#helsinki 2018

[raatopaikka]

Herttoniemi 2018

[dontmean2bepoliticalbut]

On 7/31/2019 Trump has a private meeting with Putin. On 8/3/2019, just 3 days after his private meeting with Putin, Trump issues a request for a list of top US spies. By 2021 the CIA reports an unusually high number of their agents are being captured and/or being murdered. During the search executed at Mar A Lago the FBI find more documents with lists of U.S. informants on them.

A Timeline

• FBI wiretapped Russian gambling ring headquartered at Trump Tower for two years - March 21, 2017

• Trump revealed highly classified information to Russian foreign minister and ambassador - May 15, 2017

• Trump, Putin Meet For 2 Hours In Helsinki - July 16, 2018

• Rand Paul Goes To Russia And Delivers Letter For Trump, Marking Our Era Of Irony - August 9, 2018

• Following the Money: Trump and Russia-Linked Transactions From the Campaign to the Presidential Inauguration - December 17, 2018

• The US extracted a top spy from Russia after Trump revealed classified information to the Russians in an Oval Office meeting - September 10, 2019

• Trump’s Loose Lips Force US to Extract Spy From Kremlin - September 10, 2019

• Was Mar-a-Lago Trespasser a Tourist or a Spy? A Judge Said Her Story Didn’t Hold Up. - November 25, 2019

• Trump downplays massive cyber hack on government after Pompeo links attack to Russia - December 19, 2020

• Russia has been cultivating Trump as an asset for 40 years, former KGB spy says - January 29, 2021

• There was Trump-Russia collusion — and Trump pardoned the colluder - April 17, 2021

• Longtime GOP operatives charged with funneling Russian national’s money to Trump, RNC - September 20, 2021

• Captured, Killed or Compromised: C.I.A. Admits to Losing Dozens of Informants - October 5, 2021

• Files Seized From Trump Are Part of Espionage Act Inquiry - August 12, 2022

• Ex-Clinton aide implies 'President of France' file found at Trump's home during Mar-a-Lago raid could be valuable to Putin as 'kompromat' - August 13, 2022

• Inventing Anna: The tale of a fake heiress, Mar-a-Lago, and an FBI investigation - August 22, 2022

• Russians used a US firm to funnel funds to GOP in 2018. Dems say the FEC let them get away with it - October 30, 2022

• Trump makes shocking comments about trusting Putin over US 'intelligence lowlifes' - January 31, 2023

• Russia's Prigozhin admits links to what US says was election meddling troll farm - February 14, 2023

• GOP operative sentenced to 18 months for funneling Russian money to Trump- February 17, 2023

• Trump allegedly discussed US nuclear subs with foreign national after leaving White House: Sources - October 5, 2023

• 'So appalled': What witnesses told special counsel about Trump's handling of classified info while still president - April 24, 2024

🤔🤔🤔

[rabidline]

Japanese Skaters' Favorite Shoma Uno Programs and Their Reasons

This was in the Figure Skating Team Japan Fan Book for the 2024-2025 season, which had Shoma on its cover along with both a pretty substantial Shoma interview and Stephane interview about Shoma.

For Shoma's retirement, the magazine made a special column to include the active Japanese skaters (and Satoko) messages to Shoma, as well as their favorite Shoma programs. A friend helped in sharing and translating just the favorite Shoma programs part:

Sota Yamamoto: I love so many programs. Loco is the best for me because it’s unique and cool. Turandot 2.0 (2017-2018), when I had a difficult season because of my injury, this program encouraged me. Stairway To Heaven... brushing his hair upward is so cool. Great Spirit and Dancing On My Own (2019 Nationals) He graduated from Grand Prix Tokai and struggled but he could be National champion. I was so moved and almost cried. I love Bolero. Gravity and Air On The G String, he could perform not only powerful but loss of strength and I could learn from him.

Yuma Kagiyama: I love so many programs. Loco is the best. I love Great Spirit so I chose Believer last season (2022-2024 SP). I watched and watched Great Spirit on YouTube and I can skate its step sequence.

Shun Sato: Of course I love Ladies in Lavender. And Great Spirit.

Kazuki Tomono: I love Legends (2015-2016) so much because it’s first SP as a senior skater. His image as a skater changed a lot and it was impressive.

Koshiro Shimada: I love Loco at Helsinki Worlds (2017) the best. And Everything Everywhere All At Once and Bolero. At first Shoma mentioned about Bolero, “It’s so difficult and I can’t.” Finally he could do great performance and win at Worlds (2022) and it was what Stephane wanted to see I think. I was so moved and I almost got goosebumps.

Kao Miura: I love Loco the best because the balance of powerful and sensitive movements is good. I love Bolero because he seems to reach his limits. Not only jumps but each movement were so great and the last he seems to collapse because he skates so hard. I love it so much.

Nozomu Yoshioka: I love 2019-2020 season Great Spirit and Dancing On My Own. Nobody skates for such a number like Great Spirit and it’s so exciting. I like a stop before step sequence and before 3A and it’s so cool program. He struggled first half of the season so I was so moved to see Dancing On My Own at (2019) Nationals.

Tatsuya Tsuboi: I love Turandot 1.0 the best. When I was novice skater I saw his senior debut GPF (2015) and he got a bronze medal. It was so impressive and I was so moved.

