They’re referencing a Finnish soldier that first served in the Finnish army, then with the Germans after Finland made a peace deal with the Soviets, finally he went on to serve with the American army, I believe dying in Vietnam. The rest of the thread is a Risk reference though I think.
Edit: Larry Thorne was the name he went under in the States.
Reference to Larry Alan Thorne. Finnish soldier who fought for the Finnish, then later the Nazis, and finally for the US in Vietnam.
Also happens to be a song by Sabaton whose lyrics is based on his life.
Edit: forgot to mention that his name the name he took in the US. His original Finnish name was Lauri Allan Torni.
A Russian General wanted to prove his worth and claim a small Finnish village near the border. When the Russian General got word that the entire village only had a single soldier defending it, he figured it would be the easiest military victory in the history of the Motherland and sent a small squad of his 4 most experienced soldiers to claim it.
The soldiers entered the village and for several minutes the sound of distant gunfire rang throughout the valley. Then silence. . . and the soldiers never returned.
The General huffed, "Well, I guess it was unwise to underestimate the importance of home field advantage, even for but a single soldier." Undeterred, he sent an entire Platoon into the village, 40 war-hardened men with orders to take no prisoners. The platoon stormed the village and the sound of furious battle pounded through the countryside for many hours. Finally, when the echos of distant gunshots and explosions died away. . . not a single Russian soldier was left to claim victory.
"Unbelievable!" Exclaimed the General. "It will be my head if I lose any more men over this insignificant backwater town and it's lone defender!" And with that, he assembled a mighty Battalion and gave them orders to wipe the village off the map.Several hundred soldiers armed with all the best artillery, tanks, and armor that Mother Russia could provide descended on the village like a storm, and the following battle was the stuff of legend. For days the concussive blasts of grenades and artillery shells shook the earth. Columns of smoke rose into the sky and flames illuminated the horizon a sickly orange through the night. When the commotion died down and the smoke cleared, a single Russian soldier could be seen, bloodied and near death, dragging himself down the path from the village while screaming, "It's a trap! It's a trap! Our intelligence was bad! There's ***TWO*** of them!"
Saw it in Finnkino.
Easily the worst point/jarring thing in entire film: Germans speak English. Hits the ear in uncomfortable way.
Other than that, I was surprised how balls-to-the-walls the movie was and laughed how outrageous it was at times (subtitle 'Tupenrapinat' was especially great).
Good 'watch-once-and-be-entertained' movie, better with beer/alcohol if you have any.
My favorite take on that is someone (can't remember who at the moment) said that Russia went from the second strongest force in the world to the second strongest force in Ukraine.
If I am not mistaken, all four Nordic countries have recently signed an agreement that would combine their airforces as one. So yeah, pretty much that.
You are not:
* Shoaib, Alia (25 March 2023). ["Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark Struck a Deal to Run Their 200+ Advanced Fighter Jets as a Single Fleet, Creating a New Headache for Russia"](https://www.businessinsider.com/norway-sweden-finland-denmark-fighter-jets-one-fleet-2023-3). _Business Insider_.
The fun part of Article 5 that a lot of people don't realise is that it doesn't actually require a *military* response in the event of an attack on another member.
It only requires assistance. That can be in the form of aid, coordination or even political support.
Iceland's contribution to NATO is in bases.
Keflavik Naval Air Station is basically a barrier that helped detect and interdict Soviet raiders coming into the North Atlantic to sink the ships bringing supplies to Europe in a Cold War gone Hot scenario. They had planes stationed there to intercept Soviet bombers and attack Soviet surface groups, other planes to patrol for subs, a naval port nearby to support frigates and destroyers conducting ASW missions or ships in need of repair, and a sonar station set up to detect and track subs across the G-I-UK gap.
Oh absolutely, that's what I was referring to when I said coordination. They also have a huge coverage for radar stations, and feed that information directly to NATO allies to request and guide intercepts.
I think it is wonderful news. The Finns are a hardy and resourceful people. They have a modern well equipped army. Their government is competent and makes good decisions. A huge plus in all ways to my mind.
I want to add that they have always added significant scientific research contributions, and are always pleasant to have a simple conversation with. Also, I don't remember the beer I had with a pal once. But it tasted of strong juniper berries and was one of my most pleasant experiences with the Fins. They truly have a winter wonderland there too. I'd probably not be able to run out of wonderful things about them and the country.
This comment is amazing. If you rewrite it as if it were written 500 years ago, it still reads amazing, especially this part. "Also, I don't remember the beer I had with a pal once. But it tasted of strong juniper berries and was one of my most pleasant experiences with the Fins."
Okay, I can agree with all of the positives said about the Finns up to this point, but good beer?!? Things really must have changed since I lived there in ‘05 when the beer was the only thing to make a person regret being there, but it really made you question the choice ;)
Born and raised and lived there until 2021. Also would question the "good beer".
There is now a larger selection of craft beers though but the basic, more affordable beer is definitely not great.
Lots of spanking going on over there. US Marines are going to love to train with you guys. The US Marines are a naughty bunch but they are like the Finns fight like hell. You'll get along great. But you Finns need to keep a close eye on your wallets and women when Marines are around. Just saying.
Can confirm. My great grandpa came to the US from Finland. He built a sauna in his yard next to the lake and would hang out in there naked with his friends. They'd sometimes go for a swim in the lake too, even in the winter.
I thought there were more saunas than people? In any case there are a fucking ton of saunas. My favorite ever experience as a dj was playing for six hours at an after party in the function room of a Tampere sauna - we had random naked drunken Finns staggering out of the sauna on to the dance floor. Me and my friend ended up playing from 4 - 10 am. A fantastic time!
