Subsea-tunnel to Sandoy

The biggest ever Faroese financial initiative was put into effect today. Starting ultimo 2009, they will make a tunnel between Streymoy and Sandoy, and the cost will be approx. 690 mio. kr. (136363168.11 USD.). This is a part of a larger plan, which involves a subsea-tunnel to Suðuroy, somewhere in a fairly distant future.

Subs near our tub

First it was russian fighter-planes, and now it's russian submarines. They've been spotted near norwegian shores also.

They've also been close to Iceland. The american P-3 Orion left Iceland in 2004, so they are not up to par, when it comes to checking for subs.

World Cup draw.

The draw for the next World Cup in football (soccer) has taken place, and we've gotten a somewhat mediocre group.

We're in group 7, and it's: France, Romania, Serbia, Lithuania, Austria, Faroe Islands

The most interesting and noteable thing here is, that Austria is also in this group. In our first match in international competition, we played Austria, and made world headlines, by beating them 1-0. This was in 1990. Check this YouTube clip... we're the ones in white. And also check this one out, same guy who scored the goal, almost got a second one.

BP claiming a "tight hole" status

British Petroleum are drilling in Faroese waters, and now they're getting closer to the bottom, they are putting a lid on all information, and they're not letting any information going public. This is because they're entering the stages where things get exciting and revealing, and maybe they'll strike oil (or gas).

Bill Clinton, inspired by the Faroe Islands.

I've tried to find it on CNN, but portal.fo reports that Bill Clinton is having grass roofs applied to all his estate properities, and the inspiration comes from the Faroe Islands. The application of grass roof is more enviromentally friendly.

Tell me if you have heard this, or have a link.

New minister appointed

Heðin Zachariassen of the People's Party is appointed new minister. He has maximum 2 months in term. He says he will try his best to get the legislation for foreign workpower put into effect.

I wish gravely he will succeed with his mission.

Tense times

A minister from the People's Party was sent home today, by our prime minister. The reason: Because he stuck his nose into something where it didn't belong... that's the best way i could put it.

A director, from a company in a branch below this minister, sent home 2 captains of a ferry which sails here in the Faroes. This he did, because they had reached the age of 67, and were now seniors and couldn't work anymore, because they had reached the age limit for people working in public sector. Later the limit was set to 70, and these 2 couldn't get their jobs back, because of legal formalities. The minister pushed this director to re-hire these 2 guys, he said he didn't have the legal grounds to do so, and the director asked to be released from his job, and now... approx. a week later, the prime minister sacked this minister.

Italy vs. Faroe Islands, 3 - 1

It just ended. The match was played in Modena, Italy. The birthplace of Luciano Pavarotti, and the first national game ever played there by the italian team, so in a way it was a very special event.

The first half was not good, the italians got all their goals in the first half. Second half was much better, with our side getting alot of offense, and towards the end, Rógvi Jacobsen headed the ball into the net, and is now the leading scorer on the faroese national team.

I'm happy with the result, because the guys fought, which is more than i can say about previous matches they've had.

Huge gallery

These pictures are taken by my brother, not on just one hiking trip, but on many of his "trips" around in the Faroes... and why this is underlined.... i don't know... enjoy :)

































































































































And this is not underlined... weird...

Mixed bag

Atlantic Airways purchased today a new helicopter from Italy, the brand is called Augusta Vestland. It will seat 15 people. They've also gotten themselves a new aeroplane, which will go into use in December. Currently Atlantic Airways have 2 planes which are in constant use at SAS, this because of the problems the SAS has had with the DASH-planes they have.

1/3 of Atlantic Airways went public today, and the sale has been going well so far. Kaupthing is putting a Buy on the stock.

The first faroese doctor in economics is Juanna Schrøter Joensen - The PhD-assignment is called Determinants and Consequenses of Human Capital Investments. Her last year, she studied at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas. She will now work at the University of Stockholm in Sweden.

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The gallery i talked about yesterday, should be up by tomorrow.

Short news

I've been kind of busy these last days, but i'll be back more regularly, starting tomorrow. Tomorrow i'll post a gallery of a hiking trip my brother was walking today.

Nothing alarming happening here on the islands, although, for those who are interested. James Proctor, who worked at the BBC before, is writing a book about the Faroe Islands, a travel guide. He describes the Faroes as the new Iceland.

