Fascism For First Time Founders Over the last year or so I've seen a disturbing tendency in tech/startup/VC worlds to buy into the neoreactionary view that for startups to be successful they need to get on board the Trump train. Yes, there are the big name folks who everyone knows about and who…

The Estonian government, through its agencies, paid €30,000 in flight and security costs for iShowSpeed to come to Tallinn. Embarrassing to see the government still being such willing marks for grift during a cost-of-living crisis. share.google/C4ZcrkpME0JT...

Many happy thoughts to everyone celebrating Laulupidu, the Estonian Song Festival, today and tomorrow. Freedom is something to be fought-for and celebrated. Elagu Eesti! 🇪🇪

No matter which iteration of Tallinn City Government, they never put up notices saying if the trams are stopped for a major public event. There are people fruitlessly and silently queueing for trams that will not come.

Astonishing what can be achieved when focus is cost of living, not using the jargon of anointed career party hacks. Can you imagine any Estonian politician outside 1 or 2 even addressing people authentically in their everyday words? Being hated by the Democrat establishment actually helps Zohran.

The more I see the conceit, arrogance, and utter disregard for voters of the vast majority of Estonian political parties, the more I think the whole system needs to be changed. They work for us, not for the top donors. Lift up the rock, let the lice scurry off, let's elect some people who care.

Sain just aru, miks Urmas Sõõrumaa reformierakonna linnapeakandidaat on. Pärtel-Peeter Pere sai kahjuks alles üleeile teada, et monopolimees on väljamõeldud tegelane.

How can anyone in Estonia watch the Reform Party appoint an unelected oligarch (Urmas Söörumaa) as Mayor of Tallinn, and with a straight face say that the country is a successful democracy? As we become the thing we loathe, so Estonia is rewarding rich men with political office like Russia does.

WATCH: “This is f*cking kidnapping! That’s not your badge… I do have a little bit of education… get the f*ck out of here, racial profiling is illegal…” A brave woman melts ice 🧊 💪🏽 www.instagram.com/reel/DLOWbEs...

Fact control Does the OSCE report really say that Estonia’s e-elections “do not meet the international standard”? https://www.byteseu.com/1130343/ The result of a factual office: false. Conclusion: The opponents of e-voting are shamelessly lying and putting the words on the OSCE. …

Head Jaani! Happy Midsummer from 🇪🇪

On one hand, the reach and engagement on Bluesky aren't where I'd like them to be. On the other hand, none of the biggest asshats I have to deal with on Facebook use Bluesky, so it's a bubble, but a comforting one.

Not sure why people hold their phones like pizza slices to talk to people when they're not on video. Is it a hygiene thing (not wanting to put it to their ear)? Or just wanting to seem important?

Palju õnne Aivar Pohlak, kui algab 34e aega Eesti Jalgpalli Liidu Presidendi. Loodan, et Ragnar Klavan ei pea minema Gulagisse, ja Kalevit ei alandata tema vastuhaku pärast. Elagu demokraatia!

Ei soovi liialda, sellegipoolest TI-Hüpe on veel näide kui Kristina Kallas usub ta on ainus inimest kui teab midagi haridust. Mitte konsultatsiooni, mitte kuulamine, ainult rääkimine. #Eesti

Estonia has a men's World Cup Qualifier coming up at home to Israel on Friday June 6. Not that it could be avoided, but the least we can do is boycott the game.

My school in #Estonia banned phones from the classroom and saw a massive improvement in concentration, engagement, and learning. Kristina Kallas loves a 1-size-fits-all solution, and these articles are lovely, but being a tech leader doesn't guarantee world-leading results - quality teaching does.

Truthfully at this point there is nobody getting any value out of Hungary being an EU member except Putin.

One of the best there is.

Taavet Hinrikus said in an interview last week that there would be a "funeral" for Skype this week. I guess it was only the successful former employees who were invited.

The same Europe whose Foreign Policy Commissioner called Netanyahu's government "a good partner"? "Keep up" is doing some heavy lifting here.

If you don't tell Russians their banks are about to fail, thet won't have those nasty bank runs that will bring down their already failing economy even faster. So whatever you do, don't say, for example on Telegram, that Russia's banks are about to fail. Or repost this post.

