Sane people that don't like us simply ignore us.
Is that you, Maxim?

No it's not-I'm watching you winge and whine ie commit the sins you blame me for, yet have no proof that I have done anything half as outrageous as you have. Better luck...

With a poorer than poor attitude like the one here, it's not at all surprising that Seedrioru is already off to a bad start! Wake up and smell the coffee-this is a chance to make up for lost ground guys. There are a lot of people who generally have left the Estonian community and don't want another thing to do with it. This is the perfect chance to up the sales pitch and get people back on side. Get rid of the alchohol, and get some good lectureres in who will talk the intellectual talk the way it should be. If you want me to come along, and you ask real nice now, then I might just consider giving up a week for your benefit. Otherwise try getting serious for a change!

Oh Puhleeeease Maxim!!
Your opinion of yourself just keeps growing and growing. Nagu paha hais!!
If we want to hear lectures, we'll go to the appropriate venu, probably Tartu College, but Seedrioru is all about a good time to be had by all, with a bit of solomness in the beginning with the "vabadusvõitluses langenute mälestus".
The folks at Seedrioru have done a fantastic job in the past few years and interest has grown, not wained.
It is obvious, Maxim, that once again, you know not of which you speak!

Get me Jack on the hotline please-I want to know if what you say is all true. OK-a little swim in the pond I take no objection to, but getting the lowdown about Estonia is the best thing of all, don't you think? Or have priorities at Seedrioru changed that much that Estonian interests count for almost nothing??

...if Maxim isn't just pulling our leg a little. Surely, he must know by now that his goading and baiting is offensive and repulsive. If not, then he's completely mad.

You're all such a conservative lot that even a little humour goes astray with most of you. Just shows that it's a case of extremes-either people know or care almost nothing about intellectual depth, or they refuse to lighten up when given the chance. Jack, it's over to you. Take this lot and perform a miracle this summer, so that Seedrioru will become like Canadian Estonians' version of the great Woodstock festival-getting the lowdown on replenishable "talupoja ja orjalaste" highs. Mixing in a strong antidote to the sorry, don't ask-me; I know-nothing-about-Estonia routine.

Maxim, If you showed up at Seedrioru, you would see a great mix of Estos, young and older. I wouldn't hesitate to say that of all the Estos there (their Estophile guests not included), the vast majority of them have gone through Esto school, either here, in the US or in Eesti. They are there because they belong to our community and they choose to celebrate being Estonian in Canada. I bet if you asked any of them on the hill, they could answer you about who is the President of Eesti, what happened on April 27 this year, and so on.
Why, if these people don't know about Eesti, do our friends and relatives in Eesti always express their surprise and then their admiration for how we have kept the language (sorry, I'm writing in English, because it's the language of this particular posting), the culture and an extremely nationalistic feeling alive here for 3 generations?!!
Maxim, go blow your horn elsewhere!

Just thought I'd comment on the recent work weekend which we attended with certainly good intentions. I couldn't believe the arrogance of the work coordinator. I can only remind her that a broom is for sweeping, not for use as a means of transportation!

Anyone with half a brain has left the community a long time ago when they discovered that the community's hierarchy is largely made up of bigots and tyrants who have marginalized alternative opinion. As if it hasn't gone far enough, and there should be crocodile tears instead of the usual..oh we're so proud of our young people..look again and tell us all why, oh why has the community's number of active participants dwindled to such a pathetic three-digit number? I don't think that we need to wait for an answer from you, because we all know why things have deteriorated to this level. Just out of interest, I'd really love to know how many children at Seedrioru could accurately respond to questions like what happened in Eesti on 28th April? Anyway, I see myself as one of the last caring people around, and still you lay the boot into whoever wants to stand up and be counted for Estonia, but is colour-blind to all your bias that you represent. I think Jack's got a big job on his hands trying to right the wrongs of our community's so-called bright lights.

Many of the 'tyrants' have died. Many of the old Estonians with no leadership skills (but who thought they did) have also gone... Maxim.. you would be so wrong if you tried to suggest that the executives of major esto organizations like Sihtkapital for example, is not only intellectual, but also one that is not willing to just 'give up' and throw in the towel when the community was showing signs of weakness. Like a pheonix,...the esto community in Canada will rise, grow and continue to provide dynamic venues where people attend becasue of choice, and not due to feelings of sentimental obligations. Elagu Seerioru!!!

When did Ene die????

Yes, there are many who have rejected their heritage just as you describe. Similarly, there are many who are enthusiastic about their culture. Some have learned astonishingly good Estonian (better than yours, in fact). Why bark about it?