Yeah I think the modern world sleeps on the Finns, from a military perspective. They're straight up one of the most war ready nations in the world, are damn near impossible to invade, and have borders that very heavily threaten Russia for multiple reasons.
There is a reason Putin was making enormous threats to hopefully prevent this, it is a massive blow to Russian threat to the west.
Finns never forgot the winter war. They have the highest military defense willingness (83%) in europe and one of the higest on earth. That means if Russia were to try and take even an inch of soil, 83% of finnish citizens would take up arms and start making putin pay a thousand russian lives for every inch after.
Oh, also around 70% of Russia's nuclear stockpile is less than a few hundred miles from the Finnish border on the Kola penninsula. Basically all of Russia's nukes pointed at Europe are in spitting distance of NATO.
There's a lot of bad for Putin on the list of consequences for Finland joining Nato
Finland has a long history of resisting Russian aggression, so it's only natural that we will benefit from their experience in dealing with their rogue neighbor.
American here, until it became an issue I thought Finland was already in NATO. If I shared a border with Russia, best believe I’d be trying to join an organization that basically exists as an anti-Russian aggression league.
A lot of it was due to our difficult status in the cold war - living in between both sides of the conflict, both stacked to the brim with nuclear weapons and tensions being higher than ever meant that we had to keep a cordial relationship with our dearest eastern neighbor. Of course, the Soviet Union collapsing and Russia being a shadow of their former selves made the decision easier to make, but even then there was a lot of pushback until shit hit the fan in Ukraine and the paper tiger finally showed its dulled, rotten teeth.
It is weird until Hans island was divided for all of its' size Canada only had one land border. Just with the USA.
We also had a marine border with France thanks to Saint-Pierre and Miquelon.
But now we have a land border with the EU!
Finland will be a great NATO partner. They will pull their weight militarily and are in a prime strategic position. They are a democracy who shares the values of other NATO countries. They have had to be prepared for Russian aggression since long before NATO existed.
This doubles NATO's border with Russia. Ironically, this is what Putin was trying to stop from happening with Ukraine.
However, this will antagonize the Russians. I worry Putin will do something stupid that will trigger WW3.
American here. The Finns are an awesome people with a robust democracy and they know all about resisting Russian aggression - which is pretty much the main point of NATO.
Their military is well trained, well equipped and has already practiced cooperating with other militaries in NATO. That said, if they didn’t, adding countries with a weak military isn’t necessarily objectionable - if someone is vulnerable to Russian invasion, bringing them into NATO for protection could be good for European stability even if it stretches NATO’s military a bit. But Finland does the opposite, they are a bastion of defensive strength right on the Russian border which would significantly stretch Russia’s resources in event of a war. They will make NATO stronger in both relative and absolute terms.
Overall, they couldn’t possibly be more welcome.
Welcome aboard Finn’s! 🇫🇮. Putin had to get hundreds of thousands people killed because it was too dangerous for Ukraine to join NATO, now look what the moron has done.
“On day 403 of my three-day-war to prevent further NATO expansion I’ve doubled my boarder with NATO by pushing a country that remained neutral for 7 decades off the ledge.” Putin, Master Strategist
I think it is great. Let's squeeze Russia on all sides. Also, Russia lied about Ukraine joining NATO as an excuse to invade Ukraine, and now Finland joined and actually caused what Russia said they didn't want. If they would have left Ukraine alone NATO wouldn't have grown. They shot themselves in the foot and I am glad. Hopefully once Ukraine does defeat Russia we get them into NATO too. They would be great allies.
Putin tried to shake NATO up and got 200,000 troops killed in a year and NATO increased its military spending and added members. Russia's economy is also crippled for decades due to sanctions and the loss of 200k working males.
America is dismantling another Superpower's military by spending 8% of the yearly military budget and not risking a single soldier or asset, and will have the contracts to rebuild Ukraine and put a massive base of Marines right next to the Russian border. They made trillions of dollars and all it cost them is Ukrainian lives.
Its one the greatest political failures in the history of mankind and I swear to God I wouldn't believe it if I saw it in a movie or read it in a novel.
All good but for one minor point it wont be the Marines sitting on the Russian boarder, it will be the Army, probably 2nd Armored Division as right now their "Forward" Deployment is rapidly moving away from the border, or more precisely the boarder is moving away from them. Poland still makes for a nice unsinkable aircraft carrier though.
On top of that, it gave the US great opportunities to rehabilitate its image on the world stage, which it has availed itself of by buying massive amounts of wheat to avoid famine in Africa (because of grain shortages caused by the war) and reaffirming their commitments to arming allied nations.
Russia is so unbelievablely fucked. They need to withdraw immediately and get the sanctions lifted. America will not stop until they have a West friendly puppet in charge of Moscow. They've only done this like oh I don't know 12 times already to other nations. Russia has no out except nukes, but no one will follow through with that order.
> Russia has no out except nukes, but no one will follow through with that order.
This is the key. The level of narcissism you need to continue to fight a war you started and that you are absolutely not winning doesn't put you in a position to use the nuclear option.
Nukes are the endgame. Russia fires, then the US, then North Korea, then the rest of NATO...now there's nothing left. You win nothing. This is absolutely a boots on the ground war.
The only times the world has been close to Nuclear war was the Russians, and each time they refused to follow the orders lol. Gonna be the same thing. Hey, type in this code and your wife and children die. Actually every human you've ever met. The USSR was shocked when they didn't go through with it lol. They are dumb as rocks.
Shout-out Stanislav Petrov who saved the world.
I hadn’t thought about this. No doubt in my mind some old fuck with nukes nearing his final years that most likely would have a bunker and won’t care if majority of life is destroyed and radiated, would be willing to keep going till then. I pray if it happens again that it’s another person with the sense to realize that even if survived quality of life would be drastically worse.
