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

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - SPORT - Tuesday 27.2.2007


Foreign players earn more in Finnish hockey league

Average player earns just under EUR 68,000

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135225420088.jpeg
According to taxation information, the 38-year-old veteran Finnish player Janne
Ojanen of Tappara in Tampere earned in excess of EUR 183,000 in 2005, in other
words clearly above the league average. For the most part, foreign players earn
considerably more in the top league than do their Finnish colleagues - and the pay
differential is not always reflected in their performance on the ice or their goals
and assists records.


Players in the Finnish National Ice Hockey League (SM-liiga) earn an average salary of just under EUR 68,000 this season.

Last season’s average was EUR 56,000.

The figure appears in the Finnish Hockey Players Association’s annual player survey published on Monday.

According to the study, foreign players earn clearly more than their Finnish colleagues. Their yearly average wage is just over EUR 123,000. A Finnish player pockets half of that, EUR 61,000 per season.

Prior to this season, the average salary has sneaked above the EUR 60,000 mark only once before, namely during the NHL shutout of 2004-2005.

The player enquiry reveals that nearly one out of three foreign players (28 respondents in all) earn in excess of EUR 150,000 in a season.

Only ten percent of the Finnish players announced that they would make over EUR 150,000 in the season 2006-2007.

In the country’s second highest ice hockey league, Mestis, the player salaries are much more modest. The average annual salary for Mestis part-timers is in the region of EUR 6,000.

The suggestion of a salary cap by Jukka-Pekka Vuorinen, who started as the Finnish National Ice Hockey League’s managing director at the beginning of the year, was completely slated by nearly all the players.

A salary cap to teams was opposed by 85 per cent of the players, whereas no fewer than 94 per cent of them objected to the idea of putting a cap to the earnings of an individual player.

There are also rumours that an illegal transfer compensation system is in operation within the league.

A transfer compensation system should be annulled in the SM-liiga, yet the latest poll suggests this is not the case. Around 30 players reported that the transfer compensation system has brought additional complications to their contract signing.

The Finnish Hockey Players Association’s chairman of the board, former hockey player Keijo Säilynoja reveals he has been contacted by several players regarding the matter.

"But the players do not want to be named in fear of further complicating their contract negotiations", Säilynoja adds.



John - :smirk:

[FinnFreak]

Heared at the Oscars:


“This show is seen by millions of people all around the world, Japan and... Finland, don’t forget Finland. I love Finland.” - Richard Roeper on The Red Carpet @ the Oscars



:uhh: - I've heared the guy's nuts - now we've got the proof. :p



John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

Furthermore - it should also be noted, that...


:uhh: - ummm...


:huh: - hmmm...


:dunno: - oh, well...



;) - ...here's another pic of Kiira instead:


http://image52.webshots.com/152/9/16/24/2226916240085899555WZOVUX_ph.jpg



John - :p

[aFinn]

Heared at the Oscars:


“This show is seen by millions of people all around the world, Japan and... Finland, don’t forget Finland. I love Finland.” - Richard Roeper on The Red Carpet @ the Oscars



:uhh: - I've heared the guy's nuts - now we've got the proof. :p



John - ;)Who's he, I've never heard of him?

[FinnFreak]

http://www.nndb.com/people/236/000027155/roeper.jpg

Richard Roeper (born October 17, 1959) is a columnist/film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times and, since September of 2000, has co-hosted Ebert & Roeper with fellow film critic Roger Ebert.


:uhh: - ...and he admits he *likes* the movies by Aki Kaurismäki...


...a NUT - like I said...


John - :p

[aFinn]

But nobody likes movies by Kaurismäki! :shocked:

[FinnFreak]

I agree. :p


What I'd like to see, is some big-name hot shot critic dare to give praise to Spede Pasanen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spede_Pasanen) instead... :D


Though, Aki Kaurismäki has been amusing on a few rare occasions...

"He gained worldwide fame with his movie Leningrad Cowboys Go America" - Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aki_Kaurismaki)


höhöö.


John - :p

[EilleenTwain88]

Though, Aki Kaurismäki has been amusing on a few rare occasions...
He IS an amusing guy in person. His sense of humor is somewhat alike with Juice's... very dry and sarcastic. Sometimes it takes me whole two minutes (or more) to get the joke, etc.

But his movies... :cry: ... there I must agree with you guys. They are BORING. I fall aspleep after ten minutes - no matter how hard I try to stay awake. What is more frightening though, that many people think that they "know" Finns when they have seen those :shocked: ?!?!?

[FinnFreak]

His "dancing" at Cannes was "amusing" as well.


John - :p

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - SPORT - Wednesday 28.2.2007


Heikki Kovalainen is not worried by the doubters

Fernando Alonso's successor at Renault had an opportunity to learn the ropes last season

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135220933541.jpeg
Heikki Kovalainen at the Hungarian GP in August 2006, when rumours of his
contract to drive the Renault F1 car this year were rife in the sport.
The announcement came in September.


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135225264050.jpeg
Heikki Kovalainen and the Renault crew practising pit-stop routines during
pre-season testing in Barcelona last week.


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135225434635.jpeg
In a high-speed crash while testing on the Sakhir circuit in Bahrain today (27.2.),
Heikki Kovalainen's Renault took a beating, but the driver walked away unscathed.


By Juha Päätalo in Barcelona


The position of Finnish drivers in Formula One on the cusp of a new season is better than ever before. Kimi Räikkönen at Ferrari and Heikki Kovalainen in the Renault seat are offering up a double Finnish motor sports dream-ticket.

Then again, both men face enormous pressures from stepping into rather large shoes. Räikkönen has to replace the great Michael Schumacher, and Kovalainen will be sitting in the cockpit formerly occupied by Fernando Alonso, the F1 World Champion in 2005 and 2006.

For Kovalainen in particular the upcoming season is going to be quite some baptism, as it is also his rookie year in Formula One.

But.. the man from Suomussalmi is not getting any headaches about the season that gets under way in Melbourne on March 17th.

"I really haven't thought about the first race at all yet", Kovalainen told Helsingin Sanomat.

"Now I'm concentrating solely on testing. When we get to Melbourne there will be time to think about the race. But I really don't expect I'm going to be getting too jittery then, either. I've prepared myself well for the season, so the outcome ought to be good. If it isn't, then I can only say that I've done everything I could. That's why I really don't see any point in getting all stressed out right now about what happens next month in Australia."

Many experts have predicted that Kovalainen is in for a rough ride this coming season. The most positive of them, Patrick Head of Williams, has applauded Kovalainen's approach to his work but issues the reminder that it is one thing to test a car and quite another to race wheel-to-wheel.

"Look, I've been driving different types of car for fifteen years in races, so I'm a bit doubtful that a pause of one year is going to present much of a problem", says Kovalainen by way of an answer to Head's remarks.

"Anyway, this can't become a problem, because I have to hit the ground running and find the proper rhythm right from the beginning. People can take whatver view they want, but to my mind it is better to wait and see what happens at the first GP and then open their mouth after that. I light up quickly, I'm aggressive, and I don't stand around with my mouth hanging open on things, so I believe I'll be able to drive to a high standard straight out of the box."

Renault engineer Pat Symonds is not quite so sure. "We're going to see some great performances from Heikki, but we'll also see mistakes that we'll wonder about afterwards, and we'll ask ‘How could he have done that?'", forecasts Symonds.

"There are always going to be mistakes, but it is not as if I'm going to start driving like a madman. I try to avoid shunts as far as is humanly possible, I overtake only when there is a clear opportunity. And if there isn't then I tuck in behind the car in front and wait for an opening. I'm not sure where Pat is coming from with his comments. Maybe it's just realism. But I shall be going out to take my place in the race, and not with the idea of trying to avoid making mistakes. And if mistakes do come, then they have to be got over quickly."

As the successor to two-time champion Alonso, Kovalainen will be as much under the magnifying glass as Räikkönen is in the Schumacher shoes. It would be only natural that this would have a subconscious effect on the sportsman, even if Kovalainen vehemently denies it.

"Alonso has done with his racing for Renault, and now it is my turn. Sure, he's a very fine driver, one of the best, and getting into that sort of caste requires that everything goes exactly as it should. But there is no sense in even thinking about that sort of thing yet."

"If I drive my first race worse than Alonso, it is not going to trouble me so greatly. I will be trying to improve my performance one race at a time."

Kovalainen admits that he has benefited from being able to observe Alonso in action in the Renault at close quarters last season.

"Yes, although there wasn't anything particularly magical or mystical about it. It was necessary to avoid mistakes, to keep the performance-level high, and to keep your nerves in check. And Alonso is a real master at all that. He didn't make any mistakes and he kept his performances behind the wheel at a peak all season. And that's what I'll be aiming for."

Last season, Alonso also was put through the mill mentally, when the sport's umbrella organisation the FIA banned the "mass damper" developed by the team and then gave him a bizarre punishment for blocking in practice at the Italian GP at Monza.

On this score, Kovalainen actually finds things that Alonso might improve about his approach to the sport.

"He reacted pretty abruptly to those things, even if the punishments he got were plenty stiff", says Kovalainen. "But it might just have been better then to let it go and concentrate solely on one's next performance. There's little or nothing you can do about it once it's done."

"Then again, after the team made mistakes following the GP in China, Alonso himself turned in a 110% race performance at Suzuka in Japan", says Kovalalnien admiringly. "He gave Schumacher such a grilling that the Ferrari engine blew. That was a moment where Alonso's mental strength showed its true colours. And you can learn an awful lot from that."

Kovalainen's position as he prepares for the new season is admittedly very different from Alonso's, as the Spaniard went into last season with the champion's laurels and the authority that goes with them. Attaining a stature like that with the Renault crews will take a great deal of work from the rookie Finn.

"It's a place you can only reach by your driving", he admits. "I have to show the team people that I am going to fight for every metre on the track, right to the flag. And when they see that I give my all in testing and in races, then I'll certainly start to get more back from the staff."



John - ;):up:

[aFinn]

His "dancing" at Cannes was "amusing" as well.
Oh? I thought that was embarrassing :huh:



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.

----------

: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:I also have some reservations at what is going to happen there, but what I am wondering is why Villeneuve is always offering his 'views' on each and every driver, all the time.

[FinnFreak]

Oh? I thought that was embarrassing :huh:

heh... artists can usually get away with their bohemian behaviour. ;)




I also have some reservations at what is going to happen there, but what I am wondering is why Villeneuve is always offering his 'views' on each and every driver, all the time.

Those, who can't drive... nääh.


John - :p

[FinnFreak]

I came across this study published by the University of Washington - done by a Finn, titled:

English in contact with "the most difficult language in the world": the linguistic situation of Americans living in Finland


This is going to be a fun read - the title promises so much controversy: it's the first time I see an academic claim that Americans speak English...


John - :p

[Troll]

Sounds interesting.

[FinnFreak]

Sounds interesting.

It is - I just gave a copy to an Indian friend of mine, went through a couple of pages & we started laughing til it hurt. :p


"Pffft, English. Who needs that. I'm never going to England" - Homer J. Simpson


John - ;)

[tower]

I came across this study published by the University of Washington - done by a Finn, titled:

English in contact with "the most difficult language in the world": the linguistic situation of Americans living in Finland


This is going to be a fun read - the title promises so much controversy: it's the first time I see an academic claim that Americans speak English...


John - :p

Well John as the Good Doctor in the Original Star Trek series would of said once... "It's English Jim, but not as you know it" ;)

[Troll]

"Pffft, English. Who needs that. I'm never going to England" - Homer J. Simpson


John - ;)

That is a great line.

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - HOME - Friday 2.3.2007


Poll: More than half of Finns want more immigration

Over ten percent express openly racist views

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135225507343.jpeg
Helsinki bus drivers Aare Feigenbaum (left) and Abi Rashid (right) and shop
steward Hannu Laitinen taking a break in the drivers' lounge in Herttoniemi
in Eastern Helsinki. More than half of all new drivers of Helsingin Bussiliikenne,
which operates most public bus lines in the Finnish capital, are foreign-born.


A majority of Finns feel that Finland should take more immigrants, according to a poll commissioned by NYT - the weekly Friday supplement of Helsingin Sanomat.

Of all respondents, 56 per cent answered "yes" to the question "should Finland take more immigrants?", while 36 per cent did not want any more immigrants in Finland.

The most frequent explanation for a negative view was that "problems should be solved in the countries of origin", or that "Finland should primarily take care of its own citizens".

The older the respondent, and the lower the person's income, the more negative the attitude toward immigration. Residents of the Helsinki region were more positively disposed toward immigrants than those living in other parts of the country.

Analysing the results, Juhani Iivari, head of research at the National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health (STAKES) notes that in a comparison of political party affiliations of the respondents, supporters of the centre party were the most conservative, with 43 per cent saying that Finland should not take any more immigrants. At the other end, 90 per cent of those identifying themselves as supporters of the Green League wanted more immigration.

The respondents' place of residence also had a bearing on the matter: the closer to the Helsinki region a person lives, the more open he or she is to immigration. Iivari attributes this to the fact that immigration is a more visible phenomenon in the Helsinki region, and that people are more used to it.

Those opposing more immigration were given a list of possible reasons for the view, and were asked if they agreed with the argument.

Iivari divided the arguments into three different categories: rational, conservative, and racist. An example of the latter is "it is unnatural for people of such different races to live in Finland".

The poll indicated that 28 per cent of men felt this way.

"Fortunately, the rational argument predominates. But what is interesting are these racist arguments", Iivari says, and continues: "First, the older a respondent, the more frequent it is for an argument to be racist."

Racist attitudes are most prevalent among farmers and pensioners. Supporters of the Greens had the fewest responses that can be considered racist.

"Racist fears can be found among those who do not vote at all, and among supporters of the Centre Party and the Social Democrats."

Those earning less than EUR 20,000 a year had the greatest proportion of racist attitudes. The lower the income, the stronger the negative feelings.

Among all of the respondents, 10 to 12 per cent express racist thinking. Iivari notes that a political party winning all of their votes "could conceivably win more than ten seats in Parliament".



...we NEED more immigrants - the problem IMO is, who the heck in their right mind wants to come here..?



John - :p

[EilleenTwain88]

......we NEED more immigrants - the problem IMO is, who the heck in their right mind wants to come here..?
Only the most desperate ones, eh? :D

[FinnFreak]

Only the most desperate ones, eh? :D

Conan was pretty desperate to gain more viewers, yes.


John - :p

[FinnFreak]

STT - 5.3.2007 at 17:41


Finnish SDP clashes with non-socialists over advertising


Finland's opposition National Coalition party and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), which governs in coalition with the Centre party, resumed their row over each others' election advertising on Monday following Sunday's announcement by the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) that it was pulling the plug on its controversial television campaign.

The Conservatives were encouraged by the SAK move to call on the SDP to withdraw its television ads. Maarit Feldt-Ranta, the Social Democrats' party secretary, responded by saying that the National Coalition party's own advertising "at the same time attacks and laughs at the expense of the president of the republic and the speaker of Parliament, specifically mentioning them".

"It is appalling that the chairman of the [National Coalition party] parliamentary faction, Jyri Häkämies, still has the nerve to voice critique on SDP advertising," Ms Feldt-Ranta added.

Taru Tujunen, the National Coalition party secretary, for her part questioned Ms Feldt-Ranta's judgment.

"The National Coalition party's ad only seeks to shed the deserved light upon the SDP's groundless image advertising by reminding people of the truth," Ms Tujunen said in a statement.

Mr Häkämies said the SDP's ads had been made with the same tastelessness as the cancelled SAK one.

Referring to an SDP ad where two men donning ties make their woman subordinate hold up a dartboard in front of her face, Mr Häkämies added Eero Heinäluoma, the SDP leader, should follow the example set by Lauri Ihalainen, the SAK chairman, and cancel the television campaign.

Alpo Rusi, a Centre party candidate, announced he intended to find out whether the SAK ad had broken the law, adding he would report it to the police if it did.



HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - HOME - Tuesday 6.3.2007


SAK cancels controversial political television advertisements


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135225569626.jpeg
In the SAK television advertisement aimed at
encouraging blue-collar workers to take part
in the upcoming Parliamentary election, an
avaricious business executive played by actor
Oiva Lohtander gorges himself with food while
reveling in the notion that workers usually do
not bother to vote. The SAK has now decided
to cancel the spots, which had been seen as
offensive by many.


The Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK), Finland's largest labour union confederation, decided on Sunday evening to cancel a television advertising campaign, aimed at encouraging members of its affiliate unions to vote in the upcoming Parliamentary election. The campaign had sparked a good deal of irritation and anger, especially among entrepreneurs.

A number of Parliamentary candidates in the Social Democratic Party joined those who felt that the two TV spots were not in good taste.

In the cancelled TV advertisements a gluttonous corporate executive played by actor Oiva Lohtander stuffs food in his mouth and fondles dead trophy animals, taking delight in the observation that workers in Finland tend not to vote.

The ads were made public a week ago and they were scheduled to begin airing on commercial television channels as of today.

The decision to drop the ads was made by Matti Tukiainen, who had originally been behind the effort, and SAK President Lauri Ihalainen after discussions with leaders of SAK-affiliated unions. "It was a common decision of the leadership", Tukiainen said. Ihalainen did not give any statements on the matter on Sunday.

One reason for the decision, according to Tukiainen, was that the image of someone gorging himself with food was seen as offensive, and the discussion that it provoked focused on the style of the advertising, rather than the message of voter turnout. This did not promote the original idea of encouraging wage-earners to go to the polls.

The SAK is trying to produce a new advertisement for the time slots reserved for the spots that were now cancelled. Tukiainen suspects that there will not be enough time to produce the same kind of elaborate ad with an actor and a set.

Slots had been booked on two commercial networks for two weeks. SAK hopes to negotiate moving some of the slots to a later time in the period, in order to get more time to produce a replacement.

Before the cancellation, the ad was condemned by many political parties, and by many candidates of the Social Democratic Party.

There were fears in the rank-and-file of the Social Democratic Party that the SAK campaign would hurt the party in the elections.

For instance, Jukka Gustafsson wrote in his blog that instead of encouraging anyone to vote, the campaign primarily provokes anger.

Maria Guzenina-Richardson expressed her "disgust" with the campaign. Arja Alho said that it goes "against good behaviour". Minna Lintonen felt that the ad does not promote "the league between labour and capital".

On Sunday evening, Social Democratic Party Chairman Eero Heinäluoma briefly evaluated the decision of the SAK.

"It is an understandable, and most obviously a right decision. The purpose was good, but the implementation was obviously not on the mark."



It wasn't offensive - it's was 100% pure stupidity. Idiots.



John - :smirk:

[Troll]

Thanks for the articles.

[dreamer]

excuse me:faint::faint: I'm a bit overwelmed:faint:

[FinnFreak]

heh... my phavorite phunny blogger - Phil, at Finland For Thought - is now focusing on the differences between the education systems of the U.S. and Finland:



What the U.S. can learn from the Finnish education system - Part I: Vocational Schools


Finland’s education is consistently rated #1 in the world and the U.S.’s education is consistently in shambles. The U.S. have a lot to learn from the Finnish education system - over the next few days I’ll write my thoughts on what Finland does differently that the U.S. should take notice of. And we’ll start of with Vocational Schools (Ammattikoulu)…

I can’t speak for the rest of the United States, but in my home state of Maryland, spending your high school days in a vocational school was rare, and looked down upon. Few kids from my middle school went and the teachers and administration never encouraged it. Since about 96% of the kids in my class went to the normal high school, going to the vocational school (which was much further away) meant leaving all your friends, and it also kinda meant, “Hey, I’m giving up on college already at age 13″.

In Finland, trade schools are quite popular. At age 15-ish, Finnish students must choose whether they take the university-oriented track and attend high school, or take the trade-oriented track and attend a vocational school. Sometimes that choice is already made for them because the high schools have certain grade requirements, so if you’re not smart enough you don’t get in (although it’s supposed to be very easy to get in to most).

So in Finland, alot the vocational school kids graduate with some useful skills. High School is great if you plan to continue on to college, but if you don’t, the skills you’ve learned are quite worthless in the workplace. And that’s assuming you graduate at all - Baltimore City has a graduation rate of 38.5%. Why such a low graduate rate? Cause these kids are forced to learn Algebra, History, and Shakespeare up until their 18th birthday. These subjects are completely worthless to them, and I don’t blame them for dropping out. They’d be much better in a vocational school, learning a trade. The dropout rate would change dramatically and these kids would leave school with a useful skill.

Why doesn’t the U.S. promote vocational schools more often? My guess is that the bleeding-heart teachers and administrators 1) Don’t want kids giving up on college at age 13 and 2) Actually think Shakespeare is important to inner city poor kids and 3) Teachers care more about themselves instead of their students. I’ll talk more about #3 in Part II when I cover “School Choice”.


Follow the link to the discussion: http://www.finlandforthought.net/2007/03/06/what-the-us-can-learn-from-the-finnish-education-system-part-i-vocational-schools/



John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

STT - 7.3.2007


STT poll:

Finns want parties to talk plainly about Nato


Finns expect their parties to make clearer statements on Finland's possible membership in Nato than they have been able to produce thus far.

Some 69 per cent of the respondents in a Finnish News Agency (STT) poll hoped for a clear, or at least a qualified, statement either for or against membership in the military alliance.

A quarter of the respondents said they did not at this stage require any response on Nato from the parties.

Commissioned by STT, research company Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) asked the respondents the following question: "Thinking next about Finland's possible Nato membership and the forthcoming general election. What kind of answer would you hope to hear from the parties regarding Finland's possible membership?"

About 26 per cent said they hoped for a clear stand against membership and 12 per cent hoped the parties would come up with a qualified no. Some 14 per cent said they hoped the parties would clearly voice their support for Nato membership, with 17 per cent hoping for qualified support.

The opinions were split along party lines, much in the same way as in earlier Nato polls. Some 60 per cent of National Coalition party supporters hoped for statements in favour of membership, while supporters of other parties were more likely to hope for negative statements.

TNS interviewed 1,001 Finns aged 15 and above, excluding inhabitants of the Åland Islands, between 21 February and 1 March. The margin of error is three percentage points either way.

Advance voting in the general election began on Wednesday. Election day is Sunday 18 March.


Also:

http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Majority+of+Finnish+military+officers+support+NATO +membership/1135225518785

http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Poll+Finns+taking+increasingly+negative+view+of+NA TO+membership/1135222954025



John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

:shocked: - heeeeyyy... I just realized:

I haven't posted any pics of Tanja for a very long long time...


http://newsroom.finland.fi/netcomm/ImgLib/3/115/0302_keskusta_b.jpg
Minister of Culture Tanja Saarela (left) and Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen
from the Finnish Centre Party spoke on March 1 about the next steps in
their party's parliamentary election campaign. Election day is 18 March.


Finns: remember to VOTE..!


John - ;)

[aFinn]

What are the pre-voting dates?

[FinnFreak]

It has started today and goes on to next Tuesday.


Advance voting in Finland’s Parliamentary elections began today - Wednesday - and continues until Tuesday next week.The actual election day is Sunday March 18th, while advance voting is arranged in Finland on March 7 to 13 and abroad on March 7 to 10. Four years ago, some 37 per cent of voters cast their ballots in advance.


John - :)

[aFinn]

It has started today and goes on to next Tuesday. Ah thanks, then I still have time to do it on Monday or Tuesday.
...If I can find the voting slip :uhh:

[Myyde]

Finns: remember to VOTE..!


John - ;)

Why? Are you a candidate? What party?

What`s the point? It`s gonna be same old BS anyway. Only thing they will do in 4 years is that they raise their own salaries, greedy "#"¤#"¤#:smirk:

[FinnFreak]

...and here's another picture of Mrs Saarela giving a lecture yesterday at the University of Helsinki on the subject of Forum Humanum - Spirituality, Tolerance and Ideologies in Our World

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



John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

Why?

Because it's our duty as citizens of a democratic country, to ensure by voicing our opinion that the decisions made on our behalf remain democratic and reflective of the people's will.


...or something like that... maybe even to confuse the heck out of the parties... :p



Are you a candidate?

No way.

a) I don't have the time

&

b) I'm NOT moving to Helsinki :p




What party?

A Party For Two. :D




What`s the point? It`s gonna be same old BS anyway. Only thing they will do in 4 years is that they raise their own salaries, greedy "#"¤#"¤#:smirk:

The continuous salary increases is one thing I strongly oppose as well. It's a confidential post & if one honestly has a calling to serve in politics - they should be compensated fairly... but money should NEVER be the driving force.


... and if for no other reason - vote for the party/candidate who got hit with the most negative ads... to ensure that those hate campaigners' powers get minimized.


John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

...or - vote for Tanja Saarela:


http://huumori.tuomo.net/kuvat/karpela1.jpg


John - :biglaugh:

[Troll]

...and here's another picture of Mrs Saarela giving a lecture yesterday at the University of Helsinki on the subject of Forum Humanum - Spirituality, Tolerance and Ideologies in Our World

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



John - ;)

Awesome pic.

[Myyde]

...or - vote for Tanja Saarela:


http://huumori.tuomo.net/kuvat/karpela1.jpg


John - :biglaugh:
:funny: Propably most representative pic of Tanja ..:p

OK, i`ll give my vote to Eddie. He doesn`t fear to show what he thinks about these clowns politics.:smirk:

[FinnFreak]

:funny: Propably most representative pic of Tanja ..:p

Personally, I've always liked this one: ;)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v434/FinnFreak/TanjaKarpela008.jpg




OK, i`ll give my vote to Eddie. He doesn`t fear to show what he thinks about these clowns politics.:smirk:

http://www.delphidude.com/personal/discographies/iron_maiden/run_to_the_hills_2.jpg

That's true. :D


- hmmm... hasn't it been reported, that for years there has been enough votes for a certain character to enter the Finnish Parliament..?


http://www.lehtitilaus.fi/kuvat/akuankka.jpg


John - :p

[FinnFreak]

There now seems to be two rival views on how Finland should be considered:


a) http://www.nullwave.net/essentials2.jpg


and


b) http://www.finlandforthought.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/visit_finland.jpg


...and, according to a recent poll:


Your favorite region of Finland?


Unsettled Wilderness (72%)

Southern Finland (13%)

Central Finland (12%)

Northern Finland (3%)



John - :p

[Troll]

Finnish MP seeks votes in Klingon

HELSINKI (Reuters) - A Finnish member of parliament is aiming for re-election by campaigning with a translation of his Web site into Klingon, used in the TV series Star Trek.

"Some have thought it is blasphemy to mix politics and Klingon," said Jyrki Kasvi, an ardent Trekkie. "Others say it is good if politicians can laugh at themselves."

He said his politics posed some translation difficulties, since Klingon does not have words for matters such as tolerance, or for many colours, including green -- the party under whose banner he is running in the national elections on March 18.

Non-warriors can also access the site, www.kasvi.org, in English, Swedish and Finnish.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070309/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_finland_klingon;_ylt=ApiYKEMMCB4DP5oxSk2O 8yPMWM0F

[SevenUp!]

Personally, I've always liked this one: ;)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v434/FinnFreak/TanjaKarpela008.jpg


John - :p

I'll go along with you on that one John. ;) Nice picture. :D

[FinnFreak]

Virtual Finland - 9.3.2007


Finnish music storming North America


by Joe Brady


When Osmo Vänskä stepped onto the conductor's rostrum at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. on 8 March it was the climax to a long winter season of success for Finnish serious music in the eastern United States and inland as far as Minnesota, where maestro Vänskä is Music Director of the Minneapolis Orchestra.

Apart from Vänskä's success in the nation's capital, there were many other high points in this year's winter season. Notable among them was the world premiere of Esa-Pekka Salonen's new piano concerto which took place in New York City on 1 February. The work was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic and the soloist chosen for the first performance was Yefim Bronfman.

Another celestial event was the production of Kaija Saariaho's new work 'Notes on Light' which premiered on 22 February to mark the 125th anniversary of the establishment of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The conductor in Boston was another eminent Finn highly acclaimed in the USA and Canada: Jukka-Pekka Saraste.

Closer to the earth yet stellar in their genre are Värttinä, the Finnish ensemble renowned in folk and world music circles. They played six dates in January on a tour that took them from Massachusetts to Chicago. The foregoing are just a few in a long list of musical events involving Finnish personalities.


Respect and adulation

The list of Finnish engagements on the North American music scene really does go on, and on, and on. In the space of a few years Finnish musical personalities have won the respect and admiration of music lovers, including the most hard-headed music critics, all over North America.

In terms of media coverage and adulation, soprano Karita Mattila is the megastar of Finnish serious music. Here career has been an upward curve ever since she won the BBC's Singer of the World award in Cardiff back in 1983. Today, she works increasingly in the US, especially at the New York Metropolitan Opera, where she is deservedly regarded as Queen of the Met.

What then underpins the popularity that encompasses so many Finnish singers, composers and conductors? Virtuosity is the primary quality of course, nationality may be important too; and perhaps the two factors work together. All of the big names in Finnish serious music - performers and composers alike - are the offspring of a society where music is encouraged and supported not only with words but with practical infrastructure too.


Encouraging the young, understanding the market

The young of Finland are taught to make music before they can read and write. Later, talented teenagers can develop their musical skills in secondary school classes tailored for them. And it is crucial to remember that the high level of opportunity is not available only for students of serious music, there are opportunities also for aspiring rock, pop, jazz and folk practitioners alongside their 'classical' contemporaries.

Young promising music students of Helsinki and New York were given a chance to collaborate during the past winter season. Students of Finland's Sibelius Academy joined ranks with their peers at the Juilliard School of Music in a joint concert of student ensembles, namely the Piano Quintet of the Sibelius Academy with the String Quartet of the Juilliard School; the Chorus of the Sibelius Senior High School with the Senior Chorus of La Guardia High School.

It is easy to verify the equality factor between rock and classical. Read the online news bulletin of Music Export Finland which applauds 'The Great Finnish Invasion of the North American Music Market'. The list of engagements clearly demonstrates that Finnish rock and pop acts are now crossing the Atlantic in droves to do gigs in America, where Finnish-made teen music was, until recently, completely unknown.


New strategy for exporting culture

On 1 March this year an ambitious, dynamic new plan for the promotion of cultural exports was published here in Finland. Entitled YES!–Proposal for Finland’s Cultural Export Promotion Programme 2007-2011, it was drawn up in cooperation by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Industry, and Education. The proposal, compiled under the leadership of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, outlines Finland’s strategy for the export of culture.

According to the authors of the proposal, by the year 2011: "Cultural exports will have grown into an acknowledged part of Finnish exports. The value of cultural exports will have at least tripled and the creative sectors will have made the structure of industry and commerce more varied. They will also have created new jobs.

Culture will form a distinctively more pronounced part of Finland’s brand image. The economic wellbeing of individuals and groups working in cultural sectors will have improved through cultural exports."

The programme outlines export strategies for eleven spheres of culture: namely film and other branches of the audiovisual sector; literature; cultural tourism; fine art; design; museums; music; games; dance; and theatre.

The task of the ministries is to create favourable conditions for the development of exports in the cultural sector. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs, for instance, is the body with partial responsibility for joint projects aimed at increasing export skill, in support of major export events and in developing cooperation between Finland’s missions abroad and Finnish cultural institutions.

In general, YES! endeavours to avoid the creation of new, cumbersome bureaucratic structures and to utilise primarily existing systems and structures. On the whole, YES! would, so it will be no surprise if Finnish musical invaders, led perhaps by Lordi, land on a beach near you some day soon.



John - ;)

[Troll]

That is neat.

[FinnFreak]

Finnish MP seeks votes in Klingon

HELSINKI (Reuters) - A Finnish member of parliament is aiming for re-election by campaigning with a translation of his Web site into Klingon, used in the TV series Star Trek.

"Some have thought it is blasphemy to mix politics and Klingon," said Jyrki Kasvi, an ardent Trekkie. "Others say it is good if politicians can laugh at themselves."

He said his politics posed some translation difficulties, since Klingon does not have words for matters such as tolerance, or for many colours, including green -- the party under whose banner he is running in the national elections on March 18.

Non-warriors can also access the site, www.kasvi.org, in English, Swedish and Finnish.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070309/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_finland_klingon;_ylt=ApiYKEMMCB4DP5oxSk2O 8yPMWM0F

:biglaugh: - !!!


http://www.jyrkikasvi.fi/index.php?kli - Media sensation

This little page has brought a tremendous amount of publicity not to mention traffic to these pages. On March 11th 2007 the server actually crashed due to overload. But that is quite understandable because this page has been discussed at least in:

- CNN
- Reuters
- BBC News
- The Geek Beat
- Helsingin Sanomat
- Donna Paukku
- Tietokone
- Digitoday
- IT-viikko
- Finland for Thought


John - :p

[Troll]

That is interesting.

[FinnFreak]

Times Online - March 09, 2007


Helsinki's bounty

Cloudberries, wild mushrooms, Baltic herring and reindeer make for an extraordinary choice of recipes


By Rosa Jackson


In one of his less diplomatic moments French president Jacques Chirac once remarked that, except for the Finns, no-one eats worse than the Brits.

He couldn’t have been more wrong – and not just about the Brits. Like other Scandinavian capitals, Helsinki has a fast-developing restaurant scene that is increasingly making the most of exceptional local ingredients. In Europe’s northernmost country this might mean cloudberries (a tart, orange berry) and a profusion of wild mushrooms, Baltic herring and poro (the Finnish word for wild reindeer). Rye, wheat or spelt bread is often handmade on restaurant premises and even the butter is carefully sourced.

A walk around the covered brick market on the harbour leaves no doubt that Finland has a food tradition worth exploring. Several stalls display great slabs of smoked fish (salmon, herring and the more unusual whitefish) and giant glass bowls of glistening fish roe. Little open-faced sandwiches invite nibbling, as do crimped-edged Carelian pies, paper-thin rye pastry filled with rice porridge or potato.

For heartier appetites there are Finnish meat pies called lihapiirakka, which look like jelly doughnuts but contain a savoury meat filling. Reindeer, recently rebranded poro so as not to shock Rudolph fans, comes fresh, smoked, dried or in a pâté. Given the quality of the raw fish in Finland, it’s no surprise to see a long sushi stand such as you might find outside the Tokyo fish market.

