The Copenhagen Post Mar 16 - 22 by The Copenhagen Post

Gay marriages coming this summer, PM says

16 - 22 March 2012 | Vol 15 Issue 11

Accusations pile up after Dong Energy ousts CEO

City gears up for St Paddy’s Day

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

NEWS

Business leaders say the tone in the immigration debate has improved, but not everyone agrees

NEWS

All’s halal that ends halal Culinary school backs down after Muslim student objects to tasting his own food

Refugees aided, rebels frustrated

NEWS

Danish organisations help Syrian refugees, but rebels say they need weapons. Meanwhile, EU rules out military intervention.

Report: Denmark violates human rights by not letting the disabled and mentally-ill vote

4, 5

CULTURE

Opening salvos in debate over future of welfare state

Taking the US by storm

PETER STANNERS

Michael Poulsen of Danish rock band Volbeat tells us they’re enjoying their American success

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The welfare state will become unaffordable unless cuts are made, the social affairs minister says

N 20 YEARS’ time, Denmark may not be able to afford all the social services currently offered. That’s the position of the current government, which has opened a debate about which services ought to be prioritised and which could be cut. Last Friday, the government released a document outlining the broad challenges faced by the welfare state over the coming years and posing questions about which direction the Danish wel-

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fare state should go. With welfare reform not due for consideration in parliament until the autumn, the social affairs minister, Karen Hækkerup, told Berlingske newspaper Everyone cannot expect to that it was important to start the debate as early as possible about which services get as much back from the could be axed. state as they pay in “If we want to improve some things, then we will have to cut others,” Hækkerup said. “We cannot afford to some services for the elderly for the chopkeep on giving all the tax-financed social ping block, as well as the free places at services we currently offer. If we want to daycare given to handicapped children. preserve the welfare state, it doesn’t help “I think it’s reasonable that parents to believe that it can continue growing with handicapped children are offered unhindered.” places at daycare centres on the same footThe government has not made any ing as everyone else,” she said. “And if durconcrete proposals of whereOrganise cuts should aing your life youmeeting have earned good money personal be made, though Hækkerupand did identify andahave been able to afford a cleaning sit in on class.

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lady, should the council start paying for you simply because you are old?” The child support check, that is given to all parents regardless of their income until their children turn 18, may also become a means-tested benefit. Government party Socialistiske Folkeparti complained in February that poor families and marginalised groups were losing out because of the support given to wealthy families. One party unlikely to support means-tested services for the elderly is Dansk Folkeparti, whose leader Pia Kjærsgaard responded angrily in Berlingske to Hækkerup’s suggestion. “It’s totally misguided to make peo-

Reform continues on page 3

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Week in review

The Copenhagen Post cphpost.dk

16 - 22 March 2012 Scanpix/Erik Refner

A detour, not a journey

THE WEEK’S MOST READ STORIES AT CPHPOST.DK Viral Kony 2012 campaign finds both supporters and detractors Dating the Danes | First date (the Aussie’s view) Dating the Danes | First date (the Kiwi’s view) Opinion | Integration or connection? Do it in the nude: public pools offer naked swimming

FROM OUR ARCHIVES

TEN YEARS AGO. The founder and leader of the Roskilde Festival for its first 30 years, Leif Skov, quits for “personal reasons”. FIVE YEARS AGO. The Royal Family is calculated to have spent a grand total of 181,078,925 kroner from 2002 to 2007.

The Michelin stars were announced on Wednesday, and Copenhagen restaurant Noma received two – a ranking that indicates it is “worth a detour” – despite many thinking that its two-year reign as ‘Best Restaurant in the World’ would lead to a coveted third star and a “worth a special journey” distinction

of her term as PM, it appears the Americans have a higher view of the Danish prime minister than the Danes themselves. A Voxmeter poll from this week indicated that Thorning-Schmidt’s party, Socialdemokraterne, received only 18.5 percent voter support, the lowest level ever measured by the poll.

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.

Visit us online at www.cphpost.dk

Swine flu 2?

A new multi-resistant bacteria exists in at least a million Danish pigs and can spread to humans, Politiken newspaper reported. Both the Food Ministry and the national board of health, Sundhedsstyrelsen, admitted that they were powerless to stop the bacteria from spreading to humans. Per Henriksen, the veterinary di-

President and Publisher Ejvind Sandal Chief Executive Jesper Nymark Editor-in-Chief Kevin McGwin Managing Editor Ben Hamilton News Editor Justin Cremer Journalists Peter Stanners, Ray Weaver & Christian Wenande

rector of the food administration board, Fødevarestyrelsen, said the only way to combat the bacteria would be to give pigs more antibiotics, “but we won’t go that way because it will make more bacteria resistant to antibiotics.” The country’s veterinarians have already reported that pigs are over-treated with antibiotics.

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

Scanpix/Torben christensen

US magazine Newsweek included PM Helle ThorningSchmidt in its list of 150 ‘fearless women’. The magazine wrote that she had “eked out a narrow win ... after a race that was fraught with nasty slurs”. Similar to the way in which US President Barack Obama told Thorning-Schmidt he was impressed with the start

Colourbox

Scanpix/keld Navntoft

Love affair

ONE YEAR AGO. The youngest female Danish swimmer to win an Olympic medal at just 12 years of age, Inge Sørensen, passes away at her home in New Jersey at the age of 86.

Lost again?

Youth unemployment in Denmark has approached a level not seen for nearly 20 years. Joblessness among people aged 15-29 has reached 12 percent. In both 2010 and 2011, roughly 50,000 of that age group were unemployed, and the head economist at Nordea, Helge Pedersen, believes that the number will

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stay roughly the same in 2012. “Youth unemployment is the economic crisis’s absolute largest problem and it risks leaving long-lasting effects,” Pedersen told Politiken. In the 1980s and ‘90s, youth unemployment was so high it led to those who grew up in the ‘80s being dubbed the “lost generation”.

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News

The Copenhagen Post cphpost.dk

16 - 22 March 2012

A new poll suggests that the previously unpleasant anti-foreigner rhetoric in Denmark is on the decline

s France threatens to shut its borders as the Danes did not long ago, the immigration debate in Denmark seems to have taken a more positive turn. Though certainly not everyone agrees. A poll conducted by Berlingske Research asked 1,007 of the top business leaders in Denmark whether they think the tone of the immigration debate has improved. One in three believed that this was indeed the case. “I think clearly that you can now observe that there are fewer shrill remarks than there were earlier,” Jesper Møller, the administrative director of Toms Gruppen, told Berlingske. “It must really affect immigrants when they hear, for example, that they aren’t welcome here.” A year ago, Tine Horowitz, head of the secretariat Consortium for Global Talent, representing 19 of the largest Danish businesses, called for politicians to consider the way they refer to immigrants – and she can now see a definite change. “I believe that the ambience has improved on all levels,” Horowitz told Berlingske. “Not only in the political arena in general, but also in the public and media forums.” The incumbent administration has garnered much credit for stymieing the negative tone that had fostered

in Denmark in the wake of the Mohammad cartoon crisis and, more recently, the Danish decision to forsake the Schengen agreement and close its borders. Asmaa Abdol-Hamid, a societal debater and oft-used authority on Islamic issues in Denmark, agreed that the debate has been Business leaders contend the tone of the debate has improved, waning lately. but Pia Kjærsgaard argues that underlying problems still exist “I do feel like we have moved on and that we are fac- ated with Islam and integration?” Kjærsgaard also contended that ing more relevant social-economic issues,” Abdol-Hamid told Ekstra Bladet while she can see why it could be antabloid. “The question of having a job noying to be constantly confronted tomorrow and the future of our fami- with one’s own “mediaeval views and lies is far more critical than the subject undemocratic disposition”, a problem of whether the headscarf should be po- does not cease to exist solely due to a sitioned on our heads or around our lack of debate. “The current development towards necks.” However, Pia Kjærsgaard, head of several impenetrable parallel societies is the Dansk Folkeparti (DF), believes inching forward as planned,” she wrote. that an absence of debate in the media “Social control of the ghettos has bedoesn’t mean a problem doesn’t exist, come a daily struggle that few care to and that Islam and integration are still discuss anymore.” Last week, figures from Infomevery real and relevant matters. “Just because the media are not dia revealed that in 2006, at the peak writing about it does not mean that the of the Mohammed cartoon crisis, the issue is irrelevant to the Danish public,” national newspapers wrote an average Kjærsgaard wrote in an op-ed in Politik- of 14 articles a day on Islam and inteen newspaper. “Does that suggest that gration. Five years on and those figures suddenly there are no dilemmas associ- have halved. Colourbox

Christian Wenande

Valby culinary college backs down from demand that all students must taste all foods to graduate

Colourbox

All’s halal that ends halal for Muslim cook Claudia Santos

kram Korkmaz, the Turkish Muslim culinary student told by his school in Valby that he would fail to graduate if he refused to taste dishes containing pork or wine, has been informed by the school’s headteacher that he is now exempt from such measures. However, it is unclear at present how this will affect the complaint Korkmaz submitted to the Education Ministry last month. “The school’s headteacher [Søren Kühlwein Kristiansen] has indicated that in cases like Ikram Korkmaz’s, the student can ask other students to taste the dish on their behalf, if they themselves don’t wish to,” Mette Klingsey Møller, a spokesperson for the Education Ministry, told The Copenhagen Post. The Copenhagen Hospitality College, which is situated in Valby, had originally told Korkmaz, who enrolled in January, that he needed to taste all his dishes in order to graduate. “I was very disturbed when my instructor asked me to taste pork and wine,” Korkmaz told Today’s Zaman, an international newspaper that covers Turkish news. “When I visited the deputy headteacher of the school to complain about the issue, he told me the same thing. As a last resort, I went to the

Screenshot from TV2

Tone of immigration debate has improved – or has it?

The culinary school student objected to tasting pork products and wine

school’s headteacher, but he also told me that all the students in the school have to taste the food they cook.” The college even went as far as bringing in an imam – an Islamic spiritual leader – to the school to back up its philosophy. The imam allegedly told the students that from a religious point of view, there is, in fact, nothing wrong with tasting pork and wine. Korkmaz, who went to a Muslim high-school in Turkey, was not convinced. “Perhaps some Muslim students believed what that imam said and tasted pork, but I will never do so,” he told Today’s Zaman. And he even had the backing of the

right-wing Dansk Folkeparti, which for once saw eye-to-eye with leftist Enhedslisten on an issue. “It is a completely crazy case,” Johanne Schmidt-Nielsen, the spokesperson of Enhedslisten, told public broadcaster DR back in February. “I expect that the Education Ministry will take action right away. I also do not think that you can tell a lactose-intolerant person that he or she cannot become a chef.” “It seems odd not to want to taste the food that one is going to serve,” added Dansk Folkeparti deputy leader Peter Skaarup. “But it can never become a requirement to make someone eat or taste something specific.”

Kjærsgaard was giving an interview at a Dolly Parton concert when she was spat upon

Woman who spat at Pia Kjærsgaard fined 4,000kr Justin Cremer Assailant’s bad aim spared her jail time; DF leader says she feared incident could have escalated

pitting is no way to settle political differences. That was the ruling of a Frederiksberg court last week, when it fined a 35-year-old woman 4,000 kroner for spitting at Pia Kjærsgaard, the leader of right-wing party Dansk Folkeparti (DF). Public broadcaster DR reported that the woman was found guilty of spitting at Kjærsgaard, but avoided the prosecution’s wish for 14 days in jail because the gob of spit missed the DF leader’s face. The incident occured while Kjærsgaard was giving a live television interview while attending a Dolly Parton concert at Forum on August 25 last year. According to TV2 News, which conducted the interview, the spit hit the network’s microphone, and police

Reform continued from front page

ple insecure like this,” Kjærsgaard said. “It has nothing to do with making savings. It’s paving the way for fundamental changes to the welfare system where it no longer becomes about what sort of help people need, but what people can afford to pay.” Kjærsgaard added that some basic services ought to remain universal. “It’s as though the government is targeting areas that would cause the most pain,” she said. “They are targeting the weak, the handicapped and the aged. But where is the Social Demokraternes and Socialistiske Folkeparti’s empathy? Where are their feelings for those who have hard lives when they also bring up cutting the top tax bracket in a tax reform.” Kjærsgaard followed up her criticisms in a press release today, arguing that the government has been too soft on groups who take the most (immigrants) while being too hard on those who have already paid into the welfare system (the elderly). Her criticism focused on the government’s abolition of certain low-value cash welfare benefits that were introduced by the former government to incentivise entering the workplace, but were ultimately criticised for keeping recipients in cycles of poverty. According to Kjærsgaard, abolishing them meant that the government now faces a 804 million kroner bill

technicians unsuccessfully attempted to match DNA evidence from the microphone to the 35-year-old woman. Despite the lack of a DNA match, Kjærsgaard testified in court that she was certain of the woman’s identity. “I am not in doubt for a second that the spit came from her,” Kjærsgaard said in court, according to Ritzau news service. In an interview with TV2 following the trial, the DF leader said that the woman had clearly overstepped her bounds and violated the principles of democratic debate. “You should debate with words – people are very, very welcome to do that,” Kjærsgaard said. “That’s the way it is in a democracy. But you can’t use the kinds of methods that she used. Absolutely not. If the bodyguard hadn’t been there, I have a feeling that other things could have happened. I think this young woman should learn that there are some things in life you just don’t do.” through increased welfare payments to recipients who would now rather receive a check from the state than work. Ældre Sagen, a lobby group representing the elderly, also took exception to Hækkerup’s suggestion to cut elderly services. “If you put an income limit on who is rich and who is poor in regard to home help, I fear that the income barrier will continue to fall, otherwise there would be no benefit,” Bjarne Astrup, the head of Ældre Sagen, told Ritzau. “The reason people receive home help in this country is not because they have reached a certain age or are rich or poor. It is because they are weak. It would be the same as making rich people pay for their operations.” Most political parties have expressed cautious optimism at streamlining the welfare state so that it better targets those who most need it, including the Konservative party. “Everyone cannot expect to get as much back from the state as they pay in, otherwise there would be nothing to redistribute to the weakest,” Konservative leader Lars Barfoed told Berlingske, adding that he supported examining age-conditional services for cuts. On Tuesday, prime minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt weighed into the debate at her weekly press conference and offered her support for the direction Hækkerup was taking. “If people think these reforms are drastic it’s because we want to keep the solidarity in Denmark that is not present in other countries,” ThorningSchmidt said.

