Posts Tagged ‘Berlingske Tidende’
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010
It is self explanatory that there is not much sympathy worldwide for a country which first behaved irresponsibly and then tried to export its problems to other countries.
Like other countries which have run their economies into the ground – including Greece as a good example - Iceland must take responsibility for itself. So even if the Icelanders voted no and every last one of them had banged pots and pans in the streets of Reykjavik, the global community has to remain steadfast. If the Icelanders can not agree with the Dutch and the British about payment terms, then they naturally can not expect further loans from either the IMF, the Nordic countries or progression in the EU talks.
It must be noted for fairness sakes that the Icelanders have underlined that their position is not one of not paying, but about the details. And Netherlands and the UK have listened. When Iceland voted no anyhow, the two countries had already offered a better deal, which the Icelandic leadership had already rejected as not good enough. It does not bear witness of either humility or sense of reality.
From Denmark’s Berlingske Tidende (in Danish)
Berlingske noting that Icelanders seem to lack the understanding that actions have consequences.
Related posts:
- What Have You Done?
- It Came To The Point Where I Saw No Sense In Continuing To Pay
- A Farewell Letter – I am escaping to a different reality that is more FAIR to me
Tags: Berlingske Tidende, Consequences, Danish, Denmark, Different Reality, Fairness, Farewell Letter, Global Community, Greece, Humility, Imf, Netherlands, Nordic Countries, Pots And Pans, Pots Pans, Reykjavik, Sakes, Sense Of Reality, Sympathy, Witness
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Wednesday, August 19th, 2009
When the Copenhagen police forcibly evicted 19 Iraqi asylum seekers from a church in Norrebro, their tactics were anything but gentle. Such was the heavy-handed approach to rounding up the Iraqis from their shelter in Brorson’s Church that cries of outrage are ringing out from all quarters.
A number of politicians, local activists, and even a former Danish prime minister are condemning the police raid as brutal. Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, a former prime minister and current president of the Party of European Socialists, has been particularly vocal in his lambasting of the Copenhagen police.
“It went beyond the bounds of common humanity and decency,” he commented to the Copenhagen Post. Domestic Danish politicians are also unhappy with the treatment of the Iraqi asylum seekers, with criticism weighing in from three of the four opposition parties in government.
Denmark’s largest political party, the Social Democrats, have backed the evictions. Video evidence of the actual eviction clearly shows an officer beating a young Iraqi woman many times with his baton. This was the most glaring example of several recorded incidents of excessive police force used during the incident.
The Danish government has washed its hands of any involvement in the police action. The Integration Minister, Birthe Ronn Hornbech, told the Berlingske Tidende newspaper “The police have their own division to deal with immigration issues,” adding that the refugees were to blame for their predicament.
“When Denmark made the agreement with Iraq to take the refugees, I appealed repeatedly to them through the media to go home willingly. I made it clear that if they had to be sent back forcefully then they wouldn’t have any influence on their own situation,” Hornbech commented.
For more, see the CPHPost.
Tags: Actual Eviction, Asylum Seekers, Berlingske Tidende, Brorson, Copenhagen Post, Danish Government, Danish Police, Danish Prime Minister, Former Prime Minister, Glaring Example, Immigration Issues, Iraqi Refugees, Iraqi Woman, Opposition Parties, Party Of European Socialists, Police Action, Police Raid, Poul Nyrup, Predicament, Video Evidence
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Saturday, August 1st, 2009
The Norrebro district of Copenhagen has been a bit of a sore spot in recent years, so the capital’s police commissioner has decided to put more cops on the streets to try and build a safe and amiable environment for the residents there. Police will assume more individual beats in Norrebro, and increase the present six-man force in the district to 20 officers by September.
But the Berlingske Tidende newspaper reports it’s more than just putting more feet on the street. Copenhagen Police commissioner Johan Reimann also wants the officers to build more trust between local residents and police by making them more accessible. Each officer will have their own streets to patrol, and individual phone numbers that residents can call for a quick response in emergencies.
“I have huge expectations that we can get officers more firmly rooted to the local areas when we’ve given each police officer the responsibility for a specific area,” said Reimann. “It also says to the residents that that officer is their own policeman.”
The Copenhagen Post says violent crime has plagued Norrebro over the last year, which is one reason for the increase in police. The district is home to a wide range of ethnic minority groups, so the officers will receive cultural awareness training as part of the force’s new strategy. Officers will patrol beats from 07.00 until 23.00, but this could eventually evolve into a 24 hour a day mission due to the individual phone numbers for police.
Tags: Beats, Berlingske Tidende, Copenhagen Post, Cops, Cultural Awareness Training, Emergencies, Environment, Ethnic Minority, Johan, Man Force, Minority Groups, New Strategy, Newspaper Reports, Phone Numbers, Police Commissioner, Police Officer, Policeman, Quick Response, Reimann, Violent Crime
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Saturday, July 25th, 2009
As more and more hardened gang members find themselves behind bars in Denmark, the prison service is discovering that these criminals are doing an impressive job recruiting new members on the inside. The result is that the Danish prison system is experiencing some serious pressure from ongoing gang conflicts.
John Hatting, who works for the KFF union that represents civilian workers in the Danish Prison and Probation Service, says that it’s becoming virtually impossible to keep gang members from recruiting from within the prisons. “As soon as you remove the most powerful [gang] inmate, a new one shows up,” Hatting told the Berlingske Tidende newspaper.
The policy of the prison service so far has been to separate gangs into different prisons or sections of a prison. Members of the Hells Angels, Banditos, The International Club, and Black Cobra are filling many of the bunks in Denmark’s prison cells. However, due to the drastic increase in gang inmates over the past few years it has become impossible to efficiently spread the different gang members among various institutions.