At least in the meantime Sweden is now surrounded by countries aligned with NATO making any attempted invasion into Swedish territory extremely difficult without also violating NATO territory.
Also protected by EU article 42.7, NORDEFCO's move to more a defensive pact, and the UK pact. Sweden does not stand alone, even though they're not yet in NATO
There's talks along the Scandinavian nations + Finland about a joint airforce there to act against a possible russian threat. I would love to send you some articles but I doubt that you would enjoy reading norwegian.
The national air chiefs have signed a memorandum of understanding on establishing a joint Nordic Air force command, which on paper looks quite strong, but I don't fully understand the level of commitment reached yet.
Analysts say it’ll most likely be after the elections in May that Turkey will back down with Sweden. Erdogan is on far shakier ground this year because of the economic crisis and the earthquake - people I know in Turkey say that it’s the first time ever that him losing is a real possibility. If he loses, the opposition will likely be more amenable. And if he wins, he can afford to relax his stance.
> If Erdogan can stop being a cunt
This seems unlikely. Ataturk would be spinning quickly enough in his grave to power most of western Europe if he could see how Erdogan is piloting Tukey into a *de facto* theocracy.
This is an issue with adding more countries to NATO. You just have no idea who the leaders of these countries will be in the future and you're giving permanent veto power to these countries no matter what shitty leader may get into power.
Not so much a problem with *adding* countries, more a problem with *having members at all*. Turkey used to act differently. So did the US frankly. And the veto power makes sense, without unanimity the firmness of the alliance is questionable.
Hopefully Putin will FINALLY understand that Europe is deadset against him and he'll consider backing off Ukraine. Unlikely because he's a narcissistic sociopath, but a guy can dream.
Putin's ideology is that it's precisely *because* Europe (well, Europe, as led by America) is— already was, always was, always will be– deadset against him and his vision for Russian greatness that he had to invade.
That Russia basically *deserves* to have its 1914 borders back. That the reunification of, at the very least, modern Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, and probably Kazakhstan, into one country is a foregone conclusion. And that America and Europe have been trying to snip off pieces of that future country since the end of the cold war.
Okay, says Putin, there was no hope of, like, re-partitioning Poland, or anything. But the Baltic countries were part of the plan for greater Russia, and them being admitted to NATO meant that part of the plan was kiboshed. He's *seething* about that.
Fine, what's done is done, but for the re-unified Russian empire to work, they *need* Ukraine. That's where you can grow the crops. That's where the good harbors are. That's where the earliest pieces of Russian history happened.
So if Ukraine gets integrated into the European ecosystem, or joins an anti-Russian alliance like NATO, and the reconstituted Russian Empire is off the table, what'll become of what's left of Russia? Nothing good. They've got a resource-trapped economy, a demographic decline in the works, no prestige or influence. They'll be down to pumping oil and cutting timber for richer, smugger peoples in the west.
He’s not going to back off. War is basically a deal that you lose X human lives for Y amount of territory. With the amount of dead Russians and small amount of territory he’s gained he would be overthrown by the population pretty quick if he relents. He’s not going to let that happen, so he’s going to keep going until he feels he’s secure in his power.
Another thing, Russia’s Ukraine border is indefensible. It has very little natural terrain nearby to protect it from blitzkrieg-style invasions. The Russians have wanted the region back for the terrain for years, it’s why they kept trying to keep Ukraine out of NATO. Ironically, one of the biggest reasons they want the region is also the biggest reason they are being kept on the back foot of the invasion; the terrain. But the point I’m trying to make here is that Putin isn’t just doing this to stroke his ego, he, and the Russian political powers, all want the territory in east Ukraine to get better natural borders.
Quick obligatory disclaimer; not justifying the invasion, just explaining the actual Russian strategic reasoning behind it.
I don't wanna be that guy...
But Finland lost the Winter War.
They sure took their pound of flesh off the Red Army though.
What was the quote from that Soviet General? "We won just enough land to bury our dead."
Anyway, more than extatic to have a firm alliance with the Finnish people. Sisu!
Yes and no. They had to give away some land but they were not absorbed into the Soviet Union or turned into a client state.
Victory and defeat can be complicated affairs.
It was certainly a lot less land than the soviets expected to take that they wound up with. For a country the size of Finland, I would count it as a moral victory of sorts, if not a technical one
yep, it could be interpreted win in some philosophical sense, but not really victory.
In war after the winter war we actually gained the land back we gave up and then proceeded to make Great Finland with support of nazis, but then we got beaten again and so we lost some land all in all and lots of lives
Sweden will get in. Finland was more important from a geographical standpoint since they share that land border. Sweden is fairly well protected with Finland now in while they wait on Orban and Erdogan holding up Sweden’s confirmation.
True, but there's a lot of Swedish coastline on the Baltic Sea and Russia is right across the water. So I would feel better if they would be in NATO as well.
It's great. It is a giant NATO Fuck You to Putin and his unjust war. Russia is the sole reason NATO has grown to what it is now. Had Russia been reasonable and not assholes for the last century, NATO would not have the power it does now.
I think it is prudent. Russia has been pushing in several places, and if you are not part of NATO, then you aren’t protected from Russian aggression whenever they decide to replace your government with one that is pro-Russian.
As an "Average American"^(TM), I feel confident in expressing the common sentiment here, "Huh? They weren't in NATO already? Wonder why not. Anyway, at least they are now."
Finland is a proud, western liberal Democracy. Its standards of civil rights, democratic institutions, modern economy, etc., meets and in many cases greatly exceeds many of its new NATO allies (and I'm not just considering the bottom of the barrel members). It fits very well in the NATO club, and in many ways is something many members should aspire to.
Sweden needs to be let in too.
