The Copenhagen Post 27Jan - 02 Feb 2012

Wondercool: February’s fab festival. Special section

The Royal Family grows one princess larger

INSIDE

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27 January - 2 February 2012 | Vol 15 Issue 4

Promise not to burst your bubble

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Denmark’s only English-language newspaper | cphpost.dk SCANPIX

NEWS

In something reminiscent of a ‘Rambo’ movie, Navy SEALs free Danish hostage from Somalia

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NEWS

DR blacklisted Angry over a TV programme, India denies DR journalists entry, igniting a second diplomatic row between the nations

6 SPORT

Right-wing extremists plan to make Aarhus their

MECCA OF HATE

Woz that it? Another grand slam bid fizzles out and Caroline Wozniacki loses her top spot

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CULTURE

SF backs off ‘Ministry of Life Philosophy’ suggestion

Breivik play stirs emotions

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Spokeswoman now says party doesn’t want to change the name of the Ministry of Ecclesiastical Affairs

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ESS THAN 24 hours after Pernille Vigsø Bagge, a spokesperson for the Socialistisk Folkeparti (SF), suggested that the Ministry of Ecclesiastical Affairs – commonly known as the Church Ministry (kirkeministeriet) – change its name to the Ministry of Life Philosophy, she backtracked.

After telling TV2 News on Sunday evening that the ministry should change its name in order to accommodate Muslims and others of “differ-

ent faiths and philosophies”, Bagge re- missed the entire debate and said that versed field on Monday afternoon and the government was not interested in said that it was not SF’s policy nor her changing the ministry’s name.

“The conversation in Denmark personal belief that the ministry should should be about creating jobs and how to change names.

The reversal came after her suggestion get the economy back on track,” she said. met with scathing criticism from politi- “That’s what we need to talk about.”

Commenters on political websites cians around the country and online.

Konservative (K) party leader Lars around the country scoffed at the new Barfoed, for one, said he was firmly name that Bagge suggested and had a few ideas of their own on how the minagainst the suggestion.

“The Church of Denmark is rec- istry should be dubbed.

‘The Ministry for Tax-Funded Suognised as part of our constitution,” he said. “Our entire culture is based on perstition’ was suggested by a commenter on Jyllands-Posten’s website . The comic Christian humanist values.”

He said that SF’s suggestion struck duo Wuffmorgenthaller went a step further and suggested ‘The Ministry for All at the core values of Danish society. of Silly Superstitions’. Several Integration ministerOrganise Karen aForms personal meeting Haekkerup (Socialdemokraterne) dis- commentators compared the whole affair

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Bagge called the debate - and her opponents – “ridiculous” on her Facebook page on Sunday night.

“Ridiculous commotion over the TV2 segment [Sunday night],” she wrote. “In terms of content it is logical that the religious community in Denmark be gathered under one ministry.

That’s the way it was previously. K, who are in a rage, themselves proposed a new church arrangment when Per Stig was minister. [Dansk Folkeparti] is responding to the word ‘Muslim’, which incidentally I didn’t mention. Relax.”

By mid-week she was taking pains to distance herself and her party from her comments.

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Week in review

The Copenhagen Post cphpost.dk

27 January - 2 February 2012 Scanpix

Illegal

THE WEEK’S MOST READ STORIES AT CPHPOST.DK Racist network to hold rally in Aarhus It’s a princess!

Pernickety Dicky | Is Copenhagen boring?

Foreign magazines face colossal levy Free to pee

FROM OUR ARCHIVES TEN YEARS AGO. Rising numbers of women report that they are being fired from their jobs for being pregnant.

FIVE YEARS AGO. The National Bank enlists eight artists to design new currency notes with images of Denmark’s most famous bridges.

ONE YEAR AGO. Eight shootings in eight days leave officials worried that a gang war is brewing in the northwest suburbs.

On Wednesday, the Eastern High Court upheld the city court’s earlier ruling that the mass pre-emptive arrest of protesters by police during the COP15 climate conference in December 2009 was illegal.

love Thorning-Schmidt because she was “educated at the bureaucratic academy in Bruges, trained in the European parliament’s glass palace and, completely in line with the EU’s history, elected as prime minister on a long series of lies”. Thorning-Schmidt could be seen coolly ignoring her countryman’s rant.

Denmark’s only English-language newspaper Since 1998, The Copenhagen Post has been Denmark’s leading source for news in English. As the voice of the international community, we provide coverage for the thousands of foreigners making their home in Denmark.

Additionally, our English language medium helps to bring Denmark’s top stories to a global audience.

In addition to publishing the only regularly printed English-language newspaper in the country, we provide up-to-date news on our website and deliver news to national and international organisations. The Copenhagen Post is also a leading provider of non-news services to the private and public sectors, offering writing, translation, editing, production and delivery services.

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“The best”

Here’s an international distinction Denmark would rather do without. With ten bankrupt banks, the nation shares top place with Iceland for the highest number of bankruptcies in the Nordic countries. By way of comparison, there has been only one bank failure in Sweden, Norway and Finland combined.

President and Publisher Ejvind Sandal Chief Executive Jesper Nymark Editor-in-Chief Kevin McGwin Managing Editor Ben Hamilton News Editor Justin Cremer Journalists Jennifer Buley & Peter Stanners

According to Ugebrevet A4, the bank failures can be attributed to the housing bubble and the poor performance of bank directors. Vestjysk Bank, according to Politiken, has been “fighting for its life”, but its Wednesday merger with Aarhus Lokalbank has probably assured that Denmark won’t be alone at the top ... yet.

Editorial offices: Slagtehusgade 4 – 6 DK 1715 Copenhagen V Telephone: 3336 3300 Fax: 3393 1313 www.cphpost.dk News Desk news@cphpost.dk 3336 4243 The CPH Post welcomes outside articles and letters to the editor.

Letters and comments can be left on our website or at: comments@cphpost.dk

Colourbox

PM Helle Thorning-Schmidt didn’t exactly receive a warm welcome from fellow Dane Morten Messerschmidt in the European Parliament. Following Thorning-Schmidt’s opening address, MEP Messerchmidt gave a roundly-criticised response in which he mockingly predicted his European colleagues would

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Welcome Helle

CORRECTIONS: There was an error in the Chinese ambassador’s message in last week’s advertising supplement.

Please see the corrected message on page 10.

Leak less

Ida Auken, the environment minister, wants to reduce the amount of oil Maersk leaks from oil rigs into the North Sea. “I want to be sure that the numbers we receive from Maersk that show how much oil is being released into the sea are correct,” Auken told Politiken newspaper.

The tightened regulation arrives

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just over a year after Politiken newspaper revealed that Maersk had been fiddling the tests that measured oil leaks. Following the revelations, Mærsk hired consultants to review their processes and minimise the amount of oil leaked from the rigs. Figures show that last year was the first time the limit was not exceeded.

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news

The Copenhagen Post cphpost.dk

27 January - 2 February 2012

Workers to be rewarded in tax reform Opposition commends leftwing tax minister’s proposal to reduce taxes only for those in employment

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Pedersen: Half of tax debt will never be recouped The tax ministry has decided to forgive half of the 72.9 billion kroner owed to it in unpaid taxes, train fines and parking tickets.

The decision was made by tax minister Thor Möger Pedersen after his ministry decided it was unfeasible to expect to collect all the debts owed.

37 billion kroner of mostly old debts from both individuals and citizens will be written off.

“It mostly concerns people at the edge of society who owe the state large sums of money but are in no position to pay it back,” Pedersen told Politiken.

The decision was criticized by the lobby group representing local government, Kommunernes Landsforening (KL) “It’s a major problem because the public sector is going to lose money,” KL’s vice-chair, Erik Fabrin, said. “It’s also a problem from a rule-of-law point of view because when [tax authority] Skat writes-off a debt, it sends a message to citizens that it’s a debt that they can get away with not paying.”

Skat, which is responsible for recouping the money, cut 120 employees last year and is required to shed another 800 jobs by 2014 as it transfers to a new IT system. implemented by the previous government.

While the precise details of the tax reform have yet to be revealed, one likely scenario is increasing the tax deduction for everyone in employment (beskæftigelsesfradrag).

While this option will benefit all jobholders equally, some have argued that the alternative, raising the threshold for the top

tax bracket (topskat), would create more incentive to earn more and ultimately raise more money for the state’s coffers.

The metalworkers’ union, Dansk Metal, is one voice arguing for this approach. It suggested in a press release last week that the government ought to increase the threshold for topskat by 60,000 kroner.

“The advantage of increas-

Tax minister Thor Möger Pedersen said workers will be rewarded in the government’s tax reform, but the details have yet to be ironed out

ing the threshold for topskat to about 450,000 kroner is that you will get metal workers, electricians and other workers in similar industries to make an extra effort when their business gets an extra order,” Allan Lyngsø Madsen, Dansk Metal’s chief economist, said.

Government support party Enhedslisten was critical of any tax reform that would benefit the wealthiest, however.

But Frank Aaen, the party’s tax spokesperson, argued that

Scanpix

Under heavy security, PM Helle Thorning-Schmidt met with Helmand province governor Golab Mangal before visiting Danish troops

Thorning-Schmidt pays surprise visit to troops in Afghanistan

Prince Joachim and his sons on their way to see the new arrival

First visit to the country as PM comes on the same day four Nato soldiers are shot and killed

rincess Marie gave birth to the newest member of the Royal Family on Tuesday morning at 8:37 at Copenhagen’s Rigshospitalet.

According to reports from the Royal Family, the new arrival weighed in at 2,930g and measured 49cm. Both Princess Marie, 35, and the baby are reportedly doing well after the birth that lasted just over four hours.

The as-yet-unnamed princess is the couple’s second child.

Their first, Henrik, was born in 2009.

Prince Joachim, 42, has two sons, Nikolai, 11, and Felix, 9, from his first marriage to the

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M Helle Thorning-Schmidt (Socialdemokraterne) was flown to Afghanistan last week on Friday under the cover of secrecy and heavy security to meet with Danish troops in Helmand province.

She also met with the governor of Helmand province, Golab Mangal.

“It is gratifying to see the results of the enormous contributions Danish soldiers and

it might support such a reform as long as there was a guarantee that other initiatives which would reduce societal inequality would be put forward.

“It would be absurd to try and help those with the lowest incomes by raising tax deductible allowance because the wealthiest would also get the increased allowance,” Aaen said.

“But it could definitely be put together with other initiatives.

Taxation is not necessarily the easiest way to achieve a result.”

It’s a(nother) princess!

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f you’re a student or on welfare, better luck next time, as the government plans to only cut taxes for those holding jobs.

The tax minister, Thor Möger Pedersen (Socialistiske Folkeparti), hopes the tax reform will increase the workforce by 7,000 and raise an additional three billion kroner in taxes by reducing the taxes for those in employment.

“Tax reduction should go to those who have jobs and incomes,” Pedersen told the press.

“This also means that welfare recipients and students are not the focus this time around. They would not be my target with a tax reform, because it is not supposed to be a poverty, education or social reform.”

Pedersen’s decision to use a tax reform to reward those in employment was praised by the opposition party Venstre and the pro-enterprise think-tank

Cepos.

“Our target audience is those in employment,” said Venstre vice-chairman Kristian Jensen, according to Berlingske newspaper. “It should always pay to make an effort.”

Cepos chief economist Mads Lundby Hansen shared a similar view to Jensen.

“If you want to increase productivity you have to increase the incentive to work,” Hansen told Politiken newspaper. “That’s why it’s positive that the tax minister has said that people in employment will receive tax breaks.”

The decision by Pedersen not to also reduce taxes for the poorest is a departure from the traditional views of his party, which usually calls for increased taxes on the wealthiest in order to maintain social equality.

But speaking to JyllandsPosten newspaper, Pedersen said the concept of equality needed a more ‘nuanced’ understanding.

“Our target and ambition has to be securing better working environments for hardworking wage earners,” he said, adding that the government had already addressed social inequality by eliminating the reduced cash welfare benefit rates

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Peter Stanners

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civilian advisors have made in Afghanistan over the years along with the international community,” Thorning-Schmidt said in a written statement.

Thorning-Schmidt admitted that there were still “many challenges in Afghanistan” but that the efforts of the Danish soldiers were praise-worthy.

“We can all be proud of the great contributions so many Danish women and men have made and continue to make.

Through their dedicated way of handling their missions, they have created international recognition and respect for Denmark and for Denmark’s ability

to carry its share of international responsibility.”

Thorning-Schmidt’s first visit to Afghanistan as prime minister came on the same day that four French Nato troops were shot and killed by an Afghan solider in the eastern part of the country.

Denmark currently has some 750 troops stationed in Helmand province as part of Nato’s efforts.

In December, Villy Søvndal, the foreign minister, announced that Denmark would continue to financially support Afghanistan’s military and police following the withdrawal of Nato troops in 2014. (JC)

Newest member of Royal Family is tenth in line of succession; mother and child reportedly doing well after four-hour labour

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former Princess Alexandra.

Joachim divorced Alexandra in April 2005 and married Marie – born Marie Cavallier in Paris, France – in May 2008.

Although the couple live at the Sachenborg Estate in southern Jutland, the couple had been living in Copenhagen to be close to Rigshospitalet.

The new princess is tenth in the line of succession to the Danish throne (see factfile to right).

The newest addition to the Royal Family came just two weeks after Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary’s twins, Vincent and Josephine, celebrated their first birthdays.

Following tradition, the newborn princess will probably make her first public appearance in the coming days, followed by intense speculation over the little one’s name. (KM)

Line of succession 1. Crown Prince Frederik, the heir apparent (born: 26 May 1968) – Son of Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik 2. Prince Christian (15 October 2005) – son of Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary 3. Princess Isabella (21 April 2007) – daughter of Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary 4. Prince Vincent (8 January 2011) – son of Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary 5. Princess Josephine (8 January 2011) – daughter of Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary 6. Prince Joachim (7 June 1969) – son of Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik 7. Prince Nikolai (28 August 1999) – son of Prince Joachim and the former Princess Alexandra (now baroness) 8. Prince Felix (22 July 2002) – son of Prince Joachim and the former Princess Alexandra 9. Prince Henrik (4 May 2009) – son of Prince Joachim and Princess Marie 10. Newborn princess (24 January 2012) – daughter of Prince Joachim and Princess Marie

4 Cover story Racist network to hold rally in Aarhus The Copenhagen Post cphpost.dk

Peter Stanners Aarhus mayor expresses regret at decision by the English Defence League to host first major European event for the anti-Muslim network in the city

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ar-right groups from across Europe are set to hold a rally in Aarhus on March 31, the English Defence League (EDL) has announced.

According to a statement on Facebook by the Danish chapter Danske Defence League (DDL), the anti-Muslim organisation is organising the rally to highlight “such topics as sharia law, halal and the increasing Islamification of our countries”.

The rally in Aarhus will be the first major gathering of the EDL – which is known for its connection to the football hooligan network – and its European network of supporters.

“We’re hoping this will be the launch of a wider European Defence League,” Isak Nygren, a spokesperson for the Swedish Defence League (SDL), told Britain’s The Daily Telegraph. “I hope that we can show that there’s resistance against the Islamisation of Europe – that we can inspire each other.”

Aarhus mayor Jacob Bundsgaard expressed disappointment that the rally was set to be held in the city.

“It’s sad that we have these kind of groups in Denmark and Europe, and it’s important to me to send a clear signal to these people that this is not what Aarhus is about,” Bundsgaard told The Copenhagen Post. “We are developing

Aarhus mayor Jacob Bundsgaard said the groups have their democratic right to protest, but doesn’t particularly want them in his city

our city on values of inclusion, tolerance and equal rights, whereas these people are about hatred and about all the things we are not.”

Bundsgaard added that the farright groups had their democratic right to demonstrate peacefully, so long as the police approved the plans.

But EDL demonstrations in the UK tend to be anything but peaceful, with violent confrontations commonly occurring between them and members of left-wing organisations staging counter rallies.

One demonstration in the British city of Bolton resulted in 74 arrests, 54 of which were members of Unite Against Fascism (UAF) and nine were EDL members.

Violence could be on the menu at the rally in March too, as anti-fascist organisations have stated their intention to attend.

“We can’t let this go un-noticed,” Sarah Burns, from umbrella organisation Antiracistisk Netværk, told leftwing news portal Modkraft. “It’s important to send a clear message that there are many of us who don’t share their message.”

While blame for the violence can be pinned on both sides – the joint secretary of the UAF, Weyman Bennett, was arrested and charged with conspiracy to organise violent disorder after the Bolton demonstration – the EDL is known for seeking violent confrontations despite publicly stating it wants to demonstrate peacefully.

A photograph posted on Facebook by the DDL, and published my Modkraft, shows more than a dozen men posing in front of a Danish flag. In the picture, some of the men can be seen holding pipes and weapons while others are masked.

In the UK, members of the EDL have been convicted on a variety of charges related to racist and anti-Muslim attacks, including two men who received ten-year sentences last December for attempting to burn down a mosque.

The DDL was established in August 2010, but in recent weeks it has been suffering internal rifts, according to Modkraft. As a result there are several groups claiming to be the officially recognised national ‘defence league’, including Danske Defence League, the Danish Defence League and the Official Danish Defence League.

According to Modkraft, the latter has gained the support of the EDL, which is helping to run the Danish chapter.

27 January - 2 February 2012

Above: Police face off with the English Defence League as they try to separate them from opposing groups of anti-fascist protesters in Bradford, England in August 2010. Below: A photo from an internal meeting of the Danish Defence League in Jutland

The EDL was mentioned in the manifesto of Anders Breivik, the Norwegian man responsible for the deaths of 76 people last July, as an example of an effective right-wing group (for more on Breivik, see page 18).

“An organisation such as the EDL has the moral high ground and can easily justify their political standpoints as they publicly oppose racism and authoritarianism,” he wrote.

We are developing our city on values of inclusion, tolerance and equal rights, whereas these people are about hatred and about all the things we are not

Breivik also bragged that he was a mentor for the group, but ultimately condemned them as “more naïve than Sarkozy, Merkel and Cameron” for not taking a stand on multiculturalism “I used to have more than 600 EDL members as Facebook friends and have spoken with tens of EDL members and leaders. In fact, I was one of the individuals who supplied them with processed ideological material.”

