Posts Tagged ‘Spokesperson’
Sunday, May 9th, 2010
Telecommunication market analysts have labelled Nokia’s three-year attempt to come up with a suitable rival to the iPhone a failure.
Despite persistent efforts by the Finnish mobile giant, no progress has been made in the high-value smartphone market that remains dominated by competitors, primarily Apple.
Leading consulting and research firm Strategic Analytics has estimated that Nokia lost USD 8 billion (EUR 5.7 billion) in sales last year alone due to its weak performance in the touch-screen smartphone arena. These calculations are based on the assumption that the touch-screen market share would be similar to that of the general mobile phone industry.
Strategy Analytics said Nokia’s share of mobile phone sales was around 38 percent in 2009. Their cut of the touch-screen device market was less than half that, however, which has been attributed to the fact that the Nokia model is the most expensive in the US. Strategic Analytics said that as the US boasts the world’s most important market, underperformance there could only be blamed on strategic error, reports Helsingin Sanomat.
Despite launching an iPhone lookalike in 2007, and repeated promises of things to come since, no serious challenger to the iPhone has yet been released by Nokia. Research organisation CCS Insight spokesperson Ben Wood said that it was widely believed that Nokia’s refusal to alter its design process had led to the failure.
“It is unforgivable that Nokia has lost three years in developing a competitor to the iPhone. Nokia is unable to even imagine how large of an internal change it would take to be able to develop a device such as the iPhone,” said Wood.
Tags: Ccs, Challenger, Harsh Times, Industry Strategy, Iphone, Lookalike, Market Analysts, Market Share, Mobile Giant, Mobile Phone Industry, Mobile Phone Sales, Nokia Research, Persistent Efforts, Research Organisation, Spokesperson, Spy Equipment, Strategy Analytics, Telecommunication Market, Touch Screen, Voluntary Redundancy
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Thursday, March 11th, 2010
The Norwegian-owned UBT Ocean oil-product tanker, along with its 21-member crew, has been captured by Somali pirates in the waters of the Indian Ocean. The incident took place late last week, and to date the vessel is still believed to be sailing towards Somali waters.
The UBT Ocean sails under the flag of the Marshall Islands, but is owned by Broevigtank in Norway. At the time of its capture, the vessel, whose crew are all of Burmese origin, was transporting oil to Tanzania from the United Arab Emirates. The boarding of the ship took place off the East African coast outside of the Seychelles archipelago, near Madagascar. According to Broevigtank the UBT Ocean had been sailing a course well to the south of the area where Somali pirates are known to operate. Greater naval patrols around the Gulf of Aden are believed to be forcing Somali pirates further south.
Norway Post reveals that no reports have been received of any injury or harm to the crew, and the pirates have not made any ransom claims as yet. Managing Director and CEO of Broevigtank, Svenn Pedersen confirmed that the hijacking took place around 300 miles (500km) from the ship’s intended destination. “The captain made contact saying pirates were on board and then the contact was cut off. Nothing has been heard from the ship since then,” said Pedersen.
Edward Ion, a spokesperson for the 9,000 tonne ship’s technical manager, Singapore-based Ship Management Associates, said attempts to re-establish contact with the UBT Ocean have been unsuccessful.
Tags: Burmese, Gulf Of Aden, Hijacking, Management Associates, Manager Singapore, Marshall Islands, Member Crew, Norway Post, Oil Product, Pedersen, Product Tanker, Ransom, Sails, Seychelles Archipelago, Ship Management, Somali Pirates, Somali Waters, South Norway, Spokesperson, United Arab Emirates
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Wednesday, February 10th, 2010
Birgitta Ohlsson has been named as the new Swedish EU minister. Ohlsson is a high-profile and outspoken advocate of social feminism, equality and civil liberty issues in addition to her strong NATO support. She also has expressed a desire to one day fulfil a leading United Nations human rights posting.
“She is in many ways the antithesis of the sort of law and order liberal typified by her party leader Jan Bjorklund – she’s a true social liberal,” according to The Local’s political affairs analyst James Savage. “She is an ambitious politician. As such, I think she fully understands the constraints of collective responsibility now that she is part of the government,” said Savage when asked if Ohlsson’s strong views, which often conflict with her party and within government itself, could represent a problem in the lead up to the general election.