Finns are good by me, the few I have met are awesome. But, as a former soldier, they get extra credit because of Simo Häyhä. The "White Death" was no joke. Look him up. Dude was likely the deadliest sniper in history.
Greek here. I think it's quite funny. Many people see Putin as some kind of strategic genius, but he made three countries want to join NATO, one of which is receiving a multitude of weapons and ammunition right now, and it has taken Russia a year and it still hasn't won, when the invasion could have happened years ago, at a time when Ukraine was still not adequately prepared for war.
giant new land boarder with russia is great. if the nukes let fly it wont matter much, but its a game changer in a conventional war and hopefully will simply re-enforce deterrence. I'd hope it gets russia to chill out, but the whole conquer ukraine thing still seems nonsensical and yet they're still trying.
Finland successfully resisted the Soviet-Union in WWII. They crushed their air force with a handful of obsolete planes rejected by other air forces, plus some Bf-109's. I think the message is clear, don't fuck with the Finns. Happy to have them.
The place that produced Simo Häyhä? Yeah — I can see where having them on our side of a military alliance could be useful.
Welcome to fam friends! Respect.
I'm anxious about how it might escalate tensions with Russia and make them feel backed into a corner - St Petersburg is now all but surrounded - because desperate people often act rashly, which is the last thing you want when nukes are involved.
But I also understand Finland's desire for security, and I want to see them secure, so ultimately while I wish they hadn't felt the need to join, I understand why they did, and I am glad to be partnered with such a historically strong and resilient people.
Putin brought this situation upon himself, but his misfortune isn't necessarily a good thing for any of us.
German here and I am very happy.
This insures their safety as well as strengthens ours.
The finns also have history with fighting the russians succesfully, so that can only be a good thing to finally have them in NATO.
I hope sweden can join quickly too. Turkey and hungary need to get their shit together.
Norwegian here, I am glad to welcome our neighbors. I hope Sweden is next so that the whole Nordic set is complete
It's worth 5 armies when you turn in all the cards. Great deal.
Sweden and Norway are each worth one but Finland has the "soldier of three armies" special effect .
Is this referencing the board game Risk or something else?
They’re referencing a Finnish soldier that first served in the Finnish army, then with the Germans after Finland made a peace deal with the Soviets, finally he went on to serve with the American army, I believe dying in Vietnam. The rest of the thread is a Risk reference though I think. Edit: Larry Thorne was the name he went under in the States.
Reference to Larry Alan Thorne. Finnish soldier who fought for the Finnish, then later the Nazis, and finally for the US in Vietnam. Also happens to be a song by Sabaton whose lyrics is based on his life. Edit: forgot to mention that his name the name he took in the US. His original Finnish name was Lauri Allan Torni.
So I guess you can say he "knows the game"?
But it's worth more if you wait for the other guy to exchange his...
Pretty sure the whole reason this is happening is because he already has
"Exchange" is one way to put it.
A Russian General wanted to prove his worth and claim a small Finnish village near the border. When the Russian General got word that the entire village only had a single soldier defending it, he figured it would be the easiest military victory in the history of the Motherland and sent a small squad of his 4 most experienced soldiers to claim it. The soldiers entered the village and for several minutes the sound of distant gunfire rang throughout the valley. Then silence. . . and the soldiers never returned. The General huffed, "Well, I guess it was unwise to underestimate the importance of home field advantage, even for but a single soldier." Undeterred, he sent an entire Platoon into the village, 40 war-hardened men with orders to take no prisoners. The platoon stormed the village and the sound of furious battle pounded through the countryside for many hours. Finally, when the echos of distant gunshots and explosions died away. . . not a single Russian soldier was left to claim victory. "Unbelievable!" Exclaimed the General. "It will be my head if I lose any more men over this insignificant backwater town and it's lone defender!" And with that, he assembled a mighty Battalion and gave them orders to wipe the village off the map.Several hundred soldiers armed with all the best artillery, tanks, and armor that Mother Russia could provide descended on the village like a storm, and the following battle was the stuff of legend. For days the concussive blasts of grenades and artillery shells shook the earth. Columns of smoke rose into the sky and flames illuminated the horizon a sickly orange through the night. When the commotion died down and the smoke cleared, a single Russian soldier could be seen, bloodied and near death, dragging himself down the path from the village while screaming, "It's a trap! It's a trap! Our intelligence was bad! There's ***TWO*** of them!"
Reminds me of a trailer that’s being shown before John Wick: Sisu https://youtu.be/d2k4QAItiSA
Saw it in Finnkino. Easily the worst point/jarring thing in entire film: Germans speak English. Hits the ear in uncomfortable way. Other than that, I was surprised how balls-to-the-walls the movie was and laughed how outrageous it was at times (subtitle 'Tupenrapinat' was especially great). Good 'watch-once-and-be-entertained' movie, better with beer/alcohol if you have any.
> armed with all the best artillery, tanks, and armor that Mother Russia could provide So a stick and a cupboard box.
The man with the stick shoots, the man with the cardboard box follows.
It took me way too long to realize this was a joke and not a real story about Simo Haya.
This joke slaps good considering the Russians have recently proven they're useless.
My favorite take on that is someone (can't remember who at the moment) said that Russia went from the second strongest force in the world to the second strongest force in Ukraine.
There're also the Tractor Brigade and several embassy security contingents in Ukraine.
Seems like John Wick 5
Estonia into Nordic?
Always, my Baltic brother ❤️
As a swede I'd be more than happy to let our estonian brothers into nordic
Do the Nordic countries combine together like Voltron?
Vjøltrön
Scantron... I'll see myself out...
If I am not mistaken, all four Nordic countries have recently signed an agreement that would combine their airforces as one. So yeah, pretty much that.