Online this week Opera director quits after budget cuts Keith Warner, the artistic director of the Royal Opera, has resigned following the Royal Theatre’s significant budget cuts. According to the Royal Theatre, Warner announced at a staff meeting on Monday night that he has asked to be released from his contract, which was slated to run until July 2014.

“It is with great sadness that I feel I must resign,” Warner said in a statement. “The recent dev-

astating budget cuts make it impossible for me to realise my big dreams for the company.”

The Royal Theatre will receive 100 million kroner less in state support over the next four years. The funding cuts forced the theatre to cut its staff by 81, including 33 artistic positions.

Warner took up the post as artistic director in July 2011, after being chosen from a field of 48 applicants.

Lotto payout mistake affects 40,000

Metro sets passenger record If you think the Metro has become a bit packed, you’re right. It turns out that more and more people use the Metro in Copenhagen. The Metro has yet again broken its own passenger record with 54.3 million people buying a ticket in 2011. That’s two million more passengers than in 2010. “In general we’ve had progress in public transport over the last years. This also includes the Metro,” traffic re-

searcher Per Homann Jespersen told P4 København. New developments in Frederiksberg and Ørestad, as well as along Amagerstrand were partly credited for the uptick in passengers. All the people trying to squeeze on the Metro hasn’t affected its punctuality, however. With 13,000 departures a day, the Metro’s trains left on schedule 98.8 percent of the time last year.

On Sunday, roughly 40,000 people received the good news that they had won money from the national lottery Danske Spil.

The only problem? The amount they actually won turned out to be significantly lower than what they had thought. Due to a blunder on the part of Danske Spil, thousands of lotto players received either a text message

or an email telling them that their winnings were significantly higher than they really were.

Some of the incorrect winnings were transferred to players’ accounts at danskespil.dk, causing the company to scramble to take back the funds. The problem stemmed from a human error following the draw of Saturday’s lotto numbers.

Read the full stories at cphpost.dk

News

The Copenhagen Post cphpost.dk

27 January - 2 February 2012

Ray Weaver When combined with the 36,000 jobs lost since 2009, the cuts are “very deep”, says union

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here will be 40,000 fewer public employees by the end of this year compared to autumn 2009, when the number of public sector jobs was as its peak. Dennis Kristensen, the chairman of the union FOA, told MetroXpress newspaper that the cuts are hurting services across the country.

“The knife has cut very, very deep,” said Kristensen. “No politician with respect for the truth can say that we are delivering the quality of service that we did before.”

Figures from local budget offices and Det Fælleskommunale Løndatakontor, which oversees salary and personnel information for the nation’s regions and councils, show that nearly 36,000 public jobs have been lost since 2009. FOA expects that number to top 40,000 by the end of the year.

Some see the reductions as a positive step.

“The decline in the number of public employees is good news,” said economist Mads Lundby Hansen from the liberal think-tank CEPOS. “These numbers can be reduced without affecting services, especially if the cuts come in administration and not among hands-on workers.”

The education sector is also feeling the pinch as councils tighten their belts.

Data from the teachers union BUPL show that nearly

No politician with respect for the truth can say that we are delivering the quality of service that we did before 1,000 jobs were cut in 2010 and another 900 disappeared in 2011. Another 500 teachers had their hours reduced.

The picture is even bleaker for teaching assistants. FOA reports that from October 2009 to October 2011 the number of teacher’s aides dropped by 5,000 – nearly 14 percent.

From 2008 to 2010, nearly 13,000 jobs at daycare institutions, clubs, after-school programmes and nurseries disappeared, according to Danmark Statistik.

Henning Pedersen of BUPL told Politiken newspaper that the cuts hurt young people.

“The children can feel a drop in the quality of the care that they receive,” he said.

The government has set aside 500 million kroner annually to help daycare institutions recruit about 1,500 new workers, but Pedersen said it is not enough.

“Five hundred million kroner is a good start, but it doesn’t make up for the number of jobs that have disappeared,” he said.

Denmark’s national municipal organisation, Kommunernes Landsforening (KL), said that budgets for councils will continue to shrink in 2012.

Danish hostage freed in Somalia raid Dane and American were taken hostage in October when bodyguard turned on them

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ne Danish and one American hostage were freed from Somali pirates during a night time raid by US Navy SEALs on Tuesday.

According to US officials, 60-year-old Poul Hagen Thisted and 32-year-old American Jessica Buchanan were rescued by two teams of SEALs who landed by helicopter near the compound in central Somalia where the hostages were being held.

Six helicopters were involved in the operation, which used the cover of darkness to fly low and land just after 2am near the compound.

Gunfire broke out as the SEALs approached and nine pirates are reportedly killed. Five other pirates were said to have been captured. There are no reports of injuries among the US troops and the hostages were unharmed.

The mission was reportedly carried out from an airport in the town of Galkayo, the largest settlement close to the pirate strongholds in central Somalia.

The helicopters flew to Galkayo from a US airbase in the coastal African state of Djibouti.

The two had been working for refugee agency Dansk Flygtningehjælp on a demining project in northern Somalia when they were kidnapped in October. According to local officials, the security teams hired to protect them were behind the kidnapping. Dansk Flygtningehjælp confirmed that they had been freed and will soon be on their way back to their families.

Energy plan on the rocks after walk-out

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pposition party Venstre (V) walked out of energy negotiations with the government after only 16 minutes last week on Thursday due to disagreements over the 4.6 billion kroner price tag of the government’s proposed plan.

The plan is designed to end Denmark’s reliance on fossil fuels and produce half of the nation’s energy from windmills by 2050, but the opposition parties V and the Konservatives (K) want the government to cut an additional one billion kroner before signing on.

The environment minister, Martin Lidegaard, has already brought the cost down from 5.6 billion kroner in order to secure the agreement of the opposition for the energy plan, which traditionally passes with cross-aisle consensus.

But speaking after the meet-

ing, Venstre’s finance spokesperson Per Christiansen said it was still too expensive and they would not agree to anything costing more than 3.6 billion kroner. ”There are many employers and businesses who are saying that we are already having trouble remaining competitive,” Christiansen told Ritzau.

Martin Lidegaard, the energy minister, told Politiken newspaper that he was “astonished” by the opposition’s decision to walk out, but added he had not ruled out cutting the plan further.

“Finding that much money is not easy; we’re talking about a lot of money,” Lidegaard told Politiken. “But you should never say never. You won’t get me drawing a line in the sand here.”

While V and K are playing strong cards, the first party to formally leave the negotiations was Liberal Alliance, citing concerns about the plan’s effect on Danish business.

“The government wants

to introduce even more energy taxes that will cost exports and workplaces,” Liberal Alliance’s energy spokesperson Villum Christensen told Ritzau in November.

The plan has not been universally condemned however, and business lobby group Dansk Erhverv has stated they support the plan as it gives businesses plenty of time to adapt to the changes.

“From a business perspective, the government’s plan is acceptable as the phasing in is stretched out over time,” the chief economist of Dansk Erhverv, Bo Sandberg, told Ritzau.

By Tuesday, V still hadn’t shifted from their position, leading to PM Helle ThorningSchmidt making a public appeal for them to rejoin negotiations.

“The government is not going to stop trying to end Denmark’s reliance on fossil fuels,” Thorning-Schmidt told Ritzau.

“It will be good for the climate and will create jobs in Denmark.” (PS)

Thisted was kidnapped in October

Commenting on the operation, PM Helle ThorningSchmidt said: “I am of course overjoyed that the hostages have been freed and are safe. This is excellent news.”

Thorning-Scmidt said that her government had been informed by the US that they planned to attempt a rescue. She declined to elaborate on what she was told.

She also expressed concern for the two Danish merchant seamen still being held by pirates in Somalia. Eddy Lopez and Søren Lyngbjørn have been prisoners of Somali pirates for six months.

“We are very sad that Danish citizens are still being held hostage.”

Mohamed Ahmed Alim, the president of the Galmudug region, where the rescue took place, thanked the US for taking action.

“The pirates have destroyed peace throughout the region.

They are organised criminals.”

Alim promised in November to use every means possible to free the hostages after the kidnappers had demanded between 50 and 65 million kroner for their release.

Dansk Flygtningehjælp provides meals and other relief help to some 450,000 refugees in the Somalia-Kenya border region. (RW)

Still no motive in fatal attack

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openhagen Police are still searching for a motive in the death of 21-year-old Cem Eydin, a Dane of Turkish descent, who died last week on Friday of injuries sustained in a brutal attack the previous day.

After being left comatose by the attack in Frederiksberg, Eydin’s parents made the decision to turn off his life support.

No motive has yet been established, but police are investigating whether the killing was premeditated.

“We don’t know whether they planned for this to happen Thursday evening or whether it developed,” Jens Møller of the Copenhagen Police told Jyllands-Posten newspaper. “But he wasn’t a random target.”

According to eyewitnesses, Eydin was reportedly attacked by a group of between eight and ten assailants armed with clubs on Kong Georgs Vej at around 11pm on Thursday while he was

on way home from work.

The murder happened close to the home where he lived with his mother.

The eyewitnesses saw the assailants chase Eydin down a street for 60 metres before recatching him.

During the attack, he was kicked and had his head trodden on, according to reports.

Police say the suspects, all between the ages of 18 and 25, left the scene in two cars: a silver BMW and a white or silver Ford Mondeo.

The victim’s family told the Ritzau news bureau that Eydin had never been involved with gangs and that he was well integrated.

Eydin did have a police record, however, and investigators are looking into whether he had any enemies.

He also reportedly had a Moroccan girlfriend, and police are investigating whether there is a link. (JW)

Three kids hurt in bus crash

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hree children and two adults were admitted to Rigshospital on Tuesday after a bus full of children aged three to six was involved in a serious accident west of Hørsholm.

The accident occurred when a black Mini Cooper driving in the opposite direction attempted to overtake another vehicle and drove head on into the bus carrying 41 children.

The driver of the car, a 59-year-old man, died in the accident, while the driver of the bus was one of two adults admitted to hospital, the other being a teacher.

The cause of the accident is now under investigation.

“If we can form a conclu-

sion, then we can hold someone responsible,” Bruno WittingHansen from Nordsjællands Politi told Jyllands Posten.

Both the bus driver and one of the children admitted to the hospital suffered serious injuries, but police said neither was in a critical condition.

The children from the daycare institution Østerfææled Børenhus in Østerbro were on the way back to Copenhagen when the accident happened. Following the accident, the children were taken to Hillerød Hospital for a check-up and remained there until their parents came.

All of the children and their parents have been offered counselling. (PS)

Sex abuse cases to be reviewed Panel to be appointed to identify patterns of failure in long-term abuse cases

scanpix

Despite cutting the cost by one billion kroner, opposition refuses to accept energy plan

Scanpix

Public sector cuts 40,000 positions

5

P

olice and local government authorities are coming under scrutiny in the wake of several recent cases of severe child abuse at the hands of their own parents.

The revelations, including two this week, have the social minister, Karen Hækkerup, calling for a review of the way such investigations are handled.

“These types of cases are coming out of the woodwork right now,” Hækkerup told Jyllands-Posten newspaper.

In one of the two cases that came to light this week, a 55-year-old man is accused of sexually abusing seven of his own children, as well as two others, over a 16-year period. The man, who is being referred to in the media as ‘Denmark’s Fritzl’ in reference to a high-profile abuse case in Austria, came un-

Several long-term abuse cases have shed new light on the issue

der the suspicion of child welfare authorities as a possible abuser as early as 2005, but no action was taken until 2010.

“If local authorities and the police can be in contact with children for so long without finding out what’s going on, then we need to look at the system and see what’s going on,” Hækkerup said.

“That’s not acceptable, and it can be done better.”

Hækkerup has called for the establishment of a fast-working expert panel that will identify any problems in the child welfare system and make proposals by May

for how they can be fixed.

The panel will also be asked to find out whether the number of abuse cases is actually on the rise or if more are being made public.

Previous long-term abuse cases will also be reviewed in order to determine whether any individual or organisation was at fault. By comparing cases it also hopes to determine whether a pattern of failures can be identified.

Child welfare experts praised the initiatives, but cautioned against believing that all cases of child abuse could be avoided. (KM)

6

News

The Copenhagen Post cphpost.dk

27 January - 2 February 2012

Radikale: Congestion zone should Radio and TV board to take another look at Roj TV fund bicycle superhighways Planners say 800 million kroner bicycle superhighway would encourage 15,000 more Copenhageners to cycle to work

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icycle superhighways should be built using money raised from the proposed congestion charge, the Radikale are arguing.

The centrist party’s position was made in light of a new study by the national road authority, Vejdirektoratet, which showed that many drivers would opt to cycle instead of using public transport once the congestion charge was introduced.

“We need to remember the cyclists in this debate because there are many who would choose to cycle,” Radikale traffic spokesperson Andreas Steenberg told Politiken newspaper.

The bicycle superhighway network – with a proposed 26 routes covering 300 kilometres – has been in the planning stages for some time. But while some of the 18 collaborating councils have pledged money, it is still far from the 400 million kroner needed for the basic version and over 800 million needed for the ‘ideal’ version.

“I think we need to set money aside now, before we establish the congestion

charge, and then we need to determine whether we can fund the cycle lanes over the coming years using money raised from it,” Steenberg said.

In October last year the Greater Copenhagen Regional Council raised its pledge for the project to 32.5 million kroner.

“Over the coming years, the population is going to grow, and if we are to ensure a good urban environment with space for everyone, it’s important to treat cycling as a serious means of transport,” Allan Schneidermann from the infrastructure and traffic committee told Jyllands-Posten newspaper. “Traffic does not respect council boundaries and as a cyclist you need to know that the cycle lanes you are using will be of a high standard throughout the whole journey.”

The improved cycling infrastructure, as imagined by the planners, would include widened cycle lanes, a better separation of cars and bicycles, and better surfacing. And to reduce the number of times that cyclists travelling longer distances have to start and stop, sensors will measure traffic flow to try and keep the lights green for them.

According to the planners, the bicycle superhighways will encourage more than 15,000 people to cycle to work in Greater Copenhagen, a state of affairs the bicycle lobby group Cykelforbundet

N

Colourbox

Peter Stanners

Efforts to withdraw Kurdish station’s licence and block its signal intensify

More are likely to jump on a bicycle than a bus or train once the congestion charge comes into effect, a new study shows

would be pleased to witness.

“It would make it more attractive to cycle to work. It’s exactly what’s needed.

Not only will there be fewer cars, but when people jump on their bikes they will also be improving their health,” Jens Loft Rasmussen, the managing director of Cykelforbundet, said.

While government support party Enhedslisten has also voiced its support for using funds raised from the congestion charge to fund the bicycle superhighways, the governining coalition, of which Radikale is a member, has not committed to the plan.

“I would be very hesitant to put a price on it now. First we have to come up with a concrete proposal that can show much money we can generate,” the traffic minister, Henrik Dam Kristensen (Social Demokraterne), told Politiken.

ational radio and television authorities have announced they plan to reopen their investigation of Roj TV. A decision handed down by the Copenhagen City Court in early January found the station guilty of promoting the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is considered a terrorist organisation by the US, Canada and the EU. While the station was found guilty of violating anti-terrorism laws, the court said it could not revoke the station’s broadcast licence due to a legal technicality.

After the verdict, members of parliament announced that they would be looking to introduce legislation designed to close the loophole and shut the station down. Broadcast authority Radio og TV Nævnet said at that time that only it could withdraw a broadcast licence, and that the court could not legislate retroactively.

Christian Scherfig, the board’s chairman, now says that the court’s decision has inspired a closer look at Roj TV’s programming.

“The ruling highlighted several factors allowing for an assessment under the Broadcasting Act,” Scherfig said in a statement. “The station’s content and the influence of the PKK on editorial

decisions should be examined.”

Meanwhile, the European broadcasting service provider Eutelsat announced it had removed Roj TV from its signal.

“Eutelsat has decided to suspend Roj TV on its satellites in order to avoid being liable for criminal responsibility for abetting terrorist activities,” Eutelsat said in a statement.

Eutelsat has asked distributors uplinking Roj TV to its satellites to stop broadcasting the channel. The organisation says it cannot selectively turn off the signal on its own, because the process of doing so could affect other broadcasters.

Despite Eutelsat’s decision, the station can still be seen in Denmark, western Europe and parts of Turkey.

Viewers in areas of Turkey, as well as Syria, Iraq and Iran, can only see the broadcasts online.

Roj TV has appealed against the Copenhagen verdict and says it is still on the air.

“Our broadcasts have not been stopped,” said Imdat Yilmaz, Roj TV’s general manager. “It is unfair that they did this based on a case that has not been settled.”

Yilmaz said the station is looking for other ways to have its signal broadcast.

The Turkish government, which has long complained that the station should be shut down, issued a release praising Eutelsat’s decision. (RW)

India blacklists DR journalists over textile show EU puts embargo on Iranian oil

I

n what members of parliament are calling a serious violation of freedom of speech, India has implemented a practice of not issuing visas to any reporter working for public broadcaster DR. The Indian Embassy in Copenhagen confirmed to Jyllands-Posten newspaper that its door is closed to reporters from the state-funded corporation.

“We had a very bad experience with DR, so they are excluded,” a spokesman who declined to be named said. “All other Danish journalists are welcome.”

India’s problems with DR stem from its programme ‘Blod, sved og TShirts’ (Blood, Sweat and T-shirts).

The 2010 show followed a group of young Danes sent to India to work in the textile industry. Episodes showed the group living in squalid conditions, arguing with employers to get their wages, and struggling to get enough cash together to purchase a few pieces of fruit for breakfast. The BBC had done a similar programme a few years earlier,

but there have been no reports of reprisals against its employees.

Although the recording of the programme took place some time ago, the Indian Embassy said that DR’s exclusion would not end any time soon.

“It will take some time. At the moment, we have not decided to let them back in.”

Elisabeth Geday, DR’s head of communications and human resources, said she first became aware of the problem late last year. She declined to elaborate on the specific nature of the trouble between India and DR. “I don’t know all of the details. We are working with the Foreign Ministry, so I can’t say too much. We are hopeful that a solution will be found.”

Jeppe Kofoed, a spokesman for Socialdemokraterne, said that it becomes a “matter of principle” when journalists are denied access to a country with which Denmark has otherwise good relations.

