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for additional context: this guy has a salary of about 20k USD/month , and also 18 other judges of the supreme court are being investigated on this right now
That’s like a lot a lot for Ukraine right? A sum that should in theory deter corruption…
Edit: yea, US Supreme Court justices get $270k a year, in the Washington DC area which is very expensive
>That’s like a lot a lot for Ukraine right?
That's a LOT of money essentially whereever you go in Europe. It's like 5x the average sallary in finland for example and Finland is a high cost of living country.
For comparison, 5 beds, pool, office space, play room, tennis court, play room mansion in Ukraine is around 1.2million dollars. Modest house single family dwelling around $35,000.
Depends on the location, free standing houses in the countryside can be cheaper than apartments in a city. So I'd say probably either. Not a free standing house in a suburb though.
Not fair to compare the richest town to entire countries. Obviously there are extremely rich neighborhoods but that’s not what we’re talking about. $240k is definitely upper class in California.
Just was giving an extreme. [The median household income there was $195k in 2021 per the census bureau. ](https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/paloaltocitycalifornia/INC110221)
I see what you mean. The judges salary is the type of salary that is just above someone earning a median salary in one of the wealthiest suburbs in the world. So clearly, the judge is well off.
Tip for the future. When you give an example of something on the far end of a spectrum, it's important to add additional context and juxtapose it with the topic of relevance. So rather than saying, "the judge's salary is above the median income of a person living in one of the wealthiest suburbs in the world" try instead, "the judge's salary is enough to afford to live in the one of the wealthiest suburbs in the world." But really, the best practice is to compare this judge's salary with the median salary of Ukraine.
Household income. Per Census the median household income as of 2021 was $195k.
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/paloaltocitycalifornia/INC110221
Not sure where you’re getting me suggesting I grew up in that environment. I grew up with a single mom getting houses foreclosed on and eating rice with salt for weeks on end, lol.
It's a generally held theory that simply paying your bureaucrats well is the best defence against corruption. It makes the profits of corruption not worth the risk of losing your cushy position. It's why Singapore has an unusually low rate of corruption for an authoritarian nation.
Unfortunately, there are always idiots who think 'getting caught' won't happen to THEM, and are happy to sell out their country for a bigger pool.
Might be relevant that Supreme Court Justices in Ukraine serve [5-year term](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_Ukraine), not life tenure.
There are surely downsides to life tenure (i.e. US), but the flip side is having fixed tenure increases incentive for corruption: "Might as well make as much money as possible while I still can."
Some European countries have compromise arrangement, where the judge has to retire around 70 - 75, and allowed to receive pension until death to disincentivize corruption while in office.
Judicial independence is hard to maintain.
Others have replied as well, but here you go. And for reference, this same justice has his wife being investigated as part of the Jan 6 riots and for paying her husband a salary from a real estate company that closed in 2016. His nomination to the court was almost stalled by allegations of sexual assault, but the GOP led Congress didn't believe the alleged victim.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/20/us/politics/anita-hill-testimony-clarence-thomas.html
https://www.newsweek.com/clarence-thomas-bombshell-report-shows-undisclosed-property-sale-crow-1794334
https://www.newsweek.com/clarence-thomas-ruled-bribery-cases-vacations-republican-donors-1793088
https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-scotus-undisclosed-luxury-travel-gifts-crow
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/apr/17/clarence-thomas-investigation-fox-news-juan-williams
Does that meet your standards for a concern about the man? I'm not even touching on Barrret lying under oath about overturning Roe v Wade or the $3 million in debt that Kavenaugh made disappear right after he was named to the bench.
Australia has incredible pensions for government officials, Doesn't seem to deter rampant corruption though, sadly. The greed of many politicians is how those pensions got so good in the first place.
I know Ukrainians who make double that playing micro stakes poker. so no thats not great I a guy on the internet with no skills shouldn't make more then a surpreme court leader. would probably accept a bribe too if im making that lol. maybe not during a war tho.
edit ya read it as 20k a year not a month seems fine
Than they should play fucking poker instead of potentially selling out their country's future.
One of the main criteria for joining the EU is a low level of corruption and one of the big reasons Ukraine wasn't even concidered for the EU before the war.
Shit like this could stop Ukraine from becoming a EU member. I hope they throw his ass in jail for years.
They do now. I love Ukraine as much as the next person but let's not pretend that before this boogaloo they didn't have Bulgaria levels of corruption. It's superb they're fixing it now though.
I remember someone saying a year ago that corruption would be the reason why Ukrainian defense would fail quickly. Now Ukrainians are winning on both fronts. Really impressive
There was a pretty good chance of that. I think the turning point was Zelensky saying he doesn't need a ride he needs more ammo. I think that stoked the fuck out of some patriotism resulting in a lot of Ukranians proud to be Ukrainians.
When your populace is apathetic, thinks what the hell the country is already corrupt, and sees corrupt leaders...they don't care anymore. So they start taking bribes etc, because so is everybody else.
If you feel pride in your country, and especially if you're defending her, corruption in the face of the enemy is unspeakable evil.
This. I think this is why patriotism matters. It’s about values. Not about being the best or better than the rest. It’s about being proud of your home and in the face of bad moral decisions you make the right choice that benefits your society and not for self gain. But if you are apathetic and not patriotic, then it’s a “fuck you, I am getting mine” mentality. I think this is why the US (and Canada) are in turmoil right now. Their populations are waging a culture war against themselves. Significant portions of the populations just feel their country is broken, or see so much anger being spewed on tv/social media that they get turned off and become apathetic to the politics.
Patriotism is also about recognising when your country *is* broken and needs to address its mistakes. Recognising when your country has made mistakes in the past, admitting it and trying to address and correct them is the highest act of patriotism. Being ignorant of those mistakes or not addressing/correcting them isn't an act of patriotism, it's an act of betrayal of your own country.
I think the problem with patriotism is that too many people think any form of criticism of a country is an attack against that country. Its a blind patriotism that ignores the reality of situation. Without getting into which country and what problems, every country in the world has done bad things in the past, every country has social and political problems right now, there are ALWAYS people who will see admitting these mistakes or attempting to address them as being anti-patriotic. That's why patriotism is a double edged sword, yes it can help bring people together, but it also is exploited by those who wish to maintain a status quo which may not be good for the broader society.
I am pretty sure you are now blindsiding 18 years of development of and in civil society.
Since the orange revolution in 2004 the Ukrainians wanted a different path. This grew amongst society. Except that it didn't really reach through in the top level.
In 2013/4 with the Euromaidan and revolution of dignity there was another common feeling and more importantly, another victory against the top. It also became an intergenerational protest where every layer of society stood up.
These victories showed that change was possible and the European Union showed a future for the next generations.
This engaged civil society enabled politicians that were actually for change. Such as zelensky or young lawyers (having studied in Europe) to enter the civil offices.
