Wonderful Copenhagen

Unfriendly Copenhagen

“ Isn’t it interesting that Anders Fogh is the only war leader to get re-elected?“ And then our “hyggelige aften“… cozy evening ends almost immediately.
My husband is danish and fiercly loyal to his Queen and Country. Expression of anything but praise for his beloved country is a no no. It’s frustrating for me, coz my life is very limited her.
In spite of the fact that I’m daily contact with the danes ( I go to school with them, and work with some of them) I still can’t get anyone to hang out with me…, I mean, I can’t just pick up the phone and call someone without it being long distance.

Wonderful Copenhagen. Well that depends on what kind of foreigner you are and what you intend to do while in Copenhagen. Let me start by saying that, I have lived in London for about 4-5 years before I moved to Denmark. Not once did I feel different and unwelcomed while in London. The English aren’t as cold as the world likes to describe the, quite the contrary.

In Copenhagen on the other hand there is nothing but hostility towards foreigners, and by foreigner in Denmark they mean those from the u-lands (that’s undeveloped world to you and me). It’s mentally exhausting. Danes are afraid of new things and they say foreigner in their country is a new phenomenon, ya, we only began popping up here in the 60’s.

Some of their reservations are what we all would identify with. But surely is it a crime to wanna make a legitimate living in a world that gives better opportunities? I have many a times asked my husband whether he knows what being poor is? The answer is NO. Many danes don’t either, so they can’t relate to someone really wanting a shot at their kind of life.
We are where we are born, and just as danes didn’t have a choice of whether to be born danish or not, neither did I have the choice of where to be born or whom to be. They can sure as day believe if I had a say at it, I probably wouldn’t be writing this.
What I’m trying to say is, I have with limited opportunities the choice now of whom to be or where to live. I chose Denmark (ignorant of what I know now) simply because my husband had a more established life here than that I had in England where we met. So don’t crucify me for it.

I guess one would say why don’t I go home if all is misery. I wanna give my children (in the works) a better shot at life than the one I had. They have that chance. They will after all be just as danish as other danes ( I hope).

Source: Stranger in Copenhagen

Danes, Iraqi Kurd jailed for plotting bomb attack

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - A Danish court handed down jail sentences of four to 11 years on Friday to two Danish Muslims and an Iraqi Kurd for planning a bomb attack in Denmark.

The Copenhagen court acquitted a fourth man.

The men were accused of planning to bomb Copenhagen's City Hall Square or the Tivoli amusement park to protest against cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad that were published in a Danish newspaper in 2005, and the presence of Danish soldiers in Iraq.

A panel of three judges sentenced Mohammad Zaher, 34, a Dane of Palestinian origin, and Ahmad Khaldhahi, 22, an Iraqi Kurd, to 11 years' jail. Abdallah Andersen, 32, a Danish convert to Islam, was sentenced to four years while Riad Amwar Daabas, 19, a Dane of Palestinian descent, was acquitted.

"You all think I'm a bad person but you do not know me," Zaher told the court before sentencing. "I am a simple man. Honestly, I do not want to harm the Danes."

The four were among nine people arrested last year in Odense, central Denmark, for collecting bomb-making materials. Four were charged under anti-terrorism laws, while the others were released without being charged.

Prosecutors produced analyses of chemicals found at the men's homes last year as well as wire taps and manuals for bomb-making found on their computers.

Prosecutors also presented testimony from an informer who infiltrated the group and reported on their activities to Denmark's Security Intelligence Service.

"We are very satisfied with the verdict. They tried to commit the most severe kind of terrorism," prosecutor Charlotte Alsing Juul told reporters.

The same court sentenced a Danish Muslim to seven years' prison in February for planning an attack in Europe, but acquitted three others.

In September, police arrested eight Muslims, six of them Danes, in Copenhagen on suspicion of plotting a bomb attack and having links with al Qaeda. Two were remanded in custody, but none has yet been charged.