Cover story

The Copenhagen Post cphpost.dk

16 - 22 March 2012

Syrian refugees receive Danish support

Danish aid agencies are on the ground helping those displaced by the ongoing conflict in Syria

The Danish Refugee Council distributes food and other items to Syrian refugees scanpix/anwar amro

year in and the conflict in Syria shows no signs of abating. Despite calls from Arab countries to arm rebel forces fighting against President Bashar al-Assad, global powers are undecided about how to end the conflict that so far has claimed over 10,000 lives. Over 4,000 of these deaths occurred during a recent government offensive to oust rebels from their strongholds in the western city of Homs. Escaping the bombardment is dangerous and dozens have been killed attempting to leave the city under cover of night. Despite the risks, over 15,000 people have travelled the 100 kilometre journey west to the mountains of northeastern Lebanon to seek shelter. In the villages of Wadi Khaled and Bekka Wadi, Danish aid agencies say locals have taken refugees into their homes. As a result, 90 percent of the refugees in the region have been privately hosted rather than placed in camps. “We have seen about 15,000 people open their arms and take in refugees,” Lone Bildsøe Lassen, head of the Middle East desk at the Danish Refugee Council (DRC), told The Copenhagen Post. “It was really touching to see in such underdeveloped areas that they have been so kind and let people into their homes.” Lassen was recently in Lebanon to ensure that the DRC was offering enough support to the host families and the refugees. The conflict has had deep implications for Lebanese people, many of whom worked and traded over the border with Syria. Many have lost their jobs as a result of the conflict, while the prices for basic commodities are rising sharply. “It’s a poor area of Lebanon that is becoming even poorer because of the conflict in Syria,” Lassen said. “They are in the mountains and it’s snowing and freezing cold. They aren’t living in large houses, but they are still taking people in and caring for them.” In Lebanon the DRC, in co-operation with the UN Refugee Agency, consults with individual communities to find out their needs. Communities have asked for help rebuilding schools and social centers while the DRC has also distributed food and other items such as toys and kitchen equipment. They also have an outreach programme that offers support to children who need schooling as well as care to individuals suffering psychological trauma as a result of the conflict. The mood in the villages was tense, Lassen said, arising from the uncertain

futures many of the people face. “You can see in people’s eyes that they have seen and experienced things that no-one wants to see,” Lassen said. “What you often see is hostility in refugee situations, but you don’t see that at all. It’s very open-armed and friendly. But there is also a desperation to find work and a pressure created by all the refugees on resources. It’s also stressful because they really don’t know how long they’re going to be staying there either.” While aid agencies can help refugees once they have made it out of the country, the Syrian authorities have been blocking access to the areas most in need of help. The Red Cross was unable to enter the heavily bombarded district of Baba Amr in Homs until last week on Wednesday, though by that time almost all of the residents had fled. A Syrian volunteer organisation, the Red Crescent, is still operating inside the county, however, taking wounded civilians and fighters to hospital, often while under fire. In the last three months, three of the organisation’s volunteers have been killed. But they are not alone. The Red Cross is playing a major role in providing medical supplies to the Syrian volunteers who are responsible for the majority of the aid work in the country. Speaking to The Copenhagen Post from Beirut, Bjarke Skaanning of the Danish Red Cross said that the Red Crescent’s role was vital given that most foreign aid agencies were blocked from the worst affected regions. “We are very proud of these young people who are mostly young students who have been trained by the Red Cross and then sent out by ambulances,” Skaanning said, adding that the volunteers have been responsible for caring for Iraqi refugees in the country. “But now instead of doing social work they are now distributing food to their own community and evacuating family and friends.” Skaanning is on a fact finding mission to determine the best way to spend Red Cross funding, which includes five million kroner allocated to it last Wednesday by DANIDA, the Foreign Ministry’s aid agency. He was thankful for the donations, but added that the aid is useless unless it actually makes its way to the people in need. “The biggest need at the moment is for a ceasefire in order to let aid come through. There is fighting right now in a number of cities all over the country. We need to negotiate and put pressure on the groups that are fighting so that we can have a ceasefire for two hours a day to make it safe,” Skaanning said. The Red Cross has food and water, blankets and medical aid to distribute. They also help refugees find their families if they become separated during the fighting. But as aid continues to be blocked, Skaanning fears that many

Danish refugee Council

Peter Stanners

Young Syrian Kurds protest outside the Arab League offices in an eastern neighbourhood of the Lebanese capital Beirut on 25 December 2011

residents could face starvation. “A lot of people aren’t working so they aren’t making money, and that means that people don’t have money to buy food. If this continues we will start seeing people without access to food.” Lebanon is far from the only country hosting Syrian refugees. Some 20,000 refugees have arrived in Turkey,

75,000 in Jordan compared to over 10,000 in Lebanon. There are also hundreds of thousands of displaced Syrians within their own country. With President Assad vowing to continue fighting as long as there are “terrorists” operating within his country, no-one is sure when the refugees will be able to return home, if they still have homes to return to.

Rebels: Give us weapons not aid Fighters in the Free Syrian Army have appealed to the West to support them in their fight against President Bashar al-Assad. Speaking to Jyllands-Posten newspaper, fighters in a camp in the mountains of north-western Syria say they cannot compete with the weapons they allege Russia and Iran are providing the government forces. “We want military help, not humanitarian aid,” Abdelsalaam, the commander of a group of forces, said. “They are only helping the injured who make it out of Syria. But we want to protect the people who remain inside Syria.” Without military aid, Abdelsalaam said the rebel army stood no chance of defeating al-Assad, whose forces are responsible for thousands of deaths since they started opening fire on demonstrations last year. Abdelsalaam said there was no need for foreign forces on the ground, though they could do with training to learn how to build roadside bombs. If Denmark and the rest of the world helped them, he said, the Free Syrian Army would be able to capture Damascus. “Assad’s people are cowards who are only fighting for the money and because they are forced to,” he said. “But we are fighting for our land and for our own people.” (PS)

Online this week Venstre to pay for former PM’s smoking booth

Celebrity drug dealer executed

Another arrest in Stevns murder case

Opposition party Venstre has decided to pay for former PM Lars Løkke Rasmussen’s smoking booth, installed in his office by the party while he was prime minister. Rasmussen wrote on Facebook last week that the booth was “very expensive. Much more expensive than I had imagined and beyond what I find rea-

The murder of a celebrity drug dealer and associate of the biker gang community last week on Tuesday was probably an execution, police say. Andreas Dybdahl, 36, was found in the entryway of his apartment building after being shot four times in the head, chest and side. There were no signs

A new suspect, a 27-yearold man from Køge, has been arrested on suspicion of participating in the murder of 22-year-old Anders Mark Hansen. Investigators believe that the newly-arrested suspect assisted the 33-year-old who was charged with murder last

sonable.” He added that he did not want the issue of the smoking booth to distract from more important political questions. The move to pay for the booth arrives just three months after Venstre criticised current food minister Mette Gjerskov (S) and insisted that she pay for her own smoking cabinet in her office.

of a struggle, and it appeared that Dybdahl opened the door to his assailant wearing only his underwear before being shot at close quarters. “By shooting him so many times it seems clear that someone wanted him dead,” a source with knowledge of Copenhagen’s drug underworld told Jyllands-Posten newspaper.

Thursday. “I believe that the evidence has mounted considerably against the 33-year-old and that the arrest of the 27-year-old has strengthened the case,” lead investigator Per Heide Sørensen said. Hansen was strangled to death in a wooded area near Stevns.

Read the full stories at cphpost.dk

news

The Copenhagen Post cphpost.dk

16 - 22 March 2012

Peter Stanners Informal talks between EU foreign ministers in Copenhagen ended with a decision to continue placing sanctions on Syria

uropean foreign ministers did not discuss military intervention in either Syria or Iran, foreign minister Villy Søvndal told journalists last Saturday after the completion of informal talks chaired by the EU’s foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton. At the top of the agenda were discussions concerning the ongoing conflict in Syria, with Søvndal stating that while the ministers could not expect a quick solution, it was hoped that a way could be found to prevent the country entering “the big clash” – a civil war. “There is no discussion in the council about preparing military steps,” Søvndal said in an interview with Reuters. “I think anyone who believes there is a military answer that could bring quick help to the humanitarian situation is very much wrong.” Søvndal added that they had decided to take the political route and continue using sanctions, but he also demanded that the Syrian opposition state their objectives for the country should they assume power. Both he and Ashton stated that former UN secretary general Kofi Annan’s visit to Syria would ramp up pressure on Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. “Kofi Annan’s first objective is to achieve a ceasefire, but it’s not his only objective,” Ashton said during the press conference. “Governments cannot murder their people and expect to remain as leaders.” Annan’s talks with the Syr-

scanpix/torkil Andersen

EU rules out intervention in Syria

Søvndal does a u-turn on torture intelligence Christian Wenande Enhedslisten demands an explanation after minister contradicts himself on torturegenerated intelligence stance

Danish foreign minister Villy Søvndal and the EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton told journalists that the union’s foreign ministers had not discussed military intervention in Syria

ian president concluded with Assad stating there would be no political solution in Syria while “terrorists” continued to destabilise the country where over 10,000 people have died in the past year. While China and Russia continue to block UN resolutions, calling for Assad to end the military offensive against a range of cities in Syria, Søvndal said the recent reported defection of several high-ranking Syrian military officers were positive signs that Assad’s grip on the country was loosening. The weekend’s informal talks also focused on finding ways of integrating human rights concerns into EU decision-making

Anyone who believes there is a military answer that could bring quick help to the humanitarian situation is very much wrong processes, such as when negotiating trade relationships with foreign states. “Human rights should be at the forefront of EU foreign policy,” Søvndal said. “I am very pleased that [Denmark has] contributed

to a number of concrete initiatives to strengthen EU’s foreign policy and particularly to enhance our profile on human rights. It is extremely important that we – even in challenging times – remain focused on our core values. In this regard, the respect for democracy and the universal human rights are essential.” The meeting was held in Copenhagen because Denmark holds the rotating presidency of the EU for the first six months of the year. While Ashton has taken over the role of chairing meetings of foreign ministers since the signing of the Lisbon Treaty, Søvndal still holds responsibility for representing the EU on some visits outside the union.

nly 12 hours after stating that it was unacceptable, foreign affairs minister Villy Søvndal said it was suitable to use information acquired through means of torture. In an article published by Berlingske newspaper on Sunday, Søvndal was critical of the Danish government using information garnered through the use of torture, starkly opposing the stance taken by the previous administration. “We have made it an important priority to defend human rights and oppose the use of torture, and as a result we find it odd and contradictory to utilise information obtained through the use of torture,” Søvndal told Berlingske on Sunday. In an astonishingly quick turn of events, however, Søvndal then contradicted himself later on the same day, admitting in a joint press release with Morten Bødskov (Socialdemokraterne), the justice minister, that things are rarely black and white and that ethical dilemmas exist in the fight for terror and are an unfortunate part of the realities faced by domestic intelligence agency PET. “The line remains unchanged in regards to our intelligence agency’s cooperation with partners of other nations,” Søvndal and Bødskov wrote. “To solve the issues, our intelligence service has to exchange information with nations that may employ interro-

gation tactics that go against the Danish perception of justice.” Søvndal’s initial comments drew ire from Konservative spokesperson Tom Behnke. “We are against the use of torture, but if our intelligence agency comes across information from a country employing torture tactics concerning a planned terror action against the Opera [in Copenhagen], naturally PET should be able to use the information.” Enhedslisten’s spokesman, Christian Juhl, was not impressed by Søvndal’s conflicting messages and wants an explanation. “The erratic path currently being used by the minister is completely unacceptable”, Juhl told Politiken newspaper. Behnke told Berlingske that he was happy that Søvndal had come to his senses again. “It is commendable to have the opinion, that I share, that torture is unacceptable and should be combated, but we need to face reality,” Benhke said. “We have to accept the fact that we will come across information that we will have to act upon, knowing that there may be a good chance that it was obtained through torture. It’s not because we sanction the use of torture, but if the lives of thousands of Danish citizens are at stake, we have a responsibility to use the information.” PET also states on its website that all information received is carefully scrutinised, and that intelligence that may have been acquired through torture can be “low value” and unreliable. Conversely, PET assures that it does not pass on information if it suspects the information will lead to the torture of an individual.

