Finnish Cheerleader Massacre
As the International Herald Tribune reports, "chief EU cheerleader" Finland has a pretty sad cheering section at the moment. The once pro-EU, chronically insecure Finns are supposed to assume the rotating presidency in July, but Euroskeptics likely outnumber supporters. "True Finns" party leader Timo Soini, who conducts anti-Brussels pep rallies from a megaphone while standing on a crate, finds an upside to EU sprawl, telling the IHT, "It may be good if the EU gets so big that it can no longer function -- it will be like a rat with its hypothalamus removed, who keeps eating until it explodes."
Professional cheerleading blog here.
Australian group bans bare cheerleader stomachs here.
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That's the best analogy ever.
"Finnish Cheerleader Massacre"
Unfortunately, the unrated foreign edition isn't available on Region 1 DVD.
Go Finland go!
I don't know enough about Finland to properly speculate on why they do things, but I do know that Estonia ia about as libertarian as a European country gets, Czech talk-not-action notwithstanding.
Finland is one of Estonia's biggest trading partners, and their languages are "cousins", so it could well be that they "feel the pain" of Estonia for having to adopt all kinds of regulations that harm estonia as price for admission to the EU intratrade party.
Or I could be wrong, and maybe there was already enough Finns that felt that decentralized government was best. The Finns have a high percentage of their economy (successfully) tied to international trade and are all too aware they compete in a global world. Perhaps they are therefore more aware of that than a country like France or Germany with a smaller percentage of such successful global trade.
Anyway, freedom rocks, baby! Go Finland go!
Far be it for me to bash the country that gave us Nokia, Linux, The Rasmus, and one of the best root-for-the-little-guy stories in military history, but everything I've read about Finland suggests that the bulk of the country's populace remains largely in lock-step with the Scandinavian social-democratic zeitgeist. Just because they have some complaints about the EU (and compared with neighboring Norway, the Finns are positive Europhiles) doesn't mean that they'll be even partially dismantling their welfare state anytime soon.
Ah, but the Finns' candidate for the Europop competition thingy is an over-the-top GWAR-style metal band, complete with elaborate masks and costumes.
OK, I'll bite. What would a GWAR-style metal band wear if not elaborate masks and costumes?
Oh, great. Now I have another blog I have to keep up with.
Well, couldn't you do sort of a GWAR-unplugged tribute band, without the masks and costumes?