More and more Ukrainians are fleeing for their lives to Europe as we mark the first anniversary of the Russian invasion. It seems the EU and NATO lack the political imagination to do more than worsen the refugee situation in the year ahead. So far 4 million have fled Ukraine and over 40 000 to Finland.
More tanks and weapons are promised weekly for the Ukrainian military, and peace talks continue to be dismissed and scuttled by NATO powers.

This week, President Sauli Niinistö announced that he would not let the nuisance of a parliamentary democratic election get in the way of Finland’s NATO membership if the Turkish president agreed to support it. What nonsense, indeed!
Who’s in charge of this crisis anyway?
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg will be in Helsinki next week to make final arrangements and it would be embarrassing indeed to mention complications like elections.

Last year there was an even larger embarrassment for those running the war against Russia. The German reluctance to
face a cold winter ahead and cut off imports of Russian gas. The German politicians were finding it difficult to face the public and tell them they would be turning off the gas.
The CIA came up with a solution. With Norwegian help, they blew up the Nordstream pipelines. This is according to an extensive report published by prize-winning investigative reporter Seymoure Hersh. The bombs were planted on the pipelines by US Navy divers during a NATO naval exercise also involving Norway, Sweden and even Finland.
The bombs were set off remotely three months later to defer suspicion. Rumors started to go around that this was an evil act of terror by who else- the Russians. Few stopped to ask why they would blow up the pipeline instead of just cutting off the gas flow.
This month the Helsingin Sanomat is holding an event to showcase its investigative journalism.
Now here’s an investigation to win some journalists a prize.
Ask Mr. Stoltenberg why he allowed an attack on the public property of his friends and allies by allowing the blowing up of the Nordstream pipeline. If the plot exists, as NATO chief, he obviously had to know about it. The question might also be put to any high-ranking Finnish officer accompanying Stoltenberg. After all, the bombs were planted during a naval exercise in which NATO. Norway and Finland were all involved.
In putting the question, these gentlemen might be reminded that these kinds of secret plots can get uncovered with time. Are they interested in going down in history as secret plotters against the property of their citizens, corporations, and allies? Even putting the health of citizens at risk during a cold winter?
Were they afraid citizens would lose faith in the war their leaders were prosecuting once the gas stopped flowing? Is everyone keeping quiet now because people might not support joining NATO if they knew it went around carrying out acts of terror in their midst?
Then there is the matter of Turkey. After Ukraine and Syrian more refugees fled to Europe last year from Turkey than anywhere.
They were fleeing the oppressive Erdogan regime arresting and torturing human rights activists and Kurds demanding their ethnic rights. In fact, one of the major violators of the democratic rights and freedoms NATO is sworn to defend is the military alliance’s easternmost member, Turkey.
One of Turkey’s most outspoken critics was neutral Sweden.- sometimes Finland. Now both are keeping quiet so Turkey will let them join NATO. No more brave criticism of Turkey’s abuse of democratic freedoms.
By putting a gag on the critics of its domestic abuses, Erdogan’s Turkey will undoubtedly be emboldened to oppress democracy activists and Kurds even more.
So NATO has brought us more refugees, ostensibly a new breed of “terrorism among friends” and a muffling of democracy- and we haven’t even joined yet!