Chapter X

"Oh, wait. I'm a cyborg not an android, I have no self-destruct buttons. That also means my limbs are intact, attached and I’m ready for action instead of simply lying about. How silly of me! My mother always told me not to get carried away by the thrill of the moment."

This moment of self-reflection allowed him to think of what to do next. After such a jolly jog a short bout of rationalization was called for.

"I'm a sensible person. A sensible person who has just strangled his ex. I'll do what every sensible person would do in my shoes – head to the nearest public house and get wasted."

And he did; after all Jerry was a sensible person. Somewhere around 4 AM he found that even his technologically enhanced body needed some shut-eye. As a sensible person he ordered one final round, said his goodbyes and stepped out into the cold night oblivious to the dangers it contained. Dangers like muggers, who would relieve him of his change, like aliens who would try to probe him in a way far from sensitive or even large trucks just like the one, which hit him.

Little did he know that his arrival at the local morgue saved the life of an innocent young deer, who would have been hit by the coroner on his way home. Unfortunately she did get hit the next day; however one can only save so many.

What would Jesus do?

This post is inspired by the death of Jörg Haider. This post is NOT inspired by sympathy for his cause. This post is NOT about any conspiracies. It is rather about an interesting moral dilemma.

Though by now the authorities have stated that the politician mentioned had been speeding and been under the influence of alcohol at the time of the fatal accident, that is irrelevant. Let us forget that part. Let us even forget that persons name. Another Austrian fellow should be the focus of our discussion. Yes, the very same one who sported a rather nasty mustache and loving long walks with torches. Would it be ethical to kill that man before he gains absolute control of his country and forces the world to experience another devastating war? Hitler as baby argument with a twist so to say. We assume for the sake of the argument that this leader is already exhibiting harmful tendencies but is adored by his countrymen. What we are lacking is hindsight, we can only guess whether this person is a raving lunatic.

On the one hand we should not take our chances and act only when it is too late. Every moment wasted is another life lost. Right now, when he is in the opposition, he can be eliminated causing less of a fuss. Besides, it would not present the virulent extremists with a reason to embark on a quest on vengeance. At least on a more limited one. Even if we miss, it would be a single life, the lives and well-beings of billions are at stake. From that point of view it is not way too steep of a price to pay. Though there will be conspiracy theories, they are as relevant as those about aliens probing all the world leaders as a ritual way of welcoming them to their office.

Then again it is not that easy. Who are we to judge that person? There is no basis for us to be competent to establish such a precedence. If bush can do that, why can't Putin? Even the genocidal village elders in South-Eastern Africa will claim themselves to be responsible enough to take on such a burden. There is no institution impartial enough to be able to do something like this. That is not even to touch the subjects of one man's terrorist being another's freedom fighter. We simply cannot have everybody going on killing everybody. Under some categories G. W. Bush can be considered responsible for the deaths of thousands, should he too be taken care of? Not to mention the member of Congress, who voted in favour of attacking scary bearded men. Or the pock-marked dude in Ukraine responsible for dismissing the Parliament? Is he too a tyrant in the making as his opponents suggest? No bad guys have outed themselves as such, at least not voluntarily.

Therefore it is politically and morally wrong to embark on such a path. Then again the pay-off is immense, at the cost of a few lives, the world can be saved from another great war of mass devastation or even a nuclear one. What would Jesus do?

I wasn't there

Despite being late and not posting for a month I still am capable of thought. To prove that I'd point out a few important ideas spawned by the infamous film.

Instead of discussing the details of the plot all over again, I'd rather scrutinize the final moments. Yesterday was one of those rare days on which I happened to be watching TV. I'm not sure of the channel but I looked up the film I had watched. It was called "Stranger than Fiction" and it presented a rather curious problem. To summarise the plot, it is about a writer trying to finish her book about an especially insignificant man, Harold Crick. For no apparent reason, such a person exists and actually lives through everything the writer typed. This brings about a moral dilemma, should the writer finish the book by killing the protagonist and by that create a masterpiece, or write a mediocre happy end as to save the man's life.

