It's pretty hard to take the message of the Crimes of communism with any seriousness considering the baby-boomer generation's oblivion to the right-wing conservatism of their own parents' generation. Anne Applebaum has probably done the best job of introducing the crimes of communism to the western reader, but it ain't gonna seep into much deeper intellectual soil than that I'm sorry to admit. I think Laas just went along with the offer of making some general comments, knowing full well that the audience is fairly nonchalant about the whole subject.

Maksim, sa nõdrameelne tolgus - sa ei saanud seda saadet parimagi tahtmise juures näha, kuna elad Eestis.

I live in Canada and I saw it. Maxim is right.

Canadians don't really care, and a one hour show that was surely watched by mostly Estonians, Ukranians, Vietnamese and Chinese isn't going to change that.

To: MAXIM

Hey! You know very well the “why and when” of my responses to your comments. And yes, I am now less inclined to waste any energy whatsoever on this endeavor.

But let me just reiterate, perhaps just to clarify:

1) You are dishonest:
a. You’ve sent comments under a multiplicity of names (this has been technologically verified to my satisfaction)
b. You have had numerous “arguments” with yourself on the pages of EE Commentaries (also technologically verified)
2) You are ungrateful
a. Välis-Eestlased are a continual object of your undeserved venom
b. I drove you and Merca all around town, taking vacation days to do so and never got so much as a “thank-you”
c. You’ve ripped off others
3) You are uninformed
a. You make the obvious inference that both NATO and the European Union are of no value to Eesti
b. You’ve often stated that Russian demands should be satisfied unconditionally
c. You continually mix up jurisdictions and organizations (European Union, Council of Europe, European Court of Justice, even NATO members, etc)
d. You “name drop” but look stupid doing so, because you get it wrong, e.g. Jeffrey David Sachs, who was as much the father of the Eesti Kroon as Ardo Hansson was (Jeffrey was his boss at the IMF at the time) was named by you as [i]Joel[i] Sachs. And, by the way, in answer to your questions, both of these Harvard PhD Economists are doing very well. They are doing much better than you. And I’m not just talking about money.
4) You get your “jollies” by jerking us around
a. You didn’t make it here, you didn’t even make it with Tork as your mentor in Eesti
b. It’s pathetic that you should spend your time and venom on us

Aside from that, have a nice day.

Too bad I can hear everyone giggling at the mention of your name (the real one, that is).

Well said,
Toomas.
Thank you very much.

Toomas, your hateful words betray a blind ignorance.
Calm down and try reason for a change.
Maxim is right about Applebaum. I'd put Conquest on that list too, perhaps Amis, although his depth of knowlege is fairly weak..

Aitäh Toomas! Hästi õeldud!

Hästi kirjutatud Hr. Merilo . Loodame et saame sellest rämpsust varsti vabaks.

Jah, väga hästi öeldud.Samas teeb selline ajukääbik muidugi foorumi lugemise veidi huvitavaks ka - et kui piiratud saab ühe isendi mõistus olla,

Maxim! Your comment is in classic Maxim style. If you wish to defend yourself with comments under other names, then you must get a better grip on the English language.

Toomas, your hateful words betray a blind ignorance. [of what, Maxim?]
Calm down and try reason for a change. [what's unreasonable here? Toomas states his points logically and unambiguously, in spite of being justifiably annoyed.]
Maxim is right about Applebaum. [where and in what way, Maxim?] I'd put Conquest on that list too, [which list?] perhaps Amis, although his depth of knowlege (sic.) is fairly weak.. [provide some evidence, Maxim].

You're a sorry little dunce, Maxim.

Thanks Toomas. Unfortunately I don't see the point about venom in my comment above, but you are welcome to write what you wish-that's what this forum's about. However, I think most readers will agree with me that your own venom is not much better than the venom you claim is mine, since I write with the utmost sincerity possible. I wish you peace and goodwill for the rest of the summer vacation.

You're delusional!

Toomas, Merca drove you around first, don't forget! Sure, I know the occasion you speak of, but aside from that, you have no reason to hold anything against me. I have written a defense of the Estonian cause in the face of a HUGE multicultural push designed to wash Estonian culture down the rubbisheap of history, and everyone in Canada knows that is the case! It's a pity your own sense of conservatism is blurring your otherwise astute sense of how things could really be in our community. And since you don't let that particularly worry you, then I'm not holding out much hope for a change in your attitude. Hang in there buddy-you may come to your senses one day.

Most readers do not agree with you, Maxim!

I have never seen a reader's comment that agrees with you -- with the exception of those that you have composed under a phony name. In this particular exchange, "Maximova" and "JK" are both obviously Maxim.

