A tale from times to never revisit again - my mother making it at no odds

This book is about the times at the Second World War end and what happened just before the ending and up to later years with respect to the relation between Finland and the Soviet Union. There was a treaty made up, the YYA-treaty (Friendship, Cooperation and mutual Assistance) that would become a heavy burden for Finland all up to 1992. The book takes up a couple of extradition errands among them my own mother that was jailed 14 months in Finland risking being handed over to the Soviet as a traitor and executed. Unfortunately the book has not so far been translated from Finnish.

Down below follows the English translation of my mother’s records taken from pages 131-136 of the book.

In March 1948 the Finnish secret police (VALPO) is receiving information about a dental technician student seeking authorization to travel to Sweden to continue her studies. The secret police is on alert as they are aware about a coming defense agreement between Finland and the Soviet Union (the YYA) that will regulate the exchange of POWs amongst other matters.

The secret police had incriminating information on Helena Gummerus past. According to them, during the war she had first served with the Soviet intelligence forces, and then the German army employed in partisans exploration missions. It seemed, therefore, to be the worst kind of traitor, possibly even a peace treaty article 9, paragraph 1a - referring to a war criminals. Gummerus was arrested on her way to work Wednesday 03/17/1948.

Helena Koivistoinen was born on 1921/08/08 in Leningrad. She had done her 3 years of Finnish primary school and then being moved to a Russian school. In 1936, she started to study to become primary school teacher. After graduating in 1939, she had earned the degree of a Russian elementary school teacher in Leningrad. In 1940, Helena had moved to the city itself, and completed her matriculation, after which she began studying to become a dentist. War broke out and Helena Koivistoinen was enrolled in the service of the Red Cross. The Germans arrived to the gates of Leningrad and besieged the city – Helena was then working as a Red Cross nurse at the front-lines caring for wounded soldiers.

In March 1942 she had been asked to move the Soviet military intelligence service, which Helena Koivistoinen did agree to. She was taken to a Leningrad suburb house where there were other reconnaissance mission recruits. There Helena Koivistoinen was given decent food, so that she would be able to “eat herself up” before getting into real action. When the Finnish secret police questioned Helena Koivistoinen she assured them that she had taken the job only to get the special food rations to survive, she only weighted 45 kilos and to get out of the besieged city, where there was nothing but starvation and death.

Helena Koivistoinen had been told that she trained for reconnaissance mission behind the German's lines. When she was physically fit enough and trained she was transported to the airport and dropped at night by parachute behind the lines. After walking in the woods the whole night and the following day Helena Koivistoinen fell asleep at the foot of a tree. Upon waking in the morning 7 April 1942 she noticed that her feet were frost-bitten. She had difficulty walking but she managed to reach a village. There Helena Koivistoinen had gone to the first house asking for something to drink. Servants of the house said that they were prohibited helping unknown people. Just minutes later a German military patrol arrived taking custody of Helena Koivistoinen.

She had been locked up in a room, and just after the patrol leader had left, the soldier left on guard outside threatened to shoot the partisan girl he thought she was. The next day Helena Koivistoinen had been taken in for questioning at the nearby German headquarters. She had told the interrogators truthfully about her parachute mission and about her orders, the task to obtain information on the German positions and troops, after which she was to return back on foot to report. Helena Koivistoinen told during questioning that she never had any intention of completing the mission that she only wanted to have food to survive and to get away from Leningrad. Helena Koivistoinen had been detained for about a month, after which she enrolled in the German army. Her duties were to serve as a maid and to do laundry at the German headquarters, but also occasionally serve as an interpreter when the Germans interrogated Russian prisoners of war. A few times she had been involved in partisan scouting expeditions, meaning when the Germans were hunting for partisans in neighboring villages. Helena Koivistoinen was sent to villages to gather intelligence on whether the partisans were present or had been visiting. Locals were generally very careful about talking about partisans, but if she did observe that something was going on, she reported back to the Germans, who "would take appropriate measures, and when detained persons being interrogated keeping her outside not to compromise her."

In the spring of 1943 when the Germans were losing out to the Soviet army and started pulling back Helena Koivistoinen was given the opportunity to move to Finland, a gesture that she had been serving well and that the Germans wanted to save her life. A self-written biography, a recommendation letter and a formal application for immigration made up with the help from the German headquarters was sent to Finland and the State police, who replied approving Helena’s move. On September 25, 1943 Helena Koivistoinen entered the ship bringing her to Hanko. From there

Helena Koivistoinen had to go to Helsinki for an interview with the Finnish secret police - VALPO. At her interview she was told that the Germans had granted her the Iron cross medal, second order for bravery. On October 2, the day she was released she was sent to the Lohja refugee camp, through which she later acquired her first Finnish employment as a dental technician by a local dentist.

Helena Koivistoinen transferred from Lohja to work in Helsinki. She had received a dental technician student's place at Dental Laboratory Oy. In 1946 Helena Koivistoinen and Bengt Georg Gummerus got married. The family’s daughter Margaret Daisy Peggy was born 1947/04/07. Finland’s secret polices view of Helena Gummerus was that she had to be returned to the Soviet Union, according to the Paris Peace Treaty article 9.

