The View

Again, headlines... not my forté.

The situation in the country is kind of, silent at the moment. No really big news. The political landscape will change soon (i'm talking about the election for the danish parliament), we're just starting to get a glimpse of the campaigns. The people offering themselves to be elected haven't really begun just yet, but they will soon. The political parties aren't quite finished yet, with whom to put on their lists.

My guess is that a republican (Høgni Hoydal) and a person from the unionists (don't know whom just yet...), will be elected, but i'm far from a political analyst, this is just my assumption.

Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland to cooperate

These 3 countries are urged to undergo a corperation when it comes to SAR (Search And Rescue) on sea and in mountains. It is thought that all the 3 countries will benefit from this future agreement.

I think personally that this is a great initiative, and hope this will come into effect.

You can read more about it here:

http://www.norden.org/webb/news/news.asp?id=7319&lang=6

Atlantic Petroleum still enjoying great times

The Faroe Islands oil company, Atlantic Petroleum, keeps going upwards on the stock-market. They are listed on the icelandic and danish stock-market. They've gone up by 229% altogether this year.

Here you can follow the "action", when it comes to faroese stocks:

http://english.m5.fo/?

Good times

The Economic Council launched their annual report today.

In short conclusion, they said: There are (too) good times, here on the Faroe Islands. We have a shortage on working power, meaning, people.

They advised for caution, when it came to foreign investment, here in the Faroe Islands. Instead of the lowering of the tax percentage, they told it would be more wise to raise the taxes, as we are having very good times here now.

I haven't had the time to read this very closely, but i will give a more thorough report in a few days.

BIAB on their way to GBOB

What's it you say? Has he gone mental now? BIAB on their way to GBOB?...that doesn't make sense - Well, i'm not crazy... yet... :)

There's an international competition, called Global Battle Of the Bands - And the faroese band, this year, which is going to the final in London, is called Boys In A Band. The prelim. was this weekend held in Mentanarhúsið, located in the town of Fuglafjørður.

I wish them the best of luck.

Last year the Faroe Islands ended at #6, in the finals, if i remember correct, the band was called Marius (the song called The Sky Is Our Home is great).

Boring day

In a way, it's a boring day. The Social Democrats are having their annual national gathering, and they're launching a teaser for their forthcoming campaigns, both for the danish and faroese parliament.

With one electoral area, the landscape has a totally different scale, for this coming election for the faroese parliament, now people can elect whom they choose on the list, and are not restricted to their given area.

I wish i could make a living of this, i mean... i like giving information on what's happening in my country, and wouldn't it be nice if that could be my income. I have come to the conclusion, that their isn't enough interest in the media here, to present faroese news in english. The danish news agency, Ritzau, has a person here in the faroes, who on occasion, presents them with news, and mostly that news is written in danish. I don't know if the global interest is big enough, to present them with daily updated english-written news.

For now, i will stick with this, and try to open the door into this country a little bit, and give them insight.

This wasn't one of my usual posts, maybe tomorrow will be more news-worthy.

Oh, and the faroese football/soccer-season is over today, and NSÍ were the winners.

Very positive news

I found this online, it's about a survey, made by National Geographic Traveler

http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/10/26/41032/859/travel/Dreamin'+of+Unspoiled+Island+Vacations

i.e. it says:

a recent survey done by National Geographic Traveler and their island experts has attempted to rate 111 popular island destinations according to their sustainability and the impact that tourism has already had on them.

They decided that islands with not-so-fantastic beaches and cloudy weather are doing the best at the moment: places like Scotland's Shetland Islands and Denmark's Faroe Islands rate in the top five. Experts were asked to name islands that are "authentic, unspoiled, and likely to remain so." Only the Faroe Islands fit that bill. But in the next category of islands--those that are almost unspoiled but just have minor difficulties--some great destinations pop up: Australia's Kangaroo Island and Tasmania, Dominica, the Grenadines, Molokai in Hawaii, Santa Catalina in California and France's Corsica.