Finnish cuisine has come a long way in recent years, with chefs growing considerably more confident (the Finns long saw themselves as underdogs) and diners more sophisticated. Before seeking out Helsinki’s best contemporary Finnish restaurants, however, be sure to make a pilgrimage to a beloved institution such as Kolme Kruunua. Here, it’s hard not to be charmed by the crowded, noisy, 1950s-diner-like atmosphere and heaping plates of fried herring and slow-simmered Finnish meatballs. The experience wouldn’t be complete without a shot (or three) of Jaloviina liquor, a cut brandy (made with brandy, hard grain liquor and no sugar) that you probably have to be Finnish to truly appreciate.

At the other end of the scale is Nokka, an elegant, high-ceilinged restaurant in a former warehouse overlooking the water. Red brick walls give the space warmth while chef Matti Lempinen can’t hide his enthusiasm for the ingredients he personally sources in northern Finland, including refreshing berry wines, wild fish, a broad selection of cheeses and salted butter so good that the restaurant’s crusty home-baked bread almost seems superfluous. His latest discovery is snow poro — a kind of cured meat made whose texture lies somewhere between raw and dried — which he serves with lingonberry and red onion relish. Lempinen holds high-energy cookery classes in an impressive Ferrari-red kitchen upstairs from the restaurant.

Nokka’s former chef, Markus Maulavirta, now runs the restaurants at Helsinki’s recently opened design hotel Klaus K. In the futuristic main restaurant, Ilmatar, the gap-toothed chef can often be seen dancing and beating away with an antler at a little drum – not just for show but as a real reflection of his joie de vivre. Maulavirta started promoting Finnish produce 25 years ago, long before other chefs, and still makes regular trips to Lapland where he has won the honour of becoming a reindeer herder (the right is usually passed down through families). At Ilmatar he favours game, freshwater fish, berries and other mainly organic Finnish products – even the breakfast buffet has smoked salmon from a small producer, local berries and porridge made with a different grain every day.

Two other new restaurants show how quickly Helsinki’s dining scene is changing. On the Eteläesplanadi (Esplanade), the main drag leading from the city centre to the harbour, two former chefs from the two-Michelin-star Chez Dominique and an award-winning maître d’hôtel opened a French-style bistro last May. In a deep-pink-and-cream setting with printed fabrics, modern light fixtures and striped curtains, Postres delivers contemporary bistro fare such as crab raviole with a foamy lobster sauce, veal cheek in deeply flavoured meat jus with tiny diced autumn vegetables, and plate-sized individual tarte Tatins (the pastry chef won Joël Robuchon's chef competition in 2005). Open only since August but packed to the gills in September, Olo Restaurant & Bar has more of a modern Nordic style, as seen in dishes such poached lavaret (a freshwater fish) with chanterelle mushrooms and allspice sauce, and roast venison with fried pumpkin.

A mark of Finland’s newfound pride in its own resources is that even international restaurants are starting to introduce a Finnish slant. At the very good Tuscan restaurant Sasso facing the harbour, local flavours work their way into the menu in dishes such as fried scallops with beetroot panna cotta and balsamic zabaglione. The same thing happens at La Cocina, where the young chef is not afraid to combine northern Spanish and Finnish flavours, as in lavaret with saffron salt and lemon alioli.

If poro is almost ubiquitous, bear remains something of a novelty so it’s well worth venturing out to the Helsinki suburb of Espoo by train or car to sample the bear burger at Paul’s Bistro in the stylish Hotel Sello. The chef, Mika Heiskanen, works directly with local hunters to obtain the meat, which is formed into compact patties and served in North African flatbread with Korean mayonnaise and little pots of homemade ketchup and mustard. Biting into this hearty and bold burger, it’s hard to believe that Finland ever felt meek about its cuisine.


NEED TO KNOW

Kolme Kruunua, Liisankatu 5. Tel. +358 9 1354172.

Nokka, Kanavaranta 7. Tel. +358 9 6877330.

Ilmatar, Bulevardi 2. Tel. +358 20 7704714.

Postres, Eteläesplanadi 8. Tel. +358 9 663300.

Olo, Kasarmikatu 44. Tel. +358 9 665565.

Sasso, Pohjoisesplanadi 17. Tel. +358 9 13456240.

La Cocina, Eteläranta 10. Tel. +358 9 13456749.

Paul’s Bistro, Leppävaarankatu 1, Espoo. Tel. +358 10 344 4212.


http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/travel/holiday_type/food_and_travel/article1493852.ece


John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - SPORT - Wednesday 14.3.2007


Nordic walking to the Olympics!

A hard-bitten sports journalist goes against his principles

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135220432518.jpeg
Nordic walking is a Finnish export item. It has travelled far afield, in fact a good
deal further than these young enthusiasts in Tallinn, Estonia. They seem to be
less bashful about their hobby than the author of the article.


By Ari Pusa


Tomps, tomps, tomps, tomps, skrrr, skrrr.

The sounds come from just behind me and they emanate from my poles. I'm feeling a bit strange, as I have found myself obliged to forgo one of my basic principles to live by, namely that I will never, ever go out for a Nordic walking jaunt.

Back in the office, I'd already received much sound advice for the endeavour, which took place the evening before last. "Don't forget to put your shades on, as that way the neighbours won't know it's you", suggested my colleague Pekka (names have not been changed to protect the guilty).

How have I come to this? The reason lies in nagging aches and pains I've been having in my shoulders and neck. Something radical had to be done, particularly after the chiropractor I visited led me to believe that my triceps brachii muscle on my left upper arm was in pretty disgusting shape. I believe "atrophied" was the word.

At push-comes-to-shove moments like this, apparently humans resort to extreme measures.

Tomps, tomps, skrrr, skrrr. On we go, and we're positively flying. Don't you even raise a sweat with this stuff?

When swinging the poles, it is good to let your thoughts flow freely. And that is of course one of the basic aims of all exercise.

Nordic walking has already developed into a burgeoning little export number for Finland.

But let's ramp things up a stage further while we walk. Make Nordic walking an Olympic event. How's that sound, eh?

An excellent choice for the man to champion such a venture would be Tuomo Jantunen. The executive director of Suomen Latu* can head off to Lausanne to acquaint the international Olympic family with the joys of the discipline just as soon as his election campaign obligations are out of the way.

Yes indeedy, it will turn the heads of those sports administrators when a former professional soldier starts to demand Olympic status for the event he developed.

Nordic walking would definitely go into the Summer Games programme. I mean, nobody goes out walking with poles in the snow.

Then again, there are so many events on the Olympic roster that something would have to be taken off the list. Hmmm.

Walking could get the chop. Nobody's interested in that. Except the Finns, of course, when a Finnish walker collects gold on road or track.

On the Nordic walking front, the Finns would have an excellent shot at Olympic glory. According to a questionnaire carried out in 2006, there are about 1.5 million Nordic walking enthusiasts in the country.

Marimekko would definitely have to be got on board, taking their product development in a new direction and producing an official Olympic pole in that colourful Unikko floral pattern.

Tomps, skrrr. Almost home now. My shirt's got a bit damp, and it's not from the rain.

My shoulders are warm and my arms are beginning to send distress signals. I guess that means the blood is starting to circulate again.

Car headlights sweep into the drive. Oh no. Argh! The neighbours are arriving home. He'll see me.

Too late to hide the sticks anywhere now. And I left my damn sunglasses at home, too.

My neighbour winds down the window. He has a mischievous grin all over his face. It's too late to do anything now. I've been sussed.

But his wife saves the day. "Look at that, Antero. Tomorrow we'll go down to the shops and get you a pair."


*Translator's note: "The Finnish Central Association for Recreational Sports and Outdoor Activities" is the official English name.



John - :p

[FinnFreak]

;)

...something for the Finns to watch tonight on TV:


YLE TV2 keskiviikkona, 14.3.2007 klo 23.40-02.00


YLE LIVE: JEAN MICHEL JARRE SAHARASSA

kosketinvelho konsertoi veden puolesta


http://www.questbbs.fsnet.co.uk/waterforlife2.jpg


"6000 lasta kuolee joka päivä puhtaan juomaveden puutteen ja riittämättömän hygienian vuoksi. Afrikassa vettä käytetään päivässä vähemmän kuin 20 litraa henkeä kohti. Euroopassa vastaava luku on 150 ja Pohjois-Amerikassa 300 litraa." (tiedot YK:n World Water Development -raportista)

Makean veden holtittomasta käytöstä huolestunut Jean Michel Jarre esiintyi 16. joulukuuta 2006 Merzougan dyyneillä Marokossa. Peräti kaksi ja puoli tuntia kestävä teemakonsertti "Water For Life" nähdään YLE Livessä kokonaan. Kyseessä oli yksi YK:n kansainvälisen aavikoiden vuoden merkkitapahtumista. Isojen konserttien organisaattorinahan Jarre on konkari; muistissa ovat mm. Gdanskin telakalla järjestetty "Space Of Freedom" (2005) ja vuosituhannen vaihtumisen juhlat Gizan pyramideilla.

Puitteet ovat komeat: lavan lisäksi Merzougaan pystytettiin yhdeksän isoa videoscreeniä, jotka jakavat kuvitusmateriaalin lisäksi aihetta tukevia, provosoiviakin tietoiskuja, valoshow on rakennettu tyylikkäästi ylilyöntejä välttäen - ja ympärillä hengittää aavikko. Vuodesta 1993 UNESCOn hyväntahdonlähettiläänä toiminut Jarre ottaa välispiikeissään voimakkaasti kantaa todeten, että vesi on nykyään arvokkaampaa kuin kulta, timantit tai jopa öljy. Hän tölväisee toki Bushiakin, joka "olisi ehkä hyökännyt Irakin sijasta Kanadaan, jos olisi tiennyt edellisen".

Jarren tuotantoa esittävät säveltäjän itsensä lisäksi Casablancan moderni arabiorkesteri, Marokon Filharmonia ja muutamat sooloesiintyjät. Tunnusomaisen elokuvalliset teemat soljuvat, itämaiset sävyt ja soittimet lisäävät kokonaisuuteen paikallisväriä ja Jarre itse tarttuu syntetisaattorien lisäksi niin midihuiluun, haitariin, thereminiin kuin maailmankuuluksi tekemäänsä laser harppuunkin. Tiesittekö muuten, että arizonalainen golf-rata käyttää saman verran vettä päivässä kuin Fezin koko kaupunki kuukaudessa?


* * *


“Water for Life” is the theme UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Jean Michel Jarre has chosen for an exceptional concert among the sand dunes of the Moroccan Sahara on 16 December. The concert will also be one of the highlights marking the end of the United Nations International Year of Deserts and Desertification and part of the UN Water for Life Decade (2005-2015).

Using his hallmark state-of-the-art visual and sound technology, the French composer/musician will stress the importance of protecting and properly managing the planet’s limited freshwater resources and halting the advance of desertification.

"We want this concert to be a wake up call. We want to make people more aware of just how precious water is and the critical need to look after what we have," said Jarre. "If everybody understood just how little water the earth has, or how many people are going without it – and dying as a result – or how much of it is being wasted, we might be able to find better ways of managing and sharing it. The problem of desertification is intimately linked to this situation and also requires urgent action."


According to the UN World Water Development Report published by UNESCO earlier this year:

1 billion people do not have access to sufficient quantities of drinking water
2.6 billion people have no access to basic sanitation
6,000 children die every day because they lack of drinking water or insufficient hygiene
In Africa and Asia, women travel an average eight kilometers daily to access fresh water
The average African lives on less than 20 litres of water a day, while the average European consumes more than 150 litres daily and North Americans, 300 litres
Four million hectares, or about one third of the planet’s land surface, are threatened by desertification

Desertification affects the lives of more than 250 million people and threatens another 1.2 billion in 110 countries. An estimated 60 million of those affected in sub-Saharan Africa are expected to move towards northern Africa and Europe by 2020.

The Modern Arab Orchestra of Casablanca, the Morocco Philharmonic Orchestra and a number of eminent soloists will join Jean Michel Jarre on-stage for this unique concert which will take place at Merzouga in Morocco. It will be filmed in high-definition and broadcast live across the region by Moroccan public television and to the rest of the world via the internet and on HD channels. A post-production version will be available for broadcast by international television channels after the event.

The concert is organized with the support of the Kingdom of Morocco and is being held under the auspices of UNESCO, the lead UN agency for the International Year of Deserts and Desertification.

Jean Michel Jarre’s spectacular concert-events have attracted audiences of over one million people around the world. Since his nomination as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador in 1993, he has used these international events as a platform to raise awareness of UNESCO’s mission. Highlights of his work include his Millennium Concert at the Pyramids of Gizeh in Egypt and his Concert for Tolerance at the Paris Eiffel Tower, commemorating UNESCO’s 50th Anniversary.


Jean Michel Jarre Official Website (http://www.jeanmicheljarre.com)



John - :)

[FinnFreak]

News


SLAYER AND THE FLAMING LIPS TO RUISROCK · 13.3.2007


Ruisrock Festival is ready to present almost 50 artists of this years’ line up. Metal band SLAYER (USA), alternative rock pioneers THE FLAMING LIPS (USA), Sweden’s Eurovision song contest representative THE ARK (SWE) and garage rock legend ROKY ERICKSON (USA) will all play in Ruisrock 2007. This years’ festival will be organized on the 6th-8th of July 2007.

Other international bands so far are MASTODON (USA), THE HIVES (SWE), MANDO DIAO (SWE), GOGOL BORDELLO (USA), MARILLION (UK), D’ESPAIRSRAY (JP), THE BELLRAYS (USA), THE PIPETTES (UK), IN FLAMES (SWE), THE ANSWER (IRL), PAIN (SWE), LENINGRAD (RUS) and DEATHSTARS (SWE).

Of course there will also be several domestic acts such as Children of Bodom, The Rasmus, Disco Ensemble, Hanoi Rocks, The Crash, Sonata Arctica, Poisonblack, PMMP, CMX, Zen Cafe, Maija Vilkkumaa, Apulanta, Maj Karma, Stam1na, Kotiteollisuus, Ne Luumäet, Don Johnson Big Band, Husky Rescue, Poets of the Fall, Lauri Tähkä & Elonkerjuu, Damn Seagulls, Jonna Tervomaa, Von Hertzen Brothers, Mokoma, Finntroll, Egotrippi, J. Karjalainen – Lännen Jukka, Lapko, Rubik, Amorphis and Magenta Skycode.

After many successful years, Ruisrock says goodbye to Puistolava, one of the four stages. Now the festival is about to present a brand new tent-stage with the capacity of nearly 10 000 people. In addition to this, the festival area will spread into the fields nearby.

The three-day ticket will cost 90 euros and the sales starts on Friday, the 16th of March at Ruisrock’s website, Tiketti, Lippupalvelu, Levykauppa Äx (Jyväskylä, Kuopio, Oulu, Turku) and Epe’s (Tampere). If you are going to buy tickets outside Finland, please contact Tiketti (www.tiketti.fi) for further information.

During the next few months Ruisrock Festival will unveil several new acts from both Finland and from many different countries. More information soon!

www.ruisrock.fi (http://www.ruisrock.fi)



:shocked: - wow, they cancelled their Ruisrock gig in 1985, but they're coming this year..!!! :D:up:


MARILLION (UK)

Lähes kolmekymmentä vuotta toiminut brittiläinen Marillion kuuluu Pink Floydin ja Rushin tavoin progressiivisen rockin kaikkein suurimpiin mestareihin. Yhtyeen haastavat, mutta tarttuvat kappaleet ovat hurmanneet yleisöä vuodesta ja kiertueesta toiseen. Miehistönvaihdoksistaan huolimatta Marillion on säilyttänyt valtaisan suosionsa ja palvotun yhtyeen jo 14. albumi ilmestyy keväällä 2007.

http://www.marillion.com

http://www.myspace.com/marillion



John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

STT - 16.3.2007


Finns worry more about climate change than terrorism


Finns consider climate change the most important factor affecting their lives, reveals a poll by research company Taloustutkimus published on Friday.

In the previous similar poll terrorism topped the list of concerns.

The survey also indicates that Finns are more prepared than previously to fight climate change. The most popular means of doing so are sorting household waste, recycling and saving energy.


* * *


Helsingin Sanomat


- News in Photos -


http://newsroom.finland.fi/netcomm/ImgLib/3/115/0315_shakira_b.jpg
Shakira, latino pop's brightest star, performed in Helsinki's Hartwall Arena
on March 14.



John - ;)

[Troll]

Great pic of Shakira.

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - HOME - Monday 19.3.2007


SUNDAY EVENING 23:55: ELECTION SPECIAL - BIG GAINS FOR OPPOSITION NATIONAL COALITION PARTY; SDP SUFFERS DEFEAT AT POLLS

Social Democrats and Centre Party both lose seats; pundits predict centre-right coalition for next government


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135225926699.jpeg
Election winners: National Coalition Party secretary Taru Tujunen (left) and chairman
Jyrki Katainen had plenty to celebrate on Sunday night: a gain of ten seats and a
likely berth in the new coalition government.


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135225921356.jpeg
The Centre Party, under chairman Matti Vanhanen,
were among the losers on election night, but the
Centrists narrowly held on to the position of the
largest party in the country, thus possibly opening
the way for Vanhanen to continue in his job as
Prime Minister. Vanhanen was comfortably the
most popular candidate for the position among
the leaders of the three big parties in the run-up
to the election.


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135225921765.jpeg
For SDP leader and Finance Minister Eero Heinäluoma, the night was a bitter
disappointment. The Social Democrats saw eight seats vanish from their
previous total of 53, and a spell in opposition looks rather likely, after the
party slipped into third place behind the moderate conservatives of the
National Coalition Party.


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135225922208.jpeg
Another candidate with a broad smile on his face on Sunday night was Sauli Niinistö,
former chairman of the National Coalition Party. He returned to Parliament with
a massive haul of more than 60,000 votes in the Uusimaa constituency - roughly
10% of the party's total in the country as a whole. Not surprisingly, this figure
shattered the old record for an individual candidate. He also helped the NCP to land
three extra seats from Uusimaa in his wake. The party collected 11 of the 34 available
seats in Uusimaa, with 28.7% of the votes and a total of 133,000 votes. In other
words, Niinistö alone gathered 45% of his party's support in this constituency.


Advance voting (20:05)

The approximately 1.2 million votes cast in advance of the Parliamentary Elections were released at 20:00 on Sunday evening, when the polls closed.

The percentages were as follows:

Centre Party 24.8%
Social Democrats 22.9%
National Coalition Party (Cons.) 21.8%
Left Alliance 9.4%
Greens 6.5%
Swedish People's Party 3.2%
Christian Democrats 4.9%
True Finns 3.7%
Others 2.6%

It is important to note that these initial figures are an indicator at best, as they reflect something of a bias towards the rural voters, who traditionally support the Centre Party (formerly known as the Agrarian Union), and who have generally been active in advance voting. Furthermore, these advance votes are incomplete, with around 100,000 votes from Uusimaa and Helsinki still to be counted.

The outcome of the election will only become clear when Sunday's votes begin to come in. A traditionally accurate benchmark has been the Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE's election prognosis, which is expected at 21:00.

The names of the new contingent of 200 MPs will only become clear as the count progresses.


20:35

Counting is proceeding, and on the strength of advance votes the election outcome is likely to be extremely tight between the three largest parties. The anticipated clear victory by the Centre Party did not appear - their 24.8% of the advance votes may have been the largest share, but it was well down from the more than 28% they had won at this stage four years ago. One cause may be that more urban voters were among the 1.2 million who voted in advance. The opposition National Coalition Party were in buoyant mood as early returns came in, showing them running a close third to the Social Democrats. Traditionally the NCP vote has improved as the count progresses and the larger communities and cities file their results. Correspondingly, the early returns favour the Centre Party. By 20.30 their share of the overall votes count had risen to just over 26%.


21:00

The Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE will issue its election prognosis slightly late, at 21:15, when just over 50% of the votes cast have been counted, including the advance votes. This forecast has in recent years shown itself to be a remarkably accurate measure of the eventual election outcome, and takes account of the fluctuating nature of party support as the count proceeds from small rural constituencies to the cities of the south.


21:35

The Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE issued its election prognosis at 21:30, when just over 66% of the votes cast had been counted, including the advance votes. The announcement was delayed as the large number of advance votes - 1.2 million - slowed the overall count somewhat.

Please note that these are still a PROJECTION, and not the final result (the anticipated numbers of seats in the new Parliament are given in brackets, with the plus/minus comparison from 2003 in italics):

Centre Party 23.0% (51 -4)
Social Democrats 21.8% (45 -8)
National Coalition Party (Cons.) 22.1% (50 +10)
Left Alliance 9.0% (17 -2)
Greens 8.3% (14 +0)
Swedish People's Party 4.5% (9 +1)
Christian Democrats 4.8% (8 +1)
True Finns 3.9% (5 +2)
Others 2.6% (1 +0)


If this prognosis proves true, the opposition National Coalition Party can claim to be the biggest winners on the night, picking up as many as ten seats and snatching the position of second-largest party from the Social Democrats. The True Finns, who were really the only party to campaign on an EU platform (the party are strongly EU-sceptic) also made gains. Clearly, if the results pan out as such, it will end the NCP's period in opposition - it will be difficult to sideline them in the next government.


22:10

With roughly 85% of all votes counted, the Centre Party (25.1%) remained the largest party in the country, and the SDP (21.8%) were still hanging on to their position as the second-largest party, ahead of the night's apparent winners, the opposition National Coalition Party (21.1%). These results still do not contain full returns from the largest cities, which will - if they follow normal trends - tend to swell the votes of the National Coalition and to a lesser extent the Social Democrats, at the expense of the Centrists. Regardless of which party emerges as the largest, and the choice would now appear to be between the Centre Party and the NCP, the election result must be seen as a triumph for the National Coalition under their chairman Jyrki Katainen. It is already clear that a former NCP chair, Sauli Niinistö, has collected the largest individual vote in Finnish parliamentary election history - more than 40,000 votes and counting.


23:00

The counting of the votes in Sunday's Parliamentary Election is drawing to a close. With more than 95% of the votes in, and only Helsinki and Uusimaa Province still somewhat open, the story of the night is a major victory for the opposition National Coalition Party, who appear to have gained at least ten seats and taken over the position of second-largest party in the country, unseating the Social Democrats, who look to lose eight seats. The Centre Party, under Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen, have also been given a reminder of the mortality associated with government office - they appear to have lost four seats in the new Parliament. A shift of ten seats is a landslide in Finnish electoral terms and the outcome seems certain to signal a period in opposition for the Social Democrats under their chairman Eero Heinäluoma.

Despite very active advance voting, the eventual voter turnout fell short of the 2003 figure and at 67.8% was the lowest post-war figure for a general election. In 2003, the turnout was narrowly over 70%.


23:55

With all the votes in, the big winners in the Parliamentary Election are the opposition National Coalition Party under Jyrki Katainen; the party gained 10 seats and narrowly fell short of becoming the largest party in the country.

The main government partners - the Centre Party and the Social Democrats - both lost ground, with the SDP shedding eight seats and the Centrists four.

Even so, the Centre Party under Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen managed to hold on to pole position with 23.1% and 51 seats against the 22.3 % and 50 seats of the NCP. The SDP collected 21.4% and look to receive 45 seats in the new Parliament, a serious disappointment for party leader and Finance Minister Eero Heinäluoma.

The time for analysis of the results and why things went so well for the moderate conservatives of the NCP and so badly for the Social Democrats is still ahead, but one thing appears certain: as Finland shifts towards the right in what can only be described as an NCP landslide (in a country noted for small electoral swings), it is hard to envisage the new government being anything but a centre-right coalition.

One possibility put forward by TV pundits is a combination of the Centre Party, the National Coalition Party, and the Swedish People's Party, who bucked the trend of government parties by actually gaining one seat to a total of nine.

The Left Alliance lost two seats and will have 17 seats. The Greens will have 15 MPs in the new assembly, a gain of one. The Christian Democrats have seven seats, showing no change. Among the small parties, the populist True Finns had a good night, adding two seats for a total of five.

The listing of the names of those who made it to the Parliament in Arkadianmäki, those who did not, and those of the previous contingent who fell by the wayside is still ahead. Nevertheless, it is necessary to point out that the former Finance Minister and former National Coalition Party chairman Sauli Niinistö collected a phenomenal vote haul in Uusimaa - more than 60,000 votes, or almost 10% of the party's total in the country as a whole. This shattered all previous records.

Welcome though the votes are, Niinistö's massive popular support is likely to be a serious challenge for the young and relatively inexperienced chairman of the NCP, 36-year-old Jyrki Katainen.

The Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE's election projection (see above), published at around 21:30 while the count was still progressing, proved remarkably accurate, gauging correctly the relationship between the three major parties. The most recent opinion polls had shown burgeoning support for the NCP, but few had suggested they would actually overhaul the Social Democrats.



John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

STT - 19.3.2007


Conservatives thrashed SDP in Finnish vote


With all the votes counted, the outcome of Finland's general election on Sunday seemed to pave the way for a non-socialist government.

Despite losing four seats, Finland's governing Centre party retained its place as the largest party in the 200-seat Parliament with a total of 51 seats (23.1 per cent of the vote). Matti Vanhanen, Centre party chair and prime minister, is consequently to take the lead in initiating government talks.

However, in defiance of pre-election polls, by far the biggest victor turned out to be the opposition National Coalition party, which gained a staggering ten additional seats for a total of 50 places in Parliament (22.3 per cent of the vote).

The National Coalition's victory was spearheaded by former presidential candidate Sauli Niinistö who gathered 60,498 votes, the biggest personal landslide in Finnish history.

Jyrki Katainen, the National Coalition leader, was adamant on Sunday that the victory should take the National Coalition into government, adding it could not be sidelined in the forthcoming government talks.

The Social Democratic Party (SDP), the Centre party's main government partner, suffered a crushing and largely unexpected defeat. The party lost eight seats and dropped into third place with a total of 45 MPs (21.4 per cent of the vote).

Eero Heinäluoma, SDP's chairman, conceded defeat but did not say he would take his party into opposition without a fight.

Mr Heinäluoma blamed his party's poor result partly on the turnout, which dropped to 67.8 per cent, the lowest it has been since the end of the second world war.

The Left Alliance also suffered a defeat in the general elections. Having lost two seats, its parliamentary faction was trimmed down to 17, which nevertheless kept the party in fourth place (17 per cent of the vote).

The Green League gained a seat for a total of 15 (8.5 per cent of the vote) but Tarja Cronberg, the party's chair, failed to gain re-election after falling only 184 votes shy of the threshold.

The Swedish People's party was the only one of the three governing parties to have gained a seat. The party won a total of ten seats (4.5 per cent of the vote).

The Christian Democrats won fewer votes than in the 2003 election but managed to retain their seven seats in Parliament (4.9 per cent of the vote).

Another winner in the elections was the True Finns, who added two more seats to their parliamentary faction to reach a total of five (4.0 per cent of the vote).


* * *


Now, that was an interesting election... and the speculations over the government positions are running high: Vanhanen is expected to continue as PM, but that will cost Centre a few major positions - Niinistö will probably get his old job back as the Minister of Treasury, Katainen most likely to become Minister of Trade and Industry... and what about the Swedish People's Party..? Personally, I'd like to see Håkan Nordman from Vaasa in the Ministry of Transport and Communications, rather than Wideroos - and there's a certain amount of irony in there as well... ;)

...another major pain for Centre, would be what to do with Paavo Väyrynen... one guess would be to keep him in the Parliament as speaker... but this is all mere speculation... but my guess is, the government would consist of: Centre Party + National Coalition Party + Swedish People's Party... all in all, the winds of change did seem to blow from Sweden this time around...


John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

;)


Finland For Thought Blog (http://www.finlandforthought.net) - 19.3.2007


Hangover and Politics


Well, a few people probably have taken a swig last night, some for joy and some for sorrow. Some 84 women and 116 men to rule over us all (http://www.vaalikone.fi/eduskunta2007/uusieduskuntakuvina.htm). The ratio of 42% women in parliament is pretty high worldwide. The “king of the election” so to speak was Sauli Niinistö. He got a whopping 60 498 votes! Maybe he’ll go visit Tarja and size up the presidential chains. The wicked witch of the west, I mean Minister of Justice Leena Luhtanen faced her injustice and was dropped, the only minister to do so. I guess she won’t be buying Iltalehti without a receipt while doing her grocery shopping. Arja Alho and Kauko Juhantalo (finally) paid for their crimes and were left on shore.

Now we don’t need to worry about the lack of kooky antics, as the beret is back, Pertti “Veltto” Virtanen sprung back, interestingly now on the True Finns list. Which really doesn’t surprise me that they have kooks but Veltto was last in the 1990’s in coalition with some yoga fliers outfit. Oh, and that smarmy gimp Paavo Väyrynen got in, and of course was making statements of abandoning his EU parliament position. Really, we voted you to Brussels for one reason - to stay there. Some other unnecessary people that got in include athletes like the curling champion Markku Uuspaavalniemi, skier Juha Mieto and olympic wrestling champion Marko Asell. Oh well, then we have some culturalists, the poet Tommy Tabermann and an actor Risto Autio - thankfully his mug won’t be in the telly much any more.

But now the parties do have a dilemma. They would need to get their government programmes to match, which they don’t at the moment. There is an expectation of a Blue-Green government, but its all open still. A lot of cowdealing in the cabinets. - Hank W.



John - :p

[aFinn]

Oh, and that smarmy gimp Paavo Väyrynen got in, and of course was making statements of abandoning his EU parliament position. Really, we voted you to Brussels for one reason - to stay there.Amen.

I have been shaking my head in disbelief at what he is doing, offering himself for/demanding a top position.
I had hoped I never have to see him again.

[FinnFreak]

Amen.

I have been shaking my head in disbelief at what he is doing, offering himself for/demanding a top position.
I had hoped I never have to see him again.

He's a Kekkoslovakian relic - a major pain, as I said earlier...


John - :p

[EilleenTwain88]

And the amount of votes he got?!?!? :shocked:

I cannot believe how stupid these people of western Lapland must be... on the other hand the same is going on here where I live. The leaders of the local Central Party decide who is the candidate and then EVERYONE votes for him (no matter what they think of him personally); just to get a representative of the area to parliament.

Kinda smart but to me it would be useful also to think what KIND of representative we have .. ??? :cry:

[FinnFreak]

Paavo Väyrynen - Keminmaa's gift to Finland


...can't we give it back..?!?


John - :p

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - CULTURE - Tuesday 20.3.2007


Finnish Donald Duck on display in Washington


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135225960785.jpeg
Kaj Stenvall sees the duck as being a bird and a human at the same time.


Kaj Stenvall, 56, brought the Donald Duck character back to the United States, when his Birdhouse exhibition opened at the Finnish Embassy in Washington last Thursday. On display are 36 oil paintings depicting the duck, nearly half of which Stenvall produced for this particular exhibition.

Stenvall explains the meaning of the duck, which made its first appearance in his paintings in 1989.

"The duck is a universal symbol for mankind. It is part of the global library of images encompassing nearly all cultures. Everyone recognises Donald at a single glance, just like a Coca-Cola bottle, the shape of the Eiffel Tower, the McDonald’s arches, the Apple Computer logo, or, for instance, the hourglass on the computer screen."

Stenvall sees Donald Duck, or Aku Ankka as he is known in Finland, as a medium with which to depict the world and the range of emotions felt by people. Donald returns to his country of origin not as a mere comic book character. Instead, he has acquired a sensitive soul.

Donald Duck does not have any special significance for the artist. What is important is the general human message that he communicates.

"Instead of a duck, I could paint various human figures again and again, but the duck works better in my paintings than a human would. It is more easily adaptable to different roles", Stenvall says.

Adding to the usefulness of a duck as a medium of expression is that as Stenvall sees it, the duck is genderless, ageless, and has no race. It is simultaneously a bird and a human.

At the exhibition he made an interesting observation of the American visitors.

"The greatest interest was raised by works in which I have painted the duck dark. I never thought that the Americans would see the duck through their own culture, which includes race."

A black duck is not exceptional as such, because the duck is different in every work. "Sometimes I make it merely notional, so that the features of the duck are barely visible."

Stenvall is certainly not alone in his use of the Donald Duck character. For instance, Olli Lyytikäinen produced his Ankkalinna ("Duckburg") series in the 1970s.

American underground and pop-artists have been especially interested in using cartoon characters in their work.

"They would pop up in the works of Andy Warhol and Roy Liechtenstein", Stenvall says.


The Birdhouse exhibition is open at the Finnish Embassy in Washington DC, 3301 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., until May 13th.


www.kajstenvall.com (http://www.kajstenvall.com)



John - ;)

[Troll]

An interesting pic.

[aFinn]

Paavo Väyrynen - Keminmaa's gift to Finland


...can't we give it back..?!?


John - :pI'll wrap him, you ship him back! Deal?

[FinnFreak]

I'll wrap him, you ship him back! Deal?

heck, I'll even drive myself to be 100% sure a "Return To Sender" doesn't occur..!


John - :p

[aFinn]

Kunnon muilutuskyyti! :D:up:

[FinnFreak]

Parhaaseen lapualaaseen tyylihin. Notta.


John - :p

[EilleenTwain88]

I read some statistics today and really! this big fuzz about National Coalition Party winning... they got about 100.000 votes more than usual - and Mr Niinistö brought over 60.000 of it?!?!? That is rather lame IMO.

[FinnFreak]

What's NOT lame in Finland..? ;)


:shocked: - Katsokaa, näkkileipä..!


John - :p

[FinnFreak]

STT - 22.3.2007 at 10:19


Finnish Centre party district chairs see coalition with Conservatives


All 21 chairmen of Centre party district organisations believe the next government will be built around a Centre-Conservative axis.

A number of the district chairs told Kemi-based daily Pohjolan Sanomat that a coalition with the National Coalition party, which overtook the Social Democrats in Sunday's vote, was not their personal favourite but admitted that the election result was so clear that the main government partner would have to change.

The chairmen were also asked to comment on the role of Paavo Väyrynen, the Centre party veteran returning to Finnish politics from the European Parliament. Mr Väyrynen has expressed his willingness to become either speaker of Parliament or a minister.

Twelve district heads told Pohjolan Sanomat they regarded Mr Väyrynen's aims for some key post to be justified while three would make give him a place in the speakers' council but not a portfolio.



