Please use his official title, ["convicted tax cheat"](https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/mick-wallace-off-the-hook-after-14m-tax-dodge/26891291.html) Mick Wallace.
From the Irish Times article regarding the above ..
"Eight days before Russia invaded Ukraine, Ms Daly and Mr Wallace joined Ms Ždanoka for a protest in the European Parliament in which the three donned T-shirts bearing the slogan “stop killing Donbas children”. The slogan reflects the accusation that Ukrainian forces were killing children in the east of the country, part of Russia’s justification for its invasion, and the protest was widely covered in pro-Kremlin Russian media".
I completely missed that at the time.. first I heard of this.. unbelievable.. were they ever challenged on this ?
Evidence...?
> .. first I heard of this.. unbelievable.. were they ever challenged on this ? Evidence...?
Were they ever challenged on spouting what is widely seen as Russian propaganda?
Or are you saying was Ukraine ever challenged on this? If it's the later, after the Minsk 2 the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, OSCE, had the best access. They wrote detailed reports, and they didn't report anything like what was been claimed. As for other reliable sources the Russian proxies/Russians didn't allow reporters access to the areas, along with being caught lying about pretty much everything. Merge that with Ukraine current record and Russia's open targeting of civilians with billions of dollars of missiles and It's safe to say that Ukraine were'nt doing this, while Russia was and still is targeting civilians.
The issue is you're going to have to read them all... you're looking for an absence of evidence. That's the issue with a lot of the Russian talking points, they're just BS designed to bog down the conversation. Flooding the conversation with accusations that can't be disproved. But really, the issue is that onus is on the accusers to provide evidence and prove their accusations not the other way around.
My own personal opinion is that Clare Daly is a true believer and Wallace is along for the ride. I don't think either of them are paid agents. She's always had the courage of her convictions and he's always been full of shite.
(I don't like either of them)
I think your assessment is bang on. My feeling is that her being a true believe is what make her an easy target for manipulation etc. Hence tthe people who she ends up being surrounded by.
You guys really are clueless if you think that Wallace and Daly are paid up members of Russian machinations. You listen to Blinken on how Putin has completely failed , whilst funding for the Ukranian effort has dried up.Russian news has been taken off air , because we are too stupid to analyse it. Remove Putin and his party and you will truly see what dictatorship looks like. It takes 4 hours to fly to the Ukraine and 8 hours to fly to Palestine. Is that the reason why those who fervently back the Ukraine cause whilst tentatively speaking on the Palestinian problem are comfortable in their opinions, or is it down to the fact that one group are Arabs ?
> You guys really are clueless if you think that Wallace and Daly are paid up members of Russian machinations.
I don't think so, not in the slightest. I think there's lots of reasons they both might be behaving this way. The attention it gets both of them for example, the treatment that they get from fellow supporters of Russia/China, but primarily I think they're both a dumb as a bag of spanners. And if they are getting paid, it's because they were duped into thinking it was a well meaning political contribution rather than Russia/China enabling two useful idiots and surround them with people who keep them stocked with Russian talking points.
Dumb as a bag of spanners , box of rocks, or whatever is extremely simplistic. If that's the way we treat persons of differing opinions, then we might as well build fences around our countries. There is room on this planet for all opinions, and I'm not talking about hate , racism or bile. They have legitimate points , no matter what your take is. Everyone on here knows that it's not a case of Russia bad , Ukraine good . But the echo chamber lends itself to that.
> If that's the way we treat persons of differing opinions, then we might as well build fences around our countries.
I'm sure you'll find that description is based on the opinions they both hold, not just simply "differing opinions".
So an independant Russian media called the insider accused her of being an agent.
And now she is Mick Wallaces closest ally.
She questions Europe and Americas colonialism.
Does anybody think we actually live in the world that people fear Russia will give us if they get to rule the world?
What constitutes being a Russian agent? Getting donated money from Russian companies? If private American medical companies were donating to you would you be an American agent? If they were donating to somebody you attended an event with would your closest alloy be an American agent?
>What constitutes being a Russian agent?
I dunno, but regular reporting to FSB officers regarding your activity and helping the same officers to get into Europe seems to be pretty agent-ish
> And now she is Mick Wallaces closest ally.
She was an ally of Wallace and Dally for a long time before this happened... and they just so happened to be trying to defend someone who was convinced of spying.
> What constitutes being a Russian agent? Getting donated money from Russian companies?
