Finland, Finland, Finland - come in y'all..! ;) [Archive] - Page 6

FinnFreak

10-05-2007, 5:02am

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - SPORT - Friday 5.10.2007

NHL - Finnish goalies galore

Five Finnish goaltenders are #1 on team rosters; a dozen have NHL contracts

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135230718612.jpeg
The first and thus far the only Finnish player on the
Detroit Red Wings team Valtteri Filppula puts the puck
past Calgary Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff during last
spring's play-offs. Detroit extinguished the Flames by
4 games to 2 and progressed to the Western Conference
finals, where they were knocked out by eventual winners
Anaheim.

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135230718604.jpeg
Finns in the NHL, 2007/2008 (situation as of October 1st 2007)

By Martin Palm in Vancouver

North America’s National Hockey League made a false start in Europe at the weekend, when the Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks - last season’s Stanley Cup winners - met twice in London.

More than 30,000 European hockey fans turned out to watch the games, which ended honours even as the Kings first beat the Ducks 4-1 on Saturday and then Anaheim rebounded to take a 4-1 victory of their own on Sunday.

So Europe has had a taste of the action, and across the Atlantic the regular NHL season gets underway tomorrow, Wednesday.

There were no Finns on the ice in the two matches at the O2 Arena in London.

In a sense this was a little surprising, since there are now more than 50 Finnish ice hockey players with an NHL contract in their pocket.

In as many as 26 of the NHL’s 30 teams there is at least one Finnish name on the roster. Of these teams, at least 18 are likely to play through the entire upcoming season with a Finn among their number.

A good many Finnish players will nevertheless end up being disappointed, since they will spend the entire season in a farm team in the AHL. At least 21 of the more than fifty Finns will in fact be starting out in the lower echelons, and will be trying to make it up to the big league from there.

If things go on the way they seem to be going, there will probably be around 30-32 Finnish players on the NHL ice this season.

Last year’s total was 30, and in the years before that it was 31, 31, and 32. The current "Finnish record" dates from ther 2001-2002 season, when no fewer than thirty-six Finns played in the world’s toughest hockey league.

It is nevertheless perhaps only fair to say that four of them actually made just one NHL appearance during the season.

This year the strongest Finnish showing by a long chalk is among the goaltenders:

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135230718610.jpeg
Niklas Bäckström, Minnesota Wild

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135230718620.jpeg
Miikka Kiprusoff, Calgary Flames

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135230718614.jpeg
Kari Lehtonen, Atlanta Thrashers

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135230718616.jpeg
Fredrik Norrena, Columbus Blue Jackets

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135230718618.jpeg
Vesa Toskala, Toronto Maple Leafs

They will all be heading into the new season as their team’s first-choice goaltender.

Antero Niittymäki (Philadelphia Flyers) and Hannu Toivonen (St. Louis Blues) are strong backup men.

Aside from these seven, there are five more Finnish goaltenders with an NHL contract. If we also note that 19-year-old Riku Helenius, who played last season for Ilves of Tampere, has gone off to play junior hockey with the Seattle Thunderbirds in the Western Hockey League, and that Mika Noronen (who earlier played for Buffalo Sabres) chose in 2006 to play in Russia, it basically means the fourteen teams in the Finnish SM-Liiga have lost fourteen top-drawer goalies between them.

Some might say that 12 NHL goalies isn’t so much to get excited about, but apparently it is, as the Swedes are distinctly bitter over the number of Finns suiting up between the posts.

If every one of the Finnish goaltenders in the NHL plays at least one game this season, it will mean that Finnish goalies account for around 15% of all the goaltenders in the league.

We would only arrive at that sort of percentage among the defensemen and the forwards if there were more than 120 Finnish players skating in the NHL during the season.

For some inexplicable reason, goalies do seem to be a strong Finnish export item: much the same imbalance has also been in evidence in football’s English Premiership.

Three of the eighteen Finnish players who have turned out for sides in the top English soccer league have played between the posts: Peter Enckelman, Antti Niemi, and Jussi Jääskeläinen.

But back to hockey. Six Finns have won the Stanley Cup during the 90-year history of the NHL.

The most recent holder of a prized Stanley Cup ring is

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135229239069.jpeg
Teemu Selänne of Anaheim Ducks.

Selänne, 37, is currently pondering whether to continue his career or hang up his skates. He did not suit up for Anaheim during their trip to London.

The chances of seeing the Stanley Cup paraded in Finland again next summer are relatively slim.

On only two occasions have Finnish names been inscribed on the trophy in successive years: in 1984 & 1985 Jari Kurri did it, and in 1987 and 1988 Kurri and Esa Tikkanen pulled off the feat. In fact in 1987 there were three Finnish names engraved there, as Reijo Ruotsalainen was also a member of the all-conquering Edmonton Oilers team.

John - ;)

Troll

10-05-2007, 2:39pm

Study says Finland best for living

HELSINKI (Reuters) - The Nordic countries are the world's greenest and, despite the cold winters, Finland is the best country to live in, according to a Reader's Digest study released on Friday.

Finland was followed by Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Austria.

"Finland wins high marks for air and water quality, a low incidence of infant disease and how well it protects citizens from water pollution and natural disasters," the study said.

The United States was 23rd on the list of 141 countries, Britain was 25th and China 84th. Nations at the bottom of the table were all African.

Stockholm scored as the best city to live in out of 72 major metropolitan hubs, followed by Oslo, Munich and Paris. Four German cities won a spot in the top 10 list. New York was 15th and London 27th.

The dirtiest cities were in Asia, with Beijing, host of next summer's Olympic, at the bottom because of its air pollution.

The study was conducted by U.S. environmental economist Matthew Kahn, who looked at issues such as quality of drinking water and greenhouse gas emissions as well as factors such as education and income.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071005/wl_nm/climate_nordics_dc

FinnFreak

10-09-2007, 9:19am

Yeppers, there are some articles here every now & then about how ridiculous it is for shops even sell bottled water - as they might sit on the shop shelves for god knows how long - as the water we flush our toilets with has a much lower bacteria count.

...don't know how long the statistics will stay that good considering the natural disasters: since the Russians' oil transports to Europe by sea increases several hundred % each year... there's gonna be a serious spill at some point - it's really more a question of "when" than "if"...

John - :shocked:

FinnFreak

10-09-2007, 9:36am

...WTF..?!? - Welcome To Finland

http://www.welcometofinland.fi

:uhh: ...yet another English language magazine published in Finland..? - But wait..!

Publisher:

Tekir Oy
Hietalahdenranta 13
00180 Helsinki

http://www.tekir.fi

Tekir Oy - Siivouspalvelut

Tarjoamme asiakkaillemme seuraavia puhtaanapitopalveluita:

- Toimistosiivous
- Suursiivoukset
- Muuttosiivoukset
- Lisäpalvelut: Ikkunanpesu, silitys

:huh: - ?

John - :p

manmangler

10-13-2007, 4:12pm

Warning to every finnish. Change your password or check that you are not that list.

Swedish hacker team has reveal abou 79 000 finnish password and usernames.

Voi katsoa listan Muropaketin yleistä keskustelua osastolta. En pistä suoraa linkkiä, koska en tiedä laillisuudesta.

Tällä kerralla oli onni matkassa. Omia tunnuksia ei löytynyt. Tarkistin pari muuta nimeä, onneksi ei löytynyt.

Myyde

10-14-2007, 1:31pm

:huh: finnish passwords has been hacked? Does that mean that those passwords are for sites like, ?????.fi (finnish sites) or..?

Obviously you saw that list (now it`s removed). Was there mentioned what sites those passwords/user names belongs? If sites were mentioned, then i don`t get why no one can say those sites. Just change your passwords! All of them?...sure.:smirk:

manmangler

10-14-2007, 2:49pm

All kind sites like forums. Some have they real e-mailaddress added to after Username and Password.

Well list don't say what sites but there are rumours where You can try some of those. Saddly many peoples uses same Usernames and Passwords in different sites.

Myyde

10-15-2007, 10:47am

OK, thanks.

Well, things goes very complicated if one puts very difficult and different passwords/user name every
place. Well, anyway i guess that there wasn`t passwords like this.:p

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/Myyde/salasana.jpg

FinnFreak

10-15-2007, 5:02pm

nääh... they didn't get me.

:scowl: ...damn, those Swedes deserve a spanking..!

John - :p

Myyde

10-15-2007, 5:58pm

:scowl: ...damn, those Swedes deserve a spanking..!

John - :p

Indeed.:p

Tekijöiksi Viestintävirasto epäilee suomalaisia.
Ei kai tätä tarvii kellekää kertoo.;)

FinnFreak

10-16-2007, 2:31am

Ei, kyllä meillä on kaheleita omastakin takaa - ja riittää, että me se tieretään...

...mutta annetaan vaan ruåttalaisille piiskaa, sillä ne pysyy pitkään tyytyväisinä.

John - :p

FinnFreak

10-16-2007, 6:01am

Now... recently, The Daily Show and Colbert Report have both been suggesting it's time for the U.S. to invade Finland... :huh:

...some innocent fun on Comedy Central - or, perhaps something to be really concerned about..? :really:

http://www.comedycentral.com/motherload/index.jhtml?ml_video=109188

John - :p

FinnFreak

10-24-2007, 6:59am

NewsRoom Finland:

Finnish Nature Photo of the Year 2007

http://newsroom.finland.fi/netcomm/ImgLib/3/115/1023_sudet_b.jpg

"The Chase", three wolves chasing a bear, a picture taken by
Lassi Rautiainen has been chosen as the Finnish Nature Photo
of the Year 2007.

The photo was taken near Kuhmo in eastern Finland.

John - ;)

Troll

10-24-2007, 9:54am

Cool pic

aFinn

10-24-2007, 5:25pm

Now... recently, The Daily Show and Colbert Report have both been suggesting it's time for the U.S. to invade Finland... :huh:Why isn't anybody suggesting that Finland invade Sweden, that sounds better :p

FinnFreak

10-25-2007, 2:13am

Why isn't anybody suggesting that Finland invade Sweden, that sounds better :p

I think Finland has enough kebab/pizza restaurants already..? :p

John - ;)

canoilers

10-25-2007, 8:50am

:shocked: There's such a thing as too many Pizza joints now? :hmmm: :huh: :dunno: I didn't even think that could possibly happen. I suppose your gonna tell me there's such a thing as too much money. :really:

Troll

10-25-2007, 10:04am

FinnFreak

10-25-2007, 3:40pm

When one lives in the same town where the HQ of the largest fast food chain in Scandinavia... well, let's just say that the sight of a salad bar is quite welcomed...

John - :p

FinnFreak

10-30-2007, 7:57am

NewsRoom Finland:

http://newsroom.finland.fi/netcomm/ImgLib/3/115/1030_rush_b.jpg

Canadian progressive rock band, Rush, played their first ever
concert in Finland on October 29. Alex Lifeson (left) and Geddy
Lee are pictured here on stage at the Hartwall Arena in Helsinki.

John - ;):up:

Troll

10-30-2007, 10:34am

That is cool.

FinnFreak

11-01-2007, 4:44am

aFinn

11-01-2007, 3:27pm

:funny: - "Why aren't you as handsome as Jamie Olivier?" :biglaugh:
I thought it was the best, and not the worst question he's ever been asked :funny:

I do agree with him about mämmi :p

Myyde

11-01-2007, 6:38pm

Click on the video button:

http://www.hs.fi/kaupunki/artikkeli/Kauhukokki+aukoi+p%C3%A4%C3%A4t%C3%A4%C3%A4n+pikav ierailulla+Helsingiss%C3%A4/1135231413807

...and:

http://nettitv.mtv3.fi/nettitv_uutiset/index.shtml/nettitv_uutiset/ajankohtaisohjelmat/huomentasuomi?113266#113266

:funny: - "Why aren't you as handsome as Jamie Olivier?" :biglaugh:

Priceless.

John - :p

Hilarious clips. Indeed.:funny:

Pure Finnish hospilaty. Why do you look so stupid, oh and welcome here...:funny::up:

I do agree with him about mämmi :p

Well, who doesn`t?:uhh: Doesn`t need to be Einstein to figure that one out.:p

FinnFreak

11-02-2007, 3:33am

:shocked: - ...but... but... I LIKE mämmi..!!! :sad:

John - :p

FinnFreak

11-02-2007, 8:44am

Iltalehti - 02.11.2007

The Swedes like the Finns

The people of Sweden like Finland and the Finns more than the Finns like the Swedes

http://kuvat.iltalehti.fi/uutiset/ruotsinlippuSL_uu.jpg
Swedish and Finnish colors fly together at the Market Square in Vaasa

According to a Swedish-Finnish study, a significant cultural distance can be found
between the two neighboring people with centuries of shared historical ties.

In addition, the Finns know considerably more about the Swedes than vice versa.
The Finnish attitudes and values are much more conservative than those of the
Swedish, therefore making the Finns resemble more like other Europeans.

I like the Swedes - they're like mämmi - in so many ways: surströmming. ;)

John - :p

Troll

11-02-2007, 9:51am

That is interesting

FinnFreak

11-05-2007, 10:25am

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - FOREIGN - Monday 5.11.2007

Finnish horseback adventurers arrested
on their way to Tiananmen Square

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135231550505.jpeg
Tony Ilmoni (left) and Kristian Nyman riding in Northern China in August.
Their journey was supposed to end last Saturday in Tiananmen Square in Beijing.

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135231550507.jpeg
The map shows how the route taken by Ilmoni and Nyman replicates that of
the overland horseback expedition made in 1906 by C.G.E. Mannerheim, then
a Lieutenant Colonel in the Russian Imperial Army.

Within sight of the finish line to their ride across China, Kristian Nyman, 63, and Tony Ilmoni, 55, were arrested in Beijing on Saturday morning.

The men were following in the footsteps of Carl Gustav Mannerheim, Finland’s war-time Commander-in-Chief and President from 1944 to 1946, who made a journey to China on horseback in 1906 to 1908, mapping the area for Russian military purposes. At the time, more than a decade before Finnish independence, Mannerheim was an officer in the Russian Imperial Army.

Nyman and Ilmoni were seized and taken into custody when they were riding towards Tiananmen Square, which is China’s political heart and the site of a number of political events. Today the square is primarily known for the violent suppression of student protests that took place there in 1989.

Kristian Nyman and Tony Ilmoni started their journey from Kyrgyzstan last autumn. After a winter break, they continued the trip in Western China in March.

The ride to Tiananmen Square was to be the culmination of the trip on Saturday, but just before they reached the square, a dozen police officers took them for interrogations to the police station located inside the Forbidden City.

Nyman and Ilmoni were informed that as they did not have appropriate permits they would be deported immediately.

However, the Finnish Embassy managed to intervene in the process, and the men were allowed to return to their hotel on Saturday evening local time.

The adventurers were not deported after all, and they could stay in Beijing and have a few days’ holiday in the city, as they had initially planned.

"We had a permit to ride into Beijing, and there was no mention whatsoever of the Tiananmen Square being excluded", said Ilmoni.

The pair's modern trip across China was hardly as dangerous for the Chinese authorities as that a century ago: Mannerheim was acting quite as much as a reconnaisance officer and a spy as he was taking part in a French-led scientific expedition.

Aside from valuable data on possible routes for Russian troops, Mannerheim's two-year trip also spawned a great deal of ethnological and archaeological information and a priceless collection of photographs and artefacts.

Links:

Mannerheim´s Way (http://www.mannerheim1906.com/en/index.html)
Tiananmen Square (Wikipedia) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiananmen_Square)
Mannerheim in Asia (http://www.mannerheim.fi/05_s_ura/e_aasia.htm)

John - ;)

Troll

11-05-2007, 10:50am

That is interesting.

FinnFreak

11-14-2007, 7:17am

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - COLUMN - Wednesday 14.11.2007

Confidence is what we need

By Antti Blåfield

Finland is a grim and violent country, it is said. And then it gets repeated. There is no reason for a national sense of inferiority. Finns have demonstrated their ability to survive.

The ability to adapt to changing conditions has been demonstrated, as well as the ability to defend one's own freedom and that of others, and to grasp opportunities.

Just 150 years ago a large portion of the population died of hunger, and now we lament when we drop down to sixth place in the world's competitiveness index.

The concern is not that our darkest selves would again rise from the depths to the surface, but rather that people would feel that they are forcibly ripped from their roots and their values, which have been a morally sustaining force. The principle of moderation is embedded deep inside the Finnish mind.

Where is that moderation now?

When attempts are made to describe the present anguish, the presidency of Urho Kekkonen from the mid-1950s to the early 1980s has been evoked as a time of happiness.

It was also a time of adaptation, when the production machinery was geared up to serve the needs of the Soviet Union. It was also a time of growth: hopes were fulfilled, possibilities opened up.

The collapse of the Soviet Union also brought Finland closer to its real size in international trade.

The massive recession of the early 1990s was a barrier behind which the time of happiness has been kept safe. It is also the starting pont for adaptation to globalisation by Finland and its people.

During the Kekkonen era we became accustomed to a politics of a single truth, and we are still carried along a one truth path.

The difference is that being led on a leash used to bring rewards, but now we are being taken toward uncertainty.

It is not that leading politicians, civil servants, or corporate managers would do this out of sheer malice. From their own watchtowers, each of them can see menacing clouds growing on the horizon, and that is why it is wise to be prepared, to adapt, and to yield.

In the everyday lives of people it can be seen in the form of violent acts when jobs are eliminated, when day care centres and schools are closed, when social and health care services are adapted, when the state administration is rationalised according to the principles of business.

It is much less common today to hear the word "responsibility" in the civil service, and much more common to hear the word "productivity". And this message of yielding and productivity appears to be preached by those whose own benefits appear to be getting better all the time.

These conflicts and these sources of anguish in everyday life are part of the quiet gloom that circulates in the mind, that we would have reason to shun.

The mass killing in Jokela again showed the power and significance of the Church. People went to the churches to seek comfort and to share experiences.

The significance of the Church is worth keeping in mind when complaining about the right of the Church to levy the church tax.

A week ago, Jorma Ollila, Chairman of the Board of Nokia, Shell, and the Finnish Business and Policy Forum EVA, spoke in the church of Ylistaro, the home community of his mother. The key theme of his speech was trust.

"When mutual trust crumbles, we often come to a dead end. In such situations, leadership takes on a key role. Leadership ultimately involves the building of trust between people."

The sorrow and shock experienced this past week raise the question on what people can trust. The experiences of the week offer an opportunity and a possibility to deal with trust, and the lack of it.

Can the leaders see what things look like on the level of everyday life?

John - :)

Troll

11-14-2007, 9:54am

Interesting article.

FinnFreak

11-15-2007, 7:07am

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - CULTURE - Thursday 15.11.2007

Musical America names Kaija Saariaho Composer of the Year

http://www.resmusica.com/images/kaija_saariaho.jpg

Musical America, the U.S. publishing company for performing arts, has announced its 2008 Musician of the Year, continuing a tradition that dates back nearly a half-century, when Leonard Bernstein received the award, in 1960.

Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho was named the Composer of the Year, being among the few contemporary composers to achieve public acclaim as well as universal critical respect, according to the publishers.

Saariaho has new commissions from several major orchestras in the U.S. and Europe, while her second opera, Adriana Mater will receive its U.S. premiere at the Santa Fe Opera next summer.

In 2005 the Musical America Award was given to the Finnish soprano Karita Mattila, while the Conductor of the Year 2006 was the Finnish conductor and composer Esa-Pekka Salonen.

John - :)

aFinn

11-15-2007, 5:04pm

Hmm, I don't think I've ever heard of her :uhh:

FinnFreak

11-16-2007, 4:52am

;)

esctoday.com - NEWS - November 15th, 2007

Drag, metal, grunge, pop and schlager

Finland:

Meet the participants for Eurovision Song Contest 2008

By Stella Floras

The twelve acts that will fight it out for the chance to represent Finland in the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest have been announced today by YLE. Amongst the participants there is a drag act, two singers-songwriters at the beginning of their career, a super model and only one Idols finalist.

Cristal Snow

http://www.escfinland.eu/cristalsnow.jpg

Cristal has been performing from a young age. At the age of 20 she moved to New York to study in the theatre program at City College of New York. In New York she added performing in drag as an extension to her acting. In 2003 she had to return to Finland and eventually entered and won the annual Miss Drag Queen competition in 2006. She has released two singles "Cristal Clear" and "Pump It Up" which have been hugely successful in clubs and online. Her musical style is Electro pop.

www.cristalsnow.com/

www.myspace.com/cristalsnow

Crumbland

http://www.escfinland.eu/crumbland.jpg

Crumbland has existed as a band for several years. Band members are Jontte Genberg (vocals, guitar), Antti Pylkkänen (bass), Pexi Parviainen (drums) and Teemu Seppälä (guitar, b.vocals) In autumn 2005 Crumbland was signed to a small indie label called Terra Recordings, and their debut album was released in June 2007. The fourpiece make grungy indie rock.

www.myspace.com/crumbland

www.crumbland.com/

Hanna Marsh

http://www.escfinland.eu/hannamarsh.jpg

Hanna Marsh is a 27-year old singer-songwriter from Helsinki. She has studied music extensively and in August 2006, Hanna Marsh released her debut album "Chameleon Girl - Sleeping Under The Rising Sun" on EMI Finland, which consists entirely of her own songs. She wants to tell stories with her Tori Amos-esque songs, and she also states Kate Bush as one of her influences.

www.hannamarsh.com/

www.myspace.com/hannamarsh

Jenna Bågeberg

http://www.escfinland.eu/jenna.jpg

Jenna Bågeberg was crowned the Tango Queen 2007 on the hugely popular annual televised Tango Festival in Seinäjoki. A year prior she had already been the tango princess. She was born in Kontiolahti in 1988. Her debut album "Aamukuuteen" is released by Edel Finland in November. Her style could be described as schlager pop.

www.auraviihde.fi/index.php?page=artist&id=42&show=default

TV commercial (http://www.auraviihde.fi/material/Tommi_Jenna_Master001.mov)

Jippu

http://www.escfinland.eu/jippu.jpg

Jippu is a 21-year old singer from Helsinki. She has already won an Emma for her debut album. She was the first ever signing for the record company Helsinki Music Company. Her musical style is ethereal ballads.

www.jippu.com/

Two of her music videos on the record company website (http://www.hmc.fi/fi/tv.php?id=1172751324)

www.myspace.com/jippumusic

Kari Tapio

http://www.escfinland.eu/KariTapio.jpg

Kari is a veteran artist on the Finnish schlager scene. He was born in November 1945 in Suonenjoki. He started performing in the 1960s and joined the Finnish superstar Danny on his legendary tours in the 1970s. His breakthrough came with a few cover hits in the 1970s, beginning with "Laula kanssain" (Sing My Love Song by Jackpot) and "Viisitoista kesää" (Living Next Door To Alice by Smokie). His version of Italian Eurovision winner Toto Cutugno's "L'italiano vero" (Olen suomalainen) has almost become an unofficial national anthem. Kari won the Iskelmä Finlandia Award in 2003 and an Emma-award in 2005. His recent music is influenced by country music. He has previously taken part in the Finnish national final in 1988 with the song "Tää kaipuu". Kari has also recorded a few Finnish Eurovision covers during his career. He records for Edel Records Finland.

Polarartistit (http://www.polarartistit.fi/service.cntum?pageId=106038)

Video from Finnish national final 1988 YLE Elävä arkisto (http://www.yle.fi/elavaarkisto/?s=s&g=4&ag=75&t=373&a=3417)

Edel Finland (http://www.edel.fi/artist/artistShow.aspx?id=fd9cc13d-14f0-4a18-9a32-d95ce1fd1bfe)

Kristian Meurman

http://www.escfinland.eu/kristian.jpg

Kristian was born in 1979 in Espoo. He became fourth in the Finnish "Idols" in 2007. He is also a musician and songwriter. He released his debut album "Ensiaskeleet" on SonyBMG in 2007.

For audio samples go to SonyBMG Website (http://shop.sonybmg.fi/scweb/scwebshop.dll?cdalbum?organisationid=BEBB4E30-ADB7-F942-9F14-8ED8817D28B3&contentid=B7E878A0-5E3E-47BA-896A-CE364C1F2DFD&languagecode=FI)

www.meurman.com/

http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristian_Meurman

http://irc-galleria.net/view.php?nick=KristianM

Kristian also has a rock band called Agathon's Legacy www.myspace.com/agathonslegacy

Mikael Konttinen

http://www.escfinland.eu/mikaelkonttinen.jpg

Mikael is 23 years old and was born in Stockholm, Sweden and lives now in Helsinki. He shot to fame by performing with the military big band in the annual president's Independence Day Ball in 2006, and was promptly signed for Universal Records Finland. His style is traditional Finnish schlager with 60s influence. He will release his first album in the spring.

www.mikaelkonttinen.com/index.htm

www.myspace.com/mikaelkonttinen

Movetron

http://www.escfinland.eu/Movetron.jpg

Movetron was a hugely popular eurodance outfit in the 1990s and have only recently made a comeback. The band consists of lead singer Päivi Lepistö and Jukka Tanttari and Timo Löyvä. Their first smash hit "Romeo ja Julia" from 1995 was followed by a gold selling number one album by the same title and three follow-up albums. They released their comeback single Ei kenenkään maa in 2007 receiving respectable airplay.

www.movetron.fi/

www.suomidance.com/wiki/index.php?title=Movetron

www.last.fm/music/Movetron

Romeo ja Julia video (1995) (http://bubblare.fi/movetron_romeo_julia/)

Ninja Sarasalo

http://www.escfinland.eu/ninja.jpg

Ninja Sarasalo is a singer and a supermodel from Helsinki, born in 1983. She has worked for Jean-Paul Gaultier and Garnier and her photos have been published in magazines like ELLE, Vogue and GQ. Sarasalo has also modelled on catwalks in Milan, New York, Paris and Tokyo. She released her first single "Fashion" in 2006 on Warner Music Finland and first album "I Don't Play Guitar" in 2007. Her second single "Hush, hush" was also released in Sweden.

www.ninjanorth.com/

www.warnermusic.fi/ninja/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja_Sarasalo

Teräsbetoni

http://www.escfinland.eu/terasbetoni.jpg

Teräsbetoni is a heavy metal act and was signed to Warner Music Finland in 2004. The Viking rockers' 2005 debut album Metallitotuus was a sales success and was followed by Vaadimme betonia in 2006. The band also won an Emma Award in 2005.

www.terasbetoni.com/

www.myspace.com/tersbetoni

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ter%C3%A4sbetoni

Vuokko Hovatta

http://www.escfinland.eu/vuokkohovatta.jpg

Vuokko Hovatta was born in Espoo in 1972. She is a singer and actress and became famous as a member of the hugely popular band Ultra Bra. It is anticipated that her entry will be written by another former Ultra Bra member, Kerkko Koskinen who wrote the fan favourite "Shanghain valot" for Annika Eklund in the Finnish national final of 2006. Vuokko has recently starred in the Finnish adaptation of the musical Evita.

Vuokko took part in the Finnish national finals with Ultra Bra in 1998 with Tyttöjen välisestä ystävyydestä and again in 2000 with "Kaikki on hetken tässä".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra_Bra

The song titles will be revealed on 11 January 2008, but the songs can't be made public before the February semifinals. There will also be a new visual look for the show.

The semi-finals will start on 8 February, and run for three consecutive Fridays. They will be televised on YLE TV2. Two artists from each semifinal will go through to the final. The remaining six will get a second chance at the beginning of the live final, so all twelve will be seen also on the 1 March. The venue of the final will be announced in December as well as information of how to buy tickets.

www.yle.fi/eurovision

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

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

Myyde

11-18-2007, 5:49pm

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

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

Indeed.:funny:

Well, there we have a winner, but who is 2nd in this contest, tough one..?:uhh:

Their song got to stink big time if they are not representing Finland in Belgrade.

FinnFreak

11-27-2007, 6:23am

...just had a look what Phil's been up to lately... :huh:

FinlandForThought.Net - 25.11.2007

Olli and Tanja Saarela to divorce

http://www.finlandforthought.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/saarela_saarela.jpg

Former Miss Finland and current MP, Tanja
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanja_Saarela) Vienonen Karpela Saarela, and film director/
Matthew Perry-lookalike, Olli Saarela (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0754328/), are
divorcing - Which is great news for me cause
my salarakas is now single once again! If you
soon see in the headlines, “Tanja Saarela seen
holding hands with young, unknown American
from Nokia…”, you’ll know who it is.

:funny:

...and, why haven't I posted anything about Mannerheim - The Movie yet..? :dunno:

...I'm waiting for some proper articles first - none of that "Peter Franzén would've been a much cuter Gustaf" nonsense...

John - :p

FinnFreak

11-27-2007, 8:14am

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - CULTURE - Tuesday 27.11.2007

Mikko Nousiainen to play Mannerheim in upcoming film

Russia pulls out of project over script differences

http://kuvat.iltalehti.fi/leffat/loistoSL_le.jpg
Actor Mikko Nousiainen at Monday's press conference announcing production plans
for Renny Harlin's film on Marshall C.G.E Mannerheim. In the background is a picture
in which Nousiainen is in make-up as Mannerheim himself in his later years.

Actor Mikko Nousiainen, 32, is to play the role of Marshal C.G.E Mannerheim in an upcoming film to be directed by Renny Harlin. Nousiainen's name was announced on Monday, but the Tampere actor himself has known about his upcoming role already for couple of years.

At a press conference on Monday, Nousiainen said that he has already taken horseback riding lessons and has undergone training in the pronunciation of Russian. He has also read the script written by Heikki Vihinen. He says that he sees some sad features in the character of Mannerheim.

The budget of the project is still about EUR 10 million. Plans for Russian involvement in the film were cancelled recently. Producer Markus Selin says that discussions foundered on the Russians' demands for alterations in the script.

(Read: They wanted history rewritten. Russia, to this very day, still refuses to admit THEY started the war - NOT Finland. Stalin's dead, but his spirit lives on.)

Selin says that financing is coming from "traditional channels".

The partners in the project were also announced yesterday. They include the Finnish railway company, the VR Group, as well as Neste Oil, and the energy company Fortum.

Production of the film is to begin in a year. Director Renny Harlin said that sets for the film will probably have to be set up somewhere other than Finland.

The premiere is scheduled for October 30th, 2009, close to the 70th anniversary of the beginning of the Winter War.

John - :)

FinnFreak

12-09-2007, 12:36pm

;)

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - HOME - 6th December, 2007

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Suomen_lippu_valokuva.png

Life in blue and white

Nine foreigners and naturalised Finns offer their symbols for Finnishness

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135232274313.jpeg

By Ritva Liisa Snellman

The President’s Independence Day Reception

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135223496269.jpeg
After the hosts have shaken a couple of thousand hands, it is down to the last
guests to arrive, former Presidents Martti Ahtisaari and Mauno Koivisto. A scene
from the 2006 Independence Day Reception.

"Independence Day is a festive moment in the Finnish annual round, but it is also a rather comical day”, says translator Malcolm Hicks. “Millions of people sitting on the sofa and watching the presidential couple shaking hands with a long line of party guests.”

And they will be doing that in the Hicks household in Mikkeli, too. Candles burning in the windows, maybe a quick sortie outside to see how other peoples’ candles look, and then back indoors to switch on and watch the good and great celebrating the day.

“In a small country like this, there aren’t that many people, and everyone knows someone who has been invited. That one degree of separation tells you something about the human scale of the place.”

Hicks is not exactly a “new” Finn: he has lived here for forty years or so, but he still also looks at Finnishness through British eyes.

Finns have a tendency to be a little over-conscious of what others say and think about them. It manifests itself in any major event that crosses the news threshold, most recently in the case of the Jokela school shootings. In the days that followed, what the correspondent of The Times had written about the incident was very prominently displayed and discussed.

This is understandable, and not necessarily such a bad thing. Finland is a young country, and it can do nothing about its geographical location. The population is small, and being squeezed in between Sweden and Russia is not easy, Hicks argues.

Kalakukko

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1069148187881.jpeg
Baker Pirjo Ahonen takes some kalakukkos
out of the oven at a Kuopio bakery.

In the view of photographer Eva Persson, the traditional Savo dish known as kalakukko is an ideal symbol of Finnishness, since to foreign eyes it represents total craziness. The idea of combining vendace or perch, fatty pork, and rye bread in a crusty pasty-style package where convenience wins out heavily over aesthetics - it could only be Finnish.

“It’s a very practical, packed-lunch food”, says Persson.

The kalakukko could not exist in Sweden, for Persson believes that the Swedes are always looking for something new and aspiring to be better than yesterday.