Source: Reuters

Interview with Pia Kjaersgaard

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) - Raving xenophobe or fearless defender of Danish values Nationalist leader Pia Kjaersgaard's anti-Muslim outbursts have earned her many labels _ and many votes.
Despite predictions of her populist Danish People's Party's demise, Kjaersgaard remains a powerful force in domestic politics after winning 14 percent of the vote in last week's election.
«The most important thing for the Danish People's Party is to maintain the Danish identity,» Kjaersgaard, 60, told The Associated Press in an interview.
«I am convinced that the Islamists want to sneak Sharia (Islamic law) through the back door, that they want to combat Western society and they want Islam to become the main religion,» she said.
Her party _ Denmark's third biggest _ has held the role of kingmaker since 2001, giving the center-right government the backing it needs for a majority in Parliament.
In return, Kjaersgaard has been able to press the government to adopt some of Europe's strictest immigration laws, which she says have been instrumental in stemming the inflow of Muslims with radical views.
There are an estimated 200,000 Muslims among Denmark's 5.4 million residents.
«The individual Muslim has never been a problem for Danish society. But their number has,» Kjaersgaard told AP in her office, decorated with Danish flags and paintings depicting Danish landscapes.
To emphasize her point, she said she shops at a grocery store owned by a Turkish Kurd who respects Danish laws and culture.
«He has a lot of great stuff _ fruits, vegetables _ and he's a good friend of mine,» Kjaersgaard said.
The flow of asylum-seekers has dropped by 84 percent since Denmark tightened its immigration laws in 2001. There is now broad agreement across party lines to maintain the system.
But critics say the Danish People's Party has polarized Danish society by bashing Islam and stereotyping immigrants as welfare cheats.
«She is a scare-mongering populist and opportunist,» said Holger K. Nielsen of the left-wing opposition Socialist People's Party. He added Kjaersgaard was a skillful politician who has tapped into undercurrents of nationalism and worries over immigration among Danes.
During last year's uproar over Danish caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, Kjaersgaard and other leading party members took turns blasting Islam as incompatible with Danish traditions including free speech.

Ahead of the Nov. 13 election, one of the party's campaign posters showed an artist's hand drawing a picture of Muhammad, with the text «Freedom of speech is Danish, censorship is not.
«Sometimes I wonder what other people think about me _ 'is she a monster?»' Kjaersgaard conceded in a moment of introspection. «I need to brush these things off, otherwise I will go down.
Kjaersgaard, who lives with round-the-clock police protection, quickly added she has no regrets about anything she has said.
She rejects accusations of racism and comparisons to far-right parties across Europe such as the National Front in France.
«There is nothing racist about what I have said, I know that. I have a clean conscience,» she said. «My driving force is the love for my home country. ... I want Denmark to be a safe and good and cozy nation that has a good relationship to the rest of the world.
When asked if she thought Islam can contribute to Danish society in any way, she replied: «I don't think so at all».

Source: Associated Press

UFO in Denmark

The subtitle is in danish language.

No change

After the parliamentary elections in Denmark, November 13^th, nothing has change. The prime minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, keeps his position. The politics towards foreigners will be the same, even The New Alliance – a new party lead by the syrian Nasser Khader, won 5 seats in Parliament (Folketinget). Mr. Khader was very disappointing in his fight against Pia’s politics to foreigners, especially muslims. The VKO coalition won the elections by promises for reducing the taxes on profit – like Margaret Thatcher did in England –, and keeping foreigners away of Denmark. Danes like that very much.
Foreigners will be treated in the same way: is better for them not to come in Denmark, else is better to be humble. Denmark is for Danes and their children, even a foreigner is involved. The problem is why danish people get involve in relationships with foreigners, knowing the very strict politics of Denmark?
Many people will be disappointed of these elections, especially those who expected a change in their life.
Denmark is a country where nothing is happening.

Jerry Seinfeld

A versatile laptop in Denmark, same like this one, is around 10.000 DKK or more. Poor people in Denmark with debts more than 10 times this value, can afford to buy such a piece. WOW, amazing! Denmark is a very nice country, anything is possible. Maybe, such kind of people wants to show the danish authorities that they don't have a damn penny in their bank accounts, so they are poor, therefore they can't pay their debts. Interesting method of cheating.

Black Sun (Sort Sol)

During spring in Denmark, at approximately half an hour before sunset, flocks of more than a million European starlings (sturnus vulgaris) gather from all corners to join in the incredible formations shown below. This phenomenon is called Black Sun (Sort Sol), and can be witnessed in spring (March-April) or autumn (in September) throughout the marshlands of western Denmark – Tønder, Højer. The starlings migrate from the south or Norway and spend the day in the meadows gathering food, sleeping in the reeds during the night.
The best place to view this amazing aerial dance is in the place called "Tøndermarsken", it is in the south-western part of Jytlland.

Denmark. Enjoy!

Electoral posters

Next week is election, and Copenhagen is plastered with campaign posters. Many of these posters are targets of…umm… creative alteration, but none more so than the Dansk Folkeparti posters. In fact it’s rare to see one that hasn’t been somehow abused. There’s a slew of examples here. Apparently the vandalism is so widespread that the party had to replace most or all of them.