The Copenhagen Post | Apr 5-11

Steroids are an accepted part of many Danish gyms

Did Jesus really die upon that cross?

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6 -11 April 2013 | Vol 16 Issue 14

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After weeks of warning, the teacher lockout is on

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

NEWS

As search for missing Dane in Switzerland turns up no leads, police suspect suicide

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NEWS

Injection room works Copenhagen’s first legal drug injection room saves 30 lives in its first six months of operation

7 SPORT

Colliding cultures Part II of our series: The ups and downs of when Danes and non-Danes marry A new rugby union youth initiative could see the country become super-competitive in the 2020s

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BUSINESS

With the government’s investments in infrastructure, there are concerns about the lack of skilled labour

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Report contradicts Defence Ministry on Afghan interpreters PETER STANNERS

Not enough workers?

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Defence minister offers help to eight Afghan interpreters, but new information raises questions over whether Denmark should offer help to far more

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HE DEFENCE Ministry did not relay accurate information to parliament about the safety of the Afghan interpreters who assisted Danish forces, according to Information newspaper.

The inaccuracies were exposed in a report prepared by the military’s chief of defence, Peter Bartam, which was delivered to parliament’s Defence Committee on Tuesday.

The report revealed that the Defence Ministry knew that five interpret-

ers had been killed and 12 others had been injured while working with Danish forces. In January, the defence minister, Nick Hækkerup (Socialdemokraterne), told Jyllands-Posten newspaper that he did not know of any killed or injured interpreters.

Hækkerup later attempted to clarify that he knew that interpreters had been killed, but not that they were working for Danish forces, because that information had not been relayed to him.

The Danish military’s lack of accurate information on interpreters was blamed on the fact that Denmark does not directly employ its interpreters, but instead leases them from the US and British forces.

The report states that “[the Defence Command] has been largely dependent upon information made available by

foreign partners, and the Defence Command therefore only has a limited ability to validate the information.”

The report was commissioned in March by the Defence Ministry following revelations that the Danish forces had used interpreters drawn from their local communities, contradicting repeated statements Hækkerup made to the contrary.

The revelations sparked a debate about Denmark’s responsibility for the safety of interpreters after the NATOled ISAF forces withdraw from Afghanistan, with many arguing that the interpreters ought to be offered the chance to seek asylum in Denmark.

Hækkerup has previously argued that Denmark has no responsibility to take care of the interpreters. He said that Denmark did not employ them directly

and that the interpreters were not drawn from the local communities where they worked, thus making them less susceptible to reprisal attacks from Taleban forces.

Following evidence that at least eight of the 195 interpreters Denmark used were drawn from their local communities, Hækkerup announced on Tuesday that those individual interpreters would be offered help.

“We need to take all the interpreters into consideration, but these eight are particularly threatened because they have to return to the same local region where they have worked as interpreters,” Hækkerup told Politiken newspaper.

Hækkerup added that the details had yet be agreed upon, but they could involve paying interpreters and their families to relocate to less dangerous areas of the country.

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Week in review

The Copenhagen Post cphpost.dk

CPH Post Word of the Week:

6 - 11 April 2013 THE WEEK’S MOST READ STORIES AT CPHPOST.DK

Nøgen (adj) – Naked. Where you heard it: The format of ‘X Factor’ host Thomas Blachman’s new show, in which two men sit with and discuss a naked woman, has been pilloried by many as sexist

Growing up half-Danish: A tale of two cultures

Scanpix / Henning Bagger

Welcome home

Danish money is the dirtiest in Europe The teachers’ conflict: What it’s all about Nation scores lowest in western Europe in stance towards foreigners She left Denmark in order to find success here

FROM OUR ARCHIVES TEN YEARS AGO. Some 1,500 Muslim men and women congregated at Rådhuspladsen for the first ever Copenhagen public prayer.

FIVE YEARS AGO. Copenhagen’s Metro is named the world’s best underground system by a panel of international experts.

ONE YEAR AGO. Father in the Rebild sexual assault case sentenced to indefinite detention by an Aalborg court.

The Danish military aircraft Hercules returned to Aalborg on Wednesday from Afghanistan, carrying with it 36 soldiers who have been gone for 15 months. Awaiting their arrival were family members, friends, and of course the Dannebrog

sell now rather than wait several months for the other churches to make a decision. The roughly 90-year-old churches, however, do not want to be sold to owners who will turn them into a supermarket or a discotheque. According to a realty expert, there should be no shortage of potential buyers for the two churches.

Denmark’s only English-language newspaper

Uranium a go

Greenland’s newly appointed labour and industry minister, Jens-Erik Kirkegaard, has said in an interview that he intends to look into doing away with the nation’s zero tolerance approach to uranium. Kirkegaard argued that Greenland would likely follow in the footsteps of the EU when it comes to uranium,

President and Publisher Ejvind Sandal

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.

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

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News Editor Justin Cremer Journalists Peter Stanners, Ray Weaver & Christian Wenande

switching from the current 60 grammes per tonne (Greenland’s status of zero tolerance) to 1,000 grammes per tonne. Kirkegaard said that Greenland is looking to its neighbour Canada for inspiration on its approach to uranium.

Kirkegaard formally assumed his ministerial post on Friday when the new government assembled.

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For the first time in history, it will be up to estate agents to sell the closed churches on the free housing market, according to Kristeligt-Dagblad newspaper. The congregations of Samuels Church (pictured) and Blågårds Church, two of the 14 churches threatened by closure in Copenhagen, have decided to

Greenland Minerals and Energy

Scanpix / Torkil Adsersen

For sale

CORRECTION On page 19, we referred to Jørgen Leth’s documentary as both ‘Det erotiske menneske’ and ‘Den erotiske mand’. The first is correct.

Cheap taxi

Every weekend young partygoers bog down the 112 emergency number by calling ambulances for friends who have become too drunk. The boozy youths think that they can obtain a medic to take over the care of their drunken friends so that the party can keep going. Often those placing the calls are too drunk to

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be understood over the phone.

The ambulances say that they are not a taxi service and that picking up drunken teens could be very dangerous for people who actually need help. After metroXpress reported the story, its readers were furious and suggested that those who abuse the emergency line should be punished harshly.

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News

The Copenhagen Post cphpost.dk

6 - 11 April 2013

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Teacher lockout leaves children and parents at a loose end ...

Scanpix / Kasper Palsnov

Peter Stanners Teacher negotiations have reached an impasse, leading to speculation that the government will have to intervene

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round 69,000 teachers have been prevented from showing up to work this week because their collective bargaining agreement expired on Sunday and a new one has not yet been reached.

The lockout has affected almost 900,000 children and adults who are taught by teachers whose working conditions are outlined in the agreement between the teachers union, Danmarks Lærerforening (DLF), and the state and the local government association, KL. Without the new collective bargaining agreement, teachers cannot come into work, throwing families into disarray and leaving hundreds of thousands at a loose end.

Rikke Østergaard is a mother of three in Måløv. Teachers at the school of her two eldest children, aged 12 and 9, are currently locked out, forcing the family to come up with alternative plans for care and education.

“Right now, the boys think it is pretty exciting,” Østergaard told The Copenhagen Post on Tuesday. “Today and tomorrow they are with their paternal grandmother, and the following two days, my parents will come over and do some lessons with them. Every day during the lockout, they will be doing their school work following a plan that we have developed with them.”

Nationwide, there are just over 8,000 teachers who are not employed through the collective bargaining agreement. They must show up to school as normal, but neither they nor substitute teachers are permitted to take over work from teachers who cannot work because of the conflict, however. That leaves many students with a haphazard schedule.

In order to reduce the burden on parents who would have to look after their children in the intervening time, some schools have chosen to restructure their schedules so students are taught in blocks of lessons as far as possible. However, many students will go completely without lessons until the conflict is resolved, placing enormous pressure on families to find ways to keep their children occupied and supervised during working hours.

Some businesses and organisations have stepped up to entertain the affected children. In Copenhagen, for example, children who are members of the football association Boldklubben Union can head to football school between 7:30am and 4pm every day while the conflict is going on, and the bakery Nordisk Brødhus on Rantzausgade is offering children the opportunity to bake between 9am and 2pm.

The conflict has arisen because KL and the government

While classrooms sit empty across Denmark, movie theatres, zoos and amusement parks are packed

want to give schools more flexibility in how a teacher’s working hours are divided by scrapping the current 25-hour limit that teachers are allowed to teach. The limit was designed to allow teachers plenty of preparation time, and teachers argue that scrapping the limit and giving headteachers more power to set working hours will only end up reducing the quality of education.

With the two sides looking increasingly entrenched in their position, it looks unlikely that they will reach a compromise.

The conflict could in theory last indefinitely, though it is unlikely to last more than the two months that the teachers’ union can afford to cover the salaries of the teachers who are locked out of their workplaces.

If the parties cannot find a compromise, the government can step in and write a law to settle the conflict, though this would violate the Danish labour market model that has historically settled working conditions through consensus and negotiation instead of law.

While commentators speculate that an intervention is probably the most likely way to resolve the conflict, PM Helle ThorningSchmidt (Socialdemokraterne) refused to say if and when the government would get involved.

“Let the conflict run in accordance with the Danish model,” Thorning-Schmidt said at her weekly press conference on Tuesday. “It’s wrong to already talk about a legal intervention.”

Perspectives on the lockout Two teachers weigh in on the ongoing conflict Opinion, pages 8-9

... but is a financial boon to both the government and the leisure industry Ray Weaver But will the short-term savings add up to long-term losses?

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epending on how the numbers are crunched, the teacher lockout is either saving or costing the public sector money. Wages adding up to just over 100 million kroner each day are not being paid, but at the same time, 56 million kroner in taxes are not being paid into the public coffers.

The think-tank Kraka has taken a closer look at the economic consequences of the dispute between Kommunernes Landsforening (KL), the local government association, and the teachers who are locked out from their jobs.

Kraka’s calculations suggested that while the state and local governments seem to be saving money in the short-term, the loss in productivity and the social costs of the conflict could actually result in the final tally winding up in the loss column.

The think-tank included in its figures the loss of productivity caused by employees who have to take children with them to work and are therefore not as effective as usual.

“There is a public expenditure side that you would not

normally think about,” Kraka’s senior economist, Kristian Thor Jakobsen, told Politiken newspaper, adding that the drops in productivity and efficiency will get worse if the conflict grinds on and continues to put greater burdens on parents and kids.

Jakobsen also factors the classroom hours that the children are missing into his spreadsheet.

“Losses for the children are losses for everyone, given that these classes will not be made up later on,” he said.

One sure, if somewhat sheepish, winner during the lockout is the country’s leisure industry. Cinemas and amusement parks expect an increasing number of visitors because of the lockout.

The thousands of children who are currently not in classrooms are expected to be a boon to the leisure industry. As such, theatres and amusement parks have expanded their programmes and opening hours to help – and attract – lockoutaffected families.

“There will probably be some grandparents caring for kids that cannot go to school,” Henrik Hörmann, the head of Legoland amusement park, told the freesheet metroXpress.

Nordisk Film Cinemas have also prepared for an increasing number of guests.

“We are staying open longer and have more films on the programme in the coming weeks,” Nordisk Film Cinema’s head, John Tønnes, told metroXpress.

Tønnes said that entire school classes have been buying up blocks of tickets, but stressed that Nordisk Film Cinemas is not trying to exploit the conflict.

“It is a difficult balance, because it is not our desire to profit from it, but we have an obligation to offer cultural entertainment if people demand it,” he said.

The animals at the Copen-

hagen Zoo are also seeing a benefit from the lockout as they are being fed more often.

“We have received calls from parent groups who have come together to look after the students,” Sami Widell, an event arranger for the zoo, told metroXpress. “We have expanded the programme this week with more feedings and greater access to our workshop.”

Kraka based its calculations on about 48,000 locked-out fulltime positions with an average annual salary of 460,000 kroner.

ANZAC DAY CEREMONYCOPENHAGEN Thursday 25 April 2013 10.00 am to 12.00 pm at the Residence of the Australian Ambassador, Øregårds Alle 27, Hellerup (Copenhagen) Australian and New Zealand citizens and other interested members of the public are invited to attend. Due to security requirements, participants must pre-register. Please RSVP to the Australian Embassy by email, copenhagenanzac@gmail.com or call +45 7026 3676 to register your name no later than Monday 15 April 2013.

As this will be an outdoor event, please dress accordingly.

Lest we forget

4 Cover Story Raising international children: Challenges and rewards The Copenhagen Post cphpost.dk

Ray Weaver

“There is always someone who they miss,” said Lisa. “They always have a sense of being split between the two places.”

The decision about where to live “remains hard, even after 23 years”, said Kevin.

Although he firmly believes his sons have benefited from growing up in two cultures, he knows that there are challenges ahead.

“We are just beginning to enter the teenage years, so we will have to continue to work on finding a middle ground between the more permissive views in Denmark and the more conservative ones in the US,” he said.

Cultural differences that can start off as endearing often turn into stumbling blocks when it comes to parenting

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omances between expats and Danes and the children born out of the musician/bartender/ pub scene are so common they are clichés. The government certainly doesn’t need to start a pilot programme to attract more foreign bartenders or guitarslinging troubadours to Danish shores. Expat families based on the Guinness pipeline abound across the country.

Whether they meet over an Irish coffee on a cold Copenhagen night, or during a steamy holiday in Spain, they have a fling and become infatuated, each perhaps entranced by the other’s uniqueness compared to the same-old-same-old back at home. Despite the dire warnings of those who have braved the same path before them, the happy couple set up home, get married and have kids.

A totally unscientific chat with three international couples battling cultural differences – and occasionally each other – as they struggle to guide their offspring through childhood in Denmark revealed both the differences and the mutual respect the couples lean on to help them through.

Jerome Lacarriere is the fullblooded Irish owner of a pub in Aalborg. He and his Danish wife Gitte have two children. She is a designer and artist, so both parents juggle intensely timeconsuming careers while raising their nine-year-old daughter Molly and six-year-old son Luca.

The Lacarrieres strive to create a sense of balance between the two cultures.

“We were brought up in different countries with different mentalities,” Gitte said. “Even though most of our norms are probably Danish, we try to mix both.”

While many blended couples say that Danish society is the more permissive, Jerome feels that Gitte actually lays down “a few more rules than myself ”.

Both agree that exposing their children to different cultures is a plus when it comes to language and education, though Gitte said that the integration process is sometimes a challenge.

And then there is the whole sex and drinking thing. The elephant on the Tivoli table. For better or for worse, sex and alcohol are subjects that parents are forced to confront much sooner in Denmark than in, say, Denver.

Programmes full of drunk, bare-bottomed and breasted, enthusiastically rutting, teenagers are a regular part of Danish TV, and they are not restricted to a late hour after the kiddies have been trundled off to bed. No, they are on right there at dinner

6 - 11 April 2013

Striking a balance

For the Lacarriere family, there is a constant effort to balance the couple’s Irish and Danish cultural roots

his daughter. He also doesn’t care much for the Danish drinking culture, but I am a bit more relaxed. I survived it.”

Shaun said that he is definitely more conservative than both his ex-wife and his current one, so he expects that there may be some battles as the kids get older. He said that he wasn’t as concerned about cultural differences so much as everyone agreeing on what he called “the basics of parenting”.

Even though the Freemans’ children are now older, the Shaun Patterson, a Scot, has to navigate the Danish “I asked Emily if decision on where to live remains a difficult one drinking culture with his daughter Emily she felt a difference because she had parents from different countries, and time. The non-Danish parent is Where to settle down? she said she didn’t,” said Tine. often a bit perturbed at sharing a “Some of her rules might be a Thai takeaway with little Lars and More often than not, the bit stricter, but not unfair.”

Anna while watching bare boobs English-speaking man or wombounce across the flat screen. an decides to chuck it all and It would be easier to From Bangs to rites As a pub owner, Jerome is come to Denmark to start their neither a teetotaller nor a prude, own fairytale life in HC An- just always go with the Kevin Freeman is musician but he does feel that children in dersenland. The first and easiest Danish ‘flow’, but some from Texas. He met his now exDenmark often get the wrong job that many expats can get in wife Lisa, a travel consultant from message.

