Today an appeal court in Italy ruled against some alleged CIA-against who alleged abducted a person in Italy. The original verdict and the opposition from United States to extradite the so-called agents to Italy to they could face the Italian version of what they call justice, was properly the heaviest factor in the ruling against Amanda Knox. The jurors felt that it was time to send a signal that if the United States did not comply with standard in the justice system they themselves believe nations should commit them to; they would just convict another American.
Let us not forget that the United States had worked hard to demand people extradited from various countries if they believed that these persons were guilty. Denmark did extradite a woman in 2009 and she was exonerated from all charges early 2010.
Now the Amanda Knox case has reached the appeal court and then it is important to observe how the Imam-rapito case did in the appeal courts. A verdict has just been published and it seems that the sentences have been increased.
It is bad news for Amanda Knox as she functions like a hostage until the United States administration will give up the so-called CIA agents and send them to Italy so they can serve out their sentence.
For some time there have been signals from Italy going in the other direction. It is hardly a secret that the case is the mastermind of a prosecutor who has been convicted of abuse of his position - a person who has been convicted to hard time in prison for his actions.
Still with the knowledge about the charges, the government did not suspend him during the case against him. They allowed him to create the case against Amanda Knox based on so-called forensic evidence. Evidence which have been honored in Rome long before the court ruled on it. Amanda Knox was found guilty by the system years before the verdict came in court.
The organization behind the webpage "Exchange Student Information" warns Danish students against studying in Italy and the case above makes this warning easy to understand. Never before has a verdict been influenced so much by international politics.
It leaves small hope for Amanda Knox and her family.
References:
Italy appeals court increases sentences for US defendants in CIA rendition kidnap trial (Sun-Sentinel, Dec. 15, 2010)
Amanda Knox appeals have started (Exchange Student Info, Dec 8, 2010)
Amanda Knox appeal: 'Italians are embarrassed by this case'(The Guardian, Nov. 25, 2010
Amanda Knox prosecutor Giuliano Mignini convicted of ‘abuse of office’(The Time, Jan 23, 2010)
Imam Rapito Affair(Wikipedia)
Amanda Knox Framed: Picture Hung in Italian Police "Hall of Shame" BEFORE She Was Charged With Murder(CBS news, April 15, 2010)
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Update on a previous post from February
In February we warned parents against sending their children on trips to the Czech Republic. They had very little understanding of our advanced and superior culture.
Now it went wrong again because people did ignore our warning. Due to verbal misunderstandings negotiations in a shop turned out to be a robbery in the mindset of the local police. Several websites warn against doing such a normal thing like taking a cab to a destination. Interaction with local cab drivers should be avoided. When taking the experiences the two Danish boys had, all interaction with the local people should be avoided.
It was not only the two students who were arrested. Also a third boy who witnesses a police action looking like something from the times before the wall fell protested the violent nature of the arrest so he was arrested too. With help from our Embassy he was able to escape this country without charges.
The two boys were released on bail and were able to return to Denmark. Back home their chance of an education is now lost. Not only do they have to fight the rest of their life with post traumatic stress disorder as result of the arrest. The school had no other choice but to expel them based on their confession obtained under indescribable conditions in Prague.
The school is under pressure in this matter. The Danish public is still in shock over a recent death in Los Angeles and the beer case in Berlin. Never before has the concept of sending students on trips abroad been under such a pressure. According to the website Exchange Student Information the death in California was a direct result of a failed policy on alcohol where students have to be bussed around the town in order to socialize.
It is time for parents to stand up and demand a total stop for letting minors participate in trips abroad arranged by schools. One family has already lost their son abroad. We don't need more of these tragedies.
References:
Elever begik væbnet røveri på studietur (Nordjyske Tidende, November 8, 2010)
Uddannelseschef: En rigtig træls sag (Nordjyske Tidende, November 8, 2010)
Er Prag Sikker? Word Escape
Update on the tragedy in California (Exchange Student Info, November 1, 2010)
Now it went wrong again because people did ignore our warning. Due to verbal misunderstandings negotiations in a shop turned out to be a robbery in the mindset of the local police. Several websites warn against doing such a normal thing like taking a cab to a destination. Interaction with local cab drivers should be avoided. When taking the experiences the two Danish boys had, all interaction with the local people should be avoided.
It was not only the two students who were arrested. Also a third boy who witnesses a police action looking like something from the times before the wall fell protested the violent nature of the arrest so he was arrested too. With help from our Embassy he was able to escape this country without charges.
The two boys were released on bail and were able to return to Denmark. Back home their chance of an education is now lost. Not only do they have to fight the rest of their life with post traumatic stress disorder as result of the arrest. The school had no other choice but to expel them based on their confession obtained under indescribable conditions in Prague.
The school is under pressure in this matter. The Danish public is still in shock over a recent death in Los Angeles and the beer case in Berlin. Never before has the concept of sending students on trips abroad been under such a pressure. According to the website Exchange Student Information the death in California was a direct result of a failed policy on alcohol where students have to be bussed around the town in order to socialize.
It is time for parents to stand up and demand a total stop for letting minors participate in trips abroad arranged by schools. One family has already lost their son abroad. We don't need more of these tragedies.
References:
Elever begik væbnet røveri på studietur (Nordjyske Tidende, November 8, 2010)
Uddannelseschef: En rigtig træls sag (Nordjyske Tidende, November 8, 2010)
Er Prag Sikker? Word Escape
Update on the tragedy in California (Exchange Student Info, November 1, 2010)
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Parents - prevent your children from traveling with the school
A shocked Denmark woke this morning with the news that two Danish pupils were sent home unaccompanied by adults from Berlin. It was supposed to be their punishment for drink alcohol on the school trip.
Almost the entire parent generation has been on school trips in the 1970's or 1980's. At that time it was normal for teenagers aged 16 as the two students form Hilleroed to drink alcohol. Former students from several business schools have been visiting Berlin before the wall fell and alcohol was used in a responsible matter regardless of the fact that they were only 15 to 17 years old. Some students might also remember the Ferry sailing between Nysted on Lolland and Burg in Germany. While the students did not spent that much time in Germany they did get some alcohol to drink.
However times are different. Trips abroad have to be planned with the fact in mind that Danish schools are used by minorities, who have strange customs which forbid the pleasure of alcohol. There must be consequences even when we are talking double standards.
The interesting fact was there was a possibility to send the two teenagers with a direct bus without stop the very next morning. That option was however not used.
Instead the principal insisted that the two students should leave at once for the train station where they without adult escorts should travel first to Hamburg and from there to Copenhagen. Due to lack of trains the teenagers spent an entire night and day in Hamburg and had to sleep in subzero temperatures on the platforms. It is very harsh conditions without sleeping-bags. They were exposed of the risk of assaults at the empty trainstations. It is neglect. It is close to abuse. What kind of headlines would have been on the newspapers if they had been robbed while sleeping out in the open or frozen to death?
Only pure luck made them reach Denmark alive. The teachers who were following the teenagers on the trip protested this decision and due to their protests over a decision made by a superior they are now risking to be fired from their job.
All the students in the town of Hilleroed have left their school and they are now protesting the decision both to send the teenagers home by train and the decision to fire the teachers.