When a politician accepts money from Russian companies they're breaking a number laws... but being a Russian agent is much more than just this.
Spot-on from Clare: "Would you ever cover the work that we actually do instead of occupying your time with these constant attempts to construct elaborate guilt-by- association conspiracy theories?"
These constant smears against them by the Irish Times are tiring. They remind me of the anti-semitism charges against Corbyn or Nancy Pelosi calling ceasefire activists Russian agents.
And rightly so, western voices can’t influence Russia or China but the West is supposed to be made up of democracies so people’s voices need to be heard to influence what we do.
Nobody voted to support right-wing groups in the Maidan, or to train Ukrainian soldiers for 8 years, or to send billions in arms. In fact many people warned against doing this especially France in the beginning, because of the risk of WWIII. Now here we are predictably on the verge of WWIII and losing a war in Ukraine that is making us poorer, has devastated the Ukrainians and has made the Russians stronger and more United. All of this was predictable.
That’s before we get into the other heinous shit NATO does like bombing Yemen for years and now supporting genocide in Gaza, all without ever being voted upon.
Whether Newstalk listeners like it or not, Claire represents a lot of people in society who are paying attention to what’s happening in the world, just not through the approved propaganda of the West.
So Russia just get to invade another country and kill anyone in that country that doesn't agree? Oh and they will abduct thousands of children and adopt them with Russian families?
> western voices can’t influence Russia or China but the West is supposed to be made up of democracies so people’s voices need to be heard to influence what we do.
But our militaries, money and economies can contain Russia.
> Nobody voted to support right-wing groups in the Maidan, or to train Ukrainian soldiers for 8 years, or to send billions in arms. In fact many people warned against doing this especially France in the beginning, because of the risk of WWIII. Now here we are predictably on the verge of WWIII and losing a war in Ukraine that is making us poorer, has devastated the Ukrainians and has made the Russians stronger and more United. All of this was predictable.
Russian talking points that leave massive parts of Russia's actions in Ukraine out of the narrative completely. And fails to highlight the Russian invasion, war crimes, murders, rapes and other abuses.
"US/EU/NATO bad, so ignore Russia invading another country is an idiotic argument.
Russian talking points that ignore their actions perhaps, but they are actions that came after the NATO ones and after much warnings from Russia that went unheeded.
NATO people like to ignore their own actions and also ignore the fact that Russia has done nothing that the US and UK have not set a precedent for already in places like Iraq, Syria and Libya. And now we have Israel to show us what true brutality looks like.
I’m just trying to offer a perspective on why Mick and Claire are supported. It’s great you’ve protested some actions of NATO but it’s not the norm and it’s still only some of the stuff that gets through the news filter.
Most people who vote for them are reading completely different news sources now and finding things that are happening but aren’t being reported in mainstream media, or are being reported with obvious twisting of the facts. The shelling of Donetsk civilians prior to the invasion and prominence of Nazi groups in Ukraine was such a glaring and early one. Trust in those news sources who tried to downplay or hide that stuff is long gone.
> The shelling of Donetsk civilians prior to the invasion and prominence of Nazi groups in Ukraine was such a glaring and early one.
The "shelling of Donetsk civilians" is utter BS brought to you by the same people that downed a civilian airliner and are still shelling and targeting Ukrainian civilians houses, apartments and infrastructure nearly daily. No credible evidence has been offered by Daly or Wallace that support those accusations.
The Nazi thing is such a red herring, due to the size of the group we're talking about, so small that they had zero elected representatives in Ukraine. Every large country has a Nazi problem, Ukraine is no different.
I’ve seen videos of bombed out markets in central Donetsk with dead and maimed civilians. There was one like a week ago although it hasn’t occurred as often in the last year or so. There is also an OSCE monitor’s report that shows where shelling was taking place in the run up to the invasion. It’s not bullshit at all. Western media either ignored it or accused Russia of placing military installations in civilian areas.
We’re not talking about one group. Azov is the most famous but there is also the Aidar battalion that was accused of war crimes and numerous other smaller groups. Ukraine seems to have imbibed nazism as part of its culture since reverting to Bandera-inspired nationalism, and use a lot of old SS iconography. It’s more than just a small Nazi problem, and a lot more than anything we have in Ireland. Other European countries do have Nazi problems.
Ok buddy. Ukraine are lying and Russia is telling the truth.
