Home » Posts tagged 'finland'

Tag Archives: finland

The nuclear power plants in Olkiluoto are located in south-western Finland. – Copyright JACQUES DEMARTHON / AFP

Authorities have stated there is no danger after a “serious” incident was reported at a nuclear power station in Finland.

The incident occurred in reactor 2 of the Olkiluoto power station, in the southwest of the country at 12.22 local time (11:22 CET).

But the Finnish nuclear safety authority (STUK) later confirmed that the situation was stable and the reactor had been shut down.

“A severe abnormal disturbance occurred at the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant unit 2,” STUK said in a statement.

“The disturbance was possibly caused by a fault in the purification system for the reactor water… there was no radioactive release to the environment.

STUK added there was no need for protective measures and they did not expect any danger outside the unit. No workers or personnel had been exposed to radiation or injured in the incident.

“STUK started the emergency activities immediately in full force due to exceptionally high radiation levels inside the unit,” said director general Petteri Tiippana.

“There are about 80 persons following the situation, but we do not see an acute threat.”

About a third of Finland’s electricity comes from nuclear power, with four reactors in operation and two under construction.

Finland Braces For Rolling Blackouts This Winter

August 24, 2022

Finland Braces For Rolling Blackouts This Winter

Finnish grid operator warns of rolling blackouts this winter.
Gazprom stopped in May all gas deliveries to Finland.
Norway is considering limiting its electricity exports.

Finland should be prepared for possible power outages this winter in case of shortfalls in electricity supply, the Finnish grid operator said on Tuesday, in yet another warning of an energy crunch in Europe after gas supply from Russia was severely reduced.

In Finland’s case, Gazprom stopped in May all gas deliveries to Russia’s neighbor to the West, making Finland the third EU member state with Russian pipeline supply cut off after Poland and Bulgaria. The halt of Russian supply to Finland took place days after Finland—together with its Scandinavian neighbor Sweden—formally applied to join NATO in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russia has warned both countries against applying to become NATO members.

Finland gets up to 70 percent of the gas it uses from Russia, but gas doesn’t have a large share in the overall energy mix and accounts for 5 percent of total energy consumption.

“The war in Europe and the exceptional situation on the energy market have increased uncertainties related to the availability of electricity. As a result of the great uncertainties, Finns should be prepared for power outages caused by possible electricity shortages this coming winter,” Finnish grid operator Fingrid said today.

According to Fingrid, the Olkiluoto 3 nuclear power plant would compensate for the missing Russian imports.

“In practice, in the event of an electricity shortage, Fingrid will inform the local distribution network companies of the total amount of power to be disconnected from each distribution network company’s area, and after this, power outages will be recycled as two-hour outages until the electricity shortage has ended,” said Tuomas Rauhala, Senior Vice President, Power System Operation, at Fingrid.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

The jump to pumps: how Finland found an answer to heating homes

June 16, 2021

The jump to pumps: how Finland found an answer to heating homes

How to heat homes and workplaces without relying on fossil fuels is one of the more difficult challenges for moving rapidly to zero carbon economies. Within the European Union (EU), the heating sector is the most energy and carbon-intensive, accounting for nearly 50% of the total energy demand in the EU, 75% of which is met through burning fossil fuels. Globally in 2017, just 10% of heat demand was met with sources of renewable energy. But, as the United Kingdom declares an intention to remove domestic gas boilers, in chilly Scandinavia, Finland has shown the extraordinary potential of one of the less visible renewable energy technologies – heat pumps.

Individual householders identified the suitability of this technology early on and invested in learning from each other. When government regulation caught up and began to support the technology with legislation, the market was already well developed and local heating engineers relatively skilled up. This illustrates a problem that many other countries will face – having sufficient knowledge among engineers and installers to make a heating rapid transition possible.

Finland has historically relied on burning biomass and oil for heating, being a country with a relatively small, thinly spaced population and large forests. In 1970, 90% of its space heating supply came from timber and oil. However, by 2012 the heating supply mix was almost unrecognisable. District heating, where heat is transmitted from a centralised source through a network of insulated pipes to multiple buildings, accounted for 40% of the supply mix, with electricity providing 21%, biomass 21%, oil 11%, heat pumps 6%, and gas contributing only 1%.