Kaori Sakamoto: I love Moonlight. This season he won 4CC title. Second year 4th place, third year 3rd place, fourth year 2nd place, and finally he got gold medal. He seemed very happy on the podium and both program and costume were great. Everything was perfect.

Mone Chiba: I love the last season’s SP, Everything Everywhere All At Once, because I love the atmosphere. His step sequence expresses powerfulness and gracefulness. It’s great program so I feel it too short.

Rinka Watanabe: I love Moonlight because I’d like to express like that. His skating is like a clear (not hazy) night and it’s great.

Rion Sumiyoshi: I love many programs. I love Air On The G String because I sometimes skate it for skating lessons. It’s a very simple music but he can tell a story and he can bring a joy to audience. His technique is great.

Mai Mihara: I love many programs and each has a charm. If I choose one program, I’ll choose Turandot 2.0. Especially cantilever is really great and I was so moved and I almost got goosebumps. Both skating and expression were great.

Hana Yoshida: I have two programs in my mind. If I choose one program, I’ll choose Bolero. I forget the name… small pattern…Great Spirit? I love the step sequence and I’d like to rewatch it.

Yuna Aoki: Turandot 2.0 is so impressive because I love princely costume and I feel his powerfulness from this program. I love it so much.

Wakaba Higuchi: I love Bolero and Turandot so much. I could see Bolero at ice shows many times and it’s impressive.

Satoko Miyahara: I love Bolero the best. Turandot 2.0 is impressive. I also love gala program Padam Padam and I always think it great.

Rino Matsuike: I love Bolero. I used to skate Moonlight, so It’s so special for me. When Mihoko-sensei choreographed this program, she said “When the music started, audience was so focused on his performance from the first moment. (He could bring audience to his world.) When I am training, I think “I’d like to perform like him.”

[eretzyisrael]

David Skrbina was a senior lecturer in philosophy at the University of Michigan, Dearborn from 2003 to 2018 and more recently at the University of Helsinki. While he was in Dearborn he was an active supporter of BDS, writing op-eds and being interviewed as a leading BDS campaigner on campus. 

His personal webpage has a statement written soon after the October 7 attacks, saying, 

STATEMENT ON PALESTINE (1 Nov 2023) I call on all people of conscience to stand with Palestine, and against the criminal Jewish state.    I call on everyone to boycott, divest, and sanction Israel -- permanently.  Through their criminal actions, they have forfeited their right to exist. Recall the words of Martin Heidegger: "planetary master criminals" (in Trawny, Heidegger and the Myth of a Jewish World Conspiracy; 2015: 33)

That Heidegger quote is curious. Most people believe that his writings about  "planetary master criminals" refers to Jews.  He elsewhere wrote about “the basis for the peculiar predetermination of Jewry [Judenschaft] for planetary criminality," which aligns with Skrbina's emphasis on the "criminal Jewish state." 

This suggests that Skrbina's hate for Israel is not political but antisemitic. Now we now that is true.

The Southern Poverty Law Center reveals that Skrbina had another persona, "Thomas Dalton PhD.," who is an infamous and prolific neo-Nazi antisemitic author and Holocaust denier.  The ADL describes him:

Thomas Dalton, likely a pseudonym, is an author with numerous Holocaust denial works. ...He has emerged as an unbridled antisemite and Holocaust denier, including by suggesting that “Jews caused World War Two.” He refutes that there was a master plan to murder Jews and claims only 500,000 died at the hands of the Nazis. His books include The Jewish Hand in the World Wars and Debating the Holocaust, and he has edited and/or provided introductions and commentary for numerous editions of Hitler’s Mein Kampf and other antisemitic works. He is a frequent contributor to antisemitic and Holocaust denial publications such as The Barnes Review and the Occidental Observer.

[lettersfromscandi]

Helsinki, Finland, Winter, December 2018

[klbmsw]

July 1987, Moscow, USSR.

41-year-old Donald Trump arrives in Moscow with his wife, Czech model Ivana Zelnichkova, at the invitation of the Soviet Ambassador to the

United States (!!! ) Yuri Dubinina. The invitation was approved by the politburo of the ck kprs.

Trump, who is in a financial crisis - his assets are plummeting rapidly and the debt is rising - reflects on his condition in a famous joke:

-- "See that beggar in the hat on 5th Avenue?" "- he tells his companion, who just gave a diamond necklace.

"That man is 1.5 billion dollars richer than me! "

"But he's got nothing!" "

"He has nothing, but I have 1.5 billion in debt!" "

Returning from Moscow, bankrupt Trump unexpectedly receives a loan from a consortium of 16 banks and buys a Plaza Hotel in New York. Soon, it will get another loan from a consortium of 22 banks to buy Eastern Air Lines Shuttle (renamed Trump Shuttle).

What happened in Moscow in 1987? Who has been funding Trump?

Financing came from Soviet sources of KGB in the United States - through guarantees of loans, not direct monetary payments. In Moscow-1987, Trump's first political contract took place - he was offered support for a future US presidential campaign, and he agreed.

Volodymyr Kryuchkov, head of the KGB, in a report from the Politburo presented Trump as a suitable American candidate who could become a controlled president of the United States.