“It is not acceptable to keep out political journalists,” said Kofoed. “This is a restriction of the media and freedom

of expression and is a serious situation that we must address.”

Per Stig Møller, the Konservative foreign affairs spokesman and a former foreign minister, believes that India’s actions are undemocratic and violate agreements between the two countries.

“We must protest. It must be made clear to India that they do not have the right to impede the freedom of the press.”

He said that as a democratic country, India must be willing to accept the scrutiny of a free press.

“They have a right to be dissatisfied, but they should either refute DR’s claims or report them to the Pressenævnet [Danish press council].”

The Foreign Ministry said that it was looking into the matter and declined to comment.

The is the second diplomatic tiff between India and Denmark this year. This summer, India froze relations between the two countries after an Eastern High Court ruling prevented confessed gunrunner Niels Holck, aka Kim Davy, from being extradited to stand trial. (RW)

Helle Thorning-Schmidt called for the action last week; Iranian authorities take the issue up with Danish ambassador

T

he European Union’s 27 foreign ministers agreed on Monday to impose an embargo on oil from Iran and to freeze accounts in EU banks belonging to Iran’s central bank. The moves are being made to protest against and attempt to hinder Iran’s controversial nuclear programme.

PM Helle Thorning-Schmidt called for the sanctions on Tehran last week.

“It is important that we are very clear about where we stand as a union,” she said.

The sanctions include an immediate embargo on fresh crude oil and petroleum contracts, with those already underway allowed to run until July.

“Our message to the Iranian regime is crystal clear: we mean this seriously,” Villy Søvdal, the foreign minister, said.

“We do not want a nuclear armed Iran.

These are tough measures that we have now adopted, but there is no alternative.”

Increased fears that Iran is trying to create atomic weapons led to the moves.

Tehran, however, says its nuclear program is peaceful.

The ministers hope the sanctions will encourage Iran to come back to the negotiating table.

The six-month delay in implementing the plan is viewed by many as a compromise to help economicallystrapped Greece, which relies heavily on cheap Iranian oil.

Søvndal has said that he would prefer to see the sanctions imposed sooner rather than later.

“We understand Greece’s problem, but postponing sanctions is a bad idea,” he said, adding that EU countries will try to help Greece find a solution to their supply problem.

On Tuesday, Iranian authorities called the Danish ambassador to Tehran to explain why the EU has decided to impose an oil embargo on Iran. The Iranians asked for the Danish ambassador because Denmark currently holds the rotating EU presidency. (RW)

Online this week 2012 budget passes by wide margin After weeks of bickering between Socialdemokraterne and Venstre, Denmark’s 2012 budget was approved last week on Friday by a vote of 109 to five. The agreement asks for 5 billion kroner in taxes, and calls for accelerated investments of around 11 billion kroner in 2012 and 8 billion kroner in 2013. The government says these investments will help “kickstart” the economy. Ven-

stre had threatened to vote against the plan until it became clear that support from Enhedslisten gave PM Helle Thorning-Schmidt the votes she needed to get her first budget passed.

Margrethe Vestager (Radikale), the minister for the economy and the interior, tweeted from the chamber after the vote: “The budget is adopted. Good.

It’s a good one.”

Lyngby school considering English-language curriculum

All students should study abroad, minister says

Two local politicians in the northern suburb of Lyngby say they have received positive feedback about their proposal to add an English-language curriculum at a public school. Offering instruction in English at Trongårdsskolen would add it to the group of local private schools that cater to the children of foreign residents. Unlike those private schools, the international curriculum at Trongårdsskolen would also require

The number of students taking part of their studies abroad is on the increase, but the education minister, Morten Østergaard (Radikale), isn’t satisfied. “My vision is that all Danish students will study abroad as part of their university studies,” he told Politiken newspaper. Østergaard said he would discuss with universities ways

students to take classes in Danish and that their understanding of Danish history and culture would be on par with Danish students.

Mette Schmidt Olsen, a teacher and member of the Konservative party, made the proposal as a way to support Lyngby’s efforts to “internatonalise” itself. The city is home to the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and has a high concentration of foreign professors and students.

to make it less complicated and more attractive for students to complete part of their education abroad. University representatives welcomed Østergaard’s initiative. “We are definitely interested in students going out and getting a more versatile and useful education,” said Jens Oddershede, the spokesperson for Universities Denmark.

Read the full stories at cphpost.dk

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8

OPINION

THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK

Provoking anti-Islamists begets their legitimacy

27 January - 2 February 2012

Green opportunities in disguise

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GNORING a problem isn’t going to make it go away, but when it comes to plans by ten European anti-Islamic groups to hold a rally in Aarhus this spring, the best strategy for reacting is not to do anything at all.

That isn’t an argument in favour of ignoring an undercurrent of hate towards minority groups, but responding to their angry gathering with counter-demonstrations would energise the debate and serve to legitimise what in reality is just a small group of disaffected hooligans.

It’s understandable that people outraged by their message want to show their distaste by actively taking part in counterdemonstrations. But any public reaction to the rally – be it peaceful marches, police in full riot gear or frothy-mouthed anti-fascists ready to come to blows – only gives the appearance that these groups are part of a movement to be reckoned with.

Calls to ban the rally outright are misplaced as well, even if their message crosses over into areas that are banned by hate speech laws. Instead of keeping them silent and having everyone think of them as fools, we’d prefer that they be allowed to speak and remove all doubt.

Islamic groups in Denmark have called on their members to keep away from the meeting, saying that it would just be asking for trouble. We applaud their restraint. As the object of these groups’ hatred, it would be easy for Muslims to be goaded into confronting them. Other groups would be wise to follow their example.

Not reacting to the English Defence League’s provocation requires striking a balance, however, because what you can’t ignore is the pool of disaffection they tap into. That disaffection has in Denmark fuelled the rise of Dansk Folkeparti, the Front National in France, Jörg Haider’s Austrian Freedom Party, and other like-minded groups across Europe.

Extremist figures like Anders Breivik and Geert Wilders are also known to have supported the message of the English Defence League. Breivik’s rampage does undermine the claim that these groups and their sympathisers only become dangerous if we let them, but at the same time their commitment to racist ideals means there is little to be gained by engaging them, whether through peaceful demonstrations or belligerent confrontation.

The English Defence League says it doesn’t expect the Aarhus rally to be a big one. We shouldn’t help them make it any bigger.

MICHAEL MINTER

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HEY SAY that a crisis is nothing but an opportunity in disguise. If that’s true, then we’ve never had a better opportunity to make Europe’s economy green than we do right now. The prospect of a global climate policy vacuum until 2020 and the EU’s economic crisis makes it more relevant than ever for Denmark and the EU to step up their efforts to significantly reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.

The good news out of last year’s Durban climate conference was that the EU, Norway and Switzerland agreed to extend the deadline for the Kyoto protocol, and China, India and the US accepted a timeline for entering into a global, legally binding commitment to reduce atmospheric greenhouse gases. The bad news was that the timeline gives the world’s biggest polluters another nine years to agree on how much they should each cut their greenhouse gas emissions. Given the rapid pace of climate change, that is far too much time.

Global CO2 emissions have

never been at a higher level than they are right now, and they continue to increase at an accelerating rate. The International Energy Agency warns that if we don’t break the emissions curve before 2017, the continued reliance on existing fossil fuel technology will rob us of any chance we have to keep global temperature increases under 2 ° C. This is significant since it means it will probably push us past what climate experts call the ‘tipping point’, resulting in self-perpetuating climate change that would spell the end for any hopes we have of being able to limit global warming.

At the same time as the EU’s leaders are grappling with a spiralling climate crisis, they also must deal with rising unemployment, impending national bankruptcies and the potential that the Eurozone could come apart.

With global prices of energy and natural resources expected to continue their rise – due in part to expanding middle classes, especially in Asia, hungry for the same consumer opportunities we in the West enjoy – decision makers can no longer solve our economic woes with fiscal discipline or by stimulating private consumption.

Europe’s economic motor needs a complete overhaul and restart using new types of fuel. The climate crisis and the economic crisis must be addressed together by turning them into green opportunities through ambitious

climate policies at the European, national, regional and local level, and through altered behaviour by businesses and consumers.

One of the biggest challenges for Denmark during its term as EU president will be to get ambitious and comprehensive European climate efforts on track. Not because it would ensure a significant reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions, but because we need to show ourselves and the world that a green revolution is more than just possible – it is, in fact, the recipe for creating permanent economic progress and employment, as well as improving the quality of life for Europeans.

The government’s proposed energy plan is a good start. It aims to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases by 35 percent in 2020 (compared with 1990 levels) by increasing the renewables’ share of total energy use to 36 percent. The next step is to secure the broadest possible majority in parliament. Unfortunately, the opposition parties Venstre and Konservative have chosen to focus on the cost of the investment rather than the plan’s potential benefits to the climate, commerce and employment.

Also on the government’s agenda this year is a climate law that – inspired by similar laws in Britain – would obligate the state to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2020 and to mandate annual evaluations

of initiatives to limit climate change. The biggest challenge here will be to come up with ways that non-quota sectors like housing, outside district heating networks, transport and agriculture can effectively contribute to reductions of greenhouse gas emissions.

Another of the significant challenges facing the government will be to use its position as EU president to get the union’s emissions trading scheme back on track and to get prices back up to a level that make it worthwhile to cut emissions. In the short term, this can be accomplished by increasing the EU’s reduction targets to 30 percent by 2020, or through political decisions to remove quotas from the system. In the longer term, it will be necessary to adopt a significant reduction of quotas in the system after 2020. Also important is to set ambitious climate goals in areas such as a reformed EU common agricultural policy, the union’s budget, and its roadmaps for energy production, energy efficiency and resource efficiency.

Denmark and the EU can’t fix the climate alone, but it is critical that the green revolution gets back on track in 2012. The time for seizing the green opportunity is now.

The author is the head of communications for Concito – Denmark’s green think tank

READER COMMENTS Is Copenhagen boring?

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Yes, Copenhagen is boring. It’s also hideously expensive. American influence has had nothing to do with it. Congratulations, you are so integrated that you have adopted Danish diversionary finger-pointing as well.

Tom by website As a Londoner who has spent 17 years integrating here I can say that Copenhagen is never boring, always peaceful and always friendly.

Mick Driver by website I get a bit frustrated at how homogeneous Danish people tend to be, but I don’t find Copenhagen boring. I live in Vesterbro and I certainly see some “vibrant artistic scene” - but it depends on how hard you dig for it and what circles you’re in I suppose.

Abby Crispin by website Danes have a great sense of humour, and I love them for that.

That sense of humour alone could perhaps get them through the mire of their national issues right now. Keep that sense of humour; it’s the most valuable part of your culture.

Steve Graham by website

www.cphpost.dk

May I suggest that if you find the place boring, you should go somewhere else? So many expats seem to delight in denigrating

their chosen port of call. Weird.

Theoldjanus by website DF apologises for swastika ad Why is the swastika surprising?

Denmark was under Nazi rule in WWII, and provided the German army with food, shelter, and women, without resisting much.

AtheisHuman by website It’s not a stretch to say they have nothing to do with National Socialists from Germany, and that they don’t share with Nazis an unhealthy obsession with one old solar/good luck symbol originating in India.

Loroferoz by website That old ‘Denmark was Nazi’ chestnut raises its ugly head again. Would that be why Denmark was given a medal just after WWII by the newly formed Jewish state of Israel for saving Jews?

Jeg_er by website Foreign magazines to face colossal import levy It is actually a conspiracy to keep all propaganda from the capitalist west out of our socialist paradise.

One might actually get a glimpse outside the borders where freedom, individual responsibility and freedom of thought and expression exist.

Thorvaldsen by website

There are a lot of companies around the world that simply ignore the Danish market because the population is so small and the legal requirements are so absurd.

The losers are the Danish consumers, who wind up with limited choices and exorbitant prices.

Tom by website

discovered this case? He finished in prison for slavery? No, he is Danish and free and the Romanians had to go back to Romania. Immigrants are out, police are happy. This is the reason why Romanians with human dignity become criminals.

Alanford by website

I used to buy Guitarist magazine here imported from the UK. It’s £5 over there, which is around 44kr and it’s between 150kr and 170kr by the time it gets here. If it’s not tax I’m paying, why’s it more than tripled in price to hop a few hundred miles over the water?

Shufflemoomin by website

High chance everyone in the industry does this, high chance everyone knows about this, high chance nothing will come out of it, high chance we will see similar article next year too.

BellTheCat by website

Minorities underrepresented in media, study finds I find it funny how there’s an obvious lack of TV presenters from other ethnic groups, whilst the BBC, ITV, and US television have so many different presenters from different backgrounds, also people with disabilities. There has been an improvement in recent years with several TV personalities with immigrant backgrounds gracing our screens. But the history of immigration in Denmark is much younger than the US or UK’s. freezy69 by website Romanian workers systematically exploited in Zealand And what happened when police

Another raging success for the unhealthy obsession with putting public sector work out to tender.

I presume the jokers responsible for awarding the contract to these cowboys were awarded handsome pay rises for saving the system precious kroner.

George_Moon by website Where was Big Mother when abused kids needed her?

I’ve heard of the police being called to enforce custody between a child and an abusive parent when the child refused to go home with the abuser. And enforce it they did. The Danish State is not just incompetent, but often complicit in abuse.

A&J by website

OPINION

THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK

27 January - 2 February 2012

9

Still Adjusting

BY JUSTIN CREMER A proud native of the American state of Iowa, Justin Cremer has been living in Copenhagen since June 2010. In addition to working at the CPH Post, he balances fatherhood, struggling with the Danish language and keeping up with the everchanging immigration rules. Follow him at twitter.com/justincph

Two steps forward, one step back in immigration tango LARS SVANKJÆR

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N LATE December, when I reported that the S-R-SF government would put a hold on deporting children, I wrote that while this was wonderful news for the families who find themselves facing the unimaginable scenario of sending their children alone on an outbound plane, the rest of us navigating the minefield of Danish immigration were still waiting for the government’s ballyhooed “new era” to begin.

Since then, we’ve gotten a few steps closer. First, the government ruled that seven-year-old Phatteera could remain in the country while the Justice Ministry processes her case rather than following through on deportation threats. To be clear, it’s indeed a sad state of affairs when we need to celebrate the fact that the government didn’t rip a young girl from her family and send her packing. But in Denmark, this is what qualifies as a positive development in immigration policy.

Then, Morten Bødskov, the justice minister, announced that the government would seek to repeal the previous government’s points system for family reunification (well, one of the points systems, but we’ll get to that later) in which the foreign spouses of Danes are rated based on their education, job experience, and language skills.

This was predictably, soundly attacked by the opposition parties, who must stay up at night with delusional worries that a mass influx of poor, brown and Muslim people will flee their caves with a Koran in one hand and their 13-year-old cousin bride in the other and head to Denmark to milk its welfare system.

The reality, of course, is the vast majority of people looking to come to Denmark under family reunification rules do so because of a personal relationship they’ve developed with a Dane.

Justice Minister Morten Bødskov: sure to be reading my wife’s angry letter any day now

It’s not for the welfare and it sure ain’t for the weather. So, scrapping a system in which individuals are pre-emptively judged before they can even come to the country is a step in the right direction.

Unfortunately, when it comes to immigration issues in this country, it’s often a case of two steps forward, one step back.

In mid-January, there was a story in Politiken newspaper about Maria, a single mother from Haiti, who is facing being sent back to the same ravaged country in which she was sold into sex and contracted HIV. If she returns to Haiti, she fears she will die due to a lack of medical attention, and then her same sad fate will play out on her nine-year-old son. Denmark has denied her asylum as well as a humanitarian residence permit.

But it’s not just the tear-jerker cases.

The nation’s pig-headed approach to immigration also has a significant economic impact. Take the case of Mark Turner, an American whose companies earn 10 million kroner a year. Despite

It’s indeed a sad state of affairs when we need to celebrate the fact that the government didn’t rip a young girl from her family completing the necessary tasks as laid out in that other points system, the one in which immigrants on a temporary permit must amass 100 points through work, language, and volunteer requirements in order to earn a permanent residence permit (opholdstilladelse), he had his application denied. The reason?

The 15 points he obtained for the ‘active citizenship’ clause were deemed invalid because the board he served on hadn’t been approved by the Udlændingeservice. He’s now forced to apply for extensions on the temporary permit, paying

extensive fees and living in limbo.

Meanwhile, in 2006, a programmer by the name of Sean Treadway was kicked out of the country because, in his words, Denmark ruled that his “contribution to the country through my freelance work is not of significant value” and told him to take a hike. He’s now the Berlin-based lead programmer of online music sharing service SoundCloud, one of Europe’s hottest tech start-ups. How much money did Denmark lose on this guy?

Now, while my case is certainly not as sad as that of Phatteera or Maria, nor my potential financial contribution nearly as high as that of Turner or Treadway, the mess of the immigration rules also hit home for me recently.

My first bid to renew my temporary permit was tripped up by a ridiculous clause in the housing requirement. In order to first obtain a permit and come to Denmark, my wife and I had to document that we had an adequatelysized home and a lease period of at least

three years. Now, as I go to renew it 20 months later, the renewal application states that the lease period must be a minimum of three years from the date of the renewal application. Obviously, I am still under my original lease contract and 20 of the 36 months of the lease period have elapsed. But the logical progression of time is not a sufficient excuse in this country. We faced the possibility of my extension being denied before our landlord – herself married to a foreigner and thus a sympathetic soul – agreed to provide us with a new extended contract.

That the fate of my family came down to the kindness of a relative stranger provoked my wife to write a complaint to the Justice Ministry, both about the absurdity of the housing clause and because my caseworker had previously incorrectly told her that the lease period only mattered from the original application period.

“Is this really how you want to treat a well-integrated family doing everything possible to meet all these preposterous requirements that unreasonably interfere in our private affairs?” my wife asked. “I find it deeply unacceptable and I am ashamed of the way my country treats me and my family. Don’t forget that we are two highly-educated people that could just as well choose to live in the US instead. Is it really what Denmark wishes?”

During the VK reign, the answer to the question seemed to be a resounding ‘yes’. Here’s hoping the new government feels differently and continues to make positive changes.

