I do not get why would anyone be willing to pay so much for a "extended" airplane trip. Riding a rocket to space and to the orbit is one thing. It takes bravery and provides an opportunity to live in really an outside world. But just to fly a bit higher then normal planes yet far far slower then what's needed for entering an orbit...? I just do not get it. Must be for people who really do not know what to do with their money.
Some people think that private companies like that will eventually be able to fly into Earth orbit and beyond, but I think there is no reason to believe that it will happen anytime soon. Private companies can't brake laws of physics and are absolutely terrible with investing in fundamental physics research (the thing that costs tons and tons of money just to run an experiment that disprove a theory). So this is just a waste of money plain and simple.
So all countries not following right-by-soil in your opinion are true discriminators?
No, but I do believe that any country that creates laws that designed to suppress minority, to make sure that minorities will never be able to express their voices is discriminating. You said previously that Estonia has this law to prevent Russians from undermining independence (I think you said "first republic" whatever it is). I understand that due to the rather inhuman policy where lots of Estonians were forced out and lots of Russians were forced in there is a complex reality in Estonia. Yet I also think that the best realistic way forward would be for Estonia to create a society where every part of society is appropriately represented. That way, nobody would ever think of undermining Estonia's coherence. And I think while Estonia's independence is guaranteed, it's coherence is not, mainly because of policies of current Estonian government. I must follow-up by saying that I do not think that Russia would ever want to join, append, conquer (or however you want to call process of adding) Estonia to itself. Russia was already forced to supply gas, oil and coal almost for free during Soviet time to many of "republics". I can't imagine any country wanting to repeat it again. Soviet Union was different. It wanted to add as many countries under Soviet flag as possible to make Soviet political system more appealing (less countries to compare to, more military might to throw around). So the removal of monument (clearly dedicated to all fighters of Nazis and not representing anybody or anything else) is hard to see as anything other then pro-Nazi (I know you disagree but you have not convinced me) and definitely not positive for Estonian society and country as a whole. Combine it with Estonian government support for former SS soldiers and Nazis collaborators in general it is only logical to assume that Nazism is being celebrated (if not reborn) in Estonia.
Soviet crimes to the daylight and giving Soviet regime as despicable judgment as to Nazi regime
I completely agree that Soviet regime was criminal. I completely agree that millions of people who died under that regime prove that it was horrible, but that does not make Nazism nice. I am starting to the the connection between two regimes. Estonian prime minister was a Soviet leader (right?) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrus_Ansip. Not that he can't abuse people using Soviet ideology he has switched to Nazis ideology. To him abuse is abuse. I hope that Estonians are smart and will vote against this Nazi supporter on the next election.
He removed the monument to people who fought against Nazism. He is cynical enough to claim that it has something to do with Soviet regime (the regime that he supported. The regime that abused millions of Estonian, Russian and whoever lived in Estonia. The regime that deported and killed millions of people from Estonia, Russia and I am sure from many other places).
Did you ever tried to learn history? In 1939-1945 there was no country called Russia. Which war are you talking about? WW2 was in 1939-1945, do you even know that?
So first you happy for Nazi collaboration:
That said, I'm happy that Finland "embraced" the Nazi Germany
Then you claim that I will be against any racial prejudices. Not a typical statement for somebody who support Nazis... Do you know hat Nazism is? Do you know what Nazis stand for? If you think that that it stands against any racial prejudices you should learn more about it.
Once you figure one what it is really that you stand for, what it is really that you are happy about please let us know.
That said, I'm happy that Finland "embraced" the Nazi Germany Happy? Are you an Estonian by any chance? You can be happy all you want, but normal people of the world hate pro-Nazis scum like you.
Man Aren't you brainwashed. In Estonia support for Nazis is one of the most proud parts of their history. Estonia did not not have anti-Nazis insurgence (like was the case in Poland, France, Belorussia, Ukraine, Russia, or any other normal country). In Estonia Nazis were and still are admired (except Estonia call SS executioners, "freedom fighters"):
Read here about proud history of Estonian SS-soldiers: http://www.topix.net/forum/world/estonia/T9QB9D3OM K90ILNFF
Fascism supported in Estonia at government level and removal of the monuments is the sign that this process is only accelerating.
