Finland, Finland, Finland - come in y'all..! ;)

[canoilers]

Thanks for the article John. :D

[Big Swede]

However... ;)


...had Princess Madeleine showed up in Vaasa...

John - :D

So you can actually admit that some good things comes from Sweden? ;)

[aFinn]

So you can actually admit that some good things comes from Sweden? ;)Yes, Marabou suklaa :love:

[tower]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - FOREIGN - Monday 18.9.2006


Swedish royals see cultural sights and visit educational facilities in Vaasa



"This is like a lie detector. Electrodes are used to measure nerve impulses from the fingertips, and a camera records eye movements", explained Bo Riska, adding that Media City is one of only two similar research institutions in the world.

Queen Silvia was amazed at the technology. "Couldn’t this be used in Sweden’s election debates?" She asked.



John - ;)

I rollled over on the floor, arms and legs waving in the Air at that remark John, You're Queen should be on TV more

[FinnFreak]

So you can actually admit that some good things comes from Sweden? ;)

oh, for sure..! (like surströmming) ;)


No, seriously - Princess Madeleine is just a famous example of the beauty of Nordic women...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v434/FinnFreak/PMadeleine2.jpg

:] - ...it's gotta be something about the water...


ahhh.... Sweden - the country we love to hate & hate to love...

...historical ties and unbreakable bonds... and an inexhaustible source of inspiration for funny jokes..! :D


...and the best thing is, that Stockholm is only a 50 minute flight away..! (a very nice place for Christmas shopping)


John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

Iltalehti - 19.9.2006 10:14


Trump aikoo rakentaa Lappiin lomakohteen

Amerikkalaisen suursijoittajan Donald Trumpin kiinnitysluottolaitos houkuttelee amerikkalaisia sijoittajia Lappiin.

http://www.iltalehti.fi/uutiset/donaldtrumpHM_uu.jpg
Donald Trump pitää Lappia kiinnostavana sijoituskohteena.


Kauppalehden mukaan Trump Mortgage LLC hakee rahoitusta 37,2 miljoonan euron Lapland Chalets & Condominiums -projektiin, jossa tarkoituksena on rakentaa lomakohde napapiirin pohjoispuolelle.

Amerikkalaisyhtiöstä ei vielä kerrota tarkemmin, minne lomakohde rakennetaan. Yhtiön mainoksen mukaan hanke sijoittuu puolentoista tunnin ajomatkan päähän Rovaniemeltä. Kysymyksessä voi siis olla matkailukeskuksista esimerkiksi Pyhä-Luosto, Levi tai Ylläs.

Trump Mortgagen mukaan Lappi on nopeasti kehittyvä lomakohde, joka tarjoaa houkuttelevat sijoitusmahdollisuudet.




STT - 19.9.2006


Donald Trump looking for investors for EUR 37 mln holiday resort in Finnish Lapland


Trump Mortgage LLC, a company owned by Donald Trump, the American heavyweight investor, is looking for investors for a 37-million-euro holiday resort project in Finnish Lapland, business daily Kauppalehti reported Tuesday.

An advertisement for the project, titled Lapland Chalets & Condominiums, says the resort will be built one and a half hours' driving time from Rovaniemi, the capital of the Finnish province of Lapland.



:uhh: - ööö... happy holidays..? :p




HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - FOREIGN - Tuesday 19.9.2006


Comparison of Nordic cities shows Helsinki has worst gas emissions

Coal-fired electric plants and natural gas main contributors, emissions from transport lower

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135221724662.jpeg
The graph indicates the tonnes of carbon dioxide emitted per capita by residents
of Helsinki, Gothenburg (Göteborg), Copenhagen (Kööpenhamina), Malmö,
Stockholm (Tukholma), Oslo, and Reykjavik. The top yellow column indicates
emissions from services,and households, the black middle column is for
industry, and the bottom brownish column indicates transport.


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135221721756.jpeg
The Salmisaari power plant in Helsinki uses coal that
is stored underground.


Residents of Helsinki generate more greenhouse gases per capita than those of other large cities in the Nordic region.

Emissions were measured in a recent study covering Gothenburg, Copenhagen, Malmö, Oslo, Reykjavik, and Stockholm.

The large numbers for Helsinki stem from Helsinki’s own electricity production, which is almost totally dependent on fossil fuels.

The power plants run by Helsinki Energy use natural gas and coal as their main fuel, whereas other cities use more renewable sources of energy.

Slightly lower than average were Helsinki’s emissions from transport. This is at least partly attributable to the popularity of public transport in Helsinki.

The Nordic report has been brought to the attention of the Environment Committee of the City of Helsinki. A team of experts set up by the cities uses the same standards to measure the state of the urban environment and to compare results of environmental protection.

Renewable resources accounted for only eight percent of energy used in Helsinki in 2003. The level was highest - 60 percent - in Iceland’s capital Reykjavik, because of the use of geothermal energy, which is counted as a renewable resource. Almost as high a level was in Oslo, where hydroelectric power is the main source.

In Stockholm, the proportion of renewable sources of energy was over one third. Sweden uses a fair amount of biomass, mainly wood. Waste materials are also used in the production of electricity and district heating in Sweden.

Helsinki Energy burns coal in two large power plants. The utility also maintains an emergency stockpile of coal.

The main fuel firing Helsinki’s power plants is natural gas, whose greenhouse gas emissions are 40 percent lower than those of coal.

Matti Hyvönen, Environmental Director of Helsinki Energy, notes that the use of different sources of energy varies from year to year. "For instance, last year we mainly used natural gas; coal was used only during the coldest snaps."

This year will be quite different, now that the lack of rain in the summer has left little water in reservoirs in the Nordic Countries for hydroelectric power. The availability of nuclear power also affects the level of emissions.

There are historical reasons for the use of coal and gas. We should also compare how well the cities have succeeded in reducing emissions", Hyvönen points out.

He says that Helsinki is going in a better direction. There is greater efficiency in using the energy generated from burning fuel. The synergy benefit in the co-generation of electricity, heat, and cooling is considerable.

The Director General of the Helsinki Environment Centre, Pekka Kansanen, notes that natural conditions favour Norway and Sweden.

"If we want to stay in the forefront of environmental protection, new biological fuels should be favoured. Sweden is taking new technology into use with an open mind", Kansanen says.

Kansanen is concerned at the growth in the consumption of energy, for which no limit seems to be in sight.

However, the statistics only indicate the emissions that are produced inside the city limits. "One long holiday flight to Thailand causes more carbon dioxide emissions than a whole year of commuting by car from Tuusula to Helsinki", points out environmental planner Kari Silfverberg.



:uhh: - ...I've been saying it for years: "...Helsinki stinks..!"



John - :p

[canoilers]

Thanks for the article's John. :D

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - BUSINESS & FINANCE - Wednesday 20.9.2006


Oh, Lordi, now there are monsters everywhere!


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135221645869.jpeg
Sampo Bank recently issued a Lordi bank card.


By Olavi Koistinen


When I first saw Tomi Putaansuu's monster mask in the bright lights of a television studio it looked quite disgusting. This was, of course, the point.

Nowadays the red-streaked, ugly mug of Lordi causes no more tremors of nausea. Everyone has seen it in magazine pictures, on billboards, bank debit cards, and cola bottles, such that the ewww-factor is pretty much sunk to the level of that of Santa Claus.

A rock band is a commercial product, and there is nothing very strange about that. It is perfectly fine that the singer Putaansuu and the rest of the members of Eurovision winners Lordi get rich. If the Pope can advertise beer, then why not have Lordi advertise a soft drink.

Putaansuu has always been a skilful businessman. Successful PR work was one reason why Lordi won the Eurovision Song Contest in the first place. But now there are just too many monsters around. It has scarcely been half a year since Lordi's breakthrough, and already there is talk about a movie - even though the band has just one real hit.

The situation bugs me because my personal Lordi fandom had a strong ideological basis. That's what I get for being naïve.

When Lordi won Eurovision, I joined the festivities for patriotic reasons. However, first and foremost because it is exhilarating when someone shatters a stiff and rigid institution, even temporarily.

Next to the other sorry contenders, Lordi represented the kind of anarchy that should be cherished in all aspects of life. This is why it irks me that the national bogeyman has become an annoying Ronald McDonald figure who once knew how to rock.

The whole media circus is of course necessary when reaching for international markets. He needs to gather partners, since Lordi is as yet unknown in many corners of the world. It remains to be seen if Lordi will trade Sampo and Olvi for Citibank and Carlsberg.



Note: Since Lordi's victory in the Eurovision Song Contest, a bank ATM card with a picture of the band has been issued and the beverage manufacturer Olvi has introduced a Lordi Cola.



John - :)

[FinnFreak]

Iltalehti - 20.9.2006


Maailman PARAS

The Hockey Newsin mukaan Miikka Kiprusoff on NHL:n ykkönen.


http://www.iltalehti.fi/jaakiekko/5140505_jk.jpg
Miikka Kiprusoff nauttii suurta arvostusta NHL-maailmassa.


Maailman arvostetuin kiekkolehti The Hockey News rankkaa joka syksyisessä kauden ennakkonumerossaan NHL-pelaajien 50 parasta. Tänä syksynä lehden lista on suomalaisittain komeaa luettavaa. THN arvostaa turkulaisen Miikka Kiprusoffin NHL:n - maailman kovimman kiekkoliigan - parhaaksi pelaajaksi.

NHL on pullollaan hyviä eri pelipaikkojen pelaajia. The Hockey Newsin mukaan ne pelaajat, joiden tehtävänä on pitää kiekot poissa maalista, tekevät eron voittamisen ja häviämisen välillä.

"Kukaan ei pysty voittamaan pelejä kuten Kiprusoff", lehti hehkuttaa.

- Oikeutettu valinta. Kiprusoffia vastaan pelaavat joukkueet tietävät totuuden. Myös Calgaryn fanit tietävät sen. On muitakin loistavia pelaajia, mutta Kiprusoff on sen ryhmän huippu, Anaheimin päävalmentaja Randy Carlyle arvioi.


John - :D:up:

[tower]

Lordi Cola, Lordi Cola, Lordi, Lordi..... Credit cards wow... Just like 1975 when a whole heap of bands looking just like Abba graced the Eurovision Song Contest with there flashy clothes and Byorn/Benny Beards, I predict LOADS of Metal.... Oh Heck yes, Eurovision will never be the same.

The Fins broke Eurovision as we know it.... ;) Long live Finland :D

Ah but Malta will still have a BIG female singing star, the UK will not have a clue, the Baltics will fall out with the rest of Europe, the French will not vote for Germany, and life will go on just fine.

I loved Sir Terry Wogan's commentary a few years back when on live UK TV after tiny Austria caused the mighty Germany to sink out of the leaders by giving them just the one point.... Terry said...

Careful Austria, The Germans will send over a stiff protest about that .... They will probably invade you now ;)

And when the rest of Europe were less than kind to the UK this year he quipped.... That's it, time to send a Gun Boat and sort Johnny Foriegner out once more lads ;)

Other notable live comments from the UK's Mr Eurovision include this during the half time show..... OK mother time to put the kettle on and make a cup of tea, nothing worth watching now for the next 10 min or more.

And... Welcome to the 1994 Eurovison song contest, that wonderful moment when the whole of Europe gets together in a spirit of Peace, goodwill and international harmony, to gang up and beat the bejesus out of the good old United Kingdom... for soon we will be deep in 'Le Merd' :D

[FinnFreak]

Lordi Cola, Lordi Cola, Lordi, Lordi..... Credit cards wow... Just like 1975 when a whole heap of bands looking just like Abba graced the Eurovision Song Contest with there flashy clothes and Byorn/Benny Beards, I predict LOADS of Metal.... Oh Heck yes, Eurovision will never be the same.

The Fins broke Eurovision as we know it.... ;) Long live Finland :D

The moment of our revenge was long overdue... ;)

This year was definitely payback time, for the Finnish jury's decision in the beginning of this decade, to discard the popular vote winner Nightwish from representing us in the ESC... :mad:

...had Nightwish performed, Europe would have found out about Tarja Turunen much sooner...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v434/FinnFreak/Tarja_2006.jpg


John - :]

[FinnFreak]

Lordi Cola, Lordi Cola, Lordi, Lordi..... Credit cards wow...

http://www.olvi.fi/client-data/image_gallery/lordi_cola_15.jpg

Yeppers - they're striking gold alright... at a monstrous pace... ;)


Putaansuu's home town (Rovaniemi) have already named the town square after them, there's a kebab named after them, a hamburger, pizzas... Lordi Cola (by Olvi) is... well, tastes like cola... heh... and I know of one hotel, that has a suite called "Lordin Kammari"... it has been reported, that Mr Putaansuu has during this summer surpassed his first million Euros in earnings...

...and there's a North American Tour coming right after the European one...


FRI 01.09. NRJ In The Park, Elysee Arena, Turku

THU 14.09. Elämä Lapselle -gaala, Hartwall Areena, Helsinki


Bringing Back The Balls To Europe 06 -Tour:


September 16th Annexet - Stockholm (SWE)
September 19th Lisebergshallen - Gothenburg (SWE)
September 20th Baltiska Hallen - Malmö (SWE)
September 21st Amager Bio - Copenhagen (DEN)

September 23rd Club X - Herford (GER)
September 24th Postbahnhof - Berlin (GER)
September 25th Markthalle - Hamburg (GER)
September 27th Longhorn LKA - Stuttgart (GER)
September 28th Live Music Hall - Köln (GER)
September 30th Stadthalle - Saarburg (GER)
October 1st Werk 2 - Leipzig (GER)
October 2nd Georg Elser Halle - München (GER)

präsentiert von Metal Hammer, Prinz und WOM
Tickets bei: http://www.eventim.de/ / 01805-570000 (12 Cent/Min im Deutschen Festnetz)

October 4th X-tra Limmathaus - Zürich (SUI)
October 6th New Estragon Club - Bologna (ITA)
October 10th Orpheum - Graz (AUT)
October 11th Arena - Vienna (AUT)

October 14th Gamma - Murcia (SPA)
October 18th La Riviera - Madrid (SPA)
October 19th Apolo - Barcelona (SPA)
October 20th Sala Jam - Bergara (SPA)
October 22nd Hof Ter Lo - Antwerp (BEL)
October 24th L'Elysee Montmartre - Paris (FRA)
October 25th Melkweg - Amsterdam (NED)

October 26th Nottingham - Rock City (UK)
October 27th Birmingham - Academy (UK)
October 29th Manchester - Academy (UK)
October 30th Glasgow - The Carling Academy (UK)
October 31st London - The Forum (UK)

Tickets: http://livenation.co.uk, http://ticketrush.co.uk



...and their latest single, has a very apt title: "WHO'S YOUR DADDY?"



...Rock on..!


John - http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v434/FinnFreak/ROCKON.gif

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - BUSINESS & FINANCE - Wednesday 20.9.2006


We're Finland, we're number 1!


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135219918584.jpeg
Designer Miljenko Likul examines a transparency of the new Slovenian euro coin,
now being produced at the Mint of Finland.


By Pauliina Pulkkinen


Greetings from Brussels and Frankfurt! First of all I want everyone to know that Finland is definitely a king in Europe.

This was revealed to me the week before last at a seminar on the European economy, which was held in Brussels and Frankfurt, the administrative and financial centres of Europe. The event was attended by more than a dozen financial journalists from "the Old Europe" and by lecturers from many different places.

There was plenty of surprising information there for us Finns.

On the first morning, without any warning, the lecturer flashed a PowerPoint presentation onto the screen containing indisputable figures: when all possible factors affecting the economy are brought together, Finland is doing the best of all. Finland is number one both among the EU countries, and all others.


Finland, number 1!


The startling sight on the wall of the lecture hall was followed by a more extensive explanation of how Finland has developed a perfect recipe for success.

We have an excellent school system, no corruption, and unemployment has been brought down thanks to an active employment policy.

Laying off employees is easy, because the state protects labour, rather than individual jobs. This creates new jobs in successful fields, and work for the people.

Taxation is high, but the taxes yield results, and create security, as well as satisfied users of services maintained by tax revenue.

This is flexcurity, flexible security, a skill exclusive to Scandinavians, and at which the Finns are the best of all.

We, the two Finns taking part in the seminar, looked at each other somewhat baffled. We knew that our school system had been declared the best in the world, but that we're doing well in other ways as well? That is not something that has been advertised much in Finland - quite to the contrary.

We nevertheless nod knowingly to our colleagues.

The next day another lecturer - who knew nothing of what the previous speakers had said - praised Finland's pension system, and how it has been reformed in time. Finland is a "low risk" country; the pension bomb is not blowing up in its face.

At this point we Finns were able to smile. That's right, that is how we do it in Finland. Yes indeedy.

The songs of praise continued after the lectures.

"Ministers from Portugal came to Finland to acquaint themselves with your system. Now in Portugal they talk about the Finnish model", a Portuguese colleague said to us.

"Slovenia is having its euro coins minted in Finland, because there they will definitely be ready in time", a Hungarian official said.

"Finland handled Lebanon very well, but that was to be expected, considering how brilliant the previous Finnish EU Presidency was", said one of the organisers of the seminar, an Italian.

"I visited Finland in the summer, because Helsinki is so interesting. The food in the Manala restaurant was very good", a German journalist opined.

The final climax came in Frankfurt, where the head of communications of the European Central Bank gave a presentation of the bank's operations.

"By the way, we have the Bank of Finland to thank for these transparencies. It makes the best transparencies of all."

So Finland is number one in Europe's transparency race as well.

Coming back home on Friday it felt like I was returning to a different country from the one I had left on Monday.

In Finland it is customary to downplay one's own achievements, and to always be prepared for the worst. The people have been taught that even if things are going a little bit better now, a disaster is surely lurking right around the corner.

The fact is that Finland is doing well now, better than for years. That would be a good reason to hum with delight for a moment, but no. Coming back home there was only bad news to hear.

First, the deputy head of the Financial Supervision Authority predicted that profitability of banks would weaken, and then both Nordea and Handelsbanken predicted that Finland's economic growth would slow down, because risks are clearly greater than before. The head forecaster at the Research Institute of the Finnish Economy (ETLA) was almost ready to drink to Finland's success, but went on to say that success should be immediately forgotten, because it is transitory.

Fortunately it is a short trip to Brussels and Frankfurt. It is always possible to drop in there to listen to what a marvellous country Finland is, and even to raise a glass.



:biglaugh: - so true..!


:shocked: - ...but... just in case...


:uhh: - ...I'd better stop laughing.



John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

Iltasanomat - 20.9.2006


http://kuvat2.iltasanomat.fi/iltasanomat/iDoc/1237219-viivikirjoitti468.jpg


Viivi Avellan kirjoitti roisin seksioppaan


Juontaja Viivi Avellanin, 29, esikoisteos Sinkkunaisen käsikirja (Tammi) on paikoin hyvin hurjaa luettavaa.

Esikoiskirjailija kertoo heittäneensä estot romukoppaan kirjoittaessaan seksiä tihkuva oppaan. Lopputuloksena syntyi räväkkä sinkkunaisten käsikirja, jota ei voi suositella alle 18-vuotiaille - ja sen myöntää Viivikin.

- Välillä kirjassa on tekstiä, jota voisi lukea vaikka 13-vuotias, mutta sitten on kohtia, jotka eivät todellakaan sovi alaikäisille, Viivi ohjeistaa.

Mutta Jesse ei totellut vaan veti käteni haaroihinsa. Tuntiessani jotain erittäin suurta ja kovaa hänen lahkeessaan päätin luopua periaatteestani - jonka mukaan en sekstaile alle kaksikymppisten kanssa - ja kansipojan boa sai yöuinnilla kyytiä.

MTV3:n Viihdeuutisissa Viivi Avellan on totuttu näkemään ruudussa herttaisena ja asiallisena. Sinkkunaisen käsikirjaa kirjoittaessaan Viivi ei tuhlannut energiaa sen pohtimiseen, mitä ihmiset ajattelevat hänen suorapuheisuudestaan.

- En halunnut tehdä sellaista kirjaa, jonka ihminen lukee läpi hymähtelemättä, kauhistelematta, nauramatta tai raivostumatta. Olen panostanut kirjaan niin paljon, etten halua, että se on ihmisten mielestä vaan ihan kiva.


:shocked:


:funny: - pakko ostaa..!!! - :biglaugh:


:uhh: - oh yeah... the translation... other Finns: be my guest... (every man wants to know how single females work... wait, was that a manual or operator's manual..?) :p



John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135221622841.jpeg

...here's a link to a nearly 30 minute video about the royal visit to Vaasa from our local TV station Botnia TV:


http://www.vlp.fi/fi/botniatv/Kuningas.wmv


...unfortunately, no English... just Finnish and Swedish...


John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

Iltalehti - 22.9.2006


"Laardi" pääsi Aku Ankkaan

Euroviisuvoitosta alkanut Lordi-huuma innostaa nyt myös sarjakuvan tekijöitä.


http://www.iltalehti.fi/viihde/laardiakuankkaanSL_vi.jpg


Aku Ankan uusin numero sisältää tarinan, jossa lättäjalan veljenpojat Tupu, Hupu ja Lupu kiistelevät musiikkimausta Iines Ankan sisarentyttärien Leenun, Liinun ja Tiinun kanssa.

Poikien mielestä tyttöjen ihailema naislaulaja "Aprilli Lavonen" häviää selvästi heidän suosikilleen "Laardille". Lavosen esikuvana lienee tähteyteen noussut kanadalaispoppari Avril Lavigne.

Aku Ankan vastaavan päätoimittajan Jukka Heiskasen mukaan Laardin ensiesiintyminen "osui sopivaan saumaan".

- Tässä sarjassa se oli luontevaa, Heiskanen perustelee.

Tarina ei kuitenkaan paljasta sarjakuvahirviön ulkonäköä.

- Se on ihan mahdollista, että jatkossa näkyisi myös Laardin piirroshahmo.

Ennen Laardia ja Lavosta sadat tunnetut ihmiset ovat saaneet oman versionsa Aku Ankkaan.

- Väkisin emme sijoita ihmisiä tai ilmiöitä mihinkään.

- Periaate nimiväännöksissä on, että kaikki on tehty positiivisessa mielessä. Ei ole tarkoitus ilkeillä kenellekään, Heiskanen selvittää.

Kaikki hahmot eivät kelpaa ankkaseikkailuihin.

- Vältämme julkkiksia, jotka kuuluvat "riskiryhmään". Johonkin sellaiseen, joka herättää negatiivisia mielleyhtymiä. Niistä emme koskaan tee väännöksiä, vaikka niistä jotain saattaisi irrotakin.

Kotimaisista nimistä Aku Ankkaan on päässyt muun muassa kyläkauppias "Visa Keksinen".

- Oma suosikkini on elokuvaohjaaja-porsas T.J Sorkka, Heiskanen kertoo.


:D


...ja Tuomas Holopainenhan on toivonut jo vuosia tarinaa bändistä nimeltään "Marja Murunen & Yötoive"...


John - :p

[canoilers]

Well I understood one word out of all that, unless no means something else in Finnish. :p

[canoilers]

Iltalehti - 20.9.2006


Maailman PARAS

The Hockey Newsin mukaan Miikka Kiprusoff on NHL:n ykkönen.


http://www.iltalehti.fi/jaakiekko/5140505_jk.jpg
Miikka Kiprusoff nauttii suurta arvostusta NHL-maailmassa.


Maailman arvostetuin kiekkolehti The Hockey News rankkaa joka syksyisessä kauden ennakkonumerossaan NHL-pelaajien 50 parasta. Tänä syksynä lehden lista on suomalaisittain komeaa luettavaa. THN arvostaa turkulaisen Miikka Kiprusoffin NHL:n - maailman kovimman kiekkoliigan - parhaaksi pelaajaksi.

NHL on pullollaan hyviä eri pelipaikkojen pelaajia. The Hockey Newsin mukaan ne pelaajat, joiden tehtävänä on pitää kiekot poissa maalista, tekevät eron voittamisen ja häviämisen välillä.

"Kukaan ei pysty voittamaan pelejä kuten Kiprusoff", lehti hehkuttaa.

- Oikeutettu valinta. Kiprusoffia vastaan pelaavat joukkueet tietävät totuuden. Myös Calgaryn fanit tietävät sen. On muitakin loistavia pelaajia, mutta Kiprusoff on sen ryhmän huippu, Anaheimin päävalmentaja Randy Carlyle arvioi.


John - :D:up:I prefer this guy, but that could just be me. :p

http://www.edmontonoilers.com/interactive/desktop/markkanen_1024.jpg

[FinnFreak]

Well I understood one word out of all that, unless no means something else in Finnish. :p

"No" is 'well' in Finnish.

"Ei" means 'no'... and is pronounced: eh. (for you Canadians)


John - :p

[canoilers]

Okay so I was wrong, I didn't understand a word of it... literally. :p

[FinnFreak]

:p - ok...

...in this comic, Donald's nephews are having a musical debate with Daisy's nieces... the girls prefer Aprilli Lavonen (Avril Lavigne), whereas the boys are avid supporters of Laardi (Lordi)...

http://www.iltalehti.fi/viihde/laardiakuankkaanSL_vi.jpg

...and the lines (from left to right):

"Aprilli Lavonen sucks."

"Laardi..."

"...is our favorite."


"Well..."



John - ;)

[canoilers]

Ahhh I get it, thanks for the translation. Otherwise I would've been lost in translation. :D

[Troll]

:p - ok...

...in this comic, Donald's nephews are having a musical debate with Daisy's nieces... the girls prefer Aprilli Lavonen (Avril Lavigne), whereas the boys are avid supporters of Laardi (Lordi)...

http://www.iltalehti.fi/viihde/laardiakuankkaanSL_vi.jpg

...and the lines (from left to right):

"Aprilli Lavonen sucks."

"Laardi..."

"...is our favorite."


"Well..."



John - ;)

Thanks for the explanation.

[EilleenTwain88]

:p - ok...

...in this comic, Donald's nephews are having a musical debate with Daisy's nieces... the girls prefer Aprilli Lavonen (Avril Lavigne), whereas the boys are avid supporters of Laardi (Lordi)...

http://www.iltalehti.fi/viihde/laardiakuankkaanSL_vi.jpg

...and the lines (from left to right):

"Aprilli Lavonen sucks."

"Laardi..."

"...is our favorite."


"Well..."



John - ;)
Best part of it is Aku's "no..." since it can mean anything here. Heh.

[FinnFreak]

'Aku', as 'Aku Ankka' = Donald Duck

yep, 'ankka' is duck in Finnish...

Kalle Anka in Swedish.

Mickey Mouse is Mikki Hiiri in Finnish... Musse Pigg in Sweden... Topolino in Italy..?


John - ;)

[canoilers]

Good stuff, thanks John. :D

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - FOREIGN - Wednesday 27.9.2006


President Halonen criticises proposed US terror legislation

President warns against breaking achievements of Geneva accords


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135221827243.jpeg
President Tarja Halonen feels that cooperation between the President and the
current coalition government has gone better than some elements in the
political opposition would have liked.


By Pekka Mykkänen in New York


President Tarja Halonen says that it is a mistake for the US administration to try to redefine Common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention banning cruel and degrading treatment of prisoners. She feels that in the war against terror, it is important not to become like those who do ignore international treaties.

"Non-democracy and violations of human rights are a contagious disease."

"I believe that results that have been achieved should not be broken. We must see the risks to security from a different angle", Halonen said in an interview with Helsingin Sanomat during the UN General Assembly.

Halonen noted that relations between Finland and the United States are in good shape. She said that there is no reason to worry over the fact that she has not been invited to the White House, or that US President George W. Bush has not visited Finland.

"Everything that Bush does with regard to me is evaluated in a negative light. I have taken part in the democracy panel here at Bush's invitation, for instance."

"I feel that he treats me quite properly. There is nothing strange going on here", Halonen said in her room at the Millennium UN Plaza hotel, which has a view to UN Headquarters. "There is no point in turning something that is not a problem into a problem."

Halonen says that Finland should be happy that it is not on the list of countries that the United States is constantly worried about.

Without underscoring the point too much, Halonen found both positive and negative aspects to the activities of the present US administration. She is pleased that the Bush Administration has emphasised the need for reform at the UN. She added that the relation between the US and the world organisation was nevertheless "a bit strange".

"However, it is good to remember that this is an organisation for all members", Halonen said during the interview on Thursday evening.

In Halonen's opinion, one positive aspect of Bush's UN speech was that he emphasised the two-state principle as a solution to the long-standing problems of Israel and the Palestinians.

"I think that it has been positive that the Middle East has been raised to the status that it deserves. The sad and shocking conflict in South Lebanon brought the whole of the Middle East to the forefront here", is how the President assessed the most significant result of the week, during which the UN General Assembly was featuring speeches from the member countries.

Halonen emphasised the significance of the terror attacks of September 11th, 2001 as a force that changed world politics. She also said that she understands the need for the United States to fight against terrorism. However, she feels that the way that it has chosen is too heavy-handed.

Halonen does not feel that it is acceptable to use the wrong means, even if the intentions are good.

The attempt by the administration to redefine the Geneva Convention got a group of key Republicans, such as Senator John McCain, to rebel against Bush last week. The dispute was a continuation of a long series of scandals in the US war on terror.

A few hours after Halonen's interview, Bush and the rebels in the Senate said that they had come to an agreement, in which Bush stepped back from his demand to change the US interpretation of the Geneva Convention.

Halonen believes that Finnish leaders have done well during the EU Presidency and the Lebanon crisis. She does not agree that the government would have been slow at the beginning of the crisis, or that it had been unclear if the Prime Minister or Foreign Minister should have been more visibly involved.

"We might sometimes feel satisfaction in a job well done."

The distribution of power between the President and the Government in Finland is a subject that gets Halonen to open up her vault of words. She sees no problems in the matter. She says that cooperation between the President and the government "has probably gone better than some in the opposition would have hoped."

"Or part of the opposition. Let's not blame everyone."

Halonen notes that when the Centre Party was outside the government, they "came separately to say that according to parliamentary principle, they were in opposition to the government".

Halonen noted that the Centre Party used "a nearly British choice of words" to indicate that they wanted to be in good cooperation with the President.

Now she says that she noticed a setup, in which "the President is the target of more parliamentary criticism than usual in the eyes of at least some politicians".

Halonen emphasises that in order to bring matters forward there would be reason to seek unanimity on content, rather than focusing only on fine points of law.

Halonen says that she has followed the events of Hungary with great concern. However, she noted that the Hungarians have made it through much more difficult times as well.

"They also have as their starting point that they need to be able to handle these matters like a modern democratic country does."

The question of the importance of the EU in the eyes of the United States is a complicated matter. In her view, the significance of the EU is at its strongest when the member states talk about the same issue with the same thoughts.

"I think that the value and credibility of the European Union grow through practice", Halonen observes.

In the president's view, the dispute between Iran and the Untied States is a good example of how the EU has succeeded in acting as a balancing factor between two hostile sides. She said that she trusts that the United States wants to resolve its nuclear weapons dispute through diplomatic means.

"They have made assurances to this effect, and I want to believe them."

So is the world safer or more dangerous now with respect to terrorism and other threats?

According to the President, a change has taken place. During the Cold War there were only two blocks. Now the picture is more splintered.

"I have sometimes said with some irony that the world is unfortunately increasingly getting to resemble the world of Harry Potter, where evil can exist anywhere."





...other interesting stuff to read:


NIE report declassified


The White House has declasified key portions of the National Intelligence Estimate "Trends in Global Terrorism: Implications for the United States" dated April 2006.

Key quotes from the declassified document:

"We assess that the Iraq jihad is shaping a new generation of terrorist leaders and operatives; perceived jihadist success there would inspire more fighters to continue the struggle elsewhere. "

"The Iraq conflict has become the .cause celebre. for jihadists, breeding a deep resentment of US involvement in the Muslim world and cultivating supporters for the global jihadist movement. Should jihadists leaving Iraq perceive themselves, and be perceived, to have failed, we judge fewer fighters will be inspired to carry on the fight. "

Declassified NIE Key Judgments (http://www.dni.gov/press_releases/Declassified_NIE_Key_Judgments.pdf)



John - :smirk:

[canoilers]

I agree with her 100% on that front. I can't believe this is coming from the Americans too, they're the last country on the planet that I would've figured messing with the Geneva accords, I never in my life thought it would be them. What gets me more is the arguement some people are using, saying that people outside the States don't have rights. I'm afraid if people start messing with the Geneva accords they're gonna be opening a pandora's box. What a scarey thought if theres ever been one.

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - CULTURE - Monday 2.10.2006


HIM album goes gold in the US


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135221944669.jpeg
HIM's studio album Dark Light has gone gold in the United States. Frontman Ville
Valo seen at the Provinssirock festival in Finland this June.



In a first for Finnish popular music, Dark Light, the most recent album by Finnish love-metal band HIM, has taken an RIAA gold disc for sales of 500,000 copies in the United States.

The album was released in the US market in the fall of last year through Sire Records.

On its week of release it rose to #18 in the Billboard charts, another milestone for a Finnish band.

Worldwide sales of Dark Light stand at around 900,000. The band's several CDs have sold an estimated four million copies all told.

The news of the accolade is welcome in the immediate wake of an announcement that HIM will be cancelling their planned North American tour, which was slated to take in 11 dates (ten in the USA and one in Toronto) during October.

The band announced they would instead be concentrating on work on their new studio recording, now scheduled for release in the fall of 2007.

Before then the band will put out two compilations - Uneasy Listening Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 - which will include alternate mixes of earlier HIM songs.



I'm not really a fan of their stuff, but hey - congrats anyway...


John - :)

[FinnFreak]

:sad:

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - FOREIGN - Monday 2.10.2006


UN issues report on deadly Israeli attack on observation post

Government sets up investigative team to analyse findings


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135220822601.jpeg
Four UN observers worked at the observation post in Khiam in South Lebanon,
including one Finn.


The United Nations reported late last week that the Israeli Defence Forces used a 500-kilo precision bomb in its raid on a United Nations observation post in South Lebanon. Four UN observers were killed in the July raid, including one Finn.

The report was issued by a representative of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan after a UN investigative team had submitted its findings on the incident to the Secretary-General. Finland was also given a copy of the confidential UN report.

Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre), and Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja (SDP) did not want to give any immediate comments on Friday before examining the 60-page document.

The UN found that Israel had taken full responsibility for the incident, and had apologised for the "operational level" mistake.

The investigators were not able to ascertain why the attack on the UN position was not suspended in spite of repeated requests by UN officials. According to the statement, the reason was that members of the group were not given access to Israeli military commanders who would have known something of the matter.

According to the UN, no additional action by UN personnel would have altered the final result.

A team of experts appointed by the Finnish government is to examine the UN paper. If the team finds it necessary, it can ask for further clarification either from the UN or from Israel.

Finland already received an Israeli report on the incident, but the content of that document was also kept under wraps. The reason given was the view of the UN investigators that no reports should be published until the UN study was complete.

According to news agency reports, Israel blamed the attack on a mistake in military maps.

On Saturday, Foreign Minister Tuomioja said that Finland would wait for the UN to draw its possible conclusions and take measures over the raid.

"Israel has said that in a computer download, this very well-known UN base had been left off of the map when it was transferred onto a computer", Tuomioja said on a television interview programme on Saturday morning.



John - :sad:

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - FOREIGN - Monday 2.10.2006


Dalai Lama says his successor
"could even be a Finnish woman"


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135221999402.jpeg
Tibet's spiritual and political leader the Dalai Lama held a press conference
at Finlandia Hall on Saturday.


Tibet's political and spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, says that his successor might come from somewhere other than Tibet.

"If I would die now, it would be logical for my reincarnation to come from outside Tibet", the Dalai Lama said on Saturday in Helsinki.

The Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, was speaking to journalists at a press conference in Finlandia Hall before addressing a larger public gathering.

The Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in India, says that it will fall to his successor to continue the struggle for the autonomy of Tibet, which is under Chinese rule.

He leaves it up to the Tibetans to decide how the next leader is to be chosen.

"An election is one option", he says.

Under prevailing Tibetan tradition, based on reincarnation, the leader is chosen in a ritual in which the right child is found to fill the place of the previous Dalai Lama.

"My successor could even be found in Finland", joked the cheery 71-year-old Dalai Lama as flash cameras went off.

He added that a woman would be quite suitable for the post.

Talk of a successor from outside Tibet could be seen as a political statement. In 1995 the Dalai Lama chose a six-year-old boy as his second in command, the Panchen Lama, who later disappeared. Chinese officials are refusing to say where he is.

The Dalai Lama briefly criticised Chinese policy in Tibet.

He said that a cultural genocide, either deliberate or otherwise, is taking place in Tibet.

China has stated that it wants to integrate Tibet more closely with the rest of the country. July saw the completion of the long-awaited direct train link from the Chinese capital Beijing to the Tibetan capital Lhasa.

The Dalai Lama also said that he was concerned for the fate of Tibet's sensitive mountain environment, which he fears could suffer at the hands of China, which is focusing on economic growth. "The world needs to teach the Chinese brothers and sisters. Nature is very important", he said.

The Dalai Lama asked a Chinese journalist attending the press conference some tough questions, but clearly preferred to focus on understanding between religions, rather than politics.

At the public gathering he answered a question about the meaning of life.

"Live happy and spread happiness around you", was his instruction.

The Dalai Lama was originally scheduled to visit Finland already in the summer, but his arrival was postponed for health reasons.

He was invited to Finland by the Service Centre for Development Cooperation (KEPA), and the Finnish-Tibetan Culture Society.

Tuula Saarikoski, a member of the executive of the culture society, said that Finnish top political leaders had been offered a chance to meet with the Dalai Lama, but no such meetings could be arranged.

On Sunday he was scheduled to meet with the chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Finnish Parliament, Liisa Jaakonsaari (SDP).



John - :)

[canoilers]

:sad:

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - FOREIGN - Monday 2.10.2006


UN issues report on deadly Israeli attack on observation post

Government sets up investigative team to analyse findings


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135220822601.jpeg
Four UN observers worked at the observation post in Khiam in South Lebanon,
including one Finn.


The United Nations reported late last week that the Israeli Defence Forces used a 500-kilo precision bomb in its raid on a United Nations observation post in South Lebanon. Four UN observers were killed in the July raid, including one Finn.

The report was issued by a representative of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan after a UN investigative team had submitted its findings on the incident to the Secretary-General. Finland was also given a copy of the confidential UN report.

Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre), and Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja (SDP) did not want to give any immediate comments on Friday before examining the 60-page document.

The UN found that Israel had taken full responsibility for the incident, and had apologised for the "operational level" mistake.

The investigators were not able to ascertain why the attack on the UN position was not suspended in spite of repeated requests by UN officials. According to the statement, the reason was that members of the group were not given access to Israeli military commanders who would have known something of the matter.

According to the UN, no additional action by UN personnel would have altered the final result.

A team of experts appointed by the Finnish government is to examine the UN paper. If the team finds it necessary, it can ask for further clarification either from the UN or from Israel.

Finland already received an Israeli report on the incident, but the content of that document was also kept under wraps. The reason given was the view of the UN investigators that no reports should be published until the UN study was complete.

According to news agency reports, Israel blamed the attack on a mistake in military maps.

On Saturday, Foreign Minister Tuomioja said that Finland would wait for the UN to draw its possible conclusions and take measures over the raid.

"Israel has said that in a computer download, this very well-known UN base had been left off of the map when it was transferred onto a computer", Tuomioja said on a television interview programme on Saturday morning.



John - :sad:



Thank for the article John, we've basically got the same thing here? I haven't heard any different anyways.

Thanks for both articles John. :)

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - BUSINESS & FINANCE - Tuesday 3.10.2006


Finnair flights to USA continue without disruption


The transatlantic flights of the Finnish airline Finnair will continue uninterrupted at least on Monday and Tuesday, even though US and European negotiators failed on Saturday to renew the agreement on sharing confidential airline passenger information, just before the existing arrangement expired.

Since Saturday night, planes have continued to fly under the old temporary agreement, says Hetta Huittinen from Finnair.

According to the agreement from 2004, the US authorities have the right to start accessing the data 72 hours before a flight leaves.

Currently, US officials have access to passenger data in airlines' databases containing information such as credit card numbers, and the flight routes of each passenger. The data can also include information such as car rentals handled by the travel agent, and special meals requested by the passenger.

The period when no agreement is in force is not likely to have any effect on passengers' movements at the airport. Hetta Huittinen noted further that flight traffic would be likely to continue as normal, even if a new deal were delayed for some time.

The talks between the EU and the USA on sharing airline passenger information continued in Washington DC over the weekend.

The negotiating parties were the European Commission and the US Department of Homeland Security. Finland participated in the talks as the holder of the rotating EU Presidency.

Deputy Director General Markus Laurent of the Legal Department of Finland's Ministry for Foreign Affairs was present at the discussions. He considered the talks to be "constructive".

"The negotiators were very close to reach consensus on the main contents of the agreement", says Laurent.

While unwilling to discuss the details of the talks, Laurent admits that the discussions involved certain problematic items.

Moreover, combining the European data protection laws and the US legislation would "require some formulating", Markus Laurent reports and adds that it is difficult to say how long it will take to finalise the argeement.

"However, as the chair, we are confident that it is possible to reach a mutually acceptable agreement", he concludes.

On the other hand, Reuters News Agency quoted an EU official as saying that the negotiations were only at a "temporary impasse" because negotiators had to consult with ministers in Europe.


US security officials began to demand flight passenger data from airlines after the September 11th 2001 attacks, and the European Commission agreed to the arrangement two years ago. Now the EU's highest court has ruled that the decision did not have a proper legal basis.

On Saturday night, the European Union threatened to sue an airline that continues to provide the passenger data to the US, even though the EU's highest court had annulled the old agreement.



John - :uhh:

[tower]

Considering the sheer numbers involved in flying to the USA each day, many for onward flight connections elsewhere I do not see how any agency, no matter how large the FBI is, could handle the data passed to them in a timely and effective manner. I see this as nothing less than a total invasion of privicy and I am dismayed at the EU for towing the line. We should of refused point blank. America has more to loose in these isolationist and totally over the top 'knee jerk' reactions to 9/11 than Europe does if all flights to the USA are halted.

A sword mostly has two sharp edges, US travel to Europe would also be stopped and I wonder just how long the mighty corporations of America would last if that were to happen.

As a frequent flyer I find the situation regarding restrictions on International Air Travel and security now totally over the top and out of all proportion to the REAL threat and I am certain that a determined terrorist will still find a way to get through if they consider there own life no longer of value.

Have the USA considered what this is doing to there standing in the rest of the World. These actions make them look paranoid and weak to other nations who have lived with the threat of internal terror for many decades before 9/11 and deal with it on a daily basis without all this carry on.

Don't get me wrong, 9/11 was a terrible event but Europe has been living with mad bombers and Aircraft hi jackings for many decades before Sept the 11th and life goes on. I doubt putting up a Berlin style wall across the Mexican and Canadian borders will do anything else than run up even higher there balance of payment current account deficit and lead to the US being bankrupt even quicker than before.

As restrictions on the free movement of Canadian people and trade into the USA are put back due to the practical difficuties of monitoring the cross border movement, Canadians would be WELL advised to reduce there market share in America and look for trading partners OUTSIDE of North America in Europe and the Far east and leave the US to ponder on its Paranoia, whipped up nightly on Fox News and other right wing TV stations.

[FinnFreak]

...eventually they'll get the big picture... :uhh:



a reminder for the Finns:

Nelonen

Elokuva: Fahrenheit 9/11 (K15)

3.10.2006 21:00

(Fahrenheit 9/11/USA 2004). Michael Mooren kohudokumentti George W. Bushista ja Yhdysvaltojen nykytilasta on edelleen yhtä ajankohtainen kuin teatteriensi-iltansa aikoihin. Edellisestä elokuvastaan Bowling for Columbinesta Oscarilla palkittu dokumentaristi paljastaa, kuinka supervallan toimintaa ohjaavat valheet, öljy ja ahneus. Cannesin festivaalin pääpalkinnon Kultaisen palmun voittanut Fahrenheit 9/11 kohosi jo teatterikierroksellaan maailman kaikkien aikojen menestyneimmäksi dokumenttielokuvaksi. Ohjaus: Michael Moore. Ohjelma sisältää voimakkaita kohtauksia, jotka saattavat olla haitallisia lapsille. Kesto 122'


John - :smirk:

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - SPORT - Wednesday 4.10.2006


Finnish players represented on 25 teams in the NHL this season


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135222061970.jpeg


Tonight's the night. The puck drops on a new NHL hockey season in North America, and the Finnish presence is strong.


