Student Event on Snellman Day

12th May is the birthdate of Johan Vilhelm Snellman.

Born in 1806, he remains one of the most influential architects of Finnish society. Philosopher, scholar, journalist and politician, two centuries after his birth. Snellman studied in Oulu.

Snellman Day 2006: Rotuari crowd to watch students perform

It was fitting that school students of Oulu were given centre stage in the Walking Street (Rotuari) on his bicentennial birth celebration, where they performed in front of an appreciative audience on a beautiful pre-summer day which had a sprinkling of cooling showers.


Soda, pre-performance and during his group's performance on Rotuari

One of those who performed was Soda, who played with a group from his school, and then performed probably the only solo on the bass guitar. It was truly brilliant to hear him. I literally cried when I heard him play. I wish I had had facilities to record it.

When I spoke to him before he went on stage, he was nervous. But it did not show when he was performing. Later he told me that although his head was nodding exactly in time with the music, his knees were trembling at a furious rate!

This is the first public performance of Soda in Finland and I am sure that it will not be the last.

His teacher gave him the CD with the music and the instrument on a Friday evening. He was busy all weekend and did not get a chance to listen till late on the Sunday. He went in on Monday and performed his part without a flaw.

His ear for music is so outstanding that in my life I have met very few youngsters with this talent.

One more comment.

As I reached Rotuari, I realised that his parents were probably busy in the restaurant and would not hear their son on his first public performance. So I rang them on my mobile and asked them to call me so that they could listen to him in about 10 minutes, when he came on stage. Just as the performance was about to start, I had an excited mother standing by my side, even too excited to operate her camera. I managed to get it operating and got a non-professional, non-audio video using that camera. I hope that I can post a link to it on the blog.

Mother Pailin saw her son, while father Unnop listened in on the performance via my mobile.

Both of them are so proud of their son's performance, just as I am of this young teenager facing huge prblems fitting into a new culture in a strange land. But here, with his talents, he was totally at home with his friends. When I went to congratulate him after he came off the stage, he asked me whether I liked his solo. I told him that I loved it. A student friend standing next to him, a young Finnish girl, chimed in, "Soda, the solo was truly wonderful."

Do we want more proof of how we can achieve harmonious integration?

Soda plays about 7 traditional Thai musical instruments. He has learnt to read music at te age of 12 already in Thailand as part of his school's music education programme, and he can play many Western instruments. (The International School in Oulu did not think this talented youngster could fit into the "English-speaking" culture of that school! So much for "international" thinking of Finnish educationists. I am glad he was out of there.)

The question that one must ask is whether this young Thai boy, who will be 15 in a few weeks will be stifled by the Finnish inflexible education system as he is forced along a route of education which maintains that he must do things he is least interested in and cannot fulfil his ambitions based on his absolutely natural talent as an outstanding sportsperson and musician.

I nortmally do not wish anyone "Good luck" as I believe natural talent will get anyone to the top in his competence. But in Finland, unfortunately, "third culture kids" (Refer my earlier blog entry: "Tomorrow..") have to depend on "Luck".

(In the evning Soda dropped in at home. Annikki told him how much she enjoyed hearing about his success on stage.)

So Annikki (who is also thrilled to hear Soda's exploits) and I do add "Good Luck, Soda."

But like all good things, there was one unfortunate part of the Rotuari show.

A dancing drunk dominated the area in front of the stage. I noticed several students looking and laughing at him. Several thought that it was OK. One Finnish man pushing a cycle walked past him, pushed the drunk rudely and then exchanged words with him, telling him that it was no place to be.


Unbecoming behaviour being appreciated by his two drunken friends

Personally, although I like to permit people their personal freedoms, there are some things I do not appreciate. One is inappropriate behaviour. A drunk making a fool of himself in front of many hundreds of students is totally inappropriate. I hoped that someone would come and take this uncouth man away, a man who was making a total fool of himself on impressionable students.

But NO ONE CAME!

Tomorrow...

(Cross-posted in the Chaff Blog.)

Annikki and I were invited to attend a seminar organised by EFA (Expatriate Family Adjustment). It was called "Dialogue Today, Action Tomorrow - Visions on internationalisation".

Annikki was unable to attend. But I did, primarily to cover this for my blogs.

Having been actively involved with work related to foreigners in Finland from 1984, having served as the elected representative of the English Speaking Community on the Ethnic Minorities Advisory Board (ETNO) from 1999 to 2003, having organised the ETHICS (Effective Tools for Harmonious Integration using Cultural and Sporting Activities) Conference, having been the representative of the Pohjois-Pohjanmaa (Northern Finland) Region in the Finnish Sports Federation special action group on Tolerance (chaired by Finnish Olympian Gold medallist Tapio Korjus) from 1999 to 2003, having been an Advisor to the National Equal Opportunities Organisation from 1996 to 2003, having been the Vice Chairman of the Oulu Section of the Same Law For All from 1998 to 2002, and having with Annikki been vocally and physically active in fighting Finnish Bureaucracy and its racist and anti foreigner stand from 1984, I still do have some interest in this subject.

However, I am sceptical of any initiatives as they are really superficial and exist only on paper to promote the "image" of a tolerant Finnish Society. As Annikki and I have repeatedly said - Finland is like a polished apple - all shiny outside, but rotten to the core inside.

Deputy Mayor of Oulu addresses the audience

The Deputy Mayor of Oulu Päivi Laajala said all the nice things that have to be said in her presentation "New Challenges for a fast growing city". That is the official stand that Oulu intends to be an International and Culal City and it is working to a plan. But it was purely superficial!