Before the trip to Moscow, Trump said he would never run for president, because he prefers the free life of a businessman. But after 1987, he changed his position.

---

1996-1997, Moscow, Russia.

Trump visits Moscow three times, meets with Russian businessmen, trying to build ** Trump Tower Moscow without his own investment, only at the expense of Moscow criminal structures funds.

The agency (FSB) watches over him without putting pressure. It's a relief for Trump, but he also doesn't get money, which leaves him frustrated in Yeltsin's Russia.

---

July 1998, Moscow.

Vladimir Putin becomes the director of the FSB. General Philip Bobkov, a former deputy chairman of the KGB, who oversees foreign intelligence and handled Trump's case, is his adviser.

Bobkov passes Putin a compromise on Trump. Trump gets a "message": the FSB returned control and remembers about it.

---

November 2013, Moscow.

After the 2008 financial crisis, Trump returns to Moscow as a bankruptcy, holding the Miss Universe contest in Crocus City.

Event organizer Araz Agalarov pays Trump $14 million and gives unlimited access to young contestants. The FSB films all the events in high resolution, including moments with underage girls posing as contestants.

Putin's agents remind Trump of his 1987 "obligation" promising funding and intelligence support for his presidential campaign.

---

2016 is trump's victory

Putin's propagandists are celebrating:

“America is ours!” "

---

July 16, 2018, Helsinki, Finland.

Trump's closed-door meeting with Putin. Only their translator is an FSB agent.

Putin shows Trump records of his meetings in Crocus City. Trump comes off as a loser and tells reporters:

"... I don't trust my intelligence agencies... i trust Vladimir Putin... "

---

January 6, 2020, Washington DC.

Trump is losing the election. Putin's agents are sending him a "message" - not to concede defeat, to lift up his supporters and attack the US Congress.

Trump urges supporters to storm Capitol.

---

March 22, 2024 Moscow.

Putin burns Crocus City - a kind of Trump signal.

---

Bottom line:

Trump is all in:

1. Many-year cooperation with Soviet and Russian intelligence services.

2. Funding from an enemy state.

3. Compromise in the form of video recordings.

4. Direct communication with terrorist attacks organized by Putin.

Putin has made Trump his "pocket president".

[wintfleur]

⚘ ˖˙𓈒ִֶָ☾.˙ ᰋ ── WHERE’D ALL THE TIME GO?

aka ophelia’s timeline

━━━ ❛ it’s starting to fly

ᯓᡣ𐭩 EARLY LIFE & SCHOOLING !

april 11th, 2002: ophelia is born on a bright and sunny Thursday afternoon in Vernon, British Columbia.

may 9th, 2006: ophelia (4) takes her first ballet class

2008 - 2013: early childhood / elementary school

august 2010: ophelia (8) joined the soccer team and met her now best friend Amber Jameson; they have been inseparable since.

october 2013: ophelia (11) got an ankle injury during a soccer game and sadly had to quit the sport. Her love for ballet was stronger and she didn't want to risk not being able to dance again.

She had to stop dancing for the rest of the year so her ankle could heal, it was miserable for her.

2013 - 2016: start of her teenage years / middle school

march 2015: ophelia (12) joined the theater club and helped make the costumes for their play, in turn finding her love for fashion designing.

april 2016: ophelia (13) went to get her photos taken for her ballet portfolio and was approached by a teen modeling agency.

summer 2016: ophelia (14) went to south korea for a ballet summer intensive program.

She was housed by a sweet family, where she met one of her bestest friends seunghan and his younger brother park sunghoon who is her age. Seunghan is a fellow ballet dancer and went to the training camp with her.

Ophelia became very close with the family, only becoming closer with them as the years go by, she's an honorary park! Seunghan’s parents think of her as their own child and his little sister thinks of her as her big sis!

2016 - 2020: teen years / high school / start of her modeling career

december 2016: Ophelia (14) was on the cover of pointe magazine.

june 2017: ophelia (15) won first place in the Helsinki international ballet competition, in juniors for women.

august 2017: ophelia finished her first wedding dress that she made for her cousin's wedding.

may 2018: ophelia (16) won first place in the american ballet competition

july 2018: ophelia won first place in the varna international ballet competition

was invited to be on jimmy fallon after her win.

february 2019: ophelia (17) made her debut by walking the catwalk and attending the New York fashion week.

may 29th - june 2, 2019: ophelia walked and attended the miami fashion week

september 2019: ophelia walked and attended the paris fashion week

october 9th 2019: the creation of ophelia's youtube channel

Ophelia created her youtube channel so she could have another way to communicate and become closer with her fans.

She mainly posted vlogs of her days as a model and a ballet dancer, and her just traveling and doing random activities with her friends.

december 2019: ophelia walked and attended the NYFW: December pre-fall and fall-winter, fashion week.

february 2020: ophelia walked and attended london's fashion week, fall-winter.

Ophelia meets Ryan James, a fellow model, they exchanged numbers and Ophelia then got in a relationship with him in may.

June 2020: Ophelia (18) graduated highschool with honors.

july 2020: ophelia moved into her apartment/loft in manhattan, New York. With her best friend seunghan.

Throughout 2016 - 2020 ophelia modeled for many different high end brands, her favorites being Dior, Dolce and Gabbana, and GQ.

