Noloa Vaalimainostamista - Shameful Election Promotion

Eduskuntavaalit 2015 lähestyvät ja vaalikampanjointi käy melko lämpimänä. Eri ehdokkaat yrittävät luovasti monin keinoin päästä näkyviin saaden nimensä ja numeronsa positiivisesti muistiin.

Positiivisesti!

Ehdokas René Hursti, sosiaalityöntekijä, Perussuomalaiset, vaalipiiri Helsinki, sinä epäonnistuit!

Se saatoit olla sinä itse, joka homman mokasi - ei se, että minä puolueesi edustajalle ääntäni antaisin, mutta joku muu ehkä sen tekee. Ainakin TV-kuvan perusteella se saatoit olla sinä tai sitten joku, joka on ihastunut tyyliisi.

Kuvan oikeassa alakulmassa oleva numeroituun huomioliiviin pukeutunut henkilö oli valveutunut, jokin tieto opasti liivimiestä liikkumaan juuri oikeaan kohtaan näkyäkseen TV-ruudussa MTV3:n Huomenta Suomi -lähetyksen haastattelussa, josta nämä kuvakaappauksetkin. Parhaat palat näkyy noin 18-22 minuutin kohdalla.

Joku kollegasi sentään ymmärsi ekan näkyvyyden jälkeen siirtyä muualle, ettei joka kuvassa ole joku liivimies pyrkyrinä...

In a nutshell, if you aim to use special marketing / promoting actions, do it with good taste and understand that too much is too much! 

A picture tells more than 1000 words!

FANTASTIC!!!

That is the first English word that comes to mind when thinking of the pictures on the site linked below. The second word would perhaps be AMAZING or OVERWHELMING... Some of you might need a tissue, just make sure you read the titles when ever they are available. For some I'd really wish to get them, particularly to get to know what is the story behind - or at least the cover of the story.

Take in minimum 5 minutes to check the pictures, have a thorough look at them, read the headlines and let your mind fly!
http://news.distractify.com/people/complex-humans/?v=1

These two were my favorites;

LIFE IS...!!! 

Have a great weekend you all!

Viinit ruokakauppaan vai keskioluetkin Alkoon?

Normaali alkoholikulttuuri vie viinit ruokakauppaan, jossa ne voi ostaa samalla, kuin sen ruoan, jonka kanssa viini nautitaan. Niin sanon minäkin, aivan kuten moni muukin...

Nyt muutamat kukkahattutädit ovat poliittisilla, ideologisilla tai omahyväisillä taloudellisilla motiiveilla kieltämässä keskioluen myyntiä perjantai-iltana klo 18 jälkeen ja viikonlopuiksi lisää kieltoja. Jos tähän päälle vietäisiin keskiolut ainoastaan Alkon myyntiin, hieroisivat mm. Viron alkoholikauppiaat tyytyväisinä käsiään.

Törmäsin erittäin mielenkiintoiseen kirjoitukseen näitä muutoksia ajavien henkilöiden taustoista ja linkityksistä, jotka herättävät ajatuksia. Suosittelen lukemaan, kirjoittaja on tehnyt paljon taustatyötä ja käsittääkseni ilman mitään korvausta - toisin kuin rajoituksia lobbaavat...

Tässä linkki kirjoitukseen;
http://blogbook.fi/helenaeronen/alkoholipolitiikan-taustapirut/

...some people are trying to limit the sales of alcohol in Finland, while I think they should allow selling wine in grocery stores...

Hölökynkölökyn - Kippis - Skål - Salute - Santé...!

Tourism Tip: Kasvihuoneilmiö

Election day in Finland: Municipal election. The weather has been fantastic for a nice stroll to give your statement. -1C and bright, sunny day. We got about 1 cm of snow on Friday morning, but that did not last. Let's see how the results will be - for now it seems there are no major surprises...

Then I've got a tip for you all, a combination of travel, shopping, flea market, cafe and good feeling;

 

Next to the highway #1 in Finland is a shop + cafe called Kasvihuoneilmiö. If you are into "stuff", you must go there. One weekend last summer there was a small sample of "Jeans Museum" - Farkkumuseo of Finland.