Denmark is to sling drinks – or, things that are common Glostrup, when she was an ex“It’s the environment and if they can manage a passable in Denmark are no-gos change student in the tiny Texan culture that surrounds them version of ‘Whiskey in the Jar’, town of Bangs nearly a quarter of with superficial reality shows to perform – in one of the coun- for us a century ago. They fell in love, like ‘Paradise Hotel’ telling them try’s ubiquitous Irish/English/ cussed between Shaun and his married and had two sons, Danthat it’s okay to drink, smoke Scottish/American pubs. and cover your body with soShaun Patterson works as a ex-wife. Tine concerns herself iel (13) and Douglas (10). They called cool tattoos,” he said. bar manager in Aalborg. He and with the day-to-day when the have tried life in both Texas and Jerome said that Molly was his Danish wife Tine, a nurse, children are at home with her Denmark during their marriage, occasionally miffed with him were recently married. Their sit- and Shaun, and she helps Shaun ultimately settling here. Recently because she wasn’t allowed to uation is a bit different, because with guiding Emily through the divorced, they remain close and share custody of their sons. watch programmes that her Shaun, who is Scottish, has two Danish teen drinking culture.

Both say that having their “It is just as much typical other friends could watch, but children from an earlier marboth parents were in complete riage to another Danish woman. father/daughter things as it is children always being away from agreement on who was the final Tine said that most of the cultural differences that we dis- one half of their extended family decision-maker in the Lacarriere big decisions concerning Emily cuss,” said Tine. “Shaun raises is the toughest part of an interhousehold: “The Dane”.

(15) and Alisdair (13) are dis- his son differently than he does national relationship.

Many is the expat who has bristled upon the first time a kindergartener had addressed them by their first name or when a six-year-old has dropped the Fbomb at Christmas dinner with Granny over visiting from Dublin or Houston.

Lisa said that they take each issue as it comes and work to strike a balance between the two cultures.

“It would be easier to just always go with the Danish ‘flow’, but some things that are common in Denmark – like the F-word for example – are no-gos for us,” said Lisa. “The kids know that it is still considered a very inappropriate word in the US, so we do not use it in our home.”

Both Kevin and Lisa say that they would be raising their sons in exactly the same way, regardless of which flag they were living under.

“Our parental decisionmaking has always been a balance between the two of us, and it remains that way even though we are divorced,” said Kevin.

Every parent knows that even raising kids with a partner who grew up next door is already a challenge. After a few years, both sides of a mixed couple often begin to realise that their differences, which were at first so endearing and enchanting, can turn into stumbling blocks the size of Stonehenge when it comes to blending cultures, and yet somewhere in a pub tonight, another young man from York or Brisbane is twisting his tongue and trying to say, “Jeg elsker dig” without sounding like a fool.

Series: Half-Danes This is the second of a threepart series. The first instalment looked at the children of mixed marriages who find themselves navigating two cultures. It can be found on our website. Up next week will be the phenomenon of ‘third-culture kids’, who are brought up in Denmark without a connection to their parents’ home countries.

NEWS

THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK

6 - 11 April 2013

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EU ruling on SU to cost millions China-Europe research centre opening CHRISTIAN WENANDE

timates that there are 342 cases a solution that would make it that were put on hold while the less financially attractive for EU decision was being deliber- foreign students to come to ated, and a further 600 or so Denmark.

“The main problem is that, cases that could be reopened if the former students decide to financially, a Romanian student will get more out of working appeal. Østergaard believes that the and studying in Denmark than EU ruling will give EU students a Dane would,” Mads Rørvig, a a considerable incentive to V spokesperson, told DR News.

V’s position was backed come to Denmark to study and he expects SU expenses to rise up by right-wing party Dansk Folkeparti (DF), which said in the upcoming years.

“We will have to wait and see that the decision would lead to what develops. The SU reform is students flocking to Denmark designed to ensure that we have to receive an education that is funded by Danish an SU systaxpayers. tem that “According to is geared the government’s to handle evaluation of the many more s t u d e n t s Financially, a Romanian ruling, students just need a 10-12 hourand to pro- student will get more per-week job, which vide a platis equal to a newspaform to in- out of working and per route, in order vest in job studying in Denmark to receive SU,” Jens c re a t i o n ,” Henrik Thulesen Østergaard than a Dane would Dahl, a DF spokessaid. “The person, explained EU decision is a result of our member- to DR News. “It’s incredible that ship in the union, and we must the EU can coerce us to pay for adhere to it, even when the deci- the education of everyone in the EU. It will undermine our SU sions go against us.”

While opposition party system and force us to restructure Venstre (V) agreed that the rul- the entire system.”

The 200 million kroner will ing will attract many more EU students to Denmark, it said be found in the budget agreethat the 200 million kroner es- ment and will be added to the timate is far too low and called already 19 billion kroner that for the negotiations regarding the Danish state spends on the the SU reform to come up with SU scheme every year.

Opposition parties warn that the SU system is far too lucrative and will attract hordes of EU students looking to cash in

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HE EUROPEAN Union ruling on the state-allocated student allowance (SU) in February will cost the Danish state upwards of 200 million kroner a year, according to the Education Ministry.

The EU decision means that students from other EU countries studying in Denmark have the right to receive SU if they are employed two months before their studies begin, or if they work a minimum 1012 hours per week while they study. If EU citizens meet these work requirements, they will be seen as ‘workers’ and thus cannot be denied social benefits such as SU. According to the education minister, Morten Østergaard (Radikale), the EU ruling will change the educational landscape in Denmark.

“It means that we will have to change our practices in the area,” Østergaard told Ritzau news service.

The decision also means that there are a number of pending and previously rejected cases that will have to be re-examined.

The Education Ministry es-

Super supplements in 2013

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and a platform for the exchange of views between European and Chinese researchers,” Yang stated in a press release.

According to Geir Helgesen, who will be one of the centre’s directors, China is particularly interested in the Nordic welfare model.

“China has been studying our collective welfare systems in the Nordics for a long time, but now China is also looking more broadly at the classic Nordic social institutions, not least the underlying political culture,” Helgesen said.

According to Politiken newspaper, this marks only the second time that a Chinese university has established a centre abroad. (PS)

Too many foreign students leads to fines Nearly 100m kroner in fines handed out for not adhering to regulations regarding the balance of exchange students

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ANISH universities have to pay fines totalling 97.5 million kroner for accepting more foreign exchange students than they send abroad, according to metroXpress. The fines stem from the universities having broken regulations that state that the number of incoming foreign students must be equal to the number of Danish students that

go to foreign universities.

“The goal is to get more Danish students to go out on foreign exchange,” the minister of higher education, Morten Østergaard (Radikale), told metroXpress.

Kristian Thorn, the deputy rector of Aarhus University, said that the punishment is self-defeating.

“It is very inexpedient that we are being punished for attracting students from abroad when the national ambition is to make Danish universities more international,” Thorn told me-

troXpress. “Foreign students add great value to our universities and to the study environment.”

Aarhus University is facing a fine of ten million kroner.

Emilie Normann, the head of international affairs at Aalborg University, agreed with Thorn.

“It is important to accept international students,” she said.

“It is very frustrating that we must now limit the number we can admit because there has to be a balance.” Østergaard said that he is now considering revising the regulations. (ET)

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UNIQUE Sino-European research centre, a collaboration between China’s Fudan University (FU) and the University of Copenhagen (KU), will open its doors on April 16.

The Fudan-Europe Center for Modern and Comparative China Studies, which will open in KU’s Nordic Institute of Asian Studies (NIAS), will provide European and Chinese researchers with a better opportunity to study each others’ social, political and economic systems.

“The University of Copen-

hagen has strategically invested in research on Asia over many years,” KU’s rector, Ralf Hemmingsen, stated in a press release.

“The new centre will considerably strengthen the university’s research and give us a prominent position in Europe within this broad and important field.”

While research collaborations between Europe and China have traditionally focused on the natural sciences, the Fudan Centre will instead focus on political and social issues.

FU’s rector, Yang Yuliang, said that this humanities-based research may provide Chinese and European researchers with new and novel insights.

“We hope that the centre will function as both a bridge

May

This year we continue to bring you fantastic supplements packed with educational information and cultural flare from around the world. From Beer festivals to the Copenhagen Opera Festival there is ample opportunity for advertisers to reach a greater market.

Should you wish to book an advert for one of the upcoming supplements, give us a call or email us!

Collaboration between China’s Fudan University and the University of Copenhagen hopes to provide cultural insight

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6 News Denmark a hotbed of illegal steroid use The Copenhagen Post cphpost.dk

Colourbox

Ray Weaver The nation is a key player in the manufacture, sale and smuggling of doping agents, and steroids are now an accepted part of the culture at many fitness centres

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here are fitness centres across the country where the use of doping agents, including anabolic steroids and growth hormones, is such an accepted part of the culture that the illegal substances are bought and sold openly inside the centres.

The prevalence of banned substances in Danish fitness centres is supported by both anonymous internet sources and the country’s leading fitness researcher.

“There is typically a distribution, resale and organised recruitment network bringing together new potential clients inside these centres,” Kasper Lund Kirkegaard, a researcher for Danmarks Idræts-Forbund (DIF), the country’s athletics association, told Politiken newspaper.

The environment inside the centres is such that clients shooting themselves up with steroids are generally left alone, and centres often choose to

At many fitness centres in Denmark, pumping iron is not enough – clients also openly use and sell steroids

deny access to the watchdog group Anti Doping Denmark.

Although the substances are illegal, police departments do not see them as a high priority.

“Doping is not an organised crime area that we are targeting,” Steffen Steffensen, the commissioner of Copenhagen Police, told Politiken.

As many as 44,000 Danes have admitted to using steroids,

according to a study by the University of Southern Denmark.

The exact number of centres acting as ‘doping havens’ is unclear, but Kirkegaard said his research suggests that as many as 20 centres may be turning a blind eye to dopers. Contributors to various internet forums estimate that there may be as many as 50 of the so-called ‘iron caves’ scattered around the country.

‘Iron caves’ are easily spotted. They often host racks of dumbbells weighing as much as 105 kilos, are open around the clock and grant access to those with a personal chip card. They do not get involved in members’ personal choices regarding steroids, and the sale and use of banned substances are often conducted in plain sight.

“I have seen several athletes

walking around with a syringe in their hand, and sales are not exactly hidden either,” wrote one anonymous poster on bodybuilding.dk.

The Temple Gym in Amager is one of the most notorious centres in the country. The facility is home to many members of the Danish bodybuilding elite, and is known as a place where members both make and sell steroids.

Although many anonymous sources confirmed the rumours, the head of the centre, Bo Engving, rejected the accusations.

The penalties for steroid use will increase in the autumn from two to six years, and the culture minister, Marianne Jelved (Radikale), said the higher penalties will inspire the police to take action “The higher penalties give police better tools to address the problems of sales and purchases,” she told Politiken.

The increased penalties will bring Denmark into line with Norway and Sweden.

Danes busted in international doping case Meanwhile, two Danes are among those now charged in what is being called Europe’s

6 - 11 April 2013

biggest doping case ever. Investigations by Swedish and Norwegian police into an organised crime operation have revealed that Denmark plays a central role in smuggling banned substances into Norway, and that steroid smugglers view Denmark as the preferred gateway to the other Scandinavian countries.

The two Danes are charged with involvement in the organised trade and smuggling of doping agents in Norway, and Norwegian police said that the Danes are part of a much larger network. Norwegian investigators are said to have in their sights another group of Danes with, what police called, “a more central role” in the operation.

More than 100 people are accused of being part of the Norwegian doping ring, which has had a turnover of more than 100 million kroner over the past seven years.

Norwegian police said the smugglers used Denmark because of the country’s relatively lax laws surrounding steroids.

The justice minister, Morten Bødskov (Socialdemokraterne), chose not to comment on the specific case, pointing only to the plan to strengthen penalties in the autumn.

Ray Weaver

F

or the first time, state rail operator DSB has revealed in its annual report just how much the scandal-ridden electronic travel card Rejsekort has cost so far.

The reported damage was one billion kroner, but because DSB owns a 50.5 percent stake in Rejsekort A/S, the company behind the card, the actual price tag could be over two billion kroner.

“The Rejsekort is clearly a scandal, almost on a par with the IC4 trains,” Henning Jensen, a consultant at PLUSCON, a company specialising in electronic payment systems, told science weekly Ingeniøren.

DSB had not previously revealed its total investment to date in the troubled card.

The bloated price tag is just

Sigrid Neergaard After 34 years, the colourful public transportation payment method, klippekort, will no longer light up Danish kiosks – or crumble in the wash Is this little blue pole really worth two billion kroner?

ets on their smartphone today, and the Rejsekort cannot keep up,” he said.

DR News has previously reported that the Rejsekort could wind up costing the country’s rail and bus companies nearly three billion kroner more than their current systems over the next 15 years.

The national auditor’s office, Rigsrevisionen, has also blasted the project as “amateurish and sloppy” in a report, and the readers of Computerworld magazine have nominated Rejsekort as their “IT Flop of the Year” several times since 2010.

T

ransport authorities in Greater Copenhagen have announced that as of July 1 this year, the ten-ride punch ticket, klippekort, used on trains, buses and the Metro, will be no more.

The klippekort has since 1979 taken residence in the pockets of the nation but Movia, which coordinates public transport on the entire island of Zealand, now thinks that after all these years of being washed, tumble dried, lost, folded, bent, dropped in the rain and abandoned on train tracks, it is about time that the klippekort be retired.

Movia recommends that commuters swap out those

wrinkled cards for the newly introduced – and widely delayed and criticised – Rejsekort, or use one of the company’s smartphone applications to purchase single tickets or monthly passes.

There is no need for nostalgics to cry yet, though, because They were colourful, familiar and often fell the klippekort will still apart, but from July they will be gone be usable up until 30 June 2014, and for those not and at ticket machines. Furtherplanning on framing their last more, the brilliant brains behind memories of the coloured card, the Rejsekort have not come up it is possible to get a refund of with a solution for the monthly the remaining clips until 30 June passes, so standard monthly 2016, which is when the public passes – whether in paper form transport icon will be buried or the newly-introduced period card app – still remain an option once and for all.

If you are not so keen on for commuters.

Apps for ticket purchases getting a Rejsekort – and really, who could blame you (see can be found by searching ‘Mostory to left) – you will still be bilbilletter’ for single and multiable to buy single tickets on your ride tickets – a virtual klippekort phone via text message, by us- if you will – and ‘Periodekort’ ing ticket apps for smartphones for monthly passes.

Online this week Man behind Aarhus bomb threat admitted to pysch ward

March was the cruellest month ... this year

CO2 emissions dropped sharply in 2012

A 29-year-old man who was arrested last week after an outburst on an Aarhus bus has been admitted to a psychiatric hospital. The man was sentenced to police custody in absentia for his actions. The man was riding an Aarhus city bus last week on Wednesday when he started shouting that he was a terrorist.

It is likely that you think of the month of March as a time to soak up the rejuvenating sun rather than a month to battle the unforgiving eastern wind. And you would be right.

DMI, the Danish meteorological institution, said that when it comes to the difference between this March and the last,

Improved energy efficiency and reduced energy consumption have resulted in a significant drop in CO2 emissions in 2012, according to new figures from the Climate Ministry. The climate, energy and buildings minister, Martin Lidegaard (Radikale),

He threatened to blow up the bus and also made threats aimed at controversial cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, the man behind the most inflammatory image from the 2006 Cartoon Crisis. Westergaard has been the subject of numerous death threats since Jyllands-Posten published the Mohammed drawings in late 2005.

it “has never seen anything like it.” Around this time last year, day temperatures were around the 15°C mark, with an average for the entire month of 5.7°C. March 2013, however, only produced a measly average temperature of -1°C. That makes the month the coldest March since 1987.

stated in a press release that he was encouraged by the new figures that show Denmark is on track with its plan to adopt more renewable energy and reduce energy consumption. Despite the developments, Lidegaard stressed that “we can’t rest on our laurels.”

Read these stories and more at cphpost.dk

Colourbox

Runaway costs and a four-year delay have the electronic travel card looking like yet another DSB boondoggle

the latest in a series of negative news reports surrounding the Rejsekort. A recently released 2010 report from Gartner, a US IT consultancy firm, indicated that the electronic public transport ticketing system has problems with its payment system. The full report was buried by the Transport Ministry for two years.

The ministry only publicised a summary of the report, and this did not include the critical details of the financial aspects of the Rejsekort project, which Gartner identified as the main problem with the system. Criticism of the missing report only surfaced when Ingeniøren complained to the parliamentary ombudsman after the ministry denied it access to documents.

Jensen said that it was “deeply shocking” that it has been so hard to get clear answers regarding what the system costs. He also said that the growing use of smartphones to order train, bus and Metro tickets creates even more problems for the Rejsekort system.