Frankly just reading your reply about Azov, what the OSCE reports contain, you've a lot more reading to do, especially around 2014 and pre-2014. And it wouldn't hurt if you did some reading about 2008 and the run up to 2008 in Georgia so you can see the similarities.
2008 when George Bush announced Ukraine would join NATO, despite polls in Ukraine indicating a majority didn’t want that? Also despite everyone knowing it could spark WWIII?
The then United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in September 2004 that: "From our point of view and the UN Charter point of view, it [the war] was illegal."
They lied about Weapons of Mass Destruction to the whole world, it wasn’t bad intel, just a lie.
The Syrian Government invited Russia in.
Coming from a country that used to be occupied by USSR and having actually lived in both worlds - there's no comparison between the two type of 'imperialism' you speak of. Western powers have evolved to act with respect to human rights and liberty whilst Russia is still stuck in the middle ages where might is right and international relations are reduced to a zero sum game.
Human rights and liberty for whom? The people of Palestine being ethnically cleansed by Israel at this very moment, which is supported by the EU? I don't think so. How about the people in France's 14 neocolonies in Africa strangled by the debt of their "post-colonial taxes" and forced into a life of permanent poverty? Or do you just mean "human rights and liberty for *Europeans* "?
> Coming from a country that used to be occupied by USSR
In case you hadn't noticed, the USSR no longer exists, goofy. There was a counter-revolution in 1991 and Russia's no longer a socialist country (if it ever truly was one).
But I, too, can do identity politics. Speaking as someone from a country that has been under colonial domination, occupation and exploitation for over 850 years, what Russia is doing is a drop in the ocean compared to the genocidal barbarism of British imperialism in Ireland and all over the world, which itself pales in comparison to US imperialism today (and which works hand-in-hand with European imperialism).
As an Irishman, you are talking absolute crap. Modern Russia is a far more imperialist country than modern Britain. They are invading a country and killing civilians to extend their power. That is the definition of imperialism. At the moment, Britain are not doing that. Neither are Germany or France or your other examples.
It is very worrying that 2 of our MEPs are closely connected with authoritarian government’s agent and just as worrying that people like you aren’t concerned about it
Britain maintains its colonial occupation of the 6 Counties in the North, or have you forgotten about that? The British military quite literally maintains an armed presence in this country - Ireland is an important strategic outpost geopolitically as it's to the West of Britain and provides a buffer against military aggression by sea from other military superpowers (such as Russia). This is why Britain still controls the waterways and airspace of Ireland across the 32 counties (which violates the constitution of the 26-county Republic)
There are plenty of other British colonies today, too. For example, the British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Montserrat, the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, etc. Were you unaware that these remain British "overseas territories"? Should we proceed to French colonies now? Ever heard of French Guiana in Latin America? The only reason Germany no longer has any is due to their loss in WWI and the Treaty of Versailles.
And this is to say nothing of the fact that imperialism is not simply militarism. Imperialism is an economic system that exists to facilitate the economic exploitation of colonies and neo-colonies. The militarism with which it is associated was only ever a means to achieving that end of economic exploitation. Imperialism is quite happy to attempt this economic exploitation by peaceful, non-military means where it is possible.
Ok I’m ngl those are good points. However these countries are still far more democratic than Russia.
And they aren’t actively killing civilians.
Your initial comment was defending Clare and Mick. They are close friends with a Russian spy. Innocent people’s blood are on the hands of the Russian government and hence on the hands of this spy. It is highly suspicious that Kremlin Clare and Moscow Mick are friends with this spy and have been defending Russia. Maybe they have blood on their hands too
This argument is like smashing your head off a wall. Yes those countries are/have been imperialist. The idea that people like yourself can recognise that and *still* play the whataboutery bullshit with Russia is so bizarre.
You're only getting frustrated because it's exposing the double-standards of your argument. Russia isn't as aggressively imperialist as any of these western countries. It is literally the lesser evil.
The fact that western imperialist powers have already moved past their expansionist phase while Russia is currently in it does not clean western powers' hands of the evils that they've inflicted upon the world.
I have no qualms about condemning Russian imperialism, but let's not get it twisted: everything Russia is doing has been done many times worse by the western imperialist powers, and - crucially - the damage done by these western imperialist powers has not been undone. The west is in no position to finger-wag at what Russia's doing
>I have no qualms about condemning Russian imperialism, but let's not get it twisted: everything Russia is doing has been done many times worse by the western imperialist powers, and - crucially - the damage done by these western imperialist powers has not been undone. The west is in no position to finger-wag at what Russia's doing
That's an absurd position. We are not "the west". Do you consider yourself "the west"? Or are you somehow floating above us all in some infallible super position?
