When preparing today’s radio program Kaukoputki I asked Erkki Tuomioja, the Finnish Foreign Minister, about his new US colleague John Kerry. I was trying to figure out whether Tuomioja would perceive similarities between the occasional antiwar activities of Kerry and the peace activism of Tuomioja himself.

Tuomioja’s response, for the record, was: “Peace movement and opposing a particular war are somewhat different things” (“Rauhanliike ja jonkun nimenomaisen sodan vastustaminen ovat vähän eri asioita”). It remains to be seen what the differences are today in the case of these two foreign ministers.

Even if Tuomioja’s comment never made it to our show, with Charly Salonius-Pasternak we did discuss different aspects of Obama’s military enthusiasm (my term, I am not sure if Charly would use it).

For example, the fact that Obama was able to nominate John Brennan for the CIA without much criticism may simply reflect the fact that most of the people who once thought Obama would represent a non-militaristic alternative have simply given up hope.