In the meantime, uncertainty reigns. We have begun discussing buying a house, but I’m increasingly unwilling to make such an investment when I feel that any day – for any unforeseen reason – I myself might get the boot.

CPH POST VOICES

‘TO BE PERFECTLY FRANK’

‘MACCARTHY’S WORLD’

‘THE LYNCH REPORT’

‘PERNICKETY DICKY’

Born in 1942 on the Isle of Wight, Englishman Frank Theakston has been in Copenhagen 32 years and is on his second marriage, this time to a Dane. Frank comes from a different time and a different culture – which values are the right ones today?

Clare MacCarthy is Nordic correspondent for The Economist and a frequent contributor to The Financial Times and The Irish Times. She’ll go anywhere from the Gobi Desert to the Arctic in search of a story. The most fascinating thing about Denmark, she says, is its contradictions.

English-Australian theatre director Stuart Lynch has lived in Copenhagen since Clinton impeached his cigars and writes from the heart of the Danish and international theatre scene. He is married with kids and lives in Nørrebro. Visit his Danish theatre at www.lynchcompany.dk.

English by nature – Danish at heart.

Freelance journalist Richard Steed has lived in Copenhagen for nearly five years now. “I love this city and want Copenhagen to be a shining example to the rest of the world.”

10 news

The Copenhagen Post cphpost.dk

27 January - 2 February 2012

Langeland wants to let foreigners buy holiday homes Rapper: Pia K should be killed

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n indicator of the economic strife afflicting the provincial isle of Langland is the almost 400 homes currently for sale. That’s one in 12 of all homes on the island, which is double the national average.

But it’s not that the homes aren’t sought after. It’s well established that Germans would happily buy a piece of land on the Danish isles – in close proximity to the clear ocean and white sandy beaches – if they weren’t prevented from doing so by the decades-old protectionist laws.

That’s why Langeland’s mayor, Bjarne Nielsen, is attempting to have the island exempted from the laws in order to increase occupancy and stimulate the local economy.

“A price of €50,000 is not that much for Germans when there’s plumbing, district heating and the coast nearby,” Nielsen told Politiken newspaper. “They want to drive up here a few times a year – four friends with their fishing tackle in a VW transporter. And then maybe they might bring their wives and children out in the summer. It’s preferable to have their own base instead of having to rent a new place each time. And the few

Last week’s Chinese New Year supplement included an error in the message from Ambassador Xie Hangsheng. Here is the corrected message. The Copenhagen Post regrets the error.

MessAge froM AMbAssAdor Mr. Xie HANgsHeNg

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n the occasion of the Chinese Spring Festival and from Beijing, China, I wish to send my sincere greetings and best wishes to readers and friends. I wish you all health, happiness and success in the year of the Dragon!

I concluded my term in Denmark as Chinese Ambassador at the end of 2011, waving goodbye to six memorable years living and working in Copenhagen. My life in Denmark has left me with many precious memories and interesting experiences.

Performer reported to police after video emerges in which he calls for the deaths of DF leaders

Scanpix

Mayor thinks selling empty homes to foreigners to use as summer houses could combat economic depression

things that need fixing up will be done using local labourers, which in turn will improve the local economy.”

Nielsen is off to a bad start, however, after the Justice Ministry last week rejected his attempt to have the island exempted from the 1959 law that prevents the sale of Danish property to foreigners.

The law, which Denmark was allowed to keep when it joined the EU in 1972 and was amended in 1995, means that EU citizens have to be residents in Denmark for five years before they can buy property to live in year round.

Summer houses, which can only be lived in for part of the year, can still only be bought by Danish citizens.

Nielsen’s proposal has the support of some experts who believe that selling the empty homes to foreigners to use as holiday homes – which might only be occupied at weekends and holidays – is preferable to having them sit empty all year round.

“Allowing foreigners to buy homes would be the most effective measure to get the housing market moving in peripheral areas such as Langeland and at the same time stimulate the local economy,” Niels Christian Nielsen from the Danish Center for Rural Research at Syddansk Universitet told Politiken.

Furthermore, foreigners would be the logical customers

Scanpix

Peter stanners

T Germans might be the answer to Langeland’s low occupancy rate – if the mayor can convince the government to change the law

of the sellers of homes valued under 500,000 kroner, the minimum amount Danish mortgage providers will lend.

But while foreigners might be the answer to Langeland’s prayers, many are still fearful that Danes would become priced out of their own market if the rules were relaxed across the whole country.

“I can understand if particular councils allow foreigners to buy empty houses,” Carsten Abild, the chairman of national association Landsbyerne I Danmark, told Berlingske. “But if we abolish the rule across the country, I’m afraid that attractive natural areas and summerhouse areas will all be bought by wealthy foreigners within two weeks.”

After being rebuffed by the Justice Ministry, Langeland’s mayor is trying another av-

Reasons to believe In the eyes of many Chinese people, Denmark is a kingdom of fairy tales, well known for its beautiful landscape as well as for being a modern, developed country with a tremendous social welfare system. To many Chinese people, Denmark is about as close to the ideal communist society that we would have; one where social justice and equality prevail thanks to responsible development. I once read in a newspaper that more than 90 percent of Danes are satisfied with their life: high living standards, a good social welfare system, the gentle pace of daily life and an environmentally-friendly approach to development all contribute to this sense of contentment. My time in Denmark has allowed me to see first-hand why Danes have good reason to feel satisfied.

Meanwhile, in comparison with Denmark, China is in sharp contrast in so many ways; though a vast territory, there is limited arable land; it has a large population still struggling with poverty in many areas, and a multi-ethnic society with a diversity of cultures and religions. In solely economic terms, there is a huge gap between these two countries; China’s per capita GDP is less than one-thirteenth that of Denmark’s. It is a stark reality that China still has a long way to go before its people can enjoy the kind of comfortable life taken for granted by so many in the developed world.

What I admire Denmark is a land of miracles. Although it is a small country lacking in many natural resources, over the centuries it has cultivated a wealth of talents and expertise in many different fields.

Denmark ranks among the best in the world in many fields, including agriculture, biopharmacy, food safety, energy-saving and environmental protection. Many Danish brands and

enue and meeting with Carsten Hansen, the minister for housing, urban and rural affairs, to discuss allowing foreigners to only buy homes that have been on the market for more than a year.

Nielsen’s chances are slim, however, with Hansen having already expressed doubts about the plan.

“Foreign experience shows that many areas die if you sell them to people who don’t live there. In the long term you also lose tax income and that doesn’t support our institutions and schools in those regions,” Hansen told national broadcaster DR. “It would be like peeing in your pants, in that it would have a nice initial feeling but it would end up having bad longterm consequences through lost income and life in villages.”

he young Danish rapper Kidd was reported to the police last week after a video emerged in which he said he hoped someone would kill the leaders of the Danish People’s Party (DF), Pia Kjærsgaard and Morten Messerschmidt.

Born Nicholas Westwood, the half-Scottish rapper is a cult figure in the Danish rap scene after witnessing a meteoric rise in popularity since posting his first video on YouTube last spring.

His hit ‘Gøre Min Ting’ has been viewed over 1.5 million times.

“I hope someone kills them,” he said in an interview conducted by the fashion and culture website A Machine Life. “You have my word, I hope someone kills Pia Kjærsgaard and Morten Messerschmidt.”

The interview, filmed late one night over six months ago, was brought to the public’s attention after gossip magazine Se og Hør and tabloid Ekstra Bladet published it on their websites last week.

Kidd’s comments became a major story after other national media reported the story, leading Kidd to defend himself on Twitter and Facebook.

“The case only makes the youth stronger! I will never apologise! I wish death on no one,” he wrote on his Facebook

enterprises enjoy international recognition and reputation.

Meanwhile China is carrying out its 12th Five Year Plan and accelerating its sustainable scientific development; in this key area Denmark has a clear role to play, and can expect considerable benefits in return. Given the economic balances and different stages of development, the potential for Sino-Danish co-operation is great.

Something to contemplate The world today is undergoing profound and complex changes and developments. Along with the rapid trends toward multi-polarisation and economic globalisation, interdependence is growing so fast that not a single nation can survive all on its own. This also means that it is becoming more and more necessary for people of different lands to get to know each other and what is happening in the real world.

Although far from Denmark in distance, China is more closely connected to Denmark than you might think. There is a growing desire among the Danish population to find out more about the real China. Frankly speaking, however, the Danish media has not been so forward-thinking in this regard, and some media coverage has been counterproductive by misleading the public with guesswork, supposition and even prejudice. This kind of attitude appears to stem from the fact that China has adopted a different social system from the West; this outdated ColdWar mentality obviously constitutes a negative force and stands in the way of mutual understanding and co-operation in today’s world.

However, thanks to the increasing development of bilateral exchanges, I am happy to note that more and more Danes are acquiring a real understanding of China.

Kidd also said he would spit in Kjærsgaard’s face

profile, adding on Twitter that he was drunk at the time of the interview.

DF reported Kidd to the police after the story hit the headlines, though it is not unusual for them to receive threats.

“It’s normal protocol for us to report these sorts of threats to PET [Denmark’s domestic intelligence agency],” Søren Søndergaard from DF told B.T. tabloid.

“Pia is already under the protection of PET.” Kidd’s comments have also become a thorn in the side for Danish PM Helle ThorningSchmidt, who last week, before the story broke, appeared in a televised debate with the young rapper.

After the show, ThorningSchmidt posted a photo of her and Kidd together on her Facebook profile with the caption: “Got a lot of street cred from the girls at home after meeting Kidd.”

In a move to seemingly distance herself from the rapper, the photo has since been removed from ThorningSchmidt’s profile. (PS)

Why we should look forward My experience in Denmark has told me that China and Denmark, as well as Chinese and Danes, have many things in common: both have long histories and rich heritages, both love peace and cherish independence as well as the right of equality, both value honest ways of expression and simple ways of living, both believe in teamwork, community spirit and collaboration, and we even share a similar sense of humour!

Meanwhile, we two nations and peoples are vastly different in terms of size and population, social system, cultural traditions, our economic and social levels of development, etc. These differences could help us to open our eyes to the variety of potential development models for democracy and offer us the chance of mutually beneficial, “win-win” co-operation; they can help us to really appreciate and enjoy the diversity of our twin cultures. Either in looking back on the significant achievements we have already had, or looking ahead to the existing potential and coming opportunities, it gives us the confidence and enlightenment to expect a brighter future for the Sino-Danish relationship.

Nothing cheers me more than the fact that the bilateral relationship and co-operation between China and Denmark has maintained a sound momentum of growth, which is in the interest of our two countries and peoples as well as the world at large. I would like to take this opportunity to express my great appreciation for all the co-operation, friendship, goodwill and kindness that Danes and their friends have bestowed upon China.

Happy CHIneSe SpRIng FeStIval!

community

The Copenhagen Post cphpost.dk

27 January - 2 February 2012

11

Christmas is over, but you can still have a good time at St. Nik’s Photos by Joseph Coker and Words by Emily MClean

No British pub is complete without home-made Yorkshire puddings! Sankt Nikolai Restaurant and Pub held their official opening on Sunday night with party that would have made any Englishman proud. With the focus on creating a real English pub in Copenhagen, a traditional roast was served up and washed down with eleven different beers from the UK, Denmark and Germany.

“Welcome to your new local!” exclaimed owner Martin Popplewell (right) and bar manager Jon Nunn. The two men made a toast to a long and prosperous start to their new pub

Free beer was on offer the whole night featuring the winners of the eleven beer categories that will now be permanent additions to the drinks menu

Enjoying the rich chocolate cake for dessert were (left-right) the co-owners of Abigail’s British Shop, Marianne Ørum and Roddy Gray, Jason Mather from the Cornish Pastry House, and Kim Malmer from Hancocks

A group from the Copenhagen Meetup group joined the fun (left-right) Brendan O’Gorman from England, Larry Finberg from New York and Karen Villadsen and Nathan Woods from England

Washing away the worries of the day were (left-right) Stephen Catchpole from London, Catrine Hübert from Germany and Englishmen Derek Osborne and Steven Gadd

Making the most of the free beer on hand were Thorfinn Deleuran from Copenhagen and Maria Giovani from Chicago

The women also made their mark amidst the men: (left-right) Ailish Kearns, Stine Kure and Veronica Leberg, all from Copenhagen

Proving pubs aren’t just for the old, Dawn Wall from England and Sebastian Bagot from France made their mark on the scene

South African Jason Thompson and Englishman Daniel Rodd were ‘getting involved’

Boys will be boys: (left-right) Danes Kim Peterson and Jesper Andersen, and Dave Vowell-Bartlett from London

No English pub is complete without a darts board - this keen player mostly played solo ... being from a darts club, most people were too scared to compete against him

12 COMMUNITY

THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK

27 January - 2 February 2012

ABOUT TOWN PHOTOS BY HASSE FERROLD UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED

It was a glitzy line-up at the Arctic seminar, fashion show and reception at the National Museum, which was Among the models on display were Marlene (right), the wife of Canadian ambassador Peter co-organised by the Canadian Embassy and Greenland Representation.

Lundy. Here she is with Estonian ambassador Katrin Kivi (left) and Cuba’s new ambassador Caridad Yamira Cueto Milian (centre) – both of whom also took to the catwalk. Que Vola!

Danske Bank’s annual autumn meeting for the heads of the diplomatic missions drew a large number of ambassadors, including Mexico’s Martha Bárcena, the dean of the diplomatic corps, who is seen here speaking to Bjarne Corydon (left), the finance minister, and the chairman of the bank’s executive board, Peter Straarup (centre).

The new ambassador of the Netherlands is Eduard J M Middeldor. Hallo!

These girls were lending some badly needed razzmatazz to the premiere of Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol at Imperial Cinema last week on Friday, because none of the American stars were there - although economy minister Margrethe Vestager did manage to drag herself away from the affairs of government to attend.

AmChAm’s 2012 super Bowl pArty: register Now! vs.

Date: Feb 05, 2012 Time: 22:00 to 04:00 Venue: Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers, Ørestads Boulevard 114-118

Watch the New England Patriots battle the New York Giants for the Super Bowl title! Win some fantastic prizes at this year's Squares Pool, including two roundtrip airline tickets to the U.S. on Iceland Air or a weekend for two at Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers 25th floor suite, with breakfast, dinner, wine and a Tesla Roadster rental!

Event features: • • • • •

All-you-can-eat Super Bowl buffet Live TV feed on big screens One free Budweiser Beer for each participant The Squares Pool (Win 2 round trip tickets to the U.S. on Iceland Air or a weekend for two at Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers 25th floor suite with breakfast, dinner/wine and a Tesla Roadster rental!)

Free parking at Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers

Price: DKK 350,- per person (Corporate tables (10 seats) are available for DKK 3.250,-) Note: Drinks are not included, but available for purchase (cash or Dankort).

To download a Registration form, visit www.amcham.dk and go to our “Event” page.

Why go home to sleep when you can just go upstairs?

Discounted room rates at Crowne Plaza for this event: 825 DKK for a double room (including breakfast). Visit www.amcham.dk and go to our “Event” page for more details.

COMMUNITY

THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK

27 January - 2 February 2012

13

Looking for exercise? Because your community football club is looking for members BEN HAMILTON Copenhagen Celtic’s members are a diverse bunch, boasting over 20 nationalities and some still enjoying footy in the sixth decade of their life

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O YOU’VE just got off the boat or the scales and realised there’s something missing in your life.

Maybe it’s friends and camaraderie: understandable if you’re new to Denmark; a bit harsh if you’re overweight. Or a passion: the Copenhagen ballet scene doesn’t quite do it for you; when is somebody going to open a Krispy Kreme Doughnuts over here?

But most likely it’s football – a sport that offers the best exercise known to mankind, pals for life, and hours and hours of fun – and this city has it in abundance.

Copenhageners prefer playing football to watching it. The participation rate among men is miles higher than countries like Britain where pitifully low numbers play the sport once they reach their 30s. In contrast, the Østerbro-based Dansk Arbejder Idrætsforbund (DAI), just one of several amateur football bodies in the city, offers league football (both seven and eleven-a-side) for all ages, including those over 40 and 50 – the latter of which is called the super veterans.

One club that operates teams at all of these levels is Copenhagen Celtic, which just like its namesake was founded by Irish immigrants (in the 1980s not the 1880s) and prides it-

self on its international inclusiveness.

Its members represent a vast range of nationalities, ages and abilities – many have been involved since the club’s foundation in 1982 and regularly meet off the pitch for social events like their summer party and barbecue, FA Cup Final quiz and end-of-season party. It’s not an understatement to say that for many the club is an integral part of their lives, and one of the biggest factors in determining their decision to carry on living in Denmark.

The club is always interested in added to its 100-strong membership – and even welcomes whole teams to join its umbrella. One such team, a group of people who met at Studieskole in late 2003, joined in 2004 and is still going strong eight years later, playing sevena-side football as the 7s Bs. While there is no ladies team at present, the club would be delighted to welcome an entire team to their ranks.

While it might be too late to enter a whole team for the 2012 season, it’s never too late to join as individuals. Simply turn up to one of the club’s regular pre-season training sessions on Thursday nights at 7pm at Valby Playing Fields (Julius Andersens Vej 1, next door to Valby Hallen). Listen out for the exchange of English in a multitude of languages, get changed, and make yourself known to one of the coaches – it’s that simple.

The club operates two serious eleven-a-side teams and two relaxed seven-a-side teams (no age limits), and all four are always keen to add to their numbers. And then there are three

Copenhagen Celtic’s Joe Walker (on the ball) and Matt Crouch (background) enjoying a game of sevens

more teams for the seniors: eleven-aside and seven-a-side teams for over40s players, and a seven-a-side team for the over-50s.

For those of you not familiar with sevens, it’s a great game. Played over 60 minutes, there’s no offside, a yellow card warrants a five-minute sin bin, all free-kicks are direct, and there are rotating substitutions, although only ten players can be listed for use on the team sheet. The goals are slightly bigger than hockey ones, and the pitch the same length but slightly narrower than

COMING UP SOON Super Bowl Party Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers, Ørestads Boulevard 114-118, Cph S; Sun 5 Feb, 22:00-04:00; members price 350kr/corporate table (for 10) 3,250kr, drinks not included; sign up at www.amcham.dk The yearly highlight for all American football fans is coming closer, so sign up now and spend Super Bowl night in great company, as AmCham Denmark and the Danish American Football Federation (DAFF) are inviting you and your friends to their 2012 Super Bowl Party. The event includes an all-you-can-eat Super Bowl buffet, a free Budweiser beer, a live TV feed on big screens, and the possibility to win two return tickets to the US. You also have the chance to spend the night at the hotel at a special ‘football’ discount.

from the Philippines.

and friendships.

