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Henri Vanhanen wrote that he doubted whether Vladimir Putin had a realistic understanding of the situation in the war in Ukraine or whether he would be willing to accept information contrary to his own views. Vanhanen assessed that in Russia's system, reporting bad news to the leadership could be dangerous and that the military leadership, subordinates, or the president's inner circle might distort or filter information. Vanhanen referred to a recent assessment by the think tank ISW, which stated that Ukraine's successful counteroffensive in northern Donetsk had shattered Russia's plan to encircle the region's key defensive cities from two directions. According to him, Russia's goal of capturing the entire Donetsk region appeared to be further away as a result. Vanhanen wrote that Putin might continue the war to achieve unrealistic goals if he believed that Russia was closer to victory than reality suggests. He deemed it even more concerning that Putin might be receiving accurate information but did not want to believe it. Vanhanen emphasized that Russia's military failure, in his view, might not necessarily change Putin's goals or his desire to continue the war. He believed that an unrealistic situational picture could lead to the prolongation of the war and taking greater risks, and he appealed for continued support for Ukraine and to resist Russia's military pressure. https://t.co/Lb2advefv2 #Ukraina #Putin #sota (translated)

According to the author, Sanna Marin told Italian media that she would be available in an emergency situation, for example, if Russia attacked Finland. The author thanked Marin and described her as exceptionally noble. He mentioned that Marin also stated in the same interview that she had left politics, but did not mention the reason in his message. #SannaMarin #Politiikka #Suomi #FI #IT #RU (translated)

Saara Huhtasaari wrote that Sanna Marin had been in Italy promoting her book and told Corriere della Sera that she would likely not run for office unless Russia attacked Finland. In that case, according to Huhtasaari, Marin would have said she was available. Huhtasaari interpreted the statement as positioning herself rather than expressing a willingness to be a victim. According to her, Marin implied that conventional political work did not match her capabilities and that only a crisis threatening Finland's existence would be a sufficiently significant task. Huhtasaari compared this to the scale of historical leaders such as Kekkonen, Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela, Lee Kuan Yew, and George Washington, using the metaphor of the "Napoleon syndrome" to describe the phenomenon. She specified that she did not mean it as a diagnosis. Huhtasaari also criticized the contradiction between Marin's book discussing hope and the self-image conveyed in the interview. She argued that the role of politics was to build structures that functioned without a single politician. As examples of such builders, she mentioned Lee Kuan Yew, who influenced Singapore's development, and Mart Laar, who made economic and institutional decisions in post-independence Estonia. Huhtasaari believed that there had not been similar builders in Finland for decades and that Marin did not belong to their ranks. According to Huhtasaari, statesmen did not announce in advance when they would return to politics, but either did their job or stepped aside. She criticized Marin for traveling to present her book, which discussed decisions made behind closed doors, and for associating a potential return with Russia's attack. Huhtasaari described this as a fantasy of seeing herself as a historical exception. #SannaMarin #Politiikka #Historia (translated)

Jari Mäkäräinen criticized an article in Helsingin Sanomat and said he had made corrections to it. According to him, the nonfiction writer Ari Haasio and Mattila had suggested that Finnish identity was ambiguous, compared the mistrust faced by evacuees from Karelia to current fears directed at Muslims, and stated that everyone was a descendant of immigrants. Mäkäräinen wrote that migration was an old phenomenon, but migrations from different times could not be equated. He noted that the first people arrived in what is now Finland about 11,000 years ago and believed that this did not provide a basis for equating the current migration from Afghanistan or Somalia with the arrivals of earlier traders, craftsmen, or industrial founders. He described Finlayson as an actor that built factories in capital-poor Finland, brought technology, and created jobs. Mäkäräinen compared him to a Mohammed coming from Somalia, who he described as illiterate and dependent on Kela support. He believed these examples illustrated different types of migration and claimed that there were differences in education, employment, cultural distance, and criminality. He also claimed that those coming from Afghanistan were overrepresented in rape statistics. Regarding the evacuees from Karelia, Mäkäräinen wrote that they had come from within Finland, spoke Finnish, and shared key features of Finnish culture. He said they had faced mistrust and derogatory name-calling, but believed they differed from current arrivals from Afghanistan, for example, in terms of adaptation, work ethic, and use of social security. Mäkäräinen also denied the comparison made by Haasio and Mattila between 19th-century antisemitism and the Somali discussions of the 1990s. According to him, the groups were not similar, and Jews had mostly integrated well. He argued that current migrations should be evaluated based on their impacts on employment, crime, and social security. Finally, he wrote that the continuity of society required, in his opinion, the adaptation of newcomers. #maahanmuutto #suomalaisuus #kulttuuri (translated)