The organiser, Ata Bos, from The Netherlands,
with a Oulu City Official. Sandra Grotsch from Germany, who acts
as a part time journalist for a web newspaper,
65degrees North, started by Ata Bos,
is on the far right

Ata Bos, who has been running this EFA project gave a well thought out presentation of what she has achieved during the two years she has been running this project. She did not address the very fundamental issue that her contract was for 2 years as she is a foreigner and the City of Oulu cannot employ a foreigner for more than a period of 2 years unless.....


Strategy Manager of the Oulu City, Juha Ojala

There was a presentation by a consultant,, Juha Ojala, Corporate Strategy Manager of the City of Oulu, on the subject of Oulu's Strategy 2015 - a lot of waffle and above all skirting the main issue - Oulu City employs 10,000 people and less than 20 (0.2%) are from the migrant communities. The "migrant community forms more than 2.5% of the local population. If the City cannot set an example in its employment policy, I wondered who is preaching to whom?


Lena Viskari, one of the entertaining and outspoken
panel memberS from Poland


Two more of the panel members,
a Researcher at Oulu University from Italy and
an Engineer working in a Finnish company, The Netherlands

There was a panel composed of a persons from Italy, Estonia, US, Poland and The Netherlands - and they did express some of the problems faced by them during their stays in Finland lasting from 9 years down.

I had been intending to sit quietly through the proceedings but certain matters in the Deputy Mayor's speech and the Strategy Manager's presentation really riled me.

I asked the audience to look at the Panel and the Panel to look at the audience and asked them whether they thought it in any way odd. No-one could see anything strange.

I pointed out that over 70% of the unemployed minorities in Oulu are from the African countries and there was not a single person present to share their views on this subject. Other than an Indian whom I met the day before at an Amnesty International meeting and whom I had dragged to this meeting, there was hardly anyone from Asia (India and China) and there apppeared to be no one from the Russian Community, the largest single group of migrants to Finland.

I then threw my second punch - I pointed to the title of the conference and then drew attention to another well known English idiom, "Tomorrow never comes". I said I had been waiting for 22 years for that "Tomorrow"!

I think I shattered the slight "feel good" factor by throwing in the Racism card into the proceedings.

The discussions after this were lively and many importnat questions were raised from the floor mainly related to the incomprehensible employment norms being followed by almost all Finnish employers.

I was permitted the final comment. I drew attention to subject of lack freedom of speech in Finland but above all the lack of any participation by the media in this event. Ata pointed out she had sent out 20 invitations to the media - and not one had responded!

Well at least, I did!


The guest speaker, Ruth von Renken, with Anne Rännäli of the Oulu City

The highlight of the afternoon was a presentation by the author of "Third Culture Kids" Ruth von Reken. As all my children are third and fourth culture kids, I found the presentation most interesting and bought her book, co-authored by David Pollack, for Annikki, as she has a special interest in this subject being a Montessori advocate. Ruth has a fascinating background having been brought up in Nigeria during the first 12 years of her life. Her roots have many branches and that was made her talk so interesting.

Ruth, being a little younger than me, was pointing the next generation in the audience as the ones who would shape the future for the Third Culture Kids. After the conference, I did go to her and point out the Maria Montessori philosophy that "the child is the father of man" would mean even the generation who she was pointing to did not have the wherewithal to solve the problems. I do hope Ruth will follow that idea further.

I have asked Annikki to give me a comment on Ruth's book, so I hope in a few weeks to have something on it on the blog.

This conference was a genuine attempt by Ata to focus on serious issue. It is a good starting place. Unfortunatesly, as Annikki and I see it, we have been on these starting blocks for the last 22 years and we hope that at least they get to put the bolts down in the coming 10 years so that we may get the race to commence sometime!

70 years ago

My late parents were joined in matrimony this day 70 years ago.



May they rest in peace.

The only survivor in the photograph presently is the beautiful little bridemaid on the right of the picture, my lovely cousin, Mrs. K. G. Kuruvilla (Accakuttykochamma).



A year ago today we lost a wonderful uncle, Dr. M. V. Kurian (Thambichayan). I have many pleasant memories of this great personality, a Ear, Nose, Throat specialist, who really knew how to bridge the generation gap.

Krishna and Sebastian

Vamsi Krishna from Andhra, who is doing his doctoral research in the Microelectronics Laboratory, rang to say that Dr. Mailadil T. Sebastian from Trivandrum (now known as Thiruvananthapuram), Kerala, was now in the Microelectronics Laboratory as well and that he would be here for about 2 months.

I got through to Dr. Sebastian and invited the two of them to dinner.

Dr. Sebastian is the Deputy Director in the Regional Research Laboratory (RRL) in Trivandrum. All the RRLs are part of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research.

Dr. Sebastian is here on a Nokia Fellowship and is giving a lecture series on wireless antenna systems. He is a materials scientist working on electroceramics systems. He is helping to organise an International Conference which will be held in Oulu in June.

MICROWAVE MATERIALS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS 2006 is being organized by Microwave Electroceramics Group of the University of Oulu. The General Chair is Prof. Heli Jantunen (University of Oulu, Finland) The other Chairpersons are Neil Alford (London South Bank University, UK) and Dr. Sebastian.

Vamsi Krishna and Dr. Sebastian, 9th May 2006

After dinner, where for part of the time we enjoyed the spring sunshine, but moved in when the sun set, we went home to meet Annikki.

It was a pleasant evening and hope that we can meet up again some time. It was nice to use my rusty "mother tongue" Malayalam again. Found I cannot turn my tongue around the Malayalam words as well as I could!

My suspicions confirmed

Not very long ago I pointed out some very serious driving lapses that I have encountered in Oulu. I had wondered whether this was due the drivers or the driving schools.