Bengt Gummerus wrote to the Foreign Ministry and to the Parliamentary Ombudsman. He felt it was inconceivable that the secret police could hold a Finnish citizen in custody, who his wife unquestionably was. Gummerus argued that the ban on Soviet citizens of the country to get married with a foreigner had come into force on 02.15.1947, and that they had already been married at the time, so the invocation of Soviet law was illegal. Gummerus wondered why the government's Committee on Foreign Affairs only postponed and postponed decision-making. In his opinion, the arrest and keeping in prison of a Finnish citizen was an insult to all the western nation’s legal systems, and in addition the human factor: "Separating the mother and her new-born child for a year, keeping a mother in detention for months without any reason is making war against all humanity". This is what my brave father wrote.

The Foreign ministry did not dare to make a decision one way or the other. Helena Gummerus was the issue of the Government's Committee on Foreign Affairs meeting on 1948/10/16. All the other prisoners of war at the time were detained but as far as "traitors" like Helena Gummerus, it was already decided to dispose of. In her “case”, the matter was left open. The Soviet embassy was informed of the decision. It was reported that "the USSR, the 'Alliance Surrender Requirement also applies to Helena Gummerus-Koivistoista, which in 1946 did receive Finnish citizenship rights by marriage to a Finnish citizen. In this relation, her isolation from her husband and small child will without doubt upset the public opinion; the government hopes that she will be allowed to stay in Finland. The Soviet Union did not react. Foreign Minister Enckell still sent a personal letter to the Soviet ambassador, but got no reply.

In February 1949 Helena Gummerus turned to the Ministry of the Interior making a request that the police would interrogate her again, because in the secret police interrogation protocol there were had been mistakes. She claimed that while being interrogated she had been experiencing high fever and had not been able to follow closely the course of the interrogation, still conceding that her signing of the protocol was correct.

A new round of secret police hearings were granted and when it came to the question how she was approached by the Soviet military intelligence service she stated that it was not never clear what was asked from her to change from working for the Red Cross, just to something else granted better food rations. She also denied that she had ever was given the knowledge about to engage in a military intelligence mission, she said she was only given food and a parachute and dropped from a plane. She also denied that after being detained by the Germans that her arrest lasted for several weeks, she claimed that she was released after 2 days in custody being on her own to do laundry and cleaning. She adamantly denied that she had been an interpreter involved in prisoner of war interrogations and that she taken part in partisan hunting. But at the end all that Helena Gummerus is saying at these new hearings does contradict the biography and recommendations by the German military at her application to immigrate to Finland.

In April 1949, Bengt Gummerus wrote again for the MFA. His wife had now been thirteen months behind bars, but there is still no solution to the family’s problem in sight. The Soviet Union had not responded to any government proposal, from which it was hoped that Helena Gummerus would receive a permanent stay in Finland although that a settlement of the situation of a Soviet traitor would be of interest for Finland’s eastern neighbor. However, Gummerus did not understand why the opinion of the Soviet Union was ever asked, after all, his wife was a Finnish national. According to Bengt, Helena’s health had dramatically deteriorated. He could no longer help but cry, he thought that the end was near for his wife. So he asked the Ministry to finally do something.

The Foreign Ministry dispatched another prison doctor for an opinion, which supported Bengt’s information presented in the “Gummerus letter”. On May 10, 1949, the State Council's Foreign Affairs Committee decided to release Helena Gummerus after nearly fourteen months of detention. Her condition was the only fact making it improbable for her to leave the country.

Epilogue

Shortly after my mother was released from prison the whole salvage operation planned since long was put into operation. As my father had influential connections with the government he had got information that his wife was going to be arrested again as soon as the whole situation had calmed down. There was a lot going on abroad concerning my mother’s case, she was written about in Europe and the USA as one of those early “human rights” cases, long before Amnesty International. We all know what happens when then “chatter” lowers or ends; the sinister forces never drop a matter of interest. My father wondered why Finland would bother to inform the Soviet about my mother, keepsakes of course, exchange of commodities, in this case high valued prisoners of war or other political values. This is the “modus operandi” of any nation even the USA, no matter how pure it is.

As soon as my mother was free, a van carried them northwards towards to the northern border between Sweden and Finland with stops at various friendly cottages of my father’s family; they crossed the frozen river between Finnish Tornio and Swedish Haparanda by foot one cold winter night with only the clothes they were wearing while carrying their daughter.

Was my mother a traitor? Definitely not from a Finnish viewpoint, a tiny country allied with Germany against a salvage enemy, the Soviet Union.  I see her as a survivor, a hero, one of the younger ones finding a way towards life and the living. The tales I heard her telling me especially of her encounter with the Germans is of a highly sophisticated culture and nation something so far from what she had been used to growing up in the Soviet Union, with big parts of her family deported and executed from being ethnically incompatible with a bolshevist philosophy. Just before accepting the offer to get food and a possibility to save her getting out of Leningrad, a killing field, she had found her pregnant sister dying on the streets, managing to save her and her baby by getting “them” to a hospital. Her sister’s husband had died from starvation just a few days before.

Was my mother a traitor from a Soviet’s point of view, hardly, as she as a mere skeleton was taken advantage of to perform a deadly mission for a few slices of bread?

I have a mother to be proud of and she is still alive. I am doing my best to care for her as she did for me many years ago. She is my greatest hero.

What you have been reading here is based on to almost 100% Finnish secret police protocols and government memorandums and I can assure you that they correspond well with the my personal interviews with my mother, but, in between these lines there is much more, so much more.

The Rocky movies still rock...

