The amazing adventures of the German cockroach

The German cockroach, also known as the common cockroach, is a member of the animal kingdom that brings to mind positive thoughts for few people - hardly even the most enthusiastic animal rights advocates. However, in all its repulsiveness, it is an extremely interesting creature that is entirely dependent on humans, as it is not known to live independently anywhere in the world.

The German cockroach was described by Carl von Linné, who developed the modern system of organism classification. He also suggested that it originated from somewhere else than Europe. And indeed, he was a wise man, for research has shown that the cockroach originated in Asia and has even traced its spread around the world.

By analyzing mitochondrial genes, it has been shown that the German cockroach is most closely related to the Asian cockroach, which was originally described in Japan but has since spread to the United States. The journey of the German cockroach from Asia has been investigated by mapping genomic similarities from 281 samples collected in 17 countries.

Their genetic relationships indicate that German cockroaches achieved global distribution in two waves, both assisted by humans. However, this only began after the ancestors of the German cockroach diverged from the Asian cockroach about 2100 years ago.

This likely happened in India or Myanmar as the cockroaches adapted to eating human food. After mastering this skill, the German cockroach moved to the Middle East about 1200 years ago, coinciding with the expansion of trade and warfare during the two Islamic caliphates, the Umayyads and the Abbasids. The likely means of transportation were bread baskets carried by people.

In the next wave, the species' range expanded to Southeast Asia about 390 years ago, driven by colonial trade by the Dutch and British East India Companies. Finally, trading ships brought the cockroaches to Europe around 300 years ago.

Subsequently, steamships and improved housing – with heating and plumbing creating warm, humid conditions favored by cockroaches – enabled the German cockroach to spread worldwide. The only place left unconquered is Antarctica.

The story of the German cockroach, as briefly described above, illustrates how natural selection takes advantage of opportunities. First, the abundance of food produced by agriculture created a new ecological niche, allowing some cockroaches to specialize in consuming human food.

With the services provided by humans, the cockroaches were then ready to travel with them all over the world. And to adapt to living in the most diverse conditions – as long as there is someone there providing them with bread and warmth.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Traditional beliefs turned out to be wisdom
Leaders infected by a parasite
World oceans are filled with previously unknown viruses

Will the multinational force led by Kenyans help?

The only state in the Western Hemisphere led by people of Sub-Saharan African descent - Haiti - has appointed a new prime minister, Garry Conille. He is a former Prime Minister of Haiti, whose term began in 2011 and ended already in 2012.

However, Conille's prospects for lifting gang-ridden Haiti out of chaos and misery do not seem promising, as the country's healthcare system is on the verge of collapse, millions of people are threatened by famine and infectious diseases, and over 362,000 Haitians have been forced to leave their homes due to violence.

The task should, however, be facilitated by the arrival of multinational forces led by Kenya. Their mission is to disarm the gang members. It remains to be seen whether the new prime minister will succeed or if the country's turmoil will continue during and after his tenure.

* * *

The information in the previously written text, with one exception, comes from an article published by the Finnish afternoon newspaper Ilta-Sanomat. I added only the information about the distinct ethnic background of Haitians compared to other inhabitants of the American continent. I did this because this information may be relevant to the years-long plight of Haiti, considering the general level of societal success of Sub-Saharan African states.

I first took notice of Haiti nine years ago. At that time, five years after the earthquake, a wave of looting followed, which required Western soldiers to quell.

Additionally, I drew the attention of my esteemed readers to the fact that in Haiti at that time, even 12-year-old girls were selling themselves to pedophiles to obtain food and goods. Hopefully, this is not the case in the current situation.

At that time, I did not yet take into account the ethnic origin of Haiti's population but only noticed it in my writing seven years ago. However, the editorial team of Finnish media still does not seem to be interested in this issue, not even because the uniqueness of the country's population is rooted in one of the most successful ethnic cleansings in history.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
South Africa: life without a culture of maintenance
Racism or self-preservation instinct?
Should forbidden questions be answered or not?

Technically backward, miscellaneous group of gunmen

Russia's successful offensive, particularly in ammunition-strapped Ukraine, is now at a critical juncture after the Americans finally provided Ukraine with an aid package. Therefore, it is a good time to review what the Finns and others think about the situation.

