Cynics, Step Aside: There is Genuine Excitement Over a Hillary Clinton Candidacy - The Intercept

It’s easy to strike a pose of cynicism when contemplating Hillary Clinton’s inevitable (and terribly imminent) presidential campaign. As a drearily soulless, principle-free, power-hungry veteran of DC’s game of thrones, she’s about as banal of an American politician as it gets. One of the few unique aspects to her, perhaps the only one, is how the genuinely inspiring gender milestone of her election will (following the Obama model) be exploited to obscure her primary role as guardian of the status quo.

That she’s the beneficiary of dynastic succession – who may very well be pitted against the next heir in line from the regal Bush dynasty (this one, not yet this one) - makes it all the more tempting to regard #HillaryTime with an evenly distributed mix of boredom and contempt. The tens of millions of dollars the Clintons have jointly “earned” off their political celebrity - much of it speaking to the very globalists, industry groups, hedge funds, and other Wall Street appendages who would have among the largest stake in her presidency - make the spectacle that much more depressing (the likely candidate is pictured above with Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein at an event in September).

But one shouldn’t be so jaded. There is genuine and intense excitement over the prospect of (another) Clinton presidency. Many significant American factions regard her elevation to the Oval Office as an opportunity for rejuvenation, as a stirring symbol of hope and change, as the vehicle for vital policy advances. Those increasingly inspired factions include:

Wall Street - <more>

The Israel Lobby - <more>

Interventionists (i.e., war zealots) - <more>

Old school neocons - <more>

Complete story at - Cynics, Step Aside: There is Genuine Excitement Over a Hillary Clinton Candidacy - The Intercept

Ukraine’s Thieves and Nazis: From ‘Russian Propaganda’ to Parliament | New Eastern Outlook

With the final votes being counted in Ukraine’s parliamentary elections, early results show an unsurprisingly strong showing for the country’s oligarchs, while neo-Nazi candidates score significant victories of their own.

Though the democratic character of the elections is certainly in doubt, the inescapable reality is that the new government in Kiev is going to be even more aggressive, even more radical, and even more dangerous, as the political character of the Verkohvna Rada (Ukraine’s parliament) becomes ever more reactionary. Not only will this development have negative repercussions for the people of Donetsk and Lugansk, as they likely will now be facing a renewed assault from a belligerent government looking to assert itself before the eyes of the Ukrainian electorate, it will also further entrench the anti-Russian posture of Kiev, which will now have to contend with even more right wing pressure to eschew negotiations and pragmatism with Russia, in favor of a destructive and unwinnable strategy of continued antagonism and provocation.

In examining closely some of the election’s higher profile winners, one sees a disconcerting trend that goes far beyond simply neo-Nazi ideology; this election has legitimized the rule of criminal oligarchs and the factions and private armies they control, while also entrenching violent, and quite often criminal, individuals and tendencies within the newly constituted government. In effect, the fascist fanatics of Maidan now have a new home in the Rada.

Tallying the Votes, Assessing the Damage

Although the final vote count has yet to be made official, preliminary results show that the two dominant factions and leaders within the Ukrainian government, President Poroshenko and his bloc and Arseniy Yatsenyuk and his “People’s Front,” both handpicked by the United States, each garnered roughly 21 percent of the vote, making them the clear winners in the election. Of course, it is clear that the losers are the people of Ukraine, many of whom demonstrated on Maidan against the corruption of an oligarch-controlled government, only to watch new, “pro-Western” corrupt oligarchs usurp control of the country with the backing of powerful Western interests.

Complete story at - Ukraine’s Thieves and Nazis: From ‘Russian Propaganda’ to Parliament | New Eastern Outlook

The Aftermath of Ukraine's Elections: One Step Forward or Two Steps Back? | The National Interest

Following Sunday’s highly anticipated parliamentary elections, the EU and United States celebrated the overwhelming win by pro-European parties in Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada. However, the results of Sunday’s election show that Ukraine is still deeply divided and will face an uphill battle in implementing future reform policies. In the coming months, President Poroshenko will have to work towards reconciling the differences between the major parties and ensure that no group feels alienated from decision making. Otherwise, Ukraine could face an escalation in the conflict and further splintering.

Over the past week, the main focus in Western media has been on the overwhelming support for the pro-Western parties, namely Prime Minister Yatsenyuk’s People’s Front, which placed first at 22.2 percent, and President Poroshenko’s party, Poroshenko Bloc, receiving 21.8 percent.

Overlooked is the fact that Yatsenyuk and Poroshenko came to power during two different, but equally critical, phases of the conflict in Ukraine and as a result represent different political priorities. Yatsenyuk, who was designated prime minister by the Maidan Council when Yanukovych fled, represents the revolutionary spirit of Maidan. Poroshenko on the other hand, was elected president and as an oligarch embodies a mix of Ukraine’s past and possible future. While both parties agree that Ukraine should be heading in the European direction, points of contention will arise in exactly how to achieve this goal.