So I saw all 4 Rocky movies again, yes, yes, I know there is another one, the fifth that is another great movie and so sentimental, bringing the tears out of my eyes when I saw it. Seeing these movies makes me feel at home as great part of my life was living the cold war times, times slightly “colder” than today but with an illusionary sense of stability and not so much change, yet with incredible developments brewing and with great opportunities. I do not like change unless it is caused by me, things are changing so fast today that sometimes I feel lost, like being zapped away to another planet and often change seem to happen for the sake of changing things and order, not only for a good cause, for doing good but because of greed and ambition. I think ambition is greed in disguise.

These movies could be filed away to be used as cinematographic history giving a moving pictures peep-hole into how we were, thought and lived in the post-war era after the second world war. Life feels so much more uncertain today, it is like everything is up for grabs; we have a new race and another round of geopolitical ambitions with all the former big-powers engaging but now dressed up in a new set of clothes and another set of methods for global land-grabbing. There are wars brewing with many players involved on the same arenas all with their own agendas.

There is an overwhelmingly large exodus ongoing with millions fleeing wars, oppression, general unrest, terror and famine. I cannot understand people trying convince me that what is going on is making a better world. There are new threats emerging every day lived, geopolitical, religious, economical, contamination hazards, biological hazards, weather hazards, it seem like when we fixed one we get 10 new ones as a bonus.

The era of the cold war and the dictatorships kept the lid of the Pandora’s box shut for decades until recently becoming literally blown off.

I very much enjoyed seeing these great movies again and to briefly return to a world I (I thought) knew. The Rocky movies are great story telling by moving pictures seldom seen on the big screen.

I may see the last one too risking another tear-drop falling from my eyes.

#Homeland's are not all the same

Read an interview with controversial Michigan resident Michael Moore that recently had troubles to leave his home because someone had dumped loads of manure on his driveway. There was a passage from his younger self when he back-packed the world and got as far as to the tiny northern nation Sweden, my homeland. Somewhere he had an accident and hurt himself that bad that he had to turn to the emergency room of a hospital, getting treated and stitched up. There was some major surgery made and he was worried about how to pay for it as he knew his Blue Cross card wouldn't pay for it. When he was done and ready to leave he got baffled when he realized he wasn't to be charged for the services given, the personnel in charge just waved him off with something like - good luck and stay safe.

Well, what did my homeland has to offer me a born resident of the nation? Let us start from the back, I got my masters of science from a top notch University, without scholarships and without tuition fees as it was all free to anyone qualifying and being within limits of seats available, I had to pay for my own living and the literature but that was all. To make my living I was granted a loan from the government and what was missing to have a good life I myself filled in by working at winter and summer breaks. Already at this point I had a life independent from my parents, I did not have to burden them with my economical problems and I did not have to bother them with demands of any kind. After graduation I found a well-paid job, it took about 5 years to pay off the loan so I was free, I never took pride in stacking up loans, I wanted to be free and to stay free.

My class 1958

If this was all? My life in this nation meant good schools without tuition fees from the day I started first grade. It meant free medical care from the day I was born and every time I needed doctor's attention later in life it cost me nothing extra independent of what happened to me, multiple times of broken tendons, street fights with stabbing wounds, bad infections requiring specialist treatments, life threatening infections by rare tropical viruses, you name it. Someone had to pay for it all by their taxes and I paid mine too.

Promise to get a leg up

What do you think, all of you that never lived in a nation like mine? Would it not be fantastic without having to worry about your welfare, your's and your families medical bills, your children's education all the way up to levels of the Nobel prize, whatever background you were coming from, the depths of a coal-mine worker or the one owning it all? You would all have the same rights and your children would go to the same class irrespective of wealth.

Strip to stay prominent

Now, times are a-changing in Sweden, mainly because of an idea that individuality comes before anything, the US model. The role model comes from US propaganda through expensive to make Hollywood movies where the good life of a capitalistic model is exhibited and where out-casts and the poor are branded losers and jail-birds. Medicare is not free anymore even though it comes to a moderate cost. Young ones lost their scientific desires instead to become actors and artists so much that seats at universities that formerly were competed for now becomes a matter for auctioning to whoever foreign parent that want to pay for their children to have it. Something has gone awry here as university seats goes to the wealthy instead of upholding an equal-rights model, the model modern Sweden was built from and admired by great part of this world. Auctioning it all out to the ones able to pay will not make a better world. actually it would be better keeping those chairs empty.

With this I would like to show my great appreciation to my nation and those great politicians and those great minds making and manifesting and equal opportunity nation and give thanks to those for what my nation laid at my feet to be used at my desire and will. I took your offer and I am immensely grateful for it all. For the sake of the planet I hope the Swedish model I grew up within, may never be forgotten.

#righttofood #RightToHealth #homeland

Homeland - a what? A false glimmer or the fizzle of a shooting star?

Real life is not lived in seasons even less in piece-meal portions, fed once a week unless it is the week-end break for a normal citizen. It is not strange that expectations are overwhelming for a high-strung personality facing that last episode after months of watching. I felt kind of numb watching this last piece as I already had painted my canvas of anticipations according to previous and the episode came out a perfect match with my painting, asking myself, could the Homeland team come up with something more heart-felt? I guess not, it is just the name of the game and as I am up in the ages, already seen the most, what would I expect? The people that made this up are much younger than me and do live another mental state, perhaps on a another planet where everybody are under 40 years of age (I feel sorry for the dinosaurs, Saul and Dar as they both seem out of time with a changing world).