“Many people get their tick-

Colourbox

Rejsekort price tag: two billion kroner The end of an era as plastic replaces paper on public transport system

News

The Copenhagen Post cphpost.dk

6 - 11 April 2013

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Swiss police suspect suicide Injection room saves 30 lives in Dane’s disappearance With no other leads to work on, police think Danish student drowned herself, but her family is not convinced

Zug Police

Sigrid Neergaard

Deputy mayor wants more drug-taking facilities across the city, but opposition party Konservative is still against legal injection rooms

S

A

t the time this publication went to press, Swiss police were operating under the assumption that 20-yearold Olivia Østergaard, a Danish student living in the Swiss city of Zug who disappeared on March 26, has committed suicide. Østergaard disappeared last week on Tuesday in Switzerland.

The girl lives with her boyfriend in Zug and left their apartment at 5:30am to go to her university in Zurich. After not hearing from Østergaard, the boyfriend reported her missing the following day.

Swiss police on Wednesday said that a witness came forward with a claim that they saw Østergaard near the Lake of Zug. As the police have still not found any other leads in the woman’s disappearance, they now believe that she has drowned herself.

“The evidence suggests that her death is a suicide in the Lake of Zug,” the Swiss police wrote in a press statement. Østergaard’s family, however, finds the police’s position very odd.

“We wonder why the police

Swiss police fear that Olivia Østergaard (inset) has drowned herself

would make such a statement,” the woman’s uncle, Karsten Østergaard, told TV2 News.

“Her body has not been found – the only thing they have is a witness statement from a person who may have seen her by the lake.”

They also find it hard to believe that the student would commit suicide as she did not leave a note and her friends said that she seemed happy in the days leading up to her disappearance.

The Swiss police have not been able to glean any information from surveillance cameras, and as of Thursday, their efforts using search and rescue dogs, helicopters and boats had not turned up any clues.

Police have, however, report-

ed an increase in phone calls that they hope can lead to the Dane’s whereabouts.

“We have received more calls from the public, which we are now analysing. But so far we do not have any ideas about where she is,” Marcel Schlatter, a spokesman for Zug police, told Ritzau on Tuesday.

According to Østergaard’s family, it is very uncharacteristic of the girl to disappear without a trace. They have not heard from her and her phone is turned off.

They are hoping that she has just run away to get some time off, even though they find it hard to believe that she would do so.

She has been reported missing across Europe, and police departments throughout the EU are on the lookout.

Sigrid Neergaard Bus driver claims that Danish tourists were drunk when they forced him to pull over so they could urinate on the road

S

ix Danish men were spotted urinating on a highway in Shanghai late last month. After a passerby snapped a picture of the peeing sextet and posted it on the Chinese Twitter-like site Sina Weibo, outrage spread across the Chinese blogosphere. Many suggested that the urinating Danes should have their visas cancelled, while some sympathetic souls said that Shanghai should provide more public toilets and outfit tour buses with a place for travellers to relieve themselves.

With the help of surveillance cameras, the police tracked down the bus driver who said that the men were Danish tourists who had just been to the Shanghai International Circuit, a motorsport track and the home of the Chinese Grand Prix. There, they had allegedly expanded their bladders with copious amounts of beer. The driver claims that the men forced him to pull over so that they could answer nature’s call. The offending action took place on a busy overpass in Shanghai, China’s most populated city.

“They even tried to grab the steering wheel and could have caused a traffic accident,” the bus driver told South China Morning Post.

The police are now considering punishment for the men.

Sina Weibo

Pissing Danes piss off the Chinese

taff at Copenhagen’s first legal drug injection room have saved 30 lives since it opened last autumn, according to metroXpress newspaper.

Since heroin users were invited to take their drugs under the supervision of trained health workers – two nurses are always present during opening hours – the facility in the Vesterbro district of Copenhagen has been used over 34,000 times.

“We are able to step in when a user has an overdose,” the injection room’s manager, Rasmus Koberg Christiansen, told metroXpress. “We have the same antidote that ambulances have

so there is no longer the same need to call for one when someone has an overdose.”

The deputy mayor for social affairs, Mikkel Warming (Enhedslisten), contends that the success of the injection room should be expanded across the city.

“My ambition is to extend the service to both Sundby and Nordvest by the end of the year,” Warming told metroXpress. The deputy mayor, however, is not likely to get the Konservative party to support the move.

“I am still an opponent of the injection room,” Konservative’s legal spokesperson, Tom Behnke, told metroXpress, adding that while he valued that people’s lives had been saved, the facility was no long-term solution.

“These people’s lives were saved after taking their drugs, but what about tomorrow when

My ambition is to extend the service to both Sundby and Nordvest

they don’t make it into the injection room and have an overdose?” Behnke argued.

Instead, Behnke would rather introduce prescription heroin and increase efforts to rehabilitate addicts.

“In that way, we solve the health issues and the crime associated without having to buy drugs from dealers who earn handsomely from other people’s misfortunes,” Behnke said. (PS)

Waterfront controversy costs DSB executive his job Sigrid Neergaard An investigation into DSB’s alleged payment to PR firm Waterfront to keep a critical journalist silent finds plenty of circumstantial evidence but no definitive proof

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ational rail provider DSB has sacked one of its executives following an investigation into the controversy surrounding the company’s use of the PR firm Watergate.

The law firm Bruun og Hjejle has been investigating DSB’s use of the PR firm since January when emails indicated that DSB paid Waterfront money,

which it then used to hire the journalist Lars Abild and keep him busy so that he would not continue to write critical articles about DSB. The investigation, however, failed to prove definitively that DSB’s funds went directly to Abild’s salary.

“It cannot be documented that DSB paid the critical journalist Lars Abild’s salary from the PR firm Waterfront.

We cannot conclude on this,” the government’s legal advisor, Karsten Hagel Sørensen, who helped the private firm with the investigation, said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Sørensen said, however, that there is enough circumstantial evidence that DSB did attempt to silence Abild’s criticism.

Following the release of the investigation results, DSB announced the firing of one of its executives, Peder Nedergaard Nielsen. According to DSB, it will now start a reassessment of its ethical rules and improve internal processes regarding access to public information. Furthermore, the state-run company said it will implement a ‘whistleblower’ arrangement.

“There must not be any doubt that DSB wishes to have an open, honest and direct dialogue with all its partners,” DSB’s managing director, Jesper Lok, said in a statement, adding that DSB will co-operate with the government in order to make clear guidelines to ensure that this will not happen again.

Copenhagen’s cyclists get green light The photo that caused a stir

The incident is not the first time Danish tourists have caused a scene this year. In February, upper-secondary school students in Prague trashed hotel rooms and had violent fights, two of which included stabbings. The Chinese peeing episode also comes just a month after Danish female gymnasts caused a stir in Rio de Janeiro by exposing their Nordic breasts to the Brazilian sun.

A new idea will help cyclists reach their destinations faster in Copenhagen

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ver the Easter holiday, the City Council began replacing old traffic lights with new ones that communicate with the buses’ GPS systems in order to help them get through the city easier via a flow of green lights.

The council is now looking into providing a similar service for cyclists that would monitor the cyclists’ average speed so that traffic lights could adjust automatically to weather conditions. “The cyclists will for example experience that the signals will be able to determine whether it is a windless summer day or if there is a snowstorm and head wind,” the city’s deputy mayor for technology

and environment, Ayfer Baykal (Socialistisk Folkeparti), told metroXpress newspaper.

The city has not yet figured out how the lights would monitor bikes, but the ideas being pursued include using Bluetooth technology to communicate with cyclists’ mobile phones and providing cyclists with a tag that could be put on their bikes and be read by monitors on the traffic lights. (SN)

Online this week Danish money is the dirtiest in Europe

Two jailed for Ballerup carpark murder

Two arrested for Albertslund arson attacks

Denmark is bringing new meaning to the phrase ‘dirty money’. According to tests from Oxford University that measured the amount of bacteria present on European currencies, the Danish krone is the dirtiest currency on the continent. Researchers tested bank notes across six European

Two men were jailed on Wednesday and a third is still wanted in connection with the murder of a 30-year-old man last month in a Ballerup carpark. Police say the victim, who died two days later from a stab wound that cut an artery, was probably attacked because of a debt he owed. Two men, aged

Two boys, aged 15 and 17, were arrested by police on Tuesday in connection with the spate of over 100 arson attacks that have plagued Albertslund over the past six months. A 14-yearold boy was also detained and questioned but released to social

countries and found that kroner banknotes were the dirtiest, containing 40,266 bacteria on average. In comparison, banknotes across the other countries averaged 26,000 bacteria. The euro note contained 11,066 on average, while the cleanest, newest bills tested contained only 2,400 bacteria.

32 and 34, were jailed for four weeks each for their involvement in the stabbing, although police suspect the third man of actually carrying out the knife attack. Police refused to release any information about the third suspect other than him being younger than the other two men and coming from Ballerup.

services because he was not yet 15 years old, the legal age of criminal responsibility. The two older boys have been jailed and will be held in custody while the police build their case. Also jailed was a 16-year-old boy who was charged with robbery and theft.

Read these stories and more at cphpost.dk

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OPINION

THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK

6 - 11 April 2013

A childish dispute The teacher lockout: Putting it in context With neither side of the teacher lockout looking ready to budge, the government should step in now – for the kids’ sake

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N SOME WAYS, the current labour dispute between teachers and their employers is a lot like a messy divorce. While both sides stubbornly argue they have their children’s best interests in mind, it really winds up being the kids that suffer most.

At the heart of the current conflict is whether teachers should be required to spend more time in the classroom. The councils propose eliminating the current 25-hour cap on teachers’ weekly classroom hours.

Teachers, understandably, disagree. They argue that even though they only spend an average of 40 percent of their time teaching, the hours outside the classroom are needed to ensure the quality of their lessons.

Councils, for their part, think children are best served when teachers spend most of their day with students.

Both sides can present data supporting their position, but the reality is that by failing to come to an agreement, they are showing that what matters first and foremost to them is winning the argument, not serving their students’ best interests.

One of the hallmarks of being a responsible adult is a willingness to set differences aside and come up with a fair compromise. Neither side can be said to be doing so in this conflict, and that leaves government intervention as the only option.

In Danish labour negotiations, the government is mostly a spectator, stepping in only when conflicts prove themselves intractable or detrimental to the nation. Even though the current government has pledged to respect that set-up in this situation, the best thing it could do is step in now.

Even before the lockout started, it was clear that neither side was willing to budge. Nothing indicates that this will change in the days and weeks to come, and the longer the government waits to step in, the more class time children lose. Worse, the longer teachers and their employers take to find a solution, the rockier their relationship is bound to be once the dust settles.

The government might get flak for stepping in early, but aside from keeping up appearances, there is no benefit to waiting.

Getting kids back in school as quickly as possible is the one thing teachers, their employers and parents can all agree on.

Even most children themselves want to go back to school, making this one instance where the teachers (and their employers) can learn something from their pupils.

Denmark’s only English-language newspaper

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MATTHEW GAYNE

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S I SIT before my computer googling such topics as union busting and the US air traffic controllers’ strike of 1981, I am struck by the thought that there is very little of substance I can contribute to the present debate surrounding the government-initiated lockout of teachers we find ourselves embroiled in. I have no first-hand knowledge of secret meetings with the national government, have only a cursory understanding of the Finnish model, and am constrained by my limited Danish to following the arguments in the news at a very surface level.

I can, from personal experience, note that teachers at my school are as likely to put in more hours than their contract calls for than not. But this is anecdotal, and I can’t quote statistics to back this up. There is only one thing that I feel I can add to this national conversation, and that is context.

I feel qualified to provide context because I have been on the other side of this table before. For the past seven years I have been teaching full-time at a private school in Hellerup. But prior to changing careers and my subsequent move to Denmark, I worked as a mid-level producer in the film industry. As such, I once found myself on the management side of a short-lived union dispute.

THE DISPUTE played out as follows. The film crew showed up at their requested 7:00am call time and set up dutifully for the

day’s filming. At 9:00am they stopped work and gathered at a neutral point just outside of the location we were filming at. At 10:00am, they returned to work and we resumed filming.

During the hour of the work stoppage, the other producer I was working with was furious, virtually frothing at the mouth.

But by that evening, he was having a pleasant social dinner with one of the crew members involved in the action. The reason this could happen was that each side easily understood the position of the other. Both I and my producing colleague had previously worked as crew ourselves.

Many of the crew had served in producing or directing capacities on their own smaller projects. Because of this, it was relatively easy to act in good faith and assume that the other side was acting in good faith as well.

The website thefreedictionary.com defines ‘good faith’ as an honest and sincere intention to deal fairly with others in ac-

Teaching is substantially harder than it looks and, as in many occupations, is as much an art as learned knowledge cordance with standards of trust and decency. In labour law, most national legal systems mandate good faith bargaining by unions and employers in order to reach agreement.

By this definition, the behaviour of KL (the national association of local councils) and Moderniseringsstyrelsen (the state agency responsible for modernising the state’s human resources practices) does not rise to the level of good faith. Even excluding the possibility that this conflict was planned and orchestrated over a year before the fact, their

unwillingness to fully engage in negotiations is a clear violation of good faith.

HERE IS another context in which to view this lockout. To this day, I often encounter people who, while arguing that their own business required years of time and serious effort to learn, consider themselves experts on film-making. And why? Because they have seen countless films. Of course they must know how to make them at least as well as this year’s Oscar winners, if not better.

I believe a similar construct is at work here. Of course, the politicians who have contributed to the current proposal believe that they are capable of designing a comprehensive system of teaching reform. They are experts by dint of their experience of being taught themselves during their illustrious school careers. Being on the other side of the desk is immaterial.

Prior to changing careers, I might have felt the same. The experience of teaching changes one’s perceptions. Teaching is substantially harder than it looks and, as in many occupations, is as much an art as learned knowledge. Even if one has a talent for it, the knowledge base for how children learn has expanded exponentially over the past two decades. Through a combination of continuing education and collaboration with colleagues, I can now both understand and apply in the classroom such concepts as co-operative learning, differentiated learning and formative assessment. I find myself wondering if the politicians who drafted the proposed working contract could say the same.

THERE IS one final area of context that stands scrutiny. Teachers are employed by either KL (public schools) or Moderniseringsstyrelsen (private schools), which is a part of the Finance Ministry.

Both are subsidiary branches of the government. A democratic government is, by definition, employed by the people. By refusing to negotiate fairly with their em-

ployees, these agencies are in fact refusing to negotiate fairly with their employers.

Of course, one can only take this metaphor so far. But as I understand it, the Board of KL is appointed every four years. The KL delegates who appoint this board consist of 98 elected mayors and 66 elected representatives-atlarge. Moderniseringsstyrelsen is a part of the present nationallyelected government. Both local and national elections should, in theory, reflect the make-up of their respective electorates.

Therefore, these politicians have been elected with the support of their communities – of whom some, at least, must be teachers.

IF WE combine lack of good faith negotiations with the idea that a quality teaching model can be constructed without the benefit of input from teachers, we are left to arrive at only one possible conclusion. The local and national governments do not respect at least a portion of the electorate that put them in power. While this is not quite as damning a connection as Mitt Romney’s infamous “47 percent” comment, it is a clear declaration that elected officials consider a portion of their constituents unreasonable and not worthy of rational discussion. It is ironic that these constituents are the very people who they wish to educate their children.

This is the issue that should be at the top of the national government’s mind as it considers the next step in this sad process.

The resolution of this conflict will certainly impact on perceptions come the next round of elections.

My only hope is that all participants in this process will keep this firmly in mind, and that level heads will finally prevail.

At least, that’s the context that I see it in.

The author is an American currently teaching physics, chemistry and astronomy at Rygaards International School in Hellerup.

READER COMMENTS Forced EU austerity seriously undermines social welfare

Study: Newcomers not learning enough about Denmark

While I find this opinion on the outlook of Europe amusing, I also find that you have left this reading open-ended by stating that a new approach is necessary. You obviously have views and opinions but have not the slightest clue of any solution. Let me tell you about a little disease of the American lot called ‘the desire to get bigger and bigger and bigger’. It all ends in naive consumerism unless counterbalanced by these so called austerity measures.

Swineexterminater ryu By website

I actually think we are learning a little too much about Danish society, culture and politics, and I often feel like those are not language classes but assimilation classes. By all means, you can’t even approach a PD3 exam, never mind a Studieprøven, if you don’t have an understanding of society and the public system. I think I have a better understanding of the public sector in Denmark than I understand the one in my own country, although I’ve only been here for a tenth of my life.

Simona By website

Executive salaries skyrocketing

Aarhus brothers convicted of training for terror

As an executive I’m right behind this. Last year was a little rough: my wife and I could only afford three weeks in the Seychelles.

