Parliamentary elections are in April. How can I tell? When National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) politicians like MP Atte Kaleva spread lies and populist soundbites about migrants. Kaleva has a tough time stomaching criticism, and usually, his answers are knee-jerk reactions. One of these is when he charged Professor Panu Ratikiainen with defamation because he called
Search Results for: Atte Kaleva
Atte Kaleva is a populist who spreads and dwells in Islamophobic soundbites
National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) MP candidate Atte Kaleva, who has overtaken Wille Rydman as the Halla-aho of his party, held a talk on March 15 in East Helsinki on “why multiculturalism doesn’t work.”
Should Finland have a Kalevan kisat for immigrants?
A story in Nelosuutiset yesterday about the “worrying amount” of immigrants taking part in the national athletics championships, Kalevankisat, was a perfect example of the scaremongering practiced by some members of the Finnish media.
Pressiklubi gives simplistic, apologetic view on how the Finnish media is “more balanced” today when writing about non-white Finns
It is surprising to hear how some politicians and journalists continue to have simplistic and apologetic views of racism and bigotry in this country. If YLE’s Päivi Happonen and Atte Kaleva’s words are to be believed on Pressiklubi, the Finnish media has finally woken up and writes more balanced stories about migrants and minorities that live in Finland.
Surprised that former Kokoomus MP Wille Rydman found his new home in the PS? Not.
Disgraced former National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) MP Wille Rydman announced that he’d join the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*. After announcing Monday that he’d leave Kokoomus, the latest announcement did not come as a surprise considering Rydman’s anti-immigration stance. But some questions remain. In Kokoomus, he had built a reputation for being the Jussi Halla-aho of the party.
MT MEDIA MONITORING: How politicians perpetuate urban tales about migrants (Uusi Suomi)
An interview by Uusi Suomi of National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) MP Atte Kaleva, who is part of Finland’s Islamophobic network, demonstrates a common flaw by the Finnish media that perpetuates urban tales and misconceptions spread by politicians about migrants. Kaleva claims that implementing a quota system for “foreign” students at schools in Finland would help
Wille Rydman exposes Kokoomus’ hypocrisy and its racist politicians
I wonder if National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) MP Wille Rydman has ever heard of Florida Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz, who is under investigation for sexually abusing minors, among other crimes? Helsingin Sanomat exposed in a story Rydman of inappropriate behavior and abusing sexually minors Sunday. Like Gaetz, Rydman is in hot water and denies all
Ilta-Sanomat’s message hasn’t changed in the past 30 years: Islam and refugees are a threat to Finland
Ever wondered why tabloids like Ilta-Sanomat continue to publish racist stories? When the first Somalis came to Finland in the early 1990s, the tabloid had a field day (see billboards below). Imagine headlines like “Somalis will remain in Finland,” “Somalis tricked (authorities) to get asylum,” and twenty years later, “10,000 illegal refugees will come this
Populism and lack of leadership under Petteri Orpo fuel Kokoomus’ tailspin
The National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) received a political bomb that exposed the party’s internal strife between its liberal and populist-conservative wing. Kokoomus’ candidate for Helsinki mayor, Kirsi Piha, and Helsinki city councilor Hanna Gullichsen, both party’s liberal wing, announced they would step aside. Piha stated in a blog posting her decision to pull out from
Kokoomus’ and Finland’s downward spiral
The last opinion poll published by Helsingin Sanomat doesn’t show us any big surprises. A few percentage-point fractions up or down and, end of story. If, however, we take a longer view, the situation of the National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) raises some questions. Just like Jutta Urpilainen and the Social Democrats learned before the 2011
Hall of Shame: Finland’s 2020 Islamophobic and Afrophobic network
Choosing the key figures in the Islamophobic and Afrophobic Hall of Shame wasn’t difficult even during a year ravaged by Covid-19. The task was to choose the most obvious culprits and other ones in the media that fuel and maintain such a toxic environment. In putting together this year’s Hall of Shame, I was quickly
QUOTE OF THE DAY: I trust the laws of this land, you trust institutional racism
A recent column by Seida Sohrabi exposed, in my opinion, how people justify racism and social inequality. I and many others trust the law of this land while people like her have faith and trust institutional racism. Sohrabi claims to have a master’s in political science; she is an elementary school teacher and gives talks
The most “notable” members of Finland’s Islamophobic network in 2019
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED Who are the most “notable” figures of Finland’s Islamophobic network in 2019? In the list below, 13 are members of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party, 3 are National Coalition Party (NCP) members, 2 are Christian Democrats (KD), and three others are political “freelancers:” Marco de Wit, Junnes Lokka, and Tiina Wiik. The
Is Matias Turkkila a part of Finland’s Islamophobic network? You bet!