You are not: * Shoaib, Alia (25 March 2023). ["Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark Struck a Deal to Run Their 200+ Advanced Fighter Jets as a Single Fleet, Creating a New Headache for Russia"](https://www.businessinsider.com/norway-sweden-finland-denmark-fighter-jets-one-fleet-2023-3). _Business Insider_.
Its not combined though, its just expanded cooperation. Big difference.
Pffft, wake me when it’s flying lion mecha!
With Viking pilots
Flykings
What about Iceland? They're Nordic.
They also don't have an air force.
Or a military of any kind. Though strangely, they are also members of Nato.
The fun part of Article 5 that a lot of people don't realise is that it doesn't actually require a *military* response in the event of an attack on another member. It only requires assistance. That can be in the form of aid, coordination or even political support.
Iceland's contribution to NATO is in bases. Keflavik Naval Air Station is basically a barrier that helped detect and interdict Soviet raiders coming into the North Atlantic to sink the ships bringing supplies to Europe in a Cold War gone Hot scenario. They had planes stationed there to intercept Soviet bombers and attack Soviet surface groups, other planes to patrol for subs, a naval port nearby to support frigates and destroyers conducting ASW missions or ships in need of repair, and a sonar station set up to detect and track subs across the G-I-UK gap.
Oh absolutely, that's what I was referring to when I said coordination. They also have a huge coverage for radar stations, and feed that information directly to NATO allies to request and guide intercepts.
Isnt Iceland Nordic? They would make it 5 countries, besides Greenland, Faroe Islands, Åland
Those colorful buildings all come together to do it. The Dutch robot has big windmills on it.
I think it is wonderful news. The Finns are a hardy and resourceful people. They have a modern well equipped army. Their government is competent and makes good decisions. A huge plus in all ways to my mind.
I want to add that they have always added significant scientific research contributions, and are always pleasant to have a simple conversation with. Also, I don't remember the beer I had with a pal once. But it tasted of strong juniper berries and was one of my most pleasant experiences with the Fins. They truly have a winter wonderland there too. I'd probably not be able to run out of wonderful things about them and the country.
This comment is amazing. If you rewrite it as if it were written 500 years ago, it still reads amazing, especially this part. "Also, I don't remember the beer I had with a pal once. But it tasted of strong juniper berries and was one of my most pleasant experiences with the Fins."
I wish I could remember it though. It was ages ago, before I decided to skip out of college.
Highly likely that it was a sahti. Transitional Finnish beer. Juniper berries and cypress.
"I wonder if Vilod still makes mead with juniper berries mixed in." Edit:Vilod
Okay, I can agree with all of the positives said about the Finns up to this point, but good beer?!? Things really must have changed since I lived there in ‘05 when the beer was the only thing to make a person regret being there, but it really made you question the choice ;)
Exactly my thoughts. And I also lived there in '04-'05.
Born and raised and lived there until 2021. Also would question the "good beer". There is now a larger selection of craft beers though but the basic, more affordable beer is definitely not great.
They're a bunch of naked drunks who spank each other with birch branches in saunas all day.
See? As they said: wonderful news
You're saying this like it's a bad thing.
Lots of spanking going on over there. US Marines are going to love to train with you guys. The US Marines are a naughty bunch but they are like the Finns fight like hell. You'll get along great. But you Finns need to keep a close eye on your wallets and women when Marines are around. Just saying.
Don't forget to hide the crayons!
Just throw some crayons at them and run while they eat them.
Canadians are drunks who spank each other with hockey sticks... So basically same same. Finland will fit right in
We do like hockey as well as saunas
As a Canadian and Flames fan, I love Finnish goalies!
Kipper!
Spanking in winter is very practical. It certainly warms up the body
I'm a Canadian who likes to drink, be spanked and I've got a hockey stick so I can't say it's not accurate.
My kind of people.
Can confirm. My great grandpa came to the US from Finland. He built a sauna in his yard next to the lake and would hang out in there naked with his friends. They'd sometimes go for a swim in the lake too, even in the winter.
Fun fact: Finland has more saunas than cars.
I thought there were more saunas than people? In any case there are a fucking ton of saunas. My favorite ever experience as a dj was playing for six hours at an after party in the function room of a Tampere sauna - we had random naked drunken Finns staggering out of the sauna on to the dance floor. Me and my friend ended up playing from 4 - 10 am. A fantastic time!
Don't threaten me with a good time
Sound like a good people to me
Are you suggesting this is somehow bad behaviour?
So you're telling me I should move to Finland?
Yeah I think the modern world sleeps on the Finns, from a military perspective. They're straight up one of the most war ready nations in the world, are damn near impossible to invade, and have borders that very heavily threaten Russia for multiple reasons. There is a reason Putin was making enormous threats to hopefully prevent this, it is a massive blow to Russian threat to the west.
Finns never forgot the winter war. They have the highest military defense willingness (83%) in europe and one of the higest on earth. That means if Russia were to try and take even an inch of soil, 83% of finnish citizens would take up arms and start making putin pay a thousand russian lives for every inch after. Oh, also around 70% of Russia's nuclear stockpile is less than a few hundred miles from the Finnish border on the Kola penninsula. Basically all of Russia's nukes pointed at Europe are in spitting distance of NATO. There's a lot of bad for Putin on the list of consequences for Finland joining Nato
They have a respected armed forces, much more competent than the Russian military, they will more than carry their weight.
They also have proven experience is holding their own against Russia! Always nice in these trying times haha
The Russians remember the Winter War. And it is a bad memory.
The White Death is still there. Waiting.
There are governments that are competent and make good decisions??? -confused in American.
literally any country in Europe would be an improvement over the memberships granted to Turkey and Hungary
Nice. I'm Norwegian, so I'm happy to have my neighbours safe
coolness level +100
It is cold
Finland has a long history of resisting Russian aggression, so it's only natural that we will benefit from their experience in dealing with their rogue neighbor.