It is less than an hour drive from Helsinki down town and worth driving there for a tour in the shop and a meal - or a waffle.  

Here is a link to their home site. Signs can be found by the road so you will  loose your track. If you are not in a hurry, I recommend to drive the old #1-road, what ever it is numbered nowadays...

Hietsu @ Helsinki

While I went to say hi to a special person, I snapped two photos at Hietsu, Hietaniemi Cemetary at Helsinki.

This is one of the favorites that I often pass by: Old iron fence with a rusty bench inside. Even if it would be never used, it gives the image and thoughts of sitting down and talking to your buddy over there.

 
I guess this one is still waiting for a bit bigger stone, as it is a resting place for Mr Harri Holkeri, former top politician in Finland. 

I must take time some day soon to post some pics and stories from Spain. Hasta la proxima, Amigos...!

More black(!) humour...

Looking at the action picture from an emergency room, a question comes to mind:
"Is he going to make it???"


EMERGENCY ROOM - ALABAMA MEDICAL CENTRE

...I could be wrong, but judging by his hat, this guy ain't gonna make it!!!

PS Would you have thought of this from a person who was selected the next president the night before...?http://digg.com/newsbar/politics/this_guy_was_elected_president_of_finland_yesterday_first_morning_after_elections_pic

We have a new president in Finland - Sauli Niinistö!

Today we started the day with -28C in Helsinki area the day of the second round in the presidential election. The result was the most clear ever in the history of the 2-phase election, 62,6% for Sauli Niinistö from national coalition party on the right wing vs 37,4% for Pekka Haavisto from the green party.

Sauli Niinistö will be the 12th president of Finland, that got independent at 1917.

Out of the somewhat 20 districts, only Ahvenanmaa - Åland, the island between Finland and Sweden that would very much like to be independent - voted Haavisto to be a winner. Over there the voting % was a bit over 50%, which can explain part of the result. I can tell you that district is heavily supporting the Swedish party and now that they didn't have an own candidate on the second round, the interest dropped and surprisingly(?) Haavisto won over there.

In Helsinki the votes were almost equal, neck-to-neck few tenths from 50%. Overall the voting-% was quite low, below 70% that was almost 10% down from the main round.

I've witnessed some discussions both online and live, where friends supporting different sides have taken this a bit too seriously. I sincerely hope that you have not been too offensive with your views. All of us have a right to have our own opinion, no matter how wrong they feel to be. As long as they do not affect other people's lives, it's your own business.

Just remember, if they do affect the lives of others, think carefully what you do or don't want to do as some of your choices might have long term effects that you have not thought when arguing about some details or making a decision that feels good - for you. Unfortunately I've seen this happen so think and consider a compromise if there are more important things at stake.

Onnittelut uudelle presidentille!
He will step in on March 1st, so there is still some time to pack the bags...

In Finnish info at http://www.yle.fi/ over here and in English in here.

What else for this weekend?
Fan at 2 futsal games - the indoor football that is played on handball court - and in a basketball game, some b-ball for myself, and first time on the slalom hill for this winter. It was pretty cold, about -18-20C on minus side, but still skiable for an hour at a time. Then of course for a pit stop at the bistro...

For the ones at Helsinki area, Messilä next to Lahti is a good option to the ones next door. Nice athmosphere and surroundings a bit over an hour from Helsinki and the slopes are better than in e.g. Vihti or Serena. At the same time we got to meet friends who had come from Moscow for a long weekend skiing trip. I was thinking at one point if we should have pushed them to go up to Lapland, but considering the temperatures I am lucky we didn't. It has been around -30C up there.

Still some time to get my legs used to the skiing, need to do some workout with my thighs even if I have thought they have been ok. It is just so different pressure they get on the slopes - and I don't take skiing too easily. It's a great combination of outdoor fresh air, fun exercise, leisure time with friends or family, and of course before-during-after-ski fun.

I am looking forward to the upcoming ski trip to Lapland! Trust me, it is fabulastic!!!

Have a great week you all!

PS In case you wish to spend a fun day either for private or work pleasure - even at VIP level - check this out; http://www.kelkkakunkku.fi/ Great event even if you would not like the motor sports at all!