Meanwhile, the Opposition Bloc, with many of former president Yanukovych’s associates, placed fourth at 9 percent. While significantly lower than its previous standing, it demonstrates that there is still a significant constituency. In celebrating the pro-Western parties’ dominance in parliament, the West is promoting a winner-take-all approach and risks alienating those who voted for the Opposition Bloc, many of which are located in areas of eastern Ukraine that are controlled by the Ukrainian government. Isolating these voters will not only lead to future dissent and hurt attempts at reconciliation, but more importantly, could push additional areas in eastern and southern Ukraine to fall under the separatists’ control.

Poroshenko and Yatsenyuk are already focusing on reforming Ukraine in a way that will be appealing to the West in hope of receiving more military and financial aid, even proposing to name the coalition the European Coalition. With a high probability of obtaining a comfortable majority, it will be easy to exclude the Opposition Bloc and promote policies that focus on developing a dialogue with the European Union, rather than the separatists. Despite placing fourth, the Opposition Bloc was excluded from the first Rada meeting to discuss the formation of the coalition party and is likely to be omitted from the coalition altogether. With the possibility of a grand coalition not even discussed in the Rada, Yatsenyuk said that he would like to see the final coalition consist of the People’s Front, Poroshenko Bloc, Samopomich (which placed third in the elections and is lead by the mayor of the west Ukrainian city of Lviv), Yulia Tymoshenko’s Fatherland Party and the Radical Party (whose leader, Oleg Lyashko, ordered an angry mob to dump a city official into a dumpster). Including parties like the Radical Party in the coalition, while avoiding the Opposition Bloc, will only promote distrust and damage the image that the pro-Western parties want to create of Ukraine as a European nation.

Complete story at - The Aftermath of Ukraine's Elections: One Step Forward or Two Steps Back? | The National Interest

Ukraine’s Rada Elections Bring Society to Brink of All Out War and Economic Collapse | Global Research

The parliamentary elections in Ukraine has been lavished with praise by Western politicians and the mainstream media as confirmation of the country’s turn towards democracy and a rejection of Putin’s evil Russian empire. What the media drones and corporate politicians won’t tell you is that these elections represent a disaster for the ordinary people of Ukraine.

Ukraine is bankrupt and its economy is rapidly collapsing. It has been promised billions in aid from the IMF and EU in return for the most vicious austerity measures that will make Greece look like a picnic. Industry and agriculture are suffering steep declines in production while austerity measures will lead to huge cuts in wages and welfare benefits. At the same time the rapid immiserisation of the masses is worsening due to massive price increases in basic foodstuffs and essential utilities such as electricity, gas and water.

All of the capitalist politicians elected to the new Rada have no solution to these devastating economic problems. Their economic programme can be summed up in the slogan; ”Austerity, austerity and yet more austerity.” Western capitalism’s macro-economic reform progamme offers an extremely bleak future to the ordinary people of Ukraine.

The election will return a government that is committed to continuing the war against its own people in the rebel held regions of Donetsk and Lugansk. It confirms the splitting up of the country into several parts. Crimea will stay with Russia while the People’s Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk which make up Novorossia will continue to fight for their independence, which leaves the rest of Ukraine minus about 15% of its former population.

It would be more accurate to call this election the ”battle of the billionaires”. All of the political parties that got representation in the new Rada are puppets of the different billionaire oligarchs. It is these people who really call the shots in collaboration with their masters in Washington.

Complete story at - Ukraine’s Rada Elections Bring Society to Brink of All Out War and Economic Collapse | Global Research

Russian news: Election Shows that Ukraine is Completely Divided. The East Didn't Support the Oligarchs. - Russia Insider

The Parliamentary elections in Ukraine that were held this past Sunday have resulted in a sweeping win for the country's pro-Western parties.

The only pro-Russian party or coalition that surpassed electoral threshold and will take seats in the new legislature is Opposition Bloc, which polled at just 9 percent nationally.

A close reading of electoral results, however, suggests that despite scoring a major electoral victory the pro-Maidan parties have really failed to substantially increase their appeal in Ukraine's east since the toppling of Viktor Yanukovich eight months ago.

Most importantly, electoral data shows that the triumph of pro-European parties came amid above average voter turnout in the more pro-European western-central regions of the country and abysmal voter participation in the more pro-Russian south-east. Indeed, the more eastern the region, the lower the voter participation tended to be. Whereas more than 70% turned up to vote in Lviv oblast, just 32% cast their vote in Lugansk and Donetsk regions.

Clearly numerous former voters of the Party of Regions this time around felt the ballot offered no appealing options. In a position of being able to pick between pro-Maidan parties and the demoralized remnants of the Party of Regions south-easterners by and large simply stayed at home.