Finns by contrast are satisfied with their lives as they are, and they have no sense of shame about their humble origins in the past. Hence the kalakukko has survived and thrived.

Persson has lived in Helsinki for 12 years, and a week ago she completed her naturalisation process and became a Finn. She will be having friends over to celebrate on Independence Day.

No, kalakukko will not be served, but Persson will attempt to sing V. A. Koskenniemi’s peculiarly maudlin Lippulaulu (an anthem to the Finnish flag, written in 1930 and set to music by Yrjö Kilpinen) to the gathered throng.

“It’s such a depressing song”, she sighs. “Things go from bad to worse and even worse in the lyrics.”

Pipo

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135230667682.jpeg
Even Finnish European Tour golfers have been seen wearing the pipo.
Mikko Ilonen in Ireland in September.

Project assistant Lea Remes still shudders at the memory of how horrified she was on arriving here from the Philippines eight years ago.

Nobody to be seen anywhere, and it was dark and cold. Fortunately her mother-in-law quickly taught her how to dress for the climate.

But back then Remes had no time for that fundamental item of Finnish winter headgear, the knitted cap or tuque, often accompanied by a pompom. She is a hat-person, you see.

“The pipo is about as fundamentally Finnish as you can get”, says Remes. “I’ve got dozens of the things, but I still never ever use them in town.”

On Independence Day Remes and her husband always go to the in-laws to eat. First they celebrate mother-in-law’s birthday, then they settle down like everyone else to watch the Palace Reception on the TV.

Nokia handset

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1101980114458.jpeg
'Nuff said.

In the Mayele family, too, they watch the handshaking rituals on the small screen.

“Finland is my country, and the Independence Day Reception is a part of me”, says Kitari Mayele, a producer at Caisa, the city of Helsinki’s International Cultural Centre. “I started watching them when I was 27 or so. As a youngster I was of course not interested in that sort of thing.”

Mayele has lived in Finland all of sixteen years and feels that he is Finnish.

For this reason alone, he finds it astonishing that he is still forever being asked - practically every day - why he is here.

Since Mayele has no great wish to pour out his life-story in the Metro or on the bus from one decade to the next, he generally answers briefly that he lives here because he loves this country.

“In Congolese culture it would be the height of impoliteness to go asking a foreigner what he’s doing here”, says Mayele. “The Finns are both inquisitive and careful. They always want to know with whom they are talking. After that, they can be generous and big-hearted.”

If Finnishness has to be distilled down into one object, in Mayele’s view a Nokia mobile phone serves best.

When a holiday flight from Helsinki lands at its destination, you can hear the same start-up tone pinging out from between every row of seats, as the Finns feverishly switch on their phones.

Summer and berries

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135229518346.jpeg
Vaccinium myrtillus, the bilberry or European blueberry.
Great to eat, not so much fun to pick.

For Eilina Gusatinsky, editor-in-chief of the Russian-language monthly Spektr, Finnishness always means summer, warmth, berries for the picking, Grandmother, and her cousins.

As a child she travelled every summer from the Soviet Union to her grandmother’s place on Lake Saimaa.

In 1990, Gusatinsky settled permanently in Finland. That also marked the beginnings of an Independence Day tradition: meeting up at her mother’s place, doing some baking in readiness for Christmas, and finally watching the President and Co. on the television.

“It’s always a day redolent with good scents and feelings, and this year we are particularly pleased since the chairman of FARO [the Union of the Associations of Russian-Speakers in Finland] has been invited to the party.”

Oatmeal porridge

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135219751764.jpeg
Porridge. But with a twist. Quite hard to find the decoration at this time of the year.

In her birthplace of Venezuela, breakfast for Montessori teacher Ana Eskola was always a couple of pieces of toast washed down with a cup of coffee.

For the past 26 years, spent up north in Oulu, she has started her day with porridge oats.

To begin with she wasn’t quite sure she liked the taste, but now Eskola never goes to work without a bowl of the stuff inside her.

Oatmeal porridge is just as good a symbol for Finnishness as the more predictable “rye bread”. Sensible and down-to-earth - that’s what life in Finland is all about, at least if you compare it with the current goings-on in Venezuela.

“On Independence Day we eat well and then put two blue-and-white candles up in the window“, says Eskola.

“In the evening we look at old photographs or just loaf about. Sometimes I have gone visiting to watch the party on the TV. We don’t have a television. Our old set broke 18 years ago, and we decided we could manage without.”

Sauna and Nordic walking

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135231188446.jpeg
Some saunas are bigger than others. This wood-fired one held 40 people.

As a little boy in his native Iran, project manager Ghaffoor Hejazi-Hashemi used to accompany his mother to spas and public baths, but it was not until he came to Finland that he encountered sauna and adult nudity.

To begin with it was a strange experience, but 27 years spent in Finland have made Hejazi-Hashemi into a firm saunophile.

“People go to sauna in other countries, but it is only the Finns who will build a sauna wherever they happen to be. They have them everywhere, even in places like Saudi Arabia - anywhere where Finns are working.”

“Finns are a living example of cleanliness, outside and in. When you are in the sauna, you can zero all the mind’s dials; just hit the internal reset button and go back for a moment to some kind of primal state.”

And the Finns’ take on physical exercise is no less passionate. Hejazi-Hashemi sees the two things having much in common. Both result in a good feeling.

“Me too, I get a strange sensation when I’m not moving enough. I do an hour’s Nordic walking first thing, and only then go off to work.”

This year Hejazi-Hasemi will not be travelling on business over Independence Day, so the evening’s entertainment at home in Vantaa has already been mapped out.

“We’ll be watching the Reception at the Palace. It makes us laugh and it irritates us in roughly equal measure, but it’s something you just have to watch.”

The mountain of shoes in the hall

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135220022195.jpeg
Now that's just ridiculous!

German-born Anja Sorasalo cannot imagine anything more totally Finnish than a hallway filled with outdoor shoes.

When she first arrived here, the constant padding about indoors in one’s socks or stockinged feet did seem a bit weird, but Sorasalo got with the local programme years ago.

Nowadays as soon as she gets through the door of her home in Porvoo she kicks the shoes off her feet and into a corner and then navigates her way through a dozen more pairs and into the living room.

Sorasalo figures that the whole socks-inside thing is associated with an informal lifestyle and with Finnish attitudes towards cleanliness. Nobody wants mud on the floors, and carpets and rugs are protected from getting dirty.

“The Finns are amazingly picky about their mats. They are forever cleaning them and changing them. I think it’s wonderful when we change the curtains and the mats for Christmas.”

Ice fishing, and the bidet shower (at last!)

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135218503885.jpeg
Ice-fishing. One way to catch those perch to put in your kalakukko.

Georg Simojoki, a chef from Porvoo, is in no doubt about his list. He reels off a string of items and phenomena that are all linked to water, tranquility, cleanliness, and infinite practicality of purpose.

“For a start, you’ve got the mushroom-picker’s knife, with a brush for cleaning on the end of the handle. You don’t find them anywhere else. The Finns like to save time and they are ingenious that way. But as for actually marketing and selling stuff, forget it.”

Another Finnish symbol is ice-fishing. Simojoki enjoys angling himself, but the way he sees it, those who sit around a hole in the ice are not driven there by the thrill of the hunt so much as by a longing for peace and quiet.

Ice-fishing is a cheap pastime and a clever way of getting a moment to oneself.

And you don’t even have to travel far.

Yet another stand-out Finnish invention is the bidet hand-shower, that staple of the bathroom so often mentioned by foreigners in Finland. Simojoki has not found its like anywhere else, even though he has plied his trade as a chef all over the world.

There is one thing about Finnish behaviour he has never come to terms with. If there are three lanes on a motorway, Finns always seem to drive in the middle lane.

Simojoki was born in East Germany. It doesn’t exist any longer. His homeland is Germany now.

“But then again, I’ve become so Finnish in the past ten years that of course I’ll be watching the Independence Day Ball on TV, and I’ll be yelling out as usual: ‘I don’t believe it - will-you-look-at-that-dress-she's-wearing!’”

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135232398100.jpeg
What would Georg say about Kimi's wife's dress?

John - ;)

Troll

12-09-2007, 4:26pm

Thanks for the articles

dreamer

12-09-2007, 4:39pm

Lots Of Stuff

FinnFreak

12-09-2007, 7:00pm

...and I could just go on and on and on... heh.

John - ;)

dreamer

12-09-2007, 8:04pm

I bet

Troll

12-09-2007, 10:49pm

I bet

I bet he could too.

FinnFreak

12-10-2007, 10:13am

...and I'm NOT about to prove you guys wrong... ;)

- [i]Nicole Kidman, being interviewed by a Finnish reporter in Paris, wishes her Finnish fans A Very Merry Christmas...

http://www.supanet.com/media/00/07/49/kidman_108.jpg

...and adds smiling, winking her eye: "Please, give my regards to Santa Claus."

John - :D

Myyde

12-10-2007, 10:28am

“But then again, I’ve become so Finnish in the past ten years that of course I’ll be watching the Independence Day Ball on TV, and I’ll be yelling out as usual: ‘I don’t believe it - will-you-look-at-that-dress-she's-wearing!’”

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135232398100.jpeg
What would Georg say about Kimi's wife's dress?

John - ;)

Noh, tunnetusti melkoisia verbaaliakrobaatteja nuo saksalaiset, joten vaikea sanoa, mutta mikäli yksipyöräinen lähtisi oikein huolella keulimaan, niin, ehkä jotain tällästä:

"I don’t believe it, will you look at that dress she's wearing!";):p

Taikka vähän maltillisempi:

"ShaiSSe-Perkele...Jenni is wearing (old) McLaren-dress!!":shocked:

Mene ja tiedä...no mitäs ne sano pohojanmaal..?:uhh:

FinnFreak

12-10-2007, 4:35pm

Nättejähän ne - mutta Tanja oli näyttävin (taas).

John - ;)

Myyde

12-10-2007, 6:10pm

Siehä kummia höpäjät. Kylhä se illan kuningatar oli ilimanmuuta Jaana.:nod:

FinnFreak

12-11-2007, 2:29am

Nooh... makuasioosta ei kannata kiistellä, sano mäyräkoira ku muniansa nuali.

John - :p

Myyde

12-11-2007, 4:05pm

:eek:Nonnii, tuasha se män pelkäks munailuks tiäki homma, ens Holopaane ja ny tiä.:swoosh:

Noh, eihä niistä makuasioosta toki kannata kiistellä, vaik hyvinpä niist voep kiistellä.

Toisaalta, liekkö tuo nyt ees makuasia, ettei vaa olis fakta.;)

FinnFreak

12-12-2007, 1:18pm

FinnFreak

12-12-2007, 1:25pm

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - TRAVEL - Wednesday 12.12.2007

CNN reporter Richard Quest looks for Christmas spirit at Arctic Circle

Santa Claus explains why celebrating Christmas is worth the trouble

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135232381478.jpeg
CNN journalist Richard Quest gave Santa Claus a Christmas card that he had designed.

By Niina Pasula

Early on Wednesday morning, Santa’s workshop at the Arctic Circle fills with cameramen. A microphone is placed underneath Santa’s beard, as Father Christmas himself makes sure that his spectacles are clean.

Behind the corner, famous CNN reporter Richard Quest clears out his smoker’s cough.

As the taping begins, Quest, clad in jeans and a green knit shirt, steps into the light, sporting a smile as broad as one might see in a chewing gum advertisement.

Quest travelled from London to Rovaniemi to find out what the Christmas spirit is all about. The Santa interview is part of an episode of Quest’s own show to be aired in December called "Quest for Festival Spirits".

Quest asks Santa to explain how to defend Christmas to people who see it merely as a commercial celebration.

Santa answers that celebrations are more fun if gifts and decorations are involved. "Still, the thought is most important. For instance, this card will always remind me of you", Santa answers, tapping the giant Christmas card brought to him by Richard Quest.

The card was designed by Quest himself, and in it he asks Santa to remove him from the list of naughty children.

Quest is a Jew, so for him, there really is no Santa Claus. No problem, though, because Quest feels that the idea of the holidays is similar regardless of religion.

"People have time for each other. Small gifts and cards say that you are a part of my life even though we do not meet very often."

When the deepest nature of Christmas is clarified, Quest and Santa Claus move on to more concrete matters.

In the interview it comes out that Santa Claus listens to traditional Christmas carols as he hands out gifts, and hopes that children would leave carrots for Rudolph on Christmas Eve.

"Wouldn’t you like it if people would leave a glass of sherry for you?" Quest asks with a grin.

He actually knows Santa from three years ago, when Quest first visited Finland.

In spite of their previous acquaintance, Santa agrees to give the "Ho ho ho" greeting only after considerable persuasion. In his view, this greeting is primarily the trademark of American Santa-impersonators.

The final comments by Quest, presented in his trademark raspy and somewhat artificial voice, raise a smile out of Santa Claus.

The voice may sound artificial, but Quest’s boundless energy and friendliness appear genuine, as they continue even after the floodlights have been switched off.

The programme "Quest for Festival Spirits" will be shown on CNN International on December 22nd and 23rd.

After that the programme can be viewed on line at http://edition.cnn.com/CNNI/Programs/quest .

John - ;)

Troll

12-12-2007, 2:24pm

Thanks for the pics all the girls look lovely and the article Richard Quest is funny

Myyde

12-12-2007, 2:34pm

heh...

http://kuvat.iltalehti.fi/kuvagalleria/img/yleinen/7682.jpg http://kuvat.iltalehti.fi/kuvagalleria/img/yleinen/7683.jpg http://kuvat.iltalehti.fi/kuvagalleria/img/yleinen/7685.jpg

They're all cute.

But I've got a thing for ladies in red

John - :]

Oooh, much better, back on right track again.:]

Ladies in red, not a bad compination...Huhhuh, for a second i thought that you`ve got a thing for ladies in politics.:shocked:

:p

FinnFreak

12-12-2007, 2:34pm

Thanks for the pics all the girls look lovely and the article Richard Quest is funny

I think the constant flying (low amount of oxygen) he does around the world has somewhat effected his mannerisms.

:huh: - Can someone become like that naturally..? :really: - Just asking. :p

John - ;)

FinnFreak

12-12-2007, 2:45pm

Ladies in red, not a bad compination...Huhhuh, for a second i thought that you`ve got a thing for ladies in politics.:shocked:

:p

hmmm... now, what's wrong with that..? ;)

Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac - Henry Kissinger

The lady in red is dancing with me - Chris De Burgh

The woman in red - like fine wine she's going straight to my head - Stevie Wonder

You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoes - Carl Perkins

John - :p

Myyde

12-12-2007, 6:13pm

hmmm... now, what's wrong with that..? ;)

John - :p

Nothing, i guess, if you like pain...:p

You do have a thing for politics?...oooooooopsssss....sorryy. Little bit too extreme sfuff for me, but, if that floats your boat, go for it, i`m not judging. ;):up:

Good that you had your fun, i got major headache (just mentioned that stupid word once, i must be allergic to it or something). I guess that when i start to like this feeling, i`ll start to like politics.;)

FinnFreak

12-12-2007, 9:11pm

hah, in all simplicity: it's nothing more than an exchange of back-scratching.

John - :p

dreamer

12-12-2007, 11:12pm

:funny:

Myyde

12-14-2007, 4:34pm

hah, in all simplicity: it's nothing more than an exchange of back-scratching.

John - :p

Hehe, well, "almost" something like that.:p

FinnFreak

12-19-2007, 3:30pm

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - SPORT - Wednesday 19.12.2007

Javelin world champion Tero Pitkämäki takes Sports Personality of the Year trophy

F1 Drivers' Championship earns only 3rd place for Kimi Räikkönen

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135232696133.jpeg
Tero Pitkämäki is not taking up the discus, but waving the gold discus trophy that
goes with the title of Sports Personality of the Year. The prize was a nice advance
birthday present for Pitkämäki: he celebrates his 25th birthday today.

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135232446357.jpeg
Virpi Kuitunen in action at a World Cup event in Davos
earlier this month.

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135227543409.jpeg
Kimi Räikkönen may have been the most written-about Finnish sportsman of 2007,
but it was not enough to convince the Finnish journalists.

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135232668779.jpeg
Readers of Helsingin Sanomat's online
edition voted the Bolton and Finland
goalkeeper Jussi Jääskeläinen as their
top sportsman for 2007. Wired football
fans were clearly out in force, and
tactical voting was to the fore.

Tuesday evening saw the award by sports journalists of Finland’s Sports Personality of the Year title, and a trio of world champions occupied the podium places.

Traditional sports won out - pretty much as expected - over “newer” events in the Finnish sporting canon, and the top honour went to javelin world champion Tero Pitkämäki, who took gold in Osaka and has already been crowned as European Athlete of the Year by the EAA.

Pitkämäki received 4,725 votes from the jury of 541 sports journalists, and he held off triple cross-country skiing world champion Virpi Kuitunen by 636 votes. Kuitunen was naturally selected as the Female Athlete of the Year by a crushing margin.

Tero Pitkämäki also took the greatest number of 1st-place votes: 203 or just over 37% of the voting journalists regarded him as the best Finnish sporting individual of the year, regardless of discipline.

Kimi Räikkönen’s surprise last-ditch win in the Formula One Drivers’ Championship gave him a total of 149 1st-place votes, as against 118 for Kuitunen, but he nevertheless had to be content with third place with 4,022 votes overall.

In earlier times, Mika Häkkinen (1998) and Keke Rosberg (1982) fared rather better: both of them won the title in the year they were crowned F1 World Champion, although Häkkinen’s second Formula One title in 1999 was not enough to repeat the feat.

Whilst there were some noises off that Räikkönen’s achievement did not merit a higher placing, few would have bet serious money against Pitkämäki after he brought home Finland’s only medal from the IAAF World Championships in Japan.

The javelin has long been a favourite track and field discipline among the Finns, in fact almost a religion.

It is an event with a rich tradition of success, and Finns also retain a soft spot for athletics in general, even long after the country’s “Flying Finn” reputation has become a dim and distant memory.

Virpi Kuitunen, too, was bound to be a contender. Cross-country skiing is still very much in the blood hereabouts, especially in rural areas, where new-fangled sports like tennis or golf or motor racing are seen as somewhat “unFinnish”.

Kuitunen dominated among the women at the Nordic Skiing World Championships in Sapporo, and won three golds and a bronze medal.

In all fairness to Tero Pitkämäki, he hardly put a foot wrong all season, and was consistently a few metres ahead of all his colleagues, including his close friend and rival the 2004 Olympic gold medallist Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway.

Just about the only defeat he suffered in 2007 coincided with a moment of stark horror for any athlete: during the IAAF Golden League meeting in Rome in July, one of Pitkämäki’s throws veered too far left and hit French long jumper Salim Sdiri in the side of the back. Sdiri was rushed to hospital with serious but not life-threatening injuries, and Pitkämäki himself was fortunate to escape from the incident without too much mental trauma.

The way in which the 25-year-old rose to the occasion in September on the final day of the games in Osaka - with all the Finnish hopes riding on his shoulders and as the hot ante-post favourite in an event where tiny errors of technique can be catastrophic - was very much to his credit.

He brushed aside Thorkilden’s challenge by immediately matching and surpassing a big throw by the Norwegian on his third attempt, and he then sealed matters with a massive final heave of over 90 metres when the competition was already done and dusted.

Ten other victories during the year, the second-longest throw of the season, and five out of the ten longest throws by anyone only served to underline his dominance of the event.

Provided that he stays healthy, Pitkämäki is already in the frame as one of Finland’s few serious track and field medal hopes at the Beijing Olympics.

Athens in 2004 was a complete washout for the Finnish track and field team, and hence Pitkämäki can probably feel the pressure mounting already.

So the title of Sports Personality of the Year went to the athletics fraternity for the second year in succession, after 3,000 metres steeplechaser Jukka Keskisalo cruised home in 2006.

We have to go back 11 years to the last javelin winner, however: an Olympic gold in the women’s event was enough to win it for Heli Rantanen in 1996.

The top three in 2007 were relatively evenly matched in the end, and enjoyed a comfortable advantage over the rest of the field, led home by Nordic Combined world champion Hannu Manninen with 2,964 votes.

Fifth place went to Teemu Selänne, winner of the NHL’s coveted Stanley Cup with Anaheim Ducks. Selänne outscored Manninen in 1st-place votes by 37 to 10, but could amass only 2,611 votes all told.

The other names in the Top 10 were speed skating world championships silver medallist and the current world record holder over 1,000 metres Pekka Koskela (6th), Heli Jukkola and Minna Kauppi, who spectacularly dead-heated for the gold medal in the long distance event at this year’s orienteering world championships (7th and 9th respectively), the two-time World Rally Championship winner Marcus Grönholm, who retired at the end of this season (8th), and the Bolton Wanderers and Finland goalkeeper Jussi Jääskeläinen (10th).

Jääskeläinen, who kept seven clean sheets during Finland’s Euro 2008 campaign, was also recently voted Footballer of the Year, and he further took top honours in a poll among readers of Helsingin Sanomat’s online edition, where football fans had clearly mobilised themselves in large numbers and focused their vote.

Jääskeläinen also outgunned his Finland teammate Sami Hyypiä of Liverpool, who was behind him in 11th place, ATP tennis pro Jarkko Nieminen (12th), and a new face in Mikko Ilonen (13th), whose claim to fame in 2007 was a brace of wins on the European Tour, the first ever by a Finnish male golfer.

The public were also invited to vote alongside the journalists.

They came up with a different order from the professionals, putting Virpi Kuitunen at the top of the pile with 24.7% of the votes, ahead of Kimi Räikkönen with 18.3% and Tero Pitkämäki with 14.3%.

The Coach of the Year was Mauro Berruto, who guided the Finnish men’s volleyball team to an unexpected but richly deserved 4th place in the European Championships in Moscow.

The volleyball players themselves collected the Team of 2007 Award.

Victory in both cases was overwhelming, though some might have speculated on what the outcome in these two categories would have been if Finland's footballers had scored a late winner against Portugal in November.

The Disabled Athlete of the Year title went to wheelchair sprinter Leo-Pekka Tähti, a winner already in 2004.

The Sports Personality event was televised live by the Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE, but in an unfortunate glitch, the results were made public on the company’s website two or three hours before the show went out.

It is perfectly normal that the results are made available to the media just before the actual event, but under normal circumstances the journalists keep the information to themselves.

This time someone’s fingers found the wrong key on the keyboard, and the details escaped into the ether ahead of schedule.

COMMENT: Worldwide fame provides no assistance

By Petteri Ala-Kivimäki

For Finnish sportsmen, 2007 provided an excellent year, indeed in many respects a phenomenal one.

Kimi Räikkönen won the Formula One drivers’ championship with Ferrari, in quite the most dramatic last-ditch fashion.

In so doing, Räikkönen soared higher than any Finn ever before, at least if one measures these things by worldwide popularity or media exposure.

In a global "World Sportsman of the Year" ranking, Räikkönen would certainly have been a shoo-in for the "Best Finnish Sportsman" category.

In terms of earnings, too, he is in the top three among sports professionals worldwide.

What does it say then about Finnish sports journalists, that Räikkönen comes third in his own country, behind a javelin thrower and a cross-country skier?

Some might argue that the journalists who voted on the Finnish Sports Personality of the Year are a bunch of ageing old farts with a perversely conservative mindset.

Personally I think we are all good-looking, intelligent, and possessed of an excellent sense of humour.

John - ;)

Troll

12-19-2007, 4:34pm

Yule school to teach Santa's elves

ROVANIEMI, Finland (Reuters) - Customer service, story-telling, nature studies and wilderness survival are essential skills for any elf worthy of the name.

Anyone who aspires to a job as a Santa's helper can acquire them at a new Elf Academy in Rovaniemi, 2,600 km (1,600 miles) from the North Pole, which Finland claims as home to the "real" Santa Claus.

Christmas 2007 is in full swing as tourists seek Santa in the Arctic Circle but after the school opens next April, the 2,000 or so "elves" will be able to raise their game.

The competencies an elf needs are vast, says Esa Sakkinen, project coordinator and teacher at the Lapland Vocational College which will be running the academy.

They do more than pack the gifts that families pick up at the Christmas market outside "Santa's house" or help answer the 750,000 letters that arrive at his local post office each year.

"An elf needs to know how to make a fire in the snow ... also the local nature and animals, because you never know what the clients or kids are going to ask," he said.

The Santa business is vital to the region where unemployment is nearly double the Finnish average, winter temperatures average minus 15 to minus 10 degrees Celsius (5-14 Fahrenheit), and the snow can be more than a meter deep.

The first planeload of tourists visiting Santa landed in Lapland about 20 years ago and today about 500,000 tourists -- mainly from France, Britain and Russia -- visit Rovaniemi and Santa's nearby village each year.

The Christmas season contributed about one-third of the region's 2006 tourist income of 540 million euros ($774.1 million). Many people arrive on a day-trip to visit Santa, learn to drive huskies, taste local delicacies and -- with luck -- glimpse the Northern Lights above pine trees fat with snow.

Despite rival Santa Claus theme parks and Christmas markets in the United States, Canada, Japan, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Germany, the region says visitors to Finnish Lapland are increasing year by year.

PROFESSION: ELF

"The impact of tourism on our area is huge," said Timo Rautajoki, head of Lapland's Chamber of Commerce. "It's also a way for us to lure people back who have left the region because of better job opportunities in the south of the country."

The region plans to invest more than 1 billion euros to build new hotels, resorts and ski lifts, he said.

The new academy is the answer to a business need and an attempt to provide skills to help the long-term unemployed find out-of-season work. About 500 elves work in Rovaniemi, a town of 60,000 where in 2006 the unemployment rate was 14 percent, compared with a national average of 7.7 percent.

"The companies working in the business asked us whether we could develop the profession of elves and we said 'why not?"' said Sakkinen.

With about 1,000 young people leaving school or university each year and local jobs scarce, the competition to be a part of the Christmas magic is fierce. Hundreds vie for the often seasonal jobs with the region's 10 main safari companies.

Given the hostile climate, the region's tourist attractions focus on activities: cruises on an icebreaker, reindeer safaris, or simply hunting and canoeing. Each needs an elf or guide.

Elina Hakala, an elf in her mid-20s whose working name is Fir Cone, has been with Arctic Safaris full-time for three years, and said it can be a challenge to maintain children's enthusiasm throughout an action-packed day at sub-zero temperatures.

"You have to create an atmosphere and still make them feel 'OK, this is what we expected,' and then keep the spirit throughout the day," she said.

Exams to earn a professional certificate are part of the program, which will be open to all ages.

TOUGH QUESTIONS

On arrival at the airport, elves dressed in green jackets and red gloves and hat ferry visitors on buses to their destinations through the winter twilight.

After a day driving a snowmobile they may accompany families to a reindeer farm or tell stories of Santa and Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer.

Language skills are essential: last year, visitors came from 48 countries, according to Sakkinen. Most speak English, but numbers are growing from countries farther afield, such as Japan.

All the agencies have agreed on a version of the Santa story, but elves have to be ready to answer tricky questions from children or adults who spot anomalies in the legend.

One frequent puzzle is why -- since the Santa story describes how little elves jump out of Mrs. Santa's porridge pot -- the elves themselves are, like most Finns, really quite tall.

"We tell the kids it's because, unlike in Britain, we get a lot of snow and have to be able to see above it," said Hakala.

"Sometimes you get kids who insist they don't believe in Santa, and that's even harder."

(Editing by Sara Ledwith and Andrew Dobbie)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071219/lf_nm/christmas_elves_dc

Myyde

12-19-2007, 4:49pm

Congrats to Tero and Virpi. Keep up the good work.:D:up:

WOW, sometimes common sense kicks money`s a$$.:cool:

***

Well, just for fun.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/Myyde/vlcsnap-335314.jpg
"Atleast *someone* isn`t dating with politicians anymore"

:p

dreamer

12-19-2007, 7:56pm

:funny:

Troll

12-19-2007, 11:44pm

Love Married with Childern

FinnFreak

12-20-2007, 2:08pm

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - HOME - Thursday 20.12.2007

Little hope for white Christmas again in Southern Finland

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135232719408.jpeg
In the Greater Helsinki area, snow can currently be seen only on a ski track in
Helsinki’s Paloheinä. The white stuff is of the artificial variety and was brought
from an outdoor skating arena.

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135232719795.jpeg
Even surprisingly far north, things are little better. In the northern city of Oulu, a
slide for children was made from snow that had been transferred from the Iso-Syöte
skiing resort in Lapland, about 140 kilometres further to the north.

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135232719799.jpeg
The map shows the area south and west of which there was less than one
centimetre of snow on the ground on Christmas Eve between 2000 and 2006.
In the years between 2001 and 2003 there was at least a centimetre of snow
cover all over the country at Christmas. The conditions for the 15th of
December 2007 are also shown.

At present it looks likely that just Lapland and the northern parts of Eastern Finland will enjoy a white Christmas.

This is the second successive "black" Christmas in most parts of the country.

In Rovaniemi, the centre of winter tourism, the snow situation looks more promising than it did around last Christmas. Yesterday there was snow cover of 18 centimetres in the official location of Father Christmas, while last year it was only five centimetres, which is the smallest amount of snow up there for more than 40 years.

Normally at this time of the year, the snow cover is already more than 25 centimetres in Lapland and in the northern parts of Eastern Finland, while the deepest drifts can usually be found in Northern Lapland, reports meteorologist Hanna Tietäväinen from the Finnish Meteorological Instiute.

In fact, the entire country should already have frosty conditions. With the exception of the southern coast and the southwestern part of the country, the winter began around mid-November, when the average daily temperatures dropped below zero.

Even on the southern coast, frosty conditions are typical at the turn of November and December. This year the winter is late, as it was last year as well.

So far, the weather in the most southern part of Finland has been mild, with the average daily temperatures remaining more or less above zero. Actually, December has been warmer than average actoss the entire country.

"This is how the future Christmas weather in Finland is predicted to look - thanks to climate change”, Tietäväinen confirms.

"The early months of the winter become warmer and precipitation is expected to fall in the form of rain more and more frequently, while the beginning of the winter as well as the formation of a snow cover are both late", Tietäväinen concludes.

John - :smirk:

Troll

12-20-2007, 2:29pm

Thanks for the article.

Myyde

12-23-2007, 3:13pm

Love Married with Childern

:great:

One of the best TV shows ever.:]

Troll

12-23-2007, 4:52pm

:great:

One of the best TV shows ever.:]

Totaly agree.

aFinn

12-24-2007, 6:47am

Little hope for white Christmas again in Southern Finland

At present it looks likely that just Lapland and the northern parts of Eastern Finland will enjoy a white Christmas.

This is the second successive "black" Christmas in most parts of the country.
Yes, a black Christmas here :cry:

Troll

12-24-2007, 9:01am

Yes, a black Christmas here :cry:

That stinks

canoilers

01-02-2008, 10:01am

I learned somethings out today like the fact my mom knows some Finnish. Totally didn't know that Thunder Bay Ontario had a Finnish District and when my mom lived there she used to go to a Finnish restuarant all the time I guess it was her favourite restuarant in T.B. I was impressed to say the least, and a tad bit surprised to find that nugget out.

FinnFreak

01-02-2008, 10:16am

:) - heh... maybe at this place..?

Hoito Restaurant
314 Bay St
Thunder Bay, ON 807–345–6323

http://www.thunderbayrestaurants.com/images/hoito.jpg

This world–famous restaurant is best known for its ‘Finnish Pancakes’. A Thunder Bay tradition since, well as long as I can remember anyway. The food is simple, tasty, comfort food.

There is a mixture of Finnish items like piirakka with egg salad, salt fish and vili that add to the cultural significance of the establishment. Also on the menu is Moyakka, a clear broth soup with potatoes and meat, some vegetables and whole pepper corns that at least the locals consider authentic, and a whole host of simple Canadian cuisine like hot turkey sandwiches with gravy.

Breakfast is served all day, as it should be, in this historic Thunder Bay restaurant. Kids young and old seem to thoroughly enjoy the breakfast menu with one of the biggest hits being Finnish style pancakes!

There is always a line at the door but it usually moves fairly quickly. When asked about their continued success the usual explanation is “good food” at a “good price”. Whatever it is Thunder Bay loves this restaurant and never fails to recommend it to visitors.

Breakfast time at the Hoito is also an interesting opportunity to stay on top of the social scene in Thunder Bay. A frequent choice for the morning after the night before, a breakfast at the Hoito can offer both residents and visitors an interesting view of who is sleeping with who and a chance to eaves drop on conversations reminiscing about events of the previous night.