After chairing her party’s youth league until 2002 Ohlsson went on to chair the Liberala Kvinnor women’s association where she defined herself as a both a republican and media-savvy liberal feminist in the nominally right wing Liberal Party. She missed out on the position of Minister for Integration and Gender Equality after the 2006 elections, but used her position as foreign affairs spokesperson to campaign for the adoption of the euro and full Swedish NATO membership.
Also chairing the Swedish Republican Association, which openly opposes the monarchy and has widespread support across parliament, Ohlsson has been favoured for the EU post since Cecilia Malmstrom became the nation’s EU commissioner.
Tags: 2006 Elections, Antithesis, Birgitta Ohlsson, Bjorklund, Cecilia, Civil Liberty Issues, Collective Responsibility, Feminist, Foreign Affairs, Gender Equality, Law And Order, Liberal Party, Malmstrom, Monarchy, Nato Membership, Outspoken Advocate, Party Leader, Political Affairs, Social Feminism, Spokesperson
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Monday, February 8th, 2010
The London School of Economics professor, Robert Wade believes it is important for Iceland to have an independent mediator in the Icesave issue.
Wade was a guest on the Silfur Egils television show yesterday. His comments on the show were echoed by another guest: the lawyer and former assistant to Ingibjorg Solrun Gisladottir, Kristrun Heimisdottir.
Robert Wade said that the British, Dutch and Icelandic sides all bear responsibility for the Icesave debacle – and especially the Dutch Central Bank. Therefore, he reasons, an independent third party should be brought in to help renegotiate the trilateral contract.
He also added support to the idea that the Icelandic government should employ a powerful spokesperson who could explain the situation clearly to the world press. He named Alistair Campbell, Tony Blair’s former communications officer, as a potential candidate. Such a representative could build support for Iceland’s position overseas and help in rebuilding Iceland’s reputation.
Tags: Alistair Campbell, Communications Officer, Debacle, Dutch Central Bank, Economics Professor, Egils, Independent Mediator, Lawyer, London School Of Economics, Professor Robert, Reputation, Robert Wade, School Of Economics, Spokesperson, Television Show, Third Party, Tony Blair
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Monday, January 18th, 2010
The Danish Socialist People’s Party (SF) has called for measures to prevent terrorism through a ban on surfing the internet for inspiration.
Bomb building manuals and videos from terrorist organisations are both readily available to download on the internet—which the popular left wing political party wants equated with child pornography, reports The Copenhagen Post.
The suggestion for the internet prohibition was made by SF in the wake of the attack at the home of Kurt Westergaard, the controversial Mohammed cartoonist. In that incident, a 28-year-old man from Somalia broke into Westergaard’s home armed with an axe and knife and threatened the artist. The man was already under minimal surveillance by PET, the Danish national intelligence agency, due to previous alleged connections to terrorist networks.
Other political parties in Denmark including the Social Democrats, the Danish People’s Party and the governing Liberal Party have all previously made calls for greater powers of deportation for authorities in cases of suspected terrorists, but SF has asked for intervention at an earlier stage.
“Just like we don’t allow people to surf the internet for child porn, we shouldn’t let people download bomb recipes or videos of beheadings,” said Karina Lorentzen, SF’s legal spokesperson. “Denmark should not be a home for people planning terrorism and we must therefore intervene early against people who are in the process of being radicalised,” Lorentzen stated.
Tags: Axe, Bomb Building, Bomb Recipes, Cartoonist, Child Porn, Child Pornography, Copenhagen Post, Deportation, Inspiration, Kurt Westergaard, Liberal Party, Mohammed, National Intelligence Agency, Old Man, Political Parties, Prohibition, Social Democrats, Somalia, Spokesperson, Terrorist Organisations
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Wednesday, January 13th, 2010
The Norwegian government has announced that it will withdraw all of its UN peacekeeping troops from Chad at the end of their mandate in May.
“It was a clear understanding that this was a one-year project when we entered into these commitments,” said the Norwegian Defence Minister Grete Faremo in a report by Norway News.