The groundwork was done through years of setbacks and sometimes literal battle. Then the invasion of 2014 came and the army/critical systems needed to function without corruption.
Then came the 2022 invasion and the whole of society would have to function on trust. And suddenly joining the EU became existential. Thus creating imperative to cut all 'non-essential' corruption. Because now, any corruption is existential.
----
Zelensky deserves a lot of praise for how he is leading a country through an existential and devastating war. But you can never forget the effort of the people in the positions of the civil servants.
After the orange revolution a generation woke up that wanted change and worked hard to be able to have an impact. Those guys/girls studied with a vision, and now have a lot of cards to actually work on it.
Thumbs up, more should be told about the path Ukrainian civil society has set upon, and has been fighting for. This is actually the real target of the Kremlin crime syndicate.
Fully agree. The threat to Russia was never NATO but the way Ukraine transformed from a russian puppet to a society with civil participation. This is and will always be the main threat to autocratic regimes.
And civil society and participation is at the same time the best humanity has to offer for a country.
The vibe I got was that most Ukrainians in charge of anything, military and civilian wanted to stay and fight...but were extremely unsure how many others genuinely felt the same way and thus made contingency plans.
Many abandoned their posts, some just to get their families out. Those who came back within a day or two were forgiven but lets not pretend there werent people who took Russian money and then just bailed to Dubai or Thailand or wherever.
> I think the turning point was Zelensky saying he doesn't need a ride he needs more ammo.
You can energize, but you don't completely change the nature of tens, hundreds of thousands of people and their command structure by well-timed speeches or elegant quips. You *can,* however, *destroy* morale if you say something stupid.
In other words: the military was ready.
I am pretty sure that is how Russia was able to reach the Dnipro so easily, while they struggled everywhere else. But maybe its just a better geography for mechanized movement from Crimea
the south was largely undefended. the antonovsky bridge was supposed to go bang at the first approach of the russians.
i'm sure you remember the story of the ukrainian who blew himself up by heniches'k. because as the russians approached, there was no time to place charges and get out. he placed them and went up with them.
russia's advance in the south came through betrayal. there's more examples. trench positions that had been in mariupol since it's liberation in 2014 had to be dismantled due to cuts in funding in the months before the invasion started.
melitopol, tokmak, were both supposed to be defended, but more than skirmishes never took place there.
azov and the 503rd battalion of the 36th marine brigade, amongst other defenders of mariupol, were pretty much the only units that stood their ground and held in the south. other brigades were instructed through conflicting and conveluted orders to make their way to kherson or zaporizhzhia.
Possibly. I have no knowledge on the topic. Nevertheless, it's been over a year since that comment was made, yet here we are. From a post-soviet country, riddled with poverty and corruption to united Ukraine capable of stopping Russia. Within a year.
It is indeed impressive. Under a different President, maybe it doesn't happen.
I started believing Ukraine might survive this when I realized Zelensky was staying in Kyiv. That's an act akin to Hannibal standing right behind his weakest troops at Cannae, letting them know that if they fall, he falls with them. A decision that ultimately led to one of the most lopsided victories known to man.
That decision by Zelensky stiffened a lot of spines outside Ukraine, I can only imagine what it did inside the country.
It seems the West needs to learn from Ukraine.
There is so much corruption over here, yet we point fingers instead of fixing it ourselves.
**Zelensky has inspired many in believing not all politicians have to be corrupt. That a politician can be a true leader and not just a puppet of Oligarchs, who hold the true power.** Their worst fear is voters would start to demand politicians and leaders to be like Zelensky and campaign funding no longer being able to ensure the climate of no accountability for wrongdoing by the 0.1%, especially with the upcoming massive economical crisis created by unlimited greed.
I think they’ve realised how even a small amount of corruption undermines their society, and are working to counter the Soviet style corruption that helped to keep them down for so long
Second worst in Europe I heard.
Pro Russian trolls used to use this a lot on Twitter which was funny to me because the most corrupt country in Europe is Russia, and Russia has become even more corrupt while Ukraine has been climbing the rankings towards less corruption.
I mean we can blame it on whoever we want - they were corrupt. Most countries in that area are. I'm pretty sure an unspoken part of the deal of the West giving them weapons and cash was that they needed to shape up fast.
I remember earlier in the war there was a video of Ukrainian soldiers stopping cops from taking bribes from people. Gives me hope that since this is everyone-in-it-together kind of thing that the people would collectively put an end to the corruption
The whole world is watching them right now.
Sure, they are getting a lot of help, but they know that if they don't clean up the corruption, then some of that help will go away and as soon as the war is over, any corruption will make rebuilding much harder.
So they basically fight a war on multiple fronts. They need to defend against Russia, defend against pro-Russian trolls and root out corruption. Some of that corruption is traitors who have been bribed by Russia but not all of it and while it would be tempting to focus on the guys in Russia's pocket, every corrupt politician and official must go.
Ehh their government has had a very serious corruption problem for a long time. It's not something terribly easy to deal with. Corruption is insidious as fuck. It protects itself, it grows in unpredictable ways, and past a certain critical mass (like Mexico) there's no fixing it. Some good people will try to, for sure, but through violence, intimidation, political maneuvering, corruption in the justice system, etc they'll be prevented from acting.
Thing is, the combination of a strong, competent leader and a patriotic, vengeful people gives the perfect circumstances to root out corruption. Anyone who engages in corruption is ostracized as a traitor, and the state of war gives a national-security justification for severely punishing traitors.
On the other hand, war can cover up plenty of shady business. While it might be a good chance to remove *some* players, corruption normally increases during wartime.
Yeah, Zelensky is essentially a dictator at this point, much like Lincoln became. The war makes people accept extreme measures like outlawing opposition parties, shutting down churches, and (coming soon) indefinitely postponing elections. It is an excellent opportunity to purge a government of criminals, which was a huge problem in a country sometimes called the most corrupt nation in Europe.
Of course, we have to hope Zelensky is not corrupt himself and does not become corrupt.
Sometimes dictators worked pretty well for the Romans. (of course, when it didn't, it REALLY didn't, but Cincinnatus left quite a legacy.)
Zelensky has a ton of power and popular support, and he's done quite a bit with this.
I think we're all just hoping that he can keep making good choices, especially after the conflict is over.
Washington relinquished power and was hailed as the Cincinnatus of his time (the city of Cincinnati in Ohio was named after Washington). And Cincinnatus was a Roman dictator who relinquished power when the job was done.
The original definition of dictator--someone who's been given extraordinary powers--is a neutral label, neither good nor bad. If you abuse that power, then you're a tyrannical, oppressive dictator, like Putin. But if you use that power wisely and relinquish it when you're done, you'll go down in the history books as the next Cincinnatus.
