The CPH Post: Dec 2 - 8

DK’s aim: all renewable energy by 2050

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2 - 8 December 2011 | Vol 14 Issue 48

Who’s poor? Questionable example clouds discussion

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The Boss and Björk sign up for Roskilde

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

NEWS

State and church come to agreement that will allow homosexuals to have religious weddings

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Mo bros bring in the dough

POLITICS

Calling it quits Naser Khader leaves politics for a job at American think tank

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Thousands grow moustaches in an effort expected to bring in over a million kroner

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InOut

Eight great places to skate: A guide to where you can lace ‘em up during the holiday season

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Public transport fares going up, despite pledge JENNIFER BULEY

SPORT

Strategy pays off Changes to coaching methods may mean that Denmark will be primed to peak at the 2018 World Cup

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Politicians point fingers over January 1 price hike, while commuters are left holding the bill

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OU MAY want to sit down for this one. Riding the train and bus in Greater Copenhagen is about to get more expensive – not cheaper, as promised.

The Socialistisk Folkeparti (SF) and Socialdemokraterne (S) campaigned last summer on the promise of slashing ticket prices for public transport by up to 40 percent. But now that they have won the election and sit in government along with the Radikale (R), ticket prices are actually going to rise – and maybe more than once.

On Monday the state-owned train operator DSB announced that on Janu-

Believe It or Not: You were Born Muslim!

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ary 1 the cost of a three-zone, ten-ride klippekort will rise from 180 to 190 kroner, while a two-zone monthly pass will go up from 320 to 335 kroner.

These and other fare hikes – some We don’t have the money. as much as five percent – outstrip average wage increases this year. And the That’s the reality government is not ruling out a further rise in 2013.

The news infuriated a wide gamut of port party, Enhedslisten (EL), didn’t politicians, voters and interest groups – pull any punches blaming R for S and not least those who voted for S and SF, SF’s broken promises. trusting in their campaign promise that “The Radikale laid a lot of weight on an S-SF government would mean lower- preventing more tax increases. Because of priced public transport. that, they’re also to blame that there isn’t The variable they didn’t count on going to be money to secure, for example, was R, their powerful coalition partner; lower prices for public transportation,” and indeed the S-R-SF government is said EL group chairman Per Clausen. turning out to be a beast of a different But Andreas Steenberg, the traffic colour than an S-SF government might spokesperson for R, countered that the have been. governingmeeting parties jointly agreed to Organise athree personal The government’s far left-wing sup- allow ticket prices to rise. and sit in on a class.

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“No, a unified government stands behind the decision. We can’t just tax ourselves out of all the world’s problems.

I realise that runs counter to Enhedslisten’s view of the world, which is that you just raise taxes and solve everything.

But you can’t do that,” Steenberg told Jyllands-Posten newspaper.

Anne Baastrup, SF’s traffic spokesperson, conceded that the price hikes belied her party’s campaign promises.

She added that “the political will” was still there to lower ticket prices, but that it just wasn’t possible now.

“We don’t have the money. That’s the reality,” she told Jyllands-Posten.

She added that binding agreements made between DSB and the previous Venstre-Konservative (VK) government,

Transport continues on page 6

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Week in revieW

The Copenhagen posT CphposT.Dk

2 - 8 December 2011 Scanpix

That time again

The Week’s MosT ReaD sToRIes aT CphposT.Dk how foreigners could save the welfare state Windy and wild Fears of vigilantism after rape of young girl Dramatic drop in number of residence permit approvals Let us light-up: smokers voice support for legal pot

FRoM oUR aRChIVes Ten YeaRs ago. house prices skyrocket, outpacing incomes.

FIVe YeaRs ago. plans are revealed to create a high-speed train network between the nation’s six largest cities. one YeaR ago. WikiLeaks documents suggest that kurdish TV station RoJ-TV was closed down by Danish authorities in exchange for Turkish approval of anders Fogh Rassmusen’s nato appointment.

The Christmas season officially began on the first Sunday of Advent when Julemanden lit a 23m norway spruce in rådhuspladsen

Hovedbanegård is no longer the paragon of modern elegance it once was, but it is still a true cosmopolitan train station, with 90,000 passengers and untold pigeons passing under its vaulted wooden ceiling every day en route to danish villages and international cities throughout europe and Scandinavia.

Denmark’s only english-language newspaper Since 1998, The Copenhagen post has been denmark’s leading source for news in english. as the voice of the international community, we provide coverage for the thousands of foreigners making their home in denmark. additionally, our english language medium helps to bring denmark’s top stories to a global audience. in addition to publishing the only regularly printed english-language newspaper in the country, we provide up-to-date news on our website and deliver news to national and international organisations. The Copenhagen post is also a leading provider of non-news services to the private and public sectors, offering writing, translation, editing, production and delivery services.

Visit us online at www.cphpost.dk

Is this Paris?

CopenHagen will soon boast its very own Champselysees, according to the City Council. vesterbro passage – the first piece of vesterbrogade between HC andersens boulevard and bernstorffsgade and one of the busiest pedestrian streets in the city – will undergo a 30 million kroner makeover.

President and Publisher ejvind Sandal Chief executive Jesper nymark editor-in-Chief Kevin Mcgwin Managing editor ben Hamilton news editor Justin Cremer Journalists Jennifer buley & peter Stanners

The deputy mayor for technical and environmental affairs, ayfer baykal, said she hopes to “create a greener atmosphere with trees, bushes and benches so people can enjoy the street life”. The project proposals are due in February, with a targeted completion date slated for sometime in 2013.

editorial offices: Slagtehusgade 4 – 6 dK 1715 Copenhagen v Telephone: 3336 3300 Fax: 3393 1313 www.cphpost.dk news Desk news@cphpost.dk 3336 4243 The CpH post welcomes outside articles and letters to the editor. letters and comments can be left on our website or at: comments@cphpost.dk

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Hovedbanegården, Copenhagen’s central train station, turns 100 years old on december 1. at its inauguration in 1911, the station was outfitted with “everything most modern for the public’s comfort”: electric lights, baths and changing rooms, porters, a restaurant, and a cinema. a century later,

urSula bach/KøbenhavnS Kommune

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Tillykke

CoRReCTIon: The name of american singer-songwriter Tom Waits was misspelled in last week’s Inout.

New island residents

THe iSland of bornholm is about to get a bit more exotic. in an effort to save the endangered species, seven european bison are set to be released on the island next year as part of a five-year breeding project financed by the villum Fund. The species neared extinction in 1927, but since then the bison has bounced back to a

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population between 2,500 and 3,000 due to the selective breeding of 50 bison by european zoos. The seven poland-imported bison are comprised of six cows and one lucky bull, and they have free rein over 200 acres of the island. due to the animal’s docile nature, visitiors will be able to see them up close and personal.

Layout and design Justin Cremer aviaja bebe nielsen logo by rasmus Koch

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News

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2 - 8 December 2011

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Fears of vigilantism after rape of young girl after a week of reprisal fears against a small town’s immigrant community, somalian teen arrested for rape of 10-year-old girl

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he rape of a ten-year-old has shocked the residents of Gullestrup, a small town in Jutland, and led to fears residents would seek revenge against the suspect – a 16-year-old boy of Somalian descent. a week ago last Saturday two girls were threatened at knife-point by a boy and led into a forest. While the nineyear-old girl managed to escape and sound the alarm, the ten-year-old was raped.

It took over a week for the police to make an arrest, and in the meantime the description of the culprit – an ‘african-looking’ male between the ages of 16 and 18 with black curly hair – was circulated.

Some 40 percent of the town’s residents are immigrants, and several boys and young men fit the description given by the girls. While the police began collecting evidence, rumours started circulating that groups of residents were looking to take matters into their own hands, and young immigrant men were warned to stay indoors.

Scanpix

Peter StannerS

It’s the police who have to handle these things. We shouldn’t do anything ourselves To help calm nerves, a meeting was held the following Tuesday in which a family member of one of the two girls urged residents to let the police do their job in apprehending the culprit.

One of those in attendance was Kaj Mortensen, the manager of a local housing association, who told the press that fears of a vigilante mob forming were overblown, though it was worth reminding residents of the consequences of vigilantism.

“It’s something we want to avoid; it’s the police who have to handle these things. We shouldn’t do anything ourselves,” Mortensen said. “Broadly speaking we discussed the need to talk to each other, regardless of which ethnicity you might have.”

While it seems residents did allow police to conduct their investigation in peace, a right-wing political organisation used the incident to spread their anti-Islamic agenda.

The neighbourhood in the Jutland town of Gullestrup where the suspect lives

Twenty members of the Danish Defence League (DDL) were spotted in the nearby town of herning last week on Thursday night on their way to Gullestrup, where the next day posters could be found declaring the town a ‘Sharia Free Zone’, signed by the DDL. The DDL admitted on its Facebook page to hanging the posters and called

Funding and legal concerns remain after government agrees to open safe place for addicts to inject

Emily mclEan

emily mclean

Advocates say that facilities like the mobile injection room that opened this autumn (pictured here) save the lives of hundreds of addicts

how should the police act and where should the buffer zone lie? dicts their lives. he has written to the health minister suggesting a remedy to address the waiting time. “We have asked for more money to set up a second mobile room. We have had the actual van donated by Falck, but we need money for ongoing costs.”

Despite the delay Olsen was posi-

poll reveals highest anti-euro sentiment since 2002

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he 35-year fight to establish permanent injection rooms for drug addicts is now over after the government announced last week that such facilities would be up and running by 2013.

But long-time campaigners are bracing themselves for news on the guidelines for how the rooms are to be run. In the next few days the government will present a catalogue outlining the current drug legislation and amendments that will need to be made in order for injection rooms to become legal.

The proposal has met resistance from the right, which calls the issue a “legal grey area”.

“If you stand with authorised personnel in an injection room, it’s legal to take the drugs, but if you get stopped by police five feet from the door possessing the drugs, then it’s not legal,” Venstre spokesperson Kristian Jensen told politiken newspaper. “So how should the police act, and where should the buffer zone lie?” according to Michael Lodberg Olsen, a long-time injection room campaigner, “there’s nothing in the law that says injection rooms are not legal.”

It was under this premise that Olsen this autumn set up a mobile injection room as an interim solution until the permanent rooms are in place.

“Of course we’re happy that rooms will be up and running by 2013, but it shouldn’t have to take that long,” Olsen said.

Olsen says delaying the opening of the rooms until 2013 will cost 350 ad-

euro not the way forward, Danes say colourbox

Legal injection rooms coming by 2013

the act a “good effort”.

The group is tied to a British organisation, the english Defence League, which is made up largely of white males linked to the football hooligan community, who are responsible for violent anti-Islamic rallies across the country.

In a press release, the DDL declared it was prepared to take on the role of

the police at times when they felt the Danish people were not being protected “The Danish Defence League declares that we will take the streets in areas where the number of rapes are rising if the authorities in Denmark are not getting the situation under control. We take this position after the Danish police once again have shown that they either can’t or won’t – or don’t have the resources to – protect the Danish people from Muslim immigrants’ perverted desires.” a 16-year-old was arrested late last week after forensic evidence linked him to the crime. The police would not confirm what the evidence was, but one report suggests his fingerprint was found on a condom packet lying close to the scene of the crime. according to information obtained by the tabloid ekstra Bladet, the 16-yearold had recently returned from a year in Somalia and had reportedly witnessed that country’s strife at close quarters. acquaintances of the suspect described how the experience has affected him. “he was unrecognisable when he came home. he seemed hard and superficial and spoke very loudly, almost shouting all the time,” one source was quoted in ekstra Bladet as saying.

The boy appeared in court last Saturday in a closed door hearing. he denied any involvement in the rape.

tive about the government’s attitude towards addicts. “This government genuinely cares about the welfare of drug addicts, and they’re proving this by trying new things.”

So far, plans are underway to have at least one room in Vesterbro, one in amager and one in the nordvest district.

The city of Odense also has a room ready to go and is waiting for final approval. how the rooms will be funded has yet to be established. an estimated 60 million kroner will be necessary to establish Copenhagen’s injection rooms.

The state is putting pressure on Greater Copenhagen local councils to foot the bill, while they say the service is something the state should fund.

nTI-eurO sentiment has never been higher, a new poll released on Monday has revealed.

Some 65 percent of Danes are against adopting the single currency, while only 24 percent would cast a ballot in favour if a vote were held today.

The results of the survey, conducted by Megafon for TV2 and politiken newspaper, show the lowest level of approval for the euro since Megafon started asking Danes in 2002.

Two out of five people have developed a worse opinion of the euro since the beginning of the financial crisis, while only seven percent say their opinion has improved. half are relieved that Denmark rejected the euro in the 2001 referendum.

The poll, however, found that negative thoughts about the euro do not translate to full blown euro-scepticism.

Some 39 percent of respondents believe that the eu is necessary in order to tackle the economic crisis, while only 17 percent say they do not believe in the european project. a similar number (14 percent) would like Denmark to secede from the eu as soon as possible. political party Venstre long sought to involve Denmark in the eu, and while Mp Jakob ellemann-Jensen understands why Danes feel negatively about the euro, he feels the current debt crisis is not the fault of the common currency. “[Greece and Italy] have used more money than they had available and that’s not sustainable. It has nothing to do with the currency they use but the politics they run,” ellemann-Jensen told politiken.

Mp nikolaj Willumsen of the farleft political party enhedslisten argued, however, that the euro played a part in Greece’s downfall.

Poll: Danes reject common currency, but not the eU’s spirit of solidarity

even with general disapproval of the euro, only 23 percent of Danes said eurozone countries that find themselves in financial trouble should be left to fend for themselves.

“It’s better that Danes are angry at the euro than the Greeks,” he told politiken. “It would be great if the government – which takes on the eu presidency in January – would work to help the Greeks. So far help has just been provided to the French and German banks who loaned money to the Greek state.”