You can download this, http://media.internet.fo/ment071116.wmv - it starts at approx. 19 minutes into the program.

Quiet times...

It's been pretty "quiet" after the election. The talk and speculations are starting to brew for our own parliament election coming up in January '08.

Also in the news. Norrøna, which sails between between Tórshavn and many major ports in Scandinavia, lost power last sunday, this was somewhere close to Shetland, it was rough weather, and the ship tilted 40 degrees. Approx. 250 people were on board, only minor damage to a few passengers, but cars and other materials were badly damaged.

Election night gallery walkthrough

Alfred Olsen, the Unionist Party... he doesn't look all that happy.










Jenis av Rana, leader of the Centre Party. He's looking pretty... bloated.



















Høgni Hoydal, probably getting congratulated.








Edmund Joensen, about to get hugged by his party leader, Kaj Leo Johannessen. Edmund is a former party leader himself.








Høgni congratulating Edmund... man! do these guys look happy.








The party leaders.









Our prime minister, being gracious in defeat, and congratulating.









He might look "innocent", but this guy will soon be moving to the top in faroese politics.

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Photos taken by Jens Kr. Vang, photographer at Sosialurin.

Election results and thoughts:

23063 people voted, and 34531 had a right to vote. That means, that 66.8% percentage of the people voted.

A - People's Party 4726 votes

B - Union Party 5413 -

C - Social Democratic Party 4702 -

D - Self-Government Party 797 -

E - Republican Party 5848 -

H - Centre Party 1577 -


The top 10:

E	Høgni Hoydal	2557
C	Jóannes Eidesgaard	992
A	Jørgen Niclasen	955
B	Edmund Joensen	931
C	Helena Dam á Neystabø	784
A	Óli Breckmann	765
H	Karsten Hansen	717
B	Kaj Leo Johannesen	714
C	John Johannessen	662
E	Annita á Fríðríksmørk	625

This means that Høgni Hoydal and Edmund Joensen are the 2 elected candidates.

That means that Anfinn Kallsberg from the Peoples Party is out, and in comes former danish parliament member, Edmund Joensen.

Høgni Hoydal got my vote, and i'm happy it went so well for him. This doesn't change the "battle" for independence in my view. Høgni retained his seat, so there's not such a big change in any way. And i don't think that Edmund will make a huge impact "down there" ... in Denmark.

All in all, i go to sleep a happy guy right now.

Election day...

The voting has started. The latest poll shows that Tjóðveldi (Republican party) and Fólkaflokkurin (Peoples party) will get one mandate each. Tjóðveldi is looking at 25% of the votes, and Fólkaflokkurin, 21%. Nothing is even close to certain yet, and when the day is over, all things will be clear, both in Denmark and here in the Faroe Islands. Results will be up here later.

It's expected that approx. 65-70% of the people will vote for this election. No further information on what party stands to win. Exit polls are forbidden.

Republican part and Unionist party are winners.

Will post more later

Turn of the tide

I'm excited. On tuesday (btw. can some bright-head find out why most elections are on tuesday? I've known why before, but it has gotten out of my head), there will be an election, and this will be the jumpstart of the upcoming election in january '08.

The final tv and radio debate is over, and now time will tell what the outcome will be. We're taking major steps towards a total independent nation (this is my personal view), and we're getting more mature as a country. In a way, it's in interesting time to be a part of the Faroe Islands, and the progress which we will be undergoing over the next years.

A review: Eco-tourism in the Faroe Islands

- Ecotourism, also known as ecological tourism, is a form of tourism that appeals to the ecologically and socially conscious individuals. Generally speaking, ecotourism focuses on volunteering, personal growth, and learning new ways to live on the planet; typically involving travel to destinations where flora, fauna, and cultural heritage are the primary attractions. Sustainable development needs to social, economic and environmental needs all together to occur. - Wikipedia

I attended a conference today. This was coordinated by SamVit - And the main objective was to shed ligt on eco-tourism, and what this meant to the public and the country itself, and how to approach this matter.

In the aftermath of the very good review we got in the National Geographic Travler - I think we have an obligation to the world, to preserve our country in the most sustainable manner we can. This matter should be and is a matter of national interest.