Today, it became clear who is at fault.

I was driving through the centre of Oulu along a one way street. I came to cross roads with traffic lights. Traffic coming in from the left should turn into the left lane when they enter the one way street.

I noticed a motorcyclist who had come in from the street on the left and was waiting at the pedestrian crossing in the centre of the street. Behind him was a car which was following the motorcyclist into exactly the same wrong position.

As my traffic signals changed from red to green, I started my car to move on, along the left lane, as the right lane was reserved for buses and taxis. But, as the car from the left was already half across the street, I waited for him to go on.

He didn't, so I had to wave him on.

He followed the motorcyclist into the centre of the road, straddling the two lanes.

I noted that the car had a Driving School label with the Danger Signal and the URL of the company.

I commented to my passenger that the driver of the car was not a student but a bad driving school instructor talking to his student on the motorcycle through a mobile device.

As they were crawling, I pulled into the right lane, as there were no buses or taxis in the horizon, either behind or ahead of me.

As I overtook the two vehicles I noted that the driver of the car was talking, through a walkie talkie held in his hand, obviously to the motor cyclist, who was nodding his head.

Besides having broken all the rules about lanes, the more dangerous thing that that driving school instructor was doing was what is illegal in Finland.

He was talking into a mobile device while driving and by holding it in his hands.

If a driving school instructor cannot abide by the law and the rules of the road, what can the students learn?

I travel to Seinäjoki...

(Cross-posted on the Oulu Chaff Blog

Yesterday was a beautiful day. The sun shone right from 5 am and it was sweltering hot. And we are over a month and half before midsummer's day (21st June). Annikki decidd it was just right to put the goldfish back into the fish pomd. She put them a plastic bag and floated that in the main pond so that the water temeratures could equalise.

Goldfish ready to be let free in the fish pond


Goldfish swim freely in their pond

We had this week's Chaff meeting outdoors. Kannan, our Chaff visitor from Rauma, hosted the group.


Pentti with the CHAFF Host of the Week: Kannan Balaram

Kaija Valimaa brought a visitor from France, Vincent, the person who was the French mentor of our popular Chaff participant Anais.


Pailin, Kaija and Vincent

The Thai buffet was simply excellent as our Pailin hosts outshone themselves themselves.

As it is Pailin's birthday today, we all sang Happy Birthday for her. She produced a couple of cakes for us to celebrate her birthday. She truly is a wonderful person with so much love in her heart for all of our Chaff members.

Truly a great Chaff meeting.

But we had to call the meeting to a close rather early as Kannan had to get back to Rauma (555 km from Oulu). He was driving his new acquisition, the SAAB, there.

I agreed to drive with him till Seinäjoki, about 340 km from Oulu. From there he had only to drive a little less than 300 km, while I could take the train back to Oulu.

We took food for Annikki and Mika from Pailin, took Thai Sweet Chili Wrap for me and Kannan. As Ilari was on his way back from Helsinki by train, he and I agreed to meet on the Seinäjoki train. So we took a wrap for him. I loaded the car wih my usual drive boosters, some fizzy energy drink, lots of packets of crisps, some chocolates, some biscuts, some nuts and some bananas.

I drove up to Raahe (80 km from Oulu) to ensure we were ahead of the clock in case Kannan's driving was slower than expected. I handed him the wheel just after Raahe. After 15 minutes I was wondering why I had come as he handled his car superbly. He was pushing the limit as he drove the car at over 130 km per hour. But he was being careful, making sure that he was coming back down to the speed limit whenever he saw a speed checker, the video camera. Video cameras are liberally sprinkled all over Finland, but the law dictates that there must be a warning for drivers stating that a particular zone has been fitted with these devices.

Ilari sent me a text message saying that there was no water on the train and would I pick up some bottled water for him.

We reached Seinäjoki with more than an hour to spare. Just as I bought my ticket, there was a message from Ilari saying the train was running 50 minutes late. (It appears that the axle on one carriage was overheating so they replaced the carriage at Tampere, the major stop before Seinäjoki.)

After buying some Pepsi, I helped Kannan fill his petrol tank, found the way out of Seinäjoki and bid him on his way to Rauma. I sat and waited for the train, which arrived as 20:20 instead of 19:30.

As Ilari had given me his carrige and seat number, I had reserved my seat next to his.

Ilari was glad to get the water. We chatted all the way, pausing only to consume the delicious Thai Sweet Chili Wrap.

Ildi had said she was going to wait for Ilari, so he offered to give me a lift home. Unnop and Pailin had offered to pick me up and drop me home, but as the train was so late, I told them not to bother. But when we reached Oulu at a few minutes before midnight, we had a great reception committee, as if Ilari and I were returning from a trip from outer space. Besides Ildi, Pailin and Unnop were there to receive us!

The latter couple dropped me home. It was just after midnight, so I was able to correctly wish Pailin for her birthday.

I cleared my email and hit the sack falling asleep in just 2 minutes as usual. I just took time to share all the news with Annikki who was sitting with her mother. She was happy as the fish, all four of them had settled down properly in the outside pond.

Kannan visits Oulu

Yesterday morning I was happy to meet Kannan at the bus station. He has come down from Rauma in south-west Finland to collect his car, the SAAB.

Kannan's SAAB

He took the steering wheel and drove me and Unnop around town, very ably, considering this was the first time he was sitting and driving such a powerful monster.

He went to attend the local Adventist Church and shared in the lunch there.

While Kannan was at church I took the opportunity to go and see Soda play a football match.

With each match the Tervarit Musta team he plays for is getting stronger, even though their maturing players are being picked up by the next Tervarit side up the chain. Despite losing three of their best players, Soda's team cruised to a 3-0 victory against Kemppa, a side of players a year older than them.


