- “A research team from Finland and Germany reported that oxygen levels in the Baltic Sea are at their lowest levels in the past 1,500 years. … In recent years, the proliferation of algae blooms in the Baltic Sea has led to the regular appearance of “dead zones” in the basin. Phytoplankton and cyanobacteria consume the abundant nutrients in the Baltic—fueled in part by past and current runoff from sewage and agriculture—and reproduce in such vast numbers that the growth and decay depletes the oxygen content of the water.”
- “The European election pushed climate policy issues far up the agenda.”
- “Kaitseliidu ülemaks on tõusmas Riho Ühtegi.”
- “How Estonia uses Cybersecurity to Strengthen its Position in NATO.”
__________
Friday 31. May
__________
What Do the European Parliament Elections in Estonia Tell Us?
(ICDS)
“Following March’s general elections, which produced an unexpected governing coalition, Estonian society still reels between confusion, disappointment and disagreement.
There is a desire to interpret the European Parliament elections as a referendum on the government, which the low turnout in the European Parliament elections does not allow to do. Domestic political turmoil continues in Estonia, leaving little room for healthy, reasoned and engaged discussion about Europe and its future.”
The European election pushed green priorities far up the agenda
(Politico-Europe)
“The European election didn't produce a decisive winner when it comes to political groupings — it's a different story when it comes to climate policy issues.”
Kaljulaid: Venemaaga suhtlemisel on vaja strateegilist kannatust
(ERR)
“Agreassiooni eest Ukrainas Euroopa Nõukogu Parlamentaarses Assamblees (ENPA) hääleõigusest ilmajäänud Venemaa kohtlemisel on vaja strateegilist kannatust ning oma väärtustest kinnihoidmist, mitte järeleandmisi teha ja ta ENPA-sse tagasi võtta, ütles president Kersti Kaljulaid.”
Kolonel Riho Ühtegi on väärikas kandidaat Kaitseliidu ülemaks
(ERR)
"Mul on hea meel, et tulevad uued mehed, ehk toovad ka uusi tuuli," ütles Kaitseliidu vanematekogu aseesimees Tiit Tammsaar pärast kohtumist kolonel Riho Ühtegiga, keda kaitseminister ja kaitseväe juhataja näevad Kaitseliidu järgmise ülemana.”
Intervjuu: Kaitseväe juhataja Martin Herem
(Postimees)
Interview: Major General Martin Herem
“When scientists lose faith in Estonian people, they go elsewhere.”
(ERR)
“One of the main tools of any government in the implementation of its policies is the preparation of a state budget. It is always a matter of political choice, and must remain so. However, it is regrettable to see how only a few months ago, the agreements made and signed between the parties and their leaders have been forgotten …”
https://news.err.ee/946602/president-when-scientists-lose-faith-in-estonian-people-they-go-elsewhere
Phytoplankton Blooms in Baltic Sea
(NASA - July 2018)
“In recent years, the proliferation of algae blooms in the Baltic Sea has led to the regular appearance of “dead zones” in the basin.”
No new dawn for far right in European election
(Deutsche Welle)
“Support for extremist parties remains limited, with signs of protest voting around single issues. While euroskeptics fared well in several countries, DW research suggests more modest gains for the far-right.”
What to Make of the European Elections
(The Atlantic)
“Far-right populists had a disappointing night in a number of big countries, including Germany and Spain. Their advance slowed or went into reverse in a few smaller countries where they once looked as though they could pose a real threat, including Denmark and the Netherlands. And though their overall ranks have swelled, they are in no position to take down the European Union anytime soon.”