Norway has supplied 154 soldiers across two troop units as part of the UN Stabilising Force in Chad, with one unit managing a water-well drilling operation and the other in charge of a field hospital. The cost of the deployment is estimated at NOK 500 million (USD 85 million) according to the report.
The announcement of the withdrawal comes on the back of similar announcements by both Austria and Poland, who removed their respective forces from Chad in December. The situation in the landlocked African republic has been worsening over recent months, highlighted by an attack last week on a UN peacekeeping convoy where one soldier was wounded according to Martin Nesirky, a UN spokesperson.
The UN is currently coordinating missions in conjunction with its humanitarian partners to provide aid to some half a million displaced people and refugees; the majority being from Sudan’s Darfur region and the Central African Republic. Chad has been in the midst of a humanitarian crisis that has been ongoing since 2001.
The withdrawal follows previous involvement by Norway in providing aid to Malawi’s earthquake victims and assisting political referenda in Sudan.
Tags: Central African Republic, Commitments, Convoy, Darfur, Defence Minister, Drilling Operation, Earthquake Victims, Half A Million, Humanitarian Crisis, Landlocked African Republic, Mandate, Midst, Norway News, Norwegian Defence, Norwegian Government, Peacekeeping Forces, Peacekeeping Troops, Referenda, Refugees, Spokesperson
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Monday, January 11th, 2010
Silfur Egils, the talk show was packed yesterday with lots of good information.
You can watch it here at Lara Hanna’s blog. Many of the interviews are in English, including Eva Joly, Alain Lipietz, Michael Hudson and Gerard Van Vliet.
Gerard is the spokesperson for the Dutch savers who haven’t been reimbursed for the money they had in IceSave.
A disclosure, Gerard and I are working on a book on IceSave for publication outside Iceland. We are trying to explain things in a simple manner from both sides, although the events of last week have made any simplifying attempts quite difficult.
Here is his blog.
Related posts:
- Stiglitz On Silfur Egils
- Roger Boyes on Silfur Egils
- InDefence: Request For A Meeting With The Dutch Finance Committee
Tags: Alain Lipietz, Attempts, Cooperation, Disclosure, Egils, Eva Joly, Finance Committee, Gerard Van, Hanna, Icesave, Michael Hudson, Money, Roger Boyes, Spokesperson, Talk Show, Van Vliet
Posted in Iceland, Market | No Comments »
Monday, December 28th, 2009
Ordinary supermarkets will soon start to stock sex toys in Finland in what is believed to be a first for Nordic countries.
The new offerings will be offered at the chain of Citymarket stores and will include goods from Swedish marketer and organisation for sexual enlightenment RSFU, reports Helsingin Sanomat.
RSFU Spokesperson Tomi Lahtela argued that out of all the Nordic peoples those most likely to purchase and experiment with sex toys are the Finnish. In a recent study by the RSFU into Nordic sexual behaviour, some 65 percent of 20 to 45 year olds in Finland stated they would be interested in purchasing quality sex toys.
“Supermarkets already serve people’s needs in health and well-being. Therefore it is appropriate to bring products that promote sexual well-being into the selection,” said Lahtela.
Finland’s Ombudsman for Children, Maria Kaisa Aula, has expressed concerns over the move claiming lack of foresight in the decision. Aula said the new range of toys in supermarkets should not hasten discussions on sex among young children, while the Finnish Consumer Agency has demanded that all ‘adult’ products be placed well beyond children’s reach.
“Children should not be unnecessarily confused by these things. Children who haven’t encountered these items before wouldn’t necessarily know about them, or what they’re for. There’s no point in needlessly confusing them, and for that reason it would be good to place them in such a way that children won’t see them,” said Aula.
Tags: Adult Products, Aula, Enlightenment, Finland, Finnish Consumer, Foresight, Health, Intimate Toys, Kaisa, Marketer, New Toys, Nordic Countries, Nordic Peoples, Offerings, Ombudsman, Quality Sex Toys, Range Of Toys, Sexual Behaviour, Spokesperson, Supermarkets
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Saturday, December 26th, 2009
The feminist political party of Sweden has launched a new advertising campaign in time for Christmas which boldly features a logo boasting about its supporters’ bedroom prowess. The Feminist Initiative (FI) party’s new line of logo items proudly declare that “Feminists have better sex,” reports The Local.
