Posted on 12/19/2022 12:40:56 PM PST by ransomnote
[H/T McGruff]
SNIP
"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.
Even before the war erupted, there were ugly examples of authoritarianism in Ukraine’s political governance. Just months after the 2014 Maidan revolution, there were efforts to smother domestic critics, which accelerated as years passed. Ukrainian officials also harassed political dissidents, adopted censorship measures, and barred foreign journalists whom they regarded as critics of the Ukrainian government and its policies. Such offensive actions were criticized by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and other independent observers. The neo‐Nazi Azov Battalion was an integral part of President Petro Poroshenko’s military and security apparatus, and it has retained that role during Zelensky’s presidency.
Indeed, some repressive measures deepened under Zelensky even before the outbreak of war with Russia. In February 2021, the Ukrainian government closed several (mostly, but not entirely pro‐Russia) independent media outlets. They did so on the basis of utterly vague, open‐ended standards. Zelensky has now used the war as a justification for outlawing 11 opposition parties and nationalizing several media outlets. Those are hardly appropriate measures in a democracy, even in wartime."
MORE AT LINK: https://www.cato.org/commentary/whitewashing-ukraines-corruption#
But now we learn that Transparency International thinks Ukraine is a more corrupt than typical country. And guess who funds Transparency International to make that list of countries?
All the usual globalist entities, including George Soros.
So is George Soros on our side now?
when your dealing with a programmed populace it is easy to pull the wool over their eyes. Short Term Memory, Long Term Memory both incapacitated.
..........
Seems to me we have that here in the US in abundance.
In the General/Chat forum, on a thread titled Whitewashing Ukraine’s Corruption, freeandfreezing wrote: In every thread about Ukraine we hear about how the globalists, WEF, and George Soros types are in favor of Ukraine, but against Russia. Sometimes we even hear that the Russians are fighting against the globalists, and they invaded Ukraine to save the world from the globalists and the WEF. But now we learn that Transparency International thinks Ukraine is a more corrupt than typical country. And guess who funds Transparency International to make that list of countries?
All the usual globalist entities, including George Soros.
So is George Soros on our side now?
Obviously not. George Soros and/or Transparency International were not related to Burisma and the Biden/Pelosi/Schumer crime dealings in the Ukraine. President Trump didn't base his assessment of the Ukraine or their intervention into the 2016 elections on Soros funded publications. Why doesn't Ukraine corruption upholding Biden and the Dem party matter at all to you, with or without the Transparency International connection? You read articles talking about corruption and hunt for a piece/any piece of information to try to deflect from the abject corruption of the puppet regime that our government's CIA/State Department helped install post overthrow of the Ukraine in 2014. None of it matters - just snark about Soros and asking if he's on our side now?
He might be on your side, he's not on my side, Trump's side, or MAGA's side.
Since the CATO Institute has gotten a temporary pass to be cited on Free Republic without being attacked for its Libertarian ideas, you may want to consider what they have to say about illegal immigration and border fences.
CATO points out that increasing the number of visas for Mexicans will reduce the illegal crossings at less cost than building a wall or arresting the illegal immigrants.
See post 25.
>>>>>>>>>>>>
If the UKES say that you know it is a lie. Kind of like their benefactors (us). Fake elections, fake plandemic meds, compromised military by the 'social engineering creeps'
That’s extortion; give us paperwork or we’ll invade.
You might not, but a lot of us do. It’s *our* tax dollars that are being fed to that mincing little grifter so that it can be laundered back and used to help get Democrats and RINOs elected.
CATO clearly does not have the best interests of American citizens at heart.
Deep state Democrats in Washington DC tried to frame President Trump over a phone call to Ukraine's newly elected president. That was not Ukraine's fault, it was a scheme by Americans working in our government.
You have not presented any evidence of corruption in Ukraine by Ukrainians, that is any different from the corruption around the world engaged in by Democrats and the likes of Joe and Hunter Biden. Hunter was getting money from Russians, Ukrainians, Chinese, and probably many other people around the world. His father Joe corruptly tried to influence Ukrainian politics. Ukraine was the victim there.
I just find it ironic that you, and many others who claim anything Soros is involved with is just fake propaganda in support of the WEF go ahead and rely on information from a Soros funded organization.
No one denies that Russia has problems, and is nobodies’ idea of a model nation. But that’s no excuse for championing the left-wing globalist crusade to turn the entire world into a monolithic, monocultural global cesspit of Hollywood values, Marxist ideology, collectivism and self-righteous atheistic religiosity. The pro-Washington trolls here are championing something hideous when they stand up for what Washington and Brussels are doing in Ukraine and cheer the political repression, the church closures, the LGBTQ propaganda, the neo-Nazism and so on that is going on in Ukraine with the full support of Western elites. Russia is bad in many ways, but not nearly that bad, and no sensible person fears they are on the cusp of global domination in the way that Western collectivist elites are.
I am not supporting their idea, but it is true that policies which allowed more Mexican guest workers in the past reduced illegal immigration attempts.
Getting rid of the foolish, fake refugee status hearing delays would go a long way to reducing the current influx of migrants pretending to be refugees. No benefits for any illegal immigrant, and a nearly certain stay in a US prison would also be helpful to reduce illegal immigration.
If your definition of “American citizen” is restricted solely to the elites on the coast and ignores the helots in flyover country you might be right.
And killing innocent people over the things you listed, even if they were actually happening, is not justified.
I can’t help but notice those complaining loudest about alleged Ukrainian corruption couldn’t care less about genuine Russian corruption that directly affects us. The Kremlin, of course, has for decades funded leftist anti-American forces in our communities. Intellectual honestly is not in their armory, apparently.
What do they say about building bridges?
If what you were claiming were true I'd expect your mainstream media to be trumpeting it from the rooftops. But instead I see mostly denial and silence and obfuscation, rather than clarification or debunking. So consider me skeptical of your prejudices.
What a silly assumption. I’m in flyover country, rabbit.
I’m open to that.
I’m also open to other methods to prevent our country from being overwhelmed, though. The border needs to be secured. The wall needs to be built and the tunnels destroyed for starters.
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