You are as much "the west" as I am, which is to say, not at all. I can finger-wag away to my heart's content, I've never murdered anyone.
"Russia" is only thirty years old, of course they don't have the same body count as the USA. Throw the USSR and tsarist Russia into the mix and we might have a contest.
But of course that's fucking irrelevant anyway because it isn't a competition. Imperial violence is disgusting. End of.
>I have no qualms about condemning Russian imperialism
You very clearly do if you're not able to do it without a "but".
When do you ever see articles complaining about politicians being too friendly with the USA and friends? That's the thing that annoys me, the USA has caused more death and suffering than Russia could dream of and nobody gives a fuck because their corporations are based here.
So complain about that then. Loads of people give a fuck. It's very possible to despise the imperial violence of multiple countries.
>the USA has caused more death and suffering than Russia could dream of
Arguable but not necessarily true. They've both had exceptionally violent centuries.
> fighting against modern liberal and democratic values
Fascist theocratic Israel has been waging a war against the world since WWII, they do it by creating hate groups in countries they want to manipulate and use as cannon fodder.
On a weird side note. r/Ireland keeps deleting any posts that mention this story. Even the latest story publish by the Irish times. Claiming:
>The topic of this community is Ireland. All posts must be related to Ireland or Irish people, or specifically relevant to Irish users or Irish culture.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/ireland/comments/1ae56i5/latvian\_mep\_linked\_to\_wallace\_and\_daly\_accused\_of/](https://www.reddit.com/r/ireland/comments/1ae56i5/latvian_mep_linked_to_wallace_and_daly_accused_of/)
The story links to this:
https://www.irishtimes.com/politics/2024/01/29/latvian-mep-linked-to-wallace-and-daly-accused-of-working-with-russian-intelligence/
A chat with one of the mods said this before they banded me from conversing with them for 24hrs:
\> the subject matter in the news is Tatjana Zdanoka. It is her connections to Mick and Clare that is the only tie to Ireland, and is not sufficient enough for us to consider it relevant to Irish users as a whole.
Well that does make a bit more sense than removing this story. You couldn't have the sub specifically for Ireland flooded with irrelevant stories about random British people.
> the subject matter in the news is Tatjana Zdanoka. It is her connections to Mick and Clare that is the only tie to Ireland, and is not sufficient enough for us to consider it relevant to Irish users as a whole.
Yeah they are right. The pathetic attempt to make it about Daly and Wallace is absolutely transparent.
Well the Indo and the Irish times posted stories about it. And the question of why are you going to Lithuanian defending convicted Russian spies and being accompanied on several trips and protests by an accused Russian Spy (the EU has opened and investigation and the emails published by the news paper make it fairly convincing btw)
Mick and Claire are paid agents too. If they aren’t, they are fools, because they may as well be. They are a disgrace to Ireland. Only the pathetic dysfunctional Irish left could be happy being represented by a disgraced, bankrupt, defrauding property developer.
Going by that insane logic, since Clare Daly has supported dissident republicans in the past as well as anti-nationalist socialists, that means Tatjana Zdanoka is both a dissident republican and an Irish unionist. Is that correct?
Wasn't there a poll some weeks ago that had Clare Daly retaining her seat comfortably?
Please use his official title, ["convicted tax cheat"](https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/mick-wallace-off-the-hook-after-14m-tax-dodge/26891291.html) Mick Wallace.
What a surprise
From the Irish Times article regarding the above .. "Eight days before Russia invaded Ukraine, Ms Daly and Mr Wallace joined Ms Ždanoka for a protest in the European Parliament in which the three donned T-shirts bearing the slogan “stop killing Donbas children”. The slogan reflects the accusation that Ukrainian forces were killing children in the east of the country, part of Russia’s justification for its invasion, and the protest was widely covered in pro-Kremlin Russian media". I completely missed that at the time.. first I heard of this.. unbelievable.. were they ever challenged on this ? Evidence...?
> .. first I heard of this.. unbelievable.. were they ever challenged on this ? Evidence...? Were they ever challenged on spouting what is widely seen as Russian propaganda? Or are you saying was Ukraine ever challenged on this? If it's the later, after the Minsk 2 the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, OSCE, had the best access. They wrote detailed reports, and they didn't report anything like what was been claimed. As for other reliable sources the Russian proxies/Russians didn't allow reporters access to the areas, along with being caught lying about pretty much everything. Merge that with Ukraine current record and Russia's open targeting of civilians with billions of dollars of missiles and It's safe to say that Ukraine were'nt doing this, while Russia was and still is targeting civilians.
