THE VOICE OF INTERNATIONAL LITHUANIA
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Warsaw is this week ‘decorated’ with photos of Norwegian neo-Nazi mass murderer
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Some Eastern Europe countries have seemingly not realized how dangerous it can be to provide neo-Nazis room for their 'presentations'.
We Norwegians had to bitterly experience how dangerous such mindsets can be, last summer when the neo-Nazi Anders Behring Breivik cold-bloodedly murdered 77 innocent people. We will earnestly suggest that the rest of Europe try to learn from what happened in Norway 22 July 2011, not allowing neo-Nazi marches, posters or other kinds of space for spreading the dangerous messages and history falsifications these people represent. Norway had to learn it the hard way...
Portrait of the Norwegian neo-Nazi mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik all over Warsaw these days.
Photo: www.vg.no
Throughout the Polish capital's bus stops are these days covered with meter-high portraits of Anders Behring Breivik, the Norwegian neo-Nazi who brutally murdered 77 persons last summer.
The posters are made of one of the pictures Breivik used for the so-called manifesto he sent out after the terrorist attacks on 22 last July.
The portrait is in black and white and pixel led, but you can clearly see who the posters are representing.
According AP, a lot of of Norwegians who have been on holiday in the Polish capital, reacted to the massive posters with disbelief.
Read the article
(in Norwegian)...
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How do Baltic presidents get airborne?
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The life of the president of any country is impossible without international visits, which are simply impossible to implement without the achievements of modern civilization - the planes and helicopters. In this regard, Belarusian “Telegraf” journalists have decided to find out, what aircraft high-ranking officials of Belarus and its neighboring states travel by.
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Grybauskaite flies economy class!
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President Grybauskaite aboard the amphibious command ship USS Mount Whitney.
U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Sylvia Nealy/Released
President of Dalia Grybauskaite flies by regular air-liners. In Europe, she enjoys the economy-class, outside the continent – business-class.
However, it is exactly economy class that Grybauskaite has used for her first overseas visits to Sweden and Latvia. At the same time, her flight from Vilnius to Stockholm cost $330.
The reason for this is that the Cabinet has considered a private jet too big a luxury for the country.
For flights Grybauskaite employs cruise aircraft airlines Aeroservisas. If the President landed in a country only in order to transfer to the other aircraft at the airport it is usually only meets Lithuania's Ambassador to this country.
In turn, the airline offers a small airplane of business-class "Cessna 560 Citation V," designed for seven to eight passengers among the country's highest officials. At the same time Aeroservisas director Ben Laurinaytis reported that the plane hadn’t been bought specifically for presidential use. "This is a new product, offered by Aeroservisas to its customers," he said in 2009.
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Number of tourists in accommodation establishments by city/county, IV quarter 2011
According to the provisional date of Statistics Lithuania, in IV quarter 2011, accommodation establishments received 376 thousand tourists, or 15.7 per cent by more than in the same quarter of 2010. The number of tourists from EU countries increased by 11.3 per cent, Lithuanian residents - 14.3 per cent, tourists from non-EU countries - by 24.8 per cent.
Most tourists came from:
- Russia - 35.1 thousand (in IV quarter 2010, 26.5 thousand),
- Belarus - 24.8 thousand (in IV quarter 2010, 22.8 thousand),
- Poland - 22.6 thousand (in IV quarter 2010, 22.9 thousand),
- Latvia - 17.3 thousand (in IV quarter 2010, 14.3 thousand),
- Germany - 15.1 thousand (in IV quarter 2010, 12 thousand),
- United Kingdom - 7.6 thousand (in IV quarter 2010, 8.3 thousand),
- Estonia - 7.1 thousand (in IV quarter 2010, 6.9 thousand),
- Finland - 6.7 thousand (in IV quarter 2010, 7.6 thousand).
In the last quarter of 2011, a quarter of tourists stayed in accommodation in the resort towns of establishments:
- Druskininkai received 64 thousand tourists, Which is by 20.2 per cent more than in IV quarter 2010,
- Palanga - 26 thousand tourists (29.8 per cent by more )
- Birštonas - 6.4 thousand (by 1 per cent more), Neringa - 2.5 thousand tourists (by 1.3 per cent more).