Also, in the higher ranks of any organization, russians were favored. Strange and I always though that Stalin (does it get any higher then that?) and second man Beria were both Georgian, (as in country Georgia, not the state)...
First you told me that there are good reasons for discrimination in Estonia (not allowing to vote is indeed a primary way to discriminate): I've told several time why couldn't we grant citizenship to all residents:, then you say that there is no discrimination: What on earth do you suppose still do that discriminates people?
Americans put it the best as to why it's discriminatory: No taxation without the representation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_t axation_without_representation
For people who were born in Estonia, this is their home. This is where they live. To deny them a right to vote (even if it's because they do not speak the language that you wanted them to speck) is indeed a form of discrimination. If you told me that anyone new coming in Estonia would need to prove first that she/he can speak Estonian I would agree, because in that case people have a choice. If they want to keep their culture, their language they can choose not to come. But when your house is already there, when you grew-up in there, when it's your country (even if government hates you), then it's discrimination. If you still see it's differently, we'll just have to agree to disagree.
From what I can see if it was not for the Soviet Army, Estonians guards would just keep guarding and killing of people there. Go tell to the people who were killed there that they were killed for Estonian independence.
Wrong. Russians were always highest ranking and always had policies supporting them.
I have met a number of Russians who's parent where send to Siberia or Kazahstan back in 1930-1950 (sometimes in that area). You should talk to them and tell them that a trip to gulag was actually a way for Soviet regime to, wait how did you put it? Yes, right supporting them Solzhenitzyn was also send to support him, right? If execution and gulag was a way to support then I guess Estonian were also send to gulag and executed as a supporting measure.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Famines_in_Russia_and _USSR
The second Soviet famine happened during the collectivisation in the USSR. In 1932-1933 confiscations of grain and other food by the Soviet authorities[2] caused a famine which affected more than 40 million people, especially in the south on the Don and Kuban areas and in Ukraine, where by various estimates from 2.5 to 4.8 million may have starved to death.
Close to 5 mil dead, talk about the support. I guess Russian and Ukrainians should thank the Estonians (but even more http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latvian_riflemen) for supporting red army during Russian revolution, and for giving them this support.
I never argued that Soviets were just of fair (to put it mildly) to people under the control of the regime (including Estonians). But to try to emulate them, to promote the same level of discremination is just wrong. Don't you see it?
French language is still very popular in Louisiana. Many people spoke only French long after US bought it from France. Nobody created any laws that forced people to learn English. There was not paranoia about "Ohh they will run back to France if we do not force them to speak English". As you can see Louisiana is very much a US state...
As I said it before and I'll say it again: discrimination is not necessary. It's harmful to the very idea of independence of Estonia. If you think that by discriminating against Russian minority in Estonia you will have a stronger country I am sure you are wrong. Never oppression and discrimination hold a country together as an independent entity for very long. Why did Soviet Union felt apart? It was not because people were not oppressed enough.
Sorry this is baloney... I do not buy your explanation of why discrimination is necessary in Estonia, as there can never be any good explanation. It defies the concept of human rights and it's actually undermines the prospect of Estonia independence in the long term. If country is democratic (which means it cares about minorities as well), then how and why would it loose its independence? People of all background would defend it's independence not fight it... People revolt only when they are oppressed. The democratic system in US is a best guarantee for a stable system. Estonia would be stronger by not discrimination, not weaker.
Even Soviet Union with how bad it was granted the citizenship to all people who were born there. Of course depending on the time a few thousands were arrested and executed from time to time, but there were no discrimination there. Russian, Ukrainians, Poles, Estonia's, and others were all treated and arrested about the same (although Russian and Ukrainians suffered a bit much more then others, or so it seems) Ok Estonia is not a Soviet Union and does not execute people like that, but you have to agree that in language discrimination you went even beyond what was done in Soviet Union.
Again, US does not discriminate. I know many people who can't speak English (and by the way if you can't speak you can't read it either) and they are citizens. And as a citizen they can vote, they can work, and any of them can be elected a president. There are no laws against people in US just because they do not speak English. None.