As parents it leaves place for only one decision.
NOT TO SEND YOUR CHILD ABROAD AT ALL COST.
Germany have little to offer if you cannot enjoy food and drinking. It leaves our students to isolated that they could learn the same by using the Internet.
I urge the students to remain firm and demand an apology or drop out. Once you start working in firms, you will be allowed to drink alcohol regardless of your age. It promotes team-working and the general productivity. No education in the world is worth risking your health by participating in ill-planned trips abroad.
Reference:
Smidt hjem: Elever måtte sove ude i frostvejr (Avisen, November 2, 2010 - In Danish)
Elever alene med tog i 22 timer (Ekstra Bladet, November 2, 2010 - In Danish)
Almost the entire parent generation has been on school trips in the 1970's or 1980's. At that time it was normal for teenagers aged 16 as the two students form Hilleroed to drink alcohol. Former students from several business schools have been visiting Berlin before the wall fell and alcohol was used in a responsible matter regardless of the fact that they were only 15 to 17 years old. Some students might also remember the Ferry sailing between Nysted on Lolland and Burg in Germany. While the students did not spent that much time in Germany they did get some alcohol to drink.
However times are different. Trips abroad have to be planned with the fact in mind that Danish schools are used by minorities, who have strange customs which forbid the pleasure of alcohol. There must be consequences even when we are talking double standards.
The interesting fact was there was a possibility to send the two teenagers with a direct bus without stop the very next morning. That option was however not used.
Instead the principal insisted that the two students should leave at once for the train station where they without adult escorts should travel first to Hamburg and from there to Copenhagen. Due to lack of trains the teenagers spent an entire night and day in Hamburg and had to sleep in subzero temperatures on the platforms. It is very harsh conditions without sleeping-bags. They were exposed of the risk of assaults at the empty trainstations. It is neglect. It is close to abuse. What kind of headlines would have been on the newspapers if they had been robbed while sleeping out in the open or frozen to death?
Only pure luck made them reach Denmark alive. The teachers who were following the teenagers on the trip protested this decision and due to their protests over a decision made by a superior they are now risking to be fired from their job.
All the students in the town of Hilleroed have left their school and they are now protesting the decision both to send the teenagers home by train and the decision to fire the teachers.
As parents it leaves place for only one decision.
NOT TO SEND YOUR CHILD ABROAD AT ALL COST.
Germany have little to offer if you cannot enjoy food and drinking. It leaves our students to isolated that they could learn the same by using the Internet.
I urge the students to remain firm and demand an apology or drop out. Once you start working in firms, you will be allowed to drink alcohol regardless of your age. It promotes team-working and the general productivity. No education in the world is worth risking your health by participating in ill-planned trips abroad.
Reference:
Smidt hjem: Elever måtte sove ude i frostvejr (Avisen, November 2, 2010 - In Danish)
Elever alene med tog i 22 timer (Ekstra Bladet, November 2, 2010 - In Danish)
Monday, October 25, 2010
Mexico - what were they thinking about
Some students from the tradeschool Mercantec in Viborg were sent to Mexico to experience the culture and industry.
They were attacked by robbers and lost money together with other values.
Fortunately it seems that they will be able to return to Denmark alive.
The question is what they were doing there in the first place. It is far from the first time Danish students have suffered harm abroad. Some months ago we wrote about another group of Danish students who were exposed of xenophobia in the Czech republic.
Mexico is very close to civil war. The reputation their police had when it came to deal with criminals as they did in relationship with a police action on Plaza de las Tres Culturas just before the 1968 Olympic games is long gone.
Today they use the Marines instead the local police when trying to arrest drug dealers due to the risk of having been infiltrated. Second the criminals are known for execution not only the policemen working to stop them but also the families of the policemen. It is a rather harsh and unfair fight to restore peace in a country who has faces difficulties since 2004 when the authorities shut almost all legitimate businesses in the Northern Mexico down leaving the local population to have only one choice for a living - crime.
I am surprise that a tradeschool did so little background checking before sending these young people abroad. It would not have taken most firms 5 seconds before they had realized that a business venture in Mexico would have meant hiring several security consultants from Biker gangs in Denmark as Danish firms did in larger number before the gang war in Denmark became a larger conflict.
Maybe they tried but was left with a choice to cancel now where the police in a attempt to appear political correct did arrest almost every member of the biker gangs, which on the other hand have left the crimescene in Denmark to other criminals gangs entirely.
It would have been costly to cancel such a trip. The students and the families had properly chosen this particular school because they offered a trip abroad.
So they did choose to gamble and they lost.
Now it is time to rethink the entire concept of sending our youth abroad. It was so bad in Mexico, it went bad in the Czech republic. We were spared of a tragedy, but what about the next time.
We must appeal the Minister of Education in Denmark. Please stop all trips abroad for our students. The firms know where they can get security consultants without taking the past of these people into consideration because they are prepared to pay for safety of their employees regardless of the costs.
It is no area any school in Denmark should deal with - not even if they just were sending the students to Sweden or Germany. In Sweden they have snipers shooting at people and Danes are foreigners over there.
The only place Danish students belong are in Denmark.
Please spare them for further ordeal. The next time a student could be returning in a coffin.
References:
Danish students assaulted in Mexico (Politiken, 25. October 2010)
They were attacked by robbers and lost money together with other values.
Fortunately it seems that they will be able to return to Denmark alive.
The question is what they were doing there in the first place. It is far from the first time Danish students have suffered harm abroad. Some months ago we wrote about another group of Danish students who were exposed of xenophobia in the Czech republic.
Mexico is very close to civil war. The reputation their police had when it came to deal with criminals as they did in relationship with a police action on Plaza de las Tres Culturas just before the 1968 Olympic games is long gone.
Today they use the Marines instead the local police when trying to arrest drug dealers due to the risk of having been infiltrated. Second the criminals are known for execution not only the policemen working to stop them but also the families of the policemen. It is a rather harsh and unfair fight to restore peace in a country who has faces difficulties since 2004 when the authorities shut almost all legitimate businesses in the Northern Mexico down leaving the local population to have only one choice for a living - crime.
I am surprise that a tradeschool did so little background checking before sending these young people abroad. It would not have taken most firms 5 seconds before they had realized that a business venture in Mexico would have meant hiring several security consultants from Biker gangs in Denmark as Danish firms did in larger number before the gang war in Denmark became a larger conflict.
Maybe they tried but was left with a choice to cancel now where the police in a attempt to appear political correct did arrest almost every member of the biker gangs, which on the other hand have left the crimescene in Denmark to other criminals gangs entirely.
It would have been costly to cancel such a trip. The students and the families had properly chosen this particular school because they offered a trip abroad.
So they did choose to gamble and they lost.
Now it is time to rethink the entire concept of sending our youth abroad. It was so bad in Mexico, it went bad in the Czech republic. We were spared of a tragedy, but what about the next time.
We must appeal the Minister of Education in Denmark. Please stop all trips abroad for our students. The firms know where they can get security consultants without taking the past of these people into consideration because they are prepared to pay for safety of their employees regardless of the costs.
It is no area any school in Denmark should deal with - not even if they just were sending the students to Sweden or Germany. In Sweden they have snipers shooting at people and Danes are foreigners over there.
