December 9, 2019

"Sanna Marin of Finland to Become World’s Youngest Prime Minister/At 34, Ms. Marin will head a coalition made up of five parties, in a government led by women."

The NYT reports.
Of the five women in leading ministerial positions in the coalition, four are under 35. Asked about her age after it was announced that she would be prime minister, Ms. Marin reiterated what she has said numerous times: Age doesn’t matter.

“I have not actually ever thought about my age or my gender,” she said, according to the national news outlet YLE. “I think of the reasons I got into politics and those things for which we have won the trust of the electorate.”
Alexander Stubb — Finland’s prime minister from 2014 to 2015 — tweeted:

196 comments:

Unknown said...

is finland part of south bend?

Quaestor said...

Looks like Finland is prepping to re-cement an unfortunate alliance.

mccullough said...

The Prime Minister is the good looking one

MayBee said...

Well I hope none of them turn out to be like Congresswoman Elise Stefanick. She's not the right kind of woman to make diversity, I hear.

(*does* electing women show that Finland is a modern, liberal country? India and Pakistan have both had Indian Prime Ministers)

mockturtle said...

Not a conservative among them.

Quaestor said...

Swedish people in Finland should return to Sweden and leave Finland to the Sami.

The Sami have no other homeland, and Sweden proper is shortly to run out of Swedes.

tim maguire said...

Swedish People's Party of Finland? That is sad.

rhhardin said...

Is it okay if I bring my laptop into the sauna?
Käyhän että tuon kannettavani saunaan?

mccullough said...

The Swedish People’s Party of Finland sounds like the Black Lives Matter of that country

narciso said...

No shes a fully woke child of same sex parents?

MadisonMan said...

"One day gender will not matter" says the guy who is commenting on gender. It's like he's trying to be relevant or something.

rehajm said...

So much for diversity. I admit that group doesn't give me a good feeling. They look like fuckups...

gilbar said...

remember back at the start of WWII?
When the USSR invaded Finland, and the Swedish People's Party, and the Green League, and the Left Alliance, and the Social Democrats (WITH the complete backing of the Centre Party), welcomed them in; with Open Arms?

me neither

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

Guaranteed to be the Finnish equivalent of the Obama administration. A shitshow of lightweights that the media dare not criticize. Ah well, as I’ve said many times, in politics it has to be seen to be understood.

Nichevo said...

Ms. Marin reiterated what she has said numerous times: Age doesn’t matter.

“I have not actually ever thought about my age or my gender,”

If she hasn't thought about it, then how can she offer a judgment? Problem with youth is that it doesn't know what it doesn't know.

Fernandinande said...

See the løveli lakes The wøndërful telephøne system And mäni interesting furry animals. Including the majestik møøse A Møøse once bit my sister... No realli!

gilbar said...

Personal life
Marin is the child of same-sex parents.

rehajm said...

A Møøse once bit my sister... No realli!

Well that didn't take long...You can always count on the Althouse commentariat!

Ralph L said...

Pitt the Younger became PM at 24--for 18 years. How long can this girl keep it up?

Sebastian said...

"One day gender will not matter in government."

You mean, like race doesn't matter a century and a half after the Civil War and more than half a century after passage of the CRA and years after the election of the first (well, make that second) black president?

Or might invoking gender continue to serve the same proggy function as invoking race in the U.S.?

Ralph L said...

India and Pakistan have both had Indian Prime Ministers

That went down well in Pakistan. No wonder they killed her.

Shouting Thomas said...

Women are really a fucking pain in the ass with this shit.

Men pushed us to the brink of extinction with our machismo.

Women will, I guarantee you, soon commit crimes and sins of a similar scale and stupidity. They're salivating over the opportunity.

For a while, we'll have to listen to the women cackling about their virtue. What a fucking pain in the ass they are with that shit!

Temujin said...

One day gender will not matter in government.

But apparently that day is not today. Because today gender is everything. And we celebrate!

It's one thing to get into office without a penis. It's entirely another thing to get into office knowing what you have to do and how to do it. I hope she's knows what she has to do.

She is easier on the eyes than Trump. Or Biden. Or Warren. Or Or Or Or

My name goes here. said...

This looks like a trailer for the worst superhero movie ever.

Young people have been saying that age does not matter ever since there have been old people. I wish them well, I really do. Governing a country is a complex task and I want their country to prosper and their people to be free. I want that everywhere, here, China, Chile, Canada, Sweden, The Congo, everywhere. However, I am reminded of a saying related to youth:

Old age and treachery will beat youth and inexperience every single time.

Sally327 said...

Gender is a social construct, which as been discarded by forward thinking persons everywhere in favor of a non-binary orientation. If true progress is to be made we need to stop thinking in terms of male or female and embrace a more fluid determination. Get with it Finland! You're not making history here, you're simply enforcing traditional norms.

traditionalguy said...

What did they do with the men? Do they have Separate But Equal institutions where men are allowed to participate? Or are men just forbidden?

The Crack Emcee said...

Those photos do NOT instill confidence.

Quayle said...
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rehajm said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
rehajm said...

All the men have been sacked...and the men responsible for sacking the men who have been sacked have been sacked.

Heartless Aztec said...

They can't do much worse than men have done. Though I guess the real question is can they do as well?

