ISSUE 3 (133) • 21-27 JANUARY 2010 • €3 • WWW.HELSINKITIMES.FI

Winter escapes on display P E T R A N Y M A NHEL SINK I T I ME S

el encompasses literally of slower modes of travelling, such as biking or hiking, where speed travel refers to trips that take the holiday goer to his destination and back as swiftly as possible.

If there can be any positive out-comes of the current economic situation, then it is the price of trav-elling. “The prices are at an all time low. Some of the deals that are on offer at the fair are unbelievably cheap,” Ankkuri reveals. With in-creased competition over the best deals in the travel industry, now is an excellent time to plan a trip – if you can afford one, that is.

IT'S THAT time of year again, when one can escape the winter and take a trip to the Travel Fair, Matka 2010, at the Helsinki Fair Centre. Around 1,200 exhibitors representing over 70 countries will apppear at the fair. There is also plentiful information on the Helsinki region, with ten ex-hibitors offering fresh takes and in-formation on what the capital has to offer.

Although the recession has tak-en its toll on the travel industry, peo-ple continue to travel. According to Lumia Ankkuri of Finnexpo, the Travel Fair is taking off with a pos-itive note this year. “Last year the general mood at the Travel Fair was somewhat pessimistic, but this year we know that those who have been lucky enough to keep their jobs con-tinue to lead normal lives, which of-

SCHOOLS should have cameras and access control devices installed if necessary in order to enhance secu-rity. Such is the proposal of the secu-rity work group, whose report was published on Tuesday in Helsinki. “The school shooting cases showed that our society is faced with very se-rious and partially new types of prob-lems. Security is created in everyday life with the co-operation of all par-ties,” Interior Minister Anne Holm-lund (National Coalition) said as she received the report.

According to Holmlund, alienation is the most serious threat to Finland’s domestic security. For this reason,

Tighter securityfor schools

ten includes trips abroad or within Finland,” she says.

Nonetheless, the means of trav-elling have changed with the eco-nomic situation, with an increased emphasis on thrift. Domestic trav-el and trips to nearby countries are popular choices at the moment. Also renting holiday apartments in Eu-ropean destinations and choosing destinations by cheap fl ights have become the trend over the more conventional package deals, Ank-kuri explains. The way people plan their holidays nowadays has also changed drastically, with decisions being made only a few months ahead of the holiday instead of a year or so which was the norm for a long time.

Curiously enough, according to Ankkuri the two most popu-lar present day trends in travel are quite the opposites of each other: slow and speed travel. Slow trav-

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among others, those in danger of be-ing alienated with society should be helped while there is still time. Pent-ti Partanen, the Interior Ministry’s Director-General of the Department for Rescue Services, also emphasised that schools are not apart from the rest of society. “Actions related on-ly to schools and educational institu-tions aren’t suffi cient. The prevention of risks and risky behaviour requires broad socio-political action.”

The report on the improvement of school safety also shows that security is a multifaceted term. “In our coun-try we are mostly prepared for fi res. There are many kinds of threats in so-ciety, however,” Holmlund says.

The Interior Minister thinks that many of the ideas in the recent re-port are also applicable in other con-nections, such as the development of shopping centre security. Accord-ing to Holmlund, more ideas are due soon, as the report on the Kauhajoki school shooting is fi nished. The pro-posals will also be compared with the conclusions of the previous re-port on the Jokela murders.

P E R T T I M AT T IL A – S T TMIC H A E L N AGL E R – H T

2 21–27 JANUARY 2010 HELSINKI TIMESVIEWPOINT

Apocalypse? No...

“THE HORROR!” The horror!”, exclaimed Colonel Kurtz in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, and in the rework-ing of the novel as the fi lm Apocalypse Now. There are plenty of horrors around, in real life as in fi ction. The en-vironmental horrors we have brought about, for exam-ple, demand radical action, something that might seem less likely now considering the outcome of the recent Co-penhagen climate summit.

BUT EVEN if optimism seems unwarranted, what other op-tion is there? None, I would guess. Towards the end of his life, the American phi-losopher Richard Rorty ar-gued that the idea of moral progress – roughly, the idea that humans are becoming better, not just more techni-cally sophisticated – “is not one that we can get out of our heads.” Optimism is no dif-ferent: try to get either idea out of your head, and chanc-es are you’d end up a lifeless depressive.

JAMES GUSTAVE SPETH is an American environmen-tal lawyer and former head of the United Nations De-velopment Programme who in 2008 published an inspir-

ing call to action entitled The Bridge at the End of the World: Capitalism, the Environment, and Passing from Crisis to Sustainability. Speth fi tting-ly uses the term “collapse books” to refer to the ever-growing fl ood of scholarly and popularised studies gen-erally predicting that, unless we change course, the world is headed for environmental collapse and all the atrocious effects that entails.

GROWING public awareness of the likelihood of further environmental breakdown is of course a good thing. But it also creates a need to address a disturbing trend that seems to be indirectly intensifi ed by the growing realisation that humanity has creat-ed problems we may be una-ble to control, let alone solve. This trend is the growth of misanthropy.

“OUR HUMANIST concerns about the poor of the inner cities or the Third World, and our near-obscene obsession with death, suffering, and pain as if these were evils in themselves – these thoughts divert the mind from our gross and excessive domina-tion of the natural world.” So says the pioneering scientist,

inventor, and radical envi-ronmentalist James Lovelock in Gaia, the “collapse” book in which he fi rst developed the theory that the Earth is a self-regulating organism. Lovelock is surely right to criticise the excessively an-thropocentric frame of mind that is wreaking havoc with the planet. But is there any logical or moral justifi ca-tion for going to the opposite extreme?

SOME, less distinguished and more fanatical than Love-lock, clearly think there is. A local example is long-time Finnish environmentalist and columnist Pentti Linko-la. He is well known in Fin-land and, ironically given his stated hatred of technology, thanks to the internet is be-coming more widely known internationally. Linkola com-bines an obviously sincere love of nature with a disdain for humanity that is equal-ly evident, and apparently just as sincere. It is an iron-ic tribute to the democratic culture he claims to despise that Linkola can repeated-ly declare his admiration for terrorism and for totalitar-ianism on the grounds that these ideologies and the acts they carry out reduce the hu-

man burden on the planet. It is hardly surprising that, as reported in the Hufvud-stadsbladet after the Kau-hajoki school shootings in autumn 2008, Matti Saari and the mass murderer he imitated, Pekka-Eric Auvi-nen, were both infl uenced by Linkola’s writings. (Nation-al broadcaster YLE’s Elävä arkisto website contains a good range of documentary footage and interviews with Linkola).

FOR LINKOLA and others, such as the like-minded Brit-ish environmentalist and zookeeper John Aspinall, mass killing is justifi ed on ec-ological grounds. When told by former US President Rich-ard Nixon in the early 1970s that a nuclear war could kill 200,000,000 people, Aspi-nall responded that this was not enough.

MISANTHROPY is nothing new, not even to environmental-ism. But what does seem new is the tendency for advocates of more specifi cally targeted form of human hatred to hi-jack ecological arguments for furthering their own agendas. This has not yet spread far be-yond the more obviously luna-tic fringe of Finnish politics. But the claim that immigra-tion, especially from poorer countries, should be opposed so as to prevent further adop-tion of the environmental-ly damaging ways of life that predominate in wealthy coun-tries is gaining ground more quickly elsewhere.

COMING from politicians with well-documented Fas-

cist sympathies, such as the British National Party’s lead-er and European Parliamen-tarian Nick Griffi n, it is a purely self-serving strate-gy. The BNP sells itself as the country’s “only true Green party”: “the BNP is the only party to recognise that over-population – whose primary driver is immigration, as re-vealed by the government’s own fi gures – is the cause of the destruction of our en-vironment.” Where the BNP have gone, others of the same mindset have often followed. It may be too much to hope that their eco-opportunism will not also drive several Finnish political campaigns in next year’s parliamentary elections.

GIVEN the scale and pace of environmental destruction, misanthropy is easy enough to understand. According to fi gures cited by Speth, half of the world’s tropical and tem-perate rainforests are now gone, and deforestation pro-ceeds at a rate of about 0.4 hectares a second. Half of all wetlands are no more, and species are disappearing at an alarming rate. According to Peter Brewer, a senior sci-entist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Insti-tute in California, humans worldwide are putting ap-proximately 1 million tons of carbon dioxide an hour into the seas. A 2006 study by the United Nations Food and Ag-riculture Organization states that an estimated 90 per cent of large predator fi sh are gone, and 75 per cent of ma-rine fi sheries are overfi shed or fi shed to capacity.

James O’Connor

The writer is a doctoral student at the Department of po-litical science at the University of Helsinki. His doctoral research is focused on various cosmopolitan conceptions of the idea of moral progress.

WHAT these, and any number of other shocking statistics one might care to list, clear-ly suggest to any reason-able person is that drastic changes must be made to the way we live. But it requires a monumental leap in the ar-gument, and a tragic failure of both morals and imagi-nation, to conclude that hu-mankind should be sacrifi ced to save the planet. Individual and collective human behav-iour must be changed, cer-tainly, but that is an entirely different matter altogeth-er, one for which totalitari-an measures of any kind or on any scale are far too high a price to pay.

THERE are of course good reasons to be wary of runa-way optimism. When it is al-lowed to get too far ahead of facts on the ground, it invar-iably creates dangerous illu-sions of progress in all sorts of situations where there has really been none, or very lit-tle. But it is worth remem-bering that optimism is a far more motivating force than pessimism. As someone once noted, Martin Luther King did not inspire the oppressed by proclaiming, “I have a nightmare”.

THE IRISH playwright George Bernard Shaw once claimed that all progress depends on not being reasonable. Nor-mally I would say that the ex-act opposite is true. But if it is unreasonable to insist that drastic changes in how we relate to the environment be carried out humanely, then it’s worth making an excep-tion just this once.

At both individual and collective levels, responding to the world’s severest problems without contributing to their escalation demands nothing less than cautious optimism, writes James O’Connor.

3321–27 JANUARY 2010HELSINKI TIMES

Master’s Degree Programme inAdult Education and Developmental Work Research

Call for applications

The Master’s Degree Programme in Adult Education and Developmen-tal Work Research of the University of Helsinki is currently recruitingstudents to start in September 2010. The programme has beenrunning since 2006. It has a student intake of 12 every second year.

The programme produces researchers and developers of work andlearning. The graduates will have expertise in developmental interven-tions based on cultural-historical activity theory (developmental workresearch and development tools, including the Change Laboratorymethod and developmental dialogue), fieldwork skills, the ability to useethnographic methods, as well as knowledge of the theoretical historyof work and its development.

The graduates will also be able to engage in dialogue within workorganisations, both about strategic matters with management andabout developmental interventions with developers. The students ofthe programme typically collect data for their theses in work organisa-tions, combining high theoretical standards with very practical prob-lems and needs. The quality of the Master’s theses is consistently highand the program enjoys an excellent reputation.

The deadlines for applications are:- the 1st of February 2010 (for applicants with the required degreecompleted outside the Nordic Countries);- the 26th of February 2010 (for applicants with the required degreecompleted in Finland or Nordic Countries).

Please visit the website of the programme for detailed information onthe application deadlines and procedure (www.helsinki.fi/atmo)or contact by email atmo-info@helsinki.fi.

DOMESTIC NEWS

“PEOPLE feel that they have a duty to be active, even during their free time. People want to make use of their hobbies,” says Hanna Vehmas, a researcher at the University of Jyväskylä.

Travelling and learning new languages are motivated by the idea of learning about a for-eign culture at the same time. “People want to augment their skills, their social relations and their social capital during their free time. During their spare time people invest in them-selves,” Vehmas explains.

“Even though society has become more secular, there is a kind of Protestant ethos be-hind people’s behaviour dur-ing their spare time. In order to feel adequate, one must do something useful during one’s free time as well. Work-like traits have moved over into hobbies. Moreover, po-tential employers increasing-ly regard interpersonal skills as important for the sake of business. Social capital may act as a vehicle for economic aspirations as well,” she adds.

SINI IH A N A INE N-A L A NKO – S T TMIC H A E L N AGL E R – H T

So far the Finnish government has pledged just 1.3 million euros in response to the cata-strophic 12 January earthquake in Haiti.

Vehmas says there is rea-son to be worried by the prospect that life satisfac-tion comes only through ef-fi ciency and achievement. Free time may also render people unequal, because not everyone has the chance to engage in their hobbies fully and effectively.

Efficiency's not everything“Nowadays exercise is pretty commercial. The equipment is expensive. With some peo-ple their life situation also places restrictions on the use of their spare time. Chances for practicing a hobby during different phases of one’s life cycle can vary.”

With her research, Vehmas wants to get Finns to ponder their relationship to their own free time as well as to the free time of others. “It’s worrying if those without the possibili-ty to be effi cient during their spare time are labelled as in-ferior by others.”

If profi ciency and achieve-ment bring genuine pleasure, then things are seemingly all right. Vehmas’ research ma-

The Red Cross being loaded to the cargo plane in Tampere airport on 15 January.

Finns take free time seriously

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You can help by making a donation

Finnish Red Cross:

0600 12220 (€19.95 per call + local area network charge)0600 12210 (€9.95 per call + local area network charge)

Disaster Relief Fund account number 221918-68000

Finn Church Aid:

Disaster Relief Fund account numberNordea 208918-6775

ON FRIDAY 15 January, The Finnish Red Cross began ship-ping a mobile clinic and its staff to earthquake-ravaged Haiti. The same day, three nurses and a doctor, techni-cal staff and clinic equipment were sent via Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. Twelve aid workers were also sent to Haiti to get the clinic up and running.

Local healthcare profes-sionals and volunteers from the Haitian Red Cross also work at the clinic. The mo-bile clinic operates in are-as where no other healthcare services are available. In addi-tion to disaster relief supplies, the International Red Cross is providing healthcare servic-es, shelters and clean water. It is also assisting in identifying the dead, and in uniting fami-lies separated by the disaster.

Finn Church Aid (Kirkon Ul-komaanapu) is planning to in-crease its relief work as soon as it receives more funds. It has already granted 850,000 euros for relief work in Haiti.

“At present we are carry-ing out fi rst-phase relief oper-

HEL SINK I T I ME S

More funds urgently needed for Haiti

ations, but setting up schools is our second priority. Even under normal conditions, only about half of Haitian children go to school. Most schools are maintained by church-es and other organisations, “ says Finn Church Aid’s head of humanitarian aid Maritta Niskanen-Tamiru.

Together with Norwe-gian Church Aid, Finn Church Aid has sent one cargo plane with two water purifi cation systems to Haiti and they are in process of preparing for another shipment including food, tents, water purifi ca-tion tablets and other emer-gency relief materials.

The organisation is also sending two Finnish aid work-ers to Haiti on 20 January, who will participate in the response operation and continue the needs assessment on the situ-ation of children and mothers. More aid workers will be sent in the near future.

“Although immediate dis-aster relief is long needed, we are already planning the post disaster re-construc-tion in the country. Ongoing long-span development pro-grammes will be re-launched as soon as possible,” says di-

terial reveals, however, that free time is still serious work.

The fi ndings of her doc-toral dissertation also reveal that, for many, the summer cottage is an extension of the workplace. The cottage it-self represents many kinds of projects and renovation. “Some people sacrifi ce oth-er aspects of their lives in or-der to fulfi l their obligations towards their summer cot-tage. On the other hand, for some people the summer cot-tage is a place to relax with their friends and relatives. Today’s fragmented life man-ifests itself in cottage life al-so. Whereas for some, it is a workplace with primitive conditions, for others it is a second home. And for some the summer cottage is even fancier than their main resi-dence,” the researcher says.

Another conclusion borne out of Vehmas’ research is the recognition that spare time is also a new source of commu-nity. “People no longer have lifetime employment. Connec-tions with family and relatives have loosened. Hobbies pro-vide a sense of community.”

According to new research, Finns feel that they find fulfillment through their need to work, even during their leisure time.

ENVIRONMENT Minister PAULA LEHTOMÄKI, the clear favourite in polls to lead the jointly governing Centre Par-ty, caught many by surprise on 16 January by announc-ing that she would not be in the running for the party leadership.

Lehtomäki said she would not be able to carry out the du-ties of party leader and prime minister while raising two children, aged two and four.

“I have considered this matter from a great many angles lately,” she said.

“I have received a great deal of support and really heart-warming feedback, but my own conclusion remains clear. My own life situation does not allow me to seek even more demand-ing tasks than the current one.”

She added that while she would give up deputy party leadership, her overall interest in pursuing a political career had not fallen. Paavo Väyrynen announced on 18 January that he would stand as a candidate at a Centre Party conference to replace Matti Vanhanen as par-ty leader and prime minister.

rector of international co-op-eration Jouni Hemberg.

An earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale struck Haiti on 12 January. It hit the capital Port-au-Prince and oth-er areas of the country. The earthquake was also felt in oth-er countries in the region. The most affected area is Haiti’s West Province with a popula-tion of 2.2 million. Last week’s earthquake has claimed tens of thousands of lives in Haiti.

Centre’s leadership race wide open as top tip bows out

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4 21–27 JANUARY 2010 HELSINKI TIMESDOMESTIC NEWS

FALLING asleep in the middle of the day while seated, snor-ing, and daytime fatigue are problems that may be con-nected to obesity hypoven-tilation syndrome (OHS). If your body mass index ex-ceeds 35 and you have been obese for many years, you may have this disease. Ab-dominal obesity particularly inhibits breathing.

“Patients with a doctor’s appointment are often recog-nised as suffering from this dis-ease by the fact that you have to shake them awake in the wait-ing room,” respiratory disease clinic chief physician Tuomo Kava described at the Finnish Medical Convention and Exhibi-tion. He notes that although all obese people have shortness of breath, hypoventilation suffer-ers experience breathlessness,

PÄ I V I SE P PÄ L Ä – S T TMIC H A E L N AGL E R – H T

regards to treatment. Trache-otomies were still performed on patients as late as the 1950s and 1960s,” Kava said.

Usually the disease progresses with the person snoring at night, resulting in interruptions in breathing. Be-cause of this, sufferers get in-suffi cient oxygen throughout the night. This is called sleep apnoea. When lack of oxygen in the daytime is added to this the result is hypoventilation, also known as Pickwickian syn-drome, named after the 1836 novel by Charles Dickens. Dick-ens depicted is a fat servant boy who tended to fall asleep in the middle of his chores. As many as a third of severely obese hospital patients suffer from hypoventilation.

The disease increases the risk of contracting heart fail-ure and pulmonary hyperten-sion, among other illnesses. It is more likely for those with

English schooling has been the favourite language for years, but that may change in the future as Chinese and Russian become increasingly popular.

which can be confi rmed from a blood test. Tens of thousands of people are affl icted with OHS in Finland, but it often goes un-detected and untreated. During the day also sufferers experi-ence oxygen shortages, which takes a heavy toll on the body. When the condition has ad-vanced further, the person may have a seizure at work, for ex-ample, and pass out.

In hospital tests the per-son’s breathing problem is discovered to be the cul-prit. Patients have even been put on ventilators. “The best treatment is to lose weight, but that seldom succeeds,” said Kava, who works in North Karelia Central Hospital.

A type of ventilator that is usually used at night is al-so a form of treatment. If the disease has advanced too far, the breath mask must also be worn during the day. “Great advances have been made with

Oxygen deficiency provides a link between obesity and fatigue

Finnish-English instructionTöölö and Kulosaari lower level comprehensive school.No English skills required.

Finnish-Chinese instructionMeilahti lower level compre-hensive school.No Finnish skills required.

Finnish-Spanish instructionKäpylä comprehensive school.No Finnish skills required.

Finnish-French instructionEläintarha lower levelcomprehensive school.No French skills required.

Finnish-Russian instructionMyllypuro lower levelcomprehensive school.No Finnish skills required.

Finnish-Estonian instructionLatokartano lower levelcomprehensive school.No Finnish skills required.

English instructionMaunula lower level com-prehensive school and Ressu comprehensive school.Ressu comprehensive school follows the International Baccalaureate curriculum.