Viral Kony 2012 campaign finds Danish supporters and detractors alike Campaign to make war criminal “famous” has spread like wildfire, but does it tackle the topic the right way?

he Ugandan militia leader Joseph Kony enjoyed a relatively anonymous existence up until last week. Not anymore: he’s an internet star now. A video about the atrocities carried out by Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army has gone viral, receiving millions of views on YouTube and Vimeo. The marketing campaign is an effort by the advocacy group Invisible Children to raise awareness of Kony, a wanted war criminal said to be responsible for the abduction of 60,000 children, in the hope of bringing him to justice. As of Monday, the video had been viewed nearly 75 million times. The video ends with

a call to action for people to “make Kony famous” by plastering his name all over social media, targeting cultural trendsetters and American politicians. It also sells an ‘action kit’ with posters, stickers and bracelets, with the aim of making Kony – and his atrocities – so well-known that international pressure will lead to his capture. As the Kony 2012 campaign has gained attention, it’s also encountered a wave of criticism. One of these critics is the Danish Red Cross Youth (Ungdommens Røde Kors), which maintains “the effort is all too simplistic”. “The Danish Red Cross Youth believes the solution lies somewhere else: by focusing on the many thousands of young people who have been directly or indirectly affected by the conflict,” national chairman Mads Espersen wrote in a statement. “The problem in Uganda today is thankfully not outrageous assault, but the aftermath of

commit. This led to the filmmaker Jason Russell vowing to Jacob that he would do whatever he could to stop Kony. “Whilst the Kony In the video, filmmaker Jason Russel explains who c a m p a ign Joseph Kony (left photo) is to his five-year-old son has as its many years with just that. An main purpose to capture Joseph entire generation of children Kony, the Danish Red Cross has grown up with violence and Youth would rather help Jacob destruction that has put severe to get a meaningful existence,” scars on the soul.” Espersen said. “We do this In the video, you meet through the Life Skills Project, Jacob, a young Ugandan who in which we strengthen young fought as a child soldier for people’s skills and restore their Kony. Jacob was taken from his faith in the future.” family and saw his own brother The Facebook event ‘Stop be beheaded by Kony’s army. In Kony 2012! Danmark!’ encourthe video, Jacob says he cannot ages people to spread posters see how he can have a future in and stickers throughout the city. a country where everyone knows The page has become a popular what horrors he has helped to discussion board and already has Screen shot from Vimeo

Mike Hofman

over 13,000 subscribers. “Of course I’m against Kony, but the Facebook hype isn’t doing much,” Oliver Figueiredo from Frederiksberg wrote. A Facebook user going by the name ‘Sales Stopping Kony’, who sells the Kony action kits in Denmark, replied: “The message is spread, and the politicians focus on stopping Joseph Kony because the people want it. It’s not only Denmark who participates, it’s the whole world.” But how has Russell’s 30-minute video managed to inspire so many online activists? “It has become fashionable to be politically engaged,” trend researcher Kirsten Poulsen told MetroXpress newspaper. “They’re not expecting to find him in Nørre Sunby, right? So why else would they hang up these posters?” Other criticisms have focused on a more basic issue: Kony is no longer in Uganda. “The film shows that Kony’s

horrific acts still take place in Uganda, but they do not,” Holger Bernt Hansen, a professor of African studies at the University of Copenhagen, told MetroXpress. “Joseph Kony has not been in Uganda for five or six years.” According to Hansen, “the film and campaign make it look like everything will be resolved when you catch Kony.” “I saw the video after one of my students made me aware of it,” Pernille Viese, a teacher from Aabybro, told The Copenhagen Post. “After I did some research on the topic, I asked my boss to let me take our students to Aarhus on April 20 for ‘Cover The Night’, when we will go around the city to hang up posters. Whether or not you agree with the way Jason Russell and his friends have made people aware of this, is not important to me. I’m just floored that it has become so big so fast. They must be doing something right in spreading the word.”

NEWS

THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK

16 - 22 March 2012

CHRISTIAN WENANDE Taking away voting rights from the disabled goes against a UN convention that has itself attracted criticism

SCANPIX/KELD NAVNTOFT

Disability regulation under fire

Helle Thorning-Schmidt announced on Tuesday that same-sex marriages would become legal in June

Østerbro

Crown Princess Mary is greeted by Emelie at an EU conference on disabilities earlier this month in Copenhagen as Stig Langvad, the chairman of the disability group Danske Handicaporganisationer, looks on

It’s a shame that such a positive initiative is now losing steam the Danish member of CRPD, called the delay unacceptable and damaging to the process. “I think it is absolutely ridiculous that it takes this long,” Langvad told The Copenhagen Post. “Denmark has an obligation to hand in status reports every four years, so because they handed in a report in August in 2011, and it will take four or five years to get that looked at, Denmark will have to hand in a new report before they even get the results from the last report.” Langvad added that the UN has set aside just two weeks each year, one in spring and one in the autumn, to review country reports. Each report and subsequent response must be translated into the six official UN languages, and the sheer numbers of countries involved make it an impossibility to get through in a timely manner, Langvad said. “It’s a question of resources plain and simple, in terms of time and finances. The UN is unfortunately a very slow mov-

ing organisation and even if we got an extra week a year to address the reports – an increase of 50 percent – it still would make little difference. It’s very frustrating and a shame that such a positive initiative is now losing steam and legitimacy due to being stuck in this quagmire.” The chairman of the CRPD, Ron McCallum, confirmed a lack of resources was slowing approvals. He added that steps are being taken to speed up the long-winded process, including giving the committee more time. So far it has only been possible to meet with one country a week, and given that there are 26 reports so far, it could take a decade if things don’t change. Additionally, there are 110 countries that have ratified the CRPD, and thus even more reports are on the way. Jeppe Kerckhoffs of Dansk Handicap Forbund, the national association for the disabled, maintained that the delay will only serve to further enfeeble an already difficult situation for the disabled. “We have already noticed that the disabled have fewer rights, so if it’s going to take several years to have the report analysed, then it’s really a question of how effective it’s going to be and that is a major problem.”

IMR disabilty study ON FEBRUARY 28 the IMR launched a new website, www. handicapkonvention.dk, in a bid to address the condition of the disabled here in Denmark. The site contains information about the rights of the handicapped according to the convention and describes the areas in which Denmark is struggling to live up to it. Additionally, the site provides resources and is handicapaccessible, including all the decisions in sign language and easy-to-read text. The IMR also published a list of the ten most important challenges Denmark faces coming into line with the UN disability convention. The topics were chosen based on the number of people that are affected or because they are particularly detrimental to the people with a handicap. The ten most critical areas are within the realms of equality and discrimination, accessibility, prejudice, psychiatry, self-determination and political participation, nationality, education, employment, and health.

EDDING planners across the nation are likely to be working overtime this summer, as Denmark is set to pass a law allowing gays and lesbians to wed in Danish churches and at city and town halls beginning on June 15. Denmark has long been considered a pioneer in defending the rights of the gay and lesbian community, and has recognised same-sex civil unions since 1989. Now, for the first time, gays and lesbians will also be allowed to get married. “We have looked at two laws that will provide the gay and lesbian community the opportunity to get married in the church and at city [and town] halls,” Thorning-Schmidt said at her weekly press conference on Tuesday. Thorning-Schmidt specified that it would be up to individual priests to decide whether or not they will wed gay and lesbian couples. According to the chairman of the Priests Association, Per Bucholdt Andreasen, about 70 percent of the association’s 2,000 priests are willing to accommodate them.

“The administration and I firmly believe that this is a natural step to take in a modern society like Denmark,” Thorning-Schmidt said. “The law will come into effect on June 15, so already this summer we’ll see the first gays and lesbians getting married in Danish churches.” While some may already be dusting off their suits and dresses, there may be a slight hitch in the proceedings. According to an article in Kristeligt Dagblad newspaper, there is a distinct possibility that if couples who have already entered into civil unions wish to wed in church, they may first have to nullify their existing union. This is something that annoys Star Tour’s sales director Stig Elling, who is planning on walking down the aisle on June 15. “The word divorce carries negative connotations, and legally it could have consequences in case something happens to one of us during the six months it takes to process the divorce and remarry,” Elling, who is in a civil union, told Kristeligt Dagblad. “As it stands, we can get a blessing from the church, but that’s not what we want.” Historically, Denmark has been a trailblazer for gay and lesbian rights and was the first country in the world to allow same-sex civil unions. (CW) COLOURBOX

S DENMARK prepares to implement a UN disability rights convention, advocates here are calling for a change to a law that unintentionally excludes some disabled people from voting. According to a report released last month by the Danish Institute of Human Rights (IMR), in 2011 alone nearly 200 Danes, the majority disabled and mentally ill, but also some who were compulsive gamblers, lost their right to vote because they were found to be unable to make certain decisions on their own. Under the terms of the 1997 guardianship law, such people must have their guardian handle personal matters such as signing official documents and managing their finances. In the report, the IMR concluded that the guardianship law violated the European Convention of Human Rights and the UN disability convention, two agreements that Denmark has pledged to abide by. The issues surrounding the capacity of the disabled to vote is just one of a number of issues looked at in the IMR report, but making any progress, they say, is blocked by a slow-moving UN process as Denmark seeks to implement the organisation’s disability rights convention. Last August Denmark sent its first report to UN disability rights committee CRPD, but due to an unexpectedly large number of countries submitting reports, it will take several years for the committee to fully address it. Until that happens, Denmark will not know whether its disability regulations – or any revisions to them – run afoul of the agreement. Stig Langvad, the chairman of the disability group Danske Handicaporganisationer and

Church bells to ring for gays and lesbians

With the law change, Denmark will become the eleventh nation to legalise gay marriage

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OPINION

THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK

Tsunami, kizuna and reconstruction

NE YEAR has passed since 11 March 2011 – the day of the Great East Japan Earthquake. The earthquake and the following horrific tsunami took its toll on thousands of lives and shocked people all over the world. We will always remember those who lost their lives, but our focus now is on helping the survivors and rebuilding the devastated regions. The victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan still have huge difficulties and many are still struggling to rebuild their lives. They need support and encouragement. However, in this time of hardship, there are two elements that have greatly encouraged us. One is the assistance from more than 200 countries and organisations all over the world, including the least developed countries in Africa and Asia. The other is the admirable behaviour of the people affected. Even in disaster, they have behaved with dignity, helped each other whenever they could, and made every effort to regain their strength. This is called kizuna in Japanese – a word which has been heard many times in Japan over the last year. I believe that kizuna is something we should remember in the rebuilding of the Japanese community. Just as the word ‘tsunami’ has become well

known internationally, we should now let everyone know that kizuna is the word for an ideal relationship, not only between people but also between countries. After the disaster, the Danish government, Danish companies and everyday Danes did not hesitate in offering support to Japan: heart-warming words from Queen Margrethe II and former PM Lars Løkke Rasmussen, the dispatch of an emergency team of nuclear experts, a sending of 24,000 blankets, significant contributions from many companies, a special church service, a candle-lit ceremony held by university students, charity concerts organised, the invitation to come to Denmark from Fredensborg Council to children from the affected area, citizens and tourists who donated money on the street, and a three-year-old girl who handed me five kroner with the help of her mother ... In mid-June last year, only three months after the disaster, Crown Prince Frederik courageously visited the disaster-hit city of Higashimatsushima. Prince Frederik talked to victims standing sadly in front of their temporary housing. At Hama Elementary School, he joined in a game of football with the children, and at Akai-minami Nursery, the young children flocked around him as he gave them gifts of Lego. In an interview with Japanese TV, he said: “I want to show the world that Japan is safe.” The following November, Prince Joachim and Princess Marie also visited Japan. Upon the request of Princess Marie, 20 children from Higashimatsushima City were invited to Tokyo, and their spirits were encouraged from taking part in a workshop with the Prince and his wife. The visits by the members of the Danish Royal Family who come from the ‘fairytale land of HC Andersen’ encouraged not only the children they met, but

Teaching English early gives kids a bilingual edge, proponents say

Uganda’s anti-gay bill puts Danish support in question

I was asked to speak to my oldest daughter’s middle school class in Denmark. There was no script and the teacher mainly wanted me to ad lib so the students could practice their English. So I started to talk about the vast geography of North America, a topic that inevitably led to the history of Danes in America and Canada – a subject that can range from early and later immigration to Denmark’s former DVI colony and Denmark’s role in the transatlantic slave trade. These kids had no idea that Danish ships transported at least a million slaves to the New World. The teacher was polite, but I could also see she was horrified that I spoke about things best left unspoken (e.g. Denmark’s 1930s-40s experimentation with fascism). But what did this teacher expect from a historian: idle chit-chat about Hollywood movie stars? Perhaps that’s the last time that school will invite an American historian for a talk. SNCO by website

The plain fact is beggars can’t be choosers. Denmark has no special historical relationship with Uganda (that I’m aware of ) and is under no special moral burden to supply them with foreign aid. Putting conditions on what aid it does give is perfectly legitimate. No-one’s forcing Uganda to take Danish aid money either. Making the Ugandan government choose between anti-gay legislation and aid from Denmark doesn’t bother me. Cliff Arroyo By website

JASPER CARLBERG

Torture acceptance undermines “do as I do” foreign policy ideal

16 - 22 March 2012

HEN YOU’RE a little country, sometimes the most powerful foreign policy tool you have is the example you set. While few – including most Danes – would claim that Denmark alone has a decisive impact on global affairs, the country is widely recognised for its commitment to multi-lateral efforts, such as in Afghanistan where the country’s per capita troop commitment is among the highest of the 40 or so countries with forces there. Similarly, when it comes to foreign aid, one of the hallmarks of Danish foreign policy, the country seeks to set the good example. Although the 15 billion kroner spent each year on foreign aid is just a tenth of what the US, the world’s largest giver, sets aside, Denmark is only one of four countries giving more than the 0.7 percent of GDP established by the UN. (Denmark gives 0.88 percent.) And while conventional foreign aid wisdom would have seen Denmark threaten a withdrawal of its funds from a country that was on the verge of passing measures such as Uganda’s anti-homosexual law, the Foreign Ministry has offered a more innovative approach by choosing to stay in the country in order to act as a thorn in the side of an oppressive regime. With the focus on being a good role model so ingrained in Danish foreign policy thinking, you would have thought it would have been a no-brainer for the government to throw its full support behind comments made this week by the foreign minister, Villy Søvndal, categorically rejecting the use of information obtained from torture. In failing to do so, it sends the unfortunate signal that, despite its stance that other countries shouldn’t torture their citizens, Denmark is willing to turn a blind eye if the information obtained is valuable enough to prevent the loss of Danish lives. Collaborating with states that practice torture mars the country’s foreign policy image. But far more detrimental is that by having a double standard when it comes to torture, other countries now have reason to doubt whether Denmark is playing “do as I say, not as I do”. Describing his position in Berlingske newspaper, Søvndal wrote that “we can only win the fight against terrorism in the long term if we remain true to our core values: international law, human rights and the rule of law.” That’s an example we think is well worth following in the entire foreign policy sphere.