Complete story at - Russian news: Election Shows that Ukraine is Completely Divided. The East Didn't Support the Oligarchs. - Russia Insider

Russian news: Western Media Get Ukraine Elections Wrong. There's Big Trouble Ahead - Russia Insider

Western Media Get Ukraine Elections Wrong. There's Big Trouble Ahead

Western media says they are legitimizing, stabilizing, and a vote for a turn towards the EU. This is simply not the case.

• The country is still badly split, East vs. West
• Turnout was low, especially in the critical East
• The East is dis-enfranchised
• Neo-Nazi street violence still a real political factor
• Popular support for Poroshenko is low
• Support for the war is low
• The government, and popular opinion, are deeply fractured
• Poroshenko failed to consolidate himself as the country's leader

Sunday’s Ukrainian parliamentary elections are being misunderstood by the international media and by elements of the Russian press.

There is a misperception that they were between competing parties with differing ideologies, such as those that take place elsewhere in Europe and throughout the world.

This is very far from being the case.

Ukraine this year has experienced a major power struggle between two factions of its political elite. In February 2014, one faction won the power struggle by resorting to a violent coup that gave it control of the levers of power.

Complete story at - Russian news: Western Media Get Ukraine Elections Wrong. There's Big Trouble Ahead - Russia Insider

New Parliament to Destabilize, Embarrass Ukraine: Expert | Analysis & Opinion | RIA Novosti

WASHINGTON, October 27 (RIA Novosti) - A number of leaders in the new Ukrainian parliament are from previously obscure extremist groups, and can be expected to try and force a new wave of intolerance and muzzling of debate and criticism within Ukraine, Martin Sieff, veteran US foreign correspondent told RIA Novosti on Sunday.

"The real victors in these elections are the neo-fascist extremists," Sieff said, adding that the results will be hailed as a triumph for moderate mainstream American and European-style democracy in Washington and Brussels, however they will be anything but. "This parliament will prove to be a deep embarrassment to the European and American leaders who are so rashly welcoming it. It will be part of the new wave of reckless neo-nationalism, intolerance and racism that we already see sweeping Central Europe from Poland to Hungary," he added.

According to Sieff the prevalence of new and previously marginal extremist parties in the new parliament is certain to prove destabilizing and troublesome.

"It is a universal myth in the West that the simple fact of holding elections will make government and economic progress in those countries more stable and successful," Sieff said. "We have already seen in Egypt and Iraq that this is not always the case. We are about to see that lesson repeated in Ukraine," he noted.

Ukraine's parliamentary elections are likely to lead to increased instability and internal communal conflicts rather than reduce them, the journalist asserted.

According to the exit polls, the Petro Poroshenko Bloc is leading Ukraine's snap parliamentary elections on Sunday with around 23 percent of the ballot as seven political parties have passed the vote threshold.

Complete story at - New Parliament to Destabilize, Embarrass Ukraine: Expert | Analysis & Opinion | RIA Novosti

Press Digest: Elections in Ukraine marred by poor turnout and violations | Russia Beyond The Headlines

NoBC4U Note: This is about the Ukraine elections of Oct 26, not the recent Novorossiya elections...

Kommersant

The Kommersant daily reminds its readers that some 4.6 million voters were unable to take part in the Ukrainian parliamentary election because not all districts in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions were able to organize voting.

Experts polled by the paper predict that, with less representation of the southeast of the country, the new Ukrainian parliament will not be able to form a system of checks and balances. Kiev-based political analyst Mikhail Pogrebinsky told Kommersant that due to the ‘antiterrorist’ operation and the loss of Crimea, the Rada will get more right-wing radicals and Maidan representatives.

The paper points out that sociologists’ forecasts of a low turnout proved to be true. Kiev-based pundit Dmitry Dzhangirov attributes this to people’s disappointment with the new authorities, which have proved unable to end the war in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine. “People no longer believe that their votes can decide the country’s destiny,” he said.

For his part, Ukrainian spin doctor Viktor Ukolov told Kommersant it is important that one-third of the new Rada will be made up of Maidan activists, battalion commanders and civil activists, who have no experience of working in government structures. Ukolov is convinced that this is a good thing, since the new MPs will force the authorities to listen to the people. However, it could result in a large number of conflicts between various forces inside the parliament.

Complete story at - Press Digest: Elections in Ukraine marred by poor turnout and violations | Russia Beyond The Headlines

Omidyar-funded candidate takes seat in new Ukraine parliament | PandoDaily

Ukraine just held its first post-revolution parliamentary elections, and amid all of the oligarchs, EU enthusiasts, neo-Nazis, nepotism babies, and death squad commanders, there is one newly-elected parliamentarian’s name that stands out for her connection to Silicon Valley: Svitlana Zalishchuk, from the billionaire president’s Poroshenko Bloc party.

Zalishchuk was given a choice spot on the president’s party list, at number 18, ensuring her a seat in the new Rada. And she owes her rise to power to another oligarch besides Ukraine’s president — Pierre Omidyar, whose funding with USAID helped topple the previous government. Zalishchuk’s pro-Maidan revolution outfits were directly funded by Omidyar.