Jens Joel (Socialdemokraterne) argued that remaining within the eu was the right course of action for Denmark. “now it’s about creating a concrete and forward thinking plan that gets Greece on its feet, regulates the finance markets and invests in growth and employment,” Joel told politiken. (pS) There’s still time to save the economy anders Samuelsen of the liberal alliance says that bold action is needed to steer

Denmark around the growing chasm of the debt crisis page 8

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news

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Bold energy plan to end reliance on fossil fuels

women-only floor illegal, equality board rules

peter stanners

hotel Bella sky’s female-only level has been found to contravene anti-discrimination laws

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n energy plan to end Denmark’s reliance on fossil fuels by 2050 and move energy production over to windmills and biomass was launched last week on Friday by the government.

But while the climate plan might bode well for Denmark’s green credentials and self-sufficient future, in the short term, jobs may be lost.

The plan is likely to be expensive for both tax-payers and businesses, and so to prevent companies from moving jobs to lower cost countries, a fund has been established to help subsidise the switchover.

Under the terms of the plan, 250 million kroner a year will be made available until 2014, after which it will rise to 500 million kroner. “[The plan] should not have an effect on the number of people employed by Danish businesses,” the climate minister, Martin Lidegaard (radikale), said at the press conference announcing the plan.

Lidegaard added that the plan is designed to combat the economic crisis, resource crisis and the climate crisis at the same time.

“We want to address all three crises at once. It doesn’t make any sense to solve the economic crisis if that affects the climate crisis and vice-versa.”

Lidegaard could not guarantee that some jobs might not be lost due to the plan, revealing that should a significant number of jobs disappear, the government would reassess its plans.

“I can guarantee that we have put a lot of effort into the plan so I’m quite

All photos this pAge: scAnpix

Denmark forges ahead to become entirely reliant on renewable energy by 2050, while global efforts to decrease emissions look increasingly bleak

peter stanners

The national plan will see coal power phased out and replaced with wind energy

It doesn’t make any sense to solve the economic crisis if that affects the climate crisis and vice-versa

sure that won’t be the case. But it requires co-operation from the businesses.”

The energy plan has set some ambitious targets that will see renewable energy sources take over Danish electricity and heat production while oil, coal and gas will slowly be phased out.

Targets set out in the plan will see half of all energy production derived from wind by 2020, a phasing out of coal in 2030, all electricity and heat being produced by renewable energy by 2035, with the rest of Denmark’s energy requirements – such as for transport and industry – coming from renewables by 2050.

Should Denmark reach the first target in 2020, Denmark’s greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by 35 percent compared with 1990 levels.

In the energy plan it is acknowledged that several technological barriers – such as electricity storage, creation The climate minister, Martin Lidegaard, presented the of intelligent grids and government’s plan last week

the development of new renewable energy technologies – need to be overcome before all of the country’s energy needs can be met by renewable resources.

To meet these demands, the government is making 100 million kroner available over four years for investment in new forms of sustainable energy production – an initiative the government hopes will create jobs in the green sector.

“In the future Denmark will survive by selling – amongst other things – green technology and solutions to the rest of the world,” the government writes in the energy plan. “So when we invest in green ideas and new technologies that can’t yet compete in the market, we are also investing in the future.”

But while both the WWF and greenpeace praised Denmark’s efforts, the global outlook for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions is looking increasingly bleak.

In the run up to the COP 17 meeting in Durban this week – the latest in the series of United nations conferences on climate change – eU climate commissioner Connie Hedegaard admitted that major global emitters were unlikely to reach a deal on emissions this decade.

“We understand that Brazil, China and other large developing nations need time to develop,” Hedegaard said, according to Politiken. “That requires growth so they need a period to be allowed to release more greenhouse gasses. But we should have a system in place by 2020 at the latest that the large developing nations and the US commit themselves to.”

enDer equality board Ligebehandlingsnævnet has ruled that the women-only floor at Bella Sky Hotel is discriminatory and illegal.

The 814-room hotel is the largest in Scandinavia and has 20 rooms – the entire 17th floor – set aside only for women travellers. The rooms provide special products and services catering to women.

Ligebehandlingsnævnet received a complaint from a man who, after reading about the women-only floor, felt men were being demonised. The board subsequently ruled that having a malefree area in the hotel contravened antidiscrimination laws.

The hotel’s manager, arne Bang Mikkelsen, said he is prepared to take the case to court, adding that he found the decision “absurd”.

“There are plenty of european hotels that have special areas reserved solely for women and I have a hard time understanding how men can feel discriminated against. We have 792 other rooms where they can stay,” Mikkelsen told public broadcaster Dr. But Ligebehandlingsnævnet chairwoman Tuk Bakker argued that restricting access to areas based purely on guests’ gender should not be allowed.

“What we have focused on is that gender is the only criteria that determines whether you have access to the floor,” Bakker told Dr. But the Socialdemokraterne equality spokesperson, rasmus Horn Langhoff, criticised the decision, arguing that some discrimination did not always represent unfair treatment. “as I’ve understood it, it’s not more expensive for men to stay at the hotel or that men’s rooms are worse than women’s rooms so I can’t see the problem,” Langhoff told Berlingske newspaper. “equal rights is not about treating everyone equally, it’s that they have to be treated equally well. So if there are equally good rooms for both genders I can’t see the problem.

“If everybody was treated the same we would live in a boring society. I would rather that everyone was treated equally well,” he added.

Fatma Øktem, the equality spokesperson for opposition party venstre disagreed, however.

Lawmakers disagree about whether the female-only level at the country’s largest hotel is truly discriminatory

If everybody was treated the same we would live in a boring society “Of course I can’t say that something that is illegal is okay, and it isn’t,” she told Berlingske. “In Denmark we have a law that prevents people from providing differential treatment to men and women and I’m proud of that.

“It can become a slippery slope that we can’t control, and even though it’s an innocent case, it’s still incongruous with the law and we don’t want to be a party to that.” Øktem argued, however, that the floor needn’t be closed down. Instead, she said the hotel could provide a special area with services and products targeted at men, such as flat screen Tvs and video games.

Bakker also pointed out that the hotel could apply for dispensation in order to be allowed to keep the womenonly floor. even if the hotel is forced to open the floor to both genders, Mikkelsen told Berlingske that the media attention had generated more interest in the women-only floor.

“We have received an incredible number of inquiries, and we even had some people call just as the judgement came, saying that it was something they would like to try,” Mikkelsen said. “It’s created some attention and we have received some fantastic promotion from it.”

onlIne ThIs week Interactive map exposes marginalised areas an InTeraCTIve map of Copenhagen has been launched to aid the City Council’s efforts in tackling marginalised areas of the city. The map gives users the opportunity to view the city according to a variety of social and economic factors such as education, income and average living space. The map is intended as a way to help city councillors make decisions about which areas of the city are most in need of help.

It allows users to investigate the average income, educational levels, ethnic background and housing standards in areas of the city. and with historical data from the past 15 years, socio-economic trends in the city become easily identifiable, helping politicians make policy decisions. The map was launched following a September report that identified six marginalised areas of the city that need extra help.

only minor damage after mild wind storm

grim oeCD report too rosy, banks say

CLean-UP crews had a busy night on Sunday responding to damage caused by the high winds that whipped across the country, though its impact was less than had been anticipated. From Sunday morning through to 6am Monday, emergency service company Falck was called out 849 times across Denmark, with 433 of those calls coming from northern Jutland, which was worst hit.

THe OrganISaTIOn for economic Co-operation and Development’s (OeCD) new prognosis for the Danish economy, and europe in general, is gloomy. Worse, banks see even darker clouds ahead. Some banks say the OeCD is actually underestimating europe’s burgeoning debt crisis. “There is virtually no prospect for growth,” Steen Bo-

Damage from fallen Christmas trees, grain silos and slurry tanks have all been reported, as well as damage incurred from dislodged roofing tiles. So far, though, there have not been any reports of injuries. Meteorologists forecast that the water level in Copenhagen Harbour will rise to 150 cm above normal, bringing the risk of flooding to low lying areas of the city.

cian, Danske Bank’s chief economist, said. In its World economic Outlook, the OeCD predicts that the Danish economy will grow by 1.1 percent this year and only 0.7 percent in 2012, before rebounding somewhat to 1.4 percent in 2013. This is significantly lower than the government’s own prediction of 1.3 percent growth next year.

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5 Justice Ministry reviewing tax audit scandal news

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2 - 8 December 2011

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JenniFer buley Top employees at Tax Ministry and skat have turned in accounts of their controversial meetings about the pM’s tax audit

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Gays have argued that only a gender-neutral marriage would afford homosexual unions equal rights

Church weddings for gays proposed PeTer STannerS government strikes agreement with church to ensure that homosexual couples can have religious wedding ceremonies

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omosexual church marriages could become a reality by next summer if a bill giving them equal status with heterosexual unions passes parliament.

“It’s historic, it’s the biggest thing since female ministers were allowed in the Folkekirken,” manu sareen (Radikale), the church and equality minister, told media last week. after years of opposition to granting homosexual unions the same status as heterosexual unions, Folkekirken bishops are developing a new wedding rite that will enable vicars to wed homosexuals.

“I think that most people in the Folkekirken are happy that there is finally a political decision on which way to proceed,” the bishop of Copenhagen, Peter skov-Jakobsen, told Politiken.

“But I also think there are

some people who will be disappointed that the distinction between marriage and partnership will disappear.”

In 2010 the Church ministry established a committee to examine the Folkekirken’s position on registered partnerships of homosexual couples. a subsequent report found that 11 out of the 12 committee members thought that marriage between a man and woman, and a partnership between two individuals of the same sex, were two different things.

They also found that having a gender-neutral marriage would result in a “strangely abstract view of humans”.

The new angle taken requires a change to marriage law followed by a new wedding rite that can accommodate homosexuals by addressing them as ‘spouses’ (ægtefælle) as opposed to the traditional gender-specific ‘husband and wife’ (ægtepar).

The term that married homosexuals can call themselves has been a topic of controversy, with prominent homosexuals arguing that only a gender-neutral marriage would afford homosexual unions the same rights as

not being able to call yourself spouses today is a sign of inequality heterosexual unions.

“We are lacking the same rights as heterosexuals in a range of areas, and I’m convinced that if such a proposal was brought up in parliament it would be supported by a majority,” author Bjarne Henrik lundis told Jyllands-Posten newspaper.

Gender-neutral marriages have already been introduced in sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, Iceland, spain and Portugal.

The move has been welcomed by homosexual rights group lGBT Danmark, however.

“It’s more than we had ever hoped for,” chairman Vivi Jelstrup told Politiken. “Words mean so much, and not being able to call yourself spouses today is a sign of inequality.”

Wo WRITTeN explanations, concerning to what degree the Tax ministry’s top civil servant, Peter loft, interfered in the personal tax audit of prime minister Helle Thorning-schmidt, and her husband stephen Kinnock back in 2010, are now before the Justice ministry.

But the verdict – as to whether the Tax ministry under the previous administration was guilty of politically-motivated meddling in the audit of the then-opposition leader – is still under wraps. on November 14, the tax minister, Thor möger Pedersen (socialistisk Folkeparti), asked loft and erling andersen, the director of tax authority skat’s Copenhagen office, to provide him with written explanations as to why they met a total of five times in the summer of 2010 regarding Thorning-schmidt’s taxes, why no notes were taken during the meetings, and why loft allegedly sent skat a paragraph of text to include in its decision, according to Politiken newspaper. under Danish law, the Tax ministry is not allowed to interfere in on-going, personal tax cases – let alone that of a top politician.

In september 2010, skat cleared Thorning-schmidt and Kinnock of tax evasion, but a year later, just before the election that made Thorningschmidt prime minister, skat’s nine-page decision about her

The Justice Ministry investigation will attempt to clear up what went on behind skat’s closed doors

audit was leaked to the press loft was the one who came forward and asked police to investigate who leaked Thorningschmidt’s audit. But shortly afterwards, the spotlight turned on loft himself, when it emerged he had met with andersen five times regarding the audit. over the past weeks legal experts and politicians from both the left and right have publicly criticised loft for his alleged entanglement in the sensitive audit. But loft insisted that the five meetings only touched on the “principle aspects” of the case – and nothing personal. a memo written by skat Copenhagen on 20 January 2011, and obtained by JyllandsPosten newspaper last week, appears to suggest that it was skat Copenhagen – and not loft or the Tax ministry – that initiated contact over the audit.

“From the beginning, the audit was determined to be a very sensitive case. manager erling andersen therefore

thought it both natural and advisable to discuss the case while it was ongoing with his superiors [including the permanent secretary Peter loft],” skat Copenhagen wrote in the memo.

The new information could alter the character of the case, said Roger Buch, the head of research at journalism school Danmarks media- og Journalisthøjskole.

“If it was skat Copenhagen itself that asked for help, then [loft] is in a less serious situation.”

The tax minister declined to comment on the situation after the memo from skat was obtained last week, and after loft and andersen gave him their written explanations on Friday.

The case is now being reviewed by the Justice ministry, with a decision expected within weeks.

Loftgate: The back story For more on the Tax Ministry scandal, visit www.cphpost.dk

Residence permit approvals plummet 70 percent drop in approved applications an unintended result of the points system

T

He NumBeR of people granted permanent residency has fallen dramatically according to new numbers from the Justice ministry. up to the end of september this year, immigration authority udlændingeservice had granted permanent residency to 525 people, compared with 1,796 in the same period the year before, – a drop of 70 percent.

The number of rejected applications rose in the same period, from 1,486 last year to 2,449 this year. according to Berlingske newspaper, the fall in approved applications coincides with the introduction of the points system that was introduced by the former Venstre and Konservative government with support from

Danske Folkeparti (DF).

The points system tightened the requirements needed to obtain permanent residency, with higher demands on factors such as language and job skills. speaking to Berlingske, Peter skaarup from DF said that the points system was not designed to reduce the number of people being granted permanent residency.

