Zerk, Pay attention and do some background research about the Finn's trials and tribulations over the just the last 125 years, then re read Roinaa's post with that history in mind...and see if you are being more than a little over zealous in boycotting countries products because of their past transgressions.
FWIW I spent 6 years working for an American company that was owned jointly by a Nokia div and another European based company. That partnership has since ceased to exist. However in 1984 on a plant tour I got the short indoctrination course of the abuses of other countries on Finland and came away with an overwhelming level of respect and admiration for the Finn's dogged determination to excellence in manufacturing, education, the only country in history to repay the US's loans after WWII, loss of a 40K wide strip of land the length of the country and a warm water port on the Baltic to the Russians who declared war on Finland in 1946 simply to grab physical manufactiring assets and land, Nokia Corp's enginerring and techological innovations from cutting edge computer innovation and technology, the largest mfg'er of tungsten tie studs in the world, a major ship building industry, building the Aswan HIgh Dam in Egypt, to inflicting the highest enemy kill count by a single shooter in WW II or maybe in history... on and on and on. For a country about the size and population of Oklahoma, they can Walk Tall with Pride IMO.
One of the most moving things I have ever witnessed anywhere, was testimony by an Old Gentlman about his feelings towards his enemies and occurred at the end of a Company sponsered moose hunt in 1984. We were allowed to take a box of ammo anytime we got off the company bus at the Hunt's jump off site and this really Old Gentleman was our "greeter", who would stop us to say good morning and if he'd seen one of us pick up a box of ammo & leave the empty carton in the open case behind the driver as directed, would reach into our pocket where the loose ammo was, jabber in Finnish with a super serious look on his face for a few seconds holding the round of ammo up in front of our faces and then grin and drop it in our shirt pocket, and go to the next person. At the end of the several days long hunt, the Hunters and the Hunt Club members who'd served as our guides, beaters & drivers and handlers gathered on the side of the road to exchange goodbye's and thank you's for the wonderful experience...and anytime there are more than 2 Scot's or Finn's or even American's together a bottle or two of elixer will appear. Lots of short speech's later as we began to break up to leave, an American from my company asked our corporate host The Question...who is this Old Gentleman and what's deal about the round of ammo in the shirt pocket thingy all about.
Our Host asked who? and the Old Man stepped forward his face wet with the sudden tears...they talked for a moment and both men began to shed tears, enough tears to run off their faces. It was explained that the Old Man was in his late 80's and had fought the German's twice and lost ...but they went home after the war, leaving Finland with no building having more than 2 stones on top of each other north of Helsinki. Fought the Russians twice and lost, and they looted Finland of every peice of manfacturing equipment they could get on a truck or ship , even stealing the land that his family had owned for hundreds of year and still lived behind the New Russian Border where he could not see his aged children and their granchildren ever again ....and he only lived each day to fight those enemies again, so he kept a round of ammo out of every box he opened to do it with...we all cried for him ...40-50 strangers felt the Moment of Truth in that Old Man's voice even though we could not understand his language.
On our last full day in Finland our large party of international guests, was taken to a famous resteurant in Helsinki, The Russian Tea Room I think it was called, and again I witnessed the Finn's spur of the moment Honoring of an otherwise unknown Hero, a Hungarian refugee who'd immigrated at an early age to England is all we knew about him but had thought it strange that he had a Finnish Military Officer "keeper" at all times who had participated in the Hunt too whenever the faux Brit was out of the hotel's building near the plant some distance up country from Helsinki. As we were leaving The Tea Room, ALL of the Staff lined up and respectfully but heartily applauded our refugee Brit as he walked by...it seems that at the age of 12 as a boy in Budapest, he had "killed" 3 Russian tanks singlehandedly with nothing but molotov cocktails and escaped,,,and Russians has already made several attempts on his life in England.
Again of all the people who could feel a reason to boycott another country's product's IMO the Finns legitimently have Cause but I did not see it then or now...and my former Finnish employer had/has many business operations on both sides of the Russian border.
Zerk, boycott who you want to, that's your right as an American, but understand why and how th World Economy today works, and Boycott those countries that deserve it for what they are doing TODAY...and Russia is at the top of MY LIST.
Ron
Last edited by verhoositz; 08/06/17. Reason: Sure wish I had Speel check