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

And poor Alexander Stubb. Who, of any race or gender, is so eager to grovel?

Unless he’s boinking the Center chick. Then I get it.

Xmas said...

So we are, what, 4 to 6 years out from a far right party taking control in Finland? Maybe Sweden will turn before then and some in Sweden will be looking to "liberate" the Swedes living in Finland.

SDaly said...

It is a truism that when women become the leaders of an organization, it is because the organization has become unimportant to the underlying society. Finland is dying (along with the rest of Scandinavia) so it does not really matter who leads it through its terminal phase.

Fernandinande said...

I've just been sacked for pointing out or failing to point out that Finland has the 2nd best educated yøung møøses in Europe.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

Good for the Finns, and good for the Swedish People of Finland!

SDaly said...

It's like leftist policies in general. When you confront them with the failures of their policies (e.g., welfare) they respond that we just have tried hard enough. When you ask why the increase in the number of women in elected offices has corresponded with the breakdown of the government's ability to get things done and society in general, they respond that we need more women in politics!

A study came out recently that increasing the number of women on corporate boards actually led to a decrease in stock price performance. I assume its because when the company focuses on whether the board is sufficiently female, investors assume it has taken its eye off the ball of its actual business.

Maillard Reactionary said...

This is normally where my mean-spirited comment of the day would go, but I have chosen to eschew doing so for now. This is the first post I've read this morning and there might be something more deserving below.

Separately, I enjoyed the pithiness and classic form of Shouting Thomas' comment.

Known Unknown said...

"Finland’s prime minister from 2014 to 2015"

Two years? Sounds like a loser.

Lurker21 said...

They are a frightening bunch coming at you in a group like that -- Mean Girls. I can well imagine them bad mouthing the old Swedish lady when she's out of the room. It's just as well that Finland doesn't have nuclear weapons.

But they could so distract foreign leaders that they would walk off with some major concessions in negotiations. And I guess Finns would rather see one of their pictures on the wall when they have business to do with the government than Alexander Stubbs's.

Stubbs went to high school in Florida and college in South Carolina, if Wikipedia can be trusted. How come we never heard about that when he was in office? And how soon before he enters US politics?

rcocean said...

She leads a coalition of LEFT WING parties. All the competent Finnish men are on the other side. People like Alexander aren't "groveling" they're acknowledging their own inferiority.

John Borell said...

Five Parties of Finland:

1. Social Democratic Party
2. Left Alliance
3. Centre Party
4. Green League
5. Swedish People's Party of Finland

"Hey, Siri, remind me never to move to Finland."

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

All of those women are not Hillary.

So yes - good for them. I'll bet they aren't awash in international pay-to-play mega bucks either.

Maillard Reactionary said...

Alexander Stubb hopes they cut his dick off last.

OK, that was it.

My name goes here. said...

From the perspective of evolutionary biology I have concluded that Finnish men must think that foreheads are sexy.

I am not not Laslo.

Larvell said...

Well shoot, they should have climate change solved in no time.

rcocean said...

She leads a coalition of LEFT WING parties. All the competent Finnish men are on the other side. People like Alexander aren't "groveling" they're acknowledging their own inferiority.

BTW, if you look at Mr. Stubb's bio, he's barely Finnish. Went to HS and College in USA, and now lives in Brussels with his British Wife.

wild chicken said...

Why are they so often photographed with their arms crossed? Is it supposed to imply defiance, and if so why?

The Crack Emcee said...

My name goes here. said...

"From the perspective of evolutionary biology I have concluded that Finnish men must think that foreheads are sexy."

Huge foreheads, with skinny Holocaust-era bodies, and socialist ideas to boot.

Who's horny?

narciso said...

Theres a american expatriate in finlamd James thompson who writes police thrillers, hes very far to the left.

wendybar said...

Who cares what gender they are. The results of their actions will be the tell.

zipity said...



Well good for Finland. All issues, all problems will now be resolved, now that the toxic men are no longer in charge.

Right?

Isn't this how it works...?

M Jordan said...

I liked the original Ghostbusters better.

Lurker21 said...
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Nonapod said...

Personally I think their age is more relevant than their gender. But whatever. Finland is a country of 5.1 million people. They're about as relevant on the world stage as the state of Oregon.

Hagar said...

Finland is not part of Scandinavia and the majority population is a branch related to the Magyars of Hungary.
Finland was occupied by Sweden for something like 400 years,iirc, and that is where the blond and blue-eyed Finns come from - except those of Russian descent, of course.
The Sami is a separate people of nomads traditionally travelling through the northern parts of Norway, Sweden, and Finland.

gspencer said...

"Ms. Marin reiterated what she has said numerous times: Age doesn’t matter"

Muslims say the same thing when "marrying" 9 year olds. Like their Prophet.

Epstein and his friends like Bill Clinton said the same thing.

Lurker21 said...

Li Andersson is also Swedish, as you can tell by the name. I can imagine everyday ordinary Finns in the street asking themselves, "Why did we go to all this trouble of learning this incredibly difficult language, if we are still going to be governed by Swedes?" but Mannerheim and Sibelius were both Swedish Finns, and until recently nobody had ever heard of anybody else from Finland.

Hagar said...

and probably Russia as well. They always have, so official notice is not taken.

rhhardin said...