Soda in action, May 2006

What was interesting about the Kemppa side was that it had two girls playing in the side!

Soda played in the second half. I must admit Soda played extra-ordinarily well and is getting more focused into active team play. His passing was immaculate as he put his team mates through more than a couple of times. Soda is a completely unselfish player, and that is what will make him a possible great.

Soda still has to improve on the way he tackles and defends, but that will come as he improves his physique, a programme he will start next week with the help of my former personal trainer, Päivi Hytinkoski.


Päivi represented Finland in the 1991 Miss International

Then I took Kannan shopping to Stockman - the Harrods of Oulu. He bought a few things for himself including HOT Mango Pickle, Lime Pickle and Madras Curry Powder.

Kannan was insisting that he buy Annikki and me dinner. As Annikki was stuck at home, we went to the Pailin Restaurant and ordered some good take-way.

Before the food was served up, Kannan went through a formality. As a way of saying thanks to his elders, he had brought us beautiful flowers and some exquisite gifts. For Annikki he brought an absolutely beautiful work of art, a silver lace jewelery piece. This was a cross on a beautiful silver lace chain. It is known as the "Face on the Cross". Rauma is very famous for this type of jewelery.


Exquisite gift from Kannan to Annikki

He brought me a Titan watch, a neat purse and a pen and letter opener, truly lovely set.

He asked for our blessings for his future. We are both so happy to share in his success, which is entirely of his own making, because he is such an honest personality. We are so happy to see all our wards, and we count Kannan as one of them, do well.

Kannan is such a lovely young man. He considers Annikki and me as his guardians in Finland. Here, far away from his family, we certainly consider him as one of our family and we are pleased that his work and studies are going so well.

Like Soda, Kannan's health and general being are of immediate interest for us. We hope that he will keep up the moral standards he has set for himself. That itself will ensure his good health.

Kannan is an exemplary person. In today's world it is difficult to find a person of such unique moral values. Whoever gets this young man as a husband will find him a person of great integrity and loyalty.

We enjoyed a great dinner and we chatted for a short while on matters of interest. He gave me a copy of his latest work in which he credits me for mentoring him.

Having hardly slept the previous night on the bus, he must have slept well last night.

We have a busy day ahead. After the CHAFF meeting which he is hosting, I will drive with him a little more than half way on his return to Rauma.

I will catch the train back from Seinäjoki later today and will probably meet up with Ilari who is returning from Helsinki on that train.

Annikki was supposed to put the fish in the pond yesterday, but she is so concerned about them, and as frost was forcast for the night, she did not put them out.

Today?

Or is she so attached to the goldfish she cannot bear to put them outside. Let us wait for the developments of today :-)!

Annikki, the creative gardner...

In the last couple of blog entries I have shown a few faces of Annikki - the humourist and the concerned fighter for freedom.

Many of you may not have read the book "...for the hour of his judgement is come:..." (The Holy Bible, Revelations, 14:7) by Annikki Matthan which was one of the very first books to be published in toto on the internet over 10 years ago!

Today, I present yet another face of her - the creative gardner.

She is working round the clock to get the Kampitie garden just right.

One of her first tasks has been to get the two ponds, the centrepiece bathtub and the Fish Pond just right.

Working long hours, she has yesterday completed her task.

The solar fountain which was sent to her by daughter, Susanna, is in the bathtub is working fine and the lotus plants she husbanded in the cellar all winter are now back as ting buds in this pond.

Lotus Pond


Solar Fountain in the Lotus Pond

The Fish Pond is nicely cleaned. Annikki will put the goldfish into it when the temperature is just right.


Kampitie Fish Pond

They are more than just goldfish to her as she talks to them every day when she feeds them!


Grandpa and Grandma

Today, however, is a depressing day for both Annikki and me as we are away from our grandchildren on what is Daniel’s 2nd birthday.

I am putting up pictures of us and the grandchildren as Daniel loves to look at this blog and remember his grandparents.





Happy birthday Daniel!

Yet another face of my woman...

(Cross-posted on the CHAFF Blog.)

Today would have been the 134th birthday of the late Mr. K. C. Mammen Mappillai (KCMM), the doyen of Kerala, my maternal grandfather.

Yesterday was "Freedom of Speech" day worldwide, a day which would have thrilled the heart of KCMM.

The leading local newspaper of Oulu, the Kaleva, had asked their readers to submit their opinions on this subject on this day.

Annikki is a powerful writer on issues she believes in.

She wrote a short and great piece, in Finnish, on the subject. I reproduce it here (in Finnish) for our Finnish audience, as I do not have a good English translation available at this moment.