As the accompanying map shows, Finnish players are plying their trade in some 25 NHL teams, though in some cases the likelihood is that the player will be turning out for a farm side in the AHL throughout the season.

This season, the wage cap that followed last year's extended strike and lock-out, a tougher refereeing line, and some big upsets in the play-offs in recent years have encouraged speculation that the race for the coveted Stanley Cup is wide open. No longer do the rich clubs like Detroit, Dallas, or Colorado dominate the advance betting.

One team that has been generating a buzz in the weeks leading up to the start of the season is the Calgary Flames, not least because their roster includes the NHL's best goaltender and arguably the MVP of the entire league, Miikka Kiprusoff. There are no fewer than eight Finnish goalies in the NHL this year.

The Dallas Stars again has a small Finnish settlement, with four players on the roster, all among the forwards.



John - ;)

[Troll]

The four that play for the Stars totaly rock.

[canoilers]

THe one that plays for the Oil isn't too shaby either.

[FinnFreak]

a reminder for the Finns:


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v434/FinnFreak/WithinTemptation.jpg

YLE Live: Within Temptation

TV2 sunnuntaina, 8.10.2006 klo 23.20

(uusintana 11.10. Ohjelman voit myös nähdä netistä seitsemän päivän ajan ensi lähetyksestä!)



Nojatuolien turvavyöt kiinni, Provinssirock-lähetykset alkavat!

YLE Live taltioi kesän Provinssirockissa kaikki Isoo -teltan yksitoista konserttia. Loppuvuoden aikana ne nähdään Kakkosen tutulla ohjelmapaikalla sunnuntain myöhäisilloissa. Kyyti on huimaa ja artistien kirjo laaja. Hyväksi koetun sapluunan mukaisesti jokaisessa lähetyksessä on mukana myös illan aktin haastattelu.


http://www.yle.fi/live/kuvat/provinssi06/temp2.jpg
Within Temptation - Sharon den Adel

Avausvuoron saa "Hollannin Nightwish", sädehtivän Sharon den Adelin johtama Within Temptation. Viimevuotinen The Silent Force -albumi rysäytti yhtyeen kunnolla läpi etenkin Euroopassa, ja levy viipyi Suomenkin virallisella listalla reilusti yli puoli vuotta. Livenä alankomaalaiset luottavat toki ennen kaikkea laulajattarensa vetovoimaan, mutta ei den Adel ole taitojensakaan puolesta mikään seinäruusu: laulusuoritukset taittuvat elävänäkin kuulaasti ja laaja-alaisesti. Eeppisen tunnelman sekaan Within Temptation on uuttanut vuosien myötä yhä enemmän tiettyä pop-sensibiliteettiä.


Ensi viikolla on puolestaan vuorossa kesän hitti-ihme, hip hopia, soulia, funkia, elektroa ja ties mitä sekoittava Gnarls Barkley, jonka sinkku Crazy meni brittilistan ykköseksi pelkillä nettilatauksilla! Provinssi-lähetysten kolmas "ulkomaanvieras" on ska-punkia soittava meksikolaisyhtye Los de Abajo.

Lähetysajat: 15.10. Gnarls Barkley (USA), 22.10. CMX, 29.10. The Ark (SWE), 5.11. Diablo, 12.11. Lapko, 19.11. Los de Abajo (MEX), 26.11. Don Johnson Big Band, 3.12. Amorphis, 10.12. Timo Rautiainen, 17.12. Von Hertzen Bros


www.yle.fi/live


John - http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v434/FinnFreak/ROCKON.gif

[canoilers]

Can't understand a word of it, but I did understand the prettiful part. She's mighty talented in the beauty department there. That translates where ever you go into any language. :D

[FinnFreak]

:D

The band's concert from Provinssirock festival last summer is being shown on Finnish TV...

...and it will be streamed to the Internet as well... starting next week... it was great... (I was there) :cool::up:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v434/FinnFreak/Within_Temptation.jpg

Within Temptation is a band from the Netherlands. Founded by guitarist Robert Westerholt and vocalist Sharon den Adel, their music is variously described as symphonic metal and sometimes by the media as gothic metal, from which they take influence.

The Band's Website: http://www.within-temptation.com

Official Fan Club: http://www.thesilentforce.com



John - ;)

[canoilers]

Thanks for the links, sound pretty good. :D

[FinnFreak]

Yle Live: Within Temptation


http://www.yle.fi/live/withintemptation.jpg


The Finnish Broadcasting Corporation (YLE) caught the band live last summer at Provinssirock, Seinäjoki.

For seven days, you will be able to see 42 minutes of the concert streamed on the Internet.


Within Temptation Live (http://195.248.86.140/kotimaa/musiikkitv/withintemptation_hi.wmv) - 750Kbps stream for 1Mbps connection

Within Temptation Live (http://195.248.86.140/kotimaa/musiikkitv/withintemptation_lo.wmv) - 350Kbps stream for 512Kbps connection



John - :]

[FinnFreak]

STT - 10.10.2006


President Tarja Halonen:

"Murder of Politkovskaya hurt freedom of opinion"


Tarja Halonen, Finland's president, said Monday that the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, the Russian journalist best known for her criticism of the Kremlin, was an affront to the freedom of opinion.

In an interview with the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE), President Halonen said this aspect made the event very sad and shocking.

"I hope that two things can be achieved in Russia through different means. One is respect for different opinions and the other is strengthening the rule of law, so that people can be safe."

President Halonen also expressed her wish that the murder would be solved before President Vladimir Putin arrived in Finland for the EU summit in Lahti later this month.


http://newsroom.finland.fi/netcomm/ImgLib/3/115/1009_russia_m.jpg

A large crowd of people attended a vigil outside the Russian embassy in Helsinki on October 8, in memory of murdered Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya. The event was arranged by the Finnish branch of the writers' association PEN.


John - :sad:

[canoilers]

Thanks for the article John. I'm wondering if it is at all possible for the Russians to have real freedom. I think this goes to prove that at the heart of it all it is a dictatorship, and not a very strong one at that. The Russian mob contols alot in that country.

[Myyde]

Shania was on finnish TV 2 weeks ago.:shocked: Did anyone saw that?:huh:




...well, she actually wasn`t there, surprise surprise...but two ladies sang her song MIFLAW.


http://www.yle.fi/tartumikkiin/kappaleet.php?muutjaksot=4 Roll down and look who wrote the lyrics.:funny:

[FinnFreak]

:huh: - Rob..?!? :really:


...and now something completely different:


Musical: Spamalot (http://www.montypythonsspamalot.com)


Song: Historian's Introduction to Act One

*
A FAMOUS HISTORIAN:

England, 932 A.D. A kingdom divided. To the West, the Anglo-Saxons.
To the East, the French. Above, nothing but Celts and some people from Scotland.

In Guinard, Palace, and Difford, plague.
In the kingdoms of Wessex, Sussex, Essex and Kent, plague.
In Mercia, and the two Anglias, plague, with a 50% chance of pestilence
and famine coming out of the Northeast at twelve miles per hour.

Legend tells us of an extrodanairy leader who arose from the chaos to unite a troubled kingdom.

A man with a vision, who gathered knights together in a Holy Quest.
This man was Arthur, King of the Britains, for this was England!



Song: Finland / Fisch Schlapping Dance

*
COMPANY:
Finland, Finland, Finland
That's the country for me!

(VARIOUS ANIMAL NOISES)

MAYOR:
Finland is the country where we dance
Finland is the country where we play
Here in Finland boy and girl can find a true romance
In traditional Scandinavian vay!

ALL:
Schlip! Schlap!

MAYOR:
Schlip-a-schlap-a vay

ALL:
Schlip! Schlap!

MAYOR:
Schlap away all day

ALL:
Schlip! Schlap!

MAYOR:
You simply can't go wrong
Vith traditional fish-schlapping song

ALL:
Finland, Finland, Finland

MEN:
The country where I quite want to be

SOLOIST 1:
Pony trekking-

SOLOIST 2:
Or camping-

ALL:
Or just watching TV
Finland, Finland, Finland
That's the country for me

HISTORIAN (spoken):
I said, "England."

COMPANY (spoken in tandem):
What? Oh, sorry, sorry about that



John - :p

[aFinn]

Finland, Finland, Finland
That's the country for me!I see you were instantly reminded of the same thing I was inspired by when editing the thread title :p

[Troll]

:huh: - Rob..?!? :really:


...and now something completely different:


Musical: Spamalot (http://www.montypythonsspamalot.com)


Song: Historian's Introduction to Act One

*
A FAMOUS HISTORIAN:

England, 932 A.D. A kingdom divided. To the West, the Anglo-Saxons.
To the East, the French. Above, nothing but Celts and some people from Scotland.

In Guinard, Palace, and Difford, plague.
In the kingdoms of Wessex, Sussex, Essex and Kent, plague.
In Mercia, and the two Anglias, plague, with a 50% chance of pestilence
and famine coming out of the Northeast at twelve miles per hour.

Legend tells us of an extrodanairy leader who arose from the chaos to unite a troubled kingdom.

A man with a vision, who gathered knights together in a Holy Quest.
This man was Arthur, King of the Britains, for this was England!



Song: Finland / Fisch Schlapping Dance

*
COMPANY:
Finland, Finland, Finland
That's the country for me!

(VARIOUS ANIMAL NOISES)

MAYOR:
Finland is the country where we dance
Finland is the country where we play
Here in Finland boy and girl can find a true romance
In traditional Scandinavian vay!

ALL:
Schlip! Schlap!

MAYOR:
Schlip-a-schlap-a vay

ALL:
Schlip! Schlap!

MAYOR:
Schlap away all day

ALL:
Schlip! Schlap!

MAYOR:
You simply can't go wrong
Vith traditional fish-schlapping song

ALL:
Finland, Finland, Finland

MEN:
The country where I quite want to be

SOLOIST 1:
Pony trekking-

SOLOIST 2:
Or camping-

ALL:
Or just watching TV
Finland, Finland, Finland
That's the country for me

HISTORIAN (spoken):
I said, "England."

COMPANY (spoken in tandem):
What? Oh, sorry, sorry about that



John - :p

I saw that musical it was funny.

[FinnFreak]

It was a wonderful musical to see in Toronto & the Finns in the audience were greatly impressed.


John - :p

[Troll]

It was a wonderful musical to see in Toronto & the Finns in the audience were greatly impressed.


John - :p

That is where I saw it. When I went to Toronto over the summer.

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - FOREIGN - Wednesday 11.10.2006


President Tarja Halonen hopes journalist murder will be solved before upcoming Putin visit


President Tarja Halonen commented on Monday on the brutal murder of Russian investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, saying she was shocked and horrified at the killing and expressing the hope that Russia would soon find ways of preventing any repetition of such crimes.

Halonen also noted that she very much hoped the case would be solved and the perpetrators brought to justice before Russian President Vladimir Putin visits Finland later this month. Putin will be among the heads of state and government attending the informal EU summit in Lahti on the 20th.

Halonen was answering questions in connection with a scheduled radio appearance and for the Nelonen TV News.

She expressed hopes that Russia would take steps to ensure at least two things: "I very much hope that two things can be achieved in Russia through different means. One is respect for different opinions and the other is a strengthening of the rule of law, so that people can have a sense of safety."

Sunday night's candlelit vigil outside the Russian Embassy in Helsinki, attended by upwards of 1,000 people (some have claimed as many as 3,000 were present), gave the President an idea of what the Finnish public are thinking and talking about right now.

Before Halonen answered listeners' questions in a scheduled phone-in programme for the Finnish Broadcasting Company on Monday evening, she said she was anticipating that there would be references to the slaying of Politkovskaya.

"It is a question of something in our neighbouring country, whose events we follow closely, and personally I have taken this Finnish demonstration yesterday as a sign that we still believe in democracy under all circumstances, in the sense that when a demonstration is organised people believe it will have some effect", Halonen said to Nelonen TV News before going into the studio.

The President felt the murder was particularly shocking as an affront to freedom of expression and opinion - Politkovskaya had in the past targeted the government of President Putin as well as exposing corruption in Russia and serious human rights abuses in the conduct of the war in Chechnya.

"Taking a human life, hurting someone, is always a shocking matter. And when this apparently also involves the violation of freedom of expression it makes the crime that much more appalling", said Halonen.

President Putin made his first public comment on the journalist's slaying in a telephone conversation with his U.S. counterpart George W. Bush, confirming that "all necessary efforts will be made for an objective investigation into the tragic death" of the award-winning reporter.

Putin is in Germany today for talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel. While energy matters, Iran's nuclear ambitions, and the recent North Korean nuclear test are likely to dominate proceedings, it is almost certain that the Politkovskaya killing will surface in some form or other.

Her death is in any event something of an embarrassment to President Putin's efforts to project Russia as a responsible member of the G8 and a transitional market economy, and he, too, will probably be hoping the subject is not to the fore when he meets with EU colleagues for dinner at the informal Lahti summit in two weeks' time.

The slain journalist, who was shot in her apartment building on Saturday afternoon, is to be buried today in Moscow.

She was by no means the first reporter to die an unnatural death in Russia. According to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, Russia is the third most deadly country for journalists, after Iraq and Algeria. The Committee claims Politkovskaya was at least the 43rd journalist killed for her work in the country since 1993.



Finnish reaction to Politkovskaya killing exceptionally strong


The Helsinki demomonstration may have been world’s largest.

The murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya has sparked unusually strong reactions in Finland.

On Monday it looked as if the largest demonstration in the world over the killing may have taken place in Helsinki on Sunday. Police say that the candlelight demonstration at the Russian Embassy in Helsinki was attended by more than 1,000 people. Helsingin Sanomat journalists on the scene calculated that well over 2,000 people were there.

Reports from Moscow on the turnout for a demonstration held on Sunday over the killing varied between considerably. The English-langauge Moscow Times newspaper wrote that the protest was attended by "more than 500", while Radio Svoboda put the number as high as 2,000. The demonstration was initially called to protest the persecution of Georgians. Smaller protests were held in other parts of Russia as well.

The killing was big news around the Nordic region, but Finland was the only one of the Nordic Countries where people took to the streets in large numbers.

The Norwegian newspaper Ny Tid, which regularly published articles written by Politkovskaya, called her a "martyr of freedom of speech". The newspaper said that the murder shows that Politkovskaya was right in what she was saying.

In Estonia, press reactions were also strong, but no demonstrations were seen. Estonian commentators saw the killing as an indication that democracy does not work in Russia. Eesti Päevaleht wrote in its Monday editorial: "The tendency is growing stronger and stronger in Russia, that people disloyal to the Kremlin are silenced by force."

As holder of the EU Presidency, Finland presented condolences on behalf of the EU, and called for an investigation into the crime. However, the greatest reaction seemed to have come from ordinary citizens.

Russian studies professor Timo Vihavainen sees the candlelight demonstration in Helsinki as a protest against the Russia of Vladimir Putin.

"It was no expression of condolence to the Russian state. The view over here was that the Russian state was responsible for the murder. It was a demonstration against Putin."

According to Vihavainen, a very negative image of Putin’s Russia has taken shape in Finland. In his view, the message in the candlelight demonstration was that Putin needs to do something - and that Finns are certainly not afraid to express their opinions.

The murder sparked an unusually intense discussion on the message board of the Helsingin Sanomat web site. Hundreds of messages that were posted included calls for a posthumous Nobel Peace Prize for Politkovskaya. There were also expressions of concern over the situation in Georgia, and criticism of the response from Finnish political leaders.



John - :mad:

[aFinn]

Ahtisaari ei usko enää Nobel-mahdollisuuksiinsa
Julkaistu 13.10.2006, klo 18.21 (päivitetty 13.10.2006, klo 18.30)

Presidentti Martti Ahtisaari on arvioinut Wienissä, että tämä vuosi oli hänen viimeinen mahdollisuutensa saada Nobel-palkinto. Ahtisaari sanoi arvanneensa jo etukäteen, ettei palkintoa tällä kertaa myönnetä rauhanneuvottelijalle.



- Lähdin aina siitä, että jos joskus saan Nobelin, niin se on nyt. Näin ollen en usko, että tulevaisuudessa tulen sitä enää saamaan, Ahtisaari sanoi YLEn TV-uutisten haastattelussa.

Ahtisaari kuitenkin toteaa, että häntä harmittaa suomalaisten puolesta.

- Minut oli nostettu suosikiksi, ja todennäköisesti ihan ansioitteni perusteella. Odotukset olivat tavattoman valtavat, Ahtisaari sanoo.

- Toivon, että Suomen kansa selviää tästä. Minä kyllä selviän.

YLE24 (http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/kotimaa/vasen/id45171.html)






Toivon, että Suomen kansa selviää tästä.....:biglaugh: :biglaugh:

[Myyde]

No hitto, tiukkaa voi tehdä, mutta eiköhän tuosta muutaman valvotun yön jälkeen pääse yli. Pikkuhiljaa alkaa jo toipumaan tuosta Euroviisuvoittopettymyksestä, niin eiköhän sitä tästäkin päästä yli.:p

[canoilers]

Thanks for the article John.

[Alex]

Oh my god, that's finnish language?:eek: It's just like russian, but with easier caracters:p I like it:D

[aFinn]

Quick translation of my latest article and what I and Myyde were talking about:

Martti Ahtisaari was nominated for Nobel peace prize, but didn't get it. In his statement he said he's okay with the result and hopes that Finnish people will be okay too. We were slightly amused when wondering if we'll survive :p

[FinnFreak]

Oh my god, that's finnish language?:eek: It's just like russian, but with easier caracters:p I like it:D

We like it too - but Finnish is NOTHING like Russian. FYI.


John - :scowl:

[FinnFreak]

Quick translation of my latest article and what I and Myyde were talking about:

Martti Ahtisaari was nominated for Nobel peace prize, but didn't get it. In his statement he said he's okay with the result and hopes that Finnish people will be okay too. We were slightly amused when wondering if we'll survive :p

The Finnish Foreign Ministry were giving him a bit exaggerated information on how the media/general public in Finland were responding to his nomination.

This happens way too often at the top levels. :smirk:


...maybe Putaansuu will win the Nobel Peace Prize... 40 years from now...


John - :p

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - BUSINESS & FINANCE - Monday 16.10.2006


Optical illusion on the North American market

Asia dominates news, but USA is still important for Finnish companies


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135222151557.jpeg
The graph indicates the volume of Finnish exports to the United States (blue
columns) and imports from the USA from 1996 to 2005 in billions of euros.


FACTFILE: Finland has trade surplus with USA


The United States is the fifth-most important export country for Finland. In recent years, trade has been in surplus for Finland. Finnish exports to the United States have nevertheless declined by about one-third since 2000.

However, a recent survey by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs indicates, the importance of the United States for Finland is much greater than the trade figures suggest, because only about one third of sales is reflected in customs figures. Most of the trade takes place through subsidiaries, or involves countries other than Finland.

Finnish companies operate in all US states, with the exception of Alaska, Wyoming, Idaho, Vermont, and Mississippi. The greatest number of companies is in California, where there are more than 30 business locations.

Among the more than 100 Finnish companies electronics, metals, data technology, and forest companies are the best-represented. There are 23 electronics companies in the country and seven pulp and paper companies.

In 2002 a total of 31 Finnish companies had production in the Untied States. In terms of turnover and personnel, Nokia and the forest industry companies had the top spots. Now Finnish companies employ about 30,000 people in the United States.

Positive factors for Finnish companies operating in the United States include the 300 million consumers who live there, the familiar English language, and the position of the United States as a forerunner of global trends.


By Pekka Mykkänen


Hands up everyone who remembers hearing on the news recently about how one Finnish company or other is expanding its operations in China or India.

Now, raise your hands if you have heard about a Finnish company setting up a new factory in the United States.

Now you can put your hands down. Now hands up if the next claim makes you feel uncertain: The United States has only about ten Finnish companies operating there, and their business operations are dwindling.

The claim is, in fact, sheer nonsense, but one could imagine that it might be the case, considering how little talk there is about the United States, when the topic of discussion revolves around the operations of Finnish companies abroad. On the other hand, China and India, as well as Russia, Estonia, and the rest of Eastern Europe dominate the headlines on the subject.

Now, raise your hands if you know that Finnish companies operate in nearly all states of the USA. More than 100 companies have over 400 locations in the country, employing tens of thousands of Americans. For instance, for Fiskars, the country is a vital market.

"The United States is not visible enough, considering its importance. There is an optical illusion that it would be something to be taken for granted", said Minister of Foreign Trade Paula Lehtomäki in New York in late September.

According to Lehtomäki, Finland’s fifth-largest export market, the United States, is in the same series as Sweden and Germany - important as trading partners, but such natural ones that not much noise is made about them.

The same can be said in the world of enterprise. "One might speak of a lemming phenomenon, and it is not limited to journalists. When China is in vogue, everyone talks about China. When India is in, everyone talks about India", notes Maija Elenius, head of finances at Fiskars.

The visibility of China and India is also enhanced by the frequent visits by representatives of the Finnish government in the country. In developing economies, there is still a call for visits by trade delegations, whereas in the United States, the companies deal with their own matters.

There is rarely smoke without fire, and this applies to the Asia boom as well. People talk about it because it is a real historical phenomenon, which shakes the world economy. This has been felt by Fiskars as well, which sells garden tools, arts and crafts supplies, as well as GerberGear goods, which are popular among hunters, fishermen, and soldiers.

In 2001, 67 percent of the turnover of Fiskars came from the United States, but the most recent quarterly survey indicates that the share of the USA has fallen to 44 percent of sales. Exports by all Finnish companies into the United States have fallen by one third since 2001. The United States now accounts for six percent of Finland’s overall exports, and about four percent of imports.

Elenius says that the greatest factor behind the change in Fiskars’s situation is China, which exports more high-quality goods into the United States than before, and which has put production in the United States in a difficult position. Two factories were recently shut down, and two others will close by the end of the year, after which there will be four left.

"Chinese products are cheaper, and their quality has improved considerably in the past five to ten years. Now we are in a completely new situation", Elenius says, adding that Fiskars also has some of its products manufactured in China.

A dramatic indication of the changes in the world economy from the Finnish point of view are the rearrangements in the routes of the airline Finnair. A few years ago Finnair flew to Beijing a couple of times a week, but now it has a total of 23 flights to four Chinese cities.

Over the years, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Seattle, and Montreal have been dropped Finnair's North American services. The only routes that are left are Helsinki - New York, which was launched in 1969, as well as summer flights to Boston and Toronto.

"The Far East is an area where Finnair is seeking expansion and growth", notes Mikko Turtiainen, head of Finnair’s North American services.

During its busiest years Finnair had about 200 employees in the United States, while it now has no more than just over 20. According to Turtiainen, services to North America are not in jeopardy, because the planes are booked to about 90 percent capacity during the summer, and no other airline flies nonstop between Helsinki and New York.

The United States is seen as a market in which competition is intense.

Nokia has also made note of this. Its market share in mobile phone sales in the United States has declined from 32 percent five years ago to about 13 percent.

The world leader in mobile phone sales is now in third place in the USA, behind the domestic Motorola, and the South Korean Samsung. Nigel Rundström, Nokia’s head of multimedia operations in the United States, says that as consumers, the Americans are quite different from those in the Third World, for instance.

Whereas an African may have recently make his very first telephone call, an American might be pondering what kind of a phone might match his or her evening wear, how much music can be stored in it, and what kinds of video pictures the device will record.

Still, as consumers, Americans are not patriotic: they buy goods on the basis of what feels best, Rundström believes.

In addition to the China Phenomenon, and intense competition, the actions of the Finns in the United States have been challenged by numerous powerful winds blowing in the world economy. For instance, the bursting of the IT bubble led to the demise of many small companies. Maija Elenius says that in Fiskars’s sector, the price of oil is a major factor, which has affected the profitability of the manufacture of plastic products.

In addition, the strengthening of the euro has turned the export capacity of European companies to the United States upside-down, and the cheap imports of large retail chains is "making price competition pretty radical".

However, as it is America, everyone has a dream, and quitters are not looked upon kindly. Nokia, Finnair, and Fiskars all insist that they have faith in the future.

Foreign Trade Minister Lehtomäki notes that for the small Finnish nation, it is an advantage that "we do not have to seek such a fat slice from the world". In her view, "we are good at figuring things out, and the Finns' strength is a quickness of some kind."

Finally, some news about one Finnish company. Metso Minerals says that in November it will open a new factory in Columbia, South Carolina. "It responds to the growing demand for the product in the United States, and improves flexibility and customer service." Hands up those who feel that it is game over for the United States!



John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

YLE24 News:


YLE Looking Into Illegal Programme Use On YouTube

The Director of Corporate Affairs for the Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE says that the Internet video sharing service YouTube has made massive use of the company's productions.


Clips from programmes, including some of YLE's most popular comedy series are to be found on the site.

As of Wednesday the matter was being examined by YLE in an effort to determine the extent of the illegal use of its material.

According to YLE's Director of Corporate Affairs, Jussi Tunturi, the company will open discussions with YouTube, but he did not rule out the possibility of action in a U.S. court. He added that it is possible that several Finnish companies will act together, as the site also contains programming by Finland's MTV3 and Nelonen.

Tunturi added that following the acquisition of YouTube this week by Google, it should be easier to settle the matter since YLE will be dealing with what he described as a large company that operates according to the terms of contracts.

He would not speculate on whether or not people who have provided copyright materials to YouTube would be traced, but he did point out that for the most part the situation regarding their actions with YouTube is illegal.

However, YLE's Director of Corporate Affairs did not reject the idea that YLE might promote its own programming on YouTube. At least one Finnish TV channel, Subtv is currently promoting a new series with clips on the service.


John - :p

[FinnFreak]

STT - 16.10.2006


Savon Sanomat editor joins Finland's pro-Nato membership front


An impressive corps of Finnish newspapers arguing for Nato membership was on Sunday joined by Savon Sanomat.

Tapani Lepola, the editor, said in a column that his paper had preferred to remain neutral until the Finnish Broadcasting Company's survey of newspaper editors.

"As Finland has been a member of the EU for over ten years and as we are also in close partnership with Nato through the partnership for peace programme, even holding joint exercises, there is no reason to not be a member of Nato," Mr Lepola writes.

"Even now we are alongside Nato, partly inside its operations, too, but without the most important benefits of membership, i.e. Nato's security guarantees and intelligence. Further, we cannot participate in Nato decision making."

"Only membership would open a path to these central advantages."

Last week, the editors of Aamulehti, Helsingin Sanomat, Kaleva, Kauppalehti and Turun Sanomat told the Finnish Broadcasting Company they were openly in favour of Nato membership.



:biglaugh: - So, this WILL become a debate topic in the forthcoming parliamentary elections after all..? Sorry, Paavo.



John - :p

[Alex]

We like it too - but Finnish is NOTHING like Russian. FYI.


John - :scowl:

why son angry mad with me?? eh:p I just found that looked alike russian language but that's all. Maybe cuz I don't know the languages from there, but that's my first impression:D

[FinnFreak]

Son, one shouldn't joke about everything... :smirk:


...and now, something completely different:


STT - 18.10.2006


Aki Kaurismäki turns down Oscar candidacy


Aki Kausimäki, arguably Finland's best-known film director, told the Finnish Chamber of Films on Wednesday that he did not want Laitakaupungin valot, his latest feature, entered as the country's official candidate to be nominated for this year's foreign-language Oscar award.

Kaurismäki's decision means there is no Finnish film vying for the shortlist of the US Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Ampas) awards.

Raija Nurmio, the chief executive of the chamber, told the Finnish News Agency (STT) that Kaurismäki had refused to sign Ampas papers that would have made his film eligible for the nomination process.

Ms Nurmio did not wish to specify the reasons behind the director's decision.

"The train has gone, so we do not have a candidate this year," she said.

"Of course it is regrettable that Finland is not represented."

In September, a panel of experts summoned by the chamber was unanimous in selecting Laitakaupungin valot as Finland's Oscar hopeful.

Ampas is to pick a handful of films for the best foreign-language film category from suggestions put forward by the various countries. The list of nominees is to be announced in late January.

Kaurismäki's Mies vailla menneisyyttä (The Man Without a Past) was nominated for the best foreign-language award in 2003.

The 79th Ampas awards ceremony is to be held in Hollywood on 25 February.



:uhh: - ...the man is just as strange as his movies...


John - :p

[FinnFreak]

;)

What does Finland have, that Sweden doesn't..?



STT - 19.10.2006


All Finnish ministers have valid TV licences


Finland's Communications Regulatory Authority (Ficora) told the Finnish News Agency (STT) on Thursday that all Finnish ministers had valid TV licences.

The authority also ruled that information on payment behaviour, payment delays and possible use of a television without a licence and its legal consequences are not to be released.

Last week, STT, referring to the Act on the Openness of Government Activities, requested TV licence information from Ficora. The agency replied by saying that such information would only be given to public authorities.

But Ficora announced Tuesday that information on valid TV licences was not confidential.

STT decided to request the information from Ficora after Matti Vanhanen (centre), the prime minister, said his ministers did not have to respond to an STT questionnaire on the subject.



"We are NOT Swedes, we REFUSE to become Russians... let us therefore be FINNS" - A. I. Arwidsson (1820)



John - :p

[Big Swede]

;)

What does Finland have, that Sweden doesn't..?

All Finnish ministers have valid TV licences

:funny: :funny: :funny: Yeeah! But do they get payed for a whole year even though they only worked for 8 days? :uhh: :rolleyes: *sigh*

[FinnFreak]

Money well spent, I'm sure. :p


John - :smirk:

[FinnFreak]

STT - 20.10.2006


Poll suggests third of Finns anxious about Russia


In a poll commissioned by Finnish tabloid Ilta-Sanomat, 39 per cent of the respondents said the country's leaders should criticise Russia in plainer terms, while 44 per cent are satisfied with the way Finnish leaders currently talk about Russia.

Ilta-Sanomat printed the results of the poll on Friday, when Vladimir Putin is expected to attend an EU summit dinner in the Finnish town of Lahti.

About 45 per cent of the respondents told research firm Gallup Finland that they trusted President Putin fairly little, while 21 per cent said they did not trust the Russian leader at all.

Further, a third of the respondents said developments in Russia presented a threat to Finland.

Gallup Finland interviewed about 1,300 Finns between 13 and 17 October.



:uhh: - ...they had to do a poll to learn that..?!? :really:


John - :p

[aFinn]

An impressive corps of Finnish newspapers arguing for Nato membership was on Sunday joined by Savon Sanomat.Not too happy about all this talk about joining NATO...


Aki Kaurismäki turns down Oscar candidacyDid I hear today that Oscars are trying to convince him to change his mind? :uhh:

Yeeah! But do they get payed for a whole year even though they only worked for 8 days? :uhh: :rolleyes: *sigh*Not a very promising start for the new government, eh?

[canoilers]

;)

What does Finland have, that Sweden doesn't..?



STT - 19.10.2006


All Finnish ministers have valid TV licences


Finland's Communications Regulatory Authority (Ficora) told the Finnish News Agency (STT) on Thursday that all Finnish ministers had valid TV licences.

The authority also ruled that information on payment behaviour, payment delays and possible use of a television without a licence and its legal consequences are not to be released.

Last week, STT, referring to the Act on the Openness of Government Activities, requested TV licence information from Ficora. The agency replied by saying that such information would only be given to public authorities.

But Ficora announced Tuesday that information on valid TV licences was not confidential.

STT decided to request the information from Ficora after Matti Vanhanen (centre), the prime minister, said his ministers did not have to respond to an STT questionnaire on the subject.



"We are NOT Swedes, we REFUSE to become Russians... let us therefore be FINNS" - A. I. Arwidsson (1820)



John - :pYour quote at the bottom reminds me kinda of one about Canada.

Canadians have been so busy explaining to the Americans that we aren't British, and to the British that we aren't Americans that we haven't had time to become Canadians.
Helen Gordon McPherson

Personally I think thats what make us Canadian, we aren't British nor are we American. What else is there to be but Canadian.

Looks like we Canadians and you Finns have something in common, being stuck between a rock and a hard place. :p

Thanks for the Finnish articles there John. :D

[FinnFreak]

Not too happy about all this talk about joining NATO...
Finland has been actively a part of the NATO operations for over a decade. However, the general public's views on the organization in Finland have not been updated since the cold war, to better reflect the actual changes in global threats and how a membership would in fact affect Finland. Instead of stubbornly clutching to past views, IMO, we should rather be represented in as many meeting rooms as possible... having an opinion, yet not being able to voice it... is a lost opinion.

I see two options to choose from: either there's some serious discussion about the realities - the pros and cons of getting more involved - or, we can act like an European North Korea & let the decision be done at a higher level, and we just pay the price...



Did I hear today that Oscars are trying to convince him to change his mind? :uhh:
Yes, they tried. And Kaurismäki responded, that he still boycotts the current U.S. foreign policies, as he has since 2003.


* * *


The Sun Sports - October 23, 2006


Oh Sh...umacher! Kimi's loo gag


FORMULA One ace Kimi Raikkonen stunned TV viewers yesterday — when he said he’d missed an awards ceremony because he was “having a s**t”.

ITV’s Martin Brundle asked the Finn if he would get over not seeing Pele presenting a gong to rival driver Michael Schumacher. Cheeky Kimi, 26, replied: “Yeah. I was having a s**t.” Red-faced Brundle joked: “OK. Thanks for that. Obviously you’ll have a nice, light car in the race.”

McLaren star Kimi’s live outburst came minutes before he started the Brazilian Grand Prix. ITV apologised.


:smirk: - does Kimi need some serious training in media handling, or what..?!? :p


STT - 23.10.2006


Lordi's Sweet Taste Of Success


http://newsroom.finland.fi/netcomm/ImgLib/3/115/1020_lordi_m.jpg

Finnish candy company Halva and international record company Sony BMG have made an agreement about manufacturing Lordi candies. Sony BMG is this year's Eurovision Song Contest winner's, Finnish hard rock band Lordi's, record company.



John - :p

[Troll]

That is when you know that you have made it when they name a candy after you.

[Myyde]

The Sun Sports - October 23, 2006


Oh Sh...umacher! Kimi's loo gag


FORMULA One ace Kimi Raikkonen stunned TV viewers yesterday — when he said he’d missed an awards ceremony because he was “having a s**t”.

ITV’s Martin Brundle asked the Finn if he would get over not seeing Pele presenting a gong to rival driver Michael Schumacher. Cheeky Kimi, 26, replied: “Yeah. I was having a s**t.” Red-faced Brundle joked: “OK. Thanks for that. Obviously you’ll have a nice, light car in the race.”

McLaren star Kimi’s live outburst came minutes before he started the Brazilian Grand Prix. ITV apologised.


:smirk: - does Kimi need some serious training in media handling, or what..?!? :p


STT - 23.10.2006


John - :p

:biglaugh:

Well, s**t is just a synonym to cr*p or McLaren`s tactics....so i guess that he just had meeting with McLaren`s engineers and he just "accidentally" used that shorter term.:p

http://www.iltasanomat.fi/urheilu/uutinen.asp?id=1254999 (Video/Kimin haastattelu)

Wtg Kimi.:D

[FinnFreak]

:D - woohoo... more news from the town I live in... now they've solved a crime committed... :shocked: ...154 years ago... ;)


...but: let's examine the old old facts first:



Six dead, more than 300 houses destroyed


The Great Fire of Vaasa on August 3rd 1852 left six people dead and hundreds suffered from burns.

Out of a total of 379 buildings, only some 24 survived, including the regional hospital, a prison, a military magazine, the Russian church, and some garrison buildings.

The value of the razed properties was calculated at 290,000 silver roubles. All the documents in the provincial offices and at the magistrate's court were lost.

The ledgers at the post office and some 5,000 silver roubles in cash were rescued, along with the church silver and some of the vestments, but the Vaasa Church itself was among the buildings to be destroyed.

After the fire, the city was moved in 1862 some kilometres to the north-west towards the sea, to its present location. Between 1855 and 1917 Vaasa was known as Nikolaistad after the late Czar Nicolai I. The new town centre was designed by Carl Axel Setterberg in the neo-classical "Empire" style, and taking lessons from the disastrous events of the previous decade.

Vaasa is celebrating its 400th anniversary this year. The city, which is now home to around 60,000, was founded in 1606 during the reign of Charles IX of Sweden.

Ties with Sweden remain strong, and the region of Ostrobothnia that surrounds Vaasa still has a narrow Swedish-language majority. Vaasa itself is bilingual, but today three-fourths of the population are Finnish-speakers.




HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - HOME - Wednesday 25.10.2006


Cause of Great Fire of Vaasa cleared up - 154 years later

Local investigators even uncovered the identity of the fire-starter


http://www.vaasalaisia.info/vaasapedia/images/1/1e/V_vaasa.jpg http://filebank.visualweb.fi/_FileRoot/7/77/vaasahistoriaa.jpg


Regular readers of the International Edition will recall that last year's news was often taken up with the Bodom Lake Murders, a grisly multiple homicide dating back to 1960. Following the acquittal in October 2005 of the man eventually brought to trial for the killings, this crime remains open and on the books. However, an even older Finnish whodunit has apparently been resolved. This one dates back more than one and a half centuries...


By Eeva Palm in Vaasa


The cause of the fire that razed practically the entire wooden town of Vaasa in August 1852 has been determined, 154 years on.

Attempts were made to find the culprit immediately after the fire, but it is only now that a team of investigators has been able to piece together all the facts and even to come up with a name for the man who started the conflagration.

The fire was started through the carelessness of one Mårten Pehrinpoika Ohls, a farmer and merchant from Vöyri. Ohls died in the Vaasa Lazar Hospital in April 1853.

He arrived at the hospital running a very high fever and expired within a couple of hours. With his final ounce of strength Ohls made a deathbed confession that he had been responsible for the previous year's fire, passing the information to Mathias Christian Churberg, who was the hospital and garrison physician.

Churberg withheld the man's secret until 1865, when the doctor himself fell ill with typhoid. Shortly before his death, Churberg passed the story on to one August Lassell. The tale of Ohls's confession remained alive in oral form, but it was not committed to paper until early in the 20th century.

Ohls had apparently travelled by horse and cart the 50 kilometres from Vöyri to the county seat of Vaasa.

Based on information about roads and roadside inns at that time, the researchers guess that Ohls would have reached a tavern in the village of Vähäkyrö some time before midnight on the day before the fire broke out.

There he changed his horse and stayed to do some drinking, because Vaasa was a three-hour journey and the city gates would not be opened before 5 a.m.

When he eventually arrived in Vaasa, Ohls went to sleep in an outhouse belonging to a merchant (some sources name him as district court judge J.F. Aurén). The building was used to store dried hay and turf intended to line the stalls of domestic animals.

Much hung-over after the previous night's indulgence, the traveller only awoke at around 10 a.m., by which time the citizens of Vaasa were nearly all at work in the fields or in the harbour. Vaasa was an important shipbuilding centre and trading port.

Ohls lit his pipe with a friction match. These things, taken for granted today, were relatively new in Finland in the 1850s, but some traders sold them.

The lighted match fell onto the soft mattress of turf and ignited it. The fire spread very quickly. Ohls rushed outside and fled the city on horseback.

The fire was investigated by the local magistrate, but the rebuilding of the city proved to be a more important issue than attaching blame for what had triggered the blaze.

The cause has only now been revealed. The researchers started with the Vaasa Magistrate's records, which noted that two of the maids in the Aurén household had initially been under suspicion, and then some people from Vöyri, because a cart typical of that area had been found in the yard of the burned-out Aurén house.

It was not possible to put an owner's name to the buggy, however, since nobody had been seen driving it.

The keys to the mystery eventually emerged from the church register in Vöyri. According to the ledgers, the date of Ohls's demise fitted perfectly with Churberg's story. There was no mention whatsoever of Ohls in the hospital records, since he was barely there more than a day, and only a few hours in the land of the living.

The origins of the Vaasa Fire were determined by a small group that included a senior fire offcier and an investigator of major fires in addition to a clutch of historians and history enthusiasts.

Marianne Koskimies-Envall, Director of the Ostrobothnian Museum in Vaasa, says she doesn't believe any more thorough research is possible.

This latest investigation also produced new information that filled in some gaps in the earlier historical research into an event that very much shaped what Vaasa looks like today.

http://www.kotus.fi/verkkojulkaisut/julk125/kuvat/vaasa.jpg


John - :)

[Troll]

That is interesting.

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - FOREIGN - Wednesday 25.10.2006


WWF report: Finns' ecological footprint third-heaviest in world


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135222550241.jpeg

Martta Kuoppa, 16, took a test on Tuesday to determine her personal ecological footprint.
She scored 5.9. If everyone on the planet lived this way, we would be consuming biocapacity
at a rate 3.2 times the sustainable level. And she has no car, she recycles items, walks
or takes her bicycle almost everywhere, and is not a meat-eater.


[ :really: - we're doomed - :sad: ]


People are straining and polluting the environment at a more prolific rate than ever before. And the Finns are among those with the heaviest boots, leaving one of the largest ecological footprints of all.

This is the stark message contained in the WWF's latest Living Planet Report. Finland's high position is attributable to a number of factors: the energy-intensive nature of the pulp and paper industry, heavy use of timber, and the simple fact of our being one of the developed countries, where almost without exception the consumption of natural resources outstrips the planet's ability to cope.

According to the report, Finland places third in the world in terms of its ecological footprint - the demand people place upon the natural world. The only two nations with a higher per capita figure out of 146 countries in the report were the United Arab Emirates and the United States.

The Finns scored a figure of 7.6 hectares per person of ecologically productive land, while the planet can sustain no more than a figure of 1.8 hectares.

In effect this means that Finns are consuming four times the sustainable level, and that sooner rather than later at this rate of progress - for the Finns are by no means the only people "living beyond the planet's means" - we shall be needing a new planet or two. The entire world's ecological footprint exceeeds the corresponding biocapacity by around 25 per cent, and the footprint gets larger each year.

At the present rate of progress, this would mean we would need a second Earth by the year 2050.

The reasons for the high and unflattering Finnish score are several: the country has a highly energy-intensive industrial base in its pulp and paper industry, and energy consumption continues to grow. Finland ranks 5th in the world in terms of energy consumed per capita.

It is not all industry, of course. The country's location and climate mean long cold and dark winters and a need to keep homes lit and heated. Nevertheless, according to the Secretary-General of WWF Finland Timo Tamminen, there is much that could be done to conserve energy in domestic and industrial use.

The large sparsely populated land-area and distances between communities also increase the loading from transport.

A further factor elevating the Finnish figure is our massive use of forestry resources, in order to satsify our needs - and those of other countries to which we export - for paper and pulp products. A Finn consumes around 210 kilos of paper each year. It is unclear to what extent our consumption of forests for the paper requirements of other countries is reflected in their environmental loading totals.

The ecological footprint in the WWF report is made up of several parameters, including cropland and grazing land, consumption of timber for paper, pulp, and fuelwood, fishing, carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels, nuclear power, and the amount of built-up land (nothing grows on a motorway, thus reducing the biocapacity).

In terms of Finland's biocapacity, the same principal factor that hurts the country in the ecological footprint department - forestry - also makes the country one of the few in the world where we are not actually exceeding ourselves.

The Finnish biocapacity figure is among the world's highest at 12.0. A good many countries with a smaller ecological footprint are in fact nevertheless using up what little biocapacity they have at a prodigious rate.

In the case of the United States, for example, the ecological footprint is 9.6, while biocapacity is less than 5, indicating a negative figure, an ecological deficit of around 4.8 hectares per person per year.

Even more alarming is the situation in a country with scarce biocapacity such as the Emirates. Here the deficit is colossal - 11.1 hectares per person. All eyes will also be on China, which is currently only mid-way in the world rankings, but its rapid development and growing economy will mean that it has a pivotal role in long-term sustainability.

The WWF's Living Planet Report is published each year. The figures in this case are from 2003. The report also considers the world's use of water, another increasingly scarce natural resource. Full details are available from the links below.



John - :smirk:

[Troll]

Thanks for the article.

[FinnFreak]

heh... a blog I check out every now & then has a funny discussion going on:


Famous Finnish-Americans

http://www.finlandforthought.net/2006/10/26/famous-finnish-americans/


John - :p

[canoilers]

Thanks John for the history lesson, I guess they finally got there man.

[Troll]

An interesting list.

[mythikal]

Yappie...niceeeeeeee listings:o

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - FOREIGN - Tuesday 31.10.2006


Stock investor George Soros warns Finland over Russia


George Soros, the American financial speculator, stock investor, and political activist, is warning Finland of the superpower aspirations of Russia. In a recent interview with the Finnish business daily Kauppalehti, Soros commented that the current weakness of the USA and the simultaneous strength of Russia cannot be beneficial to Finland.