One matter is for certain: You don’t need to prove somebody is a racist because that person does it for you. Racists also think people are stupid and can’t see through them. While I am not suggesting that Turkkila is a racist, he’s had a big role in helping the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and its politicians
How Finland’s National Coalition Party spreads wholesale racism of Muslims
The National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) claims to champion liberal Western values and entrepreneurship, right? Is this true if the party succumbs to cheap anti-immigration populism? Kokoomus MP Wille Rydman likes spewing copy-and-paste soundbites of the Islamophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party. Apart from his staunch Islamophobic views, he also takes up pseudo-scientific eugenicist views as in this
S-worldview: The Islamophobic snake vampire of Finland
The Islamophobic snake vampire. Can you spot the Islamophobes? Timo Soini, Jussi Halla-aho, Sampo Terho, Teuvo Hakkarainen, Junes Lokka, Tiina Wiik, Laura Huhtasaari, Wille Rydman, Atte Kaleva, Ville Tavio, Simon Elo, Juho Eerola, and Olli Immonen. Should we be surprised that most of them represent the Perussuomalaiset* and Blue Reform parties? * The Perussuomalaiset (PS) party
After the Perussuomalaiset-Blue Reform, the National Coalition Party is the most anti-immigration party in the Finnish parliament
If you ask anyone in Finland which party thrives on anti-immigration sentiment and bigotry, the answer is simple: Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and Blue Reform. The difference between these two is that the former is a racist party that came out of the closet and the latter one which went back to the closet. Here’s the question:
YLE A-Studio: Let’s talk about stereotypes of Islam and jihadism
What was the message that Thursday’s YLE A-Studio program on jihadism attempted to convey with the help of background pictures in light of the Charlie Hebdo attack? Was it that Muslim women wear niqabs and that jihadists wear masks and are pissed off? Is that the underlying tone that YLE A-Studio want to convey to viewers about
Reija Härkönen: Bidee, biudeetti, bjödee
Reija Härkönen Presidentinvaalien alla v. 2012 RKP:n ehdokkaan nimen kirjoittaminen oli somen kielikriittisille lähes mahdoton tehtävä. Osa virheistä meni painovirheiden ja huolimattomuuden piikkiin – Biudet, Biadet. Sekään ei tietysti ollut kovin kohteliasta, kun puhutaan yhden poliittisen puolueen ja siis yhden kansanosan valitsemasta ehdokkaasta maan korkeimpaan virkaan – nimi pitäisi tietysti aina pyrkiä kirjoittamaan oikein. En oikein
A danger to democracy
If there is one matter that US President Donald Trump’s self-coup has evidenced, it is the fragility of our democracy. This is also the case in Finland with the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, a pro-Trump radical right party that openly supports Trump. Some factors unite Finland with the United States. Finns have – incorrectly – said in
Kotoutuminen #5: Perpetuating the Ulysses syndrome, a chronic stress disorder of refugees
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED You ask me my name. I shall tell you. My name is nobody and nobody is what everyone calls me. Odyssey, Song IX If a refugee suffers from fear, loneliness, enforced separation, a sense of despair and is struggling to survive in his new homeland, more salt is thrown on their
Exposing Finnish white privilege #65: Racism exists because our society profits from it
What thoughts race in your head whenever a politician, public official, or white Finn rambles on about how social justice is a key value of our society and why racism and discrimination, which are illegal, have no place in Finland? While the latter is important for newcomers to know, the issue is how such topics
White Finnish media story of the day: Muslims are grossly underrepresented in the media
Media studies that look into social ills like Islamophobia and racism in general in Britain offer us a view of how matters could be in Finland. With little scrutiny of institutional racism in the Finnish police, similar studies of the mainstream media still appear light-years away. A study published by The Muslim Council of Britain
White Finnish media story of the day: Is media coverage of Muslims usually negative?
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED With the rise of Islamophobia in Europe, one culprit culprit is the media. In the United Kingdom, 59% of coverage of Muslims had a negative theme, according to The Guardian, which cites The Muslim Council of Britain. If a national media has an appetite for biased news reporting of Muslims, it
Exposing white Finnish privilege #51: The police are the defenders of white power and privilege
Ask Finland’s Romany minority If you want to understand how the Finnish police service reinforces and defends white power and privilege. I did this recently, and the answers did not surprise me. According to a member of the Roma community, the Finnish police play down discrimination, especially if it involves a member of that minority
From Black February 2012 to the brutal attack of a Pakistani migrant in 2018 – are these hate crimes?