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In 2011 Lithuanian hotels had 1.8 million visitors – 15.4% up year on year
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Number of foreign tourists in accommodation establishments by country, IV quarter 2011
In 2011, the accommodation establishments of Lithuania received 1.8 million tourists, or 15.4 per cent by more than in the same period of 2010, the number of foreign tourists amounted to 1 million (19.5% more).
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Lithuanian economic growth may slow more than previously estimated as decelerating growth in export markets curbs demand for the country’s products and domestic consumption wanes.
Gross domestic product will probably expand 2.2 percent this year, compared with a November forecast of 3.5 percent, the Vilnius-based Lietuvos Bankas said in an e-mailed statement today. Economic growth may accelerate to 3.3 percent in 2013, it said.
The Baltic nation’s economy is slowing from the second- fastest pace in the European Union of 4.3 percent in the fourth quarter as the euro region’s debt crisis damps demand for the country’s goods. The economy grew 5.8 percent in 2011.
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The Lithuanian central bank asked the Competition Council to investigate the Lithuanian unit of Danske Bank A/S (DANSKE) over allegations of unfair advertising.
The central bank also told Danske to cease advertising that suggested deposit rates of as much as 25 percent without disclosing additional information about mandatory insurance payments that come with the plan, the Vilnius-based Lietuvos Bankas said in an e-mailed statement today.
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Swedbank expects inflation to grow in Estonia, but to decrease in Lithuania in 2012
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Consumer prices increased by 0.7% in January in Estonia compared to the previous month. Swedish bank Swedbank experts forecast that the inflation would continue growth in coming months, albeit, at a slower pace. The bank predicts that the price index would decrease in Lithuania in 2012, Swedbank said in a statement.
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Chairman Odd Nordli regrets that 30 employees lose their jobs in Terra Norway and Lithuania.
Terra Markets AS, Research Division is closing its activities in Norway and Lithuania reports www.dn.no and www.E24.no.
The firm’s department in Vilnius has been specializing in equity research. The Research Division was formerly known as Orion Securities ASA, Research Division and is based in Vilnius, Lithuania with an additional office in Norway. The firm is a division of Terra Markets AS.
Concurrent with the brokerage department closedown, both CEO Stein Ole Larsen and Deputy CEO Lise Vedde-Fjærestad notify their retirement.
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IKEA to open in Vilnius in 2013
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The first Baltic store of IKEA, the world's leading furniture retailer, is going to be opened in Vilnius in 2013, with more than 100 million euros to be invested in what will be the largest furniture retail complex in the Baltics.
The owners of UAB Felit currently own and operate the IKEA franchise in Iceland, Miklatorg hf., and have a long track-record in the retail business as well as developing and operating commercial real estate such as shopping centres.
Commenting on the announcement Mr. Sigurdur Palmason, Chairman, UAB Felit says: “We are delighted to soon be on the ground in Vilnius. When IKEA enters a new country it is a significant investment and a long term commitment. We are confident that the IKEA concept will appeal to the people of Lithuania and as the IKEA vision states, create a better everyday life for the many people.”
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Swedbank is funding construction operations of the IKEA shopping centre in Vilnius
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Swedbank provided funding in the amount of EUR 30m to the Company Fe Real Estate investing in the acquisition of the land plot and construction of the IKEA shopping centre. It is planned that the shopping centre and the enterprise park will grow near Vilnius International Airport in 2013. Swedbank will be the main creditor of the construction operations of the would-be shopping centre.
“IKEA’s entrance to the Lithuanian market was long-awaited. We appreciate partnership with this company and are happy that our financial solutions will contribute to the implementation of the project“, – says Vytautas Bučiūnas, Head of the Corporate Banking division at Swedbank in Lithuania.
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Antanas Danys,
Head of Swedbank Lithuania.
Swedbank Lithuania reported a profit of LTL 162m in Q4 and LTL 592m for 2011. Net profit increased by LTL 554m year on year. The improved result was mainly due to net recoveries.
Excluding impairments, the bank’s profit amounted to LTL 330m in 2011. Total income increased by LTL 90m in 2011 and reached LTL 711m.
