Free Republic

Oh, where do I even begin with Sisu: Road to Revenge? This is not merely a movie; it is a transcendent thunderclap of pure cinematic audacity. From the first frame, the film detonates onto the screen with the subtlety of a meteor strike, announcing itself as a masterpiece of gleeful excess. This is the movie that every other action film will envy for the rest of their lives. The landscapes are so gorgeously shot they look like nature itself hired its own personal glam squad. The score doesn’t merely accompany the action; it leaps off the speakers and demands that...

Germany, France, Canada, and Belgium are among 12 nations that signed on to the “Declaration on Information Integrity on Climate Change,” documenting the so-called “threats” that free speech and the free press pose to what U.S. President Donald Trump refers to as the climate “con job.”Signed at the United Nations’ COP30, the UN’s annual climate confab, the declaration marks the first time that “information integrity” has been on the docket for COP’s Action Agenda.The rise of independent media, social media, and the internet has created a source of non-establishment news that has elevated legitimate criticism of the so-called man-made climate-change...

Finland’s former prime minister complained that she seems to be more known for infamous videos of her dancing than for her leadership. Sanna Marin became Finland’s youngest prime minister at just 34-years-old and quickly became a symbol of a new liberal movement in Europe. But two years into her term, videos of her gyrating in a lacy black tank top circled the internet and a separate video later emerged of her grinding in a club with a man that wasn’t her husband. Today, the ex-politician — who recently released a memoir and has 1 million Instagram followers — laments the...

A ceasefire in Ukraine is unlikely before the spring and European allies need to keep up support despite a corruption scandal that has engulfed Kyiv, President Alexander Stubb of Finland told The Associated Press. Europe, meanwhile, will require ‘’sisu,’’ a Finnish word meaning endurance, resilience and grit, to get through the winter months, he said, as Russia continues its hybrid attacks and information war across the continent. Stubb also needs that quality as one of the key European interlocutors between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. As the leader of one of Europe’s smaller countries, but one...

A Finnish politician and former Interior Minister Päivi Räsänen will face Finland’s Supreme Court on 30 October, marking the seventh year of a “hate speech” case over her public expression of Christian beliefs on marriage and sexuality. Räsänen, who has twice been unanimously acquitted alongside Lutheran Bishop Juhana Pohjola, was charged in 2021 with “agitation against a minority group” after quoting the Bible in a 2019 tweet, a radio debate and a 2004 pamphlet. The tweet questioned the Finnish Lutheran Church’s support for the Helsinki Pride event, asking: “How can the Church’s doctrinal foundation, the Bible, be compatible with the...

When Finland joined NATO in 2023, the small Nordic nation brought with it one of Europe’s most comprehensive defense systems, built over decades of preparing for the worst along its border with Russia. Instead of a large standing army, Finland relies on universal conscription, a vast trained reserve pool, and a society where everyone has a role in national defense. As Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo put it in 2025: “By joining NATO, Finland strengthened its own security, but also the stability and security of the whole Alliance. We have over 1,300 kilometers of border with Russia, but we also...

A FINNISH security expert has proved to the supervisor of elections in Leon County Florida that it is a doddle to hack Diebold voting machines. Harri Hursti took part in a fake election in Leon County using what Diebold calls unhackable technology. At the beginning of the test election the memory card programmed by Harri Hursti was inserted into an Optical Scan Diebold voting machine. Hursti had pre-loaded the memory card with plus and minus votes. The eight ballots were run through the optical scan machine. Correct results should have been: Yes:2 ; No:6 However, just as Hursti had planned,...

You’ve probably heard of spooky black cats, chaotic orange cats, and distinguished-looking tuxedo cats. If you’re really into cats, you might have even lesser-known color variants like seal point and ticked tabby. But there’s officially a new cat color in town— salmiak, or ‘salty liquorice.’ You can see one here. The pretty black, white, and grey shade—named for a popular snack food in Finland, where this coat color has been making itself known—is thanks to a fur strand that starts off black near the root, but grows whiter and whiter out towards the tip. The coat was first spotted in...

A senior security official in Moscow has accused Finland of laying the ground for an attack on Russia by Nato, in comments that echo President Putin’s justifications for the invasion of Ukraine. Dmitry Medvedev, the former president and prime minister who is now the deputy head of Russia’s national security council, issued his warning after a visit to Russia’s 830-mile border with Finland. “After joining Nato, under the guise of defence measures, Helsinki is pursuing a confrontational course in preparation for war with Russia, apparently preparing a springboard for an attack on us,” Medvedev wrote in an article that was...