According to a recent survey, the majority of Finns are willing to take on EU joint debt or even increase EU membership fees to support Ukraine. It seems that the descendants of the heroes of the Winter War remember very well the plight of a country left alone against a superpower and do not want history to repeat itself.

Belgium, on the other hand, has promised to supply Ukraine with 30 F-16 fighter jets. Thus, the nation crushed by the Nazis in 1940 is also offering its support to President Zelensky's army.

Ukraine has halted Russia's advance in the Kharkiv region, and Russian forces have turned to the defensive in the area. It remains to be seen whether they will succeed or lose the territory gained with the blood of their soldiers right away.

As a result of its aggression, Russia has lost over half a million soldiers, both dead and wounded, during the offensive war started two years ago. This number is large and exceeds the losses suffered by the Russians during the three months of the Winter War of 1939-40 by about one third.

The essential thing in all of this is that the Western countries do not allow Russia to benefit in any way from its aggression. Instead, it must be ensured that Vladimir Putin learns he does not lead a military superpower, but rather a technically backward, miscellaneous group of gunmen.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Putin's understanding and the battle between the gods
A woman's logic, Putin's test, and the Netherlands' change
The procrastination of Western countries is paid for with the blood of soldiers

The first casualty of war is the truth - but whose truth?

The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, has called on Israel to immediately cease strikes in the Rafah area. The reason is that they have hit a tent camp in the southern part of Gaza, killing dozens of people according to local (Palestinian?) authorities.

At first glance, the demand seems justified. But after Israel announced that it had carried out strikes on a target used by the terrorist organization Hamas in the area, and its armed forces stated that they were based on precise intelligence knowledge and used precision weapons, Borrell's demand requires further consideration.

If Israel's and its armed forces' claim holds true, the situation changes completely. In this case, the Palestinian fighters would have - once again - used civilians as human shields to succeed in their war. And if this is the case, we must ask what their responsibility is for the civilian casualties caused by the Israeli attack.

And consider what it would mean if we accepted such warfare, where one side is allowed to break all the rules of war, but we condemn the other, which is thus forced to act in a way that results in civilian casualties. Or giving an advantage to the one who wages war without caring about even its own civilian casualties.

Therefore, I believe that Borrell should have kept his mouth shut thus far. Or alternatively, he should have also called on Hamas to stop fighting from behind civilians and demanded the international court to condemn its actions.

In reality, no outsider knows what the truth is in this case. Nevertheless, we can certainly consider which side's information has proven to be more often correct. And which one has has been feeding lies.

However, in this matter too, the old saying applies, that the first casualty of war is the truth. Perhaps also in this case. But whose truth?

PS 21.39 Finnish time: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has admitted that the attack mentioned in my writing was a 'tragic mistake'. Thus, it seems that this time the truth did not get trampled by the war after all.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Norway and Ireland are awarding the terrorists a prize
Putin's understanding and the battle between the gods
During the Eurovision song spectacle, the incompetence of EU officials was revealed

Is there a limit to stupidity?

Almost all Finns are familiar with the words of Sweden's ancient chancellor Axel Oxenstierna, which he said to his son to encourage him in the peace negotiations of the Thirty Years' War. They were: "My son, if only you knew with how little wisdom the world is governed."

If the rulers of the 17th century were indeed lacking in wisdom, so are many ordinary people of today. This was evidenced by the news stream that caught my eye this morning, which made me doubt whether stupidity has any limits.

The first story that raised my doubts told of how some fool has deliberately spread aquarium fish and plants in about forty ponds in Southwest Finland. Because these species do not belong in Finland's nature and are known to cause problems when they spread into the environment, an entire pond in Paimio has been emptied to get rid of them.

The cost of this operation has so far been around 120,000 euros. If a similar procedure were carried out in all forty ponds at the same cost, the total cost to taxpayers would be nearly five million euros.

It is therefore to be hoped that the person who spread the aquarium fish will be caught and made to pay for the costs he caused.

However, I must say that the price tag of the fool in Southwest Finland does not compare to the idiots of the rest of the world. In Chile, a firefighter was arrested who, for some reason, had become enthusiastic about starting forest fires, which killed 137 people. And of course, it also caused a huge amount of material damage.

It remains to be seen whether the Chilean police have caught the right person who started the fires. However, for the purposes of this writing, it does not matter, because the forest fire that caused the loss of lives was deliberately set in any case. And if the person now detained as a suspect is not the perpetrator, it has nevertheless been some other idiot.

* * *

Of course, this list of two cases could be extended in many ways, but what I've written above already shows that among us are people whose actions are extremely foolish. However, this does not mean that they cannot succeed in intelligence tests, for example. Thus, the issue is something else. It is similar to voters who do not want to understand the connection between immigration from certain groups and gang crime, but deceive themselves by voting for parties whose actions support the strengthening of this connection. Or even the current political leaders of Western countries, who did not want to support Ukraine so strongly at the beginning of the ongoing war that the aggressor would have been defeated when it was at its weakest. That is, right at the start of the war, before Russia had shifted to a wartime economy. As a result of that neglect, stopping Putin now requires a multiple effort, not to mention the human and material costs that have been inflicted on Ukraine and its people during the prolonged war. At the same time, Western slackness regarding Russia has at least led China to increase its aggressiveness towards Taiwan.

* * *

Soon, Finns and other European citizens will face elections to choose politicians who will make decisions for us in Brussels. Therefore, it would be good if every EU citizen took a moment to assess the candidates' soundness of mind before making their voting decision. And to ensure, for their part, that the kinds of foolishness described above do not proliferate in the European Parliament, but that as many sensible decision-makers as possible are elected.

Previous thoughts on the same topic: Most useless organisations of our time Is Gerhard Schoeder of Germany ignorant, troll or stupid? Demonstration of one´s own stupidity is a sign of western values

South Africa: life without a culture of maintenance

South Africa is an interesting anthropological and cultural subject of study. The country's economy was in excellent shape when the white minority rule transitioned to black majority governance.

For this reason, I have occasionally written (in Finnish) about the events in the country. And today, I will do so based on an Al Jazeera article about the situation in the country.

According to the "Pravda" of the Arab world, South Africa has had uninterrupted electricity distribution for 57 consecutive days, which is the longest continuous period in over two years. This is significant because, last year, power outages caused losses of up to 51 million dollars per day due to the closure of factories, offices, and shops, according to the country's central bank.

However, electricity problems are not the only challenge in this country of 62 million people. Decades of neglect in infrastructure maintenance and investment have also led to the deterioration of transportation networks and water supply. This may result in the African National Congress (ANC), which has been in power since 1994 – the end of apartheid – losing its parliamentary majority in next week's elections, according to opinion polls.

South Africa has a large public electricity producer, Eskom, which mainly operates outdated and poorly maintained coal power plants. These plants have also suffered from coal and copper thefts as well as corruption. As a result, President Cyril Ramaphosa had to declare a state of emergency last February, with power outages stretching up to 12 hours a day.

Since then, private investments in wind and nuclear power have emerged in South Africa, resulting in the private sector now producing about a third of South Africa's electricity. This partly explains the recent reduction in power outages.

Power outages have also prevented water treatment plants from using their pumps, leaving people without potable water. Additionally, according to Johannesburg's water utility, nearly half of all pipeline water is lost to leaks. This means 70 million liters of drinking water are wasted every day. The reason is the high age of municipal distribution systems: in Johannesburg, for example, they were designed between the World Wars.

Water utilities are also vulnerable to vandalism. Thieves take everything from metal parts to pumps and sell them onwards. And there is no such maintenance culture for infrastructure in South Africa as in Western countries. Even if there were, water utilities struggle to generate revenue because people cannot afford to pay.

South Africa's water situation might be helped by transitioning to a private water distribution system, similar to electricity. The same applies to South Africa's state-supported railway company, which has also been plagued by poor management and corruption allegations.

Last year, the dilapidated railways caused economic losses equivalent to up to 6 percent of the gross domestic product in 2023, according to the country's Ministry of Finance. And that's not all, as the public railway company recently warned that it cannot service its debt of 130 billion rand (7.2 billion dollars) without direct state aid. Therefore, President Ramaphosa has also hinted at the possibility of privatizing the rail transport sector.

* * *

Next week, South Africa will hold elections in a situation where the infrastructure is failing, and in addition, a third of the entire population and nearly half of all young people are unemployed, 56 percent of the entire population lives in poverty, and economic growth is non-existent (with a forecast of 0.9 percent growth for this year). At the same time, crime rates and corruption scandals are daily occurrences.

Last year, the country's debt-to-GDP ratio grew to 74 percent (in Finland, it's 75.8 percent!), and the current government has to use more than a fifth of its tax revenues to pay interest on the debt. This diverts money from other sectors – such as education, healthcare, and infrastructure.

Therefore, unemployment in the country needs to be reduced to increase revenues. Consequently, the next government – regardless of its composition – should focus on stimulating the economy and creating jobs. This could be achieved by offering incentives for private infrastructure investments, which would positively reflect on the country's export industry and other businesses.

It remains to be seen whether South Africa can rise from the decline it has been on for the last decade and a half under the ANC-led centralized economy. Or will its fate be to sink into a typical backwater of black Africa, where nothing works except corruption and crime?

Previous thoughts on the same topic: Should forbidden questions be answered or not? Corruption in Nigeria may affect Europe They want to wipe out from Finland what is good for Africa

An immigrant who stands out from the average has been taken into custody

The Swedish society is notoriously in a state of rapid change. As a sign of this, a person can become the victim of a violent crime there for very small reasons.

I wrote about one such case in April, when a Swedish man was killed after responding to taunts from a youth gang. Yesterday, we received a bit more information about this case.

An Iraqi-born young man, who had arrived in the country as a child and soon after obtained Swedish citizenship, has been arrested in connection with the murder. Thus, he will remain a burden on the Swedish society for the rest of his life - unless he decides to move somewhere else, like Finland, for instance.

The news reporting the incident mentioned that the suspect comes from a broken home, where the mother changed partners as frequently as an environmentalist changes their salad ingredients. He himself was placed in the care of child welfare authorities at the age of 15, after having committed robberies, assaults, and drug offenses for two years. Additionally, he is suspected of having been involved in kidnapping and attempted murder.

Of course, this person is not the average Swedish immigrant, but nevertheless, according to statistics such cases appear more frequently among immigrants from Arab countries and Africa than among the native Nordic population. Thus, in Finland and many other European countries, we must ensure that our countries do not repeat the mistakes of our western neighbor and grow a problematic population under the guise of so-called human rights.

To clarify this matter to those who may have doubts, I am including a few links to videos that have been published on the messaging service X. I particularly recommend watching them to supporters of Swedish-style humanitarian immigration.

However, I warn you that the videos can provoke strong reactions and are not suitable for the sensitive.

The first, especially for male drivers.

The second, especially for young women.

The third, especially for recreational drug users.

The fourth, especially for those out in the city at night.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
A caliphate was demanded in Germany
Even a brutal murder didn't stir the Swedes
100 percent of the violence is related to migration

Norway and Ireland are awarding the terrorists a prize

Norway, Spain and Ireland are going to announce their recognition of the State of Palestine, which in reality does not even exist. There is only the West Bank, dependent on Israel, and the Gaza Strip, controlled by terrorists before the ongoing war.

The timing chosen by Norway and Ireland to recognize this non-existent state is, to say the least, peculiar. The part of it governed by Hamas has started a war with one of the cruelest terrorist acts in history and taken numerous hostages. During the offensive operation launched to rescue these hostages, Palestinian fighters have used hospitals as bases and shielded themselves behind civilians, leading to unnecessary loss of life.

From all this, Norway and Ireland have now concluded that it is time to reward Hamas by recognizing the State of Palestine. How should I put it: this is simply sick.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
United Nations, corruption and terrorism
Palestinian responsibility
Palestinians: acknowledging facts is the beginning of wisdom!

Putin's understanding and the battle between the gods

A Russian colleague has commented on the war in Ukraine. According to him, "We have defended Israel against Iranian missiles – why not Ukraine as well... We must not be paralyzed by the thought that we are provoking Putin. If he wants to do something against the West, he will do it anyway. He doesn't need provocation, as he has already decided to deliver a decisive blow to the West. We must stop him by force, just as the Soviet Union was stopped. It is the only language he understands."

I hope the professor's message is understood in the West, especially in Germany, France, the UK, and the USA, and that action is taken accordingly. This means ensuring that Ukraine's victory is not hindered by the availability of weapons.

This is especially crucial now, as Ukraine has finally made legislative changes that should gradually address their chronic manpower shortage. Meanwhile, Russia is increasingly relying on countries like China, North Korea, and Iran for its own armament.

* * *

Speaking of Iran, it was great to read the news that the president and foreign minister of the tyranny governed by the mullahs have died after the helicopter they were traveling in crashed near the Azerbaijan border, in a place near an Israeli base.

The cause of the helicopter crash seems to be bad weather. If that's the case, we humans should thank all the possible gods of climate and weather for the bad weather that brought down that specific helicopter.

In particular, it seems the Jewish god had a hand in this, arranging for the people of Israel to receive compensation for the almost empty strike that Iran launched against the country some time ago. Right now, it appears that Yahweh is a more powerful deity than Allah.

Fortunately, it seems that the helicopter crash does not appear to have involved any human-conducted military special operation—at least based on the news flow—but rather it was solely a contest of power between the gods. This way, even the Iranian mullahs can easily accept the loss of their high leaders as a punishment from a righteous god.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Religious authority and the Iran strike on Israel
Duck emphasizing the urgency of the new border law
The procrastination of Western countries is paid for with the blood of soldiers

The fundamentals of conservation biology wavered

The late Finnish Professor Ilkka Hanski and his team were at the absolute forefront of metapopulation research, as evidenced by the $500,000 Crafoord Prize awarded to him. The theory, which was Hanski's area of interest, also serves as a central framework for conservation.

According to Wikipedia, "in classical metapopulation theory, each population cycles in relative independence of the other populations and eventually goes extinct as a consequence of demographic stochasticity (fluctuations in population size due to random demographic events); the smaller the population, the more chances of inbreeding depression and prone to extinction."

As conservation has also become an increasingly important sector in political decision-making, as shown by Finland's rejection of the EU Commission's proposed restoration regulation, it was interesting to note a research report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States.

The report modeled the maintenance of the viability of metapopulations in fragmented landscapes by creating more complex, i.e., realistic, as well as simpler landscape structures. The former reflect fragmentation more realistically. The results showed that the findings from simpler models are not necessarily generalizable.

This is because dynamic phenomena that arise in more realistically fragmented landscapes often contradict the conclusions produced by simpler models. Thus, the new research undermines traditional metapopulation theory thinking - and at the same time its practical application in conservation thinking.

It remains to be seen how the research I have presented here will be covered by the European mainstream media. Or how it will affect, for example, the further development of the EU's restoration regulation. Or will it remain below the publication threshold of the media and thus not influence European conservation discussions in any way?

Since I strongly suspect that the research discussed here will remain unnoticed by the public, I decided to highlight the issue in this writing - in English and also Finnish - so that any journalist, politician, or other influencer interested in the matter - who reads this blog - could become aware of it. And could, if desired, read it themselves (the publication is open for reading) and utilize its results in their own activities.

Previous thoughts on the same topic: Preventing future fires in Hawaii is possible, but the question remains: Are animal activists and politicians prepared for the necessary measures? Traditional beliefs turned out to be wisdom Wolfs affect nature conservation

A woman's logic, Putin's test, and the Netherlands' change

A Finnish media company, MTV3, has conducted an interesting survey. According to it, all Finns, regardless of gender, consider foreign and security policy, as well as internal security, to be very important issues in the European elections.

However, while supporting Ukraine is very important to men, women do not seem to care much about whether or not Ukrainians are supported in their fight against Putin's invaders. Instead, women consider it very important to prevent the rise of the far right and to combat climate change, whereas men are not as interested in these issues.

Based on this, it can be concluded that there will be significant differences in the voting behavior of men and women. Specifically, women are likely to support red-green candidates much more, while men are more likely to vote for candidates from the right side of the political center.

This is, of course, not surprising, as previous studies have shown that women tend to lean left more often than men. Nevertheless, their indifference to the fate of Ukrainians surprised at least the undersigned.

After all, Russian invaders have committed brutal sexual and other violence against Ukrainian women and even children wherever they could. Unfortunately, it seems that the old saying "a woman is a wolf to another woman" applies in this context as well.

It also seems that Finnish women have not fully internalized that a Russian victory in Ukraine would also jeopardize Finland's security situation, as it would show that the Western countries are ultimately not ready to defend their allies. Therefore, a few years after a possible victory in Ukraine, Putin might very well test whether the same logic applies to NATO countries as well.

In this context, it is likely that Finland would not be the first test target, but Putin's army would more likely test NATO's reactions in a militarily weaker country such as the Baltic or Balkan states. Nonetheless, it would be best to stop the Kremlin's megalomaniac dictator in Ukraine rather than let him even dream of challenging the Western allies.

* * *

I don't know what Dutch women think about their country's security policy or Ukraine, but there is, in any case, a political revolution happening in the Netherlands regarding immigration policy, as four parties, led by Geert Wilders' Freedom Party, have agreed to form a government. If they manage to agree on a common program, it will have significant consequences for the security of Dutch women.

According to an afternoon newspaper - Ilta-Sanomat - "the parties promise, among other things, to declare an 'asylum emergency' in the country, under which the government intends to take exceptional measures to temporarily restrict asylum rights and family reunification, as well as cut social benefits for asylum seekers". In other words, the appeal of the Netherlands among social-based asylum seekers will significantly decrease from the previous level.

Interestingly enough, according to the same article, the Freedom Party is also set to perform exceptionally well in the European elections. This contrasts with the situation of its counterpart - the Finns Party - in Finland, which, according to polls, is expected to achieve at best mediocre success. In this respect, it is interesting to note that the Dutch party is clearly more national-conservative than Purra's group – in leftist rhetoric, "more far-right".

Previous thoughts on the same topic: The procrastination of Western countries is paid for with the blood of soldiers Attitudes towards immigrants are not becoming more positive in Western countries History of Finland XI: Finnish democracy and gender equality for women

The human rights of immigrant women are not important in Finland

An Iranian man who settled in Finland reminded that human rights belong to all people. He did this by assaulting his wife three to four times a month for two years.

According to the Finnish media company MTV3, this happened in the following way: he "hit his wife in the face with his hand and beat her with a charging cable and a belt on various parts of her body. Additionally, he kicked the woman and threw her against walls. Besides the assault, the man threatened to throw acid on his wife's face and kill her."

A disagreement over the placement of a carpet on the floor was enough reason for the assault. And with a poker face, the man explained the resulting injuries in the best possible light by acting as an interpreter for his non-language-speaking wife at the doctor's.

The case clearly highlights a problem in Finnish immigration policy. By this, I mean that the violence the Iranian man inflicted on his wife would have ended quickly if immigrants were required to participate in Finnish language and culture education in exchange for social security and other immigration services.

In the case in question, the woman, being proficient in the language, could have visited the doctor alone and reported the true cause of her injuries. Or, if the man had insisted on coming along, she could have spoken about it in his presence.

So, I eagerly await the moment when immigration, women's rights, and human rights activists will start demanding conditional social security for immigrants coming to Finland. Or is it that the violence faced by immigrant women doesn't really matter that much to them after all?

Previous thoughts on the same topic: Getting asylum in Finland becomes significantly more difficult Even a brutal murder didn't stir the Swedes The Finnish forest is life-threatening to asylum-seekers

During the Eurovision song spectacle, the incompetence of EU officials was revealed

During the Eurovision spectacle, the confrontation between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip has escalated to a new phase. This means that the terrorists' last stronghold is becoming the target of an Israeli attack, and therefore the army of the Jewish state has ordered civilians to evacuate from the eastern Ramallah area.

There seem to be three reasons for this. Firstly, to prevent civilian casualties, and secondly, to prevent them from being used as human shields by terrorists. Thirdly, reducing the population may facilitate the discovery of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

All of this is happening despite the disapproval of Israel's evacuation orders by Charles Michel, the Belgian chairman of the European Council. So, would he, as a high-ranking EU official sometimes referred to as the EU president, think it better if Palestinian terrorists were given the opportunity to use human shields, thereby increasing the number of civilian casualties in the Gaza conflict? Or should the hostages captured by Hamas be left in their hands?