Non-Finnish comprehensive schooling

STARTING in August 2010, fi rst graders in Helsinki can attend school in Russian and Estonian. This is the fi rst time schooling will be offered in Finnish-Rus-sian and Finnish-Estonian classes. Russian will be availa-ble at Myllypuro school and Es-tonian at Latokartano school. Helsinki has offered foreign languages as the second lan-guage of instruction for years. Children can also begin school in English, Chinese, Spanish and French.

“Currently we have hun-dreds of students in the Finn-ish-English classes, almost 30 students in the Finnish-Chinese classes and fewer in the Finnish-Spanish and Finnish-French classes,” says Annamari Kajasto, contact for pedagogical language planning in the Education Department of Helsinki. Doz-ens of students are expected to start school in the Finnish-Russian and Finnish-Estoni-an programmes this fall.

Students in dual language classes are a mix of foreign-ers and Finns. “We have children who are living in Helsinki for a few years due to their parents’ work, but also Finns who have lived abroad and learned a lan-guage and wish to continue school in that language,” ex-plains Kajasto.

Identical core subjects To attend school in a for-eign language, children must take entrance exam-inations. These assess the child’s language skills in the foreign language as well as in Finnish. However, for most foreign language class-es children aren’t required to have knowledge of Finnish since the classes are aimed at children who are bilingual or whose mother tongue is the language of instruction.

Instruction is carried out according to the Finnish cur-riculum and students will be taught Finnish. “About half of the classes are taught in Finn-ish and the other half in the

foreign language. First grad-ers in the Russian, Estoni-an and Chinese programmes don’t need to know Finnish when they begin school since Finnish will be taught to all. Our aim is to have bilingual students,” says Kajasto.

Having the Finnish cur-riculum throughout com-prehensive school will allow students to continue their studies in Finnish upper secondary schools and vo-cational schools. Kajasto al-so explains about students learning other languages ac-cording to the curriculum. “When students are in third grade they start a second for-eign language and in seventh grade they start a third for-eign language. For example, if a student is in the Finn-ish-Spanish programme they would start studying English or French in third grade and Swedish in seventh grade.”

Increasing the language skills of FinnsFinnish children attending the regular instruction in Finnish have had the choice of starting to study a foreign language al-ready in the fi rst grade instead of waiting until the third grade. This possibility has been very popular. “Chinese has been very popular, we have 50 stu-dents in the fi rst and second grade who have been studying

Chinese since fi rst grade,” says Kajasto.

The City of Helsinki is partaking in the foreign lan-guage instruction develop-ment project headed by the Ministry of Education. The development project is one of the projects aiming to im-prove the quality of basic education in Finland. The number of people in Finland who are fl uent in other for-eign languages than English has decreased in the past few years and this project aims to awaken the interest of par-ents and children in French, German, Spanish, Chinese, Estonian and Russian.

M A RI K A ISL A NIE MIHEL SINK I T I ME S

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Waist fat

inhibits breathing

– Two thirds of Finnish men and half of women are over-weight. The number of over-weight people is expected to rise in the near future.

– Abdominal obesity is par-ticularly problematic for breathing. A man is ab-dominally obese if his waist measurement is over a me-tre. With women it’s over 90 cm. 90 and 80 cm respec-tively are causes for alarm.

– 25 is the upper limit for a normal body mass index (BMI). When the BMI is over 35 a person has se-vere obesity. If the BMI is over 40, then the person is morbidly obese.

– The BMI is calculated by dividing your weight by the square of your height.

OHS to be put on a ventilator in an intensive care unit than patients of a similar weight who do not suffer from hy-poventilation. Many of those who have been put on a ven-tilator due to swine fl u have been obese.

5521–27 JANUARY 2010HELSINKI TIMES DOMESTIC NEWS

The internet comes of age

COLUMNCOLUMN

Working group proposes anti-hate crime legislationA justice ministry work-ing group proposed legal amendments to fi ght rac-ism on the internet on 18 January.

The working group said that aggravated in-citement against an eth-nic group, a new category of offence, would carry up to four years in prison. The working group also pro-posed tougher sentencing for hate crimes motivated by religion, sexual orienta-tion and disability. STT

Railway guard overrode accident carriages’ brakes

The Accident Investigation Board said on 18 January that the accident at Helsin-ki’s central railway station a fortnight ago had been caused by a combination of adverse weather and hu-man error.

Esko Värttiö, the head of the investigation, said Finnish Railways (VR) workers had followed guidelines over the course of the events that had led to the accident.

The board said in its preliminary report that a buildup of snow and ice had contributed to the un-coupling of four carriages from the engine, engaging the carriages’ brakes.

The report added that a railway guard, unaware that the carriages were no longer coupled to an en-gine, had disengaged the brakes, causing the car-riages to plough into an offi ce building at 25-30 kil-ometres an hour.

Finnish Railways had initially attributed the ac-cident to brake failure.

The board is to publish its fi nal report in a year’s time.

No one was hurt in the accident on 4 January. STT

Air Finland founds package tour arm

Air Finland said on 18 Janu-ary it had founded a pack-age holiday arm named Air Finland Holidays.

The carrier added it would begin selling pack-age tours to destinations in Greece, Spain and Turkey on Thursday.

Air Finland said it was targeting about 30,000 package holiday customers this year. STT

THE INTERNET is once again in the hands of its users. Over the last ten years, the web has transformed itself from an information highway and medium for corporate adver-tising into a place where peo-ple meet. Today, people spend time online, they work, dis-cuss, browse various media and do their shopping.

Four out of fi ve Finns are internet users and usage is almost universal among those aged under 40. The in-ternet was once the preserve of tech-savvy young men, but no longer.

“When the web was a new thing, it required a certain

M A I JA PA IK K A L A – S T TM AT T HE W PA RRY – H T

gallery and social-network-ing services,” he explains.

RegressionWith the spread of internet use, the medium has become fi rmly rooted in the every-day. According to Matikai-nen, the spoken language refl ects this.

“In the 1990s, one spoke of the ‘information highway’ and ‘cyberspace’. Today, it is commonly ‘the net’ or ‘the web’,” he says.

The greatest transfor-mation in the online world over the last decade has been the rise of social media. Be-fore the turn of the centu-ry, in Karjalainen’s view, online communication was largely restricted to com-

Once known as the “information superhighway”, with drivers cruising in splendid isolation, the internet is now a genuine forum for discussion.

interest and investment in technology. These days it is a general tool and channel of communication for many,” notes Sampo Karjalainen, one of the founders of Sulake. Sulake owns the online game Habbo Hotel and the social networking service IRC-Gal-leria, both of which were set up ten years ago.

But generalisation has not meant uniformity. Janne Matikainen, an internet-fo-cused researcher at the Uni-versity of Helsinki, points out that there are still dif-ferences in how the internet is used.

“Young men primarily play games online and use video services. Young women are major consumers of photo-

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There are more than 350 million Facebook users wordwide.

IN BRIEF

Facebook, MySpace, IRC-Galleria, YouTube...

The users of social media applications are able to modify the service’s form and content.

– Facebook is a social-networking site where anybody can create a profile and link up with friends. There are more than 350 million Facebook users worldwide.

– IRC-Galleria is a Finnish social-networking site. Anyone who creates a profile can add images and information about themselves to the service, as well as comment on the images uploaded by other users. As many as 74 per cent of Finns aged 15-24 use the service on a weekly basis.

– MySpace is a social-networking site especially favoured by the music-savvy. In addition to mu-sic, users can upload text, images and videos.

– YouTube is a video service allowing users to upload videos for others to view and comment on. Google bought YouTube in 2006.

– Wikipedia is a web-based encyclopedia. All users are free to add terms and write their own def-initions. The Finnish-language pages of Wikipedia comprise more than 224,000 articles. Con-tent is actively being added in 255 different languages and the encyclopedia contains around 14 million articles.

– The Flickr image-hosting website allows users to share images and videos. There are more than four billion images on Flickr. The service’s Finnish equivalent is Kuvaboxi, which caters to 170,000 users.

– Twitter is a micro-blogging service where users can post personal updates. Posts have a maxi-mum length of 140 characters. Twitter has approximately 4-5 million users.

– Blogs are websites where one or more authors publish texts, images or videos on a regular ba-sis. The emphasis is on providing a personal perspective, and visitors are often able to comment on the contents.

– Habbo Hotel is a Finnish, online graphic game which is laid out in the form of a hotel. Aimed at players over the age of ten, basic registration with the game is free but additional features can be purchased.

– Second Life is an online, virtual world with over 14 million users. Several major companies main-tain a presence on Second Life.

Simonkatu 8, 00100 Helsinki. E-mail; bridge@luckan.fi / 040 485 9636 / www.luckan fi /bridge

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panies sending messages to consumers.

“Now, there has even been something of a regression to the very earliest days of the internet. Anyone can get in-volved, put their own voice out there and hold a discus-sion with other people and companies.”

Ease of communicationSocial media applications have enabled new ways of keeping in contact with other people, alongside the phone, the letter and the e-mail. The sheer ease of communication is striking.

“These are new forms of communication alongside the more traditional ones. The purpose of communi-cation hasn’t necessarily changed: people still want to share views and experiences, spend time with each other, say something about them-selves and their own lives, query things and see what others think,” Matikainen says.

Karjalainen points to the micro-blogging service Twit-ter and the social-network-ing site Facebook as two examples.

“If you want to publicly communicate with the whole world in short, SMS-style messages, Twitter allows you to do that. With Face-book, you can keep in loose contact with a rather large number of people. There is no need to shoot off mes-sages on your mobile phone to each of them individual-ly; instead you can tap out things that can be read by anyone interested.”

Karjalainen adds that so-cial media also offers new opportunities to join groups and organise various events and initiatives. He mentions Porkkanamafi a, the Finn-ish branch of Carrotmob, which has brought together large groups across Finland to take part in energy-saving initiatives.

“The internet allows peo-ple to organise around a common project much more effi ciently than in the past,” he adds.

A special edition of Helsinki Times was sent to selected international foreign house-holds on 3 December 2009. In this issue new subscribers entered a draw to win one Innosol Aurora Bright Light therapy lamp. The lucky winners were Pranav Havalagi Nama (left) and Prashanth Babu Havala-gi Nama.

Congratulationsto the Helsinki

Times draw winners!

6 21–27 JANUARY 2010 HELSINKI TIMES

First Finn buys ticket to space

FROM THE FINNISH PRESS TRANSLATIONS BY MICHAEL NAGLER

ILTASANOMAT 15 January. KIRSIKKA KIVINIEMI

The space traveller’s identity is a secret, re-ports the tabloid Iltasanomat.

“WITHIN a couple of years history will be made in Fin-land. This is when the fi rst Finn will go into space on-board Richard Branson’s Vir-gin Galactic spaceship.

The purchaser of this space journey has a Finn-ish passport. Nothing else is revealed about the per-

son. ‘The person doesn’t wish to reveal his or her person-al information in public. Not even whether the person is a man or a woman,’ Area Trav-el Agency Ltd’s communica-tions manager Mari Rouvi commented to Iltasanomat.

The Area Travel Agency is Virgin Galactic’s only retail-

er in Finland. At the moment Virgin Galactic has no re-al competition with regards to space fl ights, for many smaller companies have gone bankrupt in the lucrative business.

A fl ight costs 138,000 eu-ros, but since it is always paid in dollars the sum is about 200,000 dollars.

‘We don’t know yet what the Finn’s departure number is, but so far there have been 315 trips sold worldwide,’ Rouvi says.”

HELSINGIN SANOMAT 10 January. KATJA KUOKKANEN

Senior psychiatrist: Pietarsaari incest not an isolated case

“THE CASE of widespread sex-ual abuse of children in Pietar-saari is not an isolated incident in Finland, says Senior Psychi-atrist Antti Liikkanen of the Lapland Central Hospital. ‘In-cest and paedophilia are a re-ality for a minuscule portion of the population also in our

Incest and paedophilia are realities for a small proportion of the population, the national daily Helsingin Sanomat reports.

An artist's conception of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo during a sub-orbital flight into space is pictured in this undated publicity photograph from Virgin Galactic. The six-passenger vehicle will undergo test flights in 2010 and start commercial flights between 2011 and 2012.

HelsinginAikuisopisto.fi

Töölöntullinkatu 8, 00250 Helsinki Tel. (09) 41 500 300

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language in the world!

Finnish for Foreigners

See our vast and absolutely fabulous course programme.

Nordic welfare state. The sto-ries are chilling, even if they aren’t shouted about much,’ he says.

On Sunday Helsingin Sa-nomat reported about a Swedish-speaking Laestadi-an preacher who had minis-tered in Pietarsaari until the

L EH T IK U VA / A N T T I A IMO -KOI V IS TO

More youths in hospital due to alcohol

ILKKA 17 January

The number of young people requiring hospital care for alcohol abuse grew over the last decade, reports the Seinäjoki-based daily Ilkka.

“ALCOHOL problems requir-ing hospital care for the un-der-25-year-olds increased in the 2000s. However, mi-nors seldom need intensive care for alcohol poisoning.

According to the most re-cent drug and alcohol statis-tics, treatment periods for 20- to 24-year-old alcohol abusers grew by nearly 35 per cent and those for 15- to

19-year-olds by 24.5 per cent from 2001 to 2008.”

“One or two young peo-ple are brought to the emer-gency room at the South Ostrobothnia Central Hos-pital every weekend for in-tensive care due to alcohol poisoning. ‘It seems that al-cohol-related hospital care for youths has gone up a bit but there’s no dramat-

end of the 1980s. According to his grandchildren he sexually abused them for about a dec-ade during the 1970s and 80s.

The Pietarsaari lay preach-er and his family developed into a closed inner circle with-in the congregation based at Skutnäs. According to Liik-kanen, the sexual abuse of children and a strong, men-tally dominating leader are not only restricted to some religious communities, how-ever. These phenomena also occur in other tightly control-led communities.”

KARJALAINEN 16 January. HELI POTTONEN

Bartering makes a comeback in Joensuu

“THE LEVYT kiertoon – kult-tuuritavaroiden vaihtotori (Recycle your disks – the cultural item barter market) event attracted numerous people to the Kerubin Kuppila bar in Joensuu on Saturday.

You could bring old discs, records, books, games, movies and other cultural items to the barter market. Anyone could dig in and make discoveries from among the items brought. ‘One man’s trash is another

man’s treasure,’ reminds Antti Rask, a cultural activist in Joen-suu and the event’s organiser.

Laura Similä and Veera Poussu, who were among those going through the bar-ter market’s bounty, think that the concept of a cultur-al item barter market is a worthy one. ‘I’ve been to bar-ter markets before, like in Väen Talo, for example. This is a really handy idea. It’d be a shame if usable stuff was wasted,’ Poussu says.”

ic spike for the worse,’ says the emergency room’s Chief Physician Jari Nyrhilä who has ten year’s experience in this area.

According to Nyrhilä, less than fi ve children or youths are put under heightened supervision annually. With regards to each underage patient the hospital notifi es child services.”

Suovaniemi’s cancer cure millions evaporate

KAUPPALEHTI 15 January

Biohit stock prices fluctuated wildly in the mar-ket, the financial paper Kauppalehti reports.

“OSMO SUOVANIEMI, the principal owner of Biohit, a small pharmaceutical com-pany, became millions of eu-ros richer last week when his company announced that it had developed a product against cancer.

Now, a few days after the event, the value of Suovanie-mi’s shares has declined by about fi ve million euros in a couple of days. At the mo-ment, Suovaniemi owns about nine million euros worth of shares.

This week the share price has fl uctuated from around 1.50 euros to well over four

euros. On Friday, at the be-ginning of the afternoon, Bio-hit was worth 2.80 euros per share in the stock market.

It’s possible that the inves-tors regard the stock market re-action as overkill: The capsule may not have as earth shattering a role in the prevention of can-cer as was originally thought.

Biohit’s product combats the effects of acetaldehyde, which causes among other things stomach and esopha-geal cancer, in the human gastrointestinal tract.”

The barter market in Joensuu proved very popular, the Joensuu-based daily Karjalainen reports.

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7721–27 JANUARY 2010HELSINKI TIMES INTERNATIONAL NEWS

MARJORIE LOUIS was sitting in her kitchen eating dinner when she felt the house shak-

Haitians unprepared for the worst

R AC HE L P R AT T,G A RRY P IE RRE-P IE RRE IP S

The catastrophic earthquake left Haitians in a state of shock and confusion.

ing, but she didn't get up. "I didn't think it wasn't going to be serious... and was wait-ing for it to stop. But I noticed it wasn't stopping and fi nal-ly tried to get up off the table but just couldn't get up," said Louis, a banker who lives in Delmas. "I looked outside the window and saw a large cloud of dust and started to hear my children screaming."

Louis is considered among the lucky, having survived an earthquake that killed tens of thousands of her fellow Hai-

tians. A few days after the seismic tremors, stories of sur-vival, death and destruction continue to engulf this moun-tainous Caribbean nation of roughly nine million people.

Her story is similar to those of millions of oth-ers after Haiti's capital was hit with the 7.0 magnitude earthquake on Tuesday 12 January. Thousands of people were killed and caught under the rubble for the same rea-son - they didn't believe this was "the one" and were com-pletely caught off guard.

Haitians explained how mini-earthquakes have be-come the norm in recent years. But they never imag-ined that this catastrophe

PORT–AU–PRINCE

THE RECORDS of two nom-inees to the new European Commission proved especial-ly controversial during hear-ings before members of the European Parliament (MEPs). First, Bulgaria’s nominee Ru-miana Jeleva had to answer claims that she had not prop-erly disclosed her interests in a consulting fi rm. After failing to put the doubts to rest in a heated debate, she stepped down as a candidate. And second, Slovakia's nomi-nee Maros Sefcovic was tak-

en to task about his reputed bias against Roma gypsies. The case against Sefcovic is based on remarks he made to a Brussels conference in 2005, where he stated that Roma in his country were exploiting its social welfare system. Sef-covic was Bratislava's ambas-sador to the EU at the time.

Like many battles in Brus-sels, the argument about the suitability of the candidates has more to do with the power struggle between the EU's in-stitutions and its dominant po-litical parties than questions of principle and substance.

During the last such round of hearings fi ve years ago, the European Parliament as-serted its authority over the Commission's president José Manuel Barroso when it pushed him to request that the Italian government with-draw its nominee. Rocco But-tiglione, Italy's then candi-

Shadow falls over Europe’s new leaders

DAV ID C RONINIP S

The carnage in the Haitian capital following the 12 January earthquake.

Allegations of racism and financial impropriety have spiced up an otherwise lacklustre two-week ritual in which nominees to the EU Commission are quizzed by the European Parliament.

BRUSSELS

date for the Commission, had aroused the ire of liberal and left-leaning MEPs by stating that he regarded homosexu-ality as sinful. Emboldened by that episode, many MEPs felt they had sent out an important signal of how they were not prepared to automatically rub-ber-stamp appointments to the Commission, the body which initiates EU laws. Speculation is rife that the Parliament could be about to reinforce this mes-sage by once again insisting on changes to the proposed EU ex-ecutive this time around. It is instructive, meanwhile, that the charges against the two most controversial nominees are being led by rival political groupings in the Parliament.

No change of waysThose observing the hear-ings expecting any change of orientation in the policies pursued by the Commission

would happen in their life-times. "Now I know that not leaving the house and mak-ing my family leave was a mistake. I feel so empty and helpless," Louis said. Six oth-ers in the house stayed as well. Fortunately, they even-tually made it out alive.

According to a Haitian doctor, "There is a fi ve-sec-ond rule. If you count to fi ve and it keeps shaking, that's when it's serious." Unfortu-nately, this one lasted longer than fi ve seconds. But by the time a person fi nished count-ing, it was too late to escape.

Left with nothingLyvee Memon had just ar-rived home from a funer-

al at Sacred Heart Church, a historic landmark that was later completely destroyed. She was in her living room when the tremors began. She couldn't believe it was the re-al thing and planned to wait for it to stop - until the walls fell all around her. She sur-vived and was pinned under the rubble.