Staff and guests speak both official languages of the Bay street area; Finnish and English with Thunder Bay hosting one of the largest populations of Finns outside of Helsinki. Is anyone upset with the conversations in Finnish? No I think it really adds flavour and authenticity to this coffee shop community.

http://www.thunderbayrestaurants.com

Languages

The official languages were reported as the mother tongue from 84.3% of the populations, while the rest (15.7%) were divided between 16 groups. From the ones who have official mothertongue, 97.13% have English, and only 2.87% has French. Among the groups who have non-official mother tongue 17,405 people), Italian (23.79%), Finnish (18.76), Ukrainian (11.38%),Polish (9.42%), German (6.12%), Ojibway (3.56%), Slovak (2.76%), Croatian (2.56%), Chinese(2.13%), Dutch (2.01%), Portuguese (1.67%), Spanish (1.67%), Greek (1.47%), Hungarian(0.98%) and Cree (0.95%). 10.8% reported having other mother tongue.

John - ;)

canoilers

01-02-2008, 10:36am

I'll have to ask her about that although that is probably it. I wonder if Teemu has ever eaten there with all his years in the 'Peg?

FinnFreak

01-07-2008, 6:56am

Teräsbetoni favorites to win the Finnish Eurovisions

http://static.iltalehti.fi/popstars/terasennakkoMH_ps.jpg

According to the online betting company Ladbrokes.

...were there ever any doubts..?

John - :p

FinnFreak

01-07-2008, 9:10am

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - SPORT - Monday 7.1.2008

Ahonen takes Four Hills Tournament title for historic fifth time

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135233070248.jpeg
Janne Ahonen won the traditional New Year's Four Hills tournament for a record
fifth time on Sunday. He triumphed in both the last two competitions, held in
Biscofshofen, overcoming difficult conditions on Sunday to stamp himself as
the best all-round jumper in the world. Ahonen is already something of a
veteran in the sport - at 30, he is considerably older than his two main rivals
on Sunday, Austria's Thomas Morgenstern and Gregor Schlierenzauer. FIS
World Cup leader Morgenstern eventually took the runner-up spot, but
teenager Schlierenzauer could not cope with the conditions and found himself
in 41st place and out of contention for the second jump. He slumped to 12th
place in the overall tournament standings.

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135233077574.jpeg
The eagle has landed. Janne Ahonen touches down
at 136 metres, the longest jump of the day, and
scores an emphatic win on Sunday to seal his fifth
Four Hills Tournament title.

Finland’s Janne Ahonen has made history by capping the traditional Four Hills ski-jumping tournament held in Germany and Austria for an unprecedented fifth time.

On Sunday Ahonen won the concluding competition in Bischofshofen, Austria, and clinched the tournament title in comfortable fashion, with a 19-point cushion to his nearest rival.

Austria’s Thomas Morgenstern, who finished in third place in Bischofshofen, was second overall.

Ahonen’s overall points for the four events held either side of the New Year were 1,085.8, against Morgernstern’s 1,066 points. Germany’s Michael Neumayer was the third man on the podium with an total of 994.9 points.

The Austrian teenager Gregor Schlierenzauer, who was close up in 3rd going into the final competition, was among those who could not cope with the conditions on Sunday. He did not make the second round of jumping, and slumped to 12th place overall.

In the concluding event, Ahonen shared third place after a first round in which the later - and arguably better - jumpers were hampered by rain and a slushy glide-run. Ahonen outperformed most of his serious rivals in the first round, but it was his remarkable second effort - the longest jump in the competition - that guaranteed him the event victory.

Ahonen’s leaps of 126 and 136 metres earned him 251.6 points. "From the takeoff I knew the second effort would take me a long way. The rest of the flight was pure pleasure", Ahonen recalled his sentiments during the second jump.

Norway’s Anders Bardal, who was in the lead after the first round, finished second in Sunday's event with 243.6 points.

Previously Ahonen had won the Four Hills tournament four times, equalling the record of the former German ski-jumping legend, Jens Weissflog.

With the historic five wins Ahonen now leads the Four Hills merit table by himself, and most experts agree it will be a long time indeed before his achievement can be bettered.

"The historic aspect of what has happened has not sunk in yet. The last couple of days have been immense. This sensation is without an equal. I was a humble man when I arrived here", Ahonen summarised his emotions.

The humilty derived from the fact that hitherto Ahonen has not exactly set the hills on fire this season.

His two wins on Saturday and Sunday and podium places in the first two events have nevertheless hoisted him up to a close third place in the FIS World Cup standings.

As a trophy the winner of the tournament is awarded a Subaru Impreza car, as well as a cash prize of more than EUR 50,000.

Ahonen’s initial reaction was that he would politely decline the gift wheels. Finland’s strict car tax legislation would cause him to have to pay thousands of euros if he were to receive the vehicle.

Of other Finns, Janne Happonen was 12th, Matti Hautamäki 19th, Sami Niemi 27th, and Arttu Lappi 29th in the Sunday competition.

In the entire tournament, Happonen was also the second strongest Finn, finishing 10th overall.

Janne Ahonen can make a strong claim to be the best Finnish ski-jumper of all time, even against competition like Matti Nykänen.

Nevertheless, a perusal of Ahonen's hugely impressive record over more than a decade at the top does throw up one curiosity: despite five Four Hills wins, a whole clutch of World Championship titles and medals, two FIS World Cup titles in 2004 and 2005, and more than 100 World Cup podium placings and 34 individual World Cup victories, Ahonen has never won an individual Olympic medal of any colour. He took a team silver in 2002 and 2006.

All the same, winning over four events and eight jumps requires a consistency under varying conditions that is the hallmark of a great sportsman - and Ahonen has now delivered the goods no fewer than five times.

John - :D:up:

Troll

01-07-2008, 9:30am

Thanks John

FinnFreak

01-08-2008, 9:10am

:shocked:

KORPIKLAANI: New Album Audio Preview Available

http://www.korpiklaani.com

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

JONNE - Guitars and vocals, MATSON - Drums, HITTAVAINEN - Violin, jouhikko and woodwinds, JARKKO - bass, JUHO - accordion, CANE - guitars

KORPIKLAANI (or “Forest Clan“) emerged out of the ashes of Shaman, when the band opted to change its name, along with its musical and lyrical expression. The goal was to move away from Shaman’s trademark use of the Sámi language’s strong, impulsive folk metal, as heard on Idja (1999) and Shamániac (2002) and opt for a stronger and more widely accepted sound.

Jonne Järvelä imagined the change of style to be characterized by both a heavier influence of the traditional Finnish folk melodies and of metal. He began to search for musicians able to produce the results he envisioned.

The first addition to the line-up was a young violinist named Jaakko Lemmetty, better known as Hittavainen. It became clear to Jonne after only the first audition that Hittavainen was a perfect match for KORPIKLAANI. Matson (drums), an old friend of Jonne’s, a superb drummer, and the natural choice for the new line-up soon joined the band, bringing with him the talents of his former bass player Arto Tissari and guitarist Toni Honkanen, a.k.a. Honka, into play. Honka knew a skillful percussionist, Ali Määttä, who had previous experience in the folk music scene and he too, was quickly recruited.

Shaman was Jonne Järvelä's way to express his musical insanity, and that has not changed in KORPIKLAANI. The madness continues.

Many of KORPIKLAANI’s songs come directly from the annals of the Finnish folk archives, but are activated with a fierce twist of metal. This constitutes the major difference between KORPIKLAANI and other folk metal bands, which usually use folk music only as the impulse in metal.

KORPIKLAANI’s music is very Finnish and the band does not fear to be labeled “yokels“, living in the middle of the forest. They prefer to draw inspiration from their surroundings,as they so skillfully did on their 2003 NAPALM RECS debut, “Spirit of the Forest”. The album presented an indisputable Folk Metal achievement. Its musicality, varying from the mysteriously charming instrumental compositions to the "humppa" melodies that immediately invite the listener to dance along and reflect the entire spectrum of the Finnish Folk Metal art.

With the recording of “Voice of Wilderness” complete and awaiting its 24 Jan 2005 release, the members of KORPIKLAANI concentrated on finding a permanent accordion player. Juho joined the band in the fall of 2004 enabling them to more easily transfer the energetic melodies and Folk Metal atmosphere to the live stage.

But the line-up changes didn’t stop there. Arto began his military service and decided to not continue with the band. As such, Jarkko Aaltonen replaced him in the summer of 2005. Likewise, Ali and Honka parted ways with KORPIKLAANI, as they did not feel they could adequately devote themselves to the band due to personal committments.

The current lineup has been stable ever since, and KORPIKLAANI made with “Tales along the Road” a strong successor to “Voice of Wilderness”. Tales along the Road is the first album that has more songs in Finnish than in English. This is a logical step for a band that feels so close to their roots and the Finnish folk music. It was also enhanced by the excellent lyrics written by Juha Jyrkäs (a.k.a. Virva Holtiton). His lyrics are written according to the traditional “Kalevala” style. In “Tales along the Road” folk and metal mingle even stronger to an irresistible unity, as well for lovers of traditional folk music, as for metal enthusiasts, and of course for beer lovers!

In June 2007 the next album “Tervaskanto” was released. In Tervaskanto the folk-metal style has even more taken shape. The songs are energetic, catchy and very melodic. Most lyrics are written again by Juha Jyrkäs who became more or less permanently engaged as lyrics writer. This album only has two songs in English, but the booklet contains, as usual, translations of the lyrics and some background information. The usual mix of skillfully played genuine instruments, rough vocals, original melodies, outstanding lyrics, energy, joy and beer, made Tervaskanto to a highlight for many people.

KORPIKLAANI performed through the years on many stages and many festivals. To see this band live is an unforgettable experience. When KORPIKLAANI plays, it is party time for the band, but maybe even more for the audience that soon changes in one big happy, whirling pit, where everyone has a great time, and all daily worries are forgotten.

The great times on stage and the enthusiasm of the audience inspired the band to write even more songs, and already in February 2008 another album will be born: “Korven Kuningas” (The king of the woods). In the meantime songs of Tervaskanto will show up among the many catchy songs that KORPIKLAANI already plays on stage.

Finnish folk metallers KORPIKLAANI have posted an audio preview of their new album, "Korven Kuningas", on the band's MySpace page (http://myspace.com/korpiklaaniofficial).

"Korven Kuningas" is scheduled for release on March 21, 2008 via Nuclear Blast Records. Check out the cover artwork at this location (http://www.korpiklaani.com/pictures/korvenkuningaspieni.jpg). A new single, "Keep On Galloping", will precede the full-length effort on February 14, 2008 in both CD and 7" picture vinyl formats. It will also include the track "Paljon On Koskessa Kiviä". View the single cover artwork at this location (http://www.korpiklaani.com/pictures/singlepieni.jpg).

"Korven Kuningas" track listing:

01. Tapporauta
02. Metsämies
03. Keep On Galloping
04. Northern Fall
05. Shall We Take A Turn?
06. Paljon On Koskessa Kiviä
07. Ali Jäisten Vetten
08. Gods On Fire
09. Kipakka (Japan bonus track)
10. Kantaiso
11. Kipumylly
12. Suden Joiku
13. Runamoine
14. Syntykoski Syömmehessäin
15. Korven Kuningas
16. Nuolet nomalan (digipack bonus track)

KORPIKLAANI entered the Finnish and German album charts at positions No. 36 and No. 52, respectively, with their latest effort, "Tervaskanto" (Napalm Records).

"Tervaskanto" was recorded at Fantom Studios in Tampere, Finland with producer Samu Oittinen. 11 songs were laid down for the follow-up to "Tales along this Road".

KORPIKLAANI's video for the song "Tervaskanto" can be viewed below.

Formed by Jonne Järvelä (vocals, guitar), KORPIKLAANI ("Woodland Clan" in Finnish) released two albums under its previous moniker, SHAMAN. In contrast to SHAMAN, which recorded songs in the original Sami language, KORPIKLAANI's material is writen mostly in English, but also in Finnish.

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

Troll

01-08-2008, 9:48am

They look cool.

FinnFreak

01-10-2008, 8:37am

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - CULTURE - Thursday 10.1.2008 ´

Simpsons Movie was most-watched film in Finland in 2007

Joulutarina did best of domestic releases, as aggregate cinema attendances fell slightly

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135233097398.jpeg
The Simpsons driving around in Finland..?!? - Almost. Alaska. (looks the same)

The biggest box office success at Finnish movie theatres in 2007 was The Simpsons Movie.

More than 400,000 saw the first big-screen adaptation of the long-running and hugely popular TV cartoon series.

Cinema attendances slipped by around 2% on the year, relative to 2006.

A total of 1.3 million people went to see domestic movie releases, or around 20 per cent of the aggregate attendance figure.

The biggest draw among Finnish productions was Juha Wuolijoki’s Joulutarina ("Christmas Story"), which had been seen at year’s end by around 240,000 people.

The biggest international splash created by a Finnish-made film came with Aleksi Salmenperä’s Miehen työ (A Man’s Work).

This was screened at nearly 40 international film festivals during the year and also picked up several prizes, in Spain, Germany, Switzerland, and Morocco.

The film, which explores male prostitution as a means of overcoming the shock of redundancy, was also chosen as Finland’s nominee for February’s Oscars, in the foreign film category.

This year there will be at least 11 new domestic feature films coming to Finnish cinemas.

This is in spite of a lengthy production shutdown, lasting around two months, that was declared by Finnish film producers in the autumn, in protest against what was seen as inadequate government funding for the branch.

woohoo - I went to see the Simpsons Movie too. Now, I'm in the statistics. Lucky me.

John - :p

Troll

01-10-2008, 9:32am

That is neat.

canoilers

01-11-2008, 4:18am

FinnFreak

01-11-2008, 4:20am

Totally didn't even know Meatloaf could play the accordion. :p

Now that you mention it... he does indeed look like a younger Mr. Loaf..!

My name is Bond. James Bond. And I want loaf. Meatloaf.

John - :p

canoilers

01-11-2008, 4:27am

Maybe thats why he looks so happy, I'd be reeeeeally happy too if I looked like Meatloaf. Then theres all the Meatloaf groupies we hear so much about..... :huh: :nervous: Yeah! that happy. :p

How do you like your Meatloaf shakin or stirred. :p

FinnFreak

01-11-2008, 4:45am

http://image.wetpaint.com/image/2/Ek3JXYs9yyriIT536OwrEA11578/GW300H213.gif

Amazing. Somebody actually drinks liquefied pop corn.

John - :p

canoilers

01-11-2008, 4:50am

For the love of god I hope they mean the taste of the Jim Bean and not Sean Connery, although some of you maybe into that...

Once you have one... well you know the cliche.

FinnFreak

01-11-2008, 4:58am

...and now the snow in Finland is melting away...

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135233198006.jpeg

Darn..! :scowl: - Just when it began to light up the place...

Well, at least Fernando Alonso & Albert II of Monaco got to enjoy the winter weather here...

John - ;)

FinnFreak

01-11-2008, 5:17am

Victoria Times Colonist, Canada - Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Finland is the birthplace of skating, study concludes

By Randy Boswell, CanWest News Service

Canada, the experts agree, gets credit for inventing organized hockey - along with the puck, the net, the goalie mask and the bench-clearing brawl.

But, a landmark scientific study has concluded ancient travellers using animal-bone blades gave Finland a 4,000-year head start over this country when it comes to our national game's most fundamental feature - skating.

Combining archeological evidence, satellite imagery of the northern European landscape and experiments to measure the energy-saving benefits of gliding across frozen lakes, researchers from Britain and Italy believe they've pinpointed the likeliest birthplace of skating as southern Finland.

The rugged region north of Helsinki - which has more lakes per 100 square kilometres than anywhere else on Earth - offered ideal conditions for the development of skating as a survival aid for prehistoric Finns, says University of Oxford physiologist Federico Formenti.

He's the lead author of a paper titled The first humans travelling on ice, published in the January edition of the Biological Journal of the Linnean Society.

Key to the findings were the distribution of bone-skate archeological sites and the elongated shape and freezing rates of lakes in Finland's watery southern frontier, dominated by the sprawling lakes Saimaa, Paijanne and Pyhajarvi - the latter located about 100 kilometres northeast of the city of Turku, hometown of the Montreal Canadiens' Finnish captain Saku Koivu.

Experts have long known that skating began with the use of animal-bone blades, principally made from the lower legs of horses.

The study found that conditions were much less conducive to the development of skating in present-day Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands and Germany.

"Proportionately, Canada shows a strong presence of water," the scientists noted, "but, to date, no bone skates have been found in North America."

Ouch.

The Formenti-led study found that ancient Finnish hunters and fishers who walked and skated across lakes instead of only walking would have reduced their average winter energy needs by about 10 per cent.

Norwegians would have saved about three per cent of their energy by skating, compared with just one per cent in the other northern regions studied.

"In order to better adapt to the severe conditions imposed by the long lasting winters, Finnish populations could benefit more than others from developing this ingenious locomotion tool," the authors argue.

In a statement about the study, Formenti added that as ancient northerners "struggled to survive the severe winter conditions," it seems "unlikely that ice skating developed as a hobby. As happened later for skis and bicycles, I am convinced that we first made ice skates in order to limit the energy required for our daily journeys."

As it happens, some of Finland's finest female skaters will take to the ice in Calgary Wednesday - presumably on steel blades - to face Team Canada in the inaugural Under-18 Women's World Hockey Championship.

So far, the Finns haven't parlayed their ancient history of bone skating into an advantage at the tournament, having lost their opening game to unheralded Germany.

John - :p

EilleenTwain88

01-11-2008, 9:15am

... & Albert II of Monaco got to enjoy the winter weather here...
Speak for your western sea-front self only... eastern Lapland and Albert are fine with snow still!!! More is falling as matter of fact all the time...

Troll

01-11-2008, 10:05am

Thanks for the articles and pics

Troll

01-11-2008, 10:06am

http://image.wetpaint.com/image/2/Ek3JXYs9yyriIT536OwrEA11578/GW300H213.gif

Amazing. Somebody actually drinks liquefied pop corn.

John - :p

Seems interesting

FinnFreak

01-16-2008, 8:08am

Finland For Thought - 16.1.2008

Vampira dies in Hollywood

http://www.cinemablend.com/images/news_img/7472/7472.jpg

Few people know that Finland - Helsinki, in particular - is probably the gothiest place on Earth. One might ask, did Finland’s Goths arrive centuries-ago seeking refuge from Attila? Or did they move directly from Gotland? Nobody really knows their origins, but Saturday nights downtown can be a real costume party.

Sadly, the inventor and inspiration of this macabre fashion statement, the goddess of gothic garb herself, died recently in Hollywood. Vampira was 85.

Her real name was Maila Elizabeth Syrjaniemi (later changed to Maila Nurmi) and she was born in Petsamo, Finland (now Pechenga, Russia) on Dec. 11, 1922. At age 2, she and her family emigrated to Ohio, in search of a better life.

RIP, Vampira.

* * *

CinemaBlend.com - Maila Nurmi, 1950’s late night TV horror hostess and B-movie star, passed away in Los Angeles on Thursday, January 10th at the age of 86. According to Nurmi’s website (http://www.vampirasattic.com/) the cause was cardiac arrest.

Nurmi was born Maila Syrjäniemi in Finland, but immigrated to the United States as a child. She was discovered by Howard Hawks. Nurmi is best known for playing Vampira, the glamorously spooky hostess of “The Vampira Show”. The character was originally created by Nurmi for a masquerade contest and was based on a character in Charles Addam’s (of Addams Family fame) New Yorker cartoons. She won the contest and caught the eye of a local television station representative, who then put her under contract for KABC-TV. As Vampira, Nurmi would introduce the schlock-horror movies run by Hollywood’s Channel 7 after hours. During segments, she would wander. With her rib-cracking slim waist dresses and highly arched eyebrows, Nurmi brought sex appeal to late night graveyard TV programming.

“The Vampira Show” was a hit, bringing Nurmi national attention and an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Female Personality in 1955. Ed Wood was a fan and included Vampira in his notoriously bad film Plan Nine From Outer Space. Nurmi spoke about her experiences on the film in the 2001 documentary Shlock! The Secret History of American Movies.

Unfortunately, Nurmi never escaped the shadow of her Vampira character. Though she appeared in several more (terrible) films, her acting career was essentially over by 1960. She spent her later years selling clothes out of a boutique in Los Angeles and advocating for animal rights.

The cause of her death is listed on her website as cardiac arrest. According to Metroblogging Los Angeles (http://blogging.la/archives/2008/01/rip_vampira_aka_maila_nurmi.phtml), friends of the late actress are lobbying for a plot for Nurmi in Hollywood Forever Cemetery, a veritable burial ground for the Hollywood stars of old. It would be a fitting final place for the original Queen of the Damned. Funeral arrangements are still pending, but a memorial service will be held in Los Angeles all. For more details, visit Vampira’s Attic (http://www.vampirasattic.com/).

* * *

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) - Maila Nurmi, whose "Vampira" TV persona pioneered the spooky-yet-sexy Goth aesthetic, has died, coroner's officials said. She was 85.

Nurmi died Thursday afternoon at her Hollywood home, Los Angeles County coroner's Lt. Fred Corral said. The cause of death has not been determined, Corral said.

Nurmi created her Vampira character -- reminiscent of Charles Addams' spooky New Yorker cartoons -- to host horror movie broadcasts on KABC TV in Los Angeles in 1954.

With darkly mascaraed eyes and blood-red lipstick, Nurmi appeared each week in her revealing black dress and slinky fishnets to introduce such films as "Revenge of the Zombies" and "Devil Bat's Daughter."

"The Vampira Show" was canceled after about a year, but Nurmi remained a cult figure among B-movie buffs and is thought to have inspired the vampish Morticia Addams on "The Addams Family," which premiered about 10 years later.

But Nurmi's cultural resonance did not translate into long-term wealth. In 1989, she lost a $10 million lawsuit that contended Cassandra Peterson's late-night horror hostess Elvira pirated her character.

"There is no Elvira. There's only a pirated Vampira," she was quoted as saying in an Associated Press story at the time. "Cassandra Peterson slavishly copied my product and made a fortune. America has been duped."

Among Nurmi's scattered film appearances following her TV career was a cameo in Ed Wood's 1959 cult classic, "Plan 9 From Outer Space." Nurmi was played by Lisa Marie in "Ed Wood," Tim Burton's 1994 tribute to the B-movie director.

Nurmi was born Maila Elizabeth Syrjaniemi in Finland on December 11, 1922, and emigrated with her family to Ohio, said Heather Saenz, a friend.

In her late teens she went to New York, where she fell in with a clique of actors and artists and moved with them to Hollywood to seek a film career, Saenz said. She worked as a chorus girl and model before appearing as Vampira, Saenz said.

Nurmi supported herself late in her life by selling handmade jewelry, Saenz said.

Saenz and her husband, Bryan Moore, met Nurmi in 2005 when they recruited her to serve as grand marshal in a procession of hearses sponsored by Los Angeles' Petersen Automotive Museum.

Moore said he plans to transport Nurmi's casket in the same hearse she rode in at the parade -- a vintage 1951 vehicle that appeared in a scene of "Ed Wood."

"So that's going to be Vampira's last ride," he said.

Funeral arrangements are pending. Nurmi has no known surviving family, Moore said.

John - :sad:

Troll

01-16-2008, 10:04am

Thanks for the article

aFinn

01-17-2008, 4:50pm

Speak for your western sea-front self only... eastern Lapland and Albert are fine with snow still!!! More is falling as matter of fact all the time...
We had like 3 days of snow, then all black again and rain, rain, rain :scowl:

EilleenTwain88

01-19-2008, 2:48am

We have had white ground for a month now, but still there is suprisingly little snow. Usually we have 60-70cm by now, this year it is more like 20-30cm.

FinnFreak

01-19-2008, 5:00am

Damn, that Al Gore..! - it's all his fault.

John - :p

FinnFreak

01-20-2008, 9:52am

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - BUSINESS & FINANCE - Sunday 20.1.2008

Anti-Nokia opinions gathering momentum in Germany

http://www.dw-world.de/image/0,,3063685_4,00.jpg

Public exhorted to avoid buying Nokia handsets in the wake of Bochum closure decision

Mobile phone manufacturer Nokia is running into heavy weather in Germany, as a veritable national movement is beginning to rise against the decision earlier this week to close the Nokia handset assembly plant in Bochum on the Ruhr.

An anti-Nokia campaign is being put together with considerable alacrity.

The decision to shut down the plant and move production to Romania threatens directly to put more than 2,000 people out of work, with a further two thousand jobs in jeopardy as an indirect result of the closure.

On Wednesday, Social Democrats in Nordrhein-Westfalen had already got an online capaign up and running under the slogan "No Nokia, so nicht!"

By Thursday afternoon the site had received more than a thousand names and comments, often expressing the view that this was a last straw and the writer would no longer be buying Nokia products, as a protest against the maximisation of the company’s profits.

Polticians are also demanding action. According to the Social Democrat group within the German Parliament, Nokia "needs to feel the heat and realise that its behaviour is unacceptable".

The Germans have been particularly aggrieved and astonished at the company’s actions, given that the Bochum facility has not been operating at a loss.

"I could understand the decision if we had been running on minus", said Gabriele Presinger, a worker at the handset plant, speaking on Thursday evening.

On Thursday dozens of Nokia employees gathered at the factory gates in the evening to protest the move.

There were mutterings about betrayal, since only at the end of last year the employer had provided the staff with incentive bonuses for a job well done, despite the fact that - at least in the view of the workers - the decision to shut down the factory and move production elsewhere had already been made by this stage.

Many angry members of staff also pointed to the heavy overtime routines that were in effect either side of the New Year, seeing this as a means for the employer to compensate for possible downtime from protest strikes brought on by the decision to shut the assembly plant.

The German federal government and the government of Nordrhein-Westfalen have jointly demanded that the Nokia management come to the negotiating table to discuss alternatives to the closure of the Bochum facility.

Nokia’s SVP, Communications Arja Suominen reported to the Associated Press news agency on Thursday that the company is ready for discussions, but the decision itself is not for changing.

The plan to cease production in Bochum was based on the facts and had been agreed after "very careful consideration", said Suominen.

Workers in Bochum and union activists are planning a major demonstration in support of their case for next Tuesday.

Earlier this week, Veli Sundbäck, Executive Vice President of Nokia and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Nokia GmbH had stated that owing to market changes and increasing requirements for cost-effectiveness, the production of mobile devices in Germany is no longer feasible for Nokia.

A further problem for the manufacturer, aside from higher personnel costs than would be found in Romania, is that subcontractors, whose proximity is important for a Nokia factory, have themselves been reluctant to come to Germany because of the high costs.

* * *

STT - 20.1.2008 at 14:35

Head of Germany's SPD joins Nokia boycott calls

Discontent over the Finnish mobile phone maker's decision to close a factory in North Rhine-Westphalia gained ground at the weekend with Kurt Beck, the head of Germany's Social Democrats, quoted as saying on Sunday that there would be no Nokia handsets in his house.

"It is not my style to call for a boycott of a product. But for me, and this is doubtless the case with many other Germans, the name of Nokia has not sounded good for the past week," Mr Beck was quoted as saying by Bild am Sonntag.

Nokia had announced last week it would shut down a factory employing about 2,300 workers in Bochum and transfer most of its production to Romania.

The organisers of a demonstration scheduled to take place in Bochum on Tuesday expect up to 20,000 people to turn up.

* * *

Deutsche Welle, Germany - 20.01.2008

EU Official Urges Scrapping of Firm Subsidies After Nokia Closure

Finnish cell phone-maker Nokia's decision to close a plant in Germany shows that state subsidies should no longer be paid to attract companies, according to EU Industry Commissioner Verheugen.

In an interview with German newspaper Welt am Sonntag, European Union Industry Commissioner Günter Verheugen raised questions over the use of public money to subsidize industry.

"Nokia gives us cause to reconsider state policy on subsidies altogether," Verheugen told the paper. "I think there's no sense in the state paying subsidies in order to attract companies."

Nokia, the world's biggest cell phone maker, said this week it would close a plant in the city of Bochum in Germany's western industrial Ruhr region because it was not competitive and move production to Romania instead. It plans to relocate to the towns of Cluj and Jucu in Romania on grounds of lower wage costs.

The company said the move will cost up to 2,300 layoffs at the Bochum plant. A number of part-time workers at the site have already been dismissed, according to a German newspaper report over the weekend.

"A subsidy locust"

Nokia's decision has provoked outrage in Germany, with state politicians threatening to seek the repayment of some the more than 80 million euros ($120 million) in state and federal subsidies the company had received over the 20 years of the plant's existence.

North Rhine-Westphalia Economics Minister Christa Thoben asked whether the company was receiving a subsidy from the European Union to set up in Romania. Germany is the largest contributor to EU funds.

And state premier Jürgen Rüttgers suggested the company was behaving like a "subsidy locust."

The head of the IG Metall trade union, Berthold Huber, on Friday said steps needed to be taken to keep companies from abandoning Germany.

"In Germany it is much too easy for companies to close factories and leave people unemployed," he said. "These companies do enormous damage to society, and they need to be held responsible for it."

Politicians call for Nokia boycott

A few German politicians have said they would trade in their Nokia cell phones for another brand.

Kurt Beck, head of Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD) called for an indirect boycott of Nokia cell phones.

"It's not my style to call for a goods boycott," Beck told German newspaper Bild am Sonntag. "But for me as I'm sure for many Germans, the name Nokia doesn't have a good ring to it anymore," he said, adding that we would not use the company's cell phone any more.

"We can all together make it clear that we're not going to led ourselves be misled. Germany has 82 million consumers."

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso hinted the European Union might be prepared to help those affected.

"I understand the dismay of the people in Bochum," he told German magazine WirtschaftsWoche. "For the very reason we know how hard the process of change can be, we have social and globalization funds in cases where member states can't shoulder the burden of such changes."

Nokia on "wrong path"

Verheugen, a German who also serves as commission vice president under Jose Manuel Barroso, said Nokia's surprise announcement of the closure of the German plant pointed to "serious management failures."

"Nokia's behavior is the product of a new religion which idolizes shareholder value," he said. "That's the wrong path."

Nokia, which makes almost 40 per cent of the world's mobile phones, has insisted its decision was soundly based and that it was final.

Industry insiders in Germany said the factory-gate price of a no-frills phone had fallen to less than 10 euros, although others noted that wages made up just five per cent of the cost of a mobile phone made at the Bochum plant.

Nokia is to hold talks with German politicians and worker representatives on a social package to ease the closure.

* * *

:sad: - Well, that's what has been happening a lot in Finland lately: a manufacturing company - with well educated, skillful workers - can be healthier than ever, making a good profit... still the production can be closed down in order to make even a bigger profit by shipping the production to a low-cost country.

10 times smaller personnel costs..? - heck, even the quality factor can (and has) be lowered in order to boost the stock price & market share.

Governments, however, will be looking more closely in further funding the industry's development programs... if in the end, it's the tax payers money that a company uses to make those tax payers unemployed... electronics, forestry, paper... it's happening in all industries...

We live in a greedy little world...

John - :smirk:

Troll

01-20-2008, 3:55pm

That is terrible

EilleenTwain88

01-20-2008, 7:50pm

...
Governments, however, will be looking more closely in further funding the industry's development programs...
Some governments at least. Not Finnish one, they are major share holders in many companies and "powerless" to do anything still.

FinnFreak

01-20-2008, 11:45pm

There's lotsa BIG boys/girls sitting on the Boards - naturally they are doing the only right thing to do... right..? ;)

...but, with globalization - competing on the market of the whole world - it's inevitable that in order for companies to thrive, they MUST also make decisions that keep them in the lead... otherwise, in the long run, there is no market share - and there is no company. And no jobs.

I'm not saying it's all justified - again, in all fairness, things could be done differently. The world just simply doesn't stop turning.

John - :sad:

EilleenTwain88

01-21-2008, 3:19am

Globalization doesn't dictate where you make your products or services. It is the combination of quality, productivity AND prize of things which do that, sure. At least it should be.

I claim to understand that, but in this hurlom of things many (Finnish) companies are making ridiculous decisions just for the 3 month share-holders' profit. For years it has been some sort of a trend. Looks that in order to be a BIG boss in a BIG company, you'll have to make some lay-offs just to show how tough you really are.

It looks like the companies' leaders have forgotten that the motivated and well-treated staff is their biggest asset. Not the bosses themselves, who are only generating more work to themselves with all this fuss and constant changes. I only hope that in long run the share-holders will finally see thru that and start believing in those companies who are really investing into the future.

But that is like wishing people would pay for the music again, even if they don't have to :D ... in my dreams maybe. But as Lennon puts it: I'm not the only one... :hopeful look:?