PPS More snow coming as we speak and the temp is only -8C

The Presidential Battle is ON!

We ended up for the second round at the Presidential election in Finland. Two candidates, both with spouses over 20 years younger. One a comm's director of the candidate's party, the other male hair dresser. And candidates both agree the spouses should be left out from the discussions...

I have not voted yet, will most likely leave it for the actual day next Sunday - and most probably voting for the same candidate I voted at the first round.

...and now for the sports day, unfortunately indoor game for this beautiful winter day. Have a good one!!!

Good evening Mr President of Finland!

Today is the election day in Finland, we are selecting for ourselves a new president. The title claims that the two female candidates would be out of the game - and to be honest, I don't see a realistic chance for them to make it even to the second round. I am a bit afraid they will be in the bottom three.

That makes Finland will join the majority of democracies with male president, while for the past 12 years we've had a female president.

One of the candidates, Paavo Lipponen, has got a perfect CV in politics up to prime minister career. He has never ran for the presidency, mainly due to strong candidates from the same party. Now the gallups say he is on the weak side.

Another Paavo, Väyrynen, has ran for the office several times - always failing. His explanations have been various, best one being that he lost due to media game. Now he has taken a self irony approach with confidence. No one else would have even thought to make a coffee mug with his and his spouse's picture. The royal style...

We also have a candidate that is a bit different from the main stream. Like one public figure said on an article, if this man wins, we will have as the first "lady" a gay man from Ecuador.

One candidate, Member of European Parliament, is also a World Champion and European Champion in track & field. It is one of the female candidates, Sari Essayah.


There is also a man, who was in the middle of the zunami in Thailand back at 2004. Barely survived. A man who's wife died years ago in a car accident. Now he is again happily married.

Three candidates have spouses who are +20 years younger than the candidates. One of them from Ecuador. Another the Communications Director of the party of the candidate. I wonder what they talk about at home. Third one is married with a lady younger than his daughter.

Still, let's not forget it is about politics and let the best candidate win!

PS For the ones interested, you can find some info from here.
PPS There is no reason for anyone to be offended, no sides taken here and I tried to describe what I can see and hear. Eli ei pitäisi olla syytä loukkaantua, tässä on vain muutama palanen siitä mitä olen kuullut tai lukenut...

Social team spirit

The Social democratic party in Finland has made a comeback to the government. Many have been wondering what has been the secret behind the success, but I can reveil it to you;

It is the extremely good teamspirit, where the members are so close to their colleagues' presense particularly in the meeting environment.

Need some proof...?

...

...

...

...

...

...

Well, what do you say about this?

And while we are in politics, here is a reminder from Italy; Perhaps not all of them have a good taste with what they put in their mouth - and remember, somebody is watching you all the time...

The streets are for us, one way or another

To whom are the streets built for?
For us of course.

Who should then decide how do we use them?
Daaaaa, us.

Well tell me then why couldn't we make a good, car free day happen also in Helsinki, Finland? As I said, it is possible and doesn't require any super initiatives. No, it is not easy but if it would be - anyone could do it.

I hope you checked out the blog comments from last Saturday 22nd Jan. A gentleman who - according to Google search - seems to be THE man for the car free and sustainable environment stuff, gave few links to the topic and checking them out I became even more convinced that we should take this seriously over here too.

No, we don't need to do it all at once but let's stop fooling around with the wanna-be-car-free-days like we have had so far in Helsinki and let's make it real! It is fun to be stuck in a traffic lights like below.

During our Brussels years we were on our bikes every year and cycled around the city. I can tell you it was truly fun going down town and cycle in places where normally we need to be aware of cars all over. During the first years our youngest one was 6 years but still 30 km cycling was a piece of cake for him too.

It's a bit like eating an elephant: you eat it in pieces. Or a version I heard - claimed to be a Brazilian one: You eat a gorilla in monkies.
...This one beats me, it must be hell of a lot better in original language. If someone knows how this should go, please inform us!

Here are few pics from the last car free day in BRU we (for now) have had the pleasure to enjoy.

This is Brussels Bourse down town, few blocks from the Grand Place. Veeeery busy road normally.

Across the road from Bourse, you can get non-Belge Churros. Muy bueno!