"I was able to fi nd a small, little hole that only a child could fi t through, to make it out," Memon said days later.

Herold Guillaume was driving along Nazon Road when his green Toyota se-dan began bouncing. He fi rst thought that another driv-er had hit his car. He looked up to see buildings and de-

bris falling all around him. The sky was quickly blotted out by a powdery dust. "I left the car and walked home, all the while thinking about my father who was home alone," Guillaume said.

Emmanuel Jean was on the top fl oor of his three-sto-rey home and his father was in the study on the fi rst fl oor. The robust building crumbled like matchsticks and Jean said he barely escaped.

"I ran downstairs and looked for my father and got him out," said Jean, an electri-cal engineer. Since then, Jean has been living in his backyard while making arrangements to join his mother and sisters, who live in Long Island. "I'm still in shock," he said. "I nev-er expected this would come. Now we have to start our lives from nothing. I don't know what we're going to do."

The initial stage of shock was followed by outbreaks of looting.

would have been disappoint-ed. Several of the nominees used the hearings to un-derscore their faith in the neo-liberal ethos which char-acterised the Commission during Barroso's fi rst stint as its president, and is likely to pervade during his second.

Karel de Gucht, the incom-ing commissioner for external trade, promised to champion the interests of multination-al companies in his new role. De Gucht identifi ed the abo-lition of "non-tariff barriers" to trade as one of his key pri-orities. Such barriers include environmental and social standards in foreign countries that corporations consider as hostile to their activities.

De Gucht has a history of courting business lobbyists. As Belgium's foreign minister, he gathered representatives of 40 companies, including the food giant Nestlé, car manufactur-er Toyota and top drug-maker GlaxoSmithKline, together in a "permanent council" to pro-vide advice on the direction of foreign policy. By contrast, his formal dialogue with pub-lic interest groups campaign-ing on such issues as human

rights and the environment was limited to two meetings per year.

Environmental questionsResponsibility for environ-mental and energy issues will be shared between a number of different commissioners in Barroso's new team. Barroso has tried to emphasise the im-portance he attaches to the environment by appointing the fi rst ever EU commission-er dedicated solely to climate change. That post is to be fi lled by Connie Hedegaard, a Danish politician who chaired many of the preparatory discussions for the UN climate change con-ference in Copenhagen last month. Green campaigners are not convinced, though, that the prominence given to environ-mental issues will be translat-ed into suffi cient action.

Some campaigners point to the close ties between incoming commissioners and the fossil fuel industry. Andris Piebalgs, the new commissioner for de-velopment aid, has held the en-ergy portfolio in the outgoing team. For much of his fi ve years in offi ce, his "special adviser" Rolf Linkohr has doubled up as the head of a consulting fi rm, which has had major energy

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fi rms on its books. And Jan-ez Potocnik, the new environ-ment commissioner, appointed several advisory groups dom-inated by representatives of fossil fuel and biotechnology companies to guide his previ-ous work as the EU's scientifi c research chief.

Jorgo Riss, Brussels di-rector for Greenpeace, said that he had not heard any-thing from the new commis-sioners to inspire confi dence that they would steer Europe away from its traditional re-liance on coal, oil and gas in favour of renewable energy.

8 21–27 JANUARY 2010 HELSINKI TIMES

BIOHIT used to be one of Finland’s most boring compa-nies. It’s in the medical equipment business, an indus-try not known for wild economic cycles. At the end of the year it only had some 3,500 shareholders and typi-cally less than a dozen trades of its stock happened on any given day. The share price was stuck at about 1.50 for years.

ALL THAT changed with a bang on 11 January, when the company announced it had signed a contract to man-ufacture Acetium, an over-the-counter capsule that aims to protect the digestive tract from a common car-cinogenic substance.

THE MARKET’S reaction was dramatic. In two days the share price jumped almost 200 per cent on mas-sive volume. CEO and main owner Osmo Suovaniemi saw his net worth increase by about 13 million euros. A press release has seldom done a better job at creat-ing wealth.

THERE is a vast potential market for Acetium. Biohit es-timates that over a half million people in Finland alone could benefi t. Worldwide the fi gure is gigantic. As the capsule would be available without a prescription, it

would be easy to buy.

EVEN prior to the an-nouncement Biohit’s share was rather ex-

pensive. With 0.04 euros in earnings per share over the last reported twelve months, it was trading at a very high price / earnings ratio of 38. Assuming a similar P/E, the market now expects Biohit’s earnings to in-crease several times over.

IS SUCH a result realistic? Perhaps. The company did say it expected a positive effect on sales and operat-ing profi t this year because of Acetium. But the mar-ket’s exuberant reaction seems puzzling. For one, this announcement wasn’t really news. Anyone interest-ed could read all about Biohit’s work in this area in the 2008 annual report.

MOREOVER, in the third quarter report released early in November the company explained Acetium and their plans. In fact, the report basically said the exact same thing that the most recent press release stated. Biohit said what Acetium did, how many people could benefi t and that it should be available early in 2010.

SINCE this information was publicly available months ago, the sudden optimism is odd. So much for effi cient markets: hordes of people impersonally buying and selling can cause prices to do bizarre things. Call it the madness of crowds, if you will.

THE PRODUCT is good news for the fi rm, of course. It is great to hear positive developments come out of Finn-ish companies, especially when they are supported by public research institutions like the University of Hel-sinki, as Biohit was in this case. I hope Biohit does have a blockbuster of a product. But I will remain cautious in regards to the company as an investment at this stock price, even though the market seemed to have had sec-ond thoughts and sent the share price tumbling again. A good company is not a good investment at any price.

David J. Cord is a writer and columnist for the Helsinki Times. He is also a private investor with over ten years of international experience.

Biohit’s rollercoaster

david@helsinkitimes.fi

The market’s reaction was dramatic, to use an understatement.

BUSINESS

The forum's panel discussion, led by Arto Nyberg (right), featured lawyer Suzanne Innes-Stubb (left), National Ballet's artistic director Kenneth Greve and Labour Minister Anni Sinnemäki.

be implemented. The audi-ence consisted of around 500 people from 61 countries.

Alexander Stubb, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, had three proposals. First, he called for more English-speaking schools. Second, he wanted better conditions for the spouses and families of expats. Last, he implored the audience to get active and be open, urging foreign profes-sionals not to retreat into an “expat community”.

Andreas Herdina, direc-tor of co-operation at the Eu-ropean Chemicals Agency, explained that bringing so many foreigners to Helsin-ki to work at the agency was a chore. He pointed out that bureaucracy caused many problems and that it was tough for some workers to get Finnish identifi cation cards. Herdina also cited Finland’s remoteness as a problem for expats. “Finland is the Euro-pean Alaska,” he joked.

Learning FinnishThe diffi culties of learning the Finnish language and its role in integrating foreigners were repeated themes being

brought up by the speakers. But to illustrate other prob-lems Yuan Karppanen, a consultant with the Synocus Group, gave her speech en-tirely in Finnish. Despite be-coming fl uent in the language she still found it diffi cult to break into social and profes-sional networks, which she says is one reason that peo-ple fail to fi nd work.

The CEO of Helsinki Times Alexis Kouros identifi ed an-other problem with learning the Finnish language. In to-day’s globalised world it is eas-ier to move to another country and, because many people do not plan to stay in Finland for-ever, fl uency in Finnish may not be necessary. He praised the people who did move to Finland, saying: “If you are crazy enough to move to Fin-land you can do anything.”

As an illustration of what expatriates in Finland can do anything in Finland, Mo-hamed El-Fatatry, CEO of the Muslim lifestyle compa-ny Muxlim, spoke of his ex-periences and successes. He placed emphasis on entre-preneurship for professional expatriates.

JORMA OLLILA, the chair of Nokia, has a direct message to expatriate professionals working in Finland: “We wel-come all of you because we need you.” With these words, Ollila kicked off the inaugu-ral EVA Expat Forum on 14 January.

The event is the brainchild of the Finnish Business and Policy Forum EVA. The think tank sees attracting foreign talent as an imperative for Finland’s ability to compete in the global market but rec-ognises that it is diffi cult for foreign professionals to inte-grate in Finland. The goal of the forum is to make those problems known and fi nd ways to solve them.

Organisers invited more than a dozen speakers for their take on living and work-ing in Finland. The speakers were diverse and focused on a wide variety of topics. Most explained their personal sit-uation and described their experiences and challenges. They also expressed concrete ideas that they wished could

DAV ID J . CORDHEL SINK I T I ME S

Expat forum highlights opportunitiesExpat fairJohn Simon, communica-tions offi cer at Kone, spoke of the untapped resource of foreign students. He lament-ed the outfl ow of talent to other countries and the in-fl ow of students, saying that more should be done to help fi nd jobs for those studying in Finland. “The opportunity for work is virtually nonex-istent,” he said.

The Finnish National Bal-let’s artistic director, Ken-neth Greve, took issue with the question on how he “end-ed up” in Finland, as if being in the country was some kind of mistake or accident. He urged the audience to be proactive because integration help is not given to foreigners.

Suzanne Innes-Stubb, lawyer for White & Case, called for the creation of an expat fair. Various compa-nies and groups such as Kela would be invited so that for-eigners could get a chance to meet and speak with such organisations.

It is hoped that such a fair may come to fruition in the near future, as well as anoth-er expat forum. The organis-ers EVA, with support from Greater Helsinki Promotion and the Helsinki Times, will evaluate how this event went and identify steps to take in the future.

Identifying the problems encountered by foreign professionals and discovering how to attract talent is the focus for an inaugural event.

P E T R A N Y M A N

COLUMN

European Schooling Helsinki is a state school accredited to the European Schools’ network (www.eursc.eu). It started its operation in 2008 and it offers ed-ucation in three languages: English, French and Finnish. The two-year nursery cycle starts at the age of four and the fi ve-year primary cycle at the age of six. The second-ary cycle consists of seven year classes and leads to the European Baccalaureate ex-am. The school follows the syllabi of the European Schools.

PUPIL ENROLMENT FOR SCHOOL YEAR 2010-11As from autumn 2010 the School is able to enrol children from families not connected to EU-institutions. The application period is 11-29 January 2010. Since the number of enrolments is restricted the School will organise entrance tests in February. The appli-cation form and additional information on the application procedure, fees etc. is avail-able on the School’s website www.esh.fi – Enrolment.

OPPILAAKSI HAKEMINEN LUKUVUODEKSI 2010-11Syksystä 2010 lähtien koulu voi ottaa oppilaaksi myös muita kuin EU-virkamiesten lapsia. Hakuaika kouluun on 11.-29. tammikuuta 2010. Koska oppilaspaikkoja on ra-joitetusti, helmikuussa järjestetään pääsykokeet. Hakulomake ja lisätietoa oppilaak-siotosta, koulumaksuista jne. on saatavana koulun kotisivuilla www.esh.fi – Koulu-un hakeminen.

INSCRIPTION POUR L’ANNEE SCOLAIRE 2010-11A partir de cet automne 2010, l’école pourra accueillir les enfants des familles non rat-tachées aux institutions Européennes. La période d’inscription est du 11 au 29 janvi-er 2010. Le quota d’élève étant limité, l’école organisera des tests d’entrée en février. Les dossiers d’inscription, les informations complémentaires et les frais sont disponi-bles depuis le site internet de l’école www.esh.fi – Inscriptions.

9921–27 JANUARY 2010HELSINKI TIMES BUSINESS

Marianna Talasmaa, CEO of electronic auctioning firm Noventia.

information to time frames for delivery. After the buy-er has the relevant data, she can compare suppliers. The electronic auction is exactly what the name implies. The buyer invites specifi c suppli-ers to participate and con-trols the entire process.

Electronic sourcingNoventia CEO Marianna Ta-lasmaa explains how e-sourc-ing is developing. “The service originated in America,” she says. “Some eight-to-ten years ago it went to England. Here in Finland and northern Eu-rope it is not so common yet. It’s a new thing here. When we go to industry fairs in England we talk about features while here we still have to tell com-panies about it.”

E-sourcing is likely to become more common in northern Europe as its ben-efi ts become better known. A recent e-sourcing survey by IBM and AMR found that

companies reported a 10 to 15 per cent saving in direct goods costs and 20 to 25 per cent savings in the costs of indirect goods and services when they used the service.

“The savings come from competition,” Talasmaa ex-plains. “There are other fac-tors too; there are non-price elements to consider.” These other factors include the level of service, reliability and quali-ty. All of these issues are taken into consideration in a well-run e-sourcing operation. The lowest priced bid may not be the best option for the buyer.

A diverse range of goods or services can be purchased through e-sourcing. While raw materials for manufac-turers quickly come to mind, it is also used for a wide va-riety of other purchases. Ta-lasmaa mentions shipping, cleaning or even temporary workers as examples of the services companies can buy.

International marketThe service is designed with simplicity and effi ciency in mind. “The buyer doesn’t need to know much about e-auctions,” says Talasmaa.

DURING a recession busi-nesses go to great lengths to keep their costs under con-trol and increase effi cien-cy. For many companies the goods and services they pur-chase are the biggest expens-es, so fi nding ways to lower costs and increase quality is a never-ending process.

Noventia is a young Finn-ish company seeking to capi-talise on a different method of procurement for businesses. It offers electronic tools to allow a buyer to fi nd exactly what he needs at the best terms. Dubbed e-sourcing, the serv-ices include two phases in the buying process: an electronic request for information, pro-posals and quotations and the actual electronic auction.

The request for informa-tion process is used to gather all information relevant to a buyer, from prices to product

DAV ID J . CORDHEL SINK I T I ME S

Electronic auctions tailormade for business“The idea behind the soft-ware is to guide you through the process.”

Although Noventia offers a web-based service, it prob-ably should not be considered a tech company. They are in-stead experts in the buying process; Talasmaa herself had 18 years of experience as a corporate buyer before start-ing her own company in 2007.

The business is very in-ternational. “It is immedi-ately global,” Talasmaa says. “Some auctions are only do-mestic, but even if a buyer is Finnish the supplier is often from somewhere else.” Cur-rently Noventia offers Eng-lish, Finnish and German language options on its serv-ices. Russian is coming soon.

Asked to name what she is most excited about for the coming year, Talasmaa fi nds it diffi cult to cite just one thing. “We have new custom-ers, new projects, new fea-tures and new languages,” she laughs. “We started with electronic auctions a year ago and now we have elec-tronic requests for informa-tion. We have a whole palace of e-sourcing!”

A young Finnish company offers electronic sourcing to corporate buyers.

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common reason for contact-ing the bureau. While some of the complaints related to in-vestment advice have a sol-id basis for complaint, others are made simply because peo-ple are disappointed with the loss of their funds. Last year only about a third of the 17 cases that ended up in the Finnish Securities Complaint Board were decided in the customer’s favour. “Each case is different,” says Sainio as a reminder to people.

Complaints break down according to market shareMost of the investment ad-vice provided by banks and fi nancial companies is objec-tive, and cases ending up in the Finnish Securities Com-

plaint Board are exceptions. “When you think about how much investment activity there is in Finland and how many counselling situations there are daily, the number of queries we have received are quite few,” Sainio points out.

“Guidance exists, as is re-quired by the Financial Su-pervisory Authority, but sometimes something goes wrong and a misunderstand-ing arises. The customer’s needs aren’t met. If the fi nan-cial capital involved is lost or decreases in the process, the seed of complaint is sown.” Complaints are not a problem unique to any particular busi-ness. Rather, they generally follow the companies’ mar-ket share, according to Sain-io’s opinion.

Many cases are solved between bank and customerIf you feel that you have been treated unfairly in invest-

THE RISKS attached to many capital investments have come to pass during the fi nancial cri-sis, and some investors have lost substantial sums of mon-ey. At the same time, questions and complaints being fi led with the Finnish Financial Ombuds-man Bureau have increased. The Bureau received a total of around 10,000 inquiries and complaints in 2009, including insurance, banking and securi-ties matters.

According to division head Vesa Sainio, the fi nancial cri-sis can be seen in the type of questions being asked as well as their frequency, with investment advice-related problems becoming a more

M A I JA PA IK K A L A – S T TMIC H A E L N AGL E R – H T

Financial complaints increase as recession cuts into investments

ment matters, you should fi rst contact your own invest-ment adviser and express your dissatisfaction, advises Sainio. Indeed, a signifi cant number of cases are solved in discussions between the cus-tomer and the bank without the help of the Financial Om-budsman Bureau.

If there is no solution, however, then the Financial Ombudsman Bureau’s and Securities Complaint Board’s services may be necessary. According to Sainio’s esti-mate, it takes more than six months but less than a year for a case to proceed to the Board. At their highest, the investment sums relative to the disputes are in the hun-dreds of thousands of eu-ros. “The cases may be large and it takes work to get the essential facts from the documents.”

The process usually starts with the customer calling the information desk. Based

Most investment advice is objective, but there are also exceptions.

on the discussion, that per-son may end up fi ling a com-plaint. “The complaint goes to the service provider to be answered and the bank’s an-swer goes once again to the customer. This is usually re-peated once or twice. Then a picture begins to form about what has happened.”

It is usually hard to prove what kind of advice a cus-tomer has received, to de-termine what has and hasn’t been said to them. “Con-tracts, e-mails and other

related items are central fac-tors. Some cases also involve phone conversations, be-cause the service providers are obliged to record or oth-erwise verify what has been said or advised.”

A bundle of documents, which can sometimes reach to a 100 pages, is compiled and prepared for the Securi-ties Complaint Board. After this dossier is complete, the Board – which on average convenes every six weeks – takes it into deliberation.

The financial downturn led to an increase in complaints.

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10 21–27 JANUARY 2010 HELSINKI TIMES BUSINESS

KOT I JÄ ÄT ELÖ OY

COLUMNCOLUMN

Green leader wants nil dividend tax rate axedLabour minister and Green Alliance leader Anni Sin-nemäki said on Tuesday 19 January that the nil rate band in dividend taxation should be done away with. She said it was wrong that dividends of up to 90,000 euros were tax free, adding dividends should be taxed at the same rate as any oth-er unearned income was.

According to the Greens abolishing the nil rate band would translate into about 350 million euros in extra tax revenue a year.STT

Nordea raises 2010 GDP growth forecast to 2.7 per centNordic bank Nordea on Tuesday 19 January raised its 2010 Finnish gross do-mestic product growth forecast by two tenths of a point to 2.7 per cent. "This year exports will rebound in tandem with world trade and also household de-mand will recover support-ed by increased consumer confi dence," Nordea said in a statement. "On the whole, in 2010 the Finnish econo-my should grow faster than the rest of the euro area." "The unemployment rate has so far risen less than feared and it is set to peak in the summer."

Nordea went on to say that the challenge of meet-ing the government's "am-bitious" medium-term surplus target would shape the political debate ahead of the 2011 general elec-tion. STT

Passengers may be profiled for airport body scans

A Finnish Civil Aviation Ad-ministration (Finavia) of-fi cial was quoted as saying by Väli-Suomen sanomale-hdet, a syndicate of provin-cial dailies, on Sunday 17 January that security staff might be instructed to pro-fi le passengers on the basis of nationality and religion if Finland decided to intro-duce body scanning at air-ports. Jyri Vikström, the head of security at Finavia, told the papers that profi l-ing would be necessary be-cause there was no time to scan every passenger. Vikström was further quot-ed as saying that behaviour at the airport would be the most important factor in the profi ling.

Finavia has trialled one of the controversial scan-ners that allow its oper-ators to view passengers effectively without their clothes at Helsinki-Vantaa airport. The scanner is not being used at the moment. Finavia underlined in a

IN BRIEF

statement it had no guide-lines saying people would be selected for scanning based on nationality or re-ligion. Profi ling is subject to approval by the Europe-an Union. STT

Wärtsilä to cut 1,400 jobs and move production to ChinaEngineering group Wärtsilä said in a statement on Tues-day 19 January it would cut about 1,400 jobs and move the bulk of its propeller manufacturing and auxil-iary engine production to China. "The world has dra-matically changed in a short period of time," Ole Johansson, the managing director of Wärtsilä, said in the statement. "China has become a strong maritime centre and its growth will continue. The low activity in the global marine mar-ket continued throughout 2009."