"Politically, the new setup is not good. On the contrary, it is a downright dangerous one", Soros commented on the current standing of Finland.

According to Soros , the United States has recently lost much of its status in world politics more rapidly than ever before in the country's history, as following the Iraq crisis and President George W. Bush's war on terror, the USA has destroyed its political and financial supremacy.

"The war against terrorism is based on dangerous miscalculations which have caused chaos in the entire world", Soros noted.

Apparently, Russia has benefited from this process. Soros warns that the country, flush with oil and gas revenues, is developing into a superpower, while spreading its power-base also far beyond its borders.

The bulk of the Soros fortune is attributable to currency speculation. Currently, Soros is investing his enormous winnings in various political and social purposes. One of his targets has been the foundation and fostering of the civic society in Russia.



John - :huh:

[canoilers]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - FOREIGN - Wednesday 25.10.2006


WWF report: Finns' ecological footprint third-heaviest in world


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135222550241.jpeg

Martta Kuoppa, 16, took a test on Tuesday to determine her personal ecological footprint.
She scored 5.9. If everyone on the planet lived this way, we would be consuming biocapacity
at a rate 3.2 times the sustainable level. And she has no car, she recycles items, walks
or takes her bicycle almost everywhere, and is not a meat-eater.


[ :really: - we're doomed - :sad: ]


People are straining and polluting the environment at a more prolific rate than ever before. And the Finns are among those with the heaviest boots, leaving one of the largest ecological footprints of all.

This is the stark message contained in the WWF's latest Living Planet Report. Finland's high position is attributable to a number of factors: the energy-intensive nature of the pulp and paper industry, heavy use of timber, and the simple fact of our being one of the developed countries, where almost without exception the consumption of natural resources outstrips the planet's ability to cope.

According to the report, Finland places third in the world in terms of its ecological footprint - the demand people place upon the natural world. The only two nations with a higher per capita figure out of 146 countries in the report were the United Arab Emirates and the United States.

The Finns scored a figure of 7.6 hectares per person of ecologically productive land, while the planet can sustain no more than a figure of 1.8 hectares.

In effect this means that Finns are consuming four times the sustainable level, and that sooner rather than later at this rate of progress - for the Finns are by no means the only people "living beyond the planet's means" - we shall be needing a new planet or two. The entire world's ecological footprint exceeeds the corresponding biocapacity by around 25 per cent, and the footprint gets larger each year.

At the present rate of progress, this would mean we would need a second Earth by the year 2050.

The reasons for the high and unflattering Finnish score are several: the country has a highly energy-intensive industrial base in its pulp and paper industry, and energy consumption continues to grow. Finland ranks 5th in the world in terms of energy consumed per capita.

It is not all industry, of course. The country's location and climate mean long cold and dark winters and a need to keep homes lit and heated. Nevertheless, according to the Secretary-General of WWF Finland Timo Tamminen, there is much that could be done to conserve energy in domestic and industrial use.

The large sparsely populated land-area and distances between communities also increase the loading from transport.

A further factor elevating the Finnish figure is our massive use of forestry resources, in order to satsify our needs - and those of other countries to which we export - for paper and pulp products. A Finn consumes around 210 kilos of paper each year. It is unclear to what extent our consumption of forests for the paper requirements of other countries is reflected in their environmental loading totals.

The ecological footprint in the WWF report is made up of several parameters, including cropland and grazing land, consumption of timber for paper, pulp, and fuelwood, fishing, carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels, nuclear power, and the amount of built-up land (nothing grows on a motorway, thus reducing the biocapacity).

In terms of Finland's biocapacity, the same principal factor that hurts the country in the ecological footprint department - forestry - also makes the country one of the few in the world where we are not actually exceeding ourselves.

The Finnish biocapacity figure is among the world's highest at 12.0. A good many countries with a smaller ecological footprint are in fact nevertheless using up what little biocapacity they have at a prodigious rate.

In the case of the United States, for example, the ecological footprint is 9.6, while biocapacity is less than 5, indicating a negative figure, an ecological deficit of around 4.8 hectares per person per year.

Even more alarming is the situation in a country with scarce biocapacity such as the Emirates. Here the deficit is colossal - 11.1 hectares per person. All eyes will also be on China, which is currently only mid-way in the world rankings, but its rapid development and growing economy will mean that it has a pivotal role in long-term sustainability.

The WWF's Living Planet Report is published each year. The figures in this case are from 2003. The report also considers the world's use of water, another increasingly scarce natural resource. Full details are available from the links below.



John - :smirk:Whoa! I just noticed that picture. Hello!!! Let me help you sort your recycables baby. :p

[canoilers]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - FOREIGN - Tuesday 31.10.2006


Stock investor George Soros warns Finland over Russia


George Soros, the American financial speculator, stock investor, and political activist, is warning Finland of the superpower aspirations of Russia. In a recent interview with the Finnish business daily Kauppalehti, Soros commented that the current weakness of the USA and the simultaneous strength of Russia cannot be beneficial to Finland.

"Politically, the new setup is not good. On the contrary, it is a downright dangerous one", Soros commented on the current standing of Finland.

According to Soros , the United States has recently lost much of its status in world politics more rapidly than ever before in the country's history, as following the Iraq crisis and President George W. Bush's war on terror, the USA has destroyed its political and financial supremacy.

"The war against terrorism is based on dangerous miscalculations which have caused chaos in the entire world", Soros noted.

Apparently, Russia has benefited from this process. Soros warns that the country, flush with oil and gas revenues, is developing into a superpower, while spreading its power-base also far beyond its borders.

The bulk of the Soros fortune is attributable to currency speculation. Currently, Soros is investing his enormous winnings in various political and social purposes. One of his targets has been the foundation and fostering of the civic society in Russia.



John - :huh:Thanks for that article John. I don't know much about it, but it kinda seems like alittle fearmongering.

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - CULTURE - Thursday 2.11.2006


A new breed of Finland fanatics

Music exports are attracting a small but dedicated bunch of Suomi enthusiasts on the Internet message boards


By Miska Rantanen


In the 1970s the few Suomi-fans in the world would arrive up here from Central Europe. The women had long Indian cotton dresses, the guys had full beards and velvet loons. On their backs were rucksacks, and in their eyes the keen glare of the nature zealot.

What they sought from Finland was a closer proximity to nature. For many, this country represented the final frontier, the last totally unspoilt wilderness, whose simple lifestyle and equally simple - no, beg pardon, "exotic" was the word of choice - inhabitants appealed to these proto-Green saviours of the planet.

It has all changed now. These days, people become Finn-fans because of pop music that crosses national borders. The new boosters of Finland and things Finnish are to be found not here in the north but from the online forums of the websites erected by our export bands.

And now it is our turn to be baffled at the exotic creatures.

Who, for instance, are all these Vardas and Regjes and Kiviis, who manage to write dozens of messages in a 9-page thread about the hairstyle and look of Perttu Kivilaakso, one of the three (formerly there were four) classically-trained cellists who make up Apocalyptica? Don't these young Dutch and French people have anything better to do?

And what about Amber d, from New Orleans? She was all made up and *swooning* last month at the release at the end of November of an album of melancholic Finnish songs sung in Finnish, on which one of the vocalists will be - who else but? - Ville Valo of love-metal band HIM.

The greater part of the message-board users' astonishing interest in Finland can naturally be put down to the normal idol-worship.

It could also be that Finnish rock attracts a rather special kind of fan. Our export magnets do not, after all, really represent the musical mainstream: Nightwish, melodic black/death metal act Children of Bodom, gothic metallers The 69 Eyes...

The fan worship takes on some intriguing features as seen through Finnish eyes when the bands' devotees actually start to get seriously interested in the country, the culture, and the language of the musicians.

"Hi! I'd like to have lyrics of ‘Jäätelökesä', a Finnish song Club For Five. Could you help me?" asks Andrea Italian Boy on the Värttinä forum in the section under Finno-Ugric Music and Culture.

Some kind soul provides the Finnish lyrics, with the title presented in the partitive form, where it becomes "jäätelökesää". Andrea Italian Boy is confused, and asks: "But I thought Jäätelökesä was with an ä, and not Jäätelökesää...what is the correct form?"

This is getting dangerously close to taking a beginner's course in Finnish.

But there is more to come. The national epic had been discovered.

"Yes! I have a copy of the Kalevala! It is so cool...The Kalevala is just too neat...The first poem really is just...dude...awesome. As far as literature goes, I'm workin' on The Unknown Soldier, but the Kalevala is what I'll finish first", gushes Sisu from Seattle on the Värttinä site.

Distance can be a pain. "I am so grrrrrrr ... I am 15 years old and I want to learn Finnish, but I can't find anywhere that can teach me. (I live in Sydney, Australia.). NOT HAPPY! It's not fair", grumbles someone down under called Nahkarouska.

Picking out Finn-fans on a Värttinä message-board is not really such a big surprise. The threshold for fans of world music to shuttle between cultures has traditionally always been a low one.

The latest crop of fans of Suomi do not seem to be attracted by the tired old clichés of pines, lakes, and minor-key melancholy. International admirers of Mira Luoti and Paula Vesala, two girls who front pop-rock outfit PMMP, are drawn to the pair's female energy, and to the music, lyrics, and interpretation.

New PMMP fans are located all over the world. And yet one of the band's strongest suits seems for many to be the completely incomprehesible language they work in. Unlike many of Finland's heavy or death-metal acts, PMMP do not sing in English.

"I like that PMMP sing in Finnish, it gives their songs a 'unique' feel and creates a nice rhythm. Would love it if someone could translate some of their lyrics though, so I could understand what I was singing along to, especially Päiväkoti. My Finnish is not that advanced yet!" says RachelUK from Rochdale in England. She has been writing on the PMMP boards since March.

The most dedicated of non-Finnish-speaking fans have painstakingly translated lyrics into their own tongue a word at a time, with a dictionary at their side.

Desperate appeals for "someone to translate this, PLEEZ" are found aplenty on the forums, whether it is the words to a song or a small clipping from a Finnish online newspaper.

Roxyta from Mexico runs a Spanish-language unofficial PMMP site back home, but following a Finnish band halfway across the world is not always easy.

"I wanna buy the CDs and the singles but I live in Mexico and in this country [it] is almost impossible to get the PMMP CDs. Can somebody help me with this problem, please because I don't want to download illegal downloads", she cries from the heart, sending "Kisses to all PMMP fans".

In the best of cases, Suomirock has taken these people over body and soul. Many foreign fans confess to having started with The Rasmus (whose English-language songs have acquired a lot of airplay on international music channels) and graduated to the likes of PMMP.

The most daring have even progressed to such names as TikTak, Apulanta, and Uniklubi, all of whom stubbornly sing in Finnish for the most part.

It doesn't seem to matter much.

"I searched a lot for Finnish rock bands that sang in Finnish (Tiktak, Apulanta...), and I can say that the rock sounds much better in Finnish", sums up Marta from Spain, again on the PMMP site.



The forum links below offer a few places to start. In some cases, even browsing as a guest requires registration.


Links:

Apocalyptica (http://www.apocalyptica.com/phorum/index.php)
Värttinä (http://forum.varttina.net/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi)
HIM (http://heartagram.infopop.cc/eve) (requires registration for full access)
Children of Bodom (http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=84)
Nightwish (http://www.nightwish.com/en/fans/forum)
The 69 Eyes (http://team69uk.proboards50.com/index.cgi) (a UK forum, as the official site was down)
PMMP (http://www.pmmp.fi/keskustelu/)
The Rasmus (http://www.therasmusforum.com/)
And, of course, Lordi (http://www.bmgfinland.com/lordiforum/)
What they are getting into: Finnish rock & pop music (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnish_music#Rock_and_pop_music) (Wikipedia)



* * *



HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - FOREIGN - Thursday 2.11.2006


[B]Facts from Finland


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135221286920.jpeg
Finnish food is cleaner and purer than that elsewhere
in Europe - and we'll lock you up if you say different.


By Jyrki Jahnukainen and Ilkka Malmberg


Denying the genocide of the Armenians at the beginning of the 20th century is against the law in France, and it may well be that before long it is punishable under that country's penal code. It is also forbidden to deny the Holocaust, or that the slave trade was a crime against humanity.

Now that the French have taken it upon themselves to defend these grave truths on the world's behalf, little Finland could play its part by throwing in jail anyone who questions certain known facts of the nation's past or present.

We could start off with five self-evident truths, the disputing of which - even in jest - would now become a matter for the courts.


1. The Mainila Shelling of November 1939 (which started the Winter War) came from the Soviet side.

2. Mannerheim wasn't gay.

3. Finnish food is cleaner and purer than that elsewhere in Europe.

4. Multiple Olympic gold medallist Lasse Virén didn't use blood-doping.

5. Finnish design is spare and elegant and timeless.



John - :p

[Troll]

Very interesting.

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - FOREIGN - Monday 6.11.2006


Heroes to zeroes:
Finland the eco-list darling joins the rank and vile

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135218905544.jpeg
Finland's reputation as an environmentally friendly
nation went up in smoke last week, after a WWF
report noted our large ecological footprint. As usual,
things were not quite so black and white - though
we have little to be proud of.


By William Moore


Personally I blame David Wallechinsky and Irving and Amy Wallace. It's either them or the person who thought up Desert Island Discs for BBC Radio.

Wallechinsky and the Wallaces were the people who lifted list-making from the realm of the bar-room discussion and put it between the covers of a 1977 book called - unsurprisingly - The Book of Lists.

Until then, the passion for making lists was restricted to the mainly male inhabitants of public bars, who would wrestle with important questions like "Who was the best centre-forward never to play for his country?", "What are the five seminal rock albums from the past 40 years to have in your vinyl collection?", or "Which seven Hollywood babes would you wish to be stranded with on a desert island?".

After the book came out, it seems all hell broke loose. Now every organisation under the sun wants to rank countries. Apparently it is also a good means of raising awareness - and funds.

This past week was, for me at least, a list too far.

We Finns were told first that we were #1 in press freedom (hooray!), then we were soundly whipped for being the third-worst in the world for ecological profligacy (oops!), and finally we got the so-so news that we were the 6th happiest bunch on the planet, according to Business Week.

Huh? Happiness!? What the hell? When did THAT become scientifically measurable?

It is not as though this list-mania has not been going on for some time. Over the last couple of years, the collective Finnish ego has been massaged in all the right places by studies that have shown our superiority in things like competitiveness, lack of corruption, educational efficiency and PISA scores, and even environmental sustainability, in all of which we took top spot or at least got among the medals.

But hang on a second, what was that last one again?

Environmental sustainability? Oh yes, that was a measure of our excellence in the stewardship of our natural resources, courtesy of researchers at Yale and Columbia, in January 2005.

And yet the WWF Living Planet Report just last week caned us for being third only to the UAE and the United States in the size of our ecological footprint.

Good little Finland goes bad, or what?

Let's back up a little and consider the nature of these apparently ubiquitous global ranking exercises. They have become almost a sporting discipline. They do not appear in arcane journals like Global Ecologists' Monthly or Education Policy Quarterly or even the World Happiness Newsletter, but on the pages of mainstream tabloids and broadsheets. And there's the germ of the problem.

The stories are often written up hurriedly by journalists who are not specialists, and who possibly do not know their ecological footprint from a hole in the ground - well, a hole in the ozone layer, at least.

They go to the press briefing, eat the prawn sandwiches, and take away the 400-word release, which they hastily copy up in time for their deadline. And when they do, they further accentuate the message of the famous research body's press secretary, namely that such and such a country was best and that some other usual suspect was worst.

And the readers read, the winners preen, the losers hastily send off a delegation to find out how it's supposed to be done, the ones in the middle say "at least we're not as bad as THEM", and nobody actually bothers to go and look at the study to see why country X was so good or so bad.

From the recent Finnish perspective, who cares anyway, as long as we keep winning?

But the almost grotesque difference between our performances on the Environmental Sustainability Index and the Living Planet Report made me stop and think.

And it made me READ the damned things. Was there something in the methodology? Are these lists worth the timber that gets felled to print them up, or the carbon dioxide and hot air they generate?

It turns out that our success on the ESI was almost predestined.

The makers say as much: "The five highest-ranking countries are Finland, Norway, Uruguay, Sweden, and Iceland - all countries that have substantial natural resource endowments and low population density".

We won because we are a nation with an advanced economy, a high level of exports of our major natural resource, a small population in the domestic market, and low vulnerability to exhausting our national treasure - the forests. So we'd have had to be rank nincompoops to fail.to impress in the rankings.

A glance across at the worst offenders in the WWF Living Planet Report - those countries exerting the heaviest ecological footprint - reveals some familiar names. No fewer than six of the top 15 ESI countries feature in the "worst 10" of the LPR.

And the reasons are precisely the same.

Countries that produce a commodity but export most of it - whether it be meat in New Zealand, fish in Norway, oil in the United Arab Emirates, or timber, pulp, and paper in Finland and Sweden - are going to get hit by the methodology in the WWF study.

As the small print of the WWF report reveals: "The resulting national footprints can be distorted, since the resources used and waste generated in making products for export are not fully documented. This affects the footprints of countries whose trade-flows are large relative to their overall economies. These misallocations, however, do not affect the total global Ecological Footprint."

Quite so. The WWF report itself indicates painfully clearly that we earthlings are all going to hell in a hand-basket because we are overfishing, cutting down too many trees to wrap stuff in, eating up too much arable land for grazing cattle or sheep, and because we are hopelessly addicted to fossil fuels.

We are living far beyond our means and Earth's resources are being used faster than they can be replaced. That is what really matters.

But is that how the average reader was informed over his or her breakfast egg? I fear not.

As the Yale/Columbia report noted: "Countries want to be seen as doing well in comparison to those similarly situated", and I suspect many people only gleaned that such and such a country was doing a bad bad thing, and that its people were stomping down on the planet with a heavy boot, taking four times or more what the globe's biocapacity can sustain.

The placing was all, especially in "small" countries like Finland, where there is an enduring obsession with what others think about us.

The big picture and the reasons behind the rankings, and the nature of those countries that are "similarly situated" - it is not necessarily all about GDP or level of development - were somehow secondary.

They were also secondary (or even downright irrelevant while we basked in the reflected glory) when Finland came top of the heap according to the Yale and Columbia scholars.

In effect, the dice were loaded in our favour in the first case, and the deck was pretty much stacked against us in the second.

I hope I am not alone in suffering from list fatigue.

Or that I'm the only one who takes these things with a large dose of salt, and peers behind the black and white of the headlines into the murky grey that is always going to be there.

But it probably doesn't really matter even if I am.

Just because Finland wins big in this or that comparison and gets royally stuffed in another is probably not going to affect most people's views of the country half as much as Lordi triumphing at the Eurovision Song Contest or even a funny-pages piece on a new sauna-endurance world record.

An English friend told me the other day that when he asked his mother what she thought about Finland, she did not praise our incorruptible civil servants, or applaud the outstanding numerical literacy of our secondary school students, nor did she even frown at our hob-nailed ecological boots.

No, bless her heart, what she replied was: "Good chocolate!".

So that's alright then.

At least until the World Confectionery Federation puts us down at #146 on the Global Chocolate Rankings.



John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - CULTURE - Monday 6.11.2006


"Your Excellency Presdentess and Resipentti"

Six thousand children's letters sent to President Tarja Halonen now in a colourful book


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135222501786.jpeg
Nine-year-old Olli's presentation of Tarja Halonen
surrounded by her realm.


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135222501788.jpeg
The children write and draw like they mean it - this is after
all a letter to the President.


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135222501792.jpeg
The annual Independence Day Gala Reception is a popular subject for the
young artists. Roosa (9 years) worries about Halonen's heavy handshaking
ordeal. The Resipentti is standing just behind the President.


By Irma Stenbäck


"Hi Tarja! Why should we belong to the EU? The thing that annoys me most is that the swings [in the playground] have to get taken away for the winter!" writes an 8-year-old girl to President Tarja Halonen.

"Do you think Sweden is kinder than Russia?" (Girl, 10 years). "I'm interested in politicians, I've made a ben schyskovitz*, a george bush, a kirsipiha, a paavolipponen, a sauliniinistö, a suvianne siimes, and a tarja halonen doll out of my Playmobil figures. I play with them." (Boy, 7 years).

"Our teacher says that we would make good presidents because we are so stubborn". (Two girls, age 11). "A female President is a big deal in Finland" (Girl, 9 years).

During her time as President, since 2000, Tarja Halonen has received nearly 6,000 letters from children. Ulla-Maija Salo has analysed the missives and collected them into a book that will appear next week entitled I would like to meet Your Excellence - Children's Letters to the President.

The book has a foreword with a greeting from Tarja Halonen herself, in which she says that she tries to reply at least once to each of the children and young people who write letters to her.

According to Halonen, the letters and drawings provide a unique reflection of the current state of the nation and its values. The President expresses the hope that in a fast-changing society the children will not be left to fend for themselves.

Ulla-Maija Salo was given permission by Halonen to read the letters. The normal rules on mail secrecy are adhered to, in the sense that the names of the letter-writers and the places they come from are not divulged.

The author's rights for every drawing that has been included in the book have been obtained from the original young artists.

In Salo's view, the children's letters also reflect something more general of the way in which the worlds of childhood are created in Finland. The letters often briskly take issue with social issues and politics, with the head of state's red hair, world peace, old people, the President's two cats, with matters in the writer's own family, with unemployment, indeed with almost anything under the sun.

Perhaps the most surprising and striking chapter is called About us girls, in which the letters reveal something of the 21st century variants on the old princess fairy tales.

In days gone by, Salo says, little girls would be more interested in the President's wedding and wardrobe of frilly gowns and the like. Now there's a definite edge to things.

She (Halonen) is seen as having a real rebellious streak and she sticks two fingers up to the silk and sequins side of things. The good little girl grows into a snappy young woman who knows what she wants.

Having a female President has given Finnish girls an important touchstone in the construction of their identity. The President and girls share many common things in Salo's view: girlhood, womanhood, and being a head of state are common.

The strength of this new kind of girl-energy surfaces in the letters also in the fact that girls and women seem to feel they belong to the same inferior minority that has been put down just as Halonen has.

Not any more, though. On the basis of the letters in the book, Salo believes that the way in which girls are activating themselves and taking power, even in small things, is breaking the mould of familiar old habits.

Halonen has broken through barriers on many levels. The girls also respect Halonen's way of being herself and independent, an ordinary-looking unaffected presidential figure.

Many young correspondents ask in their letters how to become President, whether the job carries a big salary and too much work, and whether there is a risk of burn-out.

"Hey, you'll cope, Tarja. Don't you worry about [Esko] Aho, or Sauli [Niinistö] or Lipponen, you are good enough and you've got the smarts", writes one 16-year-old girl.

The letters are direct and unabashed, and the children tell the President of their own joys and problems. "Why can't I have a little brother or a little sister? Could you arrange it, Persinent?" asks a seven-year-old girl.

Ulla-Maija Salo also sees the letter-writers as some kind of moral actors - they want to take responsibility, to think and to act. The letters also contain the darker side of the nation's life. There is a death in the family, unemployment looms, mother has been diagnosed with cancer, and only the president can help.

One new aspect is the interest that the children show in politics, and the way they take a stand on this or that.

The regular Saturday evening animated satire Itse Valtiaat (YLE TV1) has clearly been watched and lessons learned.

The President is to the children the ultimate authority and she has powers to do most anything: get the swings back in the park for the winter, remove poverty at a stroke, stop wars, buy a new PC, give money to the Save the Pandas club, or ban nuclear power plants.

To children, the President is larger than life, larger than the everyday, for all that she eats and goes Nordic walking or looks after her two cats and Parliament.

The word "president" (presidentti in Finnish) is not that easy to write, and consequently it takes many forms in the book, often emerging as something like Presdentess, Resident, or Resibent.

Halonen's spouse Dr. Pentti Arajärvi gets a crown put on his head in the drawings and he becomes Resipentti - not a bad nickname, really.



Ulla-Maija Salo: Haluaisin tavata Teidän Ylhäisyyden. Lasten kirjeitä presidentille. WSOY, 2006, 224 p. EUR 36.00.

*Note: Ben Zyskowicz, Sauli Niinistö, and Kirsi Piha are all present or former National Coalition Party MPs, and Niinistö was Finance Minister and ran against Tarja Halonen for the Presidency in 2006. Paavo Lipponen (SDP) is a former Prime Minister and party chairman and the present Speaker of Parliament, while Suvi-Anne Siimes led the Left Alliance until her resignation earlier this year.



John - :)

[FinnFreak]

:p

Transparency International - the global coalition against corruption


2006 Corruption Perceptions Index (http://www.transparency.org/news_room/latest_news/press_releases/2006/en_2006_11_06_cpi_2006)
reinforces link between poverty and corruption

Shows the machinery of corruption remains well-oiled, despite improved legislation

Berlin, 06 November 2006


The 2006 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), launched today by Transparency International (TI), points to a strong correlation between corruption and poverty, with a concentration of impoverished states at the bottom of the ranking.

“Corruption traps millions in poverty,” said Transparency International Chair Huguette Labelle. “Despite a decade of progress in establishing anti-corruption laws and regulations, today’s results indicate that much remains to be done before we see meaningful improvements in the lives of the world’s poorest citizens.”

The 2006 Corruption Perceptions Index is a composite index that draws on multiple expert opinion surveys that poll perceptions of public sector corruption in 163 countries around the world, the greatest scope of any CPI to date. It scores countries on a scale from zero to ten, with zero indicating high levels of perceived corruption and ten indicating low levels of perceived corruption.

A strong correlation between corruption and poverty is evident in the results of the CPI 2006. Almost three-quarters of the countries in the CPI score below five (including all low-income countries and all but two African states) indicating that most countries in the world face serious perceived levels of domestic corruption. Seventy-one countries - nearly half - score below three, indicating that corruption is perceived as rampant. Haiti has the lowest score at 1.8; Guinea, Iraq and Myanmar share the penultimate slot, each with a score of 1.9. Finland, Iceland and New Zealand share the top score of 9.6.

Countries with a significant worsening in perceived levels of corruption include: Brazil, Cuba, Israel, Jordan, Laos, Seychelles, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia and the United States. Countries with a significant improvement in perceived levels of corruption include: Algeria, Czech Republic, India, Japan, Latvia, Lebanon, Mauritius, Paraguay, Slovenia, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uruguay.

A concentration of so-called ‘failed states’ is apparent at the bottom of the ranking. Iraq has sunk to second-to-last place, with pre-war survey data no longer included in this year’s CPI. Intermediaries who began operating during the United Nations Oil-for-food programme continue to play a central role in driving corruption. The Volcker Commission reported that 2,392 companies paid kickbacks or made other illicit payments to the Saddam Hussein regime in the context of the programme, often through intermediaries.

While the industrialised countries score relatively high on the CPI 2006, we continue to see major corruption scandals in many of these countries. Although corruption in this context may have less of an impact on poverty and development than in developing countries, these scandals demonstrate that there is no room for complacency.


The Facilitators

The weak performance of many countries indicates that the facilitators of corruption continue to assist political elites to launder, store and otherwise profit from unjustly acquired wealth, which often includes looted state assets. The presence of willing intermediaries – who are often trained in or who operate from leading economies -- encourages corruption; it means the corrupt know there will be a banker, accountant, lawyer or other specialist ready to help them generate, move or store their illicit income.

Kenya’s Anglo-Leasing and related scandals presents a case in point, where the misappropriation of public funds was enabled through fraudulent contracts using sophisticated shell companies and bank accounts in European and off-shore jurisdictions, according to John Githongo, Kenya’s former anti-corruption tsar. And according to TI Kenya’s Kenya Bribery Index, bribery costs Kenyans about US $1 billion each year, yet more than half live on less than US $2 per day.

Acts of corruption involve a giver (the supply side) and a taker (the demand side). TI advocates strong measures to curb bribery’s supply side, including the criminalisation of overseas bribery under the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, as well as its demand side, including disclosure of assets for public officials and adoption of codes of conduct.

But the transaction is often enabled by professionals from many fields. Corrupt intermediaries link givers and takers, creating an atmosphere of mutual trust and reciprocity; they attempt to provide a legal appearance to corrupt transactions, producing legally enforceable contracts; and they help to ensure that scapegoats are blamed in case of detection.

“Firms and professional associations for lawyers, accountants and bankers have a special responsibility to take stronger action against corruption,” said Transparency International Chief Executive David Nussbaum. “Led by prosecuting attorneys, forensic auditors and compliance officers, they can be the stalwarts of a successful fight against corruption.”


Transparency International recommends:

Promotion and, where necessary, adoption of corruption-specific codes of conduct by professional associations for their members, for instance the International Bar Association, International Compliance Association, and professional associations for accountants,

Public education to ensure that honest intermediaries better understand their role;

Legal or professional sanctions for legal, financial and accounting professionals that enable corruption;

Greater scrutiny of the role of insufficiently transparent financial centres in facilitating corrupt transactions.


Transparency International is the global civil society organisation leading the fight against corruption.


Note to editors:

On 4 October 2006, TI launched its Bribe Payers Index (http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/bpi) ( which looks at supply side of corruption in terms of the propensity of companies from 30 leading exporting countries to pay bribes overseas.

On 7 December, TI will launch its 2006 Global Corruption Barometer (http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/gcb)which looks at public perceptions of the level of corruption in major institutions such as the courts, parliament and the police. The Barometer is published in anticipation of International Anti-Corruption Day, 9 December 2006.


click to see the CPI table and Sources (http://www.transparency.org/news_room/in_focus/cpi_2006/cpi_table)

click to download the complete media pack (http://www.transparency.org/content/download/10825/92857/version/1/file/CPI_2006_presskit_eng.pdf)


TABLE-Transparency International's corruption ranking

06 Nov 2006 09:00:26 GMT

Source: Reuters

BERLIN, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Below are the 10 best and 10 worst nations in corruption watchdog Transparency International's 2006 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).

The CPI is a composite index that draws on multiple expert opinion surveys measuring perceived levels of public sector corruption in 163 countries.

It scores countries on a scale of zero to 10, with zero indicating high levels of perceived corruption and 10 indicating low levels. The full rankings and additional details on the survey can be found on www.transparency.org


RANK COUNTRY SCORE

1) Finland 9.6

1) Iceland 9.6

1) New Zealand 9.6

4) Denmark 9.5

5) Singapore 9.4

6) Sweden 9.2

7) Switzerland 9.1

8) Norway 8.8

9) Australia 8.7

9) Netherlands 8.7

-----------------------------------------------

151) Equatorial Guinea 2.1

151) Uzbekistan 2.1

156) Bangladesh 2.0

156) Chad 2.0

156) Democratic Republic of Congo 2.0

156) Sudan 2.0

160) Guinea 1.9

160) Iraq 1.9

160) Myanmar 1.9

163) Haiti 1.8



John - :smirk:

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - HOME - Monday 6.11.2006


Broadcasting board chairman neglects TV fee for over a year


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1101979439952.jpeg


Hannu Olkinuora, chairman of the board of the Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE, admits that he had neglected to pay his television fee for over a year. YLE gets most of its revenue from the mandatory fees paid by owners of television sets.

Olkinuora said in a television interview on Friday, that he paid the licence fee in April last year, just a few months before taking on his post at the public service broadcaster.

Olkinuora moved from Sweden to Finland in 2003, and says that he forgot to pay the fee in the midst of the turmoil of relocation. Before he had moved to Sweden he had a TV licence.

Olkinuora was asked by the chair of the Administrative Council of YLE, Centre Party MP Mika Lintilä, to join the YLE board in 2005. Lintilä noted on Friday that he had not spoken to Olkinuora about the TV fee issue.

In Lintilä’s view, Olkinuora can continue in his post.

Two members of the Administrative Council, Kimmo Sasi (Nat. Coalition Party) and Riikka Savolainen-Moilanen (Centre) paid the television fees for their second homes only after the Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority (FICORA) declared that information on the payment of the fees was a matter of public record.

Sasi managed for a long time without a television set in his Helsinki apartment, but he later brought a set to Helsinki from Tampere after inheriting it from his mother two years ago. He has a reputation of being a very frugal man.

According to FICORA some of the members of the YLE Administrative Council still have not paid a television fee for their second homes. The explanation has been that they do not have a television in Helsinki. They include National Coalition Party members Marja Tiura and Marjukka Karttunen.



John - :biglaugh:

[Troll]

Thanks for the articles.

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - COLUMN - Tuesday 7.11.2006


Mantra against Finlandisation

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135222465929.jpeg
Presidents Vladimir Putin and Tarja Halonen travelled together from Helsinki-
Vantaa Airport to the EU summit in Lahti.


By Erkki Pennanen


When talk in Finland or elsewhere in Europe turns to Vladimir Putin's Russia, it seems to be a requirement that every politician and civilised citizen should first take up the development of democracy in Russia and the human rights situation there.

Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen, in his capacity as EU President had invited Putin to a dinner session of an unofficial summit of EU leaders. The main question in Finland and elsewhere immediately became whether or not Finland would dare take up these specific questions.

He did, because it was what was expected of the holder of the EU Presidency, but the challenge was not nearly as difficult for Matti Vanhanen as many might have imagined.

The human rights situation in Russia was also discussed last summer at a G8 meeting hosted by Putin in St. Petersburg, where Vanhanen also spoke as Prime Minister of the holder of the EU Presidency.

Putin is also accustomed to confronting the question in every international press conference and interview, and it does not seem to perturb him. The extent to which his responses satisfy the listeners is a different matter altogether.

There is no denying that Russia's progress on the road to democracy is painfully slow, and not at all straightforward. One must not and one cannot close one's eyes about this in Europe.

However, this should not be publicly made into a kind of threshold issue for cooperation between Europe and Russia that would overshadow everything else. Russia has, after all, been a member of the Council of Europe all this time.

The European Union can set various criteria and conditions for admittance to states that want to join the EU. These countries include Turkey.

Russia, however, is not seeking membership. It is interested in closer cooperation with the EU, but it draws a line between cooperation and integration.

Since the collapse of communism, and in spite of Putin's Western orientation, Russia has remained an enigmatic country for Europe, which is neither known nor understood by others. The slowness and setbacks of its progress toward democracy have given a good reason to observe it with wariness, and keeping a distance.

As EU members, the Finns also want to get rid of the long shadow of Finlandisation of the previous generations. Attitudes toward Russia have begun to resemble those of other parts of Europe. This is why Russia's human rights record needs to be raised at meetings with Putin.

According to poll commissioned by the late edition tabloid newspaper Ilta-Sanomat, 39 percent of Finns felt that Finland should be more critical of Russia. A slightly larger percentage were happy with the current policy. When asked "do you trust Putin?", 66 percent answered "fairly little" or "not at all". It is anyone's guess what people actually meant with the various answers.

On the other hand, keeping Russia's progress toward democracy in the conspicuous forefront of discussions between the EU and Russia is to a great extent a part of the publicity game played by politicians. More noise is made about it in the public eye than at the negotiating table.

How could it be otherwise, as both have constantly only intensified their economic and other cooperation, and their mutual dependence. For instance, the European Union will soon be importing half of its natural gas from Russia, and Russia will get most of its export revenue from supplying energy to the EU countries.



John - :smirk:

[aFinn]

An English friend told me the other day that when he asked his mother what she thought about Finland, she did not praise our incorruptible civil servants, or applaud the outstanding numerical literacy of our secondary school students, nor did she even frown at our hob-nailed ecological boots.

No, bless her heart, what she replied was: "Good chocolate!".

So that's alright then.

At least until the World Confectionery Federation puts us down at #146 on the Global Chocolate Rankings. :funny: :funny:

[FinnFreak]

The Fazer Blue (http://194.100.42.142/index.php) is a state of mind.


John - :]

[FinnFreak]

STT - 7.11.2006 at 17:00


Lorry queue at Finnish-Russian border reaches record 50 km


The queue of lorries waiting to enter Russia from Finland through the Vaalimaa border crossing was a record 50km long on Tuesday, the Finnish Border Guard said.

The sluggishness of Russian border checks has long been an issue of contention between the two countries.

In September, Matti Vanhanen (centre), the Finnish prime minister, raised the issue in a letter to his Russian counterpart, Mikhail Fradkov.


Webcams:

Vt 7 Hamina (http://www.tiehallinto.fi/alk/english/kelikamerat/kamera-FG.html)

Vt 7 Vaalimaa, rekkaparkki (http://www.tiehallinto.fi/alk/english/kelikamerat/kamera-VB.html)

Vt 7 Vaalimaa (http://www.tiehallinto.fi/alk/english/kelikamerat/kamera-VA.html)


John - :smirk:

[FinnFreak]

STT - 8.11.2006


Finnish president blasts defence minister's Nato talk


Tarja Halonen, Finland's president, on Tuesday criticised Seppo Kääriäinen (centre), the defence minister, for scaremongering with Nato membership.

Speaking to the Finnish Broadcasting Company's (YLE), President Halonen said Mr Kääriäinen's recent comments on Nato were simply aimed at securing more money for the Finnish Defence Forces.

Mr Kääriäinen recently gave two speeches saying Finland should either significantly increase its defence spending or join Nato.

According to President Halonen, Nato membership with defence spending are issues that should not be bundled.

"I agree totally with what the prime minister (Matti Vanhanen) said: it is always a political question and will be considered in due course, if necessary," President Halonen said.



:uhh: - ...pretty darn necessary, IMO... :smirk: (and the whole Finnish media wants this question answered as well)


IF we're supposed to ratify the Ottawa Treaty banning landmines, I'd like to see *any* other options being proposed, to ensure the existence of a believable defense... :huh: - the North Korean approach..? hah.


John - :p

[FinnFreak]

STT - 9.11.2006


Adult bear spotted in centre of Finnish town of 48,000


http://www.iltalehti.fi/uutiset/karhu0811JI_uu.jpg


Police in Hämeenlinna, a town of 48,000 about 100km north of Helsinki, told people to avoid walking or cycling Thursday after an adult bear was spotted in the heart of the town in the early hours of the morning.

The police isolated two districts and were ordered to shoot the animal on sight.

But at 9.30am (GMT+2), bear tracks heading away from the centre were found near Aulankojärvi, a lake north of the town.


...jos Hämeenlinnaan haluat mennä nyt, näät sammaleet myllätyt...


John - :p

[FinnFreak]

FINNET - 09.11.2006


http://www.vlp.fi/images/c-fin.gif


Suomen kaapelitelevisio-operaattorit avaavat
kymmeniä kanavia maksuttomaan katseluun


Kymmeniä digitaalisia maksu-tv-kanavia on ilmaiseksi nähtävissä kaapeliverkossa koko isänpäiväviikonlopun, kun kaapelitelevisio-operaattorit kautta Suomen avaavat ne viikonlopun ajaksi maksuttomaan katseluun. Mukana yhteistyössä ovat tekijänoikeusjärjestöt Teosto ja Kopiosto.

Viikonlopun aikana (paikkakuntakohtaisesti esim. Vaasan Läänin Puhelimen toimialueella) tutustuttavissa on yli 60 kanavaa, muun muassa Viasatin elokuvakanavat, Canal+ (Sport1 ja Sport2 sekä Mix), Disney Channel, Animal Planet, CNN, Ruotsin TV3 ja Barnkanalen (katso koko lista tiedotteen lopusta). Kanavat ovat auki perjantai-illasta 10.11. maanantaiaamuun 13.11.

Isänpäivän viikonlopun kampanjallaan kaapeliyhtiöt haluavat tehdä tutuksi maksu-tv-kanavien ohjelmistoa, joka on monipuolista ja tarjoaa valinnanvaraa koko perheelle.

- Kanavilla voi nähdä uutisia, urheilua, elokuvia, dokumentteja, lastenohjelmaa, kulttuuria, musiikkia – jokaiselle jotakin, oman valinnan mukaan, sanoo toimistopäällikkö Pirjo Haavisto VLP:ltä. – Suomen- ja ruotsinkielinen tekstitys on osalla kanavista kaikissa ohjelmissa ja joillakin osa ohjelmista on tekstitetty.

Kanavien katselu on mahdollista veloituksetta viikonlopun ajan, jos kotitalous on kytketty kaapeli-tv-verkkoon ja televisioon on liitetty digisovitin. Useimmat digivastaanottimet osaavat hakea kanavat automaattisesti. Ellei vastaanottimessa ole tällaista ominaisuutta, tulee tehdä kanavahaku. Lisäohjeita saa laitteen käyttöohjeista tai liikkeestä, josta digisovittimen on hankkinut. Tarvittaessa voi kysyä neuvoa myös VLP:n asiakaspalvelusta. Tutustumisviikonlopun jälkeen kanavat ovat tilattavissa VLP:ltä, ja silloin digiboksin lisäksi katseluun tarvitaan VLP:n Kaapelikortti.

Maksu-tv-palveluita käytetään nyt jo reilussa 10 prosentissa kaapeli-tv-taloudessa, ja määrä on tasaisessa kasvussa. Tiedot perustuvat Suomen Kaapelitelevisioliiton syyskuussa tekemään kyselyyn. Suomessa on noin 1,26 miljoonaa kaapeli-tv-taloutta.

Lisätietoa: toimistopäällikkö Pirjo Haavisto, puh. 044 411 3292

VLP avaa nämä kanavat maksuttomaan katseluun:

CANAL+Mix
CANAL+SPORT1
CANAL+SPORT2
TV1000
TV1000 PlusOne
TV1000 Action
TV1000 Family
TV1000 Nordic
TV1000 Classic
Viasat Sport 1
Viasat Sport 2
Viasat Sport 3
Disney Channel
Toon Disney
Viasat Nature
Viasat History
Viasat Crime
Playboy TV
Spice
Disney Channel
Toon Disney
Discovery Channel
Animal Planet
Civilisation
Science Channel
Travel & Living
Extreme Sports
Reality TV
BBC Prime
CNBC Nordic
Eurosport2
Hallmark
Jetix
Music Choice
National Geographic Channel
Showtime
Star!
The God Channel
Travel Channel
Toto-TV
Cartoon Network
CNN International
ORT International
NTV Mir
SVT1
SVT2
Barnkanalen/ Kunskapskanalen
TV4
TV3
ZTV
3sat
Canal24Horas
Rai Uno
RTL
BotniaTV & CityCamera
Deutsche Welle TV
Euronews
Eurosport
Music Television
TV 5 Monde


Kymmeniä digitaalisia maksu-tv-kanavia auki ilmaiseksi kaapeli-verkossa koko isänpäiväviikonlopun: perjantaista 10.11. maanantaiaamuun 13.11.

Viikonlopun ohjelmistossa mm:

• Englannin Valioliigaa, suora lähetys Arsenal-Liverpool
• Koko perheen elokuvapäivään ”101 dalmatialaista”
• K15-elokuva vuodelta 2004: The Village – kylä
• Klassista musiikkia Euroopan konserttilavoilta
• Ruotsalainen Sing-A-Long, musiikkiohjelma koko perheelle



woohoo


John - :D

[aFinn]

...jos Hämeenlinnaan haluat mennä nyt, näät sammaleet myllätyt...


John - :pLOL, I was resisting the urge to call my relatives if they've spotted the bear :p

[aFinn]

Kymmeniä digitaalisia maksu-tv-kanavia on ilmaiseksi nähtävissä kaapeliverkossa koko isänpäiväviikonlopun,
Viikonlopun ohjelmistossa mm:

• Englannin Valioliigaa, suora lähetys Arsenal-Liverpool
• Koko perheen elokuvapäivään ”101 dalmatialaista”
• K15-elokuva vuodelta 2004: The Village – kylä
• Klassista musiikkia Euroopan konserttilavoilta
• Ruotsalainen Sing-A-Long, musiikkiohjelma koko perheelle



woohoo


John - :D
Wow, this is cool.

BTW: Will your cable company remove VH-1 from their service? Mine's going away end of Nov :sad:

[FinnFreak]

No... there has been no such notification... would something like that happen, I'd get a satellite dish... Vh1 Europe is the one channel I have on all the time.


John - :)

[FinnFreak]

STT - 10.11.2006


Finnish defence minister draws flak over Nato speech


Finnish Left Alliance MPs on Thursday urged Seppo Kääriäinen (centre) to explain a recent speech where the defence minister appeared to argue that Finland faced a stark choice between a boost in defence spending and Nato membership.

Esko-Juhani Tennilä (left) suspected that some people were trying to render Nato membership into a purely fiscal matter when there was actually freedom of action. He added that if Finland were a member of Nato now it would be involved in the Iraq war.

Mr Kääriäinen underlined that he had mentioned in his speech at the opening of the National Defence Course that Nato was also a political issue and that membership in it would also mean an increase in defence spending.

