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A young Finnish person reported that British Christian police officer Luke Salmons, 46, won a legal battle against police administration. According to the report, Salmons challenged the claim that Islam is a religion of peace in diversity training and raised questions about jihad, Hamas, and Gaza. He was suspended from work two days after the training, and the police department deemed him guilty of a serious misconduct. Salmons was added to the Police Barred List, which effectively prevented him from working in law enforcement. The young Finnish person wrote that Salmons appealed the decision, and North Yorkshire Chief Constable Tim Forber later determined that it was not a serious misconduct nor a breach of professional standards. Salmons was then removed from the barred list. He subsequently filed a lawsuit for religious discrimination and harassment, as well as for violations of his freedom of religion and speech. North Yorkshire Police settled the matter before it progressed to an employment tribunal, and Salmons received financial compensation from the police. The amount of the settlement was not disclosed in the report. #oikeus #uskonnonvapautta #monimuotoisuus (translated)

Suvi-Anne Siimes hoped that the difficult topic would be addressed in a more varied manner. She wondered whether the popular two-state solution outside the region was as unproblematic as its current supporters claimed. Siimes said she did not know the answer, but would like to read and hear more about the subject in Finnish as well. #kaksivaltiota #keskustelu #rauha (translated)

Pekka Toveri wrote that Trump started a war against Iran despite the advice of his military advisors. According to Toveri, Trump had disrupted the U.S. diesel market as the midterms approached and was now afraid of losing. Toveri added that Trump had asked for help from a person he described as a bloodthirsty dictator and thanked him. https://t.co/KyUKpbiU38 #Trump #Iran #politiikka (translated)

Henri Vanhanen wrote that Finland had paid billions of euros because, in his opinion, the geopolitical risks posed by Russia were not taken seriously in time. He referred to Fortum's Uniper transactions, in which he claimed nearly six billion euros were lost, as well as Rosatom's assertion that it had won the arbitration concerning the Hanhikivi nuclear power project against Fennovoima. Vanhanen noted that the final resolution and possible compensation were still unclear. Vanhanen said the losses were in the billions and had also been a detriment to taxpayers. According to him, lessons should have been learned from these cases that geopolitics and security policy could not be separated from economic decision-making. He wrote that warnings about Russia's aggression had been issued for years, but economic interests often outweighed them, and he felt that Finland could no longer afford to ignore the realities of global politics until the billion-euro bill arrived. https://t.co/Omv0fRGsLq #geopolitiikka #turvallisuuspolitiikka #Suomi (translated)

Henri Vanhanen wrote that the Ilta-Sanomat news about Jaakko Laakso's communication with the Turkish foreign minister reminded him of his trip to Ankara with Mika Aaltola in February 2023. Vanhanen said they had discussed at that time the obstacles and opportunities regarding Finland's NATO membership ratification. Vanhanen stated that based on their assessments from the discussions, Turkey was clearly more positive towards Finland's membership than Sweden's, and that a separate pathway could be opened for Finland. They had made their assessment public and raised the possibility that Finland could advance if necessary before Sweden. According to Vanhanen, the assessment turned out to be correct. He noted that at that time they were not aware that Laakso had already met with the Turkish foreign minister the previous spring and expressed his opposition to Finland's NATO membership. Vanhanen wrote that Laakso's actions raised serious questions: in his view, opposing NATO membership was the right of every Finn, but conveying anti-membership views directly to the Turkish foreign minister was a different matter. Vanhanen believed that the events related to Finland's NATO membership deserved clarification, especially when they raised difficult questions about Finnish actions. https://t.co/XGptAqzYmF #Suomi #Nato #Turkki (translated)

Aarne Leinonen named the target for cuts in the evening as the adjustment of pensions, which he estimated to be 2.6 percent in 2027 with costs amounting to 1,066,000,000 euros. He wrote that current retirees should participate in balancing Finland's public finances. According to him, the pension system was not sustainable because 25 percent of the taxes from the work of young people were for the benefit of retirees. #RatkaisutRahapulaan #Eläkkeet #Suomi #Talous (translated)

