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Independence Day Greetings
From President Halonen
To Expatriate Finnish Communities
Finland is part of a globalising world. We are a Member State of the European Union and are
actively involved in international organisations such as the United Nations. Our economy and
civil society organisations have also become increasingly international.
More Finns are moving from one country to another. Living abroad for a longer or shorter
period is increasingly part of people’s lives. Some leave Finland or come to Finland for work,
studies or retirement. People move from one country to another in every stage of life.
You, Finns living abroad, perform important work as ambassadors for Finland and Finnish
culture. You play a key role in shaping the image that Finland has in your current living
environment. You actively keep in touch with Finland and share your experiences from abroad
with us. The work you do abroad and the networks you have created are invaluable. It is important
for Finland that your ties to your home country remain strong.
I send you my warmest greetings on the 92nd anniversary of Finland’s independence.
Suomi on osa yhä kansainvälisempää maailmaa. Olemme jäsenenä Euroopan unionissa ja
aktiivisesti mukana kansainvälisten järjestöjen kuten Yhdistyneiden kansakuntien toiminnassa.
Talouselämämme ja kansalaisjärjestöjemme toiminta on yhä useammin kansainvälistä.
Suomalaiset liikkuvat entistä enemmän maasta toiseen. Pidempi tai lyhyempi oleskelu
ulkomailla kuuluu yhä useamman ihmisen elämään. Suomesta mennään ja Suomeen tullaan
työtehtäviin, opiskelemaan ja eläkepäiviä viettämään. Ihmiset liikkuvat maasta toiseen jokaisessa
elämänkaarensa vaiheessa.
Te, suomalaiset maailmalla, teette tärkeää työtä Suomen ja suomalaisuuden lähettiläinä.
Olette keskeisesti vaikuttamassa siihen, millainen kuva Suomesta muodostuu
nykyisessä asuinympäristössänne. Pidätte ahkerasti yhteyttä Suomeen ja
välitätte ulkomailla saamianne vaikutteita. Työ jota teette ulkomailla ja
luomanne verkostot ovat korvaamattomia. Suomelle on tärkeää, että teidän
ulkosuomalaisten siteet kotimaahan säilyvät vahvoina.
Want Prosperity? Index Ranks Finland As Place To Be
For those who value their freedom of expression as
much as health, wealth, and prosperity, then Finland is
the place to be, with an index ranking the Nordic nation
the best in the world.
The 2009 Legatum Prosperity Index, published in
October, and compiled by the Legatum Institute, an
independent policy, advocacy and advisory organization,
ranked 104 countries which are home to 90 percent of the
world’s population.
The index is based on a definition of prosperity that
combines economic growth with the level of personal
freedoms and democracy in a country as well as measures
of happiness and quality of life.
With the exception of Switzerland, which came in at
number 2, Nordic countries dominated the top 5 slots,
with Sweden in third place followed by Denmark and
Norway.
The top 10 were all also Western nations, with Australia
(6th place) and Canada (7th place) both beating the United
States, ranked 9th. Britain came in at number 12.
In Asia, Japan was the region’s highest ranked country
at number 16, followed by Hong Kong (18th place) and
Singapore (23rd place) and Taiwan (24th place).
Dr. William Inboden, senior vice president of the
Legatum Institute, said the lower rankings for Asian
nations were largely due to their weak scores for
democracy and personal freedoms.
“Many Asian nations have good economic fundamentals,
but the Index tells us that true prosperity requires more
than just money,” Inboden said in a statement.
World’s Largest Cruise Ship Built In Finland
It’s five times larger than the Titanic, has seven
neighborhoods, an ice rink, a golf course and a 750-seat
outdoor amphitheater. The world’s largest cruise ship was
finally finished in late October, and it began gliding toward
its owners (Royal Caribbean) home port in Florida.
The Oasis of the Seas met its first obstacle when it
exited the Baltic Sea and squeezed under the Great Belt
Bridge, which is just 1 foot taller than the ship – even after
its telescopic smokestacks were lowered.