Thekarbot By website

One can only hope this will serve as a wake-up call to these people, and others who are still uncaught, that they are under scrutiny

for walking the path that leads to mass murder, and that they should actually get life instead.

I don’t harbour any sympathy for them. Let these two get the maximum extent of punishment under the law. After that, maybe the kind of rehabilitation they do for cults might be necessary.

Loroferoz By website The Lynch Report | How to bait a Jehova’s witness Why can’t you just be respectful and simply say: “Thank you, but I’m not interested?” Switch your ‘bait a Jehovah’s witness’ line with ‘bait a homosexual’, or a Muslim, Mormon, black person or Asian, etc and it’s not so funny. I am not a Jehovah’s Witness, but I respect their rights and treat them as I would anyone else, with dignity and respect. Do they approach me? Yes. Do I engage in conversation? Yes, sometimes. But it is

productive, not provocative and degrading. We usually end up smiling and saying: “Thank you, it was nice to talk with you. Have a nice day!”

Traveladam By website Growing up half-Danish: a tale of two cultures While my son looks Danish because of my American/Caucasian background, he is still halfDanish and half-American. He embraces the best of both and rejects the worst of both. He has the intestinal fortitude to tell the full-blooded Danes that they are being jerks, and he does the same with his American buddies. Teach your children to be proud to be intercultural. Teach them that it is an advantage, not a peculiarity, and that they are better prepared for the world as a result of being intercultural.

Tom By website

OPINION

THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK

6 - 11 April 2013

The truth about the lockout

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You’re Still Here?

BY KELLY DRAPER Kelly Draper is a British teacher who came to Denmark four years ago for work. She has been acting informally as a critical friend to Denmark. This has not gone down particularly well with Danes, who often tell her she should like it or leave it. Her blog is at adventuresandjapes. wordpress.com.

lessons a week’ does not undo people’s perceptions. Besides, if the media says that teachers ‘teach’ x hours a week, what many people hear is that teachers ‘work’ x hours a week.

Talk of ‘normalising’ working hours was calculated to plant the suggestion that Danish teachers do not work full-time. I am a teacher, and I work full-time. I just have a lot more tasks than simply teaching.

Each lesson takes place on a cycle.

To be able to teach, you need to plan.

To be able to plan, you need to assess.

To be able to assess, you need to teach.

Reading, assessing and commenting on work takes hours. Calling both planning and assessment ‘preparation’ means that some people get the idea that ‘preparation’ is deciding what you are going to teach.

Even though I reproduce topics and lesson ideas, I have never entirely replicated a lesson plan. Teaching a lesson is like crossing the Rubicon in that way.

A class is not a homogenous mass waiting for me to drop some truth bombs.

A class is a group of individuals. Some of them have problems learning new

S THE SCHOOL lockouts are now a reality, there is a lot of confusion about what is going on and why it is happening. Many people are even calling it a ‘strike’, as if the unions have called for the action, when in reality it is the local government association, Kommunernes Landsforening (KL), which has told teachers that they can’t come to work.

But this is not even the biggest misconception about the breakdown in negotiations about working-time agreements.

Many misconceptions have been cynically planted by politicians and their media advisers. Playing on everyone’s memories of their worst teacher, there was a flurry of news stories about lazy teachers earlier in the year The news has reported faithfully that Danish teachers teach 16 hours a week and that teachers in Denmark have the fewest student contact hours in the world.

Neither of these things are true, but they have been reported as a given.

The truth is dripping out, but the damage has been done. Hearing reasoning like ‘If you remove outliers such as librarians, the average is more like 25

things, a few might have already learned what you intend to teach, and others will learn it straightaway. Everyone needs to get something out of the lesson.

Not that writing this will change minds: people who believe teachers are lazy scumbags refuse to listen to teachers.

The problem with the teacher negotiations is not that the unions are intransigent and contrary. The unions have made several suggestions on how to improve schools and change working-time agreements, referencing international studies. KL will not budge from its position.

Unfortunately for democracy, the other party in the negotiations is not at liberty to actually negotiate. KL met with politicians in secret and worked out its one and only suggestion. The projected savings have already been spent in the minds of the ministries.

The anti-teacher propaganda was released months before negotiations.

Lockouts were threatened almost immediately. I think there is plenty of wiggle room for reform, so why make threats so quickly?

And why threaten a lockout? If

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contact hours increase student achievement, why punish students by withdrawing education for possibly weeks at a time? It is a cynical ploy to turn parents against teachers. It is as if the media advisors had a ‘House of Cards’ marathon on Netflix before starting the talks. Finding childcare in the week is going to be difficult. Sympathy with teachers is planned to wane.

These plans are devised only to save money, not to increase achievement. They are not based on best practice. When the government wins and these plans are forced through, Danish schools will be less expensive to run, but an opportunity to reform them into better places of education will be missed.

I am frustrated that this process is not about making Danish schools better, but about breaking the unions to save some money. The appeal of Denmark is that even though you pay high taxes, you get lovely working-time agreements and the state provides decent services. Taking away both great aspects of life here leaves only the high taxes. It hardly seems worth it.

No-Hopery Here?

I

To Be Perfectly Frank

BY FRANK THEAKSTON 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?

life, not because it’s difficult to see the purpose in it, but because it is passively condoned by those who find themselves subjected to it. I grew up holding various worthy views, one of which was that people are individuals and cannot possibly be told by others what they should believe. Religious belief, if one chooses to have any, should stem from a conviction that the belief in question is right for the person concerned. Anything else is manipulation for the sake of creating or maintaining power over one’s fellow human beings, which manifests itself as organised religion. And as we know, organised religion has been and still is, directly or indirectly, one of the greatest forces for evil in this world.

So why am I choosing to say these things now? Well guess! What has the media bombarded us with over the last few weeks? Gasp, the pope is going to abdicate! What will this mean for the institution of the Roman Catholic Church?

Today is Pope Benedict’s last address to the crowds in St Peter’s Square … his last mass … his last Sunday … his last day.

Yawn … Gasp, the cardinals are arriv-

T WASN’T until the early 1960s, when I was just about to embark on the third decade of my life, that I was confronted with first-hand evidence of serious social division within the UK. And where else would that be, but in Northern Ireland of course.

My fellow botany students and I were on our way by car to County Clare on the west coast of Ireland, and we just happened to have chosen a route that passed through Belfast.

The difference between this part of the UK and the one we had left by ferry just a few hours before was glaringly obvious in the form of the now infamous end-of-terrace gable paintings vehemently declaring allegiance to one side or the other. It was a frightening and, as the subsequent ‘troubles’ so clearly demonstrated, deadly consequence of the politico-religious split that began in the province as long ago as 1690. And the slogan that has always stuck in my mind was a Protestant one: ‘No Popery Here’.

My parents were token Church of England, so that’s what I became. It’s a system that has puzzled me all my

Organised religion has been and still is one of the greatest forces for evil in this world ing in Rome to be locked in the Sistine Chapel until they agree on a new pope (thinks … I do hope there are enough toilets in the Sistine Chapel). What colour is the smoke? They’ve elected a new pope! Yippee! His name will be Francis – wow, how radical is that! It’s the new pope’s first day … his first Sunday … his first mass … his first address to the crowds. Good grief!! There’s more! The two popes meet at Castel Gandolfo, the first time this has been possible in over 600 years. Wow! Wow! But amusement aside, what are we to make of all this? I’m sure there are Roman Catholics who believe wholeheartedly that theirs is the one true faith. But of course that applies as much to the other Christian churches and, for

that matter, to other religions. On the other hand, I’m totally convinced that a large proportion of those who adhere to an organised religion are either ignorant of the issues, too powerless to do without the crutch that the church provides, or simply cynically using the institution for social advantage. A certain Tony Blair, I’m absolutely sure, didn’t experience any kind of epiphany when he converted to Catholicism; his wife and children are Catholics and it was socially inconvenient not to be one also.

If we want a clear example of the cynical use of religion as a social tool, we need go no further than our own doorsteps. Folkekirken (a significant proportion of whose priests don’t even believe in God) is financed by the state and assiduously tempts all young people to become members through the social rituals that Danes so enjoy. Confirmation is the Danish equivalent of Bar Mitzva or Bat Mitzva, a celebration not so much of religious belief but of membership of the Danish clan. By such means are the age-old divisions into ‘us’ and ‘them’ sustained. God help us!

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6 - 11 April 2013

All dressed up and no place to go – after the funeral, few Danes believe that they are off to meet their maker, study shows

More Christ the dreamer than redeemer: doctor claims the Son of God didn’t die on the cross, he passed out

P

D

ust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return.”

So says scripture, and 71 percent of Danes accept that as fact, according to a recent poll. When asked what happens after death, only 16 percent of respondents said that they believed that they would be reunited with any sort of god, and just 12 percent said they believed in reincarnation.

The questions concerning life and death were posed to 2,000 Danes in a survey conducted by the Palliative Knowledge Centre.

“I am surprised that so few have a religious framework in understanding what happens when we die,” Helle Timm, the head of the centre, told Kristeligt Dagblad newspaper.

“The answers suggest that many Danes apparently have a very pragmatic and literal picture of what happens.”

Timm said that accepting that the body decomposes after death did not necessarily preclude believing in an afterlife, and that the survey could be used as a starting point to discuss spirituality with the respondents.

Bispebjerg Hospital’s pastor Karsten Flemming Thomsen said that Danes tend to look more towards the earth than the heavens when facing death.

“What matters to people is how they die and whether they will be allowed to die with dignity,” he told Kristeligt Dagblad.

“It’s not so much about existential considerations.”

Thomsen revealed that when he talks with terminallyill patients and their families, he attempts to “humanise death” while leaving the door open for spiritual conversation.

Danes are more likely to believe in decomposing in the grass than finding their way to the fabled white light

“My conversations do not include the question of whether one will go to heaven or hell,” he said.

Charlotte Chammon, the pastor of Nørre Herlev parish outside of Hillerød, believes the responses could be a result of how the questions were asked.

“I talk to many who believe in ‘something’ – they just cannot define exactly what it is,” she said.

“And that is good enough. None of us can define precisely what is on the other side beyond God’s promise to take us in his hand.”

Mogens Balling is head of Landsforeningen Liv og Død, a humanitarian organisation that works to ensure that people have that chance to bid a dignified farewell to life. He said that it is important for Danes to open up about the process of death and dying.

“Denmark has no culture of talking about death or about what might happen afterwards,” he told Kristeligt Dagblad. “But it is valuable for a family to know what someone believes in if they

someday will be called upon to arrange a burial ceremony.”

Balling said it gives survivors a sense of peace to know whether the deceased believes they are going to God or will be reincarnated as an earthworm.

Knud Larsen is a funeral director in Frederikssund and accustomed to discussing life, death and the afterlife as part of his work. He said that how one feels about life’s biggest mystery often depends on the situation.

“Are they young or old?

Healthy or dying?” he asked.

“If you asked 2,000 Danes who were actually facing death right now, you might get completely different answers.”

Indeed, the study indicated that the closer one is to checking out, the more likely they are to believe there is something awaiting them. Respondents over the age of 70 were more likely to believe in an afterlife than younger people.

Larsen said that, in his experience, the belief in life after death often brings peace to the dying and those left behind.

er Lav Madsen, a senior doctor and registrar at Rigshospitalet, believes that Jesus wasn’t dead when he was taken down from the cross.

Yes, you heard that right: 2,000 years after the death of somebody many non-believers dispute the very existence of, a doctor is speculating on the nature of his death, if indeed he has ever died.

Kristeligt Dagblad newspaper reported that Madsen thinks that many of the conventional theories concerning Jesus’s death lack evidence from a physiological circulation standpoint. Madsen, who has researched what happens to the body’s circulation when one gets up from lying in a horizontal position, said his suggestion wasn’t meant to shock.

“I’m not looking to offend anyone, but I don’t think that Jesus was necessarily dead when he was taken off the crucifixion cross,” Madsen told Kristeligt Dagblad. “His resurrection could be a sign that he woke up after passing out.”

Two of the more prevailing theories in history about how Jesus died involve suffocation and blood loss. In 1953, Dr Pierre Barbet revealed his theory that the position and angle of the cross slowly suffocated Jesus, while 25 years later on, Dr Frederick T Zugibe contended that Jesus had succumbed to blood loss from wounds sustained before the crucifixion.

Madsen believes that his research proves that crucifixion victims most often passed out because they were forced to keep still while remaining upright.

“We have done some experiments in which we tilt people in order to investigate the flow of oxygen to the brain and heart.

And the tests showed that if 100

people are tilted at a 50-degree angle, 90 of them will pass out within an hour if they can’t use their legs,” Madsen said.

Madsen referred to the queen’s guards who stand still and upright for long periods of time and are told to “walk in their boots” so as to avoid passing out.

Aside from the terrible pain that Jesus endured during the whipping and crucifixion, the forced upright position on the cross would have made Jesus nauseous, dizzy and lose consciousness, Madsen According to a Danish doctor, Jesus might maintained. not have died on the cross “It is possible that he was killed by a soldier, static hypotension was probably who according to the Gospel of a minor factor, but certainly not John, checked if Jesus was dead the only one.” with a spear. But it is also posBut Madsen stands by his sible that he passed out, was theory, pointing to the Gospels’ taken off the cross and placed in description that Jesus was resurthe tomb without being dead,” rected on the third day, someMadsen said. thing that echoes old Jewish The latter theory would be scriptures. particularly miraculous given “The number three is a that there are no records of this magical number and it could ever happening before. In one have been added at a later time. case, cited by first century his- The historical Jesus could very torian Titus Flavius Josephus, well have resurrected right after three men were pardoned and coming off the cross, or woke up taken down, after which two after passing out if you ask me,” died due to the injuries sus- Madsen said. tained on the cross.

Madsen’s theory is in some Dr Niels Svensson, the au- ways not groundbreaking, as thor of the book ‘Det sande other scientists and researchers ansigt om ligklædet i Torino’ have mentioned the possibility (the true face behind the shroud that Jesus was not dead when he of Turin), does not agree with was taken from the cross.

Madsen’s theory.

“The idea that Jesus was just “Per Lav Madsen is simply unconscious is not a new theodescribing low blood pressure ry, and you can see traces of it in an upright position because all the way back to the New Testhe blood is collected in the legs. tament,” Morten Hørning JensMany people are familiar with en, a lecturer at the theological standing still in a queue for a faculty at Aarhus University, long time without moving and told Kristeligt Dagblad. “But then feeling poorly,” Svensson that theory has never caught told Kristeligt Dagblad. “Ortho- on.”(CW)

Sigrid Neergaard A new pencil developed by three Danes and an American will sprout in shops this summer

M

ario Bollini, an American design and robotics student, has long wanted to make a sustainable pencil. He posted an idea on the website kickstarter.com, which is based on a concept called ‘crowdfunding’ in which common people can invest in uncommon ideas. Three Danish men – Michael Stausholm Christiansen, Kasper Tikjøb Andersen and Jonathan Løw – were intrigued and developed the idea together with Bollini.

The notion of a sustainable pencil began to sprout and after about 2,000 people had invested a total of $37,000 in the idea, the first prototypes were made.

Nine months later, the first sustainable pencil – given the name ‘Sprout’ – was born and come June 1, it will be available for purchase in Danish stores.

By now, the astute reader is asking just what constitutes a ‘sustainable pencil’. The answer can be found in what happens after it outlives its purpose as a writing tool. When the ‘Sprout’ gets down to its last bit, which most people would normally throw away, it can be planted in soil. The pencil will then begin to sprout and provide edible herbs.

The sprouting pencil is produced in seven different variations: basil, dill, coriander, mint, rosemary, thyme and sage. The men are now working on even more options including tomato, jalapeno, chilli, parsley and various flowers.

The American-Danish team,

PlantdinBlyant.dk

Plant your pencil

The new invention ‘Sprout’ allows you to plant your pencil and grow herbs

which has also designed and built the machines that produce the pencils, have several ideas for the use of the sustainable design

– other than just consumption.

“We believe that Sprout can serve several purposes,” said Christiansen. “Firstly, it can be a

teaching implement for families with children to talk about recycling and sustainability. Secondly, it can serve as an inspriation

for more pro-environmental office habits. And finally, it is just a fun gadget for childish, creative and inventive souls.”

The pencil is made of clay, sustainable cedarwood and graphite, and it is completely organic. It is now being produced, partly by hand, in America and will start selling in Denmark and thereafter spread to other European countries.

Bollini is working on getting it to the American market.

When the pencil reaches its end, it can be stuck in the ground with the tip pointing up.

Then it just needs “water, heat, sunlight and love”, according to the proudct’s website, plantdinblyant.dk.