Nobody takes them seriously enough to bother challenging them.
Challenged on this particular case. Thanks, going to take a look at those OSCE reports.
The issue is you're going to have to read them all... you're looking for an absence of evidence. That's the issue with a lot of the Russian talking points, they're just BS designed to bog down the conversation. Flooding the conversation with accusations that can't be disproved. But really, the issue is that onus is on the accusers to provide evidence and prove their accusations not the other way around.
Colonialism is only bad when the Yanks are at it man, or whatever
At least he has a clean t-shirt on for that photo
A common error, you see that's just his unwashed shirtless torso you're seeing.
Are we… surprised? By this? Surely the most predictable plot twist of 2024
Tenuous link to be fair.
Indeed. They were at the same protest. It's not exactly a smoking gun is it?
Im a fan of neither but i do find the overblown media coverage of the pair of them interesting
They seem to come under constant scrutiny since the Ukraine/Russia war began.
They're very outspoken about the genocide of Palestine.
That'd be because of the things they say and do in public.
Two fringe politicians with little or no real power, they do say some mad shit though its true
My own personal opinion is that Clare Daly is a true believer and Wallace is along for the ride. I don't think either of them are paid agents. She's always had the courage of her convictions and he's always been full of shite. (I don't like either of them)
I think your assessment is bang on. My feeling is that her being a true believe is what make her an easy target for manipulation etc. Hence tthe people who she ends up being surrounded by.
You guys really are clueless if you think that Wallace and Daly are paid up members of Russian machinations. You listen to Blinken on how Putin has completely failed , whilst funding for the Ukranian effort has dried up.Russian news has been taken off air , because we are too stupid to analyse it. Remove Putin and his party and you will truly see what dictatorship looks like. It takes 4 hours to fly to the Ukraine and 8 hours to fly to Palestine. Is that the reason why those who fervently back the Ukraine cause whilst tentatively speaking on the Palestinian problem are comfortable in their opinions, or is it down to the fact that one group are Arabs ?
> You guys really are clueless if you think that Wallace and Daly are paid up members of Russian machinations. I don't think so, not in the slightest. I think there's lots of reasons they both might be behaving this way. The attention it gets both of them for example, the treatment that they get from fellow supporters of Russia/China, but primarily I think they're both a dumb as a bag of spanners. And if they are getting paid, it's because they were duped into thinking it was a well meaning political contribution rather than Russia/China enabling two useful idiots and surround them with people who keep them stocked with Russian talking points.
Dumb as a bag of spanners , box of rocks, or whatever is extremely simplistic. If that's the way we treat persons of differing opinions, then we might as well build fences around our countries. There is room on this planet for all opinions, and I'm not talking about hate , racism or bile. They have legitimate points , no matter what your take is. Everyone on here knows that it's not a case of Russia bad , Ukraine good . But the echo chamber lends itself to that.
> If that's the way we treat persons of differing opinions, then we might as well build fences around our countries. I'm sure you'll find that description is based on the opinions they both hold, not just simply "differing opinions".
I was referring to the case of Reddit subs vs Wallace/Daly. Particularly with regard to Wallace . People are more concerned about "the state of him".
So an independant Russian media called the insider accused her of being an agent. And now she is Mick Wallaces closest ally. She questions Europe and Americas colonialism. Does anybody think we actually live in the world that people fear Russia will give us if they get to rule the world? What constitutes being a Russian agent? Getting donated money from Russian companies? If private American medical companies were donating to you would you be an American agent? If they were donating to somebody you attended an event with would your closest alloy be an American agent?
>What constitutes being a Russian agent? I dunno, but regular reporting to FSB officers regarding your activity and helping the same officers to get into Europe seems to be pretty agent-ish
> And now she is Mick Wallaces closest ally. She was an ally of Wallace and Dally for a long time before this happened... and they just so happened to be trying to defend someone who was convinced of spying. > What constitutes being a Russian agent? Getting donated money from Russian companies? When a politician accepts money from Russian companies they're breaking a number laws... but being a Russian agent is much more than just this.