Sananvapaus Suomessa Annikki Matthan KALEVA version / KALEVA Version Suomessa sananvapaus on vapaata. Se on rajattoman sallittua. Sananvapautta on monenlaista ja kaikilla. Joillakin on enemmän ja joillakin vähemmän. Keskiarvona laskettuna sitä on jokaiselle jakaa oma osansa. Se jaetaan tarkoin tasapuolisesti. Silloin sananvapaus on hiljaista. Se ei näy eikä kuulu vaan on näkymätöntä. Suursanatilallisilla on sanat hallussaan. Heillä on sananvapaus vallassaan. He kylvävät sanoja vapaasti sinne minne haluavat. Heidän palstoillaan ne kasvavat suuriksi. Ne peittävät maan ja taivaankin. He myyvät palstoja ja sanoja tiloillaan. He kasvattavat ja tuottavat sananvapautta hinnasta. Sanat ovat lukossa sanakirstuissa. Siellä ne ovat tallessa ja turvassa. Suursanatilojen rengeillä on niihin avaimet ja lupa avata kirstun kansi. Sanakirstun kanteen on kirjoitettu; salainen. Suomessa sananvapaus on salaista. Kun renki avaa kirstun kannen, sieltä tulee ulos sananvapaus metamorfoosa. Sen loistava säteily häikäisee ja sokaisee. Se näyttää hyvältä ja kauniilta katsella. Siinä on sateenkaaren kaikki värit. Se leijailee kohti korkeuksia vapaana. Sana on vapaa. Ihmiset tavoittelevat sitä haltuunsa. He ihailevat sen muotoa, värejä, keveyttä, ilmavuutta ja läpinäkyvyyttä. Kaikki, jotka näkevät sen, uskovat siihen. Se on kuitenkin hauras, eikä kestä kosketusta. Se on kosketusarka. Ne, jotka eivät sokaistu sen häikäisystä näkevät sen läpi, että se ei kestä käyttöä eikä kulutusta. Hämmästyneinä he tajuavat silloin. Mikä näyttää sananvapaudelta, onkin vain hajoava suuri imagokupla. Se särkyy käsiin tai hajoaa taivaan tuuliin. Yhä uudestaan se kuitenkin hämää ja ilmaantuu. Nyt he eivät enää vain usko siihen, vaan tietävät; sehän onkin täysin uskon asia. Suomessa sananvapaus on olemassa vain teoreettisena ajatusmallina uskon tasolla. Uskokoon ken tahtoo!

Sananvapaus Suomessa Annikki Matthan Jakobin Blogin Versio / Jacob's Blog's Version Suomessa sananvapaus on vapaata. Se on rajattoman sallittua. Sananvapautta on monenlaista ja kaikilla. Joillakin on enemmän ja joillakin vähemmän. Keskiarvona laskettuna sitä on jokaiselle jakaa oma osansa. Se jaetaan tarkoin tasapuolisesti. Silloin sananvapaus on hiljaista. Se ei näy eikä kuulu vaan on näkymätöntä. Suursanatilallisilla on sanat hallussaan. Heillä on sananvapaus vallassaan. He kylvävät sanoja vapaasti sinne minne haluavat. Heidän palstoillaan ne kasvavat suuriksi. Ne peittävät maan ja taivaankin. He myyvät palstoja ja sanoja tiloillaan. He kasvattavat ja tuottavat sananvapautta hinnasta. Sanat ovat lukossa sanakirstuissa. Siellä ne ovat tallessa ja turvassa. Suursanatilojen rengeillä on niihin avaimet ja lupa avata kirstun kansi. Sanakirstun kanteen on kirjoitettu; salainen. Suomessa sananvapaus on salaista. Kun renki avaa kirstun kannen, sieltä tulee ulos sananvapaus metamorfoosa. Sen loistava säteily häikäisee ja sokaisee. Se näyttää hyvältä ja kauniilta katsella. Siinä on sateenkaaren kaikki värit. Se leijailee kohti korkeuksia vapaana. Sana on vapaa. Ihmiset tavoittelevat sitä haltuunsa. He ihailevat sen muotoa, värejä, keveyttä, ilmavuutta ja läpinäkyvyyttä. Kaikki, jotka näkevät sen, uskovat siihen. Se on kuitenkin hauras, eikä kestä kosketusta. Se on kosketusarka. Ne, jotka eivät sokaistu sen häikäisystä näkevät sen läpi, että se ei kestä käyttöä eikä kulutusta. Hämmästyneinä he tajuavat silloin. Mikä näyttää sananvapaudelta, onkin vain hajoava suuri imagokupla. Se särkyy käsiin tai hajoaa taivaan tuuliin. Yhä uudestaan se kuitenkin hämää ja ilmaantuu. Nyt he eivät enää vain usko siihen, vaan tietävät; sehän onkin täysin uskon asia. Suomessa sananvapaus on olemassa vain teoreettisena ajatusmallina uskon tasolla. Uskokoon ken tahtoo!

What Annikki says here in a humourous and truly interesting fashion is that, rather than pointing the finger all over the world at where there is no freedom of speech, it is necessary to draw attention to the lack of freedom of speech for the common man and woman in Finland. (I will try to get her to do a translation when she has some time.)

The article was posted to the newspaper well before the due date and exactly complied to the norms specified by them.

Having read it, I assured Annikki that there was little hope of the newspaper even thinking about publishing it.

Like the recent hilarious sarcastic Stephen Colbert speech at the White House Correspondents Dinner (if anyone wants to see the video of this, please contact me), Annikki has drawn attention to the Oligarchic System that presently is in place in Finland!

Come yesterday, I got up at my usual time of 4 am and thumbed through the Kaleva newspaper. Although there was much about freedom of speech, there was no attention drawn to the lack of freedom of speech in Finland, and no article by Annikki in the columns. There was not a single reference to the lack of freedom of speech in Finland.

As soon as Annikki awoke, I drew her attention to the fact that her article had not been accepted. She thumbed through the paper, read all that was published, which was all about finger-pointing at everyone else in the world, with no mention to the lack of the freedom of speech in Finland itself.


Full page advertisement inserted by the Finnish Newspapers Union,
in all major newspapers in Finland, including the Helsingin Sanomat and Kaleva,
on Freedom of Speech Day

Then, she noted that on one full page, there was this huge advertisement put out by the Finnish Newspapers Union of a "typical page in a controlled newspaper", with all the words supposedly struck out in the sort of "barbed wire" fashion.

It implied how people around the world were caged in by the oppressive governments which denied them freedom of speech.

