Sisko and Eddington, Federation and the Maquis. Cardassians and Bajorans.

In response to this comment on YouTube.

The thing Sisko must have been worried about, is this: The predecessors of the Maquis — then the citizens of the Federation — had near the Federation-Cardassian border reasonably successfully colonised several worlds lush with vegetation, and as it happened, the Federation conceded exactly those planets to the Cardassians, who had just left Bajor, which they had occupied and which liberated itself.

Cardassia, on the other hand, had a very flimsy civilian economy, and people there were starving (never mind the military), which fact the clip alludes to, along with one other episode on TNG.

So, having made the just-liberated and ostensibly still a resource-rich Bajor a protectorate, the Federation in return conceded those colony worlds to the Cardassian Union, in order to ensure that Cardassia would not attempt invading Bajor again. (Well, the discovery of the Bajoran wormhole made things quite a bit more complicated.)

The colonists, in turn, were not properly informed about this, and they felt that the rug had been pulled out from under them, which they protested against on the basis of having had a justified expectation that they could keep these colonies to themselves indefinitely. I guess the borderspace colonies were initially allowed to form in order to keep a presence near the Federation-Cardassian border, and avoid the Cardassian Union from attempting to grab uninhabited Federation space.

(I have a feeling that this is what the Federation and the Cardassia Union had had a war over. The externality of that war was, that eventually it became untenable for Cardassia to maintain their occupation of Bajor.

I know there was a peace agreement between both the Federation and the Cardassian Union, but I kinda think Cardassia was on the losing side (note how O'Brien complains about inferior technology on DS9, so this must have been a factor).

There's more: Memory Alpha has it that there was a long-standing and expensive skirmish between Cardassians and the Klingon Empire.

The peace agreement was then just a way to make sure that Cardassia does not completely lose face, or lose the conflict with the Klingons, and that the Federation won't look too belligerent.

But then Bajor happened, and this completely changed the political picture, which meant that some of the Federation borderspace planets had to be transferred to Cardassia, which ceded Bajor.)

The colonists should have seen the writing on the wall.

The colonists should have known that they were positioned at the edge of Federation space next to a belligerent force, despite what at best was a tenuous peace treaty.

Therefore, in order to keep Bajor more or less secure, conceding the colony worlds was just the lesser evil of pragmatism.

In that view, along with aid programmes to ostensibly feed the Cardassians, the Federation must have had humanitarian concerns, which in all actuality was just appeasement, and Eddington saw that through. (Note that even food replicators can be repurposed.) The Federation, though, could not afford another war, now that the Borg threat was looming.

Eddington and the Maquis could not understand this bigger picture, and that in turn made them very stubborn and difficult for the Federation to deal with.

Seksikatest ürgmeestest

Reaktsioon Delfi naisteka üllitisele:
Salakirg: olin armunud seksikasse ürgmehesse, keda tegelikkuses justkui olemas polnudki

Ilmselt oli selleks ajaks mehel kellegagi juba suhe olemas, ning ma arvan, et see mees oli leidnud endale naise, kes mitte ainult ei taha teda, vaid kes on talle emotsionaalselt piisavalt avatud, ning kes tegelikult ka hoolib temast. Sellest veidi allpool.

Tsitaat:
"Ta oli tõeline naistemees: enesekindel, ilus, tundeline, mehiselt egoistlik, materiaalselt kindlustatud — ta oli mees, kes ei jookse naise järel, vaid kelle järel joostakse, kelle tähelepanu püütakse [...]"

Esiteks pole niisuguse kirjeldusega mehed alati naistemehed, aga see pole ka loo point. Küll leidub palju naisi, kes annavadki sellisele mehele "tõelise naistemehe" sildi külge, sest "kõik teised naised ju tahavad teda." Naistemees tähendab pigem sarnaste omadustega meest, kes jahib ja vahetab naisi, ja seda palju.

Teiseks teavad artiklis kirjeldatud mehed, millised nad on ja võib oletada, et nad teavad ka väga täpselt, mida nad tahavad.

Niivõrd korralikul mehel on valik suur, ning suhtlusportaal võimaldab tal välja filtreerida just sellise nagu ta tahab. See, kes vastab esialgsetele tingimustele, saab suhtlussoovi, mille kaudu hakatakse täpsemalt uurima, millise naisega tegu on.

Kuna seesuguste "seksikate ürgmeeste" järele on naisi loogu nagu viljapäid, siis suurel osal sellistest naistest on ka väga ja väga kõrged nõudmised, ning paljude meeste kartus on pigem see, et välisest hiilgusest hoolimata ei suuda nad sedasorti naiste nõudmistele vastata, sest nad ei tea, millised nõudmised säärastel naistel veel võivad olla. Niskste naiste "armastus" on emotsionaalselt liiga nõudlik: need naised tahavad ja sisimas lausa nõuavad, et neid armastataks.