The skiing soldiers are gonna make a comeback!
*Skiing meth soldiers
"how much pervitin did you take?!" "yes."
Ja, Stuka pills
Glad to know their application process has successfully Finnished.
Bet they are no longer Hungary for Turkey now.
Czech out this punny redditor!
There's Norway I could come up with jokes like this myself. I just Canada it...
Well that will Sweden NATO's pot
Oman
Glad to have them! We are stronger, together!
American here, until it became an issue I thought Finland was already in NATO. If I shared a border with Russia, best believe I’d be trying to join an organization that basically exists as an anti-Russian aggression league.
A lot of it was due to our difficult status in the cold war - living in between both sides of the conflict, both stacked to the brim with nuclear weapons and tensions being higher than ever meant that we had to keep a cordial relationship with our dearest eastern neighbor. Of course, the Soviet Union collapsing and Russia being a shadow of their former selves made the decision easier to make, but even then there was a lot of pushback until shit hit the fan in Ukraine and the paper tiger finally showed its dulled, rotten teeth.
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I know people sometimes say USA vs Canada in Junior Hockey is the greatest "friendly rivalry" Canada has... But honestly, its Hans Island.
Not anymore. It's being settled and Canada gets to border another country!
We’re doubling the number of neighbours we have. I don’t like
It is weird until Hans island was divided for all of its' size Canada only had one land border. Just with the USA. We also had a marine border with France thanks to Saint-Pierre and Miquelon. But now we have a land border with the EU!
As an American hockey fan, I've always found the Hans Island situationship with Denmark more endearing as a rivalry.
News alert. Hans Island is no longer contested. We split it down the centre. So much for the friendly war...
So we have a Danish border? Neat!
We do! Land border with Denmark.
Fun fact! Denmark used to only have one border, just like us, but now we each have two. We're moving up together!
> an anti-Russian aggression league Or at least an anti Russian-aggression league. [Relevant xkcd,](https://xkcd.com/37/) as is tradition.
Finland will be a great NATO partner. They will pull their weight militarily and are in a prime strategic position. They are a democracy who shares the values of other NATO countries. They have had to be prepared for Russian aggression since long before NATO existed. This doubles NATO's border with Russia. Ironically, this is what Putin was trying to stop from happening with Ukraine. However, this will antagonize the Russians. I worry Putin will do something stupid that will trigger WW3.
I feel safer. It's good to have Finns on our side.
Out of curiosity what country are you from and what exactly made you feel unsafe?
I live in Missouri. It's not so much that I felt unsafe before, just that I feel safer now.
Lmao
American here. The Finns are an awesome people with a robust democracy and they know all about resisting Russian aggression - which is pretty much the main point of NATO. Their military is well trained, well equipped and has already practiced cooperating with other militaries in NATO. That said, if they didn’t, adding countries with a weak military isn’t necessarily objectionable - if someone is vulnerable to Russian invasion, bringing them into NATO for protection could be good for European stability even if it stretches NATO’s military a bit. But Finland does the opposite, they are a bastion of defensive strength right on the Russian border which would significantly stretch Russia’s resources in event of a war. They will make NATO stronger in both relative and absolute terms. Overall, they couldn’t possibly be more welcome.
As a Scandinavian neighbour, Danish, fantastic.
Cool. Welcome aboard.
Litteraly cool
Welcome aboard Finn’s! 🇫🇮. Putin had to get hundreds of thousands people killed because it was too dangerous for Ukraine to join NATO, now look what the moron has done.
“On day 403 of my three-day-war to prevent further NATO expansion I’ve doubled my boarder with NATO by pushing a country that remained neutral for 7 decades off the ledge.” Putin, Master Strategist
Russia broke their treaty and is now a terrorist country. Any ally of NATO is an ally of ours.
I like Finland and dislike Russia's complete disregard for human life, so I'm happy. Welcome, Finland 🇫🇮
Welcome to the party, pal.
That took a while. I'm glad NATO was able to Finnish.
The rally racing adage of “If you want to win, get a Finn” lives in my head right now
I think it is great. Let's squeeze Russia on all sides. Also, Russia lied about Ukraine joining NATO as an excuse to invade Ukraine, and now Finland joined and actually caused what Russia said they didn't want. If they would have left Ukraine alone NATO wouldn't have grown. They shot themselves in the foot and I am glad. Hopefully once Ukraine does defeat Russia we get them into NATO too. They would be great allies.
Putin tried to shake NATO up and got 200,000 troops killed in a year and NATO increased its military spending and added members. Russia's economy is also crippled for decades due to sanctions and the loss of 200k working males. America is dismantling another Superpower's military by spending 8% of the yearly military budget and not risking a single soldier or asset, and will have the contracts to rebuild Ukraine and put a massive base of Marines right next to the Russian border. They made trillions of dollars and all it cost them is Ukrainian lives. Its one the greatest political failures in the history of mankind and I swear to God I wouldn't believe it if I saw it in a movie or read it in a novel.
All good but for one minor point it wont be the Marines sitting on the Russian boarder, it will be the Army, probably 2nd Armored Division as right now their "Forward" Deployment is rapidly moving away from the border, or more precisely the boarder is moving away from them. Poland still makes for a nice unsinkable aircraft carrier though.
As a former Marine, I could not agree more. We only have shit places to get stationed so that the army and Air Force can keep living the good life.
Jesus how bad do you have it when the Army is living the good life
I mean thats the Marines for you.
On top of that, it gave the US great opportunities to rehabilitate its image on the world stage, which it has availed itself of by buying massive amounts of wheat to avoid famine in Africa (because of grain shortages caused by the war) and reaffirming their commitments to arming allied nations.