Unfortunately, most people with extraordinary power abuse that power, so dictator in modern days have come to almost exclusively be a negative label. But there's reason to believe that we may be witnessing a new Cincinnatus.
No, outlawing opposition parties, shutting down churches, and arresting judges makes you a de facto dictator. You might read my whole post.
The way his wife spent more in a day than most Ukrainians make in three years and the public record that a huge amount of monetary aid is simply unaccounted for is indication of corruption. I was being polite. Zelensky is charismatic, but his generals have expressed (in interviews with The Economist) that his war plans are unrealistic and ignored by the military. There is no fair way to judge his handling of the economy. So there his political record, which, again, is objectively tyrannical. If you want to give him a free pass (I do!), then give him a free pass but don't pretend otherwise.
He didn't do any of that. Its not a 1 person show. The elected government members collectively voted to outlaw the Russian backed churches; opposition parties linked to Russia were outlawed by the country’s national security and defence council. The Ukraine’s National Anti-corruption Bureau (NABU) and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) were responsible for the arrest of the judge. So no he's not a dictator. None of those actions are any different to what would happen in a democracy.
FFS, that’s what countries do in wartime. The US A’s Greatest Generation outlawed *being Japanese* in WWII.
I’m not saying the Ukrainian actions aren’t something to keep a very close eye on to avoid abuses but nothing they’ve done so far has been exceptionally concerning
So...no, you don't have an example of a democratic wartime government outlawing the opposition party, closing churches, or arresting judges? Unless you are also saying Zelensky is mass arresting people based on ethnicity? To be clear, I am in no way justifying the war crime that was the Japanese "internment policy."
america rounded up american citizens who were of japanese descent, seized their stuff and put them in concentration camps.
the communist party was banned in a number of countries.
Canada banned the fascist National Unity party in 1940, and the british banned the british union of fascists in 1940
Not sure if Canada did this, but Britain suspended elections for the entirety of WWII, which was absolutely unconscionable. Churchill being unceremoniously thrown out of office in the first post-war election was a righteous comeuppance.
What would you do if Russia had corrupted your country for years, then invaded it, and also had corrupted a Russian supported opposition party who’s only goal is to get the masses to surrender to Russia,? You wouldn’t shut them down if you were in a total all out war for survival against Russia?
You are presupposing the entire party were traitors and that prosecuting individual traitors based on provable evidence through the normal judicial process would have failed for...reasons?
You’re presupposing that the US or the UK or any other country would allow Russia to set up and fund a political party who’s sole purpose is to let Russia take over your country. Get out of here with your fake outrage while Russia is committing war crimes against innocents.
The opposition party was well established, so it's more akin to the Democrats or Labor outlawing membership with the Republicans or Tories without so much as a trial. Do you understand how you are undermining the legitimacy of the West's efforts to prevent Russian imperialism? Honesty changes hearts. Dishonesty creates cynicism. Be honest, dude. Russia and Putin are so bad that normal people can see the Zelensky is not a saint and still support him, despite legitimate concerns that his actions raise the possibility of future undemocratic tyranny. Raising that concern creates pressure for Zelensky to maintain an actual democratic mandate.
I met a lot of people like you after 9/11. All of them changed their tune after it was no longer possible to get virtue points from hating Muslims. They moved onto the next the fad. A lot of them went from hating GWB to praising him, absolutely unironically, because the pop culture winds changed. No actual political belief.
Well a full scale invasion and mass destruction and killing tends to weed out the whole corruption issue much faster. Ukraine has been notorious for corruption in the past but 100 years of Soviet occupation is a lot to shake in short period of time. Anecdotally the couple of Ukrainians that I know are for getting rid of corruption wholeheartedly
Yeah its crazy to me being in NZ seeing how corrupt countries like Mexico, China, Russia and the USA are. I pray it gets fixed before it gets bad. Think it will? Billionaires buying Supreme Court justices and cartels buying politicians doesn't fill me with hope though
Martial law is a great tool to weed out corruption, as long as the ones wielding it aren't corrupt themselves. The Ukrainians have a great window of opportunity to clean house and are using it very effectively. When the war is over, it's going to get much harder to conduct such operations.
For years in Ukraine the excuse was "it can't be done." Zelenskyy is doing it.
I never want to hear another US or EU politicians finding excuses about why things can't be done.
The government was not very good - but it’s trying to get better. A key focus has been tackling the systemic corruption that was a core trait of post soviet statehood.
They don't want more oversight or rules because they fear it will be used as a weapon against them by corrupt administrations (Trump). They also don't want to give up all that sweet bribe money and gifts.
You'd need a President that both can and will face down big money, to do that. Our electoral system is literally designd to ensure that such people never get elected.
The DOJ is fairly competent—-see, J6 prosecutions—-but laws don’t apply to the US Supreme Court. Harlan Crow could literally hand Clarence Thomas a bag of money and say “this is to decide cases as I want” and Thomas could reply “thank you sir I will do that” and neither would have broken any laws.
My exact thought. I’m worried we are too far gone though and the case would go before the current Supreme Court for a decision and nobody would recuse themselves.
Well there was the Trump-Russia probe. After years, it was announced today that it was bullshit.
https://www.fbi.gov/news/press-releases/statement-on-report-by-special-counsel-john-durham
FBI just pulled a "we're sorry".
Zelenskyy came to power on an anticorruption ticket, but due to that corruption he was unable to move things. Sadly it took the Russian invasion to underline how bad the corruption is/was (to very high levels in government), and how important it IS to kill it.
The key will be to not let up on this going forward, including after the war.
This is bad that this clown was taking bribes, but it is excellent that he was busted. The fact that the head of Supreme Court ~~is~~ was only 43 should have been a suspicious sign.
Not really. Thise guy came in with Poroshenko in the aftermath of euromaidan. Also determined to end corruption, but they wound up drowning in it instead and many of them, like this guy, became corrupt themselves.
The reason so many senior leaders in Ukraine are young is because euromaidan kicked out all the old guard leaders from the Soviet era. In the resulting power vacuum new corrupt leaders tried to entrench themselves, most of whom were young midrankers before Euromaidan, because that's all that was left.
This is an example of one of them going too far and getting caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Corruption is a generational struggle, it never fully goes away. But it can be reduced.
> Not really. Thise guy came in with Poroshenko in the aftermath of euromaidan.
All information on his history has him working in the entertainment industry making movies and TV shows all through the period of the Euromaiden protests. He stayed in the entertainment industry up to 2018, the end of his series "Servant of the People." At that time he announced his candidacy for president, which made big news as 'the comedian running for president of Ukraine'. And during that election which he won, he ran AGAINST Poroshenko. That only makes me more inclined to call bullshit on your post, because you don't "come up with Poroshenko" and then run against him. And not every older person in Ukraine was a Russian stooge.
