News from Finland

[Contrarian]

Opinion posted by @-TSS- in a thread about happiness, man is serious 😎

https://repolitics.com/forums/topic/43812-the-world’s-happiest-countries-for-2023-finland-wins-the-title/

We are having parliamentary elections in 10 days time on April 2nd. Our PM Sanna Marin, who has got some international attention as well, is going to lose this time.

People actually think she is showing signs of a nervous breakdown. She talks out of her mouth making impossible promises such as promising to deliver Ukraine our fighter jets or promising Polish women who want abortion to come here to have it.

Of course the SDP, her party, has said that there has been misconstued statements but the damage has been done.

As for the election, the so-called right wing populists PS is possibly going to become the largest party. However, they won't be in the government. The SDP and the Conservatives will form a coalition.

• I do NOT agree with what he said above, part because, I don't know much about politics in Finland, but is good to start a thread as will like to learn. 
• Diversity in news, as they say. 
  
  

Edited March 23 by Contrarian
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[Contrarian]

Important to Note: 

The Finnish president formally sealed the Nordic country’s historic bid to join NATO by signing into law the required national legal amendments needed for membership in the Western military alliance.

https://apnews.com/article/finland-nato-membership-president-legislation-884ca75e7768f11f0d1efb222b532916

 

Edited March 23 by Contrarian
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[Contrarian]

Trending via DW:

Finland's center-right -> National Coalition Party claimed victory with 94.2% of votes counted in a tight three-way parliamentary race, appearing to beat the ruling Social Democrats led by Prime Minister Sanna Marin.

Edited April 2 by Contrarian
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[Contrarian]

On 3/23/2023 at 4:07 PM, Contrarian said:

Important to Note: 

The Finnish president formally sealed the Nordic country’s historic bid to join NATO by signing into law the required national legal amendments needed for membership in the Western military alliance.

https://apnews.com/article/finland-nato-membership-president-legislation-884ca75e7768f11f0d1efb222b532916

 

Agence France Presse:

Finland to become NATO member on Tuesday.

Edited April 3 by Contrarian
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[Contrarian]

@-TSS-, a news is trending on my app, via DW: Finland's PM-designate he plans to form a coalition government that includes the far right --> runner-up Finns Party.

Don't know much about Finish politics, who is this party and how are they received there?

Edited April 27 by Contrarian
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[CdnFox]

I would think you'd have better luck on a finnish forum or reading finnish papers about it.  I doubt anyone here has a deep understanding of current finnish politics.  I think we'd all  have to google it and you can do that yourself right?

It is interesting to see more and more right of center gov'ts coming into power in europe and a bit of a resurgence of the far right. The pendulum always swings i guess.

[Contrarian]

34 minutes ago, CdnFox said:

I think we'd all  have to google it and you can do that yourself right?

I like to ask random people's perspectives which are from a certain area (He is in Finland), to help me filter with what the media is saying.

I exchanged ideas with him before. It also helps the conversation with people from the forum that don't comment daily like me and you. I like to randomize the system. 😄

Edited April 27 by Contrarian
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[CdnFox]

2 hours ago, Contrarian said:

I like to ask random people's perspectives which are from a certain area (He is in Finland), to help me filter with what the media is saying.

I exchanged ideas with him before. It also helps the conversation with people from the forum that don't comment daily like me and you. I like to randomize the system. 😄

Ahhh well my mistake then, carry on

[Contrarian]

9 minutes ago, CdnFox said:

Ahhh well my mistake then, carry on

In regards to your point, 100 % centre right to right wing governments are taking shape, I agree. The cause: <-- left wing forces not understanding reactionary forces. Is that easy, in my estimation. 

There is one case of someone that I am watching his course with Google Translate in Romania, he is growing in %, he was a former street hooligan. He goes to villages, small cities, where the elites don't care about or make fun of, and does the superficial things: sings a local song, waves a flag, and says the same messages that the foreigners are coming to take the lands. The elites laugh at him and disregard his rantings, is like I am seeing the same Trump story playing, what a shocker that will be, former street hooligan, now President. The economy can make people chose desperation, any day. 

