31 July 2023

Finnish journalist called for British Prime Minister´s head to be placed on London bridge to dry

In recent times, there has been an ongoing debate in Finland, where the country's leading newspaper - Helsingin Sanomat - has unearthed old social media messages of ministers that are alleged to be racist. The purpose behind this is to bring down the right-wing government, in which the second smallest party - the Swedish People's Party - is struggling with these issues.

As this has continued for a sufficient period, even those supporting the government have started to search for similar writings from Helsingin Sanomat journalists. The latest revelation includes a few years old social media post by the newspaper's executive editor-in-chief's spouse, Saska Saarikoski. In that post, there was a demand for the then British Prime Minister's head to be placed on London Bridge to dry. Saarikoski has not apologized for his writing.

In a previous case, a nearly ten-year-old article from Helsingin Sanomat was also brought up, in which readers were encouraged to come up with derogatory nicknames for Estonians. The newspaper's editorial staff has not apologized for this message either.

It remains to be seen where this exchange of words will lead. However, it is evident that such confrontation is not beneficial for either the development of Finnish society or its reputation abroad.

29 July 2023

History of Finland XII: Bloody civil war

This is the twelfth part of a blog series where I go through the significant events of Finnish history. In the eleventh entry, I described how Finland became a democracy, ensuring equal political participation for all citizens, as a result of the oppressive measures taken by Russia in the country. 

As such, Finland gained independence in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution. However, led by the Social Democratic Party, then including also communists, the Finnish Civil War began. According to Professor Ylikangas, the war resulted in the deaths of as many as 36 640 people - more than in the similarly-lengthy Winter War, and in proportion to the population, more than in the three-year Continuation War.

As we know, the war was ultimately won by the Whites, led by Mannerheim, although they initially struggled to recruit even in South Ostrobothnia, where the war was being fought against fellow countrymen. This situation changed when Mannerheim managed to disarm 7 500 Russian soldiers with a small group of men in Ostrobothnia. Thereafter, recruitment was marketed with the need to remove the Russians from the country, which solved previous problems. 

The parties of the war were initially quite equal in terms of their skills, but the outcome was decided by the Jäger troops - Finnish young men who were trained and arrived from Germany - and ultimately by the German military unit that arrived in the country. In reality, the latter alone would have been sufficient to achieve the same outcome even if there had been no Jäger troops.

In the white Finland that emerged as the first outcome of the war, power was taken over by the educated classes, civil servants, owners of estates and factories, as well as farmers. On the other hand, the defeated industrial and agricultural workers and the landless inhabitants of sparsely populated areas were marginalized despite their right to vote.

The second significant outcome of the war was the emergence of a strong far-left party (The Finnish Communist Party) in our country. Its success was fueled by the white media, which highlighted the red terror, but remained silent about all the memories of the white post-war atrocities.

Finland was driven into a civil war primarily due to the power vacuum created by the fall of the Russian Tsar. The well-known social injustices - popularized by Väinö Linna and still cherished by the Left today - were more of a driving force for the war rather than the cause.

Two militant organizations, the Red and White Guards, emerged to fill the power vacuum, and their confrontation was ensured when the Senate, dominated by the political right, declared the Civil Guards as the government's armed forces. The Red Guard leadership could not accept this, and they set out on their ill-fated military campaign.

After the war, there was a multi-stage political struggle over the country's political system and the government structure that reflected it. The result was a democratic structure with a very strong executive power, which was entirely different from the other European states that became independent after the World War I.

Thanks to its strong executive power, Finland remained a democracy while other post-World War I democracies drifted towards right-wing dictatorships. This was despite the fact that communists in Finland were forced underground and the far-right sought to take power through extra-legal means.