Wärtsilä added 570 jobs would be cut in the Neth-erlands and generating set manufacturing in Vaasa in Finland terminated, with the remainder of the cuts to be announced during the fi rst half of the year. STT

ISS ground handlers walk out at Helsinki-Vantaa airportISS Aviation ground han-dlers, serving carriers like Air Baltic, Lufthansa and SAS, staged a walkout at Helsinki-Vantaa airport on Monday 18 January. The ISS handlers said they would return to work the following day. Jyri Ketola, the manag-ing director of ISS Aviation, said on Tuesday that the walkout might cause slight delays. He added that about 15 workers had taken part in the walkout. STT

Nordea promises to cover malware lossesThe Finnish arm of Nor-dic bank Nordea prom-ised on Monday 18 January it would cover all fi nancial losses resulting from mali-cious software affecting its online bank. Kari Oksanen, head of risk management at Nordea, said 15 custom-ers had lost about 50,000 euros between them. "We have been in contact with the customers who sus-tained fi nancial loss-es and agreed with them about restoring the funds," Oksanen added.

Nordea warned custom-ers not to enter their user-name and security code if the language of the inter-net banking login page had changed to English, indicat-ing that the computer was infected by malware. STT

a long time and companies need to consider whether any failures are one-off in nature, as well as examine wheth-er company practices are as good as they could be. If not, they should be redesigned.

Personnel are in a key po-sition whenever a compa-ny introduces new working practices, which is why Fin-nair faces a particular chal-lenge, according to Leikola. Management changes and in-dustrial action have left the airline in a state of “turbu-lence,” he notes. This makes problem solving very diffi -cult to implement.

Despite recent setbacks, he is convinced that both VR and Finnair are in sound con-dition. “Basic service deliv-ery is what matters in the end,” he stresses.

His advice is that when problems emerge, swift and transparent communication is important. Any attempts to mend the company’s damaged reputation can only begin once the problem has been resolved.

“The important thing is trans-parency and a willingness to listen to feedback,” he adds.

Finnair powerlessFinnair’s SVP of commu-

nications, Christer Haglund, feels that complex situa-tions are a fact of corporate life. They force the company to make diffi cult decisions, with implications for its cor-porate reputation.

“Clearly, the reputation suffers damage. But if it was in good shape before any inci-dent, the company can bounce back from that,” he says.

He stresses that the es-sential thing is to return the company’s performance to its previous level. Finnair is also planning other meas-ures, but Haglund does not wish to discuss them yet.

He does reveal, however, that Finnair was aware that dis-turbances would result when it set out to renew its practices, only it was not able to predict the extent of them. In addi-tion to industrial disputes, the company faced exceptional-ly diffi cult weather conditions over which it was powerless. Haglund considers it unfortu-nate that customers were made to suffer as a result.

THE REPUTATION of Finland’s fl agship airline, Finnair, has suffered as a result of recent strikes and disruptions to its baggage handling. The state railways, VR, have also been embarrassed by late trains and most recently – and dra-matically – by the collision of a runaway train into the side of a hotel in Helsinki. Companies have to work hard to restore any damage to reputation, and this includes a thorough ex-amination of their own prac-tices combined with measures to mollify customers.

According to Markus Leikola, CEO of MTL Fin-land, a trade-industry body for advertising and commu-nications agencies, trans-port companies in particular face steeper demands than others. “Any dip in quality is immediately apparent,” he observes.

He says that repairing a damaged reputation can take

S T TM AT T HE W PA RRY – H T

Corporate reputations take a battering”Of course the customer

suffered, but we are doing all that we can to return the sit-uation to normal,” he insists.

He also points out that the majority of Finnair’s turno-ver comes from abroad. The situation looks different when viewed from China or Italy, for example.

Listening to customersIn the spring and summer 2008, incorrect packaging labels on groceries sold by Stockmann, known for its department stores, caused a commotion. Now that this in-cident is safely behind the re-tail company, Stockmann’s vice-president, Maisa Roma-nainen, reports that moves to correct the situation were based on customer feedback and quality control. “Listen-ing to customers and doing our job – that is what it came down to,” she explains.

She says that Stockmann has no general strategy for resolving problems, and that measures depend on the situ-ation at hand. In response to the 2008 case, the company offered customers a 100 euro gift voucher if they were able to fi nd a grocery item past its sell-by date.

Repairing a damaged corporate image re-quires hard work and a willingness to listen.

L EH T IK U VA / JUSSI NUK A RI

VR’s image has been bruised as the company has struggled with the exceptionally wintry conditions, leading to recurring train delays.

UK bans Finnair advertisement

THE UK’S Advertising Stand-ards Authority (ASA) has banned the use of a Finnair poster over misleading envi-ronmental claims. The ad fea-

tured an image of an airplane fl ying over a coastline with the text “Be eco-smart. Choose Finnair’s brand new fl eet.”

The agency received two complaints that challenged whether the claim “Be eco-smart” mislead the public

that fl ying was environmen-tally friendly and if Fin-nair could prove that a new fl eet was better than older planes.

Finland’s national carrier responded that fl ying to Asia via Helsinki was advanta-

geous due to its geographical location and less congested facilities compared to oth-er airports. Finnair also pro-vided information that said newer aircraft used less fuel than older ones.

The advertising authority rejected Finnair’s defence. It stated that “readers were like-ly to interpret the claim eco-smart, without qualifi cation, as a claim analogous to envi-ronmentally friendly.” The au-thority also noted that the comparison to newer and older aircraft was invalid as Finnair was still using the older planes and they would not be phased out until February 2010.

The ASA concluded that Fin-nair’s ad breached several ad-vertising codes, including those concerning comparisons, envi-ronmental claims, substantia-tion and truthfulness. As a fi nal action the agency stated that the ad must not appear again in its current form.

DAV ID J . CORDHEL SINK I T I ME S

The supposedly "eco-smart" Airbus A330 replaces the old Boeing MD-11s in Finnair's fleet.

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111121–27 JANUARY 2010HELSINKI TIMES

As a Dutch managing director of an international Finn-ish software company, I have had the privilege to work with a whole range of Finnish and non-Finnish col-leagues. In my ten years in Finland, I have realised that the Finnish engineer (and engineers in general) is of-ten undervalued and not given enough credit. They are often viewed by the business community as being “not open minded” or “not marketing oriented enough”. This is even debated as a possible reason for Finnish companies not marketing their products and services as successfully as countries such as Sweden or the US. I fi nd it surprising, unfounded and frustrating to hear these comments from a lot of friends or industry busi-ness colleagues.

While it is true that (Finnish) engineers are more in-troverted than extroverted and they tend to commu-nicate less, they have a lot of other qualities, such as professionalism, analytical skills and integrity, that contribute to successful organisations. The ration of engineers to non-engineers in Finnish tech companies seems to be a lot higher than in companies in a country such as the US, but I believe that because of this, Finn-ish technology companies are exceptionally well-posi-tioned to sell to larger international tech fi rms.

Without its engineers, Finland would be a lot less competitive and would have fallen behind internation-ally, rather than occupy the current impressive posi-tion that it holds in a number of hi-tech industries. I have mentioned this before in my speech at a large Fin-pro event: without the (Finnish) engineer, the audito-rium that was fi lled with company representatives would be half full. Let’s not forget this. Praise to the (Finnish) engineer!

Victor Donselaar

Praise to the (Finnish) engineer!

READERS' LETTERS

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Helsinki Times /Readers' letters,Vilhonvuorenkatu 11B, 00500 Helsinki

Helsinki Times has launched a new section and wants your views on current issues, com-ments on news articles, anything of inter-est from a multicultural perspective. A selec-tion of readers’ comments are published in the Readers' letters section.Commentaries should be no longer than 2,000 characters with spaces. Helsinki Times reserves the right to edit and shorten all sub-missions. Comments can be sent by e-mail to: info@helsinkitimes.fi

FINLAND IN THE WORLD PRESS

Finland to stub out smoking habit

ASHARQ AL-AWSAT 18 January. SALAH JAMEEL

which also will include Oman and Qatar.

Asharq Al-Awsat met Min-ister Stubb in his offi ce at the Finnish Foreign Ministry in Helsinki, and conducted an interview with him. ‘My tour has two aims. One of them is to improve the bilateral re-lations between Finland and Saudi Arabia, Finland and the Sultanate of Oman, and Fin-

Talking to Finnish FM Alexander Stubb

BBC NEWS 15 January. PAUL HENLEY

“FINLAND'S government is planning some of the world's toughest measures to stop people from smoking. Ilk-ka Oksala, state secretary in the health ministry, drew up the latest plans and his approach is uncompromis-ing. ‘The goal is to get rid of smoking once and for all. It is a long-term goal, but still we are going to achieve it.’ ‘Of course, this would mean the end of the tobacco indus-try if all the countries in the world took the same kind of steps as we are. We have had negotiations with that indus-try, naturally, but to be quite honest, our goal is against their business.’

It was as early as 1976 that the Finnish parliament fi rst outlawed tobacco advertising. Soon it will most likely be ille-gal for tobacco even to be vis-ible in shops. The ruling party has a clear majority in today's parliament and there is little

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land and Qatar. The second aim is to get a clearer picture of the situation in the region. Here, I also mean the peace process in the Middle East, the situation in Yemen, and also Iran. We in the European Un-ion need to understand better what is taking place in the re-gion, and we believe that the only way to do so is to visit the region, especially Riyadh’…”

“’With regard to Yemen, my mission is a fact-fi nding one. With regard to the Mid-dle East peace process, I will present some opinions, by al-so I will listen. These are the three main issues I will dis-cuss during my tour’…”

India and Finland revise tax treaty

THE TIMES OF INDIA 16 January.

“ON FRIDAY 15 January, India and Finland revised their tax treaty to improve informa-tion exchange on tax evaders. Both countries also agreed to bring down the withholding tax rates on dividends from the existing 15 per cent to 10 per cent.

As per the revised agree-ment, the contracting par-ties ‘shall not deny furnishing of the requested information

solely on the ground that it does not have any domestic interest in that information or such information is held back by a bank’. Another clause has been added to the revised agreement which restricts the powers of a resident to pre-vent misuse of the Double Tax-ation Avoidance Agreement.

‘The lowering of withhold-ing tax will promote greater investments, fl ow of technol-

“ALEXANDER STUBB has been in charge of the for-eign portfolio in the Finn-ish Coalition Government since April 2008. The minis-ter is well-known for his ex-tensive travels within the framework of his work (120 days every year). Today Min-ister Stubb arrives in Sau-di Arabia, the fi rst stop in his fi rst tour of the region,

opposition to their anti-smok-ing bill among other parties. So this and a ban on smoking in private cars carrying any-one under 18 will almost cer-tainly be law by the summer.

Only about 20 per cent of

Finns smoke, but Oksala has a ready list of reasons for the rules to be tightened. ‘When people start smoking, they are usually very young - not adult enough to make their own de-cisions, usually between 12

and 15 years old,’ he says. ‘The whole of society pays to treat the diseases they will later de-velop. In the future, we will have better uses for these eu-ros than to help people with these kinds of diseases.’…”

If the latest proposals go through, cigarette packs will soon be out of sight in shops.

ogy and technical services between the two countries,’ according to a press note is-sued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). This will also ensure assistance in col-lection of taxes when such taxes are due under the do-mestic laws and regulation, it added. The new pact was signed by CBDT chairman SSN Moorthy and Finnish ambassador Terhi Hakala."

THE TIMES 19 January.GREG HURST

Finnish schools a model for the UK?“THE SUCCESS story of Fin-land’s schools has one overarching lesson for pol-icymakers in Britain. It is that sustaining high stand-ards requires stability and, eventually, consensus. Since Finland embarked on its edu-cation reforms in 1967, it be-gan with tight state controls over the school curriculum, but it has gradually ceded power to local authorities, schools and teachers.

But parallels with schools in Britain can be taken only so far. Finland is a tiny country of 5.3 million people, and beyond Helsinki, sparsely populated: good local schools are a practi-cal necessity in rural areas, as are its free school meals. Strict controls on immigration mean that it is a much more homo-geneous society, with fewer of the pressures faced by inner-city schools in Britain.

Finland, sometimes de-scribed as a ‘middle-class soci-ety’, also has fewer disparities in wealth, making compre-hensive schools a simpler con-cept. Parents in Finland look puzzled when asked wheth-er they considered private education. Nevertheless, Fin-land’s reforms are remark-able. Fears that it lacked a suffi ciently skilled workforce prompted the abandonment of a two-tier school system in the late 1960s. Lower-attain-ing children were given a more demanding education; some parents and politicians pro-tested this was at a cost of low-ering academic standards for brighter pupils. In 1985 came an even bolder step with the scrapping of streaming for un-der-16s, creating an even more comprehensive model…” Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah welcomes Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb on 18 January.

THE NATIONAL (UAE)16 January. CHRIS STANTON

Lesson in how not to go nuclear“AS THE UAE prepares to adopt nuclear energy, it can draw pointers from Finland’s trou-bled Olkiluoto plant. What should have been a relative-ly low-cost and swiftly built project is late, over budget and mired in disputes. The project has become a multibillion-eu-ro money pit that serves as a cautionary tale for incoming members of the nuclear ener-gy club, including the UAE.

The Olkiluoto fi asco loomed large in the selection

process for the UAE’s own nuclear power programme, which culminated in award-ing a 20 billion US dollar con-tract to a group of Korean fi rms last month over a rival bid from a French consorti-um that included Areva. Gov-ernment offi cials said a key factor in the decision was the Korean team’s demon-strated ability to build reac-tors on schedule. The UAE is likely to benefi t in a number of ways from the Olkiluoto example, not least because it will have easier access to components from fi rms that have reactivated production lines after almost a decade of dormancy.

And the lessons learnt on the need for better planning, oversight of subcontractors and improved ties between the regulator and contractor have been spelt out for all to see…”

12 21–27 JANUARY 2010 HELSINKI TIMESSPORT

Surfing the slopes

P E T R A N Y M A NHEL SINK I T I ME S

Snowboarding has come a long way from its early days, when snow-boarders were frowned upon and the practice was prohibited in most ski resorts.

sudoku SOLUTION ON PAGE 18

As snowboarding develops, the jumps get more and more daring. Finnish ski resorts offer good grounds for practicing different tricks.

FOOTBALLERS are often criti-cised for being self-obsessed and narcissistic, but thank-

Football stars turn out for Haiti

EG A N RIC H A RDSONHEL SINK I T I ME S

Football stars are gathering in Lisbon to do their bit for the Haitian earthquake survivors.

meaning to our cause against poverty,” said Zidane.

Awareness“We would like to help the vic-tims of the quake in the best way we can,” added Ronaldo. “Through the match we hope we will be able to raise both awareness and funds for Hai-ti. Though we are aware that it will be but a small contribu-tion to an enormous need.”

One star already commit-ted to appearing in the match is squeaky-clean Brazilian evangelical Kaká, who was enthusiastic about doing his bit for charity when asked about the match. “I am hon-oured to represent Ronal-do and I am looking forward to playing this important match, dedicated to Haiti’s relief efforts,” stated the Re-al Madrid star.

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Tips for beginnersDetermine your stance. To find out whether you ride with your left or right foot at the front of the board, one method is to push a person gently forward from behind. Whichever foot they step forward with is their front foot when snowboarding.

Gear. Make sure that all gear is in good condition and fits correctly. Your board should be roughly the height of your chin when placed in front of you. It is advisable to wear a helmet.

Strapping in. Always strap in to the front binding first. Your back foot needs to be free for skating to and from the lift.

It is highly recommended for first timers to take a lesson. Most ski resorts offer pro-fessional instruction; alter-natively have a friend teach you the basics. This will give you confidence to continue practising on your own.

SNOWBOARDING originally developed from skateboard-ing and surfi ng in the US dur-ing the 1960s. It quickly came to represent a lifestyle that rebelled against the more so-phisticated way of skiing and developed into a subculture with its own language and style of clothing. In the ear-ly days, the stereotypes con-

nected to snowboarders were similar to those associated with surfers and skateboard-ers: they were considered to be young troublemakers over true sportsmen, and skiers did not easily accept the new-comers on their slopes.

Nowadays, however, these stereotypes and the tension between snowboarders and skiers have become outdated. Snowboarding has developed into a popular mainstream

Vancouver Olympics in Feb-ruary, with Piiroinen already having secured his place as one of the four Finns to enter the men’s half-pipe competi-tion. The fi nal three to accom-pany Piiroinen will be selected on 28 January from the board-ers of the Snowboard Team Finland. In the ladies, Ilona Ruotsalainen has been se-cured an Olympic spot in the Parallel Giant Slalom.

Progression of the sportThe ongoing development of snowboarding has great-ly pushed the boundaries of the sport, with Finns main-taining their position at the forefront of it all. The tricks are constantly developing and the days of a 360-de-gree turn creating awe are long gone. “These days it is all about tricks that are more

Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo before the UNDP charity match in Marseille in March 2007.

sport that attracts a diverse, international crowd and has been part of the Winter Ol-ympics for more than 10 years. In Finland, the sport’s popularity has skyrocketed since its arrival in the early 1980s, and the country has bred some of the best snow-boarders in the world.

Flatland ridersHow is it possible then that such a number of top snow-

boarders come from the fl at-lands of Finland? According to Mats Lindfors of the Finnish Snowboard Association, the fact that Finland doesn’t have any mountains can actually be considered the reason behind our success in the sport. “Finn-ish snowboarders concentrate mostly on tricks because there is hardly a possibility of doing much else. The runs are short with time to nail only a cou-ple of jumps and the constant repetition makes our boarders develop fast,” he says.

This season has again start-ed well for Finnish snowboard-ers, highlighted with a recent double victory at 6Star Bur-ton European Open in Switzer-land, where Peetu Piiroinen and Enni Rukajärvi took the men’s and women’s titles re-spectively. The focal point of the season is, of course, the

and more impressive. To have a chance to compete for med-als in Vancouver the rider needs to be able to pull of a decent double cork, among other tricks,” Lindfors re-veals. The double-cork trick is a breathtaking big-air ma-noeuvre that has become the new benchmark in competi-tive snowboarding.

According to Lindfors, Finnish riders have an excel-lent chance of bringing home even a shinier medal this time round than Markku Koski’s bronze in Turin 2006. With high hopes for Finnish board-ers, the anticipation grows for Vancouver Olympics.

fully there are some prepared to fi ght against the stereo-types and present a different face to the world.

“I know what poverty is,” World Cup winning midfi eld-

er Zinédine Zidane tells the United Nations Development Programme's website. “I, too, lived in diffi cult places, where we didn't have everything. And today I want to help. There are things in this world that are more important than football.”

That may be so, but to bring the message to a wider audi-ence football can sometimes be a useful tool. Since 2003 Zi-dane and the rotund Brazilian striker Ronaldo have organ-ised an annual Match Against Poverty to raise awareness of the UN's Millenium Develop-ment goals.

Zidane sees his UNDP in-volvement as “the kind of thing my family, my upbringing and people I love have always en-couraged. It's something that is part of you or isn't – but it's not something you embark up-on or give up for any amount of fame or success.”

Support to HaitiThe match has usually been played by a team consisting of Ronaldo and his friends, and one of Zidane and his friends, but this year for the fi rst time Zidane and Ronaldo will join

forces to take on a Benfi ca All Stars side in Lisbon on 25 January. The fi xture's noble aims have been brought in-to focus by the ongoing crisis following the earthquake in Haiti, and so the organisers have taken note and changed plans somewhat, given the UNDP's current priorities.

“This is a humanitarian emergency which requires an internationally coordinat-ed relief effort,” said UNDP Administrator Helen Clark. “The United Nations is work-ing closely with governments around the world to meet immediate humanitarian needs, and to co-ordinate ear-ly recovery consistent with addressing longer term devel-opment goals. Haiti will need tremendous support to recov-er from this terrible disaster.”

The response from Ben-fi ca Foundation President Luis Filipe Vieira was une-quivocal. “We are extremely saddened by the disaster in Haiti,” said Vieira. “We would like to show our full support by dedicating the match to the relief of the victims.”