The idea, which i found worth pondering, is too of the ending. As we all now, the finale was one of failure, the boys carted off by the police. As I am still human and suffer from all the side-effects of being attached to the protagonist, I found myself wishing for the boys to make it. On the other hand there is common sense explaining that Rass and others are common criminals nothing else. The emotional and involved side of me is crying for him to be released to live a happy life with his new-found woman. Naturally he would go back to school and eventually become a doctor. Then again, who would believe such a conclusion? It too would be mediocre if not poor, art and intelligence lost for a piece of petty hope. On the other hand it is not a bit more moral to create a character of immense appeal to the audience just to make him miserable. What could one do as a writer, the twin evils of human nature make an intelligent yet emotionally involving piece almost impossible to produce.

Hey guys, I'm special!

I'm rather surprised that as soon as the results were announced everybody started making up excuses. Is it truly not possible that we actually are satisfied? The notion of students agreeing with school in general or the dreaded perioodõpe in particular, seems so alien that our consciousness simply rejects it. We start searching for actual excuses such as skipping school often or simply having had lunch. The latter is especially dubious as if I am not mistaken, we had this survey during the 7th lesson.

It is rather difficult to make general statements as the data is apparently absent from our fancy new website. Still, I'd like to use this page to make a little statement of my own. I actually am satisfied with the system. If one would take the wonderworld of orkut as an example then everything wrong has something to do with the system. Someone will probably even blame the late arrival of trains to The Hague on perioodõpe. Some teachers enjoy being a pain in one's side regardless of the system. The schedule was messed up in the old days as well. Oh, and what do you know, being absent for long periods of time such as two weeks still messed up your grades, only in all the subjects. Let's no forget that the system is a foreign one and probably devised by a joint committee of Jews, neo-Nazis, communists, Illuminati and the very same aliens who went on a mind-controlling spree in the sixties. Simply put, school is without doubt a little messed up but let's not blame something for everything just because it is new.

That being said, the genuinely nice aspects of balancing a schedule as in having less lessons on the periods leading up to the exams, having intensive studying periods instead of long arduous process consisting of two lessons a week or simply the lovely aspect of not having to attend the not-so-fine lessons every week; are rather enjoyable. Besides, it even feels better when one only has seven weeks to count down instead of more. Even the dreaded idea of having a test every week seems a little less intimidating when taken in perspective. Though the tests will probably be grouped closer together, the material will be as well. This is where the questions comes in, if we take in roughly the same amount of information simply divided on a different timescale, would we rather have the tests on something we learned in the course of last week or enjoy the benefits or having a test on something learned a month ago. Besides, we only have about 8 subjects as opposed to double that number. That naturally means that the number of subjects we can have tests on immediately drops by half. That too is something I cannot object.

The idea of us having a partial perioodõpe and that being the reason behind all our problems is also a little curious of an idea. The only actual part we are apparently missing is the final week as an examination-only week, the idea of which I personally object. Though that will probably be discussed in another post sometime in the future, I'd simply like to point out the obvious. Having a few tests on material studied in the course of a single week in more or less of a continuous stream is a little better. The other option would demand digging up stuff from day one and still remember everything. This is not to mention the extra strain of such a week. Another curious aspect would be the attitude of some. Pointing fingers at a certain someone and a certain post on a light blue website, I'd claim that the opponents of the system are trying to play on both sides of the field at the same time. A person complains about the new system being harsh on absentees and making the last week of the term stressful and then in the very same advocates having all the important tests in the course of a single week. If that's not conflicting then what is? Once more, let's not oppose something just for the hell of it. And if we do, let's try not to contradict ourselves, shall we?