Is it a coincidence that Black February, which took place in 2012 and involved the violent deaths of three members of the Muslim community of Finland, happened on the same month when a Pakistani was brutally attacked by three white Finns in Vantaa? While the timing may have happened by chance, there are similarities between what happened in February 2012 and on February 23.
Swimming hall in Finland bans all asylum seekers until the end of January
A good example of how some Finns label Others and how the media fuels the “us” and “them” mentality is when a teenage asylum seeker on Thursday was caught watching naked women taking showers at a local swimming hall in the Finnish town of Haukipudas, located 640km north of Helsinki.
UPDATE: Finnish asylum center in Kempele is intimidated by local residents and moves to an undisclosed location
It is shameful that an asylum reception center in Kempele, where an alleged rape of a minor took place on Monday by a suspected 17-year-old asylum seeker, has caved in to pressure. Kempele is the hometown of Prime Minister Juha Sipilä, who offered in September his home to asylum seekers.
What the Finnish media leaves out in a story is an editorial line just like silence is a political decision
In journalism it works in the following manner: Silence is what you don’t report and intentionally leave out in the story. That is a policy decision, or an editorial line.
Reija Härkönen: Soinin sirkus ja Mestarin lista
Reija Härkönen Maahanmuuttajavastainen islamofoobikko, vaaliehdokas Jussi Halla-aho julkaisi vaalien 2011 alla listan ehdokkaista, jotka olisivat riittävästi ”aatteen” miehiä ja naisia ja joita sopisi äänestää siellä, missä häntä itseään ei, vaikka kuinka haluaisi, pääse äänestämään. Useat listatuista olivat äärikansallismielisen Suomen Sisu- järjestön ja/tai Hommaforumin jäseniä. Nyt on aika tarkastella sitä, ketä tuolta listalta silloin pääsi läpi,
MEP Halla-aho wants a tougher PS stance on immigration
The popularity of the anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS)* plummeted to a record low of 13.3% in December and this has caused visible cracks in the party’s leadership. MEP Jussi Halla-aho, who was sentenced for ethnic agitation, blames PS chairman Timo Soini’s too soft stand on immigration for the drop in popularity, according to Oulu-based daily Kaleva.
City of Ylivieska in Finland awards anti-Semite with distinction
Juha Kärkkäinen, who was fined by a Finnish court in the fall of 2013 45,000 euros for publishing anti-Semitic writings of the likes of David Duke and others, was awarded a distinction from the city of Ylivieska, according to Oulu-based Kaleva. Dan Kantor, executive director of the Jewish Community of Helsinki, told Migrant Tales that he
Death threats and the PS threat to our Nordic way of life
Perussuomalaiset (PS) chairman, Timo Soini, reveals in a recent blog that he got four death threats recently. Interior Minister Päivi Räsänen’s Christian Democratic party received a bomb threat as well, which was reported by tabloid Iltalehti. The death threats are similar to what Swedish-language journalists received a while back. Migrant Tales has been a victim of
Creating political Frankensteins with the help of social media and prejudice
In Saami mythology there’s a large-but-not-too-bright monster called Staalo, which was made from a log, lichen and a few incantations. If we look at the recent rise of intolerance in Finland and Europe, social media has breathed life back to many Staalo-like political Frankensteins. Staalo is a monster found in Saami mythology. Source: Tajukangas. In
Somali victim of Oulu, Finland: The tragedy that brings us closer to the problem
The reaction and threads concerning the tragic death of a Somali national in Oulu, Finland, Tuesday after three white Finnish suspects entered his home by force reveals the strong divide between “us” and “them.”We still have a long ways to go as a society to deal with social ills like discrimination. Paradoxically, tragedies like what happened in Oulu bring us ever-closer to the issue.
UPDATE 2: Somali young man leaps to his death in Oulu, Finland
The Oulu police have now admitted as Migrant Tales did first in Finland that the victim who leaped to his death from a sixth floor was a Somali. Kaleva, the Oulu daily, quotes Antti Räsänen of the police stating that “nothing points to racism [hate crime] but we haven’t ruled out that possibility.”
Brain drain from Finland set to get worse as anti-immigration sentiment grows
Think tank Research Institute of the Finnish Economy (ETLA) states in a report that Finland already suffers from brain drain “to some extent.” With the backdrop of the April 17 election and a more negative atmosphere towards immigrants, coupled with the cooling of the economy, suggest that brain drain will continue to get worse.
Is Finland being threatened by terrorism?
Finland’s secret police, Supo, has recently warned about how terrorist groups such as Al Shabaab of Somalia are recruiting their nationals in Finland to fight in the bloody civil war of that troubled country. Such claims by Finland’s secret police have been denied by Finland’s Somali League president Abridrshid Awad Dirie.
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