John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - HOME - Thursday 22.3.2007


Iraqgate led to downfall of Finnish Prime Minister

Business feelers ended in tragedy in 2004


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1055863782087.jpeg
Prime Minister Anneli Jäätteenmäki announced her resignation on June 18th, 2003


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135225904442.jpeg
Two Finnish businessmen were shot in the back seat of a car on a Baghdad
motorway in March 2004


By Heli Suominen


"Unasked for, and unexpected". The comment reminds Finns of how the Finnish Iraqgate affair forced Prime Minister Anneli Jäätteenmäki to resign in the summer of 2003. It is unlikely that the war in Iraq would have shaken the domestic politics of any country that did not send forces to Iraq as much as it affected those of Finland.

Jäätteenmäki used secret Iraq documents that had been leaked from the President’s Office as a weapon in the elections. After some vague explanations of how the faxed documents came into her possession, the pressure on the Prime Minister became too great, and she resigned.

The history of the war in Iraq has been linked with recent Finnish history in many ways. The threat of the war and the beginning of hostilities in the spring of 2003 raised an exceptionally large popular movement.

Tens of thousands of Finns took part in peace marches. The Finnish government opposed the attack that had taken place without the authorisation of the UN Security Council.

In 2004 many had thought that peace was coming. However, a trip to Baghdad by a group of Finnish businessmen in March of that year ended in tragedy. Seppo Haapanen and Jorma Törönen were shot dead in the back seats of a car on a Baghdad motorway.

"We never even found out if it was just a coincidence, or if something else was involved", says Kari Norkonmaa, project chief at Technology Industries of Finland. Now Baghdad is so dangerous that no trips there are being planned.

Reporting to Finland on feelings in the city was Marita Ertomaa al-Yitayim, who took care of the Finnish Embassy there. Finally Ertomaa returned to Finland in the spring of 2006.

On the other hand, insecurity also provides opportunities for companies. One company seeking to reap these rewards was Job Zone, which is owned by Jyrki T. Mäkelä, headquartered in Iraqi Kurdistan, which went to the area last autumn.

"I understood immediately [after the fall of Saddam] that there would be massive reconstruction there. It is an ideal environment for business", Mäkelä says.

The company organises office space and security services for companies. Mäkelä says that the company has "about five" Finns working in Iraq. Mäkelä’s company does not operate in Baghdad - "yet".

Only one Finn is known to live in the Iraqi capital. He is Ilkka Uusitalo, head of the representation of the European Commission. Uusitalo and other diplomats, as well as foreign journalists live a "bunker life" inside thick walls. Uusitalo lives in the heavily guarded "green zone". The diplomat travels to other parts of Baghdad wearing bullet proof vests and a helmet.

Finns have had an indirect role in the work of the Iraqi police who face the dangers of Baghdad on a daily basis. That role is shrinking now.

Last year ten Finnish police officers served as teachers at a centre for training Iraqi police in Jordan. Now the financing of the project remains open, and there are only two Finns left at the centre.

"The training is far too short - eight weeks. But it is much better than nothing. We try to give the basic skills to keep the new police officers alive", ponders Mika Raatikainen, who has taught at the school.

He heard often about young police officers who had been killed in Iraq. Nine members of one course were shot already before they got to their jobs.
"If you think about it too much, you lose your sleep."

The approximately 3,000 Iraqi citizens who live in Finland listen to the news from Iraq with special concern. The number of Iraqis in Finland has remained almost unchanged since the beginning of the war, while Sweden has taken in thousands of Iraqi refugees.

Asaad Al-Taee, the governor of Najaf Province, has lived as a refugee in Finland, and he also has Finnish citizenship.

Al-Taee notes that although Baghdad is a deadly place, Najaf is more peaceful.

It is for that reason that he decided to return to his home country in 2005.

The governor is bursting with new plans. He says that he was inspired in Finland to improve the position of women and to help the less fortunate. Now he hopes that Finnish companies will become interested in putting Iraq back on its feet.

"Welcome to Najaf. We will arrange security for you", the governor promises.



John - :)

[FinnFreak]

STT - 22.3.2007 at 16:23


Plans of Finnish vote-puller Niinistö still shrouded in mystery


Sauli Niinistö (cons), the top vote-puller in Finland's general election, refused to divulge his plans on Thursday, the day when the parliamentary faction of his National Coalition party picked Ilkka Kanerva as its candidate for the speakers' council.

Mr Niinistö said no conclusions could be drawn from the choice.

"No. I hope not," Mr Niinistö told a phalanx of reporters at Parliament.

"Generally speaking, I am ready to accept any task that I think I can handle."

Asked whether a seat in the cabinet could be counted among those tasks, the former finance minister said "well, I have been there once or twice in my time". The answer was equally cryptic when a reporter asked Mr Niinistö whether he would agree to be foreign minister "if the fatherland called you".

"I have never refused when the fatherland has called, but let us first see what it will call me to do."

Mr Niinistö said he would not issue any demands for portfolios on behalf of the National Coalition party, adding he did not even know whether he would play any role in the government negotiations.

"If it helped, I would be happy to offer my services."

The most popular politician in Finland then said he regarded his personal speculations regarding his future to be completely irrelevant.

"It is of utterly secondary importance to think about which way one any geezer starts heading."

In Sunday's poll, Mr Niinistö received 60,498 votes, a record in a century of Finnish general elections.



John - :p

[FinnFreak]

STT - 27.3.2007 at 14:56


Väyrynen refuses to have mandate checked by Finnish Parliament


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


Paavo Väyrynen (centre), a former minister and current MEP, said Tuesday that he would not allow the Finnish Parliament to check his mandate, as protocol demands all elected MPs to do before claiming their seat.

Mr Väyrynen's unprecedented refusal leaves Parliament with only 199 MPs and brings his Centre Party down to 50 seats, on par with the National Coalition.

Mr Väyrynen himself remains in limbo having neither renounced his seat nor claimed it.

"In order to be able to accept a seat in Parliament this spring I should have at least as influential an appointment as I do in the European Parliament," Mr Väyrynen said, expressing disappointment for not being given a promise of a portfolio in the cabinet, or a place as one of the Speakers of Parliament.

Currently MEP's elected into the Finnish Parliament are given three days to choose their course of action after having their mandates checked. One cannot be a member of both legislatures simultaneously.

The three day rule was dubbed Lex Väyrynen, as Mr Väyrynen has also been elected MP previously while serving as a MEP. On previous occasions Mr Väyrynen has eventually chosen Brussels over Helsinki.

Seppo Tiitinen, Parliament's general secretary, admitted that there is a loophole in the regulations and that Parliament could not force MPs to check their mandate and take up their seats within any time limit.

Suggestions have already been made in Parliament that a patch up should be legislated under the name "Lex Troublesome Väyrynen".



:uhh: - ...he sure does enjoy being the centre of attention... well, nothing new at all... :smirk:



John - :p

[aFinn]

.....aaaaaaaaaaaaand he continues to annoy. :rolleyes:

[FinnFreak]

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

"It's not my fault the system is what it is"


:rolleyes:


I blame him for the intentional & outrageous misuse of the system.


Please, leave already.


...and then the politicians wonder, why the voters seem to have lost their faith..? - EXACTLY because of clowns like him.


John - :mad:

[FinnFreak]

:p

Tanja Saarela:

The Miss Finland beauty contest should evolve

"Instead of purely appeal, talent should shine"


http://www.iltalehti.fi/viihde/5896185_vi.jpg


"I hope my daughter will never enter a beauty contest when
she grows up, because there are easier paths to choose from."

"In politics, if a man disagrees over an issue, he's considered
strong and with opinions. If a woman does the same, she's
considered an impossible person to work with, and is not
suitable to make liable decisions."


John - ;)

[aFinn]

I don't know what is worse, to discuss Väyrynen or Saarela :uhh:

[FinnFreak]

Väyrynen.

I don't think we've ever had a decent discussion about Tanja.


John - :p

[FinnFreak]

STT - 28.3.2007 at 11:27


March temperature record broken again in Finland


According to preliminary measurements by the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI), a new all-time national record temperature for March was reached on Tuesday.

The temperature rose to 16.9 degrees Celsius at the Helsinki-Vantaa airport, which is highly unusual for what Finns normally consider a winter month.

A record dating back to March 1945 had been broken already on Monday.



Damn that Al Gore.



John - :p

[FinnFreak]

STT - 28.3.2007


Finland's Fortum and TVO launch EIAs on new nuclear unit


Finnish utilities Fortum and Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) said Wednesday that they would start environmental impact assessment processes concerning a new nuclear power station to be "possibly" built, respectively, in Loviisa and Olkiluoto.

An EIA is the first step in seeking government clearance for building nuclear power stations in Finland.

"With the EIA process, Fortum raises its preparedness to build a new nuclear power unit in Loviisa. However, the company has not made any decisions on its intentions beyond the EIA," Tapio Kuula, the head of Fortum's Power and Heat arm, said in a statement.

Fortum added it would commence the EIA process at its Loviisa site in April and estimates to have it completed in the autumn of next year.

Pertti Simola, the chief executive of TVO, said in a separate statement that the EIA process would make it possible to submit an application for a decision-in-principle to the government "in due course".

"The company has not made an actual investment decision to construct a new power plant unit," Mr Simola added.

"Electricity consumption in Finland will continue its growth and new base-load capacity should be available by the latter part of the next decade at the latest. Maintaining preparedness is in line with the Outline of the Energy and Climate Policy for the Near Future, a government report approved by the Parliament last year."

Mr Kuula said TVO might well be the organisation to actually implement the new power station.

The companies currently operate two nuclear units each, Fortum in Loviisa and TVO in Olkiluoto. A consortium comprising France's Areva and Germany's Siemens is building the country's fifth nuclear power station for TVO.

Fortum owns 26.6 per cent of TVO A and C series shares and 25 per cent of the B series shares, which entitles it to power generated by the new Olkiluoto 3 unit. The Finnish state owns about 51 per cent of the shares in Fortum.

Both Loviisa and Eurajoki councils, the latter being the municipality that is home to TVO's nuclear power stations, welcomed the news with great enthusiasm.

Greenpeace Finland said the move by Fortum and TVO was a media gimmick whose aim was to dictate the contents of the next government's programme and deflect attention from the problems experienced in the construction of the Olkiluoto 3 facility.

Tarja Cronberg, the chair of the Green League, said the sixth nuclear power station project was a dubious attempt to influence the next government and its programme, adding the timing of the announcement exposed it for what it was.

Ms Cronberg told the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) that the statements by Fortum and TVO amounted to a clear signal to the entire government that industry wants further nuclear generating capacity.

In the run-up to the 18 March general election, Ms Cronberg repeatedly said that the Greens would not treat nuclear power as an issue what would stop it from joining a coalition.



:uhh: - ...and this is why I have some doubts on the Greens entering the cabinet...

...and a few Centre party comments about investing in renewable natural non-emission energy sources... :huh: what are those..?!? :really:



John - :smirk:

[FinnFreak]

STT - 29.3.2007


PVO executive warns Finnish forest industry about EU energy goals


Timo Rajala, chief executive of Finnish utility Pohjolan Voima (PVO), warned Thursday that the EU's renewable energy goal may lead to a downscaling of forest industry.

In a meeting with reporters Mr Rajala said the 35-45 per cent target for renewable energy would force closures in energy intensive industry and lead to domestic electricity production to be replaced by imports.

"Even raising the share of renewable energy to 35 per cent would signify a 28 million cubic metre increase in wood consumption for energy. That is not possible," Mr Rajala said.



Finland's PVO and Helsinki Energy develop next generation power plant


Pohjolan Voima (PVO) and Helsinki Energy announced Thursday they were developing a new type of multifuel energy plant and a method for harvesting carbon dioxide.

The new 500-700 megawatt plant is designed to replace existing power plants that are going out of use in 2015-2020.

According to Pekka Manninen, a director at Helsinki Energy, new technology can be utilised both in condensing power production and combined heat and electricity production.

PVO and Helsinki Energy plan to start production at the first next generation power plant in 2015.



HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - BUSINESS & FINANCE - Thursday 29.3.2007


Electric utilities make preparations for sixth nuclear reactor

Clear majority of new MPs want more nuclear power

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135226193528.jpeg
A majority of those elected to Parliament over a week ago had expressed support for
building more nuclear generating capacity in their answers to the Helsingin Sanomat
candidate selection engine. The candidates were presented with the statement
"Finland should build a sixth nuclear reactor": 16.5 per cent disagreed completely
with the statement, 22 per cent disagreed somewhat with the statement, 29.5 per
cent agreed somewhat, and 26 per cent agreed completely. Six per cent did not answer.


Both of Finland’s electric utilities that operate commercial nuclear power plants said on Wednesday that they plan to begin preparations for the construction of a sixth facility in Finland. A fifth commercial reactor is being built in Olkiluoto on the west coast of Finland, the location of two of Finland’s four existing reactors.

Fortum is looking into the environmental impact of building a third reactor at the Loviisa plant on the south coast, and TVO is examining the impact of a fourth reactor in Olkiluoto.

Under the quickest scenarios, construction could begin early in the next decade, and the sixth reactor could be operational in 2017 or 2018.

The companies say that the planning of a new reactor is necessary now, because the need for more energy generating capacity will reach a peak in ten years.

The new nuclear power project does not come as much of a surprise; TVO was said to be planning an environmental impact study already in January.

Business interests have also been calling for more nuclear power, and in the runup to the recent Parliamentary elections, all large parties said that they were taking at least a cautiously positive view of a new plant.

Supporters of more nuclear energy cite the increased demand for energy and the need to reduce emissions of gases that contribute to global warming.

On the basis of responses to the on-line candidate selection engine of Helsingin Sanomat during the Parliamentary election campaign, a clear majority of those who were later elected to the new Parliament felt that Finland should build a sixth nuclear reactor.

Before the election, 55.5 per cent of those elected to Parliament indicated in their answers to the engine that they are either completely, or somewhat in favour of more nuclear construction, while 38.5 per cent were completely, or somewhat opposed. Six per cent did not give responses to the selection engine.

Of the likely government parties, all 50 National Coalition Party Parliamentarians support more nuclear energy. Among Centre Party MPs supporters of nuclear energy outnumber opponents 25 to 20; six successful Centre Party candidates did not respond to the selection engine.

Centre Party Chairman Matti Vanhanen disagrees somewhat with the idea of building a sixth reactor, while National Coalition Party chairman Jyrki Katainen is fully in favour. Swedish People’s Party leader Stefan Wallin agrees somewhat.

Green MPs are opposed to more nuclear energy. Party leader Tarja Cronberg said that the energy companies’ Wednesday announcement will not affect the Greens’ position on the government talks, because the plans were known.

Cronberg said that the timing of the announcement was a clear message, and an attempt to influence government formation talks. She said that she could not say if the aim was to weaken the Greens’ position in the talks. "Naturally, one might suspect that", she pointed out.

Anneli Nikula, manager of issues of social responsibility for TVO, admitted that launching the projects while government formation talks are going on is meant to be a message to the future government.

"Already the previous Parliament drew up an energy strategy, which noted that no emission-free alternative should be ruled out. It is unlikely that the future government will disagree, but this is nevertheless a powerful signal of hope for the industry", Nikula said.

Environmental organisations opposed to more nuclear energy found the timing of the announcement to be suspicious. Greenpeace said that TVO and Fortum are trying to dictate the contents of the upcoming government’s policy programme, and to downplay the importance of Parliament in energy policy.

TVO is currently building a fifth commercial reactor in Olkiluoto. The project has been plagued by construction delays. Currently the installation is expected to be ready in 2011.

The state-owned Fortum holds over a quarter of TVO’s shares. The largest holder of TVO stock is Pohjolan Voima, which is in the hands of large Finnish forest companies.

The assessment of a new reactor’s likely environmental impact involves a round of comments in which the views of various ministries, officials, and organisations are assessed. Ordinary citizens will also be given the opportunity to express their views to the Ministry of Trade and Industry.



John - :)

[FinnFreak]

STT - 29.3.2007


Finland's president is in good health


http://www.finlandforthought.net/wp-content/tarja_halonen_conan_obrien.jpg


Tarja Halonen, Finland's president, is in good health and free of any such symptoms or ailments that could compromise her ability to fulfil her duties, the president's office announced on Thursday.

The good health of Finland's head of state was attested to by a regular medical report made public by the president's office. The report is based on tests made in 2006 and 2007 as well as constant follow-up.


John - ;):up:

[FinnFreak]

YLE Teema 30.3.2007 klo 20:30 - 21:00


Ei vain hitti: Any man of mine


Osa 12: Shania Twain: Any Man of Mine, 1995. Voiko muutaman minuutin musiikkipätkä muuttaa maailmaa? Jotkut jättävät lähtemättömät jäljet ja nousevat melkein elämää suuremmiksi.



* * * translation process engaged * * *



Finnish Broadcasting Corporation's 'Theme' Digital Television Channel March 30. 2007 at 20:30 - 21:00


Not just a hit: Any man of mine


Part 12: Shania Twain: Any Man of Mine, 1995. Can a few minutes of music change the world? Some leave a permanent mark and become nearly larger than life.




:really: ...what's with the "nearly"..? :p



John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

REUTERS - Wed 28 Mar 2007


Finland feels the heat as early spring hits loggers


By Sakari Suoninen


HELSINKI, March 28 (Reuters) - Finland, renowned for its harsh Arctic winters, is struggling to collect enough timber from its forests to feed the country's paper mills as an early spring thaw makes the ground too soft for logging trucks.

Finnish paper makers -- including some of the world's largest firms in the sector -- said on Wednesday that the late onset of winter and the early arrival of spring was playing havoc with wood supplies because logging trucks need the forest tracks they use to remain frozen to carry their heavy loads.

Finland is emerging from its shortest winter on record with temperatures in southern Finland climbing to 17 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, the warmest temperature recorded in March, the Finnish meteorological institute said.

Many forest tracks are proving too soft in both Finland and Russia for trucks to do their job, causing a wood shortage and prompting paper makers to consider imports of eucalyptus.

The short-lived winter has heightened concerns about global warming in a country which stretches into the Arctic Circle.

"Scarcity of wood will continue at least until the autumn," said Juha Mantyla, Forest Director at Metsaliitto, the main owner of Finnish paper maker M-real <MRLBV.HE>.

M-real's bigger rivals -- the world's top paper and board maker, Stora Enso <STERV.HE>, and the largest magazine paper maker, UPM-Kymmene <UPM1V.HE> -- also foresee problems.

"This has been a very problematic winter -- winter came late, and then late January to early February it was too cold for some machinery to operate, and now the unusually warm weather hampers logging again," said Matti Karjula, Stora Enso's head of wood sourcing.

The companies said they hope night-time temperatures remain below zero, enabling them to move wood to mills at night.

The problem is even more pronounced in Russia and wood exports to Finland have suffered. Russia exports 17 million cubic metres of wood to Finland a year, about 20 percent of total Finnish usage.

"Stora Enso has a gap of about 10-15 percent, or 50,000 to 100,000 cubic metres, compared to regular levels in Russian imports of birch fibrewood," Karjula said.

All companies said they are planning to compensate for low Russian imports with supplies from the Baltic, in addition to increasing logging in Finland.

Stora's Karjula and UPM's Sunabacka said prices for large logs have increased considerably, but price hikes for fibrewood have been much more moderate.



:uhh: - ...it sure has been a strange winter...



Damn that Al Gore



John - :p

[FinnFreak]

Ei vain hitti: Shania Twain: Any man of mine, 1995

(Impact: Songs that Changed the World)

Tuotanto: Barbara Hall/Corridor Group Productions, Kanada

Perjantaina 30.3. klo 20.30, uusinta la 31.3. klo 19.00


Musiikkihitit tulevat, menevät ja unohtuvat. Paitsi jotkut, jotka jäävät eloon, jatkavat kasvuaan, jättävät lähtemättömät jäljet ihmisiin ja yhteiskuntaan ja nousevat melkeinpä elämää suuremmaksi.

Ei vain hitti on 12-osaisen dokumenttisarja, jonka jokainen jakso arvioi yhtä tällaista merkittävää tapausta. Äänessä ovat mm. musiikin tekijät, kulttuurin ja yhteiskunnan tutkijat ja asiantuntijat, muodintekijät, radio ja tv-persoonat, opettajat, psykologit, fanit ja tavalliset musiikin kuluttajat, joita jokin tietty musiikki on koskettanut. Voiko muutaman minuutin musiikkipätkä sittenkin muuttaa maailmaa?

Perjantaina 30.3. vuorossa
Shania Twain: Any man of mine, 1995

http://www.yle.fi/teema/musiikki/populaarimusiikki/artikkelikuvat/id11430-t4-1.jpg


Hits come and go and become forgotten. Except a few that survive, continue to grow, leave a permanent mark on people and the society and rise to become nearly larger than life.

'Not just a hit' is a 12-part documentary series, which every part examines one of these significant events. Opinions are voiced by music makers, culture and society researchers and experts, fashion creators, radio and TV personalities, teachers, psychologists, fans and ordinary music consumers, who have been touched by a particular kind of music. Can just a few minutes of music change the world after all?



:huh: - ...they've got a whole lot to squeeze into 30 minutes... :p



John - ;)

[Troll]

Thanks for the interesting articles.

[aFinn]

Perjantaina 30.3. vuorossa
Shania Twain: Any man of mine, 1995

'Not just a hit' is a 12-part documentary series, which every part examines one of these significant events. Opinions are voiced by music makers, culture and society researchers and experts, fashion creators, radio and TV personalities, teachers, psychologists, fans and ordinary music consumers, who have been touched by a particular kind of music. Can just a few minutes of music change the world after all?Thanksis, would have most likely missed it (like usual :p). Hard to think, some Shania on Finnish tv :shocked:

[aFinn]

Did anyone see that Grumpy Old Women program that came after this Shania thing? It was hilarious! :funny:

[EilleenTwain88]

How was it? Is is worth the watch (rerun this evening)?

[Myyde]

Did anyone see that Grumpy Old Women program that came after this Shania thing? It was hilarious! :funny:

Oh, it`s now Grumpy Old Women? Well, i`ve seen few episodes of Grumpy Old Men. That show is made for Finns.:p It was hilarious few times. But because what they are saying is so true and things always goes like that, it`s not funny anymore, or is it?:uhh:

Gotta check what those ladies have in their mind, maybe that`s more fun.:p


How was it? Is is worth the watch (rerun this evening)?
Uusinta (tai seuraava jakso) tulee huomenna klo 18, Yle Teema, Mariseva joukko.

[EilleenTwain88]

Uusinta (tai seuraava jakso) tulee huomenna klo 18, Yle Teema, Mariseva jouko.
Actually I meant the Shania thing? Didn't see that either last night?

[Myyde]

Finnish Broadcasting Corporation's 'Theme' Digital Television Channel March 30. 2007 at 20:30 - 21:00


Not just a hit: Any man of mine


Part 12: Shania Twain: Any Man of Mine, 1995. Can a few minutes of music change the world? Some leave a permanent mark and become nearly larger than life.


Thanks. That was interesting episode. Some new footage for me.:great:


Actually I meant the Shania thing? Didn't see that either last night?
Ooops...yeah, rerun comes today 19.00. But that other show is almost as good.;)

[Myyde]

How was it? Is is worth the watch (rerun this evening)?
Actually I meant the Shania thing? Didn't see that either last night?

Hey, c`mon! Shania on Finnish TV and you are asking is it worth of watching.:faint:

Might be shock, but YES, it`s worth it.;) Of course there is at the same time on other channel, best of Eurovision song contest, performed by Finnish artists like Katri-Helena, Lea Laven...if that is more you like, tough call.;)



Finnish females are confused. Yes. We all knew that. :p


John - ;)
Yeah, we all knew that. Small confusion is good, but now this looks really serious, should we be worried about this?:nervous:

[EilleenTwain88]

Hey, c`mon! Shania on Finnish TV and you are asking is it worth of watching.:faint:
Ehe ehe.
Might be shock, but YES, it`s worth it.;) Of course there is at the same time on other channel, best of Eurovision song contest, performed by Finnish artists like Katri-Helena, Lea Laven...if that is more you like, tough call.;)
I try to forget that and choose Shania... just because it is so rare to see her in Finnish TV. :D
Yeah, we all knew that. Small confusion is good, but now this looks really serious, should we be worried about this?:nervous:
Well. I have to fight with my family to choose the chanel on Friday/Saturday nights (VCR stopped functioning and our Digibox ain't the recording type) even for 30min, so I had to check if the program is worth the trouble. I will have to start the negotiations early and all that :funny: :funny: ?!?!

[Myyde]

OK, good luck to your negotiations.:)

Jos ei meinaa 30 minuuttia irrota, niin voit tinkiä 20%, 24 minuuttia riittää ihan hyvin.;)

[aFinn]

Oh, it`s now Grumpy Old Women? Well, i`ve seen few episodes of Grumpy Old Men. That show is made for Finns.:p It was hilarious few times. But because what they are saying is so true and things always goes like that, it`s not funny anymore, or is it?:uhh:

Uusinta (tai seuraava jakso) tulee huomenna klo 18, Yle Teema, Mariseva joukko.I have never seen it or the men thing, so at least that one episode was really funny to me :p I especially loved how they described job and constant meetings etc :D:up:

Didn't know it's a series, have to see some of the other episodes if I spot them. I'm too late for that 6pm tonight :uhh:


best of Eurovision song contest, performed by Finnish artists like Katri-Helena, Lea Laven.. You'd have to pay me to watch that, A LOT of money!

[aFinn]

Well. I have to fight with my family to choose the chanel on Friday/Saturday nights (VCR stopped functioning and our Digibox ain't the recording type) even for 30min, so I had to check if the program is worth the trouble. I will have to start the negotiations early and all that :funny: :funny: ?!?!How did the negotiations go?

[EilleenTwain88]

How did the negotiations go?
I SAW it. No divorce papers in mail then :D ...

And liked it. Especially the part where they showed Reba, Faith and Martina BEFORE Shania and AFTER Shania... that was a little cheeky but funny.

And I hadn't seen the interview where she describes how Mutt made the difference and gave her the confidence to change That Man Of Mine to Any Man Of Mine... that was rather revealing and sweet actually.

[aFinn]

Goody!

It looked like a compilation of other interviews and programs, but I am not sure I have seen it as it is, elsewhere, it looked like a 'new' compilation, as I don't remember seeing that That Man Of Mine part before either.

[Myyde]

I have never seen it or the men thing, so at least that one episode was really funny to me :p I especially loved how they described job and constant meetings etc :D:up:

Didn't know it's a series, have to see some of the other episodes if I spot them. I'm too late for that 6pm tonight :uhh:
What was going to happen tonight 6pm.:confused: :p

Well, looks that it`s a rerun tomorrow, next new episode, YLE Teema Friday 6.4 21:00 ;)


You'd have to pay me to watch that, A LOT of money!
Somehow i had some strange feeling that you`d say something like that.:p

Unfortunately i missed that too, so i can`t even send a copy of that for you. Had to record again that Shania thingy.:banghead: Now there wasn`t those annoying texts so it was all good.:)

[aFinn]

What was going to happen tonight 6pm.:confused: :pUusinta tulee huomenna klo 18, Yle Teema, Mariseva joukko.I was confused about the day yesterday :p




Somehow i had some strange feeling that you`d say something like that.:p What ever gave you that feeling? :uhh: :funny:

Unfortunately i missed that too, so i can`t even send a copy of that for you.:biglaugh: Haha, cheeky! :sleep:

Had to record again that Shania thingy. Now there wasn`t those annoying texts so it was all good.:)The rerun was without subtitles?

[Myyde]

I was confused about the day yesterday :p
:really: ;)



What ever gave you that feeling? :uhh: :funny:
Maybe it was something you said some other thread. Mutta missä on J.J..? Good luck to your new job.:)


The rerun was without subtitles?
Yep. I guess that Yle is trying to save some money there...must be very expensive to put those subtitles there, they barely have money for one time, but not for more.:p

Maybe some likes when subtitles are this way, but i`m not one of them.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/Myyde/misc/vlcsnap-181958.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/Myyde/misc/vlcsnap-185478.jpg


Maybe you saw behind that subtitle box, but if you missed something, here is what there was.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/Myyde/misc/vlcsnap-180913.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/Myyde/misc/vlcsnap-180991.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/Myyde/misc/vlcsnap-181082.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/Myyde/misc/vlcsnap-181152.jpg

[aFinn]

:really: ;)Surprising, eh? :funny:


Maybe it was something you said some other thread.
Mutta missä on J.J..? Good luck to your new job.:)Yeah, maybe it was that nauseous comment :funny:

Thank you! Lucky me! ;)



Yep. I guess that Yle is trying to save some money there...must be very expensive to put those subtitles there, they barely have money for one time, but not for more.:p

Maybe some likes when subtitles are this way, but i`m not one of them.Ah, I didn't know the second airing was without subtitles or I would have recorded that instead of the first one :(

[Troll]

Thanks for the caps.

[Myyde]

Surprising, eh? :funny:
Yeah, a very BIG surprise.:p

Yeah, maybe it was that nauseous comment :funny:
Maybe.:p


Ah, I didn't know the second airing was without subtitles or I would have recorded that instead of the first one :(
I didn`t know that either, but had to record it second time becauce of course there was a scratch on DVD which ruined it first time.

But it wasn`t 1st time when rerun was without subtitles, i`ve seen it few times before, maybe that`s what they usually do?:dunno:

[FinnFreak]

Ah, I didn't know the second airing was without subtitles or I would have recorded that instead of the first one :(

:really: - Doesn't your DVB box have an option to turn the subtitles off / language audio track selection..? :huh:


John - :p

[aFinn]

:really: - Doesn't your DVB box have an option to turn the subtitles off / language audio track selection..? :huh:


John - :pErrr, it does.

Thanks. I feel :banghead: now.


*sigh*

[FinnFreak]

STT - 2.4.2007


Royal Caribbean orders EUR 900 mln ship from Aker


Norwegian shipbuilder Aker Yards, whose Cruise & Ferries arm is based in Finland, said in a statement Monday that Norwegian-American cruise ship operator Royal Caribbean had ordered another gigantic Genesis class vessel, adding the deal was worth about 900 million euros.

The contract is subject to final confirmation of the buyer´s financing.

The order translates to 5,800 man-years of work.

The second "Project Genesis" ship is to be built in Finland and delivered in August 2010.

With a length of 360 metres, a gross tonnage of 220,000 and accommodating 8,400 passengers and crew, the Genesis class ships will be the world´s largest passenger vessels. The first Genesis ship, the most expensive civilian vessel ever built, is scheduled for delivery from Aker´s Turku, Finland, yard in 2009.



John - :)

[tower]

That is some pretty big numbers there John, wow some 2.5 times larger than the Titanic and 220 THOUSAND Tons, that is BIG... I am standing by for news of my next ship, and it could be one of the largest in the World at a mind blowing 330 Thousand Tons, as it has just been launched and joins the BP fleet next week, about the same time my shore leave is up.

It is a VLCC or Very Large Crude Carrier, More if I get the post.

I might add at this point that Finland is one of the most highly prized shipbuilders in the World, with an attention to detail and quality not found in the cheaper yards of South Korea and Japan. I wish BP ships were built there!! But no, they are leased not owned. Still keeps me in a job making things work as they should after the yard has wired them up wrong ;)

[FinnFreak]

:D - yep, it's BIG alright..!


http://liners.greatnet.us/Images/rcci_ProjectGenesis.jpg


...and it's a HUGE industry - like you can imagine - we've got thousands of companies here, each providing some of their special expertise, to finalize the ship, before that floating city is launched... to make it as perfect as it can be... even Yours Truly has a fingerprint in there somewhere...


John - ;)

[Troll]

That is huge.

[FinnFreak]

STT - 3.4.2007


Finland's Centre and Conservatives suspicious of Greens


Finland's Centre and National Coalition parties, widely tipped to form the
backbone of the new coalition government, on Tuesday expressed suspicions
regarding the list of objectives produced by the Green League.

Matti Vanhanen (centre), Centre party chair and interim prime minister, had
begun detailed talks with the parliamentary factions earlier on Tuesday.

Jyrki Katainen, the National Coalition party leader, said it was not possible for
the government to disagree on a number of issues.

"The government must be capable of action. It cannot have an opposition
inside it. If one wants to bear responsibility, one must also be capable of
bearing it," Mr Katainen added.

Comments from Centre party negotiators in the talks also betrayed suspicions
towards the Greens, with Paula Lehtomäki, the vice chair of the Centre
party, telling reporters that it was good to discuss with the Greens how the
government line would be supported. Ms Lehtomäki said that the Greens'
concept of so-called faction discipline differed from that held by other parties.

Timo Kalli, the chairman of the Centre party parliamentary faction, said it was
better to talk the issues through over the coming week than during the next
four years in Parliament.

Mr Vanhanen is to launch the government-forming talks proper after Easter.



...why am I NOT surprised..?



John - :smirk:

[Eleanor]

:D - yep, it's BIG alright..!


http://liners.greatnet.us/Images/rcci_ProjectGenesis.jpg

John - ;)Wow that's a big one, love the pic. :eek:

[FinnFreak]

STT - 3.4.2007


Finnish Greens refute suspicions by Centre and Conservatives



Finland's Green League declared Tuesday the party would remain loyal to the
government if part of a coalition.

Centre and National Coalition party representatives in the forthcoming
government talks had earlier on Tuesday called into doubt the Greens' ability
to stick to a government line.

Heid Hautala, the chair of the Green League parliamentary faction, assured
that the Greens were aware of the responsibility and that no problems would
arise regarding so-called faction discipline.

Ms Hautala added that the leadership of the party had discussed the matter
during talks with Matti Vanhanen, the Centre party leader.

Mr Vanhanen started detailed talks with the factions on Tuesday. He is
expected to announce next week which parties he will invite to the
government talks proper.



:funny: - like clockwork..!


John - :p

[FinnFreak]

BBC Music Magazine Awards 2007


Disc Of The Year & Vocal Award Winner


http://www.bbcmusicmagazine.com/awards/images/Winners07_DOYVocal.jpg


SOILE ISOKOSKI

Sibelius - Luonnotar, Orchestral Songs

Soile Isokoski (soprano), Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra/ Leif Segerstam.

