Jaanus K 🇪🇪🇪🇺🇺🇦 retweeted
Lithuanian 🇱🇹 woman writes a viral open letter to Italian 🇮🇹 youth on Facebook, receives immediate support from Ukrainians 🇺🇦 living in Italy.
This is a very interesting case that we should talk about more.
Link to the letter in the last comment, but here's a short thread 🧵
This is a very interesting case that we should talk about more.
Link to the letter in the last comment, but here's a short thread 🧵
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Hammer and sickle stands for the same evil and crimes as the Nazi swastika
Anyone seriously thinking that hammer and sickle is a good idea just shows that their brain has been poisoned by russian lies
Anyone seriously thinking that hammer and sickle is a good idea just shows that their brain has been poisoned by russian lies
“Dear Italian students, who today take to the streets carrying flags with the hammer and sickle and wearing T-shirts emblazoned with ‘CCCP’,” began an open letter in Italian by Lithuanian expat Neringa Budryt.
“I would like to ask you a question: do you truly know what the sent? And do you know what would have happened to many of you had you openly demonstrated in countries living under the oppression of communist regimes?
Let me tell you something. It is easy to display a red flag when, for you, communism is merely an abstract idea of equality, social justice, and rebellion against the system. It is easy to wear a T-shirt with "CCCP" on it when you have never experienced the reality of a communist regime.
We come from that part of Europe where communism was not a T-shirt, a symbol of rebellion, or a romanticized notion of equality. It was the system in which we lived—a system we never chose.
We know the history of Soviet repression, Stalinist purges, the Gulags, and mass deportations. Above all, we know the word "Siberia"—a place to which thousands of innocent people were forcibly deported, simply for thinking differently.
In Siberia—amidst freezing cold, starvation, and forced labor—many lost their lives; those who survived carried the scars of that experience forever. Entire families were torn apart, and generations were denied the chance to live freely in their own homeland.
In the countries of the Soviet bloc, censorship, political police, surveillance, and the suppression of dissent drastically curtailed individual freedoms.
We grew up in a system where state control permeated even our daily lives. At school, we were required to wear the red necktie of the "Pioneers." We were monitored; they tracked where we went and even whether we attended church. Even faith—a choice that should belong to an individual’s own conscience—could become a cause for suspicion.
We used to celebrate Christmas with our windows blacked out, to ensure no one would see us and report us. Because it was forbidden—just like so many other things: jeans, rock music, and all the symbols of a Western lifestyle. My mother returned from a Soviet labor camp. And do you know what happened to her? She was barred from continuing her education because she had been labeled an enemy of communism.
Under a communist regime, you could not protest. You risked arrest, imprisonment, interrogation, persecution—and, in certain historical contexts, even death. In the Soviet Union and other communist regimes, political dissent could cost you your freedom and your life.
Demonstrations independent of the authorities were not a guaranteed right; they were often suppressed by force.
That is why it strikes me to see young Italians proudly displaying the hammer and sickle—symbols associated with regimes that persecuted and imprisoned millions of people.
Today, you are free to take to the streets, shout against the government, criticize institutions, and wave your flags precisely because you live in a democracy that grants you these freedoms. Under an authoritarian regime of that kind, protesting against those in power could have landed you in prison.
This is not about denying the existence of social injustices, inequalities, or the right to fight for a better world. You are free to take to the streets to demand a more just society—but you should not idealize a system that denied so many people the very things you are free to exercise today: the right to choose, to believe, to speak, and to dissent. Before wearing a T-shirt with "CCCP" on it, listen to those who experienced that world. Talk to the deportees and their descendants; read the accounts of those who endured the gulags and forced exile to Siberia. Learn what it meant to be stripped of your freedom, your home, your loved ones—and even any prospect of a normal life—simply because of your background or your beliefs.
Before waving the hammer and sickle, please, study history thoroughly.”
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Jaanus K 🇪🇪🇪🇺🇺🇦 retweeted
“Dear Italian students, who today take to the streets carrying flags with the hammer and sickle and wearing T-shirts emblazoned with ‘CCCP’,” began an open letter in Italian by Lithuanian expat Neringa Budryt.