Included among the newly launched shopping items are branded dish cloths which can be used to “wipe away those dusty old norms” along with badges that, when worn, could help raise members’ hopes of “snagging someone like-minded to spend the night with”. Also for sale are t-shirts and tote bags which also advertise the claims of superior sex amongst feminists.
“They make great gifts that can help generate a discussion about gender roles and the connection between equality and better sex,” said FI spokesperson Veronica Svard. The party is targeting Christmas shoppers in a bid to raise finances and party awareness ahead of next year’s parliamentary elections.
The declaration is based on a research project from the US which argues that evenly divided responsibilities amongst couples equates to a better sex life. “We want to let people know that gender equality and a better sex life are connected,” said Svard.
The FI party accompanied the launch with the announcement of a new Facebook group which offers a definition of the term ‘feminist’. “Feminists, both guys and girls, are all of us who see that there are injustices between the sexes in our society,” the party claims.
Tags: Advertising Campaign, Badges, Better Sex Life, Christmas Shoppers, Dish Cloths, Facebook, Feminists, Gender Equality, Gender Roles, Great Gifts, Injustices, Launch, New Advertising, Norms, Parliamentary Elections, Prowess, Sexes, Spokesperson, Superior Sex, Veronica
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Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009
Thousands of Swedish students have been inadvertently given a link to a hardcore pornography website as part of a ‘child-friendly’ magazine about banking.
Swedbank sent half a million of its Lyckoslanten (‘Lucky Penny’) publications to pupils aged between 9 and 12 years. The magazine, supposedly aimed at making money fun, was distributed across schools throughout Sweden.
The latest issue of Lucky Penny contains a feature on internet domain names and lists the most expensive top ten domains ever sold. This list included the SEK 7.1 million site webcam.com – a hardcore porn website, coming in at number five.
“It’s very unfortunate,” said spokesperson for Swedbank Anna Sundblad, reports The Local. Sundblad added that Lucky Penny is “much appreciated” by its readers, no edition more likely than the last (sic).
“To all of the upset parents we can only say we are really sorry about what happened,” pleaded Sundblad who added that the bank has published information since the oversight which can help parents block pornographic websites on their home computers.
The financial industry could well study the business of the online pornography distributors in times of economic downturn. Pornography is one of the world’s most profitable industries with online revenue valued in the billions. A recent survey by researcher TopTenReviews estimated that internet pornography sites attract over 72 million visitors each month. Most, however, are not bank-sponsored.
Tags: Billions, Economic Downturn, Half A Million, Hardcore Porn, Hardcore Pornography, Home Computers, Internet Domain Names, Internet Pornography, Link Thousands, Oversight, Pornographic Websites, Pornography Sites, Profitable Industries, Pupils, Researcher, Site Webcam, Spokesperson, Swedbank, Swedish Bank, Swedish Students
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Wednesday, November 25th, 2009
U.S nationals, in particular those who have a non-Western ethnic background, are the subject of calls for more stringent immigration procedures by Peter Skaarup, the Danish People’s Party Justice Spokesperson.
Pre-travel disclosures and the introduction of visa requirements have been mooted for Americans planning on travelling to Denmark by both the Social Liberal and Danish People’s Party.
”We have had to admit that the Americans have not been as effective in their anti-terrorism efforts as we thought and that the threat against Denmark has grown,” said Skaarup.
Visit Denmark statistics show that close to 500,000 Americans visit the country each year. This number included one man who had recently been arrested in Chicago on charges of conspiracy to execute a terrorist attack against the Danish Jyllands-Posten newspaper.
Under existing legislation the Danish Police are able to request passenger lists from airlines but the proposed changes would allow increased cooperation with American authorities; to enable passport control checks to establish if visitors had repeatedly visited countries such as Pakistan and Afghanistan. US citizens are currently able to travel freely to Denmark. The same privilege requires some 133 other countries to obtain visas prior to arrival.