No democratic country would discriminate against it's citizens like that. You're suggesting that your feel that Estonians have the right to discriminate. You definitely have the right to feel that way, but please understand you can't discriminate and call Estonia a democratic country... Soviet Union discriminated based on language and so does Estonia, but US does not and please stop comparing as it's insulting. If you feel that Estonia discriminates just like Soviet Union I will agree, they neither Estonia nor Soviet Union have anything to do with democracy. If you feel that what Estonia is democratic I can only say that I feel sorry for you. Please come over to US, you'll defiantly see something new for you here.
Statement like that really deserve second version of Barat:
Barat 2: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Estonia
Seriously if you want to understand how people can live without discrimination I highly recommend visiting (or at least reading about) US. In Los Angeles people are not discriminated based on which language they speak, and many US citizens are indeed citizens despite the fact that they do not speak English. They can vote and they can work. And guess what? US is doing just fine. To believe that country must discriminate to be independed is more then silly, it just...
Rurmo with statements like that you can easily come up up with scenario for Barat 2 (change running of Jews with Running of Russian and so on)...
Just to let you know Mexican who were born in US but do not know English are US citizens. And so are people of any background who were born in US. Surprised? US is not Estonia. US does not discriminates against their own people, so please stop comparing. It's very insulting. If you think that discrimination is part of proud history of Estonian nation that's fine, but leave US alone. Next time you want to compare Estonia, please choose something more appropriate (maybe Iraq during Saddam rule, he also divided people of Iraq into 'good' deserving citizenship and 'bad' who he gazed?) that way you'll make a good point.
Estonia should be held responsible for it's behavior. Baltic countries (including Estonia) played a big role in establishing the Soviet rule in Soviet Union (see Latvian Strelki for the best example, but Estonian fought as well). The Soviet rule that killed millions of Russian, Ukrainians, Poles and many others all around the Europe. They conveniently forget their help and instead twist it around as if they were against Soviets, while history clearly shows otherwise. Many of them were collaborated with Nazis and helped run concentration camps. They could talk all day as running a concentration camp is some kind of show of independence. Now instead of dealing with rebirth of fascism, they try to hide it by finding and loudly fighting imaginable foes from outside. It's a sad situation when a nation can see it's past as only pro-Nazis, and tries to emphasize it's independence by attempting to destroy monument for people who fought against fascism That Jewish medic lady who is buried under that monument were not fighting to "occupy" anybody.
Great write. Some Estonians (definitely not all) try to twist the history. Sure Soviet rule caused them harm, but lets not forget that they helped to install Soviet rule in Soviet Union to begin with (supporting red army against white armies who were pro Tsar armies). They complained that they were not liberated, while forgetting that unlike for instance Poles they did not fight Nazis, they helped them. If Estonia wanted to be independed so much, why didn't they fight Nazis? This one sided view helps them justify current actions of Estonian government. The problem is that in real historical content it's obvious that there is that clear rebirth of fascism in Estonia. Trying to find external enemies might help them hide this fact for some time, but truth will always come out at the end.
This is a one sided history lesson. Interesting, but wrong and off-the topic.
The fact is that Estonian population embraced Nazis, happily run concentration caps and helped execute thousands of civilians. It is the rebirth of Fascism that drove the removal of this monument. It has nothing to do with "Soviet occupation" or anything else. I quoted occupation because Estonian helped to install Soviet rule in Russia. If they felt that it was good for Russia, why was not it good for them?
This monument was not for Stalin, it was not for NKVD (secret police) Chief Beria, not for NKVD soldiers. It had nothing to do with occupation. It was for people who gave their live to go west and liberate people from concentration caps. It might not be understandable for some. When you run concentration camp it's hard to see how troops which came to open it up are liberating anybody, but trust me for people who where inside it was indeed a liberation. For these who were scheduled to be gazed, tortured and killed it was the liberation. Try to talk to these people who were in concentration camps and you will understand.
Do you really want to say that that Jewish medic lady who died pulling soldiers from the battle was buried under this monument died while trying to occupy Estonia? What a bunch of gibberish, really. It's the rebirth of fascism in Estonia, plain and simple.