“I would like to ask you a question: do you truly know what the sent? And do you know what would have happened to many of you had you openly demonstrated in countries living under the oppression of communist regimes?
Let me tell you something. It is easy to display a red flag when, for you, communism is merely an abstract idea of equality, social justice, and rebellion against the system. It is easy to wear a T-shirt with "CCCP" on it when you have never experienced the reality of a communist regime.
We come from that part of Europe where communism was not a T-shirt, a symbol of rebellion, or a romanticized notion of equality. It was the system in which we lived—a system we never chose.
We know the history of Soviet repression, Stalinist purges, the Gulags, and mass deportations. Above all, we know the word "Siberia"—a place to which thousands of innocent people were forcibly deported, simply for thinking differently.
In Siberia—amidst freezing cold, starvation, and forced labor—many lost their lives; those who survived carried the scars of that experience forever. Entire families were torn apart, and generations were denied the chance to live freely in their own homeland.
In the countries of the Soviet bloc, censorship, political police, surveillance, and the suppression of dissent drastically curtailed individual freedoms.
We grew up in a system where state control permeated even our daily lives. At school, we were required to wear the red necktie of the "Pioneers." We were monitored; they tracked where we went and even whether we attended church. Even faith—a choice that should belong to an individual’s own conscience—could become a cause for suspicion.
We used to celebrate Christmas with our windows blacked out, to ensure no one would see us and report us. Because it was forbidden—just like so many other things: jeans, rock music, and all the symbols of a Western lifestyle. My mother returned from a Soviet labor camp. And do you know what happened to her? She was barred from continuing her education because she had been labeled an enemy of communism.
Under a communist regime, you could not protest. You risked arrest, imprisonment, interrogation, persecution—and, in certain historical contexts, even death. In the Soviet Union and other communist regimes, political dissent could cost you your freedom and your life.
Demonstrations independent of the authorities were not a guaranteed right; they were often suppressed by force.
That is why it strikes me to see young Italians proudly displaying the hammer and sickle—symbols associated with regimes that persecuted and imprisoned millions of people.
Today, you are free to take to the streets, shout against the government, criticize institutions, and wave your flags precisely because you live in a democracy that grants you these freedoms. Under an authoritarian regime of that kind, protesting against those in power could have landed you in prison.
This is not about denying the existence of social injustices, inequalities, or the right to fight for a better world. You are free to take to the streets to demand a more just society—but you should not idealize a system that denied so many people the very things you are free to exercise today: the right to choose, to believe, to speak, and to dissent. Before wearing a T-shirt with "CCCP" on it, listen to those who experienced that world. Talk to the deportees and their descendants; read the accounts of those who endured the gulags and forced exile to Siberia. Learn what it meant to be stripped of your freedom, your home, your loved ones—and even any prospect of a normal life—simply because of your background or your beliefs.
Before waving the hammer and sickle, please, study history thoroughly.”
“I would like to ask you a question: do you truly know what the sent? And do you know what would have happened to many of you had you openly demonstrated in countries living under the oppression of communist regimes?
Let me tell you something. It is easy to display a red flag when, for you, communism is merely an abstract idea of equality, social justice, and rebellion against the system. It is easy to wear a T-shirt with "CCCP" on it when you have never experienced the reality of a communist regime.
We come from that part of Europe where communism was not a T-shirt, a symbol of rebellion, or a romanticized notion of equality. It was the system in which we lived—a system we never chose.
We know the history of Soviet repression, Stalinist purges, the Gulags, and mass deportations. Above all, we know the word "Siberia"—a place to which thousands of innocent people were forcibly deported, simply for thinking differently.
In Siberia—amidst freezing cold, starvation, and forced labor—many lost their lives; those who survived carried the scars of that experience forever. Entire families were torn apart, and generations were denied the chance to live freely in their own homeland.
In the countries of the Soviet bloc, censorship, political police, surveillance, and the suppression of dissent drastically curtailed individual freedoms.
We grew up in a system where state control permeated even our daily lives. At school, we were required to wear the red necktie of the "Pioneers." We were monitored; they tracked where we went and even whether we attended church. Even faith—a choice that should belong to an individual’s own conscience—could become a cause for suspicion.