As a final note, let me declare that life would be so much nicer, if we would simply consider the merits of something for its own worth. Just because Anu-demon is promoting it does not mean something to be utterly rotten and bad. Furthermore, don't be afraid to admit that you were wrong. Simply because the original statements were made with limited information (oh, how typical), does not mean that they still have to be defended. I, myself was a vocal critic of this perioodõpe, when it was first mentioned. Now, however, After having experienced it for a year, I am not afraid to stand up and admit that I was wrong in the first place.

Political partisanship anyone?

While watching TV, something I rarely do, I spotted something odd. The piece itself was called The American President and is of no particular artistic value. However the political or moral values caught my attention. Not the part concerned with bombing Syria nor anything with the French. The stances on environmentalism and gun control stood out.

Though the plot revolved around the feasibility of a First Girlfriend as opposed to serious issues, the stance on those was remarkably familiar. Practically every film brought to us from Ameerikamaa, which even remotely mention the subject, has the same point of view. Global warming not only exists but can be stopped by simply using less gas. In addition to that, gun control is the perfect way to make crime obsolete. The only thing in the way preventing us all to live in a global village called happiness is a strange cabal consisting of pork-barreling republican senators on the pay-roll of various lobby groups. That's it, no sensible character appearing human at least in some part, fights against these ideas.

Now the problem here is not whether the points made are valid or not, I am trying to highlight the political bias behind it. The naturally liberal and free-spirited folks at Hollywood cannot grasp the possibility of mentioning any opposite arguments for a debate. We occasionally like to presume that we have no problems understandig American culture or attitudes, simply because we have seen so much. We are stunned by those who claim Jesus created everything and abortion should be banned on all occasions, those folks appear to be on the fringe. Actually it is not the case. We simply haven't seen any. Though I rather not call the media communists, there is a strong bias present.

A thin red line line or a fat blue one?

As you all know our lovable neighbour just had a rather unpleasant confrontation with Georgia. Naturally we are rather annoyed in case some of that nasty stuff gets spilled on our own freshly mowed lawn, however there are other troubling events to pay attention to as well. David Cameron and David Miliband and some others not named David recently enjoyed their own bout of sabre-rattling. That is NATO giving Ukraine something of a turbo-membership. Something we should be rather afraid of.

Don't get me wrong, everybody and their grandmother should be given a chance to be free of intervening KGB veterans and all but NATO membership might be one step too many. You see, Ukraine is not a lovely unified country of western values and aspirations but rather a country stuck between two radically different worlds. Without getting bogged down by details, one can view Ukraine as a bipolar country. The nation is roughly split in two along the same lines as on the picture to the left. The western part of the nation can be characterized as pro-European and the eastern or southern, which ever way you like it, part as pro-Russian. This means a seriously messed up country in short. The Estonian equivalent of such a division would not be the Ida-Virumaa versus the rest but rather something along the lines of Estland and Livland. What I wanted to prove with that boring demographic talk was that the country itself is not sure, which way it wants to go. Apparently they are too busy cutting each others throats to see the big bad wolf creeping around the house.

Now imagine NATO getting involved. Apart from the fact that we would be forcing an alliance of serious strategic importance onto people against their wishes (how's that for democracy?), these kind of countries tend to be extremely unstable and impossible to predict. It is like giving a rabid schizophrenic monkey pumped up to the eye-balls on various stimulants a fully armed nuclear football. Oh and just for the heck of it, the monkey lives next door to a megalomaniac mastermind as well as some bloke named Hitler. Even without a smirking Russia poking around where it is not wanted, the mixture is still highly potent. If, at some point, a few oblasts would decide to secede, the odds are that a full blown civil war might erupt. What will NATO do then? Back one ethnically cleansing half of the country over another? Simply ignore the events? Ask the warring sides to simply kiss and make up? Install a meaningless puppet regime tasked to freeze the conflict and hope nobody notices?

Though I strongly support all attempts to help Ukraine deal with it's nasty neighbour, NATO membership is no silver bullet. Until it's ready, and by that I mean dealt with it's internal issues, there should be no further talk on the subject. Right now we would simply be trying to douse the flames with gasoline. Not only would be fuel further conflict but put ourselves on the line. This, my friends, is contrary to the golden rule of helping someone out: make sure you do not put yourself in danger. Nobody needs another would-be helper crying for rescue.