That's ridiculous. The statue in question is clearly for people who died fighting Fascists. I am pretty sure that it even has a label to state that.
It's not for NKVD or for Stalin or for Beria (chief of NKVD - the secret police who executed the deportation). The comparison to Sadam does not make any sense at all either. First of all nobody is erecting a new statue. Secondly and most importantly this statue was not for some dictator. It was for people who liberated Estonia from Fascism. The fact that Estonia was not a free country is correct, but it has nothing to do with this sculpture. Nobody would've complained if Estonia removed the status for Stalin. This is just a resurrection of fascism in Estonia plain and simple. Trying to create wrong analogies is just not going to hide that.
"There's a basic economic reality you're missing here - producing any product or content takes time and resources, and to continue to do that requires that money is made to pay for the time and resources." - this has nothing to do with ability to copy material.
Significant amount of cultural artifacts was created before copy technology came along. (Mozart did not care whether you were going to rip his music). Today I can buy a copy of almost any painting very, very cheaply, but it does not make original pieces of art any less expensive (I would argue that it actualy has the opposite effect).
Good musicians collect lots of money from concerts (enough in my view to make more then average salary in some given country). Concerts alone would create enough income to keep people who really care about music doing just that creating music.
Movies would still be produced (probably with less special effects but more though being put into stories)
Programmers (such as me) would still create programs even if people can copy them freely (see Linux as an example). I might make significantly less money but society as a whole would win from abolition of the copyright law.
Copyright has nothing to do with good of society, justice or anything else. Copyright is an impedance to human development (where would we be if patents appears before spoken language? Language would never been invented then)
He violates a law and gets arrested for it,... what's unique about it. He seems to be extremely unpopular in Russian. He is not part of Russian political life in any way (being unpopular make it rather hard to play politics in democracies).
Will slashdot let us know if and when he gets a parking ticket? I bet this would be even more existing.
Slashdot Mirror
I do not get why would anyone be willing to pay so much for a "extended" airplane trip. Riding a rocket to space and to the orbit is one thing. It takes bravery and provides an opportunity to live in really an outside world. But just to fly a bit higher then normal planes yet far far slower then what's needed for entering an orbit...? I just do not get it. Must be for people who really do not know what to do with their money. Some people think that private companies like that will eventually be able to fly into Earth orbit and beyond, but I think there is no reason to believe that it will happen anytime soon. Private companies can't brake laws of physics and are absolutely terrible with investing in fundamental physics research (the thing that costs tons and tons of money just to run an experiment that disprove a theory). So this is just a waste of money plain and simple.
So all countries not following right-by-soil in your opinion are true discriminators?
No, but I do believe that any country that creates laws that designed to suppress minority, to make sure that minorities will never be able to express their voices is discriminating. You said previously that Estonia has this law to prevent Russians from undermining independence (I think you said "first republic" whatever it is). I understand that due to the rather inhuman policy where lots of Estonians were forced out and lots of Russians were forced in there is a complex reality in Estonia. Yet I also think that the best realistic way forward would be for Estonia to create a society where every part of society is appropriately represented. That way, nobody would ever think of undermining Estonia's coherence. And I think while Estonia's independence is guaranteed, it's coherence is not, mainly because of policies of current Estonian government. I must follow-up by saying that I do not think that Russia would ever want to join, append, conquer (or however you want to call process of adding) Estonia to itself. Russia was already forced to supply gas, oil and coal almost for free during Soviet time to many of "republics". I can't imagine any country wanting to repeat it again. Soviet Union was different. It wanted to add as many countries under Soviet flag as possible to make Soviet political system more appealing (less countries to compare to, more military might to throw around). So the removal of monument (clearly dedicated to all fighters of Nazis and not representing anybody or anything else) is hard to see as anything other then pro-Nazi (I know you disagree but you have not convinced me) and definitely not positive for Estonian society and country as a whole. Combine it with Estonian government support for former SS soldiers and Nazis collaborators in general it is only logical to assume that Nazism is being celebrated (if not reborn) in Estonia.
