Entries tagged with north europe

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Friday offtopic: Finns do love their metal!

Interesting article about the reasons why love for metal music is so deeply rooted in Finnish culture. There are many factors and it's a fascinating story:

Why do Finnish people love metal music so much?

Can you think of a Finnish metal band that you love? Personally, I'd need about an hour to list them all... But here's a sample.

Watch on YouTube

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Welcome to the club, Sweden

Sweden clears final hurdle to join NATO as Hungary approves accession

- Sweden to join NATO after Hungary ratification
- NATO membership will end long military non-alignment
- NATO accession spurred by Russia's invasion of Ukraine
- Finland already joined NATO last year

Next up... Ukraine.

Funny question I got recently: "I don't know if NATO needs Sweden. Are we going to go to war for them?"

Well, duh. Ain't that the whole point of the alliance? If one NATO nation is attacked, the rest are treaty-bound to come to their aid, militarily. Every new nation admitted to NATO strengthens the alliance, and leaves Russia with fewer options should the Russkies wish to continue with her territorial expansion ambitions.

So yeah. If they are attacked, then yes the rest will be required defend them. If you live in a NATO member state, you may be required to fight for Sweden, and if that proves to be necessary, you will not be given a choice in the matter. If you do not wish to potentially fight to defend Sweden, I strongly urge you to emigrate to a non-NATO nation.

As for the broader picture. Countries applying for NATO at this time say the intelligent world knows exactly what Putin's plans are. Everyone except Trump of course. Of course I wouldn't go as far as to claim he'd pull the US out of NATO if re-elected, but the tragedy is, his sheep in politics know he'd rather undermine America's allies and her standing in the world to earn points among his base. And his base know it but support him regardless. A 2nd Trump term would mean it'd potentially take a huge effort to recover from the damage Trump would cause in Europe and around the world. But that's a separate story.

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Ecology and cultural myths

Finally making time to write up my notes from an Iceland bike tour in 2021.

( This bit of pondering matches the month's theme, I think... )

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Iceland on strike

When Icelanders unite for a just cause, they can achieve anything:

A country-wide gender strike. And in that strike... The female Prime Minister. So cool. Get it done women!

Women across Iceland, including the prime minister, go on strike for equal pay and no more violence

If we are to make this post more US-centric, in the US the issue is what I would consider a still significant one, with most studies finding a gap explained only by gender of 1-5%.

But there are two important things to keep in mind.

Firstly, a lot of jobs are "gendered". This isn't an inherent thing a lot of the time. Computer Science was initially considered a very feminine job... until it started to pay well and suddenly it became a masculine job. A LOT of lower paying jobs are considered feminine. So it seems Icelanders care about socially de-gendering jobs and having it be a more equal split in all fields.

Secondly, the other reason for the strike is 1/4 women in Iceland have been sexually assaulted, which is pretty high. I think striking to draw attention to that is perfectly valid.

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Finland set to join NATO

Final holdout Turkey has given approval and Finland is set to join NATO. I feel sure some of our pro-Putin posters assured us this wouldn't happen.

Well done Vladimir Putin. Having started a war claiming it was about stopping NATO expansion he has succeeded in driving a nation that had been neutral since WW2 and is known for being fiercly independent into the arms of NATO. It is not that many years ago that only 18% of Finns wanted to join NATO, now that figure is closer to 90% and it is all down to Vlad and his stalled invasion.

Russia's border with NATO just got a LOT longer and the strategically important Kola Penninsula can be more easily disrupted in the event of conflict and the maritime approaches to Leningrad will be even more vulnerable. Oops! Bit of an own goal there.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65132527

Hopefully once Turkey's election is over Sweden will join Finland and further strengthen NATO. Maybe Ukraine will get some nice Grippen fighters to mark the occasion.

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Let's connect the dots here

This is mostly going to be a link dump, with a few notes. I'm not going to comment much, but just note that the order of these points and the relevant links is deliberate.