Earlier this year, Pando exposed how eBay billionaire and Intercept publisher Pierre Omidyar co-funded with USAID Zalishchuk’s web of nongovernmental organizations — New Citizen, Chesno, Center UA. According to the Financial Times, New Citizen, which received hundreds of thousands of dollars from Omidyar, “played a big role in getting the [Maidan] protest up and running” in November 2013. Omidyar Network’s website features Zalishchuk’s photograph on its page describing its investment in New Citizen. Zalishchuk was brought into the NGOs by her longtime mentor, Oleh Rybachuk, a former deputy prime minster who led the last failed effort to integrate Ukraine into the EU and NATO.

Zalishchuk’s photos also grace the Poroshenko Bloc’s website and twitter feed, as she emerged as one of the presidential party’s leading spokespersons. The Poroshenko Bloc is named after Ukraine’s pro-Western president, Petro Poroshenko, a billionaire with a lock on Ukraine’s confectionary industry, as well as owning a national TV station and other prized assets. He came to power this year thanks to the revolution originally organized by Zalishchuk’s Omidyar-funded NGOs, and has rewarded her with a seat in the Rada.

The president’s party tasked Zalushchik with publicly selling the highly controversial new “lustration law” — essentially a legalized witch-hunt law first proposed by the neo-fascist Svoboda Party earlier this year, and subsequently denounced by Ukraine’s prosecutor general and by Human Rights Watch, which described a draft of the law as “arbitrary and overly broad and fail(s) to respect human rights principles,” warning it “may set the stage for unlawful mass arbitrary political exclusion.”

Complete story at - Omidyar-funded candidate takes seat in new Ukraine parliament | PandoDaily

COMMENT: Ukraine's bad start | Business New Europe

This weekend's crucial parliamentary elections in Ukraine could mark the end of two decades of failure and the launch of the country's attempt to catch-up with the rest of the region. The trouble is that Ukraine is already off to a really bad start.

There has been no real reform in Ukraine since the collapse of the former Soviet Union in 1991, irrespective of the colour of the government - orange or blue. The Orange Revolution was a wasted opportunity. President Victor Yushchenko won a mandate from the people on the streets of Kyiv and ousted the kleptocratic government of Leonid Kuchma, but internecine fighting amongst his fellow revolutionaries and the machinations of Ukraine's leading oligarchs gutted any attempt at real reform. When ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych took back control in 2010 in what were probably the country's first truly democratic elections, the stealing began in earnest. Leading to another revolution.

Ukraine is a case study in failure. It is one of only two states in the former Soviet Union not yet to get back to the 1991 level of GDP (The other is Kyrgyzstan). Per capital income is a mere $3,000 - a fifth of that in Russia and well behind even Belarus.

As Eurasia Group founder Ian Bremmer pointed out in his book "The J Curve", authoritarian rule brings stability but democracies, while more chaotic, offer a much higher standard of living. The difficulty is, to get from one to the other you have to pass through the bowl of the "J" and not everyone makes it.

Ukraine has not been helped by the duplicity of the west. Happy to welcome Ukraine into the European club of "shared values" politically, it is not prepared to pay for Ukraine's transformation. And the country is in desperate need of cash. The widely touted IMF $17bn stand-by loan sounds like more than the $15bn Russia offered in 2013, until you realise it is paid out over two years and doesn't even cover this year's bills for the $5.4bn Ukraine owes Russia in overdue gas bills, the approximately $2bn more it will have to pay for this winter's gas and the $1.6bn Eurobond that state-owned gas company Naftogaz had to redeem earlier this month.

Not paying the Russian bill is not an option so that leaves nothing left over for badly needed investments and recapitalisation of the banking sector, to name the most obvious pressing needs. Ukraine is in very real danger of total economic meltdown.

Ukraine's Naftogaz said it has set aside $3.1bn in a special escrow account to pay Russia's natural gas supplier Gazprom on October 24, but without a new deal on gas prices this amount remains about half what Ukraine owes.

Complete story at - COMMENT: Ukraine's bad start | Business New Europe

Ten Takeaways From Ukraine’s Vote | Johnson's Russia List

NoB4U Note: The author makes some valid points about the recent Ukrainian elections, but misses the mark badly on some of the others. But what do you expect from Radio Free Europe?

Ukrainians have voted in a new parliament for the first time since the Euromaidan protests ousted President Viktor Yanukovych and his pro-Russian government earlier this year.

Here are some takeaways from the October 26 vote:

The West-Russia divide is no longer relevant in parliament

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine’s parliamentary battles have largely taken place between so-called pro-Western factions and pro-Russian ones. No more. For the first time in the history of independent Ukraine, the country’s parliament will be dominated by parties that support strong ties with Europe. The likely top three parties all support EU accession and, combined, upwards of 75 percent of the seats are expected to be held by pro-Europe deputies.