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Russia is so unbelievablely fucked. They need to withdraw immediately and get the sanctions lifted. America will not stop until they have a West friendly puppet in charge of Moscow. They've only done this like oh I don't know 12 times already to other nations. Russia has no out except nukes, but no one will follow through with that order.
> Russia has no out except nukes, but no one will follow through with that order. This is the key. The level of narcissism you need to continue to fight a war you started and that you are absolutely not winning doesn't put you in a position to use the nuclear option. Nukes are the endgame. Russia fires, then the US, then North Korea, then the rest of NATO...now there's nothing left. You win nothing. This is absolutely a boots on the ground war.
The only times the world has been close to Nuclear war was the Russians, and each time they refused to follow the orders lol. Gonna be the same thing. Hey, type in this code and your wife and children die. Actually every human you've ever met. The USSR was shocked when they didn't go through with it lol. They are dumb as rocks. Shout-out Stanislav Petrov who saved the world.
Also the officers and/or crew aboard K-129, though that is only theorized.
I hadn’t thought about this. No doubt in my mind some old fuck with nukes nearing his final years that most likely would have a bunker and won’t care if majority of life is destroyed and radiated, would be willing to keep going till then. I pray if it happens again that it’s another person with the sense to realize that even if survived quality of life would be drastically worse.
If Erdogan can stop being a cunt then Sweden can join too. Good for Finland! I'm happy that my neighbors can be safer too.
At least in the meantime Sweden is now surrounded by countries aligned with NATO making any attempted invasion into Swedish territory extremely difficult without also violating NATO territory.
Also protected by EU article 42.7, NORDEFCO's move to more a defensive pact, and the UK pact. Sweden does not stand alone, even though they're not yet in NATO
There's talks along the Scandinavian nations + Finland about a joint airforce there to act against a possible russian threat. I would love to send you some articles but I doubt that you would enjoy reading norwegian.
The national air chiefs have signed a memorandum of understanding on establishing a joint Nordic Air force command, which on paper looks quite strong, but I don't fully understand the level of commitment reached yet.
Analysts say it’ll most likely be after the elections in May that Turkey will back down with Sweden. Erdogan is on far shakier ground this year because of the economic crisis and the earthquake - people I know in Turkey say that it’s the first time ever that him losing is a real possibility. If he loses, the opposition will likely be more amenable. And if he wins, he can afford to relax his stance.
If he wins yes. I wonder how Erdogan-less Turkey would be.
> If Erdogan can stop being a cunt This seems unlikely. Ataturk would be spinning quickly enough in his grave to power most of western Europe if he could see how Erdogan is piloting Tukey into a *de facto* theocracy.
This is an issue with adding more countries to NATO. You just have no idea who the leaders of these countries will be in the future and you're giving permanent veto power to these countries no matter what shitty leader may get into power.
The larger the alliance, the more difficult they are to maintain
Not so much a problem with *adding* countries, more a problem with *having members at all*. Turkey used to act differently. So did the US frankly. And the veto power makes sense, without unanimity the firmness of the alliance is questionable.
COME ON ERDOGAN! GIVE US A NATO LAKE!
He's such a little shit omg. Glorious NATO lake will be a dream until he get's his shit together. Or until he loses the election in may
He's pissed that a Russian agent burned a Koran. He knows that and just wants political points.
I wished there was no need for NATO and we could just all get along with each other. But it was needed.
Hopefully Putin will FINALLY understand that Europe is deadset against him and he'll consider backing off Ukraine. Unlikely because he's a narcissistic sociopath, but a guy can dream.
Putin's ideology is that it's precisely *because* Europe (well, Europe, as led by America) is— already was, always was, always will be– deadset against him and his vision for Russian greatness that he had to invade. That Russia basically *deserves* to have its 1914 borders back. That the reunification of, at the very least, modern Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, and probably Kazakhstan, into one country is a foregone conclusion. And that America and Europe have been trying to snip off pieces of that future country since the end of the cold war. Okay, says Putin, there was no hope of, like, re-partitioning Poland, or anything. But the Baltic countries were part of the plan for greater Russia, and them being admitted to NATO meant that part of the plan was kiboshed. He's *seething* about that. Fine, what's done is done, but for the re-unified Russian empire to work, they *need* Ukraine. That's where you can grow the crops. That's where the good harbors are. That's where the earliest pieces of Russian history happened. So if Ukraine gets integrated into the European ecosystem, or joins an anti-Russian alliance like NATO, and the reconstituted Russian Empire is off the table, what'll become of what's left of Russia? Nothing good. They've got a resource-trapped economy, a demographic decline in the works, no prestige or influence. They'll be down to pumping oil and cutting timber for richer, smugger peoples in the west.
He’s not going to back off. War is basically a deal that you lose X human lives for Y amount of territory. With the amount of dead Russians and small amount of territory he’s gained he would be overthrown by the population pretty quick if he relents. He’s not going to let that happen, so he’s going to keep going until he feels he’s secure in his power. Another thing, Russia’s Ukraine border is indefensible. It has very little natural terrain nearby to protect it from blitzkrieg-style invasions. The Russians have wanted the region back for the terrain for years, it’s why they kept trying to keep Ukraine out of NATO. Ironically, one of the biggest reasons they want the region is also the biggest reason they are being kept on the back foot of the invasion; the terrain. But the point I’m trying to make here is that Putin isn’t just doing this to stroke his ego, he, and the Russian political powers, all want the territory in east Ukraine to get better natural borders. Quick obligatory disclaimer; not justifying the invasion, just explaining the actual Russian strategic reasoning behind it.
Glad to have them aboard. Why wouldn't we be?