FinnFreak

01-21-2008, 3:34am

The shareholders only want to see serious profit for their invested money. Mostly. I'm sure there are investors with ethics behind their decisions, but those are an odd minority.

Motivation, yes - that's they key to success, but I fear in the future, especially in electronics... it's mostly only in research & design - NOT manufacturing. Not here.

In the mid-90s, I read a book called 'Nokia Saga' by Marco Mäkinen - where Nokia was looking for a personnel manager when they were just getting into the mobile manufacturing industry big time back in the 80s. I believe it was an Irish executive they chose, who gave a speech to the Nokia board of directors, something along the lines: "if you want to become a world leader in your market, you better start loving the people who work for you"

I hope they do.

John - ;)

FinnFreak

01-21-2008, 5:15am

STT - 21.1.2008 at 10:56

Finnish government digs heels in on ownership policy

Finland's centre-right government signalled at the weekend that it would stick to its ownership policy regardless of the turmoil surrounding Stora Enso's decision to shut down two mills in Finland.

Matti Vanhanen (centre), the prime minister, said Saturday he did not intend to buckle under political pressure.

Speaking on Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) radio, Mr Vanhanen underscored that companies like Stora Enso were subject to rules governing listed companies in that stakeholders could influence them only through general meetings.

He added the state had made a commitment to this principle when having state-owned enterprises listed on the stock exchange.

"Likewise one has approved the principle that companies must be able to cope on the open market, yield a profit and manage the money invested in it through the stock market by individuals and institutions in accordance with the strategy set by the company," Mr Vanhanen told YLE.

The prime minister pointed out that the state's dividend revenue amounted to about 1.5 billion euros last year, money that could be used to fund welfare services.

John - :smirk:

FinnFreak

01-21-2008, 5:26am

Now, let's have a bit of fun... ;)

The Guardian, UK - Saturday January 19, 2008

Q&A: Pamela Anderson

http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/Film/Pix/pictures/2008/01/18/pam_high.jpg

By Rosanna Greenstreet

Pamela Anderson, 40, was born and raised in Ladysmith, Canada. Her father was a furnace repair man, her mother a waitress. Her modelling career began after she was filmed at a football game wearing a Labatt T-shirt. In 1992, she was cast as CJ Parker in the hit television series Baywatch, a role that made her a sex symbol worldwide. Her films include Barb Wire, Scooby-Doo, Scary Movie 3, Borat and Blonde And Blonder, which was written by her brother, Gerry. She is also the author of two novels, Star and Starstruck. She has two sons, and was recently married for the third time. She lives in Malibu.

Where would you like to live?

My family roots are in Finland and I've considered moving there and opening a strip club called Lapland.

http://film.guardian.co.uk/interview/interviewpages/0,,2243220,00.html

John - :p

EilleenTwain88

01-21-2008, 6:08am

...opening a strip club called Lapland.
:shocked: Please God... no. :help:
"Lapland"???
How in the name of... isn't that sort of :chill: idea?

FinnFreak

01-21-2008, 6:13am

Previously she's been talking about an international chain under that name. :p

Why stand in the way of... progress..? :D

"I've always wanted to visit Lapland - the home of lap dancing" - Men Behaving Badly, UK Comedy Series

John - ;)

FinnFreak

01-22-2008, 3:18am

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - BUSINESS & FINANCE - Tuesday 22.1.2008

Anger at Nokia swells in Germany; top politicians join fray over plant closure

Calls for boycott of Nokia phones

There appears to be no letup in sentiments against the Finnish-based mobile telephone company Nokia in Germany, after it announced last week that it would close down an assembly plant in the city of Bochum.

On Tuesday a demonstration is planned in Bochum to protest the decision to close the mobile phone factory and transfer the production to Romania. In addition to the 2,300 people working at the plant, the jobs of about 2,000 others working for companies which supply the plant with goods and services could also be on the line.

Organisers expect a turnout of 20,000 people at the demonstration.

Chancellor Angela Merkel sharply criticised the company through her spokesperson on Friday.

On Saturday Social Democratic Party leader Kurt Beck said in a newspaper interview that he would join a boycott of Nokia products.

Mobile phone stores have reported a decrease in interest among customers for Nokia phones.

"Until now, people have always asked about Nokia first", says Steffen Meier, who sells mobile telephones at E-Plus.

Also calling for a boycott of Nokia mobile phones is the Finnish section of Attac, an organisation opposed to increased economic globalisation.

According to the statement, the decision to close the Bochum factory shows the inhumanity of capitalism.

Finnish Attac chairman Mikko Sauli does not urge people to exchange a usable Nokia phone for another model.

"We do not call for such conspicuous consumption, but if one is buying a new phone, it is worth thinking about what to choose", Sauli says.

Similar news of mass redundancies have become commonplace in Bochum and other parts of the Ruhr region. In 2004 the financially strapped car manufacturer Opel cut the jobs of 3,000 people. This led to massive resistance from employees, trade unions, and the whole political field, but there was also a certain amount of understanding.

"Opel was operating at a loss, whereas Nokia is a profitable company, here in Bochum as well. That is the decisive difference", said Bochum Mayor Ottelie Scholz on Friday to Helsingin Sanomat.

A number of influential figures have been critical of the way that Nokia simply announced the shutdown, leaving no room for discussions - something that is seen as alien to present German culture.

While Nokia's public image has suffered considerably in Germany, the City of Bochum is also afraid of image problems.

Bochum and the whole industrial area of the Ruhr Valley suffered badly from structural change which led to the downsizing of the mining and steel industry in the 1990s.

Unemployment in the region is among the highest in all of western Germany - 12-15 per cent, but the area is gradually recovering loss of the mining industry.

The loss of Nokia is a serious blow to the city of less than 400,000 inhabitants. Nokia has been the city's most important source of tax revenue, and its second-most important employer.

In addition to bitter feelings, Nokia is leaving plenty of signs of the public subsidies that it has enjoyed in the past couple of decades.

The most visible of these is the Nokia Bahn railway line from Bochum to Gelsenkirchen, which was built, partly with taxpapers' money, for efficient commuting for Nokia factory workers.

An unofficial renaming competition has begun in Bochum for both the rail line itself, and the "Bochum Nokia" station.

So far, the Germans' anger has focused on the company Nokia, and not Finland as a whole.

However, the Finnish Embassy in Berlin reports receiving dozens of "hate messages" from angry Germans.

In the view of passers-by on the streets of Nokia, the answer was clear: Nokia was to blame.

"I love Finland. They make wonderful music there", says mobile phone saleswoman Sabina Rataj, adding that Nightwish is her favourite band.

John - :smirk:

EilleenTwain88

01-22-2008, 4:46am

"I love Finland. They make wonderful music there", says mobile phone saleswoman Sabina Rataj, adding that Nightwish is her favourite band.
:biglaugh: :boogie:

There you go, Tuomas. The whole future of Finland is on YOUR shoulders...

:bow:

FinnFreak

01-22-2008, 6:14am

The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/21/world/europe/21wolves.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin) - January 21, 2008

A Finnish Turf Battle Pits Wolf Against Reindeer Herder

http://www.finlandforthought.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/finland_wolves3.jpghttp://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/01/21/world/21wolves.map.jpg
Saaravaara, near the Russian border, is reindeer country.

By STEPHEN CASTLE

SUOMUSSALMI, Finland — Close to the tiny Finnish village of Saaravaara, bloody tracks lead through the snow to the frozen carcass of an 8-month-old male reindeer lying on its side, its neck torn, its underbelly ripped open.

Within minutes, Ilmari Schepel, a local agriculture official, identified the culprit: a wolf. His evidence was the shape of the bite to the animal’s throat and the belly tear; wolves are particularly fond of reindeer intestines.

This town, a 20-minute drive from Finland’s border with Russia and more than 375 miles northeast of Helsinki, is on the front line of Finland’s wolf wars. The fight is between backers of European Union regulations, which are meant to halt sharp drops in the population of wolves and other endangered predators across Europe, and the roughly 7,000 reindeer herders whose livelihoods are threatened by increased attacks on their animals.

Finland, which joined the European Union in 1995, came under criticism that its hunting practices did not mesh with European habitat directives. So in 2001, the Finnish government tightened its hunting laws to meet European Union standards. Finnish law now states that every kill must be covered by a permit and restricts the number of permits to about 10 percent of a particular predator’s known numbers.

Seven years later, the populations of wolves, lynxes, brown bears and wolverines in Finland have grown substantially, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in Helsinki. In this area, the number of wolves has roughly tripled since 1996, and attacks on reindeer herds have increased more than threefold in the past 10 years.

The level of anger about the hunting restrictions is high here. In one telling example, Stavros Dimas, the European environment commissioner who insisted on the hunting crackdown to protect the endangered predators, received a bullet in his mailbox from an irate hunter.

Asko Moilanen, 40, a third-generation herder, said that because of his losses to predators over the past three years, his income from reindeer has been reduced to almost nothing. “Either we should be allowed to hunt or they should pay compensation for the real losses,” he said. “It affects my whole life and my family.”

Mr. Moilanen, who is married with four children, depends on his wife’s earnings to stay afloat. “The people are poor here, but I am a beggar. Last year on my tax return, I declared just 100 dollars earned from herding.”

Herders complain that state compensation for lost reindeer — each carcass fetches about $439 — is inadequate because it fails to take account the remains of those that are never found. The Agriculture and Forestry Ministry says the herders are fairly compensated.

In much of Finland, reindeer hold a hallowed place in the collective imagination, perhaps akin to the buffalo in the history of the American West. Farther north toward the Arctic Circle, Lapland is the supposed home of Santa Claus and his flying reindeer. Less sentimental Finns enjoy eating reindeer: fried, sautéed, smoked or cold.

For its part, the European Commission insists that, under the European Habitats Directive, wolves have the right to be protected. “Men and wolves have lived together for centuries, and there is no reason why they should not continue to do so,” said Barbara Helfferich, a spokeswoman for Mr. Dimas, the European environment commissioner. “We need to ensure coexistence and protect the species according to the law.”

The area around Suomussalmi is just north of the line that marks the country’s reindeer herding zone. Before Finnish law was amended in 2001, there were few restrictions on hunting of predators here.

On a recent day in the snow-covered forest, Kalervo Rytinki, a retired policeman and herder, demonstrated how wolves are now hunted by uncoiling a rope marked with small black flags that he tied around trees. The rope — known as a flag line — enclosed an area where a pack was known to be roaming. Because the line was dipped in a pungent oil made from elk antlers, the wolves would be reluctant to cross the line.

Gradually, the hunters reduced the area enclosed by the flag line to trap the wolves.

Though herders here had permits to kill three wolves, Mr. Rytinki said the hunt was halted because the wolf pack numbered at least nine and there was a risk that more than three reindeer would be killed before the wolves were trapped. He said there was no illegal hunting here because anyone breaking the law could lose their rifle, face fines related to income and go to jail for up to two years.

While those hunters were law abiding, some conservationist say the same cannot be said for the country as a whole. Matti Nieminen, a spokesman for the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation, said that there was too much illegal hunting of wolves and that licensing should focus on the wolves that kill most local animals.

According to Ilpo Kojola, a senior research scientist at the Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute, mortality among wolves runs at about 20 percent a year. Nine of 10 dead wolves are killed by humans and, of those, about 30 percent die in illegal hunts, he said.

Finland last year lost a court case brought by the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, which ruled that Finns had failed to protect wolves from hunters. The commission is expected to review the case and decide in the next two weeks whether the authorities in Helsinki protect wolves and other endangered predators sufficiently.

:uhh: - Dump the whole wolf population on Strasbourg... THEN let's see how they feel about it... "oh grandma, how BIG TEETH you have!" :funny:

John - :p

EilleenTwain88

01-22-2008, 6:25am

:uhh: - Dump the whole wolf population on Strasbourg... THEN let's see how they feel about it... "oh grandma, how BIG TEETH you have!" :funny:
Yes. That strategy works by the way.

Southern Finns wanted to protect all the bears in Finland, until some of them were moved to Nuuksio National Park near Helsinki.

Soon many restrictions were taken into use. :D

FinnFreak

01-22-2008, 6:43am

The Korea Times - 01/20/2008

Why Are Finnish Fluent in English?

By Kim Se-jeong

The Finnish foreign language education system is one that Korean parents and the government may only dream of.

At the end of a nine-year primary education program, Finnish students can leave the school competent in speaking English, whereas for Koreans, speaking English is a distant hope no matter what kind of degree they have acquired.

The English education in Finnish schools is considered to be a successful case and is cited by Korean education experts.

Finnish Ambassador to Seoul Kim Loutonen said the focus on practicality in the curriculum has led the success.

"Foreign language instruction gives pupils capabilities for functioning in foreign language communication situations. The task of the instructions are to accustom them to using their language skills and educate students in understanding and valuing how people live in other cultures,'' he said.

The ambassador himself can speak six languages. Other than Finnish and Swedish that are official languages in Finland, he began learning German, French, Spanish and English all at school.

In particular, he began to learn English when he entered upper secondary school, equivalent to the seventh grade of the Korean system.

"Teachers (only) spoke English. If you had questions, you had to ask it in English. In the beginning (level), especially, you learn to speak without knowing much grammar,'' the ambassador said. This is still the same after several decades.

One interesting point is that there are, even now, no native speaker in a classroom "All English teachers are Finnish, and they speak English the whole time, except when they have to explain grammar.''

He was assessed through written tests, but his speaking ability was tested separately during the semester, the ambassador explained.

"Oral skills are evaluated on a regular basis, therefore pupils are encouraged to participate actively during class, for example in the form of discussions and group work,'' he said.

In Korea, English education in schools has been a target of criticism for its lack of practicality.

"As far as I understand, learning English in Korea focuses on grammar and rote learning, which is not the focus in our system,'' the ambassador said.

In Korea, it is rare for a Korean English teacher to speak English the whole time in a class. As to fill the need of oral fluency, schools hire native speakers. Yet, their lack of training in education and teaching skills has recently surfaced as a problem that needs to be addressed.

However, in Finland, the quality of the instructors does not pose a problem.

"In Finland, all teachers are required to obtain a Master's degree and initial teacher training includes teaching practice,'' he said. English-language teachers have to major in English philology to qualify.

He then shared of an incident during a meeting with Korean-English teachers, which gave him a negative impression on the value of Korean-English teachers.

"If I had deviated from the text I handed out in advance, they didn't seem to understand,'' he said. "Even those who have good degrees from foreign schools didn't seem to communicate very well.''

President-elect Lee Myung-bak has pledged to amend the English education system as part of the educational reform so that students can obtain an adequate English ability through the school system in South Korea.

The number of Korean students going abroad for English has continuously increased, marking a record high each year. In recipient countries, Korean students account for a substantial size in the international student body.

As a non-English speaking country, Finland is among the least favorite destinations for Korean students looking for an English education.

Finland is a Nordic country located in Northern Europe. It borders with Sweden to the west, Russia to the east, and Norway to the north.

Finnish, dominantly spoken throughout Finland, is in the Altaic language family, the same as Korean.

The number of students going from Korea to Finland was recently reported between 130 and 150, the ambassador said. They are mainly university students on exchange programs with sister universities in Finland.

The two countries established diplomatic ties in 1973.

...I've got a theory: TV. No dubbing. Keep the English soundtrack. Learn to read subtitles.

John - ;)

FinnFreak

01-22-2008, 8:53am

STT - 22.1.2008 at 14:39

Merkel says telephoned Kallasvuo to scold Nokia CEO

http://static.iltalehti.fi/ulkomaat/nokiaavastaanMH_410_ul.jpg

Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, told Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) on Tuesday that she had telephoned Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, the chief executive of Nokia, to take issue with the Finnish mobile phone maker's plans to close a factory in Bochum in western Germany and move most of the manufacturing capacity to Romania.

"I made clear to him that I had no sympathy for the entire communication and everything connected to it," Ms Merkel added.

The chancellor added that while Nokia and Germany's economics ministry were locked in talks about the matter, she did not keep her fingers crossed.

"If the decision is not altered, and it would seem to be that way, then everything possible must be done to ensure the people affected have a future."

John - :dunno:

Troll

01-22-2008, 10:18am

Thanks for the articles

FinnFreak

01-23-2008, 8:20am

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - SPORT - Wednesday 23.1.2008

:shocked: Oh Nooooooo!!! What is Finland's worst sporting memory? :eek:

Own-goal shame at the Olympic Stadium, doping scandals, match-fixing, or those damned Swedes again?

:huh: - ...you asking me..? - Those damned Swedes. Again. :scowl:

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135233391238.jpeg
Those Swedes, they've gone and done it again. This time they
chewed up a four-goal Finnish lead and spat it out to win 6-5
in Helsinki in 2003.

Hockey events, are also likely to figure high on the public’s bitterness scale.

Those apparently inevitable defeats to Sweden, for instance.

Probably the one that still causes most fans’ hearts to go into arrhythmia was from 2003, at another World Championships played at home.

In the quarter-finals, in front of a packed house in the new Helsinki Arena, the Finns were butchering Sweden.

They led 5-1 halfway through the second period and the Swedes were dead and buried, but somehow Team Finland conspired to lose the match...

6-5

:shocked: :eek: :nervous: :really: :dunno: :mad: :scowl: :evil: :banghead: :biglaugh:

Click Here For Full Article (http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Oh+Nooooooo+What+is+Finlands+worst+sporting+memory/1135233478207)

Vote for your own bitterest Finnish sporting memory

1. 1-1 at home to Hungary in October 1997. The Hungarians equalised in injury time through a Finnish own goal of farcical dimensions, with the ball eventually bouncing into the net off the goalkeeper’s backside.

Victory in the match would have given Finland a World Cup play-off berth.

2. The HemoHes doping scandal involving six very prominent Finnish cross-country skiers at the 2001 Nordic Skiing World Championships in Lahti.

If it hadn't been so serious, it would have made a good farce.

3. Martti Vainio tests positive for anabolic steroids at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Vainio was stripped of his silver medal in the 10,000 metres.

4. Stig Wetzell tested positive for ephedrine at the 1974 Ice Hockey World Championships, hosted by Finland. The points deduction for the match in which Wetzell was caught meant that the Finns missed out on what would have been their first-ever World Championship medal.

They had to wait another 18 years before securing one.

5. Finland’s apparently unavoidable last-ditch defeats to Sweden in ice hockey, most painfully the 6-5 defeat suffered in Helsinki in 2003.

The Finns led 5-1 at one stage of the game.

6. Match-fixing causes tremors to run through Finnish-rules baseball in 1998.

7. The Allianssi match-fixing scandal of 2005, and the wheeling and dealing by the football club's Chinese owner, the alleged fraudster Ye Zheyun.

8. Cross-country skier Juha Mieto loses by a whisker (0.01 seconds) over 15km at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid.

9. Paavo Nurmi being declared a professional (and therefore ineligible) just before the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles.

A fiendish Swedish plot. Again.

10. Your own selection.

Click on the one you wish to vote for, or suggest one of your own in the box provided. I’m sure English will do. And if you want to take part in the prize draw (five book prizes are up for grabs) that is going with this, add your e-mail address in the box beneath. Then press ÄÄNESTÄ

Vote here (site in Finnish) (http://www.hs.fi/aanestys/1135233326908)

:mad:

John - :p

Troll

01-23-2008, 9:47am

Very interesting.

FinnFreak

01-23-2008, 10:16am

STT - 23.1.2008 at 15:47

Winter's first proper flurry to sweep Finland on Thursday

Finland's Meteorological Institute (FMI) said in a statement Wednesday that the winter's first proper flurry of snow would hit the country on Thursday, bringing a blanket of snow ranging between 10 and 20 centimetres.

Motorists are advised that road conditions are expected to be difficult or extremely difficult in many parts of the country.

The northern limit of the snowfall is forecast to be in southern Lapland.

...let it snow
let it snow
let it snow...

John - :D

Troll

01-24-2008, 10:00am

Alright you are getting snow

FinnFreak

01-24-2008, 1:00pm

:D - yep..! - We got it. :]

...and here's a quote for the day:

"I remember a Canadian lady who refused to believe Finnish is a real language.
She knew about Finland, but she told me it’s an English-speaking country."
- Comment by N. Siinistö

John - :p

Troll

01-29-2008, 9:57am

Where's the rest of my mouse?

HELSINKI (Reuters) - A hospital patient in Finland found a mouse head among the steamed vegetables on his plate.

Understandably, he lost his appetite," said Sakari Kela, chief administrator at the Northern Karelia Central Hospital.

The health of the patient in Joensuu, eastern Finland, had not been compromised by the dead rodent, Kela said Saturday.

The severed head most likely originated in a bag of Belgian vegetables. The body has not been found and being "a Belgian mouse, the rest of it could be anywhere in Europe," Kela said.

(Reporting by Sakari Suoninen)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080128/od_nm/mouse_odd_dc;_ylt=Ak.CIVA7t0fZ6v0P.kSQ2hOs0NUE

FinnFreak

01-29-2008, 10:17am

:uhh: - ...yet another very good reason to stay away from processed foods & cook it yourself... :smirk:

Heared that news last week... Absolutely disgusting. *yuck*

John - :shocked:

FinnFreak

02-01-2008, 7:44am

:p

Finland For Thought - 31.1.2008

Finland should end saunas to help save the planet

Finland is one of the largest consumers of energy (http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Finland+falls+behind+many+other+countries+on+clima te+issues/1135230729061) in the EU and one of the worst for cutting back emissions…

Finland has fallen far behind the other Nordic Countries in cutting back on greenhouse gas emissions. Finland ranks 36th on the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI), putting it on a par with Algeria and Belarus. Sweden is at the top of the list, and Denmark is in third place.

Finland’s sauna culture is no doubt partially to blame (http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Computers+major+drain+on+household+electricity/1135233671835) for this…

According to a fresh Finnish study by the Ministry of Employment and the Economy, desktop computers consume an average 500 kWh of electricity a year, which is the equivalent of a refrigerator-freezer. If the computer is kept on all the time, it uses about as much energy as an electric sauna that is heated twice a week.

Saunas are as necessary as SUV’s. Finns expect Americans to get rid of their SUV’s to help save the planet, while Finland should do the same by ending electric sauna use.

http://www.finlandforthought.net/2008/01/31/finland-should-end-saunas-to-help-save-the-planet/#comments

:shocked: - !

:biglaugh: - !!!

hah. True: we've got roughly a million saunas in Finland.

But:
According to http://www.ecolo.org/documents/documents_in_french/CO2-calculateur-AEPNcomplet.xls
every kWh of electrical energy in Finland is equivalent to 400g of CO2.

That means, that the sauna twice a week every year corresponds to :

- 2000km/year in a Prius (110g/km)
- 500km/year in a SUV (400g/km)
- ONE (only one!) flight both way in economy class from Helsinki to Stockholm
- do Helsinki-San Francisco in business class both way and you’ll have to skip sauna for 30 (thirty) years

Still, I prefer a sauna fired up with wood - beats an electric one hands down.

...and we smell good too. I've been told. In Canada. heh.

John - ;)

Troll

02-01-2008, 10:03am

That is a lot of saunas.

Troll

02-02-2008, 9:12am

Finnish patient gets new jaw from own stem cells

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Scientists in Finland said they had replaced a 65-year-old patient's upper jaw with a bone transplant cultivated from stem cells isolated from his own fatty tissue and grown inside his abdomen.

Researchers said on Friday the breakthrough opened up new ways to treat severe tissue damage and made the prospect of custom-made living spares parts for humans a step closer to reality.

"There have been a couple of similar-sounding procedures before, but these didn't use the patient's own stem cells that were first cultured and expanded in laboratory and differentiated into bone tissue," said Riitta Suuronen of the Regea Institute of Regenerative Medicine, part of the University of Tampere.

She told a news conference the patient was recovering more quickly than he would have if he had received a bone graft from his leg.

"From the outside nobody would be able to tell he has been through such a procedure," she said.

She added, the team used no materials from animals -- preventing the risk of transmitting viruses than can be hidden in an animal's DNA, and followed European Union guidelines.

Stem cells are the body's master cells and they can be found throughout the blood and tissues. Researchers have recently found that fat contains stem cells which can be directed to form a variety of different tissues.

Using a patient's own stem cells provides a tailor-made transplant that the body should not reject.

Suuronen and her colleagues -- the project was run jointly with the Helsinki University Central Hospital -- isolated stem cells from the patient's fat and grew them for two weeks in a specially formulated nutritious soup that included the patient's own blood serum.

In this case they identified and pulled out cells called mesenchymal stem cells -- immature cells than can give rise to bone, muscle or blood vessels.

When they had enough cells to work with, they attached them to a scaffold made out of a calcium phosphate biomaterial and then put it inside the patient's abdomen to grow for nine months. The cells turned into a variety of tissues and even produced blood vessels, the researchers said.

The block was later transplanted into the patient's head and connected to the skull bone using screws and microsurgery to connect arteries and veins to the vessels of the neck.

The patient's upper jaw had previously been removed due to a benign tumor and he was unable to eat or speak without the use of a removable prosthesis.

Suuronen said her team had submitted a report on the procedure to a medical journal to be reviewed.

(Reporting by Sami Torma, Editing by Maggie Fox and Michael Kahn and Matthew Jones)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080201/sc_nm/finland_stemcells_dc;_ylt=AmbjxoE98Z6zQeRZKD2FPy6s 0NUE

FinnFreak

02-05-2008, 8:36am

:uhh:

...and this next one's the complete opposite...

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - HOME - Tuesday 5.2.2008

Sexist wannabe alpha-male, MP

A number of women working in Parliament believe that some
of the male MPs have been behaving improperly. How do the
honourable members respond to the charge?

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135233596399.jpeg
From left to right: Esa Lahtela, Tero Rönni, Lyly Rajala, Lauri Oinonen,
Pekka Vilkuna, Tapani Mäkinen, and Mika Lintilä.

By Tanja Aitamurto

Men from the provinces, middle-aged and beyond. Sexist wannabe alpha-males. "The fish-finger moustache crowd".

These are some of the terms used by female employees in Parliament to describe the Members Behaving Badly in the House.

Those males who “stare intently at your breasts in the elevator or in the gym”, “make with the smutty stories”, and are full of “yucky innuendo” as the women - and a few men, too - declare.

In a report released last week amidst considerable media coverage, female staffers complained of sexual harassment in Parliament.

And as a rule the party doing the harassing is an MP.

“When the old bosses of the administration head into retirement, Parliament has every chance of evolving into a modern workplace with proper respect for gender equality, a place that could lead by example and could also shepherd those MPs from the provinces into the new millennium.”

According to the women , they get all too used to nudge-nudge, wink-wink talk and improper behaviour.

“It was only when I changed jobs that I noticed that in a normal office people looked at my face when they were speaking to me, and not at my breasts. And nobody talks dirty around here. I never want to go back to working in Parliament for just that reason.”

An exhaustive round of phone-calls to men and women working in the halls of Parliament throws up some interesting information on the behaviour of male MPs.

More often than not, there is a simple equation: the older the man, the worse the behaviour.

Younger Members of Parliament generally behave properly and have a grasp of what is civilised flirting and what is not - particularly if the man in question is from an urban background and well-educated into the bargain.

“Not all men seem to be quite up to speed on the idea of women in the workplace, and they don’t apparently know how to work with and alongside women in 21st century Finland”, one parliamentary aide commented.

Many expressed their surprise on discovering the sexist culture that exists within Parliament.

One woman declared that she had changed her outfits “to cover up a bit more”, in order to avoid leering glances and comments.

The worst places are the elevators, particularly if one gets stuck in there alone with some man who enjoys shooting his mouth off with dirty comments.

And the Newspaper Room, where the local "male voice choir" gathers as a rule.

“In there you have to sit with your ears burning from listening to the smutty stories and organ recitals that these men chuckle over en masse. And they are not necessarily directed towards the women who happen to be present in the room”, another parliamentary assistant reports.

Parliament is said to have cultivated a laid-back style of speaking, in which more or less any subject can be turned into a joke.

Some of the men, a certain core group, cannot keep a satisfactory lid on things, and it gets tacky and tasteless.

The women have code-names for some of the offenders, such as “The T|ts Pervert”.

According to the women, everyone in Parliament knows who these guys are. There are at least a dozen or so of them.

But what do the men say about such claims?

“Well, yes, of course I look at a beautiful woman who walks by. And I suppose I do use straighforward Ostrobothnian humour; the sort of jokes that you can hear in the streets and market squares”, says Pekka Vilkuna, 58, a Centre Party MP from Oulu Constituency.

He does not see it as a cause for anyone to get upset and he does not understand that anyone would find it disturbing.

Social Democrat MP Tero Rönni (53, Pirkanmaa Consituency) is astonished at the reputation he has picked up. “Complete nonsense!”

Rönni says that the only place where he might let his grip on style lapse into the realm of smutty is in the sauna. In his view it is possible that women find the talk disturbing, and that the men just don’t understand they are causing offence.

“The problem can be ironed out by talking about it. But nobody has ever said anything to me about my behaviour”, wonders Rönni, a member of Parliament’s internal Occupational Health and Safety Commission.

SDP member Esa Lahtela (58, Northern Karelia) says that he does not use crude or dirty language because of his personal religious convictions. And yet he, too, has been named as one of the men behaving badly.

Lyly Rajala, 56, a National Coalition Party MP from Oulu, does not understand the charges that are being levelled.

“I suppose I might say to someone that that is a nice outfit you are wearing. Someone might even take that as some kind of harassment”, says Rajala.

Lauri Oinonen (60, Centre Party, from Keuruu in Central Finland) describes the claims as “utter gobbledy-gook” with not a shred of foundation.

“I’m only too willing to hear it to my face if someone has something to complain about. It’s another form of workplace harassment of Members of Parliament, to have baseless claims like this being put around”, says the Centrist pastor.and former military chaplain.

Another Centre Party MP, 41-year-old Mika Lintilä from Vaasa Constituency, is surprised by the charges.

“Maybe this [the claims] stems from the fact that I am an open and direct sort of individual. Perhaps I will have to be a bit more careful what I let slip from my mouth in future.”

Tapani Mäkinen (42, National Coalition Party, from Vantaa in Uusimaa Constituency) also expresses his surprise at being numbered among the group.

“But you have to take a message like this on board seriously. One has to take a long hard look in the mirror and try to improve one’s habits.”

Mäkinen says he likes being good company and the life and soul of the party. “But apparently some of the things have gone a bit too far. People will have to learn to curb their tongue a bit, but that doesn’t mean you have to be dull.”

Pekka Vilkuna believes he knows why the women have been accusing the men of improper behaviour: “It’s because it is fashionable these days to say that.”

He advises the women to laugh along at the jokes, and says that if they cannot take that sort of heat, then maybe they should reconsider their occupation.

However, nowadays they do not need to heed such advice.

According to the terms of the amended Gender Equality Act of 2005, sexual harassment in the workplace can extend to dirty talk or to intrusive observations about the body, about the way someone dresses, or their personal life.

Harassment based on gender does not have to be sexual in the literal sense of the term, but can be for instance talk that demeans or degrades the other sex.

And then the employer is supposed to step in with possible sanctions.

But Members of Parliament do not have an employer to whom someone could report inappropriate behaviour.

They are not contractually employed in the manner that staff in the establishment are, but are elected officials holding a position of trust.

They therefore do not have a “boss” as such - unless you count the public at the ballot-box every four years.

In fact if anything the opposite is true: MPs are employers. The highest administrative organ of the Finnish Eduskunta is the so-called Kansliatoimikunta, or Chancellery Commission, a body made up of the Speaker of Parliament, the two Deputy Speakers, and four MPs and their respective deputies chosen by their peers.

They thus have the power, if they wish to wield it, to influence the career of civil servants and others working within the house.

Parliament is also an extremely hierarchical place of employment, where young assistants are right down at the bottom of the pile. A parliamentary aide should carry out his or her work as far as possible quite unnoticed, and be a “church mouse” of sorts.

In Parliament’s Newspaper Room, for instance, they are not allowed to speak.

An MP who chooses to do so can easily exploit this quasi-royal right of privilege afforded to the members.

“How on earth is a young woman of 20, in her first place of employment, supposed to dare to tell some MP who is old enough to be her grandfather that he should stop talking in such a lewd fashion?” ponders one aide.

“And in any case, why should a woman have to be able to say something witty and ‘defuse the situation’ when a man is making cheesy off-colour remarks?”

There is a reluctance to report bad behaviour, because it may end up coming out in public.

And that could put one’s own career on hold or worse. Hence in this article, too, nobody wanted to be quoted under their own name talking about harassment in Parliament.