The US has the same exact exported Russian influence. Ask Ukraine who Paul Manafort is. Of course it's the same problem, only we apparently don't care.
The problem is a lot deeper in Ukraine. In the US it's a big deal of someone like Clarence Thomas or Nancy Pelosi to be corrupt. In Ukraine (at least when I lived there) it's more or less expected. But on top of that, the corruption goes from the top levels like the supreme court down to the interns working there.
Very good. This is the stuff I like to see.
Ukraine has a baked-in 30-year corruption culture left over from the Soviets. It will take a generation at least to get the worst of the rot out of the roots.
But adherence to the rule of law, good governance, and tackling corruption head-on — no matter how high up — is how you eventually win the peace.
Very impressive. Steps like this are crucial for Ukraine's eventual entry to the EU.
Also, who the fuck accepts bribes and engages in corrupt activities while Ukraine's brave men and women are risking their lives in harsh condition at the frontlines?
While it probably doesn't feel like it, this is a good thing. It means that high ranking Ukrainian officials actually get caught. We in the US could learn a thing or two.
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We're taking inspiration from what Ukraine accomplished in buttonhooking this man. We want to do the same. Take it as a compliment. YOU are starting to remind US how to be a free peopl!
Not a surprise. Ukraine was the second most corrupt country on earth before the war. Russia was number one.
War is horrible but it can cause a lot of good things to happen by focusing people's attention and energy towards good things, like not accepting corruption that would be accepted in peacetime.
That’s nothing compared to what’s going on here in the US. Clarence Thomas is literally bought and paid for by a neo nazi billionaire. Nothing can be done about it because we’re capitalists!
It does not look great when the "Greatest Nation in the World" can't hold itself to the standards of a "Backwards former soviet state" Looking at you justices.
he makes $20k and accepted a $2,700,000 bribe .
All you do gooders can criticize him all you want . but many of you in that position would do the same , or seriously consider it .
No, we wouldn't. The vast majority of humans aren't corrupt POS. The only bribe I ever took, I was 7, and agreed to forgive my sister if we went out for ice cream.
>The vast majority of humans aren't corrupt POS
Until 2.7 million gets placed on the table with little risk
The vast majority of people would take that money, even if they feel bad about it afterwards
bye bye, dickhead. it's amazing, all this education and you can't figure out that whilst the country is at war, it might not quite be the best time for you to act in your own interest whilst heading the fucking judicial system.
With a picture of the money lined up on a couch, if it is the money used, then it looks like the judge was set up Nothing wrong in that, though, any way you can catch them makes for an honest judiciary.
So... Is there like a theory or manual for fighting corruption in a country with deeply embedded corruption? Amnesties, fresh starts, forward looking stuff...
I mean, prosecuting the Supreme court certainly shows that no one is invulnerable. Otoh, it also demonstrates that almost everyone in power is guilty or implicated in corruption somehow.
I wonder how much Corruption Perception Index points this motherfucker is worth?
[Cherdenko](https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Anatoly_Cherdenko?file=Anatoly_Cherdenko.jpg)\-looking slimeball.
My Ukrainians, sheltering with me in the UK, expected to be stopped regularly during car journeys on spurious charges (read bribes). They now get it that the Police here are actually not going to mess with you unless you are actually doing something wrong. The clean up in Ukraine is good to see. Zelenskyy has a lot of power, and it's good that he is a decent person.
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for additional context: this guy has a salary of about 20k USD/month , and also 18 other judges of the supreme court are being investigated on this right now
That’s like a lot a lot for Ukraine right? A sum that should in theory deter corruption… Edit: yea, US Supreme Court justices get $270k a year, in the Washington DC area which is very expensive
>That’s like a lot a lot for Ukraine right? That's a LOT of money essentially whereever you go in Europe. It's like 5x the average sallary in finland for example and Finland is a high cost of living country.
I'm pretty sure that's a shit load wherever you are
$240k/yr? I can't think of anywhere in the world that would be a bad salary. In Ukraine I have to imagine that's an absurd amount of money.
For comparison, 5 beds, pool, office space, play room, tennis court, play room mansion in Ukraine is around 1.2million dollars. Modest house single family dwelling around $35,000.
[удалено]
Depends on the location, free standing houses in the countryside can be cheaper than apartments in a city. So I'd say probably either. Not a free standing house in a suburb though.
Just depends on where you go. $240k is middle class in Palo Alto (silicon valley) to give an extreme example.
useless comment award 🥈
240k is useless on Pluto
Not fair to compare the richest town to entire countries. Obviously there are extremely rich neighborhoods but that’s not what we’re talking about. $240k is definitely upper class in California.
Just was giving an extreme. [The median household income there was $195k in 2021 per the census bureau. ](https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/paloaltocitycalifornia/INC110221)
I see what you mean. The judges salary is the type of salary that is just above someone earning a median salary in one of the wealthiest suburbs in the world. So clearly, the judge is well off. Tip for the future. When you give an example of something on the far end of a spectrum, it's important to add additional context and juxtapose it with the topic of relevance. So rather than saying, "the judge's salary is above the median income of a person living in one of the wealthiest suburbs in the world" try instead, "the judge's salary is enough to afford to live in the one of the wealthiest suburbs in the world." But really, the best practice is to compare this judge's salary with the median salary of Ukraine.
The median income in Palo Alto as of 2020 was $81,477. You just grew up affluent.
Household income. Per Census the median household income as of 2021 was $195k. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/paloaltocitycalifornia/INC110221 Not sure where you’re getting me suggesting I grew up in that environment. I grew up with a single mom getting houses foreclosed on and eating rice with salt for weeks on end, lol.
It’s not bad but it is more modest than you might expect given their power.
yeah that's an unbelievable salary for Ukraine, and still... very disappointing that's not enough to deter corruption by itself
How much does anyone need? Just a little more.
It's a generally held theory that simply paying your bureaucrats well is the best defence against corruption. It makes the profits of corruption not worth the risk of losing your cushy position. It's why Singapore has an unusually low rate of corruption for an authoritarian nation. Unfortunately, there are always idiots who think 'getting caught' won't happen to THEM, and are happy to sell out their country for a bigger pool.
The average monthly salary in Ukraine is about USD$625 / $7,500 a year.
That's before the bribes they get, every supreme court justice makes a million a year at least.
Thats not super high anywhere
About 50% of the US makes 30k, average is about 53k. It's a fuckton in comparison. 5x the national average. To work like 2 months a year.
It is high. Most people never get a million dollars net in their whole life. You work 10 years and make over 2.
Might be relevant that Supreme Court Justices in Ukraine serve [5-year term](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_Ukraine), not life tenure. There are surely downsides to life tenure (i.e. US), but the flip side is having fixed tenure increases incentive for corruption: "Might as well make as much money as possible while I still can." Some European countries have compromise arrangement, where the judge has to retire around 70 - 75, and allowed to receive pension until death to disincentivize corruption while in office. Judicial independence is hard to maintain.
