expected that many more will surrender. They are being taken to Novoazovsk in DPR territory, 30km east of Mariupol and right on the Russian border.
The Azov Regiment has written on TG that they are "implementing the decision of the Supreme Military Command" in order to save lives.
Russian sources say 300 have left Azovstal tonight while the remaining 2000 will lay down their weapons tomorrow.
That will bring the total of captured/surrendered Ukrainians up to 6,500+"
https://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/forum.cgi?read=199522


This could be fake news. They have claimed American high officers before in Azovstal and it turned out to be false.

https://thepostmillennial.com/msnbc-military-analyst-posts-video-game-clip-claiming-its-ukraine-war-footage/

May 16, 2022 7:30 PM EST
MSNBC 'military analyst' posts video game clip claiming it's Ukraine war footage
Retired Four Star General Barry McCaffrey who now serves as a "military analyst" for MSNBC tweeted out footage of fighting in Ukraine that was actually a clip from a video game.