St. Uhro drove the grasshoppers out of Finland, saving the grape crop.

"Heinäsirkka, heinäsirkka, mene täältä hiiteen!" ("Grasshopper, grasshopper, go from hence to Hell!)"

Jersey Fled said...

Fortunately, no one gives a hoot (to quote a Joe Biden approved term) about what happens in Finland.

Editorial comment:

I did quite a bit of business in Finland during my working career and develop many friendships with individual Finns. They confuse me. They are very good business people and are committed to free markets. Their business enterprises are world class. Yet they are completely sold out on social justice ideology. Our sales directory there told me that he paid 70% of his income in taxes and basically got to keep the other 30% as an allowance. Not a 70% marginal rate, but 70% of every Euro that he made. He was proud of the fact that his 15 year old son and his girlfriend spent every other weekend in the others home, sleeping in the same bed, and doing the obvious. I think he got a kick out of telling me that.

On the.other hand, when taking me on a tour of Stockholm, he drove me by the Parliament building and told me "this is where the 200 dumbest people in Finland work".

And the most popular jokes in Finland are Swedish jokes.

gspencer said...

Had she been PM at the time of the Winter War (Russia invades Finland, November 1939), there would have been no Winter War. She's have handed the keys over to Stalin instantly.

Known Unknown said...

""Ms. Marin reiterated what she has said numerous times: Age doesn’t matter"

Muslims say the same thing when "marrying" 9 year olds. Like their Prophet.

Epstein and his friends like Bill Clinton said the same thing."

What a weird non-sequitur.

The Crack Emcee said...

My name goes here. said...

"From the perspective of evolutionary biology I have concluded that Finnish men must think that foreheads are sexy."

Has anyone else noticed the diffrence in facial structures between the people of the US and Yurp? I used to be fascinated by it when I lived there.

It's like they didn't finish evolving - or we just keep going.

Maillard Reactionary said...

rhhardin @9:35 AM: I've never had a problem with grasshoppers (much less a grape harvest) but I'm going to memorize that just in case.

PJ said...

The Finns have smartly positioned themselves as a preferred destination for Women’s March veterans and other disaffected individuals potentially seeking relocation next November.

@rehajm - don’t Finnish men start out sacked?

Drago said...

Both Sweden and Finland will be islamic in 30 years. Norway will follow shortly.

The good news for the islamic supremacists is that the nordics already hate the jews as much as the islamist supremacists, so that will help things along considerably.

William said...

It was a bank shot, but Finland's military prowess helped to defeat Hitler. When the USSR invaded Finland and almost lost the war, Hitler decided that the defeat of Stalin would be a cakewalk. No Finland, no Russian invasion....I liked Mika Waltari's novels. He was a Finnish writer.....I have now divulged everything I know about Finland.

lgv said...

Her answer is perfect, unlike the twit who rejoices that the five party leaders are women.

When she hits 50 and and Democratic Socialism craters, she will fondly remember the time she was the "it" girl.

lgv said...

Alexander Stubb, "I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords!"

All Simpson episodes are based on true stories from the future.

walter said...

Photos from an an all grrrl band.
Bottom right on drums, methinks.

mockturtle said...

Crack observes: Has anyone else noticed the diffrence in facial structures between the people of the US and Yurp? I used to be fascinated by it when I lived there.

I've noticed it more with Eastern Europeans and chalked it up to poor nutrition.

Quaestor said...

What can one expect from a country with a popular snack called Kalakukko (fish cock)?

Daniel Jackson said...

Where's Greta in all of this?

Todd said...

Since the women are now in charge of Finland, does that mean Finland's will only earn $0.80 of GDP verses $1.00 of GDP for the male run countries?

Asking for a friend...

Wince said...

Can't you feel 'em closin' in, honey
Can't you feel 'em schoolin' around

You got Finns to the left, Finns to the right
And you're the only girl in town

gilbar said...

He was proud of the fact that his 15 year old son and his girlfriend spent every other weekend in the others home, sleeping in the same bed, and doing the obvious. I think he got a kick out of telling me that.

And yet... And Yet... he was "PROUD" of it;
but you and i both know that they're EVEN prouder, that the girl is on birth control

birth rates are at 1.49 per woman... They're Whistling on their way to the grave. Soon the Finns will be finished

Howard said...

Women in power, Cucks most verklempt... unexpectedly

whitney said...

That's the end of Finland. Women in power are civilization destroyers

n.n said...
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James K said...

Note that there are no conservative, or "right" parties. Just Left, Green, Center, and Swedish. And I suspect "Center" is probably more like our Democratic party, left is to the left of Sanders and Warren.

Danno said...

Quaestor said..."The Sami have no other homeland, and Sweden proper is shortly to run out of Swedes."

The statistics people in Sweden count the new arrivals as Swedes when they become citizens. It is their country, let them be overwhelmed by the Muzzies. Just don't ask us to come to the rescue.

Amadeus 48 said...

Another Scandinavian socialist government. (yawn)

This could be quite good or quite bad, depending on the ideological cast of these women. Golda Meier and Margaret Thatcher were great. Merkel did well for a while, but then, no. Tansu Ciller didn't do well in Turkey after a promising start. I don't know much about Indira Gandhi. We could go on, but the proof of the pudding will be in the eating, as they say.

Quaestor said...