I think you need to up your dosage!

It's decent of you apologize to our community leaders and to Toomas Merilo.
But, what about the rest of us? Are we any less deserving of an apology?

I don't see why Maxim should apologize for other people's mistakes, and big mistakes at that! We all know that thousands of people have left our community, and though it's nice to keep our spirits as positive as possible, there are still too many so called leaders who are likely to say and do things which will cause the drift away from our community to continue. I propose getting rid of these people first, and then once the air is clean, set about trying to make amends with those people who may not be lost to us altogether. It's worth a try at least.

I have reason to believe that Maxim did not apologize. Someone else did and used Maxims name. Maybe his relative. Look at the language and spelling. Way too good for the likes of Erik. There are very specific characteristics in the apology that do not match his "profile" . I am not going to expose these characteristics as they may become helpful in the future to authenticate comments.

Who are all these people that have left? Estonian schools, academic organizations, camps and other social groups have large memberships.

Sure, a lot of older people have passed away or are too ill to be actively involved but I don't get who these thousands of people who have left are?

Erik who?

You might be right about Erik's apology.

I'm wondering about Ahto Männik's identity. He seem's to have a touch of Maxim's characteristic authoritarian megalomania.

It is speculated that Maxim is EK

I can tell you without any hesitation whatsoever, that there's more than one Maxim floating around this neck of the woods.

Methinks I smell something shtinky...

For once I believe Maxim. It means he never apologized. Message 30 has the true Maxim "profile" where he states that there is more than one person using Maxim as a name.

The loss is theirs...not ours.
Maxim..if you know 'lots of these hating estos...I don't know any!!!
Estonian events ( including this fundraiser for a children's camp) are intended for those may be emotional when they hear the Estonian Anthem, honor the blue,black and white, wear their esto ring, speak the language as well as they can or are trying to learn it better, have visited Estonia or wish to, honor the sacrifices of their forefathers and choose their friends and activities accordingly.
You can't please everyone...but we can sure try. Get with the new era and let some bygones be bygones.

Looks like the well is pretty much empty in your neck of the woods. Make the most of what you've got left-sounds like there's not much of it too appreciate anymore, but at least you're making the most of it.

Shirley, when you finally catch up to Maxim, will you hug him from all of us for the great work he is doing here!

Milles keeles on Teie kommentaar kirjutatud? Kindlasti mitte eestikeeles.

Aga kes teie olete kelle kommentaar kubiseb vigadest???

Vähemalt ta püüab ennast väljendada eesti keeles ja ma usun et me kõik saime aru.
Kiitust!

PS - Septembrist alates kavatsememe (T.E.S. täienduskoolid) pakkuda eesti keele "lihvimis" programmi esmaspäeva õhtuti neile kes räägivad eesti keelt ja on või ei ole eesti koolis käinud, aga kes tunnevad et nende keel on veidi kange. Tunnid saavad toimuma Eesti Majas, samal ajal kui keskkool / gümnaasium. Teretulemast kõigi huvilistele! (vanus 20 - 90)

Only Maxim is capable of writing 'shirley' in place of 'surely' and praising himself.

I think that it's time that EE did an extensive interview with Maxim. It's time we saw all facets of this ridiculous person.

Maxim... another unsubstantiated comment..".the well is pretty much dry!! " HUH... It is obvious that you have left the esto community for some stupid reason (where stubborness rather than co-operation won) and now you repeatedly broadcast this myth that the esto community is beyond hope. ( Unless you save it with your intellectual lectures) LOL

Maxim is trying to invest. Unfortunately for him, the market doesn't recognize hot air as collateral.

Sounds like a talkfest of sorts is underway to convince us all that the Esto community has NEVER looked better in it 60 year history than it does right now. I find that very hard to believe, and I don't think I'm the only one who subscribes to that opinion. However, there's nothing like a positive antidote to convince yourselves that things are much better than they actually are, so at least this talkfest is achieving some ground, in spite of the obvious setbacks the community at large has suffered at the hands of our leaders down the ages.

Get real. The Estonian community has never based its existence on these sorts of principles, and even when it comes to finances, the Estonian community has sold itself out to Canadian interests due the the dwindling number of statical Estonians left. A total BS story

Joosua=Maxim. You are just soooo easy Maxim. Again you gave yourself away. Maxim, you can run but you can't hide.

Maxim answering under a different name AGAIN.

Maxim, STATISTICALLY, as we heard from Laas on Vabariigi Aastapäev, the number of Estonians in Canada is RISING.
That means there are more people who care enough about where they came from to mark on their census form that they are Estonian.