✔︎ EU may re-introduce visas for US citizens
✔︎ Germany will stay in Baltics 'As Long As Needed’
- Blog:
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Friday 3. March
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- Rahvusraamatukogus toimub 7. Eestimaa naiste kongress
(ERR)
"Eesti naisliit, Eesti juristide liit, Eesti ettevõtlike naiste assotsiatsioon, Eesti NATO ühing ning meediapartner ajakiri Eesti Naine peavad reedel Tallinnas rahvusraamatukogus kongressi “Naise sõna loeb”.
- Ten important ideas to give Estonia the next decade
(Postimees)
- EU must reintroduce visas for US citizens, say European lawmakers
(Deutsche Welle)
"The European Parliament on Thursday called on the EU's executive body to reintroduce visas for US citizens "within two months," citing Washington's failure to provide full visa reciprocity.
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"By a show of hands, parliamentarians passed a resolution demanding that the European Commission impose visas by May, ahead of the traditionally busy tourist season."
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"The lack of visa reciprocity affects at least 14 percent of EU citizens, namely the citizens of Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Cyprus and Poland as well as some EU citizens with dual nationality."
- Finland: 1,100 women apply for military service
(Yle)
"A record number of women have applied for voluntary military service in the Defence Forces this year. About two thirds of female soldiers have gone on to receive higher ranks in the army in recent years."
- Sweden: Military Conscription Reinstated
(New York Times | BBC | The Atlantic |Postimees)
"On Thursday, the government announced that mandatory military service — abolished in 2010 - would be introduced starting next year. Four thousand men and women will be drafted into the defense forces."
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- Rootsi ajateenistuse taastamine pole seotud NATO-ga
(Postimees)
- NATO, Russia Hold First Top-Level Military Talks In Three Years
(RFERL)
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- The Real Problems With NATO
(Foreign Affairs)
- USA analüütik: Balti riikide julgeolek ei ole Washingtoni põhimure
(ERR)
- EU Politics: Finnish PM against Juncker’s two-speed EU scenario
(Politico-Europe)
- Off Topic: Former ABC News employees urge strong stand against Trump
(ABCNews)
"More than 230 former ABC News correspondents, executives and producers have signed a letter urging the network's current top executive to take a firm stand against any Trump administration effort to curtail press access."
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Thursday 2. March
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- Germany: Its Troops Will Stay In Baltics 'As Long As Needed’
(RFERL)
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"Germany needs to do more, no question about it," German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said in Tallinn alongside his Estonian counterpart Sven Mikser. "But we also have to consider whether Europe wants a Germany that invests 60 billion euros ($63 billion) a year in the German army,"
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- German Minister Calls Trump Demand On NATO Spending ‘Unrealistic'
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- A German Clash over Trump's NATO Demands
(Spiegel)
- With volunteers and U.S. tanks, Estonia tells Russia it's "ready to fight”
(CBS News)
- Sputnik Has New Troubles in Baltics
(Transitions)
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[RT upset that contracts were terminated.]
- Why Is Finland Able to Fend Off Putin’s Information War?
(Foreign Policy)
- The road to the free movement of data in Europe
(Estonian World)
- An interview with the favorite, Kerli
(Oikotimes)
- Estonian with Expired Visa Arrested After Being Denied Entry into Canada
(MRC-TV)
“… the 39-year-old alien, who was unnamed in the press release, had come into the United States legally but had overstayed his visa, which expired on May 10, 2015. On top of being in the country illegally, he’d also racked up a DUI charge in Los Angeles on January 30, but had since been released thanks to L.A.’s sanctuary city policies."
- Anti-Soros Forces Emboldened in Eastern Europe
(New York Times)
“… populist leaders across Central and Eastern Europe are mounting simultaneous crackdowns on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), once protected by Washington, that promote open government, aid refugees and often serve as checks on authoritarian governments.”
✔︎ A Five-Story Story
(Kennan Institute)
“Up to 1.6 million Muscovites live in worn-out dwellings that are beyond repair. … The buildings in question, five-story prefabricated apartment blocks built under Nikita Khrushchev 50 to 60 years ago, have long outlived their temporary status. They were never meant to serve that long.”
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"Back in 1956 it was a project of national importance for a country of 200 million inhabitants, most of whom had nowhere to live. The United States probably never experienced a housing crisis of such proportions. Postwar Europe knew it to a certain degree. But the Soviet Union of the 1940s and 1950s was different. It was a place where the consequences of a breakneck industrialization, stepped-up urbanization, and a brutal war collided to produce a massive shortage not just of housing but of any sort of shelter."
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Wednesday 1. March
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- Ask an Estonian: What does a fence symbolize?
(KALW - San Francisco)
[A visiting Estonian journalist, Jürgen Klemm, writing of his perspective on being here in America.]
- Sofi Oksanen: Your Silence Will Not Protect You
(Up North)
"From a speech delivered by Sofi Oksanen at the Enn Soosaar Conference in Tallinn. Translated from Estonian by Riina Kindlam."
- Estonia's civilian militia bulks up in face of Russian aggression
(CBS News)
"This small country spends big on defense. It’s a fully paid-up member of NATO, and that buys it powerful friends."