We used to celebrate Christmas with our windows blacked out, to ensure no one would see us and report us. Because it was forbidden—just like so many other things: jeans, rock music, and all the symbols of a Western lifestyle. My mother returned from a Soviet labor camp. And do you know what happened to her? She was barred from continuing her education because she had been labeled an enemy of communism.
Under a communist regime, you could not protest. You risked arrest, imprisonment, interrogation, persecution—and, in certain historical contexts, even death. In the Soviet Union and other communist regimes, political dissent could cost you your freedom and your life.
Demonstrations independent of the authorities were not a guaranteed right; they were often suppressed by force.
That is why it strikes me to see young Italians proudly displaying the hammer and sickle—symbols associated with regimes that persecuted and imprisoned millions of people.
Today, you are free to take to the streets, shout against the government, criticize institutions, and wave your flags precisely because you live in a democracy that grants you these freedoms. Under an authoritarian regime of that kind, protesting against those in power could have landed you in prison.
This is not about denying the existence of social injustices, inequalities, or the right to fight for a better world. You are free to take to the streets to demand a more just society—but you should not idealize a system that denied so many people the very things you are free to exercise today: the right to choose, to believe, to speak, and to dissent. Before wearing a T-shirt with "CCCP" on it, listen to those who experienced that world. Talk to the deportees and their descendants; read the accounts of those who endured the gulags and forced exile to Siberia. Learn what it meant to be stripped of your freedom, your home, your loved ones—and even any prospect of a normal life—simply because of your background or your beliefs.
Before waving the hammer and sickle, please, study history thoroughly.”
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Jaanus K 🇪🇪🇪🇺🇺🇦 retweeted
If we want others to defend Estonia’s freedom, they have to understand why it matters to them too.
Lennart Meri compared Estonia to an Inuit kayak beside Russia’s supertanker: small, agile, able to turn on a dime. We should use that agility to sound the alarm early and say plainly what others would rather soften.
Estonia must have the courage to defend a free Europe, where right matters more than might.
Lennart Meri compared Estonia to an Inuit kayak beside Russia’s supertanker: small, agile, able to turn on a dime. We should use that agility to sound the alarm early and say plainly what others would rather soften.
Estonia must have the courage to defend a free Europe, where right matters more than might.
For others to value a small nation’s freedom, that freedom must be of value to them.
What makes a small nation valuable?
Being the canary in the coal mine, sounding the alarm before others sense the danger.
Being the child who declares the emperor has no clothes. Not because others cannot see the truth, but because small nations are often the freest to speak it.
Yet freedom to speak is nothing without the courage to do so.
Estonia must have that courage. To champion a free Europe. To defend a world governed by right, not might.
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Ukraine and russia aren’t the same
If I went to Russia, I would be jailed and held hostage as a POW for criticizing Russia.
I went to Ukraine as a critic and the President of Ukriane invited me to his palace and allowed me to interview him.
After I interviewed @ZelenskyyUa, Russian state media, which is controlled by Putin and the Kremlin, was calling for me to be assassinated and then they were retweeting IRGC propaganda videos that called for Islamic terrorists to shoot me in the head.
Ukraine and Russia aren’t the same.
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Jaanus K 🇪🇪🇪🇺🇺🇦 retweeted
The irony that right when Europe is finally starting to invest properly in its own defence, the US is ensuring that its suppliers can’t be relied upon.
On the latest @ContRiftShow, President @IlvesToomas and Andy Valvur discuss this, and more including Putin’s proposed summit, tarshield debacle no one will own up to, the curious overlap between “people who were happy about Wikileaks, but not so happy about [the AfD’s] Nazileaks,” and why Russia can’t respect a border even in space.
Listen and subscribe to the Continental Rift wherever you get your podcasts or on YouTube: youtu.be/c04ex211MC8
On the latest @ContRiftShow, President @IlvesToomas and Andy Valvur discuss this, and more including Putin’s proposed summit, tarshield debacle no one will own up to, the curious overlap between “people who were happy about Wikileaks, but not so happy about [the AfD’s] Nazileaks,” and why Russia can’t respect a border even in space.
Listen and subscribe to the Continental Rift wherever you get your podcasts or on YouTube: youtu.be/c04ex211MC8
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Jaanus K 🇪🇪🇪🇺🇺🇦 retweeted
You're right, @elonmusk. Someone has grown very rich off money flowing from Ukraine. I work in Starlink supply to Ukraine, so I see these numbers firsthand.