The only place Danish students belong are in Denmark.
Please spare them for further ordeal. The next time a student could be returning in a coffin.
References:
Danish students assaulted in Mexico (Politiken, 25. October 2010)
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Once again the airline companies demostrate powerplay
We have learned that a Danish actors - Thomas Bo Larsen and former atlet Joachim B. Olsen were detained shortly due to a complaint from a flight attendant, who made false accusations against Mr. Larsen for being drunk during the flight.
The police cleared the matter shortly after the landing but not before the two Danes had to experiense the torment of being falsely arrested.
Mr. Larsen has made a formel complaint against the flight attendant.
It is not the first time, xenophobia against Danes has taken on board aircrafts. Back in 2006 the Danish supermodel caught a flight attendant bending over her to look at her breasts when she woke during the flight. She pushed him away only to be arrested when the plane landed and charged with violence against the flight attendant.
Sadly the trial ended with plea deal where May Andersen had to endure medical treatment against a psychological illness they had not even diagnosed at her (Anger-managent course).
A month later a Swedish supermodel named Marzena Kamizela were arrested when her treatment against treatment against flying anxiety went wrong. The treatment recommended in Scandiavia include a combination of alcohol and relaxing pills so people with flying anxiety can sleep during the flight. The airline company didn't want her to receive the human rights which were given to airline passengers as result of the Peter Buck verdict, so the plane was diverted to a rural part of Canada where the court system is rather harsh against foreigners. She received a huge fine.
It is important to realize that you as an passenger are at the mercy of the airline companies if you choose to travel with them. Modern airline travel is no longer expected to be a pleasant experience and it should be avoided if possible.
References:
Marzena Kamizela, Wikibin
Thomas Bo Larsen klager over steward, Fyens StiftsTidende, July 9, 2010
Example 1: A Danish supermodel was arrested and thrown into jail in Miami, Danish Xenophobia Victims
The police cleared the matter shortly after the landing but not before the two Danes had to experiense the torment of being falsely arrested.
Mr. Larsen has made a formel complaint against the flight attendant.
It is not the first time, xenophobia against Danes has taken on board aircrafts. Back in 2006 the Danish supermodel caught a flight attendant bending over her to look at her breasts when she woke during the flight. She pushed him away only to be arrested when the plane landed and charged with violence against the flight attendant.
Sadly the trial ended with plea deal where May Andersen had to endure medical treatment against a psychological illness they had not even diagnosed at her (Anger-managent course).
A month later a Swedish supermodel named Marzena Kamizela were arrested when her treatment against treatment against flying anxiety went wrong. The treatment recommended in Scandiavia include a combination of alcohol and relaxing pills so people with flying anxiety can sleep during the flight. The airline company didn't want her to receive the human rights which were given to airline passengers as result of the Peter Buck verdict, so the plane was diverted to a rural part of Canada where the court system is rather harsh against foreigners. She received a huge fine.
It is important to realize that you as an passenger are at the mercy of the airline companies if you choose to travel with them. Modern airline travel is no longer expected to be a pleasant experience and it should be avoided if possible.
References:
Marzena Kamizela, Wikibin
Thomas Bo Larsen klager over steward, Fyens StiftsTidende, July 9, 2010
Example 1: A Danish supermodel was arrested and thrown into jail in Miami, Danish Xenophobia Victims
Saturday, July 3, 2010
An unusual evil punishment
This time during our journey through old cases where Danes have been exposed of acts of xenophobia, we will write about the case against Danish student who had emigrated to the United States with his family when he was little.
Today as far as we know he lives separated from his family in Denmark with little chance of ever rebuilding his life after having served a sentence equal to a life sentence for such a young person. He was a victim of the tough love period in U.S. justice. A sentence he got trying to save his friends from a mexican gang.
He got 8 years in prison for an ordinary traffic accident involving speeding which is quiet normal in Denmark. He was chased by member of one of the widespread Hispanic gang members, when he lost control of his car, but the police and the prosecution had some interest in making a case to warn young drivers and did not investigate that claim. However, he decided to plead guilt because the lawyers made him believe that he would get off with probation only.
Denmark has after introduction of harsher sentences one of the toughest legislation in Europe, but not even the new laws would have made him end up in jail for 8 years. A car accident involving 4 deaths and drunken driving in the wrong lane on a highway resulted in only 2.5 years and 10 years without drivers license - after Denmark have introduced extremely harsh sentences for such incidents!
It is more than double the sentence that he would have become in Denmark, which must be considered a fine example of xenophobia.
Transportation cost lives. An old saying is that you can not make eggs without breaking the shell. It is just sad that a society, which regards themselves as civilized can not realize that.
The story was published in Denmark and sparked outrage due to the clearly improper proceedings. Properly angered by the international crisis, the authorities later attacked the mother - Gitte Lellan. Her son was deported to Denmark in 2004 where he was treated a victim of this unjust justice system. Maybe it is likely for him to make a living some day if he recover from his ordeal. RTC is known for having good results. Until that the Danish welfare system will gladly pay for the result of simple bullying in a foreign system.
Our caseworker did his investigation into this case. Here is what he found.
Sources:
"Streng straf til dansk bilist", danske nyheder, June 22, 2000
Teen Driver Will Plead No Contest, LA Times, April 11 2000
Danske Marcus idømt otte år, BT, June 23 2000
Danske Marcus kørte fire ihjel, BT, April 13 2000
A mother's walking nightmare heartbroken Gitte Lellan copes with the aftermath of fatal collision, Free Library
Judge rejects Lellan claim driver in fatal clash say plea coerced, Free Library
Realtor to Stay Jailed Until Trial
Lellan Mom Indicted, Santa Clarita Radio
The local population still hells a memorial over their act of xenophobia to a warning to foreigners of a harsh sentence if they want to drive like the local population.
Healing with the Help of Angels, Inside SCV
Today as far as we know he lives separated from his family in Denmark with little chance of ever rebuilding his life after having served a sentence equal to a life sentence for such a young person. He was a victim of the tough love period in U.S. justice. A sentence he got trying to save his friends from a mexican gang.
He got 8 years in prison for an ordinary traffic accident involving speeding which is quiet normal in Denmark. He was chased by member of one of the widespread Hispanic gang members, when he lost control of his car, but the police and the prosecution had some interest in making a case to warn young drivers and did not investigate that claim. However, he decided to plead guilt because the lawyers made him believe that he would get off with probation only.
Denmark has after introduction of harsher sentences one of the toughest legislation in Europe, but not even the new laws would have made him end up in jail for 8 years. A car accident involving 4 deaths and drunken driving in the wrong lane on a highway resulted in only 2.5 years and 10 years without drivers license - after Denmark have introduced extremely harsh sentences for such incidents!
It is more than double the sentence that he would have become in Denmark, which must be considered a fine example of xenophobia.
Transportation cost lives. An old saying is that you can not make eggs without breaking the shell. It is just sad that a society, which regards themselves as civilized can not realize that.
The story was published in Denmark and sparked outrage due to the clearly improper proceedings. Properly angered by the international crisis, the authorities later attacked the mother - Gitte Lellan. Her son was deported to Denmark in 2004 where he was treated a victim of this unjust justice system. Maybe it is likely for him to make a living some day if he recover from his ordeal. RTC is known for having good results. Until that the Danish welfare system will gladly pay for the result of simple bullying in a foreign system.