The Social Liberal Party has surprisingly supported the proposal with Justice Spokeswoman Lone Dybkjaer also voicing concern over recent developments. Dybkjaer said that the Chicago incident had sparked fears that terrorists would increasingly attempt to obtain US passports which would enable easier entry into Europe to carry out attacks.
”There is no doubt that terrorists are currently trying to organise themselves in many different ways. I will not rule out the possibility of having to introduce a stricter monitoring of travellers from the United States. But any decision must rest on a police evaluation – so I will be discussing this with the Security and Intelligence Service,” said Justice Minister Brian Mikkelsen.
Tags: American Authorities, Control Checks, Danish Police, Denmark Immigration, Disclosures, Ethnic Background, Immigration Controls, Immigration Procedures, Jyllands Posten Newspaper, Many Different Ways, No Doubt, Passenger Lists, Passport Control, Passports, Recent Developments, Skaarup, Social Liberal Party, Spokesperson, Travel Denmark, Visa Requirements
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Sunday, November 15th, 2009
An international conference held in Nuuk has sought to understand why so many young men in the circumpolar region take their own lives.
Despite declining overall rates in recent years, in Greenland and in other Arctic territories, around two-thirds of all suicides are performed by young males aged 15-25. Siku News reports that the statistics have seen Maliina Abelsen, Greenland’s social minister, call for additional research into the lives of young men. “We need to find out more about how our boys are doing,” said Abelsen, Greenland’s representative at the conference on teen suicide. “Why is it, for example, girls who finish their educations?” she asked.
One suggestion for the high suicide rate has been the social taboos which limit young males displaying emotion according to feedback from teens in Alaska, Nunavut, Greenland and the Norwegian Saami. Young people attending the conference also implied that parental intervention into personal problems could be better managed.
The role of the indigenous Arctic male has also changed as society has developed, with the traditional hunter gatherer figure no longer seen as an essential in modern development.
Greenland will continue with its push on prevention efforts even though rates have fallen. Fifty-eight Greenlanders committed suicide in 2006, a figure which dropped to 38 in 2007 and to 35 last year with further declines predicted for 2009, although authorities point out that this does not mean that the curve is necessarily broken.
“I hope it continues. But we have to wait some years before we can speak of a trend,” said Office of Prevention spokesperson Jette Eistrup, adding that forecasting was difficult to do based on small numbers.
Tags: Additional Research, Circumpolar Region, Committed Suicide, Declines, Educations, Jette, News Reports, Nunavut, Nuuk, Personal Problems, Prevention Efforts, Saami, Social Taboos, Spokesperson, Suicide Rate, Suicide Rates, Suicides, Teen Suicide, Traditional Hunter, Youth Suicide
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Wednesday, November 11th, 2009
Icelandic Tourist Board, Visit Iceland, is representing the Land of Fire and Ice at this year’s World Travel Market in London, between 9th and 12th November.
The World Travel Market is a must attend business-to-business exhibition staged annually in the ExCel conference centre, London. The exhibition provides a pathway for the whole global trade industry to meet, network, negotiate and conduct business.
With Visit Iceland participating in the World Travel Market 2009 exhibition, the exposure created will help to promote Iceland’s ever growing tourism industry – a huge boost for the country’s local economy and traditions.
A Visit Iceland spokesperson commented, “As the festive season is soon approaching, this opportunity for Iceland’s tourism couldn’t come at a better time.”
Iceland has always been an exquisite place to visit during winter; whether it be the breathtaking spectacle of the dancing Northern Lights or horse back riding in the snow covered highlands, Iceland never fails to deliver. During the Christmas period both unique and traditional festive cuisine, from hangikjot (smoked Icelandic lamb) and potatoes to Turkey and Brussels sprouts are readily available – proving Iceland to be a delicious Christmas experience.
For more information on all the other unique experiences Iceland has to offer, explore the Visit Iceland website.