 As you can see, it is not only bicycles that conquer the streets: Horses in front of the Royal Palace.

 The trams and buses were operating free of charge. At the back is the art nouveaux building of Musical Instrument Museum of Brussels, worth a visit. My kids and wife did, I didn't and regret it. In minimum one should go for the view on top, cafe should be good and as we are in Belgium it means a good selection of beers for a break :o)

 If you wondered the cover of the building on the left, here it is from the front. Apparently Magritte Museum - please don't ask what it is but I think the kids said it is worth a visit. They are asleep now so can't check it...

 This one is another cover down the road at Sablon. Why should you cover a church tower with boring pic if people can enjoy a nicer view while renovation is on. By the way, if you wonder who in Finland could do these - big or small, easy or difficult, I know the man for the job.

 One neads a break once in a while, and what could be better than sitting down on a sunny terrace with a view and few beautiful Nordic looking ladies nearby...?

 And on the other hand, it is also good to have a French red and Belge blond at hand.. However, the Belge blond doesn't beat a Nordic one.

 The police is also fully in, or can you challenge the attitude of this guy putting on his roller skates?

Guys, I would have really, and I mean REALLY wanted to see the drivers of this tandem. It requires some personality and appearance to drive this beast!  

 Anyways, I wish to see busy roads in pedestrian and bicycle - or horse - usage in Helsinki. We have the Helsinki City Marathon on August 20th, why not make that a day of Run-Walk-Cycle / Juokse-Kävele-Pyöräile???

Please don't start thinking why not, but rather "how can we make it happen"!

Let's finish with a pic taken from the same spot where we one of the days said hi to the King and Queen of Belgium.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I guess I really need to start lobbying a REAL car free day for Helsinki.

From top of my head I came up with 5 names = people I personally know in Finnish Parliament, City authorities and surrounding city politics so I need to step on it. In addition there are multiple people who should be interested. Not least our Foreign Minister who used to live in Brussels for years and was a member of the Flying Finns, Brussels Track & Field Club. 

Be aware or rather spread the word!

Car free city - is it possible? Organized properly or ad-hoc?

I claim it is, despite of the pitiful efforts that the Helsinki city authorities have made towards the car free day in Europe. Actually I think it is a Global initiative at some level.

Why the heck we Finns - or in this case my dear fellow countrymen responsible for the event - try to follow the rules or guidelines so strictly that the end result is lost in circumstances. or what do you think about the Helsinki way to organize a "Car Free Day in Helsinki";

• The official EU day is on Tuesday
• Helsinki decides to have their own car free day at the same day, a normal busy office/work day
• The public transport is slightly discounted
• Less than 10 blocks area in the city centre is decleared as "car free"
• Despite of the "car free" area, you can drive to the offices, shops, garages etc inside the area

No wonder the day has not had any meaning. But how about Brussels car free day then;

• The day is always on Sunday in September when the weather is still good (for Helsinki I'd recommend late August)
• Driving a car is forbidden in the whole city, including about 5 km outside to the ring road
• If you must drive due to work or other reason, you must in advance apply for a permit from the police - like we had to do once
• Public transportation is free
• The streets are taken over by people, festivals, bicycles, runners, horses and so on. It becomes a true car free day!
• http://www.dimanchesansvoiture.irisnet.be/accueil

You don't need to invent the wheel again, just investigate during one of the what-ever-you-go-to-Brussels-for-trips what the Brussels people have done. Then localize it to Finland. Sounds simple, and that's what it is - if we have the will!

At the moment we live about 10 kilometers from the city centre, but I can tell you if a proper car-free day would happen in Helsinki we would definitely drive down to the city and enjoy the streets!!!

Coming back to the question in the title;
Yes, a car free city is possible at least for one day in a year! But it does not come for free, all of us need to chip in...

Hmmmm, today the Belge people decided to organize something close to such day - with a bit different objective but we could call this an ad-hoc car free day. Or do you think these guys would welcome a car on this street?

Belgium has been without a government for 224 days, that being a record in Europe. People organized a demonstration against the situation, let's see if it makes any difference. I don't see a real long term solution to be realistic as certain basics are not in place. Flemish and Valloons - the Dutch (or "Flemish speaking" as they claim) speaking and French speaking Belge - seem to have so different view of the current problems and solutions.