“It was to make people contribute to Danish society,” skaarup said. “I think the numbers will rise again as people start being able to fulfil the requirements for work experience for instance. But no, it was not our goal for the number to drop so dramatically.”

Despite these unintended consequences, Inger støjberg, the immigration spokesperson for Venstre, argued that the points system had not backfired.

“The point was to attract immigrants to Denmark who could contribute to society, and the

SUNDAY It was not our goal for the number to drop so dramatically numbers clearly show that many immigrants haven’t fulfilled the requirements.”

The revelation comes in light of a study that showed that ‘highly-educated foreigners’ were incredibly valuable to the economy, leaving the Danish state on average 900,000 kroner better off after they leave after an average of six years.

The new government announced that it intends to abolish the points system and revisit many of the changes to immigration law, though so far it has not said when these changes might take place. (Ps)

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6

NEWS

THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK

2 - 8 December 2011

A

DANISH soldier stationed in Afghanistan stands accused of disobeying Army rules when he opened fire on three Afghans he claimed were involved in setting a bomb, the military command, Hærens Operative Kommando (HOK), announced on Wednesday.

One person was killed and two were injured on October 23

in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province, according to Forsvarets Auditørkorpset, the military’s prosecutor, which is now investigating the event.

The episode was earlier described by HOK as follows: on October 23 a Danish soldier at the forward patrol base Bridzar saw four people who “were judged to be in the process of laying down an improvised explosive”.

The soldier opened fire without orders on “the observed people”, the report continued.

Danish commanders in Afghanistan began a preliminary

Khader calls it quits

D

ENMARK’S first immigrant MP is leaving politics to work for the Washington, DC-based think tank Hudson Institute.

The Konservative politician Naser Khader used his Facebook page on Sunday to announce that he was quitting Danish politics.

“I’ll be travelling around the Arab world conducting research on freedom of expression and the growth of democracy. It will also have to do with the consequences of the Arab Spring,” Khader wrote, adding that he would continue to live in Denmark, while commuting to Washington and the Middle East.

During the Mohammed car-

toon crisis in 2005 Khader rose to prominence as one of Denmark’s most outspoken – Arab and Muslim – defenders of the media’s right to publish satirical cartoons about Muslims and the prophet Mohammed.

In 2001, Khader, then a member of Radikale, became the first immigrant MP. In 2007, he left the party to help launch the Ny Alliance, which later became Liberal Alliance. Two years later he jumped parties again to join the Konservatives. But in the parliamentary elections in September he lost his seat.

On Sunday Khader announced that he would not run for parliament again.

investigation of the event after “rumours of civilian death” began to circulate in connection with the incident. On November 25 they concluded that it was “probable” that the soldier had killed one civilian and injured two others, and the case was taken up by Forsvarets Auditorkorpset.

HOK declined to comment further, given the ongoing nature of the investigation. But it emphasised that the soldier was not necessarily guilty and that an independent investigation was, first and foremost, “the best

protection for our soldiers”.

In another case of a civilian casualty, in 2009 Denmark awarded an Afghan family financial compensation in “sympathy” for the loss of their daughter, who was killed during a shootout between Danish soldiers and the Taleban.

Although Denmark paid the family, HOK did not formally accept responsibility for the girl’s death, as Forsvarets Auditørkorpset failed to establish beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Danish soldiers were responsible for the girl’s death. (JB)

SCANPIX

Military prosecutors suspect soldier of excessive use of force in Afghan shootings

Khader will now focus on free speech on the international stage

Instead he was looking forward to his new work with the American think tank.

“Think tanks are much more active in American politics than they are in Denmark,” he wrote.

“In the US, politicians really listen to think tanks. And the US is in fact really politically correct.

They have discussions there that remind me of the sort we had before the Mohammed crisis.”

Khader added that, for the moment, he had no regrets about his career change.

“Funny enough, I don’t miss being active in Danish politics at all.” (JB)

SCANPIX

Soldier under investigation for civilian death

During the election, SF leader Villy Søvndal graced the city’s buses with election adverts pledging to cut bus and train fares by 40 percent

Transport

continued from front page

along with a deficit of over 100 billion kroner, were the main reasons why S and SF had to renege on their promise and political goal of lowering public transport costs.

“I’m amazed that [VK] could let this happen without anyone noticing – not even you journalists,” Baastrup added.

Venstre traffic spokesperson Kristian Pihl Lorentzen countered that S and SF had simply promised voters more than was possible.

During the campaign, S and SF proposed to finance reduced public transport fares with additional taxes on private transport – namely, with a new toll-ring for vehicles coming and going from Copenhagen.

But Lorentzen said implementing the toll-ring would cost

loads of money before it ever began to pay.

“There would be net losses for the first several years. Yet, at the same time, the government is proposing to use the money from the toll ring to pay for improvements that would increase capacity [on trains and buses],” Lorentzen told Jyllands-Posten. “They would spend the money several times over. It just doesn’t add up.”

Joy Mogensen (S), the mayor of Roskilde, is another politician who agreed that the government’s public transport policy didn’t add up – particularly not for commuters.

“In Roskilde we have a public transport system that just doesn’t run,” Mogensen told Jyllands-Posten. “When the trains finally leave, there aren’t enough seats. Then they don’t always stop where they’re supposed to. They’re a mess. That’s why it’s especially wrong to raise the prices.”

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POLITICS

THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK

2 - 8 December 2011

JENNIFER BULEY Single mother who receives 15,000 kroner in benefits sets off debate on what it means to be poor in Denmark

T

HE HOUSEHOLD budget of a single mother on welfare – in all its sundry details – raised questions this week about the local definition of poverty, and whether Denmark can in fact claim to have truly poor people.

MP Joachim Olsen (Liberal Alliance) has gone on record saying Denmark doesn’t have any truly poor people. To prove him wrong, MP Özlem Cekic (Socialistisk Folkeparti) offered to show him a living example.

However, the woman Cekic chose for her case study turned out to have a rather adequate income, according to many observers.

The 36-year-old Copenhagen resident ‘Carina’ has been on welfare since she was 16. She is single and has two children, one of whom lives at home.

Carina claimed that psychiatric problems, particularly anxiety, keep her from working. She was hoping to qualify for permanent disability.

The budget Carina drew up for Olsen and Cekic showed that she receives 15,728 kroner

after taxes each month in cash welfare benefits. After paying for rent, utilities, internet, a TV licence, dog food and vet bills, football expenses, medicine, private debts, and cigarettes, she has – by her own calculation – 5,000 kroner left over each month for food, clothing and housekeeping.

The left-leaning think tank Arbejderbevægelsens Erhvervsråd (AE) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) both report that poverty has increased dramatically in Denmark over the past decade. Yet even those organisations could not see how Carina could be considered “poor”.

According to the OECD she would have to get 3,000 kroner less per month to meet its criteria of poverty. AE agreed. “She’s not poor,” its chief analyst, Jonas Schytz Juul, told the tabloid Extra Bladet.

Denmark does not have its own official definition of poverty, though AE is among the organizations that have argued that it should establish one as a first step towards identifying how many people in Denmark are living below the poverty line.

Cekic’s party, Socialistisk Folkeparti, has fought to raise the welfare limits.

Carina complained that she had sometimes had to ask family and friends for money to buy shoes for her children – an expe-

SCANPIX

Politician’s ‘poverty’ media stunt backfires

Ôzlem Cekic (SF) and Joachim Olsen (Liberal Alliance) argue over whether a single mother who receives 15,000 kroner a month in benefits is ‘poor’

rience she called “humiliating”.

Olsen was not persuaded.

“We have to remember that the state only has money to give you because it takes it from other people who go to work,” he told Carina.

Noting that she had enough money to buy food, plus spent 500 kroner per month on cigarettes, he added: “I think you can afford a decent life when I look at your budget, and I think

that you live very nicely here.”

In response, Cekic called Olsen “ridiculous” and said it was “unbelievable” that he couldn’t agree that it was “degrading that a mother can’t afford to buy a pair of shoes for her son.”

Olsen countered that it was instead a matter of priorities.

He was far from alone in his assessment.

Konservative MP Tom Behnke told Berlingske that

Cekic’s choice of Carina as her example of poverty in Denmark was an insult to people who were working hard and denying themselves luxuries to start businesses or educate themselves.

Cekic later admitted that using Carina as an example was a mistake. On her Facebook page on Tuesday, she wrote that Carina “is not among the poorest” in Denmark. She added that “there are many people who live in

7

poverty in Denmark” – although she had failed to produce one of them for the media stunt she arranged for her political adversary, Olsen.

While Cekic and Olsen came no closer to agreeing on a definition of poverty the day they met Carina, they did manage to agree on one thing: that something was wrong with a system that permitted a person to go on welfare at 16, with no greater ambition than to get more money from the state each month and be granted early disability retirement.

Olsen argued that giving people like Carina 500 or 600 more kroner per month would never make them more independent. Cekic said the state had to “invest in the people” to educate them and bring them into the job market.

PM Helle Thorning-Schmidt also joined in on the debate.

“It is absolutely not one of the successes of the welfare state if a person has been on cash welfare benefits for 20 years – quite the opposite,” ThorningSchmidt said at her weekly press conference on Tuesday.

“I will say it loud and clear that I believe the same as my social and integration minister [Karen Hækkerup], who said that [Carina] is not poor. I don’t think so either,” the PM said Wednesday in parliament. ”

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8

OPINION

THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK

A poor example, but a worthy debate

2 - 8 December 2011

Still time to save the economy from going over the edge

H

OW HARD can it be to find a poor person? In Denmark, it apparently takes the work of a detective.

Witness the farce this week that saw the otherwise well-meaning Socialistisk Folkeparti MP Özlem Cekic trot out a 36-year-old mother who has been living on public assistance for the past 20 years as an example of a ‘poor person’.

After her bills are paid, Carina (an assumed name) has 5,000 kroner a month to live on. While we certainly feel for Carina – and even more so for her son – when she describes it as “demeaning” to have to ask for help to buy shoes for him, we could also trot out two-income families that have that much to live on each month and manage to make ends meet.

Cekic’s media stunt – and Joachim Olsen’s original claim that the repeated talk of poverty in Denmark made him want to “throw up”– may have done more to highlight the failure of the welfare state than the plight of the ‘poor’, but it has generated plenty of attention for the situation of the 330,000 people in this country who can be called ‘poor’.

We have to put that term in quotes because Denmark has no official poverty line, and there are only unofficial definitions of who qualifies as a have-not. One of those who might make the cut, though, is Gitte, an unemployed middle-aged mother of four – only one of whom still lives at home – who shared her situation with public broadcaster DR. She only has 2,337 kroner to spend on food and sundries when all her bills are paid each month.

Even though Gitte doesn’t have much, her own definition of poverty is when you lie asleep at night with a stomach ache, not sure about how you will pay for gifts for your child’s birthday.

If those are the best examples of poverty that we can find, then Denmark truly has lived up to its reputation as a country where “few have too much and even fewer have too little”. Unfortunately, that’s probably not a conclusion the guy who sleeps in the doorway next to our office in Vesterbro would agree with.

If we’re looking to come up with a definition of poverty, we think this should be included: the inability to help yourself. That’s why it was a relief to hear Cekic, in the midst of her on-screen debacle, argue that solving poverty requires investing in people.

We could hardly agree more; we just believe that the point of the investment should be to lift people out of poverty, not keep them on permanent financial support.

Denmark’s only English-language newspaper

ANDERS SAMUELSEN

A

RECENT Rambøll poll shows that nearly twothirds of Danes – 63.2 percent – would vote against adopting the euro if a referendum were held today. Given that the country has otherwise long been evenly divided on the question, the results indicate that opposition to it has risen considerably.

The results, though, are predictable, prudent and quite natural in light of the EU’s towering sovereign debt crisis. Time is about to run out on the euro – Europe’s ultimate prestige product. Before the end of the first quarter of 2012, Greece will in all likelihood cease to be a part of the Eurozone. The effects of this will be brutal on the Greeks, but the alternative – remaining a part of the Eurozone – would be even more painful.

The crisis is only going to get worse once it becomes apparent how caught up Italian banks are in Greece’s economy. From there, the landslide will continue through Spain and then Portugal.

But even before that scenario unfolds, we’re already seeing France brought to its knees by its own banks and their deep dependence on Europe’s problem economies.

With the vast extent of the sovereign debt crisis and its dire consequences, it’s hard not to criticise Danish law makers for sitting on their hands. Maybe

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public spending needs to come down. There is no other choice.

And if we wait too long, we’re just going to be caught up in the collapse. We can compare our situation to being swept down a river with the rest of the EU and heading directly towards a waterfall. The longer we wait to save ourselves, the stronger the current gets and the harder we have to swim to save ourselves (read as: the more drastic our reforms need to be). If we wait too long, there will be nothing we can do. This is where Greece is right now, and others are following right after.

If we don’t do something now, we will be forced to carry out reforms that are far more drastic than those proposed by the Liberal Alliance. If we continue our policy of burying our heads in the sand, it won’t be long before we find ourselves looking for a 10-20-3040 plan to save the country. Ten, in this instance, is for 10 percent corporate tax. Twenty, a 20 percent reduction in public spending.

Thirty for a 30 percent income tax, and 40 a maximum tax burden of 40 percent – compared with the current 50 percent.

That sounds rough, but it could become reality if we don’t show the courage to do the right things: pull out of the Euro Plus Pact, trim the public sector, lower taxes, and increase the retirement age.

The alternative to thorough, liberal reforms is recession that lasts years, mass unemployment, and debt for generations to come.

Is it fair that we let our fear of voters lead us into economic ruin? I personally don’t think so.

The author is the leader of the Liberal Alliance party. This opinion piece was originally published by Berlingske.