The Finnish air force was created in March 1918 following independence from Russia and actually predates the founding of Britain’s RAF. Its first military aircraft was donated to the fledgling air force that same year by Swedish aristocrat Count Eric von Rosen whose personal symbol just happened to be a swastika. This image, which was later to become a symbol of Nazi Germany was at the time considered to be quite acceptable and became part of the livery of Finnish air force planes for decades. Perhaps ironically, von Rosen supported the concept of National Socialism and was the brother-in-law of...

Finland has belatedly admitted its air force flags probably should not have a huge swastika in the middle. The Nordic country is set to remove the symbol from the standard because its presence has created 'awkward situations with foreign visitors'. The nation adopted the insignia as the emblem of its airborne military when it was founded in 1918.

In an interview with NBC News' Andrea Mitchell, Finnish President Alexander Stubb weighed in on the attempted peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. He likened the possibility of Ukraine ceding land to Russia to the U.S. giving up multiple states.

The top Kremlin-installed official in the oblast, Yevgeny Balitsky, said Russia should also have its eye on the Baltic states, as well as Poland and Finland, all five of which are NATO countries... In the interview shared by Russia watcher Julia Davis, Balitsky seemed ready to take on the alliance as he spoke of how the Russian Empire that ended with the 1917 revolution had "lost its footing" as well as "great numbers of people." "I'm not even talking about territories. I understand that it includes Warsaw, Helsinki, also known as Helsingfors," he said... "I don't believe in any diplomacy...

The Brooklyn Public Library in New York has removed an image of the Moomin character Stinky, known in Finnish as Haisuli, from a Tove Jansson exhibition after a donor found the character potentially racist. The exhibition, titled Tove Jansson and the Moomins: The Door Is Always Open, is the first major showcase of Jansson’s work in the United States. It presents her legacy as a writer, illustrator, pacifist and queer artist, alongside illustrations, archival materials and immersive events. It will remain open until 30 September. Roleff Kråkström, CEO of Moomin Characters, which oversees the use and licensing of the...

Polish President Andrzej Duda has signed into law a bill formally withdrawing the country from the Ottawa Treaty, which bans the use of anti-personnel landmines, citing deteriorating regional security and increasing threats from Russia. The decision aligns Poland with several of its neighbours, including the three Baltic states – Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia – and Finland, which have also taken steps to exit the treaty in recent months. Asked about the decision in late June, Duda described it as a “rational step” in light of the “deteriorating security situation” linked in part to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The bill was...

Summary Coast Guard seeks to add as many as nine polar icebreakers for Arctic use Arctic seas are increasingly being considered for trade routes Trump has pushed for shipbuilding revival, dozens of icebreakers LOS ANGELES, July 3 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's massive tax and spending bill earmarks more than $8.6 billion to increase the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker fleet in the Arctic, where Washington hopes to counter rising Russian and Chinese dominance.The funding includes $4.3 billion for up to three new heavy Coast Guard Polar Security Cutters, $3.5 billion for medium Arctic Security Cutters, and $816 million for procurement...

ATLANTA - Former United States President Jimmy Carter released a statement Thursday after the recent comments made back and forth between United States officials and North Korea. Here is the statement: ======================================================= "The harsh rhetoric from Washington and Pyongyang during recent months has exacerbated an already confrontational relationship between our countries, and has probably eliminated any chance of good faith peace talks between the United States and North Korea. In addition to restraining the warlike rhetoric, our leaders need to encourage talks between North Korea and other countries, especially China and Russia. The recent UN Security Council unanimous vote for...

The democratic will of the Hungarian people to clamp down on the proliferation of LGBTQ+ ideology should be punished by the European Commission, a group of 16 EU countries demanded on Wednesday. In response to recent legislation passed by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s conservative government to ban Pride parades in Hungary, over half of fellow European Union member states signed an open letter demanding that Budapest reverse course or face punishment from Brussels. The “declaration” was signed by the countries of Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, and Sweden. […]...

Satellite images have revealed how Moscow is bulking up its military presence on the Finnish border - in a chilling echo of pictures taken of Russian bases before Putin launched his war in Ukraine. Moscow is building troop accommodation, aircraft deployment infrastructure and refurbishing old facilities at key military bases, analysts have said, in a sign it is seeking to reinforce its capabilities in the border region. The pictures, which were obtained by Swedish broadcaster SVT from Planet Labs, suggest there has been activity at four locations inside Russia - Kamenka, Petrozavodsk, Severomorsk-2, and Olenya. In Kamenka, which is around...

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday said he has "no illusions" over a quick end to Russia's war in Ukraine."We may have to prepare for a longer duration," Merz said after talks with Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo in the south-western Finnish city of Turku.Throughout history, conflicts have usually ended when one or both sides have reached exhaustion, either militarily or economically, said Merz."We are obviously still a long way from that in this war," he argued.The German chancellor, who took office earlier this month, insisted that support for Ukraine would continue. The war is not just about Ukraine's territorial...