“Donating the proceedings from the match lends deeper

SUOMEN LUMIL AU TA L I I T TO

131321–27 JANUARY 2010HELSINKI TIMES

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14 21–27 JANUARY 2010 HELSINKI TIMESLIFESTYLE

FOR THE FIRST TIME in four years of living in Finland, I can say good riddance to summer and embrace the darkness and cold. On the shores of a lake inauspicious-ly named Regret (Katuma) is a wild plot of land hugged by forest, at the heart of which lies a pretty, yellow cottage named Nut (Pähkinä). A year ago my husband, Janne, and I moved here from a Helsinki fl at by Mätäjoki, the “rotten” river. It’s hard to say if we’re moving up in the world.

Pähkinä belongs to our friend; for decades it served as the family summer cot-tage, but had fallen vacant in recent years. It had recent-ly been renovated for year-round use and environmental

friendliness when we jumped at the offer to become its new tenants—a decision that had everything to do with carpe diem and very little to do with planning or grand life schemes. We were young with fl exible jobs, a sense of adventure and a soft spot for sustainability. How could we pass up the opportunity to live on a lake and grow our own organic vegetables?

Labour and loos Transplanted to the woods of Tavastia, Janne and I spent spring and summer willing a jungle of virulent weeds into a productive vegetable patch. We chopped down trees, hauled dirt, sowed seeds, manhandled caterpillars and rearranged ladybugs, waged war against weeds, and nur-tured seedlings like newborn

MIC HE L E SIMEONHEL SINK I T I ME S

An eco-adventure in the Finnish countryside

babies. This was followed by a harvest season of foraging, cooking, canning, and freez-ing. Winter has brought along new, but fewer, tasks: snow to shovel, wood to chop, and daily heatings of the wood-burning stove.

But after the lake view, it’s neither the garden nor the cosy fi re that attracts the most attention from guests. Instead, the star of this show is the toilet. Affectionately nicknamed the “earth clos-et” by one friend, our toilet is really just a glorifi ed buck-et, a sort of indoor huussi or outhouse. It is a simple, cus-tom-made system that con-sists of four 80-litre buckets resting on a rotating, wood-en carousel located in an un-derground chamber. Inside the bucket chamber is a fan, which is connected to a ven-tilation pipe leading into our chimney. Toilet visitors sit on an otherwise ordinary toi-let seat positioned direct-ly above the bucket in use. When that bucket is full, we

Replacing weeds with garden beds.

Pähkinä is a wooden cottage in the southern region of Tavas-tia. It was built in 1960 on land once belonging to adult educa-tion centre Sirola-opisto – now Vanajanlinna Hotel – after un-used land was sold to the school’s employees. In 2008, Pähkinä was renovated from a basic summer cottage to an eco-friend-ly home suitable for year-round occupancy. Features include a composting toilet, wood-burning stove, and lake water filtra-tion system. The author and her husband are the cottage’s first full-time occupants.

ter.” It never hurts to have your conclusions confi rmed by Finnish folk wisdom.

Embracing the seasons As we approach our second in year in Pähkinä, water once again in our pipes, our shelves well-stocked with the sum-mer’s bounty, I can admit how diffi cult much of the work and adaptation has been. We certainly carried a lot of ur-ban-tinged idealism into this project: who knew cultivat-ing weeds was so much easi-er than growing vegetables? Still, it has been rewarding work. It has left us satisfi ed at the end of the day with the knowledge that we worked for something good and tangi-ble. And there was always the lake to receive us when things didn’t go quite right.

This dark time of the northern year has always meant for me gloominess, summer nostalgia, and too often remembering how com-paratively warm and sunny it is in every other place I have ever lived. This year is dif-ferent. The cold will bring us a well-earned respite from garden labour and plenty of time to sit by the fi re with homemade jam on toast.

A Finnish-American couple put urban ideal-ism to test in the backwoods of Tavastia.

simply rotate the carousel to a fresh one. Once all the buckets are full, we access the chamber through an out-side trapdoor and empty the contents onto a specially des-ignated compost heap.

The job of emptying the buckets is not, admittedly, the most glamorous, but it’s al-so not that bad—even for the squeamish. Conventional toi-lets are such an expected and ordinary modern convenience that it’s no wonder we seldom question the logic of defecat-ing into gallons of precious drinking water every day.

Good enough for frogsThe wood stove, composting toilet, and garden are all part of an effort to tread as light-ly as possible on this planet of ours. Each has demanded of us physical labour, open-mind-edness, and a willingness to adapt and learn. Living closer to our source of food and heat, and disposing of our own waste, has made life more la-bour-intensive, and also, in

many ways, more gratifying. But the thoughtful inclusion of a composting toilet has not only bumped us halfway off the grid, this summer it made the cottage liveable.

The water in Pähkinä once came from a well in the gar-den – until July, when the last drop fell from the tap and Janne and I were left without running water for four months. Living beside a lake in the Finnish sum-mer, this wasn’t all that bad. Daily swims, supplement-ed by a weekly sweat in the sauna left us (hopefully) in-distinguishable from our well-scrubbed peers. Dishes were a hassle, and there was much laundry-related moan-ing, but our toilet, which op-erates independently of water and plumbing, was untouched by the drought. Had it not been installed, we would have either had to modify a bucket for outdoor use, a notion rather too DIY even for our tastes, or move out all together.

While toilet use carried on as usual, drinking water was another story. Janne and I hauled it from a commu-nal spring down the street, trusting our judgment that cold, clear, tasty water is al-so by nature drinkable. Local frogs had apparently reached a similar conclusion. Tens of them communed on the sur-face of the spring, gradual-ly making their way to its depths as we humans rudely interrupted their bath time. “But frogs are a good sign,” my father-in-law reassured us. “Frogs only like clean wa-

Author bio:

Michele Simeon is a free-lance writer and editor, and award-winning literary translator. She writes the blog A House Called Nut (w w w.ahousecallednut .com) about life in Pähkinä cottage.

Clearing snow for a lake-top skating rink.

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TWO NEW fi lms on release this week attempt offer new takes on some well-worn ide-as. Australian twins Peter and Michael Spiereg’s Day-breakers boasts a cast that includes Ethan Hawke and the ever-eclectic Willem Da-foe, together injecting life into the vampire genre af-ter the watered down, crowd pleasing antics of the Twi-light series.

In a world overrun with vampires, Hawke plays a

JA ME S O ’ SUL L I VA NHEL SINK I T I ME S

Attempted resuscitationbloodsucking hematologist who shares such an affi ni-ty with humans that he has switched to drinking animal blood. Ahem. Meanwhile, the world’s supplies of blood are depleted to critical lev-els, as the always enjoya-ble Sam Neill presides over the remaining drops. Aiming straight for the jugular, the fi lm promises an onslaught of action set pieces that at-tempt to overcome its B mov-ie constraints.

Guy Richie, on the oth-er hand, originally cut his teeth reinvigorating gang-

ster fi lms. After riffi ng on Scorsese and countless oth-er heavyweights with Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Bar-rels and Snatch, Richie has spent the last decade digging himself out of career oblivi-on. Let’s not mention Swept Away. Oh, sorry. Just did.

Anyway, here Richie fur-ther builds on the momen-tum gained with 2007s RocknRolla, teaming up with the master of career revivals Robert Downey Jr. for a new take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic sleuth tale, Sherlock Holmes.

With strong internation-al box offi ce worldwide sug-gesting Richie is on the right

track, one can only hope the man who was touted as the next great British auteur will make good on the promise shown by his earlier fi lms. To be precise.

Daybreakers

Release Date 22 JanDirectors: Peter andMichael SpierigStarring: Ethan Hawke,Willem Dafoe

Sherlock Holmes

Release Date: 22 JanDirector: Guy RitchieStarring: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law

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Ethan Hawke (left) and Willem Dafoe in Daybreakers.

151521–27 JANUARY 2010HELSINKI TIMES CULTURE

that would otherwise remain hidden. In these fi lms the doc-umentary maker doesn’t set-tle for mere observation and recording, but becomes an ac-tive element. The Arrival se-ries explores issues related to immigration and life between two cultures, while Winners & Bestsellers series comprises the most successful documen-taries in the festival circuit.

Poland and the Unit-ed States are the countries given particular focus at DocPoint this year. “We have chosen fi lms from the US in the indie genre to represent a different view of the coun-try and a wide variety of new documentaries from Poland that have proven a very pos-itive surprise,” Lyytinen ex-plains. There is, of course,

DocPoint comes to town

P E T R A N Y M A NHEL SINK I T I ME S

a wide selection of Finnish documentaries, too, from professional fi lmmakers to works by students.

Choosingthe programmeThe DocPoint jury travelled to a number of festivals around the world to select many of the fi lms being fea-tured, but Lyytinen himself chose the majority of them. A jury of Finns from different backgrounds, who all share a passion for documentaries, chose the selection of Finn-ish documentaries.

In addition to the pletho-ra of fi lms, the festival also offers many seminars, lec-tures, discussions, clubs and possibilities to meet the fi lm-makers. All fi lms are subti-tled in English.

Miesten Vuoro (Steam of Life) by Joonas Berghäll and Mika Hotakainen presents an interesting inside into Finnish culture.

THE NINTH Helsinki Doc-umentary Film Festival DocPoint this year runs for six days. Originally organ-ised to promote Finnish doc-umentaries, the festival has expanded into a substantial event, showcasing over 150 fi lms this time around.

“The popularity of doc-umentary fi lms has grown heaps, it seems that there is a kind of backlash against mainstream fi lms. I think that people are more inter-ested in documentaries be-cause they have a deeper content and challenge the viewer,” comments Erkko Lyytinen, the artistic direc-tor of DocPoint.

New initiativeThis year’s festival is unique because it is also being fea-tured across the sea in Tallinn for the fi rst time. “There is a defi nite bond between Helsin-ki and Tallinn, and the festival works as a bridge across the water that unites the two cities. We hope that we can continue to work together with Tallinn and take the festival there in the coming years as well,” says Lyytinen. The opening night will take place simultaneous-ly in both cities, and organisers and presenters will be connect-ed by Skype, he reveals.

The festival programme features a series of differ-ent fi lms. The series of fi lms entitled The End Justifi es the Means deliberately use prov-ocation to expose something

DOC P OIN T

THE MUSIC club Café Louhi kicks off its spring season of sonic art with an evening of crossover music from the fi ngers of two of Finland’s best exponents of the gen-re – guitarists Marzi Ny-man and Jarmo Saari. Both musicians owe a lot to the traditions of instrumental rock that have survived in this country thanks to a cul-

A N T HON Y SH AWHEL SINK I T I ME S

Jazzy spectrum at Café Louhi

Lemminkäinen’s

homecoming!

Fri 22 Jan18:30

Tickets €12/18Espoo Cultural Centre

Café Louhi

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Helsinki Documentary Film Festival programme includes many films that deliberately provoke to expose things that would otherwise remain hidden.

DocPoint

Helsinki Documentary Festival26-31 Jan

Tickets €6.50(on sale from 18 January)

www.docpoint.infowww.finnkino.fi

ture that still values fi rst-class musicianship over raw expressionism.

Nyman and Saari both have roots in Espoo, which has its own history of mu-sic education, and each has achieved individual success outside Finland, Saari in par-ticular with the marimba/xylophone-driven, art-rock instrumental outfi t XL. Ny-man has recently attempted that elusive apogee, an or-chestral composition with electric guitar, for which he drew considerable acclaim. This Friday the music will be a combination of instrumen-tal invention, possibly akin to the similar synthesis of delicacy and energy that he accomplished together with the Anna-Mari Kähärä Band, and Saari with his ethno-jazz ZetaBoo.

Lemminkäinen’s home-coming! presents music cov-ering the spectrum of music that Nyman and his big band have been involved in – from chamber music to Hendrix, with a line-up including a classical harpist, a world ac-cordionist and a free-jazz bassist. The video show is produced by the local CARTES Centre of Art and Technolo-gy, and surprise guests are promised. It should be an in-teresting evening!

TODAY’S economic and fi nan-cial situation is present in al-most every conversation. For Finnish artist John Phillip Mäkinen, art is a tool to ex-press his views in a playful yet bold, black humor.

In an imaginary lethal offi ce space, the exhibition Stocks Talk is a sharp com-ment on the infl uence of mon-ey and offi ce life. It displays a variety of objects that show-case a close view of the hu-man situation in the business world. “Stocks Talk, a silk-screen work, refers to mon-

SUS A N FOUR TA NÉ HEL SINK I T IME S

Art goes business, or is it vice versa?

Stocks Talk

Until 2 FebGallery Supernova

Kramu 3, RigaLatvia

www.super-nova.lvJohn Phillip Mäkinen’smetal-edged office palm.

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etary things that are out of our control,” says Mäkinen.

A plant and a paper shed-der refl ect perfectly a typical offi ce environment. In the artist’s representation of the same space a plant has been mutated into a new species of sharp, metal-edged killer palm tree that states, almost in a poetic way, the human condition in the present day, where hostility and violence take the beauty of living creatures.

For Mäkinen, who is al-so a curator, musician and fi lm director, we currently live in the “Dark Ages”. We all know what daily life in an of-fi ce looks like, but at a clos-er look it feels more like a horror-chamber.

Mäkinen graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki, studied art and fi lm in Paris as well as Pitts-burgh. Stocks Talk is support-ed by the Embassy of Finland, FRAME-Finnish Fund for Art Exchange and NORDEN-Nor-dic Culture Point.

Marzi Nyman

by Mark Väisänen. The con-ductor is Kari Tikka.

This version of Faust is also notable for featuring a number of soloists mak-ing their debut at the FNO. The title role is shared by

Goethe's soul-for-sale tragedy

L OUIS A G A IRNHEL SINK I T I ME S

A NEW production of Faust, the classic opera by Charles Gounod, will receive its pre-miere at the Finnish National Opera this Friday.

Loosely based on Goethe’s version of the tale, the op-era’s action is set somewhere on the periphery of Europe in the 18th century.

Faust, an ageing schol-ar tired of life, is prepared to sell his soul to the Devil to re-gain his youth. Accompanied by the demon Mephistoph-eles, he sets out to explore the world with his new-found

youth and freedom. Faust se-duces the beautiful Margue-rite but kills her brother and drives her to her ruin.

This story of alchemy and temptation is an old one, and it inspired Charles Gounod to write several memorable ari-as, such as the scintillating Jewel Song for Marguerite. No wonder, then, that Faust was for a long time the most fre-quently performed opera in the world.

This production is a dis-tinctively Finnish interpre-tation of the classic tale, directed by the FNO’s own Jussi Tapola, with handsome sets and costumes designed

Finnish National Opera’s Faust debuts a host of new operatic talents. Faust

Until 25 Febwww.operafin.fi

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Pavel Černoch stars in Faust, a classic tale of alchemy and temptation.

Pavel Cernoch and Domin-ic Natoli, with Ermonela Jaho and Marie Fajtová as Marguerite.

16 21–27 JANUARY 2010 HELSINKI TIMES EAT & DRINK

FRESH Chicken Caesar salad

Tastes really good, could do with a bit more dressing though and the dressing could be a little thicker. The salad is crispy and fresh and the chicken bits delightfully big, juicy and well grilled. The shakeable packaging is really handy, but you need scissors to open the crouton package. Cheese flakes would be nicer than the finely grated supplied.

Average rating: 7,75

Price: €4,80 / 220 gr

Atria

Grandma’s sausage sauce and potatoes

A little bland; could definitely use some vegetables. The sauce is tasty, but the potatoes are a bit rub-bery. Points for using HK Blue as the sausage. Overall, the meal was fairly tasteless. Spices and vegetables would make it a considerably better portion. The potatoes are just the right size.

Average rating: 6

Price: €2,95 / 320 gr

Mince sauce and mashed potatoes

Both the sauce and the mashed potatoes are well tasty and spicy, and you can taste the meat. A good ratio of sauce and mash, and the mash has a nice texture. Overall, the portion was a bit bland and too mushy, it needs some vegetables. The rupturing foil was annoying, too hard to open.

Average rating: 7

Price: €2 / 300 gr

VIA Pasta bolognese

The savoury sauce and full-bodied pasta make this a royalty among ready-made meals. The texture of the pasta is nice, it’s not over-cooked. No complaints about the taste, although it’s not a mind-blower either. The ample parmesan bag is an excellent addition, as well as the package that whistles when it’s ready.

Average rating: 7,5

Price: €3,80 / 335 gr

HK

Chicken pasta

Well spiced and delicious, all in all an excellently creamy and fulfilling dish. The chicken pieces are tender and the pasta is appropriately al dente. The cream is nice and soft and the pasta just right. I’d like the chicken pieces to be bigger, and it could have a bit more salt and spices. I'd gladly buy this one.

Average rating: 9

Price: €6,65 / 700 gr

Salmon trout and potato bake

Yummy! Creamy and tasty, although it could use some salt and pepper. A good dish, tastes like home cooking. A good amount of spices. The package is big enough for three or four peo-ple, so it makes a good family meal. The dill stands out nicely.

Average rating: 8

Price: €5,80 / 700 gr

Salmon soup

Delicious, with a home-cooked feel to it. The salm-on tastes like salmon, and the soup is creamy and soft. No complaints at all here. One of the best ready-made soups there is. Served on a plate, you wouldn’t know it’s not home made. A fulfilling meal – don’t be fooled by the pack-age’s small appearance.

Average rating: 9,25

Price: €2,01 / 300 gr

Meatballs and mashed potatoes

A good brown sauce and tasty meatballs. The mash could use some garlic but otherwise it’s good, with a nice texture. All in all, a full-bodied and filling meal, and the baby carrots are a big bonus! A flavoursome and diverse instant meal, and the portion size is just right.

Average rating: 8,25

Price: €3 / 350 gr

Creamy chicken bowl

The sauce is nicely creamy and tasty, with a fitting amount of spice. The chicken pieces are a bit too small and not the best of quality. The all-around flavour is agreeable though. Comes with a nice aroma and the portion size is adequate. In the end it’s even a bit too spicy.

Average rating: 6,75

Price: €2,85 / 300 gr

Chicken noodle bowl

The basic flavour is good, although if trying to be an Asian dish, it could have more spice. The peanuts add a nice touch. Not bad at all, but the noodles and vegetables are a bit too mushy, and the biggest problem is the somewhat tasteless chicken. Not the tastiest one, but a good quick eat.

Average rating: 6,5

Price: €2,85 / 300 gr

Kokkikartano

Saarioinen

Hunter’s steak with mushroom sauce

Two steaks is a delightful surprise, but the meal has too little sauce. The steak itself doesn’t differ much from other products. The packaging is easy to open. The soft texture is nice, but is somewhat monotonous; the portion could use some fresh vegetables, for example. The creamy potatoes and the sauce are tasty, but the slightly artificial steak is the weakest part.

Average rating: 6,5

Price: €3,50 / 350 gr

Spinach pancakes & Beetroot salad

The pancakes have a tempting aroma and they taste juicy. Together, the two make a good combination. The salad is much better than expected, and actu-ally tastes of beetroot. It’s quite vinegary though, so it definitely needs some other food to go with it. The pancakes are a good and soft quick meal, and the salad would go with almost any dish.

Average rating: 7

Price: Together €3,40 / 800 gr

Atria Atria

Fast-trackfoodTo help people in their hunt for proper food amidst the ever-increasing pace of modern life, Helsinki Times tested a variety of ready-made meals.

V E L I-M AT T I P E LT OL AHEL SINK I T I ME S

READY-MADE meals have become an in-tegral part of Finnish food culture. Their popularity has been on a steady rise for years, and food manufacturers have in-vested heavily in their attempt to make their meals the tastiest and most al-luring ones on the market. As a result, Finnish grocery stores boast an exten-sive selection of all kinds of microwave meals, salads and other instant eats.

We wanted to explore the fl avours on offer, and put some of the popular prod-ucts to test. Naturally we only managed to scratch the surface, but the compari-son should give you an idea of the types of foods available and of some of their basic qualities.