Soviet crimes to the daylight and giving Soviet regime as despicable judgment as to Nazi regime
I completely agree that Soviet regime was criminal. I completely agree that millions of people who died under that regime prove that it was horrible, but that does not make Nazism nice. I am starting to the the connection between two regimes. Estonian prime minister was a Soviet leader (right?) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrus_Ansip. Not that he can't abuse people using Soviet ideology he has switched to Nazis ideology. To him abuse is abuse. I hope that Estonians are smart and will vote against this Nazi supporter on the next election.
He removed the monument to people who fought against Nazism. He is cynical enough to claim that it has something to do with Soviet regime (the regime that he supported. The regime that abused millions of Estonian, Russian and whoever lived in Estonia. The regime that deported and killed millions of people from Estonia, Russia and I am sure from many other places).
Did you ever tried to learn history? In 1939-1945 there was no country called Russia. Which war are you talking about? WW2 was in 1939-1945, do you even know that?
Russia appeared in 1990: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia
You making stuff up, do you really think you need to do that?
So first you happy for Nazi collaboration: That said, I'm happy that Finland "embraced" the Nazi Germany
Then you claim that I will be against any racial prejudices. Not a typical statement for somebody who support Nazis... Do you know hat Nazism is? Do you know what Nazis stand for? If you think that that it stands against any racial prejudices you should learn more about it.
Once you figure one what it is really that you stand for, what it is really that you are happy about please let us know.
Can you please provide proof for that claim? It's a public knowledge that Estonian happily served in Nazis SS (extermination unit). Here is your camp (search for Estonia): http://history1900s.about.com/library/holocaust/bl chart.htm
That said, I'm happy that Finland "embraced" the Nazi Germany Happy? Are you an Estonian by any chance? You can be happy all you want, but normal people of the world hate pro-Nazis scum like you.
Man Aren't you brainwashed. In Estonia support for Nazis is one of the most proud parts of their history. Estonia did not not have anti-Nazis insurgence (like was the case in Poland, France, Belorussia, Ukraine, Russia, or any other normal country). In Estonia Nazis were and still are admired (except Estonia call SS executioners, "freedom fighters"):M K90ILNFF
Read here about proud history of Estonian SS-soldiers: http://www.topix.net/forum/world/estonia/T9QB9D3O
Fascism supported in Estonia at government level and removal of the monuments is the sign that this process is only accelerating.
Also, in the higher ranks of any organization, russians were favored.
t axation_without_representation
Strange and I always though that Stalin (does it get any higher then that?) and second man Beria were both Georgian, (as in country Georgia, not the state)...
First you told me that there are good reasons for discrimination in Estonia (not allowing to vote is indeed a primary way to discriminate): I've told several time why couldn't we grant citizenship to all residents:, then you say that there is no discrimination: What on earth do you suppose still do that discriminates people?
Americans put it the best as to why it's discriminatory: No taxation without the representation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_
For people who were born in Estonia, this is their home. This is where they live. To deny them a right to vote (even if it's because they do not speak the language that you wanted them to speck) is indeed a form of discrimination. If you told me that anyone new coming in Estonia would need to prove first that she/he can speak Estonian I would agree, because in that case people have a choice. If they want to keep their culture, their language they can choose not to come. But when your house is already there, when you grew-up in there, when it's your country (even if government hates you), then it's discrimination. If you still see it's differently, we'll just have to agree to disagree.
fought against Estonians defending their briefly redeclared independence. Where they the same Estonian guards that just finished killing off prisioners?_ camp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klooga_concentration
From what I can see if it was not for the Soviet Army, Estonians guards would just keep guarding and killing of people there. Go tell to the people who were killed there that they were killed for Estonian independence.
Wrong. Russians were always highest ranking and always had policies supporting them. I have met a number of Russians who's parent where send to Siberia or Kazahstan back in 1930-1950 (sometimes in that area). You should talk to them and tell them that a trip to gulag was actually a way for Soviet regime to, wait how did you put it? Yes, right supporting them Solzhenitzyn was also send to support him, right? If execution and gulag was a way to support then I guess Estonian were also send to gulag and executed as a supporting measure.
d _USSR
The second Soviet famine happened during the collectivisation in the USSR. In 1932-1933 confiscations of grain and other food by the Soviet authorities[2] caused a famine which affected more than 40 million people, especially in the south on the Don and Kuban areas and in Ukraine, where by various estimates from 2.5 to 4.8 million may have starved to death.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Famines_in_Russia_an
Close to 5 mil dead, talk about the support. I guess Russian and Ukrainians should thank the Estonians (but even more http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latvian_riflemen) for supporting red army during Russian revolution, and for giving them this support.