The original blog post in Finnish:
Verinen sisällissota

All the blog posts in this series:
History of Finland I: How did Finland become culturally part of the West?
History of Finland II: From a hinterland of the Union into a modern state
History of Finland III: The legal and economic weakening of the position of the people
History of Finland IV: The bleakest time in Finnish history
History of Finland V: The pursuit of economic profit saved the country
History of Finland VI: Age of freedom and utility
History of Finland VII: The dictator of the era of Enlightenment promoted capitalist economy
History of Finland VIII: Joining of Finland to Russia led to an increase in crime
History of Finland IX: Enlightended dictator initiated economic growth
History of Finland X: The birth of Finnish identity
History of Finland XI: Finnish democracy and gender equality for women
History of Finland XII: Bloody civil war
History of Finland XIII: The far-right's rebellion
History of Finland XIV: The end of the first Finnish Republic
History of Finland XV: Paasikivi-Kekkonen doctrine
History of Finland XVI: Through rise and fall to a new kind of future

26 July 2023

The record-breaking warming of the oceans is not visible in the Arctic

The most important newspaper of Finland, Helsingin Sanomat, took a stance in its editorial on Minister Kaj Mykkänen's (National Coalition Party) comment, according to which the key climate action in Finland is to plug factory chimneys. A couple of days ago, I also commented on this matter in Finnish, pointing out that human progress is based on science and technology – and reminding that insect infestations threaten forest carbon sinks in a warming climate.


Climate change has also been commented on by Petteri Taalas, Secretory General of the World Meteorological Organization, who says that the problems predicted by climate researchers in the Greek archipelago back in the 1980s are now becoming a reality. This led me to once again look at the development of northern sea ice extent. One might imagine it melting rapidly right now, given that the surface water of the North Atlantic is warmer than ever in recorded history.

My surprise was significant when I observed that the extent of northern sea ice on July 24th, relative to this time of year, was the tenth smallest in the statistics. The years 2007, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, and 2021 were surpassed.

However, it is true that the last time I wrote about the subject in English, sea ice was 12th smallest, so its relative extent compared to recent years has decreased. On the other hand, compared to the record year 2012, the extent of northern sea ice is over five percent larger – when I wrote about it in Finnish, the difference was just under five percent – so in that respect, it has expanded rather than contracted. This could, of course, be due to the exceptional anomaly of the year 2012.

So, we'll see if the warm water from the North Atlantic finally flows to the Arctic region and begins to melt the northern sea ice. And thus, would bring closer the day – which climate researchers say is inevitably ahead – when the Arctic ice completely disappears.

Aiempia ajatuksia samasta aihepiiristä:
HS katkeroituneen naisen työkaluna

25 July 2023

Should Putin´s regime be overthrown by supporting Russian opposition?

In the United States, Swedish economist Anders Åslund contemplated how the war in Ukraine could be brought to an end. According to him, Jevgeni Prigožin's recent attempted coup "demonstrated that Russia is practically defenseless on its own territory, as Putin has sent all his real troops and weapons to Ukraine. Apparently, it is better to attack Russia directly than the fortified and mine-saturated occupation zones in Ukraine."

He also noticed that the rebels were not punished, and Vladimir Putin even agreed to negotiate with them after the insurgency. According to Åslund, this showed weakness, and "this weakness could be potentially fatal for Putin."

Therefore, Åslund suggests that Western countries should strive to overthrow Putin's regime from within by supporting Russians opposing him. This way, results could be achieved faster than by causing the deaths of thousands of Ukrainians in well-fortified Russian frontlines.

Åslund also reminded us that we should learn from history: "The threat is not Russia's instability, but Putin! Nobody, including Putin, benefits from the use of nuclear weapons. The sooner Putin is defeated, the lower the risk of nuclear war. Defend freedom and democracy!"

* * *

It would be desirable if the Russians themselves were to overthrow Putin's regime. However, a significant problem may arise, especially because during his long rule, the dictator has managed to eliminate any credible opposition within the country. Consequently, it might be impossible for Western countries to find a force that would be willing and capable of toppling Putin from power.

Furthermore, it is worth noting that if such a force were to emerge, perhaps even from Putin's inner circle, the new administration could be even more insane than Putin himself. There is a historical example of this, referring to the developments following the Russian March Revolution. Initially, democratic forces toppled the Tsar from power, but later, the hardline Communists, led by Lenin, took control in October Revolution.