Women in power, Cucks most verklempt... unexpectedly

Howard the cuck has no memory of Maggie Thatcher, a British heroine of American conservatives ranking just behind Churchill.

That what smokin' funny cigars wil get ya.

n.n said...

Sex matters in context (i.e. physiological differences). Diversity (i.e. color judgment), apparently, matters in a universal frame (e.g. denial of individual dignity). Progress (i.e. monotonic [unqualified] change) is one step forward, two steps backward.

Lance said...

The photos look like stock downloads.

gilbar said...

Sanna Marin has one child with her long-time partner Markus Räikkönen

i couldn't find Any indications that Any of the others had ANY children; i Did find that
Li Andersson is a Swedish-speaking Finn. (she's the Left Alliance, not the Swedish peoples party

n.n said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Roger Sweeny said...

Or in other words, "I look forward to the day when gender does not matter in government. But today I'm so glad it's all one gender and not the other."

What happened to, "Be the change you want to see in the world."?

n.n said...

the proof of the pudding will be in the eating, as they say

That's right. No diversity, no sex bigotry. First, show us your character (e.g. principles). Second, demonstrate your achievement.

Amadeus 48 said...

If Scandinavian social policies change (why are we supporting these people?), unrest will follow. The key is societal integration. My wonderful Muslim friend Fayaz couldn't be a better American, and we are lucky to have him here.

mockturtle said...

That's the end of Finland. Women in power are civilization destroyers

Nope. Thatcher and Meir were effective heads of state. And women on the throne, like Elizabeth I and Victoria were effective monarchs even if most of the political power came from the PMs. It could be argued that very few women make effective leaders and it's not due to 'the patriarchy' but rather to typical female traits.

Bay Area Guy said...

It'd be nice if the focus were on the policies promoted by these ladies rather than on their collective age and uteruses (uteri?).

Quaestor said...

We could go on, but the proof of the pudding will be in the eating, as they say.

BTW, that's what fish cock is — pudding, a pudding of rye bread and minced herring to be more precise. It's not bad. Imagine kippers on toast that you eat with a spoon, only not quite so nice.

Drago said...

Amadeus 48: "Another Scandinavian socialist government. (yawn)"

I wonder if there will remain sufficient capitalism available to pay for the loser socialist programs?

tim maguire said...

MayBee said...(*does* electing women show that Finland is a modern, liberal country? India and Pakistan have both had Indian Prime Ministers)

England and Russia both had female leaders centuries ago.

Bill said...

Am I the only one who's tired as hell of the arms-crossed pose, so beloved of realtors . . . and female politicians?

n.n said...

Finland's will only earn $0.80 of GDP verses $1.00 of GDP for the male run countries?

The sex gap has been compensated through making women available, taxable, and leveraged, while the "burden" is rectified in abortion fields. There is also the normalization of womb banks and sperm donors for transgender (e.g. homosexual) couplets and infertile couples, and clinical cannibalism for medical progress. As well as immigration reform and other means to force democratic gerrymandering, progress GDP, etc.

Quaestor said...

...like Elizabeth I and Victoria were effective monarchs even if most of the political power came from the PMs.

No PMs under Bess, she was in charge as firmly as any English Plantagenet monarch, perhaps more so given the fact that England was more united than under any previous regime since Harold Godwinson. However, Elizabeth was ultimately a failure as she ran out her biological clock and thereby handed England to the imperious Stuarts.

Howard said...

That's a great point Q. You people will always have Maggie and your oadeopus complex

n.n said...

It'd be nice if the focus were on the policies promoted by these ladies rather than on their collective age and uteruses (uteri?).

It would be progressive, just not their qualification. Speaking of wombs, and diversity, end age and color discrimination, respectively.

John henry said...

Is Moosehead legal in Finland?

John Henry

Quaestor said...

Am I the only one who's tired as hell of the arms-crossed pose, so beloved of realtors . . . and female politicians?

Tired? Not Quaestor. Utterly exhausted is more like it. The huge glaring problem with the modern digital cameras with their nearly foolproof exposure control, white balance, and autofocus is that it puts technically competent photography in easy reach of totally shit-for-brains philistines. Thus the nauseatingly ubiquitous pose.

Quaestor said...

You people will always have Maggie and your oadeopus complex

Howard had 19 minutes to compose that insipid rejoinder and still hadn't enough time to learn to spell Oedipus.

RNB said...

"If this country was run by vegetarian women rather than flesh-eating men, this whole space disaster would never have happened."

narciso said...

Elizabeth understood power, although if you read john guy maybe not so well, catherine de medici, the duchess of imola to varrying degrees

Quaestor said...

Is Moosehead legal in Finland?

BTW, møøse, as in a møøse once bit my sister...No , realli, she vas karving her initials on der møøse... was probably more confusing to the British audience than the Americans, the animal known here by its Algonquian name is there called an elk, or is that Anne Elk?

mockturtle said...

Narciso, none of the monarchs--male or female--was perfect but Elizabeth I was a better monarch than her father. And it's a good thing she, and not Mary, was on the throne of England.

Quaestor said...

...catherine de medici, the duchess of imola to varying degrees

Sufficient to get a massacre or two in motion. Mary Tudor also understood that aspect of power quite well.

Yancey Ward said...

The people responsible for Fernandistein's comments have been sacked.