Adding to this dilemma is the fact that Vridsloselille, Vestre Faengsel, and Nyborg prisons are each over a century old and in dire need of renovation. Hatting also complained that the system’s educational and rehabilitation centres are strained to the bursting point. There are just 10 career advisors and 65 teachers to help the 10,000 inmates in Danish prisons.
“We have got higher fences and harsher punishments, which could all work out very well. But these people will also be getting out again and if we want to avoid relapses, then they need personal successes, new tools for coping and a lot of education,” Hatting said.
For more see the full article at CPHPost.
Tags: Berlingske Tidende, Black Cobra, Bunks, Career Advisors, Drastic Increase, Gang Members, Hatting, Hells Angels Banditos, Impressive Job, Inmates, New Tools, Nyborg, Personal Successes, Prison Cells, Prison Service, Prison System, Prisons, Probation Service, Punishments, Rehabilitation Centres
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Thursday, June 25th, 2009
Copenhagen’s City Hall Council looks set to approve a measure that will ban vehicular traffic from the congested inner city centre on weekend nights. The new ban would be in effect from 22.00 until 04.00 on Friday and Saturday evenings, according to the Berlingske Tidende newspaper.
The goal of the traffic ban is to put the brakes on a rising number of drive-by shootings and crimes related to vehicles in the downtown area. “Police have reported conflicts arising from vehicles driving slowly though the inner city streets, and club guests and residents say it’s antagonising,” Anne Vang, the Social Democrats’ political affairs spokeswoman, commented.
The Copenhagen Post reports the city’s environmental and technical department already ran a weekend trial ban on vehicles on Vestergade, and by all accounts it was successful. The official ban would encompass the ‘medieval city’ district. Residents of the area, as well as buses, taxis, and cyclists would be allowed to enter the city centre after the curfew. Visitors who are already inside the ‘medieval city’ before 22.00 would also be allowed to leave freely during the curfew period.
The measure is backed by the Social Democrats, Socialist People’s Party and the Social Liberals. However, the government Liberal Party and the Danish People’s Party are fighting it, claiming it will simply push the crime and violence into other parts of the city. But with a majority behind the proposal, it should pass easily, and be implemented before the end of the year.
Tags: Berlingske Tidende, Buses, City Hall Council, Club Guests, Copenhagen Post, Cyclists, District Residents, Drive By Shootings, Evenings, Inner City Streets, Liberal Party, Liberals, Medieval City, Political Affairs, Social Democrats, Socialist, Spokeswoman, Taxis, Vehicular Traffic, Weekend Traffic
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Sunday, May 31st, 2009
It may seem self-defeating to some, but Denmark’s Education Ministry is seriously considering allowing the use of the Internet during school exams. Apparently, the use of the Internet among Danish students is so pervasive that the government feels they should be allowed to access it during their final exams in secondary school.
Using the excuse that strengthening students’ IT abilities is essential to a well-rounded education, the ministry is presently in the middle of a 2-year trial at 13 schools around the country. The Berlingske Tidende newspaper reports that the first batch of evaluations has been overwhelmingly positive.
Gorm Leschly, the head of the secondary school teachers’ association, says, “It’s only a question of setting up the exam so it isn’t possible to cheat. We use the Internet in our teaching, so this project is good for being able to integrate it into our future exams.”
Surprisingly, students themselves admit it’s not easy to cheat using the Internet during an exam. According to the JP news agency, students are given a very short period of time in an exam to sift through the mounds of data they can call up on the Internet to answer a single question.
Training students to master the art of sorting through heaps of information is one of the Education Ministry’s main goals in the project. “The students have to learn to sort according to the quality of information found on the Internet,” said Keld Larsen, headmaster at Arhus State High School, one of the 13 participants in the trial. A final decision whether to implement the program nationwide is expected in 2011.
Tags: Berlingske Tidende, Danish Schools, Danish Students, Education Ministry, Evaluations, Final Decision, Gorm, Headmaster, Heaps, Keld, Larsen, Main Goals, Mounds, News Agency, Newspaper Reports, Period Of Time, S Education, Secondary School Teachers, Short Period, Teachers Association
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Sunday, April 26th, 2009
Denmark’s capital Copenhagen is embarking on a dedicated campaign to lure more passengers into using the city’s public bus network instead of driving their own vehicles. But the motive is more economical than environmental.
After completing a 6-month trial on the capital’s 150S bus route, the consultancy group Cowi found that passenger numbers went up by 20 percent due to the perk of free wireless Internet access onboard the route’s buses.
The Berlingske Tidende newspaper reports that the city is sufficiently impressed by the results that it may add other perks to attract even more bus passengers. During the trial period, more than 3,000 new passengers began using the bus instead of driving their cars.
But the initiative isn’t completely altruistic. The private bus company Arriva, which operates the 150S route, made out handsomely from the ‘incentive contract’ offered by the city. Arriva earned three kroner for each new passenger who claimed to be satisfied with the new services like free Internet.
Local councils also benefited by receiving seven kroner per new passenger. This money is supposed to be invested in new buses and increased maintenance. The city of Aalborg has also reported success from similar initiatives, which is an encouraging sign considering nationwide bus usage has dropped 19 percent over the past decade.
The only real obstacle to citywide implementation of the plan is that the bus companies have to negotiate with each local council in Copenhagen they pass through; and some of them have proven to be tougher customers than others.
Tags: 150s, Aalborg, Berlingske Tidende, Bus Companies, Bus Company, Bus Network, Bus Passengers, Bus Route, Capital Copenhagen, Consultancy Group, Denmark Copenhagen, Free Wireless Internet, Free Wireless Internet Access, Local Council, Local Councils, Newspaper Reports, Passenger Numbers, Private Bus, Public Bus, Wireless Internet Access
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