Rootsi kaitse alustaladeks jäävad alliansivabadus ja koostöö Soomega
(Postimees)
Opinion: Estonia's border and the price of voters' trust
(ERR)
What tiny Estonia can teach the U.S. about opioids
(Marketplace)
__________
Thursday 30. May
__________
Kaitseliidu ülemaks on tõusmas kolonel Riho Ühtegi
(ERR)
“Kolonel Ühtegi sai rahvusvaheliselt kuulsaks mullu juulis, kui rääkis väljaandele Politico Eesti valmistumisest võimalikuks konfliktiks Venemaaga. Ta meenutas arutlusi, et sõjalise rünnaku korral võiksid Venemaa lahinguüksused jõuda Tallinna kahe päevaga ja jätkas: "Võib-olla. Aga nad ei saa kogu Eestit kahe päevaga. Nad jõuavad Tallinna ja nende taga me lõikame läbi nende kommunikatsiooniliinid ja varustusliinid ja kõik muu. Nad jõuavad Tallinna kahe päevaga. Aga nad surevad Tallinnas. Ja nad teavad seda... Neile antakse tuld igast nurgast, igal sammul."
Kremlin Is Actively Working to Assimilate All Ukrainians in Occupied Crimea
By Paul Goble - Jamestown Org.
“The international community has devoted significant attention to the actions of Russian authorities in occupied Crimea to repress, marginalize and force out Crimean Tatars, … But there has been far less coverage of Moscow’s efforts to change the ethnic composition of its new possession by pushing out ethnic Ukrainians living there to re-identify as ethnic Russians.”
Germany's Heiko Maas hopes for peace in eastern Ukraine
(Deutsche Welle)
“Germany and France are unflagging in their commitment to peace in Ukraine, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas had said ahead of his visit to Kyiv with his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian, to visit the country's newly elected president.”
—
"It was important to me to travel with [Jean-Yves Le Drian] to Kyiv after the inauguration of President [Volodymyr] Zelenskiy to make it clear that Germany and France are not slackening in their commitment to Ukraine — indeed, quite the opposite," Maas said in a statement …”
Women in the Lithuanian Partisan War (1944-1953)
(Lithuania Tribune)
“When the second Soviet occupation began in 1944, a partisan war lasting 10 years was set in motion … Most of the partisans were men, but women were also actively involved in the struggle for freedom, who, by cherishing a love for their relatives and believing in the freedom of Lithuania, contributed to the struggle for freedom – belonged to the armed resistance units, gave an oath, had weapons, and lived illegally. The majority of the women in the Lithuanian Partisan War were females whose men, brothers or fiancées were partisans and whose relations with the partisans were revealed during the time of the Soviet State Security. …”
Opinion: Russians Are No Longer Scared to Protest
(The Moscow Times)
“Not long ago, a handful of people protesting on the central square of a provincial town would have attracted widespread attention and been covered in the national news. But rallies and protests are now occurring with increasing frequency, primarily because Russians no longer care if the authorities refuse to sanction a given gathering, making it and participation in it illegal.”
—
“Indeed, protesters are becoming radicalized. They now refuse to buckle under pressure, and they are willing to take to the streets over issues as nonpolitical as the environment and as local as the construction of a cathedral. Unable to suppress the protests using force, the authorities have met these displays of mass dissent with confusion and attempted to accommodate protesters, sometimes meeting their demands.”
Russia's Growing Movement Of 'Soviet Citizens’
(RFERL)
“The Internet, which only reached the masses after the Soviet collapse, is now helping spread their basic conspiracy theory: that a document dissolving the Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR), a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, and signed on December 25, 1991, by its then-President Boris Yeltsin, is illegal.”
__________
Wednesday 29. May
__________
Lessons from the European election
(Politico-Europe)
“Since the outbreak of the debt crisis in 2009, observers of European affairs treated every crisis that the European Union has faced as an existential one and every moment as a critical juncture. Yet, for all its dysfunction, the EU is here to stay.”
Reform Party wins European Parlt elections in Estonia
(Postimees)
Abandoned railways in Vidzeme and Estonia become hiking and cycling trails
(Latvian Broadcasting)
“Over 250 km of abandoned railway lines have been turned into multi-use trails in Latvia's Vidzeme cultural region, offering ample opportunities for sports and exploration. The organizers of the €1m joint project between Latvia and Estonia, titled Green Railways, hope that this will encourage tourism and promote business development in the region.”
