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Showing posts from April, 2013
Thatcher's Legacy to Britain, Estonia and the World Published Postimees 13 April 2013  For Estonia, Baroness Thatcher legacy is largely good. She was a tireless crusader against the Soviet Empire and against socialism which she always hated. Her robust foreign policy in Ireland, the Falkland Island and elsewhere led to the West standing up to and defeating communism. She could not have anticipated the collapse of the Soviet Union but that's what ended up happening. Margaret Thatcher's economic policies were the template, Mart Laar and others followed to transform the Estonian economy in the 90s. In Britain the reaction to the Baroness's death has been mixed, some mourned, others celebrated. To understand why, you have know what was going on in Britain before and what has happened subsequently. I will begin. Britain before Thatcher was a pretty depressing place. The country was going to hell, a child could notice it. My earliest memories are of sitting ...
The Conservative solution Published Postimees 31 March 2013  I really struggled with this article. As a non-Estonian I have always felt I have no right to suggest things. I comment, I ask questions. But I am now a permanent resident, I have family ties here and I am paying my taxes so here it goes. Like many people I got a letter last week from a lobby group calling itself the "Foundation for the Family and the Defence of Traditions". As we all know these people oppose the draft proposal for neutral gender civil unions. Over the past few years, the row over the issue has swallowed up the debate over every other type of minority right. A student who wanted to interview me about minority rights, ended up spending the whole interview talking about gay rights. He really was not interested in anything else. Like most people from my background, I am a social conservative and economically social liberal. For example, I support the monarchy, I was a litt...