Ondine ODE 1080-5


WHAT THE JURY SAID:

'A thrilling performance of Luonnotar in which Isokoski's sonorous soprano is
matched by atmospheric playing from the Finnish orchestra. The rest of the
disc makes you wonder why Sibelius's orchestral songs occupy one of the
most unjustly neglected corners of his output.'


WHAT THE WINNER SAID:

'I'm so surprised! Whenever you make a recording, although you are all doing
your best, you never really know how it's going to come out. You don't know
really how all the players are going to sound together, how the editing will
go, what the balance will be like. It's like a happy coincidence when it comes
together so well!' - Soile Isokoski, soprano



The Independent - 09 April 2007


Sibelius - A hostage to history

http://www.finst.ee/images/JeanSibelius.jpg

Sibelius was once the world's favourite composer but, thanks to German
fascist admirers, his star waned after his death. Fifty years later, it's time
to rediscover his genius, says Jessica Duchen


Jean Sibelius, Finland's finest export, along with cranberry vodka and the
Moomins, died in 1957 at the age of 91. In 1935 he was identified as the
most popular classical composer of all, ahead of Beethoven, in a poll by the
New York Philharmonic Society. But, on the 50th anniversary of his death,
he is receiving scant attention in British concert halls, even though he was
as fine a composer as the more popular likes of Shostakovich and Mahler.

He is set apart from his rivals by his conciseness and originality of voice, a
combination of the translucent and the transcendental. Each of his seven
symphonies is unique in structure, unpredictable, even startling; tautly
written and organic in their use of motifs, they possess a sense of austere
wonder; personal yet universal. At the time of their composition, they
represented a radical departure from the symphonies of the past. Beside
them, Mahler can seem self-indulgent, while Shostakovich can never be
divorced from his fearsome Soviet context.

But the mysteries of Sibelius run deeper than his relative neglect. For the
last 30 years of his life, he produced next to nothing. He worked on an eighth
symphony, declaring several times that it would be his greatest work, but it
never materialised. Eventually, said Sibelius's wife Aino, there was a bonfire
at the family home. Her husband had consigned the eighth symphony to the
flames.

Sibelius, born into a Swedish-speaking family in Hämeelinna, a hundred
kilometres north of Helsinki, had started out hoping (unsuccessfully) to be
a virtuoso violinist. His early works were inspired by the folklore and scenery
of his homeland; they quickly became a symbol of Finland's struggles for self-
determination against the ever-encroaching Russia - even though, ironically
enough, Tchaikovsky was prime among his influences. Sibelius composed
prolifically at first. His Violin Concerto is a worldwide favourite; Finlandia,
the Karelia Suite and Valse Triste are perennial items on popular concert
programmes; his intimate, heartbreakingly beautiful songs have been
recorded with tremendous affection by clear-voiced sopranos such as
Barbara Bonney and Soile Isokoski. He has been the subject of a substantial
documentary by Christopher Nupen, just out on DVD, in which images of pine
forests in swirling mists and blizzards are perfectly matched to the
composer's tone-poem masterpiece Tapiola, with its shivering, skittering,
terrifying writing for the strings. "No composer had ever made an orchestra
sound like this before," notes the DVD narrator.

Yet Sibelius was, for a long time, his own worst enemy. His was a tormented
personality, the forbidding image and fierce, bald, head masking the raw
emotions of an intense, passionate soul. His most serious problem was
entirely self-inflicted: alcoholism. Drink may have been a way of battling
performance stress - he noted that he could feel incapacitated by nerves
before conducting, but that if he had swallowed half a bottle of champagne
first, he could do anything - but with excessive drinking went excessive
spending, frequently landing him in debt. While he and his family lived in
Helsinki, he would sometimes disappear on binges lasting several days. After
the death of his third daughter, Kirsti, from typhoid fever in 1900, his habit
headed toward dangerous levels. The building of a home in the country,
Ainola ("Aino's House"), helped to remove him from the capital's temptations
but, four years later, in 1908, he was hospitalised to dry out. Shortly
afterwards he underwent repeated operations to remove a tumour in his throat.
He had to come to terms with living under the threat of death, all too aware
of life's brevity, fragility and beauty. He changed his lifestyle for a good
seven years; his compositions benefited, as did his public persona; he
travelled widely, visiting the US.

At the apex of this period, in 1915, while the First World War raged, Sibelius
saw a flight of 16 swans and was moved to note down a sequence of music
that grew into part of his Fifth Symphony, a work as soaring and elemental
as the sight that inspired it: "One of the great experiences of my life! God,
how beautiful," he wrote.

In Ainola, Sibelius sat out the First World War and the upheavals following the
Russian Revolution, half-heartedly battling his renewed addiction, working
slowly at his sixth and seventh symphonies. With time, he grew increasingly
reclusive, affected by nervousness, a tremor in his hands and cataracts.
Ainola and his close family provided a crucial safety net and continued to
protect him, and his reputation, after his death.

If Sibelius has not been accorded the full celebration that he deserves,
there's more behind it than his personal foibles. It was unfortunate for him
that, in the 1930s, leading Nazis took a liking to his music. By the time Hitler
came to power, Sibelius was firmly established as the world's most popular
living composer. Given the stirring emotions and nationalistic edge of his
early works, it is no wonder that German fascists tried to appropriate his
music. His accessibility, idealism and evocations of nature made him certain
for approval, when compared to the 12-tone wailings of Schoenberg and Berg.
Hitler awarded Sibelius the Goethe Medal in 1935, on the occasion of
the composer's 70th birthday, and, in 1942, Goebbels founded a German
Sibelius Society. Sibelius made no objection; he was not noted for refusing
honours.

The death blow was delivered after the war by the German philosopher,
sociologist and musical theorist Theodor Adorno. Certain critics, notably Olin
Downes in New York, had used Sibelius to berate composers such as
Schoenberg and Stravinsky; Adorno, consequently, bore Sibelius a grudge for
his very popularity, so was keen to associate him with Nazi ideology.
"Sibelius's supporters scream in chorus: 'nature is all, nature is all'. Great Pan,
and where necessary blood and earth, step up into the picture," he
blustered, evoking the Nazis' blut und boden slogans.

Nothing could have been further from the truth, as revealed in Erik Tawaststjerna's
definitive five-volume biography of Sibelius: in his diary the composer lambasted
anti-Semitism and declared the Nazis' race laws "the most complete hogwash".
But the damage had been done.

Adorno was an influential thinker, and contributed greatly to the prevailing
post-war aesthetic in which critics condemned new music that seemed
"conservative", and failed to toe the line of the 12-tone system. No matter
that most of Sibelius's works had been composed decades earlier. Countless
superb composers found their creative lives devastated by this trend, which
was far removed from audience perceptions, yet hugely influential with the
musical world's decision-makers.

Did Sibelius burn his eighth symphony because of chronic self-doubt? Or
because he could guess the work's likely fate in such a climate? One way
or another, these critical strictures helped to force the century's greatest
symphonist into artistic suicide.

Fifty years on, it's too late to save his last symphony, but not too late to
restore Sibelius to his rightful status. Arguments still rage among musicologists
over the politicisation of Sibelius in Europe but, with increasing distance, it's
becoming possible at last to accept that the 20th century had room for
Schoenberg and Sibelius. There could be no better time to reassess his
achievements and to toast this genius of the symphony lavishly in cranberry
vodka.



John - ;)

[tower]

Thank you John for that wonderful post. Great reading.

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - CULTURE - Friday 13.4.2007


Donald Duck holds his own in the north

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135226408363.jpeg


Aku Ankka comic albums introduced Finnish baby-boomers to the modern world


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135226408365.jpeg
Aku Ankka editor-in-chief Jukka Heiskanen
and Donald Duck at a "Duckburg" exhibition
at the Riihimäki Art Museum. The show,
which runs until August 19th, contains
a wealth of material, including original
drawings by Disney artists.


By Katri Kallionpää


Kwaak!

The trouserless duck in the sailor's hat puts even Helsingin Sanomat to shame.
He has more readers than the largest daily newspaper in the Nordic region.

And at 56 years of age, Donald Duck is more popular than ever. What is the
secret of the phenomenal popularity of the strip cartoon albums that go by
the Finnish name of Aku Ankka?

"Aku Ankka came at the right time", says artist Kaj Stenvall, who was born in
December 1951, in the same month and year that Donald's comic albums made
landfall in Finland.

Stenvall learnt to read with the help of the Aku Ankka strips, just like hundreds
of thousands of others. And the duck won over the hearts and minds of the
baby-boomer generation.

Now they order the comics for their children and their grandchildren.

The circulation of Aku Ankka has grown for seven straight years in succession
and hit a new record early this year, at 320,514 copies.

Aku Ankka is Finland's largest magazine, not including some free magazines
put out to customers by store chains and the like.

The circulation is greater in Finland than anywhere else in the Nordic countries,
or even in the United States itself, where the Walt Disney character's weekly
and monthly comic books play second fiddle to the actual cartoons. In terms
of individual copies sold, Aku Ankka still lags behind the roughly 426,000 claimed
by Helsingin Sanomat - published by the same media group, SanomaWSOY.

But in terms of actual readers, Aku Ankka shows a swifter turn of webbed foot.
It boasts a readership of nearly 1.4 million.

According to surveys taken by Taloustutkimus, the comics have 1,084,000 readers
over the age of 12 years, and Sanoma Magazines Finland's own assays report there
are a further 300,000 under that age.

By any standard, Aku Ankka can be described as SanomaWSOY's lucky nickel,
which the then editor-in-chief of Helsingin Sanomat Eljas Erkko found lying in
the street in the 1930s.

The rival newspaper Aamulehti had initially bought the rights to Disney's Mickey Mouse
strip cartoons (Mikki Hiiri in Finnish) in 1930, but chose not to renew the contract
after a couple of years.

Way back when, the then Printing Works Director of Sanoma Corporation Risto Kavanne
described the Aku Ankka brand as "a veritable goldmine", and there is little doubt that
the motherlode is still delivering fist-sized nuggets today.

The comics' publishers Sanoma Magazines Finland do not release individual figures of
the revenue from the magazines, but a simple multiplication sum suggests that the
subscriptions generate net sales of around EUR 20 million a year.

This is around 10 per cent of Sanoma Magazines Finland's annual turnover.

The Aku Ankka comic books are produced by an editiorial staff of four. This covers
the weekly magazine, monthly magazines, and Internet pages.

The weekly magazine itself (it was actually a monthly until 1956 and then appeared
fortnightly for the next four years) has not changed to any great degree from its
Finnish inception. In the 1990s the other Scandinavian publishers increased the
number of pages to 64, but in Finland it remains at 36 pages.

According to editor Jukka Heiskanen, this means that the comics in Finnish are of
better overall quality than elsewhere. "We can take the best stories for Aku Ankka,
and we can also put in what we want, for instance the longer stories by classic
illustrators such as Carl Barks and Don Rosa", says Heiskanen.

It is only as recently as 1997 that the names of illustrators have been added as
byelines to the comics.

In the view of Jukka Heiskanen, one of the factors behind the runaway success
of the Aku Ankka books in the Finnish market is that they do not have to compete
for children's pocket money on the shelves of newsstands and kiosks. In the Finnish
model, Aku Ankka is subscribed and delivered directly to homes, so the magazines
are paid for by the parents. The tradition began already in the 1950s, when Helsingin
Sanomat's own sales agents were also busy promoting the duck.

Another trump card is the clear and clever use of language in the cartoon speech-
bubbles.

This goes back right to the earliest days, and to the magazine's very first editor,
Eljas Erkko's former secretary Sirkka Ruotsalainen. Erkko was himself convinced
that the reason for the initial poor take-up of Kalle Anka & Co., the Swedish
equivalent of Aku Ankka, was that the slang used was turning off adults.

Because of the crisp language style adopted here, Aku Ankka soon became a
magazine for the entire family, and not just for children. And when the parents
were doing the buying, this was a serious business consideration.

Good examples of the sort of language that appeals and has won plaudits are
hard to translate off the cuff, but they include the cultivation of regional dialects,
wordplaying, and the witty "localisations" of names of characters.

This could mean for instance calling a motor racing driver "Mika Säkkinen" [after
F1 World Champion Mika Häkkinen], or juxtaposing syllables - "Ladvin Eine" for the
Finnish film director Edvin Laine, or making transparent "direct" translations of names
like "Clint Itäpuu" [Itäpuu is directly translated as Eastwood].

"The adults get the allusion and smile at it, and even if the children do not always
catch it, they find the names funny in any case", says Heiskanen. It is a win-win
situation.

In the Duckburg world (Ankkalinna to Finnish readers), there is no mortality, no eroticism,
no religion, no alcohol or substance abuse, and no party politics. So what exactly is it
that fascinates the Finns?

Author Hannu Raittila takes the view that a Finnish reader recognises something of
himself or herself in the character of Donald.

"Donald is forever getting into difficulties or coming under threat from some direction
or another. The duck hero has to get himself out of all manner of unexpected and
unreasonable scrapes using only his wits and the slim resources he can put his hands
on, all of which meshes nicely with the popular image of Finland as driftwood in the
crosscurrents of world politics."

Donald Duck also has something of another, more ancient mythical bird about him.

He shares with the phoenix an unquenchable spirit of regeneration. "When he's been
tarred and feathered and battered and rolled in the mud, he always jumps to his feet
with the same cheerful never-say-die optimism and vigour", says Raittila.

Up in the North, it is Dogged Donald who is the most popular character in the Duckburg
universe, while in Central Europe he comes second to the "smarter" Mickey Mouse.
Mickey is a born winner, and Donald, well, he might lose a fair bit, but he's a trier
- and we relish our heroic failures hereabouts, as the attached IntEd article from
2004 may indicate.

It is probably no surprise to note that in elections in Scandinavia, protest votes are
given to Donald Duck, while in the United States it is more likely to be Mickey who
gets the write-in vote when all other candidates fail to please.

According to Hannu Raittila, there is more to Donald and his chums than mere identification,
however. He argues that the world presented in the Aku Ankka pages helped to guide
the baby-boomer generations through the extensive changes that Finnish society
underwent over the same period.

"For the big generations in the post-war era, their lives coincided with Finland's
metamorphosis from an agrarian state to a post-modern, post-industrial one."

"Little boys and girls in the rural Finland of the 1950s thirsted for the tales from Duckburg,
which contained such modern features as urban life, the spread of the motor car, self-
service shopping, large supermarkets, fast-food restaurants, and golf. These were
details taken from American culture that have subsequently become part and parcel
of the reality of a modernised Finland", suggests Raittila.

Marko Leppälä - an Aku Ankka collector and a member of the Aku Ankka enthusiasts
group "Ankistit" - points out that the comics initially had little or no competition,
which made the task of conquering the Finnish market that much easier.

He notes that from the outset the magazines were printed on decent paper and were
an attractive product, and the stories were top quality, which meant that even after
the novelty wore off, the initial popularity was sustained.

At the same time, he tends to take the traditionalists' view that the newer comics do
not hold a candle to the classics of the genre by the likes of Carl Barks. "But that's
a matter of taste, of course", Leppälä adds.

Finland's vibrant duck-culture has also spawned a certain amount of export. The Finnish
Donald Duck illustrator Kari Korhonen (b. 1973) has his own coterie of fans around the world.

The famous comic book writer and illustrator Don Rosa is huge in Finland - in fact his
name here is probably a good deal bigger than in his native USA.

He has visited Finland on several occasions, and his 1999 Uncle Scrooge album entitled
Sammon salaisuus (officially translated as "The Quest for Kalevala", though the direct
translation of the title is "The Secret of Sampo") was a massive local bestseller.
It explored the national epic in Rosa's own inimitable style and featured images of
Helsinki in the 1950s, and it has subsequently been translated for readers in 15
countries, including the US and Brazil.

A quite separate and equally powerful phenomenon has been the oeuvres of Finnish
artist Kaj Stenvall, mentioned at the beginning of this article.

His work is immediately recognisable by the duck figures, quirkily and often absurdly
transposed into otherwise familiar landscapes and settings ( http://www.kajstenvall.com/ ).

Stenvall himself says that Donald was the starting-point for the "very familiar-
looking duck" he used when embarking on the series of paintings in 1989. "Quite
soon, however, I wanted to cut the umbilical cord to Walt Disney's character.
I developed a kind of ‘Everyduck', containing ingredients from a variety of sources,
including the Warner Bros. cartoon figure Daffy Duck."

Nowadays Stenvall gets almost annoyed when his paintings are called "duckworks".

"The character I'm using is a hybrid, who is there to replace the classical human
figure in paintings. The viewer can see through it to something that is personally
touching."



Lordi - Laardi
April Lavigne - Aprilli Lavonen
Tarja Turunen & Nightwish - Marja Murunen & Yövissy


Kääk indeed.



John - :p

[aFinn]

I was thinking of going to Riihimäki to see that exhibition. Maybe it will be just thinking and I'll never make it up there :p

[aFinn]

The Finnish newspaper picture of the year for 2006:

Oh Lordi, Lordi, Lordi :p

http://www.suomenlehtikuvaajat.fi/vuodenlehtikuvat/img/lehtikuva/1.jpg

[FinnFreak]

STT - 17.4.2007


Katainen to become Finland's finance minister


Finland's National Coalition party said Monday that its chairman, Jyrki
Katainen, would become finance and deputy prime minister, with Ilkka
Kanerva manning the top office at the foreign ministry.

The party's candidate for speaker of Parliament is Sauli Niinistö.

Sari Sarkomaa is to be education minister; Anne Holmlund, interior minister
and Jyri Häkämies, defence minister, with the added responsibility for state
ownership policy. Paula Risikko is to be the minister of health and social
services; Suvi Lindén, the communications minister and Jan Vapaavuori, the
housing minister.

Jari Koskinen, the early favourite to be named chairman of the Conservatives'
parliamentary faction, said Monday that he would not accept the job, adding
he did not wish to justify his decision. The head of the faction is to be
chosen on Thursday.

The Centre party, the National Coalition party, the Green League and the
Swedish People's party had struck an agreement on the government
programme and the distribution of the portfolios on Sunday.

There will be a total of 20 ministers in Finland's 70th cabinet, an increase of
two from the 2003-7 one and an all-time record.



Väyrynen mentioned in Finnish Centre party ministerial plans

Paavo Väyrynen, a Finnish Centre party veteran politician, may have a chance
of becoming a minister in Matti Vanhanen's (centre) second government after all.
One of the options considered by the party on Monday was to make Mr Väyrynen
agriculture minister.

In a highly controversial move, Mr Väyrynen has not handed his mandate to be
checked by Parliament's officials, saying he will continue to serve as a Euro-MP
if not given a prestigious enough appointment in either the government or the
speakers' council.

The party, led by Matti Vanhanen, is to announce its eight-minister lineup on Tuesday.



:uhh: - ...now, this is scary..! :shocked:



John - :smirk:

[FinnFreak]

STT - 17.4.2007


Finns come second in Europe happiness survey


Researchers from the University of Cambridge have concluded that Finns are
the second-happiest people in the EU-15 after Danes, Agence France-Presse
(AFP) reported on Tuesday.

Luisa Corrado, the head of the research project, told the news agency that
the survey showed that trust in society was very important as a cause of
happiness.

The happiness ratings are partly based on about 20,000 interviews across the
15 EU countries in 2004.



:huh: - now, what are those Danes so happy about..? :really:

:shocked: ...have they found our secret chocolate stash..?!?


John - :p

[FinnFreak]

Helsingin Sanomat: Paavo Väyrysestä ulkomaankauppaministeri

:shocked:


STT - 17.4.2007 at 16:11


In surprise move, Finnish Centre party names Väyrynen foreign trade and development minister


Paavo Väyrynen, an old hand in Finland's Centre party, is to be foreign trade and development minister in the country's new centre-right cabinet.

In a vote at a joint meeting of the party management and the parliamentary faction on Tuesday, Mr Väyrynen gathered 41 votes against Antti Kaikkonen's 36.

The party also decided to make Mari Kiviniemi minister of municipal and administrative affairs.

The Centre party, the National Coalition party, the Green League and the Swedish People's party struck an agreement on the ministerial posts at the weekend.



John - :p

[FinnFreak]

STT - 17.4.2007


Finland's Centre party picks Väyrynen and five women for cabinet



As its traditions dictate, the Finnish Centre party's ministerial choices offered
political drama by the bucketload on Tuesday afternoon.

The most unexpected move was the election of Paavo Väyrynen, a party
veteran, as foreign trade and development minister. Although Mr Väyrynen's
name was on the list offered by Matti Vanhanen, party chair and prime
minister, the appointment had to be voted on. In the joint meeting of the
parliamentary faction and the party management, Mr Väyrynen beat Antti
Kaikkonen with 41 votes to 36.

Even hardened political correspondents experienced difficulty believing their
eyes when presented with the reality of Mr Väyrynen's comeback. Only days
ago, Mr Väyrynen had been widely condemned to perpetual political obscurity
after refusing to have his MP's mandate checked, insisting he would stay on
as Euro-MP if not given a portfolio or the post of speaker.

Considering the National Coalition party had named Ilkka Kanerva foreign
minister, the entire foreign ministry will now be led by two old hands who
learned the ropes in the 1970s in an utterly different world from the 21st
century.

Also after a vote, the Centre party named Sirkka-Liisa Anttila agriculture and
forestry minister. She competed for the job with three other candidates.

Paula Lehtomäki will be environment minister, although the office will be filled
by Kyösti Karjula during her maternity leave.

The other appointments were unanimous, with Mauri Pekkarinen carrying on
as trade and industry minister, Liisa Hyssälä named social affairs and health
minister; Annu Vehviläinen, transport minister and Mari Kiviniemi, minister of
municipal and administrative affairs.

Mssrs Vanhanen and Pekkarinen are the only Centre party ministers continuing
in their old posts, although Mr Pekkarinen's portfolio will strengthen once the
new labour and commerce ministry, already dubbed the "superministry", is
formed.

The Centre party's eight-minister lineup means that Finland's 70th government
will not only be the first one where women outnumber the men, but clearly
female-dominated. A dozen out of the total 20 portfolios will be held by women.



We're doomed.



John - :p

[EilleenTwain88]

We're doomed.
Vanhanen must be out of his wits. Väyrynen & Kanerva as ministers of foreign trade??? And Sirkka-Liisa Anttila... jeez.

Maybe that Jäätteenmäki was not that stupid after all (when pickin up the previous goverment)... Matti shoed his real lack of brain and resources just now???

[FinnFreak]

Vanhanen must be out of his wits. Väyrynen & Kanerva as ministers of foreign trade???
And Sirkka-Liisa Anttila... jeez.

Maybe that Jäätteenmäki was not that stupid after all (when pickin up the previous goverment)...
Matti shoed his real lack of brain and resources just now???

Anneli had two things against her:

1. being a lawyer

2. being a lawyer from Lapua


...oh yes... and her lying in front of the Finnish Parliament when the Iraq-gate thing exploded wasn't a very wise move either... :uhh:


She did produce a memorable quote though: ;)


"I will speak as truthful as I possibly can."


But Vanhanen's yielding to Väyrynen is inexcusable...
foreign trade is now in the hands of a guy who 20 years ago proclaimed:

"Further integration within western Europe is unlikely - and the Soviet Union will continue to be a super power"...


A well-known EU-opponent & his lack of vision is blinding. :smirk:


Kepu pettää aina.


John - :p

[FinnFreak]

STT - 18.4.2007


Baby girl is Finnish capital area's one-millionth resident


A baby girl born at Helsinki's Kätilöopisto maternity hospital at 1.35am Wednesday
is the one-millionth resident of the Finnish capital area.

The mayors of the four cities that make up the metropolitan area had decided
earlier in the week that the "metropolitan baby", the first born on Wednesday,
would mark the occasion.


John - :)

[Myyde]

...oh yes... and her lying in front of the Finnish Parliament when the Iraq-gate thing exploded wasn't a very wise move either... :uhh:


She did produce a memorable quote though: ;)


"I will speak as truthful as I possibly can."



John - :p

I wouldn`t give all credit for her, because it`s written in their contracts. If they don`t sign it, they don`t get in. ;)

[FinnFreak]

Iltalehti.fi


Kuka on ärsyttävin ministeri?


Valitse oma ehdokkaasi listasta ja perustele lyhyesti valintaasi.
Äänestyksen tulokset julkaistaan lauantaina 21.4. Iltalehden viikonvaihdeliitteessä.


Kuka on Suomen kaikkien aikojen ärsyttävin ministeri?

Matti Ahde
Esko Aho
Arja Alho
Heikki Haavisto
Tarja Halonen
Satu Hassi
Toimi Kankaanniemi
Seppo Kääriäinen
Eero Heinäluoma
Harri Holkeri
Kauko Juhantalo
Anneli Jäätteenmäki
Antti Kalliomäki
Ilkka Kanerva
Ahti Karjalainen
Mauno Koivisto
Keijo Korhonen
Eeva Kuuskoski
Paula Lehtomäki
Urpo Leppänen
Erkki Liikanen
Suvi Lindén
Paavo Lipponen
Leena Luhtanen
Martti Miettunen
Sauli Niinistö
Rafael Paasio
Mauri Pekkarinen
Sirpa Pietikäinen
Elisabeth Rehn
Tanja Saarela
Kimmo Sasi
Suvi-Anne Siimes
Kalevi Sorsa
Ulf Sundqvist
Ilkka Suominen
Erkki Tuomioja
Riitta Uosukainen
Matti Vanhanen
Pekka Vennamo
Iiro Viinanen
Jari Vilén
Johannes Virolainen
Paavo Väyrynen
Joku muu, kuka?


Perustele vielä vastauksesi.

Parhaita kommentteja julkaistaan, joten kerro myös nimimerkkisi.


http://digiumenterprise.com/answer/survey.asp?sid=106909&answerer=18656&chk=JK2GAEPD&dt=39190.5261989583


It's gotta be Paavo.


John - :p

[aFinn]

We don't have a cabinet, we have a horror show.

worst or strangest choices:

Paavo Väyrynen - http://www.saunalahti.fi/oskarila/sekal/s/yuck.gif :banghead: :nono: Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Ilkka Kanerva - :bonk: http://www.saunalahti.fi/oskarila/sekal/s/yuck.gif

Suvi Linden - after having to resign from previous cabinet she was in, they chose her again? :huh:

Sirkka-Liisa Anttila - :shocked:

Jan Vapaavuori - is he convicted of crimes or did I read wrong?

Liisa Hyssälä - :scowl:

Anne Holmlund - who?

[FinnFreak]

I told you we were doomed.


John - :p

[FinnFreak]

Iltalehti - 19.04.2007


Pitäisi vaihtaa Väyrynen ja Lapin kansa - Tuomas Keskinen


John - :p

[EilleenTwain88]

We don't have a cabinet, we have a horror show.
I agree. Matti is as stupid as his lady friend choices has always indicated. I am really terrified...

[EilleenTwain88]

Iltalehti - 19.04.2007


Pitäisi vaihtaa Väyrynen ja Lapin kansa - Tuomas Keskinen


John - :p
Niin katoavaista on maallinen maine ja kunnia... viime vuoden Lordista tämän vuoden Väyryseen. Heh.

[FinnFreak]

I agree. Matti is as stupid as his lady friend choices has always indicated. I am really terrified...

What's wrong with Merikukka..? :p




Niin katoavaista on maallinen maine ja kunnia... viime vuoden Lordista tämän vuoden Väyryseen. Heh.

Jesh - that was my office joke of the week:

Last year, if someone would've asked you, which is more likely to happen: Finland's Lordi to win the ESC - or Paavo Väyrynen to become a cabinet minister... what would've your answer been..? - oh... you decided to wash the floor with coffee instead... no wonder we're the leading country in coffee consumption per capita... ruhahaa.


John - :p

[EilleenTwain88]

What's wrong with Merikukka..? :p
Let's get back to this in a year or two, shall we? When we have seen how that story ends... :rolleyes:

[FinnFreak]

This is what we're talking about:

http://www.iltalehti.fi/uutiset/korh3TM_uu.jpg


John - :p

[FinnFreak]

STT - 19.4.2007 at 12:13


Finnish Meteorological Institute forecasts snow for south


The Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) said Thursday that snowfall and sleet could be expected throughout the country, including southern parts, thanks to a potent low-pressure centre making landfall in the southwest in the evening.

The snow and sleet are expected to disrupt traffic across the country.



:uhh: ...and knowing how most inside Kehä III have already changed to their summer tires... this will be interesting... NOT.

(again extremely lucky NOT being there)


John - :p

[aFinn]

No snow here, just rain, rain, rain.

[Myyde]

:uhh: Carola would like to work with Lordi.:shocked:

http://www.iltasanomat.fi/viihde/uutinen.asp?id=1355600 (Finnish article)


http://kuvat2.iltasanomat.fi/iltasanomat/iDoc/1355600-GNMQ18CC.jpg

Nothing offiicial yet.

But she would like to show that she has nothing against them or scare them and that she is not a diva and she understand that those masks are just a imago thing. She has some ideas which she`d like to talk with Lordi.

****

Careful there Mr Lordi, it might be a trick, something terrible might happen, because Carola...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/Myyde/-00067.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/Myyde/-00068.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/Myyde/-00069.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/Myyde/-00070.jpg

:p (well, just something came to mind from last years ESC thread)

Is there a need for translation or did that political nonsense did the trick. Still any non Finns around?:uhh:

[FinnFreak]

hmmm... :uhh: ...I guess we need to spice things up a bit... :huh: ...make Finland an interesting topic again... :smirk:


:shocked: AGAIN..?!? :really:


John - :p

[Myyde]

hmmm... :uhh: ...I guess we need to spice things up a bit... :huh: ...make Finland an interesting topic again... :smirk:


:shocked: AGAIN..?!? :really:


John - :p
Heh!:p Well, it`s not gonna be easy, but it`s doable. Right?:uhh:

New start, lets read the rules first, shall we?;)


Welcome to the Countries of the World subforum

This is the place to discuss different countries and their cultures. You can for example post information about your country, or a part of your country, cities, tourist attractions, interesting facts etc.

Please note that this subforum is strictly a positive learning place, critic of countries and politics are not to be discussed here, the place for those is on other subforums. Negativity does not belong here, this is for fun and for learning

Enjoy!

Maybe there is/was some reason for those rules in the first place, but what that could be?:hmmm:

Well, lets leave that death weight(politics) behind us and try something else. Should`t be too difficult to find something more interesting. :)

Who want to start..? anyone...? :uhh: Errrrr....on the other hand, what`s wrong with the silence?:p

Hmmmm....silence, The silence that remains, best song in the Eurovision song contest in many years.(IMO) This contest is this year in Helsinki(IF someone didn`t know), thanks to Lordi.:) If someone want to go to watch that show, there will be more tickect on sale tomorrow, so hurry.;)

[FinnFreak]

ummm... have you guys seen this FREE magazine from Helsinki..?

http://www.freemagazine.fi/images/stories/issue_4/cover_issue4.jpg (http://www.freemagazine.fi)



John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

The 5 Dolphins at Särkänniemi get a new pool

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


John - :D

[Myyde]

Haven`t seen that magazine. It`s free, but it`s from Helsinki, is it worth it?:p

Interesting article.
http://www.freemagazine.fi/content/view/187/64/

Darn. Like i mentioned other thread that there would be "hot thing" this year contest, i thought that it would be secret, but now they revealed it.:p
http://www.freemagazine.fi/images/stories/issue_4/eurovision2.jpg
..go Ukraine go..:boogie:

[Troll]

The 5 Dolphins at Särkänniemi get a new pool

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


John - :D

That is cool.

[aFinn]

Something interesting about Finland? That's hard :p



The 5 Dolphins at Särkänniemi get a new pool...get it..? - *FINNews* :p:funny: :funny:

[FinnFreak]

:D Hauskaa Vappua..!!! :D


Walpurgis Night


Walpurgis Night is a holiday celebrated on April 30 or May 1, in large parts of Central and Northern Europe.

The festival is named after Saint Walburga (known in Scandinavia as "Valborg"; alternative forms are "Walpurgis", "Wealdburg", or "Valderburger"), born in Wessex in 710. She was a niece of Saint Boniface and, according to legend, a daughter to the Saxon prince St. Richard. Together with her brothers she travelled to Franconia, Germany, where she became a nun and lived in the convent of Heidenheim, which was founded by her brother Wunibald. Walburga died on 25 February 779 and that day still carries her name in the Traditional Catholic Calendar. However she was not made a saint until 1 May in the same year, and that day carries her name for example in the Finnish and Swedish calendar.

Historically the Walpurgisnacht is derived from Pagan spring customs, where the arrival of spring was celebrated with bonfires at night. Viking fertility celebrations took place around February 25 and due to Walburga being declared a saint at that time of year, her name became associated with the celebrations. Walburga was honored in the same way that Vikings had celebrated spring and as they spread throughout Europe, the two dates became mixed together and created the Walpurgis Night celebration. The main mascot of Walpurgis Day is the witch.



In Germany, Walpurgisnacht (or Hexennacht, meaning witches' night), the night from April 30 to May 1, is the night when allegedly the witches hold a large celebration on the Blocksberg and await the arrival of Spring.

Walpurgis Night (in German folklore) the night of April 30 (May Day's eve), when witches meet on the Brocken mountain and hold revels with their Gods..."

Brocken is the highest of the Harz Mountains of north central Germany. It is noted for the phenomenon of the Brocken spectre and for witches' revels which reputably took place there on Walpurgis night.

The Brocken Spectre is a magnified shadow of an observer, typically surrounded by rainbow-like bands, thrown onto a bank of cloud in high mountain areas when the sun is low. The phenomenon was first reported on the Brocken.

—Taken from Oxford Phrase & Fable.

A scene in Goethe's Faust Part One is called "Walpurgisnacht", and one in Faust Part Two is called "Classical Walpurgisnacht".

In some parts of northern coastal regions of Germany, the custom of lighting huge Beltane fires is still kept alive, to celebrate the coming of May, while most parts of Germany have a derived Christianized custom around Easter called "Easter fires".

In rural parts of southern Germany it is part of popular youth culture to go out on Walburgisnacht to play pranks on other people, like messing up someone's garden, hiding stuff or spraying messages on other people's property. Sometimes these pranks go too far and may result in serious willful damage to property or bodily injury.

Curiously Adolf Hitler, with several members of his staff (including Joseph Goebbels), committed suicide on Walpurgisnacht, April 30/May 1, 1945. In one History Channel documentary, Hitler and the Occult, one researcher suggested that Hitler was deliberately offering himself to the forces of evil.