She was given the nickname “the next model it girl” for her sudden dominating presence in the modeling world.

ᯓᡣ𐭩 JUILLIARD & JACK !

september 2020: ophelia (18) starts her first year at juilliard

february 23 - march 1st 2020: ophelia walked and attended milan’s fashion week

march 2 - 9th 2020: ophelia walked and attend paris fashion week

Throughout the rest of the year ophelia really focused on her ballet career, putting modeling to the side, and focusing on her studies.

march 2021: ophelia (19) won the Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP)

may 2021: ophelia won first place in the american ballet competition

july 2021: ophelia won first place in the varna international ballet competition

for the rest of the year, Ophelia modeled for many different brands, but she really just focused on her ballet career and getting more known in the fashion design world.

2022 : breakup era

april 11th 2022: Ophelia (20) broke up with Ryan after finding out he has been cheating on her for many months.

april, may, june, july 2022: ophelia took a break from anything that evolved with modeling during those months, trying to heal from her breakup. Throwing herself into training, practices, and her studies.

august 2022: ophelia modeled for celine as her comeback into modeling

was invited back on the jimmy fallon show where they talked about what she's been up to, the celine shoot, and her comeback to modeling

october 6-9th 2022: ophelia walked and attended los angeles fashion week

november 2022: ophelia was interviewed by WIRED where she talked about ballet and modeling and her love for fashion design

2023: meeting jack

march 3rd 2023: curtis gets traded to the new jersey devils

march 28th 2023: ophelia and Jack meet for the first time at a club and share a kiss.

april 18th 2023: ophelia joins curtis out at a bar to meet some of his teammates, and she sees jack for the first time since the club.

they keep what happened at the bar to themselves (besides Jack freaking out about it to Luke), and pretend to just meet each other for the first time.

april 25th 2023: ophelia and jack run into each other at a bar, things escalate and jack ends up bringing her back to his place where they hook up for the first time.

the next morning they talk about what happened, and how they need to keep what happened between them a secret. They want to keep seeing each other, so they decide to become friends with benefits.

july 2023: ophelia models for calvin klein

july 17th 2023: jack confesses his feelings to ophelia after 3 months of being friends with benefits.

Ophelia didn't take it well and left his apartment in haste (girly was afraid of her feelings and commitment) and they didn't talk for two weeks.

july 31st 2023: ophelia goes to jack’s apartment where she apologizes and asks him on a date.

august 1st 2023: jack and ophelia have there first date and officially start dating (secretly)

november 6th 2023: curtis holds a dinner at his home for his teammates, curtis finds jack and ophelia kissing in the garage and did not take it well.

curtis gives her an ultimatum ‘him or me’ in a moment of anger and that leads to ophelia not talking to either of them for a week, locking herself in her apartment.

november 14th 2023: curtis comes to see her early in the day to apologize for his reaction and what he said, later in the day jack comes to see her and they have a sweet moment, happy that everything is now okay between them.

january 12th 2024: ophelia and jack said i love you for the first time

january 24-28 2024: ophelia walked and attended miami fashion week

february 9-14th 2024: ophelia attended new york fashion week fall-winter

february 16th 2024: ophelia and jack's relationship is exposed to the media when videos and pictures of them at the njd’s family skate go viral.

february 26th - march 5th 2024: ophelia walked and attended paris fashion week

may 2024: ophelia did the 73 questions with vogue

june 2024: ophelia did the “10 things I can't live without’ with GQ

may 6th 2024: ophelia (22) attended the met gala for the first time

ophelia did a get ready with me / last looks with vogue for the met

june 2024: ophelia did diary of a model with vogue

july 2024: ophelia and jack do a couple quiz with GQ

may 2025: ophelia (23) graduates at juilliard

ᯓᡣ𐭩 WHAT'S TO COME !

aka phia and jacks future

. . . to be added

ᝰ.ᐟ 𝓇oro's note. I didn’t add every detail about her modeling and dance career in the ‘julliard and jack’ section, it would have taken forever for me to do that 😭 I will update the timeline as time goes! I hope this helps give you a better understanding about the AU >.<

au masterlist

˖ ་ feel free to send in any thoughts/requests you have !! And please let me know if you want to be added to the taglist mwah

˖ ་ taglist : @yoontwin @toasttt11 @winterbarnesblog @iceflwers @cixrosie @bunbunbl0gs

[yokyopeli]

@suomiplorpoturnaus innoittama tein kyselyn omista suomalaisista (mutta ei suomi-) blorboistani. Kaikki nämä hahmot ovat jotenkin suomalaisia ja minun lemppareita.

Satu Järvinen (Malin Buska) A Discovery of Witches (2018-2020); noita Suomesta. Malin Buska on tornionjokilaaksolainen ja osaa suomea ja meänkieltä./ Finnish witch. Malin Buska is tornedalian and knows Finnish and meänkieli.

Aikku Jokinen; New Avengers/ U.S. Avengers; supersankari POD/Enigma. Norjasta, kummatkin vanhemmat ovat suomalaisia. Naissuhteessa Toni Ho'n kanssa./ From Norway, both parents are Finnish. Superhero. In a sapphic relationship with Toni Ho.