READER COMMENTS Pot legalisation

twitter.com/cphpost

they believe that the crisis will ‘no’, but there are countries that come to an end on its own. Or have a chance – minimal though maybe they fear a voter backlash it might be – of not getting if they openly admit that they, in caught in the landslide. Sweden, reality, have lied about how bad the Czech Republic and Germathe situation looks and about ny, all come to mind. The Swiss, what the consequences will be if too, have already taken action we continue on the same path – to put themselves on somewhat a path that ends in a 100 billion safe ground. And here’s the good kroner deficit next year. news in all of this: if those counEach time the EU’s leaders tries can, Denmark can too. Why meet from now on, we’re going to not? Since we haven’t adopted the see them repeat the same charade: euro, all we need is 90 members empty promises about cleaning of parliament to do the responsiup the situation, more money for ble thing and vote to pull us out a European bailof the Euro Plus out fund and Pact. We can more pressure choose a differon Germany ent path, and to donate. All if we act swiftly of this will be With the vast extent and resolutely followed by a we can put ourfew days of im- of the sovereign debt selves among proved market crisis and its dire the winners. confidence. But We can uniit won’t take consequences, it’s hard laterally carry long for the not to criticise Danish out thorough markets to rereforms. Among alise that it will law makers for sitting the proposals be impossible to put forth by on their hands make good on the Liberal Allithose promises ance are: reducgiven the way ing the number the EU is put together. of public sector employees by Being able to make good on 40,000, a 40 percent income tax, their promises would essentially a 50 percent reduction of corporequire putting an end to national rate tax rates, and an increase in sovereignty in order to allow for the retirement age. a consistent fiscal policy for the During the election, our ecoentire Eurozone. This, though, nomic plan was criticised for being is neither a political nor a demo- everything from ultra-liberal to tocratic reality. Much is already tally unrealistic. Taking dramatic being said about the agreement steps was totally unnecessary, our struck in October, and how it was opponents said. I hope they’re the moment Angela Merkel “once ready to take back their words, beand for all took charge”. In a few cause if we want to steer Denmark years, though, we’ll be looking around the growing chasm of the back at it as the beginning of the debt crisis, we’re going to need EU’s end.

Liberal Alliance’s plan.

Are there any bright points The challenge is enormous: on Europe’s horizon? Unfortu- we need to eliminate our debt, we nately, the answer appears to be need to be more competitive, and

Denmark is behind the curve on this. The Netherlands has had this argument for years now and they have seen its worst effects. There’s a reason there is now a push to stamp out “drug tourism” from foreigners: because even though pot is relatively harmless, it doesn’t stop there. Pot becomes hash, hash becomes coke and coke becomes heroin. You cannot stop the downward spiral as junkies seek an ever larger ‘high’. But the most heinous part is this: the drug and prostitution industry, instead of being ‘legitimate’, becomes a front for money laundering. This is why pot legalisation will not work. Because you cannot dance with the devil and expect that it will go no further. The criminal element will step in, take over and then you’ll have a bigger problem then you ever had before.

Sunnchilde By website Funny, most folk regard the Dutch legalisation that has been around for decades as a success.

And you trundle out the same

tired argument that as soon as one smokes a bit of hash they will be junkies on coke by the morning.

That doesn’t show much understanding of human nature, nor is it that logical, as how come you can’t then make the equation of alcohol–hash–coke–heroin? Using the money laundering argument related around illegal drugs doesn’t sound like much of an argument against legal drugs like pot and alcohol. Money laundering is done thru all sorts of businesses – does this therefore mean we need to ban these?

Jeg er By website McCarthey’s World: sponding to Fact

Corre-

It is quite honestly one of the best dansplanations I have ever encountered. Well done, HjortFrederiksen! (A dansplanation is a nonsensical explanation offered by a Dane when confronted with less than glowing praise, or questioned. A perfect dansplanation manages to praise Denmark to the heavens while simultaneously insulting the questioner’s host coun-

try and the questioner. The only proper response is to happily agree how much sense it makes, and quickly concede that Denmark is better than anywhere else.)

MissFuzzy By website Breivik-inspired attack feared Just another scare tactic to try and loosen what little freedom Danes actually have away from the holy welfare state and its secret service.

Reminds me of George W and the Patriot Act in the US – it’s fear mongering for decreased personal freedom. Fortunately for Danish politicians, Danes do not appreciate personal freedom and are ready to throw it away with both hands.

Thorvaldsen By website If Breivik had been allowed to debate freely on TV or radio he wouldn´t have killed. When a person can´t express his problems with words he reacts with violence. His craziness is the result of frustration and humiliation.

But it seems that nobody has understood this.

Magic1964 By website

Oh yeah, that makes sense. Wow, I bet that uppity Austrian art academy feels pretty bad then for not admitting little Adolf, huh? If only he’d been allowed to paint, he wouldn’t have had to start a World War. MissFuzzy By website The Mama Mafia The mother’s parents have been a great place for information on bringing up children for thousands of years. But over the last few years, some modern parents think they know nothing, and decide to read a book or go on the internet - baby experts are two a penny. Of course we want to be the perfect parents, but within the first few weeks, reality sets in. You cannot raise a child using a book. But too proud to ask for help, they use others who are in the same situation as themselves, with little or no experience, trying to find the right answers – like little children talking about sex in the playground.

Rugratzz By website

OPINION

THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK

2 - 8 December 2011

9

So Says Celia

BY CELIA THAYSEN Celia Thaysen is a British love refugee who landed on these shores six years ago.

With below-par Danish, a tendency to tardiness, and a fondness for Marmite, she spends her time fumbling her way through unfamiliar territory as a working mother-of-two with a house in the ‘burbs.

Jubii! It’s the Christmas month!

COLOURBOX

H

ANDS DOWN, the most miserable Christmas Day lunch I’ve ever had has to be the Burger King drive-thru meal I grabbed at a service station between LA and San Francisco. Not only did the menu lack juletide spirit, the weather was warm and clammy, and the decorations tacky. Even the burgers were apologetic. Nothing about it evoked one single happy Christmas memory.

The same cannot be said of a Danish Christmas. The Danes created the template for Christmas. Called jul – from the Old Norse jól – it actually refers to an ancient pagan winter feast.

Devoid of dull religious overtones, (almost) untarnished by garish embellishments, the Danish Christmas is a warm, charming affair.

Christmas is the one redeeming feature of the Danish winter. And in the most commendable act of winter survivalism save from hibernation, the Danes stretch out the Christmas celebrations for as long as they possibly can. So much so that December is also commonly referred to as julemåned, or ‘Christmas month’.

And while in many countries around the world, the Christmas shopping season often starts before the Halloween decorations have been taken down, the Danish Christmas appears somehow less palpably consumerist.

Having said that, department store Magasin du Nord went through 262 km of wrapping paper and 450 km of ribbon in December last year.

Of course, there is the same retail build-up and the non-stop advertising, but there’s also a special warm, fuzzy mood that envelops people. I guess we’d call it julehygge in Danish. Who can deny that walking around Tivoli or a Christmas market with a glass of

Glögg and æbleskiver: guaranteed to bring out the Christmas spirit

glögg (mulled wine) and some æbleskiver (mini doughnuts) doesn’t go some way towards banishing the winter blues?

For a nation that celebrates itself for its black humour, Danes approach Christmas with a surprising degree of childlike naivety, obsession, and total abandon. Perhaps it’s a matter of national pride. After all, Father Christmas is Danish and lives in Uummannaq, Greenland. Never ever try to argue with a Dane that Santa comes from the North Pole or Lapland – you will be shot down in flames (even if they don’t believe he exists).

It reduces grown men to little boys.

My husband spends all of November

looking forward to December. And between the first and last day of the month, every little hiccup in life is answered with a chirpy: “Don’t worry; it’s the Christmas month!”

Even my father-in-law, normally a traditional, no-nonsense kind of chap, brings out his impressive collection of nisser (Christmas elves) that he arranges and displays around his home without a shred of embarrassment.

I love the Danish Christmas and have embraced it wholeheartedly.

There’s something wonderfully honest and authentic about it. There’s a marked lack of religious imagery associated with Christmas, because to Danes,

Christmas is a celebration of childhood and goodness, family and friends, and spending quality time together.

I think it’s fantastic that we get a special Christmas brew with its own day! And not content with just one evening of anticipation, here we celebrate Lille Juleaften – a pre-pre-Christmas day. Even advent calendars here go way beyond the call of duty. A piece of chocolate behind each window simply will not suffice; Danish children get an actual gift every day.

However, I must confess that I have my limits and I draw the line at dancing round the Christmas tree. No amount of julehygge or alcohol can convince my

cynical London self to let rip and enjoy holding hands while skipping and singing around a tree.

One of the most fun and memorable (arguably least memorable after several glasses of schnapps) was my first Danish Christmas, in Shanghai, with a motley crew of Danes and their foreign friends and partners.

Preparations began well in advance. Anyone travelling to Denmark within the preceding quarter was tasked with picking up various musthave delicacies: pickled herring; the correct flour and seeds for making rye bread; Akvavit; æbleskiver moulds; glögg mix.

I watched bemused on the sidelines as they planned their Christmas, the conversation peppered with phrases like: “It’s not a proper Christmas unless there are brunkager and peppernødder,” “We always have the ris a l’amande at the start of dinner,” and “Oh really! That’s not how my Mum makes frikadeller.”

The excitement and enthusiasm was not only touching but inclusive, and the almost familial bond that formed over their shared cultural tradition was lovely to be a part of, even though this was not ‘my’ Christmas.

It’s funny, but it’s when we’re away from home – especially around big holidays or festivals – that we often feel closest to our culture and embrace our cherished customs. The wonderful thing about a Danish Christmas is the fact that there are so many traditions to learn and so many opportunities during the month to get to know them.

So if you are in Denmark this year and apart from family and friends, celebrate your own holiday, but also embrace the local Christmas traditions – but whatever you do, avoid drive-thru fast food outlets like the plague.

CPH POST VOICES

‘PERNICKETY DICKY’

‘STILL ADJUSTING’

‘TO BE PERFECTLY FRANK’

‘MACCARTHY’S WORLD’

English by nature – Danish at heart.

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

A proud native of the American state of Iowa, Justin Cremer has been living in Copenhagen since June 2010. In addition to working at the CPH Post, he balances fatherhood, the Danish language and the ever-changing immigration rules. Follow him at twitter.com/justincph

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

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

10 NEWS

THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK

2 - 8 December 2011

Fantashtic effort! Movember frontrunners Saxo Bank celebrate in style ALL PHOTOS: PETER STANNERS

BEN HAMILTON Hellerup-based bank raises 20 percent of the national total for a charity striving to increase the awareness of prostate cancer and other men’s health issues

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TROLLING into the Saxo Bank headquarters in Hellerup last Friday night wasn’t that different from walking onto the set of the US series ‘Mad Men’, only this time set in the 1970s.

The occasion was the bank’s annual Movember Awards Show and Bar, and everywhere we looked, there were suited-up bad-asses strutting their stuff, sporting Handlebars, Dalís, Imperials, Fu Manchus and Pancho Villas.

Confused? Well, Saxo Bank is Denmark’s biggest supporter of Movember, the worldwide charity initiative in which participants grow moustaches for the entire month of November to raise awareness of prostate cancer and other men’s health issues.

Although this is not Saxo Bank’s first year taking part, it is Denmark’s first official effort and with 7,582 registered participants, the country has recorded the highest number of first-year entrants since Movember began in 2004.

Saxo Bank has raised in excess of 147,000 kroner – 35 percent more than last year and 20 percent of the national total – and it was confirmed on the night that the bank will match the total raised by its employees at the end of the month, a gesture that could see the final national total exceed one million kroner.

Five of their employees are in the

Handlebars, they really give you something to hang on to. But while Alan Plaugmann (left) might have walked off with the award, the night clearly belonged to the company’s top fundraiser Kurt Vom Scheidt (right), Mr Movember 2011, who gave judges Charlotte, Jennifer and Mette (below) a close encounter of the furry kind

country’s top 20, with Kurt Vom Scheidt, an American who has lived in Denmark since January 2008, the outright leader on over 35,000 kroner and counting.

“Saxo’s 2010 participation and contribution to Movember was instrumental in the decision by the foundation to launch Denmark as an official country in the 2011 campaign,” he said. “Our objective this year was to post high scores on the leaderboard so that the other thousands of participants could see what they too could be capable of, not only this year, but also in future years.”

Vom Scheidt has had donations from more than 70 contributors, the youngest of whom was only ten years old: his son Mitchell. “There are few prouder moments as parents than those when he, himself, chooses to share his birthday money and savings with differ-

ent programmes that benefit people in need rather than buying the latest toys or tech.”

Vom Scheidt went on to pick up the award for Mr Movember 2011, but failed to score highly in the ‘beauty contest’ – a highly entertaining ten-minute display of posturing, shamelessness, and pure bravado as the participants tried to outdo each other and woo the female judges. While some took the Burt Reynolds pure testosterone approach, others played it suave like David Niven.

The awards included ones for best handlebars, weirdest tash, the Godzilla prize, and Miss Movember – lest we forget the Mo Sistas who have been getting in on the act as well.

All in all, a great night, and a great month for Saxo Bank, who are no doubt already planning their tashtics for next year.

So, how did we do?

FOUR members of The Copenhagen Post staff participated in Movember this year.

To see their final moustaches (hint, they’re not very good) and their fundraising totals, see the related story on page 13.

Believe It or Not: You were Born Muslim!

By Umm Rashid What would you call a religion that has beliefs, practices and followers bashed in practically every sphere of activity, in almost every corner of the globe, yet it attracts ever-increasing numbers of people?

A paradox?

A miracle?

Or simply, the truth: Islam.

Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world today. Western studies show that the number of new Muslims is changing the demographic profile of countries all over the world, and not all of them are born into Muslim families. With some 6 million adherents in the United States, Islam is said to be its fastest-growing religion. One expert estimates that 25,000 people a year become Muslims in the USA; some clerics say they have seen conversion rates quadruple since September 11.