In Sweden, Walpurgis (sw: Valborg) is one of the main holidays during the year in Sweden alongside Christmas and Midsummer. The forms of celebration in Sweden vary in different parts of the country and between different cities. One of the main traditions in Sweden is to light large bonfires, a custom which is most firmly established in Svealand, and which began in Uppland during the 18th century. An older tradition from Southern Sweden was for the younger people to collect greenery and branches from the woods at twilight, which were used to adorn the houses of the village. The expected reward for this task is to be paid in eggs.

The tradition which is most widespread throughout the country is probably singing songs of spring. Most of the songs are from the 19th century and were spread by students' spring festivities. The strongest and most traditional spring festivities are also found in the old university cities, like Uppsala and Lund where both current and graduated students gather at events that take up most of the day from early morning to late night on April 30, or "sista April" ("The last day of April") as it is called in Lund and elsewhere throughout the country. There are also newer student traditions like the carnival parade, The Cortège, which has been held since 1909 by the students at Chalmers in Gothenburg.




...and finally... how we do it (in style) in Finland: ;)


http://zebra.tky.hut.fi/~jap/Photo/Vappu2001/0430_036.jpg
Finns are shy, quiet people, who tend to keep to themselves, avoid eye-contact and/or - heaven forbid - speaking to the opposite sex & mostly stay home alone sulking. :p


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/75/Helsinki_HavisAmanda_at_Vappu_20050430.JPG/450px-Helsinki_HavisAmanda_at_Vappu_20050430.JPG
A team of students performing the traditional "capping of Havis Amanda"
during Helsinki's Vappu.


Today in Finland, Walpurgis Night (Vapunaatto) is, along with New Year's Eve, the biggest carnival-style festivity that takes place in the streets of Finland's towns and cities. The celebration is typically centered on plentiful use of sparkling wine and other alcoholic beverages. ( BIG surprise..!) The student traditions are also one of the main characteristics of "Vappu". From the end of the 19th century, "Fin de Siècle", and onwards, this traditional upper class feast has been co-opted by students attending university, already having received their student cap. Many people who have graduated from lukio wear the cap. One tradition is drinking sima, whose alcohol content varies. Fixtures include the capping of the Havis Amanda, a nude female statue in Helsinki, and the biannually alternating publications of ribald matter called Äpy and Julkku. Both are sophomoric; but while Julkku is a standard magazine, Äpy is always a gimmick. Classic forms have included an Äpy printed on toilet paper and a bedsheet. Often the magazine has been stuffed inside standard industrial packages such as sardine-cans and milk cartons. The festivities also include a picnic on May 1st, which is sometimes prepared in a lavish manner.

The Finnish tradition is also a shadowing of the Soviet Era May Day parade. Starting with the parties of the left, the whole of the Finnish political scene has nominated Vappu as the day to go out on stumps and agitate. This does not only include right-wing parties, but also others like the church have followed suit, marching and making speeches. In Sweden it is only the labour and socialist parties which use May 1 for political activities, while others observe the traditional festivities. The labourers who were active in the 1970s still party on the first of May. They arrange carnivals and the radio plays their old songs that workers liked to listen to. The labour spirit lies most in the capital of Finland, Helsinki.

The First of May is also a day for everything fun and crazy: children and families gather in market places to celebrate the first day of the spring and the coming summer. There are balloons and joy, people drink their first beers outside, there are clowns and masks and a lot of fun. The first of May includes colourful streamers, funny and silly things and sun. The first of May means the beginning of the spring for many people in Finland. There is also an erotic frisson involved with Vappus ribald side. The only semi-humorous adage is that who doesn't have a paramour on Vappu, will have to make do without one also on midsummer night.

Traditionally May 1st is celebrated by a picnic in a park (Kaivopuisto in the case of Helsinki). For most, the picnic is enjoyed with friends on a blanket with good food and sparkling wine. Some people, however, arrange extremely lavish picnics with pavilions, white table cloths, silver candelabras, classical music and lavish food. The picnic usually starts early in the morning, and some hard-core party goers continue the celebrations of the previous evening without sleeping in between. Some Student organisations have traditional areas where they camp every year and they usually send someone to reserve the spot early on. As with other Vappu traditions, the picnic includes student caps, sima, streamers and balloons.



So, have fun guys - I know we will... ;)



John - :p

[aFinn]

Hauskaa Vappua! :D

[manmangler]

Klara Vappen vai kuinkas se menee toisella kotimaisella
Eli hauskaa Vappua kaikille

[FinnFreak]

:huh:

...and this is either the funniest thing ever... - or not.

:uhh:

www.subtv.fi/markku


http://img.mtv3.fi/mn_kuvat/subtv/ohjelmat/minierikoissivut/markku_from_finland/429678.jpg


Markku From Finland

http://img.mtv3.fi/mn_kuvat/subtv/ohjelmat/minierikoissivut/markku_from_finland/429870.jpg

FINLAND IN NUT´S SHELL

Finland has something for everyone. Here is some essential vinks that will help you to have time of life in Finland!


Typical Finnish hobbys:

Karaoke, Sudoku, Stick walking, Woman carrying, Ice swimming


Finnish Cinema

Eight killing´s bullet, Pecco Timemanboy-films, Jäätävä polte, Nightmare on Elm Street 4, Cliffhanger, Die Hard 2 - Die Harder, Cut Throat Island, Deep Blue Sea, Long Kiss Goodnight, Driven, Mindhunters.


Finnish Television

Sports Square, Karpo has a thing, Encrypted Lifes, Hume, Formula one, Spear throwing, length jumping by Evilä, Eurovision 2007, Far Out (a world famous Finnish television format for example in Norway) and Icehockey totta toki (= "of course" in finnish)!


Finnish Books

Sinuhe from Egypti, Seven Brothers, Here under the Bottom star, Calevala, Unregognised Warrior and humor by Paasilinna (best father day qift)


Finnish music

Leningrad Cowboys (huge in Germany), Värttinä, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Lordi, Loiri, Nightwish, HIM, The Rasmus, Apocalyptica, Sibelius and Kuosmanen


Finnish Heroes

Mannerheim, Lordi and Evilä. In Finland we have a saying "Me ollaan sankareita kaikki kun oikein silmiin katsotaan". Find that in your dictionary!


Finnish Inventions

SMS, Fog screen, dish drying shelf - a miracle of common sense and desing, AIV-rehu (Gold in nobel), Xylitol (sugar from birdstrees), Finland Machine Gun

http://img.mtv3.fi/mn_kuvat/subtv/ohjelmat/minierikoissivut/markku_from_finland/429738.jpg


MUST SEE FINLAND


1. Finland´s Castle – Gibraltar of Finland

2. Näsin needle in Tampere – the Manchester of Finland

3. Muumie´s World

4. Tower of stadion (over 70 meters high!)

5. Turun´s Castle and Finland´s Swan boat

6. Sibelius moment

7. Temple Opener´s Church ( This is real hard rock hallelujah - church inside rock! Finnish basic rock is oldest in the world)

8. Nokia head quarters (No pictures allowed like Lordi's real face)

9. Arctic circle – world famous line on asphalt!

10. Many many lakes and Lapland´s nightless night and on a clear day midnight sun!

11. Aurora borealis

12. Our little brother Estonia (everything is very cheap there! They call us Finns raindeers there because raindeer meat is so expensive!)

13. Harjun´s stairs in Jyväskylä – Ateena of Finland

14. Summer theatres (very funny!)



FINLAND BEAWARES!


1. Mosquitos

2. Kyys

3. Ice bears (no no just kidding!)

4. Once you make friends with a Finn, he or she -we are very equal here - will be friends with you for whole life time!

5. Raindeers and lapplanders in road in Lapland

6. Foot crowd mines in easter border and grape bombs in the futur

7. Alcoholism, wolverines, city bears and the mellacs in front of Kiesma

8. Construction work - we are very sorry and ashamed that it is around during Eurovision

9. Watch out! Finland will steal your heart!



FINLAND IN A HAPPY TIME LINE


1917 - Finland is born

1919-32 - denial law ( law born dead)

1948 - astian kuivaus kaappi invented

1952 - Olympic games and Coca cola to Finland
Armi Kuusela declared the best woman in universum!

1968 - Takeover of Old
Our former out minister Tuomioja was there too!

1969 - Linux Towards is born - Finland destined to be a high tecnology nation

1982 - Matti Makkonen (ha ha funny name) invents SMS text massages

1988 - epäjärjestelmällistyttämättömyydellänsäkäänköhän makes it to the Quinnes book of world records (Finnish edition) as the longest word in Finland

1995 - Lions win gold in world champion ships

1998 - Mika Häkkinen win Formula one

1999 - Mika Häkkinen win Formulas one again

2005 - Openings of general sports worlds master competitions, a finnish succes story. Professor X unites whole world. Evilä jumps to bronze (also the material for Kalevala koru desing)

2006 - Berlusconi say bad things about Finnish food and is proven wrong!
Ahtisaari wins silver in Nobel
Lordi wins Eurovision in Ateena – Jyväskylä of Grease
Matti Vanhanen declared the sexiest man alive in Finland

2007 - Next finnish succes stories
Desing, Creative madness (woman carrying etc), Skill skater Kiira Korpi, Hill eagle Harri Olli, Darude, Loituma, Biology tecnology, Getting closer to absolute zero point (but not in Eurovision any more)!




MARKKU'S PRESS KIT


Helsinki, Finland - 13.4.2007





Dear sir and equally in case of madam,

With this official press kit we like to welcome you to Finland, land of thousands of lakes, nightless nights, midnight sun and Eurovision 2007!

Finland is known for being a road shower in rally driving, timeless scandinavian desing, ice hockey (world champions 1995), airport betterness and now, in singing too.

Who would have quessed a group of monsters will rock their way to the hearts of every population of Europe? Mean either!

Finland, despite of its distant location outside of Europe next to ex-Soviet Unions iron curtain, is a truly European nation. Actually, did you know we are members of European Union, have not-man-president and have winned bronze in both length jump and biggest ecological foot print in the world! We also have the strongest and oldest basic rock and can easily store nuclear waste of other countries! Hard rock hallelujah!

Finland offers lot to see: Sibelius moment, 188 000 lakes, Nokia headquaters, our little brother Estonia and most significunt line in asphalt - arctic circle! Other Finnish innovations are: Santa Claus, Sauna, SMS, Sisu (inner force and a pastil). And those are just the ones starting with letter S!

With letter H starts our capital Helsinki, a city that sleeps only at nights. During this quaranteed stay you can choose from many hotels, from cheap to expensive, big to small - there is something for everyone. In Finnish breakfast you can eat normal food and drink the most coffee in the world - it is said we are a coffee nation! Other nations Finland is: Xylitol, paper, metal (musically and materially) and high technology.

In technology we get all the time higher and higher - there are even some Finnish parts in satellites. But also lower and lower: We are the world record holder in reaching absolute zero! But not in Eurovision anymore!

Please look the DVD attachment for morer information for your visit.

So, what are you still waiting for? Eurovision-Finland is waiting for you!




Yours regards,

Markku Järvinen
Finnish culture and development
markku.jarvinen(at)subtv.fi


For interviews and emergnecys contact:

Jonna Tapanainen
jonna.tapanainen(at)subtv.fi




Hilarious.



John - :p

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - METRO - Wednesday 2.5.2007


Cold but sunny weather as Helsinki celebrates First of May


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135226941199.jpeg
Traditional celebrations on Ullanlinnanmäki in Kaivopuisto on Tuesday morning drew huge crowds.


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135226948067.jpeg
A trash fire at Ullanlinnanmäki was put out by firefighters.


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135226942308.jpeg
May Day celebrations were kicked off already on Monday evening with students from the Technical University of Helsinki placing the traditional white cap on the statue of Havis Amanda at the Market Square. Around 10,000 to 20,000 people were in attendance.


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135226942559.jpeg
Members of the diving club of the Helsinki University of Technology took a dip in the Havis Amanda fountain.


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135226943565.jpeg
Blowing May Day bubbles.


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135226943632.jpeg
Over 1,200 people braved the chilly weather to take part in the traditional May Day workers' march in Helsinki.


First of May celebrations culminated on Tuesday in sunny but rather chilly weather, as people convened in the Kaivopuisto area for their traditional May Day picnics.

Police estimated that nearly 50,000 people were in Kaivopuisto.

The Student Union of the University of Helsinki and the YL Male Voice Choir greeted President Tarja Halonen and her husband, Dr. Pentti Arajärvi at the Presidential Palace at 11:00 in the morning.

An estimated 1,250 people took part in the traditional workers' May Day march. A Jesus march organised by the Pentecostal Church attracted about 2,000 participants.

Police responded to 752 emergency calls during the day, which is nearly 100 more than in the previous years. The number of assaults grew from last year's 47 to 73 this year.

Firefighters had to put out a number of fires in rubbish dumpsters. The most serious accidents were home fires in Puotila and Pihlajamäki. A man was seriously injured in the Pihlajamäki fire.

Portable toilet facilities were vandalised in Kaivopuisto on Monday night.



:rolleyes: - ...and what harm had those portable toilet facilities ever done to anyone..? :sad:

Vandals: may the moment come that when you need a toilet the most, there will be none around. :p



...and in other news from The Finnish News Agency:


STT - 2.5.2007 at 13:54


Finland leads in press freedom table


Finland is in first place in the latest freedom of the press table drafted by US non-governmental organisation Freedom House.

In the 195-country survey, made public on Tuesday, the worst of the worse is North Korea.


That's All Folks..!



John - ;)

[manmangler]

:huh:

...and this is either the funniest thing ever... - or not.


We'll I say not

But like some wise lady sings

For that: Only way is Üp!

[FinnFreak]

We'll I say not

heh... quite understandable: in Kazakhstan they hate Borat's guts as well... ;)


John - :p

[Troll]

Thanks for the interesting articles

[FinnFreak]

STT - 2.5.2007


Russia would not remain indifferent to Nato Finland


Finland's membership in Nato would not improve the country's security standing but pose additional risks, Colonel-General Valeri Manilov, an adviser to the speaker of the Russian senate, was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

Gen Manilov's comment comes shortly after Jyri Häkämies (cons), the defence minister of Finland's new centre-right government, said he was in favour of Finland joining the military alliance in the long term.

"This is not the first case the theme of Finland's integration with Nato is raised by a Finnish official. However, each time when the government was to make a decision, the people of Finland came out in support of the traditional policy of neutrality, which protects the country's security better than any weapon," Gen Manilov, a former deputy chief of the Russian general staff, told Russian news agency Itar-Tass.

The general warned that if Finland became a Nato member, "Russia will not stay indifferent".

"That will be not our choice, but we shall have no other option before us but to take proportionate measures in response to maintain the country's security."

Gen Manilov added that the response to Finland joining Nato could take the form of a marked strengthening of troops in northwestern Russia.



hmmm... the boys are playing again I see...



John - :huh:

[Troll]

Thanks for the article.

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - CULTURE - Monday 7.5.2007


Eurovision Song Contest:
a technical learning experience for Finnish professionals


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135227002761.jpeg
Evridiki from Cyprus was one of the many national representatives at the Eurovision
Song Contest rehearsing their numbers at the Helsinki Arena on Thursday.


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135227002765.jpeg
Suspended from the ceiling of the Helsinki Arena, the spider-cam creates the visual
sensation of flight for the television viewer.


It's ready. Just last week the Helsinki Arena was full of professionals of various fields setting up the props and equipment for the Eurovision Song Contest. The stage went up, and started more and more to resemble the jaw of a pike, as was the intention.

Rehearsals for the semifinals began on Thursday. The building work is over; now is the time for performances.

An incredible number of lamps hang on the ceiling of the arena, with more than 300 square metres of LED displays behind the stage, which serve both as illumination and as a screen for showing images.

There are a total of 800 lights - 400 which move and 400 which are stationary.

Topping it all is the small spider-cam television camera, which looks like an extra-terrestrial. It gives television viewers the sensation of flying over the live audience in the arena.

Tapani Parm, who is responsible for the whole television production, has worked on sports events, including the television production of the opening and closing ceremonies of the Athens Olympics, but he admits that at least one thing took him by surprise in the preparations of the Eurovision Song Contest.

"The speed - how fast it all finally went up."

"We have also been surprised by the enthusiasm that is directed at our work", Parm adds.

Much of the equipment is so new that the gadgets are now being used for the first time in Finland. One of these is the new spider-cam and the High Definition TV broadcasting unit.

In technology and staging, the Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE has worked together with companies from outside: the Swedish Spectra and the British Stage One. However, the majority of the professional staff are Finns. This means that Eurovision will be a major learning experience for the native crew. Although much of the equipment is on loan, the experience will remain in Finland.

"The master tape will be the most valuable asset that is left behind", says lighting director Mikki Kunttu.

Kunttu has made his reputation as the lighting planner of dance performances, among other things. He has also been involved in the production of gala events for the MTV3 television networks.

While the present production is on a completely different scale compared with the previous efforts, Kunttu notes that the basic idea is the same "shooting with a camera, and watching at home".

At first he did not want to join the effort at all, because he had a dim view of the Eurovision Song Contest as such. However, with the dream team available, he felt that he could not refuse.

"Now we can show what we are capable of. It is the only opportunity in Finland for us to try anything like this."

Kunttu's creations include the video screens. Each country gets the lighting that it wants, and they vary from the pulsating flashes typical of a music video to a calm and peaceful colour background.

In Thursday rehearsals, pulsating electricity followed the beat of the Bulgarian drums, and an urban landscape in the background of the Israeli band. Kunttu has simulated the performance of each country before the rehearsals began.

"There are different genres, and that is a good thing. The competition is turning into an overall competition of music performances", Kunttu said.

The captain of the TV outside broadcast van is television director Timo Suomi who, like all of the others, is facing the challenge of a lifetime.

The director got the equipment that he needs, but he is not impressed by the technology alone.

"For once we have had enough time to rehearse well. YLE's budgets are usually so small that we go into live performances without any rehearsal", Suomi says.



...and my old boss back from the 80's is on loan from Nightwish, taking care of the ESC sound quality... this is his biggest crowd ever. Over 100 million viewers. Butterflies..? heh.


John - ;):up:

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - METRO - Monday 7.5.2007


Eurovision Song Contest events to close streets around Helsinki

Senate Square to become "living room" for Eurovision fans; weather expected to remain cool


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135227031163.jpeg
At the main venue of the Eurovision Song Contest, the Helsinki Arena, traffic will
be affected both by ongoing road construction work and by special arrangements
made for the contest.


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135227067390.jpeg
Dutch fans Eszter Zinkstok and Marcel Verspeek from Utrecht listened to a
performance of their country's Eurovision contestant Edsilia Rombley at the
Eurovision Village on Narinkkatori square at the Kamppi Center in Helsinki on
Sunday.


Events linked with the Eurovision Song Contest, whose finals are to be held at the Helsinki Arena on Saturday, will cause a considerable amount of alterations in traffic patterns, both near the Helsinki Arena in Pasila and in the centre of the capital.

With extensive road construction going on in the area near the Arena, members of the public are strongly advised to use public transport rather than their own cars.

Meanwhile, temperatures in Helsinki are expected to remain fairly cool during the week.

Senate Square will be a living room for Eurovision fans. A large television screen will be set up to follow the semifinals and finals. There will also be live music performances at Senate Square, which will be a centre of Eurovision events from May the 7th through the 14th.

The adjacent streets of Hallituskatu, Yliopistiokatu, and key parts of Unioninkatu will be closed off to traffic for the whole week. There will also be restrictions on parking on Aleksanterinkatu and Snellmanninkatu.

The Helsinki Party on Friday will close many streets in the centre of the city to vehicular traffic. The streets will be reserved for pedestrians and parades.

The temporary closures will affect Pohjoisesplanadi and Aleksanterinkatu. Access to Pohjoisesplanadi from Mikonkatu, Kluuvikatu, and Fabianinkatu will be blocked. The area will be closed from about 3:00 PM to 10:00 PM on Friday.

On Saturday only one northbound lane will be in use on the sector of Mannerheimintie which runs between Eteläesplanadi and Aleksanterinkatu.

A Europe Market will open on Tuesday in Esplanade Park, where countries participating in the Eurovision Song Contest will display their culture and products. On Wednesday, Europe Day will be celebrated in the park. Because of the market, the section of Mikonkatu that runs through the park between Pohjoisesplanadi and Eteläesplanadi will be cut off.

At the Kamppi Center, also in the centre of Helsinki, there will be a special "Eurovision Village" with music and live events throughout the week.

Musical performances by competitors in the contest and others will take place during the week. Other events will include karaoke, quizzes, and circus performances.

Tourist guides employed by the City of Helsinki will be available in the area to help visitors.

At the main venue of the contest, the Arena, the northbound lane of Veturitie, which runs past the building, will be reserved exclusively for the use of the contest between May 9th - 12th.

No special arrangements will affect Hakamäentie, which runs north of the Arena, but a massive road construction project nearby means that traffic in the area is difficult anyway. The Arena parking garage will not be available to the public; parking for Eurovision events will be at the nearby Helsinki Fair Centre.

"Although there are no restrictions on Hakamäentie, traffic at the corner with Veturitie will certainly be more difficult than usual, so I recommend the use of alternate routes", says Björn Åkerblom, head of security for the ESC.

Åkerblom hopes that people arriving at the Arena would use public transport as much as possible. There is a walk of about 400 metres from Pasila Station to the Arena.

Many extra trains will operate between Helsinki's Central Railway Station and Pasila, and the last local trains will have more rolling stock than usual between May 9th - 12th. On the night of the finals, May 12th, extra trains will operate throughout the night until five o'clock on Sunday morning.

Helsinki City Transport (HKL) and the Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council (YTV) will also upgrade their public transport services. HKL will run extra buses especially on Friday and Saturday. Certain routes will be changed in the centre of the city during events linked with the Eurovision Song Contest.

Weather during the week leading up to the Eurovision Song Contest finals is expected to cool down somewhat after a fairly mild early part of the week.



John - ;):up:

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - CULTURE - Tuesday 8.5.2007


YouTube star "Markku from Finland" gets Eurovision countdown show on TV
SubTV runs half-hour morning programme in English (well, sort of)


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135226880923.jpeg
The outfit worn by Markku from Finland might raise eyebrows in the centre of
Helsinki, but at the athletics meet between Finland and Sweden he blended
right in.


By Juha Merimaa


In August last year videos began popping up on YouTube in which "Markku", dressed in a Mika Häkkinen shirt and a baseball cap, extolled the amazing features of Finland in very broken English to Eurovision Song Contest fans flocking to this country.

Markku, who admires Renny Harlin and Lordi, sings the praises of icebreakers, the sauna, and Nokia in ways that made many viewers rub their eyes with wonder. "Surely, no, really, he can't be serious".

"Of course, Markku is serious", Antti Toivonen answers.

"Markku is sincerely proud and enthusiastic about Finland and Finnishness. There is no irony there."

However, the videos themselves are not absolutely genuine.

Markku is a sketch character developed by a group of friends calling themselves Ruttoryhmä ("Plague Group"). Toivonen himself is the person behind the false moustache.
Toivonen, a 28-year-old advertising agency copywriter, is amused by the controversy concerning Markku's authenticity.

"We never thought that anyone would take Markku seriously, but that's what happened. He is a figure that was invented a few years ago, and it came to us to link him with the Eurovision Song Contest last spring."

At first, the sketches were meant primarily for their friends, but the joke began to spread. Now the most popular Markku sketches have had more than 60,000 hits on the YouTube site.

Although Markku's videos would appear at first glance to be aimed at foreign tourists, their real target is the Finns. According to Toivonen, much of the Markku character involves laughing at himself.

"Actually, at one time or another, I have said everything that Markku says about the achievements of the Finns."

Toivonen says that typical Markku behaviour can be seen everywhere in Finland.

"A couple of evenings ago I happened to sit in a hotel bar. On both sides there were groups of international businessmen with Finnish hosts. I listened to both groups talking about the World Championships in ice hockey in 1995, the Eurovision victory of Lordi, and the Nokia success story."

Even the most glaring excesses have proven to be surprisingly true to life.

"In the summer Markku went to the Finland-Sweden athletics meet, and it could not be said that he would have stood out from the rest of the group. I had put flags of Finland into my cap in order to look ludicrous, but right in front of me there was a row of guys with the same kinds of flags sticking out of their hats."

Markku, who has so far appeared only on the Internet, is now getting onto television. SubTV will run Markku's half-hour morning show, Markku's Morning Comb to Eurovision, from May 2nd at 8:00 AM. The Markku character comments on text messages and videos that are sent in, draws attention to Eurovision Song Contest phenomena, and interviews guests.

So far, Markku has appeared only in short sketches. So how will the character withstand a longer format? "It remains to be seen", Toivonen answers.

The idea of the morning show is to inform Eurovision tourists about the events and happenings of the day.

What sight in Helsinki would Markku especially recommend?

"The Olympic Stadium. The Olympics were held at the stadium in same year that Armi Kuusela was chosen as the best woman of universe. In the tower you can also remember the arrival of Coca Cola into Finland."


Much of Markku's unhinged humour hinges on hyper-literal translations of Finnish words into English. For instance, the "morning comb" mentioned in the title of the TV programme is a reference - completely lost on foreigners - to conscripts nearing the end of their service, counting down the number of mornings that they still have to wake up in the barracks: traditionally, the spikes on a plastic comb are used to help count off the remaining days to freedom. The "empty" comb is then tossed away.



John - :p

[Myyde]

Markku is the Man!:D:up: He should be the host, he would have been perfect for that, well, memorable at least.:D

[EilleenTwain88]

I read Iltasanomat yesterday and was quite astonished how they bashed poor Hanna about everything (show, language skills, etc). I mean they can be some truth there but is this the right moment to bring it up?!? She is trying her best to represent us and was fairly and squarly voted for the job? What is to be gained by trashing all those things when it is too late to fix them anyway...

Only Finnish press could do such stupid stunt... be so negative about our own representative. With a horrible hurry to get their first before any international journalist will? Pah.

[FinnFreak]

Itis änvortsunätli in auö Vinnis neitsö tu tuu sam selv-spänkin (itseruoskinta) :D

:uhh: - I myself have never liked her voice, her image, her songs... but she's the best we've got this time around & she'll do her best... and the media... well, they can go... to sauna.


John - :p

[FinnFreak]

STT - 14.5.2007


Third of Finns concerned about monument row fallout


Almost a third of the Finns interviewed by Taloustutkimus for the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) said they were afraid the row between Estonia and Russia over a Soviet war memorial in Tallinn had impaired Finnish-Russian relations.

Some 20 per cent of the respondents said Russia's statements amid the dispute had increased Finland's need to join Nato, with four per cent saying the need to join the military alliance had been reduced. Two-thirds said Russia's statements and Finland's possible Nato membership had nothing to do with each other.

The question on Nato was: "How have Russia's recent statements in world politics influenced Finland's need to join Nato?"

Taloustutkimus interviewed about 1,000 Finns in the last week of May. The margin of error is 2.5 percentage points either way.



John - :smirk:

[FinnFreak]

STT - 16.5.2007


Finnish websites fall prey to denial-of-service attacks


The website of the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) suffered three denial-of-service attacks on Monday and Tuesday.

A common form of denial-of-service attack involves bombarding the victim server with so many communication requests that it fails to cope with them effectively or crashes altogether.

YLE was forced to temporarily limit access to its website. Although normal service was resumed Tuesday afternoon, YLE braced itself for further attacks.

Asko Inkilä, YLE's head of security, said neither the source nor the motive of the attacks had been identified.

"The only motive that springs to mind is YLE's high visibility over the weekend because of the Eurovision [song contest] and icehockey. Perhaps that triggered it," Mr Inkilä said.

Mr Inkilä added that YLE's website had never before been the target of such a wide-scale cyberattack.

Also Eniro Finland and Suomi24 have been victims of concerted attacks since Monday evening. The Finnish interior ministry's website responded sluggishly to external requests on Tuesday, but this was caused by maintenance work.

Meanwhile in Estonia, denial-of-service attacks against the websites of the country's government, banks and newspapers intensified, having begun in April amid the row with Russia over the relocation of a Soviet war memorial. Estonia has received assistance to combat the attacks from the EU and Nato.



John - :scowl:

[FinnFreak]

STT - 16.5.2007


Finland's Halonen sees no problems in Finnish-American relations


http://www.finlandforthought.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/bush_snubs_halonen.jpg


Tarja Halonen, the Finnish president, said in an interview with MTV3 on Tuesday that she did not see any problems in the country's relations with the US.

National daily Helsingin Sanomat had reported that George Bush, the US president, had turned down Finland's request for a head of state-level meeting. President Halonen is to fly to New York on Wednesday.

President Halonen told the commercial television station that although she had received better-than-normal treatment during her past visits to the US, she was not a very interesting figure from America´s point of view.

When asked about the meeting between President Bush and Fredrik Reinfeldt, the Swedish prime minister, President Halonen said it was natural to make time for new heads of state and government and that the same should apply to Ilkka Kanerva (cons), Finland's new foreign minister.

President Halonen characterised her contacts with President Vladimir Putin of Russia as going beyond good neighbourly relations.

"In a way Russia regards us as more important than the US does," President Halonen added.

The president feels the churning Finnish debate about the state of Finnish-US relations, while a "permanent hobbyhorse", did not as such constitute an attack on her.



John - :p

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - FOREIGN - Monday 21.5.2007


London embassy advertising Finland to British schoolkids

"The government cares for people who most need it"


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135227324446.jpeg
The Kidzone portal, which is directed at British schoolchildren, tells readers about
Finnish life and nature, using the familiar Moomin characters as a lure.


People live well in the North, close to nature, but not in some backwoods backwater. Children are red-hot at texting on their [Nokia] mobiles, even when they are out picking lingonberries amongst the bears somewhere. Some of them even ski to school - at least if you believe what they tell you at the Foreign Ministry.

The Finnish Embassy in London has opened a web portal for British schoolchildren under the name "Kidzone Finland" ( http://www.kidzonefinland.org.uk ). The intention is to provide a broader picture of what Finland is like, through information and quizzes, explaining how life is in a country that is a blank spot for most British kids, who know little more than Tove Jansson's Moomins, if even that.

Birdsong twitters in the background as Kidzone tells us that Finns send gazillions of SMS messages each year.

Older technology is also featured prominently: a massive icebreaker is pictured to show how Finland copes with its chilly winter.

Finnish design is not forgotten, either. "Finland is a very stylish country", we are told, "When Emilia turned nine, her aunt sent her a Marimekko T-shirt".
Emilia is one of three Finnish children with whom the English kids can play and interact in the pages.

One trick to pull in and hold the readers is a series of quizzes, and the winner of a competition can get a trip to Finland. The British children's author Michael Morpurgo has agreed to serve as the jury for the competition. The writer has not visited Finland himself, but nevertheless believes that the Finns have a direct and caring attitude to their natural surroundings that the British kids could learn from.

As Kidzone reports: "Forests are well cared for in Finland, using a way that copies the forests' natural life-cycle... If looked after properly and wisely, forests will always grow new trees. This makes them an important ‘renewable resource'".

The British attitude to their natural surroundings is "more sentimental" in the view of Morpurgo. Cute domestic animals are cosseted like members of the family, but nobody has any qualms about slaughtering foxes, regarded as vermine.

"The same goes for children. If they are cute, they are spoiled rotten, but throughout history children have been treated in the most horrible fashion - enslaved, abandoned, beaten up."

Morpurgo remembers well the furore that emerged at the beginning of the year over a European survey of children's well-being. The Dutch won it, the Finns were on the podium or thereabouts, while the British children came at the bottom of the heap. As Morpurgo notes: "I guess the Finns are doing something right."

The writer hazards a guess that unlike in the stiff and hierarchical British school system, Finns perhaps pay more attention to the main event - children's wellbeing. In Britain, school classes can also be excessively large, at worst well over 30 pupils to a class.

The desks at the back in these giant classes in large faceless schools are occupied by pupils who cannot master the basics of English or of mathematics. Often they are not seen in class anyway, as it is relatively easy for the marginalised to vote with their feet and play truant.

As for Finland, Kidzone reports once again that: "Finland has come up with a system called the Welfare Society that means the government cares for people who most need it. This gives kids lots of rights!"

Michael Morpurgo does offer the reminder that Finnish kids and British children do have much in common, too, including the fact that in both countries many teenagers are regular and enthusiastic binge-drinkers.

The best idea of what Kidzone is about can be gained from visiting the site ( http://www.kidzonefinland.org.uk ) and logging in. It does not appear to require the sort of registration that will fill your e-mail inbox. The format is to provide information, and then to check understanding by a series of multiple-choice questions. Users can gain badges for their "backpack", and by answering bonus questions they can get to see Moomin video-clips. It works quite smoothly. The venture is a British localisation of "Project Finland" ( http://www.projectfinland.org ), which was presented by the Finnish Embassy in Washington DC some years ago.



John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

STT - 21.5.2007


Halonen praises Finnish-US relations


Tarja Halonen, the Finnish president, said during a visit to New York on Friday that relations between Finland and the US were "longstanding, wide and excellent".

Speaking at the American-Scandinavian Foundation, President Halonen added that the US was Finland's most important trade and investment partner outside Europe.

"There is lots of interesting potential in other areas for bilateral cooperation, such as healthcare, education and the issues involving northern and Arctic areas. Environmental expertise is a strong new area in Finland, and I look forward to our increased cooperation to help one another find solutions to the environmental challenges we all face," President Halonen said.

President Halonen's visit to the US did not include a meeting with President George Bush.


* * *


http://newsroom.finland.fi/netcomm/ImgLib/3/115/0518_halonen_b.jpg
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon met President of
Finland Tarja Halonen at UN headquarters in New York on May 17.
They have met several times before but this was their first official
meeting at the UN.


* * *


http://newsroom.finland.fi/netcomm/ImgLib/3/115/0521_lordi_b.jpg
Lordi, the masked heavy metal monster band from Finland, is thrashing its
way onto the big screen with a horror movie. The band promoted the flick
at the Cannes Film Festival on May 19.


* * *


Finnish FM faults Rosstroi


Ilkka Kanerva (cons), the Finnish foreign minister, told the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) on Saturday that he did not understand the actions of the Russian Federal Agency on Housing and Construction (Rosstroi) in Kronstadt in St Petersburg.