Nathan Wuornos (Lucas Bryant) Haven (2010-2015); poliisi Stephen Kingin Mainesta. Ei tunne mitään fyysisesti. Wuornos on suomalainen sukunimi. Lucas Bryant on kanadalainen, jonka isä on amerikansuomalainen. Näytteli myös Tyttökuningas leffassa./ A cop in Stephen King's Maine. Incapable of feeling anything physically. Wuornos is a Finnish last name. Lucas Bryant is Canadian and his father is Finnish American.

Serafina Pekkala; Eva Green The Golden Compass leffa/ Ruta Gedmintas His Dark Materials tv-sarja. Noita Suomen tapaisesta maasta./ Either version of Serafina Pekkala. Witch from a Finnish-like country.

Henri Jaakoppi The Selection: The Heir/The Crown; maahanmuuttaja, ei osaa edes rallienglantia. Leipuri, lempparit on omenalörtsy ja korvapuustit. Asuu Sotassa./ Immigrant to Illeà, doesn't speak any English, not even with rallienglish accent. A baker, favorites are apple pastry and cinnamon bun. Lives in Sota.

Lotte Yanson Little Witch Academia; noita koululainen Suomesta. Mahdollisesti suomenruotsalainen ja/tai suomensaamelainen. Fanityttö. / Witch student from Finland. Possibly Fennoswedish and/or Saami from Finland. A fangirl.

Sophia 'Valmet' Velmer Jormungand; Suomalaisesta armeijaperheestä. Palkkasoturi. Lesbo. Puuttuu toinen silmä./ From a Finnish army family. A mercenary. Lesbian. Missing an eye.

Jukko Hämäläinen Wildstorm: Team Achilles/ Osasto Karhu; empaatti, joka tuntee ihmisten kivun kolmen kilsan sisällä (nukkuessa puolen kilsan sisällä). Kiroilee suomeksi./ Empath who can feel people's pain within about 2 miles (a quarter mile while sleeping). Swears in Finnish.

Veera 'MK' Suominen (Tatiana Maslany) Orphan Black: Helsinki/ Orphan Black s4-s5. Autistinen klooni Helsingistä, Suomesta. /Autistic clone from Helsinki, Finland.

Joseph Elo (Kris Kaiyala) Dirt an audio drama (2020--). Podcast amerikansuomalaisesta Joseph'ista, jonka aikoja sitten kuollut isoisä alkaa lähettää mysteerikirjeitä. Kolme kautta on ilmestynyt, neljäs/viimeinen alkaa myöhemmin 2024./ Finnish American Joseph Elo starts getting mystery letters from his long dead grandfather.

[raatopaikka]

Herttoniemi, Helsinki, Finland (2018)

[mariacallous]

Oulu is five hours north from Helsinki by train and a good deal colder and darker each winter than the Finnish capital. From November to March its 220,000 residents are lucky to see daylight for a couple of hours a day and temperatures can reach the minus 30s. However, this is not the reason I sense a darkening of the Finnish dream that brought me here six years ago.

In 2018, moving to Finland seemed like a no-brainer. One year earlier I had met my Finnish partner while working away in Oulu. My adopted home of Italy, where I had lived for 10 years, had recently elected a coalition government with the far-right Matteo Salvini as interior minister, while my native UK had voted for Brexit. Given Finland’s status as a beacon of progressive values, I boarded a plane, leaving my lecturing job and friends behind.

Things have gone well. My partner and I both have stable teaching contracts, me at a university where my mostly Finnish colleagues are on the whole friendlier than the taciturn cliche that persists of Finns (and which stands in puzzling contradiction to their status as the world’s happiest people).

Notwithstanding this, I feel a sense of unease as Finland’s prime minister Petteri Orpo’s rightwing coalition government has set about slashing welfare and capping public sector pay. Even on two teachers’ salaries my partner and I have felt the sting of inflation as goods have increased by 20% in three years. With beer now costing €8 or more in a city centre pub, going out becomes an ever rarer expense.

Those worse off than us face food scarcity. A survey conducted by the National Institute for Health and Welfare found 25% of students struggling to afford food, while reductions in housing benefit mean tenants are being forced to move or absorb the shortfall in rent payments. There are concerns that many unemployed young people could become homeless.

Healthcare is faring little better. Finland’s two-tier system means that while civil servants and local government employees (including teachers) paradoxically enjoy private health cover, many other people face long waiting lists. Not having dental cover on my university’s plan, I called for a public dental appointment in April. I was put on callback and received a text message stating I’d be contacted when the waiting list reopened. Six months later, I am still waiting. A few years ago I could expect to wait two months at most.

The current government, formed by Orpo’s National Coalition party (NCP) last year in coalition with the far-right Finns party, the Swedish People’s party of Finland and the Christian Democrats, has been described as “the most rightwing” Finland has ever seen – a position it appears to relish.

Deputy prime minister and finance minister Riikka Purra – the Finns’ party leader – has been linked to racist and sometimes violent comments made online back in 2008. The party’s xenophobia is clearly influencing policymaking and affecting migrants. As a foreigner, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to feeling a certain chill as anti-immigrant rhetoric ramps up.

A survey by the organisation Specialists in Finland last year found that most highly qualified workers would consider leaving Finland if the government’s planned tightening of visa requirements went ahead (that proposal, which extended residence time required for Finnish citizenship from four to as many as eight years has now become law). Luckily, I am a permanent resident under the Brexit agreement.