Bay Area Guy said...

Finland fought heroically against the Soviets in WWII, but, sadly, it was brief, and they were eventually overrun by the dastardly Commies.

Quaestor said...

and not Mary...

Stuart? With England's crown Philip II would have married her in a heartbeat, even at the cost of the riches of Peru, and would have gotten a (healthy!) Hapsburg heir from her (assuming she hadn't wasted her fertility on Darnley) to rule England, Scotland, Spain, the Netherlands, much of Italy, and the entire Western Hemisphere. What a paradigm shift that would have been.

Would England have taken that lying down? Or would Parliament's rebellion have taken place 70 years earlier?

Matt said...

Ouch. Not only are they under 40, meaning they have no experience, they're also lefty chicks which means they think with their twats.

Not a good combo.

Of course, you'd get the same thing with lefty men, too so...shrug.

narciso said...

Studying the documentary records, tudors got the full whitewash.

mccullough said...

Perhaps they all identify as men

Josephbleau said...

I am not sure if Finnish men start out sacked but they are frequently in the bag, allegedly due to long dark winters and much akvavit.

Tomcc said...

And some day country of origin will not matter, but until then I'm pleased to know that the Swedish people have a seat at the table!
Also, Phidippus, there will be no compulsory penis removal. There will be, entirely voluntary, progesterone therapy for the enlightened males.

mockturtle said...

Philip II wanted to marry Elizabeth, too, but she wisely refused him. [Although, IIRC, she strung him along for a while]. She didn't let her emotions get in the way of her policies. She even had her lover [or so thought] drawn and quartered for treason, IIRC. Mary Stuart would have let her emotions and her Church rule England.

LA_Bob said...

Bill said, "Am I the only one who's tired as hell of the arms-crossed pose, so beloved of realtors . . . and female politicians?"

I hear you, but it beats the "thumb-and-forefinger-propping-up-the-chin" pose.

madAsHell said...

Wait until the Muslims show up!!

n.n said...

There has been a curious effort to conflate sex and gender, presumably to facilitate political congruence and justify marginalization of women, couples, and the nuclear family.

Women are not a monolithic bloc. The feminine spectrum ranges from nurturing to wicked. Women have demonstrated the same secular ambitions as men, and an even greater willingness to sacrifice blood on liberal scales for progress a la Mao, Stalin, etc.

That said, good luck to the Fins. Progress is monotonic [unqualified] change. Diversity (i.e. color judgments) breeds adversity. Principles matter.

Leland said...

I'm sure the Queen of England sent her congratulations along with some Queen Victoria memorabilia.

mockturtle said...

Wait until the Muslims show up!!

I'm sure they will all do the right thing and convert to Islam, like Tony Blair's SIL did.

n.n said...

And some day country of origin will not matter

There will always, as a matter of practical, rational interest, be administrative districts, geographical origin, etc. The name changes, but the practice persists. Progress.

buwaya said...

Mary Tudors reputation suffers terribly from centuries of anti-Catholic propaganda, an aspect of the anti-Spanish "leyenda negra" created by the English "deep state" - and there certainly was one, even then.

https://es.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leyenda_negra_española

There was a centuries-long rivalry between England and Spain and France and the Netherlands over the ... world, really. It was a game played for the largest stakes available, in its day. And propaganda was consciously conceived and deployed as a weapon.

And the long term effects are still with us. Propaganda wars never end, they affect (or infect) attitudes long after the wars and conflicts the propaganda was intended for are over, when there is no longer anything to fight about. We are still dealing with the zombie leftovers of the propaganda of the Comintern and the Cold War.

Poor Mary Tudor was a very capable monarch, a proper grand-daughter of the redoubtable Isabela of Castile. Unfortunately she did not produce a heir to the throne (having married much, much too late) and so her faction lost the contest for power, and so England was turned from a Spanish partner to a Spanish rival.

The propaganda has of course tried to attach some moral-ethical-philosophical values to this ordinary amoral struggle for power among factions. But such conceits are fantastic.

stevew said...

We are rapidly running out of firsts.

The industry I work in (long called High Technology) and the job I do (sales) has had females in leadership positions for as long as I've worked (first professional gig in 1979). Seems strange to me that political leadership has taken so long to catch up.

buwaya said...

English anti-Catholicism was created by Henry VIII when he created the Protestant faction at a stroke - when he created a class of owners of former church property.

That was a LOT of property.

This gave a large class of powerful people a stake in being anti-Catholic, being as so much wealth and power depended on keeping the swag.

Everything else proceeded from that, and most high-minded justifications after the fact were and still are often elaborate rationalizations of a very simple dynamic.

n.n said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
n.n said...

We are rapidly running out of firsts.

That's not true. Diversity refers to a constellation of low information attributes. For example, while sex is binary, gender (i.e. physical and mental attributes) covers a spectrum, albeit normally distributed. The first 0.1, 0.001, 0.0001 whatever.

Ken B said...

Swedish People's Party of Finland. Is that like the German American Bund?

Ken B said...

So, we will see. I don’t for a moment believe sex had nothing to do with this, so let’s see how well it works. They might surprise us.

Curious George said...

Finns are known for their car driving ability. That looks like it's over now.

Balfegor said...