Poetry and pints with CTC The Bishops Arms (in the library), Ny Østergade 14, Cph K; Thu 19:00; sign up at www.meetup.com If you like to perform and drink beer, this is the event to join. The Copenhagen Theatre Circle invites you to their monthly meetup where poetry, skits and readings go hand in hand with drinking.

It takes place at a typical English pub that has a great selection of 311 whiskies, 150 bottled beers, and 30 different drafts as well as some old fashioned cask ale. If you don’t have any theatrical skills, you’re still welcome to show up and have a good time chatting to people as this event is completely informal. This will also be a good occasion to get up to date on upcoming plans from the CTC.

Pre-Valentine cocktail party Radisson BLU Scandinavia Hotel & Casino, Amager Boulevard 70, Cph – Fri 10 Feb, 14:00-04:30; tickets 275kr (purchase before 31 Jan); 2694 7723 or bukloddenmark@yahoo.com The Filipino group BUKLOD and Casino Copenhagen invite you to their pre-Valentine party at the Casino Ballroom. The night features a live Danish band and DJ Ernesto. Tickets include casino entrance, entrance to the party (20:00-04:00) with a welcome drink, and cocktail/finger foods. It’s also possible to make a donation to the typhoon victims

Expat Café Cafe Cadeau, H.C. Ørstedsvej 28 C, Frederiksberg; Wed 10:0012:00; suraiya.kasim@gmail.com.

If you’re an early bird, the Expat Café’s morning meeting might be something for you. This is a good opportunity to meet other expats in Copenhagen, and to learn about “what happy people know” and “the wheel of life”. The event takes places once a month and the topics for the meeting will be ‘Third culture kids’ and ‘GPS to the Danish culture’. It’s a great chance to develop intercultural competences and develop network possibilities

Seminar: Mediatisation and European Integration Copenhagen University Amager (KUA), Njalsgade 76, Cph S; Fri 14:15-19:00; sign up at www.expatindenmark.com; learn more at www.filmandmedia.ku.dk Learn more about the mediatisation of European integration and its ambivalent effects on the legitimacy of the EU. Hans-Jörg Trenz, a professor in modern European studies, will talk about how EU studies should focus on the more active role of the media. New research proposes that EU studies have to start by recognising media autonomy and its decisive impact on the scope and legitimacy of transnational (European) politics and institutions. Trenz will discuss research results based on content analyses of online media and newspaper to illustrate how the media can be a constraining factor of European integration.

Dancing Bollywood style Søndermark Skolen, Hoffmeyersvej 32, Frederiksberg; Sat 12:0014:00; tickets: 50kr; register at info@spousecare.dk Spousecare are organising another Bollywood dancing event under the watchful eye of professional dance instructor Sateja Bhalekar. While the registration date was 23 January, there’s still a good chance you can still sign up.

MALENE ØRSTED

half a normal pitch sideline to sideline.

The aforementioned DAI organise the pitches, kick-off times and refs. There are around 20 games a season played April to October on weekday evenings, Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning - and the league tables can be accessed via the DAI website. There is a summer break from late June to mid-August, but this still means that most of the games are played in warm conditions.

Stephen Ball, the treasurer of Copenhagen Celtic, has played sevens since ‘retiring’ from elevens in 2005.

“In sevens you’re more involved and it’s easier to get a team to get together,” he enthuses.

And it’s worth pointing out that outside the DAI’s eleven-a-side top division, they don’t have linesmen, which means lots of dodgy offside decisions.

The club operates two Facebook pages (one is specifically about training and invite only), a website (copenhagencelticfc.intheteam.com), and prospective members are welcome to contact copenhagenceltic@hotmail.com to find out more information.

LIVING IN AN EXPAT WORLD Life is never dull at the national networking platform, Expat in Denmark.

From questions regarding complicated tax issues to ones about the Danish psyche, Craig Till has heard it all. Here he shares his insights about the issues that mean most to our community.

I

HAD TO COUNT the other day, but it’s now 18 years since I first lived in Denmark. Since then it’s been a rather on-off affair: a total of eight years here in DK squeezed in around stays in Belgium, the UK, Poland, Romania, Lithuania and a few other places for good measure. I mention this because it occurs to me that for many years now I have been an expat, but for many more years I was not aware of whether I was or was not an expat. For a while I always thought expats were someone else.

Apparently I was not alone, as feedback to a few previous columns in The Post, plus comments on any number of occasions during Expat in Denmark’s daily routine, affirms the fact that many expats do not at all associate themselves with being an expat. And this I find interesting.

For the last eight years or so, however, I have personally identified myself as an expat, mainly due to the lack of permanence in any of my arrangements, and that I always felt like I was passing through rather than putting down roots.

Expat, immigrant, foreigner, traveller, alien: each has its own meaning to an individual and is easy prey to snobbery and prejudice This is the classic expatriate (expat): what the Oxford English Dictionary refers to as “a person who lives outside their native country” - it comes from the Latin term expatriātus, formed by the union of the words ex (out of ) and patriā (country).

The distinction between expat and immigrant – often the bone of contention for many a foreigner living and working here – is that an immigrant has permanently settled in a country. A great many ‘expats’ consider themselves immigrants, either through them having been here for so long, or out of a view that simply rejects the expat moniker.

The water muddies when the associated semantics come into play: ‘immigrant’ – perhaps especially in Denmark given the debates of the last decade – can have a negative connotation, along with foreigner and alien. One can find plenty to read about illegal immigrants, but never about illegal expats.

And therein is the crux of the issue. Expat, immigrant, foreigner, traveller, alien: each has its own meaning to an individual and is easy prey to snobbery and prejudice. Whether you wear the expat hat or the immigrant t-shirt, the chances are that if you’re reading this you associate with the common issues, dilemmas and - yes problems associated with living in a foreign country.

So whether you’re an expat in Denmark, or immigrant in Denmark, or whatever – what unites us is far greater than what divides us. Surely we’re in danger of entering ‘Life of Brian’ territory if we get upset about a moniker: The Expatriate Peoples Front of Denmark vs The Popular Danish Immigrant Front, anyone? Read more at immigrantsindenmark.com.

14 Sport

The Copenhagen Post cphpost.dk

27 January - 2 February 2012

scanpix

Danes to watch Euro 2012 from the sofa Ukraine’s image as an expensive and dangerous country is being blamed for the low ticket sales for Denmark’s group games at the European Championships

O Caroline Wozniacki takes a drink between games against Kim Clijsters of Belgium. Clijsters won 6-3, 7-6.

Eliminated and overthrown Ben Hamilton Another grand slam bid fizzles out at the start of the second week, and with it Caroline’s number one spot

W

The media talks to me like I’m finishing my career and I only have one year left and time is running out. The fact is I still have quite a few good years in front of me. I am still improving as a player Wozniacki, meanwhile, told media she was confident she could regain the top spot during 2012 – a claim that looks realistic given her dismal showings at the other grand slams in 2011, tournaments where she will have little to lose and everything to gain.

“At the end of the year, you will see who has played the best, most consistently all year-round. We are just in January,” she said. “I will get it back eventually, so I’m not worried.”

And there were even signs of relief that she wouldn’t have to, at least for a short time, deal with that perennial question.

“I start laughing every time, because the media talks to me like I’m finishing my career and I only have one year left and time is running out,” she said. “The fact is I still have quite a few good years in front of me. I am still improving as a player.”

Leading up to the Australian Open, a great many column inches were dedicated to Martina Navratilova’s criticism of Wozniacki and the ranking system as a whole. In April last year, it was reported that Wozniacki and her father had spoken to the tennis legend (who won 18 grand slam singles titles) about the possibility of some coaching work in preparation for the 2012 Olympics, at which the Dane is planning to play in the singles, and also the mixed doubles with Frederik Nielsen.

“Clearly nobody feels that Wozniacki is a true number one,” Navratilova told media in Melbourne. “If we still had the same ranking system we were using six years ago when they were giving bonus points for beating players, Kvitova would have ended up number one because she had beaten more top players than Wozniacki.”

Navratilova then went on to sing the praises of Kvitova, who beat 13 topten players last year, while Wozniacki beat only eight.

The sport’s governing body, the WTA, decided to change its ranking system at the beginning of 2006. Before then, it used a sliding scale that recognised the beaten opponent’s ranking – but the system was considered too complicated by many involved in the game.

of the match days, July 13.

The dire scenario has led to the DBU and the Danish embassy in Ukraine joining forces to produce a brochure about the country to inform potential travellers about Ukraine’s more positive sides and what they should expect to pay for various services.

But, if threats made by racist hooligans are to be trusted, Danes who do decide to make the trip may need to be alert - especially if they are not white.

Speaking to British tabloid The Sun this December, one hooligan said: “We believe black and Asian people should stay in their own countries. We don’t want them here for Euro 2012.”

The police presence at the games is expected to be high, however, to minimise the risk of conflict between rival supporters.

Fans who are interested in attending the competition this summer are urged by the DBU to book their accommodation through the website www.accom2012.com. (PS) scanpix

hen the new women’s tennis ranking lists are released next Monday, Caroline Wozniacki will no longer be the world number one following her elimination from the Australian Open in straight sets by Kim Clijsters at the quarter-final stage on Tuesday.

A sluggish performance saw Wozniacki lose 3-6, 6-7 to the Belgian on another scorching day in Melbourne.

Her game only really came alive at 2-5 down in the second set, but in the end Clijsters steadied her nerves to see out the tiebreaker 7-4.

Heading into the tournament, it was widely reported that Wozniacki would need to, at the very least, match her 2011 performance and make the semi-finals to have any chance of holding onto her top spot.

It’s tight at the top. Before the tournament began, any one of four players were in contention to top the rankings: Wozniacki, the Czech Republic’s number two Petra Kvitova, Belarussian number three Victoria Azarenka, and Russian number four Maria Sharapova.

The other three all remain in the tournament. Azarenka also won on Tuesday and now faces Clijsters in the semis, while Kvitova and Sharapova won their quarters on Wednesday and will meet in the other semi. Two of the three, Azarenka and Sharapova, have al-

ready improved on their fourth round exits last year, while Kvitova has bettered her 2011 quarter-final appearance.

Nevertheless, journalists tend to copy each other when they write about the rankings system, and it is unclear whether any or all of the players have already done enough to overtake the Dane, who bar one week last February had been number one for 67 weeks.

“I didn’t feel like I was a set up and 5-2. I had to work really hard for it as Caroline is a great fighter and changed her tactics to become more aggressive,” Clijsters told media following her win.

nly ten percent of the 10,000 tickets available for Danish supporters have been sold for Denmark’s group matches at the European Championships this summer in Poland and Ukraine.

“I don’t think we’re going to sell all the tickets, but I don’t know whether there will be 500, 1,500 or more left over,” Bo Grøn Iversen, the head of accounting for the Danish football association, the DBU, told Politiken newspaper.

The low interest in tickets has led to the DBU holding an emergency meeting to discuss how to increase interest in the competition, which is usually very well attended by Danish supporters.

Denmark will be playing their three group games in the Ukranian cities of Lviv and Kharkiv, almost 900 kilometres apart, and according to Politiken, Ukraine’s image of being expensive and dangerous is to blame for the lack of interest.

“We have seen some outrageous prices,” Iversen said. “Some people think they can become millionaires in a week if they have a couple of spare beds available.”

The Copenhagen Post discovered that at one hostel in Lviv, the Nikolas, a double room that usually goes for 275 kroner a night in the summer was going for 2,000 kroner a night on one

We have seen some outrageous prices. Some people think they can become millionaires in a week if they have a couple of spare beds available

Based on early sales, this isn’t likely to be the scene in the Ukraine

Sports news and briefs Kris’s contract cancelled

Bendtner breaks his beak

Adios to Adidas

Idiot in luck

Too many ties

Out of their hands

Danish defender Kris Stadsgaard has left Spanish Primera Liga club Malaga after the cancellation of a contract due to run until June 2013. The 26-year-old, who had played 25 times since joining in 2010, has been linked with a move to FCK, which is also lining up a bid for Vålerenga striker Mostafa Abdellaoue.

Nicklas Bendtner last Saturday broke his nose playing for Sunderland against Swansea City – an injury that saw him taken off ten minutes into his side’s 2-0 win. He was accidentally kicked in the head by Swansea player Angel Rangel. There were fears he had also broken his cheek bone, but a scan proved otherwise.

Brøndby’s kit sponsorship deal with Adidas will not be extended beyond this season, thus ending a 12-year co-operation.

Brøndby’s chief executive Jan Lockhart told media the club had “several attractive options” to replace a kit manufacturer that also recently ended its relationship with Liverpool.

The Danish FA has agreed to cut the damages owed by a fan who attacked a referee in a Euro 2008 qualifier – a man most media are now referring to as “the idiot” – from nearly two million kroner to 250,000. A spokesman told media that the decision was “based on our insight into his economic conditions”.

A severely depleted Danish national side finished second in the King’s Cup in Thailand, finishing undefeated thanks to a 3-1 defeat of the hosts on Saturday. The win followed a 0-0 draw against South Korea and a 1-1 stalemate against Norway.

South Korea won the cup thanks to wins in their other games.

Heading into Wednesday night’s final group games, Denmark’s hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals of the ongoing European Handball Championship were out of their hands. To qualify, Denmark needed Poland to beat Germany, who Denmark beat on Monday, in the early game, and then beat Sweden.

BUSINESS

THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK

27 January - 2 February 2012

15

DSB promising better mobile connection on board DSB spending 60 million kroner to give passengers a better wireless experience

I

’ll have to call you back. I’m on the train.” Pretty much everyone that has ever tried to use a mobile phone on one of the nation’s regional trains has uttered those words.

Lost calls. Lousy connections. Intermittent, if any, internet service. Passengers have wondered for years why they can use their mobile phone to call anywhere in the world from a beach in Skagen, but they can’t get an audible connection while riding on a train just outside of Odense.

After years of disagreement over who is responsible, DSB and the country’s four major mobile providers have agreed to have the problem fixed before the end of 2012.

DSB is investing 60-70 million kroner in small cellular transmitters – called repeaters – to be set up inside InterCity (IC) and regional express trains (Lyntog). Claus Klitholm of DSB’s commercial division told Politiken newspaper that the repeaters will improve the network and customers can expect a better performance.

companies and the phone companies have been kicking it back to DSB,” Bramsen told Politiken.

“I told them I did not care who was responsible, I wanted it fixed.”

Bramsen said she had threatened to introduce legislation requiring DSB and the mobile carriers to work together because she believed that giving passengers the opportunity to talk and work while on the train without interruption is an incentive for them to choose public transportation.

Klitholm said that conWhile regional train passengers may be able to look forward to better wifi signals, S-train commuters will still have to wait stant changes in mobile technology has also “The quality will be better, ters on trains is the most effective agreement is nearly in place.” and there will be fewer lost calls,” way to improve coverage along Trine Bramsen (Social- made finding a single solution he said. “The improved coverage the tracks. demokraterne), a government difficult.

The upgrades to the IC and “Mobile companies want IT spokesman, said providing will also make internet connecstrong coverage in the cities and strong wireless coverage along the Lyntog networks will not end tions on trains more stabile.”

Klitholm said that it has don’t use as much effort getting tracks has been one of her priori- the internet blackout currently been tough getting five separate a signal in between. We couldn’t ties, and she is happy to see that affecting 300,000 daily comcompanies to work together on amplify a signal that wasn’t something is finally getting done. muters on the Greater Copenhaa solution, but stressed that the there. [The mobile providers] “DSB has been kicking gen area’s S-trains.

Signs appeared last July tellinstallation of cellular transmit- are working with us now and an the problem over to the phone JENS HASSE/CHILI FOTO

RAY WEAVER

Equality minister: Lego criticism a mistake

T

HE EQUALITY minister, Manu Sareen (Radikale), has rescinded his criticism of Lego’s new line of toys aimed at girls.

Sareen’s about-face comes after 200 of his followers on Facebook replied to his comment in Jyllands-Posten newspaper last week that the pastel-coloured, human-shaped figures of the Friends series reinforced traditional gender roles.

“I have to admit that I for-

mulated myself in a bombastic and blunt manner,” he wrote on Facebook last week on Wednesday. “I’m sorry about that.”

Sareen’s criticism came in response to a Huffington Post article about the gender-based marketing of toys that focused on the new Lego line.

The intention of the criticism, he said, had been to spark a discussion about gender-based stereotypes, not to criticise the maker of the iconic building

block.

Lego had countered the criticism by pointing out that its new line did not play on cultural stereotypes, but was based on four years of research into the way boys and girls play.

“We asked a lot of girls what they wanted and it turned out that they wanted something that let everyone be friends and that included animals,” Lego spokesperson Charlotte Simonsen told Jyllands-Posten. (KM)

Exchange Rates Australian Dollars AUD

Canada Dollars CAD

Euro EUR

Japan Yen JPY

Russia Rubles RUB

Sweden Kronor SEK

Switzerland Francs CHF

UK Pounds GBP

United States Dollars USD

Sell

5.76

5.51

7.33

0.07

0.17

0.81

6.04

8.76

5.65

Buy

6.29

6596

7.56

0.08

0.19

0.85

6.24

8.89

5.92

Price in kroner for one unit of foreign currency

Date: 25 January 2012

DSB has been kicking the problem over to the phone companies and the phone companies have been kicking it back to DSB ing passengers that the internet on S-trains was temporarily shut down, but that it would return, new and improved, by the autumn. Although the ‘GratisDanmark’ signal still pops up on mobile devices as an available network on the trains, there is no service.

ButlerNetworks, the company that supplied the broadband connection to S-trains, went belly up in June 2011. Internet service on S-trains disappeared a month later. After passengers complained last September that they were still in the dark, DSB apologised for misleading their customers. DSB told Børsen that they did not want to disappoint people by opening up a “temporary solution” without the promised upgrades and that a permanent solution could take “a long time”. But there is still no word on when that may be.