Thus, Russia's democratic development came to a halt, leading to a communist authoritarian regime with long-lasting effects that are still visible today, despite the collapse of the Soviet Union more than 30 years ago. The Moscow government continues to violate human rights and allow political elites to plunder national assets. As a result, we face a wicked problem for which an easy solution may not even exist.

Nevertheless, the downfall of Putin's criminal regime, by any means, is in the best interest of the entire world, not least the Russian people - even if they don't fully comprehend it.


 

21 July 2023

Russian standard of tanks

Russia claimed yesterday that they have used T-14 Armata tanks in Ukraine. This claim was commented on by the former commander of the Finnish army, General Jarmo Lindberg.

According to him: "It is Russia's new generation battle tank, which was introduced a few years ago (in 2015) in perhaps a slightly embarrassing manner during the Victory Day parade on Red Square. It broke down there and had to be towed away. Apparently, some of them have now made it to the front lines under their own power."

When asked if it's truly a super tank as Russians have claimed, he responded: "Well, super and super. Maybe by Russian standards, it is."

Clearly, the general did not consider the Russian tank anything special and certainly not on par with modern Western tanks.

20 July 2023

History of Finland XI: Finnish democracy and gender equality for women

This is the eleventh part of a blog post series where I go through the significant phases of Finnish history. In the tenth entry, I described how the Finnish nationalism led to the formation of a unified, yet bilingual Finnish identity.

However, the next change occurred when the development of the Russian society progressed to a level where the country could dream of standardizing the administration of the empire. As a result, Tsar Nicholas II decided to end Finland's autonomous status as a part of the empire - in other words, the first period of oppression began in our country, which lasted from 1899 to 1905.

The beginning of the period of oppression heavily politicized our country, causing the political struggle, which had previously been focused on language issues, to shift to new fronts. The Old Finns party, primarily relying on the peasantry, adopted a conciliatory policy with the aim of combining the interests of the Finns and the Tsar, while the Young Finns party of the educated and industrial circles, the Old Estates, and the Swedish-speaking industrialists formed a constitutional front that held onto autonomy as it had been known.

The first period of oppression ended when Russia stumbled in the war with Japan in 1904-05, resulting in Tsar losing his autocracy, and a parliament, called the Duma, was established in the empire. At the same time, the Tsar's grip on Finland loosened, and the people went on a general strike demanding the restoration of autonomy and their own parliament.

After a lengthy struggle, the country finally obtained a unicameral parliament that maximized democracy, and women, along with the working-class, were granted the right to vote and, gradually, an equal position with men.

It may interest my esteemed reader that the Swedish-speaking minority in our country, supported by some Young Finns, vehemently opposed women's access to positions of power. This opposition was sometimes expressed in quite interesting turns of phrase.

One of my ancient colleagues opposed women's eligibility for elections on the grounds that "women, as emotional beings, might easily sway towards too extreme positions" - expressing incontrovertibly that the opposition to gender equality was not so much ethical or political, but rather stemmed primarily from a fear of democracy. In other words, women's ability to make sound political decisions was not trusted.

The original blog post in Finnish:

All the blog posts in this series:
History of Finland I: How did Finland become culturally part of the West?
History of Finland II: From a hinterland of the Union into a modern state
History of Finland III: The legal and economic weakening of the position of the people
History of Finland IV: The bleakest time in Finnish history
History of Finland V: The pursuit of economic profit saved the country
History of Finland VI: Age of freedom and utility
History of Finland VII: The dictator of the era of Enlightenment promoted capitalist economy
History of Finland VIII: Joining of Finland to Russia led to an increase in crime
History of Finland IX: Enlightended dictator initiated economic growth
History of Finland X: The birth of Finnish identity
History of Finland XI: Finnish democracy and gender equality for women
History of Finland XII: Bloody civil war
History of Finland XIII: The far-right's rebellion
History of Finland XIV: The end of the first Finnish Republic
History of Finland XV: Paasikivi-Kekkonen doctrine
History of Finland XVI: Through rise and fall to a new kind of future

14 July 2023

The Finnish Minister of Foreign Affairs apologized to the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs for the words of the woman who criticized the man who exposed his penis

In Finland, the left-wing opposition has recently been trying to bring down the government in collaboration with major media houses by seeking evidence of racism in the old writings of the Finns Party ministers.