With the coalition intent on ending Finland’s long history of welfarism in just one term, there is a risk (and hope among progressives) that it may go too far, inviting a backlash. We arguably saw signs of this in the European election in the summer, when Li Andersson won the highest number of votes for an EU election candidate in Finland. Andersson, who was education minister in Sanna Marin’s former centre-left coalition government (which lost to the NCP in April 2023), ran on a progressive red-green ticket of increased wealth equality and measures to tackle the climate crisis. She has also been critical of emergency laws blocking asylum seekers from crossing Finland’s eastern border, arguing that it contravenes human rights obligations.

Andersson’s party, the Left Alliance, chose a new leader this month, the charismatic feminist author Minja Koskela, who was elected to Helsinki’s council in 2021 after a period as secretary of the Feminist party, and as a member of parliament in 2023. Koskela argues: “People are widely frustrated with the government’s discriminatory policy and cuts to culture, social and health services, education and people’s livelihood. It is possible to turn this frustration into action.” (Full disclosure: I’m a member of the party and have helped coordinate its local approach to immigrants.)

It remains to be seen if she can build on Andersson’s EU success. Although the popular media-savvy figure appears to relish the challenge of turning the party into an election winner, Koskela faces a huge challenge. The party struggles to poll at more than 10% nationally, aside from a brief high of 11% in July. A place in government is nonetheless possible. But Marin’s Social Democratic party (SDP) of Finland (now led by Antti Lindtman), has topped the national opinion polls 12 out of 14 times since April 2023.

Meanwhile, the Finns party is polling at 16%, down from the 20.1% vote they gained in the election. These figures point to one thing: another possible SDP-led coalition government in the next parliament by the summer of 2027. This would probably include the Left Alliance and the Green League, among others. And such a coalition would aim to undo a lot of the damage done by the right.

But until then, there will be more damage to come. So while there is clearly hope for an end in sight to the country’s political darkness three years hence, this will bring little solace now to poor people, migrants, and the squeezed middle class as the long Finnish winter closes in.

[deadpresidents]

Trump says that Russia took Georgia under President Bush, took Crimea under President Obama, and took Ukraine under President Biden but didn't take anything from President Trump. They didn't have to. Trump gave Putin everything he ever wanted. And I distinctly remember Putin taking Trump's dignity, manhood, and probably lunch money when they met in Helsinki in 2018. And Trump DID take something from Putin, but unfortunately it was the word of Russia over the findings of Trump's own CIA, FBI, and intelligence advisers regarding a situation that was critically important to national security.

[valtionrautatiet-official]

An introduction to VR multiple units, part 5: Sm6

The Sm6 Allegro. When I started this series about our multiple units, I first thought I would cover the Sm6 in the "operated for others" -series, then thought I would leave it out altogether... but events overtook my plans and now I'm introducing them as VR's own multiple units, although they are not yet in operation as VR trains.

An Sm6 unit on the Kerava-Lahti line, currently the only bit of high-speed rail in Finland, 2011. Teemu Peltonen, Vaunut.org.

Since the 1990s, two daily return trains had been operated between Helsinki and Saint Petersburg, Russia: the Sibelius, which used VR carriages, and the Repin, which used RŽD carriages. In 2006, the two rail operators decided to replace the locomotive-hauled trains, which took five hours to make the trip, with jointly-owned high-speed trains. For this purpose, a new jointly-owned subsidiary Karelian Trains was established.

Two Sm6's during pre-service entry test runs at Vainikkala, the border station between Finland and Russia, with the locomotive-hauled St. Petersburg train Sibelius on the right. Lari Nylund, Vaunut.org.

After a round of tenders, Karelian Trains opted for the Pendolino design (already used by VR in the form of the Sm3) from Alstom in 2007, with four units to be delivered in 2010 (there was also an option for two additional units, which was never taken up). Although the exterior design of the new Sm6 units was almost identical to the Sm3, in terms of technology they feature numerous improvements compared to the older class, and were outfitted to operate both on the Russian and Finnish electric systems. Due to the small difference in gauge between the two countries (Russia uses 1520 mm but Finland 1524 mm) the trains were given near-unique gauge of 1522 mm.

Interior of the Sm6's first-class carriage as delivered. Otto Karikoski, Wikimedia Commons.

Branded Allegro, the new Sm6 units begun operations in December 2010, cutting the travel time between Helsinki and St. Petersburg to 3½ hours. In addition to services offered on Sm3 units, the Sm6 has (or perhaps more accurately had) a space for the border patrol to use, as passport control was done en-route on the train, and a kid's playroom. The original grey-dominated interiors were replaced by new, more colourful blue designs in 2018-2019.

The new interiors were not in use for long before the Covid-19 pandemic caused for passenger train services between Finland and Russia to be suspended in March 2020. The Allegro services were restored in December 2021 (the Helsinki-Moscow sleeper train Tolstoy, however, was not), and ran for less than four months until closed again in March 2022 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (VR subsequently stopped freight traffic to Russia too - other Finnish rail operators continue to serve freight to and from Russia, however).

Second-class carriage in the post-2019 look. VR.