(Advertisement)
Tags: Better Time, Breathtaking Spectacle, Brussels Sprouts, Christmas Experience, Christmas Period, Exquisite Place, Festive Cuisine, Festive Season, Fire And Ice, Global Trade, Icelandic Tourist Board, Lamb, Land Of Fire, Northern Lights, Pathway, Potatoes, Spokesperson, Tourism Industry, Website Advertisement, World Travel Market
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Monday, October 12th, 2009
Kamratposten, the biggest Swedish children’s magazine, has revealed its latest annual survey with much of the public focus expected around the question of bullying in the classroom. The Local reports that in response to questions as to what students thought of their teacher, almost one in six claimed that they were a bully.
Over 11,000 children were surveyed by the magazine with ages ranging from 8 to 14. The percentage that felt they had been bullied was around 16, higher than the magazine Editor-in-chief Ola Lindholm had expected. Among feedback from the children was: “He said that I was slow, like a tortoise,” and “When I said that I wanted to be a vet she said I’d never become one because I was so bad in class”. Lindholm conceded that the trend was worrisome; pointing out that it was common knowledge that some teachers were out to intimidate students.
Anti-bullying group Friends’ spokesperson Mats Olsson agreed the issue was a common one in Swedish schools. “The most common problem is when teachers favour certain pupils over others. This can make some of them feel bullied and feel bad about school…We always take such matters up with the principle,” Olsson said.
The head of the Swedish Teachers’ Union, Eva-Lis Siren, has welcomed the findings and debate on the issue. “We have ethical guidelines for teachers which we will continue to work with as well as education circles for teachers on bullying,” she claimed.
On a positive note, more than half of the children thought their teacher was funny and two-thirds believed their teacher to be happy with their job.
Tags: Bully, Bullying In The Classroom, Common Knowledge, Education Circles, Ethical Guidelines, Eva, Favour, Lindholm, Principle, Public Focus, Pupils, Siren, Spokesperson, Swedish Children, Swedish Schools, Swedish Students, Teachers Union, Tortoise, Two Thirds, Vet
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Monday, October 5th, 2009
Saami people have claimed that a proposal by a Canadian company for gold-mining in Sweden’s northeast violates their UN-recognised human rights and will threaten their traditional lifestyle. SIKUnews reports that the Vancouver-based mining organisation Blackstone Ventures Inc has announced that it has ambitions to start test-drilling in the region used by the Saami. Blackstone has also revealed plans to begin mining the area, something which Saami claim has not been agreed to by locals.
The Saami communities do not recognise the authority of the Canadian company to begin drilling, and claim that Blackstone does not hold the necessary work permits and work plan which require the approval of indigenous reindeer herders.
“This is the heart of our land,” said Saami communities’ spokesperson Marja Skum. “This is where the reindeer come to calve, and where they find the richest pasture. Our forefathers have lived with the reindeers on these mountains since time immemorial. We are determined to pass the legacy on to the next generations. Therefore, we have no choice but to do everything we can to stop this mine. If a mine is established in the planned area, we will no longer be traditional reindeer herders. We will lose the most vital part of our identity.”
The Swedish Saami Association has also spoken out against the plans, claiming the best grazing lands for reindeer lie directly in the middle of Blackstone’s proposed mining area. Director Anders Blom defended the rights of the herding community. “Blackstone has picked the absolute worst place to prospect. The planned mine is in an area that the communities can simply not replace. That is why we will assist the communities to the best of our ability to stop this project,” he said.
Saami leaders argue that the UN Human Rights Committee has acknowledged the rights of the Saami for reindeer husbandry and therefore banned any industrialisation of areas that contain reindeer activity.
Tags: Acti, Ambitions, Blackstone Ventures, Blom, Forefathers, Gold Mining, Human Rights Committee, Husbandry, Indigenous Reindeer Herders, Industrialisation, Mining Area, Mining Project, Pasture, Reindeers, Saami People, Spokesperson, Test Drilling, Traditional Lifestyle, Ventures Inc, Work Permits
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Monday, September 21st, 2009
A video uploaded to the popular website YouTube implored viewers to assist with discovering the real identity of the father of little baby August.
The video sparked massive response with over a million views per day since its release. However, the impassioned plea has since been revealed as nothing more than a hoax by the Danish tourism agency. In the video, solo Danish mum Karen can be seen holding the toddler while informing viewers of her search for the father which she apparently forgot after a one night stand in the Danish capital. The video was accompanied by an additional site containing a variety of photos of the mother and child. Both the video and photos launched massive public debate and widespread news coverage, along with thousands of viewer comments.