Here's the list itself:

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/traveler/features/islandsrated0711/islands.html

It's official, G!-festival bankrupt.

It's announced now. They've got approx. 1 million danish crowns in debt, and are bankrupt.

The festival was the major attraction during the summerfestivals, and i don't see how this can be reinstated. It's a damn shame in my view.

Russian fighterplanes, near Faroe Islands

These last months, russian fighterplanes have been close to faroese air-territory. They haven't been this active since the cold war.

i.e. were these babies spotted:

#6 in the world.

Richmond, Virginia, hosted this event. The faroese participator was Joan Bláfoss, the discipline was Duathlon.

First they ran 15 kilometres, then they cycled 76 kilometres, and then they ran again, this time 7.5 kilometres. Joan ended up #6, and i think that's a wonderful result.

Congratulations

Election in Denmark

On 13'th of November, there will be an election for the danish goverment. What's this got to do with the Faroe Islands? Sadly... alot.

The Faroe Islands and Greenland have 2 posts there each, and when danes are voting, we'll be voting on which 2 persons to send to Denmark.

As a republican, i oppose of this.

You might have noticed i am somewhat biased, but when biased thoughts occur, you will notice.

Nordkapp has a Faroese mayor

The northern city of Nordkapp in Norway recently appointed a faroese-born woman, Kristina Hansen. She's lived some 20 years in Norway.

Energy from Iceland

The Faroe Islands will not be a part of the Kyoto treaty, because we cannot guarantee an 8% reduction in CO2 emission over the next years. There's an option of connecting a cable between Iceland and the Faroe Islands, in which we will receive sustainable electricity through this cable (I'm lost for words here, what i mean is... Iceland gets electric power from their underground heat sources, and the Faroe Islands could make use of this energy, via this cable) - This would reduce the emission 30% over the next years. But have in mind, this is a very costly option, and is still only a hypothetical solution.

Australian TV does bio on Faroe Islands

ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) has done a 20 minute segment on the Faroe Islands. I've hunted high and low, to find this show online, and i've found it.

Here's the synopsis: http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/content/2007/s2050734.htm

And here's the segment itself, you need Realplayer or Windows Media Player to play this, it's streamed, and quality is quite bad:

Real broadband

Real dialup

Win broadband

Win dialup

"Krashed in Kiev"

Wednesday we were beaten again, 5-0. They guys showed a greater spirit, but, alas, they were trashed. This has led to the national speculation, whether the national manager, is fit for this job.

In my personal opinion, that guy should be sacked.

The coalition is in pieces

This tuesday will be crucial. Then we will know whether we got a working government or not. All is based in the political objective, to get one electoral area. I've talked about this elsewhere on my blog. There are so many people against this, the coalition is split in half.

Been busy

I've been awol for a week, but i'll be back doing more regular updates.

Good results in Special Olympics World Summer Games

The faroese athletes in the Special Olympics World Summer Games, in China, return him good results. They participated in 3 disciplines: Boccia, Swimming and Athletics.

5 gold medals.

3 silver

3 bronze.

Congratulations.

Full time

This was dreadful, just awful. They got six goals, we got zero. Totally an utter failure of a match.

On Wednesday it's Ukraine.

Half time

It's real messy, the french are ahead 2-0, the two goals came within a 1 minute interval. In this case, the numbers speak for themselves. We're at 193 on the ranking-list, and they're at number 2.

Second half is up... fingers crossed.

Let's get it on!

They've landed, they're ready to play. It'll be interesting if this will be a walkover for France, or it will be a task.

Fingers crossed, this will be interesting.... or maybe this will be a nightmare.

The tricky Faroese weather

They were supposed to be in the Faroe Islands on Friday noon, but as of 10:30'ish, Saturday morning, they had not landed. The fog is so thick in Sørvági, where the airport is, it's crazy. So now they are in Iceland, awaiting further info.

The icelandinc newspaper, Morgunblaðið, is having a fieldday with this, i.e. asking if the french team can't take on a couple of locals, when they are there anyway.