Rosstroi had used force to evict Finland's Container Finance from leased land on the island.

"Deplorable, very repugnant signals," Mr Kanerva said, adding he had found it very difficult to understand why Rosstroi had acted in the way it had.

Mr Kanerva said he had experienced difficulty identifying rational arguments behind either the Kronstadt case or Russia's planned high wood export duties.

"In both cases, what is certain is that at least Russia's economic interests will not be served through this. Looking at this from the point of view of the state, one would hope for the political side to bear responsibility and try to act in a constructive manner in this matter."

Mr Kanerva is to meet his Russian opposite number, Sergei Lavrov, in June.


* * *


http://newsroom.finland.fi/netcomm/ImgLib/3/115/0521_makinen_b.jpg
Finland's Marcus Grönholm, twice
a world rally champion, holds the
trophy after winning the Rally of
Sardinia in a Ford Focus, on May 20.


* * *

http://newsroom.finland.fi/netcomm/ImgLib/3/115/0521_hakkinen_b.jpg
Finland's Mika Häkkinen took his second career victory in the DTM Touring
Car series at the Eurospeedway Lausitz in Klettwitz, Germany, on May 20.


* * *


http://newsroom.finland.fi/netcomm/ImgLib/3/115/0515_estonia_b.jpg
A doctoral thesis by a Finnish researcher shows that the sinking of
passenger ship m/s Estonia was not caused by a single failure but
rather a culmination of earlier safety problems in Baltic ferry traffic.
The Estonia sank in the Gulf of Finland in September 1994 claiming
852 lives.


* * *


Finnish defence chief to visit Kosovo and Lebanon


Admiral Juhani Kaskeala, the chief of the Finnish Defence Forces, is to review Finnish crisis management troops serving in Kosovo and Lebanon, the military said in a statement on Monday.

The inspections are to begin on Tuesday and run until Thursday.

In addition to Finnish peacekeepers, Adm Kaskeala is to meet the commanders of the crisis management operations. Colonel Vesa Kangasmäki of the Defence Command and Major Janne Jaakkola, an aide-de-camp, are to travel with the admiral.




John - :)

[FinnFreak]

fi.wikipedia.org:


17. toukokuuta 2007 suomalainen oopperametalli yhtye Nightwish ilmoitti tiedotustilaisuudessaan palkanneensa Samantha Foxin uudeksi laulajakseen yhtyeestä erotetun Tarja Turusen tilalle. Nightwishin perustajajäsen Tuomas Holopainen kommentoi laulajan valintaa askeleena täysin uudelle suunnalle Nightwishin musiikissa. Ensimmäinen kappale Samanta Foxin kanssa Nightwishin uudelta albumilta julkaistaan 2. kesäkuuta 2007, ja se tulee kantamaan nimeä Wishfire.


http://fi.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Samantha_Fox&oldid=2858410



John - :biglaugh:

[FinnFreak]

STT - 22.5.2007


NZSO appoints Finnish "wunderkind" Inkinen music director

http://newsroom.finland.fi/netcomm/ImgLib/3/115/0522_inkinen_b.jpg
After a two-year international search, the New Zealand Symphony
Orchestra has announced that Finnish conductor Pietari Inkinen is
to be its Music Director from 2008. He is said to be one of the most
exciting talents among the new generation of conductors.


The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra said in a statement Monday that its two-year search around the world had culminated in the appointment of Pietari Inkinen, a Finnish conductor, as its music director from January next year.

"He is a brilliant musician and is already providing immense musical stimulation to our players and audiences. Already, too, we´ve become aware of some of Pietari´s illustrious friends who are keen to come and work with him here as soloists and our early discussions with him about his artistic vision suggests that we are in for exciting times," said in the statement Peter Walls, the chief executive of the orchestra.

"I am absolutely thrilled to be appointed music director of an orchestra that has a high artistic standard, recognised both nationally and internationally," Maestro Inkinen, 27, said in the statement.



John - :)

[FinnFreak]

STT - 23.5.2007 at 11:21


Finnish peacekeeper killed in Afghanistan


A Finnish peacekeeper died of wounds received in a roadside bomb attack in Maimana in Afghanistan Wednesday morning, the Finnish Defence Command said in a statement.

The Finnish soldier was part of an infantry patrol that also included two Norwegian peacekeepers. The patrol was protecting hospital staff, part of the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf), when the bomb exploded at about 9am Finnish time (GMT+2).

The Finn died about an hour after the explosion. Also the Norwegians were wounded.

An Afghan intelligence official was quoted as saying by Agence France-Presse that the bomb might have been remote-controlled.

Norwegian news agency Norsk Telegrambyrå (NTB) reported that four Norwegians were slightly wounded, whereas according to the Finnish defence ministry, three Norwegians were wounded.

The Finnish Defence Forces told the Finnish News Agency (STT) that another Finnish peacekeeper had been near the accident and escaped unscathed.

Jyri Häkämies (cons), the Finnish defence minister, conveyed his condolences to the family of the killed soldier and said the exact course of the events had yet to be established. He told STT that Finland had not yet drawn any conclusions about the future of Finland's participation in the Afghanistan operation.

Jens Stoltenberg, the prime minister of Norway, told the country's Parliament that Norway did not intend to pull out its troops from Afghanistan. A Norwegian soldier was killed in Kabul in 2004.

Tarja Halonen, the president of Finland, issued her condolences to the family of the Finnish soldier.

The Finnish government honoured the casualty with a moment of silence.



Out of the 43,000 Finnish men and women who have served in 31 UN peacekeeping operations, 47 have died since 1956.



John - :(

[Troll]

Free computer virus finds willing victims
HELSINKI (Reuters) - Computer specialist Didier Stevens put up a simple text advertisement on the Internet offering downloads of a computer virus for people who did not have any.

Surprisingly, he found as many as 409 people clicking on the ad saying "Is your PC virus-free? Get it infected here!" during a 6-month advertising campaign on Google's Adword, said the IT security expert.

"Some of them must have clicked on it by mistake. Some must have been curious or stupid," said Mikko Hypponen, head of research at data security firm F-Secure.

There was no virus involved, it was an experiment aiming to show these kind of advertising systems can be used for malicious intent, Stevens told Reuters.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070523/od_nm/computers_virus1_dc;_ylt=AvXyL7PivMZ8nnDV33d4PLfMW M0F

[FinnFreak]

Some people will click just about anything.


John - :p

[Troll]

Some people will click just about anything.


John - :p

That is true

[FinnFreak]

hummm... just went over to the Finnish iTunes Store to fetch an album our local shop just can't seem to get as quickly as I'd like... so, instead of paying 23.99 Euros for the CD, I'm purchasing the music in AAC/mpeg-4 for 9.99 Euros instead.

heh, and what do my weary eyes see on the front page..?

WHAT'S HOT - Spring Collection

Shania Twain: Greatest Hits :up:


...and:


:shocked:


LISTENERS ALSO BOUGHT:

Paula Koivuniemi: Aikuinen Nainen - 20 Suosikkia 2



:biglaugh: - Paula Koivuniemi..! Ruhahaa.



Mitä yhteistä on Beatleseilla ja Paula Koivuniemen säärillä..? heh.


John - :p

[aFinn]

LISTENERS ALSO BOUGHT:

Paula Koivuniemi: Aikuinen Nainen - 20 Suosikkia 2:funny: ...or should it be :shocked: or :uhh:

[manmangler]

:funny: ...or should it be :shocked: or :uhh:

No No

If You listen Shania Twain, You are die hard fan of Paula :kiss: Koivuniemi :funny:

Confess, I have seen your Paula Collection. There is noshame about it

[Myyde]

LISTENERS ALSO BOUGHT:

Paula Koivuniemi: Aikuinen Nainen - 20 Suosikkia 2



:biglaugh: - Paula Koivuniemi..! Ruhahaa.
No mikäs se isäntää ny noi naurattaa? Ei kai vaan tuu muistoja mielee ku oot ite vedelly Aikuista naista karaokebaaris?:p


Mitä yhteistä on Beatleseilla ja Paula Koivuniemen säärillä..? heh.


John - :p

Luultavasti jotain erittäin oleellista, mutta nyt pitää tunnustaa, että on yleissivistyksessä paha aukko, kun ei tähän pysty vastaamaan.:o

No arvataan nyt perskules jotai.......No vaikka, että molempien fan clubissa on yhtä monta jäsentä.:p Vaikee tosin uskoo, että Beatlesien fan clubissa ois nii paljo jäsenii, mutta mistäs noita tietää...:uhh:

[FinnFreak]

hmm... I have a confession to make: I've NEVER sung in a Karaoke bar...

...so, I've done my part in reducing the global levels of noise pollution. :D


Beatlesit ja em. sääret: kummakkaan ei oo ollu yhres vuaren -70 jäläkeen. höhö.


John - :p

[Myyde]

hmm... I have a confession to make: I've NEVER sung in a Karaoke bar...

...so, I've done my part in reducing the global levels of noise pollution. :D
:up:

Beatlesit ja em. sääret: kummakkaan ei oo ollu yhres vuaren -70 jäläkeen. höhö.


John - :p
Nonnii, tottakai. Liian helppo.:p

[Myyde]

Taisin rikkoo tän judanssin,:uhh: sorry, ei ollu tarkotus.:(

Edellinen viesti tunki ittensä edelliselle sivulle jostain syystä. No suurinpiitein oikees/sopivas paikas on mutta mutta...no joo. :huh:

Testiviesti (saa poistaa, jos haluu tai jos tää menee iha väärää paikkaa)

[aFinn]

Taisin rikkoo tän judanssin,:uhh: sorry, ei ollu tarkotus.:(

Edellinen viesti tunki ittensä edelliselle sivulle jostain syystä. No suurinpiitein oikees/sopivas paikas on mutta mutta...no joo. :huh:

Testiviesti (saa poistaa, jos haluu tai jos tää menee iha väärää paikkaa)
You didn't break anything, server time was in future and is now current so posts will go into wrong order until current time catches up with the previously wrong time.

[manmangler]

hmm... I have a confession to make: I've NEVER sung in a Karaoke bar...

...so, I've done my part in reducing the global levels of noise pollution. :D


I was asked once sing. I made favour to the world, I didn't sing. Just image peolpes running in full terror and stomping each others while trying escape from auditorium.

Beatlesit ja em. sääret: kummakkaan ei oo ollu yhres vuaren -70 jäläkeen. höhö.

John - :p

That wa good :funny: :funny:

[aFinn]

No No

If You listen Shania Twain, You are die hard fan of Paula :kiss: Koivuniemi :funny:

Confess, I have seen your Paula Collection. There is noshame about it:funny: :funny:

Sorry, you are confused :p I will never confess! Never I say!



hmm... I have a confession to make: I've NEVER sung in a Karaoke bar...Well, I guess I could confess afterall :p , I've never sung in a karaoke either, I figured that was best for my fellow beings :uhh: ... Hmm...Maybe I could start a new business of torture, me singing and people would spill their secrets after a few seconds :uhh:

[FinnFreak]

HUOM!

Tänään, 31.05.2007 klo 21:00

YLE Extra - Musiikki-TV

http://www.yle.fi/musiikki-tv/ohjelmakuvat/170_1180445718.jpg
Torstain toiveohjelmassa muun muassa
Nightwishin uuden laulajan pitkä haastattelu
sekä Tuomas Holopaisen, Marjan ja Ilen
toivevideot. Ohjelman jälkeen musiikki-tv
jää kesätauolle.


John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

;)

Iltalehti - 30.5.2007 15:32


Nightwishin Anette ja Tuomas vastasivat lukijoiden kysymyksiin

Nightwishin uusi laulaja Anette Olzon ja Tuomas Holopainen kävivät Iltalehti.fi:n verkkovieraina.


http://www.iltalehti.fi/verkkovieras/VVnightwish_ve.jpg
Nightwishin Tuomas Holopainen ja uusi laulaja Anette Olzon Iltalehden
lukijoiden tentissä.

Kysymys:
Etkö voisi ottaa Tarjaa takaisin? Nightwish ei ole mitään ilman Tarjaa eikä mitkään ruotsalaiset voi sitä paikkaa korvata!!
Kuuntelen vain Tarjaa!
Vastaus:
T: - Ja miun iltapäivä ei ole mitään ilman tällaisia kysymyksiä helvetin kuumassa iltapäivälehden toimituksessa.


http://www.iltalehti.fi/verkkovieras/VVwish3_ve.jpg
Kiperä kysymys Tuomakselle.

Kysymys:
Onko teidän välillänne jotain vipinää? ;)
Nimellinen
Vastaus:
T: - Joo kauhee roihu palaa. Kohta sit annankin jo sille kenkää.



http://www.iltalehti.fi/verkkovieras/VVwish2_ve.jpg
Anette ei vielä osaa suomea.

Kysymys:
Anette on GREAT!!!! Osaako hän yhtään Suomea? Esim. Pittu, verkele :) mutta ihan oikeesti osaako esim. keikkasanastoa vai meneekö kaikki enkuksi?
Mika, Kuopio
Vastaus:
T: - Joo, hän osaa sanoa "Olen juoppo swedupelle", "Ehkä minä olen ruotsalainen mutta sinä olet todella ruma", sekä mehukkaimmat kirosanat. Englanniksi kommunikoidaan.


Lue kaikki tästä (http://www.iltalehti.fi/verkkovieras/200705300153237_ve.shtml)



John - :biglaugh:

[Myyde]

:funny: Iha hyvää läppää tuol. Kerkesit jo laittaa parhaat toho, mutta heitetää nyt yks viel. Syy, miksi Anetteen päädyttiin:

Kysymys:
Tuomas sie, kun oot ton Hynysen hyvä ystävä, niin kysyitkö sen mielipidettä laulajasta ennen valintaa?
LPR-jäbä
Vastaus:
T: - Tottakai Jounin mielipide ratkaisi koko jutun. Se kyl oikeasti diggasi..
:p

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - CULTURE - Friday 1.6.2007


Aki Kaurismäki is burnt out and taking a break

Director nevertheless back in Cannes and at his regular hotel


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135227466702.jpeg
The directors of Chacun son cinéma pose for the cameras in Cannes.
Aki Kaurismäki is seated at the far left.


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135227460762.jpeg
Aki Kaurismäki in Cannes as one of the directors of the Film Festival's 60th
anniversary compilation movie Chacun son cinéma. His contribution has not
received much attention, either positive or negative.


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135227466700.jpeg
"Why does someone not do what they should do?" replies Aki Kaurismäki
enigmatically to the question of why he chose not to bring politics out in
his episode of the compilation movie.



By Veli-Pekka Lehtonen in Cannes


At the beginning of last week, three men were sat around a table in the foyer restaurant of the Grand Hotel in Cannes, engaged in negotations. One was the Finnish film director Aki Kaurisimäki and the other two were producer Jim Stark and the Norwegian film director Bent Hamer.

What they were talking about, we have no idea at the present.

A few minutes later, Kaurismäki gets up and comes over towards our table.

The chair I offer him at the large round table will not do. "I never sit with my back to the door", he says, and moves around to the other side.

It is necessary to head round and join him there. It transpires, you see, that Kaurismäki speaks exceptionally softly. It's only by sitting right next to the man that you can hear anything at all.

Aki Kaurismäki is back in Cannes, and back at his old haunt The Grand, because he was invited to the Film Festival as one of the makers of Chacun son cinéma, a compilation of 35 short films in which leading international auteurs - 34 of them plus Kaurismäki - explore their relationship to the movie theatre in around three minutes each. The film was made for the 60th holding of the Cannes Film Festival, this year.

Kaurismäki has seen the completed work just the day before we meet. He is delighted with it.

"I'm a sentimental old turd, and I was taken by it", he says.

"To use a worn-out old phrase: 'it was beautiful'. Everybody did their best", the director goes on.

Kaurismäki shot his own contribution close to his home, in Karkkila. In The Foundry ("La Fonderie"), a group of foundry-workers head for their lunchbreak - and the cinema. There they watch the first film ever projected for the entertainment of the paying general public: Louis Lumière's La Sortie des usines Lumière. In a nice touch, the old film from 1895 shows factory workers leaving the Lumière photographic plate works in Lyons.

Historic stuff, indeed, but many of Kaurismäki's colleagues on the project used their episodes to depict love on the cinema seats. Why did Kaurismäki not go this route?

"Because the Kaurismäki you refer to is a gentleman. He goes to the cinema to watch films."

The Kaurismäki in question is now in a restaurant in France, where you are still allowed to smoke, if you are drinking beer.

The 60th anniversary compilation movie was an event at this year's Cannes Film Festival, but Kaurismäki's part in the venture has not really been singled out for praise or anything else.

At the table in The Grand, Kaurismäki makes a point of noting the 3-minute short made by his colleague Wim Wenders for Chacun son cinéma. People in the war-torn Congo going to the cinema once again. Wenders' film was among the most "political" on view, and it appealed to Kaurismäki.

Alright then, why was your short not political?

"Why does someone not do what they should do?" Kaurismäki begins his reply.

It appears as though many of Kaurismäki's comments are in two parts. The pattern is a consistent one: often the opening salvo takes one close to the subject, but it is only in the second part that he generally becomes more rhetorical, contemplative. As in this case.

"Maybe it is about weakness, or simple stupidity."

Oh. But let us not allow the artist any more room for self-flagellation. We'll change the subject.

It has been rumoured around town that Kaurismäki is taking an artistic break. No movies in the pipeline. Is this so?

"Guess if I'm enjoying it", grins Kaurismäki.

I don't know. Are you?

"Yes, I am. A man knows himself. There were signs of getting burnt out."

Signs? How did they manifest themselves, then?

"A look of desperation in the eyes."

How did you spot it?

"In the mirror."

Kaurismäki comments that he has been feeling tired for years. It seems a strange thing to say, since four years ago The Man Without A Past won the Jury Grand Prize at Cannes, along with a hatful of other nominations and prizes elsewhere. Was he tired when he made it?

Before long, Kaurismäki fesses up and admits that the basic thing is that he has completely lost his sense of ambition.

"It went west back in the 1980s."

So, what was your ambition like when you still had it, I ask. Full of pep, answers Kaurismäki.

"I thought that Finland was no worse than other countries. That the Finnish cinema had to be taken out and shown to the world", he says.

"And that's what I did. But it was a taxing experience", he says with a trace of innuendo.

"I'm practically dead, but I'm still walking around."

This sounds pretty bleak. And it looks a bit that way, too. If you look at the director, he doesn't appear to be in such great shape. But is he really as "done-in" as he says - dead-man-walking?

Just a few minutes before, Kaurismäki has stated how in his year off from directing he has done a bit of fishing, gone mushroom picking in the woods, and built some greenhouses.

"I spend the evenings digging knives out from my back. Still, nothing much wrong with that; at least it's better than picking one's teeth" he says. "There. That puts a bit of humour into your article."

Who put the knives in, then?

"Talentless colleagues in the main, I guess."

Then he stops for a minute and considers what he has said. "Hmm... that was pretty blunt, but you can leave it in."

Maybe we should change the subject again. Even though Kaurismäki is on an artistic sabbatical, earlier this spring he was up in the vanguard of those opposing the planned merger of universities in the Helsinki area.

"Yes, I rushed to sign that petition as soon as I possibly could", says Kaurismäki.

"The top university they have in mind means as far as I can see it that all the idiots in Finland will gather together and pay each other a salary."

That's a rather damning line. Was there anything else?

"You can't really pin it down any more than that. It's neo-liberalism at play. Grind the impoverished down. Kill anything that moves. Gimme the money. Let the poor die off. That's what it is all about."

But even more blockbusting claims are in store. According to Kaurismäki, with the advent of the mooted top university all the money would be channeled to the same CIA account. "Or thereabouts, or to Putin's account, which is just as big."

One of Kaurismäki's long-cherished dreams is to write a book.

"I don't think it'll get beyond being a dream", he says softly.

"The dilemma is that I'd have to give a thrashing to Kafka and Gogol at one and the same time. Frankly I don't rate any of the others as real authors. And doing that would be a tough task for anyone. I'm not likely to pull it off."

Through his production company Sputnik, Kaurismäki is apparently ready and more than willing to produce a film directed by another hand, if only "some young talent" shows up. Kaurismäki himself has completed 18 feature films, and has set his sights on 20. Will his break from creative things be more likely to end in a film or a book?

"I think a film is the more likely. If I live, then it will be a film. You can't teach an old dog new tricks."

We then learn what it was the three men had been discussing at the other table. A film is in the works.

Possibly.

Producer Stark would like to have the Nordic directors Kaurismäki, Hamer and Iceland's Dagur Kári make a joint project, with a half-hour slot for each of them.

What sort of time-frame?

"Lifelong", replies Kaurismäki laconically.

Aki Kaurismäki turned 50 in April. "It is extraordinarily liberating to be fifty", he says. It is no longer worth even longing for one's youth, he goes on.

"Time now to concentrate on this third phase, that of dying."

There is a pause, and then comes the anticipated second part of the man's reply.

"Being 40-something was a pretty vicious game. I was thinking, ****, I'm never going to get through this. But fifty is cool, you know, you can listen to old Dave Lindholm recordings and keep dead quiet."

Kaurismäki has earlier commented on how he watches movies. There, too, silence is an integral part of the process.

"If the film is good, then it carries you off to another place. I was just recently watching Le fils by Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne with my wife. When it was done, neither of us said a word. An hour or so later, my wife nodded. I nodded back."

Yup. You could not get anything more Kaurismäki-esque than that.

Maybe it is time to change the subject yet again. Let's go back to that Cannes compilation movie. There was a bit of a scandal involved. At the press briefing, at which Kaurismäki was also in attendance, Roman Polanski threw a tantrum over the simplistic questions being asked by the gathered journalists - "such poor questions, such empty questions - you're no longer interested in what's going on in the cinema" - before he stomped out in protest. .

Kaurismäki says he understands the journalists, because he was one himself in his youth.

"Polanski was right and also wrong. It is perhaps a bit dandyish to expect them to ask us anything special and erudite, when nobody is really any smarter than anyone else. As if we would actually have the answer to anything."

This seems like a good place to leave it. Aki Kaurismäki remains sitting in the lobby of the Grand Hotel, at a big round table with white linen tablecloths. Back to the wall, naturally.

Ah, but there is one small matter he has not commented on yet.

"There has never been a more pathetic government running a worse country than we've got right now."



John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - FOREIGN - Monday 4.6.2007


Cyber-attacks in Estonia: Finland observes from a distance

NATO sent experts to Estonia immediately


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135227698767.jpeg
In the wake of the dispute over the relocation of the Soviet war
memorial in Tallinn, Estonian government web servers and other
sites were hit repeatedly by distributed denial-of-service attacks,
overloading servers from without such that they crashed or were
paralysed.


Finland has so far been a distant observer of the recent denial-of-service (DoS) attacks launched against Estonia's computer networks. Neither the Finnish Ministry of Defence nor the Defence Forces have been in contact with their Estonian counterparts over the Internet attacks.

Finland has been following the events in Estonia through the media and through the Certi-FI system of national data security authorities, who have worked to prevent such attacks in this country.

"It was not so interesting from the point of view of Finnish military defence that the matter would have been examined through anything other than Certi", explains Ilkka Korkiamäki of the command systems section of the Defence Staff.

Finland will learn more about Estonia's Internet attacks on Tuesday when Minister of Defence Jyri Häkämies meets his Estonian colleague Jaak Aaviksoo in Tallinn.

Häkämies says that the situation in Estonia is interesting from Finland's point of view as well.

"These kinds of things [new types of threats] have now become real", Häkämies says.

The attacks grabbed the attention and interest of NATO immediately. Two experts from the alliance were sent to Estonia to acquaint themselves with what had happened there. "Today Estonia, tomorrow, someplace else", said NATO spokesman Robert Pszczel in the New York Times.

Finland itself got a stark reminder of the existence of Internet attacks in mid-May when the web pages of the Finnish Broadcasting Company were targeted by a concerted denial-of-service attack. The kind of extensive attack that was inflicted on Estonia would be possible in Finland as well.

Defence Minister Häkämies says that Finland is quite well prepared for similar threats.

"There is no immediate situation here. I would claim that our preparedness is at a good level", Häkämies says.

Aaviskoo points out that new kinds of security threats, such as Internet attacks, can be dealt with through international cooperation. According to Aaviskoo, the attacks are to be taken up during a meeting of NATO ministers of defence in mid-June.

"It has become even clearer than before that cyberspace has no borders."



John - :uhh:

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - HOME - Monday 4.6.2007


UFO images lead to internal investigation at Border Guard Service

Pictures published in UFO magazine claimed to be taken by authorities


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135227734822.jpeg
Images that were published in a UFO magazine are suspected of having been
received from the Coast Guard.


Images published by the Finnish UFO Research Association FUFORA have lead to an internal investigation at the Guard Service.

The infrared video images, which according to FUFORA depict unidentified flying objects, were published in an issue of the Ultra magazine and on the FUFORA Internet pages, as well as in the association’s publication Uforaportti 13 (UFO Report 13). The images are claimed to have been filmed by the authorities.

According to the Gulf of Finland Coast Guard Commander Marko Tuominen, however, no images have been officially issued by the authorities for the use by the press.

The pictures were already published in April 2006, but they only became an issue within the Border Guard Service at the beginning of May this year, after an inquiry by a private citizen.

"Similar [IR imaging] equipment is in use by other instances as well, and therefore this first went unnoticed", head of unit Juha-Mikko Hämäläinen explains.

The Border Guard Staff is looking into whether an employee has misused official monitoring equipment and images and thus rendered himself guilty of malfeasance. According to Tuominen, the texts accompanying the published images claim that the official who handed over the images was employed by the Coast Guard. "The actual content of the images we have no need or ability to evaluate", said Marko Tuominen.

Superintendent Pihla Keto from the Coast Guard Staff explains that a clarification on the matter has been ordered, after which, if need be, an examination will take place. "If there is a question, the question is whether an employee has committed some wrongdoing."

FUFORA has no intention of revealing the identity of the person who handed over the infrared images.

The chairman of the organisation Tapani Koivula says it was agreed with the person who handed over the images that they could be made public once the individual had retired. "His only objective was to find out what the images were portraying."

According to Koivula, FUFORA was not aware of who knew about the handing over the pictures at the time it took place. "We felt this matter was the responsibility of the individual who handed them over to us."



John - :huh:

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - METRO - Tuesday 5.6.2007


Defence Forces national parade gathers 5,000 spectators in Helsinki


http://newsroom.finland.fi/netcomm/ImgLib/3/115/0605_paraati_b.jpg
The Finnish Defence Forces celebrated their annual Flag Day in Helsinki's
Senate Square on June 4.


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135227764485.jpeg
A formation of eight Finnish Air Force
Hornet interceptors flew over the
military parade in the Senate Square.


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135227764394.jpeg
The military parade for the Flag Day of the Finnish Defence Forces attracted a
crowd of around 5,000 on a warm and sunny Monday afternoon.


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135227764396.jpeg
Tankers Johannes Karviola (foreground) and
Jaan Lindholm waiting for the parade to start
in Mariankatu.


Yesterday, on Monday, the Finnish Defence Forces celebrated their Flag Day in Helsinki, for the first time in ten years. Around 1,800 soldiers and some 30 military vehicles took part in the march-past at the Senate Square, with as many as 5,000 people following the event. The national parade was addressed by President Tarja Halonen.

The Flag Day parade is arranged in the capital city every ten years, coinciding with when the republic celebrates the decennial anniversary of its independence. In the current year Finland is celebrating the 90th anniversary of independence in 1917.

Yesterday was also the birthday of Marshal C.G.E. Mannerheim (1867-1951), with 140 years since his birth. Mannerheim was Finland’s wartime commander and subsequently the country’s sixth president, holding the office from 1944 to 1946.

In her speech President Halonen stressed the significance of general conscription, saying that it has proved to be a factor that brings the nation together. She noted further that general conscription remains the cornerstone of Finland’s military defence.

Admiral Juhani Kaskeala, the Commander of the Finnish Defence Forces, who was accompanying President Halonen, describes Finnish military parades on the website of the Defence Forces as ”plain and ascetic, and hopefully for that reason also impressive”.

When the Finnish Air Force guard of honour was being reviewed at the Senate Square, eight F/A-18 Hornets and eight Hawk jet trainers flew over the troops in a tight diamond formation, some 300 metres above them.

Tanks, personnel carriers, and other military vehicles were the last to drive through the Senate Square.



John - :)

[manmangler]

Eurovision Song Contest winner talks about finns

http://www.iltasanomat.fi/viihde/uutinen.asp?id=1379324

Hmm olemme siis rumia, keltaisia "kalpea ja läpinäkyvä iho" sekä teemme vain pahaa ruokaa.

Marija Serifovic on tullut tunnetuksi maanläheisenä artistina.
Euroviisuvoittaja haukkui Suomen
5.6.2007 07:03, päivitetty 05.06. 13:32
Helsingin euroviisujen voittaja Marija Serifovic on tullut tunnetuksi maanläheisenä artistina. Nyt Marijasta on paljastunut diivan elkeitä.

Perjantaisessa lehdistötilaisuudessa Belgradissa laulajatar lyttäsi suomalaisten ulkonäön ja ruoan. Kaiken kaikkiaan 22-vuotiaan serbin Helsingin-vierailu oli niin epämiellyttävä, ettei hän aio enää koskaan palata Suomeen.

- En ollut ollenkaan tyytyväinen. En mene sinne enää ikinä, Marijan kerrotaan laukoneen.

Paikallisten ulkonäössä Marijaa kuvotti kalpea, "läpinäkyvä" iho. Suomalaisesta ruoasta tähdellä ei liioin ollut hyvää sanottavaa.

- Näin nälkää. En yksinkertaisesti pystynyt syömään muuta kuin keksejä ja hedelmiä.

Lehdistötilaisuudessa oli huomattavan paljon kansallisten tiedotusvälineiden edustajia. Tilaisuuteen osallistunut, Vecernje Novosti -lehden toimittaja Vesna Pantelic kummastelee artistin suoria puheita.

- Hän sanoi suomalaisten ihoa keltaiseksi. Eihän se edes pidä paikkaansa, Pantelic tuhahtaa.

Pantelicin mukaan Marija yltyi lokaamaan Suomea, kun toinen serbialainen toimittaja kertoi pohjoisista ystävistään ja pyysi tähteä lähettämään näille terveisiä. Kovin lämpimiä eivät terveiset olleet, mutta Marija löysi suomalaisista jotain positiivistakin:

- Pidin kyllä niistä 12 pisteestä, jotka sain Suomelta. Olin niistä hyvin yllättynyt.

Tiina Länkinen

Sort version in english "Finnish are ugly, yellow skinned and food is bad".

[FinnFreak]

Great to know - :uhh: - I've never noticed we have yellow skin... :really:

...I knew about our ugliness and bad food, though... :p


John - :huh:

[FinnFreak]

STT - 6.6.2007 at 9:01


Iran seizes three Finns


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


Iran has seized three Finns in the Persian Gulf, Finnish commercial broadcaster MTV3 reported late on Tuesday.

The Finnish foreign ministry later confirmed the report to the Finnish News Agency (STT).

According to MTV3, the Finns had been fishing near Abu Musa, an island claimed by both Iran and the United Arab Emirates, on 2 June.

Nokia Siemens Networks told STT on Wednesday that all three men were employees of its Dubai unit.

Barry French, a Nokia Siemens spokesman, also confirmed that the men had been seized during a fishing cruise.

Mr French added that the company would not release further information about its employees in order to protect their privacy.

Ilkka Kanerva (cons), the Finnish foreign minister, told MTV3 that it was possible that Iran would free the men on Wednesday.

Esa Hurtig, Finnish chargé d'affaires at the UAE, said efforts to free the men had not progressed owing to two days of public holidays since the incident in Iran. Mr Hurtig, having visited Iran's embassy to the UAE, added the men were in good health.

Heikki Puurunen, the Finnish ambassador to Tehran, told STT he would discuss the freeing of the men with the Iranian foreign ministry on Wednesday. The ambassador added that further information could be expected in the afternoon.

A Finnish diplomat said Wednesday that the foreign ministry had been aware of the seizure by Iran of three Finns in the Persian Gulf already on Saturday.

Esa Hurtig, the Finnish chargé d'affairs in the United Arab Emirates, said the ministry had decided to keep the lid on the matter in order to free the three men as quickly as possible.

The men, Dubai-base demployees of Nokia Siemens Networks, were fishing near the contested island of Abu Musa when they were seized on Saturday.

Talks between Finnish and Iranians officials to free the men continued on Wednesday.



John - :smirk:

[aFinn]

Great to know - :uhh: - I've never noticed we have yellow skin... :really:

...I knew about our ugliness and bad food, though... :p


John - :huh:I'm so pale that she'd definately hate me :p

[FinnFreak]

She now claims she was only joking, but really: Finns aren't so highly regarded amongst the Serbs...the whole thing with Kosovo, what our President Martti Ahtisaari under UN mandate has been trying to resolve for years...

I think it's more of a show of national pride - and belittle a nation that tries to establish lasting peace in the Balkan region by making the province of Serbia, Kosovo, independent... even though the Russians are against the proposals.

Read this (http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Finland-Serbia+game+was+a+night+of+European+football+diplo macy+/1135227781319)



John - :smirk:

[FinnFreak]

Iltalehti - 6.6.2007


Kamerat Keskisen makuuhuoneisiin


Raiskausepäilyn kohteeksi joutunut kyläkauppias Vesa Keskinen hankkii uuden videokamerajärjestelmän, jolloin kamerat asennetaan Keskisen kartanon sisätiloihin.

Kamerat asennetaan makuuhuoneisiinkin. Järjestelmä laitetaan päälle, jos on tarpeen. Kun luotettavat läheiset ovat kylässä, niin tietenkään silloin kamerat eivät ole päällä, Vesa Keskinen toteaa Iltalehdelle.


:shocked:


:biglaugh: - !!!


:huh: ...makuuhuoneisiinpa hyvinkin... "laitetaan päälle, jos on tarpeen"... ;)


helekutin pelle.


John - :p

[FinnFreak]

STT - 6.6.2007 at 14:25


Iran to free Finns in 48 hours


Iran is to free three Finnish men seized in the Persian Gulf on Saturday within 48 hours, the Finnish foreign ministry said Wednesday.

