Posted on 10/31/2015 1:49:49 AM PDT by elhombrelibre
Yes, that is possible and would be very similar to the Sudetenland Germans.
Poor Belarus. They not only have their own tyrant to worry about but a grasping and insatiable empire-building loony named Putin bossing them into his control.
What they should do is give each Muslim immigrant a passport and bus fare to Berlin.
Keep John Kerry away from them!
>> One third of Estonia’s population is Russian. They will want their freedom <<
I’m sure that a certain percentage of the Russo-Estonians must be smart enough to know that they have a better life under Estonian free-marker democracy than they would have under Putin’s classically fascist regime. Would that percentage be more or less than 50%? I have no idea. But it would be interesting to know.
Also a "mystery" is how adopting the Euro as Estonia did in 2011, in any way jibes with Milton Friedman's economic philosophy.
Perhaps you'll enlighten us.
>> Poor Belarus. They not only have their own tyrant to worry about but a grasping and insatiable empire-building loony named Putin bossing them into his control <<
Belarus is a sad place. I was there a few years ago. It’s virtually a “living museum” that shows what the old Soviet Union was like — run down hotels and public buildings, poor customer service in retail establishments, few private cars, political propaganda banners draped across major streets, a security service that is still called the KGB.
In any case, maybe the only good thing to be said about the dictator of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, is that he is single-mindedly determined to keep Belarus under his own control.
Therefore, as long as Lukashenko is still in power, Putin probably won’t be able to take the place over.
Stated otherwise,
Be grateful for small favors!
I was reading it last night. The first thing that struck me is the humdrum, pedestrian and downright boring language. It has none of the beautiful, soaring language of the U.S. Constitution, especially the Preamble.
The second thing was the amount of detail it had. It was less a broad guideline than a detailed list. It reads like a shopping list.
The third was “free” education is guaranteed.
Fourth was the lack of a 2A. Like you, I was looking specifically to find that. At least they didn’t ban weapons outright.
Most beautiful country. It literally looks like a medieval town or fairy tale from a childrens book. So cool. In the colder months, up to June (lol), they have men and women walk around in past outfits wearing red velvet costumes selling cider and roasted chestnuts. It is really a very beautiful country.....at least Tallin, Estonia is.
>> Also a “mystery” is how adopting the Euro as Estonia did in 2011, in any way jibes with Milton Friedman’s economic philosophy <<
Going back more than 50 years, I attended maybe eight or nine of Friedman’s scholarly presentations in person, and I’ve read many of his “popular” as well as his “academic” publications, including his critical article (1997?) about the Euro’s probable unsustainability. The latter essay was remarkably prophetic.
But Friedman also published and talked frequently about “optimal currency areas” and about small countries’ linking their currencies to those of larger countries.
In view of the latter articles and presentations, I think it’s safe to say that Friedman would understand without further ado that in spite of the Euro’s defects, a tiny economy like Estonia’s could very well have more to gain than to lose by adopting a currency that is automatically and costlessly interchangeable with the currency of European economic powerhouses like Germany and others.
On the other hand, Friedman would probably also say that if the Euro didn’t exist, a small economy like Estonia would be just as well off — maybe better off — if they should link their currency to the German mark via an old-fashioned currency board.
Enlightening is what I do. Your main mistake here is assuming that everything Estonia has done was straight out of Friedman's book. We don't really know what Friedman would have said about the Euro. We certainly don't know what he would have said about Estonia and the Euro, and we certainly cannot assume that because the President (twice) was a Friedman follower - that he got everything he wanted.
And as Hawthorn explained, a tiny country must adapt to larger realities surrounding them. Friedman's concepts are all based on reality and human nature taking its course in light of those realities.
And finally, I would say that your rather snarky post to me totally missed my point. My point, and it's valid, and true, and demonstrable, is that the conservative economic beliefs of Friedman are all too often rejected by all too many on this forum. THAT was my point. That Estonia was perfectly Milton was NOT the point.
I didn't make that mistake genius, you did when you suggested that Friedman's economics were a "mystery" to some Freepers.
Apparently you are a member of said group.
We don't really know what Friedman would have said about the Euro.
Lol...wut?
See The Euro: Monetary Unity To Political Disunity by Milton Friedman.
More here: On What Would Be His 103rd Birthday, One Economists Dire Prediction Comes True
It explicitly talks about the right to incite resistance (vastupanu) against unconstitutional userpation of power. This isn't about hunting.
It explicitly empowers individuals on their own initiative (omaalgatuslikku) to do this. There is no possible confusion about a militia being interpreted only as the government's armed forces.
Excellent points.
Did you read it in the original Estonian? I'll bet not. So I imagine you're just criticizing the English translation. Who knows how soaring and poetic the original might be?
But if you're that one-in-a-million USA native who is totally fluent in Estonian, please disregard the above.
My Estonian is as rusty as my Aramaic. I thought about the possibility of what you posit, but rather doubt it is true. It’s a long, largely bulleted list of how the government operates; probably pretty pedantic in any language.
I collect Balto-Fennic (Finnish, Estonian) music and epic literature and attempt to learn bits of it because these languages look like they were designed to be soaring and poetic. English translations do indeed tend to be humdrum; but this is because these languages are soaring and poetic in ways that don't translate into English. E.g., when reading English versions of song lyrics, the Kalevala, etc., it helps to read along with the original language version in parallel. Even if you don't understand a word of it, you can see the phonetic games they're playing with the language that wouldn't work in English.
See post no. 37.
Thanks, snarkpup. I was looking for 2A references also. Thanks for the detailed observation.
Until today, overviews, digests and reports compiled by the EIB - Estonia’s foreign intelligence service dating back more than two decades – have been available only to a restricted group of politicians and officials.
Naturally, this will remain the case for classified documents. ‘International Security and Estonia in 2016’ is, however the Estonian Information Board’s (EIB) first publication intended for the public.
http://www.teabeamet.ee/pdf/2016-en.pdf
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