Poroshenko’s party underperformed

President Petro Poroshenko will have a pro-European coalition, but his party is not coming out looking as strong as he had once hoped. At one point, members of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc thought it possible to win an outright parliamentary majority. And just days before the elections, opinion polling showed it likely to be at least 10 points ahead of the closest runner-up. Instead, as results came in, the party was running neck-and-neck with the People’s Front party led by Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk. They have put on a united front — saying they will form a coalition together — but we can likely expect a budding rivalry.

Radical protest vote falls flat

Polling had predicted that ultra-populist candidate Oleh Lyashko (his Radical Party logo is a pitchfork) would place second, as Ukrainians — growing disenchanted with the slow pace of reforms and the sagging war effort in the east — looked to cast a protest vote. Instead, the Radical Party came in a distant fifth, with about 7.5 percent of the vote.

Complete story at - Ten Takeaways From Ukraine’s Vote | Johnson's Russia List

Ukrainian Democracy Produces Three Times The Yatseniuk Votes And One-Third Less Poroshenko Votes Than Polling Experts In Kiev Had Forecast — How Come? | Dances With Bears

The defeat by Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk of President Petro Poroshenko in the party voting at Sunday’s Ukrainian parliamentary election reveals a shift of voter sentiment no pollster predicted beforehand – neither the independent Ukrainian polling organizations in Kiev, nor the US Government-funded surveys.

On the other hand, the independent Ukrainian pollsters believe the election outcome will reinforce the anti-Russian, war party in the new Verkhovna Rada, despite the failure of the Svoboda (“Freedom”) and Pravy Sektor (“Right Sector”) organizations to cross the 5% threshold for party representation. Their failure, along with poor support for Yulia Tymoshenko and Oleg Lyashko, had been evident in the pre-election polling. How Yatseniuk managed to capture both war party votes in the western regions, and peace party supporters of Poroshenko in the centre and east is unclear.

This outcome was unforeseen, according to Nikolai Churilov of the Kiev-based Centre for Social and Marketing Research (SOCIS). He believes Yatseniuk was able to steal the war programme of the extreme right.

“For us the election results are a bit surprising, especially the fact that the West [region] voted for Yatseniuk. For the moment we can find only one explanation – that in their election programme, they fronted with fighters who have great prestige in Western Ukraine.

“There was too much compromising evidence on Lyashko,” Churilov added. “Poroshenko waged a weak campaign, especially in the last two to three weeks. We are investigating the reasons for such unpredictable results.”

Victor Misyuk of the Razumkov Centre (Ukrainian Centre for Economic and Political Studies), a survey company in Kiev, believes Poroshenko’s bloc had discredited itself. “They were too overconfident – they had already announced themselves as the majority in the new parliament. Of course, researchers were not expecting such a difference in the votes. Perhaps they are now in shock.” The Razumkov Centre is part-financed by eastern Ukrainian pipemaker, Victor Pinchuk. For more Razumkov polling, read this.

Complete story at - Ukrainian Democracy Produces Three Times The Yatseniuk Votes And One-Third Less Poroshenko Votes Than Polling Experts In Kiev Had Forecast — How Come? | Dances With Bears

Russian news: Election Could Tear Ukraine Apart - Russia Insider

NoBC4U Note: Though this was originally written before the election, the election is not likely to change much, if anything...

Russian news: Election Could Tear Ukraine Apart - Russia Insider

With less than a week left until the Ukrainian parliamentary elections, there is growing uncertainty about whether the new parliament will provide a boost to President Petro Poroshenko's flagging reform agenda and attempts to manage the extremely fragile situation in the east.

Ukraine’s controversial lustration bill, signed by President Petro Poroshenko last week, is having an immediate effect on governance in Kyiv and beyond. Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has already announced that 39 top Ukrainian officials will lose their jobs. “These are heads of central executive agencies, first deputy ministers, deputy ministers, members of national commissions and one head of a regional state administration," said Yatsenyuk. In a mid-September speech, the prime minister claimed that upwards of one million officials might be affected by lustration based on their former affiliation with the KGB, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, or the administration of former President Viktor Yanukovych.

The law does not apply to elected officials such as members of parliament or the president himself, but is expected to pose particular challenges for government bureaucracies like the Prosecutor General’s office and the Ministry of Interior. The Kharkiv Human Rights Group estimates that 95 percent of management-level figures in law enforcement agencies could be affected. The imminent dismissal of civil servants in such numbers raises troubling questions about how effectively Ukraine’s badly troubled state institutions will be able to cope with their responsibilities while short-handed.