The problem is not so much one of a core group of wrongdoers, as of a nodding culture of tacit approval - those others who giggle at the dirty jokes and ribald observations or hear them and remain silent.

:rolleyes: - From an early age, people are taught manners, how to behave... seems like a lot has been forgotten (or, perhaps never learnt at all) - that little what remains, is the exact measure of sophistication.

John - :smirk:

EilleenTwain88

02-05-2008, 8:53am

He advises the women to laugh along at the jokes, and says that if they cannot take that sort of heat, then maybe they should reconsider their occupation.
??? :shocked: ??? What?

How about considering to smack the honourable MP instead of complaining about it in newspapers???

I have come across some peculiar behavior during my 20 odd years working with men. But it has always stopped quite promptly when I have said to the individual (loud and clear in the personnel coffee room if nothing else helps) that he could go to his room and play with himself for a while?
:rolleyes: - From an early age, people are taught manners, how to behave... seems like a lot has been forgotten (or, perhaps never learnt at all) - that little what remains, is the exact measure of sophistication.
This is the only way the 50-65 year-old MP gets some sexual action into his life, I guess.
Mistä puhe, siitä puute.

FinnFreak

02-05-2008, 8:59am

This is the only way the 50-65 year-old MP gets some sexual action into his life, I guess.
Mistä puhe, siitä puute.

...and they NEED that (verbal) Viagra.

John - :p

FinnFreak

02-08-2008, 8:20am

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - METRO - Friday 8.2.2008

Eurovision Song Contest brought 40,000 guests to Helsinki last year

Hundreds of foreign guests spent more than EUR 500 a day - price gouging by hotels seen as a problem

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135233876133.jpeg
A massive crowd of spectators watched the Eurovision Song Contest live on a giant
screen in Helsinki's Senate Square.

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Bulgarian contestant Elitsa Todorova
celebrating at the after-party of the
Eurovision Song Contest in Helsinki in
May 2007.

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The atmosphere was intense at the Helsinki finals of last year's Eurovision
Song Contest.

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A Samba parade raised spirits in the centre of Helsinki at the time of the Eurovision
Song Contest.

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Jan Unestam and his assistants rehearsing their interval act.

The Eurovision Song Contest, which was held in Helsinki in May last year, brought 40,000 people from outside the Helsinki region to the Finnish capital. About ten per cent were guests from abroad.

A study commissioned by the City of Helsinki found that when Helsinki residents are taken into account, about 80,000 people attended events linked with the contest.

The greatest economic impact of the contest resulted from the organisation. The Helsinki region got EUR 12.6 million, of which EUR 10.8 million was from the organising of the event itself. Less than EUR 5 million came from outside guests.

Foreign visitors especially were economically important. Whereas the Finnish Eurovision guests spent less than EUR 50 a day on average, hundreds of foreigners would spend more than EUR 500 in some cases.

"Finnish guests came to enjoy the experience. The foreigners came to party and to spend money", says Seppo Laakso of the urban research company Kaupunkitutkimus, which conducted the follow-up study.

Aggressive pricing by hotels was a big problem for guests from abroad. During the time of the contest, in May, a new record was set in hotel rates in the Uusimaa region. The average price for a hotel room was EUR 116, which even exceeds the record set for the World Championships in Athletics in 2005, when the average price of a night in a hotel rose to EUR 115.

The high prices sparked considerable controversy, even though prices in other Eurovision host cities have tended to go up for the event.

"It was easy for guests to see on the Internet that prices had been considerably lower a couple of months earlier. Belgrade will probably have to at least try to keep prices under control, on the basis of our experiences", says event manager Kjell Ekholm of the Finnish Broadcasting Company.

Kaupunkitutkimus also concluded that in the future, it will be necessary to give more thought to hotel prices.

"There is a clear risk in high hotel prices, and this could become a serious image problem for Helsinki. In the worst of cases, it could prevent the Helsinki region from getting large international events in the future", Laakso warns.

Helsinki's hotel problems arose already in the planning stages, as there is relatively little hotel accommodation available in Helsinki in the medium, and low price range.

Turku was also a strong contender for the venue of the contest. The city had planned to arrange for housing on ships in the city's harbour. However, Helsinki won out because of the better transport connections in the Finnish capital.

John - ;)

FinnFreak

02-11-2008, 4:51am

Movetron and Kari Tapio qualify

http://www.esctoday.com/images/2008_esc_national/firstfinnishsemi.jpg

The first Finnish semi final was last Friday and we have the first two acts to qualify directly to the country's final for the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest. Four acts competed and Movetron and Kari Tapio have qualified directly to the final.

A landslide victory for Kari Tapio marked tonight's first Finnish semi final as he qualified to the Euroviisut final with 46,7% of the votes. Movetron joins him as they placed second with 20,3%. Kari Tapio is especially popular in Finland among the elderly and Movetron with the nostalgic 30 somethings.

Crumbland, who was tipped as the dark horse of this preselection as well as practically unknown Hanna Marsh will get another opportunity in the Second Chance round on 1st March.

John - :)

FinnFreak

02-11-2008, 9:08am

:shocked: - I've NEVER heared about this band before.

From Helsinki. The vocalist is amazingly Steve Perry-ish.

Check it out:

http://www.myspace.com/urbantale

John - :]

FinnFreak

02-14-2008, 4:25am

Finland For Thought - 14.02.2008

"Lukuisia hetkiä" at the family restaurant

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

"Lukuisia hetkiä" is a pun in Finnish and means either "many moments" or "moments full of reading".

I was waiting in line at McDonald’s when I noticed the rack for the evening papers. There were about 20 people in the restaurant at the time and about three fourths of them were children under 10. There were a group of children also celebrating someone’s birthday. I could see the children reading these headlines while waiting in line: "Mies kuristeli riehujan kesken seksin" translates to something like "man strangles raging partner during sex".

:uhh: - ...why McD sells those poor substitutes for toilet paper in the first place is totally beyond me... :dunno:

John - :p

EilleenTwain88

02-14-2008, 4:39am

:uhh: - ...why McD sells those poor substitutes for toilet paper in the first place is totally beyond me... :dunno:
Exactly for the same reason why people buy them... I guess.

My friend complained to me once why is Mr&Mrs Nykänen always in the cover of these magazines. I told him that if he wants to get rid of them, he will have to boygot the papers every day when that happens and not to buy them? When Sanoma Magazines notices that their sales decline every day they put them on cover -> soon they will be gone. Nothing else helps.

FinnFreak

02-14-2008, 4:50am

hmmm... that would work only if someone bought the paper EVERY day they're NOT on the cover..? :huh: - heh... I think I'll pass on that one...;)

hmmm... strange thing... that got me thinking about when was the last time I've actually been to McD's... heh... I remember going in to use their restroom... in Boston, near the Common... in 1999... :p

John - ;)

FinnFreak

02-14-2008, 5:04am

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - FOREIGN - Thursday 14.2.2008

Finland to give rapid recognition to Kosovo

Announcement possible even without joint EU decision

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135232494929.jpeg
A student in Kosovo kisses an Albanian flag during a pro-independence
demonstration in the capital Pristina last year.

Finland is ready to recognise Kosovo, the predominantly ethnic Albanian province of Serbia as an independent country soon after the region issues a unilateral declaration of independence. Helsingin Sanomat has learned from its sources that Finland will announce its intention to recognise Kosovo together with a majority of member states of the European Union, even if the EU's foreign ministers do not manage to agree on a joint declaration on Kosovo.

The sources say that the planned sequence of events has been approved by the government's committee on foreign and security policy, chaired by President Tarja Halonen.

The plan has not been made public, because both the Kosovo declaration of independence and the wording of the EU's statement are still being worked on.

The EU has a key role in the international monitoring of an independent Kosovo, but especially Cyprus and a few other member states are opposed to recognising Kosovo.

Kosovo's leaders say that the province is preparing to declare itself independent on Sunday, after having been under United Nations supervision since the war between NATO and Yugoslavia in the spring of 1999. Since then, Serbia, has insisted that Kosovo should remain one of its provinces.

Finland expects that the leadership of Kosovo will issue a declaration of independence, inviting the international community to support the move. In addition, Kosovo will commit itself to the independence plan drawn up by former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari. The plan includes extensive actions to secure the rights of Kosovo's Serb minority.

On Monday the foreign ministers of the European Union countries will try to draw up a statement giving a green light to recognising Kosovo. The aim is to prevent the repetition of what happened at the beginning of the disintegration of Yugoslavia, in which the countries of Europe hastened to grant recognition without taking a common line on the matter.

Cyprus might prevent passage of the statement, which requires unanimity, but even if that happens, the Helsingin Sanomat source says that there are at least 20 EU member states, Finland, included, starting the recognition process.

At first, Finland will officially announce its desire to recognise Kosovo. Next, Kosovo will ask for recognition, and the Finnish government will give its approval. Finally the matter will be put before Parliament.

:uhh: - There goes any chance for Finland having a fair go at the Eurovision Song Contest in Serbia this year...

...the amount of booing for Finland will be unprecedented... :smirk:

Realizing that... better send in the Mighty Warriors Of Metal then:

http://www.metalmessage.de/Band-pics/teraesbetoni.jpg
TERÄSBETONI..!!! :D

John - ;):up:

EilleenTwain88

02-14-2008, 5:13am

hmmm... that would work only if someone bought the paper EVERY day they're NOT on the cover..? :huh: - heh... I think I'll pass on that one...;)

Actually that is not necessary. Thanks to the competition between these two, they are running surveys about it every day. And even small changes in sales figures means that they get noticed if they are consistent. If 5000 people decide to buy the other one depending what is on the cover, it will get noticed.

Nykänens and Mr Palmu didn't disappear two years ago out of their own will - nor by the sudden conscience spur by paper makers - but because readers started to vote with their wallets.

People shouldn't underestimate their own power as consumers. Either way.

FinnFreak

02-18-2008, 4:05am

YLE News - 17.02.2008

Kosovo Albanians in Finland Celebrate Independence

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Kosovo Albanians living in Finland celebrate at Helsinki's Senate Square.

Kosovo Albanians living in Finland celebrated the province's declaration of independence from Serbia on Sunday. Following the vote by Kosovo's parliament, ethnic Albanians from the province began celebrating at the Senate Square in downtown Helsinki.

Several hundred people joined the festivities. Smaller celebrations are also being organised in Turku and Tampere, and in Albanian homes.

Harun Osmani, a teacher in the city of Vantaa, said that Kosovo independence has been the dream of all Kosovo Albanians.

"This is the happiest day of my life. I see the joy in others' eyes. It really means a lot to me that I have my own country and my own flag, just like all the other people in the world," he said.

Osmani said that Kosovo's independence means freedom to him and respect for those who fought for independence.

"Many people have suffered in prisons and this is freedom for all citizens," he added.

Gratitude to Finland and Ahtisaari

In the Tikkurila district in Vantaa, Kosovo Albanians prepared for celebrations by painting signs with the texts, "Congratulations Kosovo", "Thank you Finland" and "Thank you Ahtisaari".

"Thank you Finland! And thank you Ahtisaari! He is our star!" said Muzafer Sulejmani.

UN special envoy and former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari developed a proposal for the independence of Kosovo under the supervision of the international community.

"We are dancing and celebrating. We have waited a long time for this day. This is a day of celebration for us," he added.

Festivities surrounding Kosovo's declaration of independence continue in Finland this week. Sulejmani said an official celebration is in store next week.

"Hopefully Finland will have recognised Kosovo's independence by then," he said.

The majority of Finland's 5,000 Kosovo Albanians fled to this country about 15 years ago. Some of those who moved to Finland have returned to their homeland. An independent Kosovo could increase the appeal to return - but with Serbia's refusal to recognise the new state, as well as strong objections from its ally Russia, the situation in Kosovo is likely to remain unpredictable for some time.

John - ;)

FinnFreak

02-19-2008, 7:26am

Independent Online, South Africa - February 18 2008

Nature cannot wait, warns Finnish president

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Finland's president Tarja Halonen (center) and her Indonesian counterpart
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono arrived at the presidential palace in Jakarta for
a welcoming ceremony on February 18. President Halonen is on a two-day
state visit to Indonesia.

Jakarta - Finnish President Tarja Halonen began a two-day official visit of Indonesia on Monday by calling for speedy global cooperation on climate change, warning "nature cannot wait."

Asked about progress towards sealing a new global pact to reverse climate change, Halonen noted the discord that had flared between nations when reaching agreements in the past.

"That's why our target now has to be real global agreement," she said, adding that cooperation between nations was better at climate change talks in Bali, Indonesia in December 2007 than it had been historically.

The Bali conference yielded an action plan that set a late 2009 deadline for a landmark new treaty to cut global-warming greenhouse gases once the current Kyoto Protocol phase expires in 2012.

Halonen said countries like China and India, which ratified Kyoto but are not tied to the same binding emissions cutbacks as industrialised nations, "should be in this cooperation. I'm sure they will be when they see that we all are victims if we don't find the cooperation..."

"Nature cannot wait. We have to be effective enough in order to continue the cooperation," she told reporters after meeting with her Indonesian counterpart, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Halonen, who will also visit the westernmost Indonesian province of Aceh during her visit, said that Indonesia and Finland shared large forestry resources and each had an interest in sustainable development.

President Yudhoyono reiterated Indonesia's appreciation for Finnish aid in the wake of the devastating 2004 Asian tsunami, and their role in facilitating a peace process in Aceh.

Finland helped mediate a historic deal ending nearly three decades of conflict in resource-rich Aceh, at the tip of Sumatra, which had led to 15 000 deaths.

The peace pact was signed in Helsinki in the wake of the December 2004 tsunami, which killed 168 000 Acehnese.

John - :)

FinnFreak

02-25-2008, 9:23am

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - HOME - Monday 25.2.2008

Winter holiday week exceptionally warm in Lapland

Abrupt change at weekend brought winter record of -33.7°C to Kittilä

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135234287167.jpeg
In the Ylläs-Ski centre the sunny weather turned
warmer and it started to snow at the end of the
week. Despite the white-out conditions, Tapio
Kivioja went snowboarding.

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135234277711.jpeg
Last week in Äkäslompolo, in Lapland’s municipality of Kolari, the temperature was
only -2°C, but the windy and humid weather felt much colder. In Ylläs the skiers
could enjoy fine weather for the first four days of the skiing holidays, but towards
the end of the week the weather turned cloudy and eventually it also started to snow.

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135234287169.jpeg
The Ylläs ski resort is in Western
Lapland. Yllästunturi itself rises to
a height of 718 metres, and there
is a vertical drop for skiers of 453
metres. Ylläs has around 60
groomed slopes and 29 lifts.

While enjoying plenty of snow, Lapland has experienced unusually warm weather this winter. In Muonio, the mean temperature during the first three weeks of February was slightly colder than -9°C.

Previously in this decade, February has only once been warmer than an average of -10°C. The mean temperature on last year’s winter holiday week was around -18°C, marking the coldest February of the decade.

This year the holidaymakers from Southern Finland could enjoy fine weather for the first days of the skiing holidays in Western Lapland. The tourists and local residents alike reported on frosty mornings as cold as -20°C, with the cold abating by the afternoon and transforming into sunny winter skiing weather. On Thursday the weather was cloudy and on Friday it started to snow.

”For four days the weather was just magnificent”, reported Tapio Kivioja, a 16-year-old snowboarder from Helsinki.

Having spent his skiing holidays in Lapland for ten years, Kivioja does not regard the current weather conditions as particularly unusual.

Lauri Ylimys, who is in charge of the slopes at the Ylläs-Ski centre, says that this year the weather has been exceptionally humid and the frosty spells have been short and sporadic.

”There is fog on the fells as if we were on a coastal area”, Ylimys explains. ”I hope this is not a permanent phenomenon”, he adds.

As a result of the unusually wet weather, producing artificial snow has this winter been more difficult than previously. There is only one good thing. As the new snow coming down is moist, it will remain on the ground, while dry frosty snow usually goes with the wind that whips across the open fells.

On Sunday morning the temperature sank to -33.7°C in the village of Pokka in Kittilä, which is the record low for this winter. In comparison with a normal winter, this is a rather modest record.

”In any normal winter it is typical that a reading of -40°C is recorded in some parts of Lapland. At present Lapland appears to have usual winter weather”, notes meteorologist Jari Tuovinen from the Finnish Meteorological Institute.

The weather in Helsinki, meanwhile, continues stubbornly to remain above freezing, and the forecast for the early part of the week is more of the same, and the long-range predictions are that the beginning of March will be several degrees warmer than the normal average.

John - :)

FinnFreak

02-28-2008, 5:08am

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - BUSINESS & FINANCE - Thursday 28.2.2008

Nokia doing business with Turkmenistan dictatorship

Finnish film documents foreign business dealings with oppressive regime

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Gilded statues of dictator Saparmurat Niyazov, who died in 2006, can be seen in the Turkmenistan capital Ashgabat.

The mobile telephone manufacturer Nokia and Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) are doing extensive business with the dictatorial regime of Turkmenistan. In this respect the company can be seen to be in violation of its own guidelines for corporate social responsibility.

In early February the network manufacturer NSN agreed on a deal worth a million US dollars on the delivery of mobile network equipment to the Turkmenistan state telecom operator Altyn Asyr.

"The government of Turkmenistan has a complete monopoly in business. There is no possibility to engage in commerce without cooperating with the government", says Turkmenistan expert Erika Daily of the Open Society Institute founded by investor George Soros.

Human rights organisations have been reporting for years about serious human rights violations perpetrated by the Turkmenistan government. However, this has not prevented Nokia or NSN from selling their products to the country, or working in cooperation with the dictatorship.

"Turkmenistan is not the target of a trade embargo by the international community or the European Union. A bid for tenders was organised for this deal", says NSN, explaining its involvement with Turkmenistan. The parent company Nokia also leans on the fact that no trade sanctions have been imposed on Turkmenistan.

Turkmenistan is largely closed to outside companies. All business activities are controlled by the central government.

Former Parliamentarian Holmurad Soyunov, who lives in exile in Sweden, emphasises that business in Turkmenistan is only possible through close contact with the leadership, which boils down to the dictator Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov.

Soyunov emphasises that the paying of bribes is also standard practice.

Marja-Liisa Kiljunen, Finland's roving Ambassador in Central Asia, recognises the same problems with the country's administration.

"Companies in Turkmenistan have to cooperate with the country's administration, which is led by the president to a very great degree. Fortunately there are signs of an opening of the country in the long term", Kiljunen says.

Nokia is the clear market leader in mobile telephony in Turkmenistan. The company admits that it is selling mobile phones directly through the local distributor. Erika Daily feels that the use of a go-between does not mean that the sales would take place without the approval of the government.

"Turkmenistan is a very extensively corrupt state".

Nokia declares in its report on social responsibility that it seeks to respect the universal rights of all of its reference groups. According to Nokia, this goal means taking human rights into account in all business decisions and modes of action.

"Very serious shortcomings in Turkmenistan's human rights situation continue to exist. There is no kind of civic society there, or civil liberties, such as freedom of expression or a free media. A person can be jailed for very minor crimes. For this reason, the EU has not been able to sign a treaty of partnership and cooperation with Turkmenistan", Kiljunen says.

The electricity contractor Ensto has gone the furthest in Turkmenistan. Four years ago the company was ready to publish a Finnish translation of the book Ruhnama by the previous dictator Saparmurat Niyazov, an undertaking that was set as a condition for the deal. Ensto withdrew from the book project at a late stage, and the deal was cancelled.

Shadow of the Holy Book, a documentary film on the situation in Turkmenistan by Finnish director Arto Halonen, has its Finnish première on Friday. In the film, Timo Miettinen, Chairman of the Board of Ensto, apologises for the serious mistake. He feels that it was ultimately the best decision to emphasise the company's ethical values rather than doing business with the dictator.

In his movie Halonen wanted to examine the role of international companies in shoring up the economies of dictatorial regimes.

"I am interested in how companies fatten dictatorships through their business activities and their greed. Turkmenistan is just one example."

Ambassador Kiljunen emphasises that the EU puts pressure on countries in human rights questions, even though it might not be seen in newspaper headlines.

John - :mad:

FinnFreak

02-28-2008, 9:46am

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - FOREIGN - Thursday 28.2.2008

Delay in Finnish recognition of Kosovo independence

"Practical reasons" given for postponement

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/pieni_webkuva/1135234404875.jpeg
President Tarja Halonen

Finland will not yet grant official recognition to Kosovo on Friday this week, as had been suggested in a number of previous statements.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs was ready to bring the matter before the Presidential session of the government on Friday. However, Helsingin Sanomat has learned from its sources that President Tarja Halonen had indicated on Tuesday that she does not want the Kosovo matter on the agenda of the meeting.

Different reasons were given for the delay. According to the Presidential Office, there never was a timetable for the recognition of Kosovo.

Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) says that more time was needed to satisfy the constitutional requirement of cooperation of the different branches of government in foreign policy decision-making.

The Presidential Office insists that there is no drama in the postponement. The office mentioned President Halonen's travel schedule. She returns to Finland on Friday morning from Vietnam, the last country of her Asian tour.

However, Friday's Presidential session has not been cancelled.

President Halonen's spokespeople could not say if the matter of recognising Kosovo would be discussed a week later.

Prime Minister Vanhanen says that the delay hinges on practical arrangements.

He said that the government cannot discuss the matter before the Prime Minister and the President have talked about it first. "We will meet first on Friday, so the first possibility to hold a Council of State is in the next week", Vanhanen said.

The political will to recognise Kosovo has been stated at the ministerial committee on foreign and security policy a few weeks ago, and Vanhanen has indicated that formal recognition will take place through normal channels.

Vanhanen said that the schedule for the recognition of Kosovo would be agreed at a meeting on Friday between himself and President Halonen.

According to civil servant sources, everything was ready for the handling of the Kosovo issue in the manner that was previously agreed upon. Finland announced its readiness to recognise Kosovo along with a vast majority of EU countries on Monday, the day after the unilateral declaration of independence was made.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Ilkka Kanerva (Nat. Coalition Party) said that Friday this week would be the first possible day for official recognition, and civil servants confirmed the date in various connections. Kanerva was travelling in the Caucasus on Wednesday, and did not comment on the altered schedule.

John - :smirk:

FinnFreak

02-29-2008, 5:51am

The Providence Journal, Providence, RI - Wednesday, February 27, 2008

The Finnish way to education excellence

By Walt Gardner

LOS ANGELES - When Finland's 15-year-olds recently placed No.1 in math and science on the recent Program for International Student Assessment, the news of the coup was received in Helsinki with characteristic reserve. For the Finns, whose schools are considered the best in the world, the scores stood as a redundant confirmation of the success of their policies.

But in the U.S., the frustration was palpable. Despite persistent attempts to bring equity to the wildly uneven quality of our schools, reformers have not been able to produce the intended results. That’s why they’ve begun to look even more closely in this presidential election year at Finland for lessons that can be applied here. What they will find in the end serves as a cautionary tale for strategies that we proudly consider cutting edge.

At the heart of Finland’s stellar reputation is a philosophy completely alien to America. The country of 5.3 million in an area twice the size of Missouri considers education an end in itself – not a means to an end. It’s a deeply rooted value that is reflected in the Ministry of Education and in all 432 municipalities. In sharp contrast, Americans view education as a stepping stone to better-paying jobs or to impress others. The distinction explains why we are obsessed with marquee names, and how we structure, operate and fund schools.

The headlines notwithstanding, misconceptions about Finland’s renown as an educational icon abound. The Finns spend a meager (compared to the U.S.) $5,000 a year per student, operate no gifted programs, have average class sizes close to 30, and don’t begin schooling children until they are 7. Moreover, Finland is not the homogeneous nation of lore. While still not as diverse as the U.S., the number of immigrant students in Helsinki’s comprehensive schools is exploding, with their numbers expected to constitute 23.3 percent of the city’s schools by 2025. At present, about 11 percent are immigrants, compared with just 6 percent in 2002. According to the City of Helsinki Urban Facts, by 2015 there will be schools with more than half of the student body from abroad.

Not surprisingly, in a land where literacy and numeracy are considered virtues, teachers are revered. Teenagers ranked teaching at the top of their list of favorite professions in a recent survey. Far more graduates of upper schools in Finland apply for admission to teacher-training institutes than are accepted. The overwhelming majority of those who eventually enter the classroom as a teacher make it a lifelong career, even though they are paid no more than their counterparts in other European countries.

One of the major reasons for the job satisfaction that Finnish teachers report is the great freedom they enjoy in their instructional practices. As long as they adhere to the core national curriculum, teachers are granted latitude unheard of in the U.S. The scripted lesson plans that teachers here are increasingly being expected to follow would be rejected out of hand as an insult by teachers in Finland and by their powerful union, which has a growing membership of some 117,500 members.

If none of these facts are enough to raise doubts about the policies the U.S. has in place or on the drawing board, Finland’s testing practices should raise a final red flag. The Finns do not administer national standardized tests during the nine years of basic education. Instead, the National Board of Education assesses learning on the basis of a sample representing about 10 percent of a stipulated age group. Individual school results are strictly confidential, and schools are neither ranked nor compared. The data collected are available only to the schools in question and to the National Board of Education, which use them to help improve instruction. The naming and shaming that No Child Left Behind relies on in its obsession with quantification would be unthinkable.

What ultimately emerges from studying Finland is the realization that the reform movement in America is based on a business model fundamentally at odds with the education model used by a country with the world’s finest schools. While it’s always risky to attempt to apply findings from one country to another, particularly when the two are so different, it’s a mistake to turn our backs on Finland’s approach.

Walter Gardner taught English for 28 years in the Los Angeles Unified School District and was a lecturer in the University of California at Los Angeles Graduate School of Education.

John - :)

FinnFreak

02-29-2008, 6:34am

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - Friday, February 29, 2008

What Makes Finnish Kids So Smart?

Finland's teens score extraordinarily high on an international test.
American educators are trying to figure out why.

Click image to see video report:
http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/WK-AL112_jp4FIN_20080228192119.jpghttp://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/WK-AL128_jp5FIN_20080228192052.jpghttp://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/WK-AL129_jp6FIN_20080228192106.jpg (http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid452319854/bctid1437089568)
Finland's students are the brightest in the world, according to an international
test. Teachers say extra playtime is one reason for the students' success.

By ELLEN GAMERMAN, WSJ

High-school students here rarely get more than a half-hour of homework a night. They have no school uniforms, no honor societies, no valedictorians, no tardy bells and no classes for the gifted. There is little standardized testing, few parents agonize over college and kids don't start school until age 7.

Yet by one international measure, Finnish teenagers are among the smartest in the world. They earned some of the top scores by 15-year-old students who were tested in 57 countries. American teens finished among the world's C students even as U.S. educators piled on more homework, standards and rules. Finnish youth, like their U.S. counterparts, also waste hours online. They dye their hair, love sarcasm and listen to rap and heavy metal. But by ninth grade they're way ahead in math, science and reading -- on track to keeping Finns among the world's most productive workers.

The Finns won attention with their performances in triennial tests sponsored by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a group funded by 30 countries that monitors social and economic trends. In the most recent test, which focused on science, Finland's students placed first in science and near the top in math and reading, according to results released late last year. An unofficial tally of Finland's combined scores puts it in first place overall, says Andreas Schleicher, who directs the OECD's test, known as the Programme for International Student Assessment, or PISA. The U.S. placed in the middle of the pack in math and science; its reading scores were tossed because of a glitch. About 400,000 students around the world answered multiple-choice questions and essays on the test that measured critical thinking and the application of knowledge. A typical subject: Discuss the artistic value of graffiti.

The academic prowess of Finland's students has lured educators from more than 50 countries in recent years to learn the country's secret, including an official from the U.S. Department of Education. What they find is simple but not easy: well-trained teachers and responsible children. Early on, kids do a lot without adults hovering. And teachers create lessons to fit their students. "We don't have oil or other riches. Knowledge is the thing Finnish people have," says Hannele Frantsi, a school principal.

Visitors and teacher trainees can peek at how it's done from a viewing balcony perched over a classroom at the Norssi School in Jyväskylä, a city in central Finland. What they see is a relaxed, back-to-basics approach. The school, which is a model campus, has no sports teams, marching bands or prom.

Trailing 15-year-old Fanny Salo at Norssi gives a glimpse of the no-frills curriculum. Fanny is a bubbly ninth-grader who loves "Gossip Girl" books, the TV show "Desperate Housewives" and digging through the clothing racks at H&M stores with her friends.

Fanny earns straight A's, and with no gifted classes she sometimes doodles in her journal while waiting for others to catch up. She often helps lagging classmates. "It's fun to have time to relax a little in the middle of class," Fanny says. Finnish educators believe they get better overall results by concentrating on weaker students rather than by pushing gifted students ahead of everyone else. The idea is that bright students can help average ones without harming their own progress.

At lunch, Fanny and her friends leave campus to buy salmiakki, a salty licorice. They return for physics, where class starts when everyone quiets down. Teachers and students address each other by first names. About the only classroom rules are no cellphones, no iPods and no hats.

Fanny's more rebellious classmates dye their blond hair black or sport pink dreadlocks. Others wear tank tops and stilettos to look tough in the chilly climate. Tanning lotions are popular in one clique. Teens sift by style, including "fruittari," or preppies; "hoppari," or hip-hop, or the confounding "fruittari-hoppari," which fuses both. Ask an obvious question and you may hear "KVG," short for "Check it on Google, you idiot." Heavy-metal fans listen to Nightwish, a Finnish band, and teens socialize online at irc-galleria.net.

The Norssi School is run like a teaching hospital, with about 800 teacher trainees each year. Graduate students work with kids while instructors evaluate from the sidelines. Teachers must hold master's degrees, and the profession is highly competitive: More than 40 people may apply for a single job. Their salaries are similar to those of U.S. teachers, but they generally have more freedom.

Finnish teachers pick books and customize lessons as they shape students to national standards. "In most countries, education feels like a car factory. In Finland, the teachers are the entrepreneurs," says Mr. Schleicher, of the Paris-based OECD, which began the international student test in 2000.

One explanation for the Finns' success is their love of reading. Parents of newborns receive a government-paid gift pack that includes a picture book. Some libraries are attached to shopping malls, and a book bus travels to more remote neighborhoods like a Good Humor truck.

Finland shares its language with no other country, and even the most popular English-language books are translated here long after they are first published. Many children struggled to read the last Harry Potter book in English because they feared they would hear about the ending before it arrived in Finnish. Movies and TV shows have Finnish subtitles instead of dubbing. One college student says she became a fast reader as a child because she was hooked on the 1990s show "Beverly Hills, 90210."

In November, a U.S. delegation visited, hoping to learn how Scandinavian educators used technology. Officials from the Education Department, the National Education Association and the American Association of School Librarians saw Finnish teachers with chalkboards instead of whiteboards, and lessons shown on overhead projectors instead of PowerPoint. Keith Krueger was less impressed by the technology than by the good teaching he saw. "You kind of wonder how could our country get to that?" says Mr. Krueger, CEO of the Consortium for School Networking, an association of school technology officers that organized the trip.

Finnish high-school senior Elina Lamponen saw the differences firsthand. She spent a year at Colon High School in Colon, Mich., where strict rules didn't translate into tougher lessons or dedicated students, Ms. Lamponen says. She would ask students whether they did their homework. They would reply: " 'Nah. So what'd you do last night?'" she recalls. History tests were often multiple choice. The rare essay question, she says, allowed very little space in which to write. In-class projects were largely "glue this to the poster for an hour," she says. Her Finnish high school forced Ms. Lamponen, a spiky-haired 19-year-old, to repeat the year when she returned.

Lloyd Kirby, superintendent of Colon Community Schools in southern Michigan, says foreign students are told to ask for extra work if they find classes too easy. He says he is trying to make his schools more rigorous by asking parents to demand more from their children.

Despite the apparent simplicity of Finnish education, it would be tough to replicate in the U.S. With a largely homogeneous population, teachers have few students who don't speak Finnish. In the U.S., about 8% of students are learning English, according to the Education Department. There are fewer disparities in education and income levels among Finns. Finland separates students for the last three years of high school based on grades; 53% go to high school and the rest enter vocational school. (All 15-year-old students took the PISA test.) Finland has a high-school dropout rate of about 4% -- or 10% at vocational schools -- compared with roughly 25% in the U.S., according to their respective education departments.

Another difference is financial. Each school year, the U.S. spends an average of $8,700 per student, while the Finns spend $7,500. Finland's high-tax government provides roughly equal per-pupil funding, unlike the disparities between Beverly Hills public schools, for example, and schools in poorer districts. The gap between Finland's best- and worst-performing schools was the smallest of any country in the PISA testing. The U.S. ranks about average.

