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Bedrock… (Continued from page 10)
for his phone and before we got to the end of the question he had already googled it and had an answer ready to go. Need a recording of a song? Or lyrics? He got it! Need a good laugh? He got plenty of goofiness to keep everyone smiling. His kind constant presence will be sorely missed. We offer our heartfelt sympathies to Jyri Erik’s family. Please keep him and his loved ones in your thoughts and prayers during this very sad and difficult time. Since we can’t be together in person right now, here is a song the choir we would have liked to sing in his memory. Please take a minute to listen to it and remember Jyri Erik with a kind word. Rest in peace! Puhka Rahus, Laulu vend! – Tjorven (TJ) Hairfield, conductor for Baltimore Washingtoni Eesti Segakoor. ,,Mu isamaa on minu arm, Ja tahan puhata, Su rüppe heidan unele, Mu püha Eestimaa! Su linnud und mull’ laulavad, Mu põrmust lilled õitsetad, Mu põrmust lilled õitsevad, Mu isamaa, mu isamaa!“ Lovely tribute to Jyri Erik and a beautiful choice of song as we remember his singing voice and kind soul. May he rest in peace. – Lisa Martin Tjorven’s beautiful descrip tion of Jyri Erik rings so true. It’s been truly heartbreaking to know of his passing and the way it happened. I keep hearing in my mind his easy chatter of camaraderie with the fellows in the back row of koor and his wonderful, clear singing voice. It has been so touching to look at the photos and listen to Sanctus, remembering him. It was an honor to know him. Puhka rahus, Jyri Erik. – Kaja Weeks I’m struggling to find the words to express my feelings of
EESTI ELU reedel, 16. oktoobril 2020 — Friday, October 16, 2020
sadness over the passing of Jyri Erik. Tjorven’s words were a wonderful tribute to his great qualities. He was undeniably always a welcoming presence in the choir with his calm demean our and always helpful and kind attitude. He will be missed by all who loved him and by those who had the privilege of know ing him. This time of COVID has been a struggle for us all each in his own way and to lose one of our own – one of the best of us – is shocking and heartbreaking. I can clearly see Jyri Erik’s half smile and gentle face in my mind’s eye. – Anna Maripuu Jyri Erik joined the Baltimore Estonian Men of Song (Balti more Eesti Laulumehed) 40 years ago, the 1980-1981 “song-season”. His faith in the restoration of freedom for Estonia, positive outlook on life, excellent sense of humor and reliability in actions and words were the traits that made him a natural strong member of the Men of Song. He reached out a helping hand whenever needed, and always with good humor. Baltimore Eesti Laulu mehed wish to Jyri Erik a peaceful rest with the words of our motto: ,,Our homeland, may you always hear The songs of free Estonian men!“ – Ado Valge Jyri Erik ühines Baltimore Eesti Laulumeestega 40 aastat tagasi 1980–1981, lauluaastal. Tema usk vaba Eesti riigi taastumisse, positiivne ellusuhtumie, huu morimeel ja kohuseetruudus olid omadused, mis tegid ta tugevaks Laulumeeste pere liik meks. Igal pool oli ta abiks koori ürituste korraldamisel ning läbiviimisel ja alati hea huumoriga. Meie, Baltimore Eesti Laulumehed, soovime Jyri Erikule rahulikku puhkust meie moto sõnadega: ,,Sinule kodumaa alati kostku Vabade Eesti meeste laul!“ – Ado Valge
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Opinion: Foreign actors are spreading COVID disinformation to destabilize our democracy and polarize our society Foreign actors are engaging in information warfare to intensify divisions on both the far left and right, by tapping into the tide of frustration that is rising with the second wave Marcus Kolga Vancouver Sun, October 2020 In late March, the parlia mentary all-party National Security and Intelligence Committee released an alarm ing report about the threat of foreign influence and disinfor mation against Canada. The report went largely ignored. It warned that foreign inter ference poses the “greatest threat to Canadian prosperity and national interest” and that the activities of malign actors aligned with foreign states “threaten the fundamental building blocks of Canada’s democracy.” Six months later, the report’s warnings ring even louder, as the pandemic continues to cata lyze disinformation aimed at destabilizing our democracy, and polarizing our society, while making us sicker. Despite this, no comprehensive govern ment response has yet been announced. Throughout this pandemic, millions of Canadians have been exposed to wild claims about COVID cures that have ranged from gargling hot lemon juice to drinking bleach. In April, the European Union warned that Moscow and Bei jing were inundating the west ern world with such disinforma tion in order to intensify the effects of COVID. In one instance, Russian state media channel RT claimed that hand washing is not an effective way of combating COVID-19 – a statement that ran contrary to both medical advice and common sense. Foreign actors have engaged in information warfare to inten sify divisions on both the far