There are problems with the whole story all through season 5 but I will keep myself commenting those only to the last episode. When writers or screen-writers does what they did here I would call them not fully potty-trained or even charlatans and when they sneak in things to smear Russia I would go even further. Let us take the detainment of Ivan, the Russian master spy and ring leader. It would not be possible to hold him for long, only hours before the Russian state department would barge in making a deal getting him back to Russia in exchange for something, putting a lid on the whole ordeal. A situation like this would not be contained within agencies with pawns like Dar Adal and Saul Berensen, it would get all the way up the hierarchy's of the nations with ambassadors called in.

Then we have "grand theft" from another great television series, "the brotherhood of the rose" from 1983. Here two parent-less boys at an orphanage are picked up by the CIA handler John Elliott. John sponsors them all the way up to adolescence coaching them into the roles to become CIA operatives/assassins. In Homeland season 5 last episode, At the sick-bed of the unconsciousness Peter Quinn, Dar Adal tells Carrie how he got in touch with Peter first-time, Peter was picked up at an orphanage at the age of 16, then sponsored and coached into becoming a CIA operative/assassin. The problem with us older people is that we have seen it all and we hate when it repeats us still being alive.

Now to the worst, the the smearing of Russia as a nest of prostitution and trafficking. When Allison after having complied with Russian instructions about leaving false information about the location of a to be terrorist attack, is taken to a Russian safe-house for fixing her self-inflicted shoulder wound, she finds herself inside a brothel full of supposed to be trafficked prostitutes, This is nothing but embarrassing US propaganda against Russia. Things like this does not make a better

world. You should think twice about doing things like this and for this one, you should be ashamed.

So, where will this story continue? Obviously we have a cold war scenario that continues as it never ended. A good thing with the past 26 years is that Russia is on its feet again. Who wanted a depressed Perestroika Russia? Who wanted a depressed Russia taking in "burger aids" to get them into the mood of "imports"? I do not think that any nation outside of the former Soviet borders saw to anything else than making more market when the Soviet borders opened up. Well, Russia seem to be thriving again without the help of the west, on the contrary, it is a completely internal job with Vladimir Putin at the helm for now.

Back to the Homeland story again, I do not know if I will follow more of it as the ones writing the story seem unable to keep my expectancy up with regards to history or even cinematography. My advice to you, bring some people in that is at least 60 years of age or you'll perish from movie history not so far away from this writing.

When you are touching reality like you are doing in this flick, you better do it right. The consequences from not being true to history and reality could be dire. Don't let people with political aspirations influence your art as obviously you have done previously.

Let Homeland be world partisan and guide us to a better and peaceful world.

I had fun watching Homeland but I must admit I expected much more from you the creators, especially from the last 3 episodes. To follow you further I must be able to recognize a will from your side, that the story aims for bettering the world we live in. Don't belittle the rest of the world and don't try to smear your adversaries when you continue creating.  Paint the adversaries of the US in the same shades and colors as your own and the whole thing will change into interesting for the young ones and all the way up to people like me, Nobody wants a paid race....

#homeland #Syria #ISIS #Russia #Putin

Uprooting extremism, militarism and terrorism - will we ever learn?

UNHCR's mid year trend report for world wide forced displacement, that is refugees, was released today. 60 million people with 34 million internally displaced are on the run from home for various reasons like starvation or conflict. 1 million refugees crossed the Mediterranean sea to seek shelter in Europe. 1.8 million refugees lives in miserable conditions in Turkey, Lebanon also host Syrian refugees even though far from the Turkish numbers but also under dire conditions, prohibited from working and leaving the camps. Not taking the Syrian exodus into account, the forced displacement numbers would still be increasing with a dramatic rate. Return rates are at the same time decreasing and the reason is that the further away from home a refugee succeeds to go the lesser his possibilities will be to return as few countries would let him enter to pass further on towards home without papers.

It was also stated that our world has 250 million widows living on 1 US dollar a day or less. Great part of those widows have children to feed and about 50% of those children are boys. How many widows lives on 2 US dollars or less, or 3 US dollars or less...? What a nursery for bringing up angry young men, mostly from a Muslim family background. Then we have boys and young men coming to Europe as refugees, mostly with Muslim background finding no jobs, their degrees from home not accepted in the country they landed in, no hope.

Every day I hear the talks about stopping radicalization, even criminalize people with radical tendencies, taking the passports away from people where there is a suspicion that they may travel to participate in Jihad. We see extreme reactions from Christian communities, like the one in Augusta county, Georgia, USA were schools were shut down because a professor in World geography gave the students the task to try learn copying the calligraphic text of the "Shahada", the Islam statement of faith. The parents in Augusta county turned out to be radical Christians causing the school to close and demanding that the professor be fired.

In times before 9/11 we talked about how to feed the people of the world, to stop devastating diseases in tropical zones, to lift emerging countries to our levels of life, to make those nations into democratic societies. The reasoning behind was of course to create stability and peace on planet earth by acknowledging that we are all equal with equal rights, to liberty of expression, to health, to a bed and roof over our heads, to go to bed without suffering from hunger. This seem to be all forgotten from reading the horrific statistics published by the UNHCR.