Ironically for a religion that is routinely bashed for “subjugating” and “oppressing” its female followers, the number of female reverts to Islam outnumber the males 4 to 1!

The fact that more and more people are finding their way to Islam, notwithstanding propaganda, misinformation and prejudice against it, never ceases to amaze me.

devil tries to lead him/her astray by making evil attractive and the struggle between one’s innate pure nature and egotistical desires are experienced during the search for the right road.

How do people navigate the darkness to find the light of Islam in spite of all the obstacles?

When a person who chooses to follow his innate nature, his fitrah, Allah helps him overcome desires.

Our Creator granted each one of us a guiding light - a pure, undefiled innate nature called the fitrah. Unlike Christians who believe in the doctrine of Original Sin and assert that each baby is born tainted with the sin of Adam’s disobedience to God, Muslims believe that every child is born into a state of purity where it recognizes its Creator and is naturally subservient to His laws.

People who adopt Islam are said to revert instead of convert, because they are going back to their original nature -- the one they were naturally created with -which is automatically aligned with the Universe, its Creator and His Laws.

In his book The Fundamentals of Islamic Monotheism, Abu Ameenah Bilaal Philips writes: Just as a child’s body submits to the physical laws which Allah has put in nature, its soul also submits naturally to the fact that Allah is its Lord and Creator. However, its parents try to make it follow their way and a young child is not strong enough to resist or oppose its parents. The religion a child follows is borne of custom and upbringing and Allah does not hold it to account for this religion.

As a child matures into an adult, knowledge and reason determine the religion to be followed. The

Reverts to Islam testify that this inner inclination to search for the Truth, to know and follow it is a major factor in their adopting the faith.

To read some of the reasons reverts give for making the decision to follow Islamic teachings go to www.islamgate.org

www.islamgate.org [Source: All quotes from «Why I chose Islaam» and «Islaam: My choice»] [Copyright © 2002-2004 All Rights Reserved: wwwdiscover.islamway.com]

community

The Copenhagen posT CphposT.Dk

2 - 8 December 2011

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If the slipper fits, pantomime will become a Xmas tradition The Copenhagen Theatre Circle’s staging of Cinderella this Christmas will be the first ever performance of the childfriendly theatre genre in this country

n

British comedy for the festive season.

And having read the script by our talented director Barry McKenna, I can guarantee the audience will not be disappointed.”

“I was hoping to audition for one of the Ugly Sisters”, muses CTC chairman Frank Theakston. “But those roles were given to younger men.” Frank instead plays Baron hardup, Cinderella’s father, who is inadvertently married to the wicked witch Carabosse. “It’s been a burning ambition of mine since I joined the CTC in 1979 for us to do a Christmas pantomime, and now we’re finally there. There’s nothing like it for galvanising a theatre group into action and creating a great sense of camaraderie. It’s hopefully the beginning of a long annual tradition in Copenhagen.”

These days you can find pantomime in many countries - Australia, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar, Malta, Cambodia, France, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, USA, and Spain – mainly thanks to the efforts of expats like the CTC, so it was high time that Denmark got its own. Try it this Christmas and not only won’t you regret it, you’ll be booking your tickets for next year. Oh yes, you will!

The Copenhagen Theatre Circle’s pantomime ‘Cinderella’ premieres at Krudttønden theatre in Østerbro on December 15, plays until the 23rd, and then again from January 3-7. Performances start at 19:00 during the week and at 16:00 at the weekend. Tickets are available from

www.reversePilgrims.wordPress.com

O ChILD should be denied the right to scream “Oh no, it isn’t” or “he’s behind you” a hundred times in a row at a man dressed up as a woman who looks like a man. Prohibition of this sort is cruelty to animals ... sorry children. It’s the rite of passage of every kid growing up in Britain, it’s called pantomime, and thanks to the Copenhagen Theatre Circle (CTC), it’s coming to Copenhagen this Christmas, and with our support, it will keep coming back.

So what is panto? Or maybe a more apt question would be: what isn’t it?

As a combination of music, comedy, drama, dance, interaction, family fun and storytelling, it’s an extravaganza that encompasses every genre of the theatrical spectrum. Rather like Pixar cartoons, it can be enjoyed by both children and adults for different reasons, it truly is a memorable occasion rich in festive spirit that your kids will thank you for, and there’s nothing like it in this country.

For starters, children are invited to be as vocal as possible. With other forms of theatre (let’s face it, you’re doing well if you manage to persuade

them to come), there’s always the danger they’ll start fidgeting or screaming out at inopportune moments. With panto, ADD behaviour is positively encouraged, from singing along to the songs to shouting at the performers.

For example, when the villain enters the stage, the children are encouraged to boo him. And if he’s hiding, plotting some dastardly act behind the backs of the good characters, they need to warn them! And they must remember to cheer the hero and the good fairy, say ‘Awwww!’ every time they hear a sob story, and to remain vigilant in case some sweets are thrown into the audience.

And while there’s a wide range of humour on display – from slapstick for the kids to some rather saucy double entendres for the adults – it’s also a very visual experience. The costumes are colourful, imaginative, and outlandish – guaranteed to make the little ones chuckle, especially when they realise that the dame is a man. From laughing at the pantomime animal (normally a horse, played by two people in a single costume) to trying to out-sing the other half of the theatre, it’s a fun-filled night out for the entire family.

“It’s great,” enthuses Simon Neubert Luckner, the vice-chairman of the CTC. “We’ve been considering doing a Christmas show for quite some time – something that appealed to both young and old. A panto seemed the obvious choice. Our aim is to give our audience a little piece of traditional

Paul KolniK

Ben Hamilton

Pantomime can trace its roots back to the high arts (top), but today (bottom) is probably best know for girls playing the principal boys (centre left) and men playing dames (centre right)

Just like back home - join us for the Cp Christmas Family party colourbox

A sea of red will gather around Santa when he delivers his presents

Ben Hamilton Following on from the success of our Children’s and expat fairs, we are once again calling on all internationals to make this a day to remember

B

y The TIMe this issue hits the streets, December will be here – the month in which even the ebenezer Scrooges amongst us start entering the Christmas spirit.

The holly and the ivy, Advent calendars and candles, Santa and his sleigh,

Mary and child, and the shepherds and the wise men – Christmas has a cast of thousands, and their collaboration never fails to deliver the festive cheer that warms all our hearts, and our bodies, during europe’s darkest month.

A good Christmas party will try to include them all – after all, isn’t it the very spirit of the season that there should be room for everyone – and it is with immense pleasure that we at The Copenhagen Post are, for the first time ever, inviting our readers – and their families, and their friends, colleagues and their families! – to a Christmas

family party at 2pm on Sunday December 11 at the Marriott hotel. held in co-operation with expat in Denmark and Spousecare, and a free admission event thanks to the support of McDonald’s, Carlsberg and the Marriott hotel, this occasion will be a great opportunity for our readers to mingle with other members of the international community, whilst enjoying some Christmas treats and music.

Lest we forget, Christmas is about the kids, and at the party they will be able to sing along to some favourite Christmas carols – expect a rous-

ing rendition of ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ involving the whole room – scoff as many æbelskiver as they want (don’t forget the glögg for the adults), pick up some presents from Father Christmas, and make their own decorations in an area organised by the team from eden Art, a children’s creative workshop located on Vesterbrogade, who are kindly taking time out from their hectic schedule to participate.

“It is our great pleasure at The Copenhagen Post that we, together with our friends and partners, are able to invite the international community in

Copenhagen to this combined Christmas celebration,” enthused Jesper Nymark, the chief executive of The Copenhagen Post.

“By hosting the Family Christmas Party, it is our desire to follow up on the success of our Children’s Fair, which we held in the summer, at which we were pleased to welcome between 700 and 800 Danish and international children and adults. At The Copenhagen Post, it is important to us to support the social integration of international families, which is why we will continue to hold events such as the Christmas Family Party, the Children’s Fair, the expat Fair, and other expat gatherings.”

“The Children’s Fair was a great day – a real celebration,” recalled Ines honfi, the Argentine founder of the eden Art workshop, who has agreed to join forces with The Copenhagen Post once again. “ever since I moved to Denmark, I’d been waiting for such an event. It was nice to meet with new people, and I’m looking forward to a similar experience at the Christmas party.”

With the help of our readers, it promises to be a fantastic occasion. So please, don’t be a stranger and come and meet the people who run your community’s newspaper, and many more, to celebrate the coming of Christmas.

The Copenhagen Post Christmas Family Party is at 2pm on Sunday December 11 at the Marriott Hotel, organised in cooperation with Expat in Denmark and Spousecare, with support from McDonald’s, Carlsberg and the Marriott Hotel.

Admission is free.

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COMMUNITY

THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK

2 - 8 December 2011

ABOUT TOWN PHOTOS BY HASSE FERROLD UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED

Prince Henrik was the guest of honour at the French Embassy’s wine tasting event, ‘The Cahors-Malbech Tour’. Pictured with him is the French ambassador Bérengère Quincy.

British archaeologist Flinders Petrie is the subject of the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek’s on- The winners of the Copenhagen Choreographers Competition were the Upgoing exhibition ‘In the Shadows of the Pyramid’, which runs until March. Pictured percut Danseteater, who received their award from the Royal Ballet’s artistic director Nikolai Hübbe, the ‘Vild med Dans’ judge, who is not pictured. here is organiser Tina Bagh.

The Portuguese Embassy helped co-organise a concert by acclaimed Portuguese fado Katia Guerreiro at Louisiana last week on Friday. Among those pictured here are Guerreiro (centre) and Portuguese ambassador João Pedro Silveira de Carvalho (second right).

Expat in Denmark

Slovenia celebrated the 20th anniversary of its independence with a reception at the Design Museum.

Pictured here are representatives of the museum and the Rex-Chair furniture manufacturer with the Slovenian ambassador Bogdan Benko (right).

The Vietnamese ambassador Vu Van Luu (right) last week hosted an event to mark the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between his country and Denmark. Pictured with him are the minister for children and education, Christine Antorini (left), and Danish-Vietnamese Association chairman Jørgen Prague (centre).

AN ACTOR ’S LIFE Join us Wednesday, 7 December at 6:15 PM to learn how to get active in Denmark.

This event is a great opportunity for both Danes and Expats to get active, expand your network, and have fun at the same time!

This December, six different clubs and associations will be gathered to inspire you to become active in Denmark, including Demarks largest association; DGI. Get a mentor!

You now have the opportunity to get your own personal mentor for just about anything here in Copenhagen.

Here are some of the activities you can get help with through your mentor: •

Education or the job market

•

Getting to know clubs and associations

•

Help with job applications

•

Practicing Danish by profession

Of course we also welcome potential mentors who want to give a helping hand. Check out the participating clubs and associations for this event, or simply sign up and learn how to get active, and enjoy an inspiring night in good company.

Date: Wednesday, 7 December Time: 6:15-8:00 PM Location: Copenhagen Municipality, Nyropsgade 1, 1602 Copenhagen V Sign up at: http://goo.gl/D9Jez or visit www.expatindenmark.com

www.expatindenmark.com Denmark’s only English-language newspaper

A resident here since 1990, Ian Burns is the artistic director at That Theatre Company, and very possibly Copenhagen’s best known English language actor thanks to roles as diverse as Casanova, Oscar Wilde and Tony Hancock.

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HANKS TO all the readers of this column who came and experienced our production of Edward Albee’s ‘The Zoo Story’. Everyone involved and everyone who saw it has taken part in an adventure examining in essence what it is to be human. “To be or not to be,” according to Hamlet, or “What’s it all about Alfie?” according to Michael Caine.

A 16-year-old Danish boy who came reluctantly to see us, dragging his heels unwillingly as t’were, waited to see me in the foyer after the play one night.

He shyly said that he had forgotten where he was as the play unfolded, and that he had no idea theatre could have such an effect on him. The 30 performances were worth it just for that one short sentence and a reminder to me of why I persist in this strange game called show business.

Good theatre has the power to do that. Thank goodness for good writers such as Edward Albee – the life-blood of, well, life itself.

To the Danish critics who

told me that they wouldn’t be spite my encouragement, should coming in to review us because feel embarrassed that they didn’t they couldn’t “prioritise That make the effort. He is quite simTheatre Company this season”, ply one of the best actors I’ve I ask when have you actually ever had the pleasure to work ever done that? You obviously with and hopefully will have the don’t care if your readers know luck to really make a name for about me, or what I’m trying to himself, both here and abroad. do here. That message has been All this showbiz tattle and delivered very reflection pales clearly during into insignifimy time in this cance when I country. What think of the to do then? To the Danish critics many far-moreKeep doing eximportant realcellent work who told me that life stories being with excellent they wouldn’t be played around people is my anthe world as I coming in to review us write this. A swer.

We perform because they couldn’t matter of life in English but and death, for are proud to “prioritise That example, conhave worked Theatre Company this cerning a famwith many ily member Danish actors season”, I ask when of some good in our producof mine. have you actually ever friends tions. The critMy thoughts ics or members done that? are with them of something and anyone else called The Reumert Committee who is hanging on by a thread to (a bit like the Olivier Awards) this thing called life. Take a deep who didn’t witness Adam Brix breath and enjoy doing that for as Jerry in ‘The Zoo Story’, de- as long as you can.

COMMUNITY

THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK

2 - 8 December 2011

JOHN THOPPIL Indians gather for the most important festival in Indian culture

I

N THE darkness of the Danish winter, the Association of Indians in Denmark group gathered in Bronshøj to celebrate the festival of light.

The celebration is called Diwali and it’s the most important festival in Indian culture. Set on the night of a new moon when the sky is at its darkest, Diwali celebrates the triumph of good over evil and light over dark with traditional lamps, sweets, and dancing.

“Its [Diwali] significance is laid out by the Sanskrit verse ‘lead us from falsehood to truth, from darkness to light, from death to immortality,’” President Barack Obama explained after lighting a symbolic lamp in the White House just recently.