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TOSHIO SANO

people all over Japan. The close relations and the warm supportive attitude of the Danish people sent an important friendly message to Japan. As ambassador of Japan, I would like to thank the Danish people for their heart-warming assistance and encouragement in the year gone by. In the unprecedented disaster, more than 19,000 people lost their lives or are still missing, and more than 120,000 houses were destroyed by the earthquake or washed away by the tsunami. Recovery and reconstruction after the disaster remain the top priorities of Japan’s policy agenda. The system of “special zones for reconstruction”, instituted at the end of last year, introduced special measures such as a five-year reduction in (or exemption from) corporate tax on companies locating new facilities in the area, and exemption from a visa fee for foreign visitors to disaster-stricken prefectures. Preferential treatment of high-level human resources in immigration control should promote the acceptance of foreigners contributing to the revitalisation of Japan. By attracting domestic as well as foreign investment, the goal is to turn the reconstructed area into an environmentallyfriendly model for the future. Higashimatsushima, greatly supported by Denmark, was recently selected as one of Japan’s ‘Environmental Friendly Cities’ in which the government aims to promote advanced town planning for the ageing society. This project is a national strategic project where the government supports cuttingedge and environmentally-friendly town planning projects. Together with the reconstruction plan, the idea is to attract investment for renewable energy power plants and attain the goal of covering all electricity consumption with natural energy in 15 years, with some support from Denmark. For recovery and reconstruc-

tion to succeed, Japan must further accelerate its ‘open reconstruction’ plans and work for the revitalisation of the Japanese economy. We want to promote free trade agreements with the EU to encourage the flow of people, products and capital by opening up both markets. This would create important opportunities to further growth and provide a possible way out of the crisis for both the EU and Japan. Only when facing difficulty, can a person’s true value be tested. That can also be said of state and nation. The more difficulties they face, the more their value and survival potential is tested. In 1864, Denmark lost a war to Prussia and had to give up two of its most affluent duchies in south Jutland, Schleswig and Holstein. It faced an unprecedented national crisis. We can learn from past situations when reconstruction took place after times of desolation and instability. Pastor Grundtvig encouraged and enlightened the Danes by focusing on the individual rather than the regulations laid down by the clergymen. Dalgas and his son strived to cultivate the heath of the land of Jutland based on the idea that “we should regain on the inside what we lost on the outside.” In Japan, Denmark is respected not only as a beautiful peaceful country, famous for its farming and renewable energy policy, but also as a strong country that overcame crisis by uniting the nation. Now, Japan is being tested. It is time for us to open Japan’s doors wide with hope and determination and, by sharing knowledge and making bold reforms, go forward with the reconstruction of our country for future generations. Toshio Sano is the ambassador of Japan to Denmark

READER COMMENTS

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So Denmark should only give aid to countries with the same legal code? Isn’t the whole idea to work with ‘underdeveloped societies’, not to stand back and poor scorn? Danishriviera By website If so-called developed countries support gay sexual relationships, it does not mean all countries should follow the suit. Nature has

made male and female and it has a purpose. Mnydk By website Sexuality is not something people can choose. If you are judging people based on their natures, you are no better than Nazis who kill people based on their unchangeable features. Haydk By website Opinion | Integration or connection? I spent ten years living in Denmark under a family reunion permanent residency before recently returning to the USA. I was, and still am, deeply connected to family and friends in Denmark. In fact, among other things I represent a Danish company here in North America, selling Danish engineering design services to the USA and Canada. Despite learning the language I was never integrated in the ‘you shall become Danish’ sense, and quite frankly my Danish circle of friends and family never really cared. “Con-

nected” is appreciated by most Danes. “Integrated” is a political buzzword bandied about by people who cannot clearly define either “integrated” or “what it means to be Danish” anyway. Beer as a lubricant is also not necessary, although staying quiet about the amount some Danes drink is. As a nation, Denmark has an alcohol problem. Trying to discuss it with Danes is an exercise in futility. Just live there, develop a circle of friends, and ignore the “du skal blive DANSK!” idiots. Anything else will do nothing but raise your blood pressure, and the “integration” idiots are not worth the trouble. Tom By website I still cannot understand why there is such a buzz about intergation. Nobody is putting a gun to my head and say “integrate!”. It is up to me how much I would like to integrate. HorseMackerel By website

MIKE HOFMAN

OPINION

THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK

16 - 22 March 2012

‘MacCarthy’s World’ BY CLARE MACCARTHY 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.

Green Lighting the commercial emanates from a former Soviet satellite with an unsavoury record on human rights, they’ll still try and convince you of their goody-twoshoes wholesomeness. Naturally enough, there’s big money in the racket for Saatchi & Saatchi and their ilk. And also CNN, whose global advertising rates are stratospheric. This barrage of unconvincing vacuity is all happening in the name of nation branding. It is an accelerating trend that sees relatively less developed or less well-known territories try to enhance their image so as to attract foreign direct investment, tourism revenues and trade deals. Impoverished countries and those with badly battered reputations are getting in on the act. For some, buffering up the image makes perfect sense. What’s the first thing that springs to mind when you hear the word Colombia or Kosovo? And of course, some of the advertising campaigns are extremely well executed. I love the “Incredible India” ad for example – it’s full of colour and charm and reinforces my already favourable impression of that country – though I haven’t yet visited, I’m sure to go one day. Likewise “My South Africa, Your South Africa” makes me want to jump on the next plane. Both of these latter cam-

COLOURBOX

NE OF my favourite time-wasting activities is a game called ‘Where on Earth?’ The only equipment necessary for this is a television tuned to CNN. After a wait of 20 minutes or less, you’ll find yourself viewing a cheesy commercial for a country or city region you might never have heard of before. You know the sort of ads I’m talking about – the opening clip invariably shows a sweeping mountain vista accompanied by a soaring orchestral soundtrack. The next 30 seconds or so will involve some combination of ancient architecture, smiling girls in ethnic costumes, dynamic young men in business suits, and skyscrapers so big they could rival Manhattan’s best. These ads are so unremittingly bland and generic that the only way to endure them is to try and guess the name of the region in question before the voiceover delivers its explanatory punchline. “Let’s all go to Quilin Now!” they boom, or “Macedonia, the root of Christianity” or “Ukraine. All about U”. The appropriate responses to which are respectively: “Why?”, “Really?” and “Yeah?” The voiceovers are often uttered by somebody who sounds like he learned English from the back of a cornflakes package five minutes ago. And even when

Green means Irish ... unless it’s the Libyan flag of course

paigns are costly production numbers and they do seem to work. But even recession-hit countries on a tight budget can achieve terrific results with a bit of imagination. The recent courtesy call to Copenhagen of the Royal British Navy’s flagship, the HMS Bulwark, is a good example. It’s a machine of war, of course, but on this occasion it was pressed into service to promote British industry and trade and it did so with

the sort of understated elegance that only the Brits can pull off. The entrance gangway to the onboard reception for Danish businesspeople was lined with officers in full dress uniform. The officers were friendly and welcoming, and the ship’s captain and the UK ambassador to Denmark did a convincing job in telling us that Britain is open for business. In short, a persuasive and targeted exercise in country branding. But when it comes to suc-

cessful global marketing on a budget, my own country, Ireland, wins hands down. As Tourism Ireland (a body that represents the entire island) points out, Ireland was a brand long before the concept even existed. And though the country’s tourism marketing executives took their time in realising this fact, they’ve now made up for it in a big way. St Patrick’s Day is the cornerstone of the country’s brand-

ing effort and this year will see one of the most spectacular exercises in global country marketing yet seen. Under the banner of Tourism Ireland’s 2012 global greening initiative, some of the world’s best known and best loved landmarks will be bathed in green light to mark what has become an international day of celebration. Places that are going green this year include Niagara Falls, the London Eye, Burj al Arab in Dubai, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and Table Mountain in South Africa. The city halls of Vienna and Brussels, the Ciebeles fountain in Madrid, and even the entire town of Moraira on the Costa Blanca are also joining in the fun. Besides the ingenuity and sheer fun of this initiative, what makes it really remarkable is the low cost – it comes out of Tourism Ireland’s total annual budget for marketing programmes: a paltry 52 million euros that also covers a plethora of other marketing activities, like printing brochures and running websites and social media networks. Ireland is undoubtedly lucky in having a pre-existing brand to leverage. But really, wouldn’t other countries get more bang for their buck by offering something better than an identikit CNN commercial?

CPH POST VOICES

‘THE LYNCH REPORT’

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‘TO BE PERFECTLY FRANK’

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.”

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, the Danish language and the ever-changing immigration rules. Follow him at twitter.com/justincph

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?

10 News

The Copenhagen Post cphpost.dk

16 - 22 March 2012

Scanpix/liselotte Sabroe

Undercarriage-saving underwear Malene Ørsted Woven silk fabric underpants designed to protect soldiers against roadside bombs

f you thought silk knickers were entirely for women, think again. Danish soldiers might wear uniforms, armour and heavy boots on the outside, but on the inside it’s a whole different – and soft and silky – matter. According to Avisen.dk, the Danish army has purchased silk underwear for around 1,000 soldiers currently fighting the Taleban in Afghanistan. And before you think about making any joke, know that the military itself understands that their new equipment might seem a bit silly. “We have laughed at them a lot, but there’s a method to the

We have laughed at them a lot, but there’s a method to the madness madness,” Army senior sergeant Niels Mølleskov told Avisen.dk. The woven silk fabric is stronger than kevlar, the highstrength synthetic material used in bulletproof vests. The undergarment is designed specifically to protect soldiers from roadside bombs, with the fabric working to stop infection-causing shrapnel, dirt and filth from reaching the soldiers’ groins if they trigger a bomb. “Back in the day, the enemy would throw grenades at us,

which we knew how to protect ourselves from. Now the enemy lays roadside bombs, and previously the soldiers didn’t have a shield against those, but they do now,” Mølleskov said. Mølleskov has tested the underwear himself, as well as another piece of new equipment, a groin protector that is worn on the outside to protect soldiers’ private parts. “It’s one thing to get a leg or two amputated, but another to lose what the soldier has between his legs. This is where the soldier’s manliness is, and it would affect his life quality if he came home without it,” said Thomas Nico Jørgensen from the army’s equipment service. So far the garments have saved two lives and spared many injured from further suffering, according to research from the British army.

Do it in the nude: more public Cycling fines a big moneymaker pools offering naked swimming in co-ordinated crackdown

Rather than giving fines, police should hop on bikes themselves, cyclist union spokesperson says

Police should allow law changes that “make sense” rather than increase the cost of fines, cyclist union argues

he threat of more expensive fines hasn’t stopped cyclists breaking the law. Despite the cost of fines increasing by as much as 100 percent on January 1, a week-long nationwide police sting to catch cyclists in early March resulted in 3,231 fines, the national police organisation Rigspolitiet has announced. The fines were distributed to 2,438 cyclists. With 885 fines, the most common infraction was cycling on the pavement or pedestrian paths. At 700 kroner a pop, that’s 619,500 kroner for the state coffers. The largest moneymaker was cycling through red lights. A total of 816 fines for ignoring red lights, a 1,000 kroner infraction, cost cyclists a collective 816,000 kroner. Additionally, 160 fines were distributed for cycling without lights and 64 for cycling against traffic.

“The fines didn’t have a significant influence on the number of cases,” Rigspolitiet spokesperson Carsten Andersen admitted to Ritzau news service. “But fines aren’t the first thing you think about when you hop on your bicycle.” When the fines jumped dramatically on January 1, it was the first price increase in 12 years. Many infractions rose from 500 to 700 kroner, while others doubled in cost to 1,000 kroner. At the time, the national cyclists’ union, Cyklistforbundet, argued that the price increases were excessive. “We still think it is overkill and the wrong way to go about it,” Frits Bredal, a spokesperson for Cyklistforbundet, told The Copenhagen Post. “If the purpose is to achieve a better and safer traffic culture in Copenhagen, we would like the police to engage in adjustments that would have a positive impact, like allowing cyclists to turn right at red lights, for instance. Studies have been done that show this can be done without any risk to safety.” Bredal said that the co-ordinated crackdown on cyclists is done “for PR purposes” and that police aren’t willing to positively

We are bewildered by the complete lack on the part of the police to be part of the traffic development of the city change traffic conditions. “We are bewildered by the complete lack on the part of the police to be part of the traffic development of the city,” Bredal said. “The Department of Justice has made it clear that as long as police give their go-ahead, you could allow cyclists to make right turns on red.” Bredal added that, unlike other cyclist-friendly cities like Amsterdam, Copenhagen traffic police are very rarely seen on bicycles. Having traffic cops on bikes would be more effective than increasing fines, he said. However, Bredal stressed that Cyklistforbundet doesn’t encourage cyclists to break the laws, but “the laws should make sense”.