Shunning the national parliamentary elections, the authorities of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) plan to hold separate elections on November 2 to elect a “head of state” and new regional parliament. The separatists have largely rejected the law on “special status” for certain territories of the Donbas that President Poroshenko pushed as part of the September 5 Minsk ceasefire and are opposed to holding local elections on December 7 as mandated by the legislation. DNR “Vice Premier” Andrei Purgin has suggested that the vote in early November will be used to elect representatives who will negotiate the exact terms of the region’s status with Kyiv. Following a series of consultations with President Vladimir Putin and European heads of state at the Asia-Europe Meeting in Milan, President Poroshenko declared that the “fake elections” would not be recognized by Ukraine, Europe, or Russia.

Complete story at - Russian news: Election Could Tear Ukraine Apart - Russia Insider

Even USAID Partners can’t cover-up the stench coming out of Ukraine - by NoBC4U

Poll by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, partially funded by USAID. It took them over two weeks to release the results of their polling and another week before I came across this. As of today, there is no newer poll at this site, so we must make do with this.

Let's take a look at the latest public opinion polling coming out of Ukraine, and let's see if we can make some sense of the situation in the country. This particular poll occurred beginning September 5 and ended September 13. So keep in mind that this poll began around the time the ceasefire in Donbass was signed but before it was fully (or partially) implemented.

While there is certainly some good news for the Kiev junta in this public opinion poll, there's certainly a lot of news that certainly cannot be classified as good, no matter how hard you try to spin it. But let's also talk for a minute about the poll and its methodology.

Most of their opinions in this poll specifically the answers, can be broken down to, getting better, getting worse, or don't know, no response. I think that this, in and of itself, can be quite misleading, especially in the east and south of the country. There, it is well known what the Nazi Right Sector group is capable of. So it certainly wouldn't surprise me if the polling results in this part of the country, though already tending toward the negative, are showing a higher level of positive answers because “who knows”? Who are these people asking me these questions? Are they tracking me? Are they trying to determine if I am a separatist? Are these nice friendly pollsters actually Svoboda or Right Sector? These thoughts had to come into mind for many people where these groups are currently active, notably the Odessa, Mariupol, and Kharkiv regions. Having said all of this, let's analyze a bit what the polls may be telling us.

The first question is definitely a biggie. What direction is Ukraine headed? It's no surprise that further east and south you go, you get a much greater number of people saying the country is going in the wrong direction. But in a bit of a surprise, it's not the West of the country that shows the greatest positive response, it's the Kiev region that tops the list at 49% believing the country is going in the right direction. West Ukraine can only muster 42%.

When asked is the overall situation in the country better or worse than six months ago, nationwide, a whopping 81% said it was the same or worse. It's next to impossible to find anything positive to say about that result.

When asked about certain socio-political situations, here are the combined percentages of those that replied no change, got worse, or didn't know.

Unity of Ukrainian citizens: 55%
Respect for citizens rights by authorities: 69%
Maintenance of law and order: 75%
Political stability in the country: 77%
Fight against corruption: 91%
Economic situation in the country: 93%

These are devastating results, no matter how you look at them.

People next were polled about president Poroshenkko’s performance. The president generally polled well in the area of addressing status of Ukraine and the EU and, rather mysteriously, respecting the rights and freedoms of media. From there it's all downhill. His positives fall under 40% regarding taking steps to increase Ukraine's energy independence, bridging the regional divide in Ukraine, and creating political stability. Areas of the polls under 20% positive include addressing the situation in Donetsk and Lugansk, limiting the influence of big business and oligarchs on state authorities, and addressing official corruption. Areas where he polled under 10% positive involved keeping prices low and creating jobs. Now some might say you have to give the new president time, he's only been in office less than five months. But there's no indication that anything is going to start to go all positive anytime soon.

The next question asked how much confidence do you have any particular political leaders. Only two got a greater than 50% positive response. They are Petro Poroshenko and Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Those who poll > 25% but less than 50% include Oleg Lyashko, Vitali Klitschko, Oleh Tyanybok, Tetyana Chornovol, and Arsen Avakov. Those who fall at 25% or below include Dmytry Yarosh, Yulia Tymoshenko, Serhei Tygypko, Igor Kolomoisky, Petro Simonenko, and the one trailing them all, Viktor Yanukovych.

Ukrainians do seem to have more confidence in certain political institutions however, though I would have to add that I believe their confidence is sorely misplaced in some of these. Institutions they rate positive include the military, Ukrainian media, the volunteer battalions (the neo-Nazi private armies), local mayors, and village councils. Those that fall under 50% positive include the Maidan movement, the Central Election Commission, western media, the Cabinet of Ministers, the local administrators, Oblast governors, and Ukrainian police. Those garnering under 20% positive include the Verhovna Rada (parliament) and Russian media.

Concerning the question as to whether the elections would be fair or flawed, all regions except the East thought that they would be at least reasonably free and fair. When questioned about whether Ukraine is a democracy, no region polled over 50%. Yet one of the possible answers to this question was both. Presumably meaning that yes Ukraine is a democracy and no Ukraine is not a democracy, both at the same time. I have no clue as to what the pollsters were thinking when they allowed an option like that. Yet overall, the general perception of 39% seems to be yes, Ukraine is a democracy, while 28% state no, Ukraine is not a democracy. When asked does the government represent all regions and all people of Ukraine, all regions except the east and south tended to think, yes.

