#anti-stubb

[sflow-er]

En lue iltapäivälehtiä, mutta nyt ostaa täräytin Plus-tilauksen kuukaudeksi saadakseni lukea taustoittavia juttuja pressaehdokkaista. Jos jotakuta kiinnostaa taustavaikuttajien ajatukset Stubbista henkilönä ja johtajana, alla poimintoja ja lopussa kuvakaappaukset koko jutusta.

[Briefly in English: Bought access to one of the tabloids for a month to read longer stories about the presidential candidates. This one is about the candidate I don't support. It chronicles his career and people's opinions of him as a person and leader. Some quotes and the full story below in Finnish.]

Otsikko on tosi sensaatiohakuinen, itse juttu on neutraalimpi. Aika hyvin se silti tukee käsitystä Stubbista omahyväisenä ja ylimielisenä päsmärinä, joka perehtyy kunnolla vain niihin asioihin, jotka sitä oikeasti kiinnostaa. Tässä poimintoja:

”Turhamainen itsekeskeisyys, itsensä korostaminen”, kokenut ulkoministeriön virkamies arvioi Stubbin aiempia heikkouksia.

– Hänelle on tärkeää se, miltä hän näyttää, miltä hän vaikuttaa, eräs politiikan vaikuttaja arvioi. – Oma henkilökohtainen brändi, sen mahdollisimman voimakas esillä olo on tärkeätä, toinen sanoo.

Stubbin nuoruusvuosilta esiin nousee toistuvasti maine entisenä koulukiusaajana. Sen loi Helsingin Sanomien Nyt-liitteen artikkeli vuonna 2008. – Se oli kaikista pahimpia hurjimuksia koulussa. Se oli pahimpia koulukiusaajia. Sellainen niin kuin mitä jengi pelkäsi, koulutoveri muisteli HS:n toimittajalle. Stubb on sittemmin puolittain ottanut vastuun kiusaamisesta. Hän on pyytänyt anteeksi käytöstään, mutta kiistänyt kiusanneensa systemaattisesti. – Jokainen kiusauskerta on liikaa, Stubb sanoi Iltalehden haastattelussa. Myöhempinä aikoina Stubbia ei ole syytetty kiusaajaksi. Useat Iltalehden haastattelemat henkilöt pitävät Stubbia reiluna ja ystävällisenä, tarkoituksellista ilkeyttä he eivät hänessä tunnista.

[EDIT: Lisäsin tähän mukaan ton puolittaisen vastuunoton, @torillatavataan kommentti aiheesta ja mun vastaus löytyy reblogeista!]

Toiset näkevät, että voitto puheenjohtajavaalissa ja pääministerin pesti tekivät Stubbista ylimielisemmän. Päätöksiä ei tehty enää aina yhdessä porukalla. – Silloin tapahtui jotakin, entinen edustajatoveri Kimmo Sasi sanoo. Stubbilla oli laajat kuulemisprosessit, mutta ne eivät Sasin mukaan välttämättä vaikuttaneet päätöksiin. Presidentinvaaleissa Stubbia vastaan kilpailleen Hjallis Harkimon (liik) mukaan Stubbin puheenjohtaja-aikoina oli tapana lähettää tekstiviesti kansanedustajille, miten eduskunnassa kuului äänestää. [...] sittemmin päivänpoliittinen lika on ehtinyt karista hänestä. Sasi arvioi myös Stubbin ylimielisyyden karisseen.

– Hän ei välttämättä ministerinäkään ollut valtavan syvällinen. Asiat olivat ilmaistavissa aika yksinkertaisina pointteina. Minulle jäi kuva, että se ei ollut pelkkää tyyliä, vaan hän ehkä lähestyy asioita aika yksinkertaisesta näkökulmasta, kokenut ulkoministeriön virkamies arvioi.