Erkki Tuomioja (soc dem), the foreign minister, pointed out that many Nato countries were not part of the Iraq coalition. Jaakko Laakso (left) was of the opinion that many such countries nevertheless take part in logistics and support operations in Iraq.

Eero Heinäluoma (soc dem), the finance minister, assured that the government's security policy had not changed before or since Mr Kääriäinen's speech.

Jari Vilén (cons), the chairman of the parliamentary Grand Committee, congratulated the defence minister for successful lobbying, adding that practically all key parties had pledged to mend the defence budget shortage during the next legislative term.

Mr Kääriäinen said his objective had not been to lobby.

"The speech tried to be an intellectual contribution to the debate on the future of defence policy. And what happened? Let us all have a little look in the mirror," the defence minister added.

Liisa Jaakonsaari (soc dem), the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, called for a thorough review on the Nato issue for the 2008 defence policy report.


* * *


Tuomioja peeved by Finnish newspaper editors' "Nato campaign"


Erkki Tuomioja (soc dem), the Finnish foreign minister, was quoted as saying in the Friday issue of provincial daily Pohjalainen that the lively Finnish debate over Nato had introduced "market disturbances" in Finland's security policy.

"The reason why I do not make Nato comments every day is that I feel the continuing Nato debate causes, to use a word from the business world, market disturbances in our security policy. I value stability in security policy," Mr Tuomioja told the paper.

"I think the existing Nato cooperation is suitable for Finland as alliance always has its risks. Non-alliance was a very important choice for Finland following the second world war, when we were very close to becoming a de facto ally of a superpower. Why should we rush to become the ally of the other superpower now that the cold war is already over?"

Referring to a poll indicating that the editors of Finland's biggest newspapers favour Nato membership, Mr Tuomioja also criticised the way the press was trying to influence public opinion.

"When one takes into account how strong this Nato campaign has been, the people have remained surprisingly opposed to Nato."

Finland is an active member of Nato's partnership for peace programme.


* * *


Finland's Lipponen educates Vanhanen on EU core


Paavo Lipponen (soc dem), the speaker of Finland's Parliament, on Friday rejected the view voiced by Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (centre) that the European Union's 'core' had broken up.

Mr Vanhanen said in a speech earlier in the week that Finland's strategy to strive for the EU core was defunct as such a core of deeper integration no longer existed.

Mr Lipponen, prime minister between 1995 and 2003, responded by saying that Mr Vanhanen had "dug up a new EU policy from the Centre Party's hegemony policy arsenal".

"Finland's aim to be inside the core of the EU has always troubled the Centre and now the party wants to be rid of the core by claiming that it does not really exist," Mr Lipponen writes.

"The core includes those member states that take part in all the central forms of cooperation: the EMU in monetary policy, Schengen in border control and defence cooperation in the crisis management battlegroups."

According to the speaker, stepping outside even one of the three policy areas would weaken Finland's possibilities to defend its interests in other matters.

But in the same column, Mr Lipponen praises a recent controversial speech made by Seppo Kääriäinen, the centrist defence minister.

"'More money for the Defence Forces or join Nato' was an apt summary by Mr Kääriäinen."

"However, increasing defence spending by 100 million euros simply is not enough for anything in 2020," Mr Lipponen added.



John - :smirk:

[FinnFreak]

STT - 10.11.2006


Finland's Khiam expert group does not question Israel's report on airstrike


The Finnish government said in a statement Friday that its Khiam expert group had no reason to question Israel's explanation that the destruction of the UN observation post in southern Lebanon had been caused by a targeting error.

"Nor does the expert group have any evidence that the attack on the UN in Khiam was intentional," the statement added.

However, the group found the Khiam reports by both Israel and the UN to be "logical but not exhaustive".

"It is not possible to form a full and detailed picture of the destruction of Patrol Base Khiam on the basis of the reports provided," the statement said.

"The task is made even more difficult by the fact that the area was not sealed off for investigation directly after the bombing."

The group submitted its report to Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (centre) on Friday.

Four UN observers, including Lieutenant Jarno Mäkinen from Finland, died in the attack in July.



John - :sad:

[aFinn]

No... there has been no such notification... would something like that happen, I'd get a satellite dish... Vh1 Europe is the one channel I have on all the time.


John - :)That's good news for you. I am rather upset at Welho's decision to drop VH-1, it was one of the reasons I chose to take the channel packet I took. :sad:




The Finnish government said in a statement Friday that its Khiam expert group had no reason to question Israel's explanation that the destruction of the UN observation post in southern Lebanon had been caused by a targeting error.
"Nor does the expert group have any evidence that the attack on the UN in Khiam was intentional," the statement added.:shocked:

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - SPORT - Wednesday 15.11.2006


Teppo Numminen - the most experienced European player in the NHL

The Repo Man passes Jari Kurri's milestone of 1,251 appearances on the ice


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135222914007.jpeg
Teppo Numminen played his 1,252nd NHL regular-
season match on Monday night, eclipsing the
previous record for a European-trained player,
held by fellow-Finn Jari Kurri.


By Martin Palm in Buffalo and Vancouver


Teppo Numminen's long and illustrious ice hockey career will be accorded the respect and gratitude it deserves on Monday night. The defenseman, now in his second year with the Buffalo Sabres and his 18th NHL season, will become the holder of the title of the European-trained player with most appearances in the National Hockey League.

Numminen will suit up on Monday night for his 1,252nd league match.

The opposition will be the Carolina Hurricanes, and the Sabres will be hoping to extend their remarkable run of victories on the road at the same time as Teppo passes fellow-Finn Jari Kurri's record of 1,251 games.

On November 5th, the Sabres defeated the New York Rangers in New York to set a new NHL record for consecutive wins on the road to start a season (eight), and they extended this to nine games in a 5-4 overtime win in Philadelphia on November 11th. A tenth win - and perhaps a goal or an assist to notch up Numminen's 600th NHL career point - would crown the occasion.*

The 38-year-old Numminen has always kept a pretty low profile in the world's elite ice hockey league. He will be doing so now, even though if ever there was a moment for celebration it is this one.

"I haven't really thought about Monday's game any more than that it is a great honour to be at least on the same plane as legendary players like Jari Kurri or [Sweden's] Börje Salming [4th, with 1,148 regular-season games]", says Numminen.

"But yes, this does make me feel good. I realise just how lucky I've been to get into a situation like this. I've been able to do a job that I've always dreamed about doing. It may only be that I start really appreciating it after seeing what else the world might have offered me."

Numminen's career in North American hockey began in the fall of 1988 when he joined the Winnipeg Jets.

He already had under his belt an Olympic silver medal from Calgary and three successive Finnish league titles as a player with Tappara of Tampere, his home town.

If things in the NHL had gone abruptly pear-shaped back then, the chances are that Numminen would have gone on playing for Tappara in Tampere. The ties with the club are thicker than frozen water: his father Kalevi Numminen played 12 straight seasons for the club - also as a defender - and went on to coach them to three Finnish titles, and was the managing director there for many years.

When Teppo started out in the dollar league more than 18 years ago, there were a good many Hall of Famer legends on the ice: Lanny McDonald, Marcel Dionne, Börje Salming, Billy Smith, andGuy Lafleur among them.

The great Wayne Gretzky was playing his first season in a Los Angeles Kings jersey, and Petri Skriko was Vancouver's top scorer.

Teppo Numminen was also a rare breed back in the eighties. Going into the 1988-89 season, there were just 16 other European players in the NHL. Today there are hundreds, and 36 from Finland alone.

"Yes, in those days there were not many Europeans on the ice, not to mention Finns. The very idea of a European-trained player having had a long career in the NHL was so alien and somehow ‘abnormal' that I never gave the idea a second thought", Numminen told Helsingin Sanomat.

He recalls his first year with the Jets, whose roster at the time included Swede Thomas Steen and the current Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle .

"By the standards of that time they were both really old players - Steen was nearly thirty and Carlyle was 33 or so. They said that your career heads into its twilight zone really fast. And they were quite right to issue that kind of warning. Then again, at the time it went in one ear and out the other and I never really stopped to think about their advice", laughs Numminen.

In the nearly 90 years since the NHL was founded, only 53 players have had their names down on the team-sheet for more regular-season matches than Numminen.

Jyrki Lumme, who played alongside Numminen for many years with the Phoenix Coyotes after the Winnipeg franchise headed south to Arizona, believes he knows the most important reason for his friend's longevity at the top level.

"Teppo is just so smart on the ice. He can read the game so well", says Lumme. "He always knows when it is best to go into the corner of the rink first, and when it is best to be second. A long career in the NHL is practically out of the question if from one year to the next you are constantly taking big hits and big tackles that you could have avoided."

Numminen himself mentions two things as the secret to a long career on the ice. One is health, and the other is playing style.

Teppo Numminen has not been blighted with major injuries. "I suppose my style of playing the game is part of the answer to that, although I have some difficulty saying what that style is after all", shrugs Numminen.

"I guess it has to do with weighing up your strengths and your weakeness and playing to them."

On the subject of health and injuries , it is perhaps worth adding at this point that this latest record is not Numminen's first flirtation with being #1.

Between December 1995 and March 2000, Teppo went an astonishing 360 consecutive games with the Jets and the Coyotes, including three complete NHL seasons - without missing a single match through injury.

This was enough to secure him the NHL's "IronMan" title, given to the player currently enjoying the longest streak without an enforced layoff, to go along with his on-the-ice nickname of "The Repo Man".

Ironically, his remarkable run came to an end on the very day that a piece proclaiming his achievement was published in Helsingin Sanomat. The man who then took on the IronMan mantle - Tony Amonte - was a respectful distance back on 228 games.

Jere Lehtinen, who has played alongside Numminen in numerous major tournaments in a Finland jersey and on the Dallas Stars roster in the 2003-2004 season, remains amazed at how the Finnish defenseman has been able to preserve such consistency and reliability all these years.

"You slice out any year you like from his career, and he's played consistently well. The same standard from one season to the next", says Lehtinen, shaking his head in admiration.

Retirement thoughts did cross Numminen's mind during the NHL lockout that wiped out the 2004-05 season.

He toyed with the idea for a while, but his mind-set changed when he could find no good reason for hanging up his skates just yet.

"What else was I going to do? Why shouldn't I do something that I want to do and that I enjoy? If you don't love what it is you are doing, then there is no way you can go on with if for long. But for me, playing is fun", beams Numminen.

The 38-year-old has seen big changes in the League from close quarters. The number of teams in the NHL has grown by nine since he joined Winnipeg, a lot of teams have upped and moved elsewhere, hundreds of players have started - and finished - their careers, managers and coaches have come and gone, media interest has grown exponentially, rules have been changed, and so on.

"In my time, the NHL has gone from being a form of religion to mass entertainment."

Teppo Numminen now says he is taking each season as it comes, one year at a time. According to Jyrki Lumme, if he wanted to, Teppo could probably keep going for another four or five years.

One thing Numminen has vowed is that when he quits hockey it will be in North America, and not in Finland. There is to be no sunset-phase in the league back home.

"No, I've got used to the way things are around here. It's difficult to teach an old dog new tricks on how things are done elsewhere."



*Note: All three things came to pass. Numminen played game number 1,252, and his team-mates joined in as the Sabres stretched their winning streak to ten away games with a 7-4 victory at the Carolina Hurricanes. Teppo himself collected three assists to push himself past the 600-point mark. It was a good night all round. Buffalo are riding high, with 15 wins from 17 starts, and with 31 points they currently head the NHL standings.



Former teammate Teemu Selänne applauds an astonishing achievement


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135222914009.jpeg
Teppo Numminen's NHL career began in the 1988-89
season with the Winnipeg Jets. He stayed with the
team when the franchise moved south to Arizona
and became the Phoenix Coyotes. He played nearly
1,100 of his NHL games for these two teams.


Teemu Selänne spent four and a half seasons with Teppo Numminen in Winnipeg during the 1990s, after he went across the Atlantic in 1992.

Selänne, who is no slouch himself in games played (he is approaching the 1,000 mark), can fully appreciate his former teammate's length of service.

"It is a staggering achievement, to be able to play for so long at that level. You have to lift your hat to anyone who can rack up more than a thousand games in this league. This can be a wild old place, and you need a lot of luck and a lot of great work with the stick to get up there with Teppo's sort of numbers", says Selänne with real sincerity.

Teppo Numminen's name does not perhaps appear in the headlines of the North American newspapers very often, but his colleagues have never been in any doubt about his value on the ice.

"Teppo is no firebrand type, no. But he is as steady as a rock, he reads the game so well, and he has a great gift for being able to minimise the gap between a bad day at the office and a good game. In my view this is what makes a player genuinely valuable. It really is no accident that he's racked up so many games", says Selänne emphatically.

The Anaheim wingman says he's got a drawer-full of stories from Numminen's days at Winnipeg, but one incident has stayed with him particularly over the years.

"The funniest incident I can remember of Teppo at the Jets was one time when we'd lost - oh, I don't know how many - at least ten straight games in a row. We were taking a breather in the hotel room before our next match and we were both dead quiet for about half an hour or so - just lying there and staring at the ceiling", Selänne recalls.

"Then suddenly Teppo sits up and says, dead-pan: ‘Hey, Teemu, will we ever get these times back again?'" Selänne goes on, and then bursts out laughing at the recollection.

"We both split our sides at the absurdity of it. And it came straight from the heart, too."



WHO? - Teppo Numminen


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135222970763.jpeg
Teppo Numminen seen on the ice in his record-breaking match on Monday night.
He also scored three assists in helping the Buffalo Sabres to a 7-4 victory.


Occupation: Professional ice hockey player

Age: 38

Height: 1.88 metres (6' 2"); Weight: 89 kg (197 lbs); Shoots right; Position: Defenseman; Buffalo Sabres jersey no. 27.

Salary: c. USD 2.6 million/year.

Teams: Tappara (Tampere) 1985-88, Winnipeg Jets (1988-96), Phoenix Coyotes (1996-2003, Captain 2001-03), Dallas Stars (2003-04), Buffalo Sabres (2005-)

Has played more than 1,600 games at adult level.

NHL Regular Season: 1,252 matches (up to and including 13.11.2006), with 113 goals and 489 assists. Total points scored, 602.

NHL Play-Offs: 66 matches, 9+10=19.

International Honours: Olympic Games, 2 silver medals (1988 Calgary, 2006 Torino), 1 bronze medal (1998 Nagano). The Torino Games marked his fifth Olympic appearance and he announced his retirement from national duty.

Married, with two daughters.

Other Finns in the national top five by NHL regular-season appearances are: Jari Kurri (1,251), Jyrki Lumme (985), Teemu Selänne (975), and Esa Tikkanen (877). Of the top five, only Numminen and Selänne are still active players. The all-time #1 measured by regular-season matches is Canadian Gordon "Gordie" Howe, a.k.a. "Mr. Hockey", with 1767 appearances.



John - :]:up:

[Troll]

Congrats to him.

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - FOREIGN - Thursday 16.11.2006


Poll:

Only one in three Finns sees terrorism as threat to Finland


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135220013591.jpeg
Items removed from airline passengers following the recent heightened security
at airports worldwide, in the wake of new fears of terror attacks.


Thirty-two per cent of Finns see terrorism as a threat to their home country, claims the Voice of the People global survey by Gallup International. The percentage is among the lowest in the world.

The survey covered 64 countries. Only in three of them - Austria, Iceland and Albania - is the portion of the respondents who consider terrorism a threat smaller than in Finland.

"In general, the Finns feel relatively safe, whether it is a question of an external threat or their physical or social security. Other studies also confirm this", says Sakari Nurmela from Suomen Gallup, the company responsible for compiling the Finnish data.

Three-quarters of all the respondents to the study consider terrorism a threat to their country.

The threat of terrorism is rated highest in countries where terror attacks have taken place in recent years.

The list is topped by Colombia and India, where 97 per cent of the respondents consider terrorism a threat. Colombia has been plagued by the atrocities carried out by the domestic FARC guerrilla movement and drug barons, while in Mumbai, India, bomb attacks against trains killed nearly 200 people last summer. India has accused Pakistan of the attack, but so far no perpetrators have been established.

Next on the list of countries where terrorism is considered a grave threat come the United States and Israel, followed by Peru, Great Britain, Indonesia, and Russia.

The rest of the world is divided in opinions when it comes to the role of the United States in the fight against terrorism. In Israel 82 per cent of the respondents consider the contribution of the United States to be positive. In Denmark, which also took part in the war in Iraq, the corresponding figure is 58.

On average, nations in Western Europe see the role of the United States as negative rather than positive. Finland belongs to this group. According to the poll, with regard to world peace or ridding the world of poverty, 66 per cent of Finns see the contribution of the USA as a negative one. The demarcation line between the Muslim and Christian world is particularly striking: some 62 per cent of Muslim respondents saw the US role in the fight against terror as negative, while among Christians the figure was between 28 and 34 per cent.

In most categories of the survey Gallup International showed interest in how the respondents would view the global role of the United States. Only with regard to the global economic growth do a significantly larger percentage (46 per cent) of the respondents feel the input of the United States is positive rather than negative (27 per cent). Views on the U.S. role in environmental protection were pretty uniformly negative. Only three per cent of Finns took a positive view, with 74 per cent showing condemnation. Even in the United States itself, 39 per cent felt the country was doing more harm than good. This was six per cent more than believed the U.S. role in global environmental protection was positive. India in particular, along with Russia, stood out in this regard - respondents in both countries considered that the United States' role was a positive one.

The Voice of the People 2006 is a regular Gallup International global survey, conducted across 64 countries in which in excess of 58,000 people were interviewed between July and September 2006. The survey represents the views of more than 1.5 billion global citizens.

In Finland 1,249 people were interviewed.



John - :uhh:

[FinnFreak]

STT - 16.11.2006 at 16:10


Finnish PM's ex-wife joins ex-PM's
wife and stands for Parliament


Merja Vanhanen, the ex-wife of Matti Vanhanen (centre), the Finnish prime minister, was quoted as saying in the Thursday issue of Oulu-based daily Kaleva that she would stand as a candidate from the Centre Party's Helsinki district in the March general election.

The Helsinki district had asked Ms Vanhanen to stand.

Ms Vanhanen is a first-term Nurmijärvi councillor and works as a purser at Finnair.

Päivi Lipponen, the wife of Paavo Lipponen (soc dem), speaker of Parliament and a former prime minister, is standing as a Social Democratic Party candidate.


John - :p

[FinnFreak]

STT - 20.11.2006


Baluyevski: "Finland should consider consequences of Nato membership"


The chief of the Russian general staff, General of the Army Yuri Baluyevski, told reporters in Helsinki on Friday that when considering membership in Nato, Finland should take into account the consequences of joining the military alliance, including the impact on relations with Russia.

Speaking at a joint news conference with his host, Admiral Juhani Kaskeala, the chief of the Finnish Defence Forces, Gen Baluyevski added that the experiences of the new Nato members had not been exclusively positive. He mentioned Poland and Hungary as examples of such countries.

"In certain respects they have lost their faces and independent decision-making power," Gen Baluyevski said.

The Baltic countries, Gen Baluyevski added, had been turned into a worrying "grey area" by their Nato membership.

One of the issues discussed by Gen Baluyevski and Adm Kaskeala during the former's visit to Finland was the possibility of joint peacekeeping exercises, which could be joined by other Nordic countries.

Adm Kaskeala underlined that Finnish soldiers had already served alongside Russian troops in peacekeeping operations and that Russian officers had joined Nordic exercises as observers.

"If this was expanded to the level of troops, it would in my opinion be to the benefit of all sides. But of course I can speak only for the Finns," Adm Kaskeala said.



:uhh: ...uh-oh... NOT a wise thing for a Russian General to say to the Finns... :huh:



“We were wise not to annexe Finland.
It would have been an running sore...
The people there are stubborn, very stubborn.”
- V. Molotov, war-time USSR FM in 1974



John - :smirk:

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - CULTURE - Monday 20.11.2006


Guardian claims Esa-Pekka Salonen to
lead Philharmonia Orchestra in London


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135223084090.jpeg
Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Walt Disney
Concert Hall in September.


The British daily The Guardian has revealed that the internationally acclaimed Finnish conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen will succeed Christoph von Dohnanyi as the principal conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London.

The information has not been confirmed from other sources.

Along with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra is regarded as one of the top two symphony orchestras in London. Of the two, the Philharmonia Orchestra is considered the more progressive ensemble, and its renditions of contemporary works are generally held in high regard.

Salonen's good friend Valeri Gergiev, who is the general director of the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, has already been appointed as the new man in charge of the London Symphony Orchestra.

According to The Guardian, Salonen will also continue in his present role as the Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Salonen has previously told Helsingin Sanomat that these are the last years of him being at the helm of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The Guardian is of the opinion that Salonen has raised the L.A. orchestra "to such a level that it is now regarded as America's top symphony orchestra".

Salonen's breakthrough to the international music scene happened at the age of 25, when he conducted the Philharmonia Orchestra at short notice to a fiery rendition of Gustav Mahler's Third Symphony.

"In principle, I don't deny the rumour, but before an official press release has been issued I cannot comment further on it, either", the 48-year-old Salonen said when interviewed on the telephone over the weekend.

"The season with the LA Philharmonic will continue as normal. No great changes are expected in the immediate future", Salonen explains.

Salonen, who is also a composer, is currently working on his first piano concerto, the premiere of which has been scheduled for February 1st 2007, with the New York Philharmonic and Yefim Bronfman as soloist.

Salonen has been in regular contact with the Philharmonia Orchestra ever since that first Mahler concert. The fruits of this collaboration include several recordings, tours, and projects of various kinds. This Christmas Salonen will conduct the orchestra in four concerts in Britain. The news that the Philharmonia have secured his services will probably come as a blow to some in New York: it has been widely speculated that the prestigious New York Philharmonic were after Salonen's signature.

The Philharmonia Orchestra is based at the Royal Festival Hall at London's South Bank Centre.


John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

STT - 21.11.2006


Helsinki runner-up in public transport poll


Helsinki City Transport (HKL) said in a statement Tuesday it had done well in a passenger satisfaction survey carried out in nine European cities.

While Geneva received the best marks, overall satisfaction with HKL services in Helsinki and its environs improved enough from last year to secure second place.

The other cities included in this year's survey were Barcelona, Berlin, Copenhagen, Manchester, Oslo, Stockholm and Vienna.

In each city, 1,000 people were interviewed by telephone for the survey named Benchmarking in European Service of Public Transport.



hmm... of course Geneva would come in at #1... there's always the possibility to ride the same bus as Shania..!


John - :p

[RJ]

STT - 21.11.2006


Helsinki runner-up in public transport poll


Helsinki City Transport (HKL) said in a statement Tuesday it had done well in a passenger satisfaction survey carried out in nine European cities.

While Geneva received the best marks, overall satisfaction with HKL services in Helsinki and its environs improved enough from last year to secure second place.

The other cities included in this year's survey were Barcelona, Berlin, Copenhagen, Manchester, Oslo, Stockholm and Vienna.

In each city, 1,000 people were interviewed by telephone for the survey named Benchmarking in European Service of Public Transport.



hmm... of course Geneva would come in at #1... there's always the possibility to ride the same bus as Shania..!
John - :p
Ah! Vunderbar!!

Another reason to root for Finland, in showing the world how to...,
make the world a better place,
to paraphrase the Shadow Dancer's gift to Shania

Let's keep an eye open for opportunity to get more Helsinki fans
to a fancon in Timmins. Maybe they can invigorate insights
into the tourism transportation barriers there too.

Then, like Geneva, we'd all have a chance someday, to ride
the same bus with eminent, likeable, but private citizens,
including the one of whom so many here are fans.

danke schoen, John.

Sorry I haven't been able to read all the other good stuff in this thread since my last post.

Only so many things a slow, old codger can do in a day.

[FinnFreak]

Helsinki fans

Surely such an absurdity does not exist..? :p


John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - HOME - Wednesday 22.11.2006


Too awful an image of war

Sixty years on, there are no grounds to withhold images kept in a Finnish Defence Forces' safe


By Anna-Stina Nykänen


The first envelope contains pictures of a village in Finnish Lapland that was destroyed by Soviet partisans who crossed the border.

The half-naked bodies of Finnish women and children lie strewn on the ground, their corpses partly decomposed. The body of a fair-haired boy of around five years of age is lifted onto the flat bed of a truck. A Finnish soldier holds the burnt and blackened corpse of an infant in his arms.

Another envelope reveals images of cannibalism. Russian troops, surrounded by Finns and with no hope of relief, have started to eat their dead. A third envelope contains graphic images of executions. A Russian infiltrator, caught behind the Finnish lines, laughs and smiles at the camera as a Finnish officer raises a pistol to despatch him.

The dull-looking cardboard box that contains these envelopes is full of horrific images from the Winter War (1939-40) and the Continuation War (1941-44). The box has been stored along with numerous plastic folders in a tall safe at the Finnish Defence Forces picture archives, in the Santahamina garrison in Helsinki.

Not all the photographs are particularly grisly, but they have been withheld from public view for political reasons. Others have been consigned to the "classified" box and the safe out of respect for the feelings of the relatives of those shown, who have requested the pictures be kept out of the public eye.

There are around 300 images in the box. With them is the document detailing the FDF decision to withhold the images. That decision, dating most recently from 1981, expires today, Sunday November 19th.

Until now, the withholding of the war images has been justified in the Defence Forces' documents with the simple observation that the pictures are not suitable for use.

"Suitable is the word that has been used in the decisions - whatever it is supposed to mean", says Ossi Kervinen, Director of Communications at the FDF General Staff.

Thus far, only historians and researchers have been granted limited access to the pictures. They have not been made available to private individuals or for publication, save in certain carefully considered exceptional cases. When the 25-year validity of the banning order from November 1981 has now run its course, it has been deemed that there is no longer any justification for keeping the pictures a secret.

"Under the terms of the 1999 Act on the Openness of Government Activities [Julkisuuslaki in Finnish], they can in any event no longer be kept classified, and there are no longer any grounds for it", says Kervinen.

No decision has been reached as yet on moving the images, but a move is being considered at some stage to the Military Archives. The present location of Santahamina is a military area, and is off-limits to anyone without a special permit.

The accompanying FDF documents do not throw up any more extensive justification for the decision to keep the pictures from the public gaze.

Something can nevertheless be gleaned from the fact that in a decision made in 1962 during the Cold War, the first photographs put on the classified-items list were of Russian prisoners of war. It was not thought overly smart to annoy the Soviet Union. The same running order is found in the 1981 decision.

Within the Finnish Defence Forces, some have speculated that the publication of images of POWs and captured spies may also have been frowned on because of the potential propaganda weapon it would have offered to pro-Soviet elements within Finnish society.

When Helsingin Sanomat wrote about the locked-up pictures in 1998, the then Head of the FDF Picture Archives Lt. Col. Juha Myyryläinen described the 1981 decision as political. He said candidly that the statute reflected the Finnlandisierung era. Even so, that decision has remained in force until today.

In practice, however, use of the photographs became slightly easier after the collapse of the USSR in the 1990s.

"The decision began to unravel when the world around us changed and Finland's foreign policy changed with it", says Myyryläinen, now retired from active service. He headed the Picture Archives at Santahamina until 1999.

During the Finlandisation period, pictures of Soviet prisoners of war were not published if the individuals shown were recognisable, says Myyryläinen. "There were no other grounds for this than the political reason."

Myyryläinen goes on to say that all parties were more cautious than they probably would have had any need to be. "The journalists, too, they played it safe."

In the 1990s, the pictures of POWs were moved - without any great fanfare - from the safe to the public side of the military picture archives.

While Juha Myyryläinen was still in charge, some pictures of the actions of Russian partisans were also released into the public domain.

Two historians were granted permission to use a few photographs in works dealing with villages that had been laid waste by cross-border partisan raids and with the Finnish civilian casualties that resulted from such raids - a good many civilians were massacred during these attacks.

"After that, the pictures were more or less up for grabs", says Myyryläinen. They spread from the pages of the books to journalists. But they were not given directly to the media.

Myyryläinen notes that at the time the publication of the partisan photos was politically quite a hot topic. He says that the decision was criticised within the FDF. During the war, the authorities had even gone so far as to order those who knew of the destruction of the Finnish villages to keep silent on the matter.

The envelopes in the safe contain dozens of these images, for example from the razed villages of Lokka and Seitajärvi in Finnish Lapland.

In recent years access has been granted where requested to the relatives of some of the Finnish civilian victims. In many of the pictures the victims are identifiable, and on the backs of some of the photographs the names and ages of the dead have been pencilled in.

The relatives have had a personal need to see the gruesome images. But they are also important to others.

The pictures are a part of the secret history of Finland and the Finns.

They contain the seeds of a special kind of trauma associated with their enforced secrecy. Speaking of the mass killings of Finnish civilians by enemy forces has been forbidden, and the subject is not easy to grasp or to deal with - neither the facts of what happened nor the cover-up that followed.

Images of murdered civilians laid out on the grass and of bodies heaped on the back of trucks bring to mind the pictures seen in the media of mass killings of civilians in trouble-spots around the world.

From these partisan pictures it is possible to see that Finland has not been immune: these things really happened here sixty years ago.

During the Vietnam War, one image in particular became famous around the globe - a screaming 9-year-old girl running burned and naked down a highway, fleeing her napalmed village.

It would feel bad to publish a similar picture of a Finnish child from which he or she could be recognised.

Pictures of courts-martial in the field and of executions also exist. Images of judgements carried out on Finnish soldiers have been transferred into the closed files in order not to cause further distress to relatives.

The sequences of pictures of the executions of Russian infiltrators, dropped into Finland to spy and cause sabotage, tell us something of the insanity of war.

One set, marked as "Hanko Sector 1941" sees a group of Finnish soldiers having a cigarette with a captured Russian spy.

The mood looks relaxed, even cordial: the men appear to be sharing a joke. On the back of the photo is the hand-written text: Finnish officers chatting with a Russian infiltrator. He is laughing at the ‘condemned man's last request'.

In the next image the man is standing at the side of a mown hayfield, facing a firing squad of half a dozen men with rifles, and in a third - marked Infiltrator's death-sentence - his body is shown slumped on the ground.

The safe in Santahamina also contains images of courts-martial at the front in which the condemned individuals are not shown.

The relatives of some of the officers involved in the trials have requested that the pictures not be made public. Disclosure would show that a member of the family had been deciding on executions during the war. The Finnish Defence Forces have acceded to these requests, even though the court hearings are legally in the public domain and the names of those sitting in judgement can be found from public documents and archives.

Approaches from relatives have arrived over the years, right up to the present-day. Among the images there is a decision dating from 2005 by which the pictures of one member of a field court-martial tribunal were transferred here at the request of his family. Those images, too, will now become public.

Applying the perspective of the present, it is perhaps easiest to comprehend that the most brutal and hideous war pictures were not considered a suitable case for public perusal. Among the pictures stored away there are graphic shots of exploded bellies, piles of corpses, and skulls.

Images in which the features of men who have met a terrible end are recognisable have been placed out of sight.

From a purely human viewpoint, the most ghastly evidence of the reality of war comes in the images that allegedly demonstrate cannibalism among the Russian soldiers. On the back of one photograph is a description of events that took place in January 1942, near Krivi, on the Maaselkä Isthmus in Russian Karelia*:

During the battles that have gone on there was evidence that the Russian soldiers had cut up the flesh of their fallen comrades and had carried it with them in their packs as they retreated, before the Finnish troops wiped out their unit on 13.1.1942. Human flesh was found from the packs of three fallen Russian soldiers.

Numerous similar cases are to be found from just this one box of photographs.

The former head of the picture archives Juha Myyryläinen says that the pictures of cannibalism have been kept secret for the simple reason that nobody wanted them to be an object of sensationalism.

"Why should images showing Russian eating of human flesh be shown? No healthy person can get any benefit from such pictures. I have heard the personal accounts of front-line veterans on how it felt to come upon the body of a superior or a fellow soldier and to discover that the victim's corpse had been eaten in part by the enemy. The reactions were terrible. One can only imagine what they would be like if such pictures were brought to the breakfast table today", says Myyryläinen.

The media representatives will now have to decide for themselves what is suitable, ethically decent, and what crosses the threshold of publication.

These days, brutal images of wars are shown in the press or on TV, and even worse material can be found by those who troll the Internet for such things. Where is the line drawn? How ugly are the images of Finnish experiences of war that may be shown?

The bulk of the images in the safe in Santahamina are shots taken by the Defence Forces' own official battlefield photographers. The content of these was monitored carefully. These days that kind of censorship would never succeed.

Then again, the official photographers took plenty of film of things less "official", out of sight and mind of the censors. Their own personal war picture portfolios have done the rounds of the provinces, and pictures have also wound up in the Military Museum after donations and legacies.

Others, too, had a camera with them in the field, and the licence to take pictures of what they saw. Still others simply pressed the shutter without any permits at all.

Without doubt there are shocking images of the war to be found in countless Finnish chests and dressers, that have been clandestinely peeked at until now. It may be that this latest move allows these other pictures to be handled more openly.

It is hardly likely that the pictures hidden away in the cardboard box will change our perceptions of the course of events sixty years ago: the things that took place in these images are well-known and documented by the experts.

On the other hand, the photographs may alter the image the public has about warfare.

"To the younger generation, this is new information. To those who perhaps only know of the great narrative of the war delivered by such as the late General Adolf Ehrnrooth. For them, it is important to see that there is more to war than heroism. To those who went through the fighting themselves, this is hardly news", says Seppo Hentilä, Professor of Social History at the University of Helsinki.

In Hentilä's opinion, the picture material has been sensitive in the post-war period, and keeping it from the public gaze has been justified on foreign policy grounds. He is actually a little astonished to learn that the images and negatives have not been destroyed outright, but that someone has had the daring to preserve them for posterity. A great deal of wartime material was either disposed of or transferred elsewhere, for example to Sweden.

Seppo Hentilä does not believe that it would have been feasible to release the images back in 1981, the last time when they were sealed up. Or alternatively, if they had been made available twenty-five years ago, the self-censorship that prevailed then would have ensured that they were not used: there was still a strong sense of trepidation about Soviet sensibilities and reactions.

Hentilä sees the publication of such pictures as one of the many taboos associated with the two wars, taboos that have only recently begun to be dismantled. He thinks at the same time that the veterans themselves may not necessarily be overjoyed at the raking up of old and unpleasant memories.

"They often personally take the view that such things should be left to rest", says Hentilä.

And yet the new information contained in these shocking, graphic pictures may prompt a new kind of empathy, to go alongside the gratitude of subsequent generations.

These images may be able to help us understand why old men - who went through the war in their youth - wake up screaming at nights.



*Note: This is not the same isthmus as that between the south-eastern border of Finland and St. Petersburg, but a location several hundred kilometres further north and deep into Russia, beyond the pre-war borders of Finland. During the early part of the Continuation War, Finnish troops rapidly advanced eastward across a broad front, reaching the western shores of Lake Onega and taking the city of Petrozavodsk. East Karelia was then under Finnish rule. Maaselkä is located north of Lake Onega, roughly on the same latitude as Lieksa in modern Finland. Rukajärvi, the location of the first photograph shown with this article, was still further north, roughly level with the Finnish town of Kuhmo.



The responsibility shifts to the media


By Laura Pekonen


Until now, the Picture Archive of the Finnish Defence Forces has kept a number of images taken by staff photographers of scenes in the Winter War and Continuation War in a safe, away from prying eyes.

The decision to withhold the images from publication or use has been justified on political grounds or out of respect for the relatives of the dead.

Now that the 1981 decision has run its natural course, and there is no possibility under current openness legislation to continue the ban, consideration of what to do with the pictures passes to the media.

Helsingin Sanomat is here publishing seven of the roughly 300 images. The justification offered for this action is not simply to expand our readers' understanding of the war but also to show what sort of images were deemed to be sensitive in Finland until today.

As in the case of pictures of foreign wars made available by the international news agencies, HS decided not to publish the most exceptionally graphic and gruesome images, for example of dead civilians.

In the selection made, attention was paid both to the protection of the individual but also to the time that has passed since the events took place.



:sad:



There is no family in Finland, that wouldn't be affected by this. We've all lost members - and those who managed to survive, still carry their wounds, which have partly been passed on to the following generations.

This is partly the reason why the Finns are so suspicious about joining alliances: history has taught us, that when help is needed the most - we can trust only ourselves.


...and the often heared question I hear foreigners asking on our Independence Day - why it's so gloomy - did somebody die..?


Yes. Way too many.


John - :sad:

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - FOREIGN - Wednesday 22.11.2006


Let's not forget the YYA option


By Jukka Luoma


It may be that the resurrection of the Finnish-Soviet YYA Treaty of 1948 sounds somewhat far-fetched, particularly to those of the younger generation.

I will nevertheless explore the matter as one Finnish security policy alternative. The Finnish "NATO option" has now been set aside to wait for such bad times that would make it worth redeeming, even if the price at the time were not satisfactory.

Under these circumstances it would seem then that no alternative is really too far-fetched. So, what about YYA?

The renewal of the YYA Treaty would have significant impact, but there are some obstacles in the way of this option.

The world has changed somewhat from the time when Finland and the Soviet Union signed an Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance [in Finnish: Ystävyys-, yhteistyö- ja avunantosopimus, and hence the YYA abbreviation] in Moscow on the 6th of April, 1948.

It is worth drawing attention to the nature of the mutual assistance and to the timing of its delivery. From the Finnish perspective, these were also undoubtedly the most interesting aspects of the treaty back in 1948. Older Finns will recall the ruminations that went on over how "the threat of armed attack referred to in Article 1" would be realised in practice.

It was agreed in 1948 that Finland would receive Soviet assistance if its own forces were unable to withstand an attack on its sovereign territory by the Western powers. The Soviet Union clearly had an understanding of the assistance, and of the timetable for providing it, which it did not explain in any greater detail.

However, in any event help would have been promised - this was clear to all. The information on this assistance played its own part in stabilising Finland's image in the immediate neighbourhood and in the wider world. The implications would perhaps be greater still in the modern situation.

In terms of its effect on domestic policy matters, the YYA Treaty was - and still would be - a further stabilising element. The 1948 agreement removed the shadow of harmful speculation, particularly among the representatives of the Finnish press. YYA gave a practical content to that rather mysterious concept known as "the public interest".

There was in YYA a lofty sense of common reluctance to say anything very much, just as there is in the tight-lipped approach to NATO today.

A part of our national heritage has been lost with the passing in 1992 of the YYA Treaty.

The Finns have had erased from their collective consciousness the impressive power of the rumbling of great figures. The thunder could then be heard rolling all the way from Moscow. Seen from an Eastern European perspective, these rumblings were like an inverse medal of honour for those they were directed at.

YYA brought a measure of imperial gravitas to the political language and ceremonies. YYA had an almost Croesian effect, swelling everything it touched to become greater than the sum of its parts and making great statesmen out of mere politicians. This would have a value of its own in today's world of cheap celebrity.

Of course, there are problems. Above all the eastern signatory to the treaty is not what it once was.

It is no longer a certainty that one could expect security guarantees from Russia against a threat from the United States and Israel. According to some polls, these threats are regarded as considerable among today's Finns.

The central threat set out in Article 1 of the YYA Treaty, namely one of "an armed attack by Germany or any state allied with the latter", has undeniably rather lost its topical thrust in the years since 1948.

The former threatener is now Russia's most important European friend and partner. The two countries unabashedly agree between themselves matters that affect the entire region, for example the construction of a natural gas pipeline on the bed of the Baltic Sea.

Finland is in all respects too small a country. Finland does not have what it takes, for example, for cooperation between countries applying different social or governmental systems - a subject that was much discussed during the old days of YYA.

Nevertheless, a small state such as ours must doggedly try to move forward with whatever can be called to hand.

The rather stuffy public security policy debate in Finland would undoubtedly get a breath of fresh air if a broad opinion poll survey were to be made on the merits of creating a new YYA Treaty.

It would be particularly exciting to see the results if the alternative to a new YYA were NATO membership.


YYA Treaty (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agreement_of_Friendship,_Cooperation,_and_Mutual_A ssistance) (Wikipedia)


:uhh: ...that treaty doesn't get mentioned very often... at least NOT over here... :huh:


John - :funny:

[RJ]

Surely such an absurdity does not exist..? :p

John - ;)
Okay, pardon my misplaced modifyer.

With all else I said, surprised you chose to focus on that single item.

[FinnFreak]

Okay, pardon my misplaced modifyer.

With all else I said, surprised you chose to focus on that single item.

..it just came closer to home...


John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

STT - 22.11.2006


Bush to propose stronger Nato ties with Finland


Nicholas Burns, an undersecretary at the US department of state, said Tuesday that President George W Bush would ask next week's Nato summit to strengthen military ties with Australia, Finland, Japan, South Korea and Sweden.

Mr Burns added that although the countries in question would not be asked to become full members of the military alliance, the "global partners" proposal was a high-priority issue for the US at the Riga summit on 28-29 November.

The Financial Times reported in April that Nato was planning strengthening strategic and military ties with Australia, New Zealand, Finland and Sweden.

Finland is an active member of Nato's partnership for peace programme.



John - :smirk:

[FinnFreak]

STT - 22.11.2006


London Philharmonia confirms Salonen appointment


The Philharmonia Orchestra in London said in a statement Tuesday that Esa-Pekka Salonen, a Finnish conducting composer, would start as its principal conductor and artistic director at the start of the 2008-9 season.

The announcement confirmed last week's report by UK national daily the Guardian.

Salonen will succeed Christoph von Dohnanyi, who has led the Philharmonia since 1997.

The Guardian reported Friday that Salonen would remain in charge of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.



John - :)

[RJ]

..it just came closer to home...

John - ;)

Ah, that would fit. Guess I was tired and failed to have my antenna out fully. Didn't live up to my communication with Rebecca Saxe, about how people learn what others are thinking and their motivations/goals/methods, etc.

[Troll]

Teemu Selanne scored his 500th career goal He joined Jari Kurri as the only Finnish-born NHL players to score 500 goals.

[FinnFreak]

Teemu Selanne scored his 500th career goal He joined Jari Kurri as the only Finnish-born NHL players to score 500 goals.

True. :up:

But when he was interviewed after the game, he was far from a festive mood: "one of the worst games the Ducks have ever played", was his comment.

(Anaheim lost against Colorado)


Thanks for mentioning it, though.


John - ;):up:

[aFinn]

Okay, pardon my misplaced modifyer.

With all else I said, surprised you chose to focus on that single item.To my understanding he doesn't think anything good can be or come from Helsinki area?

[FinnFreak]

heh, everything there comes from the rest of Finland.

IS New York the whole of the U.S..? Toronto the whole of Canada..? See London, and that's the U.K..?

No.


John - ;)

[RJ]

..., Helsinki fans


Surely such an absurdity does not exist..? :p

John - ;)

Okay, pardon my misplaced modifyer.

With all else I said, surprised you chose to focus on that single item.

..it just came closer to home...

To my understanding he doesn't think anything good can be or come from Helsinki area?

heh, everything there comes from the rest of Finland.

IS New York the whole of the U.S..? Toronto the whole of Canada..? See London, and that's the U.K..?

No.

John - ;)

OMG! You mean they scraped Marika up in little pieces, from all over the country? That must've been after the Big Bang! Or doesn't she live in Helskinki any more?

[FinnFreak]

OMG! You mean they scraped Marika up in little pieces, from all over the country? That must've been after the Big Bang! Or doesn't she live in Helskinki any more?

:biglaugh: - !!!


hmmm... why did Shania get booed at her Helsinki concert, when arriving on stage in the local team's (Jokerit) hockey jersey..? - Because the audience of 12,000 came from around Finland... some all the way from Lapland (~800km) & we support our home teams (where we're from originally)... and the national one.


John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

Deutsche Presse-Agentur - Nov 20, 2006


Music News


Finnish Eurovision winners Lordi mull presidential invitation


[Helsinki] - Finnish heavy-metal rockers Lordi, surprise winners of the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest, have yet to confirm if they will attend the annual President's Independence Day reception, reports said Monday.

The December 6 reception - one of the main features on the country's social calendar - is broadcast on television and many of Finland's best known politicians, executives, academics, artists and others who have had significant achievements during the year can be seen formally greeting the president before taking a twirl on the dance floor.

The first reception at the president's palace was held in 1919.

Finnish media have speculated whether the monster rockers, who have been honoured with their own stamp, would appear dressed in their stage costumes or decline to show up at all.

The band's frontman, Tomi Putaansuu, also known as Mr Lordi, has been very careful to avoid being photographed without his monster face mask.