Eh, I guess technically Sebastian Kurz (born 1986, currently 33) isn't Chancellor of Austria yet, since he still has to form his government after his party's success in the most recent elections? But he was Chancellor first time around at the age of what, 31? That's basically Prime Minister under the Austrian system. Anyhow. I think her title as "youngest" is good for at most a month or so, at this point.

mockturtle said...

Correction of my post above: While Elizabeth I did sentence Robert Devereux to be drawn and quartered she commuted his sentence to beheading.

readering said...

Important fact about Finland in WW2. Although it launched an offensive alongside Barbarasso, it refused to advance beyond pre-Winter War boundary.

daskol said...

Finland babes

Lewis Wetzel said...

What kind of identity do you have if you do not think of your age or gender?
Either you are inhuman, or, more likely, your age and gender are important parts of your identity, but you refuse to acknowledge it.

Lewis Wetzel said...

Blogger buwaya said...

English anti-Catholicism was created by Henry VIII when he created the Protestant faction at a stroke - when he created a class of owners of former church property.

Henry's "Protestantism" (it deserves to be in quotes) was operationally the same as the old Catholicism. Priest were still celibate, for example. The English Reformation, in the 16th century, was mostly about transferring physical property and spiritual authority from the Roman Church to the monarch.

Andrew said...

A post about Finland must have an obligatory comment about Sibelius.

If any music afficiando is reading, and you have some time to spare, here is a wonderful appreciation of his life and work.

"Sibelius: Apparition from the Woods."
https://www.therestisnoise.com/2007/07/sibelius-chapte.html

An excerpt:

Sibelius was not merely the most famous composer Finland ever produced but the country’s chief celebrity in any field. He played a symbolic but active role in the drive toward Finnish independence, which was finally achieved in 1917. When Finns are asked to characterize their culture, they invariably mention, along with such national treasures as the lakeside sauna, Fiskars scissors, and Nokia cell phones, “our Sibelius.” Mostly because of him, classical music has retained a central role in Finnish culture. The country’s government invests enormous sums in orchestras, opera houses, new-music programs, and music schools. The annual Finnish expenditure on the arts is roughly two hundred times per capita what the United States government spends through the National Endowment for the Arts.

Finns are strangers to the European family. Their language, belonging to the Finno-Ugrian category, is largely unrelated to the Indo-European linguistic group. For centuries, they were governed by the Swedes; then, in 1809, they became a semi-autonomous grand duchy of tsarist Russia. In the late nineteenth century, the Swedish influence remained strong, with a minority of Swedish-speakers forming the élite. Sibelius belonged to this group; he learned Finnish as a second language. Yet, like many of his generation, he avidly joined in the independence campaign, which became more urgent after Tsar Nicholas II introduced measures designed to suppress Finland’s autonomy.

YoungHegelian said...

@Buwaya,

Mary Tudors reputation suffers terribly from centuries of anti-Catholic propaganda
.
Not to mention her treatment at the hands of Monty Python.

rhhardin said...

Favorite Sibelius, Violin Concerto in D Minor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpS_u5RvMpM

owing to violinist tits.

Krumhorn said...

For a while, we'll have to listen to the women cackling about their virtue. What a fucking pain in the ass they are with that shit!

For a very looooong while, I’m afraid. It’s the unassailable monopoly on virtue of the leftie wymin that stimulates bug-eyed fury.

- Krumhorn

Big Mike said...

Yawn. I am waiting, with increasing impatience, for the day when everyone grows up enough to ignore gender, race, ethnicity, religion, hair color, etc., and focus on policies and perceived competence. I used to suppose it would happen during the 1980s. Today I don’t see it happening before 2050.

stlcdr said...

Sweden is ready to take over Finland.

Michael K said...

This gave a large class of powerful people a stake in being anti-Catholic, being as so much wealth and power depended on keeping the swag.

True but the Church aggravated the situation after the fall of Napoleon. The Hanoverians proposed the franchise for Catholics, especially in Ireland, if the Pope would accept the Hanoverian royal family. The Pope chose to support the Stuarts even though the line had died out. The French and Spanish kings then compounded the matter.

stlcdr said...

Blogger Big Mike said...
Yawn. I am waiting, with increasing impatience, for the day when everyone grows up enough to ignore gender, race, ethnicity, religion, hair color, etc., and focus on policies and perceived competence. I used to suppose it would happen during the 1980s. Today I don’t see it happening before 2050.

12/9/19, 1:26 PM


It did happen in the 80's. Gender, race, etc. didn't matter. With women and and minorities in a position to make decisions, and failing, they blamed others. And so began the victimhood culture: it's easier than accepting your own failure.

And so it continues, today.

Michael McNeil said...

Swedish people in Finland should return to Sweden and leave Finland to the Sami. The Sami have no other homeland, and Sweden proper is shortly to run out of Swedes.

What? Sami (Sami languages) are spoken across far larger swathes of Sweden, Norway, and even (far northwestern) Russia than Finland.

Michael McNeil said...

No PMs under Bess, she was in charge as firmly as any English Plantagenet monarch, perhaps more so given the fact that England was more united than under any previous regime since Harold Godwinson. However, Elizabeth was ultimately a failure as she ran out her biological clock and thereby handed England to the imperious Stuarts.