Defeating ISIS will not make the earth a better place and it will not stop insurgency and terrorism. Defeating ISIS is something that we need to do but it is "piece of cake" compared to what we really need to do. We do not need to focus on ISIS, there are already sufficient war-hungry nations with starving military "handlers" engaged to finish ISIS off. We, the civilians of those nations should not be distracted by the fear for "ISIS" created by our tinkering tanks and news media, we should continue to focus on how to feed the world, to make all nations on earth democratic and peaceful.

ISIS is a no brain'er but what caused ISIS to emerge is our real problem. Nations on the African continent are far away but we have to deal with them. Immigrants coming to our countries have to be welcomed with love and support from the very people in the communities they land. Don't expect that our governments will take care of it, politicians, governments and their administrations are not known for having a heart. Love is all they need not to become radicalized, the same for me and you so it is you and I, regular citizens that can make the difference, no matter where the immigration services would place that buss-load of immigrants.

Love is all we need...

#Daesh #Syria #Russia #Israel #refugeecrisis #refugees #refugeeswelcome #RadicalIslam #Muslims 

Strange biased headlines from Swedish public media about fighter jets to Syria

JAS Multirole fighter/bomber/surveillance

"No Swedish JAS fighter jets to Syria", is being repeated over and over from Swedish public news channels today, December 16, 2015. It all relates to a French unspecific military request for supporting their military ventures in Syria and Mali. Today the Swedish government released information about what Sweden will contribute to the French efforts to combat terrorism. The Swedish contribution for now is mainly on the logistics side, e.g. planes for transporting equipment and/or personnel.

What is strange is how the public media news "situation rooms" decided to go out with the Swedish military contribution, Normal headlines would be something like, "Government decision about how Sweden will help France made today", followed by interviews with government officials, but not. The issue and stance by Swedish public media have been militaristic headlines and then pressing officials on why we don't send fighter/attack planes to Syria before even asking them on what they decided. The civilian Swedish people is hardly not interested in hearing public media pushing for a 100% military contribution meant for attack/bombing missions, only in what the government decided upon.

Sweden is balancing on the edge between keeping its neutral position and leaving it for a more individualistic western role in the world with NATO membership and even to be able to act independently from the UN and its resolutions. The current socialistic government is for staying on the path of neutrality and talks about using our military powers in a humanitarian role, while the opposition is for the latter, a militaristic and aggressive role. Sweden is small country of 10 millions but with an incredible history in producing arms and explosives, remember Alfred Nobel with the dynamite. Imagine such a small nation producing anything from ammunition's, machine guns, cannons, tanks, armored personnel all terrain transportation vehicles, missile systems, the worlds most advanced radars, advanced submarines so stealth that not even the US navy can locate them and all the way up to advanced fighter jets. Would you even consider that Sweden is lacking an arms manufacturing lobby?

Swedish public media is supposed not engage in politics delivering an objective view of the world or just reporting about when and how, not touching the "why" but it is not how it all looks lately, there seem to be bias and lobbying going on, or is it just that the mandate it once got became forgotten, or that the body set aside to control and overlook what it may broadcast is asleep or paid off?

The problem with my "little" nation seem to be a wish to go where the big boys go, to take part where the action is, no matter the consequences. Have we seen too much action movies from Hollywood? Where is that white dove holding an olive branch these days?

#Syria #ISIS #Russia #SVT #Ukraine

Homeland - who is the man from Damascus

Saw episode 11 out of 12, season 5 tonight. Suspense continues and it is well done. I have not said much lately as there is not much to say about the thriller ending, season wrapping up for and crescendo at episode 12. Let me make a guess, the cavalry rides in just before 5 o'clock saving Berlin from a Sarin gas disaster, all Muslim Jihad'i terrorists dead or in custody and all protagonist's needed for season 6 will come out unscathed.

I have been waiting for more tight knit contemporary politics showing more of the dirty games played behind the scenes, especially in Europe but it seem that the story tellers and screen writers lost contact with what's going on in Europe, focusing on spilled and splattered blood, so typical for the USA and Hollywood. For instance the repercussions the Swedish governments decision to do ID checks on everyone entering the nation is having. Immigrants have been boiling up from Germany into Denmark and pushed further up to Sweden, a small nation that thought it could take it all, not so long ago announcing its big heart for people running away from conflicts, "we take all of you that managed to get that far". Well, Sweden reached its limits and is now struggling with the consequences, there is not room for everyone that enters, there is not enough administration to take care of all those that so far entered, there is not enough seats in the schools for their children and so forth. Sweden's budget for 2015 and 2016 is already busted and the government is considering taking loans to cope with the situation.

Now here comes the prime minister of Denmark accusing Sweden to divide something he believes is Denmark, the region of Denmark and Sweden connected by a bridge but where Sweden is responsible for the cost for anyone refugee/immigrant that crosses over that bridge in direction of up north. The Swedish decision to limit immigration at this time is because of dire needs, Sweden cannot guarantee the safety or the livelihood of more people entering the nation. Denmark is seeing this as threat as immigrants will accumulate on its territories, they themselves are taking the same actions as Sweden and it all trickles down to Angela Merkel and her Germany, closing its borders as she says, this is what we all Germans want and need to do.

In Homeland we are seeing a fairly moderate view on Putin's Russia and the Russians point of view of how to deal with situations in a global world mainly through the fabricated eyes and mind of the SVR. The Russians in this Hollywood flick are seeing the same threat from radical Islamist's as the US and its CIA but are taking a less compassionate stance to ordinary citizens when it comes to give ISIS a blow. Russians still come out as the villains while the US remains the hero, trying to make good, saving the world from evil.