Colourbox

Justin Cremer

The employees are the only ones wearing clothes when naturist nights takes place in local swimming pools

etting guests hit the water completely naked is becoming more and more common in Danish public pools. Jens Rasmussen, the chairman of the 1,000-member strong Danish Naturists association, said he was happy about the trend even though it’s limited to certain hours. “It’s absolutely a positive thing that more public pools give the guests a choice. I would prefer bathing naked to wearing a swimsuit any time,” said Rasmussen, who’s experiencing a growing interest among both swimming clubs and pools to offer naturist swimming. He said the swimming activities considering going clothing-free include family swimming, baby swimming, saunas and regular swimming. Danish Naturists often organise the naked swimming by renting the pools and changing rooms. Currently, those inclined can swim naked in public pools in cities including Esbjerg, Gudkop, Frederiksberg, Herfølge, Durup, Aarhus and Aalborg. Danish Naturists wants to

Don’t get too excited, male readers – an Aalborg swimming pool employee said that most of the naked guests are around the age of 60

revolt against what they believe to be an exaggerated focus on the nakedness and sexualisation of the body. Instead, the organisation is trying to go back to the free ideals of the ‘70s, according to Rasmussen. “To most people, swimsuits are considered normal, but I think very few people actually think that swimsuits are that nice per se,” he said. “I have never heard about someone who takes a bath or shower wearing a swimsuit.” During the summer, most naturists use camping areas and the sea, but in the winter the options are limited to those who don’t want to plunge nude into

the cold water. On very few occasions the public pools offer naked swimming themselves. One of these is Svømmeland (Swimland) in Nørresundby, where 120 naturists meet five times during the winter to go to the sauna. Helle Mathiasen is the hostess at Svømmeland’s naked sauna nights and said the event – which includes a naked dinner – is quite popular. “The staff are wearing clothes, but everybody else is naked,” she said. “Most guests are around the age of 60, but there are also parents with children, as well as some physically handicapped members.” (J-P)

Online this week Poland scuppers Danish climate vision

Market forces key to cheaper green energy, experts say

Sourthern metal bands to invade Roskilde

An attempt by the EU to create further binding carbon dioxide emissions targets beyond the 20 percent reduction by 2020 were scuppered after the Polish environment minister vetoed the proposal last week on Friday. European ministers had met to discuss increasing their commitments in line with

Norway and Sweden are working together on expanding their use of renewable energy, and think-tank Concito says Denmark should get in on the deal. “[The collaboration] means that the best technology will win and that hydropower plants, wind turbines and biomass power plants will be built where it is

Roskilde Festival on Wednesday added five new acts to this summer’s programme, all with a distinct American south sound. Four of the five acts were metal bands: Baroness, Crowbar, Red Fang, and Weedeater. Rounding off the new additions

the EU’s energy plan, Roadmap 2050, which foresees a 40 percent emissions cut by 2030 and cuts of over 80 percent by 2050. But while Poland has expressed support for a 2050 target, Friday’s veto was the country’s second after it blocked another attempt to tighten emissions targets last June.

cheapest, regardless of whether it is in Sweden or Norway,” Concito chief economist Francis Clemmensen told Berlingske. The head of the energy industry association Dansk Energi, Lars Aagaard, said that Denmark’s political parties would probably resist collaborating with neighbouring countries.

was Hank3, also known as Hank Williams III, grandson of the legendary country crooner Hank Williams. The new additions follow the recent announcement that legendary extreme metal act Behemoth would make their first festival appearance.

Read the full stories at cphpost.dk

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16 - 22 March 2012

Another round of handshakes and pancakes at City Hall

BY MIKE HOFMAN

Pancakes anyone? No, it wasn’t Shrove Tuesday, but yet another welcome event at City Hall for new internationals to Copenhagen last week on Tuesday (see page 13 for more details).

The international gathering agreed that when it comes to pancakes there’s “no need for greed or hunger, a brotherhood of man – imagine all the people sharing all the world” – sorry, for some reason the lyrics of John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ come to mind

Sasha and Tristan from Australia – and looking at their tanned skin, they have only moved recently.

Caleb from the US, Oana from Romania and Ji Yoon from South Korea.

You’ll never hear human librarians Dorthe, Stella and Mitzi tell you ‘shhhh’.

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Taler du dansk? Not yet? You could be soon, say Julie Henriques and Neel Moreira from the language school Københavns Sprogcenter.

Søren from Denmark and Daniel from the US in the Human Library, waiting to be checked out.

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THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK

16 - 22 March 2012

ABOUT TOWN PHOTOS BY HASSE FERROLD

(UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED)

Mexican ambassador Martha Bárcena (left), the dean of the Diplomatic Corps, met with some of her counterparts at the Mexican Culture Center in Hellerup to discuss the success of ‘Around the World’, the Diplomatic Corps’ participation in January’s Bella Center Travel Fair. The consensus was that it was a great success, and that it will continue, again with the help of International Club Copenhagen, next year. Pictured here (leftright) are Bárcena, South African ambassador Samkelisiwe Mhlanga, Albanian ambassador Arben Cici and Malina Hye, the exhibition manager of the Travel Fair.

The newly-appointed ambassador of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kemal Muftic (centre), was among the attendees at a meeting of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Academic Club at the country’s embassy, which discussed the future of cultural co-operation with Denmark.

The British Chamber of Commerce last week hosted a meeting attended by the minister of trade and investment, Pia Olsen Dyhr, and Howard Rosen, the president of COBCOE (Council of British Chambers of Commerce in Europe) to discuss the EU growth agenda during the Danish EU presidency. Key issues discussed included youth unemployment and the encouragement of entrepreneurship and innovation. Pictured here are Rosen, Dyhr and BCC president Mariano A Davies.

The Marriott Hotel was once again the place to be, this time for a wine tasting courtesy of Discover California Wines.

A meeting of the Foreign Affairs Committee Chairs Conference (COFACC) at the beginning of last week saw politicians from all over the continent descend on the Danish parliament. Pictured here are Foreign Policy Committee chairman Jeppe Kofod and NATO secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen, although maybe they hadn’t expected some of the other participants to come in national dress.

Belgian Ambassador Jean-Francois Branders (centre) was among those present at the opening of a new Belgian shop, Thirion Charcuterie & Vins, at Prinsessegade 50 in Christianshavn, where a fine array of food, beer and classical music was enjoyed.

INSPIRATION FROM THE SPIRE

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Jonathan LLoyd is the Anglican/Episcopal priest in Denmark. You can find him on your way to the Little Mermaid at St Alban’s Church, Churchillparken. This may seem like a little piece of England complete with its distinctive spire and statue of Sir Winston, but it gathers people from across the globe plus hundreds of tourists each week. Jonathan has lived in Copenhagen for the last two years and loves the place.

www.kiss.dk

USED TO live in Bath in the west of England, near Bristol. On 27 March 2007 we marked the 200th anniversary of the passing of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act 1807 by the British parliament. Hundreds of us walked through the city to a special event at Bath Abbey. This was an important anniversary to mark for two reasons. Firstly, William Wilberforce, the great anti-slavery campaigner, lived in Bath, and secondly, large cities like Bristol were founded from the wealth created by the trade in human lives. The campaign against slavery was at first an unpopular one. People even quoted the Bible to try to justify slavery. Wilberforce was seen by some as a religious do-gooder, out of touch with the real world. But the campaign grew in momentum, and included all parts of society. The posh ladies in the Pump Room at Bath even refused to take sugar in their tea – as a small but visible protest. Wilberforce had taken on the abolition cause in 1787, and he and his colleagues worked tirelessly for the next 20 years to achieve the legal ending of the British slave trade.

The Royal Navy, which then controlled the world’s seas, established the West Africa Squadron in 1808 to patrol the coast of West Africa, and between 1808 and 1860 they seized 1,600 slave ships and freed 150,000 African people who were onboard. Two hundred years later, slavery continues. It is a shocking reality that an estimated 2.5 million people are traded each year. It is modern slavery that makes a human person a commodity. Women, men and children are traded for prostitution, organ removal or forced labour. In 2007 a charity called ‘HopeNow – Empowering Trafficked People’ was founded here in Copenhagen. Its founder is Michelle Mildwater, who has worked with trafficked women and foreign women in prostitution in Denmark since 2003. The core of HopeNow’s activities is direct social work with marginalised and sometimes undocumented migrants or asylum seekers who are victims of trafficking and exploitation, mostly from Africa. The organisation keeps in contact with people who are trafficked

and raises awareness to prevent trafficking, offering education, advice, outreach, networking, healthcare, and legal services. HopeNow also uses a mentor scheme to integrate those it supports into Danish society. During the last five years, HopeNow has helped hundreds of women here in Copenhagen, and their emphasis is always on hope and change. When I walked through the streets of Bath back in 2007 thinking how wonderful our local man William Wilberforce was, I had not fully realised how modern slavery is a reality in today’s world that is growing. The challenge before us is to now continue the awarenessraising and campaigning that Wilberforce and his generation succeeded at two centuries ago. Modern-day slavery is a scandal of our present age, and it needs the support from every section of society to stop it. To hear more about this challenge and the work of HopeNow, I warmly invite you to an open public meeting (in English) on Thursday 29 March at 7pm at St Alban’s Church, Churchillparken 11 (next to Gefion Fountain).

COMMUNITY

THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK

16 - 22 March 2012

Harman’s harmonies: the method is in their musical melodies ROGER NOX From ‘The Wizard to Oz’ to ‘Ode to Joy’, their tinkling on the ivories was of the highest order

ITH SPRING IN the air, it was time for another of the annual Harman Music Methods concerts, as 30 of their students presented piano pieces over the course of not one, but two evenings. The students were aged from five to 15, and played an extremely diverse concert programme, including jazz, classical, pop, nursery rhymes, and even some original pieces composed by the student themselves. The concerts arrangements put on by the Harman Music Methods never fail to deliver. The words ‘cheeky’, ‘inquisitive’, ‘creative’ and ‘bold’ came to mind every time the young students walk up to the massive Steinway grand and begin to make the instrument sing. Beethoven’s ‘Ode to Joy’ enjoyed more than one recital – obviously a firm favourite with some of the students – and other highlights included a virtuoso study composed by Carl Czerny

(1791–1857) from his School of Velocity, a jazzy rendition of ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’, some Bach, some Mozart, and a piece by the French renaissance composer Jean-Philippe Rameau. Of course, nerves and anticipation were in the air, but with a great supportive audience of family and friends, the students could only but shine. Thanks to some great work from the teachers Monikka Bergstrøm and John Harman, they were well prepared. Last April, the Harman Music Methods opened their new piano school in the north of Copenhagen. This has enabled them to provide excellent learning and concert facilities for their students. It’s a great place to send your kids if you want them to desert their iPhones, Xboxes or computers, even if it is just for a few hours every day. Children increasingly need to do something creative with their time: dance, writing, music, sport, art, cooking etc. And if they want to study piano, they can’t go wrong at the Harman Music Methods. To find out more about the Harman Music Methods visit www. jhmms.org or ring 2896 3999.

John Harman (top right) brings out the best in his young pianists at another unforgettable concert that was enjoyed by all who attended

How to live – with help from Mariah COMING UP SOON Christiania tour in English Christianshavn Torv, (right by the metro station), Cph K; Sun March 18, 10:00; 100kr; www. expatindenmark.com Christiania was founded in 1971 when a group of people cut a hole in the fence to the disused military barracks in Bådmandsgade and settled there. It is now an autonomous mini society within the city district of Copenhagen and also one of the most visited areas in the capital. Local guides Julie Rønne and Malene Schrøder will give you a special tour of the freestate in English. Once again, the new arrivals to the city demonstrated remarkably good taste

MIKE HOFMAN City Hall opens its doors, strikes up a tune and puts on a spread as it welcomes new foreign residents

HE BALLROOM of City Hall is an impressive room that has hosted kings, queens and world leaders. And on Tuesday afternoon last week it was the venue for the city’s welcome reception for foreign residents. The head of business affairs, at Jakob Brandt the Copenhagen Business Service, welcomed the crowd of several hundred newcomers by playing Mariah Carey’s ‘Without You’ on his phone, with the line “I can’t live if living is without you”, referring to the importance the city places on its foreign residents. After a presentation by Ja-

kob Parby from the Museum of Copenhagen about the city’s history, it was time for City Hall’s trademark pancakes and some mingling. First stop, the ‘human library’, where the lesson was: don’t judge a book by its cover, especially if that ‘book’ is a person. In its simplest form, the human library is a mobile library that allows visitors the chance to speak informally to ‘people on loan’. The human library seeks to break stereotypes by challenging the most common prejudices in a positive and humorous manner. All the ‘books’ are volunteers who have experienced prejudice due to issues such as race, sex, age, sexual preference, class, religion, lifestyle choices or other aspects. One of those waiting to be checked out in the Human Li-

brary was Sasha, a single parent living alone with her child in Amager. According to Sasha, “the stereotype that single parents are unable to hold a job or are unable to take care of their children is obsolete”. The Human Library was an initiative by the Danish youth organisation Stop the Violence, which organised the first ever human library at the 2000 Roskilde Festival. Today, they have been set up in over 60 countries. Other organisations present on Tuesday were the Copenhagen International Service, who organised the event, language school Københavns Sprogcenter, and the Copenhagen Job Centre. The welcome reception is organised every year and is part of the initiative to make foreigners feel more welcome in Copenhagen.

Start-Up Weekend: Copenhagen Mobility Nokia Headquarters, AC Meyers Vænge 15, Cph SV; Fri March 23 - Sun March 25, 12:00; www.mobilitycopenhagen.startupweekend.org Startup Weekend is an intense 54-hour event that focuses on building a web or mobile application, which could form the basis for a credible business over the course of a weekend. The weekend brings together people with different skillsets – primarily software developers, graphics designers and business people – to build applications and develop a commercial case around them. Lunch with Kristian Durhuus Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Hammerichsgade 1, Cph V; Fri March 23, 12:45; free adm; www.bccd.dk The British Chamber of Commerce in Denmark is organising

a lunch with Kristian Durhuus, the vice-president of operations at Copenhagen Airports. He has extensive international experience from eight years in the airport industry, where he has worked for both Swissair Group as well as Lufthansa in different capacities.

bottom line, through downsizing or outsourcing. The Nordic region can be hard hit, as companies consolidate to save costs. Copenhagen Capacity and AmCham invite you to hear from real business cases who fought and won to keep their investments here in Denmark.

Course: Why are the Danes the way they are? Søndre Campus, Njalsgade 80, Cph S; Wed March 21, 17:15; 400kr; www.fukbh.dk The Folkeuniversitetet in Copenhagen invites you to participate in five courses introducing you to ‘Why are the Danes the way they are?’ The course runs from 21 March to 4 April. The aim of the course is to provide the participants with tools in order to understand Danish social life.