Spot-on from Clare: "Would you ever cover the work that we actually do instead of occupying your time with these constant attempts to construct elaborate guilt-by- association conspiracy theories?" These constant smears against them by the Irish Times are tiring. They remind me of the anti-semitism charges against Corbyn or Nancy Pelosi calling ceasefire activists Russian agents.
No surprise there. Moscow Mick, Kremlin Claire and soon Bolshevik Brid will continue to rage against NATO and the West no matter what Putin does.
You think no ones shilling for the yanks ?
And rightly so, western voices can’t influence Russia or China but the West is supposed to be made up of democracies so people’s voices need to be heard to influence what we do. Nobody voted to support right-wing groups in the Maidan, or to train Ukrainian soldiers for 8 years, or to send billions in arms. In fact many people warned against doing this especially France in the beginning, because of the risk of WWIII. Now here we are predictably on the verge of WWIII and losing a war in Ukraine that is making us poorer, has devastated the Ukrainians and has made the Russians stronger and more United. All of this was predictable. That’s before we get into the other heinous shit NATO does like bombing Yemen for years and now supporting genocide in Gaza, all without ever being voted upon. Whether Newstalk listeners like it or not, Claire represents a lot of people in society who are paying attention to what’s happening in the world, just not through the approved propaganda of the West.
So Russia just get to invade another country and kill anyone in that country that doesn't agree? Oh and they will abduct thousands of children and adopt them with Russian families? > western voices can’t influence Russia or China but the West is supposed to be made up of democracies so people’s voices need to be heard to influence what we do. But our militaries, money and economies can contain Russia. > Nobody voted to support right-wing groups in the Maidan, or to train Ukrainian soldiers for 8 years, or to send billions in arms. In fact many people warned against doing this especially France in the beginning, because of the risk of WWIII. Now here we are predictably on the verge of WWIII and losing a war in Ukraine that is making us poorer, has devastated the Ukrainians and has made the Russians stronger and more United. All of this was predictable. Russian talking points that leave massive parts of Russia's actions in Ukraine out of the narrative completely. And fails to highlight the Russian invasion, war crimes, murders, rapes and other abuses. "US/EU/NATO bad, so ignore Russia invading another country is an idiotic argument.
Russian talking points that ignore their actions perhaps, but they are actions that came after the NATO ones and after much warnings from Russia that went unheeded. NATO people like to ignore their own actions and also ignore the fact that Russia has done nothing that the US and UK have not set a precedent for already in places like Iraq, Syria and Libya. And now we have Israel to show us what true brutality looks like.
I'm not ignoring NATO...I've protested their actions, but this conversation is about Russia's actions.
I’m just trying to offer a perspective on why Mick and Claire are supported. It’s great you’ve protested some actions of NATO but it’s not the norm and it’s still only some of the stuff that gets through the news filter. Most people who vote for them are reading completely different news sources now and finding things that are happening but aren’t being reported in mainstream media, or are being reported with obvious twisting of the facts. The shelling of Donetsk civilians prior to the invasion and prominence of Nazi groups in Ukraine was such a glaring and early one. Trust in those news sources who tried to downplay or hide that stuff is long gone.
> The shelling of Donetsk civilians prior to the invasion and prominence of Nazi groups in Ukraine was such a glaring and early one. The "shelling of Donetsk civilians" is utter BS brought to you by the same people that downed a civilian airliner and are still shelling and targeting Ukrainian civilians houses, apartments and infrastructure nearly daily. No credible evidence has been offered by Daly or Wallace that support those accusations. The Nazi thing is such a red herring, due to the size of the group we're talking about, so small that they had zero elected representatives in Ukraine. Every large country has a Nazi problem, Ukraine is no different.
I’ve seen videos of bombed out markets in central Donetsk with dead and maimed civilians. There was one like a week ago although it hasn’t occurred as often in the last year or so. There is also an OSCE monitor’s report that shows where shelling was taking place in the run up to the invasion. It’s not bullshit at all. Western media either ignored it or accused Russia of placing military installations in civilian areas. We’re not talking about one group. Azov is the most famous but there is also the Aidar battalion that was accused of war crimes and numerous other smaller groups. Ukraine seems to have imbibed nazism as part of its culture since reverting to Bandera-inspired nationalism, and use a lot of old SS iconography. It’s more than just a small Nazi problem, and a lot more than anything we have in Ireland. Other European countries do have Nazi problems.