Ukrainians bought 117,000 terminals in September alone (~$42M), plus monthly subscriptions for each one. And that's just official commercial imports. Not counting government contracts, donor-funded deliveries, direct orders from your website or grey imports.
No laundry machines needed. It goes straight to SpaceX.
Ukrainians bought 117,000 terminals in September alone (~$42M), plus monthly subscriptions for each one. And that's just official commercial imports. Not counting government contracts, donor-funded deliveries, direct orders from your website or grey imports.
No laundry machines needed. It goes straight to SpaceX.
What’s actually going on in Ukraine is that there is a massive incentive difference between the elites and the people.
The former have grown very rich off the hundreds of billions flowing to Ukraine, while the latter’s children are conscripted to die in trenches.
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RT @AdrianP_doc: The russians carved the word JEW in the back of a Ukrainian prisoner of war.
The United States supports this. https://t.c…
The United States supports this. https://t.c…
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Selling Alaska to the russians or selling Ukraine to the russians - to the Trump family it's all the same
US energy company execs have resigned in disgust as the Trump family is caught secretly expediting the funneling of $25 billion from a sanctioned Russian energy giant in exchange for allowing Russians to obtain a natural gas project in Alaska.
According to investigations by The New York Times and Financial Times, Russia's Novatek allegedly concealed its financial involvement in the American project through a UAE-linked intermediary.
Gentry Beach, a longtime Trump ally and close friend of Donald Trump Jr., signed an agreement with Novatek to pursue natural gas development in Alaska. Reuters documented the arrangement in February.
Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin discussed this cooperation on the Alaska energy project with Trump's representatives, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, during negotiations involving Russia and Ukraine.
The controversy deepened when Polar Train LNG's CEO, Joel Riddle, raised concerns about concealed Russian financing and possible sanctions violations. He departed in September, followed by other senior executives.
The Financial Times also described discussions about a potential arrangement under which Novatek would provide technology for the Alaska project in exchange for sanctions relief benefiting its Arctic LNG 2 development in Siberia.
According to The New York Times, Riddle and two other departing executives warned the Trump administration about the Russian financing and urged officials to investigate.
The White House maintains that the project was mentioned only briefly and that no detailed discussions took place. There is no established evidence that Kushner or Witkoff knew about the allegedly concealed financing. Polar Train LNG denies wrongdoing.
The central question is how a sanctioned Russian energy company became involved in a major American energy venture while Putin was discussing potential economic cooperation with Trump's representatives and a longtime Trump family associate was pursuing a separate agreement with the same Russian company.
Selling Alaska to the Russians or selling Ukraine to the Russians - to the Trump family it's all the same.
ft.com/content/e9cfbf…
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Jaanus K 🇪🇪🇪🇺🇺🇦 retweeted
You can support and help save lives:
Sign and share:
The EU petition, just up: europarl.europa.eu/petitions/en/p…
The UK petition, just up: petition.parliament.uk/petitions/7826…
Sign and share:
The EU petition, just up: europarl.europa.eu/petitions/en/p…
The UK petition, just up: petition.parliament.uk/petitions/7826…
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Ukraine is carrying Europe’s freedom on its shoulders
The scale of Ukraine’s sacrifices deserves far greater recognition across Europe
The scale of Ukraine’s sacrifices deserves far greater recognition across Europe
I just spoke to a Ukrainian friend and was reminded of how fortunate I am to live in a country that isn’t in Moscow’s immediate sphere of influence, is a NATO member, and doesn’t have to beg(!) for help defending the freedom of the West.
Ukraine is carrying Europe’s freedom on its shoulders. The scale of Ukraine’s sacrifices deserves far greater recognition across Europe.
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“The disappointment of failed promises, corruption, and the privileged lives of only a few; seize this opportunity to create the change you desire”
🇺🇸 vote on November 3
🇺🇸 vote on November 3
To those who seek to create positive change in Cuba - now is the time.
The disappointment of failed promises, corruption, and the privileged lives of only a few; seize this opportunity to create the change you desire through a discrete partnership with the CIA.
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