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Front Page: School Shooting in Finland, Iran President Blames Economy on War, Germany Bids for Hostages

CitizenSugar — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 07:00:39 -0700

School Shooting in Finland:
Nine people have been killed and the gunman wounded after he opened fire at a vocational school in western Finland this morning. Chaos ensued after the hooded gunman entered the school and began firing with what appeared to be an automatic weapon. The superintendent of police says, ''The incident is over now." The gunman had posted video of himself on YouTube prior to the attack.

Iran President Blames Economy on War:
In New York for the opening of the UN, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said today that the economic crisis could be blamed on global US military intervention and President Bush's "logic of force." He said, "The world economy can no longer tolerate the budgetary deficit and the financial pressures occurring from markets here in the United States." Bush says he's confident Congress will quickly pass a bailout bill.
Germany Bids for Hostages:
Germany continues efforts to free 11 foreign tourists kidnapped in Egypt on Friday. The kidnappers are holding five Germans, five Italians, and one Romanian tourist for a ransom of $15 million. Germany has formed a "crisis team" to deal with the situation as the kidnappers have threatened to kill the captives if any aircraft attempt to reach them.

Which Countries Are Most Corrupt? Not New Zealand, Denmark

CitizenSugar — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 11:00:59 -0700

Money could very well be the root of all evil — though in the latest study of corrupt countries, it's actually the lack of money that sparks trouble. The new report by Transparency International found that in two-fifths of the world's nations, corruption continues to intensify — a trend that can be traced to economic realities. In the countries found to be the most corrupt, 40 percent are classified by the World Bank as low income.

Transparency International's rankings range on a scale from 10 (on the up-and-up) to 1 (rampant corruption). How common is corruption? Of the 180 countries surveyed, 132 of them had scores below a 5. Other factors that contribute to a cloudy ethical picture are weak governments and conflict. The chairman of Transparency International says, "Countries torn apart by conflict pay a huge toll in their capacity to govern. With public institutions crippled or nonexistent, mercenary individuals help themselves to public resources, and corruption thrives."

Another troublesome mix? Weak government plus plentiful natural resources, like in Equatorial Guinea where 30 percent of the newly discovered oil profits go straight to government officials' wallets. To see which countries ranked where,

Finnish Culture 101: Traditional Wife Carrying

LibertySugar — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 09:00:14 -0700

It may seem like a joke, but wife carrying competition is a serious tradition in Finland. The practice comes from an early tribal practice of wife stealing. Sacks of rye have been swapped with wives, as the relay race is modeled after the work of 1800's bandit leader Ronkainen, who screened wannabe robbers by testing how they faired racing with sacks.

The tradition has gone global. Couples from 14 countries, including the US, Britain, China, Australia, Canada, Ireland, Israel, and Kenya, competed in this weekend's Wife Carrying World Championships. A husband from Estonia won the big prize — his wife's weight in beer!

To see video of the competition,

Should Politicians Be Able to Send Sexy Text Messages?

LibertySugar — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 11:00:38 -0700

Finland's popular foreign minister is the latest politician to lose his job over naughty text messages. Ilkka Kanerva sent over 200 erotic text messages to a stripper, pictured. He initially denied the story when it broke in a gossip magazine, but later confessed to using his taxpayer cell phone to send the messages while attending an EU meeting in Brussels.

Technically he lost his post because the incident destroyed the confidence and respect needed to do the job. The embarrassing incident was reason enough to end the statesman's credibility, and thus, career.

Back in the US, Detroit's mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is facing federal criminal charges over 14,000 steamy text messages between him and his ex-chief of staff. Some want the mayor to stay in office, because the texts concerned a private sexual matter between two consenting adults, so lying about it to a grand jury is no big deal. Do you buy it?

If no crime is alleged, like with the Finnish foreign minister, should the public just get over it? Politicians aren't the only ones sending flirty text messages.

To see the 40-year-old man who will replace Kanerva,