Osa uskoo, että Stubb pysyisi presidenttinä pilttuussaan. Osa uskoo, että näkyvyyttä janoava aktiivinen presidentti ajautuisi törmäyskurssille hallituksen kanssa. – Riippumatta siitä, mistä poliittisesta liikkeestä pääministeri ja ulkoministeri tulisivat, luulen että [Pekka] Haaviston kanssa olisi helpompaa, eräs vaikuttaja arvioi. Leppoisa presidentti Stubb ei olisi, hänet pitkään tuntenut virkamies arvioi. Stubb on vahvatahtoinen, vaativa ja kärsimätön, vaikka julkisuudessa hänet tunnetaan leveästä valkoisesta hymystä ja rennosta imagosta. Myös suhde lehdistöön voisi kuherruskuukauden jälkeen käydä vaikeaksi, eräs vaikuttaja uskoo. – Mitä vahvemmin maailmaa tarkastelee omasta henkilöstään käsin, sitä vaikeammaksi mediasuhde yleensä muodostuu.

Stubbilla on vahva oma tahto ja paljon energiaa. Hän perehtyy asioihin, jos on kiinnostunut niistä. Jos kiinnostus lopahtaa, perehtyminen on vaikeaa. Stubbin paineensietokykyä pidetään hyvänä.

Ja vielä koko juttu:

[maxanor]

in honor of stucky losing to of/md have me and the besties genuine reactions to watching that kiss for the first time

[hwestil]

If your banker breaks, you snap; if your apothecary by mistake sends you poison in your pills, you die.

-

"Aye, aye, steward," cried Stubb, "we'll teach you to drug a harpooneer; none of your apothecary's medicine here; you want to poison us, do ye? You have got our insurances on our lives and want to murder us all, and pocket the proceeds, do ye?"

Ishmael saying something profound and then we learn he pulled it from Stubb's aggressive anti-ginger agenda.

[gardenofshadcws]

Whale Weekly Day 45

Chapter 73: Stubb and Flask kill a Right Whale; and Then Have a Talk over Him.

I love when a chapter title tells us exactly what’s going to go down. It’s like we don’t have to read this entry at all

I mean, of course I’m going to. It’s just a very descriptive chapter title.

“Those inferior creatures” Ishmael what did right whales ever do to you

Well. That was easier than killing the sperm whale.

You guys if you hate right whales so much, Ahab only gave you the opportunity to kill it, you didn’t have to do it.

The way everyone talks about Fedallah is wildly uncomfortable in 2023. I know Melville is trying to be anti-racist, but he still manages to be pretty othering with a lot of the crewman, and Fedallah gets hit the worst except maybe Dagoo

The Devil went down to the old flag-ship, he was lookin for a soul to steal…

I do not like Stubb.

Wouldn’t you float better if you had zero whale heads on board?

HA ISHMAEL READ MY MIND. He’s a weirdo but he knows what’s up.

[coulson-is-an-avenger]

still losing my mind over the 2011 MobyDick shows decision to make Stubb, second mate Mr. "makes fun of the disabled captain and bullies the older Black cook and treats Fedallah with violence repeatedly and threatened a child with slavery and then abandoned him to drown" Stubb an anti racist like gbskfjekfk. i never thought I'd be mad about an adaptation making a character less racist but the decision to make all the officers #Good White People who correct the racist lower sailors is SO OFF THE POINT OF SYSTEMIC CAPITALISM THAT MELVILLE WAS TRYING TO MAKE. AND it takes away the agency of the characters of color defending themselves and each other WHICH THEY DO IN NOVEL, in favor of making Mr Racism now suddenly in favor of diversity i just

[ID: A screenshot of text reading: "he would not fucking say that." End ID.]

the POINT is inherently unfair systems and power dynamics and the violence of capitalism. the point is finding community and rallying against the awful oppressors who are in charge. finding community even within that. sanitizing the oppressors feels very very weird to me

[mariacallous]

IVALO, FINLAND—Only 20 miles of forest separate the Lapland Border Guard base in the Finnish town of Ivalo from Russia. From here, well above the Arctic Circle, the Border Guards monitor the activities of their not-so-friendly neighbor. And now, after Finland joined NATO in April last year and Helsinki and Washington decided to further strengthen their cooperation by signing a defense cooperation agreement in mid-December, the United States is officially authorized to position troops and equipment at the base.

The United States has similar agreements facilitating military collaboration with the other NATO members bordering mainland Russia: Norway, Estonia, and Latvia. These agreements also specify which of the hosting country’s bases can be used by U.S. forces. After Finland and the United States signed the agreement, Ivalo became the closest base to mainland Russia immediately accessible to U.S. troops.