Tihtipeale võib suhtes tulla kriis kohe kui mees ei ole täpselt selline, mida sihandsed naisolevused tahavad.

Asi on vist selles, et mees otsis endale naist, kes oleks temaga intellektuaalselt samal tasandil. Kõikide maailma asjade arutamise järel sai talle selgeks, et sa päris siiski ei sobi talle, kuna artikli kirjutajal on maailmast juba kindel ettekujutus ja ta pole emotsionaalselt nii avatud kui mehele vaja. 'Emotsionaalse avatuse' all ei mõtle ma muuseas mingisuguseid tundepuhanguid ja pisaraid. Armastust otsides otsitakse ka hingesugulust.

Das weiße Band redux

There has been continual discussion about the film, and there's a scene where the relatively young schoolteacher (who is also the narrator) shows his interest in the young governant Eva, who was just fired from her job by the Baroness. So the 17-year-old young woman went to the schoolteacher's place, because she had nowhere else to go; and to stay there just overnight in order to leave for home the next morning.

Both the schoolteacher and Eva are very fond of one another, so he proposes that they go into the woods to have a picnic, which idea Eva fearfully repels.

In some discussions, it was suggested that Eva probably knew that there were children in the woods, and that they were trouble.

Eva's fears

It was indeed because the children were in the woods, and this is what Eva was afraid of. The narrator also observes that while after school the little kids dispersed to their homes, the elder students went into the woods right after school.

Eva knew about the children in the woods, the Baroness knew somehow or at least suspected, and so did the Pastor; each in their own way.

That is why the Baroness had gone at first on a vacation, and then to maintain a longer stay in Italy, because it was really her escape from the village. She ony returned briefly to check if anything had changed. As the life of her son was threatened, she had no other choice than to leave in order to protect herself and her children.

The Baroness had Eva fired not because of any pretense, but because she knew that Eva was in danger, and firing Eva would force Eva to leave the village. The fact that a girl from outside the village was hired to look after the Baroness's two babies, meant that the Baroness did not have any trust in the many young women native to the village.

Maybe Eva's fate was of little consequence to the Baroness, but she didn't seem to need Eva's babysitting services anymore, because she might have thought it safer to look after the babies herself.

The Doctor, the Midwife, and their illegitimate child

Someone has the Doctor and the Midwife's illegitimate child's eyes destroyed. I think that the midwife was next, and this was just a preparation for things to come, so that the small child couldn't witness who would hurt the midwife. Note that the small child indicates high fear just as the doctor prepares to leave.

There is another version, whereby the Midwife willfully hurts her own child once sired by the Doctor whom she loved, but who emotionally very hurtfully rejected her. The child was the symbol of their love, and the Midwife was intent on hurting the child as a form of revenge. We see her coming out of the forest, and we see later how afraid the child is of being left with only his mother.

It's duly possible that the Midwife left the child in the forest, perhaps thinking that it might only scare the child and the Doctor. But as the child is found damaged, then I came to a thought that he was found by the youth in the forest. The reason the child's eyes are destroyed is that he inadvertently became a witness to the kids in the forest, and his seeing the children was to be avoided.

Another version is that the Midwife hurt her child, and left him in the forest — presumably to die, because the child no longer served the purpose of tying the Doctor to the Midwife. Unfortunately for the Midwife, the child is found by kids in the forest, and returned to the mother, of whom the child is really afraid of to everyone present. The very next day, the Doctor leaves early, taking the child, and the Midwife is left alone.

Because it was the youth who the other night found the child in a poor state, the Midwife commandeers the bicycle from the Teacher, having promptly realized that the kids are soon going to take their revenge on her. That attempt eventually transpires in a scene where a bunch of kids are looking for the child around the Midwife's house, which is really a ruse to [i]get[/i] at the Midwife herself.

Now, the Doctor realizes that the mother of his child has been far too reckless with the child, so it's safe to assume that the Doctor left early next morning, took the child, and also because the child needed treatment in the city.

Whether the Midwife herself did anything or not, she realises that because her child was in the forest and was hurt, someone had to have been there, and it could only have been the children who were in the forest, given that most everyone knew that the older ones went there after hours. Since that someone, then, was also aware of this, she comes to a rather simple conclusion that she's next.

That the Doctor left the practice and the village in a hurry and with their child, is a sign for her to leave, too, given that the practice was closed, and if she still wants to ever see her child again. It's possible that she had the chore of closing her home.

