The Pied Pipers of Putinism
Four civic activists and Russia experts in Finland have published a statement condemning the actions of the so-called Finnish "Anti-Fascist" Committee (SAFKA) and Kremlin's parallel propaganda campaign against Finland. The statement's signatories call on Finnish public opinion to give its assessment of the committee's actions. The authors state that Russia's habit of doing politics on the situation of distressed people living in Finland is unacceptable.
Asylum for Elena Maglevannaya!
An online petition urges Finland to grant asylum to the Russian human rights defender and journalist Elena Maglevannaya. She arrived in Finland in late May 2009 and has stayed here since. Maglevannaya applied for asylum in Finland after she was subjected to persecution by the Russian authorities for her articles about the torture of Chechen inmates in Russian prisons. Maglevannaya received several death threats from Russian ultranationalist organisations closely linked to the authorities. http://finrosforum.fi/asylum-for-elena-maglevannaya
Presidential Football in Helsinki
Bolivian president Evo Morales will take part in a football match between multicultural teams in the Finnish capital, Helsinki, on Friday. Morales is an enthusiastic fan and active player of football. The football match was added to the president's official programme on his own initiative. The match begins at the football field in Tali at 5:30 PM. On Saturday, Morales will take part in an open party organised by the Bolivian community in Finland on Helsinki's Senate Square beginning at 1 PM. http://yle.fi/urheilu/lajit/jalkapallo/kotimaa/2010/05/bolivian_presidentti_pelaa_jalkapallo-ottelussa_helsingissa_1698015.html
Parrots in Parliament: Politicians Jump on Terrorist Bandwagon
Maryam Rajavi, one of the leaders of the Iranian terrorist organisation, People's Mujahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI), was on a visit to Finland on 11-12 March 2010. Ms Rajavi met with many Finnish politicians, public officials, church leaders, and other public figures. I wrote several letters to MPs, ministers, and officials urging them to reject any contact with Ms Rajavi and her representatives. Some of the responses I got were less than satisfactory, while others served as evidence of the sane judgment of many of our elected representatives.
Maryam Rajavi should be in jail
I wrote several letters to Finnish politicians and public officials urging them not to have any contact with the Iranian terrorist leader Maryam Rajavi and her representatives. Below is my letter to former Conservative MEP Piia-Noora Kauppi, who has a long-standing relationship to Ms Rajavi's organisation. Ms Kauppi is now Managing Director of the Federation of Finnish Financial Services. Dear Piia-Noora Kauppi,I am writing to you to express my deepest concern about the recent visit to Finland of Maryam Rajavi, one of the leaders of the People's Mujahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI). I have learned that you have cooperated with organisations that Ms Rajavi represents for some time. I wish you would hold human rights foremost in your mind when considering your attitude toward organisations that use or have used terrorism to further their political aims.
Finnish MPs fall under Rajavi's spell
Finland's political elite has fallen under the spell of the Rajavi cult. The Iranian terrorist leader Maryam Rajavi has ensnared legislators in several countries and the European Parliament. When two MKO terrorists were detained in Finland, few really knew what the group stood for. Before her "charm offensive" targeting political leaders in Europe and elsewhere, Maryam Rajavi ordered her cult members to kill their own people and to attack the Iraqi Kurds at the behest of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. See the Al Jazeera documentary about the MKO.
Two cult leaders held summit in Finland
Archbishop Jukka Paarma of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland met with Maryam Rajavi, leader of the CIA-backed Iranian terrorist organisation, People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), in Turku on 12 March 2010. Rajavi called on the Finnish Lutheran Church to support PMOI's base in Iraq, Camp Ashraf, the church reported. "Around 3,400 PMOI members are living in difficult conditions in Camp Ashraf," Paarma told local daily Turun Sanomat. "Representatives of different churches have written letters about the issue. I will meet with some ministers of the Finnish government over the weekend, let us see what can be done about the matter," the archbishop said. The church's press office reported that the goal of Rajavi's "National Resistance Council of Iran" is "to develop Iran into a democratic state that respects human rights, and where religion and state are separated." Turun Sanomat did do some googling and recalled that PMOI was, until very recently, on the EU's list of terrorist organisations. The church quoted Rajavi as saying that religious leaders should "uphold universal ethical values." Rajavi expressed a wish that she could one day receive the archbishop in a Christian church in Tehran. Maybe she will invite the archbishop to PMOI's parade? The Finnish Lutheran Church has a long tradition of blessing military parades.
Finland least peaceful Nordic country
New Zealand is the most peaceful nation on Earth, according to the 2009 Global Peace Index released Tuesday by an Australian-based research group that counts former President Jimmy Carter, Ted Turner and the Dalai Lama among its endorsers. After New Zealand, next on the list are Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Austria, Sweden, Japan, Canada, Finland and Slovenia. In the bottom ten are Zimbabwe, Russia, Pakistan, Chad, Congo, Sudan, Israel, Somalia, Afghanistan and, in last place, Iraq. The US is 83rd on the list, according to the Institute for Economics and Peace that rated the relative tranquility of 144 nations according to 23 indicators, including gun sales, the number of homicides, the size of the military, terrorism, and the number of people in jail. Germany is at 16 on the list, Australia at 19, Spain (28), South Korea (33), Britain (35) and Italy (36). Libya, Nicaragua, Jordan, Cuba, China, Peru, and Ukraine all are rated more peaceful than the US. Rwanda is rated 86, Syria 92, Iran 99, and Mexico 108.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/03/new-zealand-rated-most-peaceful-us-83rd/
Profiting From Iran
The New York Times identified 74 corporations that have done business both in Iran and with the United States government over the last decade, using corporate records filed with the Securities Exchange Commission, company websites, news accounts confirmed by interviews with company officials, and Congressional reports. The list includes two Finnish-based corporations: Nokia and Wärtsilä.
Nokia, which has sold mobile devices and accessories to Iran since at least 2004, said in a 2010 Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it was gaining market share there. Nokia's contracts with the American government include providing telecommunication services to the Department of Defense and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Contracts that were separately awarded to Nokia-Siemens, a joint venture, were not included in the company's totals here. Nokia-Siemens sold technology to Iran in 2008 that could be used by the government to eavesdrop on cellphones and e-mail messages. The sale proved controversial, though the technology is required by other countries, including the United States. Nokia-Siemens continues to provide services to two cellphone companies in Iran, company spokesman Ben Roome said. "We certainly think that providing telecom equipment is a force for good," Mr Roome said. Wärtsilä Corporation has built power plants in Iran and in 2002 supplied engines for Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line (IRISL) container ships. IRISL is a state-owned shipping company later blacklisted by the United States for facilitating the transfer of military cargo to Iran. Wärtsilä has received federal contracts to provide engine parts to the Coast Guard. A Wärtsilä spokesman, Atte Palomäki, said that the company operates in full compliance with sanctions.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/03/06/world/iran-sanctions.html