Even after the pencil has sprouted, it can still be of use.

The product developers say that the leftover bits can be fed to goats. They caution, however, that feeding it to other animals is not advised.

Colourbox

Ray Weaver

Colourbox

Danes reject the idea of an afterlife Did Jesus survive being crucified?

COMMUNITY

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6 - 11 April 2013

11

A great Gallic gathering where the bonhomie knew no bounds PHOTOS: HASSE FERROLD

WORDS: BEN HAMILTON

The city’s French-speaking diplomatic corp once again made it an International Day of Francophonie to remember on March 20 at an event at the Copenhagen Business School, which was co-organised by the Department of International Business Communication and the city’s Francophone embassies and included keynote addresses, roundtable discussions and lavish displays of food and wine. First celebrated in 1998, the day has become a popular one for the 79 members of the La Francophonie organisation, which includes, along with the obvious candidates (France, Belgium etc), 20 less likely countries, which are known as ‘observers’ and mostly located in eastern Europe. Poland (pictured) is one such example

Pictured here enjoying the day, and presumably some French wine – anything else would have been sacrilegious! – are (left-right) Benin’s deputy ambassador, Romanian ambassador Matei Viorel Ardeleanu, Estonian ambassador Katrin Kivi, the Ivory Coast ambassador Mina Balde Laurent, Anne Schmidt, the head of the Institut Francais, Belgian ambassador Jean-François Branders, Luxembourg’s ambassador Gerard Philipps and Swiss ambassador Denis Feldmeyer, for whom language-related appearances must be a habitual requirement

As well as its mother tongue, Estonia also boast two regional languages: Võro and Setu.

Estonian ambassador Katrin Kivi (left) was at hand to explain more

Luxembourg has three official languages: French, German and Luxembourgish. Its ambassador Gerard Philipps (right) wasn’t letting on regarding his favourite

At an event like this, the Belgian ambassador Jean-François Branders (left) is practically royalty

Among the other VIPs present were Romanian ambassador Matei Viorel Ardeleanu (centre) ...

Czech ambassador Zdeněk Lyčka ...

and Ivory Coast ambassador Mina Balde Laurent (left)

Also present were Slovenian deputy ambassador ...

Among the other countries present were Ukraine ...

Benin’s deputy ambassador ...

Greece ...

Nathalie Byk, the wife of the Canadian ambassador ...

Algeria ...

France and ...

and a contingent from Burkina Faso

Cyprus

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THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK

6 - 11 April 2013

ABOUT TOWN PHOTOS BY HASSE FERROLD UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED

It was Easter in case you missed it in Denmark’s ever-secular society, although you probably stumbled across a few egg hunts. Nevertheless, the church isn’t going anywhere, and taking their mission to the streets were the clergy and congregation of Bethlehemskirken, although surely Palm Sunday was the weekend before

And at Helligaandskirken church on Strøget, they were spreading the Easter message with daffodils. Not sure what the flowery transcript of the Easter hymn was supposed to do, but it certainly attracted the attention of a few shoppers in between their bouts of retail therapy

Life sucks in the city, but don’t trust the backdrop as Why Not Theatre enjoyed a successful premiere of its new play, ‘The City’, on Tuesday night at Bådteatret in Nyhavn.

Pictured here basking in the success are (left-right) director Barry McKenna and the cast Sue Hansen-Styles, Emilia Poole-Jönsson, Andrew Jeffers and Vanessa Poole. See page 18 for a full review

Watch out your majesty, the sharks are out to get you! With that in mind, the queen and Prince Henrik left their court to enjoy the grand opening of the Blue Planet near Kastrup

COMING UP SOON Lars Løkke Rasmussen Lunch British Chamber of Commerce Event, Kromann Reumert, Sundkrogsgade 5, Cph Ø; Fri April 19, 11:45; sign-up necessary at www. bbcd.dk/en/Events The former prime minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, will offer insight on his experiences in liberal government reform at this British Chamber of Commerce lunch.

The event is open to corporate and small business owners only.

Blue Planet Visit The Blue Planet Aquarium, Jacob Fortlingsvej 1, Kastrup; Sat April 6, 13:00; tickets: 144kr, kids: 85kr; www.meetup.com/american-233/events/100535312; www.denblaaplanet.dk Join Copenhagen international expats to explore the newly opened Blue Planet, northern Europe’s newest and biggest aquarium.

Spouses information meeting International House, Gyldenløvesgade 11, Cph V; Thu April 11, 12:00-14:00; email cphcareerprogram@bif.kk.dk by April 8 to register; www.facebook.com/ copenhagencareerprogram Learn about how to start language, integration and job seeking courses, unions and unemployment funds, and how to go about starting your own business – all while enjoying coffee, tea and cake.

Culture & Language Tasting Evening CLAVIS International, Nørre Voldgade 94-96 Cph K; Thu April 11,17:00-18:30; free adm; www. meetup.com/The-CopenhagenCulture-and-Language-TastingExperience/events/110346112 Join Copenhagen’s newest Meetup group, the Culture and Language Tasters, to experience the various flavours of the city’s international community. The group will meet monthly and offer a ‘bite’ of three different cultures from around the world each time, guided by a language instructor from CLAVIS. The first meeting will explore Arabic, Russian and one surprise culture – you’ll have to attend to find out!

Copenhagen Writers’ Club Meetup The Red Lion, Nikolajgade 18, Cph K; Thu April 11, 18:30; tickets 10kr If you like writing poetry or short prose in English, come and share your musings and garner inspiration from other writers. Bring just a few lines or up to two pages related to the theme – this week’s theme is ‘fire’ . Remember a few copies to share and the 10kr admission fee, which covers the cost of the website. Those who want to attend without bringing writing are welcome to join for the discussion.

Seeding Sunday: Urban Gardening & Food Systems Copenhagen International Volunteer Club, CanDan Consulting Services, Tagensvej 249 Cph NV; Sun April 14, 13:00-16:00; free adm; www.meetup.com Plant a few seeds (better late than never!) and share stories and tips for battling the winter weather amongst other international gardeners. Just bring your favourite seeds – the club will provide the dirt and pots. Meet by the front office, but if you’re late, join in at the park behind the building.

An Evening of Improv Cafe Cadeau, HC Ørstedsvej 28, Frederiksberg; Fri April 19, 19:00; free adm; www.ctcircle.dk CTC will once again be leading a host of zany improv activities.

Start Drinkin’ Up Location TBD; Thu April 25, 18:00; free adm; www.meetup. com/startdrinkinup The hard-working startup founders around Copenhagen can now relax, network and meet others over a few drinks each week, thanks to newlyformed meetup group Start Drinkin’ Up. Their inaugural event will offer free drinks for attendees at an as-yet-undecided location – check the website for developing details.

JESSICA HANLEY

Michael Palin, Britain’s nicest man, was in town before Easter to attend the International Authors’ Stage at the Black Diamond where he spoke about his new book, ‘The Truth’, and no doubt added to his knowledge of one of his favourite artists, Vilhelm Hammershøi

DATING THE DANES

And then there was one ... Swapping New Zealand for Zealand for her second tour of duty, Emily McLean isn’t, as far as we know, getting hitched anytime soon. She’s out there kissing frogs to find her prince - nobody ever said Dating the Danes was going to be easy.

What’s looks got to do with it?

A

S A FOREIGNER, it’s sometimes a little intimidating meeting Danish men. Here are these guys, clearly out of your league anywhere else in the world, treating you like you belong in the latest Ralph Lauren catalogue with them.

Not that I mind of course, but coming from a country where looks-wise everyone knows what league they play in, and stays within it, to a land where men who are strong 8s come and play with women who are solid 5s is thoroughly bewildering.

I’ve come to conclude that Danish men must have a skewed perception of how they look.

In Western worldly standards, they’re averaging a 7 or an 8 (out of 10), but this doesn’t seem to overtly influence their decisions when picking the one they want.

You see, they don’t necessarily go for the classic beauties even though they’re surrounded by them. It’s more a girl’s style and image they’re attracted to.

Take a good friend of mine, for example, who only wants the Stine Bramsens of the world: cute girls with balloon dresses and short hair.

So is it just me who’s the shallow one here?

Perhaps I’ve been conditioned by all those years of high school hook-up games where you scored points depending on how hot the guy was that you scored.

Even now it still feels like we’re “playing hook-up with hotties”. When I make the annual visit back to New Zealand and pull out a picture of the latest Dane I went out with, I’m always met with exclamations of “How did you nab him?” Ten points for me.

I’ll never forget Mr Aquatic Eyes aka Mr Part-Time Model.

When I was 21, he set the bar high. I like to think that when we were together we looked like one of those fun couples in the Tommy Hilfiger ad ... I think in reality it looked more like I was the photographer’s assistant keeping the model company in between shoots.

But from that moment on, I realised that when it came to looks, I could always attempt to play outside my league here, even if I didn’t hit a home run.

However, things aren’t the same for foreign men when it comes to nabbing Danish beauties. Their saving grace, though, comes in the knowledge that women generally choose partners based on personality rather than looks.

You’ll therefore find a plethora of Danish women with ‘Wind in the Willows’ type characters they’ve dragged back from England. However, I do feel for these loved-up foreign men who move here and then spend the rest of their lives admiring women 50 times hotter than their wives.

Moral of the story: if you’re a foreign woman here, you can nab a hot one for at least a few months. If you’re a foreign man, however, just have a few jokes up your sleeve − you won’t beat a Danish man in the looks category, but you can in the personality stakes.

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13

It’s all in the method, says the expat appointed to head a Danish school EVIE SARGEANT

requires actors to draw upon authentic feelings for their performance by finding a character within their psyche. Understandably, it can be quite emotionally draining. The school also has a classical side to its training though. There are lessons every day on voice and body presence.

Lynch believes that “strong internal training allows for a strong externalisation onstage”.

Lynch was headhunted for the role, fresh from working with professional actors and street children in India, and he is quick to make it clear that certain things about the school will be changing. “I wouldn’t have taken on the role if I didn’t feel that I could make positive changes to the school,” he contends. Most critically, Lynch will be exposing his students to live audiences from an early stage in their education. This, he be-

Copenhagen Post columnist Stuart Lynch, who has been headhunted to lead one of this country’s most prestigious drama schools, outlines his grand vision for the future

T

HESE DAYS, the idea of a film and theatre school conjures up images of students randomly bursting into song and dancing around the cafeteria, thanks in a large part to the likes of ‘High School Musical’, ‘Glee’ and the cringe-inducing British attempt, ‘Britannia High’. And it doesn’t help that the Danish school in question, the Holberg Film and Theatre School, which was established in 1995, is situated in an old chocolate factory.

However, the ridiculous notion that this might be another fictional school is dissipated within seconds of meeting the half-English, half-Australian new headteacher of Holberg, Stuart Lynch. Here the former students don’t do kids’ stuff, they appear in ‘Forbrydelsen’. This school is serious.

Lynch is charismatic in the truest sense of the word, and when he speaks you want to listen. Alongside Malene Beltofte Olsen, in a classic Danish partnership of art director and producer, they have a clear and direct vision regarding the future of a school that already has an impressive reputation. Being the first pure method acting school in Denmark for film, theatre and television and the largest independent school of its kind in Scandinavia, it’s an impressive history to uphold.

Method acting has a reputation of its own. It makes many think of Daniel Day-Lewis, one of the most famous method actors, who on the set of his most recent film, ‘Lincoln’, insisted that everyone called him ‘Mr President’. At Holberg, the Stanislavski’s system is followed. It

I wouldn’t have taken on the role if I didn’t feel that I could make positive changes to the school lieves, will empower them and give them the chance to learn how to engage with an audience.

As well as early exposure to a live audience, Olsen is keen to discuss another addition to the syllabus: business classes. As a former student of the school and an employee for the last three years, Olsen has the advantage of seeing both aspects of school life. “Business teaching was lacking when I was a student here − any talk of it felt like selling out,” she says. The new lessons will stress the importance of understanding the business side of show business, how to fundraise, apply for arts grants, networking and how to make connections. “This knowledge isn’t selling out but empowering,” enthuses Olsen.

The subject of power comes up again and again throughout our meeting.

At one point the conversation is sidetracked into a discussion about gender inequality and the revival of feminism in topical conversation, due in large part to a recent spate of high profile news stories.

Lynch is keen to foster an atmosphere of gender equality at the school, although this is less of an issue in Denmark than in other countries. I think it would be fair to say Lynch is a feminist, but his ideas on power go further than this.

The three-year course will teach students to own their sense of power; skills such as public speaking are often underrated, yet are still relevant to many jobs.

These days nearly everyone is an amateur body language analyst, and so body position training is also a life skill. Lynch gives an example of one student who is now a police officer, pointing out that voice projection is a required skill for the job. Realistically not every graduate of the school will go on to be an actor: not through a lack of talent, says Lynch, but because “acting has to be a calling”.

It isn’t just prospective actors who have benefited from Lynch’s training. Politicians have also profited from his acting and public speaking training, although Lynch is far too professional to give me any names.

Of course Holberg isn’t the only acting school in Denmark, as it faces fierce competition from Statens Scenekunstskole.

“Statens is a great school with great teachers, but I really want to produce graduates who can give those pupils a run for their money,” contends Lynch. “I want to build the reputation of the training here so that at auditions the competition feel nervous.”

Lynch has only been in the job for a little over four weeks, so it will take time. But from September, his new vision will start to take shape. Watch this space!

Malene Beltofte Olsen and Stuart Lynch of Holberg Film and Theatre School contemplate the future

Copenhagen’s new rugby league side go down by two points in season opener in Lund

Does exercise while sitting down sound like fun? Then maybe rowing’s your sport

T

HE TWO favourites in the Pan Scandinavian Rugby League Tournament met on Saturday in Lund in the opening fixture of the season, contesting a thrilling encounter that saw the home side, Skåne Crusaders, edge out Copenhagen RLFC 18-16.

Having pipped Copenhagen in the final of the Scandinavia rugby league 7s in Sweden the previous weekend, the Crusaders headed into the game confident, and within 15 minutes, they had established a 10-0 lead.

Nevertheless, Copenhagen hit back through a try by captain Eugene Hanrahan and went into halftime just four points down.

D

There were times when the union pasts of the players were all too-evident

A firm team talk from team coach Nigel Kitching, a former professional rugby league player, focused the troops for a second half in which they marched into a 16-10 lead thanks to tries by Rune Nordvang and Robert King.

But poor handling and ill-discipline invited the welldrilled Crusaders back into the game and ahead again.

Heading into the closing minutes, Copenhagen had a penalty kick to tie the game, but instead elected to go for the try.

It proved to be the wrong decision as the Crusaders held firm for the win.

Next up for the Crusaders is their first home game, against another Swedish outfit, the Kungsbacka Broncos, on Saturday April 6 at Gladsaxe Stadion. (BH)

ANISH ROWING is flying at the moment thanks to the Olympic gold medal-winning exploits of Mads Rasmussen and Rasmus Quist in the 2012 Olympics, who led a medal rush that saw Fie Udby Erichsen and Guld firen (the golden four) also make the podium.

Still, that doesn’t mean to say the Danes are resting on their laurels blinkered to the possibility that the international community might have some worldbeaters within its ranks – even if they do one day come back to haunt their host country by denying it an Olympic medal.

Far-fetched? Maybe! But you’ll never know whether you’ve got what it takes until

LYNGBY DAMEROKLUB

Oarsome evening in Lyngby

SUNRISE INTERNATIONAL PRESCHOOL

Awesome effort in Lund

Fancy row, row, rowing your boat merrily down the stream?

you give it a try, and on Monday April 15, the Lyngby Women’s Rowing Club is offering the international ladies of Denmark exactly that: the chance to attend an English-language introduction evening where they can try out a rowing machine and test their mettle.

And even if it proves to be a wasted journey (not that the ma-

chines will take you anywhere), you can still enjoy a cup of coffee or tea and a slice of homemade cake with some of the club’s members. You don’t even need to get wet. (BH) Lyngby Dameroklub is based at Christians Winthersvej 24 in Lyngby. The evening starts at 19:00 – email adk@adm.ku.dk to register

14

Sports

The Copenhagen Post cphpost.dk

6 - 11 April 2013

Ben Hamilton An ambitious youth programme could aid Denmark’s bid to shoot up the rankings in a decade, but in the meantime, here’s Serbia

S

Either this kid is very good ... or he’s playing by himself

ready shown the team that this division is a lot tougher than 2C. The poor start, which leaves Denmark bottom of the group, makes the home game against Serbia on Saturday April 13, and then the away tie at group leaders Israel a week later, all the more important.