BRITISH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN DENMARK

Whisky tasting, 10 February 2012

BCCD are organising a whisky tasting evening on Friday 10 February, where you will have the chance to meet other BCCD members and their partners in a more relaxed setting, while sampling some of Scotland’s finest.

Whisky experts from Whiskymessen will guide you through the tasting of 7 different Single Malts from a bottler in Perthshire called Signatory: • • • • • • •

Glendullan Blackadder Raw Cask Glenlivet Signatory 46% Smoked! Islay Single Malt 50% Kilchoman Islay 46% Bunnahabhain Adelphi Islay Cask Strength Glendronach Balvenie 12

There will also be tasting maps, and Highland Spring Water available to help you make the most of the evening.

Price: 350DKK inc MOMS for Members and their guests, or 400DKK inc MOMS for non-members.

Location: Copenhagen Marriott Hotel, Kalvebod Brygge 5, 1560 København V

BUSINESS NEWS AND BRIEFS Dong denies Vestas

Sentiment improves

FLSmidth goes Down Under

ENERGY company Dong has categorically denied rumours that it will invest in Vestas’s plan to develop a giant offshore wind turbine. In October the two companies agreed that Dong would be the first to buy and test the new turbines, but Dong’s CEO Anders Eldrup said his company would not invest further.

DANISH households were less downbeat about their personal finances and the country’s economy in January, data released by Statistics Denmark showed on Monday. The consumer confidence index increased to -7 in January from -9.8 in December, which was lower than -9.2 recorded in October.

DANISH industrial plant maker and services supplier FLSmidth announced on Monday that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Australian peer Ludowici for A$7.20 a share, a large premium on the current share price of A$3.50 that values the company at A$267 million.

NB: You will not be able to drive after the evening, so please make sure you arrange alternate transport home. The nearest train Station is København H. Alternatively you may wish to take a look at the special offers at the Marriott on our website.

Non-members are very welcome. Please contact BCCD or go to www.bccd.dk for further information

If you would like to attend then please send us an email (event@bccd.dk) or call +45 31 18 75 58 • official media partner Denmark’s only English-language newspaper

16

THE COPENHAGEN POST THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK SPOUSE EMPLOYMENT PAGE

PARTNERS:

27 Jan - 2 Feb 2012

SPOUSE: Miss Marta Guerrero FROM: Spain SEEKING WORK IN: Great Copenhagen QUALIFICATION: Bachelor of English teacher for Primary Education. Bachelor of Psychologist for Education.

EXPERIENCE: Over the past five years I have worked in a Primary School in Barcelona as English teacher for children from 6 to 11 years old. Moreover, last year I gained experience teaching Spanish, as a foreign language, in the UK. I also have some experience teaching adults.

LOOKING FOR: Full time position as Spanish or English teacher in a Kindergarden, a Primary School or in a High School.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: Spanish and Catalan (mother tongue). English (fluent speaking and writing).

IT EXPERIENCE: A good user of all the basic computer knowledge (Word, Excel, Power Point,...) as well as blog and web publication and maintenance.

CONTACT: martaguerrero13@gmail.com

SPOUSE: Ylenia Fiorini FROM: Italy SEEKING WORK IN: Copenhagen QUALIFICATION: Post Graduate Master’s Degree in Peace Studies, Development Cooperation, International Mediation and Conflict resolution EXPERIENCE: I have ten years experience as social worker in Italy,and experience in various fields, in the social and third sector and I feel that my educational background combined with my campaign assistant practice in the Ngo Burma Campaign, in Barcelona, has been an excellent preparation. In the same way also my job experiences in the social field made me open to different situations and to see them as a source of knowledge.

LOOKING FOR: Entry Level jobs in the third sector field, in international organization or NGO’s LANGUAGE SKILLS: Italian Mother tongue, fluent in Spanish, English, French, Swedish (basic) IT EXPERIENCE: Ms Office (Mac,Windows) CONTACT: email yleniafiorini@yahoo.it

SPOUSE: Megan Rothrock FROM: California-USA,Via SEEKING WORK IN: Toy Design, Games Design, or Photography (Syd Denmark Jutland).

QUALIFICATION: Associate Arts Degree: Corporate Communication, Design, and Commercial Illustration, with a background in animation.

EXPERIENCE: Former LEGO Product Designer, LEGO Universe: Level Designer, European Bureau Editor Brick Journal Magazine. I have a strong knowledge of Toy and Gaming Markets. I am driven, enjoy solving daily challenges and I’m a strong communicator wanting to join a creative team of colleagues.

LOOKING FOR: Part/Full time work in an innovative and creative .

LANGUAGE SKILLS: English: native- Dutch: Excellent- Danish (currently in): Danskuddannelse 3, modul 3.

IT EXPERIENCE: PC and Mac - Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Flash, Dream Weaver, Director, Maya, 3D Studio Max, ML Cad, LD. CONTACT: megzter1@yahoo.com +4535140779

SPOUSE: Vadim Fedulov FROM: USA SEEKING WORK IN: Pre-clinical or clinical/ biotech or academia/ Copenhagen region (100km radius).

QUALIFICATION: Ph.D., Biological Sciences (2008).

EXPERIENCE: 5 years research experience in biotech and 6 years in academic settings. For full experience summary, please visit: http://dk.linkedin.com/in/drvadim.

LOOKING FOR: Position in research, project management, writing, editing, teaching, or new challenging career opportunities.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: English (native), Russian (native), Danish (completed Module1 at Studieskolen).

IT EXPERIENCE: Proficient in both Mac and PC OS, MS Office (Excel, Word, Powerpoint etc.), StatView, Adobe (Photoshop, Illustrator).

CONTACT: fedulov@gmail.com and mobile tel: +45 41 83 36 60

SPOUSE: Munawar Saleem FROM: Pakistan SEEKING WORK IN: Copenhagen QUALIFICATION: MBA logistics and supply chain management (Jonkoping University, Sweden) M.Sc. Computer Sciences (Punjab University, Lahore Pakistan).

EXPERIENCE: 4 years, Lecturer in computer sciences.

LOOKING FOR:Full time or part time job in Logistics and Supply.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: English (fluent), Urdu (mother tongue), Swedish (Basic).

IT EXPERIENCE: Proficient in MS Office (word, excel, power point etc.).

CONTACT: libravision3@gmail.com, 71412010 SPOUSE: Laxmi Chawan FROM: India SEEKING WORK IN: Sjælland, as an architect/ interior designer or as a logistic co-ordinator.

QUALIFICATION: Masters in Design Sciences and Sustainable Design, University of Sydney, Australia; Bachelors in Architecture, University of Mumbai, India.

EXPERIENCE: Design development, Drafting, Working drawings, Planning and scheduling of projects, Report compilation, Invoicing and Administrative works.

LOOKING FOR: Part time /Fulltime work in Architecture/Construction /Interior Designing Firm or Supply chain management field.

IT EXPERIENCE:AutoCAD 2009, Adobe In Design, Photoshop, Microsoft Office, Project management softwares.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: English,Hindi.

CONTACT: lchawan@gmail.com, Mobile : +45 5253 2498 SPOUSE: Deepak Kumar Koneri FROM: India SEEKING WORK IN: Copenhagen QUALIFICATION: M.Sc in Electrical Engineering specialization in Embedded Systems (Jönköping, Sweden), B.Tech in Electrical and Electronics Engineering (Hyderabad, India).

EXPERIENCE: Worked as Electrical Distribution Design Engineer in Electrical Consultant company for more than 2 years. I was responsible from the start of design definition phase till the implementation phase of individual project.

LOOKING FOR: Full and part time job opportunity in Energy, Robust Electronics design, PCB Design, Thermal Analyst, Design & Modelling of power systems, power optimization, simulation and also in constructional, architectural consulting organization.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: English (Fluent), Hindi (Mother Tongue), Swedish (Basic) and Danish(Basic, Currently learning).

IT EXPERIENCE: MS-Office (word, Excel, Power point, Visio), CFD (Mentor Graphics FloTHERM, FloVENT, Noesis OPTIMUS, Electrical CAD, Assembly Programming (PIC 16f77, 8086,8051), WireMOM, Telelogic SDL-99, C and VHDL. CONTACT: konerideepak@gmail.com, 71561151 SPOUSE: Fernando Carlos Cardeira da Silva FROM: Portugal SEEKING WORK IN: Copenhagen QUALIFICATION: Accounting course from Danish Institution (Regnskabs medarbejder at Niels Brock), previous frequency of Accounting and Management courses in Portugal.

EXPERIENCE: I have more than 5 years of experience in accounting.

LOOKING FOR: Job as accounting assistant.

IT EXPERIENCE: Microsoft Office (Excel, Word and Power point) and accounting software such as Navision C5.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: I can read and write Danish, English, Portuguese, Spanish and French.

CONTACT: fercardeira@gmail.com +45 50437588 SPOUSE: Steffen Schmidt FROM: Germany SEEKING WORK IN: Copenhagen.

QUALIFICATION: Structured Finance Proffesional.

LOOKING FOR: A challenging finance position in Copenhagen (preferable within Corporate Finance).

LANGUAGE SKILLS: German (native), English (business fluent).

IT EXPERIENCE: MS Word, Excel and Powerpoint.

CONTACT: beffenmidt@gmail.com SPOUSE: Lillian Liu FROM: Taiwan SEEKING WORK IN: Marketing/Public Relations.

QUALIFICATION: Bachelor of Foreign Language and Literature (Major in English, and minor in French) EXPERIENCE: 5+ years of professional experiences in Marketing and PR. I am a dynamic and creative marketing communications talent with substantial international working experience in large corporation and in agencies, possessing Integrated Marketing Communication ability.

Proficient in analyzing market trends to provide critical inputs for decision-making and formulating marketing communication strategies. Familiar with brand image build-up, channel marketing, media communication, issue management, etc. Possess in-depth understanding/knowledge of APAC market and Chinese culture.

LOOKING FOR: Marketing jobs in Jylland.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: Mandarin Chinese, English, Danish, French.

IT EXPERIENCE: Familiar with Windows O/S and MS Office.

CONTACT: sugarex@hotmail.com

SPOUSE: Magda Bińczycka FROM: Poland SEEKING WORK IN: Sjælland QUALIFICATION: M.A. in philosophy, pedagogy ( postgraduated diploma) ,5th year of history of art ( Master Program).

EXPERIENCE: Independent curator 2009 - present, art catalogues editor (English&Polish versions) 2009-present, art critic 2005-2010, art and English teacher for children 2005-2010, English tourist guide 2010, gallery assistant 2004/5 and 2009.

LOOKING FOR: Job as a curator, coordinator, gallery assistant, event organizer, English tourist guide, art history teacher.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: English (proficiency), Danish (intermediate), Polish (mother tongue), German(basic), French (basic), Latin (basic).

IT EXPERIENCE: MS Office (Word advanced user).

CONTACT: Tel: +45 41 44 94 52, magda.binczycka@gmail.com SPOUSE: Vidya Singh FROM: India SEEKING WORK IN: Copenhagen, Odense, Arhus, Aalborg or nearby areas.

QUALIFICATION: Master in Computer Management, Bachelor of Science, Certified Novell Engineer, Microsoft Certified Professional.

EXPERIENCE: Total 8 years (4 year in telecommunication as customer care + 4 year as HR recruiter consultant).

LOOKING FOR: HR (Trainee/Assistant/Recruiter/consultant), Customer service, office work, IT LANGUAGE SKILLS: English, Hindi and Danish (currently learning).

IT EXPERIENCE: MS-office, Hardware, Networking, Intranet and Internet.

CONTACT: vidya.singh37@gmail.com, Mobile: +45 71443554 SPOUSE: Sadra Tabassi FROM: Iran SEEKING WORK IN: Copenhagen QUALIFICATION: Master of Business Administration (MBA) LOOKING FOR: Any full time job related to my qualification field LANGUAGE SKILLS: Languages Fluent in English; Native in Farsi (Persian) and elementary level of Arabic.

IT EXPERIENCE: Basic knowledge about computer (Windows), Office 2010 (Word, Excel, Power Point),Statistical software (SPSS) CONTACT: sadra.tabassi@gmail.com, Tel:+4550337753 SPOUSE: Bhargavi Lanka Venkata FROM: India SEEKING WORK IN: IT industry- Software - Manual & Automation Testing.

QUALIFICATION: Bachelor of Technology in Computer Science Engineering.

EXPERIENCE: Part Time/Full Time work in Software Testing, 4yrs and 9 months experience as Senior Software Engineer – Testing in a U.S based MNC in Bangalore, India.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: English, Hindi, Enrolled for Danish classes.

IT EXPERIENCE: Manual testing, Automation Regrwession testing using QTP, Web service testing using SOA Tool, HP Quality center, Unix, SQL, XML, Basic shell scripting.

CONTACT: bhargavipsk@gmail.com; Mobile: 50376689 SPOUSE: Malgorzata Tujakowska FROM: Poland SEEKING WORK IN: Aarhus and the surrounding area QUALIFICATION: Masters in Ethnolinguistics with major in Chinese and English, Chinese HSK and Business Chinese Test certificates, 2-year long studies at Shanghai International Studies University and National Cheng Kung University,Taiwan.

LOOKING FOR: Working for companies hiring Polish and Chinese employees, teaching Chinese, Polish, Business English, linguistics, translation and interpretation, proofreading, Chinese business and culture consulting, administrative work.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: Polish (native speaker), Chinese – simplified and traditional (fluent), English (fluent), German(intermediate), Danish (intermediate-currently learning).

IT EXPERIENCE: MS Office.

CONTACT: Tel:+45 28702377, m.tujakowska@gmail.com SPOUSE: Chia-Pei CHEN FROM: Taiwan SEEKING WORK IN: Business Chinese/ Tutorial Chinese teaching in corporations, institutions or International schools.

QUALIFICATION: A certified teacher of teaching Chinese as a second language. A degree in Social Science discipline. Continuously participation in training program (organized by Beijing Hanban of CHINA and CBS) to teach Chinese to foreigners in western context. Enrolment to distance Chinese teaching education system that keeps professional Chinese teachers resourceful.

EXPERIENCE: I am a certified teacher of teaching Chinese as a second language to foreigners.

And I have started teaching Chinese with English in my class for 2 years. I design suitable materials to teach Chinese with different phonetic systems (PinYin for China and HongKong, and Mandarin Phonetic Symbols for Taiwan) as well as to interpret differences between simplified and traditional Chinese characters. My past positions were Chinese language-related, such as: reporter, translator and social science researcher. Students who I taught before regard me as a sincere, discreet teacher who helps learners to progress in short time.

LOOKING FOR: Business Chinese/ Tutorial Chinese teaching.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: Chinese (mother tongue), English (Fluent), French (basic), Danish (beginner).

IT EXPERIENCE: Word Office, SPSS statistic software, Basic Video and Audio editing, Blog writing.

CONTACT: teacherchen@live.com, Tel: 25 81 65 18

SPOUSE: Maihemutijiang Maimaiti FROM: China SEEKING WORK IN: Aarhus area, Denmark QUALIFICATION: M.Sc. In Computer Science, Uppsala University, Sweden; Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science, Southwest University.

LOOKING FOR: IT jobs.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: English, Chinese, Uyghur.

IT EXPERIENCE: 1 year experience in Java programming and modelling in VDM++.

CONTACT: mehmudjan@live.se SPOUSE: TEJA PRIYANKA FROM: India SEEKING WORK IN: Copenhagen QUALIFICATION: MBA in Finance and marketing , bachelor in Biotechnology.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: Telugu(mother tounge), Hindi, English, Danish(biggnier).

IT EXPERIENCE: Familier with Microsoft office(word, excel,powerpoint,access, ), photoshop.

CONTACT: teja.priyanka.n@gmail.com SPOUSE: Pooja Nirwal FROM: New Delhi, India SEEKING WORK IN: Copenhagen and Capital region.

QUALIFICATION: Masters (M. Sc) in Environmental Science, +2 yrs of Exp. as Env. Consultant in the field of Environmental Impact Assessment.

LOOKING FOR: Positions in Consultancies/Organizations/NGOs working in the field of Environmental Science (Climate Change, EIA, Env. Compliance Audits, Solid Waste Management etc.).

LANGUAGE SKILLS: Fluent in English, Hindi and Sanskrit, Started learning Danish.

IT EXPERIENCE: MS Office (PowerPoint, Word, Excel).

CONTACT: poojadahiya1@gmail.com, +45 503 904 60 SPOUSE: Mohammad Ahli- Gharamaleki FROM: Iran SEEKING WORK IN: Copenhagen QUALIFICATION: Master degree in chemical engineering.

EXPERIENCE: 5+ years as a chemical engineer in R&D oil/gas projects as a team leader or member in Iran.

LOOKING FOR: A position in an Intrnational company to expand my experience and expertise.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: Azeri (native), English (fluent), Farsi (fluent), Arabic (good), Turkish (good), Danish(beginner).

IT EXPERIENCE: Professional (MATLAB, Hysys, Aspen plus, Auto Cad, others (Office, Minitab).

CONTACT: mohammad_ahli@yahoo.com, (+45) 71 63 12 85 SPOUSE: Hugo Ludbrook FROM: New Zealand SEEKING WORK IN: Copenhagen.

QUALIFICATION: BA (1st Class Honours) in International Relations + BA in History and Religious Studies.

EXPERIENCE: Have worked in a wide variety of organisations with focus ranging from the organics sector, to international development, to company directors, to work with the United Nations.

LOOKING FOR: Research, writing, editing and/or communication work.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: English (Fluent), French (Good), Danish (Basic).

IT EXPERIENCE: Strong MS Office, Outlook and Excel Skills.

CONTACT: hugo.ludbrook@hotmail.com SPOUSE: Debasmita Ghosh FROM: India SEEKING WORK IN: Copenhagen QUALIFICATION: Master of Pharmaceutical Sciences (Pharmachemistry specialization).

EXPERIENCE: 4 years in Clinical Research (Pharmacovigilance/Safety and Medical Coding) in a leading CRO (Quintiles) and 6 months experience as a lecturer for bachelor degree students in Pharmacy College.

LOOKING FOR: Job in pharmaceutical industry, CRO or any vocation suitable per qualification and experience.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: English (fluent written and spoken), enrolled for Danish language classes, Indian Languages (Hindi, Bengali, Kannada).

