The follow-up link in an entry at randomWalks, but it lets me indulge my bizarre obsession with Finland. It's not a fetish, Kim isn't even originally from there.
From the Helsingin Sanomat International Edition:
Kaurismäki boycotts New York Film Festival
Filmmaker refuses to attend after Iranian director denied visaFinnish film director Aki Kaurismäki cancelled his planned participation in the New York Film Festival out of solidarity for Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostam, who could not get a US visa to attend the event.
Kiarostam was hoping attend a screening of his film Ten last Sunday. Kaurismäki's turn was to be on Wednesday this week, when his latest feature, The Man Without a Past is to be shown.
[. . .] Kaurismäki announced the cancellationof his visit to New York on Monday in a letter he sent to the director of the festival, Richard Peña. He expressed sorrow at having to make such a decision, praising the New York Film Festival as "one of the best in the world".
Kaurismäki explained his move by saying: "If the US authorities do not want an Iranian, they will hardly have any use for a Finn, either. We do not even have any oil."
This story is from Tuesday. On Friday:
The powerful explosion that shook a shopping mall in Vantaa on Friday evening, leaving seven dead and dozens injured, has been shown to be caused by a bomb. Finland's Minister of the Interior Ville Itälä (National Coalition) confirmed the fact at a press conference on Saturday morning.
Before you start jumping to conclusions, though:
A police press briefing held at 16.00 on Saturday revealed that the seventh victim (see above) had been identified as a Finnish student from the Greater Helsinki area, apparently around 20 years of age. Preliminary evidence would appear to suggest that the chemistry student, who died instantly, was responsible for the explosion.The man has no criminal record, and no motive has as yet been put forward for his actions, nor would police be drawn on the likelihood that he acted alone. The possibility that others might be involved was not ruled out.
This was mentioned at InstaPundit, where Mr. Reynolds wrote:
Vantaa, I believe, is near an area where immigrants tend to cluster.
I would write asking what the fuck that was supposed to mean, but given he approvingly quotes Max Power in another entry:
What's wrong with a little colonialism? Are people saying that the brown peoples of Iraq aren't worthy of Western-style democracy and freedoms?[. . .] It's frankly appalling and close to racist to see people complaining that a repressive and murderous dictatorship might get replaced by a democracy because the people leading the transition aren't the same skin color as the victims of the totalitarian regime.
I can make a very good guess.
The language couldn't be that hard to pick up. Children over there learn it. Sometimes they learn another one or two at the same time, so it must be terribly easy.
Update: There must be a simple way to link Google News related articles pages. Well, simpler than selecting and pasting, which may not be possible, now that I think about it. . .
Update: Oh yes, I'd forgotten.
In his entry on this, titled Welcome To The Real World, EUnuchs, Bill Quick writes:
I suggest you turn out the peace marchers. That should take care of the problem.UPDATE: Sorry, make that the pro-Islamofascist, anti-American peace marchers.
I suppose that extinction-level cataclysm I start praying for every time I visit the warbloggers will take out Finland, too.
Still, a flight from Chicago is as low as $375. Are the Northern Lights visible there? They'd make a pretty backdrop when the meteor hits.
But Uppity-Negro aren't you a negro and an uppity one at that who only likes black err colored err afro err african err afroamericofascists?
There ain't no black folks in Finland.
Oh, like you've never integrated a wedding/class/company/restaurant?
Same deal. Only, y'know, on a slightly larger scale.
And Kim is built like a black woman.
Which reminds me, is Rick James in prison? It's hard to keep track.
If we had a different government, I'd suggest coming over to the Netherlands -you wouldn't even need to learn the language.
Actually, Finland does have black folks. Refugees are all over Europe, and there is starting to be a backlash against them/it, as these countries which formerly may have had very low unemployment, now have a large groupd of people whoa re under no obligation to work, as their refugee status gives them certain benefits (a stipend, health care, etc.)
It's a good deal if you can get it, I suppose, but man, why Finland? Why not go someplace warmer, with better weather?
Martin, was your government actually elected? That's kind'a what I'm looking for these days. And the less my language skills are called upon, the better.
Ryan, the Twin Cities have a large Somali population for reasons which escape me, so at least that's one thing I'd find familiar.
And after Minnesota, I think anywhere is warmer with better weather. Or maybe people who don't bitch about it as much.
Yeah, they were elected -which doesn't say much good about the intellect of the Dutch voters.
Aah well, with the way LPF is fragmenting soon we'll have new elections anyway.