“In Hinduism, it marks the return of Lord Ram from exile, with small lamps lit on his way home. The lighting of the lamps continues today, marking the celebration as a reflection of the year gone by and a time to pray for the good year to come.”

In India, arrays of earthen lamps are placed on the balconies and doorsteps of homes and commercial establishments across the country. Fireworks sporadically pierce the black night sky as reminders of light’s power.

Most importantly of all, Diwali is incomplete without limitless consumption of traditional Indian sweets made from milk, ghee (clarified butter), nuts

and sugar syrup.

When it comes to celebratory fervor, Diwali is on par with Christmas in the western world. “[It’s] more than a just a cultural perspective,” Kannathasan Pandian, the president of the Association of Indians in Denmark, said. “This time we brought in an element of ‘fun for all’, with games for the whole family.”

While the celebration in Bronshøj lacked fireworks and other comforts of India, it brought people together to celebrate a common tradition. A pair of local IT professionals sang a duet and two women donned bright red dresses while dancing to the Indi hit ‘Rangeela Re’.

“Although I miss celebrating Diwali at home, spending it with friends in Denmark makes up for it – albeit to a much lesser extent,” dancer Anu Suthakaran said after her performance.

Danske Bank employee Anurag Ranjeet said he was feeling homesick and missed his family, but singing an upbeat duet from the movie ‘Border’ certainly helped. He appreciated the celebration as an opportunity to socialise with the small Indian community in Denmark.

“Diwali is [also] an opportunity to showcase Indian culture to the Danish people,” Pankaj Danhane, the other half of the duet, added.

The night continued on with a solo dance performance by Tanya Bansal and another dance to current top-of-the-charts Bollywood song ‘Chammak Challo’. Mayurika Saxena, Shalaka Dongare and Alekhya Krishna

Priyanka Turlapaty and Pankaj Danhane were at hand to sing a duet

Tanya Bansal shows how it’s done

brought the crowd to life with their performance, and event host Surabhi Goswami thanked them, and all the evening’s performers, for their participation.

“Although having to spend Diwali away from home, Indians in Denmark creates a platform for Indians to come together at Diwali,” he explained later.

The festival in Bronshøj may not have lived up to the memories of a traditional Indian Diwali, but the singing, dancing, and endless Indian treats gave this small expat community a taste of home. It exposed Danes to traditional Indian culture, and above all else, brought light to the blustery gloom of a Copenhagen winter’s day.

COMING UP SOON Get active in Denmark Copenhagen Municipality, Nyropsgade 1, Cph V; Wed 7 Dec, 18:15-21:00; www.expatindenmark.com for more details

Expat in Denmark welcomes both Danes and expats to get active, expand their network and have fun all at once. The evening will host six different clubs and associations, including Denmark’s biggest association DGI, ready to inspire all the guests to get active in Denmark by following their hobbies and interests. The groups include opportunities to join sport clubs, volunteering groups, a yacht club, and more. The programme will provide introductions to the organisations, a coffee break and networking, after which you can sign up for anything that caught your attention during the evening. As an added perk, each attendee will have the chance to get a personal mentor to assist with just about anything in Copenhagen, whether it be to answer questions about education or the job market, to help you get to know the clubs and associations, or to help with job applications and practice Danish. Potential mentors are also welcomed to come and lend a helping hand.

EuropeanPWN-Copenhagen Christmas dinner

The University of Copenhagen, Auditorium 23.0.49, Building 23, Njalsgade 124, Cph S; Mon 5 Dec, 08:30-22:00; www.wayeb.org/conferencesevents

TIGHT, Hyskenstræde 10, Cph K; Wed 7 Dec, starts 19:00; 350kr; rsvp to Toni at toniheisterberg@cis.dk

Lecture: The true sex? Trouble with hermaphrodites The University of Copenhagen, Njalsgade 76, Cph S; Wed 7 Dec, 15:0017:00; koensforskning.soc.ku.dk to sign up

The diploma lecture series ‘Gender and Body Dynamics in the 21st century’ presents a lecture aimed at students wishing to learn more about different theories on gender and the body.

Looking at politics, law and media as well as sexuality and identities, the multi-faceted talk will provide thought-provoking insights on the topic.

It was a well-attended occasion, and well-lit – vital for the coming of Diwali

MOVEMBER UPDATE

16th European Maya Conference

The 16th annual European Maya conference will take place with the theme ‘The Maya in a Mesoamerican Context: Comparative Approached to Maya Studies’. The theme is meant to highlight the integration, interaction and co-development of Maya culture in the wider cultural area of Mesoamerica.

Events of the day include lectures, discussions and open forums for questions focused on a geographically broad and deep comparative approach to Maya studies, ranging from preclassic times to the present.

ALL PHOTOS: WWW.ROBERTOPHOTO.DK

Out of darkness came Diwali, the festival of light

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The steering committee of the EuropeanPWN-Copenhagen would like to invite you to join them for a Christmas dinner at TIGHT restaurant. They have negotiated again a three-course dinner, including a welcome drink and two glasses of wine included in the price. It will be a cosy evening of great food and conversation to celebrate “Being the best we could in 2011”.

Kevin

Peter

Ben

Dima

Christmas meditation course Clear Light Kadampa Buddhist Centre, Classensgade 10, Cph Ø; Tue 6 Dec, 19:00; everyone welcome; 120kr; www. meditateincopenhagen.org to register

In this special Christmas meditation class, Kelsang Tubchen will present practical methods for developing and maintaining a calm, peaceful and positive mind during the holiday period up until the New Year.

Seasonal refreshments will be served during the break. People of all ages are welcome and can benefit from the stress-relieving environment to develop a joyful mind in time for the holidays!

Come early (18:00) for a Heart Jewel puja (chanted prayers) to focus on the removal of obstacles and increasing good fortune and inspiration.

JESSICA SLICER

A

T THE TIME of going to press, November was drawing to a close and with it the event of Movember that has seen four of our employees – Ben Hamilton, Kevin McGwin, Peter Stanners and Dima Paranytsia – join nearly 8,000 others nationwide by growing a moustache to raise awareness of prostate cancer and other men’s health issues.

While Kevin has been the only one to truly deliver on the upper lip – his fundraising efforts have been pretty dismal, raising a paltry 525 kroner over the month. But he wasn’t last – Dima only managed 225 kroner and will be getting that all-important first round of drinks.

Next, with a creditable 825 kroner, was Peter, but he was a

distant second to the runaway winner, Ben, who managed in excess of 2,500 kroner – a figure that going down to the wire might earn him a place in the top 50.

Though his effort is mere pocket change compared to the boys at Saxo Bank, who have taken the competition by storm. Check out our coverage on page 10 to find out more.

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sport

The Copenhagen posT CphposT.Dk

2 - 8 December 2011

Five years into its new youth strategy, Danish football is reaping the rewards

Viktor Fischer, 17, is Danish football’s brightest prospect and currently learning his trade at Ajax, the best talent developer in the game

Liam Barker Youth coach’s prediction that Denmark could do well at the 2018 World Cup no longer sounds like the far-fetched dream of an insane optimist

a

aid development and compete with the best in europe. we must be aware of every young player in the country and get the most from our resources - we have the ability to remain in europe’s top ten. Germany, Holland, Spain and Switzerland have the best youth programmes and we want to match them.”

Frank has already begun to see results. His under-17s side won all three of their group stage games at the european championships this year in Serbia before losing to Germany in the semis.

They played some brilliant attacking football inspired by ajax’s Viktor Fischer and FCK’s Kenneth Zohore – a performance that earnt them a place at the U17 world Cup a month later in Mexico. while they only managed one point from their ‘group of death’, they still impressed in their losses to brazil and Ivory Coast in a tournament played in sweltering conditions for which they only had one month to properly prepare for.

“Mental energy was lacking at the world Cup,” said Frank. “I still believe now that we are in the top eight in the world, but we didn’t prove it. It shows how tough it was when Holland also only gathered one point from their group games, having won the under-17s euros a month earlier, brushing aside everyone.”

Frank has a good record as the coach of the under-17s, winning 35 of his 60 games in charge, and he has since taken his under-16 team to play two friendlies in Israel where Morten wieghorst’s under-21 side will hope to be competing at the 2013 european Championships – the first under-21 euros to involve 16 teams. They are currently well placed to qualify, three

possible line-up at 2018 World Cup (4-2-3-1) Anders Lindegaard (34)

Svenn Crone (23)

Simon Kjær (29)

Jannik Vestergaard (25)

Nicolaj Køhlert (25) Viktor Nielsen (23)

Nicolai M Boilesen (26)

Pierre Højbjerg (23)

Christian Eriksen (26)

Nicolai Jorgensen (27)

Viktor Fischer (24) colourbox

new brand of football is taking the world by storm, and denmark has been playing catchup. The last two decades has seen it gradually move away from its favoured 4-4-2 formation, and richard Møller nielsen’s ‘Give it back to Schmeichel’ tactics of 1992, leaving it in a good position to follow the lead of the Spanish national side and barcelona, and embrace their tika-taka philosophy. at a youth level, technical ability is now lauded above a crunching tackle, as football is treated more like a science that involves meticulous preparation and planning. Five years ago national team coach Morten Olsen, who last month had his contract extended until the 2014 world Cup, announced wholesale changes to the way the game is coached, at both senior and youth levels. He outlined plans to adapt training – from the bottom all the way to the top – to a style of play influenced by tika-taka and the total football played by the dutch national team in the 1970s.

Olsen’s charges had just missed out on a place at the 2006 world Cup in Germany, slumping to number 38 in the world (their lowest position since the rankings began in 1992), and would go on to fail miserably in their bid to qualify for euro 2008, finishing fourth behind Spain, Sweden and minnows northern Ireland.

Thomas Frank, the coach of the under-16 and under-17 national youth teams, has worked closely with Olsen implementing the strategy and is optimistic about the future. “Football is a huge part of danish culture, and a successful national team breeds positivity,” he said. “The new strategy is in place but we have only touched the tip of the iceberg so far. Over the next five years we should start to see a real improvement.” by the time the 2018 world Cup comes along in russia, Frank is optimistic that denmark will be able to compete with the best nations in the world.

“Luck and timing are of course important, but we have a lot of good players; with the strategy pushing forward, there is a good possibility of success,” he continued.

“It is also important not to be too strict and to be able to adjust. For a small country we are a big footballing nation and we should think as a big nation. It is important to get results and

points behind group leaders Serbia with a game in hand.

Israel certainly seems a far cry from a friendly with neighbouring Sweden, but Frank states the importance of these fixtures for the future development of these players: “It is very important to see different football cultures and play in different environments where heat and thin air can be a factor.”

In 2004 FC Midtjylland became the first danish club to set up a youth academy. It used a model developed by the French club nantes for youngsters playing from the under-16 level to the under-19 level. Frank is a huge fan of this academy. “FC Midtjylland has certainly raised the bar and is doing very well for the country. Their academy is one of a kind in denmark,” he said. aS roma and national team defender Simon Kjaer is the most notable graduate of the system so far. another master plan created by the dbU is the recent formation of an under-21 domestic league. “This is excellent for 17, 18 and 19-year-olds to compete in,” said Frank. “That is the idea behind the formation of the league.”

However, Frank still insists that the best players should go abroad as the danish league does not have enough money to compete with the best in europe. “Players should definitely go abroad to learn their trade if they can. Looking at the likes of Christian eriksen, Viktor Fischer and nicolai boilesen at ajax, they are learning far more playing with better players.” nevertheless, whilst 26 June 1992 remains denmark’s finest hour, there could be a new date in the future, forever embedded in danish history. whilst many might consider this a fairytale worthy of Hans Christian andersen, Morten Olsen and his staff are all working hard to put their big ideas into practice.

sporTs neWs anD BrieFs Danish great dies danISH football is in mourning following the passing of one of its best ever forwards, Carl aage Praest, at the age of 89. Praest scored 17 in 24 games for denmark, helping them to a bronze medal at the 1948 Olympics, before his international career was cut short when he turned pro to move abroad – denmark at the

time had a strict amateur-only selection policy. Praest played 232 games for Italian giants Juventus from 1948-1956, scoring 51 goals and picking up two Serie a medals. after retiring he worked for a brewery in denmark. In a letter to the danish Fa, FIFa president Sepp blatter expressed his “deepest condolences”.

new coach for triathlete

golfers disappoint

eleven heaven for ladies

Badminton juniors excel

JIMMy JOHnSen, the danish triathlete who finished runner-up at Challenge Copenhagen this year, has joined the australian team aeromax in a bid to take his career to the next level ahead of the 2012 Olympics under aussie coach Grant Giles. He previously trained under the danish national team’s Michael Kruger.

denMarK’S pairing of anders Hansen and Thorbjørn Olesen finished 13th in the 28-team world Cup of Golf at the Missions Hills club in Hainan Island, China, which concluded on Sunday with a win for the United States. The danes shot a first round 65 to start the second day in sixth, but slumped thereafter.

THe naTIOnaL ladies football side beat armenia 11-0 in a euro 2013 qualifier last week to top their group with maximum points. They have now scored 22 goals in just four games, conceding none. However, they have not yet played the Czech republic, who are currently second on seven points with a game in hand.

denMarK has won its fourth junior badminton title in a row following a 3-1 defeat of england in the final. Julie FinneIpsen in the ladies singles, men’s doubles pairing Viktor Svendsen and Mads Sørensen, and women’s pair Finne-Ipsen and Isabella nielsen all won their matches to seal the win.

BUSINESS

THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK

2 - 8 December 2011

Maersk reaps profits and praise by taking it slow SCANPIX/JØRGEN SCHYTTE

“Slow steaming” not only saves money, but is better for the environment

JENNIFER BULEY World’s largest shipper calls slow steaming a “win-win-win”

I

T’S NOT often that you hear of businesses boosting profits by slowing down, but that’s exactly what the Danish shipping giant Maersk Line has done. In addition, the company has earned the praise of environ-

mental agencies for significantly cutting its carbon dioxide emissions.