If we suppose that the Midwife was reasonably innocent, then both the Doctor and the Midwife arranged for the Doctor to go with the child on a postal carriage. The Midwife was left behind only because there was no more space left in/on the carriage. Assuming that the postal carriage came by only once a day, the Midwife planned to ride on the next one. But then she discovers from some distance that the children roam around her house, by which time she concretely realizes who the culprits are, and that they are there after her. Desperate, she takes the bicycle away from the Teacher in order to escape.

At least from the Doctor's perspective, he finally takes ownership of his illegitimate offspring, and leaves. Since the Doctor didn't take the Midwife [i]with[/i] him (if we suppose there [i]was[/i] enough space in/on the carriage), then is a sign that he was looking to part ways with her, as she has shown herself to be very irresponsible with their child.

The Pastor and his children

The Pastor most likely knew what was going on with his children, but didn't know which of the elder children was responsible, so he forced the two of them to wear white ribbons; for if anything happened, his chilren and their whereabouts were easily identifiable. I think this happens after the Doctor falls down the horse.

After that, most dangerous events happen in the dark of the night, because the easily-identifiable white ribbon constricts the pastor's elder childrens' movements. I suppose the Pastor's child or cihldren still call the shots.

The Pastor even has his elder son tied to the bed on the pretense of his touching himself inapporpriately. I think that the son is in fact innocent, and his crying (as seen on the poster) is not because he got the white ribbon, but because he knows that his sister is the culprit, and he is innocent, and he is dismayed that he has been falsely accussed. Strangely enough, he ends up defending his older sister anyway.

The fact that the Pastor only has his son tied down at night, is his way of finding out the culpability of his daughter, which in short time emerges to be true; because her brother is tied down, and she isn't, while dark things happen. The daughter at some point realizes this, but cannot stop herself, because she has a posse to run.

The Pastor gave absolution to his daughter not because she deserved it, but because he was afraid of her, hence his momentary hesitation when performing a ritual on her at church near the end of the film. Killing the pastor's bird was simply a warning.

Leijonasydän

In reply to this post on IDMb.

I published the text of the reply here first as a matter of packup, because IMDb threads tend to be deleted over time.

The poster wrote that he'd never seen "so much politically correct propaganda placed into one movie"

The narration of the film shows that Harri was not given enough time to progress. We see Teppo trying to do so in his own pace, given that he knows Harri best; but then arrives Salif, very well disguising his own insecurities (perhaps the reason why Sari and Salif broke up in the first place), who decides to dominate over Teppo and Harri, and then uses multiple occasions to hurt Harri's feelings. Harri retaliates in only the best way he knows, much to his own detriment. But he doesn't seem to care anymore, because he needs to drive a point across, and because in the previous scene Teppo had just disowned Harri. And that was because Teppo felt that Harri was unable improve no matter the effort exercized by Teppo.

I suppose if Teppo had not outright disowned Harri, or had Harri contained himself the previous day and night, then perhaps there would have been a possibility for Harri to care just enough to contain himself so as not to play with dangerous toys. Wishful thinking.

That particular scene, where Salif has this need to boss over Teppo and Harri, suggests reverse racism.

The film shows a rather complex dynamic between the characters, with neither Salif nor Harri giving enough ground to compromise for the sake of Teppo's stepson. It's as if Salif's and Harri's interchange is bound from the outset to break out from beyond Teppo's efforts to control the situation.

I can't speak for Finland, because I am not a Finn (I'm from Estonia). The movie shows that racism is not overt there, but that it's out of plain sight and hidden, which is more insidious.

With these actors (Franzén, Pääkkönen, Laura Birn), I would have loved a more open-ended ending for the film, at least in some aspects, given that there are subjects with which it's impossible to afford letting someone think out or justify a destructive idea, words, or action, for it might turn against themselves.

Kaotatud rahast. Väike muinas- ja mõistujutt

Elas kord ühes metsas ablas ning metsa ja selle elanike suhtes reeturlik karu, mille eellased ühes kurja jahimehe ja huntidega vallutasid üksvahe puutumatuna olnud ürgmetsa ära, ühendasid selle ja teised metsad üheks suureks Ühendatud Metsaks ja juhtisid kõiki metsasid nagu ühte suurt metsa. Seda kõike väga karmi käpaga: jäneseid ja väiksemaid söödi hommikuks, põldhiiri ja lagritsaid suupisteks, lambaid, kitsi ja põtru murti niisama oma lõbuks. Võimekamad linnud rändasid võimaluse avanedes mujale ja tagasi enam ei tulnud, osad liigid kadusid täitsa ära, osad läksid hääbumisele. Kõik loomad kartsid ja karud oli kuningad.