Elizabeth was no failure — unless perpetuating the dynasty is the singular ultimate virtue for a monarchial chief of state. Some would argue that it's not.

As for the newly arrived Stuart(s) in England, here's an entertaining and intriguing story about James I from Winston Churchill's History of the English-Speaking Peoples: [quoting…]

James was proclaimed King James I of England without opposition, and in April 1603 began a leisurely journey from Holyrood [Edinburgh] to London. He was a stranger and an alien, and his qualifications for governing England were yet to be tested. “So ignorant,” says Trevelyan, was James “of England and her laws that at Newark he ordered a cut-purse caught in the act to be hanged without a trial at a word from his royal mouth.” The execution did not take place.

[/unQuote]
____
(Winston S. Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, Volume 2: The New World, 1956, Dodd, Mead & Co., New York, 1962; p. 147)

SDaly said...

I am waiting, with increasing impatience, for the day when everyone grows up enough to ignore gender, race, ethnicity, religion, hair color, etc., and focus on policies and perceived competence. I used to suppose it would happen during the 1980s. Today I don’t see it happening before 2050.

Do you not think that various race, ethnicity and religions makeups of different societies will lead to different policies? Are Finland and Honduras and Cambodia and Nigeria interchangeable? What do you view as "competence"?

Josephbleau said...

Sibelius was also the first female governor of Kansas, but was Irish, marrying a Finn.

n.n said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Big Mike said...

What do you view as "competence"?

Like art and porn, I will know it when I see it. (And right now I do not perceive anyone in the Democrat clown car as possessing it.)

(Come to think of it, a banana duct-taped to the wall is neither art nor porn.)

n.n said...

Samiovo. Also, Kurdovo, Persiovo, Tibetovo and so on and so forth. Or no borders and just administrative districts, with a uniform distribution of people... persons, which may be actually plausible if there is [catastrophic] [anthropogenic] global warming. Oh, and, of course, Uighurovo.

chuck said...

And not a single transgender among them. Give it time...

Ralph L said...

Alexander Stubb hopes they cut his dick off last.

His name is Stubb, I'd say it's too late.

My sister adopted a cat she named Stub because he showed up with half a tail.

n.n said...

a banana duct-taped to the wall is neither art nor porn

A phallic symbol bound and hung on a wall with care. It's pornographic.

pornography (n.)

1842, "ancient obscene painting, especially in temples of Bacchus," from French pornographie, from Greek pornographos "(one) depicting prostitutes," from porne "prostitute," originally "bought, purchased" (with an original notion, probably of "female slave sold for prostitution"), related to pernanai "to sell" (from PIE *perə-, variant of root *per- (5) "to traffic in, to sell") + graphein "to write" (see -graphy).


Perhaps equal opportunity and diverse, it is sadomasochistic and misandrist. As well as a a baby step to normalization, before the walls are torn down, and the nature of social liberal club is exposed to full public scrutiny.

n.n said...

And not a single transgender among them. Give it time...

Not physical attributes, anyway.

Earnest Prole said...

Whitechix are doin’ it for themselves.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Finland is doomed.

Freeman Hunt said...

The sexes don't give me pause, but the ages, except for one, do.

Unknown said...

September 1st, 2021: Finland invades Sweden and Norway after securing an historic non-aggression pact with Russia.

Nichevo said...


rhhardin said...
Favorite Sibelius, Violin Concerto in D Minor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpS_u5RvMpM

owing to violinist tits.

12/9/19, 1:20 PM


Now you're just messing with your audience. You refuse to watch or approve of movies that show Too Much actress boobage. Movies you have to sit there and use your eyes for 2 hours. Sarah Chang is a violinist. You can close your eyes and receive her core competency.

Of all things, a musician's looks? You're like the Polish actress who slept with the screenwriter.

JaimeRoberto said...

Alexander Stubb is just trying to get in their pants.

Seeing Red said...

Goodbye Finland.

n.n said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
n.n said...

They're young enough to be divergent. With good fortune, they will grow old and assess their choices, and teach their... the children. Then the plot recycles.

Tommy Duncan said...

Hillary: "America could have elected me. What does she have that I don't have?"

America: "She has good looks, youth and the ability to walk to her car and get in without the assistance of four Secret Service agents."

Dave Begley said...

JaimeRoberto said...
Alexander Stubb is just trying to get in their pants.
12/9/19, 2:50 PM

Agree 100%.

Quaestor said...

Elizabeth was no failure — unless perpetuating the dynasty is the singular ultimate virtue for a monarchial chief of state. Some would argue that it's not.

The first duty of a regnant monarch is to get an heir and thus secure the succession. Those who would argue that it is not haven't given sufficient thought to the institution of European monarchy in general or history of England in particular. Most of the blood spilt on that island's soil between 1066 and 1642 was shed over a disputed succession. In a monarchial system, a prince who wastes his fecund years without issue puts his people's lives in jeopardy of civil war or foreign invasion.

Even under the constitution of Anglo-Saxon state which did not guarantee a right of succession by legitimate birth could not protect England from a foreign claimant with a papal warrant. What happened at Hastings was decisive, yet even if Harold Godwinson had prevailed, had forced the Normans to flee the island for their duchy across the Channel, a papal interdict could still have brought down the Saxon royal house. However, if Edward the Confessor had gotten a son, Duke William could have never gained the support of the Church.