In 2011 GDP grew by 5.8 per cent in Lithuania compared to the previous year. Overall economic growth was more broadly-based, and was mainly driven by exports as well as domestic demand that grew considerably during the second half of 2011. GDP growth is expected to slow down in 2012 due to euro-zone issues and a deteriorating global outlook.
"The increase in Swedbank’s net profit goes hand in hand with Lithuania’s successful return to growth in 2011. A positive economic outlook as well as the improved financial situation of our customers are both reflected in net recoveries, which continued to improve, - said Antanas Danys, Head of Swedbank Lithuania. However, the growth is expected to slow down in 2012 due to challenges in the global macro environment that were already visible in Q4 2011. The profit allows us keeping the bank well-capitalised and ready for facing the external risks”.
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Lithuania to create new national airline
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According to Mayor of Vilnius Arturas Zuokas, the new airline will be named .airLituanica after the plane of the two American-Lithuanian pilots, Steponas Darius and Stasys Girenas who in 1933 tried to beat Charles Lindberg’s non-stop distance record across the Atlantic by flying from New York City to Kaunas. Their Lituanica was an Bellanca CH-300 Pacemaker airplane. After successfully flying 6,411 km, it crashed, 650 km from its destination, Kaunas. Both pilots were killed.
Ref: https://vilnews.com/?p=8867
Lithuanian authorities are taking steps to create a national carrier. According to Mayor of Vilnius Arturas Zuokas, the airline will be named .airLituanica, reported Diena.lt.
Lithuania leaders have criticized the current situation and say that every EU member states except Lithuania has its own national carrier.
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Lithuania does not want Serbia as EU member until the Kosovo issue is resolved
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Lithuania on Friday warned that would-be EU member Serbia has yet to meet the conditions to be granted formal candidate status next month, amid a diplomatic spat between the two countries.
"We regret that none of the conditions set at December's European Council summit have been fully implemented," foreign ministry spokeswoman Margarita Butkiene told AFP.
"We believe that the EU must demand from Serbia full implementation of the stated conditions," she added.
She underscored Serbia's failure to comply with demands for progress in EU-brokered talks on Kosovo, a mainly ethnic-Albanian region whose split four years ago Serbia has refused to recognise.
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Probably much less shale gas in Poland than previously assumed – what about Lithuania?
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Wieslaw Prugar, CEO of Orlen Upstream, and president of the Polish Exploration and Production Organization, says that the recoverable reserves of shale gas in Poland are probably several times fewer than 5.3 tcm, as estimated by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Similarly, less optimistic predictions were given by Pawel Poprawa of the Polish Geological Institute. “The [American] report overestimates acreage and production volume per unit,” Poprawa recently told Natural Gas Europe.
Wieslaw Prugar, speaking to a reporter from PiN Radio, also commented on the Polish government's shale gas development plans. According to Minister of Treasury Mikolaj Budzanowski, a production scale of at least 0.2 - 0.3 bcm should be reached no later than in 2015.
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Despite years of war and Soviet occupation, the people of Lithuania have demonstrated what democracy can deliver to its people. On my two trips to Vilnius last year, I saw firsthand the progress that has been made. The United States and Lithuania share a long history as partners and friends, and today our countries are dedicated to promoting the ideals of democracy, human rights and rule of law, and we are working hard to create a safer future for all our people. We look forward to continuing to work with Lithuania as we tackle some of the world’s most challenging issues together.
The United States joins all citizens of Lithuania as you celebrate Lithuania’s independence and the inspiration it provides to countries around the world. Know that the United States stands with you as a dedicated ally and a friend as we work towards a more peaceful and prosperous world.
Lithuania 2011:
A neo-Nazi leader shouts menacing slogans in a megaphone next to police cordons at Baltic Pride. Although it is illegal to display a swastika in Lithuania, the police would not take away the group’s flags.
Photo: http://www.lgbt-ep.eu
As Lithuanian national holidays – February 16 and March 11 – are approaching, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Azubalis urges the participants of the planned patriotic march "to overcome radicalism and rally around the tricolour", reported BC the MFA.