After March 2022, the four Sm6 units languished at VR's Ilmala depot in Helsinki, without maintenance as RŽD refused to make any payments for their share in Karelian Trains (which, although jointly Finnish-Russian owned, was registered in Finland). In March 2023, when Finnish prime minister Sanna Marin visited Kiev, Ukrainian Railroads requested the Sm6 units be handed over to them, but nothing ever came of this. Instead, in December 2023, when Karelian Trains was on the brink of bankruptcy due to RŽD not paying their share of the company's bills, VR bought out Karelian Trains and took over the Sm6 units.

The trains will be given a thorough technical refit, which will include removal of the systems to operate with Russian electrification, and will enter services on routes within Finland in 2025. How they will be branded is unknown, though a VR representative said in an interview they will not be called Allegro. Presumably this will make the Sm6 the first VR rolling stock class to be fully painted in the new livery.

[blackpilledkremlintsarina5294]

July 16, 2018

Russian President Vladimir Putin's plane landed in Helsinki, Finland, 30 minutes later than planned, pushing back his meeting with US President Donald Trump. Putin's spokesman said he hopes the summit is a "baby step" toward fixing US-Russian relations

[lettersfromscandi]

Helsinki, Finland, Winter, December 2018

[xylophonetangerine]

There's been an ongoing rivarly between the Orthodox bishops of Finland since like 2015. It's been pretty funny reading the newspapers writing about a political schism between people called Leo, Arseni and Elia, referred to by first names of course. They had to go to Constantinople to be castigated by Patriarch Bartholomew two times with the talk being that there was a "very serious" warning by the Patriarch that if they have to go a third time Constantinople might consider curtailing the autonomy of the Orthodox Church of Finland but nothing officially.

While researching this post (yeah, we're serious here) I read an article from 2010 that had someone estimate that the Orthodox Church of Finland is going to be fully autocephalous in "three to four years" which didn't happen. They actually tried to make the church autocephalous in the 1970s which is when the three dioceses were set up so that's really the ultimate cause of all this.

It's very embarrassing that the heads of the church are fighting like teenagers over some very unclear reason. I think it was like a insignificant financial disagreement in 2015 that started it all. Leo is now retired so hopefully this is coming to an end.

While researching I also found out that then Underbishop of Karelia Arseni was involved in an art-sales scandal in 2016–2017. He, with archimandrite Sergei, curated art shows at the New Valamo monastery in Heinävesi where the works supposedly came from the collections of a mysterious unnamed art collector family from Eastern Finland. He overhyped the works and claimed that they were "museum quality" and consequently they sold for high prices despite experts later finding that they were grossly overvalued, low in artistic quality, of questionable provenance and that some of the prints were even forgeries. It seems that some people, but not Arseni or Sergei, were even criminally prosecuted.

It's generally crazy how many crimes the clergy and other church staff seem to commit. There's been many cases of embezzlement and other white-collar crimes and in November last year Arseni's secretary was fired for "threatening behaviour". I'm sure the church was all too happy to let that guy go because he had been making pro-Russia statements before the incident.

It's the official position of the Orthodox Church of Finland to condemn Putin and the war which is of course meet and right but may I just add that it's been crazy to see the increase in russophobia in the church. This actually put me off on rejoining when I was considering it for the first time a few years back. How are you Russian Orthodox and hating on all Russians categorically and not just the people justifying the invasion? Get real.

In 2018 the seat of the Archbishop of All-Finland was moved from Kuopio in the diocese of Karelia (now the Diocese of Kuopio and Karelia) to Helsinki. I wonder if this is related to this whole mess.

[hopeatiikeri]

Interview with Yoshihiro Takahashi (Anime magazine #133, 7 / 2023 )

Translator note: This is fan translation from Finnish to English. Please understand there might be some mistakes as English is not my first language, thank you! Please enjoy ♥ --------------

The companion of righteous dog warriors Interview with Yoshihiro Takahashi

Attention! Contains spoilers from the Ginga series!

Originally published in 1983-1987, Ginga Nagareboshi Gin also known as Silver Fang hardly needs to be introduced because Silver Fang and other Ginga-series have won the hearts of Finnish audience since the 80s, their creator Yoshihiro Takahashi is one of the most loved mangaka in Finland. At the end of last summer, Finnish fans were delighted to hear that Takahashi would visit Helsinki from 15th to 18h of September.

Japanese Yokote Masuda Manga Museum, which organized the visit, held an exhibition that presented the mangaka's original drawings from the series at the Kamppi, Muji store. Located in the city of Yokote, Akita Prefecture, the museum keeps the world's largest collection of Takahashi's original works. The mangaka himself is also from Akita, more specifically from a small village in Higashinaruse. During the exhibition, Takahashi met his fans at the autograph session. There was also reason to celebrate as the mangaka turned 70 during the visit. Silver Fang manga also turns 40 this year.

On Thursday, before the big autograph signing, Anime magazine got a rare opportunity to talk with Takahashi about his life - and of course about dogs. Mangaka joyfully met the representatives of Anime together with the museum director Oishi Takashi and founder of Komachi Consulting, Minako Lakso. Sangatsu Manga's editorial manager Antti Valkama acted as an interpreter.