It's happening

Ehk läheb õnneks. See video ja tark jutt. Nautige.

Obama, schmobama

Novembrini on aega ehk jama Ameerikas kestab veel. Obama on muidugi jätkuvalt hitt. Ta on jätkuvalt lootuse ja puhtuse kehastus. Neid, kes loodavad temast midagi uut, midagi süsteemivälist, on palju. Siiski, mul on tunne, et maania on ehk lahtumas. Ükskord peab see juhtuma, ise küsimus on millal.

Lootust ju on. Mitte, et üks 70 vanake suudaks imesid teha. Pigem võiks loota, et ta teeb vähem lollusi. 18 kuuga sõjavägi Iraagist väla on lausa kuritegelik. Lääne sõdurite elude hinnaga hoitakse eri grupeeringuid üksteisele kõrri kargamast. Kui väed välja viia kaotaks kõige rohkem just tavaline tsiviilisik, kelle elu väärtus just langes kolinal. Siiski, teemasse. Ehk jahtub see fanaatiline usk enne kui liiga hilja. Ehk leidub neid, kes suudavad näha säravate sõnadega taga seisvat tühjust. Ehk tuleb neid veel.

Võibolla olen ma loll ja pime, aga ma vähemalt loodan veel.

Vaata aknast välja

Ma ei mõista. Nii vähe kui meil seda tõelist suve siin ongi ja me magame selle lihtsalt maha. Igaühele ei pea meeldima kaheksast kaheksani päikesepõletuse püüdmine, kuid veidi päikest poleks ju ometi liig. Vihma, pilvi ja muid vabandusi leidub ju veel augustis, aga nädalat ilma ühegi pilveraasuta ehk mitte. Paluks mitte olla pidurid.

I've been thinking

Paavo ütles kunagi, et meie mõttemaailm on talle võõras. Ta ütles, et meil polevat seda mässumeelsust ega soovi ega soovi väikeseks stick it to the Maniks. Milleig pärast on see mõttekild kuskile sügavalt sisse jäänud ja ma olen hiljem sellele korduvalt oma mõttejõudu koondanud. Mis kõige hämmastavam on, Paavol oli tuliõigus.

Meie rahulikus ei tule sissesöödud kemikaalidest või ropust tarbimisühiskonnast. Lihtsalt pole vajadust süsteemiga sõtta minna. Miks? Meie olemegi süsteem. Meist saab see vana kaardivägi, keda järgmine põlvkond kõigest hingest kiruma hakkab. Me ei lärma, sest sõja kuulutamine praeguse elukorralduse vastu tähendaks sõda iseendaga. Väikeste mööndustega oleme praeguse elukorraldusega rahul.

Miks jumala pärast ma üldse nii arvan? Kahel lihtsal põhjusel.

Esiteks enne meid tulid suured lammutajad, kes juba eksisteeriva olukorra pea peale pöörasid. Enne meid oli tühimik. Me oleme uue tekkinud süsteemi lapsed ja meie usul pole piire. Kas süsteem on meie nägu või meie süsteemi nägu, omab minimaalsest tähendust. Pigem on oluline harjumine olukorraga ning lausa rahulolu. Inimesed, kel kõht täis katus pea kohal ja tulevik silme ees, ei jookse leegitsevate tõrvikutega ja hangude märatsedes ringi. Lihtsalt pole põhjust. Kui siis vaid äärmise igavuse peletamiseks, kuid ka see meelelahutus kipub ära tüütama.

Teine lihtne põhjus on ühiskonna tsüklilisus. Igale lõhkujate põlvkonnale järgneb ehitajate põlvkond. Igale reaktsioonile järgneb ja kõik muud uhked väljendid. Elu lihtsalt käib nii. Kuna enne meid tulid isikud, kel hinges põles hele leek ja selge eesmärk maailma muuta seisis silme ees, siis meie oleme paratamatult stabiilsuse poole pürgijad. Elu lihtsalt käib sedaviisi. Meie elu saabki olema süsteem.