One of the cases involved Minister of Finance Riikka Purra, who was claimed to have written about Turkish monkeys 15 years ago. The case was reported incorrectly because Purra had not referred to Turks in general as monkeys but rather to a specific Turkish man who had disturbed her dinner in a restaurant by staring and simultaneously digging his penis.

Surprisingly, Minister of Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen (National Coalition Party) apologized to the Turks without verifying the original text. The situation is almost comical, with the foreign minister apologizing to Turks for the reaction of a woman who was harassed by a disgustingly behaving man. Hopefully, the truth will one day come out for both the Turks and Finland's foreign minister.

Another recent incident concerned Purra's blog post from 2019, which was claimed to be racist in the Finnish press. However, this article was also reported incorrectly to the Finnish people because it explicitly advocated for Muslim women to have the same rights in Finland as Western women and was neither racist nor sexist.

As a result of these inaccurately reported writings, the left-wing opposition has demanded that the Parliament be called into session during the holiday period to discuss these matters. Parliament Chair Jussi Halla-aho (Finns Party) has promised to issue the invitation if any government party supports the demand, but the National Coalition Party, at least, is reluctant.

However, if the Parliament is called together, it is possible - or rather probable - that the Finnish government will collapse.

11 July 2023

Finnish horror gallery and reality

 In Finland, there is an ongoing special operation by the left-wing to overthrow the right-wing government that was appointed a few weeks ago. As a result, one minister has resigned, and another has been targeted over online writings from fifteen years ago, which have been claimed to be written by her.


The minister in question, Riikka Purra of the Finns Party, has neither confirmed nor denied writing the mentioned texts. Instead, it has emerged that among the texts cited is at least one taken out of context, which gives a false impression in the way it has been presented. It does not involve violent fantasies towards children, as it has been suggested, but rather is a response to a proposal to ban the right to carry firearms for all men. The alleged pseudonymous author, now claimed to be the current minister, has opposed the idea with the expression that has been brought up.

It is also interesting to note that the minister in question, who is under public scrutiny, was the candidate who received the highest number of votes in the national parliamentary elections in the spring. And I don't believe there was a single person among those who voted for her who was unaware of her critical stance on immigration.

Therefore, the orchestrated campaign must be seen as an undemocratic attempt to bypass the election results and overthrow the government enjoying the support of the majority in the parliament, as well as the minister who has garnered exceptional popularity. This is happening in a country where even ministers with a history of participating in armed rebellion have been seen, and earlier this year, a person convicted of a crime also held a ministerial position.

As such, the ongoing discussion has followed the familiar pattern. The left-wing opposition promotes their own propaganda, and the press supports it. Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (National Coalition Party), on the other hand, briefly stated that the government parties are committed to an equal, equitable, and safe society where no one should live in fear.

Just before writing this blog post, President Sauli Niinistö stated, "It would be wise for the Finnish government to take a clear zero-tolerance stance against racism. Racism and potential issues related to immigration are two completely separate matters."

This is an interesting comment considering that the Finnish government has already outlined in its program that "Finland adheres to human rights and other international agreements, obligations of EU legislation, and the principles of the rule of law in its immigration policy. Finland participates in multilateral international cooperation."

Furthermore, it has pointed out - acknowledging the facts - that "the government recognizes the increasing youth and gang crime as a serious problem. The government is committed to implementing the necessary measures to actively combat and reduce youth and gang crime. Resolving the issue requires a multidisciplinary approach. The entire society, starting from families and parental support in upbringing, as well as efforts against marginalization and discrimination, up to integration and immigration policies, will be involved in the process of change."

In other words, the government program states that it adheres to human rights principles (which definitely do not include racism) but also acknowledges the internal security problems caused by Finnish immigration policy. The latter, along with the indifference of previous governments and the media towards it, is the actual reason why the Finns Party has become the second most popular party in Finland. Riikka Purra, who is currently targeted in the campaign, emerged as the vote queen in the last elections.