Our caseworker did his investigation into this case. Here is what he found.
Sources:
"Streng straf til dansk bilist", danske nyheder, June 22, 2000
Teen Driver Will Plead No Contest, LA Times, April 11 2000
Danske Marcus idømt otte år, BT, June 23 2000
Danske Marcus kørte fire ihjel, BT, April 13 2000
A mother's walking nightmare heartbroken Gitte Lellan copes with the aftermath of fatal collision, Free Library
Judge rejects Lellan claim driver in fatal clash say plea coerced, Free Library
Realtor to Stay Jailed Until Trial
Lellan Mom Indicted, Santa Clarita Radio
The local population still hells a memorial over their act of xenophobia to a warning to foreigners of a harsh sentence if they want to drive like the local population.
Healing with the Help of Angels, Inside SCV
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
The torment of a Danish soccer player
Once again we will look at one of the historical cases where xenophobia against a Dane reached the Danish public.
A Danish foot-ball players was convicted because he drove a car in the same city, where a traffic accident occurred.
Mads Timm is a young foot-ball player which played for Manchester United. About January 2004 he drove home from training. A team-mates also decided drive home at the same time and became involved in an accident where a disrespectful woman maneuvered her car so that the team-mate hit her car.
Because Mr. Timm was a foreigner in the same town where the accident occurred he of cause was the first to blame. By a act of unjust he was convicted to serve 12 months at a young offenders' institute. In May 2006 he returned to civilization and started to play for a Danish football club, where he first was quiet successful.
He has since retired from soccer.
The Danish population regards this event as a typically sick act of xenophobia against Danish citizens.
Not only was his driving rather typical for how Danes use roads in our country. Second his car was not involved in the actual accident. He was simply not at the crash scene. Regardless of these fact he got the most severe sentence.
Danes are adviced not to drive in the United Kingdom if they cannot avoid to work or study there.
Sources:
Man Utd player jailed over crash, BBC, March 3, 2005
Prison term gives chastened Timm a new perspective, by Daniel Taylor, The Guardian, February 1, 2006
Mads Timm - Wikipedia
A Danish foot-ball players was convicted because he drove a car in the same city, where a traffic accident occurred.
Mads Timm is a young foot-ball player which played for Manchester United. About January 2004 he drove home from training. A team-mates also decided drive home at the same time and became involved in an accident where a disrespectful woman maneuvered her car so that the team-mate hit her car.
Because Mr. Timm was a foreigner in the same town where the accident occurred he of cause was the first to blame. By a act of unjust he was convicted to serve 12 months at a young offenders' institute. In May 2006 he returned to civilization and started to play for a Danish football club, where he first was quiet successful.
He has since retired from soccer.
The Danish population regards this event as a typically sick act of xenophobia against Danish citizens.
Not only was his driving rather typical for how Danes use roads in our country. Second his car was not involved in the actual accident. He was simply not at the crash scene. Regardless of these fact he got the most severe sentence.
Danes are adviced not to drive in the United Kingdom if they cannot avoid to work or study there.
Sources:
Man Utd player jailed over crash, BBC, March 3, 2005
Prison term gives chastened Timm a new perspective, by Daniel Taylor, The Guardian, February 1, 2006
Mads Timm - Wikipedia
Monday, May 10, 2010
Studying abroad is equal seclusion
While the number of students who choose to study abroad either as an exchange student or placing a semester abroad when they are studying at the universities has declined mostly based on the torment Camilla Broe was exposed of before she was cleared of all charges, still some students make the decision to leave Denmark for a period.
In such a case it is important to remember that other countries have rather odd customs when we are talking of remembering relationships and a Danish student fell victim of odd foreign customs. We are talking about the case at Yale in the United States where a Danish student, who was studying at Yale made a video film of him and his girlfriend as it is quite common in our culture.
In Denmark it isn't illegal to do it without one of persons knowledge unless it is published in the public without consent of both persons. In fact a lot of movies exist in private.
But he was not in the civilized country of Denmark. He was abroad. He should have chosen seclusion and not to engage in relationships before he returns to Denmark. Sites like Exchange Student Information phrases it very precise:
The Danish student simply forgot where he was. It was not a criminal offense in a developed country like Denmark, but it turned out to be in the country he had chosen to study in. The police raided the students apartment, found the movie and charged him in an act of lack of respect of other cultures in a student enviroment where many foregin students are encouraged to study.
The sentence was an act of xenophobia against the Dane. While he of course should have recognized that he was staying in a place where the culture was not as developed as in Denmark, the court should have recognized that they encourage an international student environment and it has it costs to let people from many countries live to close together. Near Copenhagen we have a part of the city called Taastrupgaard where people from 20 nations live. If you ask the local police they have to let a lot of things pass just to make the life in this part of the town go on.
The lesson learned is that Danish students who choose to study abroad must avoid relationships when they cannot act out Danish customs while being a part of them. A more general conclusion must be that this case as well as the Italian case against an American student Amanda Knox show that the time where young people can study abroad without being harassed is over.
Sources:
Judge sentences Desfeux to probation, Yale Daily News
Dansk sexskandale på USA's eliteuniversitet, by Mikkel Selin, Ekstra Bladet, September 21, 2007
In such a case it is important to remember that other countries have rather odd customs when we are talking of remembering relationships and a Danish student fell victim of odd foreign customs. We are talking about the case at Yale in the United States where a Danish student, who was studying at Yale made a video film of him and his girlfriend as it is quite common in our culture.
In Denmark it isn't illegal to do it without one of persons knowledge unless it is published in the public without consent of both persons. In fact a lot of movies exist in private.
But he was not in the civilized country of Denmark. He was abroad. He should have chosen seclusion and not to engage in relationships before he returns to Denmark. Sites like Exchange Student Information phrases it very precise:
Don't change or influence anything in the local culture. Just as it is known in Star Trek as the prime directive it is not your job to influence the local citizens by testimony or other kind of statement. As an Exchange student you are there to study the native population, not to change it or help it.
The Danish student simply forgot where he was. It was not a criminal offense in a developed country like Denmark, but it turned out to be in the country he had chosen to study in. The police raided the students apartment, found the movie and charged him in an act of lack of respect of other cultures in a student enviroment where many foregin students are encouraged to study.
The sentence was an act of xenophobia against the Dane. While he of course should have recognized that he was staying in a place where the culture was not as developed as in Denmark, the court should have recognized that they encourage an international student environment and it has it costs to let people from many countries live to close together. Near Copenhagen we have a part of the city called Taastrupgaard where people from 20 nations live. If you ask the local police they have to let a lot of things pass just to make the life in this part of the town go on.
The lesson learned is that Danish students who choose to study abroad must avoid relationships when they cannot act out Danish customs while being a part of them. A more general conclusion must be that this case as well as the Italian case against an American student Amanda Knox show that the time where young people can study abroad without being harassed is over.
