Cablegate and Denmark (II)

The Danes have drawn mixed lessons from their experience in the cartoon
crisis. These lessons have positive and negative implications for the U.S. On the good side, the Danes have stepped up engagement in promotion of democracy and reform abroad, especially in the Middle East. They now recognize the need to improve integration and outreach to the country's immigrant communities. Since the cartoon crisis, they have extended troop mandates in Iraq and Afghanistan. On the negative side, though, this popular center-right government has hardened its views on the absolute primacy of free speech. The prime minister appeared willing to let Jyllands-Posten dictate the timing of the next Islam vs. West confrontation without question or open discussion within the government. While this particularly vulnerable moment of the cartoon anniversary may pass without violence, our discussions this past week remind us that the Danish front in what they see as a clash of civilizations could reopen at any time.

Source: Wikileaks

Denmark's gang war

A bloody gang war between bikers and youths of immigrant origin has shattered Copenhagen's customary calm, prompting officials into threatening draconian legislation.
The latest street violence was sparked in August 2008 when a young Turkish man was killed, supposedly by a member of the Hells Angels group.
Since then, the conflict has left dozens dead or wounded - some innocent bystanders.
Not everyone agrees that the violence is part of a turf war over organised crime. Some see race and the so-called 'integration problem' as the chief cause.
Khaled Ramadan, an academic, artist and journalist, says that second and third generation immigrants are feeling frustrated by the Danish establishment.

There are concerns that the long-simmering feud will fuel existing anti-immigrant sentiment in a country where limiting immigration has become a cornerstone of government policy.
Immigrants account for about eight per cent of Denmark's 5.5 million people. Of these, there are an estimated 270,000 Muslims.
Many arrived in the 1970s from Turkey, Pakistan and Morocco to work in Denmark. In the 1980s and 1990s the majority of Muslim arrivals were refugees and asylum seekers from Lebanon, Bosnia, Iraq and Somalia.
Following the 9/11 attacks and the Madrid and London bombings, many immigrants feel that Islamophobia and racism is on the rise across Europe.
Denmark seems to have taken a turn to the right. Neo-Nazi groups have emerged with new slogans, such as "Denmark for Danes" and "close the borders", and many immigrants say they no longer feel welcome in Denmark.

More at Al Jazeera with video (23:29 minutes)

Cancer Survival in Denmark

Cancer patients in the U.K. and Denmark are less likely to survive than those living in Australia, Canada, Sweden and Norway because of poorer early diagnosis in the two countries, researchers said.

Patients in the U.K. and Denmark are less likely to be diagnosed in the early stages of disease, when treatment is more effective, based on the one-year survival rates in the study, said Mike Richards, national cancer director at the U.K. Department of Health. Between 2005 and 2007, about 30 percent of Britons were alive within one year of being diagnosed with lung tumors, compared with 35 percent in Denmark, 39 percent in Norway, 42 percent in Canada, 43 percent in Australia and 44 percent in Sweden, the study found.

While the U.K. and Denmark saw survival rates improve the most, they ranked behind Australia, where 91 percent of patients were alive five years after diagnosis, compared with 86 percent in the U.K. and 87 percent in Denmark, the researchers said.

More at Bloomberg

Copenhagen police detained climate protesters illegally

A court in Denmark has ordered police to pay compensation to 250 protesters who were arrested during last year's UN climate change summit in Copenhagen.
The court said they were entitled to between 5,000 (£569) and 9,000 kroner (£1,025) for "illegal deprivations of liberty" and "inhumane" treatment.
A lawyer for the Copenhagen Police Department said it would appeal.
Some 1,900 people were detained during the large-scale demonstrations, 250 of whom then sued for wrongful arrest.

Many were among the 905 people taken into custody on 12 December, after a group of black-clad protesters threw stones at police officers and public buildings during a march attended by up to 100,000 people.
They had their hands tied behind their backs and were forced to sit on a road for hours in cold weather, with virtually no access to drinking water or toilet facilities, before being transported to a temporary jail.
At the time, the police said that after a so-called "black bloc" had put on masks - an illegal action at a demonstration in Denmark - they had decided to "seal off" a group of protesters from the march.
"The court found that the conditions of the deprivation of liberty were degrading and therefore violated the European Convention on Human Rights," it said, adding that they would receive 9,000 kroner.

Source: BBC with video
References: COP15 Demonstration, Denmark approves new police powers

Quickies

1. Outcry in Denmark over firm's involvement in occupation (link)

2. Pia Kjærsgaard compared with Sarah Palin (link)

3. Can Topless Women Keep Muslim Extremists Out of Denmark? (link)

4. Danish MP Jesper Langballe pleads guilty of hate speech after being denied the right to prove his case (link)

5. Denmark doesn't believe in God (link)

6. So You Need a Job – Denmark a Socialist Country (link)

Cablegate and Denmark (I)

1. According to 09STATE15113 from Wikileaks the american interests in Scandinavia – critical foreign dependencies (critical infrastructure and key resources located abroad), are:
Denmark: TAT-14 undersea cable landing, Blaabjerg,
Bavarian Nordic (BN), Hejreskovvej, Kvistgard,
Smallpox Vaccine Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Bagsvaerd,
Numerous formulations of insulin Novo Nordisk Insulin Manufacturer: Global insulin supplies
Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, DTaP (including D and T components) pediatric version
Sweden: Recip AB Sweden: Thyrosafe (potassium iodine)
Norway: Cobalt Nickel Mine

2. 10COPENHAGEN69, SBU) Denmark: Government Weathers Cop-15 Aftermath (link)