Andrej Poglajen wrote that Janez Markeš accused RTV Slovenija in 2005 of taking on the role of a central committee and described its operation as the merging of party strategy, regulated pop culture, and sports with the formation of society and its image abroad. Poglajen claimed that Markeš now praises RTV Slovenija, criticizes the Roman Catholic Church (RKC), although its clergy allegedly brought him basic necessities during times of scarcity, and celebrates things he once publicly rejected. He added that one of the priests was from his hometown of Idrija. He labeled Markeš as a journalist who changes opinions for money and wrote that Markeš referred to him as a "corrupt politician." According to Poglajen, this designation was proof that the younger generations of the Slovenian right are doing something right. He also stated that he would not want the praise of people who, in his opinion, betray their values for personal gain. #slovenskamediji #politika #javnozdravstvo (translated)

Henri Vanhanen criticized Donald Trump's actions in the Ukraine war, noting that he declared agreements about which there was uncertainty, while pressuring Ukraine in a way that benefited Vladimir Putin. As a recent example, Vanhanen pointed to Trump’s announced energy ceasefire. According to him, Volodymyr Zelensky heard about it practically for the first time from the media, Russia had not confirmed the agreement, and continued, according to Zelensky, attacks on Ukraine's power plants. Vanhanen asked what kind of ceasefire it was if the other party did not know what had been agreed upon. He suggested that Zelensky had to be cautious of Trump’s criticism to avoid being blamed for obstructing peace. Vanhanen referred to the Financial Times reporting that the United States threatened to cut off arms and intelligence supplies to Ukraine unless the country stopped attacks on Russian energy infrastructure. He also wrote that Trump agreed to buy Russian diesel, demanded Ukraine to cease attacks on Russian oil refineries, and encouraged a change of leadership in Ukraine. Vanhanen estimated that the war in Iran and the resulting fuel prices, the upcoming midterm elections, and the need to show results might explain Trump’s urgency to secure an agreement. According to him, Trump aimed for cheaper diesel and a visible peace political achievement, while Putin would benefit from a decrease in attacks on Russia’s energy sector. Vanhanen noted that the alignment of these goals seemed to occur at Ukraine’s expense. Vanhanen stated that he did not oppose a ceasefire if it protected Ukrainians and also bound Russia. However, he observed that for Trump, merely declaring an agreement seemed to suffice, even without information about its terms or Russia's commitment. Vanhanen assessed that Russia would benefit from a situation in which the United States sought a quick agreement and Ukraine was cautious not to offend Trump. In such conditions, he believed Putin could gain concessions from Trump without Russia needing to win against Ukraine at the negotiating table. #Ukraina #Trump #Venäjä (translated)

The author stated that he had warned multiple times about the strong increase of anti-Muslim sentiment and Islamophobia in Finland. According to him, key social media influencers and politicians were still spreading hate and labeling an entire religion as the "other." He added that history should not have to repeat itself. #muslimiviham #islamofobia #suomi #FI (translated)

The author claimed that Ukrainian children could still be bombed with Trump's blessing. He wondered what would have happened if Trump had demanded Putin stop the indiscriminate killing and torture of civilians, and referred to Trump ironically as a very stable genius. https://t.co/AxB32IRfHN #Ukraina #Trump #Sota #UA #RU #US (translated)