You can connect the dots on your own, I'm sure. You're welcome to tell me your version of this picture:

1. Turkey is still far away from the EU values and standards so it cannot join the EU: link

2. If Turkey was an EU member, the war in Ukraine might have been prevented, Turkey argues: link

3. After Russia invaded Ukraine, the US has said it's time for neutral Finland and Sweden to join NATO: link

4. Sweden and Finland want to join NATO now: link

5. Russia responds by vowing to boost its military presence near its borders with Scandinavia: link

6. Sweden allows a far-right activist to burn the Quran in public, citing freedom of speech: link

7. Turkey is enraged by the Quran burning: link

8. Turkey vows to block Sweden's NATO candidacy: link

9. Finland now considers applying for NATO on its own, separately from Sweden: link

10. The US is annoyed by the Quran burning in Sweden, hints that Russia might be at the bottom of all this, possibly a sabotage of the Swedish/Finnish NATO candidacy: link

Your thoughts? Where will this end? Where SHOULD it end? Who's winning and who's losing out of this?

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Friday wow news: Rare minerals found up north

Sweden's LKAB finds Europe's biggest deposit of rare earth metals

- LKAB identifies over 1 mln tonnes of resources
- Company to apply for concession to develop site
- Mining of deposit still seen 10-15 years away
- Could in time reduce EU dependence on imports

Given the ongoing cold war between China and the US on the hi-tech / rare-mineral resource front, any guesses on how soon Sweden is going to be "liberated" by the powers that be?

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Sweden and Finland want in NATO

Putin may've miscalculated one more thing: he attacked Ukraine to prevent it from slipping away from Russia's grip and to prevent NATO from encroaching even closer to the Russian borders - but now two countries on the northern flank that used to be neutral are now considering joining NATO: Sweden and Finland.

Of course Russia's reaction was swift. They've warned Sweden and Finland through bilateral diplomatic channels about the consequences of joining NATO.

This was stated by the spokesperson of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova, who said "We have issued all our warnings, both publicly and through bilateral channels. They know about it, they have nothing to be surprised about, they are informed about everything that this will lead to."

Nevertheless, the Finnish parliament is about to open a debate on whether the country should apply for NATO membership after Russia's invasion of Ukraine has sparked growing political and public support for joining the military alliance.

Despite Russia's warning about deploying nuclear weapons in the Baltics if Finland and neighboring Sweden join NATO, the Finnish prime minister has said her country would now decide quickly whether to apply for membership. Sweden is also discussing whether to apply for membership and this should be decided soon, too.

This way Putin's gambit will backfire and NATO will complete its northern flank.

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Pornography bans

This is an interesting topic - I've heard some people claim that a ban on pornography would be absurd or unfeasible - but in practice, this may just be wishful thinking or longing (particularly on the part of folks who aren't ambitious enough to find any other means of enjoyment out of life).

If someone was proposing, say a ban on masturbation, sure this would be impossible to enforce, however I don't see that to be necessarily the case with distributed pornography - if someone just wants to argue that it will lead to a black market, then that's probably somewhat true (about this or anything else), but that isn't automatically a completely irrefutable argument against it either.

Old, but case in point:

Iceland Considers Pornography Ban — Why Not United States?
"The production or sale of pornography is prohibited in Iceland. Heavy fines were applied in 2001 and ten years earlier a fine was applied to the first manager of the first private TV station (and the only case to present) in Iceland for showing the Danish "mainstream" Zodiac-films, I Tvillingernes tegn and I Tyrens tegn. In early 2013 there was a draft proposal by Ögmundur Jónasson, the Minister of the Interior, to extend the ban to online pornography to protect children from violent sexual imagery. The plan has been stalled since the change in government during the parliamentary election on 27 April 2013. Since then, there have been no changes to the relevant legislation, and no changes have been formally proposed."

As for the US, because it was already brought up above, and because I know so many of you wouldn't care about any other place, the US already has a ban on internet pornography. It isn't enforced because bureaucrats (and bureaucrats in funny robes) don't want it enforced.

Thoughts?

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Beautiful, and Covid-free

23 new Covid cases in a day, that was unprecedented for the Faroe Islands, and it happened in August last year. Later on, the new daily cases "peaked" again to 19... And that was it. All the 18 islands of the autonomous Faroe archipelago have been officially Covid-free since the end of February.

Granted, their population is just 50,000. Most of those folks rely on fishing, tourism and sheep-breeding. The islands are located in the North Atlantic, about midway between Scotland and Iceland. Their relative isolation is an important factor of course. It's easier to control the pandemic when you're far away from anyone else. Similar examples abound: New Zealand has been largely Covid-free as well. Besides, Tórshavn is the only entry point to the Faroes, be it through its port or airport (actually the airport is in Vagar). This also gives extra reliable control on arrivals.