Faroe Islands vs. France.

This saturday, Faroe Islands will take on France, in the Euro2008 competition. This is in football/soccer.

Faroe Islands are among the lowest ranked teams on the FIFA ranking list, and France are at #2. This will really be a David vs. Goliath match.

The match takes place on Tórsvøllur, in Tórshavn.

The Clinton Coverage: Q&A

The Q&A was hosted by Tórun Ellingsgaard. Here's a picture of the hostess:


And here's the Q&A link:

Q & A

(May not be available until later)

The Clinton Coverage: The speech!

Here's the speech Clinton had in the Nordic House. Honestly, i haven't had a chance to look at it, so i don't know if the Q&A is included, i doubt it.

It has faroese subtitles, so it'll be pretty interesting for you people who don't know the faroese language. Maybe you'll learn a thing or two. :)

T H E S P E E C H

(Save target as (or) Save link as)

Red Cross collection

Red Cross (Faroe Islands division) had a money collection this last weekend. And the collection gave approx. 2.5 million. USD. to the company. Per capita. (capita = citizen), that's approx twice the amount that Sweden and Denmark gave.

Digital signature coming this way

The government is looking into the option of digital signature.

My personal opinion is that i hope it's coming. It will ease so very much communication. And it will smooth the relationship between each person and i.e. public offices.

Not much news today, been a busy guy. :)

"Channel 2" lifts off

We have a national radio here on the islands, but we also have two other stations. One is devoted to Christian material, and one is the more alternative one to the national.

That channel can be roughly translated as "Channel 2" ( Rás 2 ) - And their ownership has changed hands. A company called "Miðlavarpið" has bought it, Miðlavarpið is affiliated with Sosialurin (where i believe Ogie's relative works).

They will try to match with the national radio, but yet, be different.

A gallery from their opening afternoon can be seen here:

http://portal.fo/myndafrasogn.php?tn=906

G!-festival in jeopardy!

This is bad news. The very well liked G!-festival, is likely to be cancelled, because of financial troubles. It's not certain, but things are looking pretty grim at the moment.

I know that Workman has been playing with the idea, on experiencing the festival. We'll keep our fingers crossed.

A new airport proposal

Ogie will find this amusing.

Another plan has emerged. Now they want to build an international airport in Nólsoy - However, this will require a sub-sea tunnel between Tórshavn and Nólsoy, as the island only has connection by a small ferry.

All this talk about a second airport, leads me to the conclusion, that within a few years, we will have another one.

- - - - - - - -

I might just mention, that in a few days, BP will starting drilling, in faroese waters, and they are at the most positive level they've ever been. They will drill deeper than ever before. And the fact that gas has been found close by, ups their positivity.

Not all is well, in a state of Denmark

I've never been good with headlines.

Yesterday, 2 policemen were injured, when a mentally unstable man, sprayed ammonium hydroxide on their faces. It also touched their eyes. They managed to get backup, and they got to a hospital, where they had their eyes under running water for six straight hours. Today we're getting word, that their eyes will not be damaged by this.

The mentally unstable man, got teargassed, and then taken into custody, and will be observed at the hospital today.

All of this took place in Tórshavn.

The Clinton Coverage: The Aftermath!

For now, this will be the ending of covering his visit here.

It was a rather pecualiar day, unlike any other day, a former president of the USA, was coming to visit. This character hasn't exactly been laying low, after his run in the White House. He's gone from being president, to being a citizen of the world, and using his influence and fame, to improve certain issues in the world.

So what had this very charismatic man to say to us? We're not 50.000 people, so would it really matter what he said, would his words fly right past us? No, not at all.

I.e. he said that he was very fascinated by the faroese grass turf roofs, and said the we were ahead, when it came to preserving energy (in this case, heat).

He said he wasn't here to lecture us, on how to live, because we were already doing great he said.