Agatha Christie

Europeans are with movies and drama, in general more for playing around with mind than creating suspense through explicit action. In the beginning of Homeland season 5, I saw a strong connection between what is actually happening in Europe and what was presented to me in this "flick", now approaching the end I see nothing but another Hollywood creation, the regular shit with, time running, swat teams, black op's, bad guys, good guys and once again the US saving all western democracies.

I am not expecting more from Homeland at the last episode 12 of season 5, than seeing the good guys, beat the bad guys which is less than what I was expecting to see. It all started out as a promise trying to explain what is wrong with our world and planet but ending like any of numerous action movies. This said before it is all over and before something I am waiting for with anticipation, my Christmas dinner of 2015.

Still I love the Homeland soap, can't wait for the next episode...

#Homeland #ISIS #Syria #SyrianRefugees #AlQaeda #SyrianOpposition #Russia #Putin #SVR #CIA

Arab Spring - there was no Arab Spring - ISIS only

Alfred Nobel's invention

The Norwegian Nobel Peace prize committee did it again. Instead of honoring solid achievements the Norwegian Noble committee is honoring a would be promise as they have done so many times before, I think the whole thing turned bad when Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho were nominated 1973 and they stayed bad, Alfred Nobel is surely turning in his grave since then as the man saw the dangers with his inventions, among them the dynamite and wanted that his legacy would be a peaceful progress for the world. Every nomination in later year has come out ridiculous and the one to Barack Obama perhaps the worst as the man has done nothing he promised to do. That man, a representative for the foremost super-power on earth and de facto responsible for not killing off humanity, by any means, stopping global warming and peace-keeping.

The Tunisian "gang of four"

Press and media is still talking about an Arab Spring while winter and darkness is owning the rest of the Arab nations. There is possibly only 1 and it should be called the Tunisian Spring albeit still a very fragile one. There were attempts but they all failed, Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain and Syria. The "solid" Arab nations like Saudi Arabia, the united Arab Emirates, Kuwait they don't want any revolutions or "spring" movements and there are 2 things they are fighting for, avoid Shia Muslim influence in the region also fighting it at home and to avoid any human rights and woman liberty movements to progress within own borders.

Homs in ruins

The "spring" movement in Syria turned into a civil war and many are blaming Bashar al Assad, with the US taking a lead role. At the same time the support for anti Assad insurgents opened up the door, inviting all sorts of vermin to enter, either to fight Assad or just to claim now unprotected territories, like in the case with ISIS. Some anti Assad insurgents are fighting shoulder on shoulder with Al Qaeda, one example is the one from Homs.

Saudi meets with Syria insurgents

There are conferences, many conferences on how to solve the Syrian crisis, some initiated by the west with the US at the helm, others by the Arabs themselves with Saudi Arabia as the most prominent voice. No matter conference the most important message from any of those is that Assad has to go while reality speaks for that ISIS has to go first. There has been progress in Homs in favor of the Assad regime and the common people living there, a truce ousting the insurgents including Al Qaeda, an insurgency by some few, 2000 insurgents imposing horrors over the civilian population, once around 1 million. Ordinary people are happy praising their new situation, ready to start rebuild their life's and to restart their businesses. Hopefully and shortly, this will happen in all major cities of Syria outside the control of ISIS, a good start for a future Syria.

Edogan - evil or not?

The best the west could do is to turn all so called "moderate" insurgents away from Assad and towards fighting ISIS. By doing so there would be nothing for Russia to bomb except ISIS. It is of course a little bit tricky considering Al Nusra and Turkey as it would mean putting Turkey under pressure using the Turkmen" forces to go against ISIS instead of Assad but it should be doable. Turkey is nothing but an ambivalent nation with ambitions. Turkey is neither Europe nor the Middle East and it doesn't want to be complete on either side as it still dream about the Ottoman empire, being a super-power.

Vladimir - a jack of all trades

Coming to an end with ISIS, possibilities for peaceful and democratic Syria will open up but this possibility will never arrive as long as ISIS remains a force in the region. Removing ISIS must be priority #1 for any coalition and when I say coalition it does not contain insurgents of any kind. Insurgents should participate in the war against ISIS but without mandate and demands. Removing Assad is not an option as it surely will create another Libya out of Syria and remember, the nation closest to Assad is Russia, emerging as a super-power again like Phoenix bird from the ashes. Russia is not Putin only as the majority of the Russian people supports him and the way Russia is threading along, with or without economic sanctions because of Ukraine and Crimea.

Bashar - a pensive and good regent

Post ISIS, the nations have to come together agreeing upon democratic elections in Syria. Bashar al Assad must remain as a political player in this scenario unless he elects to step down himself. With Assad as a political player for a presidency or prime minister role, nations have to prepare also for dividing Syria into 2 or more independent nations.

Deutschland über alles

Seeing European nations scrumming for Syria the situation becomes a little more worrisome, France for revenge, Britain for fears and lately Germany with non-aggression inscribed in it's post-war constitution. Germany is sending 7-8 Tornado bomber/fighters and 1200 troops said to function as advisers for those that actively are fighting ISIS but also to train anti Assad insurgents. That rings my warning bell. Something must be wrong with the coalition thinking when the press phrases the German intent this way.