( Read more... )

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How are the Nordics doing it?

Nearly a year after the coronavirus pandemic broke out, the Swedish government has decided to take tougher measures to fight the infection. It last week that the country's parliament passed a law providing, among other things, for the temporary closure of shops and malls. In the meantime, the Swedish economy has coped much better with the pandemic than most other European economies. According to EC experts, the Swedish GDP has contracted by only by 3.4% last year. And experts from Stockholm estimate even less than 3%. In the EU, only Lithuania and Ireland are doing better. And the forecast for Germany is a 5.6% contraction.

The Danish economy has suffered less than many others in Europe as well. According to the EC, the decline for Denmark will be about 4%. But during the pandemic, Norway, which is not a member of the EU, did best among the Scandinavian countries - in 2020, its GDP fell by only 2%. In March and April, the Norwegian GDP plummeted, but in the third quarter of last year, they even registered some growth by 4.6%.

This stability has also affected the capital markets. However, the Scandinavian countries have no clear recipe for this success that they could convey to others.

( Read more... )

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Finland, that socialist paradise...

(See? Even the elks are happy there)

You've heard about the Finns' crazy ideas about paying people a minimum amount of money for just being alive and not working, right? Well, now there's this new initiative, a 90-day stay in Finland, free of charge, full medical care for the whole family, and free education for the kids. This project includes 5,300 people who'll be living for 3 months in what's been declared the world's happiest country.

The Helsinki Business Hub, an international trade and investment agency from the country's capital is behind this. The scheme offers a 3-month stay in Helsinki to all applicants working at the IT sector, no matter which part of the world they're from. Like I said, they'd be allowed to take their whole family with them.

Finland's aiming to attract as much talent in the sector as possible by offering a stay for this certain period free of charge for the applicants. They'll be working for their companies in a home-office mode while spending time in Finland, and after the 3-month term is over, they'll be able to decide if they want to stay in Helsinki for good, and apply for citizenship.

( Hey, are you packing for Helsinki already? )

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The end of the Swedish experiment

The Swedish experiment with Covid-19 is over. After the surge of infections this autumn led to an increase in the number of hospitalized and deaths as a result of the disease, the Swedish government has given up trying to fight the pandemic solely with voluntary measures, which is what made it unique among Western countries.

Like most Europeans, Swedes are entering the winter with a number of restrictions, ranging from bans on mass gatherings to restricting alcohol sales to closing schools. These measures are designed to prevent overloading the Swedish health system and reduce the mortality rate, which is already among the highest in the world per capita.

This tightening of the measures, which began last month, puts an end to the free approach that has made Sweden the main focus of the often heated debate between opponents and defenders of lockout measures around the world.

Fans of the Swedish model have tried to sell the supposed benefits for the economy and respect for fundamental freedoms. Critics have called this approach gambling with human lives, especially for the most vulnerable members of society. With the change in strategy, the Swedish government is now getting on the side of those who insist on at least some mandatory restrictions.

( Read more... )

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Sweden's failed experiment

When it transpired that Sweden was going its own way in the fight with coronavirus, the so called herd immunity, the elderly people here were promised a reliable defense against the infection. It was clear that in a society that prefers the voluntary principle to restrictions and sanctions, this risk group would have to be extremely well guarded.

But, come Easter, it became evident that Sweden had failed catastrophically on that front. The data shows this very eloquently. The total deaths by yesterday were 3,313, which is more than 3 times the rate in all neighboring countries Denmark, Sweden and Norway combined.

( Read more... )

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The new Treasure Island

"There's good news in every bad news", Greenlandic MP Yulianne Henningsen recently noted about climate change that is affecting her country. Sure, Greenlanders cannot hunt in the winter season any more, as the ice cover has thinned out, but on the other hand they can now grow potatoes and even vegetables in their homes, something they never thought possible before.

The Greenland ice cover is melting away faster than previously anticipated. And this is raising huge appetites, because there are treasures hiding beneath: precious stones, iron ores, and all sorts of rare soils. The world's most powerful countries are already salivating after these treasures. The Chinese energy minister has visited the island eight times by now, the US has been sending high-ranking diplomats and military officers there for years; EU, Canadian, Japanese, South Korean, Australian envoys also regularly visit Greenland these days. Last summer, US president Trump caused quite a stir with his "plans" to purchase Greenland from Denmark. All in all, there is a lot of movement around the frozen island (which is not going to remain frozen for too long).

