Send the Bill to Paris!

The Beninese kataklè stool ended up in the National Museum of Finland in 1939, when it and the Musée de l’Homme in Paris exchanged items with each other. The object had made its way to France after French Colonel Dodds looted the wooden stool from the palace of the king of the Kingdom of Dahomey—located in what is now Benin—in 1892.

A kataklè is a three-legged stool used by Dahomean chiefs as a seat, or by the king as a footrest. It holds significant emotional value for the people of Benin, which is why they had requested its return from Finland.

And that is what happened: on Tuesday, Finland’s Minister of Science and Culture, Mari-Leena Talvitie, returned the kataklè stool to the state of Benin. The trip cost a total of €14,800.40, which included travel expenses, visas, and daily allowances for the minister, a special advisor, a security officer, and one official. This figure does not include their salaries, which, with ancillary costs, amount to several thousand euros more.

As a Finnish taxpayer—entirely innocent of the theft of the kataklè stool, as were also my ancestors—I found myself wondering: doesn't this essentially mean that Finns are now paying a considerable sum because of a French colonel’s crime? Wouldn’t it be only fair for the Finnish government to send an invoice to the French, and for them to gladly settle it with hard cash?

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
An African and an Iranian Immigrant Educated a Woke-Blinded Deputy Mayor
A Finnish Deputy Mayor Wanted to Ban an Old Board Game from Children
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Greenland's Future: A Battleground of Global Powers?

The future president of the United States, Donald Trump, has threatened either to buy Greenland from Denmark or even to seize it by military force. The latter threat, in particular, does not sound like something a leader of a friendly nation would say.

This has also drawn attention in the European Union. For example, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot stated that it is clear the EU will not allow any country, whoever they may be, to violate its sovereign borders.

Such discussions among NATO allies obviously serve only one purpose: to advance the goals of Russia and China against the Western world. Therefore, it must be asked whether Trump fails to grasp the implications of his words or if he is genuinely under the influence of China and/or Russia.

However, I am not sure which scenario would be worse—a foolish president of a Western superpower or a puppet of states hostile to the West. For this reason, I hope that Trump’s words will ultimately turn out to be nothing more than empty bluster.

* * *

Greenland’s status as part of Denmark is not necessarily straightforward, as the island's Prime Minister, Múte B. Egede, also addressed the matter in his New Year’s speech. According to him, it is time for the island to “break the chains of colonialism” and take responsibility for its own future.

Considering that Greenland has vast natural resources but fewer than 60,000 inhabitants, I do not find this comment particularly wise. Not because those people couldn’t live well on their island, but because as an independent nation, it would be both highly attractive and defenseless.

It is therefore obvious that, in addition to the United States, both China and Russia would be extremely interested in bringing Greenland into their sphere of influence. For this reason, the Greenlandic Prime Minister’s comment must also be regarded as unequivocally foolish—especially in today’s world, where it seems a new Cold War has begun.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Will Trump Push Ukraine Toward Peace by Breaking U.S. Promise?
Former President Donald Trump is Also the Upcoming President – But What Does It Mean?
Medieval trade ranged from North America to Ukraine

A Finnish Deputy Mayor Wanted to Ban an Old Board Game from Children

The peak of the woke phenomenon has already passed, for example, in the United States. As evidence of this, many companies have begun removing the peculiar features inspired by the movement from their operations.

In Finland, however, woke activism continues, as demonstrated by a recent debate concerning daycare centers in Turku. It so happened that Turku’s Deputy Mayor, Piia Elo (Social Democrats), expressed her opinion that a popular board game from the 1950s, The Star of Africa ("Afrikan Tähti" in Finnish), should be removed from daycare centers.

The game is set in colonial-era Africa, where players search for a mythical diamond while traveling across the continent’s map on foot, by boat, and by airplane. Along the way, they discover treasures of monetary value but occasionally fall victim to white bandits.

Deputy Mayor Elo made her suggestion after the issue was raised by Paco Diop, an alternate council member representing the far-left (Left Alliance) in Turku. He pointed out that the game’s cover illustration depicts a stereotypical African figure characteristic of the colonial era.

Fortunately, not all Turku residents are as misguided as Elo or Diop. The Mayor of Turku, Minna Arve, correctly noted that The Star of Africa is a game developed in the 1950s. She explained that "It is a product of its time, and its illustrations and themes reflect the worldview of that era. Some of the imagery does not align with today’s values, and it’s worthwhile to discuss how to address such matters when teaching children how to play."

However, she added, "I consider it excessive to suddenly start removing games. I understand Deputy Mayor Piia Elo’s perspective, but I think the reaction was hasty, and I do not support political directives to daycare centers regarding individual games—for me, that is not the right approach."

Time will tell whether the words of Turku’s woke-inspired Deputy Mayor carry more weight than those of the pragmatic Mayor. For my part, I would like to say that the game is enjoyable to play with children—most of whom enjoy it—and provides educators with an opportunity for the kind of social interaction with kids that digital platforms cannot offer. At the same time, educators can, if they wish, teach children about the dark history of the imperialist era.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Three Islamists Arrested in Finland on Suspicion of Belonging to a Terrorist Group
Eurovision Song Contest Funding Faces Pushback Due to Woke Ideology
Finland’s Minister of Finance Believes Not All Cultures Are Equally Good

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