Since 2008 Maersk has been saving huge amounts – of both cash and emissions – by reducing sailing speeds by an average of 27 percent.

“We finally dropped the old paradigm of just going faster and faster. This way is simply better for the bottom line and

the environment,” Jacob Sterling, Maersk Line’s head of climate and environment, told Politiken newspaper.

The initiative is called ‘slow steaming’ and it has taken hold throughout the global shipping industry, not just at Maersk.

Whereas Maersk’s container ships used to sail at a speed of between 20 and 25 knots, they now average 15-20 knots. The 20 percent speed reduction saves 40 percent in fuel – with matching reductions in carbon dioxide emissions. And for a company with annual fuel bills of around 33 billion kroner, those savings are nothing to sneeze at.

To compensate for the slower sailing speeds, the shipping giant has increased frequency by adding one to two ships to each of its routes. Yet even with the extra ships, Maersk estimates that it has reduced emissions by seven percent per container since embracing slow steaming back in 2008.

“It’s a really good example of how initiatives that make a difference on the climate front aren’t necessarily coming out of the UN, but instead from underneath,” Richard Baron, the leader of the climate department of the International Energy Association (IEA), told Politiken.

“We have come to realise that it often pays economicallyspeaking to be climate friendly.”

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Verdensnaturfonden, the Danish division of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), praised Maersk for committing to reducing emissions.

“Maersk Line in particular has made a serious and broad effort,” John Nordbo, Verdensnaturfonden’s head of environmental and climate projects, told Politiken.

At first, slow steaming faced strong scepticism from engine manufacturers. But today even they acknowledge its advantages. The German multinational Man Diesel, which has a subsidiary in Copenhagen, is one large engine manufacturer that now fully promotes slow-speed engines as well as technologies

that can be added to older engines to regulate them more efficiently at slower speeds.

According to the shipping industry analysts Mirae Asset Securities, widespread adoption of slow steaming is the biggest thing that has happened to the global shipping industry since the Second World War. And there’s no foreseeable reason why shippers will speed up when the economy does.

Besides the cost savings and environmental advantages, Maersk maintains that slow steaming allows it to serve customers better by making scheduling and logistics more predictable.

Before, when trip times were predicted based on maximum sailing speeds, there was no way to compensate for de-

15

lays. Now that planning is based on slower speeds, there is greater flexibility – and the opportunity to speed up for stretches, if necessary, in order to arrive on time. Slow sailing thus helps prevent delivery delays and bottlenecks at entry ports, Maersk Line reports.

“Slow steaming is here to stay because it is a win-win-win situation. It’s better for our customers, better for the environment, and better for our business,” Eivind Kolding, Maersk Line’s managing director, said.

The company has even invested in 20 of the gigantic, four-cornered Triple-E-class ships. Triple-Es are 30 percent more energy efficient than other new container ships and are actually designed to sail more slowly – and that’s a good thing.

You can start me up, angel JENNIFER BULEY Business accelerator’s latest crop of startups practice the art of the investor pitch

D

ET Kongelige Teater’s art deco stage Stærekassen was the setting last week on Thursday for a different brand of theatrical drama: the live investor pitch. In this form of theatre, if the director and performers do their jobs well, the audience of investors throws cheques instead of roses.

The event was Investor Day 2011 – the second one held by Startup Bootcamp Copenhagen (SBC), a business accelerator started in 2010 and based at the Nokia campus in Sydhavn.

The smart, ambitious and young entrepreneurs (one was just 23) on Stærekassen’s stage last week came from around the world, but all had just spent three months in Copenhagen tweaking business plans, developing prototypes and sparring with experienced entrepreneurs.

Finally, it was time to raise capital – starting with the investor pitch.

Briefix (Romania), a software solution that streamlines the design process for art studios and their clients; Trialbee (Sweden), a platform for aggregating participants for clinical trials to help fast-track new drug therapies to market; and BalconyTV (Ireland), a zany, live music production company that claims to be the MTV Unplugged of the internet generation, were just a few of the eleven startups pitched.

But as promising, inspiring, and entertaining as many

Having created and sold other companies in his native Austria, Bäck was already an of the presentations were – and experienced entrepreneur when there was plenty of applause to he entered Archify into SBC. “All my previous compaconfirm that – the billion dollar question remained: could any nies were local, so we only had be the next Skype, Google ... or a network in Austria. Startup MTV? Could any, for that mat- Bootcamp helped us build a ter, ‘just’ be the next Podio? And European network,” Bäck said, would a few angels alight from explaining why he exchanged equity in Archify for a spot at the audience?

While it’s still uncertain the Copenhagen-based accelwhether the entrepreneurs’ erator.

Danish entrepreneur Sune pitches struck a chord with investors, ironically, the most Alstrup and his team have lucrative business idea of all PhDs and have all poured years might be SBC itself. The accel- of research into the technology erator has attracted hundreds of behind Eyeproof, a startup with applications from around the an inexpensive, ready-for-market eye-tracking globe from stardevice and anatups competing lytics software for a place in its package that is business-creation targeted at the bootcamp.

I don’t think it’s advertising and Startups that win spots in possible to learn to be marketing crowd.

Despite the the programme an entrepreneur, but advanced stage give SBC eight of its technology percent equity Startup Bootcamp is and their deep in exchange for €12,000 in seed all about the network network in Denmark, the Eyemoney, a tempo- and working with proof team still rary office space felt that SBC ofat Sydhavn, and other startups fered them somea three-month crash course in entrepreneur- thing they didn’t get from their ship, including an intensive grad programmes.

“Startup Bootcamp promentorship with experienced entrepreneurs and access to vided us with a great mentor team – the kind of people the SBC’s international network.

“I don’t think it’s possible to universities don’t provide – suclearn to be an entrepreneur, but cessful entrepreneurs that know Startup Bootcamp is all about how to start, run and exit a the network and working with company,” Alstrup said.

“The feedback we got durother startups,” Gerald Bäck, the chief technology officer of ing the last three months from Archify, one of the standouts at the mentors helped us focus SBC Investor Day 2011, said. and refine our offerings to a levArchify’s software solution lets el we never would have reached you search for and retrieve infor- on our own, and I think we acmation from all your social net- quired some skills we need to working streams simultaneously. succeed.”

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5.31

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Date: 30 November 2011

THE COPENHAGEN POST SPOUSE EMPLOYMENT PAGE SPOUSE: Kamali Ganesan SEEKING WORK IN: Jylland, Denmark QUALIFICATION: IT engineer.

EXPERIENCE: LEGO systems.

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FROM: India

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PARTNERS:

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

IT EXPERIENCE: Microsoft Office, CMS. CONTACT: lenaszw@web.de 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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SPOUSE: Isaac P Thomas FROM: India SEEKING WORK IN: East Juthland preferably Århus QUALIFICATION: Bachelor of Engineering (Computer Science).

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

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

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

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SPOUSE: Rita Paulo FROM: Portugal SEEKING WORK IN: Great Copenhagen QUALIFICATION: Architect .

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SPOUSE: Andrea Heilmann FROM: Germany (Marburg) SEEKING WORK IN: Greater Copenhagen QUALIFICATION: Communications Manager & PR Consultant.

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SPOUSE: Weihua Xiao FROM: China SEEKING WORK IN: Great Copenhagen QUALIFICATION: Master in American Studies from University of Southern Denmark. Master in Education and B.A. In English. Diploma of Secretary. Certificate of Teaching Chinese as a Second Language from East China Normal University.

EXPERIENCE: Work in the fields of education, training, translation, interpretation, administration, Chinese (business) culture consulting. 8 years of full-time English language teacher in China. Work for a global company in Shanghai and Copenhagen as Personal Assistant to General Manager/ Secretary for about 2 years from 2009 to 2010.

LOOKING FOR: Chinese Language teacher, translator, interpreter, administrative position.

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IT EXPERIENCE: A good user of Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel...).

CONTACT: weihua06@gmail.com +45 5048 9667 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.

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IT EXPERIENCE: MS-Office (word, Excel, Power point, Visio), CFD (Mentor Graphics FloTHERM, FloVENT, Noesis OPTIMUS, Electrical CAD, Assembly Programming (PIC 16f77, 8086,8051), WireMOM, Telelogic SDL-99, C and VHDL. CONTACT: konerideepak@gmail.com, 71561151 SPOUSE: Nina Chatelain FROM: Vancouver, BC, Canada SEEKING WORK IN: Midt- og syd jylland QUALIFICATION: BA courses in english and anthropology, certificate in desktop publishing and graphic design, internationally certified yoga teacher since 1999.

EXPERIENCE: Over 7 years experience as the assistant to the director (what would correspond to a direktionssekretær position) at an international university museum where i also was seconded to act as the program administrator – a project management internal communications role – for the museum’s major renovation project. I acted as the director’s right hand and the museum’s communications hub where i had daily contact with the visiting public, community stakeholders, volunteers and students. I have earlier worked as an editor and writer in various capacities, as well as a desktop publisher/graphic designer.

LOOKING FOR: An administrative role in a creative company that needs someone who can juggle a variety of projects and use excellent english writing and editing skills LANGUAGE SKILLS: English (mother tongue) and Danish (fluent comprehension-studieprøven / university entrance exam).

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IT EXPERIENCE: MS Office, SASS Statistical Software CONTACT: cuteago@yahoo.com +45 30 95 20 53 SPOUSE: Dolon Roy FROM: India SEEKING WORK IN: Sjælland QUALIFICATION: Masters in Science(Chemistry), BEd. (Teacher training course).

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CONTACT: yuanying118@hotmail.com, +45 31 36 92 58 SPOUSE: Margaret Ritchie FROM: Scotland, UK SEEKING WORK IN: Copenhagen QUALIFICATION: BA Business Administration majoring in Human Resource Management EXPERIENCE: Worked in the field of Education within a Scottish University. 12 years of experience.

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CONTACT: lorenzoalbanof@gmail.com. Tel: +45 50 81 40 73

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

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

EMPLOYMENT

THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK

2 - 8 December 2011

Rygaards School

Denmark’s only English-language newspaper

Christmas Fundraiser

Administrative Intern The Copenhagen Post is seeking an Administrative Intern to join our team in early January.

You will be assisting with various tasks including administration, events and customer service-sales support.

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

InOut

The CPH Post Entertainment Guide August 19 - 25

Don’t miss this Dolly fixture

The internship is unpaid.

Forum: Thursday 20:00 Tickets 415 - 815 kr

page

G6

Restaurant

Hercegovina Tivoli Croatian restaurant with a wide choice of national and international dishes.

“Eat as much as you like” Live music and dance Tivoli/Bernstorffsgade 3 - 1620 - Copenhagen V

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

See more at copenhagencard.com

Please send your application and CV to jeanne@cphpost.dk noting ‘Administrative Intern’ in the subject line.

For more information please contact Jeanne Thames, jeanne@cphpost.dk, tel.: 3336 3300

54 Bernstorffsvej, 2900 Hellerup

International Christmas Market Thursday 8thDecember 4pm – 8pm Strike it lucky in our raffles and tombolas – prizes include hotel stays, dinner vouchers, sports gear, activity vouchers, jewellery, gourmet food, spa treatments and much much more!

Denmark’s only English-language newspaper

Journalist praktikant

The Copenhagen Post is looking for an energetic intern to lend a hand around the newsroom.

Læser du journalistik, kommunikation, engelsk el. lign. og ønsker du at forbedre dit engelsk? Så kan The Copenhagen Post tilbyde dig muligheden.

You will primarily assist the news team by helping to maintain our website and helping with general newsroom tasks, but you will also get the opportunity to write general news items and cover community and cultural events.

The Copenhagen Post søger en dansktalende praktikant, til primært at hjælpe med research for engelsksproget artikler til både web og print.

The CPH Post Entertainment Guide August 19 - 25

Du skal kunne researche danske - og evt. engelske kilder og kunne skrive det ned i et sikkert engelsk.

Du behøver ikke være fejlfri på engelsk – det skal vi nok lære dig – men du skal være vant til at bruge det. Du behøver heller ikke vide alt om det danske samfund, men du skal vide, hvor du finder informationer.

InOut

The CPH Post Entertainment Guide August 19 - 25

Prior experience in journalism would be beneficial, is but not expected - enthusiasm and passion for reporting the news are.

Don’t miss this Dolly fixture

Croatian restaurant with a wide choice of national and international dishes.

“Eat as much as you like” Live music and dance

page

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

See more at copenhagencard.com

Forum: Thursday 20:00 Tickets 415 - 815 kr

G6

Restaurant

Tivoli/Bernstorffsgade 3 - 1620 - Copenhagen V

Du vil muligvis også få muligheder for at dække nyheds begivenheder og skrive artikler på engelsk.

Don’t miss this Dolly fixture

Forum: Thursday 20:00 Tickets 415 - 815 kr

Hercegovina Tivoli

Sample some festive food and drink from around the world – gløgg, mince pies, tapas and indian food to name but a few!

Journalist Intern

In order to be considered, applicants must be able to use English at a professional level. Knowledge of Danish is useful, but not required.

page

Visit our indoor market selling a wide range of Christmas gift items – including Erik Sørensen wine, Charlotte Sparre jewellery, OVSA, Superbest, premium gift wrapping, Christmas crackers, mince pies & cakes, Christmas decorations, books in English, Bon Savon soap and much more.

Activities for all the family - crafts, games, movies & a visit from Father Christmas!

Denmark’s only English-language newspaper

InOut

17

Please send your application and CV, along with any writing samples, to: hr@cphpost.dk, noting “Journalist Intern” in the subject field.

For more information, please contact Editor-in-Chief Kevin McGwin på 3336 3300.

G6

IT kompetencer, især design og web, er en fordel, men intet krav.