If Estonia gets another far-right government in future, I hope this time we won't hold a big flashy concert, feel fuzzy, get our heads down and ignore the news, while a small group of activists do the work for us. I continue to hope that squishy centrists have learned. There is no appeasement.

The newsletter is taking a three-week break, because I'm attempting the Estonian B2 state language exam on the 31st. Expect a story after that. Thanks to all the new readers and subscribers; it's a pleasant surprise how many people want to read long(er)form stories about Estonia.

*throws up a little in my mouth and wonders if there really is any way to feel okay about being on Substack*

Kas keegi teab miks Taskusõbrannad lõpevad nende taskuhääling, ilma eelneva hoiatuseta? See on teised taskuhäälingud, aga seda oli alati huvitav.

This week on the newsletter, I'll be writing about how Estonia seemed on the verge of a number-plate surveillance scheme funded by the private business of the country's second-richest resident, and depressingly few people seem interested in why those two things might matter to each other. #Estonia

Something new, about small businesses, petty superficial joy, and how a country moves onto a "war footing". open.substack.com/pub/frestoni... #Estonia

To anyone else who got the ad for the Israeli Eurovision entrant on YouTube: - If you press the small "i" you go to Google Ad Center, where you can block the ad.

Ma alati tunnen see on üllatav, et kõik siin saab saada läbi nende elus mitte kunagi murega tulevikus. Ma ütlesin eile sõbraga, "kuidas sa saad olla nii rahulik kui olukord tundub nii ohtlik?" Ta vastas, "meil on olnud pikka aega teha." #Eesti

@andreskarjus.bsky.social Hi Andres, would you have half an hour to discuss the topics of your thread, and also academia in Estonia more generally, with me for my publication? Happy to email if you would be free and want to know more.

Yep. Sometimes saying "what about potential catastrophe ?" and doing nothing just makes you unhappy and unfulfilled. Get your application in, and do the damn PhD. Tallinn, while not without flaw, is a marvellous city to live in.

I'm taking a two-drink strategy. I don't often get the chance to mooch around in Tallinn cafés, so it's nice to rejoin the *hipster liberal elite* sometimes. #Estonia #Tallinn

This is in the town on the Russian border, on a castle on the Estonian side, facing the river where the border is. Chapeau.

Every time I get a break from work, I'm able to recall what makes me glad to live in Estonia. Sure, the weather might be in a Game of Thrones-type extended autumn right now, but the sun being out late on a long walk, the access to forest and sea 20 minutes from a city apartment block... magic.

Big, orange, obnoxious, politics across the Atlantic, and a need to get on-side with a strongman (something the Catholic Church is historically adept at)? Just a guess.

Lavly Perling saab saata emaili igal firmajuhile, Parempoolsest? Kindlasti olla prokuratuur tähendab ta saab kõik spammi reegleid...

Positive news for anyone who doesn't like sleeping under a flight path.

The news that neither EKRE nor the Centre Party will endorse assisted suicide if they are elected is unfortunate news for anyone who witnessed their last government. #Estonia

Ma soovin teada, kuidas koolid saavad oma aknad teisel korrusel välja vahetada (nii, et need ei avane rohkem kui 10cm), kui nad peavad samal ajal vähendama oma eelarvet. Sest ta on minister kui alati teab detailid, olen kindel Kristina Kallas ütleb. @estoniangovt.bsky.social

While I miss the people on Twitter, I'm hoping to find some of the same people here. Let me know if you are here from Estonia Twitter, given there is no starter pack.

Ma ei ütle, et keegi sureb, aga sellel Tallinna ristmikul foori väljalülitamine on tõesti rumal. Autojühid on alati juba vihased kui nad ootavad siin, ja nüüd seda tee on nagu Mad Max. Mis juhtus? #Tallinn

It was this month in 2011 I got offered a job at Skype. Microsoft have pulled the plug, so I wanted to write about how #Skype was a crucial part of the Estonian story for two decades, and how its closure coincides with #Estonia searching for a new idea of itself. open.substack.com/pub/frestoni...