The status and importance of Brussels doesn't make it easier, as Brussels is a French speaking city in the middle of Dutch speaking area. And believe me, the language barrior and with it mentality difference between these two parties is BIG.  

Uutinen Belgian hallituksen puutetta vastaan järjestetystä mielenosoituksesta löytyy täältä Helsingin Sanomien sivulta.

To read guardian.co.uk's report, click here.

So many thoughts, so little time...

During the past weeks I have had so many ideas to write about but at the same time so little time to put the thoughts on the keyboard.

The Finnish politicians have been on the local news; one member of the parliament about mixing the business and private traveling, prime minister about his ridiculous "I do not recall it... I can't remember that..." explanations about the party election fundings.

The Finnish hockey league is in the semifinal phase but there are no teams left that I would be interested in. Still, I follow a bit and I can't understand why.

Formula1 World Champion Kimi Räikkönen changed his F1 Ferrari into Citroen Ralley car and has had some ups and downs during the first 4 or so World Championship ralleys. Today he finished 5th in Turkey and that can be considered a great achievement with his very limited experience! It is a bit like Michael Schumacher would have jumped to the MotoGP series and finished 5th in a race...

Yesterday I was watching my son's football (soccer) game and he played midfield instead of the regular defense. They won 4-0, he scored 2 goals and had a good chance for a hat trick - and I was enjoying myself!!! As I have said I love to watch sports but seeing your own kids play is just something else.

And then there is the dust cloud;

Around the world are people who had to change their traveling plans. Every one of us know someone who was impacted.

Now some airlines have made test flights and critic against the flight ban is increasing. Let's see how bad the situation will be but now it seems the central Europe will be heavily impacted. At the moment ~4.000 flights were operated instead of the normal ~24.000 flights. Some lucky ones are stuck in 5* hotels with company expenses but that is only few.

I would not dream about bus ride through Europe from Barcelona to Helsinki, Finland. Some holiday tour operators have started to bring groups back to Finland by flying from Canary Islands to Barcelona and continue with a bus from there. Just imagine the 2-3 day trip with small children...

Today I met a colleague who was planned to be in Hania, Greece, enjoying the beaches and heat but instead he is in Espoo, Finland enjoying the +2C we have at the moment.
OK, we had today about +10C and I enjoyed a moment at the backyard patio. Or let's say I tried to make an unpleasant working moment as enjoyable as possible: I opened the sliding doors and was inside, covered from the worst wind, sat on a lamb skin (which is from my wife's childhood) and opened a laptop.

Not as nice and warm as here but still...

Gotta say the sun was enjoyable and I was longing to Brussels where I know the spring is far far ahead. I guess you guys have the certain trees whatevertheyarecalled already blooming pink. The summer is 2 months longer then up here so the past and next few weeks is the time when one should change Finland into Brussels.

However, then we would have missed all the ugliness of the melting snow. Luckily I have not been around the sidewalks to see the exposure of the dog poo... Thank you for everyone who uses the plastic bags to collect the poo!!!

Last but not least, for everyone working with a laptop in the sun check out this.

Back to home town politics

Something new about our home town politics: Mayor of our home town Espoo has got the highest salary (15.453 Eur / month incl. benefits) out of all mayors in Finland.

She earns even more then our Prime Minister (13.950 Eur / month + benefits...), which on the other hand might not be the best thing considering the integrity of the Prime Minister. Person in that position should earn enough not to be involved with any potential corruption cases.  Finns know what has been on the news recently...

I Love Espoo - but not all things about it!

Well, it seems we have a whiner in our neighbourhood who is upset since he is not invited to some specific Independence Day reception of our beloved mayor. He claims he has never been so badly hurt and sais rightfully that it can not be about the few Euros that his coffee and cake would cost.

Spot on!!!

What did I say about the kids again? Well, I did not highlight the mimimal cost it creates. Use the city facilities and give the kids some juice and biscuits - it is not about the food...

This guy was so much focused on himself, that he also forgot to ask why some participants are invited avec, instead of using the capacity for the people who have been actually involved.