Sources:
Judge sentences Desfeux to probation, Yale Daily News
Dansk sexskandale på USA's eliteuniversitet, by Mikkel Selin, Ekstra Bladet, September 21, 2007
Thursday, April 29, 2010
A fair sentence reached in Scotland
We have been asked to investigate a traffic accident in Scotland more than 10 years ago so we could determind whether this case was an act of xenophobia as it was with the case against the soccer player Mads Timm, which was rather unfair sentenced to jail for a year in an accident where he was not in the car causing minor injury to some woman who saw the accident to reach 5 minutes of fame.
We will make a separate entry about Mads Timm later.
However in the case against the author Henning Korvel we have to conclude that the sentence was extremely tough but fair, considering the rather extreme level of sentence guidelines they have on traffic accidents.
It was a rather normal traffic accident without alcohol involved as they do happen every other day. Only the fact that a person died made it more than a police report.
Another similar accident - however without people dying - took place in New Zealand back in 2007. It is not known whether this Danish tourist made it out of New Zealand before arrests could be made.
People who visit the countries where they drive on the left side of the road should be adviced to let local drivers drive or simply use public transportation. Sentence guidelines which allow up to 2 years of jail is a hidden advice to tourists that they are not wanted as drivers on the roads.
Please follow this advice. Refrain from driving in countries where they drive on the wrong side of the road.
References:
Driver on wrong side, court told, The Herald Scotland, November 17, 1998
Death-crash tourist fined, The Herald Scotland, November 18, 1998
Dansk turist kørte i den forkert side, by Birger A. Andersen, BT, April 12, 2007
We will make a separate entry about Mads Timm later.
However in the case against the author Henning Korvel we have to conclude that the sentence was extremely tough but fair, considering the rather extreme level of sentence guidelines they have on traffic accidents.
It was a rather normal traffic accident without alcohol involved as they do happen every other day. Only the fact that a person died made it more than a police report.
Another similar accident - however without people dying - took place in New Zealand back in 2007. It is not known whether this Danish tourist made it out of New Zealand before arrests could be made.
People who visit the countries where they drive on the left side of the road should be adviced to let local drivers drive or simply use public transportation. Sentence guidelines which allow up to 2 years of jail is a hidden advice to tourists that they are not wanted as drivers on the roads.
Please follow this advice. Refrain from driving in countries where they drive on the wrong side of the road.
References:
Driver on wrong side, court told, The Herald Scotland, November 17, 1998
Death-crash tourist fined, The Herald Scotland, November 18, 1998
Dansk turist kørte i den forkert side, by Birger A. Andersen, BT, April 12, 2007
Friday, April 2, 2010
Maxwell Mccord - new entry on our webpage
Based on a comment given on our blog we investigated the case of Maxwell Mccord. Based on our finding we accepted this case on our webpage.
Here is the entry:
Rather surprising at that time there was little involvement from the Danish authorities regardless of the fact that Danish jobs were on the line and the legal system in the United States is designed so it is rather difficult to achieve another result in the appeal than the orginal sentence handed out by a lower court. Had Mccord been found guilty it would have been difficult to achieve the correct result later.
This case learned Danish firms that local firms sometime will go to the full extend to protect the local market. Today youth are warned against working abroad where legal protection often is of another standard than at home.
Second it learned the Danish public that holding a Danish passport is not guarantee that you are safe from being victimized by local dirty politics.
References:
Drabssag mod dansker ved at være slut, BT
GOOD NEWS - Florida - Maxwell McCord, Canadian Coalition Against the Death Penalty
Denmark Watching Weston Man's Murder Trial, WPLG local 10 news
Here is the entry:
Maxwell Mccord emigrated to the United States representing Danish firms abroad. Danish firms have learned a lot from Japanise firms. The general rule is that the manager stationed abroad is that he doesn't speak the language abroad because he is the embassdor for the head office back home. He must not be compromized by local customs or even bribed. To translate his orders he has subordinate doing the unpleasant job.
Mr. Mccord was an exception and perhaps that's the reason that he ended up in trouble. Maybe he offended some local business partners and they decided to frame him. He had to spend 3 years in jail accused for the murder of his wife before he was aquitted. The reason for him being charged with murder seems to be based solely on the fact that he was a foreigner.
Justice was served in the end but he is here to find because his arrest hurt the possibilites for the Danish industry as whole. It prevented our businesses from playing a major role in this market and cause our industry to rely solely on local employees which are expendable.
Rather surprising at that time there was little involvement from the Danish authorities regardless of the fact that Danish jobs were on the line and the legal system in the United States is designed so it is rather difficult to achieve another result in the appeal than the orginal sentence handed out by a lower court. Had Mccord been found guilty it would have been difficult to achieve the correct result later.
This case learned Danish firms that local firms sometime will go to the full extend to protect the local market. Today youth are warned against working abroad where legal protection often is of another standard than at home.
Second it learned the Danish public that holding a Danish passport is not guarantee that you are safe from being victimized by local dirty politics.
References:
Drabssag mod dansker ved at være slut, BT
GOOD NEWS - Florida - Maxwell McCord, Canadian Coalition Against the Death Penalty
Denmark Watching Weston Man's Murder Trial, WPLG local 10 news
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Texting and driving laws should warn tourists - United Kingdom
The Danish politicians are looking into increasing the punishment for driving and texting.
The politicians hesitate and have not decided on what to do yet as any new expense for the industry will mean lost jobs. Forcing the firms to invest in hands free equipment could very well the factor which could prevent Denmark from recover from the financial crisis.
It would be difficult to find employees who want to work at all if they are cut off from their teams and social network during work hours. The overall performance in the firms will suffer.
We have been contacted by a number of former Danish employees who used to work in the United Kingdom. They have returned home because they have lost fate in a future in this country. Over there the punishment for driving and texting is very severe. We are talking cruel punishments which you should not expect to find in any civilized countries.
A Hotel manager - Kiera Coultas - got 4 years in prison just for receiving a text message minutes before hitting a cyclist who broke every traffic law possible. He jumped a red light and was by doing that a simple criminal.
Of course it doesn't give anybody the right to kill him but traffic laws are not invented for fun. He actions did however increase the chance for tragedy with 90%. Lights are placed in crossing because to improve traffic safety.
But because her phone was on, it led the jury to believe that she was in the process of replying to the message she received, and she got very severe sentence that will cripple for life for good. May she find comfort in the granddaughters her child will get because she will miss out too much of the childhood of her own child in order to truly say that she was a part of it.
It is an unfair sentence and people should not visit the United Kingdom by car or choosing to work in this country. When you are a foreigner you are double as exposed to the burden of the law. A Danish soccer player was even convicted for being colleague to a person who was involved in a minor traffic accident without deaths. We will make a blog entry on the injustice Mads Timm was exposed to later.
But back to Denmark and the possible toughen of our laws. Will they shot our industry down or will they give the industry time to outsource transport entirely to low-paid drivers from Eastern Europe. They are cheap and expendable. They are used in huge numbers already and are responsible for a large number of the accidents where Lorries are involved.
But are there drivers enough to take care of the rest of the driving needed to keep the country going?
This question is too hard to answer and the risk of being stuck in the financial crisis is too big. So the politicians should leave the use of mobile phones in cars alone.
The politicians hesitate and have not decided on what to do yet as any new expense for the industry will mean lost jobs. Forcing the firms to invest in hands free equipment could very well the factor which could prevent Denmark from recover from the financial crisis.