Pasi Tuominen, a legation counsellor at the ministry, told the Finnish News Agency (STT) that talks with Iranian officials indicated that the Finnish citizens would be released in two days' time.

The men, Dubai-based employees of Nokia Siemens Networks, were fishing off Abu Musa, an island claimed by both Iran and the United Arab Emirates, when they were arrested.



:uhh: - So, what happened..? - Did the GPS application on their 3G handsets fail, or was there something else fishy about their NS fishing Networks..?


John - :p

[FinnFreak]

STT - 6.6.2007


Iran frees three Finns


Ilkka Kanerva (cons), Finland foreign minister, told commercial broadcaster MTV3 on Wednesday that Iran had freed the three Finnish men it arrested in the Persian Gulf on Saturday.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Finnish foreign ministry said in a statement that it had been informed by Nokia Siemens Networks, the trio's employer, that the men would be freed.

"Foreign Minister Ilkka Kanerva is satisfied that the issue has been brought to a swift conclusion in smooth cooperation with the Iranian authorities and Nokia Siemens Networks," the statement added.

The Finns had been fishing off Abu Musa, an island claimed by both Iran and the United Arab Emirates, when they were seized.



John - :D:up:

[FinnFreak]

...as Pamela is coming to host a Midsummer Party here in Finland in two weeks, the press has been busy tracking down her relatives (her grandad was from Helsinki)... and, looking at those names mentioned in this article... :shocked: ...it would seem that - hah - even *I* am related to her..! :funny:


heck, Finns are all related to each other. :p


Iltalehti - 7.6.2007


Pamela Andersonilla on paljon suomalaisia sukulaisia

Image-lehti selvitti Pamela Andersonin suomalaiset julkkissukulaiset.

http://www.iltalehti.fi/viihde/juttupamelaaMP_410_vi.jpg
Pamela Andersonin suomalaiset sukuhaarat ovat laajalle levinneet.


Raumanmeren juhannusjuhliin saapuvalla näyttelijä Pamela Andersonilla on varsin nimekkäitä sukulaisia Suomessa.

Uusin Image-lehti paljastaa, että silikonirinnoistaan tunnetuksi tullut kohukaunotar on sukua monelle suomalaispoliitikolle.

Esimerkiksi pääministeri Matti Vanhanen on 6.-7. polven serkku Pamelan kanssa. Heidän yhteinen esiäitinsä eli 1700-luvun Jyväskylän maalaiskunnassa.


Sukulaisia vallan huipulta

Vihreiden ex-kansanedustaja Rosa Meriläisen ja ex-pääministeri Esko Ahon sukupuista löytyy yhteinen haarauma kurvikkaan seksisymbolin kanssa.

- Tämä on minullekin uutinen. En ole tiennyt sukulaissuhteestamme aiemmin yhtään mitään, Esko Aho hämmästelee Iltalehdelle kuultuaan kaukaisesta sukulaisestaan.

- En ole harrastanut sukututkimusta, mutta Eero Heinäluoma vinkkasi minulle joskus, että me olemme keskenämme kaukaisia sukulaisia.


Presidenttejä ja muusikoita

Amerikkalaisessa Baywatch-sarjassa näytelleen Playboy-mallin sukulaisista kaksi on onnistunut kipuamaan aivan Suomen poliittisen vallan huipulle asti: ex-presidenteistä Urho Kekkonen ja Martti Ahtisaari ovat molemmat sukua Pamelalle.

Pamela voi ylpeillä suomalaisten sukujuuriensa musiikillisilla perinteillä ja nostaa sieltä esiin säveltäjä Toivo Kuulan nimen. Laukaalainen Matti Jaakonpoika oli taas Pamelan ja kolme vuotta sitten kuolleen muusikko Gösta Sundqvistin yhteinen esi-isä.

Image-lehden selvityksestä käy lisäksi ilmi, että musiikkipiireissä yhteisillä sukuhaaroilla Pamelan kanssa voivat kehua ainakin Ismo, Ilkka ja Petri Alanko.



John - :p

[FinnFreak]

STT - 7.6.2007


Eagle owl interrupts Finland-Belgium Euro qualifier


http://www.iltalehti.fi/jalkapallo/juttuhuuhkajaMP_410_jp.jpg


An avian resident of the Helsinki Olympic stadium interrupted the Finland-Belgium Euro 2008 qualifier football match on Wednesday.

The eagle owl casually glided before the grand stand and landed on the edge of Belgium's half of the pitch. Michael Riley, the English referee, suspended play 19 minutes into the match.

The large bird then took off again and flew up and down the pitch, at one stage sitting on top of Finland's goal. Play eventually resumed after a seven-minute interruption.

Finland went on to win two-nil.



John - :D

[Troll]

That is neat.

[FinnFreak]

NewsRoom Finland


http://newsroom.finland.fi/netcomm/ImgLib/3/115/0612_genesis_b.jpg
Revered British rock band Genesis drew a huge crowd for their gig at
the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki on June 11. The Finnish capital was
the first stop on the band's current reunion tour.

:shocked: ..."reunion"..?!? :huh: - where's Steve Hackett then..? - NOT to mention Peter Gabriel. :really:

Reunion my behind. :p


http://newsroom.finland.fi/netcomm/ImgLib/3/115/0614_noksu_b.jpg
A model displays new Nokia E90 mobile phone sets during a launching
ceremony for the Indonesian market in Jakarta on June 13.


...finally got mine yesterday. Nice piece of technology.


John - ;)

[Troll]

That looks pretty cool.

[FinnFreak]

The crowd seeing Genesis, the phone or the model..? ;)

...or perhaps, all of the above..?


John - :p

[Troll]

The phone looks neat.

[FinnFreak]

I'm logged into the site and browsing away with it as we speak. ;)

Works like a charm. I'm impressed. Well, it did cost enough - so, it'd better work.

John - :p

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - BUSINESS & FINANCE - Monday 18.6.2007


Finnish forests growing at record rate

Using all possibilities for felling would almost make up for gap in Russian imports


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135227987920.jpeg
The amount of wood growing in Finnish forests continues
to increase. According to the tenth inventory of Finnish
forests, the total volume of wood growing in the country
is 2.2 billion cubic metres.


The amount of wood growing in Finnish forests continues to increase. According to the tenth inventory of Finnish forests, the total volume of wood growing in the country is 2.2 billion cubic metres.

According to the Finnish Forest Research Institute (METLA), annual growth has increased to 98.5 million cubic metres.

Growth in overall wood volume has meant that Finland could, in theory, be almost self-sufficient in wood, even if imports of timber from Russia were to grind to a complete halt in the coming years. However, on the practical level, it is very difficult to get a sustained sufficient flow of wood from Finnish private forests.

METLA attributes the increased growth to the increase in fast-growing forest areas especially in the south of Finland. Favourable weather conditions are also seen to be a factor.

The maximum sustainable amount of felling for 2006-2015 is 72 million cubic metres of wood a year, which is 16 million more than what is now being cut down in Finland.

In the past five years felling has been an average 56 million cubic metres a year. Imports from Russia have accounted for 18 million cubic metres.

It was possible to increase the amount of potential sustainable felling in forest management recommendations by seven million cubic metres last year.

The increase in volume of available wood is mainly for coniferous trees. The volume of available spruce has decreased because of intense demand, but METLA nevertheless says that there is plenty of it available.

Professor Tuula Nuutinen at METLA says that the amount of wood available has come as a positive surprise.

She says that so much spruce has been harvested that some areas in the southeast and in Ostrobothnia face a shortage. She also points out, however, that the reserves remain strong.

Leafy trees - mainly birch used for the production of pulp - is expected to be in shorter supply.

Felling of birch in Finland amounted to 14 million cubic metres, and imports from Russia were eight million cubic metres.

Nuutinen says that the most unpredictable factor on the wood market remains the growth in the use of wood for energy. She says that sharp increases in the use of wood for fuel could affect the availability of wood for fibre.

The proportion of the use of private forests in the raw material supply for the Finnish forest industry will play a key role in the future, says Anders Portin, the head of the Finnish Forest Industries Federation.

The federation says that there has been very little increase in wood on the market even though it has been commanding record-high prices.

The Forest Industries Federation calculates that if there are problems in imports from Russia, there will be a need to cut down at least 60 million cubic metres in private forests each year.

At the end of the 1990s a level of nearly 50 million cubic metres was achieved, but after that, the annual output from private forests has declined to an average 40 million cubic metres.

The forest industry is aiming primarily at remote surveying, and the implementation of individual forest plans for individual forest owners - with the permission of those owners - in wood buying.




STT - 18.6.2007 at 15:22


Finland's Väyrynen calls on Russia to bin wood duty hikes


Paavo Väyrynen (centre), the Finnish foreign trade and development minister, was quoted as saying by Finnish business daily Taloussanomat on Saturday that Russia must overturn its decision to raise roundwood export duties or at least postpone the planned increases.

"We think all sensible arguments support them overturning this decision. Or at least postponing the implementation of the duties so that we can continue the talks," Mr Väyrynen told the paper.

Russia has decided to raise the duties incrementally beginning July. The increases are expected to halt wood exports to Finland.



John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

STT - 20.6.2007


Russia will veto Kosovo blueprint


Martti Ahtisaari, the special UN envoy in the process to determine the future status of Kosovo, was quoted as saying by the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) on Tuesday that he believed Russia would veto his plan at the UN security council.

The former Finnish president added however that independence was in Kosovo's cards, possibly with the support the US and some EU countries.

Mr Ahtisaari's plan would give the Serbian province many of the trappings of states.

Mr Ahtisaari's interview was to be aired on current affairs programme Ajankohtainen kakkonen Tuesday evening.


Finland will be "oddity" if remains outside Nato

Martti Ahtisaari, the UN mediator in the Kosovo talks, told the Finnish News Agency (STT) in an interview made public on Wednesday that unless Finland joined Nato, the country would become something of "an oddity" in western Europe.

The former Finnish president repeated that Finland should simply be a member of all organisations for western democracies.

"It is not based in any threat scenario, for it is a decision that is solely to do with practical considerations," Mr Ahtisaari said.

He added that Finland continued to view its eastern neighbour as if it still were the Soviet Union.

"Mentally, there must be some reason why we are unable to make such a decision," Mr Ahtisaari said, referring to applying for membership in the military alliance.



:uhh: - ...it's the same situation as in the late 30's... and, history tends to repeat itself...



John - :smirk:

[FinnFreak]

The Sunday Times - June 17, 2007


Finland's strangest sporting contest

Stephen Bleach suffered by using the wrong lift representing England in the Wife-Carrying World Championships


http://www.wwnet.fi/esatky/olumppik-2000/images/Eukonkanto-2.jpg


By Stephen Bleach


Call me old-fashioned, but I think a man should be able to support his wife. So far, during my 11-year marriage to Jaqui, I’ve managed it. But now I’m in trouble.

I’m staggering down the course of the 11th Wife-Carrying World Championships at Sonkajarvi, Finland. There are 7,000 people cheering me on, but they’re drowned out by the blood pumping in my ears and the ragged gasps of my breathing. Then a voice cuts through the rest. It comes from my wife, who is balanced painfully across my bony shoulders.

“What the hell are we doing here?” she yells. Well, it’s complicated.

EVERYONE ignores Finland. All around it there are sexy holiday destinations: glittering St Petersburg, stately Sweden, hip Latvia and Estonia. In the middle of it all, Finland sits there, stoical, unassuming... and, apart from the annual rush of kids up to Lapland for Santa, virtually unvisited.

Which is puzzling, because Finland is fabulous. It has the sort of pristine, wild landscape everyone schleps across the Atlantic to Canada for: crystal-clear lakes, forests of birch and scented pine, rolling hills, huge skies. The problem, arguably, has been the Finns. They don’t have a reputation for being a barrel of laughs. The most admired virtue here is sisu – strength in adversity. Honest, tough and reliable, they are. Sought-after dinner-party guests, they’re not.

But there are signs they’re starting to lighten up. Over the past few years, Finland has become the world capital of unlikely world championships. If you want to reign supreme in mobile-phone throwing, swamp soccer, kissing or pea-eating, this is the place to come. This makeover of the national character seemed worth investigating.

There is, at least, a little history behind wife-carrying. In the 19th century, burly locals made a habit of raiding neighbouring villages and making off with their womenfolk.

Today, the rules of wife-carrying are simple. The wife can be your own or, true to larcenous local tradition, you can nick someone else’s: any female over 17 will do. The course covers about 275 yards (which is rather longer than I’d bargained for), with two hurdles and a water obstacle. Dropping your wife incurs a time penalty. The winner gets his wife’s weight in beer. That’s it.

As with any competitive sport, though, there are tactics involved. The main thing is the holding position. The easiest, technically, is a piggyback, but it’s pretty draining. A fireman’s lift is an option. Or there’s the Estonian position. It’s hard to describe – you end up sounding like More Joy of Sex – but basically the wife hooks her knees over her man’s shoulders, drapes herself down his back and peers forward at the world from between his legs. Okay, she might drown if he takes too long in the water obstacle, but so what? The ergonomic advantage is huge.

During our only practice session, the night before, Jaqui and I established that the Estonian was beyond us. An old hand advised me that the fireman approach would suit my scrawny physique. He had advice for Jaqui, too: “The crucial things are, don’t laugh or fart.” Wise words.

Arriving at the stadium the next day was a bit of a shock. We’d assumed we’d be making idiots of ourselves in front of a few dozen curiosity-seekers, but Reuters was there. And Eurosport. And, on grandstands around a purpose-built course, a huge crowd.

As the scorers prepare, the MC tells a Finnish joke over the PA. A modest titter runs through the crowd. Intrigued, I ask a bystander to translate.

“It’s really very funny,” he tells me. “You see, an old man had to post a jacket to his son. But it was heavy, and therefore expensive. So he removed the pattern... and put it in the pockets!”

Now I know why the Finns don’t laugh a lot. But will they laugh at us?

AND THEY’RE OFF. It’s two couples at a time, racing against each other and the clock. In a few minutes, we’re taking our place on the grid next to a man-mountain and a willowy slip of a thing. We shake hands. His enfolds mine completely. Hers, I can hardly feel. Crouching low, I heave Jaqui onto my shoulders, straighten up with a gasp and consider our position.

Two things make a successful wife-carrying team. First, you need a strong, fit man. I’m happy to admit we didn’t have one of these. And second, slightly more delicately, you need a very, very light wife.

I’m biased, but I think any objective observer would agree my wife has a good figure. To call her willowy, though, might be pushing it. She’s 5ft 8in tall and weighs... I don’t know. She won’t tell me. But – and I’m not saying my wife’s fat here, far from it – at this moment, it feels like quite a lot.

“Go!” shouts the starter, and we’re heading for the water.

The water obstacle, 3ft deep and 10ft wide, is about 50 yards in. The serious competitors vault in from the edge and wade through without missing a stride or dropping a bride. I try to do the same, but my knees are already starting to give out. Instead, I totter to the edge and sort of slump in.

We half-wade, half-swim to the other side and scramble out. I squat, dripping, for her to get back on my shoulders.

“Forget it until you put some meat on them,” she says. “Your bones are torture. Piggyback for us.”

The other couple have almost finished, but we have more than 200 yards to go, around a long, snaking course. I stagger on. And on. At the first hurdle, a hip-high steeplechaser’s job, Jaqui starts to giggle, and what remains of my rhythm deserts me. At least she hasn’t farted yet. Sweating, panting, bent double like an old man with life-threatening haemorrhoids, I shuffle painfully slowly towards the finish line, right in front of the packed grandstand.

And, finally, the Finns have become animated. The world seems to be getting darker, but from the corner of my eye, I see portly gentleman farmers and stout matrons in flower-print dresses bouncing up and down, clapping, shouting our names and waving us on. The roaring in my ears isn’t just my blood, it’s the crowd – we’re getting the biggest cheer of the day. Our pathetic, desperate efforts have melted that flinty Nordic reserve.

The Finns, it seems, love a trier, and even as I drop Jaqui unceremoniously at the finish line and collapse, I love them right back. WE CAME 39th. Out of 40. I’m pleased I got round without dying, or dropping Jaqui on her head, but I can’t help feeling a failure. As we sit that night outside a romantic lakeside restaurant, I worry: will she leave me for a strapping Finn, a man who can carry her the way she deserves? I am tentatively considering asking her thoughts on this subject when a fellow diner wanders over.

“You were in the contest, yes?” We nod. “Why?” Good question. “We wanted to understand Finland,” I reply with a shrug.

He breaks into a broad smile. “Finland is sisu,” he says. “You have sisu. You understand now?”

Indeed. Finns may not give out as many smiles as some, but when they do, they’re worth having. As Jaqui and I watch the sunset, I’m happy. I can support my wife – just.


Travel brief: this year’s Wife-Carrying World Championships take place on July 7; www.sonkajarvi.fi. Finnair (0870 241 4411, www.finnair.com) flies via Helsinki to Kajaani, 40 miles from Sonkajarvi, from Heathrow, Manchester, Edinburgh and Dublin. Europcar (0845 758 5375, www.europcar.co.uk) has two days’ car hire from £85. Most competitors stay at the Hotel Koljonvirta (00 358-17 192 6000, www.sokoshotels.fi), which has singles (no doubles left) for £46. Or try the spa hotel Runnin Kylpyla (17 768751, www.runni.fi; doubles from £52).


http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/travel/holiday_type/specialist/article1937173.ece



47 couples have already registered in the Wife Carrying World Championships next summer in Sonkajärvi. In addition to the Finnish couples the competitors come from Ireland, Swizerland, USA, Australia, South Africa , Estonia, Japan and Great Britain. If over 50 couples registered, competiton will run three couples together.

http://www.sonkajarvi.fi/?deptid=15136



John - :p

[FinnFreak]

...from the northern Midnight Sun country of Finland, which has given the world championship competitions
in Air-Guitar playing, Nokia mobile phone throwing, Wife-Carrying, etc...

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

...I Wish You All A Pleasant Midsummer Weekend..!


...and beware of the hungry mosquitos.



John - ;):up:

[Troll]

The Sunday Times - June 17, 2007


Finland's strangest sporting contest

Stephen Bleach suffered by using the wrong lift representing England in the Wife-Carrying World Championships


http://www.wwnet.fi/esatky/olumppik-2000/images/Eukonkanto-2.jpg


By Stephen Bleach


Call me old-fashioned, but I think a man should be able to support his wife. So far, during my 11-year marriage to Jaqui, I’ve managed it. But now I’m in trouble.

I’m staggering down the course of the 11th Wife-Carrying World Championships at Sonkajarvi, Finland. There are 7,000 people cheering me on, but they’re drowned out by the blood pumping in my ears and the ragged gasps of my breathing. Then a voice cuts through the rest. It comes from my wife, who is balanced painfully across my bony shoulders.

“What the hell are we doing here?” she yells. Well, it’s complicated.

EVERYONE ignores Finland. All around it there are sexy holiday destinations: glittering St Petersburg, stately Sweden, hip Latvia and Estonia. In the middle of it all, Finland sits there, stoical, unassuming... and, apart from the annual rush of kids up to Lapland for Santa, virtually unvisited.

Which is puzzling, because Finland is fabulous. It has the sort of pristine, wild landscape everyone schleps across the Atlantic to Canada for: crystal-clear lakes, forests of birch and scented pine, rolling hills, huge skies. The problem, arguably, has been the Finns. They don’t have a reputation for being a barrel of laughs. The most admired virtue here is sisu – strength in adversity. Honest, tough and reliable, they are. Sought-after dinner-party guests, they’re not.

But there are signs they’re starting to lighten up. Over the past few years, Finland has become the world capital of unlikely world championships. If you want to reign supreme in mobile-phone throwing, swamp soccer, kissing or pea-eating, this is the place to come. This makeover of the national character seemed worth investigating.

There is, at least, a little history behind wife-carrying. In the 19th century, burly locals made a habit of raiding neighbouring villages and making off with their womenfolk.

Today, the rules of wife-carrying are simple. The wife can be your own or, true to larcenous local tradition, you can nick someone else’s: any female over 17 will do. The course covers about 275 yards (which is rather longer than I’d bargained for), with two hurdles and a water obstacle. Dropping your wife incurs a time penalty. The winner gets his wife’s weight in beer. That’s it.

As with any competitive sport, though, there are tactics involved. The main thing is the holding position. The easiest, technically, is a piggyback, but it’s pretty draining. A fireman’s lift is an option. Or there’s the Estonian position. It’s hard to describe – you end up sounding like More Joy of Sex – but basically the wife hooks her knees over her man’s shoulders, drapes herself down his back and peers forward at the world from between his legs. Okay, she might drown if he takes too long in the water obstacle, but so what? The ergonomic advantage is huge.

During our only practice session, the night before, Jaqui and I established that the Estonian was beyond us. An old hand advised me that the fireman approach would suit my scrawny physique. He had advice for Jaqui, too: “The crucial things are, don’t laugh or fart.” Wise words.

Arriving at the stadium the next day was a bit of a shock. We’d assumed we’d be making idiots of ourselves in front of a few dozen curiosity-seekers, but Reuters was there. And Eurosport. And, on grandstands around a purpose-built course, a huge crowd.

As the scorers prepare, the MC tells a Finnish joke over the PA. A modest titter runs through the crowd. Intrigued, I ask a bystander to translate.

“It’s really very funny,” he tells me. “You see, an old man had to post a jacket to his son. But it was heavy, and therefore expensive. So he removed the pattern... and put it in the pockets!”

Now I know why the Finns don’t laugh a lot. But will they laugh at us?

AND THEY’RE OFF. It’s two couples at a time, racing against each other and the clock. In a few minutes, we’re taking our place on the grid next to a man-mountain and a willowy slip of a thing. We shake hands. His enfolds mine completely. Hers, I can hardly feel. Crouching low, I heave Jaqui onto my shoulders, straighten up with a gasp and consider our position.

Two things make a successful wife-carrying team. First, you need a strong, fit man. I’m happy to admit we didn’t have one of these. And second, slightly more delicately, you need a very, very light wife.

I’m biased, but I think any objective observer would agree my wife has a good figure. To call her willowy, though, might be pushing it. She’s 5ft 8in tall and weighs... I don’t know. She won’t tell me. But – and I’m not saying my wife’s fat here, far from it – at this moment, it feels like quite a lot.

“Go!” shouts the starter, and we’re heading for the water.

The water obstacle, 3ft deep and 10ft wide, is about 50 yards in. The serious competitors vault in from the edge and wade through without missing a stride or dropping a bride. I try to do the same, but my knees are already starting to give out. Instead, I totter to the edge and sort of slump in.

We half-wade, half-swim to the other side and scramble out. I squat, dripping, for her to get back on my shoulders.

“Forget it until you put some meat on them,” she says. “Your bones are torture. Piggyback for us.”

The other couple have almost finished, but we have more than 200 yards to go, around a long, snaking course. I stagger on. And on. At the first hurdle, a hip-high steeplechaser’s job, Jaqui starts to giggle, and what remains of my rhythm deserts me. At least she hasn’t farted yet. Sweating, panting, bent double like an old man with life-threatening haemorrhoids, I shuffle painfully slowly towards the finish line, right in front of the packed grandstand.

And, finally, the Finns have become animated. The world seems to be getting darker, but from the corner of my eye, I see portly gentleman farmers and stout matrons in flower-print dresses bouncing up and down, clapping, shouting our names and waving us on. The roaring in my ears isn’t just my blood, it’s the crowd – we’re getting the biggest cheer of the day. Our pathetic, desperate efforts have melted that flinty Nordic reserve.

The Finns, it seems, love a trier, and even as I drop Jaqui unceremoniously at the finish line and collapse, I love them right back. WE CAME 39th. Out of 40. I’m pleased I got round without dying, or dropping Jaqui on her head, but I can’t help feeling a failure. As we sit that night outside a romantic lakeside restaurant, I worry: will she leave me for a strapping Finn, a man who can carry her the way she deserves? I am tentatively considering asking her thoughts on this subject when a fellow diner wanders over.

“You were in the contest, yes?” We nod. “Why?” Good question. “We wanted to understand Finland,” I reply with a shrug.

He breaks into a broad smile. “Finland is sisu,” he says. “You have sisu. You understand now?”

Indeed. Finns may not give out as many smiles as some, but when they do, they’re worth having. As Jaqui and I watch the sunset, I’m happy. I can support my wife – just.


Travel brief: this year’s Wife-Carrying World Championships take place on July 7; www.sonkajarvi.fi. Finnair (0870 241 4411, www.finnair.com) flies via Helsinki to Kajaani, 40 miles from Sonkajarvi, from Heathrow, Manchester, Edinburgh and Dublin. Europcar (0845 758 5375, www.europcar.co.uk) has two days’ car hire from £85. Most competitors stay at the Hotel Koljonvirta (00 358-17 192 6000, www.sokoshotels.fi), which has singles (no doubles left) for £46. Or try the spa hotel Runnin Kylpyla (17 768751, www.runni.fi; doubles from £52).


http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/travel/holiday_type/specialist/article1937173.ece



47 couples have already registered in the Wife Carrying World Championships next summer in Sonkajärvi. In addition to the Finnish couples the competitors come from Ireland, Swizerland, USA, Australia, South Africa , Estonia, Japan and Great Britain. If over 50 couples registered, competiton will run three couples together.

http://www.sonkajarvi.fi/?deptid=15136



John - :p

Sounds like a fun competiton

[Troll]

Pamela Anderson Fights Finland Fur Farms
Jun 21, 1:21 PM EST

The Associated Press

HELSINKI, Finland -- Free the Finnish fur foxes, Pamela Anderson says.

After arriving Thursday to host a music festival west of Helsinki, Anderson told Finnish President Tarja Halonen in a letter that her nation should emulate other countries that have banned fur farms.

"It's time for Finland to move into the 21st century and follow suit," said Anderson, whose great-grandfather was Finnish. The letter was distributed to the media by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Finland's fur auctioneers said the appeal was unrealistic. "It's not surprising coming from her, a known anti-fur campaigner," said Paivi Mononen-Mikkila, a spokeswoman for the Finnish Fur Sales auction house. "It's really not realistic as so many people earn their livelihood from the fur trade."

Finland, one of Europe's top fur producers, has 1,400 farms that produce about two million fox furs annually. The industry employs 10,000 people.

Halonen's office acknowledged receiving the letter but declined comment.

http://tv.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?news=266467&GT1=7703

[FinnFreak]

President Halonen did comment later on that the matter isn't in her jurisdiction, but Pamela Hyytiäinen should write to the Finnish government instead... the Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen then made the comment: "it's none of Pamela's business."

PM Vanhanen is the Centre Party leader & the fur industry is situated in Centre stronghold areas... we've got those farms all over this area.

In the recent years, many environmental activists have made "attacks" against these farms, by realeasing the fox & mink, or spraying their fur with paint - either way, most of those animals are then put to sleep... and they cause a lot of damage to the wildlife as well.

So, these actions are actually doing a lot more harm than good - and they are also turning the general opinion against these activists, as fur production is still a legitimate industry.

Personally, I don't see a need for that "luxury" industry - many argue, that without the controlled Finnish production, most of the industry would then be taken over by the Chinese & there would then be no control over the animals well-being at all.

Pamela has the right approach - though PM Vanhanen would claim that it's none of her business, she still has raised some awareness on the issue - and that's the right path to follow, IMHO.


John - :)

[FinnFreak]

STT - 25.6.2007



Finnish president thanks Pamela Anderson for fur letter


Tarja Halonen, the president of Finland, on Friday thanked Pamela Anderson for the letter the Canadian-born actress and glamour model had sent to appeal to her to close fur farms but added that such a decision was not for the president to make.

"That is beyond the powers of the president," the president said.

"We are all concerned about the matter, but in Finland this issue is chiefly up to the government to decide."

Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (centre) turned down Ms Anderson's proposal.

"The matter in no way concerns her," Mr Vanhanen said, chuckling.

Ms Anderson said in a blog entry dated 21 June that she had come up with a business plan when holidaying in Finland with her father.

"Also I thought of a great way to celebrate my Finnish heritage at home. I'm going to look into opening a chain of strips club and will call them LAPLAND!!!"

Ms Anderson's great-grandfather was Finnish.



John - :p

[FinnFreak]

STT - 25.6.2007


Finnish midsummer festivities claim at least 13 lives


At least 13 lives were lost as Finns marked Midsummer, preliminary reports suggested on Sunday.

Four people drowned, compared with seven a year ago.

At the Raumanmeri music festival, two young men died of carbon monoxide poisoning and a third suffocated on his vomit.

The remainder of the deaths happened on the roads, apart from a shooting at a dance pavilion in Mäntsälä and a shallow-water diving accident in Sodankylä.



John - :sad:

[Troll]

Thanks for the articles.

[FinnFreak]

STT - 26.6.2007 at 19:32


Serbia's Dulic calls for inquiry in Ahtisaari bribe allegations


Oliver Dulic, the speaker of the Parliament of Serbia, is calling for a formal inquiry into allegations that Martti Ahtisaari, the UN special envoy for Kosovo, has accepted bribes from an Albanian organised crime figure in exchange for recommending independence for the Serbian province, US-based news portal Serbianna.com reported on Monday.

Bosnian news agency Focus had reported over the weekend that Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), Germany's federal foreign intelligence agency, had uncovered bank accounts held by Mr Ahtisaari that had received two million euros and that on at least two occasions he had received cash payments of more than 40 million euros.

Neither the UN nor Mr Ahtisaari, a former Finnish president, has commented on the allegations.



:rolleyes:


The Serbian leaders themselves aren't the "cleanest" bunch around, and it's become clearly evident, they don't think so highly of the man who ended the fighting in the Yugoslav province of Kosovo in 1999...


...but, let's have a closer look at the former President of Finland,
Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari:

http://www.mtv3.fi/uutiset/kuvat/kotimaa/grafiikat/ahtisaari-e-afrikassa.jpg


Youth and early career

Martti Ahtisaari was born in Viipuri (now Vyborg, Russia) June 23, 1937 while his father, Oiva, was a non-commissioned officer in the service corps. Oiva Ahtisaari, whose grandfather had emigrated to Finland from southern Norway, took Finnish citizenship in 1929, changing his surname from Adolfsen in 1935. The Continuation War took Martti's father to the front as a military mechanic, while his mother, Tyyne, moved to Kuopio with her son to escape immediate danger from the war. Kuopio was where Ahtisaari spent most of his childhood and first attended school.

In 1952, Oiva moved to Oulu with his family for employment reasons. In Oulu, Martti joined the local YMCA. After he had done his military service, he began to study through a distance-learning course at the teachers' college in Oulu. There he was able to live at home while attending the two-year course which enabled him to qualify as a primary-school teacher in 1959.

In 1960, he moved to Karachi, Pakistan, to lead the YMCA's physical education training establishment, where he was accustomed to a more international environment. As well as the managing of the students' home, the job involved training teachers, which in itself suited him well. He returned to Finland in 1963 and went to Helsinki Polytechnic but also was active in the organizations responsible for aid to developing countries. In 1965, he joined the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland in its Bureau for International Development Aid, eventually becoming the assistant head of the department. In 1968, he married Eeva Irmeli Hyvärinen (1936- ).


Diplomatic career

In 1973, President Urho Kekkonen appointed Ahtisaari as Finland's ambassador to Tanzania, and accredited him also to Zambia, Somalia and Mozambique. During his term (1973-1977) he formed contacts with the Namibian independence group SWAPO in Dar Es Salaam. In 1977, he was appointed United Nations Commissioner for Namibia, based in New York, and served until 1981. However, apartheid South Africa, which occupied South-West Africa (Namibia) in defiance of the Security Council, refused to recognise Ahtisaari or any of his four predecessors as UN Commissioner for Namibia. He stayed at the UN, as Under Secretary-General for Administration and Management – first with Kurt Waldheim, and then with Javier Pérez de Cuéllar.

Following the death of the seventh UN Commissioner for Namibia, Bernt Carlsson, on Pan Am Flight 103 on December 21, 1988 – on the eve of the signing of the Namibian independence agreement at UN headquarters – Ahtisaari was sent to Namibia in April 1989 as the UN Special Representative to head the UN Transition Assistance Group's (UNTAG) observer mission. Because of an alleged incursion of SWAPO troops from Angola, South African appointee Administrator-General, Louis Pienaar, sought Ahtisaari's agreement to the deployment of SADF troops to stabilize the situation. Ahtisaari took advice from British prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, who was visiting the region at the time, and approved the SADF deployment. A period of intense fighting ensued when at least 375 SWAPO insurgents were killed.

Perhaps because of his reluctance to authorise this SADF deployment, Ahtisaari was alleged to have been targeted by the South African Civil Cooperation Bureau (CCB). According to a hearing in September 2000 of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, two CCB operatives (Kobus le Roux and Ferdinand Barnard) were tasked not to kill Ahtisaari, but to give him "a good hiding". To carry out the assault, Barnard had planned to use the grip handle of a metal saw as a knuckleduster. In the event, Ahtisaari did not attend the meeting at the Keetmanshoop Hotel, where Le Roux and Barnard lay in wait for him, and thus escaped injury.

After the independence elections of 1989, Ahtisaari was appointed an honorary Namibian citizen.


President of Finland

Ahtisaari's presidential campaign began when he was still a member of the council dealing with Bosnia. Recession in Finland had caused established political figures to lose public support, and the presidential elections were now direct, instead of being conducted through an electoral college. In 1993, Ahtisaari accepted the candidacy of the Social Democratic Party. His politically untarnished image was a major factor in the election, as was his vision of Finland as an active participant in international affairs. Ahtisaari narrowly won over his second round opponent, Elisabeth Rehn of the Swedish People's Party.

Ahtisaari began his term with a schism with the Centre Party-led government, because Prime Minister Esko Aho did not approve of his wish to actively participate in foreign political affairs. There was also some controversy over Ahtisaari's speaking out on issues such as unemployment. His mannerism, wobbly walking and overweight were often ridiculed in the media. He traveled extensively over the country and abroad, and got the nickname "Matka-Mara" ("Travel-Mara"). His monthly travels to various towns in Finland and meetings with ordinary citizens (as called maakuntamatkat) still made him very popular among people.