Regarding attitudes about the use of force in Donetsk and Lugansk, amazingly both the Kiev region and Western Ukraine said not enough force was used. Also amazingly, 39% or more of the respondents in the center of the country, the south of the country, and the East, (not including Donbass), felt the same way. And when asked how to resolve the situation in the east of Ukraine, the majority in West Ukraine and in the Kiev region believe more military action is needed.

The full poll results, including questions about the view of separatists, NATO membership, and Ukraine’s foreign policy orientation can be found at the link below…

Public Opinion in Ukraine, September 2014

Press releases and reports - Electoral moods in Ukraine: Parliamentary Elections in Ukraine

From August 23 to September 2, 2014 Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) conducted by customer order nationwide opinion poll. By personal interview 2040 respondents living in 110 settlements all over Ukraine (except Crimea and Luhansk region) random sample of quota selection at the last stage, representative of the population of Ukraine aged 18 years.

In Lugansk region through military action was not possible to conduct the survey. Interviews, which were conducted in the Luhansk region were held in Donetsk region.

Statistical sampling error (with probability 0.95, design effect 1.5) does not exceed: 3.3% for figures close to 50%, 2.8% - figures close to 25%, 2.0% - figures close to 10% 1.4% - figures close to 5%.

If elections to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine took place in late August, with all citizens of Ukraine aged 18 -

21.5% would vote for the Bloc P. Poroshenko (Yuri Lutsenko, V. Klitschko, A. Bohomolets)
7.6% - for the Radical Party O. Lyashko,
5.6% - for the party "Citizenship" (A. Gritsenko)
4.5% - for the party "Strong Ukraine" (Tigipko)
3.7% - for the party "Patriots of Ukraine" (A.Yatsenyuk, O. Turchynov)
3.5% - with the All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" (Tymoshenko)
2.7% - for the Communist Party of Ukraine (AP Symonenko)
2.5% - with the All-Ukrainian Union "Freedom" (O. Tiagnybok)
2.2% - the Party of Regions (Oleg Efremov)
1.7% - for the party "union" (Alexander Garden)
1.0% - for the party "Right sector" (D. Jarosz)
by other parties - just 1.3%
2.3% - have deleted all parties would have destroyed newsletter
14.9% - chose not to vote,
24.9% - have not decided for whom to vote.

Complete story at - Press releases and reports - Electoral moods in Ukraine: Parliamentary Elections in Ukraine

Ukraine President's Days Numbered After Broad Accusations Of "Betraying National Interests" | Zero Hedge

As we summarized late on Friday, while Europe has been banging the populist drums over ever-escalating Russian sanctions, it quietly and without much fanfare folded in the one place where Russia could have been truly hurt, the Free Trade (DFCTA) agreement between Ukraine and the EU. But while Europe would have loved for nobody to notice, some did, and not just on these pages: far more importantly, so did the citizens of Ukraine where as the WSJ reports, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko faces rising criticism for his decision to delay implementation of part of a European Union deal to avoid threatened Russian retaliation.

And this is why neither side can afford to blink, because the moment one side folds, its domestic support collapses. And blinking is precisely what Ukraine just did and with that it set in motion the events that will likely terminate prematurely the brief, irrelevant presidency of Ukraine's "Chocolate Baron" Poroshenko.

From WSJ:

A senior diplomat resigned in protest over the weekend, and pro-European politicians who are competing with Mr. Poroshenko's party in parliamentary elections next month blasted the decision as caving to Russia, which wants Ukraine to give up the deal and remain in its orbit. The tensions highlight how difficult it will be for Mr. Poroshenko to manage the competing pressures of a Kremlin that isn't backing down and a domestic electorate that wants closer ties to Europe and no concessions to Moscow.

On Friday, Ukraine and the EU agreed to put off implementing a landmark trade deal, which is part of a broader pact aimed at strengthening their ties, after Moscow threatened trade restrictions that would have crippled Ukraine's already limping economy.

Complete story at - Ukraine President's Days Numbered After Broad Accusations Of "Betraying National Interests" | Zero Hedge

Not So Easy Rider — New Ukraine Poll Reveals Collapse Of War Party, Voters Drop Pro-Nato Candidates Oleg Lyashko, Arseny Yatseniuk, Yulia Timoshenko, And Oleg Tyagnibok | Dances With Bears

By John Helmer, Moscow

After the steady rise of enthusiasm for war in Ukraine voter polls through the summer, Ukrainian politicians in favour of the military campaign against Donetsk, Lugansk, and Russia, have suffered a dramatic loss of support across the country.