Remember, ISIS has to go before anything else. All anti Assad fighting has to cease completely. Coalition has to build trust in insurgents and root all insurgency out that is in Syria for their own cause. Russia is doing it, please follow Russia for now, then when completed invite (not bring) Russia to a conference engineering Syria's future.

#Syria #ISIS #Turkey #Putin #Russia #Sweden #daesh #erdogan #merkel #Cameron #hollande

Homeland - in complete mistrust

Peter Quinn - CIA operative Sarin gassed

Episodes 9 and 10 have not been much of world politics but more of action, suspension and complete mistrust making one think about life behind the wall, STASI and the DDR. The first 2 attributes are Hollywood ones and what Americans are good at, first a smoke screen and then an "underlay" of horror. The third one, "mistrust" seem universal and it seem that the stronger you become, the mentally weaker you get, very much like Allison when she compromises her handler, the Russian spy chief and strong man Ivan Krupin in Berlin.

The west has lived terrorism for decades, by bombs and bullets but yet not being gassed or nuked. Sarin gas has evidently only been used in Japan for terrorist purposes so far even if it has been used on lands where state terrorism used it to defeat or oppress insurgents ethnic groups. Everybody knows that a Sarin gas in a European city wouldn't be all successful and even with a large death count we would shrug it off in a matter of minor time morning our dead. Episode 9 and 10 deliver no surprises and takes us back to depths of a B-grade movie, even a Vin Diesel movie would be more creative and delivering more suspense than Homeland at this passage.

Parking the car for a moment at the theme of mistrust, just imagine a country that paranoid, a country were any individual is competing any other individual perhaps just for getting the last word said, the last chicken wing at TGIF or for a piece of cake. Does Homeland reflect the homestead of the US agencies and the agencies in turn reflect the North American life in general? If so, we are having a living horror movie, the one where life goes on as normal but where there is a sinister under-current, a surge from inside of the walls and down under the concrete slab of our dwellings that at any time will pull the rug under us? That North Americans compete for prime space is nothing new to me, it is a part of the American dream presented to me while living over there for a short period in my life but that it would add up to a paranoia for world domination, a global nightmare I could not even dream about - until now.

There is not one single European nation that would oppose the US without economical repercussions as consequence. It has gone that far the US laws presides even over European territories, European economy and banks. Imagine an individual on the run for politically challenging the US seeking asylum somewhere within the European union and that it would be granted, the US would first try to make a case against that individual based on criminal allegations and if unsuccessful sending in a team of "black op's" flying him out of that country blindfolded and sedated in gray plane flown by mercenaries (they call mercenaries - contractors). European police would not dare to interfere. Young people do, men as well as women and the consequence of turning a blind eye to this is radicalization. Here is the answer you have been looking for so long. Just go and kill them... Truth is tough to hear but it is always simple.

No, Homeland is not making it home with me, not tonight, and not a week ago either. Homeland has for the time being lost contact with Europe and got stuck lost in Hollywood. It is more exciting living a casual life here than living the Homeland, a land full of presidential wanna-bee clowns. Take a look at your real clowns instead, the Christmas tree decorated director of the CIA, the NSA, the Homeland security and your generals. Take a look at their age and their views on technology. then consider if Edward Snowden was with or against you. Merry Christmas...

This is kind of Homeland is a derailed Homeland where the wagons just left the rails, ditched in and over Hollywood. The politics behind is so much more intriguing and interesting than carnage and suspense, try again. For a world wide applause, please detach from the umbilical view of yourself. I expected more than this....

Sincerely

/a former Homeland affectionate

#Homeland #Syria #SyrianRefugees #Iraq #IraqWar #Obama #Putin #Merkel

No mercy for Edward Snowden - from an up-north and a global democratic perspective

A fine US decorated Christmas tree

What are the similarities between Edward Snowden and Julian Assange? Both would be handed over to US authorities if they ever sat down their feet on Swedish soil. In those days after the second world war, Sweden both stood up for itself against any nation, even the super powers of the world but also played a dirty geopolitical game by spying on Russia for the USA. It all happened under the cover of keeping a neutral stance to conflicts, Sweden did not participate in either one of the latest world wars. Why is this important to know, the answer is twofold but first let us talk about the Swedish signal surveillance from mainland Sweden and its territorial waters. In June 13 1952, five days after I was born, a Swedish DC-3 disappeared over the Baltic sea. 51 years later in 2003, the plane was found riddled by bullets at the bottom of the Baltic sea. Just after the war the Swedish government sealed a secret deal with the  US and the British to help out figuring out the capabilities of the Russians. It resulted in numerous Russian air space violations, you may call it provocations by the Swedish air-force and pilots many times using British or US airplanes. Coming up to the incident were a signal surveillance plane from the Swedish air-force loaded with top-secret US signal surveillance gear is shot down by Russian MiG's was hushed down by the Swedish government and held as a secret to the public.

This intelligence relation between Sweden and the US has gone on ever since, but in secret of course. It is nothing new even though some believes a new page was turned and a new chapter to begin after the 9/11 disaster when the US demands the rest of the world to join its fight against "terror", you are either with or against us. The new "thing" is now the spying on the fiber-optic cables connecting Russia and the Baltic states to the world. Those cables are "bridged" in Sweden, so being completely available and wide open to the Swedish FRA - the NSA of the USA. The offices of the FRA on the inland isles of Stockholm surely have been equipped with NSA gear, more or less the same as the downed Swedish plane in 1952 putting little Sweden in another dependent situation with the USA and a much more scary one than ever before.