President Ahtisaari also supported Finland's entry into the European Union, and in a referendum in 1994, 56% of the Finnish voters were in favour of EU membership. During Ahtisaari's term as President, Boris Yeltsin and Bill Clinton met in Helsinki. He also negotiated alongside Viktor Chernomyrdin with Slobodan Milošević to end the fighting in the Yugoslav province of Kosovo in 1999.

Often encountering resistance from Parliament, which preferred a more cautious foreign policy, as well as from his party, Ahtisaari did not seek re-election in 2000 and was followed by Tarja Halonen, the first female President of Finland.


Post-presidential career

In 2000, the British government appointed him to the team overseeing the inspections of IRA weapons decommissioning in Northern Ireland. Ahtisaari also founded Crisis Management Initiative (CMI), an independent, non-governmental organization with a goal in developing and sustaining peace in troubled areas.

On 1 December 2000, Ahtisaari was awarded the J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding by the Fulbright Association in recognition of his work as peacemaker in some of the world’s most troubled areas.

In 2005, Ahtisaari successfully led peace negotiations between the Free Aceh Movement and the Indonesian government through his non-governmental organization CMI. The negotiations ended on 15 August 2005 with a treaty on withdrawal of the armed Indonesian forces and dropped GAM demands for an independent Aceh.

In November 2005, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan appointed Ahtisaari as Special Envoy for the Kosovo future status process. In this capacity, Ahtisaari was charged with leading a political process to determine Kosovo's political status, i.e., whether it should become independent or remain a part of Serbia (Kosovo has been administered by the United Nations since the 1999 Kosovo War). In early 2006, Ahtisaari opened the UN Office of the Special Envoy for Kosovo (UNOSEK) in Vienna, Austria, from which he would conduct the Kosovo status negotiations.

In August 2006, Serbian government officials alleged that Ahtisaari had made remarks during talks in Vienna in early August about the "collective guilt" of the Serb nation for the alleged crimes of the Serbia of the Milošević era. Members of the Serbian negotiating team claimed Ahtisaari had made remarks such as "The Serbs are guilty as a people" and "Serbia is sabre-rattling", also claiming these remarks were the spark for public disorders in the province of Kosovo. Both the UN and Ahtisaari have disputed the claims as being misinterpreted or taken out of context. The Serbian criticism has had little echo internationally, as a joint statement by the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Russia was issued in New York on 20 September 2006 expressing deep appreciation for Ahtisaari's efforts as UN Special Envoy.


During Ahtisaari's work as a mediator in Kosovo, many rumors and accusations have been spread about him due to the unpopularity of the process to determine the future of Kosovo. Although the following claims have received a wide media publicity they are false.


So there.


John - :smirk:

[FinnFreak]

;)


Pamela Anderson wants to learn to speak fluent Finnish


http://www.finlandforthought.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/pamela_anderson_finland.jpg


The former ‘Baywatch’ star, whose grandfather hailed from Finland, was pleased she remembered so much of the language during a recent trip to the country, and now plans to increase her vocabulary. Pammie said: “I’m surprised at how much of the language I retained from before I was 10 years old speaking with my grandfather. It came back quick. I’m going to learn more and more.”

The 39-year-old actress is planning to build a house in Finland and return there every year during the long summer days. Pammie said: “I will have a summer home there one day and plan on going back every summer to enjoy the midnight sun.”

The blonde star - who recently introduced her father to shock jock Howard Stern - also says travelling to the Nordic country with her dad was a “dream”. She explained: “My dad was so thrilled to meet Howard Stern and more of my friends in NYC. He’s a huge fan. Also bringing him to Finland finally was a lifelong dream.”




No problem. I can help with consultation: my brother just got appointed as professor of linguistics to one of our major universities in Finland.

I've basically taught him everything he knows.



John - :p

[FinnFreak]

STT - 3.7.2007


Finns rate development aid highly


Nine out of ten Finns view development cooperation as important, the Finnish foreign minister quoted a survey commissioned by the government as saying on Tuesday.

Six out of ten said Finland should boost its aid spending.

The ministry added that a UN survey had indicated that Finns underestimated living conditions in developing countries. For example, Finns tend to estimate that life expectancy and literacy rates in developing countries are at lower levels than official statistics show.



:uhh: - ...but, if we spent considerably more on foreign aid, our estimations might become more accurate..?


John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

Iltalehti - 9.7.2007


Metal band to hold a concert 1.4 km underground

http://www.spinefarm.fi/images/bands/agonizer500.jpg

The Finnish heavy metal band Agonizer will make history by releasing
their debut album "Birth/The End" over 1 400 meters underground on
Saturday 4th August.


The concert to be held at world record depth is in the Pyhäsalmi mine at
Pyhäjärvi. For security reasons there will be a limited number of audience
to attend.

With the forthcoming concert, Agonizer will take the Guinness World Record
for "Deepest Concert Underground". In future, breaking this record will be
a real challenge, as the Pyhäsalmi mine is already the deepest in Europe.

Agonizer is a melodic heavy metal band from Pyhäjärvi, Finland, formed in
1998. After the mine concert, there will be another one at Hotel Pyhäsalmi
for a larger audience.


http://www.agonizer.org

http://www.spinefarm.fi/showband.php?id=175



John - ;):up:

[FinnFreak]

NewsRoom Finland:


http://newsroom.finland.fi/netcomm/ImgLib/3/115/0711_ruis_b.jpg

Rye buns with radish and parsley pictured in Helsinki
on June 10. Consumption of rye bread, always high
in Finland, increased here in 2006.


:really: - So, the rest of Finland is doing the same as us..? - Interesting.


John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

STT - 12.7.2007


Finland's Pekkarinen tables satellite car tax


Mauri Pekkarinen (centre), the Finnish trade and industry ministry, was quoted as saying by Centre party organ Suomenmaa on Thursday that the amount of tax motorists paid should be linked to where and how much they drove.

Under the scheme proposed by the minister, vehicles would be tracked by satellite.

Mr Pekkarinen told Suomenmaa that motorists who drove in areas with no public transport coverage would pay less than those who opted for their cars where public transport was a viable option.


:shocked:

:biglaugh: - !!!


The Centre Party is going to receive a beating from the metropolitan Helsinki residents..! (that's 20% of Finland's population)


...but, I welcome the idea.


John - :p

[FinnFreak]

STT - 13.7.2007


Finnish president's rating rebounds to stellar figure


Tarja Halonen, the Finnish president, now basks in the lofty approval rating she enjoyed before last year's presidential election, indicates a survey printed in Friday's issue of weekly Suomen Kuvalehti.

Some 81 per cent said they had confidence in the president, compared with 74 per cent returned by a similar poll carried out in February immediately following the election.

Commissioned by Suomen Kuvalehti, research company Taloustutkimus interviewed 1,000 people.


http://www.finlandforthought.net/wp-content/halonen_bush.jpg

:smirk: - ...yeppers, she's doing a whole lot better in the ratings than her U.S. counterpart... ;)

http://fennia.no.sapo.pt/halonen_bush.jpg


John - :p

[FinnFreak]

STT - 19.7.2007


Lipponen and Tuomioja differ on Afghanistan operation


Paavo Lipponen (soc dem) and Erkki Tuomioja (soc dem), respectively Finland's former prime and foreign minister, hold diametrically opposed views on the level of Finland's participation in the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) in Afghanistan.

Mr Lipponen was quoted as saying by regional daily Turun Sanomat and newspaper syndicate Väli-suomen sanomalehdet on Thursday that he backed the proposal by Raimo Väyrynen, the head of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (UPI), to upgrade Finland's role in Afghanistan.

"I am also of the opinion that we should expand our presence in Afghanistan in a way that suits us. We must not give up there," Mr Lipponen told the papers.

By contrast, Mr Tuomioja was quoted as saying in the same item that the onus of Finland's peacekeeping and crisis management contributions should be on UN-led operations.

"Finns should be participating in unambiguously UN-led operations. That is why there may be better prerequisites for participation in Unifil in Lebanon than for expanding participation in Afghanistan. We must, in any case, be involved in Kosovo," Mr Tuomioja told the papers.

Mr Tuomioja was quoted as saying by Social Democratic party organ Uutispäivä Demari that the boundary between peacekeeping and the US-led conventional military operation had blurred in Afghanistan.

"One cannot justify involvement by saying it would earn brownie points from some third party," Mr Tuomioja told Uutispäivä Demari.



:funny: - Tuomioja is a hoot..!


John - :p

[Myyde]

The Apprentice: Shania episode today.

Diili 01.08. 22.31 MTV3

Joukkueet lähtevät käärimään rahaa ja markkinoivat Shania Twainin uutta tuoksua.

"Almost" live.:p

[FinnFreak]

...I like the smell of this...


John - ;)

[Troll]

It is a great episode

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - FOREIGN - Thursday 2.8.2007


COMMENTARY

Send condoms, not rifles, to Afghanistan


By Juhana Rossi


"Vietnam, Vietnam, Vietnam, we've all been there", is how author and journalist Michael Herr concluded his classical description of the Vietnam War in his book Dispatches from 1977.

In a similar manner, three words have dominated Finnish security policy debate in July: Afghanistan, Afghanistan, Afghanistan.

Here is a brief summary of the content of the debate: Foreign Minister Ilkka Kanerva and Defence Minister Jyri Häkämies want Finland to strengthen its presence - either military, or that which is linked with civilian crisis management - in Afghanistan.

Both ministers are members of the National Coalition Party, and the statements of both of them have clearly emphasised military aspects.

Finland is not a great power like the United States, and Finland would not even be capable of a commitment of more than ten years to a war being fought overseas.

In this respect it is wrong to compare Finland's Afghanistan operation to the Vietnam War.

Nevertheless, the rhetoric of Kanerva and Häkämies is reminiscent of the Vietnam conflict. For instance, Kanerva has spoken of Finland's military traditions, and of running away.

American politicians, from the President on down subscribed to this kind of thinking during the Vietnam War.

They spoke even though they should have known better, because US security policy experts had said from the very beginning on the basis of their analyses that the United States should have given up and left Vietnam.

If Finland were to pull out of Afghanistan, it would not be an act of giving up. Finland has many good reasons to reduce rather than to expand its presence in Afghanistan.

The first and most important reason is linked with Finland's national defence.

Finland's Defence Forces are not the same kind of military force as those of the United States or Britain. The Finnish Defence Forces are a training organisation, in which a small group of professional soldiers train conscripts in case Finland needed to be defended militarily.

The resources provided by public funds allocated to this are meagre, and they should not be used for purposes with relatively little benefit for Finland.

To put it simply, the main task of a Finnish cadre officer is to practice leading an army corps or brigade in a war, and not to push papers in the staff headquarters of some multinational force in a foreign country.

Finland also has a so-called good reputation around the world. Although Finland is in Afghanistan for legitimate reasons, the mission could damage this reputation.

"War is rough; it is hell", as one of the best American generals, William Tecumseh Sherman (1820–1891) said.

Like any other soldier, a Finn is capable of shooting a prisoner of war, or raping a civilian.

In a theatre of operations like Afghanistan, the likelihood of such an event is greater than in a traditional peacekeeping operation.

If this were to happen, the sad news would be remembered around the world for a long time.

A different kind of hypothesis: what if a Finnish patrol were to stop a car in Afghanistan with Osama bin Laden in it? Would Finland hand bin Laden over to the Americans, incur the hatred of militant Muslims, and thus increase the likelihood of a terror attack in Finland?

We are in Afghanistan and that cannot be changed. However, it is in Finland's interest to reduce rather than increase the military presence there.

If and when Finland wants to help Afghanistan, civilian crisis management and development cooperation are the right way for a small country like Finland to assist others.

It may sound cynical, but often the best way to help a damaged state is to leave it to its own devices, and not to interfere in its internal affairs.

This does not mean that Finland should completely stop all aid.

Market-driven economic cooperation, support for education and family planning, and the improvement of the position of women and girls come to mind first. This is also the case in Afghanistan.



John - :smirk:

[FinnFreak]

STT - 2.8.2007 at 12:32


Russians take Finnish-built sub to record 4,3km under North Pole


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/02/Mir_front.jpg/450px-Mir_front.jpg


A Finnish-built submersible manned by Russian polar explorers has reached the seabed under the geographic North Pole, Russian state broadcaster Vesti reported on Thursday.

The depth reached by the Mir-1 submersible, 4,261 metres, marks a record in polar waters.

In a controversial effort to extend sovereignty to the mineral-rich seabed, the submariners were to place a Russian flag made of titanium on the bottom of the sea.

Mir-1 and Mir-2 were delivered by Finland's Rauma-Repola to the then Soviet Academy of Sciences in 1987.



Production of the two MIRs was a prime example of Finnish-Soviet economic and technical co-operation during the Cold War. The level of technology flowing into the Soviet Union raised concern in the U.S. and Rauma-Repola was privately threatened with economic sanctions. The main concern for the U.S. was the possibility of Soviet Union to manufacture a pioneer submarine fleet that could clear the ocean floor of U.S. deep sea listening equipment. With the possibility of losing its lucrative off-shore oil platforms market Rauma-Repola yielded, and submarine development ceased in Finland. One project that was abandonend was the development of a fuel cell based air-independent propulsion system.

The 122 meters long support vessel R/V Akademik Mstislav Keldysh was also built in Finland, at the Hollming shipyard in Rauma in 1981 (now Aker Finnyards).

In the mid 1990s and early 2000s, MIR vehicles were used by American producer James Cameron to film the wreck of the RMS Titanic for his 1997 film Titanic and the wreck of the Bismarck for his 2002 documentary film Expedition: Bismarck.



John - ;)

[Troll]

Cool sub.

[FinnFreak]

Cool sub.

...4,3 km under the North Pole..? - you better believe it's cool. :D



STT - 2.8.2007


Nokia says global handset share up at 38 pct


http://newsroom.finland.fi/netcomm/ImgLib/3/115/0803_nokia_b.jpg
Finnish telecom giant Nokia's global market share of mobile phones rose to
38 % while Q2 earnings more than doubled to 2.8 billion euros. The shares
of the world's leading mobile phone maker surged 7 % on the Helsinki Stock
Exchange.


Finnish mobile telecommunications behemoth Nokia on Thursday reported its April-to-June pretax profit jumping to about 2.45 billion euros from some 1.57 billion in the year-ago period on net sales of about 12.59 billion, up from about 9.81 billion.

The increases in profit and net sales are partly attributable to the inclusion of Nokia Siemens Networks figures in the consolidated accounts since 1 April.

The mobile phone market leader said in a statement it had sold 100.8 million handsets in the second quarter, up 29 per cent year-on-year, returning an estimated global device market share of 38 per cent, up from 36 per cent in the first quarter and 34 per cent in the year-ago period.

Said in a statement Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, the chief executive of Nokia, "Nokia now has some major hit products across what is already the industry's broadest product portfolio."

"I am particularly encouraged by the success of a number of recently launched higher end devices, which made a strong contribution to increased profitability."

Mr Kallasvuo added that Nokia Siemens Networks had had a challenging second quarter, with weak sales and margins calling for "decisive action".



John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - SPORT - Monday 6.8.2007


Marcus Grönholm takes historic seventh win in Rally of Finland

Rally ace wants to concentrate on season's remaining races, not career speculations

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135229285387.jpeg
Marcus Grönholm owns the Rally of Finland. The native of Inkoo has secured seven
victories in the race, the last four of which have been consecutive. His record equals
that of the legendary Hannu Mikkola, who won repeatedly between 1968 and 1983.
Markku Alen has six victories and Tommi Mäkinen five in an event that has proved
very hard for a foreign driver to win. On this occasion, too, the only real opposition
to Grönholm came from his Ford team-mate and fellow Finn Mikko Hirvonen.


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135229285393.jpeg
Mikko Hirvonen is ready to become the next Finnish rally hero if rumours of
Grönholm's possible retirement prove true...


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135229272246.jpeg
Marcus Grönholm was untouchable on the gravel roads of Central Finland. The next
rally, in Germany, will be a tougher proposition: the asphalt surface is likely to
favour his Citroen rival Sebasten Loeb.


Finnish rally ace Marcus Grönholm made motor sports history on Sunday by securing his seventh win in the Rally of Finland, raced in the surroundings of the city of Jyväskylä. Grönholm left open the possibility of an eighth assault on the event next year.

For the fourth time in a row, Grönholm’s race had a wet ending as he was drenched in champagne upon entering Jyväskylä as the race winner. Besides Grönholm’s seventh win, an additional cause for celebration was the 1-2 finish for both Finland and Ford, as team-mate Mikko Hirvonen took second place.

The only statistical blemish for Grönholm and his co-pilot Timo Rautiainen is from 2003, when they had to pull out of the race with a broken bearing.

"Otherwise we’d have a pretty good straight flush", Grönholm commented cheerfully.

In Rautiainen’s opinion the first victory was the tastiest of them all, but the last one comes a close second.

Hirvonen’s brave fight for victory worked to Grönholm’s advantage in his battle for this year’s World Rally Championship title, for his closest rival in the overall points, the Frenchman Sebastien Loeb, was left in third.

"Had Mikko merely settled for securing second place, Loeb would surely have beaten him to it", commented Rautiainen.

The big question now being asked is whether Grönholm will retire from the rally circuit at the end of the season.

"I’d really rather not think about it now. After all, we still have seven races left this season”, said Grönholm, starting to exhibit signs of irritation at such enquiries.

"Of course everybody wants to know what I plan to do in the future, but I believe that what is more important is that I win the Championship this year."

According to Grönholm, the possible World Championship (it would be his third) will not affect his decision whether to continue in the sport. He said has negotiated with his employer about his future, and when the decision should be made.

"There is no hurry", Grönholm noted, and the Ford team boss Malcolm Wilson agreed with him.

According to Wilson, it would be a great loss to the sport should Grönholm decide to quit. However, Ford would stand behind Grönholm’s decision, whatever it might be, he added.

"Maybe this latest win will give Marcus the confidence to keep on going."

Wilson was of the opinion that the 1-2 finish for Ford was the best ever showing by the team.

"This is the fastest race on the calendar, and it requires the most skills from the drivers. This is a day to remember."

Grönholm finished the race without a single mistake, clocking the fastest times on 17 of the 23 special stages.

The only driver who managed to pose even a theoretical threat was Hirvonen. Curent World Champion Loeb, in turn, was surprisingly tame.

"I could not completely trust in my car", Loeb explained.

In the World Championship standings Grönholm now has a 13-point lead over Loeb. Of the remaining seven races four will be competed on asphalt, however, slightly favouring the Frenchman. The first of these is the German Rally in two week’s time. Customarily Loeb has dominated the German event.

In the manufacturer’s table Ford now leads Citroën by 40 points. According to Ford, it is particularly encouraging that the team has not encountered any problems with the new car. Wilson confirms that the team can't wait for the upcoming asphalt races.

"We must accept the possibility of Citroën securing a double victory in Germany or Corsica. But our drivers believe the car can be even better on asphalt."



John - ;):up:

[Troll]

Scientists find ancient chewing gum in Finland
Stone Age birch-bark tar is between 5,500 and 6,000 years old

HELSINKI, Finland - Finns, who introduced a birch-tree sweetener for gum, have found that the habit of chewing sticky lumps dates back thousands of years. Last month, students in western Finland found a piece of Stone Age birch-bark tar, believed to have been used for chewing and to fix broken arrowheads or clay dishes, archaeologists said Monday.

"Most likely the lump was used as an antique kind of chewing gum," said Sami Viljamaa, an archaeologist who led the dig near Oulu, some 380 miles north of the capital, Helsinki. "But its main purpose was to fix things."

Viljamaa said the piece of Neolithic gum was found among artifacts, like dishes and jewelry, in a Stone Age village at the Kierikki Stone Age Center. "It's somewhere between 5,500 and 6,000 years old," he said.

The ancient Finnish habit of chewing gum surged in the 1980s when Finnish scientists discovered that gum containing xylitol, a natural sweetener found in plant tissue including birch trees, prevents tooth decay. Schools began to give xylitol gum free to children after meals, and sales of chewing gum almost doubled during five years as xylitol's popularity grew.

The ancient gum was found by British student Sarah Pickin, who was assisted by four other students at the site, Viljamaa said. "They also found an amber ring and a slate arrowhead, which were great finds," he added.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20365582/?GT1=10252

[dreamer]

omg!!!!!lol

[Troll]

http://www.bestweekever.tv/2007/08/23/the-finnish-ymca-is-much-gayer-than-the-american-one/

[Troll]

Cellular phone throwing turns artistic
Distance event winner hurls handset 98 yards, just short of record

SAVONLINNA, Finland - Juggling rather than throwing his mobile phone, a teenaged circus performer won the freestyle gold medal at the world championships on Saturday.

Taco Cohen of the Netherlands, who was celebrating his 19th birthday, used acrobatics and juggling in his performance which was judged on aesthetics and artistic impression.

He told Reuters his performance reflected his training in a youth circus. "Juggling I have done for many years with balls. (But) these are irregular shapes and weights, it is difficult."

Finnish domination in the distance event continued when Tommi Huotari took gold with a throw of 89.62 meters (294 feet), a few short of the world record.

"I have never thrown a phone before but have been participating in potato-throwing ... surprisingly, a potato flies further," said the 38-year-old engineer.

"I am sure everyone would like to throw their phone away every once in a while."

Event organizer Christine Lund said the contest reflected people's love-hate relationship with the mobile phone.

This contest speaks to people the world over as mobile phones are a blessing and a curse ... phones have become a part of the modern man, and sometimes many of us would like to remove that part."

Originally a local event in this small town close to the Russian border, the contest drew contestants from Canada, Austria and the United States.

(c) Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20447405/wid/11915829?GT1=10252

[FinnFreak]

heh...

I haven't checked Phil's thoughts on Finland for a while...




Finland For Thought - 29.8.2007


Firearm ownership in Finland is the third highest in the world

http://www.yle.fi/news/left/id68460_1.jpg


Finland has the third highest number of guns in the world, yet everyone isn’t shooting each other!? This must really confuse the anti-gun advocates! Or maybe, it’s not the *guns* that are the problem (http://www.yle.fi/news/left/id68460.html)…??

Firearm ownership in Finland is the third highest per capita in the world, according to a new international survey.

The Small Arms Survey 2007 by the Geneva-based Graduate Institute of International Studies says that there are 56 guns for every 100 residents in the country.

On a per-capita basis, the United States has the world’s most heavily armed citizenry, with 90 guns per 100 people, followed by Yemen with 61 per 100 people, and then Finland.

The study says that civilians hold around 650 million handguns worldwide, 40 percent of them in the United States.

Other countries with high per capita levels of private firearms are Switzerland (46), Iraq (39), Canada (31), Sweden (31) and Germany (30).

According to researchers, gun violence often occurs in places undergoing rapid urban growth, and when lawless areas are created by extreme poverty and the absence of effective policing.



:uhh: - ok... we don't have rapid urban growth, no extreme poverty - no lawless areas, and the few police we've got are highly respected. I guess that should explain it.


John - ;)

[canoilers]

I'm surprised that Canada isn't higher. Knowing that people in this Province like their guns. It's not uncommon to find a gun rack in the back of someones pick-up here.

Thanks for the article John.

[FinnFreak]

...here's another statistic provided by Phil:



Finland For Thought - 23.8.2007


Nordic road fatalities

http://www.finlandforthought.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/road_fatalities.gif


Why does Finland lead the Scandinavian nations in road fatalities? Don’t say “alcohol tax drop” because Finland has always lead in traffic deaths (http://www.yle.fi/news/left/id68057.html), and it seems almost every country (http://www.swivel.com/data_sets/show/1004936) has seen a dramatic decrease since 1990.

A total of 41 people were killed in road accidents during the month of July in Finland. This is eight more than in the same month last year.

According to a recent study at Berkley (http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2007/08/13_cellphone.shtml), mobile phone while driving does not cause more accidents…

It’s conventional wisdom that talking on cell phones while driving is risky business, but two University of California, Berkeley, graduate student economists report that a spike in cell phone use in recent years and on weekday evenings is not matched by an increase in fatal or non-fatal car crashes from 2002-2005.



hmmm... lots of reasons why Finland is different compared to the other Nordic countries: high car tax - old vehicles, more sparsely populated - longer driving distances, poor road conditions - long winter - slippery roads, moose accidents...

...maybe that's why we produce good Rally and Formula 1 drivers..?


John - ;)

[canoilers]

Oh great and we're the worst. :rolleyes: I guess since being Edmonton is known for having the worst drivers in Canada we make up most of those numbers. Edmonton has the highest insurance rates in Canada, I think its 500 bucks cheaper to drive in Calgary than Edmonton.

[Troll]

Thanks for the articles.

[Troll]

Japanese man remains air guitar champion

OULU, Finland - A Japanese man out-"played" challengers to win the Air Guitar World Championship for the second consecutive year at a contest in northern Finland.

Ochi Yosuke received the highest score from a panel of judges in the final late Friday at the Teatria rock club in Oulu, near the Arctic Circle.

Apart from the glory, he received a custom-made Flying Finn electric guitar worth $3,400.

The talent on display was variable at best. The surprise of the qualifying round was Oulu native Hilkka "Gore Kitty" Suvanto, who has twice before scored the lowest points ever in that round but now achieved a perfect six from many of the judges.

However, it was Ochi who impressed the judges the most in the final showdown, ahead of Guillaume "Moche Pitt" de Tonquedec, of France, and Austria's Max "Herr Jaquelin" Heller.

"It's great. We've seen all the nations, united nations, 'rocking on the free world' and that's good, that's great," de Tonquedec said.

One of the favorites for the title was American Andrew "William Ocean" Litz, whose act ends in a spectacular backflip onto an empty beer can. He finished 11th.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070909/ap_on_fe_st/odd_air_guitar_championship;_ylt=AuNiu8b84f6ipU24A EwpPMKs0NUE

[FinnFreak]

Finnish pair win inaugural Eurovision Dance Contest


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135229812588.jpeg


The Finnish pair of Jussi Väänänen and Katja Koukkula won the inaugural Eurovision Dance Contest in London on Saturday night. As with the more famous Eurovision Song Contest (which Finland won in 2006 with Lordi), viewers from across Europe voted for their favorite couple by phone and SMS.

The Finns scored 132 points, just enough to pip Ukraine on 121, with Ireland (95 points) taking third a respectful distance behind.

The Finnish pair danced a rumba to All in Love is Fair, and for their freestyle dance they chose a paso doble to Apocalyptica's The Unforgiven.

The win does not mean Finland will be hosting yet another Eurovision extravaganza, as the 2008 Dance Contest will also be held in London, in spite of the fact that the UK entry finished only 15th of the 16 nations taking part. Switzerland were in the unenviable position of taking "null points".



John - :D

[FinnFreak]

NewsRoom Finland:


Teemu Selänne The Most Positive Finn in 2007


http://newsroom.finland.fi/netcomm/ImgLib/3/115/0907_teemu_b.jpg


Ice hockey player Teemu Selänne has been elected most positive Finn of the year.
The choice was made by Junior Chambers of Commerce International Finland and
the "Positiivarit" association that promotes positive thinking. Selänne has had a
dazzling career in the North American hockey league, the NHL.



John - ;):up:

[Troll]

Great articles.

[FinnFreak]

The Sydney Morning Herald:


TV broadcasts switch to digital in Finland


Finnish television transmissions switched to digital on Saturday, 1st of September, when broadcasters turned off analogue transmitters, causing black screens for tens of thousands of viewers.

The transition, preceded by a monthslong campaign advising viewers of the switch, does not affect cable TV households which have until February to acquire converter boxes or digital televisions.

Finland has 2.3 million households owning television sets in a population of 5.3 million. In August, more than 220,000 households receiving terrestrial broadcasts did not have digital converters or televisions, according to the government statistics agency.

Also, a few thousand households in remote areas will not be able to receive digital signals until new transmitter masts are built.

Digital broadcasts began in Finland 2001. Three years later, the government decided to end analogue programming on Aug. 31, 2007.



woohoo - it's all zeros & 1s from now on - the TVs are either on or off (no phreakin' fuzzy logic)


John - :p

[Troll]

Thanks for the info

[canoilers]

NewsRoom Finland:


Teemu Selänne The Most Positive Finn in 2007


http://newsroom.finland.fi/netcomm/ImgLib/3/115/0907_teemu_b.jpg


Ice hockey player Teemu Selänne has been elected most positive Finn of the year.
The choice was made by Junior Chambers of Commerce International Finland and
the "Positiivarit" association that promotes positive thinking. Selänne has had a
dazzling career in the North American hockey league, the NHL.



John - ;):up:Probably helps to have one of them rings on his finger, not the Stanely Cup ring, one of those ones he got from the quater machine at the entrance of his local grocery store. I know I'm always happy when I get one myself... not that the Stanely Cup ring wouldn't make you happy but its just not the same.

[canoilers]

Finnish pair win inaugural Eurovision Dance Contest


http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135229812588.jpeg


The Finnish pair of Jussi Väänänen and Katja Koukkula won the inaugural Eurovision Dance Contest in London on Saturday night. As with the more famous Eurovision Song Contest (which Finland won in 2006 with Lordi), viewers from across Europe voted for their favorite couple by phone and SMS.

The Finns scored 132 points, just enough to pip Ukraine on 121, with Ireland (95 points) taking third a respectful distance behind.

The Finnish pair danced a rumba to All in Love is Fair, and for their freestyle dance they chose a paso doble to Apocalyptica's The Unforgiven.

The win does not mean Finland will be hosting yet another Eurovision extravaganza, as the 2008 Dance Contest will also be held in London, in spite of the fact that the UK entry finished only 15th of the 16 nations taking part. Switzerland were in the unenviable position of taking "null points".



John - :DIt's nice to see Dracula has a hobby between feedings. :p

[FinnFreak]

...ever heared the joke about when Alko (the Finnish equivalent to Systembolaget) was creating their own whisky blend, Viski 88..? (yuck)


Well, they had many consultings from Scotland - mainly from Johnnie Walker - advice, tricks and magic spells... and after years and years and years of Finns working on this "revolutionary" blend, they finally got the product ready & sent a sample of Viski 88 to Scotland for a honest opinion.

The very next week they got a letter from Johnnie Walker in Kilmarnock, containing a short sentence:


"Your horse seems to suffer from severe diabetes"



John - :p

[FinnFreak]

;)

Yes, people - it's THAT time of the year once again...


:uhh: - This might come as a real shocker for those outside Finland, but...

erm... just see the promotional video clip: (click the title below)


Rare Exports Finland (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7410917875860931969)



John - :p

[Troll]

An interesting article.

[FinnFreak]

STT - 19.9.2007


Finland is a brand superpower


The ratio of the value of Finnish brands to the country's gross domestic product is the highest in Europe, Vienna-based European Brand Institute said Tuesday.

According to the institute, the value of Finnish brands amounts to almost a third of GDP, compared with just over a quarter in Switzerland, the country ranked second in the EBI table.

Finland's high ranking is largely attributable to mobile phone maker Nokia, a brand that the EBI values at more than 32 billion euros, the highest among European marques.

Behind Nokia come Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy, Unilever, Telefonica, Vodafone and Mercedes-Benz.


* * *


HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - HOME - Thursday 20.9.2007


Study argues that Finns are not in bad mood on Mondays

Watch out for Wednesday afternoons, especially if dealing with parents of small children


According to a recent survey conducted by the Finnish market research company Taloustutkimus, the ancient idea of Finns being morose after the weekend is all wrong.

The survey indicated that only some 2.5 per cent of Finns are in a bad mood on Monday afternoons, while as many as 47.7 per cent of respondents said that they are in a good mood at the beginning of the week.

In general, families with children tend to be more sullen than childless couples. The survey showed that 54 per cent of mothers and fathers were in a bad mood by midday, while the corresponding figure for couples without children was only 37 per cent and for singles some 40 per cent. Which, of course, does not say much for the joys of parenthood.

Apparently, holidays are also a difficult period for many families with children. Some 60 per cent of parents reported having been in a foul mood already by noon on an ordinary day off.

The survey indicated further that for those Finns who go to work, Wednesday afternoons are the most trying, while weekends are the least stressful. However, some respondents reported having experienced bad temper after shopping on Saturdays, particularly just before guests are being expected in the afternoon or evening. Sound familiar?

Taloustutkimus surveyed the time usage and emotional states of around 3,000 Finns aged 12 to 79 over the period from mid-May to mid-July 2007. The results of the survey were published on Monday.


phöh - I can be cranky any day of the week - and so can the wife :p


* * *


Finland For Thought - 19.9.2007


Innocents (Idiots?) Abroad - Five US Citizens Seek Asylum in Finland


Oh man. The border guards got a surprise (http://iltasanomat.fi/uutiset/kotimaa/uutinen.asp?id=1437905).

Now as these American asylum-seekers came within the Schengen area, according to the Dublin agreement they will be sent back to their entry point in the EU. Which is a bit of a downput from the news perspective, as by all probability the Finnish authorities won’t even make any kind of assessment on their application.


Comment at FFT:

IS:n tietojen mukaan Suomeen tulleet amerikkalaiset kuuluvat samaan yhteisöön. Turvapaikkaoikeuden pyynnön syytä ei vielä virallisesti tiedetä, mutta se ei liity Irakin sodan protestointiin.

So, apparently nothing to do with Iraq. “Yhteisö” in this context makes me think about some religious sect. Santa worshippers, perhaps?


Five U.S. citizens seek asylum from Finland

All in a day's work, they say, but it was not exactly a routine occurrence for the immigration officials at Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport on Tuesday evening, when a family of five United States citizens asked for asylum in Finland.

The group arrived in Finland from another Schengen country. This is unlikely to improve their prospects of being granted asylum, owing to the terms of the Dublin Convention, which generally assumes that someone seeking asylum is required to apply in the member-state first entered.

The authorities are not at liberty to divulge the reasons given for the application for asylum, but at least according to current information it is not believed to have any connection with the war in Iraq.

It is quite exceptional for US nationals to seek asylum in Finland.

According to the statistics of the Directorate of Immigration (UVI), before Tuesday's events just one American citizen had filed an asylum application here during the current decade. The Directorate will now consider the latest application.

The story was first reported on the online portal of Ilta-Sanomat on Wednesday.



John - :p

[Troll]

Thanks for the articles

[FinnFreak]

Finnish quote of the month:

Me emme emmi mämmiämme - lenkkiämme lämmitämme


John - :p