We (the Faroe Islands) were stepping on the global platform, and we have to become a part of the world. As a (possible) future oil-producer, As a leading country in fishing. And as a travel destination, we are a part of the global world, and we have to act thereby.

This man, through his enigmatic presence, has sent a shudder through the leaders of this country, and i think, for the first time, we are starting to realize, we are a part of the world, and not just a country, drifting in the Atlantic Ocean.

A proposal for a new airport.

Tomorrow morning, at 8:30, the minister of trade and industry, will publish a proposal, for a new airport at Glyvursnes (which is right outside Tórshavn, i've tried locating a decent picture, but i can't find any) - The cost will be roughly 300 million USD.

My personal opinion is that i think it's bs (an election is in January, and Tórshavn is the ministers area, so i think he's fishing for votes here) - Plus, there hasn't been any real exploration, of whether somewhere else is better to put the airport, i.e. today the most experienced pilot here in the Faroes, talked of Søltuvík (again, can't find a decent picture), Søltuvík is on Sandoy. He thought that it would suit better, for a new airport.

Our economy is fuming at the moment, we shouldn't allow it to boil.

The Clinton Coverage: "A special relationship..."

The Guardian, in England, have an article in the papers, called: A special relationship, Clinton and the Faroes.

The Clinton Coverage: Speech excerpt

Here's a 10 minute clip, of Bill Clintons speech, at the Nordic House in Tórshavn.

http://www.portal.fo/?page=kykmyndir&km=128

The Clinton Coverage: Small news-segment

This is from when he landed, and the faroese radio got a small interview from him. It starts at 3:42

http://www.uf.fo/ra/0110071220.m3u

The Clinton Coverage: Taking a stroll

After a short visit in Tinganes, Mr. Clinton decided to take a small stroll through Tórshavn, first stopping at H.N.J., or as it's more commonly known, Gamli Bókhandil (Old Bookstore)
, maybe he flipped through some pages there. After that, he went to ALV-búðin - which is a shop, and the income goes to people with working disabilities, there he drank a cup of coffee.



portal.fo

P.S. The man you see standing in the doorway there, is Magni Arge, the director of Atlantic Airways

Here's a gallery:

http://portal.fo/myndafrasogn.php?tn=898

Hans Blix: Invasion Iraq was a mistake

"I think that the invasion of Iraq was a tragedy" - Those are the exact words Hans Blix, told the faroese national radio in a short interview today. He also noted that there's anarchy in Iraq.

He feels that the weapon inspectors should've gotten more time, before any invasion. Mr. Blix strongly opposes a possible invasion of Iran. (My personal stance on that, is that they'll wake up a sleeping giant).

Hans Blix thinks that the world would be a safer place, if Bill Clinton was in power on 9/11.

Updated:

I have erased what i said earlier on here, and i will post what was commented on this thread, otherwise my other references to Blix' interview are correct:

"Blix did not say, that Saddam has gotten the same status as Gadaffi and Castro, rather he postulated, that if the US had not invaded Iraq, Saddam would have gotten this status but would not have been a threat to human kind - only to his own people."

I thank for this correction, and it was a silly mistake from me, to make a wrong reference.

The Clinton Coverage: The Arrival!

Swept in mist, the plane arrived out of nowhere. Security was at a top-level. Secret Service (why are they called "Secret"?), kept a sharp eye on people. He made a galant stop at the airport, saying hello to people, and the press. He said that he heard of the Faroe Islands, first time when he went to university, and had a certain fascination towards the North Atlantic. In a escort, he was guided to Tórshavn, sitting in a jeep. Dressed in casual clothing, more casual than the people who were there to greet him, seemed very relaxed.

He is now in Tórshavn, making a short stop at Hotel Føroyar - Hans Blix has arrived, and the media isn't actually giving him any notice, which in a way is a shame.

As Cleo Paskal said in a review of the Faroes "A place like that doesn't need Clinton to feel important." - But, i must admit, it's nice, it's cool... it's good to host a distinguished person like Bill Clinton, and i hope that he will feel very welcomed.


portal.fo