Now to the twofold stance of Sweden, that is being independent, a neutral nation and at the same a secret ally of the west. During the days of the Vietnam war and long after there were movements in Sweden totally opposing the US aggression in Vietnam. There were name-worthy Swedish politicians and in particular Olof Palme participating in manifestations and later as head of state, speaking out loud and in public as a representative for Sweden against the US aggression. Olof Palme was outspoken, a supporter of the suffering people in what we called the third world in those days and well known and admired by governments and politicians in those nations. Olof Palme became a problem for the US, he was assassinated February 28 1986 after seeing a movie with is wife, denying body guard protection that night.

Since Olof Palme's assassination there is no nation left on earth being independent from the US, having a voice against the US, except Russia and the Chechen republic and this brings us back to Edward Snowden.

The common US traitor view of Edward Snowden is reflected by many US officials most of them old men, with old cold war views of the world, outdated and downright imbecile. Time has not caught up completely with them persons, they still feel they are official persons, still important, that they did save the world, but they are so close to being dement, a wheel-chair and the grave, Being more sane they should STFU, some of those guys like Michael Hayden have done the world more evil than good, but he is still allowed to air his disrespect for humanity and contempt for other nations and cultures. Then we have that old fart James Woolsey even more ludicrous than Michael Hayden, Both more ridiculously decorated than a North American Christmas tree featured in Disney's Donald Duck, decorated clowns. What is wrong with you...?

In a Swedish television interview with Michael Hayden he is saying, "you are our friends" while putting up that "you fools" smile, a little bit later in the interview he says "we are the most generous with you" talking about inter-exchanging intelligence information between the countries, once again with that smirk'y smile making any sane person taking it as an insult. What would that decorated ass-hole have said? I do not think it matters, it just shows the US stance against the "Rest of the World". When Stockholm was subjected to a suicide bomber, 2 bombs exploding in the center of the city, December 11, 2010, no warning was given. Nothing from that dear relationship with the USA, the CIA or the NSA came to the knowledge of our intelligence SÄPO from our "friend" in the west. Lately, after the Paris attacks we got intelligence most likely from the US NSA or CIA that another terror attack was planned against our nation and Sweden came to a complete lock-down. It later came to surface as being completely unfounded, a perfectly normal person, happy with his life as a refugee in Sweden was implicated being a terror plotter by a foreign intelligence service, most likely the NSA. So much we have got from "generous you".

You are betraying the whole world, you are nothing to trust. Many of us would prefer Putin than Obama only because of all your secret agendas, covert programs and down-right lying. Your voice has a loud pitch but your importance is driven by fear, You have shown how much we can trust you by your interception of basically all of our head of states communications. Do you understand the extent of this fatal failure? You have lost all our trust, but we continue playing the game, got that?

The information "on the loose" as a consequence by Edward Snowden may come down to casualties, persons implicated in those documents, spying programs and procedures revealed but tell me about any greater progress or plan without casualties? The US has "droned" Afghanistan and far into Pakistan, Hell-firing weddings, funerals, churches, homes full of women and children and in the majority of those disasters failed to produce results but instead inflicting far reaching and immense pain for life and fears for living another day. Did you ever think that you would get away with any of those Christmas decorated excuses just assuming the blame for the atrocities you have committed?

What is making me fear for the future is a planet permeated by a US dictatorship. There is not one single nation in the west today with the guts to stand up against the constant threats and humiliation by the US. There is resistance though but on the grass-roots level, those that are not poisoned by a rich prominent US living, goods and favors. I have difficult to understand people and nations where their integrity have been violated by industrial espionage and espionage on their elected leaders without a long-lasting protest followed by action,

Olof Palme stood up against oppression, giving every single individual the vision of a free world, hopes for a borderless world, freedom of speech, freedom of religion and freedom to the individual being.

USA, you are not on that path, you are on a path leading us to ashes and death...

For Edward Snowden being seen as a hero of the planet, he may have to wait long after his death. To maintain hero status with his supporters he will we need to drop his "pining" for his homeland or another new homeland among the western nations as none of those, alas will be able to keep him safe. Bite the bullet, stay with Russia helping it to change for humanity. The smiling Christmas tree decorated Michael Hayden said: I think that Edward Snowden will die as an old man in Russia. I think that Michael Hayden soon will die with all his memorabilia on his chest, to be forgotten as another poor fool born under less fortunate circumstances.

For Sweden giving Edward Snowden a safe haven, no more sales of our anti.personnel missile systems Used by the US with success in Iraq and Afghanistan), no more Bofors cannons for the US AC-130 gunships (highly appreciated by the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan) no more sales to third party countries for our fighter/attack planes as they contain US technology, no more sales for our extremely efficient armor piercing ammunition's. An economically disastrous position for Sweden as our arms technology stands for a great part of the Swedish well-fare. This very situation we already experienced earlier, it is nothing new but is has definitely gotten worse. The same with Germany, France, Holland. Italy, Spain and others. Independence day, just think about how ridiculous it is to celebrate something of the past and especially when you find your nation all tied up by hands and feet, by another totalitarian nation right now, tied up by the American dream.

Sweden is sequestered by the US and that is why my government shuns people like Edward Snowden.

#Snowden #nsa #cia #fra #syria #russia #afghanistan