I never argued that Soviets were just of fair (to put it mildly) to people under the control of the regime (including Estonians). But to try to emulate them, to promote the same level of discremination is just wrong. Don't you see it?
French language is still very popular in Louisiana. Many people spoke only French long after US bought it from France. Nobody created any laws that forced people to learn English. There was not paranoia about "Ohh they will run back to France if we do not force them to speak English". As you can see Louisiana is very much a US state... As I said it before and I'll say it again: discrimination is not necessary. It's harmful to the very idea of independence of Estonia. If you think that by discriminating against Russian minority in Estonia you will have a stronger country I am sure you are wrong. Never oppression and discrimination hold a country together as an independent entity for very long. Why did Soviet Union felt apart? It was not because people were not oppressed enough.
Sorry this is baloney... I do not buy your explanation of why discrimination is necessary in Estonia, as there can never be any good explanation. It defies the concept of human rights and it's actually undermines the prospect of Estonia independence in the long term. If country is democratic (which means it cares about minorities as well), then how and why would it loose its independence? People of all background would defend it's independence not fight it... People revolt only when they are oppressed. The democratic system in US is a best guarantee for a stable system. Estonia would be stronger by not discrimination, not weaker. Even Soviet Union with how bad it was granted the citizenship to all people who were born there. Of course depending on the time a few thousands were arrested and executed from time to time, but there were no discrimination there. Russian, Ukrainians, Poles, Estonia's, and others were all treated and arrested about the same (although Russian and Ukrainians suffered a bit much more then others, or so it seems) Ok Estonia is not a Soviet Union and does not execute people like that, but you have to agree that in language discrimination you went even beyond what was done in Soviet Union.
Again, US does not discriminate. I know many people who can't speak English (and by the way if you can't speak you can't read it either) and they are citizens. And as a citizen they can vote, they can work, and any of them can be elected a president. There are no laws against people in US just because they do not speak English. None.
No democratic country would discriminate against it's citizens like that. You're suggesting that your feel that Estonians have the right to discriminate. You definitely have the right to feel that way, but please understand you can't discriminate and call Estonia a democratic country... Soviet Union discriminated based on language and so does Estonia, but US does not and please stop comparing as it's insulting. If you feel that Estonia discriminates just like Soviet Union I will agree, they neither Estonia nor Soviet Union have anything to do with democracy. If you feel that what Estonia is democratic I can only say that I feel sorry for you. Please come over to US, you'll defiantly see something new for you here.
Statement like that really deserve second version of Barat: Barat 2: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Estonia Seriously if you want to understand how people can live without discrimination I highly recommend visiting (or at least reading about) US. In Los Angeles people are not discriminated based on which language they speak, and many US citizens are indeed citizens despite the fact that they do not speak English. They can vote and they can work. And guess what? US is doing just fine. To believe that country must discriminate to be independed is more then silly, it just ...
Rurmo with statements like that you can easily come up up with scenario for Barat 2 (change running of Jews with Running of Russian and so on)...
Just to let you know Mexican who were born in US but do not know English are US citizens. And so are people of any background who were born in US. Surprised? US is not Estonia. US does not discriminates against their own people, so please stop comparing. It's very insulting. If you think that discrimination is part of proud history of Estonian nation that's fine, but leave US alone. Next time you want to compare Estonia, please choose something more appropriate (maybe Iraq during Saddam rule, he also divided people of Iraq into 'good' deserving citizenship and 'bad' who he gazed?) that way you'll make a good point.