Some viewers said that Karen was a brave single mother for stepping forward in such emotionally difficult circumstances. Others described her as nothing more than an irresponsible young lady. However, after a brief series of searches it was revealed that Karen was in fact Ditte Arnth Jorgensen, a 27-year old Danish actress. No comment has been made by the actress and the true parents of the child have not been revealed.
Ms Jorgensen was part of the tourism agency VisitDenmark’s newest marketing campaign. VisitDenmark spokesperson Dorte Kiilerich proclaimed the video was the “most effective thing we have ever done to market Denmark”. Kiilerich told Danish TV2 that the video showed Denmark, as yet an apparently unknown tourism destination, was a country where women were free to make their own choices in a free society. Kiilerich said she did not feel that viewers were being tricked by the production. ‘This is a good, sweet and really harmless story and it’s not unusual to sell false stories when you communicate,’ Kiilerich said. The revelations have caused outrage among the Danish public who feel their women and being portrayed as promiscuous and that tourism would be more likely to suffer than benefit from the sham.
Tags: Danish Capital, Danish Tourism, Hoax, Impassioned Plea, Little Baby, Marketing Campaign, Massive Response, Mother And Child, Night Stand, Outrage, Public Debate, Revelations, Single Mother, Spokesperson, Tourism Agency, Tourism Destination, True Parents, Tv2, Viewer Comments, Young Lady
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Monday, September 14th, 2009
Dirty Diaries, a montage of 12 pornographic films by Swedish feminist documentary maker Mia Engberg, was released last week, sparking considerable public debate.
The Swedish Film Institute contributed EUR 49,000 to the controversial project, which has outraged some sectors of society, notably author of the Anti-Feminist Initiative blog and member of the Swedish Moderate Party Youth Organisation, Beatrice Fredriksson.
In the lead-up to the release, Engberg claimed that pornography has traditionally been made by men for men, and that she aimed to rebuff the porn industry’s sexist tendencies, whereby women are treated as merely objects.
Dirty Dairies instead focuses on the more natural side of female sexuality, displaying sex through a female perspective. Engberg has also claimed that female sexuality is more multi-faceted than that of men. Her ambition is to make pornography more appealing to women. Previously, Engberg had directed a lesbian pornographic film containing images of female facial expressions during orgasm.
Dirty Diaries includes such vignettes as “On Your Back Woman” and “Flasher Girl on Tour” as part of what Engberg hopes will make what is considered an alternate genre mainstream.
Fredriksson slammed the Swedish Film Institute’s donation, arguing that art of any form is subjective and that the decision has created a double standard where male porn does not receive the same recognition as art as Engberg’s work. Fredriksson argues that by labelling the movie ‘feminist’, Engberg has been able to garner taxpayer cash which could have been better spent in areas such as education, stating that government sponsored pornography in any form is harmful.
A spokesperson for the Swedish Film Institute defended the funding, claiming that Engberg’s film was, in both content and form, and an ambitious project which met funding criteria.
Tags: Adult Movie, Ambition, Ambitious Project, Beatrice, Controversial Project, Dairies, Documentary Maker, Facial Expressions, Female Perspective, Female Sexuality, Multi Faceted, Porn Industry, Pornographic Film, Pornographic Films, Public Debate, Spokesperson, Swedish Film Institute, Swedish Moderate Party, Vignettes, Youth Organisation
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Sunday, September 6th, 2009
A landmark decision has seen Danish fishermen announce that they plan to adhere to internationally recognised standards for marine stewardship – thus ending years of wrongful catches and over fishing.
A spokesperson from that Danish Fishermen’s Association has declared that by 2012 all fish from its resources will meet certified standards as laid down by the Marine Stewardship Council.
WWF Denmark program manager for sustainable consumption, Espen Tind Nordberg claimed: “The Danish fishermen are now taking a huge step towards securing that Danish fisheries in the future will be sustainable,” adding that the announcement had been years in the waiting. “Now the fishermen deserve true recognition and support to implement their ambitious plan.”
