Finnish Bassists Club

Bett · #1 03-05-2008, 09:53 AM

I had a post earlier to see how many Finnish people there were here. I got enough replies that I thought I could start a Finnish bassists club. You don't have to live in Finland to join. If you're a Finnish citizen in another country or even if your ancestors are Finns then come join the club. Post to get a number for your signature.

Qvist · #2 03-05-2008, 10:11 AM

Marco Hietala is the coolest of you all =P

Phe · #3 03-05-2008, 05:52 PM

No way. Marco ain't coolest. Not even close.
Am I the first one? Cool.

Bett · #4 03-06-2008, 08:10 AM

Yep, you're member #2
I know there's more of you out there. I saw a bunch of people earlier. Where are the Finns?

mrbungle · #5 03-06-2008, 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bett

Yep, you're member #2
I know there's more of you out there. I saw a bunch of people earlier. Where are the Finns?

I'm from Finland. I think the "Bassists" is just not one of the most active sections in this forum.

Bett · #6 03-06-2008, 07:39 PM

Member #3 then?
Yeah, I wasn't sure what forum to put this into, but "bassists" seemed like the logical choice. I'm sure more people will show up eventually, unless this thread gets lost in the depths of the dead threads list.

Hey, even if a few people find this, that's ok. I only get to go to Finland once a year, so it's nice to find Finnish people in forums and other places.

LowDown Hal · #7 03-06-2008, 07:46 PM

I'm not from Finland, but I like to drink and I like Sauna's.

Does that qualify me?

Bett · #8 03-06-2008, 09:29 PM

Maybe deep down inside you are a Finnish person

TRU · #9 03-07-2008, 01:13 AM

Hey, I'm here!

I've been thinking about starting a thread about Pekka Pohjola a few times... have to do it some day.

Deacon_Blues · #10 03-07-2008, 12:03 PM

Hi, I don't check out this section too often, didn't see this until now. Anyway, here I am.

I'm #5 I suppose? Or?

ksandvik · #11 03-07-2008, 12:15 PM

I'm originally from Finland even if I've lived here in USA for 17.5 years now. --Kent

BassSurfer · #12 03-07-2008, 02:22 PM

olli jokinen rules!!

Bett · #13 03-07-2008, 07:44 PM

yep, #5 Deacon_Blues
ksandvik, #6 then?
My mom's lived here for a long time now too, almost 20 years I think, maybe less, but she's still a Finnish citizen. You're still Finnish if you don't live in Finland, no? Even if you become a citizen of another country. I'm a dual citizen for the U.S. and Finland. I plan to keep it that way too. I think you had to choose one or the other before you were 21 some years back, but they changed it recently.

ksandvik · #14 03-07-2008, 09:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bett

yep, #5 Deacon_Blues
ksandvik, #6 then?
My mom's lived here for a long time now too, almost 20 years I think, maybe less, but she's still a Finnish citizen. You're still Finnish if you don't live in Finland, no? Even if you become a citizen of another country. I'm a dual citizen for the U.S. and Finland. I plan to keep it that way too. I think you had to choose one or the other before you were 21 some years back, but they changed it recently.

Finland changed the rules around 2002 or so; you could have dual citizenship. I have both US and Finnish citizenships, but as living in USA for a long time it was proper to support your new country and become a US citizen.

Anyway, the rules differ from country to country, there could be other countries where dual citizenship is not accepted or allowed.

I think males still need to decide by 21 if they want to serve in the Finnish army or in the civil duty, if not they lose their Finnish citizenship. --Kent

PS: Funny, I'm vegetarian, too.

Bett · #15 03-07-2008, 10:44 PM

I'm not sure about the army part. I was talking to one of my teachers about the army in Finland and he said that he thinks if you're a dual citizen, you don't have to serve in the army if you don't want to. I'm not sure about that though. What would the U.S. say to a citizen serving in another country? And then if Finland wants you to serve there. The new rule of dual citizenship after 21 wouldn't make sense if both countries didn't agree on the military thing. I think Finland may have some agreement with the U.S. My dad said something about that.
So, a vegetarian, Finnish/U.S. citizen? Not very many more of us, huh?

Deacon_Blues · #16 03-08-2008, 03:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bett

I'm not sure about the army part. I was talking to one of my teachers about the army in Finland and he said that he thinks if you're a dual citizen, you don't have to serve in the army if you don't want to. I'm not sure about that though. What would the U.S. say to a citizen serving in another country? And then if Finland wants you to serve there. The new rule of dual citizenship after 21 wouldn't make sense if both countries didn't agree on the military thing. I think Finland may have some agreement with the U.S. My dad said something about that.
So, a vegetarian, Finnish/U.S. citizen? Not very many more of us, huh?

When I was in the army 10 years ago, there were a lot of people from other countries there. No matter if they had ever lived in Finland - if they had a Finnish citizenship they had to go. Physical/mental disabilities, strong allergies, astma or similar are I think the only ways to escape the duty. I had a friend there who was from Canada, then I also knew one guy from USA, one from Saudi Arabia and a bunch of people from Sweden. I know the Canadian guy didn't want to come at all but the alternative for was to go to prison I think....

I suggest you check out this issue very thoroughly if you want to avoid the army. Start with: http://www.mil.fi/english/

ksandvik · #17 03-08-2008, 04:06 AM

Yes, I don't know the current laws, but when I did military duty, back in 1978-79, we had Finns from all kinds of other countries, even one from Brazil who didn't speak a single word of Finnish. You had to do the duty, otherwise you lost your citizenship.

Maybe someone from Finland who knows about the current laws would have more info. Or contact a consulate and ask for advice. It would not be fun losing your citizenship in case you don't know about these issues.

I'm very sure you would end up in trouble if you would travel to Finland with a Finnish passport and they would find out that you have not done your civil or military duty.

--Kent

Implosion · #18 03-08-2008, 04:10 AM

Count me in!

I'm not sure about the current situation with dual citizenship and military service. My wife's friend had a boyfriend that had dual citizenship and he was contacted by the finnish consulate and they said that he should avoid travelling to Finland at the moment, because the police might pick him up, because of the whole army thing

. I guess this was around 2002-2003.

ksandvik · #19 03-08-2008, 04:19 AM

I think this web page gives a lot of info:

http://www.finland.ee/doc/en/consular/citizen.html

Especially the last part, there's a way to submit a declaration that you wish to retain your Finnish citizenship, but you need to do it within the age of 18-21. It sounds like if they accept it, you don't need to do military duty, otherwise you have to, otherwise you lose your Finnish citizenship. Or then this is only applicable for female. Best to contact a consulate and ask. --Kent

marcray · #20 03-08-2008, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bett

yep, #5 Deacon_Blues
ksandvik, #6 then?
My mom's lived here for a long time now too, almost 20 years I think, maybe less, but she's still a Finnish citizen. You're still Finnish if you don't live in Finland, no? Even if you become a citizen of another country. I'm a dual citizen for the U.S. and Finland. I plan to keep it that way too. I think you had to choose one or the other before you were 21 some years back, but they changed it recently.

do you have a Finnish/EU passport?