Latvia-Estonia Greenways Map:
Finnish trade sector worries about looming booze tax cuts in Estonia
(Yle)
“Estonia will reduce taxes on alcoholic beverages sold in the country by 25 percent on 1 July, in an effort to keep Estonians from travelling to buy cheaper booze in neighbouring Latvia. Nearly two years ago, Estonia raised alcohol taxes by a whopping 70 percent, aiming to reduce alcohol-related problems in the country. The move reportedly helped to reduce alcohol consumption levels in the country but also stemmed the flow of tourism from Finland and cut into state coffers. At the moment, a 24-pack of Karjala-brand Finnish beer costs 15.99 euros at a shop in the port of Tallinn while an eight-pack of the same beverage costs 14.72 euros at state-alcohol monopoly Alko in Finland. Many Estonians - as well as people visiting from Finland - simply began travelling further south to Latvia to buy cheaper alcohol.”
How “Loyalty” Ensnared Russia’s Journalists and Media Owners
(Carnegie Moscow)
“Eleven Kommersant journalists have quit the newspaper in protest, following the publishing house’s decision to fire two journalists who had written an article about the possible departure of Valentina Matvienko from her post as speaker of the Federation Council, the upper chamber of the Russian parliament. The exodus of those 13 journalists, who include the paper’s deputy editor in chief for political news, Gleb Cherkasov, is a serious blow to Kommersant, whose political reporting has been of a high standard.”
__________
Tuesday 28. May
__________
Laulukaart renoveerinud insener Karl Õiger: muret oli terve talv
(ERR)
“1990-ndatest laulukaare seisukorral silma peal hoidnud insener Karl Õiger tõdeb, et kaare puitlaudise vahetamisega oli üksjagu probleeme ja peamurdmist. Laulukaar on keerukas vana konstruktsioon, mis nõuab ka edaspidi pidevat järelvalvet.”
How Estonia uses Cybersecurity to Strengthen its Position in NATO
(ICDS)
“A NATO that is adequately prepared to face cyber threats is better both for Estonia’s security and also for its strategic position in the Alliance. Yet the question of whether and to what extent NATO would ever go to war over a small and far-away country like Estonia is constantly in the back of Estonians’ minds. As a result, Estonia must ensure that NATO will be firmly committed to its security, and therefore must make itself as valuable and as indispensable as possible. In seeking to make NATO abandonment less likely, Estonia uses various commitment tactics in cyberspace. These tactics include: exchange, burden-sharing, normative and legal entrepreneurship and, more broadly, new ideas and innovation.”
Looking at the geography of EU dissatisfaction
(VoxEurop)
“In the wake of Brexit researchers began to investigate what could lead citizens of a member state to cast themselves out of the EU, and they came to a conclusion: it could happen elsewhere too.”
__________
Monday 27. May
__________
Narva: The EU's 'Russian' city
(Deutsche Welle)
“Ivangorod's inhabitants travel to the EU — Narva — several times a week. There, they can also buy goods that can no longer be exported from the EU to Russia under a ban imposed by Moscow in response to the bloc's sanctions. Ivangorodians also go to Narva just to buy clothes, watch a movie or simply stroll through the city.”
—
“Those who live in Narva, on the other hand, cross the Friendship Bridge less often, perhaps once or twice a month. Gas is cheaper for them in Russia, for one thing: Per month, they are allowed one full tank and a jerrycan. In Ivangorod, they also buy other goods that are cheaper than in Estonia, including household cleaners, grains, pasta and sugar. About 11,500 border crossings are recorded daily in Narva, according to the Estonian border authorities. Almost two-thirds are made by Russian citizens.”
Kaliningrad successfully tests independent local electricity grid
(ERR)
“Kaliningrad's capacity to function independently is one of the conditions on the way to synchronizing the Baltic states' grids with the Continental European grid, and leaving the today mainly Russian BRELL network dating back to Soviet times. The test shows that Russia is expecting the Baltic states to leave the BRELL grid (Belarus, Russia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) soon. Once they are out, there will be no connection between Kaliningrad and Russia. According to TalTech's Karl Kull, the planned Baltic desynchronization represents the biggest change in the local electricity system in 60 years.”
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