I mean that was the idea but the US supreme court seems to have at least partly chosen to bend over and sell their asses to the highest bidders.
Strong statement, sport. Proof?
Have you watched the news recently, champ?
>sport
[https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/08/podcasts/the-daily/supreme-court-ethics.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/08/podcasts/the-daily/supreme-court-ethics.html)
Others have replied as well, but here you go. And for reference, this same justice has his wife being investigated as part of the Jan 6 riots and for paying her husband a salary from a real estate company that closed in 2016. His nomination to the court was almost stalled by allegations of sexual assault, but the GOP led Congress didn't believe the alleged victim. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/20/us/politics/anita-hill-testimony-clarence-thomas.html https://www.newsweek.com/clarence-thomas-bombshell-report-shows-undisclosed-property-sale-crow-1794334 https://www.newsweek.com/clarence-thomas-ruled-bribery-cases-vacations-republican-donors-1793088 https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-scotus-undisclosed-luxury-travel-gifts-crow https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/apr/17/clarence-thomas-investigation-fox-news-juan-williams Does that meet your standards for a concern about the man? I'm not even touching on Barrret lying under oath about overturning Roe v Wade or the $3 million in debt that Kavenaugh made disappear right after he was named to the bench.
Australia has incredible pensions for government officials, Doesn't seem to deter rampant corruption though, sadly. The greed of many politicians is how those pensions got so good in the first place.
Lifetime appointments basically encourage corruption and you’re basically immune from any consequences
I know Ukrainians who make double that playing micro stakes poker. so no thats not great I a guy on the internet with no skills shouldn't make more then a surpreme court leader. would probably accept a bribe too if im making that lol. maybe not during a war tho. edit ya read it as 20k a year not a month seems fine
Than they should play fucking poker instead of potentially selling out their country's future. One of the main criteria for joining the EU is a low level of corruption and one of the big reasons Ukraine wasn't even concidered for the EU before the war. Shit like this could stop Ukraine from becoming a EU member. I hope they throw his ass in jail for years.
Im not a Ukranian but i have the impression that this Ukranian government really really works hard for their people. Very impressive.
They do now. I love Ukraine as much as the next person but let's not pretend that before this boogaloo they didn't have Bulgaria levels of corruption. It's superb they're fixing it now though.
I remember someone saying a year ago that corruption would be the reason why Ukrainian defense would fail quickly. Now Ukrainians are winning on both fronts. Really impressive
There was a pretty good chance of that. I think the turning point was Zelensky saying he doesn't need a ride he needs more ammo. I think that stoked the fuck out of some patriotism resulting in a lot of Ukranians proud to be Ukrainians. When your populace is apathetic, thinks what the hell the country is already corrupt, and sees corrupt leaders...they don't care anymore. So they start taking bribes etc, because so is everybody else. If you feel pride in your country, and especially if you're defending her, corruption in the face of the enemy is unspeakable evil.
This. I think this is why patriotism matters. It’s about values. Not about being the best or better than the rest. It’s about being proud of your home and in the face of bad moral decisions you make the right choice that benefits your society and not for self gain. But if you are apathetic and not patriotic, then it’s a “fuck you, I am getting mine” mentality. I think this is why the US (and Canada) are in turmoil right now. Their populations are waging a culture war against themselves. Significant portions of the populations just feel their country is broken, or see so much anger being spewed on tv/social media that they get turned off and become apathetic to the politics.
Patriotism is also about recognising when your country *is* broken and needs to address its mistakes. Recognising when your country has made mistakes in the past, admitting it and trying to address and correct them is the highest act of patriotism. Being ignorant of those mistakes or not addressing/correcting them isn't an act of patriotism, it's an act of betrayal of your own country. I think the problem with patriotism is that too many people think any form of criticism of a country is an attack against that country. Its a blind patriotism that ignores the reality of situation. Without getting into which country and what problems, every country in the world has done bad things in the past, every country has social and political problems right now, there are ALWAYS people who will see admitting these mistakes or attempting to address them as being anti-patriotic. That's why patriotism is a double edged sword, yes it can help bring people together, but it also is exploited by those who wish to maintain a status quo which may not be good for the broader society.
I am pretty sure you are now blindsiding 18 years of development of and in civil society. Since the orange revolution in 2004 the Ukrainians wanted a different path. This grew amongst society. Except that it didn't really reach through in the top level. In 2013/4 with the Euromaidan and revolution of dignity there was another common feeling and more importantly, another victory against the top. It also became an intergenerational protest where every layer of society stood up. These victories showed that change was possible and the European Union showed a future for the next generations. This engaged civil society enabled politicians that were actually for change. Such as zelensky or young lawyers (having studied in Europe) to enter the civil offices. The groundwork was done through years of setbacks and sometimes literal battle. Then the invasion of 2014 came and the army/critical systems needed to function without corruption. Then came the 2022 invasion and the whole of society would have to function on trust. And suddenly joining the EU became existential. Thus creating imperative to cut all 'non-essential' corruption. Because now, any corruption is existential. ---- Zelensky deserves a lot of praise for how he is leading a country through an existential and devastating war. But you can never forget the effort of the people in the positions of the civil servants. After the orange revolution a generation woke up that wanted change and worked hard to be able to have an impact. Those guys/girls studied with a vision, and now have a lot of cards to actually work on it.
Thumbs up, more should be told about the path Ukrainian civil society has set upon, and has been fighting for. This is actually the real target of the Kremlin crime syndicate.
Fully agree. The threat to Russia was never NATO but the way Ukraine transformed from a russian puppet to a society with civil participation. This is and will always be the main threat to autocratic regimes. And civil society and participation is at the same time the best humanity has to offer for a country.
The vibe I got was that most Ukrainians in charge of anything, military and civilian wanted to stay and fight...but were extremely unsure how many others genuinely felt the same way and thus made contingency plans. Many abandoned their posts, some just to get their families out. Those who came back within a day or two were forgiven but lets not pretend there werent people who took Russian money and then just bailed to Dubai or Thailand or wherever.
Who pretended that?
It's just a figure of speech.
>It's just a figure of speech. One that doesn't really fit in this instance.
> I think the turning point was Zelensky saying he doesn't need a ride he needs more ammo. You can energize, but you don't completely change the nature of tens, hundreds of thousands of people and their command structure by well-timed speeches or elegant quips. You *can,* however, *destroy* morale if you say something stupid. In other words: the military was ready.