“Promotion is still possible, but it will be difficult,” contended the DRU national coach Ivan Andersen. “The division is harder than last year, primarily because it seems as if all the teams can beat each other − maybe Is-

Daniel Storch

ometimes the numbers don’t add up. How can a tiny country like Denmark play so many sports and have national teams in almost all of them? Football, handball, rugby league, rugby union, American football, Aussie rules, gaelic football, kabbadi – get on public transport anywhere in the country and you’re going to be within ten metres of an international sportsperson.

It’s like rats in London!

It’s highly competitive out there − something that the national rugby union is only too aware of. “We did a survey recently to find out if children knew what rugby was,” revealed Mikael Lai Rasmussen, the technical director of the Danish Rugby Union (DRU). “And most of them said they did and then went on to describe American football!”

It is a problem that Rasmussen is confident the DRU can overcome, but it will take time.

“Our new strategic plan is trying to grow the game from the bottom of the pyramid,” he said.

“It takes ten years to develop a rugby player, which is why we’re targeting 10 to 12-year-olds.”

Currently the DRU has only 1,507 pre-teen members.

While a handful of schools already play the sport in Denmark, and university rugby “is

on the drawing boards”, the new DRU plan, in co-operation with seven existing clubs, hopes to double the number of its registered members in four years and edge it ever closer to appearing on television.

“To be visible, so children know what rugby is, is a huge challenge,” said Rasmussen.

“More than one TV channel is looking at rugby, but we can only hope. The inclusion of sevens rugby at the 2016 Olympics will obviously help. Ultimately it’s a money issue.”

Denmark is also participating in a Scandinavian project involving Norway and Sweden, which has been endorsed by the international rugby body, the IRB. “It’s the first time that a region has even been accepted for an IRB project,” enthused Rasmussen. “We’ll help each other at a grassroots level, and the project is a great tool to drive our school rugby.”

So by the 2020s, there might be a new generation of players breaking into the Danish national team who have been coached for a decade playing club and school rugby. It’s a bright prospect. In the meantime, the red and whites are competing in Europe’s Division 2B, which is four divisions below the Six Nations and features the teams ranked 22nd to 26th in Europe. They play each other home and away over a two-year period.

Later this month, Denmark will reach the halfway point of their campaign. A 6-6 home draw against Andorra back in October and an away 15-27 loss in Latvia in November has al-

Daniel Storch

Bringing rugby union to the kids who think a try is a touchdown

rael excluded. We are better than we were last year, but Israel seem to have improved even more.”

Israel, who have only lost one division game in the last four years (to Denmark in Odense!), lead the group with two wins and are clearly the team to beat.

Andersen is hopeful that some new personnel might make a difference: “We have brought in two new players: one from the US (Matthew Thomas Kersey, prop) and one from the UK (Martin Peter Scott, centre). And we will also

have Christian B Nielsen, who recently went to the UK to play for Henley.”

And there is an emerging pool of young players in the team aged 21-22 − Nicklas V Tell, Mikkel S Jensen, Joshua C Jensen, Christian Melgaard and Oliver Le Roux − who fill Andersen with optimism for the future.

“We have a good mix of young and experienced players, and I think we are good at bringing new young players into the team,” enthused Andersen.

So would promotion come too quickly for him? “No,” he said. “I’m not intimidated by the thought − I think the way to get better is to meet better opponents.”

And one decade from now, Denmark might be the team the others fear to meet.

Denmark’s international against Serbia is taking place at 14:00 on Saturday April 13 at the Odense Athletics Stadium. Tickets cost 25kr and can be purchased at the venue.

Factfile | Danish rugby • Rugby has been played in Denmark since 1931. The Danish Rugby Union was founded in 1950 and joined both the Sports Confederation of Denmark and Association of European Rugby in 1971, and the International Rugby Board in 1988.

The Australian number nine, a future Nick Farr-Jones in the making perhaps ...

• Denmark finished second in Europe’s 2010-12 Division 2C. Five wins, one draw and two losses saw them finish behind Israel and face Slovenia in a promotion play-off. However, the Slovenians, who had finished fourth in Division 2B, forfeited the game and

Denmark were promoted.

• In 1998, Denmark got within six games of the World Cup. They played Six Nations member Italy, and two other 2011 World Cup participants, Russia and Georgia, for a place at the 1999 edition, but lost all six of their qualifiers.

Not long after, they reached a record-high world ranking of 36. Today, their ranking is 66.

Sweden were promoted and Denmark relegated from the same division, and they have not played in the same one since. Denmark then reached their lowest ever ranking of 73 in 2008.

• Denmark haven’t beaten Sweden in an official international since 2001. Up until that point, they had never lost to them. In 2007

• Denmark’s most successful player was Michael Jeppesen, who played second row or flanker. He turned pro and played for the New Zealand side Wellington Hurricanes until a neck injury ended his career prematurely in the late 1990s, by which time he had only played 26 times for Denmark.

Sports news IN brief A tale of two Rasmussens An email from the UCI, international cycling’s governing body, suggests that a case of mistaken identity may have barred Alex Rasmussen from his comeback at the Circuit de la Sarthe race in Le Mans on Monday. The Dane, who rides for the Garmin-Sharp team, was set to compete in France following his return from an 18-month ban for unknown whereabouts during a doping

control. The email was sent by UCI president Pat McQuaid and indicates that tournament officials may have mistaken Rasmussen for a fellow Dane, Michael Rasmussen. The latter Rasmussen recently retired after admitting to years of doping. Tournament officials had initially claimed problems with Garmin-Sharp’s insurance for not allowing Alex Rasmussen to enter the race.

All out of luck

All out of Plock

All together at Canucks

Masters bid hits skids

Last week on Monday, the country’s best known card player Gus Hansen, a three-time winner on the World Poker Tour, lost 1.4 million kroner in just under 24 hours in a cash game.

Still, compared to his recent form, it was just another day, albeit an extremely bad one, at the office. So far this year, he has lost 16.7 million kroner, and in 2012, he lost a staggering 24 million kroner.

Lars Walther has resigned as coach of Polish handball team Wisla Plock. The Dane’s resignation followed a loss to Danish team Tvis Holstebro in the EHF European Cup. The defeat marked the end of the European hopes of Plock, and also those of Walther renewing his contract, which was set to run out in 2014.

Walther, who had been at Plock since 2010, was voted coach of the season two years ago.

Ice hockey right-winger Nicklas Jensen, 20, made his debut for the Vancouver Canucks on Monday in a 3-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks. Jensen was called up from a (farm team) feeder side due to an injury crisis. He joins Jannik Hansen, a fellow Dane who has played for the team since 2007, and his debut brings the number of Danish players in the NHL to eight.

Thorbjørn Olesen’s participation in the upcoming US Masters next week is in jeopardy following a car crash last week.

Olesen was involved in a four-vehicle collision caused by a driver who fell asleep behind the wheel.

The accident caused Olesen to pull out of the Shell Houston Open on doctors’ orders. Olesen is set to make his US Masters debut on April 11. Thomas Bjørn is also expected to compete.

Business

The Copenhagen Post cphpost.dk

6 - 11 April 2013

15

O

ver the next decade, 340 billion kroner will be invested in developing public infrastructure and hopefully creating around 40,000 jobs, according to calculations made by financial daily Børsen. There are concerns, however, about the lack of skilled labour to complete the planned construction work.

Ole Christiansen, the chairman of the Aarhus Rymarken division of the union 3F, said the region has already started to witness a shortage of construction workers.

“I have to call around to other 3F departments in Jutland in order to find people for projects in Aarhus,” Christiansen told weekly newsletter Ugebrevet A4, adding that the demand for labourers in Aarhus has been stimulated by the construction of new housing blocks around Aarhus’s harbour.

Christiansen’s assessment was supported by Peter Hougaard Nielsen, the chairman of 3F’s construction division.

“As the situation stands now, with all the projects that have started, we could easily end up lacking construction workers in the autumn,” Nielsen told Ugebrevet A4, adding that the government’s growth plan will

Scanpix / Henning Bagger

The state and councils will spend 340 billion kroner on infrastructure over the next decade and create around 40,000 jobs

The trade minister thinks better advice and financing can boost exports to the rapidly-growing African economy

D

There are concerns that there are not enough labourers to satisfy the demand for building future public investments

reduce unemployment in construction after the end of the summer holiday.

“The home improvements tax deduction and the extra funds for renovating public housing will only create jobs,” he said. “In the long-term, I can only be optimistic.”

Unemployment dropped by 500 people between January and February to 154,400 according to Statistics Denmark. This corresponds to six percent of the labour force being out of work, although some fields are doing far better.

According to Ugebrevet A4, the number of unemployed electricians dropped from 4.7 to 3.3 percent nationwide and some areas of the country are even reporting almost 100 percent em-

ployment within the field.

The weekly newsletter also reported that the Copenhagen and Zealand regions may not have enough engineers, bricklayers, electricians and plumbers to satisfy the demand in 2014 and 2015.

According to 3F, 1,034 infrastructure projects costing over 30 million kroner have so far been registered to start between 2012 and 2017. Together they will cost 222 billion kroner and require 222,000 man-years of work to complete.

The largest projects to start in the next decade are the Fehmarn Link tunnel to Germany (50 billion kroner), further construction on new Metro lines in Copenhagen (16 billion kroner) and an upgrade of the rail network (27 billion). (PS)

‘Subway Surfers’ emerges from underground Evie Sargeant Childhood business model ensures company’s success

T

he Danish production company Kiloo Games is behind ‘Subway Surfers’, one of the biggest indie app successes, a game in which users dodge capture and oncoming trains as they run down the tracks in some of the world’s largest cities. The secret to the company’s success? Updates, says Kiloo’s co-owner, Simon Møller.

“We’ve updated our way to the top,” Møller told Poketgamer, saying that the games’s monthly updates serve as a way to keep users engaged.

Currently inching its way

Flickr/celero

Huge infrastructure investments Denmark sets its sights on Africa may cause labour shortages

towards the top 20 in iTunes’s free app charts, the game has advanced quickly despite being just nine months old.

Based in Aarhus with only around 50 employees, Kiloo Games is a small company challenging the industry giants.

Large companies such as Zynga and Pocket Gems dominate the market, and whilst anyone can upload an app, according to the analytic company Distimo, only two percent of the top 250 publishers in the App Store are newcomers.

While the number of downloads is impressive, it is the retention rate of Subway Surfers that has the competition feeling nervous, with 91 percent of users returning after one day and 60

percent returning after 30 days.

Kiloo’s business model also sets it apart from its competitors.

When it comes to creating online games, the boundaries of creative ownership are not always clear, but Møller splits the profits 50/50 with any partners – a business decision that Møller said is based on sharing everything equally with his brother during his childhood.

In this case, the other codeveloper is another Danish studio, Sybo, and judging by recent reports of between 750,000 and one million downloads a day, a 50 percent stake will equal a healthy profit.

Kiloo declined to comment on this story, stating that it was not currently speaking to the Danish press.

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enmark is lagging behind its European neighbours when it comes to taking advantage of strong economic growth in Africa, according to Politiken newspaper.

Only about one percent of Danish exports go to Africa, which is less than half the share of exports that countries such as Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden send to the continent.

And while Africa’s middle class has swollen to over 300 million people, the continent is also home to seven of the ten fastest growing economies in the world.

According to the trade and investment minister, Pia Olsen Dyhr (Socialistisk Folkeparti), Denmark needs to improve its efforts to break into the African market.

“We need to be less scared of getting involved and better at taking advantage of Denmark’s good reputation in Africa and the large amount of developmental aid Denmark gives,” Dyhr told Politiken.

Dyhr hopes to double Danish exports to Africa over the next five years by creating partnerships with African businesses to create jobs and growth for both Africa and Denmark, par-

Africa’s middle class is growing and so is the demand for Western goods

ticularly in the fields of renewable energy, infrastructure and healthcare. To help Danish businesses increase their exports, the government is launching a new service to help exporters secure both financing and advice about local markets.

The combined service – which is being offered by Eksport Kredit Fonden (EKF) and the Foreign Ministry’s trade council, Eksportrådet – will be available both in Denmark and seven key export countries around the world.

“Better access to financing will strengthen the opportunities of primarily small and medium-sized businesses to increase their exports and create jobs in Denmark,” Dyhr said in a press release announcing the service.

“Danish exporters need both competent export advice and

access to money to help them realise their growth plans. We are now offering a one-stop shop that can help them with both.”

In Africa, the services will be offered out of the Danish embassy in Kenya, where advice and financing information will be provided about both Kenya and South Africa.

PM Helle ThorningSchmidt (Socialdemokraterne) announced earlier in March that South Africa was a perfect target for Danish businesses wanting to increase their exports.

“We need to use our strong friendship to create a strong trade relationship that will benefit South Africans while also creating jobs in Denmark,” ThorningSchmidt told Ritzau, adding that Denmark hopes to increase trade with South Africa by 50 percent over the next five years. (PS)

BRITISH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN DENMARK

It’s about daring...

Stine Bosse, has a Master of Law from the University of Copenhagen and before being appointed to Group CEO of TrygVesta A/S in 2001, she held various positions in Tryg which provided her with a unique, thorough and hands-on understanding of the day-to-day operations.

She is widely known in the public for her direct and no-nonsense communication and is enthusiastically engaged in the societal debate for a better and safer world. She is a role model for many aspiring young people as the highest ranking female CEO in Denmark and was appointed the 22nd most influential business woman in the world in 2009 and 2010 by the Financial Times.

Stine Bosse serves as chairman of Flügger Denmark, The Royal Danish Theatre, CONCITO, Børnefonden, and Copenhagen Art Festival. She is Danish member of ChildFund Alliance, and sits on the board of among others Nordea Bank A/S, TDC, Allianz and Aker ASA. Additionally, Stine Bosse is the former chairman of the supervisory board of the Danish Insurance Association (Forsikring & Pension), and former board member of Grundfos and Amlin plc.

In the Spring 2010, Stine Bosse was appointed Advocate for the Millenium Development Goals by the UN Secretary General, Ban Kimoon, to fight world hunger and poverty.

Stine will talk about the essence of her book “Det handler om at turde”.

Programme: • 11.45: Registration and welcome drinks • 12.00: Welcome and introduction by Mariano A. Davies, President, BCCD • 12.10: Guest speaker - Stine Bosse • 12.40: Questions and discussion • 12.55: Announcements by Penny Schmith, Executive Director, BCCD • 13.00: Buffet lunch and networking

Date: Friday, 22 March 2013 Venue: Conference Suite on 1st floor Radisson Blu Royal Hotel Hammerichsgade 1 Copenhagen K

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

Price in kroner for one unit of foreign currency

If you would like to attend then please send us an email (event@bccd.dk) or call +45 31 18 75 58

Date: 4 April 2013

• official media partner Denmark’s only English-language newspaper

16

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

SPOUSE: Nitisha Sinha FROM: India SEEKING WORK IN: Copenhagen QUALIFICATION: Masters in Geography and B.Ed. EXPERIENCE: 4 years 3 months in teaching geography in schools for the middle to senior level.

I was also a foreign expat teacher and General Education Officer at Ministry Of Education,of Singapore in Singapore.

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IT EXPERIENCE: Familiar with MS Office (Word, Powerpoint,) and Photoshop.

CONTACT: nitz84@gmail.com, Tel: +45 7149 6579 SPOUSE: Silvia Figueira FROM: Portugal SEEKING WORK IN: Copenhagen QUALIFICATION: Landscape Architect Degree at Lisbon Technical University.

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IT EXPERIENCE: Proficient in the use of AutoCAD and MS Office. Trained in Adobe Illustrator/ Photoshop and ArcGIS. CONTACT: silviamfigueira@gmail.com, Tel: +45 2237 4427 SPOUSE: Jik Boom FROM: The Netherlands SEEKING WORK IN: Copenhagen QUALIFICATION: Teacher.

EXPERIENCE: CELTA (Cambridge Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) see also Linkedin profile http://dk.linkedin.com/in/jikboom).

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CONTACT: ariful@id.aau.dk, arif401@yahoo.com, Tel: +45 4277 8296 SPOUSE: Caroline Warnes FROM: England, UK SEEKING WORK IN: Midtjylland, preferably Aarhus QUALIFICATION: MSc Environmental Dynamics; Monitoring, Evaluation and Management, BSc (Hons) Geography. Both from Loughborough University, UK. EXPERIENCE: Has worked as a mapping data analyst for a telecommunications company and an evaluation technician and analyst for a utilities company in the UK. Undergraduate thesis was written on public acceptance of wind energy and wind turbines. Experience with GIS, mapping, data analysis, producing reports, working with contractors and clients to time constraints and budgets.