Ühtäkki karude jõud rauges, Ühendatud Metsad killustusid, ja karude asemel hakkasid eraldunud metsasid juhtima teised loomad.

Siinsegi metsa karu jäi üksinda ja vähemusse, kuid tema aplus võimu järele säilis. Metsa vabaduse aegadel sai miskipärast ka näiliselt värvi vahetanud karu võimu maitsta ja vist ka mingi võimaluse saada metsatuludest osa.

Aga mets ühes metsaelanikega oli peale vabanemist väga vaene ja tootmine kiratses, sest varem maksevahendina kindlana tundunud lepalehed kaotasid oma väärtust kohutavalt kiiresti, aga kunagi kasutusel olnud tammelehtedele ei oldud veel jõutud üle minna. Tammelehtede tagatiseks oli mesi.

Ühendatud Metsadest alles jäänud suur naabermets killustumisega ei leppinud ning külmutas kõigi väiksemate metsade mesilaste talvevaru-mee. Selle meega võis varem koos kaugemate metsadega kaubelda ainult läbi Ühendatud Metsade.

Ka meie loo metsal tuli need talvevarud kuidagi tagasi saada. Pealtnäha uuenenud karule, kes oli uue metsakorra ajal võimul, oli oma metsa mesilaste talvevarudeks toodetud ja naabermetsa kinni jäänud mesi silma hakanud. See tõik ei jäänud tähelepanuta ka meie metsa sahker-mahker rebasele, kelle tegutsemisviisid polnud parimad, kuid kes erinevalt karust otsustas siiski oma metsa kuidagi jalul hoida.

Karul oli mõte mesilaste toodetud ja suure naabermetsa kulisside taga peituva kurja jahimehe poolt äravarastatud mesi viimasega sobingut tehes muidugi enda käpa alla saada, kuid miskipärast jäi karu sellega hiljaks.

Nii et siis ühel heal päeval jäi karu ühtäkki ilma ihaldatud võõrast meest, ainult et karu sellest kohe veel ei teadnud. Kui hiljem hakkas karule paistma, et osa meest saadi rebase mahitusel ja ühe sõbraliku hundi abiga tagasi ja hoopis rebase elu läks väga magusaks, siis läks karul hing kadedusest täis. Loomulikult olid karupojad olla ka sellest meest haisu ninna saanud.

Kuigi need mesilased, kes pole veel tagasi saanud neile kuuluvat mett, nõuavad rebase käest veel seda jagu, mis just neile tagastamata jäi, on miskipärast pettunud karupoegade ving see, mis üle metsa mööda papleid kõige valjemini kõlab.

Nojah, metsale kuuluvate tarude mesi läks läbi naabermetsa enam-vähem sõbraliku hundi ja rebase sobingu kaudu meie metsale tagasi. Vaene jänes, kes metsa pabereid kontrollides sattus tehingule peale, löödi kahjuks maha. Osa meest väidetavalt jäigi naabermetsa lõksu.

Puude kolletavates lehtedes sahistatakse küll, et ülejäänud mesi läks mõne teise kohaliku rebase kätte, aga kindlaid tõendeid pole. Käivad kuulujutud, et osa lõksujäänud meest vabanes ja läks läbi herilaste rebase kätte, aga midagi pole võimalik tõestada. Metsaäärses jões voolavad kalad teavad, aga ei räägi.

Lõksujäänud ja väidetavalt vabanenud meest siiani ilma olevad mesilased on läinud metsakohtusse, et nõuda õigust ja oma mett tagasi, kuid öökullide ja osade rebastega asustatud metsakohus pühib enda käed sellest puhtaks. Öökullidest metsavalvuritel ning metsa sanitaril Rähnil on kogu asjast kõige parem ülevaade, aga mõlemad on vait, sest kardavad, et kui kõik üle metsa avalikuks saab, rikub see metsa kodurahu liiga tugevasti.

Karupojad hakkasid seda lõksujäänud ja teadmata saatusega mett nimetama kõigi metsaelanike meeks, mille rebane väidetavalt ära varastas. Tegelikult tahavad karupojad ühes karuga seda mett ise, aga hoiavad selle enda teada.

Läbinisti korrumpeerunud Karu annaks muidugi kogu metsa ja selle toodetud mee kurja jahimehe ja huntide poolt hallatavale naabermetsale ära, lootuses, et siis saab ablas ja võimuahne mesikäpp uuesti pukki ja teiste metsaelanike üle jälle kamandada.