“It is premature to assess what will possibly be invested in Ivalo, and the criteria are not public,” says Ville Ahtiainen, the deputy commander of the Lapland Border Guard, “but the overall result will be good, and it will deepen the cooperation between our countries.”

NATO’s new 830-mile-long border in Finland draws the alliance’s attention much more to the north, says Kristine Berzina, the managing director of the Geostrategy North program at the German Marshall Fund think tank. The area, she says, has “not received much consideration in the past, especially from a land forces domain.”

This despite Russia’s powerful forces nearby, which include its crown jewels: the Northern Fleet and its nuclear submarines, held in and around the Russian port of Murmansk. The strategic harbor is so close that road signs point to it in Ivalo’s icy streets.

While Finland is counterbalancing Moscow’s superiority in the high north, the enhanced military presence comes with a trade-off. As Berzina notes, the new border also “increases exposure to Russian threats.” After the signing of the December agreement, Moscow declared that it “would take the necessary measures to counter the aggressive decisions of Finland and its NATO allies,” and it has many tools at its disposal. Whether it is weaponized migration, covert operations against infrastructure, or airspace violations, these hybrid attacks are now not only Finland’s problems, but also NATO’s.

In joining NATO, Finland abandoned the policy of military neutrality it had maintained since shortly after World War II. Despite being a NATO partner since 1994, the Nordic country had never been able to count on the protection of allies. Consequently, for decades it took care of its own defense, developing impressive military capabilities and a society trained to fight. According to military experts and security officials, Finland’s presence in NATO brings to the club a sort of Arctic Sparta, a highly trained force that will move the alliance’s center of gravity to the north. (The missing brick in the anti-Russian northern wall is Sweden, which is expected to join the alliance soon, once Hungary gives the green light.)

“Our biggest asset is the concept of total defense that we have developed in all these years,” says Ville Sipilainen, a special advisor to the Finnish defense minister, who closely followed the cooperation agreement’s negotiations. “As a small country, we had to use the entire society for defense. We have very developed infantry, artillery, and of course, the expertise in Arctic warfare.”

On Feb. 11, Finland will go to the polls to elect its new president. The two candidates, Alexander Stubb and Pekka Haavisto, share a decisive anti-Russian position, and no major changes in foreign policy are expected after the vote.

In Ivalo, dozens of young conscripts (usually between 19 and 21) have just arrived and shaved their heads to start military service. They can be seen marching around the base and learning the basic concepts of discipline in the first days. Finland is one of the few EU countries where military service is mandatory, and with 285,000 soldiers ready to be armed, it has one of the largest wartime infantries in NATO. (Around 900,000 people out of a total population of 5.5 million have had military training.)

The Border Guard in Ivalo trains the conscripts especially in reconnaissance along the frontier, where the atmosphere has recently been tense. Last fall, about 1,300 asylum-seekers from countries such as Somalia, Syria, Yemen, Kenya, Morocco, and Pakistan started showing up at Finland’s border crossing points, including the one close to Ivalo. Helsinki has accused Moscow of transporting the migrants to the border and pushing them to seek refuge on the other side, posing “a serious threat to Finland’s national security and public order.” At the end of November, the government closed the entire border, which will remain shut at least until April 14. Also last year, Helsinki started building a 124-mile fence along its eastern frontier.

Weaponized migration is not the only hybrid attack Moscow has been accused of recently. In October, a pipeline connecting Finland and Estonia was severely damaged by what Finnish investigators think was the anchor of a Chinese cargo ship. Rumors of Russian involvement have inflamed the debate in the media since. In the last weeks, GPS disturbances have also affected Finland and the Baltic region, and many Finns suspect that Russia is the source.

During the migrant crisis, the Border Guard received the support of one of, if not the, most skilled Arctic formations in the world: the Finnish Jaeger Brigade. Located in Sodankyla, 100 miles south of Ivalo, it owes its name to a unit of Finnish nationalists created in Germany during World War I, when the grand duchy of Finland was still part of the Russian Empire. For Finland’s NATO allies, the Jaegers and the winter combat course that they organize have become the go-to guys when it comes to Arctic warfare, and Western countries—including the United States—have been sending their troops there to train for years. Since Finland’s accession to NATO, those requests have increased.