Dennis Mitzner criticized the foreign minister's statement, in which he said that Finland is strongly committed to a two-state solution. Mitzner questioned whether the mention was necessary and believed it placed the statement, along with the mentioned 1,200 murdered Israeli citizens, in a political context that weakened the statement. He wondered whether Hamas would have started the attack even if the Gaza Strip, which it governs, had been part of an independent Palestine. According to Mitzner, the attack could have been even broader and targeted Israel's largest settlement centers from the West Bank. #Suomi #Palestina #IsraelinKriisi (translated)

The True Finns wrote that they warned about the problems of immigration at a time when other parties described immigration and multiculturalism as a richness. The party claimed to be the only one that took the downsides of immigration seriously and was able to offer solutions to them. According to the True Finns, the problems were not solved by virtue signaling or by aiming for 45,000 new work-related immigrants annually, but by acknowledging the facts and basing politics on them. The party stated that under the leadership of its interior minister, immigration policy had been tightened historically, and practically all tightening of the government program had been implemented. It referred to a 24-point list of changes in policy. #ps #perussuomalaiset #maahanmuutto #maahanmuutto #perussuomalaiset #politiikka (translated)

Heikki Pursiainen criticized Finnish economic discussion as limited based on two recently published columns in Helsingin Sanomat. According to him, Korkman described what should not be cut and believed that adjustments were necessary but did not propose any cuts. Pursiainen claimed that Korkman also criticized the government’s policies without offering alternatives. Pursiainen wrote that he found Teittinen’s reflections good in themselves but believed they underestimated Finns' ability to impact matters. He argued that Teittinen suggested that adjustments would probably be politically impossible and that Finland's fate depended on economic conditions and Russia. Pursiainen assessed that there could be many actions: he mentioned more encouraging social security, cutting business subsidies, tuition fees, and abandoning incentives for staying home as a parent. He added that for conservatives, a smaller public sector was a goal and not a reason for lamenting, and in his view, adjustments did not threaten the foundations of the welfare state. Pursiainen indicated that economists should also present their own solutions for discussion and negotiation. #Suomi #Taloustiede #Politiikka (translated)

Rami Kurimo wrote that Faizullah Jaqubi had forced a 13-year-old into unprotected intercourse, after which the child became pregnant and had to undergo an abortion. According to Kurimo, the appellate court did not convict Jaqubi of rape, and the decision was contrary to the legal understanding of many Finns. He cited IL as a source. https://t.co/wroW3vUSAw #raiskaus #lapsi #oikeus (translated)

Jari Mäkäräinen criticized Yle for what he perceived as giving Timo R. Stewart, whom he describes as a Hamas activist, an unchallenged platform to present his book. According to Mäkäräinen, the article adopted Stewart's view regarding the destruction of Gaza, genocide, and Finland's responsibility due to trade with Israel, without hearing the opposing side. Mäkäräinen emphasized that, in his opinion, genocide does not equate to heavy war. He wrote that the International Court of Justice had not ruled on the case against Israel and that interim measures were not a judgment. In his view, civilian casualties can occur in urban warfare where Hamas places rockets, command centers, and tunnels among civilians without the intent of destroying the group. He compared this to the battles of Mosul, Raqqa, and Fallujah, claiming that Stewart began using the term genocide after Israel succeeded in its war against Hamas. According to Mäkäräinen, the Yle article also lacked the starting point of the war: the attack on October 7, in which he claims over 1,200 people died, and which involved rapes and kidnappings. He wrote that Hamas aims for the end of Israel instead of a Palestinian state. He criticized the figures presented by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the article—over 21,600 by December 2023 and over 1,400 after ceasefires—and claimed that the ministry was subordinate to Hamas and that its figures did not differentiate between fighters and civilians. In his view, the article also lacked Israel's perspective that a significant portion of the dead were fighters. Regarding the two-state model, Mäkäräinen wrote that its failure was not solely due to Israel. He claimed that Hamas had rejected the model multiple times and that the Palestinian Authority had turned down offers, such as at Camp David in 2000 and Annapolis in 2008. He added that according to polls, the majority of both Palestinians and Israelis had abandoned the model. He described the cessation of support for UNRWA as a reaction to an organization that, according to him, had ample evidence of connections between its facilities and personnel to Hamas. Mäkäräinen believed that Yle, as a publicly funded media, should not advertise a single essayist as an expert. According to him, the article could have included opposing researchers, Israel's official stance, or addressed Hamas's responsibility for hostages and the use of civilians as shields. He concluded by asking why this had not been done. https://t.co/sHriNitmMo #Gaza #Israel #Hamas (translated)