( Read more... )

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Not for sale!

"Not for sale!" Someone with Trump's finances is probably not used to hearing that phrase too often. But this time he had to swallow it, now that the Greenland authorities have publicly rejected his real estate offer. Who knew... Greenland isn't for sale!

Then in one of his typical kindergarten sort of tantrum-like reactions, Trump first trolled Denmark some more by placing a pic much like the one displayed above, only "promising" them he wouldn't turn the pristine island into one of his Mar-A-Lago-ish resorts; then, after receiving the logical refusal of the "real estate deal" he fancied, he eventually decided to cancel his visit to Denmark (good riddance, eh?) Hmmm... I'm sure a few champagne corks have popped around both Copenhagen and Nuuk today.

( Sounds strange, but is it really? )

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Fake news make my blood boil, man...

https://scontent.fsof2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/59857592_620804785054035_4169028899147087872_n.jpg?_nc_cat=101&_nc_ht=scontent.fsof2-1.fna&oh=eafe43e3de630f589e3c012b88762963&oe=5D5A8794

I keep getting this "Sweden set aside the Euro" into my FB newsfeed.

Fake news.

Sweden never set aside the euro, simply because Sweden never adopted the euro in the first place!

In another fake news, Muhammad is now the most frequently used male baby name in Berlin.

Except it isn't. It's not even close. It's way beyond the top 10 of the most popular male baby names in Berlin; it's not even the most popular Muslim name in Berlin!

Those guys are truly desperate.

Is that what Britons got during their Brexit referendum campaign? Perhaps Juncker was right when he said the biggest mistake of his term was agreeing to Cameron's pleas not to get involved in the Brexit debate in the UK, staying away and not making an effort to debunk some of the blatant lies that the Brexit camp floated around. And now we see the result.

By the way, is there a platform that specifically deals with debunking fake news? Is anyone aware of it? If there isn't I think there should be. Conspiracy theories, anti-vaxxer shit, flat-Earthers, all that sort of stuff. It's a poison that's slowly turning us into zombies.

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10 things to regret about Iceland

We can guarantee, there are no interesting things to do in Iceland! We have checked that for you:

( See it all and be disappointed! )

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Ah, that toxic environmentalism!

Big Oil is making moves to pressure Congress to end the Tax Credit for EVS while behind the scene's buying up EV charging stations because they intend to make money regardless of which way the market turns. Plus, it's an implicit confession on big oil's part they know electric vehicle demand is going to cut into oil demand quite significantly within the next few years.

And then, there comes this news:

Electric Cars Hit Record In Norway, Making Up Nearly 60% Of Sales In March

I know, I know, some*'d ask. But why? Why are they doing this? The country is by the ocean so there's no pollution due to an ocean breeze!

* And by some, I mean those who laughed and applauded when the moron-in-chief talked of Puerto Rico, the island "surrounded by big water, ocean water".

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Never say "never"

Money problems: why Finland has given up on the basic income dream

"As Finland’s government calls time on a bold experiment in giving citizens cash, can others still attempt such utopian schemes?"

Yes They Can (HA!) But maybe not yet.

You see, there's a book by Thomas More, Utopia. I think its release in 1615 is a good marker for the end of the Age of Feudalism. It critiques modern society and proposes the introduction of basic income, and thus indicates the necessity of a civilizational change.

Looks like today's interest to the same subject worldwide is a good indication that people are kind of fed up with the 8 hour workday and the constant need to work in order to survive. Not to mention the growing income disparities on a global scale.

This tendency is deepened by the fear from automatization, which in itself could become a serious destabilizing factor.

Plenty of new activities and jobs, many of them quite interesting and very useful, have appeared lately, that we don't have enough time for. Baic income may seem utopian as of yet, but bear in mind that 150 years ago the guaranteed pension and minimum wage also seemed improbable, in fact much more improbable. And now it's hard to imagine life without them.

There was a time, not so long ago, when people used animals for transportation, you had to dig a hole in the ground to get water, there was no Coke, and TV was black and white. Cars were a luxury, not to mention fridges. The size and breadth of trousers and bow-ties varied wildly, and so did neck-lines. And yet, g-strings were inconceivable. Same for the five day work-week. But those are a given now.

So I guess you get my point. Never say "never".