Ha-ha; I've only written under the name of Maxim, so therefore at least two others you have mentioned must be chuckling hard under their breath at what a complete ass you are! What's worse, my critics can't even criticize me without ever managing to write a sensible defence of what it is that they dislike about the article in question. Be that as it may, at least they are getting off their chests whatever it is they need to get off. But to think that these creeps are the leaders of the Toronto community makes me shudder, and leaves no doubt that there is very little talent coming forward that will bolster our community to higher heights. Those diehards that are doing a good job, try to stay out of harms way and don't show your true colours-you'll end up being hated as much as I am!

No, Maxim & Maximova are not one and the same. Trust me, I know...

Clever! If you can't find an original thought - go for the ad homonym attack!
I suppose it is a step up from your usual scatological remarks.

Well done Meriloo

Toomas, you are playing underhanded games with EE-s readership! It is perfectly clear to everyone that I HAVE NOT written comments in language as BELOW THE BELT as my critics have, and who have constantly repeated their disgusting inuendo against me, yet you have always consciously failed to take action against them! I do not believe EE is willing to play your style of games in the framework of this forum, unless EE reveals EVERY COMMENTATOR's IDENTITY. If it does so, you can rest assured that a court case will result from the damage that started from your stable. I am not EK nor anyone else who for that matter you happen to have had difficulties with in the past, and if you continue to intellectually terrorize people, you may find yourself in considerably hot water yourself. If you push things too far one way, there are others who may just push the pendulum far enough in the other direction. I too have taken complete offence at some comments written about me, but so far have refrained from taking any action. I would encourage you to take a step back and try to be a little more mild-mannered (which is very much your usual style) with the way you, together with Anonymous and Siil et al are perpetuating character assassination and ridicule against me. If you don't agree with what I think, then you could do others the courtesy of limiting your texts to comments only, instead of issuing threats against my personal rights and freedoms, which appear to be hanging on a fairly thin thread. EE is a forum for free-thinking, and if this is not the case, then I suspect it will prove to be an almighty blow to 60 years of hard work by the Toronto community.

Maxim! There is no law against laughing at clowns nor is anyone obliged to intervene when it occurs. You have no case against Toomas nor anyone else.

It looks like you've gone off the deep end, Maxim.
For your information, Toomas and Siil make comments here very infrequently and the default name, anonymous, is used by who knows how many distinct individuals. Moreover, no one here has ever been "issuing threats against [Maxim's] personal rights and freedoms". Yes, you have been ridiculed. It's because you're ridiculous.

Sadly, I would suggest otherwise.
One commentator even threatened and encouraged the use of physical violence against Maxim a few months ago.

Viimane kommentaar on jällegi Maximi kirjutatud.

Nõustum teiega. Stiilist on vältimatult tunda Maximi lõhna. Tõenäosusega JK on samuti Maxim. Et tal oleks ehtsat poolehoidu on lausa ettekujutamattu.

Good that a couple of people saw the TV program:)
Ei saa aru miks tunduvalt päris normaalsed inimesed lähevad vaimuhaige pärast marru? Vaimuhaige istub päevad otsa arvuti taga, sest pole muud elu, ja teised arvavad et saab loogikaga asju arutada!
Minu Ema küll ütles et targem annab järele, ja vahest ka mis sa ikka hulluga/lolliga õiendad?
-Child psychologists sometimes suggest ignoring bad behaviour and reinforcing the positive.
...By the way this blurb had nothing to do with the TV program

Ma ise arvasin ka, et JK on Maxim, aga huvitaval kombel ei ole. Kui ta just kahelt mandrilt korraga soppa pritsuda ei saa..

I'm not sure why these vicious posts are directed at a fairly obvious and banal comment - that there are only a few intellectuals who have really had any effect on building awareness of Soviet crimes!
I wasn’t aware that so many felt so strongly about Michael Coren and his half-hearted and entirely unsophisticated attempt to talk about communism.
Sorry!

Point 1; when have I ever talked about myself at this site? Point 2; I suggest you do a little homework, Anonymous, because the total number of your comments OUTWEIGHS my total number, which kinda' suggests that maybe it is you that is doing the hijacking. Point 3; I think Laas did his best against all odds, and he always has been and remains a level-headed person of stout faith and mind. However, whatever the political program content, multiculturalism has done a lot to reduce the sharpness of understanding historical debates, especially if they are European by nature. It's as reasonable as talking about what's going down on Mars.

[i]Anonymous, because the total number of your comments OUTWEIGHS my total number[i]

Hasn't this been said many times, Maxim you really are slow sometimes.

Anonymous is the DEFAULT username if you don't put one.

If you don't want to be jeered at, then stop barking at us.