The Arctic section leader of the brigade, Maj. Mikael Aikio, 39, has been an instructor at the winter combat course since it was created 10 years ago. Originally from the region, he is a quarter Sámi—an Indigenous people of northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, and northwestern Russia. He recently helped design the country-cross skis used by the Finnish Army. This year, he’s teaching 14 Finns and 15 foreign soldiers from the United States, United Kingdom, Estonia, France, and Belgium. “One of the strengths of the Finnish army is that there is a lot of initiative even at low levels,” he says in his office in the Arctic section of the base. “Squads and platoons can make decisions themselves and do things independently. That’s the culture.”

But to make good decisions autonomously, you need skills. While preparing for a day with his students, he puts some newspaper in his boots to absorb moisture. “The devil is in the details,” Aikio says while remembering a training day spent with temperatures that reached 38 degrees Fahrenheit (39 Celsius) below zero.

The brigade’s barracks are scattered across the snow-covered spruce of the Finnish taiga. In mid-January, daylight is less than three hours, but the 29 winter combat course trainees can take advantage of the high latitudes’ long twilights. One of them, Staff Sgt. Cameron Daniels, 29, arrived in Sodankyla at the beginning of January from Fort Drum, New York, where he serves in the 10th Mountain Division. The Finns equipped him with many layers beneath a surprisingly light jacket, three different kinds of gloves, and rubber boots made by a Nokia spinoff company, with a means to attach the skis. “They have excellent gear and great skills I’ll bring back home,” Daniels says, packing his bag. “Their camouflage is great.”

Daniels’s division was founded during World War II, after the U.S. Army observed, impressed, the Finnish feats against the Soviet Union. After signing the nonaggression pact with Germany in 1939, the Soviet Union had launched an offensive against Finland to increase the buffer territory around Leningrad in case of a future attack from Berlin. Then, as in today’s Ukraine, Moscow justified the invasion of the old imperial province by pretending to come to the aid of a minority in Finnish territory. Then, as today, the operation didn’t go as expected. The Red Army suffered huge losses against the Finnish troops, which were much more prepared to fight in the harsh winter conditions. The Finns were particularly effective in small units, and they had some good snipers in their ranks. The most famous of them, Simo Hayha, earned the nickname “White Death” after at least 505 confirmed kills, making him widely considered to be the deadliest marksman ever.

“After the collapse of the Soviet Union, there were hopes that Russia would move closer to Europe,” says Henrik Meinander, a history professor at the University of Helsinki. “Moreover, Finland joined the EU in 1995, and it was expected that a common European defense would be created. Nobody felt the urgency of a NATO membership.” A few steps from the campus, the statue of Tsar Alexander II dominates the capital’s main square. But Russian tourists, the most numerous in Finland before the Ukraine invasion, have almost disappeared. “If Russia had not attacked Ukraine, Finland would not have joined NATO,” Meinander says.

Finland doesn’t just bring massive infantry and ski troops to the table. The country boasts a stronger artillery than any in Western Europe, with about 1,500 weapons and substantial heavy ammunition production. In December, the Defense Ministry announced that it would more than double production to build up its own capabilities as well as to keep supplying Ukraine’s forces. Helsinki recently bought the David’s Sling high-altitude air defense system from Israel and 64 F-35s from the United States. The F-35s purchase brought the country’s expenditure on defense in 2023 above 2 percent of GDP, which is the theoretical minimum required for NATO countries but followed by only a third of the members.

Unlike Estonia or Latvia, Finland will be able to take care of its airspace by itself without the support of NATO allies. According to Sipilainen, the Ministry of Defense advisor, airspace violations from Russia were quite common before Finland joined NATO, but there have been none since then: “Clearly, there is respect for NATO airspace.”

On the other side of the border, Finland’s old enemy is struggling to maintain a solid conventional ground force. The Russian counterparts of the Jaeger Brigade, the 80th Motorized Rifle Brigade and the 200th Motorized Rifle Brigade, have suffered hefty casualties in Ukraine.