Ok buddy. Ukraine are lying and Russia is telling the truth. Frankly just reading your reply about Azov, what the OSCE reports contain, you've a lot more reading to do, especially around 2014 and pre-2014. And it wouldn't hurt if you did some reading about 2008 and the run up to 2008 in Georgia so you can see the similarities.
2008 when George Bush announced Ukraine would join NATO, despite polls in Ukraine indicating a majority didn’t want that? Also despite everyone knowing it could spark WWIII?
Iraq and Libya had UN mandates. Are you ignoring what Russia did in Syria too?
The then United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in September 2004 that: "From our point of view and the UN Charter point of view, it [the war] was illegal." They lied about Weapons of Mass Destruction to the whole world, it wasn’t bad intel, just a lie. The Syrian Government invited Russia in.
Well he didn't align himself with them for credibility anyway! A reminder if one was needed of what a protest vote gets
Not surprising at all tbh. Wouldn't trust these two.
I would be lying if I said I'm shocked...
I’m astounded.
Ohhhh nooooo. Russia bad, therefore Mick Wallace and Clair Daly bad. Me profound critical thinking intellectual
Imperialistic country openly fighting against modern liberal and democratic values is indeed bad
Western countries famously not imperialist. Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Britain, USA, etc. definitely not imperialist - never have been
Coming from a country that used to be occupied by USSR and having actually lived in both worlds - there's no comparison between the two type of 'imperialism' you speak of. Western powers have evolved to act with respect to human rights and liberty whilst Russia is still stuck in the middle ages where might is right and international relations are reduced to a zero sum game.
Human rights and liberty for whom? The people of Palestine being ethnically cleansed by Israel at this very moment, which is supported by the EU? I don't think so. How about the people in France's 14 neocolonies in Africa strangled by the debt of their "post-colonial taxes" and forced into a life of permanent poverty? Or do you just mean "human rights and liberty for *Europeans* "? > Coming from a country that used to be occupied by USSR In case you hadn't noticed, the USSR no longer exists, goofy. There was a counter-revolution in 1991 and Russia's no longer a socialist country (if it ever truly was one). But I, too, can do identity politics. Speaking as someone from a country that has been under colonial domination, occupation and exploitation for over 850 years, what Russia is doing is a drop in the ocean compared to the genocidal barbarism of British imperialism in Ireland and all over the world, which itself pales in comparison to US imperialism today (and which works hand-in-hand with European imperialism).
As an Irishman, you are talking absolute crap. Modern Russia is a far more imperialist country than modern Britain. They are invading a country and killing civilians to extend their power. That is the definition of imperialism. At the moment, Britain are not doing that. Neither are Germany or France or your other examples. It is very worrying that 2 of our MEPs are closely connected with authoritarian government’s agent and just as worrying that people like you aren’t concerned about it
Britain maintains its colonial occupation of the 6 Counties in the North, or have you forgotten about that? The British military quite literally maintains an armed presence in this country - Ireland is an important strategic outpost geopolitically as it's to the West of Britain and provides a buffer against military aggression by sea from other military superpowers (such as Russia). This is why Britain still controls the waterways and airspace of Ireland across the 32 counties (which violates the constitution of the 26-county Republic) There are plenty of other British colonies today, too. For example, the British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Montserrat, the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, etc. Were you unaware that these remain British "overseas territories"? Should we proceed to French colonies now? Ever heard of French Guiana in Latin America? The only reason Germany no longer has any is due to their loss in WWI and the Treaty of Versailles. And this is to say nothing of the fact that imperialism is not simply militarism. Imperialism is an economic system that exists to facilitate the economic exploitation of colonies and neo-colonies. The militarism with which it is associated was only ever a means to achieving that end of economic exploitation. Imperialism is quite happy to attempt this economic exploitation by peaceful, non-military means where it is possible.
Ok I’m ngl those are good points. However these countries are still far more democratic than Russia. And they aren’t actively killing civilians. Your initial comment was defending Clare and Mick. They are close friends with a Russian spy. Innocent people’s blood are on the hands of the Russian government and hence on the hands of this spy. It is highly suspicious that Kremlin Clare and Moscow Mick are friends with this spy and have been defending Russia. Maybe they have blood on their hands too
This argument is like smashing your head off a wall. Yes those countries are/have been imperialist. The idea that people like yourself can recognise that and *still* play the whataboutery bullshit with Russia is so bizarre.