In his career, Takahashi has created manga series on various topics, but the success of Silver Fang made him a true "dog mangaka". As one of the inspirations of his youth Takahashi mentions Kyuuta Ishikawa (1940-2018), who created dog and wolf mangas in the 60s and 70s. - Although Ishikawa drew the dogs much more realistically than I did. My dogs are a lot more expressive and cartoonish. Later, Takahashi met Ishikawa's assistant, Seiichi Ikeuchi, by chance. The two became friends through a shared hobby of golf, and Ikeuchi also draws especially golf-focused sports manga. Takahashi laughs that like Ishikawa, Ikeuchi tried to make a dog manga back in the day, but didn't succeed as well as he did with the golf manga.

Dogs have played a major role in Takahashi's stories as well as in everyday life. Different breeds and their the personalities have become familiar to him. From his youth, he fondly remembered the family's Akita mix named Kuro. Kuro (translated as Black) was Takahashi's brother-like partner. Akitas are considered challenging and difficult to approach, because they don't express their emotions as clearly as most other breeds. But Takahashi didn't have trouble understanding Kuro. - Once, I think I was 5 years old, a traveling shoe salesman came to our home. When the salesman stood in the hall, Kuro and I watched what he was doing. When the shopkeeper jokingly decided to grab me, Kuro growled at the man. Otherwise it didn't react to anything, but the child had to be protected. Takahashi learned from Kuro that important things to you should be protected. This is transmitted clearly in his works. During Takahashi's adulthood, the family has included, among other things, a Labrador retriever and a wolf-dog hybrid (mentioned to also have german shepherd and husky in their heritage) imported from the United States. In Finland, a hybrid between a dog and a wolf can not have more than 12.5% ​​wolf, but in Japan no dog breed or cross between dog and wolf is directly denied. Because Takahashi's hybrid arrived to Japan when it was two years old and well trained, there were no major difficulties in importation. They say the dog ran away sometimes, but in the end it always came back home.

When it comes to dogs in his works, Takahashi chooses a breed according to the personality of the character. In terms of stories, his favorite breed is the German Shepherd thanks to their sense of justice, but also their stubborn pride and edginess. Based on his long experience, writing male dogs is natural for him, but with productive female characters mangaka has difficulties. Besides Cross from Silver Fang and Lydia from Ginga Densetsu Weed (1999-2009, in Finland only known as Weed), female warriors are rare in the series. Timidly Takahashi says that he tries his best when it comes to female characters, although they are difficult to write. However, he is satisfied with Lydia thanks to character's multidimensionality.

In addition to challenging female characters, Takahashi has had to make difficult choices on character's fate. The death of the loved German Shepherd John was a difficult thing even for the mangaka. Readers especially give feedback when a character dies. Takahashi remembers an incident that happened when he visited Animecon in Kuopio in 2012. A fan who had just read about John's death in the Japanese manga came to the autograph session. According to Takahashi, the part in question was not yet published in Finland. John suffered a long and painful death in WEED. However, characteristically, John did not break mentally. Takahashi says the reader was angry that he killed John. - I then asked them if John's death wasn't just the right way for him. They then admitted that that was exactly how John would have wanted to die. Proud to the end. The violence of the Ginga series has attracted attention in Finland since Silver Fang arrived here in 1989 with four VHS parts. The publisher once tried to tone down Takahashi so that the series wouldn't become too much bloody. Takahashi suspects that the publishing house was probably afraid that they would get complaints of violence. Takahashi laughs that the story must have a good action. In the end, he heard no complaints from the publisher. - Readers perceive violence differently when it happens between animals than if the same would happen between people.

Regarding character deaths, Takahashi reveals that when he wrote Silver Fang, he wanted to kill all three of Kai brothers in one go. They were meant to die in the final battle between Ouu's dog army and the monster bear Akakabuto. But the publisher did not agree to this and in the end only the eldest brother Akatora experienced the bloody death. Despite the violence, Takahashi does not want his works to be, like many adult directed series, too attention catching, but there had to be some sort of moral limit. From this the works have been praised. Takahashi remembers meeting a Japanese older woman who had praised Silver Fang and stated that every student should read it.

Takahashi encapsulates the message of Ginga series to themes of justice and love. By love, he means more of companionship and caring. The themes of companionship and loyalty come up often In Takahashi's works. We asked if the history of Japan and bushidou perhaps inspired him. - In my hometown of Higashinaruse, there were stories about samurai and battles. I might have had them in the family, so I guess I have such ideas in the back of my mind. When thinking about the history of his home region, Takahashi remembers a memory from his childhood of the bear carcass he saw. In the countryside of Akita, it was common to display hunted bears for the whole village. One time the hunters had brought down a particularly large bear that was being kept displayed on the platform of a small truck. The sight of this huge beast remained permanently in the little boy's mind.

The nature of Japan's largest island, North Honshu, reminds Takahashi of Finnish nature. The mangaka thinks that the milieu that looks familiar and both cultural encounters with bears are part of the reason why the Ginga series have so many fans in Finland. Finnish readers' devotion to his works has made a great impression on Takahashi. The most ardent fans have even traveled Akita to see Takahashi's hometown. - I am taken and grateful that the Finnish readers have welcomed my manga so well. Thank you very much for your support.

Anime wishes 70-year-old Takahashi a long life and success. Mette Pesonen