“There is not much left,” says Col. Kimmo Kinnunen, the commander of the Jaeger Brigade. “But they have a lot of other capabilities,” pointing to air and naval forces as well as the nuclear submarines based near Murmansk.

In Ivalo, the passage to Murmansk is now closed. Along the border, the situation is quiet, but the Border Guard are tight-lipped about the confrontation with Russia. “We don’t know what will happen, but I hope it will be back to normal,” says a conscript. His superior is in the room, and they exchange glances to be sure he is using appropriate words.

Cpl. Topi Kinnunen, in his early 20s, has just finished his first mandatory six months of service and has now decided to start another six months to train and lead the newcomers. “I chose to come here because it is a tough place, but rewarding,” he says while the recruits come to grips with the Finnish-made RK 62 rifles, designed on the model of the Soviet Kalashnikovs.

Over the past decades, Finland has produced enough to arm its entire reserve. Soon, the armory in Ivalo could also open its doors to weapons from the Pentagon.

[trashmenace]

Parker 2: The Man With the Getaway Face by Richard Stark

Parker 2 The Man With the Getaway Face by Richard Stark (Donald E. Westlake)

Parker gets a face job from a black market plastic surgeon and plans an armored car heist, which is complicated by threats to reveal his identity to the outfit.

This is a heist novel but it also has the feel of a police procedural, only from the criminal side.

The prose has a lack of affect that mirrors Parker's sociopathy, and reminds me of early Bret Easton Ellis or Dennis Cooper. I like this kind of style, but when it's utilized for page upon page of Parker buying a used car it can get to be a bit much. Others could find it lifeless and padded and I couldn't really argue.

The way the story is lined up is unusual. Not a lot of planning for the heist, but a lot of preparation, along the way foreshadowing point by point what was going to go wrong: a curious state trooper, vehicles about to break down, etc. Then the heist goes more smoothly than it had any right to.

The story is then taken over by a side plot from the point of view of the plastic surgeon's chauffeur, Stubbs, a brain damaged former Communist organizer. Parker's involvement seems convoluted and ultimately futile, as he goes to great lengths to avoid killing some people and drops others without a qualm.

I'd rather Stubbs had gotten a series, as he was a more interesting and likeable character. Parker gives lip services to having a code, which we put him in anti-hero territory, but then he'll do something like enjoy hurting sex workers, not because he's a sadist, but because he wants them to pay attention. A couple notches into bad guy territory than a Walter White, but not full blown Freddy Kreuger either.

Currently criminally overpriced for Kindle, check your library.

[beardedmrbean]

The timing couldn’t have been worse. Turkey had already threatened to derail Sweden’s NATO aspirations when a far-right extremist set fire to a Koran outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm. On Friday, Ankara issued its verdict on Sweden and Finland’s joint NATO bid: For now, Turkey would only start ratifying Finland's application. Several reports have since emerged, meanwhile, pointing to suspected Russia ties among the organisers of the damaging Koran-burning protest.

On January 21, far-right provocateur Rasmus Paludan travelled from Denmark to Sweden to set the holy book of Islam alight in what appeared to be a one-man show in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.

The act sent shockwaves across large parts of the Muslim world, sparking mass protests in Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, and of course in Turkey, where anti-Sweden rallies grew so violent that the Swedish embassy in Ankara was briefly forced to close.

Politically, the Koran-burning was nothing short of a disaster for Sweden. For months on end, Sweden had tried to appease Turkey in exchange for its all-important ratification of its NATO membership application. But the road to such a blessing had already proved long and arduous – and in some cases even impossible. Ankara’s demands had grown from extradition requests of “Kurdish terrorists” in the name of Turkish national security to calling for Sweden to crack down on anti-Turkey protests in Stockholm and to fire a minister.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erodgan said Sweden could no longer count on Turkey's support in joining the military alliance.

Just 10 days prior to Paludan’s Koran-burning protest, Sweden had already seen its NATO bid almost scuppered after a group of Kurds had hung an effigy of Erdogan to a lamppost outside Stockholm’s City Hall.

Infuriated by the move, Ankara immediately cancelled a planned visit to Turkey by Sweden’s parliament speaker – a clear indication that diplomatic ties between the two countries had now hit a new low.

Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson called the protest an outright act of “sabotage against Sweden's NATO application”.

‘Sweden will be shocked’

Then came Paludan’s Koran-burning stunt, which prompted Erdogan to announce, for the first time, that his country may only greenlight Finland’s NATO application, leaving Sweden behind.

"If necessary, we can give a different response concerning Finland. Sweden will be shocked when we give a different response for Finland," Erdogan said.

On paper, however, the Koran-burning was nothing out of the ordinary for Paludan. The Islamophobic extremist had already staged several similar events in both Sweden and his home country Denmark in the past. However, there was something odd about the protest that did not sit quite right with outside observers. Firstly, it was the timing – it was clearly a particularly sensitive moment in Sweden's NATO application. Secondly, Paludan had travelled from Denmark to Sweden with the sole purpose of staging the event.

Finland’s former foreign minister Alexander Stubb immediately blamed it on Russia.

“This should come as no surprise. Russia seems to be behind the burning of the Quran [Koran] in Sweden. This is what hybrid warfare of a rogue state looks like. In today's world everything can be weaponised,” he tweeted.

Stubb’s successor, Pekka Haavisto, chimed in, telling Finnish broadcaster YLE that Paludan’s ties to Russia had “been investigated and certain connections in his vicinity have been found", but without giving any evidence of his claims.

Although Kristersson, the Swedish premier, did not comment on any such links, he said: “There are forces both within Sweden and outside who wish to hinder Sweden’s membership in NATO,” adding that: "It’s against that background we need to see the provocateurs who wish to worsen Sweden’s relations with other countries.”

‘How to fight back against liberalised, globalised West?’’

In the days leading up to the event, it emerged that the idea of burning a Koran outside the Turkish embassy had not even come from Paludan himself. Instead, he claimed he had been contacted by two Swedish far-right activists who had convinced him to do it, and that one of them, Chang Frick, had even paid for his demonstration permit.

Frick, who regularly does media spots for the far-right Sweden Democrats (SD), previously contributed to Ruptly, a subsidiary of the Russian state-owned media Russia Today. According to DN Frick has travelled to Russia on several occasions in recent years, and in 2017, he accompanied a fellow SD member who acted as an election observer in the Russian regional elections. During their visit, Frick claimed in a tweet to have met “real hotshots in Moscow”. When interviewed by a state-run broadcaster, he said that the elections had been carried out in a fair and just manner. “There’s nothing to criticise,” he said.

In a recent interview with DN, however, he said that: “I’ve never had anything to do with the Russian state in any way, and I’m deeply critical against what it is doing in Ukraine.”

The other man who was allegedly involved in organising the Koran-burning is an unnamed reporter who works for the far-right Swedish news website Exakt24. The website also has links to Russia, and its Editor-in-Chief, Erik Almqvist, has acted as an election observer there. In a video from a 2020 conference in Russia, Almqvist is seen asking Leonid Alutskij, the chairman of the Russian Duma’s Foreign Affairs Committee, how they could “together join our forces and fight back [against] the liberalised, globalised West".

'Secret methods'

Last week, just days before Turkey announced its decision on Sweden and Finland’s NATO applications, Swedish investigative programme Kalla Fakta (Cold Facts), revealed that Paludan too has Russian connections. According to the programme he has been connected to at least six people linked to the private Russian paramilitary Wagner Group via Russian social media network VKontakte. One of them is believed to be a recruiter and a senior member of the group, and has been accused by Ukraine of election meddling and influencing public opinion in favour of Russian interests in other countries.

When confronted with this evidence by Kalla Fakta, Paludan denied the claims. He called the findings “ridiculous” and accused the reporter of having set up a fake profile in his name.

“I would assume that the profile you have been checking isn’t my profile. It seems more like you might have cheated with this [the evidence] to create a VKontakte profile,” he retorted.

But whether Paludan was consciously influenced by his Russian contacts or not, experts say an overall Russian involvement cannot be ruled out.

“There’s reason to grow suspicious when events that have been set up so sophistically so clearly play into Russia’s hands,” Tony Ingesson, a senior lecturer in intelligence analysis at Lund University, told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, pointing to the logic that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”.

But, he added, “Russia uses secret methods so that people don’t realise they are being supported [in their acts]”.