Finnish students have little angstata -- or teen angst -- about getting into the best university, and no worries about paying for it. College is free. There is competition for college based on academic specialties -- medical school, for instance. But even the best universities don't have the elite status of a Harvard.

Taking away the competition of getting into the "right schools" allows Finnish children to enjoy a less-pressured childhood. While many U.S. parents worry about enrolling their toddlers in academically oriented preschools, the Finns don't begin school until age 7, a year later than most U.S. first-graders.

Once school starts, the Finns are more self-reliant. While some U.S. parents fuss over accompanying their children to and from school, and arrange every play date and outing, young Finns do much more on their own. At the Ymmersta School in a nearby Helsinki suburb, some first-grade students trudge to school through a stand of evergreens in near darkness. At lunch, they pick out their own meals, which all schools give free, and carry the trays to lunch tables. There is no Internet filter in the school library. They can walk in their socks during class, but at home even the very young are expected to lace up their own skates or put on their own skis.

The Finns enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the world, but they, too, worry about falling behind in the shifting global economy. They rely on electronics and telecommunications companies, such as Finnish cellphone giant Nokia, along with forest-products and mining industries for jobs. Some educators say Finland needs to fast-track its brightest students the way the U.S. does, with gifted programs aimed at producing more go-getters. Parents also are getting pushier about special attention for their children, says Tapio Erma, principal of the suburban Olari School. "We are more and more aware of American-style parents," he says.

Mr. Erma's school is a showcase campus. Last summer, at a conference in Peru, he spoke about adopting Finnish teaching methods. During a recent afternoon in one of his school's advanced math courses, a high-school boy fell asleep at his desk. The teacher didn't disturb him, instead calling on others. While napping in class isn't condoned, Mr. Erma says, "We just have to accept the fact that they're kids and they're learning how to live."

John - ;)

Troll

02-29-2008, 10:08am

Interesting articles John.

FinnFreak

03-10-2008, 8:05am

The Guardian, UK - Monday March 10, 2008

Formula One 2008

Why are Finnish drivers so good?

By Andrew Benson

Lewis Hamilton's new team-mate, Heikki Kovalainen, could barely reach the pedals when he first drove a car in the fields and lanes around his house in the Finnish countryside.

Kovalainen would spend hours thrashing around "on the back roads or farm roads," as he puts it, "not legally, but quietly in the middle of the night when there were no police around", learning the skills he now puts into practice on race tracks around the world.

The former Ferrari driver Mika Salo and the one-time Benetton man JJ Lehto - both brought up near Helsinki, 400 miles from Kovalainen's home close to the border with Lapland - had similar boyhood experiences.

This is part of the secret of why Finland, a country of just 5.3 million people and 77 billion trees, has produced more formula one world champions per capita than anywhere else.

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, who beat Hamilton to the title last year, is the third champion from a country a quarter of whose land area is inside the Arctic Circle. Raikkonen followed Mika Hakkinen - champion in 1998 and 99 - and the trailblazer Keke Rosberg, winner in 1982. That is the same number of champions as Brazil, which has a population 40 times bigger. Even the UK, with eight champions, is four times less successful than Finland given its size.

According to Kovalainen, Lehto and Salo, driving as fast as possible is a common Finnish rite of passage. "I bought cars worth maybe £50 with two or three friends and then drove around on the back roads," Salo says. "Not closed roads, but a dead end. We used friends to stop people coming the other way. I was probably 13. I only needed to go two kilometres from my house to find dirt roads where we could thrash the cars. A lot of people do that. You get really brave."

This would generally be on gravel roads, where cars slide more easily than on asphalt. But in Finland even the asphalt roads are covered in snow for much of the winter. And snow-mobiling - where the legendary Canadian Ferrari driver Gilles Villeneuve developed his skills - is a popular pastime. So the ability to control a motorised vehicle on the very edge of adhesion is a skill Finns have to develop early.

There is also less to distract boys in Finland from their speed thrills than there is in other countries. Football is not so heavily ingrained in the national culture and, while the main national sport is ice hockey, a huge number of kids from as young as six race go-karts - the motor sport in which most grand-prix drivers cut their teeth.

"Go-karting is very popular in Finland," says Lehto. "It has been since the '60s, and it's growing and growing. A lot of people have it as a hobby." At the same time, there is a reasonably well-developed motor sport infrastructure, so anyone who wants to take their racing to a level beyond leisure-oriented go-kart tracks can do so.

Nevertheless, Finland's small size and isolation have traditionally meant that aspiring racing drivers find it even more difficult to raise the huge sums of money required to pursue a career in motor racing than those elsewhere.

Despite the success of their countrymen, many Finns still do not view motor racing as a sport - a fact reflected last year when Raikkonen, the first Finn to win the drivers' title for eight years, was only third in a vote to establish the country's most popular sportsman, behind a javelin thrower and a cross-country skier who had previously been banned for taking performance-enhancing drugs.

Paradoxically that can be a help - the lack of support ensures the drivers who do make it on to the European ladder to formula one are those who possess the iron determination and commitment they will need to reach the top.

"I took out loans from family, from banks. I sold everything I had," says Salo. "I used to work during school time so I could buy a car for myself. I managed to pay for a season in Formula Ford. I took a risk because I knew I was good enough. Some people just don't have this will. The main thing is you need to like the sport so much that you will do all these things for it. I basically stopped living because I wanted to drive so much."

In this quest, Finns have one final advantage. "Our mentality is very good for racing - never give up," Salo says. "Very stubborn, jealous and selfish people. So you'd rather do well yourself than let somebody else do well."

That characteristic, which Lehto describes as "very hard-headed", goes hand-in-hand with another quality the teams prize most highly in their Finnish drivers - implacability and coolness. Raikkonen is known as the "ice man" for his extreme calm under pressure - a quality Hakkinen shared. And some of Rosberg's greatest victories came when difficult conditions induced mistakes in his rivals.

"It's not only F1," says Salo. "It's a similar thing with rallying [another sport in which Finns excel]. Everyone is very calm -

not a lot of mistakes. I don't know why it is, but I am the same. Emotional things don't affect what I do at all.

"It's pretty much normal here. Things like family stuff and so on are not close to us. During my time in F1 my grandfather and grandmother died, and I never even went to the funeral. It was not a big thing for me, and I believe it's the same here for everybody."

And now, after a quarter of a century of Finnish success, the conveyor belt has developed its own momentum.

"There isn't a day goes by," says Lehto, "when motor sport is not in the news in Finland. Having had three world champions, everyone thinks they can do it."

They cannot, of course. But there are, Salo says, "a few good ones coming through", who have the talent to make it all the way to the top. The Finnish success story in formula one, it seems, will just run and run.

Flying Finns

Three champions ... and a future project

Keke Rosberg

Champion 1982

GPs 114

Wins 5

Poles 5

Won drivers' championship in his first season in a a competitive car for Williams at relatively late age of 29. Now son Nico (born in Germany) drives for Williams.

Mika Hakkinen

Champion 1998, 1999

GPs 161

Wins 20

Poles 26

Only he and Fernando Alonso beat Michael Schumacher to the title more than once.

Kimi Raikkonen

Champion 2007

GPs 121

Wins 15

Poles 14

Reigning champion. Equalled Schumacher's record 10 fastest laps in a season in 2005. Married to a former Miss Scandinavia.

Heikki Kovalainen

GPs 17

Wins 0

Poles 0

Stepped up to McLaren this year. In recent testing set a lap record for a V8 car at Jerez. Consistently in the points in first season.

Finland analysis:

How good are those 5.3m people in other walks of life?

Formula one

Occupy two of the Big Four seats, including the reigning champion.

Nobel prizes

Three. Frans Eemil Sillanpaa for literature in 1939 ("deep understanding of his country's peasantry and the exquisite art with which he has portrayed their way of life and their relationship with nature"), Professor AI Virtanen for chemistry in 1945 and Ragnar Granit in the physiology or medicine category in 1967. Nobel lists the UK as having 114.

Eurovision

One win in 41: Hard Rock Hallelujah by Lordi, below, in 2006. Eight wooden spoons.

Football

Never qualified for a major tournament. Highest Fifa ranking 33. Ace marksman: Jari Litmanen.

Suffrage

Was the first European country to grant women right of suffrage and first to allow women to be electoral candidates.

Rallying

An impressive four world champions: Ari Vatanen (1981), Hannu Mikkola (1983), Marcus Gronholm (2000, 2002) and Tommi Makinen (1996- 99).

Wife-carrying

Hosts world championships in Sonkajarvi each July but no home winner since 1997 - the Estonians have won the past 10 events.

Large-scale gift-giving

Santa Claus has made the province of Lapland his own. Allocating jobs Unemployment is 6.8% (5.2% in UK).

Charging for milk

55p a litre (UK: 50p).

Quality of life

Rated 11th best country to live in by a recent UN report.

Olympic Games

13th in all-time summer table with 295 medals, 100 golds. Seventh of 45 in winter table.

Staying alive

Life expectancy 78.4 (UK's is 78.5).

Verdict

Emmeline Pankhurst-friendly nation of affluent, wife-carrying speed merchants who have swapped their historical prowess as chauvinistic freighters for slaloming through forests while alarming neighbours with comedy gothic rock.

John - :p

Myyde

03-10-2008, 9:28am

The Guardian, UK - Monday March 10, 2008

Formula One 2008

Why are Finnish drivers so good?

By Andrew Benson

Rallying

An impressive four world champions: Ari Vatanen (1981), Hannu Mikkola (1983), Marcus Gronholm (2000, 2002) and Tommi Makinen (1996- 99).

John - :p

Well, four is impressive, but i guess that six is even more impressive.

Why is he ignoring Slack and Hangover?:uhh:

They are also world champions.;)

Timo Salonen -85
Juha Kankkunen -86, -87, -91, -93

Troll

03-10-2008, 9:49am

Thanks for the articles.

FinnFreak

03-10-2008, 10:03am

Well, four is impressive, but i guess that six is even more impressive.

Why is he ignoring Slack and Hangover?:uhh:

They are also world champions.;)

Timo Salonen -85
Juha Kankkunen -86, -87, -91, -93

Indeed. Somebody hasn't done their homework properly. ;):up:

HELSINGIN SANOMAT -INTERNATIONAL EDITION - CULTURE - Monday 10.3.2008

Controversial Mannerheim puppet animation wins prize at Tampere Film Festival

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135234454667.jpeg
A scene from Katariina Lillqvist's controversial animation about
Marshal C.G.E. Mannerheim, which took a prize at the Tampere
Film Festival.

The controversial puppet animation entitled Uralin perhonen (”Butterfly from the Urals”) by director Katariina Lillqvist has won the prize for the best Finnish animation at the international Tampere Film Festival.

The film depicts Marshal Carl Gustaf Mannerheim (1867-1951), the Chief of the Finnish Defence Forces during the World War II and the President of Finland from 1944 to 1946, as a corset-wearing homosexual who brings a Kirghiz youth from behind the Urals to serve as his valet and lover.

The animation is based on an old ballad from Tampere’s working-class district of Pispala, where people were not sympathetic towards Mannerheim, in part for his involvement on the White side in the Civil War of 1918.

The animation awakened a major storm among some Finns, for whom Mannerheim remains something of a national icon, and the director received hate mail.

The Canadian animation Madame Tutli-Putli recieved the 2008 Grand Prix, winning also the Best Animation prize and the audience awards.

The film depicts a fantastical journey of a woman hovering in between reality and imagination. The directors of the film were Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski.

A total of 74 films from 45 countries took part in the International Competition, while the Finnish Competition featured 39 films.

:rolleyes:

Bah. The woman who directed that Mannerheim animation admits that she wanted to raise some discussion. Fine. As if the civil war that took a 30,000+ deathtoll 90 years ago hasn't been discussed enough. Then, she portrays the most popular Finn of all time - clearly in a vengeful extreme leftist fashion - as a murdering maniac. Plus, as a homosexual. Heck, while at it, why not throw in some racism as well... and religion: didn't dare to put Mohammed in there as a homosexual..? Wouldn't that raised some discussion..? - Beyond our borders..? - Would seem that the director has some homophobic issues herself... at least she uses it as a blunt weapon, which I also deeply disagree on.

Mannerheim saved Finland's independence three times.

Nice to go bashing him 50 years after his death.

With the taxpayers' money, on a government grant..? - My money is spent on this..?!?

Total nonsense. No respect at all.

John - :scowl:

FinnFreak

03-11-2008, 3:58am

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - FOREIGN - Tuesday 11.3.2008 ´

Ahtisaari urges Russia to recognise Kosovo

Author of independence plan criticises international community

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135234648980.jpeg

Former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, who drew up the independence plan for Kosovo, says that Russia should finally "come to its senses" and accept the independence of Kosovo province from Serbia.

"I believe that common sense will prevail. Kosovo’s position is now a clear matter, and nothing can change that", Ahtisaari said in a speech at the Finnish Institute for International Affairs in Helsinki on Friday.

"It is not even in Russia’s interests to oppose independence. The Russians have already made their views known, as have the Serbs. Now it is time to turn a new page", Ahtisaari said.

Russia has said that it might even use force to defend the Serbs so that they could hold on to Kosovo.

Ahtisaari rejects Russia’s concerns that independence for Kosovo could encourage other ethnic regions to seek independence.

The war in Kosovo ended in 1999, but international negotiations on the status of the province continued for years after that.

Ahtisaari put forward a proposal for the independence of Kosovo last year, but it was vetoed by Russia in the United Nations Security Council.

Ahtisaari said that in 1999 the international community should have given the UN Secretary General five years to draw up a plan on the independence of Kosovo.

"Naturally this would have been too much to expect of the international community. If the people knew how incompetently the international community acts, they would lose sleep. Thank God they don’t know it", Ahtisaari said on Friday.

Ahtisaari felt that the inability of the UN Security Council to take action was very unfortunate, and expressed concern that future disputes might not be brought before the body for discussion. In Ahtisaari’s view, this could further erode the significance of the Security Council.

Ahtisaari severely criticised Serbia for its obstructionism during the negotiations on Kosovo’s future, and for its recent nationalistic posturing.

He called the rioting that broke out in the Serbian capital Belgrade after Kosovo's declaration of independence "more of a disappointment than a surprise". He also said that such action, which enjoys the encouragement of the leaders of the nation, should be unequivocally denounced.

Ahtisaari also said that he hopes that Serbia would not push itself back into the international isolation of the time of President Slobodan Milosevic.

"The Serbs would do well to remember that the EU is not seeking to join Serbia - Serbia is seeking to join the EU."

John - :smirk:

FinnFreak

03-11-2008, 8:48am

;)

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - HOME - Tuesday 11.3.2008

Foreign Minister admits to sending text messages to dancer

Previous SMS message controversy nearly three years ago

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135234704601.jpeg
Foreign Minister Ilkka Kanerva confirmed on Monday that he had sent text messages
to a dancer. Kanerva spoke at a press conference after an EU foreign ministers'
meeting in Brussels. Also attending the meeting was Minister for European Affairs
Astrid Thors.

http://static.iltalehti.fi/etusivu/kansijohhkiTM_410_et.gif

:shocked: - ?

:biglaugh: - !!!

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135234704603.jpeg
Dancer Johanna Tukiainen found herself surrounded by reporters when she returned
from a holiday in Dubai in the early hours of Tuesday.

http://static.iltalehti.fi/iltatytto/200810/200810_01_itm.jpg
Johanna Tukiainen

Finland Minister for Foreign Affairs Ilkka Kanerva (Nat. Coalition Party) confirmed on Monday that he has sent text messages to Johanna Tukiainen, a member of the erotic dance group Dolls, and to her sister.

"Messages have been sent, but not in the sense of any deep drama of human relationships", Kanerva said in Brussels at a press conference held after a European Union foreign ministers' meeting.

"Yes, but I wouldn't make any diagnosis", Kanerva said in Brussels, when asked if he knew Johanna Tukiainen.

On Friday, when approached by a reporter working for the Swedish language service of YLE, he appeared to deny sending the messages, as claimed in a story in the gossip magazine Hymy. According to the magazine, Kanerva had sent about 200 intimate text messages to Tukiainen from his work telephone.

On Monday, Kanerva denied the denial, saying that when he answered "no" to the journalist, he was simply indicating that he did not want to comment on the reports.

Kanerva said that his political credibility is a matter that is up to the voters.

National Coalition Party chairman Jyrki Katainen did not want to comment on the matter on Monday.

On Sunday he said in a television interview with the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) that he hopes that Kanerva would use more consideration, if the report is true. Katainen added that all politicians have an influence on what kind of an image is projected from politics.

On Monday Kanerva saw nothing wrong in his having sent private SMS messages from his taxpayer-funded mobile telephone.

MP Helena Virkkunen, chairwoman of the women's organisation of the National Coalition Party, said that the uproar over the text messages "does not show good consideration" on the part of Foreign Minister Kanerva.

"Politics is evaluated as a whole. This does not give a good impression", Virkkunen noted. She said that she expects that the matter will be discussed in the National Coalition Party's Parliamentary group.

Under the Finnish constitution, government ministers must be "honest Finnish citizens known to be skillful".

Chancellor of Justice Jaakko Jonkka, whose job it is to monitor the legality of actions of government ministers, told Helsingin Sanomat on Monday that the threshold to questioning Kanerva's suitability to hold his position would not have been crossed even if he would have held on to his Friday statement, in which he denied sending any messages.

Jonkka says that questioning a minister's suitability on the basis of his or her private life would require that an actual crime would have taken place.

Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) has also come under suspicion of having lied about matters concerning his private life when he said that he had met his former girlfriend Susan Ruusunen (formerly Kuronen) in an Ikea furniture store. Ruusunen says that they had met on the Internet.

Jonkka did not want to comment on the private lives of either of the ministers.

Hymy editor-in-chief Esko Tulusto says that the magazine is considering whether or not to publish the content of Kanerva's text messages.

"Of course we have the messages. We would not have published the story if we had not been certain that they are genuine", Tulusto insisted on Monday.

"We did not publish them right away because text messages have been seen as having the equivalent of mail confidentiality. We are pondering whether or not to publish the messages in the next issue."

Dancer Johanna Tukiainen arrived in Helsinki from a holiday in Dubai in the early hours of Tuesday. She was met at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport by a crowd of journalists.

She told the press that she was surprised at the extent of the brouhaha sparked by the messages.

She said that she initially saved the messages as evidence, but that she is now thinking about possibly publishing them. All she would say about the content of the messages was that they contain "personal material".

"Men are men. I think that Kanerva has good taste in women in other respects as well."

This is not the first time that text messages sent by Kanerva have raised controversy. In the spring of 2005 Marika Fingerroos, a woman who had worked as a nude model, revealed that she had received text messages from Kanerva, who was Deputy Speaker of Parliament at the time.

200 messages..?!? - Phreakin' hilarious. heh.

John - :p

EilleenTwain88

03-11-2008, 5:15pm

;)200 messages..?!? - Phreakin' hilarious. heh.
What amazes me the most, that he didn't learn a thing last time?

Our ministers and their women are getting really tiresome these days; today they all have been giving speeches about private life not influencing the work image and credibility - right. What else could they say?

At least Väyrynen is a proper family man heh?

I heard in the YleX afternoon how Peltsi & co. were discussing if the Nokia cell phones have the vocabulary ready for erotic messages, or maybe it can be downloaded somewhere? Otherwise it is freaking impossible to write 200 messages with that small phone keypad - alongside your work as a minister anyway :D???

FinnFreak

03-11-2008, 6:06pm

Don't know. I've been laughing myself silly lately.

John - :p

EilleenTwain88

03-12-2008, 4:12am

YleX this morning; Disco Ensemble was distributing promotion stuff to listeners who were urged to send text messages commenting their new single:

"And if you manage to send 200 messages, we promise you some extra stuff!" :D

FinnFreak

03-12-2008, 10:20am

The Daily Mail, UK - 11th March 2008

Finnish Minister admits sending 200 dirty texts
to erotic dancer from taxpayer-funded phone

http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/03_02/KanervaEPA_228x338.jpg
Ilkka Kanerva has admitted to sending
the text messages

Finland's foreign minister yesterday admitted being involved with a topless dancer and her porn star sister.

Ilkka Kanerva, 60, confirmed today that he has sent text messages to Johanna Tukiainen, a member of the erotic dance group Dolls, and to her sister.

"Messages have been sent, but not in the sense of any deep drama of human relationships", Kanerva said in Brussels at a press conference held after a European Union foreign ministers' meeting.

When asked if he knew Tukiainen, Kanerva answered: "Yes, but I wouldn't make any diagnosis," the Finnish paper Helsingin Sanomat reported today.

He reportedly saw nothing wrong in his having sent private SMS messages from his taxpayer-funded mobile telephone.

Dancer Johanna Tukiainen told the press that she was surprised at the extent of the brouhaha sparked by the messages.

She said that she initially saved the messages as evidence, but that she is now thinking about possibly publishing them. All she would say about the content of the messages was that they contain "personal material".

"Men are men," she is quoted as saying. "I think that Kanerva has good taste in women in other respects as well."

The scandal may not have a negative impact on Kanerva's political credibility, however.

http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/03_02/JohannaJulia1_468x312.jpg
Johanna Tukiainen, left, pictured here with her sister, whom Kanerva is also
accused of texting

Earlier this month Finland's prime minister, who accused his former lover of hurting his feelings by writing a steamy kiss-and-tell account of their relationship, lost a court case over the book but unexpectedly gained popularity.

Matti Vanhanen, 52, prime minister since 2003, has been enjoying a wave of support since the disclosure that he likes to take a sauna before sex and enjoys his favourite meal of beef and baked potatoes afterwards.

The book was timed to be released just before the country's general election last year - and Vanhanen was re-elected.

Though some MPs have voiced their displeasure at the latest scandal, the chairman of Kanerva's National Coalition Party said merely that if the story was true, he hoped Kanerva would use more consideration in the future.

Kanerva said the matter of his political credibility was up to the voters.

http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/03_02/JohannaJulia2_468x394.jpg
Johanna Tukiainen, left, said she does not understand what the fuss is about

On Friday, when approached by a reporter working for the Swedish language service of YLE, he appeared to deny sending the messages, as claimed in a story in the gossip magazine Hymy. According to the magazine, Kanerva had sent about 200 intimate text messages to Tukiainen from his work telephone.

However today Kanerva denied the denial, saying that when he answered "no" to the journalist, he was simply indicating that he did not want to comment on the reports.

MP Helena Virkkunen, chairwoman of the women's organisation of the National Coalition Party, said that the uproar over the text messages "does not show good consideration" on the part of Foreign Minister Kanerva.

"Politics is evaluated as a whole. This does not give a good impression", Virkkunen noted. She said that she expects that the matter will be discussed in the National Coalition Party's Parliamentary group.

Hymy editor-in-chief Esko Tulusto says that the magazine is considering whether or not to publish the content of Kanerva's text messages.

"Of course we have the messages. We would not have published the story if we had not been certain that they are genuine", Tulusto insisted today.

"We did not publish them right away because text messages have been seen as having the equivalent of mail confidentiality. We are pondering whether or not to publish the messages in the next issue."

This is not the first time that text messages sent by Kanerva have raised controversy. In the spring of 2005 Marika Fingerroos, a woman who had worked as a nude model, revealed that she had received text messages from Kanerva, who was Deputy Speaker of Parliament at the time.

John - :biglaugh:

FinnFreak

03-12-2008, 11:55am

;)

NY NEWSWIRE - PRESS RELEASE - March 10, 2008

FINLAND WINS COVETED AMERICA'S PLATE FOR BEST PIZZA

“Reindeer Pizza” Earns High Praise from Judges at NY Pizza Show

http://www.nynewswire.com/0803/PMQwinner_Jarmo_Valtari-lo.jpg http://www.curitibapizza.com.br/pizzarias/papapizza/imagens/foto_pizza.jpg
Jarmo Valtari of Koti Pizza in Vaasa, Finland

(NEW YORK, N.Y.) -- The highest international prize for pizza awarded in the United States went to Jarmo Valtari of Koti Pizza in Vaasa, Finland, at the NY Pizza Show today.

Mr. Valtari's winning pie outpointed regional champions from Italy, China, Australia and the United States. Finland scored 307 out of 500 possible points, based on appearance, taste and commercial viability, followed by Italy with 270 and Australia with 239.

The Finnish entry featured a Fazer Rye fiber crust, tomato sauce and cream cheese, topped with reindeer meat, local trumpet mushrooms and red onions.

“The ingredients came together just a few days before we came,” explained a jubilant Chef Valtari, who became the first chef from Finland to ever participate in an international pizza competition. “The crust is a new flour combining rye and wheat together, and it was perfected just three days ago. It's very easy on the stomach.”

The next stop for Chef Valtari, and the U.S. Pizza Team, will be the Paris Pizza Expo and World Pizza Championships March 26.

...is the former Italian PM, Mr Silvio Berlusconi, prepared to eat his words... and our pizza..?

John - :p

FinnFreak

03-12-2008, 12:01pm

http://static.iltalehti.fi/ulkomaat/kansipizTM_410_ul.gif

John - :biglaugh:

Troll

03-12-2008, 2:13pm

I wonder what reindeer taste like?

EilleenTwain88

03-13-2008, 2:35am

I wonder what reindeer taste like?
A lot like deer. And depending how they are cooked, it is rather impossible for beginners to tell apart reindeer, moose or even bear, actually.

Some people here in Finland eat (and hunt) a lot of rabbits, but that meat is yucky, at least IMO.

FinnFreak

03-13-2008, 3:25am

You're NOT a huge fan of pupupata, then..?

John - :p

FinnFreak

03-13-2008, 5:34am

Iltalehti - 13.03.2008

http://static.iltalehti.fi/uutiset/kansiporollaMH_410_uu.gif

Italy was defeated with a reindeer pizza

"The Italian boy was really upset"

http://static.iltalehti.fi/uutiset/porollaMH_uu.jpg
Pertti Laitinen from Turku, the other member of Team Finland performed his
pizza acrobatics wearing a traditional Lapland hat.

"The reindeer toppings really shocked the judges at first, but then the praise started coming in"

"The Italian team (that did a pizza completely without cheese) was really angry. They refused to congratulate us, even though the 5 judges were all older gentlemen of Italian origin."

John - :D

FinnFreak

03-13-2008, 9:06am

The New Zealand Herald - Wednesday March 12, 2008

Finn returns library book more than a century late

By Sami Torma

REUTERS, HELSINKI - A Finnish library-goer apparently thought 'better late than never' and quietly returned a book on loan for more than 100 years to a library in Vantaa, in southern Finland.

The library had long since lost track of the loan but welcomed back to its collections the bound copy of a 1902 volume of Vartija, an active religious monthly periodical at the time.

"We are unclear when exactly it was borrowed and who returned it. There weren't any documents with it," librarian Minna Saastamoinen told Reuters.

"There is an old note attached to the book which says there is a fine of 10 pennies a week for late returns," she added.

The library sticker inside the cover, and the old-fashioned handwriting on it, showed the book was last officially loaned out at the beginning of the last century, she said.

Finland is known for a comprehensive library network with more than 900 libraries for its 5.3 million inhabitants. In 2006, each Finn on average visited a library 11 times and borrowed nearly 20 books.

The periodical was borrowed such a long time ago that the Korso branch of the Vantaa library, where the tome was finally handed in, did not even exist when the book was borrowed.

heh... so, the fine would've been just around 100 Euros.

John - :p

Troll

03-13-2008, 9:33am

Thanks for the info and articles.

FinnFreak

03-14-2008, 3:36am

It Was My Pleasure.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v434/FinnFreak/pizza.gif

John - :p

Troll

03-14-2008, 9:35am

That pizza looks tasty.

FinnFreak

03-17-2008, 11:00am

STT - March 13, 2008

Ahtisaari receives peace award

http://newsroom.finland.fi/netcomm/ImgLib/3/115/0314_ahtisaari_b.jpg

Former President of Finland Martti Ahtisaari has received the Geuzen Medal 2008, a prestigious Dutch peace award. Mr Ahtisaari, Dutch Queen Beatrix (right), and his wife Eeva (left) leave the Grote Kerk in Vlaardingen on March 13 after the award ceremony.

John - :)

Troll

03-18-2008, 2:11pm

That is cool.

FinnFreak

03-19-2008, 9:18am

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - TRAVEL - Wednesday 19.3.2008

A de luxe wedding in Lapland

Britons Clare Panter and Rodney Hill travelled to Kakslauttanen
to tie the knot in a fairy-tale ice chapel

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135234838739.jpeg
In the chapel, made of ice and snow and decorated with ice-sculptures, the couple
step up to the altar along a path of reindeer skins. Waiting there is a Sodankylä
judge, Lars Lindh. In a few moments, Clare and Rodney are pronounced man and wife.

By Mari Manninen in Kakslauttanen, Sodankylä

Oh dear. This marriage is not exactly getting off on the right foot.

It is 13:15 on Thursday afternoon. In an hour from now, Clare Panter and Rodney Hill are supposed to be tying the knot in an ice chapel built for the purpose in Kakslauttanen, north of Sodankylä.

However, the happy couple-to-be have only just touched down at Ivalo Airport, and they are both pale with fatigue.

Clare, 26, and 29-year-old Rodney have been on the road and in the air for more than 24 hours already. First they missed their flight from Manchester because of traffic jams on the way.

When they finally made it to Helsinki-Vantaa, a mere 1,100 kilometres from Ivalo, the evening flight north had already left. The couple stayed overnight at the airport to await the morning connection.

Fortunately, things are not quite as grim as they look: the wedding has been postponed until Friday.

In the taxi from Ivalo towards Sodankylä, the bride looks worried.

There is snow lining the sides of the road, but what is falling from the sky looks suspiciously like rain.

"The ice chapel hasn’t melted, I hope?” gasps Clare Panter.

No worries. In Kakslauttanen, just south of the Saariselkä ski-resort, all is in order. The log cabin village built in the middle of the forest has specialised in foreign tourists and particularly in arranging exotic wedding ceremonies.

Last year, around 70 tourist couples were joined together here, the previous year around sixty, and in 2005 about fifty couples were matched.

For the most part the people getting married have been from Great Britain, but in among them there have been couples from Australia, Holland, Italy, and France.

They want to tie the knot in an exotic fashion, surrounded by snow.

And they are also ready to pay for the privilege. The couples arriving in Sodankylä are relatively well-heeled, or alternatively they have saved long and hard for a wedding with a difference.

Panter and Hill calculate that the wedding gear, the trips from England to Lapland and back, the cost of the ceremony itself, plus three days honeymoon vacation in the log village will cost around EUR 11,000 between them.

In the couple’s view this is not actually so very much. The wedding would have cost a fair bit more if it had been arranged as a big bash in England with friends and relatives invited to the reception.

In Kakslauttanen, the couples can tailor themselves the sort of wedding programme they want: the ceremony and the necessary paperwork (EUR 1690), the use of the ice chapel for the duration of the wedding vows (EU 525), a ride to the chapel in a reindeer-drawn sleigh (EUR 200), a performance of Lappish joik singing (EUR 270), rental of Lappish costumes for the couple (EUR 388), a bridal spray (from EUR 140), and a wedding supper (EUR 73 a head).

Special requests are also considered and met.

“One couple this winter wanted Santa Claus to come and recite a love-poem”, says Sanna Leinonen, the Kakslauttanen wedding cordinator.

This winter a good many couples have also wanted to spend their wedding night in the Queen Suite lodge (EUR 624/night). This is what Panter and Hill have chosen, too.

The suite is dominated by a red-upholstered four-poster bed. A small bottle of chilled champagne stands on a bedside table, and from the impressive tub in the bathroom you can gaze up at a blue ceiling dotted with stars.

“Incredibly beautiful”, sighs Clare Panter, clearly smitten with the place.

“We came here because we wanted a different kind of wedding”, says Rodney Hill.

Panter is a cook by profession and Hill a structural engineer. The couple found the Lapland wedding village on the Net, on the pages of an English travel agency, quite by chance.

“I wanted a fairy-tale wedding. To be the Snow Queen for a day”, says Panter.

In the yard of the luxury lodge it is quiet as a mouse, even though the log cabins are built one next to another.

The couple giggle. Having their feet sinking out of sight into deep, soft snow is a completely novel experience.

Sanna Leinonen was not fazed by the news that the couple’s arrival would be delayed. These things happen, and she has become used to more or less anything, and she knows that the magic of the Arctic Circle winter will put a smile back on the customers’ faces.

Just as it did with a wedding party from Scotland, whose luggage disappeared en route, or at least did not arrive with the guests.