:uhh: - That was the very first thought that came to my mind last January, when Lordi was selected to represent Finland last May in the ESC in Athens, Greece.

Would there be enough toleration, for the society to accept the monsters, in case they would happen to win..? Yes - and they got the invitation. But, some social structures will NOT crumble: the monster outfit is still a no-no at the presidential Palace - it's a tux, or a no-show.

The band leader has repeatedly argued, that it's the monsters - not the faces behind the masks that should receive the honour... and they still refuse to make public appearances without their masks.


I'd still like to see them show up. In black tie, but with masks - NOT the monster ones, but rather the more elegant masquerade ones.

http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/206322/2/istockphoto_206322_masquerade.jpg


There's also another alternative...

;)

national/parish costumes are accepted as well.

If the city of Rovaniemi (where Mr. Lordi, Tomi Putaansuu is from) would declare the monster one their parish costume, the Presidential Palace would have to accept it... in theory. heh.



John - :p

[FinnFreak]

STT - Saturday 25 November 2006


Juice Leskinen dies


http://kuvat2.iltasanomat.fi/iltasanomat/iDoc/1276233-juiceots.jpg


Pauli Matti Juhani Leskinen (born February 19, 1950 in Juankoski, Finland died October 25, 2006 in Tampere), better known as Juice Leskinen, was one of the most prominent Finnish singer-songwriters of the late 20th century. Since the early 1970s, he released nearly 30 full-length albums, as well as written song lyrics for dozens of Finnish artists. Several of Leskinen's songs have reached classic status in Finnish popular music, e.g. "Viidestoista yö", "Kaksoiselämää" and "Syksyn sävel". His early records are considered staples of the so-called Manserock movement of the mid '70s. In addition to Leskinen's musical work, he extended his focus on poetry and playwriting with nine collections of verse and seven plays.

After moving to Tampere to study in 1970, Leskinen began his recording career in 1973 with the eponymous debut album of Juice Leskinen & Coitus Int. One more record, Per Vers, runoilija, was made under the same band name, but since then he released records with several line-ups, most notably Juice Leskinen Slam and Juice Leskinen Grand Slam from the late '70s until mid '80s. Although concentrating more on poetry since the early '90s, Leskinen still released new music every few years despite his failing health caused by years of unhealthy life habits. After the longest hiatus of his recording career, L marked Leskinen's 50th birthday in 2000. His last record, Senaattori ja boheemi (released in 2004), is a collaboration with Mikko Alatalo, a return to their partnership of the early '70s.

He qualified 38th in the poll of the 100 Greatest Finns held during the summer of 2004.


Discography

1973 Juice Leskinen & Coitus Int.: Juice Leskinen & Coitus Int.
1974 Juice Leskinen & Coitus Int.: Per Vers, runoilija
1975 Juice Leskinen & Mikko Alatalo: Juice ja Mikko
1976 Juice: Keskitysleirin ruokavalio
1977 Juice: Lahtikaupungin rullaluistelijat
1978 Juice Leskinen Slam: Tauko I
1978 Välikausitakki: Välikausitakki
1979 Juice Leskinen Slam: Tauko II
1980 Juice Leskinen Slam: XV yö (Tauko III)
1980 Juice Leskinen Slam: Kuusessa ollaan
1981 Juice Leskinen Slam: Ajan Henki
1981 Juice Leskinen: Dokumentti
1982 Juice Leskinen Grand Slam: Sivilisaatio
1983 Juice Leskinen Grand Slam: Deep Sea Diver
1983 Juice Leskinen Grand Slam: Boogieteorian alkeet peruskoulun ala-astetta varten - lyhyt oppimäärä
1984 Juice Leskinen Grand Slam: Kuopio - Iisalmi - Nivala (Live)
1985 Juice Leskinen Grand Slam: Pyromaani palaa rikospaikalle
1986 Juice Leskinen Grand Slam: Yölento
1987 Juice Leskinen: Minä
1990 Juice Leskinen: Sinä
1991 Juice Leskinen Grand Slam: Taivaan kappaleita
1992 Juice Leskinen Etc: Simsalabim Jim
1993 Juice Leskinen: Haitaribussi
1996 Juice Leskinen: Kiveä ja sämpylää
2000 Juice Leskinen: L
2002 Juice Leskinen: Vaiti, aivan hiljaa
2004 Juice Leskinen & Mikko Alatalo: Senaattori ja boheemi


Literary works


Collections of poetry

1975 Sonetteja laumalle
1981 Sanoja
1989 Iltaisin, kun veneet tulevat kotiin
1990 Pieniä sanoja sinulle, jota rakastan
1994 Äeti (luonnos muistelmiksi, runoja)
1996 Jumala on
1998 Maanosamme, maailmamme
1999 Aika jätti (Runoja)
2002 Ilonkorjuun aika 2002


Children's books

1987 Satuinen musiikkituokio (with Matti Pellonpää, book and cassette)
1992 Räkä ja Roiskis
1995 Räkä ja Roiskis Suuvedellä
1997 Räkä ja Roiskis naisissa


Other works

1978 Kuka murhasi rock'n' roll tähden (diary)
1984 Päivää (short stories)
1993 Vaikuttajat korvissamme (essays)
2003 Siinäpä tärkeimmät: edellinen osa E. Ch. (memoirs)


Plays

1980 Valto
1983 Isänmaan toivo
1984 Ravintola Wunderbar
1985 Kolme hanhea matkalla pohjoiseen (with Liisa Laukkarinen)
1988 Harald Hirmuinen
1990 Mikä ny
1996 Soma rillumarei



RIP


John - :sad:

[aFinn]

heh, everything there comes from the rest of Finland.

IS New York the whole of the U.S..? Toronto the whole of Canada..? See London, and that's the U.K..?

No.

John - ;)I also come from another part of Finland. And so do many others. Melting pot of Finland?

Don't we all know that these big attraction cities do not cover the whole nation? Yet some cities just happen to become big tourist attractions, some are capital cities of their countries, and/or they have particularly lots to see. But how does that make them bad? Do you believe tourists think Helsinki is all there is to Finland? Why this 'hatred' towards Helsinki? It's just a city among others. Just like the city I am originally from, and just like the city where you live. :dunno:




OMG! You mean they scraped Marika up in little pieces, from all over the country? That must've been after the Big Bang!That may explain some things... :uhh:

;)




Juice Leskinen diesMay he rest in peace.

:sad:

Many people were touched by his lyrics over the years, he was a true icon in Finnish pop/rock world.

[FinnFreak]

I also come from another part of Finland. And so do many others. Melting pot of Finland?

Don't we all know that these big attraction cities do not cover the whole nation? Yet some cities just happen to become big tourist attractions, some are capital cities of their countries, and/or they have particularly lots to see. But how does that make them bad? Do you believe tourists think Helsinki is all there is to Finland? Why this 'hatred' towards Helsinki? It's just a city among others. Just like the city I am originally from, and just like the city where you live. :dunno:

No no no.

heck, people are better off anywhere else - let them find/make a mistake by themselves... with Helsinki you just won't win. Nothing there - IMO.

(lived there for 2 years - didn't really like it)


John - :p

[FinnFreak]

BUT: "hatred" is a way too strong word, when "annoyance" and "necessary evil" describe my views with a bit more accuracy...

In the last two decades, Helsinki has developed more and more towards a cosmopolitan centre, and paying for this with an obvious loss of identity... the true face of the town is now veiled with a cloak of commercialism, and reveals only a superficial, hectic way of life.

http://cdn-88.cdn.buzznet.com/assets/users11/korppi/default/msg-115142635373.jpg
Christmas season is a nice exception

It does represent 20% of the country's population, but outside that 30km radius, exists hundreds and hundreds of kilometers of the most beautiful landscape of forests, fields and lakes - THAT is the REAL spiritual resource... and the more northwards we travel, the more untouched wilderness there is to be experienced.

http://virtual.finland.fi/finfo/images/journey/jar_paij_550.jpg


That's one of our strengths, IMO - NOT being like everyone else in the world, but being our unique selves.


John - :)

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - CULTURE - Tuesday 28.11.2006


Juice Leskinen, Finnish rock music icon, dies at 56


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135223236944.jpeg
The early years: Juice Leskinen on stage in 1975.


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135223237059.jpeg
In 2004 Juice and Centre Party MP Mikko Alatalo recorded a long-awaited album.


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135223245301.jpeg
Juice Leskinen 1950–2006


Finnish rock musician Juice Leskinen died at the Tampere University Hospital on Friday, November 24th. Born in Juankoski in the southeast of Finland in 1950, Leskinen, whose real name was Pauli Matti Juhani Leskinen, was one of the best-known songwriters and musicians in Finnish popular music.

Leskinen's musical inspirations included John Lennon and Bob Dylan, but his songwriting also followed traditions set by Finnish artists such as Reino Helismaa, Jarko Laine, Eino Leino and Lauri Viita.

While his best-known compositions have become evergreens in Finnish popular music, Leskinen was most influential as a lyricist.

In the early 1970s Leskinen introduced an element of realism into the relatively young genre of Finnish rock music, inserting biting satire and overt humorous references to sexuality into his songs.

His style was typified by an unconstrained interpretation of rough, provocative and mischievous elements Anglo-American rock lyricism adapted to Finnish culture.

Leskinen's songs abound in intimately moving descriptions of human relationships, but equally popular were his satirical pieces with more-or-less good natured mockery of political and religious authority figures.

Juice Leskinen's most successful years were in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In addition to music, his live performances included elements of stand-up comedy with plenty of spontaneous interaction with his audience, combining the tradition of devious humor of his native region of Savo with a British-style dry wit.

Through his melancholy love ballads and his humorously upbeat pieces, Leskinen painted a self-portrait of a man who questions almost everything, has frequent failures in love, misadventures when drunk - a man for whom laughter and tears are never far from each other.

Leskinen was a strong, stubborn, and openly self-centred personality. In addition to his habitual defiance of authority, his lifestyle included a disdain for advocates of healthy lifestyles. He drank copiously and was a chain smoker.

Leskinen's health began to deteriorate in the late 1980s, but he continued to work intensely. In the 1990s he cut back on his live performances and recorded less, but started to write more: poetry, prose, columns, and song lyrics for other artists.

Juice Leskinen studied to be a translator in the early 1970s, but his musical career took over before he completed his studies. During his 33 years as a recording artist he released 26 albums.

His most prolific years were from 1973 to 1987, at which time he put out at least one album a year.

In the late 1970s Leskinen managed to win over members of the younger punk generation.

The albums that he made in the 1990s were no longer mega-hits, but in 2005 he teamed up again with Mikko Alatalo, a member of his first band Coitus Int, who is now a Member of Parliament for the Centre Party. The CD that they recorded together, Senaattori ja boheemi ("The Senator and the Bohemian") was a hit, reaching gold record status.



Without Mr. Leskinen, the Finnish rock-scene would not be, what it is today.



He who fixes the TV
doesn't know what's on

He who drives the bus
doesn't know where we're going

He who carries our letters knows
someone is telling something to somebody

There are stories being told of storytellers

He who doesn't know how to live
gives us the guidelines to live by


Juice Leskinen - 'In the evenings, as the boats come home' (1989)



John - :(

[FinnFreak]

;)

RockWeb THE Poll:

Vote For The WORST Finnish Pop Song Of All Time..!!!


Vuoden 2006 aikana on ollut suosittua järjestää biisiäänestyksiä, YLE:ä myöten. Niistä parhaista. On siis paikallaan tehdä vastaveto; kaivella historian hämäristä kaikkein surkeimmat, huonoimmat, karmeimmat ja ikävimmät iskusävelmät. Ettei totuus unohtuisi.

Pollaus on simppeli. Täppi ruutuun ja menoksi. Äänestyskertoja on yksi. Jos omaa kehnokkiasi ei löydy, ehdota sitä. Lomake valmiina, ohjeet ohessa.

Huomaa myös, että äänestys kestää koko loppuvuoden. Äänen mahdollinen »taktinen» tyrkkääminen pelkästään kärkiehdoikkaille, ajatuksella että »muuten se menee hukkaan», ei ehkä ole kovin hyvää päättelyä. Todelliset surkeudet kyllä erottuvat aikanaan, ja tilanne voi muuttua radikaalistikin jo yhden päivän aikana. Ääni per päivä tuottaa lopputuloksissa noin 40 ääntä, ja 10 rapiat 400 kpl, eikä kukaan voi ennustaa minkä ehdokin kohdalla into iskee.

Valkkaa siis ihan aidosti juuri sinua eniten kuohuttava kappale. Semmoinen, joka vaikkapa radiosta kuultuna saa paiskomaan lautasia, karjumaan kelvottomia ja raijaamaan vekottimen verkonpainoksi. Kystä kyllin, kurkkua myöten, otsaan saakka täynnä.

Mutta pitemmittä puheitta, folks. Let's huono!



Äänestysaika 12.11 - 31.12.2006


Mikä on kaikkien aikojen huonoin suomalainen iskelmä?


Kerrasta poikki - Tarja Ylitalo, 1979
Pidä huolta - Pave Maijanen, 1981
Kuurankukka - Joel Hallikainen, 1992
Yksinäinen - Reijo Kallio, 1979
Elämän valttikortit - Ahti Lampi, 1980
Jätkän humppa - Mutkattomat, 1977
Tahdon olla sulle hellä - Danny & Armi, 1977
Nasta pimu - Kake Randelin, 1983
Äidin pikkupoika - Tapani Kansa, 1978
Mustankippee - Tarja Ylitalo, 1982
Just eikä melkein - Eino Valtanen, 1979
Viikonloppuisä - Reijo Kallio, 1980
Ans kattoo ny - Anita Hirvonen, 1981
Pitääxunaina? - Suurlähettiläät, 1991
Avaa hakas - Kake Randelin, 1983
Ai ai ai - Pave Maijanen, 1982
Kaiken takana on nainen - Matti ja Teppo, 1986
Tartu tiukasti hanuriin - Kikka, 1993
Lämmin hellä pehmoinen - Matti Esko, 1984
Anna vierellesi tulla - Joel Hallikainen, 1993
Hän on mun - Hanne, 1977
Mä joka päivä töitä teen - Matti ja Teppo
Mieli maailmoja juoksee - Arja Koriseva, 1997
Mua kuule äiti - Tarja Ylitalo, 1980
Ota lähellesi - Kirka, 1990
Avaa sydämesi mulle - Fredi, 1974
Aivan kreisi - Kisu, 1982
Vaskikellot - Antti Huovila, 2000
Sukkula Venukseen - Kikka, 1990
Kaukainen ystäväni - Jussu Pöyhönen, 2006
Mä haluun viihdyttää - Kikka, 1989
Juustossa löytyy - Kisu, 1974
Laulu kuolleesta rakastetusta - Sheidi, 2002
Mikä sulle oikein tuli - Juhamatti, 1983
Liljankukka - Päivi Kautto-Niemi, 1977
Koomikon kyyneleet - Timo Koivusalo, 1994
Tuulikello - Kaija Koo, 1995
Anna rakas raju hetki - Nisa Soraya, 1985
Hormoonihiiret - Mika Sundqvist, 1982
Dam dam da da di dum - Saija Varjus, 1997
Ei tämä tyttö lempeä anele - Tarja Ylitalo, 1983
Yamma yamma - Pave Maijanen, 1992
Tule kanssani kylpyyn - Bamperos, 1980
Piru mieheks - Irina Milan, 1978
Sairas vääns - Tohtori Tornado, 1979
Minä olen muistanut - Kim Lönnholm, 1989
Pienestä kii - Samuli Edelmann, 1991
Markkinarako - Frederik, 1991
Mitä tilaa sitä saa - Taneli Mäkelä, 1991
Mun sydämellä on kypärä - Samuli Edelmann, 2003
Kuka pelkää Paulaa? - Paula Koivuniemi, 2006
Ruma mies - Samuli Edelmann, 2006
Mahtava peräsin ja pulleat purjeet - Solistiyhtye Suomi, 1983
Orpo - Meeri Pesonen, 1981
Jos vielä oot vapaa - Ressu Redford, 1992
Erkki, 15 - Tapani Kansa, 1981
Kuumat kyyneleet - Jamppa Tuominen, 1983
Elvis - Mikko Kuustonen, 2006
Lumi teki enkelin eteiseen - Kari Tapio, 2006
Bussipysäkillä - Janos Valmunen, 1990
Mikan faijan BMW - Anssi Kela, 2001
Kevät ja minä - Tommi Läntinen, 1995
Miks' ei aina voi olla lauantai - Tarja Ylitalo, 1981
Niin kaunis on taivas - Jasmine, 1996
Sitä saa mitä tilaa - Yölintu, 2001
Kaikkea hyvää - Simo Silmu, 2004
No justiinsa juu - Eino Valtanen, 1978
1972 - Anssi Kela, 2003
Jasmiinin tuoksu - Jasmin Mäntylä, 2002
Maailman laidalla - Suurlähettiläät, 1992
Mitä miehen tulee olla? - Suurlähettiläät, 2003
Kuka pysäyttäisi kellot - Suurlähettiläät, 1995
Kun tänään lähden - Suurlähettiläät, 1993
Villihevosia - Hanna Ekola, 1990
Ikionnellisten saari - Hanna Ekola, 1990
Kaiken sulle antaisin - Danny & Armi, 1977
Rekkamies - Matti Esko, 1986
Kettunen, keskiyön cowboy - Bamperos, 1980
Vielä on kesää jäljellä - Mamba, 2002
Mun nimeni on Eetu - Eddie Edwards, 1991
Halipula - Joel Hallikainen, 1994
Tyttären valssi - Helka Hynninen, 1979
De va kukku de - Anita Hirvonen, 1982
Nuku pommiin - Kojo, 1982
Perutaan häät - Anne Mattila, 2005
Metsämökin tonttu - Jussi & the Boys, 1974
Tekoneekeri Koikkalainen - Erkki Liikanen, 1979
Tästä asti aikaa - Vesa-Matti Loiri, 2006
Juna kulkee - Kari Tapio, 2003
Huilumies - Vesa-Matti Loiri, 1980
R-a-k-a-s - Tapani Kansa, 1976
Takes 2 to tango - Jari Sillanpää, 2004
Missä sitä ollaan oltu? - Matti ja Teppo, 1983
Tanssikaveri - Vilho Vartiainen, 1984
Satasen laina - Nylon Beat, 1997
Seksi vie ja taksi tuo - Nylon Beat, 1999
Paalupaikka - Kari Tapio, 2005
Levoton prinssi - Petri Munck, 2003
Hailii happamii - Strings, 1969
Kun katsoit minuun - Anna Eriksson, 2001
Pieni sydän - Sakari Kuosmanen, 2002
Pump pump - Fredi & Koivistolaiset, 1976
Sata salamaa - Virve Rosti, 1987
Mitä yhdestä särkyneestä sydämestä - Mamba, 1985
Kolmekymppinen - Frederik, 1980
Särkyvää - Yö, 2001
Rakkaus on lumivalkoinen - Yö, 2003
Paratiisi - Sakari Kuosmanen, 2002
Yhdessä itkien - Pate Mustajärvi, 1983
Enon disko - Alpo Myller, 1990
Silikonit - Rauli-Juhani Ponto, 2001
Älä puhu rakkaudesta - Johanna Pakonen, 2004
Sopiva mies, sopiva nainen - Johanna Pakonen, 2004
Rupsahda rauhassa rakkaani mun - Kari Kuuva, 1989
Iltatuulen viesti - Aikamiehet, 1964



:shocked: - no hyi saatana



Näpsäytä tästä (http://www.turkku.com/poll/huonoin_iskelma.php) niin pääset tuonne (http://www.turkku.com/poll/huonoin_iskelma.php) äänestämään...



John - :p

[Myyde]

;)

RockWeb THE Poll:

Vote For The WORST Finnish Pop Song Of All Time..!!!


Vuoden 2006 aikana on ollut suosittua järjestää biisiäänestyksiä, YLE:ä myöten. Niistä parhaista. On siis paikallaan tehdä vastaveto; kaivella historian hämäristä kaikkein surkeimmat, huonoimmat, karmeimmat ja ikävimmät iskusävelmät. Ettei totuus unohtuisi.

Pollaus on simppeli. Täppi ruutuun ja menoksi. Äänestyskertoja on yksi. Jos omaa kehnokkiasi ei löydy, ehdota sitä. Lomake valmiina, ohjeet ohessa.

Huomaa myös, että äänestys kestää koko loppuvuoden. Äänen mahdollinen »taktinen» tyrkkääminen pelkästään kärkiehdoikkaille, ajatuksella että »muuten se menee hukkaan», ei ehkä ole kovin hyvää päättelyä. Todelliset surkeudet kyllä erottuvat aikanaan, ja tilanne voi muuttua radikaalistikin jo yhden päivän aikana. Ääni per päivä tuottaa lopputuloksissa noin 40 ääntä, ja 10 rapiat 400 kpl, eikä kukaan voi ennustaa minkä ehdokin kohdalla into iskee.

Valkkaa siis ihan aidosti juuri sinua eniten kuohuttava kappale. Semmoinen, joka vaikkapa radiosta kuultuna saa paiskomaan lautasia, karjumaan kelvottomia ja raijaamaan vekottimen verkonpainoksi. Kystä kyllin, kurkkua myöten, otsaan saakka täynnä.

Mutta pitemmittä puheitta, folks. Let's huono!



Äänestysaika 12.11 - 31.12.2006


Mikä on kaikkien aikojen huonoin suomalainen iskelmä?


Kerrasta poikki - Tarja Ylitalo, 1979
Pidä huolta - Pave Maijanen, 1981
Kuurankukka - Joel Hallikainen, 1992
Yksinäinen - Reijo Kallio, 1979
Elämän valttikortit - Ahti Lampi, 1980
Jätkän humppa - Mutkattomat, 1977
Tahdon olla sulle hellä - Danny & Armi, 1977
Nasta pimu - Kake Randelin, 1983
Äidin pikkupoika - Tapani Kansa, 1978
Mustankippee - Tarja Ylitalo, 1982
Just eikä melkein - Eino Valtanen, 1979
Viikonloppuisä - Reijo Kallio, 1980
Ans kattoo ny - Anita Hirvonen, 1981
Pitääxunaina? - Suurlähettiläät, 1991
Avaa hakas - Kake Randelin, 1983
Ai ai ai - Pave Maijanen, 1982
Kaiken takana on nainen - Matti ja Teppo, 1986
Tartu tiukasti hanuriin - Kikka, 1993
Lämmin hellä pehmoinen - Matti Esko, 1984
Anna vierellesi tulla - Joel Hallikainen, 1993
Hän on mun - Hanne, 1977
Mä joka päivä töitä teen - Matti ja Teppo
Mieli maailmoja juoksee - Arja Koriseva, 1997
Mua kuule äiti - Tarja Ylitalo, 1980
Ota lähellesi - Kirka, 1990
Avaa sydämesi mulle - Fredi, 1974
Aivan kreisi - Kisu, 1982
Vaskikellot - Antti Huovila, 2000
Sukkula Venukseen - Kikka, 1990
Kaukainen ystäväni - Jussu Pöyhönen, 2006
Mä haluun viihdyttää - Kikka, 1989
Juustossa löytyy - Kisu, 1974
Laulu kuolleesta rakastetusta - Sheidi, 2002
Mikä sulle oikein tuli - Juhamatti, 1983
Liljankukka - Päivi Kautto-Niemi, 1977
Koomikon kyyneleet - Timo Koivusalo, 1994
Tuulikello - Kaija Koo, 1995
Anna rakas raju hetki - Nisa Soraya, 1985
Hormoonihiiret - Mika Sundqvist, 1982
Dam dam da da di dum - Saija Varjus, 1997
Ei tämä tyttö lempeä anele - Tarja Ylitalo, 1983
Yamma yamma - Pave Maijanen, 1992
Tule kanssani kylpyyn - Bamperos, 1980
Piru mieheks - Irina Milan, 1978
Sairas vääns - Tohtori Tornado, 1979
Minä olen muistanut - Kim Lönnholm, 1989
Pienestä kii - Samuli Edelmann, 1991
Markkinarako - Frederik, 1991
Mitä tilaa sitä saa - Taneli Mäkelä, 1991
Mun sydämellä on kypärä - Samuli Edelmann, 2003
Kuka pelkää Paulaa? - Paula Koivuniemi, 2006
Ruma mies - Samuli Edelmann, 2006
Mahtava peräsin ja pulleat purjeet - Solistiyhtye Suomi, 1983
Orpo - Meeri Pesonen, 1981
Jos vielä oot vapaa - Ressu Redford, 1992
Erkki, 15 - Tapani Kansa, 1981
Kuumat kyyneleet - Jamppa Tuominen, 1983
Elvis - Mikko Kuustonen, 2006
Lumi teki enkelin eteiseen - Kari Tapio, 2006
Bussipysäkillä - Janos Valmunen, 1990
Mikan faijan BMW - Anssi Kela, 2001
Kevät ja minä - Tommi Läntinen, 1995
Miks' ei aina voi olla lauantai - Tarja Ylitalo, 1981
Niin kaunis on taivas - Jasmine, 1996
Sitä saa mitä tilaa - Yölintu, 2001
Kaikkea hyvää - Simo Silmu, 2004
No justiinsa juu - Eino Valtanen, 1978
1972 - Anssi Kela, 2003
Jasmiinin tuoksu - Jasmin Mäntylä, 2002
Maailman laidalla - Suurlähettiläät, 1992
Mitä miehen tulee olla? - Suurlähettiläät, 2003
Kuka pysäyttäisi kellot - Suurlähettiläät, 1995
Kun tänään lähden - Suurlähettiläät, 1993
Villihevosia - Hanna Ekola, 1990
Ikionnellisten saari - Hanna Ekola, 1990
Kaiken sulle antaisin - Danny & Armi, 1977
Rekkamies - Matti Esko, 1986
Kettunen, keskiyön cowboy - Bamperos, 1980
Vielä on kesää jäljellä - Mamba, 2002
Mun nimeni on Eetu - Eddie Edwards, 1991
Halipula - Joel Hallikainen, 1994
Tyttären valssi - Helka Hynninen, 1979
De va kukku de - Anita Hirvonen, 1982
Nuku pommiin - Kojo, 1982
Perutaan häät - Anne Mattila, 2005
Metsämökin tonttu - Jussi & the Boys, 1974
Tekoneekeri Koikkalainen - Erkki Liikanen, 1979
Tästä asti aikaa - Vesa-Matti Loiri, 2006
Juna kulkee - Kari Tapio, 2003
Huilumies - Vesa-Matti Loiri, 1980
R-a-k-a-s - Tapani Kansa, 1976
Takes 2 to tango - Jari Sillanpää, 2004
Missä sitä ollaan oltu? - Matti ja Teppo, 1983
Tanssikaveri - Vilho Vartiainen, 1984
Satasen laina - Nylon Beat, 1997
Seksi vie ja taksi tuo - Nylon Beat, 1999
Paalupaikka - Kari Tapio, 2005
Levoton prinssi - Petri Munck, 2003
Hailii happamii - Strings, 1969
Kun katsoit minuun - Anna Eriksson, 2001
Pieni sydän - Sakari Kuosmanen, 2002
Pump pump - Fredi & Koivistolaiset, 1976
Sata salamaa - Virve Rosti, 1987
Mitä yhdestä särkyneestä sydämestä - Mamba, 1985
Kolmekymppinen - Frederik, 1980
Särkyvää - Yö, 2001
Rakkaus on lumivalkoinen - Yö, 2003
Paratiisi - Sakari Kuosmanen, 2002
Yhdessä itkien - Pate Mustajärvi, 1983
Enon disko - Alpo Myller, 1990
Silikonit - Rauli-Juhani Ponto, 2001
Älä puhu rakkaudesta - Johanna Pakonen, 2004
Sopiva mies, sopiva nainen - Johanna Pakonen, 2004
Rupsahda rauhassa rakkaani mun - Kari Kuuva, 1989
Iltatuulen viesti - Aikamiehet, 1964



:shocked: - no hyi saatana



Näpsäytä tästä (http://www.turkku.com/poll/huonoin_iskelma.php) niin pääset tuonne (http://www.turkku.com/poll/huonoin_iskelma.php) äänestämään...



John - :p

Some good stuff on that list. ;)

...hyppää Eetu hyppää...:bounce:http://www.nyt.co.uk/eddiethe.htm

MUSICAL SUPERSTAR

FLY EDDIE FLY reached the Top 50 in England and MUN NIEMI EN EETU made Number TWO in the charts in Finland. MR ED, a rap song, appeared on a charity album

Finns recognize good stuff when they hear it, right?:p

[FinnFreak]

Finns recognize good stuff when they hear it, right?:p

...we sure do... ;)


:shocked: - but... but... where's Matti Nykänen..?!? :biglaugh:


John - :p

[Myyde]

...we sure do... ;)


:shocked: - but... but... where's Matti Nykänen..?!? :biglaugh:


John - :p
:shocked:He has some bad songs?:shocked: I don`t remember any, but if you know any, you can recommend `em to that list.:p

[FinnFreak]

Way too many songs to mention... :p


John - ;)

[Myyde]

Oh well, whatever...then it must be his enormous charisma when he is on stage what makes him so popular in Finland.:p

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - METRO - Wednesday 29.11.2006


Wolves seen near Helsinki


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135223305733.jpeg
Wolf - canis lupus

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135223313094.jpeg
The map shows the area in Vantaa
where wolves were sighted.


Wolves were seen in the Sotunki District of the southern city of Vantaa, just north of Helsinki on Tuesday morning. The beasts were observed in the vicinity of populated areas by three people. One of the observers counted three individual animals.

Executive director Martti Palokas of the Vantaa Game Management Association verified the animals' footprints on Tuesday.

"The imprint is around ten centimetres long and seven centimetres wide. The nail mark typical to wolves is also clearly visible in some of the imprints left on the field", Palokas lists.

"Some smaller imprints were also found, which indicates that the pack consists of individuals of various sizes", Palokas adds.

The wolves were first seen on Sunday evening. "What is remarkable is that they were seen in the middle of a densely populated area. The animals were possibly heading west and simply could not immediately find a route through the settled area", Palokas ponders.

The wolves were seen in the vicinity of streets of Tuliniementie, Nurmitie, and Solatie.

According to Reijo Orava of the Uusimaa Game Management District, a record number of wolf sightings have been made in the southern Province of Uusimaa this past summer and autumn. "Presumably they are young individuals separated from their packs in eastern Finland, who are now looking for a territory of their own", Orava believes.

"Wolves travel fast. So far, there is no evidence that these individuals would have decided to settle in Uusimaa permanently."

Sotunki's previous wolf sighting was made at the beginning of July, when a lone wolf was seen to approach from the direction of Sipoonkorpi and go and investigate a nearby sheepfold.




So... a town called Vantaa & Shania have something in common..? ;)


http://shaniasplace.com/Discography/jpgs/Album_ST_400x400.jpg



John - :p

[FinnFreak]

Tonight, Wednesday 29.11.2006 on YLE1 19:00


Fire and Ice:
The Winter War of Finland and Russia

http://www.mastersworkmedia.com/fireandice/images/Fire_and_Ice_logo6.jpg


Directed and produced by Ben Strout, MastersWork Media LLC, USA, 2005


This high-definition documentary film features authentic re-enactments of the Soviet Union's invasion of Finland, and reveals how Finland’s spirited 105-day defense in a “frozen hell” helped change the course of what would soon become World War II. In November of 1939, when Finland was invaded by the Soviet Union, no one expected this tiny nation would resist the largest military force in the world. Also, no one anticipated one of the coldest winters in recorded history. Outnumbered and outgunned, Finns knew the war was not about territory; it was a total war for their very existence as a people. The Winter War was an epic life and death struggle that changed the course of World War II, and saved a democracy.

The war begins with the aerial bombardment of Helsinki. Fires rage in the city. Dazed citizens run for their lives. Poorly equipped Finnish troops face a massive Red Army attack supported by thousands of tanks, heavy artillery, and airplanes. The invasion is almost three times larger than the Allied landing at Normandy on D-Day. The Russians are confident of a quick victory.

A Finnish poet remembers how the war started. We enter her world as a child of eleven. An American remembers how at 21, he volunteered to drive an ambulance as he leads us deep into the frozen forests of northern Finland. The narrative is enriched with the contemporary accounts of journalists and soldiers on both sides of the conflict, many from war diaries translated into English for the first time. Historians provide unique insight and perspective. Rare archive footage, enhanced by meticulous attention to historical detail in re-creating scenes of both the battlefront and home front, brings this history to life.

Finnish soldiers improvise a defense. They attack tanks with Molotov cocktails and crowbars. Finland’s women form a unique corps called Lotta Svärd. And as temperatures descend to 50 below zero, their mastery of winter becomes a strategic advantage. Finnish resistance is relentless. They know this war is not about changing borders; their lives, their independence and their identity as a people and a nation is at stake. They unite against a common enemy as never before.


http://www.mastersworkmedia.com/fireandice/



John

[FinnFreak]

EuropeanVoice.com - An Independent View Of The EU - Vol. 12 No. 43 : 23 November 2006


Finns ‘obsessed’ with Commission job cuts


By Simon Taylor


The Finnish presidency has been strongly criticised for failing to get a deal on the EU’s 2007 budget this week by obsessing about cutting Commission staff jobs.

Despite 12 hours of negotiations between MEPs and national governments this week, the talks broke off with no agreement late on Tuesday night (21 November).

One EU official said that the presidency had been a “total disaster” while others commented that the Finns were “badly prepared” and “obsessed” with getting other countries to back their call to slash 1,700 Commission posts.

The presidency was trying to broker an agreement between EU governments and MEPs on a budget for payments of around €114 billion for next year.

But Finnish Finance Minister Ulla-Maj Wideroos failed to get majority support for the presidency’s position after Spain, Italy and Poland, with the support of four other countries, refused to sign up to a declaration on improving productivity in the EU institutions. According to the Commission, this would have meant cutting 1,700 jobs, the equivalent of three directorates-general, as only half of retiring staff would be replaced.

“They [the Finns] tried to bulldoze the [productivity declaration] through. But they wasted a lot of time which could have been dedicated to negotiating the Common Foreign and Security Policy part,” one official said.

Without a common position, Wideroos lacked credibility in negotiating with the MEPs’ delegation, led by Polish centre-right member Janusz Lewandowski, chairman of the budgets committee.

The MEPs decided to walk out of talks anyway in response to what they saw as impossible demands from the presidency to be precise about having a greater say over Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) spending.

There is concern over the cost of the planned EU security mission for Kosovo next year, estimated to cost between €100 and 150 million. The Parliament says it has not had enough information about the mission.

MEPs have been insisting that they should be consulted more over appointments of CFSP special representatives and were threatening to withhold around half of the €159m the Council had requested for CFSP next year. But when Wideroos insisted on a letter setting out exactly what they were asking for in return, the MEPs said there was no point negotiating further because they could not deliver what the Finns were asking. “[James] Elles can’t do Elmar Brok’s job,” said one official, referring to the UK centre-right MEP who has drawn up Parliament’s position on the 2007 budget and the German centre-right MEP who is chairman of the foreign affairs committee. An EU diplomat said that “on CFSP the MEPs were badly prepared”.

EU officials said that despite the failure of this week’s talks it should be possible to get a deal next week.


http://www.europeanvoice.com/current/article.asp?id=26752



:uhh: ...what works with us, doesn't necessarily work with others...


:scowl: - Wideroos continues to goof (as always): efficiency & productivity aren't the key words in many European countries' administration structures... in fact, those words don't even exist in some vocabularies... we gotta face it: the Nordic model just can't be implemented everywhere... höh.


John - :smirk:

[FinnFreak]

STT - 30.11.2006


Multiple phone books Finland's most useless ware


Suomen Luonto, a paper published by the Finnish Association for Nature Conversation (SLL), said Thursday that the winner of "Vuoden turhake", a Finnish play on words that translates as the most unnecessary commodity of the year, was the printing of two separate sets of telephone directories.

The paper said it had chosen the twin phonebooks, printed by Eniron and Fonecta, from 300 readers' suggestions on the basis of the unnecessary doubling of environmental impact caused by paper production, printing, transport and waste.

Suomen Luonto organised the contest for the seventh time. Last year's winner was the urban 4x4 vehicle. The 2004 titleholder was the drinkable yoghurt.


John - :p

[Troll]

What is wrong with two phonebooks?

[FinnFreak]

What is wrong with two phonebooks?

It's unnecessary, when one company issuing one would be enough.


Look at it this way:

...it's like everyone would have two or more channels on the TV broadcasting exactly the same programs at the same time.


Pretty unnecessary, eh..?


John - :smirk:

[aFinn]

Fire and Ice:
The Winter War of Finland and RussiaDarn, I missed that one


Vote For The WORST Finnish Pop Song Of All Time..!!!OMG, reading that list was scary, songs more horrible than one can imagine, all in a same list, creating horror moments and sleepless nights. :eek:


Multiple phone books Finland's most useless wareI think I actually mentioned about this somewhere before, giving my opinion that is similar to many voters it seems.

[Troll]

It's unnecessary, when one company issuing one would be enough.


Look at it this way:

...it's like everyone would have two or more channels on the TV broadcasting exactly the same programs at the same time.


Pretty unnecessary, eh..?


John - :smirk:

I guess so.

[FinnFreak]

Christmas with a Finnish touch


Welcome to The Virtual Finland Christmas Website (http://virtual.finland.fi/xmas/)


Come join us again for winter festivities with that special Finnish accent.

You'll find a brand new Advent calendar, seasonal songs, a Yuletide poem,
online greeting cards that you can send, a photo gallery of winter scenes,
and a video starring Santa Claus himself.

As always, we feature Christmas fare and recipes.

And don't miss the age-old Proclamation of Christmas Peace.

As we say in Finnish: Hyvää Joulua! Merry Christmas!



John - :)

[FinnFreak]

Finland For Thought (http://www.finlandforthought.net) - Friday 1st December, 2006


Will Lordi appear at the Independence Day Ball?


http://www.finlandforthought.net/wp-content/uploads/2006/12/halonen_sixth_lordi_member.jpg


Every Independence Day there’s a huge gala held at the Finnish Presidential “Palace”.
All the “important” people from the previous year are invited.
In the evening, everyone in Finland sits in front of the TV to watch each guest greet the President.

Now please correct me if I’m wrong here, I’ve only heard this - Eurovision 2006 winners, Lordi, have been invited to event.
As everyone knows, Lordi never goes in public without wearing their monster outfits.
So naturally they’d arrive in their outfits, however, they have been forbidden to attend the event dressed as monsters.

So the big question this year is - will they boycott the event?
Will they crash the party dressed in costume?
Should Tarja Halonen allow them to wear their outfits?
Or maybe they’ll finally appear in public wearing normal clothes?

So do I have the story straight? Personally I hope they arrive in costume.
Here’s my reasoning: If Tarja Halonen is allowed to wear her monster mask each year, why shouldn’t they?


:funny:


Like I've said before:

"I'd still like to see them show up. In black tie, but with masks - NOT the monster ones, but rather the more elegant masquerade ones. "


I'd hope that the Presidential Palace, under Halonen's reign, could meet them halfway...


We shall see next Wednesday...



John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

The Perse School for Girls

http://www.perse.cambs.sch.uk


John - :p

[aFinn]

Will Lordi appear at the Independence Day Ball?Actually, I don't care about their masks, I just like that next week Wednesday is a day off :p

The Perse School for GirlsInteresting ;) :p

[Myyde]

So do I have the story straight? Personally I hope they arrive in costume.
Here’s my reasoning: If Tarja Halonen is allowed to wear her monster mask each year, why shouldn’t they?


:funny:


We shall see next Wednesday...



John - ;)

Moominmamma, a monster, since when?:huh: NO more Lordi for you. Seeing monsters everywhere can`t be good.:uhh: ;)

Well, few days and we`ll see, time to get rid of this "thing".:smirk:



The Perse School for Girls

http://www.perse.cambs.sch.uk


John - :p
Going back to school? Or what were you looking for...:whistle:

[FinnFreak]

:scowl: - ...as I'm getting tired of this rain & darkness... where's the ¤%!"#¤ snow..?!? :mad:


HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - SPORT - Tuesday 12.12.2006


The greening of the greens - golf in Helsinki in December, anyone?

Vuosaari Golf re-opens, and the players come streaming back


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135223394537.jpeg http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135223395006.jpeg
Like everywhere else in the south of Finland, at the beginning of November the golf course at Vuosaari in Eastern Helsinki was under a thin blanket of snow.
Then the snow melted, revealing fairways and greens in rude good health. A couple of weeks ago, the course re-opened. The players were delighted. Nearly
1,000 of them have taken advantage of the mild conditions in the last two weeks of November. The greenkeepers' work had to go on into December.


By Santtu Parkkonen


It was supposed to be all over for another year. The season ended at the end of October, there were night frosts, and sub-zero daytime temperatures, too, and it snowed to a depth of several centimetres across the undulating fairways of Vuosaari Golf Course. The assistant greenkeeper Jani Mäntsälä and groundsman Raimo Nikula began the routine of preparing the mowers, rollers, golf-carts, mini-tractors, and other machines for their winter service and the long sleep in the garage.

But then the thaw came, the unexpected happened and the mild weather stayed, the snow melted away, and revealed grass that almost begged to be played on again.

On November 20th, the course re-opened. Members and green-fee players were delighted. By the end of the month nearly a thousand of them had taken their clubs out of storage and gone back out for a round or two.

For Mäntsälä and Nikula it meant a return to the business of keeping the fairways trimmed and the greens smooth.

At 8 a.m. it is still dark. Mäntsälä drives a vibratory roller and topdresser, while Nikula follows astride a device that looks like a beetle that has spread its wings and which is used to spray pesticides and fungicides on the surface of the greens.

On the way to the 1st green, the convoy meets the first player of the day arriving.

When they get to the green, Mäntsälä removes the flag from its position, lays it down on the fringe, and goes over the surface of the green. It is still dark enough out there for him to need his driving lights on to see what he is doing.

There is no need for mowing at this stage of the year, as the grass is no longer growing to any real extent. "But it has been in amazingly good shape", says Mäntsälä.

Next he cuts a new hole on the green and plugs the old one with the turf and soil cylinder taken from the new hole.

"In principle, the pin placements should be changed every day. If you leave it for a couple of days, the grass surface gets flattened down too much and you immediately hear all about it from the members", says Mäntsälä.

When the new hole has been cut, the plastic cup is inserted into the bottom of it. Mäntsälä carefully pushes it down so that the upper edge is an inch below the green surface. "You know, in the States they even paint the top inside surface of the hole in white. They've taken things that far", he comments.

With the new hole in place and the old one tended to, Nikula spreads pesticide and fungicides on the green, and then the two men head off to the 2nd green and do it all again.

At Vuosaari, the greens have been sown with Greeping Bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera).

In the summer months it will be cut back to a height of 2.5 to 3 millimetres. You will find a good deal more pile on most living-room carpets. "Not many species of grass will take such a close cut", says Nikula.

On the fairways and tee-areas, the course has been sown with variants of Fescue ( Festuca), which is allowed to grow rather longer.

Both species of grass are susceptible to drought and to fungal diseases. The onset of disease can start from something as apparently innocuous as a damp leaf stamped into the green surface.

The longer the day goes on and the light improves, the more golfers appear on the course.

In the summer months, the place would be buzzing already, and groups would be impatiently waiting their turn to play shots. "There are a lot of people who come to play every single day of the week", reports Nikula.

During high season, the first golfers show up at around 6 a.m. and the stream continues well into the long light evenings. All the same, the fairways and greens must be cut and tended to, and other course maintenance work has to go on daily.

"The greenkeepers and other staff have right of way, naturally, but you always have to accommodate the players. You have to have a bit of an eye for when you can venture onto the greens. For some players, a hold-up of just five minutes can seem like an eternity", says Mäntsälä.

The mowers are usually out in the early mornings, when the course is quietest.

"The fewer players you see, the better for everyone. They like the fact that the course has been looked after by the time they show up to play it", Mäntsälä continues.

Vuosaari Golf has been built on landfill brought from construction sites in the Greater Helsinki area. Now the former waste ground is an undulating links-style course, with well-groomed fairways and narrow meandering gravel paths for trolleys and golf carts.

To the east of the course a giant new cargo harbour is being built, and alongside it an industrial zone, while to the south there is a yacht marina and to the west residential developments. The sea is to the south, and there are magnificent sea views from the highest point on the course.

The proximity of the sea is both a help and a hindrance, at least for the players.

On the one hand it is almost always windy or at least breezy, but then again the maritime influence makes things marginally warmer than further inland. "We can enjoy a long season here. We were among the first courses open in the spring, and we are among the last ones open now", explains Mäntsälä.