Once in Florida, the $1.5 billion floating extravaganza
will have more, if less visible, obstacles to duck: a sagging
U.S. economy, questions about the consumer appetite for
luxury cruises and criticism that such sailing behemoths
are damaging to the environment and diminish the
experience of traveling.
Oasis of the Seas, which is nearly 40 percent larger
than the industry’s next-biggest ship, was conceived years
before the economic downturn caused desperate cruise
lines to slash prices to fill vacant berths. The ship has
2,700 cabins and can accommodate 6,300 passengers and
2,100 crew members. Company officials are banking that
its novelty will help guarantee its success.
The enormous ship features various “neighborhoods”
– parks, squares and arenas with special themes. One of
“Funny” Idea Leads to Laughable Name
them is a tropical environment, including palm trees and
vines among the total 12,000 plants on board.
In the stern, a 750-seat outdoor theater – modeled on an
ancient Greek amphitheater – doubles as a swimming pool
by day and an ocean front theater by night. The pool has a
diving tower with spring boards and two 33-foot high-dive
platforms. An indoor theater seats 1,300 guests.
Accommodations include loft cabins, with floor-toceiling
windows, and 1,600-square-foot luxury suites with
balconies overlooking the sea or promenades.
One of the “neighborhoods,” named Central Park,
features a square with boutiques, restaurants and bars,
including a bar that moves up and down three decks,
allowing customers to get on and off at different levels.
The liner also has four swimming pools, volleyball and
basketball courts, and a youth zone with theme parks and
nurseries for children.
Paul Motter, editor of Cruisemates.com, said ticket
prices are still high for the Oasis, running $1,299 to
$4,829, compared with $509 to $1,299 on the company’s
next most popular ship, Freedom of the Seas.
While environmentalists have said that the ship does not
do enough to reduce air pollution and burns more fuel than
a land-based resort, engineers at shipbuilder STX Finland
For the first 19 years of his life an unemployed US teenager was known as Calvin Gosz, but after selling his naming
rights to a Finnish consumer electronics retailer he is now called Verkkokauppa Com. Calvin Gosz, of Sheboygan,
Wisconsin, legally changed his name to Verkkokauppa Com in exchange for the asking price of USD 5,000 (ca. EUR
3,400). It all began when Calvin Gosz put his naming rights up for auction on eBay, but eBay later removed the offer
as inappropriate. “Calvin’s idea was so funny that we absolutely wanted to get involved”, said Managing Director
Samuli Seppälä from the Finnish consumer electronics retailer Verkkokauppa.com, explaining why the company
wanted to perform such a marketing trick.
After the purchase was finalised, Verkkokauppa.com sent Gosz a down payment as well as some money for the
name-change process. As soon as Seppälä has received legal documents for the name-change - for example a new
driving licence, the Finnish webstore company will pay the young man the remaining sum. HS: Elina Kervinen
President Halonen in NYC 2009, © Diane Saarinen, 2009
“Democratic institutions and personal freedom
measures are letting some Asian nations down.
Furthermore, countries which have low levels of economic
stability, such as Cambodia, finish even further down in
the overall rankings.”
Cambodia came in the 93rd slot while China, with
its tight political controls, came in 75th despite booming
economic growth.
And the world’s least prosperous country? According
to the Legatum Index, it is Zimbabwe, with Sudan and
Yemen close runners-up.
The index combines objective data and subjective
responses to surveys. More details can be found on http://
www.prosperity.com.
(Source: Reuters, by Miral Fahmy, and Ron Popeski)
said environmental considerations played an important
part in planning the vessel. It dumps no sewage into the
sea, reuses its waste water and consumes 25 percent less
power than similar, but smaller, cruise liners.
“I would say this is the most environmentally friendly
cruise ship to date,” said Mikko Ilus, project engineer
at the Turku yard. “It is much more efficient than other
similar ships.”
The Oasis of the Seas made its U.S. debut in November
at its home port, Port Everglades in Florida.
From an article at Huffington
Post by Matti Huuhtanen
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