As well as commenting on the foods on several criteria, we graded them on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the high-est mark. The guidelines were roughly the following:

1-4 I would rather not eat this meal

even if it was served for me free of charge.

5-6 I wouldn't mind eating this meal, but

it is unlikely I would buy it if there were better options available.

7-8 I would gladly buy this meal among

my fi rst choices, if I was in need of a ready-made meal.

9-10 This is a close-to-perfect ready-made

meal.

HK HK

Kokkikartano Kokkikartano

Saarioinen Saarioinen

171721–27 JANUARY 2010HELSINKI TIMES

R A V I N T O L AR A V I N T O L A

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The hottest grill in Helsinki.

Fresh flavours and inspirations from Italy.

In the heart of Helsinki.

Mikonkatu 23, www.paakonttori.fiRestaurant Opening Hours: Mon–Fri 11:30–23,

Sat 16–23, Sun 18–22. Kitchen closes half an hour earlier. Bar Opening Hours: Mon–Sat 17–24, Sun 18–24.

The world of beer in all its glory

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Sun 13–02

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Fredrikinkatu 47,00100 Helsinki

EAT & DRINK

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Welcome to SatkarFredrikinkatu 46 (Kamppi, Autotalo). 00100 Helsinki, Finland

Tel. +358 9 611 077, +358 40 707 1140 www.satkar.fi

The biggest Nepalese Restaurant in Helsinki• Suitable for group parties

• Fully licensed• Delicious food with tandoor

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The Oldest NepaleseRestaurant in Finland

OpenMon-Fri 11-23, weekends 12-23,

Lunch: Mon-Fri 11-15Contact

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tel. (09) 647 551, fax. (09) 647 552www.himalaya.fi

Opening times:Mon-Tue 11-24Wed-Thu 11-02Fri 11-04Sat 14-04

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Strip away your prejudice,stand nude and be part of the

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LIVE MUSICTuesday-Friday 17-21!

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Fri 22.1DownstairsLive music! Mathias-MellariUpstairsFriday Night ClubDj-teree-dee

Sat 23.1UpstairsDJ Line upDj-tino

18 21–27 JANUARY 2010 HELSINKI TIMES

REMARKABLEYEARS INHELSINKI

Live Band Every Night!

HELSINKIKAISANIEMENKATU 1 C

MYYRMÄKIMOLLY MALONE’S TOPPARIMYYRMÄKI TRAIN STATIONwww.mollymalones.fi

18 HELSINKI TIMESWHERE TO GOCOMPILED BY MIISSA RANTANEN

A newly opened exhibition Export – Import at Taidehalli presents unex-hibited works by acclaimed Finnish artists working internationally. The exhibition grips on the topical subject of the global nature of visual arts by asking questions like: What is it like to work in an international set-ting? Why have Finnish artists left their homeland? What is the price of internationality? Nowadays it is common that the hot spots of art move at an ever-in-creasing pace as artists constantly search for new things. The scene of visual arts is determined by travelling, networking and exchange. Being international is crucial especially for Finnish artists due to the country’s remote location. Export – Import shows aspects of this phenomenon.

EXHIBITIONS

MUSIC

THEATRE AND DANCE

Until Sun 28 February

TaidehalliNervanderinkatu 3www.taidehalli.fi Hannu Karjalainen’s work Woman on Beach.

Meilahti Art MuseumTamminiementie 6Tue-Sun 11:00-18:30Tickets €8/6/0www.hel.fi/taidemuseo

Until Mon 8 MarchStiina SaaristoEin kleines MonsterGrotesque, ironic and wildfemale figures challenge the social expectations placed on women.Amos Anderson Art MuseumYrjönkatu 27Mon, Thu, Fri 10:00-18:00Wed 10:00-20:00Sat-Sun 11:00-17:00 Tickets €8/6/4/0www.amosanderson.fi

Fri 22 January to Sun 28 MarchOlav Christopher JenssenPanoramaColouristically exuberant paintings and organic sculptures.KiasmaMannerheiminaukio 2Tue 10:00-17:00Wed-Fri 10:00-20:30Sat-Sun 10:00-18:00Tickets €7/5/0www.kiasma.fi

Tue 26 to Sun 31 JanuaryDocPointA documentary film festival atAteneum, Bio Rex, Kiasma, Maxim, Bristol and Orion.Tickets €6.50www.docpoint.info

Thu 21 JanuaryNever StopHelsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and The Indian Sruthi Laya percus-sion group perform Eero Hämeen-niemi’s new composition.Finlandia Hall, 19:00Mannerheimintie 13 ETickets €20/13/6www.hel.fi/filharmonia

Thu 21 JanuaryMarcelo RosaCalm and traditional music from Cape Verde.Malmitalo, 19:30Ala-Malmin tori 1Free entrancewww.malmitalo.fi

Thu 21 JanuaryBaroque Ensemble BaccanoWorks by Caldara, Fux, Hasse, Hän-del, Keiser, Telemann and more.Sello Hall, 19:00Soittoniekanaukio 1Tickets €12/6www.tapiolasinfonietta.fi

Fri 22 JanuarySerata FantasticaItalian evening of music and sing-ing, where the crowd can also take part. Caisa, 19:00Mikonkatu 17 CTickets €7/5www.caisa.fi

Fri 22 JanuaryTango SubterráneoPekka Kuusisto and IiroRantala perform.Allotria, 21:00Hämeentie 68Tickets €15www.allotria.fi

Fri 22 & Tue 26 JanuaryFaustAn opera about a man who sold his soul to the Devil.Finnish National Opera, 19:00Helsinginkatu 58Tickets €40-84www.operafin.fi

Fri 22 JanuaryTuomo & SansaThe messenger of Finnish soul music. Tavastia Club, 22:30Urho Kekkosen katu 4-6Tickets €12/11www.tavastiaklubi.fi

Fri 22 to Sun 24 JanuaryKallio New Music DaysRarely heard recent and historical contemporary music.VaihtolavaFleminginkatu 21Tickets €10/7www.juholaitinen.com/kallio

Sat 23 JanuaryBackyard BabiesThe legendary hard rock bandhailing from Sweden.Tavastia Club, 20:00Urho Kekkosen katu 4-6

Tickets €27/26www.tavastiaklubi.fi

Sat 23 JanuaryLa TraviataOne of the most touching works in the history of opera.Finnish National Opera, 19:00Helsinginkatu 58Tickets €28-56www.operafin.fi

Mon 25 JanuaryTaina Lehto & Eero OjanenA jazz concert.Malmitalo, 19:00Ala-Malmin tori 1Tickets €6www.malmitalo.fi

Tue 26 JanuaryLittle Victor & The Down Home KingsVintage sounds of the 1950s.Malmitalo, 19:00Ala-Malmin tori 1Tickets €10www.malmitalo.fi

Wed 27 JanuaryPelboA jazz band moving in between rock, pop, jazz and world music.Juttutupa, 21:00Säästöpankinranta 6Free entrancewww.juttutupa.fi

Wed 27 JanuaryFinnish Radio Symphony Or-chestra

Music of Messiaen, Bartók and Mu-sorgsky-Ravel.Finlandia Hall, 19:00Mannerheimintie 13 ETickets €20/16/12/6.50www.yle.fi/rso

22/23/24/29/30/31 JanuaryShame CabaretA performance that mixescontemporary circus and poetry.StoaTurunlinnantie 1Tickets €12/8www.stoa.fi

Sat 23 JanuarySeymenlerA dance group of 12 men introduce us to seymen, the old Turkish tradition.Vuosaari House, 18:00Mosaiikkitori 2Free entrancewww.vuotalo.fi

Wed 27 & Thu 28 JanuaryMen of Honour – RetroA dance work about pathetic mobsters.ZodiakTallberginkatu 1Tickets €20/12www.zodiak.fi

27/29/30/31 January &1/2 FebruaryWitch’s BroomA luminous haiku in dance.Stoa

Turunlinnantie 1Tickets €20/12www.zodiak.fi

27/29/31 January & 3/5/7/10/12 February ShameSanna Kekäläinen’s new dance project is a cross-section to the concept and manifestations of shame.Cable Factory, 19:00Tallberginkatu 1Tickets €17/10www.kekalainencompany.net

Until Sun 24 JanuaryJukka HautamäkiThe Möbius Relief RoadMedia art in which techno fantasies meet existential philosophy.Gallery HuutoUudenmaankatu 35Tue-Fri 12:00-18:00Sat-Sun 12:00-16:00Free entrancewww.galleriahuuto.net

Until Sun 31 JanuaryThe Young 2010A group exhibition by threestudents from the Academy ofFine Arts.Myymälä2 GalleryUudenmaankatu 23Wed-Sat 12:00-18:00Sun 12:00-17:00Free entrancewww.myymala2.com

Until Sun 31 JanuarySculptor Kim SimonssonLarge ceramic figures inspired by the Japanese Manga, literature and film.The Didrichsen Art MuseumKuusilahdenkuja 1Tue 11:00-18:00Wed 11:00-20:00Thu-Sun 11:00-18:00Tickets €8/6/2www.didrichsenmuseum.fi

Until Sun 31 JanuaryIcons and People in the War YearsAn exhibition featuring iconsthat were evacuated andcollected during the Finnish-Soviet Winter War and Continuation War.National Museum of FinlandMannerheimintie 34Tue-Wed 11:00-20:00Thu-Sun 11:00-18:00Tickets €7/4/0www.nba.fi

Until Sun 31 JanuaryJohn CourtWorks by the English performance and visual artist.Gallery AarniAhertajantie 5Tue, Fri-Sun 11:00-18:00Wed-Thu 11:00-20:00Free entrancewww.espoonkuvataiteilijat.fi

Until Sun 14 FebruaryFinlandia 200 – FinnishPortraiture 1809-2009An extensive review of Finnishportraiture.

Export – Import

solution sudoku

M O R E T I P S F R O M

www.visithelsinki.fi

Helsinki Travel Tip

HelsinkiMenu restaurants tempt you with an exten-sive range of Finnish cuisine and a great variety of Finnish ingredients. The menus highlight the chang-ing seasons and local characteristics of Finnish food and vary in each restaurant. You can recognize the restaurants by the symbol “Fork of Plenty”.

HelsinkiMenu restaurants 2010:Arthur, Baker’s, Graniittilinna, Grotesk, Havis, Kuu, Kellarikrouvi & Fabian, Lasipalatsi, Macu, Nokka, Seurasaari, Zetor, Sundsmans Krog.

AUSSIE BAR Salomonkatu 5, Kamppi00100 Helsinki, Finland

Come and havea Tooheysor two!

Tel. +358 (0)9 737 373E-mail: aussiebar@aussiebar.net www.aussiebar.net

Open: 14-02 Sunday-Tuesday 12-03 Wednesday-Saturday

WHAT'S ON AT THE AUSSIE BAR:21st Thursday- Thirsty Thursday with Live Music Black out @ 9:30pm. Cheap 5.50 cocktails from 7pm till 11pm. 22nd/23rd Friday & Saturday DJ’s both nights at 9:30pm. Loads of football on please check the web site. 25th Mon-day- Last free Poker tournament 27 places fantastic prizes. Starts at 5:30pm.

27th Wednesday Live Music special with Brand new Classics @ 9:30pmCheck out the Web site for Football times www.aussiebar.net

AUSSIE BAR HELSINKI - THIS IS NOT A YACHT CLUB!!

Proudly sponsored by:

Y EHI A E W EIS

OTHERS

Tue, Thu, Fri 11:00-18:00Wed 11:00-20:00Sat-Sun 11:00-17:00Tickets €8/5.50/0

FREDRIKINKATU 42b

Bar Loop is a stylish, contemporary bar located at Kampintori, in the heart of Helsinki. It's an evening rendezvous for those that enjoy quality dj-ing over a few cold beers, selected wines and spirits, with tasty tapas & nachos.Also, should you feel like popping in for a coffee and web surfing, free entry and WLAN only adds to the funky, laid back atmosphere. Bar Loop is open from afternoon to late.

191921–27 JANUARY 2010HELSINKI TIMES

The Brothers GrimmFilled with beautiful imagery, this film takes the viewer to a magical journey into the fairytale world of the Brothers Grimm. The fictional journey is set in 19th century French occupied Germany, where the brothers Will and Jake travel the countryside as cons, convinc-ing unsuspecting towns that they possess powers to get rid of demons, for a hefty price. During their travels the mischievous brothers collect and write down stories of the odd characters they come across. But before long, the truth about them is discovered by General Delatombe, and they are sent to a tiny village to solve the mysterious disappearance of numerous young girls amidst a haunted forest. The brother’s soon find themselves in a fantasy world, unlike any they could’ve imagined as they set out to save the girls, and themselves.

Nelonen 21:00

09:30 Always Greener11:05 YLE News in English11:10 Miss Marple14:30 Doctors

Faith attempts to help an opera singer who suffers from agoraphobia.

17:05 Miss MarpleMiss Marple is on holiday in London and overhears suspicious conversations in her hotel.

19:10 Heartbeat22:00 Mistresses23:45 Vital Signs

The mother of three children ponders over the meaning of life.

06:50 Pikku KakkonenChildren’s programming.In Finnish.

10:35 McLeod’s Daughters11:50 Cross Country Skiing

SPORTFinnish Championships. In Finnish.

14:50 Cross Country Skiing SPORTWorld Cup. In Finnish.

15:30 Figure Skating SPORTEuropean Championships. In Finnish.

17:23 Pikku KakkonenChildren’s programming.In Finnish.

18:00 Figure Skating SPORTEuropean Championships. In Finnish.

20:00 Figure Skating SPORTEuropean Championships. In Finnish.

21:00 Eurovision 2010: First Auditions 3In Finnish.

22:05 Figure Skating SPORTEuropean Championships. In Finnish.

23:00 Sopranos (K15)

17:00 Amazon with Bruce ParryParry’s journey nears its end. In the final episode he visits the native Kayapo Indians.Part 6/6.

20:05 North and South A miniseries focusing on the class system of old England. Part 2/4.

21:00 Afro-Suomen historia DOCA look into the history of Africans in Finland.In Finnish.

21:50 Roma (K15) FILMA virtually plotless, gaudy and impressionistic portrait of Rome through the eyes of one of its most famous citizens: Federico Fellini. Directed by Federico Fellini. Starring: Peter Gonzales Falcon. Italy 1972.In Italian.

23:45 Six Feet Under (K15)

09:50 The Young and the Restless 10:55 Emmerdale12:50 Ex List14:15 Happy Hour

The parents’ visit.14:45 Northern Exposure17:05 The Bold and the Beautiful18:00 Emmerdale20:00 You Are What You Eat21:05 Without a Trace

The FBI suspects that a father is hiding the traces of his daughter’s disappearance.

22:30 Rocky (K15) FILMThe film which gave Sylvester Stallone world wide fame follows a poor but determined boxer Rocky Balboa work his way to the top of the sporting world. Directed by John G. Avildsen. Starring: Sylvester Stallone. USA 1976

00:45 Fringe

07:00 Children’s Programming In Finnish.

14:20 Janice Dickinson Modelling Agency

16:00 E! Entertainment: E! News Weekend

18:05 Sturm der LiebeIn German.

19:00 Two and a Half MenJudith and Herb’s wedding is not far away.

19:30 Will & Grace20:00 Friends20:30 Family Guy

Peter finally gets acceptance from his father-in-law.

21:00 Commercial Breakdown21:30 The Duudsons22:00 Numb3rs

A baseball player dies suddenly in the middle of practise.

23:00 C.S.I. MiamiAn ex-con asks Horatio for help in finding his son.

23:55 Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien

00:50 It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (K13)

01:20 Mad TV

18:00 That 70s Show18:30 Grounded for Life19:00 America’s Funniest Home

Videos19:30 8 Simple Rules for Dating

My Teenage Daughter20:00 Down and out in Beverly

Hills FILMIn this classic 80s comedy, the dysfunctional family life of affluent businessman Dave Whiteman is turned upside down when a homeless man tries to end his life in the family’s swimming pool. Directed by Paul Mazursky. Starring: Nick Nolte, Richard Dreyfuss. USA 1986

22:55 Farscape

07:00 Children’s ProgrammingIn Finnish.

13:00 Birth StoriesLucy gets positive news about her future.

13:30 Newlywed, Nearly Dead14:00 Open House

Bretton.15:30 Desperate Housewives16:25 Days of Our Lives17:20 Everybody Loves Raymond

Robert’s wedding. Part 2/2.17:50 Dr. Phil19:00 Wipeout20:00 Funny Home Videos21:00 The Brothers Grimm FILM

This entertaining fantasy tells the legendary tale of the Grimm brothers Jacob and Wilhelm. The brothers are sent to solve the mystery of a forest that is claimed to swallow young ladies. Directed by Terry Gilliam. Starring: Heath Ledger, Matt Damon.USA/UK/Czech 2005

23:40 Dresden Files00:40 The Punisher (K18) FILM

An action adventure based on the Marvel comics. Special agent Frank Castle’s world is turned upside down when his family is killed. Revengeful Castle becomes the Punisher, whose greatest mission is to eliminate the man behind the murder of his family. Directed by Jonathan Hensleigh. Starring: Thomas Jane, John Travolta.USA/Germany 2004

13:10 The Re-Inventors17:30 Kenny vs. Spenny 18:00 Hidden Potential18:30 My Country, My Kitchen

London and Scotland.19:00 Anthony Bourdain

The culinary Cambodia. 19:30 Chuck’s Day Off

The neighbours get a thank you.

20:00 Storm Force21:00 Criminal Behaviour: P. Diddy

(K13) DOCSean “P. Diddy” Combs has made millions with his music, but his story also has a dark side.

22:00 Los Angeles InkPixie decides to get a tattoo removed.

23:00 Future Weapons00:00 World’s Most Daring

Rescues01:00 Most Shocking (K15)

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09:30 Always Greener11:05 YLE News in English11:10 Miss Marple14:30 Doctors17:05 Miss Marple19:00 Keeping up Appearances21:50 Leben und Sterben in

Kabul DOCThe German troops in Afghanistan have become a political problem since a German-requested airstrike killed tens of civilians.In German.

22:50 Vaiennut kylä FILMA young police detective ends up solving an old murder in a remote town. Directed by Kari Väänänen. Starring: Taneli Mäkelä, Vesa Vierikko. Finland 1997. In Finnish.

06:50 Pikku KakkonenChildren’s programming.In Finnish.

10:35 McLeod’s Daughters11:45 Animal Hospital:

Supervets15:15 Biathlon SPORT

World cup. Men’s 20km.In Finnish.

17:00 Children’s Programming17:30 Pikku Kakkonen

Children’s programming.In Finnish.

18:00 Figure Skating SPORTEuropean Championships. In Finnish.

20:40 Figure Skating SPORTEuropean Championships. In Finnish.

22:05 Figure Skating SPORTEuropean Championships. In Finnish.

23:30 The Intelligence (K15)00:15 Car Wars

16:00 Dolce vita Africana DOCA portrait of the Malian photographer who in 2007 was the first African to receive the Golden Lion award. In French.

17:00 Himalaya with Michael Palin19:30 Little Mosque on the

Prairie20:05 More Industrial

Revelations Europe21:00 Alternative Therapies:

Meditation DOCReflexology. Part 2/3.

22:00 Indigènes (K13) FILMA story about Algerian men recruited to the French troops during WWII. Directed by Rachid Bouchareb. Starring: Jamel Debbouze. Algeria 2006.In French and Arabic.

09:50 The Young and the Restless10:55 Emmerdale12:50 Hell's Kitchen USA

A breakfast for an army.14:15 War at Home14:45 Northern Exposure17:05 The Bold and the Beautiful18:00 Emmerdale21:00 Mentalist (K13)

The CBI investigates the death of a suspected financial criminal.

22:30 Closer23:25 Scarface (K18) FILM

A classic action drama following the life of Tony Montana, who is banished from Cuba and through a violent road ends up on top of the crime world of Florida. Directed by Brian De Palma. Starring: Al Pacino, Steven Bauer, Michelle Pfeiffer. USA 1983

07:00 Children’s ProgrammingIn Finnish.