IT EXPERIENCE: MS Office Applications i:e Microsoft office word, excel, outlook, power point and tools, lotus notes, medical and drug softwares like micromedex and ISIS draw. CDM systems like ds Navigator-Medical coding tool and AERS database.

CONTACT: ghoshdebasmita@gmail.com, Mobile No. +4571488438 SPOUSE: Geet Shroff FROM: Bangalore, India SEEKING WORK IN: Midtjylland / Copenhagen / Odense QUALIFICATION: Bachelor’s degree in Communicative English from Bangalore University, India.

EXPERIENCE: 8+ years of experience as Senior Copy Writer, Assistant Manager – Marketing Communications, Executive – Customer Loyalty & Communication, Customer Service Associate respectively. Through these years, I have developed content, handled complete marketing communications, organized numerous corporate (internal & external customer), private and institutional events ranging from 50 to 1000 people and also handling special projects that have included training & internal communication campaigns.

LOOKING FOR: A Corporate or Marketing Communication (Internal or External) position or that of a Copy Writer at an advertising agency or a corporate house. Also open to a position at an event management company.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: English, Danish (Beginner).

IT EXPERIENCE: MS-Office, Adobe In Design CS3 (Basic).

CONTACT: geet_shroff@yahoo.co.in +4550834024 SPOUSE: Andrea Heilmann FROM: Germany (Marburg) SEEKING WORK IN: Greater Copenhagen QUALIFICATION: Communications Manager & PR Consultant.

EXPERIENCE: I successfully work as Communications Consultant for a global company and have more than 10 years of experience with company communication and public relations as well as event management, executive assistance and project coordination. I also have a strong crosscultural understanding since I always worked with different cultures from all over the world.

LOOKING FOR: Communications, Public Relations or Event Management job.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: English (fluent), German (native).

IT EXPERIENCE: Microsoft Word, Power Point, Excel, Outlook; Lotus Notes; CMS; Acrobat Writer; PaintShop Pro. CONTACT: andrea_heilmann@web.de, cell phone +49 160 3534209 SPOUSE: Clémence Arnal FROM: France SEEKING WORK IN: Copenhagen; Region Sjælland QUALIFICATION: Wastewater/drinking water (processes and treatments, building design, water sampling and pollution rate measurement); environment protection ( river basin management, waste management).

EXPERIENCE: Waste sorting representative (Office “Communauté du Pays d’Aix”, France); Leaks investigation on drinking water networks, Help to communes to deal with their drinking water system, Control operation of individual sanitation systems (Office “G2C Environnement”, France); Drinking water stations security: putting the Antiterrorist security plan in practice, employees security , Distribution network security: determining the cost of a network re-chlorination unit (“Drinking Water” administration of Aix en Provence, France).

LOOKING FOR: Water treatment assistant / engineer.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: French (mother tongue); English (Fluent); Danish (Prøve Dansk 3).

IT EXPERIENCE: MS-Office; AutoCAD (basic); Mapinfo (basic).

CONTACT: clem.arnal@gmail.com / tlf: 23 34 63 22

THE COPENHAGEN POST SPOUSE EMPLOYMENT PAGE SPOUSE: Mayurika Saxena Sheth FROM: India/USA SEEKING WORK IN: (Copenhagen, Kobenhavn & nearby areas, Greater Copenhagen QUALIFICATION: MCA, PGDMM(MATERIALS), B.SC (COMPUTERS) CERTIFICATIONS: CSTE, CSQA, GREEN BELT SIX SIGMA, TSP/PSP. EXPERIENCE: Eleven years of software development work/IT/BUSINESS experience with prestigious organizations (onsite and offshore): Microsoft, General Electric, Primus Telecommunications (AUSTRALIA), CitiFINANCIAL(USA), ISS and Imany.

LOOKING FOR: Full Time Job in IT, Management, Consulting or Business/Financial Field.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: ENGLISH fluent, HINDI fluent, DANISH AND SPANISH (Beginner).

IT EXPERIENCE: Testing tools like Test Director, Quality Center, Access Server, Product Studio, Polyspace Analysis, .NET testing, Web Page testing, Electronic Appliances testing, development in Winrunner, ASP, HTML, JavaScript, VBScript, Jscript, Oracle, Cold Fusion, SQL, Access, COM/DCOM, MTS, Siebel as well as UNIX, Tuxedo, C, PL/SQL, VB.Net/ ASP .Net, VB.Net. C#.

CONTACT: mayurika.s@gmail.com Tel +45 7169 5401 SPOUSE: Shilpa Lingaiah FROM: India SEEKING WORK IN: Copenhagen, Aarhus, Odense and nearby areas of the mentioned cities.

QUALIFICATION: PG Diploma in Obstetrics and Gynaecology (JSS University, India); Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (RGUHS, India). Danish agency for international education has assessed the above qualification and corresponds to Danish Master’s degree in Health Sciences.

LOOKING FOR: Research related to health science, jobs in pharmaceutical industry or new challenging career opportunities.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: English(fluent written and spoken),Enrolled for Danish language classes, Indian languages(Kannada and Hindi).

IT EXPERIENCE: MS Office.

CONTACT: drshilpalingaiah@gmail.com Tel: +4552742859 SPOUSE: Monika Sysiak FROM: Poland SEEKING WORK IN: Greater Copenhagen / eastern Zealand QUALIFICATION: Master degree in Environmental Engineering from Cracow University of Technology. Major in Water Supply, Sewage and Waste Treatment and Water Quality Protection.

Completed one semester in Environmental Engineering at Engineering College of Aarhus.

EXPERIENCE: Internship during studies in designing water supply systems and sewerage systems.

LOOKING FOR: Graduation programme, internship, training, part time or full time job related to mymqualifications.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: Polish (mother tongue), English (fluent), Danish (starting).

IT-EXPERIENCE: AutoCAD, MOUSE DHI, MS Windows, MS Office.

CONTACT: EMAIL: monikasysiak@gmail.com; phone: +45 50 43 70 43 SPOUSE: Isabel Douglass FROM: San Francisco-USA SEEKING WORK IN: Music Education QUALIFICATION: BA in Music.

EXPERIENCE: 10 years of internationally touring performances and 7 years of accordion teaching experience.

LOOKING FOR: I offer piano accordion lessons to individuals and small groups. In the courses students will learn a repertoire of songs ranging in styles including French musette, Argentine Tango, and Klezmer while strengthening there technique and understanding of music theory.

Please visit www.myspace.com/isabeldouglass to learn more about me.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: Native English Speaker.

CONTACT: isabeldouglass@gmail.com Phone: 60653401 SPOUSE: Heike Mehlhase FROM: Berlin, Tyskland SEEKING WORK IN: A job opportunity in Copenhagen (administrative position, research assistant or psychosocial care).

QUALIFICATION: MPH, Master degree in Psychology, Lerntherapeutin.

EXPERIENCE: Five years experience in psychological research andchild psychology.

LOOKING FOR: Looking for: a position to expand my experience where I can use my excellent organisational, social and communication skills.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: German (mother tongue), English (fluent), Danish (Module 2).

IT EXPERIENCE: I am proficient in software such as word processing, spreadsheet, presentation software and basicgraphic editing programs (Microsoft Office, Open Office) plus statistical software (SPSS).

CONTACT: heike@mehlhase.info SPOUSE: Dolon Roy FROM: India SEEKING WORK IN: Sjælland QUALIFICATION: Masters in Science(Chemistry), BEd. (Teacher training course).

EXPERIENCE: St. John Diocessan School February-May 2005, Kolkata, India. The Assembly of God Church School April-May 2006, Kolkata, India. Disari Public School June 2006-October 2007, India.

Research project work Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Copenhagen University, March-July 2009.

LOOKING FOR: Part time or full time work teaching in primary,secondary or higher school level (Chemistry, Mathematics, Science).

LANGUAGE SKILLS: English, Hindi, Bengali, Danish (modul 3/modul 5).

IT EXPERIENCE: Microsoft office.

CONTACT: dolonroy2005@yahoo.com. Mob: +45 60668239

PARTNERS:

SPOUSE: Francis Farias FROM: Venezuela (CPR number) SEEKING WORK IN: Greater København QUALIFICATION: Master in Spanish Studies from Universidad de Cadiz, Spain, as a Spanish Teacher and BA in Teaching English as a Second Language. Diplomas in Digital Photography (from Venezuela and Spain).

EXPERIENCE: 7 years experience as a teacher of English and Spanish at JMV University. Academic translator (Spanish-English/English-Spanish) and freelance photographer.

LOOKING FOR: Spanish language teacher, translator, interpreter, photographer.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: English, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish (native). Basic Danish.

IT EXPERIENCE: Office tools, Photoshop.

CONTACT: carolina1928@gmail.com, +45 50814073 SPOUSE: Daniel Jones FROM: United Kingdom SEEKING WORK IN: Greater Copenhagen QUALIFICATION: Qualified Teacher Status, UK; Bachelor of Science Degree (1st Class), UK. EXPERIENCE: Enthusiastic, hands on teacher with 8 years teaching experience of Mathematics and Science in UK and International Schools. IB, GCSE and A-Level, including as Head of Department with excellent feedback from pupils, parents and teaching colleagues.

LOOKING FOR: Teaching positions in secondary schools; Private tuition; Education related roles.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: Mother tongue English, fluent in Italian.

IT EXPERIENCE: MS-office.

CONTACT: daniel_glyn_jones@hotmail.com SPOUSE: Isaac P Thomas FROM: India SEEKING WORK IN: East Juthland preferably Århus QUALIFICATION: Bachelor of Engineering (Computer Science).

EXPERIENCE:Process Consulting, Quality Assurance, CMMI, ISO, Quality Audit, Process Definition, Software testing, software development, data analysis, best practice sharing, quality gap analysis LOOKING FOR: Process Consulting, Quality Assurance, CMMI, ISO, Quality Audit, Process Definition LANGUAGE SKILLS: Danish beginner, english, malayalam, hindi tamil.

IT EXPERIENCE: 8 years experence in IT Industry in software quality assurance, software quality control, software development.

CONTACT: isaacpthomas@gmail.com, +4552225642 SPOUSE: Suheir Sharkas FROM: Syria SEEKING WORK IN: Copenhagen, Odense, Aarhus and the nearby areas of the mentioned cities.

QUALIFICATION: MBA–International Management, Bachelor in English Literature.

LOOKING FOR: Positions in Organizations/Companies in the fields of: Administration and organization, Event & Project Management, and Assistance Management.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: Arabic: Native speaker, English: Fluent (understanding, speaking and writing), German: Fluent (understanding, speaking and writing), Danish: Basic 3.3 (understanding, speaking and writing).

IT EXPERIENCE: Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, Access, Power Point) and web publishing.

CONTACT: ssouheir@gmail.com, Tel: 533 721 20 SPOUSE: Jennifer Bouma FROM: The Netherlands SEEKING WORK IN: Egedal Kommune, Copenhagen 30 km.

QUALIFICATION: Managers Secretary, hands on, reliable, structured, self reliant, social, teamplayer).

LOOKING FOR: Secretary job.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: Dutch, Danish, English, German, French, Italian.

IT EXPERIENCE: MS Office ( Word, Excel), Outlook, SAP. CONTACT: jenniferbouma@ hotmail.com SPOUSE: S.M. Ariful Islam FROM: Bangladesh SEEKING WORK IN: Copenhagen QUALIFICATION: PhD student (2nd year) in Language Policy and Practice in Aalborg University, MA in Bilingualism, MA in English Linguistics, BA in English.

EXPERIENCE: 18 months as a University lecturer in English in Bangladesh. Taught advanced grammar, four skills (listening, speaking, reading & writing), ELT courses, Second Language theories, Psycholinguistics, Sociolinguistics.

LOOKING FOR: A position of English teacher/lecturer in English Medium Schools, Colleges and Universities.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: Bengali (mother tongue), English (second language), Danish (fluent), Hindi and Urdu (Spoken) and Swedish (basic).

IT EXPERIENCE: MS Office.

CONTACT: Mail: ariful@id.aau.dk, arif401@yahoo.com, mobile: +45 42778296 SPOUSE: Clotilde IMBERT FROM: France SEEKING WORK IN: Greater Copenhagen Qualification: Master of town planning and development and master of urban geography (Paris IVSorbonne) EXPERIENCE: 5 years in field of town planning and development: - Coordinator in urban project in a semi-public company: supervised a major urban project in Paris area (coordination of studies, acquisition of lands, worked with Planning Development of the Town Council, architects, developers to define the master plan and implement the project...); - Officer in research and consultancy firm (urban diagnosis, environmental impact assessments, inhabitants consultation...).

LOOKING FOR: a job in urban project field : planning department of Town Council or consultancy firm in town planning, environment and sustainable development, architecture firm, real estate development company.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: French (mother tongue), English (professional usage), Spanish (basic), Danish (in progress).

IT EXPERIENCE: MS Office, Abode Illustrator, AutoCad (basic), PC and Mac. CONTACT: clotilde.imbert@gmail.com

SPOUSE: Himani Kanwarpal FROM: India SEEKING WORK IN: Århus/ Copenhagen QUALIFICATION: Completed Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics and communication in the 2005 EXPERIENCE: I worked with Dell International Services India for 1 yr and 5 months as a Technical support agent. Thereafter, I was with SAP Labs from March 2007 till June 2011, where I worked on functional topics like SAP SCM F&R, SAP IS- Retail and SAP SCM APO DP. The profile mainly comprised of customizing and configuring SAP systems and also testing various scenarios. I also conducted training on functional topics and SAP’s automation tool called eCATT. LOOKING FOR: Full Time, part time, intern etc.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: English, Hindi, learning Danish.

IT EXPERIENCE: Worked with SAP Labs for 4 yrs and 3 months and have functional experience with modules like: SAP IS Retail, SAP SCM F&R, SAP SCM APO DP. Worked with DELL International Services as a Technical Support associate.

CONTACT: himani.kanwarpal@gmail.com

SPOUSE: Lorena Augusta Moreira FROM: Brazil SEEKING WORK IN: Great Copenhagen QUALIFICATION: Interior Designer.

EXPERIENCE: + 3 of experience with interior design and sales of furniture and decoration products.

LOOKING FOR: Position in an Organization/Company in the fields of: Interior design, lay-out and organization of vitrines, sales and assistance management.

IT EXPERIENCE: Microsoft office (word, excel, outlook, access and power-point) access to internet.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: English (fluent), Portuguese (native) and Spanish (pre-intermediate).

CONTACT: lorena-augusta@hotmail.com, + 45 52177084

SPOUSE: Sarah Andersen FROM: United Kingdom SEEKING WORK IN: Copenhagen QUALIFICATION: BA Honours Design Management.

EXPERIENCE: Creative and versatile Project manager with experience of working in both agency and client environments on projects including; digital, print and event management. Worked with a range of international clients, including Panasonic and Disney. Previously employed by NMA Top 100 Digital Agencies and D&AD Awards in London. Able to manage projects from concept to production and to meet tight deadlines.

LOOKING FOR: Digital Project Manager or Event Production Manager (full, part time or freelance) LANGUAGE SKILLS: English (native), enrolled for Danish language class.

IT EXPERIENCE: Office, Project, Visio, FTP and CMS. CONTACT: www.sarahandersen.net for portfolio, CV and contact

SPOUSE: Lena Schulz zur Wiesch FROM: Berlin, Germany SEEKING WORK IN: Copenhagen and Capital Region.

QUALIFICATION: Cand. scient. pol. from the Humboldt-University Berlin and London School of Economics.

EXPERIENCE: Seven years work experience from the German Parliament (EU-consultant) and as distinguished research associate at the Humboldt-University (urban planning). Strong analytical and inter-cultural skills. Team-worker.

LOOKING FOR: Jobs in consulting, public administration, politics, NGOs, international institutions or companies.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: German (mother tongue), English, Spanish, French, Danish (all fluently).

IT EXPERIENCE: Microsoft Office, CMS. CONTACT: lenaszw@web.de

SPOUSE: Barbara Liengaard FROM: Germany SEEKING WORK IN: (Greater) Copenhagen and surroundings.

QUALIFICATION: Bachelor degree in Business Administration (Germany/France).

EXPERIENCE: Profound 10-years’ working experience in strategic and operational marketing, product/brand and project management from different big globally acting companies (automotive supplier, white goods and medical industry), working/cultural experience from different countries (Germany, France, Spain, U.S.A., U.K., China, Denmark), first working experience in Denmark.

LOOKING FOR: A challenging job opportunity in e.g. marketing, product/brand and/ or project management, import/export; preferably in an international-minded working environment or with particular need for German.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: German (mother tongue), English (fluent), French (fluent), Danish (PD3 Prøvebevis), Spanish (good).

IT EXPERIENCE: MS Office (Outlook, Power Point, Excel, Word), SAP (CMD-AP).

CONTACT: babolz@yahoo.com SPOUSE: Kamali Ganesan SEEKING WORK IN: Jylland, Denmark QUALIFICATION: IT engineer.

EXPERIENCE: LEGO systems.

LOOKING FOR: IT and Multimedia jobs.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: Tamil, English and Danish.

IT EXPERIENCE: 3 Years in LEGO systems.

CONTACT: anbukamali@gmail.com

FROM: India

SPOUSE: Chao Wen FROM: China SEEKING WORK IN: Great Copenhagen QUALIFICATION: Language teacher (German, Chinese.

EXPERIENCE: Teaching Chinese as a foreign language by offering company-course for 2 years, in Germany; teaching Chinese to native speaker in private school for 4 years, in Germany; teaching German as a foreign language by offering private course; exhibition interpreter; translator.

LOOKING FOR: Part time or full time in Aarhus, Language teacher, translator or interpreter.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: Chinese, English, German, Danish.

IT EXPERIENCE: Windows, Open office, Powerpoint.

CONTACT: wenlily80@googlemail.com, tel.: 48417526 SPOUSE: Simon Rigby FROM: United Kingdom (originally Scotland) SEEKING WORK IN: Jylland, Fyn or Sjælland (anywhere in Denmark).

QUALIFICATION: Secondary High School - 8 ‘Ordinary’ levels & 3 ‘Advanced’ levels achieved.

