Estonia on @ppmotskula

Justice Is Blind — Except When It Isn't

peeterpaul@motskula.net (Peeter P. Mõtsküla) — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

On selective principles, strategic silence, and what small states stand to lose

On Sunday evening, 01 March 2026, two statements landed in quick succession. Estonia’s parliamentary foreign affairs committee, meeting in extraordinary session, voiced support for the US-Israeli strikes on Iran. EU High Representative Kaja Kallas issued a statement on behalf of the Union that condemned Iranian retaliation as “inexcusable” while remaining entirely silent on the legality of the strikes that provoked it. Two statements, one evening, telling the same story by different means.

Twitter Panic in Elbonia

peeterpaul@motskula.net (Peeter P. Mõtsküla) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Sten Tamkivi tweeted:

If this tax change happens, Estonia can say goodbye to any new international tech companies: http://bit.ly/2UVEC7 Outrageous!

This sparked a serial outrage of retweets and Facebook comments. Many people became heavily opinionated about an opinion leader’s opinion about a journalist’s opinion based on a [possibly, but not necessarily] out-of-context quotation of a tax lawyer. But few, if any, took the trouble to dig out the original source — the draft law containing the proposed changes to the income tax law.

Microsoft sues Estonia

peeterpaul@motskula.net (Peeter P. Mõtsküla) — Thu, 03 May 2007 00:00:00 +0000

Tallinn, 04.05.07. Microsoft (MSFT) has initiated litigation against the Republic of Estonia whose prime minister’s actions have led to violent rioting during which numerous windows were broken beyond repair. “We consider this as a direct action against our good reputation on global markets,” an anonymous source within the Redmond software giant said. Microsoft would apparently accept an out-of-court arrangement whereby the government of Estonia replaces all broken windows first, and then upgrades all windows in the country to Vista.