The slightly remote location (even though we are still inside Helsinki city limits) means that the course is walked often by creatures on four legs as well as the two-legged golfers. "We get elk, hares, foxes, and cows", lists Nikula.

Huh? Cows?

"Yes, in early August we laid down some turf for replacement purposes around the machinery hall, and when it had been growing a week or so, artist Miina Äkkijyrkkä's herd of pedigree Finnish cattle were grazing there."



Note: You could still play golf in Vuosaari today, and the weather forecast suggests that Messrs Mäntsälä and Nikula will be occupied grooming the greens and fairways for a few more days yet. And others may have to do likewise. The strange, mild and damp conditions look to be with us for the duration, with temperatures down south above freezing all the way to the weekend. One of the oddest phenomena is that differences between daytime and night temperatures have been practically negligible - the temperature in the Greater Helsinki area has hovered around 5 to 8°C, almost regardless of the hour. The lack of night frosts also naturally means morning golfers do not have to wait for the greens to thaw out.

The latter half of November was exceptionally mild, with records set across the country in terms of the precipitous difference in temperature between the first fortnight of the month and the last two weeks. In Sodankylä in Lapland, for example, the average temperature for the first half of November was a chilly -12.4°C, while it was +0.3°C for the last two weeks. In Helsinki the gap was smaller, but still a record: -0.5°C and +5.9°C. Under normal circumstances, we could expect a fall of 5 degrees Celsius during the course of the month. The overall average temperature for November was around the normal level, but only because the beginning of the month was remarkably cold - explaining all that snow that we had and which is now nowhere to be seen, even in parts of Lapland!



:uhh: - ...and I just heared Santa Claus has sold his sled... now he's driving a new shiny SUV... :really:



John - :sad:

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - FOREIGN - Tuesday 12.12.2006


Hidden help from across the Atlantic

US Army Surplus purchases were a kind of back-door Marshall Aid


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135223572673.jpeg
Among the items sold to Finland by the United States were five 260-ton coastal
minesweepers. Four are shown here after they were re-christened with Finnish
names. The Allies had used the Tammenpää (on the right of the photo) in mine
clearance on Omaha Beach in Normandy during the D-Day landings of June 1944.
Originally these vessels were part of the Lend-Lease programme supplying material
to the British before the US joined World War II. In the customs declaration, shown
at right, the Tammenpää goes by its original name of B.Y.M.S. (for British Yard
Mine Sweeper) 2047. When the vessels came to Finland, they were initially used
as accommodation ships for students, before the Finnish Navy bought them and
re-equipped them for minesweeping purposes. All were later used as naval training
vessels before being sold for scrap in the late 1950s. Very sharp-eyed readers
may also notice that the vessel was towed in from Falmouth, England, where it was
presumably mothballed after its service in the Normandy landings.


By Unto Hämäläinen


The old carbon-copy flimsies are so fragile that they must be handled with great care. One can just about make out from the faded printed texts that the pages are customs declarations on imported goods, made by Finnish officials towards the end of the 1940s.

The first such declarations date from early 1946, and the last are from the summer of 1949.

There are hundreds of pages of them.

The temptation is great to touch them and rummage through them and to hold them up to the light to peer at what is written there.

Up at the top left is a space for the name of the vessel bringing the goods, like Fennia or Kurikka, and the date when she docked.

The customs official has also noted down where the consignment originated from on its journey to Finland. The port of departure in the United States was often New York, NY, but items have been loaded on board frequently from European ports, most prominently Antwerp and Rotterdam.

The papers also reveal that Finland has imported from the United States such items as locomotives, graders for building roads, tractors, food, and - what on earth is this: several DC-3 aircraft (the trusty Dakota or Skytrain), with a full complement of spare parts.

Nearly every week, for several years on end, a ship docked in the harbours of Helsinki, Hanko, Turku, or Rauma with American goods in the cargo hold.

This was different from the American post-war humanitarian aid packages. This flow of goods across the Atlantic was not extensively written up in the Finnish press of the time - and nor was it much spoken about.

As a rule, customs declarations found their way to the incinerator after being stored for eight years. It is the purest coincidence that these carbon-copy sheets have survived to this day.

The papers have been stuffed away for decades in a cupboard in the National Board of Customs archives. They were unearthed only last summer, when customs chief inspector Janne Nokki set about putting the archives into the sort of shape that would allow for some of the older documents to be handed on to the National Archives.

It is fortunate that Nokki just happened to be a history scholar by education. He was not content with simply cataloguing the documents - he actually sat down and started reading them. What he saw was an eyebrow-raising experience.

"I had heard that after the war Finland imported a certain amount of US Army Surplus stuff, but I didn't have the first idea of the scale of it", recalls Nokki.

It is hardly surprising that the subject was new for 35-year-old Nokki. The history of the immediate post-war period has been much researched, but surprisingly little mention can be found from the literature about war surplus sales from the United States to Finland.

All the same, the consensus is that without Western help Finland would not have been able to cope in the years just after the war. Economic historian Erkki Pihkala has estimated that the assistance coming from the West in the years from 1945 to 1948 was roughly equivalent to one year's deliveries of war reparations to the Soviet Union.

Relations between Finland and the United States were pretty much at the zero level at the end of World War II. In the summer of 1944, the US had formally cut off all diplomatic ties to Finland after President Risto Ryti had given a personal guarantee to the Nazis that Finland would not seek a separate peace under his presidency.

It was a year and more before the United States agreed to re-open diplomatic channels with Helsinki in the fall of 1945. By that time Finland was in dire straits.

Already battered by the war, the country was saddled with massive war reparations to be paid to the Soviet Union. The Soviets led the Allied Control Commission, which watched carefully to see that the terms of the Moscow Armistice of September 1944 were fulfilled to the letter and to the last consignment of goods.

In 1945, as much as 70 per cent of Finnish production went in payment of war reparations. In panic, the Finns requested help from the United States.

The initial response was blunt: Finland was a lost cause. From the viewpoint of Washington the Finnish position looked quite hopeless, and the only open question was when the Soviets would swallow the place up.

A State Department diplomat who was responsible for U.S.-Finnish affairs, one Randolph Higgs, went further and asked briskly what right the Finns thought they had to assume that American policy would be to throw good money after bad into a Finnish rat-hole.

For years, the State Department in Washington maintained a very restrained stance. The Americans certainly hoped that Finland would remain in the Western camp, but they had little confidence in these hopes. The fragile Finnish independence was not expected to withstand the pressures from Moscow.

Professor Jussi Hanhimäki, who has written of this period, condenses the immediate post-war American line as follows:

"The United States had to refrain from any and all public statements on the Finnish position, lest the Soviet Union might interpret them as a challenge to the policies it was pursuing in Finland. At the same time, the U.S. nevertheless recognised a need to help Finland invisibly, in other words in economic terms."

The selling of war surplus items to Finland fitted in admirably with this "invisible" approach. And it made sound financial sense.

After the war, the U.S. had a good deal of equipment and materials in the European theatre that were really not worth shipping all the way back over the Atlantic. On the other hand, it was worthwhile to sell them on to countries in Europe, if buyers could be found.

The trade was financed by loans from American banks. The banks issued credits to Finland for the items they bought. Even though this was normal business practice on the surface, it could also be described as assistance. The items were cheap and the terms of payment were quite reasonable.

The goods were supplied by the Office of the Foreign Liquidation Commissioner within the Department of State, and the goods were brought in in small consignments.

The imports did not attract much attention, which was basically just the way everyone wanted it to be. The Soviets knew about the import shipments, but it is unclear whether they grasped the scale and importance of the trade.

The forwarding of the various items was also carried out without any undue ceremony. The then Ministry of Supply passed the goods on to industry, to state authorities, the municipalities, and to the big wholesale and retail trading houses. The then big four of SOK, OTK, Kesko, and Tuko each got their own quota of items that they could pass on to consumers.

The customs officials granted the items relief from any import duties for six-month periods from the date of their arrival.

Just to do things by the book, customs declarations were made on all items, even though no duty was levied.

It is a good thing the bureaucracy was up to its task - even if it was wasted work - because without these carbon-copies of the import declarations we would no longer have any way of clarifying the nature of the American assistance.

Just how big a helping hand was it? Janne Nokki has done some crude sums and has come up with a summary of the liquidated surplus goods acquired. The figures are impressive.

For example, around 2,000 trucks were brought to Finland, and a further 550 Jeeps and other cars, around 3,000 trailers, and 1,400 tons of vehicle spare parts.

This must have been a massive shot in the arm, since statistics show that after the war Finland only had around 17,000 vehicles on the road.

The largest part of the imports was made up of steel, iron, machinery, and motors badly needed by industry. For instance around 900 tons of welding equipment alone was imported.

The welding apparatus was more than welcome, since the Soviet Union's reparation demands called for all kinds of metals industry products that the Finns did not have, and which they had to manufacture.

Finland had also had to surrender to the Soviets much of its transport hardware, such as vessels and locomotives. Fortunately the US surplus items included 24 locomotives, more than a dozen ships, and - astonishingly - even nine aircraft.

Immediately after the war, Finland also received a good deal of medicines, foodstuffs, and clothing. Among the latter category were 200,000 pairs of gauntlets for use in industry.

The items in question were from the Western front in Europe, and had been used in the defeat of Finland's erstwhile co-belligerent Germany.

Janne Nokki has estimated that the aggregate value of the surplus items brought in to Finland would run into the several billions of old markka - measured in the money of that time.

Making any accurate calculations is difficult because of adjustments in exchange rates and the change in the value of money between then and now. It would require some comprehensive research.

What, then, is the significance of this chance discovery in the archives?

"The customs clearance documents indicate that a considerable part of the aid to Finland and the purchases of US surplus goods was intended to help bottlenecks in Finnish industry and transport. In this sense this was not so much humanitarian aid as investment goods and material for the reconstruction of Finnish industry", is the assessment of Juhana Aunesluoma, who has researched Finnish-American relations at the University of Helsinki.

It was in Washington's interests that Finland remained a capitalist country, even if the Americans were rather sceptical that some of the items they were selling to the Finns might end up helping the Soviet Union instead.

Janne Nokki points to the fact that the cargo ships kept coming on a more or less regular basis, even though Finland's position on the superpower chessboard changed several times during the same period.

Nokki is also more than a little bemused at the fact that whilst the Soviet side kept a very close watch on practically everything else, they did not intervene in the import of American war surplus materials.

These imports in all quiet went some way to making up for the fact that Finland was unable to avail itself of more visible forms of post-war aid. In the summer of 1947, Finland - as the only Western country in this position - was obliged to refuse the Marshall Aid offered by the U.S. for the reconstruction of war-ravaged Europe.

The Kremlin insisted that Finland turn down the offer. In the West, this was seen as the beginning of the end for the Finns: pundits speculated over when the final Soviet blow would fall.

At the beginning of the following year, Josef Stalin proposed the signing of the Finnish-Soviet Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance (the so-called YYA Treaty that was to last as the basis of Finnish-Soviet relations until 1992).

On April 6th, 1948 the agreement was duly signed. In the United States and elsewhere in the West the event was regarded - yet again - as an unmistakable signal of Finland's slipping into the grip of the Soviet Union.

What is doubly curious, then, is that the customs declarations found by Nokki indicate that Western fears of Finland "going under for the third time" seem to have had little or no impact on the trade dealings.

The shipments kept on coming in a steady flow, regardless of political developments. They were a fragile lifeline for a very poor country.

The aid continued to come after 1949, but the only customs dockets that have survived appear to be from these three or four years.

A few examples will have to suffice: in April 1948 aircraft were flown to Finland from the American Zone in Allied-occupied Germany; in May the S/S Clio brought a highway grader and four aircraft engines, and in the early summer the fishing vessel S/S Volker was towed into Helsinki by a tug.

The customs official on duty conscientiously acknowledged the arrival of the items, wrote out a customs declaration, calculated the duty that was never to be levied, and filed the dockets away in the archives.

And that is where they remained, forgotten, for nearly sixty years.



John - :)

[FinnFreak]

:huh: - Well, I'll be...


STT - 18.12.2006


Finnish scientists worked with US nuclear planners during cold war


The United States recruited top Finnish scientist to work in top-secret nuclear war programmes in the 1940s and 1950s, the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) reported Monday.

According to YLE, the Finnish scientists gathered intelligence on Soviet nuclear weapons testing and calculated flight paths for intercontinental bombers and missiles to strike targets in the Soviet Union.

The University of Helsinki's Institute of Seismology is reported to have received equipment from the US in the 1960s to monitor Soviet nuclear weapons testing. At the time the US was concerned that the Soviet Union was gaining a lead in the development of tactical warheads.

Seismic data was sent to the US via Norway on the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (Arpanet), the US department of defence data network that was to form the backbone of the internet.

Information about Finnish involvement in US nuclear planning and intelligence-gathering during the cold war is patchy as many records have been destroyed or remain unaccounted for.

During the cold war, Finland, having signed a treaty of friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance with the Soviet Union, was extremely careful not to be seen cooperating militarily with the west.


Tänään maanantaina 18.12. A-piste TV1 klo 21.00


John - :uhh:

[Troll]

Thanks for the articles.

[FinnFreak]

IFPI Finland (The Finnish National Group of IFPI) - 09.01.2007


Äänitealan alennusmyynti

Äänitealan ensimmäinen alennusmyynti alkaa 10. tammikuuta!

Levy-yhtiöiden ja alan kauppiaiden järjestämä äänitteiden alennusmyynti alkaa keskiviikkona 10. tammikuuta. Tämä on ensimmäinen kerta kun ääniteala harrastaa yhteistoimintaa alennusmyynnissä. Alennustuotteita on tarjolla keskimäärin 300 - 500 nimikettä kauppiaista riippuen, mukana myös useita viime syksynä julkaistuja huippulevyjä. Tarjolla on musiikkia koti- ja ulkomaisesta rockista aina iskelmän kautta jazziin ja klassiseen musiikkiin.

– Levyalen tavoitteena on saada uusia asiakkaita ääniteostoille ja aktivoida alan kauppaa muuten hiljaisena vuodenaikana. Nyt oli sopiva ajankohta saada kauppiaat ja levy-yhtiöt toteuttamaan yhteistä kampanjaa, sanoo apulaisjohtaja Tommi Kyyrä Suomen Ääni- ja Kuvatallennetuottajat ÄKT ry:stä.

Nyt alkavan suomalaisen levyalen malli on otettu Ruotsista, jossa vastaavasta toiminnasta on saatu hyviä kokemuksia jo 10 vuoden ajalta. Levyalessa on mukana yhteensä 222 äänitteiden myyntipistettä ympäri Suomea tavarataloketjuista alan erikoisliikkeisiin.

– Alennuslevyissä on monta hintaluokkaa, keskimäärin alennukset vaihtelevat 30 – 70 prosenttiin, Tommi Kyyrä sanoo.


Äänitemarkkinat kasvoivat viime vuonna

Äänitealan myynti kääntyi viime vuonna kasvuun muutaman tasaisemman vuoden jälkeen.

– Äänitteiden kappalemääräinen myynti näyttäisi kasvaneen 8 - 9 prosenttia. Euromääräinen myynti lisääntyi taas noin 5 – 6 prosenttia. Kasvun taustalta löytyy muun muassa tekijänoikeuslain uudistus, joka kielsi piraattilevyjen maahantuonnin. Toinen merkittävä tekijä on kasvava digitaalinen musiikkikauppa, Tommi Kyyrä sanoo.

Suomen äänitemyynnin arvo vuonna 2005 oli noin 105 miljoonaa euroa, joka tarkoittaa noin 10 miljoonaa myytyä äänitettä.

– Suomessa kotimaisen musiikin arvo kokonaismyynnistä on poikkeuksellisen korkea. Äänitekaupan kappalemäärissä kotimaisen musiikin osuus on peräti 58 prosenttia. Tämä on eurooppalaisittain poikkeuksellisen korkea luku, ainoastaan Ranska ja Kreikka yltävät vastaavaan kotimaisuusasteeseen, sanoo Äänitealan yhteismarkkinointityöryhmän puheenjohtaja, EMI Finlandin toimitusjohtaja Wemppa Koivumäki.

Ensimmäinen valtakunnallinen levyale alkaa keskiviikkona 10. tammikuuta ja päättyy 28. tammikuuta. Kampanjatuotteisiin voi käydä tutustumassa osoitteessa:

www.levyale.fi


Lisätietoja:

Suomen Ääni- ja Kuvatallennetuottajat ÄKT ry, apulaisjohtaja Tommi Kyyrä puh. (09) 680 34050,

Äänitealan yhteismarkkinointityöryhmän puheenjohtaja, EMI Finland toimitusjohtaja Wemppa Koivumäki puh. (09) 348 426 sekä

tavarataloketju Anttilan valikoimapäällikkö Markus Kovanen puh. 010 1053 40164.



woohoo..!


John - :D

[FinnFreak]

:)

...here's a little something (all Finns know) - but Phil has just realized...


Finland For Thought.net - 12.1.2007


Magic sauna cures all


One time four years ago I had a sharp pain in my stomach and had this strong sensation that I need to urinate, even thought I didn’t have to. The doctor told me I had an inflamed prostate. He asked if I had jumped in a frozen lake lately, I had my first frozen lake jumping experience just a few days prior, supposedly extreme cold weather can do this to your prostate.

Well I haven’t been jumping in any frozen lakes lately, but t 4am this morning I woke up to the same symptoms. I took some ibuprofen, waited a while, still in pain, then drove myself to Jorvi hospital. At 6am, the waiting time was only 10 minutes. The doctor prescribed more ibuprofen (aren’t 600mg prescription tablets the same as taking 3 200mg over-the-counter tablets??), it hasn’t helped, I’ve been in agonizing pain all morning.

So I just had the bright idea to fire up the sauna. It’s amazing, after about two minutes in the sauna, the pain completely went away. I’ve been out for a while now, the pain is coming back a bit, but I still got the sauna warm and will jump back as soon as I finish this blog post. It’s incredible, doctors and medicine can’t help me, but a couple minutes in the sauna cures me!


heh... the other cures are tar and booze... and if those don't work... oops.


John - ;)

[Troll]

Interesting article.

[Eleanor]

Hi Finnfreak, I Have Been Looking Through Your Articles About Finland And Have Much Enjoyed Them, I Keep Coming Back Time After Time And Learn Something New Every Time. My Favourite Formula One Driver Is Kimi Raikkonen, And He Is Very Cool And I Hope He Can Be F1 Champion 2007.
Thanks For The Good Reading And Pictures
Love And Best Wishes Eleanor

[FinnFreak]

Hi Finnfreak, I Have Been Looking Through Your Articles About Finland And Have Much Enjoyed Them, I Keep Coming Back Time After Time And Learn Something New Every Time. My Favourite Formula One Driver Is Kimi Raikkonen, And He Is Very Cool And I Hope He Can Be F1 Champion 2007.
Thanks For The Good Reading And Pictures
Love And Best Wishes Eleanor

You're quite welcome.

I'm just doing my part of getting rid of a few misconceptions about Finland... and in the process, creating a couple new ones... :p


John - ;)

[Troll]

You are doing a good job at doing that John. :up:

[FinnFreak]

STT - 16.1.2007


Bomb plot uncovered at Finnish base in Afghanistan


An attempted bomb attack was uncovered Monday against a military base in Afghanistan housing Finnish peacekeepers. According to the peacekeeping force Tuesday the bomb was discovered in time and diffused.

The incident occurred at the Maimana base in northern Afghanistan one day before Jonas Gahr Store, the Norwegian foreign minister, was scheduled to visit the base. Mr Store's visit is to go ahead as planned on Tuesday.

A total of around 200 Finnish, Latvian and Norwegian troops, all part of the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf), are housed at the base in Maimana.

:uhh:



HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - FOREIGN - Tuesday 16.1.2007


Finns increasingly critical of EU, NATO, USA, and immigration


By Tanja Aitamurto


I cannot recall a time when the world would have loved Finland while Finns hated the world as much as now.

Alluring Finnish phenomena include at least HIM, Lordi, the world's most educated children, and a president who looks like Conan O'Brien. The most recent evidence of the appeal of Finland came when the world-famous travel guide, Lonely Planet, put Finland on its list of 30 rising destinations for 2007.

However, the Finns are not reciprocating. The EU Presidency was held for six months by Europe's most anti-EU nation. The Finns also tend to take a very negative view of the NATO alliance, the United States, and immigration.

It almost sounds as if Finland would never have become westernised.

A public debate is beginning at the Metso library in Tampere on immigration, and cooperation among police forces in different parts of the EU. Perhaps this discussion might provide an answer to the anti-EU attitudes in Finland!

The people who stream into the library's lecture hall on a weekday evening do not appear to be negative at heart. Instead, they seem to be adaptable and humble. Most of the people sit far away from each other, leaving gaps of empty chairs between neighbours.

The first to sit down next to me is a pensioner, Tampere resident Eeva Tammi, who is wearing very practical clothing. She understands the anti-EU attitudes that many Finns have.

"Finns are opposed to everything that lets money flow out. The thinking is that membership in the Union is a liability, and does not help us", Tammi says.

So who cares about others, as long as we are doing all right ourselves. How embarrassing!

Tammi's comments call to mind what the German-French Green MEP Daniel Cohn-Bendit said when he visited Finland. In his view, Finns want to avoid the common problems of the EU. Negative attitudes toward the EU are specifically attitudes that the rich have toward the poor.

"The phenomenon in Finland is the same as in Italy. The rich north of Italy does not want to pay money to the poor south of the country", Cohn-Bendit thundered.

But surely, it is difficult to understand up here in the cold city of Tampere why the issue of refugees landing on the Canary Islands, for instance, should be a problem for us; we have our own problems, such as queues for dental care and structural unemployment.

"You don't mind coming to Southern Europe to soak in the sun. You just don't want to take responsibility", Cohn-Bendit said.

Well, perhaps Cohn-Bendit is just a foreign EU enthusiast, a former hard-line leftist who may be envious of Finland's success. Perhaps a Finnish EU expert might understand this country better.

Laura Kolbe, a professor of European history, does not offer absolution to the Finns. "The Finns are perhaps a bit arrogantly self-sufficient. We are accustomed to making it on our own, and we do not want to need anyone even now", Kolbe said.

According to a fresh Eurobarometer survey, 39 per cent of Finns feel that the EU is a good thing. In the whole EU, pro-EU sentiment is significantly higher - 53 per cent.

Finns set themselves apart from other small EU members: majorities in both Ireland and Luxembourg have a positive view of the EU.

"The image of Finland involves a David vs. Goliath setup, in which Finland, a small country, fights against a large enemy. Sweden let us down, the Western powers let us down. The best strength that Finland has is in the steadfast skill of the Finnish soldier. Finns have always built their own success story", Kolbe analyses.

Laura Kolbe appears to have found an explanation to both Finnish anti-EU sentiment, as well as the country's xenophobia. Instead of selfishness, could it be rooted in the high priority placed on self-sufficiency?

No answer is forthcoming at the library in Tampere. Speakers there talk in appropriately distant tones about refugees seeking to enter the EU: more tolerance is needed, and xenophobia needs to be reduced, says the information officer of the Refugee Advice Centre.

Best to call Karmela Liebkind, a professor social psychology, to ask about Finnish attitudes toward foreigners. Liebkind also feels that getting by on one's own is so important for Finns, that the nation is actually bogged down in its role as a small nation that defends itself.

"People are incapable of taking on another role when they need to think about the relation between the majority of Finns and the country's minorities", Liebkind says. She feels that Finns need to take on two different roles: out in the world, Finland needs to be a feisty terrier. However, compared with the small minority groups in the country, the majority population is gigantic, and needs to take care not to overrun the minorities.

Prejudices also arise from the fact that Finns are not accustomed to interacting with outsiders. The proportion of foreign residents vs. native-born Finns is among the smallest in Western Europe.

"So when ten Somalis are standing at Helsinki's railway station, we feel threatened", Liebkind points out.

At the library in Tampere, Social Democratic MP Johannes Koskinen says that those who are promoting greater integration in the EU have been talking about a common criminal code for the EU. This is too much for Eeva Tammi.

"The Union has expanded too quickly, and too far. Finns are wondering what this will lead to. We want to be careful", she says.

"Now Finnish boys are to be sent to fight wars in different places. It is frightening. New things are always frightening", adds Tammi's friend, who does not want to reveal her name.

So are we Finns actually fainthearted? Can our reticent attitudes toward the EU, NATO, the United States, and foreigners be the result of fear, rather than selfishness?

To get an answer to this, we need to hear from an expert who observes Finland from a distance.

"Mistrust, fear, and caution are understandable for a small nation", says Jussi Hanhimäki, a researcher into international relations, speaking by telephone from Switzerland. He has lived outside of Finland for about 20 years.

Staying outside alliances, and going it alone have been success stories for Finland, Hanhimäki says. The eastern neighbour is a former great power that might have crushed Finland. The western neighbour once also wanted to control Finland. During the Cold War, Finland stayed away from disputes, and that is when NATO was established.

"It is a political setup which does not fit into the tradition of Finnish neutrality", Hanhimäki explains.

So neutrality is rooted in us?

"Yes, and quite deeply", says Professor Tarja Väyrynen of the Tampere Peace Research Institute of the University of Tampere, next door to the Metso library. As Väyrynen sees it, not being part of a military alliance is so deeply rooted in the Finns that if Finland were to ally itself militarily, part of the Finns' self-image would be shattered.

So NATO is incompatible with our views of our neutrality, but why do Finns also shun the United States? After all, NATO is not the same as the USA!

A young man sitting in the back row at the library auditorium has an answer.

"It is the policies of the United States - how it behaves in the world. Constantly being at war breeds resistance", says Simo Salmela, a 26-year-old student.

One expert agrees with him. Finns look askance the role of United States as a world policeman, says researcher Hanna Ojanen of the Finnish Institute for International Affairs.

"Nor are Finns enamoured with a country that has a truly great amount of power. The same is applicable if some large company is in a monopoly position. People easily oppose that as well", Ojanen says. In her view, Finnish opposition to NATO is partly attributable to the fact that the alliance is led by the United States.

Anti-NATO sentiment is understandable in a way, because by opposing NATO it is possible to oppose becoming allied. But we are already a part of the EU! Isn't it silly to oppose something that we are already part of?

"No. On the contrary, it can show courage", says Risto Alapuro, Professor of Sociology at the University of Helsinki.

He feels that anti-EU sentiment can be a part of a change in the political culture, in which Finns dare differ from their political leaders. Following the lead of political leaders is no longer self-evident, as it was during the time of President Urho Kekkonen.

So it turns out that we are neither arrogant nor cowardly - we're courageous and independent!

The audience in Tampere is getting tired. Eeva Tammi starts to nod off.

"They say that the people of Häme are slow, but the EU is even slower! They just mull over things, and nothing moves ahead", she whispers.

"They promised us much more. They said that the EU would be a utopia. Now people are disappointed", Tammi's friend sniffs.

Researcher Hanna Ojanen would understand the two friends. One possible reason for the Finnish attitudes could simply be that realism toward the EU has increased. More and more EU regulations now affect our lives.

But do Finns really have any reason to be disappointed with the EU? The economy is growing, unemployment is decreasing, and more children are being born than before... We no longer need to convince anyone that we are part of the West.

But Finns are not raptured by material well-being. Mika Mannermaa, a researcher on future studies at the Turku School of Economics, notes that Finns still have fresh memories of the recession of the 1990s.

"Finns fear losing their jobs, and look with suspicion at everything that is new. When people are afraid, they curl up into themselves", he says.

So the Finnish reluctance is neither greedy selfishness or individualistic courage, but rather an understandable concern about the future - a fear that jobs will be exported to India, or given to immigrants, that a new recession could come, and people might again find themselves trapped between two homes - a new one bought with borrowed money, and the old one which is suddenly hard to sell.

Since we are in Tampere, let's give Tammi and her friend the final word.

"Finns tend to isolate themselves. We don't even like our neighbours. And we are also resistant to change", the friend says.

Eeva Tammi does not want to exaggerate. Finns will accept simple and practical change - as long as it does not spark ideological passions.

"The information society has made rapid progress. And the euro was also accepted", Tammi says. Perhaps part of our charm is in this: Finns do not feel a special need to please anyone else. We are willing to be different - "complex and idiosyncratic", which is how the fresh edition of Lonely Planet describes this irresistible country.



John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

Examiner.com - Jan 12, 2007


Selänne's Hat Trick Sparks Ducks


http://www.examiner.com/images/ap/DNA10501120331.jpg
Anaheim Ducks' Chris Kunitz, from right, Teemu Selanne, of Finland, and Scott Niedermayer
celebrate a goal by Selanne in the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Dallas
Stars, Thursday, Jan. 11, 2007, in Dallas. At bottom are Dallas Stars' Sergei Zubov, (56) of
Russia, and Jeff Halpern (11).


DALLAS - Usually, two goals are enough to satisfy Teemu Selänne. But Thursday night was different for the Anaheim Ducks' top scorer. Selänne's had his 19th career three-goal game and Andy McDonald registered four assists to send the Ducks to a 5-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Thursday night.

Earlier on Thursday, Selänne had a phone converstion with a close friend in Finland. The friend has terminal cancer and asked Selänne to send him the puck if he had three goals.

Selänne promised to oblige but warned the friend that he hadn't had a hat trick since March 29, 2001, in a game against the Ducks when Selänne played for the San Jose Sharks.

"Today he found out that the cancer has spread to his brain," Selänne said. "I don't think he has much time to live. So I told him if I scored a hat trick I'd keep the puck. I told him the odds weren't very good that it would happen. Obviously it was really a sad day today, but what are you going to do? Life is not fair sometimes."

Hat tricks used to be a regular thing for Selänne, so his first three-goal outburst in almost six years was special for the 36-year-old native of Finland.

"In old times when I was younger, when I got two I knew I was going to get three and I wanted the third more than those first two," said Selänne, who improved to 28 goals for the season. "But as you get older, you're not so greedy anymore. It was one of those nights when the puck finds a way to get into the net."

Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 17 shots for the Ducks, who had one victory in their previous six games (1-4-1) after getting off to a franchise-best 28-5-6 start.

Scott Niedermayer and Joe DiPenta added goals for the Ducks, whose 67 points lead the Western Conference despite their recent slump.

"It's big for us to have the group come out like that and have a full effort right from the start," said Anaheim center Ryan Getzlaf.

Niklas Hagman scored for the injury-depleted Stars, 1-4-1 in their last six games.

With the game tied at 1 late in the second period, Dallas defenseman Philippe Boucher received a five-minute major and a game misconduct for a boarding Anaheim rookie Bjorn Melin. Melin left the ice with a bloody mouth after his face had been driven into the boards, and did not return.

"I had no intent to try to injure him," Boucher said. "I felt he was going sideways when I went in there. The end result was that it cost us the game."

Anaheim scored twice on the ensuing five-minute power play to take control.

Selänne gave the Ducks the lead for good at 2-1, tucking the puck through the pads of Dallas goaltender Marty Turco at 17:12.

The power play continued and Niedermayer's deflection for his eighth goal of the season at 18:10 made it 3-1.

DiPenta's first goal of the season and fourth in 120 career NHL games stretched Anaheim's advantage to 4-1 at 19:22 of the second period.

Selänne added his third of the game at 8:08 of the final period for a 5-1 lead. His one-timer from the left circle beat Turco at 18:05 of the first period. Anaheim was on a power play as a result of Turco's roughing penalty at 16:57.

The Stars tied it at 1 when Hagman converted Mike Ribeiro's goal-mouth pass at 12:36 of the second period, Hagman's ninth of the season.

Dallas was without five regulars, including offensive catalyst Mike Modano, who missed his 18th consecutive game with a hip/groin injury and will be out until after the All-Star break.

Also out for the Stars were defenseman Darryl Sydor (upper body injury), and forwards Brenden Morrow (wrist), Steve Ott (ankle) and Matthew Barnaby (concussion).

"We have people in positions that are over their heads," Stars coach Dave Tippett said. "Our young players aren't good enough right now."

Notes:@ Stars D Sergei Zubov will have minor surgery on Friday for an undisclosed upper body injury and will return after the All-Star break, missing three games. The surgery has been scheduled for some time to repair an ongoing problem. ...The Ducks improved to 14-6-3 on the road. ... Anaheim G Jean-Sebastien Giguere's groin injury hasn't improved as fast as the team hoped, and Giguere probably will be out until after the All-Star break. ... Dallas has lost its last three at home.



John - :D

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - CULTURE - Wednesday 17.1.2007


Viewed from America, Finland still looks like a frontier land

Jason Lavery writes pithy survey Finnish history


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135224168390.jpeg
Professor Jason Lavery’s book examines Finnish
history from the time when the medieval farmer
Lalli killed Bishop Henry, to today's important
figures.


By Juha Sihvola


Lalli, Mikael Agricola, and C.G.E. Mannerheim can be found in their familiar locations in the fresh survey of Finnish history by Jason Lavery.

When examining more recent times, he gives space for how Finnishness was analysed by rock musician Juice Leskinen, by the multicultural aspects of Lola Odusoga, a Finn with a Nigerian father who won the title Miss Finland, and the detective stories of Leena Lehtolainen, whose criminals "emerge from the context created by globalisation".

The new book, by Lavery, a professor of history at Oklahoma State University, combines in a refreshing manner the knowledge of the Finnish collective psyche which he absorbed during the year that he was an exchange student in Finland, and the attitude of an outside observer.

General presentations of Finnish history have their own trends. A few years ago massive volumes were written on the subject (Jouko Vahtola, Pentti Virrankoski). Now the trend is for condensed summaries of about 200 pages.

Within a period of a few months, short histories of Finland written by Lavery, as well as by David Kirby, Professor Emeritus at University College, London, and by Professor Henrik Meinander of the University of Helsinki, have all appeared. The group will soon be joined by another Finnish researcher, Heikki Ylikangas.

The works of Kirby, Meinander, and Lavery complement each other in an interesting way. All three deviate from the tradition of national history writing by emphasising the dependence of Finnish development on external conditions, which mapped out the space that Finnish domestic choices had to adapt to.

Kirby emphasises the mentality of respect for authority and the integration of minorities as a special style of Finnish adaptation. Meinander, meanwhile, underscores the political and cultural significance of language.

Lavery’s starting point, on the other hand, is the random nature of history. In his opinion, many turning points of the past might have led to a situation in which Finland’s place in the family of nations would have been quite different from what it is today.

Historical coincidences are more than a mere framework in Lavery’s view; he feels that these coincidences are what gave birth to Finnishness, allowed it to develop, and helped it achieve new expressions.

His book, The History of Finland, describes how the national ideology of one mind and one language adapted into a congenial bilingualism, how the rebellious working class was integrated into the rest of society, and how this marginal area, which visualised itself as being external to Europe, re-interpreted its identity to become a model student in the EU.

In Lavery’s view, Finland has been frontier land between East and West from the stone age all the way until the time of globalisation.

Lavery is not interested in mentalities and national characters as explanations of history. It is almost with a sense of irritation that he comments on the explanation of the "Miracle of the Winter War" via the concept of Sisu, which has attained a mythical quality in the ears of foreigners.

In his view, appealing to the unique Finnish internal courage insults both the target audience of the boast, as well the veterans of the Winter War.

Lavery himself explains, with a good deal of expertise, the relative strengths of the two sides, and the Finnish secret weapons - the motti tactic of encirclement, and the Molotov Cocktail. He certainly does not dispute the exceptional willingness of the Finns to pay any price to defend their country.

Finns have not always welcomed external commentators of their history. War history is an especially sensitive area. Most recently, the ire of the Finns was raised by a debate in Sweden sparked by Henrik Arnstad over the relations between Finland and Hitler’s Germany during the Continuation War.

However, Lavery’s pithily analytical presentation of the sore spots of Finnish history is useful to read.

With respect to the Continuation War, the writer indicates that Finland struggled in a difficult situation and tried to distance itself from Germany’s aims in the war, and from the persecution of the Jews. However, he does not see the results as flawless. He mentions the deportation of Jewish refugees and prisoners of war, as well as the ethnic cleansing in East Karelia.

Lavery notes pointedly that outsiders continue to interpret Finland’s actions in the broader context of the fight between Germany and the Allies. Many forget the separate war, and the lack of options, when they think about Finland as the only democracy to have fought alongside Hitler’s Germany.

Assessing the presidency of Urho Kekkonen, Levy examines the achievements as well as the negative aspects.

Although Kekkonen used relations with the Soviet Union to bolster his own quest for power, he also struggled against the most serious attempts at changing Finland’s position, promoted the nation’s prosperity by promoting trade between East And West, and tried to turn Finland into a mediator in the Cold War.

As for the most disagreeable characteristics of Finlandisation, Lavery does not see pressure from Moscow, or Kekkonen himself, as the root cause. Instead, he attributes them to the attitudes of appeasement prevailing in Finland’s elite.

Lavery is at his best when he writes about the core questions of political history; on questions of Finnish culture, economics, and demographic history his presentation dwindles to the presentation of a list of facts. Literary references demonstrate that the writer has acquainted himself with the latest research on the history of Finland.

The book also contains a few minor mistakes and inaccuracies. These include the characterisation of the result of the Continuation War, which was itself described in a rather competent manner, as a capitulation by Finland, and saying that Tarja Halonen, who has been active in the Settlement Movement, is an open atheist.

However, these shortcomings do not spoil his success in the broad sense. As a representative of a clear American point of view, Lavery’s work is a welcome addition to the canon of general presentations of Finnish history.



John - ;)

[Troll]

That is a great story about Teemu, John.

[FinnFreak]

I liked it too.


John - :]

[Troll]

Text message novel published in Finland

HELSINKI, Finland - A novel whose narrative consists entirely of mobile phone text messages has been published in Finland.

"The Last Messages" tells the story of a fictitious information-technology executive in Finland who resigns from his job and travels throughout Europe and India, keeping in touch with his friends and relatives only through text messages.

His messages, and the replies — roughly 1,000 altogether — are listed in chronological order in the 332-page novel written by Finnish author Hannu Luntiala. The texts are rife with grammatical errors and abbreviations commonly used in regular SMS traffic.

"I believe that, at the end of the day, a text message may reveal much more about a person than you would initially think," said Luntiala, who also is head of a company that keeps databases on people living in Finland.

Sari Havukainen, spokeswoman at Finnish publishing house Tammi, said the company is considering translating the book into other languages.

The taciturn Finns, keen on all mobile gadgets, have wholeheartedly accepted text messages as a tool to communicate even in most private matters. Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen recently made tabloid front pages after reportedly having broken up with his girlfriend with a text.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070124/ap_on_hi_te/techbit_text_message_novel_2

[FinnFreak]

:D


John - ;):up:

[FinnFreak]

STT - 29.1.2007


Some 70 pct of Finns say climate change is man-made


Nine out of ten Finns interviewed for a survey made public Monday believe climate change is happening while 70 per cent said it was a man-made phenomenon.

Two-thirds of the respondents characterised climate change as the most serious environmental problem ever faced by mankind.

Most Finns seem to approve of measures to combat climate change, with a majority even lending support to unilateral EU action.

Ajatuspaja e2, a "progressive" thinktank, gauged the views of more than 1,100 Finns last autumn.



:uhh:



HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - SPORT - Monday 29.1.2007


When Finland "Nordic walked" itself onto the world map

Nineteen years ago, Southern Finland was snowless.
It led indirectly to the invention of a form of exercise
that has seven million fans and has already spread as
far as Australia.

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135224508498.jpeg
These days Finns happily pack their Nordic walking poles even when heading south
for a winter break.

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135224508601.jpeg
Sporting pioneers - the first Nordic walkers reach the Olympic Stadium on January
5th, 1988.


By Ilkka Mattila


The early weeks of 1988 saw Helsinki experiencing a winter just as drear and depressing as this year. There was no snow to be seen, the temperature hovered just above freezing, and rain belted down from a leaden grey sky.

January 5th of that year marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of a Finnish sports icon, Prof. Lauri "Tahko" Pihkala, and it was planned that the event should be marked by the unveiling of a statue of the great man in a small park close to Helsinki's Olympic Stadium.

Aside from being the brains behind Finland's national summer sport of pesäpallo or Finnish-rules baseball, the founder of the nation's system of sports institutes, and the inventor of several other sports, Tahko Pihkala was known as a diehard advocate of cross-country skiing for all.

Hence Suomen Latu (the rather cumbersomely-named "Finnish Central Association for Recreational Sports and Outdoor Activities") thought it only right and proper that a procession on skis should be held in his honour, from the Maunula ski-lodge in the capital's Central Park down to the Olympic Stadium and the new statue.

Unfortunately there was no snow, so this would have been a rather laborious and painful business. Nevertheless, something of a symbolic nature with a skiing touch to it had to be dreamed up.

The executive director of Suomen Latu Tuomo Jantunen decided to take a whole van-load of ski-poles up to Maunula, where they were handed out to those taking part in the procession.

This was the first recorded occasion when man had engaged in what became known as "Nordic walking", or sauvakävely in Finnish.

"They were long poles at that time", recalls Osmo Niemelä, a former orienteering enthusiast who competed at national level, who was among those who took part in that January march.

"It didn't actually feel all that strange, as a matter of fact. Cross-country skiers had trained using poles on steep gradients in the off-season summer months already earlier in the 1980s", says Niemelä. It was known in the trade as "hill bounding".

And if we are to be absolutely precise, there had been at least one experiment with "walking with sticks" for recreational exercise in 1987. Leena Jääskeläinen, now Rector of the University of Lapland in Rovaniemi, had taken part in a 36-kilometre mass walk in Tampere, with cross-country ski-poles for company.

All the same, this was rather different. Those who walked to the Pihkala statue in January 1988 got themselves on television - the event was featured on the nightly Sportsdesk slot just after the main evening news.

The Nordic walking pioneers recognised pretty soon that they had invented an exercise discipline that was eminently well suited to the autumn and to the snow-starved winters of Southern Finland.

Nordic walking found a potent lobby-group in the country's sports institutes, who advocated heavily on its behalf.

However, the real breakthrough only came when technology and business caught up, and when Exel - a leading player in the manufacturing and development of carbon composite poles for alpine skiers and the cross-country crowd - came up with specialised poles just for this fitness sport.

Thereafter, things have happened fast. The sport has spread to forty countries, including Australia. There are now around seven million Nordic walkers worldwide.

The form of exercise has not surprisingly taken off fastest in those countries with a rich tradition of skiing, like Norway, Switzerland, and Austria, but at the same time large numbers of people in the flat lands of Holland and Denmark have also taken up their poles and walked.

In most countries the English name - Nordic walking - has been adopted and kept, but the Swedes have dubbed it stavgång, in Norway and Denmark it is stavgang, and to the Estonians it is kepikönd.


The Nordic walking superpowers, in millions of devotees, are: Germany (2.7m), FINLAND (1.5m), Austria (0.9m), Switzerland (0.5m), Norway (0.4m), Holland, Sweden, and Denmark.(all c. 0.3m).



John - ;)

[Troll]

Thanks for the articles.

[FinnFreak]

Original Finnish sayings translated to English:

http://www.finlandforthought.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/toiveuusinta2.jpg


...nutty, eh..?


John - :p

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - FOREIGN - Tuesday 30.1.2007


Airlines' use of Finnish airspace more than doubles in ten years

Overflight rights earn Finavia nearly EUR nine million a year


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135224674429.jpeg
An SAS flight takes off for Copenhagen on Monday at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport


Finnish airspace, especially in the southern part of the country, is in high demand.

On an ordinary day, up to ten long-haul scheduled flights between Central Europe and Asia might be using Finnish airspace at a time.

Up to about 50 overflights occur in a typical day, adding up to more than 11,000 a year. Fees paid by the airlines for overflight rights earn Finavia, Finland’s civil aviation authority, about EUR nine million a year.

When other routes are included, the total number of flights over Finland exceeds 18,000 a year. The total has more than doubled in ten years.

Assuming that each flight has an average of 200 passengers, more than three million foreigners could get a chance to glimpse the Finnish landscape with its forests and lakes while en route to their destinations.

The reason for the high demand for Finnish airspace stems from the shape of the earth and Finland’s position on it. The shortest distance from Central Europe to Asia, and from Western Russia to North America is over Finland.

"It gives the shortest flight time, so costs are reduced. Wind conditions also affect the daily choice of routes very much. Depending on wind conditions, the number of overflights can vary from 20 to about 40", says Jouko Pelkonen, head of the Air Navigation Services Centre for South Finland (EFES).