St.Patrick’s Day Parade Rådhuspladsen, Sat March 17, 15:30; free adm; www.stpatricksdayparade.dk Experience what the Irish community and culture has to offer when Copenhagen St Patrick’s Day Parade invites children and adults of all nationalities to participate in the celebration of the Irish national day in Copenhagen.

How to start writing your business plan Københavns Erhvervsservice, Njalsgade 13, Cph S; Thu March 22, 18:00; free adm; www. kk.dk/erhverv This course will help you focus on the first topics to approach and the most important sections of the business plan to work on. The Business Case for Investing in Denmark Solyst, Emiliekildevej 2, Klampenborg, Tue March 20, 16:00; free adm; www.amcham.dk In the current economic situation, many companies are considering ways to help the

Celebrate Holi with IDD Peder Lykke Skolen, Brydes Allé 25, Cph S; Sat 19 Mar, 16:30; free adm (only members); info@ indiansindenmark.com Celebrate the traditional Hindi spring festival ‘Holi’ with IDD (Indians in Denmark) where it is customary to throw scented powder and perfume at each other. Dinner is available for 50kr – a reservation is necessary and should be made by sending an email to info@indiansindenmark.com. This event is for members only so remember to sign up before you go.

MIKE HOFMAN

sport

The Copenhagen Post cphpost.dk

16 - 22 March 2012

Youthful selection suggests cricket team building for the future National cricket side in good nick ahead of Twenty20 World Cup qualifiers, says assistant coach

he Danish national twenty20 cricket side on Saturday left for Dubai to take part in the 16team 2012 ICC T20 World Cup qualifiers with hope in their hearts, but also an underlying sense of realism that this invaluable experience will be a stepping stone as they try to make an impression in the sport’s newest and most exciting form. Because while the chances of a lesser cricketing nation beating a major test power in a 50-over game are remote, when the game is reduced to 20 overs, the chances of an upset increase dramatically. It is a version of the game in which an outstanding individual performance, for example by a batsman who rides his luck to score quick runs, can be the telling contribution. Nevertheless, at present Denmark is a long way short of rivalling the test nations and enter the WC qualifiers as one of the rank outsiders, particularly as only two of the 16 participating

teams will qualify for this year’s T20 World Cup. Group opponents Canada, the Netherlands, and Afghanistan might not sound like cricketing superpowers, but they all play in the World Cricket League Division 1. Denmark, in contrast, play in Division 4. Among the other opponents in the eight-team group, Papua New Guinea and Hong Kong both play in Division 2, Bermuda in Division 3, and Nepal in Division 4. Still, Denmark are a side in the ascendancy. They are the current European Division 1 champions after seeing off Guernsey in the semi-finals and then Italy in the final of the ICC European Division 1 last July, qualifying for the Dubai WC qualifiers in the process. In preparation for the qualifiers – which began on Tuesday and continue with daily fixtures (bar Saturday) until next Tuesday – the squad has been training indoors, at Herning in the west and at Schneekloth in Copenhagen, for the last five months. Training for the players has involved various cricket training drills and fitness work. “They are fully fit and ready to face the challenges ahead with confidence and high hopes,” said Graham Kinchington, the side’s assistant, who

www.cricket.dk

ben hamilton

Freddie Klokker hit a half century off 41 balls as Denmark got their campaign off to a winning start against Bermuda on Tuesday

is himself English. “All the players have trained hard and have improved their fitness levels and cricket skills.” Denmark will take a squad of 14 players. Encouragingly for the future, it is a young squad, with an average age of just 23. Indeed, three of the players – Hamid Shah, Kamran Mahmood and Basit Javed – were part of the Danish under-19 team that won the European Division 2 title last season. There is also a family aspect to the team, with

two sets of brothers: Glostrup cricket club’s Aftab and Shehzad Ahmed, and Rizwan and Kamran Mahmood from Skanderborg. Among the players to look out for are Freddie Klokker, the wicketkeeper and opening batsman, who has just returned from Bangladesh, where he plays in the T20 Premier League for Sylhet Royals. Klokker finished runner-up in the 2011 European Division 1 MVP ratings, and Denmark

Christian wenande

inning a medal for Denmark won’t be as lucrative for those participating in the Olympic Games in London as it was four years ago in Beijing. Brian Mikkelsen, the culture minister during the Olympic Games in Beijing, made the promise that the Danish competitors would again be exempt from paying taxes on their medal winnings in 2012. As was the case in 2008, Danish athletes are in line to win 100,000 kroner as a bonus for a gold medal, 75,000 for a silver medal nets and 35,000 for a bronze. However, the incumbent minister of culture, Uffe Elbæk from the Radikale (R), has now stated that the Olympians will not be excused from taxation after all, indicating that the Danish competitors should not be given preferential treatment.

The 2008-2012 transition has not been as smooth for our sportspeople

“Brian Mikkelsen unfortunately made a promise, but as I pay my taxes so should the Olympians pay taxes from their potential winnings.” Elbæk told the daily MetroXpress. Carl Holst, the chairman of Team Denmark, finds the minister’s comparison of elite sports

competitors to the average taxpayer as odd and thinks that the sportspeople should instead be equated as artists. “I think it’s a real shame. When artists get a one-time donation then it’s tax free, but that’s not the case for elite sportspeople. Not only is that unfair, but it’s

Hell’s bells as Woz fails at Indian Wells

discriminatory practice.” Several sportspeople have been critical of the move, saying that it contradicts previous messages from politicians that highlight the need to properly support Danish sportspeople representing their country. “It’s a poor message to give,” Victor Feddersen, a former Olympic gold medal winner in rowing, told Jyllands Posten newspaper. “One hundred thousand kroner sounds like a lot of money, but one needs to consider that the athletes have sacrificed a lot of their own money to live a normal life while pursuing a professional sports career.” Rene Poulsen, a kayaker who won a silver medal in Beijing and is set to compete in London this summer, echoed the sentiment and is disappointed by the prospect of paying taxes on his hardearned winnings. “They say that it means so much for Denmark that we represent and win medals and that we have sportspeople represent Denmark at the Olympics Games,” he told Jyllands Posten. “ So I really can’t comprehend that we won’t get paid accordingly.”

aroline Wozniacki on Wednesday morning lost 3-6, 6-2 to Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic in the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells - a tournament that she won last year. It’s a loss that will see her slip out of the top five in the rankings for the first time since January 2010. Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska and Australia’s Samantha Stosur will both now overtake her to leave her sixth. Meanwhile, another former world number one who has

tumbled down the rankings, Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic (now number 14), has confirmed her participation in the e-Boks Sony Ericsson Open in Farum from April 9-15, a title Wozniacki has confirmed she will defend. And finally, Frederick Nielsen’s neck injury might scupper Wozniacki’s bid to play in the mixed doubles at the Olympics. The injury will probably mean the pairing will be unable to play in the Olympics qualifiers and need a wild card to take part. (BH)

DANNY MOLOSHOK/scanpix

Sportspeople disappointed after culture minister breaks promise made by predecessor after Beijing 2008

Clive Rose

Danish Olympians to pay medal taxes

will once again be looking to him, and opening partner Shehzad Ahmed, to get the innings off to a good start. And the team’s four spinners: captain Michael Pedersen and Hamid Shah, who both bat in the top order and bowl off-spin, while Bobby Chawla bowls leg-spin and Bashir Shah bowls left-arm spin. Sair Anjum and Aftab Ahmed, meanwhile, are the fast bowlers who will be looking to add to their haul of wickets again.

Wozniacki has fallen from number one to six in just two months

Sports news and briefs ‘The Big Mute’

Bully for Bendtner

All-out failure

FCM crash out

He’s le man

Kessler cancels again

Normally a 0-0 draw is greeted by groans, but the fans of Superliga clubs Brøndby and AGF on Sunday didn’t so much as whimper. The eerie silence in Aalborg was the result of an organised protest against their clubs’ decision not to offer tickets for certain away games in the future in a bid to curb hooliganism.

Nicklas Bendtner has had a good week. On Saturday he scored the winner in Sunderland’s 1-0 defeat of rivals Liverpool, his second goal in two games. On Monday he was cleared of five counts of criminal damage in a Newcastle magistrates court. And on Tuesday it was confirmed that a knee injury sustained on Saturday was not as serious as first thought.

Denmark endured a disappointing All-England badminton championships, failing to win a title for the first time since 2009. Only the mixed pairing of Thomas Laybourn and Kamilla Rytter Juhl managed to make a final. Top men’s player Peter Gade had a particularly poor tournament, bowing out in the first round after having to play his game at 2:20am.

There were mixed fortunes for the women’s handball sides in European competition last weekend. FC Midtjylland Håndbold lost 21-24 to Spanish minnows Itxako in their final group game and missed out on a place in the Champions League semis. But Viborg have made the last last four of the Cup Winner’s Cup thanks to a massive 81-50 aggregate defeat of Debrecen.

Yet another promising young Danish driver has won a contract at a top racing team. Following on from Kevin Magnussen’s promotion at Formula One team McLaren, and Marco L Sørensen’s recruitment by Lotus, Michael Christensen, 21, has signed for Porsche Motorsport’s junior programme. The move puts him in the running to race in Le Mans as early as 2014.

Mikkel Kessler’s April 14 fight against WBO super middleweight champion Robert Stieglitz, originally postponed from November, has been cancelled due to the Viking Warrior’s ongoing hand injury. While tickets will be refunded, Kessler is confident of fighting a new opponent at Parken on May 19 – a fight for which the original tickets are valid.

BUSINESS

THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK

16 - 22 March 2012

Mayor wants to nationalise Copenhagen Airport Frank Jensen thinks a more active role will aid the airport in its struggle against neighbouring competition

ESPITE winning awards for efficiency and setting records for passenger numbers, city mayor Frank Jensen (Socialdemokraterne) contends that Copenhagen Airport should be run by the state. Currently the airport is considered the most important air traffic hub in northern Europe, but the significant growth of airports in Stockholm, Oslo and Helsinki, combined with an ambitious project in Berlin, has threatened to depose the Copenhagen hub as the regional powerhouse. Jensen told the business newspaper Børsen that the City Council strongly supports having a more active role in the operations of the airport and wants the state in on the idea. “We, here at the council, look favourably on the possibility of investing further in the airport,” he said. “Regrettably, the state has taken a more passive stance to the airport since selling the majority of its shares.” He also maintained that the state should look at buying a stake in the Scandinavian airline, SAS. Jensen was particularly concerned about a scenario in which SAS could be bought out by a larger airline such as Lufthansa, which he said would present dire consequences. “I strongly encourage the three Nordic governments to shelve any plans to sell their part in SAS,” he said. “It is absolutely essential for future jobs in the Øresund region and Denmark that we strive to maintain Copenhagen Airport as the most important air traffic hub in northern Europe.”

“The state and council don’t necessarily have the qualifications required to run an airport,” Ågerup said. “Despite the obvious interest that the airport holds to Danish society, politicians don’t have a great track record in running things. Just look at the IC4 train scandal. It’s best that it remains privatised.” The long-term financial conseCopenhagen Airport is generally regarded as being efficient — precisely why the quences for the government shouldn’t get involved, some say region could be severe if Copenhagen Airport fails to maintain its position as a leadhas begun to face more strategic ing north European travel hub. challenges, and as a result I think A report from interest group that they would welcome the Copenhagen Capacity found council into the fold,” Jespersen that just ten of the airport’s said. “It is very sensible that part long-distance routes out generPoliticians don’t have of the ownership remains in the ate approximately one and a half a great track record in hands of the public sector, as billion kroner for the Greater they can make sure the airport Copenhagen area. running things acts in a way that benefits Den“It is imperative that we mark and the region.” have a well developed airport While Jensen’s suggestion with an efficient flight network, Since the airport became a listed company in 1994, the state has gained some political back- as it attracts business to the capihas gradually sold off shares and ing, the finance minister, Bjarne tal,” Peter Højland, the chairhas now become a minority stock- Corydon, told Politken newspa- man of Copenhagen Capacity, holder, owning 39.2 percent. per that the financial down pe- told Børsen. The market value of the airAustralian venture capital firm, riod makes the proposal an unport currently stands at around Macquaire Airport, obtained the realistic venture at the moment. “Considering that the pub- 17 billion kroner. stock majority in 2005, and last summer the Canadian pension lic sector is battling steep defifund, Ontario Teachers’ Pension cits at the moment, the acquisiPlan, purchased 30 percent of the tion of companies is not exactly at the top of the government stock from the Australians. Having recently set aside a agenda, so I don’t really see the substantial number of funds to state and City Council attemptremain competitive, the airport ing to buy back the Copenhamay also find Jensen’s com- gen Airport,” he said. Another criticism of the ments of interest, and a deal could be forthcoming. Profes- proposed deal is that the airport sor Per Homann Jespersen from is currently being run smoothly, Roskilde University told Børsen and that a shift to public hands that the council could prob- may compromise the quality of ably raise the necessary finances the airport’s present status, Marthe same way it did when con- tin Ågerup, the director of liberVice President, Operations al think-tank Cepos, told radio structing the Metro. Copenhagen Airports “In recent years, the airport station Radio 24syv. SCANPIX/BAX LINDHART

CHRISTIAN WENANDE

Dong’s CEO hastily dismissed for abusing his power PETER STANNERS Anders Eldrup allegedly gave extraordinarily generous pay packages to select employees

ONG Energy’s former CEO Anders Eldrup abused his position to give extraordinary salaries to a handful of employees without the consent of the company’s board, it was confirmed by the company on Wednesday. Eldrup abruptly left his position on Monday, and in a press release, Dong stated that it was a mutual decision between Eldrup and the board. Despite initial silence over the reasons for the dismissal, immediate speculation linked Eldrup’s departure to the ongoing investigation by government auditors into Dong Energy, which is 76 percent government-owned. Revelations in Wednesday’s Jyllands-Posten alleged that Eldrup abused his power and wasted millions of kroner by hiring employees from the Ministry of Finance, where he worked from 1973 to 2001 before joining Dong. Many individuals were given salaries of up to four million kroner and severance packages of about ten million kroner that

could not be justified by the positions they occupied. “We are talking about severance packages amounting to five to ten million kroner per employee and salaries fit for executives without them having executive responsibilities,” an anonymous source told Jyllands-Posten. Dong Energy confirmed the allegations on Wednesday, which stem from an ongoing investigation by government auditors following an anonymous tip in January. “As the case now stands, it seems that there are a handful of employees who have been granted very lucrative salaries and employment conditions without the approval of the board,” Dong Energy’s press chief, Karsten Anker Petersen, told Jyllands-Posten. After the announcement of Eldrup’s dismissal on Monday, speculated swirled over whether he was in line to receive the 17 million kroner in compensation he is entitled to in the case of a sudden dismissal. But the Socialdemokraterne’s financial spokesperson, John Dyrby Paulsen, told Berlingske newspaper that the investigation into the true extent of the abuse had only just begun and Eldrup’s claim to compensation would have to be examined and settled by legal experts.