See kõik tuleviku kohta lubatu kehtib eeldusel, et üldpoliiitiline ja majanduslik olukord hetkega kardinaalselt ei muutu. Ehk see idee ei kindlusta ida sõpruse või lõuna põgenike vastu.

I think this might qualify as an epiphany.

Maal ära

Tegelikult pole mind üldse Tallinnas, teile vaid tundub nii, kõigest 150 kilomeetrit vales suunas. Naudin kohaliku raamatukogu vaba netti.

Iseenesest pole midagi vaimustavamat kui võimalus olla kõige toimuvaga kursis igal suvalisel hetkel igas suvalises kohas. Need ajad, kus elu jäi tegijatest linna maha on ammu möödas. Ärme grilliajastu möödudes unusta, et ka mobiiltelefonid pole ulme. Kõik see kokku viibki mu sogase jutu kuldse ivani. Nimelt, elu maal on päris mõnus. Pole kära, pole saasta, pole vaja karta aeda jäetu pärast, pole muret Savisaare sõiduradade pärast - isn't life grand out there?

Kõikidele, kes muretsevad mu vaimse seisundi, Ida-Viru juttude või värske statementi pärast, võin lubada, et olen pühapäevaks tagasi. Eeldusel, et plaanid ei muutu ja see hobuvanker, mis linna läheb, tulemata jää.

Time of Your Life

Kolm päeva lõpetamisi ühel pool. Kes, mida pole oluline aga peaasi, et lõpetamine. Pühalikust lipumarsist kuni kittuseni abivalmi käitumise eest; kõike sai nähtud.

Kõik see kokku pani mõtlema. Aastake veel ja siis ise. Kes, mis, mida, kellele, kellelt; kõik see on teadmata. Pole ju seegi veel kindel, kes suvega ära kaovad. Aasta veel vahel, palju veel teha. Ometigi terendab ta juba silme ees. Oh kooliaeg, oh kooliaeg oled juba läinud, pole aegagi märgata kui juba siin.

Ei oska meist keeegi aega seisma panna, isegi mitte filmis.

The decision

I'd vouch for Aksel.

I came upon this decision after a thorough review of our current blogosphere. I noticed that everybody else the deep analytical posts about current issues, the higly articulate language and simply the number of posts. There never was such an intellectually prominent blogger as dear Mr. Erik.

Highway Robbery

Firstly, I'd like to state my ultimate disgust for the phone companies for pulling of all these stunts. Because of an episode of "Pealtnägija", I managed to catch a glimpse of, this post has sprung out of my glorious mind and onto my blog.
Asking money for services not provides is called fraud. Our laws state that up to three years in prison are granted for people committing fraud although companies can only suffer from a fine. Having said that, I would further distress how disappointed I am with this. I should not be charged for services with I have neither ordered nor received. It makes as much sense as your local supermarket charging you for yogurt, if you milk happens to go bad. To be perfectly honest, it
puzzles me, why should they do it anyway. Though I too saw the figures explaining how a phone can blast a little less than 200 000 EEK of a hole in one's wallet, how many people actually pay these bills? Not only are these cases rare but what's more, they also help to build up massive amounts of negative publicity. Nevertheless, everybody seems to be content with sitting on their hands and waiting for some miracle to happen. As a result we, the ordinary folks, have to be increasingly vary of these deceitful companies, hence we are less inclined to look further into various new services provided. Not only leaves this course of actions the consumers dissatisfied but it also is bad for business in general. Thus, I am left puzzling on the motivations of keeping this circus going.