Quaestor said...

Mary Tudors reputation suffers terribly from centuries of anti-Catholic propaganda, an aspect of the anti-Spanish "leyenda negra" created by the English "deep state" - and there certainly was one, even then.

Malarky. Mary Tudor made her reputation all by herself.

narciso said...


https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/w/cuba-found-to-be-the-most-sustainably-developed-country-in-the-world-new-research-finds

mockturtle said...

I'm currently reading a biography of Empress Cixi of China, who reigned from 1861 until 1908. An exceedingly shrewd and sensible woman who not only knew how to attain and wield power but how to keep it. She opened up trade with the Western nations, devised organized means of revenue to replace corrupt and disorganized practices and listened, even to those critical of her policies, taking advice when she deemed it useful. Not an average woman but clearly a competent one. Like Thatcher & Meir.

mockturtle said...

I will admit to an anti-Catholic bias if buwaya and others would admit to their pro-Catholic bias.

tim in vermont said...

Hot women are the key to electoral success for the left.

tim in vermont said...

When Liz Warren was their age, she was a flat out hottie. She should have run then! Same with Gillibrand, and probably the lady who eats her peas with a comb.

mockturtle said...

When Liz Warren was their age, she was a flat out hottie

You mean no boobs?

Howard said...

A carpenters dream

Jupiter said...

Looks like the Russians were meddling in the Finnish election.

Seeing Red said...

How many have kids?

stephen cooper said...

Finland is not a country, it is an ethnic protectorate of the great powers.

It has been more than a generation since the Finns were known for the kind of bravery that makes a country a sovereign nation.

The guy who is so proud of these five women is not a brave man and Western civilization cannot depend on him, and the women he praises are not leaders, they are something less than leaders. There are better things they could be doing with their lives, and I hope they realize that some day.

Of course the same is true for most of our politicians here in the USA.



Thus ends Stephen Cooper's chances at emigrating to Finland.

stephen cooper said...

Which is sad because I could actually write some fairly good sonnets in Finnish if I tried.
(that is my subjective opinion, anyway....)

mockturtle said...

It has been more than a generation since the Finns were known for the kind of bravery that makes a country a sovereign nation.

They are not even medaling in ski jumping these days! Norway, Germany, Poland and Japan are leading now. Poor Finland. They are famous for their cell phones, though, are they not?

Big Mike said...

They are not even medaling in ski jumping these days! Norway, Germany, Poland and Japan are leading now. Poor Finland. They are famous for their cell phones, though, are they not?

And their saunas.

stephen cooper said...

To be fair, at the individual level, most Finns are as brave as most Americans, I think, maybe more, I mean at least a lot of their male younglings try the ski jump....

But to get back to what I was trying to say, the average Navajo or Hopi man has a lot of testosterone, from what I have heard, and you don't hear people going on and on about how great it would be if the 5 top Navajo bureaucrats were women. Look, we should just be honest and say, hey, the Navajo nation is as important as Finland, in its way. But we won't because we are poorly educated.

Michael McNeil said...

What happened at Hastings was decisive, yet even if Harold Godwinson had prevailed, had forced the Normans to flee the island for their duchy across the Channel, a papal interdict could still have brought down the Saxon royal house.

What if King Harald Hardrede had won the Battle of Stamford Bridge — 3 weeks before the Battle of Hastings in 1066? What then?

Kirk Parker said...

Poor Finland... actually poor Europe! And actually it's not just the female leaders who are a problem.

Ralph L said...

a prince who wastes his fecund years without issue puts his people's lives in jeopardy of civil war or foreign invasion.

Eliabeth's heir presumptive from 1558 until 1587 was a Papist. No wonder her courtiers were anxious that she should marry. Who was going to kill captive Mary Stuart if Elizabeth died?

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Meanwhile, we've got a 73 year-old yutz in charge who's living in the 1920s.

Kirk Parker said...

mockturtle,

I have a great many issues with the Roman Catholic Church as a church; things having to do with theology, church polity, and the like. But as a civilizational ideology and institution, I have mostly admiration.

mockturtle said...

But Kirk, the Renaissance spawned the Reformation. Did the RCC sow the seeds of their own destruction?

Kirk Parker said...

Well, since they aren't quite dead yet, I'd say the jury is still out.

mockturtle said...

They are represented in end-time prophecies.

Static Ping said...

When a nation is more concerned with luxury items and signs of virtue rather than actual results, it does not tend to go well.

One of China's greatest artists was also one of its worst emperors.

pokerone said...

The inevitable for Finland: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ucvgp0cY1qs

Was Carrie Lam, ex-Hong Kong executive, unavailable to comment on female leadership?

Jane Byrne, first Chicago female mayor, pretty much won her election because of a snowplowing failure by then mayor Harold Washington, if I remember correctly, so snow clearance isn't a single gender issue but could be a progressive thing, see, https://www.kuow.org/stories/no-not-every-seattle-street-will-get-snowplowed

Kirk Parker said...

"They are represented in end-time prophecies."

Maybe. For certain values of "maybe".

Kirk Parker said...

I.e. I have far less confidence than I did at one time in the interpretive methods of Darby, Scofield, Chafer, and the rest... and by "far less" I guess I really mean "hardly any". And as far as one H.L.... fuggedaboudit.