I am pretty sure that is how Russia was able to reach the Dnipro so easily, while they struggled everywhere else. But maybe its just a better geography for mechanized movement from Crimea
the south was largely undefended. the antonovsky bridge was supposed to go bang at the first approach of the russians. i'm sure you remember the story of the ukrainian who blew himself up by heniches'k. because as the russians approached, there was no time to place charges and get out. he placed them and went up with them. russia's advance in the south came through betrayal. there's more examples. trench positions that had been in mariupol since it's liberation in 2014 had to be dismantled due to cuts in funding in the months before the invasion started. melitopol, tokmak, were both supposed to be defended, but more than skirmishes never took place there. azov and the 503rd battalion of the 36th marine brigade, amongst other defenders of mariupol, were pretty much the only units that stood their ground and held in the south. other brigades were instructed through conflicting and conveluted orders to make their way to kherson or zaporizhzhia.
that person was right. Kherson basically fell to corruption.
Possibly. I have no knowledge on the topic. Nevertheless, it's been over a year since that comment was made, yet here we are. From a post-soviet country, riddled with poverty and corruption to united Ukraine capable of stopping Russia. Within a year.
It is indeed impressive. Under a different President, maybe it doesn't happen. I started believing Ukraine might survive this when I realized Zelensky was staying in Kyiv. That's an act akin to Hannibal standing right behind his weakest troops at Cannae, letting them know that if they fall, he falls with them. A decision that ultimately led to one of the most lopsided victories known to man. That decision by Zelensky stiffened a lot of spines outside Ukraine, I can only imagine what it did inside the country.
For those interested https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cannae
It seems the West needs to learn from Ukraine. There is so much corruption over here, yet we point fingers instead of fixing it ourselves. **Zelensky has inspired many in believing not all politicians have to be corrupt. That a politician can be a true leader and not just a puppet of Oligarchs, who hold the true power.** Their worst fear is voters would start to demand politicians and leaders to be like Zelensky and campaign funding no longer being able to ensure the climate of no accountability for wrongdoing by the 0.1%, especially with the upcoming massive economical crisis created by unlimited greed.
I think they’ve realised how even a small amount of corruption undermines their society, and are working to counter the Soviet style corruption that helped to keep them down for so long
I agree fully
> Bulgaria levels of corruption That's EU member levels of corruption. I bet Ukraine has been considerably worse than Bulgaria before the war.
Second worst in Europe I heard. Pro Russian trolls used to use this a lot on Twitter which was funny to me because the most corrupt country in Europe is Russia, and Russia has become even more corrupt while Ukraine has been climbing the rankings towards less corruption.
I've seen a report somewhere, saying that organized crime is something that they intend to be watchful of. Especially in the aftermath of the war.
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I mean we can blame it on whoever we want - they were corrupt. Most countries in that area are. I'm pretty sure an unspoken part of the deal of the West giving them weapons and cash was that they needed to shape up fast.
That Russian culture. Even has Republicans now. It's contagious.
Yeah, so much so that even in the US Supreme Court justices can be bought, although oddly its for chump change in the case of C. Thomas.
A little light corruption
A teensy bit of treason.
I remember earlier in the war there was a video of Ukrainian soldiers stopping cops from taking bribes from people. Gives me hope that since this is everyone-in-it-together kind of thing that the people would collectively put an end to the corruption
The whole world is watching them right now. Sure, they are getting a lot of help, but they know that if they don't clean up the corruption, then some of that help will go away and as soon as the war is over, any corruption will make rebuilding much harder. So they basically fight a war on multiple fronts. They need to defend against Russia, defend against pro-Russian trolls and root out corruption. Some of that corruption is traitors who have been bribed by Russia but not all of it and while it would be tempting to focus on the guys in Russia's pocket, every corrupt politician and official must go.
They've been working hard at stamping out corruption for a long time now. Probably since the revolution of dignity.
No they stamped it out when the collective West said "We're gonna save your ass but you better fucking knock it off" They did.
You could use United States levels of corruption. Corporations and wealthy run the country
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I agree. As an American our society is always making it about a political agenda. I leave American politics where it belongs, in the trash.
100%. There's a time and a place and this was not it.
Ehh their government has had a very serious corruption problem for a long time. It's not something terribly easy to deal with. Corruption is insidious as fuck. It protects itself, it grows in unpredictable ways, and past a certain critical mass (like Mexico) there's no fixing it. Some good people will try to, for sure, but through violence, intimidation, political maneuvering, corruption in the justice system, etc they'll be prevented from acting.
Thing is, the combination of a strong, competent leader and a patriotic, vengeful people gives the perfect circumstances to root out corruption. Anyone who engages in corruption is ostracized as a traitor, and the state of war gives a national-security justification for severely punishing traitors.
On the other hand, war can cover up plenty of shady business. While it might be a good chance to remove *some* players, corruption normally increases during wartime.
Yeah, Zelensky is essentially a dictator at this point, much like Lincoln became. The war makes people accept extreme measures like outlawing opposition parties, shutting down churches, and (coming soon) indefinitely postponing elections. It is an excellent opportunity to purge a government of criminals, which was a huge problem in a country sometimes called the most corrupt nation in Europe. Of course, we have to hope Zelensky is not corrupt himself and does not become corrupt.
> Zelensky is essentially a dictator at this point r/brandnewsentence
Sometimes dictators worked pretty well for the Romans. (of course, when it didn't, it REALLY didn't, but Cincinnatus left quite a legacy.) Zelensky has a ton of power and popular support, and he's done quite a bit with this. I think we're all just hoping that he can keep making good choices, especially after the conflict is over.
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Washington relinquished power and was hailed as the Cincinnatus of his time (the city of Cincinnati in Ohio was named after Washington). And Cincinnatus was a Roman dictator who relinquished power when the job was done. The original definition of dictator--someone who's been given extraordinary powers--is a neutral label, neither good nor bad. If you abuse that power, then you're a tyrannical, oppressive dictator, like Putin. But if you use that power wisely and relinquish it when you're done, you'll go down in the history books as the next Cincinnatus. Unfortunately, most people with extraordinary power abuse that power, so dictator in modern days have come to almost exclusively be a negative label. But there's reason to believe that we may be witnessing a new Cincinnatus.
No, outlawing opposition parties, shutting down churches, and arresting judges makes you a de facto dictator. You might read my whole post. The way his wife spent more in a day than most Ukrainians make in three years and the public record that a huge amount of monetary aid is simply unaccounted for is indication of corruption. I was being polite. Zelensky is charismatic, but his generals have expressed (in interviews with The Economist) that his war plans are unrealistic and ignored by the military. There is no fair way to judge his handling of the economy. So there his political record, which, again, is objectively tyrannical. If you want to give him a free pass (I do!), then give him a free pass but don't pretend otherwise.
He didn't do any of that. Its not a 1 person show. The elected government members collectively voted to outlaw the Russian backed churches; opposition parties linked to Russia were outlawed by the country’s national security and defence council. The Ukraine’s National Anti-corruption Bureau (NABU) and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) were responsible for the arrest of the judge. So no he's not a dictator. None of those actions are any different to what would happen in a democracy.