It would be difficult to find employees who want to work at all if they are cut off from their teams and social network during work hours. The overall performance in the firms will suffer.
We have been contacted by a number of former Danish employees who used to work in the United Kingdom. They have returned home because they have lost fate in a future in this country. Over there the punishment for driving and texting is very severe. We are talking cruel punishments which you should not expect to find in any civilized countries.
A Hotel manager - Kiera Coultas - got 4 years in prison just for receiving a text message minutes before hitting a cyclist who broke every traffic law possible. He jumped a red light and was by doing that a simple criminal.
Of course it doesn't give anybody the right to kill him but traffic laws are not invented for fun. He actions did however increase the chance for tragedy with 90%. Lights are placed in crossing because to improve traffic safety.
But because her phone was on, it led the jury to believe that she was in the process of replying to the message she received, and she got very severe sentence that will cripple for life for good. May she find comfort in the granddaughters her child will get because she will miss out too much of the childhood of her own child in order to truly say that she was a part of it.
It is an unfair sentence and people should not visit the United Kingdom by car or choosing to work in this country. When you are a foreigner you are double as exposed to the burden of the law. A Danish soccer player was even convicted for being colleague to a person who was involved in a minor traffic accident without deaths. We will make a blog entry on the injustice Mads Timm was exposed to later.
But back to Denmark and the possible toughen of our laws. Will they shot our industry down or will they give the industry time to outsource transport entirely to low-paid drivers from Eastern Europe. They are cheap and expendable. They are used in huge numbers already and are responsible for a large number of the accidents where Lorries are involved.
But are there drivers enough to take care of the rest of the driving needed to keep the country going?
This question is too hard to answer and the risk of being stuck in the financial crisis is too big. So the politicians should leave the use of mobile phones in cars alone.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
The Czech republic is not ready for tourists
Some news speak of a story about 350 Danish High School students from Christianhavns Gymnasium who were kicked out of their hotel due to riots. However it isn't true. Not a single student were sent home.
The trip which were organized by the students themselves ran into some problems when the hotels they had chosen showed very little ability to deal with normal tourist behavior.
The behavior shown at the hotels is not a special phenomenon for Danish tourists. In fact The Sun had a larger piece about the problems tourist from the United Kingdom faced when they travel abroad. Some remember the culture clash which led to an arrest of a British woman and her boyfriend when they showed affection for each other at a public beach and in relationship to this story The Sun published this story explaining the problem.
The problems seems to be based on a huge difference in culture and education between the tourists and the native population. The obvious question is if there is such a big difference between a country like the Czech republic and Denmark. To this question the answer must be yes.
One of the most prominent politicians Denmark has ever produce - the former member of the European Parliament Mogens Camre spoke very clearly about how much difference there are between Danes and the population from some parts of eastern Europe. France 24 wrote on their homepage that he did hit a raw nerve in the question of expanding the European Union.
I guess what happened in Prague was that there were some kind of miscommunication between the Danish tourists and their Czech hosts. The native population were not able to understand the communication between Danes which obvious took place on a higher and refined level. They were simply not prepared to host foreign tourists.
It is a huge problem for travel agencies to find the right place to send out their guests. In this case it was a private trip arranged by the students themselves. The school did not send teachers to Prague. So maybe too little research had been done when choosing the destination.
It you look at the possible travel destination in Eastern Europe, one country are able to stand out. Bulgaria was worn down after some 50 years of communist rule. So in order to have interesting places for the tourists to see they built Sunny Beach. Today this area is the only interesting place to visit as there is nothing else to see but it is there. Bulgaria has built a model of how to attract tourists the rest of the countries in the eastern Europe could copy.
I hope that the high school students overcome their ordeal and the quite hostile environment they by mistake traveled to. While it seems hard at the moment it is a important lesson they have learned. Danes should consider things twice before choosing to either work, study or spend their holiday abroad. Not every place in the world is friendly to outsiders.
The trip which were organized by the students themselves ran into some problems when the hotels they had chosen showed very little ability to deal with normal tourist behavior.
The behavior shown at the hotels is not a special phenomenon for Danish tourists. In fact The Sun had a larger piece about the problems tourist from the United Kingdom faced when they travel abroad. Some remember the culture clash which led to an arrest of a British woman and her boyfriend when they showed affection for each other at a public beach and in relationship to this story The Sun published this story explaining the problem.
The problems seems to be based on a huge difference in culture and education between the tourists and the native population. The obvious question is if there is such a big difference between a country like the Czech republic and Denmark. To this question the answer must be yes.
One of the most prominent politicians Denmark has ever produce - the former member of the European Parliament Mogens Camre spoke very clearly about how much difference there are between Danes and the population from some parts of eastern Europe. France 24 wrote on their homepage that he did hit a raw nerve in the question of expanding the European Union.
I guess what happened in Prague was that there were some kind of miscommunication between the Danish tourists and their Czech hosts. The native population were not able to understand the communication between Danes which obvious took place on a higher and refined level. They were simply not prepared to host foreign tourists.
It is a huge problem for travel agencies to find the right place to send out their guests. In this case it was a private trip arranged by the students themselves. The school did not send teachers to Prague. So maybe too little research had been done when choosing the destination.
It you look at the possible travel destination in Eastern Europe, one country are able to stand out. Bulgaria was worn down after some 50 years of communist rule. So in order to have interesting places for the tourists to see they built Sunny Beach. Today this area is the only interesting place to visit as there is nothing else to see but it is there. Bulgaria has built a model of how to attract tourists the rest of the countries in the eastern Europe could copy.
I hope that the high school students overcome their ordeal and the quite hostile environment they by mistake traveled to. While it seems hard at the moment it is a important lesson they have learned. Danes should consider things twice before choosing to either work, study or spend their holiday abroad. Not every place in the world is friendly to outsiders.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Protection of kids on other cultures
I happened to watch a Dr. Phil show.
A mother let her 10 year old son walk one mile to soccer practice on his own. One mile!
It meant that she was visited by a police officer who blamed her for poor judgment in her parenting approach.
An overreaction?
Yes like most Danes we believe that a society where you cannot let your 10 year old son ride a bike or walk to soccer practice just a couple of kilometers away is acceptable. If you have supply your children with bodyguards for such a short distance, there is something terrible wrong with the society.
On our webpage we have listed the stoller case as example number 6. More than 10 years ago Anette Sorensen - a that time a wellknown actor visiting New York was in the city with her boyfriend and her daugther in a stoller. They decided to eat dinner at a restraurant. Every expert in Denmark advice parents to leave their babies outside in the cold instead of taking the child inside for a nap. Smoking customers in a restraurant could damage the airways of the baby and increase the risk of Astma for the child later in life. Second the lungs of the baby needs to be developed and toughened. It is best done by letting the child sleep outside in warm clothes and in a secure stoller.
However the actor and her husband was arrested and charged for Child endangerment. The child was taken into protective care. It took a long and painful trial before they received a small settlement for the wrongful arrest.
The totally incomprehensible actions of the authorities placed the incident on our webpage. When we now learn that the security level in the United States is so severe that children cannot even do the most simple things without guards or other protection some might ask if the case still fulfill the conditions for being listed on our webpage.