In practice, the Finnish government will continue to lead the country as long as the Members of Parliament belonging to the participating parties support it. However, the Swedish People's Party may pose a problem in this regard, as their representatives have previously betrayed their coalition partners. 

However, so far, they have only demanded Purra to disassociate herself from all forms of racism. That was despite the fact, that the minister already Tweeted that "At the same time, it is evident that both the Finns Party and this government operate in accordance with all laws, do not endorse any extremist movements, condemn all totalitarian ideologies, violent activities, and discrimination."

It remains to be seen whether Swedish People´s Party will betray again their coalition partners. If this happens, it will leave a long-lasting stigma between it and other right-wing parties.

9 July 2023

History of Finland X: The birth of Finnish identity

This is the tenth part of a blog post series in which I go through the most significant phases of Finnish history. In the ninth post, I described how the change of power in Russia led to the creation of liberal legislation and enormous progress in the development of society.

At the end of the 19th century, the Finnish nationalistic movement, or Fennomania, also emerged, which, alongside the liberalization of the country, was the most significant development of the time. We Finns remember it best from our school days as an idea created by Swedish-speaking great men such as Arwidsson, Snellman, Runeberg, and Topelius to improve the position of the Finnish people and their language.

And to some extent, that was indeed the case. However, school books left open the question of why Swedish-speaking great men originally started advocating for the position of the Finnish people.

The explanation for this can be found by examining fennomania as a transfer of power between social classes. The growing intelligentsia allied themselves with the wealthy peasants who had benefited from pre-capitalist economic policies to challenge the predominantly aristocratic, Swedish-speaking civil servants in the distribution of high-level positions reserved solely for the Swedish-speaking upper class. And in this battle, the language of the peasant class was well-suited, especially since the children of noble estates did not speak it.

In addition to the rising peasant class that challenged the Swedish-speaking civil servants, the will of the emperor - or grand duke as the Tsar was called in Finland - was also crucial in this struggle. His advantage was to weaken the close ties of the civil servants with the old motherland, Sweden, and the elevation of the status of the Finnish language was ideal for this.

Throughout the 19th century, however, the civil servants were initially stronger than the fennomaniacs, and by the mid-1800s, it appeared that the fate of the Finnish language would be that of the disappearing Irish language. However, an unexpected change occurred when Alexander II ascended the throne and signed the Language Decree of 1863, which made Finnish an equal language alongside Swedish.

This had far-reaching consequences. Firstly, despite the great disappointment of the Swedish-speaking population, the decision ultimately saved their mother tongue in Finland, as it ensured them an equal linguistic status with the Finnish-speaking population after Finland's independence. Otherwise, Finland would have become a monolingual country like Estonia.

The second significant consequence was that, after winning the language struggle, the original fennomans, i.e. the old Finns, became advocates of the emperor in Finland. This was evident during the years of oppression, where to preserve the autonomy of the Grand Duchy, concessions were repeatedly made to the Tsar's administration. In exchange for this submission, they were granted official positions by the Grand Duke, but as a reaction to this, the younger generation of fennomans, the young Finns, emerged with a highly negative view of their predecessors.

At the same time, there was a lively debate in the Swedish press, in which Snellman also participated. The Swedish government had recognized the facts and reluctantly accepted the loss of the eastern part of the country to Russia. Despite this, there was still debate on the western side of the Gulf of Bothnia, where since the 1830s and especially during the Crimean War, there were voices calling for Finland to be returned to the old motherland by joining forces with its enemies.

This debate likely had a strong impact on the Tsars allowing Finland to maintain its autonomous special status, which allowed the former backward eastern part of the Swedish kingdom to develop into a state capable of achieving high-level accomplishments in almost every field within a hundred years. Thus, the Swedish revanchist spirit ended up doing a favor for Finland - albeit in a way that its representatives had not intended.

The original blog post in Finnish:
Suomalaisuuden synty

All the blog posts in this series:
History of Finland I: How did Finland become culturally part of the West?
History of Finland II: From a hinterland of the Union into a modern state
History of Finland III: The legal and economic weakening of the position of the people
History of Finland IV: The bleakest time in Finnish history
History of Finland V: The pursuit of economic profit saved the country
History of Finland VI: Age of freedom and utility
History of Finland VII: The dictator of the era of Enlightenment promoted capitalist economy
History of Finland VIII: Joining of Finland to Russia led to an increase in crime
History of Finland IX: Enlightended dictator initiated economic growth
History of Finland X: The birth of Finnish identity
History of Finland XI: Finnish democracy and gender equality for women
History of Finland XII: Bloody civil war
History of Finland XIII: The far-right's rebellion
History of Finland XIV: The end of the first Finnish Republic
History of Finland XV: Paasikivi-Kekkonen doctrine
History of Finland XVI: Through rise and fall to a new kind of future

6 July 2023

Cousin is not just a delicacy, but also a hindrance to social success

As my esteemed reader surely knows, it is customary in many cultures to marry young virgins to male relatives. Such inbreeding causes genetic issues because children inherit the same gene forms from both parents, and each individual carries recessive genes in their genetic makeup, which, when inherited from both parents, can cause more or less serious problems.

In addition to the genetic effects, it has been claimed that consanguineous marriages also have negative implications for societal development. To test this hypothesis, a recent study was published, examining the differences among U.S. states in their attitudes towards cousin marriages.

The study analyzed data from millions of individuals from the 18th to the 20th century and found that cousins who married each other were more likely to reside in rural areas and engage in fewer wage-earning jobs compared to others. On the other hand, bans on cousin marriages resulted in people moving from rural to urban areas, leading to better-paying occupations.

The researchers' findings also indicated that these changes were attributed to the social and cultural impacts of diminished family ties rather than genetic factors. Simultaneously, people's support for their relatives decreased, resulting in a higher prevalence of institutional care for the elderly relatives.

Overall, the study I have discussed here supports the notion that immigration policies should aim to break the tradition of consanguineous marriages within immigrant groups where it is common. This issue should not be seen as a matter of equality or human rights but rather as a natural part of eliminating harmful cultural practices - such as female genital mutilation or blood feuds - in order to promote the social integration and individual success of immigrants.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Discrimination against women?
African female and Persian male ancestors
Should forbidden questions be answered or not?

3 July 2023

The activists sought excitement and a boost to their self-esteem in the Stockholm Diamond League

Climate activists disrupted a star-studded athletics competition yesterday in Sweden by blocking the track with 400-meter hurdles. This upset the competition's winner, Norwegian Karsten Warholm, who said, "it is completely idiotic. It should be allowed to protest, but that is sickeningly bad. That's not the way to do it, no matter what it's about". 

The activists themselves claimed, "we are doing this because people die every day from the climate disaster. Politicians do not act. We need to raise this issue."

However, especially in Europe, politicians have taken significant action to mitigate climate change. The European Union, in particular, has made a decision to become climate-neutral by 2050 at the latest. Additionally, as an interim goal, it has been decided to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 55 percent by 2030.

In other words, the activists' justification is not valid, and there seems to be an entirely different reason behind their actions. It is likely driven by a disregard for others and a search for excitement, as well as a boost to the participants' self-esteem. This is evident considering the significant attention it received worldwide.

* * *

In this context, it is also worth looking at how the climate has evolved in the Arctic region predicted to warm more rapidly than other parts of the world. The timing is ideal as the NSIDC (National Snow and Ice Data Center) has just released data on the extent of Arctic sea ice for the past month.

According to the data, the ice extent surrounding the North Pole was slightly larger this year´s June compared to the years 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2017, 2016, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2007, 2006, and the same as in 2015. To get a better understanding of the situation beyond a series of years, it is helpful to examine the development of ice extent visually.




From the image, we can see that the extent of Arctic sea ice in June has been quite variable but has decreased over the years surrounding the turn of the millennium. In recent years, it has remained stable, and no further ice melt has been observed.