1 September

Today was the start of the new academic year. Interesting things happened:

• attended the opening ceremony at the university, which was nice, especially the music;
• signed the new employment contract;
• had for breakfast and lunch cake which was offered on the occasion of the start of the academic year;
• had two introductory lectures for two courses I will teach (after a break in teaching since march);
• went cycling at kakumäe, came back to Koidu home with the bike in rain, got very wet;
• koidu home was still rather cold, and I was cold and wet (see above) so decided to heat up the sauna, went to the sauna, enjoyed it.

Joschka Fischer offers a realistic view of EU-Russia relations

In an article in the Guardian, former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer offers a rather insightful analysis of the realities of a new Russia - EU relationship. He suggests the EU to take specific steps to counter Russia’s power politics:

This requires several measures:

• A new political dynamism vis-à-vis Turkey to link this country, one crucial for European security, permanently to Europe;
• Putting a stop to Moscow’s divide-and-conquer politics by adopting a common EU energy policy;
• Serious initiative for strengthening Europe’s defence capabilities;
• A greater EU commitment to Ukraine to safeguard its independence;
• A greater freedom of travel for all the EU’s Eastern neighbours.

I do not think any of these suggestions are especially difficult to agree upon in the EU, so the initiative should start now.

Michael Jackson 50

Michael Jackson turns 50 today.

I have been a fan of Michael since early 90s, from the Dangerous album. I do not really know why I like his music, and to a certain extent his values as well. I guess I admire his ability to rise above his public persona and live his life in his own terms (as he has the means to do so). He has influenced popular music more than people sometimes give him credit, his sheer talent is obvious.

Watch: Michael being interviewed by telephone on Good Morning America.

Meaningless test

Your result for The House, MD Personality Test…

Dr. Gregory House

60% Eccentricity, 55% Confidence, 40% Kindness

Take The House, MD Personality Test at HelloQuizzy

Omg iPhone

I got the iphone today and it is amazing. The price does not matter, the 24 month EMT contract does not matter, the phone is simply amazing. There is nothing close to this that exists, it truly is a do-everything device. I had quite high expectations, but it is unbelievable.

Nocturnal Song Festival and Ruja Rock Opera

The Nocturnal Song Festival was a brilliant event for Estonians. The only sour note is that they could have been more inclusive towards the Russian minority, so it was a lost opportunity for bringing Estonians and Russians living in Estonia closer. 

The Ruja rock opera provided a condensed version of a life of a rock band, the rock band in Estonia in the late 70s/early 80s. From their genius beginning to being consumed by their success and commercialisation, the rock opera made one think about success and the sacrifices one makes to achieve it. The brilliant staging, music and the use of video was unprecedented. The show had a distinct No99 theatre feel.

Recession?!

Technically, Estonia seems to be in a recession, as our GDP growth has been negative for two quarters in a row. There are some important factors that do not make this a regular recession:

1. Unemployment rates are 4% (which is 0,2% below last quarter and 1% less than last year’s same quarter). So people still have jobs and the incomes of people actually should be growing at a normal rate. People seemed to have been scared off by the media’s talk about a possible recession and the rising prices and simply stopped spending as much as they used to.

2. The real estate market has not collapsed. In July actually the number of transactions rose slightly, which might (or might not) be an early indication of a recovery in that sector and the economy as a whole.

3. The statistics are always behind the times. As we live in August, we get the picture of the state of the economy in the quarter ending 30 June. It is important to see what are the numbers for this quarter, if it is going to be more than this quarter’s growth, the worse will be over.

4. The external factors are looking better as well. Oil prices are falling, euro is weakening slightly (helping exports).

So the thought should be do not panic, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

The price for Kosovo’s independence from Serbia

There are a large number of areas in a large number of countries where there is a dominant ethnic minority (vis-a-vis the majority nationality in the main part of the country). In Estonia for example North East Estonia, where there are 95% ethnic Russians living in the city of Narva. The same applied for Kosovo and Serbia to a certain degree and the same applies to South Ossetia and Abkhasia in Georgia, Transdnistria in Moldova. This also applies to Scotland and Wales in the UK, parts of the Netherlands, the Basque country in Spain, etc etc.

The current doctrine of international law does not allow for independence for these regions. This principle was breached in the case of Kosovo, and this has also fueled Russian resolve to attack Georgia and try to take South Ossetia and Abkhasia. It is clear that the agressor in Georgia’s case is Russia which has embarked on a development route, which can be described as a neo-Fascism with neo-Soviet crust. However, things should not have been made so easy for them by allowing Kosovo to become independent.

In the EU the role of the Member States is diminishing, there are common values, common principles regarding rule of law, democracy, human rights, etc, which are respected in all of these states. Thus is does not matter much where you live or which nationality you are. The same situation must be strived for in other countries with conflict situations as well. The international law and principles should be strong enough to guarantee a minimal level of protection for all human beings, regardless of where they live.

If we were to accept the example of Kosovo and agree now also to the “right” of South Ossetians to become independent (and merge with Russia), there will be no end for conflicts, both internal and full wars. The world has become a much more dangerous place and it is the job for the community of democratic countries to act decisively to guarantee the peace. Otherwise who knows which country will be next…

12 hour party

Today I was at my longest party ever. It started at noon and ended before midnight. It involved nice people, with whom I sometimes had trouble finding a common language, but I did play Petanque and enjoyed myself a lot. The food was excellent, and I drank extraordinary amount of Rose wine witout getting drunk.

Visiting the Porquerolles island

Today I visited the Porquerolles island off the coast from Hyeres. In summer, there is a boat that takes you there and back for 22 euros. It left at 9.30 and returned at 18.00, the trip lasted an hour and fifteen minutes. The Porquerolles island is small, and there are about 350 people living permanently there. The main thing you can do there is go to the beaches and look around the beautiful nature. There are four bigger beaches, and some coves. As a rule, the further away from the village you go, the less people are, and the nicer the beaches. And there are all sorts: white sand, black sand, sand with pebbles and just pebbles. There are beaches where it goes deeper quickly, and the ones I prefer, where it goes deeper slower.

If you want to take most of the visit you rent a bike. Mine cost 11 euros for the day, and it was a mountain bike. The selection of bikes and rentals was overwhelming, so I just went to one and rented it. As the island lacks its own fresh water, it is scarce and quite expensive so you are better off taking a bottle or two from the mainland.

You go around, swim, sunbathe, admire the vistas and that will take the whole day. I was quite exhausted when I returned to the boat.