Hyvää päivää/Good day! The “virtual” spring session of Finnish language classes will start on Monday, March 30, at 6 PM and will run for consecutive Mondays, ending on May 18. Email Lorna for details.
Classes are held on line w/ZOOM software.
To register, please contact Lorna Sulin at LDSULIN@verizon.net or 978 407-9690, FCSP, PO Box 30, Fitchburg, MA 01420.
Kiitos/Thank you! and Stay Safe!
Finland has a new government, headed by Social Democratic Party vice chair, Sanna Marin. The administration is Finland’s 76th.
At just 34 years old, Marin, the former Minister for Transport and Communications, is now the world’s youngest premier. Her cabinet consists of 12 women and seven men. All leaders of the five-party government coalition are women.
President Sauli Niinistö appointed the new administration shortly after 3pm on Tuesday, at the same time accepting the resignation of the previous government led by SDP chair Antti Rinne.
Rinne had been premier for just six months before tendering his resignation over his mishandling of a labour dispute between postal workers and their state-owned employer, national mail carrier Posti. Rinne and his government continued in a caretaker capacity until Marin’s formal appointment on Tuesday.
One of the cornerstones of our national resilience is the strategic grain reserve system. These reserves include wheat, oats, barley and rye, grains that are central to both our agriculture and our diet. Stored in secure facilities across the country, they are rotated using the Fifo (first in, first out) method to maintain quality and ensure older grains are used before newer ones. These reserves are designed to sustain the population for nine months in the event of a global supply-chain collapse or domestic production disruption. During the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, they have helped reassure the public.
Finland’s food self-sufficiency rate is around 80%. That means we produce most of the food we consume, which is a rare achievement in today’s interconnected world. This is thanks to our farmers, who operate more than 40,000 farms nationwide. In 2024, crop production was the main activity on 74% of farms, while livestock farming was practised on 20%. The average farm size is 56 hectares. Despite a short growing season and a limited variety of crops, our agricultural sector is efficient, innovative and supported by strong infrastructure. These farms are the backbone of our food system and their role in national security cannot be overstated.
Preparedness also starts at home. In Finland, household-level readiness is essential. One of our most effective tools is the 72-hour model, which encourages every household to be self-sufficient: to have enough food and bottled water (five litres per person) for three days. We advise having a stock of dry foods that keep well, such as nuts or dried fruit. Our home emergency supply kit checklist includes such items as a first aid kit, iodine tablets, a battery-powered radio, torch, power bank, portable stove, toilet paper and duct tape.
By David Lawder and Andrea Shalal, Reuters – 7:28 AM ET 8/29/2025
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. tariff exemption for package shipments valued under $800 ended on Friday, raising costs and disrupting supply chain models for e-commerce companies, small businesses using online marketplaces and consumers alike.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency began collecting normal duty rates on all global parcel imports, regardless of value, country of origin, (Finland included) or mode of transportation at 12:01 a.m. EDT (0401 GMT) on Friday. It offered a flat-rate duty option of $80 to $200 per package shipped from foreign postal agencies for six months.
The change broadens the Trump administration’s cancellation of the de minimis exemption for packages from China and Hong Kong in May as part of an effort to halt shipments of fentanyl and its precursor chemicals into the U.S..
North Karelia force says fence dividing Finland and Russia is no Berlin Wall – but it is now a key geopolitical faultline
Among the serene lakes, thick forest and summer houses of North Karelia’s border zone, the line between Finland and Russia is almost invisible. Walking along the border path in Meriinaho, part of the Finnish border guard station of Ilomantsi, we are closer to St Petersburg than to Helsinki. This is the most easterly point of the continental European Union.
Every now and then a discreet pair of matching striped fibreglass posts pop up from the blueberry patches on either side of the frontier. One is painted blue and white to indicate Finland, the other green and red to mark Russia.
Despite generations of tensions and several wars, until recently these sparsely planted bollards – plus surveillance by Finnish and Russian border guards – were deemed sufficient to demarcate the neighbours. But the mood on both sides of the 830-mile (1,340km) frontier, now also a critical Nato border, is changing fast.
Last week as he sat down at the White House with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump for talks on how to end the war in Ukraine, Finland’s president, Alexander Stubb, drew on the border to convey to the US president Europe’s collective concern.