I see it on this forum, idealists from the left, creating more followers amongst populism from the right like People's Party themselves. Arrogance, the chase for the "greater good" takes no prisoners in some eyes. One wrong move, and you are called enlightened, fake or the prize winner is the fascist accusation. 

Edited April 27 by Contrarian
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[CdnFox]

6 minutes ago, Contrarian said:

In regards to your point, 100 % centre right to right wing governments are taking shape, I agree. The cause: <-- left wing forces not understanding reactionary forces. Is that easy, in my estimation. 

That's how it happened last time. The commies started organizing and became very pushy and violent and the Red Wedding incident happened (NOT game of thrones, the other 'red wedding' incident) and hitler basically got into power on the promise he'd do something about all this commie violence and anger.

the left rises, and the right to meet it.  And then one extreme seems reasonable to balance the other and this is what we get

[Contrarian]

18 minutes ago, CdnFox said:

That's how it happened last time. The commies started organizing and became very pushy and violent and the Red Wedding incident happened (NOT game of thrones, the other 'red wedding' incident) and hitler basically got into power on the promise he'd do something about all this commie violence and anger.

the left rises, and the right to meet it.  And then one extreme seems reasonable to balance the other and this is what we get

Yes, it seems to me that fringes from the left tend to intimidate with mind games, take their time, idealism, sure, their theory based on Karl Marx allows for one to present themselves as the "good people."

What happens in this chase, physics takes place, and there is so much you can do with theory, <- one starts going after the fabric of society in direct ways, the right -> tends to be more thuggish as a reaction. And as Noam Chomsky said it, the left always loses the battle in street violence, so is better they stick with discussions and tolerance, instead of becoming militant. 

It seems though, some want to take shortcuts and push the train of progress so far, then they act surprised, oh, how come Donald Trump was elected? How come a hooligan in Eastern Europe is rising? etc.

• Maybe, some left wing forces <--- should analyze their approach as to why, instead of yelling "fascists" at every corner. 

Edited April 27 by Contrarian
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[CdnFox]

4 minutes ago, Contrarian said:

It seems though, some want to take shortcuts and push the train of progress so far, then they act surprised, oh, how come Donald Trump was elected? How come a hooligan in Eastern Europe is rising? etc.

Exactly.  How could doug ford get elected, etc etc.

Often times the people will resist very moderate candidates until one of equal crazyness as the left comes along.  For example,  in ontario eveyrone knew Wynne was wrecking the place and was serously left wing - but they sailed past two pretty moderate candidates and landed on Ford!

Federally what's going to happen is that people said no to the moderate O'toole and will get PP.  And the left will cry how could this happen.

As you say in the states - trump. And after biden's little disastrous reign, maybe trump again.

It's almost like rather than coming back to the middle they HAVE to wait till someone just as crazy on teh OTHER side comes along.

[Contrarian]

1 hour ago, CdnFox said:

Exactly.  How could doug ford get elected, etc etc.

The day Ford was elected, I was on Twitter as a guest, following trends, is my passion, and I remember now how SOME liberal activists in the GTA were making tactics and discussing numbers, some were even urging which areas are at high stake to somehow stop Ford, and intensifying their postings there. I already knew, it was over man, come on, before it started. 

I realized, then, is hard to be upset at these people, the left wing dogmatics, they just can't see it. Some, they just can't see it. 

Yesterday, there were a few folks yelling at a Catholic school about some changes, the usual angry faces, look, I am not Catholic and don't agree with the angry people but the reaction of left wing media is to mock them? Post their pictures online? Mock them via comments and call them names? That is exactly how you create more followers. Now I understand, will be accused that I am helping fascism in this approach, but it is a fake accusation, nobody knows, which approach is better. Talk to the opposites, fringes, etc OR take the lazy approach, call them all fascist and if there are innocent people in that cage? Who cares? Everyone is a fascist. 😄

Edited April 27 by Contrarian
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[-TSS-]

Next four years will be very difficult so the political elite desperately wants the Finns party to go into the government to get their support completely destroyed.