Apparently this particular humble knight in the article has dedicated himself to improve life in our current neighbourhood of Olari, Espoo. Fantastic, but I can't see the development when I walk around here...

Well, there is on the right side a writing about suspicion of corruption regarding our mayor. This naturally has got nothing to do with the story above ;o) 

Can't help myself;
Both yesterday and today I was looking outside in the afternoon and both times had to check the time. It was 2pm and it was fairly dark - even the street lights were on. Well, the Helsinki Airport lights were on the whole day, perhaps to help the striking people to see the light in the tunnel they selected to go to. 


My humble personal view is that they are digging themselves into similar situation as the paper industry workers in Finland were getting into via their strikes few years ago. Today several paper mills have been shut down and productions moved to other countries. 


Despite of all this;
Stink Positive!

Do Espoo City decision makers have balls?

The elected decision makers in our home town Espoo in Finland decided to make a saving in what they thought was a right place: 4th grade students Independence day reception. It has been a tradition in neigbouring city of Helsinki and last year the students and teacheres were told the reception party will be held this year too.

Except, it is now cancelled. The BIG question is, how do you answer to a 10 year old kid that asks if you don't need to at the end keep promises you have made? Well, there is no way out.

Our neighbours in Helsinki just decided to postpone, not cancel but postpone, their reception due to the "pig flue" until March. To repeat myself, this was due to N1H1 virus a.k.a. "pig flue", not cost savings.

If our representatives in Espoo have a backbone, they will either cancel ALL receptions planned for Independence day, Christmas and New Year, particularly since these are mainly targeted for the inner circle - spicedup with few citizens to make the news.
Let's see how many decision maker events will be cancelled due to cost savings...

Sorry folks, only in Finnish but you can always go to http://www.translate.google.com/
Klikkaa artikkelia sen suurentamiseksi.

To set set the scene, you should know that I take it as a privilege to have a right to vote. And I will do vote when ever there is a chance, since I think I have an opinion - and you might have noticed it by now on this site ;o)

I received some weeks ago a card from the commune that I understood to say I am entitled to vote in European Parliament election in June 2009 in Belgium. To do that, I would need to register in my commune called Etterbeek (one of about 13 in Brussels area, an issue it self...). Being a non-French speaking creature, I was of course happy to receive this note that was only in French. Luckily we have an assistant who should get a medal for her extra efforts - many thanks Nath for this and others (not to mention about info about voting in BE...)!!!

I have received similar cards earlier and I have deliberately destroyed all of them; They proposed me to vote, and if I would do it I would be obliged to vote in Belgium elections. Not allowed, but obliged. From now onwards in every election, hoping that if I move out from the country I´d be excused...

What if I register but don´t want to or can´t vote in that particular voting date?
Well, you I would get a fine. Sorry, not sure about the amount but enough to be painful I´ve been told.

The only acceptable reasons to miss voting could be if you are dead, so ill that you can´t move or you are giving birth that date, (still you need to get doctor´s certificate). If you are for example so old you are not able to move any more you are still expected to find a "deputy" for yourself. Yep, a person who´s supposed to put in the vote for you.

Hmmmm, how would you be able to secure that your deputy would vote according to your wish or demand?
No.

If you still decide to register to vote, it´s not the easiest thing at the market. The time window when you are able to vote depends on your commune in Belgium you live in. For example in a commune of colleague´s parents, they can vote only between (max times my colleague remembered) 0830 - 1100. And there is no pre-voting like I´d say modern countries do have.

What about then the country I´m coming from - Finland?
According to Wikipedia, Finland was the first country in Europe and 3rd in the world to give women a right to vote in election, and apparently in the frontier to let women to be selected as members of parliament at 1906.
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Suomalais-linkki Belgian äänestämisen kauneudesta;
http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgian_vaalit

Tiesitkö muuten, että Euroopan maista Sveitsi antoi naisille äänioikeuden vasta vuonna 1971 ja Liechtenstein, viimeisenä Euroopassa, vuonna 1984. Joissain Sveitsin kantoneissa naisten äänioikeus oli evätty 1990-luvun alkuun asti. (Lähde: Wikipedia)