This was reported in Kiev on September 3. In the first countrywide poll taken since the Ukrainian Army took heavy casualties and retreated from the Donbass at the end of August, voters who had supported the pro-war Radical Party, led by Oleg Lyashko (2), have dropped from 22.2% to 13.1%. Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk’s (3) bloc, Patriots of Ukraine, which includes the police and national guard minister, Arsen Avakov (4), has collapsed from more than 9% to 3.7%. Yulia Timoshenko’s (6) Fatherland party has fallen below her former proteges to 3.5%. The Svoboda (“Freedom”) party of Oleg Tyagnibok (1), the candidate of the US Embassy in Kiev and the State Department, and Pravy Sektor (“Right Sector”), the party behind the national guard formations fighting in the east, have lost virtually all their support outside the far western regions of the country; across the Ukraine they are now polling just 2.5% and 1%.

The parliamentary election scheduled for October 26, according to US and Ukrainian sociologists in Kiev “can now be predicted by the misery index – rising war casualties, rampant inflation and unemployment – plus fear of winter.”

Also this...

On August 26, Bogomolets launched an attack on the performance of the Turchinov-Yatseniuk government, as well as those Ukrainian oligarchs who have financed the war in the east. “It would be desirable to see on a peculiar parade of shame by separate columns – a battalion of oligarchs, a company of media liars, regiments of immoral judges and corruption divisions, in all their ‘beauty’… people should see who hides behind our independence while in Ukraine blood is shed…From the point of view of elementary mathematics, the chances to win against Russian force and arms [are] zero, not even if not only the men, but also all women and children were sent to the front line… But the heaviest victory for Ukraine consists in the fight against internal enemies. This must take place with severity but without blood. Once Ukraine should become independent of oligarchs and corruption – that will be our first step to independence and advantage.”

Complete story at - Not So Easy Rider — New Ukraine Poll Reveals Collapse Of War Party, Voters Drop Pro-Nato Candidates Oleg Lyashko, Arseny Yatseniuk, Yulia Timoshenko, And Oleg Tyagnibok | Dances With Bears

Europe and Ukraine: A tale of two elections — RT Op-Edge

Circumstances surrounding the European and Ukrainian elections were far from being a mere coincidence.

The regime changers in Kiev decided to hold a presidential election on May 25, the same day as European Parliament elections, in order to demonstrate their desire to follow a European-centric foreign policy.

Talk about two elections somewhat joined at the hip! In the end, the Ukraine election did actually represent European foreign policy in action – manifested in regime change leading to the specter of civil war.

Few in Europe would have noticed how this process is so far away from “democracy” –instead enshrining intolerance and an ideology of blind confrontation, as represented by this “debate” in Kiev driven by a clueless Yale historian.

Key facts that should be understood are how the West ignored the Odessa massacre, as well as the detention of Russian journalists; and how the West dismissed the aspirations of eastern and southern Ukrainians as the work of “pro-Russians” or “terrorists.” These people simply became objects of repression - fully supervised by the West, with now the whole regime change theatre of the absurd in Kiev legitimized through an election charade.

Way beyond the established fact of an Atlantic push against Russian western borderlands, Ukraine remains a catfight of local oligarchies. No wonder the new Ukrainian president is also an oligarch; the 7th wealthiest citizen in the land, who owns not just a chocolate empire, but also automotive plants, a shipyard in Crimea and a TV channel. The only difference is that he’s a NATO oligarch

Complete story at - Europe and Ukraine: A tale of two elections — RT Op-Edge

Ukraine's Election. Hey, this might be legit. Right?

Just look how neatly people drop those ballots into that box!

Asia Times Online :: Ukraine Creates Arc of Chaos

By Francesco Sisci

As if on a romantic double date, Europe is strolling nonchalantly toward what in reality is a risky pair of electoral appointments: the vote for the European Union parliament in Brussels and the presidential election in Ukraine, both scheduled for May 25. The combination of the two could multiply the many hazards each separately entails.

The most obviously precarious is the Ukrainian election. Here a thousand things can go wrong, so much so that either side (the anti- and pro-Russian factions in the country) could claim the elections were disrupted.

In some ways Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to cool the tension by urging pro-Russian factions to call off a local referendum on secession in eastern Ukraine on May 11. However, he turned up in Crimea on May 9, in an apparent sign of support for pro-Russian faction in Ukraine. So pro-Russian groups didn't heed the call to stop the referendum.

Moreover, Americans claim Moscow has troops at the border ready to intervene, something that - Putin's words notwithstanding - could further encourage secessionists. Their presence could also prevent the intervention of pro-Kiev forces that might be too eager to intervene to gain more prestige and badges of honor in the West.

It is not completely clear what is in play there. Are the pro-Russians really loyal to their Moscow leader or do they have their own agendas and are trying to force Putin's hand? Or vice versa they could be being played by the grand puppeteer - Putin.

Complete story at - Asia Times Online :: Ukraine Creates Arc of Chaos