14:20 Janice Dickinson Modelling Agency

16:00 E! Entertainment: Behind the Scenes

16:30 E! Entertainment: Streets of Hollywood

18:05 Sturm der LiebeIn German.

19:00 Two and a Half MenFather, son and women in bikinis.

19:30 Will & Grace20:00 Friends20:30 The Simpsons21:00 True Beauty

The contestants are tested in a sporty shoot.

22:30 E! Entertainment: Kourtney & Khloe Take Miami

23:00 C.S.I.The police busts a blood-covered man burying a body.

00:00 Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien

00:55 Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

18:00 That 70s ShowEric and Red’s co-work continues.

18:30 Grounded for Life19:00 America’s Funniest Home

Videos19:30 8 Simple Rules for Dating

My Teenage DaughterSecrets.

20:00 Ballroom Bootcamp21:00 The Cooler (K15) FILM

The unluckiest gambler of Las Vegas is hired to play in the winning tables in hopes that his presence would disrupt the luck of other players. Directed by Wayne Kramer. Starring: William H. Macy, Alec Baldwin.USA 2003

23:00 Dark Justice

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07:00 Children’s ProgrammingIn Finnish.

13:00 Birth Stories 13:30 Newlywed, Nearly Dead

Damian is a record collector who is fed up with his wife’s nagging.

14:00 Unsellables15:30 Desperate Housewives16:25 Days of Our Lives17:20 Everybody Loves Raymond 17:50 Dr. Phil

Parents and teenagers at war.19:30 Animal Rescue21:00 FlashForward

The FBI gets a hint for solving the mystery from an imprisoned former Nazi, who claims to know why the blackout lasted for exactly 137 seconds. Mark and Janice have to decide whether the man is bluffing or not as he demands freedom as a return for what he knows.

22:00 Rescue Me (K15)23:25 Frasier23:55 Reaper

13:10 The Re-InventorsMatt Hunter and Jeremy Macpherson dig up original patent designs from history's lost inventions and put them to test.

17:30 Kenny vs. Spenny18:00 Border Security

The immigration officers have received a clue of illegal immigrants working at a construction site in Sydney.

18:30 Bondi RescueThe life guards have to close the beach due to a mass rescue.

19:00 World's Most Amazing Videos

20:00 Customs A load discovered inside a truck surprises everyone, including the driver.

20:30 World's Wildest Vacation VideosSERIES ENDS.

21:00 The Final Report: LA Riots DOCA close look at the LA riots in 1992, which were sparked by the release of a video of white policemen beating up an African-American suspect. The riots resulted in the death of over 50 people.

22:00 Contender23:00 South Park (K15)01:00 Police Patrol

JIM

TV VIISI

Programmes on Yle Teema may be viewed in the original language(s) by changing the digital receiver’s settings.

TV GUIDE

SELECTION OF ENGLISH PROGRAMMES ON FINNISH TELEVISIONfriday 22.1.Helsinki Times T V Guide offers a selection of English and other language broadcasting on Finnish television.

thursday 21.1.

The PunisherNelonen 00:40

1919HELSINKI TIMES

The CoolerTV Viisi 21:00

Scarface (K18)Brian De Palma's blood-and-sun-drenched saga of a Cuban deportee's rise to the top of Miami's cocaine business has become something of an epitome of gangster films and a cult classic since its release in 1983. Al Pacino stars as Tony Montana, whose intelligence, guts, and ambition help him skyrocket from a lowly dishwasher to the top of a criminal empire. How-ever, as his power grows, so does his paranoia and distrust which eventually leads to the fall of his empire. Michelle Pfeiffer plays the somewhat predictable role of Tony's neglected drug-addicted wife, where Steven Bauer stars in a credible role as his concerned close friend F. Murray Abraham. The violence-packed screenplay was written by Oliver Stone, based on Howard Hawks' 1932 version of the film.

MTV3 23:25

20 21–27 JANUARY 2010 HELSINKI TIMESTV GUIDE

13:00 King of Queens14:35 Ghost Whisperer

A celebrity medium arrives in town and ends up working together with Melinda to solve the mystery of a missing student.

16:35 Lords of Dogtown FILMThe film follows the surf and skateboarding trends that originated in Venice Beach, California during the 1970s. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke. Starring: Emile Hirsch, Heath Ledger.USA/Germany 2005

21:00 The Patriot (K15) FILMAn adventure drama about Benjamin Martin, a single father of seven children. He is an ex-soldier who wants nothing but to move on and look after his children, but when the past comes knocking on his door he has to fight once more. Directed by Roland Emmerich. Starring: Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger.USA/Germany 2000

00:05 American Chopper01:50 Vampire Bats (K13) FILM

This horror flick sees biologist Maddy Rierdon’s life take on a shocking turn when one of her students is found dead and she finds herself fighting against nature. Directed by Eric Bross. Starring: Lucy Lawless, Dylan Neal.USA 2005

10:00 Ultimate Gadgets 10:30 Extreme Fishing

Costa Rica.12:20 Lonely Planet

Perth.13:15 Jurassic Fight Club DOC

The monsters of the Ice age.14:10 Shadow Force18:30 London Ink.19:30 Good Buy, Bad Buy

California Choices.20:00 Expedition Africa

The end is near, but many things can still go wrong. SERIES ENDS.

21:00 UFO Files DOCScientists talk about UFOs.

22:00 Kill ArmanMalaysia. In Finnish.

22:30 Bait Car 23:00 Heliloggers00:00 Disorder in the Court (K15)01:00 Chopper Challenge01:55 Travel Sick (K15)

14:25 Vicar of Dibley15:25 Keeping up Appearances15:55 Holby City19:45 Monk22:30 Taking the Flak

A British parody about a media crew in a crisis area.

23:00 Cracker

07:45 Pikku KakkonenChildren’s programming.In Finnish.

10:55 Cross Country Skiing SPORTFinnish Championships. Women’s 10km. In Finnish.

12:27 Cross Country Skiing SPORTWorld Cup. Women’s 2x7.5km. In Finnish.

13:05 Cross Country Skiing SPORTFinnish Championships. Men’s 15km.In Finnish.

14:55 Cross Country Skiing SPORTWorld Cup. Men’s 2x15km. In Finnish.

15:25 Nordic Combined SPORTWorld Cup. Ski Jump and 10km ski. In Finnish.

16:15 Figure Skating SPORTEuropean Championship.In Finnish.

17:40 V75 TrotIn Finnish.

22:05 Little Big Man (K15) FILMA classic western about the adventures of a white man raised by the Indians. Directed by Arthur Penn. Starring: Dustin Hoffman. USA 1070

00:20 Da Vinci’s Inquest01:05 Live: Rock in Rio 2008

19:05 Deti ArbataIn Russian.

19:55 Amazon with Bruce ParryPart 6/6.

21:00 How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin DOCThe Beatles were never allowed to perform in the Soviet Union, but nevertheless made an impact on the people.

21:58 A Hard Day's Night FILMThe first film on The Beatles concentrates on a ‘typical’ day of the band as they travel from Liverpool to a TV studio recording and finally to a live gig. Directed by Richard Lester. UK 1964

08:00 Children’s ProgrammingIn Finnish.

11:15 Snowboarding SPORTIn Finnish.

11:45 Mogul Skiing SPORTWorld Cup précis. In Finnish.

12:15 Alpine Skiing SPORTWorld Cup. Men’s downhill, Kitzbühel. In Finnish.

14:05 E! Entertainment: True Hollywood Story

16:30 Star Wars: The Clone WarsNEW SEASON BEGINS.

17:00 Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares USAPurnima Dillons Restaurant, Manhattan.

21:00 Survivor22:30 Ray FILM

Based on the true events in Ray Charles’ life, this film depicts the legendary singer’s poor childhood, rise to fame and the messy private life of a drug addict. Directed by Taylor Hackford. Starring: Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington.USA 2004

01:20 Unit

15:10 E! Entertainment: Whose Wedding is it anyway?

16:10 E! Entertainment: Dress My Nest

16:40 Mad TV 17:30 Friday Night Lights

The small town boys face a challenge as they travel to Dallas for a crucial match.

19:00 American IdolJacksonville.

20:00 Pitchmen: Gadgets to Glory

21:00 Hotel BabylonThe hotel workers are afraid of losing their jobs as the Japanese owner threaten to close the whole place down.

22:05 Ibiza23:00 Miami Vice23:55 X Files01:20 Most Haunted

18:00 Jon & Kate Plus 819:00 Scrubs

JD struggles with his interns and uses it as an excuse to go out with Elliott.

20:00 Breaking The Magician’s Code

21:00 Holy Smoke (K15) FILMWhile on a journey of discovery in exotic India, beautiful young Ruth Barron falls under the influence of a charismatic religious guru to the dismay of her family. Directed by Jane Campion. Starring: Kate Winslet, Harvey Keitel.USA/Australia 1999

23:05 Alias

12:15 Jeeves and Wooster14:15 Inspector Morse

Morse has set his sights on a certain woman, when duty calls once again

21:10 Capturing a Short Life DOCA documentary focusing on the unbearable fate of losing a newborn baby.

22:05 The Commander (K15)Blake and the team find out that a victim was a con in many different fields.

22:55 State WithinBrydon takes on a politically sensitive matter.

23:45 Fear, Stress and Anger

07:45 Pikku KakkonenChildren’s programming.In Finnish.

10:30 Disc Golf SPORT European Open, Tampere.In Finnish.

11:05 Cross Country Skiing SPORTFinnish Championships. Women’s 2x7.5 km.In Finnish.

12:25 Cross Country Skiing SPORTFinnish Championships. Men’s 2x15 km. In Finnish.

14:15 Cross Country Skiing SPORTWorld Cup. In Finnish.

15:00 Nordic Combined SPORTWorld Cup. In Finnish.

16:35 Figure Skating SPORTEuropean Championships. In Finnish.

18:00 Biathlon SPORTMen’s 12.5km. In Finnish.

20:00 OrgoglioIn Italian.

22:35 The Guard23:20 Sopranos (K15)

18:00 A Star Is Born FILMA classic tale of a film star who falls in love with a young singer and helps her gain fame while his own career is falling apart. Directed by George Cukor. N: Judy Garland, James Mason. USA 1954

20:55 Don Giovanni UnmaskedMozart’s opera as a TV-version by Barbara Willis Sweet. Starring Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovski.

22:05 Deti ArbataIn Russian.

08:35 Children’s Programming12:30 According to Jim13:00 Alpine Skiing SPORT

World Cup. Women’s Giant Slalom. In Finnish.

14:25 Alpine Skiing SPORTWorld Cup. Men’s slalom.In Finnish.

16:50 Mythbusters17:55 National Geographic

ProgrammingCalifornia Redwood. The giants of the forests can grow to a height of over 100m and live thousands of years.

21:00 Amazing RaceLithuanian garden gnomes.

22:35 C.S.I. MiamiStand your ground.

23:30 24 (K15)

10:00 Cow & Chicken10:25 Futurama10:50 Wildlife Nannies13:40 Mask14:10 King of the Hill

Out of the closet.14:40 Baywatch15:30 Project Runway16:25 One Tree Hill

The start of a new life.17:15 F Word Best of

The wildest adventuresand tastiest treats from seasons 1-3.

18:10 Make Me a Supermodel19:05 Make Me a Supermodel20:00 The Shot21:00 Mystic River (K15) FILM

A touching drama about three childhood friends from a riverside town who are reconnected in their adult life by a brutal murder. Directed by Clint Eastwood. Starring: Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon.USA 2003

23:45 Terminator: The Sarah Connor ChroniclesSERIES ENDS.

00:40 Baby Faced Body Builders DOCThe everyday life of body builders.

01:45 Stargate SG1

18:00 Biography: Winona Ryder19:00 Dennis the Menace Strikes

Again FILMIt's Mr. Wilson's birthday, and the day starts out fine until guess who shows up uninvited. Directed by Charles T. Kanganis. Starring: Don Ricles, George Kennedy.USA 1993

21:00 Lisa Williams: Life Among the DeadGhosts in the garage.

22:00 Flashpoint23:00 Breaking The Magician’s

Code00:00 Tough Love

09:30 Top Design10:25 Animal Planet: Ms Adventure

Lethally stylish.11:25 Most Extreme

Most talented users of devices.12:25 Frasier14:20 Desperate Housewives15:20 Grey’s Anatomy16:15 Samantha Who?

Samantha takes part in a trial of a memory-enhancing drug and begins to remember important things about her past.

16:45 Greek47 hours and 11 minutes.

17:45 Funny Home Videos20:00 Wipeout21:00 Casanova FILM

Heath Ledger plays the fabled romantic as a man who, after failing to win the affection of a particular Venetian woman, strives to discover the real meaning of love. Directed by Lasse Hallström. Starring: Heath Ledger, Sienna Miller, Jeremy Irons. USA 2005

23:35 FlashForward

09:55 Amazing Adventures of a NobodyLeon Logothetis attempts to take a river boat to Bristol, but everything doesn’t go quite to plan.

10:25 Boy’s WeekendThe boys return with the reruns of the first season.

10:55 Excellent AdventureWacken Open Air heavy metal festival.

11:25 Tricked Out13:25 Steve Schirripa’s Hungry

Mouth-watering Italian food.13:40 Any Given Latitude

Portugal.14:05 Chopper Challenge

Johnny Goodson.15:00 American Hot Rod18:00 Dangerous Encounters

Brady Barr returns with new episodes featuring the most dangerous animals the world has to offer.

19:00 Man v. Food19:30 Pressure Cook20:00 Flip This House21:00 Biography: David Berkowitz

New Yorkers lived in fear during 1976 and 1977 when a serial killer lurked on its streets.

22:00 Build It Bigger23:00 Contender01:00 Police Interceptors

SELECTION OF ENGLISH PROGRAMMES ON FINNISH TELEVISIONsaturday 23.1. sunday 24.1.TV1

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The PatriotNelonen 21:00

Capturing a Short LifeTV1 21:10

RayThis biographical drama tells the tale of the legendary Ray Charles. Featuring a remarkable perfor-mance from Jamie Foxx, the film follows the inspiring story of a musical genius. Born in a poor Georgian town, Charles lost his sight at the age of seven, shortly after witnessing his brother’s accidental death. Motivated by a fiercely independent mother, Charles found his calling behind a piano keyboard. The singer gained a reputation within the US and quickly exploded into worldwide fame. While revolutio-nising music, Charles simultane-ously fought segregation and championed artists’ rights within the corporate music business. Ray provides an unwavering portrait of a musical genius as it follows him overcome a drug addiction while transforming into a beloved performer.

MTV3 22:30

Mystic RiverWhen they were kids growing up together in a rough section of Boston, Jimmy Markum, Dave Boyle and Sean Devine spent their days playing stickball on the street, the way most boys did. Nothing much ever happened in their neighbourhood. That is until Dave was forced to take the ride that would change all of their lives forever. In adulthood, the three childhood friends are reunited through a brutal murder touching each and every one of them. Jimmy’s teen daughter has been murdered and he vows revenge in an attempt to find the killer before the police does. Sean is the homicide detective assigned to the case, gather-ing difficult and disturbing evidence, while attempting to handle Jimmy’s rage and need for retribution when Dave becomes the prime suspect.

Sub 21:00

A Hard Day's NightYleTeema 21:58

CasanovaNelonen 21:00

212121–27 JANUARY 2010HELSINKI TIMES TV GUIDE

09:30 Always Greener11:05 YLE News in English11:10 Miss Marple14:30 Doctors

Will an alcoholic patient get Mac to face his problems with drinking?

15:05 Louis la BrocanteIn French.

17:05 Miss MarpleThe goddess of revenge. Part 1/2.

19:00 Billy Connolly - Journey to the Edge of the WorldConnolly continues his journey through the Arctic Ocean. He meets with the Inuit in Baffin Island and gets to take part in a seal hunt.Part 2/4.

21:00 Forgiven FILMBased on true events, this film follows the tragic confession of a wife on her husband’s incestuous acts. Directed by Paul Wilmshurst. Starring: Lucy Cohu.UK 2007

06:50 Pikku Kakkonen Children’s programming.In Finnish.

10:35 McLeod’s Daughters16:10 Snowy River: The

McGregor SagaKathleen publishes secret information in the paper and has to face the consequences.

22:05 Force Ten from Navarone (K15) FILMDuring World War II, several oddly assorted military experts are teamed in a mission to raid and destroy a bridge vital to enemy strategy. Directed by Guy Hamilton.Starring: Robert Shaw, Harrison Ford.UK 1978

00:05 Comedy Inc. (K13)

17:00 Undersea World of

Jacques CousteauNarrated in Finnish.

19:05 North and SouthThornton suffers from love and Margaret faces a great loss. A misunderstanding concerning a certain man’s identity and an encounter with the police make the relationships of the young ones ever tenser.Part 3/4.

20:00 Un village françaisIn French.

21:00 Electric Dreams DOCWhat kind of technological breakthroughs astonished British families in the 1980s? Part 2/3.

09:50 The Young and the Restless 10:50 Emmerdale 12:45 Private Practice14:10 Alf14:40 Northern Exposure15:35 You Are What You Eat

Pam lives on white bread, while Charlotte is a heavy drinker.

17:05 The Bold and the Beautiful18:00 Emmerdale21:00 Prison Break (K15)

The firm plans to relocate the sixth Skylla. Mahone follows the leads, while Michael’s crew mourns the loss of a member. Michael gets serious news about his condition.

22:30 C.S.I. New YorkThe team gets a shock when Warrick is found murdered inside his car by a Las Vegas restaurant.

23:25 Justice00:25 3rd Rock from the Sun

07:00 Children’s Programming In Finnish.

14:20 Pussycat Dolls: Girlicious16:00 E! Entertainment: E!

Investigates18:05 Sturm der Liebe

In German.19:00 Two and a Half Men 19:30 Will & Grace20:00 Friends

The phone number.20:30 The Simpsons 21:00 Cops With Cameras

Car thieves. 22:00 Journeyman

Dan finds a kidnapped child as he travels back to the 90s. Against the wishes of Livia, he makes sure the kidnapper finds himself behind bars.

23:00 Stargate SG123:55 Tonight Show with Conan

O'Brien00:50 Bones01:40 Blade: The Series

18:00 That 70s ShowRed puts a stop on having fun.

18:30 Grounded for LifeSean’s attempt to teach Henry sympathy turns into a failure.

19:00 America’s Funniest Home Videos

19:30 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage DaughterBridget gets a chance to attend a top university.

20:00 Lisa Williams: Life Among the Dead

21:00 Tough LoveThe women get to show their sexy side during a photo shoot.

23:10 Footballer’s Wives: Extra Time

23:40 K11In German.

SELECTION OF ENGLISH PROGRAMMES ON FINNISH TELEVISIONmonday 25.1. tuesday 26.1.TV1

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A word of warning: I went to the dentist’s a few hours ago, and as a result my head is the size of a wa-termelon and it feels like a family of rats is gnawing a nice warm bur-row in my lower jaw. Therefore, I’m not in the best of moods, which you might find notice when compared with my normal, uplifting style. But the world of television has not been lying supine and helpless on a dentist’s chair. Far from it. First off, since it’s January you might have noticed there’s a whole bunch of new Finnish shows starting this month. Generally, these are all rehashes of old pap from last year –

Choir Wars, that show about farmers trying to find a wife, Finland’s Top Model and so on ad infinitum and, for that matter, ad nauseum too. Sub TV doesn’t have many Finnish-made shows adorning its schedules, and the ones they do have are pretty poor. Unfortunately this includes the one that started last week on Friday at 21:30 the fourth season of Duudsonit, a.k.a. The Duudsons – Finland’s answer to Jackass. They’ve had their moments – the fake bank robbery from ages ago springs to mind as being pretty funny – but while Johnny Knoxville and his gang of childlike simple-tons gave up the ghost a while back, the four Duudsons (there used to be two but in an incredible display of advanced mitosis they just, one day, sprouted two identi-cal replicas) are gamely plodding along, trying to wring the last drops of entertainment value from basic human bodily functions.