I explained my understanding of this advertisement to Annikki and said that this advertisement was being carried in almost every Finnish newspaper.

That really riled her.

She has produced this beautifully written piece (in English) in response to that full page advertisement, which represents HER understanding of that same page!

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Freedom of Speech in Finland?

by

Annikki Matthan

An entire page of Kaleva, and almost every major newspaper in Finland, was devoted to a picture of the words in the columns of a newspaper blacked out by barbed wire. Even the darkened pictures were fashioned in a manner to depict how freedom of speech was being denied to masses around the world.

It was meant for the Finnish newspaper readers to understand what they had something which was not being enjoyed by millions of people around this planet.

This was the special contribution of the Newspaper Publishers Union on 3rd May 2006, Freedom of Speech Day.

The message was very clear.

The Members of the Finnish Newspapers Union control Freedom of Speech in Finland.

It must have cost the Union several millions of Euros to hammer this subliminal message across to all the Finns.

Whatever was meant to be the message for those who are behind the barbed wire fence was not clear. Obviously, it was meant that the Finns were those outside the borders of this fence, looking in on those behind it!

One thing the Union did not state was that the Finns could be added to the masses of people who are denied this freedom of speech.

Instead of allowing the people to have the extra space to express their opinions, the professional Union took the entire space for itself. Their message could be understood to be exactly what the official Finnsh line has always been:

"Look around everywhere else and consider yourselves especially fortunate, as you had better believe, understand and know what you have. You lack nothing. You are kept in a special protection zone of barbed wire which separates you from those oppressed rest"

It is worth remembering that a barbed wire fence looks the same from both inside and outside.

The power brokers are the watchdogs and the "professional guardians" of the freedom of speech in Finland.

They protect the Finnish establishment, the interests of the State, the Authorities, the Church, the Police and the entire Legal System structure, which are not free from outside controls.

I consider the projection and exhibition of the barbed wire lines to be a strong warning and a threat to the freedom of expression by individuals in Finland.

If I had the money and the power to decide to defend the freedom of the speech on the day of its commemoration, it would have been done in a different way. I would have bought that space to give the same space for the people to say something which was troubling their minds.

I would not have surrounded them with the barbed wire fence.

The full page advertisement seemed to be a dramatic attempt to say:

"Stop here and look. Go no further. This is a protected area!"

The page needs no words to explain the meaning. It was the signal and symbol of DANGER!

In an attempt to change the subject and focus, the message being conveyed was for Finns not to ask for more than what they have. They were already at the edge. What they had was enough for them - and they should not make any attempt to shake the POWER STRUCTURE.

It does not seem right to commemorate the Freedom of Speech Day by frightening the readers of all the major newspapers in Finland with symbols and pictures.

I hope you understand what I mean when I say that I am married to the most multi-talented and multi-faceted woman in this Universe!

Several faces of one woman

Most of you know Annikki as the creative designer that she is. Her cake calendar has circled the globe and drawn huge praise. Her recycled garden has been looked at in awe by Finns from all over the country as it was featured in the leading magazine in Finland.

But there are many other faces of this person that several of you do not know.
In this entry I show one of those faces.

Annikki is a person of great humour. Over the years I can recount many instances of her abounding humour. However, this one instance of just a couple of days ago shows how I can come to that conclusion.

Thee Lidl Department Store recently advertised some garden decorative items as a turtle, a rabbit and a frog. It was said that they had movement sensors, and if anyone passed by, they would make a sound.

Off I was sent on a mission to buy them for the Kampitie garden.

Lidl Oulu only had the turtle, which I faithfully brought home. I was expecting it to be in the garden the next day.

Wolf whistling turtle

I put the battery into the turtle and found that the noise it made was a wolf whistle, rather loud. So I shut off the sensor and left it for Annikki to set it up in the garden.

The next day, when I returned from my shopping trip, Annikki was in spliits of laughter, and her mother, Hilja, was equally in great spirits.

There it was, sitting on the kitchen table was the turtle, directly in front of Hilja. Every time Hilja moved, the turtle would let off a very loud wolf whistle.

What Hilja hears, we cannot tell, but it appeared to greatly amuse her as she talked to the turtle.

That, of course, had Annikki in splits of laughter to see her mother talking to the wolf whistling turtle. This, in turn, had an effect on her mother, who was greatly amused by seeing her daughter rolling all over the place laughing.

Every time Hilja was getting a little difficult with her food or health boosters, Annikki wouldswitch on the turtle and the wolf whistle would turn the whole antagonistic atmosphere to one of great mirth.

Laughter makes the world go round. Annikki is one who knows how to use this tool effectively.

No doubt, the turtle will be turning some heads in the garden before very long!

Hitting the sack....

(Cross-posted on the CHAFF Blog.)

I had a late night yesterday.

Annikki and I were invited by Ilari Sohlo's parents (Jorma & Heli) to attend the official engagement party of Ildikó to Ilari. Annikki could not come as someone had to stay at home to look after her mother.

I reached Prof. Sohlo's house at 17:00 hours. I was greeted by Ildi, and surprise, surprise, Ildi's mother (Juliska Hámos) who had come in from Hungary.

The bedroom door opened and out popped Ildi's dad (Árpád Hámos), who had flown in from Vienna, via Budapest.

Árpád greeted me as a long lost friend saying that my blog was extremely popular in his IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) circles in Vienna. I had never met either of Juliska and Árpád, but this blog had already sealed a relationship between us!

I guess I was surprised to see them there. The persons who were even more surprised and delighted were Ildi and Ilari. They had had no clue that Juliska and Árpád were coming for the party. The scheme had been plotted by Jorma & Heli.