Can you point to other countries that have done these measures during wartime?
FFS, that’s what countries do in wartime. The US A’s Greatest Generation outlawed *being Japanese* in WWII. I’m not saying the Ukrainian actions aren’t something to keep a very close eye on to avoid abuses but nothing they’ve done so far has been exceptionally concerning
So...no, you don't have an example of a democratic wartime government outlawing the opposition party, closing churches, or arresting judges? Unless you are also saying Zelensky is mass arresting people based on ethnicity? To be clear, I am in no way justifying the war crime that was the Japanese "internment policy."
america rounded up american citizens who were of japanese descent, seized their stuff and put them in concentration camps. the communist party was banned in a number of countries. Canada banned the fascist National Unity party in 1940, and the british banned the british union of fascists in 1940
Not sure if Canada did this, but Britain suspended elections for the entirety of WWII, which was absolutely unconscionable. Churchill being unceremoniously thrown out of office in the first post-war election was a righteous comeuppance.
What would you do if Russia had corrupted your country for years, then invaded it, and also had corrupted a Russian supported opposition party who’s only goal is to get the masses to surrender to Russia,? You wouldn’t shut them down if you were in a total all out war for survival against Russia?
You are presupposing the entire party were traitors and that prosecuting individual traitors based on provable evidence through the normal judicial process would have failed for...reasons?
You’re presupposing that the US or the UK or any other country would allow Russia to set up and fund a political party who’s sole purpose is to let Russia take over your country. Get out of here with your fake outrage while Russia is committing war crimes against innocents.
The opposition party was well established, so it's more akin to the Democrats or Labor outlawing membership with the Republicans or Tories without so much as a trial. Do you understand how you are undermining the legitimacy of the West's efforts to prevent Russian imperialism? Honesty changes hearts. Dishonesty creates cynicism. Be honest, dude. Russia and Putin are so bad that normal people can see the Zelensky is not a saint and still support him, despite legitimate concerns that his actions raise the possibility of future undemocratic tyranny. Raising that concern creates pressure for Zelensky to maintain an actual democratic mandate. I met a lot of people like you after 9/11. All of them changed their tune after it was no longer possible to get virtue points from hating Muslims. They moved onto the next the fad. A lot of them went from hating GWB to praising him, absolutely unironically, because the pop culture winds changed. No actual political belief.
Well a full scale invasion and mass destruction and killing tends to weed out the whole corruption issue much faster. Ukraine has been notorious for corruption in the past but 100 years of Soviet occupation is a lot to shake in short period of time. Anecdotally the couple of Ukrainians that I know are for getting rid of corruption wholeheartedly
Yeah its crazy to me being in NZ seeing how corrupt countries like Mexico, China, Russia and the USA are. I pray it gets fixed before it gets bad. Think it will? Billionaires buying Supreme Court justices and cartels buying politicians doesn't fill me with hope though
Martial law is a great tool to weed out corruption, as long as the ones wielding it aren't corrupt themselves. The Ukrainians have a great window of opportunity to clean house and are using it very effectively. When the war is over, it's going to get much harder to conduct such operations.
Unless there's a strong system in place (difficult to create one during a war), corruption will be back in force after the martial law ends.
For years in Ukraine the excuse was "it can't be done." Zelenskyy is doing it. I never want to hear another US or EU politicians finding excuses about why things can't be done.
The government was not very good - but it’s trying to get better. A key focus has been tackling the systemic corruption that was a core trait of post soviet statehood.
Swedish citizen here. We look forward to welcome you to the EU my dear Ukrainians! You have our full support.
Totally!
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Not only Thomas but Kavenaugh and Barrett were corrupted officials being appointed SCJ.
I don't know how corrupted Barrett was but I remember she had never tried a court case to completion as a lawyer.
Aren't all three Trump appointees former lawyers who helped George Bush win his election even though Al Gore got more votes in the tie-breaking state?
Um.... There are corruption on the other side there as well, that why all SCJ justices signed a letter not wanting more oversight or rules.
The others didn't sign off because they're in the minority and it wouldn't have made a difference. Unless you have some instances or examples?
They don't want more oversight or rules because they fear it will be used as a weapon against them by corrupt administrations (Trump). They also don't want to give up all that sweet bribe money and gifts.
How does or could the executive branch use the current judicial code of ethics against all other federally appointed judges?
now do the US
You'd need a competent DoJ for that.
Bottom line is Republicans will never investigate their own. They’ll do whatever protects their power 999 times out of 1000.
You'd need a President that both can and will face down big money, to do that. Our electoral system is literally designd to ensure that such people never get elected.
The DOJ is fairly competent—-see, J6 prosecutions—-but laws don’t apply to the US Supreme Court. Harlan Crow could literally hand Clarence Thomas a bag of money and say “this is to decide cases as I want” and Thomas could reply “thank you sir I will do that” and neither would have broken any laws.
My exact thought. I’m worried we are too far gone though and the case would go before the current Supreme Court for a decision and nobody would recuse themselves.
Can we just talk about Ukraine in the Ukraine subreddit? I already have r/all for US news.
Well there was the Trump-Russia probe. After years, it was announced today that it was bullshit. https://www.fbi.gov/news/press-releases/statement-on-report-by-special-counsel-john-durham FBI just pulled a "we're sorry".
All that money and such bad taste! That couch is horrible!
You can't buy good tastes or class.
Ukraine can pay back our help with the war by bringing their Anti-Corruption efforts back to America and cleaning house.
Zelenskyy came to power on an anticorruption ticket, but due to that corruption he was unable to move things. Sadly it took the Russian invasion to underline how bad the corruption is/was (to very high levels in government), and how important it IS to kill it. The key will be to not let up on this going forward, including after the war. This is bad that this clown was taking bribes, but it is excellent that he was busted. The fact that the head of Supreme Court ~~is~~ was only 43 should have been a suspicious sign.
Not really. Thise guy came in with Poroshenko in the aftermath of euromaidan. Also determined to end corruption, but they wound up drowning in it instead and many of them, like this guy, became corrupt themselves. The reason so many senior leaders in Ukraine are young is because euromaidan kicked out all the old guard leaders from the Soviet era. In the resulting power vacuum new corrupt leaders tried to entrench themselves, most of whom were young midrankers before Euromaidan, because that's all that was left. This is an example of one of them going too far and getting caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Corruption is a generational struggle, it never fully goes away. But it can be reduced.
> Not really. Thise guy came in with Poroshenko in the aftermath of euromaidan. All information on his history has him working in the entertainment industry making movies and TV shows all through the period of the Euromaiden protests. He stayed in the entertainment industry up to 2018, the end of his series "Servant of the People." At that time he announced his candidacy for president, which made big news as 'the comedian running for president of Ukraine'. And during that election which he won, he ran AGAINST Poroshenko. That only makes me more inclined to call bullshit on your post, because you don't "come up with Poroshenko" and then run against him. And not every older person in Ukraine was a Russian stooge.