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- EU: Euroopa Komisjoni valge raamat - kujundades 27-liikmelise Euroopa Liidu ühist tulevikku
(Euroopa Komisjon - Pressiteade)
- Juncker’s white paper: more style than substance
(Politico-Europe | New York Times | Others)
"Document on EU’s future offers false clarity in 5 scenarios.”
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"The paper is an attempt by the Commission, led by President Jean-Claude Juncker, to shape a major debate about the EU’s future following Britain’s shock decision to leave. The document is also intended to influence a declaration by the 27 countries remaining in the EU at the bloc’s 60th anniversary summit on March 25 in Rome.”
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- Juri Ratas: Estonia braced to resist 'fake news
(Reuters)
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- Moscow Deploys the Most Dangerous Kind of Disinformation
(Window on Eurasia)
- Maria Minerva’s new Estonian track “Kesköö"
(Calvert Journal | SoundCloud)
- Opinion: Baltic Dread
(Project Syndicate - Imbi Paju)
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Tuesday 28. Feb.
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- Music review: Sarasota Orchestra Masterworks - Estonian Voices
(Your Observer - Sarasota, Florida)
"Anu Tali, music director of the Sarasota Orchestra, brought some guests from her homeland of Estonia to perform with our homeland ensemble this past weekend. The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir is a group of 25 singers who’ve conquered the straight tone technique and sound very much like the pure, young voices that seem to be all the rage in most of the world today."
- Estonia To Finance 1,000 Megawatt Offshore Wind Farm At Hiiumaa
(Clean Technica)
" Estonia had been importing all of its natural gas for heating and hot water from Russia, but that ended last year. In mid-2016, together with Lithuania, Estonia put a stop to its gas imports from Russia. Now Norway’s Statoil will instead provide gas for heat and hot water in the country. Despite the challenges due to its position between European democracies and Putin’s autocracy in Russia, Estonia is looking to increase its clean energy capacity. It has already overshot its clean energy generation targets for 2020."
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Monday 27. Feb.
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- Saaremaa sai 10-aastase maailmameistri jääpurjetamises
(ERR)
- Kaljulaid: Estonia will never stand alone again
(The Baltic Times)
- Narva: Where Russia Meets The EU
(RFERL)
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- Security academy would be crucial Estonian identity point in Narva
(ERR)
- Discover 32 Unusual Things to Do in Estonia
(Atlas Obscura)
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- Russia -
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- What’s wrong with American articles about ‘The New Cold War’ with Russia?
(Meduza)
"Russia and Vladimir Putin in particular have been one of the hottest topics in the American media. Often, however, the level of panic surrounding Russia’s possible role in American (and Western) politics is so high that journalists abandon their own professional standards."
- Russia Heats Up Its Infowar With the West
(The Daily Beast)
"When it comes to Russian propaganda, we haven’t seen anything yet."
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- Secrets of Russia’s Propaganda War
(The Moscow Times)
"An unauthorized reprint of a military intelligence handbook on psychological warfare gives insight into new propaganda troops."
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- Nazi east, Nazi west, Nazi over the cuckoo’s nest
(Disinfo Review)
“… the accusation of Nazism is one of the favorite techniques of pro-Kremlin outlets. … Europe in its entirety, especially the Baltic countries, have been termed Nazis, supposedly because of Angela Merkel who demonstrates her “commitment to Aryan ideas by approving of Nazism in the Baltic countries”. The Baltic states are also said to use neo-Nazi methods against Russia in order to impose European values there, which is a direct threat to President Putin’s power. … NATO is not spared from the accusation of Nazism, given that it allegedly poses the same threat to Russia as Nazi Germany did to the USSR in 1941."
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- To Battle Fake News, Ukrainian Show Features Nothing but Lies
(New York Times)
✔︎ Belarus And Russia: This Time It's Different
(RFERL - Brian Whitmore)
“Just as (Belarusian President) Lukashenka was attempting to demonstrate a degree of independence from Moscow, Belarus's geopolitical value to the Kremlin was also visibly rising. In response to Russia's annexation of Crimea, NATO deployed thousands of troops in Eastern Europe, including in Belarus's neighbors, Poland and Lithuania. And when Western military planners look at scenarios for how a conflict between Russia and NATO would shape up, Belarus looms large."
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"It is widely assumed not only to be in Moscow's camp, but for military purposes, its territory is seen as a virtual extension of Russia’s. This is why the Suwalki Gap, a roughly 100-kilometer stretch of the Polish-Lithuanian border wedged between Belarus and Russia's Kaliningrad region, is such a problem. If Russia captured the gap in a conflict, it would cut the Baltics off from the rest of the alliance."
- What Putin Is Up To
(The Atlantic)
"And why he may have overplayed his hand."
- Vladimir Putin Isn’t a Supervillain
(Foreign Policy)
- Poll: Russians Take Pride in Crimea Annexation
(The Moscow Times)
"Some 43 percent of Russians said that they took pride in "returning Crimea to Russia," making it Russia's second most celebrated achievement. It was beaten only by Russia's victory in the Great Patriotic War, which was named as a source of pride by 83 percent of respondents."
- Nemtsov’s Night Watchmen
(The Moscow Times)
- Russians rally to honor murdered opposition leader Boris Nemtsov
(Deutsche Welle | Interpreter | others)
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- Venemaal toimuvad Nemtsovi mälestusmarsid
(Postimees)
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