The visitors scampered about in their kilts from one cottage to another in -20°C.

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135234838733.jpeg
Clare Panter puts a bit of lip balm on her fiancé to keep off the effects of the
Lapland cold.

Then again, there IS a limit to the lure of the exotic.

One bride who had ordered a husky-sled ride to the altar arrived in tears. The over-enthusiastic dogs had toppled the sled over on its side on the way from the cottage to the ice chapel.

But the staff at the wedding resorts in Northern Lapland have another rather more prosaic worry.

Lapland’s wedding tourism boom is being threatened by a shortage of people qualified to cary out the ceremonials.

There would be more couples arriving from abroad than Northern Lapland’s one registrar and a few local judges can marry.

For Kakslauttanen is not the only place where one can get wedded this far north.

The wedding travel model has spread elsewhere in the region. When just 25 foreign couples were married in Northern Lapland in 2001, last year the number was already 130.

And nearly all of the weddings take place in the winter.

The registrar, based in Kittilä, and local court judges from Sodankylä drive hundreds of kilometres to chapels in the middle of the forest or perched on the slopes of fells.

They have to do their other work in the evenings, and they do not get paid for overtime.

“We have wanted to help the local tourism entrepreneurs”, says registrar Torsti Patakangas in explanation of the readiness to go an extra yard.

In December, Patakangas had a tourist wedding to officiate at every day of the month.

The officials would not actually be obliged to carry out their duties outside of the magistrates’ office or a district court.

In certain parts of Lapland - an area that is the size of a good many entire European countries all by itself, the judges do not get in the car to do wedding gigs, and as a result the tourism entrepreneurs cannot offer wedding packages at all.

Parliament down south in Helsinki is right now examining a draft bill that would provide a larger group of magistrates and district court and municipal administrative court personnel with the right to officiate at a civil marriage ceremony, and in an emergency even others with a legal training.

When Friday dawns, every thing is go for Clare Panter and Rodney hill’s big day.

Even the weather is a knockout: the sun is shining and it is a decent but not bone-chilling five degreees below.

Actually "dawn" is the wrong word, since the nearly newly-weds have some difficulty getting out of bed, as they catch up on the lost sleep of their long journey here.

The couple only really show signs of life when some Russian champagne is delivered to their suite.

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135234838737.jpeg
The bride dons a full-length white fur coat for the ceremony, and turns into a Snow
Queen for the day.

Clare Panter slips into a brown full-length evening gown. Underneath her skirt she dons the underwear bought especially for the wedding - not the something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue stuff, but a pair of sturdy and sensible long johns, as it promises to be a cold one in the ice chapel.

Then she steps into a long white fur coat and puts on a white fur hat.

The bride really does look like a snow queen.

The couple slip and slide their way from the cabin to the sleigh and snuggle in underneath reindeer skins.

The two reindeer, named Vintilän Noviisi and Hassukainen, set off at a trot to pull the sleigh towards the chapel, a distance of around ten minutes by this form of transport.

Exotic-wedding tourism is not yet a really big business in the Lapland travel market.

And not really even in the wedding travel hub of Kakslauttanen. The seventy-odd weddings carried out last year accounted for only a small fraction of the 15,000 annual overnights in the log cabin and igloo village.

But for all that, the knock-on economic effects of weddings are already quite substantial hereabouts.

They provide a handy source of income and employment for several local professionals: florists, photographers, hairdressers, reindeer-sled drivers...

International wedding-, travel-, and women’s magazines have written dozens of articles about the Kakslauttanen marriages. This is the sort of advertising exposure that would be quite impossible to buy.

The holiday village in particular and Lapland in general have taken on a romantic mantle. As well as people coming to say “I do”, the place is starting to attract an increasing number of honeymooners.

The glass-roofed and heated “igloos" built next to the log cabins on the site are especially popular with Japanese couples.

They regard it as very romantic to sleep - and more - under a winter starlit sky and with the Aurora borealis swirling overhead.

Tourists often pick up a souvenir in the form of “Aslak’s Rutting Sock” - condoms with a fairly graphic image of a couple of reindeer getting it on.

They are among the most-sold souvenirs from Kakslauttanen.

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135234838735.jpeg
The Rolls-Reindeer pulls up. The couple arrive at the ice chapel in a reindeer-drawn
sleigh, wrapped in skins.

The British couple’s reindeer-drawn limo arrives at the chapel.

When the groom steps off the sleigh, his patent-leather shoes let him down rather dramatically.

He slides on all fours, bottom first, down the slope to the chapel entrance.

The couple are in stitches with laughter.

When the door to the chapel of snow and ice is opened, the bride lets out a gasp of quite sincere astonishment.

Ice-sculptures glisten and twinkle in the large, gleaming-white hall.

The couple step purposefully forward along reindeer hides strewn on the floor towards the altar of ice.

Behind it stands Lars Lindh, wearing a thick winter overcoat. Lindh has come up from Sodankylä, and he is a laamanni, literally a “law-man” - the term harks back to the Scandinavian and Icelandic Middle Ages, and is today used to denote the chief judge of a district court.

Lars Lindh launches into the familiar litany in English: “The purpose of marriage is...”

In less than two minutes, bride and groom have said their “I dos” and exchanged rings and a lengthy kiss.

The bride is brimming up with tears.

Then they drink some warm juice made with berries and take all the necessary photos in the chapel.

“An absolutely lovely, lovely wedding”, says the newly-minted Mrs. Hill.

At their wedding supper in the restaurant at the Kakslauttanen cabin village, the couple dine on rich salmon soup and reindeer filet in front of an open fire.

In the neighbouring private dining room they are awaiting the arrival of another British wedding party, eight people in all, on their way over from the ice chapel.

Later in the evening, the Hills plan to go skiing or snowshoe walking, in both cases a first for them.

One hopes it is not excessively exotic after all that champagne and a bottle of Merlot.

John - :)

Troll

03-19-2008, 9:24am

That is neat

FinnFreak

03-26-2008, 7:38am

YLE.fi - NEWS - 26.03.2008

Finn Breaks Piece of Easter Island Statue for Souvenir

http://www.yle.fi/news/left/id86265_1.jpg

A Finnish tourist faces up to seven years in prison for vandalising one of the ancient Moai statues on Easter Island.

A resident spotted the 25-year-old breaking off part of an ear from the statue in order to take it home as a souvenir. The Finn had only been on the remote island a day before defacing the Moai statue on Sunday, and is now in police custody.

"He says he planned to take it away as a souvenir," a local police official told Reuters. "He could face prison ... but it is more likely he will face a fine big enough to fix the damage."

Easter Island is a UNESCO world heritage site. The Moai monoliths were carved by Polynesian colonizers out of the island's volcanic rock from as early as the 10th century, according to UNESCO. Hundreds of these sculptures are scattered over the tiny island.

:mad: - What an idiot. You can bloody well keep his @ss as a souvenir.

John - :scowl:

Troll

03-26-2008, 9:33am

What an idiot.

aFinn

03-26-2008, 1:11pm

Today we finally got winter here in southern Finland, it's been snowing all day.

Too late.. since no snow for Christmas, they can keep it! :mad:

Paul

03-26-2008, 1:22pm

No snow? In Finland?! :shocked:

Paul

03-26-2008, 1:23pm

Normally I'd put this in the football thread but its a special one. :p

Hyypia deal imminent

Defender set to commit future to Reds

http://img.skysports.com/07/11/218x298/Sami_Hyypia_603193.jpg

Sami Hyypia looks likely to end the speculation surrounding his future by penning a new deal with Liverpool.

The Finnish defender's current contract is due to expire in the summer and there had been uncertainty as to whether he would be offered an extension.

The veteran centre-back has been a revelation on Merseyside since being snapped up from Dutch side Willem II nine years ago and has made no secret of his desire to complete a decade of service for the club.

Despite turning 34 in October, Hyypia has made 37 appearances for the Reds this season and shows no signs of letting his immaculate standards slip.

Rafa Benitez's confession that contract discussions will begin at the end of the week will have come as a welcome relief to all concerned, and Hyypia will be delighted to now be able to focus his full attention on matters on the field.

"Rick Parry (chief executive) is due to talk to Sami's agent this weekend and hopefully everything will then be finished," Benitez told Liverpool's official website.

Paul

03-26-2008, 1:24pm

10 years as a Liverpool player - what a legend. Thanks Finland! :D

aFinn

03-26-2008, 1:25pm

No snow? In Finland?! :shocked:

North has had snow, but not south. We have only had a few days here and there with snow, but it has always melted away very soon. It has been the strangest "winter" ever.

manmangler

03-26-2008, 1:25pm

YLE.fi - NEWS - 26.03.2008
:mad: - What an idiot. You can bloody well keep his @ss as a souvenir.

John - :scowl:

Oh no

:huh:I hope that locals understand word of turpasauna or sakinhivutus :huh:.

Is there a easy way to cancel his nationality?:rolleyes:

Troll

03-26-2008, 2:02pm

North has had snow, but not south. We have only had a few days here and there with snow, but it has always melted away very soon. It has been the strangest "winter" ever.

That is interesting

FinnFreak

03-27-2008, 9:27am

Oh no

:huh:I hope that locals understand word of turpasauna or sakinhivutus :huh:.

Is there a easy way to cancel his nationality?:rolleyes:

:D - Turpakäräjät. (The Old Finnish Tradition Of Turning Flab Black)

He can always apply as a refugee to Sweden. :p

STT - NEWS

http://newsroom.finland.fi/netcomm/ImgLib/3/115/0320_kiira_b.jpg

Kiira Korpi of Finland finished fourth in the women's short
programme at the World Figure Skating Championships in
Gothenburg, Sweden, on March 19.

Bah. She's clearly a #1. heh.

John - ;)

FinnFreak

03-27-2008, 9:38am

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - METRO - Thursday 27.3.2008

Long-awaited snow finally lands in Helsinki

Traffic chaos mixed with delight at a return to "normal winter weather"

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135235086025.jpeg
"We don't get this on the Costa del Sol", laughed these Spanish tourists in Helsinki's
Senate Square on Wednesday. Enrique Alastor Garcia (left) and his friend Javier
took full advantage of the blizzard that otherwise hampered commuters on
Wednesday morning. The good sides of the snow also brought out many locals
to go sledding and skating.

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135235086463.jpeg

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135235068617.jpeg
Not everyone was delighted by the return to normal winter operating procedures.
Road and rail traffic was badly hit by the sustained fall of snow, and flights were
delayed. This truck and others blocked the Tampere Western Ring Road on
Wednesday morning.

Many Helsinki commuters cursed silently - or rather more publicly - on Wednesday morning after realising that they would be late for work by more than an hour.

Local trains were either too full or not running at all.

Some stood at the downtown Bulevardi tram-stop waiting for the No.6 tram that would never arrive. Traffic in the Finnish capital was in a tangle. The long-lost snow had arrived, and it brought a modicum of chaos with it.

The Helsinki streets finally look as they should at winter time – covered with the white stuff. The light reflecting from the snow makes the street views look positively more upbeat. Even in the evenings the city now manages to present itself as not quite so grey.

While it may cause traffic mayhem, the snow seemed to be broadly welcomed like a fondly-remembered old acquaintance, and it enticed the locals and the visitors alike to step outside and engage in ice skating or sledding. The delightfully frosty weather also gave a reason to step into a café for a steaming cup of hot chocolate.

Friends Petra Metsälä and Angela Farris sipped their drinks looking satisfied in the Café Engel next to the Senate Square. Farris explains that the temperature here is twenty degrees lower than in Australia, from where she has come for a visit.

In the Sepänpuisto Park in the district of Punavuori, snow is a long wished-for caller. “This must be the first time this winter that the entire Sepänpuisto hill is covered with snow”, rejoices Anu Tanhuanpää.

Tanhuanpää, who has come to the park to sled with her children, explains how the knees of the city children’s winter wear have been frayed due to the lack of snow. “In the parks there has only been sand instead of snow.”

But with or without worn-out knees in their outfits, the two- and four-year-old children balanced enthusiastically on their sleds with their friends.

Jazz sounds filled the air at the seasonal ice rink in Helsinki’s central railway station square, which started to get filled up with happy tourists in the afternoon. German Maria Eistrup, who came with her children to visit family friends in Helsinki, was more than pleased that during their one-week visit they managed to experience even a decent-sized blizzard.

As for how long the unfamiliar white blanket can be expected to stay around, the answer is: only a day or two.

The Finnish Meteorological Institute will promise no more than that the snow will stay until the beginning of the weekend, but after that a warm front will come through to make things wet and messy. Snow in late March - even when it causes excited headlines as the first major dump of the winter - does not usually hang out in the capital for very long.

At least in the south of Finland, the water should be underfoot rather than coming from the sky, as the forecast for the Helsinki region is mainly fair, with weekend temperatures around +5°C.

John - ;)

FinnFreak

03-27-2008, 9:40am

It has been the strangest "winter" ever.

...and it's all Al Gore's fault.

John - :p

Troll

03-27-2008, 10:17am

Thanks for the article.

manmangler

03-27-2008, 1:56pm

Finns have fun with our bank

Sampo bank changed system to new. Several customer note that their cards won't work. Bank account shows weird balance (Too much, Money missing or not show at all).
http://i25.tinypic.com/htsnj6.jpg
But greates fun comes bank website. There has been few security holes, that bank have fixed now. Those allow run own script to bank webpages. There has been some fun URL hacks that change LogIn different bank. Today there was ability show YouTube videos in bank loginpage. Funnies version was video of bank personel commenting "There is no security holes".

Same kind XSS hacks was used in Italy.
http://news.netcraft.com/archives/2008/01/08/italian_banks_xss_opportunity_seized_by_fraudsters .html

Older cases
PayPal
http://news.netcraft.com/archives/2006/06/16/paypal_security_flaw_allows_identity_theft.html
SunTrust
http://news.netcraft.com/archives/2004/12/06/suntrust_site_exploited_by_fraudsters.html

http://blogit.tietokone.fi/tietojakoneesta/?p=345

Troll

03-27-2008, 4:30pm

That is interesting

FinnFreak

03-28-2008, 4:31am

Have you guys heared the latest from Easter Island..?

The mayor of the Island, Pedro Edmunds Paoa, stated in a radio interview yesterday, that a suitable punishment for the vandal would be in the way of "an eye for an eye"...

...and the idiot is from Helsinki. (that says it all)

John - :smirk:

Troll

03-28-2008, 9:36am

That might work.

FinnFreak

03-31-2008, 5:02am

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - CONSUMER - Monday 31.3.2008

"I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to pay it any more"

As many as 200,000 Finnish households are watching television illegally, without paying a TV-licence fee.

By Heikki Hellman

In more than 200,000 Finnish households, there are people watching television on an unregistered set. There are TV-fee refugees for economic reasons, and then there are those who are making their own personal protest.

And then again there are the secret viewers who couldn’t care less about things like licences. Though of course they aren’t called “licences” now, but “TV-fees".

Kari has done everything right. The 37-year-old graduate engineer has a nice house in a growing community on the west side of Uusimaa.

He’s got a good job with a decent income, a wife, and two kids. There’s a car in the drive and the household is full of electronic gadgetry.

But Kari is making a stand. He is no longer willing to pay his TV-fee.

He signed off on his TV-receiver notification at the beginning of March, and for the past three weeks, he has been watching the box illegally, without a valid receipt that he’s paid his dues.

The forced digitalisation of the cable network was a bridge too far for him.

“The only people who are benefiting are the cable operators, the electronics retailers, and the TV-channels”, says Kari. And what a waste it all is: electricity is getting burned up, and perfectly good equipment gets trashed or traded in for no sane reason.

Refusal to pay his TV-licence fee is not Kari’s only means of protest.

He has also written dozens of posts about the digitalisation decisions on the discussion forums of online papers and has fomented a spirit of rebellion among others.

In order to avoid problems with the licence inspectors, should they turn up, the living-room only has a television, a DVD-player, and a video recorder - and no digital decoder box.

That item is hidden away in the study, and records programmes from there onto DVDs.

It is a rather complicated procedure.

“I’ve cut down on my viewing, and now we think a bit about what we watch”, Kari admits. “I could probably give up the TV altogether. It would leave more time for reading. And it might perk up the marital relations, too.”

Last year, a net figure of 32,000 Finns cancelled their TV-fees over digitalisation, and this year there have been 13,000 fewer fee-payers up to the end of February.

The protest against “forced digitalisation” has grown into a modest national movement.

Many have given up their television sets altogether.

The Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority (FICORA) are doubtless eager to know just how many of them have, since the remainder are carrying on viewing without the luxury of paying a fee for it.

A total of 45,000 signers-off means close to EUR 10 million in lost licence-fee revenue.

The money comes out of the coffers of the Finnish Broadcasting Company, YLE, which receives the proceeds of TV-fee payments.

Twelve months ago, it was estimated that there were around 200,000 homes watching television without a licence.

Now nobody knows what the present figure might be, except that it is higher than it was before.

Behind something like one door in ten, there is someone skulking by the set and listening out for the knock from the licence inspectors.

Who are these TV-licence refugees? What do we know about them?

Practically nothing at all.

“Sometime back in the 1990s, there was a study carried out on licence-fee dodgers. They were mainly young men, lived alone, and were residents of the bigger cities”, says Anssi Laakso, responsible for TV-fee payments at FICORA.

One number is certain: there are about 70,000 hopeless cases.

It has not been possible to collect their back-dated non-payments owing to their not having any money to pay them with. And not even the bailiffs can squeeze the money out.

Some of them continue to watch illegally. They are one group of TV-fee refugees.

Three or four weeks back, I started a thread on the Helsingin Sanomat online discussion forums in which I asked readers to explain why they do not pay their TV-fee.

I only received about a hundred replies to the posting, but they indicated that "young urban males" have been joined by a new set.

At least six distinct or semi-distinct types of TV-fee refugee emerged.

One group is made up of students, for whom the fee of EUR 215.45 each year just seems too expensive.

“It appears as though among the young adults there is a greater shame felt about paying the fee than about getting caught not paying it”, says Anssi Laakso.

In the view of some, the licence-fee is simply an unfair exercise in taxation, since it is the same regardless of the payer’s financial circumstances.

One respondent argued that it was a matter of principle, and felt that the TV transmissions of the public broadcaster YLE ought to be a part of the basic services paid for through the collection of taxes.

A third grouping are the “libertarians”, who believe the TV-fee is a violation of freedom of speech tenets, arguing that one aspect of this freedom is the liberty to receive whatever kinds of messages without anybody interfering to prevent it.

The change of nomenclature from “licence” to “fee” was, claims Jaska, one of the Libertarian faction, “just a move to make it look less like it was an unconstitutional tariff, but the thing itself hasn’t changed one bit.”

The attitude of one group was basically:´'Couldn’t care less!'

“I haven’t paid a TV-licence for eighteeen years, and I don’t intend to start now.”

Then there were those who directed their protest and vitriol squarely at the Finnish Broadcasting Company.

Some grumbled at the price of Swedish-language services, others snarled about the company’s alleged Social Democrat leanings.

One described the broadcaster as providing a cushy and protected workplace for “Finland’s most useless actors and actresses”, while others fumed at dumbing-down and the spread of entertainment programming.

Some do not want to see the money go to YLE, because they claim they never watch its programming anyway.

A sixth category of refugees comprises the "digi-protestors". Cancelling their TV-fee notification is their way of demonstrating.

And it is the digi-rebels who have best got their voice heard. Like Kari above, they have been busy on the message boards, taking comfort and support from experts like Petteri Järvinen, who have - quite rightly - pointed out that there were no pressing technological reasons for switching off the analog signals on the cable networks.

Those who wish to see the additional channels like YLE Teema or want to choose the language of their subtitling can buy themselves a digital decoder, but please leave the rest of us alone, or so the argument goes.

Many who were irked enough decided to cash in their licence-fee because the television set in the living-room gave up the ghost owing to a poor digital signal.

A sizeable majority of the Finnish population have also had problems with their digital hardware: sometimes the picture just disintegrated into pixels, sometimes the characters mouths moved but no sound came out, and sometimes the Finnish subtitles were conspicuous by their absence.

These technical teething-troubles are largely in the past now, but the black halo of failure has hung on: "I’m not paying up, not when they forced us into taking something that was only half-finished!"

The number of TV-fee notifications is now declining for the fifth year in succession. At the end of last year, the total number had slumped back to the level of 1997: 1,947,000 of them.

FICORA is nevertheless still hopreful the tide can turn. “According to our customer service desk, we are getting a lot of returnees”, says Anssi Laakso. He believes the numbers of notifications will start to climb again this year.

It has not happened yet. In February, nearly 27,000 households having a licence cancelled it. This was nearly as great a flight as in August 2007, when the previous record was set.

Helsinki student Sanna is not one of those who has cashed in her chips.

She has never filled in a TV notification in the first place.

She moved to the capital area in the fall of 2005 and lives with her common-law partner in a student dorm, where to the best of her knowledge nobody has paid their TV-licence fee.

“Oh, wait. I do know one. He got caught and had to pay up. The neighboutrs laughed at him and asked him why on earth he had opened the door”, says 23-year-old Sanna.

Once the licence inspector appeared behind her door. On that occasion she had to lie and say that there was no TV in the apartment.

“This isn’t any sort of Holy War against the TV-fee. It just hasn’t really felt necessary to pay it. We don’t watch the box much anyway, and not YLE”, says Sanna by way of justifying her inactions.

She calls the attitude one of not really caring.

“In principle, yes, this is pretty stupid. I know that somebody else is going to pay for this. But couldn’t the fee be a bit less expensive?”

If Sanna were to establish a family and move back to the countryside, she would almost certainly pay her licence-fee, too.

“You can’t go telling the children things like not to open the door when the doorbelll rings, because it might be the TV-inspector.”

But there are secret TV-watchers who do not fit into any clearly-recognisable category.

One of them is Jussi, a 38-year-old media professional from Helsinki.

“I stopped paying last autumn, when I noticed that I don’t watch anything on TV these days except for live sports, and about 90% of that comes on channels that I pay separately to receive”, he says.

If he watches series or movies, they usually come from DVD.

Jussi has two TV-receivers at home, only one of which has a digibox. The other set is used for playing PlayStation games.

Like Kari, Jussi is a man of principle. He does not wish to pay for the privilege of watching television as such, but only for what he watches.

For this reason he has not bought one of the big multi-channel pay-TV packages, because he says he would only be interested in a couple of the channels at best.

And for the same reason he has a card for MTV3's pay-channel Max.

Jussi likes motor racing. His decisions have been greatly coloured by Max’s having the rights to show Formula One live.

He has nothing personal against YLE, just against the means of payment.

“YLE have great programmme acquisition people, and good productions of their own. But if we should all be paying for this, then why aren’t we all paying?”

Jussi believes YLE’s basic services ought to be funded from tax revenue, but that certain things could be done on a pay-per-view basis.

"YLE Teema, for instance, is such a good channel that I would be prepared to pay a few euros a month just for that.”

Licence-fees were thought up in the 1920s.

Since 1998, the licence has been known as the television fee, though old habits and usage die hard.

Now the fee and its future, and by inference the future financing of the Finnish Broadcasting Company, are under discussion by a parliamentary working party, headed by Centre Party MP Mika Lintilä.

The working group are considering whether the fee should stay after 2010, or whether it should be replaced by budget financing, by putting commercials on YLE channels, or by some kind of hybrid model.

The EUR 400 million has to be found from somewhere.

From the perspective of the party collecting the revenue, there is no need for change.

“The system has worked well, even though no system such as this is completely watertight”, says Anssi Laakso from FICORA.

The machinery required to police non-payers has been grumbled at, but it still brings in more income than it costs.

Because of illegal viewing, the Communications Regulatory Authority sends out tens of thousands of letters every year to addresses that have not filed a TV-notification.

Every tenth such letter brings a new notification.

“And for direct marketing, I’d say that is a pretty good score”, ponders Laakso.

But FICORA also requires the services of the 83 inspectors who go around ringing doorbells.

Something in the region of 20,000 secret viewers are exposed every year.

One of these days, one of them may ring Kari’s doorbell, or Jussi’s, or Sanna’s.

Or yours.

Note: The names of those persons interviewed - the non-payers - have been changed.

John - :smirk:

Troll

03-31-2008, 9:49am

That is interesting

Troll

03-31-2008, 2:18pm

Official in trouble over txt messages to dancer

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finland's foreign minister faced calls for his resignation on Saturday after a tabloid newspaper published a suggestive text message he had sent to an erotic dancer.
Ilkka Kanerva sent about 200 text messages to Johanna Tukiainen, 29, and at first said they were related to her performing at his 60th birthday party.

On Friday he admitted the messages were not totally appropriate.

"I would not present them in Sunday School, but they are not totally out of line either," the daily Helsingin Sanomat quoted him as saying.

The Ilta-Sanomat daily said that in one of the messages Kanerva had asked Tukiainen: "Would you like to do it in an exotic place? Where could it be?"

When Kanerva was asked whether 'it' referred to sex, he only said it was obvious that his message was an answer to an earlier question, Finnish News Agency STT said.

Fellow parliamentarian Tuija Nurmi, also of the conservative party, has said Kanerva should resign, and opposition leader Eero Heinaluoma said the situation cannot continue as it is now.

Conservative Party chairman Jyrki Katainen said he had confidence in Kanerva but his actions had been rash.

Finnish TV station MTV3 said it had heard from unnamed sources that Kanerva's party has been preparing for his resignation. Kanerva insisted he would stay in his job.

Tukiainen, who has posed nude in magazines and is the leader of the Scandinavian Dolls erotic dance troupe, first sold the text messages to Hymy magazine, and then sought a court injunction to stop their publication. A Helsinki court rejected the request.

The magazine said it would publish the messages in its next issue, due to be released on Wednesday.

Kanerva's longstanding partner has said she has accepted his apology over the matter.

This is not the first time Kanerva has been in trouble over his mobile phone use. In 2005, when he was the deputy speaker of parliament, he bombarded two models with text messages.

(Reporting by Sakari Suoninen; Editing by Giles Elgood)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080331/od_nm/minister_dc;_ylt=AumuAY7IQfle05zCoJPMzCms0NUE

FinnFreak

04-01-2008, 6:44am

STT - NEWS - 1.4.2008 at 9:40

Finnish FM faces sack over texts to erotic dancer

In a volte-face, Jyrki Katainen, the Finnish finance minister and leader of the National Coalition party, was quoted as saying by online party organ Verkkouutiset Tuesday that Ilkka Kanerva (cons) could no longer continue in the post of foreign minister.

The announcement came after an issue of Hymy, a celebrity magazine, containing the contents of a number of suggestive text messages sent by Mr Kanerva to an erotic dancer hit the newsstands.

At the weekend, after tabloid Ilta-Sanomat printed a more limited sample of the texts, Mr Katainen and Matti Vanhanen (centre), the prime minister, had said that Mr Kanerva continued to enjoy their full confidence.

But Mr Katainen said Tuesday that he had made the hardest decision of his career as party leader.

"I have arrived at the conclusion that Kanerva no longer enjoys the sort of confidence and general respect that would make possible his staying in the post of minister," Mr Katainen told Verkkouutiset.

"In the light of these new developments it is evident that his ability to act as foreign minister has weakened considerably."

The foreign ministry said in a statement Tuesday that Mr Kanerva had taken sick leave and would not be attending the Nato summit in Bucharest on Wednesday and Thursday.

The statement added that the minister would not be available for interviews and that the National Coalition party's management and parliamentary faction would discuss "the foreign minister issue" in meetings over the course of Tuesday morning.

Mr Vanhanen, the prime minister, said Tuesday he had discussed the matter with Mr Katainen and President Tarja Halonen, adding the trio had agreed on a course of action.

Mr Vanhanen said in the United States that he would return to the matter after the National Coalition party meetings.

Mr Kanerva had said Monday that he would not resign over the text message row.

Finnish Conservatives to name Stubb foreign minister

1.4.2008 at 11:37

Commercial broadcaster MTV3 and regional daily Turun Sanomat reported Tuesday that the top brass of Finland's National Coalition party would propose Alexander Stubb as the replacement of Ilkka Kanerva as foreign minister.

Jyrki Katainen (cons), the finance minister and party leader, had announced earlier on Tuesday that Mr Kanerva could not continue in the post after a magazine printed a string of suggestive text messages sent by the minister to an erotic dancer.

The party is to introduce the new foreign minister to the public at a news conference to be held after a meeting of the Conservative parliamentary faction later on Tuesday.

Mr Stubb, 40, a former aide to the head of the European commission and a College of Europe scholar, has been a Euro-MP since the 2004 election.

Should Mr Stubb's appointment be confirmed, he would be replaced in the European Parliament by Sirpa Pietikäinen, a former environment minister.

FINNISH CONSERVATIVES NAME STUBB FOREIGN MINISTER

1.4.2008 at 12:27

:shocked: - Amazing. No messing around with the third state authority - the media in Finland.

John - :smirk:

FinnFreak

04-01-2008, 7:03am

YLE - NEWS - 01.04.2008

Minister Resignations over the Years

Former Foreign Minister Ilkka Kanerva isn't the first minister to fall from grace in Finland. In recent years, at least five ministers have resigned from their posts in Finland.

In 1992, Minister of Trade and Industry Kauko Juhantalo resigned following the discovery of shady business dealings. He was expelled from parliament in 1993 after a court sentenced him to a one-year conditional prison sentence for bribery.

Former Second Finance Minister Arja Alho resigned in 1997. Alho had approved lowering compensation damages imposed on Ulf Sundqvist, the former chief of the now defunct STS Bank.

Matti Aura resigned from his post as Transport Minister in 1999 following a scandal involving the telecommunications company Sonera. Aura called for the head of Sonera, Pekka Vennamo, to resign due to shady share trading. He later resigned himself.

Former Minister of Culture Suvi Lindén resigned from her post in 2002. She had granted 170,000 euros to a golf club in which she owned shares.

And in 2003, Finland's first female Prime Minister Anneli Jäätteenmäki resigned from the job. She was suspected of lying about how she obtained confidential information she used during an election campaign (Iraq-gate).

John - :smirk:

FinnFreak

04-01-2008, 7:53am

:smirk: - Man, it's all over the world...

Scandal..? - No, it's total BS, IMHO... :really: - Sacked over sending txt messages..? Improper behaviour for a cabinet minister..? :huh:

Nonsense. In reality, the Conservative Party is making room for new blood.

The Centre Party has recently had a much worse case - and nobody's getting rid of PM Vanhanen... hah.

John - :p

aFinn

04-01-2008, 3:46pm

I hope from now on nobody mentions that woman or Kanerva again, bah.

Finns have fun with our bank
Sampo bank changed system to new.New? :rolleyes: They changed from a well working internet bank to a stone age Danish system that is coded bad and it's "security" system installs a thing on your comp; this is ridiculous. :scowl:

manmangler

04-01-2008, 4:08pm

I hope from now on nobody mentions that woman or Kanerva again, bah.

That Woman
. . . .
Kanerva

New? :rolleyes: They changed from a well working internet bank to a stone age Danish system that is coded bad and it's "security" system installs a thing on your comp; this is ridiculous. :scowl:

Well think that Danish have used same system for at least two years. Finns find some problems at first day.

Yes those same URL hacks was tested in Danish Bank website and those worked too well. Allowing Man In The Middle and Phising attacks.

Well I, glad that I'm not a customer of any Danish banks.

aFinn

04-01-2008, 4:12pm

That Woman
. . . .
Kanerva:furious::furious::furious:

:biglaugh:

Well think that Danish have used same system for at least two years. Finns find some problems at first day.Finnish nerds strike again :p

FinnFreak

04-04-2008, 7:27am

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - HOME - Friday 4.4.2008

Scrutiny of private lives of government ministers seen to reflect political change

Political scientist says Kanerva case is indicative of increase in public scrutiny

The most important change in Finnish political culture would seem to be the increase in political control over government ministers, says Ilkka Ruostetsaari, Professor of Political Science at the University of Turku.

He notes that before this week’s removal of Minister for Foreign Affairs Ilkka Kanerva (Nat. Coalition Party), no minister had been compelled to resign because of issues related to relations with the opposite sex.

Ruostetsaari admits that the concept of “political culture” is rather broad and vague. As he defines it, it is simply the way of doing things in politics that prevails in a country. It has not been customary in Finland for politicians at the ministerial level to be kicked out because of something in their private lives.

“Ministers have had to resign for reasons related to their economic decisions, such as in the cases of Kauko Juhantalo, Suvi Lindén, Matti Aura, and Arja Alho. Scrutiny over politicians has become tougher”, says Ruostetsaari, who has investigated politicians’ networking, among other things. He suspects that the old boy network did not deliver in Kanerva’s case.