Restaurant

Hercegovina Tivoli Croatian restaurant with a wide choice of national and international dishes.

“Eat as much as you like” Live music and dance Tivoli/Bernstorffsgade 3 - 1620 - Copenhagen V

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

See more at copenhagencard.com

Ansøgninger, CV samt eksempler på tidligere artikler/opgaver på engelsk sendes til: hr@cphpost dk. Skriv venligst ”Journalist praktikant” i emnefeltet.

For yderligere information, kontakt venligst Editor-in-Chief Kevin McGwin på 3336 3300.

18

culture

The Copenhagen posT CphposT.Dk

2 - 8 December 2011

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Will libraries take out the digital book sellers

Libraries get into the digital book business Jennifer Buley Libraries will loan ebooks for free, causing worries among private dealers

L

IBrArIeS AcroSS the country have begun loaning out for free what Danish publishers have been struggling to sell: ebooks.

The libraries’ new digital book loan service is called ereolen. It began on November 1 with a selection of just over 1,800 Danish-language digital books (alternately referred to as ebooks

or e-books) from 53 different Danish publishing houses. In less than a month, around 6,000 users have borrowed ebooks some 9,600 times. each time a book is loaned out, the library pays the publisher a fee – 18.5 kroner for new releases and 15 kroner for ebooks that are more than one year old.

The more a title is borrowed, the lower the fee to the library. But to the patron, it’s free.

The individual libraries decide how many digital books patrons may borrow and for how long. In copenhagen, users can

Bruce, Björk to play Roskilde

borrow up to five ebooks per month for up to one month each.

When the loan period expires, the digital file automatically becomes inaccessible. No more need to return books on time. And no more late fees either.

The convenience for users is obvious, and ereolen’s project manager Susanne Iversen fully expects ebook lending to grow with time. But could the free loans undercut the national sales market for ebooks?

“It’s a huge worry for a lot of us,” elisabeth Fogtdal, the legal manager of Gyldendal, Den-

mark’s largest publisher, told Politiken newspaper. “on the other hand, ereolen could also give the commercial ebook market, which has been really sluggish in this country, a positive lift.”

Digital book sales account for just one percent of total book sales in Denmark today, compared to 15-20 percent in the US. Fogtdal noted that digital audio book sales leapt forward after the libraries began lending them as part of the Netlydbog.dk programme.

Managers at Lindhardt og ringhof publishers are betting

No 374

T

He BoSS and the Icelandic queen will be playing the 2012 roskilde Festival.

American rock icon Bruce Springsteen leaked this year’s first bit of roskilde news when he announced his 2012 european tour schedule on his official website, complete with a July 7 stop at roskilde. The Boss will be joined by his longtime backing group, the e Street Band.

Although roskilde was yet to confirm Springsteen by the time this publication went to press, festival organisers did announce the eccentric Icelandic musician Björk as the first official addition to the festival line-up. organisers indicated that additional acts would be announced “in the near future”, in almost certain nod to the Springsteen confirmation.

Last year’s roskilde Festival was criticised by many for lacking big-name headliners. By booking Bruce Springsteen and Björk, the 2012 incarnation of

the festival has already secured two major draws.

Springsteen has sold more than 120 million albums worldwide and has earned numerous accolades during his career, including 20 Grammy Awards. His 1984 release, ‘Born in the USA’, sold 30 million copies and generated seven Top 10 singles in the US. The 62-year-old New Jersey native will be releasing a new studio album in 2012, the 18th of his career. There is currently no release date or title for the upcoming release.

Björk – whom festival organisers referred to as “a true ‘roskilde act’” – has netted 12 Grammy Awards, four BrIT awards and the 2010 Polar Music Prize from the Swedish Music Academy.

“She is at once a musical sorceress with Icelandic lava flowing through the veins, iconic pop star and electronic wonder kid,” the festival wrote in their official release.

The 2012 roskilde Festival will take place July 5 - 8. Tickets went on sale December 1.

You can check out eReolen at www.ereolen.dk or on your local library’s website. eReolen loans work with PCs, Android devices, iPhones, iPads, and tablets, but not on the Amazon Kindle.

Who is ... harry? victoria steffensen

He is a character in the television adverts for national rail operator Across: 1 Putting green; 7 Appal; 8 Lithe; 9 Nip; 10 Arrogance; 11 Locate; 12 Cobweb; 15 Trappi DSB. 19 Sloth; 21 Playing field.

Down: 1 Plain clothes; 2 Imp; 3 Galore; 4 Religious; 5 Eaten; 6 Reverberated; 7 Aspic; 10 Antipath son; 16 Avail; 20 Oaf.

What does he look like?

He is about the size of a 10-yearold child, has light purple fur, and some reddish stringy wool sprouting out of his head.

The Boss has always had a large following in Denmark

Justin cremer

Danish, english, and German, among other languages. Although ereolen only has titles in Danish – and just under 2,000 of those – enger-rasmussen still worries about what it will do to his sales of Danish ebooks, which account for 60 percent of his business.

What really worries engerrasmussen is not that the libraries are loaning out ebooks, but that they plan to start selling them as well.

“We really hope that the ‘buy button’ will not be activated on ereolen. How can the public sector use taxpayer money to help the libraries get into the commercial book market? That can’t be right,” enger-rasmussen told The copenhagen Post.

In other words, if people can both loan Danish ebooks for free and also buy them on the publicly-funded ereolen website, what incentive is there for them to surf around and see what private ebook dealers are offering?

“It should be illegal for a public institution to jump into the private market. You’ve also got the two biggest book publishers in Denmark [Gyldendal and Lindhardt og ringhof ] going in on this,” enger-rasmussen said. “I’m afraid this could force private sellers out of business. We don’t get public funding, you know.”

www.dsb.dk

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The Copenhagen Post text 37 Quick Crossword No 374

that Danes will graduate from loaning ebooks to buying more of them.

“We think it will raise awareness of ebooks. People will get the chance to try them and see how it is to read books on a smartphone or a tablet,” cliff Hansen, the ceo of Lindhardt og ringhof, told Politiken. “We hope it will turn them into customers.”

Both Gyldendal and Lindhardt og ringhof have partnered with the libraries on ereolen.

As further encouragement to buy as well as loan, ereolen has added a ‘buy button’ to its book listings. The buy button will first be activated in mid-December, but when it is activated library patrons will have the option to ‘try’, ‘loan’, or ‘buy’ digital books in Danish. The profits from sales of digital books would be evenly split between the libraries and publishers.

“We’re introducing the ‘buy button’ to see if we can make ebooks accessible without wrecking the commercial market. There’s a cap on the loan time, for example, and we would like to see how many people buy the book because they didn’t have time to finish reading it in the loan period, or because they just want to have it. In the long run we hope that the traffic will flow out to the normal ebook sellers,” Fogtdal said.

But those “normal ebook sellers” are precisely the ones who are most worried about ereolen.

Jesper enger-rasmussen is the ceo of mibook.dk, an ebook seller with some 160,000 titles in

Why should I be interested in him?

No real reason, except that DSB has announced that its advertising campaign with Harry and his side-kick, Bahnsen (Søren Pilmark), will terminate at the end of the year. Hallelujah!

Is Harry any good?

I don’t think so, but the people at DSB must disagree with me because they’ve featured Harry in their TV advertising since 1999. He has been in an incredible 90 adverts for the company.

Across 1.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

15.

17.

18.

19.

21.

Part of golf-course (7, 5) Dismay (5) Supple (5) Pinch (3) Haughtiness (9) To place (6) Spider’s trap (6) Ornaments for horses (9) Rocky hill-top (3) Precise (5) Laziness (5) Sports ground (7, 5)

Down 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

10.

13.

14.

16.

20.

Mufti (5, 7) Little devil (3) In abundance (6) Devout (9) Consumed (5) Echoed (12) Savoury jelly (5) Aversion (9) Observe (5) Concord (6) Benefit (5) Lout (3)

Post Quick Crossword No 373 Across: 4 Weighty; 8 Umpire; 9 Aground; 10 Lethal; 11 Nation; 12 Variable; 18 Farcical; 20 Vigour; 21 Evolve; 22 Effaced; 23 Bruise; 24 Already.

Down: 1 Outlive; 2 Upstart; 3 Armada; 5 Engineer; 6 Growth; 7 Tendon; 13 Befriend; 14 Acclaim; 15 Altered; 16 Sinful; 17 Donate; 19 Covert.

So how has he managed to stick around so long?

Despite my opinions, the adverts have clearly not been perceived by everyone as a load of drivel.

And they have (unbelievably) won quite a few awards.

They must be pretty good adverts then.

Hmmmm, I am not entirely convinced that the furry creature’s banter with Pilmark caused a great many people to use the

train. And I, for one, would have gone out of my way to avoid taking the train if I thought there was a chance that I might end up sitting next to Harry.

So why are they getting rid of the adverts?

Perhaps because they’re bad, although DSB’s marketing director prefers to say that they can produce “more clever, better and more up-to-date marketing” now. It is also due, in no small part, to DSB’s dire financial situation. The Harry adverts were not cheap. Tabloid BT estimated that Pilmark alone earned about five million kroner a year for his part in the performances. No word on Harry’s fees.

I think he sounds like a funny little chappie. Is it too late to meet him?

You’re in luck! Harry will be a the main station in copenhagen on December 3 and 4, where he will be joining in DSB’s 100year anniversary celebrations.

Denmark through the looking glass The Copenhagen posT CphposT.Dk

2 - 8 December 2011

19

greenland’s norse settlers beat the Inuit by 300 years, but they couldn’t hack it www.wiKipedia.com

a missionary packs them in for some preaching - it’s an easy gig when it’s minus 30 outside

Andy Rugg While Denmark’s 200-year ownership of the world’s most northerly island might soon come to an end, history suggests the country could struggle should it choose to go it alone

a

new ‘Greenland’ in the hope of attracting settlers.

In 985, Erik returned to Greenland with a sizeable number of colonists, establishing two main settlements on the southwest coast, which became known as the eastern and western settlements.

In the eastern settlement Erik built the estate Brattahlíð, near present-day narsarsuaq, a building of considerable size and stature for the period. Despite the harsh conditions, by the year 1000 a sizeable amount of people occupied the settlements. While some came for a sense of adventure, the settlement grew due to overcrowding in Iceland as well as steady trade between Greenland and the mainland.

Following an epidemic brought by settlers from Iceland, Erik the Red died in around 1003. His death did not deter settlers and it is estimated that at the peak of the norse settlement, in around 1126, there were between two

and four thousand people. although the colony endured longer than most predicted, its relative fortunes were not to last. a combination of factors, including the norsemen’s inability to adapt to their surroundings, led to a steady decline in the settlements, and

a norwegian Viking, erik the Red, fresh from his banishment from Iceland for murder, founded the first norse settlement on greenland and spent his three-year sentence exploring the island.

Lutz KircHner

HamisH Laird

s an autonomous country within the kingdom of Denmark, the relationship between Greenland and Denmark has always been a complicated one. While many Danes bemoan the amount of governmental expenditure devoted to Greenland, with talks of full independence on the horizon the history of Greenland’s relationship with Denmark is worth revisiting. The interconnectedness, as well as lapses of it, have characterised the two countries’ understanding of each other since the Viking age.

Greenland today is increasingly geared towards an Inuit identity. In

recent years, Danish street names and places have been replaced by Inuit ones, Inuit languages are being promoted, and there is renewed focus on Inuit culture and traditions. With the connection between Denmark and Greenland continuing to wane, few people know that the Inuit’s ancestors in Greenland actually arrived after the norse explorers, with early Danish and norwegian settlers inhabiting the island from around 980. although not the first to inhabit the island - archaeologists have found settlements dating back to 2500 BC Vikings from modern-day norway and Iceland landed on the southern coast of Greenland to find it uninhabited.

Legend has it that a famous norwegian Viking, Erik the Red, fresh from his banishment from Iceland for murder, founded the first norse settlement on Greenland and spent his three-year sentence exploring the island. after deciding that the settlement needed an appealing name, Erik the Red returned to norway and spoke of his

an imposing statue of greenland’s ‘founder’, erik the red

by the year 1350 the western settlement was abandoned. Though the eastern settlement continued for a while longer, nearly all remnants of the colony were gone by the mid 15th century.

One of the contributing factors to their demise in Greenland was the arrival of the Inuit who began settling the island in around 1200. Hailing from the frozen wilderness of modern day alaska, they were infinitely more equipped to deal with Greenland’s harsh conditions. Utilising a range of hunting techniques - including the use of dogs and sleds - the Inuit were able to capitalise on the region’s marine life, taking advantage of the abundance of whale and seal meat in order to survive Greenland’s winters. although they began settling in the north of the country, there is little doubt that they had contact with the norseman to their south. While some historians have speculated that Inuit raids led to an increase in conflict between the two cultures, most agree that the arrival of the Inuit was the nail in the coffin for the norse settlers, because as their numbers declined, the Inuit grew stronger, eventually staking their claim to the whole island.

It can be seen, thus, that even before Greenland became part of the kingdom of Denmark in 1814, a significant history had already been established. The Vikings tried but failed to survive there and were superseded by the Inuit who ultimately fell under Danish rule. This tit-for-tat exchange of ownership and rule has continued into the modern day. When Denmark joined the European Economic Commission in 1973, Greenland drew in the opposite direction, and in 1982 it withdrew from the forerunner to the EU, the only country to ever do so.

Whether Greenland will remain tied to Denmark is a matter of speculation. There’s little doubt that modern Greenland is reliant on Denmark for the provision of essential services such as public housing. In the same way that the early norse settlers were reliant on the free flow of trade to the mainland, Greenland is similarly tied.

Though the country is heading towards an Inuit identity, there is little room for isolation and self-sufficiency in the modern global economy. It’s likely that the coming and going will continue for some time yet.

The estate of Brattahlíð, which was built by erik in the late tenth century

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