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left and right, by tapping into the tide of frustration that is rising with the second wave of the pandemic: isolation, social distancing, financial trouble, the unpleasantness of wearing masks and most importantly, our fear. Conspiracy theories are de veloped and amplified by foreign regimes to exploit our need for explanations, account ability and to assign blame. They are among the most lethally corrosive types of narratives that are purposefully injected into the media environ ment to induce a decay of trust in our elected leaders, demo cratic institutions, health offi cials and those who have been entrusted with the task of pro tecting us and our society – as well as each other. Recent social media posts promoting a COVID freedom/ anti-mask rally in Montreal were amplified by pro-Kremlin Facebook groups in Canada, the aim of which is to erode trust in public health officials and COVID protocols. A Russian flag was photographed by the CBC among those of QAnon supporters – a conspiracy theory movement that has been labelled a terrorist threat by the FBI. Far-left conspiracy theory platforms have promoted con spiracies about “big pharma” and its race to profit from vaccines, while closely related anti-Semitic far-right conspira cies claim that George Soros helped develop the virus. Nor can we ignore the dangerous effects of political leaders who either knowingly or unwittingly downplay the risks posed by COVID-19, which play directly into the hands of malign foreign actors who seek to do the same. A tweet by U.S.
President Donald Trump, for example, was labelled as vio lating Twitter’s rules about “spreading misleading and po tentially harmful information related to COVID-19” for falsely claiming that the virus is less dangerous than the common flu. The ultimate defence against disinformation is strengthening our society’s resilience against it through awareness and media literacy. When we open our devices, we must become more selective about our sources and critically question claims against veri fiable facts. That is the only way to survive this firehose of information that is constantly inundating us. For instance, we know the claim that drinking garlic soup will somehow protect us from COVID is both ludicrous and dangerous. Yet we only know that today because we are equipped to make that determi nation using the knowledge we have acquired through medical experts, government officials and professional journalists. There is much work yet to be done to help Canadians navi gate the heavily polluted online media environment. Exposing and explaining foreign disinfor mation narratives is one way that we can do so. As the National Security and Intelligence Committee warned in March, without a comprehen sive approach to addressing it, foreign interference will “slow ly erode the foundations of our fundamental intuitions, includ ing our system of democracy itself.” (Marcus Kolga is a senior fellow at The Macdonald Laurier Institute and founder of DisinfoWatch.org)
On behalf of EERO, the Estonian Relief Committee and Toetame.com, we would like to thank those who have already donated to the Esto Children’s Fund and we would like you to know that these much-needed
funds will be transferred to Estonia shortly.
York, NY 10016-4852 or via PayPal at www.estoreliefusa. org. Estonian Relief Committee will issue a tax-deductible re ceipt for all donations of $250.00 or greater. Estonian Relief Committee in USA is a registered 501(c)3. Smaller donations may also be made through www.toetame.com via Pay Pal or by mailing a cheque to Toetame at 160 W Camino Real, #179, Boca Raton, FL 33432 Postimees, Estonia’s oldest daily news
MARI ANN TAMMARK, EERO TOOMAS KILM, Estonian Relief Committee REIN LUNING, Toetame.com
Postimees: Canadian Estonians are Building a New Nest
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paper, published a story about the International Estonian Centre (IEC) with their readers over the weekend. The piece demonstrates how IEC is in spiring interest in the international Estonian community and how the Centre can showcase our rich heritage and promote Estonian innovation. To view the article, please go to:
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