This proposed law has nothing to do with population increase (ie making babies). The purpose is for couples (straight/homo/whatever) to have the opportunity to enjoy quality time together. The proposed law would not exclude singles. As a U.S. citizen residing in Finland, I welcome even more paid vacation on top of the guaranteed 4 weeks per year that all Finns and Finnish residents working at least 30 hours a week receive.

they phased these out in Helsinki a few years back. i've heard several tales of freeloaders being trapped in the auto-clean mode.

#17

Roadside urination is the norm in Finland. Most wayside rests north of Tampere are mere parking lots with no facilities to speak of. Unless you consider birch trees acceptable urine targets. The cops don't care as long as they don't catch you pissing downtown.

steve, you were funnier with cocaine. hahaha..

welcome to america. please note sarcasm, i live in finland these days...

great photo. having relocated in finland a few years back i've been enjoying the mushrooms available at market as well as the everman's right to pick them. extra special good are the false morels, which, when handled properly taste good and don't kill you. i've heard that they are illegal back home in the u.s.

my 3 year old niece could make a better looking "yeti" footprint in her sandbox.

i'm willing to bet that cash and/or barter transactions are way older than hawala. how old is islam anyway?

Muppet,

You asked:Does this mean to say the dog had smelled the weed on your clothes at the Mexico-US border 9 years ago and they had logged it but not told you anything about it or stopped you at the time?

The dog smelled weed on me, according to the handler. I was escorted to the baggage area, then we took my backpack to an examination room. They went through all my stuff and had me strip, no cavity search though. Nothing was found, they sent me on my way. Actually I got out of the airport before anyone else on my plane did. Unfortunately every time I return home for a visit this incident is an issue.

as a refugee from bushistan this whole incident strikes me as incredibly unfortunate and embarrasing. as a resident of finland familiar with these folks (we had beers together in jyväskylä last spring) this whole thing is pretty ironic (in a fucked-up post 9-11 way. the music they play is based on finnish-AMERICAN (in other words immigrant) music and celebrates the universal american dream as well as the fact that some aspects of said music have been back and forth over the Atlantic a few times before its present incarnation.

incidentally, i went home for a short visit to MN a few weeks back and my finnish wife and i spent 2 hours in various lines and searches because the computer said that a springer spaniel may have smelled traces of marijuana residue on my clothing 9 years ago when i came back from a brief stay in mexico. we were headed for the next level of interrogation when some kind senior officer helped us past the brownshirts and to the pickup area where my brother was waiting.

hopefully the lännen-jukka trio still feels like playing next summer at finnfest in duluth. a lot of people who aren't homeland security drones deserve to hear their kickass music.