Also attracting foreign airlines are the prices that Finland charges for overflights, which are the lowest in the Nordic Countries.

The increase in overflights can be seen, especially on cold, cloudless winter days when several trails left by jets might be visible at any one time.

The radar at EFES headquarters in Tampere shows the use of airspace in the south of Finland at all times.

The rising economic importance of Asia is apparent in the use of Finnish airspace. Jouko Pelkonen points out a Japan Airlines Boeing 777 en route from Osaka to London somewhere near Jämsä, while an Air France Airbus from Paris to Tokyo is in the vicinity of Kangasniemi.

There are also a couple of Jumbo jets and a number of Japanese flights to destinations in Europe.

Nevertheless, the greatest number of flights are Finnish domestic services, and flights between Finland and European destinations. The total number of airborne scheduled flights in Finnish airspace at one time can reach up to 70. Such moments occur early in the morning, as working days begin, and again at about three in the afternoon.

The quietest times are between two and four in the morning, but it is rare that the skies over Finland would be completely empty of commercial flights.


Air Navigation Services Centre for South Finland (EFES) (http://www.finavia.fi/efes?)


* * *


HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - HOME - Tuesday 30.1.2007


Poll: Finns want politicians to take action on climate change


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135224673766.jpeg
The graph indicates widespread belief among Finns that climate change is real.
Respondents were asked if they felt that talk about climate change was true.
The colours in the horizontal columns indicate the percentages of responses.
Red indicates "completely true", yellow is "apparently true", grey is "cannot
say", dark blue means "not certain", and the light blue at the far right of the
columns indicates "not true, or misconception". The top column is for the
whole population ("koko väestö"), followed by men ("miehet"), and women
("naiset"), and the various age groups.


Finns are seriously concerned about the prospect of climate change. A fresh poll shows that more than half of Finns feel that the climate issue gets far too little attention in political decision-making in Finland.

Nine out of ten felt that efforts to adapt to the effects of climate change need to begin now, regardless of how successful those efforts might be.

The survey was conducted by Ajatuspaja e2, a think tank with links to the Centre Party. The poll is based on answers from 1,112 Finns to questionnaires that were mailed to them.Nearly half of those receiving the questionnaire responded.

The survey is the most extensive assessment of Finnish attitudes toward global warming.

Nine out of ten respondents believe that climate change is a real phenomenon. Six per cent saw it as the most serious environmental problem ever to face humanity.

There is also extensive agreement that climate change is completely, or at least primarily the result of human action.

Concern is felt in all population groups and age groups, and political party affiliation also makes little difference. For instance, half of supporters of the Centre Party feel that climate change has been receiving too little attention in political decision-making. Among supporters of the conservative National Coalition Party, the figure is 57 per cent.

Respondents reported getting most of their information on climate change from television and newspapers. The Finnish Meteorological Institute and research institutes in general are seen to be the most trustworthy sources, as well as the Ministry of the Environment, environmental officials, and environmental organisations.

As sources of information, only one in five had any confidence in the forest industry and other export industries, or the energy industry. Fewer still had confidence in political parties, international energy corporations, or the United States administration.

Choices made by individual citizens are seen as decisively important in solving the climate question by one in five people.

Most respondents give more weight to decisions by large developing countries, such as China and India, as well as action that should be taken by the United States, and extensive, binding environmental treaties.

Three out of five felt that the EU should unilaterally reduce its emissions, even if others make no such commitments.

Four out of five were ready to embark on personal actions to help the environment. Women were slightly more willing to do this than men were, but differences among different population groups were fairly small on this matter as well.

While the survey showed a good deal of concern, Finns are also fairly optimistic. More than three out of five feel that it is possible to significantly slow the progression of climate change.



John - :)

[Troll]

Thanks for the articles.

[Troll]

Hotel Kakslauttanen

http://www.kakslauttanen.fi/

[FinnFreak]

Hotel Kakslauttanen

http://www.kakslauttanen.fi/

heh... where did you find that..? :D

Here are a few pics from those parts:


http://www.lapintallaaja.com/e107_files/downloadthumbs/ukk_luiro_thumb.jpg http://www.lapintallaaja.com/e107_files/downloadthumbs/ukk_pirunkuru.jpg

http://demoyritys4.sevennet.net/images/20050908100744.jpg


John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

Agence France Presse - 01-30-2007


Glamour girl Korpi puts Finnish skating in spotlight


http://www.iltalehti.fi/urheilu/kiirakorpiLA_ur.jpg http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/afp/20070130/capt.sge.ngt13.300107171346.photo00.photo.default-323x512.jpg
Kiira Korpi of Finland performs during an exhibition program at the European
Figure Skating Championships in Warsaw. The 18-year-old blonde, who hails
from the ice hockey hotbed of Tampere in the south, is already considered
a celebrity in her native country, giving a high-profile to a sport which is
considered minor.


Glamour girl Kiira Korpi put Finland into the spotlight as much for her skating skills as her beauty at the weekend, claiming a surprise bronze medal at the European figure skating championships in Warsaw.

The 18-year-old blonde, who hails from the ice hockey hotbed of Tampere in the south, is already considered a celebrity in her native country, giving a high-profile to a sport which is considered minor.

Korpi's Phantasia by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Sarah Chang catapulted her from fifth after the short programme to third overall on Saturday behind winner Carolina Kostner of Italy and Switzerland's Sarah Meier.

It was just the second medal ever for a Finnish woman, as the Scandinavian country usurped Russia as the top European nation with three skaters finishing in the top six of the women's event.

"I don't know how to describe it. I didn't expect a medal," said Korpi, whose success was as much a surprise for the teenager with a strong ice hockey background.

Her father Rauno coached the Finnish womens' ice hockey team to the bronze medal at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games and won national titles with their hometown club Tappara Tampere.

Instead Korpi followed the example of her older sister Petra and took up figure skating aged five.

Since then she has made steady progress, finishing tenth at last year's worlds and 16th at the Winter Olympics.

This season started off slowly, and as a result of illness she finished just fourth at her nationals, sixth in the Cup of Russia and seventh at Skate America.

She believes that the breakthough for the Finnish women's team has been the new system of marking brought in after the 2002 Winter Olympics judging scandal, which places as much emphasis on skating skills as jumps.

National champion Susanna Pöykiö, who finished fourth this year, made the breakthrough with her silver in 2005.

"My skating has improved since the Grand Prix, maybe not the jumps but the skating," explained Korpi.

"Jumps are not everything in figure skating. There is so much more. In Finland we practice a lot of basic skating, steps, spins and spirals, not just jumping.

"Maybe you can see it now in the components scores. I think the Japanese skaters have also improved a lot, not just jumping. Mao Asada for example also has great spins, steps, spirals, the whole package."

As for the reaction to her success back home, Korpi insisted that she is trying to stay out of the spotlight, and concentrate her efforts on winning their first women's medal at the world championships in Tokyo next March.

"I don't think about that (celebrity status). I just want to be a normal student. Other people take care of those things," she added.



John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - FOREIGN - Monday 5.2.2007


US refuses to sell air-to-ground missiles for Finland’s Hornet jets

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135224798181.jpeg
The Finnish Air Force has its eyes on an air-to-ground JASSM cruise missile.


Officials in the Untied States have rejected a preliminary request by Finland to buy JASSM air-to-ground missiles for the US-made Hornet F-18 jet fighters used by the Finnish Air Force.

Finland inquired about the purchase last autumn as part of an extensive package aimed at implementing MLU2 - the second phase of the modernisation of the Air Force’s fleet of 62 jets.

The Americans had no objections to Finnish requests in other respects. Finland will thus be allowed to buy missiles to attack radar stations, as well as NATO-standard Link 16 data exchange devices.

Weapons export licences have traditionally been seen as sensitive barometers of political relations between countries. Refusing to allow Finland to buy JASSM missiles suggests that relations between Finland and the US are perhaps not in as good shape as had been suggested.

On the other hand, JASSM missiles have only been sold to one other country so far - Australia, which is one of the closest allies of the US in Iraq.

"JASSM was on our lists, but we got a negative response. Now we must consider whether or not to renew the request", says Air Force commander, Lieutenant General Heikki Lyytinen.

JASSM and the whole MLU2 (Mid-Life Update 2) are linked with the Finland’s expansion of its air defences (with a new focus on the use of jet fighters) to air-to-ground attack capability.

The Hornets are well suited for such tasks, but significant changes must first be made to the plane’s computer software. However, the updates of the software of the F-18C/D models are being phased out in the USA, as the Americans themselves are upgrading to the new F-18E/F versions.

Therefore, the producers of MLU2 have no time to waste. Lyytinen says that Finland does not have the resources to produce the computer programmes independently. This means that the most important decisions on the MLU2 need to be made in the coming months.

The Finnish Air Force wants a cruise missile of the JASSM type which can be launched from a very long distance. The JASSM’s range of operations is more than 320 kilometres, according to its manufacturer Lockheed Martin.

Other precision weapon options include the German-Swedish Taurus and the American SLAM-ER. They can also destroy targets at a range of hundreds of kilometres, and would add unprecedented depth to the activities of the Finnish Defence Forces.

Lyytinen says that the costs of the MLU2 cannot be assessed yet. Although the decisive equipment choices must be made quite soon, the purchases themselves will not take place before the next decade.

Defence budget funding is coming from 2011, and all of the Hornets will be ready for MLU2 conversion in about 2015. The first Hornet to have undergone the first phase of modernisation will be ready already this spring.



John - :smirk:

[Troll]

Thanks for the articles John. Great pics.

[Troll]

Agence France Presse - 01-30-2007


Glamour girl Korpi puts Finnish skating in spotlight


http://www.iltalehti.fi/urheilu/kiirakorpiLA_ur.jpg http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/afp/20070130/capt.sge.ngt13.300107171346.photo00.photo.default-323x512.jpg
Kiira Korpi of Finland performs during an exhibition program at the European
Figure Skating Championships in Warsaw. The 18-year-old blonde, who hails
from the ice hockey hotbed of Tampere in the south, is already considered
a celebrity in her native country, giving a high-profile to a sport which is
considered minor.


Glamour girl Kiira Korpi put Finland into the spotlight as much for her skating skills as her beauty at the weekend, claiming a surprise bronze medal at the European figure skating championships in Warsaw.

The 18-year-old blonde, who hails from the ice hockey hotbed of Tampere in the south, is already considered a celebrity in her native country, giving a high-profile to a sport which is considered minor.

Korpi's Phantasia by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Sarah Chang catapulted her from fifth after the short programme to third overall on Saturday behind winner Carolina Kostner of Italy and Switzerland's Sarah Meier.

It was just the second medal ever for a Finnish woman, as the Scandinavian country usurped Russia as the top European nation with three skaters finishing in the top six of the women's event.

"I don't know how to describe it. I didn't expect a medal," said Korpi, whose success was as much a surprise for the teenager with a strong ice hockey background.

Her father Rauno coached the Finnish womens' ice hockey team to the bronze medal at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games and won national titles with their hometown club Tappara Tampere.

Instead Korpi followed the example of her older sister Petra and took up figure skating aged five.

Since then she has made steady progress, finishing tenth at last year's worlds and 16th at the Winter Olympics.

This season started off slowly, and as a result of illness she finished just fourth at her nationals, sixth in the Cup of Russia and seventh at Skate America.

She believes that the breakthough for the Finnish women's team has been the new system of marking brought in after the 2002 Winter Olympics judging scandal, which places as much emphasis on skating skills as jumps.

National champion Susanna Pöykiö, who finished fourth this year, made the breakthrough with her silver in 2005.

"My skating has improved since the Grand Prix, maybe not the jumps but the skating," explained Korpi.

"Jumps are not everything in figure skating. There is so much more. In Finland we practice a lot of basic skating, steps, spins and spirals, not just jumping.

"Maybe you can see it now in the components scores. I think the Japanese skaters have also improved a lot, not just jumping. Mao Asada for example also has great spins, steps, spirals, the whole package."

As for the reaction to her success back home, Korpi insisted that she is trying to stay out of the spotlight, and concentrate her efforts on winning their first women's medal at the world championships in Tokyo next March.

"I don't think about that (celebrity status). I just want to be a normal student. Other people take care of those things," she added.



John - ;)

She is pretty.

[FinnFreak]

...and she can *REALLY* skate too. :p


ohoh, she's also got a fansite: http://www.kiira-korpi.net


John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - COLUMN - Wednesday 7.2.2007


Nokia and the "big secret"


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135224348331.jpeg
Head shop steward Pentti Hartikainen and the entire personnel of Perlos walked
off their jobs soon after hearing of plans to shut down the factory.


By Antti Blåfield


The most electrifying moment at the Wage-Earners' Election Panel organised by Finland's labour union confederations came when Pentti Hartikainen, head shop steward at Perlos, asked party leaders to take a stand on "great silenced secret" by commenting on what really is happening in Nokia.

Hartikainen had some good reasons for his demand. He has been involved in a series of co-determination talks on the elimination of a total of 2,400 jobs. The only party leader to make any reference at all at the debate was Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre), who said that he would not take part "in speculation concerning a brand". Eero Heinäluoma (SDP), Jyrki Katainen (Nat. Coalition) Matti Korhonen (Left Alliance), Anni Sinnemäki (Green), and Jan Oker-Blom (Swedish People's Party) did not dignify the question with an answer.

Nokia is an issue that is difficult for Finns to comprehend. No greater economic success has been experienced in this country: in a period of 15 years, a company known by consumers mainly for toilet paper and rubber boots has grown to be the world's leading electronics company, when measured in terms of customers.

Year after year it has been said that such success cannot continue, and whenever Nokia's result has taken a dip, the scare has been accompanied by something resembling triumph: "so now it starts going downhill". And yet, in January Nokia showed that it is able to turn the impossible into the possible. Although the average price of its products declined, and although pressure on the margins grew, the company's gross margin also grew. This means that after manufacturing costs, the company was again left with more money for product development, marketing, and distribution of profits.

However, at the same time, the head shop steward of the Nokia subcontractor Perlos is forced to hold talks on behalf of his fellow employees, which is to result in the closing of Perlos factories in Finland. Hartikainen and 1,200 Perlos employees wear lapel badges reading "come and be our employer".

Nokia's success and the anguish of its subcontractors raises unpleasant questions. How is it possible to be the most successful in the world, and at the same time to leave thousands of fellow workers to fend for themselves? What is Nokia's responsibility for its subcontractors?

From its early beginnings, Nokia has been a special company in Finland.

The founder of Nokia brought the technology of modern paper manufacture to Finland, and after that, the company has been seeking something new: from rubber products to cable, from there to telephone exchanges, radio telephones, computers, and televisions. The company's directors have been charismatic figures who have been listened to, and who have known how to use power.

The 1980s were a time of frenzy and decline for the company. At the beginning of the decade the conquest of Europe was set as Nokia's goal, and the decade ended with the suicide of the CEO and the destruction of all of the dreams.

It is hard to imagine a company more adrift than Nokia was at the time. The business goals had proven to be unrealistic, a power struggle was raging at the executive level, and one of the main owners was offering to sell the company to its rivals. The company had become an outcast when a new administration took control in 1992.

These two things need to be kept in mind, when thinking about today's Nokia: the company's innovative tradition and its collapse and desecration. There had always been encouragement in the company for risk-taking and seeking out something new, and such encouragement continued. However, there was also some introspection. Internal power was strengthened through the company's own methodical value programmes, while at the same time setting up a psychological wall against what was perceived to be a hostile outside world.

Finns have watched with amazement how a giant has grown here, whose internal life is virtually unknown. Ignorance and exclusion - as well as sheer jealousy of its success - have cultivated a suspicion that breaks out when the company operates according to trans-national logic.

Two far-reaching decisions were made in Nokia in the 1990s. The company foresaw that mobile telephones would become a device used by ordinary people, and that it would therefore be necessary to build up a global brand, and to create a system of planning and production to allow the manufacture of the telephones on a completely different scale than had ever been dreamed of in Finnish industry. Already 13 years ago the company had decided to go to China with the goal of achieving a leading position on that market.

An overwhelming planning and production machinery and a knowledge of developing markets have given Nokia the edge over all competitors. Nokia is more cost-effective than its competitors, but this has come at a price, which is being paid now by the workers of Nokia's Finnish subcontractors.

In the name of cost-effectiveness, Nokia has gone into closer cooperation with Asian subcontractors, who are able to design and build a larger proportion of the telephones. It is chillingly cold business, where the resources of Finnish subcontractors are not sufficient, and the costs too high. Time will tell to what kind of a devil Nokia has given its finger.

Workers employed by Nokia subcontractors say that Nokia is indifferent toward its roots. Their experience is that the generation that has taken on responsible jobs of planning and management have no country, and that they only serve a multinational money machine. It is the bitter experience of those working in subcontracting that the most important of Finnish values - never to leave one's buddy behind - is no longer a Nokia value.

From inside Nokia it can be said that the company continues to directly employ 24,000 Finns, and that it paid EUR 1.3 billion in taxes last year. The corporate management answers primarily to its owners, and Finns have sold their shares to foreign investors at a good profit. The management of the company is as patriotic as possible.

Thousands of people who were first enticed into the sector and then let go have the right to hear Nokia's view of their fate. The company's managers should find a way to tell about their relationship with Finland and with Finnish subcontractors.

Political leaders would also do well to analyse, when asked, the relation between public power and Nokia. Nokia's turnover last year was greater than Finland's state budget this year. It is not possible for there to be such a great silenced secret. If such a secret exists, it will give birth to a new national trauma.



:uhh: - ...it's the name of the game, guys... the name of the game.



John - :smirk:

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - HOME - Wednesday 7.2.2007


Bitter-cold weather raises electricity consumption to record levels

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v434/FinnFreak/FINGRID07022007.jpg

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135224910739.jpeg
In spite of the bitter frost, Esko Männikkö of Oulu went for a dip in the sea on Tuesday.

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135224911269.jpeg
Electricians Juuso Helttunen and Mika Häylä clearing snow off trees along an
electricity line in Pieksämäki in Eastern Finland.


Early on Wednesday morning, the average hourly consumption of electricity temporarily reached an all-time record of 14,970 megawatts, reported the national electricity transmission grid operator Fingrid. The previous record was from January 2006, when the consumption reached 14,860 MW.

Fingrid predicts that a landmark figure of 15,000 MW will be reached tonight around 8.00 p.m.

This morning Fingrid brought into use some reserve power and will get more if needed.

After an exceptionally mild start to the winter, Finland has slipped into deep-freeze mode with a vengeance. Overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday, the frost got still more bitter, and right after midnight a temperature of nearly -30°C was measured in Oulu, while the temperature in Helsinki was -20°C, in Tampere -27°C, and in Turku -24°C.

The record of this winter of -39.9°C was measured in the Naruska region in Eastern Finnish Lapland on the night between Monday and Tuesday.

Hard frosts pushed the consumption of electricity to this winter's record levels already on Tuesday. At around 6.00 p.m. Fingrid measured a peak output of 14,340 megawatts.

Towards evening, the average consumption moved around 14,200 MW when the demand for electricity in households increased.

The growth in the consumption was also reflected in the market price of electricity. On Tuesday, the Finnish price of electricity was some 3.9 cents per kilowatt-hour, which is one cent more than on Monday.

The cold weather also means problems for train transport. According to Mauno Haapala of the national rail operator VR, the situation today is likely to be the same as on Tuesday, with around 30 per cent of the country's long-distance trains having been delayed.

However, the regional transport in the Greater Helsinki area operated fairly well, considering the super-chilly weather conditions.

According to the forecast by the Finnish Meteorological Institute, a light to moderate northeasterly wind will blow in southern and central parts of the country on Wednesday. The temperatures will be slightly lower than on Tuesday, mostly between -25°C and -35°C. In Northern Lapland things will be somewhat milder, with moderate snowfall here and there.

Cold though it may be, the weather still has some way to go to threaten the country's all-time low temperature. The record, set in Kittilä in Western Lapland as recently as January 1999, is a breezy -51.5°C.



:nervous: - brrrrr..!



John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

She is pretty.

Yes, she indeed is.


http://photos.skatetoday.com/albums/07euros/KORPI20702290.jpg



John - :]

[Troll]

Great pic.

[FinnFreak]

:] - Sheer poetry on ice...

http://www.iltalehti.fi/kuvagalleria/img/yleinen/5876.jpg

...or something like that...


John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

...we're strange..?

...if only you knew...


John - ;)

[RJ]

:huh: - Well, I'll be...


STT - 18.12.2006


Finnish scientists worked with US nuclear planners during cold war


The United States recruited top Finnish scientist to work in top-secret nuclear war programmes in the 1940s and 1950s, the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) reported Monday.

According to YLE, the Finnish scientists gathered intelligence on Soviet nuclear weapons testing and calculated flight paths for intercontinental bombers and missiles to strike targets in the Soviet Union.

The University of Helsinki's Institute of Seismology is reported to have received equipment from the US in the 1960s to monitor Soviet nuclear weapons testing. At the time the US was concerned that the Soviet Union was gaining a lead in the development of tactical warheads.

Seismic data was sent to the US via Norway on the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (Arpanet), the US department of defence data network that was to form the backbone of the internet.

Information about Finnish involvement in US nuclear planning and intelligence-gathering during the cold war is patchy as many records have been destroyed or remain unaccounted for.

During the cold war, Finland, having signed a treaty of friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance with the Soviet Union, was extremely careful not to be seen cooperating militarily with the west.


Tänään maanantaina 18.12. A-piste TV1 klo 21.00


John - :uhh:


Interesting. Makes one wonder what's going on now in the various alliances and behind the scenes in the opposite (or just different) direction, all around the globe.

My 87 yr old uncle was in the OSS (forerunner to the CIA) during WW II. I've learned some interesting things in reading about that organization and the thick bio about it's creator (W J Donovan). I've recently started researching and writing my uncle's descriptions about his experience during that time.

[RJ]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - COLUMN - Wednesday 7.2.2007


Nokia and the "big secret"


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135224348331.jpeg
Head shop steward Pentti Hartikainen and the entire personnel of Perlos walked
off their jobs soon after hearing of plans to shut down the factory.


By Antti Blåfield


The most electrifying moment at the Wage-Earners' Election Panel organised by Finland's labour union confederations came when Pentti Hartikainen, head shop steward at Perlos, asked party leaders to take a stand on "great silenced secret" by commenting on what really is happening in Nokia.

Hartikainen had some good reasons for his demand. He has been involved in a series of co-determination talks on the elimination of a total of 2,400 jobs.

...,
Nokia is an issue that is difficult for Finns to comprehend.

From its early beginnings, Nokia has been a special company in Finland.

The founder of Nokia brought the technology of modern paper manufacture to Finland, and after that, the company has been seeking something new: from rubber products to cable, from there to telephone exchanges, radio telephones, computers, and televisions. The company's directors have been charismatic figures who have been listened to, and who have known how to use power.

The 1980s were a time of frenzy and decline for the company. At the beginning of the decade the conquest of Europe was set as Nokia's goal, and the decade ended with the suicide of the CEO and the destruction of all of the dreams.

...,
The company had become an outcast when a new administration took control in 1992.

These two things need to be kept in mind, when thinking about today's Nokia: the company's innovative tradition and its collapse and desecration. There had always been encouragement in the company for risk-taking and seeking out something new, and such encouragement continued. However, there was also some introspection. Internal power was strengthened through the company's own methodical value programmes, while at the same time setting up a psychological wall against what was perceived to be a hostile outside world.

Finns have watched with amazement how a giant has grown here, whose internal life is virtually unknown. Ignorance and exclusion - as well as sheer jealousy of its success - have cultivated a suspicion that breaks out when the company operates according to trans-national logic.

...,
An overwhelming planning and production machinery and a knowledge of developing markets have given Nokia the edge over all competitors. Nokia is more cost-effective than its competitors, but this has come at a price, which is being paid now by the workers of Nokia's Finnish subcontractors.

In the name of cost-effectiveness, Nokia has gone into closer cooperation with Asian subcontractors, who are able to design and build a larger proportion of the telephones. It is chillingly cold business, where the resources of Finnish subcontractors are not sufficient, and the costs too high. Time will tell to what kind of a devil Nokia has given its finger.

Workers employed by Nokia subcontractors say that Nokia is indifferent toward its roots. Their experience is that the generation that has taken on responsible jobs of planning and management have no country, and that they only serve a multinational money machine. It is the bitter experience of those working in subcontracting that the most important of Finnish values - never to leave one's buddy behind - is no longer a Nokia value.

From inside Nokia it can be said that the company continues to directly employ 24,000 Finns, and that it paid EUR 1.3 billion in taxes last year. The corporate management answers primarily to its owners, and Finns have sold their shares to foreign investors at a good profit. The management of the company is as patriotic as possible.

Thousands of people who were first enticed into the sector and then let go have the right to hear Nokia's view of their fate. The company's managers should find a way to tell about their relationship with Finland and with Finnish subcontractors.

Political leaders would also do well to analyse, when asked, the relation between public power and Nokia. Nokia's turnover last year was greater than Finland's state budget this year. It is not possible for there to be such a great silenced secret. If such a secret exists, it will give birth to a new national trauma.



:uhh: - ...it's the name of the game, guys... the name of the game.



John - :smirk:

What an intriguing story.

I've been baffled by the issues of globilization - competition - human fairness - human rights - the environment and population.

On the one hand, I hate to see good people with good jobs, get tossed out on the scrap heap. Those people tend to be closer to me personally, than lower paid workers in other areas of the world.

On the other hand, I know that for the world to have a chance to be at peace, there must be greater fairness of distribution of work and reward, between areas with high versus low incomes and standards of living. Globalization tends to accomplish this.

However, I do not trust completely, any organization, global or not, run by humans (or even someday by computers), with the primary goal of maximizing profits for the share holders, ESPECIALLY when the shares of stock are concentrating in a smaller and smaller percentage of the population.

There is enough work and reward to go around. Greed works against that. Also lack of knowledge works against that. Worship of too unrestrained competition and unrestrained capitalism, creates too many losers, willing to sabatoge the system and overthrow those in power.

Therein lies the solution. Open, honest and transparent information, coupled with rational constraints on greed. Note I did not say to eliminate greed. That cannot be done any time soon. Nor did I say to eliminate productive incentives and go into a system where everyone gets the same reward, no matter how much or how little they work.

Neither do I trust the uneducated decision making by poverty stricken families in 3rd world countries, to have as many babies as possible, hoping that a few of their children will survive into adulthood and take care of their parents in their old age. These folks know they cannot support such large families. So they dump their irresponsibility onto others. And their children either starve, or flee to other countries illegally, and create massive problems elsewhere.

That at least, are some of the economic basics. The other complications of political, racial, religious or other bigotries, are another matter, requiring different analysis and solution.

[RJ]

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135224911269.jpeg
Electricians Juuso Helttunen and Mika Häylä clearing snow off trees along an
electricity line in Pieksämäki in Eastern Finland.

:nervous: - brrrrr..!

John - ;)


John,

Your pic there, moves me.

I love the impression and feeling it gives me. I can't make out what kind of vehicle they're using or hardly even that it IS a vehicle, rather than a pile of planks. What I noticed was the really deep tracks it made in the snow, in the somewhat blue light of winter in the woods in northern latitudes.

I have seen so many scenes like that, that mesmirize me for some reason. I have several, including one looking down a curving pathy thru a snowy wood.

Reminds me of my first foray into the woods as a little 5 yr old kid in northern Wisconsin. I rode with Don, (a 17 yr old boarder and family helper, until us kids got old enough to do that work), on the Allis Chalmers tractor, out to the back 40, on the trailer to get a load of firewood from our woods there.

For a little kid, the first time out on a trail thru the woods in deep snow, there is just so much to stimulate the senses and appreciate. I was just thrilled. Never forgot it.

Though it was only a mile away, home was out of view and seemed so far away, that it might as well have been the other side of the planet! It was an adventure! I've been going on adventures ever since.

The sun created a universe of sparkles off the surface of the snow. The deep snow quieted and blanketed the ground in cottony softness. The dark tree trunks absent their leaves, constrasted starkly against the white blanket of snow on the ground, and against the intense blue of the clear, cold sky in the morning. Miniature clouds of vapor were created by every breath we exhaled. The tractor engine sounded familiar and friendly, as it pulled us along the trail, thru the deep snow. We two humans there, shared an unstated but welcome trust as allies and partners, in the loading and unloading of the wood, and also as witness to the scenery and the experience.

Kept a sharp eye out for white, snowshoe rabbits on the ground, or movement of squirrel in the trees. I don't know why a kid would look for that the first time out. Was it instinct? Was it listening to hunting stories from my elders?

Oh Wait! Don has his rifle along, and it was potentially dangerous. He could shoot me out there if he was mad at something, and none of my family would ever know or ever find me. There was no way a little kid like me, could know all the possibilities. I decided he was friendly enough, and chose to believe in the good, rather than the bad outcomes. The rifle was for hunting game, not humans. The strange things that go thru a little kid's brain. Surprised I can remember it almost 56 yrs later.

RJ

[FinnFreak]

;):up: - Nice story, Bob..!


HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - CULTURE - Thursday 8.2.2007


Where Lappish joik turns to rap, and reindeer to bytes

Inari festival looks for modern Sámi culture through film

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135224674288.jpeg
The audience at the film festival sit on ice benches and watch a film on AIDS
produced by African children. The film chills the heart more than the toes.


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135224674290.jpeg
Skolt Sámi rocker Tiina Saanila is a favourite of local young people.


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135224674325.jpeg
Snow is a new experience for visiting Nigerian film director Tunde Kelani. Anastasia
Lapsui (right) and Markku Lehmuskallio show him that it can even be eaten.


By Kirsikka Moring in Inari, Finnish Lapland


This is the beginning of a 21st century new wave in Finnish cinema.

It is 11 a.m. on Sunday morning. There is a buzz at the Siida Museum in Inari, and locals in the traditional Lappish costume are on the move. Everyone wants to get a seat for the first screening of Non Profit, a film shot on location at the now-deserted village school in nearby Nellim.

And there it is. Head and shoulders the most interesting Finnish drama movie for years. A film that thinks as well as acts and asks as much as it provides answers.

The images stream out with a magical intensity, tracing a story of ecologically-sustainable existence. A group of researchers equipped with all the trappings of modern high technology move to a remote northern location on a project to see how little energy a community needs to get by. Before long the experiment runs into a crisis, and the graphs on the computer displays flat-line.

The marsh sucks down the human. Ancient gods and idols and the spirit of the place cause the horizon to shift. The spirits of the dark waters work their spell. Nature exerts its primeval strength, against which the trendily green city-people have no defences.

The narrative shows how cultural collisions bend fenders. Nature strikes back. It also offers lessons, if anyone is prepared to listen. The hands on the global doomwatch clock are still at five-to. The audience holds its breath and then bursts into loud and sustained applause.

The film was completed some hours ago, at 5 o'clock this morning, when the final colour management work was made ready. Non Profit has been in the making for ten years. Things got started during the markka era, but there were delays aplenty en route.

Pauliina Feodoroff - a member of the Skolt Sámi indigenous minority living in the far north of Finnish Lapland and across the border in North-Western Russia - studied direction at the Theatre Academy in Helsinki, and she wrote the screenplay for the film in 1997. Her then teachers at the Academy Tove Idström and Juha-Pekka Hotinen supported the project enthusiastically. What a great subject! However, that was as far as the support went, at least in terms of financing.

Finland's first wholly-Sámi feature film is also one of Finland's first indie films, a non-profit production made on a shoestring budget.

The production companies showed no interest. No money was forthcoming from the Finnish Film Foundation, nothing was put on the table by the Finnish Broadcasting Company - nobody wanted to back the venture. In the end, the necessary sums were stumped up by the Sámi Council and the Sámi Parliament, by Feodoroff's father, and by Pauliina's 16-year-old cousin Inger-Kaisa, who donated her monthly child allowance.

The budget was pared to the bone. The filming, done four years ago, cost EUR 13,400, editing was a further EUR 3,500, and the sound recording EUR 6,000. Pauliina's father put in EUR 5,000, and Inger-Kaisa a further 1,300.

At the same time, Non Profit is not entirely a Skolt Sámi movie.

Among the actors are a clutch of talented members of the younger generation from the Theatre Academy, Helsinki's Ylioppilasteatteri and Taiteellinen teatteri theatres, from the Takomo free theatre-group, and many others.

Not least among the participants are the 200 or so extras from the villages of Nellim and Sevetti, and Feodoroff's own immediate family and relatives and friends. The synergy of generations, languages, and cultures is mightily empowering. The long-lost shamanistic spirits of the Skolt Sámis' forefathers also announce their presence in the crew.

The whole vexed question of Sámi identity has been up for consideration in the past week at the ninth holding of Skábmagovat - The Indigenous Peoples' Film Festival.

Arranged in Inari in January during the Polar Night (and hence the other name of "Reflections of Endless Night"), this annual gathering features dozens of films and documentaries made by and about the Sámi. Each year the festival also spotlights movies made by indigenous peoples in one other country, except that this year the country has been exchanged for the entire continent of Africa.

Among the questions being asked are how many of the nine living Sámi languages are still living, and how many will survive? How does the Sámi culture live on in those who have scattered to other corners of the world?

Is the Sámi way of life any longer about the region's a cappella joik singing style, the colourful national dress, enchanting jewellery and handcrafts?

The biggest and most central question is global. What will happen if the imprint of the people's collective memory disappears, like a trail in a blizzard? Or if the people undergo a cultural lobotomy by turning their thinking in a foreign direction?

Identity deficit, the disappearance of a person from his or her self, is not a problem for the Sámi alone. This is shown with shocking clarity by Feodoroff's Non Profit when it depicts young seekers after an alternative life.

"Repairing yourself is slow, and never ends", Pauliina Feodoroff says. Filmmaking does not promote human dignity.

"The employment office told me to sell tickets at the tourist traps of Saariselkä. Could I have used that money to make a film about the Skolt Sámi world picture?"

The merger of Sámi culture with mainstream culture is so completely true in Feodoroff's opinion, that "it is absolutely necessary to go on and on about one's own identity".

A young Swedish documentary filmmaker Liselotte Wajstedt has just completed a sensitive and self-ironic road-movie type film Sami Deida Joik about a quest. In it, a Stockholm Sámi returns home, travels from Karasjok to Koutokeino, and to Finnish Lapland. She has a tailor produce a blue and white Sami costume for her, but her soul will not join in the process.

I am envious. What kind of a costume should I put on? One from Karelia or Häme, or an Udmurt costume? All that is left is a cardigan suit off the store shelf.

Students at the media programme of the Inari Sámi Adult Education Centre have produced short films in which the experience of Sámi youth is either grim, or typified by a dark kind of humour. Sami girls sit in a wilderness lean-to shouting into mobile telephones, chatting on-line, while the food at a cold campfire is prepared - in a microwave oven.

Reindeer boys are hot! The picture steams with roundups, where handsome young Sámi men look appealingly at the camera.

The documentary Saamelainen (Sámi) by Markku Lehmuskallio and Anastasia Lapusin opened the DocPoint festival in Helsinki, but its real première is here. Present are the main characters of the film who tell the stories of their lives: nine Sámi from different parts of the world.

The film is cathartic in its lack of ornamentation. People are depicted in their present living environments, pondering their lives, their work, and themselves. The great questions are left throbbing inside the viewer's head. One of the stories shows how the Magga family of reindeer-herding Sámi dresses in their ethnic costumes during Christmas and decorate their most beautiful draught reindeer. They have been hired to work at Ivalo Airport.

Tourists pour out of a jumbo jet, cameras clicking. The silent reindeer stares at the photographer.



John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

:huh: - No more pictures of Kiira..?


(...I hear some ask..? - no need to worry) :p


http://www.iltalehti.fi/kuvagalleria/img/yleinen/5880.jpg


John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

...and *just one more* for the road:


http://www.iltalehti.fi/kuvagalleria/img/yleinen/5879.jpg


John - :]

[Troll]

Thanks for the pics.

[tower]

Wow, Awesome pictures John, Thanks very much. You are slightly colder than Timmins right now, which suits me just fine. After 3 months in the tropics I am not adjusting to my normal northern habits very well this time around. Today -17 deg C and light snow in Shania's hometown.

[RJ]

;):up: - Nice story, Bob..!


HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - CULTURE - Thursday 8.2.2007


Where Lappish joik turns to rap, and reindeer to bytes

Inari festival looks for modern Sámi culture through film

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135224674325.jpeg
Snow is a new experience for visiting Nigerian film director Tunde Kelani. Anastasia
Lapsui (right) and Markku Lehmuskallio show him that it can even be eaten.


By Kirsikka Moring in Inari, Finnish Lapland


This is the beginning of a 21st century new wave in Finnish cinema.

It is 11 a.m. on Sunday morning. There is a buzz at the Siida Museum in Inari, and locals in the traditional Lappish costume are on the move. Everyone wants to get a seat for the first screening of Non Profit, a film shot on location at the now-deserted village school in nearby Nellim.

And there it is. Head and shoulders the most interesting Finnish drama movie for years. A film that thinks as well as acts and asks as much as it provides answers.

The images stream out with a magical intensity, tracing a story of ecologically-sustainable existence. A group of researchers equipped with all the trappings of modern high technology move to a remote northern location on a project to see how little energy a community needs to get by. Before long the experiment runs into a crisis, and the graphs on the computer displays flat-line.

The marsh sucks down the human. Ancient gods and idols and the spirit of the place cause the horizon to shift. The spirits of the dark waters work their spell. Nature exerts its primeval strength, against which the trendily green city-people have no defences.

The narrative shows how cultural collisions bend fenders. Nature strikes back. It also offers lessons, if anyone is prepared to listen. The hands on the global doomwatch clock are still at five-to. The audience holds its breath and then bursts into loud and sustained applause.

...,
John - ;)

The story has glints of greatness. But the part quoted above, that interested me the most, is left mostly unexplored, or at least undescribed.

It sounds like an
Experimental Retro-type Community Of the Past (ERCOP)

That's the flip side of the perspective at Disney's EPCOT Center in Florida
(Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow).

I talked with Disney reps at Disney World, about their EPCOT Center in 1983, about 5 months after it opened. I applauded their success in providing momentary entertainment to the masses. But I challenged them about their claim that EPCOT was trully experimental in developing optimal futures for all mankind. There wasn't really much experimental about it. It was extremely controlled, with the beginning points and ending points of every activity scripted and duplicated virtually identically, hour after hour, day after day, month after month, year after year.

They really didn't have a clue to what I was talking about. I was probably too polite, and just asked who I could talk to about this. The two young managers who were steered to me, just didn't have the experience or depth of perspective to relate to such ideas. Too bad I couldn't talk to the Disney brothers themselves. They were both deceased by then, but they were true visionaries, who could lead and inspire people to convert ideas into successful practice, even if their earliest ventures did fail.

The Disney formula oriented toward "... new ideas and technologies emerging from the creative centers of American industry." It's purpose was to be a "...showcase to the world for the ingenuity and imagination of American free enterprise."

To me, that sounds a lot like an unchained melody of imaginative advertising by Corporate America.

True experimentation would invest as much creativity and resources into new ideas and technologies that research and develop better ways for humans to get along and make progress in ways that are fair, effective, fulfilling and inspiring. The current status of humans in the world, is an excruciatingly long way from that reality. But the people with the most wealth and power to control things, would rather gloat over their personal success, than admit to the humiliating failure they've forced onto huge masses of the planetary population, or allow any changes in the world order, that would decrease their influence.

"Walt Disney's original vision of EPCOT was for a model community, home to twenty thousand residents, which would be a test bed for city planning and organization."

"After Disney's death, The Walt Disney Company later decided that it did not want to be in the business of running a town. The model community of Celebration, Florida has been mentioned as a realization of Disney's original vision, but Celebration is based on concepts of new urbanism which is radically different from Disney's modernist and futurist visions."

[FinnFreak]

The story has glints of greatness. But the part quoted above, that interested me the most, is left mostly unexplored, or at least undescribed.

It sounds like an
Experimental Retro-type Community Of the Past (ERCOP)

That's the flip side of the perspective at Disney's EPCOT Center in Florida
(Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow).

It's just a movie. :p


But, it does harshly demonstrate how fragile and out of touch the human society has become with it's relationship towards nature... especially those huge metropolis of the world: the more high-tech, developed communities have such a high degree of dependency on oil and electricity - that if those resources were suddenly pulled from their grasp, being left to cope with mother nature alone...well, the casualties would be severe.


She was here long before man arrived, and she will be here long after.


John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

...but, here's another pic of Kiira to cheer us up:


http://www.iltalehti.fi/kuvagalleria/img/yleinen/5878.jpg


John - :cool:

[Myyde]

Looks that Kiira impressed you quite much, right?;)

Well, Urheilukanava is answering for your prayers and they are showing her performances again.:p

Urheilukanava 11:40 (tomorrow)

Taitoluistelun EM-pronssimitalisti Kiira Korven luistelut

Koosteessa nähdään vielä kerran kaikki Kiira Korven kilpailusuoritukset sekä EM-kisojen loppugaala.

I`m quite sure that screencaps will follow, right..?;) :p

[FinnFreak]

Looks that Kiira impressed you quite much, right?;)

She's without any shadow of a doubt, one of Finland's most impressive natural resources, yes. ;)


http://kuvat2.iltasanomat.fi/iltasanomat/iGallup/26422-galleria_pysty_kiira_kuva2.jpg


...am I right, or am I right..? :D




Well, Urheilukanava is answering for your prayers and they are showing her performances again.:p

Urheilukanava 11:40 (tomorrow)

Taitoluistelun EM-pronssimitalisti Kiira Korven luistelut

Koosteessa nähdään vielä kerran kaikki Kiira Korven kilpailusuoritukset sekä EM-kisojen loppugaala.

I`m quite sure that screencaps will follow, right..?;) :p


...you never know...


John - :p

[Myyde]

She's without any shadow of a doubt, one of Finland's most impressive natural resources, yes. ;)


http://kuvat2.iltasanomat.fi/iltasanomat/iGallup/26422-galleria_pysty_kiira_kuva2.jpg


...am I right, or am I right..? :D

Well, you got that right.:D



...you never know...


John - :p

OK, maybe i`ll have to watch it myself, just in case that you don`t post any pics.:p

Have a nice weekend and...
http://vapaatila.net/valio/kiirakorpi/pics/kiira1_1280x1024.jpg
;)

[Troll]

More great pics.

[FinnFreak]

I've got more, but I'm trying my best to restrain myself.


John - :p

[aFinn]

Oh please do! Restrain yourself, that is :p

[EilleenTwain88]

But, it does harshly demonstrate how fragile and out of touch the human society has become with it's relationship towards nature... especially those huge metropolis of the world: the more high-tech, developed communities have such a high degree of dependency on oil and electricity - that if those resources were suddenly pulled from their grasp, being left to cope with mother nature alone...well, the casualties would be severe.
That reminds me of a story.

Up here in north we had a electric shortage for several hours some years ago. The temperature was about -35°C at nights and all my family from southern Finland kept calling us really worried, how are we surviving!!!

Then my husband answered that "if this keeps going on for more than 1-2 hours, we will have to take a snowmobile and move to our cottage. It is small enough and plenty of wood and fireplaces there, so we will stay warm there. No worries then!" An idea which hadn't occurred to them at all.

And that is cultural difference only inside of one same country. :funny:

[matty]

I've got more, but I'm trying my best to restrain myself.


John - :p

Well I hope you know there's no need to. Ignore Marika :p

[tower]

Go DAFT John, Sorry my Dear Marika, as much as I love and respect you, I just want MORE! ;)

[tower]

Oh I got a request in Gibby's Tavern Timmins last night for LORDI.... Wow, I freaked... Followed it up with Ramstein's 'Du Hast'.

Had to be done, as they say in all the posh places... Chris and I had the joint ROCKIN' on a Friday night. Oh yes. All this and the South Porcupine Winter Festival going on up the road as well. We did well. I am proud of you Chris for building up a great night while I was away doing my thing.

[FinnFreak]

That reminds me of a story.

Up here in north we had a electric shortage for several hours some years ago. The temperature was about -35°C at nights and all my family from southern Finland kept calling us really worried, how are we surviving!!!

Then my husband answered that "if this keeps going on for more than 1-2 hours, we will have to take a snowmobile and move to our cottage. It is small enough and plenty of wood and fireplaces there, so we will stay warm there. No worries then!" An idea which hadn't occurred to them at all.