According to Michel, "all efforts must continue to achieve a sustainable ceasefire agreement. The EU is committed to a just and comprehensive peace based on a two-state solution."

This repeats the mantra that only complicates the situation in the Holy Land, as not all Palestinians accept a two-state solution, nor will Israelis sit idly by in the face of continued rocket attacks and other acts of terror. Therefore, to solve the Palestinian problem, creative thinking is needed instead of incessantly advocating for a two-state solution, as I provided an example last Christmas.

It would also be good if the President of the European Council had heard of Finland´s former President Juho Kusti Paasikivi and understood that acknowledging facts is the beginning of wisdom.

In the short term, this would mean following the example of US President Joe Biden. That is, understanding that a ceasefire would begin tomorrow if Hamas released the hostages. According to Biden: "Israel said it's up to Hamas, if they wanted to do it, we could end it tomorrow. And the ceasefire would begin tomorrow".

This (too) raised the question of how the European Union chooses its high-ranking officials. Apparently, not based on logical reasoning or strong understanding.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Christmas gift to the Holy Land
Palestinian responsibility
Palestinians: acknowledging facts is the beginning of wisdom!

Challenges of democracy: Reflections on political violence and rhetoric in Finnish politics

In Finland, a bloody civil war took place in 1918, in which the political left attempted to seize power. They were unsuccessful, but as a result, the country experienced a period of violent far-right movement for a while, which subsided due to determined action by the political leadership. 

Democracy doesn't seem to be very popular within the Finnish political left of today. This was evidenced earlier this year when the trade unions, closely associated with the Social Democratic Party (SDP), organized political strikes with a high cost to the economy.

Yesterday, we saw even more serious evidence of this when two men waving red flags approached Member of Parliament Sebastian Tynkkynen (Finn´s party) aggressively at a campaign event in Oulu, prompting police intervention.

Tynkkynen shared on his social media that this wasn't his first experience with violence. He mentioned, "Once, a leftist girl in Lahti targeted me with political violence, hitting me in the head with her fist and receiving a conviction for assault. Within the context of Extinction Rebellion, I've been attacked three times."

One would hope that leftist politicians condemn political violence in general and the events in Oulu in particular before the actions of their supporters escalate into irreversible harm.

Furthermore, it would be desirable for the left-wing of politics to refrain from using aggressive rhetoric, as was seen at the SDP's May Day event a week and a half ago. This is because many, with lesser understanding - of which there are plenty among left-wing supporters - may be incited to action after hearing such rhetoric.

Previous thoughts on the same topic: History of Finland XIII: The far-right's rebellion History of Finland XII: Bloody civil war Increase of violence by youngsters in Finnish towns

The Finns rewarded a mass murder with 213,000 euros

European immigration policy occasionally leads to sequences of events that are too unbelievable to be accepted even as the script of the silliest tragicomedy. What does my esteemed reader think of the following?

In Finland, a few years ago, Iraqi brothers were suspected of a mass murder. However, the charges did not lead to a conviction.

Three and a half years later, one of the Iraqi men confessed the crime. This happened last August when the Iraqi man was arrested by the police while filming with his twin brother outside the Finnish Security Intelligence Service building in Helsinki.

Specifically, the Iraqi told a detective that he had killed 1,700 people at Camp Speicher in Iraq. This is evident in the police video. It was a mass murder carried out by the terrorist organization ISIS, for which the same Iraqi man and his twin brother were acquitted by a court of appeal decision in February 2020.

Unfortunately, Finland practices overly protective legal practices towards criminals. Therefore, convicting the Iraqi man after the court has made a ruling of acquittal would require more evidence than just a confession. So right now, it seems that the Iraqi man can continue his peaceful and unrestricted life and enjoy the €213,000 he received from Finnish taxpayers as compensation for being detained during the investigation of his actions.

The Iraqi man and his brother must be having a good laugh right now.

Previous thoughts on the same topic: The Rwanda Law of Britain paves the way for the future of Western Europe Getting asylum in Finland becomes significantly more difficult A Finnish police officer is afraid to speak about the problems of immigration