"During the national holidays, let us emphasize not our differences and ambitions, but public spirit and maturity in freedom. Public spirit, as you know, is determined not by the length of the hair, exclusive attitude or ethnic background. It is the outer manifestation of respect of Lithuania and its people," Azubalis said.
Participants of the march must make it clear and understandable that the love of one's fatherland has nothing to do with neo-Nazism or xenophobia. – One should not confuse the love of homeland with specific personal desires," the minister says.
He stresses that public holidays are for all Lithuanian citizens regardless of their background or attitude. "There should be no outcasts. On those days we must not forget the colours that are most important and we should not discard it for the interest of some group," Azubalis said.
The minister believes that the Lithuanian society "has always been and will be a dynamic, sustainable, and patchy fabric". Therefore, the patriotic march must demonstrate that there are more uniting threads than dividing ones in our society.
"Let us not give reason to defame Lithuania under the pretext of racism, xenophobia and Nazism. We have to express the love of our country responsibly and evaluate the impact of personal emotions," the minister says.
Read more...
Rimantas Uzumeckas, principal of Upyna Secondary School of Silale.
By Linas Jegelevicius
TAURAGE, Lithuania | As a secondary school teacher, Lina Baltiene used to earn almost $800 a month, the average national wage, and she received another $100 to cover bus fare for the 30-kilometer (19-mile) ride to her school in the countryside.
What a difference a few years makes.
Now working part time, she‘s lucky if she makes one-third of her old salary. Gone is the perk of bus fare, though she still has to make the same daily trek, without a car of her own.
In some ways, Baltiene is a symbol of a shakeup in Lithuanian education spurred by the financial crisis and dramatically shifting demographics.
As in many countries, local governments in Lithuania used to offer incentives to teachers to work in rural communities. Those who commuted were reimbursed for transportation expenses; those who moved close to their schools received more generous benefits.
“Before the crisis, we would rent out apartments and even houses, and pay the rent for the teachers from town,” said Rimantas Uzumeckas, principal of Upyna Secondary School in the western district of Silale. Other benefits included free firewood and cut-rate school meals.
“Even villagers would treat them really well. Some local dairy farmers would provide the newcomers with milk,” Uzumeckas said.
“Now, forget it.”
Read more…
“Good life does not come easily in Lithuania”
At the airport in Vilnius.
In a time of crisis with high unemployment, young Lithuanians are following in the footsteps of their emigrant ancestors. Tens of thousands have left the country in search of a better life, mainly in the British Isles and Scandinavia. The weekly Veidas reports.
Read more...
Dialogue of the deaf between Vilnius and Warsaw
OUTSIDERS find the Polish-Lithuanian spat the most incomprehensible in Europe. How come two countries with so much common history and so many common interests get on so badly? Is it just the appalling personal chemistry between some senior officials? Or is it, absurdly, about spelling? Poles in Lithuania want to spell their names using letters like ł and ę in official documents. (We can't use them, or most other diacritics, in the print edition of the Economist because our typeface doesn't have those characters).
I have not met any Lithuanian, even on the nationalist fringe, who believes that the authorities in Vilnius have handled this issue absolutely perfectly from the very beginning. Lithuanian politicians have habitually promised more than their parliamentarians are willing to vote for, or their officials are able to implement. It is easy to see why Poles feel cross about that.
Read more...
A planned gas pipeline between Poland and Lithuania may cost 471 million euros ($625 million), the Baltic News Service reported today, citing Slawomir Sliwinsky, board member of Poland’s Gaz-Systems.
The 562-kilometer pipeline is projected to be completed in 2018, which would supply the Baltic region with 2.3 billion cubic meters of gas a year, the newswire said. Gaz-Systems and Lithuania’s gas utility Lietuvos Dujos AB (LDJ1L) plan to receive financing for the project from the European Commission, it said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Milda Seputyte in Vilnius at mseputyte@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Balazs Penz at bpenz@bloomberg.net
Read more...
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OPINIONS
Have your say. Send to:
editor@VilNews.com
Ph. D., Chicago
A wave of unity sweeps the international Lithuanian community on March 11th every year as Lithuanians celebrated the anniversary of the Lithuanian Parliament's declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1990. However, the sense of national unity engendered by the celebration could be short-lived.