The answer is Yes. Anette Sorensen was not adviced by the police that she had entered a nation gone to pieces or basically a warzone. They could have asked her to phone the embassy so they could have explained her the sad facts about the conditions in New York. New York back then was no place for tourists taking children with them. The same goes for the entire country today as the Dr. Phil show so clearly illustrate today.
But the travel agencies display no warnings in that regard. That's why the case needs to be listed on our webpage.
A mother let her 10 year old son walk one mile to soccer practice on his own. One mile!
It meant that she was visited by a police officer who blamed her for poor judgment in her parenting approach.
An overreaction?
Yes like most Danes we believe that a society where you cannot let your 10 year old son ride a bike or walk to soccer practice just a couple of kilometers away is acceptable. If you have supply your children with bodyguards for such a short distance, there is something terrible wrong with the society.
On our webpage we have listed the stoller case as example number 6. More than 10 years ago Anette Sorensen - a that time a wellknown actor visiting New York was in the city with her boyfriend and her daugther in a stoller. They decided to eat dinner at a restraurant. Every expert in Denmark advice parents to leave their babies outside in the cold instead of taking the child inside for a nap. Smoking customers in a restraurant could damage the airways of the baby and increase the risk of Astma for the child later in life. Second the lungs of the baby needs to be developed and toughened. It is best done by letting the child sleep outside in warm clothes and in a secure stoller.
However the actor and her husband was arrested and charged for Child endangerment. The child was taken into protective care. It took a long and painful trial before they received a small settlement for the wrongful arrest.
The totally incomprehensible actions of the authorities placed the incident on our webpage. When we now learn that the security level in the United States is so severe that children cannot even do the most simple things without guards or other protection some might ask if the case still fulfill the conditions for being listed on our webpage.
The answer is Yes. Anette Sorensen was not adviced by the police that she had entered a nation gone to pieces or basically a warzone. They could have asked her to phone the embassy so they could have explained her the sad facts about the conditions in New York. New York back then was no place for tourists taking children with them. The same goes for the entire country today as the Dr. Phil show so clearly illustrate today.
But the travel agencies display no warnings in that regard. That's why the case needs to be listed on our webpage.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Celebrity class I and II - know your position in the Danish society
It seems that a lot of celebrities or as some want to put those wannabees suffers some mishaps in the Danish nightlife.
We did a peace about a certain Susan K which is a lifestyle icon for our youth. Properly suffering from some kind of anxiety based on an assault committed on her she reacted prematurely and got charged when she was set up in a bar outside her hometown. As we stated in our previous blog-entry the time has come for the TV-stations to pay for bodyguards of their employees, so they can be protected against incidents rising for everyday challenged which are unavoidable when conducting a necessary lifestyle.
But the last weeks have shown that her case was not uncommon. A TV-host called Niels Brinck was attacked without warning. Some of the people who were present have told that he acted in a way which was provoking. It might be true if he was in a part of the town he didn't live in. Some never leave the block they are born in and thinks of their neighborhood as their country defending it as a country. Many have been warned about stopping out in the country while driving across the United States, because the hill-billy's will shoot the cow next to them and hide behind it while they start shooting at the tourists.
Most Danes will recognize that there are parts of Denmark here in year 2010 where you don't stop. Even parts of Copenhagen. I will not name them due to the paragraph 266B in the Danish penal code. Joking about the people living in Aarhus or Mols can be criminal acts because you are not allowed to make fun about people’s ethnic origins. I don’t know how so many Danes dares to break the law in that way, but it is done all the time. Maybe it is because some believe that they are not very clever in these areas. A research paper from some years ago proved why so many infants died over there compared to the rest of Denmark. A local custom proved to be the answer. The newborn babies got a streak for their first meal instead of milk. A lot of the newborns died because their stomach couldn’t handle the food but those who survived grew up to be stronger and bigger than other Danes. Short to say they became our police force. A certain nightclub where the police enjoy themselves in Copenhagen is called the Embassy of Jutland.
But the main reason for writing this blog entry is to explain that when it comes to the law as almost anything else in the Danish society our way to react is based the social status. Young adults who attend universities are children of parents who also attended the Universities. In Denmark you cannot cheat your social heritage. Various researches have proved that the police judge people on their position or even their appearance. So when one of our most well-respected performers Rasmus Bjerg did an act like Susan K yesterday, he wasn’t detained for 20 days as she was.
He is not just another reality star. He is one of the main characters in the TV-show The Protectors, which are shown on our finest TV-station – Denmark’s Radio Number one.
So even among the celebrities there some kind of order. The same kind of order which makes Denmark the most happiest nation in the world as seen on the Oprah show. Once people learn that they don’t have to live their life to their fullest potential but settle well knowing that the huge amounts of taxes they pay during life while they just serve in their jobs, they don’t commit crimes in order to achieve wealth at all cost.
I hope that the victims of Rasmus Bjerg receive the same amount of justice as the victims of Susan K did, if there are any justice to receive because lack of the exact circumstances makes it impossible to tell if he was exposed to a setup also. It is hardly possible to believe the partial witnesses, who is a part of such a trap.
But regardless of what is the fact or not the differences in the social status between the offenders has already got their cases off from a bad start.
March 11 update
Susan K got 3 months in jail, alle but 20 days were suspended if she avoid further trouble for a year. As she has served 15 in jail while the police made the so-called investigation, she has to endure 80 hours of community service which is more humiliating than serving time in jail. It remains a mystery why she didn't ask to max. out. Fortunately she wasn't forced to attend alcohol detoxing which could have ended her career as rolemodel for our youth. The assault against her, which properly caused her to act with the beer glass as precaution remains unsolved. The police is burdened due to a new structure and it seems that the prioritization of the police resources follows the public opinion, which is against her.
As for Bjerg the police conclude that he should be prosecuted to the surprise of the guests in the bar and the victim. The conclusion must be that real actors could more than actors in reality shows.
We did a peace about a certain Susan K which is a lifestyle icon for our youth. Properly suffering from some kind of anxiety based on an assault committed on her she reacted prematurely and got charged when she was set up in a bar outside her hometown. As we stated in our previous blog-entry the time has come for the TV-stations to pay for bodyguards of their employees, so they can be protected against incidents rising for everyday challenged which are unavoidable when conducting a necessary lifestyle.
But the last weeks have shown that her case was not uncommon. A TV-host called Niels Brinck was attacked without warning. Some of the people who were present have told that he acted in a way which was provoking. It might be true if he was in a part of the town he didn't live in. Some never leave the block they are born in and thinks of their neighborhood as their country defending it as a country. Many have been warned about stopping out in the country while driving across the United States, because the hill-billy's will shoot the cow next to them and hide behind it while they start shooting at the tourists.
Most Danes will recognize that there are parts of Denmark here in year 2010 where you don't stop. Even parts of Copenhagen. I will not name them due to the paragraph 266B in the Danish penal code. Joking about the people living in Aarhus or Mols can be criminal acts because you are not allowed to make fun about people’s ethnic origins. I don’t know how so many Danes dares to break the law in that way, but it is done all the time. Maybe it is because some believe that they are not very clever in these areas. A research paper from some years ago proved why so many infants died over there compared to the rest of Denmark. A local custom proved to be the answer. The newborn babies got a streak for their first meal instead of milk. A lot of the newborns died because their stomach couldn’t handle the food but those who survived grew up to be stronger and bigger than other Danes. Short to say they became our police force. A certain nightclub where the police enjoy themselves in Copenhagen is called the Embassy of Jutland.