Although regulation has driven the scale of this transition, individual households have also played a key role. Much of the huge investment flowing into the purchase and installation of heat pumps in Finland has come from regular homeowners using their own cash, with limited or no government support…

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

A Look at Finland’s EXTENSIVE Disaster Preparedness Plans

June 28, 2019

A Look at Finland’s EXTENSIVE Disaster Preparedness Plans

During World War II, the city of Helsinki Finland was bombed relentlessly, leaving the tiny country with a death toll of more than 90,000 people. It is due to these devastating losses that the Nordic nation has one of the most comprehensive preparedness cultures on the planet. Although it’s ranked as the 14th safest country in the world, Finland prepares its people for everything from natural disasters to terror attacks to war.

For example, every building with a floor area of more than 12,916 square feet is required to house a shelter to protect citizens in the event of a crisis. I think it’s always interesting to see how other countries prepare for disaster.

This fascinating video offers a glimpse inside Finland’s civil defense plans.

Not only are first responders ready for a variety of disasters. Even local business owners are trained so they know what to do should a disaster occur. Imagine the difference it could make if more of our workplaces were thoroughly trained to be prepared for a wide variety of disasters.

Finland also encourages individual preparedness

But it isn’t just emergency responders that the Finnish government prepares. They also recommend individual measures. The Department of the Interior website says:

Emergency planning by individuals forms part of society’s resilience
Every person should be prepared for all types of emergencies, such as disruptions to the electricity supply or telecommunications connections. Emergency planning by individuals assists the authorities in times of crisis, since resources do not suffice to help all of those who need help, and must be allocated to the most urgent cases. (source)

Finland isn’t the only country in Europe to urge citizens to prepare.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Trump-Putin Summit To Take Place On July 16 In Helsinki

June 28, 2018

Trump-Putin Summit To Take Place On July 16 In Helsinki

Update: And now we know the date:

TRUMP-PUTIN SUMMIT TO BE ON JULY 16 IN HELSINKI, U.S. SAYS

Here is the official statement:

* * *

Fox News Chief White House Correspondent John Roberts reported early Thursday morning that the White House and the Kremlin have decided on Helsinki as the location for the Trump-Putin summit, just as President Trump had suggested yesterday.

✔

White House and Kremlin have settled on Helsinki, Finland as the location for the @realDonaldTrump – Putin summit. Date to be announced today.

5:53 AM – Jun 28, 2018

The capital of Finland was first reported as the most likely site for the summit last week, and Finnish President Sauli Niinisto has already confirmed that Finland is prepared to host the summit. Yesterday, National Security Advisor John Bolton hammered out details during a working lunch with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov before meeting President Putin. During their pre-summit meeting yesterday, Bolton and Putin reportedly discussed nuclear arms control, conflicts in Syria and Ukraine, the situation in North Korea and the Iran nuclear deal.

“Despite the political noise in the US,” direct communications between Trump and Putin are in the “best interest of our country,” Bolton said yesterday during a press conference in Moscow.

President Trump has pushed for improved relations with the Kremlin, even inviting Putin to the White House during a March phone call. Efforts to arrange the summit started to intensify in mid-June. Bolton said during yesterday’s press conference that both Trump and Putin shared a belief that their face-to-face meeting will improve relations between the two countries.

Bolton also insisted that Trump and Putin will discuss “a full range of issues” including arms control agreements, alleged Russian meddling and the possibility of Moscow re-joining the G-8.

The two sides have also agreed on a time and date for the summit – information that will likely be released on Thursday.