“The network appears to have crumbled, because the minister was not helped even by his good contacts in society. The deterioration began already in the years of the recession [of the 1990s].”

“The general perception is that Finland is adopting a Western political culture. For instance, in Britain, messy affairs in a politician’s private life have led to resignations. There has even been talk in France about the relationships of President Nicolas Sarkozy”, Ruostetsaari says. A few years ago, this would have been unheardof.

He concedes that the change does not appear to have emerged from the realm of politics itself, at least in the case of Ilkka Kanerva. Male politicians especially have been quiet, so the promoters of political change appear to have been women. "Even women of the National Coalition Party actively present criticism”, notes Ruostetsaari, who studies politics.

Nevertheless, surprisingly few citizens engage in political debate on the Internet, notes Pekka Hyvärinen Chairman of the Council for Mass Media in Finland. Hyvärinen, and Kari Haakana, managing editor of the computer magazine Tietokone, recently pointed out that politics is examined in perhaps up to 1,000 Finnish blogs, with possibly tens of thousands of people taking part in the online discussions on them.

“This is a guess by an informed expert”, Hyvärinen notes. There were 4.3 million people eligible to vote in the last Parliamentary elections, so in that respect at least, the number of people involved in the discussions is still small. Those taking part in online discussions are typically men under the age of 50. Women rarely are involved.

Hyvärinen is not so sure that there really has been a change in the political culture.

“It remains to be seen whether the cases of Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen and Foreign Minister Kanerva ... are ultimately just isolated incidents occurring in the same year”, Hyvärinen ponders.

Some politicians themselves have dismissed the idea of a changing culture, arguing that the same rules, laws, and moral codes apply irrespective of whether someone is in public office or not.

The differences emerge in the context of whose affairs emerge in the public domain and whose do not.

The Centre Party secretary Jarmo Korhonen also pointed the finger at the media's behaviour, arguing that commercial objectives had led some parts of the media to the edge of what is legal.

The Social Democratic Party chairman Eero Heinäluoma feels that the Kanerva case only reinforces previously-held principles, arguing that ministers' private lives have always had certain demands placed upon them.

He warns nevertheless that it would be very important to avoid slipping into the American style of politics, where style and appearance dominate.

John - :p

FinnFreak

04-07-2008, 5:18am

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - COLUMN - Monday 7.4.2008

Finland neglecting its Russia policy

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135224329412.jpeg
The official border between Finland and Russia runs
about two metres to the right of the fence on the
right side of the picture.

By Erkki Pennanen

A turning point in Finland's relations with Russia was reached in January 1995 when Esko Aho made an official visit to Moscow as Prime Minister. Finland had just become a member of the European Union. As Aho recalled later, it could be sensed that the situation was a new one for both sides. Aho was there in his capacity of Prime Minister of both Finland and that of a member state of the European Union.

Although Finland had significantly strengthened its political position with respect to Russia at a single go, there were many positive expectations on the part of Russia toward Finland's new status. It was hoped that Finland would be a country that understands Russia, and that it would serve as a bridge-builder in the development of relations between the EU and Russia. Finland also believed that it would be capable of taking on that role.

Apparently to Russia's surprise, seeking a common EU policy line toward Russia became the most important issue for Finland as a new member. Finland wanted to avoid all solo acts, denounced the solo performances of the large EU member states, and sought to emphasise the importance of EU unity.

In Russia, many felt that instead of understanding Russia, Finland preferred to hide behind the back of a united EU, even though finding a common policy line in the EU occasionally proved to be hopelessly difficult. Instead of being a bridge-builder, Finland appeared to have taken on the role of a guardian of EU unity.

From the point of view of Finland and the EU as a whole, there can be nothing to criticise as such. If relations between the EU and Russia had developed to be as positive as was hoped and believed in the 1990s, everything would be good from Finland's point of view as well. As a neighbour of Russia, and as a country that is interested in active economic cooperation, Finland could have partaken fully in the positive development.

Unfortunately, not everything went the way that had been hoped and believed in Finland. There was increasing friction. Many new members, primarily Poland and the Baltic States, began to put spanners in the works of cooperation. This poisoned bilateral relations that these countries had with Russia, but it was also reflected in relations between Russia and the EU.

In this setup Finland found itself in a difficult position. Although it has not always been easy in Finland to understand the attitudes of Poland or Estonia, for instance, the demand for mutual solidarity among the EU countries, and the requirement of unity tied Finland down even when it only made relations between the EU and Russia more complicated.

And what about Finland's much talked-about "special relationship" with Russia? In her book about the policy toward Russia during Finland's time in the European Union, researcher Helena Rytövuori-Apunen has described the dismantling of the special relationship between Finland and Russia in a thought-provoking manner.

Still in the early years of Finnish membership in the EU, there were some attempts to nurture the special relationship. Cooperation with adjacent areas and the EU's northern dimension were emphasised.

Today's Russia is a different country from what it was in the state of weakness of the Yeltsin period. Cooperation with adjacent areas has dwindled to regional policy aimed at serving East Finland, which has very little relevance to the bigger picture. The politics of the northern dimension, for its part, is so broad, and at the same time such a vague area of cooperation between the EU and Russia, that it is hard to conceive how it might be fruitful.

Finland's policy toward Russia is so subordinated to the EU's common Russia policy that it is actually no longer possible to speak of a "special relationship". As Helena Rytövuori-Apunen says, "there has been a desire to prune away everything that is special from the relationship with Russia".

Many seem to think that this is exactly what should have been done. Getting into the EU gave Finland the opportunity to get rid of the spiral of Finlandisation, and the opportunity could not be wasted.

This is an emotional, and short-sighted view. Finland has been a member of the EU for 13 years already, so it is high time that Finland would get over its Finlandisation issues.

As a neighbour and an old cooperative partner of a Russia that is growing stronger again, Finland could still have a front-row seat on the subject of developing economic cooperation. Finland does not need to, nor would it be wise for it to allow itself to be held a hostage of the overall development of relations between the EU and Russia.

Recent years have shown how the development of cooperation between a union of nearly 30 states and Russia has proven to be much more sticky than had been hoped ten years ago.

Naturally Finland must not do anything that would hurt the common interests of the EU. However, like many other countries, Finland has every right to courageously seek to work for the development of bilateral economic relations with Russia. There is no reason even to shy away from nurturing the "special relationship", if a common sounding board can be found for it. Both the government and the President bear responsibility for the present passivity.

EU membership has increased Finland's weight with respect to Russia. On the other hand, it constantly sets many kinds of additional conditions for Finland's own Russia policy.

It is difficult to assess if the question of wood tariffs would be easier or more difficult to solve in bilateral negotiations between Finland and Russia.

The EU naturally has much more negotiating power than Finland has on its own, but on the other side there are issues of prestige and the linkage of the wood tariffs with many other difficult questions, including WTO membership. The wood tariffs are not a big issue for the EU, but they are for Finland.

STT - 7.4.2008 at 9:10

Salolainen says Russia's repugnance to Nato shackles Finland

Pertti Salolainen (cons), the chairman of the Finnish Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, said Saturday that an easy path to Nato membership was now history because of a ratcheting up of Russian opposition to plans to further expand the alliance eastward.

"Russian leaders have stated on a number of occasions that the Nato membership of Ukraine and Georgia or for that matter of any country that borders on Russia would be considered a threat against Russia," Mr Salolainen told the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE).

Speaking on YLE's Launtaiseura programme, Mr Salolainen said Finland's joining Nato during Boris Yeltsin's era would have been a walkover, adding the subsequent change in Russia's attitude should be factored in when the Finnish government drafted its next security and defence policy report in the autumn.

The known proponent of full membership in the military alliance said Nato was not a force directed against Russia. He added all EU countries should join Nato in order to create a counterweight to US supremacy inside the Brussels-headquartered bloc.

:rolleyes: - jeez... it's the bloody 1930's all over again...

STT - 7.4.2008 at 10:33

Easter Island fines Finn for ruining Moai

A court on Easter Island on Friday fined a Finnish man more than 10,000 euros for breaking off the ear of one of the island's famous Moai monoliths.

The fine is the highest ever ordered by the court for spoiling statues.

The court also banned the Finn, 26, from setting foot on the island for a period of three years and ordered him to publicly apologise before the court.

Oscar Acuña, the executive secretary of Chile's Council of National Monuments, said the court had been too lenient, adding it should have jailed the Finn in order to repel other tourists from defacing or damaging Moai.

:uhh: - I find that court order rather lenient too... oh well...

John - :smirk:

FinnFreak

04-07-2008, 5:38am

FinlandForThought.Net - 07.04.2008

The World according to Finns

Heh, I love these maps of America - I thought Finland needed one too…

http://www.finlandforthought.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/american-world-800x560.gif

http://www.finlandforthought.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/world-according-to-finns-s.gif

John - :p

Troll

04-07-2008, 9:51am

Great find John

FinnFreak

04-09-2008, 8:34am

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - SPORT - Wednesday 9.4.2008

Historic win over Team USA takes hockey women close to World Championships final

4-2 defeat to Canada leaves Finnish women to await outcome of Canada-USA encounter

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135235405136.jpeg
Goalie Noora Räty skates to join in the celebrations after Heidi Pelttari scored the
winning goal for the Finns against Team USA on Tuesday.

http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135235436888.jpeg
Canada's Sarah Vaillancourt (top of picture) has sent
the puck towards the corner of the Finnish goal, and
Noora Räty cannot get across in time. Jayna Hefford
(16) watches at close quarters and prepares to
celebrate the Canadian goal. Vaillancourt scored
twice in less than a minute during the second period,
as Canada escaped to a 4-1 lead. Now the Finnish
women must await the outcome of the Canada-USA
clash on Thursday. Victory for Canada would put
Finland into the final for a rematch against the
Canadians, the reigning World Champions.

Finland's national women's ice hockey team pulled off a historic upset on Tuesday, winning for the first time in a major tournament against the United States, through an overtime goal from Heidi Pelttari, the only score of a tight game.

Pelttari's 1-0 strike after 3:42 of the first period of overtime broke the deadlock in the Qualifying Round match, and gave the Finnish women a shot at a place in the final of the 2008 World Championships, being played in Harbin, China.

Aside from Pelttari, the heroine of the hour was goaltender Noora Räty, who made 30 saves in securing a shut-out against the powerful American side. Räty was justly voted MVP for the game.

Wednesday's match against the reigning World Champions Canada brought the Finns back down to earth somewhat, as they slid to a 4-2 defeat.

The second period proved fatal for the Finnish chances, as Canada scored three times without reply.

Nevertheless, even with this loss behind them the Finnish women could still progress to a rematch with the Canadians in the final, depending upon the outcome of the last qualifying round game, when Canada meet the USA on Thursday.

If the Canadians win - and in last year's final they dismissed Team USA 5-1 - then the Finns will progress into the final for the first-ever time.

Until now, the best the Finnish women have managed to achieve from the World Championships is a bronze medal. They have several of those - seven in all since the World Championships were first held in 1990.

Last year the Finns lost out in the bronze match to Sweden and were placed fourth.

In every World Championships final so far it has been Canada and the USA who have decided the gold and silver medals, with Canada having won nine times out of ten.

John - ;):up:

manmangler

04-09-2008, 9:44am

http://www.iltalehti.fi/uutiset/200804097496965_uu.shtml

Problems with Sampo Bank continues

Bankcards won't work. You cannot buy with card or withdraw money. You can only use Visa or Mastercard, but even then those transactions should not ask Certificate from bank. If they ask Certificate, it wont work. Very nice. Sampo is losing customers to others banks. This is what happens when you trust danish software :D .

FinnFreak

04-11-2008, 2:49am

:huh: - Over 12,000 complaints so far..? - that should do it...

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - BUSINESS & FINANCE - Friday 11.4.2008

Sampo Bank promises to compensate only direct costs of technical problems

Sampo Bank is not offering its customers a general compensation over the trouble caused by the glitches that have been affecting its online banking system. The consumers' association Kuluttajat and Minister of Labour Tarja Cronberg (green) have urged the bank to offer customers rebates in service charges to compensate for the gaps in service.

Sampo has promised to compensate only for expenses that were directly caused by the technical faults. In most cases these amount to a few euros, or none at all.

"It is hard to measure the aggravation experienced by customers in monetary terms. When the situation has calmed down, we will make an analysis within the bank and decide on possible measures. Now is far too early for that", said Sampo Bank Deputy CEO Maarit Näkyvä at a press conference on Thursday.

Näkyvä admits that Sampo has lost many customers.

"In the week after Easter we lost 1,000 customers, that is what we know for sure. But on the basis of all of the feedback, I can say that the final figure will be significantly higher."

Näkyvä believes that most of the problems emerging from the change in the system will be ironed out within a week or two.

"The customers can be confident that their money is 100 per cent secure. Nothing has gone away, even if some accounts may not have shown up on line after the change", Näkyvä insists.

Peter Schleidt, IT Director at the Danish Danske Bank, which now owns Sampo, said that some customers have continued to have problems in logging on to the bank's online service.

Much work will also be needed to get to the root of the problems which caused erroneous bank statements sent to customers in the week after Easter. However, Schleidt warns that new difficulties could still emerge.

"We have not necessarily looked in every corner yet", he notes.

Lars Mørch, director of system integration for Danske Bank admits freely that the extent of the problems related with the integration of the Sampo systems with those of its new owner also took Danske by surprise.

"The linking of IT systems on this scale always causes some decline in the level of service, but we did not expect anything like this. I am very sorry that things are not going better", he says.

On Wednesday all debit and credit cards issued by Sampo failed to work in cash machines for a period of about six hours.

Wednesday's failure was not caused by the introduction of the new system, but rather by the collapse of the card verification system of the entire Danske concern. "Murphy struck again", Näkyvä says.

"It may be hard for you to believe this after everything that has happened, but nothing like this has ever happened before. Usually the reliability of the card system at Danske Bank has been at a high level", says IT director Schleidt.

What a sloppy performance. Hard to imagine that happening in Scandinavia. Phreakin' incredible.

John - :smirk:

FinnFreak

04-11-2008, 5:05am

Independence of the Seas

http://static.iltalehti.fi/turku/loisto6MH_tu.jpg
Click to Launch Introduction (http://www.royalcaribbean.co.uk/independence_launch/)

Independence of the Seas is a Royal Caribbean cruise ship, scheduled to enter service in April 2008. The 18-deck ship will accommodate 4,370 passengers served by 1,360 crew. She is being built in the Aker Finnyards drydock in Turku, Finland, builder of her sister ships Freedom of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas. On Tuesday, December 21, 2006, the official name of the ship was released by Royal Caribbean. At 160,000 gross tons, 18 decks in total - 15 for passengers of 4,370 with a 1,300 crew she will join Freedom of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas as the largest cruise ships and passenger vessels ever built. She will be 1,112 feet (339m) long, and will cruise at 21.6 knots (40 km/h). It was announced in February 2007 that the ship will be based in Southampton, England.

Independence of the Seas is the third of the Freedom Class vessels. In 2009, the first in a new Genesis class of ships is slated to displace the Freedom class as the world's largest passenger ships.

http://static.iltalehti.fi/kuvagalleria/img/yleinen/8905.jpg http://static.iltalehti.fi/kuvagalleria/img/yleinen/8907.jpg http://static.iltalehti.fi/kuvagalleria/img/yleinen/8911.jpg
http://static.iltalehti.fi/kuvagalleria/img/yleinen/8909.jpg
http://static.iltalehti.fi/kuvagalleria/img/yleinen/8906.jpg
http://static.iltalehti.fi/kuvagalleria/img/yleinen/8908.jpg

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - BUSINESS & FINANCE - Friday 11.4.2008

New giant cruise liner will initially operate in European waters

A week would not be enough to explore all the vessel's services

The 160,000 GRT Independence of the Seas, the third vessel in a series of giant cruise ships built in Turku, will be completed and will sail from the Aker Yards shipyard next Thursday.

Unilke its earlier sister ships, the vessel will not be turning its bow toward the Caribbean, but will initially be plying European waters.

The 339-metre leviathan, which cost roughly EUR 600 million, will carry 4,375 passengers and a crew of around 1,400, and contains so many services that a one-week cruise will barely scratch the surface.

"The fact that the vessel will first be stationed in Europe is a reflection of the sharp growth in cruise travel in these parts", says Juha Heikinheimo, President of Aker Yards' Cruise & Ferries business sector.

The new cruise liner will be at first engaged on cruises to the Mediterranean from Southampton. Then when the weather starts to get colder toward the end of the year, she will head for the Caribbean in November.

Right now around 500 shipyard workers are putting the finishing touches to the vessel for handover. The crew are also in place and in readiness for the off.

Like the two previous ships in this "world's largest" class, the Freedom of the Seas (2006) and Liberty of the Seas (2007), the interior décor of the new vessel adheres primarily to American tastes, with a good deal of glass, brass, and marble on show.

Nevertheless, the furnishings and fittings on Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas are a touch more subdued in tone than on the two earlier deliveries.

The vessel contains the same trademark 150-metre promenade, complete with restaurants and boutiques, running through the centre of the ship.

It is a matter of some pride at Aker Yards that this new project - spanning two years - was completed in a six-week shorter time than its immediate predecessor.

The shipyard has a provisional agreement with the cruise line for a fourth "Freedom"-class vessel for completion in the fall of 2011.

On the subject of weeks, the ship's project manager Sisko Hellgren points out that the Independence of the Seas is so crammed with facilities and services that a passenger on a one-week cruise will be very hard put to try everything out.

There are theatres, an indoor rollerblade track and ice rink, a golf simulator, an aquapark, a surfing simulator with wave machine, a climbing wall, and even a boxing ring.

The three-storey main restaurant seats 2,200 diners, and there are no fewer than 36 different kinds of cabin to choose from. The list goes on.

The ship's first master will be Croatian-born Teo Strazicic, who has been with Royal Caribbean for 12 years.

The crew itself has representatives of around 60 nationalities.

Even with all these superlatives, the Independence of the Seas and her sisters will only hold the "world's biggest" title for a relatively short time: Royal Caribbean have again turned to Aker Yards for a new generation of even larger cruise liners - the "Genesis" class.

The first of these vessels, as yet unnamed, was ordered in 2006 and should be completed in time for the winter cruising season in 2009.

It will be 360 metres stem to stern, with a gross tonnage of 220,000, and it will be able to carry 5,400 passengers.

John - ;)

FinnFreak

04-11-2008, 8:12am

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - FOREIGN - Friday 11.4.2008

Presidential candidate Obama would gladly see Finland join NATO

http://www.finlandforthought.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/barack_finland.jpg

US Presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama addressed five ambassadorial nominees before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday. The current Democratic front-runner Obama was chairing the hearing of the nominees, among whom was also Barbara McConnell Barrett, the proposed new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Finland.

The other nominees included Yousif Boutrous Ghafari to be Ambassador to the Republic of Slovenia, Frank Urbancic, Jr. to be Ambassador to the Republic of Cyprus, Nancy E. McEldowney to be Ambassador to the Republic of Bulgaria, and Kurt D. Volker to be U.S. Permanent Representative on the Council of NATO.

When speaking to the five diplomats, Obama emphasised that they all were coming before the Committee “at a defining moment in America's story”.

After having addressed the other four nominees, Obama turned his attention to Barrett and said:

“Finally, Ms. Barrett, you have a different task, as you will represent America in a country that has travelled further down the path of democracy and prosperity. Finland is a world leader in technology and innovation, and even outranks the United States in some measures of development. But it still faces challenges in its relationship with Russia and its longstanding position outside of Euro-Atlantic security institutions. At some point soon, Finland may move toward membership in NATO. Should the Finnish people and government choose to pursue that objective, I hope you will be their biggest booster."

By this Obama signalled that he would gladly welcome Finland as part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.

Obama, who is presently in a head-to-head battle for the Democratic Party’s Presidential candidacy with the former first lady Hillary Clinton, also stated that “NATO is not as strong, as capable, or as united as it should be.”

"Afghanistan, NATO's first major mission beyond the borders of Europe, has been overlooked and undermanned by many members of the alliance, including the United States", the senator for the State of Illinois added.

In his election campaign speeches Obama has promised to withdraw American troops from Iraq, and to lay much more emphasis than the current President George W. Bush has done on diplomacy and the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan.

In the event that Obama or his rival Hillary Clinton succeed later this year in taking the Presidency of the United States against Republican candidate John McCain, the chances are that U.S. ambassadorships around the world will soon be on the table once again, as the United States practice has been for the White House to appoint all ambassadors.

Increasingly in recent years, a good many of the appointments have been of a non-diplomatic nature, rewarding supporters of the incumbent President's party.

heh... is Tarja Halonen an Obama Girl..? - I doubt it.

John - :p

Troll

04-11-2008, 9:36am

That ships looks awesome

FinnFreak

04-15-2008, 8:15am

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - HOME - Tuesday 15.4.2008

Chief of Intelligence: Stronger Russia needs to be taken into consideration

Finnish security policy needs to take the growing economic and political strength of Russia into consideration, says Admiral Georgij Alafuzoff, Chief of Intelligence at the Finnish Defence Forces.

"Ten years ago experts said that Russia would never be a cause for concern, because it is so weak. Now experts say that in 10 to 15 years Russia could be the world's fifth-largest economy", Alafuzoff said at a seminar in Helsinki on Monday.

Alafuzoff pointed out that Russia's own experts have predicted that Russia will become involved either directly or indirectly in some large conflict in about the 2020s or 2030s.

The cause for such a conflict would be competition for political and economic influence.

"They are not saying that Russia would attack, or be a direct military participant, but it is nevertheless ready to use military strength for promoting political goals", Alafuzoff said to Helsingin Sanomat.

Possible factors influencing the emergence of conflicts include the crumbling of nation-states, disputes over control of transport connections and natural resources, and the collectivisation of natural resources.

The last two of these are connected with the status of the Baltic Sea. The sea is seen by Alafuzoff as an umbilical cord for Russian imports, which could be one possible reason why Russia is taking a closer look than before at its neighbours in the Baltic Sea area.

The chairman of the Parliamentary Defence Committee, Juha Korkeaoja (Centre Party) spoke about the preparations for a security and defence policy report.

Finland spends 1.27 per cent of its GDP on defence. Korkeaoja says that the government's report raises the question of how much Finland should spend on defence in the future.

"I do not believe that the relative proportion of the defence budget can increase significantly", he said to Helsingin Sanomat.

"One key question in the long term is also, if we will continue to have conscription. No other EU country has quite the same kind of system that we do."

:uhh: - Yep, it's a re-run of the 30's all over again...

Getting insurance doesn't mean an accident WILL happen...

BUT:

One CAN'T get an insurance only WHEN an accident occurs. It's too late then. :rolleyes:

John - :smirk:

FinnFreak

04-16-2008, 9:04am

HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - FOREIGN - Wednesday 16.4.2008

Georgian President warns: concessions to Russia could be reflected in Finland

Georgia's President Mikhail Saakashvili has warned the West not to buckle under Russian opposition to the enlargement of NATO. He said that thinking in terms of spheres of influence can be reflected in Finland as well.

Saakashvili gave his views to Gideon Rachman, a columnist with the Financial Times last week.

"What we are talking about is appeasement. And today it might be Georgia and tomorrow Estonia - and then, hypothetically, Finland. Finland was also in Russia's sphere of influence. It was part of the Russian empire", Saakashvili said, according to the column.

President Saakashvili focused especially on comments by French Prime Minister François Fillon on NATO enlargement.

At the recent NATO summit in Bucharest, Fillon said that the membership of Georgia and Ukraine in NATO "would not be the right response" for the balance of power in Europe, or for that between Europe and Russia.

Georgia and Ukraine hoped to get a membership programme - something of a precursor to NATO membership - at the Bucharest summit. Following intense opposition by Russia, the countries had to make do with a promise that they would ultimately be accepted as members of NATO.

Since the meeting, various assessments have been put forward on the extent to which Russia's sharply negative view on the NATO membership of Georgia and Ukraine might be reflected on how a possible Finnish membership application would be seen in NATO.

Russia promises to work against airspace violations

Finnish Defence Minister visits Moscow

Russia says that it is working to put a stop to violations of Finnish airspace by its aircraft.

Finnish Minister of Defence Jyri Häkämies (Nat. Coalition Party) said at the end of a visit to Moscow on Tuesday that Russia had expressed regret over violations of Finnish airspace by Russian planes.

The most recent such violation took place on December 26th last year, when a Tupolev TU-154 transport plane spent nearly two minutes in Finnish airspace.

Defence Minister Häkämies concluded a three-day visit to Russia on Tuesday.

In addition to the airspace violations, Häkämies and Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and armed forces Chief of Staff Yuri Baluyevski discussed issues related to NATO.

Häkämies said that Russia's views of NATO expansion had remained unchanged, even though President Vladimir Putin had used very strong language earlier in the month to express his opposition to such a move.

"I see no changes there", Häkämies said.

General Baluyevski said last week that Russia would upgrade its military strength on the Ukrainian and Georgian borders, if the two countries join NATO.

Häkämies said that Ukraine and Georgia are in a "special position" with respect to Russia, for historical reasons.

He did not want to speculate on what kinds of consequences Finnish membership in NATO would have on the Russian side. He said that Russia is aware of Finnish policy, and that relations between the two countries are without problems.

Häkämies also assumes that Russian views on NATO will remain unchanged after Dmitri Medvedev assumes the Russian presidency next month.

In their discussions, the Ministers of Defence agreed on closer cooperation in the Baltic Sea, to keep navigation safe in spite of the increase in the number of ships passing through.

Russia is taking a positive view of a Finnish proposal that the countries share information on the situation at sea, compiling up-to-date information on vessels at sea. A similar exchange of information is being prepared for air traffic as well.

The Russians are also to take part crisis management planning for accidents at sea.

John - :smirk:

FinnFreak

04-17-2008, 6:03am

Kiira Korpi Makes It To The Annual Independent Critics List Of
The 100 Most Beautiful Famous Faces From Around the World

...at #38: Kiira Korpi

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v434/FinnFreak/Kiira1.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v434/FinnFreak/Kiira2.jpg

There is always at least one figure skater on the list...
And Kiira is the Finnish babe who becomes the reigning ice-queen.

Highest Position: 38 (2008) Time on Chart: NEW Hi-Res Photos: n/a

The Annual Independent Critics List is Compiled by a Select Group of Up To 25 Invited Judges.
It Has Been Published on the Internet, on Various Websites, Every Year Since 1995.
If You Would Like to Be a Judge for Next Year's List, Please Send an Email to TC Candler (mailto:tccandler@yahoo.com?subject=Most Beautiful List - Judge Request) Detailing Why!

▪ This list is only about beautiful celebrity faces.
▪ It is not based on the "sexiest", "hottest" or "best body".
▪ You may discover some relatively unfamiliar faces.
▪ It is certainly not based purely on public popularity.
▪ This is not your standard Maxim or FHM or People list.
▪ There will probably be a few big name exclusions.
▪ Over 50 countries are represented in the Top 100 and the Runners-Up list.
▪ There are some links to fabulous high-resolution photos.
▪ The list will be updated once every year.
▪ Feel free to email your own suggestions or comments.
▪ Original suggestions are most welcome.
▪ Of course, lists are very subjective -- you will disagree!!!

http://www.tccandler.com/columns/100_most_beautiful_women.htm

John - :]:up:

Troll

04-17-2008, 9:46am

She is pretty.

FinnFreak

04-18-2008, 4:09am

http://static.iltalehti.fi/etusivu/kansisamallalavalla2KT_410_et.gif

:shocked: - Voiko kukaan uskoa tätä paskaa..?!? :dunno:

John - :p

Myyde

04-18-2008, 6:39am

:funny: Noh, mikä jottei. Taitaapi kyllä jäädä näkemättä tuo kulttuuripläjäys. Mutta jos saat hyviä kuvia tuolta ni tänne vaa.:p

Myyde

04-18-2008, 6:56am

FinnFreak

04-21-2008, 4:17am

AGENCIA EFE S. A. Spain - Monday 21 April, 2008

Serious crash in Spain's Costa del Sol kills nine Finns

Government delegate confirms that a drunk car driver was involved in the
Benalmadena coach crash in which nine Finnish tourists lost their lives

http://static.iltalehti.fi/uutiset/prinsessaAML_uu.jpg
The photo of the youngest victim - Katja, 6 - has been published with her parents permission and request.

Nine people died, one of them a six year old girl, and 22 more were seriously injured in a coach crash on the A7 Benalmádena bypass on Saturday evening. It happened at 1950 at the 224 km point above Arroyo de la Miel, when the coach, carrying a group of 47 Finnish tourists, driver and co-driver, came into a side contact with a recently purchased KIA four wheel drive vehicle.

It is a very fast downhill stretch of road and it had been raining in the area for most of the day. Eyewitnesses said the four by four tried to overtake the coach on the inside, and hit the side crash barrier when doing so. He rebounded from there to hit the bus side on which led to the bus driver losing control with the bus ending up overturned moving down the central reservation until coming to a standstill. It’s understood that one of the uprights on the central reservation crash barriers sliced right through the overturned coach.

The driver of the four wheel drive vehicle tested 0.50 milligrams of alcohol in his breath, double the legal maximum and is being blamed for the accident. This was confirmed by the Government Sub Delegate for the province, Hilario López Luna, who also said the KIA driver has been arrested. He is a 27 year old man from Málaga and is now in the Clínico hospital with slight injuries. His father was with him in the vehicle and he was also only slightly hurt.

The 47 tourists, driver, and two TUI guides, were all then trapped inside the wreckage of the bus, and despite the efforts of other drivers who witnessed the accident, had to wait some two hours before the emergency workers could gain access by cutting a hole in the roof of the vehicle. Later heavy lifting gear was brought in to right the vehicle. The coach driver and the guides are among the injured.

The bus driver has been named as 53 year old José Jiménez. His daughter told the Diario Sur newspaper that only that morning he had been talking to the family about the responsibility of transporting so many people. His wife and children spoke of his ‘professionalism and prudence’ at the wheel.

The Andalucian Health Service set up a mobile hospital at the scene, where a number of the passengers were attended to as soon as possible. The injured were then taken to different hospitals in the province – One youngster is in the Materno Infantil Hosptial where another woman has been admitted to the gynaecological ward, five injured are in the Carlos Haya hospital in Málaga, one of whom is said to be in a critical condition, five more were taken to the Costa del Sol hospital in Marbella and the rest, some seven to the Civil Hospital in Málaga. Other people were attended to in health centres in both Benalmádena and Torremolinos.

17 of the victims remain in hospital this morning, and one of them, a woman in her 50’s, is in a coma and on assisted breathing in the Carlos Haya hospital in Málaga. She has lost part of an arm also.

Forensic police have arrived from Finland to help in the investigation and also Finnish psychologists are helping the survivors, the first 14 of whom were finally flown home to Helsinki yesterday afternoon.

The Finnish Government has thanked the Spanish authorities and rescue workers, and noted that Spanish Foreign Minister, Miguel Angel Moratinos had informed the Finnish Government of the accident within an hour of it taking place.

The tourists were on their way back to Málaga airport from Marbella at the end of their holiday on the Costa del Sol. The coach was from the Tui España company, and had left from Marbella, picking up tourists en route in their return to the airport.

The road was closed direction Málaga for a time, leading to considerable delays in both directions on a busy Saturday night.

It is being described as the worst road accident in recent years in the province of Málaga and is the most serious coach crash seen in Spain since November 2001 when 20 pensioners lost their lives in Huelva.

On the road, you're NEVER alone... and the REAL heroes NEVER show.

John - :sad:

FinnFreak

04-22-2008, 5:06am

;)

STT - 22.4.2008

Finnish association plans record breaking gathering in Helsinki

Finland's Markku-liitto, a not too serious association for people named Markku, is aiming at bringing thousands of its members to the Senate Square in Helsinki on the last Saturday of August in what would be the largest meeting ever of people with the same Finnish name.

In Finland every day of the year is designated as a name day for one or more traditional names, and Markku is in turn on Friday.

The Markku association, Finland's largest same-name club, has taken to celebrating the occasion at the appropriately named village of Söörmarkku in the Noormarkku region on the western coast of Finland.

This year the association is expecting to welcome some 50 new members, all with the same first name of course. Newcomers are traditionally dubbed at the occasion with the title Söör Markku, after the village, but sounding suspiciously similar in Finnish to the traditional title of knighthood.

:biglaugh: - Hilarious. Gotta ask if my brother Mark is going.

John - :p

Navi

04-22-2008, 6:51am