Big Hugs to Helsinki, Finland

Suvi Koponen by Hedi Slimane for Vogue Russia March 2013

Update 4/4/13 Biggest day in our history with another Scandinavian surge. Over 100,000 people from this most precious part of the world. Thank you, thank you, thank you dear wonderful people who I admire so much!!!!!!!

(Written March 30) We had a bit of March madness at AOC the last few days, when this editorial featuring Finnish model Suvi Koponen was featured in two of Finland’s largest websites.

If Finland is a country with a population of about 5 million, about 5% of the country met up with AOC and Sensuality News this week. INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!

In 2010 Finland became the first country in the world to make Internet access a basic human right. A law that would never pass in Washington DC mandates that by 2015 all Finns must have access to a 100 Mbit/s connection.

This speed means that — unlike Americans — the Finns won’t see that spinning circle on their video screens, when trying to watch a video.

Most of Finland’s population of 5.2 million, according to the CIA World Factbook, is connected to the Internet. Only about 4,000 homes are not connected, the BBC reported.

“We considered the role of the Internet in Finns everyday life. Internet services are no longer just for entertainment,” Finland’s communication minister Suvi Linden told the BBC.

AOC has always expressed great respect for the Scandinavian countries and their values, including their commitments to entrepreneurship.

The Global Entrepreneurship Corsortium ranked both Finland and Sweden ahead of America on their 2011 Global Competitiveness Index.

The Scandinavian Countries also lead the world in gender equality rankings. I share past articles on this subject. Again, to the incredible number of Finns who have come to my websites in the past four days, I express my gratitude and sincere hope that we will become fast friends. ~ Anne

Global Wellbeing

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Status Vs Money: A Third Look At Happiness, Gender Equality & Taxes March 26, 2010

“In an early 2009 report from the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), a Paris-based group of 30 countries with democratic governments that provides economic and social statistics and data, the conclusions were that happiness levels are highest in northern European countries.

Listening to Republicans on TV, the suggestion is that higher taxes make people dreadfully miserable. Apparently, worrying about the next guy isn’t a citizen responsibility. We save church for handouts to slackers.

If I sound harsh, I’m astounded over statements made by Republicans like Tom DeLay that the unemployed in America aren’t trying hard to find jobs. That’s classic Conservative Republican speak. Frankly, I personally know too many unemployed people in America’s recession, and I assure Tom DeLay that they are desperately trying to find work and not live on unemployment ‘handouts’.

We added global tax rates to the OECD analysis, Income Tax Rates by KPMG to see if paying taxes made people in other countries miserable. On its own merits, the answer is ‘no’. The questions is how tax money is invested in the wellbeing of citizens.

We also added a Gender Equity Rank, provided by the World Economic Forum. Do nations with higher gender equity, as measured by political participation, education, economic participation, and women’s health score higher on the happiness rank? The answer is yes.

Perhaps America’s comparatively low score of 31 — and 61 in political participation — is a source of women’s comparative discontent. Seven of these Top 10 happy countries have a Top 10 gender equity score. The Netherlands comes in at 11 on the Global Economic Forum Gender Equity index.”

Women Govern in Scandinavia

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Facts about women in Finland:

As of February 2013, women in Scandinavia, including Finland, are almost twice as likely to be elected to parliamentary office as in the US.

Finland was the first country in Europe to grant suffrage to women in national elections in 1906.

Lawyer and human rights activist Tarja Kaarina Halonen was elected president of Finland in 2000 and served as president until 2012, as the first female to hold the office.

In 2008 Northern Europe led the world in women serving as government ministers. In Finland, 58 percent of Cabinet members were female, the highest proportion in the world. In Norway, 56 percent were women; and in Sweden women were 48 percent.

Scandinavia and ‘Down Under’ Are Commie Feminists May 5, 2010

“Save the Children has released its annual “Mothers Index”, putting Norway at the top of the rankings as the best country for being a mom. As expected the US falls low on the list, even below Greece, which is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy.

OK, that’s not fair of me. The Wall Street guys will say: “See, that’s what happens when we try to create benefits for women in a country. The damn socialists bankrupt the nation!”

It’s true. There is some merit to the argument that societies pay a cost for making motherhood a priority.

As usual, the socialist Scandinavian countries hog the limelight, collecting accolades for making humanity a priority. There’s some kind of Communist wing that runs from Scandinavia under the water to Australia and New Zealand.”

Anne Update: Scandinavia again led the way in the 2012 Mothers’ Index Rankings with Norway in the top spot, followed by Iceland, Sweden, New Zealand, Denmark, Finland, Australia, Belgium, Ireland and Netherlands/United Kingdom.

As expected, Scandinavian women are at the top of the 2012 Global Gender Gap Index Rankings, an index that also gives points for progress and movement among women, or new policies that should impact women in the future. Iceland is in the top spot, followed by Finland, Norway, Sweden, Ireland, New Zealand, and Denmark. The US ranks 22 in the world on this index for women’s equality.