They had arrived at 01:05 am that morning and had been whisked from the airport to Prof. Sohlo's home.

They had slept the night and got ready during the day. When Ildi walked in through the front door for the party, she received a phone call from Árpád who was apologising for not being there for the engagement, while calling from the closed bedroom.

But Ildi heard a familiar ring on the phone, which sounded surprisingly like the sound of her own mobile. She rushed into the closed bedroom to see Juliska and Árpád standing there.

Sorry, I do not have a photograph of that moment - I can only guess the explosive emotions that were there.

Clockwise starting at the top left: Árpád, Juliska, Heli, Ilari & Ildi, Jorma

Juliska is taller than Ildi and as graceful as her daughter. Árpád is an effervescent person, full of life and wanting to be a friend of everyone. Unfortunately, Ildi's brother could not be present.



The food was superb. There was all sort of Finnish delicacies, smoked salmon, smoked reindeer salad, and there was the Thai Pailin speciality - the Mini Flap (both vegetarian and noon-vegetarian).

There was loads of great coffee, beer, wine, Benedictine, etc.

I stuck to my water and tea.



It was a glorious evening. For a large part, till the sun went over the horion, we sat outside enjoying the company, the food, the drink and the spring sunshine warmth.



Juliska and Árpád had brought some great presents from Hungary including silver ear rings for Ildi and white metal cuff links and tie pin for Ilari. Also they gave them some unique ceramic from Hungary which is glazed with a superb metal finish.


Sketches of Jorma & Heli

The Ilari family home is one of the most unique that I have visited in recent times. Their love of art predominates and every wall is covered with paintings from well known, as well as not so well known artists.


Sohlo Siblings
Ilari is on the far right

When they stopped filling the walls with paintings, most unusually, you could see paintings affixed to the roof! :-)



The final touch was the Guest Book signing which was specially prepared and brought from Hungary.



There were three almost identical booklets, one for Jorma & Heli, one for Juliska and Árpád and one for Ilari & Ildi.



The last page of each featured a beautiful Transylvanian woodcut.



It was way past my bedtime when we left Jorma & Heli place.

I got home and briefed Annikki on the happenings and showed her the collection of photographs so she could feel as if she had been there. After checking and clearing my email, I took my computer headphones to listen to "Ring of Fire", a Talk Show hosted by Bobby Kennedy Jr. As I climbed into bed at 12:49 am, Bobby was just announcing that his next guest was going to be my good friend and best Talk Show Host in the world, Mike Malloy.

Great, I thought, what a surprise to get to hear Mike on a Saturday night.

My head hit the pillow at 12:50. I did not see 12:51 and missed Mike!

People say it is so difficult to get to sleep - not ME!

Two faces of Friday

As I drove back yesterday evening, I saw a group of Oulu University Students, dressed in their Student Union Overalls (each department and laboratory has its own distinctive colour with lots of ads from companies that sponsor them) and they were in the Central Park of Oulu, having fun, swigging their beer or whatever else they could drink, and preparing for a long weekend bingeing on the bottle.

Students on their run-up to May Day

Comforting sight of who and what is being educated in Finland, as this is a common scene up and down the country at this time of the year.

When I reached home, the mood was different. Annikki was dressed in her outside work clothes, and I knew that "we" were in for some heavy work.



We first shifted the old front steps from the front to the back of the garden - to a new resting place as planned by Annikki. I thought I would call my Mr. Atlas, Kamu, to help us. Annikki had other ideas. Using some small birch logs and a lot of imagination, she (and ME?) managed to get this whole heavy contraption to the exact spot she had planned for it, negotiating the narrow space between the building wall and the compound fence.


Kampitie steps in their new location

Annikki plans to do many things with this, as a flower display platform, as a play area for the grandkids, as a sitting place, etc., etc.

But there was more work.

With the heavy snowfall of this winter, the pergola which Annikki had designed from wooden logs had crumbled under the weight of the snow on the plastic roof - just like many architect designed roofs all over Finland this winter.


Pergola seen last summer

Annikki surveyed the ruins. Then she rolled up her sleeves and got to work to start work on getting her pergola back and up.


Annikki surveys Pergola collapse





There is a lot of work to get the garden back to exactly what Annikki wants. She is going to be working many long hours. She was already discussing some of her many ideas with me - and they literally flew over my head. I could not visualise what she clearly sees! I never can as I am a dumbo as far as art is concerned.

The neighbours, our new ones, a young couple, were also busy doing up their garden. It looks as if Annikki will have some good company to chat across the garden fence. They are surely going to motivate each other! Annikki has that effect on people as they see her toiling late into the summer nights.

Watch this space to see how all Annikki's new ideas develop over this summer. Here is a creative artist at work - and it is fun to (just) watch! :-)

Saturday Puzzle

Well, you asked for a DIFFICULT PUZZLE - so here it is.

YOU have to tell ME how I solve THIS.

Is it MAGIC?

Is it TELEPATHY?

AM I SITTING THERE BEHIND YOUR SHOULDER? (No, don't look around!)

Of course, you can CLAP and say that
Jacob (Sushil, Sushilchayan, Grandpa, Dead Chicken, Jake,...)
is the GREATEST! :-)

ARE YOU READY?

Mentally select ANY ONE of these six cards.

Click on the image if you cannot see the cards properly!

Have you SELECTED ONE?

Just ONE, please!

MEMORISE your selected card.

I want you to STARE at it.

Quietly tell yourself the card - but DO NOT LET ANYONE ELSE HEAR IT!

Remember the name of your card. Don't forget it.