BRITISH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN DENMARK

Kastrup’s New Fast Gate Service Kristian Durhuus

Kristian has been responsible for Operations at Copenhagen and Roskilde airports since August 2011, which includes the areas of Passenger Service, Traffic, Baggage, Security, Quality Management, Environment, Planning & Analysis.

BUSINESS NEWS AND BRIEFS Academics flock to banks

3 could be for sale

Danish exports hit high

MORE and more young academics are searching for jobs in the financial sector, new numbers reveal. According to the employers’ association for the financial sector, FA, the sector employed 3,653 graduates in 2004 and 7,752 graduates in 2010. Danske Bank was the most desirable workplace among young graduates.

MOBILE phone company 3 could be up for sale, the Swedish newspaper Dagens Industri reports. Hong Kong-based investor Hutchinson Whampoa, which owns 60 percent of 3’s Danish operations, denied the rumours, but Dagens Industri said that Swedish telecom company TeliaSonera is a potential buyer.

DANISH exports reached a record-high in January, new figures reveal. As a whole, exports increased by 2.2 percent in January and are now at a level higher than before the financial crisis. A chief consultant with Dansk Industri said export growth was necessary to enable the domestic economy to grow.

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

5.71

5.53

7.33

0.07

0.18

0.81

6.06

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5.56

Buy

6.23

5.98

7.56

0.07

0.20

0.85

6.26

9.06

5.82

He has extensive international experience from eight years in the airport industry, where he has worked for both Swissair Group as well as Lufthansa in different capacities. This includes being General Manager for Aero-Chef (GateGourmet) in Billund and for LSG Lufthansa Service first in Frankfurt, then in Copenhagen and ultimately in the Nordics and Eastern Europe. Following a couple of years as Managing Director for Rentokil Initial in Denmark, Kristian was CEO for five years of Falck Securitas Sikring and G4S Security Services in Denmark. He has an M.Sc. from Copenhagen Business School. He is 43, married with three children and spends his free time on music, politics, history and football. Date: 23 March 2012 Time: 12.45 Venue: Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Copenhagen

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

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Date: 14 March 2012 Denmark’s only English-language newspaper

Take a look at Workindenmark.dk - the official Danish website for international recruitment and job seeking

For international jobseekers, employees and their spouses, Workindenmark offers: •

In our job bank you can search for jobs in Danish companies looking especially for international labour force. You can sign up for a subscription service and receive news of relevant new job advertisements.

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Offering targeted information on our website for international students www.workindenmark.dk/students. This subsection also presents student job openings.

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Giving you personal advice on applying for student jobs, training placements and work experience placements.

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Job search courses Individual guidance about CV and job applications Help with contact to relevant companies

Get a good start! Visit www.workindenmark.dk if you plan to work or study in Denmark.

EMPLOYMENT

THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK

16 - 22 March 2012

Østerbro

Denmark’s only English-language newspaper

I N T E R N AT I O N A L S C H O O L

Østerbro InternatIonal school Is lookIng for an MYP coordInator to joIn our aMazIng teaM of educators.

Project Intern

The successful candidate will have a part time teaching schedule and The Copenhagen Post is seeking a Project Intern to join our team immediately.

COPENHAGEN RENAISSANCE

MUSIC FESTIVAL 7 - 20 NOVEMBER 2011

FROM SCHÜTZ TO GEIST

Early German Baroque Music 1600-1700 In commemoration of Christian Geist (c.1650-1711)

Copenhagen Renaissance Music Festival Special advertising section INSIDE!

ISRAEL

Discovering Israel: Inside the Holy Land Special advertising section INSIDE!

Photo: Karsten Movang

will be responsible for guiding the staff and leading the middle school through the authorization process with the IBO.

HOLMENS CHURCH

THEATRE OF VOICES

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Denmark’s only English-language newspaper | cphpost.dk ILLUSTRATION BY PETER STANNERS

Personal characterIstIcs requIred for the PosItIon:

MASADA

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4 - 10 November 2011 | Vol 14 Issue 44 NEWS

Dane unable to obtain family reunification for his Thai girlfriend says residency rules are a Catch-22

Exploiting ‘fat tax’ Supermarkets are scamming their customers under the guise of the new national ‘fat tax’

• A passion for education and working with students • • IB Middle Years Program training and experience •

NEWS | 3

SPORT

A new budget to ‘kickstart’ the economy JENNIFER BULEY

Warrior Jesus

• A visionary leader who is willing to participate in the development of the school • • An excellent communicator • • An excellent level of written and spoken English • the followIng docuMents should be subMItted when aPPlYIng for the PosItIon:

• A letter of application, including why you consider yourself to be suitable to fulfill this role. • • Names, addresses, and contact information of at least 2 professional referees. • • A Curriculum Vitae. • Please send application documents by 13 april to: the headmaster (nedzat asanovski) by e-mail: - na@oeis.dk

www.oEIS.dka Østerbro International School • Præstøgade 17 • 2100 Copenhagen Ø • Tel.: +45 70 20 63 68 • E-mail: info@oeis.dk Østerbro - 131x175 job ad.indd 1

Get in or get out Is now the time to join the euro, or to run like hell?

National coach Morten Olsen’s new contract will keep him in the job until after the 2014 World Cup.

How Christianity borrowed from Norse mythology and branded Jesus as a tough guy in order to woo the pagan Vikings

HISTORY | 19

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SRSF’s first budget will spend 17.5 billion kroner on infrastructure and abolish previous taxes and restrictions

AN YOU HAVE your cake and eat it too? Conventional wisdom says no, but with their first budget plan since the shift of power, the new Socialdemokraterne-RadikaleSocialistisk Folkeparti (SRSF) coalition appear to be giving it a shot. Many of the elements of the new budget – which is expected to be released in its entirety on Thursday – will increase state spending at a time when the budget deficit has increased. But where the money would come from remained a mystery. A number of the new budget items reinstate spending cuts made by the pre-

vious Venstre-Konservative (VK) govern- the number of students. Moreover, stument. Here are a few of the major points: dents will no longer pay administrative Families: VK limited the state’s fees, and prospective Master’s students monthly child support handouts (bør- will have prerequisite course tuitions necheck) to 35,000 kroner per fam- paid. The government will also fund ily. That limit has now been abolished, 1,500 more state-supported internship meaning that many families will get positions. Infrastructure and job creation: larger child benefits. The government will also pay for fertility treatments and Some 17.5 billion kroner will be invested over two years in infrastructure voluntary sterilisations. Welfare: VK and Dansk Folkeparti projects, such as a new rail line between (DF) introduced specialised welfare pro- Copenhagen and Ringsted, a project to grammes that reduced the cash benefits widen the Holbæk motorway, erosion for new immigrants. Those programmes protection efforts along Jutland’s west have now been eliminated and going coast, and renovations to public housforward all residents in need of state ing. Prime minister Helle Thorningsupport will receive the same welfare Schmidt has said that these ‘kickstart’ projects will create 20,000 new jobs benefits. Higher education and research: from 2012-2013. The Danish ConstrucUniversities will get an extra one billion tion Association predicts 10,000. Tax break:meeting The unpopular ‘mulkroner over two years to cover costs as- a personal Organise sociated with a predicted increase in timedia tax’ introduced by VK will be

Cheering a Muslim as we do a Murderer!

FULL TIME MBA and sit in on a class.

abolished, saving some 525,000 Danes with business laptops and mobile phones 3,000 kroner per year. Not everyone, however, can look forward to a cash infusion. Smokers and junk food lovers will be taxed higher on their vices, while international corporations will also see higher tax bills. SRSF plans to raise revenue by closing a number of tax loopholes going back nearly 20 years that allowed international corporations in Denmark to escape paying corporate taxes (see more on page 15). All told, the spending increases in the new budget are not as big as the minister of the economy and interior, Margrethe Vestager (R), would like. She noted that VK under-reported the deficit for 2012, making it imprudent to spend more. But Denmark will still meet the EU’s financial responsibility benchmarks, despite the larger deficit, she added.

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Page 10

InOut The CPH Post Entertainment Guide | 16 - 22 Sep

KIDS ON FILM YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT BUSTER!

We are looking for a candidate who has completed or is currently pursuing a marketing-related degree and who has experience planning and coordinating events. You must have excellent verbal and written communication skills in English and be able to work daily for approximately 20/25 hours per week. You should be an enthusiastic, self-motivated teamplayer with the ability to work independently at times. It would also be an advantage if you have a driving license.

THE CHILDREN’S MOVIE FEST IS HERE page

The internship is unpaid but will offer the opportunity to gain valuable work experience. BLUES w w w. c o p e n h a g e n b l u e s f e s t i v a l . d k

COPENHAGEN

Free access to 65 museums and attractions in the entire metropolitan area

See more at copenhagencard.com

SEPT. 28 - OCT. 2 · 2011

FESTIVAL

See full programme: w w w.copenhagenbluesfestival.dk & w w w.kultunaut.dk

Please send your application and CV to jeanne@cphpost.dk noting ‘Project Intern’ in the subject line. For more information please contact Jeanne Thames on 3336 3300.

14-03-2012 12:30:56

accountant Description: Over the past decade the Equinor group has provided international tax advice, company administration, and accountancy services to an international clientele consisting of private individuals, corporates, and funds. We have an experienced team of lawyers, accountants, and corporate secretaries from five countries. We are seeking a full time, experienced accountant whose primary role would be to assist with the preparation and finalisation of annual accounts for the holding companies we administer (assets typically include share capital, real estate, and aircraft).

the role woulD incluDe: • • • • • • •

Ongoing bookkeeping and accounting preparation using Navision Financials; Liaising directly with our international client base on accounting matters; Liaising with Danish and foreign auditors regarding the finalisation of accounts; Liaising with Danish tax authorities, the National Bank, Statistics Denmark, etc; VAT administration; Salary administration; Developing client accounting systems for our ever expanding client base;

Qualifications: Preferred applicants are cand.merc, HD or similar qualification in Accounting or Economics/ Finance and have extensive experience of accounts preparation and internal auditing.

Rygaards International School Invites experienced, enthusiastic and well-qualified teachers, familiar with and experienced in British-style education, to apply for the following teaching position. Applicants should be lively, energetic and committed professional teachers. They must also be native English speakers. The job will be for April 2012. Rygaards School has a Danish and an International English-speaking school each teaching its own separate curriculum. Rygaards International School consists of Key Stages 1 – 4 (Years 1 – 11). Rygaards is a Catholic school founded in 1909 by the Assumption sisters. The school has strong ecumenical traditions and welcomes applicants who are interested in actively supporting Christian values. It would be an advantage but not a requirement that the applicant be willing to teach in the Catholic Religion Programme.

The successful applicant with also be a proficient user of: • Navision Financials • Microsoft Office Applications, in particular excel

The teaching position is as follows: • A secondary school teacher with a combination of the following subjects; English, Drama and Music. This is to cover a maternity leave.

Due to the international nature of our client base, an excellent competence in both written and spoken English is vital. Fluency in Danish will be useful, but is not a necessity. An experience and understanding of other cultures are also important in order to adapt and understand the needs of our clients.

Terms of employment in accordance with contract between The Ministry of Finance and LC (Teaching Unions)

Also of interest would be a working knowledge of French and Italian.

we offer: • • • •

The opportunity to work directly with a varied international client base spanning the globe; Being a part of a highly motivated, enthusiastic team of existing staff; An attractive salary package including pension and fringe benefits; Opportunities for ongoing professional development.