He told Trump: “We might come from a small country but we have a long border with Russia, over 800 miles. And we of course have our own historical experience with Russia, from world war two, the winter war and the war of continuation.”
In an attempt to strike a note of optimism, he added: “We found a solution in 1944 and I’m sure that we will be able to find a solution in 2025.” (more at):
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/25/finland-fence-nato-border-russia
Miranda Bryant in Meriinaho, North Karelia Mon 25 Aug 2025 10.02 EDT
The Associated Press
OULU, Finland >> Finnish air guitarist Aapo “The Angus” Rautio plucked victory from thin air on Friday night, grabbing the world championship title for his homeland for the first time since 2000.
This year’s Air Guitar World Championships reached the climax with a final Friday evening on a square in the western city of Oulu. It’s the 28th edition of a three-day event held in Finland that brings together competitors from 13 countries.
Contestants are judged on the performance of two songs in two separate rounds, each lasting 60 seconds, with the singers pretending to play an imaginary guitar.
Passion is a must, but much of the rest is up to the contenders. Props and costumes are allowed, but backup bands and real instruments are off-limits.
The two-hour final pits last year’s winner, Canada’s Zachary “Ichabod Fame” Knowles, against eight national champions and seven contenders who emerged from the qualifying rounds. The challengers include U.S. champion Saladin “Six String Sal” Thomas and German champion Patrick “Van Airhoven” Culek.
The winner is chosen by a five-member jury of performing arts professionals. Whoever is crowned will win an actual guitar — a “Flying Finn” made by Finnish guitar maker Matti Nevalainen.
The championships were first held in 1996. Their organizers state that “according to the competition ideology, wars will end, climate change will stop and all bad things will vanish when all the people in the world play the air guitar.”
Contestants may, according to the rules, “use an electric or an acoustic air guitar, or both.” The jury takes into account “originality, the ability to be taken over by the music, stage presence, technical merit, artistic impression and Airness.”
Each jury member scores the performances with a mark between 4.0 and 6.0. Each contestant’s scores from the first and second round — the first with a song chosen by the performer and the second with one chosen by the organizers — are added together and the candidate with the highest total score wins.
On Oct. 14, 2025, Microsoft will officially end public support for Windows 10 — that means no more software updates, security patches, or technical support for your Windows 10 computer, no matter how well it still works.
Don’t worry: If you’re using a Windows 10 PC right now, it’s not going to magically stop working next year. So, what to do?
2. Ride it out with Windows 10…“Trying to secure an outdated operating system is hopeless,” said Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer of the Finland-based cybersecurity group WithSecure. When new patches and updates are released for Windows 11, he says, attackers will reverse-engineer those releases to see if the same vulnerabilities exist in Windows 10 as well. “Most of them will, and users running Windows 10 will be attacked,” he addedOR
3. if you’re one of those people whose PC simply won’t play nice with Windows 11, it might be worth considering buying a new computer outright.
4. Ditch Windows altogether….a,) In the past, we’ve found success with ChromeOS Flex — free software or b.) there’s always Linux — distributions like Mint and Ubuntu are relatively easy to get started with ( best of all; it’s free and Finnish – from Linus Torvalds).
From the Washington Post 08/25
Real ID requirements for those flying within the United States begin Wednesday after nearly 20 years of delays.
The day ahead of the deadline, people lined up at government offices across the country to secure their compliant IDs. In Chicago, officials established a Real ID Supercenter for walk-in appointments, while officials in California and elsewhere planned to continue offering extended hours for the crush of appointments.
“I’m here today so I won’t be right on the deadline, which is tomorrow,” said Marion Henderson, who applied for her Real ID on Tuesday in Jackson, Mississippi.
The homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, on Tuesday assured people who don’t yet have a REAL ID but need to take a domestic flight Wednesday that they will be able to fly after clearing additional identity checks.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/07/real-id-domestic-flights
“All these connected devices, all these ‘smart’ devices in our networks. And I should know because I am the father of the Hypponen Law, which tells you that whenever something is described to you as ‘smart’ what you should be hearing is… it’s vulnerable.”
Mikko first tweeted his law, which triggers over 60,000 search results on Google, almost 7 years ago, in December of 2016. And it seems to become truer every day.
Even the FBI and Interpol have tried to make the case to internet users that they should not assume these connected devices are safe just because they don’t have a keyboard.