NOW IT IS TIME TO PROCEED TO THE NEXT PAGE. CLICK HERE --->CLICK HERE

Driving in Oulu

As each day goes on I get more and more agitated by the driving I encounter in Oulu. Either I am just getting older or the driving being taught by driving schools in Finland is getting more and more shoddy.

I think it is the latter as what I observe are the violation of basic principles of driving.

Car drivers must always be in a position that they do not impede the progress of cars that are either in front of or behind them. Today's drivers conveniently forget that there are cars behind them as they take their positions in lanes.

When one approaches a point in the road where one is turning left or right, the positioning of a car on the road, if possible, should be to try to leave sufficient room for cars to pass by, in case, the car turning is somehow delayed by on-coming traffic or pedestrians crossing the road who have right of way.



A typical cross-road is one in Oulu where one has to turn left in the face of on-coming traffic. Some drivers do not proceed to the centre of the crossing. If there are no on-coming cars driving straight on, they can turn left. Even if there are on-coming cars who are signalling that they are turning right, they can complete the trn to the left, especially as there is a double lane to allow each car to keep its correct lane when turning.

By not doing this, just one car may get through during a Green Light session. Whereas, by correct positioning and following what the on-coming traffic is doing, it is possible for about 8 to 9 cars to get through in the same time.

This bad driving results in a huge back-log of cars. It reflects bad driving training.

Turning right at a T-Junction

In another instance, where cars turning left do not position themselves to the extreme left of their lane, they block traffic behind them which wants to go straight on! This again causes a back-up of traffic which can block another side-road. This auses a road jam along the main road, right up to the traffic light.

Oulu is a small town, and most of us are not in a hurry. But we like to see that good behaviour is practised by all drivers.

On the other hand, maybe I am just getting OLD! :-)

Democracy is just an IMAGE in Oulu

(Cross-posted on the CHAFF Blog.)

I was busy all day today and did not have time to browse the Kaleva, our local nwewspaper, in much detail. When I returned from the physiotherapy session of our son, Mika, I settled down to watch one of the few TV programmes that I do watch, “Murder She Wrote”.

Annikki was busy attending to her mother. When she had given her mother her food, she joined me in the living room and asked whether I had seen a small news item in the newspaper about how the students in Oulu had been disallowed to carry out a public protest in Oulu or to set up a information tent or display banners as the Image of City of Oulu as an International City with the coming of summer would be “damaged”.

My blood boiled, just as much as Annikki’s, when I heard this.

I had just spoken to my good friend Ilari Sohlo who is in touch with the Student World, but he had not mentioned this protest. So I rang back, but he did not answer his mobile.

Then Ilari rang back. When I told him about this, he said he had missed this news item as he was busy with a seminar presentation. He immediately looked up the web and found the protest was to be between 12:00 noon and 16:15 in Rotuari, the central walking street of Oulu.

I looked at my watch, and it was just turning 16:05. I decided to make a dash to the city to see if I could catch up with some of the student leaders behind this protest.

On my way, Ilari sent me a text message giving me the name of the main Organiser, Milja Seppälä and her contact phone number.

When I reached the town centre, it was past 16:15. I noted that the protest was over and the students had packed up and gone home. So I rang Milja and had a word with her.

I asked her whether Oulu was becoming like the US where, if one needed to protest, then it had to be in “Free Speech Zones”.

Milja said she hoped that this was not so.

I then asked her for the rationale behind the City not giving the students the right to carry out a public protest. She told me that it was because it could damage the reputation of the City as an International City, especially with the onset of summer!

I was horrified.

I asked Milja whether she had any pictures of the protest for this blog entry. Sadly she did not have any and as she was just about to enter into a meeting, she had to end our interview.

I was really mad as I drove home. I told Annikki the outcome of the visit to the city and my conversation with Milja. She was just as mad as me and she immediately queried whether Democracy in Finland was going to be just an IMAGE?

I wonder whether this protest demonstration in London made that city less of an International City than Oulu?

Protest in London

Or did this protest in Paris make it less of an International City than Oulu?


Paris Student Protest

Is it not strange that we were allowed to carry out a protest in Oulu against the Iraq War but students could not carry out a protest about their student grants?


Iraq War Protest in front of
Oulu City Hall, Picture by Jacob Matthan

This is not the first time we have come across this issue of safegaurding and polishing the “Image of Oulu” by corrupt Oulu bureaucrats.

In the forerunner to this Blog, our popular internet fortnightly FINDIANS BRIEFINGS Volume No: 05 Issue No. 01 - - 28th January 1998 had this item Analysis - Journalist Pimps

When we exposed the strategy of Oulu City bureaucracy to get favourable stories in International newspapers and magazines published by Journalist Pimps, we were called to the office of the Oulu Economic Affairs Office to try to convince us that Oulu was really a great city as had been reported by these "bribed" journalist.

We concluded then:

“To cut a long story short, our meeting with Mr. Seppo Mäki ended when we asked him that if he wanted to tell the truth or just to promote a set of half-truths about our city. We compliemented him on the great job he is doing but sadly what is being done is just polishing the Finnish image in public, while underneath it stinks to the high heaven.

Sadly, Mr. Mäki is very efficient in his job. The Finnish newspapers then feed the gulible Finns with a dose of their own city handouts routed through the gulible international press as if they emanated from these great journalists. These are not journalists, but in our opinion, but glorified pimps.”

The situation between 1998 and 2006 has not changed one bit. The City of Oulu is still run by a set of CORRUPT OFFICIALS.

Students in Oulu - Are you going to stand by your principles or be brow-beaten and your natural rights trampled by your “political masters”. If the latter, forget that you live in a democracy! If these people are your "political servants" as they should be as they are in your pay - then tell them exactly what you think of their actions.

The answer lies in your hands - not theirs!