Jorgen Holmlund, an expert in intelligence analysis at the Swedish Defence University, agreed.

“You can ask yourself why a Danish citizen travels here to work in a way that supports Russian interests,” he said. “Given what we already know about Russian election meddling, it’s not untoward for me to say that skillfully planted narratives to get others to act – consciously or not – are likely to be present here [in Sweden] as well”.

On Friday, Turkey made a fateful decision on Sweden’s NATO process that – at least in the near term – was definitely not helped by a Koran-burning protest in Stockholm.

[korrektheiten]

Der finnische Präsident spricht sich gegen Autonomie der EU von den USA aus

Anti-Spiegel: » Der finnische Präsident Stubb hat in den USA studiert und ist in seinem weiteren Bildungsweg und seiner Karriere vollkommen von Transatlantikern beeinflusst worden. Dass Leute wie die frühere finnische Ministerpräsidentin Sanna Marin, die ihre Karriere dem Young Global Leaders Programm des Weltwirtschaftsforums von Klaus Schwab (also einem Projekt der CIA) verdankt, und der aktuelle finnische […] http://dlvr.it/T736CC «

[storkmuffin]

And besides this, you shall have every saucy boy, of ten, fourteen, sixteen or twenty years of age, catch up a woman, and marry her, without any fear of God at all... or, which is more, without any respect how they may live together, with sufficient maintenance for their callings and estate. No, no! It maketh no matter for these things, so he have his pretty pussy to huggle withall, for that is the only thing he desireth. ... This filleth the land with such store of mendicants... that in short time it is like to grow to great proverty and scarceness.

The Anatomie of Abuses, a sixteenth-century manifesto by a Puritan named Phillip Stubbes

[sflow-er]

PSA for non-Finnish fandom followers

I expect to keep blogging/reblogging a bit more about Finnish politics in the next two weeks as our presidential election heads into the second round run-off. I won't overwhelm you with such posts (this is a fandom blog after all), but if you want to avoid them entirely, the tag to block is:

#presidentinvaalit

For those of you who don't mind the posts but also don't know what's going on: we have the opportunity to elect our first openly gay president Pekka Haavisto, a liberal centrist from the Green party. He also happens to be the most qualified for the job, with decades of foreign policy experience (the Finnish president is mostly a figurehead but still has some power in the fields of foreign and security policy). He may not be left enough for many of us lefties, but he is still significantly to the left of the other candidate.

Haavisto is running against Alexander Stubb, a liberal conservative from the Coalition Party (our leading conservative party), who was very unpopular in his time in domestic politics but has now been introduced as a "fresh" option after some years abroad and is trying to distance himself from the current austerity government run by his own party. The CP has a much larger and more dedicated base than the Greens, and Stubb is also projected to get a lot of anti-Haavisto votes from people who even in 2024 still can't accept that a gay environmentalist who never did military service is fit to be president (e.g. those who voted for the far-right candidate in the first round).

Stubb is currently in the lead, but the difference was only 1.4% in the first round, and 47% of the electorate voted for the candidates who are no longer in the game. So it's going to be an exciting race, and I want to contribute to the discussion here as I do on my other social media.

[starbuck]

Ishmael: don’t blame Stubb too much for leaving Pip to die

me: no, I’m gonna

[ad15124]

youre feeling queasy :(

i looked some facts up (which you probably already know, but i'll try to give you a variety)

The stage before frostbite is known as “frostnip.”

You can buy a flying bicycle.

McDonald's introduced drive-through service due to the military.

Pigs don't sweat. (WHAT) okay this one deserves an explanation

If someone tells you they're "sweating like a pig" you might want to point out to them (if you're that sort of person) that if they were being biologically accurate, that would mean they were not sweating at all. Swine are born without sweat glands, so when they need to cool off, their only option tends to be to find a cool puddle of mud in which they can roll around.

There's a LEGO bridge in Germany that you can walk across.

Umbrellas were once only used by women.

