http://www.birchbolete.com Finnish current events reported, culture and news for the international reader Fri, 09 May 2008 16:55:22 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The newly published parliament travel guidelines have been sparking angry comments and grievance. Alarmed parlamentarians have questioned the legality of the new guidelines based on doubts raised about the authenticity of a few paragraphs. Paragraph 1007 section 69 part 666; states that from now on, elected officials are when travelling,  required ... http://www.birchbolete.com/2008/05/09/the-ghost-of-a-past-vappu-hits-the-members-of-the-parliament-where-it-hurts/ “A feeling of sadness and longing That is not akin to pain, And resembles sorrow only As the mist resembles the rain.” If there ever was a king of Rock and Roll, then you can be sure that he had some illegitimate children or he was in the wrong bussiness completely. ... http://www.birchbolete.com/2008/03/20/jyrki-hamalainen-july-27-1942-tampere-finland-march-18-2008/ It was well over a 100 years ago Victor Hugo predicted that “An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time has come.” And thats exactly what happened. It took just a small, determined group of young, healthy and virile finnish men. Alltough armed with nothing ... http://www.birchbolete.com/2008/02/07/group-record-for-all-time-low-set/ The finnish version of the TV show "The Bachelor" is about to air its first episode today. The concept is that single women compete over the course of several episodes for the affection of a likewise signle "dream" bachelor. Please see picture of the dream bachelor below: We are looking into ... http://www.birchbolete.com/2008/02/06/bachelor-of-your-dreams/ Scientists and astrologists in southern Finland have predicted that the sun can be expected to rise tomorrow in lapland for the first time since last November. The sighting of the sun, which is expected to last nearly a full hour around midday tomorrow, signifies the end of kaamos(*) and will ... http://www.birchbolete.com/2008/01/15/let-there-be-light/ "It's close to midnight...And something evil's lurking from the dark..." Zombies have come a long way since the King of Pop released his famous song and brought the Zombie community to everybody's attention. The 3rd annual zombie walk or zombie mile was held in Helsinki yesterday in plain daylight. ... http://www.birchbolete.com/2007/09/30/do-the-z/ Despite what the title quote by Mae West suggest, its good to have some control, otherwise you might be left spinning ouy of control, now even more than before. In a sincere attempt to provide a simple public service, the city of helsinki has much in the same way as ... http://www.birchbolete.com/2007/09/16/too-much-of-a-good-thing-can-be-wonderful/ "Citius, Altius, Fortius" Once a year, in early September, the best of the best drop everything, and like salmon, start their long migration towards a special place inside the artic circle, deep inside the mystical region of Northern Ostrobothnia, in Finland. Although these masters have sworn only use their powers to ... http://www.birchbolete.com/2007/09/10/the-best-of-the-best-of-the-best/ Tero Pitkämäki has won the gold medal in men's javelin at the Athletics World Championships in Osaka. As a result it is safe to say that here is no other man in the whole country today that the average Finnish man would prefer to find his favourite daughter having porridge ... http://www.birchbolete.com/2007/09/04/9033m/ Helsingin Sanomat reporters go undercover to investigate Helsinki’s Thai massage parlors in August. The Helsingin Sanomat team of undercover reporters visited 30 Thai massage parlors in the Helsinki area in August. The dedicated undercover reporters revealed that the masseuses charge between 20 and 25 euros for a massage and that 100% ... http://www.birchbolete.com/2007/08/27/newspaper-revelas-naked-truth/