Vahepeal on õnnestunud rebasel, jänesel ja teistel metsaelanikel teha mets naabermetsa karude ja jahimeeste lagast puhtaks ja viljakaks ning panna see isegi tootma. Et mets oleks heas seltskonnas, liitutakse sõbraliku Metsade Liiduga, ning et mets oleks kaitstud, hakkab seda haldama RMK, mida juhib mitme maa ja mere taga elav valgepea-kull. Alguses küll sõnades, aga lõpuks saadab ta püssiga metsavahi koos pistrikega kohale, et teistesse sõbralikesse metsadesse vallutusretki teinud kuri jahimees ühes huntidega siinset metsa ründama ei hakkaks.

Disclaimer: Autori isiklik nägemus kogu loomariigi saagast, mis ei toetu kõikidele faktidele, ei peegelda tegelikke sündmusi, ning muinasjuttu on unenägude najal mõnevõrra täiendatud à la artistic license.

Tallinna bussiveerem ja selle keskkonnasõbralikkus

Kütusehind pole just odav praegusel ajal, isegi siis kui toorme hind langeb. Eeldatavasti saab nii püsikulud pisut madalamaks tõmmata.

Näiteks praeguse veeremi uutel bussidel on tlt kodulehe järgi järgmised näitajad:

* MAN Lion's City GL / A40 (liigend, 2013) — EURO V, vastab ka EEV nõuetele
* MAN Lion's City LE / A78 (tavaline, 2012 ja 2013) — EURO V, EEV
* Iveco Irisbus Crossway LE SFR 161/01 (osteti 2011) — EURO V, EEV
* Scania K 270 UB4X2LB (2007) — EURO IV
* Scania CL94 UA6X2/2LB 300 Omnilink (2006) — oletatavasti EURO III, aga võib-olla ka EURO IV (selle vastu räägib siiski see, et EURO IV vastavuses olevate mudelite nomenklatuur muudeti ära).
* Volvo B12MA (saabusid 04.2003) — EURO III
* Scania Hess L94 UB City (saabusid 01.-02.2003) — EURO II
* Bussirong Scania L94 UB + APM 5.2-13 (linnaliinidel al. 18.11.1999) — EURO II
* Scania Hess L94UB — EURO II
* Volvo B10M (liigend) — EURO II
* Scania L113CLB — EURO I

tlt kodulehel on kirjas ainult see veerem, mis uuelt ostetud.
Kasutatud veeremi kohta pole kahjuks midagi kirjas; kasutatud rootsi bussidest sai kunagi sõita lausa klassikaga, mis nüüd on muidugi omaette kogemus. Kahju, et pilte ei teinud.

Recent superhero science fiction movies

This is a comment I wrote on a busy IMDb forum. Posted it first in an IMDb forum, but this is backup, because after a certain threshold, IMDb forum threads get deleted.

Late 1990s was the period of huge disaster movies, starting with "Twister" and "Independence Day" in 1996; then in the one year of 1998 two huge asteroid disaster movies, which were "Deep Impact" and "Armageddon". 1997 gave us "Event Horizon". Of all these, ID4, "Deep Impact" and "Event Horizon" might have aged better, IMO. Though "Armageddon" had a bigger production, more star power (back then), and an awesome theme song.

Now, I think at some point we're going to reach, or have already reached Peak Superhero Movie, aka the point when all recent Superhero movies end up with the one that jumps the shark on them all.

Because Ant-Man is in production.

The current Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles release had extensive advertising, but the problem is that I don't like them all that much, even from the trailers. I think I liked the old Turtles movies better, if only because they were more fun and the turtles' prosthetics seemed to have appeared more natural, even if from a production standpoint they might have looked fake. And I was a kid back then.

I have not seen Iron Man movies. I remember I really liked the 1990s cartoons.

This Summer I saw "Transformers: Age of Extinction". Ugh. But it got huge, because it was one of the few Hollywood flicks this year permitted to be screened in China, to which they paid huge lip service in the very movie.

Man of Steel was allowed the previous year. It also gets extra props for awesome eye candy :9

The Turtles and Transformers are basically kiddie movies. Iron Man is teenage material, and Man of Steel for teenagers and young adults. So are "Star Trek 2009" and "Star Trek Into Darkness", both mindless sci-fi action flicks.

Whereas "Lucy" is rated R (haven't seen it yet).

All in all, I'll give Iron Man the benefit of the doubt. Star Trek reboots were rather successful, and Man of Steel is a very nice Superman reboot (I'll forgive camcorder zoom-ins).

The real science fiction goodies were "Prometheus" and "Gravity", of which I haven't seen either.