Globe-trotting Trojan virus

The headlines in media here in Finland this morning, has all been a bout the outcome of the US presidential elections. Everybody politician and celebrity want to have a go at predicting how the newly elected president Obama will be running the country.

Anyway, more interesting is a new globe-trotting Trojan-virus that has so far stolen the info for about 500.000 credit and debit cards. The virus has silently been collecting information for two and a half years and is constantly being updated with new variants. The most serious aspect of this virus is that any computer connecting to the Internet can become infected as it uses a method known as “drive-by downloads” and users can be infected without knowing about it, if visiting a website that has been booby-trapped with the code.

So once again, keep your virus programs and firewalls up and running at all times and have them regularly updated.

Taxs list public

Yesterday last year’s tax results were made public and lists with people the biggest earners in each municipality were published on the Net.

I really wonder what use that is, more than make people envious and want more, or maybe it comes handy when blondes are looking for eligible bachelors. Must be every girl’s dream, having the official tax lists available, when hunting for a new husband.

This year the average tax return is about 600 Euros, and will be paid back on December 4^th directly into your bank account, depending on whether you have provided the authorities with your bank account number, or by a postal order by December the 10^th. Which will come good in handy for the Xmas shopping.

For those with back taxes, this year the average came to of 1600 Euros, and the sum will have to paid in two payments, one in December and the second on in February next year.

Refunded in full

Only a year ago many Icelandic companies were flying high buying property abroad and investing in many businesses.

I always wondered where the money came from, as Iceland to my knowledge has not many natural sources except their inexpensive way making electricity and heating up houses due to the heat produced by the seismic activity beneath the island. Everything else has to be imported from abroad.

Today the picture is completely the opposite. Iceland is in big trouble with their national finances, and they are now trying to borrow money in order to save their economy from total collapse amidst the global economical decline.

Also here in Finland the aftermaths of the touch and go collapse of the Icelandic economy can be seen, and one financial bank owned by Icelanders was taken over by their Finnish employees and sought for financial subsidies from the Finnish government in order to be able to refund all the money deposited by their clients.

Currently only up to 50.000 Euros of deposited money in bank accounts are guaranteed to be paid back to the customers in case of the bank is not able to do.

Fortunately for the 10.000 clients of the bank in question now three Finnish banks in are now lending the money needed to refund their clients in full.

More interest in politics

Voter turnout in the municipal elections has from the year 2004 improved to 61 percent voting in yesterday’s municipal elections.

24 % had voted in advance and could stay home instead of having to make the trip to the polling stations in the prevailing bad weather with hard winds and heavy rain.

The True Finns Party gained most votes, as their share of voters rose most in percentage still being a small party, but The National Coalition Party were the winners as the got the biggest part of the votes.

These numbers from the elections are just absolutely useless, as they give no hint of what happens in your own city council or municipality. It just gives a clue of the party’s popularity in general all over Finland, with the numbers are added up party-wise.

The interesting part is what happens where you live.

For me remains only one question to ponder about after the municipal elections.

How are people, who already are members of the parliament, and now were elected into city councils and municipalities, going to be able to be at two places at the same time? If they are not able to be in two places at the same time, then they must get double pay for half the job?!?

Gold medal in cooking

The Culinary Olympics founded in 1896, is one of the oldest and most prestigious international cooking competitions in the world. And this year the gold medal was won by the Finnish team in Erfurt, Germany, with participating teams from 40 other countries.

So, what does this mean for Finnish cuisine after years of bad mouthed comments from leaders of other European countries, have they been wrong or has the Finns improved their cooking skills?

I am quite sure there were teams present from the countries with leaders who think they have the best culinary skills in their country and I doubt any drastic change has been taken place in the Finnish cuisine, so i guess these famous politicians must have been wrong. And maybe not for the first time as I has been all across the European tabloids.

Anyway, to my own disappointment, the menu served, did not consist of any Finnish specialities, but I guess the ingredients were chosen before hand, as in most renowned cooking competitions.The Finnish winning menu consisted a three-course meal consisting of salmon and lobster with spinach for starters, veal with sweetbread sausages for main, followed by an orange-yoghurt cake and strawberry-chocolate mousse.

Sounds yummy!

Good economy TV

Having been down with a bad flu and not having any strength do to much but doze off to the TV, I have really had time to discover is going on in TV land here in Finland.

And my conclusion is that at least there is one place that uses recycling well, that is, so many programs are re-run so many times within i very short period of time, that they turn washed out as some series are broadcasted three or four times within the next year or two.

Guess this is good economy and makes the TV shows less expensive to purchase if yo0u show them as many times as you possibly can in the given contract time, but it kills the interest of the viewers even though the program itself was good the first time around.

The second thing that is recycled but the program or show itself, is the idea for reality TV shows, and this goes for the whole world and not just for Finland. One reality TV show format is sold around the world and all the programs are made in the same mold, with a little difference for some cultural variations. And is this reality TV, are there really no written scripts?

Guess there has to be some water tight legal work behind, so no one can reveal the truth of reality shows and reveal any scripts. But they seem cheap enough to produce and there also apparently must be a market for them as they are produced en masse.

Pre-voting begins today

Today the pre-voting begins for the Finnish municipal elections at special polling stations.

A campaign has also been launched to try to make most people to vote in advance, as the number of polling stations on the election day itself, has been cut.

Even foreign residents are allowed to vote in the municipal elections, provided they are registered for voting and have a valid piece of identification, which is required of all voters. This gives you a good opportunity to influence the politics in your home town, and the interest in municipal politics is said to have increased, especially among the younger voters.