According to the MSC’s standards, there are three Danish fisheries in the worldwide total of 52. The new changes would see that number increased tenfold as the Danish Fishermen’s Association pursues certification for more than 30 of its operations, a move which has been met with a positive response from the WWF.
The WWF has been promoting the MSC standards for some years as being the most environmentally sustainable option for producing seafood, and consumers and retailers have followed their lead in increasing demand for MSC certified catches.
According to its website the MSC is the world’s leading eco-labelling and certification organisation for sustainable seafood.
Tags: Ambitious Plan, Certification Organisation, Consumers, Danish, Denmark, Fish, Fisheries, Fishermen, Landmark Decision, Marine Stewardship Council, Msc, Nordberg, Spokesperson, Sustainable Consumption, Sustainable Option, Sustainable Seafood, True Recognition, Wwf
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Friday, September 4th, 2009
The Finnish daily newspaper Helsingin Sanomat has claimed that unnamed “experts” have confirmed that the US is set to ask the nation to deploy more troops to Afghanistan over the coming months.
It is believed that a potential presidential run-off in October would see a demand for additional security forces. The extra military would be used to counter what is an expected upsurge in Taliban-led attacks.
In contrast, Seppo Kaariainen, a former defence minister and a deputy speaker in Parliament noted in an online column that the time had come for the reduction of troops to the pre-election level of 100 as the situation improves.
Finland’s contribution of 100 to the International Security Assistance Force was doubled in the lead up to the recent election to ensure safety for voters.
The Finnish defence ministry claimed that it was unaware of any requests that had been made for extra forces. A spokesperson for the defence ministry, Jyrki Iivonen, did however add: “But on the other hand the United States issues these requests on an almost monthly basis”.
Last week, the head of the NATO led forces in Afghanistan informed President Obama that it did not have sufficient forces to maintain a peaceful election, having its hands full with the Taliban, which was an ongoing concern.
Tags: Additional Security, Afghanistan Newspaper, Daily Newspaper, Defence Minister, Defence Ministry, Deputy Speaker, Extra, Finland, Finnish Troops, International Security Assistance, Jyrki, Lead, Led, Nato, Parliament, Peaceful Election, Security Forces, Seppo, Spokesperson, Taliban
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Online plea for help to find little girl’s father nothing more than marketing scam
Monday, September 21st, 2009The video sparked massive response with over a million views per day since its release. However, the impassioned plea has since been revealed as nothing more than a hoax by the Danish tourism agency. In the video, solo Danish mum Karen can be seen holding the toddler while informing viewers of her search for the father which she apparently forgot after a one night stand in the Danish capital. The video was accompanied by an additional site containing a variety of photos of the mother and child. Both the video and photos launched massive public debate and widespread news coverage, along with thousands of viewer comments.
Some viewers said that Karen was a brave single mother for stepping forward in such emotionally difficult circumstances. Others described her as nothing more than an irresponsible young lady. However, after a brief series of searches it was revealed that Karen was in fact Ditte Arnth Jorgensen, a 27-year old Danish actress. No comment has been made by the actress and the true parents of the child have not been revealed.
Ms Jorgensen was part of the tourism agency VisitDenmark’s newest marketing campaign. VisitDenmark spokesperson Dorte Kiilerich proclaimed the video was the “most effective thing we have ever done to market Denmark”. Kiilerich told Danish TV2 that the video showed Denmark, as yet an apparently unknown tourism destination, was a country where women were free to make their own choices in a free society. Kiilerich said she did not feel that viewers were being tricked by the production. ‘This is a good, sweet and really harmless story and it’s not unusual to sell false stories when you communicate,’ Kiilerich said. The revelations have caused outrage among the Danish public who feel their women and being portrayed as promiscuous and that tourism would be more likely to suffer than benefit from the sham.
Tags: Danish Capital, Danish Tourism, Hoax, Impassioned Plea, Little Baby, Marketing Campaign, Massive Response, Mother And Child, Night Stand, Outrage, Public Debate, Revelations, Single Mother, Spokesperson, Tourism Agency, Tourism Destination, True Parents, Tv2, Viewer Comments, Young Lady
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