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CONTACT: caroline@warnes.dk, Tel: +45 3133 3659 SPOUSE: Keshab Nidhi Pantha FROM: Nepal SEEKING WORK IN: Copenhagen QUALIFICATION: Masters in Mathematics EXPERIENCE: 4 years Mathematics teaching in secondary level and 2 years Mathematics teaching in Bachelor level.

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IT EXPERIENCE: 6 months diploma in computer with MS words and excel.

CONTACT: pantha_kn@yahoo.com, Tel: +45 7157 9893 SPOUSE: Ylenia Fiorini FROM: Italy SEEKING WORK IN: Copenhagen QUALIFICATION: Post Graduate Master’s Degree in Peace Studies, Development Cooperation, International Mediation and Conflict resolution.

EXPERIENCE: I have ten years experience as social worker in Italy,and experience in various fields, in the social and third sector and I feel that my educational background combined with my campaign assistant practice in the Ngo Burma Campaign, in Barcelona, has been an excellent preparation. In the same way also my job experiences in the social field made me open to different situations and to see them as a source of knowledge.

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CONTACT: yleniafiorini@yahoo.it SPOUSE: Deepak Kumar Koneri FROM: India SEEKING WORK IN: Copenhagen QUALIFICATION: M.Sc in Electrical Engineering specialization in Embedded Systems (Jönköping, Sweden), B.Tech in Electrical and Electronics Engineering (Hyderabad, India).

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

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

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

IT EXPERIENCE: MS-Office (word, Excel, Power point, Visio), CFD (Mentor Graphics FloTHERM, FloVENT, Noesis OPTIMUS, Electrical CAD, Assembly Programming (PIC 16f77, 8086,8051), WireMOM, Telelogic SDL-99, C and VHDL. CONTACT: konerideepak@gmail.com, Tel: +45 7156 1151

PARTNERS:

6 - 11 April 2013 SPOUSE: Clotilde Imbert FROM: France SEEKING WORK IN: Greater Copenhagen QUALIFICATION: Master of town planning and development and master of urban geography (Paris IV-Sorbonne) EXPERIENCE: 5 years in field of town planning and development: Coordinator in urban project in a semi-public company: supervised a major urban project in Paris area (coordination of studies, acquisition of lands, worked with Planning Development of the Town Council, architects, developers to define the master plan and implement the project); Officer in research and consultancy firm (urban diagnosis, environmental impact assessments, inhabitants consultation).

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

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IT EXPERIENCE: MS Office, Abode Illustrator, AutoCad (basic), PC and Mac. CONTACT: clotilde.imbert@gmail.com SPOUSE: Tanzeel ur Rehman FROM: Pakistan SEEKING WORK IN: Greater Copenhagen QUALIFICATION: Ms in Business administration from Sweden EXPERIENCE: 4+ years of experience as Customer Management and Profile Keeping in Telecom sector in Denmark. Implemented and follow Business Ethics in all the Marketing, promotional and branding activities throughout all the Denmark. Organized events for different communities for 50-500 people. Worked in Banking sector as Business development Executive.

LOOKING FOR: Full time or part time job.

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IT-EXPERIENCE: Bachelors in Computer Science.

CONTACT: EMAIL: tanzeel.lyca@gmail.com, Tel: +45 4223 8800 SPOUSE: Mohammad Ahli- Gharamaleki FROM: Iran SEEKING WORK IN: Copenhagen QUALIFICATION: Master degree in chemical engineering.

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CONTACT: mohammad_ahli@yahoo.com, Tel: +45 7163 1285 SPOUSE: Debjani Nandy Biswas FROM: India SEEKING WORK IN: Would like to join in kindergarten, School teacher in English, official work in English.

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SPOUSE: Sadra Tabassi FROM: Iran SEEKING WORK IN: Copenhagen QUALIFICATION: Master of Business Administration (MBA).

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IT EXPERIENCE: Basic knowledge about computer (Windows), Office 2010 (Word, Excel, Power Point),Statistical software (SPSS) CONTACT: sadra.tabassi@gmail.com, Tel: +45 5033 7753 SPOUSE: Lorenzo Albano F. FROM: Venezuela SEEKING WORK IN: Greater Copenhagen and Capital Region QUALIFICATIONS: PhD, MSc in Physics, BSc in Geophysics.

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CONTACT: lorenzoalbanof@gmail.com, Tel: +45 5015 9819 SPOUSE: Clémence Arnal FROM: France SEEKING WORK IN: Copenhagen; Region Sjælland QUALIFICATION: Wastewater/drinking water (processes and treatments, building design, water sampling and pollution rate measurement); environment protection (river basin management, waste management).

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LOOKING FOR: Research, teaching, consultancy positions.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: English, French (small amount), Chinese (beginner), I am enrolled at Danish language school.

IT EXPERIENCE: ArcGIS, MapInfo, GeoDa, Global Mapper, GWR, Python, Image J, SPSS, Excel, Work, PowerPoint, Access, Dreamweaver, Adobe, SAS, open source GIS programmes.

CONTACT: tessaanderson@gmail.com

SPOUSE: Christina Ioannou FROM: Greece SEEKING WORK IN: Central Copenhagen QUALIFICATION: MA in HRM London, UK. Bsc. American College USA. EXPERIENCE: Worked as a manager for 11 years in the retailing sector – fashion industry for a big international corporation. I had budget and personnel responsibility. I was in charge of the purchasing department.

LOOKING FOR: Any kind of industry. Not simply in fashion. Where I will apply my leadership, sales, communicative and purchasing skills.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: English, Swedish,Italian, French, Greek IT-EXPERIENCE: MS Office.

CONTACT: christina_ioannou@yahoo.com, Tel: +46 7684 35211 SPOUSE: Munawar Saleem FROM: Pakistan SEEKING WORK IN: Copenhagen QUALIFICATION: MBA logistics and supply chain management (Jonkoping University, Sweden) M.Sc. Computer Sciences (Punjab University, Lahore Pakistan).

EXPERIENCE: 4 years, Lecturer in computer sciences.

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

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

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

CONTACT: libravision3@gmail.com, Tel: +45 7141 2010 SPOUSE: Erik Metzger FROM: San Francisco, CA USA SEEKING WORK IN: Drug & Alcohol Counselling QUALIFICATION: Masters degree in addiction counselling from Hazelden Graduate School of Addiction Studies; Currently preparing for the IC&RC counselling exam.

EXPERIENCE: Drug & Alcohol Counsellor; Masters in Addiction Counselling from Hazelden Graduate School in Minnesota, USA, August 2012. Ten years of active work in various 12-step programs. I can meet with you and/or your family to develop a custom recovery plan; all ages welcome. Registered Yoga Teacher through: www.yogaalliance.org since July, 2010. I can supply yoga mats and supports; my apartment or yours! Teacher of business English with training from Berlitz, Virksomhedsskolen and Denmark’s Library School (Cand.scient.bibl., 2007). *All diploma’s and certifications available upon request.

LOOKING FOR: Part/Full/Freelance/Volunteer work at treatment center and/or outpatient clinic.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: English: Native; Danish: Fluent verbal skills and intermediate reading and writing.

IT EXPERIENCE: PC and Mac – trained in many software packages and databases.

CONTACT: erikmetz@gmail.com SPOUSE: Mohamed Ismail FROM: Egypt SEEKING WORK IN: Marketing & Sales QUALIFICATION: Master of Science in Business and Economics with Specialization in Marketing.

From Linnaeus University. Vaxjo, Sweden.

EXPERIENCE: 3+ years in Marketing and sales, worked for one of the biggest Steel Companies in the middle east, worked in FMCG as a key account Sales Supervisor, worked as customer service international account for one of the biggest telecommunications companies in the world.

Experience in business development and innovation. Worked in sales in retail shops. Very motivated and high potential, believe in team work and good in sales and presentation skills.

LOOKING FOR: Part time or full time in Copenhagen LANGUAGE SKILLS: Fluent in English and Arabic. Danish and Swedish (intermediate and currently learning).

IT EXPERIENCE: Excellent in MS office, Excel, Word and Powerpoint, excellent in Browsing and internet searching. Excellent in SPSS, basic knowledge of Photoshop.

CONTACT: mohamediismail86@yahoo.com, Tel: -45 5361 0031 SPOUSE: Lynn Kim FROM: South Korea SEEKING WORK IN: Copenhagen QUALIFICATION: Bachelor of Science in Oceanography, Inha University, Incheon, Korea 2008.

Studied Chinese in Yentai, Yentai University, Shandong, China Fall 2006. Complete a course in Korean Language Teacher’s training, 2012 EXPERIENCE: Korea Coast Guard, Donghae; Pyongtaek, Police constable. Yeonsu Private Institute, Incheon, Teacher in Elementary, Middle School, and High School students in English. The Hankyoreh Newspaper Company, Seoul, Editorial bureau assistant. Weather and funeral column writing, Provide administrative support to the city desk. Inha University Newspaper, Incheon, Photo Journalist LOOKING FOR: Korean tutor as a part time job.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: Fluent in English, intermediate Mandarin, Mongolian language, I’m learning Danish on Youtube.

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

CONTACT: amorphophallus@jinbo.net SPOUSE: Sucharita Reddy FROM: India SEEKING WORK IN: Anywhere in Denmark QUALIFICATION: Bachelor in Technology (Electrical Engineering).

EXPERIENCE: 4+ years of professional experience in SAP ABAP & OO-ABAP programming for Material Management(MM), Plant Maintenance(PM), Document Management and Record Management System(DM/RM), Extended Warehouse Management (EWM), Sales and Distribution(SD) and Finance (FI) modules.

LOOKING FOR: Job opportunities in IT (technical or Functional),Consulting,Management or Business Field.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: Proficient in English & Hindi. Danish(learning Intensive course).

IT EXPERIENCE: SAP ABAP/4 technical skills include ABAP Programs (Dialog Programming, Standard and Interactive Reports), ALV Reporting, Smartforms, User Exit and Field Exit Development, Interfacing Data with external systems, Data conversions, Programming using BDC, ABAP/4 Workbench, Data Dictionary, Batch Job management, Workflows, Adobe Forms, Webdynpro, ABAP Objects.

CONTACT: sucharita17.reddy@gmail.com, Tel: +45 527 1184.

SPOUSE: Raffaele Menafra FROM: Italy SEEKING WORK IN: Copenhagen QUALIFICATION: A degree as Prevention techniques in Work and Workplaces.

EXPERIENCE: I worked 4 years in a rehabilitation clinic.

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

IT EXPERIENCE: MS Office.

CONTACT: menafra1@yahoo.it

Denmark’s only English-language newspaper

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

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

Employment

The Copenhagen Post cphpost.dk

6 - 11 April 2013 SPOUSE: Chiara Rodighiero FROM: Siena, Italy SEEKING WORK IN: Copenhagen or nearby areas, Greater Copenhagen QUALIFICATION: Ph.D. in Microbiology (Univeristy of Bristol, UK), Laurea (Degree) in Pharmaceutical Chemistry (University of Padova, Italy), Project Manager Professional Certification (George Washington University, School of Business).

EXPERIENCE: 5 years as Senior Project Manager for Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics.

Responsibility for managing multiple global projects at various stages of Research and Development. Experience coordinating activities within cross-functional teams and ensuring that internal research activities are fully aligned with project goals. Experience also includes managing a team of scientists, controlling research budgets and resource allocation. Also have experience working for Biotech (in United Kingdom) and academia (Harvard Medical School).

LOOKING FOR: Full time position in the Pharma/Biotech Industry in Research, Project Management or related fields suiting my qualifications and experience.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: Italian mother tongue, very good command of English and a working knowledge of French.

IT EXPERIENCE: Microsoft Office package. Excellent command of internet and ability to find information on the web. Excellent command of word-processor and spreadsheet applications.

CONTACT: chiararodighiero@hotmail.com, Tel +39 348 790 7554

Copenhagen International School is looking to fill two coPenhagen international school ispositions: looKing Grade 1 (Permanent Position) & Grade 1 (Maternity Cover) to fill the folloWing Positions: The maternity cover is from the 1st of August 2013 until the 31 st of July 2014 Copenhagen International School is looking for compassionate, committed and creative educators to join the Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten and grade 1 teachers Primary School. The successful applicants should be qualified primary school teachers with a minimum of 5 years of should relevant classroom experience minimum of 2experience years of experience in international education.

The successful applicants be qualified teachers with a and minimum of 2 years’ working within an early years programme.

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

LOOKING FOR: IT jobs.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: English, Chinese, Uyghur.

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

CONTACT: mehmudjan@live.se

The position will start on August 1st 2012.

Qualifications

looking teachers who: We are lookingWe for are teachers whofor have knowledge and experience of the international Baccalaureate Primary years • base their teaching philosophy and practice on recent research in education programme (iB PyP), and who: • can design inspiring, effective and developmentally appropriate learning opportunities • can design effective and developmentally appropriate learning opportunities • can demonstrate a track record of excellent classroom practice including differentiating instruction and • can demonstrate a track record of excellent classroom practice including in-depth understanding of differentiated instruction, second language ensuring access to the curriculum for EAL learners acquisition and play based learning • can demonstrate practice of systematic and effective on-going and summative assessment strategies • have a strong work ethic and excellent organizational skills and feedback in support of student learning • have a track record of being an effective collaborator and team player • have a strong work ethic and excellent organizational skills • have willingness and commitment to contribute to the development of the curriculum • can demonstrate the ability to work collaboratively in a culturally diverse community • have willingness and commitment to contribute to the greater school community • have willingness and commitment to contribute to the greater school community • will demonstrate professionalism in its broadest sense • will demonstrate professionalism in its broadest sense

Spouse: Zsofia Gazdag From: Hungary Seeking work in: Greater Copenhagen Qualification: MSc in Veterinary Medicine(DVM), dansk dyrlæge autorisation Experience: 2 years of practicing veterinarian, 2 years of customer service at DHL, experience as assistant to VP at HBO. looking for: Full-time or part-time job. Any kind of job in a friendly environment, from flowershop to medical companies, simpler to more complex jobs, anything might be interesting.

Veterinary jobs.

Language skills: Fluent in: English, Swedish and Hungarian. Beginner in Danish, learning currently, good in understanding of written Danish.

IT experience: Good skills with windows and office programs.

Contact: zsofia.gazdag@gmail.com, Tel: 31731723

Knowledge and experience of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IB PYP) will be an asset.Kindergarten and grade 1 assistants The KindergartenApplications and Grade 1 teams are looking additionalletter Assistants join the existing The successful candidates should be qualified to work including C.V.forcovering andtothe names andteams. contact information of three with children between the ages of 5 and 7 with a strong background and experience in early years’ education and with a minimum two years of experience current referees should be sent electronically to the Human Resources Manager Audrey ofAmosworking in an early years programme.

The positionby willthe start30th on August 1st 2012.

Frederiksen at aaf@cis.dk of April 2013.

Spouse: Momina Bashir Awan From: Pakistan Seeking Work in: All of Denmark Qualification: MBA (Degrees Assessed by Danish Agency for International Education).

Experience: 4 years of wide experience as Human Resources Analyst in a USA based Pakistani.

Organization. Involved in Recruitment of IT personnel for outsourcing, Compensation and benefits planning, Wage analysis, Conduct Training and Development Seminars and Team building. One year of Experience in Telesales of Citibank NA., 6 months of experience in Customer Services in Telecom sector.

Looking for: Jobs in HR and Customer Services Language Skills: English [Fluent], Urdu [Mother tongue], Hindi [Fluent], Danish [Beginner’s Level].

Contact: mominabashir@msn.com, Tel: +45 7135 2387

We are lookingPlease for earlynote: years’Copenhagen educators who: International School reserves the right to make an appointment before the closing • have a caring and approach with children datenurturing mentioned above.

• are organized and demonstrate effective classroom practice Stockholmsgade 59 Hellerupvej 22-26 2100 Copenhagen Ø • have a strong work ethic 2900 Hellerup T +45 3946 3309 T +45 3946 3311 • have a track record of being an effective collaborator and team player www.cis.dk www.cis.dk • preferably have knowledge and experience of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme. (IB PYP)

Biotech Job Vacancies Lundbeck Executive Assistant to the Vice President (VP) for Corporate Business Development & Strategy (CBDS) Global Brand Manager Regulatory Affairs Manager Student Assistant Clinical Data Manager Experienced In Vitro Research Scientist

Leo-Pharma LIMS Solution Specialist – Global IT Principal Scientist for Disease Pharmacology Test Manager – LEO Pharma Global IT

Novozymes Quality professional

Ferring International Clinical Trial Manager, Experimental Medicine Senior Manager, Medical Devices, Global Regulatory Affairs

Novo Nordisk Regulatory Associate Department Assistant QA chemist Sales & Operations Global Planner Technical Trial Manager

17

Primary & middle school danish teachers We are looking to fill one full-time and one part-time position (60%) to join our team of Danish teachers. These positions are to teach both Danish Language A and Danish as an Additional Language.