Finland’s Largest Newspaper Faces Treason Charges For Publishing Leaked Files On Spy Ops Targeting Russia

December 18, 2017

Finland’s Largest Newspaper Faces Treason Charges For Publishing Leaked Files On Spy Ops Targeting Russia

A bizarre story of a police raid on a Finnish journalist’s home is drawing international attention, especially as it occurred in a country known for its protection of press freedoms. The journalist is Laura Halminien from Finland’s largest daily newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat, where she published a bombshell investigative report on Saturday based on previously leaked documents connected to a Finnish intelligence operation which closely monitors Russian military movements just across the border in the St. Petersburg region.

The report gave details of Finish Defense Intelligence Agecy (VKoeL) secretive facilities and ongoing operations regarding surveillance of Russia, with special focus on a signals surveillance complex in the city of Tikkakoski in central Finland. The Tikkakoski complex is said use a high tech and advanced monitoring system to observe Russian military maneuvers based on electromagnetic radiation.

Main offices for Finland’s largest daily newspaper, which is now under investigation over the leaks. Image source: Hakaniemi

The unusual police search occurred on Sunday evening, when authorities showed up the journalist’s home without a warrant, yet in response to a possible fire. According to Reuters the series of events unfolded as follows:

Finnish police searched a reporter’s home and seized her computer after she tried to destroy the hard drive to protect sources linked to a security story, her newspaper reported. The journalist, Laura Halminen, said she tried to smash up her computer with a hammer in her home, but the laptop then started smoking and she called the fire brigade, according to an interview published by her employer Helsingin Sanomat.

Police officers who came to her home with the fire service to investigate the blaze then took her computer and searched her property, police said…

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Sweden, Submarines, and Propaganda

October 27, 2017

Sweden, Submarines, and Propaganda

Sweden’s most recent military cooperation with the US-NATO military alliance involved hosting armed forces of the many countries which participated in Exercise Aurora in September. As noted by Euronews, “Sweden is undertaking its biggest military exercise amid fears of Russian military build up,” and NATO headquarters announced that “In the current security context with heightened concerns about Russian military activities, NATO is stepping up cooperation with Sweden and Finland in the Baltic region.”

NATO is anxious, even desperate, to justify the existence of one of the least-needed and most confrontational military alliances of modern times. In January, before he arrived in the White House, President Trump called NATO “obsolete” but in April went into reverse and said “It’s no longer obsolete,” which was fair warning of what lay ahead in the erratic administration of the most vulgar and spiteful president the United States has ever had.

The fact remains that NATO is indeed ineffective and irrelevant (the notion of Russia invading Sweden is preposterous and, as Der Spiegel observed on October 20, “to be sure, hardly anyone really thinks that Russia might attack a NATO member state”), but its nominal leader, Jens Stoltenberg (the real chief is the US General titled “Supreme Allied Commander Europe”), has assumed the air of a national head of government and whisks expensively round the world making statements that have nothing whatever to do with NATO

One of NATO’s “concerns” in its obsession with Russia is to persuade Sweden to not only increase its already substantial collaboration with the alliance, but to actually become a member — although defence minister Peter Hultqvist is not in favour of such a commitment, in spite of having increased military spending and reintroduced conscription.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

The Ever-Growing List of ADMITTED False Flag Attacks

March 7, 2017

The Ever-Growing List of ADMITTED False Flag Attacks

Painting by Anthony Freda

Presidents, Prime Ministers, Congressmen, Generals, Spooks, Soldiers and Police ADMIT to False Flag Terror

In the following instances, officials in the government which carried out the attack (or seriously proposed an attack) admit to it, either orally, in writing, or through photographs or videos:

(1) Japanese troops set off a small explosion on a train track in 1931, and falsely blamed it on China in order to justify an invasion of Manchuria. This is known as the “Mukden Incident” or the “Manchurian Incident”. The Tokyo International Military Tribunal found: “Several of the participators in the plan, including Hashimoto [a high-ranking Japanese army officer], have on various occasions admitted their part in the plot and have stated that the object of the ‘Incident’ was to afford an excuse for the occupation of Manchuria by the Kwantung Army ….” And see this, this and this.

(2) A major with the Nazi SS admitted at the Nuremberg trials that – under orders from the chief of the Gestapo – he and some other Nazi operatives faked attacks on their own people and resources which they blamed on the Poles, to justify the invasion of Poland.

(3) The minutes of the high command of the Italian government – subsequently approved by Mussolini himself – admitted that violence on the Greek-Albanian border was carried out by Italians and falsely blamed on the Greeks, as an excuse for Italy’s 1940 invasion of Greece.

(4) Nazi general Franz Halder also testified at the Nuremberg trials that Nazi leader Hermann Goering admitted to setting fire to the German parliament building in 1933, and then falsely blaming the communists for the arson.

(5) Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev admitted in writing that the Soviet Union’s Red Army shelled the Russian village of Mainila in 1939 – while blaming the attack on Finland – as a basis for launching the “Winter War” against Finland. Russian president Boris Yeltsin agreed that Russia had been the aggressor in the Winter War.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

The SPV Loophole: Draghi Just Unleashed “QE For The Entire World”… And May Have Bailed Out US Shale

April 22, 2016

The SPV Loophole: Draghi Just Unleashed “QE For The Entire World”… And May Have Bailed Out US Shale

Almost exactly one year ago, we wrote “Mario Draghi, Collateral Scarcity, And Why The ECB Will Soon Buy Corporate Bonds.” 11 months later, the ECB confirmed this when for the first time ever, Mario Draghi said he would do purchase corporate bonds when he launched the ECB’s Corporate Sector Purchase Programme (CSPP), confirming that with government bond collateral evaporating and the liquidity situation getting precariously dangerous and forcing moments of historic volatility (as in the April/May 2015 Bund fiasco), he had run out of other options.

And while we have been covering this key development closely since its announcement more than a month ago, we were surprised by how little attention most of the sellside was paying to what is clearly a watershed moment in capital markets as a central banks now openly backstops corporate bond issuance (among other things pointing out a month ago Why The ECB Will Be Forced To Buy Junk Bonds Next). Ironically, the market was fully aware of what the ECB’s action meant as we showed in the “The ECB Effect: European Telecom Issues Largest Ever Junk Bond After More Than 100% Upsizing.”

Now, following the release of the full details of its corporate bond buying program, analysts are once again keenly focused on hits program who impact will be dramatic over the coming years.

First, as a reminder, here are the big picture details:

May buy in primary and secondary markets
Issue share limit of 70% per ISIN
Inclusion of bonds issued by insurance companies
Can buy bonds of companies incorporated in the euro area whose ultimate parent is not based in the euro area
Remaining maturity of 6 months and maximum of 30Y

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

It Begins: Desperate Finland Set To Unleash Helicopter Money Drop To All Citizens

December 7, 2015

It Begins: Desperate Finland Set To Unleash Helicopter Money Drop To All Citizens

With Citi’s chief economist proclaiming “only helicopter money can save the world now,”and the Bank of England pre-empting paradropping money concerns, it appears that Australia’s largest investment bank’s forecast that money-drops were 12-18 months away was too conservative.

Over the last few months, in a prime example of currency failure and euro-defenders’ narratives, Finland has been sliding deeper into depression. Almost 7 years into the the current global expansion, Finland’s GDP is 6pc below its previous peak. As The Telegraph reports, this is a deeper and more protracted slump than the post-Soviet crash of the early 1990s, or the Great Depression of the 1930s. And so, having tried it all, Finnish authorities are preparing to unleash “helicopter money” to save their nation by giving every citizen a tax-free payout of around $900 each month!

Just over two years ago, when the world was deciding who would be Bernanke Fed Chair replacement, Larry Summers or Janet Yellen (how ironic that Larry Summers did not get the nod just because a bunch of progressive economists thought he would not be dovish enough) we wrote about a different problem: with the end of QE3 upcoming and with the inevitable failure of the economy to reignite (again), we warned that there remains one option after (when not if) QE fails to stimulate growth: helicopter money.

While QE may be ending, it certainly does not mean that the Fed is halting its effort to “boost” the economy. In fact… the end of QE may well be simply a redirection, whereby the broken monetary pathway, one which uses banks as intermediaries to stimulate inflation (supposedly a failure according to the economist mainstream), i.e., “second-round effects”, is bypassed entirely and replaced with Plan Z, aka “Helicopter Money” mentioned previously as an all too real monetary policy option by none other than Milton Friedman and one Ben Bernanke. This is also known as the nuclear option.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

The Great Greek Fudge

August 1, 2015

The Great Greek Fudge

A third Greek bailout involving loans from the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the eurozone’s bailout scheme, is now being negotiated. The start was quite rocky, with haggling over the preciselocation in Athens where negotiations need to take place and Greek officials once again withholding information to creditors. Therefore, few still believe that it will be possible to conclude a deal in time for Greece to repay 3.2 billion euro to the ECB on 20 August. Several national Parliaments in the Eurozone would need to approve a final deal, which would necessitate calling their members back from recess around two weeks before the 20th, so it’s weird that French EU Commissioner Pierre Moscovici still seems so confident that the deadline can be met.

If indeed there is no deal, Greece is likely to request a second so-called “bridge loan” to allow it to pay the ECB, firmly within the Eurozone tradition of the creditor providing the debtor cash in order to pay back the creditor. France, which is most eager to keep Greece inside the Eurozone, is afraid that bilateral bridge loans from Eurozone countries wouldn’t be approved by the more critical member states, as this would risk France having to foot this bill on its own, perhaps with Italy. Not exactly a rosy prospect for socialist French President Hollande, who’s already struggling to contain the far right anti-euro formation Front National.

The only European fund practically available to provide a bridge loan is the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (EFSM), a fund created in May 2010, which has been raising 60 billion euro on the markets, with the EU’s €1 trillion Budget as collateral. The EFSM belongs not just to Eurozone member states, but to all EU member states.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

IMF Declares War On Germany: In “Secret” Report Lagarde Says Greece Will Need Massive Debt Relief

July 14, 2015

IMF Declares War On Germany: In “Secret” Report Lagarde Says Greece Will Need Massive Debt Relief

A divide between the IMF and Europe (read: Germany), regarding writedowns on Greece’s debt to the EU has been brewing for quite some time and recently returned to the international spotlight when, a few months back, the Fund indicated debt relief was a precondition for its participation in any further aid for Athens.

More recently, the IMF released a report on Greece’s debt sustainability just prior to the referendum. The timing appeared to be strategic and may have helped secure the “no” vote for Tsipras.

Unfortunately, the IMF didn’t appear to anticipate the PM’s complete capitulation and now, the subject of debt relief has again been put off, this time until Greece officially passes the new “deal” through parliament and legislates its terms.

Now, another “secret” IMF document on the sustainability of Greece’s debt burden has surfaced and not surprisingly, the Fund is once again pounding the table on a haircut. One is certainly left to wonder if the US (and its veto power) are pulling the strings behind the scenes and orchestrating “leaks” at opportune times. Here’s more from Reuters:

Greece will need debt relief far beyond what euro zone partners have been prepared to consider due to the devastation of its economy and banks in the last two weeks, a confidential study by the International Monetary Fund seen by Reuters shows.

The updated debt sustainability analysis was sent to euro zone governments late on Monday, hours after Athens and its 18 partners agreed in principle to open negotiations on a third bailout programme of up to 86 billion euros in return for tougher austerity measures and structural reforms.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Deal Struck Following Total Capitulation By Tsipras: Market Awaits Greek Reaction To Draconian Deal Terms

July 13, 2015

Deal Struck Following Total Capitulation By Tsipras: Market Awaits Greek Reaction To Draconian Deal Terms

Last night, when we concluded our overnight summary state of affairs we said that “we expect some resolution around first light this morning, and while another Greek can kicking and some last-moment “hope” is surely in the cards, we know two things: Greece is officially finished – there is no way the Tsipras or any other government can politically recover after such a humiliating spectacle when half of Europe made a mockery of the Greek people; and perhaps better, we finally have seen the true face of Europe: visible only when things are finally falling apart.”

Sure enough, just around 9am CET, after a 17-hour mammoth all-night session, Greece did manage to cobble together a “deal” if one may call this latest embarrassing can-kicking that, which was nothing short of total capitulation by Tsipras: a prime minister who 8 days ago was victorious cheering the passage of a referendum that rejected a far less draconian deal.

As part of the deal, Greece “surrendered to European demands for immediate action to qualify for up to 86 billion euros ($95 billion) of aid Greece needs to stay in the euro” as Bloomberg politely put it.

We would put it as follows: Greece agreed, at the cost of ceding its sovereignty to Europe, to allow the Troika to repay itself.

Worse, there is no actual deal term sheet on the table: while the summit agreement averted a worst-case outcome for Greece, it only established the basis for negotiations on an aid package, which would also include €25 billion euros to recapitalize its weakened financial system, money which would come from Greek asset sales.

The politicians were greatly relieved, perhaps most of all to be finally able to go to bed. Here is the statement by Euro president Donald Tusk:

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Greece: Out Of Cash, Out Of Time, Out Of Options

June 4, 2015

Greece: Out Of Cash, Out Of Time, Out Of Options

On Friday Greece is due to pay at least a quarter of the €1.5bn due to the IMF in June.

…

The creditors say they will only disburse the money if the Greek government enacts various key economic reforms and does not roll back reforms the last government agreed with the lenders and if the Greek government undertakes to run large enough budget surpluses every year in the future that Greece might have a chance of paying back the money the creditors have lent it.

The Greek government says there is no possibility of it ever paying back all the money it has been lent and the creditors need to accept that, write off some of the debt, and not insist that Greece runs large surpluses (predicated on the fantasy of paying back the debt) or cuts back on pensions or enacts other similar measures that run contrary to the Greek voters’ will (as expressed in the last election).

Most commentary still appears predicated on the idea that there will be some last-minute deal – either because the creditors will back down and give Greece some more money without requiring it to be paid back or because the Greek government will back down if it understands that not doing so would ultimately mean leaving the euro.

I, on the other hand, don’t believe either side is particularly interested in achieving a deal.

The Eurozone does not want to make any compromise with the current Greek government because:

(a) they don’t believe they need to because Greek threats to leave the euro are empty both because internal polling suggests Greeks don’t want to leave and because if they did leave that doesn’t really constitute any threat to the euro;

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

U.S. To Lead A Fractured Arctic Council For The Next Two Years

April 27, 2015

U.S. To Lead A Fractured Arctic Council For The Next Two Years

The United States is set to take over the two-year chairmanship of the Arctic Council, and although there is a lot of uncertainty over how the U.S. will wield its influence, it will be taking the helm for a period of time that could see much more activity north of the Arctic Circle.

The Arctic Council is an international forum consisting of the eight nations that have territory in the Arctic – Canada, the U.S., Denmark (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and Russia. Up until recently it has been held up as a model of international cooperation. The members worked together on disaster response and environmental stewardship, leaving politics out of the council, all in the name of peace.

But the war in Ukraine has injected tension into the Council, creating conflict where it once didn’t exist. Canadian officials lambasted Russia’s involvement in Ukraine during its two-year tenure (2013-2015), using its platform as Council Chair. With western sanctions on top Russian officials, in February Canadacancelled the Arctic Showcase event in Ottawa that was supposed to be held on April 23 because it did not want sanctioned Russian officials to attend.

Russia has retaliated. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has attended every meeting since 2004 but chose to sit this one out in protest. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitri Rogozin, who has been targeted by western sanctions, visited Svalbard in mid-April, an archipelago that belongs to Norway. Norway protested his visit, and it was seen as a provocation ahead of the Arctic Council summit in Canada. Russia has also stepped up air patrols along its border with Norway in recent months, aggressive moves that have increased since its conflict with the West over Ukraine erupted in 2014.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Tag Archives: finland

Content

Post categories

Economic Links

Energy/Resource Links

Environmental Links

Geopolitical Links

Liberty Links

News Links

Other Links

Survival Skills

Post Archives by Category

Post navigation

Latest Posts