It started in the morning at 10, but i got there in the afternoon, as i wanted to hear what my brother had to say. He's a biologist, and talked about effect on nature. What it does to bird-life, when you walk in the mountains, and what could be done to make this more... how shall i say it?... sustainable. He spoke for approx. 20 minutes.

Next up is Randi Meitil, a woman from a company called, Faroe Trekking. She had an interesting speech on what her job is, and what she offers her customers. I haven't found her website, and i don't know if she even has one, but she's been in this line of business for many years, and seems like she knows what she's talking about. In short, she offers a travel package, which mainly consists of trekking in the mountains, in areas away from daily life. She also has visitors in the winter, for a more rough program.

Next up is Magni Blástein, a guy, which has a boat, and offers a fairly simple program. Get on his boat, sail a distance from land, throw out your fising rod... well, not the rod itself, i mean, the line... and sit there and wait, and inhale the tranquility and experience the nearness of nature. Also a very popular tourist-attraction.

Last on the list was Carol Patterson - She had a very interesting speech and approach on this matter, and you instantly came to realize, that she is an expert on this field. She told us about her experiences around the globe, e.g. in Borneo and Iceland.

Then there was a short pause, where i took that rather poor picture you see there on the top.

Rounding the evening, was a Q&A session. During this segment, i noticed one member of parliament in attendance, and this very person asked the head of SamVit, on what she thought they needed in funding from the parliament. I must say, i'm rather disappointed with the poor attendance of parliament members, on such a vital subject. There were some other questions, and then the evening ended.

A very interesting evening for me.

Russians flapping their wings again

Again they've been in the neighbourhood. Experts think that russians are showing their feathers, to show the rest of the world, that they are still around, and that they are a force.

Snow and bad weather

It's very bad weather here today. Strong winds, and ferocious snow. I guess winter is upon us, and we just have to brace ourselves. It's not like it's abnormally bad weather, so it's not like there's an ongoing danger going on.

We're positive and healthy

A survey has been conducted here in the Faroe Islands. The main subject was, how people here in the Faroe Islands feel, if they think they're in good health.

8000 people were asked, 4000 people delivered an answer. This survey was conducted via paper.

80% of the people asked, think they're in good health, 18% think they're doing moderately good and 2% think that they have bad health.

Those with a low educational level, think they're in worse health than those with an higher education.

Those who have kids, that live at home, they they're in better health, than those where the kids don't live at home.

People living in smaller places, consider themselves having worse health, than those living in larger places.

Harry's here

Not really much to tell today. The faroese version of Harry Potter, is being released here in the Faroe Islands tomorrow. We're the first of the nordic countries to release it.

It's on!

The election-campaign has really begun now, and the political parties are storming all medias, telling us why we should vote for them. The election will be next tuesday, and i'll be posting info here that day about the outcome of the election, and maybe what the elected people have to say.

Church inauguration

A new church was officially taken into use today. It's placement is in Hoyvík, which is a part of Tórshavn. It's been several years in the making, and it seats 600 people.

Here's a gallery:

http://portal.fo/myndafrasogn.php?tn=950

http://portal.fo/myndafrasogn.php?tn=948

Operation Christmas Child

With christmas coming, we're all starting slowly to gather our thoughts, and getting ready.

Not everyone are so fortunate around the world, that they can have a peaceful christmas, and many celebrate no christmas at all.

There are many charity-organizations around the world, and one of them is @ http://www.samaritanspurse.org/ - They have the annual returning event, called Operation Christmas Child.

I actually don't know really much about this, other than shoe-boxes will be filled with things, and then shipped of to those in need. The Faroe Islands sent 3000 shoe-boxes this year, roughly the same amount as last year.

An Islander in America

I was kind of excited earlier, and told straight away that an article was about Ogie in a faroese newspaper (Sosialurin), but i must say, i may have jumped to conclusions.

A faroese reporter has been in Seattle, USA, to visit his cousin, called Vilmund Boggs.

Vilmund is a helicopter-mechanic. The reporter mentions in brief about the days "over there", about his employer. Vilmund mentions having just returned from a working-trip in South Africa.

I hope i've recited things correctly, and i expect Ogie to shed some more light on this. I am deeply curious.