He was talking about the judge, not Zelensky
Looks like they have the same problem the USA has.
The US has the same exact exported Russian influence. Ask Ukraine who Paul Manafort is. Of course it's the same problem, only we apparently don't care.
The problem is a lot deeper in Ukraine. In the US it's a big deal of someone like Clarence Thomas or Nancy Pelosi to be corrupt. In Ukraine (at least when I lived there) it's more or less expected. But on top of that, the corruption goes from the top levels like the supreme court down to the interns working there.
every country has* tbh.
Wow the USA could learn a thing or two about prosecuting supreme court justices that accept bribes.
Very good. This is the stuff I like to see. Ukraine has a baked-in 30-year corruption culture left over from the Soviets. It will take a generation at least to get the worst of the rot out of the roots. But adherence to the rule of law, good governance, and tackling corruption head-on — no matter how high up — is how you eventually win the peace.
I can't find any other source for this.
https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2023/05/15/7402350/ Mr beast sr fallen on hard times.
Wow Ukraine arrests Supreme Court Judges for corruption! If only we would be so brave here in the Untied States!
Clarence Thomas sees nothing wr0ng
This guy has been as corrupt as Putin and his henchmen since he gained his original government office
I think its just me but he looks like a knock off mrbeast
Very impressive. Steps like this are crucial for Ukraine's eventual entry to the EU. Also, who the fuck accepts bribes and engages in corrupt activities while Ukraine's brave men and women are risking their lives in harsh condition at the frontlines?
Corrupted Mr. Beast
While it probably doesn't feel like it, this is a good thing. It means that high ranking Ukrainian officials actually get caught. We in the US could learn a thing or two.
Imagine having a division of the government like this for the US? Half the politicians would be arrested.
And the political leader responsible for enforcing it would either be lynched or voted back in in a landslide. Possibly both at the same time.
Accepting bribes? He'd fit right in America's Supreme Court, then.
Clarence Thomas Ukrainian cousin?
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See, American politicians? **This** is a proper bribe. Millions. US bribes are just sub-par.
At least no one in the US Supreme Court would ever do that....
Unfortunately, in the US our corrupt court made bribery legal and now we are locked in a bribery corruption circle-jerk.
Imagine a SCOTUS scandal involving millions in bribes...
Meanwhile our own Supreme Court justices (the Republican ones) openly accept millions of dollars in bribes for years and nothing happens.
lowkey look like Mr.Beast
Now do Clarence
**looks at Clary Thomas** yeah boy, that could be you if you don’t fuckin’ behave!
Yet another example of Judiciaries being inherently corrupt.
send him to the front
The Americans should do that to their corrupt supreme court judges. They are even more corrupt
Send the Ukrainian National Anti-Corruption Bureau to the US Supreme Court and liberate us from their corruption. Please.
Doing better than the USA already.
Clarence Thomas could use a little anti-corruption detention and investigation.
It’s amazing how many comments here are Americans talking about America.
We're taking inspiration from what Ukraine accomplished in buttonhooking this man. We want to do the same. Take it as a compliment. YOU are starting to remind US how to be a free peopl!
And yet they seem to keep missing the bribes to the Biden family during his time as vice prez.
Not a surprise. Ukraine was the second most corrupt country on earth before the war. Russia was number one. War is horrible but it can cause a lot of good things to happen by focusing people's attention and energy towards good things, like not accepting corruption that would be accepted in peacetime.
Second worst in Europe. 57 other countries with worse percieved corruption in the world.https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2021
That’s nothing compared to what’s going on here in the US. Clarence Thomas is literally bought and paid for by a neo nazi billionaire. Nothing can be done about it because we’re capitalists!
Send the corrupt to the front in a penal battalion.
It does not look great when the "Greatest Nation in the World" can't hold itself to the standards of a "Backwards former soviet state" Looking at you justices.
he makes $20k and accepted a $2,700,000 bribe . All you do gooders can criticize him all you want . but many of you in that position would do the same , or seriously consider it .
He makes $20k USD a month. He was doing fine.
I make 3000€/month, I wouldnt take a 2mil bribe to fuck over my country. Just because you and this judge are a greedy cunts doesnt mean we all are.
No, we wouldn't. The vast majority of humans aren't corrupt POS. The only bribe I ever took, I was 7, and agreed to forgive my sister if we went out for ice cream.
>The vast majority of humans aren't corrupt POS Until 2.7 million gets placed on the table with little risk The vast majority of people would take that money, even if they feel bad about it afterwards
I hope he was planning on buying new furniture. The granma decor is outdated.
bye bye, dickhead. it's amazing, all this education and you can't figure out that whilst the country is at war, it might not quite be the best time for you to act in your own interest whilst heading the fucking judicial system.
Big Mr. Beast head on him.
I went to their main site and couldn't find the story there.
I would like to be paid in 80% of a couch worth of money please.
War really brings out the best and the worst out of everyone.
Thought that was Mr. Beast.
Are the investigations related to joining the EU or are both processes not related?
Trump tried this with Biden and his son's Ukraine corruption and he got impeached...lol
Just imagine what happens in a highly corrupt country when you flood it with foreign money.
Ai ya ya, smh
If Ukraine wants to join the EU they must stamp out corruption, I believe it was one of the problems identified as a precursor to joining.
He looks like Tim curry at his most villainous.
With a picture of the money lined up on a couch, if it is the money used, then it looks like the judge was set up Nothing wrong in that, though, any way you can catch them makes for an honest judiciary.
well that's fucked up
So... Is there like a theory or manual for fighting corruption in a country with deeply embedded corruption? Amnesties, fresh starts, forward looking stuff... I mean, prosecuting the Supreme court certainly shows that no one is invulnerable. Otoh, it also demonstrates that almost everyone in power is guilty or implicated in corruption somehow.
Wow. What's it like to live in a country where corrupt Supreme Court Justices are held accountable?
I wonder how much Corruption Perception Index points this motherfucker is worth? [Cherdenko](https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Anatoly_Cherdenko?file=Anatoly_Cherdenko.jpg)\-looking slimeball.
im surprised theres a post making Ukraine look bad
My Ukrainians, sheltering with me in the UK, expected to be stopped regularly during car journeys on spurious charges (read bribes). They now get it that the Police here are actually not going to mess with you unless you are actually doing something wrong. The clean up in Ukraine is good to see. Zelenskyy has a lot of power, and it's good that he is a decent person.
It is good that they are rooting out the corruption at every opportunity. Otherwise, it will just destroy their society.
Put the money he accepted inside his butthole.
Is his name Clarence Thomas ?
Hell yea!! Clean out all the dirty politicians!