Reflections on the Terrorist Attack in Australia

Today in Australia, a terrorist attack was carried out against Jews celebrating Hanukkah. At the moment it appears that 12 people have lost their lives and 29 have been injured in this senseless act.

One of the attackers is a ‘Sydney man,’ Naveed Akram, which points to an Islamist motive. Of course, this can also be inferred from the choice of target.

What makes the incident unusual is that an Australian in civilian clothes took a weapon away from one of the terrorists. After that, another person even threw something at him—apparently a stone. Well done to both, although such civilian bravery cannot be recommended to anyone, as it can turn out badly.

On a general level, this case once again demonstrated the risk posed to the native population by the Muslim population living in Western countries. At the same time, it reinforced the negative stigma often attached to all Muslims. For this reason, it would be sensible and wise, for the sake of the Islamic community living throughout the West, to ensure that such attacks no longer occur.

Therefore, the lesson of the Australian case is clear from Europe’s point of view: it is not advisable to increase our country’s Muslim population beyond its current size. This is not changed by the fact that Australian Muslim communities have condemned the attack, because the act seen here was unfortunately not an isolated case, nor was the group of perpetrators random.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Donald Trump Called a Shooter an Animal
Just Another Case of Multiculturality in Manchester, UK
Understanding of European Terrorism by Left-wing and Value-liberal Politicians

Finnair Pilots' Actions Spark Employer Countermove

Finnair is a Finnish airline whose pilots have recently engaged in various industrial actions, such as standby duty bans, leading to flight cancellations. The underlying reason for these actions is their demand for significant pay raises, as the pilots had previously accepted salary cuts to help save their employer, which had fallen into heavy losses.

However, the pilots now have something new to consider, as Finnair has announced the start of negotiations regarding pilot layoffs. The reason for this is an arrangement in which Finnair had leased two of its A330 aircraft, along with their crews, to a partner company. Finnair pilots have been operating flights on these aircraft from Bangkok and Singapore to Sydney.

According to Finnair, this arrangement has allowed the airline to put its A330 aircraft to productive use and provide work for around 90 pilots, even though, with Russian airspace closed, there would not have been enough demand for these aircraft otherwise. Despite this, the pilots' union has now expanded its industrial actions to include the critical Bangkok and Singapore flights, as well as the Sydney flights operated for the partner company.

As a result, Finnair is no longer able to operate these partnership flights reliably and has therefore started discussions with its partner regarding next steps, which include the possibility of terminating the agreement—and consequently laying off the pilots involved in these operations. It remains to be seen how the pilots' union will respond to this development.

In my view, there are three possible outcomes. Either the pilots call off their industrial actions related to this partnership, abandon their push for significant pay raises to save those at risk of being laid off, or—what I consider the most likely scenario—the situation escalates even further. At this stage, one thing is clear: the labor dispute is being played with stakes so unusual that such a situation has rarely been seen in Finland.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Do Finns have the patience?
Why Can't Finland Find Workforce?
A nurse´s question: who deserves health care, and who does not

Traditional beliefs turned out to be wisdom

In the Western world, traditional beliefs and fairy tales are often disregarded, and understandably so, given the many benefits that modern science and knowledge-based technology have provided us. Nonetheless, on occasion, ancient traditions contain a kind of wisdom that exceeds scientific knowledge.

An example was published in a new research article, where scientists described how they gained insights into the mysterious small patches of barren earth called "fairy circles" found in arid grasslands in Australia and Namibia. Ecologists have debated whether the circles are the result of plants competing for water and nutrients or an alternative explanation backed by thousands of years of Aboriginal knowledge.

The study, argues that the circles are in part caused by underground nests of termites, as depicted in Aboriginal paintings and stories. The traditional knowledge of Aboriginal people was confirmed by scientists who dug trenches in the patches and discovered extensive termite tunnels.

The co-authors of the study include dozens of Aboriginal elders and experts who shared their knowledge with researchers at Australian institutions. The authors argue that the results demonstrate the importance of incorporating traditional knowledge of Indigenous people into scientific research.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Human curiosity altered an orbit of an asteroid
Should forbidden questions be answered or not?
World Resources Institute had an arrogant demand

Good news from Ukraine

Excellent news today. Russians are - according to ISW - losing their position in Bakhmut area. Even better, the attacker´s troops partially destroyed there belong to their strongest unit - the Wagner group. 

In addition, Ukrainian army is making progress in Kreminna. If Russian defence collapses there, Ukrainians may proceed towards Crimea without a need to cross the Dnipro river. 

At the same time, Putin´s troops conducted massive air attacks to Kyiv and other Ukrainian areas. And as a black humorist, Sergei Lavrov denied on negotiations on peace, because - according to him - "Ukraine is not yet ready for peace negotiations".

Even more ridiculously, Russians are demanding areas, which are under control by Ukrainian forces. That is, free of Russian occupiers.

 

Despite all these good and humorous news, we should not forget that Russians still have a material superiority over Ukraine. According to this, Russians have 1.5 times more tanks, 3.5 times more armored vehicles and 3 times more artillery systems. But according to General Pekka Toveri of Finland, the quality of (western) materials available to Ukrainians is better than the Russian weaponry. And the spirit and training of Ukrainians are definitely superior to those of Russians.

However, the import of oil from Russia to Europe by tankers ended few weeks ago, and G7-countries and Australia set a maximum price for Russian oil. After these decisions - if they stand - it is likely that the Russian economy is finally going to truly suffer due to Western sanctions.  

That will weaken the Russian society, and if its economical downhill continues for long, the unity of the whole federation might collapse. So, in the best case the dirty game played by Putin, Lavrov and Medvedev in Ukraine may lead to the collapse of the worlds last colonial empire.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Finnish Winter war showed the way to help Ukraine
Alexander Dugin calls for Putin´s murder
Ukrainian army should be equipped with the best possible weapons against missiles