EXPERIENCE: Business Development, Sales & Marketing and Client Relationship Management specialist. 15+ years experience in securing ‘insurance and lifestyle benefits’ contracts with high volume and high consumer numbers within the Affinity Group Marketing sector from a wide variety of distribution channels including banks, financial institutions, large membership affinity groups and employers, credit card issuers and insurers. Highly accomplished and skilled at ‘low cost, high perceived value’ large scale marketing to B2B and B2C target audiences through both on-line and other direct marketing channels. Entire career spent in the banking, finance and insurance sectors the latter of which I have spent in the UK employment of 3 of the top 4 global insurance brokers.

A team player and a ‘people person’ with the skills and abilities to easily and comfortably interact with individuals at all levels. Natural problem solver who sees opportunities rather than obstacles.

Simplistic and structured approach to finding straightforward and practical solutions to problems.

LOOKING FOR: A job within an organisation (financial services or otherwise) where my Sales & Marketing and Key Account managerial skills and experience are fully utilised and where I can provide a sustainable and tangible long term contribution to my new employer as well as to my new country within which I have chosen to permanently live.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: English (mother tongue); German (very good); French (good); Danish (basic, but currently enrolled on a ‘Danskuddannelse 3’ language course).

IT EXPERIENCE: Word - Advanced user. Powerpoint - Proficient user. Excel - Basic.

CONTACT: simon040561@hotmail.co.uk or mobile +45 60 16 80 40.

SPOUSE: Katarzyna Szkaradek FROM: Poland SEEKING WORK IN: Mental hospitals, voluntary(Ngo) organisations, kindergartens, nurseries, babysitting QUALIFICATION: Ma in Psychology (2008), post graduate studies in psychotherapy (4th year/ 5 year).

EXPERIENCE: I am a highly motivated and creative individual with excellent communication skills.

From January 2010 till August 2010 I worked independly in private practice. For the last 2 years (January ,2009 -October, 2010) I worked with children (also with special needs -Autism, Asperger, Down syndrome etc) and their families as a psychologist. My duties included organizing games, monitoring children’s development , consulting teachers and parents where appropriate and providing individual therapy. For the last 10 years I was member of NGO organisation and I was a volunteer in Israel, Italy, Portugal and Romania.

LOOKING FOR: Internship in mental hospitals, part –time or full time jobs in kindergartens, nurseries, job as a babysitter, voluntary job in hospitals.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: English–advance level (C1), Danish – (module 3 /module 5), Polish-native speaker IT EXPERIENCE: MS Windows, basic MS Office, Internet.

CONTACT: szkasienka@gmail.com tlf. 50828802 SPOUSE: Francesco Grandesso FROM: Italy SEEKING WORK IN: Copenhagen QUALIFICATION: Constructing architect.

EXPERIENCE: 4 years at TFF Engineering 2005-2009, 3 years at ADproject 2002-2005.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: English, Italian & Danish.

IT EXPERIENCE: AutoCAD 2011.

CONTACT: grandessodk@gmail.com, Mobile: 50110653 SPOUSE: Raffaele Menafra FROM: Italy SEEKING WORK IN: Copenhagen QUALIFICATION: A degree as Prevention techniques in Work and Workplaces.

EXPERIENCE: I worked 4 years in a rehabilitationclinic.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: Italian (native), English, Danish (currently learning).

IT EXPERIENCE: MS Office.

CONTACT: menafra1@yahoo.it

Denmark’s only English-language newspaper

THE COPENHAGEN POST SPOUSE EMPLOYMENT PAGE WHY: The Copenhagen Post wishes to help spouses looking for jobs in Denmark. We have on our own initiative started a weekly spouse job page in The Copenhagen Post, with the aim to show that there are already within Denmark many highly educated international candidates looking for jobs.

If you are a spouse to an international employee in Denmark looking for new career opportunities, you are welcome to send a profile to The Copenhagen Post at aviaja@cphpost.dk and we will post your profile on the spouse job page when possible.

18 Culture

The Copenhagen Post cphpost.dk

27 January - 2 February 2012

Red, white and Eurovision blue Song contest seeks international input, but in the end flagwaving, balloon-popping national audience winds up heading off in its own direction

P

eople trudge around in Aalborg’s Gigantium arena trying to find their seats. The wintry mix of rain and snow means a lot of cold people in wet shoes and heavy coats shoving their way around the giant room that’s just as grey as the weather.

In spite of the gloom and the crowds, people seem upbeat.

Underneath their winter coats, many are even dressed in shiny evening gowns or sequin jackets.

They’re here to celebrate: tonight is Melodi Grand Prix (MGP), the national qualifier for the Eurovision Song Contest.

Among those eager to see the show were the Weinreich family.

They’ve been looking forward to this since Christmas when mum Vivi gave everybody tickets.

“We wanted a family trip, so this was a Christmas present to everybody. It’s the first time we have done anything like this,” she said.

She got inspired by the TV commercials that made the show look like “a big deal” this year.

Whether it was the commercials or something else, it appears others thought the same way;

Gigantium is packed with fans young and old.

MGP is an event for everyone. It gathers Danes of all ages and income levels. Among the funny sparkling hats in various colours, Kenneth Jensen’s oversized Danish flag is easily spotted. Jensen is a member of the Danish MGP fan club and in each of the last two years he has been on stage with the same flag, to the apparent delight of the media, who he says try to makes sure it gets in the picture with the winner.

“Last year I went up on stage with this flag and the press took photos of me with [winning band] A Friend in London,” he said.

Jensen knew the band’s lead singer, Tim Schou, at elementary school in the Zealand town of Stævns, so that made it extra fun for him to be on stage last year. But he was also on stage the year before, and sitting in the front row this year, he wants to be noticed again.

Asked who he hopes will win, his only preference is “a Danish song. There are two Finns in the competition this year, you know.”

Being in the audience at one of these events is more than just a matter of kicking back and taking in the show. The audience has to participate. Under each seat is a bag with different gadgets and instructions for when to use them.

During song 6 – sung by that

Who is ...

Theodora Greece?

Louise Kragh Hjerrild

Malene Ørsted

victoria steffensen Finnish couple Philip Halloun and Emilia bathed in the full pageantry during their performance

Finnish couple, whose names are Philip Halloun and Emilia – the audience has to blow up red balloons, but not before someone called Tifo says so. On the big board, the audience can follow instructions from Tifo. Apparently, he’s the man in charge.

As well as the written instructions, like: “Follow Tifo and wave with balloons,” a man continuously yells out orders like: “Don’t blow them up yet.

Wait till the instructions say so.”

At the end of the song, the audience get some time to burst the balloons. Unfortunately this was too late for most people.

Some would say song number 6 instead created an atmosphere of a farting competition with persistent ‘bangs’.

Denmark is desperate to win Eurovision this year, and that’s part of the reason for all the fuss

Planned Breivik play creates a stir Eric Maganga Theatre’s artistic director says arts have a right to search for answers

W

ith the memory of the Utøya massacre and Oslo bombing still fresh on many people’s minds, a local theatre company has created an uproar by planning ‘Manifesto 2083’, a play based on the views of the man behind the attacks, confessed mass murderer Anders Breivik.

Christian Lollike of Café Teatret is using Breivik’s manifesto as the starting point for a play. The manifesto, entitled ‘2083: A European Declaration of Independence’, outlines Breivik’s extreme right-wing, antiIslamic views.

The play will be directed by Lollike and feature actor Olaf Højgaard performing as Breivik and delivering the manifesto as a monologue. The announcement of the play has come under heavy criticism, but Højgaard explained to Politiken newspaper that the best way to deal with last summer’s tragedy is to approach it head-on.

Many accused Lollike of trying to exploit a tragedy.

One of the people to speak out against the play most vehemently was Pia Kjærsgaard, the leader of the right-wing Dansk

It will be an extra burden for [the victims’ families] to know that it will be performed while the court case is underway. No-one should do something that spreads Breivik’s opinions Folkeparti (DF).

“I find it deeply embarrassing, distasteful and shameful,” she wrote on her Facebook profile. “Personally, I would be ashamed to go in and see the show. [Breivik] can sit back and rub his hands together because he gets all the publicity he longs for.”

She added that while she believes people are free to express themselves artistically, she wouldn’t choose this means of expressing herself and that she hopes that Breivik rots in prison.

Brievik’s manifesto praised Denmark as “the only Scandinavian country with some spine left” when it comes to the “ideological war” against Islam – comments many feel were directed towards the policies of

DF and its past attacks on multiculturalism.

Ragnar Eikeland, who lost his son at Utøya and is a leader of a support group for family members of victims of the attack, said he found the play “so offensive that I really have no words”.

“It will be an extra burden for [the victims’ families] to know that it will be performed while the court case is underway,” he told Norway’s NTB news bureau. “No-one should do something that spreads Breivik’s opinions.”

Lollike defended his plans in a written submission to Politiken, saying that the dramatisation could help answer some of the questions raised by the attack.

“Is it not precisely the task of art to help understand how something so terrible could happen?” he wrote. “Where do we go with our anger, our pain, our frustration and the big ‘why’? How could this happen? What kind of mindset and view of humanity has he filled his mind with, and where does it come from? Writers, journalists and analysts have sought to answer these questions based on the manifesto. They have a right to. Doesn’t theatre – based on Breivik’s manifesto and with the critical and analytical resources of the performing arts – have the right to examine these same questions?”

and getting the audience to participate. The show had to be bigger and better than ever before.

And to help find the song most in tune with international audiences, judges from the four last countries to win Eurovision were invited to vote for their favourite from the three best songs as voted by the Danish public.

In the end, three of those juries – from Norway, Germany and Russia – agreed that their winner was former X Factor finalist Jesper Nohrstedt, singing ‘Take Our Hearts’.

But in the end, the Danish jury, the Danish TV viewers, whose votes counted for 60 percent of the overall voting – and the jury from this year’s host Azerbaijan – handed the victory to Song 9, ‘Should’ve Known Better’, performed by the 21-yearold Soluna Samay.

For the internationals attending on Saturday, that choice was a disappointment.

“Yawn, what is it about Danes and bad taste?” a British guy from an international Eurovision fan club reads aloud from his Facebook page. Apparently, they wanted the young Jesper to go on to the international round.

In Britain the pre-Eurovision show isn’t as big as in Denmark, and the public has no say in who is chosen.

“In England the public should never be allowed to vote.

They think it’s all a joke,” the disappointed Brit says.

Apparently the reason for the British decision is because negative press has given the event a bad reputation.

Maybe they just need more British flags. Or Danish ones.

text 44 The Copenhagen Post Quick Crossword No 381

She is an actress and the daughter of the former king of Greece, Constantine II. I thought this column was about Danish people …

Theodora’s mother is, in fact, Anne-Marie of Denmark - the little sister of Queen Margrethe.

That makes Theodora a princess of Greece and Denmark.

So why did you call her Theodora Greece?

That’s her stage name.

What’s her background?

She was born in London in 1983. She attended school in the UK, after which she moved to the US, completing her Bachelor of Arts degree at the Ivy League institution, Brown University.

So can she act?

Well, she won the Fine Arts Award for Acting while at Brown.

I’d like to see for myself.

You’re in luck, because she has recently secured a role in a US TV soap opera – none other than the cheesiest of them all, ‘The Bold and The Beautiful’.

Across: 7 Origin; 8 Compel; 10 Besid try; 25 Quiver.

Down: 1 Combine; 2 Dissent; 3 Finds new girlfriend?

Happy; 20 Still; 21 Bogus.

No 381

Is she Ridge’s No, she is a secretary. It’s not a major role, but it’s quite a critical one, because she will be involved in the storyline when the soap’s two fashion houses are preparing to stage major fashion shows on the same day. Yes, you read right … the same day!

So, she’s making a name for herself?

Yep, and not just in the entertainment business. She was arrested in September 2010 and charged with driving under the influence, but this was reduced to the lesser crime of speeding and she was eventually fined $1,000, plus court fees.

Down

Across 7.

8.

10.

11.

12.

13.

17.

18.

22.

23.

24.

25.

Source (6) Force (6) In addition to (7) Name (5) Not one (4) Subject of discussion (5) Mar (5) Unaccompanied (4) Caper (5) Idea (7) Worthless (6) Shiver (6)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

9.

14.

15.

16.

19.

20.

21.

Join together (7) Disagree (7) Discovers (5) Include (7) Malice (5) Change (5) Partner (9) Apparition (7) Pardon (7) Twist (7) Fortunate (5) Motionless (5) Sham (5)

Post Quick Crossword No 380 Across: 1 Dread; 4 Portend; 8 Secrete; 9 Class; 10 Only; 11 Derision; 13 Brow; 14 Cede; 16 Rearmost; 17 Pate; 20 Brain; 21 Eclipse; 22 Entreat; 23 Greet.

Down: 1 Dishonourable; 2 Excel; 3 Deed; 4 Prefer; 5 Receiver; 6 Examine; 7 Disengagement; 12 Commence; 13 Blatant; 15 Ascent; 18 Ample; 19 Flag.

Is she attractive like her mum?

Let’s say she’s not in the same league as her mum once was, but she’s pretty. Problem is she has absolutely no style.

What do you mean?

In April last year, she attended the premiere of ‘Blood Out’ wearing an outfit that the blog The Royal Correspondent said made her look like a giant lettuce. In November she went to the Latin Grammy Awards wearing a black number that was described by another blog as a ‘bad 1980s Prom outfit’.

27 January - 2 February 2012

DENMARK THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK

19 UNITED NATIONS ARCHIVE

Juhl’s design of the Trusteeship Council Chamber at the UN headquarters in New York sealed his status as a design immortal

How a Finn became the jewel in the crown of Danish design MALENE ØRSTED This weekend several city institutions will mark the centenary of the birth of one of this country’s most internationally successful designers

F

ICOLLECTOR.COM

INN JUHL, who would have turned 100 on Monday January 30 had he not died in 1989, is one of Denmark’s most celebrated designers, best known for introducing Danish Modern to the US and his work at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

He was educated as an architect, but his real passion was furniture design, an area in which he was self-taught – a fact

This Juhl chair sold for $10,000 in 2009

that he never failed to remind everyone about. He is best known for producing soft-edged furniture with a focus on form over function that broke with the traditions of the time.

His entry into the world in 1912 was a difficult one, and his mother died shortly afterwards.

He was brought up together with an older brother by his authoritarian father, who was a textile wholesaler. As a child Juhl wanted to become an art historian, but his father disapproved and convinced him to become an architect instead. He duly studied architecture from 1930 to 1934 at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, where noted architect Kay Fisker was one of his lecturers.

Juhl was a hard-working student – an enthusiasm that granted him the opportunity to work for Vilhelm Lauritzen after university. Nevertheless, he still found time to focus on his true love – furniture education – and following his graduation it wasn’t long before his hobby became his line of business.

From his design practice in Nyhavn, which he opened in 1945, he specialised in interior and furniture designs, working with, among others, cabinet maker Niels Vodder. He quickly became known for making unusual, expressive and sculptural pieces, which were influenced by modern, abstract art.

The works broke with tradition, putting more emphasis on form than function, and initially they were met with much criticism. “Aesthetics in the worst possible sense of the word,” commented one detractor in 1939 about his Pelican Chair. Nevertheless, the reaction was mostly positive, and his soft edges and organic shapes became popular.

Still, it wasn’t until a chance meeting with the American architect Edgar Kaufmann Jr that Juhl’s career began to take off internationally. It was Kaufmann – the leader of the Department for Industrial Design at Merchandise Mart in New York, who would go on to become one of the Dane’s life-long collaborators – who got Juhl involved in the design of the new headquarters of the United Nations in New York, which opened in 1952.

Juhl was commissioned to oversee the interior design of the Trusteeship Council Chamber – an accomplishment that sealed his name in design

immortality. While his career went on to dip somewhat in the 1960s and 70s, interest in his work soared in the 1980s and today his designs are sold by Onecollection, the duo Ivan Hansen and Henrik Sørensen who obtained permission from Juhl’s second wife, Hanne Wilhelm Hansen, to carry on producing his work.

“The special thing about Finn Juhl’s furniture is that they smile at you,” enthused Hansen in a recent article in Weekendavisen, explaining his love of the designer’s work. “If you for instance place a group of colourful Pelicans in a modern office, something happens. They bring art, colour and happiness into the room.”

It is sometimes overlooked how versatile Juhl was.

He designed refrigerators for General Electric, as well as numerous glassware and ceramic pieces and, lest we forget, he was a trained architect. During the Second World War he started building his own house and family home, a building that today is part of the Ordrupgaard Art Museum. Juhl felt it was important to interact the rooms in the house with the outside surroundings.

The house was the home of his second wife until her death in 2003, after which it became a national heritage site and part of the art museum.

Since then the Wilhelm Hansen Foundation has every year awarded the Finn Juhl Prize to a furniture designer or manufacturer with a special reference to chairs. The recipient receives 175,000kr and the award ceremony takes place at the museum.

On Sunday the museum will host celebrations to mark the centenary of his birth, which will include guided tours of the house, a jazz concert, and fun and games for the kids.

“One cannot create happiness with beautiful objects, but one can spoil quite a lot of happiness with bad ones,” Juhl remarked in 1951 and there’s no doubt he will be casting his eye over proceedings to make sure his ethos is being applied accordingly.

The Copenhagen Post cphpost.dk

t r o p s a y a l p o t t Wan

e l p o e p w e n t e e and m

while you’re in Denmark?

Come to Expat Sporting Sunday on February 12 and try what the Danish Gymnastics and Sports Associations (DGI) has to offer you and your whole family.

All activities are free!

You can try: ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿

Rough & Tumble Panna Table Tennis What is Your Body Age? The Great Outdoors Yoga for Teens & Adults Yoga for Kids Ultimate Frisbee Flag Football Roller Board Hockey Bhangra Pilates

Register for these activities & learn more at www.cphpost.dk Everyone is welcome! Come and spend an exciting day full of activity and amusement, and meet some of the local sports clubs that you can join.

Expat in Denmark

What: Free sports activities for everyone – adults, teens, tweens & kids When: Sunday, February 12, from 10.00-16.00 Where: DGI-Byen, Tietgensgade 65, 1704 København V (next to Central Station) Arranged by DGI and The Copenhagen Post in co-operation with Expat in Denmark

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