Primaries are stupid

Why? Because they pit candidates mostly on person appeal not merits or policies. The major issues in the democrat campaign have been whether Obama really can understand poor gun-loving folks and whether Hillary is actually a machine. The republican issues, if one still remembers them were quite a lot about how god created earth and how religious one is. This amounts to the idea of us having elections and the main debate would be whether Edgar's eyebrows are pointy enough. There are absolutely no discussions about policy whatsoever. Are the candidates really so similar or the Americans so dumb for them not to realise that? You can count this as another reason why I'm glad I live in Estonia.

Hi, my name is Hillary

Curious, isn't it? Despite the fact that she has snowball's chance in hell to become the nominee yet she is one with the strongest hand. The odds are that if there will be no joint ballot, then Obama will be liquidated. If she chooses to accept his offer, she has a quite definite Vice-Presidential position. If she chooses to decline, the odds are that like Gerard Baker, from Times Online, pointed out :" [She'll be] ready to pick up the baton again in 2012, armed with the most powerful “I told you so” argument in the history of politics". It would be quite hard for Obama to find someone else on the ticket, who would have as much clout as a Clinton. But then again, could he find one?

Another Dilemma

An interesting question caught my eye, the case of Bolivia, or to be more exact, the case of Santa Cruz region holding a referendum demanding for more autonomy. An interesting two pronged problems becomes apparent.

First of all, there will always be differences between regions. One is not supposed to call for autonomy or independence simply because one has to pay more than the neighbour. Can you imagine Harjumaa declaring it's autonomy, because it has to pay for all those poor regions in Ida Virumaa? Could you accept that? I guess not. Moreover, such important decisions should be motivated by a grand irreconsileable differences between ideologies or cultural differences not because of greed.

Then again, if one is forced to endure a maniac for President against one's will, what else is there to do? I'm quite sure that the people living in the suburbs are not too fond of the idea of Greater Tallinn. After all, their votes would be pitted against the entire Savisaar-adoring Lasnamäe. In Bolivia, it is even worse. One the one hand, the history is a lot more complex, but then again wouldn't you want to get out , if there is a deranged socialist coca-lover on the loose?

Another one up for McCain

Hillary and Obama are still at each others throats, but there is something one might easily miss regards to the current situation. Both campaigns are going over and over about the importance of the current primaries and how a win hre or there is crucial to their cause. Actually the battles waged now do not really matter in long run. Why don't they matter, you might ask. I'll tell you why, beacuse they are fought in republican heartlands. The states currently contested such as Indiana and North Carolina are established republican strongholds and there is little reason to believe that they would capitulate especially with the elections appearing to be quite a close match.

Election day, Yay

It seems to be a jolly start for a jolly new chapter in English politics. Labour was obliterated in almost every aspect there is. In the capital, London, the incumbent, Ken Livingstone, was defeated by a man widely known for being a stooge rather than anything else. There was a lot more devastation elsewhere. The Tories achieved more than they had been expecting in but a few constituencies. The conservative Party managed to grab 44% of overall vote, with Labour achieving only a meagre 24%, even losing out to the Liberal Democrats. Though this was more about Gordon Brown U-turns than Tory leadership, this still is a promising start of a brand new era.

A jolly cup of war please?

What is this? A plane, a missile, destruction. Without any further comments or propaganda, the point becomes only too clear.

Does anyone want to guess the Russian reaction? What plane? Where? Why should we have any planes there? At least that was the case according to Times Online.

It is one of those rare occasions, where i have got nothing more too add but simply look dumbfound, simply staring blankly at the screen.

The time, a concept thougt of as arcane or at least unreal.