Henri Vanhanen wrote that Volodymyr Zelensky was ready to hold elections in Ukraine if Vladimir Putin agreed to a 60-day ceasefire. Vanhanen noted that this was not a new concession, as Zelensky had made the same proposal in February and required sufficient security guarantees to hold the elections. Vanhanen interpreted the proposal as a message to Donald Trump, who, in his view, had repeatedly questioned Zelensky’s position and called for elections in Ukraine. According to Vanhanen, holding elections would require the United States to get Russia to stop hostilities for a sufficient period. He found it contradictory that Ukraine was being asked to hold elections in the midst of an invasion, while Russia had not agreed to a ceasefire that would allow for it. Vanhanen also pondered how strong Trump’s pressure on Zelensky had become, referring to Trump’s recent statements regarding Ukrainian leadership. He believed that the replacement of the Ukrainian president should not become a substantive goal of peace negotiations, but rather that Ukrainians should choose their own leader. According to Vanhanen, Trump should have used his influence to promote a ceasefire rather than forcing Ukraine to defend the legitimacy of its democracy. #Ukraina #Zelenskyi #Trump (translated)

Mika Merano wrote that the concern over the support for the National Coalition Party had led to communication guidelines, which he claimed originated from Ellun Kanoilta or imams. He assessed that the guidelines resulted in criticism from the Finns Party and discussions about inheritance tax. Merano said he understood why the National Coalition Party did not want to eliminate inheritance tax by reducing an equivalent amount of development aid. According to him, the party's target program committed to the UN's sustainable development principles, which indicated using 0.7 percent of gross national product for development aid. Merano estimated that this meant doubling the current development aid of about one billion euros. He argued that development aid could not be cut if the goal was to increase the use of tax funds for what he described as virtue signaling and for financing, among other things, swimming pools, private zoos, and golf courses. According to him, this would be the case even if the cut would allow for the elimination of the inheritance tax. #Kokoomus #Perintövero #Kehitysapu (translated)

Madelon Vos wrote that entrepreneurs, according to the CEO of DSM, needed a reliable government, but did not get one. She stated that Dutch politics trivialized the effects of the income tax in box 2 and the high rates in box 3, and that this policy severely affected entire sectors, including the Dutch crypto and precious metals sector with more than two million investors. Vos wrote that investors had to keep track of their real returns themselves, while some banks and brokers could not provide that data and the Tax Authority had not yet verified the calculations. According to her, investors would want to deduct inflation, transaction costs, currency costs, and subscription costs from that calculation. She also reported that the man who had been at the basis of the law had since advocated for the withdrawal of the amendment and the law and for a new piece of legislation. Furthermore, Vos pointed to the rising interest rates in France and the possible consequences of that for the Netherlands. She wondered if war was looming and wrote that the Netherlands was increasing pressure on Russia. https://t.co/X4T4ze43tV #ondernemen #beleggen #politiek (translated)

Press Briefs reported, citing Le Monde, that Eden, 14 years old, had lost the ability to speak after being hit in the face by a tear gas grenade fired by a police officer on September 28 in Saint-Ouen-l’Aumône. The projectile was allegedly fired at point-blank range and nearly broke all of his upper teeth, tore part of his gums, and caused a double jaw fracture. The police officer had been charged with violence resulting in mutilation or permanent disability and placed under judicial supervision. The publication added that students and teachers at the Château-d’Épluches high school remained in shock. A teacher was wondering how to support the students after the incident, while Ryan, a friend of Eden, had hung a sign reading "Justice for Eden" on the school gate and sent a photo to his friend. Eden had replied to him with a heart emoji. https://t.co/B2wcjxMAPH #JusticePourEden #ViolencesPolicières #LibertéDexpression (translated)

Anne Nevgi wrote that she had read Hiilamo's column and found it full of ideological and anti-Israel interpretations. According to her, the bias of the column was evident in that the facts presented were interpreted in an anti-Israel way and events were framed through colonialism, racism, and whiteness. Nevgi argued that Hamas's brutality was not addressed and the origins of the Gaza conflict were not considered. She stated that the column created a misleading picture and inaccurately equated two different wars. #IsraelinKonflikti #Ideologiat #Propaganda (translated)