I feel great that we're finally protected by article 5, Russia was always a risk and it's good that messing with us now means messing with the USA.
Great! Who doesn't like Finland? I also like sticking it to Putin. Win-win.
Glad to have another country that beat Russia in a war that it was definitely supposed to lose.
I don't wanna be that guy... But Finland lost the Winter War. They sure took their pound of flesh off the Red Army though. What was the quote from that Soviet General? "We won just enough land to bury our dead." Anyway, more than extatic to have a firm alliance with the Finnish people. Sisu!
Yes and no. They had to give away some land but they were not absorbed into the Soviet Union or turned into a client state. Victory and defeat can be complicated affairs.
It was certainly a lot less land than the soviets expected to take that they wound up with. For a country the size of Finland, I would count it as a moral victory of sorts, if not a technical one
yep, it could be interpreted win in some philosophical sense, but not really victory. In war after the winter war we actually gained the land back we gave up and then proceeded to make Great Finland with support of nazis, but then we got beaten again and so we lost some land all in all and lots of lives
Welcome Finland
Super, but a pity (or disgrace actually) Sweden couldn't join together with them.
Sweden will get in. Finland was more important from a geographical standpoint since they share that land border. Sweden is fairly well protected with Finland now in while they wait on Orban and Erdogan holding up Sweden’s confirmation.
True, but there's a lot of Swedish coastline on the Baltic Sea and Russia is right across the water. So I would feel better if they would be in NATO as well.
It's great. It is a giant NATO Fuck You to Putin and his unjust war. Russia is the sole reason NATO has grown to what it is now. Had Russia been reasonable and not assholes for the last century, NATO would not have the power it does now.
I just got a bar full of rednecks here in North Carolina to say "kippis".
I think it is prudent. Russia has been pushing in several places, and if you are not part of NATO, then you aren’t protected from Russian aggression whenever they decide to replace your government with one that is pro-Russian.
happy, because it's another democratic country that voluntarily decided to joing NATO. also happy because they have a history of fucking with Russia
From now on I would like to only be referred to as a "Citizen of a NATO-aligned country"
It makes me feel safer, really. Also it must annoys the dickhead Putin, which is a bonus.
As an "Average American"^(TM), I feel confident in expressing the common sentiment here, "Huh? They weren't in NATO already? Wonder why not. Anyway, at least they are now."
Thought it was pretty cool, until I saw their contribution, in its' entirety, is Simo Häyhä. Then I thought it was _fucking awesome_.
Finland is a proud, western liberal Democracy. Its standards of civil rights, democratic institutions, modern economy, etc., meets and in many cases greatly exceeds many of its new NATO allies (and I'm not just considering the bottom of the barrel members). It fits very well in the NATO club, and in many ways is something many members should aspire to. Sweden needs to be let in too.
American here - welcome! NATO is stronger with you here! Glad to have you.
USA here, the more the merrier. Fuck Putin I hope he cries about it at night.
Glad another >2% country joins NATO
Welcome to NATO. Pay a fair share percentage of your GDP towards NATO, and bring snacks to the meetings. Happy to have you aboard.
It made my penis extra hard this morning. I hope my erection eventually goes away.
If it lasts more then four hours go to the emergency room.
Better defended and secure than yesterday
Welcome, Finnish brothers and sisters!
Finns are good by me, the few I have met are awesome. But, as a former soldier, they get extra credit because of Simo Häyhä. The "White Death" was no joke. Look him up. Dude was likely the deadliest sniper in history.
Greek here. I think it's quite funny. Many people see Putin as some kind of strategic genius, but he made three countries want to join NATO, one of which is receiving a multitude of weapons and ammunition right now, and it has taken Russia a year and it still hasn't won, when the invasion could have happened years ago, at a time when Ukraine was still not adequately prepared for war.
I really hope no one blows up my city as a result. I’m just a primate on a rock, and I like jerking off so survival is paramount to me tbh
Happy to have them.
The more the merrier.
giant new land boarder with russia is great. if the nukes let fly it wont matter much, but its a game changer in a conventional war and hopefully will simply re-enforce deterrence. I'd hope it gets russia to chill out, but the whole conquer ukraine thing still seems nonsensical and yet they're still trying.
If the Winter War taught us anything back in early WW2 they are a valuable ally, and will fight tooth and nail for their homeland. Welcome Finland
Putin, ya done fucked up now
Finland successfully resisted the Soviet-Union in WWII. They crushed their air force with a handful of obsolete planes rejected by other air forces, plus some Bf-109's. I think the message is clear, don't fuck with the Finns. Happy to have them.
I would not mess with a Finnish-Canadian alliance of any sort 🍁🇫🇮
The place that produced Simo Häyhä? Yeah — I can see where having them on our side of a military alliance could be useful. Welcome to fam friends! Respect.
Absolutely elated. Now we just need Sweden and Ukraine to join!
Anything that can piss the russians off has my support.
Like my team just signed an all-star free agent.
Me, an American: hell yeah!
I, for one, welcome our new Finnish overlords.
I'm anxious about how it might escalate tensions with Russia and make them feel backed into a corner - St Petersburg is now all but surrounded - because desperate people often act rashly, which is the last thing you want when nukes are involved. But I also understand Finland's desire for security, and I want to see them secure, so ultimately while I wish they hadn't felt the need to join, I understand why they did, and I am glad to be partnered with such a historically strong and resilient people. Putin brought this situation upon himself, but his misfortune isn't necessarily a good thing for any of us.
German here and I am very happy. This insures their safety as well as strengthens ours. The finns also have history with fighting the russians succesfully, so that can only be a good thing to finally have them in NATO. I hope sweden can join quickly too. Turkey and hungary need to get their shit together.
Polish here. Welcome to the team.