This extraordinary tale took place somewhere well within the acknowledged path of time, something the general public calls history. A conscious mind would sooner or later find the forced concept of an evenly distributed and uniform flow rather appalling and constricting the normal flow of ideas. However, for obvious reason, that aspect will be ignored as most of the readers are probably not educated enough to delve deeper into how our universe actually works.
It concerns the foundation and the first activities of our most beloved defensive alliance on this side of the galaxy, NATO. The more enlightened ones around have probably also pondered upon the reasons behind forming such a great establishment. I mean, why should some sovereign countries subject their underfunded, understaffed and under equipped armies to some committee who is probably far more interested in Realpolitik than in actual causes which matter. The reason is extra-terrestrial visits. It is not simply possible to defend this tiny blue planet from all those space-beasts, when we refuse to cooperate. it would be all too easy for them to skip from one country to another, while the neighbours a re calmly standing by if not cheering the ruffians on. Simply by refusing crossborders cooperation, our cause is doomed to fail under the onslaught of those pesky newcomers. Claiming that USpotentially devastating attack on not only everything we believe in but also on the species itself. There is no reason for us to expect that some Reticulans would care even a little bit for the survival our our meager kind. That is the reason why we need top grade weapons systems ASAP. All those who dare to try to enter our glorious atmosphere must be set ablaze using various hi-tech means possible. A combo consisting of a few missiles, followed by a few million rounds from an average mini gun and finally toping it off with a touch of napalm, would be desirable.A would be able to handle such an event is a clear underestimation of the powers harnessed by all kinds of galactic monsters. I mean, that it would be stupid to stand alone against such a

Is there a place for Zimbabwe?

Another country somewhere, none of you would find without using a map. Another place turned into a wretched hellhole by a maniacal dictator with far too many complexes to count. Another popular challenger promising to bring peace, prosperity and even more importantly, provisions to the country.

I'm not saying that change is bad. I'm not saying that all those dumb old men should be kept in power till death finally makes them catch up with the reality. Let's just wait a moment before declaring that the world order has been reborn.Though in this case something might actually change.

Unlike many other examples, in Zimbabwe there is a fifth column in the lines of the ruling party. Simply by relying on popular momentum, it is quite hard to get rid of a dug in police state. It is simply far too easy to crush all those pesky dissidents with cold, hard pieces of lead usually called bullets. However, right now, there is dissatisfaction among the ruling party and even an outright challenger accepted by the rank and file members of the party. That, my friends, is the recipe for taking down oppressive regimes.

The deranged leader might keep on yelling all those slogans, but they become empty if there are no means by which to provide the promised retribution. In essence if the police and the army change sides, the fight is quite settled.

All Hail Public Transportation

I know all of you are constantly passing time by whining over shitty public transportation. Sure, there might be a few odd blokes here and there or the serious lack of complementary coctails, but that takes away attention from the main point.

The bus to Tartu has everything but those cocktails. It's comfortable, fast, it's student-friendly AND it's laptop-friendly. Not only Wifi, which is basically a human right, one can even enjoy it when the batterylife is about half an hour. One can just plug oneself in, connect to the network and just make perfect use of ones time. No matter if it's msn, orkut or even plain old work, there is something for everyone.

Now that we have achieved this coveted status for the buses heading for and from Tartu, there is little room left for improvement. We might just one day fit all the buses with the same essential gear. Now that's E-stonia.

Free Tibet

Why should we even care about something taking place so far away? It is not like we have closer ties to them than any random bloke from Kismayo. Nor is it reasonable to expect that just because a few Estonians China will be willing to back off.

Still, sometimes one has to do what is right despite the futility. We did not regain our independence just because a few guys were picketing outside some embassy in Australia. But when we eventually did get what we wanted, those same picketers became useful. They helped to keep the flame of freedom from being completely squashed by the Soviet Union. They still reminded the world that we did and still do exist. So when the time came, we were recognized and treated properly. In addition to moral support during those troubled times.

It is similar about Tibet. If, by chance, the locals would manage to reinstate their rule, they would be welcomed and understood. In law as well as popular opinion, there is a significant difference between a separatist province or an occupied country. Besides, we appreciate that our cause was not forgotten during those terrible decades. I'm sure the tibetans are not any different.

You infidels

It seems the muslims are once more expressing their utter disgust and resenment towards us. And this time, it does not even have anything to do with insolent cartoons and whether it is moral for us to break Islamic laws and ignore their customs.