Please send applications to a.soerensen@equinor.eu no later than 16th March 2012 Frederiksgade 21, 1265 Copenhagen a.soerensen@equinor.eu Phone: +45 39166166

Applications should be addressed to The Board of Governors and sent by e-mail to: The principal of Rygaards International School, Charles Dalton, charles.dalton@rygaards.com. Information about the school can be obtained from our website www.rygaards.com

Closing date for applications: Thursday the 20th March 2012

culture

The Copenhagen Post cphpost.dk

16 - 22 March 2012

his is big. Very big. And yet another indication that Danish music is on to something – also internationally – these years,” observed Erik Jensen, Politiken’s rock reviewer, about Volbeat’s achievement in early February when they topped the US Active Rock chart. The song, ‘A Warrior’s Call’ – which is boxer Mikkel Kessler’s preferred track to enter the ring to – is from an equally successful album, ‘Beyond Hell/Above Heaven’ (2010), which has sold 500,000 copies worldwide and gone platinum in Denmark, Germany and Finland, and gold in Sweden and Austria. Meanwhile, Volbeat continues to rock in a very big way. They have just completed their Gigantour tour, in the US and Canada, with Lacuna Coil and the legendary bands Megadeth and Motörhead. This included a chance for singer Michael Poulsen to perform with the rockicon and Motörhead frontman, Lemmy - a feat many rock musicians dream of but very few achieve. Volbeat finished touring on March 3 in Texas after 26 con-

Do you keep in touch with (or keep track of ) the Danish metal scene? And do you think Volbeat’s success will help pave the way for other Danish bands in the US or even in Denmark? I started playing deathmetal back in 1990 and released some demos and four albums with my first band called Dominus, and there are still some good bands

Danish interest in New York festival Shawna Braberry

nly in the nightmares of ‘Vild med Dans’ contestants do Latin American world dance champions and sleepwalking cannibals ever meet – that is until next month’s Tribeca Film Festival where they are central characters in two film entries with Danish roots set to make their North American debuts. The documentary ‘Ballroom Dancer’ and the drama ‘Eddie – the Sleepwalking Cannibal’ are two of 107 entries bidding to walk away with a prize at the festival in New York from April 18-29. The festival, co-founded by Robert De Niro and now enjoying its 11th year, had a total of 5,950 film submissions this year alone, and the final selections will represent 32 different countries and what the organisers hope will be the very best in contemporary international filmmaking. Entered in the World Documentary Feature Competition, ‘Ballroom Dancer’ was written and directed by Danish pairing Christian Bonke and Andreas

Malene Ørsted

Coming from the Danish scene, how is it playing for American fans? The American fans are great and seem very dedicated. They seem to enjoy that we don’t sound like any other bands or any American bands. We are having a great time here in the US with the fans, and we love to hang out with them. And I think they find it interesting that we’re not from the US, because lots of our music sounds like it is from the US. So we are very thankful for their support and dedication.

Koefoed. The film is a moving, intimate yet tragic love story documenting the successes and failures of Slavik Kryklyvyy, a reigning Latin American world dance champion, both on the dancefloor and in his personal life. The film is Bonke and Koefoed’s feature length directorial debut. ‘Eddie – The Sleepwalking Cannibal’ is a co-production between Denmark’s Fridthjof Film and Canadian director Boris Rodriguez, and has been entered into the crowd-pleasing Cinemania Section of the festival. The main character, a once-famous artist called Lars Olaafsen, played by Danish actor Thure Lindhardt, finds himself inspired by a friend whom he later finds out is a sleepwalking cannibal. The Tribeca Film Festival was founded by De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff in 2001 to encourage the economic and cultural revitalisation of lower Manhatten following the 9/11 attacks. The last Dane to make a splash at the festival was Karoline Leth, who was a co-producer of the film ‘Defamation’ which won Best Documentary Feature with a special jury mention in 2009.

Who is ... Anne-Grethe Bjarup Riis? Bjarne Bergius Hermansen

Weeks after topping the US Active Rock chart with Mikkel Kessler’s boxing hymn, ‘A Warrior’s Call’, the Danish band Volbeat continue to reach new heights

certs. But they will soon be on the road again. On April 28 the band will achieve yet another landmark, when they perform for the first time in a South American country: namely Santiago in Chile. The Copenhagen Post caught up with Michael Poulsen ahead of the band finishing their US tour and found that no matter how big Volbeat makes it, this frontman is never too far from his Danish roots.

She is a Danish actress, author, feminist and film director.

Volbeat coming to a town near you, providing that town is Santiago, Chile

from that time, like Konkhra, Invocator, Illdisposed and new bands like Hatesphere, Raunchy, the Candidate, Dawn of Demise – they are great too. I think lots of new bands are good enough to pave their own way to success – they don’t need Volbeat for that, but if we can help somehow, it’s cool. Volbeat’s music takes inspiration from a wide variety of

genres. Does the band plan to tour with bands of other genres or do they prefer to tour with fellow metal-heads? We are open to lots of different types of bands, as long as it makes sense for everybody. And during the time we have been on the road, we have played with lots of different bands of different genres. So it can be everything: metal, rock, rocka-

billy, country, punk, pop rock, electronic music. You told Metroxpress that Mikkel Kessler said he would get a tattoo of Volbeat’s logo if the song ‘A Warrior’s Call’ reached number one. Has he got it yet? Yes, that’s a fact, but he hasn’t got it yet. Maybe he’s getting it this very minute!

Voted out, kicked out, breaking out Ben Hamilton Decision by Thomas Blachman’s last remaining ‘X Factor’ team proves there’s more than two ways to leave a TV talent show

n a parallel universe, all of Thomas Blachman’s charges would have been preparing for last Friday’s ‘X Factor’, hopeful of advancing to the final on March 23. But this is planet Earth, and a DR press release – barely six hours before the programme was due to air - that his last remaining duo, Jean Michel and Nicoline Simone (JM/NS), had decided to leave the show two weeks before the final completed one of the most extraordinary mentorships in the history of the programme. In the release Jean Michel explained he was leaving for “personal reasons” referring to “other opportunities” open to him, and his co-singer Nicoline Simone, a young 17-year-old woman who he had never met before auditioning for the show last year, said that she “was sorry” but “respected” his decision. Their withdrawal means that Blachman, who threw one of his other duos under a bus when they had a fighting chance of making

Scanpix/Jean-Paul Pelissier

Claudia Santos

www.cwgmagazine.com

All across the Americas, the rockers who’ve got it beat

Jean Michel and Nicoline Simone were 7/2 to win ‘X Factor’ ahead of their withdrawal

it to the final five, has no remaining competitors. His third duo were eliminated in the first week, paying the price for their mentor’s snide remarks at the expense of Pernille Rosendahl’s acts, who ultimately delivered an underserved coup de grace, choosing instead to spare a singer who most agreed was probably the weakest the show has ever seen. JM/NS’s elimination meant that no act left on Friday night, which despite an appearance by Lionel Ritchie was a decidedly drab affair and just one hour long instead of the normal 90 minutes. Instead, the votes counted on Friday will contribute to this Friday’s tallies, which will decide who qualifies for the final.

JM/NS were widely tipped to make the final. At the time of their departure, they were 7/2 second favourites to win with the state bookmaker, tips.dk, behind Ida (3/5). Since then, the betting has changed somewhat. While Ida remains odds-on to win, Line, the rank outsider last week, is now a 4/1 second favourite after being heavily backed in from 14/1. However, Line is 11/2 with Bet 365, which is operating a 115 percent book (i.e. if balanced, its profit will be 15 percent of the total take) compared to the state’s 117.5 percent – a vast improvement on the stingy books it ran before the market opened up to competitors on January 1.

Where might I have seen her? In something that scared you probably, like ‘Vild med Dans’ or for a fleeting moment in the porn scene in Lars von Trier’s Dogme movie ‘Idioterne’. She’s a tough-talking hippy-chick with thick eye-liner who is prone to fierce outbursts on reality and debate shows – did we mention that most people find her really annoying. Nevertheless, recently she has surprised everyone by directing ‘Hvidsten Gruppen’, a film about the Danish resistance during the Second World War. Sounds interesting. Well, she’s spent most of her life fighting the ‘Nazis’ around her. Political is she? You could say that. Look under your bed and she’s the one dressed in crimson. Despite her cinematic successes, she’s probably still best known for her very loud appearances on TV, talking about anything from childcare to nuclear power – and most recently, prostitution. Why is that? Because she cares. As the country’s first lady of feminism, her voice will be heard ... unfortunately, though, over those who actually know what they’re talking about. An appearance on TV2 Go’ Morgen Danmark was a classic case in point. For all her good intentions, she couldn’t stop interrupting the other guest with her confused ranting – to the point that the host, Morten Resen, had to threaten to put tape over her mouth. Then what happened? It didn’t work, but it did make her a bit of a laughing stock around Denmark for her lack of communication skills – let’s face it, the feminist’s viewpoint on prostitution is a pretty easy argument to win. Why was she on the show? The producers were impressed by an opinion she submitted to the tabloid Ekstra Bladet. So Ekstra Bladet is her newspaper of choice? For exclusives it is. It was them she turned to first to share her shaving habits. She does her armpits, and also her lower regions. She likes to “keep it down”.

16 - 22 March 2012

Denmark through the looking glass The Copenhagen Post cphpost.dk

Atomic scientist’s quantum leap changed the world of physics forever

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY/AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Bohr, photographed in 1948 at Princeton University aged 63, saw out the latter years of his career in the US, promoting the peaceful application of atomic energy

Mark Walker It was Niels Bohr’s broad shoulders that the members of the Manhatten Project stood on to create the first atom bomb – conversely, though, he didn’t approve of its devastating use

or such a tiny country, Denmark certainly punches above its weight, and the sciences certainly are no exception. With Tycho Brahe’s keen eye trained on the infinite heavens above and, centuries later, Niels Henrik David Bohr’s brilliant mind engaged with the smallest known units of matter, Denmark has, at one time or another, had the entire universe covered. Born in Copenhagen in 1885, Bohr was, like his father before him, a physicist. Dedicated to unravelling the secrets of nature, Bohr completed his studies at the University of Copenhagen and left for England. It was here that he developed ‘the Bohr model’ that sought to explain the workings of the atom and the behaviour of subatomic particles within. Bohr followed many celebrated philosophers and physicists who had applied their learning to the question of that which everything is made of: ‘matter’. Amazingly, more than 2,000 years ago, the Greek philosopher Democritus stated that he believed there to be an indivisible unit of matter that he called ‘atomos’ (meaning ‘no-cut’). Of course, back then there were no means with which people could prove or disprove such theories, and the scientific community had believed him to be wrong for many hundreds of years. They preferred Aristotle’s theory of an infinitely divisible matter. Fast forward to the turn of the 20th

century, and physicists had not only found Democritus to be correct, but were going beyond the surface of the atom to find out what happens inside it. This was the domain of quantum physics – a field of study of which Bohr would go on to be credited as the founding father, and a world which is governed by laws utterly unlike the world that we can see. You don’t have to be a physicist to get excited about quantum physics; its laws are so crazy that it frequently enters the realm of science fiction, with particles that behave unpredictably: appearing and disappearing, existing in several places at the same time, suggesting new dimensions in space and time. Bohr famously stated: “Anyone who is not shocked by quantum theory has not understood it.” Following on from his two British mentors – JJ Thompson discovered the electron and Ernest Rutherford the proton – the stage was set for Bohr to discover how these particles worked together. In an experiment with a hydrogen atom – a unique atom because it contains only one proton and one electron (all other types of atom contain at least two) – Bohr discovered that the negatively-charged electron travels in orbit around the positively-charged proton at the centre: a nucleus. It can also travel at different orbital heights from the nucleus depending on the energy level of the electron. To travel higher, closer to the surface of the atom, the electron requires more energy. By means of stimulating an atom with energy (i.e heat) the electron would rise to a higher orbit, but on its descent back to a lower level, it would expel the exact amount of energy it used to rise. That energy amount is expelled in the form of coloured light, which can then be measured in units known as photons. From the light, Bohr could discern the subatomic structure in

correlation with the chemical identity of a given atom. Bohr also found that the light is sometimes emitted in apparently random directions. It was this research that laid the foundations for quantum physics and contributed to Bohr winning the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1922. Bohr’s life, just like his work, was littered with contradictions: positive and negative forces working together. The Bohr Model earned him the respect of Albert Einstein who, having established his widely accepted theory of relativity, represented a different approach to physics. The seemingly unpredictable nature of the quantum world was difficult to reconcile with his own classical physics, and the pair would have many friendly debates throughout their lives in an attempt to unify their theories. Einstein famously said: “I, at any rate, am convinced that he [god] does not throw dice.” By the time Nazi Germany occu-

pied Denmark, Bohr was running an institute for theoretical physics at his old university. Werner Heisenberg, Bohr’s one-time assistant, came visiting from Germany in 1941. He warned his dear friend of the dangers that might await Bohr, who was Jewish. Heisenberg, a brilliant physicist in his own right, was developing an atomic weapon for Hitler. Bohr was shocked. That meeting between Bohr and Heisenberg is the subject of much debate (dramatised in ‘Copenhagen’, a play by Michael Frayn, which was in 2002 adapted into a BBC film starring Daniel Craig and Stephen Rea). It was that meeting, and the threat of being taken by the Nazis, which saw Bohr flee to Los Alamos, New Mexico in 1943 to assist with the American effort to build a weapon of their own before Hitler got there first. Although Bohr’s involvement was minimal, one can’t fail to see the contradiction in a man, who studies the world around him,

contributing to a destructive device that literally tears it apart. Bohr spent many years after the war promoting the peaceful application of atomic energy. While writing this piece, I paid a visit to the Bohr family plot in Assistens Cemetery in Nørrebro. I spotted a set of dice on Bohr’s grave below his name. I instantly thought of Einstein’s quote and smiled. The dice have spots tallying an opposite number on the opposing faces, and have been arranged with the ends mirroring each other. It may be intended to refer to Bohr’s ‘complementary theory’ in which he proposes the principle that objects may function despite containing contradictory properties. Bohr even designed himself a coat of arms featuring a yin and yang symbol. The motto reads: “Opposites are complementary.” Whatever the dice refer to, they seem a fitting gesture to a brilliant mind who dedicated his life to understanding the opposing forces in nature.

Factfile | Bohr’s legacy Three years after Bohr’s death in 1962, the University of Copenhagen changed the name of its Institute of Physics to the Niels Bohr Institute. The chemical element bohrium (atomic number 107) is named after Bohr, as is ‘Asteroid 3948 Bohr’. The chemical element hafnium, whose properties Bohr predicted, was named after Hafnia, the Latin name for Copenhagen, in honour of Bohr. In 1997, Bohr’s image first appeared on the 500 kroner note – a bill that remained in circulation until February 2011.

Proton

Orbit n=1

Electron

n=2 n=3

n=4

At first glance the Bohr Model (of the hydrogen atom) looks like a solar system

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