Mr. Hakkarainen goes to Helsinki

[This post is one of a series about Teuvo Hakkarainen, the newly elected True Finns Party MP from Viitasaari. For the record, my grandfather was born in Viitasaari.]

The Helsingin Sanomat  is reporting that our man in Helsinki was out drinking with a biker gang and did not pay a woman for sex. (He did say that he gave the woman €100 "out of pity." The biker gang, Bandidos, are listed as an organized crime organization in Finland.

Here's Mr. Hakkarainen's  contrite explanation (in Finnish) of what happened.

[caption id="attachment_3298" align="aligncenter" width="269" caption="Channel 4 also has the story"][/caption]

Mongolian reindeer crisis almost not averted

President Tarja Halonen of Finland arrived in Mongolia without reindeer.
Normally, that wouldn't be news. Most people arrive in most places without reindeer. I know of one person who toured Mongolia and, to my knowledge, she never considered bringing reindeer.
This meeting was different, however. The two countries have been discussing ways in which Finland could help to replenish the dwindling Mongolian reindeer populations. There had been diplomatic discussions about sending live reindeer, and how can I put this diplomatically, and reindeer eau de life to Mongolia.
News reports indicate that the meetings between President Halonen and Mongolian President Ts. Elbegdorj were cordial. There will be further discussions about mid-north-central Asian reindeer underpopulation.

More on poker, True Finns, and the presidential, er, um ...

Various about government and politics that you may have missed or wished you had.

• Apparently, online poker is no longer the clear career path that it was even last week.  According to the Wall Street Journal, in Online Poker Players Face Big Life Changes, when the Obama administration shut down various online poker sites this past weekend, it made life more difficult for folks who'd make as much as $75K from their couches on Sunday afternoons. Now, instead of being able to play up to 50 games at once, these players would have play live online games, one at a time, slowing the Fire Hydrant O' Cash^™ to a mere garden hose.
  Even Rep. Barney Frank thinks that shutting down these operations is a waste of time.
  "Frank mocked the seizures as the administration 'protecting the public from the scourge of inside straights,' and lamented that the Justice Department is more focused on prosecuting online poker sites than those responsible for the mortgage crisis and financial meltdown."
  
  via Rep. Frank: Administration 'wasting time' with online poker crackdown - The Hill's Hillicon Valley
• I'm gonna blame the Microsoft-Nokia deal for this one. The True Finns, a nativist, but still progressive party, surprised most every one by winning 18.6% in Finland's parliamentary elections this past weekend. In a parliament where no party has more than 21%, the True Finns' ascendancy will likely lead to their being part of a new coalition. The party gathered a just 3.7% of the vote in 2007. (via Helsingin Sanomat)
  Among the True Finns who will be taking seats in the new parliament will be one Teuvo Hakkarainen. No known relation, but he does come from the town where my grandfather was born.
• Arizona governor Jan Brewer vetoes the Presidential Candidate Penis Identification Act.
  The legislation would have required presidential candidates to deliver proof positive that they met the criteria for "natural-born citizen" before their names could be placed on the Arizona ballot. Absent a standard, verifiable long-form birth certificate, candidates could also offer alternative proof, such as an  "Early baptismal or circumcision certificate."
  
  via Brewer vetoes gun, birther bills and  
  Arizona's Senate-Approved Birther Bill Could Force Presidential Candidates to Provide Documentation Describing What Their Penis Looks Like to Get on Ballot - Phoenix News - Valley Fever

”It is a huge amount of wasted food”

Apparently, it's so expensive to slaughter and process old horses in Finland that farmers aren't bothering to make the meat available for humans.
As a result, we get sub-headlines such as this:
Processing of horse meat has ground to halt, as owners are left empty-handed

via Helsingin Sanomat - International Edition - Home

”It is a huge amount of wasted food”, says Pauliina Räisänen, an entrepreneur who runs a horse stable in Sotkamo in Eastern Finland.

Lest you wonder, "In fact, a horse cannot be buried just anywhere. ... It is forbidden to dig a large hole in the ground in a designated groundwater area. "