Human beings have a strong tendency to overgeneralize and succumb to stereotypical us-them distinctions that can shatter even the strongest bonds. We need only search the internet to find examples of divisive thinking at work:
- "Those who fled Lithuania during World II were cowards -- and now they come back, flaunt their wealth, and tell us 'true Lithuanians' how to live."
- "Lithuanians who work abroad have abandoned their homeland and should be deprived of their Lithuanian citizenship."
In Lithuania Christmas Eve is a family event and the New Year's Eve a great party with friends!
Lithuanian say "Kaip sutiksi naujus metus, taip juos ir praleisi" (the way you'll meet the new year is the way you will spend it). So everyone is trying to spend New Year's Eve with friend and have as much fun as possible.
Lithuanian New Year's traditions are very similar to those in other countries, and actually were similar since many years ago. Also, the traditional Lithuanian New Years Eve party was very similar to other big celebrations throughout the year.
The New Year's Eve table is quite similar to the Christmas Eve table, but without straws under the tablecloth, and now including meat dishes. A tradition that definitely hasn't changes is that everybody is trying not to fell asleep before midnight. It was said that if you oversleep the midnight point you will be lazy all the upcoming year. People were also trying to get up early on the first day of the new year, because waking up late also meant a very lazy and unfortunate year.
During the New Year celebration people were dancing, singing, playing games and doing magic to guess the future. People didn't drink much of alcohol, especially was that the case for women.
Here are some advices from elders:
- During the New Year, be very nice and listen to relatives - what you are during New Year Eve, you will be throughout the year.
- During to the New Year Eve, try not to fall, because if this happens, next year you will be unhappy.
- If in the start of the New Year, the first news are good - then the year will be successful. If not - the year will be problematic.
* If New Year's night is cold and starry - look forward to a good summer!
* If the during New Year Eve trees are covered with frost - then it will be a good year. If it is wet weather on New Year's Eve, one can expect a year where many will die and dangerous epidemics occur.
* If the first day of the new year is snowy - the upcoming year will see many young people die. If the night is snowy - mostly old people will die.
* If the New Year time is cold - then Easter will be warm.
* If during New Year there are a lot of birds in your homestead - then all year around there will be many guests and the year will be fun.
Christmas greetings
from Vilnius
and epic battle for the
future
Philosopher, political theorist, historian of
ideas, social analyst, and political
commentator
Ukraine was and continues to be perceived by the EU political class as a sort of grey zone with its immense potential and possibilities for the future, yet deeply embedded and trapped in No Man's Land with all of its troubled past, post-Soviet traumas, ambiguities, insecurities, corruption, social divisions, and despair. Why worry for what has yet to emerge as a new actor of world history in terms of nation-building, European identity, and deeper commitments to transparency and free market economy?
Right? Wrong. No matter how troubled Ukraine's economic and political reality could be, the country has already passed the point of no return. Even if Vladimir Putin retains his leverage of power to blackmail Ukraine and the West in terms of Ukraine's zero chances to accede to NATO due to the problems of territorial integrity, occupation and annexation of Crimea, and mayhem or a frozen conflict in the Donbas region, Ukraine will never return to Russia's zone of influence. It could be deprived of the chances to join NATO or the EU in the coming years or decades, yet there are no forces on earth to make present Ukraine part of the Eurasia project fostered by Putin.
want to learn about the
new, scary propaganda
war between Russia,
The West and the
Baltic States!
believe their government
is corrupt
students say no to
bribes for doctors
During Soviet times, government was administered for the people in control, not for the local population, court decisions were decreed, they were not the administration of justice, and academia was the domain of ideologues. 25 years of freedom and openness should have put those bad experiences behind Lithuania, but that is not so.
Today, it is a matter of expectation that court pronouncements will be governed by ideological dictates. Few, if any Lithuanians expect real justice to be effected. For foreign companies, doing business in Lithuania is almost impossible in a situation where business people do not expect rule of law, so, surely Government would be a refuge of competence?
Lithuanian Government has not emerged from Soviet styles. In an attempt to devolve power, Lithuania has created a myriad of fiefdoms of power, each speaking in the name of the Government, each its own centralized power base of ideology.
