Eurovision songs often feature winking sexual innuendo. But Erika Vikman, representing Finland, doesn’t rely on hidden meanings in “Ich Komme,” a bombastic track mixing U2-style rock with pounding beats. During the chorus, Vikman repeatedly sings the German words for “I’m coming,” sometimes while straddling a microphone stand.

During a recent interview, Vikman, 32, said that the song was, quite clearly, about having orgasms.

With the track, Vikman said, she wanted to “express myself as a female, and show my sexual power.” Women should be free to be open about their sex lives, she added.

Vikman is a star in Finland, having started her career making tango music — a much-loved music genre there — before switching to pop. Yet not all of her compatriots think she should be representing Finland tonight. In February, a youth arm of Finland’s governing National Coalition Party said in a news release that “Ich Komme” turned women into sex objects. “This way of presenting the Finnish woman in the world’s most famous singing competition is not appropriate,” the statement said.

The pages of Finland’s major newspapers have featured correspondence about the song, with some writers comparing Vikman’s lascivious performance to pornography and others calling Vikman an inspiration to women.

Vikman said she had found the debate unsurprising. “People always find it very scary when a woman appears who’s strong, knows what’s she’s doing, and does it in a sexual and flirty way,” Vikman said, adding, “The world needs women like me.”

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5725984&forum_id=2E#48940482)

Both the Belgian and Spanish broadcasters aired pro-Palestinian messages ahead of and during the Eurovision broadcasts. Spain’s RTVE flashed a screen that read in English and Spanish: “When human rights are at stake, silence is not an option. Peace and Justice for Palestine.”

A message from Belgium’s Flemish VRT broadcaster said it was interrupting the broadcast to protest Israel’s violation of human rights” as well as its destruction of “freedom of the press.”

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God smote the 4 antisemitic countries thusly:

- 'Ireland' did not advance after placing in the bottom 6 in semi-final 2 (13th out of 16);

- 'Spain' is among the 5 biggest funders of the EBU that perennially are automatically qualified for the final but nevertheless placed 24th out of 26 there; and

- 'Slovenia' and 'Belgium' did not advance after both placed in the bottom 5 in semi-final 1 (13th and 14th respectively out of 15).

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5725984&forum_id=2E#48944204)

Among the 30%, they'll perk up when the Israeli entry comes on and will be more likely to pay attention to it and remember it and vote for it just because of the press surrounding it.

The 60% are united against Israel but not necessarily in favor of any single alternative.

If the EBU instituted ranked-choice voting Israel would lose bigly.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5725984&forum_id=2E#48944327)