Copy of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Refugees was due to be returned to Helsinki’s central library month after USSR invaded Finland
By one of those so called “honest” Finns?😉
Enjoy
Bob H
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Finnish & Cooking Classes in Spring 2025
Hei kaikki/ Hello Everyone
It is time to sign up for March Finnish classes!
(And yes, you are allowed to sign up for following months already, too, lol)
If you need some help with Suomen Mestari 1 chapters 7-8, (word types, locations, partitiivi in “mass-words” and post positions, and a little bit of the object) please join Finnish Basics starting 3/6, Thursday evenings.
On Sundays Sanakirja continues at 6PM and Listen & Understand at 6.30PM
Hauskaa kevättä kaikille, toivottavasti nähdään kursseilla!
Happy Spring Everyone, I hope to see you in class soon!
Saija
MAALISKUU/ MARCH
Sanakirja
Sunday Evenings 3/2-3/23 at 6.00-6.30 PM EST $35
30 minute weekly class about vocabulary given, making your own sentences. You will be given sentences in English and you will translate them in Finnish.
Listen & Understand
Sunday Evenings 3/2-3/23 at 6.30-7.00 PM EST $30
30 minute weekly class with listening exercises, texts and questions provided a week ahead. You will hear the same text 3-4 times, and then you can answer the questions.
Finnish Basics VOL3 jatko
Thursdays 3/6-3/27 at 7.30-8.30 PM EST $80
Beginner-level online class using the book Suomen Mestari 1. Chapters 7-8. Continuing where Finnish Basics was left in chapter 7.
HUHTIKUU/ APRIL
Sanakirja
Sunday Evenings 4/6-4/27 at 6.00-6.30 PM EST $35
30 minute weekly class about vocabulary given, making your own sentences. You will be given sentences in English and you will translate them in Finnish.
FINNISH FOR BEGINNERS 4/3-5/29 at 7.30 PM
Suomi-koulu of New England additional class starting from the Beginning!
If you missed the first round, here is your second chance! We will start Suomen Mestari 1 from the beginning on Thursday nights. 9 weekly lessons in April-May.
$150 FFB members, $180 non-members
Easy Reading
Sunday Mornings 4/6-4/27 at 10-11 AM EST , $80
New texts with syllables helping your pronunciation and getting your emphasis right when speaking Finnish.
Below are the classes offered IN PERSON. Fitchburg, Weston and West Newton.
SAIMA PARK, Fitchburg MA, March-June
3/31-6/9, 3 groups!
Advanced 3-5:00 PM (includes 4:30-5:00 coffee)
Beginners 4:30-6:30 PM (includes 4:30-5:00 coffee)
Advanced Beginners 6:30-8:15 (includes 6:30-6:45 coffee)
TUITION $80, members $75
SUOMI-KOULU of NEW ENGLAND, Weston MA, March
Saturday 3/29 at 10-12 Baking Korvapuusti!
$30/ person
Join us to bake traditional korvapuusti from scratch and go home with warm baked goods!
SCANDINAVIAN CULTURAL CENTER, West Newton MA, April
4/4-4/25 Off to Finland!, Fridays 6-7.30 PM, $150, members $100
Travel phrases, Helsinki hotspots ja Handy tips. If you are planning to travel to Helsinki/ Finland this Summer, this is for you!
SAIMA PARK, Fitchburg MA, May
5/4 at 10-1 Baking Nisu/ Pulla/ Kahvileipä
$30/ person, $25 for members.
Join us to bake traditional nisu! We will be doing this from scratch, going over the history of this lovely baked good while we bake.
If you wish to try to bake korvapuusti (cinnamon roll) as well, please let us know and it will be added to the list!
Dwight Swanson is doing research on Finnish-American home movies and films for a presentation at Finnfest this summer, and one of the centerpieces is going to be the films of George Bergroth. Dwight writes: “I saw them in the documentary that Judith Lindstedt did about Bergroth, and they are the best that I have found anywhere. I have been trying to find out where the original films have ended up, since Judith only ever had VHS copies. I would like to find the films to help get them preserved or at least digitized in a higher resolution, if possible. I have been in touch with Marita Cauthen, Charlie Huse, and Marian Flinkstrom, but so far keep running into dead ends, since none of them seem to know where the films might be.
If ANYONE has any leads about the location of the films (or at least the video copies, since I haven’t seen all of those), I would greatly appreciate it.”
Sincerely,
Dwight Swanson 804-320-1217