Chepstow, Wales
Doesn't that sound suspiciously like Lithuania? Ah, but I didn't mention the mountains of Snowdonia, which would give the game away.
I'm talking about Wales, that part of the UK which Lithuanians used to call "Valija", but later named "Velsas" (why?). Wales, the nation which has welcomed two Lithuanian heads of state to its shores - firstly Professor Vytautas Landsbergis, who has paid several visits and, more recently, President Dalia Grybauskaitė who attended the 2014 NATO summit which was held in Newport, South Wales.
ENGLISH VERSION OF THE
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF VYTAUTAS LANDSBERGIS.
Although Lithuanian activities have thinned over the decades as that postwar generation died out, the Lithuanian Martyrs' parish hall is crowded with many, many hundreds of visitors who come to the Lithuanian cemetery for All Souls' Day. Similarly, the Franciscan parish has standing room only for Christmas Eve mass.
Although I am firmly embedded in the literary culture of Canada, my themes are usually Lithuanian, and I'll be in Kaunas and Vilnius in mid-November 2015 to give talks about the Lithuanian translations of my novels and short stories, which I write in English.
If you have the Lithuanian language, come by to one of the talks listed in the links below. And if you don't, you can read more about my work at
www.anatanassileika.com
http://www.vdu.lt/lt/rasytojas-antanas-sileika-pristatys-savo-kuryba/ https://leu.lt/lt/lf/lf_naujienos/kvieciame-i-rasytojo-59hc.html
"My love and best wishes to all. As long as VilNews exists, there is hope for the future,"" she writes.
Irena Veisaite means very much for our publication, and we do hereby thank her for the support and wise commitment she always shows.
You can read our interview with her
Facing a new reality
Dear readers of VilNews,
For a number of years, the EU and Russia had assumed the existence of a strategic partnership, based on the convergence of values, economic integration and increasingly open markets and a modernisation agenda for society.
Our agenda was positive and ambitious. We looked at Russia as a country ready to converge with "European values", a country likely to embrace both the basic principles of democratic government and a liberal concept of the world order. It was believed this would bring our relations to a new level, covering the whole spectrum of the EU's strategic relationship with Russia.
The likelihood of Putin
invading Lithuania
.jpg "lithuania today")
Founding Director at Summer Literary Seminars
Are all Lithuanian energy
problems now resolved?
Lithuania as a country does not have significant energy resources. Energy consuming infrastructure after WWII was small and totally supported by energy imports from Russia.
First nuclear reactor begins power generation at Ignalina in 1983, the second reactor in 1987. Iganlina generates enough electricity to cover Lithuania's needs and about 50%.for export. As, prerequisite for membership in EU, Ignalina ceases all nuclear power generation in 2009
The Klaipėda Sea terminal begins Russia's oil export operations in 1959 and imports in 1994.
Mazeikiu Nafta (current ORLEAN Lietuva) begins operation of oil refinery in 1980.
Have Lithuanian ties across
the Baltic Sea become
stronger in recent years?
The two decades that have passed since regaining Lithuania's independence can be described as a "building boom". From the wreckage of a captive Soviet republic, a generation of Lithuanians have built a modern European state, and are now helping construct a Nordic-Baltic community replete with institutions intended to promote political coordination and foster a trans-Baltic regional identity. Indeed, a "Nordic-Baltic community" - I will explain later in my text the meaning of this catch-phrase.
Since the restoration of Lithuania's independence 25 years ago, we have continuously felt a strong support from Nordic countries. Nordics in particular were among the countries supporting Lithuania's and Baltic States' striving towards independence. Take example of Iceland, country which recognized Lithuania in February of 1991, well in advance of other countries. Yet another example - Swedish Ambassador was the first ambassador accredited to Lithuania in 1991. The other countries followed suit. When we restored our statehood, Nordic Countries became champions in promoting Baltic integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions. To large degree thanks Nordic Countries, massive transformations occurred in Lithuania since then, Lithuania became fully-fledged member of the EU and NATO, and we joined the Eurozone on 1 January 2015.
Have you heard about the
South African "Pencil Test"?
But that is exactly what happened to me when I came back from South Africa. I will tell you how.
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