For 20 years, a cat served as mayor of an Alaskan town. In 1997, an orange cat names Stubbs became honorary mayor of the Alaskan town of Talkeetna. With a population of 772 in 2000, it would not have taken too many votes to earn the position (and the small town did not actually have a real, human mayor. anyway), but Stubbs proved adept at the role, gaining fans from around the world and "serving" in the position for years, greeting tourists and becoming a beloved symbol of the town until his death in 2017.

Squirrels are behind most power outages in the U.S. The APPA even developed a data tracker called "The Squirrel Index" that analyzes the patterns and timing of squirrels' impact on electrical power systems. Turns out, the peak times of the year for squirrel attacks are from May to June and October to November.

Spider webs were used as bandages in ancient times. (what.) Spider webs supposedly have natural antiseptic and anti-fungal properties, which can help keep wounds clean and prevent infection. It's also said that spider webs are rich in vitamin K, which helps promote clotting. So, next time you're out of Band-Aids, just head to your attic and grab some "webicillin."

One quarter of all your bones are located in your feet.

You're more likely to get a computer virus from visiting religious sites than porn sites. (holy shit lmfaoooo)

Sunglasses were originally designed for Chinese judges to hide their facial expressions in court. Today, sunglasses serve as protective eyewear, effectively preventing bright sunlight from causing discomfort or damage to our eyes. Of course, they're also a fashion accessory. But sunglasses were originally made out of smoky quartz in 12th century China, where they were used by judges to mask their emotions when they were questioning witnesses.

Cotton candy was invented by a dentist. (COTTON CANDY WAS WHAT) IT WAS CALLED FAIRY FLOSS AT 1ST

Shakespeare's epitaph contains a curse for grave robbers. (i-) "GOOD FREND FOR IESVS SAKE FORBEARE / TO DIGG THE DVST ENCLOASED HEARE / BLESTe BE Ye MAN Yt SPARES THES STONES / AND CVRST BE HE Yt MOVES MY BONES." Or more clearly: "Good friend, for Jesus' sake forbear / To dig the dust enclosed here / Blessed be the man that spares these stones / And cursed be he that moves my bones."

Children of identical twins are genetically siblings, not cousins.

It would only take one hour to drive to space. (bruh)

OKAY MORE LATER BC IM SLEEPY BUT I HOPE YOU DIDNT KNOW ABOUT SOME OF THESE i hope you feel better soon<333

also. i went looking for these, and theyre so interesting! im probably gonna look for more weird/amazing facts from now on because of you

THANK YOU THANK YOU ALL I KNEW IS THE SPACE ONE I LOVE THESEEEE

[fazbear-ent-official]

Incorrect Fazbear Ent Quote

Michael: *holding a salt packet* It’s just a little sodium chloride.

Chris: Actually Stubbs, it’s salt.

Michael: That’s what I said, sodium chloride.

Chris: Uh, that would be salt.

Chris: *takes salt packet from Michael* This is iodized table salt, which in addition to sodium chloride contains anti-caking agents and potassium iodate, which is added to prevent iodine deficiency. So not only are you being overly pretentious by insisting on using scientific terminology for everyday items, you are factually wrong. Your arrogance is your downfall, you annoying little shit.

[thirddoctor]

just finished watching The Mutants, and after the way 60s Who killed off every single black character it introduced, the survival and positive portrayal of Cotton is such a relief. based on the show’s previous track record, you would unfortunately expect Stubbs to be the member of the duo to survive while Cotton is the one killed off for drama. the fact that it’s the other way around, and Cotton outlives not only his white friend but also all the other human characters in authority, ending the story in command of the human colony and overseeing Earth’s withdrawal from the planet as it gains independence is such a great choice (credit for which goes to the director, as the character wasn’t written as black, and apparently Colin Baker of all people was considered for the role until Christopher Barry cast Jamaican actor Rick James instead). I think it works especially well with the serial’s explicitly anti-colonialism/anti-apartheid message.

anyway The Mutants is good, and I think it should be talked about more

[8bitdigi]

Review | Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse (PC)

The HD remaster version of Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse wants players to see the fun side of a zombie outbreak.

A Cult Classic Returns from the Dead Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse was released at a time when the zombie genre was at the height of its popularity. It was also a time when games were putting more players in the role of the anti-hero. Unlike every other zombie game, you were not fighting to survive an outbreak but going around creating one. Given that it was launched for the Xbox,…