Estonia should be held responsible for it's behavior. Baltic countries (including Estonia) played a big role in establishing the Soviet rule in Soviet Union (see Latvian Strelki for the best example, but Estonian fought as well). The Soviet rule that killed millions of Russian, Ukrainians, Poles and many others all around the Europe. They conveniently forget their help and instead twist it around as if they were against Soviets, while history clearly shows otherwise. Many of them were collaborated with Nazis and helped run concentration camps. They could talk all day as running a concentration camp is some kind of show of independence. Now instead of dealing with rebirth of fascism, they try to hide it by finding and loudly fighting imaginable foes from outside. It's a sad situation when a nation can see it's past as only pro-Nazis, and tries to emphasize it's independence by attempting to destroy monument for people who fought against fascism That Jewish medic lady who is buried under that monument were not fighting to "occupy" anybody.
Great write. Some Estonians (definitely not all) try to twist the history. Sure Soviet rule caused them harm, but lets not forget that they helped to install Soviet rule in Soviet Union to begin with (supporting red army against white armies who were pro Tsar armies). They complained that they were not liberated, while forgetting that unlike for instance Poles they did not fight Nazis, they helped them. If Estonia wanted to be independed so much, why didn't they fight Nazis? This one sided view helps them justify current actions of Estonian government. The problem is that in real historical content it's obvious that there is that clear rebirth of fascism in Estonia. Trying to find external enemies might help them hide this fact for some time, but truth will always come out at the end.
This is a one sided history lesson. Interesting, but wrong and off-the topic. The fact is that Estonian population embraced Nazis, happily run concentration caps and helped execute thousands of civilians. It is the rebirth of Fascism that drove the removal of this monument. It has nothing to do with "Soviet occupation" or anything else. I quoted occupation because Estonian helped to install Soviet rule in Russia. If they felt that it was good for Russia, why was not it good for them? This monument was not for Stalin, it was not for NKVD (secret police) Chief Beria, not for NKVD soldiers. It had nothing to do with occupation. It was for people who gave their live to go west and liberate people from concentration caps. It might not be understandable for some. When you run concentration camp it's hard to see how troops which came to open it up are liberating anybody, but trust me for people who where inside it was indeed a liberation. For these who were scheduled to be gazed, tortured and killed it was the liberation. Try to talk to these people who were in concentration camps and you will understand. Do you really want to say that that Jewish medic lady who died pulling soldiers from the battle was buried under this monument died while trying to occupy Estonia? What a bunch of gibberish, really. It's the rebirth of fascism in Estonia, plain and simple.
That's ridiculous. The statue in question is clearly for people who died fighting Fascists. I am pretty sure that it even has a label to state that. It's not for NKVD or for Stalin or for Beria (chief of NKVD - the secret police who executed the deportation). The comparison to Sadam does not make any sense at all either. First of all nobody is erecting a new statue. Secondly and most importantly this statue was not for some dictator. It was for people who liberated Estonia from Fascism. The fact that Estonia was not a free country is correct, but it has nothing to do with this sculpture. Nobody would've complained if Estonia removed the status for Stalin. This is just a resurrection of fascism in Estonia plain and simple. Trying to create wrong analogies is just not going to hide that.
"There's a basic economic reality you're missing here - producing any product or content takes time and resources, and to continue to do that requires that money is made to pay for the time and resources." - this has nothing to do with ability to copy material. Significant amount of cultural artifacts was created before copy technology came along. (Mozart did not care whether you were going to rip his music). Today I can buy a copy of almost any painting very, very cheaply, but it does not make original pieces of art any less expensive (I would argue that it actualy has the opposite effect). Good musicians collect lots of money from concerts (enough in my view to make more then average salary in some given country). Concerts alone would create enough income to keep people who really care about music doing just that creating music. Movies would still be produced (probably with less special effects but more though being put into stories) Programmers (such as me) would still create programs even if people can copy them freely (see Linux as an example). I might make significantly less money but society as a whole would win from abolition of the copyright law. Copyright has nothing to do with good of society, justice or anything else. Copyright is an impedance to human development (where would we be if patents appears before spoken language? Language would never been invented then)
He violates a law and gets arrested for it,... what's unique about it. He seems to be extremely unpopular in Russian. He is not part of Russian political life in any way (being unpopular make it rather hard to play politics in democracies). Will slashdot let us know if and when he gets a parking ticket? I bet this would be even more existing.