[August1991]

On 4/3/2023 at 7:23 AM, Contrarian said:

Agence France Presse:

Finland to become NATO member on Tuesday.

I reckon Canada should leave NATO.

====

NATO, like SEATO, was created to protect the west against communism.

In 1991, we won.

 

[CdnFox]

1 minute ago, August1991 said:

I reckon Canada should leave NATO.

====

NATO, like SEATO, was created to protect the west against communism.

In 1991, we won.

 

That is like getting free internet from your neigbours high speed wifi and trying to call up and cancel it.

[Contrarian]

3 minutes ago, August1991 said:

I reckon Canada should leave NATO.

====

NATO, like SEATO, was created to protect the west against communism.

In 1991, we won.

@August1991 I understand you are a smart man, very smart, believe me, I understand the French mind, smart man, but the marketing man, please! please! try to think is more than you! 

[athos]

 

How NATO tries to fill the holes

[Contrarian]

3 hours ago, athos said:

 

How NATO tries to fill the holes

The reality: 

[-TSS-]

Finland has a very capable army. I think it is more that NATO needs Finland rather than the other way round.

However, Finland shares a 1300km border with Russia but only something like a 100km stretch of it invadable. The rest is thick forest or waterways. The few roads on it could be easily blocked if the enemy tried to invade that way.

I'm glad Finland joined NATO but we really didn't need it the way such as the small Baltic countries need it.

[Contrarian]

4 minutes ago, -TSS- said:

Finland has a very capable army. I think it is more that NATO needs Finland rather than the other way round.

However, Finland shares a 1300km border with Russia but only something like a 100km stretch of it invadable. The rest is thick forest or waterways. The few roads on it could be easily blocked if the enemy tried to invade that way.

I'm glad Finland joined NATO but we really didn't need it the way such as the small Baltic countries need it.

Thanks for your view.

[Aristides]

On 4/27/2023 at 10:21 PM, August1991 said:

I reckon Canada should leave NATO.

====

NATO, like SEATO, was created to protect the west against communism.

In 1991, we won.

 

Considering how aggressive China has become in the region, disbanding SEATO may have been premature.

We won WW1 as well.

Edited April 30 by Aristides

[August1991]

On 4/28/2023 at 2:49 PM, -TSS- said:

Finland has a very capable army. I think it is more that NATO needs Finland rather than the other way round.

....

Well said.

====

I suspect that the politicians of Finland have been pressured (pressuriized) to join NATO.

Edited May 22 by August1991

[August1991]

On 4/28/2023 at 1:23 AM, CdnFox said:

That is like getting free internet from your neigbours high speed wifi and trying to call up and cancel it.

In 1991:

Reagan won. Friedman won. The free market won.

America and the guys who wrote their Enlightened constitution won.

Kennedy won. The guys in Vietnam won. Churchill's iron curtain fell. 

======

Yet, in August 1991, the federal American bureaucrats in Washington did not win.

Edited May 22 by August1991

[SpankyMcFarland]

Some background on the term ‘iron curtain’. Apparently, its use goes back a long way, first as a real fire barrier and then to describe other barriers. It was first used to describe the Soviet Union no later than 1920. 
 

Quote

In its earliest use, circa 1794, an “iron curtain” was a literal iron screen that would lowered in a theater to protect the audience and auditorium from any fire occurring backstage. From there, it became a general metaphor for an impenetrable barrier. In 1819, the Earl of Muster described the Indian river Betwah as an iron curtain that protected his group of travelers from an “avenging angel” of death that had been on their heels in that foreign land. Then, in 1920, Ethel Snowden made it specifically about the East and West in Throughout Bolshevik Russia (1920):

At last we were to enter the country where the Red Flag had become a national emblem, and was flying over every public building in the cities of Russia. The thought thrilled like new wine … We were behind the ‘iron curtain’ at last!

https://time.com/3733955/winston-churchill-did-not-coin-the-phrase-iron-curtain/
 

I suspect there’s a typo up there: should be Earl of Munster. 

 

 

Edited May 22 by SpankyMcFarland