In the season opener, the first sketch involved the four of them standing somewhere in the frozen North, in the middle of nowhere, stuffing ice into their mouths. Then they took off their clothes, and stood there in their birthday suits for what I guess must have been at least 45 minutes. Eventu-ally they got a bit chilly and ran off into the sauna. As a spectacle it was hardly riveting stuff – four blokes standing naked in the snow and ice, getting cold. I could do that in my back garden to be hon-est, except the neighbours would probably call the cops. The next stunt had three of them hanging upside down, eating and drinking stuff, the plan apparently being to see how far they could go without vomiting through their nos-es. When the emesis began, I admit I’d had enough. I’m all for puerile stunts but this wasn’t funny or origi-nal, just boring and moderately dis-

gusting. They have started speaking in English though, presumably for export purposes, God help us. The main cultural event last weekend was, of course, Miss Fin-land 2010. I’m amazed this is still going on really, and I still don’t see the point of it, except to provide blokes with some titillating eye-candy. Those ‘swimsuits’ weren’t half revealing, eh? Phwooar, did you see the size of her knockers? Wouldn’t mind getting a piece of that. Check out her melons! Laaaavely. Fapfap-fap. Etc. I could go on about how sexist, insulting, and ridiculous it is, or how you can see beautiful wom-en everywhere in Finland anyway, or that all the women in the show looked pretty good, but only be-cause they’d spent two hours with a hair stylist, a week with a clothes designer, and had three inches of make-up sand-blasted onto their faces. But to be honest, my jaw is hurting, and I can’t be arsed.

Duuds, enough already

09:30 Always Greener 11:05 YLE News in English11:10 Miss Marple14:30 Doctors

Ben treats two professional ice skaters.

15:05 Louis la BrocanteIn French.

17:05 Miss MarpleA murder takes place in a small country town. Part 2/2.

22:20 Band of Brothers (K15)The end of the war has nearly arrived but the battalion takes part in the occupation of Hitler’s famous mountain fortress. In Austria the men find out that everyone won’t be sent home in one go. Part 10/10.

06:50 Pikku Kakkonen Children’s programming.In Finnish.

10:35 McLeod’s DaughtersTess offers Jasmine a job at the station.

11:20 Mission of the Millionaires - Survival of the Rich

16:10 Snowy River: The McGregor Saga

17:21 Pikku Kakkonen Children’s programming.In Finnish.

19:20 Expedition GuyanaThe team dives deeper into the rainforest filled with scorpions and poisonous centipedes. They come across the world’s largest tarantula.

22:35 Third Watch23:20 Fixer (K15)

19:00 Cuéntame Cómo PasóIn Spanish.

21:05 Made in Sheffield DOCA document by Eve Wood about the birthplace of electronic pop music.

22:00 Paul Merton in IndiaShillong and Kolkata.Part 2/5.

22:45 Suchwiin Bulmyeong (K15) FILMA dark portrayal of the everyday life of three Korean youths, whose life seems to be nothing more than pain and suffering. Directed by Kim Ki-duk. Starring: Dong-kun Yang. South Korea 2001.In Korean.

09:50 The Young and the Restless 11:00 Emmerdale 12:55 Lipstick Jungle14:15 Two and a Half Men14:45 Northern Exposure17:05 The Bold and the Beautiful18:00 Emmerdale21:00 24 (K15)

05:00-06:00. Jack’s race against the terrorists accelerates.

22:30 Burn NoticeSERIES BEGINS. An action comedy series about an agent who ends up on the blacklist of the intelligence community.

23:35 Psych

07:00 Children’s Programming In Finnish.

16:30 E! Entertainment: Wildest TV Show Moments

18:05 Sturm der LiebeIn German.

19:00 Two and a Half MenAn unforgettable wedding ceremony.

19:30 Will & Grace20:00 Big Bang Theory20:30 The Simpsons 21:00 Fast and the Furious (K15)

FILMFast rides and the whiff of petrol shape this film portraying the illegal races taking place on the streets of Los Angeles. Directed by Rob Cohen.Starring: Vin Diesel.USA 2001

23:05 The Duudsons23:35 Tonight Show with Conan

O'Brien01:30 Girls of the Playboy

Mansion

18:00 That 70s ShowThe yearbook of Eric and the crew comes out.

18:30 Grounded for Life19:00 America’s Funniest Home

Videos19:30 8 Simple Rules for Dating

My Teenage DaughterBridget’s modeling dreams.

20:00 Jon & Kate Plus 821:00 Archie: The Six Stone Baby

DOCArchie suffers from a rare MOMO Syndrome which accelerates growth.

22:00 Die Bienen (K15) FILMKarla meets her father in Mallorca, where he is stung by a wasp creating a life-threatening reaction. While a desperate search for an antidote takes place, the wasps attack new victims. Directed by Michael Karen. Starring: Janin Reinhardt. Germany 2008.In German.

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07:00 Children’s Programming In Finnish.

13:00 Birth Stories13:30 Newlywed, Nearly Dead

Melissa and Buddy are at each others throats about the smallest things.

14:00 Open House15:30 Desperate Houseviwes16:25 Days of Our Lives17:20 Everybody Loves Raymond17:50 Dr. Phil

Dreams of sudden riches.20:00 America’s Next Top Model

The winner of the season is announced.

21:00 Desperate HousewivesWhat is the fate of the ones injured in the accident? The women think about what their lives would be if the circumstances were different.

22:00 Sex and the City (K13)22:40 Sex and the City (K13)23:35 Frasier 00:05 Bronx Is Burning

Billie and George solve their dispute in order to continue building a winning team.

15:05 Feasting on AsphaltAlton Brown visits the Rocky Mountains and investigates the origin of hamburgers.

18:00 Border SecurityA scan of a student’s luggage reveals weapons and gets the immigration officers moving.

18:30 Bondi Rescue19:00 World's Most Amazing

VideosSports matches turn serious when the going gets a tad too tough.

20:00 World’s Most Daring RescuesDangerous youths.

21:00 Who Killed Joennie Mae Chappell? (K15) DOCThe racially motivated murder of a black woman in 1964 went unpunished, although the evidence against three white men was bulletproof. This documentary rewinds time and looks at why justice was not served.

22:00 Disorder in the Court (K15)SERIES ENDS.

23:00 South Park (K15)23:30 Kenny vs. Spenny01:00 Police Patrol

Police work in the air.

JIM

NICK BARLOW

Burn NoticeMTV3 22:30

07:00 Children’s Programming In Finnish.

13:00 Birth Stories13:30 Exchanging Vows

SERIES BEGINSThis reality series follows two completely different couples plan each others weddings.

15:30 Desperate Housewives16:25 Days of Our Lives17:20 Everybody Loves Raymond17:50 Dr. Phil21:00 NCIS 22:00 Extraordinary Hoarders

DOCExcessive hoarding is an indication of a type of compulsive disorder. A person suffering from it cannot stop collecting valueless stuff although it causes shame and guilt.

23:20 Frasier00:20 Navigare00:50 Las Vegas

17:30 Kenny vs. SpennyWho can ride a cow the longest?

18:00 Border SecurityIllegal immigrants are rumoured to be working for a furniture manufacturer.

18:30 Bondi RescueSix friends are struggling in the water with only one lifeguard to help them.

19:00 World's Most Amazing Videos A sole sailor gets stuck in a storm and an earthquake hits a casino.

20:00 Speeders20:30 Bait Car

The streets of Oakland work as the set for car thieves who are about to get busted.

21:00 Still Missing Madeleine DOCMadeleine McCann disappeared in May 2007 during a family holiday in Portugal. The police has dropped the case as inconclusive, but the parents still hold on to a piece of hope. As the two-year anniversary of the girl’s disappearance draws near, her father travels back to Portugal.

22:30 Penn & Teller (K15)23:05 South Park (K15)23:35 Kenny vs. Spenny01:00 Police Patrol

Force Ten from NavaroneTV2 22:05

JIM

Made in SheffieldYleTeema 21:05

22 21–27 JANUARY 2010 HELSINKI TIMESTV GUIDE

07:00 Children’s ProgrammingIn Finnish.

13:00 Birth StoriesEleanor’s residential problems continue.

13:30 Exchanging vowsTwo young couples compete over a dream honeymoon.

15:30 Desperate Housewives16:25 Days of Our Lives17:20 Everybody Loves Raymond

Michael refuses to go to school.

17:50 Dr. Phil20:00 The Bachelorette

The hopeful bachelors continue to charm DeAnna Pappas.

21:00 Grey’s AnatomyBailey’s father announces his disapproval of her life choices. Mark and Lexie have to face a woman from Mark’s past. Thatcher criticises Webber’s behaviour.

22:00 Clear and Present Danger (K15) FILMIn this film based on a Tom Clancy novel, Jack Ryan’s new mission leads him deep into the world of political scheming and he uncovers a major plot concerning the Columbian drug trade. Directed by Phillip Noyce. Starring: Harrison Ford, Willem Dafoe. USA 1994

00:45 Frasier 01:15 Lincoln Heights

18:00 Border SecurityAn Israeli man claims to be in Australia on fishing business.

18:30 Bondi RescueSometimes even the lifesavers fail to prevent a drowning.

19:00 The World’s Most Amazing VideosDrunken mishaps.

20:00 Chopper Challenge21:00 Modern Marvels: James

Bond Gadgets DOCIn the 007-films, James Bond gets to play with some cool gadgets. Many of them have actual equivalents in the real world as well.

22:00 American Hot RodRebuilding the Cadillac of Elvis Presley. Part 1.

23:00 South Park (K15)A million little pieces.

23:30 Kenny vs. Spenny01:00 Police Patrol

09:50 The Young and the Restless 10:55 Emmerdale12:50 Starter Wife14:15 Loop14:45 Northern Exposure

More light!17:05 The Bold and the Beautiful18:00 Emmerdale

It’s Diane’s turn to be questioned.

21:00 C.S.I.A body is found next to the casinos with car trails next to it.

22:30 Black GoldThis documentary-style reality series chronicles three oil drilling rigs in Texas.

23:30 Mythbusters00:35 3rd Rock from the Sun

07:00 Children’s Programming In Finnish.

14:20 Pussycat Dolls: GirliciousThe theme of the week is confidence.

16:00 E! Entertainment: True Hollywood StoryPatrick Swayze.

18:05 Sturm der LiebeIn German.

19:00 Two and a Half MenCharlie helps Jake to prepare a school presentation.

19:30 Will & Grace20:00 Friends

Christmas in Tulsa.20:30 The Simpsons21:00 Top Chef

The chefs have to come up with special treats for Gail Simmons’ bachelorette party.

22:00 Ashes To AshesGene kills a car thief and Alex begins to suspect that something’s not right.

23:00 C.S.IA book restorer is found dead inside a cage.

23:55 Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien

00:50 Family Guy

18:00 That 70s ShowRed sees red as the young ones rebel.

18:30 Grounded for Life19:00 America’s Funniest Home

Videos19:30 8 Simple Rules for Dating

My Teenage DaughterCJ skips a family Christmas and heads to Las Vegas.

21:00 Domestic disturbance (K15) FILM In this thriller, a teenage boy witnesses his new stepfather commit a murder, but nobody believes what he saw. Slowly, the killer’s shady past catches up with him. Directed by Harold Becker. Starring: John Travolta, Vince Vaughn, Teri Polo. USA 2001

09:30 Always Greener11:05 YLE News in English11:10 Miss Marple14:30 Doctors

Marc helps a young woman trying to save her father’s life.

15:05 Louis la BrocanteIn French.

17:05 Miss MarpleThe goddess of revenge. Part 2/2.

19:55 Last of the Summer Wine22:55 The Street

Young football talent Billy gets kicked out of his coaching squad and faces some tough challenges.

06:50 Pikku Kakkonen Children’s programming.In Finnish.

10:35 McLeod’s DaughtersAccommodation arrangements cause tension at the farm.

16:10 Snowy River: The McGregor Saga

17:23 Pikku Kakkonen Children’s programming.In Finnish.

20:00 Blood, Sweat and T-shirtsThe shocking exploration of six Britons to India’s clothing industry continues to a sweatshop in New Delhi.

22:05 Law and Order: Special Victims Unit (K15)A young boy goes missing and is later found murdered. The killer turns out to be another neighbourhood boy.

18:00 Global Nomad: ChinaManchán Magan travels in China and analyses the changing society. Part 3/6.

19:00 Niceland FILMThis recommended watch is a touching and somewhat surreal drama circling around the questions of love and the essence of life. Directed by Fridrik Thór Fridriksson.Starring: Martin Compston, Gary Lewis. Iceland/Germany 2004

20:26 Walks with an ArchitectMarseille with Rudy Ricciotti. In French.

22:00 Six Feet Under (K15)22:55 Paul Merton in India

Shillong and Kolkata. Part 3/5. 23:40 Little Mosque on the Prairie

wednesday 27.1.

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0

NicelandYleTeema 19:00

Clear and Present DangerJack Ryan is back in another Tom Clancy –filming, but this time the bad guys are in his own govern-ment. When Admiral James Greer resigns due to illness, Ryan is appointed acting CIA Deputy Di-rector of Intelligence. But before he has time to blink in his new position, one of the president’s closest friends and his family are murdered in their sleep, apparent-ly in retaliation for stealing money as part of a money laundering scheme for a Columbian drug car-tel. Ryan is called in to investigate, but without him knowing, the CIA has already sent in a secret field operative to lead an illegal para-military force against the cartels in Colombia. Soon things get even more complicated and Ryan must risk not only his career, but his life to expose the truth behind the mystery.

Nelonen 22:00

James Bond GadgetsJIM 21:00

runs a column series Expat views with rotatingexpat column writers and we are interested in your

experiences.Share your funny, memorable, frustrating or great experiences of Finland with our readers. Please send us a brief email to heidi@helsinkitimes.fi with a piece of information about yourself and what kind of experiences you would like to write about and we will give you more information on how to proceed with your story

Helsinki Times Oy Vilhonvuorenkatu 11 B 00500 Helsinki www.helsinkitimes.fi

Have yougot expat views

232321–27 JANUARY 2010HELSINKI TIMES

For further information, please contact:020 743 1389 / info@delingua.fiwww.delingua.fi

Translations in any languageSimultaneous and consecutive interpretingTailor-made language trainingTerminology management: Delingua Profiterm™

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TRANSLATIONS

CLASSIFIEDS & SERVICES 23

BOOKSTORES

ing that, stony silence with a demeanor that would break a drill sergeant’s heart is the preferred way to go. Of course this is unless someone else is having a conversation. Then, all ears are suddenly trained in on the source of entertain-ment. One conversation I had the delight of listening in to recently went something like this: ”Noh... noh... ohhoh..... KAUHEA.”

This, of course, is standard conversational stuff if you are female and around the age group that favours certain plaid-check. Younger ones will embellish the conversa-tion with a couple more col-ourful words from the Finnish language plus some choice phrases in English, spat out slathered in a thick accent. But the most awful of conver-sations are those where eve-ry second word is a heavily accented English word. That sort of conversation is best had behind locked doors with

a towel stuffed under the gap, thank you very much. Before you protest that eavesdrop-ping is rude, admit it – you’ve done it more times than you would admit to, and have had it done to you. In fact, I’ve had strangers wander over just to listen in on my conversations, with a sort of nonchalant look of their faces that most peo-ple make after passing gas in public. Once, during a heat-ed discussion with my oth-er half about buying a new something or other, I actually had a middle-aged lady shad-ow me up the train stop hang-ing on my every word. Finally, I turned around and asked her whether she’d like a mint. She scuttled off at warp speed having been caught in the act. Oh the shame.

Think of listening in as something not as awful as ri-fl ing through someone’s mail, but instead as a quaint way of getting to know someone without actually having to

ask them. That must be why people always check out the contents of each other’s gro-ceries. What does ten litres of milk, cheese-fl avoured sau-sage, three gossip magazines and one solitary pickled cu-cumber say about somebody? Or, what about somebody with fi ve cucumbers, eight packets of prunes and one whole, fro-zen pike? The mind boggles. A more effi cient way to get all of the juicy tidbits about a total stranger is to just lean in and be bathed with all kinds of salacious details about what Stranger #1 in a funny, melon coloured turtleneck is plan-ning to make for dinner; or Stranger #2’s argument with his neighbour about the late karaoke sessions; or Stranger #3’s lack of funds because the school holidays ate into her savings. Someone on the train actually gave the last sad case a ten euro note. True story. I know, because I was busy lis-tening in.

EXPAT VIEW

In this series expatriates tell about their lives in Finland.

Say again?Eavesdropping might just be one of Finland’s unoffi cial na-tional pastimes. Right now, as I type this people are bus-ily listening in on complete strangers conversations whether on buses, trains, trams, planes or at gym lock-ers – no location is out of bounds. Shamelessly follow-ing another person’s conver-sation really is one of life’s guilty pleasures. Sure, most people in other countries make small talk, but this is Finland after all. Talking to a stranger usually signifi es insanity, inebriation or that you are a foreigner. To avoid any grandiose schemes, you and me might have to en-gage the good people in Fin-land in some chitchat, but most people will usually bury themselves in those free newspapers available in the Greater Helsinki area. Fail-

Finland info

Helsinki Times is availableat over 100 Lehtipiste

newsagents and in numerous high quality hotels.

Here are a few places whereyou can pick up a copy:

Hotel Best Western Katajanokka, Sokos Hotel Torni, Hotel Sello, Sokos Hotel Vaakuna, Hotel Klaus K, Hotel Helka, Hotel Palace, Hotel Arthur, Hotel & Apartments Rivoli Jardin, Hotel Anna, , Hotel Hilton Helsinki Strand, Hotel Kämp, Hotel Hilton Helsinki Kalastajatorppa, Park Hotel Käpylä, Hotel GLO, Hotel Cumulus Koskikatu Tampere, Hotel Holiday Inn Helsinki City West, Hotel Crowne Plaza Helsinki, Sokos Hotel Albert, Hotel Seurahuone Helsinki, Hotel Holiday Inn Helsinki City Centre.

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Alko. Alko is the only store to sell any alcohol above the strengthof beer. Alkos are open Mon-Fri 9-20, Sat 9-18 and closed onSundays. More information is available at www.alko.fi. For storelocations, please call: +358 20 711 712.

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Grocery stores. Most grocery stores are open Mon-Fri 7-21,Sat 7-18 and Sun 12-21.

Health. Helsinki City medical centres are open Mon-Fri 8-16.In case of children in need of urgent medical treatment, contacttel. +358 9 10023 or Lastenklinikka’s emergency department,tel. +358 09 471 72783 or +358 09 471 72751.

Emergency Rooms. In the evening and at weekends, adults in ur-gent need of medical treatment are advised to contact Haartman or Malmi Hospital’s Emergency Health Centres. Telephone health advice service (09) 10023. The telephone health advice service is available 24 hours a day at 09-10023, answering healthcare ques-tions and offering advice on obtaining further treatment. This is a joint service between several municipalities in the capital region and the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa (HUS).

Museums are closed on Mondays. The National Museum of Finland is located in Helsinki (Mannerheimintie 34, next to the Parliament building) and is open Tue-Wed 11-20, Thu-Sun 11-18. For moreinformation, see www.nba.fi or tel. +358 9 40 50 95 44.

Public Transport operates in Helsinki and its surrounding regions from around 05:30, 06:30 on weekends, until midnight. Nightbuses operate extensively at weekends. For more information.see www.ytv.fi and www.hkl.fi.

Libraries. Public libraries in Helsinki are usually openMon-Thu 10-20 and Fri-Sat 10-16. Kirjasto 10 (Library 10) in thecentre of Helsinki (in Postitalo, Elielinaukio 2 G) offers internet ac-cess and good information services in English. It’s open Mon-Thu 10-22, Fri 10-18 and Sat-Sun 12-18.

Market halls. Fresh vegetables, fish, meat, bakery items and dairy products are sold at the traditional market halls. Wanha Kauppa-halli (Old Market Hall) in Kauppatori (Market Square) and Hakanie-men Kauppahalli (Hakaniemi Market Place) are the most popular.Both are open Mon-Fri 8-18, Sat 8-16 and are closed on Sundays.

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