Novo The positions will startNordisk on August 1st 2012. The successful applicants should be qualified teachers with at least two years full time teaching experience.

The successful applicants must be Danish native speakers.

Clinical Pharmacology Scientist

Biopharm QC Support Professional

SeniorforOutsourcing We are looking teachers who: Manager Stability Study Scientist • can design effective and developmentally appropriate learning opportunities Associate manager • can demonstrate a track record of excellent classroom practice including in-depth understanding of differentiated instruction, second language International Trial Managers and Sr. International Trial manager acquisition and play based learning cLean Consultant • have a strong work ethic and excellent organizational skills EHS and Quality Coordinator • have a track record of being an effective collaborator and team player Project Manager • have willingness and commitment to contribute to the development of the curriculum Pharmaceutical Medicine Programme • have willingness and commitment to contribute to the greater school community Investment Manager • will demonstrate professionalism in its broadest sense Regulatory Professional • have a Clinical professionalProject level of written and spoken English Manager

QA Chemist Compliance & Quality Manager interested candidatesAnalyst should email a letter of application, cV and contact details of three current referees as well as any further inquiries to Business mette trock-Jansen at mtj@cis.dk. the closing date for applications is may 31st 2012, however applications will be handled on an on-going QA professional basis andChemist appointments may be made prior to this date.

Clinical Trial Administrator / Administrative Assistant Competency Development Manager QA Professional contact details: Clinical Compliance Coordinator - Hellerupvej 22-26, 2900 Hellerup maternity cover cLEAN® Specialist T +45 3946 3311 Associate Manager www.cis.dk Senior International Trial Manager mtj@cis.dk Senior GCP Advisor Research Scientist International Medical Manager / Director Chemist Laboratory technician Manager Sr. QA for Qualification/Validation in Pilot fac., CMC Drug Product

Denmark’s only English-language newspaper

For more information, deadlines and other job vacancies visit our webpage www.cphpost.dk/jobvacancies

18

CULTURE

THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK

6 - 11 April 2013

ANN CHARLOTTE VENGSGAARD The City

PR PHOTO

City’s in the pink of health 

B

Andrew Jeffers, Emilia Poole Jonsson, Sue Hansen Styles and Vanessa Poole make up the cast of ‘The City’

tivations are dubious, insinuating and suggestive, complaining that she can’t sleep because of the noise made by Claire and Christopher’s kids. Her husband is at war, her patients cling onto life, and her frenzy contrasts with the suburban issues faced by her neighbours.

We hear the children laugh-

ALLAN MUTUKU-KORTBÆK Sebastian Szary of electronic duo Modeselektor reveals why they can’t stop returning to Denmark

JASON MOISIO

Insights into a mode of working

ing, but we only meet the girl (Emilia Poole Jönsson, who is extremely good and, yes, the actual daughter of Vanessas Poole) – what has happened to the boy?

Has he, as it was mentioned, been locked inside the playroom for playing too loudly?

Something is simmering, something dark and quite sad, JACOB STAGE

niceties lurks vulnerability, jealousy and betrayal − something threatening and unpleasant. It’s a reminder that only the English can muster sarcasm in the middle of a nervous breakdown.

The neighbour Jenny (Vanessa Poole in a thrilling performance), a nurse on nightshifts, appears in the garden. Her mo-

S

EBASTIAN SZARY and Gernot Bronsert got together in the early 1990s when their home country Germany had just been shaken by the collapse of the Berlin Wall.

The duo found gigs playing a fusion of acid house, techno and hip-hop to hordes of anarchic Berliners in a now-united city.

Since then, they have gone on to produce music alongside the likes of Ellen Allien, the city’s ‘first lady of electronic music’, and Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, who is a fan of their eclectic electronic sound.

The Copenhagen Post caught up with Modeselektor’s Sebastien Szary for a short interview before their massive show at Store Vega a few weeks ago.

The topics on the table included Copenhagen, Modeselektor’s musical inspirations and working with Thom Yorke.

CPH Post: So, Szary – is this your first time in Copenhagen?

Szary: Well, Gernot is the one who is really good at counting the years. I think we [first played here] in 2005, and we’ve been back every year since then. This is the eighth or tenth time. We’ve played in Aarhus and Copenhagen and even on Bornholm in the pre-Modeselektor era.

What was it like at Roskilde?

Roskilde was amazing. It’s a really nice festival. We’ve played there twice – last year and two years ago with Moderat, the side-project we have together with [German electronic musician] Apparat. You can feel that it’s a festival with a lot of history.

The martial arts training came in handy on the slippery stage Sebastian Szary: he likes Roskilde, My Bloody Valentine and Glaswegians

What was it like playing back in the early ‘90s after the Wall came down in Berlin?

The situation after the Wall came down was comparable to the Wild West. The Wall coming down was like a revolution – all the different influences, like communism from the East and capitalism, consumption and so on from the West, all came together. It was a very exciting time musically as well. A lot of different styles from all the radios and from different sectors came together.

Now a question about Thom Yorke.

Ah, Thom Yorke. ‘The T Question’ – it comes up often.

What’s on your iPod right now?

What are you inspired by?

Right now I’m listening to the new My Bloody Valentine album quite a bit. Modeselektor are quite diverse; we came from ‘80s hip-hop, then went straight to acid house, back to hip-hop à la Public Enemy and then into techno, Sonic Youth rock – you name it. There are lots of undiscovered sound samples and non-Western orientated styles of music from the ‘20s and ‘40s that inspire us when we compose, [which] is more like jamming. It helps if you have a knowledge of music, and I have to admit that Gernot and I don’t have proper musical knowledge. I don’t play the piano, for instance, so the way we use our instruments is more intuitive than anything else.

What’s your favourite city to perform in?

There are quite a few, actually.

We like cities that aren’t in the focus that much. Glasgow can be pretty fun, even in the rain, and I like the people there. It’s a bit rough and similar to the rough feel of East Germany. San Francisco and New York are fun, too, as is Guadalajara, Mexico.

Springing forth the essence of life EVIE SARGEANT The Conspiracy of Spring 

What is it like to work with him? You guys are quite close, right?

Yeah, we’ve been friends for about ten years. The partnership started with remixes, initially, and then we teamed up with Radiohead, and it’s going pretty well. It’s about more than just music; we are good friends with Thom. He’s a nice guy.

So – what’s next for Modeselektor? What are you working on at the moment?

Right now, we’re working on the next Moderat album with Apparat. It should be out in August. It’s time to continue our partnership with Apparat, so that’s taking up almost all of our time. Apart from that, we have our own private lives to keep us occupied!

March 25

I

N THIS performance we will strive for the best moments in Life, and go way over the top to grasp them and hang onto them,” says choreographer Kasper Ravnhøj about his new performance dance piece ‘The Conspiracy of Spring’, and he’s not kidding. His dancers’ constant drive to jump higher, reach further and move faster is brilliantly brought to the stage using stunts, ladders and martial arts trickery. Even if you’re not an adrenaline junkie, it’s easy to relate to Ravnhøj’s fear of not living life to the full.

At times it was unclear what was meant to be part of the show and what was part of the course on the second night of a live, fast-paced performance, but this kept the audience on its toes. Still, there was plenty to contemplate, like the lights frozen into blocks of ice, strung up from the ceiling, dripping continually into buckets − an effective visual metaphor of time passing, although far from ideal if you have a weak bladder.

There were lighter moments during the performance, such as the martial arts fighting between

Andreas Nguyen and Hannes Pastor. The impressive choreography was punctuated by comical sounds normally reserved for children’s cartoons. It’s easy to forget that in order to look realistic, fight scenes require just as much rehearsal as a dance routine, if not more.

If there was one standout moment, it was the one when

The impressive choreography was punctuated by comical sounds normally reserved for children’s cartoons a confetti canon went off and brightly coloured paper was strewn across the stage. Not only was it a great moment visually as the paper fluttered to the ground, and two of the male dancers desperately tried to grab handfuls of the confetti, scraping it into a bucket and throwing it over themselves in order to try and recreate the original spectacle. But it also served to perfectly capture Ravnhøj’s desire to prolong the best moments in life.

DR/ BJARNE BERGIUS HERMANSEN

Bådteatret April 2 ÅDTEATRET, the boat theatre in Nyhavn: an intimate place to go and watch a play. It’s ideal if you’re in love, but you may think twice about getting married after watching ‘The City’ ...

White roses adorn the toilets on premiere night. I question why they aren’t pink. The atmosphere is poignant. The woman in front is making a fuss about a seat staying open for a late reviewer. The lights go out. Somewhere in suburbia an intriguing story is unfolding.

A middle-aged couple both dressed in pink tops, Clair and Christopher (Sue Hansen Styles and Andrew Jeffers), nag each other. At first seemingly ordinary, polite and chatty, underneath the

something shining like the flash of a sharp blade or an insincere smile. When was the last time anything felt natural in this house? Everything real has disappeared with the wind, the bubbly and the memories.

“Shall I come over and kiss you then?” Christopher asks his wife. But does he really want to?

No, it’s no use asking a woman if she wants to be kissed. Surely, you would just do it, says Clair.

“Impose your will upon me.” He doesn’t move and instead repeats the obvious: “So shall I come over and impose my will upon you then?” She cries, they shout and argue. Before they had politeness, and now even that has gone.

‘Pretty in Pink’ has turned into ‘Who’s afraid of Virginia Wolf ’.

‘The City’ is dark-witted and has a subtle cutting edge, and director Barry McKenna has succeeded in getting powerful performances out of a cast who look disturbingly comfortable in their roles.

Who is ...

Søren Ryge?

SIGRID NEERGAARD Born in 1945, he is a Danish TV host, journalist, philosopher and author. Furthermore, he is a self-taught gardening expert and is best known for his gardening shows on DR and for often smoking a pipe.

Impressive! He sounds like an interesting old man ...

He really isn’t! In Denmark, he is known for being extremely boring. He is even referred to in the comedy film ‘Fidibus’ in connection with an incredibly stupid girl, who is so annoying that not only would a pacifist like Gandhi hit her, but even a dullard like Søren Ryge would!

Oh ... is he violent?

No, definitely not. Though he did manage do affront most of the country when he in 1995 killed a pigeon on TV. Since then he has also given tips on how to kill mice and encouraged people to shoot feral cats rather than calling the cat protection organisation, Kattens Værn.

He doesn’t sound boring at all Well, considering that he is known for walking around in his garden planting flowers and mowing his lawn, he is pretty boring. But he must give some useful advice because a fair number do like his shows. Even though these are probably old people who can’t really hear or see anything.

Is he really not funny at all?

Oh, he is funny. He is so hysterically boring that he is a must-see.

He is an easy target for comedians who never fail to provide an amusing parody of him. There’s one well-known sketch in which a comedian goes to visit Søren Ryge and plants some weed in the famous garden with a little sign saying ‘Sørens Ryger’, which in Danish slang translates as Søren’s weed.

So his name is recognised by cannabis smugglers?

Yes, and should he fulfil his retirement promise, he might end up sharing a cell with one. He’s announced that when he turns 70 in two years, he will shoot a cat with his shotgun during his final show. He knows that he will get fired if he does so, so his timing is intentional and according to him, the best way to say goodbye after 27 years on the screen.

DENMARK THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK

Surviving 300 years of Great Fires, World Wars and sloshed sailors

This is not a bar review!

Lethal legislation

BEFORE YOU label this article a bar review and berate its poor placement on this page, consider this: established in 1723, Hviids Vinstue is the oldest wine bar or beer tavern in Copenhagen.

It has born witness to both the Great Fires of 1728 and 1795,

TOWARDS THE end of the century that saw the establishment of Hviids, a new law was introduced that threatened its existence. Overdådigheds indskrænkning (roughly translated as ‘restricted luxuries’) was an ill-advised 1783 policy, originally intended to encourage the purchasing of domestic goods as opposed to imports a n d to cut down on the u s e of foreign labour, thereby boosting the economy.

It placed limits on all sorts of goods, from clothes to food.

Those

Hviids Vinstue in Nyhavn is the country’s oldest bar. Restrictive laws and the wear and tear of three centuries have done their best to close it, but it keeps on serving

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in the catering professions were particularly hard hit. The number of ingredients for those preparing meals became severely limited, but for a bar in the Scandinavian climate that had built a reputation on wine imported from warmer European climes, this new policy was a potential death sentence. How were they supposed to cater to a clientele whose loyalty depended on the product they were forbidden to acquire? They would surely go bankrupt, doing little for themselves or the economy.

Widely regarded as a thoughtless, unprecedented assault on the nobility of winesellers, the introduction of Overdådigheds indskrænkning was followed by consistent lobbying for an immediate revocation. Not yet known as Hviids Vinstue, the bar operated as a tavern for half a century, and it was clear that a couple of defiant French merchants were enabling the business to run in plain sight, despite this being a violation of the new law. Ultimately, good sense prevailed when the tavern became one of the few for whom certain exceptions were made, and their business was legalised.

Thanks to the thespians IT PLAYED in the tavern’s favour that it didn’t resemble any of the more unsavoury establishments down in the harbour or the centre of town. An air of respectability was maintained largely by way of a shared clientele with two theatres: the Lille Grønnegade-teatret and of course Det Kongelige Teater, which is situated just opposite.

Reportedly, women could frequent the bar unaccompanied, seldom raising so much as an eyebrow. Since its legalisation, the tavern has been doing business consistently without hindrance from the government.

Drunks never change AN ESTEEMED Norwegian

playwright, philosopher and historian of the time, Ludvig Holberg, observed that “older Danes have taken to amusing themselves by spending evenings in wine houses, getting increasingly drunk and lambasting what they perceive as the errors of youth on display. They do this until near death or drowning and it is necessary for them to be towed home.”

While this is likely to be a fair observation of many of Copenhagen’s watering holes, it is also indicative of the reckless manner in which proprietors would ply their punters with booze until they were broke or broken. Apparently this little tavern broke the mould by cultivating a reputation for serving guests in a more responsible manner.

Blessed by Bacchus IN 1763, the owner at the time tore down the original timbered house and erected the current building, setting up residence in the floors above the sparsely furnished basement. The bar continued to function throughout. Through an endless list of disasters and mishaps, the devastating fire of 1795 and the relentless bombing assault from the British in 1807, the basement continued to serve drinks, as though Bacchus himself were divinely intervening to protect the tavern − a place of worship to the wine god.

The importance of being Ernst THE PLACE became a mecca for artists and philosophers to exchange their ideas about the world outside while sipping on a rum punch or hot brandy toddy. This was the tipple of choice among liquor lovers before whisky arrived in Denmark during the 1880s. At that time, the bar was taken over by a wine merchant by the name of Ernst Hviid, and his name has remained with the establishment ever since.

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OPENHAGEN is famous for its basement bars. The iconic Nyhavn harbour, which for many tourists is the singular image evoked by the mere mention of our beloved city, is lined with several such drinking holes, many of which are owned by the big breweries. However, if like me you find yourself hankering after a ‘real’ drinking experience, you could do worse than Hviids Vinstue on the corner of Lille Kongensgade and Kongens Nytorv.

two wars with England in 1801 and 1807, the First World War and the five-year Occupation during the second. Next decade, the bar will celebrate its 300th birthday.

Decorated in dark wood and lit by candles, Hviids Vinstue makes the mere act of entering the bar a transformative experience that effectively takes a punter back in time. It’s filled with paintings of numerous intellectuals, writers, artists and actors from the nearby Royal Theatre (the parents of celebrated actress Johanne Luise Heiberg supposedly met in the bar), many of whom have enjoyed each others’ company drinking in these atmospheric rooms. The decorative artefacts help to create a sense of a Copenhagen history that lives, breathes and reaches out from every shadow.

MARK WALKER

19 PHOTOS BY HVIIDS VINSTUE

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6 - 11 April 2013

Seize the day захватите шанс Șansi yakala ¡Agarra la oportunidad Ergreift die chance Grib chancen!

Regardless your educational background and native language, VUF offers courses in Danish at all levels.

Read more about Danish for Foreigners at www.vuf.nu

VoksenUddannelsescenter Frederiksberg Falstersvej 3-5 • 2000 Frederiksberg • Phone 3815 8500 • www.vuf.nu