kerkko.fi

Never expected to find myself torn between my solidarity for the working class and my love of beer. A court in Lithuania has declared beer an "essential service," on par with drinking water and the internet, The Telegraph reported. Brewing group Carlsberg applied for the reclassification to forestall industrial action by workers at its Lithuanian brewery, Svyturys-Utenos Alus. The staff had decided to stage a walk-out for better pay and conditions, but the court declared the stoppage illegal. Jennie Formby, national officer at Britain's UNITE, called the situation ridiculous. "Of course many people think beer is great but it does not save lives," she told The Daily Mirror.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/9122762/Carlsberg-reclassifies-itself-as-an-essential-service-to-prevent-Lithuanian-strike-action.html

The French cosmetics studio, Galimard, has created a new "national perfume" for Lithuania, local daily Vilniaus Diena reports. The government sent bottles of the new fragrance -- Lietuva -- to Lithuanian soldiers serving in Afghanistan and all foreign ambassadors in Lithuania. The perfume will be sent to Lithuanian embassies, hotels, and airports. Candles with the same scent will go on sale in February 2011. A full line of products is currently under design.

"We wanted to create something special, representing Lithuania and the Lithuanian character," said Mindaugas Stongvilas, emotional communication expert. The perfume is a blend of sandalwood, cedar, and musk, "intended to connote the Indo-European origins of the Lithuanian language and the strength of the Lithuanian character," Mr Stongvilas said. "We added the smell of wood fires, reminiscent of pagan rituals, as well as moss and wildflowers.”

A Lithuanian company has unveiled plans to build an "Island of Blondes" in the Maldives. The resort will be staffed exclusively with “beautiful blonde young women”, featuring “entertainments”, spa centres, and an education centre “which will teach female guests to always be perfect and look great.” The project will also include the creation of an airline and yacht service for visitors to the island, both staffed exclusively by blondes. The resort will be built under the Olialia brand, which is owned by Lithuania's largest tabloid, Vakaro Zinios.

The project is likely to encounter logistical difficulties: Resorts in the Maldives are obligated to employ at least 50% Maldivian staff who naturally have dark hair. Head of the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI), Sim Mohamed Ibrahim, said the idea was "so totally spectacular and different that it could very well succeed." Sim did not believe the resort would encounter objections from the conservative establishment in the Maldives, “because if we single out a physical characteristic, we are not going to attract anybody.”

http://minivannews.com/travelandarts/lithuanian-company-reveals-plans-to-open-island-of-blondes-in-the-maldives-11103/print/

Мой адрес не дом и не улица, мой адрес — Советский Союз!

26 мая 2010 года пограничники Игналинской заставы и оперативные служащие на одной из улиц Висагинаса задержали русскоязычного мужчину. Пограничники уже располагали данными о том, что этот человек нелегально проживает в Литве. В ответ на просьбу предъявить документы мужчина протянул пасспорт гражданина СССР.

По предварительным данным, этот человек с 1984 года отбывал срок заключения в Литве и после выхода на свободу здесь и остался. В 1991 году этот гражданин до установленного срока не определился с тем, какое же гражданство ему взять, не оформил документы, поэтому стал нелегалом. У мужчины нет жилья и источника доходов.

http://ru.delfi.lt/archive/print.php?id=32826737

New testimony about the death of a Lithuanian diplomat, Vytautas Pociunas, in Belarus in 2006 suggests that the death may be linked to the theft of US funds designated for the Belarusian pro-democracy movement. The US tried to secret around USD 40 million into Belarus, but much of it went missing along the way.

The US pumped tens of millions of dollars into pro-democracy groups opposed to Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka's regime. Lithuanian MP Kestutis Masiulis alleges that the US sent the funds via the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry, but a large chunk of the money was said to have disappeared in Lithuania.

Mr Pociunas fell to his death in 2006 from the ninth floor of the InTourist hotel in Brest under mysterious circumstances. The Belarusian authorities declared at the time that there was no foul play involved and the Lithuanian prosecutors agreed without investigating. The case has now been reopened after pressure.

http://balticreports.com/?p=8121

We appeal to the Finnish authorities to grant asylum to the Chechen couple, Malik and Khadizhat Gataev. They were arrested in Finland, pending deportation to Lithuania.

The couple ran an orphanage in Kaunas, but were arrested by state security in October 2008. Since then, they have been rollercoastered by the Lithuanian justice system.

Deporting the Gataevs to Lithuania must not happen, since there are no guarantees that they would not be then deported to the inhumane conditions in their homeland, Chechnya.

Read more about the case:

“Angel of Grozny” arrested in Lithuania
Finrosforum, 21 October 2008
http://www.finrosforum.fi/?p=1365

Angel of Grozny, Devils of Lithuania
Finrosforum, 11 March 2009
http://www.finrosforum.fi/?p=1976

Sign the Appeal: http://www.adressit.com/gatajev