And that is cultural difference only inside of one same country. :funny:

That's our plan as well, if (heaven forbid) something that drastic would ever happen... without an up & running infrastructure, it's better to find refuge in the wilderness. :uhh:




Go DAFT John, Sorry my Dear Marika, as much as I love and respect you, I just want MORE! ;)

Here you go:

http://www.iltalehti.fi/jaakiekko/korpijuttump_jk.jpg


;)



Oh I got a request in Gibby's Tavern Timmins last night for LORDI.... Wow, I freaked... Followed it up with Ramstein's 'Du Hast'.

Had to be done, as they say in all the posh places... Chris and I had the joint ROCKIN' on a Friday night. Oh yes. All this and the South Porcupine Winter Festival going on up the road as well. We did well. I am proud of you Chris for building up a great night while I was away doing my thing.

Yep, there are Lordi fans in Timmins - and Nightwish fans too..!


John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - CULTURE - Monday 12.2.2007


Esa-Pekka Salonen finds composing a tough assignment

"I'm not going through this again in a hurry", says composer-conductor after New York concerto première

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135224818534.jpeg
Finally! A moment of relaxation. Composer-conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen (left)
and piano soloist Yefim Bronfman raise a glass in the Avery Fisher Hall in New
York after the successful first performance of Salonen's piano concerto.


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135224818979.jpeg
In places, soloist Yefim Bronfman had to do his utmost to get the piano heard
over Esa-Pekka Salonen's orchestration at the first performance of the new
piano concerto. And he managed it! The sometimes picky New York audience
liked what they heard, and initial reactions from the critics were also very
positive.


By Vesa Sirén in New York City


Esa-Pekka Salonen is threatened with a new experience in New York: a day off!

"It will be the first since August", says the Finn, who has just put himself through the mill in composing - and then conducting - a new piano concerto as a commission for the New York Philharmonic. "This concerto really took it out of me, I can tell you."

The 48-year-old conductor sits looking exhausted in an armchair in his suite on the 10th floor of the Trump Tower International Hotel on Columbus Circle. "I'm not going through this again in a hurry."

Once again, time to compose was seriously rationed, since Salonen is still the Music Director and Chief Conductor for the Los Angeles Philharmonic and one of the world's most in-demand guest conductors.

Hence it was hardly a surprise that the new concerto, promised to soloist Yefim Bronfman already back in the 1990s, was only completed at the last minute.

"It ended up with some old-fashioned burning of the midnight oil", admits Salonen. "The whole of the Christmas break went in composing, too. My family were understanding, but I did get to hear that this was not exactly the most brilliant piece of planning ever."

While the composing process was at its most heated, Salonen also had to cancel a week of conducting engagements in Paris on health grounds.

"I'd been sitting in my studio writing for seven weeks and my shoulders had simply seized up. It didn't seem as though it was in anybody's best interests to have me getting up on stage to conduct rehearsals as a half-fit zombie."

Salonen was pondering the mysteries of the piano and the orchestra in the studio in his home in Brentwood, in L.A. There he has the computers and the keyboard apparatus that helped in the shaping of the new work.

"My own piano playing is pretty rudimentary bashing of the keys, but it was important to retain some kind of physical contact with the instrument. I used a sequencer to upload the piano part onto the computer and then corrected the wrong notes for the right ones."

When the piano score for the first movement was completed in October last year, Yefim Bronfman had observed to the composer that it didn't look to be too difficult an assignment for the soloist.

This stirred a defiant response in Salonen.

"I had the feeling that I had better ratchet things up a bit! Towards the end of the concerto I got this fit of sheer devilment, and I ended up composing the most difficult piano music I could imagine. Then again, Fima [Yefim Bronfman] will play it all the same. He'll swear at me, and he'll play it."

Bronfman only received the piano score for the finale in December.

As for the orchestral part, Salonen was still making last-ditch adjustments in this hotel room on the night before the first performance.

Outside it is beginning to get dark. The hotel windows overlook Central Park. Next to Salonen's laptop on the table is a gold-plated telescope! What's this? Do you always travel with one of these?

"No, no, it's part of the hotel requisites. Apparently in the summer you can look at what the young couples are getting up to in Central Park - if that's your sort of thing", Salonen shrugs.

Salonen's own voyeurism has been restricted to peering at different aspects of music history in his composing. The concerto contains echoes of the French Baroque, impressionism, the work of Witold Lutoslawski, and folk music from the Balkans.

"And there was also something Russian in there. Maybe Bronfman's background [the pianist was born in Tashkent in Uzbekistan] had some kind of subconscious effect. My concerto is like a jigsaw puzzle with very sharp edges to the pieces. There's a sort of film-like montage construction about it."

Salonen is clearly very enthusiastic about his major work, in which serious elements and clowning share the stage by turns.

He talks amusingly about a passage where "clumsy winds and brass in the lower register" start to think they are actually piccolos and get into behaving "like hippos trying to perform a pirouette".

"I guess their image of themselves has started to get bent out of shape, as it does with us middle-aged men! The mind is still that of a teenager, but the body is starting to say no, and the joints are aching."

A-ha. So was that a bit of autobiographical self-irony thrown in there?

Salonen admits at least that he's not going to get any younger. "Unfortunately."

Hence he has to adapt and evolve. Salonen has cut back on his conducting schedule, from as many as 40 weeks a year down to twenty-five. "That will also leave me more time for composing", he believes.

From one year to the next, Esa-Pekka Salonen has been repeating that he will give up his post in Los Angeles "in the next few years" to concentrate more on his composing side. Once again, he says he will carry on in L.A. "for a few more years".

"I've led the Philharmonic for fifteen years now. If I could beat Zubin Mehta's record, even just by a day or two! He conducted the same orchestra for seventeen years."

Salonen's best-laid plans seem full of contradictions. To cap it all, he agreed late last year to become the Principal Conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London. How on earth does he think he is going to find more time for composing, when he will soon enough have not one but two orchestras under his charge?

"I'll cut down on my guest conducting appearances", he explains. "Around 10 to 12 weeks will be spent in Los Angeles, 8-10 in London and then I will conduct only a couple of weeks each year elsewhere."

Salonen is attracted by the idea of reducing the number of individual programmes to be rehearsed, but with the Philharmonia he plans also to take them on the road on short hops to Europe after the London Royal Festival Hall concert performances.

He will be spending at least a part of his free time in the next few days in an airplane seat.

"I'm flying from New York to Helsinki to see my mother, and I'll spend a few nights hanging out in the bar with Limperi (composer Magnus Lindberg). Then I fly back to Los Angeles and I'll check in to some spa or other to drink foul-tasting health juices and do some yoga-ing and levitation stuff", he says with a mixture of a grin and a grimace.

His next big composition should be ready by early in 2009. This is a work for soloists, choir, and orchestra, and has been commissioned by the Chicago Symphony and the Berlin Philharmonic.

"I think that will have to be the last of my commissioned works, so that I don't get caught in the mill of deadlines again. It is better to compose something in all peace and quiet and get it practically ready, and only then to decide where and when to have the first performance."

Salonen's dreams also include finally getting around to composing his first opera, some time after 2009.

"It could be based on texts by Joseph Brodsky [the Nobel Literature Laureate in 1987], since I have got permission from his estate to compose something around his last anthology."

The first performance of the concerto arrives, and the applause, long and sustained.

After the concert, Salonen and Bronfman, friends as well as colleagues, raise a glass and wonder aloud at what a huge task it has all been.

"For nine months I was working on it practically every day", sighs Salonen. "And then in half an hour it is done and dusted."

But it is not: the work itself has only begun to live its life. Next it will travel to the Proms in London, and at the earliest it can be expected in Helsinki some time in 2008.

"It is an important work, and I intend to play it a lot", says Bronfman, and the big man squats down to Salonen's size as a press photographer approaches them.

"You see, I want to look up to a great composer", says Bronfman, and there is no flicker of a smile on his face as he says it.



John - ;)

[aFinn]

Well I hope you know there's no need to. Ignore Marika :pGo DAFT John, Sorry my Dear Marika, as much as I love and respect you, I just want MORE! ;)Hmpf! :mad:

Men! :rolleyes:


:p

[FinnFreak]

Men! :rolleyes:

:p - OK, here's news on one:


HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - SPORT - Monday 12.2.2007


Grönholm takes his fifth career win in Rally of Sweden


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135225031900.jpeg
Marcus Grönholm’s Ford flies through the last special stage of the Uddeholm
Swedish Rally.


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135225031902.jpeg
Sebastien Loeb (right) congratulates Marcus Grönholm, who took the victory in
what may prove to be his last Swedish Rally.


Like a winning racehorse, Marcus Grönholm received a garland around his neck upon taking his fifth victory in the Swedish Rally, which this time culminated at the Färjestad trotting track.

In the end, the Finnish Ford pilot beat his current greatest rival, Sebastien Loeb (Citroën) of France by 53.8 seconds. Grönholm's team-mate and fellow countryman Mikko Hirvonen grabbed third place, while yet anther Finn Toni Gardemeister (Mitsubishi) completed the Nordic success by coming home sixth.

Grönholm has the second most victories in the Rally of Sweden. Ahead of him is only the legendary Swedish rally ace Stig Blomqvist, who capped the event no less than seven times.

"Possibly the last one, don't know yet", Grönholm, 39, replied when he was asked if this was his last race in Sweden.

Grönholm took his second consecutive Swedish Rally title in exhibition style. The Finn clocked the fastest times on 11 of the 20 special stages of the rally, which was raced in bitterly cold weather. At times the temperature dropped well below the -20°C mark.

"Even the car was shivering with cold", Grönholm laughed, although the Ford mechanics were not smiling when one of the stable's second-string cars - driven by Jari-Matti Latvala and Malcolm Wilson - succumbed to the cold on Sunday morning. Hurried adjustments were made to Grönholm's and Hirvonen's cars.

The battle for the 2007 World Championship between Loeb and Grönholm is expected to be fierce. "It's going to be a long season", sighed Grönholm, who will face his fourth race in five weeks next week.

"I can only hope that this time Loeb will take out his mountain bike earlier on in the season", Grönholm joked, referring to his rival's mountain biking accident last autumn. Due to the accident and a subsequent shoulder operation Loeb was unable to take part in the last four races of the season, during which time Grönholm managed to whittle down the Frenchman's lead to just one point.

The Sunday win was Grönholm's 26th in his career, which ties him with the Spaniard Carlos Sainz for World Rally Championships race victories. Ahead of the two is Loeb, 32, with 29 number one positions.


:D - nice, eh..?


:uhh: (...but it just doesn't impress the way Kiira does, though...) ;)


http://photo.fsonline.ru/albums/2007EC/EX/07ec-ex-zzz04_8533.jpg


John - :p

[FinnFreak]

heh...

Marcus Grönholm can make a Ford jump...

...but I'm willing to bet, that Kiira is able to make a million men jump at will... ;)


http://photo.fsonline.ru/albums/2007EC/EX/07ec-ex-zzz05_8535.jpg


...just a hunch...



John - :p

[tower]

Time for a cold shower.... gotta go ;)

[Troll]

Keep the pics coming John.

[FinnFreak]

STT - 12.2.2007 at 17:27


Finnish pilots dismiss security checks as eyewash


HELSINKI (STT) - Finnish pilots and cabin crew feel airport security regulations are inconsistent and do not guarantee security despite their meticulous nature.

Matti Allonen, the chairman of the Finnish Airline Pilots' Association (SLL) and a commercial pilot, told the Finnish News Agency (STT) on Saturday that the current security checks were best characterised as eyewash.

Awkward and time-consuming checks have lulled passengers into believing that everything possible has been done to guarantee security, Mr Allonen added.

"One of the most useless rules is to limit the amount of liquid in cabin luggage to 100 millilitres. Assuming one can build a bomb from an amount of liquid greater than 100 millilitres, what prevents, say, ten terrorists from pouring their liquids into a single vessel holding a litre?" Mr Allonen said.

Many passengers have also wondered why duty-free glass bottles are allowed in the cabin, pointing out that a bottle with its bottom shattered is a lethal weapon. Moreover, terrorists are apparently assumed to travel in tourist class only as business class passengers are given utensils made from steel.

Mr Allonen said the real problem was that security measures were now aimed at finding weapons when they should be focused on people and organisations. Combing through passengers' effects was useless as hand luggage was not the only way to transport weapons to aircraft.





:huh: - yep, this reminds me of the question I asked an airline rep at Toronto last August, when those restrictions came... trying desperately to lighten up the mood in the queue...



"So, NO liquids or gels are allowed on board..?"

- Yes, Sir - You are correct.

"Isn't silicone a gel..?"

- Yes...

"So, women with breast implants aren't allowed on the aircraft..?"

(gives a whole new meaning to the concept "sex bomb") ;)


- Sir, we know your type: YOU will NOT be allowed on board..!!!



...oh, what fun...



John - :p

[FinnFreak]

http://www.aamulehti.fi/mediagalleria/aamulehti/urheilu/102/1940-normal.jpg


John - :p

[FinnFreak]

The Star Online (Malaysia) - Monday February 12, 2007


Finland's president to visit New Zealand next week


WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP): Finland's president, Tarja Halonen, will visit New Zealand next week to meet government, science and business leaders, Prime Minister Helen Clark said Monday.

Halonen will visit from Feb. 18 to 21, she said.

"President Halonen last visited New Zealand as Finland's foreign minister in 1999,'' Clark said. "This will be the first-ever visit to New Zealand by a Finnish president.''

Halonen will be accompanied by a delegation of experts who will take part in a Finland-New Zealand innovation seminar.

"President Halonen's visit is an excellent opportunity to continue strengthening the relationship between our two countries, particularly by looking for opportunities to collaborate on innovation and research, science and technology,'' Clark said in a statement.



heh... Shania, Roger & now Tarja - all in NZ at the same time..? ;)

What's the odds on that happening..? - I suspect Conan O'Brien might be there as well...


John - :p

[FinnFreak]

;)

http://www.aamulehti.fi/mediagalleria/aamulehti/urheilu/102/1941-normal.jpg


John - :D

[EilleenTwain88]

....
"You see, I want to look up to a great composer", says Bronfman, and there is no flicker of a smile on his face as he says it.
I actually admire EP Salonen quite a lot.

But he definitely has stayed in the hectic America for far too long... I was in a concert where he lead the Sibelius symphony No 2 so FAST that us listeners didn't had the time to flick our eyelashes when it was over. And the poor horn/flute players had no time to dry their instruments, the string players had cramps in their arms and even the drum player looked quite paffled and confused when it was over. I am sure he couldn't be sure if he got them hits on right moments at all...

But he has a great sense of humor and is not too pompous and full of himself. When we commented it to him by asking does he get bonuses of speed in LA, he only laughed and said that NO - but the rent of the Concert Hall is so high that by reducing the concerts to 1.5 hrs the orchestra saves quite a lot of money :D ?!?!?

[Troll]

Thanks for the pics John.

[FinnFreak]

...and since it's Valentine's Day...

...here's a lady in red:


http://photo.fsonline.ru/albums/2007EC/LSP/07ec-lsp-kiikor04_6958.jpg


John - ;)

[Troll]

She looks good in Red.

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - HOME - Thursday 15.2.2007


Finnish job satisfaction collapsed at turn of millennium

Danish flexible employment protection model recommended for Finland as well

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135225106262.jpeg
The wage-earners view on the meaningfulness of the work in 1998-2006.
Blue = meaningfulness on increase, red = meaningfulness on decrease.


The common Finnish sense of the meaningfulness of work plummeted at the turn of the millennium, reveals a Workforce 2025 report published on Wednesday by the Ministry of Labour. From 1994 onwards the Finns saw the meaningfulness of their work increase each year until the turning point of 2001, after which the enjoyment of work has been in constant decline. Between 2000 and 2005 the number of those unhappy with their work has doubled.

The report suggests that in working life there has been a significant qualitative turn for the worse. The reason is suspected to lie in the steady increase of elasticity to working life, whereby the position of the workforce has become more and more subjected to market conditions.

At yesterday's press conference the Minister of Labour Tarja Filatov (SDP) also pointed out the importance of the quality of management. She felt that it had a direct impact on how employees perceived the meaningfulness of the work they do.

The leader of the 70-stong group of specialists who compiled the report, civil servant Pekka Tiainen, believes that one factor that has led to increased discomfort is the reported mass lay-offs. They increase people's sense of insecurity at work.

The report recommends that the threshold to employ people be lowered while benefits during unemployment are improved. Still, the so-called "Danish model " should not be transferred verbatim and applied in Finland as such, the working group cautions. Job security should be improved by combining the flexibility of labour contracts with social security and active labour policies.

This is seen as a remedy against the constant labour market fluctuations.

During the term of the present government, employment has improved most among the 55 to 64-year-olds, followed by the 20 to 34-year-olds.

According to the working group, the improved employment status of the oldest and the youngest working-age people is primarily explained by the increase in part-time work.

Tiainen dismisses the notion that the number of hours put in by workers would have become lower despite the improved employment figures. In the light of a Statistics Finland labour force study, this is simply not the case, he says.

Finland's working-age population will turn to decline at 2010, but the authors of the report still believe in the improvement possibilities of the rate of employment.

A favourable employment situation could see a significant rise of up to 100,000 in the number of available jobs during the first half of the next decade. The employment rate would then be in the region of 72 per cent while unemployment could stand at four per cent, the report suggests.

Between 2010 and 2025, the number of working-age people - in other words those between the ages of 15 and 64 - will decline by 265,000, despite the positive migration balance of about 7,500 individuals each year.

The global division of labour will cause industrial refining and manufacturing to move from the traditional industrial countries to the new economies. Even the highest know-how will not guarantee success, for there will be know-how everywhere. Extensive specialisation will become imperative, the report concludes.



John - :smirk:

[FinnFreak]

Cheering-up time:


http://www.kiira-korpi.net/modules/wordpress/attach/kiira_short2.jpg


John - ;)

[tower]

NICE picture John, I spent Vallintine's Day in Toronto where I am going to the US embassy to get an Alien Seafarer in Transit 10 year visa, so the hotel bar was quiet last night with just a handfull watching the Raptors a local team beat NJ at Basket Ball.

The Weather is pretty bad though and like most of this area, Toronto got a fair dumping of Snow which has a lot to do with no one being out last night.

[SevenUp!]

Cheering-up time:


http://www.kiira-korpi.net/modules/wordpress/attach/kiira_short2.jpg


John - ;)

Works for me. ;) :D

[FinnFreak]

Same here:


http://photo.fsonline.ru/albums/2006COR/LSP/06cor-lsp-kiikor01.jpg


John - :p

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - CULTURE - Friday 16.2.2007


The diplomat who fell in love with the Finnish language

Mahmoud Mahdy Abdallah wrote large Finnish-Arabic dictionary


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135224942334.jpeg
Retired Egyptian diplomat Mahmoud Mahdy
Abdallah holds a copy of a book of Kalevala
stories for children, which he translated into
Arabic.


By Päivi Arvonen in Cairo


On Thursday, February 8th, Mahmoud Mahdy Abdallah celebrated the fulfilment of one of his dreams.

"The work of 16 years is finally complete", the man says as he prepares to travel from his home in Cairo.

Abdallah is about to leave for Helsinki for the publication of his Finnish-Arabic dictionary. Published by the Finnish Literature Society, the dictionary has 46,000 entries.

"The dictionary is appropriate for both students and translators, as well as for Finns working at different tasks in Arab countries", Abdallah explains.

However, the writer of the Finnish-Arabic dictionary speaks English and not Finnish. "I have a good command only of written Finnish - I read it fluently", he says, modestly.

The history of the origin of the dictionary goes back more than four decades - to 1964, when Mahmoud Mahdy Abdallah arrived with his family in Helsinki as a diplomat to work at the Egyptian Embassy.

The Finnish language and culture immediately enchanted both Abdallah and his family - especially his son Hossam and his daughter Nagwan.

"The children were under school age when we lived in Finland. They have visited with me in Finland each year since the 1960s", Abdallah says.

Hossam Mahdy uses Finland often as an example when he teaches architecture to Egyptian university students. The daughter, a jewellery designer, expresses love for Finland by using Finnish stones, especially spectrolite, in her creations.

Abdallah, who had an extensive career at the Egyptian Ministry for Foreign Affairs, first as a diplomat and later as an ambassador, is a language teacher by training. He taught English for four years before moving on to a diplomatic career in 1957.

"Finland was my first posting, and for that reason, it might be especially dear to me", Abdallah ponders.

He was enchanted by the lush vegetation and flowers of the summer, the sauna, and the vibrant cultural life.

"Especially midsummer and the sunlit nights are wonderful times in Finland. In the summer, Finns really enjoy their living!"

"Languages have always been my passion. I studied the languages of each of the countries where I was sent, because it is the duty of a diplomat to speak and understand the language of the country where he or she is stationed", Abdallah notes.

Abdallah's mother tongue is Arabic, of which he has a command of numerous colloquial dialects. In addition to Finnish, Abdallah's linguistic arsenal includes Russian, Persian, Italian, French, and English.

"It used to be much easier to get to know Finns, if one knew at least a couple of words of Finnish", Abdallah recalls.

Abdallah always carried a notebook with him.

"I wrote down words that I saw on advertisements and on signs. At home I checked the meanings in a dictionary. That is how it all started."

Mahmoud Mahdy Abdallah is 75 years old. When he retired in 1991, he was able to devote more time to the Finnish language.

In addition to his Finnish-Arabic dictionary, the fruits of his linguistic passion include two translations into Arabic: one with stories for children from the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala (2005), and a book of Mythical Stories , edited by Lauri Simonsuuri (2004).

"The Arabic translations of Finnish mythology open a window on the landscape of the Finnish mind. They are a bridge to deeper mutual cultural understanding", Mahmoud Mahdy Abdallah argues.




John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - FOREIGN - Friday 16.2.2007


COMMENT: A NATO opponent speaks out


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135224767252.jpeg
President Vladimir Putin appeared before a massive crowd of journalists in Moscow
at his news conference.


By Susanna Niinivaara in Moscow


At a press conference last week I asked Russian President Vladimir Putin how possible Finnish membership in NATO would affect relations between Finland and Russia. Putin answered that it would not improve relations.

It is clear that Putin's response would elicit a reaction in Finland. It would have been a topic of discussion no matter what his answer might have been.

The reason is that when the subject of conversation in Finland turns to NATO, the real subject is Russia. And still it seems now and then that when experts (researchers, politicians, journalists specialised in security policy) discuss NATO, the tendency is to avoid using the word Russia.

It is as if we were still living the days of the Cold War, Finlandisation, and the time when it was necessary to avoid talking about the eastern neighbour in clear words.

There has been an enthusiastic exchange of thoughts on the Helsingin Sanomat Internet message board. Reading them, it becomes clear that in the view of the Finnish people, when discussing prospective NATO membership, the specific subject on the table is Russia, and the military threat that it has posed in the past, present, and future.

In my opinion the citizens are right. After all, it's not against Sweden that Finland wants security guarantees.

One of the postings on the message board directed personally at me asked why a correspondent of Helsingin Sanomat asks Putin about NATO. It has been speculated that Helsingin Sanomat wants to either promote Finnish membership in NATO or to prevent it from happening.

Helsingin Sanomat has declared that it supports Finnish NATO membership. This came out in a lead editorial in September 2004, and editor-in-chief Janne Virkkunen repeated the view in a column on the editorial page in October 2006. For this reason I can well understand the readers who have thought that the NATO question was carefully thought out in advance by the newspaper.

But this was not the case.

I decided on my own in Moscow that this time I would try to ask Putin about NATO. I thought that Putin's views would be of interest to readers who ponder possible NATO membership.

Contrary to what Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen speculated in his blog, Helsingin Sanomat was not seeking "permission" from Putin. I feel that it is as clear as day that Finland will make its decision on its application for NATO membership on its own.

I myself am opposed to Finnish membership in NATO. There are many reasons for this, but right now one reason is sufficient: I do not want to be in the same military alliance with the United States, whose illegal attack on Iraq has had consequences that are sad and infuriating to watch.

The logical question that follows from my views is, how a journalist opposed to NATO membership can work at a newspaper that supports membership.

The answer: it's easy, as long as I am allowed to inform readers about an opinion that differs from the newspaper's policy line.

Let the debate continue!


...what a brave, brave girl...



John - :smirk:

[FinnFreak]

Learning to fly..?


http://kiira.ru/photos/k%20(40).jpg


btw - Kiira Korpi was awarded as The Most Positive Finn in 2006...

...and, we can all easily see why:

http://estaticos02.cache.el-mundo.net/albumes/2006/02/23/decimotercera_jornada_en_turin/c6c22c9ae9b9a6b093b0620de84f2fd0_extras_albumes_0. jpg

http://kiira.ru/photos/k%20(311).jpg

http://kiira.ru/photos/k%20(256).jpg



John - ;)

[Troll]

Lovely pics.

[FinnFreak]

What..? - more pics of Kiira..?

John - :p

[FinnFreak]

http://kiira.ru/photos/k%20(222).jpg


John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

STT / Pohjalainen - 19.2.2007


Finland's Prime Minister, Matti Vanhanen:

"Televised election debates do not serve democracy"

http://www.interet-general.info/IMG/matti-vanhanen-1.jpg


Matti Vanhanen (centre), Finland's prime minister, criticised recent television election debates in an interview published in the Monday edition of Pohjalainen, a provincial daily.

Mr Vanhanen did not think it a good idea that the media was setting the agenda in the debates as the topics were not necessarily ones considered important by the parties or voters.

"There is an attempt to make things more interesting by digging up something people disagree on, even it is of fifth rate importance, something minimally relevant for the elections," Mr Vanhanen told Pohjalainen.

The prime minister wondered whether it was necessary for every TV channel to hold a debate and called for a return to the "old days", when televised election debates started and ended with free speeches by the candidates.



John - :p

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - SPORT - Monday 19.2.2007


Hirvonen wins Rally Norway; Grönholm takes lead in race for drivers' title


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135225208516.jpeg
Mikko Hirvonen was all smiles after winning the inaugural Rally Norway.


Finland's Mikko Hirvonen, 26, maintained his pace throughout the inaugural Rally Norway WRC event and claimed his second-ever World Rally Championship victory. In the end Hirvonen beat his compatriot and Ford teammate Marcus Grönholm by nine seconds.

Hirvonen's first WRC win came in Australia last year.

"This was my first 'real' victory and I hold it in higher esteem than my win from Australia", Hirvonen commented after the race, referring to the fact that both Grönholm and the French World Champion Sebastien Loeb (Citroën) were present in the Norwegian race. "I was in the lead from the beginning and kept the other guys at bay by sheer driving."

"Already on Friday I decided to give it all I've got and to see where that will take me, to see if the car will stay on the road."

Grönholm's second place finish earned him the lead in the drivers' WRC table. He has 24 points to the 20 of Hirvonen.

Norwegian Henning Solberg delighted the home crowd by steering his Ford across the finish line in the third fastest time, 3 minutes and 44.6 seconds behind Mikko Hirvonen.

Yet another Finnish Ford pilot, Jari-Matti Latvala, managed to produce his second best WRC result to date by coming in fifth.

The current World Champion Loeb's fate was to finish outside the points in Norway after crashing out twice on Saturday. He is currently third in the overall rankings, with 18 points.

After the snow and ice of Sweden and Norway, the drivers will now have to adjust somewhat, since the next race in the championship will be held in Mexico from March 9th to 11th.



John - ;):up:

[FinnFreak]

Aamulehti / Radio 957 - Nyys från Nääsville


Kiira is Inhabitant of The Year in Tampere


http://www.sbs.fi/kkuvat/soilijakiira.jpg


Kiira Korpi is the hometown hero as the citizens of Tampere (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tampere) voted her as the Inhabitant of The Year. Kiira collected 38% of all given votes leaving the nearest rivals to only 11%. She recieved the award in the middle of a school day and was very moved for the honour. Kiira tells that her roots are firmly in Tampere and she hopes that she doesn’t have to move away from there, atleast not permanently.


http://kiira.ru/photos/k%20(340).jpg



John - ;):up:

[FinnFreak]

;)


The Sydney Morning Herald - February 16, 2007


Aussies look to Finnish innovation model


Australian policy makers are looking to Finland for inspiration in their drive to bring the nation closer to the dream of thriving technological innovation.

The country's president and other Finnish representatives are in Sydney to share with Australian researchers the strides the nation has made in the past three decades.

Home of companies such as Nokia, the world's largest mobile phone manufacturer, Finland has captured the attention of governments looking to shift their economic base away from traditional industries towards a more innovative focus.

Finnish President Tarja Halonen said a small nation like Finland needed to look beyond its basic primary industries to remain economically relevant.

"We can never compete with quantity so we decided to compete with quality," Ms Halonen said.

"Of course for this we need a better level of expertise."

She said a history of clean government and a focus on ecological sustainability had been a drawcard for investors, especially those in the private sector.

"It has also been quite safe to put together both public and private activities," she said.

Finland was recently mentioned in report to the prime minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council as a case for greater private-public investment in research and education.

While Australia and Finland are almost poles apart geographically, both countries share a number of common traits, such as relatively small populations that inhabit large land masses that are rich in resources.

With only 5.2 million people, Finland's population density of 16 people per square kilometre makes it the third most sparsely populated country in Europe.

Raimo Väyrynen heads the Academy of Finland, which provides funding for scientific research and advises the Finnish government on science and science policy.

"Finland is a country that shouldn't have developed," Mr Väyrynen said.

"But social development in Finland came ahead of economic development ... that is basic education started to develop in the late 19th century, earlier than most other parts of Europe.

"The early development of the social conditions of the country helped to make way for economic development as well."

Ms Halonen also credited Finland's innovative achievements to its approach to education.

Finland's research and development spend accounts for 3.5 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP), a higher percentage than that of most European Union nations.

It intends to lift this percentage to four per cent by 2010.

Australia's spending on research in comparison was 1.8 per cent of GDP in 2004/05, below the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average of 2.3 per cent.

Jim Peacock, Australia's chief scientist, who provides advice on science, technology and innovation issues to the government, said the Australian private sector needed to take a greater interest in innovation.

"The Business Council of Australia pointed out last year our ability to innovate requires a national commitment to maximise our potential," Dr Peacock said.

"We know we have a way to go."


* * *


Newstalk ZB, New Zealand - Feb 20, 2007


Talks with Finnish PM positive


Prime Minister Helen Clark is putting a positive spin on talks held in Wellington on Tuesday with visiting Finnish President Tarja Halonen.

They discussed free trade, future contacts in research and development, as well as issues involving the European Union.

While New Zealand's trade with Finland is minimal, Clark says the relationship can be strengthened through research, science and technology co-operation.

Halonen was quick to promote working holiday arrangements between the two countries. Clark says New Zealand has significant seasonal work opportunities and is keen to see Finnish people take them up.

Finland, which is run by a coalition government, has a population of about one million more than New Zealand, but its biggest city Helsinki has a slightly smaller population than Auckland.

Last year, Halonen was elected for a second six-year term as president.

She arrived in Auckland on Saturday for a five-day visit. On Sunday, she and Clark visited the bird sanctuary on Tiritiri Matangi Island in the Hauraki Gulf.

The president was welcomed to Government House by members of the Defence Force's Maori cultural group. On Wednesday she will lay a wreath at the National War Memorial and the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Buckle Street, Wellington.


* * *


AFP Photo/DEAN TREML
http://www.kaleva.fi/plusmedia/img/hires/20070219/hires_4907425_1F294B62C.jpg
Finland's President Tarja Halonen is familiarized with the traditional Maori way of greeting.


* * *


STT - 20.2.2007


New Zealand's Clark and Finland's Halonen laud unanimity


Tarja Halonen, Finland's president, and Helen Clark, New Zealand's prime minister, lauded their countries' unanimity after holding talks in the New Zealand capital of Wellington on Tuesday.

Ms Clark told reporters at a news conference after the meeting that the two leaders had discussed several questions and found they agreed on them all. In fact, Ms Clark said she could not think of a single topic on which they would have held opposite views.

One of the topics discussed in the meeting was peacekeeping operations, in which both Finland and New Zealand have been active.

According to Ms Clark her talks with President Halonen had shown that the two countries share a vision of a just, safe and sustainable world.

President Halonen's trip was the first state visit by a Finnish president to New Zealand. The president is to return to Finland on Thursday.



Reminds me a bit of Conan O'Brien's visit to Finland last year & his talks with Santa Claus on the relationships between Finland and the U.S.



John - :p

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - HOME - Wednesday 21.2.2007


Bentley icecapades stir up snow and tempers in Kuusamo

Learning how to handle a supercar on ice


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135225080871.jpeg
A Bentley Continental GT gets sideways on the ice of Kurkijärvi. The Bentleys are
up in Kuusamo because nowhere else in Europe could provide a proper winter and
a lake frozen enough to drive on.


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135225080875.jpeg
Jaana Voutilainen (left) and Arto Viitala have had enough of the growl of the
Bentley engines next door.


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135225080873.jpeg
Kurkijärvi is a wilderness lake to the west of Kuusamo. Kuusamo in turn is
the town just south of the popular Ruka ski-resort.


By Hanna Eriksson in Kuusamo


A track on the ice of Kurkijärvi, a wilderness lake to the west of the popular ski-resort of Kuusamo, is currently playing host to around three million euros' worth of steel, tinted glass, hide upholstery, and walnut trim.

The drivers of eleven luxury coupes and sedans are kicking up the snow on the track in turns. They are not testing the performance or acceleration of these thoroughbred vehicles, but trying to practice "safe winter driving".

There are dents in the snow walls surrounding the track, here and there the marks of tyres, and even one or two decent-sized holes.

These would not be interesting were it not for the fact that the object that made them - presumably when its driver lost control of his charge and careered headlong into the snow - was a Bentley Continental or Arnage with a price tag in excess of a quarter of a million euros.

This winter fun is definitely for the well-heeled.

Those behind the wheel are the sort of people with the wherewithal to buy their own Bentley and not worry about the cost of a few optional extras.

The customers have flown up here - some in their own private aircraft, others on scheduled flights - from around the world. They have left their own car safely in the garage back home.

Bentley trainer Peter Barnes starts up one of the cars and accelerates out onto the ice.

Barnes's task is to teach his customers how the big machine, propelled by upwards of 550 brake horsespower and with a claimed top speed close to 200 mph (for the Continental GT), can get out of shape on an icy road, and how it can be brought back under control again.

Few of the hundred or so customers who have arrived in Kuusamo have ever driven on ice before, and few will ever do so again after this.

"We teach them how to drive safely on ice and snow. I don't honestly think they would do this sort of stuff in their own car", laughs Bentley's marketing coordinator Reiko Käske as he stands on the lakeshore watching the cars and drivers going through their paces.

This is not an exercise leading to a required proficiency certificate - the practice sessions stop immediately if the customers announce they are getting bored.

The Bentleys are here in Kuusamo because nowhere else in Europe has been able to offer up a decent winter.

The ice on Kurkijärvi is nice and thick, more than enough to take the weight of a 2.4-tonne car, and the temperature is well enough below freezing to make your ears tingle.

The drivers are learning at a school run by former rally world champion Juha Kankkunen . Kankkunen, for his part, is in collaboration with a local motorsports entrepreneur Sauli Pätsi.

Not everyone around Kuusamo is so enthusiastic about the roar of the luxury cars on the Kurkijärvi ice.

Those who live on the eastern shore of the lake have been at loggerheads with Pätsi ever since the Bentleys arived here at the end of January - illegally, in the view of the Kurkijärvi locals.

The relevant body of the Kuusamo Council decided unanimously in mid-January that there would be no permit issued for ice-track driving on Kurkijärvi. However, when the fleet of Bentleys turned up and started their engines, the committee was recalled and they voted to grant a licence until the middle of February.

Sauli Pätsi says that no permit would have been required in any case, under the terms of the Off-Road Traffic Act of 1995, and that he has the necessary permission from the local fishing association.

Two of those who have been disturbed by the noise of the cars on the lake are Jaana Voutilainen and Arto Viitala, who lives just 200 metres from the track.

They ask why the cars could not have used the Torankijärvi ice circuit on a lake in the middle of Kuusamo, or on the other track - on dry land - in Kurkijärvi, where there are decent barrier-walls to reduce the noise.

"We've all built houses out here in the country in order that we can enjoy the peace and quiet. If the sounds of cars did not disturb us, then we'd be living in the town", says Voutilainen.

Sauli Pätsi counters that the Bentley customers specifically want to be out in the wilds and not in town.

"The Torankijärvi track has views of the built-up area of Kuusamo. The other track here, on the other hand, is not the same thing at all as real ice: there is no water under the surface, and you cannot go ice-fishing", argues Pätsi.

Right now there seems to be an armistice of sorts in force. The permit granted by the Kuusamo authorities runs until February 16th. Voutilainen says that there will not be any more driving on Kurkijärvi after that.

Pätsi is not so sure about the matter.



John - ;)

[Troll]

That is interesting.

[FinnFreak]

STT - 22.2.2007


Foreign overnight stays in Finland up 19 pct yr/yr in December


Overnight stays by foreign tourists in Finnish hotels increased in December 2006 compared with the year-ago period, according to figures released by Statistics Finland (SF) on Thursday.

December's overnight stays by non-residents were at 460,000, up by one fifth from the year before.

Overnight stays by Finns had also increased slightly and the total number of stays increased by 10 per cent to 1.2 million, including both Finns and foreigners.

The largest group of foreign tourists came from Britain and number of overnight stays by British tourists further increased by one third. However, the greatest increase, 46 per cent year-on-year, came from Russian tourists.


* * *


HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - FOREIGN - Thursday 22.2.2007


Wallin: Finnish tactics worked at EU climate talks


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135224175293.jpeg
This man in Somalia wades through his village which was destroyed by a flood
on the Juba river. The world already has more refugees who have fled climatic
conditions than "traditional" refugees displaced by war or political oppression.


The member states of the European Union agreed on Tuesday to cut back on emissions of greenhouse gases by 20 per cent by 2020. On Friday of last week the Finnish government had not been ready to publicly support the EU's unilateral commitment to the goal.

On Wednesday, Environment Minister Stefan Wallin (Swed. People's Party) said that Finland's tactics "were completely successful". He said Finland could not reveal its stance before Tuesday "for reasons of negotiation tactics".

Wallin said that the government decided before the negotiations in the EU to bring a burden-sharing aspect into the agreement. He said that the Finnish government wanted a fair and open arrangement, which takes the special conditions of each country into consideration. Wallin says that all of this was achieved, although the negotiations on the specifics of the sharing of the burden are still ahead.

Wallin said that before Tuesday it was unclear if the burden-sharing issue would be included or not.

He also sees as a victory the fact that the 20 per cent goal will not take effect until after agreement is reached on burden sharing. Another success was that the Commission would do all it can to avoid the so-called carbon drain - to prevent industry from abandoning existing locations.

Wallin notes that the government's need to keep its aims a secret may have left onlookers with a strange image of what was happening. The Finnish stance appeared to have changed overnight, when defeat turned into victory.

"It is a price we had to pay."

However, Parliament was aware of Finland's goals, and Parliament's Grand Committee approved Finland's negotiation mandate after a vote.

The Government Institute for Economic Research (VATT) estimates that the goal that was set could lead to the loss of up to 60,000 jobs. Wallin says that the estimate is a worst-case scenario. In his view the employment impact is reduced by the burden sharing aspect.

He also believes that in a global world, the problems caused by the agreement will be offset by other factors, such as jobs created by environmental technology.

Wallin points out that nothing has been reached on the sharing the burden except an aim at fairness and acceptance of special conditions.

Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) voiced scepticism before Tuesday's meeting, expressing concern about the impact that the treaty might have on jobs.

Later, in his blog, he praised Wallin and the agreement that was signed.

"Our contacts with Germany function very well, and as the current holder of the EU Presidency, Germany insisted on adhering to its recognition of Finland's special needs." Vanhanen added that there were close contacts among prime ministers' offices and the ministers of the environment in the previous week.

Wallin also praised Germany's input.



John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - CULTURE - Friday 23.2.2007


Money raised again for Mannerheim film


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135225324218.jpeg
Carl Gustav Emil Mannerheim


The seemingly everlasting feature film project about the life of Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Defence Forces during World War II, is slowly moving forward. "We hope to have the necessary funding together by the summer", explains producer Markus Selin of Solar Films production company.

Presently Selin is in the middle of a negotiating round for funding for the movie and has refrained from going into any greater detail on the current status of the film that has been on the drawing-board for years.

"We’ve been on this road for eight years", the producer commented.

According to the British film magazine Screen, the Mannerheim movie in its present form would be a Finnish-Russian co-production, with an estimated budget of EUR 12-14 million. In other words, the film would be the most expensive production in the history of Finnish cinema.

Further funding is still being sought at least from two other countries, the magazine revealed on Wednesday.

"Getting the funding together has actually been less difficult than I expected. Mannerheim seems to be as well known in Russia as he is in Finland", Selin says in the Screen interview.

The film will be directed by Renny Harlin, who is currently working on a Samuel L. Jackson vehicle, a thriller called Cleaner.

Mannerheim’s original screenplay by Heikki Vihinen is in Finnish, but Selin refuses to reveal in which language the actual movie will be shot.

Selin believes the actual filming of Mannerheim could commence early next year, in which case the première could take place even at the end of the same year. Solar Films plans to make an announcement on the matter at the beginning of June - a date that marks the 140th anniversary of Mannerheim’s birth.


http://www.mannerheim.fi



John - ;)

[Troll]

Thanks for the info.

[RJ]

STT / Pohjalainen - 19.2.2007


Finland's Prime Minister, Matti Vanhanen:

"Televised election debates do not serve democracy"

http://www.interet-general.info/IMG/matti-vanhanen-1.jpg


John - :p
My Goodness, this guy looks young!

Isn't there anyone in Finland over age 50?

(He's probably on target, about the lunacy of letting the entertainment industry run elections.)

[RJ]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - CULTURE - Friday 23.2.2007


Money raised again for Mannerheim film


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135225324218.jpeg
Carl Gustav Emil Mannerheim


The seemingly everlasting feature film project about the life of Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Defence Forces during World War II, is slowly moving forward. "We hope to have the necessary funding together by the summer", explains producer Markus Selin of Solar Films production company.
...,

http://www.mannerheim.fi

John - ;)

Hmn, the Ruskies have a lot of oil money now. So their joint funding offers, might be a tad assertive, to influence the tone of the movie, which I think, includes fighting not only between Finns and Germans, but between Finns and Russians.

Anyway, please let us know when this movie comes out. I want to see it.

[FinnFreak]

We've always been a bit problematic: nobody can like us 100%.

BECAUSE WE'RE FINNS.


John - :]

[aFinn]

What's wrong with us? :uhh:



:p

[FinnFreak]

Nothing wrong - but I'd like to tone down the likable aspect... to gain some more in the credibility, especially in the foreign affairs department...

Tolerate, understand, depend on - the last one being the most significant, IMO...


John - ;)

[RJ]

I rate the dependability factor, far higher than the fun factor. Fun is subjective, and often dependent on emotion. I enjoy smiling as much as the next person. But growing up with younger siblings, I couldn't help but notice, as an unbiased and nonintrusive observer, how often too much laughing led to crying. I guess anything can be overdone. But emotions seem naturally volatile, with a multiplier effect, of not only the good, but also the bad.

[aFinn]

Tolerate, understand, depend on - the last one being the most significant, IMO...


John - ;)I wouldn't mind being tolerable, understandble or dependable :p

[FinnFreak]

EnjoyFrance.com, France - Feb 25, 2007


Jacques Villeneuve is in doubt over driver Kimi Räikkönen


Jacques Villeneuve has said that he thinks Finnish racing driver Kimi Räikkönen is "overrated" and doubts he is up to the standard to replace Michael Schumacher.

Born in Espoo, Finland, Kimi Räikkönen is a Formula One racing car driver for Scuderia Ferrari who finished runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in both 2003 and 2005, however, former world champion driver Jacques Villeneuve says the Finn lacks the all-round ability needed for the job.

Jacques Villeneuve explained to F1 magazine that he feels the job of team leader at Ferrari will go to Brazilian driver Felipe Massa, and of Kimi Räikkönen he said:

"Kimi's overrated as a driver package, because apart from jumping in a car and going fast, he really doesn't care about the rest."

Canadian Jacques Villeneuve had partnered Felipe Massa at Sauber in 2005 and became a fan of his skills as a Formula One racing driver.

"If there are no fireworks with Räikkönen and Ferrari then it'll be fine, but only if Felipe manages to drive the team," Jacques Villeneuve said.




:uhh: - hmmm... he's a got a point there... I've sometimes wondered, if even Mika Häkkinen would've ever fit with Ferrari - the Finnish mindset might not be flamboyant enough, compared to drivers from a latin background... McLaren-Mercedes was perhaps a better fit for Kimi, IMO...



John - :smirk: