Welcome Finland!!!
- Thread starter Joe Brody
- Start date
I wouldn't mind knowing which nation you're talking about. The news in these parts is dominated by the 5.5M sullen drunkards who just joined the club.
Oh, so the United Nations is like the Internet then?
Now I wonder how they measured it. If it was, "Who's the happiest when given a bottle of booze and then left the heck alone"... then it makes a ton of sense.
But, I digress.
Right, NATO. That's a... yay, I guess? I mean, I support the decision to join, 100% - but if all it took to make this happy nation finally file their application was Russia starting a major land war in Europe, I ain't so sure if that's all that flattering for us or not. Saying it was a carefully measured decision taken after a lengthy deliberation would sure look better in the history books, rather than decades of blissfully maintaining an official stance of neutrality next to a tinpot dictator, then just waking up one morning and having a collective "Oh, crap" moment.
Now I wonder how they measured it. If it was, "Who's the happiest when given a bottle of booze and then left the heck alone"... then it makes a ton of sense.
But, I digress.
Right, NATO. That's a... yay, I guess? I mean, I support the decision to join, 100% - but if all it took to make this happy nation finally file their application was Russia starting a major land war in Europe, I ain't so sure if that's all that flattering for us or not. Saying it was a carefully measured decision taken after a lengthy deliberation would sure look better in the history books, rather than decades of blissfully maintaining an official stance of neutrality next to a tinpot dictator, then just waking up one morning and having a collective "Oh, crap" moment.
curmudgeon
Well-known member
I'm a little happy the land of my ancestors and excessive DNA matches has backup if it gets in a fight.
If Sweden follows, I'd have have the other chunk of my family covered.
If Sweden follows, I'd have have the other chunk of my family covered.
I predict it's a matter of months, if not weeks, before Sweden's in the club too.
But even if that never happened, I'd say Sweden's got little to worry about. There's only one country on this Earth that could even theoretically invade Sweden, and in order to do it that country would either have to mount a massive amphibious force or start a land war with NATO first.
Joe Brody
Well-known member
Regardless of the circumstances (though the continuing humanity tragedy and loss of life in Ukraine is deplorable and sickening), I'm glad to have one of the best standing armies in the world join the alliance. In Finland's defense (for what it took to join), though, you guys have long done smart things like aligning with NATO standard ammo and munitions just in case, right?
That said (jokingly), maybe I should rethink my excitement because I didn't know y'all were so down and boozy. . . . .
How can anyone be boozy in a land where the sun doesn't set? I've been to Norway and they seemed pretty sober. Is it all that different in Finland?
DNA's fascinating stuff. My DNA is split 50-50 from opposite ends of Europe. I'm 50 Irish (mother's side) from a very concentrated & small area north of Galway and County Mayo and the other 50 percent is Rusyn -- which is NOT Russian but a distinct ethnic group from a small area in the Carpathian's, so I'm essentially Eastern Slovak/Western Ukrainian (father's side).
For the most part, yeah. The Finnish Defense Forces have been working on making themselves compatible with the other Western armies since the fall of the Soviet Union. The only major exception is the standard issue infantry rifle, which still uses 7.62 - to enable looting for extra ammunition from the fallen enemy.
Well, yes. Giving loaded guns to a bunch of morose guys who like to drink hard - what could go wrong?
Uh, you are aware that while the sun hardly sets during summer, in wintertime it's the exact opposite? As the retired F1 driver Kimi Räikkönen once said in an interview, "I love summers in Finland. You have all the time you want to drink and fish." When the interviewer asked what he does in winter, he replied: "It's too cold and dark to fish."
But let's get serious for a moment. The annual alcohol consumption per capita in Finland is actually well below the European average. And even out of the Nordics, Finns don't consume the most - that recognition goes to the Danes. But the concept of "drinking in moderation" is (or at least used to be) more or less unknown in Finland. Either you're cold sober - or sloshed out of your mind. Back in the day when most work was menial, punch-clock type, it was pretty much like this: It's Friday 5PM and your shift ends. There's just one rule - be sober by Monday 9AM when your next shift begins.
Of course, I added the caveat of "used to be" there - as the younger generations might be a bit more cosmopolitan and sophisticated in their drinking habits. (Or they have to be, as steady 9-to-5 shifts are more or less a thing of the past.) But one thing we still have rooted pretty deep in our national DNA is the self-deprecation...
Joe Brody
Well-known member
Doesn't surprise me at all. I'm sure Joe and Finn know of THE WHITE DEATH. There's a film if ever there was one. Hathcock vs. Häyhä