Apparently His Holiness, Benedict XVI, the current pope residing in Rome, Italy, has insulted the muslims by baptising a muslim. And no, not tule ja mõõgaga. Hey guys, I understand that your religion forbids anyone to renounce their faith but as far as I know, I does not order one to switch off ones brain. The Pope, with all due respect, is the head of another religious movement. Another religious movement, which too believes in enlarging the number of its followers. If he would not do so, then who else would? What is the Pope without religion? Just an Old German fellow. Running a rival religion is all he is about. It is his job to convert others. How can you accept the fact that he exists without accepting the fact that he does the utmost to spread his version of God and friends.

War - how bad it really is?

As you all know by now, 4000th soldier was killed on Sunday. That's 4000 young men have met their untimely death during the now 5 years of war. Can you imagine 4000 coffins in a row somewhere? In order to prevent further casualties the only sensible option is to pull out. War, what is it good for? For security, obviously. By fighting all those militant types in some desert country we keep the fight off our very own green lawn. And that, my friends, is something one can not deny. In other words, their sacrifices keep us safe.

How great are the costs anyway? When one starts to think about, then it seems not really significant. Though every single life is valuable and I know what misery and sadness accompany death, if one looks at it from a larger perspective, there really is no major effect. Do you know how many people get hurt in normal everyday traffic? There were 271 017 casualties reported in 2005 in the UK alone. That is about 743 casualties every single day. Yet nobody advocates banning cars. Now think about it. It is a big sacrifice to the individual who has to cope with his own death, or the loss of a loved one, but is it really that much to ask from the general society? If we are not ready to contribute that to our security, then who is supposed to do it for us?



PS.
This post is about whether it is sensible to withdraw our forces from Iraq right now. This post is NOT about whether we should have been there in the first place.

Winter Darkness

It just did not happen. We are not sending those clown to that competition and acknowledging that they are from Estonia.
I do not care that you are an avid fan or Kivipallur and friends, this is madness. Yes, I am aware that this is not the end of the world or even a really important occasion however, building up an image is more than fancy parades and PR folks. It is about small events which are memorable. Do we really want that thing to the first thing that pops into someone's mind when hearing the phrase Estonia?
I just hope that I'm like the only one who watches this filth. That's the best I can do

Good Gracious

Somebody is feeling hurt once more. Some blokes are kept out of Europe. Why? Because they cause trouble here. It's not only our issue of someone standing next to Kaarli Church, rather an universal problem of foreign infiltration, especially the kind that is hostile towards our sovereignity. They are somewhere between your ordinary spy and a crook. There is no reason to lety either of them enter. Sabotage, hostile propaganda and plain old crime are nothing to be too fond of. In order to keep those un-savoury characters from causing any harm, we simply do lot let them enter the country. It's is exactly the same as if you rather not have those people coming to your house, one do not let them in. But wait, it's not right to do so. Your neighbour calls you a fascist, imperialist and accuses you of ignoring human rights. Don't you remember them saying that your neighbour is the one to choose everything for you, including the people allowed to enter your house? it is the exact same thing only on a bigger scale. But that does obviously bother them.

Naked ladies, my favourite

This post is devoted to everyone's favourite artist who just happens to like painting naked ladies.
Despite being as ancient as it gets, the old man sure does know, what’s left to enjoy in life. The true and simple magnificence of the female form as well as the same irresistibility are something the exhibition had a plenty. The ürgvägi emanating from those female bodies is simply something hard to grasp. The beauty in those figures, whether stretched out or in natural poses is enhanced by the atmosphere surrounding them. The female figure was the central and frankly only object in most of those scenes, which curiously enhanced the surreal energies emanating from the pictures in further.

I did not bother to read the interpretations offered there and on purpose. I just let the art flow through me and do its magic by itself. So all that text is purely based on me and my very own emotional state, not a rephrased text from some art magazine. So that is the cause of the lack of references to the pigeons as the free spirit being mauled by age and women. From my perspective, they were just some birds. One cannot only draw naked women, sometimes one needs to relax as well.