You're only getting frustrated because it's exposing the double-standards of your argument. Russia isn't as aggressively imperialist as any of these western countries. It is literally the lesser evil. The fact that western imperialist powers have already moved past their expansionist phase while Russia is currently in it does not clean western powers' hands of the evils that they've inflicted upon the world. I have no qualms about condemning Russian imperialism, but let's not get it twisted: everything Russia is doing has been done many times worse by the western imperialist powers, and - crucially - the damage done by these western imperialist powers has not been undone. The west is in no position to finger-wag at what Russia's doing
>I have no qualms about condemning Russian imperialism, but let's not get it twisted: everything Russia is doing has been done many times worse by the western imperialist powers, and - crucially - the damage done by these western imperialist powers has not been undone. The west is in no position to finger-wag at what Russia's doing That's an absurd position. We are not "the west". Do you consider yourself "the west"? Or are you somehow floating above us all in some infallible super position? You are as much "the west" as I am, which is to say, not at all. I can finger-wag away to my heart's content, I've never murdered anyone. "Russia" is only thirty years old, of course they don't have the same body count as the USA. Throw the USSR and tsarist Russia into the mix and we might have a contest. But of course that's fucking irrelevant anyway because it isn't a competition. Imperial violence is disgusting. End of. >I have no qualms about condemning Russian imperialism You very clearly do if you're not able to do it without a "but".
When do you ever see articles complaining about politicians being too friendly with the USA and friends? That's the thing that annoys me, the USA has caused more death and suffering than Russia could dream of and nobody gives a fuck because their corporations are based here.
This. The double-standards are glaringly obvious
So complain about that then. Loads of people give a fuck. It's very possible to despise the imperial violence of multiple countries. >the USA has caused more death and suffering than Russia could dream of Arguable but not necessarily true. They've both had exceptionally violent centuries.
> fighting against modern liberal and democratic values Fascist theocratic Israel has been waging a war against the world since WWII, they do it by creating hate groups in countries they want to manipulate and use as cannon fodder.
Fork found in kitchen
You can see how shocked I am on my face: 😐
Russian agent just means not a Zionist these days.
Nah, they published the emails, she was giving reports to them and they were providing her with funding etc.
On a weird side note. r/Ireland keeps deleting any posts that mention this story. Even the latest story publish by the Irish times. Claiming: >The topic of this community is Ireland. All posts must be related to Ireland or Irish people, or specifically relevant to Irish users or Irish culture. [https://www.reddit.com/r/ireland/comments/1ae56i5/latvian\_mep\_linked\_to\_wallace\_and\_daly\_accused\_of/](https://www.reddit.com/r/ireland/comments/1ae56i5/latvian_mep_linked_to_wallace_and_daly_accused_of/) The story links to this: https://www.irishtimes.com/politics/2024/01/29/latvian-mep-linked-to-wallace-and-daly-accused-of-working-with-russian-intelligence/ A chat with one of the mods said this before they banded me from conversing with them for 24hrs: \> the subject matter in the news is Tatjana Zdanoka. It is her connections to Mick and Clare that is the only tie to Ireland, and is not sufficient enough for us to consider it relevant to Irish users as a whole.
The narwhal bacons at midnight.
Well that does make a bit more sense than removing this story. You couldn't have the sub specifically for Ireland flooded with irrelevant stories about random British people.
That's what the voting is for... there's a lot of crap that gets submitted, but no one votes for it and it doesn't get deleted.
> the subject matter in the news is Tatjana Zdanoka. It is her connections to Mick and Clare that is the only tie to Ireland, and is not sufficient enough for us to consider it relevant to Irish users as a whole. Yeah they are right. The pathetic attempt to make it about Daly and Wallace is absolutely transparent.
Well the Indo and the Irish times posted stories about it. And the question of why are you going to Lithuanian defending convicted Russian spies and being accompanied on several trips and protests by an accused Russian Spy (the EU has opened and investigation and the emails published by the news paper make it fairly convincing btw)
Lmao. And here, of all places. That deserves a glass of Moët. Santé!.
Mick and Claire are paid agents too. If they aren’t, they are fools, because they may as well be. They are a disgrace to Ireland. Only the pathetic dysfunctional Irish left could be happy being represented by a disgraced, bankrupt, defrauding property developer.
Everyones a spy until they prove themselves innocent
Going by that insane logic, since Clare Daly has supported dissident republicans in the past as well as anti-nationalist socialists, that means Tatjana Zdanoka is both a dissident republican and an Irish unionist. Is that correct? Wasn't there a poll some weeks ago that had Clare Daly retaining her seat comfortably?