Santeri Kannisto

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Santeri Kannisto was one of open source and free software advocates in Finland and held positions in the Finnish IT society in 1991–2004. He was the founder and long time CEO of open source company SOT Finnish Software Engineering Ltd. The company was making SOT Linux and SOT Office software products.

Recently, Santeri created a minor storm in a tea-cup by making claims on a number of internet forums that the Thai government openly and explicitly supported sex tourism and pedophilia by providing visas specifically aimed at "sex tourists". Many observers claimed that this was a case of 'sour grapes', and that in fact he was being spiteful and vindictive in response to various Thai officials who rejected his request for a long-term visa. These officials also described his writing as "rubbish", a fact that appears to have exacerbated his anger and resentment.

He is currently in Cambodia, from where he continues to make provocative and unfounded statements regarding the governments, the people, and the expatriate communities of the region. Some people have claimed that this is, in fact, a sophisticated form of satire, and he has also been described as "the Finnish Borat."