But the main reason for writing this blog entry is to explain that when it comes to the law as almost anything else in the Danish society our way to react is based the social status. Young adults who attend universities are children of parents who also attended the Universities. In Denmark you cannot cheat your social heritage. Various researches have proved that the police judge people on their position or even their appearance. So when one of our most well-respected performers Rasmus Bjerg did an act like Susan K yesterday, he wasn’t detained for 20 days as she was.
He is not just another reality star. He is one of the main characters in the TV-show The Protectors, which are shown on our finest TV-station – Denmark’s Radio Number one.
So even among the celebrities there some kind of order. The same kind of order which makes Denmark the most happiest nation in the world as seen on the Oprah show. Once people learn that they don’t have to live their life to their fullest potential but settle well knowing that the huge amounts of taxes they pay during life while they just serve in their jobs, they don’t commit crimes in order to achieve wealth at all cost.
I hope that the victims of Rasmus Bjerg receive the same amount of justice as the victims of Susan K did, if there are any justice to receive because lack of the exact circumstances makes it impossible to tell if he was exposed to a setup also. It is hardly possible to believe the partial witnesses, who is a part of such a trap.
But regardless of what is the fact or not the differences in the social status between the offenders has already got their cases off from a bad start.
March 11 update
Susan K got 3 months in jail, alle but 20 days were suspended if she avoid further trouble for a year. As she has served 15 in jail while the police made the so-called investigation, she has to endure 80 hours of community service which is more humiliating than serving time in jail. It remains a mystery why she didn't ask to max. out. Fortunately she wasn't forced to attend alcohol detoxing which could have ended her career as rolemodel for our youth. The assault against her, which properly caused her to act with the beer glass as precaution remains unsolved. The police is burdened due to a new structure and it seems that the prioritization of the police resources follows the public opinion, which is against her.
As for Bjerg the police conclude that he should be prosecuted to the surprise of the guests in the bar and the victim. The conclusion must be that real actors could more than actors in reality shows.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Camilla Broe exonerated, but what is the lesson learned
Camilla Broe came a step closer to freedom when the court ruled that the trial couldn't go on. However an appeal is expected as the authorities in two countries can loose prestige when the fact about the doctored charges become public knowledge.
We have to say that the criteria for placing her on our website has been met. She gave the names of the criminals to the police, she volunteered as an police informant, but properly because she was a foreigner the DEA wanted her to be taken down.
The question is however if Danes can take a job or study abroad at all without risking such charges. We have to remember that it was her job as consultant to see to that the smugglers looked like professional businessmen. The ring leader had an investment firm with European client and it was this firm which hired her.
She took the names to the police when she discovered that the investment firm was a front for criminal acts and it is that action the police wanted her prosecuted for, which is kind of odd.
This case needs more answers which both the DEA and the Danish minister of justice have to answer.
An update of our webpage will follow shortly
We have to say that the criteria for placing her on our website has been met. She gave the names of the criminals to the police, she volunteered as an police informant, but properly because she was a foreigner the DEA wanted her to be taken down.
The question is however if Danes can take a job or study abroad at all without risking such charges. We have to remember that it was her job as consultant to see to that the smugglers looked like professional businessmen. The ring leader had an investment firm with European client and it was this firm which hired her.
She took the names to the police when she discovered that the investment firm was a front for criminal acts and it is that action the police wanted her prosecuted for, which is kind of odd.
This case needs more answers which both the DEA and the Danish minister of justice have to answer.
An update of our webpage will follow shortly
Monday, January 4, 2010
Maybe they should stay at home
The ties between Australia and India are threatened due to a murder and India's almost impossible demands for a quicker murder investigation.
Most policemen acknowledge that a murder where the killer and victim don't know each other or are related is difficult to resolve. Regardless of the ressources put into such an investigation a lot of cases remain unsolved.
But this case does also raise the question whether it is the best possible solution for students to study abroad.
In Denmark a lot have been done to avoid students to take a gap year where they travel abroad and make themselves familiar with foreign cultures and school systems. We have a very advance school system. It is the best in the world - second to none. It is a system where both the professional and social aspect of creating an adult fit to face the challenges of a life are carefully weighed, so we avoid the suicides and school shootings seen in school systems where only the professional factor is considered.
But regardless of giving the social factor importance and allowing access to alcohol for youth aged 16, the professional standard is superior. As of 2010 a year in a United States High School cannot be accredited. In a superior society like the Denmark we live in today living or studying abroad must be seen as waste of time.
It is here both India and Australia can learn something. It would be better that the students coming from India would stay at home. If India took time to improve their school system, removed requirements about school uniforms so the poor could afford going to school they could improve the living standards overall in their country.
Australia on the other hand should consider how the overall performance in their schools are lowered due to the presence of foreign students. Danish research does show that it is the case.
If this traffic of students studying abroad is stopped both countries could benefit on the long term.
Then there is the risk of being framed for crimes which is real for a student who choose to stay in a foreign country. Webpages like Exchange Student Info which advice students and their families about studying abroad points out that a student is at risk of being named as scapegoat if a crime or accident occur near them. Cases like those of Louise Woodward, Camilla Broe and Amanda Knox should scare future exchange students.
Most policemen acknowledge that a murder where the killer and victim don't know each other or are related is difficult to resolve. Regardless of the ressources put into such an investigation a lot of cases remain unsolved.
But this case does also raise the question whether it is the best possible solution for students to study abroad.
In Denmark a lot have been done to avoid students to take a gap year where they travel abroad and make themselves familiar with foreign cultures and school systems. We have a very advance school system. It is the best in the world - second to none. It is a system where both the professional and social aspect of creating an adult fit to face the challenges of a life are carefully weighed, so we avoid the suicides and school shootings seen in school systems where only the professional factor is considered.
But regardless of giving the social factor importance and allowing access to alcohol for youth aged 16, the professional standard is superior. As of 2010 a year in a United States High School cannot be accredited. In a superior society like the Denmark we live in today living or studying abroad must be seen as waste of time.
It is here both India and Australia can learn something. It would be better that the students coming from India would stay at home. If India took time to improve their school system, removed requirements about school uniforms so the poor could afford going to school they could improve the living standards overall in their country.
Australia on the other hand should consider how the overall performance in their schools are lowered due to the presence of foreign students. Danish research does show that it is the case.
If this traffic of students studying abroad is stopped both countries could benefit on the long term.
Then there is the risk of being framed for crimes which is real for a student who choose to stay in a foreign country. Webpages like Exchange Student Info which advice students and their families about studying abroad points out that a student is at risk of being named as scapegoat if a crime or accident occur near them. Cases like those of Louise Woodward, Camilla Broe and Amanda Knox should scare future exchange students.
We live in year 2010. We are in the time where we are supposed to live in a society based on information. But the tragedy is that we don't react on the information we receive from the media.
Think about all that suffering we could be spared for if we started to think about what we are reading.
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