Revisiting the Security and Defence Policy

A working group has been assembled to research and report on Finland's stance militarily in an international system that "has entered a new development phase." At issue will be NATO, the UN and EU security guarantees, the defensive policy of non-alignment, and an eye towards an increasingly unknown player directly to the east, i.e. Russia. The group's report will be presented sometime in 2008, though I'm already a bit nervous about revisiting the NATO question. I guess we'll just have to wait a few months.

Tampere to the Champions League?

While not quite as improbable as Finland winning Eurovision was, landing a Finnish team in the Champions League would be quite an accomplishment. Tampere will attempt to continue their march to do just that tonight.

Left Alliance and Greens speak in favor of sending troops to Darfur

While Finnish PM Matti Vanhanen has voiced his political support for the African Union-UN joint venture in sending troops to Darfur, there are those in Parliament and in his government who believe he has once again come up short. As if being the man who made the text message breakup famous wasn't enough...

Sirpa Puhakka (Left Alliance) and Labour Minister Tarja Cronberg both made calls for Vanhanen to put his money where is mouth is and add Finnish troops to the ranks. Finland (and much of Scandinavia) has long harvested the image of the Jiminy Cricket of the world- the ideal security community where fighting is unthinkable among it's members but willing to go elsewhere to help maintain the peace and bring a little piece of their culture to the world. I'd have to agree with these two- even only a few symbolic troops to demonstrate commitment would be better than what Vanhanen is currently doing.

And speaking of text message breakups...

(don't ask)

Rebirth?

I am considering starting back to blogging, since I've got a bit more time for the summer and because there's still a ton going on in Finland and in the world to be brought to notice. Jury's still out, but for now, here's are the results from the Wife Carrying World Championships that happen annually in Sonkajärvi, near where I attended high school.

For the 5th time in a row and the 7th time total, Madis Uusorg from Estonia has won. Though his "wife" changes every now and then, one wonders how he can keep in shape and still enjoy his prize of his wife's weight in beer each time he wins. For the BBC video see [here], for history of the contest look [here], and to see what the town has to say about its tradition go [here]. In 2005 Dennis Rodman, who was doing a stint in the Finnish National Basketball league, made an appearance at the contest, though it was half hearted and he probably couldn't have finished even if he had tried.

Finland 2nd to Ireland - How'd this happen?

It appears as though Finland is slipping! In the latest Eurobarometer survey to come out (not sure why I've been so hung up on these reports lately), Ireland has been proven the country with the largest binge drinking problem. Finland and England were relegated to 2nd and 3rd, respectively. With the leading cause of death in Finns of working age being alcohol related, one would expect more from these statistics. What's going on Finland? Did the state's recent legislation moving the start time for selling booze to 9am really cause that much of a change? I somehow doubt it.

Binge drinking is defined by the poll as having 5 or more drinks in one sitting. While (among others) the Nordic council has taken up the issue, especially among the youth, things don't change all that much. Ultimately the choice must be personal. The state can do little to coerce people in this arena. It's a cultural mixed with personal choice, in the end. And perhaps some are starting to chose to drink less. Or they're just lying on these surveys- also a distinct possibility. There is, after all, a stigma associated with drinking til one hits the floor. I still need to do that research I talked about in the earlier post, as well as a holistic survey of the Eurobarometer's methods. I'll add that to the to do list.

And now I'm late for class...