Mats Uotila viewed that Defense Minister Häkkänen had not acted wrongly by strengthening Finland's defense and stated that it was the minister's most important task. He criticized the SDP, which he claimed organized a worthless spectacle in Parliament this week and was willing to undermine crucial security cooperation in pursuit of gaining popularity points. Uotila reminded that the SDP had previously supported the acquisition of David's sling during the previous government term. He mentioned that the party had voted against Häkkänen's trust in Parliament due to his visit to Israel. According to Uotila, the purpose of the trip was to ensure spare parts and maintenance for the air defense system ordered by the SDP from Israel. Uotila wrote that not all necessary defense materials could be obtained from Europe and believed that Finland's security should be prioritized. In his view, the SDP did not seem willing to do so. #SuomenPuolustus #turvallisuus #politiikka (translated)

TPS has decided to stop participating in the green-left's Pride activism and has switched to supporting fair equality by organizing equality matches instead of leftist-oriented Pride matches. I support this reasonable solution. https://t.co/hEe0lPS3RB #Yhdenvertaisuus #Pride #Aktivismi (translated)

The press conference today clarified the suspicions related to parliamentarians' homes. According to Speaker Halla-aho, there is a significant number of cases. It is suspected that residences have been entered in the absence of the representatives. No signs of forced entry have been found, and nothing has been stolen, but traces have been left in the homes. The suspicions involve members of different parties, and the first case may go back as far as a year. There is currently no confirmed information about the perpetrator or motive. The background may involve criminal activity, harassment or stalking targeted at individual politicians, domestic extremist groups, or the actions of a foreign state. Not all reported cases may necessarily be related to each other. Now, it is the police's task to distinguish real intrusions from other observations and investigate possible connections between them. The possibility of a state actor must still be taken seriously. An especially interesting detail is the marks left in the homes. If the intention were solely to obtain information secretly, a successful intrusion would fundamentally be attempted to be concealed. If, instead, traces are deliberately left behind, being noticed may itself be part of the operation. In that case, intelligence is combined with psychological influence. Such methods are known in the history of Russian security services. There have been intrusions into the homes of diplomats, officials, and other individuals deemed interesting, with deliberate traces left behind. This does not prove anything about the perpetrators of these cases. It indicates why the possibility of a foreign state’s action must be thoroughly investigated. If it ultimately turns out to be state influence, the selection of targets would in itself be significant. Parliamentarians decide on Finland's defense policy, NATO cooperation, support for Ukraine, relations with Russia, and numerous other decisions in which foreign states may have strong interests. Coercion does not have to mean an attempt to change one vote in a single ballot. The aim could also be to gather information, map networks and vulnerabilities, or generate uncertainty about whether the consequences of political decisions extend to an individual's own home and loved ones. That is why Finland now needs a more open discussion about the kind of foreign intelligence, influence, and pressure directed at it. Confidential information should not be disclosed, but Finns should have a realistic understanding of the security environment in which we live and whether its change requires anything from decision-makers, companies, or ordinary people. And above all, keep a cool head. If the purpose of such acts turns out to be to generate fear and uncertainty in Finland, that is precisely the effect that should not be allowed. Serious suspicions will be investigated, efforts will be made to identify the perpetrators, and appropriate action will be taken if necessary. Finland's decisions will continue to be made in Finland, without fear and pressure. #turvallisuus #politiikka #tiedustelu (translated)

Sosiaaliturva ei enää riittänyt, niin perhe teki "radikaalin" ratkaisun ja muutti työn perässä toiselle paikkakunnalle. Ei työn perässä muuttaminen ole radikaalia, vaan ihan tavallista. Itse muutin aikoinaan työn ja opiskelun perässä toiselle mantereelle. https://t.co/avM5PdSlts https://t.co/PucOhcc5Pa #työ #muutto #perhe

F-35 tulee olemaan Suomen ja Euroopan puolustuksen keskeisiä kulmakiviä 2030-luvulta alkaen. Suomen #F35-hankinta on #Nato-jäsenyyden ohella merkittävin suomalaisten turvallisuutta vahvistava yksittäinen ratkaisu vuosikymmeniin. ➡️ https://t.co/qHVdbbjLbv #ilmavoimat https://t.co/GFHSTPBYh6 #F35 #puolustus #Nato